They found the cave completely by accident.
One moment, they were hiking through increasingly ominous terrain—trees too quiet, air too still, that weird "someone's watching me" feeling creeping up Kazuki's spine like an unpaid bill—and the next, they were staring into a wide, dark maw in the side of a hill.
It was about as inviting as a dentist's office in a horror movie.
Kazuki took one look and said, "Nope. No thank you. This has side quest energy, and I'd like to keep my limbs today."
Kaelith was already walking toward it.
"Goddamn it," he muttered, and followed.
Inside was exactly what you'd expect: musty air, bones scattered around like someone had rage-quit a skeleton puzzle, and the gentle sound of dripping water that absolutely was not calming.
Kaelith crouched near the entrance, studying the floor.
"Wolf tracks," she said. "Large. Multiple. Maybe dire class."
Kazuki squinted into the dark. "Dire wolves? Like... bigger wolves?"
"Bigger, faster, smarter. One of them could eat you whole."
"Awesome. Can't wait to be fantasy kibble."
They didn't make it five steps before the growling started.
The pack emerged from the shadows like a low-budget jumpscare. Six of them, sleek and snarling. Red eyes. Teeth like barbed wire.
Kazuki's brain offered several tactical suggestions. All of them involved running.
[New Threat Detected: Dire Wolf Pack – Avg. Lv. 7]
[Warning: Threat Level High. You might want to start praying.]
Kaelith moved first, firing a bolt straight into the nearest wolf's leg. It yelped and staggered back.
Kazuki stepped up, stick in one hand, ladle in the other—truly dual-wielding the weapons of shame.
"I have a plan!" he shouted.
Kaelith didn't look at him. "Does it involve dying?"
"No! Well. Probably!"
The wolves lunged.
Kazuki activated Battle Instinct—and his body barely moved fast enough. He ducked, rolled, and came up swinging. The stick cracked across one wolf's jaw with a deeply unsatisfying thwack.
[Damage: 2]
The wolf looked mildly offended.
Then it tackled him.
Everything turned into teeth and fur and screaming.
Kazuki took a bite to the arm—[You have taken 11 damage]—and instinctively triggered Pain Conversion.
EXP surged through him like cheap electricity. He howled right back and drove his ladle into the wolf's eye.
[Critical Hit! 12 Damage]
The wolf staggered.
Kazuki staggered harder.
Meanwhile, Kaelith was a whirlwind of precision and disdain, downing two wolves with perfect headshots and a cold efficiency that made Kazuki feel like a small, loud inconvenience by comparison.
"Three left!" she shouted.
Kazuki was too busy not dying to respond.
He feinted left, dodged another bite, then threw his entire body weight into a desperate shoulder slam that knocked one wolf into a wall.
[Damage: 6][Status Effect: Mild Concussion (Wolf)]
Kazuki collapsed beside it. "I hate this world so much."
In the end, they won. Barely.
The last wolf fled with a broken leg and a newfound respect for cookware-based combat.
[Quest Complete: Survive the Pack][EXP Gained: 110][Level Up: 4 → 5]
Kazuki lay on the cave floor, bleeding and gasping.
Kaelith stood over him, hands on her hips. "You good?"
"I am physically intact and emotionally wrecked."
"So... the usual."
"Yup."