The Tunnel Man is a friendly NPC who digs Shortcuts through the caves in exchange for items. These shortcuts give you the option to bypass previous areas during future playthroughs, skipping straight to the later levels. After the first shortcut has been dug, he can be found sitting in the shortcut house between games. There are 3 different shortcuts that can be built: A tunnel leading to the Jungle, one leading to the Ice Caves and another to the Temple.