With his adjustments complete, Traebus stood, stretched out his sore muscles, and grabbed his things before making his way up the cliffside stairwell. He needed to test the rings properly, and what better way than by continuing his bridge project?


    Dusk was already waiting for him at the top, though Traebus barely noticed as he focused on the task at hand. The newfound efficiency of his magic had him enthralled, and he was eager to see how much he could accomplish without draining himself into unconsciousness.


    Stepping to the edge where the bridge had been left unfinished, he pressed his hands to the stone and let the magic flow. The change was immediate. The primal energy no longer fought him with the same reckless wildness—it still had weight, still carried its chaotic nature, but the filtering effect of the rings took off the roughest edges, making it far more manageable.


    Stone groaned and rumbled as he extended the bridge another five feet outward with significantly less strain than before. By the time he needed to stop for a break, he felt tired but not utterly drained.


    He grinned, shaking out his hands. "Now that is what I call progress. Magitech science wins again!"


    He turned, expecting a pulse of agreement from Dusk, only to realize the lizard was nowhere to be seen.


    Frowning, Traebus scanned the area. "Huh. When did that happen?" He had been so absorbed in testing the rings, he hadn’t noticed his companion leave. A twinge of unease flickered through his thoughts, but he shook it off. Dusk could handle himself.


    Still, he made a mental note to pay more attention. Inattention wasn’t just dangerous here—it was a death sentence. This world had already proven that it had no patience for mistakes, and letting his guard down, even for a second, could be the last thing he ever did.


    A sudden scratching noise made him tense. From the line of trees where the jungle began a dozen yards away, the sound of hissing and rustling foliage reached his ears. His breath hitched as his eyes locked onto the movement.


    Dusk backed out of the jungle quickly, his body tense, his usual confident stride replaced by a limping retreat. His frills were flattened against his head, and his tail lashed in frustration. Traebus barely had time to process the sight before his eyes snapped to what was following him.


    Several mid-sized, two-legged lizards with thick, bulky plate-like scales emerged from the undergrowth, their movements predatory and deliberate. Their deep-set eyes locked onto Dusk, and the lead creature let out a shrill, hissing snarl, scraping its claws against the dirt as it advanced.


    Traebus sprang into action, instincts kicking in despite the exhaustion weighing on his body. He had no weapons—no spear, no knife—nothing but his magic and his wits. He cursed himself for not replacing his lost tools sooner and mentally added them to his ever-growing list of things to do before another crisis.


    Knowing his best chance was to manipulate the terrain, he slammed his hands against the ground, channeling magic into the earth beneath Dusk’s attackers. A thin curtain of dirt and loose stone erupted between the limping lizard and the oncoming predators, a crude barrier but enough to momentarily disrupt their charge.


    "Not exactly my finest work," he muttered, sweat beading on his forehead. "But at least I’m learning to use what I’ve got."


    The plate-scaled creatures hesitated for a second, their clawed feet skidding against the loose debris, their snarls deepening as they readjusted to the unexpected obstacle.


    Dusk didn’t waste the opportunity. The larger lizard staggered back toward Traebus, sending a pulse of frustration and mild embarrassment through their bond. Traebus barely had time to roll his eyes before focusing back on the incoming fight. This wasn’t over yet.


    The moment the first of the plated lizards cleared the dust and debris, Traebus lunged into action. He had no weapons, no fancy tricks—just raw magic and desperation. The same as always. He threw a surge of energy into the ground beneath the nearest beast’s feet, warping the terrain just enough to shift its balance. The creature stumbled, hissing in frustration as its claws scraped for purchase on the uneven ground.


    Traebus didn’t hesitate. With a desperate shout, he brought both hands up and sent a concentrated burst of mana into the creature’s flank. The force wasn’t enough to kill, but it sent the beast skidding sideways. As it turned its furious eyes toward him, he followed up with a second, stronger blast aimed straight at its chest. The creature howled as the impact cracked against its armor-like scales, sending spiderweb fractures through the hardened plating.


    It staggered, limbs faltering. Traebus pressed his advantage, pulling a jagged spike of rock from the ground and slamming it into the weakened section of its chest plating. The makeshift weapon punctured deep, sinking into flesh beneath the armored hide. The lizard screeched, clawing at the protruding stone, but the damage had been done. Blood spilled over the cracked scales, pooling at its feet as it twitched violently before collapsing in a heap.


    Breathing hard, Traebus turned just in time to witness Dusk’s battle unfold.


    The second plated lizard had been faster, lunging at Dusk the moment the dirt barrier fell. The two clashed in a savage tangle of snapping jaws and slashing claws. Dusk ducked beneath a wild swipe, his movements fluid despite his earlier limp. He retaliated with a vicious lunge, sinking his teeth into the softer flesh beneath the plated creature’s jaw. The beast thrashed, trying to shake him off, but Dusk held firm, his powerful claws raking across its belly.


