Morning light filtered through the thinning trees as Akira walked the muddy trail toward the Sunken Woods. The forest still felt strange. Water pooled in shallow basins between the roots, reflecting the sky in broken fragments. The deeper parts of the woods had become marshland after the flood.

  Akira tried not to think about it too much.

  Instead, he stopped beside a fallen tree.

  The trunk had been snapped clean in half, likely by the surge of water weeks ago. The wood was dry enough now, and the grain looked straight.

  Perfect for testing something.

  Akira placed a hand on the log and focused.

  “Modeling…” he muttered.

  The skill activated almost instinctively now. The wood responded slowly at first, like clay resisting cold fingers. Then it softened under his control, the surface reshaping as he carved and compressed the fibers into clean edges.

  Legs. Seat. Backrest.

  A chair.

  Well… a basic chair.

  Akira stepped back and stared at it.

  It looked surprisingly normal.

  Not pretty, but solid.

  “Huh,” he said.

  Behind him, Malis’ voice drifted from the ring.

  “Are you testing the furniture's structural integrity again?”

  Akira crossed his arms. “It’s practical.”

  “It is dangerous,” Malis replied immediately.

  Akira frowned. “Dangerous?”

  Malis sighed dramatically.

  “You are forgetting the bed incident.”

  Akira grimaced.

  That was… unfortunate.

  A memory resurfaced.

  Five weeks earlier.

  Akira had just returned home after the incident in the forest. Everything about his body still felt different. Stronger. Denser.

  He collapsed onto the small wooden bed in his room, exhausted.

  The frame snapped instantly.

  Not cracked.

  Exploded.

  Wood splintered across the floor as the mattress sank like a collapsing bridge.

  Akira had stared at the wreckage in stunned silence.

  “…What.”

  “Yes. That would be the new body.” Malis had spoken in a tone that was far too amused.

  Akira stood up slowly.

  “…Maybe the bed was weak.”

  So he tested that theory.

  The chair at the table shattered next.

  The stool near the door didn’t survive either.

  By the time Kristyne came out of the bathroom, Akira was standing in the middle of a room filled with broken furniture, holding what used to be a table leg.

  Kristyne had stared at the destruction.

  Then at him.

  “…Akira.”

  “I can explain.”

  “You broke the table.”

  “I leaned on it!”

  “Perhaps we should stop testing objects designed for normal humans.” Malis whispered helpfully.

  Back in the present, Akira rubbed the back of his neck.

  “…Okay, maybe furniture is dangerous.”

  Malis sounded smug.

  “That is why you are testing it in the forest instead of the house.”

  Akira looked at the chair.

  “Well… moment of truth.”

  He sat down carefully.

  The chair creaked.

  Akira froze.

  Then the wood settled.

  It held.

  Akira blinked.

  “…It worked.”

  Malis paused.

  “…It worked?”

  Akira leaned back slightly.

  The chair didn’t move.

  A slow grin spread across his face.

  “I made furniture I can actually use.”

  Malis chuckled.

  “Congratulations. You have advanced civilization.”

  Akira stood and admired the chair proudly.

  Then he remembered something.

  “…Wait.”

  He looked around.

  “I can’t carry this.”

  “Yeah you can, just put it in your item box bag,” Malis said.

  “Oh yeah…”

  Akira put the chair in his bag and continued down the path toward the Sunken Woods.

  Ahead, the air grew heavier.

  The trees thinned.

  And in the distance, the dark entrance of the newly formed dungeon waited beneath the flooded forest.

  Akira exhaled slowly.

  “Alright.”

  Time to see what twenty-five gold coins is worth.

  The ground changed as they approached the dungeon.

  The forest floor had already been unstable since the flood, but near the dungeon entrance it felt… wrong. Mud had hardened into uneven stone plates, like the earth had melted and then cooled again. Water pooled in deep cracks between them, dark and unmoving.

  The trees here were dead.

  Not rotting—just drained. Their bark had turned pale and brittle, leaves long gone, branches hanging like skeletal fingers over the clearing.

  At the center of it all stood the entrance.

  Or rather—

  A hole in walls of stone.

  The ground had collapsed inward, revealing a sloping tunnel carved straight into the earth. The edges of the crater were jagged stone and exposed roots, as if something underground had forced its way upward.

  Faint blue light pulsed from somewhere deeper inside.

  Akira stopped at the edge.

  “…That’s the dungeon?”

  “Indeed,” Malis replied calmly. “A newborn one.”

  Kristyne stood beside him, staring down into the opening.

  “I thought dungeons were supposed to be… caves or ruins or something.”

  “Older ones, yes,” Malis said. “This one is still forming. For now, it is simply the dungeon forcing space into existence.”

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  Akira looked down the sloping tunnel again.

  “…That’s comforting.”

  “Think of it like a wound in reality.”

  “…That’s worse.”

  Malis laughed quietly.

