Nipshift//Redbulb

Neto's breaths grew labored.

'Why is this dungeon so damn large?'

{Most aren't. The largest dungeons in [Grand Void] are the size of empires, also known as stems. Most are small pockets of space called branches or leaves. Hidden dungeons, or roots, can be the size of any dungeon.}

"I-I see… So unbound space is like a dissected tree spread across multiple dimensions."

{Not a tree, idiot. An entire world! Those are just categorizing names.}

Neto focused on assigning pressure to the least-sore parts of his feet.

"So... our destination?"

{A stem known as [The Underbelly]. It's an empire of demons, also the place I used to call home.}

"An entire empire of demons... this really is a suicide mission."

{You'll level up enough on the way for this not to be an issue. I'm an outstanding teacher, after all.}

"Humble too."

The two bickered back and forth as they made slow progress. A faint chill creeped down Neto's spine... he'd long since expected to run into trouble. This calm was unsettling.

There was no night or day in [Grand Void], only the perpetual light cast by foliage and stalactites. Neto expected his body to grow confused or his brain to grow fatigued, but his body seemed to be fine besides the soreness, and his only fatigue was physical.

{Don't worry. Sleep, eating, and drinking are optional with unbound entities passive.}

Neto actually wished he hadn't heard that. He was looking forward to sleeping soon. Fatigue compounded on in his muscles as the bad news set in.

"I need to take a break..." Neto admitted, taking a seat on a nearby stump.

The lack of monsters surprised him. So far, Neto had only run into a few ichor wick pushovers and wasn't seriously injured.

The regenerative passive of Unbound entity took a while, but a full day equated to one of those expensive lesser pots. Neto wondered how this passive would scale with extra levels.

He started to think [Grand Void] wouldn't be so treacherous to travel when...

Crack! Pop! Snap!

Neto winced, remembering his bone-correction and the fact that this land wanted to kill him.

{You can take a break when you're dead. For now, focus on getting out of here.}

Standing with great difficulty, Neto forced one leg in front of the other. This time there was no one to save besides himself..

'What is it? An enemy?'

As if [Grand Void] heard Neto's thoughts, a blast of nitrogen-cold air covered him with a layer of ice, and everything within eyesight.

Howls of wind blew like spirits freed from hell, each one carrying the frost of a thousand winters.

{You have the memory of a goldfish, huh. I told you about the intense weather event guaranteed to happen after the portal closed! This is a nip shift. The opposite of a heat wave.}

There was a symphony of crackles in the air, orchestrating Neto's every move. They came from his clothes, the crisped earth, and trees which crunched in on themselves.

'What's the cooldown on unbound entity?'

{Using that skill now would only add fuel to the fire, and direct that fire towards you. Except replace the fire with razor-sharp bullets of ice.}

'Damn...'

Neto ran with every ounce of his life-force. He might have no reason to live, but he certainly had no reasons to die just yet. Toru owed him drinks, after all.

WRRRR!

'Oh god, what is it now?' Neto winced. He knew that sound wasn't good news.

Raw temperature in the air continued to fall until Neto began seeing crystals in the wind. Frozen water-vapor...

WRRRR!

'Dont tell me that sound is...'

Before Neto could finish his thought, a gust of wind knocked him off balance and a sharp pain tore through his torso. The air was carrying bullets of ice!

Every second, thousands of tiny blades shot from every direction. Some were large enough to pierce Neto's clothes, though most just frayed his outer robe.

Steadying himself once again, Neto covered every part of his exposed body before continuing. Even his head. He would rely mostly on Unbound Sense to navigate.

{That won't help much.}

'Shut up for now.'

Neto didn't care if it helped. This was for peace of mind.

Breathing became poison. Neto had to suck through the folds in his cloak as he sprinted, using the heat from each exhale to make the air safe for his lungs.

The top of the hill he'd been climbing revealed itself.

{This gate shouldn't be here...}

As he crested its brow, second wind blew away his fatigue. He could see his target!! A blood red portal!! But... wasn't this a mistake?

'Goren classified Red portals as dangerous.' Neto gulped.

{You don't have time to think, idiot!}

Rakshasa Snapped him out of his worry. A chunk of ice hit the back of Neto's head, spinning his vision. He had to continue.

Thrusting every ounce of his body weight forward, he plunged through the maw of the portal.

// // // //

plop!

Neto breathed a sigh of relief.

Luke-warm air fluttered across his skin like a furnace's blast. His muscles tensed at the stark change in temperature, tingles returned circulation to his tormented skin.

{Good work. If you'd stayed too long, that ice would've blended you to shreds before frostbite set in.}

Once again, Rakshasa reminded Neto he couldn't relax just yet. Rubbing his hands, Neto surveyed the new area, his new enemy.

Instead of stalactites, illumination of this area came from vein's of lava-colored minerals, wedged into cracks on every side. It's shape seemed to be more like the dungeons Neto was familiar with from contemporary media: A wide cave with three branching paths.

Every few paces, a plant or a tuft of grass split the ground and grew from a small crevice.

{Pick that red bulb. It'll help with your muscle fatigue.}

Neto followed Rakshasa's instructions and plucked out the bulb of a fruit-like weed. Upon touching his lips, it burst like a pimple, drenching the front of his robe in glow stick-like fluid.

"Bleh!" Neto spat.

{Haha, don't worry, most of the effect comes from its skin.}

There was still a flaccid sheet of skin in Neto's hands afterward, which he gingerly placed on the back of his tongue, swallowing it before any foul flavor could make him gag. But, to Neto's surprise...

'It's actually quite tasty!'

The red bulb reminded him of a starbuurst! It had the same concentrated fruity flavor, with a more natural level of sweetness.

'Damn, I hope there are more of these on the way...'

Once his stomach greeted the alien fruit, nutrients spread rapidly through his body, and the soreness in his limbs diminished considerably. His circulation seemed to increase as well, and after thirty seconds, Neto felt like he could continue for another day!

'Where should I go now?' Neto asked, wiping the juice from his chin.

His Unbound Sense was stronger here. District auras invited him from every direction.

{Take the left-most path.}

Neto expected this. The aura he felt from there was the strongest of all, yet he still didn't grasp the meaning of these new sensations.

'Are we heading to another portal?'

Rakshasa's emotions leaked into Neto. His demon was... excited?

{Not right now. This zone might give us a way to finish our journey in only a couple days.}

'Oh! Is there a chance for some amazing weapon to drop? Or a portal back to Nornenheim?'

{No, I mean a way of transportation that has nothing to do with portals. We could be inside a den of Snapscale demons.}

'That doesn'd sound good for my health...' Neto sighed. 'Nothing has so far.'