"You found something? What?"

"This way, master."

She guided Maximilian near the camp, where the mother spider had tried to kill Maximilian and her legs had made a hole in the ground.

"Look, master. Under the ground."

Doing as told, Maximilian examined the hole. In fact, the hole opened a way to stairs, hidden under the ground itself. This new discovery filled the man with joy.

"Hahaha. Well done, Lin-Lin. So this is where the secret exit was. Very intelligent of them, no mechanism at all. Easy to find if you know it's there, but impossible to detect by invaders. "

Lin-Lin, happy with her master compliment, came next to him to look down.

"But, master...aren't those stairs going down? The exit is up."

Thinking for a bit, Maximilian said.

"You're right...but it could only go down for a bit before going up again, it's not that rare for that kind of construction. I propose we pack the camp up first thing tomorrow and go on..."

"Tomorrow, master?"

"Yep. You only slept for an hour or two before the attack. Take the time to rest a bit more, I don't sense any danger now."

"What about you, master?"

"I have things to do first. Don't worry, I'll rest too."

She nodded and went back to bed.

"Octavia..."

Calling for the little spider, he made her come next to him, facing the two legs of the mother spider he managed to cut before disposing of her.

"Octavia, I want to use those, but not if it disturbs you. They were parts of your mother's body, so you decide. Can I use them ?"

Octavia went and touched one of the gigantic members, looking even bigger compared to her tiny form. She seemed to think for a bit, before looking at Maximilian, nodding at him in agreement before going in her "nest" to sleep too.

"Thank you, Octavia."

Maximilian examined the two members. The extremity, from the point and going approximately seventy centimetres up, was made of a shiny material extremely strong, black with silver streak, covered with little spikes, one centimetre each. He used his colossal strength to tore it off, surprised by the difficulty he had to do it.

*Impressive, even with my high stats, it's hard to tear it off. The solidity of this thing will be perfect for what I want to do with it.*

He took the two extremities and put them in the havenbag, then salvaged all he could from the rest of the legs. He found a bit of some meat and material for alchemy, but nothing more. He pushed the rest into the abyss.

After he did what he wanted to do, he went and lay for a bit on the beast fur bed. Arms crossed behind his head, he took the time to think about the last fight.

*This fight allowed me to understand something, I'm not invincible. I'm powerful, that's a fact, but I can be hurt, although I heal quickly. That spider hurt me earlier, and she manage to do it because I let myself be caught in her web, this shouldn't have happened...*

He turned his head to look at his two sleeping companions, Lin-Lin, the slave panda-girl he basically traded with the princess for a coat of arms, and Octavia, the little white spider who joined them recently. Those two, they could have died that night, and he knew it.

*...This won't happen again...I will train them so they won't fear any enemy. But until then, I'll protect them...*

He let his spirit wander a bit as he fell asleep, taking a few hours of rest.

....................................................................................................................................................

"Master! Master!"

Maximilian opened his eyes, awoken by LIn-Lin shaking him.

"What's the matter, Lin-Lin?"

"It's Octavia, she..."

Not finishing her phrase, she just looked in front of them. Imitating her, Maximilian sat.

"What, Octavia? Is something wr...oh..."

A meter away from them was Octavia, still, looking at them. The little spider wasn't so little anymore. If, before, she was the size of Maximilian's hand, she was now reaching his knees. Not only had she grow a dozen time her size, golden streak was now visible on her abdomen and on the extremity of her legs, extremity where the kind of white fur she had on all her body was replaced by a stronger material. Standing up, Maximilian came in front of Octavia.

"Octavia? Is that you?"

The white spider Lifted her two front legs, looking at them, then she put them down and nodded, agreeing to the man's question.

*How is that possible? If I trust my experience in fantasy stories, I know monster kind tend to grow faster than humans...but that's a bit exaggerated here.*

Scanning her, he realised the spider was now level ten, with stats and skills obtained accordingly.

