Health has reached less than 30%. Dungeon madness removed.

The message was waiting for Auron when he opened his eyes.

A slight breeze woke Auron from his forced nap sometime later. He could notice no change in the amount of light streaming through the cave entrance. Looking down to his arm with squinted fearful eyes, he realized it was almost fully healed. Wicked scars ran up the appendage showing the once devastating extent of the damage. Zander was once again near him, casting Healing Wind as he sat up.

"I need to stop going to bed injured. Can you explain to me what the hell happened? Why would you force me to fight that thing?!" Auron spat the words out like venom while pointing at the corpse of the rat.

[When an adventurer enters a purple dungeon, they become susceptible to something called Dungeon Madness. Oddly, this phenomenon is happing in this Red dungeon. The being that controls this area is able to seep into your mind. Generally, when a battle is happening, or many deaths transpire, the madness is much more likely to occur. I am sorry, Auron, but we do not have the option to play it safe or tiptoe around this stuff. I can't lose you too. I made a promise.] Zander searched for forgiveness in Auron's eyes as his own take on a distant look. He seems to zone out unintentionally as something seems to wash over him, stealing away the thoughts from his mind.

"That is just great." Auron sighed as he saw the evident pain in his familiar's eyes. "All the more reason for us to get out of here. I think we should.." Auron stops talking as he realized Zander was not hearing anything he was saying. His familiar's eyes were vacant.

Auron sighed and assumed Zander was just lost in thought. He began to test his arm, seeing and feeling now that it was back in working order. After some time, the light returned to Zander's eyes, and he looked at Auron Expectantly as if they were still in the middle of a conversation.

"You want to keep playing Pokemon trainer with me and have me go fight more rat creatures? I have no interest in that, and I certainly don't want to have my mind taken over or feel that much pain ever again." Auron obliged the salamanders questioning expression by continuing his side of the argument, but Zander interrupts him.

[That was a level one creature. It may not be in your nature to fight, and you may be terrified, but I will fight with you now. We can do this together. I am sorry I did not help you there. The pain and battle experience are necessary for you to understand what it is you will be dealing with.] Zander sent this message to Auron, and although he tried to hide it, the shame was evident in the tone of his voice.

"Apology not accepted. Do you have any idea how scared I was? I finally did beat the rat thing by luck, and I get nearly sliced in half by you and your magic. You wrecked my favorite shirt too."

Auron in his emotional turmoil did not realize that Zander was under a foreign magic as well. Zander with his now frequent gaps in memory also could not explain. The two sat silently for a moment. Neither knowing how to bridge the rift slowing forming between them. After a few moments Zander spoke.

[With food and water, you will be able to use magic. Accept my apology or not. We need to travel further into this dungeon and level up. If you need any more reassurances, take a look at the wall behind you.] Zander sent the message quickly, clearly hurt by the rift he had created in their new bond.

Turning to heed his familiar's suggestion, he found a slight indentation from the impact of his body, but that only held his attention briefly because around that were four massive cuts into the stone. As if a giant took an X shaped hammer to the rock, the furrows were several meters wide and cut into the stone deeper and deeper the further away from the center of impact. At the edges of the X, there were also swirling cuts in the shape of crescent moons careening off for another few feet in a circle around the newly made scar into the rock.

Auron reached forward to touch the stone, an incredulous gasp pushing its way through his lips. He decided to punch the rock, not believing that wind could accomplish so much damage to a solid stone wall.*Thunk* His now bruised knuckles lent even more truth to his current thoughts.

"This is what magic can do? It is terrifyingly beautiful. I don't think I could even scratch this wall with a sledgehammer."

[This is only a fraction of the power we will be able to achieve together.]

"I want to use magic. What did you mean food and water would help with that?"

[Bring us deeper into the cave, and I will show you. Don't worry about the monsters I will take care of them for now. I am not currently whole Auron. I have had a great deal of myself taken from me. My mind is clouded, and my decisions will not always be the best. I am sorry. I have a barely a fragment of access to my memories, power, and normal decision-making process.]

While their bond may now be scarred, Auron knew that he would eventually have to forgive his familiar. The green being having an apparently damaged mind also would explain his poor choices and lack of teaching anything too.

Zander climbed up the wall and then leaped onto Auron's shoulder. Auron reluctantly allowed him to remain. As the two looked into the dark reaches of the cave in front of them, conflicting emotions spilled through their mental connection. A feeling of bravery coming from Zander slightly overpowered the doubts and fears of Auron. Focusing on that bravery radiating from a creature much smaller but much more powerful than himself, Auron took his first steps into the dungeon. With each slap of his bare feet on the cold petrous ground, his determination grew exponentially.

The path, carved deep into the earth, widened after 5 minutes of walking. The slight decline and occasionally winding walls led to their light source, eventually becoming a pinprick in the distance behind them. That pinprick was then extinguished as the path took a sharp turn down and to their left. Running his hand along the wall, Auron continued forward, as Zander sat silently on his shoulder.

The air was light and began to hold an amount of moisture Auron was not expecting from the previously dusty environment of the cave. The dull and persistent sounds attributed to a stream then served as an explanation for the increased humidity. Fearing monsters herding to water like most living creatures, and the noise from the stream dulling his sense of hearing lead his trot to end.

Auron knew from his homeschooling that creatures generally gathered near places where there was water.

