As the portal's glow faded, the girls, their hands csped tighter than ever, frowned as they realized where they had nded.
The sound of the icy wind sliced through the forest like a distant ment. Both could feel the scrape of branches against their arms and the damp soil beneath their shoes, as though nature itself were closing in on them in an attempt to crush them.
The green leaves of the forest rustled with the wind, stirring their restless hearts to wonder whether it was merely the trees’ natural dance or if something more sinister was lurking.
Both assumed battle stances, with Sophia’s trained ears straining to pick up any strange noises around them. Yet only dense, almost tangible silence greeted them.
“It doesn’t seem like there are any enemies nearby,” Sophia murmured, exhaling in relief at not being attacked the moment they emerged.
They began examining their surroundings more calmly, their eyes wandering over the tall trees—smaller than those from the dungeon's first floor. Despite the dense vegetation, the gray sky, heavy with storm-den clouds, was visible above.
“We went from one forest to a crystal cave, only to end up in another forest?” Melissa’s voice carried irritation, the damp branches brushing against her arms adding to her discomfort.
Before Melissa could suggest they start moving, several panels appeared before their eyes.
---
[Congratutions, you have earned the right of ownership for the dungeon “Jungle Cavern.”]
[You have leveled up x2.]
--
“That’s it? No reward room or rare treasures? Where’s the acknowledgment of all our effort, System?!”
Watching Melissa protest to the skies, Sophia could only pat her head like soothing an irritated puppy. Her gesture proved highly effective, as within moments, Melissa’s irritated expression softened into a slight pout.
“There, better now? Can you expin it to me?”
Knowing it was her role to expin system-reted matters using her basic knowledge, Melissa couldn’t allow herself to stay upset for long. Taking a few deep breaths while enjoying the comforting hand on her brown hair, she finally spoke.
“Even though it was just two floors, it seems we cleared the dungeon and got kicked out. These must be the rewards, although I expected more.”
Quickly opening the inventory to confirm if they had indeed received nothing else, Melissa found an item that hadn’t been there before.
---
[Dungeon Key: Jungle Cavern]
Rarity: Unique
As the conqueror of the Jungle Cavern dungeon, you are granted the right of governance over it.
Monsters within the dungeon will no longer grant experience points upon defeat.The user may decide whether to allow new challengers into the dungeon or keep it hidden and inaccessible.The user is also granted the option to destroy the dungeon.Any experience and spoils gained from individuals defeated by the monsters within the dungeon will be transferred to the user.If another individual conquers the dungeon while it is under the user’s governance, this item and the dungeon's ownership will transfer to the new ruler. In such a case, the user will incur a penalty of losing 30% of their current level.Reciming the dungeon is permitted, but monsters will not grant experience points thereafter.---
The item’s lengthy expnation made Melissa frown. She showed the panel to Sophia, who read its contents slowly, analyzing each point carefully.
Sophia removed the key from the inventory and studied its design. The key, though seemingly ordinary, was about ten centimeters long and made of wood. If she had to point out what stood out, it would undoubtedly be the glowing emerald fiments running along its length, resembling pulsing veins.
The moment the key touched Sophia’s hand, both girls noticed a faint but discernible green thread extending from the tip of the key to a nearby tree. At first gnce, the tree appeared entirely unremarkable, identical to those surrounding it. Yet, both girls knew it couldn’t be that simple.
They exchanged a nod before following the translucent green line to the tree. Pushing aside some branches and flowers, they uncovered something resembling a small circur emerald portal, just slightly rger than a human head.
As soon as they noticed the portal, a floating panel appeared before them.
---
[Jungle Cavern Dungeon]
Select your desired action:
[Seal the dungeon]
[Grant access]
---
“So, this is the dungeon entrance?” Melissa said, brushing off small leaves caught in her hair from the tangled trees surrounding them.
“Looks like it,” Sophia replied, her gaze shifting between the key in her hand and the portal before them. “The key’s design seems more symbolic. Since the choice to seal or not seal the dungeon only appeared when we approached the entrance, I believe we need to decide now what to do with it.”
Melissa assumed Sophia had already determined the best course of action, but when she gnced at her, waiting patiently with a gentle smile, Melissa realized her beloved genuinely wanted her opinion.
“Alright,” Melissa began, working through her thoughts. “If I got this right, if the monsters inside, like the bees or mandrakes, kill someone, we get stronger because we’re the current owners, correct?”
“Being a dungeon owner seems like a long-term investment with risks,” Sophia responded, clearly pleased to hear Melissa’s input. “Melissa, are dungeons something commonly found?”
“I can’t say for sure, but at least in games, they’re scattered across the world and don’t have massive neon signs pointing to their entrances. So, I’d say they’re rare, not common.”
Hearing Melissa’s expnation, Sophia pondered for a moment before sharing her thoughts. “While the idea of gaining experience passively sounds appealing since we don’t yet know how strong the people of this world are, it might be safer to keep the dungeon hidden. If the dungeon’s level is something people could easily complete, we’d lose it and suffer the penalty of level loss.”
Melissa agreed with Sophia’s analysis. After discussing for several minutes, the two decided the best course of action was to keep the dungeon hidden for now. Once they learned more about how the Jungle Cavern’s difficulty measured up against the world’s inhabitants, they could consider granting access ter.
Having settled the matter, the girls began trekking through the dense forest.
“It’s a shame we can’t gain more experience inside the dungeon,” Sophia said, storing the dungeon key back into the inventory. “We already know what to expect there, so it would have been a safe way to gain experience. Maybe we should have spent more time on each floor before moving to the next?”
“I don’t think so,” Melissa replied, pushing through leaves and branches along the path. “It’s not easy to expin, but in games, killing weak monsters doesn’t give much experience when your level is already high. After we defeated the forest guardian, even though we killed plenty of bees on the way to the second floor, we didn’t level up.”
