The path spiraled downward for what felt like hours.
The staircase twisted through darkness, lit only by occasional flickers of ancient torchlight embedded in the walls. No monsters. No sounds. Just silence and the faint echo of their steps.
Finally, the staircase ended.
Before them stood a door — large, wooden, reinforced with gold-colored vines. It groaned open without effort, as if expecting them.
The final chamber revealed itself.
It wasn't what they imagined.
There was no treasure. No guardian. No trap.
Just a wide, circular room under an open dome where sunlight streamed in from the heavens. A single tree stood in the center of the chamber — tall, elegant, with silver bark and swirling leaves that shimmered like emeralds.
And on its branches…
Ten fruits.
Round. Glossy. Radiant. Each one was slightly different in color — from vibrant red to deep purple, sky blue to obsidian black. They glowed softly, pulsing in sync with the tree itself.
For a moment, no one said anything.
Then a message appeared in golden text above the tree:
> [Choose a fruit.]
[Once a fruit is taken, the tree will vanish.]
[Only the correct fruit will remain.]
[If you choose wrong, the fruit will disappear.]
[You have 3 chances.]
Arjun narrowed his eyes. "Three tries…"
He glanced at Vhim and then at the tiger, who was calmly observing the tree.
"Three of us," Arjun muttered. "Three chances."
"System?" he asked aloud.
Silence.
No answer. No clues. Not even a whisper in his mind.
"Well, that's not helpful."
He took a step closer, studying the fruits one by one. "So the right one… doesn't disappear. But which one is it?"
But before he could examine them all, a blur passed by.
Vhim.
"Wait—!" Arjun shouted.
Vhim had already climbed the tree. His eyes were wide, and his tongue was practically hanging out.
"That one looks tasty!" he said, grabbing a bright orange fruit.
"No, don't—!"
Too late.
The moment Vhim's fingers closed around the fruit, the tree trembled.
The fruit blinked out of existence.
> [Chances remaining: 2]
Arjun sighed and rubbed his temple.
"Oi! What are you doing?" he snapped. "Get back here and shut up."
Vhim jumped down with a guilty look. "But it looked delicious…"
"That's not for us to eat. Understand?"
Vhim nodded, shame-faced, and stood to the side without another word.
Arjun turned back to the tree.
Nine fruits left.
He paced slowly around it, studying their colors, the way they pulsed.
They all looked real. All looked tempting.
"Let's see…" he whispered. "That one… no. Maybe the purple one? No. That green one feels wrong."
He squinted at one with a strange golden-red hue, almost like the color of Jarban's blood.
"…Yeah. That one."
He picked it gently and walked over to the tiger.
The beast tilted its head.
"Here," Arjun said softly, holding the fruit out. "Eat it."
The tiger looked at him, its golden eyes glinting. A soft sound escaped its throat — almost a whimper.
It remembered.
The first time they met — it had tried to kill him.
Now, Arjun was giving it everything.
The tiger's eyes glistened with unspoken emotion. As it opened its mouth to eat the fruit… it vanished.
> [Chances remaining: 1]
The tiger froze.
Its eyes widened. It looked down at the empty air where the fruit had been.
Then up at Arjun, confused. Lost.
"No," Arjun muttered, his heart sinking. "That wasn't it either."
He turned to the tiger and crouched, gently placing a hand on its head. "Okay, buddy. It's up to you now. Find it."
The tiger didn't move for a moment.
Then, slowly, it sniffed the air.
Suddenly, it turned away from the tree — and walked toward the far wall.
"Hey!" Vhim called. "Where are you going? The fruits are on the tree!"
Arjun raised a hand, stopping him.
"No," he said quietly. "Let him."
The tiger moved with purpose now, guided by something unseen.
It reached the far wall and stopped.
Its nostrils flared.
Then, it growled — low and deep.
A hidden mechanism clicked.
The wall shimmered… then vanished.
Behind it hovered a single fruit — suspended in air, glowing with soft orange light, its scent thick and sweet.
It wasn't on the tree. It had been hidden.
The tiger approached slowly.
The closer it got, the lower the fruit floated… until it was at mouth level.
Without hesitation, the tiger bit into it.
Juice dripped from its fangs as it slowly devoured the fruit.
Then…
Pain.
Intense, searing pain.
The tiger let out a roar so loud the walls quaked. Its body shivered. Muscles twisted. Bones snapped.
Orange light exploded from its skin.
"Tiger?!" Arjun shouted.
He and Vhim ran to its side, but the light was too strong. Too bright.
The tiger collapsed to the floor, glowing from within like molten lava.
Then…
Silence.
The light slowly dimmed.
The heat faded.
And lying on the cold stone floor…
Was no longer a beast.
But a boy.
Naked. His skin a soft bronze tone. Hair wild and streaked with gold. His eyes, still closed, flickered faintly beneath the lids.
He looked about their age. Strong, lean, with the same fierce features of the tiger — now human.
Vhim blinked. "Did… did the tiger just turn into a person?"
Arjun didn't answer.
He was already pulling off the spare set of clothes he kept in his pack — something simple but clean.
He knelt beside the boy and draped the tunic over him, helping him dress.
The boy stirred.
Slowly, his eyes opened.
They were still gold.
And in that moment, as the boy looked at Arjun, something passed between them — not words, not memories, but something older.
Gratitude. Loyalty. Family.
