The thudding of the red Dragon's wings echoed across the valley between the kingdom ramparts and the jungle. The air pressure alone decimated the treeline it passed. As the golden Spirit carried Auron, clung with some form of static to its side, they rushed toward the jungle.

The Dragon swooped down and laid a line of fire toward the yellow mana users pursuing the young rogue and his wounded savior. Auron watched the giant scaled legend fly through the air with wonder and blood loss, taking turns at the wheel of his consciousness.

His heart skipped a beat. Tracing his eyes down its house-sized head to its massive wings and body Auron was shocked. The Dragon was missing its rear left leg, and its tail was just a stub. The magnificent creature being marred in such a horrific way, felt like a punch to his gut.

(I told you not to ever look at me with pity in those eyes, kid. Now get the hell away from here. I will meet up with you later.)

Red's voice boomed into his mind. Auron was floored. Why did she look like a dragon? He knew this was confirmation that she was the one who destroyed the entrance to the first dungeon and saved him. He did not imagine any of it. She was the red mana from his memories too. The flood of confirming thoughts was too much in his current depleted state.

The assassin squad burst through the burning barrier, and adrenaline seared away some of the haze on Auron's mind.

Red swooped down again and let free a river of magma from her jaws.

One of the squad of killers was caught directly in the path, his screams were piercing.

The blaze was so hot, and the man melting so horrific, Auron had to look away. In the pocket of time created by the men stopping fearfully, the Spirit increased its speed and the two finally made their way into the jungle. Taking a sharp turn, they continued on, the treeline parallel to the wall in the institute's direction.

As the trees blurred by, the Dragon flew alongside them in the open area. It locked one of its horse-sized eyes with Auron's.

"It's about time you got out of that Kingdom brat." The Dragon's deep female voice reverberated into his being, making his bones ache from its force. "We need to talk. I will find you soon." As soon as she spoke, Auron felt any small doubt evaporate. Shivering from a mixture of blood loss and shock, he only nodded in response. Flying back up around to lay down a final blast of fire, she then took to the sky and was gone.

Auron had little worry that they would be continued to be pursued as the creature maintained its speed. As it was, the magical being seemed faster than the enemies. Now, with a lead, they should be fine.

As they hummed forward, hovering several feet over the ground, Auron noticed the creature's face was contorted with anger and sadness. Tears flowed freely down its eyes.

Auron was too damaged to speak. He wondered where they were going and how they were flying, but he focused on calling his green mana. Losing track of their surroundings while failing to use his own magic, Auron frantically looked around as the blue sky disappeared.

The two entered a significant hole that bore deep into the base of one of the mountains. The high ceiling seemed to just fit the mighty Spirit as they entered.

You have entered The Pit of Rugenfornd. Dungeon rank 2. Recommended party size 3. Dungeons are known for their promise of two things, Treasure and death.

"Hey…Hey! Wait!" Auron yelled to the Spirit as he braced for the wave of unconsciousness that rank two dungeons had brought on in the past. Opening up one eye a moment later, he realized that he was fine. Reaching level ten must have made him able to withstand the mana difference. A giant hole in the ground before them reawakened his fear.

Frantically, he tried to get the Spirit's attention, pulling on its fur, and even its feathers running along its spine. Auron could do nothing but cling to the creature as it leaped. They plummeted down, accompanied by darkness and a young rogue's screams, echoing all the way.

Falling what must have been hundreds of meters judging by how raw his throat was and how far the light from the sky now was above them, Auron's initial fear of the fall had passed. As they quickly approached the ground, the Spirit began to glow with the color of gold. Pulsing violently, they stopped mid-air just before impact. Auron noted they even went back up slightly before coming to a rest on the ground.

When the spirits hooves touched, it also released its magnetic hold on the man, sending him stumbling into the ground.

Releasing a primal scream, the Spirit then began grinding its remaining horn into the pit's rock walls. The loss of the use of its right foreleg did nothing to diminish the destructive path it currently carved into the stone.

