The walk for Keenan and Jace was long, taking them weeks before they managed to come across a suitable hunting ground that was appropriate for Keenan’s level. Moreover, this hunting ground was situated directly next to a small city, allowing both of them to rest in the comfort of their preferred environments while being able to stay in contact with one another.
When they arrived, Jace briefly left in order to walk through the town and gather information, while Keenan began to investigate his new home. In truth, this hunting ground was not as favorable as the one that he had lived in previously. Not only was it too close to the city for his comfort, but the trees were much less densely packed.
This was a likely indication that the prey he would be facing would be larger. On the one hand, that meant that they would have more meat. However, it also increased the risk.
It must be realized that not all monsters of the same level were truly created equally. A level ten elephant could crush a level one hundred ant purely with its body weight. The level merely represented how advanced and developed their bodies and energies were, but did not represent a true indication of their power.
This was something that had caused the deaths of many naive adventurers, and ultimately caused the hunting of larger monsters to be seen as not worthwhile by most. Typically, if you were strong enough to kill a ten-meter tall monster with only yourself and a small party, you would be high enough level that its meat would not be enough for you.
On the other hand, if you were able to hunt medium-sized game, no more than a meter and a half tall, it was a different story. Under those circumstances, if the creature was the same level as you, the challenge was considered quite a bit lower, with a higher reward. It was even possible to hunt above your level for common hunters if they were after the smaller game, such as monster rabbits or boars.
Naturally, there were exceptions to every rule, but this was the standard that Keenan was familiar with himself. The sight of the sparsely placed trees was enough to indicate that he would have a challenge living within this hunting ground. He knew that he could do it by relying on his natural luck, but it would not be easy.
Roughly an hour after he had come to this conclusion, he could hear footsteps approaching the base of the tree where he had decided to rest. The gait was familiar to him, and he could hear the sound of a wooden staff tapping against the ground. As such, he rose to his feet to greet Jace. “Find anything?” He asked, his speech having come along way due to the frequent conversations with the felyn.
“This place is stranger than I thought.” Jace admitted, moving to sit against a thick root. “I asked around, and there is apparently a dungeon not that far from here.”
“Dungeon?” Keenan asked, furrowing his brow. He had heard the word before, but that was so long ago. Given the life he had lived since leaving his home, he had never needed to think about dungeons before.
Seeming to realize this, Jace patiently explained. “Dungeons are locations where adventurers can enter to challenge monsters or other natural hazards. The heart of the dungeon is actually a living creature itself, which shapes the area around it.”
Keenan couldn’t help but grunt at that. “If it makes monsters, why not kill it? Solve the problem before monsters escape.”
Jace gave a light chuckle. “Some people used to think like that. However, dungeons are also quite rewarding. They can produce powerful equipment for those who brave their travels. More importantly, ever since the existence of the Dungeon Cores was publicized to the world through the Dungeon Master Wars, people are far more hesitant to enter one with ill intent.”
“Master?” Keenan tilted his head curiously. “You can tame a dungeon?” That might be a fun thing to try at some point.
“…Yes and no. The dungeon chooses its master. If you enter a dungeon with the intention to destroy it, it could call for reinforcements from higher level cores. But if you enter and complete the challenges to train yourself, it might take a liking to you. If it does, they supposedly give you this magic item that lets you make a miniature dungeon around yourself.”
“You talk like you don’t know for sure.” Keenan pointed out after hearing Jace’s explanation, causing the latter to shrug.
“Well, I’ve never experienced it myself. These days, people tend to keep quiet about who the dungeon masters are. You can only tell whether or not a dungeon has a master, but not who the master is. For instance, the dungeon nearby is masterless. From what I heard in town, it has been for decades. It’s apparently something of a tourist attraction.”
“What’s so interesting about this dungeon?” Keenan couldn’t help but question. The fact that Jace had found so much information about it, given his luck, Keenan was sure that the dungeon was important to him in some way. Much like how Jace had found Keenan himself.
“Apparently… nothing. It’s an attraction because it is unusual for a dungeon itself. There are no monsters, and no apparent puzzles that can be seen. If not for the special qualities of dungeons and how they interact with their surroundings, this one might be overlooked entirely. All that there is, according to what I heard, is a dark room within a large, stone dome. The walls are smooth, and there aren’t any doors or stairs to lead deeper.”
“I asked, and someone said that they had tried to break down the walls at one point to see what was being hidden. However, the walls repaired themselves as fast as he could break them. In the end, he wasn’t able to find anything.”
