The entrance to the Zorvax Forest Caves Dungeon is an archway formed of two trees that have fused together at the top, located in the woods not far from my neighborhood. Or well, the forest. The trees and brush have become denser over the last two weeks, making travel a lot more difficult around here. This isn't just true here in the forest, either – it's happening in town as well.

The roads are beginning to crack as nature begins to rapidly overtake it, and even the trees separating the properties in my neighborhood are no longer as thinly-spread as they used to be, bushes and other things cropping up as well. Now, there's basically a wall of nature between properties.

I was hoping to wait a few more days before coming here to the Dungeon, but something prompted an early arrival. After completed [Cast a Spell III] earlier, I realized that all of the Quests I have would take me longer to complete than my planned time before departing for this Quest, and since this is an early Quest, it's probably within my abilities after the training I've done.

So this morning, I reassessed my bags and repacked them. I have three duffel bags and three backpacks with me, certain redundant things left out. The backpack on my back has the usual supplies, as well as some mana potions and extra water bottles, packed completely full. The duffels are packed full as well, with only one of the more thorough first-aid kits inside each, only two gallons of water in each. I put aside most of the extra clothes, too, but still took all of my money.

Even if our cash is probably going to be obsolete as the System's syscre takes over, it might still have use for now and I don't want anyone else taking it if my house gets raided while I'm gone.

To fill in the extra space opened up by omitting some items, I added in more food and other essential supplies. The bags are heavy, and I won't hesitate to drop them if I need to while in the Dungeon, retrieving them later if possible. The other two backpacks are full of emergency supplies, including extra towels, candles, flares, medical supplies, and so on, and they're fixed onto the duffel bags hanging across my sides, with the third duffel bag hanging in front of me. It hurts my neck and shoulders, but I'll manage. Hell, I gained 1 Constitution just coming here, and already gained 1 Strength from my training over the last week and some, though I was probably already close to the threshold, if I'm honest with myself.

In the opening of the archway is a sort of mist that hides what's beyond, even though I know there's a forest beyond it. The mist is probably to let people know how to enter the Dungeon, so I accept the Quest, then take a step through.

When I pass through the mist, it feels cool and tingly, and I step out of the forest and into a dimly-lit zone. This is definitely a cave, but it's pretty expansive, large enough to accommodate the trees in here.

There aren't many, though. I'm standing in a space around fifty feet wide, trees planted here and there. It's not very dense, though still dense enough to give a 'forest' feel to things. Hanging from the trees are fruits the size of my fist, each one glowing with a pale blue light, the source of light in this cave. Standing about fifty feet tall and with leaves like those of a white oak, the trees are pretty nice. A few of them have vines hanging off their branches, and since this is a Dungeon, I'm not sure if those are friendly or not.

The ground itself is solid earth, with patches of grass and flowers here and there, mostly by the trees or any exposed roots, though there are some that seem to just be randomly growing. There's also sections of stone in the ground, too.

Looking behind me, I find the archway formed of the two tress pressed against the wall of the cave behind me, no mist present. Just to try, I attempt to move my hand through, only feeling the cool stone wall against my palm and fingers.

Now that I'm thinking about it, the cave here is much cooler than the summer heat outside. Rather than being in the nineties or hundreds, it's probably in the sixties, maybe early seventies. This is actually pretty nice.

Turning my attention forward, I examine the bushes that grow here and there, the shadows on the cave walls. Are those simply shadows? Or openings into more caves? Are there monsters? Or is this simply a test to see how easily I make it through here?

Walking forward, I keep alert for any potential attack by monsters or for traps. I'm not sure how I'd notice traps, but I hope that with this being an early Dungeon with a Rank 2 Quest, they're not that hidden.

A few minutes pass before something catches my attention, and I turn my head in time to see a small pebble flying towards it. I swiftly catch the pebble before it can hit my skull, and the squirrel which threw it chatters at me before scampering off. Dropping the pebble, I continue on my way, walking in a sort of zig-zag pattern to look at everything and get a better look at the walls.

It soon becomes evident that the squirrels here are using magic to make their pebbles, as one is thrown at me every minute or two, allowing me to actually see them generate the pebbles. The throws are weak, and I'm able to just let them bounce off of me without issue. They're annoying more than anything, but the squirrels are too far for me to just attack with magic and I don't want to throw my knives at them.

If I did, I'd have to go and retrieve the knives, clean them, and put them away. With the bags I'm carrying, that wouldn't be too fun to do, since I'd have to bend over.

Half an hour of slow travel after my arrival, one of the squirrels is within four feet of me. With 9 Magic, that's close enough. I raise my right hand as it begins to create its pebble, and I use [Magic Shot]. It's a marble-shaped version of [Magic Bolt], good for performing impacts on a smaller scale and much less costly to cast.

The spell shoots off, striking the squirrel from only a couple of feet away since my outstretched arm covered part of the gap, and it sends the squirrel tumbling off the branch. I start to walk over to it, and the dazed squirrel hobbles to its feet, then takes off, its movements unsteady, the creature moving back and forth on its attempt to reach another tree.

It takes me only a few more strikes on the squirrels to get them to move out of my range, and with them outside of my range, they're no longer as annoying, only able to throw the pebbles up to about six or seven feet, themselves. The only danger now is being repeatedly struck in the same spot, since that'll tender it up and potentially break something from the repeated impacts, so I do keep a watch out. Even if it would probably take many hits to actually do that.