"Welcome back," Arjun said, smiling.
.
.
.
The chamber was still.
The only sound was the soft breathing of the boy — the tiger — newly reborn in human form. He sat quietly, wrapped in Arjun's spare tunic, golden eyes flicking between the two people who had helped him survive.
Arjun felt the weight of something shift in the air. A system notification flashed into his vision:
> [Your 2nd family member has evolved into a human.]
[Assign a name to complete his registration.]
He blinked.
"…System?" he muttered. "You're back now?"
Another message appeared:
> [Give him a name.]
"Huh."
Arjun glanced at Vhim, who had been crouching nearby, watching the scene unfold with bright, curious eyes.
They both said it at the same time.
"Name?"
The boy tilted his head, watching them. There was still something feline in the way he moved, quiet and instinctive, but his eyes shone with unmistakable clarity. He didn't speak, not yet, but he understood.
"Well," Arjun said, scratching his head, "we can't call him 'Tiger.' That's basic."
"Yeah," Vhim said, sitting cross-legged on the ground. "What about… Narasim?"
"Nah," Arjun replied. "Too mythological. He's not a god."
"Okay, okay. What about… Jack?"
Arjun made a face. "What is this, a pirate show?"
Vhim shrugged. "I was going for simple."
"No. Hmm… Jox? Joi? Job?"
Vhim laughed. "That last one sounds like a bad punchline."
"Wait. Joxon." Arjun's eyes lit up. "Yeah. That sounds strong."
"Joxon?" Vhim tested it. "I like it."
Arjun turned back to the boy. He placed a hand on his shoulder gently.
"Your name will be Joxon V. Tiger. But we'll just call you Joxon, alright?"
The boy's lips trembled slightly.
Then, slowly, he smiled.
It was awkward, unfamiliar — but real.
A soft ding echoed in Arjun's mind.
> [Joxon V. Tiger has been added to your family.]
[Current Family Members: 2]
[Status: Human (Evolved Beast) – Class Potential: King-Rank (Beast Lineage)]
[Bond Strength: High. Loyalty: Absolute.]
And then…
The wall to their right cracked.
They all turned toward the sound as stone groaned and crumbled. A section of the ancient stone collapsed, revealing a glowing passage.
Light flooded through.
Not ordinary light — golden.
"What now…?" Vhim whispered, stepping behind Arjun.
They walked slowly toward the chamber.
Inside was treasure beyond their wildest dreams.
Gold. Piles of it.
Coins, chalices, crowns, and gemstones scattered like autumn leaves across the floor. In the far corners of the room, weapons gleamed — swords, spears, axes, bows — each pulsing with ancient magic.
Arjun's jaw dropped. "Whoa…"
Joxon looked equally stunned, his eyes wide as he stared at a massive hammer etched with lightning.
But then another message appeared.
> [System Storage Room Unlocked.]
[Claiming Dungeon Rewards…]
[Transferring all treasures to host inventory.]
"What? Wait, wait—" Arjun began.
But before he could finish his sentence, the gold began to shimmer.
The weapons flickered.
And then, in a burst of light and soundless wind — everything vanished.
The room was empty.
"Ha… Haaaa?" Arjun blinked in disbelief. "What just happened?!"
Even Vhim was frozen, his hand still reaching for a jeweled dagger that was now gone.
Another message popped up in front of Arjun.
> [Treasure Successfully Stored.]
[You may now access your loot in the Family Storage Tab.]
"Family Storage…?" Arjun muttered. "System, you have a storage feature? You never told me that!"
No response.
Of course.
"Grrr…"
Joxon gave a confused grunt, mimicking Arjun's reaction. Then he smirked and chuckled. It was a strange sound — almost childlike — and it made both Arjun and Vhim laugh too.
But before they could process the moment, a new circle of light began glowing under their feet.
A familiar hum filled the air.
"No, wait—" Arjun said, recognizing it.
But it was already too late.
The light burst upward like a fountain.
And they vanished.
---
When their feet touched the ground again, it wasn't golden stone they felt.
It was rough cave rock.
They were standing back at the entrance — the very cave mouth where they'd first found the ancient dungeon key.
The sun was hanging low in the sky, casting orange shadows across the mountains.
"Evening…" Arjun said, blinking against the light.
Vhim stretched, yawning. "Did we just spend… a whole day in that dungeon?"
Arjun shrugged. "Feels like it."
Behind them, Joxon took a deep breath of the fresh air and smiled at the sky, his golden eyes reflecting the sunlight.
Arjun looked over the boy's shoulder and said quietly, "You're one of us now."
> [Current Location: Ironridge Mountain Cave]
[Time Passed Since Entry: 1 Day, 2 Hours]
[Dungeon Status: Cleared. Unique Treasure Claimed.]
"So," Vhim said, cracking his knuckles. "We have a golden storage room. A tiger who's now a dude. And probably a target on our back from that blood ritual room."
"Yeah." Arjun looked out toward the horizon. "Let's go home for now. We have a lot to figure out."
"Wait," Vhim said, "should we tell Joxon about baths?"
Arjun chuckled. "Let's get him some real clothes first."
Joxon growled playfully, still adjusting the loose tunic. But then, out of nowhere, he suddenly bowed his head to Arjun — just for a second — and spoke his first word.
"…Brother."
Arjun blinked.
"…Yeah," he said softly. "That's right."
The three of them stood at the cave's edge,