''Soooo, you were a human?''

"Yeps!"

"One day you just woke up and found yourselves in the body of a monster.''

"Yep yep!"

"And now you're trying to find what happened to you?"

"Yep yep yep!"

''And the place where you came from doesn't possess any form of mana, so, you are just clueless about this situation, wandering around the place, searching for an exit?''

"Yep yep yep yep!"

"Hey! Can you stop repeating this word over and over again?"

"Why?"

"BECAUSE IT'S ANNOYING! You were saying that you used to be a human, then talk like a normal human, dammit!" Jace groaned.

"IT'S NOT LIKE IT'S MY DAMN FAULT!'' Alec shouted back, ''I JUST DON'T KNOW HOW TO TALK TO STRANGERS!"

"We've been talking for last three hours." Jace said, meeting the black cat's emerald gaze.

"So? Doesn't make you any less of a stranger." Alec winced.

Jace sighed as Alec looked up to him.

"I know it's hard to believe but-"

"I believe you."

"- The things I said.... Eh? What did you just say?" Alec looked wide eyed at the man in front of him.

"I said I believe you." Jace repeated.

"Just like that?"

"Yes, just like that."

"You're not suspicious?" Alec asked the man.

"What's the point of lying to me when you could have just killed me the moment we met." Jace answered back, "There are all sorts of places in this world, some with higher mana levels than others, so, I wasn't surprised when you told me that you came from a place completely devoid of mana, and furthermore, you have abysmal knowledge regarding the whole situation. You didn't even know that you were inside a dungeon. A faraway land with no magic and a traveller stuck inside the body of a monster. I believe you, Alec." Jace said, shifting his gaze towards the obscure ceiling.

"........."

"Hey!"

".... I just ...never thought I would have my human encounter like this, I was honestly scared of what humans might do once they realised that there is a monster among them. I was even... ready to kill you the moment you showed hostility. Never in my life have I ever tried to take a human life. But I was ready, to save my own life I'll do whatever it takes." Alec said as he lowered his head and his ears dropped.

Jace shifted his gaze towards the small creature in front of him, squinting his eyes before finally opening his mouth.

''...That explains why my danger senses have been silent for last two hours." Jace chuckled.

"What?" Alec shot a questioning gaze.

"Danger senses? It's the basic skill for every swordsman, it tells the intensity of certain dangers that are hostile towards you. The skill was literally screaming at me when you started the conversation." Jace answered.

"So, it's silent now?"

"Because you are not hostile anymore." Jace said.

"It's nice to see you talking normally, start of the conversation was nothing more than me mumbling random things and you panting under your breath."

"I recovered some stamina."

"I can see that." Alec said as he looked up to the big man, no longer on his knees as he sat leaning against the wall, relaxing his legs and recovering his health.

"Hey, can you stop staring like that?"

"Oh, am sorry, it's nothing... Is something wrong with your body?"

"What? How did you know?'' Jace asked.

"You said that you faced the guardian of this floor and he did something to you." Alec replied.

"Yes, it's true, I am unable to recover my mana after I got hit with his spell. How did you notice?'' Jace asked.

"It's just that your body is repelling the mana around you. I don't know the exact path of mana circulation, inside a human body but there is something wrong. In addition, those thin red striations are a dead giveaway that something is definitely wrong."

"... Why did you ask?"

"Oh, I was just wondering what kind of spell that drake used upon you and I don't think it's as simple as that."

"What do you mean?"

"The mana inside your body is like a bloody mess, even those centipedes have a better mana circulation than you." Alec answered as he looked up to the man in front of him, "And you don't need to act tough in front of me, it's obvious that every inch of your body is screaming in pain."

Jace flinched "I thought I was hiding it pretty well."

"You seriously thought that you would be able to hide it with your D-grade acting skills?" Alec chuckled.

"D- what now? Forget it, what did you mean when you said my mana circulation was a- HEY WATCH OUT!'' Jace shouted, making Alec to shift his field of view.

Just in the moment, out of the darkness, the crimson creature revealed itself. Jace's surprise wasn't even registered when the centipede lunged at the duo, as it's screeches echoed down the hollow aisle.

A crimson chain shot out, whistling, as it cut through the air and swaddled the charging centipede by the face and mangled it down like a bug.

Defeated [Sanguis Scolopendra lv7]!

Experience recieved!

It's body fell on the floor, unmoving as a second chain restrained the remaining sections of it's beheaded structre.

[Absorb]

Vermillion mist entered the chains as the bloody segments disintegrated one by one.

MP restored +45

Alec shifted his gaze around the empty hallway as he scanned for further threats, only to find a wide eyed Jace staring at him.

"What?" Alec said as he looked up to Jace.

"Nothing, it's just... Well forget it."

"... Uhh, are you fine, dude? Whatever, we don't have much time, will you be able to walk?"

Jace waited for a moment before answering, "I think so, what happened?"

"The centipedes, they are about to swarm this place, there's a whole bunch of them downstairs and the front foyer.''

"..... This isn't good." Jace said as his eyes scanned the area.

"You know something?" Alec replied back as he got up to his paws and looked up to Jace, "or hold it back for later, let's prioritise escaping this place first. I can't keep these chains on indefinitely, while there is no time limit, I need to dismiss them at some point to avoid the my mental meltdown."

"You said you were an adventurer?" Alec asked.

"I am an adventurer." Jace replied back, correcting the black cat.

"Then, you must have gone through quite a variety of dungeons, Don't you know if there's any safe zone or a checkpoint?''

"I have no idea what are you on about, why would there be a safe zone inside a dungeon?"

Didn't hurt to ask.

"Well, whatever, you might just be in for a surprise." Alec said in a playful tone.

"What do you mean?" Jace asked, squinting his eyes towards the black kitten.

"Just follow me... Wait, do you have any skill like stealth?"

"I actually got one after entering this dungeon."

"Can you use it?" Alec asked

"Nope, not without mana." Jace muttered as he got on his feet.

"Thought so." Alec said in a casual tone.

"Do you have a plan?" Jace asked as he started walking towards the opposing corridor.

"Not exactly a plan, more like an experiment." Alec followed.

"What do you mean?" Jace asked as they reached a junction.

"There are seven centipedes, three to the left, two ahead and two to the right. We'll take a right turn here, now.." Alec said as he looked up to his status screen.

Alec Jones

Species: Puerulus Antitheus Feles

Race: Ancesant

Constellation: Inanis Praenuntius

Potential: [Perfect]

Status:

Level: 15

HP: 440/440

MP: 215/215

SP: 477/486

STRENGTH: 75

ENDURANCE: 27

VITALITY: 44

MIND: 115(+20)

WISDOM: 15

CLARITY: 28

AGILITY: 67

Available stat points: 36

Available Skill Points: 10

Species abilities:

Blood Claws lv3

Mana Bite lv1

Blood Bullet lv5

Space Step lv3

Blood Chains lv4

Racial attributes:

Dimensional space access lv1

Mystic lv2

Language comprehension lv Max

Mana Sense lv2

Mana Manipulation lv1

Stellar abilities:

System interference

Path of Stars [Exclusive]

Stigma generation:

S1: Gaze Of The Depth

S2:[Unavailable][No Stellar Essence Detected]

S3:[Unavailable][Unlock S2 first]

S4:[Unavailable][Unlock S3 first]

S5:[Unavailable][Unlock S4 first]

S6:[Unavailable][Unlock S5 first]

"pick me up.''