In front of Daemon was something that looked like a small ferret. If it weren’t for the blazing red eyes and flame that was coming out of its mouth. Daemon barely had time to jump to the side, feeling the flame singe away the hairs on his arms, leaving behind a red spot. Rolling away from the monster, he tried to stand up as quickly as he could. Facing it, he saw yet another flame shooting his way. This time he was better prepared though. So he sidestepped the flame while trying to keep his eyes on the creeper. He could still feel the heat pass him by, but it no longer burned him.

Having a little bit of time he studied the creature more closely. Small legs made would make for quick and agile movements. The claws on his feet didn’t seem more dangerous than those of a housecat, but Daemon was still cautious. The monster hadn’t used anything besides the shooting flames but in this new world, anything was possible. The creeper was still focused on Daemon, focussed solely on attacking him.

After dodging a couple more flames, Daemon found himself getting farther and farther from the grove. The creeper followed him, keeping up its barrage of flames. Daemon noticed that the flames were consistent. Every couple of seconds, with the same speed and size. He knew that would be his window to do something. He was fairly confident he could still run away if he wanted to. But he also knew he needed to get stronger. Stronger in this new world, in this Rift. And for whatever else could be out there, this monster seemed beatable. If not for a tiny obstacle. Actually killing it.

As far as he knew, the dangerous part of this animal was his mouth. So if he could get behind it, the creeper would be much less dangerous. But he also knew getting close posed a problem. Less time to react to the flames would surely let the flames hit him. The distance between them was now around four meters, too far to lunge. While dodging the flames he suddenly thought of something. With no better alternative and already feeling winded, he decided to go for it. Just before he expected the next flame to be launched, he jumped upwards and forwards. Just as he expected, the flame came rushing straight for him. But when he dropped, he rolled on the ground. And just as expected, the flame passed by harmlessly above his head.

Now suddenly a lot closer to the creeper, he lunged forward. The monster saw him coming and tried to slip away. Turning its body, Daemon only got hold of its tail. But that was enough. Reaching with his other hand, he grabbed the monster by the throat. It started screeching, trying to aim his mouth at Daemon. Just as Daemon had thought, the flames were the only real weapon the monster had. Pressing it to the ground, he started applying pressure to its throat until the monster stopped moving. At the same time, Adelax and a message appeared. Feeling the stress leave his body, he sat on the ground next to his conquered enemy.

*New skill learned* Identify (lvl 1)

When encountering the new, the Ascended grant you a part of their endless knowledge. Use their wisdom to your advantage, but knowledge gained yourself may be of far greater value. Greater and more wisdom is unlocked by increasing your skill level.

The message of a new skill learned he had seen earlier, but now he had time to read it. As soon as the message had appeared, he had the information on how to use it in his head. Before he had immediately used it to discover the creeper’s name.

But there was also a new message.

*You have killed [Flamecreeper-lvl 1] - Experience gained for defeating your enemy*

He had defeated his first enemy. He felt elated, but he couldn’t help feeling like something was off. At first, he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He sat next to the corpse of the Flamecreeper, knowing he had to rest anyway. Looking at the corpse, he was confused. He knew firsthand how powerful the Ascended were. How much they were capable of. He could only assume the Shades were of similar power. They fought against each other for eons. But why? Why would the Ascended ever need others if the Shades summoned beings as weak as this? Deep in his thoughts, he was pulled out by the laughing of Adelax.

“Oh, this is great,” He said, hovering in front of Daemon. “I wish I could see Ankhoner’s face right now. Imagine thinking that he, a being powerful beyond your comprehension, would need help against this. You know, being stuck with an idiot might not be so bad.” And with those words, he disappeared again.

“Oh great,” Daemon said, groaning as he stood up. “So this will be your contribution. Mocking me. I know you said I needed to ask the right questions. But help me out here.”

Whatever he tried, Adelax remained silent. With no other option, he started walking again. Leaving the grove behind him, he continued walking north. After a couple of minutes, he saw movement in the corner of his eye. Looking over, he saw another creeper. This one seemed to keep his distance, eyeing Daemon suspiciously until he was almost out of sight. This happened a few more times, but none of them seemed interested in attacking him.