Small clicking noises barely audible over the water confirmed his theory. As he edged his head around the bend, he tried to get some sort of visual confirmation, but it was too dark to make anything out.

Unsure of what to do, Auron decided to trudge forward. He inches around the bend and makes their way into what he could only assume was a cavern. Reluctantly peeling his hand away from the wall; he takes a few steps toward the sound of the moving water. A high pitched hum started ringing in his ears as the chittering of claws on stone increases. His thoughts came in quick succession. One, his theory on monsters and water was correct, and two there were several of the creatures, and they were currently being surrounded.

Just as he was beginning to doubt, his familiar a green glow lit up the two coming from Zander. A rush of something went to Auron's eyes now that he could see the sources of noise.

lvl 1 Danger level: Low. Colors: Red/Yellow

Four separate labels matched the four identical raccoon sized creatures now crawling toward the dungeon diving intruders.

Trusting his familiar Auron stood tall, refusing to give in to the fear slowing slipping its way around the center of his being. His confidence was decreasing with the memory of how much damage those sharp yellowed teeth can bring.

At once, the creatures sprung forward, hoping to wet their teeth on the newcomer's flesh.

Right before they all tasted sweet success, a vortex whipped up, forming a circular barrier separating the duo and the monsters. Unable to halt their momentum, the rats continued forward. Like rocks thrown into a blender, each rat was sucked into the fiercely moving wind. One by one, they were then flung all in different directions as if they were as light as leaves. The one that got it the worst whipped directly down; this rat quickly becoming pulp from the sheer force of momentum it suffered. The others arced through the air, spinning head over tail all the way. Auron looked away from the gore.

The impact must have been kinder to the others Auron assumed. Hearing them scurry away battered and broken, but not entirely defeated.

A flabbergasted Auron decided to use inspect on his familiar for the first time. For the first time, it did not activate automatically. Remembering the feeling that lent him the ability, he tried to focus on bringing it to his eyes.

Level 20 Familiar. Colors: Emerald.

"No wonder you toss around those rats like they are beanie babies, you are 19 levels higher than them," Auron whispered, his excitement was evident.*Bing*

lvl one defeated by your party. Experience gained. Level up! You are now level two. Ten stat points gained.

"If you kill something, we both get experience. That is perfect. Go, my green minion, kill them all. Muahahaha." Auron's eyes glittered with adrenaline and joy from the short battle and subsequent level gain. He did not feel like himself. He felt nothing for death before him. In one brief moment, the rush of gaining a level overwhelmed his guilt and existential thought process. That moment died quickly as the effects of gaining a level wore off and with the retreat of his sudden adrenaline the crime of killing washed over his entire being.

"You can also just sit on my shoulder and ignore me." He said after a few moments of heavy silence. His earlier words of joy felt rotten in his mouth.

[Go and drink the water. I don't think those monsters will be back any time soon, but they are not the only beasts in this dungeon.] Zander's words came softly across their bond. Still ashamed at his lapse in judgment earlier. The familiar seemed to know how badly he screwed up leaving Auron to fight alone. Auron at that moment was no stranger to shame.

Realizing that Zander was in pain and now probably would not appreciate any more jokes, Auron decided to follow instructions. Without the previous light from all of the wind magic activation, the room had returned to its pitch-black state.

Slowly edging forward to the moving water Auron kept gently prodding with each step to avoid tripping. At the water's edge, he paused, slowly cupping his hands and stealing enough for a mouthful.

"You sure this isn't going to make me sick or something?" He asked Zander. Before Zander can muster up a reply, something blue started to glow in the water. Sliding backward, Auron tripped and landed hard on his backside. "What the heck is that?" He whispered.

As if by a chain reaction, other lights slowly came into existence. The entire bed of the stream was now lit by plant life of some sort. The light was coming from the stream, bright enough to light up the entire room. Auron wonders if his inspection skill works on things other than monsters as it activates automatically.

Fire algae. Algae commonly found in mana dense areas. While using mana in water for sustenance, this Algae survives by giving off a bio-luminescent glow to scare off unintelligent creatures. Edible.

With the light shining through the water, Auron could now see the room was shaped like the dome of a cathedral. What was a previously rough stone that could be expected in a natural cave, now seemed to be carved out intentionally. The ceiling stretched up around four meters, and from one wall to the next was nearly twice that distance. The room bisected by crystal clear liquid, which ran down from a waterfall to his right. The other end of the stream flowing into a slot the size of a grown man lying down. Every inch of the bottom of the creek covered in algae.

With the light, Auron could also see his familiar's face was consumed with grief.

"Its okay little guy," Auron said after a moment of silence.

"Although I hated the fight, and it was the worst pain I have ever felt, I can understand why you felt it was necessary." He continued, slowly chewing on the words before speaking them. "Just promise me from here on out we are a team. I do not care how strong you are or what kind of bond we have. If you betray me like that again, we are going our separate ways" The words rushed out. Auron felt a slight regret at how harsh they were, but he also knew they needed to be said.

"Agreed?" The final question presented itself softly out of the man's mouth. Looking Zander in the eyes once more, he could see the salamander gave a simple nod.

[Agreed. Though you are wrong. Leaving you was wholly unnecessary. I will not make that mistake again, I do not know what is wrong with my mind. I appreciate your forgiveness though, Auron.]

Auron returned the nod happy to see that the creature looks less morose, a weight lifted from his own shoulders as well.