Chapter 6: The Dungeon of Unexpected Consequences

The dungeon felt... real. Like, I wasn't in a game. I wasn't in some

half-baked fantasy world. I was really here, walking through these

stone halls, trying to avoid tripping over my own feet. There was no

"quest log" or "XP bar" telling me how well I was doing, and there

were no cute pop-ups to let me know I was about to be crushed by a

giant boulder. I could practically smell the damp air and hear the

unsettling silence, like the dungeon was holding its breath, waiting

for me to mess up.

"So, uh... what exactly am I supposed to do in here?" I asked, eyeing

the shadows nervously. "Just, like, kill stuff?"

"Yep," Kyuu said, practically bouncing on her heels. "The dungeon's

filled with monsters. But you're a wizard now. You've got the cloak.

You're practically invincible." She grinned like she was the one who

wasn't about to be eaten by a giant rat.

"Great," I said, glancing at the Cloak of 'Nah, I'm Good.' "I've got a

cloak. That totally makes me feel like a superhero."

Kyuu stopped and gave me a very serious look. "It does. It's the

cloak. You're like, 10% wizard, 90% luck. And 100% doomed if you

screw this up."

I just stared at her, unsure how to respond to that level of

"encouragement." But before I could say anything, a low growl

echoed from the darkness ahead of us.

Kyuu's ears perked up. "That's your cue."

"What?" I asked, panic rising in my chest. "What do you mean—?"

A massive, hulking creature emerged from the shadows, its glowing

red eyes zeroing in on us like we were the day's special on a menu.

It looked like some kind of wolf-man hybrid, with teeth so sharp

they'd make a chainsaw jealous.

This guy, though? He was trying way too hard to look intimidating. I

swear, he was walking around like he thought he was the king of the

jungle.

"Okay," I said, holding up my hands. "I'm just gonna... try

something."

I focused, remembering what Kyuu had said about magic. My hands

started to tingle, but nothing happened. I opened my mouth to shout

a spell, but... nope, nothing came out. Panic surged as the creature

lunged.

Kyuu stepped in front of me, her tail swishing dramatically. "Let me

handle this."