ã€ŠMantle of the Gods [LitRPG / Slow Burn / FTB Harem]ã€‹


 Book 1 - The Mantle - Chapter 1

    The heat was nearly unbearable.

    ¡°Hey, Atlas!¡± The leader of our group called out my name. ¡°We¡¯re finished!¡±

    The heat got even worse as I came out of the bushes I had been hiding in. As a Porter, it was my job to collect the crystals dropped by the monsters that the party defeated. But since I didn¡¯t have a mantle, the magical imbuement that allowed Adventurers to get stronger by killing monsters in the dungeon, I had to stay clear of the fighting.

    I hurried over to where the bovine-like monsters had vanished and began picking up the crystals.

    ¡°You would think that it would be a bit more pleasant or even colder down here.¡± Paul chuckled as he watched me work. The other Adventurers were looking at a map of the dungeon, arguing about where to go next.

    I nodded in agreement. ¡°It does seem a lot warmer down here than normal.¡±

    Paul nodded in agreement. ¡°Give it a day or two. I¡¯ve seen floors where it snowed, rained, was over a hundred degrees, and even a tornado all in the same week." He wiped his brow and looked over at the other Adventurers. ¡°I think we''re done for today.¡±

    They stopped arguing as they looked at their leader. I expected them to argue, but they just started getting ready to travel.

    With their mantle-imbued speed, the Adventurers could travel a lot faster than a Mundane like me, even if I was in great shape for an eighteen-year-old. With how often the Adventurers relied on Mundane Porters to collect their crystals, the Dispatchers had made a rule that Adventurers weren¡¯t allowed out of the hub if they didn¡¯t come back with their Porter. Sometimes accidents happened, it was a very dangerous job and there were monsters everywhere, but in those cases, the Adventurers were released once they were cleared of any wrongdoing or negligence.

    ¡°You good?¡± Paul asked as I secured the last crystal.

    I nodded and watched the other Adventurers do the same.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± The black-haired man took off.

    I struggled to run as fast as I could compared to what seemed like barely jogging to them. I was completely out of breath by the time we made it to the gate that warped us back to the main floor of the Dispatcher''s hub. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Paul took the pack from me once we got to the ring, then activated the console, warping us to the Dispatcher¡¯s Hub.

    Zeb was a smaller town so the hub wasn''t very large and there weren''t that many parties that were farming this dungeon. Paul was new to town and had only been here for a couple of weeks. As the leader of our party started towards the desk he stopped and looked at me.

    ¡°Don''t you have someplace you need to be soon?¡±

    I tried to hide the excitement I was feeling. This was the year that I turned 18 and once a year the All-Temple came to town and tested those who had just come of age to see if they were worthy of being bestowed a mantle. I was trying not to get my hopes up, but I had a good feeling that I would get a mantle. If I did get a mantle, then I¡¯d be able to leave this Godless town and go to the Dispatchers School, where I get trained on how to be an Adventurer. If I didn¡¯t get a mantle, then I¡¯d be back here in the morning. Ready to collect monster crystals like I had been doing for the last 4 years.

    I nodded. ¡°The ceremony is this afternoon.¡±

    ¡°Well then.¡± Paul shooed me. ¡°You better get going.¡±

    I started to leave.

    ¡°Hey, Atlas!¡±

    I turned around and barely had enough time to catch one of the crystals that I¡¯d picked up. I stared at it for a moment. I had no idea how much it was worth and there was a part of me that was afraid I wouldn¡¯t be able to sell it. Porters weren¡¯t paid very well, but a Mundane also couldn¡¯t go through a ring with a crystal. This was mainly to eliminate stealing, but it also meant that almost daily, a Porter would carry more resources than a whole year''s salary.

    I couldn¡¯t believe the generosity. Before I could speak, Paul held up his hands.

    ¡°Consider it a parting gift from us.¡±

    I nodded my thanks.

    ¡°Just remember, that if you ever meet us in the dungeon, the first round is on you!¡± One of them hollered.

    I realized that as a Mundane, I might not be able to sell the crystal, but once I received a Mantle, I¡¯d be able to cash it out for whatever it was worth. I stashed the crystal in the pocket of my pants. The pants were worn, but they were specially made to be able to enter the dungeon. If I tried to wear regular clothes like a Mundane, then I¡¯d wind up naked once I entered the dungeon.

    I tried to find words, but their leader cut me off.

    ¡°Now get out of here, Atlas.¡± Paul had a huge smile on his face. They were the best Adventurers that I¡¯d ever worked with.

    I walked out of the one-story building and took a deep breath. Their support was filling me with more confidence. I looked at the sun and realized that it was getting close to the time for the ceremony to start. I took off down the street. I didn¡¯t want to be late on the most important day of my life.

 Chapter 2

    I made it just in time.

    I reached the edge of the crowd moments before the ArchBishop got on stage. My tardiness earned me a few nasty looks from the other people, but at least I was there.

    The crowd was gathered around a stage that was connected to a white tent in the middle of the town park. I assumed the stage had been raised to waist high so the short older man with a pot belly would be able to stand over everyone else.

    ¡°Welcome to the Mantle Ceremony!¡± His voice boomed, silencing the few stray whispers. ¡°The All-Temple welcomes you all. It is my pleasure to conduct the Ceremony this year in Zeb¡­¡±

    It was the same speech he gave every year. After hearing it a few times, all the pomp and circumstance began to lose its glamor. For me at least. I shifted uncomfortably as I stood at the edge of the crowd, completely enthralled by the item in the middle of the stage that was covered in a gold-trimmed, white sheet.

    I knew that under the sheet was a divining crystal. It was so large that it took a team of four Priests to move it. It also shone like nothing else I have ever witnessed. I shuddered when I thought about how it might change my life in a little while. How it might change a lot of our lives.

    Zeb wasn¡¯t a very large town considering it had a dungeon entrance. It would have been bigger if the sections of floors it was connected to had better quality monsters, but there wasn¡¯t a large demand for the bovine creatures that roamed its grassy floors.

    Which meant that we were in a town of barely five thousand people. Of those maybe thirty of us were coming of age this year and judging from what I¡¯d seen in past years, about half of us would be granted a mantle. Most of which would be heirs of nobility.

    Having a mantle granted more perks than just increased physical changes. There was a different way that Adventurers were treated outside the dungeon as well. Eventually, this led to Adventurers holding most of the positions of power, while the Mundane did the tasks that were beneath them. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    The term nobility had started as an insult, a way to throw a jab at the Adventurers who weren¡¯t going into the dungeon anymore so that they could lord over the common people. Unfortunately, instead of being offended, the topside Adventurers embraced the title and began to refine it. There was an entire system of ranks and benefits that I barely understood, but the one easy thing to grasp was that mantles almost always begat mantles.

    Also, since the ceremonies were conducted in public like this, most of the nobility would have their heir checked before the official ceremony. In the unlikely event the Heir was Mundane, there would be some reason why they weren¡¯t able to attend for the family to save face.

    ¡°... it is the divine duty of Adventurers to delve deeper into the dungeons to unlock the secrets that it holds. All Adventurers¡­¡±

    The ArchBishop was at the part where the dungeons were made by the Gods. In one of the converted places where the Gods walked among the people, this might have been better received, but Zeb was in the Godless zone. It wasn¡¯t just snubbed by Adventurers, it was also snubbed by the Gods who were always fighting over followers.

    There were Gods who had been around for more than two hundred years, and there were others who had risen to power just a decade or two ago. Some people whispered that they weren¡¯t Gods, but absurdly high-level Adventurers. Even if they were, the power they wielded was so far above that of the average Adventurer, that they might as well be Gods. This meant that when they fought over territory, whole cities could be leveled. I had become an orphan during one of those city-leveling battles, which still left a bad taste in my mouth toward the Gods.

    It had been hard growing up not knowing who my parents were, but there were many others like me. Brought to the All-Temple at a young age where we were cared for and taught, then shipped off to the Dispatchers as soon as we were able to work.

    My ears perked up as the ArchBishop reached the end of his speech.

    ¡°Now, would all of you not undergoing the trial, please sit down.¡± The old man said it as an order, despite being phrased as a question.

    Most of the crowd dropped at the same time. The Nobles and some of the wealthier Mundanes had brought seats, but the majority of the crowd sat on the ground.

    I tried to will my heart to slow down as I counted twenty-one of us still standing.

    The ArchBishop pointed his boney finger at a man in the front row.

    It was about to begin!

 Chapter 3

    ¡°Come.¡±

    It was such a simple command, but electricity ran up and down my spine. It wasn¡¯t my turn right now, but soon, it was going to be my turn.

    As the blonde-haired youth stepped onto the stage, two Priests who looked like they were over 50 came forward and took the cloth off of the diamond-shaped Crystal. It was as wide as my elbow to my wrist and looked almost like a pyramid. Despite how many times I¡¯d seen it, I was still amazed at the brilliance that it showed and how you could change where you were looking at it and see the rainbow of light change and shift within the crystal.

    A shout disturbed the silence as someone from the crowd tried to voice their encouragement. It was probably a family member or possibly just someone who came to see the show.

    The ArchBishop took the hands of the young man.

    ¡°Are you ready to be tested?¡± The old man asked

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Then I pray you receive a God¡¯s Blessing.¡± The ArchBishop pressed the blonde¡¯s hands against the top of the Crystal pyramid.

    The young adult winced as light from the Crystal somehow only covered him. When the light dimmed there was nothing that was any different about the man.

    The ArchBishop shook his balding head. ¡°You have been tested and found wanting. It is not a bad thing that you were not bestowed a mantle, there are plenty of other ways that you can serve your God.¡±

    I wondered if he realized that we were in a Godless zone or if he was just reciting lines to say to those who failed.

    The ArchBishop motioned for the tearing-up young man to get off the stage and then point it at the next person. A red-haired woman climbed up on stage. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°Are you ready to be tested?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± She nodded as he took her hands.

    ¡°Then I pray that you receive a Gods blessing.¡±

    The crystal flashed again as he pressed her hands down. After the flare, the light remained on the woman. There were words displayed on the crystal in such small print that I couldn''t read what it was from where I was standing. That wasn¡¯t what mattered though, what mattered was that she had been given a mantle.

    ¡°It is a glorious day!¡± The ArchBishop boomed, ¡°The Gods have seen fit to bestow Rix the mantle of Shooter!¡± It was common for the Mundane to not have a last name. Such things were too fancy for the Mundane. If they became an Adventurer, then they could claim one by joining a Noble family, or try to start a Noble family of their own.

    He motioned for her to step off of the stage towards the tent that they had erected. I could see what looked almost like a sigh of relief as she got off the stage and began walking in my direction. I was taken by the hard set of her jaw and captivated by her brown eyes that flicked around the crowd as if she was expecting someone to attack her. As she walked past me I was able to see faint scars on her wrist and her neck. It wasn''t uncommon for Mundane to have rope burns. There were the Adventures who became very powerful, and since the Blessing of their mantle worked outside the dungeon as well, vices that the Mundane had to keep in check were easier to get away with by a Noble.

    The Dispatch did have Adventurers on staff to police other Adventurers, but they couldn¡¯t monitor everyone. All too often people used misbegotten strength as a way to intimidate and abuse others. Kidnappings were also common and I wondered if she had been on the receiving end of some such abuse. When her eyes passed over mine they paused for a second and the look she gave me was indescribable. It was scared, confident, and defiant. The way she clenched her knuckles promised as much pain as she could inflict if I dared to even speak to her.

    I tried to smile to diffuse the tense exchange, but her gaze didn''t linger any longer than a moment before she was scanning the rest of the crowd. I watched her until she made her way into the tent.

    The person next to me hit my knee softly with the side of their fist. Before I could say anything I saw his other hand pointing at the stage. I had been so engaged in watching Rix that I hadn''t noticed the ArchBishop was pointing at me

    I bowed my head as I made my way to the stage. My shame only increased as the lump in my throat refused to be swallowed.

 Chapter 4

    His nails dug into my hands.

    ¡°Are you ready to be tested?¡± Annoyance dripped off every word.

    I nodded, ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Then I pray you receive a God''s blessing.¡±

    His hands pushed mine so fast that I didn''t have a chance to react. The tip of the Crystal dug into my hands and it felt like he was trying to push it all the way through. My blood was absorbed as it ran down the sides of the Crystal. The flash of light washed over me, but wrapped around me instead of blinding me. The six stats appeared in the crystal with numbers after them. The class was supposed to be under my name, but the blurred letters were impossible to make out. The light settled on me, covering me in a warm glow. I looked at the ArchBishop for guidance about the illegible class, but I saw his face contort for a second before he yanked my hands up. I was able to catch a glimpse of the class, but what I saw didn¡¯t make sense.

    ¡°It is a glorious day!¡± the ArchBishop was back in announcer mode, ¡°The Gods have seen fit to bestow Atlas with the class of Caster.¡± He pulled me into what the crowd must have thought was a tight hug. ¡°Tell anyone what you saw and you¡¯re dead.¡± he hissed before releasing me. He motioned for me to follow the same path that Rix had taken.

    I felt lighter as I tried to hurry down the walkway. When I parted the door of the tent, Rix was sitting in the corner furthest away from the flap. She looked a lot less mad but still just as vigilant, her muscles tensed as if she was about to pounce.

    ¡°Whoa!¡± I held up both palms, ¡°Whoa! I just got a mantle, so I¡¯m supposed to wait in here.¡± I looked around the tent but there was nothing but two benches on either side. I sat down diagonally from the red-haired woman, because I thought that would be the place where she would feel the least threatened. After a long pause of silence that became uncomfortable, I decided that I had to start the conversation.

    ¡°So¡­ Shooter? Was that the class you were expecting?¡±

    The look she gave me had me thinking she wasn''t going to answer but she just shrugged, ¡°It''s the speed based class.¡±

    It was like she expected that to answer everything.

    ¡°I got the Caster mantle.¡± I lied. I didn''t know how I was going to tell anyone what the thing was that the Crystal had read. I didn''t know what I was going to do or what it even meant. One thing I was sure of though, it was going to cause me a lot of trouble.

    Rix looked completely uninterested.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    ¡°I would have thought I¡¯d be a Hitter or a Tank since I¡¯ve worked as a Porter for the last four years. I don''t know, maybe I''m going to be some Hitter-Caster hybrid.¡±

    The redhead turned away and leaned against one of the tent poles.

    I decided to continue the conversation in my head since she wasn¡¯t going to participate.

    I knew it wasn''t uncommon for someone who trained in a stat other than their main one to receive a secondary class. Those two would later merge into a new blended class. There were almost one hundred known classes, but all of them started from the same six base stats. That was what we had been taught in school anyway.

    After a few more moments of silence, I realized that I knew her name but she didn''t know mine. We had heard at least two more failures from outside the tent by the groans from the crowd.

    ¡°You don''t know my name and I know yours.¡± I leaned forward and offered her my hand, ¡°I''m Atlas Zeb.¡± Only the nobility had last names. For the Mundane, their last name was the city that they were from. Now that I had received a mantle, I would be able to either join a Noble family or start one of my own.

    She just eyed the hand and for a few moments, I thought she was going to ignore me, but she sighed, replying while leaving the hand there, ¡°I¡¯m Rix Zeb.¡±

    I thought about asking her about her past, but she didn¡¯t look like she wanted to talk. My own past wasn¡¯t that great of a story, so I was actually a little relieved that I didn¡¯t have to share it

    I was an orphan of a realm war, where the city I had been living in had been destroyed. I spent eleven years at the All-Temple before I had been sent to work for the Dispatchers for the last 4 years. Actually, the Priests just assumed that I was 3 years old when I came to them. Without parents or someone who knew me before, there had been no way to know what it was. My birthday had become the day I had been brought to the Temple with the actual day being lost to time.

    The tent doors parted, pulling me out of my musings.

    A blonde Noble walked in. I could tell he was a Noble, because unlike Rix who was wearing worn holey clothes that I would have guessed were from the field workers. I was wearing a drab jumpsuit specifically made for Porters. This person had lace and frills on their clothes and the white parts were really white, like his teeth.

    ¡°Well, I guess I''m here with the trash.¡± the blonde-haired man glared at both of us, ¡°I would have hoped that they would have the good sense to separate the filth from those who are worthy of receiving a mantle.¡±

    I got up and he flinched as if he thought I was going to hit him. His reaction made me think about it, but I knew it wouldn¡¯t be worth the trouble I¡¯d be in later if I did. I gestured at the bench that I had just been sitting on, ¡°Allow me to move, so you can have a bench to yourself. I apologize for marring your memorable day.¡±

    ¡°You should be.¡± the Noble straightened then sat down and crossed his arms, ¡°I just hope that there is better company soon and I will make sure to talk to my parents so that they transport us in separate vehicles.¡±

    I sat down next to Rix and leaned slightly towards her and whispered out of the corner of my mouth. ¡°I figured you''d rather sit next to me than him.¡±

    Her eyes stayed neutral but she gave a slight nod of her head.

    It wasn¡¯t long before the door to the tent opened and another Noble walked in, saving us from any more of the blonde¡¯s focus. I really hoped that they would transport us in different vehicles, otherwise, it was going to be a long car ride.

 Chapter 5

    Only one more person was given a mantle.

    She was also a Mundane which left the two Nobles perfectly content to ignore us once the ceremony was over. Two Priests came and opened the tent flap, allowing us to see the ArchBishop on the other side.

    ¡°Right this way,¡± the ArchBishop motioned for us to exit.

    ¡°Nobles first.¡± The first Noble said as he got up and cast a look over at the three of us. ¡°You better not think just because you have a mantle now that you are my equal.¡± He stormed out of the tent.

    I expected the other Noble to say something, too, but she followed after him without gracing us with a parting comment.

    One of the Priests flanking the door let the tent flap drop and followed after them. The blonde-haired brown-eyed Mundane got up first. She seemed a little more cheerful now that the Nobles were gone, but had been too scared to speak while we had been in the presence of nobility. I hadn¡¯t wanted to draw any more ire myself, so the three of us had sat in silence while the Nobles conversed like we hadn¡¯t been there.

    I followed her out, leaving Rix to bring up the rear. I thought she¡¯d be more comfortable with that and it was also the order that we¡¯d been sitting. The other Priest moved to follow us, causing the redhead to step out of his way. He paused, looking to the ArchBishop for guidance.

    ¡°Take them to their car.¡± The ArchBishop pointed at me, ¡°You stay.¡±

    I watched as the Priest took the lead and led them to a separate vehicle than the one that the Nobles had gotten in. Apparently the blonde Noble had gotten his wish.

    Once the two vehicles drove away, a third car pulled up. The ArchBishop started walking towards the car, but stopped when he realized that I wasn¡¯t moving.

    ¡°You¡¯re riding with me. I have questions for you.¡±

    I followed after the balding gray-haired man and got into the backseat of the car. I had never been in a vehicle like this. The few times I¡¯d ever been in a vehicle, it had been either a bus or a small car with only two rows. This vehicle had seats in the back that faced each other with a divider that blocked off our view of the driver completely.

    The ArchBishop ran his hands through what little hair he had left on his head, ¡°Who are you?¡± He began undoing the front of his white robes, revealing jeans and a comfortable shirt underneath.

    I felt the car start to move, but I couldn¡¯t tell where we were going because the windows were so tinted that I couldn''t see outside.

    ¡°I''m Atlas.¡± I stuttered, not quite sure what he was asking.

    ¡°I don''t mean what is your name. I mean where did you come from? Who were your parents?¡±Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°I don''t know. I was brought to the All-Temple as an orphan at the age of three where I stayed until fourteen when I was sent to the Dispatchers to work as a Porter.¡±

    The ArchBishop nodded his head, ¡°Yes, I know that.¡± his voice had a sharp hiss to it, ¡°I want to know what you know about your family.¡±

    ¡°I honestly don''t remember anything other than what I think is the warmth of my mother''s hug, but that''s all I can tell you about them. I''m sorry.¡±

    The ArchBishop rubbed his temple. ¡°You have no idea the situation you have put me in.¡±

    I wrinkled my brow, ¡°I''m sorry. but I don¡¯t know what that means. Do you know what my class really is and why did you say it was Caster?¡±

    The ArchBishop looked at me like I had asked a stupid question. ¡°Your magic stat is the highest of your six base stats, naturally you will be classified as a Caster.¡±

    I nodded, it made sense, but my real class didn''t. ¡°What is going to happen to me?¡±

    The ArchBishop sighed, ¡°You still have to be taught and you''re still going to have to go into the dungeon.¡± he looked up at the roof of the car, ¡°But we need to do something about your class and I need to get someone I trust¡­¡± he started murmuring under his breath as he kept talking, then snapped his fingers. ¡°I''ve got it!¡±

    I waited for him to explain, but it seemed like he had completely forgotten that I wasn¡¯t part of the conversation.

    ¡°You''re also going to need a Priest. Someone we can stick with you without raising suspicion. Someone who will make sure you grow and stay in line.¡± He pulled a pad out from the door and began flicking his way through information.

    ¡°Do I get a say?¡±

    The old man glared at me like I had asked another stupid question. ¡°No you won''t get to pick any of your team.¡± he thought for a moment, ¡°Actually, that might not be a bad idea if I keep all of you together, then maybe¡­ No, but I could¡­¡±

    I watched him musing and talking to himself. ¡°But what kind of a class is¡­?¡±

    ¡°Silence!¡± The ArchBishop pulled out of whatever argument he was having with himself, ¡°Don''t ever utter the name of that class. Ever!¡± He pointed his finger at me, ¡°If you do anyone you speak it to will be killed and so will you.¡±

    I swallowed, sensing the severity of his threat. And by his tone I felt like he wasn¡¯t referencing him as the one issuing my death. I tried to think of a reason, but I couldn''t fathom why the ArchBishop would be so upset. I could understand if word got out of what my class was then it would upend what the All-Temple had been teaching about the six starting classes. I had a feeling that he knew more than he was letting on. I could tell he knew exactly what the class was but right now I wasn¡¯t getting anything more out of him. I settled into my seat and thought about what the crystal had read before the ArchBishop had blinded everyone.

    Atlas Zeb - Level 1

    Age: 18, Hair: White, Eye color: Green, Height: 6¡¯

    0 Exp

    godling

    10 Power 10 Defense 10 Speed

    12 Magic 10 Recovery 10 Aura

    I realized that the reason why so many of the lower-ranked Adventurers that I had worked with had towns for their last names. The numbers seemed normal enough to me and it made sense why he would say I was a Caster given that my magic was two points higher than the rest of my stats. The thing that I think scared him and confused me was the word that I was only able to read for a second. The word that had been my class.

    Godling

 Chapter 6

    The ArchBishop ignored me for the rest of the drive.

    We stopped for a moment and the ArchBishop got out a phone and made a call.

    ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± After a moment, the ArchBishop banged on the divider between the front and back seats, then closed his phone.

    The car started moving again, but we must have traveled through something because I felt tingles run over my skin. The car stopped almost as soon as the tingling did.

    The balding old man turned to me, ¡°Follow me. Talk to no one.¡±

    A nasty-looking Priest wearing a much nastier-looking gun as well as a sword opened the car door.

    ¡°ArchBishop.¡± The Priest grunted

    The ArchBishop just nodded and got up out of the car. I smiled weakly as I scooted over, but the Priest gave no reaction. I slipped past him as fast as I could, intent on catching up to the ArchBishop. Instead, I was dumbfounded by the sight in front of me. It was a huge mansion that stretched for as far as I could see in either direction. I had heard stories about the All-Temple Cathedral, but to actually see it. I shook my head, there was no way for me to know that this was actually the All-Temple Cathedral, but if it wasn¡¯t I couldn¡¯t imagine how much grander the Cathedral was.

    According to rumor, the Cathedral had been made out of nothing but dungeon material, giving it a defense unlike almost anything ever built. I turned around to see the gate that we must have driven through as well as a guard tower above the gate. The tingling must have been the barrier, and I could only imagine how strong it had to be to protect a place like this.

    The ArchBishop did not wait for me to gawk at the shrubbery or pillars or even the tops of the cathedral as he just marched forward.

    I looked around, "Hey!¡± I ran to catch up to him, ¡°Where are the others?

    The ArchBishop turned and looked at me. ¡°I said no talking.¡±

    He nodded to the burley Priest who nudged me forward with the tip of the gun that was hanging from his shoulder. I began walking and realized that I was keeping up with the old man, who was jogging, without having to run. Someone of his level should have been severely outpacing me and I would never have been able to catch up to them before receiving a mantle. The stat boost of my mantle was already taking effect, which made me feel a little less anxious about the maze I was being led through. I tried to memorize the turns as we walked but there were too many. It surprised me that the ArchBishop actually took stairs as he climbed the towers, at least I thought they were towers, I really had no idea where we were going or what we were doing except that we went up several flights of stairs.

    I hadn¡¯t seen the outside in a while when we turned down a long hallway. Halfway down the ArchBishop stopped and walked inside as if he owned the room. To be fair, he walked around everywhere as if he owned the room. But when I looked at the name over the door it proudly read ArchBishop Mavry. The ArchBishop was already behind his desk when I walked into the room. Before I could ask him anything, all my questions vanished as I saw the sheer amount of rare conversation pieces that adorned the large office. After a day of farming, sometimes I would be too tired to do anything other than lay in the Dispatchers bunkroom and listen to the Adventurers talk about items of legend. Either these were replicas, or the ArchBishop had an invaluable collection.

    The scary Priest closing the door to the office snapped me out of my wonder. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

    ¡°Can I talk now?¡± I was starting to lose patience. Given how much I was being ordered around, annoyance felt like a decent way to exert a little control over the situation.

    The ArchBishop glared at me from the other side of his desk and nodded at a chair near the back wall. I took that as a no so instead I sat down and began to think about what I was going to do to pass the time. The ArchBishop was almost completely absorbed in whatever he was doing on the computer in front of him, which had me wondering how far I could get before he realized I was gone. The speed at which he snapped his fingers when I started to get up told me I wouldn¡¯t be able to get out of the room.

    It wasn''t long before someone knocked on the door.

    ¡°Come in.¡± the ArchBishop didn¡¯t bother looking up from his project.

    The man who walked in gave off the vibe of being older than the ArchBishop even if he didn¡¯t look it. He did have white hair and brown eyes and was wearing an open blue overcoat.

    The ArchBishop nodded from the older man to me. ¡°Trent Vowler, your new student, Atlas Zeb.¡±

    ¡°I already have a full class.¡± Trent crossed his arms

    ¡°Not anymore.¡± the ArchBishop pulled out a file and walked around his desk to hand it to the teacher, ¡°This is your new assignment.¡± As the teacher began reading the file the ArchBishop continued, ¡°And there is no one else that I would trust with this.¡±

    Trent just shook his head as he flipped through the file. Partway through he paused and turned to look at me. ¡°Is this true?¡±

    I had no idea what was in the file or if he was even talking to me, so I just shrugged, still unsure whether or not the ArchBishop wanted me to speak. It was one thing to give the old man grief when we were alone, but this teacher was an unknown and it was better to play it safe with unknowns.

    Trent looked from me to the ArchBishop, ¡°It doesn¡¯t say anything about him being mute.¡±

    ¡°You can speak now.¡±

    I opened my mouth.

    ¡°If it''s relevant.¡± the ArchBishop warned.

    I wasn¡¯t quite sure what he was threatening me with. I was pretty sure he wanted me for something, which gave me a little room to act out. But I honestly didn¡¯t want to know what the old man would do to someone who really crossed that line.

    ¡°I don''t know what you have,¡± I got up to try to see what was in the files, but the teacher closed the file and turned to the ArchBishop like I wasn¡¯t even there.

    ¡°So you took away my class to train this level 10 with terrible stat allocation and who has no idea what he is?¡± Trent opened the file to look at it again, ¡°What even is this stat spread?¡±

    ¡°First of all,¡± the ArchBishop creased his brow, ¡°He isn¡¯t a level ten. I oversaw him getting his mantle a few hours ago.¡±

    ¡°Seriously?¡± Trent looked at me and then looked at the ArchBishop, ¡°Then his stat spread makes no sense, unless...¡± he started flipping through the files again.

    The ArchBishop nodded, ¡°You are the only one I could think of who might be able to handle this situation.¡±

    Trent flipped a few more pages and on every page, the place where it should have listed my class was censored.

    ¡°What exactly is his class?¡± Trent closed the file again, not finding the answer he was looking for.

    The ArchBishop held up his finger, ¡°Not yet there is still one more person coming so I don¡¯t have to repeat myself.¡±

    Trent raised an eyebrow, ¡°Okay, so how about this one. You obviously aren¡¯t going to record his real class, so you need me to be the one to teach him since his magic is his highest stat so that you can pass him off as a Caster.¡±

    The ArchBishop nodded, ¡°I have Gerald modifying the courtyard stone so that it will respond with Caster instead of his actual class as well as modifying those stats so that the other students and teachers won¡¯t get suspicious.¡±

    Trent shook his head, ¡°You¡¯re going to have me train him with a group?¡± He shook his head, ¡°That¡¯s a big risk.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯ll develop faster with a team, besides, I have my reasons for wanting him on a team.¡± There was a knock on the door, ¡°And there she is!¡± He nodded for Trent to open the door.

    The brown-haired, blue-eyed beauty that walked through the door was not what I was expecting. She was my age, but held herself well, which meant she was used to being around people of this power level, so I knew she was a Noble.

    She bowed slightly to the ArchBishop, ¡°You sent for me?¡±

    The ArchBishop waited until the door closed to speak. ¡°Justia Publian,¡± He pointed at me, ¡°meet your God.¡±

 Chapter 7

    ¡°Your what?¡± Justia and I exclaimed at the same time.

    Trent looked like it all made sense except to me none of it made sense. The ArchBishop didn¡¯t wait for any of it to sink in. Instead, he continued to feed us information.

    ¡°You are to tell no one of this.¡± He eyed Justia and me, ¡°Not a single word outside of this room.¡± the ArchBishop turned his attention to Trent. ¡°I need you to oversee his training and raise him to where he''ll be able to stand on his own.¡± He looked at the Priestess, ¡°Justia, you are to see to his needs as you would the God who you eventually serve.¡±

    I rubbed my forehead, this was all happening too fast and too crazy. Just what exactly did they think I was?

    Trent put the folder on the desk and folded his arms, ¡°So you''ve given me a Healer and a Caster. Are you going to fill out the rest of my team for me or do I have a say in that?¡±

    The ArchBishop glared at Trent, ¡°You have four more people that you can choose, except they can¡¯t be Noble. I don''t need word of one of his antics getting back to a deity through the Nobles.¡±

    Trent nodded, ¡°Understandable, but that puts a lot of limits on my team and will showcase him that much more.¡±

    Justia found her voice before the ArchBishop had a chance to respond. ¡°I was told that I wouldn''t have to take the vow if I came here instead of staying at the clinic.¡± She focused her attention on the balding old man. ¡°You told me that I would be allowed to return to my family''s clinic once I was done and that I wouldn¡¯t have to deal with any of this¡­,¡± She waved her hands around, ¡°stuff.¡±

    ¡°Some things are more important.¡± The ArchBishop pointed at the wall behind him, ¡°Every day, the deities get stronger and take a little more of our power away. Soon, they won¡¯t even recognize the sanctity of our order, and then who is going to stand between the deities and the masses? Hmm?¡± He didn¡¯t wait for her to respond, ¡°An opportunity to stop this blight has fallen into our lap and I think we need to take advantage of it.¡±

    I could see the rage in her eyes when I made the mistake of looking at her. I swallowed not knowing what to do.

    Sorry

    I tried to mouth the word but somehow it only made her look even angrier.

    ¡°What will you do about the other teachers?¡± Trent asked, ¡°I can¡¯t see Celia keeping this from her benefactor.¡±

    The ArchBishop raised his eyebrows, ¡°That is for you to figure out.¡± He motioned between the two of them, ¡°If the deities figure out what we have here then you know what will happen.¡±

    I stood up before Trent could answer. I wasn¡¯t keeping up with the conversation and needed it to be spelled out clearer. ¡°Just what do we have here and why is everyone deciding what will happen to me without me getting a say in it?¡±If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Justia looked shocked at how I had just spoken to the superiors.

    Trent backed away just a bit so that it would be only me that the ArchBishop could focus on.

    ¡°You are doing what I say because I am the one protecting you from the other deities.¡± The ArchBishop came around the desk and grabbed my hand. Before I knew what was happening he had drawn a thin line of blood with one of his nails and then smeared it across a long white rock on his desk. The rock absorbed the blood, then a status board appeared above it.

    Atlas Zeb - Level 1

    Age: 18, Hair: White, Eye color: Green, Height: 6¡¯

    0 Exp

    godling

    10 Power 10 Defense 10 Speed

    12 Magic 10 Recovery 10 Aura

    Justia let out a small gasp and then a long sigh. Trent just shook his head.

    ¡°What does that mean?¡± I asked anyone who would explain.

    The ArchBishop pointed at my class, ¡°This means that once you accumulate enough power you will ascend to divinity.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t get it.¡±

    ¡°What did you think the ¡®Gods¡¯ were? How did you think they died and new ones came to be?¡± He looked at me, then continued his rant when I didn¡¯t answer, ¡°Every one of the ¡®Gods¡¯ that are in power right now started as a Godling, just like you are. Then, once they spent enough time in the dungeon and gathered enough levels, they became the forces they are today.¡±

    ¡°Okay, but why does that make me a threat and why would they kill me now?¡±

    ¡°How much territory do you think is out there? How many followers?¡± The ArchBishop held up a hand when I started to answer, ¡°The answer is a countable number. And if the number can be counted, then there is a finite amount of it.¡±

    ¡°So if I get high enough level, they¡¯d have to share with me.¡±

    ¡°Exactly. But they don¡¯t like sharing, so when would be the best time to take out a potential rival?¡±

    ¡°While I¡¯m too weak to defend myself.¡± I followed all of that, ¡°But how are you the only one protecting me?¡±

    ¡°I made sure that no one figured out what your class was. I¡¯m making arrangements for you to get stronger in a protected environment.¡± He pointed at the wall again, ¡°If one of those ¡®Gods¡¯ tries to come here, they might be able to get to you, but they¡¯d be so weak afterward that the others would take them out and divide their territory.¡±

    ¡°But what about the Godless zones?¡± I asked, ¡°That¡¯s a lot of unclaimed territory.¡±

    ¡°Those are the borders between factions.¡± Trent answered, ¡°A healthy border makes for a good neighbor. If one of them starts moving into that territory, then it can be seen as an act of war.¡±

    ¡°If you stay here, then you can train. You¡¯ll get stronger and when you announce yourself to the world, you¡¯ll have the might of the All-Temple behind you. Or¡­¡± The ArchBishop let the offer hang for a moment before he finished, ¡°You can walk out the front gate and try it by yourself. But I can guarantee that you won¡¯t last until the end of the week.¡±

    It was a lot to process and even though I felt like I needed time that he wasn¡¯t going to give me.

    ¡°So what do you say? Do you want to try your luck alone, or do you want an ally?¡±

 Chapter 8

    I couldn''t believe the word he just used ally.

    ¡°Ally?¡± I repeated it back to him, ¡°How does what you¡¯re offering sound like an ally? To me, it sounds like I either become your weapon or you feed me to the dogs.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re looking at it the wrong way.¡± The ArchBishop sat on his desk, ¡°What I¡¯m offering is to shelter you, train you, and help you build a powerbase. Yes, you would be removing some things that are threats to me, but they are also threats to you.¡±

    ¡°Besides,¡± He pointed at Justia, ¡°If this doesn¡¯t give you an idea about what I am going to be giving you, then I don¡¯t know what more I can do to prove how good of a deal for you this is.¡±

    ¡°How about not forcing her into a deal she¡­¡± Justia cut the comment short with a single look from the ArchBishop.

    ¡°You want your family¡¯s Clinic to survive and you want to be able to go back there and run it once you¡¯re strong enough.¡± The ArchBishop held up two fingers, ¡°I will have the All-Temple endorse Publian Clinic, which would be more than enough to keep the larger Clinics from trying to absorb it.¡± He lowered one finger, ¡°And you won¡¯t find a better or faster way right now to get stronger than by his side.¡± The ArchBishop paused as he was lowering the second finger, ¡°And I am willing to bet that he would let you operate out of Publian Clinic once he establishes himself.¡±

    Justia looked to me for confirmation and I couldn¡¯t disagree. As much as I hated the feeling that I was being used, it sounded like it was a really good deal.

    ¡°I¡¯ll need to have this in writing.¡± Justia stated.

    ¡°Writing leaves a paper trail. And we don¡¯t want a paper trail. There is something else we can do to ensure we have each others trust.¡± The ArchBishop waved his hand in the air in front of us.

    Magical letters appeared in the air, writing out the details of our contract. It spelled out everything that we had discussed, but something concerned me.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°What are you getting out of this?¡± I looked at Trent.

    The old Caster shrugged, gesturing at the ArchBishop, ¡°I already have a deal with Mavery, this falls under that.¡±

    I was curious what that deal was, but now was not the time to ask.

    ¡°So are we in agreement?¡± The ArchBishop held out his left hand, palm up.

    ¡°It works for me.¡± Trent put his hand over the ArchBishop¡¯s.

    ¡°What happens if someone breaks the contract or tries to hurt someone to get out of the contract?¡± I asked

    The ArchBishop pointed at a line at the bottom that I¡¯d missed.

    ¡°If anyone within this accord shall breach this contract or attempt to harm another party in this contract, then they shall receive all ill back upon themselves.¡± I looked up, ¡°That¡¯s kind of vague.¡±

    ¡°And also covers a lot.¡± The ArchBishop pointed to his hand, ¡°Look, I¡¯m busy with a lot of other things before this came up and pushed everything back. If you could hurry up so that we can all get on with our lives, that¡¯d be great.¡±

    I put my hand on top of my teacher¡¯s, ¡°I think I can live with this.¡±

    That left Justia as the odd one out.

    ¡°My lady,¡± the ArchBishop''s voice was much sweeter, ¡°you''re getting everything you want plus more.¡± He nodded at the linked hands, ¡°You''ve already promised, now make it binding.¡±

    I could tell that Justia was beginning to panic but the look in her eyes told me that she also knew there was no way out. I wasn''t sure what exactly was causing her to be so afraid of it being binding instead of just a contractual agreement but I didn''t understand the gist of the magic either. All I knew was this would keep me alive longer than one week and as far as unpleasant allies went it seemed like I could do a lot worse than the ArchBishop.

    Justia cautiously put her hand over my right hand. As soon as her palm touched the back of my hand, the ArchBishop jammed his fist on top of our hands. I didn''t realize until I heard my own screams that he had just rammed a silver knitting needle through all of our hands. The spell began to be absorbed by the silver needle and spread out through each of our hands.

    ¡°There.¡± The ArchBishop pulled the needle out, ¡°Now it is binding.¡± he nodded to Trent, ¡°You can show your new students to their dorm.¡± He looked back at some notes on his desk. ¡°You''re in number three.¡±

    Trent nodded and opened the door.

    I rubbed the back of my hand, smearing away the blood only to notice that it had already healed. I ducked through the door ahead of Justia. Might as well go get settled in.

 Chapter 9

    I needed to use the bathroom.

    It had been a long car ride and I hadn''t had the freedom to relieve myself yet. I looked at my teacher and thought about how I should phrase the question.

    ¡°Is there a bathroom close?¡±

    Trent nodded up the hallway, ¡°Around the corner, first on your right. We¡¯ll wait for you.¡±

    ¡°Thanks!¡± I jogged down the hall and sure enough, there was a restroom right around the corner. I was a little disappointed after I walked in. Part of me had hoped that there were gold toilets and faucets like was rumored, but instead, it was almost exactly like the facilities in the Dispatcher Hub. I did my task then came out of the stall and started to wash my hands. I had just finished when I looked up and saw a short blonde-haired blue-eyed young woman standing behind me. She was absolutely gorgeous and the shirt she was wearing could barely contain her chest and I couldn¡¯t believe how high her skirt was.

    She was the first female I¡¯d seen here, not counting Justia. Not that Justia wasn¡¯t pretty. The priest had a rugged tomboy style that was endearing, but this girl looked like something off the cover of a very naughty magazine. I swallowed as I turned to my left and began to dry my hands. A quick glance to the right confirmed that there were urinals.

    ¡°I think you have the wrong bathroom.¡± I pointed towards the urinals, ¡°This is clearly the men''s.¡± My heart was beating faster as she slowly pushed up against me her breasts squishing into my chest which drew almost all of my attention but not so much that I wasn''t able to hear her purr into my ear.

    ¡°I''m right where I need to be.¡±

    Just her voice alone was almost enough to make my legs weak. She began running her hand over me seductively, which sort of confused me. I¡¯d never been able to attract the attention of women before, and with this one, I hadn¡¯t even tried and she was coming on to me.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Her finger danced up to my chin as I let her have her way. It was like I was hypnotized, but knew it. I didn¡¯t care because I felt like I was the center of the Universe.

    ¡°You must be a pretty big deal.¡± She slid to the side so she could whisper in my right ear. It felt like music floating into my brain, ¡°What year are you?¡±

    ¡°First year¡­¡± My hands started to move on their own and I found myself gripping her shoulder, trying to pull her closer.

    She pulled away from a kiss and batted her eyes at me, ¡°Only a first year and you¡¯ve been in the ArchBishop¡¯s office already?¡± She clucked her tongue, ¡°You must be a very. Very. Bad boy.¡±

    I shook my head as she pulled away, my fingers running down the length of her arms. I didn¡¯t want her to leave. ¡°No! The ArchBishop thinks I¡¯m special!¡±

    Her face said she didn¡¯t believe me, so I kept going.

    ¡°It¡¯s true! He brought in some bigshot teacher named Trent Vowler to teach me!¡±

    That got her attention.

    ¡°And why did he do that?¡± She ran one finger up my throat and stopped at my chin.

    ¡°Because¡­¡±

    The bathroom door opened and it was like a spell had been broken. My head felt clearer as we both turned to see who had just walked in.

    ¡°What is the meaning of this?¡± The ArchBishop roared as he pulled the blonde off of me, ¡°You haven''t been here for five minutes and you''re already fornicating with some¡­¡± he squinted at the blonde, ¡°Some random woman!¡±

    The woman whose name I didn¡¯t even know grinned widely apparently amused by the trouble that she had got me in.

    ¡°If you needed relief that badly.¡± The ArchBishop took a step back and reached through the door pulling Justia into the bathroom. ¡°I''m sure she will be more than happy to help you instead of¡­¡± He squinted at the blonde.

    ¡°Bridget,¡± she offered her name.

    ¡°Get out!¡± he pointed at the door

    She stood up and slowly walked out the door behind them smiling from ear to ear. Once she left I looked at the audience that was standing in front of me.

    ¡°It''s not what it looks like,¡± I tried to think about what had just happened, but the memory of it was foggy.

    ¡°If you need her to finish, I''m sure she''ll be more than happy to service you.¡± The ArchBishop sneered.

 Chapter 10

    She looked terrified.

    Which meant that we had different definitions of ¡®more than happy¡¯. Given the stunned fear on her face, I could tell that she would not be happy to continue where Bridget had left off. In fact, I could see her mind grasping for any excuse why she wouldn''t have to continue where Bridget left off.

    ¡°It''s fine,¡± I offered a hand to help her up.

    ¡°That was quick.¡± Trent chuckled

    ¡°It wasn''t¡­ It was¡­ She was¡­ I¡­¡± I couldn''t think of the proper way to finish that statement. Instead, I just let my shoulders droop. ¡°I have no idea what happened.¡±

    ¡°That much is obvious.¡± the ArchBishop scoffed, ¡°I leave you alone for just a minute and you''re already finding trouble.¡± he pulled Justia to her feet.

    She was still looking stunned, which apparently the ArchBishop still had not noticed.

    ¡°If you insist on getting into this type of trouble, then I am going to have to require you to keep her with you at all times.¡±

    ¡°WHAT!¡± We both said at the same time.

    The ArchBishop pointed his finger at Justia¡¯s face. ¡°You will keep those tramps away from him. It is your job to make sure that none of these loose women try to take advantage of him.¡±

    Trent chuckled as he watched us get in trouble.

    ¡°And where were you?¡± The ArchBishop turned to the amused older man.

    ¡°I was giving the man his privacy,¡± Trent crossed his arms, ¡°Unless you would like me to follow him around so I could hold it for him.¡±

    The ArchBishop looked like he might be considering that for a moment.

    ¡°I can¡­¡±

    The balding clergy pointed his bony finger at me silencing the rest of my flimsy defense. ¡°I know exactly what you can do. I saw the whole thing with my own two eyes. Just who was that girl?¡± He realized that he¡¯d let her leave, ¡°Where is security?¡± He spun towards Trent, ¡°Why did you let her leave?¡± Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    Trent sighed, ¡°That was Bridget Tres. She''s part of the batch that came in today.¡±

    The ArchBishop looked at Trent with astonishment, ¡°How do you know who came in today?¡±

    ¡°I guess that''s why you pay me the big bucks,¡± he smiled

    ¡°Do you think she heard anything?¡± the ArchBishop asked

    ¡°Your office is soundproof,¡± Trent reminded him, ¡°Besides she probably just saw the three of us leaving your office and decided to endear herself to someone with such high access.¡±

    The ArchBishop nodded, ¡°You have a point.¡± He looked at Justia and me, ¡°I probably shouldn''t be seen with either of you again for a while.¡± he turned to Trent, ¡°Which means you will have to give me weekly updates on their progress.¡±

    Justia finally started to perk up once she heard that the ArchBishop would be actively avoiding her.

    I started to let out a sigh of relief that I caught. It wouldn''t help our case any if he thought we were happy to get rid of him. I did feel bad for Trent though, but if one of us had to take the fall he seems like he already had at least a friendly relationship with the ArchBishop. It was better that person be the one who represented all of us than myself or Justia.

    I smiled sheepishly, ¡°Do you think you could show us to our dorm now?¡±

    Trent looked at the ArchBishop, ¡°You''ll probably want to stay in here for a minute after we leave.¡± He turned to us, ¡°Let me go make sure the hall is clear, then the two of you can come out and we''ll walk over to the dorms.¡± the ArchBishop looked like he was about to object but decided that it seemed like there was some logic to this plan.

    Trent walked out of the bathroom, after a moment he waved his hand that it was safe for us to follow.

    Justia and I slipped out quickly. I expected the ArchBishop to give us some parting command or order something but the old man was musing to himself. I let out the sigh of relief as soon as we got far enough down the hall that we were out of sight of the bathroom. We hadn''t made it very far when I realized that Justia and I had passed Trent and that he was laughing to himself while using a wall to hold himself up.

    ¡°What''s so funny?¡± I asked

    ¡°I haven''t been your teacher for five minutes and you''re already getting frisky in the bathrooms I can''t imagine what dorm life with you is going to be like.¡± he bounced his eyebrow at Justia, ¡°Do you think we need to have a special sock for him to put on the corner of his bed if we all need to leave?¡±

    Her face contorted at the implication of the two of us together, then she realized he wasn¡¯t talking about her.

    She shrugged, ¡°I don''t know. If he''s going to hook up with miss knockers in five minutes it might be entertaining to see who he brings to bed next. Maybe if we make popcorn we''ll get to see the whole show instead of just the end.¡±

    I could feel my face getting redder as she joined in on our teachers teasing.

    ¡°Though we might need to keep some ready-made on hand. I''m not sure that we¡¯ll have time for it to pop before he does.¡±

    Trent started laughing even harder.

    I decided that the reddest my face had ever been was not a few minutes ago it was right now. If I knew how to get out of the building I would have left them, but I had no idea where to go, so I had to stand there and listen to them having fun at my expense.

 Chapter 11

    The dorm was a one-room building with a bathroom.

    ¡°Wait, we¡¯re all going to be staying here?¡± I looked at my teacher

    ¡°This is all to get you ready for your time in the dungeon,¡± Trent looked at the two of us.¡±Does that make you uncomfortable?¡±

    ¡°A little.¡± The joke about a sock on a bedpost started making more sense.But that wasn¡¯t the biggest thing that was uncomfortable. It was that there were seven beds in the dorm room. I was afraid that meant Trent was going to be staying with us as well.

    ¡°Are there going to be partitions?¡± My heart sank as he shook his head.

    ¡°When you go on a long hunt in the dungeon, you never know how long you''ll be gone.¡± He paused, ¡°And on the lower floors, who knows what your party will consist of. It¡¯s better to get used to bunking with all your party now than having to wait until the discomfort might result in someone''s death or an entire party wipe.¡±

    The logic made sense but didn''t help my level of discomfort.

    ¡°So where''s the rest of our party?¡± I asked

    ¡°We''ll figure that out in a bit.¡± Trent pointed at the beds, ¡°Figure out which ones you want.¡± he nodded towards the lone one near the door, ¡°Except for that one. That one''s mine.¡± he set down a bag that I hadn''t realized he had been carrying.

    ¡°How do we mark the one we want?¡± I asked

    The old man walked over to the door post and drew a crude map of the dorm on the back of the door with his finger. Somehow he was using magic to engrave an outline. He wrote Trent over the bed near the front of the door and turned to us for which one we wanted.

    I studied the room, it was rectangular with a bathroom that covered the entire back wall with doors in the middle of the wall. The front only had one bed with the space opposite it filled with boxes. The other six beds were three on one side, three on the other. There was a desk beside each bed. I took in the room and then pointed at the bed nearest to the front, diagonal from my teachers.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ¡°I''ll take that one.¡±

    Justia pointed at the one two rows over. ¡°That one.¡±

    ¡°Gotcha.¡± Trent turned and wrote my name on the bed closest to his and Justia¡¯s name on the one next to it.

    ¡°That wasn''t what I said.¡±

    Trend smiled, ¡°This way you''re the closest to me if something happens and with Justia on the other side of you we can almost ensure that you don''t try wearing your pants around your ankles while everyone else is sleeping.¡±

    I started to try to defend myself but the chuckle coming from Justia made it that much more difficult to do.

    I sighed. ¡°Fine, so now what?¡±

    My teacher looked at his watch, then started doing math in his head. ¡°Give me a second.¡± He suddenly became inaudible as he started talking on his phone.

    I cautiously walked over to where Justia was sitting on her assigned bed, ¡°So about before. I''m sorry.¡±

    She looked confused.

    ¡°In the bathroom. For the ArchBishop. What he said. I would have never made you¡­ I mean¡­ I didn''t make her¡­ not that¡­ with her, not you¡­¡±

    She held up her hand to stop my incomprehensible ramble. ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡±

    For some reason, it didn¡¯t feel like it was okay, but I didn¡¯t know what to say and didn¡¯t trust my mouth to not say something stupid, so I clamped my mouth shut. We sat in silence for a few minutes while Trent talked on the phone. The silence became unbearable, so I tried to say something simple.

    ¡°I guess you''re pretty high level then,¡±

    She shook her head.

    ¡°Then how are you a high Priestess?¡±

    She kept her head in her hands and then looked up at me, ¡°I''m not. I''m a level one just like you. I got here today to start my training, I''m not even a cleric, just a regular Healer.¡±

    I started to ask her more about that but I heard Trent close his phone.

    ¡°All right, the other students are in the training area,¡± He motioned to us, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    I looked outside, it was already dark.

    ¡°This late?¡±

    ¡°The faster we get there, the faster we can go to sleep.¡± Trent opened up the door, ¡°Come on, we''ve got an early start tomorrow.¡±

 Chapter 12

    ¡°What have we here?¡±

    The booming voice belonged to a towering brown-haired brown-eyed woman. She spread her arms and she started walking towards us as we walked into the training area.

    ¡°Trent Vowler!¡± she exclaimed, ¡°I thought you already had a team!¡±

    The old man in front of us shrugged, ¡°Apparently the ArchBishop is friends with her father.¡± My teacher nodded at Justia, ¡°So he had me swapped so that I could train her personally. What about you?¡±

    ¡°Celia already absorbed her last team into her company.¡± The stoic black-haired blue-eyed man in a white suit commented.

    The imposing woman narrowed her eyes, but ignored the barb and refocused on Trent. ¡°It looks like you''ve already got one of your students before the choosing.¡± She looked at me, ¡°And who is this?¡±

    Trent looked over at me and shrugged like I was insignificant, ¡°The bribe to get me to agree to this. I took the first pick of the Casters, since traditionally, I¡¯d get first pick.¡± he looked at the young, red-haired, brown-eyed woman that was standing nervously beside the other male teacher, ¡°I''m truly sorry that I have taken your first pic.¡± he spread his hands out like there was nothing he could do.

    The red-haired woman just nodded wordlessly, her eyes barely raising long enough to meet his before she looked back down at her fingers that she was picking at.

    ¡°You''ve got the first pick of two classes?¡± Celia demanded ¡°and we''re just supposed to be okay with that?¡±

    Trent looked at the two of us and then turned back to the loud woman. ¡°There was really nothing I could do about her.¡± he nodded towards Justia, ¡°and I was going to get first pick of the Casters anyway.¡±

    Celia shook her head, ¡°Doesn''t matter. You jumped the line and have preferential treatment.¡±

    ¡°How about this?¡± Trent was visibly having to struggle to keep his voice neutral, ¡°The two of you each take first pick in your classes then we let Miss Reder take first pick of a class of her choice.¡± It looked like they were warming to his suggestion, ¡°Then I''ll take a last pic of each of those three classes.¡±

    ¡°What about the 6th class?¡± the stoic black haired man asked A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    Trent took a deep breath. I could see that he was trying to be diplomatic but it was also clear to me that the Healer was going to accept whatever was given to her.

    ¡°I''ll tell you what,¡± Trent shook his head, ¡°As my way of apologizing for this inconvenience I''ll take last pick for each class.¡±

    Oh, how Noble.¡± Celia mocked him, ¡°You get first pick twice and we are supposed to be okay with that?¡±

    My teacher shrugged, ¡°Just trying to make the best of the situation we have Celia.¡± He nodded to the door behind us, ¡°If you don''t like that then you can take it up with the ArchBishop.¡±

    For a moment I thought she was going to storm out of the training building but instead she looked over at the stoic man.

    ¡°Warder, what do you say we divvy out the Casters and Healers first then take our classes?¡±

    Warder nodded, ¡°Sounds good.¡±

    Celia turned around not even bothering to give anyone a chance to say who was going to pick first or how they were going to choose.

    ¡°Gideon Allard.¡± she pointed at the red-haired blue-eyed man who was in what I could only assume was the Noble group considering how they were wearing suits and seemed relaxed. They were also acting like they knew each other while all the rest of the students had kind of scattered throughout the training area and most were wearing work uniforms of some sort.

    When the Noble saw Justia his eyes narrowed as he walked over to his teacher. There was something between the two of them, some kind of history that was so bad that I could feel the tension.

    Warder pointed at a brown-haired red-eyed girl off to the side, Islyn Juel. He motioned with his hand for her to come over to him.

    The timid teacher said a name, but she said it so softly that no one could hear. Considering that the Noble group was talking and whispering amongst themselves, it wasn''t hard for her soft voice to get drowned out in the static of their loud whispers.

    ¡°QUIET!¡± Trent did something that amplified his voice. All of the students froze and looked towards him. ¡°If you all are talking, how are you going to hear when your name is being called?¡± he scanned the crowd, ¡°Unless you would rather leave and go back to wherever you came from.¡±

    One of the students in the Noble section puffed up their chest like they were about to challenge him when Celia blitzed over and grabbed him by the front of his shirt. She lifted him off the ground with one hand. ¡°You may have been at the top of whatever microscopic food chain you were in before you got here.¡± She scanned the rest of the students, ¡°Now you are at the bottom of this food chain and you will show your teachers some respect.¡±

    When she let go of the blonde-haired man, I realized that it was the same snob that had been so rude to me and Rix when we first received our mantles. I scanned the room again and saw Rix propped up against the wall the furthest away from everyone. Her demeanor was like she was bored but I could see her eyes scanning the room. Our eyes met for a moment and she realized that I was staring at her. She broke the gaze and continued sweeping the room keeping her eyes on all of the other students and teachers.

    Celia was back by the teachers by the time I looked away. She pointed to the black-haired brown-eyed shorter man in scrubs. ¡°Helry Harror,¡± she pointed towards the red-haired teacher ¡°you''re with her.¡±

 Chapter 13

    They were picking on Miss Reder.

    Despite the show of solidarity, the other two teachers were still ignoring the red-haired teacher, Bethil Reder.

    Warder chose first for the Casters, ¡°Robert Tres,¡± he pointed out a brown-haired man in factory overalls.

    ¡°Savyn Triscan,¡± Celia pointed at a black-haired blue-eyed Noblewoman.

    Part of me wondered why Warder had passed on a Noble leaving Celia with the option to take one of the more established students. While I was wondering I got the answer as Miss Reder called out the last Caster.

    ¡°Lilly Mive,¡± she pointed at a black-haired red-eyed woman with a waitress outfit on. At this point, I decided that the Nobles were all wearing nice clothing. Those who weren''t of Noble birth looked like we were all still wearing their work uniform. That was the way things were, the Nobles had money to spare for clothes and other luxuries while most of the Mundanes had uniforms provided for them. It gave them one less thing they needed to spend their food money on. I began to wonder if Warder might be scared of Celia. His face betrayed nothing as he calmly looked at the groups.

    The loud teacher looked over at him.

    ¡°Thanks. First?¡± she asked

    Warder nodded and gave her a single nod. ¡°Bridget Tress,¡± His firm voice called out his tank.

    I watched the blonde from earlier start walking. She saw me looking and winked, drawing a low groan from Justia. I began to wonder how someone like her was a tank but sometimes classes didn''t make sense.

    ¡°Rals Harlax.¡± Celia pointed at the red-haired red-eyed Noble and motioned for him to join her side. I had heard of Harlax Technologies and was surprised that one of them was my age and would be in our class. Celia turned to Bethil ¡°Your pick.¡±

    ¡°George Juel,¡± Bethil said.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    A white-haired, blue-eyed man wearing a Porter''s uniform like the one I had on walked over to her side.

    Trent nodded at a white-haired red-eyed woman wearing a nice pantsuit. She started walking towards our group before our teacher said her name.

    ¡°Ether Klix.¡±

    She was the only tank that was left, so saying her name seemed like a formality.

    ¡°Next is the Hitters.¡± Celia pointed at another man in a Porter''s uniform, ¡°James Juel,¡±

    I was shocked that she was picking someone who wasn''t a Noble. The red-haired brown-eyed man also seemed shocked that he had been picked and it looked like he couldn¡¯t believe his name had really been called. He stood stunned for too long, drawing the loud teacher¡¯s ire.

    ¡°Don''t make me say your name twice!¡± Celia glared at him. The young man dashed across the training floor and quickly took his place on the opposite side of her from the three Nobles she already picked. She nodded at Warder, ¡°Your pick.¡±

    Warder turned to Miss Reder, ¡°You go next since you didn¡¯t get the first pick of a Healer.¡±

    Bethel seemed shocked for a moment, then turned and pointed at a brown-haired gray-eyed woman in a Dispatcher security uniform.

    ¡°Lyndis Slece,¡± she looked at Warder as if she was asking for his approval.

    Warder held up his hand, ¡°It''s a good pick.¡± he said as he pointed at a black-haired gray-eyed woman. ¡°Jane Klix.¡±

    The woman in a threadbare dress came forward and joined his group.

    Celia''s pick of someone with a Mundane background was becoming more clear. The first three so far and they had all been of Mundane origin, so I assumed that all the Hitters were from Mundanes.

    ¡°Edward Rene.¡± Trent appointed the blonde-haired green-eyed Noble and motioned for him to join our group.

    I was shocked that a Noble had been picked last though given the uneasy aura the man was giving off I could see why Celia might not want him. A Hitter needed to be confident considering they were usually on the front lines with the Tank. Someone who looked like he would fold if he got hit was probably going to be a huge liability. I started to greet him as he came over to try to give him a confidence boost but he sensed it somehow and gave me a look that told me I needed to be quiet. I nodded and just smiled at Edward as he came over and tried to stand close to Justia, but away from the rest of us. I was going to have to make sure I was on good terms with the Noble and wondered how the ArchBishop was going to take the news that Trent had added one to our party. Worrying wouldn¡¯t do anything because it wasn''t my responsibility and there was nothing I could do about it. I pushed the thoughts out of my mind and tuned in to the conversation the teachers were having.

 Chapter 14

    ¡°What next?¡±

    Celia was obviously the one that the three other teachers were going to allow to guide the flow of the selection process. When no one immediately said anything she pointed at the blonde-haired red-eyed man that she had roughed up earlier.

    ¡°I''ve grown fond of Ande.¡± she pointed at the uptight Noble. The look he gave the other teachers was one of pure terror. For a moment I felt like it suited him and was kind of glad that he was going to be in Celia''s team.

    Warder pointed at a brown-haired green-eyed Noble woman, ¡°Mara Grant.¡± He nodded and she moved over to his side.

    ¡°Carter Warray.¡± Miss Reder actually pointed at the student this time but quickly dropped her arm as he walked over to join her class.

    ¡°Aelin Zeb.¡± Trent nodded for the blonde hair brown-eyed woman in a waitress uniform to come to his side. Aelin was the fifth person who had received a mantle from my hometown. Part of me was glad that I would at least have someone in the group who was familiar with where I had spent my last 4 years. Even if Zeb wasn''t my hometown it was the only town that I could call home. With the buffers out of the way that left only one class, the Shooters. The last four students were three notables and Rix who was on almost the complete opposite side of the training area. I was surprised the Warder was the one who spoke up first.

    ¡°Teph Riff.¡± He pointed at the black-haired green-eyed Noble. The man came over to his side.

    ¡°Francis Arror,¡± the white-haired brown-eyed man smiled and walked over to Celia''s group.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    ¡°Sabil Reace.¡± Bethil looked at Trent as if she was looking for approval to take the last Noble. Trent didn''t give her any indication either way. He simply pointed at the first person from my hometown to receive a mantle.

    ¡°Rix Zeb.¡± The red-haired brown-eyed woman waited until her name was called to push off of the wall and begin walking towards us.

    ¡°It seems our teams are set.¡± Trent motioned toward the door that we had come through. ¡°It is late so we should head back to our dorms.¡±

    Warder nodded and moved towards what I assumed was his team''s door. That was when I noticed that there were numbers above each of the four doors on the sides of the training room. The door that Warder ushered his students through had a two over it.

    ¡°Move it brats!¡± Celia began shooing her students towards the door with a one over it. The five Nobles moved as a group while James followed behind her almost like a puppy. I felt bad for the man who was the only Mundane in a group of Nobles. Three was the number above the door we had come through. Which left four to be the number for Miss Reder

    ¡°Good luck,¡± Bethil gave Trent a slight bow. Her eyes only darted up to meet his for a second before looking away.

    Trent started to say something but caught himself. After a short pause, he seemed to find the words he was looking for.

    ¡°You''ll do fine.¡± He said and then he pointed at our door, ¡°Let''s head back to the dorm and we''ll get everyone squared away.¡±

    I hung back just a little and watched Bethill try to get her team to her team¡¯s quarters. It became apparent that she hadn''t done this before. I started to wonder why someone in their 30s was a teacher. Celia and Warder were both at least double her age and I had no idea how old Trent was but considering the lifespan of those with mantles he could easily be near a hundred or more. I hoped that her team would do well, in fact, I hoped all four of our teams did well. Despite our mantles, the dungeon was still a perilous place and people died in there almost every day. For a brief second the question of which one of us was going to die first crossed my mind. I pushed the thought away. I hoped that the answer was none of us but I couldn''t shake the feeling that not all twenty-four of us were going to see graduation.

 Chapter 15

    Justia was waiting for me at the door.

    She didn''t say anything as we walked into the courtyard. I had spent too much time thinking about the other teams and my own team had made it into the dorms before I had left the training facility. We ran across the courtyard into the dorm with her on my heels. After the escapade earlier she was apparently taking her job of watching me seriously. When we got inside I saw that Trent was passing out ration bars to the group. The other four members of my group were all sitting on the beds that were assigned to them.

    Edward had been put across from me with Aelin next to him and Ether on the last bed in that row. Rix was in the back corner on the last bed in my row.

    ¡°Is this all we''re getting?¡± Aelin asked as she looked at the ration bar in her hand. Given her waitress uniform, I wondered if she was used to having much better food. For me, the ration bars were a staple since you never knew how long you would be on deeper trips. They were lightweight, easy to carry, and stayed good for a long time. Adventures sometimes didn''t have time to stop and cook meals, or like most of the groups that I had been working with had only been farming for the day so they hadn''t wanted waste time in the middle of their farming session to sit down and cook something. A ration bar and some water was the fastest way to get some nutrients before jumping to the next group.

    Also, ration bars were fairly cheap. After the Dispatchers deducted the cost of lodging, my clothes, and gear from what I was paid there was almost nothing left over. Eating ration bars had allowed me to put a little back. I had been trying to save up for this day so that I would have money to get some basic gear once I found out what my mantle was but now I had no idea.

    ¡°You better get used to it.¡± Trent said as he finished the loop and handed me a ration bar. ¡°You''re going to be eating these for most of your meals.¡±

    Aelin made a face but didn''t argue. ¡°So when are we going to go into the dungeon?¡± she piped.

    ¡°You''ll have plenty of time to go into the dungeon.¡± Trent said as he brushed the crumbs off of his hands. ¡°For now you need to worry about getting the basics down.¡± He looked around the room, ¡°But even that can wait. I know all of you are probably still excited about getting your mantles, but you really do need your rest. Even if you don''t feel like you need sleep right now, trust me, you''re going to need it in the morning.¡± He sat down on his bed and leaned back against the wall. ¡°Oh, if any of you want to clean up we have our bathroom right there.¡± he closed his eyes. But it was more like he was meditating than sleeping. ¡°There are uniforms for each of you to wear outside of the dungeon, but for the most part you are going to be spending most of your time in your armor so don''t worry too much about it.¡±This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    I looked around but other than the blankets and pillows on the beds. There didn''t appear to be any other fabric in the room. I scooted over to the desk that was associated with my bed and opened the drawers, each one of them was empty.

    ¡°What are we going to change into once we get cleaned up?¡± Aelin asked

    Trent opened his eyes and whipped his left arm out so that the sleeve of his robe fell down and a watch slid up to the base of his wrist that was a white crystal on a black leather band. He turned it over so that he could look at the display, then touched the crystal with his other hand and then began sorting through something in the air that I couldn''t see.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Ether asked

    He turned to the white-haired woman, ¡°Once you all go low enough in the dungeon you''ll be able to find crystals that are large enough to be turned into accessories.Those accessories can hold some items, especially if they are made from dungeon crystals.¡± he gestured with his hand and blue uniforms appeared at the foot of his bed.

    Aelin scooted off of her own bed, walked over to the pile of clothes, and picked one up they were one-piece jumpsuits that were very simplistic in design.

    ¡°You expect us to wear this?¡± Aelin asked

    Ether scooted over and picked up one. It looked almost exactly like the one she was already wearing except it was blue instead of gray.

    ¡°When you start exploring the dungeon you''ll be thankful for this gear. Trust me, the right gear will save your life.¡± He nestled down more on his bed. ¡°If you guys still can''t go to sleep then maybe you should introduce yourselves. You''re going to be spending a lot of time together.¡±

    The six of us looked at each other. We¡¯d heard the names of everyone except myself and Justia and despite there being six of us the other four were looking at the two of us who hadn''t been part of the selection process

    ¡°Atlas.¡± Trent muttered from his reverie, ¡°Why don''t you go first?¡±

 Chapter 16

    My heart skipped a beat from being put on the spot.

    I was used to following orders but those were usually ¡®move this there¡¯, ¡®pick this up¡¯ or even ¡®go tell this person what I''m telling you¡¯. I had never been asked to talk to an entire room of strangers about myself. Well, maybe they weren¡¯t all strangers. I had spent almost an hour with Justia and Trent, but that hadn''t been enough time for me to really warm up to them. I started racking my brain about how I should go about it.

    Aelin noticed my hesitation and took the lead, ¡°I''m Aelin from Zeb.¡± she nodded to me and then pointed at Rix, ¡°Just like them.¡± She smiled at everyone, ¡°I''m an Aura class and I''ve been working as a waitress to help out my mother back home. I''ve never been in the dungeon but I hope that I can be of help to all of you.¡± She smiled at me and I couldn''t help but smile back. There was something about her personality that put me at ease even when she was complaining.

    I decided that I needed to speak up since it had originally been my turn to go first.

    ¡°Like she said,¡± I began, ¡°I''m also from Zeb. My name is Atlas and I have been working as a Porter for the last four years, so I''ve been in the dungeon for most of that time. I''m an orphan of the Great War and I will serve as your Caster while we''re here.¡± I tried to smile at everyone but Rix still had a scowl on her face as she was brooding in her corner. Edward Rene didn''t even look up and when I looked over at Justia, she shifted her gaze away from mine uncomfortably. I understood that this role had been placed on her without much time for her to prepare herself. I didn''t want to make anything any more difficult because something told me that I was going to be stuck with her for the rest of my life. Which meant I needed to find a way to get her at ease around me. Aelin and Ether smiled at me as I completed the circle with my eyes.

    ¡°I''ll go next.¡± Ether tossed the blue coveralls over her shoulder and pulled the band out of her white hair letting it fall down to her shoulders. Her red eyes sparkled as she took a breath,

    ¡°My name is Ether and I''m from Klix.¡± The cheerful woman said, ¡°I''m a defense class so I will be your Tank. I came from a poor family but I''ve been living on my own for a while. I was working at a crystal sorting facility before I took the trial. I look forward to working with everyone.¡± She smiled at all of us. I thought I might have seen a small crack in Justia¡¯s more stoic face and when Edward didn''t look up from his feet, she sat on his bed next to him and elbowed him.

    ¡°You''re up next!¡± She told the blonde.

    Edward looked at us, ¡°My name is Edward Renee. I''m from Slece where my family owns a weapons shop. I am a Power class and you all seem like a really nice bunch.¡± He scooted away from Ether and turned pulling his feet up on his bed providing a small divide to keep the happy white-haired woman away from him. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    Ether shrugged, got up and marched over to Justia.

    ¡°Your turn.¡± She pointed at the brunette.

    Justia looked like she might refuse, but thought for a moment then replied.

    ¡°My name is Justia Publian, ¡°I''m from Harror, where my family runs a clinic. I''m hoping that while I''m here I will get strong enough that I''ll be able to take over my family''s business.¡±

    Ether clapped, ¡°That''s great! We should all say what we''re hoping to get while we''re here!¡± she pointed at herself, ¡°I''m hoping to become filthy rich so I never have to worry about money again!¡± She looked at Aelin, ¡°What about you?¡±

    Aelin blushed for a little moment then looked up and took a cautious breath. ¡°I know that my father is a Noble, but I don''t know who he is. I was hoping that I would be able to, you know, figure out where I came from.¡±

    Ether nodded, ¡°I bet you you can and I''ll help you any way you need.¡±

    She turned to me. ¡°What about you spell boy?¡±

    I thought for a moment. ¡°Honestly I just want to explore the dungeon.¡± I shrugged. I actually didn''t really know what I wanted from becoming an Adventurer. I had just seen it as a way to escape and have a better life. I hadn''t really thought about what I would do next.

    ¡°What about you?¡± Ether turned to Edward.

    The boy pulled his knees up to his face so that his nose rested at the top of the small hill. He breathed into his legs for a moment and then picked up his chin and rested it on his knees.

    ¡°My brother disappeared in the dungeon,¡± he began, ¡°at least that''s what the official report says. I think he''s still out there somewhere. He just doesn''t feel like he''s gone.¡±

    ¡°Aw.¡± Ether walked over and sat down next to Edward and put her arm over him. ¡°We have two people looking for answers.¡± She said as she gave him a hug, ¡°I bet you that we¡¯ll be able to figure something out.¡± She looked over at our teacher. ¡°Mr Vowler, aren''t there spells that will tell us answers to certain questions?¡±

    Trent didn''t even open his eyes, ¡°Sure but not ones that are that specific.¡± He said, ¡°At least not until you''re a lot higher level than you''ll be by the end of this course.¡±

    Ether shrugged, ¡°I''m sure we''ll find a way.¡± She stood up and started to walk around Edward''s bed. ¡°That leaves just one person.¡± She looked over at the redhead brooding on the corner bed.

    ¡°My name is Rix. I''m your Shooter and I want money.¡± She kept her answers short.

    Ether started to say something else but Rix jumped off of her bed and walked over to our teacher. She grabbed one of the blue jumpsuits and threw it over her shoulder.

    ¡°We''re done now.¡± She looked at each of us to see if anyone was going to object. ¡°Good, then I''m going to take a shower and try to get some sleep.¡±

    No one stopped her as she walked into the bathroom.

    Ether smiled. ¡°Come on! Girls first, then Guys.¡±

    Trent started chuckling and shook his head.

    ¡°What?¡± Ether demanded

    ¡°Nothing,¡± He had a huge grin on his face, ¡°Nothing at all.¡±

 Chapter 17

    Justia didn''t follow the women into the bathroom.

    I raised an eyebrow as I saw hesitation and possibly fear on her face as she was contemplating what to do.

    ¡°Aren''t you going in there to get cleaned up?¡± I asked my Priestess.

    She fidgeted with the jumpsuit across her lap and tugged at the medical outfit she was wearing, ¡°I showered before I got here.¡± She shook her head, ¡°I''ll be fine. Besides,¡± She looked at me, ¡°I''m not the one who did something dirty since they''ve got here.¡±

    I blushed and looked to see if Edward was paying attention, but he looked like he was still deep in thought cuddling with his knees.

    ¡°Honestly that wasn''t-¡± I began but I couldn''t think of a good way of phrasing that, ¡°It wasn''t my fault. I didn''t go looking for anything.¡±

    Justia just shook her head, amused at my discomfort.

    I decided I need to change the subject quickly, ¡°So you''ve never been in the dungeon?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± She shook her head, ¡°The dungeon is way too dangerous for anyone who doesn''t have a mantle.¡± She realized what she was saying, or more importantly who she was saying it to and closed her mouth. After a second to think she began again, ¡°I mean I''ve been trained as a Medic since I could walk and there isn''t really much that I could help with in the dungeon without a mantle.¡±

    I nodded, it kind of made sense. ¡°So what about your father?¡± I asked, ¡°Or mother? Were they Adventures?¡±

    She shook her head. ¡°My father managed to make it to floor 30 before he retired and took over the family clinic. My mother only went as far as the 20th floor.¡± she shrugged, ¡°Her family was pressuring her to marry so that they could expand their holdings, but my mother didn''t want to be used as some bargaining piece. She stopped exploring so she wouldn''t be worth as much when my grandparents tried to trade her.¡±

    ¡°Ouch.¡± It wasn''t uncommon for families, especially Noble families, to barter and trade and for the Mundane to even sell their children. I heard about it happening a lot and I was very happy that I had been taken in by the All-Church instead of winding up in the care of someone who would buy and sell children. I had heard horror stories and it was not something that I wished anyone would have to experience.

    ¡°What happened to your mother? I asked, ¡°Did your grandparents still marry her off?¡±

    Justia shook her head, ¡°No she renounced her family name and married my father, then the two of them started a clinic together.¡± She swallowed, ¡°But things are getting rough and her family is trying to put our clinic out of business.¡± Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    ¡°That''s horrible.¡± I had heard that it was a common practice between the Nobles to try to tear apart other companies or families before absorbing them. ¡°That''s what the¡­¡± I caught myself before I said ¡®ArchBishop¡¯. ¡°Administrator,¡± I looked over at Trent but he gave no indication as to whether or not that was the correct word to use, ¡°meant when he said that the All-Church would provide aid to your family''s clinic.¡±

    Justia nodded, ¡°Yes, and hopefully it will be enough to keep the Alard clinics from causing them any more trouble.¡±

    The name Alard was familiar to me. ¡°Isn¡¯t the Healer on team one an Alard?¡± I asked

    Justia nodded, ¡°He¡¯s my second cousin. His father is the one who is currently running the Alard clinics.¡± She hit the bed with her fist, ¡°He''s doing all of this just because he feels insulted that my mother is working in a clinic that doesn''t have the Alard name on it.¡±

    ¡°Do you think that team one is going to be a problem?¡±

    Trent started chuckling at my question.

    I looked from Justia over to my teacher. ¡°I take it you think team one is going to be a problem?¡±

    Trent opened one eye to look at me, ¡°Celia is a hot head. She''s been that way since she was my student, and she''s going to keep being that way until the day she dies.¡± He shook his head, ¡°She''s ambitious and gaining the backing of one Noble would allow her to expand her company. With five Nobles on her team, she''s got six years to make connections that might take ten to twenty more to pan out, but most students always remember their teacher.¡±

    ¡°You taught her?¡± I asked

    ¡°I taught all of them.¡± he said, ¡°Celia, Warder, and even Bethil. Though I wonder what happened to her. She wasn''t so timid when she graduated.¡±

    I was taken back by the information. ¡°How old are you? I mean I know the mantles can extend our lives, but if you were Celia''s teacher and she has to be over fifty¡­¡±

    Trent started laughing, cutting me off. ¡°I would not let her hear you say that.¡±

    ¡°How old is she?¡±

    ¡°Mid-forties.¡± Trent replied, ¡°I don''t remember the exact year. Warder is older than all of them, and Bethil is in her early thirties.¡±

    I took in the information. That meant that Bethil hadn''t been away from a team for very long before becoming a teacher. I started doing some math but some things didn''t make sense.

    ¡°I thought the teachers were supposed to be retired?¡±

    Trent chuckled again and Justia snorted.

    ¡°For a teacher.¡± He said as he motioned around the room, ¡°A surefire recruiting method is to condition the students into the Adventurers that you want them to be. If Celia can do the administrative work of her company or have it delegated for these six years, then she can be getting valuable facetime with the next generation of adventures. As well as making connections with their families during the events. The same goes for Warder. I bet he''s looking for people to recruit into the Dispatchers.¡±

    ¡°What about Bethil?¡± I asked

    Our teacher shook his head, ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡±

    ¡°She might be trying to rebuild her Clinic.¡± Justia answered, ¡°The Reder Clinic was absorbed by the Alards earlier this year.¡±

    When no one said anything else, I tried to think of another topic or something to do because the silence was deafening. Before I could think of something Ether threw open the bathroom door and marched out wearing her blue jumpsuit.

    ¡°Boys turn!¡± She announced

 Chapter 18

    It was past bedtime.

    After Edward and I had showered and changed into matching jumpsuits everyone else had already been in bed. It took a little while for me to fall asleep given that Ether snored, but I managed to get some sleep until my body decided to wake me up at 5:00AM. It was a habit of working as a Porter. I needed to get up early so that I could get dressed and be ready to go into the dungeon before 6:00AM when the Adventures arrived. I got out of bed and slipped on my boots. There was a yard outside the dorm building and I figured it wouldn''t hurt to slip out and run a bit before the others woke up. As I walked through the door I realized that I wasn''t the first one up. Trent was outside sitting with his back to a tree. I turned around and made sure the other students were all in their beds, then walked towards my teacher.

    ¡°You''re up early.¡± Trent stated

    I nodded as I walked around so that I could face him, ¡°So are you.¡±

    The old man shrugged, ¡°Dungeon life.¡± He said as if that was enough of an answer.

    ¡°What are we going to do about¡­¡±

    He cut me off with a slash of his hand. ¡°I''ll tell you when it''s safe.¡± Trent said, ¡°For now we''re going to get ready to go into the dungeon.¡±

    ¡°I was wondering about that.¡± I said. ¡°I know that the Cathedral is walled and shielded but couldn''t someone just walk over from another dungeon?¡±

    Trent shrugged, ¡°As far as we know the Cathedral¡¯s dungeon isn''t connected to any other dungeon. That place is always shifting so it''s hard to be one-hundred percent certain that there isn''t some place where it''s connected. Especially since no one has been to the bottom.

    I shook my head, ¡°So what you''re saying is probably?¡±

    ¡°With the number of watchers in between each floor and at the entrances of each floor there would be a pretty good warning if they tried coming up from the depths.¡± he made a chopping motion with his hand. ¡°As soon as the mouth was alerted they would clamp the seal down tight.¡±A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    I nodded. I had seen the silver ring that Adventures had to walk through in order to enter the dungeon, but I''d never seen one put into action. Supposedly they were there in case there was a stampede and monsters started getting out of the dungeon. It had happened before in the past, I knew, but I couldn''t think of a time in my life where I had heard about one. It didn''t mean one hadn''t happened. Honestly, I didn''t keep up with the news too much outside of Zeb or really, just the Dispatchers in Zeb.

    ¡°What are we going to do today?¡± I asked

    ¡°Have class.¡± Trent said like that answered everything. ¡°After we wake everyone up anyway.¡±

    ¡°We?¡± I asked,

    ¡°You''re already up, so you get to help.¡± He got up and handed me a few marbles the size of a cherry. ¡°They have one minute to get up and get out here.¡± He nodded at the marbles in my hand, ¡°Anyone who''s not out of the building before the minutes up you hit with one of those.¡±

    I look down at the cool marbles. They were soft, almost like gelatin; and cold like they had been in the refrigerator all night.

    The look on his face was slightly mischievous as he threw open the door. ¡°Wake up deadheads! Class is in one minute.¡± He flipped on the light and then walked back out of the dorm room. I saw that where he had touched the door frame he had left a counter that was quickly counting down.

    Justia shot out of bed, had her shoes on, and was by my side in an instant. With the light on I realized that Rix wasn''t in her bed. I looked around but she wasn''t anywhere in the room. Edward slowly rolled out of bed, picked up his shoes and walked out of the dorm with them still in his hands. His eyes were half closed as he trudged through the door.

    ¡°I think you''re forgetting something.¡± I touched his arm which caused his eyes to open wide. I pointed at the shoes in his hands and realization dawned on him that he hadn''t finished getting dressed. He flopped down on the ground in front of the dorm and began putting on his shoes.

    Aelin was moving just as slow, but at least she had on her boots as she ambled towards me. Her face was confused, ¡°Why are we up so early?¡±

    ¡°We''re having class in the yard.¡± I pointed my thumb behind me, ¡°Does anyone know where Rix is?¡± The other three shook their heads.

    ¡°No clue.¡± Aelin patted me on the shoulder as she continued her reluctant walk out of the dorm. A few seconds after she cleared the building the timer on the door frame went off alerting me that the white-haired girl that was curled up in her covers was in need of one of the marbles that my teacher had given me. I transferred most of the marbles into my left hand, took one and tossed it so that it would hit the middle of her bed. I had expected something minor like a little bit of frost or maybe a handful of water. What I hadn''t expected was for the marble to soak the bed as soon as it landed.

 Chapter 19

    Soak was a tame term.

    Submerged was more like what happened. The marble released an impossibly large amount of water. By the look in her red eyes as she flung the covers off I guessed that it was cold water as well. Her entire bed was soaked all the way through her sheets and her jumpsuit. She glared at me. ¡°You''re dead.¡±

    I held up my hands. ¡°Class is outside and you''re late.¡± I began to back up. ¡°The teacher told me to do it.¡±

    ¡°Oh, so you''re the teacher''s pet now?¡± Ether stormed up to me. She was a good six inches shorter than my six-foot-tall frame, but somehow it felt like she was towering over me. ¡°Are you going to do everything your teacher tells you to? What if he told you to jump off a cliff would you do that?¡±

    I knew that Trent had sworn to help me grow into a force to be reckoned with, which drew an answer that I should have thought about before I responded. ¡°Yes if he had told me to jump off a cliff then I would trust that he wasn''t trying to get me killed.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t the response she had been expecting. She started to respond but must have registered what I said because her face changed from anger to confusion.

    There was no way I could explain my situation to her. I decided to go with an apology, ¡°I''m sorry.¡± I reached out and put my hand on her arm, ¡°Next time I''ll try to get you up first before I throw the water bomb like he told me to.¡±

    The apology seemed to embolden her. She moved her gaze from me to Justia. ¡°What about you? Did you help do this?¡±

    Justia shook her head.

    Ether began to shiver and I wished I had a way to warm her up. She really needed to get out of those wet clothes, but I knew that Trent wasn''t going to give us the time for her to do that. I didn¡¯t think Trent would look too kindly on her changing back into her own clothes either. I went over to my bed and pulled the blanket off of it and threw it around her shoulders.

    ¡°Take this until you dry off.¡±

    Her anger toward me seemed to subside. Those red eyes of hers no longer promised pain as she accepted the gesture.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± She rubbed her eyes, ¡°Sorry I''m a grump in the morning.¡±

    I simply nodded and followed the two women into the yard. I was about to ask about Rix when I saw that she was leaning up against the wall where Trent had been sitting under the tree. The other three students were already standing beside the tree ready for whatever lesson Trent had in store for us.

    ¡°Looks like we had one straggler.¡± Trent looked at Ether then moved his hand in her direction. The water that had thoroughly soaked her vanished as his hand finished the flick. She dropped my blanket on the ground as she began to inspect her clothes which were now dry.

    ¡°How''d you do that?¡± She asked

    ¡°Magic.¡± Trent simply replied as he began to wave his hand and held up one finger, ¡°That is your first lesson. Always be able to get up and out of bed in under a minute.¡± He looked at each one of us. ¡°When you come back to the surface, sure you can usually take that moment to relax a little, but dungeon parties sometimes spend days weeks, or even months exploring lower depths of the dungeon.¡± He made sure that we were all paying attention. ¡±Monsters will always attack a camp at some point, which means that if you can''t get out of bed quickly then you might wind up dead.¡± He casually pointed at Ether, ¡°It won¡¯t help out your team and could lead to a party wipe. Dead is dead.¡± He emphasized the word ¡®dead¡¯. ¡°I expect you to be able to wake up quickly from now on.¡± He smiled, ¡°As well as unexpectedly or expectedly since you can expect that I am going to wake you up at inopportune times just to train you.¡±

    I participated in the group groan.

    ¡°Is there more or can we go back to bed?¡± Ether pointed back at the dorms.

    ¡°Since everyone is up we''re going to keep going.¡± He started walking towards the door to the training room. ¡°There''s no reason not to start preparing you for what life will be like.¡± He began throwing ration bars at us. ¡°Get used to the taste.¡± He chuckled, ¡°I know it''s an acquired taste, but you can acquire it.¡±

    I bit into the hard bland bar. I wasn''t sure I was ever going to get used to something that tasted like this, even if it had been mostly what I¡¯d eaten over the last four years. It was like eating paper, but at least they kept well and could be eaten quickly. I followed the team to the door and waited for Rix to finally join the group.

    ¡°When did you leave?¡± I asked. I was sure she was in bed when I got up, but now I wasn¡¯t so sure.

    Rix looked at me like I had asked her a stupid question. ¡°Before he did.¡± she nodded towards Trent.

    I didn¡¯t remember seeing her the first time I was in the dorm yard, but I also didn''t have any way to disprove her claim.

    ¡°Cool.¡± It was the only thing I could think of to say. I let her go in before me and then shut the door to the training room as I followed the rest of the class.

 Chapter 20

    There was a labyrinth under the cathedral.

    Trent led us down a flight of stairs after we had walked through the training room and then snaked his way even deeper and further underground. We finally reached the room where the mouth of the dungeon was. A lone Priest sitting behind a desk with a magazine that I would not have expected a Priest to be absorbing. The brown haired man in his mid-30s snapped to attention and tossed the magazine behind the desk.

    Trent nodded towards the dungeon entrance, ¡°Has anyone else gone in?¡±

    The attendant looked at the screen in front of him, ¡°No, we don¡¯t have any of the other teams down.¡± He looked up at us, ¡°None of them have scheduled to go in until next week.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡± Trent said and nodded towards the dungeon ring, ¡°Would you please deactivate that so that I can take the students in?¡±

    The attendant looked over at us and then back at Trent. ¡°They¡¯re first years.¡±

    ¡°I''m not.¡± My teacher sighed, ¡°Are you going to take down the shield or do I have to do your job?¡±

    The mild threat worked and the Priest punched a few buttons into the computer. There was a buzzing as the shield vanished allowing us access inside.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Trent said as he motioned for us to walk in.

    Once we were all inside, I looked around. I was amazed at how different the dungeon looked compared to the one in Zeb. The dungeon at Zeb had been fields with rolling hills that had different groups of bovine looking monsters. They varied in size and aggression depending on how deep of floors you went. There were rumors of cowmen further down as well as vicious monsters with tusks as long as my arm. This dungeon was a wooded area with small knee length underbrush. There was a very well defined trail through the trees that we entered on. When I looked behind us I could plainly see the dungeon wall spreading out from the sides of the dungeon¡¯s mouth. The dungeon wall in Zeb had been an illusion that kept going, so unless you knew where to look you might think that you could keep walking in that direction for miles until you ran into the wall. This wall on the other hand was black which did blend in a little bit with the underbrush and shadowy trees, but for the most part the dungeon wall looked like it would be easy to follow.

    ¡°Now.¡± Trent stopped us before we could get very far down the trail, ¡°Second lesson.¡± He looked at us, ¡°How many of you know about the stats?¡±

    Justia, Edward, Ether, and myself all raised our hands.

    Trent looked at Aelin and Rix, ¡°Since we have some inexperienced then I''ll go into this a little right now.¡± He touched the white stone on his wrist and began sweeping it over us.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    ¡°There are six stats which affect your abilities. Power is how hard you can hit something, how much you can lift, how far you can jump, among other things.¡± He pointed at Edward. ¡°Edward is our Hitter. At level one he has ten points in his power, three points in defense, six in speed, two in Magic, six in recovery, and eight in aura. Usually a level one will have a thirty-five point stat spread in a ten-eight-six-four-four-three distribution.¡± He nodded at Edward. ¡°Edward has an abnormal pattern for his stats.¡±

    ¡°Is there anything special about an abnormal?¡± Aelin interrupted

    Trent shrugged, ¡°Sometimes their stat spread makes it easier for them to multi-class and then unlock a much more advanced class. But with a few points in the wrong thing and an abnormal could wind up with the same exact stat spread as any of you.

    He pointed at Ether. ¡°Next we have defense. Ether has ten points in defense, making her main class Tank. The more defense you have, the more resistant to damage you are.¡±

    He picked up a small stick and handed it to Edward, then raised his right arm in front of him. ¡°Hit me.¡±

    Edward looked back at us.

    ¡°Don''t look at them.¡± Trent snapped his fingers. ¡°We''re having a demonstration and your teacher just gave you an order. Hit. Me.¡± He emphasized the last two words.

    Edward trembled as he pulled back the stick and swung it as hard as he could. The wood whistled as it sliced through the air then exploded on Trent''s arm.

    ¡°This is what happens when you have a lot more points in defense than your opponent has in damage.¡± He brushed the splinters off the arm of his overcoat. ¡°Defense is vital for a Tank because they are the ones who are going to be having the monsters focus all the damage towards them so the rest of you can take down the monsters.¡±

    He pointed at Rix, ¡°Next then. We have speed. Speed is how fast you can do things but it also affects things like your hand-eye coordination. Higher speed will make it much easier for you to handle bows, crossbows, or other ranged weapons.¡±

    I wondered if Rix might have used that high-speed stat in order to evade me in the morning but considering my speed was also at ten, I still should have been able to detect her.

    ¡°That brings us to magic.¡± He snapped his finger and a little flame appeared at the tip of his index finger. He pointed the flame at me and pulled down his thumb like he was shooting a gun. Instead of the flame shooting out it just went out.

    ¡°The higher your magic the better you are at spells. Spells are usually where most of your AOE damage is going to come from.¡±

    He looked at Justia, ¡°You¡¯re next. Recovery is probably the most important class of all of them. Sure if you have high enough defense then things can''t hurt you. Like Edward swinging the stick at me, but in a battle at your level it falls on the Healer to make sure everyone stays healthy and are able to finish the fight.¡± He nodded at her, ¡°Which means everyone needs to make sure to protect your Healer.¡±

    ¡°Finally, we have the last stat.¡± He smiled at Aelin. ¡°Aura. Aura determines just how far away you''re able to affect things.¡± He waved his hand, ¡°The buffer will be able to provide everyone with buffs that can not only raise your base stats but also buffs that can reduce incoming damage or even deflect it entirely. Just because you won''t be able to actively see what the Buffer is doing don''t think for a second that they aren''t contributing to your party.¡±

    ¡°Any questions?¡± Trent asked. When no one answered, he smiled. ¡°Good.¡± He picked up a stick and pointed it down the trail. ¡°Let¡¯s find your first fight.¡±

 Chapter 21

    We didn''t have any weapons.

    That didn''t seem to deter our teacher from throwing us into a fight. From what I knew from being a Porter, while monsters on the first floor weren''t very strong, they could still kill a Mundane pretty easily.

    I raised my hand, ¡°Aren''t we going to get weapons? Or gear?¡±

    The white-haired Caster shook his head, ¡°I thought we would do this old school style.¡± He nodded at the underbrush around us, ¡°I see plenty of things around here that you could use as a weapon.¡± He turned towards Rix, ¡°Although I hope that knife of yours didn''t hold any sentimental value.¡±

    Rix knelt down and checked inside the boot of her left leg. ¡°It''s gone.¡± She looked up at the teacher, ¡°What did you do?¡±

    He held up his hands, ¡°I didn''t do anything. The dungeon does not like outside implements. While it does tolerate living organisms to an extent, it destroys most things from outside.¡± He tapped his chest, ¡°Our mantles help to shield us somewhat, but it does tend to send monsters after the Mundane at a much higher frequency.¡± He looked over at me, ¡°Which is why a lot of farming parties will bring a Mundane Porter along. There''s usually a lot higher spawn rate of monsters when there is a Mundane Porter.¡±

    My heart started being faster as I realized that for the last 4 years, part of my job had been a monster lure. I shook my head trying not to think about the numerous Adventurers I had been assigned to that seemed like they would have been more than happy to have not stopped any monsters that were coming for me. I tried to shake away those memories that were even now worming their way out of my head.

    Trent looked around, ¡°I don''t sense any monsters close but I can''t imagine that will be the case for long.¡± He smiled, ¡°You better get started.¡±

    ¡°Without any gear, any information, any anything?¡± I blurted.

    ¡°Let''s go through a hypothetical real quick.¡± Trent looked at me as Rix began rummaging around in the underbrush for sticks.

    Ether and Edward joined her while Justia stayed by my side. Aelin seemed genuinely interested about the personal lesson we were about to get.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    ¡°Let''s say for instance,¡± Trent began, ¡°you are on an exploration and you run into a trap.¡± He looked around, ¡°Suddenly you are in a different floor with a different environment and none of your weapons or gear were transported with you. How would you survive something like that?¡±

    ¡°That could really happen?¡± Aelin asked

    Trent let out a sign and nodded, ¡°I can tell you one-hundred percent that it has happened and that the Adventures in question did not all make it out alive.¡± He rubbed his wrist, ¡°Which is why I would recommend you all get a storing stone as soon as you can.¡± The way that he talked about the situation left no question that he had been one of the Adventures in that party.

    ¡°But couldn''t you just use your magic?¡± I asked

    Trent nodded, ¡°You could and your Buffer would still have all of their abilities as well as would your Healer.¡± He pointed at Justia, ¡°But magic runs out and eventually the three of you wouldn''t be able to keep up with the waves.¡± He closed his eyes as if he was traveling back to an old memory. ¡°When that happens you need to be able to contribute something to the party.¡± He nodded at Justia, ¡°You''ve already started the training of using Mundane techniques to tend minor wounds.¡±

    He looked at Aelin, ¡°Not every buff needs to be magical. There''s a lot you can do with encouragement.¡±

    He turned to me, ¡°Most people believe that the tank or the Hitter should be the leader of the group.¡± He shook his head, ¡°Both of those are too focused on what''s in front of them.¡± He nodded over at Rix who was fitting a rock at the end of a stick to make a makeshift spear, ¡°In my experience either the Shooter,¡± he then look back at me, ¡°the Mage, or the Healer,¡± he turned to Justia, ¡°are the ones who have the best grasp on the entire party and can see beyond the current fight at hand.¡± He shook his head. ¡°My advice to you, Atlas, would be to learn everything you can because you never know when some obscure knowledge that might seem insignificant would suddenly have great bearing on saving those around you.¡±

    I thought about his words and nodded.

    ¡°I''ll do that, me too!¡± Aelin pumped her fist up in the air.

    ¡°Are we going to get spells or skills for this exercise?¡± I asked, ¡°Because we don¡¯t have any, which really limits our usefulness in a fight.¡±

    Trent smiled, ¡°Nobles will usually pass some down to their children when they first get mantles, but I always thought of that as a handicap rather than a help.¡± He looked at the three of us. ¡°Since none of you have a skill or spell yet, let''s consider this to be a situation where the three of you are out of magic and see how you handle yourselves.¡±

    I thought about arguing but I knew it was a moot point. The monsters here were level one and before they could do any kind of serious damage to us I knew that he would step in. With that kind of safety net, he wasn¡¯t going to do anything to make it easier for us. I looked over at Rix and asked, ¡°How fast can you make another one of those?¡±

 Chapter 22

    Spears were not the weapon we should have used.

    After about an hour of outfitting ourselves with sticks and rocks, we began actively looking for monsters. Once we moved away from the dungeon entrance we started seeing some signs of movement.

    ¡°What''s that?¡± Aelin asked a little too loud.

    It almost looked like a knee-high skeleton but one that was made of wood. I looked at the spear in my hand. A thrown or stabbing weapon wasn''t going to do much damage to something that was skeletal in nature. I looked back at our teacher who was hanging uncomfortably far from us. I decided he wasn''t going to be any help.

    I turned back, ¡°It looks like a little stick skeleton.¡±

    The monster had noticed Aelin''s loud question. It made a grating noise and began running at us.

    ¡°Okay.¡± I pointed my spear at the monster. ¡°Ether, try to block it. If you can hold it still that''s even better. Edward take your stick and see how much damage you can do by clubbing it once Ether has it. Rix,¡± I looked at our Shooter, who glared at me, ¡°do what you do.¡± That seemed like it would be the safest order I could give. I knew Justia wasn''t going to leave my side and Aelin didn''t have any offensive capabilities even though she was holding a stick. ¡°Aelin and Justia, I want the two of you to be on the lookout for any extras.¡±

    The bony stick thing jumped through the air before I could receive an acknowledgment from them. Ether stepped in front of it using the stick in her hand to help her keep it back. While she tried to push it off the stick, it dropped to the ground and tried to go between her legs. She dropped down to her knees and grabbed the things arms. It began trying to slash at her.

    ¡°It''s got thorns!¡± she screamed as she held on to it, ¡°Somebody kill this thing!¡±

    Edward pivoted around her and slammed his club into it, knocking off the piece of wood that should have been the head. But it wasn¡¯t a normal monster and the lack of a head-thing didn¡¯t stop its thrashing.

    He backed up as if he had won, but I knew that wasn''t the case. I thought back to all of the bovines that I had watched Adventures kill for the last four years. When a monster was defeated it exploded into a small cloud of dust which settled into a small crystal. The tree thing was still trying to get to Aelin and the thorns were still digging into Ether''s hands, which meant it wasn''t dead.

    ¡°We need to find its heart!¡± I shouted. Usually, the monsters all had some kind of crystal heart that you could break. Though if it was a crystal, I wasn''t too sure about our chances of breaking it with the crude weapons that we had. I began looking around for another weapon when Rix stepped forward, stabbing her spear through the stick skeleton''s body and lodging the end of the spear firmly into the ground. She grabbed the one out of my hands spun around and stabbed it in a perpendicular angle to the first spear.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

    ¡°There.¡± She said, ¡°It''s not moving. Ether, let go of the monster.¡±

    Ether cautiously let go and began slowly backing up, ready to grab on again if it wasn¡¯t pinned. The monster struggled but it couldn''t free itself from the spears that had pinned it to the ground.

    ¡°Somebody find something that we can use to start breaking this thing apart.¡± I pointed at the monster. ¡°We either need to do enough damage to kill it or we need to break its crystal.¡±

    The others looked at me but Aelin brought back two rocks that were the size of her fists and offered them to me. ¡°Will these work?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± I took the rocks and started to slam them into the monster but stopped, my strength stat was ten which was the same as Edwards. That meant we would do the same amount of damage, but I wasn''t supposed to be letting on that I had such monstrous stats so instead of breaking apart the monster by myself I offered the two rocks to our Hitter. ¡°Use these and smash it as much as you can.¡±

    Edward took the rocks with a questioning look on his face but started slamming them into the thorny stick skeleton. It took him a few minutes but he finally revealed the small Crystal within its pelvis.

    When he knocked enough bark away to reveal that I yelled, ¡°Stop!¡± I pointed at the crystal, ¡°That''s what you need to break.¡±

    He raised up a rock to hit it again.

    ¡°Don''t do that.¡± I said, ¡°Put one rock underneath it and slam the other rock into it. you''re not going to break it just hitting it into the ground.¡±

    Edward scowled, but did as he was told. As soon as he slammed the two rocks together the crystal broke and the tree skeleton vanished into a cloud of dust. When the dust settled there was a tiny crystal the size of a bead lying on the ground.

    I bent down and picked it up and showed it to the rest of the team, ¡°These are what we''re trying to collect.¡± I turned and looked at our teacher, ¡°Right?¡±

    Trent smiled and nodded.

    I put the crystal in my pocket.

    ¡°Why are you keeping it?¡± Ether demanded

    ¡°Because.¡± I had tried to keep my voice calm as I picked up the spear that Rix had taken from me, ¡°We''re going to have to do a bunch of these and right now I am the one who can afford to be encumbered the most.¡± I looked at each of them. Before they had a chance to respond I continued.

    ¡°Ether has to hold them, Rix has to pin them, and Edward has to smash them.¡± I turned to the other two women. ¡°While Aelin and Justia are keeping a lookout.¡± I thought for a moment. ¡°Actually Aelin should probably go and gather some up for us while the rest are fighting.¡±

    The blonde pretended to look hurt. It was hard to take her seriously when her pout also had a smile at the end of her lips. I nodded at where Justia was already wrapping Ethers wounded hands with long, flat, pliable pieces of grass. ¡°And we need Justia to be able to provide first aid if needed.¡± I looked at all of them, ¡°For right now, my job is to watch everybody''s backs. Which means I need to move the least.¡± I made sure to make eye contact with each of them. ¡°Trust me, I will make sure that these get split evenly once we leave.¡±

    The party seemed to accept my reasoning. I saw Ether smile as Aelin jumped up, punching the air.

    ¡°I''m going to find another one!¡± She yelled as she ran off.

 Chapter 23

    ¡°I''m wiped.¡±

    Aelin landed face first into her bed.

    I looked at the rest of us. We were all pretty tired. We had spent the entire day on the first floor and now it was dark and almost time for bed.

    ¡°I don''t suppose you can do anything for this?¡± Ether sat down on her bed and held up her arms showing scrapes and cuts all the way up to her shoulders.

    I felt bad for her but Justia didn¡¯t know any healing magic. I looked at our teacher as I sat on my bed.

    ¡°Can we get one of the Priests to heal her?¡± I asked

    Trent shrugged. ¡°Sure, but you''ll have to pay them to do it.¡±

    ¡°What!¡± Aelin and Ether exclaimed at the same time.

    They began chattering about how unfair that was and while they were arguing with the teacher I looked at the other members of our team. Rix had stayed quiet and to the side of our party for almost the entire day. Edward was already asleep with only one shoe off and the other shoe was in his hand. Justia looked a little frustrated, but really the only one of us who had been injured at all, other than when Aelin slipped on some wet leaves, had been Ether.

    I switched beds and sat on Justia¡¯s. She bristled as I got close, which halted my advance.

    ¡°I just wanted to see how you were doing.¡± I lowered my voice, ¡°Nothing more.¡±

    She nodded slowly as if she was willing herself to believe me.

    I wished there was something more I could do for her, but I had no idea how to convince her that I wasn¡¯t going to try to hurt her.

    We both looked at the two women who were still arguing with our teacher. I stuck my hand in my pocket and realized we hadn''t even distributed our loot yet.

    ¡°Hey!¡± I waved my hand to stop the argument, ¡°Where do we cash out these crystals?¡±

    Trent smirked like he had been waiting for us to ask that question. ¡°There isn''t a Dispatch here and you won''t be allowed out of the Cathedral for some time, so¡­,¡± His face got fraudulently serious. ¡°How about this?¡± He went over to his desk, sat down, then wove his fingers together. ¡°I''ll be your Dispatch counter.¡±

    ¡°Yeah right.¡± Aelin scoffed, ¡°Like you would give us a fair price. You¡¯re going to lowball us.¡±This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    Trent raised an eyebrow. ¡°You do realize just how high my level is don''t you?¡±

    The blonde woman looked at the rest of us for some help but none of us knew what his level was.

    ¡°Okay, last lecture for the day.¡± He leaned back in his chair and stretched his arms behind his neck for support. ¡°Each time you level up you''ll wind up with two points that you can put in whatever you want and the mantle will increase those stats for you.¡± he looked over at Edward, ¡°Somebody wake him up so I don''t have to repeat this.¡±

    Aelin slapped the Hitter on the ass. The sleeping man lifted his head but did little else to indicate that he was awake.

    ¡°Do you have any more of those water things?¡± Aelin smirked

    I reached into my pocket but Trent had made me give him all the ones that I hadn''t used so I couldn''t use them during the exercise. ¡°No,¡± I pointed at the bathroom, ¡°There''s more than one place to get water.¡±

    Ether suddenly had more energy and ran into the bathroom. She came back out with her hands cupped. She held them over the blonde man''s head and then released her package. Cold water splashed over his head, getting him to sit straight up.

    ¡°Wha- ?!?!¡± he explained

    ¡°You fell asleep in class.¡± Aelin turned his face so that he was looking at our teacher, ¡°Pay attention.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± He repeated. His voice was sluggish and still full of sleep.

    ¡°He''s not awake yet.¡± Aelin looked at Ether, ¡°Go get more water.¡±

    ¡°I''m awake! I''m awake!¡± Edward pleaded, ¡°I''m awake!¡± He said a third time a little slower but still kept his eyes fixed on the teacher.

    ¡°About stats.¡± The teacher began, ¡°Each time you level you get two and each time your level hits a multiple of ten your stats double.¡± He looked around the room, ¡°So you can understand just how much stronger someone of a higher level is and how much harder the depths become at each value of ten.¡±

    ¡°So could I just put all my points into power and then smash everything by the time I''m level fifty?¡± Scoffed Edward

    ¡°Yes, you could, but if you don''t invest points correctly at the lower levels, then by the time you reach the higher levels your stats will be so skewed that you won''t be able to descend anymore.¡± When he saw the confused look on Edward¡¯s face, he elaborated, ¡°Because you won''t be able to one-shot the monsters on the floor that is the same as your level and since you have no defense or speed, they¡¯ll kill you with a counterattack.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Edward still looked like he didn¡¯t understand.

    Trent began drawing a small diagram on the in the air with his finger. ¡°Look, one point at level ten is worth two points from ten to twenty. Four points from twenty to thirty. Eight points from thirty to forty. Sixteen points from forty to fifty and thirty-two points from fifty to sixty.¡± he paused for a second. ¡°Bethil is at the middle of the thirties, while Cilia and Warder are at the high end of the forties.¡± He straightened, ¡°I''m Sixty-two myself and the highest that we know of was level sixty-two before they disappeared in the depths.¡± He looked at each of us for emphasis. ¡°I cannot stress how important it is for each one of you to invest your points wisely during these first ten levels. The importance of proper stat allocation is why most Crystal bands are not given until after level ten.¡± He crossed his fingers in front of himself. ¡°That means each of you will have to go through me in order to increase your stats.¡± He rested his eyes on me, ¡°The monsters that you fought today, I could destroy simply by kicking them and I''m a Caster. I wouldn¡¯t cheat you on their crystals because it would be much easier for me to go down to the teens or twenties floors and farm a few monsters there and I would make much much more than what that pocket full of crystals is worth. Don''t worry I''m not going to cheat you on your hard-earned crystals.¡±

 Chapter 24

    I emptied my pocket onto his desk.

    We all watched as our teacher counted out how many crystals there were. I made sure to pull out my pockets to be certain that I hadn''t left the one in there. While I was digging around I realized that I had something in the pocket of my shorts that I was wearing under my jumpsuit. It was the crystal that Paul had thrown me as a bonus before my trial. I had never stayed around to see just how much each crystal was worth but if what Trent said was true then this crystal that had been farmed on the fourteenth floor would be worth significantly more than any of those crystals.

    I thought about the little bit of money that I had stashed back at the Dispatchers. Since there weren''t any Dispatchers here that wasn''t going to help me out. But if I sold this crystal to my teacher, then that might give us a boost at the beginning. The thought scared me a little. I had known these people for less than a full day and was already thinking about them in terms of ¡®us¡¯. I had never had an ¡®us¡¯ but yesterday I had received a mantle and had been bound together with Justia, my teacher, and the ArchBishop, which I guess meant that I had two ¡®Uses¡¯, both of which Justia was part of. I was starting to kind of see her as the person who was going to be my confidant. Even though it seemed like my presence disturbed her. I was going to have to figure out what that was about but I figured that if I pressed her now it might scare her even more. I turned back to the scene that Aelin was making.

    ¡°How much do we get?¡±

    I was more concerned about what one was worth. I knew how many were in the pile because we had been in the dungeon for fourteen hours and it had been taking us about thirty minutes to find a monster and kill it. Which meant there were twenty-eight crystals on his desk. The problem was that the amount didn''t split six ways. I had a feeling that might be a problem, I had a solution, but I didn¡¯t know how Justia would take it. I had a feeling that she would go along with it regardless of how she felt on the matter. She seemed dedicated to her responsibility to me, as long as I wasn¡¯t getting too close to her.

    I wanted to find a way to ask her about it, but I didn''t want to do it in front of everyone. Considering that eventually, I would be much stronger than even our teacher, I could make it up to her later. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    ¡°So,¡± Aelin repeated, ¡°how much is it worth?¡±

    Our teacher looked like he was doing math in his head and then he pulled out six coins. Each one had a five on it which meant our excursion into the dungeon had earned us five Alls.

    While each God''s realm usually issued its own currency, the one currency that was universal was the currency used by the All-Temple. In order to simplify the naming it was simply called an All. The All-Temple would convert any unique currency from any God¡¯s realm into the universal currency.

    ¡°If you were buying our crystals,¡± I stood up, ¡°I can only assume that you''re the one we would have to buy items from as well.¡±

    Everyone looked at me and then looked at our teacher. Apparently, most of them had not considered where they were going to buy supplies.

    Trent smiled, ¡°I''m sure you could find a Priest or two who would be willing to sell you something. You might even be able to buy some things off of the other teachers or students. But yes, I will be the most accessible of the traders you have access to.¡±

    Aelin picked up one of the coins, ¡°What can we buy with this?¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± he began, ¡°How about ration bars for dinner tonight?¡±

    The look she gave him was one of complete horror.

    ¡°You mean you''re not going to give us any more?¡± Edward stammered, ¡°I thought you were supposed to be taking care of us while you were teaching us?¡±

    ¡°I am taking care of you.¡± Trent smiled, ¡°I''m teaching you how to get your own food, while also teaching you how to survive in the dungeon, and progress the new power that you have received.¡± He spread out his arms, ¡°You can gripe about your situation or we can talk about dinner.¡±

    I looked at the others and then at the teacher. ¡°How much for a ration bar?¡±

    Our teacher pulled a box out of his band and placed it on the desk in front of him. ¡°This has 20 ration bars in it.¡± He said, ¡°I''ll sell it to you for half an All.¡±

    While the ration bars weren''t the best tasting thing that there was it was vastly cheaper than the amount it would cost to eat for a whole week, well half as much anyway. It usually cost one All to get enough food for a week. I looked at the others and could tell that the two Nobles had no idea how much money was worth. I nodded to the other three and to my surprise even Rix nodded her agreement.

    ¡°Okay, we''ll take six boxes.¡± I said, ¡°Now what else can we buy?¡±

 Chapter 25

    ¡°Now you''re asking the right questions.¡±

    Trent smiled as he looked at his crystal band. ¡°I have a lot of stuff in here that you might be interested in, but maybe you should tell me what you think you need.¡±

    The exhaustion seemed to vanish from Aelin and Ether at the prospect of shopping.

    I looked at the group before the women had a chance to try to browse. ¡°I think we should see how much a healing spell for Justia would be.¡±

    Ether was quick to nod her agreement but the others didn''t seem quite so sure.

    ¡°Two questions.¡± I turned to the teacher, ¡°First, how much would a cheap healing spell cost? Second, when will Justia learn a healing spell?¡±

    Trent seemed pleased that there were questions going in the direction that he was trying to guide us. ¡°It really depends on the Healer.¡± He looked at Justia and shrugged, ¡°Some get them with their mantle, others don''t get them until level ten. Each person is different and there are even some who have unique skills or spells that no one else has ever had.¡± He shook his head. ¡°I could sell you a healing spell, but the going rate on those for a level one is 50 All.¡±

    We looked at the thirty All that was in front of us. The food for a week was going to set us back three All, leaving the group with twenty-seven, or half of what we would need to get a healing spell.

    ¡°That''s just one more day of hunting those bramble skeletons.¡± Trent offered.

    I looked at Ether, ¡°Do you think you can handle that?¡±

    ¡°Wait a second.¡± Rix said more than she had said the entire day, ¡°You are talking like you''re going to use my cut to give someone else something.¡±

    I looked over at her, ¡°What I''m saying is that if Justia had a healing spell right now then we could heal Ether¡¯s hands. Plus with a healing spell, we would be able to take a few more chances and possibly earn even more in one day.¡± The look I was getting from Rix, Edward, and Aelin told me that they weren¡¯t wanting to pool money. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    ¡°What about weapons?¡± I nodded at Edward and Rix. ¡°Ranged weapons wouldn''t be that effective against the bramble skeletons, but maybe a sword for Edward or¡­¡± I looked around the room.¡± Whose secondary stat was power?¡±

    Justia raised her hand, ¡°Mine.¡±

    ¡°How much would a sword or ax for one of them cost?¡±

    ¡°Yes, how much for a sword?¡± Edward asked, ¡°Maybe one from the higher levels.¡±

    Trent shook his head, ¡°You could try wearing or using higher-level items, but the condensed crystal would wind up hurting you. I wouldn''t recommend any weapons or armor that was made from crystals higher level than you are. Also, I wouldn''t advise you to take any potions that were made from higher-level crystals either. If you think indigestion is bad, imagine what that would be like.¡±

    The rest of us cringed at his analogy.

    ¡°Anyway, I have this short sword.¡± He laid a sword on the desk, ¡°And an ax. Each one is three All.¡±

    ¡°I''ll take the sword!¡± Edward exclaimed as he nearly jumped across the room to pick it up.

    I looked at Justia and shrugged as she gave me a quizzical look. ¡°Wouldn''t the sword be better for Justia since it can be used defensively and the ax be better for you, Edward. Since you would be attacking?¡±

    Our Hitter was too busy looking over his new prize as he headed back to his bed.

    I shrugged and turned to the Healer. ¡°Can you use that?¡±

    She picked it up and tested the weight in her hands. ¡°I think so.¡±

    ¡°Shouldn''t she be buying bandages instead since she doesn''t have a healing spell?¡± Ether held up her wounded hands.

    Our teacher put a roll of bandages on his desk. ¡±One All.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll take it.¡± I said. Justia looked at me quizzically and I waved at her. Between the weapon and the bandages and food she would have half an All left. ¡°Take the ax out of my share.¡± I knew that I could use it in a pinch if I had to and would find some way to play that off. Plus I still had the level fourteen crystal in my pocket. I wasn''t too concerned about a few crystals right now.

    ¡°What about gloves?¡± I asked

    ¡°Yes!¡± Ether exclaimed

    Our teacher pulled out a pair of thick leather gloves and put them on his desk. ¡°Three All.¡±

    Ether picked up the gloves and tried them on.

    ¡°Will they work?¡± I asked

    She pounded her hands together as if testing them. ¡°I think so.¡± She pulled the gloves back off and looked at me as if waiting for approval.

    ¡°It''s your money.¡± I said

    She looked disappointed as she turned back to the teacher and nodded.

    ¡°Can anyone think of anything else they need?¡± the teacher spread out his arms. ¡°Or should we settle up?¡±

 Chapter 26

    Chapter 26

    Everyone was outside before it was time to get up.

    After the previous morning''s antics, no one wanted to be on the receiving end of a lot of cold water, but that desperation didn''t mean that there weren''t a few of us yawning. We spent a long time in the dungeon the day before and I could tell that Edward wasn''t used to that much physical strain or activity. I wondered if Aelin didn''t work much in the evening given how much she was yawning while looking like she was barely staying awake as we gathered in a half circle around our teacher. For me, it felt like just another day and to be honest I wasn''t doing much different than I would have been doing if I hadn¡¯t received a mantle.

    ¡°Are we going back into the dungeon?¡± I asked as the teacher stood quietly for what I considered way too long. If we didn''t start doing something soon, I was afraid that both Aelin and Edward were going to fall asleep.

    Edward had already sat down on the ground and Aelin was propped up against Justia with her eyes barely open. I adjusted the strap on the sling bag that I had purchased with the last of my money from yesterday. Justia had covered the cost of my ration box so that I could afford it, but considering I had everyone''s rations for the day and what was left over of the bandages after she had wrapped Ether¡¯s hands and arms, I felt like it was a decent trade. I wondered why a Noble would seemingly be able to keep up with the rest of us in terms of stamina but that was a question for another day. Trent looked like he was muttering to himself then he opened his eyes with a smirk that told me he had thought of something truly devious.

    ¡°Yes, we are.¡± He turned on his heels and walked out of the yard.

    I held out my hand to help Edward stand up and Justia jostled Aelin awake as the others followed after our teacher. I was starting to feel a little more familiar with the twists and turns that we were taking as we went down to the dungeon mouth. There was a different attendant behind the desk, but either this one had been informed of our excursion or was aware of our teacher¡¯s authority. Either way, there was only a silent exchange between our teacher and the attendant before the gate sealing the mouth of the dungeon dropped and he let us through.

    Once we were in the dungeon we looked at our teacher for direction about what we would be doing that day. After a very awkward staring contest, at least on my part, our teacher motioned towards the woods.

    ¡°You are losing a lot of time.¡± he sat down beside the gate.

    ¡°Isn''t there going to be a lecture?¡± The others groaned at my question.

    Trent started to speak then considered for a moment.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

    ¡°One of the mainstays of Adventures is grinding in the dungeon. Farmers will do this in order to make money, but Explorers and the ones pushing the depths have to stop and farm as well.¡± He looked at each of us. ¡°Why is that?¡±

    ¡°For money!¡± Aelin''s voice was still heavily filled with sleep.

    Our teacher nodded, ¡°True. You''ll need money to get patched up, buy new gear, or for food.¡± There was a momentary twinkle in his eye that told me there was a lot more to that list than he was adding, but now didn''t seem like the time to ask him to expand upon that list.

    ¡°What''s another reason?¡± He looked over the group then his eyes rested on me, ¡°Atlas?¡±

    ¡°Levels.¡±

    ¡°Exactly!¡± He motioned out at the woods, ¡°When do you think all of you will be ready for the next floor?¡±

    ¡°When we''re level two?¡± Ether asked

    ¡°Maybe.¡± our teacher shifted as he got more comfortable, ¡°There are some who are able to go many levels deeper than their level, while others are unable to clear depths that are much lower than their level. Why do you think that is?¡±

    ¡°Stats.¡± I said

    ¡°Gear.¡± Ether asked at almost the same time

    He looked at our Healer, ¡°Justia, you looked like you were about to say something.¡±

    Justia shifted for a moment then cleared her throat, ¡°Party dynamics.¡±

    He smiled at her response, ¡°All of those are very viable answers and each of them makes up part of the answer.¡± he pointed at the buffer, ¡°How can you work on all of those?¡±

    ¡°If we had more money then we could buy better gear.¡± Aelin shifted when he didn¡¯t congratulate her on her answer.

    ¡°Keep going.¡±

    ¡°We need crystals to get money, and we need to fight monsters to get crystals!¡± The blonde woman got excited, ¡°And the more monsters we fight, the more experience we get, which will level us up!¡±

    ¡°The more you fight together and spend time together, the better or worse your party dynamic will become.¡± He inclined his head, ¡°Something to remember is that the six of you are going to be together for the next six years, so you need to work on your party cohesion.¡±

    ¡°How long will it take us to hit level two?¡± Edward asked,

    ¡°At the rate you''re going?¡± Trent began to think, ¡°Probably a month.¡±

    If it was going to take a month for us to get to level two then I was going to have to find some way to contribute other than being the party''s Porter. Given that it was going to take ten days by myself just to get enough crystals to buy a new skill and that was if I didn''t need to spend the money on anything else. I felt the level fourteen crystal in my pocket and decided I would ask my teacher about it later. For now, I had other things to focus on.

    ¡°Let''s go!¡± Aelin shouted. Somehow her exhaustion had vanished at the prospect of making money. She took off into the woods.

    We looked to the teacher for guidance.

    ¡°You better go after her.¡± He closed his eyes and leaned against the gate.

    We looked at each other for a moment then took off into the woods after our enthusiastic Buffer.

 Chapter 27

    We were killing things faster.

    With both Justia and Edward having weapons, our strategy had become for Aelin and Rix to orbit our group on the lookout for one of the bramble skeletons. Once they found one they either drew it back to us or directed us to it. Ether would hold it while Edward and Justia hacked it apart and I would collect the crystal before following after them.

    The strategy was going much better than the sticks to help pin it in place and rocks to smash it. Ether was also in much better shape with the gloves as she was able to be a little more mobile as our other two party members tore apart.

    I still felt like I wasn''t doing much to contribute, but I figured that I would be able to contribute more once I was either able to learn a skill or find some way to justify my higher stats so that I could have a weapon.

    The dungeon was getting darker and I looked up at the sky. It was strange how the dungeon seemed to mimic the conditions outside from weather to time of day.

    I looked around for Trent but didn''t see him. In fact I hadn''t seen him since we parted ways with him that morning.

    ¡°How many was that?¡± Ether asked as she tossed me a crystal. I wasn''t even picking up the crystals anymore. Our tank had started doing that a few hours ago. It made sense for her to grab them before moving on to the next one since they were usually right in front of her.

    ¡°I honestly don''t know.¡± I put the crystal in the bag, ¡°But I feel like it''s more than we got yesterday.¡±

    She wiped her forehead with the back of her gloved hand, smearing a line of dirt between her white hair and red eyes. ¡°Definitely.¡±

    ¡°That was number forty-two.¡± Rix was leaning up against a tree way too close for us to have not seen her.

    The four of us looked at her. As silent as she was most of the time, it always seemed strange to hear her talk.

    ¡°You counted?¡± Aelin came jogging over.

    The redheaded Shooter just raised her eyebrows as an answer.

    ¡°Give me a second to rest before you get another one.¡± Edward dropped onto his rear and stabbed his sword into the ground next to him.

    ¡°I think we might need to go back.¡± I pointed up through the trees at the sky, ¡°It''s starting to get late.¡±

    I could tell by the tired look on everyone''s face that they were thinking of the same thing.

    ¡°Has anyone seen our teacher?¡± Ether looked around then settled her gaze on Rix.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    The redhead shrugged.

    ¡°When was the last time anyone saw him?¡± I rephrased the question.

    Everyone shook their heads or shrugged.

    ¡°Does anyone know where Dungeon Mouth is?¡± I asked a more pressing question.

    Everyone looked at Rix.

    The redhead raised her eyebrows at being put on the spot, then pushed off of the tree she was on, ¡°This way.¡±

    I had to admit that we''d been walking around in the woods so long that most of us had no idea which way the dungeon mouth was. I was glad to have her with us, otherwise, we would have been lost.

    ¡°How do you know?¡± Edward called after her, but she didn¡¯t stop to answer him.

    ¡°Hey!¡± The Noble yelled, ¡°I¡¯m not going to walk in the wrong direction just because you say that¡¯s the way to go.¡± When she stopped, he repeated his question, ¡°How do you know?¡±

    ¡°I pay attention.¡± It was all the response she gave before she started walking again.

    ¡°Wait up!¡± Aelin shouted as she took off after our Shooter.

    ¡°We better follow them.¡± I looked at the other three.

    ¡°Are you sure she knows what she''s doing?¡± Edward shook his head, ¡°I think she has a screw loose. Besides, what if she is messing with us?¡±

    ¡°At least we''re moving in a direction.¡± I started walking.

    The blonde Hitter grunted and pulled on his sword as he tried to get up. The blade snapped, dumping him back into the dirt.

    ¡°What the-?!?¡± He looked at the now half-length jagged blade. ¡°Now what am I going to do?¡±

    I turned around and looked at the shortened blade in his hand, ¡°I guess you have a dagger now.¡±

    ¡°He sold me a defective sword!¡± Edward exploded. He pointed at the ax in Justia¡¯s hand. ¡°Gimme that!¡±

    Justia backed up and I moved in between the two of them.

    ¡°The ax is hers, Edward.¡±

    The blonde Noble clenched the remnant of a blade in his hand, ¡°I''m the Hitter! Which means I should have the best Hitter weapon of all two of us in case we need to fight something!¡±

    I shook my head, ¡°Justia has been doing just fine all day.¡± I nodded at his ruined weapon, ¡°You can still use that better than you were using the rocks yesterday.¡±

    He looked over at Ether as if he was expecting her to jump in on his side. When she just shrugged he threw the broken sword on the ground.

    ¡°What do you know!¡± He yelled as he stomped after Rix.

    For a second I thought he might try something. I wondered if I would be able to disarm him without one of us getting hurt. I knew that our power stats were the same, but I had a lot higher defense and speed. Even without a weapon, I liked my chances of coming out on top.

    ¡°Come on.¡± Ether¡¯s voice drew me out of my thoughts. She pulled on my arm, ¡°We need to get moving or we¡¯re going to get left behind.¡±

    I bent down and picked up the discarded weapon before I nodded toward the other three party members.

    ¡°Let''s go.¡± I touched Justia¡¯s shoulder as she moved past me, ¡°You good?¡±

    She nodded but I could feel that she was rattled by his outburst. I didn''t blame him for being upset about his weapon breaking. I''d seen Adventurers throw major fits when a weapon broke during a fight, but they had always seemed to have a replacement. That sword had been most of a full day''s worth of work for him. Plus, he had probably never had to work like that a day in his life. I could see how he would be especially upset by it, but that didn¡¯t excuse how he had acted. I made a mental note to check Justia¡¯s ax when we got back to the dorm. We didn''t need another weapon breaking.

 Chapter 28

    The dungeon gate was closed.

    ¡°No! no-no-no-no-no!¡± Aelin pounded on the covering.

    ¡°This has got to be a sick joke!¡± Edward threw a rock the size of his first at the gate. The projectile bounced off thankfully away from the rest of the group.

    Rix walked over to the side of the gate and pulled off a piece of paper. She read it, then handed it to me.

    ¡°What is that?¡± Edward demanded as the others crowded around to see what it said.

    Survival Training

    See you all at the end of the week.

    Don''t die.

    ¡°I cannot believe this!¡± Edward threw another rock at the gate. ¡°He can''t do this to me!¡± the Noble ran screaming and yelling off to the side of the woods.

    I let the blonde man throw his fit. Partially because I didn''t want to spend the energy to try to call him down. Partially because I felt like joining him. We had our mantles for barely two days and now our teacher had walked us on to the first floor of the dungeon and left us there with barely any supplies.

    ¡°What do we do now?¡± Ether was the first one to speak.

    The other women looked at me but I honestly had no idea. We had only brought enough rations for the whole day, which meant I still had the six bars in my bag. Once we ate those, we wouldn¡¯t have any more food. Even if we tried to ration it out, it definitely was not going to last 5 days.

    ¡°You¡¯ve stayed in the dungeon overnight before, right?¡± Aelin looked like she was about to cry.

    ¡°Yes¡­¡± I didn¡¯t like where this was going. It was true that I had stayed in the dungeon overnight but I had always been with a group of Adventures. Those Adventurers had brought supplies with them and I had known beforehand that we were going to be spending a prolonged amount of time in the dungeon, so I had also brought extra supplies.

