Setting off

It was early morning and before dawn in the ruins and the last day that Liz and John would be staying there as well. When the sun rose it would be time for them to set out.

"It's good that you managed to make it into the 2nd level. With this the journey will be easier. I know that your practice speed is high but how did you advance so quickly?"

"Well you remember that accompanying method I got from the core? It turns out that it was a method that focused on quicker absorption of energy and also settling the body into that power at a higher rate."

"Really. That method you got is likely a high level one. Make sure that you don't share it with anyone or even mention it. With how quick you'll be advancing people might suspect that you practice demonic cultivation."

"Demonic cultivation?"

"It's a kind of cultivation that focuses on condensing a demon core in the body. This will make it so that you can become stronger a lot faster but it has demerits as well. Like if you make a mistake you are many times more likely to suffer a lot more than with normal cultivation methods. Demonic cultivators are also more susceptible to mental illness like hearing voices in their heads or extreme fits of rage."

"So the reason I might be suspected of being a demonic cultivator is due to how quick I grow? This will probably cause problems but we don't have much of a choice since it would be bad to leave the dragons under the gods rule for a long time."

"Exactly. We will probably have to move around a lot to avoid suspicion. Well unless we live in the middle of nowhere but then it would be hard to run the dungeon."

"I agree. So should we get going soon."

"Lets wait till the sun rises completely. It would be bad if we encountered a monster that's heading back to its den after a night of hunting."

"OK. I'll go over the supply's we decided to bring again then."

The supply's were pretty simple. Due to the dungeons free food block they had no need to worry of food. Even if it was tasteless. The bigger problem was water. They had managed to find a stream a mile from the building they lived in. At first he had no idea how to keep the water but Liz had a way. As it turns out she had learned from a teacher when she was young that those with the earth attribute could make jars by focusing their energy into soil. The demonstration was pretty detailed so with a quick description on how to do it and about an hour of practice John could now make jars. He made enough to fit a months worth of water and Liz then stored them into her space crack. This is also how he learned that Liz has the space affinity.

(So cool!)

"John the sun has come up." He could hear Liz's voice from the ground floor.

"Got it."

He headed out of the buildings basement and could see Liz waiting for him at the edge of the building.

"Are you ready?"

"Yep. You just need to store the jars and we can leave."

Liz quickly ran down the stares and came back up a moment later.

"Got them. Lets go."

Liz took the lead and John followed right after. This was the beginning of Johns long journey that would be filled with many happy and frustrating moments. First however a problem needed to be addressed before they had even gotten out of the ruins.

"Liz with your body being so small you need to run to keep up with me."

"The better question is why do you walk so fast! Your stride is easily 50% longer than any human I've met!"

"Come on this is normal for me. Should I just carry you on my shoulder?"

"You think I'm OK with that! Do you know how embarrassing that is?"

"Is being carried that embarrassing to a dragon?"

"Yes! It's something that only family or... or spouses do!"

"Really? Seems dragon culture has it's own rules but then how do we solve this problem then?"

"I don't know."

"Hmm~ Well when you think about it aren't we a lot closer than spouses would be?"

"How!?"

"Well think about it. We share not only the same fate due to the dungeon core but even our souls are constantly together. How could any bond be closer?"

"That... That maybe right but if other dragons see us they might think something strange."

"Do you really think that we'll encounter a dragon this early in our journey?"

"Well no but..."

"We'll just say that we might as well be sibling due to our bond or could it be that you don't want to see me as a brother?"

"No it's not that... Fine just just pick me up."

"OK"

John moved towards Liz and picked her up. She was surprisingly light and her scales that looked like they would be hard but in truth they felt strangely soft and smooth. He placed her on his shoulder. She was at first shifting a lot but after adjusting she settled on down.

"Do you feel that you can stay their for a long time?"

"Yes but walk slowly at first."

"Got it."

John began to walk into the ruins towards the boundary of the ruins.