Auron dragged his broken body out of the way of its rampage. Now, in a tunnel leading deeper into the dungeon, all he could do was watch as the beast lay waste to the wall, increasing the rate at which it bled out from its horrific wound.

Auron looked to his own heath bar and wounds. He was sitting at a perilous five percent, his skin still releasing an odd green glow, and the value flickering up and down by one.

After some time, the Peryton simply collapsed.

Slowly forcing himself to his feet and approaching toward the Spirit's front, Auron stared into its intelligent eyes. His gaze worriedly shifts to its gushing wound. The blood now pooling underneath the heaving steer. Finally, finding the internal source of his magic, he forced it out to help through the barrier of his own pain. Casting a healing gale, the wind rushed around them both, only to uselessly collide with the creature and do no help.

The Golden spirit gently pushed Auron's hand away with its snout.

"I know you are smart enough to understand. Let me heal you, or you are going to die!" Auron yelled at the heaving spirit. "Dammit, I wish Zander was here," Auron whispered as he sacrifices another chunk of healing gale, ignoring his own injuries and pain, focusing on the horned entity. Another light nudge knocked Auron onto his rear. Fiery agony ripped through his being at the rough landing. He ignored the pain.

"Please. Let me help you." Auron began to break down. He tries to cast healing gale a third time as suffering and helplessness ruled him. The creature's horn sufficed the room with a sapphire-colored glow.

Auron wiped a tear from his eyes with his arm as the Spirit lightly tapped its antler to Auron's upper arm where his tattoo is located. Zander began to manifest at the same rate that the Spirit's horn broke apart into fragments and dissolved into the air.

"Zander?" Auron shouted as he forced his cut-up body off of the ground once again. Coughing up blood, he failed to get up.

"Heal them please, Zander," Auron begged through bloody, gritted teeth to his familiar, but Zander did not listen. A light wind wrapped around Auron, slowly sealing his bleeding cuts before a more enormous gust came and began to work on his ruined insides.

"Forget about me right now." Auron weakly pushed at the emerald healer, adrenaline the only thing allowing consciousness.

"Zander, please. I failed it. I couldn't save the others. Please. I do not want to be the cause of another death," Auron lamented, but his partner slowly shook his head in a no motion.

[It is too late for the Spirit Auron. You saw the gemstone horns on its head, right? For spirits, they need to have some form of crystalized mana connection to maintain their existence. Its antlers were a physical representation of its life-force.] Zander sent the message somberly over their link.

"No. We just need to fix its wounds. Why are you both giving up? You need to live, and get revenge for your children," Auron continued to debate the two, gaining strength with the healing session. His tolerance for death and bloodshed were pushed beyond their limit for what he felt was a lifetime.

[Spirits need to come to this world to replenish their great mana pools. They can not do that in the spirit world. When they run out, they die. That is how the rules of this world work. I am sorry, Auron, there is nothing we can do.]

"Screw that!" Auron shouted at the two. "I will not allow any more death!" He yells as he charges up a fourth healing gale. The effort brought on a headache that felt like a heated sword came to rest behind his eyes.

Dropping to his knees because of the pain, Auron's tears began to fall in earnest. The Spirit got his attention by pressing its nose to his chest. Looking up, Auron met its eyes.

[It wants you to take its power, Auron. That is how things should be. Not that barbaric festival. Spirits are supposed to grant their internal gems and orbs willingly.]

"Zander, how are you able to speak so freely right now? Shouldn't the blood magic prevent you from doing so?" Auron spoke as he maintained eye contact with the dying Spirit.

[I am not sure. I believe it may be due to the power emanating off of the Spirit. This one is ancient Auron. The energy it bestows on you would be significant. Usually, I would not suggest we even consider it, but you have seen now what we are up against.]

Unsure what to do, Auron just placed a hand under its snout gently.

The ancient Spirit began to glow brightly. It released its last breath. Auron finally accepted there was nothing he could do to save it. As its life left, it shatters into motes of dust.

