Vic’s heart was beating fast. Unceasingly, white condensate spewed from his mouth as Vic attempted to slow his breathing. Vic gritted his teeth, but that didn’t stop the sound of wind whistling through his mouth.

Two fiery gems looked at him, burning the dank air around them.

The indimidation lasered towards Vic in palpable fashion, but he could just not dispell the disbelief that encased him. Right... because he was not really standing there.

“Okay”

Vic's legs were wet, frost seeped through them numbing him with the fatigue that gathered beneath his bones.

Vic grabbed his gun from the grasp of the old man.

That was the end of that conversation; Cuttison turned around, sighed and carried onward. He did start to walk a bit stiifer, but for Vic it seemed almost as if he was attempting to supress some untimely yet supreme amusement.

I wonder if he pities me

and although, Vic didn't see a peaceful outing for himself, they didn’t walk for fifteen minutes before Vic saw a monster.

Sky blue scales glistened as a blade of sunlight shot past through the mountains of clouds that blanketed the sky above. Vic took another large inhalation, but this time through his nose; he was graced the calming bitter scent of rain.

A monster.

An exact clone of what I saw earlier

Not an exact clone of what Vic saw earlier, but very close: the same lifless glassy eyes and scales, but with a much more hunched structure that showed off a laege webbing on its arms, almost like a gliding suit.

Cuttison dropped the bag that was wrapped around him and with surprising swiftness the old man dashed in the direction of the scaled humanoid, taking off the spear strapped to his back.

Vic just stood there his gun sight shivering at the form of the old man and the fish man, standing there like the parody of someone much more useful.

A cyan blue light shone at the claws of the thing and the thing posed as if ready to scratch the man on his way to it, but as Cutt ran, grey lines on his spear erupted and without stopping Cutt extended his spear.

Vic's eyes widened.

An orange gale blasted, twisting towards blue scales, crashing into its form and the creature was thrown back. However Cutt wasn't done, Cuttison, maintaining his momentum lunged forward and stabbed the monster.

Then, all while somehow dodging the blood splatters, the man repeatedly began to stab at the prone monster's body. It was all that Vic saw.

A bloody fountain, an otherworldly treasure hunt.

There it lay, blue and red and twitching, the carrion lay spread artful, in a grotesque sort of way. Crimson rose up into the air as Cuttison brought the spear, rubbing some of the entrail onto the wet grass.

Vic caught sight of Cuttison’s eyes as he began to scan the surroundings, they were focused, unfazed. Cutt didn’t look back at Vic.

“Come on. What are you doing?”

The corpse seemed to repulse Vic’s gaze, but with his eyeballs hurting, Vic watched in an almost morbid curiosity as the bloody form began convulsing violently.

“Is it dead?”

Cuttison crouched and turned and gave the monster another hard look lasting a handful of moments.

Leaving behind the shaking mess, Cuttison started to walk forward again.

“yup, it’s dead”

Cutt didn’t wait for him.

Vic ran forward side stepping the unfortunateness lain upon the grass that the man had left.

“Uh, where are we actually going”

“We are going to search for the dungeon causing all this damm rain”

Because he is a dungeon hunter?

“…perhaps recruit more lone wanderers. Maybe there are more those around then I thought.”

Cuttison didn’t look at Vic.

“Shouldn't go too north though...”

To which Vic had no idea what to say. In the first place, what was in the north, what was west and did the raindrops fall soley for Vic's eyes.

…and like so another awkward silence threatened to stretch tautly across the atmostphere and freeze Vic's throat … but Vic wouldn’t have it, he should at least know where he was going, he needed to break the ice, because...

“Ummm, what exactly is a dungeon”

That gave Cuttison a pause. He didn’t stop looking around warily and they walked for quite a distance before he said anything. Even then his reply was rather slowed.

“Weeds. They grow and they keep growing as they assimilate their surroundings, getting stronger and stronger, well until you pierce their core”

Vic made a confused face as he watched up to Cuttison looking up thoughtfully, but ultimately, Vic said nothing as they walked onward.

“Different dungeons have different affinities that determine how they affect their surroundings and judging by the weather it would be safe to assume this dungeon is of a rain affinity”

I think I kinda get it

Vic didn’t really get it but..

“the monsters, did they come from the dungeon?”

Cutt let out chuckle that grated against Vic’s ears like the sound of engine that was left in garage for a bit too long.

“Huh, monster that’s a good one, yeah"