Why is it so goddamn cute?!

  No really, this monster has no right to lower my guard like this! All its features are basically calling to my instinct and telling it it's a harmless beast!

  It makes my headache worse and I—

  "[WATER BALL]!"

  — I started swinging my wand back and forth, sending out burst after burst of icicles directly towards the ferret. No, monster, it's a monster. If this thing is an innocent little critter then I wouldn't be panicking right now!

  Something liquid flowed out of my nostril, joining the rest of the substance that's been dripping down my chin. Blood. It's blood! I had to remind myself that I'm currently having a nose bleed because I can't think of anything else but the stupid ferret in front of me!

  Wait... That's it.

  My eyes widened in horror as I raised another wall to block the lunge of the overgrown marsupial, which apparently has more than just strength and cunning, it also has a mental effect that can make people think it's cute and harmless. What the fuck?

  I was genuinely looking forward to exploring this dungeon!

  Now? Now I realized I was in way over my head, I can't imagine how things would have turned out if I didn't have the [Intermediate Mental Resistance] passive. If I didn't have it from the get go, I wouldn't have gone out of my way to obtain it because I assumed it was a useless thing to have.

  God I was so wrong, it's actually useful. No, it's one of the most useful things I can have here isn't it? The passive is genuinely amazing now that I think about it—

  "[Water Ball]!" This time I barely managed to dodge one of its attacks, the ferret got so close to me that I felt its breath come out of its mouth and graze my nose.

  "Agh!"

  I pulled my dagger out and held it in my left hand. I've always been a right handed person but right now I couldn't care less about that, even if my left could barely do any damage, what's important is that it's at least something.

  The tip of my weapon stabbed the ferret's cheek and bent upward, right, this thing probably has a hide tougher than even the carapace of an Aberrant Crayfish. Dungeon monsters really are just a pain in the ass!

  My palm struck the ferret square on the nose and I pushed myself off of it, the momentum carrying me a good 5 feet from the monster.

  I threw my knife and just used my wand, I felt like some kind of weird amusement park fairy as I repeatedly moved it left and right, the motion activating the runes within and casting [Icicle Spear] several times in quick succession. A good portion of my spells hit the ferret but all of them had little effect.

  But I know it must be feeling it by this point right? You can't just tank several dozen icicle spears and be fine, there at least has to be internal damage right? I refuse to believe everything I'm doing to this thing isn't working!

  Gritting my teeth when I saw it tense up, I cast [Ice Wall] in front of me in anticipation of another lunge and moments later... The wall broke, ice flew forward, and I'm standing meters away from where my opponent is rolling towards.

  The ferret doesn't shy away from taking damage, it tanks anything I throw at it, no, it also ignores whatever wound it gets from slamming its face against a wall of ice. Even if the wall breaks— no, shatters, that doesn't mean that the ferret is fine.

  Any force applied pushes back the same force or something like that, E = mc squared right?

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  The power it uses to break the ice is thrown back at it just as much, or... Maybe it doesn't? Fuck. I jogged my memory as I peppered it with another volley of icicles, which it just continues to ignore!

  I'm really getting uneasy with this fight, and it's not just because the lower half of my face is more blood than skin either. But then again, I should probably be concerned about that too, I'm also fighting a war of attrition and if I don't win this soon, I'll die from blood loss.

  Where can I hit this thing to make sure that it gets hurt? My gaze went all over its body and stopped at its sides and legs, dungeon monsters don't feel pain but damage to their bodies still affects them physically.

  Breaking a bone for them is the same as everyone else: it cripples them badly enough that they can't move, even when crippled, they'll still try to fight since pain just isn't something they're familiar with. By that point they're no longer a threat, and I need to reach that point.

  How though?

  How?

  Casting [Freeze] only buys me a second at best, casting it takes longer — saying [Water Ball] in Pricorian only takes a second but pointing my wand long enough to cast [Freeze] needs an opportunity better used for something else. — making whatever benefit I can get from using the spell useless.

  How can I immobilize something like this?..

  My mind worked to give me an answer, anything would be fine and it was only when my eyes accidentally caught the wizard tower that the monster emerged from that I got the answer I have been looking for.

  Walls of ice may have been ineffective in doing any permanent damage to this stupid fox, but what about the reinforced walls of the dungeon?

  The only problem is, I'm afraid about getting close to it.

  There are simply too many things that can happen once I do, monsters may pop up or maybe the dungeon has a mental effect of its own. That last possibility is especially nerve wrecking for me, it's the thing I've been trying to avoid and I've somehow stumbled upon it by accident.

  No, not an accident, I've been searching for this dungeon all my life, I wanted to escape my fate and now I realize that what caused it isn't something inside the dungeon, but actually the dungeon itself.

  Or so I assume, I haven't confirmed whether or not it has a mental effect just yet.

  Do I risk it?

  My eyes found the ferret, then they went to the woods behind it. I inhaled. Running away from this thing only gives me a low chance of survival but that's better than the— possibly. — certain death I'll experience from going near the dungeon.

  A deep breath passed between us, it is nothing but a moment, but that's more than enough time for this thing to try another attempt at taking my life.

  The ferret stopped shaking, it stopped moving altogether, I have noticed that this is what happens when it tenses up in preparation for a lunge.

  My hand hurt from how hard I was holding my wand, my eyes stung because I haven't blinked yet, sweat is also dripping past my eyelids. My nose hurts, my mouth is slick with blood, some of it came from the wound I inflicted on myself by biting my cheek too hard.

  Inhale...

  Exhale...

  "[WATER BALL]!" My hand shot up just as I finished talking, instinct and adrenaline making me move before I could think.

  An ice wall formed as the ferret lunged and just like countless times before, it did nothing but break apart. Ice pellets flew towards me, some struck me in the face, chest, and even stomach, I managed to ignore them all thanks to the adrenaline in my system.

  With the ferret too busy rolling behind me, I ran into the forest and headed straight for the mender's cottage. A straight line, all I need to do is move in a straight line.

  Blood flowed into my lungs and I started coughing, stopping briefly to hack out the fluid from my chest. The ferret caught up to me then and I had to keep going despite the burn I'm feeling in my throat.

  Deja Vu struck me as I moved through the forest. I have done this countless times, using yourself as bait to catch giant crayfish does that.

  Experience, not the kind that lets me level up, guided me through the trees and I moved through the underbrush like its second nature. Between me and the ferret though, it's obvious who's better.

  Casting ice walls again and again is the only thing that's kept me alive, moving between tree trunks erratically wouldn't work as the ferret is simply too fast and moving like that will only hinder my speed.

  Even then, the ferret is still catching up to me.

  My legs burned, my eyes stung— and no, I'm not crying! — and my life was flashing before my eyes and then suddenly... A shift.

  The tint of blue disappeared and I am suddenly in an environment without any mana supporting it. This is the mender's work and I hope its purpose is exactly what I'm hoping it to be; keeping monsters away from her cottages.

  A second passed, I kept running.

  Then another. My legs kept moving.

  Another. I haven't cast an ice wall yet.

  Everything slowed down and I realized I had gradually stopped running. Eventually I just refused to move altogether, my knees gave out and I suddenly found myself on the ground.

  My palm found the earth and my eyes looked at the dirt.

  Bile rose up my throat and I started coughing. Not just from the strain my lungs went through, but also from the thought of just how close I was to death.