The sound of wood crackling filled the small clearing, the light of the fire projecting three shadows in the trees around them.
Leo licked his limps in anticipation, drool flooding his mouth and threatening to fall on the grass like it had been in the past few minutes, his eyes never leaving the giant piece of meat resting above the bonfire.
The smell of cooked meat was enticing, and it was taking every bit of concentration and willpower from the little guy to not try and pounce on it, snatching a large chunk of the delicious piece of heaven.
Mack was sitting on the other side of the bonfire and, while his eyes were fixed on the meat as to not let it pass the point, one of his hands was rested on top of a wolf corpse, a progress bar nearly filled on top of it.
After their first hunt Mack and Leo went in search of more wolves using the same tactic to hunt them. Mack would launch the fire storm to cause confusion and to damage the wolves, breaking their formation, and when they tried to run from the fire, he and Leo would attack individually or together taking them down one by one.
The fighting took from a few seconds to a few minutes, but they weren't able to hunt too much, mainly because they needed to dismantle/harvest the bodies, what took a large amount of time, as to not attract more monsters.
Because of that, they were only able to hunt two or three more times before having to stop due to how late it was. The sun was closing in to the horizon, which meant it would set soon, making it 16 or 17 o'clock by now. Having that in mind they decided to set a small camp and cook something to eat before returning to town.
The progress bar filled entirely and the wolf's body became enveloped by white light before dispersing, a group of items neatly separated appearing where once it was.
Mack smiled as he put them into his now almost full Inventory, filled with stacks of teeth, claws, meat, leather and pelts, some of which were damaged due to the fire. Nonetheless, he had got a bountiful harvest and now was time for a minor celebration.
Mack took the meat from the fire and brought his kukri out, using it to cut pieces of the meat before giving them to Leo, who promptly bit down on them and swallowed in one single motion, almost taking Mack's fingers in the process.
"Hey! Be careful!" the boy shouted, retracting his hand and checking to see if a finger was missing, "I know you are hungry but you can't eat me, I am not food."
Leo gave an apologetic smile in return, which only made Mack shake his head before tossing another slice to him. The cub jumped, catching the meat, and proceeded to once again swallow it in one go, a happy smile appearing on his face as he did so.
Mack returned the smile before taking a piece for himself and tossing it on his mouth as he returned the large piece back to the fire to keep it warm. The meat was slightly rubbery, and without salt or other spices it was a little bland, but overall it was good.
Resting on the grass he looked up to the sky, a mix of yellow, orange and blue greeting him as his mind wondered around. It remembered him of his childhood, of the barbecues his family used to have every year. They would play tag, dive in the nearby lake and then, after everyone had their fill, they would rest on the soft patch of grass to watch the sunset followed by the stars.
Leo moved closer to his friend and decided to lie besides him, seeing Mack watch the sky with so much interest made the cub curious. The sight was something he had never seen, the mix of colors completely alien to him since the only times he had seen the sky before it had been died either black with smoke or red due the raging fire below, destroying whatever stayed in its path.
The memories weren't pleasant, but being able to see this type of sky soothed the little lion and both stayed there, admiring the sky for long minutes before being shaken from their stupor by a loud growling sound.
Mack immediately got up, looking left and right, searching for an enemy when he heard the growl again, coming from below. He looked down at a blushing Leo whose ears were rested flat on top of his head, one of his paws around his stomach, the most probable source of the growl.
The boy stared for a few seconds before bursting in laughter, then moving towards the bonfire to get the meat and offering it to Leo who gladly sunk his teeth, and face, in.
After both finished the meal, with Leo getting a few extras, Mack put the fire away and both started their travel back to town.
Mack's mind drifted to his inventory, and plans on what to do with the materials inside of it surged in his head. The best and most lucrative one was to sell the materials, and the town didn't lack places to do that.
The town had three main points where one could sell materials: the Merchant Guild, that traded pretty much anything as long as product weren't people, slave trade was a banned practice in the Moon Kingdom but a few nations still maintained the practice; the Auction House, that worked just like in any other game; and the Adventure Guild, that only bought monster materials, but at a higher value than the Merchant guild and without any kind of taxes like with the Auction House.
While he decided where to go and how much of his materials to sell, Mack heard another growl, but this time he was sure it was a threatening one. Stopping in his track he took the kukri out and held it with his right hand, the left one close to his chest with the [Fire Storm] card at the ready. Leo was in a lowered position, staring at a brush with so much intensity that a hole could have been burned on it.
Mack tentatively stepped closer, guard raised in case something jumped at him.
One second…
Two seconds…
Three seconds…
Nothing happened.
He took another step, then another, and another until he was right above the brush. Releasing the card he grabbed part of the foliage and moved up showing … dirt.
He looked back at Leo who stayed the same way, eyes gleaming with attention as he focused on the ground right in front of Mack.
The boy took another look, this time bringing his face closer. That was when he saw it, a footprint.
It was flat and long, which scratched the idea of being from an animal, but it was too small to be a human's, which left only one explanation; a humanoid monster, probably a kobold or a goblin.
And if the description of these creatures was anything to go by, be it animes, books or even the data lodged inside Mack's brain, the wherever there was one of them, there would definitely be more.
Mack motioned for Leo to get closer before pointing at the footprint. "Can you track it?"
The cub strode forwards and took a good sniff of the mark, a look of disgust appeared on his face before he shook it off, then proceeded to search the area.
Soon enough both Mack and Leo were hiding behind a fallen tree a few meters away from a small cavern, the hole in the rock almost invisible due to the shadows of the forest and late hour.
They checked their surroundings to make sure there were no patrols before walking closer. The enemy might have been a monster or a group of them, but they were humanoid monsters, and those could learn and adapt just like a human could.
When they were just outside the entrance a System notification rang on Mack's ears.
Ding!
< Congratulations! You are the first to discover this Dungeon! >
< Loot and Experience gained inside the Dungeon will be doubled for 72 in-game hours! >
< Would you like to enter the Dungeon? Yes/No >
[Warning! This dungeon can only be cleared once!]
He looked at the notifications and a smirk appeared on his face. This was most probably a Wild Dungeon, a sub-type of Dungeon that only existed in the wilderness and, differently from the normal Dungeons that could be challenged over and over again, could only be challenged once. After its clearance the entire place would become deserted of any monsters.
Mack looked at Leo then back at the cave's entrance before shoving a hand inside.
Immediately, another notification appeared in front of him.
< You have entered the Dungeon "Goblin's Den". Suggested Level: 5 >
++++++++
Name: Mesphist
Level: 2
Class: Card Mage
HP: 150
MP: 390 (90+300)
Attack: 4 – 6
Defense: 0
World Reputation: 320
Titles: 1
Spell Cards: 1
Summon Cards: 1
Special Blank Card: 1
Normal Blank Cards: 37
++++++++
Calamity Beast - Leo [Growth Type]
Grade : Unknown
Level : 1
ATK: 10 – 15
PhDEF: 12
MgDEF: 12