Lux trailed after the grinning Novgar, following him toward the campfire. Silver, Azura, and Magenta were already there, perched on logs and digging into breakfast. As soon as Lux sat down, Novgar handed him a bowl of thick stew. He stared at the familiar meal, it was the same breakfast he’d eaten every morning back when he travelled with Novgar and Silver.

  He was halfway through his food when Azura started talking to Novgar, his voice bubbling with excitement. “How big of an explosion do you need?”

  Novgar scratched his chin. “Novgar does not like things getting into his clothes, so big enough to clear it all away.”

  Azura nodded so hard Lux thought his head might fall off. “Okay! One big bang!” Lux had no idea what they were talking about, but he figured it was safer to keep quiet. He was already nervous about getting close to a bunch of monsters. He didn’t need to know the details of how they’d get there.

  As soon as he finished eating, Novgar motioned to Magenta. “Novgar is ready.” Black energy began to ripple in front of Magenta as her hands moved in a complex gesture. Every time Lux saw a portal form, it amazed him. The black energy shimmered and swelled until it was large enough for Novgar to walk through comfortably.

  Lux watched as Novgar stepped into the portal, Silver right behind him. Azura gestured for Lux to go next. He eyed the rippling black void with dread, last time he entered a portal, things had gone horribly wrong.

  Azura didn’t give him a chance to gather his courage, a strong shove sent him tumbling into the portal. A biting cold swallowed Lux as he plunged into darkness. For a heartbeat, he couldn’t breath-then a firm hand yanked him forwards into blinding sunlight.

  Lux found himself dangling from Silver’s grasp, the grip suddenly loosened, and he was unceremoniously released. Lux fell to the ground. He wanted to complain about being manhandled, but he kept it to himself.

  A rough sensation beneath his palms caught his attention. Fine golden sand glittered under a brutal sun.

  Sweat broke out across his skin from the heat. The sand was so hot it almost burned his palms. He scrambled to his feet and took in his surroundings. Endless sand dunes rolled away in every direction. Lux furrowed his brow. He didn’t see a single monster. Had they come to the wrong place?

  “I finally get to play with my balls!” Azura’s rough, excited voice snapped Lux out of his thoughts. The man was practically dancing as he pulled small glass spheres from his pouch.

  “Oh, I like watching you play with your balls.” Magenta sashayed out of the portal, eyes gleaming as she stared at the spheres.

  Novgar eyed the glass spheres and scratched his chin. “Novgar thinks the balls are too small, they might not be able to do the job.”

  “What!” Azura spluttered. “They may be small but give a good bang! Novgar, you know my small balls are amazing!” Lux felt like he was missing something. The conversation was getting weirder by the second, and he was starting to feel uncomfortable.

  “What on earth are you guys talking about?” Lux couldn’t help blurting out his confusion.

  “We are going to see Azura’s balls explode,” Magenta offered, as if that explained everything.

  Lux had no idea how to respond to that, so he just watched as Azura marched around a large sand dune, sinking the spheres into the sand. When he’d completed the circle, he hurried back to the group.

  Magenta started a countdown. “Five, four, three, two, one … bang!” At the final word, a deafening explosion made Lux clap his hands over his ears. Sand blasted out like a tidal wave, forcing him to shield his face.

  The sand stung his skin like a thousand tiny needles. When it finally settled, Lux lowered his arms. The sand dune had been blasted away, revealing a stone temple beneath.

  Suddenly, the earlier conversation made sense. Azura’s spheres were explosives. Lux immediately wanted to get his hands on Azura’s balls. If he could have a few for emergencies, he wouldn’t be so terrified of monsters. He could just blow them up!

  Before he could ask, Silver started toward the exposed, decayed temple, and the others quickly followed. Lux didn’t want to be left behind, so he hurried after them. As they reached the stone steps, Lux could see the building more clearly.

  Large, eroded yellow stone slabs bent into the sand, and a dark hole in the wall led inside. Two braziers stood on either side of the doorway. Azura was the first to climb the steps, he stopped at the braziers and sprinkled some powder in the bottom.

  With a piece of steel, Azura struck a flint. A spark caught the powder, and a beautiful purple flame bloomed inside the bracket. Azura repeated the process with the other brazier.

  A sudden ripple across the doorway caught Lux’s attention. The entrance, previously pitch-black, now glowed with a faint light.

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  Lux followed the others inside the small temple. A bizarre monster, a cross between a scorpion and an ant, was carved into the stone flooring. Braziers formed a circle around the carving. Azura went to each brazier, sprinkling a fine powder and lighting it with a flint.

  When Azura finished lighting the last brazier, the ground began to shake, and the carved monster started to crumble. A large hole with stairs leading down appeared.

  A mechanical voice suddenly spoke. “Wild Dungeon opened.” Lux recognised the strange voice, it was the same one that had told him to enjoy his stay in Mystic Beau when he activated his travel visa.

  He wondered if anyone else could hear it. “Did everyone hear that voice saying the Wild Dungeon is open?”

  “That’s the voice of Mystic Beau,” Magenta said, as if hearing voices out of thin air was perfectly normal. Lux just stared at her, incredulous. How was he supposed to know what that voice was? On earth, if you heard a voice while standing alone, you’d think you were crazy!