“Would you like to check it out?” Keenan asked as he stood up, waiting for Jace. He trusted in Jace’s luck, almost more than he did his own abilities at this point. After all, if not for Jace he would have likely died in the shark storm. “If you learned this much about it, that’s probably why we’re here. This forest doesn’t look like it’d be a very good place to live. Too open, not enough small prey.”
Jace smiled, rising to his feet and facing away from Keenan. “Let’s get going, then. If I’m really being drawn here for this, it’s got to have something to do with you.”
“Why?” Keenan asked, Jace quickly turning around to face him. “Wouldn’t it be something related to you?”
Jace shook his head, spinning his staff in his hand. “I’ve been wanting to find you a place to settle down. If we’re stumbling across something now, I’d be willing to bet that it was for you. And, according to my status page, I’m a gambling man.”
Keenan shook his head, simply letting Jace lead the way. It was unusual to him for someone to put so much consideration into someone other than themselves. However, he didn’t want to point that out. It would be rather clear once they got there who the dungeon was really for.
As before, Jace used his staff to guide them until they reached the mouth of a cave at the base of a tall hill. The entrance to the cave looked rather unassuming, though Keenan noted that the stone interior was too smooth to be natural, even though it was currently covered with vines. “Do you see an icon anywhere?” Jace asked, attracting Keenan’s attention. “It should look like a hand. If the hand is holding a sphere, it means the dungeon is claimed. However, if the hand is empty, then the dungeon is ownerless.”
Keenan nodded his head at that, looking beneath the vines and moss at the entrance of the cavern. “There it is.” He said as he brushed at the right side of the entrance. There, beneath years of foliage growing against it, was the symbol Jace had mentioned. And, as expected, the symbol was an empty hand. “It’s empty, like you said.”
Jace nodded with a smile, not hesitating to stride forward and into the dark cavern. Alarmed, Keenan went in immediately after him. Although Jace had said that there were no dangers, he had also described dungeons as the dens of monsters.
Once inside, however, Keenan was surprised to find the room completely empty. There was no sign of Jace, or anywhere that he could have gone. It was as if he had vanished the moment that he entered the dark mouth of the cave.
Keenan’s eyes went cold, black ki radiating off as his body. His wild, unruly hair began to rise as he released his power. “Give. Him. Back.” Keenan snarled, walking forward with slow steps. He could hear the sound of something shattering as he clenched his fists, but he kept going.
For some reason, the thought of Jace being taken by this dungeon had infuriated Keenan beyond anything he could understand. As if the very thought that he would be alone in this world again was something his heart did not want to bear. As he reached the far wall, he began pulling back his fist, gathering the black ki around it. “Give… him… back!”
Just as he was launching his fist forward, he felt a hand on his shoulder. His punch paused, seeming to think that it might be Jace who had disappeared. The energy rolling off his body vanished like a lie as he spun around. However, what greeted him was far from the felyn that he had entered with.
Standing behind him was a creature without a face, having only a smooth mask of skin above where its mouth was. No eyes, no nose, not even any hair. The creature was vaguely humanoid, and dressed in a black suit. Had he been paying attention previously, he would have noted that the hand on his shoulder had grey, clawed fingers.
Yet, even though the creature had no eyes, Keenan was certain that it was looking right at him. “Finally…” It spoke in an eerie, resounding tone. “I have been waiting–”
Before he could finish what he was saying, Keenan’s black ki returned in force, punching the creature right where its face should have been. It was clear that Keenan was in no mood to talk at the moment, his face shifting once more back to fury. “I said–”
“Do not worry.” Said the same voice as before, though this time it seemed to come from the walls all around Keenan. “I did not take your friend. The one that I took was… you.”
“Explain. Small words.” Keenan said as he clenched his fists again, knowing that he would likely not understand too complex of an explanation even at the best of times. He was confident that he was intelligent… at least when it came to matters such as jungle survival or battle tactics. His academic talents had been abandoned long ago.
There was a pause from the voice, as if processing how it should continue. Eventually, it explained in a patient tone. “I have been waiting for someone that holds a very special energy. When you entered, I sensed that energy within you. It is the same one that you tried to use on me just now.”
“It’s elemental ki. Most people have it.” Keenan refuted. He knew how common this energy was, as it was the first of the ‘advanced class’ options that they teach about in schools. Otherwise, he would have never been able to create it himself to survive in the wild.
“It may be ki, but you are certainly not channeling an element.” The dungeon retorted. “Your ki has the mark of the void itself. If anything, it should be called Chaos Ki.”
