Chapter 64: I’m going to a dungeon

With the sun shining brightly in the sky and the clouds moving slowly.

Adam finished the daily mission after recovering from the lessons he learned during the tide of monsters.

Fortunately, in the brief exchange he had with General Dorian, he only got a few bruises.

He finished stretching his body, frowning slightly from the pain of the bruises. He drank some water.

He opened his status window.

Adam Hall

Mid-ranking Knight [EXP: 5/1000]

Talent: A

Trait: Fencing (SSS) Hand-to-Hand Combat (D) Tracking (C) Mana Manipulation (B) Magic (SSS) Mana Perception (S)

Strength: 53 +

Stamina: 69 +

Agility: 56 +

Vitality: 58 +

Mana: 105 +

Statistics points: 7

The system’s floating panel remained in front of Adam as he watched with increasing clarity the amount of experience needed to reach the next rank.

The numbers seemed almost to mock him.

He let out a long sigh and shook his head slightly, as if to clear the weight of those numbers from his mind.

Otherwise, his stats hadn’t increased much; the rest remained virtually the same.

The wind gently rustled the leaves of the nearby trees as silence settled over the training yard.

“What will you do now?”

Asterin’s calm voice broke the stillness.

Adam looked up at her. The woman remained floating a few inches away, her expression unchanged.

“I’m going to a dungeon…”

He replied after a moment.

“But we won’t go straight there. First, I want him to gain experience in other areas.”

Asterin watched him silently for a few seconds, as if weighing each word.

“I see… So you’ve decided to make use of the boy.”

Adam nodded without adding anything else.

The training began immediately.

He positioned the sword in his right hand and adopted a stable stance on the ground in the courtyard. At the same time, he began to circulate mana through his body, guiding it along the same paths he had practiced countless times before.

The blade cut cleanly through the air.

At the same time, an invisible stream of energy moved through it.

This required the utmost concentration.

Adam closed his eyes slightly as he adjusted his breathing. To achieve this, he had to divide his consciousness into two parts: one dedicated to the sword, the other to the constant flow of mana needed to perform magic.

…

A few hours later, Adam was traveling in the back of a freight wagon. In front of him sat Zev, who hadn’t uttered a single word during the entire journey.

The sound of the wheels rolling along the wet road was practically the only thing breaking the silence.

They were heading toward a rather peculiar area, a few hours away from the city. It was the only place in the forest where snow fell all year round, regardless of the season, and where monsters rarely posed a serious threat.

The place was known as the Frozen Forest.

A quiet, isolated area, perfect for training.

Exactly what Adam needed.

Especially for someone like Zev, who had almost no real combat experience.

Not long after, the carriage stopped near the edge of the forest.

The ground disappeared beneath a thick layer of snow that crunched with every step.

Adam stepped out of the carriage, dressed in thicker clothes to protect himself from the cold. His breath turned into a white cloud in front of his face as he looked out at the landscape.

Then he looked at Zev.

Hours earlier, he had told him he was taking him to a dungeon.

And yet, the boy had accepted it without asking any questions.

They ventured into the snow-covered forest. The bare trees stood like dark shadows against the white landscape, and the cold wind swept through the branches with a soft whistle.

After walking for a while, they came to an open moor completely covered in snow.

A few small animals moved among the frozen bushes, harmless creatures that posed no danger.

Adam paused.

“Before setting up camp, we’ll look for the dungeon. I’ll search this side, and you search the other.”

Zev nodded.

Then he frowned slightly.

“And… how will I know if I’ve found one? Does it look like a cave or something?”

Adam explained that the entrances to dungeons were usually found in caves or ancient ruined structures. However, on some occasions, they appeared in the open air, manifesting as a heavy bronze door that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

After listening to the explanation, Zev began to move across the snow-covered meadow in search of the entrance.

Adam watched him walk away slowly, his footprints clearly visible on the white surface.

When the boy disappeared among the trees, Adam turned around and began gathering some dry branches. Given how cold it was, lighting a fire was almost a necessity.

Time passed quickly.

By the time he was done, he had gathered enough firewood and cleared a small circle in the snow to light the fire. The flames began to crackle softly, releasing a pleasant warmth that gradually drove the cold from his body.

Adam held his hands out toward the fire.

Then he looked up.

Zev returned from a distance. His breath turned into white vapor with each breath as he walked through the snow.

When he reached him, he spoke in his usual flat tone.

“I found the dungeon.”

Adam pointed to the place in front of the fire.

“Sit down.”

He took some pieces of meat and mushrooms out of his bag and placed them on a small makeshift grill over the flames.

The fat began to sizzle almost immediately.

Zev sat down in front of the fire and asked,

“What are we going to do now?”

Adam calmly turned the meat to prevent it from burning.

“We’ll complete the dungeon… after we eat a little.”

Zev said nothing more.

He remained silent as the cold forest air slowly filled with the warm aroma of meat and mushrooms roasting over the fire.

…

Once they had finished eating, they put out the fire, and Adam told Zev to show him where the entrance to the dungeon was.

They walked for about three minutes across the frozen meadow until they reached a small hill covered in snow. Zev calmly cleared it away, revealing a door embedded in the ground.

The door, rusty and solid, was engraved with runes whose edges still glowed with a faint coppery light, as if they contained a latent power.

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