    ¡°What do we do now?¡± Ether asked againA case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    ¡°We need to find shelter.¡± I tried to remember what the Adventurers had done. ¡°If we''re going to be here a while we should probably find water.¡± I looked at Rix, ¡°How well do you remember the layout of where we¡¯ve been?¡±

    Her face was neutral, ¡°Where do you want to go?¡¯

    ¡°Do you remember the creek where we stopped for lunch?¡±

    She pointed, ¡°That way.¡±

    I walked over and handed her the broken blade. ¡°I think you can use this better than I can.¡±

    She tested the weapon, then lashed it to her side. ¡°Let''s go.¡±

    The other women looked at me and then looked towards Edward who was still screaming.

    ¡°What about him?¡± Aelin moved so that I was in between her and the raging Noble.

    ¡°HEY!¡± I yelled, ¡°Edward! We''re leaving!¡±

    The man stopped his screaming but was still on his knees and he rested his head against the tree that he had been pounding on. There were indentations and most of the bark where he had hit it was gone.

    ¡°Come on.¡± I said softer, ¡°We''ve got to go.¡±

    I walked over and put my hand on his shoulder, ¡°We''ve got this.¡±

    Edward glared at me. His eyes held nothing but pure rage and exhaustion. He locked onto his sword at Rix¡¯s side.

    ¡°That''s mine!¡± He scrambled towards her, ¡°Give it back!¡±

    I grabbed the back of his jumpsuit to pull him back. He tried to swing at me, but it went wide. I twisted around with him and pushed him into the dirt. I grabbed his arm and pinned it behind him.

    ¡°Let me go!¡±

    I pushed him down harder, ¡°Not until you calm down.¡±

    ¡°You have no right!¡±

    I leaned down so that I could whisper in his ear. ¡°I''m going to hold you down until you calm down.¡±

    ¡°Get off of me!¡± Rage rolled off of him as his veins began to bulge.

    Despite his fury, I could see his confusion. He was the Hitter with ten power and I was the Caster, who should have very little power. I shouldn¡¯t be able to hold him down, but I was.

    ¡°We have to spend a week here and it''s going to take every one of us to survive.¡± I leaned back so that everyone could hear, ¡°If you insist on not working with us or if you try to attack another one of us again.¡± I slipped my right hand around to the front of his throat and pulled him back as I squeezed. I felt him start to struggle for air.

    ¡°I will kill you myself. Do you understand?¡±

    He nodded, unable to breathe.

    I relaxed my grip, ¡°Are you going to calm down?¡±

    He nodded again.

    ¡°I''m going to let you up.¡± I let go of his throat and arm as I stood up, ¡°But you don''t get that sword until you prove you can handle it.¡±

    I held out my hand to help him up, ¡°Are you going to lay there or are you going to come with us?¡±

    The blonde Noble grumbled but rolled on his side and reached out to take my hand. I helped him up and looked him over.

    ¡°You good?¡±

    He nodded meekly.

    I could see he was still upset but for the moment at least I didn''t think he would have another outburst. I looked over at Rix who was testing the remains of the blade in her hand.

    ¡°After you.¡±

 Chapter 29

    We ran across three bramble skeletons on the way there.

    Edward hung back during all the fights which put more emphasis on Justia. She was more than capable of destroying the plant monsters with her ax. When we reached the creek, everyone knelt down and started drinking from it. The one thing we hadn''t brought with us was water. I made a mental note that we were going to need to find a way to bring water with us the next time we came into the dungeon.

    ¡°Can I have my ration bar? Ether asked

    I started to reach for the bag on my back and stopped. It was the last food that we had and while we were all tired and hungry. We weren''t at the point where hunger was going to make us too weak.

    I looked at Rix. ¡°Have you seen anything that we could eat?¡± I plucked a piece of grass and casually tasted it then spit it out. It was bitter but I had a feeling that we were going to wind up eating some less than tasty things during our week locked in here.

    She pointed upcreek. ¡°There''s berries up there.¡± She pointed in the direction that we hadn''t explored, ¡°The trees change that way, there might be something.¡±

    It had gone from getting dark to too dark to travel safely. The light overhead looked like we had a moon, which provided us with enough light to see but I didn''t trust anyone but Rix to be able to navigate around without getting lost.

    ¡°Can anyone make a fire?¡± I looked around, but no one gave any indication that they did.

    Rix went up the bank towards the woods. I saw her sit down in the low light. There was scraping and some sparks. Before I could ask what she was doing, a small fire that illuminated the area bloomed.

    Rix began building the fire until she had a nice little campfire going. She started putting rocks around the base of the burning sticks.

    ¡°How did you know how to do that?¡± Aelin scurried over and began warming her hands.

    Rix shrugged for an answer.

    The bubbly blonde looked back at me when she didn''t get an answer from our Shooter.

    ¡°Can I have my ration now? I''m hungry?¡±

    I paused and the others were also looking at me and I could tell that they also wanted to eat. I knew we should probably save them but we also needed to keep our spirits up. I opened the bag, took out five ration bars and tossed them to everyone. I left mine in the bag. I wasn¡¯t really hungry and it wouldn¡¯t hurt to have a little food in reserve. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    Rix tucked hers into the pocket of her jumpsuit while the other four tore into their meal.

    I walked over to the Shooter, ¡°You''re not going to eat it?¡±

    She shrugged, ¡°You''re not eating yours.¡±

    ¡°I might really be hungry later.¡± I looked at the fire and then back at her.

    ¡°Have you been in the dungeon?¡±

    She shook her head.

    ¡°How do you know how to do this?¡±

    ¡°I just do.¡± She got up and walked into the darkness. I knew that there was more to the answer but also that she wasn''t going to give it.

    Suddenly there was a bramble skeleton in the clearing and Rix was behind it with a stick. The monster turned to focus on her, but she dodged out of the way using the broken sword to deflect it. She used the long stick to bat it into the fire. It screamed as it burned until it burst into a cloud of smoke.

    Aelin¡¯s eyes were wide and the other three hadn¡¯t been able to move any more than I had.

    ¡°That¡¯s one way to beat them.¡± I looked at Rix, ¡°You okay?¡±

    She shrugged as Justia and Ether came over to the fire. Edward seemed perfectly happy to stay near the water.

    ¡°We need a perimeter.¡± She looked at Justia. ¡°I need you and your ax.¡±

    Justia looked at me and I nodded for her to help. I picked up a stick from the fire, ¡°We''ll be fine without the weapons.¡± I twirled it in front of me, ¡°If another of those things attacks, we can burn it.¡±

    Justia nodded and followed Rix into the darkness. I heard the sound of the ax chopping at wood, but couldn''t see what they were doing.

    ¡°I''m not going to be able to sleep am I?¡± Edward called from the bank.

    I looked at Aelin and Ether, ¡°We¡¯ll take turns on watch. Who wants to be on first watch with me?¡±

    Aelin yawned and laid down next to the fire. She picked up the crystal and threw it to me. ¡°I¡¯m going to sleep. You can get me when it¡¯s my turn.¡± She turned away from me after she closed her eyes.

    Edward cautiously moved up towards the fire, but stayed closer to the water and sat down while looking at the ground. He made no indication that he was going to join the conversation, but that was okay, I hadn¡¯t expected him to participate on watch. The blonde Noble was looking at the ground with disgust. He started to say something, but he stopped himself. I saw resentment on his face but he laid down on the ground and covered his eyes with his arm. I walked away from the fire and Ether followed after me.

    ¡°Are you really going to let him take watch?¡± She whispered

    I shook my head, ¡°I think the best thing to do is to rotate one of us out and let him sleep.¡± I shrugged, ¡°Maybe he''ll be in a better mood once he''s rested.¡±

    ¡°I doubt it.¡± Ether took my arm and pulled me next to her. I tried to remind myself that I was supposed to be looking for monsters, but I knew that the softness squeezing against my arm had the bulk of my attention.

 Chapter 30

    I was doing a bad job of watching for Monsters.

    I never remembered having this much magnetism towards the opposite sex. Growing up, I had only ever been around the nuns, who were too scary to even think about flirting with. Once I started working for Dispatch, I was too tired and too poor to hold the attention of the opposite sex. The way things had been happening for the last two days since I got my mantle was completely new territory for me. Not that I was going to complain. Ether and I took a spot at the opposite end of where Justia and Rix were working. I could still hear them hacking away at branches or trees or whatever they were gathering to make whatever Rix was building.

    I assumed that they would be able to see any monsters that came their way. With the noise they were making, they would probably attract the monsters first. I knew both of them could handle themselves which left me and Ether to deal with any Bramble Skeletons that might try to come from this direction. We had the creek to our left which I hoped would be a natural barrier and keep any Bramble skeletons from coming from that direction. I decided that I was going to think about the creek as running north to south. That put Ether and myself on the southern end of our camp. Justia and Rix were to the northwest, which really only left the possibility of something sneaking in from the southwest. After two days of fighting the woodland monsters, they didn''t strike me as very stealthy.

    I sat down with my back against a tree. Ether sat down next to me, pulling herself closer and resting her head on my left shoulder.

    ¡°You''re going to fall asleep if you do that,¡± I said silently berating myself for giving her a reason to pull away. ¡°It''s okay if you want to rest, I can wake you if something shows up.¡±

    She looked up at me with those disarming red eyes, ¡°You wouldn''t be thinking about doing anything to me while I''m asleep.¡± she teased.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

    ¡°Do you have something specific in mind for that anything?¡±

    Ether let out a soft giggle and nestled and closer to me. ¡°I might be able to think of a few things.¡±

    ¡°I might need to practice that list while you¡¯re awake.¡± I turned so our noses were almost touching. ¡°You can give me feedback.¡±

    ¡°I feel safe with you, Atlas,¡± she mumbled as she snuggled tighter to me

    ¡°I''ll keep you as safe as I can.¡± the words felt weird when you considered that I was a Caster with no spells and she was a tank. Still, I was starting to feel protective of this group. Even Edward for all of his entitled antics so far. I felt like I needed to keep them safe.

    The white-haired woman brushed her nose against mine.

    ¡°Atlas.¡±

    I could barely see the look in her eyes by the dimming firelight behind us, but there was a hunger on her face. I moved my left hand to hold her face right under her ear and guided her lips closer to mine. She didn''t resist, so I moved my right hand around to the small of her back and pulled her on top of me. My hand on the side of her face was keeping her lips just a breath away from mine. I could feel her quickened breathing teasing short bursts of warm breath into my mouth. It felt like there was a spark arcing between our bodies and that spark had me wanting more. She had closed her eyes and was pursing her lips. I traced a second pass slowly just barely touching her top lip with mine. The second tease proved to be more than she could handle and she grabbed my head and completed the connection kissing me firmly.

    It felt like I was breathing in fire, but not the kind that burned. It was the kind that warmed and gave life. The kind that excited and propelled things forward.

    At the same time, there was a hunger inside me that needed to be filled by that fire. The tiredness I had been feeling earlier vanished. My small hunger pains in my stomach were a thing of the past as I drank her in.

    We stayed in that embrace for a few moments taking each other in when I heard a noise to our right. I turned my head while she was still kissing my neck expecting to see a bramble skeleton, but instead, there was Justia with her arms crossed in front of her and a look of disappointment on her face.

 Chapter 31

    We had been busted.

    I twisted out from under Ether, positioning my body in between the two women. I turned to look up at the disapproving blue eyes and hoped that the fire light was low enough that my Priest hadn''t seen much.

    ¡°How long have you been there?¡± I nervously searched her face for a hint.

    Justia raised one eyebrow, ¡°Long enough to know she feels safe with you.¡±

    Shame washed over me as I tried to think of what to say next. I knew that I shouldn''t care what Justia thought. She was the one who was supposed to serve me, but for some reason, I felt like there was worth in her opinion. I couldn''t shake that feeling even though I tried to think of why. I knew it wasn¡¯t because I had romantic feelings for her.

    When I looked at the brown-haired woman, I knew she was beautiful. She had flawless skin and a figure that proclaimed she was athletic. As desirable as she should have been, I didn''t see her in a sexual way. Instead, there was something about her that I had never felt about anyone else. Something that felt close, something that resonated. Like she was a part of me, but not. I had no idea what it was but I knew just by looking between Ether and Justia that there wasn''t a drop of sexual energy between the two of us.

    I didn''t know what to say so I went with comedy.

    ¡°Did you enjoy the show?¡± I smirked. That earned me a slap across the back of my head. I turned and looked at the white-haired beauty I had just been making out with.

    ¡°That was a compliment!¡±

    For some reason, I earned a second smack across the top of my head.

    Before I could complain, she gave me a short kiss. Then she rolled away and walked back towards the campfire leaving me alone with Justia.

    ¡°Are you going to try to screw every woman you''re alone with?¡±

    I looked up at her, ¡°I''m not trying to screw you.¡±

    I didn¡¯t have much of a defense considering what she said had been true over the last two days.

    She bristled at my comment as if it was an invitation. I saw the apprehension on her face and I held up both of my hands.

    ¡°No-no-no. I didn''t mean I was going to try to do anything with you. I meant that you''re a woman¡­¡± I stopped before I finished the sentence. There was no way I was going to come out of that defense ahead so instead I tried to start over.

    ¡°Look it''s obvious that you don''t want anything to happen between us and regardless of what that old coot back in the Cathedral says, I''m not going to make you do anything.¡± I tried to give her a reassuring smile but I think that came off as creepy. ¡°I don''t know why, but you feel vital to have close to me and I don''t want you to feel uncomfortable. So please don''t think that you have to be so on guard around me. Because you and I are a team first. And that''s the way it''s always going to be.¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    My mind was replaying our interaction trying to find a way out of it in one piece. Something clicked.

    ¡°You were enjoying the show, weren¡¯t you?¡±

    She blushed and pulled her arms tighter around her. ¡°I was not¡­¡±

    I looked back to where Ether was sitting by the fire. Rix had a bunch of poles that she was stabbing into the ground to make x''s and tying them together with some Vines to create a makeshift fence around our camp. I turned back to my Priest.

    ¡°You were.¡± I studied her face for any indication I was right and found it. ¡°You think she''s pretty because you weren¡¯t watching me.¡± I winked.

    I motioned back at the campfire. ¡°Do you like someone?¡±

    The way she bristled at the question told me that I was right.

    ¡°Is it Ether?¡± I didn¡¯t see any reaction, ¡°Rix?¡± still nothing, ¡°Aelin?¡±

    Her face turned red as she pulled me to my feet and dragged me further from the camp.

    ¡°Keep your voice down!¡±

    ¡°Tell you what. Call dibs and I¡¯ll respect that.¡± I smiled, enjoying her embarrassment.

    ¡°You¡¯re being juvenile.¡± She looked back at the campfire where Ether was helping Rix make the fence.

    ¡°I¡¯m sleep-deprived and exhausted.¡± I couldn¡¯t help myself, ¡°And this is fun. So¡­¡±

    ¡°I like Aelin.¡± Justia admitted before I could tease her anymore. ¡°But it can¡¯t happen, so there¡¯s no reason to make a big deal about it.¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡±

    ¡°Because you''re not supposed to be like that I''m not supposed to be like that.¡± She was looking at her feet and I was barely able to hear her.

    Being told what I was supposed to be had me feeling a little bit insulted. She continued before I could speak.

    ¡°There¡¯s supposed to be a relationship between the high Priest and their God. I¡¯m supposed to give you all of me and I can''t do that if I''m with someone else.¡±

    I raised my eyebrows, ¡°Who made this rule?¡±

    She shrugged, ¡°That¡¯s the way it is.¡±

    ¡°Let me get this straight, I¡¯m supposed to become a God and have my own realm. Don¡¯t I get to make the rules in that realm?¡±

    She looked confused, ¡°Yes..?¡±

    ¡°Then I should be the highest authority on that matter.¡± She looked at me like I had just said the sky was Green.

    ¡°If I''m the one that you are supposed to be serving,¡± I nodded at our camp, ¡°and I say if you want to go after her then do it. And if someone has a problem with that then they can answer to me.¡± I felt something stir inside me. It was almost like electricity but coated with anger. It was like I wanted to put myself in between this thing that was threatening to hurt someone who was precious to me. I put my hand on her shoulder.

    ¡°Don''t worry about this rule or expectation because as far as I''m concerned you don¡¯t have to deny yourself this for my sake or the sake of living up to someone who doesn¡¯t matter¡¯s expectations. So don¡¯t feel like you have to hide who you are.¡±

    I realized what I said, ¡°Well, maybe hide that you''re a high Priestess until I won''t get eaten by the other Gods.¡±

    She chuckled and nodded, ¡°I think I can do that.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡± I elbowed her, ¡°Let''s go back to camp.¡±

    She nodded.

    ¡°Really? Big boobs?¡± I couldn¡¯t help teasing her.

    She smacked me on the back of the head, ¡°Don''t you say a word.¡±

    I made the motion of sealing my lips and throwing the key. I felt like a barrier that had been in between the two of us was gone and that we were finally getting to a place where we could trust each other. I was starting to think that this exercise might actually be fun.

 Chapter 32

    I stayed up most of the night.

    With most of the party asleep it had allowed me to actually wield the ax. I learned that I could destroy a bramble skeleton in one swing. The fence that Rix erected took her most of the evening, but it was strong enough that it kept the bramble skeletons out long enough for us to step over the waist-high fence and destroy it.

    The watch order had gone Rix and me for most of the night. Justia had replaced Rix, and finally, Aelin had relieved me. I thought it was a way of trying to apologize to Justia. When I woke up Ether was lying beside me with her head on my shoulder. I was enjoying the warmth but could tell that the sun was coming up and we needed to start getting ready for the day.

    The others didn''t have a ration bar so we needed to see if we could find a source of food and I hoped I could do that before everyone woke up. I slowly rolled away from Ether, regretting having to leave her warmth but knowing it was necessary. Justia saw me getting up and walked over to me.

    ¡°Sleep well?¡±

    I tried to suppress the blushing but wasn''t able to stop the embarrassed smirk that parted my lips. ¡°Yes.¡± I tried to think of something else to say but that was all I could think of. Instead, I progressed the question. ¡°Did you two run into anything?¡±

    ¡°We saw three bramble skeletons.¡± She dug into her pocket and handed me the three crystals that she had collected from them.

    I added up all of them, ¡°That means we fought eight last night.¡± That came out to about one every hour.

    I looked over at the fire that had died down to almost nothing. With the sun coming up we didn''t really need a fire for light. Since we didn''t have anything to cook, it didn''t make much sense to try to keep it going. Especially if Rix could start one as quickly as she had the night before. At the thought of Rix I looked around the camp. Ether and Edward were still asleep but Rix was not lying where she had settled down after her watch last night.

    ¡°Where''s Rix?¡±

    ¡°She got up a little while ago.¡± Justia nodded in the direction I was defining as north, ¡°She went upcreek to look for some berries.¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± I thought about asking for the ax that she was carrying. It would help to have a weapon when I followed after our Shooter, but that would leave the camp without a weapon to defend it. Instead, I picked up the stick I had been using as a club and rested it behind my shoulders.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    ¡°I''m going to go see if she needs any help and if we can get enough to feed everybody.¡±

    ¡°Behave yourself.¡± Justia glared at me.

    ¡°I always do.¡± I held up my hands as I began walking away. I nodded in Aelin''s direction, ¡°I guess that means I¡¯m leaving the two of you to watch over this place.¡±

    Justia gave me a disapproving glare.

    ¡°It''s not like I''m wanting to try anything. We need food and there might be something up there we can eat and I''d like to try to get back before grumpy over there wakes up and starts demanding his Royal breakfast.¡±

    That drew a small chuckle out of Aelin. Justia looked a little more relaxed around me and it was nice to see that side of her.

    I started my way up the creek. As I walked up the bank I began to wonder about whether or not the bramble skeletons would actually try to cross the river. It wasn¡¯t long before I heard rustling in the underbrush to my left. I decided to test out what would happen as soon as the monster ran out of the bushes.

    I began walking backward until I stepped into the water. It was knee-deep in the middle, but I didn''t want to get my jumpsuit wet, so I jumped backward onto the other bank. The bramble skeleton ran up to the edge of the water and began flailing its thorny arms trying to get to me.

    I wondered what would happen if they got wet. I jumped back across the creek and landed near the bramble skeleton. It turned and rushed towards me. I slapped the charging monster with my club and knocked it into the creek. The bramble skeleton began flailing as it sank to the bottom of the creek and attached itself to the creek bed.

    It was still flailing and it looked like it was firmly attached to the ground. I walked out until the water was just lower than my shoes. I watched as the monster''s motions slowed down. I waited until it stopped moving completely. I expected that it would explode into a cloud of dust. Part of me was worried that the creek would carry the crystal away but after waiting for a few minutes the monster still had not moved.

    I decided that it was worth checking on so I waded out into the middle of the creek and reached down into the water to grab the monster by the head and pulled. Even with my increased power stat, it still didn''t want to move. I braced myself and began tugging at it as hard as I could and by rocking back and forth, I was finally able to rip the bramble skeleton out of the ground. There were roots that had sprouted under its feet that had been anchoring it. I tossed the monster on the creek bed and waded back out of the water. I picked up the stick I had left on the creek bank and began poking the prone monster.

    It wasn''t moving, so I felt safe to inspect it. The entire monster was stiff, which was very different from the pliable branches that I had encountered when I had fought them last night. If I had to guess I would have said that the monster was dead, but dead monsters vanished. This was all very confusing.

    I thought about crushing the area in the pelvis where the crystal was but I was genuinely curious about whether the monster was dead or just stunned. I looked around for a little while and found a stick with a crook on the end and hooked the monster on that so that it was far enough behind me that if it did wake up, it wouldn¡¯t be able to hit me.

    I slung the stick on my shoulder and continued my search for breakfast.

 Chapter 33

    ¡°Why?¡±

    I heard Rix''s voice before I saw her.

    I turned around a few times but couldn''t see where the voice had come from. Wherever she was hiding she was doing it well.

    Rix appeared to my left with her arms crossed. I knew I looked in that direction but she hadn''t been there.

    ¡°I was experimenting¡± I planted the stick in the ground.

    ¡°What did you do?¡± she walked closer to my monster ornament looking cautiously at it. She poked it with the broken sword in her hand.

    ¡°I pushed it into the water,¡± I motioned towards the creek beside us, ¡°It became like this. I was curious how long it would stay like this.¡± I saw the disapproval on her face but she just turned away from it and back to me.

    ¡°Have you found many berries?¡± I nodded to the black and red berry bushes that lined both sides of the bank.

    She motioned towards the creek bed and I saw a few leaves with a couple of handfuls of berries on them.

    ¡°Cool!¡± I moved the sling bag so that I could open it and begin putting the berries inside. ¡°How many do you think we should get?¡±

    She looked at the pack and then looked at me and shrugged. Without a word, she went back to picking berries.

    I took off the sling bag and left it open on a flat rock, ¡°We can fill this up.¡±

    We worked in silence for around an hour before we had gathered about two gallons of berries.

    ¡°That should be more than enough.¡± I said as I finished zipping the bag closed. That was about all the bag could hold anyway and I didn''t want to start cramming them in because I had a feeling that and I was already going to have to wash the juice out of the bottom of the bag.

    Our crystals were secure in a side pocket so they wouldn''t get lost amongst the berries. My ration bar was in the other side pocket.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    ¡°Have you seen anything else?¡± I walked over to the brambles skeleton and poked it. With how often we had been being attacked by monsters, I had expected that one would have attacked us by now.

    Rix raised her eyebrow at me, ¡°No.¡±

    I started to pull the bramble skeleton out of the ground but saw the look on her face.

    ¡°You''re not bringing that thing back.¡±

    I looked around, ¡°Maybe this is the reason why we haven''t been attacked yet.¡± I looked at her, ¡°Maybe the dungeon isn''t sending another one after us because this one is still here.¡±

    She raised an eyebrow and shrugged.

    ¡°Besides¡­¡± I picked up the stick and slung it over my shoulder. I could see the curiosity on her face when I remembered that Ether was having trouble lifting these things and I had just done so effortlessly. ¡°I thought these things would be heavier.¡± I said as I patted the stick, ¡°Maybe this thing helps.¡±

    She just shook her head and started walking back, staying just barely in the water as she walked down the creek. I wondered if she was doing that as a way to either keep the bramble skeletons from attacking her or as a defensive measure in case she needed to cross to the other side quickly.

    We walked in silence for the rest of the trip. Every time I thought about asking her something, I was reminded of her one-word answers. She wasn''t being hostile to me, it was just that she still wasn''t being particularly open. I didn''t think I needed to try to rush things, especially since I already had Edward that I was going to have to deal with at some point.

    Before we got to our camp Aelin came running up the bank.

    ¡°Did you get some?¡± she shouted as she ran up the bank towards us. She froze when she saw my other package. ¡°What is that?¡±

    I looked behind me and then back at her.

    ¡°It drowned.¡±

    I pulled the sling bag over my head and offered it to her.

    ¡°Is it dead?¡± she cautiously took the bag.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± I shrugged as I kept walking towards the camp. ¡°Maybe, but it hasn''t disintegrated so I''m not sure.¡± I tapped on the end of the stick, ¡°But I made sure to find a long enough stick so it isn''t getting down.¡±

    Aelin unzipped the bag a little and her eyes lit up when she saw the berries inside. Food replaced fear as she ran back towards the others.

    ¡°They found berries!¡± She shouted, ¡°A lot of them!¡±

    I chuckled as I turned and noticed Rix had disappeared again. I shook my head. I had a feeling that she was going to be fine wherever she had wandered off to. She would probably show up as soon as we got ready to go out and hunt down more monsters. Until then I assumed she was going to try to avoid any social interaction. I chuckled as I thought about her and then congratulated myself.

    ¡°I did it.¡±

    I smiled. I had actually spent a significant time alone with a woman besides Justia since I reached the cathedral and nothing had happened between us.

 Chapter 34

    Justia was furious.

    ¡°You''re not keeping that thing!¡± She pointed at my decoration.

    ¡°I just want to try something.¡± I made the motion of crossing my heart. ¡°I won''t bring it inside the barrier but I think it might keep monsters away from our camp.¡±

    I looked around at the other three people inside the barrier but they showed no indication of offering any help. I hadn''t been allowed to come over the fence and I didn''t trust them not to try to destroy it if I put it down.

    ¡°Why would you think that?¡± She demanded,

    ¡°While Rix and I were picking berries.¡± I looked around to see if our red-headed companion was going to help out. Unfortunately for me, it looked like she was staying away. Wherever she was. ¡°We didn''t get attacked once and we were alone for over an hour.¡± I looked at everyone again, ¡°You guys had at least one monster show up, didn''t you?¡± The looks they gave each other confirmed it.

    Justia shook her head. ¡°Yes but how did you get that thing?¡±

    ¡°I ran into it on my way to the berry patch.¡± I said,

    ¡°How did you get it like that?¡± Ether joined the discussion.

    ¡°I pushed it in the water.¡± I said.

    ¡°You?¡±

    Edward didn''t seem to believe me.

    ¡°My Power stat is eight.¡± I lied. I would have to remember that I told him that when I saw our teacher, so that whatever illusion he was putting over my stats would reflect that.

    ¡°Why haven''t you been helping out with the hunting?¡± Aelin demanded.

    ¡°Because we only have two weapons.¡± I said

    ¡°Why didn''t you take the ax and give Justia the bag?¡±

    Our white haired tank seemed to have a small grudge against our Healer.

    Justia cut me off before I could respond.

    ¡°He''s not used to having a weapon¡­,¡± She was suddenly on my side of the argument we were having with each other, ¡°from being a Porter.¡±

    ¡°And you are?¡± Ether scoffed,

    Justia motioned towards Edward, ¡°As Nobles, part of our training includes using basic weapons.¡± Justia began, ¡°As well as the basics of every other class.¡± She shrugged, ¡°But most of my training was focused on healing and recovery because both of my parents were Healers.¡± She nodded at Edward, ¡°I''m guessing most of your training was focused on melee weapons, probably swords since both of your parents are Hitters?¡±

    Edward nodded, but looked upset by the reminder. It was probably because we had taken away his broken sword, but given his earlier outburst, I wasn''t going to take it away from Rix and give it back to him.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    ¡°If you know then why did you take the blade from me?¡± He demanded, ¡°Why did you give it to the ghost?¡± I assumed he had given Rix a nickname, which was actually kind of fitting given that she was always disappearing.

    ¡°Because if things went sideways.¡± I planted the forked stick in the ground behind me. ¡°I could always pick up one of these.¡± I picked up a fallen limb and swung it in front of me, ¡°And I do a lot more damage than she could with it.¡± I looked at each of them, ¡°We don''t know for sure that these things,¡± I poked the frozen monster, ¡°are the only monsters out here. What if there is something else that isn''t quite as easy to beat as these thorny things?¡±

    They looked at me like I had been thinking ahead when in fact I had really just made all of that up. Honestly, I had a bad feeling that now that I had said something we were going to see a different kind of monster. Though as far as I knew from working at the Zeb dungeon, there was only one kind of monster on each floor with the boss floor monster just being a bigger, stronger version of the floor monster.

    ¡°That''s good thinking.¡± Justia broke their silence. ¡°Because we don''t know what else spawns on this floor.¡±

    I tried not to look surprised at her words because the only dungeon experience I had was from the one in Zeb. She might know more about the dungeons. In fact, I expected that she knew a lot more about the dungeons even if she had never been in one. I poked the hanging ornament.

    ¡°Is everyone going to leave this alone while we test it out?¡±

    They all looked at Justia to see if she was still going to object.

    ¡°It stays on that side of the barrier.¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± I nodded, ¡°I wasn''t planning on bringing it over there anyway.¡±

    Justia called attention to the sling bag that the other three were still eating berries out of.

    ¡°What are we going to do about that?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I didn¡¯t understand her question.

    ¡°We can''t leave the bag here.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± I didn¡¯t see a problem with leaving the bag at camp, other than having to carry crystal in my pockets again.

    ¡°What if another group comes through and takes all of our crystals?¡±

    The thought hadn''t occurred to me and apparently, it hadn''t occurred to the other three either.

    ¡°We''ll just have to leave the berries here.¡± Aelin picked up the bag and started to dump the berries out on the rocks that were beside her.

    Rix was beside her in an instant and grabbed her hand.

    ¡°Don''t.¡±

    Edward let out a little squeal as he backed away from her.

    The red-headed Shooter dropped a pile of six pieces of tree bark on the ground. Each one was the size of her hand.

    ¡°Wait.¡± She ran into the woods. In a few moments, she came back with a larger one that was a good 8-inch square and slightly curved. She got two smaller rocks and put it under the curve to brace the bark so that it wouldn''t rock then poured berries onto the bark until she filled it. She had only stacked maybe a quarter of what was left in the bag

    She looked at the blonde, ¡°I''ll bring more.¡± She was gone longer but when she came back she had five more bark plates the same size. She laid them down around the fire pit and poured out the remaining berries onto them.

    ¡°There.¡± She tossed the sling bag to me, ¡°Wash it.¡± She crossed her hands and sat down.

    ¡°All right then.¡± I started turning the bag inside out, ¡°As soon as I get this cleaned up we can go back to hunting.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Edward demanded,

    ¡°Because, what do you think Trent is going to say when he shows up if all we did was make a fence and hunker down behind it?¡± I looked around, ¡°I have a feeling that with us being locked in here, he''s going to expect us to have been hunting even more of these things every day than we have been.¡±

    I saw the reluctant agreement on most of their faces. Rix was still as unreadable as ever but Aelin looked excited.

    ¡°Let''s do this!¡± She jumped up ¡°Who''s ready!?!¡±

 Chapter 35

    It didn''t take me long to wash out the bag.

    While washing it out there was something that I started to think about. If we were collecting over fifty crystals a day while in here, then it wasn''t going to take long before I was going to fill up the front pocket. By my estimation, we had about four more days before I wouldn''t be able to put any more crystals in the front pocket. Which only left the large back pocket and if we were going to keep using the bag to transport berries, then we would have to find some other way to store our crystals. I finished washing out the bag and looked up at camp.

    The partitioned-off area still had some underbrush in it even if we had found a place without any trees. Rix had started chopping away the underbrush and was stacking it up against the fence. Aelin was helping her while Edward, who was sitting close to the smoldering fire, was watching them. Justia was staring at the hanging monster while looking around and Ether had come over to wash her hands in the creek.

    ¡°About last night.¡± I felt like I needed to say something, ¡°Sorry about Justia, she can be a little protective.¡±

    Ether moved closer to me, ¡°What''s up with the two of you? Did you know her before this?¡± She motioned around us.

    I shook my head, ¡°No, I met her for the first time here at the Cathedral.¡±

    ¡°So what''s her deal? And do you know why our teacher was pulled off of another team to train someone who isn''t even his class?¡±

    I thought about trying to make something up. I knew why he had been moved to this team, but it hadn''t been for Justia, it had been for me. That meant I had no idea what excuse they would be using to justify it to the other teachers. I decided to go with what was closer to the truth.

    ¡°I honestly have no idea,¡± I looked into her red eyes, ¡°All I know is that I got called to the ArchBishop''s office with Trent and Justia. I was told that I was going to be on their team.¡±

    The look she gave me was one of disbelief. Honestly, it didn''t sound very believable that Justia would be so protective of me without having some interest. Considering that Justia had no interest in me that way, I thought about outing her but that wasn''t my secret to tell. I tried to think of something that would satisfy Ether¡¯s curiosity while still leaving me open to continuing what we had started last night.

    ¡°The ArchBishop told her to look after me.¡± I realized that would only increase her interest by her response.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    I tried to think of another reason, then the answer hit me. Plus it would explain why I had been picked first by the Caster teacher over the Noble.

    ¡°You have to promise to keep it a secret.¡± I lowered my voice, which pulled her closer.

    ¡°Promise.¡± Her red eyes were locked onto mine

    For a moment, I was captivated by her and forgot what I was going to say. I''d seen female tanks before but they had all been rough and harsh. I''d never seen a physical class that was as inquisitive, cheerful, and had the raw beauty of the woman kneeling beside me. That reminded me of the blonde from my first day. Most people would probably say that the blonde was prettier than Ether, but Bridget definitely had a sensual allure to her that this white-haired tank did not project on a constant basis. That was something that I found alluring about Ether. She didn¡¯t project an aura around her that made guys always want her. That experience had been reserved for last night.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Ether pulled me out of the rabbit hole. I had begun to fantasize about continuing our event from last night and it was leading me to some very distracting scenes.

    I tried to look as serious as possible as I leaned closer using the excuse to put my hand around her shoulder to draw her in.

    ¡°I''m an abnormal.¡± I said locking eyes with her.

    She raised her eyebrow as if she had expected something different.

    I nodded at the fence where Justia was clearing away some of the underbrush with Rix.

    ¡°She''s the only other one who knows.¡±

    ¡°That''s all?¡± The disappointment was obvious on Ether¡¯s face.

    I knew I was going to have to give her something else because she wasn''t buying that being the only reason for the closeness between us.

    ¡°I''m not a regular abnormal.¡± I tried to think of where I could go with this. It was the Healer''s job to keep everyone alive, but maybe I could feed a little more importance into this.

    ¡°The real reason why Trent got pulled off of his old team is because they really wanted him to teach me.¡±

    ¡°I knew it!¡± She exclaimed a little too loudly.

    I dunked the sling bag under the water even though it was already clean because everyone looked over at us. I needed to keep up the illusion that I was still washing the bag.

    ¡°Are you finished?¡± Justia yelled

    ¡°Almost!¡± I pretended to be scrubbing the inside of the bag. The problem was I still hadn¡¯t come up with an excuse as to why Justia was as close to me as she was.

    ¡°That doesn''t explain what¡¯s going on between you and Justia.¡±

    ¡°The ArchBishop knows her family,¡± I started drawing on the truth and realized there was a thread that I could follow, ¡°and knows that she''ll keep this a secret.¡± I looked at her, ¡°I''m really trusting you with this information. Can I trust you?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± I could see excitement building in her.

    ¡°Justia is supposed to look out for me.¡± I paused for effect, ¡°Because my abnormal stats have me dual classed.¡±

 Chapter 36

    ¡°That''s not possible!¡±

    I didn¡¯t blame her disbelief. Everything I had been told about the mantle trial had been that there are six mantles that can be bestowed. One for each stat. I knew there were more now, but it was theoretically possible for a non-Godling dual class to exist.

    ¡°I had never heard of it either. But that''s what the crystal said.¡± I put my other hand on her other shoulder, then turned her so that we were facing each other instead of being side by side. The sling bag strap hung off of my elbow as I stood up with her.

    ¡°The ArchBishop is trying to keep this under wraps since he believes that I''ll be able to become one of the strongest adventures of this generation.¡±

    It wasn''t actually a lie. The ArchBishop was trying to keep this under wraps and he did believe that I was going to be the strongest adventure of this generation.

    ¡°What''s your secondary class?¡±

    I had been expecting that question and already had an answer. I had told everyone that my power was eight, and they would assume that my magic was ten. This left me having to decide which of the other four classes to choose from. Honestly, it would have been easier for me to have said that I had ten power, but I didn''t want to have to keep up with two different numbers for that stat when talking to different people. Defense might have allowed the two of us to bond, but I had to make a believable argument for why Justia had been brought in on the facade. Which meant that there was really only one answer.

    ¡°It¡¯s recovery. That¡¯s why they brought in Justia.¡± I looked over at our brown-haired Healer. ¡°When we start leveling, there''s a chance that I''ll also get healing spells.¡± I nodded at the ax-wielding woman. ¡°She''s supposed to cover for me so that I can train in that as well.¡±

    I searched Ether''s face to see if she was buying the story. It wasn''t too far off from the truth. Actually, it was a part of the truth since I assumed that Trent was going to want me to train in all six of the disciplines at some point.

    ¡°That makes sense.¡±

    I breathed a sigh of relief, ¡°Yeah.¡± I started walking towards the camp, ¡°I think she resents it a little that I might be able to do her job better in the future. Which might be why she ruined our fun.¡±

    Ether giggled, ¡°Well we''ll just have to find a way to ditch her.¡±

    I smiled, ¡°I''m sure we''ll think of something.¡±

    ¡°Took you guys long enough.¡± Aelin looked us over, ¡°I thought you might have fallen in.¡±

    ¡°It was really sticky.¡± I turned the bag inside out and shook it trying to dry it off. The bag itself seemed to be waterproof, so I had no doubt it would be dry pretty soon. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    ¡°Where does everyone want to try to hunt today?¡± I looked up at the sky. We were getting a much later start today than we had the last two days.

    Everyone looked over at Rix who just shrugged. When our Shooter didn''t say anything the rest of them looked at me. Even if we killed fifty monsters a day for the next six days that would only be fifty more experience for each of us. That wouldn''t get us to level two, but there wasn''t really much else that we could try to do. I didn''t know if there were any other types of monsters on this floor, but what I did know was that every monster gave experience based on the floor it was on. This meant that we wouldn''t be getting any extra experience even if we defeated monsters on a higher floor. Monsters up to the 10th floor would all give the same amount of experience, so even if somehow we were able to make it to the second floor we wouldn''t be getting any additional experience to level ourselves faster. but there was one other thing that we might be able to do despite the similarity in experience.

    The floor boss did have one mechanic that made up for its increased difficulty. There was the possibility of drops other than just crystals from the floor boss.

    I started to propose that as a goal then decided we were not outfitted for such an endeavor, but that didn''t mean that we couldn''t find where the floor boss was.

    ¡°How about we look for the floor boss¡¯s room?¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Justia demanded

    ¡°We''re going to have to fight it eventually, and it might help if we knew right where to go when we are ready.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m done fighting this week.¡± Edward sat down. His eyes wandered over to the broken sword on Rix¡¯s hip. ¡°We don''t have any weapons, so I¡¯m done.¡±

    ¡°I know. I¡¯m not saying that we go fight it now, but knowing where it is can give us a goal. And who knows maybe there will be something different that spawns around the boss room.¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t we stay here for a bit longer?¡± Edward complained, ¡°I haven¡¯t slept well since I got to this ungodly place.¡± He looked at the rest of us, ¡°Why do you want to leave so bad?¡±

    ¡°To level up?¡± Aelin offered

    ¡°And then what?¡± Edward scoffed, ¡°We can level once we leave this place.¡± He sat down, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t even be here if it wasn¡¯t mandatory for those newly mantled to go through a Temple-approved training regiment.¡±

    ¡°What about finding your brother?¡± Aelin countered, ¡°You said that¡¯s what you hoped to accomplish.¡±

    ¡°Yes, but that won¡¯t happen while I¡¯m here. My brother didn¡¯t disappear in the Cathedral Dungeon.¡± He sat down, ¡°I have to be in the thirties to start looking around the floor where he disappeared. And I¡¯m not going to get to that level here, and definitely not like this!¡± He crossed his arms, ¡°If that crazy teacher is going to trap me in here, then I¡¯m not going to kill myself before I can get out.¡±

    I wanted to slap him, but if he was going to complain the entire time, I honestly would rather him not be with us.

    ¡°You can stay here, but we¡¯re not splitting the crystals we get today with you.¡± I said

    ¡°Then give me my crystals from yesterday.¡±

    I started to argue but decided that I didn¡¯t care if he lost his crystals and it would make things easier to split later.

    I fished eight crystals out of the front pocket. I zipped it back, then walked over and handed it over.

    He counted the eight and smiled, ¡°At least you can acknowledge my contribution.¡±

    I just grinned, too afraid that if I spoke, I¡¯d say something to start a fight. He had only helped with forty-five monsters last night, which meant he¡¯d earned seven and a half. We¡¯d killed eight throughout the night, so giving him eight crystals meant that each of the rest of us would get nine and none of us would have to listen to him complain.

    I motioned away from the stream. ¡°Let¡¯s head out!¡±

 Chapter 37

    We were killing them faster.

    Our attack pattern before had been for Aelin and Rix to find a monster, then either call us over to it or bring it to us. Then Ether would hold it while Edward and Justia took turns hacking at it. The group would move on and I¡¯d pick up the crystal.

    Now, we were barely stopping. Rix and Aelin were working together, one of them was going further out, signaling to the other, which allowed them to cover a much wider area. Without having to swap blows, Ether only had to hold the monster in a way for one person to hit it. That allowed her to hold it more securely, which allowed Justia to focus on the crystal area a lot more accurately, so they were able to defeat the monster faster. Since we were finding monsters faster and defeating them quicker, we were killing four an hour instead of three an hour.

    We had crossed the creek and kept moving east, fanning out from north to south and back. After our seventeenth monster, Aelin and Rix came back from their scouting.

    ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡± Aelin sat down against a pine tree.

    Ether looked at me, ¡°Are we taking a break for lunch?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not near any water.¡± I looked at Rix, ¡°Have you seen anything we can eat?¡±

    The Shooter shook her head.

    ¡°We can¡¯t really stop for lunch if we don¡¯t have lunch.¡± The other four women looked very disappointed, ¡°Let¡¯s change our focus from finding monsters to finding something to eat.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s going to take for-ev-er.¡± Aelin pretended to go limp.

    ¡°It will if we don¡¯t start, then it will.¡± I turned to the red-head. ¡°Where¡¯s the closest water?¡±

    ¡°That way about a half hour south.¡± She pointed to her left.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    I looked around, but I honestly had no idea where we were in relation to our camp or even where we had already covered.

    ¡°Where haven¡¯t we checked?¡±

    Rix pointed in the other direction, ¡°That way.¡±

    ¡°I guess we¡¯re going that way,¡± I said.

    The other women groaned.

    ¡°If we focus on just covering territory, then we should be able to cover more ground.¡± I looked at Rix, ¡°Can you direct us around any monsters?¡±

    ¡°Maybe?¡± She shrugged, ¡°Haven¡¯t tried.¡±

    ¡°Are you good to run?¡± I asked her.

    The look she gave me told me that she wasn¡¯t going to answer a stupid question.

    ¡°I know the rest of us can¡¯t move as fast as she can, but let¡¯s try to keep up.¡±

    Ether raised her hand, ¡°My speed is three, there¡¯s no way that I can go anywhere close to as fast as she can.¡± She looked embarrassed, ¡°Or for as long.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll¡­¡± I stopped.

    I had almost offered to carry her. With my ten power and speed, it wouldn¡¯t have been hard to move quickly with her in my arms. I couldn¡¯t have kept up with Rix, and maybe not anyone who had an eight in speed, but I was confident that I could move faster than a six. That wasn¡¯t the only problem either. The underbrush was going to make things difficult to move quickly anyway and we hadn¡¯t seen a trail all day. So it¡¯d be difficult to carry someone without snagging on or slapping them with a branch. Even if there weren¡¯t obstacles, I was supposed to be keeping my stats a secret. I had told everyone that my power stat was eight and since I was a Caster, it would be assumed that my Magic was ten. I told Ether that my recovery stat was also ten, which was twenty-eight total points, giving me seven points to spread between my defense, speed, and aura. Defense and aura were hard to gauge, but speed was something that everyone could observe. I was going to have to make sure I didn¡¯t move too fast or else I would let on that I was more than just an Abnormal.

    ¡°Stay back with you.¡± I finished, ¡°If you need a breather, I¡¯ll make sure you¡¯re not alone.¡±

    She seemed to brighten at that, though I heard a groan from Aelin.

    ¡°Just get a room already.¡± The blonde stuck out her tongue, ¡°So we can quit having the two of you distracted by pretending to be good at flirting.¡±

    The look on Justia¡¯s face told me that wasn¡¯t going to happen anytime soon.

    ¡°Maybe once we finish this,¡± I said.

    ¡°Maybe.¡± The Tank blushed as she repeated the word.

 Chapter 38

    We still hadn¡¯t found anything to eat.

    After two hours and a single bramble skeleton, we hadn¡¯t found anything that was edible. At least, not edible in the ¡®fit for consumption¡¯ sense. I had chewed on a few leaves, but those were bitter and not something I was going to suggest that the women make a meal out of.

    We had traveled in relative silence, not wanting to draw the attention of monsters while we had empty stomachs. There was always the option to double back to camp and go to the berry patch from there, but I doubted that we would be able to pick nearly that many again tomorrow. As it stood, there hadn¡¯t been enough to last the seven of us all day, and I was willing to bet the level fourteen crystal in my pocket that Edward had eaten all of the ones we¡¯d picked.

    I could see that the fatigue was starting to wear on Aelin, Justia, and Ether, but Rix seemed like her normal self. Not that I knew what her normal self was, but she wasn¡¯t showing any signs of fatigue or hunger like the others.

    ¡°I want a burger¡­¡± Aelin leaned against a tree, ¡°Aren¡¯t Adventurers supposed to live extravagant lives?¡±

    ¡°The retired ones maybe.¡± I shrugged, ¡°But the ones in the dungeon all live by what they can carry.¡±

    ¡°How much can they carry in that band thingy?¡± Aelin asked

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± I thought for a moment, ¡°I¡¯ve seen some Adventurers take a lot out of them though.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what we need.¡± She decided, ¡°We all need crystal bands, then we would have our rations.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    I should have prepared better and packed more ration bars, but I hadn¡¯t wanted to carry the extra weight all day. I had trusted that we¡¯d be going back that evening and I realized that was part of what Trent was trying to teach us. Even when we thought we were going on an easy trip, to plan as if we weren¡¯t.

    ¡°You don¡¯t get a crystal band until level ten.¡± Justia scowled, ¡°No use complaining about something that¡¯s over a year away.¡±

    Aelin stuck out her tongue, ¡°I can dream can¡¯t I?¡±

    Justia looked away and nodded.

    ¡°We need to focus on the problem at hand.¡± I looked at Rix, ¡°Do you think you could climb one of these trees and see better?¡±

    The redhead looked at me like I had just asked her to grow another head.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a no.¡± I looked around, ¡°How far from the dungeon wall do you think we are?¡±

    ¡°Not far.¡± Rix pointed in the direction we had been moving, ¡°It¡¯s right over there.¡±

    I looked in the direction she pointed and sighed. If we were that close to the dungeon wall, then we might as well start heading back.

    I was about to propose we go to the berry patch when Rix took off in the direction she had pointed.

    The other women looked at me, but I was just as lost as they were.

    ¡°Aelin you¡¯re the only one who can keep anywhere close to her.¡± I nodded, ¡°Try to make sure she¡¯s safe. We¡¯ll be right behind you.¡±

    The blonde groaned, but took off after our Shooter, ¡°RIX! WAIT UP!¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s going to attract the entire forest,¡± Ether complained as I held out a hand to help her up. ¡°Thanks.¡± She said as she got to her feet.

    ¡°IT¡¯S FOOD!¡± Aeling screamed

    We all ran through the woods towards them. When we reached the dungeon wall, there was a single fruit tree growing out of the side of the dungeon wall. On it were many different types of fruit. I saw at least oranges, apples, pears, and peaches.

    ¡°WE¡±RE GOING TO LIVE!¡± Aelin laughed.

 Chapter 39

    I couldn¡¯t carry nearly as much fruit as I wanted.

    I would have lugged a bag ten times the size of my sling bag if I would have had room. Considering the tree was on the dungeon wall, that ensured that it¡¯d be easy to find again. The downside was logistics. My sling bag could carry about a dozen pieces of fruit. Considering that each of us could eat two to three pieces of fruit per meal, that meant we¡¯d need almost seventeen pieces of fruit for just one meal. I sat down on the ground and stared at the open bag in front of me. We could try to carry fruit in our arms, but the moment we got attacked, we were all going to have to drop it. I didn¡¯t know how far we were from our camp, but I couldn¡¯t imagine that we¡¯d be able to get back without another fight.

    Also, we¡¯d only defeated fourteen monsters. We still had five hours of light left and we could beat at least fifteen more monsters. We could defeat the monsters faster than we were, the main limiting factor was finding them.

    ¡°Take off your jumpsuit.¡±

    I looked up to see who was talking and saw Aelin looking at me.

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°I said, take off your jumpsuit.¡± She repeated.

    I looked over at Justia for help, but my Priestess seemed content to let me handle this one.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because that bag isn¡¯t going to hold enough and we need to carry more.¡± Aelin pointed at me, ¡°We can tie the arms and legs to make a bag to put more fruit in.¡±The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ¡°Why me?¡± I was starting to feel self-conscious about being singled out.

    ¡°Because you¡¯re a guy.¡± The blonde stated, ¡°You¡¯ve got shorts on under that.¡± Her eyes sparkled with a mischievous dare, ¡°Or do you think one of us girls needs to strip down?¡±

    The implication got my eyes to move down to her breasts and quickly moved to look anywhere else.

    ¡°I will.¡±

    Aelin and I turned as Ether began taking off her jumpsuit.

    I hadn¡¯t realized just how beautiful our red-eyed tank was. She had been wearing a factory jumpsuit when I had first met her, then most of the rest of the time she¡¯d been in the same blue jumpsuit that we were all wearing. Even last night, when she had been half-naked on my lap, it had been too dark to see anything.

    As she finished shedding the jumpsuit to stand proudly in nothing but a sports bra and boy shorts, I couldn¡¯t help but feel awed by her.

    ¡°Wow.¡±

    Everyone looked at me and I realized I had used my outside voice for that.

    ¡°I mean, you look incredible.¡±

    Ether blushed, but kept her arm outstretched, ¡°Here.¡±

    ¡°I-, Uh¡­¡± Aelin stammered as she took the jumpsuit, ¡°Still need yours.¡± She looked at the other two women, ¡°Unless one of you wants to volunteer to flirt with Sir Creepyeyes.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± I asked, ¡°Who is going to carry the other one?¡±

    ¡°They can three-man it.¡± She pointed at herself, then to me, ¡°You¡¯ll carry one and I¡¯ll carry the other.¡±

    She had a point, so I started shucking my jumpsuit.

    Ether whistled.

    ¡°Me-ow!¡± Aelin laughed, ¡°Who brought the dollar bills?¡±

    I tried to ignore the heat in my cheeks and the fire on my ears as I pulled off the rest of the jumpsuit. I turned around and held it out.

    ¡°Whoa.¡± Aelin said as she took the clothes from me, ¡°Somebody works out.¡±

    Four years of carrying, squatting with, and tossing heavy bags full of crystals had strengthened my body and given me a little definition. The mantle had enhanced what I already had, giving me well-defined chiseled abs.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get this over with.¡± I muttered as I met eyes with Justia. There was no pleasure on her face, just annoyance.

 Chapter 40

    It felt like I was carrying a body.

    Considering I had a jumpsuit full of various fruits on my back, it kind of was.

    ¡°Are we there yet?¡± Aelin wheezed as she sat down. ¡°I need a break.¡±

    Justia had been helping to carry part of the jumpsuit until Rix found a monster. While Ether was wrestling the monster into place, Justia would set down the part of the jumpsuit she was carrying, then run over to hack apart the plant monster.

    We were due for our sixth monster soon and I was glad for the break. Ten power and I was still getting tired from the physical toll. I couldn¡¯t imagine how sore Aelin had to be. I didn¡¯t know what her Power stat was, but I knew it was less than six.

    ¡°The stream is right there.¡± Rix pointed in the direction we had been headed, ¡°we¡¯re almost there.¡±

    ¡°My legs¡­¡± Aelin whined

    I was acutely aware of legs as Ether sat down so close to me that her bare legs touched mine. She leaned her head on my bare shoulder and I began to worry that it would become obvious just how much the physical contact was exciting me.

    ¡°Do we have to go fight until dark once we get back?¡± Ether asked as she hugged my arm.

    It was only around five in the afternoon. We still had three hours of light and had only defeated twenty-four monsters. If we kept going we could get another eight, which wouldn¡¯t get us close to the forty-five we had beat the day before.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    ¡°Maybe we should take the rest of the day to try to build a shelter.¡± I suggested

    Aelin, Justia, and RIx looked at me. It felt like Ether might be starting to fall asleep on my arm.

    ¡°There is weather inside the dungeon, just like there is outside.¡± I tried to motion up with my chin, ¡°So far it¡¯s been clear, but if it starts to rain¡­¡±

    Rix nodded, ¡°We need to move camp.¡±

    That wasn¡¯t what I was getting at, but considering one of the walls to our camp was the creek, it made sense that she¡¯d want to insure against flooding.

    ¡°Probably wouldn¡¯t hurt.¡± I ignored Aelin¡¯s groan, ¡°Where do you suggest?¡±

    ¡°Here?¡± Aelin offered before Rix could speak.

    ¡°Actually¡­¡± The redhead looked around, ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea.¡± She pointed to a spot to her right, ¡°Firepit there.¡± She pointed at the tree I was leaning against, ¡°Shelter there.¡±

    Justia looked at me as if she was waiting for my approval.

    ¡°Sounds good to me.¡± My back muscles rejoiced at not having to carry the jumpsuit of fruit anymore.

    ¡°I¡¯ll grab the fence.¡± Rix took off.

    ¡°What do you think the ¡®prince¡¯ is going to say about having to move?¡± Aelin snorted.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡± Ether said as she sat up, ¡°I¡¯m just looking forward to going to sleep tonight.

    We all got up, despite how nice it felt on the ground.

    ¡°Someone needs to stay here with the food.¡± I looked at the women, ¡°Probably Ether and Justia.¡±

    ¡°Why¡­¡± Aelin whined,

    ¡°Because the two of them can fight off a monster by themselves.¡± The assessment earned me a smile from Ether and a fleeting smirk mixed with a flash of pride from Justia.

    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± The buffer sighed, ¡°One of these days I¡¯m going to get a weapon I can use and fight off a monster. Then you¡¯ll all realize just how awesome I am.¡± She twirled around for emphasis.

    ¡°We know.¡± I patted her on the shoulder, ¡°Now let¡¯s go save Rix from Grumpy.¡±

 Chapter 41

    I heard the Noble before I saw him.

    ¡°You are not tearing that down!¡±

    As Aelin and I came out of the underbrush we saw Rix cutting the vines she had used to lash the stakes together. The redheaded Shooter had already disassembled enough posts that a monster would be able to get into the clearing, so I didn¡¯t understand why Edward was trying to stop her now.

    ¡°You!¡± The blonde-haired Noble stormed over to the edge of the fence, pointing at me, ¡°Tell her to stop breaking that!¡±

    I eyed Rix, who seemed oblivious to the commotion around her.

    ¡°You think I can get her to do anything?¡± I nodded in her direction, ¡°You¡¯re acting like you think I¡¯m the party leader.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because you are!¡± Edward began jabbing his hands in her direction, ¡°Tell her to STOP!¡±

    ¡°Go ahead and help her.¡± I signaled for Aelin to move.

    ¡°But it¡¯s about to get good.¡± The blonde woman moaned.

    ¡°You can hear while you¡¯re stacking posts.¡±

    She frowned but trudged over to where Rix had begun dropping the posts and started stacking them.

    ¡°You¡­ But¡­ You have to¡­¡± Edward¡¯s face was red and his veins were starting to pop out, ¡°That¡¯s not what I told you to have them do!¡±

    ¡°Because I can tell them what to do?¡±

    ¡°YES!¡±

    ¡°Since I¡¯m the party leader?¡±

    ¡°EXACTLY¡±Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    I waited for a moment, but what he had been saying didn¡¯t sink in.

    ¡°Are you going to tell them to stop?¡± Edward stomped his foot.

    ¡°No.¡± I stepped over the barrier, which forced Edward to back up, ¡°Because we are moving camp. So as the PARTY LEADER, as you pointed out. I am telling you to get over there and start pulling up the stakes.¡±

    ¡°But that¡¯s¡­¡±

    ¡°NOW!¡± I took a step forward, which would have brought up almost nose to nose, but the Noble stepped back.

    The anger vanished from his face as he scrambled away from me.

    All of the berries were gone. I hadn¡¯t expected there to be any, but that didn¡¯t help to endear the spoiled Hitter to me. I knew that we needed to establish team cohesion, but that wasn¡¯t going to happen until Edward stopped seeing the rest of us as being there to serve him.

    I gathered up the bark plates and then started stacking the rocks from the firepit. The fire had died a long time ago and it didn¡¯t look like anything had been added to it to try to keep it going. It was just as well. I smoothed out the remains of the fire and covered it with dirt. The last thing that I wanted was for a forest fire to start because of the remains of our campfire.

    I looked over at where Rix was still cutting away vines, but she was almost halfway around the fence. Edward and Aelin were starting to catch up to her.

    ¡°Rix,¡± I motioned at Aelin, ¡°Are you good if I take Edward and a load back to camp?¡±

    The redhead looked at me, nodded and then went back about her task.

    I was curious about why she said so little and was quick to put distance between herself and anyone else, but now really wasn¡¯t the time to ask. I honestly doubted that would be a question I would receive an answer to for a long time.

    ¡°Edward, start loading up as many of those stakes as you can carry. Aelin help him get a good load, then go back to helping Rix.¡±

    Edward started gathering stakes without complaint or comment. I was glad that I didn¡¯t have to argue with him.

    ¡°Gotcha!¡± Aelin started stacking stakes on the blonde Noble¡¯s arms.

    I watched how many stakes Edward loaded up with, then grabbed about two-thirds as many. I thought that would be a decent way to keep up the appearance of not having as much power as our Hitter.

    ¡°We¡¯ll be back as soon as we drop these off.¡± I turned towards where we had left the other two.

    ¡°We¡¯ll be fine.¡± Aelin pointed at the monster that was still hanging on the forked stick, ¡°We can always wade out into the water.¡±

    I had completely forgotten about the monster. It was still just as lifeless as when I had placed it on the other side of the fence.

    ¡°Cool.¡± I motioned with my head, ¡°Come on Edward, Let¡¯s go.¡±

 Chapter 42

    They had been attacked while we were gone.

    I had thought it was strange that I hadn¡¯t seen a monster in a while, but the one patrolling this area must have run into them.

    Ether tossed the crystal at me. ¡°Here you go.¡±

    I caught the crystal and put it in my sling bag with the others.

    Ether was still pulling fruit out of jumpsuits and sorting them into piles. Justia was clearing away the underbrush and there was a small stack of stakes piled next to the area where the shelter was going to be built.

    ¡°Put them over there.¡± I pointed Edward to the other stack.

    ¡°Are both of you okay?¡± I looked at the women.

    Justia twirled the ax in front of her, ¡°We handled it

    Ether laughed, ¡°She makes it sound easier than it was, but we were fine.¡±

    I looked at Edward, ¡°Let¡¯s hurry up and get the rest of these stakes.¡±

    ¡°You have fruit!?!¡± The blonde Noble fell to his knees in front of Ether.

    Our Tank slapped his hand as he reached for an apple. ¡°These are for later!¡±

    ¡°But I¡¯m hungry.¡± He looked at me, ¡°Can¡¯t I have one?¡±

    ¡°You ate enough berries to feed all of us.¡± I glared at him, ¡°I think you¡¯ve eaten enough today.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡±

    ¡°No.¡± I pointed back toward the old camp, ¡°Come on.¡±

    ¡°But wouldn¡¯t I be more help here?¡± He looked at the women for support, ¡°I could¡­, I could¡­, I could start putting up the fence.¡± He picked up one of the stakes and slammed it into the ground. ¡°See?¡±This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    ¡°The fence goes over there.¡± I pointed at the tree we were going to start the fence on, ¡°That¡¯s where the fire pit is going.¡±

    He pulled the stake out of the ground and darted over to where I had pointed and stabbed the ground. ¡°There!¡± He beamed with pride.

    I sighed. I really didn¡¯t want to leave him alone with the women, but he had a point. With him here, he could start putting the fence together and Justia would be able to watch him. I looked over at my Priestess.

    ¡°Are you okay with watching him?¡±

    The brown-haired woman looked over at the other Noble.

    He clasped his hands together. ¡°Please. I promise I¡¯ll do everything you tell me to do.¡±

    She looked back at me, ¡°Are you going to be okay by yourself?¡±

    ¡°I can go with him!¡± Ether shot up to her feet. She was still in her undergarments and I couldn¡¯t hide the shiver of excitement that ran through me.

    My mind started going through potential possibilities of what we could do on the way back. My heart started beating faster as each one seemed to produce two others as each scene progressed.

    ¡°Nope.¡± Justia slashed her hand, ¡°Not going to happen. We¡¯re working not fooling around.¡±

    ¡°You.¡± Edward pointed at me, ¡°And you?¡± He turned towards Ether, ¡°Is that why the two of you are in your skivvies?¡±

    ¡°Do you want to go back with me?¡± I glared at him

    Edward shook his head.

    ¡°Then be quiet.¡± I turned to Justia, ¡°Work comes first. I promise that¡¯s all we¡¯d do.¡±

    Justia shook her head, ¡°There¡¯s still stuff around here that she can do to help.¡± She pointed her ax, ¡°She can start looking for leaves or branches for the shelter as soon as she¡¯s done sorting fruit.¡±

    I wanted to argue, but I knew she had a point. There was no way that Ether and I would make it to the old camp and back and only work. We messed that up last night while we were supposed to be on watch. Knowing we wouldn¡¯t have any interruptions, except possibly a monster, which if Ether could beat one with Justia, then the two of us would have no problem.

    She was right and as much as I didn¡¯t want her to spoil the fun, there was a lot of work to do.

    ¡°You have a point.¡± I turned so that only Ether could see my face and mouthed sorry. The red-eyed tank puckered her lips but nodded as if she understood.

    ¡°I¡¯ll see if we can¡¯t bring the rest of the stuff back in one trip.¡± I didn¡¯t wait for Justia to acknowledge me as I took off. At least without someone with me, I could use all of my ten speed stat.

 Chapter 43

    I practically flew through the woods.

    For the first time since I had received my mantle, I was able to really let loose and it felt great. I was also sped up by the possibilities of what might happen between me and Ether. I didn¡¯t know when something was going to happen, but I knew something was. The possibility alone was enough to send goosebumps all over me. I wanted to get the camp moved as fast as I could, then maybe there¡¯d be a chance for the two of us to slip away.

    I knew that we needed to focus on defeating monsters, collecting crystals, and leveling up, but we were already going so much faster than we had. I could only imagine that once we got better weapons and armor, we¡¯d be clearing things that much faster. We deserved a little break in my opinion. A reward for making it through day three of being just thrown into the dungeon.

    I slowed down when I got close to the camp. I didn¡¯t want the others to know just how fast I was, though I had a feeling Rix knew something was different. There was just something off about her and the way she interacted with everyone.

    ¡°Any monsters?¡± I asked as I walked into camp.

    Rix and Aelin were pulling up the last of the fence.

    ¡°Nope.¡± The blonde looked around, ¡°Where¡¯s Grumpy?¡±

    ¡°He convinced Justia that he would be more helpful setting up the camp.¡± I shrugged, ¡°So I came alone.¡± I looked at Rix, ¡°Really? Nothing?¡±

    The redhead shrugged as she pulled up the last of the stakes. She started lashing them together with vines.

    ¡°Does this mean that Justia is the party leader?¡± Aelin teased, ¡°Do you love her?¡±

    The teasing had me do a double take, ¡°It¡¯s not like that between me and Justia.¡±

    ¡°Oh really?¡± Aelin batted her eyes as she handed Rix sticks, ¡°Why do you do whatever she tells you to?¡±If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ¡°I¡­¡± I cut myself off as I started to think. I had been taking direction from Justia, but the Priestess was voicing good ideas or things I hadn¡¯t thought of. There was a part of me that was a little scared of her considering how she had acted last night. And given that she¡¯d just cock-blocked me and I had barely resisted. I found myself wanting to find something the brown-eyed Noble was wrong about.

    ¡°I guess she hasn¡¯t been wrong yet.¡± I shrugged, ¡°But trust me, even if there is a level of respect there, I can guarantee you that there is nothing romantic going on between us.¡± The way Aelin rolled her eyes told me that she didn¡¯t believe me.

    ¡°It¡¯s true! We both have our eyes on other people.¡± I blurted, trying to save face.

    ¡°Really? Grumpy? Ewww.¡± The blonde made a face.

    ¡°What? No. That¡¯s not who she¡¯s watching.¡±

    I realized my mistake when Rix stopped what she was doing to look at me.

    ¡°Seriously? She¡¯s like that?¡± Aelin dropped the stakes and ran over to me, ¡°Which one of us is it?¡± She nodded towards our Shooter, ¡°I bet it¡¯s Rix.¡±

    The redhead blushed and went back to tying the stakes together.

    ¡°It¡¯s not Rix.¡± I didn¡¯t want to continue the conversation, but I felt like I had to save Rix from potential embarrassment.

    ¡°If it¡¯s not Rix¡­¡± Aelin tapped her chin, ¡°And you and Ether are boning.¡±

    ¡°We haven¡¯t¡­¡± I realized my mistake as soon as she interrupted me.

    ¡°So you are together.¡± Her face lit up as she landed on the only other option, ¡°Really!?!¡±

    Before I could speak Rix darted across camp and shoved a stake in my hands. She was holding the broken sword out and I realized she had a large knife in her other hand.

    ¡°Monsters?¡± I looked around the small clearing and realized that we were surrounded. Except it wasn¡¯t Bramble skeletons.

    ¡°So you figured out the scarecrow.¡± A black haired brown eyed man in full leather armor with a sword at his hip knocked over the Bramble Skeleton on the forked stick.

    I made a mental note that hanging up a monster like that was probably a monster deterrent. I would have to ask Trent about it when I saw him next. None of the farming groups I¡¯d been in had done something like that, but they¡¯d actually wanted to run into monsters, so the handful of times we¡¯d stayed overnight in the dungeon, there¡¯d been no reason to try to keep the monsters away.

    ¡°So this is the group that our teacher dropped us for.¡± A red haired red eyed man with a Caster¡¯s overcoat on stepped forward, ¡°You seem a little light. Where is the rest of your team?¡±

 Chapter 44

    It was Trent''s entire old team.

    I hadn''t thought about there being other teams on this floor of the dungeon. I had assumed when the mouth was sealed, that none of the first years would be coming in. A group could warp back to the entrance after they went past the first floor and they could warp down to a floor after any floor boss the team leader had beaten. Because of the teleporting system, groups rarely went up floors. Because of that, I had assumed we''d be the only group on the first floor for the rest of the week.

    I had expected that there''d be some amount of hazing from the older students, but this was the class I had been dreading running into. The way that the ArchBishop had talked about Trent, I got the idea that students wanted to be taught by him. Depending on how the new teacher was treating them, this class could be very resentful towards us.

    Judging by the look on their faces, I was going to go with very resentful.

    "We don''t want any trouble." I tried to keep my eyes on them, but there were too many to keep any more than half of them in my field of view at once.

    "You drew weapons, but don''t want to use them?"

    I realized the green haired blue eyed woman had rushed right up to me and had her finger against the tip of my stake.

    "Not very sharp." She pushed the tip of the stake.

    I thought about resisting, but there was no way that Rix and I would be able to beat an entire class of first years and these were second years. They had to be at least level five and might be as high as level eight. Considering who their teacher was, I was willing to bet that they were closer to eight than five. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    A level two against a level one was a significant difference considering that once Adventurers started getting skills and spells, they became much stronger.

    I decided that the best course of action would be to pretend to be weaker and hope that they''d either lower their guard or decide we weren''t worth the trouble. I didn''t resist as she pushed the stake out of my hands.

    "Adventurers shouldn''t fight each other." I continued to try diplomacy. I was glad that I had left Edward at the other camp. There was no way the entitled Noble wouldn''t start a fight even if it should have been obvious that it was a fight he couldn''t win. By the time he realized that he had gone too far, it''d be too late to stop the fight.

    "Then Adventurers shouldn''t steal from other Adventures." She picked the stake up and pointed it at Rix.

    I stepped in between the woman and my party member.

    "We have a white knight." She looked around at the black haired brown eyed man who I assumed was a Hitter.

    "A naked White Knight." He scowled, "Show him that black and blue are better colors for him."

    The side of the stake slapped across my face. I''d been hit harder, but I went down anyway. I covered my head and curled up in a ball as she beat me with the stake. I felt the tip scrape against my side, and then the beating stopped. I peeked up and saw a look of confusion on her face.

    "He''s the Tank." She drove the stake into the ground next to my head.

    My sides burned and my head was ringing. I rolled onto my hands and knees and tucked my feet under me.

    I saw boots walk up to me and looked up to see the Hitter looking down at me.

    "A Tank needs to do defense training.¡±

    This time when the stake came down it cut into my back. I felt splinters rain down as the stake shattered from the force of the blow. Even if I had wanted to brace against the attack, it still would have knocked me over. This person had to have close to if not more than twenty power.

 Chapter 45

    Rix exploded as Aelin screamed.

    My redheaded Shooter charged at the Hitter, slicing with both of her weapons as she moved over me. I saw white blood drawn and knew I had to act.

    I hooked my leg behind him, knocking him off balance, which was enough for her to dodge the counterattack. I lept to my feet and grabbed both of the discarded pieces of stake. I planned on pounding them on their Hitter but saw their Shooter start pulling her bow off her back. Thankfully, they had all been so confident that they hadn¡¯t drawn any of their weapons. I still didn¡¯t think we had a chance, but there was a part of me that was expecting Trent or their teacher to break up the fight if we could hold out long enough. Since diplomacy had failed, we were going to have to try to outfight them.

    I threw both pieces of the stake at her as hard as I could. She didn¡¯t try to dodge as she pulled out her bow. The jagged broken part lodged into her right arm. She screamed and dropped her bow. I thought about picking it up but remembered the warning about trying to use equipment that was too high for my level.

    Instead, I ran over and hit her as hard as I could. I turned to Rix and saw that she was throwing sand in the face of their Caster. Their Hitter was holding his throat, white blood oozing out of it. Another robed figure, this one with their hood up, was screaming something while pointing at the downed man.

    The first punch had only knocked the green-haired woman down, so I hit her again. My fist screamed as she dropped to the ground.

    ¡°AELIN! LET¡¯S GO!¡± I screamed

    Aelin snapped out of her stunned state and started moving, running away from their Tank, who was wearing metal armor and had a large shield, and placed themselves in between us and the dying Hitter. I had started to think about trying to finish them off, but there was no way that we were going to beat a Tank of that level with sticks, a knife, and a broken sword. It wasn¡¯t going to be long before the Hitter was healed and then we were in trouble.

    I looked over at the Caster and saw him on the ground, also trying to hold in his throat.

    Rix had taken advantage of their overconfidence and that had cost them. Something that I¡¯d heard Adventurers talk about was how despite the Mantles, you could still die if you were stabbed enough times by a low-level monster. They apparently had gotten cocky and thought there was nothing to fear from us and they¡¯d been very wrong. While a level eight might have higher stats, they hadn¡¯t done their first double. So Rix could apparently slit the throat of some of them with a level-one weapon. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    It also meant that their total stats were less than mine. Leveling eight times would give them sixteen extra stat points, bringing their total to fifty-one while I had sixty-two. I could probably take any of them one-on-one, but there were three of them and time was on their side.

    ¡°RIX!¡± I yelled as she stabbed him in the chest. "Leave him!¡±

    I grabbed Aelin¡¯s hand and pulled her as I started running away from our old camp.

    I was about to turn around to see if Rix had followed when I saw that she had already caught up to us.

    ¡°Grab her!¡± I yelled as I reached around behind Aelin. I had hoped that I wouldn¡¯t have to explain as I lifted the blonde woman off of her feet.

    Rix grabbed the other side of her and we ran as fast as we could.

    We ran for over an hour without stopping. We reached the trail at a bridge and ran across the bridge, then back into the woods.

    ¡°Why can¡¯t we stay on the trail?¡± Aelin demanded as we ran.

    My arm was burning and I was going to have to take a break soon. ¡°Hold up!¡± I said as I slowed down.

    Rix dropped Aelin to keep from falling and skidded to a stop.

    I slung the blonde around in front of me and wrapped her in a hug to keep her from falling. We could still see the bridge from where we were and with the creek running from west to east, it would take the other team a few minutes to cross the bridge after they came out of the tree line.

    ¡°We have to buy time.¡± I sucked in a deep breath. "Hopefully one of the teachers will stop them.¡±

    ¡°No one is going to save us.¡± Rix was leaning against a tree trying to catch her breath. "You should have let me finish them.¡±

    ¡°They had a Healer.¡± I looked at the redhead. "You weren¡¯t going to kill them.¡±

    ¡°A Healer can¡¯t heal them if they don¡¯t have a head.¡± Rix fired back.

    ¡°About that.¡± The irritation I was feeling was getting funneled towards her. "You are way too comfortable with killing. A Mantle does not teach you how to fight like that."

    "Not every orphan has the luxury of being raised by the All-Church." She glared at me. "Or being employed by the Dispatchers. Some of us had to claw our way out of the Outlands to get here."

    "You came from the Outlands?" There were Godless cities in between the ones that were protected by a God, but the Outlands were the areas away from the cities and roads that connected them. The place where there was no government and the law was simply ''might makes right''.

    She just glared at me, but didn''t say anything as she turned away and sank to the ground against a tree facing the other way.

    "What about you?" The anger I was feeling was gone, but I needed to know. "She''s from the Outlands and I''ve seen worse as a Porter. Why don''t you seem bothered at all by seeing her cut people up?"

    Aelin hung her head. "I didn¡¯t grow up in the best of places." She shook her head as if she was trying to ward off memories. "I''ve seen some stuff."

    Before I could respond, Rix interrupted.

    "They''re here."

 Chapter 46

    All six of them were crossing the bridge.

    A part of me had hoped that they would be too wounded to follow us or give up, but if anything, they looked even more determined to find us.

    "What do we do?" Aelin shivered

    She may have seen some stuff, but I had a feeling that, unlike Rix, she hadn''t killed anyone.

    "We can''t win a fight with them." I began backing up as I realized they were exactly following our trail.

    "If I can take out their Healer, then we can pick them off." Rix pointed at the other robed figure. The one whose robe wasn''t covered in red blood.

    "How?" I pulled on Aelin''s arm. "They are tracking us. There is no way that we''re going to get a chance to surprise them again."

    "We can''t outrun them." Rix pointed at their Tank. "You and I are faster than the bucket, but she isn''t. And we can''t carry her like that again."

    The other party was across the bridge and heading into the woods.

    "We have to go." I started moving deeper into the woods, but neither woman followed. "What are you doing?"

    "They''re tracking us." Rix pointed at the woman with green hair directing them. "If we run, we die tired." She looked at me. "but if we split up, then maybe they lose the trail." She started moving towards them.

    "What are you doing?" Stolen novel; please report.

    The redhead looked at me. "If they have to choose between you and me, they''re going to pick me." She looked at Aelin. "Get her through the water and maybe it''ll wash off whatever is allowing them to track us.¡± She shrugged. "Even if they catch me, you know they won¡¯t kill me."

    I was about to tell her that there were things worse than death, but the look in her eyes told me that she had already survived some of those. Since they weren¡¯t going to kill her, it gave me hope that it would limit what they would do to her. Because whatever they did do, they¡¯d have to answer for once we all got out of the dungeon. I knew that there were monitors in the gates between the floors, so if we all died, then it would be an almost certainty that the only other team to enter the floor would have had something to do with it.

    ¡°Maybe you¡¯ll get away?¡± Aelin tried to offer hope.

    We both knew that wasn''t going to happen, but I wasn''t going to point that out.

    "All you have to do is buy time, right?" Aelin sniffled.

    "It''ll be dark soon." Rix nodded. "That''ll give me more cover. I just have to hide until one of the teachers gets here."

    Honestly, I couldn''t believe that Trent had let this go on for this long. I was starting to worry that maybe he wasn''t watching us.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do this." I said it almost more to try to convince myself than her.

    ¡°I¡¯m the only one who can.¡± Rix took off without waiting for a response.

    I thought about running after her, but she was right. We weren¡¯t going to win if we fought them and we couldn¡¯t outrun them. The only chance we had was to hope that she would be able to give them the slip.

    I began to pull Aelin towards the river. I was hoping that even though it was wider than the creek that we¡¯d camped by, we wouldn¡¯t have too much trouble crossing it.

    I heard shouting and Aelin stopped. ¡°We shouldn¡¯t have let her go.¡±

    Before I could answer, the green-haired Shooter appeared behind her.

    ¡°Aelin!¡±

    The Shooter hit her over the head, knocking her out. I looked around for something I could use as a weapon, but the black-haired Hitter and a leather-clad blonde green-eyed green-skinned man with knives on his belt appeared beside her.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to enjoy this.¡± The Hitter smirked.

 Chapter 47

    My face hurt.

    So did my hands.

    And my side.

    As I took inventory of my pain, I decided it was easier to conclude that everything hurt.

    It was dark when I came too. Rix and Aelin were both tied up next to me. Aelin was still out, but Rix was awake. She must have been mouthy because someone had gagged her. I was finding the concept of her being mouthy to be new considering that I¡¯d heard her say more in the last two hours than the almost four days I¡¯d known her.

    I blinked away the dark spots in my vision and tried to focus on what the other party was talking about, but they were too far away, or maybe my senses were still messed up.

    It looked like they had made camp on the trail, but I couldn¡¯t see any trees, it was all short grass. I didn¡¯t know how far we were from the woods, but the dungeon in Zeb had only one biome and one monster per floor. I hoped we hadn¡¯t gone to a different floor, but that would have meant that they¡¯d carried us through the boss room, which would have meant that we would¡¯ve gotten extra experience. I doubted it¡¯d be enough for us to level up, but I found myself hoping that it had.

    The swordsman walked over. He kicked Rix before he sat down in front of me.

    ¡°Your friend here did a number on me.¡± He jabbed his thumb over at the redhead.

    ¡°She has that effect on people.¡± I tried to straighten up. "Why did you attack us?¡±

    He laughed. "Attack you? She was the one with the blades.¡±

    ¡°Only after you broke a stick across my back.¡± I fired back.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

    ¡°Oh, yeah.¡± He shrugged. "This was only supposed to be some hazing, but after she decided to raise the stakes, the rest of my party has come up with a nice challenge.¡±

    ¡°You really think you can kidnap us like this and then we¡¯ll do whatever you want?¡±

    He sighed. "I thought you might say that, so here¡¯s the deal. We don¡¯t like our new teacher. She¡¯s a complete softy and is having us go back over the basics that we finished under Mister Vowler months ago. We want him back. But the only way that might happen is if you all drop out.¡±

    ¡°You want us to quit?¡± I shook my head. "You¡¯re crazy. And you can¡¯t keep us here for long. Once Trent¡­¡±

    His laughter cut me off. "You don¡¯t get it.¡± He kept going for a bit before wiping his eyes. "Mister Vowler does this to all of his classes. During the first week while the other teachers are giving their ¡®introduction lectures¡¯.¡± He made air quotes. "He locks his new class on the first floor for survival training. That¡¯s how we knew you all would be here. He did it to us last year.¡± He laughed again. "Mister Vowler won¡¯t be opening that door for five more days.¡±

    My last hope at rescue vanished. We weren¡¯t strong enough to win on our own and it was going to take way too long before someone noticed we were gone.

    ¡°Now, if you all died, then Mister Vowler would be free to take our class back over, but if we kill you here, then it¡¯d be pretty hard to convince the Priests that it was a coincidence that we were on the same floor when it happened.¡± He slapped my shoulder, which made me wince as pain shot down to my toes. ¡°So we thought up a little game. If you all can beat the floor one boss before Mister Vowler comes to collect you, then we¡¯ll acknowledge that your class is more worthy of his talent. But if you can¡¯t, then you all have to drop out.¡±

    ¡°Why would we take that deal?¡± I tried to ignore the eye-roll Rix made. "We just have to wait out the week and then we don¡¯t have to worry about you guys harassing us.¡±

    ¡°If you were smart, you would have just taken the deal.¡± He clicked his tongue. "But it doesn¡¯t matter, we were going to take blondie here as an incentive.¡± He patted Aelin on the shoulder. "You seem like the kind of guy who rushes to save the damsel in distress.¡±

    "You can''t!" I strained against my bonds.

    ¡°Challenges and bets happen between teams all the time.¡± Wrye twirled Rix¡¯s knife in his hands. ¡°All I need is for you to take the deal. Prove you are worthy of Mister Vowler, or I¡¯m throwing blondie here into the boss room by herself at the end of the week.¡±

 Chapter 48

    I felt sick.

    I¡¯m sure getting knocked out might have something to do with it, but I didn¡¯t like the idea that he could just strong-arm me into taking a deal that would affect the entire party.

    Rix strained against her bonds, but her muffled words were falling on deaf ears.

    ¡°You really think you¡¯re going to get away with this?¡± I growled.

    ¡°You just don¡¯t get it.¡± He shook his head. "But maybe that¡¯s because you¡¯re not nobility. This is the way the world works. Nobody is going to care if a few mundane-born wash out because they couldn¡¯t hack it.¡±

    ¡°How do you know I¡¯m not a Noble?¡±

    He pulled back the collar of his armor. "You see these three dots? It means I¡¯m a Tribble. Flaer here has a red one and two black ones to mark her as a Hoyt.¡± He raised an eyebrow. "You don¡¯t have any nobility marks.¡± He gestured at Aelin. "Neither does she.¡± He looked at Rix. "Or her.¡±

    ¡°So you see?¡± He spread his arms. "No one is going to miss you. But if you don¡¯t want to play, then we can settle this another way. We¡¯ll track down the rest of your team and throw you all in the boss room. It¡¯ll just be some tragic case of Mundanes who didn¡¯t know their limits.¡±

    The thought that he was going to go capture the rest of the team hit me like a brick.

    ¡°You can¡¯t expect us to just walk into a boss fight without being able to prepare.¡± I realized that the chance of us winning was just a formality. He really did plan on us not being able to prepare before going into the boss fight.

    ¡°If you¡¯re more worthy of our teacher than we are. Yes, yes I do.¡± Wrye sighed and sat down in front of me. ¡°Do you know why Mister Vowler locks his classes in here on their first week?¡±

    ¡°Because he doesn¡¯t like teaching?¡±

    Wrye punched me. The blow knocked me face down into the dirt. I felt hands grab my arms and set me back up while my jaw throbbed.

    The black-haired man sat back down in front of me, then called over his shoulder. ¡°Flaer! Can you fix him? I¡¯m not done talking and I don¡¯t want to listen to him butchering his words because his jaw is swollen.¡± A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    Relief flooded into me and in a few seconds the pain and swelling was gone.

    I wiggled my jaw, testing the effectiveness of the healing.

    ¡°First time getting healed?¡± Wrye chuckled.

    ¡°No, I got a Healer to cure me during the plague¡­¡± I let my words drift off. That had wiped out my savings, but back then I¡¯d been too sick to care and too out of it to remember much.

    ¡°Anyway, where was I? Oh, yeah.¡± He snapped his fingers. ¡°There was once this Adventurer who fell down a trap that went all the way from floor fifty-eight to floor sixty-four.¡± He waved the knife in my face. ¡°This Adventurer was the only one of his party to survive the fall and it destroyed all of his gear and broke his CB.¡± He tapped the crystal on his wrist.

    ¡°This lone Adventurer had to crawl back from a floor so deep, no Adventurer had ever reached by himself without a stitch of gear.¡± Wrye motioned out at the darkness. ¡°Hard for even a Mundane to die on the first floor.¡± He took a deep breath. ¡°That¡¯s why Mister Vowler locks the first years in here.¡±

    He waved the knife in my face. ¡°Don¡¯t you ever let me hear you insult Mister Vowler like that again.¡± There was reverence in his voice as he spoke. ¡°Now, where were we? Oh, yeah, the challenge.¡±

    ¡°So we just have to beat the first-floor boss in five days and we win?¡±

    ¡°Five days?¡± The black-haired man looked offended. "No, no, no. You have four days. You have to beat it before Mister Vowler shows up.¡±

    With five of us, we were going to need to defeat over a hundred monsters a day in order to reach that number. Even more, considering that Edward had sat out all of today. If we could keep up the increased completion speed, that would take us more than twenty-five hours per day, not counting that we would have to start the fight before the end of the fourth day. Logistically, there was no way we could do it.

    ¡°It can¡¯t be done.¡± I shook my head. "If we had five days, maybe. With only four, there is no way that we can hit level two. The Bramble Skeletons don¡¯t spawn fast enough.¡±

    ¡°Then don¡¯t fight Bramble Skeletons.¡± He pointed out at the grass. "There are Giant Snakes out there. The wood bones are on fifteen-minute spawns, but the snakes are on ten-minute spawns.¡±

    That upped it to a possible six per hour, to hit the eighty-two experience we¡¯d need, it¡¯d take about seventy-two hours, which would give us about six hours to sleep, plus a small cushion. So it was doable in theory, though we wouldn¡¯t be able to spend our stats and we wouldn¡¯t have much time to learn how to use any spells or skills we received if we even got any. It wasn¡¯t going to be easy, but it was at least theoretically possible.

    ¡°Promise you won¡¯t throw her in the boss room.¡±

    He eyed me. "No. You have to have a reason to not chicken out.¡±

    Justia was going to kill me if I took this deal. Maybe not until after this stupid challenge, but I couldn¡¯t see a way out of this without her refusing to work with me afterward.

    ¡°Hey!¡± Rix blew stray hair out of her face. ¡°Take me instead."

 Chapter 49

    ¡°When did you¡­?¡± The hitter glared at her.

    ¡°Take me instead." Rix repeated, spitting the rest of the gag out of her mouth. ¡°She has nothing to do with this and it¡¯s me you¡¯re mad at anyway.¡±

    ¡°No.¡± He shook his head. "They won¡¯t try as hard for you.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s just a buffer without any skills.¡± Rix puffed out the chest she didn¡¯t have. "You¡¯ve seen what I can do. Taking me off the board makes it harder for them.¡±

    He looked like he might consider the swap.

    I didn¡¯t want them to keep either of them, but I had to admit, I believed Rix had a lot better chance of surviving than Aelin if we failed.

    ¡°Making it harder for them, while taking away the urgency.¡± He shook his head. "Tell you what.¡± He smacked his knees. ¡°You''ve convinced me.¡± He looked at me. "Midnight in four days, if you haven¡¯t reached the second floor, then we throw her in to fight the boss by herself.¡±

    ¡°No!¡± I shook my head

    ¡°Deal.¡± Rix spoke over me.

    ¡°You cannot be serious.¡± I glared at her.

    ¡°We have a deal!¡± He stood up. "Let¡¯s go!¡±

    The others got up from their fire and started heading past us on the trail. The tank hoisted Rix over his shoulder.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    ¡°You can do this!¡± Rix shouted as she vanished into the darkness.

    ¡°Since this became a little more interesting.¡± The black-haired man dropped the broken sword and Rix¡¯s knife in front of me. "Here¡¯s a few pieces of information. The boss room is right there.¡± He pointed in the direction the rest of his party had walked. ¡°Follow the trail that way and make a right at the T.¡± He pointed in the other direction. ¡°You should get back to the bridge in about an hour. From there, you can figure out where your friends are.¡± He looked at Aelin, then back at me. "If you stay on the road, the monsters won¡¯t attack you.¡± He grinned and followed after his team. "See you at the end of the week!¡±

    I watched him vanish into the darkness, then started working on getting free. First, I tucked my legs and got my hands in front of me, then I grabbed the knife and cut my feet free. Once I was able to walk around, I moved over to Aelin and cut the ropes on her. Once she was free, I shook her until I was able to get her awake.

    ¡°Wha?¡± She exclaimed. "Where¡¯s Rix? Where are we? What happened to you?¡±

    I dropped the knife in front of her. "Cut me loose please.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± She grabbed the knife. "What is going on?¡±

    ¡°They took Rix and said they were going to throw her in the boss room in four days if we don¡¯t make it to the second floor before then.¡±

    ¡°Why would they do that?¡± She exclaimed while she cut.

    ¡°Because they¡¯re pissed that Trent got taken from them, so they want to hurt his new students for revenge?¡±

    ¡°No. I mean, yes, that. But why did they take Rix?¡±

    ¡°Because she almost killed two of them?¡± I didn¡¯t think she needed to know that they were going to take her originally.

    ¡°That makes sense.¡± She got me free. "Can we even get strong enough to beat the boss by then?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s possible.¡± I said. "But it¡¯s not going to be easy.¡± I slipped the knife into my pocket and realized that I was missing the level sixteen crystal. I wished I had left it in my desk. But it wouldn¡¯t be too difficult to prove that it had belonged to me. It was from a monster on the fourteenth floor of Zeb, which would be easy to prove I had been on. I just had to survive the week to get it back.

    I grabbed a stick from the fire and handed it to Aelin, then took one for myself. "Come on, let¡¯s get back to the others.¡±

 Chapter 50

    Justia met us at the fence

    ¡°Where¡¯s Rix?¡±

    Aelin jumped over the fence that had been finished and ran over to the Healer and wrapped her arms around her.

    Justia looked at the crying blonde attached to her and then up at me, ¡°What happened?¡±

    It was around five in the morning and it was shifting from moonlight to the first blush of morning. We had lost almost our entire buffer for the day because we¡¯d had to hike up here from what felt like the other side of the floor. On top of that, finding our way through the woods without Rix was hard enough, but at night, it had taken a lot longer. On top of that, my arms and legs were burning and I was wanting to fall asleep, but we had to move our camp. There was too much to do for me to stop.

    ¡°We ran into Trent¡¯s old team.¡± I leaned up against a tree as I composed myself, ¡°They came to haze us and took it too far. We tried to fight back, which only pissed them off.¡±

    Justia slowly bent down and laid Aelin on the ground. I realized the blonde had fallen asleep. The brown haired Healer touched our Buffer¡¯s cheek and motioned for me to move away from the group.

    There was a low fire smoldering in the middle of the fenced area. Ether and Edward were sleeping on either side of the fire.

    ¡°How bad is it?¡± Justia demanded

    ¡°Bad.¡± I nodded at the fire pit, ¡°You got a fire started.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t change the subject.¡± She glared at me, ¡°How bad is it?¡±

    ¡°Really bad. They want us to drop out so they can have Trent back. They wanted to kill us, but they know they can¡¯t get away with that, so instead they want us to fight the floor boss. If we don¡¯t beat it before Trent shows up, then they are going to throw Rix in the boss room by herself.¡±

    She bristled, ¡°They think we¡¯d risk dying to save her?¡±

    I hadn¡¯t expected her to not be gung-ho for saving our team member, ¡°This is a member of our party.¡± I tried to emphasize the situation, ¡°They are torturing, healing, and then torturing her all over again.¡±

    ¡°My job is to keep you safe.¡± Justia shook her head, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter who the other person is, even if it was me, you shouldn¡¯t be risking your life.¡±The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    She had a point and not just about risking my life, but I was going to be risking everyone¡¯s lives. I could call their bluff and hope that they weren¡¯t killers, but I had a nagging feeling that the only reason they hadn¡¯t killed us on sight was because they hadn¡¯t thought that they could get away with it. And I had a feeling that this ¡®game¡¯ of theirs was just a facade and that they were going to try to find a way to kill us anyway.

    I shook my head, ¡°There isn¡¯t any risk because the one thing this game of theirs gives us is time. We¡¯ll have time to get stronger and prepare for our next encounter. With them.¡± My mind was swirling with options of how to deal with the other group. ¡°What I need from you is for you to get the others on board.¡±

    We both looked at our sleeping team members. I felt my eyes start to droop, but forced them open. Once the sun came up, it¡¯d be easier to stay awake. I had less than an hour, but I wasn¡¯t going to waste that time.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea.¡± Justia shook her head, ¡°There has to be something we can do to signal our teacher.¡±

    ¡°Do you think he¡¯s going to intervene?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s bound to protect you!¡± My Priestess exclaimed, ¡°If he knows about this, he can¡¯t sit back and watch!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s bound to keep me alive and train me.¡± I walked over to the stacked fruit. Ether had put her jumpsuit back on and laid mine out next to the food. I started knotting the arms and legs, ¡°If the two of us make it out of this alive and level two, what will it matter if we ¡®almost¡¯ died?¡±

    ¡°He wouldn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve known the man for less than a week.¡± I started stuffing the jumpsuit with fruit, ¡°He has to be one of the highest level Adventurers.¡± I stopped as a wave of exhaustion washed over me. I used my palms to force my eyes to stay open until it passed, ¡°How many times do you think he¡¯s seen people ¡®almost¡¯ die or even really die?¡± I made air quotes, ¡°He¡¯s locked us in the dungeon with barely any gear for practical training...¡± I pointed at her axe. ¡°Instead of giving us the basics in a lecture. This whole thing sounds to me like something he may have even orchestrated as a way to toughen us up faster.¡±

    We stared at each other in silence as I realized that my rant made sense in a way.

    ¡°What do we do?¡± Justia¡¯s voice wavered.

    I wanted to tell her that everything was going to be alright, but I knew it wasn¡¯t. We had surprised the other team once and they weren¡¯t going to drop their guard around us again. And whatever they were going to do, they had four days to plan it while we had to focus on leveling up.

    I had to give her hope, because if she didn¡¯t have hope, I wasn¡¯t going to be able to keep the others moving.

    ¡°It¡¯s going to be okay.¡± I got up and walked over to her. I picked up her chin so that I could look her in the eyes.

    ¡°We¡¯ve got four days. I¡¯m not going to lie, it¡¯s going to be hard, but we can do it.¡± I nodded at the others, ¡°And I¡¯m going to make sure we all make it out of this.¡±

    She nodded numbly, ¡°What do you need me to do?¡±

    ¡°Start waking the others up.¡± I caught her shoulder as she moved towards the smoldering fire, ¡°There¡¯s um¡­ one other thing.¡±

    ¡°What else is wrong?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not exactly wrong¡­¡± I swallowed and backed away from her a step, ¡°Uh¡­Aelin may know you like her.¡±

    Justia looked like I had just slapped her, ¡°WHAT!?!?¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 1 Epilogue

    Rix was thrown face first into the floor of the cave.

    ¡°Are you really going to give them four days?¡± One of her captors asked.

    She flexed against her bonds. Her feet had started to tingle. The restraints weren¡¯t cutting off the circulation, but they were tight enough that her extremities were starting to go to sleep.

    The redhead inched her way deeper into the cave. It wasn¡¯t very deep and since none of her captors were dragging her back, she assumed that they had checked for a way that she could escape, but that didn¡¯t mean she wasn¡¯t going to try to find a way out. In her experience, any deal not sealed with magic got modified by the person with the upper hand. She might be on the second floor, but she still would rather take her chances with the monsters than let herself be used as a bargaining chip by her captors.

    They weren¡¯t very good at using rope as restraints, given that while they had fought the boss, she¡¯d managed to loosen the knot enough that she slipped it off her hands, then untied herself the rest of the way. She thought about attacking the other group and even without a weapon, she had a feeling she could win while they didn¡¯t have their weapons out.

    The problem with that was what they could do to her team if she failed again. She didn¡¯t like leaving this unresolved, but she¡¯d rather this group chase her rather than harass her team.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    She¡¯d meant what she¡¯d said earlier about being better able to handle herself. This wasn¡¯t the first time she¡¯d been a prisoner. She¡¯d gotten out then and she was certain that she could get out now.

    Since they weren¡¯t paying attention to her, she decided to explore the cave a little. If she didn¡¯t find anything useful, she only had to wait until they went to bed. A single sentinel wasn¡¯t going to be able to keep her in the cave. She smiled as she thought about the second years chasing her. At least that way they wouldn¡¯t be able to hamper the team¡¯s ability to complete the stupid challenge.

    As she slid against the wall, one of the larger rocks gave way. The redhead checked to see if anyone had heard, but none of them looked her way, so she turned to inspect it. The hole went down at an angle farther than she could see. She tossed a rock down it and after a few seconds of not hearing anything decided that this trapdoor was her way out.

    Rix wrapped the rope around her arms, it was the only weapon she was going to have for a while, but she¡¯d gotten by with less before. She spared one last look at her captors and grinned.

    ¡°Hey losers!¡±

    Only their black-haired leader turned to look at her. ¡°How do you keep getting the¡­ HEY SHE¡¯S FREE!¡±

    The whole group scrambled to their feet, but she was already gone, sliding down the chute to somewhere that would take these bullies far away from the people she¡¯d started to care about.

 Book 2 - The Test - Stat Readouts

    Trent Vowler - Level 62

    Age: 132, Hair: White, Eye Color: Brown

    Skin: White, Blood: Black, Height: 6¡¯2¡±

    10,435,981 Exp

    ArchWizard

    240 Power 336 Defense 875 Speed

    1903 Magic 848 Recovery 304 Aura

    <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1); border-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1); border-style: none" border="1">

    <tbody>

    <tr>

    <td style="width: 33.3598%; text-align: center">Atlas Zeb - Level 1

    Age: 18, Hair: White, Eye Color: Green

    Skin: White, Blood: Black, Height: 6¡¯

    20.5 Exp

    Godling

    10 Power 10 Defense 10 Speed

    12 Magic 10 Recovery 10 Aura

    </td>

    <td style="width: 32.7646%; text-align: center">Justia Publian - Level 1

    Age: 18, Hair: Brown, Eye Color: Blue

    Skin: Green, Blood: Green, Height: 5¡¯7¡±

    23.5 Exp

    Healer

    8 Power 4 Defense 6 Speed

    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.3 Magic 10 Recovery 4 Aura</td>

    <td style="width: 33.955%; text-align: center">Ether Klix - Level 1

    Age: 18, Hair: White, Eye Color: Red

    Skin: White, Blood: White, Height: 5¡¯6¡±

    20.5 Exp

    Tank

    4 Power 10 Defense 3 Speed

    4 Magic 8 Recovery 6 Aura</td>

    </tr>

    <tr>

    <td style="width: 33.3598%; text-align: center">Edward Rene - Level 1

    Age: 18, Hair: Blonde, Eye Color: Green

    Skin: White, Blood: Red, Height: 5¡¯6¡±

    24.5 Exp

    Hitter

    10 Power 3 Defense 6 Speed

    2 Magic 6 Recovery 8 Aura</td>

    <td style="width: 32.7646%; text-align: center">Aelin Zeb - Level 1

    Age: 18, Hair: Blonde, Eye Color: Brown

    Skin: Brown, Blood: Red, Height: 5¡¯2¡±

    20.5 Exp

    Buffer

    3 Power 4 Defense 8 Speed

    6 Magic 4 Recovery 10 Aura</td>

    <td style="width: 33.955%; text-align: center">Rix Zeb - Level 1

    Age: 18, Hair: Red, Eye Color: Brown

    Skin: Golden, Blood: Golden, Height: 5¡¯9¡±

    21.5 Exp

    Shooter

    6 Power 8 Defense 10 Speed

    1 Magic 5 Recovery 5 Aura</td>

    </tr>

    </tbody>

    </table>

 Book 2 - The Test - Chapter 1

    ¡°Atlas, it¡¯s time to go.¡±

    I woke up staring face to face with a white-haired, red-eyed snow-white-skinned young woman. There were a lot of people who would find the combination very frightening, but I found her presence to be comforting. Ether Klix was our Tank, though the only defensive gear that she had at the moment was a pair of leather gloves.

    ¡°Morning Ether." I brushed dirt off of my face as I sat up. It took me a minute to remember what was going on, then I realized that I¡¯d fallen asleep. I looked around for the brown-haired green-skinned Healer of our team. "Justia! You let me fall asleep?!?¡±

    Justia Publian, the blue-eyed woman arguing with Edward Rene, our blonde-haired, green-eyed snow white-skinned Hitter, put her hands on her hips and glared at me. "I didn¡¯t ¡®let¡¯ you do anything. You passed out while packing the fruit.¡±

    I looked around and spied my blue jumpsuit within arm¡¯s reach. The arms and feet had been tied off, creating a makeshift bag that had been filled with various types of fruit.

    We were on our third straight day of being locked on the first floor of the dungeon under the All-Temple¡¯s Cathedral. Our teacher, Trent Vowler, had locked us in as a training method to teach us about survival. The only supplies that we had brought with us, besides the clothes on our backs, had been an ax, a sword, a knife, and a pair of leather gloves.

    Edward had broken the blade of the sword on our first day. I patted myself down. I¡¯d had both the sword and the knife, but neither was on me.

    Not that I had much on. I was only wearing a pair of shorts since my jumpsuit had been used as a makeshift bag. We had eaten almost all of our food on the first day, so when we found a tree with lots of different types of fruit on it, I was the one to make a sacrifice so we could transport the food.

    The jumpsuits didn¡¯t provide much defense, so I wasn¡¯t too worried about getting hurt. The only thing that we¡¯d run into so far was a knee-high, thorn-covered, plant-based, skeletal-looking monster that our teacher had labeled a Bramble Skeleton. The thorns could hurt like walking through a rose bush, but overall, they weren¡¯t life-threatening. Given the low threat level, this should have just been an uncomfortable exercise to teach us how unprepared we were for the dungeon.

    Except our teacher¡¯s old team had found us and kidnapped one of our members. If we wanted her back alive, we had just four days to gain over eighty experience and beat the first-floor boss. If we didn¡¯t, then they were threatening to throw Rix into the boss room to fight it by herself.

    I tried not to think about what torture she would have to endure. She had almost killed two of the older students, so I knew they weren¡¯t going to be kind to her. But she had volunteered to trade places with Aelin.

    I looked over at the blonde woman. She wasn¡¯t her usually bubbly self, instead, brown-skinned Buffer looked like she was on a mission, running around the clearing that had been made into a camp, packing up the last few things.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    I looked at the white-haired beauty beside me. "How long was I out?¡±

    ¡°Barely an hour.¡± She pointed at my jumpsuit. "I finished packing the fruit so you could sleep.¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s¡­?¡± I looked around. The sling bag that I had been carrying our crystals in was on Aelin¡¯s back. There were more than fifty crystals in there, which would be enough to buy a new skill or spell once we got out of the Dungeon. Not that we would have a chance to spend them before we had to fight the floor boss.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got the sword.¡± Ether handed me the broken blade. She pointed at our blonde Buffer. "Aelin has the knife.¡± She looked confused. "Did the other team give it to you?¡±

    ¡°Ha!¡± I couldn¡¯t stop the short sarcastic burst from leaving my lips. "No, that was Rix¡¯s. I don¡¯t know where she got it.¡±

    ¡°Mister Volwer said that hers got destroyed when we came into the dungeon the first time.¡± She shrugged. "Maybe he gave her one that she could bring in as a replacement?¡±

    I had trouble seeing our teacher as being that benevolent. ¡°She probably bought it from him before everyone else woke up.¡±

    The red-eyed woman leaned against me. I knew we needed to get moving, but I was still tired and so very sore that her touch helped me forget about how wrong things were at the moment.

    ¡°Is she going to be okay?¡±

    I took a deep breath and slid my right hand to the side of her face so I could look into her eyes. "Rix is tough, she¡¯ll find a way to survive.¡±

    I felt a tear slide down her cheek and hit my hand. I wiped it away with my thumb and found myself caressing her cheek after it was gone. She closed her eyes and leaned against my hand. I leaned in and kissed her gently.

    Her eyes shot open in surprise, but she didn¡¯t pull away. I held the kiss for a little while longer, then looked at our audience. I realized that Justia was the only one who knew that the two of us were, actually, I didn¡¯t know what we were. But Justia was the only one who had caught us together.

    Ether was blushing and moved so that I was between her and the others.

    Justia shoved a pile of stakes at Edward. He curled his arms around them reflexively to keep from dropping the armful.

    ¡°I¡¯m guessing Justia told everyone what we¡¯re up against.¡± I was mainly looking at Edward since Ether was the other one whom I hadn¡¯t told about the Yellow team and she was behind me.

    He nodded, still too dumbfounded to speak. I found I liked him better when he didn¡¯t talk.

    ¡°Let¡¯s grab what we can carry.¡± I pointed towards what I was considering the south. " We¡¯ve got a long grind ahead of us and we¡¯re already behind.¡±

    Edward started grumbling as he began walking. Aelin ran ahead while Justia walked over to the two of us. "Are you going to be able to carry that?¡±

    I grabbed my jumpsuit and flipped it onto my back. My back and knees protested under the weight, but we were already leaving almost a third of the fruit we¡¯d picked behind. I knew Ether probably offered to carry some of it, but we needed to move fast and she was going to have enough trouble keeping up with us without being overburdened.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got it.¡± I headed out after Edward. It had taken Aelin and myself almost six hours to make it to the camp, but that had been from the door of the boss room and at night. All we had to do was get a little way past the bridge. I could last that long.

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 2

    We made it to the grasslands in just over two hours.

    I hadn¡¯t been able to really tell since it was dark last night, but there wasn¡¯t much forest after the bridge until it changed into grassland.

    We had run into three Bramble Skeletons during our trek, which Ether and Justia had made short work of. The two of them seemed to be working together even better after their night together. I doubted Edward had been much help on watch, or that the two of them would have trusted him to stay awake during his turn.

    I looked over at the blonde Noble. Edward had dropped the large bundle of stakes in the middle of the trail and had sat down against them. The math that I¡¯d run had said that we¡¯d need to beat six monsters an hour while only taking a six-hour break each night. It was after eight in the morning, so we were already behind schedule, and somehow I doubted that I¡¯d be able to get him to move for a bit.

    ¡°We need to start farming.¡± I set down my jumpsuit full of fruit, trying to be careful not to bruise them any more than I had during transport.

    ¡°I need a nap.¡± Edward spread out his arms as he lay against the wood. "None of you could¡¯ve carried that this far.¡±

    ¡°Atlas carried more.¡± Ether walked over to me. ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    I just nodded as I tried to catch my breath, I just ignored Edward. I didn¡¯t care to waste it arguing with the Noble.

    ¡°There¡¯s no way that a bunch of fruit weighs more than this load.¡± He slapped the stakes. "Speaking of, be a dear and throw me one of those.¡±

    Ether glared at him but made no move to comply.

    ¡°Come on! You had the easy job! All you had to do was wait to hold a stickman.¡± When it became apparent that she wasn¡¯t going to get him any food he turned to Aelin. "Blondie! You did even less. I need something to eat before I can move!¡±

    Before Aelin could answer, Justia cut her off. "I¡¯ll get you one.¡±The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

    ¡°Thanks!¡± He smiled, not realizing how much sarcasm had been in her voice.

    The brown-haired Healer walked over and bent down. I saw her pick up a rock instead of a piece of fruit. Our eyes met for a moment and I gave her a questioning look, but all that did was give her a small pause before she turned and threw it as hard as she could.

    ¡°Catch!¡±

    Edward couldn¡¯t get his hands up in time. While his Power might have been at ten, his Speed was not faster than Justia¡¯s. The rock shot through his hands and caught him in the side.

    ¡°OW!¡± He shot up to his feet. "Why¡¯d you throw it that hard?¡± He looked down at the rock. "You threw a ROCK?!?¡±

    He stomped over to her.

    I should have been concerned, but it was hard to take him seriously when he was an inch shorter than her. Which wouldn¡¯t have been so funny if he hadn¡¯t started walking on his tiptoes in order to look taller.

    ¡°You dare to hit a NOBLE?¡± He fumed

    ¡°You aren¡¯t the only Noble here.¡± Justia crossed her arms and glanced at me. "Would you look at that? He can move without getting something to eat.¡±

    His face turned red, but he only sputtered as he tried to find words. When none came, he bent forward and reached for a piece of fruit.

    Justia caught him by the ear.

    ¡°OWWW!¡±

    ¡°I think you have some apologies to give.¡± She turned him towards Ether. "They." She turned him towards Aelin. "Have done more today than you have since we got locked in here.¡±

    Aelin looked up from where she was emptying the sling bag of the fruit that she¡¯d carried. She had started helping Ether pull the fruit out of my jumpsuit and stack it into piles.

    ¡°So before you think about insulting one of us again¡­ Don¡¯t.¡± She looked around. "And if you can¡¯t find a way to be useful, I¡¯ll throw you in¡­¡± She looked at me and I pointed towards the cave in the distance where the boss room was. She pulled him up so he could see what she was turning him towards. "The boss room by yourself.¡± She twisted him so that he was looking up at her. "Do you understand?¡±

    He tried to look at me. The rage in his face was gone and I saw fear and a plea for aid.

    ¡°Don¡¯t look at him. He¡¯s not going to help you.¡±

    ¡°I-I-I understand!¡±

    Justia let him go. "Start putting up the fence.¡± She pointed at the stakes. "And you better not be the first person to eat something.¡±

    He meekly nodded and slinked over to the stakes.

    ¡°You okay?¡± I got to my feet as she picked up the ax.

    She nodded and pointed out at the eighteen inch high grass. "How big do you think these snakes are?¡±

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 3

    We left Edward alone at camp.

    ¡°Do you think he¡¯s going to be okay?¡± I looked back at him as soon as we were out of earshot.

    ¡°You¡¯re the only other one of us who might be able to solo a monster on their own.¡± Justia looked at the stake in my hands. "Shouldn¡¯t you have the blade?¡±

    I shook my head. "I¡¯m good with this thing. Besides, it makes more sense that Aelin and Ether also have a weapon.¡±

    ¡°Aelin!¡± Justia shouted. "Don¡¯t get too far away from us!¡±

    The blonde was only about fifty feet away from us, but considering that we didn¡¯t know what we were dealing with, she probably didn¡¯t even need to be that far away from us.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay!¡± Aelin shouted. "I don¡¯t see any..!¡±

    ¡°Aelin!¡± Justia started running. Ether was right behind her, but neither were anywhere close to as fast as me.

    I made it over to her in less than a second. In that short amount of time a snake that was easily ten feet long had wrapped itself around her, pinning one arm above her and the other next to her side.

    I hit it with the stick, but it didn¡¯t show any signs of damage.

    ¡°Aelin!¡± Justia reached us and lifted her ax.

    ¡°Wait!¡± I turned to Ether who brought up the rear. "Blade!¡±

    The white-haired tank tossed the knife to me. The blade was about as long as my hand which was more than enough for what I needed to do. I honed in on a place that I could strike without hitting our Buffer and plunged the knife into the monster.

    The snake tried to uncoil, but the twisting motion only helped me to pull the knife through the side of the snake, slicing it almost in half.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    As soon as the snake released Aelin, Justia brought down the ax, cutting into it, but not all the way through it.

    I began rapidly stabbing with the knife until I realized that it had turned to me and started opening its mouth.

    I was thankful that the brown and green speckled snake had circles instead of slits for eyes, but the way its mouth just kept expanding was unnerving. I grabbed the head of the ax mid-swing and pulled it out of Justia¡¯s hands. I slid it through my grip as I swung it, taking the monster¡¯s head off in one swing. Before the head had a chance to fly off, the monster exploded into smoke.

    ¡°You okay?¡± I flipped the ax over and offered it to our Healer. She pushed it towards me as she dropped to her knees to check on the blonde.

    Ether was on Aelin¡¯s other side and the three of them were making some sort of half-crying mess.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I want to be the bait anymore.¡± Aelin looked at me like she expected me to disagree.

    ¡°I completely understand.¡± I looked at the other two women. "As fast as that thing attacked, I¡¯m not sure we need bait.¡±

    ¡°But how are we going to find them?¡± Ether looked afraid to voice the question.

    I tried to think. The Hitter had to have known about this, which is probably why he was willing to give me the information. Aelin had eight Speed, which meant that I wasn¡¯t going to have a much better reaction to them than she did. The next option was to let Ether be the bait, but judging by the look on her face, the thought of being squeezed to death before being swallowed more than just scared her.

    I¡¯d been able to budge it, but I had my doubts about how well Edward would be able to struggle against them if he was bait. All things considered, this was something that we could beat, but with how tired we were, it would be really easy to get hurt. And as soon as we got hurt, our ability to farm was going to plummet.

    ¡°I want to try something.¡± I picked up the crystal and put it into the sling bag, then handed the bag over to Aelin. "Where¡¯s the sword?¡±

    The blonde shook off the other women and began pawing around in the matted grass. Once she found it, she offered it to me.

    I gave the other two women their weapons back as I gripped the broken blade. I wanted to see if I was right about how far apart the spawns were.

    ¡°Go ahead and head back towards camp.¡±

    ¡°What about you?¡± Ether demanded,

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to get too far away.¡± I looked at the women who didn¡¯t seem to believe me. ¡°I¡¯m going to stay close enough that you can rescue me, but we¡¯ve got to figure out a safe way to hunt these things.¡±

    They didn¡¯t look convinced, but got up and started heading towards where Edward was either totally oblivious to what just happened or choosing to act that way.

    I tightened my grip on the sword and started running.

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 4

    My legs were burning.

    The theory that I was testing was twofold. I already more or less knew that the faster we moved through the dungeon, the more monsters we ran into. When the Yellow team leader had said that Bramble Skeletons spawned every fifteen minutes, I knew that spawns had to happen at a distance, not time. Because we had managed to beat more than four an hour while we had been farming. This meant that the monsters had to spawn either more often than that, or at specific places, then wander around. I was leaning more toward both than one or the other.

    What I was hoping was that I could either get a better idea of how quickly the snakes were spawning or where they were spawning from. With the Bramble Skeletons, we hadn¡¯t been able to find any type of spawn point, but that didn¡¯t mean there wasn¡¯t one.

    None of the farming groups I¡¯d worked with had ever stayed in one place, but some had used a runner to gather multiple monsters into a kill zone for an AoE nuke, but that had been on the event floors where more monsters spawned and they did so in packs. I knew that once it hit her, Aelin had been restrained pretty fast, but she had also been walking. I was curious if I¡¯d be able to stay ahead of it if I was already running.

    I didn¡¯t have to wait long to find out. I¡¯d been running for about three minutes when I heard rustling behind me. I turned towards camp as I heard the noise getting louder.

    ¡°I got one!¡± I yelled as I tried to book it faster.

    The group got out their weapons and all four started coming towards me. Edward and Aelin had stakes, which I¡¯d already established hadn¡¯t worked well, but better than not having anything.

    ¡°Stay there!¡± I yelled. I could hear it right behind me, but I had no idea if there was another one in between us and I didn¡¯t want to have to fight two of these things at once. At least not until we learned how to kill them faster.

    I made it to the camp and ran right across the road instead of trying to stop. The snake shot after me, but it had been so focused on me that it stretched itself out over the trail.

    I slashed with the sword as it hit me, but it wasn¡¯t able to coil around me. Justia hadn¡¯t been able to cut it in half, but she had managed to pin it to the road.

    I wasn¡¯t able to make a clean strike, but I also wounded it as it turned to see what had hurt it. Ether was frantically stabbing it with the knife and Edward drove a stake through it, securing it to the ground.

    The snake coiled to launch itself, but that meant it had forgotten about me. I gripped the broken blade with both hands and swung as it struck, taking its head off and spraying snake dust all over the rest of my party. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

    ¡°I got some in my mouth!¡± Aelin exclaimed as she stuck out her tongue and began wiping it on the inside of her clothes.

    ¡°It¡¯s in my eyes!¡± Edward was wiping his face with his sleeves.

    Ether got up, ran over to me, and wrapped me in a hug. "Are you okay?¡±

    I nodded as my entire body screamed. I had way too little sleep to do that again for a little bit. I was breathing hard and every muscle was burning, but I¡¯d found a way to fight the snakes faster than one every ten minutes.

    Justia picked up the crystal and offered it to Aelin. The blonde stopped trying to clean her mouth and put it in the bag.

    ¡°How fast do you think those things are?¡± Aelin¡¯s voice was a little more full of confidence than I would have liked.

    I looked at Justia. In the woods, we hadn¡¯t been able to really run, so none of us had been able to see either Aelin or Rix at full speed. I had felt confident that I wouldn¡¯t give my secret away, since there wouldn¡¯t be anything to compare to. But that all changed if Aelin decided that she could be bait again.

    If I told her that they were probably a nine, then my secret was going to be out. If I told her an eight, then I¡¯d have announced my stats to be eight Power, eight Speed, ten Magic, and Ether knew I had ten Recovery. I already had to worry that the Yellow team knew I had ten Defense, which I wasn¡¯t sure if Aelin had paid attention to or not.

    My hesitation must have clued Justia in on my internal turmoil.

    ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t want to be the bait anymore?¡±

    ¡°If he can outrun them, then I should be able to.¡± Aelin pulled off the sling bag and dropped it in the middle of the road. ¡°He¡¯s beat, just look at him.¡± Aelin started to stretch. "I just have to run in a circle around the camp until one starts chasing me.¡±

    Justia turned to me. She knew that I¡¯d barely been faster than the snake, so there was no way Aelin wasn¡¯t going to get caught.

    ¡°My speed is an eight and that thing almost caught me.¡± I announced, betting on dissuading her. ¡°One wrong step and you¡¯ll get caught again.¡±

    Aelin blanched at the thought of being constricted again.

    Ether looked confused. ¡°But I thought¡­¡±

    I pulled Ether into me and silenced her with a long kiss. I could feel her ears heating up at the PDA, but it was the only way I could stop her from outing me.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t tell them I¡¯m an Abnormal. We¡¯ll talk about it tonight.¡± I whispered in her ear before I pulled back.

    She was dazed, but nodded and buried her head in my chest.

    The sudden display of affection was enough to make the other three want to change the subject.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be good to go once I have a chance to catch my breath.¡±

    Justia mouthed, Is she going to be okay?

    I wished my Priestess had been talking about Ether¡¯s embarrassment, but I knew she was checking to see if Ether was going to keep our secret. I just nodded as I stroked my fingers through the Tank¡¯s white hair. I had a feeling the conversation tonight was going to be interesting.

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 5

    It was taking me longer to rest.

    We¡¯d been using me as bait for the last four hours. I still had yet to be caught. Technically anyway. I had tripped just before reaching the trail on the last one and it had wrapped around me in the middle of camp. That one had gone down faster since I¡¯d been able to grab its head and hold it for Justia to decapitate.

    ¡°Slowing down?¡± Aelin elbowed me. "Need me to tag in?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m good.¡± I collapsed against the stack of stakes.

    Since the snakes would be able to slither through and over the fence that we¡¯d make, there hadn¡¯t been much of a reason to finish building a fence. But that meant that there wasn¡¯t much for the others to do while I was running around.

    ¡°How many is that?¡± I took the slice of pear that Ether offered me. The slice or two of fruit, while I rested, was nice, but I was going to need some actual water soon.

    Aelin started counting on her fingers, got frustrated, and dumped the crystals out of the bag.

    ¡°I think we should plan on making camp on the other side of the bridge.¡± I pointed across the river. We had gone far enough through the grassland that I was able to run around the camp in the wide circle that I was running and not cross the trail again. I¡¯d gotten the distance down to where I knew how far down the trail to run before making the circle would attract a snake so I wouldn¡¯t have to double back or cross the trail again.

    Ether and Justia nodded in agreement, but Edward was smart enough to realize what that meant.

    ¡°I am not..!¡±

    Justia coughed.

    ¡°Going to complain about moving all of these stakes!¡± The blonde Noble¡¯s shoulders sagged.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

    ¡°I think now that we¡¯ve got an idea about how to do these, we might want to move our stuff over there and take a water break.¡± I would have said food break, but we¡¯d been eating little bits of fruit after every fight.

    Justia looked at me but must have realized that I needed a break and we had to do something to keep Aelin from trying to run out there.

    I wobbled as I stood, my legs beginning to take a break.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Ether grabbed my arm to steady me.

    I leaned on her just a little. I may have overestimated just how tired I was. I¡¯d only slept about five hours in the last two nights and my body was really starting to feel it.

    ¡°I think I just need to get a drink." I nodded up the trail. "I think I¡¯ll start heading that way if you will be okay with packing this up without me.¡±

    ¡°Forty-three!¡± Aelin announced, cutting off any replies. ¡°What?¡± She looked at us. "You asked how many we¡¯ve fought.¡±

    That was a little better than one every six minutes. Actually, it was probably closer to one every six minutes.

    ¡°We¡¯re on track to getting the hundred we need today. I think we can take an hour or two to move our stuff to a safer place before we start back up again.¡±

    Aelin looked at Justia, who nodded.

    ¡°Go ahead and take Ether with you.¡± The Healer started packing up fruit back in my jumpsuit. ¡°We don¡¯t need anyone to be by themselves.¡± She looked over at me. "Especially not you, since you look like you could fall over at any time. Aelin and I will be more than enough to pack these up.¡±

    Ether and I both did a double-take. I had half expected that she would insist on going with me. Considering I had skinned my arm, there was justification to bandage it. I might have thought she¡¯d send Aelin, but definitely not Ether.

    ¡°Take this.¡± Justia reached over and grabbed the roll of bandage from the side pocket of the bag. "Get that thing wrapped up.¡±

    I missed the projectile, but Ether caught it.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± I started walking up the road with the red-eyed Tank under my shoulder when I realized why Justia had been so willing if not eager to send the two of us off together. She wanted me to talk to her.

    I started to feel like I was being led to my execution as I walked up the trail with Ether under my arm. I started rehearsing what I was going to say. When I had told Ether that we¡¯d talk tonight, I¡¯d assumed that we¡¯d do so while on watch, which meant that Justia would be there to participate in the conversation. I¡¯d been hoping to let the Healer do most of the talking as far as coming up with an explanation. I had a feeling that if I had shared that plan with said Healer, I¡¯d have a blonde on my arm instead, but now I was on my own.

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 6

    We walked in silence.

    That made it feel so much worse. And I probably wasn¡¯t helping the situation by panicking about how I was going to explain a situation that I didn¡¯t fully understand. I knew that she had done enough math to figure out that I had told her thirty-six points worth of stats. I¡¯d been told in school that everyone had at least one in every stat, so that would mean that I was at least sporting thirty-eight points worth of stats, which thirty-six, I might have been able to get away with, but thirty-eight was pushing it.

    Neither of us had said a word as we crossed the bridge, then followed the river to the east just a little until we reached the creek that we had camped on. The smaller body of water was much better suited for use as drinking water since it was moving significantly slower.

    I took a long drink of water while she sat on the bank and watched me. I could see the gears turning in her head, but couldn¡¯t tell what she was thinking.

    ¡°Are you going to get a drink?¡± I started rubbing water over the scrape, only to realize that it had already started to heal. I knew that healers had a higher rate of self-healing, but I had always thought that was because of some spell. I realized now that it was due to the higher recovery stat.

    ¡°How much are you lying?¡±

    My heart caught in my throat.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t lied¡­¡± I held up my hand. " Okay, when I said that I was an Abnormal, that was the truth. When I said that Justia had been brought in to help cover for me, that was also the truth.¡±

    ¡°And?¡± She crossed her arms in front of herself. ¡°Thirty-six points in four stats? No one has that high of stats.¡±

    ¡°I have more.¡± I had been thinking about how to tell her. Part of me had thought about running with what Trent had originally thought about me, that I was a level ten with really bad stats, but that would unravel really fast.

    ¡°MORE? How much more could there be?¡±

    ¡°I can class in every stat.¡±

    The look on her face was unreadable. I wasn¡¯t sure if she was in shock or disbelief.

    ¡°Ether?¡± She flinched as I moved toward her. I held up my hands. "I¡¯m not going to hurt you.¡±

    I hated having her look like I was an enemy. I sat down on the bank and put my head in my hands. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    We sat in silence for what seemed like ages. I wanted to know what she was thinking, but I didn¡¯t want to scare her again.

    ¡°Who else knows?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± I looked up

    ¡°Who else knows about your stats?¡±

    ¡°Justia, Trent, and the ArchBishop.¡± I paused. "And now you.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because I think I can trust you.¡± My heart was beating faster, but this wasn¡¯t anticipation, it was fear. "I don¡¯t know who I can trust, and if it gets out that I have such high starting stats, then one of the Gods will see me as someone who could get too powerful in the future and they will kill me before I could become a weapon for one of their enemies.¡± I looked into her eyes. "So please don¡¯t tell anyone else, because if this gets out, then one of them will kill me.¡±

    ¡°I meant; why does the ArchBishop know?¡± Her eyes twinkled. "But it¡¯s good to know that you think I can be trusted.¡± She started putting things together before I could respond. "The ArchBishop would have seen your stats first.¡± She looked up. "The All-Temple is planning on using you against the Gods?¡±

    ¡°Shh!¡± She was smarter than I had realized. Which I should have put together already, but it hadn¡¯t been quite so obvious as it was with Rix. ¡°We can¡¯t talk about that here!¡±

    ¡°But this is¡­¡± Her eyes widened. "Not everyone is loyal to the ArchBishop. Do you know which teachers he¡¯s worried about or are there Priests who don¡¯t know about this?¡±

    I started to answer, but it hit me that she was probably right. I knew that he was worried about the Nobility finding out about me and reporting to one of the Gods, but I had assumed that it was one of the students that he had envisioned as the potential leak. I hadn¡¯t stopped to think that it might be one of the staff that he was worried about.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± I shook my head. "We can¡¯t be talking about this here!¡± I looked at her. "Are you still scared of me?¡±

    She looked hurt. "I wasn¡¯t scared of you.¡±

    I raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°I was afraid of being lied to.¡± She moved over to sit down next to me. She took my hands and placed them in her lap. "I have a problem with the people I trust hurting me.¡± She rubbed my hands. "This started to bring up some of that.¡±

    ¡°Sorry.¡± My adrenaline was starting to come down and I could feel myself slowing down.

    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault.¡± She took a deep breath. "I¡¯m the youngest of four, but my parents had trouble making ends meet.¡± She started picking at her fingers. "Their solution was to sell me.¡±

    ¡°To whom?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know." She sniffed, holding back what I could only assume were tears. "I ran away before they could complete the sale.¡±

    I had heard of some really sad stories from the other orphans, but that had been from orphans. I couldn¡¯t fathom parents being so desperate that they¡¯d do something like that. ¡°Have you been on your own since?¡±

    She nodded. "For the last six years.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± I kissed the top of her head. "That¡¯s horrible.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± She leaned against me. "I made a new life, I just¡­¡± She paused. "It brings up bad memories sometimes.¡±

    I don¡¯t know how long we stayed like that. But before long, I fell asleep.

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 7

    The sun was still up.

    Panic began to eat at me as I realized I had been too tired to stay awake. I started to lift up my head but felt fingers in my hair.

    ¡°You¡¯re okay.¡± Ether purred as she squeezed me closer to her.

    We were lying on the bank where we had been sitting. My head was against her chest and my right arm was draped over her.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry.¡± I shifted so that I could look up at her. "You were talking about some heavy stuff, and I¡­¡± I swallowed

    ¡°You¡¯ve barely slept.¡± She teased my hair. "I preferred laying here with you anyway.¡±

    ¡°Still, I should have stayed awake.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± She rubbed my back. "Honestly, I¡¯m surprised you¡¯ve managed to stay awake as long as you have.¡±

    My muscles were still sore and I felt like I could still sleep for a few more hours, but we hadn¡¯t hit our quota yet, and for Rix¡¯s sake, we didn¡¯t need to get behind.

