"This man has gone mad!"
The cry echoed through the narrow corridors of the dungeon, bouncing off damp, cold stone walls. Alen ran with all his strength, his breath coming in ragged gasps, his small chest rising and falling so quickly it felt as though it might burst. Behind him, a monstrous centipede crawled after him with horrifying speed, its many legs scraping across the stone floor with a chilling, dragging sound. Its sharp mandibles opened and closed, dripping strands of sticky fluid onto the ground.
This was his first training session with Andreas.
Or rather, "training" by that man's standards.
Andreas had brought him into a dungeon and left him separated from any protection. To Alen, that was not training.
That was suicide.
What is he thinking?! Alen panicked inwardly, holding his breath behind a large stone jutting out from the wall. His body trembled—not from cold, but from the terrifying realization that one small mistake could get him killed on the spot. He really threw me into a monster nest... even though my body now is just a child's body!
He shut his eyes for a moment, forcing himself to calm down. Panic would only make his breathing louder, and the monster would find him. Alen pressed his back against the stone and slowly peeked around it. The centipede monster was circling the stone corridors, sniffing the air as though it could sense him.
Alen swallowed hard.
His magical ability was there, but only at a basic level. Not nearly enough to fight a dungeon monster head-on. If this had been his old world, he might have been able to devise a strategy from afar, shaping spells through willpower and imagination. But now his body was weak, his magic core limited, and his opponent was no ordinary creature.
If I keep hiding, I'll be found. If I run, I'll be chased. Then the only choice left... is to fight, he murmured softly, the words barely audible even to himself.
His eyes swept the surroundings. Small stones were scattered along the walls, several parts of the floor were cracked, and chunks of fragile rock hung above a narrow gap. Alen's gaze stopped there.
An idea came to him.
" i can do this"
He crawled quickly to the side of the stone, his hand feeling along the rough wall. His fingertips found a natural crack, deep enough to serve as a leverage point. Alen drew in a breath, then let a small amount of magical energy flow into his arms and palms. Not a massive burst—just enough to strengthen his physical force.
"If I can't beat it with magic, I'll use the terrain," he whispered.
Alen swung his hand at a smaller stone nearby. "Break!"
Crack!
The stone split partway, fragments tumbling down with a sharp crash.
The centipede monster immediately turned its head.
Alen seized the moment. He struck the cracked section with condensed force, causing the loose rocks above to fall one after another. A thunderous roar shook the corridor. Large stones slid down from above, crashing onto the monster's body.
BANG!
The centipede let out a piercing shriek, its long body rolling to the side. But it was not dead yet. Its hard shell had absorbed most of the impact, leaving only parts of its body crushed. The monster writhed wildly, its small legs thrashing in every direction.
Not enough...! Alen growled.
He quickly moved to the other side, grabbed a rock the size of his head, and hurled it toward the monster's head. The stone bounced off and shattered. Alen drew in another breath, then slammed the ground with magical force, widening the cracks beneath the monster's feet.
Another chunk of stone fell.
This time, it struck the monster's midsection more cleanly. The centipede twisted violently and staggered.
Alen did not stop. He kept searching for weak points, forcing the monster off balance with a combination of falling rocks, small bursts of basic magic, and quick movement.
For a moment, he truly looked like a child surviving through nothing but wits.
But above, someone was watching.
At the mouth of the dungeon, right between the cliff edge and the faint light of the surface, Andreas stood with his arms folded. His expression was calm, almost blank, but his eyes followed every one of Alen's movements with sharp attention. A thin wind stirred the hem of his long coat, making the fabric flutter softly.
"That boy learns fast," Andreas murmured.
There was no panic on his face. No sign that he was rescuing his adopted son from danger. It was as though he had deliberately allowed all of this to happen.
He watched Alen use the terrain, calculate distances, mislead the monster, and strike at its weakest parts. Andreas narrowed his eyes, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.
"Good," he said under his breath. "If he keeps this up, he won't die so easily."
Down below, Alen was still fighting desperately. Sweat mixed with dust on his face. His breathing grew heavier, and his palms burned from continuously channeling magical energy. But at last, the monster began to falter. One of its legs broke under a falling rock, and its movement slowed.
