Brian trailed behind Mandrix for nearly half an hour, feeling yucky and sticky from his unplanned shower in grivaxian innards.

They weaved through the labyrinthine passages, each one seemingly identical to the last. Brian wondered if they were merely treading in circles, but Mandrix strode confidently, scanning the surroundings like a seasoned explorer.

"You're a strange one, I'll give you that. But my gut tells me you're just lost. Listen, I'll help you out, but stay close. Reptiscale Caverns is filled with traps and deadly creatures.”

Brian was itching to ask a million questions. He opened his mouth to speak, but Mandrix swiftly silenced him with a whispered warning, "Zip it, we don't need any more grivaxians dropping in."

Feeling uncomfortably cold and starting to smell like a mix of wet dog and expired cheese, Brian yawned and rubbed his face. "How much longer is this gonna take? If this isn’t another world, I have a meeting at three."

Mandrix, his hand shooting out, his palm spanned past Brian's chest, shushed him. "Quiet! There's a valtite core just up ahead," he whispered, his excitement barely contained.

As Mandrix pointed ahead, Brian's eyes popped wide open. There it was - the valtite core, a giant crystal looking like a sci-fi movie prop, illuminating the dark cave. It was beautiful and hypnotic. But the charm of the sight was kinda ruined by the trio of grivaxians hanging around it.

[Lesser Grivaxian - lvl ???]

[Lesser Grivaxian - lvl ???]

[Lesser Grivaxian - lvl ???]

This time, they were in full view, no shadows playing hide and seek. And boy, were they something. They looked like alligators who'd gone through a superhero transformation - standing on two legs, covered in hard scales, and flaunting tails that could probably knock out a rhino.

Brian tried to shake off the chill creeping up his spine, but the stink from his grivaxian-goo-soaked clothes wasn't helping.

“Ok, this has to be a dream, am I in a coma? Did I die? It is impossible for this to be a prank.” Brian smacked his cheeks a few times and wobbled his head. Right, another world. Deep down, Brian knew he was in another world, but his inherent skepticism always insisted on definitive proof

"Alright, here's the plan," Mandrix whispered. "Since you don’t seem like much of a fighter, I'll distract the scaly bastards while you grab the core."

"Seriously? You're going to take on all those monsters?"

“Don't worry, these are just lesser grivaxians. Trust me, this will be a breeze."

With a reassuring nod, Mandrix committed Brian to the endeavor before he could even object.

"Come at me.”

The grivaxians turned, their attention drawn to the noisy lunatic running towards them.

Observing the intimidating Grivaxians, Brian decided that siding with Mandrix was in his best interest. Thus, with limited enthusiasm but committed to the plan, he began his stealthy crawl toward the crystal, careful to avoid catching the Grivaxians' attention.

As he got closer to the glowy valtite thingy, he switched to running, stealing glances at Mandrix's crazy wrestling match with the gator-guys. The cave was filled with the soundtrack of steel-on-scale and some really angry hissing. Mandrix was like a man possessed, his fancy gear buzzed and zapped, moving in rhythm with his wild dance of slashes and parries. His Star Wars-like costume complemented the whole surrealness. Brian wondered if he'd finally cracked, 'cause it felt like he was watching a Marvel movie live.

Sadly, Brian's shoes, not really made for cave-running, decided to betray him. Just as he was about to reach the glowing crystal, he tripped, face-planting right into the octahedral valtite core. There was a crash, a blinding flash of light, and then... nothing. Without the valtite core’s glow the cave went back to being a dark, dank cave with a subtle blue glow.

“Everything is turning out the worst possible way, this has to be a nightmare,” Brian grumbled.

Reeling from the impact of his fall and the shattered core spraying across his face, Brian desperately tried to focus on the fierce battle between the barbarian and the grivaxians.

Mandrix's giant sword cut through the darkness with the force of a hurricane, splitting a reptile in half with one swift, brutal swing. The beast's guttural cry rang in Brian's ears as its two halves crumpled to the ground. Mandrix spun, his cloak billowing like a storm cloud, and unleashed a flurry of expertly aimed blows, each strike landing with the precision of a surgeon. The remaining grivaxians snarled and lunged, their claws slashing wildly, but Mandrix deftly dodged and countered, his movements a spellbinding dance of death.