    ¡°How long was I out?¡±

    She shrugged. "I don¡¯t know, but Justia hasn¡¯t come looking for us, so not long enough.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s probably because she thinks we¡¯re doing something else.¡±

    ¡°Other than sleeping together?¡± Ether giggled as she tousled my hair.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ probably exactly what she thinks we¡¯re doing.¡± I lifted myself up on one arm. ¡°As much as I¡¯d love to stay here and sleep with you some more.¡± I couldn¡¯t hold back the smirk as she giggled again. "We need to get back to killing snakes.¡±

    She made a face but got up with me.

    I started to walk towards the trail, but noticed she hadn¡¯t moved. "You okay?¡±

    ¡°Do you think they¡¯ll let her go?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± I realized that wasn¡¯t the answer she had hoped that I¡¯d give her. ¡°But how would you feel if we don¡¯t try and they make her fight the boss by herself?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I don¡¯t understand.¡± Ether looked puzzled. "How are they planning on getting away with that?¡±

    I thought for a moment. "I have no idea. But it didn¡¯t feel like an idle threat. Who knows? Maybe they¡¯ll be waiting for us on the other side, but at least if we¡¯re level two, at least we might have some skills to help us if they were planning on killing us from the start.¡±

    She kicked a rock. "Do you think we can really pull this off in time?¡±

    I looked up at the sky. It was about three in the afternoon, and by the time we got back to the farming area, it¡¯d be past four, which would give us about four hours to farm. At ten an hour, that would only get us forty more, which would bring our total experience for the day to just over seventeen. It was a lot that was a lot less than the twenty-plus that we needed each day, but we¡¯d started late and had to pick up our camp. I had an idea about how to increase our experience, but I wasn¡¯t sure that the women were going to like it. I¡¯d have to talk to them about it after our farming session for today was over. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    ¡°It¡¯s certainly possible, but we can¡¯t be lying around like this.¡± I nodded up towards the road. "Let¡¯s head back and see how much they¡¯ve got set up.¡± I held out my hand to her.

    She nodded and took my hand.

    It didn¡¯t take us long to reach the camp. The fence was up on either side of the trail, but it wasn¡¯t tied together. That was decent enough because any of us could work on tying the stakes together tonight while we were on watch. There was what looked like a crate that the fruit had been emptied into. My blue jumpsuit was hanging over the side of it.

    I thought about putting it on, but for now, I was able to run better in just my shorts. If I started tangling with the snakes too much, then I¡¯d have to rethink wearing it for some protection, but for now, I¡¯d leave it there.

    ¡°Took you long enough.¡± Aelin smirked. "I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d have any energy to go that long.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡± I looked at the other three members of our team. "Sorry, I fell asleep.¡±

    The blonde Buffer looked between the two of us as if she was searching for any extra information.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s boring.¡± She walked over to the crate and picked up an apple. "Are you hungry?¡±

    I shook my head. "No, but thanks.¡± I looked at Justia. "Are we good to go?¡±

    The brown-haired Healer nodded as she picked up the ax. "We¡¯re just waiting on you.¡±

    ¡°You could have taken a little longer." Edward grumbled from his seat against the fence. "I just sat down.¡±

    ¡°What was that?¡± Aelin smiled and looked at Justia. "Justia! I think Edward is volunteering to carry all the supplies for us!¡±

    ¡°I DID N-¡­¡± the blonde Noble stopped. "Whatever, you¡¯re going to make me do it anyway.¡±

    ¡°What do we have to carry?¡± I looked around. "We don¡¯t really need anything other than our weapons.¡±

    Hope covered the other man¡¯s face as he looked at Justia.

    ¡°You get a break.¡± Justia agreed. "Let¡¯s head out.¡±

    Aelin was skipping down the trail towards our snake farming area with Edward not too far behind her. Justia hung back so she could walk with Ether and me.

    ¡°Is everything good?¡± The green-skinned Healer lowered her voice.

    I looked at Ether, who nodded.

    ¡°We¡¯re good." The snow white-skinned Tank affirmed. "Atlas explained the situation.¡± She nodded up the road. "Do you think either of them suspect anything?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t see Edward thinking anyone but himself is special.¡± I looked at the other blonde. "I¡¯m not sure how to read Aelin.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯ll figure it out eventually.¡± Justia shook her head. "But I think we can trust her.¡±

    ¡°What if she tries to impress her Noble father?¡± Ether¡¯s question brought the two of us to a halt. The red-eyed woman turned as she walked past us. "It¡¯s a possibility.¡±

    I could see Justia trying to come up with a defense, but nothing was holding water. While I knew we wanted to trust our Buffer, we didn¡¯t know just how far Aelin might go to endear herself to the Father she¡¯d never known.

    ¡°Let¡¯s hold off on cueing her in.¡± I looked at Justia. "Try to stay close to her. As soon as we can trust her, then we¡¯ll bring her in.¡±

    ¡°And if we can¡¯t?¡± Ether voiced the question that we hadn¡¯t wanted to speak.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± I looked at Justia. "I assume that ArchBishop Mavery or Trent will have a way to keep it contained.¡±

    I didn¡¯t want to say what containing it might entail, but considering we¡¯d been locked in the dungeon, I had no doubt that they had ways to isolate any of us from outside communication.

    ¡°You¡¯re falling behind!¡± Aelin yelled from down the trail. "Hurry up!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s an issue for the tomorrow us.¡± I started walking again. "The today us have snakes to kill.¡±

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 8

    We farmed snakes for almost four hours.

    The short nap had given me enough energy to keep up the pace until nightfall. As soon as the sun began to set, I knew that it was going to get too dangerous to keep farming. I was barely staying ahead of the snakes as it was. Without at least fire, it was going to be difficult for the other four to hit the snakes properly. The margin for error was just too high.

    ¡°I think that¡¯s the last one.¡± I sat down on the trail. "It¡¯s starting to get too dark to fight anymore.¡±

    ¡°Whew¡­¡± Edward collapsed across from me. "I¡¯ve been hoping you¡¯d say that.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve been hoping he¡¯d say that since we got here.¡± Aelin picked up the crystal.

    ¡°I¡¯m not built for this kind of torture.¡± The blonde Noble looked for support, but found none. "This isn¡¯t how it¡¯s supposed to be!¡±

    ¡°What did you think you were going to be doing in the dungeon?¡± Ether sat down next to me. ¡°Did you think you¡¯d just walk in and watch everyone else fight?¡±

    The look on his face told me that was exactly what he¡¯d thought. His demeanor matched a ranged fighter much better than a melee one. I wondered if he might be able to allocate his stat points in a way that targeted that type of style. It was something to talk to Trent about once we got through this test.

    That reminded me of our deadline. "How many was that?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m counting!¡± Aelin waved me off. "Don¡¯t interrupt me!¡±

    I nodded and braced myself as Ether leaned on me. I could tell that everyone was tired, but I had a feeling that we were far behind our goal for the day.

    ¡°Thirty-One!¡± The Buffer exclaimed. "That makes seventy-four snakes and three skellies!¡±Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    ¡°Just over fifteen experience." I muttered, not wanting to cast the gloom I was feeling over her joy. None of us had more than forty experience and we had only three more days to collect at least twenty experience per day and we still had a boss to fight.

    ¡°We¡¯re going to have to change how we¡¯re farming.¡±

    ¡°But we¡¯ve got so much crystal!¡± Aelin ran her hands through all of the crystals in the bag. "Do you know what we could buy with this?¡±

    I nodded. There were over a hundred and sixty crystals in the bag. Split six ways, that was barely thirty each, which would be enough to get us some better gear. I looked at the broken blade in Edward¡¯s hand. It had made sense to give it back to him since he could cut through the snake¡¯s skin better than the women. I could tell that it was getting dull because his cuts weren¡¯t as smooth.

    ¡°We need to sharpen that.¡± I pointed at the blade. ¡°Do you know how?¡±

    Edward looked insulted. "My family has been making weapons for generations, we have¡­¡±

    ¡°Do you know how to make weapons?¡± I cut him off.

    ¡°I mean." the blonde Noble looked around. "If I had the materials, I might be able to make something, but it wouldn¡¯t be that good.¡±

    I was surprised that he wasn¡¯t bragging about how amazing his creation would be. ¡°Ether, you worked with the Crystal Weavers, how much did you pick up?¡±

    The white-haired Tank looked up from my shoulder where she was resting. "I¡¯ve seen it done, but I don¡¯t think I could do it.¡± She shook her head. "It was always a Caster or a Buffer who did the extracting.¡±

    It was something worth thinking about later when we had the time, but right now we needed to focus on what we had.

    ¡°Edward, can you sharpen the blades and Justia¡¯s ax?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d need to find the right type of stone and get some oil.¡± He snapped his fingers. "I think I know what I could do.¡± His excitement waned. "Do I have to do it now? I¡¯m really tired.¡±

    ¡°Tell you what.¡± I hoped Justia or the other women wouldn¡¯t fight me on this. "Once you get the weapons sharpened, you can go to bed.¡±

    His weariness vanished. "Really! Let¡¯s go!¡± He got up and gathered the knife from Aelin and the ax from Justia.

    I watched him take off down the trail by himself. I got up and nodded after him. "We better go, we don¡¯t want him to wander off and lose all our weapons.¡±

    Aelin chuckled, then realized that it might actually happen. "Edward! Wait up!¡± the brown-skinned woman chased after him.

    I helped Ether up and the three of us followed after them.

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 9

    Edward finished with the weapons and was already asleep.

    Part of me was jealous. I would have loved to not be concerned about knowing who was going to be on watch while I slept. I knew that even if the Bramble Skeletons got around our barrier, all they''d be able to do was cut us up with their thorns, but it would still leave us with a bunch of cuts that''d get infected. And we didn''t have a good way to deal with infection, which would weaken us considerably. Not life-threatening, but still.

    Aelin had started a fire, so we at least had light and something to take the edge off of the cool night air.

    ¡°When did you learn how to do that?¡± I let the warmth wash over my tired muscles.

    ¡°Rix¡­¡± Aelin choked. "Rix.., she showed me how.¡±

    I hadn¡¯t realized that Rix had been the type of person to teach others, but I also didn¡¯t read others well.

    ¡°I¡¯m glad she did.¡± I looked at the three women. "Speaking of Rix, we have a problem.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not going to make the deadline.¡± Aelin covered her mouth when she realized that she¡¯d said dead.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, we¡¯re making good time, but we can¡¯t keep it up.¡± I felt a tingle run down my spine as Ether came up behind me and rested her head on my shoulder. It was distracting to have her breathing on my neck, but it honestly helped wake me up a little.

    ¡°By my estimation, we still need over sixty-five experience in the next three days.¡± I saw the disappointment in their faces. "The way we¡¯re going we aren¡¯t going to make it.¡±

    ¡°What are we going to do?¡± Aelin stood up. "I could be the bait while you¡¯re resting!¡±

    ¡°Actually, I think there¡¯s a better way.¡± I bent my arm so that I could caress Ether¡¯s hand. "We¡¯re going to have to split the party.¡±

    ¡°Wha-?¡± Aelin¡¯s face contorted. "How is that going to help?¡±

    I leaned forward so that I could draw in the dirt. Ether shifted so that she could see over my shoulder. I was keenly aware that most of her body was leaning over my back. Despite how sore I was, the connection was relaxing.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°There are woods right here.¡± I drew a circle, then traced a path beside it. "If Edward and I keep hunting snakes here.¡± I made an X on the road. " And the three of you go after Bramble skeletons here." I made an X in the circle that was supposed to be the woods. "Then we should be able to almost double our efforts.¡± I looked from Aelin to Justia. "Justia, You and Ether should be able to handle the Bramble Skeletons by yourselves, which-¡± I looked back at Aelin. "Lets Aelin stay with us as backup.¡±

    Edward¡¯s snoring cut off Justia¡¯s reply. We all turned to where the blonde Noble was sleeping.

    ¡°We should get some water.¡± Aelin looked around. "Anyone want to go to the stream with me?¡±

    ¡°Let him sleep.¡± I shook my head. "As satisfying as it might be, we need him at his best.¡±

    ¡°What about us?¡± Aelin flicked her blonde hair off of her shoulder. "I haven¡¯t gotten a good night''s sleep since we¡¯ve been here.¡±

    ¡°You can take it.¡± I jerked my thumb in the other man¡¯s direction. "He can¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Do you really think it will work?¡± Ether¡¯s warm breath tickled my ear.

    I knew she wasn¡¯t trying to distract me, but she was doing a good job.

    ¡°I don¡¯t see any other way.¡±

    We sat in silence for a little while. Everyone seemed to be thinking about Rix.

    ¡°What are we going to do if they want to fight?¡± Aelin¡¯s voice wavered.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡± My voice trailed off as I tried to think. ¡°It¡¯s likely that we¡¯ll get skills, but they¡¯re all probably level eight, that¡¯ll be twelve stat points higher and a lot more skills.¡± I shook my head. "Plus they have actual armor and weapons.¡±

    Justia ran her thumb across the blade of her ax. "He got this sharper, I¡¯ll give him that.¡± She looked at the sleeping noble. "But I don¡¯t think I¡¯d do well in a fight against trained fighters.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll just have to hope that they have integrity and honor their word.¡±

    Ether coughed behind me. I didn¡¯t hear what she¡¯d said, but I knew it had something to do with Nobles and integrity.

    ¡°It¡¯s the hand we¡¯ve been dealt.¡± I felt my eyes getting heavy. ¡°We need to figure out who is going to be on watch.¡± I blinked to try to stay awake. "I don¡¯t think I can go first.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take the first watch." Justia offered.

    ¡°I¡¯ll stay up with you.¡± Ether¡¯s voice was more eager than I thought it¡¯d be.

    ¡°What?¡± The white-haired Tank shrugged. "I¡¯m going to have to share the watch with her first or second shift, might as well get it out of the first.¡±

    ¡°How did you come to that conclusion?¡± I wasn¡¯t sure how she was so certain.

    ¡°Justia is going to want to stay up for two shifts, so whoever stays up with her for the first one will also have to do the fourth shift.¡± Ether pointed at Aelin. "To let you get the most uninterrupted sleep, Aelin takes the second and third shift, you take the third and fourth shift and I get the fourth shift.¡± She looked around as if she was seeing if anyone was going to object.

    ¡°Sounds good to me!¡± Aelin headed towards the fire and laid down.

    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll see everyone in a few hours.¡± I used my arm as a pillow as I laid down. Sleep took me as soon as I closed my eyes.

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 10

    Morning came too quickly.

    "Atlas." Aelin was shaking my shoulder. "Wake up, it''s your turn."

    I opened my eyes. The blonde was squatting next to me shaking my right arm. Something was lying on me.

    I looked down and saw Ether. The white-haired woman was using my chest as a pillow and had her left arm draped over me.

    "Someone slept well." She winked, then wiggled her eyebrows.

    "You''ve been watching us the whole time." I tried lifting Ether''s arm so I could slide out from under her without waking her, but was having trouble navigating the task. "A little help here?"

    Aelin got up and walked over to the fruit. I was about to admonish her for walking away when she picked up my jumpsuit and rolled it up.

    "Use this." She held out the clothing roll.

    I slid the blue fabric in between us. Aelin came around by the fire to hold Ether''s head as I placed the jumpsuit under it.

    "That was a good idea." I looked over at the blonde once I had successfully separated. "Have you done that on siblings or..?"

    "My mother." Aelin looked away. "Before she died anyway. Sometimes I''d have to go help her when a client fell asleep."

    "Oh¡­" I didn''t know how to respond to that. I had a feeling I knew what profession she had alluded to her mother having, but didn''t want to come out and say it if she wasn''t.

    "When did your mother pass?"

    Aelin looked back at me. "Earlier this year. When the plague came through."

    It had been a particularly nasty sickness that had made its way through Zeb earlier that year. The local clinic was able to cure people who had it, but they were very expensive. I''d had to use a good portion of my savings on myself. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    "Sorry, that had to be rough." I put my arm on the woman''s shoulder, pulling her in for a side hug.

    "I got over it on my own." Aelin wiped away a tear. "But she wasn''t strong enough." She stared out at the woods. "I know she tried to contact my father, but he refused to help." She balled her fist. "I saw him for just a few moments when she went to him." She shook her head. "I know what he looks like now, but¡­." she shrugged. "He didn''t want to have anything to do with me."

    "I''m sorry." I was feeling awkward about where this conversation had gone, but didn''t see a way to pull it back. "Well, I''m sure that your mom would be proud of what you''ve accomplished so far."

    Aelin nodded. "She would be. She hoped that I''d never have to get into the life she got trapped in." She sniffled. "That''s why we can''t lose. I''ve got to show him that he was wrong about me¡­"

    "Hey, if he didn''t want you, then he''s an idiot." I squeezed her shoulder. "Because I know that everyone here is glad to have you."

    She glared at me. "Edward?"

    "He''s a Noble, that doesn''t count."

    That got her to let out a soft laugh.

    "Besides, you know he''s glad that you can make a fire." I nodded at the Noble, who was snoring with a content look on his face. "So see? All of us are glad you''re here."

    That got her to smile like her usual self. "Thanks. Oh!" She pulled out the bag. "We''ve got four skellies so far!" She smiled. "Ether, let me chop them up."

    I had wondered if the monsters would approach camp. Given that they were, it had been a good idea not to camp in the grassy area. I couldn¡¯t imagine the group dealing with snakes sneaking their way in.

    ¡°Do you want to beat the ones that show up during our watch?¡± I nodded at the ax.

    ¡°Sure!¡± She covered her mouth when she realized that she¡¯d spoken a little too loud.

    I watched the other three, but thankfully, Edward¡¯s snoring had drowned out her shout.

    We sat in silence, just outside of the fencing for what seemed like an eternity, but I knew an hour had passed when a Bramble Skeleton ran out of the woods. I grabbed it and tried to ignore the tiny thorns that dug into my fingers. It took Aelin a few swings before she broke the crystal and the monster vanished in a puff of smoke. She picked up the crystal and nodded at my hands.

    ¡°Are you going to be okay?¡±

    I could feel the wounds already healing. Ether hadn¡¯t healed this fast and I wondered if it was because of my increased recovery stat.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a scratch.¡± I held up my hand for her to see. "I¡¯ll be fine before the next one spawns.¡±

    ¡°So¡­¡± Aelin walked over to the bag and put the crystal inside it. ¡°What do you want to do for another hour?¡±

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 11

    We worked on the fence.

    So far, according to Aelin, none of the Bramble Skeletons had tried to get around our fence, but I wasn¡¯t sure that would stay the case. Especially if they started trying to sneak up on us.

    The dirt on the trail was too hard for us to plant a stake without hammering it in, and we couldn¡¯t do that until everyone woke up. But what we could do was tie the stakes to each other. We¡¯d have to drive a couple in to hold everything in place. But I decided that I would give that job to Edward when he woke up. I could probably do it faster, but having him do chores seemed like a good way to motivate him to get stuff done.

    After we defeated the second Bramble Skeleton, it was time for a shift change. Aelin laid down while I went to wake up Ether.

    ¡°Ether.¡± I stroked her cheek with the back of my hand. "It¡¯s your turn on watch.¡±

    I had debated just letting her sleep, but I knew that I wouldn¡¯t hear the end of it if I didn¡¯t wake her.

    ¡°Mnmb.¡± She snuggled tighter on my jumpsuit pillow.

    I leaned down and brushed a stray white lock of hair away from her face and kissed her cheek. I rubbed her back as I whispered in her ear. "Ether, it¡¯s time to wake up.¡±

    Her red eyes fluttered open and she stretched. She smiled when she saw me leaning over her. "I like being woken up like this better.¡±

    I remembered the way that Trant had me wake her up on our first morning. ¡°Sorry about that.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay." She took my hand as I helped her stand up.

    She looked around. "Finishing the fence?¡±

    ¡°Aelin and I needed something to do.¡± I walked over towards the woods and stepped over the fence that was there. "It needs stakes to hold it in place, but it will at least slow down a Skeleton.¡±

    Ether tested the wood and decided it was solid enough.

    ¡°So what did you and Justia talk about?¡± I hooked my arm around her shoulder as she walked over to where I was standing.

    ¡°Why do you think that we talked?¡± Ether gave me an innocent smile.

    ¡°Because you¡¯re you.¡± I raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°We talked about you a little.¡±

    I swallowed. I hadn¡¯t told Justia what exactly I¡¯d told Ether. Hopefully the one piece of information that I¡¯d held back had stayed hidden. I felt like I could trust the white-haired woman, but I didn¡¯t know how Trent, or the ArchBishop for that matter, would react if they learned that she knew everything.

    ¡°All good things I hope.¡± I smiled.

    ¡°Good enough.¡± She looked up at me. "You didn¡¯t try anything with Aelin, did you?¡±

    ¡°What? No!¡± I shook my head. "Why would you think that?¡±

    ¡°Just because you have a history of moving really fast with blondes.¡±Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

    My ears were burning from embarrassment. ¡°That wasn¡¯t... I mean I didn¡¯t¡­ I mean, it did¡­ but I didn¡¯t try¡­¡±

    She put a finger against my lips. "You¡¯re going to be very popular in the future.¡± She started running her finger down my chin to my chest. "You¡¯re going to have to be careful who you let get that close to you.¡±

    ¡°Like red-eyed Tanks?¡±

    She smiled as she pushed against me with a single finger. "I¡¯m already here.¡± She twirled her finger around in the center of my chest and I became very aware that I was wearing nothing but a pair of shorts and boots.

    ¡°So you¡¯re going to protect me from anyone who tries to get close to me?¡± I ran my hands up the sides of her arms.

    ¡°Justia will help.¡± She walked her hand back up to my ear and wove her fingers into my hair. "And we¡¯ll only keep out the ones who don¡¯t belong.¡±

    I raised an eyebrow. "You¡¯re not going to keep me all to yourself?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going to be too powerful for me to try to monopolize you.¡± She had to stand on her toes so she could nibble on my ear. "As long as you remember who is first.¡±

    I was breathing hard. Panic, fear, excitement, and joy were mixing with pleasure. ¡°Wha-?¡± I had so many questions and yet I couldn¡¯t get the words to leave my lips. I felt another shiver of pleasure roll down my spine.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t we.¡± I braced as she nipped my ear, then moved her lips down the side of my neck. "Supposed to be on watch?¡± I couldn¡¯t believe I was about to stop her. I grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back. "Look, I want this. By the Gods, I want this. But we¡¯re supposed to be on watch right now. How would you feel if¡­¡± I almost said Edward and realized he was nowhere close to being allowed on watch. "Justia and Aelin were supposed to be on watch and you woke up early to find them doing this?¡± I shook my head. "Justia will kill me if she catches us doing this on watch again. But trust me, once we rescue Rix and get out of here I will find a way to get some alone time with you.¡± I looked into her red eyes. "I really like you a lot and it sounds like you like me a bunch too. So let¡¯s focus on the problem at hand and then take some time later to have fun.¡± I nodded over her shoulder. "When we don¡¯t have to worry about a monster.¡± I swallowed. "Or Justia. Interrupting us.¡±

    She stared at me for a little bit, then kissed me quickly. "You pass.¡± She took my arm and brought it around her, so that I was holding her as she backed against me.

    ¡°I¡­¡± My mind was muddled. "I what?¡±

    ¡°You passed." She looked up. "Justia and I were curious if you were just a horndog since you¡¯ve tried to screw every woman you¡¯ve been alone with when given the chance.¡± She pulled my arms tighter around her. "I was seeing if you were really just a horny dickhead." She smiled. "and you passed.¡±

    ¡°Wait¡­¡± I was trying to wrap my head around what had just happened. "Justia knew about this?¡±

    Ether nodded.

    ¡°Just how far were you going to go?¡±

    She brought my hands up so that they cupped her chest. My heart sped up as she rubbed my hands against her. I became acutely aware how turned on I had gotten and just how much she was pressing up against my lower half.

    ¡°As far as you were going to take it.¡± She purred. ¡°And I look forward to seeing how far that is once we get out.¡±

    I found myself hating the responsible speech I had just given.

    ¡°You are a tease.¡± I squeezed her.

    She kissed me. "A tease offers something and takes it away when you try to take it.¡± I saw a hunger in her eyes that dared me. "I haven¡¯t moved.¡±

    My chest tightened. I could take her right now and she wouldn¡¯t resist. I had a feeling there was a part of her that was hoping I would. I had the same part inside me that was wanting something else about this exercise to distract me from the bad thoughts that I had been cramming down inside my head.

    I closed my eyes as I struggled with myself. "You have no idea how hard it is not to do this.¡±

    ¡°I can tell exactly how hard it is." She giggled as she pushed her butt against me.

    I closed my eyes as I fought the temptation. After almost a minute of enduring, I was able to feel more in control of my body. "Let¡¯s just stay like this while we wait for the next monster to spawn.¡±

    She relaxed a little and sank into me. The sexual tension was replaced by a feeling of comfort. "I like that plan.¡±

    We stood like that for a few more minutes. I felt her tense just a little, then she looked up at me.

    ¡°Really? Aelin and Justia?¡±

    I groaned. I wasn¡¯t going to have to worry about the second years killing us at the end of the week, Justia was going to kill me herself.

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 12

    The rest of the watch was fairly uneventful.

    Once we defeated our second Bramble Skeleton I started waking everyone up. Ether started cutting up fruit, so we¡¯d have breakfast ready.

    Edward groaned as I nudged him awake last.

    ¡°Come on." I nudged him again. "I need you to put in some stakes and then Ether¡¯s cut up some fruit for breakfast.¡±

    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± He rolled back over. "Not yet.¡±

    ¡°Edward." I poked him. "We have stuff to do.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s too early.¡± He covered his face. "Leave me alone.¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t have time for this.¡± I poked him again. "You¡¯ve got to get up.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have to do anything.¡± Edward looked over at Justia. "You can hurt me all you want, but I¡¯m not getting up until I¡¯ve slept.¡± The blonde noble closed his eyes.

    I looked over at our brunette Healer. Justia had just started eating.

    ¡°What do you want to do?¡±

    She swallowed the food in her mouth. "Can we do this without him?¡±

    I picked up the sword and offered it to Aelin. The blade looked more like a dagger now. Edward had smoothed out the jagged edge so that it looked almost like a C at the tip instead of point.

    ¡°Can you handle them?¡± Everyone knew that she wasn¡¯t going to be able to kill them before they hit me.

    She looked nervously at the blade and took it. "It¡¯s what we have to do.¡± The blonde looked up at me. "Are you going to be able to handle it?¡±

    ¡°Honestly?¡± I took a deep breath. "We¡¯ll have to see.¡± I shook my head. "But I think we have to try.¡±

    Aelin nodded. "I¡¯ll do it.¡±

    Ether stormed over to us and I had to hold her back. "Let go of me and I¡¯ll get him up!¡± She struggled in my arms.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    ¡°Do you really want him to be the one in charge of my safety if he doesn¡¯t want to be out there?¡±

    My question took all of the fight out of her. I heard a soft chuckle behind me.

    ¡°If we weren¡¯t in a time crunch, I¡¯d deal with you myself.¡± I turned around. "But I¡¯ve just about had it with your attitude. We are a team. We are trying to save a member of our team. I get that you¡¯re not used to intense physical activity, so I¡¯m willing to cut you some slack, but I swear if you don¡¯t stop being a pretentious ass, I¡¯m going to drag you out in the grass until a snake spawns and let you fight it by yourself with your bare hands.¡±

    The chuckling stopped. Edward looked like all the blood had drained out of his face, but he kept his eyes closed.

    I looked at Aelin. "I¡¯ll have the knife, so I can help. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll do fine.¡±

    Aelin eyed Justia. "Can we switch, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m the best one to cover Atlas.¡±

    I shook my head. "Ether and Justia have a system for taking out the Skeletons that works. We just have to find one of our own.¡±

    The blonde swallowed. "I¡¯ll try.¡±

    ¡°I still think you should let me motivate him.¡± Ether scowled. "I could put enough fear in him.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you could.¡± I guided her back over to where Justia was finishing her breakfast. ¡°This might be a good thing.¡± I lowered my voice.

    ¡°How?¡± Aelin said a little too loud.

    ¡°Shhh.¡± I huddled the women up. "If Edward isn¡¯t with us then we¡¯ll earn experience faster.¡±

    ¡°Because he isn¡¯t in our party?¡± Aelin frowned. "Is that how that works?¡±

    I shook my head. "Rix is still in our party even though she¡¯s not on this floor.¡± I looked around at each woman. "Trent set our party and without a crystal band, we can¡¯t change it.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Aelin looked confused. "So how does this help us?¡±

    ¡°When a party member is too far away, they don¡¯t get a share of the experience.¡± Ether answered before I could. "Since Edward is staying here, the experience will be split four ways instead of five.¡±

    ¡°So we¡¯ll be getting more experience!¡± Aelin clapped her hands,

    ¡°Until he decides to join.¡± Justia shook her head. "I guess he was never taught Noblesse Oblige.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Aelin lowered her voice to just above a whisper.

    ¡°The obligation of the Nobles to look out for the Mundane.¡± Ether scoffed. "There are a few Nobles who practice it, but very few.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a rule?¡± Aelin was perplexed. "And they just ignore it?!?¡±

    ¡°Like she said, very few take it to heart, instead they adhere to Might makes Right.¡± I sighed. "But we¡¯ve got more important things to work on than solving problems that we have no power to sway.¡± I nodded to Justia. "You know what to do?¡±

    Justia hefted her ax. "Stay as close to the treeline as we can.¡±

    ¡°Right.¡± I leaned forward and kissed Ether real quick. She leaned into the kiss, which made it last longer than I¡¯d planned, but I could spare a few seconds.

    ¡°Get a room!¡± Aelin playfully pushed us as she walked down the trail. "We¡¯ve got snakes to kill!¡±

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 13

    We¡¯d been fighting for six hours.

    I had cuts and bruises all over my body. Instead of quickly killing the snakes, I had to wrestle them while Aelin tried to stab it in the heart or the head. We were killing them much slower, but we were doing it. I sat down in the middle of the trail and started waving to try to get Justia or Ether¡¯s attention. Aelin was busy counting crystals.

    ¡°Forty-three!¡± she declared as she put the last crystal in the bag.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see how many they got.¡± I motioned to where Jutia and Ether were coming down the trail. It would have been faster to cut through the grass, but they almost certainly would have attracted snakes. Considering we were taking a break, that wouldn¡¯t have been ideal.

    ¡°How¡¯d it go?¡± Ether asked once she reached us. She took one look at me. "Atlas! You look horrible!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll heal.¡± I couldn¡¯t stop from flinching as she started running her hand over the bruises that speckled my snow-white skin.

    ¡°Sorry.¡± The white-haired Tank pulled her hand back. "Are you sure you¡¯re okay?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t kill them fast enough.¡± Aelin looked like she was about to cry.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Aelin.¡± Justia gave the blonde woman a hug. "He¡¯s right, he¡¯ll heal.¡± She looked at me. "How many did you get?¡±

    I nodded at Aelin.

    ¡°Forty-Three!¡± Enthusiasm replaced her somber attitude. "What about you?¡±

    ¡°Twenty-Four.¡± Ether began digging in her pockets so she could transfer them over.

    Aelin opened up the sling bag so that Ether could deposit the crystals. ¡°Is that going to be enough?¡±

    I started doing math in my head, but Ether beat me to it.

    ¡°That puts us at over fifty experience.¡± The red-eyed woman shook her head. "It¡¯s still not enough, especially considering that we have to fight the boss in two days, not just hit level two.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    ¡°We still have some time.¡± I nodded up the trail. "Once we eat and get back, then we¡¯ll have about five more hours of light.¡±

    ¡°We really should bring the food with us." Aelin grumbled.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have anything to carry water." I reminded her. "That¡¯s going to be one of the first things I buy when we get back.¡±

    We started walking up the trail. My comment triggered Aelin to start a game.

    ¡°So what is everyone else going to buy when they get back?¡± The blonde twirled in the road. "I think I¡¯m going to buy a weapon, probably a crossbow, as well as some armor.¡± She turned to Justia. "What about you?¡±

    ¡°If I don¡¯t learn a healing spell at level two, then I¡¯ll get one of those.¡± The Healer balanced the ax in her hands. "I need to get some armor too."

    ¡°What about you Ether?¡± Aelin bounced close to her,

    ¡°I need armor and a weapon.¡± The white-haired woman motioned at the weapon in Aelin¡¯s hand. "I need to be able to do more than just grapple with the monsters.¡±

    ¡°What about our fearless leader?¡± Aelin giggled. "What are you getting?¡±

    I thought for a moment. "I¡¯ll have to see what spell I learn, but it couldn¡¯t hurt to get another one.¡± I pointed to the bag. "And it wouldn¡¯t hurt to get a water bottle to put in there.¡±

    ¡°We should probably all get one of these.¡± Aelin patted the bag. "We can¡¯t make Atlas do all the heavy lifting.¡±

    I shrugged. "When it was just a few monsters a day, it wasn¡¯t bad." I motioned at the bag. "But that thing is starting to fill up.¡±

    There were 251 crystals in the bag and that had filled both side pockets, and the front pocket wasn¡¯t going to hold many more. We could start putting them in the back pocket, but that was going to limit our ability to use the bag to transport other items like fruit.

    ¡°Once we hit level ten, we¡¯ll be able to get a crystal band.¡± I reminded them. "It can hold a few items.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t those cost like a thousand All, just for the little ones?¡± Aelin shook her head. "That seems like a steep price to pay, for such a small thing.¡±

    ¡°It can hold more stuff than you could cramp into my jumpsuit.¡± That reminded me that I needed to put it on when we reached camp. While I was faster running around in my shorts, the extra defense would make up for the slight drop in speed.

    ¡°We¡¯ll have to see what Trent offers us.¡± I was hopeful that he¡¯d cut us some slack after we finished this. "Maybe we can request some stuff if he doesn¡¯t have it. Like he said, he could wipe out monsters forty levels deeper with a snap of his fingers. It shouldn¡¯t be hard for him to get some stuff.¡±

    ¡°Oh! I¡¯m going to have to make a list!¡± Aelin danced as we walked.

    I couldn¡¯t help but smile. And despite the deadline looming over us, I was glad someone was finding something to be happy about.

    We continued walking down the trail, listening to all the things that Aelin was going to buy.

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 14

    Edward was up.

    I had expected him to be awake at two in the afternoon, but that was all I had expected from him. I had so much to worry about trying to get Rix back that I didn¡¯t have time to get distracted by his antics.

    ¡°Did you eat all the fruit?¡± Aelin looked up from the ¡®crate¡¯ that had been holding the fruit.

    ¡°I was hungry!¡± Edward snapped as he looked away.

    I looked at where he was sitting against the fence. "Just what have you been doing?¡±

    ¡°You left me here without any weapons!¡± He folded his arms. "Do you know how hard it is to defend the fence with only rocks?¡± He threw a smaller rock over the fence.

    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have to defend the fence if you¡¯d come with us.¡± Aelin snapped. She turned to me. "Now what are we going to do for food?¡±

    ¡°Justia and I found another fruit tree while we were farming the skellies.¡± Ether interrupted.

    It was going to take time to pick more fruit. I couldn¡¯t believe he¡¯d eaten so much. Edward wasn¡¯t a big guy by any means, but it seemed like he had a very big appetite.

    ¡°We¡¯re heading back to the farming place.¡± I turned to Justia. "Take Edward with you and have him fill my jumpsuit up with more fruit.¡± I had really wanted the extra protection, but our team¡¯s food supply was more important.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to do what?¡¯ Edward huffed. "I don¡¯t remember volunteering for anything!¡±

    ¡°You volunteered when you ate more than your share!¡± Aelin ran behind Justia when Edward got up.

    ¡°I think maybe you should be the one to pick the fruit.¡± The blonde-haired noble sneered. ¡°Preparing food is a Mundane¡¯s job anyway.¡±

    I cut in before the fight could escalate. "How about this: Aelin picks the fruit and Edward carries it back to camp?¡±

    ¡°WHAT?!?¡± Edward and Aelin exclaimed at the same time.

    ¡°It makes sense." I started to defend my logic. "Edward can kill snakes with me while you work.¡± I looked at Justia. "I can farm snakes faster with Edward and it¡¯ll be more of a punishment because he¡¯ll be working harder.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    ¡°But¡­¡± Edward sputtered.

    ¡°Look, we let you sleep in, but it¡¯s time for you to start pulling your weight.¡± I stepped forward so I could reach Ether. I put my hand on her shoulder to hold her back. I didn¡¯t need this fight to escalate. ¡°We can¡¯t afford to fight amongst ourselves.¡± I looked at the Noble. "You aren¡¯t used to working this hard, I get it, but we have a deadline and we are going to meet it.¡± I pulled Ether back and stepped in between them. ¡°But if you don¡¯t start being more helpful¡­¡± I let go of Ether. "I will let them educate you about what work is.¡±

    Edward looked at the dagger in Aelin¡¯s hands.

    I realized that I¡¯d just threatened him and was about to trust him to protect me. Probably not the best thing to do. Once he got that dagger, he would probably be the most dangerous one of us.

    ¡°You know what? Using the sword is a privilege. You are on fruit-picking duty.¡± I looked at Aelin. "Can you still take out snakes?¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡± Edward shouted. "That is my blade! I want it back!¡±

    ¡°You broke it and threw it away.¡± I pointed at him as he approached. "No!¡±

    ¡°You think I¡¯m scared of you?¡± He picked up a stake. "A Mundane? I¡¯m not going to kill myself trying to rescue a lawless Mundane either. I¡¯m done!¡± He pointed it at me. "When we get out of here, I¡¯m going to talk to my father and get out of this broken excuse for a team!¡±

    I eyed the pointed club. ¡°You can leave if you want. But you ate OUR food.¡± I moved to my left a little so that I was more in between the rest of the team.

    ¡°Then get some more.¡±

    I fought the rage that was building inside me. ¡°We have a deadline. And you just put us in a bind with your selfishness.¡±

    ¡°Selfishness?!?¡± Edward roared. "We have been marooned with no supplies and I need to eat? How is that being selfish?!?¡±

    ¡°Because there are five of us!¡± Ether shot back from behind me.

    ¡°Shut UP!¡± He took a step forward, close enough that he poked me in the chest.

    I braced against the point. His power was high enough that he¡¯d be able to hurt me. He had expressed interest in leaving the team, which meant I didn¡¯t need to give him any information that I didn¡¯t want to get out.

    ¡°You don¡¯t want to do this.¡± I grabbed the stake. ¡°Back up and cool off.¡± I looked at Ether. "We can do this without you.¡±

    The pressure on my chest didn¡¯t fade.

    I turned back to him. "Edward, put it down.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t take orders from a Mundane.¡± He pushed a little harder and blood started to bead around the point.

    ¡°Don¡¯t do this.¡± If I resisted him, I¡¯d put my power stat as being equal to his. The physical labor I¡¯d done for the last four years meant that I was stronger than the pampered noble, but we didn¡¯t have time for a brawl.

    ¡°Don¡¯t¡­¡± He began.

    I pushed the stake to the side, scraping my bare skin. Without the weapon in between us I sprang forward and grabbed him by the throat. I looked into his green eyes. "Calm down.¡±

    He struggled in my grasp and grabbed my arm with both hands. "I told you not to tell me what to do!¡±

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 15

    He was going to fight.

    My mind was spinning with possibilities, ways for this to have a ¡®good¡¯ ending. I wasn¡¯t seeing any.

    Edward¡¯s veins were bulging as he pulled the stake back and swung.

    Ether moved forward and blocked it with her arm. ¡°Get him!¡±

    I tackled him, taking him to the ground. Ether was right behind me and sat down on his right arm.

    ¡°Get off me before I really hurt you!¡± Edward strained to buck me off.

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to hurt anyone.¡± I shifted so that my knees were pinning down his shoulders. ¡°Calm down.¡±

    Justia was beside us with Aelin right behind her.

    ¡°What do we do?¡± I looked at the Healer.

    ¡°LET ME GO!¡± Edward was able to lift me a little.

    ¡°Get the stake.¡± Justia pointed at the weapon.

    Aelin picked up the stake and backed away from him. "What are we going to do?¡±

    ¡°GET-!¡±

    I wrapped both hands around his throat and squeezed. I knew it wasn¡¯t a good answer, but it would buy us some time.

    ¡°Are you killing him!?!¡± Aelin dropped the stake

    Edward started to struggle, so Justia dropped down to hold his left arm. He was so wound up that the three of us were having trouble keeping him down.

    His struggles became weaker and after a few seconds, he went limp.

    ¡°Did you kill him?¡± Tears started to roll down Aelin¡¯s face.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    ¡°He¡¯s just unconscious.¡± I stood up. "But he¡¯s going to be pissed when he wakes up.¡±

    ¡°What are we going to do?¡± Justia still hadn¡¯t gotten up.

    I looked at Ether. "What do we do?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the leader.¡± She eyed me. "Shouldn¡¯t you decide?¡±

    ¡°Part of being a good leader is recognizing talent and utilizing it. You¡¯re smart, how do we get through this?¡±

    ¡°We could kill him.¡± Ether suggested.

    ¡°We can¡¯t kill him.¡± Aelin looked at me, then at Justia. "You¡¯re not going to let them kill him, are you?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not going to kill him.¡± I took a step towards Aelin, but she flinched. I stopped and looked at Justia. "Can you reassure her that we¡¯re not going to kill him?¡±

    Justia got up and guided Aelin away from us.

    I turned to the white-haired woman who was still sitting on the unconscious man.

    ¡°How do we diffuse this without killing him?¡±

    ¡°We can restrain him.¡± Ether shook her head. "But that¡¯s three days without proper ropes." She bobbed her head. "He¡¯d probably be able to break them anyway.¡±

    ¡°Great, what else?¡±

    ¡°Exile.¡± She motioned around her. "We throw him out. The only problem with that is he will come into camp and raid whatever food we collect while we¡¯re out farming.¡±

    I ran both of my hands over my hair and groaned. That¡¯s what I¡¯d been afraid of. Basically, we just ignore him and he harasses us for the rest of the time we¡¯re here.

    ¡°Find some vines and we¡¯ll tie him up.¡± I shrugged. "If he breaks them, then we¡¯re in plan B.¡±

    Ether nodded and headed out to the woods to find some vines.

    I walked over to where Justia and Aelin were standing.

    ¡°Is he going to be okay?¡± Aelin closed her eyes as if she was bracing for bad news.

    ¡°Ether is going to try to tie him up. We can¡¯t have him causing any more trouble like that.¡± I was glad that at least this time, she didn¡¯t flinch away from me.

    ¡°See?¡± Justia gave Aelin a big side hug. "I told you they weren¡¯t going to kill him.¡±

    The blonde woman opened her eyes. "What if he gets free?¡±

    ¡°Then we avoid him.¡± I shrugged. "It¡¯s not a perfect plan, but we¡¯re not going to try to fight him. If something bad happens to him it will be because he attacks us, not because we hunted him.¡±

    Aelin nodded, then looked up at the sky. "We¡¯ve got a lot of farming to do.¡± She gripped the dagger in her hands tighter. "And we¡¯re losing light.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s right.¡± I nodded to Justia. "Let¡¯s get drinks and then head back.¡± I paused. "Bring my jumpsuit, we¡¯ll stop a little earlier and pick fruit for dinner.

    Aelin nodded. "I can do that.¡± She looked over at our team member. "I hope he¡¯s okay.¡±

    I nodded. "So do I.¡±

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 16

    We left him at camp.

    Ether tied Edward to a post and then left him. He might be able to uproot the fencepost, but if he did, then he¡¯d uproot the whole fence. Then he¡¯d have nothing to protect him from the Bramble Skeletons. I hoped that he¡¯d at least see the reason in that, but if he didn¡¯t, I wasn¡¯t going to feel sorry for him.

    ¡°Are you ready?¡± I looked at Aelin. The blonde woman was obviously shaken, but she was putting on a brave face.

    ¡°I can do it.¡± Her usual enthusiasm wasn¡¯t there.

    I felt bad that she was getting so bent out of shape over a selfish prick, but that was kind of her personality, and I wouldn¡¯t want her to change it.

    ¡°It¡¯ll be okay.¡± I gave her a thumbs up. "Edward probably just panicked about being locked in the dungeon and it wore his nerves down.¡± I smiled. "He¡¯ll calm down and maybe Trent will find him a different team that is better suited for him.¡±

    ¡°One with only stuck up Nobles like him?¡± Aelin grinned.

    ¡°Exactly!¡± It was nice to see her smile. ¡°You ready?¡±

    She nodded.

    ¡°Let¡¯s do this!¡± I shouted as I started running.

    We farmed for four hours. I could tell that she was trying her best, but she really just wasn¡¯t suited for this task. By the time the sun was starting to set, I had even more bruises and scratches, but we were making progress.

    We went over to the edge of the woods and walked in. It didn¡¯t take long for us to find Justia and Ether. The four of us walked through the woods to the fruit tree.

    ¡°I think this one is easier to get to than the other one we found.¡± I sat down against the tree. ¡°I¡¯ll help pick once I breathe for a minute.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Aelin threw me the bag. "You can count how many snakes we did.¡±

    ¡°We got sixteen Bramble Skeletons." Ether dug the crystals out of her pockets and handed them to me.

    ¡°How are you doing?¡± I caught her hand.

    ¡°I¡¯m tired, and a little sore, but okay.¡± She smiled. "How are you doing?¡±Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    ¡°I meant about the Edward situation.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± the red-eyed woman thought for a moment. "I¡¯m surprised he lasted this long. We¡¯ve been locked up in here for four days and he¡¯s spent half of that brooding about how bad it is.¡± She shrugged. "With his view on Mundane, he was going to snap at some point.¡±

    I sighed. "I¡¯d really hoped he would have been a team player.¡±

    Ether laughed. "Nobles aren¡¯t team players.¡±

    I nodded at Justia. "What about her?¡±

    The white-haired woman looked at our Healer. ¡°She¡¯s different. Probably one of the few exceptions to the rule.¡±

    ¡°Nice to know someone thinks I¡¯m exceptional.¡± Justia laughed.

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome." Ether grinned. "Would you like me to draw you a warm bath? I could fluff your pillow before you turn in.¡±

    The three women shared a laugh. It was nice seeing the team get along. I just wished that Rix was here with us.

    ¡°How many are there?¡± Aelin tossed a peach at me.

    I caught the fruit and bit into it. I finished counting while I ate.

    ¡°Twenty.¡± It was a lot lower than I¡¯d hoped. With Edward killing them, we¡¯d have downed twice as many, but that wasn¡¯t an option now.

    ¡°Where does that put us?¡± Aelin looked scared of what I might say.

    When I didn¡¯t answer right away, Ether cut in. "Sixty-three for you and Atlas, sixty-six for Justia and me.¡±

    ¡°Is that enough?¡± The blonde woman bit at the tip of her thumb.

    ¡°If we can hit one sixty tomorrow, then we¡¯ll be good.¡± I looked at the women. "The way things are looking, though¡­¡± I didn¡¯t want to say it, but they needed to be prepared. I had a feeling that Ether already knew, but I was going to say it anyway.

    ¡°The way we¡¯re going, we¡¯ll make it to level two before the deadline.¡± I shook my head. "But it¡¯ll be the evening.¡± I motioned at us. "Like tonight.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not going to have enough time to test out the new abilities and we¡¯re going to have to fight tired.¡± Ether summarized,

    ¡°Exactly.¡± I took a deep breath as I stood up and grabbed a low-hanging fruit. ¡°We might want to try to spend as much time tomorrow as we can down here.¡± I started doing some calculations. "We¡¯ve got fourteen hours of daylight, if we can farm for twelve of those, then you will get forty-eight skellies, and Aelin and I can do¡­¡± I looked at her. "Maybe seventy-two snakes.¡± I shook my head. "That¡¯s still not enough.¡±

    ¡°But it gets us close.¡± Ether held up one finger. "We still have the Skelies from tonight to factor in.¡± She closed her eyes for a moment. "That brings us to ninety-eight and ninety-five.¡± She looked at Justia. "You and I would level overnight if we got that.¡±

    ¡°So more doable.¡± I looked at the women. "Is that what we want to do? Hit it hard tomorrow, level the next morning and try out our new abilities, then challenge the boss after lunch?¡±

    They looked at each other, and then Aelin noticed that the other two women were staring at her.

    ¡°I can handle it!¡± Aelin waved her hand. "I can completely handle it.¡±

    ¡°So can I.¡± Ether stuffed the last fruit into the filled jumpsuit.

    ¡°Me too.¡± Justia piped.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s do this.¡± I picked up my jumpsuit full of fruit and slung it on my back. ¡°How do you think camp is?¡±

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 17

    Camp was a wreck.

    ¡°No!¡± Aelin ran ahead as soon as we could make out the wreckage.

    ¡°Aelin wait!¡± Justia took off after her.

    I put down the fruit and jogged with Ether beside me. I was too tired and sore to run.

    Every fencepost had been yanked out of the ground, and quite a few of them had been snapped in half. The rocks for the firepit had been scattered and there weren¡¯t any ashes that hadn¡¯t been mixed with dirt. I was glad that we didn¡¯t have anything else that we had left there, because everything was broken or destroyed in some way.

    The blonde noble wasn¡¯t around and that was probably for the best. We were tired and really didn¡¯t need another fight. I had hoped that Edward had calmed down and I could talk to him. Ether¡¯s assessment seemed quite likely and some reassurance about the future might have soothed some of his fears.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think we should stay here.¡± Ether looked at me. "We should go now.¡±

    ¡°Where?¡± Aelin sniffled. Justia was trying to comfort the blonde woman.

    ¡°Into the woods.¡± Ether pointed back the way we¡¯d come. "There are four of us and one of him. We need to get somewhere that he¡¯s going to have trouble getting to at night. We don¡¯t want him to sneak up on us while we¡¯re sleeping.¡±

    Aelin froze. "You don¡¯t think he¡¯d do that?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s scared, angry, hungry, and probably humiliated by the people he¡¯s been told all his life that are beneath him.¡± Ether looked at Justia. "How do the Nobles treat low level Mundane Adventurers?¡±

    ¡°Like they are still Mundane.¡± Justia sighed. "She¡¯s right, he¡¯s probably been at the gate trying to get someone to open it for him. When that doesn¡¯t work, he¡¯s going to focus on us.¡± If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± I motioned for the women to start moving.

    Ether picked up a few broken stakes, which prompted the other two to gather a few each.

    ¡°We might not be able to build a full fence, but we can do something.¡± Ether explained

    ¡°Where are we going?¡± Aelin shivered

    ¡°Probably hit the bank on the other side of the bridge and follow it to the left until we get halfway through the forest.¡± She must have seen the confusion on my face. "It turns into grassland after a good bit, we don¡¯t want to be too close to the snakes, but we can get close enough that we won¡¯t have to worry about him sneaking up on us from that direction.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think we have to worry about that.¡± I looked around. "He was here.¡±

    Justia dropped the stakes in her hands and readied the ax.

    My jumpsuit was gone. All that fruit that we¡¯d spent valuable time picking and it was gone.

    ¡°He must have been waiting for us.¡± Ether looked around. "Probably to ambush us, but when he saw a chance for a free meal¡­¡± She sighed. "Maybe he¡¯ll leave us alone since he¡¯s got enough food to last him the next two days.¡±

    ¡°Do you really believe that?¡± Even in the lower visibility of the moonlight, I could see just how shaken Aelin was.

    ¡°I do.¡± Ether shook her head since she was out of Aelin¡¯s field of vision.

    We needed to hit level two as fast as possible. I couldn¡¯t imagine what life was going to be like once people figured out what I was if this is how life had become before it. At least if we hit level two, then we¡¯d be able to defend ourselves against him a lot better.

    I picked up the discarded stakes. "Come on, we¡¯ve got a lot of work to do and it¡¯s late.¡± I held most of them on my shoulder with my left arm and held one with my right. "And we¡¯ve got a long day ahead of us tomorrow.¡±

    We started walking again, and veered off the trail as soon as we crossed the bridge. Walking on the river bank wasn¡¯t much more difficult than walking on the trail, so it wasn¡¯t too hard to manage in the lower visibility. I let Ether lead us, while I brought up the rear. Aelin and Justia were almost side by side as they traveled in between us.

    As much as we¡¯d reassured Aelin that we wouldn¡¯t have any more trouble out of Edward, I couldn¡¯t help the feeling that we were being watched. I knew it was going to be a long night.

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 18

    Aelin fell asleep first.

    As soon as she got a fire started, she had started to nod off, so we had let her go to sleep while the three of us moved a little ways up river. Close enough that we could still see her, but far enough away so that we could talk without scaring her if she overheard.

    ¡°He¡¯s going to try something, isn¡¯t he?¡± I leaned on the new stick that I¡¯d found.

    ¡°If I had to bet on it.¡± Ether looked to Justia for confirmation. "I¡¯d bet he wants to, but I¡¯m not sure that even he is that stupid.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s four of us and one of him.¡± The brown-haired Healer confirmed. "He was confronted and probably felt backed in a corner when he attacked us the last time.¡± She shook her head. "He might be able to rationalize how we beat him last time as a fluke, but he¡¯s going to have to psych himself up a lot to start the fight.¡±

    ¡°So he¡¯ll hit us if he sees a chance, but otherwise he¡¯ll just watch us while being pissed?¡± I summarized.

    ¡°Pretty much.¡± Justia agreed.

    ¡°Does this mean we shouldn¡¯t split up?¡± I looked at Ether. "We¡¯d be able to do the snakes faster if we stayed together. But is that going to put us too far behind?¡± I had thought about doing the math, but I was too tired to think that much and I knew she¡¯d probably already calculated it.

    ¡°If we can up our speed to one every six minutes, then we¡¯d be able to do the same, but I¡¯m not sure if you can keep up with that pace.¡± Ether moved closer to me. She took my arm and urged me to sit down with her. Once we were sitting, the red-eyed woman moved behind me and started massaging my back. "You took a beating today from more than just the snakes. I don¡¯t know if we should be pushing you quite so hard.¡±

    ¡°Can we afford not to?¡± I closed my eyes trying not to feel guilty about the relief I was being given. "Can Rix afford for us not to?¡± I opened my eyes and looked at Justia, who was the only one I could see. "The floor boss is supposed to be fought with a team of six.¡± I nodded in Aelin¡®s direction. "When it was five, I had my doubts, but with four? And no gear?¡± I took a deep breath. "This feels like a suicide mission.¡±Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    ¡°I think that¡¯s what it¡¯s supposed to be.¡± Ether wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me tightly.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t Edward wanting to leave the team accomplish what they were trying to do?¡± I laid my head against her arms.

    ¡°If they were watching us, then maybe.¡± Justia shrugged. "But what they don¡¯t know is that the only way Mister Vowler is getting pulled off of the team is if you¡¯re not on it.¡± She shook her head. "That¡¯d just mean that they¡¯d try again to make us quit.¡±

    ¡°We have to prove that we deserve him to be our teacher.¡± Ether affirmed. "That we¡¯re better than they are. Beating the first floor boss in record time and with only four party members is a pretty good way to do that.¡±

    ¡°True.¡± I closed my eyes. "If we can do it.¡± I opened them and looked at Justia. "But if we do it, won¡¯t that bring too much attention to us?¡±

    ¡°How so?¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t things like floor clear time recorded? Won¡¯t every team be able to see that we beat the first floor boss in our first week?¡±

    ¡°I hadn¡¯t thought about that.¡± The green-skinned Healer looked concerned. "That¡¯s something I hadn¡¯t thought of.¡±

    ¡°Is hiding that you¡¯re an abnormal more important than Rix¡¯s life?¡± Ether leaned forward, resting her chin on my shoulder.

    ¡°No.¡± I hoped she couldn¡¯t tell that I didn¡¯t believe the answer. Honestly, if word got out and one or more of the Gods decided to level the Cathedral to kill me, then she¡¯d die anyway, even if we saved her here. I guess I wanted what I said to be true. I didn¡¯t want Rix to die to keep my secret safe. Not like this.

    ¡°I have a feeling that the ArchBishop will do something to keep it off the books.¡± I hoped he would anyway. "They could always say that we cheated somehow to keep us from getting credit. That would be enough to protect everyone.¡±

    ¡°That would work.¡± Ether mused. "So for tomorrow, we try to go a little faster than what the two of you were doing and we stick together, in case his highness decides to attack us.¡±

    ¡°Sounds like a plan.¡± I blinked back the exhaustion that was begging me to fall asleep. "All we have left is to figure out watch.¡±

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 19

    Justia and I took first watch.

    The night was fairly uneventful, I was glad that the only thing we had to fight were the Bramble Skeletons that wandered into camp.

    We drove the broken stakes into the ground around our small part of the river bank, using two of them to make an X, then laying a longer stick over the top of the X to make a fence that was as high as about halfway to my knee.

    The knee high monsters were able to fall over it, but it took them a moment to do so. Which worked in our favor since we were able to spot them before they reached the fence. All we had to do was wait for them to fall over and we could make quick work of the prone monster.

    After we finished off the fourth skellie, we woke up Ether and Aelin and tried to sleep ourselves. I found myself waking up at least every hour when camp got attacked, but the two women were capable of handling the thorny monsters.

    I was still exhausted when the sun started coming up, but I sat up anyway when the third monster attacked. We needed to start the day and I wasn¡¯t going to get much sleep anyway.

    ¡°How¡¯d you sleep?¡± Ether came over to sit beside me as Aelin put the crystal in the bag.

    ¡°Okay." I lied. "How was it last night?¡±

    ¡°Pretty normal." The white-haired Tank watched as Aelin woke up Justia. "How are you feeling?¡±

    I stretched. I was sore, tired, and cold. But none of that was going to change by complaining about it. ¡°I¡¯m ready to start running.¡± I stood up and started stretching.

    ¡°First breakfast!¡± Aelin smiled.

    I was glad that she was at least looking like she was her normal self. As much as we¡¯d been through the last few days, I¡¯d worried that it might be too much and break her spirit. I was glad that it hadn¡¯t, because her smiling made it easier for me to find something positive to focus on.

    ¡°Are you okay to start?¡± Justia came over and put her hand on my shoulder so she could look at me.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    The gesture startled me. It was the first time that we¡¯d had unnecessary contact. It wasn¡¯t unwelcome, it was just unexpected. She must have realized my surprise, because she pulled her hand away almost immediately.

    ¡°Sorry.¡± She looked down at her feet.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not a problem.¡± I touched her chin so she¡¯d look at me. "It just surprised me, that''s all.¡± I smiled. "I¡¯m glad that you¡¯re starting to feel safe around me.¡±

    ¡°Safe?¡± Aelin eyed the two of us. "What¡¯d you do to her?¡±

    ¡°Nothing!¡± I waved my hands as I backed up.

    ¡°Nothing?¡± Aelin eyed us. Justia looked embarrassed and that wasn¡¯t helping my case.

    ¡°When we first got here, Justia caught me in a¡­¡± I searched for the right words. "Compromising position.¡±

    Aelin raised her eyebrows and looked at Ether.

    ¡°Not with me.¡± The white-haired woman folded her arms in front of her.

    ¡°I mean there was that one time¡­¡± I realized that I was starting to ramble.

    ¡°That wasn¡¯t when you first got here!¡± Ether cut me off. "Besides, I don¡¯t remember you being the one in a compromising position at the time.¡±

    Aelin grinned and pointed at me. "You¡¯re a player!¡±

    ¡°No!¡± My heart was beating faster. "The first time wasn¡¯t my fault! I didn¡¯t do anything!¡±

    ¡°So you just stood there and let some random woman have her way with you?¡± The blonde woman raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°Exactly!¡±

    ¡°And Justia caught you..?¡± Aelin looked at our Healer.

    ¡°With his pants about to be around his ankles.¡± Justia finished.

    Aelin doubled over laughing.

    My face was red and I could feel my ears burning while my heart was trying to burst out of my chest so it could run away.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Ether patted me on the shoulder. "Everyone has their moments.¡± She eyed Aelin. "It¡¯ll just make it that much more fun to tease her when it¡¯s her turn to be embarrassed.¡±

    ¡°Nope, not going to happen.¡± Aelin shook her head. "Anywhere that I¡¯d be doing something like that, will be somewhere that you¡¯ll never be able to get into.¡±

    ¡°So you have plans to do something like that?¡± Ether teased.

    My own embarrassment began to subside as Aelin and Justia¡¯s faces both turned red.

    ¡°I-uh¡­¡± Aelin looked away. "Just meant I¡¯m not a horn dog like some people.¡±

    ¡°Ri-i-ight.¡± Ether started walking into the woods. "Then let¡¯s get this horn dog running before he gets any ideas that might embarrass you.¡±

    The other two women hurried after her without a word. I groaned as I brought up the rear. If the dungeon didn¡¯t kill me, this party might just embarrass me to death.

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 20

    We farmed for six hours.

    We had grabbed a few pieces of fruit to eat on the way and continued to our farming spot. That kept us satiated while we worked, but we had to stop for lunch. Once we trekked back to the fruit tree, we cut through the woods back to the river for water.

    Aelin was counting the snake crystals while the rest of us took the chance to catch our breath.

    ¡°How¡¯re you holding up?¡± Ether came over and sat down next to me. She wrapped her arms around my left arm and wove her fingers through mine.

    ¡°I¡¯ll make it.¡± I looked up at the sky. "Once Aelin finishes counting, we¡¯re going to have to get back out there.¡± I looked at the red-eyed woman. "We won¡¯t have enough time to double whatever we¡¯ve gotten so far.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯ll be okay.¡± Ether¡¯s voice softened. It almost sounded like she was trying to reassure herself more than me.

    ¡°I know.¡± I squeezed her hand. "We¡¯ve got plenty of time to meet the deadline.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m afraid of.¡± She said. "There¡¯s so much that can go wrong.¡± She laid her head on my shoulder. "I¡¯ll be surprised if we get to the boss tomorrow without something else going wrong.¡±

    ¡°Forty-seven!¡± Aelin declared.

    Everyone looked at Ether. Somehow she¡¯d been keeping up with how much experience everyone had. I¡¯d been having to remember how many crystals we¡¯d gotten each day, divide it by the people who were present, then add each day up. Yesterday was when that¡¯d been too many numbers for me to keep up with. Since Ether seemed to have a running tally, I¡¯d given up on trying to remember all the numbers.

    ¡°Seventy seven.¡± She unwove her left hand so she could point at me and Aelin. "Justia and I have eighty.¡±

    ¡°Where does that put us?¡± Justia got up, prompting all of us to do so as well.

    ¡°It¡¯ll be tomorrow morning when we level now.¡± Ether started walking.

    We let her take the lead as we followed after her.

    ¡°What do you think will happen when we hit level two?¡± Aelin looked at me.

    I was about to ask her why she thought I¡¯d know, then realized I had the other two women¡¯s attention as well. Given that I¡¯d worked beside Adventurers for the last four years, it kind of made sense that they think I¡¯d know something.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    I tried to remember what I¡¯d overheard.

    ¡°Since we don¡¯t have crystal bands, the only way for us to know what abilities we get is right when we level.¡± I thought about the one time I¡¯d seen someone level up. Farmers were always on floors that were on a lower tier than they were, which gave them a heavy experience penalty. Because of that, it took Farmers much much longer to level than the Explorers who were pushing the deepest floors.

    ¡°We¡¯ll glow for a second and if we get an ability, then you¡¯ll hear what it is.¡± I looked at them. "That¡¯s all I know.¡±

    ¡°Seems simple enough.¡± Ether stopped walking sideways so she could pay better attention to where she was leading us.

    ¡°What do you think we¡¯ll get?¡± Aelin was skipping as we walked.

    ¡°There are catalogs with every class that¡¯s been discovered as well as the skills, spells, and abilities each one has learned and the level ranges that those abilities have been acquired.¡± Justia answered. "Part of the curriculum is supposed to be for each of us to look through the catalog and decide which class we want to aim for and to help us build our stats and abilities to achieve that goal.¡±

    ¡°Do you know what class you¡¯re going to be going for?¡± The blonde had her full attention on Justia.

    ¡°My father is Priest and my mother is a Curate.¡± She looked at me. "Both went for a pure Healer class. I had planned to do that as well, but¡­¡± Her voice trailed off.

    ¡°But what?¡± Aelin was bouncing around us in a half circle.

    ¡°But after this exercise, I¡¯m starting to think that I might want to get an offensive subclass.¡± She turned to the blonde. "Even if I stop pushing to go deeper in the dungeon, I should be able to defend myself.¡±

    ¡°Cool!¡± She skipped over to Ether. "What about the two of you? Have you thought about what you¡¯re going to do?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to see what there is.¡± Ether seemed to be thinking. "I¡¯ve seen the catalog, but that¡¯s something the Mundanes didn¡¯t have easy access to.¡± She shrugged. "I would have never thought I¡¯d be a Tank, so the little I did think about it, that wasn¡¯t one of the options I considered.¡±

    ¡°What were you going to be?¡± Aelin grinned

    ¡°I thought I¡¯d be either a Caster or a Shooter.¡± She looked at me when she said Caster. "But neither of those work well with being a Tank, so I¡¯ll have to look at it more once I get a chance." She looked at the joyous woman. "What about you?¡±

    Aelin stopped in her tracks. Her face got somber. "I¡¯d hoped that I¡¯d be a Healer." she looked at Justia. "So I could save people like my mother.¡± She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them. His smile started to return. "But this works too. As a Buffer, I can help everyone do better.¡± She looked at me. "What about you, Atlas?¡±

    ¡°I thought I¡¯d be a Hitter.¡± I shrugged. "With as much work as I did for the Porters, it just made sense to me.¡± I slashed at some of the underbrush. "I even tried practicing with weapons in the little downtime I had. Sometimes the Adventurers would give me pointers, but that wasn¡¯t the way my stats came out.¡±

    ¡°So Justia is the only one who got the class she wanted.¡± Aelin laughed. "I guess that shows the Gods know more about us than we do!¡±

    I saw the uneasy look that Justia gave me. I wondered what Aelin was going to think when she learned the truth. I just hoped everything worked out whenever that day arrived.

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 21

    I was ready to camp where we were.

    After five hours of running almost nonstop, I needed a break. In order to try to get more monsters in, after I passed off the snake, I headed right back out into the grass. I slowed down to a trot until they killed it, then started running again.

    The upside to this was, I knew we¡¯d beaten more snakes than this morning. The downside was, I was wiped.

    ¡°We need to at least get into the bridge.¡± Ether handed me an orange. We¡¯d picked a few pieces of fruit on our way here and they were eating them now.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be good to go once I catch my breath.¡± I hooked my thumb in the peel, but my arms were too tired to peel it back.

    Ether took the orange for me and started to peel it.

    ¡°Are we camping here?¡± Aelin''s voice wavered.

    ¡°No." I pushed myself up. "We¡¯re going.¡±

    Ether pulled my left arm across her shoulders as she braced me up. "You pushed yourself too far.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± I ate a slice of orange. My legs felt like noodles and I wobbled like a newborn calf as I walked.

    ¡°You don¡¯t look fine.¡± Justice eyed me. "I think even Aelin could push you over right now.¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡± The blonde protested. "I¡¯m strong!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re weaker than me." The white-haired woman keeping me standing replied. "And my Power is four.¡±

    ¡°Stats aren¡¯t everything!¡± Aelin huffed

    ¡°No they aren¡¯t.¡± My lungs felt like I was breathing cold air, but the temperature hadn¡¯t changed at all. ¡°They¡¯re just trying to make a joke so we don¡¯t have to talk about how I may have overdone it.¡±You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    ¡°May?¡± Ether flexed her elbow and I almost fell over. I would have if Justia hadn¡¯t grabbed my other side.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got you.¡± The brunette draped my right arm over her shoulders.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± I was becoming acutely aware of how much I¡¯d over used my body.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry that I don¡¯t have a healing spell.¡± Our healer shifted my wait. "Maybe you don¡¯t take a turn on watch tonight.¡±

    ¡°Not happening!¡± I shook my head. "Three people can¡¯t handle watch. Especially with Grumpy running around.¡±

    ¡°We can figure it out.¡± Ether looked at the person leading our march. "Are you okay with that Aelin?¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Aelin began walking backwards so she could look at us. "Watch isn¡¯t that difficult and he needs rest.¡±

    ¡°No!¡± I tried to struggle free, but I couldn¡¯t break out of their grasp. Fear crawled down to my toes as I realized just how vulnerable we were if Edward came looking for revenge right now.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to rest tonight and that¡¯s final.¡± Ether squeezed my hand. "We need you at your best tomorrow when we fight the boss.¡±

    I started to argue, but I could tell I wasn¡¯t going to win. It was three against one and they could literally hold me down right now. I was getting to see a more caring side of Justia at the moment, but I had no doubt that the brunette Healer would be willing to choke me out if I refused to sleep. And I also knew that right now, neither of the other two women would stop her.

    I sighed as we kept walking. I eyed the orange in Justia¡¯s hand. She had taken it from me, or maybe she¡¯d caught it when she¡¯d grabbed my arm, I didn¡¯t remember,.

    ¡°Could I have some of my orange?¡±

    Justia tore out a section and put it in my mouth, she offered the rest to Ether. "Nope, too weird.¡±

    Ether laughed as she split the orange into sections. She slowly fed them to me. I¡¯d expected Justia to drop me after her declaration, but she supported me all the way back to where we had camped the night before. Once we got there, she helped me sit down before going to talk to Aelin.

    I was strong enough to move on my own again, but they hadn¡¯t wanted to let me go, so I¡¯d let them dote on me.

    ¡°I¡¯m serious.¡± I looked at Ether. "I can¡­¡±

    Her kiss silenced me. I embraced her and kissed her back, she let me pull her closer to me. The rest of the world seemed to melt away as it slowly just became us. Nothing hurt anymore as I drank her in. I didn¡¯t feel tired, I just felt us.

    She broke the connection after what seemed like too short of time.

    ¡°Atlas, I love you, but if you don¡¯t shut up and do what you¡¯re¡­¡± Shock covered her face as she realized what she¡¯d just said.

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 22

    She tried to bolt.

    I didn¡¯t blame her. After how her family had treated her, I¡¯d wondered how she¡¯d react if words like that were ever said to her. I definitely hadn¡¯t expected her to say it and given how her first reaction was to hide and not try to take it back, I had a feeling that while shocking as it was, it had been true.

    I wasn¡¯t going to leave her hanging.

    ¡°Hey, hey, hey.¡± I grabbed her arms, suddenly aware of my weariness again. Adrenaline surged through me as I pulled her back down to her knees in front of me. I almost fell over as I sat down too fast. I started to let go of her with one hand so I could catch myself, but I knew I wouldn¡¯t be able to hold onto her with just one hand.

    I pulled her against me.

    She had to brace to keep both of us from falling over, which gave me the opportunity to change my grip so I could wrap her in a hug.

    My mouth was next to her left ear. I felt her trembling. "You don¡¯t have to be scared.¡± I pulled back just a little so I could look into her red eyes. "I¡¯m not like the other people in your past that you¡¯ve loved who hurt you.¡± She tried to look away and I bobbed my head to follow her gaze. "Hey, I know I¡¯ve only known you for six days and I may not know much about what is going on in this place, but I know one thing for certain.¡±

    Aelin was stomping her feet in excitement. I tried to ignore the bubbling blonde.

    ¡°I know that I love you.¡± I slowly started to relax my grip. I could still feel her buzzing with nervous energy, but she wasn¡¯t pulling away anymore. Which was good because that last burst of energy had really tapped me out. I wouldn¡¯t be able to hold her for much longer.

    ¡°I know that it probably sounds empty, especially with how I am right now, but I promise you. I am going to do everything I can to keep you safe.¡± I looked over at Justia and Aelin. "All of you.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    I turned back to Ether and dropped my arms. If she¡¯d pulled away, she would have been able to break free. And as much as she probably needed that reassurance, I just didn¡¯t have the strength to hold them up.

    ¡°Ether?¡±

    She was so frozen it was like she was staring right through me.

    ¡°Ether, are you okay?¡±

    ¡°Kiss her!¡± Aelin urged.

    ¡°Aelin, would you please¡­¡±

    Ether cut me off as she kissed me again. I felt the hunger in this kiss again, the need. I kissed her back, letting her know that this was real.

    She released me and I noticed tears running down her face. She wiped them away with the back of her hand, then hugged me.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± She whispered into my ear before pulling back. "Now you need to get some sleep.¡±

    I wanted to argue, but she was right.

    ¡°Promise to wake me up if Edward shows up.¡± I looked from Ether to the other two women.

    ¡°Promise!¡± Aelin giggled.

    The other two just nodded.

    ¡°Good.¡± My eyes closed and I forced them back open. I was still sitting and needed to lay down first, but there were still things that I wanted to know.

    ¡°How many did we get?¡±

    There was silence for a few moments until Aelin realized that everyone was looking at her. "Oh, me?!¡± She bit her lip as she thought. "It was¡­ Forty-Eight!¡±

    I looked at Ether. "How¡¯d we do?¡±

    The white-haired tank did some quick math in her head. "Eighty-nine.¡± She pointed at me and Aelin. "Ninety-two.¡± She motioned from herself to Justia.

    ¡°How long will it take us¡­¡± I pushed back a wave of exhaustion. "How long will it take us to hit level two?¡±

    She thought for another moment. "We should hit it by noon tomorrow.¡± She held up a hand to stop my next question. "Without you pushing yourself like this again.

    I nodded and eased myself to the ground. I wanted to tell them to wake me for guard duty, but I knew they¡¯d ignore me. I closed my eyes and sleep took me immediately.

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 23

    They didn¡¯t wake me up.

    I hadn¡¯t expected them to, but part of me had hoped they would. I hated that I had placed some of the burden on them, but they had taken it, so I wasn¡¯t going to ride them about it.

    Ether was lying on me with her head on my chest. I hadn¡¯t felt her lay down next to me, so they might have tried to wake me last night and I had just been too out of it to respond.

    Aelin walked up and stood on my other side. "Sleep well?¡±

    I nodded as I sat up, taking Ether with me and slowly waking her up. ¡°Morning.¡± I kissed her forehead as she blinked.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get going lovebirds!¡± Aelin shook both of us. "We¡¯re burning daylight and we¡¯ve got a damsel to save!¡±

    I chuckled. "Can I be the one to tell Rix you referred to her as a damsel?¡±

    Aelin stopped her dance around us. "Please don¡¯t. You know I was joking.¡±

    ¡°Sounds like we have to now.¡± Ether stretched as she stood up. She held out a hand to help me.

    ¡°JUSTIA!¡± Aelin scampered off to find the brunette Healer.

    I thought about just getting up on my own, but I took the hand. I didn¡¯t need it, but that didn¡¯t mean that I wasn¡¯t grateful for the help. After a full night¡¯s sleep, my body was feeling much better than it had the night before.

    ¡°Any trouble last night?¡±

    Ether shook her head. "Justia and I took first watch, then Aelin switched out and then I switched out with Justia. If anything exciting happened, it was after I went to sleep.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡± I looked around, I didn¡¯t see Justia or Aelin, which was weird, but if the two of them were together, I wasn¡¯t going to go looking for them. I didn¡¯t want to be the one to catch an eyeful in case they were doing something more personal. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    ¡°Have you thought about the boss?¡± Ether was trying to look busy straightening a few things.

    There wasn¡¯t really anything to tidy up. Honestly, if everything went well, we wouldn¡¯t be coming back here tonight and maybe not ever. The penalty for farming below your level wasn¡¯t as harsh as going down a tier, but there was still a penalty. So once we hit level two, we¡¯d need to do our farming on the second level.

    ¡°Do you think they¡¯re..?¡± I couldn¡¯t think of a polite word to use for the possibilities that were running through my mind. "Okay?¡±

    Ether laughed. "No, I don¡¯t think they¡¯re hooking up.¡± She tilted her head. "Okay, maybe they¡¯re hooking up, but Justia is way too wound up about expectations and appearances to do much?¡±

    ¡°You think Justia is the limiting factor?¡± I¡¯d assumed that it¡¯d be Aelin, but maybe I was just bad at reading women.

    ¡°Have you been around the woman for a minute?¡± Ether chuckled. "That girl might act reserved about that stuff, but she¡¯s a freak.¡± She shook her head. "Like I told Justia last night, Aelin is very open to something like that.¡±

    ¡°Huh." Maybe Justia wouldn¡¯t kill me for outing her crush. "How long do you think we should give them before we interrupt their fun?¡±

    ¡°That depends, lover.¡± She batted her red eyes at me. "How long do you want to take to have some fun of our own?¡±

    My heart skipped, I almost walked over and grabbed her, but deadlines loomed in my mind. "Is this another test?¡±

    ¡°Could be.¡± She gave me a roguish smile. "Or maybe not. There¡¯s an easy way to find out.¡±

    I took a step forward and grabbed her arm, pulling her close to me. I got so close that our noses touched. I felt her press into me, begging me to cross that invisible boundary between our lips.

    ¡°Work first.¡± I felt her body relax like she was disappointed. I took that moment to kiss her. Her eyes shot open in surprise as I ran my fingers through her hair. She leaned into the kiss, so I held it longer than I¡¯d planned. I pulled away, her lips followed mine for just a little bit as she tried to prolong the moment.

    ¡°We can play later.¡± I kissed her forehead. ¡°Let¡¯s go embarrass the lovebirds.¡±

    ¡°Lovebirds?!?¡±

    I spun around and moved Ether behind me. Edward was at the edge of the clearing. Aelin was unconscious over his left shoulder and he was dragging Justia with his hand holding her at the base of her skull. He had the ax and the dagger in his free hand.

    ¡°That will make this more fun.¡±

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 24

    We were screwed.

    That wasn¡¯t the best way to put it, but it was the word I was choosing to use. Ether had a knife, but that wasn¡¯t going to do anything against the reach of the ax or the dagger. Plus he had hostages, which would make fighting him that much more difficult.

    ¡°Put them down.¡± I ordered.

    ¡°You don¡¯t give the orders around here.¡± He tightened his grip on Justia,

    ¡°OW!¡± She let out a sharp scream.

    ¡°I swear." Anger boiled inside me. We did not have time for this. ¡°If you hurt them anymore, you won¡¯t live to regret it.¡±

    ¡°A Mundane thinks he¡¯s above a Noble?¡± Edward let Aelin fall off his shoulder. She fell awkwardly in a pile on the ground. He tossed Justia to the side and swapped the ax over to his right hand. ¡°You think just because you beat me once. Just because you HUMILIATED me, that allows you to give me orders?¡± He pointed the ax at me. "I¡¯m going to teach you exactly what the difference between a Noble and a Mundane is.¡±

    He didn¡¯t give me a chance to respond. He just charged.

    I picked up one of the long sticks and swung it wide to halt his advance. He tried to close the distance before I could reverse it for a backswing, but I hadn¡¯t been planning for a backswing.

    I¡¯d wanted enough time to get close to the embers of our campfire.

    I could see the confusion on his face when I let go of the stick. I¡¯d learned something from watching Rix fight. Forms are well and good, but you need to be able to fight dirty.

    I swept my foot through the ashes, throwing a cloud to wash over him.

    ¡°Gah!¡± Edward brought both of his hands up to wipe at his face.

    I hadn¡¯t waited to see what would happen, I trusted that he wouldn¡¯t swing and closed the distance. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    I grabbed the ax and wrenched it out of his hands. He slashed with the dagger, forcing me back, but at least now I had a weapon.

    ¡°CHEATER!¡± He roared as his veins began to pop.

    ¡°Did you really think that I was just going to stand here and let you hit me without fighting back?¡± I pointed the ax at him. ¡°I¡¯ve got the longer reach and you¡¯re wounded.¡± I started rotating to my left, and he took the bait and moved in a circle with me.

    Ether had stayed behind me and once we were in position I partly turned so I could see her and keep an eye on Edward. "Make sure they¡¯re okay.¡±

    ¡°HEY!¡± STOP!¡± Edward started to move towards the women, but I moved in front of him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get distracted.¡± I waved the ax head in between us. "You¡¯re fighting me, remember?¡±

    ¡°Get out of my way!¡± He slashed, but the difference in our speeds made it easy to avoid.

    I knew exactly what Edward¡¯s stats were because Trent had told us. He was a ten - three - six - two - six - eight. That basically meant that while he could hit hard, he couldn¡¯t take a punch.

    I stepped towards the embers, which backed him up. "Why are you doing this?¡± I kept backing him up towards the water.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t in control here!¡± He started slashing. "I¡¯M IN CONTROL!¡±

    I was torn by what to do. I reversed the ax, so that I¡¯d hit him with the flat side instead of the sharp side. That¡¯d keep me from chopping anything off, but in order to be effective, I was still going to have to hit him hard enough to break something.

    I let him drive me backwards and began angling towards the firepit again. Edward saw what I was doing and shifted, trying to move there himself.

    I parried a slash and started thinking about where to hit him. I didn¡¯t want to kill him, so the head was a no-no. Arms would be fine, but harder to connect. That left the body and legs. I was concerned about how much damage I¡¯d do if I broke a rib. Which left the legs.

    I parried another slash and he was closer to the campfire. I saw triumph in his face as he shifted over and readied his right leg to kick ashes at me. Since the campfire was on his left, he had to take a few more moments to get in position, which gave me plenty of time to back up. I was safely out of range, but he still was launching the kick.

    His foot came down but dust never came up. He went rigid and fell over.

    I ran over and pulled him off of the embers. The jumpsuit had protected his body and he¡¯d mostly gotten his knees in the middle of the firepit. As I rolled him over and began examining him I noticed a huge knot on his head. He hadn¡¯t come close to hitting anything when he fell.

    ¡°Did I kill him?¡± I was surprised to hear Aelin¡¯s voice.

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 25

    Aelin had thrown a rock.

    It was the size of a baseball and even with an okay recovery stat, he was going to be out for a while.

    ¡°He¡¯s breathing!¡± I turned around and saw her down on one knee.

    Justia was on the ground, leaning up against a tree with Ether supporting her. The brunette healer looked like she had taken a beating. While Aelin just had a nice fist sized bruise on the side of her face.

    I collected the dagger, then grabbed Edward by the arm and dragged him over to where the women were.

    ¡°Are you sure he¡¯s not dead?¡± Aelin shook as she got up and came over to see for herself.

    ¡°He¡¯s still breathing.¡± I eyed her. "Unless that wasn¡¯t the plan?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to kill him!¡± The blonde glared at me. "Okay, maybe a little. Do you see what he did to Justia!¡±

    I looked at our Healer. She looked roughed up, but with her recovery stat, most of it would be gone by the next morning.

    ¡°Anything else hurt?¡± I turned from Justia to Aelin.

    ¡°Just my face.¡± Aelin rubbed her face, then dropped to her knees to hug Justia. "Are you going to be okay?¡±

    ¡°Not if you keep squeezing me like that.¡± Justia tried to smile, but her split lip made the movement look very strange.

    ¡°Sorry!¡± Aelin pulled away. "I¡¯m so sorry! I didn¡¯t mean to hurt you!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Justia put her right hand on Aelin¡¯s shoulder. "I liked the hug, just maybe not so hard.¡±The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°Okay!¡± Aelin hugged Justia again.

    I could tell by the wince that it hurt, but I wasn¡¯t going to be the one to tell her to stop.

    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re going to be okay? You¡¯re not hurt anywhere else?¡± I looked at Ether for confirmation.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Justia brought her arm up so that she could rub Aelin¡¯s back.

    Ether nodded her agreement.

    ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯ll be fine, but that means we have another, very serious topic.¡± I pointed at the blonde Noble. "What are we going to do with him? We can¡¯t tie him up and if we leave him alone, he¡¯s going to keep coming after us.¡±

    ¡°He won¡¯t be able to reach us in a few hours.¡± Ether pointed out. "He won¡¯t be able to beat the boss by himself and we¡¯ll be on level two.¡±

    I liked her optimism, but I wasn¡¯t sure how long the vines had held him. "What if he gets out before we level up? This fight has already delayed us by an hour and We¡¯re not going to be able to move as quickly through the woods.¡± I eyed them. "I don¡¯t think we can afford another delay.¡±

    Aelin looked up. "You can¡¯t kill him!¡± She looked at each of us. "We¡¯re not like that. We don¡¯t do that. Do we?¡±

    I took a deep breath and sighed. "Killing him would be simpler, but I don¡¯t want to do that either unless it is absolutely necessary.¡± I looked at the women. "Any other ideas?¡±

    There was silence for way too long. I could tell by the look on Ether¡¯s face that she had an idea, but by her hesitation, I felt like it was one I wasn¡¯t going to like.

    ¡°Ether, do you have an idea?¡±

    She closed her eyes. "Break his legs.¡±

    ¡°WHAT?!?¡± Aelin looked from Ether to me, then to Justia. "We can do that! If we do that then¡­¡± Her voice trailed off.

    ¡°His recovery stat is high enough that he¡¯ll be able to walk in a few weeks. With a healer, that¡¯s a few just a few minutes.¡± Ether opened her eyes. "It¡¯s brutal, but it ensures that he won¡¯t be able to follow us and he can fight off any Skelies that might find him.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s only going to make him madder, but¡­¡± Justia shook her head. "But when we¡¯re talking about Rix¡¯s life..?¡±

    I hefted the ax that was still in my hands. I¡¯d been prepared to do it while fighting him, but now it felt dirty, almost vile. The thing was, if I didn¡¯t do it, then one of my team members was going to have to. I had no doubt that Justia would, and the low Power stat was the only reason why Ether wouldn¡¯t do it, but I didn¡¯t want either of them to have to shoulder this. I took a deep breath. "I¡¯ll do it.¡±

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 26

    I broke both of them.

    At first, I was only going to break one, but on the off chance the pampered noble knew how to cobble together a splint and a walking stick, then he would still be able to chase us down. I decided the best way to keep both himself and us safe would be to make sure that he stayed put. We¡¯d been there for two nights, so he should be fairly safe and he¡¯d also be easy to find when we told Trent about what happened.

    I could tell that only Ether had been expecting me to break both of them when Justia gasped and Aelin screamed. I knew Ether had said legs and even I had been considering only one, so I didn¡¯t blame them for being shocked.

    ¡°Can you walk?¡± I offered Justia my hand. I wanted to get as far aware from this place as I could right now. I had something I could focus on to get my mind off of things and I was going to hone in on it.

    ¡°Yes.¡± The brunette healer patted Aelin on the back. "Aelin, you¡¯ve got to let go so I can get up.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t prepared for the tears on Aelin¡¯s face. I felt like I had to apologize. "Aelin I¡¯m sorry¡­If there had been any other way¡­I¡¯m¡­ Are you going to be okay?¡±

    The usually cheerful blonde sniffled. "Are you sure he¡¯s going to be okay?¡±

    I took her hand and led her away, so she wouldn¡¯t have to look at him. "He¡¯s going to be fine. He¡¯ll be in a lot of pain, but Trent is picking us up tomorrow and I¡¯ll make sure that the first thing he does is come and get Edward.¡± I knew it wasn¡¯t justification, but maybe it would ease her mind, even though it hadn¡¯t worked on me. "Once he gets to a Healer, it¡¯ll be like it never happened.¡± I put my hand on her cheeks. She flinched, but didn¡¯t back away. I looked into her brown eyes. "What happened here was horrible. What¡¯s happened here for the last few days has been horrible, but we¡¯re going to get through it. Okay?¡±Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

    She nodded and I heard Justia and Ether approaching. Ether was carrying the ax and the dagger and she had Rix¡¯s knife on her hip. I realized I¡¯d dropped the ax at some point after I¡¯d done the deed.

    ¡°Everyone good?¡± I swallowed and hoped they said yes, because I sure wasn¡¯t.

    No one was enthusiastic, so I assumed that meant they felt bad too.

    ¡°Let¡¯s focus on leveling up so we can save Rix.¡± I heard rustling in the bushes. I snatched the ax out of Ether¡¯s hands and lept at the Bramble Skeleton. I destroyed it with one swipe. My heart was racing as Ether came over and picked up the crystal. She handed it to Aelin, who put it in the bag.

    ¡°That¡¯s one.¡± I looked at Ether. "How many more?¡±

    ¡°Twenty for me and Justia." Our white haired tank looked at me. "Thirty two for you and Aelin.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s keep count.¡± I held out the ax to Justia. As good as it felt to smash something, there was only going to be one more Skelie before we started farming and I had a feeling that she needed to hit something a lot more than I did.

    She took the ax, but had shame on her face. Like it was a cursed item.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you let Aelin and I handle things for a while?¡± Ether held out the dagger for Aelin.

    Our blonde Buffer looked relieved as she took the weapon. Ether took the ax from Justia and walked out in front of the group. I had a feeling that none of us were going to be able to use a hammer type weapon for a while.

    ¡°We can do this.¡± I hoped that I didn¡¯t seem too unfazed. But he was alive and we needed to focus on keeping Rix that way.

    The pair nodded and started walking after Ether. I noticed that it wasn¡¯t long before they were hand in hand.

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 27

    I ran as fast as I could.

    I knew that after yesterday, I didn¡¯t need to push myself as hard, but I wanted to feel the burn. I wanted to feel the pain.

    So I ran like every monster on the floor was chasing me.

    Justia sat out the first ten, but took her ax back and started helping on the last ten.

    ¡°Twenty!¡± The women cheered and I saw Justia and Ether glowing.

    I had completely forgotten about the count, I¡¯d just been running. I was already too far away, so I continued with the arc and angled back to the road. I heard the familiar rustle of grass as the snake chased me. Once I hit the road, I stopped. Then I remembered why I kept going.

    The snake crashed into me and began to wrap itself around me.

    ¡°LOOK AT ME!¡±

    Ether¡¯s roar felt like she was shaking me. I realized what was happening the moment the snake began uncoiling. I had felt something similar before back in Zeb. Many times in fact. Ether had learned a taunt.

    The snake turned its attention to a new target, but I rolled over, grabbing on to it so it couldn¡¯t proceed.

    The monster froze for a minute, then turned its head to look at me and vanished in a cloud of smoke as Justia took off its head.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± I got up and realized she was pointing at me, Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°Minor Heal Wounds.¡±

    My body glowed for a moment, then I could feel the bruises and cuts fading.

    ¡°You got a healing spell! Congratulations! I appreciate the healing, but you really should have¡­¡± I turned to Aelin and saw the bruise on the side of her face was gone. "You¡¯ve already healed Aelin.¡±

    ¡°Sorry." Justia looked away. " You had more¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I was still wrestling a snake.¡± I pointed at her. "Why haven¡¯t you healed yourself?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve tried, it doesn¡¯t work on the caster apparently.¡±

    ¡°Ouch. Well, we¡¯ll see about getting you a better one once we get out of here.¡± I looked over at Ether. "And you got a taunt! Congrats!¡± I walked over and wrapped her in a hug, lifting her off her feet.

    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure it only works on one target.¡± Ether was smiling when I put her down.

    ¡°That¡¯s still good. Now you can pull aggro.¡± I looked at her jumpsuit. "Though we probably need to get you some actual armor before we really start using it.¡±

    The white-haired Tank nodded. Everyone still seemed a little down, but at least there were some smiles.

    ¡°Are you ready to go again?¡± I nodded at Aelin. "We only need twelve more, right?¡±

    ¡°Twelve more.¡± Ether agreed.

    ¡°Then let''s get this thing finished.¡± I started jogging. "Maybe I can go fast enough that we finish in an hour!¡±

    I took off and started running. I knew I wasn¡¯t being taunted, but I couldn¡¯t help but turn every time I heard Ether shout ¡®Look at Me¡¯. It seemed like they were able to finish off the snakes faster, since the snake would have to switch who it was targeting to go after Ether.

    Which meant the one holding things up was me, but as fast as I ran, I wasn¡¯t able to get any more than one every six minutes.

    This time I paid attention to the count and on the twelfth one stopped and turned around.

    Ether taunted as soon as it hit the trail, forcing it to slide as it tried to change targets. There wasn¡¯t anything for me to do as Justia took off its head, turning it to dust. I felt a warmth wash over me and heard an almost robotic voice.

    ¡°Level two. Acquired spell pebble shot. Acquired skill dash.¡±

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 28

    I¡¯d earned two abilities.

    I didn¡¯t know anything about how many a normal person was supposed to learn, but I had gotten two.

    I had a feeling that if I told Aelin about how many abilities that I¡¯d got, then she¡¯d know something was different about me, but I didn¡¯t know how I wasn¡¯t going to use another skill, especially one that sounded as useful as Dash.

    I had completely forgotten that Aelin had leveled up too when I felt my skin tense.

    ¡°Atlas?¡± Aelin got in my face to get my attention. ¡°Did you feel anything?¡±

    ¡°What did you do to me?¡± I felt weird, but couldn¡¯t put my finger on what was different.

    Aelin knocked on my arm. Instead of it being spongy and giving, it gave off a solid thunk.

    ¡°It¡¯s Harden!¡± She smiled and seemed genuinely happy.

    I tried pushing on my own arm, and it definitely was stiffer, but I could still move my arm around like normal. It was like my skin only got hard when it got hit.

    ¡°That¡¯s really cool. I¡¯m sure Ether will enjoy it a lot since we don¡¯t have armor right now.¡± I needed to find a way to talk to Justia and probably Ether too, but definitely Justia.

    ¡°Yeah, but it only works on one target at a time.¡± I saw a mischievous glint in her eyes. "I know something else I could use it to harden that Ether might enjoy too.¡± She wiggled her eyebrows at me.

    ¡°Whoa!¡± I held up my hands. "I don¡¯t need any help in that department!¡± I could feel my ears burning and my cheeks were hot.

    Ether started laughing, which encouraged Aelin to join in. I could tell that Justia was trying to hold back, but the laughter was so contagious that she broke down and joined them.

    ¡°Okay, we¡¯ve had our laughs.¡± I sighed as they tried to calm down.

    ¡°What did you get?¡± The bubbly blonde started dancing around in the middle of the trail.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    I pointed at the road. "Pebble Shot.¡±

    Two rocks the size of marbles shot out of my finger. They shattered as they hit the ground, leaving small indentations.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Aelin looked at me. "Something.¡±

    ¡°I think it would have trouble hitting the skellies and as fast as the snakes are, I¡¯m not sure if I could hit them either.¡± I shrugged. "But maybe it¡¯ll be useful against the floor boss.¡±

    ¡°Maybe!¡± Aelin shielded her eyes as she looked in the direction of where the door was. "Are we going there now?¡±

    I looked at the other two. "We¡¯ve got enough fruit for tonight, might as well head that way.¡±

    They nodded and Aelin began skipping as we started walking down the trail. It would have been faster if we¡¯d cut through the grass, but I think we were all tired of fighting snakes.

    I motioned for Justia to hang back. She slowed down until the two of us were walking side by side. Ether must have noticed what we were doing because she ran ahead and started talking to Aelin about something.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Justia looked concerned.

    ¡°I got two abilities.¡±

    I would have thought that I¡¯d be used to Justia¡¯s The Sky Is Green face, but I wasn¡¯t.

    ¡°Two?¡±

    I nodded.

    ¡°What else did you get?¡± She looked skeptical.

    ¡°Dash.¡± I stumbled as my legs started moving faster than I was used to.

    ¡°Atlas! You okay?¡± Aelin yelled from almost a hundred feet away.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, Aelin!¡± I dusted myself off. "I tripped over my own feet!¡± It wasn¡¯t a lie.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect it to go off just by naming it.¡±

    I got to see the face again.

    ¡°Okay, so I don¡¯t know exactly how spells and skills work.¡± I shrugged. "But this creates a problem.¡±

    ¡°With you trying to kill yourself?¡± Justia raised an eyebrow. "Because that skill seems dangerous.¡±

    ¡°I agree. I¡¯m going to have to get used to it.¡± I looked at her. "But if Aelin hasn¡¯t figured out that I¡¯m an Abnormal by now, she definitely will once she sees me use a second skill.¡±

    ¡°What are you saying?¡± I saw concern on her face.

    ¡°I¡¯m asking if you think we can trust her.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± The green-skinned Healer looked up the road. At first, I thought she was looking at Aelin, but then I realized she was looking at Ether. "And you want to know what I think?¡±

    ¡°I might love Ether, but you¡¯re the one who got bound to me.¡± I shook my head. "I¡¯m pretty sure that means if I die, you die.¡± I kicked a rock. "So I want to know what you think, because you probably know her the best.¡±

    Justia stopped walking and I made it a few steps before I turned and looked at her.

    ¡°I think we can trust her.¡± Justia took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

    ¡°I was hoping you¡¯d say that.¡± I swallowed. "So we need to have a long team conversation before we fight this boss.¡±

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 29

    They were all sitting in front of the boss door.

    I was pacing, because I had no idea how to start the conversation. With Ether, she¡¯d figured it out, so I had been on the defensive but now, I had a chance to ease Aelin in and I felt like I needed to find a way to explain the gravity of the situation without scaring her.

    Considering what I¡¯d done to Edward earlier this morning, I was going to have a harder time with that.

    ¡°Aelin.¡± I closed my eyes. "I¡¯ve got something really important to tell you.¡±

    ¡°Atlas, I know I¡¯m fabulous, but I¡¯m kinda in a thing right now.¡± Aelin blushed. "Besides, you have Ether, unless¡­¡± She turned to Ether. "Did you know he was building a harem?¡±

    Ether shrugged. "I could see it.¡±

    ¡°Wow.¡± She turned back to me. "I mean, maybe, but I don¡¯t think you¡¯re going to get Justia, so I don¡¯t think that I would want to join.¡± She gasped. "Wait, is this about Rix?!? Are you going to try to get her in the harem?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s not a harem!¡± I could feel myself getting embarrassed and she was derailing the conversation.

    ¡°Yet.¡± Aelin sulked. "Wait, is this why you need my harden skill? For the¡­¡±

    ¡°Aelin!¡± It would have been easier to keep her focused if Ether and Justia hadn¡¯t started snickering. ¡°This is important, so please just listen.¡±

    I glared at the other two women. "And you aren¡¯t helping.¡±

    ¡°Sorry.¡± Ether apologized.

    Justia just looked at her feet.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ve noticed, but I¡¯m not like everyone else here.¡±

    Aelin started to say something. I glared at her and she closed her mouth, biting her lips to keep them closed, but still smirking.Stolen story; please report.

    ¡°This is because I¡¯m an Abnormal.¡±

    ¡°Like Edward?¡± Her smile vanished.

    ¡°No, not Like Edward.¡± I shook my head. "Instead of an unusual stat distribution, I have unusual stats.¡±

    ¡°Like how unusual?¡±

    ¡°I can class in every stat.¡±

    ¡°You have ten in everything?!?¡± Aelin looked at the other two women. "And you knew?¡±

    ¡°Justia got brought in to help cover for me.¡± I nodded at Ether. "And Ether figured it out.¡±

    ¡°Is that why the two of you..?¡± Aelin motioned between us.

    ¡°We had a connection before she figured it out.¡± I sighed. "That¡¯s not the point. The point is that there are a lot of people who will see my base stats as a threat and try to kill me before I can get strong.¡±

    ¡°Before you get strong?¡± She looked confused. "How strong can you get?¡±

    ¡°He started with sixty-two stats instead of thirty-five.¡± Ether cut in. "If he gets to Mr Vowler¡¯s level, then he¡¯ll have one thousand six hundred more total stats more than our teacher.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± She looked at me. "Wow.¡±

    I hadn¡¯t done the math to figure out that number, but actually hearing it when we only had ten, or in my case, twelve, as the max in a stat, made it sound daunting.

    ¡°That¡¯s not all.¡± I looked at Ether. "I learned two abilities.¡±

    That got her to show a little surprise.

    ¡°What else did you get?¡± Aelin was speaking fast, she was getting excited.

    ¡°Dash.¡± I felt my body tingle, but I didn¡¯t trip since I wasn¡¯t moving.

    ¡°What does that do?¡± Aelin blurted.

    I took a deep breath and started running away from the door. "Dash.¡±

    I sped up, but since I was already running, it was easier to manage. It lasted for about two seconds and then I slowed back down. I came to a stop and turned around. I¡¯d run about three hundred feet in about four seconds. I turned around and started running.

    ¡°Dash.¡±

    Once the feeling ended, I was back at the door. In retrospect, I probably shouldn¡¯t have used it to get back, because if it¡¯d lasted longer, I¡¯d have run into the boss room by myself.

    ¡°You can move fast!¡± Aelin exclaimed.

    ¡°It¡¯s a little hard to control and I don¡¯t think I could use it to turn corners, but it¡¯ll be great to get away from something.¡± I looked at our Buffer. "But that¡¯s why this is so important. You can¡¯t tell anyone about it or any of the Abnormal things that I can do.¡±

    ¡°Okay!¡± She smiled. "I can do that.¡±

    I¡¯d been expecting resistance. I don¡¯t know why, but maybe I was expecting to have to outline everything like I had for Ether. I looked at everyone.

    ¡°Well.¡± I swallowed. "Are you ready to take on the boss?¡±

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 30

    The room was dark.

    ¡°Is it supposed to be like this?¡± Aelin bumped into me.

    ¡°Let¡¯s not move so we don¡¯t accidentally stab someone.¡± The ground felt strange to me. I knelt down and felt loose dirt. It was dry and dusty, and less than a knuckle length down, it felt like solid rock.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Aelin¡¯s voice shook. "Atlas?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± I shook my head, then realized that they couldn¡¯t see me. "I''ve never been in a boss room before.¡±

    ¡°Never?¡± Aelin repeated. "But you¡¯re a Porter.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not very cost-effective to farm a boss.¡± I began feeling around on the ground. "There is almost always a drop, but the time it takes to beat usually doesn''t make up for what the items are worth.¡±

    ¡°The room is pretty big.¡± I heard Ether further away from me than what she should have been. "You can tell by the echo.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t we supposed to be staying together?¡± Justia¡¯s voice also sounded further away.

    I grabbed Aelin¡¯s leg. She squealed and slashed at me with the dagger. It grazed me just barely worse than a paper cut.

    ¡°Aelin it¡¯s just me.¡± I pulled back my arm and brought it up to my mouth as I stood up.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Justia¡¯s voice had a slight echo to it.

    ¡°I surprised Aelin and she cut me.¡± I scowled then realized no one could see me.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°Minor Heal Wounds!¡±

    My body began to glow for a second while I was healed. In that brief time, I could see that we were in a pretty large stone cave. I¡¯d been worried about falling into a hole, but I hadn¡¯t seen any.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to try looking around!¡± I felt Aelin grab on to me.

    ¡°Don¡¯t leave!¡± The blonde begged.

    ¡°What if you run into the boss?¡± Ether yelled.

    ¡°I¡¯m probably the one best equipped to survive until we can figure out where the lights are.¡± I yelled back.

    ¡°Do you want me to heal you again?¡± Justia sounded unsure of herself.

    ¡°We can run out of magic.¡± I reminded them. "Remember what Trent told us on the first day.¡±

    ¡°So what are we supposed to do?¡± Aelin whispered.

    ¡°I think if talking was going to attract the boss, then all the yelling we¡¯ve been doing would have done it by now.¡± I tried not to think about how having her on my arm was going to make it harder for me to get away. I was glad it was dark, so she didn¡¯t see me smirking at how she was making something harder for me.

    ¡°I think I have an idea.¡± Ether called out.

    ¡°What is it?¡± I tried looking in the direction it sounded like her voice was coming from.

    ¡°Have you ever heard of a boss fight in the dark?¡±

    ¡°What, do you think the Yellow team has already beat the boss and it¡¯s like this because it hasn¡¯t respawned?¡± I stopped when I realized that probably wasn¡¯t what Ether had been talking about.

    ¡°That¡¯s a possibility, but not what I was thinking.¡± Ether¡¯s voice sounded even further away.

    ¡°Ether, don¡¯t do it.¡± I wanted to run, but I really had no idea what direction she was in.

    ¡°LOOK AT ME!¡±

    Nothing happened.

    I let out a tense breath that I¡¯d been holding, then the lights came on.

    It looked like we were in a sandstone cave. Plugs that were made from sand started falling from the ceiling, letting in light, but also covering the whole room in a layer of dust. I looked across the room that was the size of a stadium where Ether was standing all by herself.

    Out of the dust behind her began to rise a huge shadow.

    Ether had aggroed the boss.

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 31

    My heart jumped into my throat.

    ¡°Ether get out of there!¡± I shrugged off Aelin¡¯s grasp. "DASH!¡±

    I started zipping across the room, but I wasn¡¯t going to make it in time.

    A skeletal snake had risen ten feet high and that was just what was off the ground. There was more behind it that was coiled. Its hood flared, multiple boney fingers shaking as the spot where its throat should have been was exposed.

    I felt the magic waning. "DASH!¡±

    I saw the head strike at her. It¡¯s body was easily wider than she was. I wouldn¡¯t have been able to touch both sides of its head at the same time.

    ¡°PEBBLE SHOT! PEBBLE SHOT!¡± I pointed at the thing''s face.

    The projectiles knocked small pieces off of it, but with a head and body that large, it was going to take forever to blast it apart.

    The body collapsed over Ether. I heard both Aelin and Justia shouting behind me, but I couldn¡¯t hear what they were saying. I had thought this was going to be easy. I forgot the other reason why people didn¡¯t farm floor bosses. They were stronger than the monsters a floor up. Not only were they stronger, but they were also bigger and more durable.

    The boney monster turned and looked at me, the closest person to it. I found myself wishing that I¡¯d had a weapon, but Justia had the ax and Aelin had the dagger. Ether had the knife. Since I had a spell now, I was the obvious one to not get a weapon. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    I pointed at it as it began to pull itself back, the fingers of its hood retracting back around its throat as it readied to strike.

    ¡°Pebble shot!¡± I grabbed my right hand with my left, so I could aim better. "Pebble Shot! Pebble Shot! Peb-DASH!¡± I sprinted to dodge the strike and I started running. I angled away from the other two women as the boss monster started chasing me. I found myself wishing that I¡¯d rested longer before coming in here, because my legs were already starting to burn, but I¡¯d done it all day yesterday, so I knew I could do it for this fight.

    ¡°Dash!¡± I cast it again as I ran, leading it on a merry chase around the room. To my surprise, it slowed down before I got tired.

    There was a good fifty feet in between us as I watched it raise itself up to its ten foot height. Unlike last time it didn¡¯t unfurl its neck into a hood, instead, it opened its mouth and let out a bone chilling hiss.

    ¡°Pebble shot! Pebble shot! Pebble shot!¡± It was giving me free hits and I was going to take it.

    I saw Justia and Aelin running at us, but they were on the other side of the boss room. They were both yelling, but I couldn¡¯t hear them. Not that it mattered. The only thing that mattered to me right now was destroying this monster in front of me.

    ¡°COME ON!¡± I beat on my chest, then got an idea. I pointed both of my hands like guns at the monster. "Pebble shot!¡±

    Four projectiles tore into the monster¡¯s head.

    I felt that one actually drain me. It seemed to take more mana to cast it that way, but it would dump projectiles twice as fast.

    I began wondering why it was just standing in one spot and hissing at me, so I continued to fire at it. While we were trading insults and projectiles, I realized why it had been just standing still.

    It had been charging.

    A stream of sand shot out of its mouth. I wasn''t fast enough to dodge it, so I tried to roll into a ball as it knocked me into the wall that was about forty feet behind me. It felt like my skin was being torn off with sandpaper as the blast lasted for far shorter of a time than it seemed.

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 32

    I had sand everywhere.

    It hadn¡¯t helped that I¡¯d only been wearing shorts, but at least I was still wearing those. Maybe tucking my knees into my chest helped save them, I don¡¯t know. I did know that I was missing patches of skin.

    The way I was able to tell that was the dust coating my body started breaking out in little brown spots all over the tan crust covering my snow-white body.

    I pushed myself up and spat out dust. I had only a moment to realize the skeletal snake was shooting at me before I had to react.

    ¡°DASH!¡± I sped out of the way, my body burning in a new way as the sand and grit was blown off my body.

    ¡°Atlas!¡± Aelin screamed. "Break the fins!¡±

    I looked back at her to see Justia throw the ax at me.

    ¡°Minor Heal Wounds!¡± Justia¡¯s voice was sounding hoarse from all the yelling she was doing.

    At first, I couldn¡¯t tell what Justia was healing, because it wasn¡¯t me. I picked up the ax and turned back to the monster when I saw the target of her heals. There was a hand hanging out of the snake''s throat.

    The snake dropped down to its belly and shot towards me.

    I ignored the warning bells in my head that screamed for me to run away and instead ran towards the monster.

    ¡°DASH!¡± I screamed, took two steps and jumped, swinging the ax over my head.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

    The snake veered up to intercept me as I went higher into the air than I¡¯d ever jumped. I pointed at it with my left hand.

    ¡°Pebble shot!¡±

    I¡¯d hoped that shooting the projectiles would push me back. It didn¡¯t. I¡¯d also hoped that the projectiles would change its trajectory. It didn¡¯t.

    The nose of the snake rammed into my chest. I felt my skin tighten right before it hit me, which is probably what kept it from knocking the wind out of me. I finished the swing, burying the ax in the side of its face as the snake dove for the ground.

    Little thorns dug into my skin and I realized what looked so familiar about the skeletal part of this. It was the same exact material as the Bramble Skeletons.

    That was able to move it enough so that it hit the right side of its face as I pulled myself around to its left. I braced my feet on the skull where its eye should have been and pushed, freeing the ax and throwing myself mostly clear.

    The ax and I went in opposite directions. I found my feet while I rolled and came up ready to sprint. ¡°DASH!¡± I shot towards the ax, sliding the last little bit so that I could ensure that I grabbed it. Once I stopped sliding, I got my feet under me. ¡°DASH!¡±

    The snake was trying to get its bearings, which gave me the opportunity to get close to the back third of it. I grabbed the ax with both hands as I brought the head down on the spine.

    The Snake turned to focus on me, but it was a clean strike. The part that I separated vanished in smoke.

    ¡°Pebble shot!¡± I pointed at its head. I didn¡¯t wait to see if it connected. "DASH!¡± I ran away from the strike.

    Once the magic ran out, I turned around. The boss was a few feet shorter and its strike had been off from where I had been standing. Missing a body part was throwing off its aim.

    If we had another Hitter, or a Shooter, this would have been a much easier fight. I began to understand the mechanics of the fight. Someone held the snake''s attention, while someone else slowly whittled it down. Once you get the first segment broken, the fight becomes much easier.

    Except for the breath.

    The snake must have realized that it couldn¡¯t strike me, so it rose up and began charging its breath.

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 33

    Charging phase meant one of two things.

    When I was a Porter, I¡¯d hear someone yell ¡®Charging!¡¯ and it either meant burn it down or run away. I should run away, I wasn¡¯t going to beat it before it was fully charged. But I trusted my Buffer and Healer would keep me going.

    ¡°DASH!¡±

    I charged, closing the distance and then hacking away at it the best I could. I aimed for the ribs because the spine was too thick and I wasn¡¯t going to chop through that before it finished charging. If I had gone behind it, then I could have, but that would have taken longer and I just needed to disable it.

    I saw its head bob like it was about to spit and that was my cue to start moving.

    ¡°DASH!¡±

    I shot to the side and threw the ax in the other direction before I got hit. The last thing I wanted was to either be knocked into it or have it blasted into me.

    I rolled up again as the stream of sand hit me. There weren¡¯t a lot of places I could go that weren¡¯t in either the direction of the snake or the direction of the supports.

    I wasn¡¯t close to a wall this time, so I got knocked a good distance from where I had first been hit. It felt like this one hurt less, but that may have been because the boss was weaker, or maybe because I was being pushed away instead of being pushed into something.

    Either way, it wasn¡¯t as bad, which meant I was ready for another round. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°DASH!¡± I shot towards where the ax had ended up.

    The snake must have been smart enough to realize what I was after because it began slithering that way too.

    ¡°DASH!¡± I had to have a second boost to get me there. I slid again to make sure I grabbed it. This time I felt the burn on the side of my leg as I scraped it against the rock.

    It was a small price to pay to reach the weapon first. The snake turned as I slid by it, but I was already moving again. I raised the ax to chop into it and caught the tail in my chest.

    What was tail now anyway. I dropped the ax as I was knocked up into the air. This time my skin hadn¡¯t been hardened and the blow knocked the wind out of me. I gasped for breath as I tried to get to my feet. The snake was turning around, but it wasn¡¯t aiming for me. Instead, it began to slither towards the ax.

    ¡°DA-!¡± I couldn¡¯t formulate the word. I scrambled as fast as I could, but that was barely moving while I couldn¡¯t breathe.

    Soft blue light began to cover me and I felt better. The open wounds started to close as air began to fill my lungs.

    ¡°D-...¡±

    There wasn¡¯t a point in finishing the skill as I watched the snake scoop up the ax and snap off the head in its mouth. The best weapon we had against it clanged as the pieces of it hit the stone floor.

    I looked over at Aelin. The blonde buffer still had the dagger, but it wasn¡¯t going to do hardly anything to this monster.

    I started looking around for something else, but there was nothing but an almost smooth rock cave and the dust lining the floor.

    The snake began to coil as it turned its focus back on me.

    ¡°Pebble shot!¡± I stared it down as I waited for it to strike. "Pebble shot! Pebble shot!¡±

    The projectiles were doing almost nothing, but they were knocking off small pieces of it. A death by a thousand cuts. It wasn¡¯t going to be quick, or easy, but as long as all three of our mana held out, we¡¯d be fine. I just hoped Ether could stay alive long enough for us to break her out.

    I turned my focus back to the present as the snake struck.

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 34

    I dashed as far away from it as I could get. The snake could burst forward, like me. But its aim was off and it needed a minute to compress the spring in order to strike. Which meant that I was always going to be able to stay ahead of it.

    ¡°Pebble shot!¡±

    The snake went wide again. I shot it a few more times as it flew past me, missing me by a wide margin. I was starting to wonder why it wasn¡¯t using its breath now that it had destroyed the weapon that could hurt it during the charging phase. But I wasn¡¯t going to complain. This way was almost too easy, kiting it around the room.

    I did have one serious concern. I hadn¡¯t seen any of Ether since the second breath attack. The broken hood ¡®finger¡¯ where I had seen her arm, I now couldn¡¯t see anything. I tried to keep my mind positive while it was focused on worst case scenarios.

    I dodged again as the snake went wide another time.

    ¡°Pebble shot!¡± I hit it in the head. With a target this big, it was harder to miss.

    It looked at me and I could see its frustration, then it turned over to where the supports were.

    ¡°Pebble shot! PEBBLE SHOT! AELIN! JUSTIA! GET OUT OF THERE!¡± I started running, but I wasn¡¯t going to make it. They didn¡¯t have a movement skill like I did. And even if I did, there was no way I could grab both of them and get out of there in time.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    ¡°DASH!¡± I was able to get ahead of the snake, but it could move faster than me in a straight line as soon as it struck. ¡°DASH!¡±

    Casting one on top of the other didn¡¯t make me go any faster. It did make the skill last longer though.

    Both women were running... In the same direction¡­ I¡¯d hoped that they¡¯d split up and I¡¯d be able to grab whichever one was the focus, but they weren¡¯t going to make it that easy for me.

    I angled in front of them, turned once I slowed down. And started to move.

    ¡°DASH!¡±

    The snake was uncoiling, shooting forward.

    ¡°DASH!¡± I tried to will my legs to move faster.

    Justia looked to her right and saw the snake coming right at them. She turned back to me and stopped running. I could see it on her face, which one of them she wanted me to save.

    Aelin realized Justia had stopped and turned around. I couldn¡¯t see the look on her face but I heard her scream.

    ¡°NO!¡±

    I hated that I had to choose. The snake was almost on us and there was a good chance we were still going to get clipped.

    Actually it didn¡¯t matter if the snake hit us or not because I knew I was going to get hit by whichever one of them I grabbed.

    I closed my eyes and prayed that I picked the right one as I grabbed her in a princess carry.

    ¡°DASH!¡±

    I opened my eyes as we shot away from the collision. We still got clipped by some part of the snake. The two of us got spun around, then we rolled across the floor away from where the one I had left had gotten run over.

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 35

    ¡°WHY?!?¡±

    My ears were ringing when I realized that a fist was coming at my face. But while my brain knew the punch was coming, my body couldn¡¯t move.

    I felt my nose break.

    Somehow that knocked me out of the fog and my body doubled over as I cradled my nose.

    I should have saved Aelin. She couldn¡¯t hit that hard.

    ¡°YOU KNEW I WANTED YOU TO SAVE HER!¡±

    I was able to sidestep the next swing.

    ¡°You can¡¯t heal yourself!¡± I pointed at where the snake was. "She can harden herself, so heal her and QUIT TRYING TO KILL ME!¡±

    I angled to the side, to hopefully draw the snake¡¯s attention, but I was pretty sure that it had figured out the kill order to ensure that we couldn¡¯t win the war of attrition.

    ¡°DASH!¡±

    I sped across the open room, then spied something that might make the boss rethink its plan. I ran over to the head of the ax and picked it up. I palmed it in my right hand and started running.

    ¡°DASH!¡±

    The snake had wrapped itself around Aelin and was squeezing her. The bad news was that it looked like Aelin was having to cast and recast Harden on herself and she was barely keeping it up long enough for the almost constant blue light to keep her healed.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    The good news was that as long as it was holding on to Aelin, it wasn¡¯t moving.

    I gripped the back of the ax head with my hands as I swung at the side of the monster. It had been ignoring me as a low threat and that let me get close to it. I didn¡¯t chop off a section of spine, but I chopped into one. The monster screamed and it started to uncoil as it focused on the new threat.

    I dodged the snapping jaws and kept taking swings at it, while it tried to get itself where it could try to tail swipe me again.

    The monster managed to uncoil faster than I thought it would and I dodged its jaws only to get taken out by its tail.

    Unfortunately for me, Aelin was still using Harden on herself, so I took the full impact. I¡¯m not sure where the ax head went, but I rolled for a while after I got hit. I knew that I had to get up, but my body didn¡¯t have the energy.

    I felt the healing magic cover me, which helped, but I had finally reached my limit. I was able to push myself up, but my legs were not going to last another dash without a rest.

    The monster had locked in on me and was charging. It wasn¡¯t trying to coil and strike, it was just aiming to run me over.

    I clasped both of my hands together, so that my hands made a double sized finger gun.

    ¡°Pebble shot!¡±

    Only two projectiles shot out, but they were larger and gouged bigger holes in the monster¡¯s head.

    The monster staggered, then continued its charge.

    ¡°Pebble shot!¡±

    Two more holes the size of my fists were knocked loose.

    ¡°Pebble shot! Pebble shot!¡±

    I started getting light headed and wondered if this was what mana depletion felt like.

    I realized this was as far as we went. Even if Aelin and Justia were able to harden and heal me, I didn¡¯t have any fight left. It was just going to keep running me over until I was dead and then move on to the others.

    I¡¯d led them to their deaths.

    I raised my hands for one last act of defiance. But I didn¡¯t have another shot in me.

    I stared down the barrel of my finger gun as the snake ran over me.

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 36

    I was showered in a cloud of dust.

    Then Ether knocked me over.

    I was too sore, too surprised, and too happy to register what had just happened.

    ¡°You¡¯re alive?¡± I felt drunk.

    Ether crawled over and picked me up as she hugged my neck. I noticed that she was also crying.

    ¡°Why are you crying?¡± I slurred my words. ¡°I should be crying.¡±

    ¡°Ether! You¡¯re okay!¡± Aelin ran over and wrapped us both in a hug.

    I saw Justia come over and our healer began to heal all three of us.

    ¡°What happened?¡± My head was starting to feel a little bit clearer.

    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me, I didn¡¯t do it.¡± Aelin looked at me. "I thought you did it.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t do it.¡± I forced my eyes to stay open,

    ¡°I did it.¡± Ether beamed.

    ¡°How did you do it?¡± Justia finished healing and sat down.

    ¡°When it swallowed me, I was able to work my way back up its throat thanks to the two of you healing me and keeping me hardened.¡± Ether grinned when Aelin giggled. "After I tore open the sack in its throat that was spewing dust, I was able to see its crystal.¡± She held up Rix¡¯s knife. "I kept hacking away at it until It broke.¡±

    ¡°You did a good job.¡± I leaned on her. "But please don¡¯t scare me like that again.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    She nodded. "Maybe after this we make sure that we¡¯re prepared for the bosses before we fight them?¡±

    ¡°Speaking of¡­¡± I looked around. "Where¡¯s the boss crystal? And did we get a loot drop?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll get it!¡± Aelin ran over to where we had first come in and retrieved the sling bag with all our crystals in it.

    The blonde Buffer slung it over her shoulder as she came back. ¡°Oh! This is fun!¡± She bent down and picked up a larger crystal than the ones we''d collected as well as what looked like a bone sword.

    ¡°It looked like it¡¯s made out of the same material as the bramble monsters!¡± She brought it over and offered it to me.

    The sword was made of the same material as the bramble monsters, with the blade having little thorns on it to make a serrated edge. It was fairly light, despite being a longsword. The scabbard looked like it had been made out of snakeskin and it had a long belt attached at the top and middle, so that the sword could be carried on one''s back.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯d hold up very long against something that had a hard exterior, but it should rip apart something fleshy or soft.¡± I tried to hand it back to her.

    ¡°I¡¯m not taking it.¡± Aelin held up her hands and showed me the dagger. "This is enough of a melee weapon for me.¡±

    I looked at Justia. "I broke your ax.¡±

    The Healer shook her head. "It¡¯s a good thing it''s gone. Besides, I was thinking about going the ranged route anyway.¡±

    I turned to Ether. "I¡¯m a tank.¡± She pushed it back towards me. "I should get defensive gear before I think about a weapon.¡±

    ¡°A melee weapon will just blow my cover.¡± I looked at the women, I really don¡¯t need this.¡±

    ¡°Just tell everyone that you¡¯re planning on being a Spellblade.¡± Aelin offered. "Then you can use magic and weapons.¡±

    ¡°That would work! And since you¡¯ll be using auras and healing, it won¡¯t matter if you have them because you can just say you bought the skills, since you¡¯ll be able to use just about anything.¡± Ether smiled widely.

    I nodded. "Okay, we¡¯ll do that.¡± I looked at Aelin. "How do you know that about the Spellblades?¡±

    ¡°It was one of the classes I was hoping to spec into.¡± She grinned. "But after this week, I¡¯m over that melee stuff!¡±

    We all laughed for a bit, then it got quiet.

    I stood up. I was a little wobbly, but in better shape than I had been the night before. ¡°We should get out of here before the boss respawns.¡±

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 37

    That motivated everyone.

    We stepped through the gate into a desert area. There were caves jutting up out of the sand, but that was all I could see in the immediate area.

    As soon as the last person came through the gate. The gate closed, then turned into an empty ring. I couldn¡¯t see the Yellow team anywhere around, but I did have an idea.

    I touched the ring and a face appeared on the rim.

    ¡°This is Curate Anole. Please state your name and team for verification.¡±

    ¡°My name is Atlas Zeb of the Blue team, tell Trent Vowler or ArchBishop Mavery that we¡¯ve been attacked and require immediate assistance!¡±

    ¡°The Blue team is first years! They shouldn¡¯t even be going into the dungeon until tomorrow.¡± The white robed Curate bristled. ¡°And what makes you think that I¡¯ll forward this little prank all the way up to the ArchBishop? You¡¯re lucky all I¡¯m doing is calling for a team to detain you for trespassing!¡± His face blanched. "On the second floor? How did you..? It doesn¡¯t matter, I order you to stay at the gate until an Enforcement team comes to get you.¡±

    ¡°Can you tell them to hurry!¡± I saw disgust on his face as he cut the connection.

    ¡°An Enforcement team?¡± Aelin let out a nervous breath. "Are we going to get arrested?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine.¡± Ether took my arm. "If we¡¯re in a detention cell then the Yellow team can¡¯t hurt us and they¡¯ll call Mister Vowler.¡±A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    ¡°And what about Rix?¡± Justia looked at us. "How are we going to stop the Yellow team from throwing her in there to fight that thing alone?¡±

    ¡°We tell them that our other two party members ran off and are supposed to be coming back to meet us here.¡± I leaned against the gate. "They¡¯ll make sure to keep someone here to catch them if they come back.¡±

    ¡°Good thinking.¡± Ether paused. "So we¡¯re not going to tell them about Edward?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll tell Trent when he comes to get us.¡± I looked up at the artificial sky. This training exercise turned nightmare was almost over.

    ¡°How long do you think it¡¯ll take them to put together an Enforcement team to come get us?¡± Aelin tapped her fingers together.

    ¡°Not long.¡± I looked at Justia. "The ArchBishop said there was going to be one on standby at all times.¡±

    ¡°Cool.¡± Aelin looked around. "It¡¯s just¡­ this place feels weird and I was wondering if we had time to look around.¡±

    ¡°NO!¡± Justia, Ether, and I all said at the same time.

    ¡°But aren¡¯t you curious?¡±

    I looked at Aelin. "Sure, I¡¯m curious. But I¡¯m also tired, sore, and underprepared.¡± I sank to the ground, pulling Ether with me as we sat down. ¡°We can come back down here once we¡¯ve had a chance to rest and look for Rix¡­¡± My voice drifted off.

    Ether squeezed my arm. "You want to look for her.¡±

    I took a deep breath and nodded.

    ¡°But I know that we can¡¯t.¡± I looked at Justia for support. "As much as this kills me, we¡¯re of no use to her if we¡¯re dead.¡±

    Our Healer nodded. "We¡¯re all low on mana and we have almost no gear.¡± She looked around the barren landscape. "If the second years decide to fight us, then we¡¯ll be at their mercy.¡± She turned to Aelin. "It¡¯s better to wait here and hope that help will arrive in time.¡±

    The blonde Buffer started to speak, but was cut off by a male voice that sent a shiver down my spine.

    ¡°What¡¯s this about help?¡±

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 38

    The second year Hitter was standing in front of us.

    ¡°We did your challenge.¡± I struggled to get to my feet so I could face the black-haired, brown-eyed man. "Where¡¯s Rix?¡±

    ¡°He took Rix?¡± Ether asked as she helped me up.

    ¡°Wrye Tritha, at your service.¡± He gave her a little bow.

    I wanted to punch him, but I had to keep up appearances. Plus, I could barely walk, I was so tired. I had to remember that he thought I was a Tank, which meant no spells and keeping Ether out of the fight. So far it was only the one person, but that didn¡¯t mean that the rest of his team might not be around.

    ¡°The ginger is around.¡± He pulled out his blade. "Let¡¯s talk about remuneration.¡±

    ¡°Renum¡­ What?¡± Aelin looked at us.

    ¡°Payment." Justia turned from the blonde to our enemy. "Why should we pay you, when you¡¯re the one who took our party member?¡±

    ¡°Speaking of party members.¡± He pointed at each of us. "One, two, three, four¡­¡±

    I thought I might have seen concern on his face for just a moment.

    ¡°You¡¯re missing one. Casualty of the boss?¡±

    ¡°He didn¡¯t want to fight the boss, so he quit.¡± I spoke up before any of the others could. It wasn¡¯t too far from the truth. He hadn¡¯t wanted to train as hard as we had to and he had said that he was going to quit the team.

    ¡°That¡¯s too bad.¡± Wrye clicked his tongue. "The deal was to give you back the girl IF you ALL made it to the second floor before any teachers showed up.¡±Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

    ¡°That¡¯s not fair!¡± Aelin balled her fists. "We passed your silly test! Now give us back Rix!¡±

    ¡°So much anger.¡± The black-haired man chuckled. "How is this team better than mine, I have no idea.¡±

    ¡°Maybe because we don¡¯t kidnap people!¡± Aelin motioned at the other three of us.

    ¡°Someone found her spine¡­¡± He looked at Aelin. "I wonder, can you back up those harsh words, or do you think you¡¯re safe because you¡¯re by the gate?¡±

    She paled as Justia stepped in front of her.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I thought¡­¡± Wrye turned back to me. "So here¡¯s the new deal. You¡¯re going to give me the bag with all your crystals, then we¡¯ll talk about the teammate you didn¡¯t abandon.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not giving you anything¡­¡± I pulled out the sword and held it with both hands. I was afraid that I wouldn¡¯t be able to hold it up with just one hand and I had to strain for my hands not to shake.

