Alaric stepped through the portal.
His foot hit solid ground and fallen leaves.
The temperature shifted immediately. No longer the cave's cool stillness but actual air.
He blinked as his eyes adjusted.
Trees. Everywhere. Tall ones with thick trunks that rose into canopy overhead, blocking most of the sky. What little he could see showed darkness.
The moon hung high. Nearly full. Silver light filtering through gaps in the leaves, casting everything in shades of grey and shadow.
Wind breezed past him. Gentle. Carrying scents of earth and vegetation.
Natural sounds filled the space, rustling leaves, distant animal calls, the soft hum of a forest at night.
And behind him—
WHOOOM!
The portal collapsed.
Alaric looked back. Saw only dark cave mouth set into rocky outcropping. No glow. No essence signature. Just empty stone entrance that could have been natural formation rather than dungeon gateway.
"So," he said quietly to the empty forest. "I cleared a dungeon, huh?"