The forest grows denser as I continue on, the trees growing taller. To allow this increased height, the roof of the cavern grows higher, and the cave becomes wider as well, turning it from a small forest into a large one. There are sections of cave wall that extend into the forest and sections of the forest which extends into a section opened up in the cave walls, creating small 'zones' as well. I'm actually pretty sure I'm lost because of them…

From time to time, I spot mushrooms and moss, some of which glow, some of which don't. The only animal I can find are these damn squirrels.

Several hours into my walk, I catch the sound of running water. I turn and set off in that direction, soon finding a creek running through. It's about twenty feet wide and maybe only a few inches deep, with some fish swimming through it. It's flowing down towards the way I came, probably to disappear into a wall of the cave.

I follow it down, and soon enough, I reach a cave wall. Whether it's just separating a zone or actually a wall of the cave, I don't really know, and I don't really care. The creek flows into a gap in the wall barely big enough for the water to flow through, but I'm not planning on trying to go into it, so it doesn't matter much.

Looking around, I confirm the area is clear, then I remove my bags. It's been hours since I last ate, I've been walking around carrying who knows how many pounds in these bags, and it's probably evening. Though I'm in a Dungeon, it's been relatively quiet, so I'm going to take the opportunity to rest.

With any luck, I won't be attacked by anything while I'm eating and resting. First, though, is building a fire to cook something on.

As if it's a forest that's been around a long time, there are plenty of twigs, sticks, and branches on the ground, and I gather some up, soon having a fire erected, stones pulled from the creek acting as the ring for it.

Stretching a little, I reach down and grab one of the throwing knives at my waist, then flick my wrist, sending it flying. The pebble-making squirrel looking in another direction isn't fast enough to dodge the throw, the knife slicing into its neck, the impact sending the creature falling out of the tree.

Basic monster.

I walk over and collect the creature, giving it a brief Inspection out of habit.

Stone-Shot Squirrel Corpse Quality: Low

With the squirrel and knife retrieved, I return to my camp and clean off the throwing knife. After drying it and returning it to my belt, I open up one of the duffels and pull out the skillet inside. It's a shallow one, not a deep-walled one, made of just plain steel. I set it to the side, then pull out another knife and begin skinning and gutting the squirrel.

Having never done such a thing before, I do a terrible job at the skinning, though the guts remove easily. I toss them all onto the fire, then get to work cutting up the meat and removing as much from the bones as I can, dumping them onto the skillet and tossing the bones into the fire. I wash my hands in the creek, watching the blood run into the gap in the cave wall.

My hands now clean, I grab the skillet and place it over the fire, pushing it down so that it sits flat, then I pull out a spatula from my bag and use it to stir the meat. I don't have seasonings or really anything to cook with it, so I just cook up the meat, then eat it along with some dried apricot and apple slices.

After finishing my makeshift dinner, I clean everything, dry it off, then pack it all way, hanging the towel I used on the branch of a nearby tree to dry before adding more wood to the fire. Since the squirrels seem to be the only threat right now, I'll settle in and hope nothing happens.

Closing my eyes, I find myself quickly drifting off to sleep, finding myself in a nightmare I'm all too familiar with. Pain, punishment, suffering. Gunshots from close by, attacks performed out of sadistic delight, wounds that will probably never heal. I find myself waking with little sleep, the glow of the fruits lesser.

It's dim now, almost like nighttime. Despite the cool air, I'm soaked through with sweat. I'm breathing heavily, too, the memories dredged up by that dream fresh in my mind, a small terror seizing my chest for a moment.

"Deep breaths, Carter," I murmur. "Deep breaths. They can't touch you anymore."

For a few minutes, I do my best to calm myself down, then I add more wood to the fire, building it up more. If there are bigger threats around, they'll probably avoid the fire. That makes me feel safer as I attempt to fall back asleep.

My sleep for the next few hours is fitful, and I eventually give up trying to get any sleep. Anytime I have the nightmares of my memories, sleep becomes hard to find for a few days. There's yet to be a thing that's helped me with that ever since my escape.

Putting the dried towel away, I put out the fire and kick the stones back into the creek, then pull on my bags and resume my journey through the forest. With the light even dimmer than it was upon my arrival, I keep watch both around me and on the ground. It wouldn't do to trip over a root because of the darkness.

While I could summon a [Light Orb], my Mana isn't endless and I'd run out within a minute. Maybe I should've put more effort into raising it past Level 3 over the last few days, but in my defense, it was next on the schedule. Like an idiot, I came here without going for a few more days' worth of training just because I didn't think any of my Quests would be achievable in that time frame.

Well, and my worry of someone coming and attacking me in the house now that there's basically no form of law enforcement due to the arrival of the System causing chaos. Deaths, disabling of the technological society we had, lack of good transportation, and the arrival of creatures and an increased growth of nature. Probably more that I haven't discovered yet.

Is that blood?

My thoughts are drawn to the spots on the ground, and I kneel down, summoning a [Light Orb] for a better look. That looks like dried blood, maybe a day or so old.

Dried Human Blood Quality: Low

Out of habit of Inspecting everything, I did the same for the-wait. Dried human blood? That means someone's here, and they're wounded. But nothing I've encountered so far has been dangerous? Either there's a threat nearby, or this person is weak.

Dismissing the spell, I stand and begin following the trail. There's a few drops of blood every few feet, and I soon find myself at the cave wall, following along it. Whoever it was, they touched the wall with a bloody hand several times.

For reasons unknown to myself, I create a small amount of water and use it to scrub off the blood on the wall, effectively hiding the trail. Maybe ten minutes after reaching the wall, I find a hidden cave entrance. The rough, uneven shape of the wall would have hidden it completely had I not been approaching from this direction, right up against it.

Looking around, I spot no obvious signs of an ambush. Just in case, though, I pull out my knife, then slip into the crevice.