Melissa’s words made sense, and Sophia realized she had overlooked that point during her earlier analysis. When they first arrived at the dungeon, defeating just a few mandrakes had granted them a level. Now, even after defeating dozens, their progress seemed to stagnate.
“That... is indeed true... isn’t it?”
Sophia’s hesitant words made Melissa stop walking and gnce back at her companion. For some reason, Sophia’s face was flushed, and her fingers were brushing over her lips.
“What’s wrong, Snow Curls?”
Noticing that Melissa had caught onto her flustered state, Sophia knew there was no way to hide what was on her mind anymore.
“I-It’s not just about defeating monsters, is it? When you got hurt that time by the river, and I kissed you, we gained our first level. But when we started doing it more often, it didn’t feel like we were gaining much experience anymore.”
Watching the silver-haired girl, now as red as a beet, struggling to get her words out, Melissa’s mischievous grin stretched from ear to ear.
“So, this cheeky little girl can still get this embarrassed~”
With their fingers still intertwined, Melissa pulled Sophia into her arms. Tilting Sophia’s chin up, she made their amber and tear-brimmed blue eyes meet.
“And you’re still good at teasing,” Sophia muttered.
“You know there’s only one person in the world I’d do this for.”
Receiving a gentle kiss on her lips, Sophia’s tense body rexed instantly.
“Silly.”
“That’s who I am.” Melissa hummed, pulling back slightly but keeping an arm wrapped snugly around Sophia’s waist. “But seriously, what are we looking for wandering around here?”
Sophia felt Melissa’s pyful hand lightly brushing her stomach beneath her bzer. Instead of being annoyed, she pointed at the surrounding trees to refocus their efforts.
“Lady Dia told us to head north, but without a compass, we’ll need to use other methods. Since she didn’t mention anything about pnetary positions or magnetic pole shifts, I think my knowledge should be enough to figure out the direction. Normally, we’d use the sunrise, but with the dense canopy, that’s unreliable unless we climb a tree. Stars might’ve been another option, but being in another world, I doubt any consteltions familiar to Earth would help.”
Sophia’s cheeks reddened as she noticed Melissa’s fingers—and eyes—focused on the skin exposed between her bzer and skirt.
“Focus.”
Sophia pouted as she lightly pinched Melissa’s cheek.
“S-Sorry...” Melissa apologized with a defeated expression, turning her attention back to the expnation. She thought about ceasing her teasing but realized she couldn’t move her left hand anymore since Sophia kept it pressed against her waist.
“Back to what I was saying. Without conventional tools, I’ll have to improvise. See those spiderwebs above us and the anthill near that tree? Arachnids and insects generally build their colonies in areas that receive the most sunlight. This could mean east if we’re near the equator or south if we’re in the northern hemisphere of this pnet. Even if it’s a rough guess, we can use that to move northwest or north until we find some sign of civilization.”
For the second time that day, Melissa found herself overwhelmed by Sophia’s detailed reasoning. While she couldn’t cim to understand everything, the key points were clear enough: Sophia had figured out the direction they needed to take.
“Well done, Snow Curls.”
Sophia smiled as Melissa kissed her forehead, her effort to come up with a solution rewarded by her beloved’s affectionate gestures.
“Alright, now that we know the direction, let’s finish up what we haven’t checked yet. Where do you want to allocate the two points we earned?” Melissa asked, finally releasing Sophia’s warm stomach and turning her amber eyes to the floating panels.
“Well, since we already have a decent amount of health points, I think it’s safe to keep increasing our intelligence.”
Without much debate, they quickly distributed the points, and their updated status appeared.
---
Name: Melissa/Sophia
Race: Human Level: 17
Css: Hedonistic Ritualist
Secondary Css: None
HP: 200/200
Strength: 11 Agility: 11
Resistance: 36(+20) Intelligence: 48(+25)
Vitality: 20 Mana: 330/330
---
“Looks good to me,” Melissa whistled, gncing at the panel. Using her free hand, she retrieved the second unique item that had appeared in their inventory.
---
[Dream Eater’s Dorsal Spines]
Rarity: A
Spines coated with the toxin of a Dream Eater. When it comes into contact with an individual’s bloodstream or nervous system, it induces a [World-Css] hallucination sting 168 hours.
---
“[World-Css]? Based on Lady Dia’s expnation, that’s the second strongest effect, only below [Mythic].”
Sophia’s eyes widened as she read the item description. The object, resembling a 30-centimeter bde more than a spine, stayed firmly in the inventory; she dared not risk an accidental application of the potent toxin.
“Looking at this, it’s no wonder we had such a long dream. If our skill hadn’t evolved to [Mythic] level, we’d probably be dead.”
Melissa’s words carried a bitter tone, the memories of that ordeal surfacing again. However, before she could spiral into those dark thoughts, Sophia quickly tugged her hand upward in a fluid motion.
“No bad memories now. The weather’s turning, and it looks like a heavy rain’s coming.”
Kneeling on one leg, Sophia shyly kissed Melissa’s hand. The surrounding air shimmered with a greenish glow, and soon, delicate strands of silvery hair with emerald hues began to materialize around them in the forest.
---
[Druidess’s Spirituality]
Your bond and respect for nature are your primary assets. Understanding the forest makes it easier to navigate and identify different life sources within it.
+100 Mana
Css Skills: 1
[Natural Bance]
Shape the nature around you according to your desires. The greater the transformation, the more mana required.
---
“Since we haven’t run into any monsters or animals yet, how about we call it a day and prepare for the night?”
A determined smile appeared on Sophia's face as the first drops of rain began to fall in the forest.
