“Rammy, where have you been?”

  I spun around. “I just finished training with Crice!” I struck a flexed pose. “Look! Do you see my muscles?”

  She giggled, her sweet voice echoing across the sunlit yard. “Impressive! Why are you training so te?”

  I grinned. “I want to be the strongest hunter in Ballenor!”

  She walked toward me, tilting her head. “Why a hunter? It’s much cooler to be a merchant like Uncle Royce.”

  I shook my head stubbornly. “I don’t want to. I want to be a hunter! So we can travel the world together!”

  A soft smile touched her lips. “You’re really persistent, aren't you?”

  “Uncle Hans says a real man must have a purpose!”

  “...I see. Are you a real man now?”

  I puffed my chest out. “Of course! I need to be a real man!”

  She grabbed my hand gently. “Then, let’s go inside. It’s time.”

  I blinked. “It’s time again?”

  “Hm-mph. Let’s get inside.”

  “Okay.”

  A hand brushed my shoulder.

  Instinctively, I drew my dagger as my eyes snapped open.

  “M-Mentor! Mentor! I-It’s me... It’s me!” Kenny stammered, raising his hands in surrender. The razor-sharp tip of my dagger was resting an inch from his throat.

  Shit. “Ah, sorry.” I sheathed the dagger, my heart hammering against my ribs. I sat up. The squad was gathered in a tight circle around me. “What happened? Saurians?”

  “No,” Mathilda spoke up, her brows pinched in concern. “Are you okay, Mentor?”

  I squinted. “What do you mean?”

  “You were screaming in your sleep,” Patrice expined softly.

  “What?” I straightened my posture, wiping cold sweat from my neck.

  “Yeah... You were screaming for... help,” Patrice frowned as she spoke.

  What? Shit. Why would I be screaming?

  I rubbed my face with both hands, trying to shake the lingering fog of the dream. “Sorry. Did I ruin your rest?”

  “We’ve been awake for a while,” Mathilda assured me. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

  “Yeah.” I stood up, rolling my shoulders. “I don’t even remember the dream.”

  They all looked at me with serious, worried expressions.

  “Alright, gear up. If I was screaming, I probably attracted attention.” I strapped my leather armor tight.

  Patrice giggled. “Don’t worry, sir. Kenny already cast a silence barrier when he woke up.” She pointed her thumb at her own chest. “Because they all wanted to hear my tales!” She grinned widely.

  I chuckled, relieved the tension had broken. “Well, in that case, let’s talk strategy.” I crouched and unrolled my parchment map. “I drew a map based on our exploration so far.”

  “Is that the dirt map you drew earlier?” Mathilda interrupted.

  I looked at her. “Yeah. Any input?”

  She crouched beside me. “I scouted ahead while you were sleeping. Your guess was right; this path eventually leads directly into a massive main chamber. Can I borrow your charcoal?”

  I pulled the charcoal from my pouch, she quickly sketched an enormous circle at the end of my linear path.

  “We are extremely close to the main chamber,” Mathilda expined. “The bad news is, a dragon is definitely nesting inside.”

  The squad's expressions instantly tensed.

  “I couldn’t confirm its exact size, since I only confirmed its presence by the stench,” she added.

  “Wait, you're familiar with dragon stench?” Hoiler interrupted, narrowing his eyes.

  She gnced at him without missing a beat. “You don’t have to be a veteran to recognize the smell of ash and rotting corpses, Hoiler. It's in the beginner's bestiary.”

  Heh. She really is masterful at deception.

  “S-so, what’s the good news?” Kenny asked nervously.

  She continued her expnation. “Well, the good news is there’s a fissure right over here.” She marked the map. “I only took a quick peek, but it is definitely a detour that bypasses the main chamber. It’s worth a shot.” She gnced up at me for approval.

  I nodded. “Great work. We will head toward that crack. We avoid the dragon at all costs. Are you guys ready?”

  “Yes, sir!”

  “Now let’s move.”

  Mathilda took the lead. As she had warned, the closer we got to the main chamber, a strong, putrid stench of ash filled the damp air. Just a few yards away from the massive exit into the dragon's ir, we found the narrow crack on the left wall. One by one, we squeezed inside as silently as possible.

  The space beyond the crack was huge, almost the same size as the main chamber. However, there were very few glowing minerals here, making it look as dark as an abyss. The air was much drier, almost like a surface cave. We ventured through the chamber by hugging the walls, deliberately avoiding the dark, open space in the center.

  After walking for a while, we found a dark stone corridor ahead of us. As we approached the entrance, I felt a subtle, crisp breeze touch my face. Mathilda looked back over her shoulder, a hopeful smile confirming she felt it too.

  We maintained our cautious pace. Even though a breeze was a great sign, we couldn't afford to be careless.

  “Mentor, it looks like an exit,” Mathilda pointed out. Faint, natural light spilled across the far end of the corridor.

  The rest of the squad moved forward to see it with their own eyes.

  “Oh gods! That’s the exit!” Patrice beamed with raw excitement. “Let’s go!”

  She broke formation and dashed toward the illuminated corridor.

  Suddenly, Mathilda stopped dead. “Wait!”

  As my boot touched the threshold of the corridor, a bright, searing yellow light erupted from my chest. The Wayward Stone was shining.

