“So, what level are you now?”

  “In the late sixties, I should reach 70 before the big fight.”

  “Strong. I’ll be relying on you, brother.”

  Two days had already passed. Mathros and Somnu were keeping watch together as per usual.

  [Hollow Core Level: Level 69.] {With 3 more Cores to the next level up.}

  Somnu stared at his new level, having consumed plenty of the Terror Cores already. He had started with 10 levels on the first night, 12 the second night, and another 12 on the third.

  Although he had told the others he had already been over Level 50 and had some Terror Cores in inventory because of Fala’s efforts, he still went into the caves alone with the pretense of hunting and getting ready for the Dreadbeast fight.

  Now, almost double his previous level, the scarecrow could truly feel the change his body and mind were undergoing. His muscles were more refined, he could go longer without food and water, his stamina lasted more than it ever did before, and most importantly, his natural strength and speed received a massive boost.

  The feeling every level up gave him was addicting, to a point he almost wanted to keep going without caring about what the others would think. If he consumed the rest of his Terror Cores, he could get very close to a rank up for his own Hollow Core.

  Based on what he had confirmed with his Dream Catcher, reaching level 100 would upgrade the rank or grade and reset the levels. Thinking of all the potential upgrades he could receive with a rank up himself, it took a lot of mental pressure to resist the temptation for now.

  Nevertheless, he focused on doing the smart thing for the time being, and that also meant trying to fit into the party he was going to fight along with.

  “Are you nervous about it? Going up against the Dreadbeast, I mean.” He asked.

  “...” Mathros stayed still for a bit, the embers coming off the campfire in the middle making his green scales glow from time to time. Then, a corner of his mouth curled up slightly. “I would be lying if I said I wasn’t. I think there is a reason why each of us has their own active fears, you know? And this Dreadbeast has one of the fears I have been carrying with me all my life now.”

  Except I somehow got all of them… Somnu snickered inwardly, then watched as the lizardman seemed to reflexively reach for the scar on his throat, softly tracing it with his fingers from side to side.

  The scarecrow had learned much about the Grodran through the information he was able to steal a glimpse into, but even the System didn’t provide everything.

  “You want to talk about it?” The scarecrow asked, doing his part of poking the firewood.

  “There isn’t much to say, a bright green color for a Grodran wasn’t a welcome sight at birth. My father had to make a difficult decision.” The lizardman’s yellow and red eyes seemed to narrow slightly as he recalled his story. “As I lost my breath, the bright color seemed to dim at the end.”

  Somnu wondered why a green color was frowned upon, but he chose not to ask and waited for his savior to keep going.

  Maybe the grass there is a different color, or it was too bright of a green? He theorized either way, guessing it may be camouflage related.

  “Seeing hope with the color change, my mother who had just given birth, rushed in and tried to revive me. The more she tried, the more it took out of her…”

  “But she did it, she revived you.” Somnu chimed in to help.

  “So it seems.” Mathros let out with a slight wince. “She used her last breath to revive her baby, I came back to life crying into her lips.”

  “...”

  The atmosphere seemed to grow denser around the two. They sat there for a minute, letting the short breeze cross them. The wind silently traveled through the underground cavern which seemed to dim its lights at night.

  “How did you get yours, brother?” Breaking the silence, Mathros returned the question. “A battle scar, I assume?”

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  “Heh, nothing like that.” Somnu let out a soft scoff, touching his own scar over his left eyebrow. “Just something I got while being naive and dumb.”

  “Must be a story, I doubt just anyone could do that to you. You were quite vicious while fighting to get into that lake again…” The lizardman seemed to think back to the past 45 days.

  Somnu tried to hide his clenched fists, his nails digging into his palms and re-opening the scars. Thankfully, with his new levels, it wouldn’t be long before they healed up.

  The truth was, Somnu had always been afraid of blacking out completely. For someone who hadn’t experienced the loss of active consciousness every night, to give up his control over his own thoughts and mind, it terrified him.