But the more he tried to combat the disorientation, the more overwhelming it became. His perception of his surroundings blurred, reality melted away into a hazy mess. Suddenly, his vision was flooded with a persistent, all-consuming orange hue, as though someone had splattered his eyes with fluorescent paint.

What is this… some kind of twisted drug trip," he panicked and stumbled.

Brian felt like he was stuck at sea in the middle of a storm. His world spun, leaving him scrambling to hang onto reality. The metallic clash of weapons and the growls of beasts rung in his ears, their sounds getting lost in the crazy swirl. His focus slipped, skated, and started to fade…

"Ha! That's what you get, you slimy bastards!" Mandrix cleaved the last grivaxian's head from its shoulders, the creature's purple blood splattered the cave walls like a macabre work of art.

You have vanquished [Lesser Grivaxian - lvl 3] - Valtite has been distributed amongst your party. You have gained +1 Valtite reserves

You have vanquished [Lesser Grivaxian - lvl 4] - Valtite has been distributed amongst your party. You have gained +1 Valtite reserves

You have vanquished [Lesser Grivaxian - lvl 5] - Valtite has been distributed amongst your party. You have gained +1 Valtite reserves

‘DING’ Your valtite energy grows to level 2, empowering your stats and increasing your potential. +1 to each stat and +1 untrained point.

Every second felt like a marathon. The battle blurred around Brian, the finer details slipping out of reach. He fought to stay present, alert, but the damn dizziness kept growing. Even though he was flat on the floor, he felt like he was still falling.

"I hope there’s no drug test soon." Brian’s mind buzzed with new sensations.

He had never done drugs, but there was no other way to describe it. Brian found himself wobbling. The cavern's ceiling seemed to press down upon him, while the rocky walls appeared to close in from all sides. The pungent, metallic smell of iron went up his nostrils, inducing a nauseating sensation. The taste in his mouth was like the worst kind of cough syrup, making him want to hurl.

But the worst part was the blinding, all-consuming orange that had overtaken his vision. Blinking didn't help. Rubbing his eyes didn't help. Even clamping his eyes shut didn't help – no dice. Orange, orange, orange. The vivid hue remained, rendering everything else invisible. It engulfed him in a maddening sea of disorientation and panic.

"It's like I've just been tossed around in a washing machine filled with hallucinogens," Brian replied, rubbing his throbbing temples. "I think I can hear colors now,”

Amidst the barrage of stimuli controlling his senses and the muffled chaos, a faint voice penetrated the cacophony. Gradually, the voice coalesced into a recognizable cadence, and he identified the familiar timbre of Mandrix's speech in the distance.

"Piece of cake," Mandrix bragged.

Little by little, Brian felt his senses crawling back, like he was waking from a nightmare. He could hear Mandrix's footsteps now, a steady rhythm against the rocky floor, getting louder, closer.

And, bit by bit, that maddening orange world started to fade.

Oculus Core (Sight) Activated - Its power surges into you. An amount of Valtite proportional to your energy rank has been absorbed into your reserves. You have gained +10 Valtite reserves.

Ability Acquired: Valtite Identification (Trace) - Enhances the user's comprehension of valtite energy signatures, facilitating the detection, location, and understanding of their nature and spatial distribution. WARNING, the ability’s energy is beyond your own and may cause adverse effects.

Ability Acquired: Valtite Vision (Latent) – Enhances vision to perceive and identify valtite particles, even those that are hidden or camouflaged. This ability increases the user's ability to discover concealed sources of valtite and to visually track the flow of valtite energy.

Ability Acquired: Chronal Gaze (Latent) – Sharpens the user's perception of time, allowing them to track fast-moving objects with unparalleled precision. This ability manipulates the user's visual perception, giving the illusion of slowed time when focusing on rapid movements.

‘DING’ Your valtite energy grows to level 3, empowering your stats and increasing your potential. +1 to each stat and +1 untrained point.

‘DING’ Your valtite energy grows to level 4, empowering your stats and increasing your potential. +1 to each stat and +1 untrained point.

Finally, some abilities. Brian turned his head, gazing around the chamber. “I can see it! This is electrifying.”

"Hey, Brian!" Mandrix shouted, snapping him out of his trance. "Where the fuck is the core?"

