Ethan was standing near the edge of the cave, his heart was beating too fast that he was able to hear his heartbeat.
Col mist was coming out of the shadow fang den, it was wrapping around his boots. The trees behind him were a bit twisted, they were bent, and their bark was cracked like some old bones.
He was about to start moving, but the moment he took his first step forward a voice came from behind.
"Hey, rookie. You're about to go in there alone? You want death or something, huh?"
Ethan turned behind quietly. A woman was standing there, beneath the shimmering forest light. One of her hands was resting on the handle of her massive greatsword and it was on her back. Her silver hair was short, her expression was calm but piercing. Ember's eyes were locked into Ethan, she was assessing him like a merchant does with the damaged goods.
She wore a lightly armored adventurer's set—tight-fitting leather over steel mesh that showed off her toned build.
She looked strong, way too strong for this dungeon. She was not an E-rank adventurer.
"Yeah," Ethan replied to her, suppressing the crack in his voice. "That was the idea to begin with."
She scoffed. "You trying to get yourself killed, aren't ya?"
Ethan smirked. "Maybe. Or maybe I am just confident in my skills."
She folded her arms in, a casual tone. "Confidence won't save you when the black fangs rip out your spines."
He stepped closer "Well, maybe now I don't have to go alone." He winked at her.
The woman raised an eyebrow and said. "You're asking to team up with a stranger, ya know that?"
"I'm asking to team up with someone Dangerous I know," Ethan replied, his tone light, casual. "But, you look like you could lift the boulder with one hand and fight with the other one. You're the most trustworthy to help me in this dungeon."
She stared at him for a while
She stared at him, unmoving. Ethan activated Charm Lv.1 subtly. A warm shimmer spread across his features, not magical enough to overwhelm, just enough to tilt the odds slightly in his favor.
"I don't work for charity." She said flatly.
"Of course not," Ethan said while shrugging a bit. "But I'm not asking for charity. Of course, we will share the loot. You can have whatever you want from the boss. I just need the mana cores and all the kills of the dungeon except the boss."
She studied him for a bit, then extended her hand, accepting the proposal.
"Reyna. B-Tank adventurer. I'm here for Nightglass Shard."
"I am Ethan. Total nobody." He said with a grin, shaking her hand. "But I am lucky to have you."
"Don't slow me down, ya know." She warned as they turned toward the cave.
Inside the cave, the air grew colder than it was before. The mist started to thicken, it was slowly swirling around an uneven stone. The only light which was in the cave was from the blue mana soul stones which were embedded deep inside the walls.
Every drop of the water echoed like a whisper. The stink of beast blood and their fur was lingering in the air.
The first shadow fang came from the left side—low, fast and silent. Ethan dodged it because of his sheer luck, he sliced it from the side of his rusted sword, and the edge of the sword cutted the flesh of it, but the sword nearly got stuck into it.
Another one lunged at them, but Reyna moved before Ethan could even blink. Her greatsword cutted into two in a single fluid strike.
"Keep your sword low, will ya?" She whispered. "They like to lunge for your throat."
"Noted," Ethan replied, wiping the blood of the shadow fang from his cheek.
They both moved deeper into the den, killing the beasts they spotted in their way. Ethan was fighting while using tactics—not using his energy, always moving.
Reyna was a machine—efficient, merciless and silent. When she spoke, it was usually a short command or a dry observation.
"Left."
"Behind."
"Too slow."
But she didn't even had to save Ethan, not even once. He didn't have her any chance to do that.
After twenty minutes, they both reached the larger chamber. It was wide, its stone columns cracked and they were wrapped in the shadowed vines.
[Boss Room Detected: Shadow Fang Alpha's Den]
Ethan stared at the extract of the next chamber room of the dungeon. His body was sore. His heart started to pound way harder. But the motivation remained, nonetheless, it became more as time passed.
This…this was actually what he wanted, what he wished for.
Reyna looked at him. "Ya ready for the boss fight?"
He smirked once and softly. "There is only one way to find out about it and that is to just do it."
She gave him a faint smile and said. "Ya know, try not to embarrass yourself in front of the beast."
They stepped forward towards the mist-filled archway/-Ethan was one step closer now to proving his worth in this world.