    The armored lizard shrieked in agony, its tail lashing wildly as it struggled. But Dusk was relentless. With a powerful wrench of his jaws, he tore a chunk of flesh free, blood spraying across the dirt. The predator let out a final, gurgling hiss before crumpling, its lifeless body slumping to the ground beside its fallen kin.


    Dusk lifted his head, his snout dripping with blood, and sent Traebus a simple, victorious pulse through their bond.


    Traebus exhaled sharply, swiping sweat from his brow. "Yeah, yeah, you win this round, you bloodthirsty show-off." He nudged his fallen opponent with the tip of his boot. "But I still got one too."


    Dusk merely snorted, stepping over his kill and flicking his tail in amusement.


    Before Traebus could catch his breath, a chorus of chirping trills echoed from the stairwell below. The smaller lizards scrambled up in a flurry of claws and flicking tails, their little bodies tense with excitement and anticipation. They had come charging to help, but the battle was already over.


    Traebus waved a hand at them. "Little late to the party, but I appreciate the enthusiasm. Since you''re here, though—why don''t you make yourselves useful?"


    The small lizards perked up, eager, and he gestured toward the fallen armored creatures. "Take these down to the tunnel rooms. We’re not leaving perfectly good resources to rot."


    The little ones immediately swarmed over the fallen bodies, chittering among themselves as they coordinated the process of dragging and maneuvering the heavy corpses down the stairs. It wasn’t graceful, but they were persistent, and Traebus had no doubt they’d get it done.


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    As the small lizards got to work, he turned his attention to Dusk. "Alright, big guy. What the hell happened?"


    Dusk flicked his tail, sending back a pulse of territorial markings, rival predators, and scouting. Traebus frowned, piecing together the impressions—Dusk had gone to investigate scents and signs of other creatures that had been marking out territory nearby. The armored lizards had been a part of that equation, patrolling what they believed to be their hunting grounds.


    Dusk added another sharp pulse—challenge, unexpected resistance, ambush. The creatures hadn’t just been wandering; they had actively attempted to drive him off, possibly seeing him as a threat to their claimed space. He had fought them off as best he could but got injured in the process before managing to escape back to Traebus.


    Traebus exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. "So basically, we wandered into someone’s backyard, and they decided to kick us out the hard way. Great. Just great."


    Dusk snorted, a flicker of wry amusement bleeding through their link.


    With nothing more to be said, Traebus gestured toward the stairwell. "Let’s get back to the cave before something else decides to make our day worse."


    They made their way down carefully, the smell of blood still thick in the air. As they descended, the sound of excited chirping met Traebus’ ears. The smaller lizards had already made themselves comfortable, gathered around one of the armored lizard tails, happily gnawing away at it.


    Traebus paused in the entrance, crossing his arms. "You little menaces would eat anything, wouldn’t you?"


    One of the lizards paused mid-bite, tilting its head at him before resuming its meal without a care in the world. Another simply trilled in what he could only assume was agreement.


    Dusk huffed, stepping past him to settle into the cave, his injury clearly bothering him more now that the adrenaline had worn off. Traebus sighed, rubbing his temples. "I swear, it’s like living with a pack of tiny, adorable garbage disposals. Alright, let’s figure out what we can salvage from those things before they strip them down to the bone."


    He stepped to the cave wall and pressed his palm against the stone, drawing on the raw mana around him. With a focused pull, he extracted a solid chunk of rock and molded it with deliberate precision. The stone shifted under his will, compacting into a roughly shaped blade. Not perfect, but workable.


    With a flick of his wrist, he channeled another surge of energy through the blade, refining its edge, sharpening it beyond what mundane hands could achieve. Then, he wove a layer of reinforcing magic through its core, stabilizing the structure to prevent chipping or fracturing. The crude stone knife became something functional—not as good as a proper weapon, but better than nothing.


    He held it up to the dim firelight and smirked. "Alright, Chef Traebus is in the house. Let’s get to work."


    Dusk let out a snorting sound of vague amusement before settling down, stretching out his aching limbs. Meanwhile, Traebus knelt beside the closest armored lizard and got to work, carefully slicing into the thick hide. This was going to take a while.


    And it did.


    The rest of the morning and most of the afternoon passed as Traebus painstakingly disassembled the two armored lizards. The creatures’ thick, plated hide made the process frustratingly slow, forcing him to use both magic and brute strength to pry apart the layers of natural armor. Every slice required precision, every pull of muscle tested his patience.


    The meat was dense and tough, far different from the crocodilian flesh he had grown accustomed to. He separated it into manageable sections, stacking what he could for later preservation. The bones, large and thick, would make for excellent tools, weapons, or reinforcement materials if he had the time to shape them properly. Even the scales themselves were worth keeping—sturdy and interlocking, they could be repurposed for armor, makeshift shields, or protective plating.


    However, there was one part he didn’t bother trying to reclaim.


    The smaller lizards had latched onto one of the armored lizard tails like a pack of scavengers, gnawing and tearing at it with unrelenting enthusiasm. He tried nudging them away at first, but their fierce little trills of protest made it clear that this was theirs, and they weren’t giving it up.