Left in Auron's hand is a golden sphere.

-Golden mind orb. The physically manifested mana of an ancient spirit.

Auron watched, bathing in awe, and grief, as eight glowing lights came to rest on the ground. One from each leg of the Spirit and four along its spine. As the dust spread out further, it then coalesced around where the creature's chest was. Amid the swirling dust appeared to be a larger golden core than the one in Auron's hands.

The particles then took a form eerily similar to the Penitent Soul Auron witnessed after his first boss fight. His eyes lit up with power and confirmed his theory.

Soul of an ancient spirit.

Unlike its counterpart, this Spirit did not dance. It merely hovered while holding the sizable mysterious Orb within its dust made body. Floating toward Auron and Zander, it pointed at the mind orb in his hands and then pointed to Auron's head. Drifting slowly upward, it then left their sight and went out of the cave.

"Zander, what did we just witness," Auron sat down slowly. His body was no longer able to support his own weight.

[Healing wind with me now, Auron. We can talk after you are fully healed. If I expend all of my mana to heal you, you will be alone in this dungeon.]

Auron listened to him, and they cast their magic in tandem. It took all three of the uses to bring him back to full health, contrary to what his health percentage showed.

[We just witnessed a rebirth. You had seen one form of it when you defeated that boss in our first dungeon together. When a body dies, the soul of that creature will live on and become something new. In this instance, the Peryton decided to leave its mind with you. Its soul now only has the option to become a dungeon core.] Auron looks a little shocked at his familiar's depth of knowledge. Zander continued, interrupting the countless questions forming on Auron's lips.

[If you are going to ask how I know all of this, it is because I have gone through it. I have fragments of memories of my past lives. I was a dungeon monster before all of this. Before even that is a tale, I am not willing to even mention. My life story is far too long, and we are not safe here, so do not even ask.]

"Stunned to silence, Auron mentally digested the information. Unable to stop himself, he asked, "Can you at least tell me what you were before this?"

[I was a mushroom.] Zander sighs out the answer simply, knowing it would only bring on other questions. [No more. Go and collect those gemstones. You do not want them stolen by the dungeon, do you?]

Unsure if Zander was only trying to distract him, but not willing to risk losing the valuable items Auron moved.

Yellow socket body gemstone. Gemstone from the body of a Pertyon spirit.

Eight identical labels over eight gemstones lit up Auron's screen as he collected the items. "This means all of my gemstones came from spirits like this one," Auron mumbles in part to himself.

[Yes. Generally, stones and orbs are given freely after a ritual contest. Various spirits have their own rules. This barbaric display of the festival is horrid and wrong. They may take the Mind and body, but never the soul. Not that any internal core is formed in spirits who are but children.] Zander spits the last words out, unable to hold back his contempt toward the events.

Auron understood and mirrored the disgust. At the thought of the young spirits meeting their untimely end and the added information of their rebirth being interrupted, his hands clenched so hard his nails drew blood from his palm. Spurred into action, he placed one of the yellow gemstones into his shoulder socket.

Congratulations! Yellow socket gemstone (Low tier) attached. The benefits are as followed.

-Speed increased by 10

-Natural connection to the Yellow concentration of mana increases. If in the appropriate environment, skill creation increased.

-Through this connection, you gain an increased recovery rate for stamina

-Increase in the connection between your Head socket and the concentration of yellow.

Auron felt a power surge from the attached socket throughout his entire body. With every battle, the day that had passed, and every ounce of physical strain, he had unknowingly been adding to a deficit of stamina. The gemstone seemed to have a mission in correcting that deficit. Yellow mana flooded his aching muscles, drawing away pain he did not even realize he had been carrying. Half expecting a stamina bar to appear, he looked at his health and mana bars. He only found that they were still the only things taking up the corner of his vision.