*I see she obtained more strength, speed, the same with the other stats, but it is the intelligence that is still the highest stat she has...so the boost isn't temporary, it stayed even after her levelling up. Even better, it continued to evolve with the rest. Okay, that is one thing...Oh? What's with her legs?*

Reaching with a hand, he took one of her front legs in his hand, slightly palpating here and there to test the new material.

"Hum...It seems the extremity of your legs has changed to become stronger... interesting... would you mind testing something?"

Octavia tilted her head on the side, waiting for him to pursue.

Maximilian stood up and used earth magic to pull out a big rock from the ground.

"Could you break that rock for me?"

Octavia looked at the rock, then at Maximilian. She finally advanced to face the rock, lifted a leg and, in a swift movement, broke it without effort. Maximilian applauded the spider while Lin-Lin observed silently.

"Very good, Octavia. I don't know how, but you definitively became stronger, that's a good thing."

Maximilian reached and patted Octavia's head. Octavia closed her eyes and made what could be a smile, although it was difficult to be sure.

"Isn't it a bit strange? How could she change so much in one night, master?"

"I don't know Lin-Lin. As a monster, maybe the way she evolves is different from us."

Turning to face the panda-girl, Maximilian arched an eyebrow.

"Talking about changes..."

When she had woken him up, Maximilian hadn't pay attention to Lin-Lin, but now that he was looking at her, it was clear the levelling of the panda-girl has had consequences on her physique.

Firstly, the size. She looked a bit taller, but not that much. Maybe was it the few good meals she had thanks to Maximilian, but now she had lost her emaciate form, losing her famished orphan look to have the one of a well nourished, fine fettle teenager. Her hair and fur were the same colour, but shinier, looking more "alive". Her new skills in fighting showed some slight muscles on her arms, arms she hid by crossing them before her chest.

"You look better today than you did yesterday...stronger, taller, more beautiful too."

Seeing her blushed, he laughed a bit, patting her head.

"You...really mean it, master?"

"Of course, don't you feel it? You certainly must have noticed slight changes within you, haven't you?"

She uncrossed her arms to look at her hands, wondering.

"It's true, I feel stronger...But I didn't know it was noticeable from the outside."

"Believe me, it is. Compare to the poor panda-girl I've met with the princess, I have a totally different person to accompany me on adventures."

He took a moment to look at her in her armour when she was equipped.

"Good, it seems to still fits you. Since you gain a bit of height, I was wondering if it would. Is it comfortable enough?"

"Of course Master. I wouldn't want to waste such a beautiful gift."

The response of the Panda-girl made Maximilian sighed.

"Lin-Lin...is it still your size?"

the tone in her master voice make her looked down a bit.

"It...it still fit well master, although it won't if I grow again."

"Alright. When that happen, I'll give you something else to wear...until then, I'm gonna train you so be prepared my dear Lin-Lin."

She raised her head and saw her master, a toothy smile on his face, and she responded with a similar smile.

"Okay, everything is fine. Let's pack away the camp, then we'll be on our way."

"Yes, master."

"kashhh!"

Turning, Maximilian realised the "kashhh" came from Octavia, who had tried to spoke, but only managed some kind of little funny sound. Maximilian patted her head, smiling.

"Your enthusiasm is appreciated, Octavia."

They took time to eat a bit, then packed the camp and went in the direction of the former hide stairs.

Maximilian quickly moved the pieces of rock blocking the way and they went in.

The passage was large enough for Maximilian and Lin-Lin to walk next to each other, Octavia following right after.

"It's too dark, master. I can't see a thing."

"Just a moment, Lin-Lin."

Lifting a hand before him, Maximilian made a fire sphere appeared and it went flying a few meters before them, enlighting the way.

The ceiling was low, Maximilian's head nearly touching it. It clearly was an old secret passage, dust everywhere, rift on nearly all the stones of the walls, some roots were even passing through the ceiling, here and there, forcing the man to bow to be able to pass.

They were walking for some times when Lin-Lin broke the silence.

"Master, can I ask you a question?"

Maximilian, straightening himself after passing under another root, answer the panda-girl without looking at her, concentrating on the way before him so he wouldn't hit his head.

