Healing gale activated from Auron's hand, simultaneously making him feel breathless from the chunk of mana ripped out, and massively relieved as he felt his body begin repairing itself.

The gust whipped out of him and flew back, buffeting him with one tremendous breeze. Contrary to healing wind, this magic worked instantly rather than over time. Another added benefit of the gust was with the substantial amount of health returned, all of his wounds were also closed, and his bleeding debuff was removed.

As he momentarily forgot the voice he heard, he concentrated on the situation he was in. As his health bar shot up, movement coming from the walls could be heard.

Auron was slightly disappointed that only 20% of his health was healed, leaving him at a perilous 60/250 hp. His health bar changed from an agitated deep red to a slightly less concerning orange. His mana, on the other hand, had gone down nearly by half.

While he planned his escape, the boss and its helpers began moving again.

Whatever was attacking the dungeon had stopped when he healed himself. Auron dismissed hearing Red's voice as a near-death hallucination, but he could not disregard the ceiling appearing as if it was going to cave in. Something had attacked the dungeon from above. A giant crack bisected the roof, which caused bend toward the ground. The physical evidence was a clear indication. As the wisps continued their lazy floating, Auron studied the spiderweb cracks running off the central scar. The way they were carved into the smooth rock made Auron worry about a full collapse.

As he charged up his wind thrust, Auron concentrated on using the appropriate amount of power. He knew that any misjudgment in the distance or improper aim may lead to accidentally killing himself with this maneuver.

A loud shifting of stones alerted Auron to the movement of the boss creature. In an attempted to push himself up, he received a fiery confirmation of pain from severely fractured ribs.

Unable to stand, he aimed his prone body toward the entrance to the room by wiggling. Though his healing gale closed all of his open wounds, he could feel every inch of internal damage as he shifted his form around on the pebbles. His shattered bones screamed in protest of the small movements.

Tilting his head backward, he silently thanked whatever gods were watching that the entrance doors still stood open. Holding the power of wind magic in his hands while looking back and confirming his aim, Auron noticed movement from the tunnels on the wall near the door.

Each one of the dozen Moles now occupied their own hole as they stared at the prone rogue. Their black beady eyes were filled with malice and hunger. At once, they all disappeared, prompting Auron to let out a small sigh of relief. When they came back out seconds later, he knew he had celebrated early.

Each hand of their four-fingered paws clutched various small objects. Auron could make out that some of those were little pieces of bone, most likely from the last fool to come to this dungeon. Others grasped rocks and what looked like sharp gem-shards, the wisp light glittering off the jagged jewels the primary indication of a difference from the other stones and bones.

Twenty four furry arms whipped their makeshift weapons at him, all while screaming gibberish squeaks.

Raising one arm to cover his eyes, Auron activated his ability and soared through the air. He felt the projectiles bouncing off of his shoulders and arm guards harmlessly. A sharp pinching feeling on the back of his hand let him know one of the missiles found its mark. The hit cost ten health and left him fifty to spare as he gracelessly flew upward, and then veered toward the doorway. As the Moles prepared another volley, the boss only watched as Auron passed through the stone opening and slammed onto the floor beyond leaving Auron to wonder why it stopped attacking.

The large doors crept shut slowly, almost mocking in their indifference. Auron could not see them seal, but he heard the loud grating sound they made as they moved, followed by a bang.

Auron's lungs felt as if they were on fire as he tried to heave in air. His breath was knocked out of him from the impact along with 30 HP. Being so low in health a second time in mere minutes made his body shake with nausea. Having his hull ripped open by rocks shot by the Dire Bullette, his bones shattered, and almost losing his mind was too much to bear. Auron tightly closed his eyes as he heaved like a fish out of water, waiting for the next moment he would be able to breathe.

The low health contradicted that most of his injuries from earlier seemed healed, but lead Auron to the conclusion that he must be damaged internally even worse than how his bones felt. He dared not look at the twinge he felt coming from his hand. Slowly he regained air in his lungs and calmed down.