Auron was tempted to use more of the stones, but he had a feeling it would be best to wait. Such a valuable resource, given by a grand being's death, should not be squandered because of his lack of knowledge. Walking around, he collected the crystals in one hand, while the other still cradled the larger Golden Orb.

Auron mentally brought up his ring inventory.

Storage Ring

Belt of holding

Inventory ring: 14/40

Emerald shard 1 Healing wind grenade 1 Goblin dagger 1 Onyx rod 1bedroll 1 Spell Tome 1 Yggdrasil component gamma Chunk of gold Onyx water bucket 3 spaces Clump of oyster mushrooms Wind stone Earth stone Healing pills x180 L1: Healing pills x36

L2: Healing stone grenade x5

R1: Wing blast stone x 1

R2: Empty

Non Magical storage:

Pouch 1: Empty

Auron looked at his ring in shock. Holding it close to his eye, he could barely see due to the pit's low light. It looked as if thin lines were carved into the once plain brass. With the doubling of its storage space, he put in the yellow mana gemstones. To his surprise, they stacked much like his healing pills.

While taking a closer look, he activated his inspect.

Holding ring. This magical item allows you to store items in a dimensional pocket. As it is bound to your soul, it will grow along with you. There are other rings identical to this one belonging to the knights of your party. Finding them will increase the powers and connections of these rings.

"Knights?" Auron whispered as he read the message. Looking over to his familiar, he scrunched his face. "Zander, do you know anything about knights? I remember Gregory had the title Berzerker Knight, maybe it means people like him?" Auron somberly posed the question as he sat against the wall.

[As you know, it is common to form parties. I fear that is all I can say without triggering, you know what and losing my thoughts.] Zander babbled, looking around as if he would see the blood magic crawling toward him down the walls.

Through the morose pulsing of his own grief flooded mood, Auron wondered if he wanted to work with a team or not. He may not even be allowed back in the city. The only person who saw his face was the old Walter Plutus, head of the Pertyon house, and what looked to be the lead assassin. What a joke it all was. Cutting down the spirits emblazoned as your own house crest. Auron felt the bile in his stomach threaten to rise at reminiscing the bloody festival. He needed to find his mother and free Zander. That would be his only focus. Rescuing a kingdom was too much.

Turning to his familiar, Auron shared his decision when a wall of purple energy rushed through. Auron's eyes widen in shock as he watched Zander seem to shake off the lingering bits of blood magic clouding his mind.

[I am just going to jump back into this Auron.] Zander looked up at Auron, his eyes clear, his voice coming through their link full of tension.

[Your mother is not alive. I am so very sorry to have given you hope. You and your mother were placed in the void to stop the current king from killing you. They killed her Auron. Their actions ended in her death, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. With the power of her ultimate magic (Phoenix), paired with her bonded Dragon red and my healing as her familiar, we kept you alive and in a dream-like state for fifteen years. Find Geralt. He can explain everything to you. Hurry Auron. It seems as if the object they are casting the blood magic memory spell through gives us a window every month after the harvest festival. I fear that by the time the next wave comes, they will have found you. After freeing the Spirit, every one of the royals knows you are alive. They will hunt you to the ends of the earth because you are the..]

Auron stared down at Zander. Shock and sadness fighting for supremacy over his expression. He processed everything his familiar had said, and this time, he was ready for a burst of information, but all he could focus on was his mother's death.

The flame that came to life in his chest at the hopes of seeing her again was snuffed out so quickly. On earth or at least the illusion he was shown to make him believe he was on earth, he lived with his mother. One day she became very ill and was forced to bed rest all hours of the day. Auron had to watch as she slowly died. Her body ate away at itself until she was a shell of a person, much like how he looked currently. The process was horrifying, and Auron did everything he could to remain positive for her and be the best son he could, but the process ruined him.

Only after years of living without her after she passed had he found some semblance of normalcy. At least that is what he thought happened. For the second time now, Zander has outright conflicted with Auron's perception of his own life.

