The morning air shimmered faintly with mana. Birds chirped. The breeze carried that faint metallic scent that meant magic was leaking again.
Mira strode through the forest in her priestess robes, staff in hand, expression deadly serious. She looked ready to bless an army. Rein, walking beside her, looked ready for recess.
He wore two different boots, a scarf that may have been a curtain, and held a stick like it was a divine relic. "Mira! Trees are tall now! I used to bounce off these!"
"Please don't lick the trees," she said automatically.
"I wasn't going to." A pause. "Probably."
He reached out to pat one trunk. The bark shimmered faintly, reacting to his touch. A small puff of mana escaped. Rein blinked. "It sneezed at me."
"That's called photosynthesis," Mira muttered.
"Is that contagious?"
"Keep walking."
Every few steps, Rein stopped to inspect the local wildlife like an alien visiting Earth. He poked a mushroom. It glowed. He immediately bit it.
"Rein!"
He chewed thoughtfully. "That mushroom glowed at me first."
"Spit it out!"
He did. The mushroom landed, still glowing, and shuffled away on stubby legs.
Rein pointed. "It's escaping!"
Mira pinched her nose. "That's not an invitation to chase it."
After ten minutes of forest chaos, they paused by a shimmering clearing. Mira unrolled a scroll map. "According to the readings, the mana concentration is highest here. That means—"
Rein puffed up his chest. "As the local expert in being a biological accident, I volunteer to lead!"
"You are not leading."
"I am, too! Watch—leadership pose!" He struck a dramatic stance. A passing bird immediately dropped a nut on his head.
Mira sighed. "The gods have spoken."
The clearing buzzed with energy. The air shimmered like heat on a summer road. A faint circle of runes spun lazily above the grass.
Mira knelt beside it, scanning with her staff. "A Cardion's forming. Probably a low-rank one. See those distortions? That's card energy weaving itself into a stable shape."
Rein squinted. "It looks like soup steam."
"It's not soup."
"Smells like soup." He sniffed the air, nose twitching. "Chicken? Maybe healing broth?"
"Stop that. It's raw magic—don't inhale too much or—"
A glowing mote drifted near Rein's face.
He smiled. "Sparkle!" He reached out and… swallowed it.
The air went still. Then the rune-circle flared, blindingly bright.
"Rein," Mira said slowly, her voice trembling, "what did you just swallow?"
He blinked. "A sparkle."
The circle pulsed once. Twice. Then it exploded inward like a popped bubble. The ground vanished beneath them.
"REIN!"
"Wheee!" he shouted as they were sucked into a vortex of light and soup-smelling air.
Inside the Soup Dungeon
They landed in something wet.
Mira groaned. "Ugh… what is this place?"
Rein sat up, covered in shimmering broth. "Mira… I think we're inside dinner."
The walls glowed golden, liquid rippling like melted glass. The air shimmered with savory warmth. Every surface seemed to bubble faintly.
"It's a Nourishment Cardion," Mira muttered, eyes wide. "Designed to store healing cards. But it's gone feral—mana imbalance turned it into… this."
Rein's eyes sparkled. "Best day ever."
Small, wobbling blobs of broth slithered from the walls. They had noodle arms and carrot eyes.
Mira took a step back. "Soup slimes."
Rein gasped. "My people!"
The slimes gurgled menacingly. One hurled a glob of hot broth. Mira raised a barrier just in time.
"Not friendly," she hissed.
Rein ignored her and knelt. "Hey! I'm family! Distant cousin, maybe third generation after condensation!"
The slimes blorped back, unimpressed.
Rein frowned. "Fine, rude." He touched one—it immediately merged halfway into his arm. "Oh! That tickles—wait—"
A flash of light. Rein coughed and spat out a glowing rectangle. It wobbled in midair: Healing Broth [D].
He burped green sparkles. "Delicious."
Mira stared. "You ate a monster and produced a card."
He puffed up proudly. "See? Productive teamwork!"
More soup slimes surged forward. Mira swung her staff, smiting them with sizzling holy light. Between attacks, she shouted, "Stop absorbing the enemies!"
"I'm helping!" Rein shouted back, grabbing another slime. It dissolved into him with a satisfied gurgle.
When the last blob popped, the dungeon walls flickered like candlelight. Mira panted. "Please tell me that's the end."
Rein burped again. "I feel warm inside."
"Wonderful," she said flatly. "You've achieved internal soup enlightenment."
They followed a tunnel into a vast chamber. At its center floated a radiant crystal, rotating slowly above a pool of shimmering broth.
Mira stepped forward reverently. "That's the core. The heart of the Cardion. If we stabilize it, the dungeon will dissolve safely."
Rein poked it.
"Rein—don't—"
The crystal dissolved into liquid light, streaming into his palm. Symbols flared across his skin like glowing tattoos.
Rein stared. "It's warm."
A translucent card emblem shimmered in front of him: Soup Blessing [C].
Mira gawked. "You merged with the core?"
He grinned. "I think I'm a chef now!"
His stomach gurgled. He sneezed—and a splash of glowing broth sprayed out, hitting Mira square in the face. She blinked, stunned, as her small cuts instantly healed.
"That's… effective," she said slowly, wiping soup off her cheek. "And disgusting."
Rein flourished his hands dramatically. "Behold! The power of gourmet recovery!"
The dungeon shuddered, light spreading through the walls. The broth receded, evaporating into mist. A faint chime echoed—a dungeon's death knell.
Mira stared as the last of the golden glow faded. "You just purified a Cardion by eating it."
He shrugged. "Teamwork!"
By sunset, the forest clearing was calm again. The ground still steamed faintly, smelling of herbs.
A guild messenger recorded Mira's report, eyes wide. "So the anomaly's… handled?"
"Miraculously," she said, rubbing her temple. "Though my partner is… unconventional."
Rein stood nearby, dripping with soup and pride. "Heroic taste tester, reporting success!"
The messenger just nodded slowly and left.
Mira sighed. "How do I explain you on the form? 'Weaponized appetite?'"
Rein grinned. "Just write 'human-ish miracle.'"
They started walking back toward the village. The sun glowed soft orange through the trees.
Mira glanced sideways. "You're impossible, you know that?"
"Yup. But at least I'm your impossible."
She smiled despite herself. "Don't make me regret that."
A pause.
"Mira," Rein said innocently, "do humans eat dungeon crystals?"
Her eyes widened. "Rein—"
He was already looking around for one.
"NO!" she screamed as the scene faded into the golden dusk.