Ember and Bone
The tunnel narrowed.
Thane moved low, one hand trailing against the stone wall, the other ready to summon flame at the first sound of breath or bone.
The air had grown dry again.
Not Archive-dry.
Predator-dry.
Whatever lived down here didn't breathe often. And when it did, it didn't want to be heard.
He liked that.
He respected it.
But it wouldn't matter.
He could feel it building in his chest now—experience condensing, pushing against the edges of his mana. He was close to his first level-up, and the dungeon's hunger didn't matter anymore.
Only his.
The corridor opened into a round chamber, half collapsed.
Stalactites jutted from the ceiling like old teeth. Scorch marks blackened the walls. Bones littered the floor—some cracked, some gnawed clean, some still glistening.
Thane stepped inside.
And the growl came.
Not one beast.
Three.
Tunnel hounds again—faster this time. Leaner. Their eyes glowed faint red. And crouched behind them...
A larger form.
Not hound.
Not beast.
It was a creature made of slick gray muscle, spines down its back, and a long, heavy tail that dragged behind it like a blade. Its arms were too long. Its mouth was stitched halfway shut with cords of blackened sinew.
It watched him without blinking.
The hounds circled.
The bigger one stood still.
Waiting.
Thane didn't.
He raised a hand and cast.
Lava Geyser.
The floor cracked beneath the nearest hound. A pillar of molten stone burst upward, catching it mid-sprint. The dog-thing yelped, launched sideways, and rolled against the far wall—burned and writhing.
The second charged.
He cast Burning Chain, wrapping it midleap and slamming it to the floor.
The third reached him.
Flame Arc.
A single slash lit the air in a horizontal crescent, catching its chest, turning fur to fire.
He turned toward the large one.
Still unmoving.
Then it leapt.
Faster than he expected.
He activated Flame Ward and ducked low, but the creature twisted midair, brought its tail around, and slammed it across his shoulder.
Pain shot through his ribs.
He hit the ground hard.
Rolled.
Stood.
Flameblade.
He didn't ignite it across the surface.
He stabbed it into the earth.
The stone responded.
He didn't cast Lava Geyser again.
He cast Scorch Zone.
A circle of orange flared to life beneath him.
The beast stopped at its edge.
It hissed.
The circle burned upward in slow spirals of heat.
Inside the zone, his flame surged.
He cast Firebolt for the first time in hours.
The bolt hit harder than it ever had—empowered by the zone.
The creature staggered.
Thane stepped forward.
Magma Sword.
He slashed in three clean arcs—hip, shoulder, throat.
The creature fell.
And the dungeon fell silent.
The screen blinked.
+56 EXP
LEVEL UP: Thane is now Level 2
He felt it in his limbs before the screen even told him.
A rush.
A breaking open.
Like fire cracking through stone to reveal something buried beneath.
[STATUS]
🧍 Name: Thane
🧬 Race: Human
🌍 Origin: Unknown Plane
❤️ Vitality: 4
💪 Strength: 3
⚡ Agility: 5
🧠 Intelligence: 6
🔥 Mana: 3 (30/30)
🔁 Passives:
• Law of Absolute Repetition (Active)
• Quiet Casting
• Flow Casting
• Fire Affinity
• Magma Affinity
• Poison Resistance – Lv. 2 — EXP: 4 / 25
🎒 Skills:
• Firebolt – Lv. 1 — EXP: 30 / 100 — Mana Cost: 10
• Flame Arc – Lv. 1 — EXP: 15 / 100 — Mana Cost: 12
• Burning Chain – Lv. 1 — EXP: 11 / 100 — Mana Cost: 14
• Flame Ward – Lv. 1 — EXP: 1 / 100 — Mana Cost: 8
• Flameblade – Lv. 1 — EXP: 4 / 100 — Mana Cost: 10
• Magma Sword – Lv. 1 — EXP: 3 / 100 — Mana Cost: 16
• Lava Geyser – Lv. 1 — EXP: 7 / 100 — Mana Cost: 18
• Scorch Zone – Lv. 1 — EXP: 1 / 100 — Mana Cost: 20
📈 Level: 2
🧪 EXP: 0 / 120
🎯 Stat Points Available: 1
He stared at the screen.
Thought.
Then placed his point into Intelligence.
His mana climbed to 40.
Not even close to what he needed for Meteor.
But closer.
He stood in the center of the burned-out zone, surrounded by ash and bone, and looked toward the tunnel ahead.
Somewhere above, the Giant Frog waited.
And soon, Thane would return the favor.