"Of course, Lin-Lin. What is it?"

"What you did earlier with the fire sphere, that was magic, right?"

"Indeed."

"And last night, when you fought that giant spider, or before, when you took care of the smaller ones. That was the same magic?"

"Well, the spell I used then was more powerful, but the idea is the same."

"How...how does it works, master?"

Maximilian stopped an instant. He smiled at Lin-Lin, happy with her questions.

"Lin-Lin...Are you interested in magic?"

"I...slave are not authorised to learn magic, master."

"That wasn't the question. Lin-Lin, are you interested in magic?"

"I...yes, master. I am."

"Very well. First thing we do when we're out of here, teaching you about magic."

"But, master. I'm a slave, I cannot..."

"Only, because you choose to..."

In their way, blocking the path, was bigger roots coming from the ceiling and passing through the ground.

"You can choose to stay how you are..."

Using Falemgeril, he quickly cut the roots, opening the path for them.

"...or you can choose to evolve."

She didn't ask more about magic that day.

Several hours passed. It was clear the exit wasn't on the other side of the bridge, the path had gone down for a bit before starting to go up, and never stopped doing so. Sometimes, a set of stairs accentuated the tilt, but other than that, there was nothing noticeable. The good thing about that passage was the absence of monsters, making their advance easy.

"It's calm...but long."

Maximilian was kinda bored by the absence of...of anything actually. The only obstacle he could think about was the fact the ceiling was getting a bit lower, forcing him to bow so he could advance.

"Tell me, Lin-Lin. How many level was there before you reached the one we met at?"

The panda-girl thought about it for a minute before answering.

"About a dozen, Master. Some levels had several exit possibilities. Maybe there are some levels we manage to slip."

"And what about the outside of this dungeon?"

"The outside,master?"

"Yes, the outside. Are we in an old fortress, an underground maze. What I mean is, could you see the contour of this dungeon from the outside?"

"Not really, Master. There's an entry, quite big to be honest, but all the rest is underground. That's why it's so difficult to know where you are in here, no light can enter."

"I see...What about the room's height? All the same?"

Once again, the panda-girl took a moment, thinking.

"More or less. Some were longer, but none had a higher ceiling than the room with the spider."

"good, good."

"Excuse me master, but why those questions?"

"Oh, it's just that I'm trying to figure where exactly this passage will bring us...I think this is some kind of emergency exit."

"you think so? Shouldn't it take more time for us to go by all those levels?"

"Not if it's some kind of side tunnel. It could very well pass through all the dungeon level without any exit before the end, some kind of shortcut."

This kind of passage remembered Maximilian of some games. It was always the same, you go into a dungeon, fight numerous creatures, evade traps, find your way through maze, and after you're done with the last room where the boss and/or the treasure, you find a shortcut bringing you back to the entrance, shortcut you couldn't find before, of course.

After some time, they finally reached the end of the passage, blocked by a wall.

"It's a dead end, master."

"Like hell it is. Stand back you two, I sure as hell am not going back in the other direction."

He waited for his two companions to get back a bit then, with one palm, hit the wall.

..........................................................................................................................................................

"I'm telling you this place is cursed. Those who try to find the treasures in there never come out."

Those words full of courage came from a tall and skinny man, wearing an old leather armour and a crossbow in his hands.

"And I'm telling you it's just some lie told around to scare off the ones who would want to make easy money."

His partner, a small fat man wearing thick metal armour, a small round shield and a mace responded to him, clearly making fun of the tall man cowardice.

"But, man, they say monster com from everywhere to eat you alive in there."

The two were just entering the dungeon, the entrance room was similar to the one you could find in some kind of cathedral or castle. The gigantic doors had been destroyed centuries ago, letting the dust, rain and other things getting inside. The once prestigious wall, all covered in magnificent engraving, were time-worn. Some pictures here and there were still recognisable, but not much.

"Stop pissing your pants. It's just dusty old ruins."

"I'm not pissing my pants, I'm just careful."

