CHAPTER 46: INSIDE

Lanz found himself standing on a fairly big hill, the ground uneven beneath his shoes.

His eyes slowly fluttered open, squinting against the brightness that immediately assaulted them. The very first thing that greeted him was wind. Relentless, freezing, and entirely too smug about its existence.

"Oh, fantastic," he muttered, his voice dripping with the exact enthusiasm of someone about to fail a pop quiz they didn’t study for. "Nothing says ’I’m screwed’ quite like getting slapped in the face by Mother Nature herself."

The words carried off into the air, as if the atmosphere was eager to spread his complaints far and wide, filling the empty space around him with his own brand of stupidity.

He blinked a few more times, rubbing the corners of his eyes until the blur finally gave up and left.

Once his vision settled, the view in front of him opened wide — an endless sweep of mountains stacked against the horizon, each one looking like it had been placed there specifically to remind him how small he was.

The air was thinner here, cool enough to creep into his lungs and make every breath feel sharper than he’d like.

One mountain in particular stood out, and not in a "come climb me for adventure" way.

It was just sitting there, tall and unapologetic, radiating the kind of presence that made it seem less like a landmark and more like an unspoken challenge.

Lanz stared at it for a moment, wholeheartedly expecting it to start mocking him, because it definitely had the sort of vibe that suggested it would.

"Well, that’s not intimidating at all," he said aloud, his voice reverberating faintly before getting swallowed up by the wind.

Apparently, this was the part of his life where holding conversations with himself was going to become a legitimate coping mechanism.

He turned his head to the right, spotting a massive lake that bled into a winding river, its surface shifting gently under the faint push of the wind.

Near the edge, a couple of boars were gathered, lowering their heads to drink.

Thankfully, they weren’t the kind of nightmare-inducing, Spikedboars he’d had the misfortune of meeting before — just normal boars, but their height is quite impressive though.

Shifting his weight, Lanz tried to glance behind him, but was instead greeted by a wall of forest so dense it felt like the trees had collectively agreed to block out everything.

The light barely made it through, leaving the inside swallowed in heavy shadow despite the fact that it was broad daylight in this dungeon.

It was highkey the sort of darkness that made you instinctively suspicious, like it was hiding something — or maybe it was just edgy like that. Either way, he wasn’t exactly eager to go strolling in there to find out.

He started walking toward the lake where he had spotted the boars, figuring that at least water and EXP giving wildlife were a step up from whatever else this dungeon had in store.

But before he could take more than a few steps, something in his peripheral vision pulled his attention away.

He narrowed his eyes, and there it was — a f*cking rhino beetle.

Not the small kind you’d see crawling on a tree. No, no, no — this f*cker was massive, easily the size of a car, and to make matters worse, it wasn’t just crawling or stomping around on the ground. It was airborne. The fact that it could actually fly with a body that size was... well, impressive, sure, but mostly just deeply unsettling.

Lanz stared at the oversized insect, his face locked in an expression that perfectly summed up someone who was just entirely done with life’s surprises.

"Oh, come on," he groaned, throwing his hands up in defeat. "Giant beetles? Really? What’s next, you’re gonna tell me something rides that thing... a—actually, don’t answer that. Knowing my luck, there’s probably an entire parade of them waiting to pop out and ruin my day."

The beetle’s wings beat the air in a heavy, rhythmic hum as it passed overhead, its focus clearly somewhere far more important than the annoyed human glaring up at it.

Lanz stood there until the noise faded into the distance, the tension in his shoulders loosening just enough for him to breathe again.

He made his way down towards the lake, deciding it was as good a spot as any to farm some experience.

The place had water, boars, and a generally peaceful vibe, which in dungeon terms was practically a luxury resort.

It only took him a couple of minutes to descend the hill, his pace steady as he focused on the thought of an easy grind.

That plan didn’t last though.

A sudden, crawling awareness slid up his spine — the unmistakable feeling of something right behind him.

He turned, eyes scanning, and immediately froze when he found himself staring at a sharpened, bone-like spike positioned inches from his face. Inches b*tch! Inches! Isn’t that like, too close for comfort?!

But instincts kicked in before thought, and he twisted out of the way, the spike slicing past his cheek close enough for him to hear the faint rush of air, but not too close to actually scrape him.

"A thorn?!" he snapped, putting extra bite in his tone. "Yup, that sh*t gotta be poisoned." He flicked his fingers dramatically, to check they still worked, partly because he felt zesty at the moment... don’t ask why.

His gaze followed the spike back to its source, and that’s when he saw it — a beast crouched on a thick branch, its body shaped like a panther but leaner, all wiry muscle under dark fur. Sharp, bony thorns jutted backward along its back and legs, catching the light in a way that made them look even more lethal. Its tail was long and whip-like, tipped with a larger venomous spike, smaller thorny needles running along its length.

It wasn’t just a big ass cat. This f*cker was a Thornback Leaper.

And judging by the way it shifted its weight, tail coiling like a loaded spring, it wasn’t going to let him just walk to the lake and have a peaceful day.

End of Chapter 46.

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ALT SYSTEM — USER PROFILE: ZERO

Level: 13

EXP: 64 / 130

Next Reward: +10 Stat Points to a chosen stat

Global System Tracking: DISABLED

World Rank Association: UNLINKED

Stats:

STR: 10 | AGI: 10 (Affinity) | VIT: 5 | DEX: 5 | INT: 11 | WIS: 5

[Available Stat Points: 0]

[Derived Stat — MANA: 55 / 55]

Skills:

[Crimson Slash Lv. 1]

[Phantom Stride Lv. 2]

[Instinctive Blade Lv.1]

[Predictive Guard Lv.1]

[Skill Fusion Menu: Active]

[Dev Tree: Tier 0 Access Granted]

[Developer Node – Fusion Core Anchor: Active]

[Skill Slot Available — Unassigned]

Equipment:

Aged Blade Fragment (??? Rarity) (Bound)

Training Ring (+1 VIT)

Bag :)