  FUCK! I dashed forward, chasing the dwarf. “Patrice! Stop!!!” I shouted, abandoning all stealth.

  She stopped and looked back at me in confusion.

  No! No! NO! I won’t let you die here! I sprinted faster, tackling Patrice around the waist. Using my momentum, I violently hurled her backward into the safety of the dry chamber.

  Slowly, the cavern walls around me began to ripple and distort.

  “Mentor!! Faster!!!” Mathilda screamed.

  The spatial distortion became completely aggressive, blurring the walls of the corridor like wet paint.

  “Catch her!” I yelled as Patrice tumbled toward them.

  A split second before the distortion completely swallowed the corridor, I lunged forward, desperately diving back toward the chamber.

  But the distortion was too fast. The fabric of the cave folded in on me.

  Shit!!!

  Suddenly, a slender, pale hand plunged through the rippling distortion. I reached out and grabbed it. With terrifying, unnatural strength, the hand violently yanked me out of the folded space.

  I hit the stone floor hard, my lungs burning. I whipped my head around.

  "Fuck! Your arm!" I scrambled to my feet and closed the distance to Mathilda.

  Her right leather sleeve was completely shredded. The pale skin beneath was mangled, torn, and drenched in blood. Her arm trembled violently as she gritted her teeth, fighting back a scream of agony.

  "Kenny! Do you have any healing magic?!" I barked, ripping a roll of linen bandages from my utility pouch.

  "I-I c-can—b-bu—!"

  "Breathe and speak clearly!" I roared.

  "I-I can, sir! B-but it’s only a basic tier heal!" Kenny stammered, his staff shaking wildly.

  "Do it. Now."

  I grabbed Mathilda's arm, tightly wrapping the linen to bind the cerations while Kenny cast a faint, trembling green light over the wound to staunch the bleeding.

  I looked over my shoulder. Hoiler and Patrice were completely frozen, staring bnkly into the dark. "Hoiler! Patrice! Form a perimeter! Don’t just stand there like statues!"

  "M-Mentor..." Hoiler breathed. He slowly raised a shaking, gauntleted finger toward the corridor. "Right there."

  I snapped my head up. The spatial distortion had colpsed entirely. Standing in the dead center of the pitch-bck corridor was a lone, towering silhouette.

  I narrowed my eyes. The shadow was casually walking toward us. I tied off Mathilda’s bandage with a harsh, tight knot and drew my dagger.

  "Heh. Heh. Heh."

  A hollow, echoing chuckle rolled out of the corridor.

  "Quite an odd... composition..." The voice was unnaturally deep, vibrating against my ribcage. The slow, heavy thud of its footsteps echoed off the stone walls.

  "An aura user... completely green..." the voice analyzed.

  I shifted my stance, pushing Mathilda behind my back.

  "A mage... Hmmm... Quite a rare one. A battle mage, perhaps?" The footsteps stopped. "A dwarf... wielding both magic and aura... Interesting."

  The tall figure finally stepped out of the abyss, pausing just at the edge of the dim light.

  "And look... what we have hiding here." The raspy chuckle filled the chamber. "An elf... A Glider."

  Hoiler, Patrice, and Kenny instantly snapped their heads toward Mathilda.

  "AAARRRGGHHHHHH!" Mathilda dropped to her knees, screaming in sheer, visceral agony.

  Her disguise was violently ripped away by an unseen force. Her fiery red hair leached of all color, cascading into pure, luminescent white. Her timid green eyes ignited into a burning, predatory crimson. The rookies recoiled in absolute shock.

  The mysterious figure took one final step into the light.

  Burning, slit-pupil reptilian eyes locked onto us. He wore the face of a strikingly handsome human man, framed by wild, bright red hair, but the aura radiating from him was utterly monstrous.

  Every muscle fiber in my body pulled taut. My heart hammered against my sternum like a war drum. I bit down on my lip so hard the metallic taste of blood flooded my mouth. Every survival instinct I possessed was screaming one single command: RUN!

  The man's lips curled into a wide, knowing smirk. His glowing eyes bypassed the others and locked dead onto me.

  "And... a half-breed."

  My blood ran ice cold.

  "Tainted blood... carrying a hollowed soul." He chuckled softly, tilting his head. "...Fascinating."

  I gritted my teeth, try regained my courage. I scooped the crippled Mathilda into my arms.

  "Run!!!" I roared at the squad.

  We pivoted in unison, sprinting blindly back toward the cracked wall that led to safety.

  "Vhre Och Cerr."

  The cavern wall directly in front of us detonated.

  CRAAACKKK BOOOOMMMMMM!!!!!!

  A shower of massive boulders rained down as a colossal, dark beast tore through the rock. Towering as high as the chamber ceiling, the monster completely crushed our only exit path..

  "GRRRRROOOOWWWLLLLL!"

  The concussive force of its roar threw us to the dirt. The sheer volume rattled my teeth and shook the very foundations of the cavern.

  The massive beast lowered its terrifying, heavily scaled head, locking its predatory gaze onto our fallen squad.

  "DRAGON!!!" Kenny screamed, his voice breaking in absolute despair.

  "Heh. Heh. Heh," the red-haired man chuckled from the corridor behind us. "Fly…. as thou wilt… thy shadow….. followeth still"