After waiting a devastatingly slow few minutes for his mana to recharge, he cast Healing gale two times in a row, almost emptying his MP completely. He was able to complete the multicast by charging the mana to each hand separately. Trading his mind-numbing injuries for a partially healed body, and a raging headache. As his head throbbed, he moved his arms and tried to stand. His bones now seemed to be intact, but bruised causing him to tumble back into a seated position.

Sitting by the door to the boss room shaking from adrenaline and fear, it was as if his body did not know the conflict was over.

Auron made a silent vow to never intentionally give into the madness again. Though it felt like a path one might take, it was not for him. This time the debuff felt different than the others. His purple mana source pulsed greedily as if enthralled by the experience. The sensation deep in his chest was odd.

Ripping off his cowl, he pushed his mana to the back of his mind. Auron slowly shifted his body so he could lean against the wall on the right side of the hallway.

Feeling the now-familiar twinge on the back of his hand, he finally looked at the puncture. A green gemstone, the size of two fingers, was embedded almost all the way through to his palm. If it had been slightly to the side, it would have hit his gem socket.

Pulling it out, while clenching his teeth, Auron noticed that there was very little pain associated with the puncture.

Without a thought, he tried to summon more healing magic to close the hole and was rewarded with a sharp increase in the pain from his headache. Blood dripped down his fingers from the wound as he cursed himself for forgetting his empty MP bar.

Just as he accepted, he would have to wait to take care of it, the cut glowed green and healed itself shut. Auron's eyes widened, and he was overjoyed at the discovery. This green shard had something do do with magic. Peering into it, he did notice an ethereal glow emanating from it that reminded him of the black Onyx ore he found before.

Auron's eyes took on a red glow as he activated inspection and looked at the object.

-Emerald ore shard (Resource)

Annoyed at the lack of description, he put the shard into his inventory. This shard is related to his healing mana. Perhaps it would save him down the road.

He wondered what made a resource different from a tool, and why specific ore had magical abilities but knew he would not figure it out without further guidance.

"What a waste of a grenade."

Auron did a mental double-check and confirms he wasted one in his mad state. Looking at his cowl, he slipped it back on, feeling secure in the increased durability from the set bonus, and lucky that it still worked in its current condition.

Pushing his finger through one of the newly made holes in it served to further increase his bad mood. Auron wondered if he could even muster up the courage to enter the boss room again.

While he sulked, for the first time, the young rogue took in the splendor of the wall carvings. Swirling in patterns similar to his wind magic, he traced one with his eyes, but that was not all. There were six different types of lines and swirls carved into the walls. Each seemed to represent some sort of element. Playful whirls that reminded him of his wind magic fed into harsh lines that could only have represented fire. Moving along the pattern, the fire was then extinguished by a flood of carvings that represented water. Tracing the waves then led to jagged bolts cut into the stone walls. The end tips of the lightning bolts had what looked like teardrops on them, which reminded Auron of his bleeding debuff symbol. Spaced out from the bolts, a landscape drawn in simple flat lines spiked out of the ground. Something seemed to be missing from the tapestry. If these represented the elements of mana, there should be two more. Fearing he was overlooking something, he studied the work passing over it all again while activating inspection.

In the middle of the carved fire lines halfway down the hall away from the boss door, a bright red spot indicated a switch.

Investigation skill has detected a hidden door.

Crawling toward it while nursing his headache, and thanking the god of rng or, whatever gods he could thank, Auron pressed the switch.

Congratulations! You have found a hidden boss preparation room. This room acts as a safe-point from the influence of a dungeon for 12 hours from the time of access. If you so choose, you may close the entrance and bar any monsters from entering while you rest. Bonus item granted!

Relief flooded through Auron as a stone door slid up, and he made his way into the room. This safe area was similar to the previous room, but twice the size. Closing the entrance immediately after walking in, this time, he did not feel the need to double-check that it would open again. A bedroll on the ground and a golden chest were the only items populating the center of the floor. Lacking the will to stay awake any longer in his still partially ravaged state, Auron collapsed onto the bedroll. Allowing the fear and adrenaline to drain out of him for the first time in what felt like hours.

Auron slipped into a dreamless sleep since this wild adventure started, and possibly even the first he could ever remember. He woke in a start hours later to find that his health and mana bars were both full.