    ¡°Again with the weapons¡­¡± He clicked his tongue. "A Tank against a Hitter with only swords is a no brainer at even levels.¡± The brown-eyed man pointed at the sword in my hands. "Why don¡¯t you put that away before you get hurt again?¡±

    I shook my head. "I¡¯d rather lose our money knowing that I fought for it, then to just hand it over.¡± I looked at Justia, then back at him. "Besides, how do I know you won¡¯t attack us as soon as we put our weapons down?¡±

    Wrye shrugged. "Probably don¡¯t even have anything worth keeping.¡± He looked up at the artificial sky, then back to us. "Fine, you want to know where your team member is?¡± He waved out at the caves. "She¡¯s out there somewhere!¡± He turned back to us. "Let¡¯s talk about a new deal.¡±

    ¡°No more deals!¡± I tightened the grip on the sword. I really needed to put it away, but I doubted my ability to lift my arms that high. "We did your thing. We hit level two in under a week AND we beat the first floor boss with only four team members.¡± I nodded at the rest of my team. "We proved we¡¯re deserving of having the better teacher, so quit playing games and GIVE US RIX BACK!¡±

    He smiled and looked at the gate. ¡°Find her before the enforcers arrest you and she¡¯s yours. If you don¡¯t¡­¡± He paused for too long and the smirk on his face made it obvious he wasn¡¯t using the extra time to think. "And the ginger will have an accident while we¡¯re power leveling her through the second floor boss.¡±

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 39

    He vanished before we could react.

    ¡°What do we do?¡± Aelin looked at me,

    I started to answer when the gate behind us began to come to life.

    We had moments to choose.

    ¡°We¡¯re in no shape to chase after him.¡± I hated myself for even saying it. "We¡¯ll have to hope that the Enforcers can make it to the floor boss before they can.¡±

    ¡°Are you serious?¡± Aelin looked surprised. "After all this? You¡¯re going to abandon her?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not abandoning her.¡± I looked at Ether and Justia for support. "I¡¯m choosing the best people to rescue her.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s going to be okay.¡±Justia put her arm around Aelin. "It¡¯s going to be okay.¡±

    I let the tip of the sword fall to the ground. ¡°Ether, could you help me get this put up?¡± I looked at the white-haired tank. "I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be a good idea to have a weapon out when the Enforcers show up.¡±

    The red-eyed woman picked up the sword and slid it into the snakehide sheath on my back. She hadn¡¯t finished getting it put into place when six people in black armor with white trim walked through the gate. They were completely covered from head to toe and the armor was so generalized I couldn¡¯t tell any features about them.

    Ether pulled her hands away from the blade, letting it slide the rest of the way in place by itself. She raised her hands as she moved as behind me as she could.

    One of them lifted their arm to scan us with their crystal band. My heart started racing as we were scanned. I didn¡¯t know how much information the scan told them about me, but if it told them my stats, we might have a big problem.

    ¡°These are the students that we¡¯re looking for.¡± The officer pointed at us. "Take them in.¡±

    ¡°Wait!¡± I tried to point out towards the desert. "Our friend is out there! She¡¯s been¡­¡±This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    The Enforcer closest to me grabbed my arm and took me to the sand, cutting off the rest of my sentence.¡±

    The other three members of my party were on the sand next to me before I could spit the sand out of my mouth.

    The Enforcer that scanned us walked in front of us. ¡°Where are your other two party members?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what he was trying to tell you!¡± Aelin struggled against the Enforcer that was holding her down. "She¡¯s been kidnapped! They¡¯re taking her to the third floor!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s one other member.¡± They nodded at the one Enforcer that wasn¡¯t holding someone down. That Enforcer took off really fast into the desert. ¡°What about the sixth one?¡± They knelt down in front of Aelin and grabbed her chin. "Not the she, so Edward Rene?¡±

    ¡°He attacked us!¡± I didn¡¯t even have the strength to struggle. "I disabled him and we left him by the river on the first floor!¡±

    ¡°You harmed one of your team members?¡± They let go of Aelin and moved over to me. I couldn¡¯t see anything behind the visor, but I felt like their eyes were burning into my soul.

    I opened my mouth to defend myself, but all I had was shame.

    ¡°Has someone contacted our teacher?¡± Ether tried to get the leader¡¯s attention.

    The person with the crystal band stayed in front of me. "What do you have to say for yourself?¡±

    ¡°I did what I thought was best for everyone. To get us all out safe.¡± I laid my head down on the sand, this was a nightmare that I just wanted to be over.

    ¡°You¡¯re missing two members and the lot of you can barely stand?¡± They shook their head as they stood up and turned around. "You¡¯re there? It is? Who were the last ones to go in? When?¡± They turned towards me. "The last people to go through that gate were the Yellow team four days ago.¡± They looked at everyone. "Can someone explain what¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°They have her!¡± Aelin strained to move, which got her nowhere. "That Wrye guy told us that they had her just a little while ago and that they were going to have an accident in there once you got here!¡±

    ¡°Stay at the door and don¡¯t let anyone in.¡± They knelt down. ¡°The lot of you are already in trouble for this reckless prank, but if I find out that you¡¯re trying to pin the blame on another team¡­¡±

    LOOK AT ME!

    A shiver ran down my spine as the Leader of the Enforcers slowly turned to look at Ether.

    ¡°WHERE. IS. OUR. TEACHER?¡± The red-eyed woman enunciated every word.

    ¡°Attacking an Enforcer?¡± They made a gesture and the rage and defiance on Ether¡¯s face vanished as her eyes closed and her head fell against the sand.

    ¡°What did you do to her!¡± I didn¡¯t have the strength to struggle, but I tried anyway.

    ¡°Take them to lockup until we get this sorted out.¡± The leader turned away.

    That was the last thing I remembered when the world went dark.

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 40

    I was chained to a desk.

    It was the first thing that registered when I woke up. Next, was that I was alone in a small room with a single light source in the ceiling. It was a school desk, which made sense since there was a school on the premises.

    I was only cuffed with my right hand to the arm of the desk on the right side. I could get up, but I couldn¡¯t move far since the desk was bolted to the floor.

    I felt stronger as I got up and moved around the front of the desk. The chain on the cuff was short, so I could get about an arm¡¯s length away from the desk.

    There was nothing else in the room. I thought about calling out, but if Trent had wanted to see me, then he would have woken me up, not waited for me to wake up on my own.

    Which meant that they hadn¡¯t contacted him. I didn¡¯t see how he wouldn¡¯t be here immediately if he knew what was happening. I decided that if they weren¡¯t going to call Trent, I¡¯d have to find a way to do it. I made a finger gun with my left hand and pointed it at the chain of the cuff.

    ¡°Pebble Shot.¡± I kept my voice low in case there was a guard. I knew that the projectiles colliding with chains were going to make some noise, but it¡¯d buy me an extra second or two.

    Nothing happened. I pointed at the chain again.

    ¡°Pebble shot!¡± This time I said it in a normal voice, but still nothing. I pointed at the desk, then the wall, then the door, and then the light.

    ¡°Pebble shot! Pebble shot! Pebble shot! Pebble shot!¡±

    Still, nothing happened.

    The cuffs must have a way to suppress my magic. I should have assumed since there were really strong Adventurers and there had to be a way to police them.

    I sat back down in the chair and tried to pass the time. My sword was gone, but I was wearing a blue jumpsuit. Someone had put one on me because this one probably wasn¡¯t mine. This one felt brand new and I would be willing to bet all my crystals that Edward tore mine apart out of spite.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    I wasn¡¯t sure how much time went by before the boredom finally got to me.

    ¡°HEY! IS THERE ANYONE OUT THERE!¡± I focused on the door and hoped the room wasn¡¯t soundproof. "I¡¯M IN HERE!¡±

    I¡¯d count to sixty and repeat the message, but I started counting faster, so I was yelling more often than once a minute.

    I don¡¯t know how long that went on, but after a while, my throat was hurting and I had lost hope in it working. My counting got slower and I found myself starting over sometimes without even yelling.

    It didn¡¯t take long before I stopped yelling and counting and just sat in the chair with my head on the desk and my arms covering my head.

    I lost track of how long I was like that and was about to fall asleep when the door opened.

    A woman in Enforcer¡¯s armor with brown hair and brown eyes walked into the room.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Trent?¡± I got out of the chair, only to stop midway when our eyes met. It was like looking at my death walking towards me. She had a glare that would have given the scariest nun at the temple I grew up in a run for her money. And this woman didn¡¯t look like she¡¯d even reached forty yet. I shuddered when I thought about what she could do in another forty years. I slowly eased myself back into the chair.

    ¡°Do you have any idea how disrespectful it is to call him by his first name?¡± She folded her arms in front of her.

    ¡°No?¡± I was confused. "Almost no one used their last names while I worked as a Porter for the last four years.¡± I held up a finger as I remembered the ones who did. "Except for the really uptight Nobles. And Trent doesn¡¯t come across as one of those.¡±

    She sighed and shook her head. "Do you know why you''re here?¡±

    ¡°Did you find Rix?¡± I tried to squeeze that question in first.

    ¡°Answer the questions I ask. Do you know why you''re here?¡±

    ¡°Have you talked to Trent? How is everyone else?¡± I didn¡¯t care why they were detaining me, I just wanted to know if everyone, and I found myself including Edward in that, was okay.

    She slammed her hands onto the desk. There was nowhere for me to run, but every nerve in my body was screaming at me to flee.

    ¡°You nearly killed a student, a Noble at that, used illegal means to level yourself and your team, used illegal stat-enhancing substances, made an unauthorized floor boss attempt, AND¡­¡± It felt like her glare pierced into my soul. "Killed a member of your team and tried to blame the Yellow team for it.¡±

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 41

    My heart sank.

    ¡°Rix is dead?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t try to fake emotion with me.¡± She pointed her finger. "I saw what you did to that poor boy. And while he was unconscious? It takes a special kind of monster to do that.¡±

    ¡°He was trying to kill me!¡±

    ¡°So an unconscious man was trying to kill you and you broke both his legs in self-defense?¡± She raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°Yes.¡± I registered all of what she said. "I mean, no, but yes?¡± I tried to wave my hands, but my right one got stopped by the chain so it looked like I was swiping at her with my left arm. I quickly pulled it back and sat on my left hand.

    ¡°Look, He ate all our food, then attacked us. We tried tying him up, but he got free. He stole my jumpsuit and then found us again. He knocked out Aelin and beat up Justia.¡± I looked at the door. "Ask them, they¡¯ll tell you!¡±

    ¡°I have talked to them.¡± She walked over and leaned against the closed door. "Now I want to hear it from you.¡±

    ¡°We fought and Aelin knocked him out. We had the deadline that the Yellow team had given us and him attacking us started to put us behind schedule. It was the only way that we could hit level two and fight the floor boss to save Rix!¡±

    She raised an eyebrow. "The Yellow team said they went to the first floor to give you pointers and you attacked them. Almost killed three of them.¡±

    ¡°That didn¡¯t happen!¡± I realized it had. "Okay, Rix went a little crazy, but they started it! They attacked us first!¡±If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    She shook her head. "Do you really think ¡®They started it¡¯ is going to save you from an attempted murder charge?¡±

    ¡°I-¡± I hung my head, then looked up and tried my ¡®get out of jail free¡¯ card again. ¡°Have you talked to Tre-." I saw the disgust on her face. "I mean, uh, Mister Vowler?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s not going to save you.¡± She waved it off like he didn¡¯t matter.

    ¡°What about the ArchBishop? Does he know I¡¯m in here?¡±

    She stormed over and slapped me. I don¡¯t know what her level was, but it felt like I got hit by a car.

    ¡°I¡¯m getting tired of hearing you be so disrespectful while trying to shirk responsibility for what you¡¯ve done.¡± She pointed a finger at me. "Don¡¯t you ever talk about the ArchBishop again.¡±

    I nodded my head as I tried to rub the right side of my face with my left hand.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t hear you!¡±

    ¡°Yes, Ma''am.¡± I stiffened. I found myself wishing that the skeletal snake had run me over and killed me. That was a better fate than this.

    ¡°As much as I¡¯d like to see you hang for everything that you¡¯ve done, there are answers you have that my bosses want to know, so I¡¯m supposed to offer you a deal.¡± She closed her eyes and tried to compose herself.

    ¡°What about Rix?¡± I couldn¡¯t end this without knowing. ¡°What happened to her?¡±

    ¡°You would like to confess to murder too?¡± She opened her eyes and smiled,

    ¡°No! I didn¡¯t hurt Rix! We did all of this to save her!¡±

    ¡°HAHAHAHA¡± The Enforcer held her stomach, then wiped a tear off of her face. "You are a piece of work.¡± Her gaze hardened. "There is a record of Rix clearing the first-floor boss, but no record of her entering the second-floor boss room.¡± She clenched her fists. "We scried the whole floor. She¡¯s not on it and she didn¡¯t warp back to the front¡­¡± She let the implication hang in the air.

    ¡°She¡¯s dead.¡± I couldn¡¯t stop the tears. "They killed her.¡±

    ¡°Stop the waterworks.¡± The Enforcer was suddenly in front of me and her fist was right under my jaw. "If I didn¡¯t need you to talk¡­¡± She let the threat hang in the air. "You disgust me. Monsters like you belong in the dungeon.¡±

    I wiped the tears from my face. I¡¯d make them pay. I¡¯d take out the entire Yellow team. But first I had to get out of here.

    ¡°What is it that your bosses want to know?¡±

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 42

    She smiled.

    It looked like pure joy and it made my skin crawl.

    ¡°Ready to finally cooperate?¡± She walked back over and leaned against the door.

    ¡°What about the rest of my team?¡± I tried to simmer my rage and focus on getting out. And not just getting me out, but all of us.

    ¡°Someone is going down for this.¡± She shook her head. "And if you didn¡¯t do it then we¡¯ll have to make it stick to one of them. The brunette? The snow?¡±

    I pulled against the cuff. "You can pin all of this on me!¡± I raised my voice so that if anyone was listening outside, they¡¯d hear me. "I did all of it! And I¡¯ll tell you whatever you want to know! Don¡¯t you dare touch them!¡±

    ¡°Second try.¡± She shook her head. "Must be losing my touch.

    ¡°You got what you want, okay?¡± I sank back into the chair. "I tell you everything and they all walk.¡±

    ¡°I can work with that.¡± She mused. "Depending on how accurate your information is.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± I propped my head up with my hands as I stared at the desk.

    ¡°How did you get the stat modifying substances?¡±

    I looked at her. "What?¡±

    ¡°And the experience enhancing substances. Did Trent Vowler give them to you?¡±This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.

    I swallowed. "What?¡±

    ¡°Come on, I thought you were going to tell me whatever I wanted to know.¡± She shook her head. "Ten in every stat, twelve in Magic with three unspent stat points, and level two in a week? There¡¯s no way you got that without using some illegal substances.¡± She pointed at me. "And I want you to tell me where you got them from.¡±

    I swallowed. "It¡¯s not¡­¡±

    I saw the look in her eyes. She wasn¡¯t going to believe me if I told her that wasn¡¯t why my stats were so high. And I couldn¡¯t tell her the real reason that my stats were so high, because then she¡¯d log it and one of the Gods would figure out where I was and then I¡¯d be as good as dead.

    ¡°I¡¯m waiting.¡± She tapped her foot to emphasize her point.

    ¡°I did it.¡± My mind was racing as I tried to piece together a story about things that I had no clue if the things I was about to lie about even existed. ¡°I heard about a place outside Zeb where an Outsider would sell you drugs that would enhance your stats. I spent everything I had saved to buy as much as I could, then used them after I got here.¡± I swallowed,

    ¡°What about the girls? Did you give them anything?¡±

    ¡°I took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "I made them promise not to tell and that we¡¯d be Cathedral heroes for taking out the boss so early.¡±

    ¡°What about Edward?¡±

    I was making this up as I went. "He threw away the potion I gave him and threatened to turn me in. I broke his legs and told him if he talked, I¡¯d do worse.¡± It felt wrong, but I tried to find a way to make everything jive. "I was afraid the Yellow team was going to figure out what we were doing, so we had to drive them off. After we got to the second floor, Rix couldn¡¯t handle the guilt of what I had told her to do to the Yellow team and said she was going to confess, so I had to get rid of...¡± I fought back the tears. "Her.¡±

    The Enforcer nodded. "Did Trent Vowler know about any of this?¡±

    My hand started to burn. "No.¡± As soon as I spoke the burning stopped.

    ¡°This contact¡¯s name? Who sold you the drugs?¡±

    I tried to think of something generic. "Yon.¡±

    She stared at me for a moment, then opened the door. "He¡¯s all yours.¡±

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 43

    Trent Vowler and Rix Zeb walked in.

    I couldn¡¯t stop the tears as I jumped out of my seat. I forgot about the cuff and ended up on my rear beside the desk. "You¡¯re alive!¡±

    ¡°You killed me?!¡± She shook her head, but walked over and held out her hand to help me up.

    Trent snapped his fingers and the cuff vanished.

    I pulled my newly freed right hand over and accepted the outstretched hand.

    ¡°What..? How..? When..?¡± There were too many questions.

    ¡°Not here.¡± Trent motioned for me to follow him.

    I followed Rix out of the room into a much larger and well-lit room. It almost looked like a Dispatcher''s Hub, with screens and Dispatchers issuing orders in the center of the room. There were people in Enforcers armor bustling about. My eyes swept the room until I saw the woman who had interrogated me. She was talking to six other much younger Enforcers who all had their helmets off. I stopped when I recognized them. It was the Yellow team.

    Wrye saw me staring and waved at me. The malice that he had given off earlier was nowhere on him.

    I waved back before I realized what I was doing. My head began to spin, I had no idea what was going on.

    ¡°Atlas!¡± Aelin crashed into me, wrapping me up in a hug.

    I squeezed her back. "Aelin! Where is..?¡± I looked behind her and saw Justia and Ether. I disentangled myself from the blonde and wrapped my arms around Ether. ¡°You¡¯re okay.¡± I realized the tears from earlier when I saw Rix had started falling again. I turned to Justia. "You¡¯re all okay.¡±Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    Ether grabbed my head and kissed me, spinning my head even more. I pulled her even closer to me as I kissed her back. All the chaos around me seemed to melt away as it slowly just became the two of us.

    I don¡¯t know how long we stayed like that, but I felt Justia tapping on my shoulder.

    ¡°We¡¯re in public.¡± The green-skinned woman whispered into my ear.

    I pulled back and realized that everyone was watching me. The Yellow Team and Trent included.

    My face turned red as I tried not to look at anyone. Ether ducked to my left side and pulled my arm against her chest and half buried her head in my shoulder.

    ¡°If you¡¯re finished...¡± Trent motioned at the door.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± I nodded.

    We started walking through the maze, but after a few turns I got the feeling I knew where we were. It seemed like it had been a year since we¡¯d followed the halls to the dungeon mouth.

    We reached the dorms and Trent grabbed the chair to his desk and pulled it to the middle of the room.

    ¡°Grab a chair.¡± He motioned for us to do the same.

    We each grabbed a chair and brought it over to the middle. Justia sat to Trent¡¯s right. Aelin sat to Justia¡¯s right and Rix was directly across from Trent.

    I sat down on Trent¡¯s left and Ether put her seat right next to mine on the left.

    ¡°What¡¯s this about?¡± Aelin seemed to be her usual cheerful self.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you all have questions.¡± Trent looked at each of us. "And I¡¯ll provide you with as many answers as I can, but first I want to congratulate you all. This is the twelfth team I¡¯ve taught and none of them survived as well as all of you did on opening week!¡± He smiled. "And all level two in under a week! A school record! We won¡¯t be able to log it, and I¡¯ll touch on that later, but know that I am proud of all of you!¡±

    ¡°Wait.¡± I looked at Rix. "You¡¯re level two?¡±

    I actually saw her smile.

    ¡°Yep.¡±

    ¡°How?¡± I looked at Trent. "The Yellow Team had her.¡±

    ¡°The monsters on the third floor aren''t that bad, actually.¡± The golden-skinned woman was beaming.

    ¡°Level three! How¡¯d you get to level three?!¡± I looked between Trent and the ginger.

    Trent held up his hand. "Just give me a minute and I¡¯ll explain everything.¡±

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 44

    ¡°I¡¯ll start with the fight.¡±

    Trent looked at Ether and Justia. "I assume you were told that the Yellow team came to haze my new class?¡±

    They nodded.

    ¡°And how our little fireball here would have killed two of them if their teacher, Miss Hayz Clax, she¡¯s the one who interrogated all of you, hadn¡¯t intervened¡±

    ¡°I wondered how they got healed so fast.¡± I looked at Justia. "You had to know that there is no way a level¡­¡± I turned back to Trent.

    ¡°Seven.¡±

    ¡°A level seven Healer could heal two slashed throats, a stab wound, and a concussion in a few minutes.¡±

    ¡°I was a little more focused on other things.¡± The brunette held up her hands.

    ¡°Like me!¡± Aelin laughed as she elbowed Justia. The Healer blushed.

    Trent cleared his throat. ¡°Anyway, I saw this as a teachable moment for both teams, so I instructed them to follow you and take Aelin hostage.¡± He pulled a crystal out of the band on his wrist and handed it to me. "I believe this is yours?¡±

    I took the level sixteen crystal from him. "I thought this was gone forever.¡± I registered what he was saying and leaned forward. "Wait, you were behind all of this?¡±

    ¡°Focus.¡± He snapped his fingers in my face, pushing me back in my seat. "When Rix offered herself instead, I told Wrye to take the deal, but up the ante.¡± He looked at Rix. "Very brave of you by the way.¡±

    The redhead just shrugged.

    ¡°Anyway, while we were trying to figure out what to do with Rix, she slipped her bindings and found a trapdoor to the third floor¡± He nodded at her again. "Thanks to you, that cave has been marked and partitioned off so students won¡¯t accidentally fall down it.¡±Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

    He smiled. "Which gave me the pleasure of directing what became a hide-and-seek match.¡± He chuckled. "I disabled the Yellow team''s skills and spells and had them spend the last four days trying to find Rix. Not only did she elude them the entire time, she managed to farm enough that she leveled up.¡±

    ¡°Way to go Rix!¡± Aelin held up her hand for a high five. ¡°Come on! You can¡¯t leave me hanging!¡±

    Rix gave in and slapped hands with Aelin. I saw a hint of a smile flash across her face for just a moment.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry that Edward didn¡¯t work out.¡± He looked at me. "I applaud your farming method, especially splitting your party in half to try to double up on experience.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡± I had to ask. "Is Edward going to be okay?¡±

    ¡°The Rene are a family of Berzerkers.¡± He shook his head. "This most recent generation of Rene has been having trouble controlling themselves. It seems that the Berserk ability has started manifesting earlier than the thirties, and in both Edward and his oldest brother¡¯s cases, it manifested without them knowing how to control it or turn it off.¡±

    ¡°In his brother¡¯s case, they were on a raid for the level thirty floor boss. He enraged and turned on the party, which resulted in a lot of Adventurers, including him, dying.¡± He shook his head. "Bethil Reder was part of that group. It took her a while to get over the shock, she just transferred here as a teacher this year to try to ease herself back into the Dungeon.¡±

    I now knew the answer to the mystery of Edward¡¯s older brother and Bethil¡¯s personality shift.

    Trent continued. "Atlas, as brutal as it was, what you did probably saved Edwards'' life. He would have kept chasing you into the boss room, which would have either disrupted your fight or had him fight it alone.¡± He waved his hand. "I¡¯m sorry you had to make that call, but I needed to know what type of leader you are.¡± Trent looked at me. "As for Edward, he was healed and sedated before he woke up. He¡¯s currently on his way to his family for treatment, then he¡¯ll be transferred to one of the Temples to finish his apprenticeship.¡±

    ¡°So does that mean we¡¯ll be getting another woman for Atlas to add to his harem?¡± Aelin batted her eyes at me.

    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Trent looked at the bubbly blonde.

    ¡°The harem.¡± She pointed at Ether. "It started with Ether, then he¡¯s going to charm Rix.¡±

    Rix went rigid as she looked at me.

    ¡°It¡¯s a delusion, don¡¯t listen to her.¡± I smiled to try to put Rix at ease. It didn¡¯t look like it worked. "Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not going to come on to you.¡±

    ¡°Until you want him to.¡± Aelin wiggled her eyebrows.

    ¡°I¡­¡± I turned to Trent. "Would you continue so she¡¯ll stop this?¡±

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 45

    ¡°Where were we?¡±

    ¡°Edward.¡± Ether cut off Aelin.

    ¡°Right." Trent moved his finger like he was thinking. "After the four of you tried the floor boss...¡± He paused and shook his head, then looked at the four of us. "The way you started the fight works, but you will almost always end up with the tank getting attacked immediately. If you¡¯re not prepared, then¡­¡± He motioned at Ether. "That happens.¡± He turned to Aelin and Justia. "Good work keeping her from getting crushed while she got out of the hood trap.¡±

    ¡°Wait.¡± I waved my right hand. "How do you know all this?¡±

    Trent snapped his fingers and a floating eyeball appeared in between us. He waved his hand and it disappeared. ¡°I can have up to seven of these things on any floor of the dungeon that I¡¯ve been to.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±

    ¡°Awesome!¡± Aelin finished for me.

    ¡°Not what I was going to say.¡± I scowled at the grinning blonde before turning to Trent. "So you were watching everything?¡±

    Trent nodded.

    ¡°And you let it happen?¡±

    ¡°You need to learn fast that the dungeon is not as easy and simple as the first floor. There are surprises, like the dust breath from the boss you weren¡¯t expecting. There are also other Adventurers, who may decide that they want your loot or your equipment. You need to be on your guard and be able to adapt.¡± He looked at each of us. "You have to be able to have most of your equipment broken and your food gone and still find a way to beat the boss and get home.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t there rescue teams?¡± Ether squeezed my arm.

    ¡°There are, but what happens if you fall to a floor that¡¯s never been explored? How long could you survive if you¡¯re waiting for a rescue?¡± He sat back in his chair. "And how long would it take you to save yourself?¡±

    He let the questions hang in the air for a few minutes.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°What was the thing at the gate about?¡± I wondered. "Why give us that choice?¡±

    ¡°I wanted to see if you¡¯d get mad and charge recklessly into danger.¡±

    ¡°What about the interrogation?¡± Ether pulled me back. "Why do that to us?¡±

    Trent looked at each of us for a little bit. ¡°It¡¯s going to be difficult to hide what Atlas is.¡± He zeroed in on Rix. "I believe you¡¯ve figured it out?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s an Abnormal.¡± Rix shrugged.

    ¡°He¡¯s more than a regular Abnormal like you.¡± Trent looked from her to me. "He has at least tens in all of his base stats and when he levels he¡¯s going to get three stat points instead of two like the rest of you.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s like a Hero Class?¡± Rix crossed her arms.

    ¡°He¡¯s a Hero?!¡± Aelin almost jumped out of her seat.

    ¡°Basically.¡± Trent looked at me. "But that¡¯s where we have a problem, because why are there heroes?¡±

    ¡°To fight the bad guys?¡± Aelin mocked punching the air in front of her.

    ¡°Not just bad guys.¡± Ether leaned forward. "The big bad guys.¡±

    ¡°What big bad guys?¡± Aelin looked confused. "Floor bosses?¡±

    ¡°Gods.¡± Ether looked at Trent who nodded.

    ¡°By the time Atlas reaches my level he¡¯ll be able to challenge the Gods themselves.¡± He looked at each of us. "Which is why I needed to know how you would react under interrogation. We can¡¯t let word of his Hero status get out. If it does, then the Gods will stop at nothing to prevent him from becoming strong enough to challenge them.¡± He let that hang in the air for a bit. "I¡¯m glad to say that you all passed, and some of you improvised quite well, but you need to be able to get your stories straight.¡±

    I realized everyone was looking at me. ¡°Thanks.¡± It was all I could think to say.

    ¡°I think the story I liked the best was the one where Rix brought the illegal drugs with her and Atlas used them, which altered his stats.¡± He nodded at Rix. "I''m particularly pleased that you were willing to cover for him after we brought you in.¡±

    ¡°You did that?¡± I hadn¡¯t thought she would cover for someone like that.

    The redhead shrugged like it was nothing.

    ¡°That¡¯s what we''re going to go with if this gets out?¡± I looked at everyone, then turned to Trent.

    The old man pulled a vial out of his crystal band. ¡°This can simulate the effects of the drug that can modify someone¡¯s stats. So it¡¯ll at least be believable for a while.¡±

    ¡°Does it work?¡± Aelin¡¯s eyes got big.

    ¡°It works, but most people never get the stat double at the next Tier.¡± He put the vial back into his crystal band. "Don¡¯t take it unless you¡¯re willing to stop going into the dungeon.¡±

    We sat in silence for a moment.

    ¡°What do we do now?¡± Aelin broke the silence.

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 46

    We went to bed.

    It had been a long few days and I¡¯d been the only one of us who had gotten a full night''s sleep. I felt guilty about that, but I was thankful that the women had done that for me.

    A bed felt weird after sleeping on the ground. It also felt cold. For a little while anyway. After about twenty minutes, Ether crawled in bed and snuggled up next to me. She rested her head on my chest and looked up at me. "Is this okay?¡±

    I rubbed her back. "We¡¯re not doing anything we wouldn¡¯t be doing with the lights on.¡±

    She nodded and closed her eyes. It wasn¡¯t long before she was asleep and it didn¡¯t take long for me to fall asleep too.

    I woke up first and looked over at Trent¡¯s bed. The old man was sitting against the headboard and gestured at me.

    ¡°Is this going to be a thing?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± I didn¡¯t have to think about the answer.

    He looked up at the ceiling and started calculating something.

    ¡°What¡¯s the plan?¡± I rolled out from under Ether, got up, and looked around. Justia and Aelin were still asleep and Rix was gone as expected.

    ¡°I want the five of you to do the First-floor boss together since Rix didn¡¯t get to participate in the fight when she cleared it.¡± Trent looked over at Justia. ¡°After that, we¡¯re going to head to Harror for a few days.¡±

    ¡°Harror?¡± I was confused. "I thought I wasn¡¯t going to be leaving the Cathedral any time soon.¡±

    ¡°Once Rix beats the floor boss, you all will be almost two weeks ahead of the other classes.¡± Trent sighed. "I need to go to the Publian Clinic to set up some things, so I¡¯m going to bring all of you along instead of leaving you here to get in the other classes way.¡± He looked over at Justia. "Maybe even do some farming in the Temple Dungeon there.¡±This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    ¡°That could be fun.¡± I looked under the bed. "Do you know where my sword is?¡±

    Trent pulled it out of his crystal band and offered it to me.

    ¡°Are we going to have some time to get some gear and maybe some spells before we redo the floor boss?¡± I took the sword from him

    ¡°I¡¯ve got a few things you can buy to help you.¡±

    I rolled my eyes. "What happened to all our crystals?¡±

    He pulled my sling bag out of his crystal band and tossed it on the foot of his bed.

    I was about to pick it up when Ether stirred. She reached out with her right arm, then slowly pushed herself up as she wiped her eyes. "Is it time to get up?¡±

    ¡°Close.¡± I picked up the sling bag. It was heavier than the last time I¡¯d picked it up.

    ¡°What¡¯re we doing?¡± She sat up and looked around.

    ¡°We have to run Rix through the first-floor boss.¡± I looked at her. "Are you up for it?¡±

    ¡°Maybe if I get a shield and some armor.¡± Ether stretched and looked at Trent. "Do you have that?¡±

    The ArchWizard pulled a round wooden shield that looked like it had been made out of materials from the Bramble Skeletons. He also laid out a leather jacket, and leather pants that looked like they had been made out of material from the Snakes we¡¯d fought.

    ¡°How much?¡± Ether eyed our teacher.

    ¡°Ten All." He handed them to her.

    ¡°Why do you think I¡¯ll buy them?¡± She sat on the side of my bed as she looked at her loot.

    ¡°The same reason I know that you¡¯ll take this.¡± He pulled a piece of paper out of the crystal band and put it on the pile.

    ¡°A skill?¡± Ether looked at it. "Shield Attack? Do I need that?¡±

    ¡°You have the crystal.¡± He looked at the bag, then at her. "You can only learn a finite number of skills and spells.¡± He nodded at the piece of paper. "That¡¯s one way we get these. That skill, for instance, won¡¯t work with a shield made from materials found deeper than floor ten.¡±

    ¡°So when Adventurers outgrow their skills¡­¡±

    ¡°They sell them to help pay for new ones.¡± He nodded. "Nothing wrong with adding something when you¡¯ve got the space and the All.¡±

    ¡°What about me?¡± I handed the sling bag back to him,

    ¡°I¡¯ve got stuff for everyone.¡± Trent smiled at me.

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 47

    It felt weird to be traveling in gear.

    All five of us were in leather armor. The pants felt like they were lined with something because they weren¡¯t slick. Instead, it felt like fabric on the inside, but it was still much warmer, but that was probably because I¡¯d been running around in just my shorts for the last few days.

    I¡¯d bought a new spell as well. It was called Bind and was supposed to restrain a target. I thought it would be particularly useful with this boss.

    We were all matching in our leather garb that had been colored blue, giving it a very unique pattern.

    Ether was carrying her shield on her back and seemed to be in a much better mood now that she was fully awake.

    Rix had a rope wrapped around her from shoulder to hip that was some sort of ranged weapon, but I wasn¡¯t sure how it was supposed to work because it looked flimsier than a whip. She¡¯d also gotten the skill Dash which seemed pretty accurate to go along with her other skill, Hide Presence. We¡¯d also given her the knife back. Trent had given it to her as a replacement for the one she¡¯d lost the first day.

    Aelin had been torn between a weapon or a spell, she¡¯d settled for a bow and the spell Magic Arrow.

    Despite her earlier resolution, Justia had decided that her Magic stat was too low and ammo cost too much at the beginning levels, so she had taken a snakeblade similar to mine. For her skill, she¡¯d taken the spell Light, specifically for this fight.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    We ported to the gate on the second floor, which was kind of cheating as a way to get to the first-floor boss, but it beat walking through the first floor. That could also be why it felt hot, we were in a desert biome instead of a forest one.

    ¡°Is everyone ready?¡± I looked at Ether. "Please try not to get eaten this time.¡±

    ¡°That worked out pretty well for us last time.¡± She reminded me.

    ¡°Not for my heart, it didn¡¯t.¡± I pulled her close so I could hug her. "Everyone knows the plan?¡±

    ¡°Light it up, bind it, and break it.¡± Aelin counted the steps off on her fingers.

    ¡°Right.¡± I pushed on the gate and selected the option from the display that simply read back.

    The gate flared to life and we walked into the darkness.

    ¡°Is everyone here?¡±

    ¡°Here!¡± Aelin piped

    ¡°Here.¡± Rix was a surprising second.

    ¡°Here.¡± Justia and Ether said at almost the same time.

    ¡°Alright, Justia ready whenever you are.¡±

    ¡°LIGHT!¡± There was a flash of light and the entire room was illuminated for a split second, then the light died down to just shining in about a ten-foot radius above Justia.

    Sand fell from the ceiling and the room began to light up naturally. The Bramble Snake began coiling up and raised its head into the air.

    I pulled out my sword and Aelin readied her bow. Ether took her shield off of her back and strapped it to her arm.

    Justia was opting not to draw her weapon and I didn¡¯t blame her, she wasn¡¯t wanting to fight up close right now.

    I looked over at Rix. The redhead unwound the rope around her and a weight clanged as it hit the rocky floor. I still didn¡¯t see how it was going to be useful. Then I didn¡¯t see Rix at all.

    Her Hide Presence ability gave her near invisibility for a little while. Unlike all of our skills and spells, hers had a cooldown.

    ¡°Let¡¯s do this!¡± I pointed the sword at the boss.

    ¡°BIND!¡±

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 48

    Two vines shot out of the ground and wrapped around a rib of the snake.

    It wasn¡¯t going to hold it long, but we just needed to disrupt it. The snake''s head was knocked to the side as the weight at the end of the rope collided with it.

    Rix, now visible, danced away from the snake, pulling her rope back and snapping it at the tail that tried to swipe her.

    ¡°LOOK AT ME!¡± Ether made the immobile boss focus on her.

    ¡°Magic Arrow!¡± Aelin mimicked pulling an arrow on the bow. A pink, because what else should I have expected, arrow materialized. She let it loose and it bit into the snake''s head.

    ¡°Oh! I want to try something!¡± The blonde looked at Rix. "Hit it again!¡±

    I started running at it. One of the vines holding it snapped.

    ¡°Bind!¡± I pointed at the middle of the snake. The vine still connected vanished as two new vines latched on to the Boss.

    ¡°Good to know." I muttered to no one in particular as I hacked at the ribs and backed away.

    ¡°Harden!¡±

    The weight went through one of the smaller ribs.

    ¡°Victory!¡± Aelin began jumping up and down.

    The snake had decided that if it wasn¡¯t going to be able to move and it couldn¡¯t swipe the two people attacking it, it was going to sandblast Ether. It started charging.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    ¡°Charging!¡± I remembered that I had forgotten to explain what that meant. "Hit it!¡±

    Rix started smashing into it with her improvised ball and chain. Aelin was shooting arrows at its face while I was hacking at what I could. I knew that I would have done more damage with an ax, but I was going to stay away from those for a while.

    The snake started spewing sand, which Ether braced against while blocking most of the blast. The remaining stream curved around the shield, falling harmlessly to the rock floor.

    Once the snake was done with its breath attack, it turned towards me and snapped with its jaws.

    ¡°BIND!¡± I dodged to the side as the vines holding the middle of the snake vanished and two new vines shot out of the ground and latched on to the head.

    The whole snake almost flipped over as its head slammed into the ground. I used the opportunity to close back in. I started hacking at ribs while Rix and Aelin attacked the head. No one had gotten hit, so there wasn¡¯t much for Justia to do since she was only focusing on healing.

    The snake struggled harder against the vines. I¡¯m not sure if it was the snake or a stray attack, but one of the restraints snapped and vanished.

    ¡°BIND!¡±

    New vines replaced the old ones and the monster remained pinned. We were taking off large portions of the monster¡¯s body.

    ¡°Shield Attack!¡± Ether threw her shield. It collided with the boss''s nose and bounced off it back to her hands.

    The four of us continued our assault. It was almost too easy, despite the heavy investment in holding it in place. It took us almost twenty minutes to defeat the boss, but we did it this time without getting hit.

    Aelin started cheering as the monster vanished into smoke. There was a clang and I heard clapping. There was an image of Trent walking towards us. I could see the eyeball above him projecting the image.

    ¡°Congratulations!¡± Our teacher was smiling. "Collect your loot and come back, We¡¯re leaving right after we eat.¡±

    ¡°Ugh.¡± Aelin groaned. "I hate ration bars.¡±

    ¡°No ration bars this time.¡± He winked. "I¡¯m taking you to the cafe.¡±

    He vanished before we could ask him anything else.

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 49

    ¡°Did you know we had a cafe?¡±

    Aelin sounded happy, agitated, and confused all in one.

    We each shook our heads.

    ¡°I assumed that there was some central mealroom for people to eat, but it was possible that each wing was equipped with kitchens for their specific areas." Ether sat down next to me.

    Rix just walked over to the boss crystal and threw it to Aelin, who had become our crystal holder now.

    Aelin caught the crystal and put it in the very empty front pouch of the sling bag. Trent had promised to count out our crystals and tell us how much all it was worth, so our trusty bag now only had two boxes of rations and three bottles of water in it.

    While Trent had said that we were just going to fight the boss and come back, none of us trusted that he might not decide to lock us in the dungeon again. While we all preferred fruit to the ration bars, they took up much less space, which made not having to worry about more meals offset the flavorless bars.

    ¡°What else did we get?¡± Ether walked over to where Rix was looking at a piece of paper.

    ¡°Siphon?¡± Ether looked at me. "I think we have another spell for you.¡±

    ¡°Do you think I should take it?¡± I looked at everyone. "This is worth a lot of crystal.¡±Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°Things that make one of us stronger, make all of us stronger.¡± Justia nodded. "Use it.¡±

    I took the paper that Rix offered and tore it in half.

    ¡°What does it do?¡± Aelin was hopping from one foot to the other

    ¡°We probably should have looked that up before I used it.¡± I looked at Ether and RIx. "Do either of you know?¡±

    They both shook their heads.

    I looked at Justia.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a healing spell.¡± Our brown-eyed Healer thought for a moment. "At least not one that I¡¯ve seen used.¡±

    ¡°Try it out!¡± Aelin grabbed me by the shoulders and turned me away from everyone.

    ¡°Ok.¡± I pointed my finger at the wall.

    ¡°Siphon.¡±

    Nothing happened.

    I turned around and shrugged.

    ¡°Maybe it needs some help?¡± Aelin grinned. "I can cast¡­¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need you to do that.¡± I interrupted her.

    ¡°Maybe it needs a target?¡± Ether offered.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then it¡¯ll have to wait because I¡¯m not walking out to the first floor to try it on a snake and I¡¯m definitely not traipsing around the desert looking for whatever there is out there to fight.¡± I motioned at the gate back to the first floor. ¡°We should head back. You know how fickle Trent can be. If we take too long he might dream up another ¡®training exercise¡¯ for us.¡±

    ¡°Someone can¡¯t wait to get to Harror so he can get the next member of his harem.¡± Aelin teased as she skipped towards the gate.

    ¡°That¡¯s not..!¡±

    ¡°Hey! Rix!¡± Aelin cut me off. "When are you going to join the harem? Atlas could fit three in his bed.¡±

    ¡°Aelin!¡± I charged after her as she danced through the gate.

 Book 2 The Test - Chapter 50

    We made it to the dormitory without a complication.

    Unless you could call Aelin¡¯s teasing a complication.

    I could tell it made Rix uneasy, but the golden-skinned shooter hadn¡¯t said anything about it.

    We stowed our gear at the Dorm and then Trent began the trek to the cafe. As we were walking, I moved to the side so that I could talk to Rix.

    ¡°Rix." I lowered my voice so that I wouldn¡¯t grab Aelin¡¯s attention. "You know that stuff Aelin is spouting. You don¡¯t have to worry about it. We¡¯re a team and I don¡¯t want to do anything that might jeopardize that.¡±

    Rix nodded and we walked in silence for a little while.

    ¡°Are you planning on having a harem?¡±

    Her question surprised me. I hadn¡¯t thought she¡¯d want to have a conversation, especially not about that.

    ¡°Right now?¡± I looked at the white-haired woman talking to Aelin. "I wasn¡¯t planning on getting this close to Ether, but it happened. So if it happens, it happens.¡± I looked at the redhead. "But my main focus is on trying to get stronger so that I don¡¯t get squashed by the Gods when they figure out what I am.¡± I nodded at Aelin. "And don¡¯t let it get to you. Ether thinks Aelin is going on about a harem because she¡¯s nervous about the connection she has with Justia and is trying to figure out how to process it.¡±

    ¡°What does Ether think about you having a harem?¡±

    I slowed down. "Surprisingly okay with it. I didn¡¯t think she¡¯d be one to share, but she has been egging Aelin on too, so there¡¯s that.¡±The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    Rix nodded as we went through large double doors. The smells of food hit us and my stomach growled. We hadn¡¯t eaten ration bars specifically because we¡¯d been promised real food.

    I hadn¡¯t eaten food like this but a handful of times in the last four years. The temptation to pile a plate with a little of everything was strong, but they didn¡¯t have plates large enough for that, so I¡¯d just have to come back for seconds.

    The cafe was filled with clergy as well as other teams. I saw the Yellow team and their teacher sitting near the back wall.

    Wrye waved at me and I waved back. It felt strange to not feel resentment towards them. I¡¯d been angry at them for the past few days, but after learning that they¡¯d mostly been following orders and that Rix had humiliated them, I didn¡¯t feel the need to get even. If they wanted to be friendly, I was open to that.

    I saw the other three first year teams as well. As my eyes crossed over Bridget¡¯s, she blew me a kiss.

    ¡°Moving on so quickly?¡± Rix raised an eyebrow

    I turned beet red.

    ¡°Unless¡­ that¡¯s the blonde?¡±

    I looked at her. "How do you know about that?¡±

    ¡°I heard the Yellow team talking about it, the guys are really jealous.¡±

    ¡°Ugh." I realized that meant it was probably gossip, and now that we could eat here¡­ ¡°I¡¯m never going to hear the end of it once Aelin hears about it.¡±

    ¡°Once Aelin hears about what?¡¯ Aelin slid next to us.

    ¡°About how good this food is!¡± I motioned at the lanes of food. "How long do you think it¡¯ll take you to try everything?¡±

    Aelin eyed the two of us. "Right.¡± She motioned with two fingers.¡± I¡¯ve got my eyes on the two of you.¡± She grinned and moved down the line to cut in front of Justia.

    ¡°This is my life now.¡± I let my shoulders sag.

    ¡°It¡¯s better than back home.¡± Rix slapped me on the back.

    I thought about it. The last week had been crazy, but I wouldn¡¯t trade it to go back to the way things were before the Mantle Trial.

    ¡°Nah.¡± I elbowed Rix. "Because this is home now.¡±

 Book 2 The Test - Flashback

    ¡°What are you doing!?¡±

    Hayz Calx stepped into the clearing. She hadn¡¯t been fast enough to stop the other three students from running away. Maybe if she hadn¡¯t been preoccupied with keeping two of her students alive, she might have been able to stop the first years from leaving.

    The brown-haired, brown-eyed green-skinned Healer had realized what her new students had planned to do too late. Because Mister Vowler had locked the first-floor gate, she¡¯d had to warp to the second floor and go through the boss room to get there. She was level thirty-four and had sub-classed as a Caster, so she¡¯d been able to destroy the Bramble Snake fairly quickly, but it had delayed her almost too much.

    She looked at the black-haired man. "Explain yourself!¡±

    ¡°We were just wanting to scare them a bit.¡± He confessed. "We didn¡¯t think they¡¯d take it¡­¡± He felt his neck. "This far.¡±

    She glared at her students. She knew they were upset at having their teacher changed, but that wasn¡¯t an excuse to do something stupid like this.

    ¡°You are going to stay here, while I go after them¡­¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s not do that.¡± Trent Vowler shimmered into view.

    Hayz wasn¡¯t surprised that her former teacher was there. She had a feeling that he may have even nudged what just happened into being.

    ¡°How long have you been there?¡±If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    The older man smiled but didn¡¯t answer the question. "How about we turn this into a teachable moment?¡± He looked at his former students. "Part of their training right now is survival, but what happens if another party decides to steal from them and leave them for dead?¡±

    ¡°Seriously?¡± Hayz shook her head. "Your firecracker almost killed two of them!¡± She pointed at the younger healer. "Flaer wouldn¡¯t have been able to save them! If I hadn¡¯t gotten here..!¡±

    The crafty old man pointed at the ground. She hadn¡¯t noticed it before because she¡¯d been so focused on going after her rogue students.

    ¡°A Recovery Field¡± The ground in a fifty-foot radius around the old Caster shone.

    He nodded. "I assure you, it was under control.¡±

    ¡°Fine." Hayz threw up her hands. "What do you want to do?¡±

    Trent Vowler pointed at Wrye. "Track those three down and bring them to the door of the dungeon boss.¡± He stroked his chin. "Take one of them, the blonde will probably motivate them enough. Tell the other two that you¡¯re going to torture her until they beat the floor boss and meet you on the second floor.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s crazy!¡± Hayz slashed her hands. "You can¡¯t be serious.¡±

    ¡°You know what can happen in the dungeon.¡± Her former teacher glared at her. "If they learn how to fend for themselves early, then maybe we won¡¯t have teams that are easy to PK and we won¡¯t see so many promising Adventurers die because they fall down a few floors!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Hayz knew he was right. This could be turned into a teachable moment for the first years. "What about the Yellow team?¡± She motioned at her students. "What punishment do you propose to give them a ¡®teachable¡¯ moment.¡±

    ¡°They wanted me back as their teacher?¡± His eyes promised mischief. "I have a few days that I¡¯m not going to be doing much¡­¡± he looked at the other teacher. "Oh, I¡¯ve got an idea for you too.¡±

    She swallowed. It¡¯d been over a decade since she¡¯d graduated and yet somehow he made her feel like a student again. Hayz sighed. "What do you want me to do?¡±

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Stat Readouts

    Trent Vowler - Level 62

    Age: 132, Hair: White, Eye Color: Brown

    Skin: White, Blood: Black, Height: 6¡¯2¡±

    10,435,981 Exp

    ArchWizard

    240 Power 336 Defense 875 Speed

    1903 Magic 848 Recovery 304 Aura

    <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1); border-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1); border-style: none" border="1">

    <tbody>

    <tr>

    <td style="width: 33.3598%; text-align: center">Atlas Zeb - Level 2

    Age: 18, Hair: White, Eye color: Green

    Skin: White, Blood: Black, Height: 6¡¯

    101.9 Exp

    Caster (Godling)

    8 Power 6 (10) Defense 6 (10) Speed

    12 Magic 3 (10) Recovery 3 (10) Aura

    Stat Points: 0 (3)

    Skill: Dash, Pebble Shot, Bind, Siphon</td>

    <td style="width: 32.7646%; text-align: center">Justia Publian - Level 2

    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.Age: 18, Hair: Brown, Eye color: Blue

    Skin: Green, Blood: Green, Height: 5¡¯7¡±

    104.5 Exp

    Healer

    8 Power 4 Defense 6 Speed

    3 Magic 10 Recovery 4 Aura

    Stat Points: 2

    Skill: Minor Heal Wounds, Light</td>

    <td style="width: 33.955%; text-align: center">Ether Klix - Level 2

    Age: 18, Hair: White, Eye color: Red

    Skin: White, Blood: White, Height: 5¡¯6¡±

    104.5 Exp

    Tank

    6 Power 10 Defense 3 Speed

    4 Magic 8 Recovery 6 Aura

    Stat Points: 0

    Skill: Look At Me, Shield Attack</td>

    </tr>

    <tr>

    <td style="width: 33.3598%; text-align: center">Aelin Zeb - Level 2

    Age: 18, Hair: Blonde, Eye color: Brown

    Skin: Brown, Blood: Red, Height: 5¡¯2¡±

    101.9 Exp

    Buffer

    3 Power 4 Defense 8 Speed

    8 Magic 4 Recovery 10 Aura

    Stat Points: 0

    Skill: Harden, Magic Arrow</td>

    <td style="width: 32.7646%; text-align: center">Rix Zeb - Level 2

    Age: 18, Hair: Red, Eye color: Brown

    Skin: Golden, Blood: Golden, Height: 5¡¯9¡±

    169.8 Exp

    Shooter

    8 Power 8 Defense 10 Speed

    1 Magic 5 Recovery 5 Aura

    Stat Points: 0

    Skill: Hide Presence, Dash</td>

    <td style="width: 33.955%; text-align: center"> </td>

    </tr>

    </tbody>

    </table>

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 1

    Magic burned into my skin.

    ¡°OW!¡± I tried to pull away, but I couldn¡¯t even budge within my teacher¡¯s iron grasp.

    ¡°If you can¡¯t hold still, then I¡¯m going to have to paralyze you to put this seal on.¡± Trent Vowler brushed his fingers over the magical seal over my heart. The white-haired snow-white-skinned ArchWizard looked at me with his brown eyes. "You¡¯re the one who wanted to stay awake for this.¡±

    ¡°I think you should,¡± Aelin Zeb, the blonde-haired brown-eye brow-skinned Buffer of our team, walked over to my bed. "I really think you should! He¡¯s complaining enough.¡±

    ¡°If you think it¡¯s so easy, then how about you try it next?¡± I leaned back against Ether Klix. My head was in the white-haired red-eyed snow white-skinned woman¡¯s lap while I lay on my bed as Trent burned magic onto my skin.

    ¡°Why Atlas." The blonde wiggled her eyebrows. "Is that your way of trying to see me without a shirt on?¡± She clicked her tongue. "You won¡¯t stop trying to add me to your harem, but I keep telling you I¡¯m not available.¡±

    I closed my eyes. I don¡¯t know who had gotten her started on the idea of a harem, but she hadn¡¯t shut up about it since yesterday.

    I chose to try to ignore her. ¡°Why do we have to do this again?¡± I could feel sweat beading on my forehead.

    Ether wiped the sweat away with a cloth as Trent added another detail.

    I tried to focus on the room instead of the pain.

    We were in a large room with a single bathroom in the back. There were seven beds, three on one side and four on the other. Each of the members of the Blue team had their own bed, though the one across from mine was currently empty. It had belonged to Edward Rene, but a few days ago he had awakened his family¡¯s Berzerk ability. As a level one, he hadn¡¯t been able to control it and attacked us. I¡¯d been forced to disable him and he¡¯d been transferred to his family for rehabilitation.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    ¡°This is the only way you¡¯re going to be allowed to leave the Cathedral.¡± Trent brushed his fingers over the sword crossed with a staff tattoo that he had been drawing over my heart with just his finger. ¡°This will fool any Crystal into thinking that your stats are of a regular Abnormal and that your class is Caster, not Hero.¡±

    Most newly Mantled Adventurers had a stat spread of ten - eight - six - four - four - three spread across their Power, Defense, Speed, Magic, Recovery, and Aura stats unless they were an Abnormal. An Abnormal was someone with a different allocation of stats and some had a point total of thirty-six instead of thirty-five. My stats were all ten, except for my Magic, which was twelve. My class was also not Hero, like we had told the other members of my team except for Justia Publian, who knew the truth. It wasn¡¯t even one of the regular starting classes of Hitter, Tank, Shooter, Caster, Healer, Buffer. It was Godling.

    In my world, the Gods ruled each of their cities. These Gods were seen as supreme beings that no one knew how they came into existence, except now I did. They all started at level one like any other Adventurer and steadily worked their way up in secret.

    The only issue was that there was a finite amount of land, wealth, and citizens, so there was almost always a war going on between some cities. It also meant that none of the current Gods wanted to see another one rise to power, so they would kill any Godlings they discovered to prevent a potential future challenge to their city.

    The All-Temple, the non-affiliated clergy, had taken me in to hide me from the other Gods and help me level so that one day I might get strong enough to put an end to the constant wars that were tearing apart the world.

    Trent had to go to the Publian Clinic, where Justia¡¯s parents worked, in Harror to upgrade the building''s security. Since we were almost two weeks ahead of the other classes, we were going along to keep up appearances, but since I was going to be in public, something had to be done to hide what I was.

    ¡°I know that.¡± I gritted my teeth as he resumed burning my skin. I leaned back against Ether. "I just really wish there was a less painful way.¡±

    Trent stopped and looked at me.

    ¡°Without knocking me out!¡± While I was powerless to stop him, I felt like I needed to be awake while he worked on me.

    He shrugged and kept drawing.

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 2

    I felt fire in my chest with every step.

    It had taken a few hours for Trent to finish the seal and now I knew why he had done this after I ate. While I wasn¡¯t nauseous, just the thought of swallowing food right now made me wince. I was also seriously thinking about just taking off my gray shirt and blue leather jacket. Since our team¡¯s color was Blue, that was the color of clothes we were supposed to wear so everyone at the Cathedral would know what team we were on.

    I kept my shirt on, if for no other reason than I didn¡¯t want to give Aelin another reason to tease me.

    Trent led the five of us outside where there was a black RV with white trim waiting for us.

    ¡°We get to ride in an Enforcer car?¡± Aelin skipped ahead. "Can I drive?¡±

    The Enforcers were the All-Temple¡¯s private security. I looked over at Trent. "Won¡¯t this call too much attention to us?¡±

    ¡°Definitely.¡± Trent smiled. "But we are sending a message, so attention is what we want.¡±

    He opened the door and motioned for us to get in.

    Our blonde Buffer was the first one inside. She made a beeline for the driver¡¯s seat and sat down.

    Justia got in next, followed by myself and Ether. Rix looked like she wanted to go last, but Trent reserved that for himself.

    The RV wasn¡¯t very spacious, but it had the basics. The back had two rows of bunk beds, so only four could sleep at a time. There was a door between them that I assumed was the bathroom, since there weren¡¯t any other rooms. A sink and locked cupboards were in front of us and a booth was to our left. In front were two captain¡¯s chairs.

    ¡°What do you have mounted?¡± Rix pointed at the seven-foot ceiling.

    I hadn¡¯t noticed that there was what looked like a retractable platform the size of the skylight above us.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!

    ¡°Dual laser rails, they¡¯ll chew through crystals, but should disable most things.¡± Trent reached above him and banged on the skylight. ¡°If we see any trouble, they¡¯re yours.¡± He clapped Aelin on the shoulders. "You ready to go?¡±

    ¡°Wait, you¡¯re not seriously letting her drive?¡± I looked at Ether and Justia for support. "Am I the only one who thinks she¡¯s going to go too fast and kill us?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s mostly open road from here to there.¡± Trent sat down in the passenger¡¯s seat. "We shouldn¡¯t see too much traffic, so I don¡¯t see a problem with letting her have a turn.¡± He looked at the other four of us. "Anyone else want to drive?¡±

    I shook my head. I had spent most of the last four years in the dungeon and anywhere that I¡¯d needed to go, was within walking distance. I¡¯d been in a vehicle a handful of times, but I¡¯d never driven one.

    ¡°I¡¯d like a turn.¡± Ether looked at the other two women.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like driving something this big.¡± Justia shook her head.

    Ether raised an eyebrow. "You¡¯ve driven something like this?¡±

    ¡°My parents own something similar for traveling to Noble functions outside the city.¡± The green-skinned sat down in the booth, ¡°I¡¯ve also driven our ambulance.¡±

    Justia was the only Noble on our team, so it made sense that she¡¯d have driven regularly before now.

    ¡°What about you, Rix?¡± The red-eyed woman turned to the golden-skinned redhead.

    ¡°I prefer Chasers.¡± The tanned woman was running her fingers over the trim. "More maneuverability.¡±

    ¡°Ether gets a turn when we stop for a break!¡± Trent pointed at the navigation system. "Aelin, you have the wheel.¡±

    The RV hummed to life and Aelin drove to the gate. It wasn¡¯t long before we had made our way through it and were on the open road.

    I sat down across from Justia and Ether slid in beside me.

    Ether looked over at Rix, who was leaning against the cupboard. "You can sit next to Justia, I¡¯m sure she doesn¡¯t mind.¡±

    The redhead looked like she was going to refuse, but after a pause, sighed and sat down next to the green-skinned woman.

    The brunette looked as uncomfortable as Rix did and there was enough room to put Aelin in between them.

    ¡°You¡¯ve driven one of these before?¡± Ether looked at Rix.

    The redhead slowly nodded. "The Cobra Bandits would refit them to use to attack convoys.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Ether looked from Rix to Justia. "Are you excited to be going home so soon?¡±

    Justia looked at me and shrugged, then looked out the window.

    It was going to be a long car ride.

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 3

    We stopped after an hour.

    There weren¡¯t any cities between the Cathedral and Harror. Most Realms were a single city, or a city and the outskirts. Cities were built around Dungeon Mouths, and sometimes a God would claim it as part of their realm, but there really weren¡¯t many cities that weren¡¯t built out of necessity.

    Because of the near-constant state of war, most people lived within the cities as a means of self-preservation. There were some cities, like Zeb where I came from, that weren¡¯t part of a Realm, but those weren¡¯t many.

    There were people who chose to live in the Godless zones outside of cities, but most of those were Bandits, like the ones who had raised Rix. It made travel outside of a Realm dangerous, so it was only ever done in a caravan or with someone like Trent, who was one of the highest leveled Adventurers. I hoped that we didn¡¯t see any Bandits just because I didn¡¯t want to see how badly he would annihilate them.

    The RV ran off of crystals, and I was sure that Trent would have a supply that would be sufficient to power it for decades. Plus, there weren¡¯t any Crystal Brokers outside the City walls. They¡¯d be too easy of a target for Bandits.

    The place where we parked didn¡¯t look like a stop, but there was space beside the road for the RV to fit. I had been surprised when Aelin had only been a slight speed demon. I had fully expected that she¡¯d push the RV as fast as it¡¯d go.

    Trent looked over at the woods across the road and the grass behind us. "We¡¯ll stretch our legs here for a while. Once we head out again, Ether will drive.¡±

    ¡°But..!¡± Aelin began

    ¡°You had a turn.¡± Trent nodded at Ether. "It¡¯s Ether¡¯s turn. Maybe you can drive if we need to go somewhere in the city.¡±

    That brightened the blonde¡¯s face and she began to skip beside the road.

    ¡°What are we going to be doing there?¡± I rubbed my chest, to ease the pain, but that only made it flare, causing me to instantly pull my hand away.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re in the sixties." I motioned at all of us. "We¡¯re level two. There¡¯s no way that we are going to be helpful.¡±

    ¡°Harror has how many dungeons?¡± Trent looked at Justia.

    ¡°Two.¡± The Brunette seemed reluctant to answer. "A Common one and an Uncommon one.¡±

    ¡°The All-Temple there manages the Common one, while the Dispatchers have control of the Uncommon one.¡± He looked from the Healer to me. "While we¡¯re there, I want you all to get to the second floor of each.¡± He raised his hand. "The Cathedral takes all the newly Mantled from Zeb, then fills the remainder of the slots with newly Mantled from the five realms closest to us. The School there doesn¡¯t have as even of a distribution, so you should be able to find a new member for your team while you¡¯re in the dungeons.¡±

    ¡°We get to pick the next woman for Atlas¡¯ harem?¡± Aelin was suddenly interested in the conversation.

    I tried to ignore her and that had gotten a chuckle out of Trent. "I thought you had a request for another team member.¡±

    ¡°I canceled that.¡± The old man winked at Aelin. "I thought you¡¯d want to have a say in how your¡­¡± He motioned at Aelin.

    ¡°Harem!¡± The Blonde laughed.

    ¡°Is built.¡±

    Ether was smiling as well, and I already knew I wasn¡¯t going to get any help out of her. I looked at Justia. "Justia! Can you help me talk some sense into them?¡±

    The green-skinned brunette was staring off nowhere.

    ¡°Justia!¡±

    She blinked and looked at me. "Atlas, sorry. What did you need?¡±

    ¡°A little help here.¡± I motioned at the smiling duo. "They want me to pick the next member of the team.¡±

    ¡°Harem!¡± Aelin corrected.

    ¡°Whoever you want.¡± She shook her head. "If Ether is okay with them joining, then I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll work fine.¡± She looked at Trent. "I¡¯m not feeling well. Can I go lie down?¡±

    He nodded, his smile turning a little serious as he watched the Healer get back into the RV.

    ¡°Is she going to be okay?¡± I had seen her shocked, but not distant like this.

    ¡°I¡¯ll check on her.¡± Aelin didn¡¯t wait for permission and headed after Justia.

    ¡°We should probably get back on the road.¡± Trent looked at Ether. "You¡¯re driving.¡± He motioned for us to move. He looked at Rix, who I just realized had climbed on top of the RV and was sitting on the roof. ¡°Rix! Time to pack up!¡±

    The golden-skinned redhead jumped down and beat us inside.

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 4

    I was sitting shotgun.

    Trent had wanted to talk to Rix and Aelin about their stat distribution. He had told me that I had to hold off on mine since I had twelve Magic and that would be too difficult to mask. He¡¯d promised that he¡¯d let me spend all of my stat points before Level ten, when stats doubled, but until then, I¡¯d have to focus on not revealing my stat spread. I wondered how he was going to intervene if I got in a dangerous situation, but I had no doubt he¡¯d know about the trouble long before I did.

    I looked at Ether. "Aren¡¯t you going a little fast?¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t want to drive.¡± She tightened her grip on the wheel and we accelerated. The snow-white-skinned woman looked at me. "Isn¡¯t this fun?¡±

    ¡°Eyes on the road!¡± I pushed both feet into the floorboard.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so dramatic.¡± Ether took her right hand off the wheel to smack my knee.

    My heart was beating faster as I fought the urge to caution her again. I decided to try to get her focused on a different conversation and maybe that would get her to slow down.

    ¡°Have you thought about our party¡¯s composition?¡±

    She looked at me and I began to think that talking to her might not be the safest thing.

    ¡°You¡¯re doing the spell sword thing, which puts you in the front lines with me.¡± She smiled and put her hand on my knee, then turned her focus back to the road. "Aelin wants to be ranged Magic support, which puts her in the back with Justia, and Rix is midrange with that Rope-knife thing she¡¯s made.¡±

    ¡°Right, but aren¡¯t most Power classes close range?¡±

    She looked back at me. "Spears can be mid-ranged, but yes, most are in the front.¡±

    ¡°Will that be too many in the front?¡± I looked behind us at the others, mainly to see if Aelin was paying attention to us. "When we get our last member?¡±If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°Atlas Zeb, you wouldn¡¯t be thinking of leaving me?¡± She gave me a very poor fake pouting face.

    ¡°No!¡± I grabbed the dashboard and braced myself as she hit a bump.

    Ether laughed. "It¡¯ll be fine. Actually, it¡¯ll work out better because, until the teens, I¡¯ll only be able to tank one thing at a time, so having you upfront to off-tank will protect her.¡±

    ¡°Her?¡±

    Ether laughed. "You know that Aelin will throw a fit if you replace Edward with another guy.¡± She looked back at the road. "And I didn¡¯t think you were the type of guy who¡¯d be upset with having an entire team full of women?¡±

    ¡°What are we talking about?¡± I jumped as Aelin grabbed the back of my chair with both of her hands.

    ¡°Nothing..!¡± I looked at Ether. "We were just talking about what to subclass into.¡±

    ¡°Nothing about the subclassed.¡± Aelin moved in between us and sat down on the edge of my seat facing Ether.

    I scooted to the side to give her as much room as I could.

    ¡°What are we looking for?¡± Aelin started babbling. "Tall, short? Snow or Ginger? Oh! We could try to get a demihuman! Atlas how do you feel about Kitsune? A fox-girl would be hot. Or A¡­¡±

    I clamped my hand over her mouth. I pulled it away when she licked it.

    ¡°Very mature.¡± I wiped my hand on the seat. I was wearing leather-covered pants and I didn¡¯t feel like wiping it on my shirt.

    ¡°Like muffling me?¡± She looked at me over her shoulder.

    ¡°I¡¯d like it if you¡¯d give it a rest about the harem.¡± I turned to where Rix and Trent were still talking in the booth. ¡°You¡¯re making Rix uncomfortable and me too.¡±

    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll stop teasing Rix¡­¡± She put her hand on my leg, then laughed when I pulled away. "But you¡¯re fair game.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to be with Justia?¡± I tried to push her off the seat, but she braced against the driver¡¯s seat. I could have overpowered her, but it would have hurt her and probably Ether. I sighed and stopped.

    ¡°Why? Are you wanting to know if I¡¯d join the two of you?¡± She wiggled her eyebrows.

    Ether laughed.

    ¡°Aelin, please.¡± I took a deep breath and closed my eyes until I slowly released it all. ¡°Don¡¯t tease Justia. She¡¯s in a weird enough headspace as it is.¡±

    Aelin¡¯s shoulders sagged as she started to speak, then stopped. "Fine, I¡¯ll¡­¡± She lowered her voice even further. "I have no idea what to do.¡± She slid off the seat in between the space between the two chairs and grabbed the back of both of our chairs as she crouched. "What do I do?¡±

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 5

    I hadn¡¯t expected that reaction.

    I looked at the blonde and could see the sincerity on her face. Ether had been right in her assessment that Aelin was acting out in an attempt to divert attention from her own romantic life.

    ¡°Aelin¡­¡±

    ¡°Have you talked to her?¡± Ether interrupted.

    Aelin looked confused. "Justia? Yes..?¡±

    ¡°About the two of you?¡±

    The blonde shook her head. "We¡¯re never alone, you know?¡± She looked at each of us. "Like you two.¡±

    ¡°When are we alone?¡± I realized that I may have asked my question a little too fast.

    ¡°All the time!¡± Aelin hung her head. ¡°The two of you were always together at night, like on watch.¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t allowed to have a watch shift the last night we were in the dungeon and if I remember correctly, you had as much time on watch with Justia as Ether and I had with each other.¡±

    ¡°Atlas, that was before.¡± Aelin punched me in the shoulder. ¡°That doesn¡¯t count.¡±

    I was thoroughly confused. "How does..?¡±

    ¡°You need to talk to her.¡± Ether looked away from the road again. "I¡¯ll help the two of you find time to talk.¡±

    ¡°You will! Thanks!¡± She stood up and wrapped her arms around Ether¡¯s neck, hugging her from behind the driver¡¯s seat.

    I pushed my feet into the floorboard and grabbed the dash. I don¡¯t know what the RV was made out of, but I didn¡¯t leave even a small indentation. I wanted to complain about road safety, but the look Ether gave me was enough to keep me quiet. I knew Aelin needed reassurance right now, but I would have preferred if it could have waited until we stopped.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    Aelin let go and went to the booth to bother Rix and Trent. We rode in silence for a little while before Ether looked at me and spoke just above a whisper.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a bad idea, you know.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m all on board with her talking to Justia.¡± I was confused.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t talking about that.¡±

    I started to blush. "Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re buying into that harem thing?¡± I tried a different approach. "You seriously want to share me with another woman?¡±

    ¡°From a practical standpoint, I already am.¡± She was keeping her eyes on the road. "Aelin, Justia, even Rix. Creating a harem would allow you to bind everyone together, which would help keep your secret safe.¡±

    ¡°I could have Trent do that anyway.¡± I thought about the binding contract I had been a part of on my first day at the Cathedral.

    ¡°And what happens if one of those women gets married to someone else?¡± She looked at me. "Some bonds can supersede even the strongest seals.¡±

    ¡°What about Justia and Aelin?¡±

    ¡°What about them?¡± Ether looked back at the road.

    ¡°Justia would never join and I wouldn¡¯t ask her to share, so Aelin would be out too.¡± I shook my head. "Regardless of her nervous flirting.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a closed loop.¡± Ether leaned back in her chair and glanced at the road before looking back at me. "Both of them would be in the contract, which would mean they wouldn¡¯t have to keep it from their partner.¡±

    ¡°Then why don¡¯t we find someone for Rix¡­¡± My mind followed that thread as I contemplated the possibility.

    ¡°Rix has damage.¡± Ether stated. "It¡¯s going to take her years to get over that. Do you really think a guy would wait that long for only her?¡±

    I opened my mouth.

    ¡°A male Adventurer. In the Cathedral. With all the Mundane who work there?¡± She turned back to the road. "For years?¡±

    I saw what she meant. She hadn¡¯t said Noble, because a Noble would hear about Rix¡¯s Bandit upbringing and want nothing to do with her. A child of Mundanes wouldn¡¯t see a problem pairing up with a Mundane woman. I¡¯d heard about it from some of the Farmers. A Mundane who failed the Mantle Trial would seek out an Adventurer and try to marry them. That way they¡¯d get brought into a Noble house and even if the Adventurer died later on, they¡¯d be taken care of.

    She nodded when she saw I¡¯d made the connection. "Exactly, which could be a big problem.¡± She shook her head. "The smart play is to bring in a woman willing to join a harem and then help Rix through her damage. She¡¯s loyal enough that even if she doesn¡¯t find you attractive, which she does by the way, she¡¯d still join just so she could watch over everyone.¡±

    I swallowed and looked back at Aelin who was laughing at something. I looked at Ether. "Fine, but can we not tell Aelin for a while?¡±

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 6

    It was getting dark when we reached Harror.

    Trent took over driving as soon as we could see the city. I was busy thinking about what Ether had said for the remainder of our journey. It was a lot to think about, which meant that I was going to have to be very selective about choosing our sixth member.

    Trent rolled down the window of the RV and smiled at the guard. "Good evening! I¡¯m here on All-Temple business.¡± He held out his left hand so that the guard could scan it.

    It wasn¡¯t the first time I¡¯d seen a Grim, but it unsettled me all the same. They looked almost like skeletones, if skeletons had bones for skin. Their exoskeleton covered their whole body in a bone like surface, even their eyes were creepy with what looked like two glowing orbs instead of eyes. The guard was wearing regular metal armor with the insignia of a cross on his shoulder, though it was probably more for show than it was for protection. He grunted as he scanned the crystal band then ducked inside his station and looked at the screen. Once he confirmed who Trent was he popped his head back out. "How many are with you?¡±

    ¡°I have five level two first years.¡±

    ¡°Level two first years? They¡¯re already throwing kids in the dungeon?¡±

    Trent laughed. "I told them I¡¯d take them on a field trip if they could get to level two before I left. They practically lived in the dungeon for the last few days.¡±

    ¡°You mean you locked us in the dungeon for the last few days." I muttered under my breath.

    If Trent heard me, which I¡¯m sure he did, he didn¡¯t respond.

    ¡°I¡¯m still going to have to come inside and log the vehicle.¡± The guard looked into the city. "Just waiting on a Knight.¡±

    ¡°No problem!¡± Trent turned off the engine. "Might as well get out and stretch our legs while we wait.¡± He looked at all of us. "Alright, we¡¯ve gotta get out, so stay close to the RV and¡­¡± He scowled. "Aelin, why did you take your boots off?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been wearing them for almost a week." Aelin whined as she began putting them back on. ¡°I needed to let my feet breathe.¡±The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ¡°They can breathe tonight in bed.¡± He looked at each of us. "Outside of a city, even this close to one, you need to be ready to fight at a moment''s notice. They may not look like monsters out here, but they¡¯re just as dangerous.¡± He counted us. "Will someone get Justia up and tell her we¡¯re here? I¡¯m going to see which Knight they sent.¡±

    ¡°Another one of your students?¡± I saw what almost looked like excitement on his face.

    ¡°No." He shook his head. "Warder¡¯s level is in the upper forties, so I¡¯m getting old, but I¡¯m not that old yet.¡± He smiled. "It¡¯s always fun to see how far the younger generation has come though.¡±

    Ether was the first one behind him, and then Aelin hopped in front of me. I grabbed her collar. "You were just complaining about not getting alone time with Justia, now you have a chance and you¡¯re bailing?¡±

    Aelin looked away from me. "Waking her up isn¡¯t alone time. It¡¯s a way to make her hate me.¡±

    ¡°Ugh.¡± I looked at Rix. "Go ahead, I¡¯ll be out there in a second.¡±

    I dragged the blonde woman over to the bunk beds.

    ¡°Justia!¡± I shook her green shoulder with my right hand. "We¡¯ve got to get out of the RV for inspection!¡±

    Justia rolled over and flailed her arm out. Her open hand stopped an inch away from my face like some invisible force was holding it. We both stared at it for a second before she retracted it.

    ¡°Where are we?¡± She still looked a little asleep.

    ¡°Harror." I looked at Aelin and moved behind the blonde. "We¡¯re at the gate and have to get out for inspection. Aelin is going to wait with you until you¡¯re ready to come out, but don¡¯t wait too long.¡±

    I turned and walked out of the RV, without looking to see what the women were doing.

    Trent was at the front of the RV talking to the guard. Now that they¡¯d had a chance to talk, the guard seemed a lot more friendly. Ether and Rix were both near the back. I assumed Rix had gone back there and Ether had followed so she wouldn¡¯t be alone.

    ¡°They good?¡± Ether looked at me when I moved in their direction.

    ¡°They¡¯re alone.¡± I nodded. "Justia wasn¡¯t happy about waking up, but she¡¯s awake now.¡±

    I looked over at Rix and opened my mouth, but saw Ether shake her head and closed it. I was just wanting to check on her because I could tell that she was shaken, but it seemed that now wasn¡¯t the right time.

    ¡°Paul Mite!¡± Trent bellowed. "You¡¯re a Knight? Tell me I¡¯m not that old!¡±

    I turned around and saw Justia at the door of the RV, she looked scared and was staring at the man walking towards us. I was shocked because I recognized him. He had been the party leader of the last party that I¡¯d worked for before becoming an Adventurer myself.

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 7

    I wasn¡¯t sure if he¡¯d recognize me.

    The level sixteen crystal that he¡¯d given me as a parting gift felt like it was burning a hole in my pocket. I swallowed as I watched him.

    ¡°Trent Vowler!¡± The brown-skinned man wearing full leather armor with a black sword on his back held out his arms and the two of them embraced.

    ¡°Class I would like to introduce you to a horrible student and halfway decent Adventurer. This is Paul Mite. This is¡­¡±

    He was interrupted by Aelin pushing Justia the rest of the way out of the RV so she could see what was going on.

    ¡°Jus?¡± The Knight ran over and gave Justia a big hug. She squeezed him back, but not very enthusiastically.

    ¡°Uncle Paul, please, you¡¯re embarrassing...¡± Justia tried to push her way out of his embrace without finishing.

    ¡°Uncle Paul?¡± Aelin and I said at the same time.

    ¡°Atlas?¡± The black-haired man let go of Justia and came over to me.

    I offered him my hand, but he wrapped me in a hug. He let go and kept his hands on my shoulders. "I knew I had a good feeling about you!¡± He looked me over. ¡°Let me guess. Your class is¡­¡± Our weapons were in Trent¡¯s crystal band, so those wouldn¡¯t give it away, but I had been using a longsword, which would have thrown him way off.

    ¡°Hitter?¡±

    I shook my head. "No, I¡¯m a¡­¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    He held up his hand. "One more guess, you¡¯re a Shoo¡­¡± His eyes drifted over to Rix and he shook his head. "You came from the Cathedral, so you¡¯re not a Shooter.¡± He pointed at Justia. "Not a Healer, congrats by the way. Your mom told me when I got back, sorry, I couldn¡¯t be there, I was busy leading a Farming party with this guy!¡± He turned me so that he could give me a side hug. And looked from Aelin to Ether.

    He pointed at Ether. "You looked like you were ready to jump in front of him when I came this way, so you¡¯re either the Tank or his girlfriend¡­¡± He laughed and squeezed me. "Both! Three for four!¡± He turned to Aelin. "Hitter, Caster, Buffer¡­¡± He looked back at me. "You¡¯re not a buffer, so Caster?¡± He seemed confused. "Huh, must be getting old.¡± He turned back to Aelin who was doing a poor job of pouting and pointed at the blonde. "Buffer, sorry miss, but you¡¯re too timid to be a Hitter.¡±

    The knight tried to look around Aelin. "Where¡¯s the Hitter?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s part of why we¡¯re here Paul." Trent walked over and saved me from the crushing hug. Over the course of his guessing game, Paul had forgotten that he was a much higher level than me and started squeezing too hard. I wasn¡¯t sure if Justia was going to be able to heal the bruise I had later, but maybe her parents could.

    ¡°There was an accident and he had to go home to recover.¡± Trent shook his head. "Honestly, there¡¯s a reason why we encourage the non-Healers to not double up. I don¡¯t know how many times I¡¯ve seen a student manifest a tier three ability and not be able to handle it.¡± He clucked his tongue.

    ¡°Too true.¡± Paul snapped his fingers. "You know my daughter is Hitter. She refused to take the Mantle Trial without me there. We were able to get an exemption, but by then, all the Cathedral slots had been taken. Did you know that there were five new kids from Zeb this year? I get that the Cathedral takes all of those from the Godless sites before handing out slots, but if we¡¯re going to start getting more, maybe you could talk to the ArchBishop about starting more classes?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do.¡± Trent nodded. "I got three of them.¡± He pointed at us. "Aelin Zeb, Atlas Zeb, and Rix Zeb.¡±

    ¡°Wow.¡± Paul looked at us. "You guys have no idea how lucky you are to have Trent here as a teacher. Make sure you pay attention because you¡¯ll learn something.¡±

    We all nodded, I was surprised that for once, Aelin had nothing to say.

    Her words finally caught up with her. "How did you do that thing? You¡¯ve got to teach me!¡±

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 8

    Paul Mite was riding with us.

    He and Aelin were talking about identifying techniques and Rix had hovered close enough to listen better.

    Justia was sitting next to her uncle and Ether was next to Aelin. That left me in the passenger seat next to Trent as he drove through the city streets.

    Zeb was a small city compared to the ones that were seats of power for the Gods. Zeb barely had five thousand people, while Harror had over a hundred thousand. The size difference of the cities and traffic alone made them seem like completely different worlds.

    I looked at the signs advertising Alard Clinics, a lot of different ones offering Farming trips into the Dungeon, and one for Adventure Games at the end of the year.

    The Adventurer Games were a pretty big thing every year. Each of the Wards would send a team to a city within the host Ward. Captured monsters would be brought out of the dungeon to be fought by different teams at different tier levels. I had seen a little of the games sometimes at the Dispatchers Hub, but not everyone took off from Farming, and I¡¯d been thankful for the work. There were also tournaments for the various school years, which I assumed we¡¯d be participating in but I didn¡¯t know how many teams went, so maybe the ArchBishop would keep our team home.

    We were stuck in traffic, and I decided a conversation might help pass the time faster.

    ¡°Paul was one of your students?¡±

    Trent looked over at me and chuckled. "No, he wasn¡¯t even part of one of the years that I had. But he was a kid with spirit, so I gave him some pointers.¡±

    ¡°That seemed like a lot more than just a few pointers.¡±

    ¡°Well.¡± The older man laughed. "That¡¯s all I thought it would be at the time, but he kept coming back to ask questions. Went on for almost a year. His teacher was not happy with me, and took it all the way to the ArchBishop, who wasn¡¯t Mavery back then.¡± He chuckled. "I almost got fired for meddling, but it was almost time for the Adventure Games, so it was tabled until after the Games were over and I had to promise not to interfere anymore.¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡± I looked back at Paul. "Obviously you didn¡¯t get fired.¡±Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

    ¡°They won and not just won, they did it by a landslide. Paul had been taking his questions back to his whole team and the little tidbits I¡¯d told him over the months came in handy.¡±

    ¡°The other teacher acknowledged you helped?¡±

    Trent laughed. "The opposite. He claimed that proved his superiority as a teacher and demanded my termination or he was going to resign.¡±

    ¡°Ouch.¡±

    ¡°Exactly.¡± Trent smiled. "I didn¡¯t bring a team to the games that year, so I had nothing for them to compare, so I was told to pack up my stuff.¡± He shrugged. "On my way out, I was told to come back in and after waiting for what felt like days, I was given a test?¡±

    ¡°A test?¡± I looked at him. "Like what?¡±

    ¡°Pen and paper.¡± He chuckled at my reaction. "I was in a magic-dampening room and told to answer them as best as I could.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know it at the time, but Paul got the rest of his class to go with him to the ArchBishop. They told him all of the information that I¡¯d given them that was different from what Elias had told them that was instrumental in them winning by such a large margin.¡±

    ¡°Let me guess, that was what was on the test?¡±

    He nodded. "You would have thought that he¡¯d have watched their game, but he got every one of them wrong.¡± Trent pointed his thumb back at Paul. "Their Shooter was Dacine Reace and that¡¯s where he messed up.¡± When I didn¡¯t show a reaction he continued. "Of Reace Armaments?¡±

    The name sounded familiar, but I couldn¡¯t place it. I shrugged.

    ¡°Long story short, her Grandmother was Slece¡¯s favorite attendant and her grandfather was very proud of his granddaughter.¡±

    That name I knew. ¡°A God got involved?¡±

    Trent laughed. "Yes they did! The test was her idea, apparently.¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°Elias got mad about it being obvious he hadn¡¯t watched the games. Let it slip something like ¡®Why should he care about the stupid kids'' games while the real ones were going on?¡¯.¡±

    ¡°He said that?¡±

    ¡°He did.¡± Trent shook his head. "Oscar Reace was on speaker and Elias didn¡¯t know that Slece was in the room.¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    Trent shrugged. "I got to keep my job, and I can ¡®meddle¡¯ with any class any time I want.¡±

    ¡°What about Elias?¡± It was wild. "I¡¯m assuming he got fired?¡±

    ¡°Nobody knows.¡± The old man shook his head. "He¡¯s not been seen since that day, but you don¡¯t cross a God and get off free.¡±

    I scrunched my brow. "Why do you call Paul a horrible student?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what Elias called him.¡± Trent smiled. "The insult became a badge of honor.¡± He leaned in. "A word of warning. Dacine is his wife.¡±

    I got the message. No matter how good their relationship, Dacine Mite¡¯s daughter was not someone we could afford to have on our team.

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 9

    We started moving again.

    I saw restaurants, shopping centers, and supply stores, then the buildings turned into residential ones. The condition of the buildings started getting worse the more we drove.

    ¡°Where are we going?¡± I looked out at the broken-down buildings.

    ¡°Publian Clinic.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a clinic out here?¡± All the clinics I knew of wouldn¡¯t open their doors anywhere near neighborhoods like this.

    ¡°They primarily cater to the Mundane.¡± Trent took another turn. ¡°Pro Bono.¡±

    ¡°How do they pay for..?¡± I shook my head. "There is no way that they can run a business like that.¡±

    ¡°Oh, they don¡¯t.¡± Trent smiled. "Hye Publian goes with Paul into the Dungeon a few times a year to get enough money to pay the bills.¡±

    I thought about the level sixteen crystal in my pocket. "Paul seems like a pretty good guy.¡±

    ¡°He is.¡± Trent shook his head. "His grandfather had a Swordcrafting Business that rivaled the Rene¡¯s, but he died in the dungeon and they fell on hard times. Paul¡¯s father sold the business assets to the Reaces, and now they¡¯re a noble house only in name.¡± This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    ¡°Couldn¡¯t Paul and his wife push deeper into the dungeon and make a better life for themselves?¡± I couldn¡¯t understand why they were letting their Noble status atrophy.

    ¡°They could, but they chose to spend time with their kids and have security and safety instead.¡±

    ¡°And wouldn¡¯t have it any other way.¡± Paul had come behind me at some point. ¡°You can park around the back.¡±

    ¡°Sorry." I jumped in my seat. "I didn¡¯t mean any disrespect.¡±

    ¡°I get it.¡± Paul clapped me on the shoulder. "When I was your age, I asked the same thing to many people.¡± He shrugged. "But I got married, which was great. We pushed in the dungeon until Dacine got pregnant.¡± He smiled, thinking back on a memory. "I only farmed until Oscar was born, then we decided that we weren¡¯t going to push the dungeon anymore.¡± He looked back at my team members, or maybe it was Justia. "We could live a better life, but we¡¯re content where we are and for the most part, I got to be there to watch my children grow.¡±

    He turned back to me. "Find where you¡¯re at peace and stick with it.¡± He smiled. "Whether that¡¯s exploring the Dungeon or slumming with the Mundane or anything in between. Try to make things better and find some way to be at peace.¡±

    The RV stopped and Paul opened the door. "I¡¯ll go tell everyone you¡¯re here!¡±

    We watched the Adventurer run into what was by far the best building within a quarter mile at least.

    ¡°Justia, everyone.¡± Trent looked at each of us as he closed the door. "I know that this is your family, but I can¡¯t stress how much it doesn¡¯t matter who they are, watch what you say around them. Because even if they won¡¯t report Atlas, just having this knowledge could be dangerous to them.¡± He looked at each of us again. "So remember to be mindful of what you say.¡±

    We each nodded.

    ¡°Got it!¡± Aelin looked nervously at Justia. "You¡¯ve barely been gone a week, I¡¯m sure everything is almost exactly like it was when you left.

    Justia took a deep breath. "That¡¯s what I¡¯m afraid of.¡±

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 10

    We arrived in time for dinner.

    I was curious who had called ahead because the conference room had the table set to accommodate all of us.

    By all, I mean that there were eleven places set. The food smelled even more wonderful than the cafe had.

    Paul was already sitting down next to a woman who had brown hair, green eyes, and green skin. Beside them was a much younger version of her, except their daughter had brown eyes and skin like her father.

    ¡°Everyone." Paul stood up. "I would like you to meet my wife Dacine, and my daughter Joy.¡± He pointed at us. "Atlas, Aelin, Ether, and Rix.¡±

    We all smiled, except Rix, who just nodded. I could tell that despite this being a very friendly place so far, the golden-skinned woman was anxious about being in a confined space. She was on the other side of Ether, who I stepped around to whisper. "There¡¯s not a place set at the end, sit there." I nodded at the place on the back side of the table. "And we¡¯ll cover you.¡±

    Our Shooter nodded and made a beeline for the seat. I directed Ether to sit next to her and Aelin sat to my right. Rix was sitting opposite Joy, but at least there were no windows or doors on the wall behind us, and Rix was in a corner with quick access to one of the two doors in case she needed to leave quickly.

    After hugs, and hearing a very muffled ¡®Uncle Trent¡¯ from Joy, our teacher came around to the back side of the table and sat on the other side of Aelin and Justia sat down opposite him.

    Before anyone could start talking, Justia¡¯s parents walked in with the food.

    Suna Publian looked like an older version of her daughter but with brown eyes instead of blue and snow-white-skin instead of green. She had black hair and a few other features that looked similar to Paul, so I could tell that they were related, but they didn¡¯t look like brother and sister. They were too close together in age, I would have guessed to be only a few months apart. I knew that Nobles could be polyamorous, but that didn¡¯t feel like the case here. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    Hye Publian was older, but it looked like only a handful of years. His hair was lighter, but still brown, but he had the clearest blue eyes that looked like the ocean. His green skin was another feature that he shared with his daughter. He kissed the top of his daughter¡¯s head, then took his seat at the head of the table.

    ¡°Trent! I knew you were coming, but you didn¡¯t tell me that you were bringing your class!¡± He rubbed his daughter¡¯s arm. "And we didn¡¯t know that you were teaching Jus¡¯ class! I thought you were off a year, did you get that swapped around like you had hoped?¡±

    Trent nodded. "It cost me a good deal, but I¡¯m very happy to be teaching Justia." He nodded at her. "She and her friends did so well during the lock-in that they earned themselves two weeks of outside time.¡±

    ¡°Two weeks!¡± Hye looked at us. "Congratulations! How were things on the first floor? I remember my time¡­¡±

    ¡°You were in Mister Vowler¡¯s class?¡± Aelin cut him off. She realized she spoke out of turn and covered her mouth with her hand. "Sorry.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright." Hye smiled as he nodded at our teacher. "I could tell you stories about this one. There was this one time¡­¡±

    Trent cleared his throat. "We agreed to keep stories of your time at the Cathedral to a minimum so that Justia wouldn¡¯t accidentally warn my class about some of the tests.¡±

    ¡°That was when she was going to be a year under your students.¡± Hye protested. "Now that they¡¯re in your class¡­¡± His voice trailed off. "You still don''t make them¡­¡±

    ¡°I do, and I¡¯m sure that she¡¯ll be fine.¡± Trent nodded at Justia. "They farmed for fourteen hours a day and split their party in half to reach level two in one week.¡± He smiled. "Previous record was nine days.¡±

    ¡°Did they double up on the¡­¡± Hye snapped his fingers. "What even spawns on the first floor there?¡±

    ¡°Bramble Skeletons.¡± Suna offered,

    ¡°Dust Lizards." Dacine remembered

    ¡°Oh yeah!¡± Paul laughed. "I remember those! You were wearing a dress and got too close to one¡­¡± He leaned back in his chair and she elbowed him in the gut. "OW! Hey, that was love at first sight!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯d been there for six days.¡± Suna shot back. "How was that love at first sight?¡±

    ¡°Well, it was the first time I saw¡­¡±

    ¡°DAD!¡± Joy shrieked. "I haven¡¯t even started eating yet! What are you trying to do to me?¡± She got up and marched out of the room.

    ¡°Fourteen, such a lovely age.¡± Hye laughed,

    ¡°Laugh it up." Paul pointed his fork at the other man. "You only had to go through this once.¡±

    ¡°And we still love her.¡± Hye smiled as he filled his plate.

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 11

    The evening air felt nice on the roof.

    The Clinic building was set up so that the front half was the offices and examination rooms, while the back half was living quarters. The roof of the three-story building was flat, with a five-foot-high lip around the exterior for safety.

    After dinner, Justia excused herself and went up to the roof. I¡¯d tried to get Aelin to go, but Ether had thought it¡¯d be better if I went. I found the brunette Healer leaning on the wall, staring out at the city. I could hear sirens in the distance and the place looked so alive even at night. Zeb basically went to sleep shortly after sunset. Here, it looked like Harror actually came alive.

    ¡°This is where you grew up.¡±

    Justia turned and looked relieved when she saw me. "Yeah.¡±

    ¡°What was that?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± She turned back towards the city.

    I walked over and leaned on the wall next to her. "You looked like you were expecting someone else, but were relieved it was me.¡±

    ¡°I hadn¡¯t expected to be back here so soon.¡± Justia shook her head. "It¡¯s just¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°How so?¡± I was confused. "I thought your whole deal was that you get to operate this Clinic and the All-Temple funds it so the Alards can¡¯t take it over.¡±

    ¡°I love this place.¡± She rubbed her hands on the wall. "I love what it stands for, but I¡¯m not ready to take it over.¡± She looked at me. "My father is in the mid-forties, but he goes on farming trips so sparingly that he barely makes enough to keep the lights on here.¡± She gently pounded on the wall and shook her head. "When I came back here, I thought it¡¯d be a grand return, at the middle of the forties, maybe even the start of the fifties. I wanted to be someone that I could use healing magic to heal more people. Strong enough to farm even deeper, so we could thrive and not just survive. Strong enough that my family would be proud of me.¡±This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    ¡°Your father seemed kind of proud of you tonight.¡± I rubbed her arm. "Hey, don¡¯t worry about living up to those dreams and goals in the future. Those are in the future. This is the now. What will make you happy now?¡±

    Her face turned red and she shook her head. We stood there with only the sounds of the city to fight the silence.

    ¡°What¡¯s the deal with Paul and your mom?¡±

    ¡°Cousins.¡± She nodded. "Their parents were siblings.¡±

    ¡°Gotcha.¡± I nodded. "They seem pretty close.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s sort of a recent thing.¡± She looked down. "Well recent as like the last twenty years.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s very recent.¡± I tried to sound serious without laughing. "Practically yesterday.¡±

    ¡°Shut up.¡± She playfully pushed me. "They never saw each other for the first eighteen years of her life.¡± She looked up at the stars. "They didn¡¯t even know they each existed until they met at the Cathedral.¡±

    ¡°Bad blood?¡± I guessed

    ¡°Grandma got married after great-grandpa died and my great-uncle saw it as a betrayal because he needed help trying to save the family business and she had other things she wanted to focus on. Things got said and now Grandma is the only one alive with regrets about the things she shouldn¡¯t have said.¡±

    ¡°But they have each other now.¡± I smiled. "So that connection got repaired.¡±

    ¡°Except my grandfather¡¯s brother is Farsch Alard. He owns¡­¡± She pointed at a sign for Alard Clinic that was across the street. It read ¡®You get what you pay for, so pay for the best¡¯

    ¡°Ouch.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    We stood there for a while, just taking in the sounds of the city and enjoying the seclusion.

    ¡°Are you going to be okay here?¡±

    Justia looked confused. "I¡¯ve lived here for eighteen years, I think I can survive less than two weeks.¡±

    I nodded. "Know that I¡¯m here if you need anything. We all are, even Rix in her own way.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, but really, I¡¯m fine.¡±

    ¡°Okay." I motioned at the door. "I¡¯m going to head back down. Your mother said your room hasn¡¯t been touched, so you can stay there.¡±

    She gave me a thumbs up, so I went downstairs to figure out the rest of the sleeping arrangements.

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 12

    We were sleeping in the RV.

    Not all of us. Supposedly, they drew straws to see who got to bunk with Justia and Aelin won. I had my doubts about the integrity of the game, but I had a feeling it fell under the purview of ¡®finding them time alone¡¯, so I didn¡¯t feel like outing them.

    Trent had some project he was working on, so those of us who were actually sleeping in the RV were just Ether, Rix, and myself. Rix took one of the upper bunks and Ether and I squeezed into the bottom one on the other side.

    ¡°Try not to be too loud." Rix grumbled as she tapped the ceiling and a screen closed over her bunk.

    ¡°These things have screens?¡± I looked at the ceiling and saw a little red button.

    ¡°Noise-canceling ones.¡± Ether squeezed in beside me and pressed the button. There was just enough room that we could lay shoulder to shoulder, though I knew that it wouldn¡¯t be long before she was draped half over me.

    ¡°How do you think today went?¡± I ran my hand through her white hair.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± She touched the mark over my heart. "Does it hurt?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± I guided her head to lay on it. Pain shot over my body but ebbed quickly. I was glad she didn¡¯t stir a lot in her sleep, because if she did, I wouldn¡¯t be getting much.

    ¡°How was Justia?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s¡­¡± I tried to think of a good way to put it. "She says she¡¯s fine, but being back here so soon has her feeling like she failed..?¡± I tried to think of a better word, but couldn¡¯t. "To live up to expectations.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    ¡°Her father¡¯s?¡±

    ¡°More her own.¡± I wondered how Ether would have talked to Justia, and honestly felt like she would have done a better job. "She wants to see this place thrive, not just survive.¡± I looked down. "Did you see the billboard across the street?¡±

    ¡°For Alard Clinic?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the one.¡± I sighed. "They didn¡¯t even try to hide the insult.¡±

    ¡°Rix is already thinking about how to vandalize it.¡± Ether chuckled. "So if anyone asks. She was with us.¡±

    ¡°With us?¡± I looked into her red eyes. "Or with us?¡±

    A small shrug was the only answer I got.

    ¡°Do you know what we¡¯re doing tomorrow?¡± I decided to try a more concrete question.

    ¡°We¡¯re supposed to go buy Rix an actual weapon.¡± Ether began dancing her fingers on my chest. "Then head to the All-Temple to scout out the Dungeon.¡±

    ¡°You mean scout out the students.¡±

    ¡°Same thing.¡± She grinned. "Have you thought about maybe adding Paul¡¯s daughter to the group?¡±

    ¡°Have you talked to Trent?¡±

    ¡°No?¡± She looked up at me. "Does he like the idea?¡±

    ¡°The opposite.¡± I brushed her bangs off of her cheek. "Do you know who Dacine¡¯s grandmother worked for?¡±

    ¡°Who?¡±

    ¡°Slece.¡±

    Ether winced. "How closely? Every month, year, maybe has never seen her?¡±

    ¡°Daily as an attendant.¡± I closed my eyes. "And it gets worse.¡±

    ¡°How worse?¡±

    ¡°Slece has used her influence to get a teacher removed from the Cathedral over Dacine.¡±

    Ether swallowed. "That¡¯s what the secondary warning was about.¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s a hard no, then.¡±

    ¡°Afraid so.¡± I shrugged. "But I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll work out.¡±

    Ether kissed me. "I¡¯ve got an idea for some other stuff we can work out too.¡±

    I pulled her closer as I drank her in. I had a feeling we weren¡¯t going to get much sleep tonight.

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 13

    Morning came too quickly.

    I hadn¡¯t slept but a few hours, but that had been more than I thought I might get. The one problem with our sleeping arrangement was that I woke up first and Ether was blocking me in.

    I watched her sleep for almost an hour. There was something hypnotic about the rhythm of her breathing, and peaceful, almost like it was more restful than the three hours of sleep I had gotten.

    At about seven, Trent banged on the bunk screen. "You¡¯re burning daylight, time to get up!¡±

    Ether started stirring. "Morning.¡±

    I kissed her. "Morning.¡± I touched the button to open the screen. "After you.¡±

    It didn¡¯t take us long to get ready and into the Clinic. Rix was already there, which didn¡¯t surprise me. Honestly, with how listless she was, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if she slept on the roof next to the gun.

    It was just the five of us for breakfast, and no one seemed like they wanted to talk so we ate in silence. Once we were done we headed back down to the RV.

    There were five crystal bands on the table with a note beside them.

    These are containers only, your name is already on yours and they¡¯ll only hold items through level nine, so don¡¯t try storing anything stronger than that in them. Good luck and remember where you come from.

    I strapped my crystal band on and tapped it, there was a screen that listed a level two Skeletal Snakeblade, a box of rations, a water bottle, and forty-eight All. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    ¡°Everyone good?¡± I looked around, then turned to Justia. "I¡¯m guessing you know where things are around here?¡±

    She nodded and I handed her the keys. "You get to drive.¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡± Aelin frowned. "Why can¡¯t she navigate and someone else drive?¡±

    ¡°Because we¡¯re going to be making this trek for a week, the temple groups have probably already left, and we still have to go to a weapon shop to get Rix an actual weapon.¡±

    ¡°I can work with what I have.¡± Rix sat down in the booth as Justia turned on the RV.

    ¡°Did Trent leave us access to the RV computer?¡± I nodded at the booth.

    Rix tapped on the table and a screen opened in front of her.

    ¡°Look up the monster on the first floor of the Temple dungeon.¡± I waited for her to access the information. Trent had restricted us to floor-by-floor access, so all she could see would be the first-floor monsters and boss.

    ¡°Slime.¡± She looked up at me. "Okay.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t get it.¡± Aelin looked at us from the front seat. "Why does that matter?¡±

    ¡°Slimes are acidic.¡± I sat down across from Rix. "The rope part of her weapon will get eaten too fast and then she¡¯ll have nothing.¡±

    ¡°I need something metallic.¡± Rix mused

    ¡°Pull up the Reace weapon site.¡± Justia called from the front.

    ¡°Don¡¯t they make ranged weapons?¡± I looked at her as Ether slid into the booth beside me.

    ¡°They have some melee weapons too.¡± Justia was navigating through traffic. "If they have it in stock, then they¡¯ll have it ready for us when we get there.¡±

    ¡°Can your Aunt get us a discount?¡± Aelin grinned. "Because I¡¯ve got an idea for an outfit¡­¡±

    ¡°They make weapons, not clothing.¡± Ether corrected her,

    ¡°A girl can dream.¡± Aelin turned back to watch the vehicles go by.

    ¡°Do you see anything you like?¡± I looked at Rix, who was deeply into searching through the catalog.

    ¡°Yes.¡± The redhead touched a few more buttons. "It should be at the front in the next ten minutes.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s going to take us longer than that to get across town." Justia informed us.

    ¡°That works out.¡± I pulled up information on the floor one boss. "I want to check out the floor boss before we get there.¡±

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 14

    I didn¡¯t like what I was reading.

    ¡°This could be a problem.¡± I tapped on the screen.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Ether leaned closer to read the loadout.

    ¡°For the slimes, you could walk right up to one and just reach in and pull out its core, but you¡¯d badly burn your hand because their acidic bodies eat away biological material.¡± I looked at her. " But if someone tries to hit them, then their bodies get really hard, and anything less than seven Power won¡¯t do any damage to them.¡±

    ¡°Which means." Ether looked at me. "You, Rix, and Justia are the only ones who can damage them.¡±

    ¡°Magic works too.¡± I nodded towards Aelin. "Which means Aelin and I both have utility there as well, but what I¡¯m worried about¡­¡± I looked at Ether. "Is that your armor isn¡¯t made to defend against slimes.¡±

    ¡°Then, we¡¯ll just have to make sure that I stay away from them.¡± The white-haired woman crossed her arms.

    ¡°I just meant that we might need to try to get you some more appropriate armor before we try the boss fight.¡±

    She eyed me. "Okay, what about the Dispatcher¡¯s Dungeon?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t Mister Vowler tell us to do the Temple Dungeon first?¡± Justia pulled into the parking lot for Reace Weapons and parked.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be back.¡± Rix got up and opened the door to the RV.

    ¡°I¡¯m going with you!¡± Aelin jumped out of her seat.

    Rix stopped at the door and looked at me.

    I turned to the blonde. "All she¡¯s doing is picking up her weapon at the front. She¡¯s not doing any browsing.¡±

    Aelin smiled. "But I can look while she¡¯s in line.¡±Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s better if you stay here.¡± I saw the disappointment on her face. "We¡¯ll have plenty of time to go shopping before we have to go back to the Cathedral.¡±

    Aelin crossed her arms and dropped back into the front seat.

    Rix nodded to me and exited the vehicle.

    ¡°The Dispatcher¡¯s Dungeon has two different monsters.¡± She made the screen bigger. "A deer that looks like it does hit-and-run attacks, and a scorpion that¡¯s about two feet tall.¡± She pointed at it from its legs to the stinger hovering above it.

    ¡°You¡¯re really thinking about it?¡± Justia sounded shocked

    ¡°We need Ether to have different armor, and that takes time to adjust, while the only things we have to worry about here.¡± I motioned at the two monsters. "Is a headbutt and¡­¡± I read the line under the scorpion. "Poison.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have Cure Poison.¡± Justia pointed at the monster. "And I don¡¯t have the All to buy the spell.¡±

    ¡°What does the poison do?¡± I started reading. "It won¡¯t kill you, but¡­¡± I read the line about sweating, dizziness, upset stomach, and vomiting. ¡°It will make you miserable.¡±

    ¡°Exactly." Justia shook her head. "I¡¯ve seen a lot of poisoned people come into the Clinic because they weren¡¯t ready for that dungeon.¡± She pointed at the slimes. "Yes, we may not have the armor for this fight, but I¡¯d rather replace armor than be sick for a week.¡±

    ¡°I see your point.¡± I turned to Ether. "We¡¯ll see about getting you some metal armor later.¡±

    The red-eyed woman nodded. "I¡¯ll find a way to manage.¡± She flipped through what little information we had about the first-floor dungeons in Harror and the Cathedral. ¡°It looks like any of the armor that you would get from here is all biological material.¡± She shook her head. "We¡¯d need something made from other dungeons.¡±

    I thought about my sword and wondered how well it was going to hold up. "Aelin, it might just be us using spells.¡±

    The blonde perked up. "I can do that.¡± She looked at Justia. "Can we go shopping for armor later?¡±

    Justia looked at me and I started thinking. I turned to Ether. "How long do you think it will take us to beat the boss?¡±

    ¡°We should be able to beat it today.¡± The tank didn¡¯t even take time to think about it.

    ¡°What about the Dispatcher¡¯s Dungeon?¡±

    ¡°Once we get Justia Cure Poison, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡± She smiled.

    ¡°Now for the bigger question." I saw Rix coming out of the store. "How long is it going to take us to farm enough crystal for her to buy it?¡±

    ¡°It won¡¯t take as long on the second floor, but Trent has that information locked until we beat this boss.¡± Ether pointed at the icon declaring the information was locked.

    ¡°Then the plan is, we beat the boss, then come back here to regroup?¡± I saw everyone nod.

    Rix got in the RV and sat down. "I got it.¡±

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 15

    The All-Temple was huge.

    The building I had been raised in at Zeb was a two-story building which was larger on the inside than it seemed because it was built into the side of a slope, so the upper floor was half at ground level. It had also been very simple, a rectangular shape without any decorations or articulate structures.

    This building had massive white columns in front and if I had to guess, just by looking at it from the parking lot, it was at least three stories, if not four, tall. There were shaped trees all around the parking lot and a playground off to the side that was bigger than the one at the public park back at Zeb.

    We had to park near the back of the parking lot due to the size of the RV. The parking spaces were designed for regular sized vehicles and not the RV, which was easily twice that length.

    There were people walking in and out and I felt out of place in my leather armor while surrounded by so many well-dressed people.

    Aelin was having the time of her life, skipping and gushing, though I hadn¡¯t heard her make a full sentence since we got out of the RV.

    When we got inside, it opened up into a cathedral ceiling that was decorated with scenes of various battles that I assumed depicted historical events, but I had no idea what they were. There were statues and potted plants scattered around the edge of the room and desks with clerks guarding each door.

    I was trying to take it all in when I realized that Justia was walking towards a desk that read Dungeon.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°My name is Zelex Harror, how can I help you?¡± The cheerful brown-haired man behind the desk asked.

    ¡°Justia Publian.¡± She held out her wrist with the crystal band on it. "Party of five to enter the Dungeon.¡±

    ¡°Party of five?¡± The man began entering information. "Ah! I see you here. It does look like Tre¡­¡± His eyes bulged and he swallowed. "Trent Vowler has already registered you.¡± The man looked us over. "We do have first years inside, but they should all be near the entrance. Please try not to disturb their lessons.¡±

    ¡°Yes sir.¡± Justia nodded as he opened the door behind him.

    ¡°The gate will open for you, and you can all go inside once I have finished scanning you in.¡± He turned to Aelin, who held out her crystal band for him to scan. Once he had, he nodded for her to follow Justia into the room.

    Ether motioned for me to go next and I offered him my wrist. He scanned it and smiled at me nervously, then motioned for me to follow the other two women.

    The room was very bland compared to the outside. Actually, that was an insult to the outside. This room had white walls, was poorly lit, and had nothing in it except for the dungeon mouth with a gate over it.

    I looked at Justia. "Have you been here before?¡±

    The green Healer shook her head. "No, but my parents, Uncle Paul, and Aunt Dacine Showed me and their kids a recording of them walking through the first floor.¡± She looked around the room. ¡°They wanted to give us an idea of what the dungeon was like.¡±

    ¡°What did you think?¡± Aelin was taking in the gate when Ether walked in.

    ¡°It¡¯s different from the Cathedral.¡± Justia looked like she was thinking. "The floor we were on was a bunch of tunnels. The ones they went down were wide enough for the five of us to walk through.¡± She shook her head. "It¡¯s got its own lighting, so it''s going to be hard to tell what time of day it is, but otherwise, it was pretty dull.¡±

    Rix walked into the room and I nodded at the gate. "Aelin, have you figured it out?¡¯

    The blonde looked at me and made a face. "It¡¯s ready for us, we just have to walk in.¡±

    I looked at the rest of my team. I put my arm around Ether. "Then let¡¯s go.¡±

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 16

    It was a giant cavern.

    The opening room anyway. There was a group of five first years, three men and two women, resting on the dungeon wall. There was an older woman with them, her gray hair and aged skin put her at least over seventy.

    I could hear noises coming from the four tunnels that led out of the cavern. I looked at Justia. "You wouldn¡¯t happen to know the way to the boss room?¡±

    The brunette shook her head. "I¡¯m not even sure that this is the same floor I was on.¡± She let out a nervous breath. "We were just walking around, they didn¡¯t take us to the boss room.¡±

    Ether pointed at the teacher. "Maybe they have a map, or know the way.¡±

    I motioned. "Be my guest.¡±

    The snow-white tank shook her head and walked over to the teacher. "Hello.¡± She waved. "I¡¯m Ether Klix, and this is my party. We¡¯re level two, but this is our first time in this dungeon. You wouldn¡¯t happen to know the way to the boss room?¡±

    The older woman glared at us. "The Dispatchers have a group of level twos and want to flaunt it in my face?¡± She narrowed her eyes. "You can go back and tell Jemni that I could have level two as well if they¡¯d give me some¡­¡± She stopped. "Klix? What is a Mundane from Klix doing here?¡±

    Ether swallowed. "We¡¯re from the Cathedral, Ma¡¯am.¡±

    The teacher looked at each of us. "You¡¯re really not from the Dispatchers, then.¡± She shook her head. "What¡¯s a group from the Cathedral doing out here?¡±

    Ether pointed at our Healer. "That¡¯s Justia Publian. We doubled up on our time in the dungeon and leveled up a week ahead of schedule.¡± The white-haired woman smiled. "So they let us have some family time if we put in some time on the second floors of the dungeons here.¡±Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

    ¡°Publian?¡± The woman looked at Justia. "I see the resemblance now.¡± She turned back to Ether. "We¡¯ve got three of us down here looking after twenty-six of these newbies.¡±

    The students all flinched as she glared at them.

    ¡°Mundanes, every one of them. You¡¯d think they¡¯d be in better shape, but these needed a break.¡±

    Unlike our first trip into the dungeon, they all had gear, though it looked well used, probably from a general use storeroom. I found myself a little jealous, but none of them were wearing anything any better than what we had on. Their weapons were also very basic. Two had swords, one had a spear, and two had wooden shields. It wasn¡¯t their gear that I found myself being jealous of, it was that they had some when they started out.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll turn them into fine Adventurers.¡± Ether smiled

    ¡°You have more faith in this lot than I do.¡± She eyed them. "I¡¯ve never seen a lot that couldn¡¯t stay on their feet for three hours!¡± She shook her head. "I swear, these kids get softer every year.¡±

    Ether tried to pivot the question. "You wouldn¡¯t happen to have a map so we can get to the boss room and stay out of the way of the training students?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure there are maps around here somewhere, but they¡¯re all back at the Hub.¡± She shook her head. "When you¡¯ve been doing this as long as I have, you start memorizing everything.¡± The teacher looked up at the ceiling. "Every year, start off at the first floor and crawl our way to hopefully beat the fifth floor, then hand them off and start here all over again."

    She turned back to Ether and pointed at the tunnel to the north east. "Follow that one and stay close to the dungeon wall. You¡¯ll hit a few rooms, and it¡¯s not the most direct route, but it¡¯s the easiest way to not get lost.¡±

    ¡°Thank you so much for your time.¡± Ether gave her a small bow. "I hope you have a good rest of your day.¡± The white-haired Tank turned to us. "Let¡¯s go clear the boss so we don¡¯t get in their way any more than we already have.¡±

    ¡°Did you hear that? They¡¯re already level two and you¡¯re laying around on your rears. Get up! We¡¯re going back in.¡± The teacher shooed them. "Come on! Don¡¯t make me tell you twice!¡±

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 17

    I did something stupid.

    I felt sorry for them. I knew this training was way less vigorous than what we¡¯d gone through, but still, I wanted to help them.

    ¡°Ma¡¯am.¡± I don¡¯t know why, but I raised my hand

    ¡°Trela Margrave.¡± She eyed me and I flinched. I could tell that she was a nun by the shiver that ran down my spine to hide in my pants.

    I realized after almost a minute of being stared down that she was waiting for me to speak.

    ¡°Nun Margrave.¡± I could tell by the smirk on her face that I was correct. "We¡¯re down a Hitter.¡± I swallowed. "I know it would be powerleveling, but do you think you could spare one for us to take to the second floor to fill our party out?¡±

    ¡°Hmm, you want to take one of these lazy ones off of my hands?¡± She shrugged. "Maybe they¡¯ll learn what a good student is.¡± She turned to where the students had already started into the tunnel to the south. "Eggar, Fray, Gunter!¡± The three of them froze. "Come here!¡±

    The three students hurried over. I thought I saw relief on the other two student¡¯s faces as they hurried into the tunnel and out of sight. The three students whose name she called lined up in front of her.

    ¡°Eggar." She pointed at the black-haired, brown-eyed silver man with a sword.

    ¡°Fray.¡± She pointed at the green-eyed brunette green woman with the other sword.

    ¡°Gunter.¡± She pointed at the blue-eyed blonde snow-white man with the spear.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ¡°Take your pick, they¡¯re all useless, but maybe you can make something out of them.¡± The nun looked at me. "Who do you want?¡±

    Gunter was out. I could see the way that Justia was shying away from him that she was still hung up on Edward. I didn¡¯t blame her, I had instantly discounted him simply based on his looks. I didn¡¯t know how we were going to work through that particular piece of trauma that the four of us had.

    Fray had a twinkle in her eyes that told me even though she had a sullen look on her face, she was going to play off of Aelin. The thought of two bubbly women chattering away while we were in between fights didn¡¯t exactly entice me to pick her.

    Eggar looked hopeful. He genuinely didn¡¯t want to go back down that tunnel. He was my top pick, just because he looked eager to please, which meant he¡¯d probably follow directions the best.

    ¡°Eg¡­¡±

    ¡°We want Fray!¡± Aelin interrupted, pushing me out to rush over and grab the brunette by the hands. She pulled the smiling woman over to where we were standing.

    Fray had perked up after being named, but was taking care to restrain herself, while putting members of our party between her and the nun.

    Nun Margrave eyed me. "That¡¯s who you want?¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± I looked at Aelin, who was smiling ear to ear. Rix looked indifferent as always. Justia was wearing her Noble face. None of them was going to help me counter the excitement.

    I looked at Ether for support. I locked eyes with the red-eyed woman and she gave me a slight nod.

    It was two for, two abstain, and one against. I could argue, but that would take time, I would lose, and we would look bad.

    ¡°Yes.¡± I sighed. "We¡¯ll take Fray.¡±

    ¡°Go on, you heard him.¡± The nun shooed the two men to follow after the other two.

    ¡°When and where do you want us to bring her?¡± I needed to know how long we had her for.

    ¡°Keep her ¡®til you head back to the Cathedral.¡± Nun Margrave waved at me as she followed after her students. "Or keep her. One less headache for me.¡±

    I watched the Nun grumble as she walked away.

    I turned around to our new party member. "I guess we should head out.¡±

    Aelin was grinning ear to ear. "To the boss!¡±

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 18

    There was a slime waiting for us around the first turn.

    ¡°Magic Arrow!¡± Aelin fired her bow. The bolt of magic drilled through the slimy body and shattered the crystal, reducing the monster to a puff of smoke.

    Ether picked up the crystal and put it in her crystal band. Our tank turned around to look at the Hitter, who was hanging in the back. ¡°We can split the crystals at the end of the day.¡±

    That reminded me. "We need to add her to the party.¡± I tapped on my crystal band and cycled through menus until I reached the party one. It had me designated as the party leader. Each of the five of us had our Adventurers card displaying, which showed our name, our class, and our stats. Mine read:

    Atlas Zeb - Level 2

    Age: 18, Hair: White, Eye color: Green

    Skin: White, Blood: Black, Height: 6¡¯

    101.9 Exp

    Caster

    8 Power 6 Defense 6 Speed

    12 Magic 3 Recovery 3 Aura

    Stat Points: 0

    Skill: Dash, Pebble Shot, Bind, Siphon

    Passive:

    The brand over my heart seemed to be doing its job. I turned so that I was looking at Fray and pushed the button to add her. There was a momentary buzz, and then her card was added in our sixth slot. It read:

    Fray Harror - Level 1

    Age: 18, Hair: Brown, Eye color: Brown

    Skin: Green, Blood: Red, Height: 5¡¯2¡±

    19.5 Exp

    Hitter

    10 Power 6 Defense 4 Speed

    4 Magic 8 Recovery 3 Aura

    Skill:

    Passive:

    She¡¯d had her Mantle for over a week and she only had nineteen and a half experience.

    ¡°Ether." I motioned for the white-haired woman to duck into a corner with me.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    ¡°Hey!¡± Aelin stuck out her tongue. "Makeout on your own time!¡±

    ¡°Just keep killing slimes and we¡¯ll catch up.¡± I must have got the serious look right because Aelin smiled.

    ¡°Alright everyone! The mighty Aelin will slay all the slimes!¡± The blonde marched forward, taking the other three with her.

    ¡°What can you see on the party screen?¡±

    Ether pulled hers up. "Just the name, level and class. Why what do you have?¡±

    I showed her my display.

    She shook her head. "I wonder how long they have these people down here.¡± Ether looked back the way we had come. "I know we booked it, but we had more than this three days in.¡± She looked at me. "What are they doing to get so little experience?¡±

    I shrugged. "No clue. But with only three teachers for twenty six students, the hunting ground have got to be slim.¡±

    ¡°True.¡± Ether looked a little concerned. "Atlas?¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡± I closed the display and shifted the sword on my back.

    ¡°Why did you offer to bring one of them with us?¡±

    I thought about how to phrase my answer. "I knew we couldn¡¯t help all of them, but this one we could.¡±

    ¡°This one?¡± Ether raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°You know I was wanting to pick someone else, but then Aelin was Aelin and now¡­¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re kind of stuck with her.¡± Ether finished.

    I started to kiss her, but remembered what Aelin had teased and diverted to her forehead. I put a finger on her lips. "For later.¡±

    She took my hand in both of hers and kissed my finger, then brought it away from her mouth. "Promise.¡±

    I nodded and we started walking to catch up after the others.

    ¡°How long until we level her?¡± It was mainly the reason why I had shown her the woman¡¯s stats.

    Ether looked at me, then started thinking out loud. ¡°She needs eighty experience and she¡¯ll get about one fifth for every monster we kill on this floor. The map won¡¯t be the same size as the one at Zeb, but if you factor three hours to reach the boss, with one spawning every fifteen minutes¡­¡± She looked up at the ceiling. "That¡¯s two point four experience. Add another for the boss and we¡¯re at twenty two point nine when we get to the second floor.¡±

    ¡°Which I¡¯m guessing may be as far as we go today?¡±

    Ether scrunched her brow. "Why? Even if it takes us an hour on the boss, which it won¡¯t, that still gives us three hours to farm until six.¡±

    I laughed. "What happened to a shopping trip with Aelin?¡±

    Ether glared at me. "Are you taking her?¡±

    My heart sped up as fear gripped it. "No, I thought you and Justia would like to¡­¡±

    ¡°Justia, maybe. But that¡¯s a hard pass from me. I¡¯d rather spend time in the dungeon than have Aelin drag me around.¡±

    I laughed. "Same.¡± I looked at her as we rounded a corner. "Do you think she¡¯ll be level two before we have to leave?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s over four hundred and fifty monsters we¡¯d have to beat in just a few days.¡± She looked at the women ahead of us. "That¡¯s¡­¡± She thought for a moment, finishing the math she¡¯d started. "Over fifteen hours a day in the dungeon.¡± She shook her head. "I know we just did that, but I¡¯m not planning on farming that hard for a while.¡±

    ¡°Ouch.¡± I looked at the tunnels jutting off all over the place. "And it¡¯s not like we can split the team in half to double up. Unless¡­¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Ether shook her head. "We have farming that we have to get done here before we can go to the Dispatcher dungeon.¡±

    ¡°But could that work?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re spending ten hours a day in here.¡± She sighed. "It might work, but even then, it¡¯ll be close.¡±

    ¡°What if we farmed on the third floor?¡±

    Shock covered her face. "No.¡± She swiped her hands. "I¡¯m not running that math for you.¡± She playfully pushed me away. "This is supposed to be a vacation and I¡¯m not letting you ruin that for me.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± I smiled as I pulled her closer. I¡¯d have to run those numbers tonight.

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 19

    It only took us two hours to make it to the boss room.

    We basically never had to stop walking. There were a few bad corners where we had to backtrack a little because of a dead end, but always staying to our left against the Dungeon Wall paid off and we reached the boss room faster than Ether had estimated.

    ¡°How many did we get?¡± I looked at Ether while everyone took a chance to get a drink of water before we went in.

    Our Tank typed on her wrist. "Twelve, counting the one at the beginning.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s so much easier!¡± Aelin looked at Fray. "We had to count them one by one so we knew how many each one of us got¡­Ugh! It was horrible!¡±

    ¡°You got to keep them all?¡± The green woman sounded surprised.

    ¡°You don¡¯t?¡± I handed her my water bottle. We only had five, so someone had to share.

    Ether raised an eyebrow as Fray took a long drink from it.

    I pointed at her water bottle and motioned at Fray to silently ask her if she wanted to share instead. The white-haired woman shook her head.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± Fray handed the water bottle back to me and I put it into my crystal band.

    ¡°No.¡± The brunette turned to Aelin. "The Instructors keep all of them and then give us some All at the end of the day depending on how well we did.¡± She looked at her feet. "After Temple costs and food gets deducted, most of us are lucky if we get anything.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s horrible!¡± Aelin walked over and gave her a hug. "Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll get to keep everything you make while you¡¯re with us!¡±

    Fray looked at me. "Really?¡±

    I nodded towards Ether. "She¡¯s the one with all the crystals that you should be asking, but the answer is yes.¡±The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°After we get out this afternoon we¡¯re going shopping!¡± Aelin jumped in the air. "And you¡¯re coming with us!¡± She pulled Fray to her feet.

    ¡°But¡­but¡­¡± She looked at me, then Ether, then Rix for help.

    I pointed at Justia. "She¡¯s about the only one that Aelin will listen to.¡±

    ¡°I listen!¡± Aelin crossed her arms

    ¡°Only when we¡¯re fighting something.¡± Ether muttered just loud enough for everyone to hear.

    ¡°I heard that!¡± Aelin marched over and wrapped Ether in a hug. "If you don¡¯t take that back I¡¯m going to lick your ear!¡±

    ¡°Justia!¡± Ether laughed. "Control your woman!¡±

    Aelin licked Ether¡¯s ear, making Ether laugh even more. Justia looked stunned, while Rix couldn¡¯t keep the corners of her mouth from forming a grin.

    Aelin froze without warning. "Hey, it¡¯s okay, we were just playing around.¡± She untangled herself from Ether and ran over to Fray.

    I turned and saw what I had missed.

    Tears were flowing down Fray¡¯s cheeks.

    ¡°No.¡± Fray wiped them off with the back of her hand. "You all are just so happy. It¡¯s¡­¡± She had to wipe another round off. "So different from the barracks.¡±

    Aelin looked up at me with puppy dog eyes.

    I sighed, Aelin had already decided that we were keeping her and I didn¡¯t know how I was going to be able to send her back now.

    ¡°Hey." I put my hand on her shoulder. "You¡¯re with us now. So if you want to lighten up a little, it¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    She looked up at me. "You¡¯re not going to send me back because I¡¯m too weak?¡±

    I shifted behind her so that I could put both hands on her shoulders.

    Help

    I mouthed the words at Ether.

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t want to promise something he can¡¯t do.¡± Rix interrupted.

    Everyone looked at her.

    ¡°Trent has to approve her. Atlas only got a say on the sixth member of our team for this week.¡± The redhead got up and started walking towards the door. "You¡¯re here for at least the week, after that it¡¯s not up to him.¡± She motioned to the door. "Can we get this over with?¡±

    There was stunned silence for a few more moments. I clapped Fray on the back. "Sorry, I wish I could promise more, but that¡¯s the truth.¡±

    The brunette sniffled, but stood up and gave me a hug. "Thanks.¡±

    I hugged her back, then stepped away and nodded at Justia. "After you.¡±

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 20

    The boss room was dark.

    ¡°FRAY! Stay close to Justia!¡± I couldn¡¯t see anything. "Whenever you¡¯re ready!¡±

    ¡°Light!¡± Justia shouted.

    The room lit up and we drew our weapons. Ether got her shield out, Aelin raised her bow and I finally drew my sword.

    I looked over at Rix, who took her weapon out of her crystal band for the first time. It was a shiny metal blade that was in between the length of her knife and the dagger. The handle was much longer though, even longer than the hilt of my longsword.

    Before I had a chance to ask her about it, the luminous rocks at the top of the cave flared to life, casting light over the whole room.

    It was solid rock, just like the tunnels had been. We all looked around, except there wasn¡¯t a Great Acid Slime anywhere in the room.

    ¡°Did it run off?¡± Aelin puffed out her chest. "It must have known how good I am at killing slimes.¡±

    ¡°OW!¡± Fray exclaimed as she began rubbing her shoulder.

    ¡°Minor Heal Wounds.¡± Justia cast the spell and the lowest level member of our team was bathed in soft blue light for a moment.

    Fray pulled back her hand to reveal a hole in her armor. ¡°How?¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Justia wiped something off her armor. "OW!¡± she started shaking her hand. "That burns!¡±

    Everyone looked up at the ceiling at the same time. The Great Acid Slime was right over the two women.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

    ¡°Ether!¡± I made a finger gun with my left hand. "Pebble Shot!¡±

    The two stones lodged into the side of the monster, but were almost two feet away from the core.

    ¡°Look At Me!¡± Ether started moving away from all of us.

    ¡°Magic Arrow!¡± Aelin fired an arrow. The magic burned deep enough, but the core moved out of the way.

    ¡°RIX!¡± I dropped my sword when I realized what was about to happen. "DASH!¡±

    I angled towards Justia. I hated having to choose like this, but Justia couldn¡¯t heal herself, so she was always the top priority.

    I saw a chain shoot past me and wrap around Fray and then the brunette was moving towards me. I watched her be yanked out of harm¡¯s way as I grabbed Justia.

    ¡°DASH!¡± I sped us forward and out of the way of the falling slime.

    Except we both got hit.

    I dropped Justia as we both fell, then tumbled for a little. I got up to my feet and reached for the weapon that I had dropped.

    ¡°Here.¡± Justia pulled out hers and offered it to me.

    ¡°What..?¡± I looked at the ten foot tall mass of acid. I had been expecting it to just chase Ether around and try to ram her. Which it was doing.

    With two long, fluid arms.

    ¡°That wasn¡¯t in the file!¡± I pointed my left hand at the core. "Pebble Shot!¡±

    The core didn¡¯t even bother moving as the two marbles lodged in the gel harmlessly away from the core.

    ¡°Argh!¡± I screamed at no one. "I hate this spell!¡±

    I gripped the longsword with both hands and charged, slashing at the slime¡¯s body, but making it less than a quarter of the way in before I was stopped. I had to yank out the sword, then roll to dodge one of the tendrils.