    "Fine, fine! Have your ridiculous tail feast," Traebus huffed, waving a hand dismissively. "Not like I was going to do anything useful with it anyway."


    One of the lizards, its snout smeared with meat, paused long enough to let out a smug trill before resuming its meal.


    Traebus rolled his eyes and turned back to his work, muttering under his breath. "Unbelievable. I swear, if I ever end up starving, I will remember this betrayal."


    As the smaller lizards continued their enthusiastic feast on the tail, Traebus frowned, watching them gnaw and tear at it with a level of focus that seemed almost obsessive. "What’s with you guys and that part, anyway?"


    Dusk, lounging nearby, flicked an ear and sent a pulse of understanding through their bond. A concept followed—children, young.


    Traebus blinked. "Wait… they’re juveniles?"


    Dusk gave a slow blink in confirmation, then followed it with another impression—one that took Traebus a moment to interpret. It was layered, a mixture of protector, elder, sibling.


    Realization dawned on him. "Oh. Oh. So you’re their big brother or something? That’s why they stick around you?" He glanced at the little ones again, still tearing into the tail with single-minded determination. "Huh. That actually makes sense."


    Dusk huffed in amusement, flicking his tail.


    Traebus exhaled, rubbing his forehead. "Great. So not only do I have to worry about myself, but now I have a family of tiny, ravenous lizards to keep alive too. Perfect. Just perfect. It''s not like kids actively try and kill themselves on a regular basis."


    Shaking his head, Traebus decided to focus on the next task at hand—preserving the meat. He stepped over to the cave wall again, this time pulling out several small stone rods from the rock with careful magical precision. Each rod was smooth and sturdy, perfect for hanging the strips of meat he had cut earlier.


    He worked methodically, threading the meat onto the rods and spacing them apart to ensure they dried evenly. It wasn’t an ideal setup, but it would keep them from spoiling too quickly. When he had more energy, he’d work on building a proper smoker—something more advanced than the rough setup they had used back on the island. Thinking about that place compared to the cave, he realized that this felt more like home. A fortress rather than a temporary refuge.


    Traebus exhaled, wiping sweat from his brow. "Alright, meat’s handled. Now, let’s hope nothing tries to eat us before I can actually build something decent around here."


    He flexed his fingers, marveling at how much easier it had become to manipulate the earth. The primal magic, once chaotic and exhausting to channel, now flowed with far less resistance. The improvements to his ring foci had made a substantial difference, and for the first time, he felt like he wasn’t constantly battling the very energy he relied on.


    Satisfied with his progress, he left the meat to dry and wandered to the cave’s entrance. There was still some daylight left—enough to get some more work done before nightfall. He glanced up toward the top of the cliff, considering his options. The bridge project had stalled due to exhaustion, but with his new adjustments, he might be able to extend it further before calling it a day.


    Decision made, he turned back toward the stairwell. "Dusk, I’m heading up to work on the bridge some more. Try not to get into any more territorial disputes while I’m gone."


    Dusk flicked his tail but didn’t protest, settling in comfortably as Traebus made his way up to continue his work.


    Before starting on the bridge, Traebus took a moment to create a defensive barrier. He pressed his hands to the ground, channeling his refined magic into the stone and dirt around him. With surprising ease, he sculpted an inch-thick curtain of packed dirt around the bridge’s perimeter, forming a rough half-circle to shield himself from any sudden attacks. It wasn’t much, but it was better than being completely exposed.


    "Well, that was almost too easy," he mused, flexing his fingers. His connection to the primal magic of this world had never felt more stable. The difference was staggering—no longer did he feel like he was wrestling with a feral beast every time he cast a spell. The rings had truly done their job.


    Pleased with his small defensive measure, he turned his focus back to the bridge itself. Extending it was much more difficult than shaping loose dirt. He gritted his teeth as he coaxed the stone to stretch forward, carefully layering each new section to ensure stability. He could feel the resistance in the material—denser rock required far more mana than loose earth, a universal rule that held true even here.


    By the time he had added another five feet, his breathing had grown heavier, but he wasn’t completely drained. That alone was a victory.


    Traebus straightened, wiping sweat from his brow. "Alright. That’s progress. I’m officially declaring this a win for magitech science."


    He paused, glancing up at the sky. The last vestiges of daylight were slipping away, the horizon painted in deep shades of purple and red. His stomach twisted with unease. Staying out here in the open after dark was not a good idea. If the jungle had taught him anything, it was that ambush predators were a very real threat.


    Even as he thought that, a massive winged shape passed silently overhead, blotting out the stars for a brief moment. Traebus barely caught sight of its large, grey form before it vanished into the gathering gloom.


    His stomach dropped. "Yeah, nope. Not dealing with that."


    Acting fast, he pulled a section of his dirt barrier apart, creating a doorway-sized gap. Without wasting another second, he bolted for the safety of the stairway cave, the eerie silence of the night pressing in around him.