Re-Carnated

Heading back into their dungeon, they prepared for their journey. They would have to pack a lot as they intended to head out until they found civilization.

Heading into the dungeon, they surveyed their supplies. Their main issue was having enough storage space on them to bring everything they wanted to bring. 

They started with what they were definitely bringing. 

They were definitely bringing their cloak. It provided protection from the elements, and it had interior pockets. 

They were also brining the rope belt. On the rope belt, they fixed their coin pouch to it, tying it on. If they were to find a person or a town, no doubt that money of any kind would be useful.

In the pockets of the cloak, they put the rough rock inside. Not only was it a good conduit for their expell, its partial transformation to a black stone interested them.

Along with this, they brought their portable light. They would need it when it would be dark, but they realized the risk of it giving their position away to wild animals.

The last item they brought was the notebook with the instructions for the ritual. If they could find someone who could read it, they wanted to know what went into the ritual, and what the true implications of the results meant.

The final thing they did to prepare was to wrap up parts of their body. If they were to encounter people, they wanted to at least hide their face. On top of this, they wanted to brace their feet. 

In order to do this, they would need something like bandages. 

They decided to cut off the bottom-most part of the cloak. They cut it into long strips. The cloak was too long for them anyway, and it would impede their movements if they left the long bottom of the cloak.

After cutting up the rope, they started to wrap their head. They wrapped it so that their eyes would be free, as well as their mouth and ears. Their nose was too obviously skinless, so they covered it. 

They felt suffocated by the bandages, but it would be impossible to do anything if people saw their form. Covering their face with bandages took them from weird skinless monster, to weird person with vague injuries.

They also wrapped their lower legs. They did only one layer from their shin to their ankle, but they wrapped their feet with many layers. This was to prevent injury on their feet while walking.

Because of these mediocre garments, they decided that they would spend their money on clothes when given the opportunity.

After getting ready, they looked outside. It was night, definitely not safe to head out of the dungeon.

Even looking outside, they could feel the presence of wild animals in the forest. They could hear howling and screeching in the forest.

During the night, they contemplated their purpose. 

What would they do if they found civilization? What would their life look like after this. It would be impossible for people to treat them as a normal person, and they couldn't hide themselves forever.

"If I find civilization, the first thing I want is to find answers. I want to know what I am, why I exist, and if there's others like me."

Their desire for knowledge was their main goal for now.

"Other than that, I want to learn. I want to learn the written language, and I want to learn more magic. I enjoyed learning magic, and I want to learn more. And with my dungeon skill, I want to learn what do do with it."

They now knew what they wanted to do once they found civilization. They were hoping that they could fit in, or at least be accepted enough to function.

They waited out the night. Because they wouldn't have their sleep to regenerate their mana, they didn't practice their magic out of fear that they would need to use their magic somewhere along their quest to civilization.

While they waited, they played games by themselves. Despite how morbid it felt, the various bones provided for decent tools for simple entertainment.

They would lay out bones in a square shape, and then attempt to throw a skull inside the middle, or they would try to juggle the bones. 

It was all they could think of to do to pass the night.

Their strange time passing activities concluded as soon as the sun started to rise. It was light enough that they were confident that they would have enough forewarning to any incoming threats. 

They crawled out of the dungeon, ready to embark. As much as they hated the dungeon, and felt confined in it for so long, it was good shelter, and they would miss it for its utilitarian usages. 

Their dungeon keeper skill would let them feel the dungeon, as if it was a second body if they concentrated, so they didn't feel like establishing any other method of finding their way back.

They now ventured out of the dungeon, picking the way the sun rising in to continue. This would give them a slight sense of direction. 

They walked in the forest for a while. The scenery felt very repetitive, skinny gray trees interspersed by some boulders. 

Along their route, they kept a mental note of the animals of the forest. 

They knew their were rabbits in the forest, as well as deer. They had seen a couple deer in the distance partway after they departed. 

They had yet to see any predators. Due to the strange howling and screeching they heard at night, they assumed that most predators in the forest were nocturnal, or at least were more active when it was dark.

Their trek though the forest ended abruptly when they suddenly encountered a dirt road in the middle of the forest. It was about halfway through the day, so it wasn't insanely far from their dungeon.

Looking at the road, they felt happy that they had found it so easily. But it made sense, after all it would be insanely difficult brining the construction supplies for the dungeon if it was any further from the road.

They looked at the road, looking for signs of activity.

The road was dirt, interspersed with the dark green grass, moss, and mushrooms. 

The dirt of the road was undisturbed, it was clear that it hadn't been used in a while.