    ¡°I thought you taunted this thing!¡± I slashed at the tendril as it tried to attack me.

    ¡°The main body is taunted!¡± Ether was backing up and I saw what she meant. The monster was slowly moving towards her. ¡°The tendrils have minds of their own!¡±

    A tendril shot past me towards Justia. I sliced it off before it could reach her. The tendril grew back and began to wave around in front of me.

    ¡°Why couldn¡¯t this be easy?¡± I grumbled as I kept myself in between the monster and Justia.

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 21

    The tendrils were throwing off the fight.

    Ether could keep the main body occupied without it ever touching her, but that meant that she was basically out of the fight. The tendrils were ignoring her, which meant the rest of us had to deal with them.

    Aelin was trying to hit the core, but it was able to move through the main body so fast that when she lined up a shot, the core moved right after she shot it. The travel time of the arrow was long enough that the core was able to move out of the way. I watched as she tried aiming at a different spot, but the core didn¡¯t bother to move as that pink arrow harmlessly burned into the boss..

    That left the two tendrils to target Fray and Justia. Rix was slinging her chain knife around and doing a decent job of protecting Fray. I watched the brunette try to slice at one of the tendrils, but the level of the weapon made a difference and she was only able to cut it. Then the tendril retracted and healed itself.

    ¡°Is this thing getting any weaker?¡± I looked around.

    ¡°NO!¡± Rix and Ether yelled at the same time.

    ¡°So much for that idea.¡± I grumbled as I cut off the tendril again. I was wondering why it wasn¡¯t letting up, but then I understood.

    We were going to start getting tired and it wasn¡¯t.

    All it had to do was wear us down and then it could take us out one by one.

    ¡°Ether! Justia! Move to Rix!¡± I looked at Aelin as I backed up. "Keep shooting at that thing!¡±If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    We started rotating until the five of us were together.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it a bad idea to have the Tank and the Healer together?¡± Fray looked at the two women.

    ¡°That thing is moving slow enough that it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± I picked up my discarded sword and handed Justia hers back. I turned to Ether. "Can you keep those tendrils off of them?¡± I nodded at Justia and Fray.

    ¡°From one? Yes, from two..?¡± Ether looked at her shield. "Maybe?¡¯

    ¡°Do what you can.¡± I looked at the redhead. "Rix¡­¡±

    ¡°Got it.¡± She started rotating around the monster towards Aelin.

    ¡°What..?¡± Fray looked at me. "You didn¡¯t tell her anything?¡±

    ¡°Rix is¡­¡± I tried to think of the right word. "Rix. Don¡¯t overthink it, just be glad she¡¯s on our side.¡±

    I slashed away another tendril attack and looked at Justia. "I know you don¡¯t want to, but you may have to use that thing to protect them.¡± I looked into her blue eyes. "Can you do that?¡±

    Justia took a nervous breath and gripped the sword with both hands. "Yes.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡± I turned to Fray. "Just try to stay out of harm¡¯s way. If you try to be a hero, they are both going to try to protect you and that could get all three of you killed.¡±

    The other brunette swallowed and nodded.

    I nodded at Ether, sliced another tendril attack and rotated the other way towards Aelin. "You¡¯ve got this!¡±

    I ran the opposite way that Rix had until I was on the other side of the monster.

    Aelin and Rix were both attacking the monster, but weren¡¯t making any headway.

    ¡°Are you ready?¡± I looked at Rix, who nodded

    ¡°Ready for what?¡± Aelin looked between us.

    I pointed about two thirds of the way up the monster. "When Rix tells you to, Harden that space on the monster.¡±

    ¡°I already tried that.¡± Aelin shook her head. "Harden only hardens the outside, not the inside of the monster.¡±

    ¡°Just be ready and then shoot as many arrows as you can.¡± I turned to Rix who nodded.

    I sheathed my sword and began to hop from one foot to the other. "This is going to hurt a lot.¡±

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 22

    It was a stupid plan.

    I¡¯d heard Adventurers talk about cheesy wins they¡¯d had and how one time out of a hundred, or a thousand, or even a million was all that would have worked. They¡¯d talked about how many Adventurers they¡¯d seen die doing something stupid like this, but I thought it might just be crazy enough to work.

    I charged.

    The Slime ignored me, which was the first thing that I¡¯d counted on. Earlier, I¡¯d proven that I couldn¡¯t cut it and my spells hadn¡¯t made it very deep. Except it hadn¡¯t seen all my spells.

    When I reached the slime, I threw out both of my hands and jammed them into the monster up to my elbows.

    ¡°SIPHON!¡± I yanked back as hard as I could.

    I¡¯d been trying to figure out what the spell did ever since the dud in the boss room back at Zeb. According to what I could find, it was a debuff skill that was mainly used to drain blood out of a bleeding target faster.

    The insides of the slime were basically all body fluids and when I yanked out my arms, I made it bleed a little.

    Siphon made it bleed a lot.

    Acidic fluid sprayed out of it. ¡°DASH!¡± I began to backpedal to get out of the way. I clasped both of my hurting hands together and aimed for the main body. "Pebble shot!¡±

    The two larger projectiles tore walnut sized holes into the monster and out the other side. I¡¯d been careful to aim so that I wouldn¡¯t hit any of my party members, just in case it did go through. I watched the core move up as I lined up another shot.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    ¡°PEBBLE SHOT!¡±

    It felt like my blood sugar plummeted. I went down on one knee. If the tendrils had been worried about anything other than plugging the holes, then it might have been bad for me.

    ¡°Harden!¡± Aelin shouted behind me.

    I pulled out my sword and forced myself to stand up. The world wasn¡¯t spinning anymore, but I knew I couldn¡¯t use dash at the moment. In fact, running or moving fast at all was off the table.

    I watched Rix¡¯s chain wrap around the monster where Aelin had hardened it. The chain ripped through the gelatinous body, severing the core from the main body.

    ¡°MAGIC ARROW! MAGIC ARROW! MAGIC ARROW!¡±

    The chain knife shot into the smaller slime body as well. The core tried to move, but there were too many projectiles and too little space.

    One of the magic arrows hit the core, but didn¡¯t shatter it. Boss cores were stronger than regular monster cores and Aelin wasn¡¯t strong enough to break one in a single hit.

    ¡°WHAT?!?¡± Aelin stomped. "I hit it! That¡¯s not fair! I hit it!¡±

    ¡°Hit it again!¡± I began walking backwards as the core fell in the puddle of the larger body on the floor.

    I¡¯d hoped that separating the core from the main body would be enough to evaporate the main body. That trick wouldn¡¯t work a second time and I wasn¡¯t sure that I had enough magic to try it a second time.

    ¡°Atlas!¡± Ether was pointing at the puddle.

    At first I was confused, but then I realized what Ether was trying to get my attention about.

    The tendrils were still full and wriggling on the ground trying to pull fluid back into the main body. The body slowly started to rise up even with the attacks Rix and Aelin were throwing at it. The tendrils were intercepting attacks to give the body time to recover.

    My mind was reeling. The body was only seven feet tall now. We¡¯d destroyed about a third of it, but that didn¡¯t exactly mean much because our trick had been a one off.

    Though I had learned something. I just had to figure out how to use it.

    But at least now I knew we were fighting three monsters.

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 23

    It felt like they were cheating.

    ¡°Did you see it?¡± I looked over at Rix.

    ¡°See what?¡± Aelin pulled back on her bow. "MAGIC ARROW!¡± The arrow sheared off the tip of one of the tendrils. ¡°I¡¯m being robbed!¡±

    Rix pulled back her chain knife and began retracting it into the handle. She pointed at where the tendrils were connected to the main body. ¡°They¡¯re parasites.¡±

    I nodded. "How do we kill them?¡±

    The redhead shrugged. "The cores are clear and their tendrils are deep in the body.¡±

    ¡°Magic Arrow!¡± Aelin shot another bolt. "Blah, Blah, WHERE DO I SHOOT THIS THING!?!¡±

    Rix was looking instead of attacking it. I could see she was thinking, but we didn¡¯t have the luxury of observing.

    ¡°Cover me." I called over my shoulder as I charged. I pulled out the sword and started moving. My stomach was still turning, but I was able to move faster than walking, but not up to running speed.

    I was able to drive the tendrils back, but I wasn¡¯t making any progress.

    Rix was beside me and with Aelin¡¯s help, we were able to cut the tendrils back to the main body.

    ¡°Focus on one at a time!¡± Ether was keeping her shield up while we were rotating around the main body. We had the tendrils under control, but even with the three of us, we were only able to keep it contained. We needed another damage dealer.Stolen novel; please report.

    ¡°Justia!¡± We couldn¡¯t keep the pressure up and once we slowed down, all it would take was one slip and a tendril would pull us into the main body. "We need you!¡±

    A brunette rushed over to help us, but it wasn¡¯t Justia. Fray tried to cut into the body, but her cuts were too shallow to justify having her that close.

    ¡°Your sword isn¡¯t strong enough!¡± I stabbed at the base of a tendril, but it rotated, putting Fray in between me and it. Rix was on the other side and Aelin was only trimming them back if they started growing on her side.

    The tendril began to slide out and grabbed her. I pulled her by the collar, which got her away from it, but she dropped her weapon. The slime grabbed it and pulled it into the main body.

    With Fray no longer in between me and the slime, I sliced off the tendril. "Fray, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re trying to help, but your gear is not strong enough.¡± I looked at our Healer. "Justia! I¡¯m sorry, but we need you!¡±

    I trimmed the tendril again. It was starting to gain ground. Slowly, but we were starting to tire.

    The SnakeBlade stabbed into the middle of the tendril. I made a cut above it. The tendril tried to move and The brunette rotated with it, stabbing it again.

    Rix rotated towards us and gouged into it. The SnakeBlade came out and I sliced under it, cutting the tendril out. It flopped on the ground, trying to get back to the main body.

    ¡°Aelin!¡± I sliced into it. "Harden it!¡±

    ¡°Harden!¡±

    I kicked the tendril away from the body. "Blow it up!¡±

    Aelin rained magic arrows on it until it vanished in a puff of smoke.

    ¡°SCORE!¡± Aelin pumped her fist.

    ¡°Justia, thanks¡­¡± I turned and realized it wasn¡¯t Justia.

    Fray was staring at her hands. They were covered in burns and glowing in a soft blue light.

    I had never seen gear burns before. ¡°What did you do?¡±

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 24

    ¡°Kill the boss first!¡±

    Ether grabbed Fray and pulled her away from the fight. She looked at me. "I¡¯ve got her and Justia is healing her, kill that thing!¡±

    I kicked the dropped sword away from the boss and gouged under the tendril as it tried to hide from us, but the slow-moving slime allowed us to dance around it. Eventually, Rix and I were able to cut it free. Once it was out, we disposed of it the same way we had the other one.

    We had a little time to breathe, so I went to check on Fray.

    ¡°How¡¯s she doing?¡± I looked at Justia as I knelt down next to the two women.

    ¡°I¡¯m better.¡± Fray pulled her knees up close to her body and put her head down.

    I looked at Justia. "How is she doing?¡±

    ¡°The burns she got from using my sword are mostly gone.¡± The Healer looked embarrassed. "I¡¯m sorry, I froze.¡±

    ¡°It worked out." I moved closer to Fray. "I¡¯m sorry, you were just trying to help and you got hurt.¡± I touched her chin and gently raised her head so she was looking at me. "Thanks for the help. We should have it from here.¡± I nodded at Justia. "Justia will get you fixed up. And we can talk later.¡±

    I turned back to the fight, but Ether cut me off.

    ¡°You know she¡¯s trying to prove what she¡¯s worth so she won¡¯t be left here?¡± The white-haired Tank pulled me with her as she led the boss around.

    I looked over at the quiet woman. ¡°She has potential, but that potential will be wasted if she dies in here.¡± I turned back to Ether. "She took two risks that put people in danger. The first one almost got her killed and the second one left her burned.¡±Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t take a risk?¡± The red-eyed woman pointed at the holes in the sleeves of my jacket.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to die if it pulled me inside it.¡± I looked over at Fray. "How long do you think she would have lasted? Sure, she has six Defense, but you know that higher level monsters do more damage to lower level Adventurers.¡±

    Ether moved to the side. "I¡¯m just saying, she¡¯s scared and she¡¯s trying to prove herself. Maybe try some encouragement.¡± She nodded at the Giant slime. "Have you noticed that the smaller it gets, the faster it becomes?¡±

    I watched it for a moment and it was definitely faster. Not so fast that we couldn¡¯t walk and stay ahead of the six-foot-tall monster, but it had been barely more than stationary at ten feet tall.

    ¡°Hold off on the damage!¡± I waved at Aelin and Rix.

    The two women came over to where we were.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Aelin was all smiles. "I¡¯m shredding that thing!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the problem." I pointed at the six-foot-tall mass of acid. "The smaller it gets, the faster it¡¯s getting.¡±

    ¡°We need to kill it faster?¡± Aelin offered.

    ¡°Right now we have melee weapons and you.¡± I looked at Rix. "What happens when it¡¯s fast enough that we can¡¯t use melee weapons?¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t fight it anymore?¡± Aelin pointed at the chain knife. "Rix can be ten feet away from it with that thing. It¡¯s so cool!¡±

    I looked at Rix. "How much longer can you keep this up?¡± I turned to Aelin. "Both of you?¡±

    ¡°I could do this forever!¡± Aelin pointed her bow. "Pew Pew!¡± She pretended to fire.

    ¡°We need to finish this sooner rather than later.¡± Rix looked at her weapon. "This isn¡¯t the best thing to use, but¡­¡± She shook her head. "It¡¯s all we¡¯ve got.¡±

    ¡°What happens if we cut it down too small and it gets really fast?¡± I turned to Ether. "Can you take it?¡¯

    Ether bit her lip as she thought. She looked at her shield, then at my sword. "Your sword is starting to show wear and it¡¯s a level two weapon. I¡¯m not sure how many hits a level one wood shield can take.¡±

    ¡°Does anyone else have any other ideas?¡± The monster was starting to get close again. When no one answered, I pointed my sword at it. "Let¡¯s chop it up!¡¯

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 25

    We hit it with everything.

    Ether kept leading it, while Rix, Aelin, and I did what we could to hit the fast-moving core. When we got it trimmed down to four feet tall, Ether had to run to kite it.

    ¡°Is it just me or does this core seem to be moving faster too?¡± The monster was thin enough that I was able to slice all the way through it, but the cutoff part just reformed on the main body if they weren¡¯t separated for more than a few seconds.

    ¡°It¡¯s faster!¡± Aelin sat down. "Give me a minute to catch my breath.¡±

    We¡¯d been fighting for almost an hour. The exhaustion of prolonged combat was starting to wear on us.

    ¡°This is taking too long!¡± I stabbed and went too wide away from the core.

    Rix retracted her chain knife and watched it scoot after Ether and mostly ignored us. ¡°Aelin, can you change the shape or size of your magic arrows?¡±

    The blonde stood up and brushed herself off. "I don¡¯t know, I¡¯ve never tried.¡±

    ¡°Maybe try now?¡± The redhead motioned at the Giant slime that was less than half of its original size.

    Aelin looked at me. "How did you shoot the bigger rock?¡±

    I clasped my hands together. ¡°Like this. Both hands together make it bigger, both hands separate." I made two hand pistols. "Shoot more projectiles. But¡­¡± I looked at Aelin. "It takes a lot more mana to use.¡±

    Aelin thought for a moment. "Let me try something¡­¡± She drew her bow like normal. "MAGIC ARROWS!¡± She drew the bow, and the usual pink arrow formed. She let loose the arrow, but kept her hand where it was. The magic arrows kept firing, like a repeater. Adding an S at the end of the spell had turned it into an automatic.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    Rix looked at me. "Try it!¡±

    I shrugged and put away my sword and pointed both finger guns at the boss.

    ¡°Pebble Shots!¡±

    I could feel the mana draining as the marbles kept shooting out of the tips of my fingers.

    ¡°It¡¯s working!¡± Aelin sagged and dropped her hand, breaking the spell.

    I didn¡¯t blame her, I wanted to stop as well but we were so close.

    The monster launched itself at Ether, driving her back. I could see gouges were eaten out of the shield and I didn¡¯t know how many hits it could take.

    Rix whipped out her chain knife and connected, knocking the core clear of the body. The acid collapsed, but didn¡¯t disappear.

    We all stared at the core. I had stopped firing and Rix pulled back her chain for another attack.

    ¡°MAGIC ARROWS!¡± Aelin roared as she fired a barrage of pink arrows at it. After the fourth one, the core shattered, causing all the acid to also vanish into smoke.

    Rix picked up the crystal and threw it to Ether.

    ¡°Did we get a drop?¡± Aelin looked to see what Rix was was picking up.

    ¡°Slime Ring.¡± Rix held it up to her crystal band. "Level two, grants passive regeneration.¡±

    She tossed it to me. "This is another you item.¡±

    ¡°How?¡± I looked at the green ring in my hand.

    ¡°Justia has to focus most of her attention on Ether. You¡¯re in the front getting hurt, so if you have that, you¡¯ll heal while you¡¯re catching your breath.¡±

    ¡°What if I get hit?¡± Aelin protested.

    ¡°Do you want it?¡± I held the ring out.

    ¡°Why Atlas, this is all so sudden¡­¡± Aelin waved her face with her hand. "You know I¡¯m spoken for.¡±

    I handed the ring to Ether. "You get this.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just messing with you!¡± Aelin laughed. "You can keep it! I get hit less than you anyway!¡±

    I couldn¡¯t argue with her there, but I didn¡¯t feel right taking a third boss drop.

    ¡°Ether will keep this drop.¡± I thought about sitting down for a bit to rest, but that would risk still being in here when the boss respawned. ¡°Let¡¯s get to the second floor so we can talk about what we¡¯re doing with the rest of our day.¡±

    ¡°Shopping!¡± Aelin ran over to the gate. "Come on! We have to get more money for more shopping!¡±

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 26

    The second floor looked exactly the same.

    I looked around at the entrance room. We¡¯d come out of the fight more or less intact, but I was going to make sure that we were much better prepared for the next one.

    ¡°What spawns here?¡± I looked at Rix.

    The redhead shrugged.

    ¡°What time is it?¡± I turned to Ether.

    ¡°Two.¡± She answered without even checking.

    I looked down at my crystal band and realized that I could have just looked at it for the time.

    ¡°How long are we wanting to farm here before we let Aelin go shopping?¡± I looked back up at Ether.

    ¡°Farm until six, then shop until eight and head back?¡± The white-haired woman looked to Justia for confirmation.

    ¡°That sounds good, though we¡¯ll need to tell them we¡¯ve got an extra for dinner.¡± Our Healer nodded at Fray.

    The brown-eyed Hitter smiled, but that was all the reaction she gave.

    ¡°I¡¯ll handle that while you are all shopping.¡± I walked over to Fray. "Don¡¯t worry, you get to stick with us.¡±

    That seemed to make her a little happier.

    ¡°Can we go?¡± Aelin whined. "I want to see what¡¯s here.¡±If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°Let¡¯s not get too far from the gate.¡± I looked at Rix. "Do you think you can find us a loop to run?¡±

    The redhead nodded and started jogging south.

    We ran into a green slime almost immediately.

    ¡°Magic Arrow!¡± Aelin shot at it. The sticky sap inside it split as the arrow pierced it to shatter the core. ¡°I love this spell!¡± Aelin did a little dance.

    ¡°Okay." I watched Ether pick up the crystal. "Why don¡¯t you let other people try to kill them¡­¡±

    ¡°But I can one shot them!¡± Aelin interrupted.

    I held up my hand. "If Rix and I can one shot them too, then we can spread out and triple our farming.¡±

    That lit up Aelin¡¯s eyes. "I¡¯m going to find another one!¡± The blonde ran ahead.

    ¡°Did you really have to do that?¡± Ether chuckled. "You have no idea¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve got one!¡± Aelin started running back. "These things respawn fast!¡± When no one moved Aelin grabbed Rix¡¯s arm. "Come on Rix! You¡¯ve got to beat this thing!¡±

    Ether walked over to me. "You have no idea the monster you¡¯ve created.¡±

    ¡°Rix can do it!¡± Aelin came running back. "Come on Atlas! Your turn!¡± The blonde looked at Ether. "You know, you could use Justia¡¯s sword¡­¡±

    ¡°Not happening.¡± Ether tried to shoo us away.

    ¡°What about that Shield Attack thingy?¡± Aelin pointed down another tunnel. "There¡¯s another one!¡± She grabbed Ether¡¯s arm. "Atlas can try the next one, you do this one!¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we let Ether rest for a bit.¡± I started walking towards the green slime. "She ran around quite a bit in the boss fight, I¡¯m sure she would be grateful if we let her have a chance to rest.¡±

    Aelin looked like she was going to argue, but instead, she looked at Justia, decided not to say anything, looked over at Fray, and shrugged.

    ¡°Fine.¡± Her eyes lit up. "Hey, let¡¯s see who can beat the most!¡±

    I stopped walking. "Why?¡±

    ¡°To make it more fun!¡± She started thinking. "Hmm, the winner gets¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going to go over the details while Rix isn¡¯t here?¡± I shook my head. "You¡¯re brave.¡±

    Aelin¡¯s eyes got wide. "RIX!¡± she took off down the tunnel. "Atlas decided we¡¯re going to play a game!¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡±

    Ether touched my shoulder. "I told you. Monster.¡±

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 27

    The respawn rate of the slimes was faster than Ether had calculated.

    Or maybe the slimes were just denser than the other monsters we¡¯d fought, either way, it seemed like they were on a five-minute respawn rate.

    We spent four hours walking around looking for slimes. There was a fairly large cavern a little further in where there were a lot of spawn points, which is mainly where we farmed.

    Ether and Justia talked with Fray in the middle of the cavern for most of the time, since they weren¡¯t really needed. Unlike the boss monster, the little slimes didn¡¯t move their cores around, and since they were mostly see-through, it made breaking them pretty easy.

    Once Ether called time, we headed back to the front gate to compare kills.

    ¡°I got fifty!¡± Aelin beamed. "How many did you get?¡±

    I looked at my crystal band. I had forty-seven Sap Slime Crystals in my inventory. "Forty-seven.¡±

    ¡°Ha-ha!¡± Aelin celebrated. "I¡¯m winning!¡± She looked at Rix. "How many did¡­¡±

    ¡°Fifty-one.¡± Rix walked over to Ether and transferred the crystals.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Aelin looked from me to Rix. "But I was winning, I¡­¡± She looked at Rix. "How?¡±

    The redhead shrugged.

    I transferred my crystals to Ether. "Come on Aelin, send your crystals to Ether so she can cash them out.¡±Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    Aelin¡¯s shoulders drooped as she walked over and sent her crystals to our Tank.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± I playfully punched her arm. "You¡¯ll win next time.¡±

    Aelin grumbled something under her breath.

    ¡°What did you decide that the winner was going to get?¡± Ether looked at Aelin.

    Aelin mumbled the answer.

    I laughed. "I don¡¯t think even you could hear yourself, Aelin.¡±

    ¡°I said¡­¡± Aelin looked at Rix. "Rix is the greatest slayer of slimes.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s all?¡± Justia looked confused.

    ¡°He hasn¡¯t said it yet!¡± Aelin pointed at me. "He has to say it too because he lost as well!¡±

    I held up my hands. "Rix is the greatest slayer.¡±

    Aelin motioned with her hands for me to continue. "You didn¡¯t finish.¡±

    ¡°Do I need to?¡± I looked at the other two original members of our party. "Is there any doubt that Rix is the best monster hunter of all of us?¡±

    Fray was completely confused and it showed on her face. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°She survived on the third floor for four days.¡± I laughed. "While avoiding a team of second years, and she still managed to level up.¡± I shook my head. "Sorry, but that¡¯s hardcore.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Fray was at a loss for words.

    ¡°That¡¯s not even the best part." Aelin¡¯s happiness came back as she bragged about her teammate. ¡°She was barehanded without any gear.¡±

    ¡°And you wanted to challenge her to a kill contest?¡± I shook my head. "I knew there was no way I was going to win.¡±

    ¡°I almost won!¡± Aelin looked at Rix. "I could have done it too, I just needed one more kill¡­¡±

    She stopped when Rix started shaking her head.

    ¡°You stayed one kill ahead of me on purpose?¡± Aelin gasped. "How did you know how many I got?¡±

    ¡°Maybe because you shouted ¡®I got another one!¡¯ every time you killed one.¡± I looked at Rix. "Or it could¡¯ve been the ¡®Magic Arrow¡¯ that you were shouting all the time.¡±

    ¡°Hey! I¡­¡± Aelin¡¯s words failed her.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Ether put her arm around the blonde. "It¡¯s over and now you can go shopping.¡±

    Aelin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Shopping!¡±

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 28

    We headed to the RV while Ether sold the crystals.

    Fray had never been in one, so once she came in, she just stood in the middle looking at everything.

    ¡°Justia, you can probably pull to the front so Ether doesn¡¯t have to walk as far.¡± I took a seat at the booth and started looking at the bestiary. The information for the second floor had opened up, but I wanted to check the boss fight for the first floor.

    Aelin grabbed Fray and guided her to the front seat while Justia drove us to the front of the Temple. Rix moved behind me and I heard the screen close to one of the beds.

    I reread the entry for the Giant Acid Slime attacks. It had the first attack as the ram, then there was a button to display additional attacks. I hadn¡¯t clicked the button before but when I did, it displayed information about the parasites that protect the main body.

    I flipped forward to the Giant Sap Slime and it had the same attacks. Just the difference was that instead of melting you, it would make things very sticky if it was pierced. The recommended way to deal with it was to use either fire or fire enchanted weapons. I was going to have to look for a fire spell. I groaned, that meant I was going to have to go shopping with them.

    I looked back at the Giant Acid Slime and saw the tab for effective counters. We weren¡¯t going to do it again, but I thought it might be useful to see what was suggested.

    The entry read: Bring ice or air elemental attacks, With ice, freeze the arms, then work on freezing the main body. Avoid breaking the arms, they will regrow. With air, scatter large portions off the main body. Be careful as this will make it faster.

    I wondered how many people had spent enough time observing it to discover that it was actually three monsters. It might be something to ask Trent about when we saw him next. The door to the RV opened and Ether got in.

    ¡°How much did we get?¡± Aelin bounced over to her.

    Ether began transferring All to her. "Twenty seven point seven All.¡± The white-haired woman walked over to Justia and transferred her portion.

    ¡°I¡¯m rich!¡± Aelin began dancing in the middle of the RV as Justia took us out of the parking lot.

    ¡°Here you go.¡± Ether took the coins out of her crystal band and handed them over to Fray. She walked over and sat next to me. "Is Rix all ready?¡± I nodded and pointed with my thumb at the bunks behind us.

    ¡°This is twenty-eight All?¡± Fray turned sideways in her seat.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to keep up with the change.¡± Ether waved at her. "I thought it would be easier for you to keep up with if you didn¡¯t have all those fractions.¡±

    ¡°You gave me fractions.¡± Aelin came over and sat in the booth across from us.

    ¡°And where is your All?¡±

    Aelin looked at her crystal band.

    ¡°Where is Fray going to keep hers?¡± Ether motioned at the brunette.

    Aelin looked behind her. "In her¡­ pockets?¡± Realization dawned on her.

    ¡°Yes, and how hard are fractions to keep up with?¡± Ether eyed the former waitress.

    ¡°Gotcha.¡± Aelin leaned forward on her elbows. "Whatcha looking at? Everything you¡¯re going to buy?¡±

    I shook my head as Ether transferred twenty-six All and fifty-five fractions to me. I nodded at the woman beside me. ¡°I¡¯m trying to see what we could have done better.¡± I turned the screen so that we all could see it. "What I¡¯m reading is that elemental attacks are really helpful.¡±

    ¡°Ice¡­¡± Aelin began mumbling as she read the information. Once she was done, she looked at me. "What does it say about the next one?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not fighting the second floor boss.¡± Ether leaned on my shoulder as I pulled up the information.

    ¡°We got almost thirty experience today.¡± Aelin smiled at Ether¡¯s reaction. "We have these things now to keep up with it.¡± She raised her left arm. "Which means Atlas and I only need ninety more experience to level up.¡± She pointed at Ether. "You and Justia had more experience than we did and I have no idea how much Rix has.¡±

    ¡°Rix has more than we do.¡± I realized I shouldn¡¯t have spoken when I saw the look on Aelin¡¯s face.

    ¡°How do you know? How much does she have? Can you see mine?¡± The blonde got excited.

    ¡°I can see everyones¡¯ because I¡¯m the party leader.¡± I glanced at Ether for a second then looked back at the other woman. "You can ask Rix when she gets up. I don¡¯t know how much of that information she wants to broadcast.¡±

    ¡°Can you see mine?¡± Fray got up and walked over to us. She slid into the booth beside Aelin.

    ¡°Yes.¡± I looked at the brunette.

    ¡°How close am I to leveling up?¡±

    I opened the menu and cycled over to her information. "You need fifty three more experience to hit level two.¡±

    ¡°How much did we get today?¡±

    ¡°You got twenty-nine.¡± I had already done that math because I had been curious myself.

    ¡°Oh.¡± She looked down at the table.

    Aelin elbowed her. "Don¡¯t worry, that¡¯s a tomorrow problem! The today problem is deciding how you¡¯re going to spend all your All!¡±

    I saw her swallow. Twenty-seven All was more than I had saved with the Dispatchers, which I needed to remember to grab if we saw a Hub. I focused back on her. If she was going to level up in the next two days, then buying level one gear right now while she wasn¡¯t using it was going to be a waste.

    ¡°She might not want to spend it.¡± I looked at our newest member.

    ¡°I¡­¡± The brown-eyed woman began.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay if you don¡¯t want anything today, we¡¯ll get lots of stuff when you level up to celebrate!¡±

    I shook my head, of course Aelin would find another reason for a shopping trip.

    She looked across the table at Ether and myself. "What are the two of you going to buy?¡±

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 29

    Ether had stayed behind.

    Aelin had pulled Justia and Fray with her into the shopping center. I hadn¡¯t gone with them because I still wanted to do some research on the Dispatcher¡¯s Dungeon. With the way Aelin was talking, I didn¡¯t see how we weren¡¯t going to be on the third floor of the Temple Dungeon in a few days and I wanted to spend at least a few days on the Dispatcher¡¯s Dungeon.

    It also gave me an excuse to stay behind. We¡¯d been running almost nonstop since we got our Mantles. We¡¯d taken yesterday off in a way, but we couldn¡¯t keep this pace up. After the boss fight today, I wanted to get as much information as I could about what we were going to be going up against before we got there.

    ¡°It¡¯s a Chimera?¡± Ether pointed at the screen. ¡°What attacks does it have?¡±

    The boss of the first floor looked like a deer body with a scorpion tail. It had mandibles on its face, making it look almost insectoid.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­¡± I opened the attacks menu. "It says that it will try to ram its target, then bites them once they¡¯re down. It has a kick and the tail will poison.¡± I summarized the attacks¡¯ text.

    ¡°Weaknesses?¡± Ether was writing things down on the screen in front of her.

    ¡°It says¡­¡± I began looking. "Here it is. Nothing elemental, just says that its hide is tough and tail is hard and it¡¯s fast, so not to use heavy attacks.¡±

    ¡°Very helpful¡­¡± Sarcasm dripped from her voice. ¡°Does it say where the crystal is?¡±

    I looked at the diagram of the boss. "Nope, though most things die when they no longer have a head.¡±

    She rolled her eyes. "We need a Cure Poison spell for Justia before we go there.¡± She looked at me. "And a fire spell for you before we try the second floor slime.¡±

    ¡°Now you¡¯re on board with Aelin¡¯s plan?¡±

    She shook her head. "No, but¡­¡± She pointed at the screen in front of her where she was writing stuff down. ¡°We have at least six more days here. If we take one whole day for downtime¡­¡± She struck through the third mark. "I think waiting until we level Fray would probably be best.¡± She circled the first two marks.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    ¡°What do you think of her?¡± I shifted in my seat so I could look at the white-haired woman better instead of having to look sideways at her.

    ¡°Fray?¡± Ether shrugged. "She¡¯s¡­¡± She closed her red eyes as she searched for the right words. "Scared? Eager to please?¡± She opened her eyes to look at me. "Maybe it¡¯s just the day one jitters and those will go away once she gets closer to our level, but what she did today at the boss is only going to happen again until she starts to feel like she¡¯s part of the team.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s kind of what I was thinking.¡± I agreed.

    ¡°And if Mister Vowler decides that she isn¡¯t right for the team.¡± She shook her head. "Reckless desperation is the best way I can describe what she¡¯s likely to do to try to prove she belongs.¡±

    ¡°Trent!¡± I forgot I was supposed to call him. ¡°How much do you want to bet that he already knows about our new addition?¡±

    Ether chuckled. "It wouldn¡¯t surprise me if he set it up as another one of his tests.¡± She folded her hands and waited for me.

    I raised an eyebrow. "Aren¡¯t you going to continue? I cut you off while you were explaining why we¡¯d get to the third floor boss before we left.¡±

    ¡°I was waiting for you to call Mister Vowler.¡±

    ¡°He can wait.¡± I wasn¡¯t exactly looking forward to the conversation, but I definitely preferred him to the ArchBishop.

    ¡°We spent four hours farming today.¡± She wrote twenty-five down. "If we double that, then Fray will almost be level two.¡± She wrote fifty, then added forty-seven to get ninety seven. ¡°I have a feeling that Aelin is going to want to stay until we level her.¡± She struck through the first mark. "We need at least one day in the dungeon after she levels for her to feel what fighting might be like with us.¡± She pointed at the second mark. "Even if we go slower, I still don¡¯t see how she doesn¡¯t level in two days.¡±

    ¡°Which is why you want to have a down day here.¡± I pointed at the third mark. ¡°Have you thought about where we¡¯ll be?¡±

    ¡°If we double what we did today?¡± She wrote another fifty under the second mark, then one hundred thirty under that.

    It was enough to level us. "We can possibly hit level three in under two weeks?¡±

    Ether nodded. "I know Fray will feel like her accomplishment gets overshadowed by ours, but that lets us fight the boss here.¡± She pointed at the fourth mark. "And leaves us with¡­¡± She underlined the last three marks. "These to explore the Dispatcher¡¯s Dungeon.¡±

    ¡°Looks like a plan.¡± I swallowed. "Now to call Trent, then¡­¡± I sighed. "We need to go shopping. I want a fire spell so I don¡¯t have to come back here.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t want to go shopping with Aelin?¡± Ether laughed. "I can¡¯t imagine why not!¡±

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 30

    Trent answered as soon as it connected.

    ¡°Were you expecting us?¡± I glanced over at Ether, who was still sitting beside me.

    ¡°I¡¯m always expecting you.¡± The gray haired man looked at us. "How did today go?¡±

    ¡°We beat the first floor boss.¡± I found my eyes darting anywhere except the virtual image of him. "We also picked up another person.¡±

    ¡°You did?¡± It sounded like both a statement and a question. "What do you think?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t think of the right words.

    ¡°Eager to prove she deserves to stay.¡± Ether finished for me.

    ¡°You¡¯re thinking about bringing her in?¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± I looked over at Ether. I felt like I was confessing to stealing sweets from the kitchen. I looked back towards Trent, but I couldn¡¯t look him in the eye. Instead, I focused on his chin. "I was just going to add her for the afternoon, but her teacher told me to keep her as long as I wanted to and that I could take her with me back to the Cathedral.¡±

    Trent shook his head. "Every year, they try more and more things to get us to open more classes.¡± He looked over at Ether. "She¡¯s a Mundane?¡±

    Ether nodded.

    ¡°Who did you talk to?¡± Trent turned back to me.

    ¡°Nun Margrave.¡± Just invoking the Nun¡¯s name was enough to send a shiver down my spine.

    ¡°Trela or Tiana?¡±

    My eyes widened. "There¡¯s two of them?¡±

    ¡°Trela.¡± The old Adventurer stroked his chin.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    ¡°How¡¯d you know that?¡± I hadn¡¯t thought I reacted to a specific name when he listed them.

    ¡°Last time I saw the sisters¡­¡± He grinned widely. "Tiana was a warm ray of happiness and Trela...¡± He grimaced, which transitioned into a grin. "Let¡¯s just say after a few rounds, she wasn¡¯t so bitter.¡±

    I did not want him to start giving more details about that. ¡°Does that mean anything?¡±

    Trent bobbed his head from side to side. "She¡¯ll probably spin it to her superiors that I specifically asked for the student, which will make things a mess for the student if we send her back.¡± He looked at each of us. "Do you want to keep her?¡±

    I swallowed. "I don¡¯t know. She wasn¡¯t my first pick, but then Aelin decided and now we¡¯re here.¡± I looked at my teacher. "How bad will it be if we don¡¯t take her with us?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll make a few calls.¡± Trent leaned back wherever he was sitting. "How close is she to reaching your level?¡±

    ¡°We could get her to level two tomorrow if we really tried.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Trent seemed surprised by my answer. "They¡¯ve got them that close by now?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Ether interjected. "But Atlas, Rix, and Aelin can all oneshot a slime.¡±

    ¡°And they¡¯re each farming individually.¡± He grinned. "We¡¯re going to have to come back here for a weekend when you all hit level four.¡±

    I did not like the mischievous look in his eye. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Monster rooms.¡± He smiled. "They happen on the fourth floor. You¡¯ll see groups of monsters spawn at a time instead of one or two.¡±

    ¡°Two?¡± It didn¡¯t surprise me since I knew that monsters could spawn in groups. The sixteenth floor was a favorite of Farmers because of its group spawns. "I thought that was just on the Event floors.¡±

    ¡°Zeb is a Common dungeon.¡± Trent started thinking. "The Temple Dungeon here shouldn¡¯t have any double spawns outside of Event Floors, but the Dispatcher¡¯s Dungeon is an Uncommon one, so you should start seeing some double spawns on the second floor there.¡±

    ¡°Does that mean the Cathedral dungeon will have triple spawns outside of event floors?¡± I wasn¡¯t sure if I was hopeful or dreading that possibility.

    ¡°Yes, it does.¡± Our teacher smiled. "Legendary Dungeons are also a thing, but there is only one that we know of and it¡¯s on an island in the Tejir Sea.¡± His smile faded away. "But it broke years ago, and no one has tried to take it back in a long time.¡±

    We had gotten off topic. "What do you want me to do about Fray?¡±

    ¡°See how she is, if she¡¯s someone that we can trust and you like her, then we¡¯ll keep her. If she¡¯s not, then I¡¯ll figure out something.¡± Trent waved at us. "Don¡¯t worry too much about that right now. Just enjoy your vacation.¡±

    The image on the console vanished as he ended the call.

    ¡°If this is a vacation.¡± I looked at Ether. "Then I don¡¯t know if I want to go back.¡±

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 31

    The shopping center was lively.

    Ether and I walked arm in arm through the doors. Our crystal bands buzzed as we passed under the arch that announced that we were in the Harror shopping district. The entire thing was one giant building, with multiple floors, specific stores and even a section where there were stalls for individual sellers.

    The noises were unlike anything I¡¯d ever experienced in Zeb. There were at least a thousand people milling about, having personal conversations or vendors trying to make a sale.

    The building itself was huge, three stories, with what looked like an underground level. Large glass panes made up the ceiling, letting natural light in. Balcony walkways lined the streets on the upper floors with the stores being stacked like a pyramid going up.

    ¡°Where should we go first?¡± I looked at Ether to make sure she heard me. I wasn¡¯t sure I could hear myself in this place.

    ¡°We need to get you that spell, so probably Spells and Such.¡± She walked up to a directory and began sifting through the locations. ¡°There¡¯s also Treymire Abilities, Hortle Enhancements, Dinx Magics, Junt Mana Flow, or Sweke Saves.¡± She turned to me. "The top layer is mostly individuals who go farming in the early levels of the dungeon and spend a week or two selling off their items rather than selling them to the Hub or one of the Brokers.¡±

    ¡°Which means the cheapest stuff is up there.¡± I pointed at the top layer of the pyramid.

    ¡°Usually.¡± Ether agreed. "But it will also take the longest amount of time to find what we¡¯re looking for.¡±

    I looked at my crystal band. We only had ninety minutes to get back to the RV. Knowing Aelin, she would milk every second she could, but we needed to be back before then because we had the key. We had left Rix in her bunk, but I wasn¡¯t sure if the redhead was sleeping or hiding so she wouldn¡¯t have to go into the shopping center. Either way, I¡¯d rather not have them try to rouse her to let them in.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just go to one of the regular stores for now. We can look for bargains another time.¡± I looked around searching for the sign of one of the businesses that Ether had mentioned.

    ¡°Treymire Abilities.¡± I pointed at the shop near the end of the row on the left side. I took Ether¡¯s hand and we made our way through the crowd. I noticed that we were getting a lot of looks, or more precisely, Ether was getting most of the looks. It didn¡¯t take me long to realize that there wasn¡¯t a single other person with white hair that I could see. In all of the eyes that I saw looking at us, not a single one of them were red. I pulled the Tank closer to me as we cut through the crowd and tried to ignore the bumps and shoulders that we got.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

    I learned two things, first was that everyone here was an Adventurer. Second was that they all belonged to either a Noble house or a Dungeon Company by the logos they were all wearing.

    We were level two in a sea of people that were much higher level than us. For some reason they didn¡¯t like me and they really didn¡¯t like Ether.

    We made it to the shop with only a few bruises. I had thought about turning around, but we were already here and turning back felt like running. There was a green-eyed silver-skinned blonde behind the counter. She smiled at us as we walked in. ¡°Welcome to Treymire Abilities! Can I help you find anything?¡±

    ¡°Where would your level one through three fire spells be?¡± I smiled, glad to have run into a friendly face.

    ¡°They¡¯re right over here.¡± She came around the counter and started walking down an aisle on the wall to my left. ¡°They¡¯re sorted by tier going that way.¡± She motioned at the other wall that was four aisles away.

    I saw the sign as we got closer at the front of the endcap. The one to the furthest left read ten with an arrow to the left and eleven with an arrow to the right.

    The girl pointed at the top or the rack. "Spells at the top.¡± She pointed at the floor. "Skills are at the bottom.¡± She motioned in between. "Passives are in between.¡± She eyed us while she flipped through the crystal cases. ¡°You¡¯re not from around here.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re students at the Cathedral, here on vacation.¡± I replied.

    ¡°I¡¯m going there next year!¡± The blonde stopped searching so she could focus all her attention on us. ¡°At least, I hope so.¡± She stuck out her hand. "Daisy Treymire. I get to do the Mantle Trial next year, but Nobles almost never fail, so I¡¯m not worried about that.¡± Her smile faded a little. ¡°But they are very selective about who they let in, so I might not make it.¡±

    I grabbed her hand. "I hope to see you there.¡± I smiled at her. "Atlas Zeb and this is¡­¡± I motioned to my companion.

    ¡°Ether Klix.¡± The white-haired woman took the offered hand after I let go.

    ¡°Klix¡­¡± Daisy looked sad. "I was wondering what someone like you was doing here.¡±

    ¡°I noticed we¡¯re getting a lot of weird looks, does it have something to do with that?¡± I glanced around the store. The dirty looks were still there on most of the shoppers faces.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± Her eyes widened. "Our God Harror says that red-eyed people are the children of demons.¡±

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 32

    Ether tensed and squeezed my hand tighter.

    Her reaction wasn¡¯t surprise, but more like disappointment mixed with some fear.

    ¡°Seriously?¡± I had grown up in the Temple and talk of demons was sparse even there.

    ¡°Yep.¡± Daisy turned back to the crystal cases and started flipping through them. "Harror says that there is going to be an uprising again soon and that the demons are making children with Snow Adventurers to raise an army.¡± She pointed at a stack. "These are all fire spells in that level range.¡±

    ¡°Thank you so much!¡± I tried to mask my nervousness with a smile.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Ether nodded as the woman started walking towards the front.

    ¡°Let me know if you need anything else!¡± Her smile helped ease some of the tension I was feeling. ¡°Hopefully I¡¯ll see both of you at the Cathedral next year!¡±

    ¡°I hope to see you there too!¡± I waved at her as she took her spot behind the counter.

    I turned to Ether. The composed woman that I was used to seeing looked like she was ready to run.

    ¡°Hey.¡± I pulled her closer to me and looked into her beautiful red eyes. "You¡¯ve heard that before, haven¡¯t you?¡±

    She blinked. "You haven¡¯t?¡±

    I shook my head. "Nope. I guess most of the Adventurers that made it to Zeb didn¡¯t care about this.¡± I ran my hand through my own white hair. "And I think that these...¡± I touched her face and brushed the thumb of my left hand under her right eye. "Are beautiful.¡± I thought about kissing her, but decided I¡¯d save that for later.

    She grabbed my hand and leaned her face against it. "Thanks.¡± She closed her eyes and composed herself, then opened them and pulled my hand away from her face. "We still should probably get this spell and leave. There¡¯s plenty of ways to hurt someone without attacking them.¡±

    I nodded. "Agreed.¡±

    I knew that the Shopping Center was a safe zone. Within a constructed safe zone, no attacks could be made against another person. It helped prevent robbers and since the only thing that could be taken out of a crystal band while in one was money, it made security, who could take out their weapons, have a definitive edge.

    Judging by the amount of shoulder checks that we¡¯d received on the way here, there were plenty of loopholes to cover incidental contact. I agreed with Ether that I didn¡¯t want to see just how many more of the loopholes people could take advantage of.

    I turned to the spells. There was Fire Line, Fire Shot, Fire Ball, Fire Arrow, and Fire Rush. Each one of the crystal cases had a short video that would play when you looked at it of someone demonstrating how to use the spell. I turned the Fire Shot one over to show Ether. "Did you know it could do this?¡±Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    The image showed someone with actual guns, loading the spell into a magazine, then it released when they pulled the trigger.

    ¡°I had no idea.¡± The white-haired woman shook her head.

    ¡°I need to get a gun.¡± I looked out the door and remembered that we needed to get out of here as soon as possible. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll order one from Reace Armaments like Rix did.¡± I turned the crystal case over and saw the price. ¡°Sixty-five All?!¡± I looked at Ether. "I like buying stuff from Trent better.¡±

    ¡°Should we see how much it is somewhere else?¡± The nervous Tank glanced around the store at the other patrons.

    ¡°No." I had just over seventy-five All. I still needed to get my jacket repaired, but that could wait until later.

    ¡°I think I¡¯m going to get this one and go more for longer range.¡± I looked up and down the aisle. "Do you want to get something for yourself?¡±

    Ether thought about it for a moment. "I think we should just get back to the RV.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± I took her hand and walked up to the counter

    ¡°Did you find everything?¡± Daisy smiled as she took the spell from me.

    ¡°I think that¡¯s all we need.¡±

    The blonde girl placed the spell on the counter and scanned it. ¡°Sixty-five All.¡± she held out her hand.

    I took the All out of my crystal band and handed it over.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± She deposited the money into the Crystal on the counter. She was looking at me strangely then snapped her fingers. "You¡¯ve never been in a safe zone before.¡±

    ¡°That obvious?¡± I felt very uneducated and embarrassed by the snickers from some of the other patrons.

    ¡°You can¡¯t take items out of crystals while they¡¯re in here and¡­¡± She picked up a crystal case and threw it out the door, except it froze in midair. An alarm started blaring. A Grim male with black hair in a security uniform came over from across the divide. He stopped outside the shop.

    ¡°Daisy! What have you been told about this?¡± He touched the crystal case, the alarm stopped, and it fell back into the shop.

    ¡°It slipped!¡± She batted her eyes as she went around the counter and picked up the merchandise. ¡°I swear!¡±

    ¡°Right¡­¡± His blue orbs eyed her. "Try to keep anything else from slipping.¡± He grumbled as he walked away.

    She went back to her spot behind the counter and put the slippery case back where she¡¯d gotten it. ¡°None of the crystals can leave the store, but you can trade.¡± She tapped something on the menu in front of her. ¡°Just put your wrist on the counter.¡±

    As soon as I did there was a popup above my crystal band asking me if I wanted to accept an item from Treymire Abilities. I selected ¡®yes¡¯ and the paper inside the crystal vanished and appeared in my inventory.

    ¡°That¡¯s all there is to it!¡± She clapped her hands.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Ether and I turned to leave.

    ¡°Wait!¡±

    I turned around and watched her pull back the sleeve of her shirt to reveal a clear crystal band. She selected something and there was a pair of dings.

    I looked down at my crystal band and saw Ether doing the same.

    The display read: Friend Request from Daisy Treymire

    ¡°In case you need anything else while you¡¯re in town and don¡¯t want to walk through the store.¡± She smiled at us.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± I accepted the friend request and saw Ether do the same.

    ¡°See you later!¡± She waved at us as we left the store.

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 33

    We made it to the RV without incident.

    We had also burned through half of our time until Aelin got back. I planned on using some of that to see what type of gun I could purchase. I knew guns weren¡¯t very popular in the dungeon because of the ammunition. In fact, most ranged weapons were looked down upon because of the cost of arrows or bullets. I¡¯d seen Adventurers using the magic arrow spell like Aelin did and supposedly, there were Adventurers that used ammunition weapons when pushing floors, but it was frivolous to spend resources while farming when you didn¡¯t need to.

    I opened up the door to the RV and heard the shower going. Rix had gotten up at some point and was enjoying having the bathroom all to herself.

    ¡°We should get clean too.¡± Ether smelled herself, then laughed nervously.

    ¡°I¡¯d rather use a full sized one back at the Clinic.¡± I locked the door and wrapped my arms around the white-haired woman from behind. "Are you going to be okay?¡±

    She kissed the back of my hand. "I¡¯ll be fine, just shaken up, that¡¯s all.¡± She craned her head back and I kissed her. Not long, but enough to reaffirm that I was here.

    ¡°What do you need?¡± I released her and she went to the refrigerator and started rummaging through it.

    ¡°Something to drink.¡± She took out a bottle of water. "You think Trent has any good stuff stashed in here?¡±

    ¡°Trent can hold thousands of items in his crystal band and you think he¡¯d hide alcohol where one of us could find it?¡± I chuckled as I sat down at the booth and brought up the Reace site.

    ¡°It¡¯s a test I¡¯d be willing to fail right now.¡±

    I looked up. "Are you sure you¡¯re going to be okay?¡±

    She opened the water bottle and downed most of it, then stored the rest in her crystal band. She slid into the booth next to me. I shifted so that I was almost sitting diagonally at the back of the booth. Ether grabbed my left arm and pulled it around her and rested the back of her head on my chest. "I just have to calm the nerves.¡± Her red eyes looked up at me. "This helps.¡±

    I squeezed her closer to me, then turned back to the site. She watched the screen as I navigated through.

    My options were basically a rifle or a handgun. A rifle would be more useful against a boss, but when I saw the price tag for a base model, I decided that one hundred All per level was just a little outside my price range.

    The handguns weren¡¯t much better. The base model was only fifty All per level, plus more if I wanted it enchanted.

    ¡°Who buys this stuff for this at level one?¡± I moved away from the page to look at other items.

    ¡°Nobles who want to keep their newly Mantled children out of danger. Wait!¡± Ether slapped her hand over mine and moved to a tab.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    It was the chain knife. The white-haired woman scrolled down to the options. It was fifteen All per level.

    ¡°Wow.¡± I was kind of amazed. "Rix¡¯s weapon cost more than my whole set of gear.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s crazy¡­¡± Ether removed her hand. "Alright, you can have it back, I was just curious.¡±

    I messed with her hair, which earned me a glare. I chuckled. "Your death gaze needs more work.¡±

    Ether mumbled something, then shifted on her side looking away from the screen, but holding my arm tight against her.

    I heard the water stop while I went back to searching. A crude level one bow cost ten All per level. And that was just the base model up to level nine. I was starting to enjoy the outrageous prices from the Store of Trent.

    Rix came walking out in a blue jumpsuit. ¡°How long have you¡­¡± She lowered her voice. "Is she asleep?¡±

    I looked down and Ether was breathing slowly with her eyes closed. Even with an ¡®easy; day yesterday, the chaos had finally caught up to her. I looked back up at Rix and nodded.

    The redhead tied up her hair and slid into the booth across from me. ¡°How¡¯d it go?¡±

    I turned off the console. I only had ten All left and that wasn¡¯t going to buy me anything. I¡¯d just keep using the spell like I had and upgrade when I could. I took the spell out and passed the piece of paper across the table.

    ¡°I got this. It should make the second floor boss pretty easy.¡± I lowered my voice.

    Rix read the spell, then pushed it back towards me. ¡°That¡¯ll help a lot.¡±

    I don¡¯t know why, but I stored it instead of learning it. ¡°We also ran into some trouble.¡±

    ¡°Someone called her a demon?¡±

    My eyes widened. "You know about that?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been living in the Outlands, how do you not..?¡± She snapped her finger, then cringed at the noise ¡°Living in the dungeon.¡±

    I hadn¡¯t actually been living in the dungeon, but what she said was more or less true.

    ¡°Just bumps, maybe a bruise.¡± I shook my head. "I think it got to her a little.¡±

    Rix nodded. "She looks wiped.¡±

    ¡°We did meet a really nice girl." I couldn¡¯t get my arm free to show her the information. "She even gave us her contact information in case we needed her to deliver an ability, so we wouldn¡¯t have to walk into the shopping center.¡±

    The redhead raised an eyebrow. "Pretty?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s seventeen, so don¡¯t go Aelin on me.¡± I pointed at Ether. "She even gave her information to Ether!¡±

    That earned me both eyebrows. "Really pretty.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± I was saved from any more of the conversation by the door to the RV swinging open.

    ¡°WE¡¯RE BACK!¡± Aelin threw her arms out.

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 34

    Ether¡¯s nap was over.

    ¡°Whad yu buy?¡± The White-haired woman yawned as she rolled over so she could see everyone.

    Rix got up and moved to the passenger seat as Justia started the vehicle.

    Aelin dragged Fray over and slid into the booth, pulling the other woman alongside her.

    ¡°I need more money.¡± Aelin spread out on the table with her forehead on the table. She picked up her head and rested her chin on the table. "Do you have any idea how expensive gear is?¡±

    I nodded. "The weapon I looked at was over a hundred All.¡±

    ¡°See?¡± The blonde sat up. "Who has the All for that at level two?!?¡±

    ¡°What were you able to buy?¡± I pulled Ether up just a bit, so she could see everyone better. ¡°Did Justia get the Cure Poison spell?¡±

    ¡°She got it.¡± Aelin threw up her hands. "Did you know that they sell spells for sixty-five All? Sixty-five All! That¡¯s fifteen more than Mister Vowler was charging us!¡±

    ¡°I think he was giving us a discount.¡± I looked at our driver. "Thanks for picking that up!¡±

    Justia just nodded as she navigated traffic.

    ¡°She also got a metal staff.¡± Aelin bumped into Fray. "Gave Fray her sword for when our little trooper hits level two tomorrow!¡±

    My eyes widened. I knew Justia was having trouble dealing with how we had disabled the Berzerker, but he¡¯d been healed and honestly, probably couldn¡¯t tell we¡¯d done anything to him. Telling myself that had helped me come to terms with it, but Justia still had some issues. I¡¯d have to talk to Trent about it later.

    ¡°What about you though?¡± I rephrased Ether¡¯s earlier question. I could tell she had bought something because she was wearing different leather armor than what the rest of us were wearing. It looked like Fray was wearing Aelin¡¯s old armor.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    ¡°I sold Fray my armor.¡± Aelin held up her hands. "For less than I bought it for.¡± She bumped into the woman again. "Doesn¡¯t she look like part of the team now?¡±

    Fray had an embarrassed smile as she looked away.

    ¡°You looked great, Fray.¡±

    The redness in her cheeks grew.

    Aelin was at the wrong angle to see and I was thankful for that.

    ¡°I upgraded my bow.¡± She pulled a black shiny bow out of her crystal band. "It¡¯s got a chance to poison every time I shoot an arrow, even my magic ones.¡± She grinned as she mimicked shooting foes. "It¡¯ll make boss fights a lot easier.¡±

    ¡°Unless a Giant Acid Slime is immune to being poisoned.¡± Ether corrected.

    Aelin pointed the tip of the bow at Ether. "Don¡¯t ruin my dreams.¡±

    Ether just smiled and nodded.

    ¡°What else did you get?¡± I could tell there was more.

    ¡°This!¡± The blonde pulled out a purple carapace helmet with a visor. She put it on and closed the visor. "Obviously I¡¯ll have to paint it blue¡­¡± She tapped on it. "But this will keep me safe from getting my head knocked in if I get hit.¡±

    She had a point, we were all missing helmets and Ether was the only one with gloves. I wiggled my toes inside the school issued boots that were also providing the bare minimum protection. We were going to need to update our armor soon.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to buy one of those with what we earn tomorrow.¡± I looked at the two women. "Anything else?¡¯

    ¡°Aelin said I should hold off on buying any gear until I¡¯m level two.¡± Fray¡¯s voice was barely over a whisper.

    ¡°It makes sense. With how much we can Farm, you¡¯ll hit level two by the end of the day tomorrow, but you might want to buy your gear from our teacher. It¡¯ll be cheaper.¡±

    ¡°That reminds me." Aelin leaned forward. "What did Mister Vowler say?¡¯

    Way to put me on the spot. I took a deep breath and tried to think of a way to sum it up tactfully.

    ¡°He said there¡¯s a lot of talks that have to happen with the higher ups and that it¡¯s above our heads, so not to worry about it and he¡¯ll let us know how it shakes out.¡± Ether answered the question better than what I had started in my head.

    ¡°So I get to stay?¡± Fray turned back to the conversation, the redness in her cheeks draining away.

    ¡°At least until we have to leave.¡± I smiled. "We can take over your training while we¡¯re here, but if we want to take you out of the city¡­¡¯

    ¡°Oh.¡± Fray looked down.

    ¡°Cheer up!¡± Aelin bumped her. "You get to stay with us for at least a week, and if I know Mister Vowler, he can make anyone do what he wants.¡±

    That seemed to perk her up. Aelin¡¯s stomach growled, prompting the blonde to turn around. "Justia! Are we there yet?¡±

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 35

    Dinner went without any issues.

    First the women, minus Rix, showered in the Clinic to get cleaned up, while I had to use the RV. It wasn¡¯t bad, just not as nice as the facilities inside.

    Dinner itself was pleasant. There were stories and jokes, but no outbursts or people getting put on the spot. Once we finished I caught Trent¡¯s eyes and motioned to him with mine to meet out of the room.

    ¡°Ladies, why don¡¯t you help our hosts clean up the dishes, I have some calls to make.¡± Trent got up and walked out to the hall. I assumed he¡¯d know where we were going to meet and the safest place was the RV.

    Once I got there, it looked empty, but as soon as I shut the door, it locked and Trent appeared in front of me.

    ¡°You wanted to talk?¡± Trent turned the passenger chair around so he could see the whole back of the RV. I hadn¡¯t known it could do that. I hoped Aelin never learned that it could do that.

    ¡°I¡¯m worried about Justia.¡± I leaned against the booth. "She says she¡¯s fine, but today during the boss fight, we needed another melee attacker and she froze.¡± I took a deep breath, ¡°Fray got in the way, then took Justia¡¯s sword and helped us out.¡±

    ¡°She needs time to process.¡± Trent folded his arms. "Everyone processes things differently and violence affects everyone differently. It tends to be worse for healers.¡±

    ¡°What do I do?¡± My shoulders sagged. "I can tell that Aelin is trying to perk her up, but I feel like she¡¯s shutting down.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll talk to her.¡± Trent looked at me. "Something else is bothering you though.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s about how many monsters we beat today.¡± I looked him in the eye. "It doesn¡¯t feel natural.¡±

    The old man nodded. "It is unusual that you¡¯re running into so many monsters.¡± He rubbed his bare chin. "I¡¯ll look at the numbers and see what I can figure out.¡±

    ¡°What are we going to do if I am a monster magnet?¡± I let out a long breath. "Won¡¯t that give me away?¡±

    ¡°Not necessarily.¡± He looked at his crystal. "Paul told his daughter of your exploits and she grabbed her Buffer friend and headed into the dungeon early this morning, still there from what I¡¯ve heard.¡±

    ¡°Heard or was watching?¡± I shook my head. "How much of what we did today were you watching?¡±

    ¡°What do you want to know if I saw?¡± Trent smiled. "You throwing the hunting challenge or getting pushed around in the Shopping Center?¡±

    ¡°So you know how much it affected Ether?¡± I balled my fistsUnlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    ¡°That woman is stronger than you¡¯re giving her credit for right now.¡± He nodded at my hands. "You care for her, that¡¯s good, but if you try to fight her battles for her, especially ones that she can win, you¡¯re going to make it so she can¡¯t fight her own battles in the future if you¡¯re ever not around.¡±

    I wanted to scream, but I knew he was right. So I changed the subject. ¡°What are you getting done if you¡¯re watching us and who knows who else?¡¯

    Trent got up and motioned for me to follow him.

    He led me into the Clinic, to a part that was covered with a sheet to keep people from seeing what was going on behind it. Trent pulled back the sheet and I saw construction equipment and gutted walls. The one thing that stood out was that there were no power tools, only hand ones.

    ¡°You¡¯re remodeling this place?¡± I looked at him. "Who¡¯s helping you?¡±

    ¡°No one.¡± He walked over to a cut piece of wood on the floor and tossed it to me.

    It burned my hand and I dropped it immediately.

    Trent mumbled and the burns on my hands were gone.

    ¡°It¡¯s a good thing you didn¡¯t try to hang on to that.¡± He nodded at it. "That¡¯s a tier six piece of wood.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± I looked at the scrap wood. ¡°How? Why?¡±

    ¡°Once we made that contract with Justia, I started to prepare to go back into the dungeon.¡± He ran his hands over the wood. "I knew that I¡¯d need to do this, so once I handed over your training to Hayz and gave the Yellow Team their assignments, I went down to the Sixtieth floor and started to Farm.¡±

    ¡°And this is¡­¡± I looked around. "By yourself?¡±

    ¡°There are only a handful of people who could get to the Sixtieth floor.¡± He smiled. "The good news is that the sixtieth floor counts as tier six even though the monsters are only between tier five and six strength.¡± He chuckled. "What did you think I was doing? Sitting at the dorm drinking a smoothie through a straw?¡±

    Actually, that was what I thought he¡¯d been doing. Not that exactly, but something relaxing.

    ¡°How long is it going to take?¡±

    Trent shrugged. "Could be a week, maybe more. I don¡¯t have to worry about the trim, Paul can do that, so as soon as I get all the frames and walls replaced, they can finish the rest.¡±

    ¡°How?¡± I thought of a better question. "Why?¡±

    ¡°How is easy." Trent walked over to some sheets of wood. "Tier three lumber. They can¡¯t nail it up, but once I hang all of this over with the tier six stuff, they¡¯ll be able to do the rest.¡± He leaned up against the frame. "As to why¡­¡± He shrugged. "A tier five might be able to scratch this stuff, but really, it¡¯d take one of the top Adventurers or a God to destroy this place once I¡¯m done with it.¡± He smiled. "When the All-Temple endorses the Publians¡­¡± He ran his hand over the tier six wood. "There¡¯s a chance that ¡®someone¡¯ might try to ¡®accidentally¡¯ destroy this place or even attack them. They won¡¯t have to worry so much about that when I¡¯m done.¡± He banged his fist against a board to emphasize his point.

    I had thought he was just goofing off while we were here, but Trent had been working pretty hard from the beginning. ¡°What do you need me to do?¡¯

    ¡°Get some sleep.¡± He leveled his gaze at me. "Sleep. And then take your party back to the Dungeon and enjoy being young.¡± He shrugged. "If the new one doesn¡¯t level tomorrow it¡¯ll be fine.¡± He chuckled. "You¡¯re all going to probably be level three before I¡¯m done with this.¡±

    I shook my head and walked away. I was starting to think things might just work out.

    ¡°Oh!¡± Trent called after me. "You can farm in the Temple all you want, but I want you to beat the Dispatcher¡¯s floor one boss before you hit level three!¡± He paused. "Not counting Rix!¡±

    I nodded and headed back to the RV. I already knew that Rix was going to be level three tomorrow.

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 36

    Fray looked scared.

    Rix, Ether and Fray had been in the RV by the time I got back. Rix had already gotten into her bunk and shut the screen. Ether was talking with Fray about the bunks when I walked in.

    ¡°Hey.¡± I walked over to the passenger¡¯s seat and started taking off my boots.

    ¡°I was just getting Fray ready for bed." Ether looked at me. "Are you wanting to turn in early?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve got a long day ahead of us tomorrow." I sighed. "And if I know Aelin, she¡¯s going to want to be there by six to get a full day¡¯s work in.¡±

    The green brunette groaned.

    I looked at my crystal band. "It¡¯s past nine, which only gives us about seven hours of sleep, so we should really go to bed.¡±

    ¡°Seven?¡± Fray looked confused.

    ¡°Ten by the time we fall asleep and Aelin wakes us up by five.¡± I explained my math.

    That earned me another groan.

    ¡°Trent told me that Paul¡¯s daughter is spending the night in the dungeon to try to catch up to us.¡± I looked at Ether. "I¡¯m glad we¡¯re not doing that anymore.¡±

    Fray¡¯s eyes got wide. "You spent the night in the dungeon?¡±

    ¡°Five in a row.¡± Ether shook her head. ¡°That was on our second day, too. On top of that, we had to level up to two by the end of it too.¡± She playfully pushed the brunette''s arm. "Be glad you weren¡¯t with us for that.¡±

    She swallowed. "About that¡­¡± She fidgeted the tips of her fingers together. "What happened to your old Hitter?¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    I took a deep breath and looked at Fray. "He inherited a Tier Three ability that he couldn¡¯t control and attacked us.¡± I shook my head. "He almost killed Justia, knocked Aelin out and captured them both. If he¡¯d been able to think about something other than attacking, he might have killed all of us, but thankfully he wasn¡¯t and we were able to disable him.¡±

    ¡°Is that why Justia doesn¡¯t want to fight?¡±

    I nodded. "I used her weapon to do it, which made her feel like she participated.¡± I looked at Ether. "It was my call, and I did what I thought was best for the team.¡± I turned back to the frightened woman. "And it was. We made it through the test and he¡¯s at home with his family getting the help and training he needs.¡± I shrugged. "Does it mess with my head a little? Yes. Do I lie awake at night and try to think of a way I could have handled it better? Yes.¡± I put my arm around Ether. "Maybe there was a way that I could have had a better ending, but what I hold on to is that everyone made it out to be able to pick up the pieces.¡±

    ¡°Plus, I got something good out of it.¡± I pulled Ether close and kissed her. I drank her in as she leaned into the kiss. I let the moment of PDA go on longer than needed to make my point, which I hadn¡¯t meant to do, but I got caught up in the moment. I realized this and pulled back. "Ether told me she loved me during all that chaos.¡±

    ¡°That was¡­¡± She turned red. ¡°You said it too.¡±

    ¡°Yes I did.¡± I could tell that Fray was getting embarrassed, which wasn¡¯t really part of why I was doing this. "Long story short, everyone is here.¡± I guided Ether in front of me. "And on that note, it¡¯s time for bed.¡± I nodded to the bunk under Rix. "You probably want that one.¡±

    I slid into the bunk and Ether crawled in after me and laid her head on my chest. I pushed the button to close the screen.

    ¡°How are you doing?¡± I ran my fingers through her hair.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be okay.¡± She traced her fingers on the spot where my seal was. ¡°Does it still hurt?¡±

    ¡°Now that I¡¯m thinking about it, a little, but I hurt more in other places.¡± I danced my fingers down her cheek and lifted her chin so she could see my face. "I know you¡¯re probably tired of me asking, but I want you to know, I¡¯m here if you need anything.¡±

    She nodded. "I¡¯ll be okay, I¡¯ve lived with those rumors my whole life. It¡¯s just going to be¡­¡± She rolled on top of me and braced herself up as much as she could in the low bunk. "I¡¯ll just need lots of distractions until we get back to the Dorms.

    I grabbed her shoulders and pulled her to me until our noses touched. ¡°I can do that.¡±

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 37

    Aelin woke us up at five.

    Ether had gotten a nap earlier, so she hadn¡¯t wanted to go right to sleep. After she was finally tired enough to fall asleep, I was able to get to sleep as well.

    ¡°We¡¯ve got a big day! Let¡¯s go!¡± Aelin banged on the screen. "We¡¯ve got a lot to do!¡±

    I felt the RV move. It was a strange feeling, I¡¯d never been laying down in the bunk while the RV was moving.

    Ether woke up and I rolled her to my right. She might be awake, but it was going to take her a minute to get up. I could go get a glass of cold water, which did the trick, but I valued my life and didn¡¯t have the ¡®I was just following orders¡¯ to hide behind. Not that it''d helped any that day.

    I opened the screen and got out. Rix was already up and in the passenger seat. Justia was driving and Aelin was setting out food.

    ¡°You¡¯re finally up!¡± The blonde looked at me. "Rix and Justia have already eaten.¡± She buzzed over to the bunk with the closed screen and pounded on it. ¡°Fray! Wake up! We¡¯re hitting level two today!¡±

    She blew a stray blonde hair out of her face. "How¡¯d it go last night?¡±

    ¡°Okay..?¡± I was confused. "What do you mean? With Trent?¡±

    ¡°Eww, no. With¡­¡± She nodded towards the closed screen. ¡°You know.¡±

    I grabbed Aelin¡¯s arms and looked around. There was only one place with a little bit of privacy. I pulled her into the bathroom and shut the door.

    ¡°I know I¡¯m pretty and all.¡± The blonde batted her eyes at me. "But I think you¡¯re working on the wrong girl.¡±

    ¡°Aelin.¡± I glared at her. "You know I¡¯m not coming on to you, so please stop trying to make me uncomfortable and have a serious conversation.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re no fun.¡± She crossed her arms in front of her.

    ¡°What did you do?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything.¡± She was fidgeting too much for that to be true.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ¡°What. Did. You. Do?¡±

    ¡°Okay." The blonde tried to look like she was pouting. I think it was pouting anyway. I may have been trying to hide a smile. "I may have told Fray that there might be a chance that you might try to sleep with her last night.¡±

    ¡°How many of those ¡®mays¡¯ and ¡®mights¡¯ are really in that story?¡±

    ¡°Okay!¡± She began pacing. "There aren¡¯t any mays or mights, but I did it for you!¡±

    ¡°Aelin! We¡¯ve known her for less than twenty-four hours.¡± I pointed at the door. "We don¡¯t know if she¡¯s trustworthy or even if Trent is going to keep her.¡± I shook my head. "Why do you think I¡¯d do something like that?¡±

    ¡°How long did you know Ether before you hooked up with her?¡± Aelin squinted. "And you¡¯ve known me less than two weeks!¡±

    ¡°And I¡¯ve never hit on you.¡±

    ¡°Only because you have some weird brother-sister thing going on with Justia that I can¡¯t figure out.¡± Aelin shook her head. "I was trying to establish how long it takes to know you can trust someone, but¡­¡± She grinned. "You do tend to hook up with most women you come across.¡±

    I pointed at the door and motioned to the whole RV. "There is only one woman on this whole RV that I¡¯ve come on to!¡±

    ¡°Rix?¡± It felt like half a question and half a statement.

    ¡°No, never happened.¡±

    ¡°Huh.¡± The blonde shrugged. "Maybe I dreamed about it.¡± She looked at me and must have seen how upset I was. "I¡¯m sorry, I just thought you¡¯d want to get a head start on the¡­¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± I realized I¡¯d been holding my breath and let it out. "Why are you so fixated on me having a harem?¡±

    ¡°Living vicariously through you?¡±

    I glared at her. "Why do you need to live vicariously through me?¡± I pointed out the door. "You could walk up to Justia right now and kiss her and I know she¡¯d kiss you back.¡±

    ¡°No she wouldn¡¯t.¡± Aelin started mumbling.

    ¡°Have you tried?¡±

    ¡°Yes, okay?!¡± Aelin looked like she might start crying. "We talked and she said that she couldn¡¯t do anything like that as long as we¡¯re here. So I thought that if we had our last person and blew through the dungeons, then we could go back home and maybe¡­¡± She looked shocked. "I mean the Cathedral. Go back to the Cathedral and something could happen. But since I¡¯m not getting any, I need to live vicariously through someone. It''s not Rix and for this conversation you and Ether are basically the same person, which means if I push you I get two for the price of one.¡±

    I sighed. "I get it, but tone it down, please. I didn¡¯t know anything about what you told her last night and she¡¯s got rejection issues. How do you think she feels right now?¡±

    ¡°I-I¡­I¡¯ll fix it.¡± Aelin reached for the handle.

    ¡°Aelin¡­¡± I grabbed her arm.

    The blonde batted her eyelashes. ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°Please don¡¯t make this worse.¡±

    ¡°When have I ever?¡± She sang as she opened the door and pulled out of my grasp.

    I shook my head. This was going to be a trainwreck.

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 38

    Ether was in the booth eating when we got out.

    I sat down beside her and took a portion. "It smells delicious. And it¡¯s still warm?¡± I looked around. "This wasn¡¯t cooked here?¡±

    ¡°Mom got up early and cooked it with Aelin.¡± Justia announced from the front.

    I almost choked. "Aelin cooked this?¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡± Aelin appeared from behind me and smacked the back of my head. "I wasn¡¯t just a waitress, you know.¡±

    I flinched. It didn''t hurt, but it did surprise me.

    ¡°I¡¯m mainly surprised you got up early enough to do this.¡± I smiled at her. "Thanks.¡±

    I heard the screen open and Aelin ducked back into the hall. A moment later I heard the bathroom door shut.

    ¡°What¡¯s that about?¡± Ether leaned over to whisper in my ear.

    I swallowed the food in my mouth. "Aelin is talking with Fray.¡±

    ¡°Alone?!¡± Ether pushed against me. "Scoot!¡±

    I scooted out of the booth and swapped over to the other seat to finish my meal. I watched Ether slide out of the booth and go into the bathroom. I had found it strange that there wasn¡¯t a lock on the bathroom door. I wasn¡¯t sure if it was an oversight or intentional. Either way, I had to be extra mindful so I didn¡¯t walk in on one of the women.

    They hadn¡¯t come out by the time I finished eating, so I made my way to the front.

    ¡°What¡¯s the plan for today?¡±You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    Rix looked up at me and shrugged.

    ¡°Aelin wants Fray to hit level two today.¡± Justia yawned. "I¡¯m not sure if that¡¯s possible, but we have to at least try, I guess.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t sound too enthused.¡± I saw the Temple coming into view, it wouldn¡¯t be long before we were there.

    ¡°I¡¯m just tired.¡± She stifled another yawn.

    I raised an eyebrow. We¡¯d been getting up this early and staying up way later during the past week. ¡°That¡¯s all?¡±

    The brunette Healer cast a glance at Rix.

    Rix shifted in the seat so she could look at the driver. "You are off.¡± She looked at me, then back to Justia. "And not about being home or your favorite blonde.¡± That got a small smirk to turn the edge of Justia¡¯s lips. "What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Justia started to talk a few times, but never got words out until we reached a parking space at the very back of the Temple parking lot.

    ¡°I don¡¯t feel like I¡¯m doing anything to help the group.¡± She finally admitted. "I¡¯m supposed to heal, but that leaves me with a lot of downtime.¡± She shook her head. "My Power is at eight, which should be my subclass, but I don¡¯t know how comfortable I feel using a weapon.¡±

    I tried to think about what to say. Justia¡¯s main three stats were Recovery, then Power, then Speed. It would take a lot of work to improve her Defense or Aura and turn her into a passive class.

    ¡°Do you want to be an Adventurer?¡¯¡¯ Rix broke the silence.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Justia didn¡¯t have to think about it.

    ¡°Adventurers fight monsters.¡± The golden woman¡¯s voice was sharp, but also soothing. ¡°You could focus on only Recovery and Aura, but what happens when you run out of mana?¡± Rix shook her head. "What happens if you get separated from the rest of us like what happened to me?¡± She looked at me, then back to Justia. "I¡¯m not saying you should fight all the time, but I am saying that you need to be able to defend yourself.¡± She leaned forward and took the Healers hands. "One swing today, that¡¯s all. One swing. Focus on that instead of the past.¡±

    Rix got up and patted me on the shoulder, then got out of the RV.

    ¡°Are you going to be okay?¡± I put my hand on Justia¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°I think I can be.¡± She looked out the window to where Rix was walking towards the Temple. "I think I will be.¡±

    Justia got up and headed for the door. I thought about waiting for the others, but I only thought about that for a moment and hurried to follow after the Healer.

    ¡°Ladies!¡± I shouted from the door. "It¡¯s time to go!¡±

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 39

    Things were going well.

    That scared me a little.

    Justia had made the first attack, taking out the first slime that we saw with her staff. After that, she followed Fray and Ether around, helping them out.

    We¡¯d expanded our range just a bit. After some experimenting, We¡¯d figured out how far away from each other we could be and still share experience. The nameplate on my crystal band would gray out if someone was too far from the group, which made it pretty easy to figure out.

    With a circle the diameter of max distance, we each took a quarter of it and kept moving, since the four groups were able to beat the slimes by ourselves. We weren¡¯t running into slimes any faster, but we had a fourth hunting party, which meant we were going to have more by the end of the day.

    We¡¯d reached the second floor a little before six, and after a little more than three hours of farming, we all saw the shining light announcing that Rix had hit level three.

    ¡°Congratulations!¡± I called from where I was.

    ¡°Really?¡± Aelin ran over to the redhead.

    ¡°You must be really strong!¡± Fray sounded happy, but she looked disappointed. "Is everyone else going to level up soon too?¡±

    ¡°Rix is an outlier." Ether took the green woman¡¯s hands. "The rest of us are a ways off from hitting level three. Rix got there fast because she farmed on the third floor alone.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s get back to it!¡± Aelin shouted as she ran back towards her farming zone.

    We worked diligently for another three hours when we stopped for lunch. It was just ration bars and water, but it was food and a chance to catch our breath.

    ¡°How many have you gotten?¡± Aelin sat on a rock, a big smile on her face.

    I looked at my crystal band. It was so much easier than counting them one by one. ¡°Sixty three.¡±

    ¡°You''re really slacking, because I got Seventy one!¡± The blonde turned to Rix. "I bet you didn¡¯t get one more than me this time!¡±

    ¡°Two.¡± Rix dusted off her hands as she finished her ration bar.

    ¡°You got seventy-three?¡± Aelin ran over to see for herself. "How?¡±

    I turned away from the enthusiastic blonde to see how the others were doing. I hadn¡¯t had a chance to ask Ether about how the conversation had gone, but it seemed it went okay. Fray blushed as I turned her way. She was sitting in between Justia and Ether, who was sitting beside me, so I was going to have to wait a little longer for that information.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    ¡°How¡¯s everyone holding up?¡±

    ¡°These slimes aren¡¯t too hard to tank.¡± Ether rubbed her right arm. " We¡¯ve learned that Fray needs them occupied in order to break the cores. Sometimes it takes a few swings, but she¡¯s doing pretty good for this being the second floor.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± I looked at Fray, who promptly looked at her feet. "How many did you get?¡±

    The brunette mumbled something that I couldn¡¯t hear.

    I looked at Ether. "What?¡±

    Ether scooted over and picked up Fray¡¯s head and pointed her face at me. "You have to look at him when you talk or he can¡¯t hear you. Atlas won¡¯t bite.¡± She got close to the brunette¡¯s ear. "Until you want him to.¡±

    ¡°Ether!¡± I felt my face get as red as Frays¡¯. ¡°We¡¯re trying to help her not scare her away.¡±

    Ether gave me an innocent look.

    ¡°Forty three.¡± Fray quickly got the number out.

    Ether let go of her head and rubbed her back. "See? You¡¯re okay.¡±

    Fray nodded, but didn¡¯t say anything.

    ¡°Forty-three is better than half!¡± I tried to congratulate her. I looked down at my crystal band and pulled up her profile, then scooted closer so she could see. ¡°You¡¯re almost to level two, see?¡±

    Fray Harror - Level 1

    Age: 18, Hair: Brown, Eye color: Brown

    Skin: Green, Blood: Red, Height: 5¡¯2¡±

    96.2 Exp

    Hitter

    10 Power 6 Defense 4 Speed

    4 Magic 8 Recovery 3 Aura

    Skill:

    Passive:

    ¡°I¡¯m almost level two?¡± She reached out and grabbed my arm so she could see better, then dropped it quickly and pulled her hand back. ¡°Sorry.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± I offered her my arm. "There¡¯s not much else to see, though.¡±

    Fray tried to push on the display over my arm, but her fingers went through the image.

    ¡°It¡¯s keyed to the wearer.¡± I tried to smile as I talked to her. "If you had any abilities, they¡¯d show up like this.¡± I backed out of her display and touched mine.

    Atlas Zeb - Level 2

    Age: 18, Hair: White, Eye color: Green

    Skin: White, Blood: Black, Height: 6¡¯

    170.7 Exp

    Caster

    8 Power 6 Defense 6 Speed

    12 Magic 3 Recovery 3 Aura

    Stat Points: 0

    Skill: Dash, Pebble Shot, Bind, Siphon, Fire Shot

    Passive:

    I touched on my nameplate, but nothing changed.

    ¡°Maybe once we get better crystal bands we¡¯ll be able to do more. Right now, all these things can do is store items and access the party menu."

    She nodded slowly. "Am I going to get one of those?¡±

    ¡°Eventually.¡± I tried to think about how to answer. "The Temple hands out ones that can spend your stat points after you reach level ten.¡± I laughed. "We got ours early because Trent didn¡¯t want to be bothered with having to carry our gear for us.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Fray looked at Ether, who was storing her gear.

    ¡°Come on!¡± Aelin marched over to us and helped Fray to her feet. "Back at it! We¡¯ve got a lot of ground to cover!¡± The blonde looked at me. "We¡¯re all leveling up today!¡±

    I shook my head as I went back to my zone. This was going to be a long day.

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 40

    It took half an hour for Fray to level up.

    The aura washed over her and we all stopped to come over and congratulate her.

    ¡°What does it say?!¡± Some of Aelin¡¯s enthusiasm had washed off on Fray.

    I pulled up her card and held out my hand so she could see.

    Fray Harror - Level 2

    Age: 18, Hair: Brown, Eye color: Brown

    Skin: Green, Blood: Red, Height: 5¡¯2¡±

    100.2 Exp

    Hitter

    10 Power 6 Defense 4 Speed

    4 Magic 8 Recovery 3 Aura

    Stat Points: 2

    Skill:

    Passive: Disengage

    ¡°I got an ability!¡± Fray hugged Ether, then Justia. "I got an ability!¡±

    ¡°You got an ability!¡± Aelin wrapped her arms around Fray, sandwiching her in between herself and Justia. When the two realized they were touching they both released the hug and stepped back quickly.

    The frightened look on Fray¡¯s face told me she thought it was something that she¡¯d done as she mumbled, trying to find words.

    I took that opportunity to give her a hug. I had thought she¡¯d be still, but she wrapped her arms around me in a tight embrace.

    ¡°They''re a thing, but don¡¯t want to be seen as a thing right now.¡± I whispered in her ear.

    Her face was red as I pulled back. There was confusion on her face, then her eyes got wide and her mouth made an O.

    ¡°Here.¡± Ether had the SnakeSword out of her inventory and offered it to the other woman. ¡°Do you want to try it now?¡±

    Fray shed the other sword on her hip and pulled the new one from its sheath. She turned away from the group and began slashing at invisible enemies. "It¡¯s so awesome!¡± She turned around and realized that we were all watching her. She blushed, looked down at her feet, and mumbled. "Thanks.¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Aelin clapped her hands as she walked over to Fray. "You¡¯re level two now, so you can¡¯t slack off.¡± She looked around. "We have a new challenger for the best slime slayer!¡±

    Ether laughed, Justia smiled, and Rix shook her head as she went back to her zone.

    ¡°Good luck!¡± I knew I was going to have to pick up the pace by the determination I saw in her eyes.

    We farmed until about six-forty-five when Justia and Ether leveled up.

    ¡°DON¡¯T STOP!¡± Aelin yelled as they high fived and shared hugs with Fray. "I¡¯M ALMOST THERE!¡±A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    I laughed and wondered if she remembered that I was at the same place she was.

    At almost exactly seven the warmth spread through my Mantle and I knew that I¡¯d leveled up.

    ¡°YES!¡± Aelin ran over to the middle. "YOU¡¯RE NOT THE ONLY LEVEL THREE NOW!¡± She ran over to Rix.

    The redhead patted the blonde on the head. "You¡¯re all grown up.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m..!¡± Aelin stomped her foot, then laughed.

    ¡°What did everyone get?¡± Justia asked.

    I looked at the party page. Everyone¡¯s stats were displayed at once. While they all told each other what skills they got, I looked at the screen.

    <table>

    <tbody>

    <tr>

    <td>

    Atlas Zeb - Level 3

    220.4 Exp

    Caster

    8 Power 6 Defense 6 Speed 12 Magic 3 Recovery 3 Aura

    Stat Points: 2

    Dash, Pebble Shot, Bind, Siphon, Fire Shot, Spark Shot

    Passive: Targeting

    </td>

    <td>

    Justia Publian - Level 3

    223.0 Exp

    Healer

    8 Power 4 Defense 6 Speed 3 Magic 10 Recovery 4 Aura

    Stat Points: 4

    Minor Heal Wounds, Light, Cure Poison

    Passive: Heal Link

    </td>

    <td>

    Ether Klix - Level 3

    223.0 Exp

    Tank

    6 Power 10 Defense 3 Speed 4 Magic 8 Recovery 6 Aura

    Stat Points: 2

    Look At Me, Shield Attack

    Passive: Immovable

    </td>

    </tr>

    <tr>

    <td>

    Aelin Zeb - Level 3

    220.4 Exp

    Buffer

    3 Power 4 Defense 8 Speed 8 Magic 4 Recovery 10 Aura

    Stat Points: 2

    Harden, Magic Arrow

    Passive: Encourage

    </td>

    <td>

    Rix Zeb - Level 3

    268.1 Exp

    Shooter

    8 Power 8 Defense 10 Speed 1 Magic 5 Recovery 5 Aura

    Stat Points: 2

    Hide Presence, Dash

    Passive: Targeting

    </td>

    <td>

    Fray Harror - Level 2

    146.3 Exp

    Hitter

    10 Power 6 Defense 4 Speed 4 Magic 8 Recovery 3 Aura

    Stat Points: 2

    Passive: Disengage

    </td>

    </tr>

    </tbody>

    </table>

    There was less information when I looked at everyone¡¯s stats together, but it hadn¡¯t left out anything important.

    We had all gotten abilities again, and they had all been passives. I had gotten two again as well. People were going to think I was very wealthy. I was afraid I was going to have to start removing abilities soon, I¡¯d have to talk to Trent about that later.

    ¡°Two again.¡± Rix¡¯s voice came from over my shoulder.

    I jumped and turned around to face her. I¡¯d forgotten that she wasn¡¯t celebrating with everyone else.

    ¡°Yeah." I looked at her. "It looks like we got the same ability.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Rix shrugged. "I don¡¯t have to focus as much to hit my target. Maybe it will help with the aiming issues you were having with your spells?¡±

    Before I could answer I was grabbed on both arms.

    ¡°Whadja get?¡± Aelin bubbled as she pulled on one arm.

    ¡°Was it good?!¡± Fray bounced while holding my other arm.

    I looked over and smiled. Maybe whatever she had been told this morning had worked.

    I disentangled my left arm from Aelin and pointed at a rock. "Spark Shot.¡±

    A single arc left my finger and zapped the rock.

    ¡°Cool!¡± Aelin punched me in the arm. "I got a passive called Encouragement. I don¡¯t know what it does, so we¡¯ll have to look it up.¡± She pointed at Justia and Ether. "They got passives too!¡± She grabbed onto my arm. "Everyone got passives except you.¡± She frowned. "I wanted another cool skill.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure we farmed enough for you to buy another skill.¡±

    That perked her up. ¡°Justia! We need to go shopping!¡±

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 41

    We got back to the Clinic before eight.

    I was looking forward to a calm night. My arms hurt and I really wanted to lay down.

    I didn¡¯t even go to dinner. As soon as the rest of my team exited the RV, I locked the door, then went and took a shower. Most of which I spent letting the hot water run over my shoulders.

    When I got out, Trent was waiting for me. He was sitting in the booth, where he could watch the bathroom door for when I came out.

    It startled me, but then he motioned for me to take a seat.

    ¡°I thought you were trying to keep a low profile.¡± His face was unreadable.

    ¡°I am.¡±

    ¡°By getting NINETY-ONE experience in a single day?¡±

    I had forgotten that he¡¯d told me not to level everyone until after we beat the floor one boss of the Dispatcher¡¯s Dungeon.¡± I swallowed. "Blame Aelin, she rode us like a taskmaster.¡±

    ¡°You realize that you¡¯ve done in ten DAYS what most first years take ten WEEKS to accomplish?¡±

    I knew we leveled up too fast, but hadn¡¯t realized it was that fast.

    ¡°Sorry.¡± I looked down at the table.

    ¡°You have no idea how proud and mad I am right now.¡± He glared at me. "I was already pushing it trying to figure out how to downplay you hitting level three in twelve days. And of course Aelin has told everyone in the house already about your accomplishment.¡±

    I swallowed. "What do you want me to do?¡±

    Trent sighed and pushed one-hundred-nine All across the table. "That¡¯s your part. At least Ether had the good sense not to go to the hub with this much the next day.¡± He looked at me. "People might think you¡¯re PKs.¡±

    I knew the PKs, or Player Killers, were a nasty bunch that every Adventurer that I¡¯d heard talk about them had put plenty of disgust into their story.

    ¡°Why would people think that?¡±

    He shook his head. "Where else is a level two going to get so many crystals so fast?¡± He started to draw on the table with his finger. "Look, there¡¯s a simple formula for PK. However much experience the Adventurer has, the Adventurer that kills them gets ten percent of that.¡±

    ¡°But that¡¯s only twenty two experience¡­¡±

    ¡°That wouldn¡¯t be split with the party.¡± He interrupted and pointed at the crystal band on my wrist. "That¡¯s why most bands are keyed to specific users. If the person wearing it gets killed, it¡¯s almost impossible to get the items out.¡±

    ¡°But..?¡± I stopped myself. Ten same level Adventurers would level a person up. Less than two teams. It was kind of scary to think about.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    ¡°The one saving grace you have if people start poking around is that you¡¯ve got a PK alert in your crystal band.¡± He pointed at my wrist. "If you killed someone with a Mantle, it would log it, so as of right now, you¡¯re in the clear as far as the people that are here go. But you need to be careful.¡±

    ¡°Do we need to stop Farming?¡±

    He shook his head. "No, but tone it down a bit. I know Aelin wants to go shopping¡­¡± He started thinking. "That could work.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± He¡¯d had an idea and I had a feeling that I wasn¡¯t going to like it.

    ¡°Do the Dispatcher¡¯s first floor boss tomorrow.¡± He got up. "I¡¯ll have a surprise for Aelin once I get back.¡±

    I watched him rush out of the RV. Rix must have been waiting outside because she walked in almost right away.

    ¡°You get the lecture?¡± She jerked her thumb in our teacher¡¯s direction.

    I nodded. "You too?¡±

    ¡°He got on to all of us. I left the others to try to convince Fray it isn¡¯t her fault.¡± She spied the All that was still on the table. ¡°We got a lot of All.¡±

    I put it in my crystal band. "We did, but getting new gear is going to be expensive.¡±

    ¡°You could just upgrade the gear you¡¯ve got.¡± She sat down across from me.

    ¡°They do that?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you grow up in the Temple?¡± She eyed me. "How do you not know this?¡±

    ¡°The Temple was more worried about reading, writing, and math. We had some history thrown in there, but they thought it would be a waste to teach Mundanes about stuff they never use.¡± I narrowed my eyes. "How do you know about this stuff?¡±

    ¡°You think Bandits can go into town to buy new stuff every time their stuff gets broken?¡± She shook her head. "No. So I know a few things about upgrading and repairing gear. I¡¯ve even seen stuff enchanted a few times.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s neat.¡±

    The door to the RV opened and Ether walked in with Fray.

    Rix was up and in her bunk with the screen closed before they got around the booth.

    ¡°You got in trouble too?¡± Ether sat across from me, and pulled Fray into the booth next to her.

    ¡°Yep.¡± I looked at Fray. She was looking down at the table and twirling her brown hair with her right hand. ¡°What did you think of today?¡±

    ¡°It was different.¡± Her voice was shaky and she still wasn¡¯t looking at me.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about Trent, he¡¯s just worried about us.¡± I leaned forward and touched the tip of her chin, lifting her head so I could look in her brown eyes. ¡°It¡¯ll be okay.¡±

    She didn¡¯t look very convinced, but she smiled. When I took my hand away, she didn¡¯t look back down at the table.

    I turned to Ether. "How bad was it?¡±

    ¡°You remember the interrogation?¡¯

    ¡°It was three days ago.¡± I saw Fray¡¯s eyes flash open.

    ¡°In-in-interrogation?¡± She struggled to get the word out.

    ¡°It was a training exercise.¡± I looked at the snow-white woman. "Was it that bad?¡±

    Ether shook her head. "It wasn¡¯t anywhere near half that bad.¡± She pulled Fray closer to her. "But I think he scared Fray.¡±

    Fray looked scared.

    ¡°It¡¯s over now.¡± I leaned forward and took each woman¡¯s hands in one of mine. "We have one fight tomorrow and then, we get to take the rest of the time here off.¡±

    ¡°Just one?¡± Ether smirked,

    ¡°Okay, we have to do the first floor boss of the Dispatcher¡¯s dungeon and then we¡¯re supposed to take some time off to let the others catch up.¡± I squeezed Fray¡¯s hand. "I have a really important question for you.¡±

    Fray started breathing faster as she nodded.

    ¡°Did you have fun today? Minus the lecture at the end of it. Did you have fun?¡±

    The brunette let out the breath that I didn¡¯t realize she was holding. "I liked it.¡±

    ¡°Then don¡¯t worry about the other stuff, we¡¯ll figure it out.¡± I let go of her hands and clapped. "You¡¯ve got over a hundred All, any idea what you¡¯re going to spend it on?¡±

    She shook her head. "I¡¯ve never had that much before and I have no idea what I¡¯ll even need.¡±

    I opened up a page and turned it so she could read it. "We¡¯ve got plenty of time to figure that out.¡±

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 42

    We stayed up way too late.

    Instead of a wakeup call at six, Aelin allowed us to sleep in until eight. Which really meant that Ether got to sleep in until eight. Rix was gone when we got up, which didn¡¯t surprise me. What did surprise me was that Fray was up.

    The two of us made it into the Clinic where the rest of our team was waiting for us. They were all sitting in the conference room with two plates of food for us. Trent was leaning against the other door, tapping on the frame. The four women looked on edge.

    ¡°Who died?¡± I sat down in front of my plate.

    Trent cleared his throat and pushed off the door. "You¡¯ve all been putting in a lot of work, and I thought I¡¯d put together something for you.¡± He walked over to the center of the table. "I went down to the fiftieth floor last night, spent a couple hours down there.¡± He pulled six chips out of his crystal band and placed them on the table.

    Ether choked on her breakfast.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± I stood up, but she cleared her throat and held up her hand.

    ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡± She pointed at the chips. "Are those real?¡±

    Justia reached over and picked one up. She turned it over in her hand and nodded.

    Judging by the way no one else reacted, I didn¡¯t feel too bad about not knowing.

    ¡°What are they?¡± Aelin took the chip from Justia, and her eyes bulged. ¡°Five Thousand All coins!?¡±Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

    I reached over the table and grabbed one. I¡¯d never seen a hundred All coin until last night.

    ¡°Since you¡¯re going to have some time on your hands, I thought I¡¯d give you something to do with it.¡± Trent pushed one of each coin towards each of us. "Buy yourself some gear, upgrade your weapons, get some new abilities, or just spend the week indulging yourselves.¡± He pointed at Aelin. "Nothing that you can¡¯t bring back to the Cathedral.¡±

    ¡°Why are you only looking at me?¡± Aelin tried to look hurt, but couldn¡¯t pull it off.

    ¡°No shopping spree until you beat the first floor boss of the Dispatcher¡¯s Dungeon.¡± Trent yawned. "I would have given you these after you got back, but thought you might want to celebrate once you¡¯re done.¡±

    ¡°Thank you!¡± Aelin went over and hugged Trent.

    The old man took another item out of his crystal band. "Fray, I talked to the Temple, you¡¯re too advanced to send back. They don¡¯t want this risky leveling technique to spread through the students they have.¡± He put a crystal band like ours on the table and slid it towards her. "Welcome to the Blue team.¡±

    Fray had tears flowing down her face as she took the band.

    ¡°Thank you¡­¡± The brunette hiccuped as she put the band on. ¡°This means I¡¯m staying?¡±

    Trent eyed us. "They can tell you what the first week was like. My classes are not easy. You¡¯ll be tempted to quit before the six years are up many times.¡± His gaze settled on Fray. "But if you stick it out, then you will become one of the best Adventurers of your generation.¡±

    He nodded at us. "I¡¯ll let you finish up and head out.¡±

    I got up and met Trent in the hallway. "What happened to us not standing out?¡±

    ¡°You stood out too much.¡± Trent looked into the conference room. "All of you did, so we¡¯re going to lean into it. The Temple is going to play it off as you having an advantage that other students don¡¯t have. There will be a price to pay from the Nobles, but I¡¯ll figure that out later.¡±

    ¡°How long did that take you?¡± I was curious how fast someone like him could make All.

    ¡°Less than two hours.¡± He patted me on the shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ll see you all when you get back.¡± There was mischief in his eyes. "I¡¯m curious to see what you come back with.¡±

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 43

    The Dispatcher¡¯s Hub was different from the Temple.

    Instead of white marble, there was metal and glass. Instead of large decorative columns and trees, there was a simple, rectangular building. While the Temple maintained facilities for those without means, the Dispatchers catered to Adventurers. There were also people marching around in front of it holding signs that said things like ¡®The Apocalypse is Coming!¡¯ and ¡®Wurn Is Coming Back¡¯, and ¡®Down with the False Gods!¡¯. I had a feeling that the last one was going to get them some unwanted attention.

    When we walked into the recycled air smelling two story building, there was a checkpoint where we had to have our crystal bands scanned. The Anubis attendant raised her eyebrows when she scanned them, but otherwise, there was no reaction.

    The Gate was at the center with eight waiting rooms around it. When our number was called we moved to a waiting room, which was just an empty room with benches on either side. There was a light above the room that led to the gate and when it turned green, we walked in.

    The gate itself looked like every other one that I¡¯d seen. The room was large and I assumed it had been designed that way to accommodate multiple teams coming or going. When we approached the gate, we had to choose our floor. Since we hadn¡¯t been here before, the first floor was the only one that I could select.

    The first floor reminded me of the Cathedral dungeon, except there wasn¡¯t any underbrush between the trees.

    ¡°This is so different.¡± Fray marveled as she walked down the trail.

    ¡°You think the trail is a safe zone?¡± I looked at Ether.

    She shrugged. "There weren¡¯t any safe zones at the Temple.¡±

    ¡°Good point.¡± I took my sword out of my crystal band and slung it over my head. We weren¡¯t allowed to carry weapons inside the buildings, so we had to keep them stored until we got into the dungeon.

    The others started arming themselves too. I had a feeling that I wasn''t going to be using my sword much, but I still wanted it out in case I needed it.

    ¡°We really need to buy a map before we come into these.¡± Justia nodded down the trail. "Do we even know if this will take us to the boss?¡±

    ¡°Probably safe to assume, but we can always explore if you want. We¡¯ve got lots of time.¡± I motioned towards the woods.

    ¡°No! We¡¯re not exploring, we¡¯re going to the boss, so I can have my shopping trip!¡± Aelin took the lead and pointed down the trail. "Let¡¯s go!¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    We followed the excited blonde for almost an hour before the woods gave way to a rocky desert that didn¡¯t look too different from the second floor of Zeb, except I didn¡¯t see any caves. Just one and it was a ways away.

    ¡°I think that¡¯s where we need to go.¡± I pointed at the rocky hill.

    ¡°There are people by it.¡± Rix moved around me. ¡°Fighting something.¡± Her chain sword was still on her hip, so I took that as she wasn¡¯t concerned, but I thought we might want to be cautious.

    ¡°Let¡¯s let Ether lead.¡± I looked at Aelin. "Stay behind Justia.¡±

    For once the blonde didn¡¯t argue. I grabbed Fray¡¯s hand and pulled her close to me. "Stay close.¡± I nodded at Ether. "Let¡¯s go¡±

    Rix vanished as we made our way towards the other group.

    It took us about thirty minutes until we got close to the other group. There were sixteen students and two teachers. Judging by the way the students were operating, they were cycling through since they didn¡¯t have enough to support two full teams. There were two in full metal armor with large metal shields. One had a sword and the other had a mace.

    There was one person who was shouting at all of the others, and three people in robes. There were two people with light jackets on and the remaining eight had either swords, spears, or axes.

    While most of them were clumped up around the two Tanks that were drawing the attention of two different very large scorpions, there were two people out by themselves. One was a black-haired brown-skinned woman with a sword, who seemed very upset and was taking it out on a much smaller scorpion while being backed up by a black-skinned, blonde woman with a spear.

    The teachers were both dressed like Dispatchers, but one was human while the other was an Anubis. The silver-skinned woman had long haired redhead with a long slender sword at her side. The Anubis male was carrying a wand and shouting orders at the ranged units.

    ¡°There are no other teams scheduled to be out here.¡± The Anubis teacher moved onto the trail to cut us off. "Who are you?¡±

    Before I could speak, Justia stepped forward. "I am Justia Publian, here with my team. We¡¯re not here to train, just to fight the floor boss so we can move on to the next floor.¡±

    ¡°Publian, Publican.¡± He snapped his fingers. "Gesai! It¡¯s the Publian!¡±

    The female teacher walked over, her green eyes narrowed as she looked at our Healer. ¡°What is a Publian doing here?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d let them through if I were you.¡± The black-haired student that I¡¯d seen earlier that was taking out her frustrations on the scorpions came walking over. The blonde with the spear following behind her.

    ¡°And why would an Alard ever move aside for a Mundane wannabe?¡± Gesai Alard folded her arms as she turned to the student.

    ¡°Because her teacher is Trent Vowler.¡± The black-haired woman focused her green eyes at Justia. ¡°Is this the famous team that dad has been going on about?¡± She gestured at us.

    ¡°Probably." Justia walked over and gave the other woman a hug. "It¡¯s good to see you, Oz.¡±

    Jealousy spread over Aelin¡¯s face, but she struggled to hide it. "Who¡¯s your friend, Justia?¡±

    ¡°Everyone.¡± Justia turned back towards us. "This is my cousin, Ozet Mite.¡±

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 44

    The teachers didn¡¯t like being ignored.

    Particularly Gesai Alard.

    The redheaded woman stormed over to the pair. ¡°I don¡¯t care who your teacher is, he¡¯s not here right now and you¡¯re interrupting our training session.¡± She pointed back the way we had come from. "So you can leave until we¡¯re finished.¡±

    I was going to try to argue until she put her hand on her sword. "I can always make you.¡±

    While I doubted that she¡¯d kill us, there were worse things than death.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we just wait?¡± I pulled Fray with me as I backed up. "We¡¯ve got plenty of time.¡±

    ¡°Yes, listen to your little manservant and go wait somewhere else while the real Adventurers work.¡± Gesai mocked me.

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk to him like that!¡± Aelin fumed as she stomped forward.

    I caught her arm and pulled her in. "These are graduates. They¡¯re over level twenty. We do NOT want trouble.¡± I turned around and began pulling both Aelin and Fray back with me. "I¡¯m so sorry, we¡¯ve had a long week, she¡¯s just tired and meant no disrespect.¡±

    ¡°REALLY???¡± Gesai started to move towards us.

    Oz moved in between us. "The Tank got hit!¡± She pointed at the group fighting on the left of the trail. The Tank on that side had lost their shield and was being beaten on by the massive claws. The Hitters were cutting into it, but they were getting in each other¡¯s way, which was also keeping the Casters from attacking it.

    ¡°Oh for the sake of the Gods¡­¡± The redhead zipped over and smashed the giant scorpion in the head. It vanished in a puff of smoke. While the other students were getting the end of her tongue, I pulled the rest of my team away from the other group.

    ¡°Don¡¯t take it too personally." Oz tried to reassure us. "She¡¯s just mad because she got pulled off of her Adventurer team to teach us. Apparently Mundus wasn¡¯t enough.¡± The black-haired woman scowled. "I know my father has been bragging about how fast Trent Vowler is leveling his group. I bet she¡¯s got pressure to do the same.¡± She puffed out her chest. "I hit level two an hour ago with Ren, but she won¡¯t let me take a team into the boss room.¡±If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Justia looked at us, then back at the other group. "I wish I wasn¡¯t causing trouble for you.¡±

    Oz sighed. "It¡¯s not like I didn¡¯t expect it. Dad was throwing it in their faces.¡± She turned to us. "Who¡¯s your team?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s Atlas, Fray, Aelin, Ether, and¡­¡±

    I shook my head. Rix hadn¡¯t been discovered yet, and I¡¯d like to keep it that way. She might find something useful while she was hidden.

    ¡°...why don¡¯t you have a full team?¡± Justia finished.

    ¡°Dad described how you were leveling in smaller teams. It¡¯s dangerous, as you just saw, but doable.¡± She shook her head and pointed at the other teams. "Instead of trying that, they decided to force Elites.¡± She shook her head. "A fourteen man team? Ha! Ren and I are taking down scorpions as fast as they spawn, while they¡¯ve actually taken so long that a third one has spawned on top of them.¡±

    ¡°Ouch.¡± Aelin moved closer to Justia. "So the two of you are actually cousins?¡±

    ¡°Second cousins, but yes. We¡¯re blood related.¡± Justia patted Aaelin¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Why Justia, you really went for it! Kudos!¡± Oz offered a hand for a high five.

    Justia flushed and left her hanging. Aelin also turned red and looked away.

    ¡°Oh, not in the open yet. Gotcha, I was wondering how Uncle Hye took it.¡±

    ¡°What..?¡± Fray began.

    Ether pulled her close and whispered in the brunette¡¯s ear. Her eyes widened.

    ¡°What do we want to do while we wait?¡± I tried to find something that would change the subject.

    ¡°We can cut east, then south and come around the back of the gate.¡± Rix whispered behind me. "But we have a problem.¡±

    ¡°Maybe we could prepare for whatever problems we might run into?¡± I tried to word my question to fit both. By the questioning looks I got from the rest of my party, it didn¡¯t look like it worked.

    ¡°What?¡± Aelin eyed me.

    ¡°Four man team looks like bandits.¡±

    ¡°You know, in case Trent decides to give us another training exercise.¡± I looked around, but couldn¡¯t see anyone else.

    ¡°Doubtful, but they could just have really good disguises.¡±

    ¡°Everyone, we¡¯ve got trouble.¡± I pulled Fray and Ether closer to me to try to form a huddle.

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 45

    It didn¡¯t feel like a test.

    The way Trent had been talking, it felt like he was genuinely proud of us. Granted, there had been something in his eye, but I didn¡¯t think he¡¯d do something like this.

    ¡°We¡¯ve got to get out of here.¡± I looked at Oz. "There are some people who look like Bandits that just came from the second floor.¡±

    ¡°A group tried that a few days ago, Mundus handled them.¡± The black-haired woman looked at the Anubis teacher. "He¡¯s actually pretty cool, just overwhelmed with so many of us. He¡¯s in the thirties, so he can handle most things.¡±

    ¡°Are you..?¡± My question was cut off by a sword appearing through Mundus¡¯s chest. The brown-haired, golden-skinned man on the other end pulled it out and as the teacher hit his knees the other man beheaded him.

    ¡°Not a test.¡± I pulled Justia and Ren behind me as I stepped in between my group and the dead teacher. ¡°RUN!¡±

    ¡°Heathen!¡± Gesai stopped yelling at her students and dashed at the brown-haired man. Their swords met and I could see the look on her face. She knew she was outmatched.

    I turned around to see a black-haired man with a net standing on the trail. He laughed as we backed up.

    ¡°Come now, we only want the Nobles, the rest of you can leave once we¡¯re gone.¡± He pointed at Oz, then at Ren. "You two are coming with me.¡±

    I glanced behind me. Gesai was on the ground bleeding. The students were running in random directions with three other men chasing them down. The brown-haired man who had taken down Gesai was coming towards us. It was now or never.Stolen novel; please report.

    ¡°DASH!¡± I pulled out my blade, better to not let them know I had magic. I ran at the man.

    ¡°MAGIC ARROW!¡± I heard Aelin try to provide cover.

    ¡°QUICKDRAW!¡± Oz was right beside me

    ¡°HONE WEAPON¡± I felt my sword get warmer after Ren¡¯s buff hit me.

    The bandit threw the net at Oz, her sword was stopped by it. I knew this man was at least a Tier One, or he wouldn¡¯t be able to handle a weapon strong enough to block her sword.

    Aelin¡¯s arrow did cut him, so his defense was less than twenty. I brought up my blade and he blocked it with a sword of his own. I tried to brace against it, but that resulted in me being driven to my knees.

    ¡°Just give up kid, you can¡¯t¡­¡± He started to taunt me, then his throat opened up and Rix was behind him. Her Mantle flashed three times, announcing that this man wasn¡¯t getting back up.

    ¡°GO!¡± She screamed as she ran past us towards the other man.

    I turned around. She was the only one who could have gotten away. Her opponent had taken down two teachers like they were nothing, but she hadn¡¯t flinched as she charged.

    ¡°RIX!¡± Aelin¡¯s voice was so full of fear that a chill ran down my spine.

    ¡°GET OUT OF HERE!¡± The redhead never stopped moving. "DASH! MARK! SHADOW STEP!¡± It almost looked like she teleported the remaining distance. Her knife shot out at the man¡¯s neck, where there was a mark.

    He caught the knife and yanked the weapon out of her hands.

    She stumbled. "SHADOW STEP!¡± Rix was behind him with her knife in her hands.

    The brunette spun around and caught her by the throat. She tried to stab him, but her knife couldn¡¯t penetrate his skin. His defense was simply too high. He slammed her into the ground. I felt her pain.

    ¡°MINOR HEAL WOUNDS!¡± Justia was focused on her friend

    ¡°HARDEN!¡± Aelin was right beside her.

    The bandit looked up at us. He let go of Rix and charged.

    He moved so fast that I couldn¡¯t follow him. One minute we were all standing and the next the ground was rushing up at my face. Then there was nothing.

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 46

    My face hurt.

    I woke up laying on the trail with my hands cuffed behind my back. I¡¯d felt this before, back at the Cathedral, when I thought I¡¯d been arrested. I had on magic blocking cuffs, and I had no doubt that it was also sealing my crystal band as well.

    I rolled over and saw that all of the students had been caught and we were being separated into piles. Aelin, Fray, and Ether were over by me, while Gesai, Oz, Ren, Justia, Rix, and one other Noble were in another group. Further down the trail I saw the brown-haired Bandit giving orders to the three remaining ones as they were sorting through the remaining students.

    The Bandit leader noticed that Rix was awake, because he walked over and sat her up.

    ¡°Little Rix went and got a Mantle?¡± He clicked his tongue. "Too bad you didn¡¯t get it before you broke out of the Cobras, all that wasted experience.¡±

    She struggled against her bonds. "It won¡¯t go to waste now!¡±

    The man laughed. "Still full of fight.¡± He looked over at the dead bandit. "You know if it wasn¡¯t for the bounty on you, I¡¯d finish you right now on principle. I kind of liked Jonas.¡±

    Rix screamed at him, but he just ignored her.

    He turned to his men. "Jax! Find anything else any good!?¡±

    ¡°A few minor Nobles, nothing with ties back to one of the major houses.¡± Jax reported as he scanned another student. He rolled them towards the other pile. "Another dud.¡±

    I struggled to stand, but was able to.

    ¡°Sit back down boy, Mundanes aren¡¯t worth a ransom even if they are Mantled.¡± The boss looked at me. "Stay put and out of my way and you¡¯ll go free.¡±

    ¡°What are you going to do with them?¡± I remained standing.

    The boss walked over and stood in front of me. His Aura was so strong that I couldn¡¯t look him in the eye while he was staring at me. ¡°Why do you care?¡±

    ¡°Because they¡¯re part of my team.¡±Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    ¡°You¡¯re mad because I¡¯m running off with your girlfriends?¡± The man slung his arm around my shoulders and started walking me towards the middle group. ¡°Look, this is how the world works. And this is how I make my living.¡± He pointed at the women they¡¯d segregated. "I¡¯ve got two Alards, a Reace, a Dinx, and a Zavel. If I can find a Garn in there, then I¡¯ll pretty much have a whole set of Nobles that will fetch me a handsome price. But don¡¯t worry, they¡¯ll pay up and you¡¯ll see your girls again in a few weeks, in roughly the same condition.¡± He laughed as we walked past Gesai.

    ¡°What about Rix?¡±

    He stopped and turned towards her. "The Kind Killer?¡± He shook his head. "The head of the Burnt Cobras is willing to pay a hundred thousand All for that one.¡± He looked me over. "Unless you are some Noble who never got a mark who has got that kind of coin.¡±

    ¡°How do you know I¡¯m not a Noble!?¡±

    He flicked at my collar. "You¡¯re a Mundane, kid.¡± He pulled back his own collar to reveal a bare neck. "Nothing wrong with being a Mundane, but don¡¯t start thinking that just because you got a Mantle that you¡¯re one of them. They¡¯ll throw you out in a heartbeat just to keep warm.¡±

    My mind started spinning with how I was going to save them. The man with his hand around me had to be at least level forty, which meant I had no hope of beating him. I began to wonder why Trent hadn¡¯t shown up yet. I¡¯d expected him to come running over here as soon as trouble showed up, but maybe it took him time to get places.

    ¡°That¡¯s all of them!¡± Jax yelled.

    ¡°Well." The Bandit leader turned me so that I was facing him. "You were in the wrong place at the wrong time, kid.¡± He gave me a little bow, ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll see you again some day.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t take Rix." I grabbed his shirt. ¡°Please.¡±

    ¡°Kid." He easily pulled me off of him. "There are lots of redheads in the world, you¡¯ll find another one that doesn¡¯t have a bounty on her pretty little head.¡± He pushed me and I fell down.

    ¡°Wait!¡± My mind was spinning. Even if Trent showed up, I had my doubts that he¡¯d run right after them to save Justia until I was safe. By the time he tracked them down, they could have already sold Rix and I knew for sure that the ArchBishop wasn¡¯t going to send anyone after her. There was only one person that the ArchBishop and Trent wouldn¡¯t stop searching until they found them. And that was me.

    ¡°Kid, you''re starting to try my patience.¡±

    ¡°What if you missed one.¡± I swallowed. "What if there was someone here that was worth more than a hundred thousand. Would you leave Rix behind if I gave you that information?¡±

    ¡°Atlas!¡± Rix struggled in the man¡¯s grasp. "No!¡±

    He turned and looked at me. "Depends on how much they¡¯re worth.¡±

    I started thinking. "At least a quarter million All.¡±

    That got their attention.

    ¡°There¡¯s no way there¡¯s a royaling in here that we missed.¡± He shook his head. "Besides, the Realms with kingdoms are on the other side of the world.¡±

    I took a deep breath and hoped it worked. ¡°My name is Atlas Vowler.¡±

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 47

    They all started laughing.

    ¡°Trent Vowler doesn¡¯t have a kid!¡± The boss coughed he laughed so hard. "Besides, kid, you don¡¯t have the Noble mark.¡±

    ¡°Do you really think that someone like Trent Vowler would give his son a mere mark like every other Noble?¡± I tore at my shirt until I was able to pull it away enough to show part of the brand. ¡°How¡¯s this for a mark?¡±

    The bandit put Rix down and walked over to me. He tore my shirt open to display a mark the size of his palm over my heart.

    ¡°Check it and you¡¯ll see that it was done by someone over level sixty.¡± I smiled, but I was feeling anything but confident.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Rix screamed.

    ¡°Atlas?¡± I heard Ether¡¯s voice behind me. ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine.¡± I couldn¡¯t look at her. But I couldn¡¯t stand by and let them take Rix to an execution.

    ¡°That¡¯s a high level mark alright.¡± He stroked his chin and looked over at Rix. "I don¡¯t know¡­¡±

    I could feel the tension in the air.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    ¡°Boss, we gotta go!¡± Jax was carrying Justia and Ren on his shoulders.

    The brown-haired man grabbed me by the shirt and threw me over his shoulder. He walked over and picked up Gesai.

    ¡°ATLAS!¡± Ether¡¯s voice was accentuated by the tears I could now see running down her face.

    ¡°Daren, grab Rix.¡± The Bandit ordered while I was congratulating myself.

    The blonde man carrying Oz walked over and picked up Rix.

    ¡°Wait!¡± I struggled, but couldn¡¯t move. "That wasn¡¯t part of our deal!¡±

    ¡°The deal was for someone worth more, but I¡¯m not sure you are who you say you are.¡± He nodded at the other man. "So she comes along and if you¡¯re lying¡­¡± He flipped me down so that I was in front of him. "I¡¯ll send you with her when I turn her in.¡±

    He scooped me back up and kept walking towards the boss room.

    I didn¡¯t have anywhere else to look, except back up the road where Ether was screaming my name. Aelin was holding her back while Fray was still on the ground. I tried to mouth I Love You, but I doubted she could hear me and I didn''t want to give them an excuse to take anyone else.

    I looked up the trail and kept expecting to see Trent come flashing in and vaporize the bad guys, but no one came.

    We got to the door of the boss room and the ring went from black to red.

    ¡°It¡¯s an Elite then.¡± The Bandit leader laughed. "Maybe I won¡¯t be able to oneshot this thing.¡±

    I burned the image of Ether into my mind as we went through the gate. I hoped that wouldn¡¯t be the last time she saw me.

    I closed my eyes and hoped I¡¯d done the right thing.

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 48

    Red lights dimly lit the dark boss room.

    The man holding me and Gesai dropped us both on the ground. I was able to land in a crouch, but the redhead was still unconscious and landed with a thud. I heard a noise and the lights changed to white, began to pulse, and then shone brightly to fill the room.

    The leader ran at the boss as soon as he saw where it was. None of the other bandits put down any of the people they were carrying. They seemed to believe that their help wasn¡¯t needed or the fight wouldn¡¯t be that long.

    The boss itself was larger than I¡¯d imagined. I¡¯d thought from the description, that it would be about the size of a large horse. Instead, it was almost the size of an elephant. And there were two of them.

    He was moving almost faster than I could follow, and his swings were blurs. I could tell when he hit something, but it was so fast that was all I could see.

    He took out the front left leg of the boss on his left, and kept running under it as staggered, knocking the front right leg to the side, bringing the whole thing down on its face. While it was facedown, he smashed its heads with his fist, then jumped on its back and shoved his right arm inside of it. The boss vanished in smoke.

    The whole thing had taken less than ten seconds for him to wipe an Elite Floor Boss out. Granted, it was a level one Elite Floor Boss, but I still found it impressive.

    The other Elite Floor Boss roared and stuck at him with its tail. He caught the barb and pulled it down. The massive monster crashed on its side as he pulled it to him. I couldn¡¯t imagine how much the thing weighed, but he was moving it like he was pulling around a small dog that had latched on to a rope.

    He stopped the monster with his left hand and jammed his right arm into its back up to his shoulder. The monster got halfway through a scream before it vanished in smoke.

    The door to the second floor opened. And he walked over to collect us. He eyed me for a second before he grabbed Gesai Alard and threw her over his shoulder.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    ¡°Keep up.¡±

    It was all the instruction I got before he started walking towards the exit.

    ¡°Hogo! Pick up the loot!¡±

    I watched the bald man carrying the male Noble they¡¯d snatched pick up the loot as I ran to keep up with the boss. It wasn¡¯t very easy, but I was at least keeping up with the other two bandits.

    We got through the door to the second floor. This one looked a lot like the first, with woods and a trail leading the way. The boss grabbed me by the shoulder and walked me over to the gate with him.

    ¡°You¡¯re going back to the Dispatcher¡¯s Hub?¡± I couldn¡¯t believe it. "How are you going to get out?¡± Actually, that didn¡¯t make sense. I couldn¡¯t understand how someone who said they made their living like this had been allowed into the dungeon to begin with.

    ¡°You think we came through the Hub?¡± He laughed. "Kid, didn¡¯t your dad teach you anything?¡±

    I looked down at my feet and kicked a rock. "He¡¯s more of a ¡®throw you in the deep end to learn how to swim¡¯ parent.¡±

    ¡°Harsh, but effective.¡± The bandit looked impressed. ¡°Okay, here''s a freebie about these things. They don¡¯t only go to the Hub.¡± I watched him select the thirty fifth floor.

    There was a flash and I felt like I was going to hurl. I dropped down to my hands and knees and started coughing. The floor wasn¡¯t that of woods, a cavern, grass, or even desert. It looked like dry, hard, devoid ground. I flinched as thunder boomed overhead.

    ¡°Give it a second.¡± The boss began typing on the gate. "It¡¯s just floor pressure, you¡¯ll get used to it in a moment.¡±

    I managed to look up, taking in the dead trees, barren landscape and overcast sky. I could see something flying in the clouds and hoped that we were in a safe one, because it looked bigger than any bird I¡¯d ever seen.

    The other bandits seemed unconcerned and were putting down the others, who were all having similar reactions. Hogo took out a length of rope and began tying our cuffs together.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I had no idea how he planned on getting out of the Dungeon if he wasn¡¯t going to go through the Dispatcher¡¯s Hub.

    ¡°Gotta get rid of any wandering eyes.¡± The boss wiggled his fingers in front of me.

    Hogo handed him rope and he tied it to his waist.

    We¡¯re going to jump a few more times. He smiled at me. "You¡¯re going to love the forties.¡±

    ¡°Wha¡­¡± I wasn¡¯t able to finish my response before we were yanked to a different floor.

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 49

    We jumped five more times.

    And he was right, the floor pressure in the forties was unbearable. That was where I finally lost my stomach. By the time we finally stopped on the twenty-seventh floor, I didn¡¯t even bother sitting up. The ground was my friend and I didn¡¯t mind cuddling with it.

    The terrain had changed to a different biome each time. The fifthteenth floor had been cold with snow as far as I could see. The twenty fourth had been muggy, with swamp water surrounding the gate and a single path weaving its way through the creepy wet forest. The forty third floor had been the worst and all I remembered about that one was that the ground wasn¡¯t cold, hot, or wet. The thirty fifth floor had been a relief, being less pressure than the previous floor. The ground had been rocky though, with large rocks everywhere, creating almost a maze leading away from the gate.

    I rolled over on my back and stared up at the clear sky. The smell of flowers was everywhere. I looked at the rolling meadow and then back at the sky.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I closed my eyes.

    ¡°The Nobles will have tracers following their kids. We jump around a few floors to lose them.¡± The boss picked me up and set me on my feet.

    I opened my eyes and fell against him. The world was spinning. I felt a tug on the rope and realized Oz had fallen to her knees and was pulling me down. Of all of us, Rix was the only one still on her feet and she was trying to help Justia up.

    Gesai Alard was the only one not tied to us and she was still unconscious. I didn¡¯t know if they had put a spell or something on her, but I was starting to wonder if she was going to live. Her shirt was torn where she¡¯d been stabbed and I couldn¡¯t see how the blade hadn¡¯t gone through her heart. I knew that if there was a good healer, they could bring someone back who had died recently, provided that their body hadn¡¯t been destroyed or they hadn''t been decapitated. But none of these men struck me as being a Healer.

    ¡°Up!¡± The boss ordered and the other three began getting us to our feet.

    ¡°This is the twenty-seventh floor.¡± The boss eyed us. "The monsters here will kill you if they catch you.¡± He walked over to Rix and grabbed her chin. "Don¡¯t think about running, or you¡¯ll get your boyfriend here killed with you.¡± He let go of her chin and eyed each of us. "Let¡¯s go!¡±

    We started marching, which was harder than it sounded because of all the floor hopping he¡¯d been doing. The flowers didn¡¯t really impede our journey, it just made the beautiful landscape feel wrong. Even so, I was making a mental note to bring Aelin and Ether here as soon as we got to this level.

    We walked for about thirty minutes before something rose up out of the flowers. The boss dropped Gesai and stepped in between us and it and braced himself. The other bandits huddled around us as he stared the monster down.

    It was a huge toad, at over seven feet tall. I was about to ask what was going on when it snapped its tongue at me. There was no way I could have done anything against a level twenty seven monster even if I hadn¡¯t been cuffed and tied to the others. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    The boss caught the tongue and yanked the monster forward, smashing his fist into its mouth and turning it into a cloud of dust. He bent down and picked up the crystal and put it in his band.

    ¡°They¡¯ve never spawned that fast!¡± Hogo began looking around.

    The boss eyed me. "No they haven¡¯t.¡± He picked up Gesai. "Let¡¯s hurry before anything else shows up.

    My legs were burning as we ran for an hour. I¡¯d done more running before, but being tied to others while being prodded by the Bandits made it much more difficult, and that was before taking the floor pressure into account. We ran into two more toads before we finally stopped. The boss was so overleveled that no one got hurt, but I could tell by the look on the other Bandits faces that they didn¡¯t want to tangle with the monsters on this floor.

    We reached the dungeon wall and the boss began tracing his finger over it. I watched him for a few minutes, but it was one of his men who got impatient first.

    ¡°Boss!¡± Jax began pointing towards the field. "They¡¯re coming!¡±

    I looked, hoping to see Trent, but instead there was a giant bee. It was easily the size of a person and it didn¡¯t look happy.

    ¡°Almost found it¡­¡± The brown-haired man kept feeling at the wall.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I looked from the man to the monster.

    ¡°BOSS!¡± Jax ran over and pulled on the other man¡¯s arm.

    The leader of the Bandits punched the wall, then grabbed the other man¡¯s hand and put it on the wall. "Keep Looking!¡±

    The brown-haired man ran at the flying monster. When it thrust its stinger, he twisted, grabbing the deadly appendage with his left hand as he grabbed its throat with his right hand. He ripped the stinger out and jammed it into the monster¡¯s chest, reducing it to smoke. He collected the crystal and stormed back over to the wall.

    ¡°Is it a monster surge!?¡± Jax looked at his boss.

    ¡°No, there¡¯d be a lot more of them if it was.¡± The older man was upset and I really hoped he wasn¡¯t the type to start throwing things. I thought he might the way he bent down to pick up Gesai, but he flipped her over his shoulder and continued to feel the wall.

    ¡°Where is the damned tunnel!?!¡± The boss punched the wall.

    ¡°Found it!¡± Daren had his arm through the dungeon wall all the way up to his shoulder.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± The boss ran over and walked through the wall.

    ¡°Move it!¡± Jax grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the spot where his boss had disappeared.

    I winced as he pushed me through the wall.

    I stepped into a completely different biome. Inside a dungeon there were things like the woods and the grasslands, but those transitioned. This place was like I had just walked through a gate to a different floor.

    There was black sand everywhere, except for the rivers that flowed around me. It looked like they wove their way in some type of pattern, but I couldn¡¯t tell what it was. What was really off putting about them was that they were red.

    Gesai was on the ground propped up against the wall and the Bandit leader was fighting a giant spider looking monster that had electricity arcing between its legs.

    What I found most disturbing was that he had a sword. All the monsters so far, he¡¯d killed with his bare hands and this monster required a sword.

    Not that it took him long to kill, but I made a note that they were something that he respected.

    ¡°Where are we?¡± I turned around and watched everyone else walk through the wall.

    ¡°Less chatter.¡± The boss picked up Gesai. "And stay away from the water.¡±

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Chapter 50

    There were monsters in the water.

    I knew that it was dangerous when the boss didn¡¯t put away his weapon. As we were crossing a bridge black tentacle slithered out of the water and grabbed the male Noble by the foot. It pulled his legs out from under him and began dragging all of us off the bridge.