"Now!" Alen shouted.
He gathered the last of his strength, then slammed his hand against the wall beside him. A large stone broke loose from above and crashed directly toward the monster's head.
BOOM!
At last, the centipede went still. Its body convulsed a few times, then stopped moving altogether. The scraping sound of its tiny legs vanished, replaced by the cold silence of the dungeon.
Alen panted heavily and collapsed onto the floor. His chest rose and fell rapidly, and his hands were still trembling. He stared at the motionless monster with a mixture of relief and disbelief.
I... won?
But before he could truly relax, a blinding light appeared in the distance.
Alen lifted his head.
At the end of the dark corridor, something moved. Not a normal monster. Not human either. The figure emitted an intensely bright white light, almost like a shard of a fallen star descending into the darkness. The brilliance was so strong it made the shape difficult to see. Only a faint silhouette could be made out—slender, swift, and unfamiliar.
Wh... what is that? Alen whispered, narrowing his eyes against the glare.
He only caught a glimpse.
The creature passed between the shadows of the stones and vanished as if a dream had been cut short. But that single instant was enough for Alen to feel something unsettling: a pressure far greater than the centipede monster had given off. Not just danger, but a presence that made the air itself tense.
At the same time, up above, Andreas' brows suddenly drew together.
"Something came out," he said quietly.
For the first time, his face turned serious. He looked toward the depths of the dungeon as though reading something invisible to ordinary eyes. The aura rising from below made the air around him feel heavy.
"That's no ordinary monster..."
Without hesitation, Andreas leaped down into the dungeon opening with a movement both light and powerful. His body cut through the air like an arrow loosed from a bow. When he landed on the stone floor, dust scattered in all directions.
Alen turned sharply. "Father?"
Andreas did not answer. He only stared toward the corridor where the light had disappeared. His usual warm smile was gone, replaced by a calm expression that looked far more dangerous.
"They send a child to fight a centipede, then lure out a powerful creature..." Andreas exhaled once. "This dungeon still has surprises."
From within the shadows, the creature showed itself again. Its white glow danced across the stone walls, revealing only a glimpse of a body that was not entirely natural. It moved like an animal, yet also like something intelligent. The air around it trembled.
Alen swallowed hard, his body tensing.
But Andreas had already moved.
"I'll take over."
One step.
One stomp.
And in an instant, Andreas lunged forward with a straight punch that tore through the light.
BOOM!
One blow.
The white radiance shattered, bursting like cracked glass. The creature was hurled backward, slamming into the dungeon wall and smashing the stone behind it. The corridor shook violently. Dust and fragments rained from the ceiling.
Andreas stood amid the wreckage, his shoulders unmoving.
"Not strong enough," he said flatly.
The creature did not rise again.
Alen stared, mouth slightly open. On one hand, he felt relief. On the other, he could not ignore the vast gulf in strength between himself and Andreas. He had fought desperately against a centipede monster, while the man beside him had erased an even greater threat with a single punch.
Andreas turned to him and smiled again, this time more lightly. "You're still alive. That's good."
Alen let out a long breath and struggled back to his feet. His body ached, and his arms throbbed with pain, but he nodded faintly. "I almost died, Father."
"If you die in a place like this, it just means you weren't worthy of living yet," Andreas replied casually, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Alen could only look at him wearily.
After making sure the path was safe, Andreas led Alen out of the dungeon. The walk home felt far calmer. The oppressive corridors that had once pressed down on them now only echoed with the sound of their footsteps. Andreas walked ahead at an easy pace, while Alen followed behind, still struggling to steady his breathing.
The outside wind welcomed them when they finally emerged from the dungeon's mouth. The light of dusk fell across Alen's face, making him blink several times after being surrounded by darkness for so long.
On the way home, neither of them spoke much.
Andreas occasionally glanced at Alen from the corner of his eye, as though judging the results of the first training session. Meanwhile, Alen walked in silence, thinking of only one thing: he was still weak, but he was not dead. And that meant he still had the chance to grow.