Chapter 12: The Dungeon Exploration

Arin opened his eyes and found himself inside the dungeon. It was exactly as they had described in school. He knew that this dungeon was quite expansive, combining forests and mountains, and somewhere in the distance, there was supposed to be a lake. Arin looked around to get his bearings. One of the things that are consistent in dungeons is the location where you appear when you enter. Some dungeons have multiple entry points, and like in this case, you can enter the dungeon alone or in a party, and no one else can get in. But there are also shared dungeons where multiple groups can enter, which are more dangerous. It can happen that you enter a dungeon and can't get out, so colonies form within, with traders providing adventurers with food and equipment, and even blacksmiths and vendors setting up shop. There are also non-awakened individuals who work as porters or miners, as some dungeons offer opportunities to mine ore.

Once Arin got his bearings, his plan was to reach the area considered the haven for the weakest monsters. There, he would find mostly non-aggressive creatures of level 1 or 2. Occasionally, aggressive monsters like rats, dogs, or mutated rabbits might appear, but it was quite rare. According to his sense of direction, this area should be about 2 kilometers to the east. He started making his way through the forest and, after about half an hour, emerged onto a clearing where he saw two oversized, non-aggressive rabbits.

Arin began to think about which creature to summon. The main question was whether the summoned creature would obey him. He worried that it might not listen to him and started to consider the possibility that he might have to rely on his sword to kill the creatures himself, though he hoped it wouldn't come to that. After some contemplation, he decided to summon a wolf. He chose the wolf because it was likely to be more agile than a bear or a lizard.

Focusing on his summoning spell, Arin activated the "Summon Familiar" skill. Mana flowed through him, and in an instant, a large, menacing wolf appeared beside him. The wolf was massive, with piercing eyes and a muscular build. It looked much more formidable than any wolf Arin had seen in the bestiary.

Taking a deep breath, Arin gave a simple command, "Stay." The wolf looked at him, its eyes glinting with intelligence, and remained still. Encouraged, Arin decided to test its obedience further. "Sit," he commanded. The wolf hesitated for a moment but then complied, sitting on its haunches.

Feeling more confident, Arin directed the wolf towards the rabbits. "Attack," he ordered, pointing at one of the oversized rabbits. +10 XP. The wolf jumped into action, darting towards the rabbit with incredible speed. Within seconds, the rabbit was down, and the wolf returned to Arin, blood on its muzzle. After the kill, Arin checked his attributes panel and a new line revealed:

Level 1 - experience (10/1000).

"Pff," Arin huffed, "So I have to kill 99 more? I haven't seen any other monsters on my half-hour walk here, and there were just these two rabbits. The other one ran away as soon as it saw my wolf..."

Arin realized that his summoning was much more powerful than he had initially thought. The wolf was not only obeying his commands but also performing exceptionally well in combat. It also felt like a creature with high intellect, which was a huge surprise to Arin. He looked again at this majestic wolf, checking its appearance. The wolf stared back at Arin with its big eyes. It started to feel weird, so Arin looked away.

Considering his next move, Arin walked over to the rabbit's corpse. Based on what he had learned in school, the rabbit didn't have any particularly interesting materials. The only thing he could do was skin it, but that would take too long, and Arin didn't want to waste time. Nothing else fell from it. Arin told the wolf to follow him and started to slowly explore the rest of the clearing. He searched the entire area and didn't find any other oversized rabbits.

Thinking aloud, Arin said, "I really don't know what to do now. I could go deeper into the forest, but there's no guarantee I won't just be wasting time. Maybe it would be better to head to the area where the level 2 and higher aggressive monsters are."

After a moment of consideration, an idea struck Arin. He looked at his wolf and said, "Find another rabbit." The wolf narrowed its eyes, began to sniff the air, and then took off running into the forest. Arin was so surprised that he lost sight of the wolf almost immediately. He had no choice but to run after him.

When Arin reached the end of the clearing, where he had lost sight of his wolf, suddenly messages started popping up: +10 XP, +10 XP, +10 XP... six times in a row. Arin was stunned and tried to track his wolf, but he was nowhere to be found. An idea hit him: he called out to the wolf. Nothing. He called louder. Still nothing. Then he tried to yell in his mind, "Wolf, come back."

Still nothing happened, and Arin wandered around aimlessly. But after a few moments, the wolf appeared, its mouth, teeth, and muzzle covered in blood. Arin looked at it in astonishment, as the wolf's sudden appearance and gruesome look were shocking. Arin looked at him and asked, "Where did you hunt?"

The wolf howled, turned, and quickly moved away from Arin. Arin had to run to keep up, and after about 150 meters, he found a burrow in front of which lay several dead, torn-apart rabbits.

Looking at the pile of dead rabbits, Arin realized his wolf was indeed an effective hunter. "Good job," he praised the wolf, though it was a bit unsettling. Arin decided not to waste time processing the rabbits, as his main goal was to gain experience and level up as quickly as possible.

Arin began to wonder if the wolf truly understood him. An ideal solution to test this came to his mind. He looked at the wolf and said, "I don't want to keep chasing after you. Can we agree that you won't stray out of my sight, or if you do, you'll come back to me?"

The wolf looked at him, and it didn't seem like it understood. At that moment, the wolf appeared absolutely brainless. Arin sighed. Altogether, he had gathered 70 experience points. "I could try summoning another creature," he thought. He quickly checked if he had enough mana. With his mana regeneration, it had replenished to 500/500.

Determined, he attempted to summon another wolf. Instantly, another wolf materialized beside him, leaving him with 100/500 mana.

The new wolf was just as large but more beaten up. It was missing an eye and had a nasty wound on its neck, oozing blood and pus. Despite this, it was still a majestic creature, perhaps even more terrifying than the first wolf. Arin realized he hadn't checked the bestiary while the wolf was summoned. When he looked now, he saw two wolf figures side by side. Each had a timer: the first showed four hours and twenty-seven minutes, and the second showed six hours. This meant he had been in the dungeon for about an hour and a half.

Arin pondered what these timers meant. The wolves seemed like permanent summons, but the timers suggested they might be temporary. Would the wolves disappear when the time ran out? Or would they return to the bestiary?