    ¡°HELP!¡± The snow-white nobleman began clawing at the wooden bridge hoping to find something to hang on to.

    I ran to the other side of the bridge and grabbed onto the railing. We were all attached, so if it pulled one of us in, it¡¯d get all of us, so I was trying to anchor us. It didn¡¯t matter, whatever this was, it¡¯s Power was a lot higher than mine. My hands were pulled off of the post like I hadn¡¯t been trying to hold on at all.

    The brown-haired man was already in motion as we were dragged towards the water. He sliced through the tentacle. ¡°GET OFF THE BRIDGE!¡±

    I scrambled to my feet and pulled Oz up to hers. Ren and Justia had picked up the other man and we all ran as fast as we could off the bridge. I stopped once we were a few feet away. I didn¡¯t want to run too far because I didn¡¯t want to run into a spider without the leader.

    The Bandits made it off of the bridge intact. The monster must have decided that losing the end of a tentacle was too much to risk, or maybe it only attacked things on a bridge. Either way the tentacle tip was still tightly wrapped around the other man¡¯s leg.

    ¡°Get it off!¡± The man sat down and began clawing at it, but even dead, it was stronger than he was. Not even Justia and Ren could help budge it.

    The Bandit leader pulled it off and threw the tip back in the river.

    ¡°What was that thing?!¡± The nobleman demanded.

    ¡°River Arms.¡± He picked the black-haired Noble. "Keep walking before you become monster food.¡±A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    That motivated the young man to walk faster as we traveled. We crossed two more bridges that the Nobleman ran across, dragging us with him, but we didn¡¯t run into any more River Arms. We did run into three more spiders, with which the Bandit leader was careful while he was defeating them. We reached the gate in a little over an hour and my stomach could tell that it was past one in the afternoon. The rest of the students were showing signs of slowing down as well.

    We all sat down as the brown-haired man began to mess with the gate.

    ¡°Are we going to do more floor hopping?¡± I didn¡¯t think I could take any more of that.

    ¡°Nope, we¡¯re leaving now.¡± The Bandit leader secured our destination and the gate opened. ¡°Through you go.¡± He motioned for us to start walking again.

    We walked through the gate into a lone gate standing on top of a concrete slab. We were outside. I could tell that we weren¡¯t in the dungeon anymore by the smell of the air. Sure, this air smelled like I was downwind from a bonfire. But it didn¡¯t smell foreign like Dungeon air did.

    The building that had housed this gate was a thing of the past. Only one wall was mostly still standing and one section was completely gone. The buildings that I could see in front of the gate were also barely or not even standing.

    ¡°Where are we?¡± I turned to the Nobles, but they all looked as shocked as I was. Rix, on the other hand, looked like she knew exactly where we were.

    I didn¡¯t get a chance to ask her though, because the rest of the Bandits came through the gate.

    ¡°Come on.¡± The leader began walking away from the gate.

    I was confused because there didn¡¯t appear to be anything except a single shed that was about the size of our RV, probably a little bigger. It definitely stood out because it was made of different material than the rest of the buildings. And because it looked untouched by whatever had destroyed the rest of the area.

    The Bandit leader walked over to the shed and knocked on the door on the side. "Clete! It¡¯s Sipher! I got a good haul this time! Open up!¡±

    There were some mechanical noises from behind the door, then it opened up to reveal a lift.

    ¡°Get in.¡± Sipher nudged us all into the lift. It took up almost the whole shed, so there was plenty of room for us to all fit.

    I wasn¡¯t prepared for what was at the bottom. It looked like a small town, with buildings and people milling around.

    ¡°Well, Nobles! Welcome to The Desolation of Gar!¡± Sipher slapped me on the back. ¡°Get comfortable, because this bunker was made by Gar herself.¡± He squeezed my neck a little too hard. "So not even your precious father can break in here.¡±

    I swallowed and looked at Justia. I may have made a big mistake.

 Book 3 - The Replacement - Epilogue

    He had only gone to sleep for an hour.

    Trent had run to the car as soon as his monitor had alerted him to trouble. Hye was in the front seat with Paul and Danice in the back. He recognized Sipher instantly and was shocked that the high end bounty hunter was doing petty kidnappings in Harror. He knew that the Tier Five washout had a hideout on the continent, but he hadn¡¯t expected something like this.

    He watched Rix be Rix and was so proud of her, but he was going to have to figure out how to deal with the PK mark that had messed with her Mantle. They tried to fight back and lost, not realizing just how impossible the fight was. Sipher¡¯s Defense was higher than his, there was no way the students were going to leave a scratch on him.

    He was relieved that Atlas had been divided into the dud pile and slammed his hand on the dash when Atlas announced himself to be his son. He didn¡¯t care about the All. He could make half a million All in a day, the only reason he didn¡¯t was because it drew the ire of the Gods. While he could hold his own against some of the minor Gods, more than not could wipe him away with hardly any resistance. As long as he stayed in his lane and taught at the Cathedral, they were content to leave him alone.

    He debated using teleport to get directly to the Dungeon, but that would alert Harror and the God would follow him. He knew his seal could fool most Adventurers, but he wasn¡¯t confident enough in his abilities to fool a God.

    He parked on the curb and the four of them ran inside. In the Temple people would have gotten out of his way, but the Dispatchers were different. There was paperwork that his badge only lessened, not made go away. He was signing papers as Atlas went into the boss room.

    Usually he¡¯d have to wait his turn to enter the dungeon, but his badge allowed him to jump to the front of the line. The four of them stepped into the second floor of the dungeon and as soon as the gate closed he turned around and selected the fifteenth floor. He¡¯d seen the gate change, but his orb hadn¡¯t been taken with them when they ported. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    ¡°Get the students, I¡¯ll get your kids.¡± He left them at the gate. They¡¯d have to go through the boss room, but for them, it would be like any other monster on these floors.

    They were already gone by the time he reached the fifteenth floor. The brand on Atlas¡¯ chest gave him a vague idea of where they were, but not precisely because of the interference of the dungeon. When he¡¯d made it, he¡¯d planned on upgrading it later, so he¡¯d only put in what he¡¯d needed and little more since he¡¯d been under time constraints. Now he found himself wishing that he¡¯d spent the last few nights upgrading the brand. Something he¡¯d also have to put on Rix.

    His mind was multitasking in how he was going to write it so that it would shield her from what she¡¯d done. They could argue self defense, but the Dispatchers took Adventurer Cannibalism very seriously. Even with it being self defense, it¡¯d be difficult for her to get into a Dispatcher¡¯s Dungeon or even use their Hubs.

    He set the next destination, and the next, and the next. He missed the last one by a floor, which had slowed him down. He went to the next destination and this one, they had stayed on. The brand wasn¡¯t on the floor anymore. Not even in the dungeon. He used Teleport to get to the location. When he arrived, relief washed over him. There weren¡¯t any bodies here, which meant that Altas and the others weren¡¯t dead. But it also meant something very bad. Sipher had used an unregistered Dungeon Tunnel to go between two Dungeons.

    Atlas¡¯ trail led him right through the wall. He took a second to log the location in both dungeons, then teleported to the gate.

    He¡¯d made it a point to always go down the first fifty or more floors of every dungeon in the city when he had gone somewhere. You never knew when you might fall down a trapdoor and find a Dungeon Door connected to floors you¡¯d already cleared, like this one.

    He knew where he was and he knew where they were going. He hoped that he¡¯d make it there in time.

    He keyed the gate to take him to the surface. When he got there he looked for the entrance to the Desolation of Gar. He saw Sipher closing the door. The Mercenary saluted him and closed the door.

    Trent launched his fastest spell, but that had been too late. Maybe if he hadn¡¯t stopped to register the Dungeon Door. Maybe if he hadn¡¯t missed the floor. Maybe if he hadn¡¯t taken a nap.

    There were too many maybes. But he did know one thing for certain.

    He would get them back.

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 1

    The cage we were in felt small, despite its size.

    The cuff over the crystal band on my left hand not only kept me from accessing the items inside it but also doubled as a restraint, preventing me from leaving the underground town.

    Not only me, but also the other two members of my team, Rix Zeb and Justia Publian, as well as four Nobles, Oz Mite, Ren Zavel, Jord Dinx, and Gesai Alard.

    We were in an underground bunker of the dead God Gar. In my world, the Gods walked among us, and they ruled countries called Realms. There was always a war between Realms somewhere in the world, with Gods trying to control more of the limited resources in the world. They usually were fought by regular people, but every so often the Gods would take to the battlefield. When that happened, one of the Gods was usually killed and the entire area was decimated. After the destruction, the place would become known as the Desolation of the God. Since Gar had been killed here, the whole area was called the Desolation of Gar, but more specifically, the name had been attached to the bunker I was in. It was the last remnant of the realm that hadn''t been destroyed. The only reason it was still standing was that it had been built by a God, and it would take something with that much power focused on it to even scratch it.

    The bunker itself was enormous, spanning the length of several blocks, with maybe a hundred people living inside, most of whom were Bandits, using this safe haven as a way to dodge whoever was hunting them. With its proximity to the Desolation of Gar Dungeon, there was easy access to Farming when they weren¡¯t out committing crimes.

    Sipher, the Bandit who kidnapped us, led us through the bunker. While our destination was on the far side, opposite from where the lift that went to the entrance was, it still felt like we were being paraded like trophies that had been acquired. The looks of the other Bandits also made it feel like we were the latest meal that they were eager to devour.

    When we reached the warehouse, we were led to a cage in the floor, where Sipher took off our cuffs, one at a time, and replaced them with an inhibitor over our crystal bands. After he finished with Gessai Alard, the teacher that he had taken, the brown-haired man handed me a small bottle of red liquid.

    ¡°Give her this to wake her up.¡± The Bandit leader looked over at Justia. "Or don¡¯t. She¡¯s not going to die if she doesn¡¯t get the potion.¡±Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    He walked out of the cage and locked it, then left the warehouse whistling.

    Rix was on me in a moment. "What did you do!?!¡± The redhead punched me in the arm. "They weren¡¯t going to take you!¡±

    The male Noble that they¡¯d taken moved to the corner of the cage to get away from us.

    ¡°I was trying to save you!¡± I braced against the second barrage. ¡°They were going to kill you!¡±

    ¡°Do you really think that Trent Vowler is going to pay your ransom?¡± She glared at me.

    I looked over at Justia. Rix followed my gaze and watched the brown-haired woman nod her head.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Oz put herself in between her cousin and the raging ginger.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Rix turned back to me. "I hope you know what you¡¯re doing.¡± She poked me in the chest. ¡°This isn¡¯t going to be an isolated incident. If he pays your ransom, every Bandit on the continent is going to try to kidnap you so they¡¯ll be set for life.¡±

    ¡°Which means Trent will have to make an example to explain exactly why that would be a terminal idea.¡± I moved around my angry teammate. "Are the rest of you okay?¡±

    Ren Zavel nodded, but that was the only reaction I got out of her. Oz stayed in front of the blonde and Justia, keeping her arms still spread out protectively.

    Oz was in defensive mode, which I appreciated because that meant that I didn¡¯t have to worry so much about protecting Justia, but I still needed to talk to the Healer.

    ¡°Justia, do we give Gesai the potion?¡±

    ¡°Please don¡¯t.¡± Jord found the courage to speak.

    I turned towards the brown-haired man. "Why not?¡±

    ¡°You want¡­ to give it¡­ to her?¡± Jord¡¯s courage had vanished, replaced by the fear he''d been wearing since the start of our forced march through the dungeon.

    "I barely know her and I''m not sure that she will make this situation any better, but I''ve never been kidnapped before. Have any of you?" I looked at the four conscious Nobles, who each shook their heads. When I looked at Rix, she just raised an eyebrow. The redhead had been kidnapped young and grown up living with Bandits. What I had meant was if any of them had been ransomed, which she understood, which was why she didn''t answer.

    "So none of us has any idea what we should be doing." I pointed at the unconscious Noble. "She''s graduated, which means that she''s at least level twenty if not higher. We''re all¡­" I looked at Rix. The ginger had killed one of the Bandits and leveled up to six if I¡¯d counted correctly. "Low-level Tier Zero." I turned back to the Nobles. "Maybe she knows what we''re supposed to do?"

    "You honestly believe that?" Oz shook her head. "You''ve known her for only a few minutes. I¡¯ve known her fa lot longer and rage is the only mode she has." The black-haired woman walked over and took the small red bottle out of my hands. "The longer she sleeps, the better."

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 2

    They brought us dinner.

    It was a weak soup, but at least it was something. I hadn''t been expecting to get anything, so knowing that we might still get meals gave me a little hope that our time in captivity would be at least manageable.

    Night came and Jord curled up in a ball in his corner and fell asleep. Oz got Justia and Ren down in the other corner away from the door, then sat down in between myself and Rix so that we formed a triangle in front of the door.

    I leaned against the cage and ran my hand up the bar. "How long do you think they¡¯ve been doing this?¡±

    ¡°Less than fifteen years." Oz looked at me. "This has only been a desolation for fourteen years.¡±

    I looked over at Justia, who was at least pretending to sleep. "How is she doing?¡±

    ¡°Why do you care?¡± The raven-haired woman scowled at me.

    I looked at Rix who shrugged, then turned back to the other woman. "Because she¡¯s on my team.¡±

    Oz shook her head. "I don¡¯t buy it.¡± She pointed at Rix. "Her, I could believe, you tried to trade yourself for her.¡± Oz glanced at her cousin. "But you didn¡¯t even try to barter for her freedom.¡±

    I swallowed. She wasn¡¯t wrong. My mind had been trying to find a way out of it, but I hadn¡¯t started improvising until it became clear that they were taking Rix.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry." I tried to look into her green eyes, but her stare was so intense that I had to look away. "I knew that Trent might go after her, but¡­¡± I looked over at Rix. "I knew he¡¯d never be allowed to track you down.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re content to let Justia be taken because you knew she¡¯d be rescued?¡± Oz scoffed. "And you wonder why I don¡¯t like you.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t like it¡­¡± I silently pleaded with Rix for help.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    The redhead turned away and looked at the warehouse door. I knew she didn¡¯t agree with the way I put myself in danger. It seemed that she was content to allow someone else to berate me for it.

    I knew that the cage had to be monitored, which meant I couldn¡¯t feed her the lie about who I truly was, so I was going to have to lean into the other one. Except I didn¡¯t see how that was going to lessen her anger towards me. Instead, I just hung my head.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I was trying to think of a way to get everyone out, but all I could think of was stalling for time. I thought that just maybe, if I could keep them talking long enough, Trent would show up and save us.¡± I held up my hand. "Not an excuse for not trying to get you out of there, I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s not like I¡¯ve been kidnapped a lot. I¡¯m not sure what to do, but I promise that if it happens again, I¡¯ll try to negotiate for her release.¡±

    Oz looked over at Rix, but the redhead was pretending to ignore us. She glared at me. "That doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m not still upset with you.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine, but can we at least work together right now?¡± I motioned at the warehouse door. "There are a lot of them out there, and only a few of us in here.¡±

    Oz faked a laugh. "You talk like you¡¯re going to take on the entire bunker!¡± She wiped her eyes. "You¡¯re level three and I doubt any of them out there are below ten.¡±

    ¡°Easy experience." Rix mumbled under her breath.

    The raven-haired woman looked shocked. "Seriously?¡±

    ¡°Honestly, if we do try a breakout, I¡¯m fairly certain we¡¯ll have to PK some people on our way out.¡± I drew her gaze to the other two sleeping first-year women. ¡°Can you do that?¡±

    Oz clenched her fists. For a moment I thought she was going to tell me that she couldn¡¯t. "I can do it.¡±

    ¡°Hang on to that.¡± Rix looked at us. "Because you can¡¯t hesitate. If they give you a chance, if you don¡¯t take it, they will.¡± She looked between us. "Every one of them has killed someone. Adding another one to their total is something that a lot of them will jump at the chance to do.¡±

    I saw how shaken that realization made her. ¡°Do you still think we should leave Gesai to heal on her own?¡±

    Oz thought for a moment. "You never know when we might need a healing potion.¡± She tapped on the cuff hiding her crystal band. "And until we can find a way to get these off, this is all we have.¡±

    I thought about pointing out that if the potion was going to work on Gesai, then it was probably a Tier Two potion, which meant that if one of us tried to take it, we¡¯d wind up hurting ourselves if we took too much at once. But it didn¡¯t seem like pointing out how things were harder was very productive at the moment.

    I looked at Rix. "Do you have any ideas?¡±

    The redhead shrugged. "Be ready when we get a chance.¡±

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 3

    We spent a week in the cage.

    Six days, to be exact, but it might as well have been a year. The moments seemed to drag on and there wasn¡¯t just a whole lot to do.

    Rix was always awake and had turned the cage into her personal jungle gym. After one day of watching her, Oz had joined in on the workout and pulled Ren into it, I¡¯d joined too and Oz seemed that she was going to try to prove that she could do anything I could. Jord was refusing to interact with us and barely left his corner, while Justia didn¡¯t look like she was handling the captivity well.

    Oz was still not letting me near her, so I hadn¡¯t been able to talk to her. I didn¡¯t think she¡¯d appreciate me asking her in front of everyone how she was dealing with the possibility of having to watch another PK happen in front of her, or that she might have to be the one to do it since there was a good chance that she¡¯d be overlooked since she was a Healer.

    I had thought about pulling Oz aside and telling her about Justia¡¯s recent trauma, but it didn¡¯t feel like it was something I should bring someone else in on unless I talked to Justia first.

    So we worked out or slept to pass the time. And we had a lot of time.

    After six days we saw Sipher again for the first time since he¡¯d locked us up. He eyed the still unconscious Gesia and looked at me, but didn¡¯t say anything about it.

    ¡°Have you contacted Trent?¡± I wasn¡¯t sure why he was there, but that was something I needed to know.

    ¡°I talked to him.¡± The brown-haired Bandit opened the door to our cage.

    ¡°What did he say?¡±

    ¡°That we¡¯re still negotiating how much you¡¯re worth.¡± The Bandit leader swung the door open. "Thought you might like to stretch your legs.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    Rix shoulder-checked him as she walked through the door. He grinned when she couldn¡¯t budge him. Given the difference in their levels, it probably felt like shoulder-checking a brick wall.

    I followed after her, but none of the others seemed interested in walking past him.

    ¡°What about their families?¡± I nodded at everyone still in the cage.

    ¡°What do you care?¡± He thumped me on the shoulder. "Are you their spokesperson?¡±

    I looked at Oz, then back at him. "Yes. If you¡¯re still negotiating how much I¡¯m worth, then what about them? Have you talked to their families?¡±

    He started laughing. "You¡¯re a funny one.¡± He looked over at Rix, who was walking around the perimeter of the building. "See that¡¯s the thing.¡± He turned back towards the cage. "It seems my employer wasn¡¯t happy with how I did the job, so they¡¯re refusing to pay.¡± He began stalking his way around the bars. "Normally when that happens, I dump the product and move on, but this time¡­¡± He turned around and pointed at me. "I hit gold that they didn¡¯t even know about.¡± The smile he gave me made me feel like I was some object being readied for the auction.

    He shrugged. "For some reason, your old man is willing to pay the bounties on everyone, including the disrespectful one in there.¡± He walked over to me and leaned in close so he could whisper. "Probably best that you didn¡¯t give her the potion, since her family is the one who paid me to nab those two.¡± He pointed at Justia and Oz with his thumb. "I imagine she¡¯s going to be pretty mad when she finds out her uncle broke our deal and decided to leave her with me.¡±

    ¡°What¡­¡± I wasn''t sure what to say or what to ask for clarification. For a moment, I thought he might be joking, but the look in his eye was genuine. He was enjoying being able to drop a truth bomb on me. I shook my head to try to find a train of questioning to follow.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t they free then? Surely my father has enough All that he could pay you their bounties right now.¡±

    ¡°Oh, see the price went up.¡± I didn¡¯t like the look he had. ¡°Why should I just take a few All, when I can have the master teach me how to farm?¡± He spread out his arms. "It¡¯s taken me sixty years to get to level fifty-four, and I need twice as much experience as I¡¯ve gained in my life to hit sixty.¡± He started laughing. "And I was never going to go anywhere if I was always power-leveling new cronies who get killed by little girls.¡± He nodded at Rix, who was still patrolling the edge of the warehouse.

    I had a bad idea about his price. "What are you saying?¡±

    ¡°In exchange for all of you.¡± He motioned at the entire warehouse. "Your father promised to power-level me and my crew to level sixty.¡±

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 4

    We were going to be trapped in here for forever.

    His declaration was enough to get Rix to stop trying to find a weak spot in the warehouse.

    ¡°He did what?!?¡± The redhead stormed over.

    ¡°Me, Daren, Jax, Hogo, and¡­¡± He pointed at Justia. "Her dad is going to come along as our healer.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s going to turn a group of deviants into the most powerful force on the continent?¡±

    Sipher was smiling ear to ear. "Do you know why it¡¯s so hard for Adventurers to hit level sixty?¡±

    I shrugged.

    ¡°There are no event floors in the fifties. Four, Nine, Sixteen, Twenty-Five, Twenty-Seven, Thirty-Two, Thirty-Six, Forty-Nine.¡± He listed off all of the event floors. ¡°Those are the floors that Adventurers farm for experience. Without a way to mass farm, most Adventurers get discouraged and stop." He pointed at me. "But you. You¡¯re a goldmine kid. I had to promise that none of my crew would hurt any of you while you¡¯re here, as long as you didn¡¯t try to escape.¡± He shrugged. "As long as you don¡¯t go anywhere near the lift, you¡¯re free to go anywhere in the bunker.¡± He raised his voice so that everyone still in the cage could hear. "Let me be clear. If you touch that lift you will be killed and the closest one of my crew will enjoy putting you down.¡± He looked at Rix. "Especially you.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re just supposed to stay here until you hit level sixty?!?¡± Oz found her voice. "For how long?¡±

    ¡°Trent said he was hoping he¡¯d be able to do it in fourteen weeks.¡±

    That was the rest of the semester. I looked over at Oz. "It¡¯s just the first semester.¡±

    The raven-haired woman looked like she was about to cry. ¡°You don¡¯t get it. I keep missing out!¡± She slammed her fist against the cage. "Do you have any idea how far behind the rest of the class this will put me?!?¡±The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°What are we supposed to do for the next fourteen weeks while you level up?¡± I looked at Rix. She¡¯d chew her arm off if she was locked in here for that long with us.

    He gave me a grin that told me that I wasn¡¯t going to like his answer.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got a teacher right there.¡± He pointed at Gesai Alard.

    ¡°HER!?¡±

    The grin got wider at Oz¡¯s reaction.

    ¡°You want to leave us trapped in here with HER to teach us!?!¡± The raven-haired woman repeated.

    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me.¡± Sipher held up his hands, thoroughly enjoying the emotions the other woman was expressing. "We do have a Summoner¡¯s ring here.¡± He pointed at the door. "I¡¯m sure once your teacher wakes up, she¡¯ll have plenty that she can teach you about fighting the different types of monsters.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡± Oz looked around. "We don¡¯t have a full team.¡±

    She was right. There were six of us, but we had two Casters and no tank. Granted, I could tank, but I wasn¡¯t sure that I wanted anyone else, especially not an Alard, to know about my stat distribution.

    ¡°What about these things?¡± I pointed at the cuff over my crystal band.

    ¡°What about them?¡± The Bandit started walking towards the door.

    ¡°We can¡¯t use our abilities with these on.¡±

    The Bandit leader stopped at the door. ¡°I¡¯ll think of something.¡± He left the door to the warehouse wide open as he walked away.

    I touched Rix on the shoulder and we walked over to a corner of the warehouse. I hated that I wasn¡¯t able to talk to Justia as well, but she was over by Oz and Ren, and it was going to be impossible to have a private conversation without including them.

    ¡°What do you think?¡± I put my finger to my lips. I had no doubt that Sipher was listening to us somehow.

    The redhead looked mad. "There¡¯s no way that a fifty four can hit sixty in fourteen weeks, even if they are farming as fast as they can¡­¡± Fear crept over her face. "Unless they cause a Floor Break.¡±

    I had heard about them, but never seen one. Supposedly, there was a way for farmers to do it, but considering that it had a tendency to turn into a raid, then get out of hand, it wasn¡¯t a very viable method of farming.

    ¡°Do you think Trent would really do that?¡± I couldn¡¯t believe I was actually asking that question.

    Rix closed her eyes as she ran numbers. "For you¡­¡± She opened them and looked at me. "Yes, he would.¡±

    ¡°Do you think what he said about this being a paid kidnapping is true?¡±

    The redhead started walking towards the cage. "There¡¯s one way to find out.¡±

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 5

    Oz didn¡¯t like it.

    ¡°We are not waking her up!¡± The green-eyed woman had both of her hands in her pocket.

    I thought about telling her that I was willing to put money on Rix if it came down to a wrestling match. Even though Oz was a Hitter and Rix was a Shooter, Rix¡¯s Power was almost the same level as Oz¡¯s Power. Which meant it all came down to drive and my money was all on Rix.

    The raven-haired Hitter looked to Justia for help, but the Healer nodded.

    ¡°Let her have it.¡± Justia put her hand on Oz¡¯s shoulder. "We need to know.¡±

    ¡°Fine!¡± Oz took the potion out and put it in Rix¡¯s outstretched hand. "But I¡¯m going to say I-told-you-so in a few minutes.¡± She stormed over to the corner to sit by Ren.

    ¡°How do we administer it?¡± I looked at the unconscious woman. "Because I don¡¯t think she can drink it.¡±

    ¡°You could take a swig and feed it to her.¡± Justia chuckled.

    I turned to the brunette. As much as I tried to look hurt, seeing her smile was worth any teasing right now.

    ¡°I¡¯m not doing it.¡± Justia held up her hands. "Cousins, remember?¡±

    ¡°Alright Aelin¡­¡± I shook my head as I looked at Rix. "Do you have any ideas¡­!¡±

    I watched as Rix poured half the small bottle over the unconscious woman¡¯s head.

    ¡°What are you doing!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve never seen one of these used, have you?¡± Rix put the lid on the bottle as the older woman began to stir.

    ¡°No, the Farming parties I worked with were never in danger and always had a Healer.¡±

    Gesai slowly started to get up. Rix walked over and patted me on the shoulder, then whispered into my ear. "Your turn.¡±

    ¡°Traitor.¡± I watched her walk out of the cage.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

    None of the other students seemed keen on approaching the older redhead. I knelt and helped her sit up.

    ¡°How are you feeling?¡± I kept my hand on her shoulder, she felt like she was about to fall over.

    ¡°Where am I?¡± Gesai patted herself down, confused about her lack of armor. The Bandits had taken ours off last week, probably as an effort to keep us from trying to fight back. Her hand reached the hole in her shirt over her heart where Sipher had run her through with his sword. She stuck her fingers inside the hole and began to inspect the wound.

    My face turned red as she patted herself down. Unfortunately, that made me look guilty when she looked up and focused on the closest thing to her.

    ¡°WHAT did YOU do?¡± The redhead grabbed my shirt and pulled my face against hers.

    ¡°I healed you!¡± I tried to push away, but she had a lot more Power than I did.

    Gesai looked around and her eyes landed on Jord. She let me go and tried to stand up, but that dropped her onto all fours. She crawled over to the man and loomed over him.

    ¡°Dinx¡­¡± She pulled her legs underneath herself. "What happened?¡±

    ¡°You got stabbed by Sipher, then he brought us all here!¡± The Noble rushed the explanation out as fast as he could speak.

    She saw Oz, Ren, and Justia in the other corner. "Why are we here? How long have I been out?¡±

    ¡°According to Sipher." I drew her attention back to me. "Your family hired him to kidnap them. You weren¡¯t supposed to attack him, so he took you too. Your family saw this as a botched job and refused to pay him, which is why you¡¯re still here.¡± I took more enjoyment in the confusion on her face than I should have. "You¡¯ve been unconscious for six days by the way.¡±

    She saw the open cage door and the open warehouse door. She got to her feet but stumbled as she tried to move. I was the only thing between her and the floor and moved in front of her to brace her so she didn¡¯t fall forward.

    Gesai pointed at the door. "You¡¯re telling me we¡¯re still prisoners, but they left the door open?¡±

    ¡°Trent struck a deal with him.¡± I steadied her. "Since your family wouldn¡¯t pay, Trent is going to power-level him and a few of his crew to Tier Six. In exchange, we have to stay here, but we can go anywhere we want, as long as we don¡¯t go near the lift that leads to the exit.¡±

    She leaned more heavily on me. I could tell that she was still weak and trying to put on a strong front.

    ¡°Where is here?¡± She wrapped me in an awkward hug.

    ¡°The bunker at Desolation of Gar.¡±

    She sank to the floor, pulling me down with her. I started to ask her if she was okay, but I felt tears beading down her cheek.

    ¡°No¡­ They wouldn¡¯t leave me here.¡± Her voice got weaker the more she spoke.

    I held her in an uncomfortable embrace as she silently cried.

    Oz grinned and held up a finger. "That counts.¡±

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 6

    I thought she fell asleep.

    Once she stopped crying, I checked on her, expecting her eyes to be closed, but instead, there was a look of resignation.

    ¡°You okay?¡± I tried to look into her green eyes, but even with me in front of them, it was like she was staring off into space.

    "They wouldn''t¡­"

    It was the only response I could get out of her. I looked over at Justia. "Can you do something?"

    The brunette Healer looked resistant, but she came over and put her hand on the other woman''s shoulder.

    "Gesai." Justia''s voice was soothing. "Gesai, look at me."

    The older woman looked at her cousin. "Why did they do this to me?"

    Justia looked at me, then back at their cousin. "What did they do to you?¡±

    ¡°They pulled me off my team to become a teacher!¡± The stressed woman started blubbering. "Uncle Farsch told me that it was just temporary. That I was supposed to keep you from fighting the first-floor boss, then I could go out with the next team. That¡¯s why we were making Elite monsters near the boss door.¡±

    I could understand the older woman¡¯s resentment at being made a teacher at such a young age. While most Adventurers were rotated through teaching at the Temple, those were usually the more established Adventurers who did a few weeks in between dungeon runs. For a young Adventurer to be pulled off a team that was currently on a dungeon run, it usually meant that they were being taken off of their team permanently. I gave Justia a questioning look. I wasn¡¯t sure who Uncle Farsch was.

    ¡°Farsch Alard. He¡¯s our great-grandfather¡¯s oldest son. He¡¯s the patriarch of the Alard Clinic.¡±

    ¡°Our?¡± I looked between the two cousins.

    ¡°Gesai and I share a grandfather, Ven Alard. My mother left the family and her father stayed.¡± Justia cast a nervous glance at her cousin.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!

    ¡°Your mother turned her back on the family!¡± Gesai countered,

    ¡°Like they just did to you?¡± Oz came to her cousin¡¯s defense. "They refused to pay the ransom for you and left you here.¡±

    ¡°Mom couldn¡¯t stand the way that Uncle Farsch was doing business. She didn¡¯t want to be a part of that.¡± Justia crossed her arms. "She wanted to do something that would help people, not fund a tyrant that was actively hurting his kin.¡±

    Gesai looked like she might start swinging, but after a moment, her fists relaxed and her shoulders sagged. "What do I do now?¡±

    ¡°Did you honestly not know what they were planning?¡± I found it hard to believe that she hadn¡¯t been given some hint.

    ¡°Do you think I¡¯d be here if I had?¡± The older redhead stuck her hand in the hole in her shirt for emphasis. "Or that I would have gotten stabbed through the heart.¡± Her memory of the incident came back a little. "They killed Muns!¡± She started looking around. "My weapon! What did they do with them?!¡±

    ¡°They took all our weapons, then sealed our crystal bands so we couldn¡¯t take one out if we had any spares.¡± Justia looked over at me. "Plus, the deal that Mister Vowler made with them is that they won¡¯t harm us if we don¡¯t fight them or try to escape. Once Sipher hits Tier Six, we¡¯ll be released.¡±

    Gesai stared at her cousin for a moment, then looked at each one of us individually. ¡°You honestly think this Bandit will keep his word?¡± She closed her eyes and rubbed her temple. "Bandits NEVER keep their word. That¡¯s one thing you can count on.¡± She stood up. "Once that Bandit hits Tier Six, he¡¯s going to be even harder to put down.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like they can storm the bunker.¡± I pointed at the noise outside the open warehouse doors. "And if they harm Sipher or his team, then the Bandits are supposed to kill us.¡±

    Gesai started walking towards the door. She was still weak, but at least able to move around on her own.

    When she got to the door she looked back at us. ¡°Come on.¡±

    I looked at the other students. Ren was already at the cage door, but Jord looked like it would take all of us to pry him out of his corner. Oz and Justia were looking at me for direction and RIx was¡­

    I looked around but didn¡¯t see the redheaded Shooter. She had slipped out at some point and was already exploring the bunker on her own.

    ¡°Someone has to stay here with Jord.¡± I looked at Oz. "Which means you or me.¡±

    The raven-haired woman looked around, I could tell that she was torn about what to do, finally, she decided. "Ren, go with them.¡± She looked at Justia. "Jus and I will stay here with the Caster and see if we can¡¯t get him out of there.¡±

    The blonde nodded and followed me over to Gesia.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see what this place is about.¡± The older woman stepped out of the warehouse.

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 7

    There wasn¡¯t a lot going on.

    The bunker was laid out in a four-by-four square pattern of buildings. I decided to mentally number them from one to sixteen in order to keep up with where things were. The lift was at one and the warehouse was at sixteen with eight, eleven, twelve, fourteen, and fifteen being empty lots. There weren¡¯t many people out in the streets if you would even call them that. They were more like aisles between some of them while others were a little further apart.

    It didn¡¯t take long to realize that at some point the ¡®buildings¡¯ had been shipping containers in the past and were now just stacked in piles. Each pile that was stacked looked like it might be connected to the rest of the containers, like how the Warehouse was two containers high and two containers wide. I couldn¡¯t tell from the outside if they were exactly like how the Warehouse was mostly open on the inside, except for what looked like an office across the wall opposite the cage we had been kept in.

    We walked around for a little while before Gesai managed to wander close to the lift. I touched her shoulder, well aware that I wouldn¡¯t be able to stop her if she tried to get past the guard by the lift.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we go somewhere else?¡± I pointed toward the east wall. "How about that way?¡±

    She shrugged me off and marched over to the guard.

    The dark-haired man stiffened as she approached him. He pulled out a gun and pointed it at her. "What do you want?¡±

    While the addition of a gun was enough to make me stop following her, she didn¡¯t lose a step as she walked right up to him. ¡°Tell me about this place.¡±

    It felt like an order. Not a request or demand, but like she had the authority to tell him what to do. I thought he was going to shoot her, but instead, he started talking, even though he didn¡¯t take the gun off of her.

    ¡°This is a storage area for goods and people that need to lay low for a while.¡± He motioned at the ceiling. ¡°A God built this place, so short of a God showing up to start attacking it, nothing is going to get in.¡± He nodded at the controls behind him. "Only way in or out of here is through this lift and one of the guards here is the only one who can operate it.¡±Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    He trained his gun at her. "If you come any closer, I will shoot you.¡± There was expectation in his eyes. "Everything you¡¯ve collected wouldn¡¯t even level me, but I¡¯m not going to pass on a pittance if you¡¯re going to offer it.¡±

    Gesai raised her hands. "Just curious about where I¡¯m going to be staying for the next few weeks.¡± His eyes narrowed. "And who I¡¯m going to be spending it with.¡±

    ¡°Clive Darrow.¡± He pointed his gun toward the other corner of the bunker. ¡°You should find somewhere else to be before my trigger finger gets tired.¡±

    Gesai nodded and walked over to where I was standing. I hadn¡¯t realized that Ren was squeezing my arm until I tried to step aside and pulled the blonde with me.

    ¡°Sorry.¡± Ren let go of me and moved so that Gesai could walk in between us. The redhead walked by us almost like we didn¡¯t exist as she headed off to wherever she was going next. Ren stayed on the other side of the walkway from where I was and started following after her.

    I crossed back over and took her arm. "Are you okay?¡±

    The blonde looked surprised. There was a little resistance to my grasp, but I wasn¡¯t holding her so tightly that she couldn¡¯t have pulled away if she¡¯d wanted to. She looked at me. "That was scary.¡±

    I had to agree. "For a moment, I thought she was going to try to fight him.¡±

    Gesai turned around. "He was almost level forty if eleven thousand wouldn¡¯t level him.¡± She nodded at the left. "And that armor he¡¯s wearing. It¡¯s Tier three as well. I¡¯m not going to start a fight I can¡¯t win.¡±

    ¡°Like you did with Sipher?¡± I couldn¡¯t help myself.

    ¡°He beheaded Muns, when he looked at me, I saw two options, die standing still, or try to make him remember my name.¡± She clenched her fists. "I chose not to die standing still.¡±

    I hadn¡¯t expected her to have a logical reason for her suicide charge, which left me at a loss for words.

    ¡°Sorry about your friend.¡± It was all I could think to say.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± Gesai looked up at the roof. "I¡¯m going to find a way to avenge him¡­¡± She looked at me. "And I will find a way to make Uncle Farsch pay for what he did.¡±

    I patted her on the shoulder. ¡°We¡¯ll figure out what happened.¡± I met her eyes. "When we do, I¡¯ll make sure they pay.¡±

    She looked confused. "Why would you do that?¡±

    ¡°They were trying to hurt Justia. She¡¯s family, which makes you family too.¡± I shrugged. "I know I¡¯m an orphan, but growing up, I thought that¡¯s what real families did for each other.¡±

    She looked like she was about to start crying, but the water never left her eyes as she blinked it back. She put her hand over mine. "Yeah, that¡¯s what they¡¯re supposed to do.¡±

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 8

    The bunker was a cooling-off place.

    Of the fourteen ¡®buildings¡¯, each one belonged to one of the Bandit groups that operated out of the area. Each one had pledged their loyalty to Sipher by some magical pact, which was why he let them in. Most of the Bandits we saw avoided us, probably because of something Sipher had said to them. We were able to make short little conversations with some of them which was how we had learned what we had so far.

    We were still exploring when Sipher walked up to us with a bald, white-eyed woman in a plain brown robe with golden trim and tassels.

    ¡°Out and about I see!¡± The brown-haired Bandit opened his arms, but it was apparent that he wasn¡¯t offering a hug. "Do you like what you¡­¡± He looked around. "Where¡¯s the rest of your group?¡±

    ¡°They didn¡¯t feel like walking.¡± I nodded in the direction of the Warehouse. "So they stayed behind.¡±

    He shrugged and then motioned at the woman next to us. "I would like to introduce you all to your new teacher¡¯s aid, Glima Derst.¡±

    She bowed slightly.

    ¡°Glima here is a Summoner.¡± He pulled a purple book out of his crystal band. ¡°My wonderful new partner has promised to get me crystals from the first few floors of a lot of dungeons around the world!¡± He handed the book over to Gesai. "Your job for the rest of the semester is to teach these kids how to defeat all the monsters in this book.¡±

    Gesai gasped as she began looking over the book. I looked over her shoulder. Each monster had a crystal embedded into the page. The Summoner could ¡°simply¡± pour magic into the proper section of a page and they could summon one of what looked like over a hundred monsters. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ¡°You expect me to teach them all of this?¡± The redhead looked at him. "I¡¯ve never fought some of these monsters!¡±

    He held up his hands. "This is what Trent told me. You can take it up with him at the end of the semester when I¡¯m Tier Six and you¡¯re out of here.¡± Sipher started to walk towards the lift. ¡°Glima has their gear in her crystal band!¡± he called over his shoulder. "Teacher doesn¡¯t get one!¡±

    Gesai growled as she handed the book over to the weathered woman. If I had to bet, I would have placed her in her late forties, but the faint scars on what I could see of her body, she wasn¡¯t a stranger to combat.

    ¡°How did you get roped into this?¡± Gesai looked at the other woman.

    ¡°I¡¯m his wife.¡± Her voice didn¡¯t hold as much affection for the word wife as I would have expected. ¡°One of many among the many places he calls home.¡± She gestured across the bunker. "At this one, it is me.¡±

    Gesai started to say more, but the older woman cut her off. "It is late, and we must get you to bed.¡± She looked at me. "We have cleared the bunker, so you will have better accommodations while you¡¯re here.¡± She pointed at the building I had designated number thirteen. ¡°Collect your friends and meet us there.¡±

    She walked away without waiting for us to acknowledge her.

    I looked at Gesai. "What do we do now?¡±

    The redhead put her arm around Ren, who winced, but didn¡¯t pull away. "Now we go get the rest of my class and go to our kidnapper¡¯s house.¡±

    I had a feeling that it was going to be just as uncomfortable as it sounded. I looked around, but during our whole outing, I hadn¡¯t been able to spot Rix, so I doubted that I¡¯d be able to do it now. Somehow, I knew that she¡¯d meet us where we were supposed to be.

    I started walking to the far end of the bunk. "Let¡¯s go get everyone.¡±

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 9

    Rix was already in the warehouse.

    I had honestly expected her to wait to show herself until we reached the bunker, but it was better this way, because, by the look on Oz¡¯s face, she¡¯d already told them what had happened.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to do what?!¡± The raven-haired woman stomped up to us.

    ¡°Good, you know what we¡¯re doing.¡± Gesai waved for everyone to leave.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to go just because that¡¯s what he tells me to.¡± Oz crossed her arms. "He¡¯s basically sending us to live in his home.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re going because¡­¡± The teacher¡¯s stomach growled. "I don¡¯t know about the rest of you, but I didn¡¯t eat for the last week. That healing potion can only do so much. I need real food or I¡¯m going to start getting weak fast.¡±

    Oz looked at Justia, who looked at me. The raven-haired woman looked irritated that her cousin was deferring to me. ¡°You¡¯re okay with this?¡±

    I nodded slowly. "Look, we¡¯re prisoners here. Our captors are acting nice and it may feel wrong, but I say that we don¡¯t try to cause trouble on our first day of freedom.¡± I looked over at Jord, who hadn¡¯t moved. ¡°What is it going to hurt to see what they¡¯re offering before we reject it?¡±

    There were grumbles, but no one said anything to counter that.

    ¡°Alright.¡± I walked over to Gesai. "Then let¡¯s go.¡±

    Rix was already at the door, and the three women walked over to her, but Jord was still refusing to move.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°Jord Dinx.¡± There was ice in Gesai¡¯s voice. "Get up and get over here right now because I swear to the Gods¡­¡± She let the threat hang in the air for a moment. "If I have to come over there and carry you out, you aren¡¯t going to like how I do it.¡± She popped her knuckles for emphasis. "Or where I¡¯m holding while I drag you.¡±

    That was sufficient enough motivation to get the scared Noble to get up and rush into line behind the women.

    Rix led the way to building thirteen and stopped right as we got to it.

    The building was a pyramid design with three crates on the bottom, going up two crates, then one crate. Unlike the rest of the crates which were all mismatched colors, these were all green. There were windows in the top floor crate, which was something I didn''t remember seeing in any of the others, now that I thought about it. Doors, yes, but no windows.

    The smell of food was coming from up there and while we were standing in front of the building, a girl that might have been a teenager with white hair and bright blue eyes walked out of the top crate.

    ¡°Mom! They¡¯re here!¡± The girl ducked back inside and Glima came out.

    The older woman pointed to the back corner of the building. "There are stairs over there that you can use. Hurry, we do not want the food to get cold.¡± She walked back into the crate.

    Gesai started moving and Jord was not far behind her. Rix had disappeared again and the other three women were just waiting in front of the building, staring at the crates.

    ¡°What is it?¡± I looked at Justia, who was looking the most uncomfortable.

    The brunette closed her eyes. "I¡¯m just thinking about the others.¡±

    ¡°You mean that blonde whatshername?¡± Oz smiled as she elbowed her cousin.

    I took Justia¡¯s silence as confirmation. To be honest, I was missing Ether at night. It¡¯d only been a few days, but I had gotten used to having her sleeping with her head on my chest. This past week, I¡¯d felt empty at night and hadn¡¯t slept much. I couldn¡¯t imagine that I was going to have to go fourteen weeks without seeing her.

    ¡°We¡¯ll find a way out of here.¡± I looked around and hoped that I wasn¡¯t being watched, though I doubted that Sipher would put much belief in what I said. He had seemed confident that we were stuck here. I looked up at the top of the pyramid. "And I think I know where to start.¡±

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 10

    The meal was delicious.

    ¡°Where did you get all the ingredients?¡± Gesai had finished her bowl of soup and was on her second.

    I had to admit, compared to the mostly hot water with a little flavoring that we¡¯d been being fed, this was the exact opposite.

    ¡°Mom is an Extractor!¡± The preteen answered before her mother could.

    It made sense that a Summoner would be an Extractor as well. The process, from what little I understood of it, was very similar. With summoning, you used mana to give the monster crystal a body that was still tied to the crystal but was functionally about the same. Once either the Summoner ran out of mana, or the duplicate crystal was destroyed, the monster would vanish, just like in the dungeon, but it wouldn¡¯t leave behind a crystal since the Summoner was holding it.

    With crystal extracting, the Extractor tried to pull monster material out of the crystal. In Zeb, all the monsters had been cow-like, so while an extractor might try to pull out leather, horns, or sometimes bones for crafting, more often than not, they would try to pull out meat. Since the success hinged on the skill and Magic of the Extractor, it was a very technical job that our society had become built around.

    ¡°What Tier do you work with?¡± Gesai looked at Glima.

    ¡°I am level thirty-eight if that is what you¡¯re asking.¡± The older woman began collecting our empty dishes.

    Oz shook her head and began motioning for me to get Gesai to be quiet.

    The seating arrangement had gone, Gesai, myself, Rix, then Jord a seat away from Rix. On the other side was Glima¡¯s daughter, Justia, Oz, and then Ren. Glima had sat at the head of the table. I looked over at the woman on my right and knew there was little I could do to change the line of questioning.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

    ¡°If you want to know if I am a threat.¡± Glima didn¡¯t bother looking at Gesai while she cleaned the table. "I will not stop you if you try to leave.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you his wife?¡± Gesai was playing with her spoon even though she no longer had a bowl.

    ¡°More like a captive mistress¡­¡± The preteen muttered.

    ¡°Sylph!¡± Glima pointed at the door. "Bed, NOW!¡±

    The white-haired girl got up and smiled at us. "It was nice to meet all of you.¡±

    Once Sylph was gone, Glima shut up the container. Even though the lighting was the same as outside, It looked darker with everything closed.

    ¡°We may talk freely now.¡± She took her place back at the head of the table.

    ¡°Wait, so you¡¯re not on his side?¡± Gesai sat up in her chair.

    ¡°That man is a monster and he can not be allowed to reach Tier Six.¡± The bald woman looked at our current teacher. "You have no idea what he will do if he reaches it.¡±

    ¡°Are you going to help us?¡± Oz looked confused. "What about¡­¡±

    ¡°She is not his.¡± Glima rested her elbows on the table and put her head in her hands.

    ¡°I think we need some context.¡± I cut in before anyone else could derail the conversation. ¡°What is going on around here and with you?¡±

    Glima looked up. "There is a lot to tell¡­¡± She looked at her crystal band. "And not a lot of time. I will tell you what I can, but once we leave this room, you must not talk about it. He has ears everywhere.¡±

    ¡°Can you help us get out of here?¡± Oz repeated her earlier question.

    The bald woman shook her head. Her finger traced the tattoos that crisscrossed her body. ¡°He had a Tier Four Caster put these on me. I can not work against him. Since helping you escape would hinder his current goal of going up a Tier, I can not do that. But I am not compelled to stand in your way or alert him if you are trying to escape.¡±

    ¡°Why should we believe you¡¯re on our side?¡± Justia leaned forward and beat the rest of us with her question.

    ¡°I am not.¡±

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 11

    That was not the answer any of us were expecting.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I needed more context. "How can you be helping us and not be on our side?¡± I motioned in the direction I thought the lift was. "I thought you wanted Sipher stopped?¡±

    ¡°While we may want the same thing, that does not mean that I will try to protect you or even work with you.¡± Glima touched the tattoo on her right arm. "As I said, I can not help you work against him, but I can give you information to better arm yourselves.¡±

    Gesai opened her mouth, but Glima waved her hand to silence her.

    ¡°I can not give you your weapons outside of your training.¡±

    ¡°So what can you do?¡± I couldn¡¯t stop the smirk as Gesai crossed her arms and sank into her chair.

    ¡°I can tell you that he goes around collecting bunkers like this to store his illegal goods. That he keeps a wife that is bound to each one.¡± The way she said wife made it sound like an insult. "And that he works with the Nobility to help them maintain power through kidnapping, extortion, and murder.¡±

    ¡°Sylph¡­¡± Justia looked like she was about to cry. "Where are you from?¡±

    ¡°Juel is where my family is from. Sylph¡¯s father was a merchant and our caravan was attacked shortly after she was born. We had Tier Four Adventurers guarding us, but at Tier Five, none of them were a match for him. He agreed to let my daughter live if I would marry him and maintain one of his bases.¡± She shook her head. "He killed everyone else except us. That is how he tried to level, by doing the shady work for the Nobles so that Hunters would never be sent after him.¡±

    ¡°That explains how he¡¯s been wanted for so long and never been caught.¡± Gesai looked around. "Just how far does he operate? I can¡¯t imagine the Hunters on the other side¡­¡±

    ¡°The whole globe.¡± Glima cut her off. ¡°He has bunkers in Desolations all over the globe and he has mapped out which dungeons are connected, so he can travel quickly anywhere in the world.¡±

    ¡°Wait, it¡¯s all connected?¡± That news shocked me. "I mean, I knew that some of the dungeons were connected to each other, but they all are?¡±

    She nodded. "I have seen his map a few times. He has over a hundred on it.¡±

    ¡°That map would be worth a lot of money¡­¡± Gesai let the thought finish in everyone¡¯s head.

    ¡°No one knows that he has one.¡± Glima shook her head. "And those who do know are kept prisoner like me.¡±Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°So what can you do?¡± Oz rephrased her original question again. "How does any of this help us or stop him? We¡¯re just as trapped down here as you are.¡±

    Glima touched her tattoo again. "You can leave. I can not.¡±

    ¡°Okay, so you¡¯re trapped down here, but again, what do you want from us?¡± The raven-haired woman leaned forward as she tried to restructure her question again.

    ¡°I want you to know that I am not your enemy.¡± Glima looked at each of us. "And I want you to find a way to escape so that he will be stopped.¡± She stopped at Gesai. "Trent Vowler is strong enough to win. But once he becomes Tier six, he will be unstoppable.¡±

    Gesai nodded. "So we just have to find a way out of here and get a message to Trent, who is probably in the fifties of some Dungeon that we don¡¯t know exactly.¡± She shook her head. "Even if we found a way out, there¡¯s no way to get a message to Trent with these cuffs over our bands.¡±

    ¡°I can disable the cuffs while you are training.¡± Glima offered. "Though any messages you send will be duplicated to him.¡±

    ¡°Could we leave during training?¡± Justia looked hopeful.

    ¡°No.¡± Glima shook her head. "I have to reactivate the cuffs if you ever leave the training area.¡± She held up her hand before Gesai could speak. "And I am to collect your weapons even if I have to use force.¡±

    I had an idea of exactly how effective we¡¯d be against her ¡®force¡¯. I turned to Rix. "This was originally supposed to be a bunker. As in a place for Gar to hide if her city was ever under attack. I find it hard to believe that there¡¯s only one way in or out. Have you found anything?¡±

    Rix shook her head. "Not so far, but there is a lot of space to cover.¡± The redhead looked at our host. "Is there a second entrance?¡±

    Glima shook her head. "If there is, then either Sipher does not know about it or he did not tell me.¡±

    Gesai snapped her fingers. "So that¡¯s our way out. We find the backdoor.¡±

    ¡°Do you have to tell him if we leave?¡± I wondered how much time we¡¯d have if we found a way out.

    ¡°I have no orders about that.¡± Glima looked around the table. "I do not have to inform him even if none of you show up to the fighting pit. My assistance there is a luxury and if you do not wish to partake in it, then why should he be bothered every day?¡±

    ¡°Alright then¡­¡± Gesai tapped her fingers on the table. "Is there anyone else here that would work with us?¡±

    ¡°There is no one here that I would trust.¡± The bald woman shook her head. "In order to be in one of these, you must receive a similar brand.¡± She shook her head. "I do not know how compelled the others are to report to him. Which is why I cautioned you. He can not know about this.¡±

    ¡°Rix, can you get around without raising any suspicion?¡± Gesai looked at the other redhead.

    There was a part of me that was a little sad that our Shooter didn¡¯t look at me for approval before she nodded. Though thinking about it, it shouldn¡¯t have surprised me. Rix almost never asked permission before doing her thing, but somehow she was always around when I needed her. There was one more piece of information that we needed that I could think of.

    ¡°How often is he coming back?¡±

    The rest of my team looked at me, except for Jord who had been very quiet the entire time. The other man in the room was still looking at the floor like he wanted to be anywhere but here.

    ¡°Unless there is an emergency, he is not.¡± Glima¡¯s face was full of concern. "They are going to be staying in the dungeon and Farming straight through until he reaches Tier Six.¡±

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 12

    The bunk was just one of the containers on the bottom with bunk beds on the walls.

    There were seven of us and four rows of bunk beds on either side, which meant that we could each have our own without having to share.

    ¡°At least we don¡¯t have to worry about privacy...¡± Gesai¡¯s voice dripped with sarcasm.

    Rix jumped up on the top of the first bed on the right and it looked like she went right to sleep. I honestly doubted that was the case and wondered how much exploring she was going to do while the rest of us actually slept.

    ¡°I guess I¡¯m taking this one.¡± Gesai slapped the post of the bed across from the bed Rix had claimed. "And of course¡­¡±

    I turned and saw that Jord was already on the bottom of the one at the very back right and had covered himself with a blanket.

    Justia climbed on top of the bed next to Rix and settled in. Oz pointed at the one one across from it. "Ren, we¡¯ll take this one.¡±

    The blonde cast a nervous glance at Gesai. Even if the older redhead had been nice for the past few hours, it seemed like not everyone was ready to fully trust her.

    ¡°Ren, why don¡¯t you take the one under Justia?¡± I moved to the one beside the one Oz had picked and sat on the lower bed. "I can sleep here.¡±

    Ren looked at Oz for confirmation and that blackhaired woman nodded. The blonde quickly sat on the bed under our Healer.

    I tried to lay down, but the conversation from earlier still had me on edge. I wasn¡¯t sure how long it was, but it felt like hours, when Rix got up and slipped out of the container. Honestly, if I hadn¡¯t been looking for it, I probably wouldn¡¯t have even noticed. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    I started thinking about how we would proceed if we did find a way out. The first thing we would need to do was get the cuffs off of our crystal bands. Once we did that, we¡¯d be able to send a message to Trent to let him know that we were free.

    Thinking of a message got me to thinking about Ether. It¡¯d been a week since she¡¯d watch me offer myself to Sipher in exchange for Rix. I¡¯d be able to send her a message tomorrow and I started to wonder what I would say. There was so much I wanted to say, like how much I hated having to leave, but that it was the only way I could think of to save her. I wondered how she was doing and hoped that Sipher wasn¡¯t intercepting the messages to our crystal bands, because I really wanted to hear back from her.

    I started trying to think of ways that I could word things so that she would understand what I meant, but Sipher would think it was innocent. Though I couldn¡¯t imagine Sipher finding anything cryptic to be innocent. I¡¯d have to play on his ego, which meant a healthy dose of resignation about how trapped we were.

    At some point while trying to think about how to craft a code, I fell asleep.

    I woke up to Justia shaking me. ¡°Atlas!¡±

    I rubbed my eyes as I sat up. It looked like we were the only two in the bunker, which surprised me because I would have thought that Jord would have stayed until the very last minute.

    ¡°Where is everyone?¡± I yawned as I stood up.

    ¡°They¡¯ve already eaten and headed out to the training area.¡± She handed me a ration bar.

    I stretched. "Why didn¡¯t anyone wake me up?¡±

    ¡°Rix said you were up really late last night and that we should let you sleep as late as possible.¡± Justia headed for the door. "We thought about letting you skip today, but I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d appreciate that.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡± I tore into the ration bar. It¡¯d been over two weeks since I¡¯d eaten one and they were just as bland as I remembered. "When we get these things deactivated." I tapped on the cuff. "Are you going to send Aelin a message?¡±

    Justia looked scared. I felt a little bad about putting her on the spot, but it was just the two of us, so I thought it''d be okay.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want Sipher to see it.¡± The brunette finally admitted as we neared building four.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± I put my hand on her shoulder. "I¡¯ll make a group message.¡± It was the best way I could think of to add the most variables so that Sipher would dismiss it. I knew Ether would have liked a private message, but I also knew she was logical enough to understand.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± Justia smiled for a brief moment before walking through the open door.

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 13

    It was built for fighting.

    I¡¯d heard about the Adventure Games where monsters were brought out of the dungeon for people to fight. I¡¯d always wondered how the monsters had been brought out of the dungeon, but now I knew. There were cages all around the outside of the building, with seats on the second layer above them. There were stairs up to the second floor on either side right as I walked through the door.

    ¡°Decided to make an entrance?¡± Gesai didn¡¯t turn to look at me while she was watching the others fight. ¡°Justia, you might want to heal some of them.¡± She finally turned to look at me. "Go to Glima to get your cuff unlocked, then get in there.¡± She turned back towards the fighting. "That¡¯s not what I said! Jord, you cast AFTER Oz backs up!¡±

    I looked at what they were fighting since the second floor provided a better vantage. The monster that they were fighting was a Giant Crab. Granted, it was only about three feet tall, but its pincers were almost two feet, which would hurt a lot if you got nabbed by them. Oz was trying to parry the claws while Jord threw ice shards at it. Ren was standing in the back looking at Gesai for instruction, but the redhaired teacher wasn¡¯t aware of her lack of orders.

    I walked over to Glima and held out my left arm. ¡°Could you turn this thing off so I can go help them?¡±

    The bald woman nodded and waved her hand over the cuff. It glowed a deep red, then the light dimmed. I touched the black crystal under it and a menu came up, allowing me access to all of my stored items and abilities.

    ¡°Here is your armor and weapons.¡± Glima held out her left arm and transferred my items to me. "If you try to leave this building before I seal your cuff, I will have to bring you back with force.¡± The older woman warned.

    ¡°Gotcha.¡± I pulled out my leather armor and began slipping into it. "Are we going to have to take these off and give them back too?¡±

    She looked over my armor and thought for a minute. "You may keep your armor.¡±

    ¡°Thanks!¡± I looked back at the fight. It wasn¡¯t going very well and Gesai was getting frustrated about not being able to help. It probably didn¡¯t help that she only had a four-man team, which reminded me. Rix wasn¡¯t here.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    I decided that was a question for later as I jumped over the rail. ¡°Gesai! Where¡¯s the crystal?¡± I looked up at my current teacher.

    ¡°By the Gods, I don¡¯t know! I¡¯ve never fought something like this before!¡± The redhead clenched her fists. "OZ! You have to counterattack when it swings, not after it''s done! Jord! What is up with that weak ice?!¡±

    I gripped my SnakeBlade bone sword with both hands. Ether or Rix would be great to have right now, but neither of them were here. I looked at the monster, there were some obvious differences, but it kind of reminded me of a tailless scorpion like the one Oz had been fighting when I first met her.

    ¡°Gesai!¡± I looked back at the frustrated redhead.

    ¡°WHAT?!¡± Her eyes told me that she was about to start hitting something and I didn¡¯t want to be the thing she was looking at when she unleashed her frustration.

    ¡°If that thing was a tailless scorpion, how would you kill it?¡±

    ¡°IT¡¯S¡­¡± Her voice trailed off as she turned her head to the side. "Cut off a pincer, then stab it in the head through the mouth.¡±

    ¡°Let''s try that?¡±

    ¡°Fine¡­¡± Her frustration subsided a little. "Oz! Back off and let our Caster here take the aggro¡­ JORD STOP SHOOTING AT THE THING! CAN¡¯T YOU TELL I¡¯M GIVING ORDERS?!?!¡±

    The Noble Caster bowed his head and hid behind the walkway lip.

    ¡°Ren! Buff her weapon. Justia! Be ready to heal Atlas if he messes up!¡±

    I shook my head. As fast as I was, I could probably take off an arm by myself, but I had one of the world¡¯s most dangerous men¡¯s wives looking at me. As much as she claimed to be helping us, I had no doubt that she would sell me out if she thought it would buy her and her daughter¡¯s freedom. I would play it safe and not show off exactly what I could do.

    I pointed my left hand at the monster and made a finger gun. ¡°Electric Shot!¡±

    Two small charges shot out of the tip of my finger and washed over the monster. I hadn¡¯t expected it to do damage, so that wasn¡¯t a surprise. But it had drawn the monster¡¯s attention like I had wanted.

    I began backing up, leading it away from Oz. I heard Ren and Oz activate their skills, then Oz sliced off the monster¡¯s right arm very close to the body. The monster screamed in such a high pitch it felt like it could crack glass.

    Oz winced from the pain of the scream and I saw the monster turning with its right claw open.

    ¡°DASH!¡± I could blame it on my skills later, I shot forward and slashed at the arm. The Giant Crab¡¯s claw came off and hit Oz, but at least it didn¡¯t try to crush her.

    The raven-haired woman shook off the pain from the scream and the cut on her arm and stabbed the monster in the mouth. She had to twist her sword three times before she found the crystal and it vanished into smoke.

    I walked over and gave her a high five, then turned to our teacher. "What¡¯s next?¡±

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 14

    Giant crabs.

    We fought them until we could beat them without getting hit or having to back up to attack it a second time. Gesai started using me as an off Tank, to get in close and bait them, then take off the second pincer once Oz took off the first. We had modified our strategy to allow Ren to take the killshot, since her spear had a little more reach, allowing her to stay out of aggro, while still being in front of it to line up for the kill shot.

    That fighting style did leave Jord and Justia basically doing nothing, but I don¡¯t think either of them minded. We¡¯d been going at it until noon and when Glima hadn¡¯t summoned another one, we all looked up at her.

    ¡°It is time to eat.¡± She held out her hand. "I need your weapons.¡±

    I jogged over to Oz and held out my sword in its sheath. "Oz! Can you give this back? I want to send a message to my team while I¡¯ve got this thing unlocked.¡± I tapped on the cuff.

    Oz raised an eyebrow, but took the sword. "Sure, but don¡¯t take too long.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± I already more or less knew what I wanted to say. I just had to type it out. I sat down on the steps opposite the ones that everyone was using to get to the second floor.

    Hey! This is Atlas. I don''t have long since these messages have to be screened, but I just wanted to tell the three of you that we''re all okay. Justia said to tell that she''s been thinking about you. Rix is¡­

    I had been trying to think of something to say that would put their minds at ease, but hadn''t come up with anything.

    Being Rix¡­

    "Atlas!" Gesai waved at me. "Hurry up!"

    "One second!" This last part was probably the most important.

    Ether, I''m sorry to put you through this. I promise that I will do everything I can to get back to you with everyone safe. Know that I love you.

    I hit the send button and ran up the other stairs and held out my wrist. I could see the notice that it''d been sent before Glima locked it back and it turned into a heavy watch.

    I looked over at Justia and nodded. I''d sent it to all of us, including Trent. There wasn''t much of a hidden message except that there was possibly a way for us to get out ourselves. I''d also warned them that Sipher was reading our messages without saying that I knew he was receiving them.

    The brunette waited until everyone else had left the fighting pit to get out of her seat and walk over to me.

    "I saw that you sent it, what did you say?" She seemed nervous as we walked out of the building together.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    ¡°Yes, what was so important that it had to be said right now?¡± Oz fell into step beside us, with Ren behind her.

    I looked ahead of us. For some reason, Jord was by Glima¡¯s side, opposite of where Gesai was walking. Maybe it was because they were both Caster classes that he felt safer with our unwilling hostess? I didn¡¯t know, but at least he wasn¡¯t sulking around the corners.

    ¡°I just needed to tell everyone that we were safe and any messages they sent to us would be screened.¡±

    ¡°Smart.¡± Oz looked at Justia. "But was that really it?¡±

    ¡°I said that Justia was thinking about them and¡­¡± I felt embarrassed about the next part for some reason. By the look on Oz¡¯s face, I could tell she knew what the root of my embarrassment was, which meant I might as well say it.

    ¡°I also really needed to tell Ether that I loved her and¡­¡± I felt my face getting really hot. "That I would be coming back to her.¡±

    ¡°Awww¡­¡± Ren gushed as she put her hands together. "That¡¯s so sweet.¡±

    Oz rolled her eyes. "If you¡¯re into that kind of thing."

    ¡°You don¡¯t have anyone?¡± I looked at Ren and Oz. "Anyone who is missing you back at home?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure my parents are worried¡­¡±Ren¡¯s voice drifted off, then she snapped back to the present. ¡°I should send them a message the next time I can.¡±

    ¡°He knows our parents miss us.¡± Oz sighed and looked away. "He wants to know if there¡¯s anyone¡­¡± She paused as she searched for the right word. "Like that back home.¡±

    ¡°Oh!¡± Ren¡¯s eyes brightened as she understood, then her face fell. "No, we¡¯re both single.¡±

    ¡°It doesn''t surprise me that Oz is¡­ OW!¡± I rubbed my arm where she punched me.

    ¡°That¡¯s what you get for talking like that.¡± The raven-haired woman glared at me with her green eyes.

    ¡°And that¡¯s how I knew¡­ Okay! Okay!¡± I held up my hands as she threatened to hit me again. As soon as she lowered her hands, I turned to Ren. "But I don¡¯t understand why you¡¯re not with someone.¡±

    Ren shrugged. "Most seniors break things off before the Mantle trials. Especially the Nobles.¡± She looked over at Justia. "What if you get sent to the Cathedral like Justia did while your significant other gets left behind at the Dispatcher¡¯s Training Center?¡± She shook her head. "Long distance relationships don¡¯t tend to work out when you¡¯re in a life or death situation daily.¡± She made a face that made me shiver. "You don¡¯t want to be attached to someone on the outside when you need to release all that pent up stress after the constant adrenaline rush.¡±

    ¡°Good to know¡­¡± I took a step away from her. Ether had expressed the logic of forming a harem in order to keep my secret, but that didn¡¯t mean that I was going to add to it without her approval. ¡°I¡¯m sure you can find¡­¡± I stopped when I realized there was no good place for that sentence to go. Jord was the only other man in our circle and he didn¡¯t strike me as the type to engage in ¡®stress relief¡¯. With me also being unavailable, that meant she¡¯d have to seek companionship with the locals. Those were precisely the people we didn¡¯t want to be consorting with.

    ¡°The strength to carry on until we get out?¡± I tried to save it, which got Oz to burst into laughter.

    ¡°You were right." The raven-haired woman bumped into her cousin. "He is fun to tease.¡±

    ¡°You planned that?¡± I looked at Justia. "You helped?¡±

    The brunette Healer had a huge smile on her face. "I just worked out the details with them, not when they¡¯d do it.¡±

    I glared at the women, who were enjoying themselves at my expense.

    ¡°We knew Ren would have to do it because you would expect it from me.¡± Oz pushed my shoulder. "Which hurts¡­¡± She tried to fake being sad, but that just got her to laugh again.

    I shook my head as I tried to stop smiling. They were laughing. Even in this horrible situation, they were laughing. I could endure a little bit of embarrassment in the name of lifting team spirits.

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 15

    After the meal, we didn¡¯t go back to the fighting pit.

    Glima had something she had to take care of, so instead of fighting, Gesai had us running laps around the pyramid. After an afternoon of running, we were all ready for a good night''s sleep, but we still had dinner to get through.

    I did learn a few things after a couple hours of running. Oz could easily keep up with me, but I was only supposed to have six Speed, so I set my pace to match Justia¡¯s. Jord was so slow that everyone except Ren lapped him. I was starting to wonder why Jord was even an Adventurer. He couldn¡¯t fight and had horrible endurance. It was something I was going to have to investigate later.

    We were all almost too tired to eat when we sat down at the table. Glima looked flustered, but she was a graceful host, but there were no discussions of our potential escape. As we made our way down to the bunk, Rix moved close to me and whispered. "I need you to follow me.¡±

    I stopped and looked at the rest of the group. Jord, Ren, and Gesai were already inside and Justia had stopped at the door.

    Oz was looking at the two of us and she walked over. "Something going on?¡±

    I looked at Rix. We¡¯d gotten Oz¡¯s attention and she¡¯d try to follow even if we went in and tried to slip out later. The redhead shrugged.

    I turned to Justia. "Cover for us.¡±

    Our brunette Healer nodded and shut the door behind her.

    ¡°Come on.¡± Rix took off towards the Warehouse.

    I thought it was strange that we were going there, but Rix thought it was important, so I followed her lead. The only problem was that I had to move at full speed to keep up with her, which meant that Oz could tell just how fast I really was. I could see the surprise on her face, but she kept quiet as we reached the warehouse, which was locked.

    Rix spent a few moments on the side door, then it was open. She motioned for us to come inside.

    The inside looked completely different from yesterday. The empty warehouse was now full of crates and boxes. Which was strange enough, because I wouldn¡¯t have thought that they would still be doing business with Sipher in the Dungeon, but I guessed the world still had to run.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    But the most interesting thing was that there were two people in the cage that had been our home for the last few days.

    ¡°SOMEBODY!?!¡± An old, gray-haired man was yelling. "SOMEBODY HELP US!?!¡±

    There was a woman, about the age of Glima, sitting against the cage. She had black hair and was dressed in fine dark blue silk with silver trim, just like the older man. She looked like she was crying, but it was hard to tell from our hiding place.

    ¡°Kidnapping victims?¡± Oz whispered as she peeked around the corner.

    Rix nodded. "To be ransomed, no doubt.¡± She touched the crates. "These will have to be moved out at some point as well. It could be our way out.¡±

    There were definitely enough boxes that would hold us. ¡°We all wouldn¡¯t be able to get out this way though. I have a feeling that if they can¡¯t see at least one of us, then they¡¯d lock down the whole place until they found us.¡±

    The redheaded Shooter nodded. "That was what I thought as well. Whoever stays behind would be treated as horribly as they possibly could get away with without violating the agreement.¡±

    I had to agree.

    ¡°But we could get most of us out.¡± Oz sounded excited.

    I slipped over to where I could open a crate without alerting the captive who was still screaming. The easiest crate I could tease the lid off of was full of fine cloth. The next one was filled to the brim with crystals, and the one after that had weapons of all types. We would have a hard time hiding all the things in the crates that we would need to use.

    I walked out of the warehouse so that we could talk more freely.

    ¡°This could be our way out!¡± Oz was barely keeping herself from bouncing.

    ¡°I don¡¯t see it.¡± I looked at Rix. "It¡¯s going to be difficult enough to empty one of those crates to get someone out, but two or three?¡¯ I shook my head. "That¡¯s pushing it.¡±

    ¡°But it could be done!¡± The raven-haired woman wasn¡¯t going to let her hope vanish.

    ¡°Yes, but who gets to leave?¡± I looked at her. "You? Would you really leave Justia and Ren here to face the retribution?¡±

    Her face fell as she realized the complexity of the situation.

    ¡°So you take them with you, but that¡¯s all that can go. There is also an unknown because we don¡¯t even know where those crates are going, but let¡¯s say that it¡¯s somewhere you can escape from.¡± I pointed towards the lift. "Whoever goes is going to have to be able to take on whatever guards you run into either when you¡¯re discovered because they are unpacking the crates, or when you try to escape whatever building they put you in.¡± I shook my head. "Which means Gesai would have to go with you, so which one are you leaving here?¡±

    ¡°I get it okay.¡± Oz waved for me to stop. "It¡¯s a bad idea.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not a horrible one.¡± I shook my head. "It just needs a lot more information.¡± I turned to Rix.

    ¡°Already on it.¡± The Redhead gave me a nod and then vanished.

    ¡°How does she do that?¡± Oz was looking around, trying to see where the other woman went.

    I shrugged as I started walking back towards the bunker. "Rix is Rix.¡±

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 16

    Rix was at practice the next day.

    When I saw her waiting for us, I wasn¡¯t surprised because she had beaten us there. I was surprised that she was there in the first place.

    The redhead smiled broadly as everyone else walked into the fighting pit. I stayed behind, so that the two of us could go in together.

    ¡°The old man is Yhan Plere and he is with his only daughter Neme.¡± Rix began to report. "He¡¯s level thirty five and she¡¯s twenty eight.¡± She walked up to Glima to get her cuff deactivated.

    I was right behind her and as we walked down the steps she whispered. "Just like the weapons.¡±

    I got what she was insinuating, then realized that she wasn¡¯t asking for permission. Now the reason why she was at training made sense. She needed an alibi for the captive¡¯s prison break.

    ¡°Today we will do something more challenging.¡± Glima wove her hands and two monsters appeared in the middle of the pit.

    The first looked like a lizard with frills around its neck. It was tan with brown speckles and its eyes focused on us immediately.

    The second was a large cat. Both monsters¡¯ shoulders were just over two feet high, so they weren¡¯t large except when compared to their animal originals. The cat began stalking to the side as the lizard opened its mouth.

    ¡°DUST LIZARD!¡± I gave the warning just before Gesai did.

    Rix flicked the blade out of her weapon and veered off towards the cat.

    ¡°DASH!¡± I sped into Oz and grabbed on to her as I moved out of the sand shooting out of the Dust Lizard¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°You good?¡± I brushed myself off. I might not have been hit, but there was still dust everywhere.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

    The raven-haired woman nodded as Gesai started shouting orders.

    ¡°Ren! Buff Rix! Justia! Keep an eye on Rix in case she needs healing. Oz! Atlas! That lizard is fast and can shoot again quickly, but it doesn¡¯t have any teeth. As long as you can avoid its breath and claws, it''s harmless. Get in close and take off its head.¡± Our teacher looked at the man standing close to Glima. "Jord¡­ Just stay there.¡±

    I wondered how this monster would deal with electricity, so as it planted its feet to prepare for a second blast, I pointed my finger at its open mouth. "Earth Shot! Electric Shot!¡±

    The first two projectiles went down its throat, which prompted it to close it before shooting its breath at us again. The two arcs of electricity caused it to hop to the side. I changed the grip on my sword, but Oz beat me to it.

    ¡°Quickdraw!¡± The raven-haired woman zipped forward and sliced at the lizards neck. Since the monster was already in motion, it couldn¡¯t correct itself, which had left it wide open. Oz¡¯s blade cut cleanly through the neck, reducing it to smoke.

    ¡°How about¡­¡± I looked over at Rix to see that the redhead had finished her monster and was putting her weapon away. ¡°Showoff.¡±

    Rix shrugged and turned to the Summoner. "Do you have any bosses?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not doing bosses until the five of you can work better as a team in a crisis.¡± Gesai looked at the older woman for support. Glima just nodded.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s work on that.¡± Rix began stretching.

    The next pair of monsters appeared in the pit, but before we could fight them, there was an explosion. Glima dismissed the monsters with a wave of her hand.

    ¡°Weapons. Now.¡± The bald woman took Jord¡¯s weapon and jumped into the ring.

    I barely had time to take off the sheath of my sword before she stored it in her crystal band. There was a second explosion as she rushed to the door. "Stay here.¡± It sounded like she locked the door after she went through it.

    I looked at Rix, who gave me her best innocent look.

    ¡°What are we going to do?¡± Ren walked over to Oz and grabbed her arm.

    Rix pointed up. "There¡¯s no roof, so I¡¯m going to watch.¡± She looked at me. "You coming?¡±

    I started to, but then realized something. Glima had taken our weapons, but she hadn¡¯t sealed out cuffs. I looked at my crystal band display. It read 1 new message.

    I waved for her to go on. "I¡¯ll be there once I mess with this.¡± I held up my crystal band.

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 17

    My heart was trying to beat its way out of my chest.

    I was both excited and dreading the contents of the message. There was a part of me that wanted to pretend I hadn¡¯t seen it and follow Rix, Oz, and Gesai up on the roof to see whatever was happening. If it was bad news, then I didn¡¯t want to read it, but there was a chance it was good news. The only way that I¡¯d know was if I opened it.

    I clicked the message and saw that it was from Ether.

    Atlas, Mister Vowler said that you wouldn¡¯t be coming back until the end of the semester. Aelin, Fray, and I have been brought back to the Cathedral and Miss Hayz Calx, who is teaching the Yellow team has taken over our lessons while you¡¯re gone. We can¡¯t really go into the dungeon so we¡¯re mainly just having class in the afternoons. Aelin said to tell Justia and everyone else hi and that she¡¯s thinking about them a lot and to¡­ No I¡¯m not sending that. He¡¯s in danger and doesn¡¯t need to worry about that right now. I don¡¯t care who he¡¯s with, wait¡­ is this thing sending the message as I speak? How do you erase that? Aelin now look at what you¡¯ve done¡­

    Sorry about that part. Aelin is bored and worried about everyone like we all are. Just come back to us whole okay? I love you too.

    I smiled at Aelin being up to her usual antics. I started to type out a reply when Oz yelled at me from the roof.

    ¡°Atlas! You¡¯ve got to come see this!¡±

    I closed the display and ran up the stairs and used the back of one of the seats to climb on the roof where everyone except Jord was sitting.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    The old man from the night before was out and wreaking havoc on the other shipping containers. He¡¯d pilfered a sword from out of the weapon cache and gotten his cuff off somehow, which was allowing him to use his skills. From where we were sitting, I could tell he¡¯d already killed a few of the Bandits who were in the bunk who had tried to stop him. The guard from the lift had just arrived as Glima started summoning monsters.

    The monsters she summoned weren¡¯t level one or two, but instead, larger and nasTier versions. A cat that looked like its body was made out of pure electricity started stalking the man, while a water snake attacked him directly. A bat with frost falling off of it began spitting hail at him.

    The Nobleman destroyed the bat with a ball of fire, then closed the distance on the snake and reduced it to smoke with a single slash.

    The guard launched himself at the Noble and the two began trading blows as they swung their swords at each other. They were moving so fast, I could tell that they were so much higher in level, Power, and Speed than I was.

    Gesai seemed like she was itching to join the fight, but one look at us caused her to sit back down.

    ¡°Where did he come from?¡± Justia looked at Rix.

    ¡°He¡¯s a kidnapping victim like us.¡± I cut off the answer that Rix would have given. "Getting him locked up in the Warehouse was probably what Glima was doing yesterday afternoon.¡±

    ¡°Do you think he can win?¡± Ren was biting her nails with excitement.

    ¡°Against those two¡­¡± I didn¡¯t know what to say.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Gesai finished the answer that I didn¡¯t have. "He is fighting for his freedom, his life. While the other two are just fighting to keep him contained.¡±

    I had to admit, by the number of dead Bandits he¡¯d already taken care of, I was inclined to agree with her. There was just one thing bothering me.

    ¡°What happens if the person who captured him in the first place is still here?¡±

    Rix looked at me and I could see in her face that she hadn¡¯t made sure that Yhan was the highest level person here when she let him out.

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 18

    We had another problem.

    Jord was gone.

    The young Nobleman must have seen a chance to slip out during the confusion and taken it.

    ¡°What do we do?¡± Ren was looking around from the roof.

    ¡°I don¡¯t see him anywhere.¡± I looked at Rix. "Did you see him leave?¡±

    The redheaded Shooter shook her head. I could see in her face that she was mentally kicking herself for missing something else.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to go look for him.¡± Gesai moved to the edge of the roof.

    ¡°WAIT!¡± I rushed forward to grab her arm. "If that man wins, then we¡¯ll have plenty of time to look for him.¡± I hated what I was suggesting, but it was the smart play. "But if he loses, then we don¡¯t know how you¡¯ll be punished for leaving the building.¡±

    Gesai pulled against my arm, but considering that she could have broken my hold on her if she¡¯d wanted, I knew I¡¯d gotten through to her.

    ¡°Fine.¡± Gesai sat down. "The old lady seemed to like him, so maybe he¡¯ll be okay.¡±

    There was a flash of light as Yhan leveled up. The lift guard fell into two pieces as the Nobleman turned his full attention to Glima.

    ¡°Do you think we should tell him not to kill her?¡± Justia looked at me.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

    ¡°Do you think he¡¯d listen?¡± I hated that two potential allies were fighting to the death, but there was no way that a level three like myself was going to go in between them and get them to stop fighting.

    I looked around the bunker and spotted Jord making his way onto the now unguarded lift. I started to say something, but realized Rix must have seen what I saw, but didn¡¯t say anything for some reason.

    I moved over to her. "What do you see that I don¡¯t?¡± I whispered. I didn¡¯t want to alert the others, because if they thought they could get to the lift unimpeded, I assumed most of them would try.

    Rix nodded at three Bandits that swarmed the lift before it could make its way to the surface. I winced as Jord got overpowered like he was a blade of grass and dragged out of sight.

    ¡°Should we try to help him?¡± I doubted we¡¯d be able to do anything, but still, it felt wrong to not do anything.

    Rix shook her head and pointed at the newest challenger.

    So far, Glima had been able to keep Yhan off of her, but she was losing ground. This new Bandit began walking towards the fight with as much concern on his face as he would have had for a pair of children wrestling.

    ¡°By the Gods¡­¡± Gesai saw him and started backing up. ¡°He¡¯s here?!¡±

    ¡°Who?¡± I looked from Rix to Gesai.

    ¡°Whisper Err.¡± Oz answered for them. She began to back away from the edge as well. "He¡¯s on the top ten most wanted criminals in the world.¡±

    ¡°And Sipher is?¡± I tried to get a point of reference.

    ¡°Number two.¡± Gesai¡¯s voice was full of fear that hadn¡¯t been there a few moments before. ¡°He¡¯s at least Tier Four, which means that guy doesn¡¯t have a chance.¡±

    The handsome blonde outlaw began weaving his hands and a half ring of ice shot away from him, freezing Yhan from the knees down.

    The Noble began hacking at the ice, but without mobility, there was nowhere for him to run as Whisper walked up to him and took the sword out of his hands.

    The outlaw stabbed the Noble through the chest with the sword and turned to Glima. He said something that we couldn¡¯t hear, but what it meant to us was clear.

    Our chance to escape had just vanished.

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 19

    Glima brought us over to the dying Noble.

    She had restricted our cuffs the moment she came back into the Pit, then walked us over to our would-be rescuer. While we were silently waiting for instruction, some Bandits brought Jord over as others showed up with Neme.

    Jord had one eye swollen shut, bruises and cuts all over his body and it looked like a hand was broken.

    The black-haired woman looked in much better condition, until she saw her father. She started screaming and trying to reach him, but the Bandits escorting her, kept her in place.

    Whisper turned to look at all of us. "This boy freed the prisoners and tried to escape.¡± He kicked Jord, which made us all wince. "If it were up to me, there would be a much more final punishment, but it is not.¡±

    I swallowed, but didn¡¯t dare look at Rix. They thought Jord had been behind it, which meant they wouldn¡¯t look into it any further.

    He pointed at us. "If any of you attempt this in the future, I may not be able to restrain myself.¡± The blonde man turned to the screaming woman. "If you do not shut up right now, then I will slice your throat so you can¡¯t.¡±

    Her screams vanished, instead feeding the hate in her eyes.

    ¡°Good, now¡­¡± He motioned to Glima. "I can show you what is in store for the next person who tries to escape with this volunteer.¡±

    The bald woman set her jaw as she stepped up and pulled the sword out of the dying man. In a single swift motion, she cut off his head. Light shone off of her for a moment.

    Neme couldn¡¯t hold back the screams as she tried to get to her dead father, frozen upright like a headless scarecrow.

    ¡°You MONSTER!¡± she strained against her captors.

    Whisper was in front of her, somehow moving almost twenty feet in the blink of an eye. He thumped her on the head and she went limp.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°Get her back in her cage.¡± The blonde outlaw turned to Glima. "An example and you got to level.¡± Whisper clapped as he looked at us. "I hope I don¡¯t need to demonstrate any further?¡± When none of us moved, he waved at us. "Then get your friend and get to wherever Sipher has you holed up.¡±

    We were all too stunned to move.

    ¡°NOW!¡± That single word from him motivated us. Gesai picked up Jord and cradled him close to her as we all hurried to the bunks.

    Once inside, Justia shut the door while Gesai laid the moaning man in an unclaimed bed. As much as he was bleeding, it was probably best that he not mess up a bed that someone would be sleeping in.

    Rix was on her bed, sitting on her knees and watching Gesai try to use healing magic that was sealed by the cuff on her arm.

    Justia was tearing strips out of a sheet to dress the wounds while Ren kept asking what she could do to help.

    Oz grabbed my arm and laid her head on my shoulder. "We¡¯re not getting out of here are we?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll get out of here.¡± I tried to assure her.

    She didn¡¯t look convinced as she walked over to her bed and pulled the covers over her head.

    We didn¡¯t get lunch or dinner. Either Glima forgot about us, we were being punished, or she was waiting for us to come out. I didn¡¯t know, but I wasn¡¯t very hungry anyway.

    Jord finally stopped moaning about bedtime and after an afternoon of feeling helpless, I laid down in my bed waiting for sleep that I knew wouldn¡¯t come anytime soon.

    About two hours after the lights were turned out, Oz got up and sat down on the edge of my bed.

    ¡°Atlas, are you awake?¡± Her voice was almost so quiet that I couldn¡¯t hear it.

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°Ren is sleeping with Justia¡­¡±

    That was something I hadn¡¯t realized, but I could understand. The two of them had been working together most of the afternoon. And Ren struck me as the kind of person that wouldn¡¯t want to be alone after seeing something traumatic like that.

    ¡°...So can I get in bed with you?¡±

    That, I hadn¡¯t been expecting. If anything, I would have thought that she¡¯d try to crawl in bed with Justia and Ren, but these beds were about as wide as the ones in the RV, so fitting three people in one would be almost impossible.

    ¡°You know I¡¯m with someone?¡± I tried not to let Aelin¡¯s voice say something perverted in my head.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want anything sexual. I just¡­¡± I thought I might have heard a sob. "I just don¡¯t want to be alone right now.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± I started to scoot over.

    Oz grabbed my arm as she laid down on her side and pulled it tight against her chest with both hands. She squeezed close to me. I could feel her body trembling as she silently cried.

    After a few more hours, the trembling stopped and her breathing normalized. She¡¯d finally fallen asleep and it wasn¡¯t long before I followed suit.

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 20

    They were going to make him heal naturally.

    It was a very Mundane way to heal. With the Nobles, they either had someone in the family with a heal spell, or they could pay for the service from a Clinic. The Mundane on the other hand, they had to spend All on other things like food, clothing, or housing. With how little they could earn, there wasn¡¯t left over for luxuries like a Noble Healer when a Mundane one was expensive enough.

    I assumed Whisper thought it would be a good way to deter any of the rest of us from trying anything like that.

    We were kept locked in the bunk for three days. That was three days with Gesai and Justia both hating themselves for having the magic to heal Jord, but not being able to use it. Three days of Ren staring at him while unable to do anything at all. And three days were Rix never left her bed. I¡¯m not even sure if she ate or not. She just sat on her bed and stared out towards the Warehouse, which we couldn¡¯t see because there were no windows in the bunk.

    Oz was still in shock. Her usually confident demeanor shaken by a raw display of just how helpless and at their mercy we were.

    It had been one thing to watch Sipher attack us. Nothing had fazed him, but he had been a nameless threat coming towards us. We¡¯d fought back and lost, but all we¡¯d really lost was our freedom. So far, we hadn¡¯t been too mistreated. So while it was disorienting, we all had hope that it would be over in a few months and then it would all just be a bad memory.

    When Yhan had broken out, that hope had gone from weeks away to right now. And when Whisper had killed him, he¡¯d not just killed that hope, but also tainted any hope in the future. Now to even think about leaving had the memory of the execution as well as the broken body of one of our own tied to it. As well as the wonder of who might have to pay the price next time.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    I knew that Rix and I were the only two who knew what had really happened. I had no doubt that the redhead had worked something out so that however they¡¯d gotten out would seem like an accident or sheer luck. That there wouldn¡¯t be any further examples made, but I could see her going through everything in her head, replaying the angles about what she could have done differently.

    Personally, I didn¡¯t know what to do. Nothing I felt comfortable saying in front of everyone was able to reach Rix, and I wasn¡¯t going to out her in front of everyone. I had a feeling Oz would have found an outlet for everything she was feeling and I couldn¡¯t afford for a fight between the two of them in such a small space even if Gesai could break it up.

    So I sat on my bed and tried not to let my mind wander too much. After that first night, Ren and Oz had been sharing a bed at night, so I didn¡¯t have to worry about the feelings of guilt getting any worse. I knew that it had been nothing more than a platonic moment of comfort, but I couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that I needed to confess. I started playing out the situation and while I couldn¡¯t imagine spending a vulnerable moment like that with Gesai, or even Rix, I found myself not able to imagine feeling guilty if it had been Justia or Ren that had been the one to seek the security instead.

    Maybe it was because I knew nothing more would ever happen with Justia and I wasn¡¯t sure why Ren felt safe, until I made the realization of why I felt guilty about Oz. It was because there was a part of me that wanted something to happen.

    I knew that it was something I wouldn¡¯t be able to act on until after I talked to Ether. It didn¡¯t matter if I was here with Oz, I would easily choose Ether even if I had to wait a year.

    I pushed the thoughts down. It was something to talk about once we were out of this situation.

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 21

    ¡°Whisper is gone.¡±

    It was all Glima said as she opened the door to our bunk after the three days and motioned for us to come out. She caught Gesai¡¯s arm and shook her head as the rest of us walked out. The older woman shut the door behind the two.

    ¡°What do you think they¡¯re doing?¡± Oz looked at me.

    I looked into her green eyes. "I have no idea.¡±

    ¡°HEY!¡± Sylph was at the top of the pyramid and waving for us to come up. "Breakfast is getting cold!¡±

    I had to poke Rix to get her to come back to reality. The redhead was staring in the direction of the Warehouse. I knew she wanted to go see if Neme was still there, but now was definitely not the time to go exploring.

    ¡°Rix, come on.¡± I poked her again.

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    I pointed at the others, who had already started climbing towards the top of the Pyramid. "Food. Move.¡±

    I gave her a light push and she started moving towards the stairs, but she was still in a daze.

    The food was delicious, much better than the meager rations we¡¯d been eating since the incident. We ate mostly in silence, though I could tell that Sylph wanted to talk, but she could read the room enough to know that none of us were really in the right frame of mind for it.

    The two older women showed up just as Sylph had started to clear off the table. Jord walked in behind them.

    ¡°You¡¯re okay!¡± Justia was the only one to speak, but I saw a smile on Ren¡¯s face and relief on Oz¡¯s. Rix was still just stunned, going through the motions and nodded as the three of them sat down.

    ¡°Glima thinks he learned an important lesson and that he¡¯d been punished enough.¡± Gesai announced as she accepted a plate of food from Sylph.

    The blonde Noble just smiled and waved away the offered plate.

    ¡°Jord, you need to eat something, even if it¡¯s not much.¡± Gesai nodded at the plate. "Healing like that takes a lot out of you. If you don¡¯t eat, then your body will start breaking down.¡±

    Jord nodded and took the plate. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    ¡°Is Whisper going to be back?¡± The silence was unnerving and I thought that it was best to ask the question that everyone was fearing.

    ¡°No. There was an issue in Vefe that required his attention and it will be a long time before that can be resolved.¡± Glima looked around the table. "The accident has left the bunker understaffed.¡± She paused, ¡°Rather than continue to do business, I thought it prudent to lock the door.¡± She tapped the crystal band on her arm. "I have full control of the door now. The few who are left are gathering their things and leaving in the next few days for other sites.¡±

    That posed a very interesting opportunity.

    Justia opened her mouth, then closed it when Glima held up her hand.

    ¡°I can not open the door for you.¡± Her eyes narrowed as her voice issued a warning. "And I am the only one who can operate this device.¡±

    ¡°But what you¡¯re saying is that in a few days we¡¯ll be able to go basically wherever we want in here?¡± I looked at Rix, hoping that she¡¯d perk up at having free reign to explore. "Without having to worry about running into someone?¡±

    Glima just inclined her head in a single nod. ¡°We need to talk about your class schedule.¡±

    I tuned her out as she began going over details with Gesai. I got up and almost pulled Rix out of her chair as I walked towards the exit.

    ¡°We¡¯ll be outside.¡± I spoke soft enough not to interrupt, but loud enough for the others to hear me.

    Rix got up and followed me out the door.

    Once we were outside, Rix said her first unprompted word.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve got to get you over this.¡± I gestured at all of her. "Because we need you to be¡­¡± I tried, but I couldn¡¯t come up with a single word. "...Rix.¡±

    The redhead shook her head. "I made a mistake.¡± She looked out at the Warehouse. "I should have thought about there being a high level person here. I should have investigated more.¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t put the sword in his hand.¡± I pointed at the Warehouse. "Yes, you could have guessed the chain of events, but Neme didn¡¯t pick up a weapon.¡± I closed my eyes. "Gesai said a few days ago the reason why she attacked Sipher when he came to kidnap us was because she would rather have died fighting an unwinnable battle than died standing still.¡± I opened my eyes and looked at her. I hoped she wouldn''t point out the flaw in what I was about to say. "You presented him with the option to die on his feet and he took it. If Whisper hadn¡¯t been here, then we would all probably be free. Is what happened tragic? Yes, but you can¡¯t claim full responsibility. Learn what you can and move forward.¡±

    She looked back at the container we¡¯d just left. "But Jord¡­¡±

    ¡°Jord did that to himself and has only himself to blame.¡± I grabbed her hands and turned her to look at me. "We were all given the same order. We stayed and he tried to run without us.¡± There was anger seeping into my voice. "We didn¡¯t try to sneak out in the crates because of what might happen to the people left behind. He didn¡¯t think about anyone but himself and got what he deserved.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡±

    I grabbed her cheeks with both hands to keep her from looking away. ¡°We have a chance in the next few days to find the exit, but for that we need you.¡± I moved to follow her brown eyes. "So go to whatever place you have to go to so we can have back the Rix we know and love. Then you can go back to brooding once we¡¯re free if you want.¡±

    She nodded slowly, so I let her go. I took a step back and pointed with my thumb over my shoulder.

    ¡°How about we go back inside and talk about what our next move is?¡±

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 22

    We were doing monster pairs again.

    This time, instead of different monsters, we had three of the same one.

    ¡°On event floors, you can run into multiple monsters. You need to learn how to deal with that!¡± Gesai pointed at the large canines growling at us.

    ¡°This would be so much better if we had a Tank!¡± I shifted the grip on my sword.

    ¡°Behind us.¡±

    Rix¡¯s warning came as soon as the two in front of us charged. I knew she was heading to deal with them and Justia was behind us with Ren. Between the three of them, they should be able to handle a large canine.

    Oz shot forward and slashed, knocking the one on our left over. She was past the other one, and it changed direction just a hair, which let me know that I hadn¡¯t been the original target. It slowed down and started to growl as it began to circle towards my right.

    I pointed my free hand at it. ¡°Bind.¡±

    Two vines lashed out of the ground and wrapped themselves around it, locking it in place. Oz had finished hers off and killed the one I¡¯d restrained with a single stroke.

    I turned around and saw Rix wrapping her chainsword back up.

    ¡°Very good!¡± Gesai clapped her hands. "The canines tend to show up in packs, and just because you¡¯re in an Uncommon dungeon doesn¡¯t mean that you can''t run into two spawns.¡±

    ¡°This is all good, but what are we really learning from fighting the mobs?¡± I looked at the others on my team. Jord was up in the seats as usual, except today he didn¡¯t look quite as scared. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°You learn how to fight the mobs because they teach you about the floor boss.¡± The redheaded teacher glared at me.

    ¡°When are we going to fight the floor bosses then?¡± I wanted to do something more than something we could do on autopilot. I wanted people to have to think. To have to focus. I knew that they weren¡¯t in the best frame of mind right now, but doing something that would let their minds wander was just going to take them down a dark path. They needed something that they could focus on and something that would feel like a win.

    ¡°We¡¯ve fought Giant Crabs, a Dust Lizard, some type of cat, and the canine just now.¡± I shrugged. "Is there a floor boss out of all four, or are you just trying to give us busy work?¡±

    ¡°Let me see that.¡± Gesai leaned over and started flipping through the book. "Give them that one.¡±

    Glima raised an eyebrow. "You are sure?¡±

    Our teacher looked us over and stopped on me. I nodded. I had no clue what she was going to do, but I knew even if it was too much for us, she¡¯d pull us out before it really hurt somebody.

    ¡°Do it.¡± Gesai didn¡¯t take her eyes off of me.

    A single gray canine that looked like the one we¡¯d just fought appeared in front of us. Except this one was four feet tall at the shoulder instead of just over two. It growled and two more normal sized versions appeared beside it.

    The larger one howled and it felt like I was being shaken down to my bones. My entire body felt weaker as the howl ended and the two little canines began to circle us.

    I pointed at the boss. "BIND!¡± Vines restrained it, keeping it from moving very far, but it did have some back and forth leeway.

    ¡°Take care of the little ones! Watch out for a breath attack!¡± I moved to the side just a little and jabbed my sword at where its heart should be.

    My sword felt like it had just tried to stab steel. I had been expecting give, so the force of the blow pushed my sword up into the air.

    ¡°Crab hide!¡± I tried to bring my blade down when I saw the boss¡¯s fur stand on end. The hairs were actually spines that cut through my bindings. Before I could warn anyone, it shoulder-checked me.

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 23

    I got my arms up in time.

    I had to drop my sword, but I got both arms in front of my chest and face as thousands of tiny needles jabbed me.

    I don¡¯t think the attack would have been lethal, but it definitely could have put an eye out, which was something that I didn¡¯t care to experience.

    I was pulled forward as it yanked the needles out, which I realized were actually barbs, because it felt like most of the inside of my arms up to my elbows was being torn off.

    Without my hands to catch myself, I went down to my knees. The boss turned, its giant maw open and hungering for my head. I tucked and rolled out of the way.

    ¡°DASH!¡± I jumped to my feet and moved out of range of the second bite.

    I met back up in the middle of the pit.

    ¡°Do you see why learning all about the floor monsters is important?¡± Gesai taunted from the stands.

    ¡°We haven¡¯t seen the needle fur!¡± I looked under the boss where my sword had fallen. "How are we supposed to know about that?¡±

    She bobbed her head. "Fair enough. So how are you going to deal with it?¡±

    ¡°I thought coaching us was your job!¡±

    I had my spells, but fire and earth weren¡¯t going to do much judging by how little they had worked against the Giant Crabs. Electric Shot stunned them a little, but it wasn¡¯t going to do any long term damage.

    ¡°How did you beat the doggos?¡± Gesai prompted.

    ¡°We stabbed them in the heart!¡± Oz looked at her sword. "But our weapons can¡¯t pierce their sides.¡±A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    ¡°Okay, then how did you beat the Giant Crabs?¡±

    ¡°We stabbed them in the mouth¡­¡± I had an idea. ¡°Rix, lock a little one down with your chain. Oz, stab it once it¡¯s down. Ren, buff her weapon, she¡¯s going to need it. I¡¯ll keep the other two off of you, and Justia...¡± I rubbed my healed arms. "Thanks.¡±

    The redheaded Shooter whipped her sword-chain at the canine on our right, wrapping the chain around its neck and pulling it off its feet. I trusted that they¡¯d be able to pull off the rest of the fight and focused on the other two.

    The boss saw our shift in personnel and began moving to intercept them. I pointed my fingers at the boss and the other little one. ¡°Electric Shot!¡±

    Their muscles tightened, keeping them from moving fast, but only slowing them down. But that was all I was trying to do. I moved both finger guns to the boss and aimed for its eyes. "Earth Shot! Fire Shot!¡± The boss moved its head as it turned its attention towards me instead.

    At that point, I had managed to get in between the rest of the group and the boss, while the other little one had almost gotten around me.

    ¡°Got it!¡± Oz announced.

    ¡°Get the next one!¡± I thought about making a run for my sword, but the way things were shaking out, I wasn¡¯t going to be the one going for the kill shot, so having something in my hands was just going to complicate my ability to irritate it.

    ¡°BIND!¡± I tethered it again. While I couldn¡¯t have two of them up at once, it would keep the boss from using the pounce attack I had seen the mob canines use earlier.

    The boss strained and tore through the bindings, but that gave me enough time to move so that by focusing on me, it would leave its side open to the others.

    ¡°Bind! Electric Shots!¡± This time after the bind, I clasped both hands together and didn''t let go. It was a trick that Aelin had figured out, and I hadn¡¯t had a chance to try it out with the Electric Shot yet.

    Instead of two arcs, a continuous stream of electricity shot off of my double barreled finger gun. The boss cringed and howled as it tried to move, but it wasn¡¯t able to shake off a constant stream.

    ¡°Drop it!¡± Oz was already charging as I released my hands.

    I pointed at its back right leg. "Bind!¡±

    The boss jerked as it tried to move, then Rix¡¯s chain wrapped around its neck and she pulled it down. The canine had its mouth shut, but that wasn¡¯t what Oz was aiming for. I realized what she was doing as she shoved her sword through its eye. I cringed as the boss vanished into smoke.

    ¡°Very good!¡± Gesai was clapping as I went to retrieve my weapon. "You adapted nicely.¡±

    I smiled as I picked up my weapon. "What else you got?¡±

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 24

    I lost track of the number of boss monsters that we fought over the next eleven days.

    Since there wasn¡¯t anything for Glima to do, we were able to spend most of the days fighting in the pit and learning different techniques for how to beat various floor monsters. It seemed that there were more boss monsters in the book than there were regular monsters. Which made sense in a way. If the boss monsters were combinations of regular monsters, then duplication would allow there to be an almost infinite number of boss monster combinations.

    There were a few new restrictions put in place, like where we could and couldn¡¯t go, which I¡¯m pretty sure Rix ignored. But the one that hurt the most was that our messaging function got disabled. In fact, everything about our crystal bands was locked and the cuffs only allowed us to use our abilities. Not being able to check in with Ether and the others hurt, but I tried to focus on what I do.

    Everyone¡¯s mood had started to improve as we got further away from the incident. Rix had waited until the other Bandits cleared out, then had resumed her exploration at night. The difficulty of boss monsters made it so that we needed her during the fights, but that had also helped her mood.

    Oz and Ren had stopped sharing a bed the day after the last Bandit left. Oz had reclaimed some of her confidence, but Ren was still the mostly silent and quiet one. I¡¯d thought about talking to her, but the few times I¡¯d tried to get her away from the group, she¡¯d told me that she was fine and walked away.

    I was surprised that Justia had started getting over her aversion to violence and was lending a hand during some of our fights. Things were looking up, until Gesai pulled me aside on our way back to the bunk. We walked until we reached the Warehouse before I decided to break the silence.

    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± I smiled, but the look wasn¡¯t returned.

    The older woman looked around. "I¡¯ve been watching you fight for over two weeks now.¡± She eyed me. "There¡¯s something about you that you¡¯re not being honest about.¡±

    My heart started beating faster. The first two stats that we¡¯d tried to ¡®fix¡¯ had been Power and Magic. I had been trying to reign in my Speed and not get hit. I could tell that Rix was trying to push herself to be faster than me, but Oz and Justia were still there to compare me against. As for my Defense, I¡¯d tried not to take damage, but Rix was the only one who didn¡¯t have four Defense, which meant that they could not take a hit. Justia was quick to target me with heals, but that might have given me away.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I swallowed as I tried to figure out what she was thinking.

    ¡°I mean, I¡¯m supposed to be helping the lot of you. Rix I can understand having her stats messed up because of her rapid level up, but you¡­¡± She wagged her finger at me. "You don¡¯t add up.¡±

    I shrugged. "I don¡¯t know what to tell you.¡±This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    ¡°Glima noticed something too. She said that sometimes spies will have their crystals modified to hide who they really are.¡± Gesai pointed at my chest. "She also said that she can tell that mark on your chest is also connected to your Mantle.¡± Her eyes narrowed. "She offered to take a look, so before she gets to you, I need to know what you are.¡± She held up her hand. "And don¡¯t give me that ¡®I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about¡¯ story.¡±

    I didn¡¯t know what to say. I doubted that Glima was strong enough to get past Trent¡¯s brand, but that wouldn¡¯t mean that she wouldn¡¯t tell Sipher. I wasn¡¯t sure how the handoff was supposed to be handled. If he thought something was up, once he hit Tier Six, he might try tampering with the seal. I wasn¡¯t sure what a man like him would do with that information, but I couldn¡¯t imagine it would be good for me.

    ¡°I¡­¡± I sighed. "I can¡¯t tell you. I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°After all we¡¯ve been through and you don¡¯t trust me.¡± She shook her head. "I can¡¯t protect you if you won¡¯t¡­¡± She froze.

    Rix was behind her with her barb wrapped in something pressed up against her neck.

    ¡°Rix, what are you doing?¡± I didn¡¯t like the way the former Bandit was holding that improvised weapon.

    ¡°Fixing this.¡± Rix leaned closer to Gesai¡¯s ear. "You are going to go in there and tell Glima that the brand on Atlas¡¯ chest is a protection spell that pulls energy from his Mantle to power it. That it is a Tier Six enchantment and that if she tampers with it, then it will likely kill her.¡±

    Gesai touched the barb on her neck. "So you know about him too.¡± She looked at me. "What about Oz¡­ agh!¡±

    Rix pressed the barb tighter and I saw a thin line of blood.

    ¡°How are you..?¡± Gesai held up her hands. "Sorry. SORRY!¡±

    ¡°What is that?¡± I pointed at the improvised weapon in her hand.

    ¡°Swamp Hornet Stinger.¡± Rix looked at me. "Level thirty-two. It¡¯ll just numb a Tier Three, but on a Tier Two or lower¡­¡±

    ¡°It will paralyze me, then stop my heart, and even with my magic, there¡¯s no way I could heal myself.¡± Gesai finished.

    Rix nodded and let the woman go, pushing her forward. She pointed the stinger at our teacher. "Now go and fix this.¡± Her eyes narrowed. "And don¡¯t think about breathing a word of this to anyone.¡±

    ¡°Atlas¡­¡± Gesai looked like she was about to cry as she got on her knees. "I just want to help¡­ Please. You told me that we were family. Is this how family treats each other?¡±

    Rix looked at me and sighed. "You¡¯re going to get us all killed.¡±

    ¡°She was at a low spot, I was trying to give her a pick me up.¡± I looked at the kneeling woman. "I¡¯d like to trust you, I really would, but how do I know you¡¯re not going to run straight to Farsch and tell him this to try to get back into the family?¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t, I swear!¡±

    ¡°Even if I¡¯m really a demon hell bent on conquering the world?¡± I decided to add a little flair.

    She hesitated for a moment and wiped the tears from her face. "You offered yourself as a trade for her¡­¡± Gesai pointed at Rix. "When you could have stayed quiet and been safe. Even if you are a demon, any world you make would be one I¡¯d rather follow you into than Uncle Farsch.¡±

    Not the response I had been expecting. I looked over at Rix.

    ¡°It¡¯s your secret. You can tell whoever you want, but you¡¯re going to get us all killed.¡± The redheaded Shooter went back on guard as I realized that we weren¡¯t alone.

    ¡°What secret?¡± Oz stepped out of the shadows.

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 25

    Rix wanted to fight.

    I could see it in her stance, but these were our friends. These were people we were going to need by our side if we were going to get out of this early. If we started killing the others, I had no idea what Glima would do. Or if that would trigger Sipher coming back.

    ¡°How long have you been there?¡¯ I looked at our newcomer.

    ¡°Not long.¡± The raven-haired woman looked at the weapon in Rix¡¯s hand. "But long enough to know that Rix is willing to kill to keep a secret that¡¯s on the same level as you being a demon.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not a demon¡­¡± I sighed. "This is getting out of hand.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve got to tell Glima something!¡± Gesai was still on her knees. "Let me help protect you!¡¯

    ¡°You pledged your loyalty, now prove it.¡± Rix pointed the barb at her. "Trust in him and tell her what I told you to say.¡±

    Gesai had tears running freely down her face as she looked at me. I shook my head. "Even if I wanted to tell you, I couldn¡¯t do it here. You know the risks. We have no idea how much Sipher is monitoring us.¡± I watched her shoulders droop. I couldn¡¯t help myself, I walked over to her and knelt down in front of her.

    ¡°Look, help us out. Prove you¡¯re with us and then as soon as it¡¯s safe¡­¡± I looked over at Rix who was shaking her head while muttering about how we were all going to die. "I¡¯ll bring you in.¡±

    She looked at me with her green eyes. I realized that she was too close for Rix to react if she tried to hurt me, but I wasn¡¯t afraid of her. What I saw looking back at me was hope.

    I wrapped her in a hug before she could say anything. She leaned into it, clinging to me like her life depended on it. I put my face close to hers and whispered in her ear. "If it was safe, I would tell you now. But Rix is right, this could get us all killed.¡± I pulled back and put my hands on her shoulders. "I trust you, I d¡­¡±Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    Her lips cut off the last part of that as she kissed me. I started to pull back, but there was a hunger behind it. That need to belong. I wasn¡¯t sure what to do, but I hoped I made the call that Ether would approve of and leaned into it. I drank her in, then pulled away and began blushing when I realized that Oz was standing there.

    ¡°Does this make you a teacher¡¯s pet or you a student¡¯s pet?¡± The green-eyed Hitter quipped.

    Rix snickered.

    My face was burning as I looked into Gesai¡¯s eyes. "Feel better?¡± I moved some hair out of her face as she nodded. There was only seven years between us and in the beginning, she¡¯d felt like an adult, someone of the generation before mine, but now, even though she was two Tiers above me, she felt like a peer.

    I helped her up and she looked so girly as she walked towards the pyramid. I turned around to find Oz and Rix standing next to each other.

    ¡°Okay.¡± I held up my hands. "Before you say anything, I¡¯ve got to know something.¡± I pointed at Oz. "How come you were ready to kill Gesai, but you¡¯re okay with Oz being in on this too?¡±

    Rix scrunched her brow. "I thought she was already part of the harem.¡±

    ¡°The WHAT?¡± Oz looked from me to Rix.

    Rix smiled.

    ¡°Don¡¯t¡­¡± I started moving towards her. "Don¡¯t go Aelin on me!¡±

    The redheaded woman held out the improvised weapon. "This is real and I¡¯d hate to slip¡­¡± She looked over at Oz. "He¡¯s building a harem. Ether, Justia, Aelin, you and her.¡± She pointed at the pyramid.

    Oz looked at me, then back at Rix. "WHY?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ part of what we can¡¯t tell you right now.¡± Rix frowned. "You didn¡¯t know about this?¡±

    ¡°I knew about Ether, but¡­ Justia?¡± Oz looked confused.

    ¡°It¡¯s supposed to be a team thing, then Aelin thought it would be funny to call it a harem and it stuck. It''s not what it sounds like.¡± I tried to clarify.

    ¡°So¡­ it¡¯s just what it looks like?¡± Oz raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± I had no clue what to say. "I have no idea what¡¯s going on.¡±

    ¡°Seriously?¡± Rix cut off Oz. "You slept with him and didn¡¯t know about this?¡±

    ¡°We didn¡¯t..!¡± Oz blushed and covered her face.

    ¡°Not like that¡­I¡­We¡­¡± I suddenly had an idea. "Where did you get that?¡±

    Rix took a moment to compose herself and motioned behind her. "Just because we weren¡¯t going to use the crates to escape didn¡¯t mean that I couldn¡¯t hide a few things away. Why?¡±

    ¡°Because I have a plan.¡±

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 26

    Well, part of a plan anyway.

    ¡°How safe do you think it is to talk here?¡± I looked around. We were out in the open, but there wasn¡¯t really anything around me that looked like a camera or security device.

    Rix shook her head and started walking towards the pyramid. She carefully wrapped the stinger and put it in a pouch around her shoulder.

    ¡°That¡¯s new.¡± I pointed at the pouch.

    ¡°It was from one of the crates. A level down bag that can hold up to Tier Three items, but those will start to eat through it. That¡¯s why I have a wrap, to make it last longer.

    ¡°You realize that if it¡¯s not safe to talk out here, then you probably shouldn¡¯t be talking about stealing from him.¡± Oz kept her voice low.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Rix smiled. "Sipher already got his cut, so he won¡¯t care if I lift a few things from Whisper.¡±

    ¡°Won¡¯t Whisper care?¡± Oz looked skeptical

    ¡°Things go missing in transport. Items get damaged. Inventories get miscounted." She grinned. "Whisper can¡¯t get back in here right now, so unless he¡¯s certain that someone stole from him here¡­¡± She twirled her finger around in front of her. "Then he has no idea where the few items went missing and he can¡¯t get here to look for them.¡±

    She had a point, but it still seemed risky, but I was glad that she had.

    No one was in the kitchen, and once the three of us were inside, we locked the door.

    ¡°As far as I can tell, this is one of the few places that aren¡¯t bugged.¡± Rix sat down at the table. "What¡¯s the plan?¡±

    I looked at Oz, who sat one seat away from me. The woman looked like she had a lot on her mind, but she had still followed us in here. I was going to have to trust her, and probably everyone else downstairs. I really wished that I had Justia or Ether with me, but Ether wasn¡¯t here and I didn¡¯t want to alert Glima, which I might if I grabbed Justia from the Bunk.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

    I turned to Rix. "Could you get the lift working and the door open if you didn¡¯t have to worry about time?¡±

    Rix shook her head. "Time isn¡¯t the issue. There¡¯s a manual operating system in place in case the system gets shut down, but the problem is that Glima has access to the override. As long as she has her band, she can shut me down before I can do anything.¡±

    ¡°She would catch us before we made it to the lift, which is why I¡¯m asking if you could do it if she wasn¡¯t an issue?¡±

    Rix eyed me, ¡®Yes, but how are you going to get her out of the picture..? Kidnap Sylph?¡±

    I shook my head. I hated that I¡¯d thought about it. "The way Glima talked, she would still have to protect this place even if her daughter¡¯s life was at stake.¡± I pointed at Rix¡¯s bag. "Will that knock her out?¡±

    ¡°For a minute or two. She¡¯s a Tier Three, so it¡¯ll mostly just stun her.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s all we need. Is there anything that you lifted that you could restrain a Tier Three with?¡±

    ¡°I took some cloth that I thought might be good for a blanket, but she¡¯ll get out of that.¡± Rix looked even more confused.

    ¡°The cages, is there a way to lock them?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s tied to her crystal band, so she¡¯d be able to turn it off and open it.¡± Rix shook her head.

    ¡°But what if we stun her.¡± I pointed at the pouch. "Wrap her band with the cloth so she can¡¯t access it, then get her into the cage before she wakes up.¡± I looked at Oz, then back at Rix. "How long would we have before she woke up and could stop us?¡±

    ¡°A few minutes maybe¡­¡± Rix patted the pouch, ¡°I¡¯ve got another one of these that we could dose her with once we got her there to buy us more time.¡± She shook her head. "It¡¯ll be close.¡±

    I looked at Oz. "Do you think we should try this or look for a better option?¡±

    ¡°You want to know what I think?¡± Oz took a deep breath and let it out as she stopped herself and shook her head. "I think if it¡¯s going to work, you¡¯ll need Gesai to move her.¡±

    I turned to Rix. "I know you don¡¯t like this, but every day we stay here is another day that Sipher gets closer to becoming a monster¡­¡±

    ¡°I get it.¡± Rix got up and started pacing. "The sooner we do it the better, because the longer we wait the higher the chance I get caught with this.¡± She tapped the bag on her side. ¡°I¡¯ll go get Gesai.

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 27

    Oz was uncomfortable.

    I could tell by the way she was fidgeting that she wanted to leave, but she hadn¡¯t, which told me there was something she either wanted to say or do.

    ¡°So¡­¡± I swallowed. "About what Rix said. What she was talking about is more of a sealing everyone together to make sure it stays¡­ Just between us. There are platonic slots in it, obviously since Justia is there.¡±

    Oz started picking at her fingers. ¡°I was wondering how you got Jus to switch sides¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a lot to ask, I know and we already have a Hitter on our team, so I have no idea how that would even work, but I do know after these¡­¡± I started counting. ¡°Twenty-three days, I know you¡¯re someone I can rely on. It¡­¡±

    She held up her hand. "You¡¯re asking me to decide something that we both don¡¯t have the power to make happen.¡± Oz shook her head. "You just said there¡¯s not a spot on your team, which means when this is over, I¡¯m going back to Harror and you¡¯re going to the Cathedral.¡±

    I thought I saw a tear roll down her face, but she got up and turned around.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what we want. So maybe it¡¯s better that I don¡¯t know.¡± She turned around. "Gesai is different. If she leaves the Alard Clinic, then she can do whatever she wants. But for us¡­¡± She shook her head. "Six years is a long time.¡±

    I started to say something, but Rix and Gesai walked in. I could see the excitement on the older woman¡¯s face. She looked at Oz, then me. "What happened?¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

    ¡°Nothing.¡± Oz sat down. "Just the weight of being trapped here is getting to me.¡±

    Gesai didn¡¯t look like she was buying it, but didn¡¯t push the issue. ¡°Rix said it was important and you needed me?¡±

    I nodded. "We¡¯re going to try to escape.¡±

    ¡°When?¡± Gesai looked up at Rix, who was standing behind her. "How?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re going to knock out Glima with the stinger Rix has, then I need you to get her to the Warehouse as fast as you can, help Rix tie her up, then lock her up in the cage.¡± I nodded at the other two. "Oz and I can bring everyone to meet you at the lift, then Rix can work the lift and the door to get us out.¡±

    Gesai was almost bouncing in her chair as she nodded. "I can do that, but what are you going to do about Sylph?¡±

    I had forgotten about her.

    ¡°New plan. Oz will go get everyone to the lift and I¡¯ll bring Sylph to the Warehouse. We can tie her up with normal rope there.¡± I looked at Rix.

    The Shooter shrugged. "I thought you were going to tie her up here, but that works too.¡±

    ¡°Great. Is everyone on board with this?¡± I looked around the table.

    The three women all nodded. We still had Ren and Justia to loop in, but I knew Justia would follow my lead on this and Ren would follow Oz. The only outlier was Jord. After the beating he¡¯d gotten during his failed escape, he might be resistant to try again.

    ¡°Are you sure there¡¯s no one else here?¡± I looked at Rix.

    She nodded. "I¡¯ve checked every container for anything that might help¡­¡± She snapped her fingers. "I¡¯ve got an idea.¡±

    We all looked at her, waiting for her to elaborate.

    She grabbed a few napkins to make a quick outline of the bunk. "Number two is where they keep the vehicles.¡± She looked at Oz. "There are only a few there, but they¡¯re armored, so we won¡¯t be on foot.¡±

    Oz nodded. "I¡¯ll get everyone there and meet you on the lift.¡±

    ¡°Everyone knows their role then?¡±

    They all nodded

    I looked at Rix. "Let¡¯s break out of here.¡±

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 28

    Rix hated the nest modification.

    While Rix was the stealthiest, she did only have ten Power. Gesai only had Sixteen Defense, and the item was a Tier above her, so Rix could have easily stabbed her with it. We had no idea what Glima¡¯s Defense was, but we did know that Gesai had sixty-two Power. I doubted that Glima had put all her points into Defense, so there was a very good chance that Rix couldn¡¯t stab her, but Gesai would have no problem.

    I watched from outside while the two of them slipped in. It only took a few moments and Gesai was out and running towards the Warehouse with Glima in her arms. Rix was right behind her and dumped all of our weapons, including the summoning book on the ground beside me.

    ¡°They were on her table.¡± Rix shrugged and took off.

    I ran over to the bunk and stuck my head in. "Our weapons are on the ground out here, grab them when you go.¡±

    I could see that Oz was trying to explain the situation so I motioned out the door. "We¡¯re doing this, let¡¯s go!¡±

    I ran inside Glima¡¯s living quarters and took a left. I ended up in Glima¡¯s room, so I had to turn around and go into the other room. I winced as the door creaked as I opened it. I didn¡¯t have anything to knock out the daughter. I thought about hitting her, but I couldn¡¯t bring myself to do that. I knew I was wasting time.

    ¡°I am going to be the death of us all." I muttered as I scooped her up princess style and pulled the sleeping girl out from under her covers.

    She tried to scream, but I clamped my hand over her mouth and started running. It was slower than I would have liked. If I had my skills, then I could have Dashed, but I didn¡¯t.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    I got to the Warehouse and Glima was starting to come to. She was wrapped tightly with red cloth that had her hands behind her and her crystal band heavily covered.

    ¡°What do I do with her?¡± I shifted Sylph so I could hold the struggling girl better. ¡°OW!¡± I shifted my hand and held her head close to my chest and I let her feet hit the floor. "She bit me!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s rope over there.¡± Rix pointed at the other corner. The redheaded Shooter was pulling stuff out of nooks from all over the Warehouse.

    ¡°How much stuff did you take?¡± Gesai looked at the slowly growing pile.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know what we¡¯d need, so I grabbed a little of everything.¡± Rix brought over another stinger. "We¡¯ve got two of these, but I don¡¯t want to kill her.¡±

    Sylph strained in my arms and let out muffled screams.

    ¡°Can someone help me with her?¡± I looked at Rix. "This is really hard with only one hand.¡±

    ¡°When do I stab her again?¡± Gesai watched the other woman walk over to me.

    ¡°We want to give ourselves as much time as possible, so you can let her come to, but keep the stinger pressed against her. If she moves, jab her, then we run.¡± Rix grabbed the rope from me.

    ¡°You¡¯ve done this before.¡± I tried to ignore the tongue that was salivating all over my palm. I looked at the girl. "Would you stop that? You know I¡¯m just going to wipe my hand on your shirt?¡±

    That got her to try to scream, then try to get her teeth close enough to bite me.

    Rix finished with her hands and threw the rope up to the second floor.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to hang her?¡± I couldn¡¯t believe even Rix would be that barbaric.

    The look I received told me that I should have thought it through first.

    Rix climbed up to the second floor railing and started tying off the rope.

    ¡°Wait.¡± Glima¡¯s voice was weak. "Take her with you.¡±

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 29

    Sylph froze.

    As did everyone else in the Warehouse.

    ¡°Sylph¡­¡± Glima tried to move, but she was too weak from the poison. She looked at me. "Can I talk to my daughter?¡±

    Rix jumped down and undid the knot on Sylph¡¯s hands.

    ¡°Wha¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going to be the death of me¡­¡± Rix interrupted. She turned to Glima. "You have one minute, then it¡¯s lights out.¡± She pointed at The girl. "She stays out here.¡±

    Glima nodded and looked at her daughter. I took my hand off of her mouth, but tried to hold her. The girl sank to her knees.

    ¡°MOM!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay¡­¡± Glima looked at me. "These people are going to take you out of here to someplace safe.¡±

    Sylph was a mess of tears and my heart was starting to break as Glima continued.

    ¡°You remember how we talked about how some day, Sipher was going to do something bad and you were going to have to run? And that he would make me try to stop you?¡± She choked back her next few words and had to start over. "And that as much as I wouldn¡¯t want to, I¡¯d have to try to hurt you anyway?¡± The older woman looked like she was in pain. "Today is that day.¡±

    ¡°NOOO!¡± Sylph sobbed as she struggled in my arms.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    ¡°You have to run now. Run as fast and as far away from here as you can.¡± Glima took a breath to try to compose herself. With her hands tied behind her back, there was no way to wipe her face.

    The bald Summoner looked at me. "Promise me you will look after her.¡±

    ¡°MOM! NO! DON¡¯T DO THIS! I DON¡¯T WANT TO LEAVE YOU! DON¡¯T MAKE ME LEAVE!!!¡± Sylph began thrashing.

    Rix took her from me and started moving towards the door. ¡°Fifteen seconds. Wrap it up.¡±

    ¡°I love you baby!¡± Glima fell against the cage.

    Rix stopped at the door and turned Sylph to face her mother.

    ¡°I lo..ve.. love¡­ you.¡± The older woman repeated.

    ¡°Say it.¡± Rix shook Sylph.

    ¡°NO!¡± The blonde girl screamed in her face.

    ¡°Say it or you¡¯ll hate yourself for the rest of your life.¡± Rix focused Sylph¡¯s face on her mother.

    ¡°NO! WHAT DO YOU KNOW?!¡± Sylph struggled to turn her head.

    ¡°Because I didn¡¯t say it.¡± Rix¡¯s voice was hollow and full of pain. She brushed away a tear with her shoulder and readjusted Sylph. "Say it.¡±

    ¡°MOM!¡± Sylph sniffed and tried to catch her breath as the sobs began to take over. ¡°I LOVE YOU! DON¡¯T DIE! DON¡¯T KILL MY MAMA!¡±

    I watched Rix drag the girl out of the Warehouse. "Time''s up! Let¡¯s GO!¡±

    Glima¡¯s face was full of tears as she turned to me. ¡°If you kill me, he¡¯ll know.¡± She wiped her face on the bars the best she could. "Promise me you''ll keep her safe.¡±

    I walked over to the bars. "You have my word.¡±

    Glima sagged against the bars. "I¡¯ll try to resist as long as I can, but you need to be out of the bunker before I get free. I can summon something at the door from here.¡±

    ¡°Good to know.¡± I nodded at Gesai to use the last stinger. ¡°We¡¯ll come back for you once he¡¯s dead.¡±

    Gesai shoved the stinger into the other woman''s side.

    ¡°Don¡¯t come back.¡± She looked at me. "We¡¯ll all die with him.¡±

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 30

    I needed to know what she meant.

    There was no way to ask her without waking her up and it was not a smart idea to still be here when that happened.

    Gesai slammed the door to the cage shut and locked it. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± She started running for the door.

    I took one last look at Glima and followed after her, running as fast as I could.

    It didn¡¯t take us long to reach the lift. There was an RV that looked like a much older version of the one we had been driving around in.

    Rix was working on the lift controls as we got there. She waved for us to get in the RV as she walked over the front of it. The lift slowly began to rise.

    ¡°Do you think we¡¯re going to make it?¡± I looked at Rix.

    The redhead closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she answered.

    ¡°I think we¡¯re about to get to the hardest part.¡± She motioned for me to go inside. "Oz is trying to get the communicator working.¡±

    My chest tightened. We needed to get in touch with Trent before Glima got in touch with Sipher. Trent was a survivor, but Sipher was a killer. While it had only been just over three weeks, I could only guess that Sipher would be able to kill Trent if he could surprise him. I wasn¡¯t sure how our jailbreak would change their deal, but I had a feeling everything was off as soon as we exited the bunk.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    The inside of the RV was surprisingly similar as well. I heard crying from the bathroom and only saw Oz and Jord, which meant the others were probably in the bathroom with Sylph.

    Jord was huddled in the booth with the Summoner¡¯s book clenched tightly against his chest. He was shaking and his teeth were chattering, but he was here and I would try to console him once we were out.

    I turned to Oz, who was in the driver¡¯s seat. ¡°How¡¯s it coming?¡±

    The look she gave me told me exactly how good it was going.

    ¡°The communicator on this thing is older than Gesai.¡± She looked behind her. "Really? You brought the girl? Why?¡±

    ¡°Glima said¡­¡± I looked behind me, then leaned in close so Oz would only be able hear me even if someone came out. "Glima said that when Sipher dies, so will she.¡± I hoped I got that right. "So if we kill Sipher, then there will be no one to protect Sylph and if we don¡¯t, then Sipher is going to come back there and Sylph will be in danger from him.¡±

    Oz swallowed. "We just made¡­¡± She looked at me and didn¡¯t finish.

    There was nothing else we could do about that. Glima had tried to protect her daughter for as long as she could, but she knew that eventually the day would come when Sylph would have to run. The bald Summoner had prolonged her life long enough to give her daughter a chance at freedom. I didn¡¯t want to waste it.

    ¡°The communicator.¡± I pointed at the console. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with it?¡±

    ¡°The range on it is busted.¡± Oz smacked the steering wheel. "Until we¡¯re out of the bunker, we can¡¯t do anything.¡±

    The lift stopped and Rix hit the button to open the bay doors. She closed the door as got in. ¡°Move.¡±

    Oz slid over to shotgun as Rix climbed behind the wheel.