  Despite the humor, Akira could feel it.

  The air near the dungeon was thick with mana. Not like the forest.

  Denser.

  Heavier.

  Like invisible pressure pushing against his skin.

  He adjusted the wooden pole he carried then stepped inside.

  The temperature dropped almost immediately.

  The tunnel curved downward at a shallow angle, walls made of damp stone that looked as if they had been melted into shape rather than carved. Water dripped slowly from the ceiling, each drop echoing faintly.

  But the strangest part was the light.

  Small blue crystals grew directly from the walls and ceiling, casting a dim glow across the passage.

  The crystals glowed softly as the three of them moved deeper underground.

  They weren’t large—most were no bigger than a fist—but they grew naturally from the stone like strange luminous flowers. Their light reflected off the shallow water coating the floor, making the dungeon shimmer faintly with every step.

  Kristyne looked around, clearly fascinated.

  “…Are those natural?”

  Malis walked ahead of them, brushing a bit of moss from the stone wall as he examined one of the crystals closely. The faint blue glow reflected in his red eyes.

  “Dungeon crystals,” he said casually. “Mana condensed into mineral form. They grow naturally inside cave like dungeons.”

  Akira leaned closer to one.

  “So they’re valuable?”

  “They can be,” Malis replied. “Alchemists use them. Enchanters too. But removing them while the dungeon is still forming is… unwise.”

  “Why?”

  Malis straightened and glanced deeper into the cavern.

  “Because the dungeon notices.”

  Akira immediately took a step away from the crystal.

  “…Right. Leave the glowing rocks alone.”

  They continued forward.

  After about fifty meters, the sloping tunnel widened into a much larger chamber.

  The first floor.

  The cavern stretched out into darkness, its uneven stone floor submerged beneath several inches of still water. Broken roots pushed through the ceiling where the flooded forest above had forced its way downward. Moss clung to the walls in thick patches, and clusters of blue crystals lit the chamber like scattered lanterns.

  Ripples spread across the water as they stepped into the room.

  Malis slowly looked around the cavern, clearly studying it.

  “…Good.”

  Akira glanced at him.

  “Good what?”

  “This will work.”

  Kristyne frowned slightly.

  “For what?”

  Instead of answering immediately, Malis stepped forward and raised one hand.

  Mana gathered around his fingers.

  A soft golden glow appeared in the air.

  Then—

  Thin strands of light spread outward from his palm.

  They drifted silently through the cavern like glowing threads, slipping into tunnels and cracks in the stone walls. Some slid along the ceiling. Others disappeared into narrow side passages branching deeper into the dungeon.

  Kristyne blinked.

  “…What is that?”

  “Light magic,” Malis replied calmly. “Refined into sensory threads.”

  Akira watched one of the glowing strands drift past him and disappear into a tunnel.

  “They’re scouting?”

  “Mapping,” Malis corrected. “They will return once they have traced the structure of this floor.”

  Akira looked around at the dozens of drifting lights.

  “You’re mapping the whole floor?”

  Malis shrugged slightly.

  “I might as well.”

  Kristyne crossed her arms.

  “…You say that like it’s normal.”

  Malis smirked faintly.

  “For me, it is.”

  Before Akira could comment—

  Something moved in the water.

  A ripple.

  Then another.

  Kristyne got ready to fight.

  “…Did you see that?”

  Akira nodded slowly.

  The ripples grew larger.

  Then—

  Something crawled out of the shallow water.

  A goblin.

  But not a normal one.

  Its skin looked slick and pale green, almost amphibious. Thin gills fluttered along its neck as it breathed, and its fingers were webbed like a frog’s. Its eyes bulged slightly outward, reflecting the blue crystal light like glass.

  Water dripped from its body as it snarled.

  Then two more climbed out of the water behind it.

  Kristyne grimaced.

  “…That’s new.”

  Malis barely seemed surprised.

  “The dungeon is mutating creatures from the surrounding forest.”

  Akira sighed.

  “…Let me guess. The flood helped.”

  “Almost certainly.”

  “…Great.”

  The first goblin lunged.

  Kristyne moved instantly.

  Using her strength to send the mutated goblin flying.

  But the other two rushed forward immediately.

  Akira lifted the wooden pole he’d been carrying.

  “Alright—”

  He focused.

  “Modeling.”

  The wood responded instantly.

  The end of the pole compressed and sharpened, its fibers twisting together into a hardened point. The shaft thickened slightly where his hands gripped it, reinforcing the structure.

  Then Akira reached into his pocket and pulled out the small silver bar he’d made from his watch on the first day in this world.

  “Craftsmanship.”

  The metal softened in his hand like wax.

  Under the influence of the skill, it stretched and folded around the sharpened tip of the pole, forming a beautifully crafted (and sturdy) spearhead.

  When the light faded—

  A silver spear that looked better than what you’d get at a world renowned blacksmith gleamed in his hands.

