It felt strange for Dane to have someone with him in the morning. He had become so accustomed to sleeping on his own schedule that he had forgotten the nagging feeling of waiting for someone else to wake up. When Ada finally stirred, she rummaged through her spatial backpack for some ingredients. Dane didn't mind, as he was starving and figured they should use the backpack for party supplies anyway. After they finished two more rations, they set out for the river.

  Dane had marked all the paths with his initials, but by now, he knew the twists and turns of the dungeon as well as he knew his bedroom back at the Earthbound camps. He hadn't thought about the camps in a long time. He remembered that the older folks were supposed to be in the dungeon mines. He wondered if any of them were in the same dungeon, perhaps at a camp further in, or if they were in a completely different dungeon altogether. He knew the odds were slim, but after they grew strong enough, they planned to search the rest of the dungeon and try to liberate any of their people.

  As Dane traveled, he used the flat side of his pickaxe to gently pull the Mushrooms of Langerous Intent from the ground, ensuring not to disturb the underlying mycelia. Although they resembled roots, his identification skills indicated otherwise. He carefully placed the mushrooms into his bag, taking precautions not to damage them and trigger their slumber spores. By the time he was satisfied with his collection, Dane had gathered twenty mushrooms. Their glow-in-the-dark properties illuminated the bag, giving it the appearance of a lantern.

  "Dane, I understand that these mushrooms can be used as a flashlight, but with our Mana eyes, we don't really need them to see. Shouldn't we leave the mushrooms alone, especially since they have such a paralytic effect?" Ada asked. She recognized that Dane was the leader of their duo, but some of his decisions seemed illogical. He also wasn't the best at explaining their situation, so she often went along with whatever he decided. This wouldn't have been a problem, but she was aware of how he fought. He seemed to have a death wish, charging into battle without a second thought, which made it hard for her to trust that he would make it out alive.

  "Just wait and see; they are going to serve a purpose. I want to help you reach level 41 in one fell swoop," Dane said. He believed that over-explaining his plan to Ada might calm some of her nerves, but he also realized it could further damage their trust. He recalled the look of confusion on her face when he explained what the mushrooms did and the horror he saw as they began to dig away at the dirt surrounding them. A friend had once told him that actions speak louder than words, and Dane decided to adopt that approach since it was more effective in building trust than just defending his plans. He knew that in the future they would discuss strategies, but for now, he wanted Ada to be able to contribute to the team beyond just a couple of HP.

  They waited by the river until all the monsters had cleared out for the day. It was interesting that the watering hole was predominantly occupied by moles. However, the wolves that remained were much larger, at level 50, compared to the level 40s that Dane had come to expect.

  As they observed their surroundings, they began digging and piling mushrooms into a shallow hole they had created. They marked the spot with a rock and then covered it up again. Afterward, they started setting up camp. Dane found the familiar hole he had dug out before the slime encounter and began to hollow out more space for Ada, stopping when it was just big enough for two people. After a moment's thought, he decided to make it even wider. He figured Ada would appreciate not being forced to snuggle with him.

  Dane spent the entire night tossing and turning. The moles were much more active around the watering hole than they had been before. It made sense; they were uncontested now, with the slimes gone and the wolves reduced to three small packs of eight.

  The moles lacked ears and eyes, which reminded Dane of a sensory skill called Moleman that he had almost chosen during his skill selections. The description stated that this skill would allow him to see by using seismic vibrations to perceive his surroundings. He was sure the moles used a similar method to sense their environment, and he doubted that he and Ada would be able to hide from them for much longer.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  As he glanced over at Ada, who was sleeping peacefully, he noticed her beginning to twitch violently; she must be having a bad dream. He readjusted the standard green woolen blanket he had taken from the barracks. Ada used it because Dane had plenty of clothes to keep warm. Turning back to face the wall of the sleeping hole. Dane opened his screen and read his skill Exodus for the third time that night.

  The wolves arrived earlier than expected. Dane shot out of the sleeping hole with his pickaxe at a speed that would have made a cheetah seem slow. He could barely remember what it felt like to run at a normal human pace. Grabbing his pickaxe with both hands, he hurled the weapon toward the paralytic mushrooms. The tip of the pick plunged into the soft mound, causing glowing spores to erupt from the small hole they had dug the day before. Meanwhile, Ada was slowly emerging from the shelter where they had stayed the night before.

  "Ada, accept the prompt when you see it. Wait for the spores to stop glowing, then send those wolves to hell," Dane instructed. He disbanded the party on his end, and Ada looked hurt. He noticed her eyes glazing over as she read the message on her screen.

  "Why did you disband the party?" she asked, confused by the sudden change in his plan.

  "If you aren't in a party, you'll earn full experience points for defeating the 24 level 50 wolves. They will be paralyzed for a few minutes, so you need to quickly deliver a blow to each one's head before they start to move. Otherwise, we're in trouble," Dane said, stressing that they didn't have time to waste.

  Ada jumped up to level 44, putting her four levels higher than Dane.

  "Dane, why does the system say I need permission from my master before I can distribute stat points and choose a skill?" she asked, her anger bubbling up as she spoke, revealing her frustration.

  "Would you believe me if I told you that it's in your best interest?" The best-case scenario was that she would never find out. Of course, he would never use the contract, and she would receive a free 25 stat points, just as he did. The system always seemed to undermine his plans, and now she needed his permission to use those points. "Look, I used my skill Exodus to free you and remove your slave collar, but I used it again last night because it has another feature: anyone bound to me gains my amount of free stat points."

  "So what? I'm yours just because you thought you had more free stats to distribute at each level than I do? This is so messed up," Ada said, seething. The look of realization on her face when she saw the number of stats she had was priceless; it reflected a mixture of surprise, happiness, and a hint of betrayal.

  "I can't undo this now. After I made bound you, I received a notification stating that you could only remove ownership by killing me or by becoming a system-titled noble," Dane said.

  "Dane, you can't be serious! Do you have any idea how difficult it is to become a system title noble?" she shouted at him, her voice just one octave short of something that would have burst his eardrums.

  "It can't be that difficult, especially since it made me a Baron," Dane said.

  They sat in silence for a long time after that. Ada was right, and Dane needed to work on keeping some things to himself. It was awkward for a while. Still, after he permitted her, she distributed the stats and selected the two skills: Disorientate and Life Ward. Disorientate was a spell that would cause a debuff on one target for 30 seconds; the target would lose control and lash out at anything near it, friend or foe. Her mood improved after making her selections.

  Disorientation would be excellent for large mobs and sowing chaos in the backfield. Life Ward was a passive skill that provided the party with a layer of mana as a shield, lasting for three hits. It didn't cost any mana and would regenerate the ward every 24 hours. This was perfect; now, Dane wouldn't have to worry so much about Ada when they got into fights. They reestablished the party, and to Dane's shock, Ada was appointed as the party leader.

  No way was he going to let a healer be the party leader. It was a meaningless title, but it gave her the authority to disband the party at any time. Dane trusted Ada, but he had just told her that killing him would give her freedom; what if she canceled the party and he lost his Life Ward as the boss was going to strike? Well, probably not a concern, considering that if he died, there was very little chance for her to make it out of the dungeon.

  "Where are you going?" Ada said with a slight grin at being the party leader.

  "To get some levels, just go and practice mana manipulation. I'll be back when I hit level 45." Dane said, waving his hand.