    ¡°Who do you want me to call when we get out?¡± Oz started keying in numbers.

    Rix looked at me. I closed my eyes and nodded. We were too deep in this and they were the only person who we could rely on to get the message to Trent as quickly and quietly as possible.

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 31

    We called Paul Mite.

    As soon as the doors were open enough, Rix floored it. I had been expecting a summoned monster to attack us before we cleared the building, but we got out and were flying down the destroyed road.

    The image of the black-haired Adventurer who had been my last employer appeared on the dash.

    ¡°Ozlet?¡± He looked offscreen. "Suna! Dacine! It¡¯s the kids!¡±

    The two women joined him and started asking questions. With all three of them talking, it was impossible to understand anything.

    ¡°HEY!¡± Rix slammed her fist in front of the projector. "SHUT UP!¡±

    The three adults went quiet instantly.

    ¡°Mom, Dad, Auntie, I know you¡¯re excited to see us, but we have problems. We need you to get in touch with Uncle Trent and let him know we¡¯ve escaped so he will stop leveling Sipher.¡± Oz looked up. "Um, Rix?¡±

    ¡°I see them.¡± The red-haired Shooter moved the dial, so that they were looking at her again. "TELL TRENT TO GET OUT OF THERE! AND TRACK US SO THAT YOU CAN GET THESE CUFFS OFF!¡± She looked at me. "WOULD YOU GET ON THE GUNS? AND WILL SOMEBODY GET OUT HERE?! WE¡¯RE GETTING ATTACKED!¡±

    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ve got to go.¡± Oz waved at her parents. "Justia¡¯s okay, but don¡¯t try to send us any messages because Sipher is intercepting them.¡±

    She didn¡¯t wait for them to respond as she shut off the communicator.

    ¡°WHY HAVEN¡¯T YOU GOT UP THERE?¡± Rix glared at me as the RV shook.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!

    ¡°I have no idea what I¡¯m doing!¡± I spread my hands. I had a rough idea, but I¡¯d never used a mounted gun before.

    ¡°GESAI! GET OUT HERE!¡±

    Angry Rix was scary. I felt helpless as Gesai came out of the bathroom.

    ¡°What¡¯s..? By the Gods!¡± The older woman pushed a few buttons on the turret and the platform dropped. She hopped up in it so that her legs were hanging through the roof, braced on the metallic platform.

    ¡°Who are they?¡± I had a hand on the back of each of the seats.

    ¡°Don¡¯t know, don¡¯t care.¡± Rix was entering the angry calm phase and that was even more terrifying. She hit a few buttons and a screen and trigger appeared in front of Oz. ¡°You¡¯re sitting shotgun, shoot something.¡±

    The screen showed what was in front of us. As Oz moved the joystick from left to right the small gun in the front of the RV moved with it, allowing her to shoot anything that was in front of her.

    There were only three large ATVs that were chasing us. With one person driving and one person shooting, that didn¡¯t leave them much room to do anything else. The RV did have a barrier, but that was eating through the supply of crystals that they¡¯d taken from the depot.

    The one thing that the ATVs didn¡¯t have was very strong barriers. Gesai got one, which prompted them to move to the front of the RV. Once Oz started shooting, moved back to flank us, staying as close to the RV as they could to keep either woman from being able to shoot at them. Rix jerked the RV to the side, forcing the men to try to mimic the movement.

    Gesai jumped down and opened the door to the RV. She smiled as she tossed a toy she¡¯d collected from Rix¡¯s stash of potentially good items.

    It looked like a pinecone, but as soon as it hit the ATV on or right, it exploded, sending shrapnel everywhere. And reducing the ATV into a ball of burning metal.

    ¡°Whoot!¡± Gesai cheered. "And then there was one.¡± She shut the door and walked over to the window on the left side, but the ATV had peeled off and was heading away from us.

    ¡°Do we let it go?¡± Oz watched Gesai climb back up in the turret.

    ¡°It¡¯ll let others know that we¡¯re not an easy target.¡± Rix sighed. "That¡¯ll buy us a little time.¡±

    ¡°To do what?¡± I grabbed on to the back of Oz¡¯s seat with both hands as the RV shook from a bump.

    ¡°To try to get out of the Godless zone.¡±

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 32

    Harror was the closest city.

    If you counted the Cathedral as a city, then technically, the Cathedral was closer, but we¡¯d have to go through more Godless land to get there. By making a beeline for Harror, we could assume that we were safe as soon as we got into Harror territory. All it would take was one call and the God Harror would appear and smite the Bandits. In theory anyway. I wasn¡¯t thrilled about relying on a theory or running into a God without Trent there, but this was the hand we were dealt.

    Oz called her parents back, which felt uncomfortable to watch, especially with Justia and Gesai over there.

    Sylph had finally calmed down and was laying on Ren¡¯s lap in the booth. Both of them were asleep, which didn¡¯t surprise me, since it was just past midnight. Jord had moved to the bunks and shut the screen at some point during the firefight.

    I thought about trying to get some sleep myself, but my heart was still hammering away. Without anything else to do, I climbed up in the turret and let the cool night air wash over me as we drove. There was something peaceful about being up here with the wind at my back. I watched the grass and trees pass by, illuminated only by the moon behind us and the headlights in front of us. Honestly, if someone was trying to hunt us, we could be seen for what seemed like miles. But the alternative was to drive in the dark and not be able to see something in the road.

    I contemplated sending a message to Ether, but it was after midnight and as much as I knew she¡¯d be excited to hear that we were free, I didn¡¯t want to wake her. Thinking about her made me wish that we could make the RV go faster, but none of us had any spells like that.

    We reached the forest, without any issues, though all that did was put me on a little higher alert. At least when there had been grassland and a few trees, the risk of an ambush felt a lot less, but now, there were trees almost right up against the road.

    I had to come down, because of low hanging branches. Gesai was in shotgun and the rest of the RV was empty, the others had gone to bed. I moved behind Gesai and leaned on the back of her seat.

    ¡°Why hasn¡¯t nature reclaimed the roads?¡± I pointed at the nearly perfect pavement.

    ¡°The main roads between cities are paved with dungeon materials.¡± Gesai looked up. "It makes it harder for Bandits to set up traps on the roads, or take out bridges.¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    I thought about Sipher. "It would have to be some really high level dungeon material to keep someone from breaking it.¡±

    ¡°Not all Bandits are Adventurers.¡± Rix glanced over at me. "The leaders, sure, but most of them are just regular people, who either want a different life away from the rules of the Gods or they''re criminals who are on the run.¡±

    ¡°How would that even work? Like how would a Mundane go up against you?¡± I squeezed Gesai¡¯s shoulders.

    Rix rolled her eyes. "The pouch I took?¡±

    I realized that she didn¡¯t have it on anymore.

    ¡°Woven Tiers can be handled by a lower Tier Adventurer, and with layered Tiers, you could even have something that a Mundane could use.¡± Gesai touched the shirt she was wearing as she took over the answer. "Like how these processed clothes work. A Mundane could wear these, which is how they¡¯re able to go into the dungeon without being naked.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± I remembered on our first day how Rix had brought a knife made from materials outside the dungeon and it¡¯d been destroyed. ¡°But what about Fray?¡±

    ¡°Fray?¡± Gesai looked up at me.

    ¡°The other brunette that was with us. She grabbed a Tier Zero sword and it burned her hands. Why would that have mattered?¡±

    ¡°Was it crafted or a boss drop?¡± The older Redhead touched my arm.

    I didn¡¯t know for certain, but considering it was almost exactly like the one I had, I was pretty sure I knew the answer. "I think it was a boss drop.¡±

    ¡°Boss drops are different.¡± Gesai half turned in her seat, so she could look at me. "When dungeon materials are processed, they become less¡­¡± She thought about the word she was looking for. "Toxic. So an item crafted from a level nine crystal would be essentially a level one item. Whereas a boss drop from a first floor boss would be a level two item. Both would be Tier Zero, but one of them would have a level requirement, while the other wouldn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Gotcha¡­¡± I was starting to see how Rix had been able to handle the Tier Three item. ¡°Why don¡¯t they just make weapons out of higher Tier materials and the handles out of lower Tier ones?¡±

    ¡°The blades start destroying the handles and they have to constantly be replaced.¡± Gesai settled back in her seat. "Some Bandits will do that so their Mundane underlings can fight against an Adventurer, but that really only works against the Tier Zero or One.¡± She looked over at Rix. "Sometimes a Zero can take on a Tier two, but it¡¯s rare.¡±

    Before I could ask any more questions there was a flash of lightning and two figures were on the road in front of us. Rix slammed on the brakes and got us to a stop before we hit them. Excitement began to build in me as I recognized the gray-haired man and the light-brown-haired man in front of us.

    Trent Vowler and Hye Publian.

    We were saved.

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 33

    Rix beat me out of the RV.

    I had no idea how she got out of her seat and by me so fast. And it surprised me that she wrapped Trent in a hug.

    Hye pushed past me to get on the RV. Gesai touched his arm as he moved past her.

    ¡°Top left.¡±

    The blue-eyed man silently nodded his thanks as he headed to where his daughter was sleeping.

    By the time Gesai and I got in front of Trent, Rix had released him and he had her hand in his. He broke the cuff over her crystal band with his bare hands, then nodded at me.

    ¡°Let me get those off of you.¡±

    I held out my arm and it felt so good to have myself free. I rubbed my wrist as the older man looked at Gesai.

    ¡°So you¡¯re the one who caused this¡­¡±

    ¡°She didn¡¯t know that they were going to kidnap us.¡± I tried to step in between them, but Gesai put her hand on my chest to hold me back.

    ¡°Uncle Farsch told me to keep Justia and her friends from fighting the first floor boss of the Harror Dispatcher¡¯s Dungeon.¡± The way she stiffened felt like she was giving a report to a superior. "He told me that he¡¯d put me on a different team and depending on how well I did at keeping her from progressing¡­¡± She wiped away a tear that I hadn¡¯t noticed was forming. "He¡¯d even have me power leveled.¡± She shook her head. " I didn¡¯t know anything else.¡±Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    ¡°She¡¯s on our side!¡± I couldn¡¯t get in between them, but I could grab Trent¡¯s left arm. The look that he was giving Gesai was sending a shiver down my spine. For some reason, it felt like he might just vaporize her on the spot.

    His right hand grabbed the side of her face and Gesai screamed like he was burning her from the inside out.

    ¡°What are you doing?!¡± I tried to swing at his arm now that both of Gesai¡¯s hands were on the pavement.

    Rix caught my arm and pulled me away from them.

    ¡°Let ME GO!¡± I struggled against her, except her Power and Speed were better than mine. Not to mention, she knew how to wrestle better. There was nothing I could do as Trent grabbed the other side of Gesai¡¯s face with his left hand.

    Light shot out of Gesai¡¯s eyes into Trent¡¯s as he held her face towards his. She was screaming louder as her shoulders sagged. Her screams vanished as her arms went slack as the only thing holding her up was Trent.

    ¡°HE¡¯S KILLING HER!!¡± I thought about using magic, but nothing I could throw at Trent would faze him and trying to duel Rix wasn¡¯t going to end in my favor. But there was one thing I could do that might get him to stop.

    I threw out my left hand. Now that the cuffs were off, I could use my skills again and there was one that might just work.

    ¡°SIPHON!¡±

    The wave of pain that hit me felt like someone had just punched my stomach into my brain. There was a searing white light, then everything around me vanished.

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 34

    ¡°WHY!?¡±

    I blinked as I saw Gesai standing in front of an older man. He had the same green eyes, but he was dressed in a very nice black suit and sitting behind a very expensive desk.

    I looked around the office. There were bookshelves and monster crystals in display cases. Awards and photos cluttered the spaces beside the windows that had curtains pulled shut.

    ¡°You don¡¯t ask why. You do what you¡¯re told.¡± The older man wagged his finger at her. "I¡¯m the head of this family and if I tell you to go to the Clinic, you¡¯ll show up for damned work at the Clinic with a smile on your face.¡± He gritted his teeth as he glared at her.

    I looked at Gesai, standing frozen in front of the tyrant.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Trent materialized on the other side of her.

    ¡°You!¡± I pointed at him. "I told you that she was on our side! Why are you killing her?!¡±

    Trent shook his head. "I¡¯m not killing her.¡± He motioned at the scene around us. "I¡¯m probing her memories.¡± He motioned at her. "I need to know if I can trust her.¡±

    ¡°I already told you that we could!¡± I growled as I tried to lock eyes with the older man.

    ¡°Sipher is coming.¡± Trent shook his head. "He¡¯s bringing his men with him, and I can¡¯t teleport all of you out of here.¡± He looked at me. ¡°I need to know who I can turn my back on while I hold him off.¡±

    ¡°Then we don¡¯t have time to do all of this!¡± I pointed at Gesai. "Let her go and stop wasting time in her head!¡±

    ¡°Almost no time at all has passed.¡± Trent motioned at Gesai. "We have plenty of time to watch this unfold.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± There was resentment in her voice as Gesai resumed talking.

    ¡°That¡¯s not how you talk around here.¡± Farsch glared at her. "How were you taught?¡±

    ¡°Yes. SIR.¡± Gesai emphasized the sir.

    ¡°You¡¯re on teaching duty until that blight leaves town.¡± He pointed his finger at her. "If that pup gets to the second floor of the Dispatcher¡¯s Dungeon, you¡¯ll be on bedpan duty for the rest of your life! Am I clear?!¡±If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    Gesai kept her eyes to the floor. ¡°Yes sir.¡±

    I could tell she was trying to hold it together.

    ¡°Now get out of here.¡± Farsch waved at her. "Do this right and I¡¯ll see about making up for the time you lost in the dungeon.¡±

    Gesai nodded and walked towards the door with her head down. The memory vanished as she left the room.

    ¡°See? She knew nothing about there being a kidnapping.¡± I felt like I could breathe again.

    The darkness around us vanished, changing into a white room. Gesai was sitting in a simple chair in front of the two of us.

    ¡°Atlas?¡± She looked from Trent to me. "Atlas, what¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°I needed to verify that you weren¡¯t part of this¡­¡± Trent looked at me, ¡°And where your loyalties were.¡±

    I swallowed. "You saw the other thing.¡±

    ¡°This kiss?¡± He shook his head. "Rix has a point.¡±

    ¡°I was serious!¡± Gesai tried to get up, but it was like there was something holding her in place. ¡°I¡¯ll protect his secret!¡±

    There was a soft yellow light emanating from her chest, she looked down at it and back up at Trent.

    ¡°You¡¯re doing a truth spell.¡±

    ¡°And you passed.¡± Trent shook his head. "You know that¡¯s not enough. It¡¯s too dangerous to let you keep what you know.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?!¡± This time I was able to get in between the two of them.

    ¡°She knows too much to be allowed back in the city. It¡¯s too risky.¡± Trent shook his head.

    ¡°What about the pact?¡± I looked at her over my shoulder. She wasn¡¯t even trying to defend herself anymore.

    Trent eyed me as I turned around. "You trust her that much?¡±

    ¡°We couldn¡¯t have escaped without her.¡± I turned sideways between them and put my hand on her shoulder. "I¡¯ve already trusted her with my life once.¡±

    The silence was deafening as Trent thought it over.

    ¡°Would you do that?¡± I had to break the silence. I looked at Gesai.

    There was hope in her green eyes as she nodded. "Yes.¡±

    ¡°Without knowing what you¡¯re agreeing to?¡± Trent didn¡¯t look like he believed her.

    ¡°You saw my answer.¡± Gesai picked her head up and stared at him. Her chest was shining a bright yellow. "I believe in him.¡±

    Trent began writing the contract in the air. It seemed fairly simple compared to the one that ArchBishop Mavery had written out. It basically just laid out how Gesai would keep secret anything she learned about me or my allies.

    He looked at the restrained woman. "Simple enough?¡±

    She nodded. "Do it.¡±

    I had thought that there would be another stabbing, like before, but this time the words just vanished like they had burned up in mid air.

    ¡°What happened?¡± I looked around as Gesai was finally able to get up.

    ¡°We¡¯re in her mind, much easier to make these things stick in here.¡± Trent looked at the redheaded woman. "We¡¯ll need to have a long talk once this is over.¡±

    She nodded and before anyone could say anything else, everything went dark.

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 35

    My head felt like there was a monster sitting on it.

    Rix helped me sit up. The world was wobbling as I tried to blink it back to normal.

    Gesai was already on her feet, Trent had helped her stand up and they both were looking at me.

    ¡°For the record.¡± Trent shook his head. "Hijacking a mindreading spell isn¡¯t a very smart idea.¡±

    I nodded and the motion turned my stomach, I gagged, but didn¡¯t vomit. "Noted.¡±

    Rix looked at Gesai. "She good?¡±

    ¡°For now.¡± The old man nodded at the RV. "We should get inside and find a better place to fight.¡±

    ¡°Fight?¡± The word felt like it rolled around in my mouth instead of across my lips.

    Gesai and Rix each got under one arm and helped me into the RV. Gesai sat down in the booth and pulled me across the seat with her. Rix let go of me and moved over to the other wall.

    Justia and Oz were both up and Hye held his arm tightly around his daughter. They were chattering about something, but my head was in such a fog that I couldn¡¯t follow along.

    Trent was in the driver''s seat and the RV was moving fast. It felt much faster than we had been going with Rix at the wheel. I looked through the windshield and saw the moon over the road. If there hadn¡¯t been impending danger, it would have been a beautiful thing to see.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    Except while I had been in the turret, the moon had been behind us. We had turned around.

    ¡°Why are we going back?!¡± My head was feeling clearer.

    ¡°We can¡¯t risk fighting Harror.¡± Trent raised his voice to talk over the others. It wasn¡¯t needed though, they stopped talking as soon as I asked my question.

    ¡°We¡¯re going to run into Sipher.¡± I closed my eyes. We were running straight for a fight that was way out of my league.

    ¡°The Cathedral has already been notified. Enforcers are coming to meet us!¡±

    I nodded, the Enforcers were the All-Temple¡¯s police force. We also could trust that if there were fighters coming from the Cathedral, they would be on our side.

    I looked at Hye, who had his arms around his daughter and niece. They had sat down in the booth across from me, which allowed Rix to take shotgun.

    ¡°Did he get to Tier Six?¡±

    ¡°Nope!¡± The older man laughed. "He didn¡¯t even get a level, but his minions got up to Tier Four.¡± He smiled broadly. "And I hit Tier Five!¡±

    ¡°Congrats Dad!¡± Justia squeezed him, but the action looked nervous, almost uncomfortable.

    ¡°Was he mad when you left him?¡± Oz on the other hand, looked very content to have her Uncle¡¯s arm around her.

    ¡°We actually didn¡¯t leave him.¡± Hye took a deep breath. "He said that there was something he had to personally handle and left his minions with us. We decided to take a break for a few minutes, when Paul called us. We hit the gate and then Teleported here.¡±

    ¡°Where were you Farming?¡± Oz seemed very invested in the story.

    ¡°Jyscor.¡± He nodded in the direction we were heading. "It¡¯s a good ways south, but it¡¯s a Temple controlled dungeon, so we didn¡¯t have to worry about upsetting a God by using undeclared magic in the city.¡±

    I had a feeling that Trent had planned it that way in case he needed to make a quick exit.

    We got out of the forest and started heading north on the road through the fields.

    We hadn¡¯t gone too far when Trent announced. "They¡¯re here!¡±

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 36

    Hye got in the turret.

    When we¡¯d been attacked by the ATVs, we¡¯d heard the projectiles, but it hadn¡¯t really shaken the RV. The guns they were using now, had enough firepower that it felt like the RV was going to tip over.

    Trent was dumping crystals into the compartment under the center console, where cores were fed to the vehicle to power it. The way he was dropping cores into it, they were using significant firepower.

    ¡°Get rid of those guns!¡± Trent looked up at Hye before turning back to his driving.

    ¡°If you would drive straight, maybe I could hit something!¡± Hye shifted as he tried to shoot the oncoming convoy.

    Rix got out of her seat and slid in between Hye and the turret, then jumped onto the roof of the RV. "Try it now!¡±

    We jerked to the right, which gave me a perfect view of one of the vehicles coming to a halt as the driver fell out.

    The vehicles that were coming at us were convertibles, with no doors and a bar over the back seat where a large gun was mounted. I could see four more of them and one turned around. Once it was close enough, someone jumped out and climbed in the vehicle, adding it back to the chase.

    The RV turned again and I lost my view of them.

    ¡°Where are the Enforcers?!¡± I was able to get up, but when I tried, Gesai grabbed my shirt and pulled on it.

    ¡°You should sit.¡±

    I looked at the women in the booth. "I have to do something.¡± I shook my head. "I can¡¯t just sit here and do nothing.¡±Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    We got hit and the RV pivoted to the right sharply.

    I walked over to Trent. "Give me the wheel! You can at least fight back!¡±

    The older man looked at me and for a moment I thought he was going to argue, but instead, he pushed the chair back so that I could slide in front of him.

    ¡°Gesai!¡± He threw her a small bag. "Feed these in and keep our energy as close to full as you can!¡±

    The redhead slipped into shotgun and started putting crystals into the hopper.

    I saw headlights up ahead. "It¡¯s the Enforcers!¡± I pointed as Hye and Rix jumped down into the RV.

    ¡°Just in time.¡± Hye shook his head. "You didn¡¯t bring many bullets.¡±

    ¡°We grabbed what was there." Rix shook her head. "We got two of the Chasers and a few Bandits.¡±

    Something hit our side and we tipped over, sliding on the driver''s side up the road until our momentum ran out.

    I was wearing the safety belt, not that I would have fallen far. Gesai wasn¡¯t and wound up on top of me.

    ¡°What was that?!¡± I struggled to get the buckle undone as Gesai squirmed to get off me. I looked back at everyone. Trent and Rix had landed on their feet. Hye was huddled in a ball covering Justia and Oz in as much of a hug as he could. Jord had been in one of the bunks on the left and was dumped against the screen of the bunk across from him, which is where I assumed Sylph was asleep.

    ¡°Everyone okay?¡± Trent looked at everyone.

    I felt Gesai¡¯s hand on the left side of my head and a cool, refreshing wave rolled through me. I raised an eyebrow, so she showed me her hand smeared with blood. "You hit your head.¡±

    I felt my head and there was blood, but no cuts that I could feel. ¡°Thanks.¡±

    She smiled at me and nodded.

    ¡°Stay here until they get here, then Hye will cover you while you get to them.¡± Trent glared at me. "Do not try to interfere.¡±

    He jumped through the open RV door that was now our ceiling and stood on the doorframe as he cast Tier Six magic at our enemies. I really wanted to watch what he used, but I couldn¡¯t see on that side of the RV, so I looked to see how close they were.

    They were close enough for me to tell that it was mainly Chasers. And it was close enough for me to recognize the person in the closest Chaser.

    It was a blonde man that I¡¯d hoped I¡¯d never see again.

    Whisper Err.

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 37

    ¡°IT¡¯S NOT BACKUP!¡±

    I turned to Hye. "Whisper is about to join the fight!¡±

    Hye let go of his girls and looked out the cracked windshield. ¡°By the Gods¡­¡± He looked at Gesai and pointed at the hopper. "If that thing will take them, keep feeding it.¡± He reached over her to push some controls on the console above it. ¡°Good¡­ it¡¯s working.¡± He looked at the redhead. "Now!¡±

    Gesai snapped out of her daze and started feeding crystals into the hopper.

    ¡°What do we do?¡± I watched him crawl back, then get under Trent, ignoring me.

    ¡°It¡¯s reinforcement, not a rescue!¡± Hye cupped his hands. "We have to get those guns down!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m working on it!¡± There was a boom of thunder so close that my ears started ringing.

    Trent moved from his perch and Hye pulled himself out of the RV. Once he was out, he closed the door, sealing us in the box.

    I had to do something, I couldn¡¯t just sit here and wait for others to decide the outcome. But there was no way that I would be able to contribute anything with the skills I had. But I could if I had better resources.

    ¡°Rix!¡± My ears were still ringing and I was aware that I was shouting, but my own voice sounded far away. ¡°Can you get me to one of the Chasers?¡±

    The redhead knew exactly what I wanted to do. "No! And we can¡¯t even get out of here if I could!¡±If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    I pointed at the bathroom. "We can climb out the window.¡±

    Gesai was by my side and threw the bag at our Healer. "Justia take over!¡± She looked at Rix. "You know he¡¯s going out there if you help him or not.¡± She started crawling over the bunks. "I¡¯m going to help him!¡±

    I smiled as I looked at Rix, who shook her head. "You¡¯re going to get us all killed.¡± She stepped close to me and lowered her voice. "You can¡¯t kill anyone out there. Going PK could mess up your brand to where it can''t be fixed.¡±

    She stepped back and looked me in the eyes. "Do you still want to do this?¡±

    I swallowed and nodded.

    Rix shrugged, turned around, and navigated the sideways bunks much better than Gesai did.

    Oz grabbed my arm as I started to follow them. "Please don¡¯t go out there.¡±

    I pulled to her feet and pointed at Jord and the closed bunk. "You and Justia can keep them safe!¡± I hugged her. "It¡¯ll be okay, I¡¯ll be right back.¡±

    I let her go and she just stood there, like she was in shock. I didn¡¯t blame her, there was a lot going on and I kind of felt like I was in a waking dream. It was probably because of how tired I was.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got this!¡± I leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. I pulled back and looked in her eyes. "I believe in you.¡±

    She nodded and followed me to the bunk. Oz knelt down next to Jord and started talking to him as I climbed into the bathroom.

    Rix was staring at me and shook her head.

    ¡°What?¡± I looked at the window. "Will it not open?¡±

    ¡°It opens.¡± Gesai slid it open and peaked out. "It¡¯s clear!¡± She slid out the window.

    ¡°If it¡¯s not the window, what is it?¡±

    ¡°Really Atlas?¡± Rix shook her head as got to the window. "On the forehead?¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± But she was outside before I could defend myself. I looked back into the RV at Oz and Justia. It gave me a purpose knowing that what I was about to do would protect them.

    I grabbed the windowsill and pulled myself out.

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 38

    Bullets were a luxury.

    For the Mundane, using a turret of something would give them an edge against an Adventurer, but that was because of the layered bullets. With a normal gun made out of non-dungeon materials, on someone with defenses as high as Trents, they wouldn¡¯t leave an indentation of where they¡¯d hit.

    I was assuming that the weapons in their hands were layered, but that just meant ¡®don¡¯t get hit¡¯. I tried to focus on that as I crept behind Gesai. Rix had been gone as soon as I¡¯d got out of the RV, out doing Rix things I supposed.

    The road we were on ran almost right beside the treeline. Which gave us the benefit of having a small bank to use as cover. Gesai and I were using that to our advantage as we tried to get behind the Chasers.

    Thankfully, we had the distraction of a lifetime. A Tier Six and three Tier Five going at it had gotten the vehicles to back up and the Bandits had all but stopped shooting at the RV, though a few were trying to get to it on foot.

    Trent and Hye should have had no trouble with the Bandits, but they had to keep the RV safe, which meant no big spells and playing defense against the three Tier Fours that had joined the fight as well as a few monsters.

    I scanned the battlefield and saw Glima standing in the back of one of the Chasers. I shook my head and hoped that Sylph stayed in the RV where she couldn¡¯t see this mess.

    ¡°Hey!¡± I hadn¡¯t been paying attention when Gesai stopped and had walked right past her and into a Bandit standing on the road.

    ¡°Who are¡­!¡± A knife blossomed in the side of his neck.

    Rix materialized in front of me. ¡°If you want to die, I can kill you myself!¡±

    She grabbed the legs of the man standing behind the bar of the Chaser we were close to. He let out a squeal as she yanked him halfway out of the Chaser.

    Gesai had her sword out and ran him through, then yanked his body the rest of the way out of the Chaser.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    Rix disappeared as Gesai jumped in the back of the Chaser and rotated the gun to focus on the other Chasers. I slid behind the wheel. With Glima in the one at the far right, we were going to have to move around.

    ¡°Hang on!¡± I turned the engine on and backed up.

    Gesia began shooting at the other Chasers. The middle one she cut straight through the front as she began shooting her way to the third one where Glima was standing.

    The bald woman dove out of the vehicle as the bullets tore into it. The Bandits that had gotten out of the vehicles and were running at us. I whipped the Chaser around and sped off to the east.

    Judging by the cursing going on and the lack of vehicles chasing us, I was willing to guess that we¡¯d disabled the other two. Which only left the four that Whisper had brought.

    Gesai slipped in beside me. ¡°We¡¯re out.¡± She shook her head. "They didn¡¯t have many bullets left.¡± She looked behind us. "Too bad we don¡¯t have anything else we could shoot at them.¡±

    I stopped the Chaser and jumped up in my seat. "DRIVE!¡± I jumped in the back and grabbed the gun. I knew this would work, I just had to try to disable them, not kill them, which meant aiming for the legs.

    I trained the sight on them as Gesai began to drive. Except it wasn¡¯t a human that was after us. It looked like a purple frog the size of the Chaser. It had a bone-looking crest around its neck and an extra set of eyes just behind the normal one.

    ¡°What is that thing?!¡± I trained the barrel on it. "Electric Shots!¡±

    Electricity shot out of the barrel in a stream and it felt like part of me was going with it. I took my hands off of the gun and wasn¡¯t quite as lightheaded. The monster on the other hand didn¡¯t look fazed at all.

    ¡°What is that thing!?!¡± I repeated as I sat down next to Gesai. "And how are we going to beat it?¡±

    She looked behind us. "By the Gods!¡± She turned back to me. "It''s a Royal Frogian. Rare Tier Three floor boss. A mix of Skeletal Hog, Giant Bullfrog, and Goliath Scorpion!¡±

    I looked at the monster again. I could see the hooves on the back legs and it looked like the bone crest was like ribs that went down the entire length of its purple body, but I didn¡¯t see where the scorpion part was. It didn¡¯t have a tail or pincers.

    ¡°What did the scorpion add?¡±

    Before she could answer, I knew what had hit the RV. The Royal Frogian shot out its tongue and the barb at the end rammed into the side of our Chaser. It flipped sideways and we rolled so many times, I lost count. We both had our safety harnesses on, which kept us from being thrown clear, but by the time it stopped we were both pretty banged up.

    I looked down at my chest, where Gesai had her palm press against me. Her lips were moving as blue light flowed into me. I patted myself down. She¡¯d been healing me the whole time instead of herself.

    Her arm fell as her lips stopped moving.

    ¡°GESAI!¡±

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 39

    I undid my safety harness.

    We were upside down and I fell on my shoulders and had to roll around to be able to move.

    As soon as my feet were under me, I scrambled over to Gesai and felt for a pulse. There was a faint one, but that was all she needed. She had the Regeneration passive, so as long as she had a pulse, her body would heal itself.

    I undid her harness and that was when I saw that a spear that was in the back of the Chaser had been rammed through her and the seat and was pinning her in place. I had to find a way to get the weapon out of her, so I could get her out of the seat. She wouldn¡¯t be able to fully heal with that shaft inside her.

    As I went around the other side of the Chaser, I realized a big problem. The Royal Frogian was on that side. I started running, but the pointed tongue skewered the grass in front of me. A Chaser was coming my way, but when I tried to run the other way, the Royal Frogian was able to cut off my path again.

    ¡°You are fortunate that Sipher wants you alive.¡±

    I saw Glima on top of the boss monster''s back. I swallowed as two Bandits jumped out of the Chaser and jogged over to me. I still had my sword, but something told me that these weren¡¯t Mundane.

    The one on the left peeled off, while the one to my right went to check on Gesai.

    ¡°Don¡¯t touch her!¡± I started to pull out my sword, but stopped when a blade was pressed against my neck.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t.¡± The Bandit was covered from head to toe in tan leather armor, He had goggles and when he spoke, his voice was rough, like it had sand in it. He motioned with his hand. "Hand it over.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    I thought about fighting, but Glima had said they wanted me alive. I had no chance against these three. Maybe if Rix showed up, I looked over in the direction that she¡¯d been last. There were nothing but bodies and broken vehicles. Whatever manpower Sipher had brought with him, Glima was the only one left. But we were a good ways away from the fight that had the other Chasers, giving them plenty of room. I had a feeling that there wasn¡¯t going to be a dramatic rescue by Rix this time.

    I slowly took off the sword and handed it over. The Bandit deposited it in his crystal band, which I noticed was blue. He turned to the other Bandit.

    ¡°This one didn¡¯t make it.¡± He slapped the bottom of the vehicle. "Chaser is busted too.¡±

    My mind started reeling. I knew that I had felt a pulse. She hadn¡¯t been hurt any more, so her regeneration should have saved her. Maybe her injuries were just too extensive. I found myself hating that she¡¯d prioritized healing me over herself.

    ¡°ATLAS!¡± Glima slapped me.

    I hadn¡¯t realized that I had been moved on top of the frog with her or that the frog had wrapped its tongue around me and was holding me tightly.

    ¡°Glima¡­¡± I realized my heart was speeding up. "Sorry about before.¡±

    ¡°Is Sylph in there?¡± Glima pointed at the RV.

    ¡°She¡¯s safe.¡± I swallowed as I saw the fight unfolding between Trent and Hye versus Sipher, Whisper, and what looked like six other Bandits.

    ¡°Not for long unless your father can win.¡± She shook her head. "Sorry about Gesai, I was not trying to kill her.¡±

    I wanted to scream at her, but it didn¡¯t feel like the smartest thing to do, considering the tightness in and around my chest.

    I tried to steady my breathing. "I know you don¡¯t want to do this, but, can¡¯t you stop this?¡±

    Glima let out a short laugh. "This may seem impressive." She motioned at the monster we were riding on. "But I can not touch any of them.¡± She waved towards the others. ¡°And Sipher is about to win.¡± She shook her head. "You should not have left your safety.¡±

    I found myself starting to agree with her.

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 40

    The fighting stopped as the Royal Frogian lifted me in the air like a trophy.

    A trophy at the end of a very dangerous, tight, and slimy tongue.

    Sipher smiled wide. "I win again.¡± He pointed the dagger in his left hand at the two men. "But I don¡¯t think we can trust each other now¡­¡± He shook his head. "We need an example¡­¡±

    Whisper pointed his sword at the RV. "We only need him, we can kill the rest.¡± He licked his lips. "Slowly.¡±

    ¡°Stop it!¡± I tried to scream, but it was hard to breathe, let alone take a deep breath.

    ¡°Oh, the little runt wants to talk¡­¡± Sipher motioned for the frog to bring me down. It set my feet on the ground and relaxed the tongue a little. We had moved almost five hundred feet from the RV. I could tell Trent had been trying to push them back, so he¡¯d have to worry less about protecting the students and could focus on killing them.

    ¡°Haven¡¯t you lost enough?¡± I motioned with my chin. "How much is it going to cost to replace all of this gear, all of these men?¡± I looked at him. "And what have you gotten out of it?¡± I felt like poking him. "Not a single level.¡±

    ¡°You putrid spawn!¡± He slapped me.

    I had been expecting to get hit, but I have a feeling he tried to hold back only enough to not kill me. My vision blacked out for a moment and I had to blink a lot before the seventeen wobbling grounds merged back into one stable one.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!

    ¡°I will have what I¡¯m due!¡± Sipher looked over at Trent. "And I¡¯m not waiting fourteen weeks this time!¡±

    ¡°Speaking of waiting¡­¡± I looked at Whisper. "What are you getting out of this? Or are you just some mindless lackey?¡±

    The blonde man crossed his arms. "I should have made an example out of you in the bunker.¡±

    ¡°But you didn¡¯t.¡± I realized I was playing with fire after the words left my mouth. "You couldn¡¯t touch me without your master telling you that you can.¡±

    Whisper tightened the grip on his sword and looked at Sipher. "There! See! The great Whisper Err can¡¯t do anything without the say so of a¡­¡± I tried to remember which city Sipher called home.

    ¡°Gar.¡±

    Rix was right next to me and I couldn¡¯t see her.

    ¡°GAR!¡± I smiled broadly. "A Noble taking orders from a Mundane, how progressive of you!¡±

    ¡°You..!¡± Whisper raised his sword, only for Sipher to grab the other man¡¯s arm.

    ¡°He¡¯s just trying to get a rise out of you.¡± Sipher held the man back.

    ¡°And it¡¯s the truth!¡± I gave him the best smug look I could.

    Whisper lowered his sword. "Finish this before I kill him myself.¡±

    Sipher turned towards Trent. "There¡¯s a new deal!¡± He pointed at me, then at Trent. "Your boy for your life.¡±

    ¡°Ohhh.¡± I clicked my tongue. "I guess your daddy isn¡¯t going to let you¡­¡± My words were cut off as Glima had the monster hoist me into the air, out of Whisper¡¯s immediate reach.

    I was about to try to taunt him again when I realized what Sipher was asking.

    ¡°The experience you carry is worth enough to get me to Tier Six, so that¡¯s my new price. Your life for your son''s.¡±

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 41

    I knew he¡¯d do it.

    He¡¯d sacrifice himself and turn one of the biggest monsters in the world into an even bigger one, if that was what the price of protecting me was.

    I had to stop him from agreeing to it.

    ¡°You want to know what I was doing?¡± I found it hard to yell, since the tongue was constricting me again. ¡°I was buying time!¡±

    The other Bandits started looking around. Sipher looked bored and Whisper looked like it was a good thing I wasn¡¯t on the ground.

    ¡°Buying time?¡± Sipher motioned around. "For what?¡±

    I hoped that Rix would be able to improvise something. ¡°For THIS!¡±

    Nothing happened.

    The other Bandits started laughing and Sipher shook his head. "Boy, stop wasting my time.¡±

    ¡°No! I¡¯m serious! My timing was just off! I was buying time for¡­¡± I looked around desperately, trying to figure out where Rix was. "THIS!¡±

    The other Bandits started laughing at me louder until a snake rose up behind one of them. It had one head, but two bodies branched out of its neck. It put the whole head of one of the Bandits in its mouth. Its body wrapped around the Bandit as its teeth began tearing the doomed outlaw apart.

    ¡°Glima!¡± Sipher motioned with his hand and pulled the bald woman off of the back of the Royal Frogian. ¡°How are you doing this? Stop it!¡±

    ¡°It is not me!¡± Glima tried to lift herself up, but her tattoos were glowing, holding her down like metal chains.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    Lightning crackled as a slime rose up ten feet tall. While its body was gelatinous, it had a very distinct bovine face and the claws at the end of its two very flash arms looked very sharp.

    Whisper dashed towards it and reduced it to ash.

    A snake with the head and front legs of a cat slithered towards the Bandits while a scorpion with the body of a rat and wings swooped down from the sky to attack one of the other low level Bandits. The Tier Fours and Tier Threes started trying to play keep away, but soon anyone who was not at least a Tier One was dead.

    Sipher pointed at me. "Trent stop this now or he¡¯s dead!¡±

    Trent held up his hands. "I¡¯m not doing it.¡± He looked at Hye.

    The sandy brunette shook his head. "I have no idea how to do that.¡±

    Trent turned back to the Bandit Leader. "It¡¯s not us.¡±

    Sipher looked down at Glima. "Who is doing this!?¡±

    The bald woman shook her head.

    Another floor boss appeared, then another.

    ¡°Glima!¡± Sipher squatted so that he could scream in her face. "Do something about this!¡±

    The tattoos stopped glowing and she was able to move again.

    Glima nodded obediently as she stood up and reached into the pocket of her decorated brown robe. She began patting herself down, then looking around the ground.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Veins bulged on Sipher¡¯s forehead as his anger level rose.

    ¡°LOOKING FOR SOMETHING?¡±

    Everyone who wasn¡¯t busy eradicating floor monsters turned towards the RV. Rix was sitting on the side of it with her legs hanging off. She held up a worn brown book.

    ¡°Give it back!¡± Glima picked up her robe so she could run, but Sipher stopped her.

    ¡°I need that book!¡± Glima tried to get out of Sipher¡¯s grip.

    ¡°You know¡­ While we were fighting the monsters for the last week, I noticed something. They didn¡¯t have real cores.¡± Rix opened the book and began twirling her knife in her left hand. ¡°But there are real cores in these pages.¡± She stopped at a page. "Royal Frogian¡­¡± She held the book up towards the monster that held me. "Looks right.¡±

    Rix laid the open book on the RV next to her. "I wonder what happens if I break this crystal¡­¡± She stopped twirling the knife.

    ¡°NO!¡± Glima struggled against her captor.

    The redheaded Shooter stabbed the page. Smoke puffed up and the monster holding me vanished.

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 42

    I fell.

    It was only about fifteen feet high, but as soon as my feet hit the ground, I crouched and sprinted forward.

    ¡°DASH!¡±

    I saw Sipher coming from my left and Trent coming from my right. I was slower than either of them, but that didn¡¯t matter, what mattered was that Trent was faster.

    The old man grabbed me with his right hand and tossed me behind him as he continued forward and grabbed Sipher by the collar with his left.

    Rix appeared beside me and pulled me up, dragging me closer to the RV.

    ¡°Thanks for the monsters!¡± I looked at the boss monsters that were still spawning. ¡°How¡¯re you doing that?¡± I looked in her hands. "Where¡¯s the book?¡±

    Rix shrugged. "The book burned up.¡± She pointed her knife at the monsters. "That¡¯s not me.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± Jord Dinx walked around the side of the RV. He had the purple summoning book that Trent had sent for Glima to use. He also had the bag of crystals that Justia was supposed to be using to fuel the shield.

    The brunette Caster looked at me with blue eyes that were bright for the first time since I¡¯d known him. He nodded, then put another crystal over a page in the book. The crystal began to dissolve and a giant skeleton appeared.

    ¡°I can¡¯t control them, but I can summon them.¡± His eyes scanned the battlefield. He flinched when he saw Whisper, but pulled two crystals out of the bag and dropped the bosses on top of the Bandit. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

    The blonde destroyed them with barely moving.

    Jord was sweating profusely, but he set his jaw and didn¡¯t bother to look at what he was summoning, he just kept throwing monster after monster at the other man.

    Hye stepped in between us. "Back away.¡±

    Whisper looked like he might attack, until someone yelled. "It¡¯s the Enforcers!¡±

    The blonde Bandit smirked, then started backing up and headed for a Chaser. There were only two left that could run and the Bandits that were still alive climbed into the two and sped away.

    Leaving only the Bandit under Trent left.

    The old man was punching the bloodied Bandit, who was laughing.

    Trent grabbed the Bandit leader with both hands. "What¡¯s so funny?¡±

    ¡°You think you¡¯ve won?¡± Sipher was slurring his words. "You made a pact! You can¡¯t kill me!¡± He looked over at Hye. "You were in the pact too, so you can¡¯t kill me either!¡± He looked up at the sky that was just starting to lighten. "And nobody else here is strong enough to kill me!¡± His laughter was giving me shivers.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Trent rolled Sipher over and began to put cuffs on him. "You¡¯re going in a hole that never sees sunlight.¡±

    ¡°You think I¡¯m going to stay in jail?¡± Sipher slurred his words. "HA! I¡¯ve got too many friends! Friends that would very much like it if I wasn¡¯t somewhere that I might accidentally let a few of their secrets slip.¡± He laughed more. "I¡¯ll be out by tomorrow morning.¡± His eyes fixed on me. "And then I¡¯m coming for you.¡±

    I could feel the pressure behind his gaze. His honesty. I knew for a fact that he was going to come after me again. They were never going to let me leave.

    ¡°He¡¯s right.¡± I cleared my throat. "We can¡¯t hand him over.¡±

    ¡°The little pup¡¯s got stones!¡± Sipher sagged in Trent¡¯s grip. "You think your little toothpick is going to hurt me?¡±

    I tightened my fists. He was right. We¡¯d barely been able to stun Glima and she was only a Tier Three.

    A new voice cut off my thoughts.

    ¡°He¡¯s right, we can¡¯t hand him over.¡±

    I looked up and saw the redheaded Deacon that was supposed to be dead limping towards us.

    Gesai was alive!

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 43

    It hurt to move, but I ran to her anyway.

    I stopped short though. I didn¡¯t want to hurt her more by hugging her.

    She put a hand on my right shoulder, then hit her knees as she buried herself in my chest.

    Hye ran over and inspected the wound and began healing her. Unfortunately, by the time he got her healed, the Enforcers had arrived.

    ArchBishop Mavery got out of the lead armored vehicle and marched over to us. There were dead Bandits all over the place. He looked at Trent, then at me. ¡°WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS???¡±

    I shrugged and pointed at Sipher. "We got the bad guy?¡±

    The balding old man stomped over to me. I was sitting on the ground with Gesai¡¯s head in my lap and Hye sitting next to her.

    ¡°I gave you very specific instructions about how to conduct yourself and this..!¡± He waves his arms all over the place. "IS NOT IT!¡±

    I swallowed. "Sorry.¡±

    ¡°SORRY?! SORRY?!¡± ArchBishop Mavery¡¯s face got red. "WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF YOU¡¯D DIED OR WORSE?¡± The balding man shook his fist in my face. "THERE ARE WORSE THINGS THAN DEATH!¡±

    I pointed at Sipher. "Then can you do those things to him?¡±

    The ArchBishop stared me down, then turned to Hye. ¡°AND WHERE WERE YOU DURING ALL OF THIS? HUH! YOU¡±RE SUPPOSED TO BE LOOKING AFTER HIM! AND WHERE IS THAT USELESS DAUGHTER OF YOURS?¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡± I grabbed his fist, which earned me gasps from a lot of the people around me. Most of them were Enforcers. ¡°If you want to blame someone, then there are people to blame but it¡¯s not Hye!¡± I leaned forward. "OR JUSTIA!¡±

    You could have heard a pin drop. No one moved. Even Sipher was frozen by my brazenness towards the ArchBishop. It only took a minute for me to realize why. The ArchBishop had authority that was just below that of Gods. The Cathedral could be considered its own realm and the ArchBishop had authority over not only the Cathedral, but also all the Temples in the nearby cities. And I had basically just given him an order.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

    ¡°Then who¡­ is to blame?¡± The ArchBishop lowered his tone.

    ¡°Sipher Gar and Farsch Alard made this plan.¡± I didn¡¯t break eye contact. "I think you can agree that those two are way out of the league of the Publian Clinic.¡±

    The ArchBishop stared at me for a little while longer, then turned to Hye. ¡°It appears that I was acting on bad information. I assure you, this Clinic war is over today. I apologize for misplacing blame.¡±

    The old man looked around at the Enforcers, ¡°What are you standing around for?! Get this stuff recorded and packed up!¡± He stood up and walked over to Trent. "What have we here?¡±

    ¡°Sipher Gar.¡± Trent held him up. "One of the masterminds of this fiasco.¡± The old ArchWizard shook his prisoner. "He believes that you¡¯re going to receive too much pressure to hold him.¡±

    ¡°Is that true?¡± ArchBishop Mavery turned to Sipher. "And who would these powerful friends be?¡±

    ¡°You took orders from the boy¡­¡± Sipher smiled broadly and looked at Trent, then me. "I should have known what I had my hands on¡­¡±

    Gesai scrambled to her feet and grabbed the short sword on Trent¡¯s hip. It¡¯d seen the burns on Fray¡¯s hands, but this was a Four Tier difference, not a one level. Smoke rolled off of her hands as they caught fire.

    Trents and Mavery stepped back as Gesai stabbed him in the chest.

    Sipher leaned forward. Resting his head on her shoulders. "Too. Bad. They. Can. Heal. That.¡±

    Blue light engulfed her as Hye held out his hand.

    I could see the pain on her face as she pulled out the sword. Tears were flowing freely down her face as she stepped back.

    ¡°AAAAHAHHHH!!!¡± She swung the sword, but it didn¡¯t go through Sipher¡¯s neck. She had to steady him with her foot. I saw the flames die down a little and the blade turned red.

    Justia was walking towards us with both of her hands out. Ren was right behind her, focused on the weapon.

    Rix appeared behind him to steady him as Gesai pulled out the sword.

    ¡°You..¡± Sipher sputtered. "Kill¡­¡±

    ¡°GGGAAAAHAHH!!!¡± Gesai took his head off with the next swing. She dropped the sword and fell over as she flash with light so many times.

    I ran over to her and knelt beside her. There was an imprint of the insignia at the end of Trent¡¯s sword melted into her blackened hands.

    ¡°Why?¡± I could stop the tears from flowing

    ¡°He¡­¡± I could see the pain on her face as she twitched. "Knew too much¡­¡±

    I cradled her head as she closed her eyes.

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 44

    ¡°MOM!¡±

    I looked up to see Sylph running across the battlefield towards the pair of Enforcers that held her mother. I closed my eyes as the tears flowed. I already knew what had just happened.

    Oz grabbed the young teen and held her back as the two Enforcers carried Glima¡¯s body to one of the trucks.

    I looked over at ArchBishop Mavery. The balding man had gotten blood all over his white jacket and pants. The stunned look on his face was still there as he tried to process what had just happened.

    ¡°She was an ally.¡± I looked at the two Enforcers. "Please have her buried properly.¡±

    ArchBishop Mavery nodded slowly. He turned to Trent. "You¡¯ve built quite a team.¡±

    Trent smiled. "Just doing what you told me to.¡±

    The Archbishop nodded. "Come. We need to talk more about this.¡± He looked at me. "You too Atlas.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d rather stay here with Gesai.¡± I looked down at her.

    Hye and Justia were still working on her. Her hands were still black and her skin looked a little melted up to her elbows. A few of her fingers looked like they had fused together, but her face looked more peaceful.

    ¡°Atlas!¡± ArchBishop Mavery glared at me. "NOW!¡±

    ¡°Go.¡± Justia touched my arm. "We¡¯ve got her.¡±

    I put my hand over Justia¡¯s and nodded. I lifted up Gesai¡¯s head and Justia slid her lap under the older woman¡¯s head. The brunette Healer stroked Gesai¡¯s red hair as she used the little healing magic she had to help her father try to save the teacher¡¯s hands.

    I stood up. "Coming.¡±

    When we reached the armored car, there was a part of me that wasn¡¯t surprised that Rix was beside me.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

    ¡°What is she doing?¡± The ArchBishop put his arm across the door.

    ¡°Coming with us.¡± Trent gently took the other man¡¯s arm down and motioned for Rix to get in.

    Trent sat next to Mavery and across from Rix. I sat next to Rix.

    There was an uncomfortable silence as the vehicle started moving.

    ¡°Why is she here?¡± The ArchBishop finally broke the silence.

    ¡°Because she knows everything.¡± Trent shrugged. "And it¡¯s easier to have her here, then to relay the information later.¡±

    ¡°Why would you bring someone like¡­¡± Mavery looked at Rix and had no idea how to finish that sentence. ¡°HER?!?¡±

    ¡°Because of this.¡± Rix pulled on her shirt to reveal a brand on her chest that looked almost exactly like mine. She didn¡¯t seem the least bit embarrassed by how much of herself she was showing along with the seal.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to have to redo the seal.¡± Trent shook his head.

    ¡°Wait?¡± I looked at Rix. "Is she a Godling too?¡±

    Rix let out a small laugh and held out her left arm. She touched the crystal to display her stats.

    Rix Zeb - Level 7 - PK

    Age: 18, Hair: Red, Eye color: Brown, Height: 5¡¯9¡±

    834.5 Exp

    Sugaru

    10 Power 8 Defense 10 Speed

    1 Magic 5 Recovery 5 Aura

    Stat Points: 16

    Hide Presence, Dash, Mark, Shadowstep, Godslayer

    Passive: Targeting, Sixth Sense, Erase Presence, Sense Divinity

    I swallowed ¡±Sugaru?¡± I scooted a little further from her.

    ¡°Yes.¡± She shut off the display. "That¡¯s why I told you not to kill anyone.¡± She shook her head. "It would be bad enough for people to learn the truth about me, but you¡­¡± clicked her tongue and drew her finger across her throat. "The other Gods would burn this part of the world down to kill you.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to kill me?¡± I was suddenly feeling very vulnerable.

    Rix gave me a look I¡¯d seen way too many times that told me I¡¯d just asked a stupid question.

    ¡°When did..?¡± I looked from Trent to Rix. "When did this happen?¡±

    ¡°I realized it when I collected her at the end of the first week.¡± Trent sighed. "At first I was a little concerned, but¡­¡±

    ¡°I think you¡¯ll do good.¡± Rix settled back in her seat. "So I let Trent seal my Mantle and bind me to you. Justia might be your High Priestess, but I am your Guardian.¡±

    I looked at Trent. "So she knows everything?¡±

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 45

    ¡°EVERYTHING!¡±

    ArchBishop Mavery finally snapped out of his shock. ¡°You told her EVERYTHING?¡± He turned to Trent. "Without TELLING ME!¡±

    ¡°Plausible deniability.¡± Trent pointed at Rix, then at me. ¡°Think about it. The All-Temple is not only raising a God, but also a God-killer.¡± He let that hang in the air for a moment. "How fast are ALL the Gods going to put aside their differences and burn the Cathedral down if they learn about either one of these two?¡±

    ¡°You want to raise them together?¡± Mavery looked at Rix. "How did you even change your class???¡±

    ¡°My guess is that she had the potential as a family trait.¡± Trent cut off her answer. "She must have awakened it during training, like Edward Rene did.¡±

    The ArchBishop stroked his chin as he thought about it. "Fine. Whatever. Do what you want and I¡¯ll forget about this.¡± He turned to Trent. "What happened with the Alard Clinic?¡±

    ¡°From what I can tell, Farsch got upset at the renovations and word got out of the All-Temple¡¯s support of the Publian Clinic model. Farsch offered to buy them out, even going so far as offering Suna a seat on the board.¡± Trent shook his head. "When that didn¡¯t work, he resorted to kidnapping. Sipher was supposed to take extras so it didn¡¯t seem like it was targeted kidnapping, so he took Gesai Alard and tried to ransom her back to Farsch. Farsch was insulted that Sipher would try to get more All out of him, and refused to pay. Sipher then worked out a deal with me, because¡­¡± His eyes narrowed. "Atlas told him that he was my secret lovechild.¡±If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Mavery looked from me to Trent. "How do you know this?¡±

    Trent laughed. "I¡¯ve been farming in the dungeon with him for over two weeks and the man likes to brag.¡±

    ¡°So this wasn¡¯t about Atlas?¡± Mavery seemed relieved.

    ¡°Not at first. In fact Sipher would never have taken Atlas if the boy wouldn¡¯t have offered himself as a target¡­¡± Trent¡¯s voice was full of irritation.

    ¡°I had to do it, they were going to sell Rix to¡­¡± I had forgotten the name of the Bandit crew she¡¯d been with. ¡°Bandits who wanted to kill her. I couldn¡¯t let them do that.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    It was a simple question, but I didn¡¯t have a simple answer for her on the tip of my tongue.

    ¡°Because you¡¯re... I mean you¡­ It¡¯s like¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t find the right way to phrase it and realized I¡¯d also not been breathing as I searched for the right words. I took a deep breath and found them. ¡°Because you¡¯re my friend and it would be wrong for me to stand aside and watch you get hurt when it¡¯s within my power to stop it.¡±

    Rix motioned with an open right hand at me. "And that¡¯s how he¡¯s going to get us all killed.¡±

    Trent laughed. "And why you¡¯re helping him.¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Mavery swished his arms. "Atlas has a bleeding heart. What are we going to do about Farsch?¡± He looked at Trent. "He¡¯s not exactly someone I can touch very easily. Do you think he¡¯s going to be a problem?¡¯

    Trent thought for a moment.

    ¡°Use Gesai.¡±

    The old man looked over at Rix. "Come again?¡±

    ¡°Use Gesai. This old man is all about his image. That image is family pride, and he¡¯s upset that Suna left the family.¡± Rix raised an eyebrow. "She can¡¯t exactly go back now.¡±

    Trent nodded. "That could work¡­ Oh. About Gesai, there''s something I need you to do.¡±

    Mavery sighed. "I¡¯m not going to like this, am I?¡±

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 46

    We were sent straight to Harror.

    Once we reached the Cathedral we were rushed into another vehicle where we were driven to Harror. Trent worked on fixing Rix¡¯s seal while we rode, so I tried to keep myself occupied writing a message to Ether to let her know we were alright now. Then I fell asleep. I¡¯d been awake for almost the whole night. It was six in the morning and we had a few hours until we reached Harror.

    I woke up when the car stopped at the Publian Clinic. As we got out, I checked my messages. I had one from Ether, which I opened immediately.

    Atlas, I¡¯m so happy you¡¯re safe and free! I hate that I wasn¡¯t able to see you while you were here, but I talked to Justia this morning and she said that you had a very important job that you had to do in Harror before you come back. I can¡¯t wait to see you tonight! Love you!

    I smiled. It¡¯d been twenty four days since I¡¯d seen her. Technically I¡¯d now been away from her longer than I¡¯d known her. It felt strange to try to think about what life had been like without her.

    ¡°ATLAS!¡± Gesai wrapped me in a hug, breaking me out of my thoughts. "I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re safe!¡±

    I looked at her hands, they were still black, but at least she could use them. Her skin was going to be permanently scarred. They could heal her body, but scars were out of their realm of ability.

    She saw me looking at her hands. "Do you hate it?¡± She pulled a pair of white laced elbow-length gloves out of her crystal band. "I can wear gloves.¡±This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    I took her hands together and kissed them. "I think it shows everyone just how strong you are.¡± I kissed her hands again. "So no, I don¡¯t hate them.¡±

    She squealed and wrapped me in a hug again.

    Yeah, I had a lot to tell Ether about.

    ¡°Did you hear about my stats?!¡± She reached for her crystal band.

    Trent stopped her. ¡°We can have time for that later.¡± He pointed at the car in the driveway. "We have an appointment to keep.¡±

    Hye and Suna Publian were already in the car. Rix got in the back and scooted over as far as she could to make room for me and Justia. Trent ushered Gesai into the car that Paul was driving. Dacine and Oz were already in the car and waiting on us to go.

    We rode in silence as we drove to the Alard Clinic Headquarters.

    The five of us got out of the car and met us with the other five.

    Trent marched the ten of us into the Clinic. I noticed that Gesai was wearing the gloves she had taken out earlier. Everyone looked nervous and I could understand why. They were the ones that were going to have to do the talking. All I had to do was stand there.

    Trent completely ignored the blonde at the front desk and led us to the stairs. It was a climb to go up five flights, but considering how much running I¡¯d been having to do during training, this was nothing.

    The sixth floor was reserved for VIPs, so the door at the top of the stairs was locked. Trent broke the door knob with his bare hands and opened the door for us. A very flustered brown-haired man in his early thirties tried to intercept us.

    ¡°You can¡¯t be up here! You need to leave! I¡¯ve already called security!¡±

    Trent stopped and glared at him. "Do you know who I am?¡±

    The man was shaking as he nodded.

    ¡°Do you think your security can MAKE me leave?¡± Trent moved the man out of his way and walked over to the large ornamented wooden doors.

    ¡°Time to see the man at the belly of the beast.¡± Trent pulled the doors open.

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 47

    Farsch Alard was doing his best not to look surprised.

    ¡°Why Trent Vowler! My old friend! You should have called ahead and I would have shown you a grand welcoming.¡± The balding man tried to look around all of us. "Jenson! Cancel that security call, these are dear friends that I must have forgotten to put on my schedule!¡±

    The man in the hallway nodded as he ran off.

    Hye closed the doors behind us.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t have enough seats for everyone, maybe the conference room..?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re fine standing.¡± Hye crossed his arms as Suna sat in one of the seats across from the desk.

    Justia sat in the one in the middle, while Gesai sat in the last one.

    I was still amazed at how exactly like the memory this room was. It felt like I had already been here, even though this was my first time. Trent¡¯s mental magic was awesome.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we skip formalities and get to why you are here.¡± Farsch sat down behind his desk.

    ¡°We know you were behind the kidnapping.¡± Trent folded his arms.

    ¡°I knew there was a kidnapping, but I didn¡¯t know your family was involved. If I had, then I assure you, I would have¡­¡±

    ¡°Gesai was kidnapped too and you were given a ransom demand.¡± Hye cut him off. He slammed his fist on the table hard enough to leave cracks in the wood. Farsch eyed the damage. I was guessing that was a Tier Five desk.

    ¡°You sent a killer after my daughter. You sacrificed your own kin. For what? Pride? Because it looks bad that your niece isn¡¯t part of your empire?¡± Hye gritted his teeth as he stared at the older man.

    Farsch closed his eyes and tried to steady his breathing. "If we¡¯re going to talk about family matters, then why are they here?¡±

    ¡°Because you had our daughter kidnapped to send a message to us.¡± Dacine put her arms around Oz.

    ¡°And my son too.¡± I felt Trent¡¯s hand on my shoulders. They were heavy, but I knew that weight wasn¡¯t a burden, but a weapon that would be used against my enemies. ¡°And I got the message loud and clear¡­¡±

    Farsch had started to get defensive when Dacine talked, but after Trent¡¯s revelation, he was as white as Gesai¡¯s gloves.

    ¡°I¡­I¡­I¡­I was just trying to motivate you to do the right thing. That man went too far and I couldn¡¯t control him!¡± His eyes were locked on Trent. "I didn¡¯t know you had any children¡­ I¡­ Congratulations?¡±

    ¡°Here¡¯s how this is going to go.¡± Trent walked over to the other side of the desk. "You¡¯re going to give up on this fantasy of having all your family members under your thumb. You¡¯re going to leave the Publian Clinic alone and you¡¯re going to rethink the way you do business. AND¡­!¡± He pointed at Gesai. "You¡¯re going to listen to what she has to say.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Farsch was still looking at Trent when Gesai cleared her throat.

    Trent grabbed Farsch¡¯s head and turned it to Gesai. "You. Are. Going. To. Listen.¡±

    Farsch put up about a second of resistance before he realized it was useless.

    ¡°Go ahead.¡± Trent nodded at Gesai. "He¡¯s listening.¡± Trent bent down so he could speak directly into Farsch¡¯s ear. "Aren¡¯t you?¡±

    Farsch nodded vigorously.

    ¡°You treated me¡­¡± Gesai¡¯s voice caught in her throat.

    I moved over and put my hands on her shoulders. She patted my hand and started again.

    ¡°You treated me like a sacrificial pawn.¡± Gesai swallowed. "You sacrificed me for revenge against Aunt Suna for leaving, then threw me away because you thought I was nothing!¡¯

    She pulled off the glove on her left hand. Farsch gasped when he saw the burns and disfigurement. She tapped on her crystal band to display her stats.

    Gesai Alard - Level 44

    Age: 25, Hair: Red, Eye color: Green

    Skin: Silver, Blood: White, Height: 5¡¯3¡±

    373,878.80 Exp

    Sacrist

    260 Power 96 Defense 260 Speed

    120 Magic 320 Recovery 50 Aura

    Skills: High Heal, Fire Slash, Ice Smash, Acid Stab, Water Sweep, High Cure

    Passive: Silent Casting T4, Targeting T5, Sixth Sense T5, Regeneration T6, Dodge T5, Immovable T4, Grip T5

    ¡°Does this look like nothing!¡± Gesai dismissed the display and pulled off the other glove. "Does this look like I don¡¯t have what it takes to persevere?!¡± She slammed her burnt fists on the table as she stood up, shaking my hands off. "ANSWER ME!¡±

    ¡°I..I.. Clearly misjudged you. I¡¯m sure we can find¡­¡±

    ¡°I already have a job.¡± She looked at Trent. "I¡¯m going to be a teacher at the Cathedral.¡±

    ¡°A teacher?!?! But isn¡¯t that the job I gave you?!¡± Farsch looked flustered

    ¡°Yes. You sent me to be a teacher. Not for me to teach, but for me to DIE.¡± She took a deep breath. "This is a path that I chose. It was a job that I was OFFERED. I came here today to tell you that I¡¯m done with you. Consider me to be out of the family and I hope I never see you again!¡±

    Gesai stormed over to the doors and threw them open. She marched out and never looked back.

    Trent released Farsch.

    ¡°You just lost another niece.¡± Suna shook her head. "How many more family members are you willing to sacrifice for your ego?¡± She got up with Justia. The other six walked out of the room, leaving me, Rix, and Trent alone with Farsch.

    ¡°Let¡¯s cut to chase. I know you hate being told what to do, but here¡¯s how it¡¯s going to be.¡± Trent turned Farsch¡¯s chair so that the other man was looking up at him. "You¡¯re going to give a grand speech about how happy you are about the safe return of your niece and how excited you are about her new job. You are going to publically announce an Acknowledgement of the Publian Clinic and how you applaud their drive to help the Mundane. You are going to take down that gaudy sign from in front of their Clinic and¡­¡± Trent crossed his arms and pointed at me. "I don¡¯t care if you know Harror herself. If you EVER, indirectly or directly, lay a finger on my kid or one of my students, I will march up here and give you flying lessons.¡± He eyed the other man. "Do we understand each other?¡±

    Farsch nodded earnestly.

    ¡°Alright." He nodded towards the door. "Let¡¯s go son.¡±

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 48

    A car picked us up outside the Clinic.

    We drove straight back to the Cathedral. It felt strange just the three of us driving back and leaving Justia there, but she was supposed to come with Gesai after they got some stuff finalized at the Publian Clinic. Trent still had work to do to finish the remodel, but he planned on taking care of that on the weekends.

    With all the excitement, I thought I¡¯d be up for hours, but I fell asleep before we left the city limits. I woke up when the car stopped inside the Cathedral. We walked back to our dorms, which seemed a little bit larger than before. When we walked in, I realized that the dorm was bigger. There were eleven beds inside the building instead of seven. The beds in the middle of the room were bunk beds, which meant that twelve people could sleep in this dorm.

    ¡°Atlas!¡± Ether wrapped me in a hug. I pulled in close and kissed her. This felt right, being here with her. She pulled away and buried her white hair in my chest. ¡°I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re safe!¡±

    I stroked her hair. And wished this moment would never end.

    Then Aelin happened.

    ¡°Atlas! Rix!¡± She looked around. "Where¡¯s Justia?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s coming.¡± I looked at Trent as I remembered a promise I¡¯d made. "Trent, What happened to Sylph? I promised her mother that I¡¯d look after her.¡±

    ¡°Rix already told me about that.¡± Trent nodded at the redhead who had already walked over to her bed in the corner and curled up on it. "I had her taken to the Clinic. Hye and Suna could use someone to dote on and she¡¯s the same age as Joy, so hopefully they¡¯ll get along and have someone there for each other.¡±If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    I nodded. It sounded like Rix had done a good job of taking care of that for me.

    ¡°So¡­¡± Aelin bent to the side so she could be in my field of vision. "Any new additions to the harem?¡±

    Well¡­¡± I had been dreading this part.

    ¡°You did?!¡± Aelin slapped me on the shoulder.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a done deal.¡± Considering what Gesai had done to keep my secret safe, it was pretty close. ¡°Ether has to approve it.¡±

    My love looked up at me with her bright red eyes. "Who is it?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s two somebodies!¡±

    Aelin looked over at where Rix was either pretending to or actually sleeping. ¡°Did you do something to Rix?¡±

    ¡°No!¡± At the moment, I couldn¡¯t imagine doing something with Rix. I could imagine her doing something to me, but that was nightmare fuel that I was trying not to think about.

    ¡°Hmm, Fray! You better get on this! You¡¯re falling behind in the rankings!¡±

    The quiet brunette had been hiding in the bathroom. She walked out in a blue t-shirt and jeans. Blue was our team color, so it was a requirement that if we weren¡¯t going to wear our blue jumpsuit, that was essentially our uniform, we had to have a large amount of blue on our clothes.

    My and Rix¡¯s leather armor had been dyed blue. Ether was wearing blue shorts and a white sports bra with a large blue stripe on the side. Aelin had on something that looked like blue pajama top and bottoms with some sort of decoration on it.

    ¡°Hi Atlas, I¡¯m happy you¡¯re back.¡± She blushed and looked away from me.

    ¡°You can do better than that!¡± Aelin motioned towards me. "He¡¯s been starved of female companionship for over three weeks! Give him a kiss!¡±

    ¡°Aelin!¡± I tried my best to ignore Ether snickering against my chest. "Quit trying to force her in that direction. If it¡¯s going to happen, let it happen naturally.¡± I looked at Fray. "I¡¯m sure you¡¯re used to¡­¡±

    Fray ran over and kissed me on the cheek. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re back.¡± She blushed and ran outside.

    ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t expect that.¡±

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 49

    It wasn¡¯t just two people that showed up.

    I¡¯d assumed that the extra beds were for the second team that Gesai was going to lead. Given her level, she was going to have power, but not so much experience. By pairing her with Trent, he¡¯d be able to teach her and we could keep her close.

    So I wasn¡¯t surprised when Justia and Gesai walked in. Gesai was wearing a green jacket with white shirt and pants, and she still had on the long, lacey, white gloves. The green made her green eyes stand out even more.

    Gesai honed in on where I was and came over to my bed where I was sitting with Ether curled up against me.

    Gesai walked over and sat on the foot of my bed. "This must be the woman I¡¯ve heard about.¡±

    ¡°Ether, this is Gesai. Gesai, Ether.¡± I motioned between them. I was glad that Justia was here because I could only imagine the fun Aelin was going to have with this.

    Ether looked up at me. "A teacher?¡±

    ¡°She wasn¡¯t¡­¡± The defense I had come up with fell apart when I realized that she had been my teacher while we were in captivity. ¡°She¡¯s not my teacher now.¡±

    Ether laughed softly. "Aelin is going to¡­¡±

    ¡°I know, I know¡­¡± My words caught in my throat as Oz and Ren walked in wearing green jumpsuits. Oz was looking around and when our eyes met, she blushed and moved to claim a bunk.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°Her too?¡± Ether playfully slapped my chest. "Aelin was right, you were busy.¡±

    ¡°Nothing happened.¡± I stroked her hair. "I wasn¡¯t going to do anything you didn¡¯t approve of.¡±

    ¡°Well, there was that one night the two of you slept together.¡± Gesai grinned.

    ¡°Hey! That wasn''t..! I mean..! Our clothes stayed on and she slept on top of my blanket and had her own.¡± I looked down at Ether. "Jord had almost been beaten to death and she wanted to feel safe.¡± I realized I was turning dark gray as I blushed. "Nothing happened that I wouldn¡¯t have done with Justia.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going to try to convert Justia now?¡± Ether whistled. "You do have lofty goals.¡±

    ¡°No¡­¡± I sighed. "You know what I mean, besides, Justia¡¯s like a sister to me, so nothing would ever¡­¡±

    Ether put her fingers against my lips. "Defensive is a bad look on you.¡± She gave me a mischievous grin. "Embarrassed on the other hand gives you a little color.¡±

    I sighed as she slid over to my right side and patted my chest.

    ¡°Come on and tell me more about the bad things he did while he was out.¡± Ether smiled at Gesai.

    The older woman practically jumped across the bed to snuggle up next to me. I looked down at them before Gesai could recount anything.

    ¡°If you¡¯re going to make this a normal thing, I¡¯m going to need a bigger bed.¡± I squeezed both of them. We fit, but there wasn¡¯t much room to move.

    ¡°I think I could use some of my authority to arrange that.¡± Gesai giggled. "What all can I do?¡±

    ¡°We could move my bed frame over and get a big mattress.¡± Ether nodded at the bed to my right.

    ¡°I thought that was Justia¡¯s bed.¡±

    ¡°We moved her over there so she could be by Aelin.¡± Ether pointed at beds. "Now it goes, Justia, Aelin, Rix.¡± She changed to this side. "You, me, Fray.¡±

    ¡°Gotcha.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but smile. It felt good to be home.

 Book 4 - The Escape - Chapter 50

    Trent gathered all ten of us together.

    The dorm had been locked down and sealed so that we could have this discussion with as much privacy as possible.

    ¡°Some of you already know what I¡¯m about to tell you, but a lot of you don¡¯t.¡± He looked over at where Ren and Oz were sitting together. Ether was sitting next to me and almost across from them in the circle. Rix was on my left, much to the disappointment of Gesai, who was standing next to Trent. Fray was to Ether¡¯s right and Ren¡¯s left, while after Rix it went Aelin, then Justia.

    ¡°What I¡¯m about to tell you will potentially mark you for life.¡± He looked at Gesai, then Oz, then Ren, and finally Fray. ¡°It¡¯s a big secret to keep, but we believe that we can trust you.¡±

    He let the suspense build. "Atlas is special in many ways. First, his class is not Caster, but Hero. He has a seal on his chest that will mask his true class and stats to anyone who is Tier Five or lower.¡± He waited to let that sink in.

    Gesai¡¯s eyes were wide as she realized just how close to the truth she had been. She looked at me and smiled. I smiled back at her.

    Oz raised her hand. ¡°What¡¯s the big deal about the Hero class?¡±

    ¡°The big deal is that the Hero class is specifically tuned to kill demons¡­¡± Rix waited for a moment. "And Gods.¡±

    I swallowed and tried not to take it as a threat. I knew she was on my side, but it felt strange realizing that she was one of the biggest things that could kill me. In fact, something that was made specifically to kill me was training beside me. If Rix ever did decide to take me out, I had no doubt, I wouldn¡¯t stand a chance against her.

    ¡°So he gets rid of the bad apples.¡± Oz shrugged, ¡°Why is that a problem?¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re a bad apple, would you want to break the knife while it¡¯s small and brittle, or once it gets sharp and hardened?¡± I let the analogy sink in. "Basically, they know they¡¯re going to get deposed if they let me level, so they¡¯ll try to kill me while I¡¯m in the lower Tiers before I can become a threat to them.

    ¡°Oh.¡± Oz looked at me with pity I think was the emotion. It may have been sadness though, I couldn¡¯t tell.

    ¡°There are two more big things to discuss. First is that we¡¯re going to tell everyone that he is my secret lovechild. This will stop any rumors wondering why he can do any of the amazing things he¡¯ll do.¡±

    Aelin raised her eyebrow and leaned forward to look at me. "There was some truth to that huh?¡±

    ¡°Trent has sort of adopted me." I looked around. "So it¡¯s not really a lie, we¡¯re just fudging the biological aspect.¡±A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    ¡°Do you have any secret love children?¡± Aelin looked at Trent.

    The old man chuckled. "Not that I know of.¡±

    He pointed at Rix. "There is also an issue with Rix. We know that during times of stress, you can awaken familial abilities which can change your class.¡±

    Everyone looked at Rix

    She didn¡¯t answer any of the questions that got rapid fired at her.

    ¡°She is also a Hero.¡± Trent sighed. "So she has to have a mark now to cover that.¡±

    ¡°Wait!¡± Aelin stood up. "Does this mean that we¡¯re all eventually going to get the Hero class?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Trent took a deep breath. "I¡¯ve only seen a Hero once and that was at their public execution almost a hundred years ago.¡± He looked around the room. "I¡¯m asking for you to help cover for them. And I would really like it if you enter into a contract to keep you from revealing this information accidentally.¡±

    Gesai stepped forward and put her hand out. "I¡¯ll do it¡±

    I put my hand out. "I¡¯ll do it again.¡± There was something else that needed to be kept a secret, and I wasn¡¯t immune to interrogation.

    That prompted Rix, Ether, Justia, and Aelin to put their hands out too. Oz was next, followed by Ren. Fray was the only one who hadn¡¯t put out her hand. And everyone was watching her.

    ¡°Will it hurt?¡± Fray looked around the room.

    ¡°Not as much as the first one we did.¡± I mumbled under my breath.

    ¡°What about the rest of our team?¡± Oz looked around. "There¡¯s only me and Ren right now.¡±

    ¡°What about Jord?¡± Ren offered.

    ¡°Jord will be coming here, but not on this team.¡± Trent looked at Gesai. "He experienced mana overload from channeling so many high level crystals for summoning. He¡¯ll need to detox, but since this was his first time, he should be good in about a month. I believe Miss Reder will be taking him on her secondary team.¡±

    ¡°There are more secondary teams?¡± Aelin exclaimed.

    ¡°We¡¯re expanding all the teams to have secondary teams.¡± The old man turned back to us. "As for the rest of the Green team, I¡¯ve already received requests from Nobles from the neighboring cities that this Cathedral supports. While I¡¯m hesitant to add more Nobility to our team, I believe that not doing so right now will be seen as a huge favoritism towards Harror.¡±

    Three of us were from Zeb and now there would be four from Harror. That meant almost three quarters of our new team would be from just two cities.

    ¡°Gesai and I will work out which of the cities we won¡¯t be including and once we do, we¡¯ll head to each one to sift through the candidates. And the rest of you will work on your dungeon clears. I¡¯m told the other teams here are already on the third floor.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re already level three?¡± I didn¡¯t think we¡¯d been gone that long. But I was level three, so I guessed it was possible.

    ¡°No, they¡¯re progressing up floors for better experience.¡± Trent yawned. "But it¡¯s been a long day, and I¡¯m sure all of you could use the rest.¡±

    The older Caster began weaving the sealing spell in between us. It only took a moment to take hold, then the light was gone.

    ¡°Now get some sleep.¡± Trent touched Gesai¡¯s shoulder and the two of them walked out of the room.

    We moved the chairs back to our desks and went to our beds. Ether climbed in next to me and I realized just how much I¡¯d missed having her sleeping with her head on my chest. I closed my eyes. Everything was going to be alright.

 Book 4 - The Escape - Epilogue

    Bethil Reder looked nervous.

    It was only natural, he supposed. While the teachers had meetings with the ArchBishop on occasion, this was far from normal.

    ¡°You¡¯re sure about this?¡± Mavery looked up from the paper in front of him.

    ¡°As sure as I can be.¡± Trent nodded. "Celia was able to secure the Desolation of Gar while we were fighting with Sipher and Whisper. There was a brief interaction between the two, but Whisper took his Chasers and left the continent.¡±

    The ArchBishop rubbed his temples. "This is going to look like the All-Temple is trying to start an Outpost.¡±

    ¡°Celia has other dungeons under her control. Just because she¡¯s doing one of her stints here as a teacher doesn¡¯t mean that it¡¯s a grab by the Cathedral to make a satellite.¡± Trent pulled out another piece of paper out of his crystal band on his left wrist. "It was either that or sending Warder to secure it.¡±

    ¡°And we know what the Dispatchers would do with it¡­¡± The ArchBishop took the piece of paper and looked it over. He glared at Trent over the top of it. "You can¡¯t be serious.¡±

    ¡°Geus has sent forces into Haux to secure it as a staging area. And they¡¯re hiring mercenaries. It looks like they¡¯re about to go to war with Iver.¡± Trent shook his head. Haux was in the Godless zone in between the two cities. When the war happened, it was going to be the people in that city that suffered the most.

    ¡°Those aren¡¯t in my Ward, so why should I care?¡± Mavery was sounding irritated.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    ¡°Because¡­¡± Trent pulled out a third piece of paper. "Slece and Juel have cut off trading with Iver. And¡­¡± Trent leaned forward and pointed at a line near the bottom. "Therus has moved now that he''s free of Sipher.¡± He walked over to the map of the world on the wall and pointed at Atrey. "Slece and Juel have done nothing to stop them from setting up in either town.¡±

    ¡°The Temple does not get involved in the wars between Gods.¡± Mavery put down the papers. "Not yet.¡±

    ¡°Um¡­¡± Bethil raised her hand. "Why am I here?¡±

    Paul Mite crossed his arms. "I¡¯d like to know that as well.¡±

    Trent looked around the room, he wished there were more people here. He wished that they had the power to stop what was about to happen. Right now all he had were Bethil Reder, Paul Mite, Hayz Calx, and Gesai Alard. They needed more allies. He now knew that he could count on Hye and Suna Publian as well as Dacine Mite. He had more students and friends he could call on, but they all had responsibilities.

    ¡°You¡¯re here because there are a lot of things going on right now.¡± The old Caster shook his head. He had a Godling and a Hero in his class. Things were going to get a lot more interesting the higher level they got. He took in a deep breath. "War is coming and we need to be ready.¡± He turned to Paul. "That¡¯s why we¡¯re putting you with Hayz¡¯s team.¡± He looked at the ArchBishop. "And as much as you don¡¯t like it, we need Celia. Her network and Adventurer teams are an army by themselves.¡±

    The ArchBishop groaned. ¡°You realize how fast this can blow up in our face?¡±

    Trent felt that burden on his shoulders. But there were too many people dying every day as collateral damage in the wars between the Gods.

    ¡°She doesn¡¯t have to know everything, but I¡¯d like your permission to ask her to help evacuate Atray and Haux.¡± Trent pointed at the map.

    Mavery sighed. "Do it. But you¡¯re paying for it.¡±

    Trent nodded. "I can do that.¡± He just had one more thing to take care of. He looked at the redheaded Healer. "Bethil, I have someone in mind for your assistant. I think you¡¯ll like this.¡±

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 1

    It felt strange to wake up in my bed.

    What felt even weirder was that I thought of it as my bed. I¡¯d only slept in it three times since receiving my Mantle thirty-six days ago. Even having a Mantle felt strange. Learning about my class, what it would mean if I was discovered, and even learned that Rix was a class that I was pretending to be.

    There were so many other weird things that I¡¯d experienced in the last five weeks, but waking up with Ether using my chest as a pillow felt right.

    I¡¯d only known the white-haired, red-eyed woman for less than two weeks of the total time I¡¯d been at the Cathedral and it felt like she¡¯d been with me for as long as I could remember. I lazily traced my finger over her arm. The movement didn¡¯t cause her to stir in the slightest. She was a sound sleeper and one who had a little difficulty waking up.

    I heard a noise and looked around the room. Gesai Alard, our new assistant teacher, was getting up from her bed near the door of the large building that housed our dorm. Other than two bathrooms against the back wall, there was nothing else inside of the single-story building. Calling them bathrooms felt disingenuous though. They were a room of showers and a room of toilet stalls and sinks. I was still having to get used to the different dimensions of the dorm. Before we had been taken it had been half the size it was now.

    The redheaded teacher looked over at my bed and frowned before heading outside. It was still early enough in the morning that our main teacher, Trent Vowler, and Rix Zeb, my classmate, would be the only two awake. Honestly, I had started to wonder if Rix ever slept, but if the other redheaded woman in the building did, she found time when I wasn¡¯t able to see it.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!

    As much as I wanted to stay in bed and snuggle with the warm woman laying on me, I had a feeling that I needed to head outside too. I knew that with Trent, planning sessions happened in the courtyard outside the dorm and if I wanted to know what we were doing, and possibly have some input on that, I needed to be out there.

    I grabbed the pillow from under my head and slid it underneath hers and I rolled out from under Ether. I slipped into the blue jumpsuit that I¡¯d left on the floor next to my bed the night before, stepped into my boots and began walking past the row of bunk beds in the middle of the room to get to the door.

    There were eleven beds in the room, two at the front for the two teachers, three single beds on either side of the room and three bunk beds in the middle of the room. There were only two students claiming spots on the bunk beds, and both of them were in the bunk closest to the front of the dorm. Just as I passed by them, I heard feet softly hit the floor behind me. I turned around and came face to face with the black-haired, green-eyed newest member of our team.

    Ozet, though only her parents got away with calling her that. She was tall for a woman, at five foot eight, though that was still four inches shorter than me. I had the advantage of having my shoes on, which made the height difference seem larger.

    ¡°Going somewhere?¡± Oz began getting into her green jumpsuit that looked like mine except for the color. There were two parts to our team, the Blue, of which were the first six of us, and the Green, which currently only had two members.

    The Cathedral was expanding the roster of teams from four to eight, which meant that we were going to have to fill the other four spots with recruits that hadn¡¯t made the original cut.

    ¡°Gesai is out front with Trent and¡­¡± I squinted to see better in the dimly lit room and as I suspected, there was no one in the back-left bed. ¡°Rix.¡± I motioned at the front. "I have a feeling they¡¯re talking about what we¡¯re doing today and I thought I¡¯d join them.¡±

    ¡°Sounds good.¡± Oz looked at the blonde woman sleeping on the bottom bunk. Satisfied that Ren Zavel was still asleep, she turned back to me. "After you.¡±

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 2

    There was no one in the courtyard.

    That surprised me because I didn¡¯t feel like Gesai had been outside long enough to have left.

    ¡°There¡¯s no one here.¡± Oz looked up at the single tree in the courtyard. It was still summer, so the tree was bright green and casting a shadow against the rising sun to our East. ¡°Now what?¡±

    I thought about going back inside for a moment. But before I could answer a voice from behind me answered.

    ¡°They¡¯re in the cafe.¡±

    Oz and I both turned around. I would have expected Rix to sneak up on me, but instead, there was a brown-haired, blue-eyed woman standing in the door.

    Justia Publian pointed at the gate that led out of the courtyard. "We can probably still catch up.¡±

    ¡°Why do you think that?¡± It wasn¡¯t that I doubted her. She was one of the five people who knew the secret of what I really was. She was smart, if sometimes too cautious. I was simply curious what she¡¯d seen or heard that I hadn¡¯t.

    ¡°Mister Vowler told Gesia to meet him there last night after our meeting.¡± She started walking towards the exit.

    I followed after her with Oz right beside me. The venue felt very strange. We couldn¡¯t exactly have a private conversation there very well. But I guessed that maybe he wanted to eat while he talked.

    We took the necessary turns to bring us to the cafe. When we had first gotten here, Trent had led us to believe that we would have to eat the hard, bland, ration bars for the entirety of our six year stay. While I had spent the last four years of my life eating them for most of my meals, I had been grateful when I¡¯d discovered that it had just been a training exercise, to get us prepared for times when we might have to spend prolonged periods of time in the dungeon. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

    The cafe welcomed us with the smell of warm food and the sounds of people enjoying it. There were five other years of classes here, plus all the workers, and the few Adventurer Nobility that lived at the Cathedral. I saw the table where Trent and Gesai were sitting. My white haired teacher let a small grin flash across his face when I saw him and nodded towards the line.

    ¡°Let¡¯s grab something to eat first.¡± I touched Oz and Justia on the shoulders to guide them towards the hot food.

    The cousins walked in front of me and grabbed plates. They were really second cousins, and there were almost no features that they shared, but it didn¡¯t take long when you were around them to start seeing some of the same mannerism in the two. Their parents both lived above the Clinic that Justia¡¯s parents ran, so the two of them had basically been raised like sisters.

    I watched them fill their plates with almost the same exact food and shook my head. I was glad that we were getting secondary classes, so Oz could be close to her cousin.

    ¡°Atlas!¡±

    I turned to my right and saw Wrye Tribble waving at me. The black-haired, brown-eyed second year was eating with the rest of his class. There was a large part of me that was still weirded out by how friendly the second year was towards me. Trent had originally been their teacher, and on the third day here, all six of them had decided to haze us as revenge for taking their teacher. Rix had snapped and almost killed two of them and they might have actually died if Trent hadn¡¯t been watching the whole thing and decided to turn it into a training exercise for both teams. After five days of chasing Rix around on the third floor, the group had decided that our team was more in need of Trent¡¯s training than they were.

    I waved back and he turned back to his meal. I realized that my teammates had progressed nearly to the end of the line and hurried up to meet them. I had just reached them when another student tripped and their half full tray of food got launched at both women.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry!¡±

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 3

    He wasn¡¯t.

    I could hear it in his voice that there was pride in how well he had made it look like an accident.

    I reached for a napkin, but by the time that I turned back to the women, they were clean. The food had been pulled off of them and was hovering in front of them. I heard someone snap their fingers and the ruined food vanished.

    Trent had cleaned off the two women and the only indication that he¡¯d been involved was that he was still holding up his hand after he snapped his fingers.

    The red-haired, blue-eyed young man dusted himself off as he got up. I could see the family resemblance between him and Justia in more than just the eyes. He was a second cousin as well, but on her grandfather¡¯s side instead of her grandmother¡¯s.

    ¡°I¡¯m so glad that could be cleaned up so easily!¡± Gileon Alard reached out to touch Justia, but she pulled just out of his reach.

    Oz cut in front of her cousin as the brunette stepped back. ¡°Too bad they can¡¯t fix your personality that easily.¡±

    ¡°It was an honest mistake, Oz-let.¡± The redhead held up his hands. "It could have happened to anyone.¡±

    Oz clenched her fists, which I felt was my cue to step in.

    ¡°It¡¯s all cleaned up, so why don¡¯t we finish getting our breakfast and go eat.¡± I motioned to where our teachers were sitting.

    I noticed that the cafe had gotten very quiet as most were waiting to see if there was going to be a fight. A busty blonde moved through the tension as she strutted over to us seemingly unfazed by the tension. She trailed a long nail up the side of Gileon¡¯s arm, causing him to flinch away from the stare down.

    ¡°So serious so early in the morning.¡± Bridget Tres laughed sweetly as she turned to smile at me. "I hate to ruin all this fun, but I really wanted some fruit.¡± She batted her eyes at me. "You don¡¯t mind if I cut in line?¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    I swallowed and motioned to the cafe line to my left. "Go ahead.¡±

    ¡°So sweet.¡± Bridget grabbed a single berry from the container and popped it in her mouth. "Call me anytime, I¡¯d love to work with you.¡± She looked at Gileon, her voice still as smooth as silk. "You lost all of your food! Let me walk you back to the front of the line and get that replaced!¡± She took his arm and started guiding the stunned young man away from us.

    The rest of the cafe resumed what they were doing now that the potential entertainment was gone.

    Oz watched them leave and turned to me. "What was that?¡±

    ¡°Just a friend helping us out?¡± I tried to ignore the snicker from Justia as I focused on my tray of breakfast.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on that I don¡¯t know about?¡± Oz looked at her cousin. "Spill.¡±

    ¡°Please don¡¯t.¡± I felt my face getting redder.

    ¡°Now I have to know.¡± Oz resumed her trip down the line, grabbing some fruit then heading towards our teacher¡¯s table behind me and Justia.

    ¡°On our first day here, Atlas was caught in a very compromising position with the beauty.¡± Justia cast a glance in their direction that lasted just a little too long. "She made him a very open offer, if you know what I mean?¡±

    ¡°Just how many women do you have here?¡¯ Oz growled as she sat down next to Trent.

    That got Gesai¡¯s attention. "Atlas has more women here?¡±

    ¡°Only in their imagination.¡± I sat down next to the older redhead. She wasn¡¯t much older, I just realized a connection of why she seemed more at ease around Trent, someone who most people found imposing.

    ¡°You were in the Yellow team.¡± I looked at the woman next to me. "You¡¯re twenty five, which means you were part of the year that he taught.¡±

    All the women at the table looked at me like I had just realized oranges were orange.

    ¡°And?¡± Gesai shifted in her seat. "What does that have to do with you and the tramp?¡±

    I swallowed. "Nothing, I just didn¡¯t know before.¡±

    ¡°Team rosters are public information.¡± Trent motioned at the large screen in the corner that was displaying footage from old Adventurer Games. It was from three years ago and his team had been competing.

    I felt a little ashamed that I didn¡¯t watch more of them, but I had been more focused on working inside the dungeon than the things going on around it.

    ¡°Do we know where we¡¯re going next?¡± Oz took a bite of her food, saving me from any further embarrassment.

    Trent started to answer when an alarm sounded.

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 4

    People started moving towards the screen.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Trent looked at our food trays. "You can take those with you.¡±

    I tried to get a look at the screen, but there were people standing on tables so they could get a better view.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I shoved what I could fit in my mouth. I hadn¡¯t grabbed much, the main thing I had wanted was something warm to drink. I found myself wishing for a cup of coffee, but coffee was taboo in the school for students. There wouldn¡¯t be any caffeine on long trips in the dungeon and while the withdrawals weren¡¯t life-threatening, the extra distraction could be. Most dungeon Farmers drank it heavily since they tended to be in the dungeon in more reliable nine to five hours. I settled for warm vanilla milk instead.

    Trent ushered us back to the dorm. People were running in the halls and there was a disturbing level of panic in the air, but Trent seemed more focused than concerned. Gesai was on edge, but Justia and Oz were acting like nothing was wrong.

    The alarms were no longer going off by the time we reached our dorm, but the noise had woken everyone up.

    ¡°Who was it?¡± Ether was the one to greet us. She saw the cup in my hands and took it from me. She took a long drink and saluted me with my own drink. "Thanks.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t finished, but I¡¯d had enough to satiate me. I put my arm around her shoulders as Trent walked over to the desk by his bed and pulled up the screen on it.

    ¡°Rae, in the Shrine Ward.¡±

    Rix was standing in the doorway of the dorm.

    That seemed to put people at ease.

    ¡°What is going on?¡± Fray moved over and sat on the end of my bed. ¡°What was that alarm for?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a Desolation alert.¡± Aelin skipped over to Justia¡¯s side. "They got him!¡± The blonde seemed very excited.Stolen novel; please report.

    I hated that it seemed like Fray and I were the only two who didn¡¯t know what was going on. Even Ren looked relieved. I sat down on my bed with Ether in between myself and Fray. The quiet brunette was nervous and I didn¡¯t want to make her any more uncomfortable.

    ¡°What happened with Rae?¡± I looked around for someone to explain.

    Trent looked up from the screen at Gesai. "It should make for an easy lesson. "Why don¡¯t you take this one?¡±

    Gesai looked like she might argue, but instead cleared her throat and turned in my direction. "That was a Desolation alert.¡± The red head looked at Trent as if she was done with the lesson.

    ¡°And..?¡± The white-haired older man prompted. "This is a lesson, make it take longer than ten seconds.¡±

    Gesai nodded and looked at me. "You know what a Desolation is?¡±

    I nodded, but it was Ether who answered. "It¡¯s when one of the Gods is killed.¡±

    ¡°Exactly.¡± Gesai paused. "The last Desolation that happened was thirteen years ago when Slece Desolated Gar. We just spent a lot of time in that particular Desolation.¡±

    It had been twenty four days. Three and a half weeks trapped inside a God proof bunker while a killer for hire extorted Trent to try to break the Tier Five barrier that so many Adventurers give up on getting past.

    ¡°That alarm is a way of warning about impending destruction.¡± The redhead shook her head. "If we were in the Shrine Ward where this happened, we¡¯d have to worry about potential fallout from the wave of destruction that it caused.¡± She looked up at the ceiling. "Krall and Seadim are the two closest cities, if I¡¯m not mistaken?¡±

    ¡°Correct.¡± Trent looked weary, almost tired, something I¡¯d never seen.

    ¡°The other reason for the warning is that if you are living in a city that is allied with a God that was Desolated, then your city is most likely going to be next.¡± She looked at Trent as if she was asking if she was done.

    ¡°Who..?¡± He held up a finger.

    ¡°Who? Rae.¡± Gesai started to roll her eyes, but stopped and straightened up. "What, Desolated, which is when a God is killed. When. Just a few minutes ago. Where, In the Shrine Ward, which is one Ward over to the West. How. A God killed him. Why..?¡± She looked back over at her former teacher to see if she was correct. "Because he created the Plague that killed so many people over the last two years?¡±

    Now I understood why Aelin had been happy. She¡¯d lost her mother to the Plague, so it would track that she would be glad that the person who was behind its creation had been brought to justice.

    ¡°Five out of six.¡± Trent shook his head. "You missed one.¡±

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 5

    Gesai was angry.

    That wasn¡¯t exactly anything new. She¡¯d been yelling when I first met her and according to Oz, she was always like that. While I could see it was, I also knew that there was a very calm and caring demeanor under that fiery exterior.

    ¡°Which one!?¡± She raised her voice and then sucked her lips into her mouth and bit them when she remembered who she was yelling at.

    Trent seemed unaffected. "How.¡± He looked at Rix and then at me. "This part concerns the two of you the most. There is a running theory that only Gods can kill each other, but even a mortal can do it.¡± The brown-eyed man looked sad, like he was having to remember something difficult. ¡°The reason that the Gods don¡¯t want the Mundane, or more importantly, the Nobility to know that they can be killed by anyone is because there would be a lot of people who would try. Most Gods are at least Tier Six, so even someone like me would have trouble taking one down even if I was able to sneak up on one.¡±

    Trent took a deep breath. "The other reason is the fallout. The Desolation causes a blast wave that will have gone over fifty miles from the center. Most things will die from that release of magic, which is why most Gods dismiss their army when they take to the battlefield. They don¡¯t want their people to die.¡± His face got serious, almost threatening. "This is highly confidential information. The main reason why I am telling you this is because of Rix and Atlas. They may have to Desolate a God in the future, and it sounds like this party might try to stick together after graduation, which means you¡¯ll be close by when that happens. Just remember to start running if they ever start fighting on that level. You might want to help them, but regardless of who wins, you will die with the loser.¡±

    I got the unstated meaning of his part of the lecture. Rix and Justia would do everything they could to keep me alive now. It was a hard pill to swallow, knowing that I could kill everyone in this room if I accidentally died somehow.

    ¡°In this case you are correct, though.¡± Trent turned back to his assistant. "Rae was Desotated by an Alliance of Gods. The good news is that because Rae didn¡¯t reveal the cure to his allies, they all sat this one out, so this war should be over.¡±The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    That was good, considering how much devastation and loss happened as a part of the wars between gods.

    ¡°I have a question.¡± I cleared my throat. "The Dispatchers and the All-Temple maintain the dungeon mouths to ensure that there isn¡¯t a dungeon break, but what about the dungeons like the one in Gar. Or..?¡±I looked from Trent to Gesai. "How many were there in Rae?¡±

    ¡°There were two dungeons in Rae.¡± Gesai looked at Trent. "Both Common?¡±

    He nodded and started to speak, but she cut him off. "But after a Desolation, that may not be the case. Sometimes a dungeon vanishes, sometimes one upgrades its rarity, sometimes nothing happens.¡± She looked at her mentor. "So until the Dispatchers and the All-Temple decide who is going to go to Rae to explore it, there¡¯s no way of knowing for sure what the state of dungeons in Rae is at the moment.¡±

    ¡°Ok¡­¡± That told me some information that felt important, yet useless at the same time. "But who will monitor the dungeon mouth?¡±

    ¡°Contrary to what the Dispatchers or All-Temple might tell you, a dungeon break won¡¯t happen simply from the dungeon being unmonitored for a few days or even weeks.¡± Trent closed the console on his desk. "So the one in Rae will be fine until they can figure things out. To answer your other question, in the case of Gar, Sipher was allowed to maintain the dungeon mouth. Now that he¡¯s been¡­¡± He looked at Gesai with a little pride in his eyes.

    Geasai looked away. She¡¯d been the one to kill Sipher. It¡¯d been to keep him from pointing out my secret, which he was planning on using to leverage his freedom. It was the reason she had permanent black scorch marks on her hands all the way to her elbows. In order to hurt someone of that high of a level, you had to use high level materials, but at the same time, if you weren¡¯t high enough level, you¡¯d wind up burning your hands, or worse. Now, she wore elbow-length gloves to cover the scars and marks.

    ¡°... Killed, Celia Taray has absorbed it into her company.¡± He finished.

    Celia Taray was one of the other first year teachers. Gileon Alard was the Healer of her class and from what I¡¯d heard whispered in the cafe a little while ago, they were the favored team to go to the global Adventure Games at the end of the year.

    ¡°Well.¡± He clapped. "I believe that concludes our lesson for today, now onto the more pressing matter, filling out your team.¡±

    ¡°More members for the harem!¡± Aelin jumped up and pumped her fist in the air.

    I closed my eyes and shook my head and tried to keep the smile off my face. Aelin was still Aelin.

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 6

    The seriousness of the earlier news vanished.

    Instead, it was replaced with a lot of banter about what type of person we should add and other frivolous things that I couldn¡¯t keep up with. Fray and Rix were the only two who didn¡¯t join in on the rapid discussion. The only bit I was able to pick out was Gesai stating that she should have the biggest say because it was her team.

    Trent cleared his throat and the chattering stopped as everyone turned to look at him.

    ¡°I¡¯m glad everyone is so excited about getting new team members, but if you would give me your attention, please.¡± The white-haired man looked at each of us. "While I have been away, the other teams have managed to pull ahead of us in floor progress, which means that we have a lot of work to do.¡± He looked at Gesai. "I think you can attest that the students here at the Cathedral are further along in their dungeon progress than the ones you were looking after?¡±

    The redheaded woman nodded.

    ¡°Which means that you all¡­¡± Trent looked over at Rix. "MOST of you are behind your peers and whoever we add will be behind them.¡± He sighed. "And I will venture that while the other assistant classes are going to be just as behind as we are, the original classes aren¡¯t going to slow down so they can catch up. If anything they¡¯re going to try harder to stay ahead.¡±

    He paused and let that sink in.

    ¡°There is one more thing. Because of the increase in teams, it is going to be harder to get the spot to represent the Ward in the Adventurer Games. Right now, ArchBishop Mavery is working with the leaders of the other Wards to see about expanding the rosters to allow for two teams, but I¡¯m told not to expect it this year and it may be something that has to wait an entire rotation to take effect.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    ¡°What does that even mean?¡± Oz was the bravest of those who didn¡¯t understand to ask.

    ¡°It means that there will be eight teams to go over the course of six years. While the first four years traditionally cycle to make sure that each team has a chance to go with the last two years being a very difficult competition. There is a chance that this cycle will only have seven of the eight teams going to the games.¡± I heard groans from the other students and a gasp from Aelin. ¡°Which means that no one wants to be that last class that didn¡¯t get to go.¡±

    ¡°So we need to find the best team members for Oz and Ren.¡± I summarized.

    ¡°Here is the problem with that. The news of my ¡®son¡¯ being placed under my tutelage has the Nobility scrambling to fill our last four spots. There have even been threats of getting the Gods involved or taking the matter all the way up to the Vatican. While we really didn¡¯t want to add any Nobles that we couldn¡¯t completely trust¡­¡± He looked at Oz and Ren. "It appears that our hands are partially tied in this matter, which means our pool of candidates has decreased significantly.¡±

    I swallowed. Rix and I were going to have to hold back a lot with other Nobles around. I knew we¡¯d have to hold back some during interactions with the other teams, but having to hold back even in our day-to-day lives was going to be difficult.

    ¡°What is the plan then?¡± I squeezed Ether¡¯s shoulder as she leaned against me.

    Trent pulled up a map of the Ward. ¡°There are six major cities in the Ward. Tres, Mive, Harror, Klix, Slece and Juel.¡±

    ¡°Which means one Noble from each city.¡± Ether concluded.

    We all looked at Oz and Ren. Both had come from Harror, which meant there would be at least one city not represented.

    ¡°We have Harror and Slece covered.¡± Trent pointed at the map. "Which leaves us Tres, Mive, and Klix to cover as soon as we can.¡±

    ¡°How do we have Slece covered?¡± I realized I¡¯d used my outside voice for the mental question.

    Oz was the one that answered. "You¡¯re going to use the fact that dad is from Slece to satisfy that one.¡±

    Trent nodded. "And so is your mother, which makes it all the more difficult for any Nobility there to make a ruckus. Not that they won¡¯t, but still.¡±

    I had a bad feeling about going from one Noble to seven, but there didn¡¯t seem like anything we could do about that.

    ¡°Where are we starting?¡±

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 7

    We got another RV.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t the same one.¡± I looked at the long black vehicle with white trim. "The other one was shorter.¡±

    ¡°Good eye.¡± Trent waved for us to climb on board.

    This one was longer and it felt a little wider as well, or that could have been because the RV that we had stolen from the Bandits had been smaller. This one had a booth behind the passenger¡¯s seat as well as one on the left side of the door. There were also two rows of bunks, which brought our sleeping capacity from four to eight. There were ten of us on the RV at the moment, except Ether wouldn¡¯t sleep in her own bunk even if her name was put on one and somehow I doubted that Trent would do much sleeping either. It was a fourteen hour drive to Tres from the Cathedral and some of that was through Bandit territory. Considering that Gesai had killed the highest level Bandit in the world, after Trent had beaten him first, but still, I had little doubt that we¡¯d have any trouble from any Bandits that might be uninformed about who we were.

    ¡°Can I drive?¡± Aelin bounded towards the driver¡¯s seat, only for Trent to grab her by the collar.

    ¡°Once we take our first break.¡± Trent slipped into the seat. "I have to get us out of the Cathedral first.¡±

    Aelin pouted, dropped into a booth and crossed her arms. I sat across from her and Ether slid in beside me.

    ¡°It¡¯s a fourteen hour trip, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get to drive all you want.¡± I tried to smile, but that didn¡¯t cheer her up. ¡°Oh!¡± I touched my crystal band and pulled out the five-thousand All coin that Trent had given to each of us shortly before we''d been kidnapped. "Did you ever get your shopping spree?¡±Stolen story; please report.

    ¡°No.¡± Aelin frowned. "Mister Trent brought us back here and then left us in the dorm. They¡¯ve got some stuff here, but nothing on the campus.¡±

    ¡°So what I¡¯m hearing is¡­¡± Ether pulled up a map of Tres. "We¡¯re going shopping once we get there?¡±

    ¡°Shopping?¡± Gesai looked at the table and spied the coin in front of me, she scooped it up. "Where did you get this?¡±

    ¡°Trent gave us all one so that we¡¯d stop farming and told us to go on a shopping spree to keep us from causing too much of a commotion in the Dungeons.¡± Ether took hers out to show the Assistant teacher.

    Gesai looked over at our teacher. "You never gave me five thousand All or let us go on a shopping spree.¡± Her green eyes glared at him.

    ¡°Your class didn¡¯t hit level three in a week.¡° Trent touched his crystal band and flicked a coin at her. "But you did just go up twenty levels, so you¡¯re going to need to upgrade your gear. Consider that my congratulations.¡±

    She dropped the coin and the one she¡¯d taken from me.

    I was honestly surprised that the movement of the RV didn¡¯t knock her over. Aelin leaned down and picked up the fallen coins.

    ¡°What in the six Hells?!¡± The blonde held up the coin. "We only get a five thousand coin and you give her this!? Where did you even get that?!¡±

    I heard Rix chuckle as the other four women came over to look at the coin. By the time I was able to get my hands on the coin and my own, They¡¯d all seen it and commented about how lopsided the gifts were.

    I¡¯d never seen five thousand All, so the idea that there were coin denominations higher than that blew my mind. But I would have never imagined that I¡¯d see so much All in one place. I could understand how everyone else was so shocked.

    He¡¯d thrown her a five-MILLION All coin.

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 8

    FIVE MILLION ALL.

    That was more than¡­ I couldn¡¯t even think of how much that was.

    ¡°Where did you get that much All?¡± I joined the others in pestering him.

    ¡°I just spent the last seventeen days farming on the sixty first floor. With five people dragging double spawns to me to constantly be burning down.¡± Trent started laughing. "Do you know how much a Tier Six crystal sells for?¡± When none of us answered he continued. "What about over thirteen thousand of them?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Ether had the page open for the Dispatcher¡¯s crystal exchange rate. ¡°Did you keep all of it?¡±

    ¡°Sipher isn¡¯t going to be using his cut and those other three didn¡¯t stick around to ask for a share.¡± The old man shrugged. "The most Hye would take was twenty percent. After repairs and stuff, I still had around that much left. Besides, do you know how much new gear is going to cost?¡±

    I leaned over Ether¡¯s shoulder and saw the number she had pulled up. Trent had earned almost half a billion All before it had been separated into shares. Once she saw that I had noted the number, she began looking up new Tier Four gear. I saw why Gesai needed so much more than us. I could get a new spell for between fifty and sixty-five All. For Gesai, that number was between thirty and fifty thousand. So while I could buy seventy-five new spells with the All that I''d been given, Gesai could get a hundred with what she¡¯d just received. She was getting a larger share than the fun money that we¡¯d been given.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that much, really.¡± He looked at Ren and Oz. "I¡¯m not going to leave the two of you out. Leveling up to two by yourselves in just over a week, is no small feat.¡± He flicked them coins too. ¡°We¡¯ll all go shopping once we get to Tres and get settled in.

    ¡°Where are we going to be staying?¡± Ether had changed the page to look at tank gear while Oz and Justia were helping Gesai to the other booth. The assistant teacher was still in shock. I could imagine why. The sticker price between Tiers was shocking enough, but she had gone up two Tiers at once, which would only make the shock that much worse.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    ¡°The Temple, naturally.¡± Trent had us on the road. Considering there was never much traffic outside the city walls, he didn¡¯t have to worry too much about running into something, but his constant looking back at us still made me uneasy.

    ¡°I wanted to stay at the Grant or Arror Hotel.¡± Aelin frowned. "We might as well be staying in the RV.¡±

    ¡°We could stay in the dungeon if you¡¯d rather.¡± Trent smiled. "But it¡¯d have to be the Grant, the Arror aren¡¯t too fond of Rix at the moment.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Rix came over and sat down in the passenger seat.

    ¡°Do you remember the Caster from the second-year class I was teaching?¡±

    The redhead nodded slowly.

    ¡°The one whose throat you slit and would have died if I hadn¡¯t been close?¡±

    Rix nodded again.

    ¡°That was George Arror. His mom isn¡¯t the happiest with you right now, so might be best to avoid Ruthia Arror unless we have to.¡±

    ¡°Ruthia Arror?¡± Oz got up and moved to the front of the RV. "What about Aunt Ruthie?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re related to the Arror¡¯s?¡± Aelin gasped.

    ¡°She¡¯s dad¡¯s sister.¡± Oz looked like there was nothing weird about it.

    ¡°Are all of you Nobles related?¡± Aelin feigned horror as she put the back of her hand to her forehead. "Who ever shall I marry?¡± She did a very bad Aristocrat accent. "Everyone around me is related!¡± She threw her arms wide open. "Justia save me!¡±

    The brunette Healer rolled her eyes, but didn¡¯t get up from the booth that she was still at with Gesai, Ren and Fray.

    ¡°Actually, when there are a limited number of acceptable families in your town, that¡¯s what most Nobles do.¡± Oz shrugged. "I see her maybe once a year during the Adventurer Games, but otherwise she stays on the other side of the Ward.¡± The black-haired woman looked us over. "What happened?¡±

    ¡°Rix almost killed your cousin so now we can¡¯t stay at the Arror Hotel.¡± Aelin grabbed Oz¡¯s hands. "Could you talk to her and let her know that Rix didn¡¯t really mean it?¡±

    Oz looked over at Rix. "Maybe, but we¡¯d need a lot of work.¡±

    ¡°What kind of work?¡± Aelin let hope fill her voice.

    ¡°The kind that RIx is going to hate.¡±

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 9

    That was my cue to find something else to do.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to look at what monsters we¡¯ll be facing.¡± I scooted further into the booth, pulling Ether with me. I wanted to make sure that whatever we were doing, we¡¯d have the appropriate equipment for it. I suddenly had a thought.

    ¡°Trent, what are we supposed to do about the difference in levels? How are we supposed to get Fray, Oz, and Ren up to level three if only six of us can farm at a time?¡±

    ¡°Rix won¡¯t be farming with the rest of you.¡± Trent pulled the RV over. "With her level being as high as it is, she has to stay where she¡¯s at so she¡¯s not disqualified from this year''s Games.¡± The old man got up and motioned at the seat. "Who was going to take the first turn?¡±

    ¡°ME!¡± Aelin slid into the seat

    No one bothered to challenge her.

    ¡°Where is the key?¡± Aelin looked up and saw it in Trent¡¯s hand. "Hey!¡±

    ¡°All in good time." The white-haired teacher smiled. "Who else wants to drive on our way up there?¡±

    Ren and Fray were the only two who raised their hands.

    ¡°Four-hour turns.¡± Trent handed the key over to Aelin. "Don¡¯t be greedy.¡±

    The blonde woman saluted him as she put the key in and took us back onto the road.

    ¡°Now, if there are no other questions..?¡±

    ¡°What about our seventh person?¡± I looked around the RV. Rix wasn¡¯t one of our two duplicated classes. "It¡¯s not like we could swap some of us out and still have a full team. Plus we need to keep Ren, Oz, and Fray in whatever team we use. Not to mention whichever new team member we pick up.¡±This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    Trent walked over to Gesai and put his hand on her shoulder. "You could always start raid bosses.¡±

    The woman had just started to recover from her earlier shock. "Wha¡­ Me?¡± She shook her head. "I only did that so that they would have an obstacle in front of the floor boss door, not because it¡¯s a viable way to farm experience.¡±

    ¡°Powerleveling them ourselves is out of the question, and if you don¡¯t want to try doing raid bosses¡­¡± He let the implication hang in the air.

    Ether and Justia were going to have to stay in the group, which meant that myself and Aelin were the only two who could flex out, but if we picked up our ninth member, then we¡¯d both have to bow out to let the lower levels have a full team.

    ¡°What if we split the teams in half?¡±

    I looked over at Ether. "That would be three and four. I could take Oz and Ren and leave you with Justia, Aelin, and Fray.¡± I knew that with Justia healing them, the other four would be able to work together quite well.

    ¡°That could work!¡± Gesai looked up at Trent. "You could take one team and¡­¡±

    The old man chuckled and squeezed her shoulder. "Sorry, but I¡¯m going to have my hands full with Rix¡¯s training. You get to watch both teams.¡±

    I was starting to wonder how we were having him as a teacher, but remembering his orbs that he could keep an eye on us with, I did not doubt that he¡¯d have notes for Gesai to pass along to us at the end of each day.

    ¡°What is the goal while we¡¯re here?¡± I looked between the two teachers. "Are we supposed to be leveling them, clearing the Dungeon, or finding a new member for our team?¡±

    I didn¡¯t like the glint in his eye. "Yes.¡±

    ¡°What if we add the newest member before we go into the dungeon?¡± Aelin shouted from behind the wheel.

    ¡°Eyes on the road!¡± I grabbed the table as she swerved when she tried to look back at us.

    Trent chuckled. "Up to you, though¡­¡± He pointed at the screen in front of me with information about the two Tres dungeons. "We¡¯re staying here until all of you get to the third floor.¡± His smile promised that a lesson was hidden in there somewhere. ¡°I have some administrative things to wrap up, so I will be in my office.¡± He touched the place in the ceiling where there was access to the turret on top of the RV in case we ran into any trouble. The ladder came down and he climbed into a small pod very unlike the open controls that our last turret had.

    I saw Rix''s eyes light up and I knew she¡¯d just found her new favorite spot.

    ¡°Well¡­¡± I realized the others were looking at me. "What are we doing first?¡±

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 10

    Ether took over.

    Honestly, Rix probably had more insight, but the former Bandit didn¡¯t care to have everyone¡¯s attention focused on her. I wasn¡¯t surprised when the redhead used the distraction to slip into one of the bunks and close the screen. She¡¯d managed to escape the makeover that had been started, but I had a feeling Oz wasn¡¯t going to let her go that easily.

    ¡°If we¡¯re going to fill out our team before the end of the semester, then we have seventy-six days to do that. With four cities to visit and it taking at least a full day to travel between cities¡­¡± She was reading something. "It¡¯s two days from Tres to Mive, one day from Mive to Klix, and two days from Klix to Juel. That¡¯s about eighteen days maximum that we can spend in each city.¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t want to spend that much time in each place.¡± Gesai had started to compose herself. "If we do it that way, then I won''t have any time to bring the person from Juel up before the second semester starts.¡±

    ¡°Exactly, we need to spend as little time as we can at each location, but¡­¡± Ether looked around the RV. "We all need gear upgrades.¡±

    ¡°Slece would be a much better place for that, but we can make do with Tres¡­¡± Gesai pulled up a screen. "We¡¯ll need to focus on gear that can be upgraded.¡±

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we get gear that will help us with the monsters in the dungeons?¡± I wondered why she was pulling up so many screens.

    ¡°If you are going to farm a specific dungeon, then getting gear that is good for that dungeon is a great idea.¡± The assistant teacher pointed at the screen.

    It was a fuzzy monster with two large eyes and eight tentacle legs. ¡°This is a monster on the first floor of the Tres common dungeon.¡± The redhead pointed at the place right between its eyes. "The crystal is right here. Overall, it¡¯s not too bad. The boss on the other hand..¡± She changed the picture. "Is more of a problem.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    The monster still had tentacle legs, but this one had a hard shell covering its body and an insect-like head. The first monster, the Desert Crawler, was only about knee high, while the floor boss, the Desert Goliath, was a full six feet tall.

    ¡°The main thing to worry about with the little one is that it can latch on to you and those suckers will hurt, but as long as it isn¡¯t on your face, it won¡¯t kill you.¡± Gesai pointed at the monster on the screen. "This thing on the other hand only needs one tentacle to wrap completely around you and it can spit a liquid that¡¯s like soupy tar.¡± She made a face. "Ether, you¡¯re going to need a better shield and we probably need to get Aelin and Ren a protection spell to minimize that.¡± She looked at Oz and Fray. "The two of you will have decreased mobility, since the floor is going to be sticky, so¡­.¡± She turned to me as she remembered something. "That gunk is highly flammable, so no fire spells.¡±

    I nodded. "Which element should I get?¡± I leaned forward. "Wait, I meant to ask Trent this, but you might know the answer. I keep learning shot spells, but they don¡¯t seem very powerful. Should I look at switching to a different type of spell?¡±

    Gesai thought for a moment. "I think you¡¯ll be fine once we can get you a better medium. Honestly, the shot spells are usually learned by Shooters, but they can be used by Casters as well.¡±

    ¡°Ok, then back to my original question. Which element should I try fighting it with?¡± I settled back into my seat.

    ¡°Your Earth Shot will do the most damage to it, and Electric Shot can be useful to trip it up if needed.¡± The assistant teacher looked at us. "Any other questions?¡±

    ¡°What are our groups going to be?¡± Oz looked around. "Even if we break up into two groups to farm for a little bit, we¡¯re still going to have to fight the boss twice and we might as well do it with a full team.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll have to see if we want to try out a new person, but right now, without Rix, you¡¯re going to want to keep both Hitters, so Aelin and Ren will need to cycle out.¡±

    ¡°HEY!¡± Aelin looked back at us. "I can do damage!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going to do damage to us if you don¡¯t keep your eyes on the road.¡± I pointed out the windshield. "Eyes on the road.¡±

    The blonde stuck out her tongue, but turned back to focusing on her driving.

    ¡°Let¡¯s start making a shopping list¡­¡± Ren started a blank panel on her screen.

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 11

    I was looking at the other dungeons.

    The All-Temple had ownership of the one with the tentacle monsters that we had just gone over, but I wanted to look at more than just the first floor as well.

    Ether was still by my side. In fact, over the last day, she¡¯d barely been out of arm¡¯s reach. I squeezed her and kissed the top of her head. "Lovely?¡±

    She shifted so that she could look up at me. "Yes?¡±

    I gave her a quick kiss. It surprised her, but she didn¡¯t pull away. I settled back into my seat and rubbed her back. "It¡¯s going to be okay. I¡¯m not going anywhere.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Her face dropped and she nodded slowly then started to get up.

    I grabbed her waist and pulled her back down next to me. "I wasn¡¯t saying that you couldn¡¯t stay here. I love having you around.¡± I smiled as I touched her cheek. She tilted her face to lean against my hand. "I just don¡¯t want you worrying that you have to protect me all the time. We¡¯ve got Gesai now and I¡¯m sure Trent is going to stay close as well.¡± I softly brushed her cheek. ¡°It¡¯s going to be okay.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡± Ether smiled and pulled her feet underneath her as she laid her head on my shoulder. She pulled my left arm against her chest and held it tightly as she closed her eyes.

    Only having one hand wasn¡¯t the best way to look things up, but it was what I had to work with.

    Oz came over and sat across the table from us. The raven-haired woman nodded at Ether. ¡°Is she sleeping?¡±

    I looked down and realized that Ether¡¯s chest was slowly rising and falling. I turned back to Oz. "She tried to stay awake last night until I fell asleep, I don¡¯t know how late she stayed up, but I imagine she¡¯s beat.¡±

    ¡°Worry will do that to you.¡± Oz pointed at the screen. "Want a hand?¡±

    I nodded and let her take over.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°What are you wanting to look up?¡± The green-eyed woman turned the screen so that we both could see.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to know about the other two dungeons.¡± I nodded at the line where I had started the search. ¡°We¡¯re probably going to spend more time walking to the boss rooms than we are fighting them.¡±

    ¡°Especially if we¡¯ve fought them before.¡± Oz chuckled and pointed at the screen. "The Dispatcher¡¯s first-floor boss is a Crystal Fish.¡±

    It was one of the many bosses that Gesai had walked us through while we were in captivity as part of the arrangement for our release. Which was probably why she¡¯d left it out of her briefing. Though Fray, Aelin, and Ether had never fought one of them.

    The Crystal Fish was about seven feet tall and looked like a shark with back legs, claws, and crystals for the remaining fins. The floor monsters looked like smaller versions at about three feet tall, but all they did was run around and try to bite you. There were enough teeth in their mouths that I was pretty sure they could tear off a limb. As far as dangerous monsters went, they were some of the more dangerous floor one monsters, since these could actually kill you instead of just hurting you.

    The floor boss was a whole different story. Its claws were long enough to do some actual damage if it grabbed you. Its mouth was also larger, which meant its bite was to be avoided at all costs. The extra gimmick that it had was at the end of its charging move it would spit a mouthful of its teeth at someone. Since we didn¡¯t have a tank when we practiced against it, we had to be careful to be ready to dodge as soon as it focused on one of us. Now that we have Ether, it should be significantly easier.

    ¡°I was kinda hoping we¡¯d never have to run into this thing in the wild.¡± Oz rubbed her arms where she¡¯d been hit once when she was the target. A Healer could repair the damage, but not the memory of the pain.

    ¡°We¡¯ll probably have to fight everything that Trent had us train against at least once.¡± I shook away the memories of some of the nastier bosses we¡¯d fought. ¡°Maybe more than once. I¡¯ve heard Adventurers talk about how some floor bosses show up as floor bosses again, deeper in the dungeon as bigger, nastier things with more moves.¡±

    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Oz dropped her head against the table. "Why can¡¯t this all be simple?¡±

    ¡°I mean, we could just stay in one place and get really good at killing a specific type of monster. Some families do it all the time.¡± I thought about the Quarra, the Noble Family in Zeb that was in charge of preventing a dungeon break. There was at least one dedicated Noble family near each controlled gate. It wasn¡¯t glamorous, but it was a pretty safe job compared to the floor pushers, who tried to get as deep into a dungeon as they could go.

    ¡°That¡¯d probably be boring.¡± The raven haired woman sighed. "Even dad tries to book trips to different dungeons so he can stay on his toes.¡± She touched a few buttons. "Let¡¯s see what¡¯s on the second floor.¡±

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 12

    It looked like a frog.

    Its name was a Cykrog, and it looked like a one-eyed frog. I remembered our fight with the Royal Frogian and hoped that this one didn¡¯t have a stinger at the end of its tongue.

    ¡°What does this one do?¡± It was another one of the bosses that we hadn¡¯t fought.

    Oz started scanning the information. "The floor versions will try to ram Adventurers with their heads. Beware of the tongue, on the lesser versions it will just bind you, but against the greater version, it can pull an Adventurer into its mouth and will swallow them.¡± She made a face. "That would be nasty.¡±

    ¡°Or it could be an easy way to get to the crystal.¡± I pointed at the head. "If it''s trying to ram you with that, then it isn¡¯t going to have the crystal so easy to destroy.¡±

    ¡°Correct.¡± Oz scrolled a little more. "The crystal is in the chest, by the heart.¡± She looked at me. "Which means we¡¯re going to have to get up next to this thing¡¯s mouth to hit it¡­ ugh.¡± She shivered.

    ¡°What about its gimmick?¡± I hadn¡¯t seen the line about it, but she¡¯d been scrolling around so fast, I¡¯d probably missed it.

    ¡°Looks like¡­¡± Her green eyes were scanning faster than I could keep up. "Here it is! Its charging move is that it can shoot a beam of water from its eye. That doesn¡¯t seem too bad.¡±

    ¡°Probably not¡­¡± I was trying to take inventory in my head and I couldn¡¯t keep it straight. "So we need to get you all new gear and some elemental sword attacks, looks like earth-based ones since these are water monsters. I need a gun medium¡­¡± I looked down at Ether. "And Ether needs some better armor.¡±

    Oz pointed at the other Dungeon. "Don¡¯t you want to look at the information for this one?¡±

    I touched the tag under the Dungeon banner. "It¡¯s a private Dungeon, we¡¯d have to know the person who owns it to¡­¡± I read which family had claimed ownership of the Dungeon. ¡°Taray, see? She¡¯s teaching team one. There¡¯s no way that¡­¡±

    ¡°A former student of Trent¡¯s is going to let his students use one of her personal dungeons?¡± Oz finished my sentence, but not like I was going to.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    ¡°Maybe¡­¡± I¡¯d seen the effect that Trent had on his former students. So far all of them seemed to be¡­ respectful wasn¡¯t the right word because Celia Taray hadn¡¯t talked like that to him, except she had in a way. She had felt comfortable enough around him to say what she wasn¡¯t happy about and then she had asked if her solution was acceptable. At the time, I¡¯d thought she was going to do whatever she wanted, but looking back, I was almost fully confident that if Trent had objected, she would have followed his lead.

    I looked up at the turret. "That¡¯s probably what he¡¯s doing right now, getting permission for us to go there.¡± I sighed. "Might as well pull it up.¡±

    A giant spider showed up on the screen. "This one could be difficult." Oz pointed at the description. "Hard outer shell, resistant to blades and magic.¡± She leaned back in her seat. "We¡¯re going to have to get blunt weapons for this.¡±

    ¡°Can you use a hammer?¡± I knew how hard it was to use a hammer type weapon when you were used to using a blade.

    ¡°It¡¯s not my weapon of choice, but dad made sure I could use any melee or ranged weapon.¡± The green-eyed woman assured me. "I can handle it. What about you?¡±

    ¡°I used an ax against the first floor boss of the Cathedral Dungeon. I won¡¯t be anywhere close to as good as you, but I could handle myself, especially if the thing is resistant to magic too.¡± I shifted Ether as I turned sideways in the seat so that she could curl up against my chest. My arm had started going numb and she¡¯d be more comfortable this way. ¡°Is it resistant to all magic or is there some spell that will hurt it?¡±

    She read for a little bit more. ¡°The floor boss can shoot webs out of its mouth, fire is useful for clearing those away, but otherwise, not really.¡±

    ¡°So we need to add hammers, maces or some other type of blunt weapon to the list.¡± I shook my head. "Plus armor that we can move around in. And most of us need to get helmets and gloves.¡± I looked down at Ether¡¯s feet. She¡¯d shed her boots, but those were regular issue shoes that a Mundane Porter would buy. ¡°We all need new footwear too.¡±

    Oz looked over at Gesai, Justia, Ren, and Fray who were all looking at items.

    I nodded at Aelin, who kept glancing back at them. ¡°Do you think you could relieve Aelin. I think she wants to plan shopping more than she wants to drive.¡±

    ¡°Are you going to join them?¡± Oz eyed the white haired woman in my lap.

    I leaned up against the side of the RV. "I think Ether has the right idea. It¡¯s going to be a long road trip and we¡¯ve got a lot of sleep to catch up on.¡±

    Oz shook her head, but she got up and tapped Aelin on the shoulder. The blonde was beaming as she got up and rushed over to the others. I was glad to see her smile again. It¡¯d been too long since those of us who¡¯d been kidnapped had a reason to smile.

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 13

    They let us sleep for the whole trip.

    I was a little surprised that they hadn¡¯t bothered either of us until we got to the city gates.

    ¡°Atlas come on, we have to get up.¡± Ether smacked me on the chest and started putting her shoes on. "We have to get off so they can do an inspection.¡±

    I yawned and slid out of the booth behind her.

    The outer wall of Tres wasn¡¯t what I was expecting. With the Cathedral, Zeb, and Harror, they were all simply walled cities, but with Tres, the walls were between two very tall mountains. I could smell the salt of the ocean I knew was on the other side of Tres. There was another difference in Tres. The other three cities had a single security guard who had called one other person to inspect the vehicle. When I got out, I was surprised to find six guards all wearing yellow armor surrounding the RV.

    ¡°Stop!¡± One of the masked guards stepped forward. "Present yourself for inspection.¡±

    I looked at the others for guidance, but Trent was arguing with a security guard, and didn¡¯t notice my silent plea for guidance.

    ¡°Hold out your hand!¡± Gesai cupped her hands around her mouth so that her voice would carry better.

    I held out my left hand and the guard touched the crystal band over their wrist into the palm of my hand. I felt my hand get warm, and then they pulled their arms away from mine and looked at information that I couldn¡¯t see.