His body, still sore, gifted him waves of discomfort with every movement.

Zander was lying on the chest in the middle of the room, silently observing Auron. Frustrated beyond words, he decided to not speak at that moment in order to preserve their relationship.

Auron sensed the disappointment emanating from his familiar. The daggers Zander was glaring at him caused him to stay silent as well.

Getting up to stretch his bruised muscles, Auron faced away from Zander to protect his bruised ego. The feeling was similar to when he would attempt to avoid being chastised by his mother. Auron began to loosen up and felt slightly better from his exercise. He slipped the bedroll into his ring and walked toward the chest.

Knowing the shame, Auron felt through their bond Zander decided to forgive his recklessness and break the silence.

[I am glad you are alive, Auron.] He sent telepathically.

Auron nodded while trying to suppress the wild swirl of emotions brought on by the statement. This small interaction seemed to be all they needed to move on from the moment and face forward to the challenge before them.

Zander jumped onto his shoulder, and the two looked at the chest. "I wonder what was in this one?" He said.

[How about you open it, and we go kick that bosses ass.] Zander joked back in a blatant attempt to use humor to lift Auron's spirits.

"Kill the suspense, why don't you" Auron felt some relief from the blend of emotions rolling around in his chest as he flipped open the lid. Whatever happened, he would have Zander to rely on.

This chest was the same size as the first one, but the main difference was a beautiful gold trim that wrapped the edges and metal clasp. Auron noted this as he clicked it open.

Slightly confused by the contents, Auron allowed his investigation skill to activate.

-Deft leather gloves - Glass bottle -Spell Tome -Yggdrasil seed component gamma

Excited by the prospect of new magic, Auron greedily reached for the book first. Flipping it open, he was disappointed to find the words moved around nonsensically.

Conditions not met. Unable to access Spell Tome.

"Well, that sucks," He said, as he tried to give it a shake before absorbing it into his inventory ring. Slipping on the gloves, he received a message when he had them fully on.

Deft leather gloves Set item. One of one. Once equipped, increases hand dexterity. Suitable for those that use close-range weapons, or use their hands for other nefarious purposes. If this item is equipped long enough, the skill may imprint on the user.

"Nefarious purposes?" Auron chuckled. "What am I going to do, tickle someone to death?" He raised his eyebrows and started making a tickling motion toward his familiar.

[No.] Zander sent over their link.

Auron couldn't help but laugh at the situation. Although joking around, he did notice how fluid his fingers now felt when they moved. He picked up the glass bottle, his hands now lending him the confidence he would not have felt before. Peering inside, he observed some sort of parchment. "Maybe now I will be a little less of a klutz" He joked as the bottle slips out of his hands. As quickly as it fell, his hand shot down and caught it before it shattered on the granite floor.

It was Zander's turn to laugh as he executed his usual squeaking wheeze, which let Auron know he was amused.

Embarrassed at his gaff, he focuses on pulling the cork out of the bottle. "I guess I am still clumsy, but at least now I can recover." He whispered to himself as he manages to get the bottle open.

After a few attempts to shake it out, Auron became frustrated at the bottle and paper. He began to charge up wind blast confident he will get by just fine for the day on his remaining two uses now that he had Zander at his side.

While he pictured the wind pressure lightly pushing the paper out, he miscalculated how mighty the magic would be. As the glass bottle shattered, it covered him in cuts while embedding broken glass into any exposed skin.

"Shit!" He exclaimed. This new development only seemed to double Zander's enjoyment of the situation. Auron squinted at his traitorous partner and cast Healing gale. This stopped Zander instantly.

[Wha...How. When did you?]

Smug with his familiar's surprise, Auron just raised his eyebrows and shrugged while pointing to the back of his hand at his Blue gemstone. As the glass was pushed out and his cuts fully healed in seconds.

On the yellowed sheet only one symbol was set into the center of it.*Bing*

Congratulations. Rune symbol found.

χii

Luck runes: Can increase the intangible value of Luck in terms of item drop rate temporarily when carved into an inorganic object if mana is channeled to it.