  A second goblin that had crept up behind him by crawling on the walls leapt at him.

  Akira thrust the spear forward instinctively.

  The silver tip pierced straight through the creature’s chest.

  The force of the impact strong enough to crack the spear.

  “Thats new.”

  “It’s because of your body's new found strength from the ring,” Malis stated calmly.

  At that exact moment, the third goblin—one No-one had even touched—suddenly froze mid-step.

  It made a small choking sound.

  Then its eyes widened.

  The creature clutched its chest as blood dripped from its mouth before collapsing face-first into the shallow water with a splash.

  Akira stared.

  “…Wait.”

  He slowly turned his head toward Malis.

  “…Did you just kill that one?”

  Malis didn’t even look particularly concerned.

  “Yes.”

  “…How?”

  Malis brushed a bit of dirt off his sleeve like nothing unusual had happened.

  “A light barrier.”

  Akira blinked.

  “…A barrier.”

  “Yes.”

  Kristyne looked between the two of them, confused.

  “…Barriers block things.”

  “They can,” Malis replied calmly. “Or they can apply pressure.”

  Akira’s eyes narrowed.

  “What’d you crush?”

  Malis let out a breathless laugh.

  “It’s heart.”

  Akira stared at the dead goblin again.

  “…You crushed its heart with a barrier.”

  “Yes.”

  “…That’s terrifying.”

  Malis shrugged slightly.

  “It is efficient.”

  Akira looked back down at the spear in his hands.

  The crack running through the shaft was still visible.

  “…Okay but we’re not ignoring the fact that I broke my weapon.”

  “Because you stabbed something with far more force than the wood could withstand,” Malis said.

  Akira sighed.

  “Right.”

  He crouched slightly and placed a hand on the cracked section.

  “Modeling.”

  The wood responded immediately.

  The broken fibers softened and twisted under his control, weaving themselves back together as if the fracture had never existed. The surface smoothed out until the spear looked completely intact again.

  Akira stood and gave it a light swing.

  The weapon held.

  “…Okay that’s useful.”

  Kristyne lowered her fists, still staring at the goblin Malis had killed.

  “…Remind me not to fight you.”

  Malis smirked faintly.

  “A wise decision… However, let's just agree to never fight Akira.”

  “How come?”

  “The force of his attack to the goblin was enough to disrupt the dungeon's mana.”

  “And that's weird?”

  “If it can do that it can pierce through a holy barrier, which is stronger than my barriers.”

  “But that’s dangerous isn’t it?”

  “Very.”

  The shallow water slowly settled again around the bodies.

  For a moment, the dungeon grew quiet—only the faint dripping of water from the ceiling and the soft glow of the blue crystals lighting the cavern.

  Then one of the golden light threads Malis had released earlier drifted back toward him and faded into the air.

  Another followed.

  Malis crossed his arms.

  “The mapping is progressing.”

  Akira glanced around the cavern.

  “…Good. Because I’m starting to think this place doesn’t like us.”

  Kristyne stepped forward through the shallow water.

  “…Wait.”

  Akira followed her gaze.

  Ahead of them, partially submerged near the far wall of the cavern, something rectangular rested beneath the water’s surface.

  A chest.

  Wooden.

  Reinforced with iron bands.

  Akira blinked.

  “…That seems early.”

  “Very early,” Malis said quietly.

  Kristyne approached it cautiously.

  “…Is it a trap?”

  Akira focused.

  “Appraisal.”

  A faint glow surrounded the chest for a moment.

  He waited.

  Then shook his head.

  “No trap.”

  Kristyne crouched and slowly lifted the lid.

  The hinges creaked loudly in the quiet cavern.

  Inside—

  Metal bars stacked neatly together.

  Silver.

  Iron.

  Copper.

  At least twenty of them.

  Kristyne blinked.

  “…That’s a lot of crafting material.”

  Akira nodded.

  “Guild reward plus this? We’re already making profit.”

  Then he noticed something else inside the chest.

  A sword.

  Simple black scabbard.

  Plain hilt wrapped in dark leather.

  Nothing flashy.

  He reached down and picked it up.

  “…Let’s see.”

  “Appraisal.”

  The information window appeared.

  Akira stared at it.

  “…Is S-rank low…”

  Kristyne looked up.

  “What?”

  Malis glanced his way, only for a second.

  “S-rank is above A-rank, why?”

  Akira slowly turned the sword so she could see it.

  “…It says this is an S-rank sword.”

  Silence filled the cavern.

  Kristyne blinked.

  “…On the first floor?”

  Malis didn’t laugh this time.

  “…Interesting.”

  Akira frowned.

  “…Interesting how?”

  Malis’ voice was quieter now.

  “Because things like this do not appear by accident.”

  The faint blue dungeon light reflected off the blade as Akira held it.

  And suddenly—

  The dungeon felt a lot less normal than it already did.