"Uh, funny story," Brian replied, scratching the back of his head. "I think I broke it when I tripped."

"WHAT?" Mandrix grabbed Brian by the shirt collar. "You broke the fucking valtite core? Do you have any idea how valuable that shit is? 2,000 solars!"

"Two thousand what?" Brian asked with a mix of confusion and annoyance.

Mandrix released Brian's collar, "Fella stop!"

Mandrix's breathing grew heavy and labored, his chest heaved with each breath. His rage bore into Brian with a fiery intensity, while his hand curled into a tight fist. Muscles tensed, he raised his arm, preparing to unleash a devastating punch. With every ounce of his might, Mandrix hurled his enormous fist at Brian, the air whooshing as it sliced through the space between them.

Brian, still sprawled on the ground, felt an inexplicable surge of awareness. Mandrix's fist came rocketing towards him, time seemed to slow, and he saw everything – every minute detail of the impending impact. With a sudden burst of agility, Brian gracefully shifted his upper body to the left, narrowly avoiding the deadly blow. His reflexes had gone turbo. It was as if some invisible switch had been flicked inside him, kicking his reaction speed into overdrive.

“This stuff sure is better than anything Heisenberg ever cooked up,” Brian joked, trying to keep his voice steady despite the overwhelming sensations.

Mandrix's face contorted as he bellowed at Brian, "STOP MOVING!" He continued to throw furious punches, “YOU, OWE ME,” each one narrowly missing Brian and leaving deep, fist-shaped craters in the rocky floor beside him. “2000 SOLARS!”

"Hey, it's not like I meant to!" Brian protested, instinctively jumping back as Mandrix swung a punch in his direction. His newfound agility saved him from another bruising blow. "It was an accident!"

Even though his eyes were able to see every one of Mandrix punches in slow motion, his body couldn’t move as fast as he wanted. Every punch graced his cheeks, and each one chipped away one point of his vitality, but at least he was able to dodge direct hits. This must be that Chronal Gaze skill.

Mandrix, now seething with anger, wound up a right cross knockout punch. However, Brian began rolling to the left at the right moment, and Mandrix's fist slammed into the ground instead. The impact sent cracks spider-webbing in every direction.

‘DING’ Your untrained potential has been harnessed. Dexterity enhanced. +1 to Dexterity stat. Untrained potential: 2.

Clutching his injured hand, Mandrix let out a pained sob as he cradled his throbbing knuckles. He glared at Brian, his anger momentarily overshadowed by the agony of his self-inflicted injury.

"Okay, okay, stop!" Brian pleaded. "I get it, alright? I messed up. But punching me isn't going to bring the core back!"

Mandrix, panting heavily, glared at him. "You obviously don't understand how precious valtite cores are. I've spent a lums searching for cores in this cave, and that one was going to feed me for six cycles!"

Brian's demeanor shifted, his intonation growing somber. "Look, there’s still a chance that my coworkers played a prank on me, I'm dreaming, having a nightmare, or I'm in a coma in some hospital, but it feels like I just smelled a wizard's junk, so I’m probably in another world. I'm as confused as you are, and I hate feeling like this. I don’t know what’s happening, and I hate not knowing what’s going on. I can’t just roll with it."

Mandrix hesitated, then checked his futuristic goggles to scan Brian again. After a pause, he said, "Wait… wait, wait, wait, wait... You broke the core to gain... the Valtite boost? You can't be serious."

Genuine confusion crossed Brian's face. "I don't even know what valtite is."

Mandrix pinched the bridge of his nose. "Listen, valtite is only the most important thing in existence. It's everywhere, everyone wants it, and without it, we wouldn't even be on this disgusting planet. And you should have way more just by existing in Valteria."

You mean that orangy pixie dust that's floating around everywhere?" Brian waved a hand through the air, scattering a cloud of shimmering particles. "Thought that was just my brain short-circuiting or something." Valtite must be like mana, chakra, ki or something of the sort, he thought.

"I think that was the Oculus Core. Anyways, show me your hands, I want to see something," Mandrix instructed.

Sensing that Mandrix was now calm, Brian extended his hands, curious about the thoughts occupying the man's mind.

Mandrix seized his wrists, cuffing them together in a matter of two swift seconds.

“What the fuck!”