Auron paused for a moment and made a flash decision before Zander could talk him out of it. Concentrating on the new symbol, he closed his eyes and turned his palms up. Flinching from the pain, he directed mana through the Blue gemstone on his hand and shaped the symbol on his wrists' insides. Gritting his teeth to the burning sensation, he was relieved when it only lasted a moment.

Warning. Rune carved into flesh. When activated, Luck with increase dramatically. Rune proficiency not detected. Penalty incurred. When activated, Luck with permanently be decreased per activation. Divine intervention detected. Stat decrease eliminated—use per day 2. If used past this limit, the penalty will be inflicted.

Auron stood with his mouth open, surprised, confused, and overjoyed at the result.

[Want to fill me in on what foolish thing you did this time? Oh, and close your mouth before you begin catching flies dear.] Zander attempted to keep his tone light, but the concern bled through.

Auron just slipped his gloves partially off and pulled back his bracer to show Zander his new tattoo. "I figured out how to increase the drop rate of items. The blowback would have been terrible, a permanent decrease every-time I use them, but my blessing prevented the negative aspect of the Rune being on my skin." Auron answered the question ignoring the jab about his mouth being open in shock though it was eerily familiar to his mom's favorite phrase.

Moving onto the last item, Auron was at a loss. Zander also had no idea what the component was or any other useful information. Storing it in his ring, Auron took note that he was at 14/20 slots.

Inventory ring: 14/20

Emerald Shard

3 Wind AOE Grenades

1 Healing Wind Grenade

1 Goblin Dagger

1 Onyx Bone Rod

1 Ogre Skin Shield (4 slots)

1 Spell Tome

1 Yggdrasil component gamma

1 Bedroll

Auron was tempted to add the beautiful chest into his inventory when he noticed it begin to fade away.

His pants still mysteriously being gone made him check under his cowl to see what was left of his favorite shirt. To his surprise, the shirt was completely gone as well. Shuddering at the implication that it was shredded by the boss fight, he pushed it from his mind.

"Zander, I have an idea on how to defeat the boss," Auron says as he summons one of his grenades to his hands. "Do you think you can do anything about a wall of rocks it shoots out of its mouth?" He asks quickly

[From our bond, I have bits and pieces of your idiotic fight, but the madness interfered with our connection. I will have to see it to know.] Zander shot back, frustration returning most likely due to what he remembered of the fight through their link.

Once again swallowing his shame, Auron pushed past it and started to form a battle plan in his mind. "Let's hope this thing has less than 900 health. My three grenades should take care of it if not. Auron said while throwing a weak smile to Zander.

Stilling his shaking hands was a challenge, but Auron managed as the two exited the safe room.

"Zander, what do you think carved these walls?" Auron says, his voice infused with wonder at the sight.

[These were carved by the core at the start of its life cycle. Most likely before..] Zander's sentence stopped abruptly.

"Before what?" Auron huffed. He began to pace to work through his frustration. "You do that a lot, you know. How am I supposed to survive here when you do not tell me anything?" Auron spat out his frustration turning his words venomous. "It is bad enough that I am losing chunks of my past here and there, but you refusing to be open with me could compromise my future." He said, calming down as he spoke.

Zander looked him in the eyes but was unable to speak, his face tight with tension. His eyes clouded slightly, and his expression faded back to blank.

Auron just huffed with frustration and went back to mentally preparing for the battle. The two approach the stone doors.

Auron slapped his cheeks and jumped up and down a few times. Forcefully he mentally grabbed hold of his fear, imagines throwing it into a suitcase, and then throwing that suitcase into an active volcano. The odd imagery actually helps. "Zander, just keep the furry ones away from me. When I give you the signal, use your magic the way we talked about in the safe room. Just remember, the blast has to be concentrated and right in front of us.

Zander was too close to turn and look at while he grasps on to his shoulder, but Auron feels a little shake that must be his small familiar nodding in understanding.

The involuntary tremors return to Auron's hands as he raises them to push the doors open. That volcano imagery possibly not as effective as he thought.

Pausing for a moment, he felt reassurance through his connection with Zander. This time he was not alone, and he would not be as reckless as he was under the influence of the madness. Taking a deep breath, Auron put both hands on one of the doors and pushed.