Lucas was feeling thirsty and hungry and returned to his base. One of his two water bottles was already empty. The supplies in the dungeon are gone and sooner or later I will have to drink from the water here. I may as well do it now.

He went to the stream, filled the bottle and drank a few sips. The taste was normal. If by tomorrow there is nothing wrong with me, the water is probably drinkable and I wouldn’t have to worry about dying from thirst.

Lucas decided to make another survey of the gorge. There were still a lot of unexplored areas, especially in the middle between the two sides.

By time he was finished, it was late afternoon. He had found four more bushes with blueberry-like fruits, but there were no other significant discoveries. There were no signs of any terrestrial animals and he had seen a few small birds.

Now I can be fairly certain in my safety for the time being and the only big problem is the lack food. Shall I test if the blueberries are edible? Since a bird was able to eat them, if I consume just one, it should not kill me, even if it is poisonous.

Lucas made up his mind and decided to try. He went to the nearest bush and plucked a single fruit. It had nice aroma and after hesitating for a few moments, he put it in his mouth and started chewing.

It tasted somewhat sweet with several other different flavors, which were difficult to describe. Overall it left a very pleasant sensation on the taste buds. I sure hope this is not poisonous. Not being able to eat those fruits would be a real pity.

Lucas had nothing else to do, so he returned to his base and waited for dusk to come. This time he was bolder than yesterday and didn’t barricade the entrance in advance. He stayed outside of his shelter, because he wanted to see the night skies.

Darkness came and stars became visible. There were also two Moons. One looked larger than the other and both of them were bigger than the Earth’s Moon.

Lucas watched the celestial bodies and his mood turned melancholic. After a while he made a deep sigh and went inside his base. He erected the makeshift barrier from branches at the entrance and prepared to sleep.

In the next morning Lucas again awoke drenched in sweat. The same nightmare? That seems unusual. Like the previous night, he had dreamed of the vast portal made from azure fire. This time it had been even more vivid. The flame had radiated enormous and indescribable power.

The most peculiar detail was that he had felt somehow connected to the portal. Even now while awake, he could feel an echo of that connection in his mind. Was it more than a depression induced bad dream?

Lucas focused his full attention on the link. Through it he was barely able to perceive the same impression of immense power as in his nightmare. He tried to concentrate on it, but an intense sense of danger assaulted him and a phantom burning feeling somehow appeared in his mind. This immediately forced him to stop everything he was doing.

His heart was beating fast and he tried to take deep breaths and calm down. What just happened? That was definitely not my imagination. I was not even aware one could experience such a terrifying and primal feeling of danger.

Better to be on the safe side and not delve any more into this dream or the strange connection to the mighty flame. I doubt the danger I sensed was just an illusion.

Later Lucas got a hold of himself and went outside. On a more positive note I don’t feel sick, which means the stream water and the blueberries are safe to consume. With this all of my immediate needs are met and I will be able to focus on a more long term goals like going out of here.

He went to the stream to refill his water bottles and on his way there, the ecstatic feeling of Level improvement reappeared. He looked at the position of the Sun and found it was exactly noon. Maybe experience is not gained in an instant, but it is aggregated and awarded every day at a fixed time?

Today the progress toward next level is much smaller. Killing the first monster in the dungeon is likely a big factor in yesterday’s experience.

Should I enter the dungeon and try to kill the spider monsters for experience? I have a sword now and the creatures are fragile. I need power to meet the challenges of this world and speeding up my leveling progress by several times will be of great help. Lucas pondered for some time and concluded that the risk is worth it.

He started making preparations. The old sword could be wielded with one hand, so he decided to make a secondary weapon. He found a straight branch and proceeded to sharped one if its ends with the tip of the sword. Lucas proceeded slowly and carefully, because he didn’t want to risk damaging the old blade too much. It took him several hours to complete the task.

He grasped both of his weapons and went to the dungeon. The portal room was empty and he proceeded towards the first cavern. If nothing has changed there should be one creature in the first chamber itself and possibly another one somewhere close.

Lucas reached the entrance of the underground cavity and stopped outside. He was holding the sword with his right hand and the makeshift spear was in his left. Taking a deep breath he went inside.

One of the spider-like monsters was present.

Like its predecessor it immediately approached him aggressively. Lucas stood his ground. He pointed his spear towards the being and stopped its charge, then followed with downward swing of the sword.

The creature dodged backwards. It evaded his next several attempts to stab it with the longer weapon.

Lucas stepped back and decided to change his strategy. He retracted the spear and at the next lunge from the monster performed wide horizontal sweep with it.

This time the being was unable to dodge completely and several of its legs were hurt. He pressed his advantage and with its mobility reduced, the monster couldn’t avoid his sword swings. It the next few moments it was destroyed.

Lucas stood several meters away and watched as it started vaporizing. Even the blood left on his blade evaporated.

I guess this can be considered a resounding success. Fighting these things with weapons is a lot easier than expected. Killing them for experience should be a feasible strategy.

He was ready to continue his exploration of the dungeon.