When the sun began to set, he suddenly felt exhausted. He stumbled towards the river, half falling down the slope. Next to the water, he collapsed on the ground. He had immediately understood what was happening but checked it just to be sure.

Health: 43/50

Stamina: 0/60

Mana: -

So stamina seemed more important than he had initially thought. If you run out, you feel like you have just run a marathon. What worried Daemon was the lack of warning signs. One minute he was fine, maybe slightly winded. The next he felt like he couldn’t move. He could only imagine what would have happened if this happened while fighting a monster.

Crawling to the riverside, he gulped down the water, only now noticing how thirsty he was. Immediately he felt better. Like he had just drunk an energy drink and eaten a whole packet of sugar. And sure enough, his stamina was up four points. Having a hypothesis, he asked Adelax.

“So if you drink or eat you get stamina back?” He said out loud into the air in front of him, hoping the gargoyle would respond. “But surely consuming more would not work, right?

For a while, it remained silent, and Daemon was already planning what he would do now. And then he finally got an answer.

“Although it would be much more fun to see you trying to drink your stamina back,” Adelax said, choosing to stay hidden. “You are right. Consuming things will return your health, stamina, and sometimes even your mana. Up to a certain degree. Think of it as only when you’re thirsty or hungry.” And with those words, he went silent again.

Daemon thought about his current predicament. The night was falling, his stamina was low and Silverhill was still many hours of walking away. Looking around him, he saw nothing to eat and he had his fill of water. So seeing no other option, he could only hope he found a grove with maybe something to eat in it. Because for now there was no vegetation as far as his eye could see. Just endless plains, with the river in the middle and on the horizon, he could faintly make out what looked like hills. Groaning as he stretched his legs, he started walking.

When the last rays of sunshine disappeared over the horizon, Daemon finally found what he was looking for. It had been the third grove he had seen that day, and it was a bit bigger than the rest. Large, imposing trees with smaller shrubbery in between them. Throughout the grove were narrow routes he presumed were made by whatever walked through here. He entered one such path, taking him deeper into the grove.

After walking for a couple of minutes, he found himself in a clearing. In the middle was a still pond, with soft-looking grass around it. The light of the moons now standing in the sky reflected on the undisrupted surface, bathing the area in soft light. On the side, Daemon noticed a few bushes with what seemed like some sort of fruit hanging from them. They were about the size of an apple and upon closer inspection, Daemon suddenly knew their name.

[Moon berry] - A magical fruit that only appears when the moon is visible and magic has been used in its vicinity. When consumed returns part of your mana.

Daemon was elated. Not only had he found more than enough to eat, it especially said it would return part of his mana. Maybe this could solve his problem of having no mana. Already he could see himself slinging powerful spells to annihilate those pesky flamecreepers. Without a second thought, he took one of the fruits and took a big bite.

They tasted heavenly. Moonly I guess Daemon thought, which earned him a mental chuckle from Adelax and a realization that he desperately needed something to eat. Picking several fruits from the bush, he sat down next to the pond. After finishing his first fruit, he placed the rest of them in the grass next to him. Leaning over the water surface, he suddenly noticed there was no reflection. It looked surreal, expecting yourself to look back at you and just finding the empty silver expanse of the pool. Spooked, Daemon quickly stumbled back, ears pricked for any sound.

After a couple of minutes of nothing happening, he slowly calmed down. He knew from drinking from the river earlier he still had a reflection. So the cause had to lie with the pond. Taking a new fruit, his old ones still lying next to the pond, he wondered what to do. On the one hand, he wanted to explore whatever this was. On the other hand, dying now to something other inhabitants of this world could warn him about seemed especially stupid. He’d never hear the end of it from Adelax. In the end, his curiosity, combined with the fact that nothing had happened so far, won him over. Slowly approaching the pond again, everything remained quiet until he touched the water.

*Well done explorer, you have found a dungeon. XP is awarded for being the first to discover this dungeon.*

*You have reached lvl 2 - stat points increased*

*Do you want to enter the Vault of the Elemental Hunter?*