With the rate at which his memories were fading, he had no choice. He had to believe that all of his past was constructed by some twisted magic. Now, he had to continue on in this fantasy world, without any hope of seeing his mom again, and no information about his father, who was more than likely dead as well.

Auron slumped to the ground, defeated. The small fire driving him, and keeping his thoughts positive was gone, snuffed out by the cruel reality that he found himself in, leaving his insides feeling cold and empty. His only companion so far on this journey now gazed at the wall with a blank expression. Auron picked up Zander rolling his hand under his belly, and rested him in his lab. His right hand still clutched onto the golden mind orb.

They killed his mom. The realization echoed through Auron's mind as his thoughts darkened. Rage swept across his being. Fury took the place of sorrow, self-pity, hope, and every other emotion he had felt since finding himself in that cursed swamp.

They killed his mom, and they were right in front of him. Auron's free hand clenched into a fist. He began to shake with his passionate anger.

Gregory is likely weaker than the king, and he turned his insides to powder with one blow. He lost Sylvia, and the Spirit and its children died because of his pathetic weakness. Because he was so damn inadequate. Auron slammed his free hand into the hard ground. The pain and bruising of his flesh from the blow only served to fuel his internal turmoil.

The ideas brought Auron in a downward spiral. He thought about how he spent the last month. Training and learning bits and pieces about this world were not enough. He had grown so much more in his first five levels fighting in a dungeon. Sure he was now level ten, and he had heaps of stat points to show for it, but he did not feel powerful.

Looking down at his familiar, his gaze was not returned. Zander seemed almost lifeless as the blood-magic returned to its domain over his mind.

"I can not go through this again, Zander. I can not feel any more pain over this. My mom was my best friend. I do not care if it was all an illusion made by her, or magic, or whatever. Those memories I have of us interacting must have been real on some level. Otherwise, who am I?" He spoke as tears began sliding down his face. Zander's emotionless face just continued to stare off into the distance. "I don't want to be here anymore. I lack whatever drive I need to keep going. It would be so much easier to just give up than to keep pushing forward. For a brief moment, I had hope to drive myself. That hope is dead, taken to the grave along with her," Auron whispered as his eyes drift over to the glowing Orb in his hand.

He knew he should wait for Zander to be back. He knew that he had no information about the Golden mind orb, but he needed more strength. He needed to be someone who could save those he loved. If he was not holding an object of change in his hands, there was a chance he would never have the ambition to stand up again. Never would he watch a friend or innocent being die. No more. Devoid of any other options or paths forward, Auron brought his forehead to his hand and felt the orb click into place.

Congratulations! Gold (Tier 2) Mind orb socketed. The benefits are as followed.

Speed increased by 100 points.

Connection to core mana concentrations and Body gemstones enhanced. Ability acquisition is guaranteed if mana prerequisites are met.

Special attribute limitless stamina acquired.

Core abilities granted. Core magic granted.

Elemental magic locked. Level 40 is required.

Warning. Stat requirements are not met. Speed has breached Centurion. Precision is not at 50. Strength is not at 50. Durability is not at 50. Severe damage is likely.

Mana connections formed. Abilities unlocked.

Yellow + Green mana has created Speed burst.

Yellow + Red mana had created Reaction.

Yellow + Purple mana has created Quick wit.

Auron felt as if an electrical storm was running through his body. His rolling internal turmoil turned into agony. Falling backward, his limbs were twitching so violently Zander was thrown from his lap. Despite the flailing reaction, his mind was clear. All he could do was take in the information and worry about the stat warning. Just as he felt his body was done reacting to yellow mana's insane power running through him from his head to his core, an ancient, angry, and terrifying voice spilled into his mind. Full of sorrow, the voice spoke only one word.

[Vengeance]

The word reverberated through Auron's mind. His body still lightly shaking from the electrical mana. His mind not allowing him to pay any attention to the faint hissing sounds surrounding him, or the hardening of the joints in his feet slowing up his body.

As the word from the Orb smashed its way through his mind, he blacked out.

End Part 2