  No one else seemed fazed. The others ignored Lux’s crumbling worldview and entered the Wild Dungeon. When Lux realised he was the only one still standing outside, he hurried to catch up. Even if it was a dungeon, it felt safer to stick with the group than to be left alone.

  The light dimmed as they descended, and soon they relied on the artificial light Azura created by lighting torches along the walls. Lux shivered as he stared into the darkness ahead.

  The deeper they went, the colder it got, a stark contrast to the sweltering heat outside. Lux rubbed his arms to keep warm. He soon lost track of time, the winding staircase felt endless. By the time they reached the bottom, Lux’s legs were screaming.

  He leaned against a damp wall and watched as Azura walked to the centre of the room. The torchlight made it easy to follow his movements. Azura stopped in front of a large stone altar. At its base was a basin of water surrounding the structure.

  Azura dipped the torch into the water, and flames raced around the basin. Bubbles with fire trapped inside began to rise from the water. It didn’t take long for the room to fill with glowing spheres.

  The cavern was illuminated by the floating lights. Four tunnel entrances were carved into the earthen walls, three were open, and one had collapsed. Azura headed toward the collapsed tunnel with one of his balls in hand.

  The explosion from this ball wasn’t big, but the noise made Lux grit his teeth. Once the dust settled, without warning Novgar hoisted Lux onto his back. Lux clung tightly out of reflex, “Why am I getting a piggyback ride?”.

  “Novgar is keeping his Lucky Charm safe,” was the only reply. Lux chortled to himself, “At least I’m getting a free ride”. He actually felt safer on the green man’s back, and he was sure they’d run into monsters soon.

  He was right. A short walk through the damp tunnel brought them into a massive cavern filled with monsters. The glowing bubbles had drifted ahead, lighting up the dangers inside.

  Creatures like the one carved on the temple floor were crawling everywhere. It was hard to count them all because of the huge stalagmites, but Lux guessed there were at least two hundred scuttling monsters.

  Up close, the monsters were even more terrifying. Each was about half the height of a human. Their backs had swinging stingers glistening with liquid, and their heads were like ants with giant pincers. They were dangerous from both front and back.

  The monsters hadn’t noticed them yet. Lux scanned the area for a place to hide. Novgar distracted him by shifting him to his hip, freeing his broadsword from the scabbard on his back, then settling Lux onto his back again.

  “For the Bluehill Boulder Tribe!” Novgar suddenly roared. Lux flinched, feeling the muscles under him tense before Novgar sprang into action.

  Lux’s face drained of colour. “Damn it, you bastard! Put someone in a safe place before you storm off!” He clung to Novgar’s neck for dear life, squeezing his eyes shut. It didn’t block out the sounds of battle. Screeches and joyous laughter filled his ears. The occasional splash of fluids made Lux flinch, but he kept his eyes shut tight.

  When the noise finally died down, Lux pried his eyes open. The ground was covered in monster carcasses, blood, and body parts. Panic for the others made him frantically scan the scene.

  Silver looked like he hadn’t even been in a fight, not a speck on him. Magenta and Azura, on the other hand, were covered in monster muck, but they were unharmed. Lux let out a loud sigh of relief. He hadn’t realised how much he cared about these people until now. In such a short time, they’d all become his friends.

  A gentle tap from Novgar reminded Lux’s he was still gripping his protector like a lifeline. “Lucky Charm, Novgar will put you down. It is time for the tornado.”

  Lux released his grip, and as soon as his feet hit the ground, he had the overwhelming urge to run for it. This place was terrifying. As if Silver could read his mind, the man gave him a firm look. Lux shrank under the gaze and pulled the golden book from his pouch.

  He muttered under his breath about the danger but found a patch of ground not covered in monster juice. Lux opened the book to a random page and laid it on the floor. The white pages made his heart race, he knew what was coming next.

  He sprinted for the cavern entrance. The others joined his mad dash. As he dodged through the carcasses, he saw them start to tremble. Lux picked up the pace, lungs and muscles screaming.

  At the entrance, he heard tearing sounds. He turned to see the book creating chaos again. Monster cores flew toward it. This time, Lux knew what was happening and could admire the phenomenon from a safe distance.

  The swirling, glittering orbs were beautiful as they sank into the book. They were light grey in colour. The flames trapped in bubbles made the scene even more striking. As more orbs were ripped out, Lux began to hope that with all these cores, the dungeon book would finally be complete. Thinking about his freedom made him grin.

  When all the cores were absorbed, Lux rushed over and flipped the book shut. A blaring 27% complete was written on the cover. “Greedy thing! You just ate a fortune in monster cores for a measly two percent?”

  A big hand patted him on the head. “All monster cores have different amounts of energy inside. Novgar was lucky before because Lucky Charm was there, we were able to come across monster with high energy cores.”

  Lux’s mood plummeted. How long was this book going to take to finish? “Lucky Charm don’t be sad. Novgar will take you to the next cavern to get some more monster cores.” Novgar looked positively delighted at the idea of continuing through the dungeon.

  Lux felt the exact opposite. “No! I don’t want to keep going!” His protest was ignored as Novgar picked him up and slung him over his back again. “Damn it you bastard, listen to me!”

  Laughter echoed as the others watched Novgar and Lux’s struggle. No one stepped in to help him.