  He only had one incident to draw out from, about how it felt or what would happen if he were to lose control of his mind. That’s how he got his scar, how his classmates ended up in the hospital, and what solidified him as the punk of Duskville town at that time.

  Somnu knew that if he ever blacked out again, whatever resentment and anger he had bottled up deep down, it would all take control and let loose, putting everyone around him in danger again. Just like it had done so to Mathros and the others.

  “I… I feel I can’t thank you enough for what you did for me…” Somnu let out, dropping his gaze slightly. “You didn’t even know me, or what kind of person I would turn out to be, and yet…”

  “It’s alright, brother.” Mathros cut in. “I’m aware it might seem like an overwhelmingly nice act from me, but trust me, it was quite selfish.”

  “Selfish?”

  “Yeah, as I said before, my compass led me to you, which means you are part of my fate somehow.” The lizardman explained, then let out a short chuckle. “That might sound weird to you, but it could just mean that we need you to get out of here and survive. That’s as good a reason as any to do what I had done.”

  “...”

  “Besides, for the first month, I was the only one who hadn’t swallowed any of the water. I was basically bored, all alone with nothing to do beside the occasional fight to keep you all out of the lake.”

  “What even is that compass you keep mentioning?” Somnu asked, fully knowing it was a Dream Catcher, but the lizardman hadn’t even used it once in the last few days.

  “Oh, you wanna see?” Mathros said, then unwrapped some cloth on his hand and turned his palm over to show Somnu. “There it is.”

  “!”

  For a second, Somnu doubted his eyes, but it soon became clear that his savior had a tattoo-like pigment of a compass in his palm.

  And it was moving around like an actual compass, showing due north in the direction of the cave which supposedly led to the exit of the cavern, and by extension, to the Dreadbeast.

  The black-like ink seemed almost alive as it wriggled in the white palm of the lizard, as if it was some organism Somnu had no idea of.

  There truly are different words out there, with different races, ecosystems and technologies… Somnu fixed his posture as a wave of excitement seemed to rush over him. “That’s dope, I’d love to hear more about it.”

  “Maybe another time, brother.” Mathros retracted his hand and wrapped it back up. “Once we’re done fighting the monster blocking our way, we can all sit together back in the fort and celebrate.”

  “You almost feel like a leader of everyone here.” The scarecrow pointed out.

  “They were assigned to me, I feel responsible for their safety.” Mathros said, then got up. “I want to get them all back safely. You too, there is a place for you back at the fort.”

  “... I’ll think about it.”

  “Well, to do that, I need to keep you all alive.” The lizardman picked up a bucket and walked away while waving his hand. “Good talk, brother. I’ll go grab some water to boil for us.”

  One thing Somnu had realized was that, had he not boiled the water he had found back in the second room with the Horned Cockroaches, he truly might have been completely screwed right there and then. Apparently, he was right about the boiling process, it somehow purified the water from the curse.

  I’m glad I sometimes use my brain… Maybe I should do that more often. He scoffed inwardly then looked into the distance as he noticed some pop-up messages come up.

  Fala and her cohort were out in the cavern hunting fireflies at night. It almost made Somnu want to laugh at how much of a cheat it all felt having his companions.

  [Serpent’s Summon!]

  Being alone for a bit, the scarecrow summoned his newest companion again. He had already met it during one of his pretend hunting expeditions, but he was yet to communicate with it properly and give it a name.

  “Hisss!”

  It was a meter-long snake with smooth black skin that seemed to radiate occasional smoke from between its scales. Its eyes shimmered with an ember color around the black slit pupils.

  The only problem was…

  Not again…

  Somnu let out a sigh of exasperation as he watched it slither away to the nearest hiding spot.

  Unlike Fala or Grudgekeeper, this new companion seemed a bit too shy.

  Well, I’m sure it will come around eventually. For now, I have to focus on the Dreadbeast we’re fighting tomorrow.

  Somnu canceled his summoning and decided to go over his plans again.

  Better safe than sorry.

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