"Oh for the goddess sake, would you please stop? Here, look..."

The fat man came near one picture of a really angry looking demon face.

"What do you think is going to happen if I touch this wall, some monster will come out and attack me?"

"You should not make fun of those, you could be cursed."

Clearly mocking his taller friend, the fat man lifted his hands in a false state of scare.

"Oh noooo, I'm going to be cursed by the mean mister wall picture....hey, look at this."

He took his mace and hit the wall, damaging the picture while making a noise echoing in the room. He laughed at his friend desperate face.

"See, no monster, no curse, noth...."

It was at that moment the wall trembled as a loud noise came from behind it. The little fat man, not laughing anymore, quickly went back to his friend's side, lifting his shield while the skinny one readied his crossbow.

"What the hell is that?"

"I tried to warn you, you've awake something you shouldn't have."

Once again, the wall trembled as a loud noise came from it.

"I...I don't think I want to know what's behind this demon face..."

"Stop pissing your pant, we will kill what comes out of that, you'll see."

...........................................................................................................................................................

"Are you okay, master?"

"Yes, Lin-Lin, It's just that I don't want to put too much strength in my hit, I don't really know if this place could sustain a lot more...Listen, I'm going to hit it a good time, breaking the wall. The instant I'm done, we get out of here, I don't want any of us to be buried alive, okay?"

"Alright, master."

"Kash"

"Alright, once again then."

...........................................................................................................................................................

"Man....I'm scared."

The skinny one was more honest than his friend, trying to look confident but as scared as him.

"Don't be silly, we can do it and w..."

In a violent shock, the wall blew up, making a lot of noises and liberating a big cloud of dust.

"GYAAAH!!!"

Not able to maintain the facade anymore, the little fat man ran to the exit.

"HEY, WAIT FOR MEEEEE!!!"

His skinny friend quickly followed him, leaving the room without looking back.

...........................................................................................................................................................

Maximilian coughed a bit, stepping out of the dust cloud, followed by Lin-Lin and Octavia. They brushed off the dust from their clothes while Octavia shook herself a bit.

*Strange, I could have swear I heard some voices...bah, who cares.*

Looking a bit around, Maximilian saw the entrance and the daylight coming through.

"Ahah, we made it!"

Lin-Lin came beside him, looking impressed.

"Indeed, this is the entrance. Well done, master."

"Thank you, Lin-Lin. Let's get out of here, I'm impatient to see what await us outside."

He passed the destroyed doors, taking a deep breath as a finally was able to feel the wind on his face. Enjoying the space around him, he stretched a bit, his back sore after so much time bowing in the passage.

"What a pleasure, finally out, what a delightful feeling, what a....what a strange thing we have here."

Stopped in his contemplation, Maximilian was observing the sky of this new world, sky in wich, by a bright afternoon without clouds, let the man saw a sun and...

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven...okay, I can see seven flying blue whales in the sky....what the hell?"

And that was how Maximilian discovered the new world outside of the dungeon...by seeing seven flying whales flying away in the sky, facing the horizon.

"Lin-Lin, what are those things flying away?"

"Those are Flales, Master....you've never seen one of those?"

"Nope...not in the sky....or anywhere else, to be frank."

"Kaaaash!"

Looking down, Maximilian saw Octavia, eyes closed, enjoying the slight warm feeling of the sun on her body. This made him laughed a bit.

"I see someone else enjoyed her first time out of this dungeon."

He made his neck cracked a bit, finishing is stretching.

"Alright, Let's say goodbye to this dungeon and be on our way. To Griffinia."

In a motivated tone and good pace of walk, with a big smile on his face and songs in his mind, Maximilian started his journey on the road, facing what would be his general direction for the days to c...

"Master..."

"Yes, Lin-Lin?"

"Griffinia is...in the opposite direction..."

Maximilian looked at the embarrassed panda-girl, then at the spider who just lifted her two front legs in an "I don't know" gesture, and that's when the man facepalmed for the first time since he left the dungeon.