    ¡°He¡¯s good. You¡¯re next.¡± They pointed at Ether.

    I walked over to where the rest of them were standing. "What¡¯s going on?¡±

    Justia looked nervous as she and Aelin moved around so that they were between myself and the city guards.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    ¡°We don¡¯t know. There is something wrong with the inspection and we¡¯re supposed to wait here until an inspector arrives.¡± Justia looked nervously at the guards. "I have a bad feeling about this.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure Trent will handle it.¡± I looked around. "Where is Rix?¡±

    ¡°Being Rix¡­¡± Gesai whispered from behind me. "We should probably get you out of their sight as well.¡±

    ¡°Are we going to get arrested?¡± Fray¡¯s voice was shaking.

    I put my arm around her shoulders. "Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯ll all turn out okay.¡± The quiet brunette flinched but didn¡¯t pull away. I patted her arm. "Trust me, we¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    I didn¡¯t really feel the surety that I tried to put in my words, but I knew that sharing my doubts would only make her feel worse and wouldn¡¯t do anything positive for our current situation.

    There wasn¡¯t anywhere to hide or take cover if things did go wrong. The landscape around us was mountains starting in front of us and dry ankle-high sporadic grass on the side of the road behind us.

    This meant the RV that we had been herded away from was the only thing we could hide behind if we needed to.

    The large metal gates began to open and two more guards came walking down the middle of the road. Unlike the other guards that had simple yellow armor, these two had gold accents decorating their arms and chest. They also had their weapons out and in their hands. It looked like an ax with a curved head that looked almost like an achor. There was a wire stretched from the tip of each blade. The handle was silver and engraved with an inscription in a language that I didn¡¯t recognize.

    ¡°TRENT VOWLER!¡± The strawberry blonde blue-eyed man behind them had a voice that seemed to rattle the entire area between them.

    I had seen him before, but I couldn¡¯t remember where.

    Trent sighed and shook his head. "You really shouldn¡¯t have come out here like this.¡±

    ¡°And you shouldn¡¯t have tried to sneak into my city.¡± The man clicked his tongue. "It¡¯s been almost fifty years since you graced my gates.¡± He looked in our direction. "You brought¡­¡± His eyes locked on to me and he turned to his guards. "GET THEM BACK IN THEIR CAR!¡± He pointed at me. "YOU!¡± He turned to an empty spot on his right. "AND you¡­¡± His voice lowered to a growl as Rix¡¯s throat materialized in his hand as the rest of her came into view. ¡°Are coming with me.¡±

    I swallowed as I realized where I¡¯d seen him before¡­

    It was Tres. The Tres.

    I¡¯d just run into a God.

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 14

    We were loaded into an armored vehicle.

    Rix was unconscious and taking up three seats. The back of the vehicles had very comfortable seats lining both sides of the back. The two royal guards had gotten into the front, leaving myself, Rix, Trent, and Tres in the back.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t have to do that to the kid.¡± Trent was sitting just a few seats over from God.

    I was sitting next to her. I touched the side of her face. She was just sleeping, which I¡¯d never actually seen her do. She looked so peaceful. There was a part of me that wished she could keep a part of the way she looked right now with her when she woke up. I looked over at the God, who looked very upset. If she woke up.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t have to bring a Hunter..!¡± Tres pointed at Rix. "Into my city!¡± He pinched his eyebrows together. "Seriously Trent, I¡¯d heard rumors that you were active again, but THIS¡­? Seriously?¡±

    ¡°What was I supposed to do?¡± Trent raised his eyebrows. " And don¡¯t talk like you don¡¯t know exactly what I¡¯ve been doing.¡±

    The God groaned. "EXACTLY! If I know what you¡¯ve been doing then HE definitely does!¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t have a choice¡­¡± The old man looked from the God to us. "You know what they are.¡±

    ¡°You always have a choice.¡± Tres sighed. "You could have ignored them like all the other ones.¡±

    ¡°There were others?¡± I had planned on staying quiet, but my inside voice had really wanted some answers.

    Trent waved his hand at me. "Now is not the time Atlas.¡±

    ¡°How old do you think he is?¡± Tres cut in.

    I looked the old man over. "I know he¡¯s been teaching for about fifty years, but I have no idea how old he is.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s about the same age I am.¡± Tres seemed to enjoy the shocked look on my face. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    Trent looked like he was eighty or ninety at least. I knew Adventurers would age slower than the Mundane, but I wasn¡¯t sure how much slower. Though considering how I¡¯d seen him move in his fight against Sipher, I wouldn¡¯t have been surprised if my teacher was only forty.

    ¡°Do you even know whose they are?¡± The light-haired god turned his attention back to Trent. "I mean, do you have any idea how bad this could get? I knew you supposedly had a secret lovechild, but THIS?¡± He gestured at me and Rix. ¡°This is a whole different bug ball.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s too many Nephilim running around that could have had a kid that activated the Mantle.¡± Trent looked over at Rix. "Both are orphans, so I don¡¯t know if there¡¯s any way of knowing who their parents really are.¡±

    Anticipation began to build as my heart sped up. I looked down at the woman sleeping next to me. "Are you saying that she¡¯s my sister?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± The old man shook his head. "I tested the two of you once I learned what she was. You aren¡¯t related.¡±

    The joy of possibly finding out something about my family was dashed as fast as it had bloomed. I sighed, at least the anticipation hadn¡¯t been given time to build.

    ¡°I thought you said that if a God found out about us, that they¡¯d kill us on the spot.¡± I looked from Trent to Tres. "Why am I still alive?¡±

    The strawberry blonde started laughing. "We¡¯re not all mindless killers¡­¡± He wiped his eyes. "Just how few of us do you think there are?¡±

    I shrugged. "I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Guess.¡± The god leaned forward.

    ¡°Maybe a hundred?¡±

    He smiled and looked over at Trent. "I thought you were teaching them.¡± The blue-eyed God looked back at me. "There are twelve Wards, plus the Vatican and each Ward has between five and fourteen cities¡­¡± He waited for me to do the math, but Rix was out and Ether hadn¡¯t been brought along, and I didn¡¯t feel like do something that complicated in my head.

    ¡°Which is like a hundred?¡± I decided to stick to my original guess since there was one God ruling over every city.

    ¡°A little over, yes, but then how many Gods do you think have children?¡± He grinned widely when he saw that I hadn¡¯t considered that. "Nevah himself has proudly boasted that he plans on having a child with every Goddess and that¡¯s not counting all the Nobles and Mundane he¡¯s knocked up over the last three hundred years.¡± He let the numbers sink in. "Yeah¡­, and it¡¯s not exactly safe for the environment to just walk up to one of you and lop your heads off either. Which means there are a lot more of us running around than what you might think.¡± Tres pointed at Rix. "Not that her kind believe that, but they aren¡¯t nearly as dangerous to take off the board.¡±

    He put his left hand on Trent¡¯s shoulder and pointed at Rix with his right. "If it was anyone else but you, Trent.¡± His voice got serious. "I¡¯d have just killed her on the spot. So do you want to explain why you brought a Hunter to my city?¡±

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 15

    The pressure in the vehicle was making it hard to breathe.

    I couldn¡¯t believe that Trent wasn¡¯t flinching from the aura that was coming off of this person. It was enough to make me want to try to jump out of the back, except my legs weren¡¯t obeying my screaming brain.

    And then the pressure was gone and I could take the breath that my lungs had been refusing to accept.

    ¡°Still got it, I see, but seriously.¡± Tres leaned back in his seat. "Why?¡±

    ¡°I need to fill out a second team and wanted to give them some time to blend with the potentials. It also gives them a chance to get some floor clears in that would be meaningless later.¡±

    ¡°So why didn¡¯t you tell me that you were coming?¡± The god raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°Honestly, I wanted to avoid all of this, because I knew you¡¯d come down if I called ahead and I knew that this¡­¡± Trent waved at Rix. "Would happen.¡±

    ¡°Which tells me why you came, not why you brought her.¡± Tres followed the old man¡¯s hand, then turned back to Trent.

    Trent folded his arms and stared at the god.

    ¡°Yes, yes. You brought her because she¡¯s part of your class and you¡¯re a teacher now¡­ Blah, Blah, Blah.¡± Tres made pinching motions with his hands as he leaned back. ¡°What happens if you take her to Slece or Juel and one of them catches her little disappearing act¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not taking them there.¡± Trent interrupted. "This might be ill advised, but I¡¯m not stupid.¡±Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!

    ¡°I thought you said we were getting a student from each city.¡± I realized that I hadn¡¯t used my inside voice again.

    Tres glared at Trent. "I thought we didn¡¯t lie to each other. Sneaking into my city pushes that line as it is¡­¡±

    ¡°I already have a student from Slece on my team. Ozet Mite, Itchy¡¯s great-great-grandaughter.¡± My teacher glared at me.

    ¡°You got one of Itchy¡¯s?¡± Tres laughed. "Do you remember the time we¡­¡± He looked over at me. "Nevermind.¡± The God coughed. "What about Juel? Is one of the other¡­¡± He looked at me then back at Trent. "How is he the only guy out of..?¡± The God tried to remember how many people we had.

    ¡°Eight.¡± Trent finished for him.

    There was an awkward silence. It might not have been awkward for them, but it was definitely awkward for me.

    ¡°Well..?¡± Tres tapped his foot.

    ¡°There was another man on the team, but he manifested the Berzerk passive and had to be sent home.¡± Trent shrugged like it was no big deal. ¡°One of the team members pointed out that it might keep a closed loop if he created a harem¡­¡± The white-haired man seemed to go somewhere else for a little while, then he snapped back. "After what happened to¡­¡± He looked like he might tear up. "Anyway, I thought it might be a good idea.¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Tres looked like he was sizing me up, then shrugged and turned back to my teacher. "What about Juel? You didn¡¯t answer the question.¡±

    ¡°I have someone bringing her here.¡± Trent admitted. "I¡¯m not going to take these two that direction until we can be certain the others Gods won¡¯t be able to realize what they are.¡±

    ¡°Others? And I thought Gesai and I were supposed to pick out the new members of the team.¡± I found a little bit of my courage.

    ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous to take you there right now, so I talked with Gesai and we made the call.¡± Trent seemed a little annoyed. "And if it had been almost anyone else there¡¯s a good chance they wouldn¡¯t have been able to see through the seals on the two of you.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± I looked at Tres. "What does he have that the others don¡¯t?¡±

    ¡°Because¡­¡± Tres pulled back his yellow shirt to reveal an almost identical tattoo on his chest. "It¡¯s the same one that my father put on me.¡±

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 16

    The same tattoo.

    ¡°Could we be..?¡± I pointed between the two of us.

    ¡°No.¡± The vehicle stopped and Tres climbed past us to throw open the back door. ¡°The rest of the questions can wait until we get to my office.¡± He jumped down, then turned and looked up at us. "Can one of you get her or do I need the Grenium to do it?¡±

    I grabbed her arm, but Trent picked up Rix and put her over his shoulder as he got out of the armored vehicle.

    I got down and followed after the strawberry blonde. The two guards from before fell in step behind us as we walked inside.

    The armored vehicle had been parked in a rather plain looking concrete garage. The door was shut and it was the only vehicle inside. The hallway that we walked into had a lot of doors on both walls that were spaced out at about the width of the garage, so I assumed there were a lot more places that vehicles could park.

    ¡°Where¡¯s everyone else?¡± I jogged to get closer to Tres.

    ¡°They¡¯re getting settled in.¡± The ruler of the city took us to an elevator. "Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll go over to the guest wing once we¡¯re finished.¡± He held up his hand as he got on the elevator and the two guards took up positions beside the door as we got on. Trent stood in the middle of the box, with Tres and myself on either side.

    ¡°About the marking¡­¡± I looked around Trent¡¯s left side. "Won¡¯t the other Gods know what I am simply based off of the mark?¡±

    ¡°You haven¡¯t told him anything¡­¡± Tres shook his head.

    ¡°He¡¯s had a Mantle for five weeks, over half of which he spent in captivity because he told Sipher Gar that he was my son.¡± Trent growled as he shifted Rix to a less awkward position over his shoulder.

    ¡°Trent has a similar marking and so does Mavery.¡± Tres sighed. "As does every one of my Grenium.¡±This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    He must have seen the confusion on my face because he pointed at the guards. ¡°The Grenium are my elite guards. Anyway, it makes it easier to keep secrets that way. So no, just because you have the mark doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯re one of us, but it does mean that you are close to one of us.¡±

    The elevator doors opened and he walked into the room.

    Though calling it a room would be like calling a pegasus just a horse. It was as big as the dorm and the courtyard. The entire north wall was nothing but glass and I could tell that it was the north wall because there was a breathtaking view of the sea that ran behind the city. The sun had set, but there were twin lighthouses out in the water that illuminated the area well.

    There was a mountain range to the east and to the west, but it wasn¡¯t visible, which helped me feel confident that my assumption that we were facing north was correct.

    The decorations in the room looked like something a king would have. There were statues, trophies, bookshelves, and artifacts in glass cases. Everything was so nice that I was afraid to touch anything.

    Tres sat down on what looked like a silk couch and gestured at the other three that made a square with no corners. There was a square table that looked like it was made out of monster material in the middle of it that he propped his feet up on.

    ¡°You can put her down there.¡±

    Trent hesitated. "We really shouldn¡¯t be staying here. The Gods aren¡¯t supposed to be showing preferential treatment to Cathedral classes.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a well known fact that you and I were in the same class with Mavery, Crystal, Fern, and Bion. This is just you visiting an old friend while you¡¯re in town, like you should have done in the first place.¡±

    ¡°You were in class together?¡± I worked up the courage to sit on the southern couch as Trent laid Rix down on the western one opposite Tres. He then sat down on the northern one.

    Tres nodded. "Then we formed a team and tried to push the dungeon.¡± He shook his head. "I outleveled them in the fifties, so we had to split up. Mavery decided to go into administration and Trent joined Dee¡¯s team¡­¡± He looked at Trent and both men paused for a second like it was a bad memory. "Anyway¡­¡± Tres came back to the present. "Enough about the past. Who is the student from Juel and how are they getting here?¡±

    ¡°Yasmin Vilou is bringing her granddaughter to the Temple.¡± My teacher got up. "I should probably have her redirected here.¡±

    I watched the white-haired man walk away and leave me alone with the one thing he told me to never get near.

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 17

    I was starting to get used to uncomfortable silence.

    That wasn¡¯t saying that I was getting comfortable with it. I meant that I was accepting that I was going to be in a lot more of them.

    ¡°So¡­¡± I swallowed. "What¡¯s it like?¡±

    Tres looked confused. "What¡¯s what like?¡±

    ¡°All of this.¡± I motioned at everything. "Being one of the Gods.¡±

    ¡°Honestly?¡± Tres scratched his head. "Boring. Owning a city does give you a power boost, but it comes at the cost of a ton of Administrative work.¡± He groaned. "And then there are the endless events, hands to shake, Nobles to flatter, assassins to thwart.¡± The strawberry-blonde sighed. "I¡¯d much rather be in the dungeon hacking away at monsters, but that¡¯s not really possible.¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡± I was confused. "Couldn¡¯t you put together a team from your Grenium?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I powerleveled them up to Tier Five.¡± He shrugged. "But that¡¯s mainly just me taking them down to sixty-four and then killing everything they can bring to me, but I don¡¯t get any experience from that.¡± He looked at my teacher, who was standing at the window-wall. "Even Trent can¡¯t fight at my level anymore.¡±

    ¡°Couldn¡¯t you team up with some of the other gods?¡±

    ¡°HA!¡± He rubbed his face. "Do you know why the Gods kill each other?¡±

    I shook my head,

    ¡°Because when you do, You don¡¯t take ten percent like you would from an Adventurer. You get half.¡±

    I swallowed. "Is that how..?¡±Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

    ¡°Nah." Tres motioned around. "I¡¯m passively getting experience as we speak, just from Adventurers being in my town and fighting in the dungeons here.¡± He chuckled. "If I had enough dungeons and enough Adventurers, then I could level as high as you can go. That¡¯s how most Gods get stronger, by bringing in more people.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­¡±

    We sat in silence for a little while longer until Trent finished with whoever he was talking to and came back. "She¡¯s bringing her granddaughter here.¡±

    ¡°Good!¡± Tres clapped. "Have you already decided who you¡¯re going to pick from here or do I need to bring the candidates to you?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s between Mitchel Zarboe and Jovena Bothua.¡± Trent looked at me. "The Zarboe are Tanks and the Bothua are Shooters, both of which are still needed on the team.¡±

    ¡°Is Yasmin Vilou¡¯s granddaughter a Healer or a Caster?¡± It didn¡¯t really matter, but I still was curious.

    ¡°The Vilou are Casters.¡± Tres supplied the information for Trent. "Kind of basic though, they focus on crystal extraction mainly. Though they are from a city of spies, so there¡¯s always that.¡±

    ¡°Spies?¡± I felt my heart flutter. Aelin was going to have a field day with this.

    ¡°Yasmin can be trusted.¡± Trent checked on Rix, then turned back to the God. "Are we done now? Because it¡¯s late and I¡¯m sure that my students would like to get some sleep. They¡¯ve got a long day tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°One more thing.¡± He snapped his fingers and Rix woke up.

    The redhead blinked twice, then pushed herself up and circled around behind the couch. ¡°What did you do to me?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not polite to try to sneak up on people.¡± Tres motioned at the seat. "Besides, you need to be awake for this next part.¡±

    Rix looked at Trent, who nodded. She cautiously moved over to the couch I was on and sat down on my left.

    ¡°Good." Tres looked over at Trent. "I think it''s safe to assume you haven¡¯t told them about the Primus.¡± He clicked his tongue when our teacher didn¡¯t deny it. "You know he¡¯s going to come for you now that you¡¯ve gone back into the Dungeon.¡±

    Trent closed his eyes and sighed. "It was inevitable. I¡¯ve been hiding for fifty years, now seemed like a good time.¡±

    Tres was staring our teacher down, but there was so much missing information.

    ¡°Who is coming for you?¡± I looked at Trent. "What¡¯s the Primus and why does it concern us?¡±

    ¡°Kire, specifically.¡± Tres took a deep breath. "The God who Desolated my sister¡­¡±

    Trent looked away as the God pointed at him.

    ¡°And his wife.¡±

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 18

    Trent was married.

    ¡°You were married to a¡­¡± I looked at Tres, who nodded. "...a God?¡±

    ¡°Mortals and Gods interact all the time. But he can tell you about his love life later, the problem is that day in the Gaus Dispatcher dungeon. The fifty-eighth floor. The Primus showed up. Someone in their group had learned that my sister, Dee, was a Celestial.¡± Tres shook his head when he saw our confusion. "A Tier Five in the God class. Anyway, they got betrayed and the Primus showed up.¡± He looked at Trent. "Do you want to tell the story or should I repeat what you told me?¡±

    Trent got up and moved behind the couches. He paced for a moment, then turned around and gripped the back of the couch. "There were six of them.¡± He shook his head. "Fully covered, so I have no idea who they were, but they walked over us like we were nothing!¡± The white haired man blinked back tears. ¡°We were at the top of Tier Five! They had to be at least Tier Seven for us to be like nothing but gnats as we tried to fight back. Then they killed her¡­¡± He had to wipe tears away. "The Desolation wave tore a hole in the floors of the dungeon and shot me down seven floors. It destroyed all of my equipment and left me stranded¡­¡± He swallowed. "For a year.¡± He looked at the two of us. "That is why I emphasize dungeon survival. Because I experienced it. I had to backtrack each floor boss, by myself, which meant kiting for hours, actually it was almost two days with the floor sixty boss.¡± He shook his head. "But I made it out.¡±

    ¡°And he came straight here.¡± Tres looked at us. "I¡¯d sent a rescue team after them and would have gone myself, but it was a different city and there are very few times when a God is allowed in a different city peacefully.¡± He sighed. "They couldn¡¯t find anything, so I wrote him off as dead. But he came back.¡±

    Trent nodded. "That year at the Adventurer Games, Kire walked up to me and told me that I needed to retire or the Primus would hunt me down.¡± He shook his head. "I don¡¯t know if he is part of it, or if he was just an ally that was used as a messenger, but for the last fifty years, I¡¯ve been a teacher at the Cathedral, kept to myself, and stayed in my lane. But now that I¡¯ve gone back in¡­¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    ¡°To save me¡­¡± I could barely breathe the words. I had made him take the target off of Rix¡¯s back and put in on his. And they were so much more dangerous than the Bandits had been.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± I hung my head.

    ¡°It was an inevitability. But we do need to try to wrap this up as fast as we can and get back to the Cathedral, because that is where all of us will be the safest.¡±

    ¡°Is it even safe for us to be out at all?¡±

    ¡°Attacking us while we¡¯re out and about is a possibility, but I¡¯ve traveled between cities before for Adventure games, so I doubt they¡¯re going to do something so open.¡± He shook his head "They''re going to want to have complete control of the area to make sure there isn¡¯t a loose end like me again.¡± He shrugged. "Who knows, maybe they won¡¯t consider this to be coming out of retirement. I¡¯ve been down to lower floors before without any problems when I¡¯ve needed All or materials. So who knows?¡±

    ¡°But what about the Primus? I¡¯ve never heard of them.¡± I looked at the three other people in the room.

    ¡°All I¡¯ve been able to dig up is that it¡¯s a group made up of Gods who want to create a world with much less of us in it.¡± Tres clenched his fists. "I keep hoping that I¡¯ll find something, but if they are going to work together in a team, then there isn¡¯t much that I¡¯d be able to do by myself even if I did find them.¡± He leveled his gaze at us. "It¡¯s only a matter of time before they come after you. So build a team that you can trust and level them up as fast as possible and then we can work on getting you guys another Tier.¡±

    Rix was just staring at the strawberry blonde man.

    ¡°Yes?¡± Tres snapped his fingers. "Hero girl, are you here?¡±

    Rix nodded slowly.

    ¡°Good, then work fast. You should be safe while you¡¯re in the city, but that doesn¡¯t mean you should be careless.¡± He got up and walked over to Trent. "If you need anything, and I mean anything, call me and I¡¯ll send whatever I can to help.¡±

    Trent gave the other man a big hug. I heard Tres whisper something in the other man¡¯s ear, but I couldn¡¯t hear what he said. Trent nodded, then headed for the elevator.

    ¡°Go get some sleep.¡± Tres shooed us. "I¡¯d bet you¡¯re going to have a full day tomorrow.¡±

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 19

    We had an entire floor to ourselves.

    We had only gone down a single floor, which hadn¡¯t been a very long elevator ride, but it had still been in silence. There was way too much to unpack with all the information that Tres had given us. Part of me felt betrayed, knowing that Trent had withheld this much from us and wondering what else he wasn¡¯t telling us. Another part felt overwhelmed again, like I had in the beginning when I had first found out what I was. And there was yet another part of me that felt for my teacher. I couldn¡¯t imagine what it must have been like for the last fifty years to live with a death threat like that looming over his head, especially after that large of a loss.

    The jumble of all those feelings led to a complete loss as to what to say to my teacher. A man who I had thought to be one of the strongest on the planet and to realize just exactly how insignificant he was to the threats that were out there.

    The doors opened to a similarly open room facing the water. One that was just as lavishly furnished, complete with art and trophies.

    The rest of our group was sitting on the couches with a stunned look on their faces. I hadn¡¯t expected everyone to still be awake, but considering the excitement that we¡¯d just gone through, I couldn¡¯t blame them. They just stared at us for a little bit before Ether broke the silence.

    ¡°Atlas!¡± The white-haired woman ran over and threw her arms around me.

    I felt moisture against my cheek and realized that she had been crying. I hated to put her through that again so soon after we had been reunited. I squeezed her tightly. "It¡¯s okay, we¡¯re fine.¡±

    Rix skirted the edge of the room and made her way to the north wall where she wrapped her arms around herself as she stared out into the darkness.

    Trent walked over and sat down on the couch closest to us. He leaned back and let his shoulders sag. Aelin only let him have a moment to rest before she started with the questions.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

    ¡°What happened? How are you okay? Are we going to stay here? I thought we were dead for sure! Are they going to kill us?¡±

    Trent started laughing. It was a deep, jovial laughter that went on just long enough to get all of us to smile. "Aelin, you are precious.¡±

    She beamed and puffed out her chest, like she was a superhero who had just saved the day and was posing for pictures. ¡°Yes, I am.¡± The blonde eyed him. "You didn¡¯t answer any of my questions though.¡±

    ¡°Can it wait until morning?¡± The old man rubbed his temples. "I¡¯m tired and it¡¯s been a long day even without the excitement of the last hour.¡±

    She crossed her arms and pouted her lips.

    ¡°I¡¯ll let you pick out the rooms if you¡¯ll wait until morning.¡± He got up and looked at Gesai. "We should take the rooms on the sides though, just in case.¡±

    Aelin pretended to be shocked. "I thought I was going to get to pick who got what rooms?¡±

    The white-haired man shrugged as he walked towards the room on the left. "And you think I don¡¯t know you well enough to know you¡¯ll want a corner room¡­¡± He looked from the blonde over to our brunette Healer. "With Justia?¡±

    He started laughing when the two of them blushed.

    ¡°I¡­ I uh¡­ Maybe I¡­¡± She watched him shut the door to his room. "Whatever.¡± She stiffened when she realized the entire room was looking at her. "What?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s late and we should get some sleep.¡± I held up my hand when the blonde tried to speak. "Trent said morning and I¡¯m not going to stay up just to answer your questions.¡±

    She looked over at Rix, then back at me. "Is she okay though? She¡¯s more¡­ Rix-y than normal. Honestly, I thought he killed her.¡±

    I swallowed and looked over at our redheaded Hero. ¡°She¡¯s just¡­¡± I didn¡¯t know how to put it. She hadn¡¯t been awake for most of the information dump, but learning that there was a coalition of Gods that were trying to subjugate the whole world was a lot to take in. She¡¯d also been stopped so fast again. I could understand just how powerless that was making her feel. I wanted to help her, but right now, I felt like letting her brood in a corner to collect her thoughts was the way to go.

    ¡°She¡¯s just been given a lot to think about.¡± I shook my head when Aelin tried to ask another question. "Where are we sleeping?¡±

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 20

    Trent had been right.

    The two rooms on either side of the elevator were the smallest ones. Then there was a room on each corner of the Southern wall, with a large room in between them.

    Aelin had walked all of us to the Master room to tell us where we were all staying. I sat down on the very large bed and Ether laid down with her head in my lap. I played with her hair as Aelin talked about the various features of the rooms that I wasn¡¯t interested in. I was tired and all I cared about was where I was going to sleep.

    ¡°So I¡¯ll take the room over there with¡­¡± She blushed as she pointed to her right. "Justia.¡± She looked at me. "Atlas and Ether will get the Master room, obviously, which leaves Oz, Ren, and Fray¡­¡±

    ¡°Ren and I can take the other corner room." Oz pointed towards the East.

    Aelin looked at Fray. "There¡¯s only one bed in each room, so maybe..?¡± The blonde turned to me. "She could stay here?¡±

    The bed was certainly big enough. I thought just putting two of our bunks together would make a big bed, but the one that I was sitting on felt like three beds had been smashed together and one had been added at the foot. There was plenty of room for the quiet brunette to sleep with us and never get close to us if she didn¡¯t want to.

    I could see the jealousy on Gesai¡¯s face and the apprehension on Fray¡¯s.

    ¡°Or I¡¯m sure Gesai would switch places with you.¡± I knew it wasn¡¯t what Trent had said, but it would make probably make people more comfortable.

    Both women¡¯s eyes lit up at the suggestion.

    ¡°If¡­that¡¯s¡­ alright¡­ with you.¡± The brunette looked away as she spoke.

    I looked down at Ether who nodded. "Sounds like a plan.¡± I stretched my arms. "Why don¡¯t we all get some sleep before Trent kicks us out of bed before the sun comes up?¡±Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    ¡°What about Rix?¡± Ren looked out the door in the direction that we had left the redhead.

    ¡°Does anyone think she¡¯d honestly sleep in a bed if we assigned her one?¡± I looked around the room.

    ¡°I¡¯d rather have a couch.¡± Rix walked into the room holding her left shoulder with her right hand.

    ¡°Sorry¡­¡± I felt embarrassed.

    ¡°It¡¯s the truth.¡± The redhead looked around the room, then headed towards the bathroom to her left. "But there aren¡¯t any bathrooms outside of the rooms.¡±

    The rest of the room got very quiet as Rix closed the door to the bathroom.

    ¡°Well¡­¡± Aelin started backing up to the door. "I guess we should get to our rooms¡­¡±

    They all left until it was only myself and Ether on the bed with Gesai standing awkwardly by the door. Rix came out of the bathroom with a blanket and two robes in her hands. She threw one of the robes at Gesai and the other at me.

    I caught the red robe with one hand and almost dropped it. The fabric was so soft, it felt like I was holding water. It dropped from my hand, falling over Ether¡¯s face. The white-haired woman sat up and took the robe from me. She rubbed the fabric against her.

    ¡°It¡¯s so soft!¡± She looked over at Gesai. "Have you ever touched something like this?!¡±

    The older woman had put the robe down and was taking off her shirt. She paused when Ether spoke to her and shook her head.

    ¡°This is all I need.¡± Rix smirked as she walked into the hall. "Have fun.¡± She pulled the door closed.

    Ether stood up and lost all of her clothes faster than what I thought should be humanly possible. She slipped into the robe and hugged herself. "How would you ever wear anything else?¡± She touched my face with the material. "Isn¡¯t this so soft?!¡± She turned and headed towards the bathroom. "I¡¯m going to see if I can find another one for you!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± I started taking off my clothes until I was down to just my shorts. "The blankets are plenty soft. I slid up to the head of the bed and climbed under the covers. "I¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    Ether slid under the covers and snuggled up beside me, laying her head on my chest. I could feel the softness of the fabric against my skin as she pressed her body against mine.

    I looked at Gesai, who was still standing shirtless by the door. ¡°Hurry up and turn the light out so we can get some sleep.¡±

    The older redhead quickly finished changing into her yellow robe and turned out the light. A few moments later, I felt her slide against my right side and lay her head on my shoulder. She kissed my cheek, then settled in.

    I closed my eyes, but sleep didn¡¯t come for me until long after both women had fallen fast asleep.

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 21

    Oz was the one to wake everyone up.

    The raven-haired woman just walked into the room and turned on the light.

    ¡°Time to get up!¡± She pounded on the foot of the bed. "Justia and Fray are already up and cooking breakfast.¡±

    I opened my eyes. I had expected to be one of the first ones awake. I sat up, lifting both the women sleeping on me into the sitting position.

    ¡°You found the robes too.¡± Oz grinned. "Pretty nice, huh?¡±

    ¡°Yep." I slipped out from between the groggy women and got out of the bed. "I would have thought Aelin would be the one to do a wake-up call.¡±

    Oz shrugged. "She¡¯s still in bed. Justia said to let her sleep some more, so I¡¯m the one who got to interrupt your¡­¡± She eyed us. "Beauty sleep.¡±

    ¡°Thanks¡­¡± I pulled on my clothes and walked over to her. I turned back to the women on the bed. Gesai looked like she was awake, just orienting herself, while Ether looked like she might fall over and go back to sleep. ¡°Ges, can you make sure Ether doesn''t go back to sleep?¡±

    The redhead gave me a thumbs up as she scooted to the edge of the bed.

    I followed Oz back to the living space and took in the smells. It looked like Fray was doing most of the cooking, while Justia was preparing the ingredients and set plates on the bar for people. There wasn¡¯t a table to sit at, nor were there any barstools under the bar, so it looked like we were going to have to use the couches to eat on.

    Ren was sitting on the eastern couch, looking at something on a screen while Rix was back at her corner, looking out at the water. The view itself was crazy, with the two lighthouses standing guard with poking out of the water at random places all the way to the land mass on the right of the horizon, while there was water that went on for as far as I could see on the left.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    ¡°Beautiful, isn¡¯t it?¡± I walked over to the window wall.

    ¡°Not really¡­¡± Oz pointed at the landmass. "That¡¯s the Isle of Death. Everything that grows there is like it¡¯s dead. The trees are hollow, the grass is brown, and there''s mud and waterways all over the place.¡±

    ¡°And the Desolation of Wurn.¡± Rix added.

    ¡°That''s probably why it¡¯s like that.¡± Oz shrugged. "It became a Desolation before I was born, but grandad said that it used to be really pretty, but he only went there once when he was really young.¡±

    ¡°How long has it been a Desolation?¡± I looked around the room, but no one offered a definitive answer.

    ¡°It was before dad was born, so at least forty-five years.¡± Oz walked over to the plates of food on the bar and began picking at one. "That¡¯s all I know¡­ OW!¡±

    Justia slapped her cousin¡¯s hand. "Wait until everyone can get some!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯ll be cold by then.¡± The raven-haired woman shot back. "Besides, what''s the harm in eating off my own plate?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s your plate?¡± The brunette eyed her. ¡°How do you know that?¡±

    Oz licked her finger and dragged it across some of the food as she stared down her cousin. ¡°Because I don¡¯t think anyone else wanted it.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t help myself, I walked over and took a piece of breakfast meat off the plate and popped it in my mouth. "This stuff is really good!¡± It really was, though Tres probably only stocked these rooms with the best things. I enjoyed the look on both women¡¯s faces. As a Porter, I rarely ate anything besides ration bars, but occasionally the Adventurers I was working for would have extra or leftovers that they didn¡¯t finish. In those cases, I¡¯d been allowed to help myself. It had taken a little getting used to, but after four years, eating after someone else didn¡¯t bother me at all.

    I smiled and tried to make a shocked face. "Oh, was that your plate?¡± I grabbed the one next to it. "I guess I¡¯ll take this one.¡±

    Neither woman said anything as I walked towards the couches, but I stopped when Ether and Gesai came out. I handed the plate to Ether and looked at Gesai. "Food¡¯s ready, let¡¯s get a plate.¡±

    When I turned around Fray had a plate in each hand. We both took a plate from her.

    ¡°It¡¯s delicious.¡± I smiled. "Thank you.¡±

    Fray blushed and nodded, then grabbed her own plate.

    Aelin walked out yawning and did a big stretch. Her sleepy eyes focused on me. "It¡¯s morning¡­¡± She pointed. "Answers.¡±

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 22

    I told them as much as I could about the conversation last night.

    I left out the part about me being a Godling, but they sat in silence as I told them about Trent¡¯s connection to Tres, about Dee, and about the Primus. It wasn¡¯t until I told them about Trent and Gesai deciding on a new member that Aelin decided to interrupt.

    ¡°I thought we were going to get to pick the new members!?¡± She glared at Gesai. "What if she¡¯s not right for the harem?¡±

    I closed my eyes. "Aelin, don¡¯t you think you¡¯ve taken this harem thing a little too far, I mean¡­¡±

    ¡°Mister Vowler got betrayed by someone who wasn¡¯t bound to their circle and look what happened to him!¡± Aelin stood up. "I don¡¯t think you¡¯re taking this seriously enough! What happens if this new person decides that they can sell this information? Huh?¡± Her eyes stopped on Justia for a bit before going back to me. "Do you want us all to die?¡±

    ¡°No¡­¡± I didn¡¯t want any of them to get killed because of me, but I was already seeing the jealousy in Gesai. I was going to have to find a way to get our small group to be more cohesive. But that was a lot to balance, especially with trying to juggle our dungeon trips in with that as well. Which meant that I didn¡¯t have a good answer for her.

    Before I had a chance to respond, an image of Trent appeared in the middle of the table.

    ¡°Good, you¡¯re all here.¡± He looked around the room. "Jenne is here and your other two candidates are going to meet us at the Temple after lunch.¡± The white-haired man focused on Rix. "I¡¯ll be up once I see them off to begin your training.¡± He turned back to the rest of us. "Hurry up! You¡¯ve got a lot to do!¡± The image vanished.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    We all got up and grabbed our plates.

    ¡°I need help with cleaning this up!¡± Fray began taking our used dishes to the sink.

    Rix cut in front of her and took the plate out of her hand. The quiet woman let the redhead take it from her and slowly backed away. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of cleaning up.¡± She nodded at the elevator. "Go.¡±

    I looked at the mess we¡¯d made. "Are you sure?¡¯

    Rix started cleaning dishes and loading them into the washer. "I¡¯ve done this before, just go. I¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    I had my doubts about how ¡®fine¡¯ she was, but there wasn¡¯t much I could do about it.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡± I waved at Rix. "Thanks! Have a good one!¡±

    We loaded up in the elevator, but no one pushed a button to choose a floor. We were on the fifth floor. There was one floor above us and it went all the way down to the basement.

    ¡°Which one should we press?¡± I looked at Gesai.

    The older woman shrugged. "We came in through the first floor, what about you?¡±

    ¡°He brought us in through the basement, but if you all came through the first floor.¡± I looked at Aelin, who was the closest to the panel. "First floor. We can always get back on if it¡¯s the wrong floor.¡±

    ¡°First floor it is!¡± The blonde giggled as she pushed the button. "I have the power, mwah, ha, ha , ha!¡±

    I shook my head, but I had to smile. Aelin was having fun, so maybe we all could find a way to enjoy ourselves.

    The doors opened as we reached the first floor and Gesai went out first. We had to walk around a security desk that was manned by a guard in full yellow armor to get onto the main floor, but once we were there, we saw our RV parked outside.

    Trent was standing in front of the RV and there was a woman standing next to him putting on a green jacket.

    I started walking towards the doors. ¡°I think we¡¯re on the right floor.¡±

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 23

    She looked kind of like Oz.

    Maybe it was just the black hair and green eyes that I was equating the two with, but it almost looked like Jenne Vilou could be at least related to Oz. She was only five foot two and Oz was five-eight, so there was a height difference. Oz also had shorter hair, not even long enough to touch her shoulders, while Jenne had long, straight hair that stretched down to the middle of her back. And now that we were closer, I could see different skin tones and facial features. So it was really just the hair and eye color.

    ¡°Everyone, this is the Caster for Green Team, Jenne Vilou.¡± Trent then pointed at each of us. "The Blue Team is Atlas Vowler, Justia Publian, Ether Klix, Aelin Zeb, and Fray Harror. Rix Zeb is on a different assignment, but you¡¯ll meet her tonight.¡± He pointed at the others. "And these are your teammates, Oz Mite and Ren Zavel. And your teacher, Gesai Alard.¡±

    Gesai walked over and grabbed the younger woman¡¯s hand.

    Jenne smiled. "So many sexy people!¡± She winked at me, which made Gesai bristle and Ether grabbed my arm. The new woman laughed. "And so close too!¡±

    ¡°I. Love. Her!¡± Aelin ran over and hugged the newest member.

    Trent let them bounce and squeal for a few moments, then he cleared his throat. ¡°You have a lot to do today.¡± He motioned at the RV. "You need to get started.¡± He looked at each of us, then ended on Gesai. ¡°I¡¯ll meet you back here this evening, try to make it between five and six.¡±

    The other Teacher nodded. "Yes Sir!¡±

    ¡°I think the new girl has her rattled.¡± Oz came up beside me as we followed them Into the vehicle.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    I watched the stiff redhead get into the driver¡¯s seat and start the vehicle. ¡°I think you¡¯re right.¡± I got into the right side booth with my back to the giggling women. Somehow both Justia and Fray had been pulled into the other booth and while they didn¡¯t look comfortable, they didn¡¯t exactly look uncomfortable either.

    Ether sat beside me, leaving Oz and Ren to sit across from us.

    ¡°What are we doing first?¡± I had to raise my voice so that Gesai could hear me.

    ¡°We need to outfit all of you with new armor and weapons, plus a few new skills wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea either.¡± Gesai only partly turned towards me as she began driving into town.

    ¡°Shopping!¡± Aelin and Jenne squealed together.

    I shook my head. "I have a really bad feeling about this¡­¡± I mumbled under my breath.

    ¡°A bad feeling about about how much extra teasing there is going to be or that now Aelin will be uncontrollable?¡± Ether smirked.

    ¡°Was she controllable before?¡± Oz chuckled.

    ¡°Justia could¡­¡± I searched for the right word. "Contain her somewhat.¡± I looked over at them. "Now, I don¡¯t know¡­¡±

    I looked back at the three women at my table. "Do we know what we need?¡±

    ¡°Leveled gear would be nice.¡± Oz pulled up a screen. "And I need some gear that I can move around in as well as new weapons.¡±

    ¡°I need light armor as well.¡± I looked at the woman beside me. "Ether needs to go to heavy gear and Ren, you¡¯ve looked at..?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need to worry as much about getting hit, so the armor I have now is fine.¡± She looked at Oz. "I could go with Ether, since the two of you are going to the same place.¡±

    The black haired woman nodded. "We should probably rescue Fray, since she¡¯ll need the same stuff we will.¡± She looked at me. "Don¡¯t you need a focus?¡±

    I nodded. "I do but¡­¡± I glanced at the other table. "I think I may see about an upgrade for my sword too. Going with those three.¡± I shook my head. "Ren, didn¡¯t you need some abilities?¡±

    The blonde looked at me like I¡¯d just threatened to strangle her. ¡°I can just have Aelin pick up a second copy of whatever she¡¯s getting.¡± Ren sighed. "Or I should probably make a list.¡±

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 24

    ¡°What do you mean, I need to go with them?!¡±

    Gesai slammed her fist on the side of the RV.

    ¡°Look." I pointed at the Blonde and Raven-haired women who were skipping arm in arm with Justia right behind them. I pointed at Ether and Ren, then at Oz, Fray, and myself. ¡°Which one is the most likely to cause a scene and spend all the money they have?¡±

    The older woman gritted her teeth. "Just¡­¡± She started moving towards the jovial group. "Be back here by lunch!¡±

    I watched the women go into the mall. There was a small gathering of people with purple tattoos on their faces that looked like the I-Love-You sign without the thumb chanting something that they had to walk around.

    Once they were inside I turned to the two who were standing next to me. "Where to first?¡±

    Oz pulled up a map of the mall. It was much smaller than the one at Harror.

    ¡°Reace Armaments is where we need to go to get you a medium. It¡¯s the first place here.¡± She pointed at it. "We can pop over to Bright Weapons, then we can go to Mogi Leathers and get our armor.¡± She traced the path we would travel on the map with her finger.

    ¡°Sounds like a plan.¡± I started walking towards the store and Oz began walking beside me. Fray followed a few steps behind us. I paused and reached back for her arm and pulled her in between us. "Come on, you don¡¯t need to walk a few steps behind us like you¡¯re ashamed to be seen in public with us.¡±

    Fray looked horrified. "No that wasn¡¯t¡­¡±

    ¡°What he means is¡­¡± Oz took her other arm. "That you should walk up here with us.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­¡± Fray looked like she was very out of place, but by the time we reached the front doors, she had relaxed a little.

    Besides being smaller than the one at Harror, there were also fewer people in it. It was fairly easy to navigate over to Reace Armaments. We walked in, but there was no one at the counter.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    ¡°Must be a slow day.¡± I turned away from the Bows and crossbows, as well as the conventional weaponry. I needed a magical focus, kind of like the one that Aelin had as a bow, but I needed one for a gun instead.

    ¡°Or they¡¯re building a custom order in the back.¡± Oz began looking at the actual bows.

    ¡°You put your points into Speed didn¡¯t you?¡± I nodded at the bows. "Thinking of multiclassing?¡±

    ¡°The ammo is cheaper than crossbows or guns, and you can make arrows in most environments if you run out.¡± The raven-haired woman took a white one down. " And you never know when melee might not be an option.¡±

    ¡°What about you?¡± Oz looked at Fray. "What are you thinking about multiclassing into?¡±

    The brunette down at her feet. "My Speed and Magic are both at four, I can¡¯t do either.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve got eight levels until you Tier, that¡¯s fourteen points that you can put somewhere.¡± I picked up a pistol and waved it. "Six points to ten, then you have eight more to put wherever you want.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡± Fray looked at the gun. "I don¡¯t think that¡¯s really for me.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­¡± I put the gun back on the shelf and turned to her. "What are you wanting to be? What class did you dream about becoming?¡±

    The brunette shrugged. "I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m from a Mundane family. All four of my grandparents are Mundane, and so were their parents. None of my siblings got Mantles, so I never thought I would either.¡± There was something far away in her eyes as she spoke. ¡°My parents didn¡¯t even come to my Trial, that¡¯s how sure they were that I wasn¡¯t going to get one, so when I was taken to the Temple¡­¡± A tear ran down her face. "I didn¡¯t even get to say goodbye.¡±

    I got up and hugged her and for the first time, she didn¡¯t flinch at my touch. "You could call your family if you want, I¡¯m sure Trent won¡¯t mind. It¡¯ll be okay.¡±

    ¡°No it won¡¯t!¡± She pulled back and wiped her eyes. It was the first time that I¡¯d heard her raise her voice. It seemed to scare her as well. ¡°Don¡¯t you get it? Aelin is an illegitimate daughter of a Noble, you¡¯re Trent¡¯s son and Rix¡­¡± She shook her head. "I don¡¯t know what Rix is, but do you know why the teachers were treating us so bad? It¡¯s because most of the people there KNEW that they were the illegitimate children of a Noble.¡± She balled her fist. "Everything about my life was a lie!¡±

    I didn¡¯t know what to say to that, or how to help her feel better. I looked at Oz for help.

    ¡°So make a real one.¡± Oz held out the bow she was holding. ¡°Where you came from might not be the truth, but how you got here is and you are here now.¡± She looked the other woman in the eyes. "Hold on to that truth.¡±

    Fray took the bone bow and held it up.

    ¡°That¡¯s a fine choice for a beginner!¡± A pleasant male voice called out.

    We turned, but before any of us could speak, the voice continued in a surprised tone. "Ozet?¡±

    Oz smiled. "Hi Uncle Fine.¡±

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 25

    I¡¯d forgotten that her mother was a Reace.

    I don¡¯t know why it¡¯d slipped my mind. I remembered Justia being teased about it back in Harror, but that felt like a lifetime ago.

    He looked a bit younger than Dacine Mite and, to be honest, more like Oz than her mother. He had clear blue eyes and black hair, which was a stark contrast to Dacine¡¯s green eyes and brown hair. But that smile was definitely the same, that confident presence that filled the room and put you at ease.

    The older man wrapped his niece in a hug. "It¡¯s been forever! What have you been up to?¡± He looked over at us. "Who are your friends? That¡¯s right! Your mom said you got your Mantle! Congratulations!¡±

    He was jumping from one topic to the next so fast that she couldn¡¯t answer him.

    ¡°Thanks!¡± She smiled at him. "This is Atlas Ze¡­ I mean Vowler.¡± Oz quickly tried to move on to Fray. "And this is Fray Harror.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s so good to meet you!¡± The excitable man shook our hands so fast that I didn¡¯t have time to respond. I remembered that even though Oz¡¯s primary stat was Power, that her Mother¡¯s family was where her Speed came from.

    I thought back to my days working in the dungeon as a Porter. The Speed people were always doing things so fast when they wanted to, it was amazing how quickly they could get things done once they started moving.

    ¡°Are you lot looking for some weapons?¡± He looked at each of us for a moment and shook his head. "Not a speedster in the group, a pity, but I see you put your extra points into Speed! Congrats on leveling up!¡± He looked at the weapon in my hand. "What are you even trying to do with your stats?¡± He pointed at the pistol focus. "You put points in Power, then Magic, but you want a Speed medium instead of a Power one?¡± He looked at Oz. "Isn¡¯t he supposed to be Trent Vowler¡¯s kid?¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    ¡°They have a plan." Oz reassured him. "But right now, we need some weapons.¡± The raven-haired woman put her arm around Fray. "My friend here is thinking about using a bow and was wondering if it¡¯d be right for her.¡± She looked at the back door to the shop. "I don¡¯t suppose you have a firing range in here that she could use?¡±

    He smiled. "For my favorite niece? Sure!¡± He began looking over the bows that were hung on the wall, then took the bow out of Fray¡¯s hand and put it back on the hangers. "I¡¯ve got something better in the back.¡± He looked at Oz. "Longbow like Dace?¡±

    ¡°I was thinking something a little more complex¡­¡± She pointed at the compound bows. "Something like that, where I¡¯d still be able to do damage, but have maneuverability too.¡±

    Fine shook his head. "It¡¯s a shame you¡¯re not a sniper like your mother, but you¡¯ve got too much of your father in you.¡± The older man motioned with his hand. "I¡¯ve got something in the back that you¡¯ll probably like.¡±

    He started walking towards the back doors and took a white pistol off of the shelf and threw it at me. "Whitefang pistol, level two. Has Tracking to help line up your shots since your Speed isn¡¯t that great.¡± The black haired man stopped at the magazines. "How many shot spells do you have?¡±

    ¡°Three. Electric, Fire, and Earth.¡± I looked at Oz. "But I¡¯m hoping to eventually learn them all.¡± We hadn¡¯t needed a different element for the dungeons here, but I¡¯d told Ren to put down for the others to grab me either Ice or Acid shot. Considering we¡¯d sent Gesai with them, I had a feeling she was going to bring back both.

    Fine Reace shook his head and threw me a magazine. "Once we get out of the sealed zone, you can load that.¡± He took a second one off the shelf and slipped it into his pocket, then held open the door. "Welcome to my workshop!¡±

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 26

    It smelled like oil.

    Compared to the clean and tidy exterior in the front, the back looked like a few monsters had died on the handful of workbenches and not vanished into smoke.

    ¡°Excuse the mess." He pointed over at what looked like a counter. "You can try out your weapon over there.¡± Fine turned to the women. "And if you ladies will follow me¡­¡± He began looking over the workbenches. "I know it¡¯s around here somewhere¡­¡±

    I walked over to the counter and saw a target at the end of a long hallway. As soon as I stepped on the mat I could feel that my skills were no longer sealed. I looked down at the magazine and pistol in my hands. I knew that spells could be loaded into mediums like Wands, Staves, or Guns, but I didn¡¯t know how to so it. I turned so that I was looking down the hall and held the magazine out in my hand. ¡°Electric Shot.¡±

    A sizzle fell off of my hand and vanished as it hit the ground. That wasn¡¯t the way to load spells. I should have looked it up before I came in but that was something that I¡¯d have to ask Oz¡¯s uncle about. I shook my head as I thought about the comment he¡¯d make about it.

    I put the magazine in the pistol and aimed it down the hall at the target. ¡°Electric Shot.¡±

    Two bolts of electricity zipped down to the target on the other wall. It felt like there was a little more power behind the shots than when I was using just my hands.

    I decided to try out the other two shots as well. ¡°Earth Shot. Fire Shot.¡±

    Two marbles and a small bullet of fire shot down to the target and hit right where I had aimed. It was definitely more accurate than I was used to.

    ¡°It¡¯s only a level two gun, but I could modify it to level three if you want.¡±

    I turned around and saw Fine standing behind me.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you using the magazine?¡± The older man raised his eyebrow as he looked at the gun in my hands.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure how to load it.¡± I took the magazine out and looked at it. "Could you show me?¡±

    The black-haired man muttered under his breath as he walked over to a cluttered workbench and started digging around. He came back with a piece of paper.

    ¡°Learn this.¡± He handed me the ability.

    I looked down at the paper. It simply read LOAD. It wasn¡¯t flashy like the other skill I¡¯d seen, which had videos attached to the cases they were in that displayed how the ability was used and well as a description written somewhere on the crystal.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    ¡°You¡¯re just giving this to me?¡± I held up the page.

    ¡°Giving? Ha! Grandma Vanya would skin me even if it is just a few All.¡± He put his arm around his niece and squeezed her in a side hug. "I¡¯ll add it in with the rest of the stuff you¡¯re buying today.¡± He held up his hand before I could speak. "Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll give Ozlet here the family discount.¡± He winked at her and she rolled her eyes.

    ¡°Okay¡­¡± I tore the page and got the notification that I¡¯d learned the skill. "Now what do I do?¡±

    ¡°Hold the magazine in your hand and use both skills at the same time.¡±

    The confusion I was feeling must have shown on my face, because he expanded on his directions.

    ¡°You say Load and whatever spell you want to load into it. Just don¡¯t try using a spell that¡¯s not a shot. It can hold a couple of them, but you probably are only going to get away with it a dozen or so times before it melts down.¡± He shook his head.

    ¡°The weapons will break down?¡± It was something that I hadn¡¯t considered before.

    ¡°How do you think we¡¯d stay in business if weapons and armor lasted forever?¡± Fine motioned at the workbenches. "Bows are one thing, but the guns¡­¡± He pointed at a rifle that had the barrel folded inside out halfway back. There were jagged edges where the material had to tear in order for such a feat to occur. "Guns take a lot of wear channeling spells. Use a spell that¡¯s a higher Tier and you¡¯re likely to melt it in your hand. Have the holder try to shoot a spell that¡¯s a higher Tier and¡­¡± He walked over and picked up the rifle. "You¡¯re lucky if this is all that happens.¡±

    ¡°What about regular bullets?¡± I looked over at Fray. It might be worth it to keep one as a backup in case someone needed extra protection.

    ¡°Combustion weapons?¡± Fine tossed the rifle back on the table. "Outside the dungeon, sure, you can use them against a Mundane, but against a monster or Tier two or higher Adventurer?¡± He shook his head. "You upset them less and do the same amount of damage if you just spit on them.¡±

    Fine pointed at the magazine in my hand. "This is your normal medium. You spend half the mana the spell costs to load it into the magazine, then you spend the other half when you pull the trigger. It lets you dump your mana faster and throw around twice as much of it in for burst damage, but¡­¡± He looked at the other two people with me. "Try to use it without enough mana or try to fire one of these that¡¯s above your level or¡­ Gods forbid¡­ above your Tier¡­¡± He looked over at the broken rifle. "You¡¯ll be lucky if that¡¯s the least that happens.¡±

    I thought about the turret that we had on the RV. I knew it¡¯d done damage to Bandits that were higher Tier than we were, so there must have been a different type of enchantment on the weapon. I thought about asking him about it, but saw Oz tap her crystal band. We had time constraints, which meant questions would have to wait.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± I smiled, then looked back at the magazin. "Load Electric Shot.¡±

    A yellow dot at the base of the magazine appeared to let me know that the spell had been loaded. I loaded the magazine into the pistol and pointed it at the target down the range. The gun seemed to pull itself towards the center of the target, where I was looking. I smiled as I pulled the trigger and an arc of electricity zapped out of the pistol and hit the exact center.

    ¡°I could get used to this.¡±

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 27

    Fray didn¡¯t buy a weapon.

    Oz bought a compound bow that was constructed from so many different monster parts that I had lost count when she showed me the description. It was a custom request for another Noble, but Fine had sold it to his niece after claiming that he had enough time and materials to make another.

    I had purchased the pistol and four magazines. I could fire off about thirty shots normally, which would be doubled if I stored them in the magazine, but I wanted to keep some mana in reserve in case I needed to use some of my other spells.

    Oz had paid for the whole thing, so I wasn¡¯t exactly sure how much it had cost, but given that I had five-thousand All to play with, I had no doubt that I still had most of that remaining.

    We headed towards Bright Weapons and this time Fray walked beside us without having to be prompted. The brunette was being even more reserved than usual after her outburst, but she at least wasn¡¯t drifting behind us anymore.

    Her rant had made me think about not only the Mantles, but my heritage. If she was right and only the Nobility passed down Mantles, then my Mantle had to have been passed down to me from one of my parents. And since it seemed that your class was also passed down from your parents, that meant that one of my parents had probably been a God. Given how Tres talked about some of the Gods having affairs with the Mundane, if I had to guess right now, then I¡¯d say that my father was probably a God and my mother had died in Zeb when I was three.

    I pushed those thoughts out of my mind. It was something that I could ask Trent about later, but for now I needed to focus on the present.

    ¡°Welcome to Bright Weapons!¡± A redheaded woman with green eyes who looked to be in her sixties was behind the counter. She was wearing a nice white business suit, which was a stark contrast to the dirty clothes that Fine Reace had been wearing. "I¡¯m Welley Bright. What can I help you with today?¡±

    ¡°We need some level two blunt weapons.¡± Oz scanned the store for the section of weapons that we could use.

    Compared to the empty Reace Armaments, this store had a couple customers, but it looked like they were all near the Tier Two and Three weapons. Which made sense, only students would want the Tier Zero weapons.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

    ¡°Over there.¡± The older woman pointed at the corner at the far back of the store. She must have thought that we were higher level, because as soon as we said our level, her interest in us plummeted.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± I smiled at her even though she had already turned away from us.

    ¡°She wouldn¡¯t be acting like that if she knew who we were.¡± Oz eyed me. "Should we drop our names to teach her not to judge people so fast?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s not make a scene.¡± I looked at my crystal band, we¡¯d spent almost half of our time in Reace Armaments, and getting outfitted for armor was supposed to take the longest of our three stops. ¡°We don¡¯t have time if this turns into fanfare.

    Oz looked like she was going to do it anyway, but after a long moment, she turned away. "You¡¯re right, probably not worth it.¡±

    I saw Fray breathe a sigh of relief as we followed Oz to the back of the store.

    Honestly, there weren¡¯t many weapons for our level. There was a barrel with swords in it that had the handles wrapped with something and the level of the weapon displayed on it. I assumed that was so that customers wouldn¡¯t get hurt while browsing if they touched a weapon that was outside of their level. I''d seen what just one level difference had done to Frays hands, and Gesai had permanent scars all the way up to her elbows for holding a weapon well above her Tier. That had been more than enough to convince me to never willingly touch an item that was outside of my level.

    Oz rooted around in the barrel, but didn¡¯t see anything that she liked. She picked up one of the long handled hammers next to the barrel and tossed it to me. ¡°What do you think?¡±

    I caught the hammer and tested the balance. I could use it, but it didn¡¯t feel right. But considering that I wasn¡¯t going to be able to use a sword or magic against Celia¡¯s dungeon in town, I needed one of these.

    ¡°What about the two of you?¡± I looked at Fray, but the brunette wasn¡¯t holding a blunt weapon. Instead, she had a katana in her hand. ¡°You like it?¡±

    The brunette started to put it back. "It¡¯s not what we came for.¡±

    I touched her arm and she froze. "If you like it, then you should get it.¡± I stared at her face until she turned to look at me. "You¡¯ve got the All and you¡¯re supposed to spend it on gear.¡±

    She pulled the katana back and looked at the price tag again. "But it¡¯s so expensive.¡±

    I looked at the number, which was three hundred All. For a level two weapon, it was really expensive but if it was the weapon that she wanted to use, then she¡¯d still have plenty of All left over.

    ¡°I found it!¡± Oz exclaimed.

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 28

    Oz was holding a pair of axes.

    One of them had a hammer on the back while the other had a pick. She twirled them around in front of her to test how they felt in her hands.

    ¡°I like these!¡± The black-haired woman cradled them in one arm as she turned to Fray. "Is that what you¡¯re getting?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡± Fray looked at me. "Do you think it¡¯ll be okay?¡±

    I nodded. "I think that if you''ll be happy using it then you should get it.¡±

    ¡°Well¡­¡± Fray stared at the katana in her hands. "That¡¯s a lot¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going to spend more than that on gear eventually." I looked at her. "Go ahead and get it.¡±

    Oz took the katana from her and added it to the weapons in her arms. "Tell you what, I¡¯ll trade you this for that sword that you already have. Deal?¡±

    Fray blinked and after a moment of staring at the other woman slowly nodded.

    ¡°Cool! That¡¯s done!¡± Oz turned to me. "What about you? What do you think of the hammer?¡±

    ¡°Honestly?¡± I hefted the weapon again. "I don¡¯t really care for it, but if it¡¯s what we¡¯ve got to use against the spiders¡­¡± I handed the hammer to Fray. "What do you think?¡±

    The brunette took the weapon and hefted it in her hands. "I could probably use this.¡±If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    I looked at all the weapons that were there for our level and shook my head. "Nothing here feels right.¡± I turned to Oz. "Maybe I¡¯ll just provide support when we do that dungeon.¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s what you want.¡± The raven haired woman shrugged and headed for the counter. "I¡¯ll get these together and we can settle up later.¡± She nodded at a pair of benches outside the store. "You can wait for me there if you want.¡±

    There was a part of me that thought that if I stayed in line with Oz, she¡¯d point out who I was. But there was another part of me that was afraid she was going to do that if I wasn¡¯t there to look over her shoulder. I decided that waiting outside the store for her made more sense and took Fray¡¯s hand. "Come on, we can see if there¡¯s anything that we¡¯d want to do if we have any extra time.¡±

    The brunette let me lead her over to the bench, which was within viewing distance of the map of the mall. I sat down and motioned around. "You grew up in Harror, did you ever go to one of these?¡±

    Fray shook her head. "Not before¡­¡± She nervously looked around. "I went with all of you, we never had the All.¡±

    ¡°Neither have I.¡± I chuckled. The person in our group who knew how we could best spend any extra time was the person we¡¯d left in the store. ¡°Is there anywhere you¡¯d like to go?¡±

    She shook her head. "I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll have time.¡± She scooted closer to me as a group of Noblewomen walked past us.

    I had to agree with her, we had just under ninety minutes left before we were supposed to meet back up at the RV, which I had my doubts that we¡¯d be able to make.

    ¡°It could be fun to dream.¡± I nodded at the layout. "We could always try to come back before we leave.¡± I could see how little she believed that. "Or we could try to stop at Harror on our way home.¡± Our last stop was supposed to be in Klix, which was eight hours west of Harror. We also had to drive past Harror when we went from Mive to Klix and I doubted that we would be driving past the city without stopping in at the Publian Clinic.

    Fray flinched when I mentioned her hometown.

    ¡°Hey.¡± I put my arm around her and pulled her closer. "It¡¯ll be okay. You¡¯re with us now and that¡¯ll never change.¡±

    I felt her relax a little as she leaned against me. We sat like that until Oz walked out of the store.

    The raven-haired woman tapped her crystal bead. "I¡¯ve got our stuff. Ready?¡±

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 29

    Compared to the other stores, Mogi Leathers was packed.

    Which was made even worse considering the store was also over twice as large as both places we had already been combined. A good weapon was necessary, but once the crafter had an idea of what you wanted, they could make it. If you needed any final alterations, those just required a little tinkering.

    Armor was a completely different story. There were boots, pants, belts, shirts, vests, jackets, gloves, and helmets. Not to mention goggles and other accessories. Some Adventurers would buy stuff right off the rack, but most wanted their armor to be custom fitted for themselves, which took time. And time was something that we didn¡¯t have.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the premade section.¡± Oz pointed to an area that was a lot less crowded. It helped that we wanted Tier Zero stuff and that we weren¡¯t going to get it altered. At least not here. Given that Fray and I were on the Blue team and Oz was on the Green, we¡¯d have to get our armor dyed to be primarily our team colors, but we could do that ourselves.

    I began thumbing through the clothes, looking for something that would work better than the level one gear that I currently had. I noticed that the other two had split off and were looking an aisle over in a section dedicated to women¡¯s armor.

    ¡°They have a lot of stuff here with water resistance." I pulled a jacket off the rack and tried it on. This one had a hood that could be strapped into place to provide head protection. It also came with water resistance as did the pants, gloves, and boots I had found. I took it off and added it to my selection of gear and strolled over to where Fray and Oz were picking out things.

    ¡°Did you find everything you need?¡± The raven-haired woman eyed the pile of clothes in my arms.

    ¡°I think this is all I need.¡± I nodded at the stack she was holding. "What about you?¡±

    ¡°Fray and I were about to go try this stuff on.¡± Oz pointed at a place a little ways down the store that read ¡®Changing¡¯. ¡°Have you tried it all on?¡±The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°I checked out everything but the pants.¡± I pulled the pants out of the bottom of my pile. "I didn¡¯t know that there was a changing area.¡±

    ¡°Come on.¡± Oz picked up the stack that she had made and headed towards the changing area. I shrugged at Fray and we followed after her.

    I noticed that Fray¡¯s pile was significantly smaller than Oz¡¯s.

    ¡°Did you have trouble finding things you liked?¡± I nodded at the items in her arms.

    ¡°I got a full set of armor.¡± Fray smiled. "And I think it¡¯ll fit.¡±

    I was a little confused by the difference in size of our items. It looked like Oz¡¯s stack was as big as mine and Fray¡¯s combined.

    Oz was already talking to the red haired woman at the counter.

    ¡°I already told you, one room per party.¡± The woman¡¯s red eyes drifted over to Fray and myself. "You can take turns or go in one at a time.¡± She pointed at a crystal on the counter. "You can deposit the items that you want to try on here, then you¡¯ll be able to take them out once you are in the room. Once you are done trying them on, place them back in the crystal and you can either pay for them here, or go get different items to try on.¡±

    I took a step back. "I guess I¡¯ll wait here for the two of you to get done.¡± I shifted the clothes in my arms. Part of me was thinking that this was too much of a hassle just to make sure the pants fit well. Honestly, if they didn¡¯t, then I could use a belt to keep them up, which I was planning on wearing anyway.

    ¡°Atlas.¡± Oz had already deposited her items and walked past the counter. "It¡¯s not like we¡¯re getting naked.¡± She looked at Fray. "It¡¯s nothing he hasn¡¯t seen before.¡±

    I swallowed as Fray blushed.

    ¡°I think it might be less awkward if I wait out here.¡± I shook my head.

    ¡°Fray, you¡¯re okay with Atlas coming back, aren¡¯t you?¡± Oz put her hands on her hips as Fray began depositing items into the crystal.

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± Fray took a deep breath. "I don¡¯t mind.¡± She looked at me. I had been expecting to see fear or discomfort, but instead there was a little smile on the blushing woman¡¯s face.

    ¡°See?¡± Oz pointed at the crystal. "Hurry up and put your stuff in there because I know I¡¯m going to need help getting into this armor.¡± The raven haired women began walking towards the designated changing room without waiting for my response.

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 30

    The room was big enough for an entire team.

    I had a feeling that the whole team trying on armor in one of these rooms was a normal thing for Adventurers. From the handful of overnight trips I¡¯d done, the Adventurers had never taken off their armor. And they¡¯d always been wearing it by the time they reached the Dispatcher¡¯s hub. So I had never really thought about how much effort went into putting on some of the armor.

    I¡¯d had to steady my breathing for a moment before I got up the nerve to try on the pants and it seemed like Fray was in the same situation.

    Oz on the other hand had already stripped down to her undergarments and was on her second set of pants. I had discovered why her stack was so big, she¡¯d gotten two of everything.

    ¡°Why the doubles?¡± I finished pulling the pants up. The fit was a little snug, but I could move in them, which was the important thing.

    ¡°What happens if we¡¯re in the dungeon and the armor I¡¯m wearing gets destroyed? You need to have a backup.¡± Oz looked at Fray, then turned to me. ¡°You both should get a second set before we leave.¡±

    This armor was going to run over seven hundred fifty All by itself. Doubling that and adding in the weapons we¡¯d already bought as well as the skills I¡¯d asked Gesai to pick up for me, I was probably going to spend over three thousand All this morning. It seemed wasteful, but it was also just barely over half of the apparent budget Trent had given us.

    ¡°I¡¯ll grab another pair of everything before we leave.¡± I deposited the pants back into the crystal and began putting my own back on.

    ¡°Good.¡± Oz smiled and held out a leather corset. "Since you¡¯re not trying on anything else, help me tie this up, will you?¡±

    I¡¯d planned on going and getting the extra set of armor while they finished trying on their stuff, but it seemed like Oz was going to make good on her need of my help with her armor.

    ¡°Sure¡­¡± I muttered under my breath. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    ¡°Fantastic.¡± Oz turned around so that she was facing a mirror and held the armor against her. "You know how to do this?¡± Her green eyes focused on me in the mirror.

    I shook my head. "I¡¯ve never needed to wear one of these before.¡± I cupped my chest through my shirt. "Do you think it would help?¡±

    She stuck out her tongue. "Very funny.¡± She had her elbows at her sides, so she couldn¡¯t reach behind herself. "It¡¯s just like your boots. It needs to be tight, but not so tight that I can¡¯t breathe or move.¡±

    ¡°Tight but not too tight.¡± I nodded as I grabbed the cord and began threading it through the loops. ¡°Gotcha.¡±

    I was done a little while later and she was adjusting it to see how much she could move around in it. Satisfied she spun around and ran into me. Not hard enough to knock either of us back, but enough so that she was pressed against me.

    ¡°Sorry¡­¡± I started to back up, but she grabbed my shirt with both hands and held me close to her.

    ¡°Atlas¡­¡±

    ¡°I think you¡¯re embarrassing Fray.¡± I looked over at Fray, who was standing in the pants she¡¯d selected and her underclothes. She was holding a similar brown leather corset in her hands, apparently waiting her turn to get my help. Her face was red and only grew redder as my attention turned to her.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t done anything to be embarrassed about¡­¡± Oz stood on her toes so she could whisper in my ear. "Yet.¡±

    That was enough to get my face even redder than it already was. "What happened to ¡®nothing can happen between us¡¯?¡±

    ¡°That was when we were going to go back to our lives and rarely see each other for six years.¡± Oz pulled her face back so she could look at me with those captivating green eyes. "That¡¯s no longer an issue.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going to have to have a conversation with Ether first.¡± I made sure to watch her eyes for any sudden movement, but there was no denying that the air was thick with the chemistry between us. "And you know Gesai is going to have something to say about it. Are you sure you want that?¡±

    ¡°I knew what I wanted then, like I know what I want now.¡± Oz leaned forward slowly until her breath was tickling my ear. "I¡¯m just letting you know.¡±

    She pulled back before I could answer and patted the armor. "I think this will work. You can help Fray while I get out of this.¡±

    I knelt down behind the timid brunette and began lacing her up. ¡°So are you planning on professing your undying love too?¡± I tried to make a joke to lighten the nervousness I could feel on her.

    ¡°No¡­¡± Her voice was already quiet as it became even fainter. "Not today.¡±

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 31

    We made it to the RV on time.

    Ether and Ren were already back at the RV, which didn¡¯t surprise me. They had gone inside and Ren was helping Ether into her armor.

    ¡°Hey!¡± Ether waved at us as we boarded the RV. "Did you find everything?¡±

    ¡°Mostly." Oz motioned at Fray. "She¡¯s still not sure what her backup weapon should be, but she has time to figure that out.¡± The raven haired woman began navigating through the menus in her crystal band. ¡°Give me a second to give them their stuff and I can finish helping you get ready.¡±

    ¡°Ok!¡± Ether banged on the chestplate. "I should be able to take a pretty good hit in this.¡±

    ¡°Right¡­¡± I saw a trade request from Oz and accepted it. All the items she¡¯d picked up for me were in a list with one thousand, eight hundred fifty three All. She knew I only had the one coin, so she must have gotten the change from somewhere. Or she might have a decent amount from her parents, I didn¡¯t know, but I was thankful for the foresight. I transferred my coin and received my items when we touched our crystal bands together.

    Oz did the same to Fray, then turned to Ether. "Now what do you need help with?¡±

    I couldn¡¯t hear whatever answer the white-haried woman gave because the door was flung open and Aelin burst in.

    ¡°WE¡¯RE BA-ACK!¡± The blonde announced in a sing-song voice she twirled around in the middle of the RV. She was wearing a different jacket than the one she¡¯d had on when they¡¯d left.

    ¡°How did you..?¡± My question was cut off as Oz interrupted.

    ¡°Ether, let¡¯s take this to the other room.¡± The raven-haired woman directed the Tank towards the bathroom. It was the only real ¡®room¡¯ on the RV, and even it was a little cramped.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

    I watched them disappear, but there was no way that I could follow after them as Jenne ran into the RV followed by Gesai and Justia.

    ¡°WE HAVE SLAYED THE BOSS..!¡± Jenne began dancing with Aelin, then twirled her into Justia.

    ¡°AND WE HAVE THE LOOTS!¡± Aelin giggled as she twirled with our brunette Healer in the confined space.

    Gesai pushed her way through the celebrating women to the driver¡¯s seat and started it up.

    ¡°What happened?¡± I sat down in shotgun.

    Gesai rolled her eyes at me. "Those two¡­¡± She shook her head as the laughing intensified. "Should not be allowed in a store together again.¡±

    ¡°That bad?¡±

    ¡°Aelin is wearing a new jacket, not armor, if that tells you anything. And don¡¯t get me started on Jenne¡­¡± The redheaded teacher growled. "My Speed is two hundred sixty and I had trouble keeping up with both of them.

    ¡°Gotcha¡­¡± I looked back at the chaos behind us and felt a little sorry for Fray and Ren. They had gotten swept up in being part of the audience while Aelin and Jenne were showing off all of the stuff that they had gotten. Aelin pulled a pink dress out of her crystal band that would be impossible for me to be convinced was armor.

    ¡°What level is Jenne?¡± I turned my attention back to the road before someone saw me looking and demanded I join the audience as well.

    ¡°Two." Gesai growled. "So it¡¯s not like it¡¯s an impossible task. Honestly? Trent took the easy job of working with Rix and left me with this mess.¡± She shook her head. "I¡¯m not sure how I¡¯m supposed to get this group leveled up in time.¡±

    ¡°What about the others that we¡¯re supposed to evaluate?¡± I tried to remember their names. "Zarboe and¡­¡±

    ¡°Mitchel Zarboe and Jovena Bothua. Tank and Shooter.¡± Gesai looked at me. "No, they are level two as well.¡± She shook her head. "I get that they should be taken to the second floor, but beating the second floor boss? I don¡¯t know.¡±

    I started to think out loud. "Healer and Shooter are the classes that we don¡¯t have duplicated, so¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already got an idea for the team composition, but depending on how helpless they are, we might have to run bosses three times.¡± The older woman sighed. "But we¡¯ll see.¡±

    She navigated the RV into the Temple parking lot. We were here and ready or not it was about time to start.

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 32

    We ate before we got out.

    It was just sandwiches, but it was a lot better than ration bars, so I wasn¡¯t going to complain. We finished quickly, then put on our armor and headed to the Temple.

    The two were waiting for us at the counter with a Priest. Gesai walked over to the Priest and smiled sweetly. "I¡¯m Gesai Alard with the Cathedral year ones. I hope you weren¡¯t waiting too long.¡±

    ¡°We haven¡¯t been here long at all.¡± The Priest smiled broadly. "And it¡¯s always a pleasure to work with the Cathedral.¡±

    I looked at the pair. Mitchel Zarboe had strawberry blonde hair and brown eyes. His clothes were a little threadbare, though the rest of him was very well kept. His armor was used, though it didn¡¯t look like the secondhand stuff that the Temple provided for the Mundane, probably a family hand me down. He had a pleasant smile as he looked at each of us.

    Jovena Bothua had white hair and blue eyes, her clothes were much newer and her demeanor seemed much more reserved. Her eyes were focused on Jenne with the trace of a disgust that would quickly fade, like she was trying to hide her contempt of the other woman.

    ¡°We wish you a blessed day.¡± Gesai smiled at him.

    ¡°To you as well." The Priest had a sense of longing. "Is there anything else I can help you with?¡±

    ¡°I think we¡¯re good.¡± Our teacher nodded towards the door behind the counter. ¡°I¡¯m just going to head into the dungeon so they can show me what they¡¯re about.¡±If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    The Priest looked like he might ask to go with us, but before he could, Gesai pointed at the door.

    ¡°We don''t have all day to sit around, let¡¯s go!¡±

    ¡°Come on.¡± I walked past her and into the room with the dungeon mouth. Ether followed behind me and soon we were all in the room waiting on our teacher to finish convincing the eager Priest that his help wasn¡¯t required.

    ¡°Should we do introductions while we wait?¡± Ether looked at the two potentials and smiled. "I¡¯m Ether Klix, and this is Atlas Vowler, Aelin Zeb, Justia Publian, Fray Harror, Ren Zavel, Oz Mite, and Jenne Vilou.¡± She pointed at each of us. "We have one other member, but she¡­¡± The white-haired woman looked at me for help.

    ¡°She is on a special assignment.¡± I completed her sentence.

    ¡°A special assignment?¡± Jovena scowled. "So he¡¯s playing favorites and not even giving us a chance?¡± She shook her head. "I thought the great Trent Vowler would at least tell us that we weren¡¯t good enough for him to our faces¡­¡±

    ¡°You might be bunking with us and doing training with us, but you are Gesai Alard¡¯s students first, which means that she is the one who decides if you¡¯re good enough or not.¡± I looked at Gesai as she walked in. "You should give some respect if you want to be the one she chooses.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± The older woman looked at me.

    ¡°Just some disappointment that Trent isn¡¯t going to be here.¡± I smiled at Jovena. "Which I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll have time to appreciate the difference in your teaching methods.¡±

    ¡°Yeah!¡± Aelin stepped forward. "Mister Vowler locked us on the first floor, then had some upperclassmen harass us as part of our training.¡± She pouted her lip. "For a whole week!¡± She turned to Gesai. "Miss Alard took me shopping her first week here for not just armor and skills, but clothes too!¡± I hadn¡¯t realized that Aelin had a death glare, but I was very glad I wasn¡¯t the one receiving it. "She¡¯s the best.¡±

    It looked like there was about to be a fight and even though I hadn¡¯t worked with Aelin in over three weeks, it was a level three versus a level two. I wouldn¡¯t put All against her.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Gesai stepped in between the two. "Save it for the dungeon.¡± She pointed at the gate I hadn¡¯t noticed had opened. "Let¡¯s go.¡±

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 33

    I was bored.

    We were walking through the sand instead of on the trail so that we could run into monsters, but Gesai had the lower levels doing all the fighting.

    Gesai had Mitchel tanking with Oz and Fray flanking him in the front. Jovena and Jenne were providing ranged support with Ren buffing and healing if someone got hurt. I thought it was kind of overkill. Everyone here was at least level two and with gear, it made the first floor feel trivial. These were Elites since Gesai had put all ten of us in a party together, but still Oz and Fray weren¡¯t having any problems at all.

    Oz was using the two axes that she¡¯d bought instead of the sword that she¡¯d traded with Fray. It was a little strange watching her fight with a different weapon than what I was used to seeing her have, but she was still every bit as impressive as she had been while we were captive.

    For the other four of us it had sort of turned into a couples stroll. After three weeks of watching Justia worrying over how Aelin was doing, it was nice to see our brunette Healer smile again.

    Aelin was another story.

    ¡°How dare she disrespect Miss Alard like that!¡±

    ¡°Aelin, I¡¯m sure she was just frustrated and didn¡¯t know how to express it.¡± Justia was holding hands with the blonde Buffer. ¡°I¡¯m sure that once she warms up to us, she¡¯ll fit right in.¡±

    ¡°She better¡­¡± Aelin sighed. "Because she¡¯s the only option.¡±

    ¡°Aelin, I know you¡¯re set on this being a large harem, but I¡¯ve got Ether and you know that Gesai is going to join the team as soon as these six years are up. Once you add in Rix¡­¡± I saw the shocked looks on their faces. "She and I are bound together even if we don¡¯t get together.¡± I shrugged. "And with her history, I doubt she¡¯d date outside the party.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

    Ether nodded. "Once you add in Oz, Ren, and¡­¡± She must have seen the surprise on my face. "Fray. He has more than enough for a whole party.¡± She eyed me. "I had thought Rix would do her own thing.¡±

    I swallowed. I hated that I couldn¡¯t tell her the whole truth about me. ¡°Rix and I are¡­¡± I tried to think of a good way to put it. Eventually we¡¯d have to go up against the Primals and we¡¯d need to be together to do it. ¡°... I don¡¯t know how to put it. Fated to work together?¡± I took a deep breath. "I knew Aelin was trying to prep Fray¡­¡± I looked at the blonde. "She has some trauma that she¡¯s going to need to work through, by the way.¡± I held up my hand to let our Buffer know that I wasn¡¯t done. "She wants to get over it, okay? Just, don¡¯t push her?¡±

    Aelin sighed. "You¡¯re no fun.¡±

    I smiled. "I do what I can.¡± I turned back to Ether. "Since when had Ren been an option?¡± I looked at Justia. "There was that one time you had her mess with me, but I thought that was all a joke at my expense.¡± I put my arm over Ether¡¯s shoulders, If we got ambushed right now, we weren¡¯t ready to fight, but again, I wasn¡¯t worried about our ability to handle whatever on this floor that dared to attack us. ¡°Besides, I thought she and Oz were a thing?¡±

    Justia laughed. "Maybe a little, does that bother you?¡±

    ¡°That they¡¯re together?¡± I shook my head. "It¡¯s the thought of coming between them that I don¡¯t like.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯d like that.¡± Aelin winked at me.

    I sighed. "Otherwise I¡¯m fine with it.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡± Ether pointed at a small cluster of rocks. "We¡¯re almost at the boss room.¡±

    ¡°So¡­¡± I touched Aelin on the shoulder. "That means we have plenty of people to fill a harem out.¡± I nodded at Mitchel. "If he¡¯s the better candidate, then we should take him.¡±

    Aelin stuck out her tongue. "You¡¯re no fun at all.¡±

    ¡°I think we¡¯re about to have plenty of fun.¡± I smiled. "Besides, aren''t you worried that if we add too many women to the party that they¡¯ll start flirting with Justia?¡±

    Aelin started laughing. "Good luck to them if they try.¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°See, so maybe a guy or two wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea.¡±

    ¡°Maybe¡­¡± Aelin sighed. "We¡¯ll see.¡±

    I pulled Ether closer to me. Maybe it would be a good day.

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 34

    Gesai was only putting two of the level threes in each run.

    Justia and I were in the first team, which meant Jenne and Ren had to sit out. Ren had bought a healing spell and was attempting to be a flex Healer on top of buffing. So far, she¡¯d been doing a pretty good job at keeping everyone healthy.

    ¡°Atlas¡­¡± Gesai snapped her fingers in my face. "By the Gods boy, pay attention!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m listening¡­¡± I pulled out my pistol. "I¡¯ve got Earth Shot and Electric Shot in my magazines. I bind it first, Mitchel taunts it, Fray handles the tentacles, Jovena and Aelin shoot at the head and I help if they need it. Justia keeps us healthy if anything goes wrong.¡± I looked around. "Did I miss anything?¡±

    Once she¡¯d told me the team compositions, I had figured out what she wanted us to do pretty easily.

    Gesai sighed and nodded. ¡°This might be a level one floor boss, but remember to respect it. You can die in there if you¡¯re not careful.¡±

    I nodded. "I¡¯ll make sure everyone stays focused.

    Gesai looked at each of us, then tossed me an eyeball. ¡°I can watch you with this. I may not have as much control as Trent Vowler, but I can get in there if things go south.¡±

    I looked at the magical item in my hand. It gave me a sense of comfort knowing that she would be watching over us even if I did think this was going to be a quick fight.

    ¡°Is everyone ready?¡± I helped up my pistol and checked the strap on the scabbard on my back. Everyone else had their weapons out. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    ¡°Once we get in there, don¡¯t move until we¡¯re all in there and don¡¯t get freaked out because it¡¯s dark.¡± I looked at Gesai. "Why is it dark, anyway?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a three minute timer from when the first person walks in until it summons the floor boss, unless someone decides to use a skill.¡± Gesai eyed me. "Trent never told you this?¡±

    ¡°I guess he figured it was standard stuff?¡± I shrugged. "Anyway, once you get inside, call out your name so I know you¡¯re in.¡± I motioned at Justia. ¡°Once Justia gets in, she¡¯ll cast Light to start the fight and we¡¯ll have just a little bit to get into position.¡± I looked at the two new people. "Any questions?¡±

    They both shook their heads.

    ¡°Good.¡± I looked at Gesai. ¡°Anything else?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll come in once you finish and get Jovena and Aelin.¡± She pointed at the eyeball in my hand. "And that so I can keep tabs on the second run. Then the four of you can move to the second floor. Once the second team is through, we¡¯ll move to the second floor boss.¡±

    ¡°Aelin.¡± I tossed the eyeball at her. ¡°Probably better if you hang on to this then.¡±

    The blonde caught it and held it up to her face. ¡°I see EVERYTHING!¡±

    Justia pulled her hand down. ¡°That¡¯s not a toy.¡±

    Aelin pouted, then turned to Gesai. "What do I do with this once I¡¯m in?¡±

    ¡°Once the fight starts, I¡¯ll take control and move it around so I can watch everything.¡± The older redhead pointed at the door. "You better get started.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± I motioned for the rest of the team to follow me and walked through the door.

    I hated that it was dark inside, but that was the way things were.

    ¡°Here!¡± Mitchel¡¯s voice was the first one.

    ¡°Aelin¡¯s here!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m here.¡± Fray¡¯s voice sounded much further away than the other two.

    ¡°Here.¡± I jumped when Jovena¡¯s voice came from right behind me.

    ¡°Is everyone ready?¡± Justia called out.

    The other four all agreed that they were.

    I braced to be ready for wherever this thing spawned. ¡°Light it up!¡±

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 35

    The floor bosses were always bigger.

    The monsters on the first floor had been about chest high, which was probably due to them being Elites. They had also only been about three feet wide and their tentacles had been under their bodies. They even had something that almost looked like wool covering their bodies with two big round eyes on the central mass. If they''d been smaller and not monsters, then some people may have even found them to be cute.

    The boss that appeared in front of us was nothing like that. Its head was six feet above the ground, and its body was higher than that. Most of the tentacles were coming off of the side of the chitin covered body and they were plenty long enough to do some damage. The mandible mouth screamed at us as it prepared to attack.

    I pointed at it. "BIND!¡±

    A pair of vines shot out of the sandy ground to wrap around the boss¡¯s body. It strained against the vines, but I was a level three and it didn¡¯t have anything except its mouth to cut through the vines and I tightened the vines to pull it down to the ground to keep it from being able to twist to do that.

    ¡°It¡¯s all yours!¡± I motioned for everyone to start attacking.

    Mitchel was staying out of the range of the tentacles with his shield up. With the boss restrained there really wasn¡¯t much for him to do at the moment.

    Fray, on the other hand, was focusing on the tentacles. There were too many for her to just charge in, but she was staying just out of its range as well and slicing off the tips with her new katana, while trying to work her way forward.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    ¡°Magic Arrow!¡± A pink arrow struck the boss in between the eyes. I could see a little bit of damage, but it was going to take a lot more.

    ¡°Aelin!¡± I turned towards the blonde. "Why don¡¯t we let Jovena and Fray work on this for a while?¡±

    ¡°You want us to three-man it?¡±Jovena glared at me. The Shooter had entered the boss room right beside me and hadn¡¯t moved away from me. "That¡¯s not how Miss Gesai said to do it.¡±

    I nodded at Aelin as she walked over to me. "When Trent had us do our first boss, we went in with one weapon and no armor.¡± I looked at the crossbow in her hands. "You¡¯ve got a weapon, skills, and armor.¡± I motioned towards the restrained boss. "It¡¯s basically a sponge and you still want to complain?¡±

    ¡°CHARGING!¡± Mitchel began moving to his left as he followed up that warning with. "LOOK AT ME!¡±

    The boss turned its face towards him and began shooting a jet of black gunk at the Tank. The blonde-haired man kept his wooden shield up, blocking the attack, but getting pushed back slowly for a few seconds, but soon, the gunk had piled up enough at his feet that he couldn¡¯t be pushed back anymore. Once the attack was over he lowered the shield and gave me a thumbs up.

    ¡°Justia! Get the gunk dissolved and¡­¡± I looked back at Fray and saw that she had been working on the tentacles, which hadn¡¯t been moving during the attack. She had the tentacles on the left side of the boss almost all cut off. I decided that she didn¡¯t need any extra direction.

    ¡°You better start helping.¡± I nodded towards Fray. "Or she¡¯s going to beat this thing by herself.¡±

    Jovena scowled at me and took a crossbow bolt out of her crystal band and loaded it into her weapon. She started firing at the boss¡¯s head.

    I looked over at Aelin. "Is it just me or is this way easier than the other ones we¡¯ve done so far?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just you.¡± Aelin pointed the tip of her bow at the quiet brunette that was stabbing the tentacle-less side of the monster. "Think about how fast we cleared the snake the second time.¡±

    ¡°You have a point¡­¡± I looked at the pistol in my hand, but already knew that I wasn¡¯t going to need it.

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 36

    I never fired a shot.

    I began to wonder if all the floor bosses had some gimmick that made them really easy. I knew the higher up the floors went, the more complicated the bosses were supposed to get, but still, it was something that I needed to look into.

    Fray had managed to mostly solo it. Sure, Mitchel had to taunt the charge attack twice and Jovena fired some shots at it, which she was currently picking up but most of the damage, including the final blow, had been done by Fray.

    ¡°What are we doing with this?¡± The quiet brunette held up the boss crystal and what looked like a black cloth.

    ¡°Keep the boss crystal.¡± I nodded at the item. "What is that?¡±

    ¡°Cloak of Shadows.¡± Fray stretched it out. It looked almost like a cape. She flung it over her shoulders. ¡°I don¡¯t feel any different.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s an activated ability!.¡± Jovena ran over to us. "That¡¯s a really good item for a Shooter like me. I think I should get it.¡±

    I eyed the white-haired shooter. "Considering that Fray did all the work, I think she should get it.¡± I saw her start to object and held up my hand. "I¡¯ll figure out what it¡¯s worth and get you a cut of the All when we get back to the surface, now¡­¡± I motioned towards Gesai who was clapping as she walked in. "You should go with Aelin and get ready for the second run.¡±

    Jovena looked like she was going to argue, but Aelin grabbed her arm. "Come on! Let¡¯s hurry up so we can get to the second floor boss!¡±

    I watched the two women walk away, even though it did look like Aelin was partially dragging Jovena.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    Gesai waved at me and pointed at the exit.

    ¡°Hey!¡± I ran over to her. "Do you want me to start down to the next boss?¡±

    The older woman thought for a moment. "Go ahead, but don¡¯t start it without the rest of your team.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t. And I won¡¯t follow the trail so he and Fray will have to fight.¡± I smiled as she nodded. "I¡¯ll see you down there.¡±

    She patted me on the shoulder and followed the other two women back to the first floor.

    ¡°Alright!¡± I motioned at the exit. "Let¡¯s see if we can¡¯t get to the second floor boss room before they catch up!¡±

    Justia looked at me as the four of us headed towards the exit. "Are you sure? With only four of us?¡±

    ¡°Mitchel has gear, which is more than we had, plus, between Fray and myself, we¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­¡± The brunette Healer didn¡¯t sound so sure, but she didn¡¯t object.

    As soon as we entered the second floor I realized that. I¡¯d forgotten that I hadn¡¯t looked at the information about the second floor to see what was on it.

    Instead of being just a sandy plane with a few rocks, it was a beach path surrounded by ankle deep water. Traveling off the trail meant having to wade in the water, which wasn¡¯t that bad. Our boots were waterproof, so we didn¡¯t have to worry about our feet getting wet, it was just going to slow us down.

    ¡°Let¡¯s try to hurry.¡± I touched my crystal band and cycled through the menu until I reached the section for maps. At least I had downloaded the maps of all of the dungeon floors. At least the ones through to floor nine. I¡¯d tried to get the ones past that, but the system had told me that my crystal band wasn¡¯t compatible with it. I pointed in the direction of the boss room. "Mitchel, start heading that way.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not waiting on the others?¡± He looked nervously at the water.

    ¡°The four of us will be fine.¡± I looked at Fray. "The monsters are probably going to be easier since they won¡¯t be elites anyway.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­¡± He didn¡¯t sound too convinced, but he started walking in the direction I¡¯d pointed.

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 37

    Mitchel was slow.

    I pulled up his stats on the party tab to see what they looked like.

    Mitchel Zarboe - Level 2

    Age: 18, Hair: Blonde, Eye color: Brown, Height: 5¡¯8¡±

    102.5 Exp

    Tank

    6 Power 10 Defense 2 Speed

    4 Magic 8 Recovery 7 Aura

    Stat Points: 0

    Look At Me

    The first thing that caught my eye was that he was an abnormal. The second thing was that he apparently put his stat points from leveling up into Aura instead of Speed. With a Speed score as low as his, he was going to have to put some points in it, or he¡¯d be slowing the entire party down considerably once he got to Tier Two or higher.

    The second thing that caught my eye was his experience. With how many things we¡¯d beat today, there was no way that he had more than a hundred experience when we started today.

    ¡°Atlas!¡±

    I closed the menu and drew my pistol. The monsters on this floor looked almost like the ones from the previous floor, except these seemed to use the environment a lot more than the others. Any time Fray tried to get close, it would splash her, which had led to the fights taking a little longer as they seemed to do it as a reaction to being attacked.

    Justia had yelled for my help because somehow the crawler had managed to knock Fray over. This one was much bigger than the ones we¡¯d been fighting, which meant it was an elite. It was hovering over her with its tentacles holding her arms firmly against her sides. She was also having to work to keep her face out of the ankle deep water and I remembered Gesai¡¯s warning about the monster trying to smother people.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

    Mitchel was trying to push the monster off of her, but he wasn¡¯t having any luck.

    I pulled the trigger and hit the monster twice between the eyes. I had an Earth Shot magazine in the pistol because I was worried that Electric Shot might have a backlash on us, since we were standing in water

    It took half the magazine to reduce the monster to smoke. Mitchel tripped over Fray and went face first into the water.

    The quiet brunette sat up and tried to control her breathing. I walked over and knelt down next to her while Mitchel tried to get up.

    ¡°What happened?¡± I brushed wet hair out of her face. "Are you okay?¡±

    She nodded and wrapped her arms around me, almost knocking me over. I held her until her breathing slowed down, then pulled back and repeated my question. ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t taunt.¡± Mitchel looked ashamed as he stood in front of us. ¡°It started out like normal, then got a lot bigger and wouldn¡¯t taunt. I kept trying, but it wouldn¡¯t take its focus off of her.¡±

    ¡°There are monsters that can¡¯t be taunted¡­¡± I mumbled under my breath, ¡°good to know. It probably had something to do with it changing into an Elite partway through the fight, but I¡¯d have to ask Gesai or Trent about that.¡± I looked at Fray. "Sorry I wasn¡¯t paying more attention to the environment. Are you going to be okay?¡±

    A nod and another long hug was all the response I received.

    We were a little over halfway to the boss room and we¡¯d been walking for almost ninety minutes. I looked back towards the entrance and could see the outline of the other group. More than an outline really, they¡¯d catch up to us in less than five minutes.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we take a break and wait for them?¡± I nodded towards the other group, then pointed at the beach trail a few hundred feet away. ¡°We can sit over there so we don¡¯t spawn anything else.¡±

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 38

    We traveled together the rest of the way to the boss room.

    All of the Beach Crawlers that we fought the rest of the day were Elites, but now that Oz was up front and we had Jenne and Jovena both providing ranged support, we didn¡¯t have any more accidents.

    ¡°Jovena was so mad¡­¡± Aelin couldn¡¯t stop herself from telling us about the fight. ¡°It dropped a tentacle staff.¡± She mimicked tentacles with her fingers. "It¡¯s kinda boring though, it can only be used to wrap up something, but still¡­¡± The blonde grinned. "Jenne was the only one there who used a staff, so she got it. Vena tried to argue with Gesai about it, saying they should just sell it.¡± She lowered her voice. "Gesai told her that if she disrespected her one more time, she¡¯d have to walk back on her own!¡±

    ¡°Without her weapon.¡± Ether didn¡¯t seem as concerned about keeping her voice down. ¡°I¡¯m not looking forward to this fight.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine!¡± Aelin puffed out her chest. "You¡¯ll have me there to save you!¡±

    ¡°Listen up!¡± Gesai clapped her hands in front of the door to the second floor boss. ¡°You all did really well against the last boss, but this one is going to be more difficult, so we¡¯re going to change things up.¡± She started pointing. "The first round will go the same way with Atlas, Justia, Aelin, Mitchel, Fray, and Jovena.¡±

    She looked around. "The second round will be Oz, Mitchel, Jovena, Jenne, Ren, and Atlas. This will be the main time that I am evaluating your skills, so don¡¯t expect Atlas to be helping much here.¡± She glared at me to emphasize her point.

    ¡°The last run will be just so I can see how well those who I haven¡¯t worked with much and it will be; Fray, Ether, Aelin, Jenne, Ren, and Atlas¡±The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    I noticed how she put me on every team this time. I thought about asking her about it, but she was in full teacher mode and didn¡¯t seem like she wanted to be interrupted.

    ¡°This boss is different from the last one because it has a bubble that it will use to protect itself from magic.¡± She looked at me. ¡°As well as a tentacle on either side with a pincer on it.¡±

    So much for the binding trick I¡¯d been using.

    ¡°There¡¯s also a difference in there other than what those of you who have done a few bosses have experienced.¡± Gesai splashed her foot in the water. ¡°This terrain continues in there. Be careful, because that monster will drown you if you give it a chance.¡±

    ¡°How are we supposed to beat it then?¡± Jovena had her crossbow propped on her shoulders.

    The redheaded teacher turned to her prospective student. ¡°Did I sound like I was finished?¡±

    The other woman was at least smart enough not to make a snarky comment. But that didn''t dull the defiance in her eyes. ¡°Sorry.¡±

    ¡°As I was saying¡­¡± Gesai turned back to us. ¡°This becomes a timed fight, because that sticky stuff mixes with the water and before long it will be nothing but goo.¡± She made sure to look at all of us. "That is going to really slow you down and could get someone really hurt, so the first thing you need to do is get rid of those pincers. The Tanks aren''t going to be able to kite as much since they have to stay close to take the hits from the pincers, which means the Hitters will be the second ones slowed down. The key is not to focus on the pincer itself, but where the tentacle connects to the body. The pincer moves around too much, but the shoulder won''t.¡±

    Gesai looked at me. "I have you in each team because you should be able to sever the tentacle¡¯s fast if things go wrong. Don''t do that unless you have to, this is supposed to be an evaluation and I can''t do that if you finish their work for them.¡±

    She knew me well enough to know that had been exactly what I''d been planning on doing.

    ¡°You can interrupt the charging, which is what your primary focus should be. Hit it in the face with enough damage and it''ll stop charging.¡± She looked around at us. ¡°Any questions?¡±

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 39

    The splashes in the dark made it even spookier than normal.

    Every time there was a splash, I knew that someone else had entered the room.

    ¡°Here!¡± Justia¡¯s voice sounded far away.

    Another splash.

    ¡°Ready!¡± Mitchel, sounded nervous. I didn''t blame him. Even though he hasn''t lost aggro again, he still had panic in his voice every time he''d taunted a monster the rest of the way here.

    The next splash was right behind me.

    ¡°I''m here.¡± Fray¡¯s voice was like a whisper. She probably had the most dangerous job of anyone here.

    Before I could say anything another splash cut me off.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get this finished.¡± Jovena did not sound happy.

    I didn''t hear the last splash, just Aelin''s voice.

    ¡°Justia! Light this sucker UP!¡±

    Fray giggled behind me as Justia cast Light to start the fight.

    If it wasn¡¯t for the water at our feet or the front two tentacles having pincers on them, I would have thought this was the same fight as the last one, I pulled out my pistol and aimed at the things face and waited for Mitchel to grab aggro.

    ¡°LOOK AT ME!¡± The blonde man pounded his chest as the boss turned from Justia towards the Tank.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

    ¡°Note to self¡­¡± I muttered. "Have the Tanks be the ones with the Light spell.¡±

    The first pincer snapped at Mitchel as the entire mass surged forward.

    ¡°Go!¡± I shouted over my shoulder and saw Fray dash towards the monster. I started shooting at the face. Maybe I could get lucky and take out one of the eyes or something.

    ¡°Hey Atlas!¡± Aelin ran behind me and headed for the Tank on my left. "Watch this!¡±

    The blonde woman pointed at the Tank. "Thorns!¡±

    Pink thorns sprouted all over the Tank''s armor and shield. They were only the length of a single knuckle of one of my fingers, but the scream of the monster told me that they did something.

    ¡°Harden!¡± Aelin danced behind Mitchel as a tentacle tried to smash him. He was over ten feet away from the monster that loomed over us but it was still close enough that it could hit him.

    I checked on Fray, who was having trouble getting close to it, The way the tentacles were moving, they were splashing her with water making it almost impossible for her to start hacking away at it

    I pointed at the main body. "BIND!¡±

    A pair of roots shot out of the water and wrapped themselves around the main body, pulling it down. Instead of pulling it all the way to the ground, instead, it got about a foot away before the pincers reached back and cut the vines.

    Fray was able to connect with a tentacle as she sliced into it. She wasn¡¯t able to cut it off, but she did get about a third of the way through the one she¡¯d aimed for. Unfortunately, it hadn¡¯t been one with a pincer.

    The quiet brunette moved back as the boss got its bearings and began flailing its tentacles again.

    ¡°Let¡¯s do that again!¡± I pointed at Jovenna. "Can you pin one of the pincers down with that thing?¡±

    She glared at me. I took it as the answer was stupid question, though I wasn¡¯t sure if that meant yes or no.

    ¡°Move behind Mitchel and aim for the face then! I¡¯m going to try that again with Fray!¡± I nodded at the woman with a katana, then pointed at the monster¡¯s body.

    ¡°BIND!¡±

    Then I remembered why I wasn¡¯t supposed to be using magic.

    The bubble shield appeared around it as the monster began charging. The good news was that it looked like the flailing tentacles were only protecting the sides now.

    The bad news was that I was pulled face first into the water by vines.

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 40

    I was pulled under the water.

    I was supposed to be the backup plan in case other people got incapacitated. Instead of being ready to jump in to rescue the others, I was now in need of rescue myself.

    I tried to hold my breath, but the impact knocked the wind out of me and I sucked in a lungful of water. There wasn¡¯t much thrashing I could do in my restrained condition and it felt like I was breathing in all the water in the room, I couldn¡¯t hear or see anything until I felt the restraints loosen and I was pulled out of the water.

    I don¡¯t know how much water I coughed up while Fray held me up. As soon as I could talk I motioned for her to rejoin the fight.

    ¡°Go!¡± I coughed more water. "I¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    I shook my head and tried to get my bearings. Everything seemed distant and muffled until I felt my ears pop and the sounds of the fight became normal.

    The boss had already shot the ink at Mitchel and he was rotating to his left to bring the monster away from me, but now the party had been split in half with Aelin, Justia, and Mitchel on one side and Fray, Jovena, and myself on the opposite side.There was a big part of me that wanted to grab my sword and start hacking away at it, but we weren¡¯t in trouble yet and there was still a chance that we could turn this around.

    ¡°Fray! When that thing starts charging again, I¡¯m going to bind it! Vena! I need you to pop that bubble as soon as it comes up!¡±

    Both women nodded and got ready. We didn¡¯t have to wait long.

    The monster¡¯s back was already towards us when it started charging, which gave Fray an opening to get close to the shoulder joint. She swapped from attacking the left and focused on the right.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    Jovena started firing bolts until the shield popped, then she rotated to the right to focus on the head.

    I pointed my hand at it. ¡°BIND!¡±

    The vines came out and wrapped around it. This time it did hit the water, which was enough to stop the charging. As soon as I saw the pincers coming for the vine, I changed my focus and cast it again.

    ¡°BIND!¡±

    The body was released since I could only keep one up at a time, but I hit what I was aiming for. The pincer on the right was dragged into the water.

    Fray focused on the restrained tentacle and was able to take the tip off in one slash. The monster roared as it lost a pincer.

    I pointed at the left side. "That one¡¯s going to be harder!¡±

    Fray motioned for me to follow her and ran around the monster..

    ¡°SWITCH SIDES!¡± She cupped her hands to make her voice louder.

    She gestured with her hands to explain what she wanted Mitchel to do. He nodded and started moving about halfway through the tradeoff the monster started charging again. It was going to be messy if we didn¡¯t pull this off, but it was at least a plan.

    Jovena popped the bubble almost as soon as it came up.

    ¡°BIND!¡± I pulled the monster down again and focused on the pincer.As soon as it grabbed the vine, I cast the spell again.

    ¡°BIND!¡±

    The pincer was dragged into the water and Fray was waiting. She took that one off as well. I refocused on the body as soon as it was off,

    ¡°BIND!¡±

    The body hadn¡¯t had much time to get up before it was pulled back to the ground. Fray started working on the tentacles on the left side again. I put my pistol away and took out my sword. The test was essentially over now. All that was left was cutting off the tentacles and finding the crystal in the body to finish it off. Plus, I felt like I had some payback that I owed it.

    I joined in on hacking the tentacles off, then helped Fray try to find the crystal until the body vanished into smoke.

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 41

    I felt insulted.

    The item that the monster dropped was a bubble shield. It was the same color as the back of the monster and looked like a bug''s shell. It allowed the holder to activate it on a cooldown to create a bubble shield around them that would reflect magic until it was broken or the timer expired.

    I looked at the item in my hand and knew exactly who was getting it, but that didn¡¯t stop me from feeling like it was a personal dig at me.

    ¡°What¡¯d we get?¡± Jovena called as she started picking up her bolts out of the water.

    ¡°A shield that lets the holder cast Bubble.¡±

    Seriously?¡± Aelin ran over. "Lemme see!¡±

    Justia walked up to me and put her hand on my shoulder. "Are you okay?¡± She moved so that she could look me in the eye. "That was a lot of water you breathed in.¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t that much.¡± I lied. It still felt like I was harboring an aquarium inside me.

    ¡°I tried to heal you, but apparently Heal doesn¡¯t work on drowning.¡± She looked sad and slightly scared.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, we won.¡± I smiled and felt strangely better. I looked down at myself and saw a red glow on my chest.

    ¡°You need Cure Drowning.¡± Gesai announced as she walked into the room. "And they have to be out of the water, but that¡¯s kind of a given.¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    I smiled at the teacher. "Thanks, Gesai. I feel much better.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡± She walked over to me and slapped me on the back of the head. "I told you that binding it wouldn¡¯t work. I told you that it reflected magic, but you went and did it anyway and almost got yourself killed.¡±

    ¡°Binding actually did work?¡± I held up my hands even though I knew they wouldn¡¯t do any good if she wanted to slap me again.

    ¡°Yes, you found a way to get it to work. Congrats on almost dying to figure that out.¡± Gesai kicked up water at Fray who flinched. In a blur, the older woman was on her and took her sword out of her hands.

    Fray backed away and almost fell down.

    ¡°Gesai¡­¡± Justia moved in between the two and stretched out her arms.

    The older woman walked up to her cousin and put her hand on the other woman¡¯s shoulder,

    ¡°Jus¡­¡± Gesai flipped the sword around and offered the hilt and the two women locked eyes. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m going to scare her, but she needs to learn what to be scared of.¡±

    Fray looked absolutely terrified. I didn¡¯t blame her. Gesai was Tier Four. She could thrash us and the boss in less than a minute.

    ¡°I¡¯m not moving.¡± The younger cousin took the sword.

    ¡°Fine.¡± Gesai kicked more water at the trembling woman. "How much did that hurt?¡±

    I started to move and felt pressure from Gesai come my way.

    ¡°Is it startling, yes. Cold? A little, maybe. But is this..?¡± Gesai splashed her again. "Going to hurt you?¡¯

    Fray shook her head.

    ¡°Next time, don¡¯t let a little water scare you.¡± She pointed at me. "Or someone might drown for real.¡± She looked over at Jovena. "And you need to either get a bigger crossbow, or find something to dip those things in. Atlas could have done your job and his." She motioned towards the second floor opening. "Let¡¯s go so we can run it again!¡±

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 42

    Gesai wasn¡¯t going to let me do the binding trick again.

    While I stood in the darkness waiting for the rest of the group to show up, I knew I had to think of something.

    She also hadn¡¯t given me a chance to comfort Fray. It wasn¡¯t Fray¡¯s fault that things went down the way they did. Yes, she could have focused more on not letting the splashing drive her back, but still¡­ There were other ways to get a point across.

    I also had a feeling that there was more to the story between Justia and Gesai than I had been let in on. During our captivity they¡¯d simply explained it as Gesai had been mean to Justia, but I had a feeling it went deeper than that. I knew that Gesai was on our side, the scars and permanent burns on her hands and arms proved that, but still. Just like those scars would always be there, the damage between the two would always linger even if they had more or less patched things up.

    There was a splash and another right after it.

    ¡°Here!¡± Oz sounded really close.

    ¡°I¡¯m back.¡± Mitchel sounded tired. The Bubble shield was earmarked for him even though it was a level three piece of gear, so he wouldn¡¯t be able to use it for a while.

    The next voice began speaking before their splash had a chance to die down.

    ¡°Here.¡± The angry voice of Jovena let me know that I wasn¡¯t the only one upset with Gesai at the moment. But for different reasons. Jovena really did need to reevaluate her weapon. Though there wasn¡¯t really a way to do that in the dungeon. Which was probably what was frustrating the young woman the most. There was nothing she could really do about her loadout until after the evaluation was over.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    The fourth splash sounded the furthest away.

    ¡°Ready!¡± Jenne seemed nervous and I didn¡¯t blame her. She was all magic, which meant she was going to have trouble finding a way to not draw the teacher¡¯s ire after this fight.

    ¡°Everybody ready?¡± I hadn¡¯t heard the splash for Ren. ¡±Here we go! LIGHT!¡±

    The boss started the rise out of the floor and Oz didn¡¯t wait for Mitchel to grab aggro. She was still holding the two axes and made it to the boss before it got into position. The raven-haired woman slammed one hatchet into the neck of the monster and started hacking at the front tentacle with the other.

    ¡°DO IT!¡± Oz let out a scream as she severed the first tentacle off.

    I watched as she grabbed onto the monster¡¯s neck and pulled her whole body next to it. The monster was screaming as the lone pincer was trying to dislodge her.

    ¡°HARDEN!¡± Ren was focused on her friend and I wasn¡¯t expecting the voice beside me.

    ¡°FREEZE!¡± Jenne pointed the staff that looked like a tentacle under the monster.

    The water under it froze, locking most of the tentacles in ice.

    Oz let go of the monster¡¯s neck and let the pincer pull her to her feet as she hung on to it. She used the ax that was still in her hand to chop off the pincer which dropped her in front of the monster.

    ¡°BIND!¡± Jenne did the thing I¡¯d just been yelled at for doing.

    Vines grabbed the monster¡¯s head and pulled it forward.

    ¡°QUICKDRAW!¡± Oz flashed forward, sword in hand. Two more slashes and the boss¡¯s head came off and it vanished in smoke.

    Oz held up her sword in triumph as the ice melted around her.

    I hadn¡¯t cast a single spell. The three of them must have been watching our fight and devised a plan to win by learning from our mistakes.

    Ren and Jenne ran over and hugged Oz.

    ¡°I never taunted¡­¡± Mitchel stared at the celebrating women. "What..?¡±

    ¡°I guess that¡¯s how we should have done it.¡± I shook my head. I was going to need to look into getting some environmental spells. I couldn¡¯t keep the smile off of my face though. That had been impressive to watch.

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 43

    Gesai walked in clapping.

    ¡°Three level twos!¡± The teacher laughed. "This is going in the history books! Three level twos against the level two floor boss!¡±

    I walked over to them and didn¡¯t try to stop smiling. ¡°Congrats, that was¡­¡± My grin got wider. "Impressive.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯d we get?¡± Jeene bent down and picked up a vial. "Invisibility potion? Oz this will work great with Ren¡¯s shadow cloak! Just think about everything you could do!¡±

    ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking and no.¡± Oz took the potion away from Jenne. "Besides, I think we should let Vena have this, since she¡¯s not fighting anymore today and Mitchel already got something.¡± She held out the vial towards Jovena.

    The white-haired woman walked over and accepted the potion. "But I didn¡¯t do anything¡­¡±

    ¡°You were part of the team and it¡¯s an item that you could use." Oz smiled. "That¡¯s all that matters.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Jovena clutched the potion close to her before putting it in her crystal band.

    ¡°Alright!¡± Gesai twirled her finger in the air. "One more time, then we¡¯re going home!¡±

    We walked back into the second floor, where the rest of the team rushed over to congratulate the three victors.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

    ¡°Alright!¡± Gesai cupped her hands when the noise didn¡¯t die down fast enough. "HEY!¡±

    Everyone stopped speaking.

    ¡°Okay, that¡¯s better.¡± The teacher looked at us. "Now that everyone here has seen how fast it can be done, I have a few notes.¡± She looked over at Oz. "I am proud of how well you did, but I do need to tell you how reckless that was.¡± She held up her hand. "If one thing had gone wrong¡­¡± She looked at the other two. "Ren¡¯s buffs didn¡¯t last or Jenne¡¯s freeze didn¡¯t get enough tentacles or was reflected¡­¡± She let the progression of events play out in our heads. "Half your team didn¡¯t even know what you were doing and were so shocked by the brazenness of it that they didn¡¯t even try to help.¡±

    She turned her attention to the three of us. "Not that the three of you could have really helped in that plan anyway, but there are things that you could do so that you can help next time. Mitchel, get an intimidate ability. It won¡¯t last long against a floor boss, but those extra few seconds can be vital.¡± She looked over at Fray, then back at Mitchel. "Especially if you lose aggro.¡±

    The blonde Tank nodded.

    ¡°Atlas. You¡¯ve just seen the value in branching out your spell selection. Yes, having all the elemental shots can help and focusing on that style of spell will make it stronger, but there are Magic spells that can provide support.¡± She nodded at me. "Look them up.¡±

    ¡°And Jovena¡­¡± Gesai shook her head. "You¡¯ve been farming the Dispatcher dungeon haven¡¯t you..?¡±

    The white-haired woman nodded.

    ¡°And you¡¯ve been letting the others do the work for you.¡± It wasn¡¯t a question that she wanted answered. "It shows, because even a priest would have noticed how ineffective you are with that weapon and had you look into status effects or magical ammunition.¡± She put her hands on her hips. "Now, let¡¯s see if we can get the rest of you a floor clear, then we¡¯ll all go to the next floor and port back home.¡±

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 44

    I walked in first.

    Again.

    After being shown up, I was ready to switch over to a melee weapon. Plus, I was worried that Fray was going to try something brazen after the lecture she got and the way Oz had shown her up. I gripped the handle on my SnakeSword, the serrated teeth actually cut through the tentacles really well. And it had been rather satisfying.

    ¡°Here.¡± Fray¡¯s voice was weak, but full of determination. I turned my mind back to my surroundings. I hadn¡¯t heard her come in.

    I heard the next splash.

    ¡°Here.¡± Ether¡¯s voice let me know who the splash belonged to.

    ¡°I¡¯m ready to do this thing!¡± Aelin was dancing, which made her splash as well as the rest of them impossible to distinguish.

    ¡°Are we all ready?¡± Ren had to raise her voice to be heard over Aelin.

    ¡°Wait!¡± I don¡¯t know why I looked around when it was pitch black, but I did. "I didn¡¯t hear Jenne come in.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m here!¡± The short black-haired woman sang.

    ¡°That¡¯s everyone?¡± Ren didn¡¯t have to shout this time because Aelin had stopped making noise. ¡°Okay, LIGHT!¡±

    The boss started rising out of the ground and Fray let out a scream and dashed.

    ¡°DASH!¡± I shot forward with my sword out. I knew she wasn¡¯t going to be able to take the tentacle off in one hit and she didn¡¯t have a second weapon to keep the boss from being able to bite her. I angled for the same side she did and held my sword up defensively as the boss tried to bite into her exposed back.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    ¡°LOOK AT ME!¡± Ether was able to pull the head away, but when I¡¯d hit her, I¡¯d knocked her away from her sword.

    I tried to reposition myself and caught a tentacle in the chest. I tossed my sword under the monster as I was knocked clear. I rolled in the water as I tried to find a way to right myself and it wasn¡¯t until I got my feet under me that I realized I hadn¡¯t been breathing. I was starting to get used to having the wind knocked out of me. I didn¡¯t know whether I should be proud or scared. Probably both.

    Fray was under the monster and stabbing at it with my sword. There was no way I was going to get back to her with the boss charging. Ether had tried to move in between me and the monster, which did provide me with cover, but it also locked me out.

    The bubble was still up and I realized that Fray was our physical weapon person, but she¡¯d just essentially locked herself in a room with the boss.

    ¡°You good?¡± Ether looked over her shoulder at me.

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°Then get her out of there.¡± The white-haired woman tossed her sword in my direction and gripped both hands on her shield as started running towards the monster.

    I picked up the sword and realized it wasn¡¯t a sword. It was the dagger that had been a sword that Edard Rene had bought off Trent and broke our second day in the dungeon. I picked up the familiar weapon and followed after the Tank.

    ¡°SHIELD ATTACK!¡± Ether tucked herself behind the shield and collided with the monster¡¯s face.

    ¡°BUBBLE¡¯S DOWN!¡± I pointed at Fray. "Jenne Freeze it now!¡± I didn¡¯t bother to see if she was following my lead. I just pointed at Fray. ¡°BIND!¡±

    One thing that I¡¯d learned during our captivity training was that I could set the root points of the bind. But it would always be so that the two vines tugging at my target were on opposite sides of each other. But my bind would last if there was only one pulling on it.

    I sliced through the vine in front of me. The vine behind the monster was still attached to Fray and pulled her out from under the monster. The water underneath it froze. With the monster stunned, all the tentacles were in the water, which meant now they were all frozen.

    Now we could win.

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 45

    ¡°DASH!¡±

    I mimicked Oz¡¯s opening move and jammed the dagger in the monster¡¯s neck and pulled out Fray¡¯s katana. It was a lot heavier than I expected, but I could handle the weight. I finished taking off the tentacle Fray had started and turned around to see that Jenne had bound the head.

    Fray slid under the boss and used my sword to stop herself and started on the neck. I wanted to admonish her for how she was acting, but now wasn¡¯t the time. We could talk later.

    It only took a few seconds with the two of us chopping before the boss vanished. I picked up the dagger and offered it to Ether.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know you kept this.¡±

    ¡°I keep everything.¡± She put the dagger into her crystal band and held up her hand to show me that she was wearing the ring we¡¯d gotten when we¡¯d beat the Giant Slime boss back in Harror.

    ¡°How long have you had that on?¡± I had a feeling I was about to get in trouble.

    ¡°Since just before the Floor One boss. I thought I¡¯d take some of the healing strain off Ren." She grinned. "Just now noticing that I¡¯m wearing the ring you gave me?

    There was no use trying to deny it. "Yep.¡± I pulled her close to me and kissed her. "What can I say, with a face this beautiful, how could I look anywhere else on you?¡±

    ¡°Smooth.¡± Jenne slapped me on the back. "Very good save.¡± She leaned on Ether as she looked me up and down. "I like him.¡±

    ¡°Does that mean..!¡±

    ¡°AELIN!¡± I scowled at the blonde. "Not NOW.¡±This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Aelin held up her hands. "I¡¯m just saying¡­¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°Look, I¡¯ve got to talk to Fray. Can you handle Gesai?¡±

    Ether nodded slowly. "I don¡¯t know about handle, but I can slow her down.¡±

    ¡°I can help!¡± Jenne bounced and flicked her hair. "I¡¯m so fabulous that it¡¯s hard for people around me not to get distracted!¡±

    ¡°How did we get two of them..?¡± I muttered under my breath as I walked past them to the brunette that was on her knees where the boss had vanished.

    Fray had tears running down her face and was staring up at the ceiling. My anger and frustration at her putting herself in danger vanished as I looked at the broken woman.

    ¡°Fray?¡± I knelt in front of her, ¡°Fray, can you look at me?¡± Her hood was down and her hair was everywhere. I brushed it out of her face. "Fray.¡±

    ¡°Atlas¡­¡± Her eyes focused on me and more tears streamed down her cheeks. ¡°I didn¡¯t back down¡­¡± Her voice sounded so far away even though she was right in front of me. "I didn¡¯t stop¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes, you did good.¡± I put my hand on her cheek and she leaned her face against it. Before I could say anything else she wrapped me in a hug and clung to me like her life depended on it.

    ¡°Don¡¯t let her send me back!¡± Fray squeezed me tighter than I thought she was able. "I¡¯ll do better! I can be better! Please don¡¯t leave me!¡±

    ¡°Hey, hey. No one is going anywhere.¡± I pulled her face back so I could look at her eyes, but they were closed. Her erratic breathing was calmed.

    I looked up and saw Gesai standing in front of me. I had expected rage, frustration, or contempt, but instead, I saw concern. I realized the rest of our team was behind her.

    Ether mouthed ¡°Sorry¡±

    ¡°What did you do to her?¡± I balled my fists.I wanted to get mad. I felt like I needed to be mad at something, but I couldn¡¯t hold onto it. Not when there was nothing threatening around.

    ¡°It¡¯s a sleeping spell.¡± Gesai bent down and picked the other woman up. She looked down at me. "We need to get out of here before the boss respawns. You do NOT need to fight an Elite floor boss right now.¡± She swallowed. "I pushed her too hard¡­ I just¡­¡±

    I picked up the dropped item and the boss crystal. ¡°You¡¯re just like her.¡±

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 46

    No one spoke until we were back in the temple.

    ¡°Did you have a good..?¡± The Priest from earlier greeted us. "By the gods! Is she hurt? Do you need medical attention?!¡±

    ¡°Gesai is a Tier Four Healer.¡± I cut in front of everyone. ¡°We¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    ¡°Oh, well, yes, that would be as good as the best Healer we have right now, but is there..?¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± I put my hand on his chest. "But we¡¯ve had a long day and we want to go home and rest.¡±

    He started to talk and I held up my hand.

    ¡°If you want to know anything else or offer any more help, then you can reach out to my dad, Trent Vowler.¡± I smiled as broadly as I could fake. "We¡¯re staying with the God, Tres, while we¡¯re here.¡±

    The Priest blanched and took a step back. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry if I bothered you. Please have a blessed day.¡±

    I walked towards the door and heard Ether speak behind me.

    ¡°You too!¡±This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    I shook my head. I should have remembered to say that, I was just done. I opened up the door for everyone to walk through, but Mitchel and Jovena were staying by the counter. I met Gesai¡¯s eyes and nodded at the pair.

    The older woman turned around. "Come you two. Whichever one of you isn¡¯t joining my team is going to the Cathedral. We¡¯ll drop you off on our way to Mive."

    Both of their faces brightened up at that news and they followed everyone else to the RV.

    Once we got inside, Gesai laid Fray in one of the bunks and shut the screen, then got in the driver¡¯s seat and started it up.

    I sat down in the passenger¡¯s seat while the rest of the team tried to find something to do in the back of the RV.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Gesai¡¯s voice cracked as she spoke. "I wanted to show Trent that I could..." She looked over at me. "I went too far.¡±

    I took in a deep breath and held it for a moment. ¡°It¡¯s not okay.¡± I closed my eyes so I didn¡¯t have to see her tears. I was tired of watching people I cared about in pain. I opened my eyes to look at her. ¡°But it will be. I¡¯ll talk to Trent, maybe he knows something we can do to quiet this¡­¡± I glanced behind me. Ether was the only one who didn¡¯t look away, though Justia, Oz, Ren, Jenne, and Aelin weren¡¯t in the room. That only left Mitchel and Jovena and they were both afraid of being left behind too. I looked back out the windshield. "Fear that everyone is feeling.¡±

    ¡°Sorry." Gesai apologized again. "I¡¯m not helping. I know I hated when Uncle Farsch treated me like this, I just¡­¡± She wiped her eyes. "I have no idea what I¡¯m doing.¡±

    I put my hand on her shoulder. "We¡¯ll figure it out.¡± My brain was spinning trying to figure out what to say. I really wished Justia or Ether would have taken over. Both of them were so much better at this.

    We rode the rest of the way to the palace in silence. But my mind was anything but silent.

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 47

    Trent was waiting at the front door.

    I got out of the RV first and ran over to him. "We have a problem. Fray got¡­¡± I had no idea how to phrase it. ¡°Broke?¡±

    The old man motioned for everyone to get off. "Go ahead and go in. Rix will take everyone up to the room.¡± He looked at Gesai. "You. Stay.¡±

    That was enough incentive that not even Aelin offered a quip as she fled the RV. Justia on the other hand, was not so lucky. He caught her shoulder as she started to get off the RV. ¡°You¡¯re staying too.¡±

    Justia nodded and backed up as Oz and Ether were the last to get off.

    Ether leaned in next to me. ¡°Do you need me to stay?¡±

    Did I want her to stay? Yes. ¡°No, I think they need you more. Don¡¯t worry, We¡¯ll be up in a little bit.¡± I kissed her, then got back in the RV.

    Trent got in the driver¡¯s seat. "Why don¡¯t we have a change of scenery?¡± He started driving. "Have any of you ever been to the ocean?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± I shook my head as I sat in the booth with Justia. Gesai was in the passenger seat, but I didn¡¯t hear her response.

    ¡°Why are you here?¡± I lowered my voice. ¡°Me and Gesai, I understand. But what did you do?¡±

    Justia shrugged. "I have no idea.¡±Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

    I tapped my knuckles on the table. There was something going on that I didn¡¯t know about. Some piece of information I was missing.

    I got up and went to the front of the RV. "Where are we going?¡±

    ¡°Somewhere away from prying eyes.¡± Trent turned the RV towards the harbor. ¡°I feel like listening to the water. It¡¯s so relaxing.¡±

    I didn¡¯t buy that for a second, I mean, that might have been some of it, but that wasn¡¯t the main reason. I had a feeling that no matter how much I pushed, he wasn¡¯t going to tell me what that was.

    We reached a place below the Palace that we could see from our room. The only reason I knew vaguely where we were was because I could see the two lighthouses from where we were parked. Otherwise, it looked like a normal parking space overlooking the harbor below.

    ¡°Okay, what are we doing here?¡± I looked at my teacher as he parked the RV.

    ¡°It¡¯s a peaceful place.¡± Trent waved out the front windshield as he moved past me.

    ¡°That¡¯s what this place is.¡± I countered as I followed him to the bunk where Fray was still sleeping. ¡°What are we doing here?¡±

    Trent ignored me as he picked up Fray and laid her down on the floor. He motioned at Justia. "Hold her head please.¡±

    ¡°What are you..?¡± There was something familiar about the way he held his hand. ¡°No! She doesn¡¯t need you poking around in her head!¡± I pointed my hand at him. "Siph..!¡±

    I felt really tired before I could finish casting Siphon on him to interrupt him from using his mind reading magic on her. Considering how much pain it had caused Gesai, I did not want him using it on a member of my team again.

    Gesai caught me and guided me down to the floor. I could hear the waves and birds as my eyes got heavier.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± The redheaded teacher caressed my face.

    I wanted to call her a traitor, but the only thing my body would let me do was sleep.

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 48

    I woke up in my bed.

    Not my bed at the Dorm in the Cathedral, but back at the room that Tres had provided for us. It was dark in the room, but I could make out a few things in the ambient light. I could also tell that there were two women sleeping with their heads on my chest. Ether¡¯s white hair was hard to miss, especially at night. At first I thought that the other one was Gesai, but the hair was much too dark.

    I did my best to slide out from under them without waking them up. I''m not quite sure how I managed it, but I made it out somehow. I turned back to look at the bed and both women were now cuddling with the same pillow in between them. I shook my head and smelled my shirt. It was the same one that I¡¯d worn all day. My armor had been taken off, but I was still in the same shirt and shorts from the day before. I had no idea how either woman had been able to sleep next to me without me cleaning up first. I¡¯d just have to remember to ask about that in the morning.

    I pulled a pair of pants out of the crystal band on my wrist. The display lit up the room a little and I saw that the other woman in my bed was Oz, with Ren sleeping on the floor on the side away from the bathroom. I had no idea what happened, but I wanted some answers. I walked into the hall as quietly as I could and headed for Trent¡¯s door. I was about to open it when I heard someone on my right.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that.¡±

    I jumped and turned to find myself almost face-to-face with RIx.

    ¡°What are you doing up?¡± I whispered as loud as I thought was safe.

    ¡°I don¡¯t sleep much.¡± Rix motioned for me to follow her. She led me through the kitchen part to a door that led to the balcony that wrapped around the entire floor.

    ¡°Do you know what¡¯s going on?¡± I waved off the look she gave me. Of course she knew. ¡°What did they do to Fray?¡±

    ¡°As far as I can tell?¡± The redhead shrugged. "Nothing?¡± She looked out at the dark water with the two Lighthouses rotating back and forth across the harbor, keeping a light in between them at all times.

    ¡°Did anyone tell you what happened?¡± I hated that she was acting so emotionless right now.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ¡°New girl got mouthy, Fray got scared, and Gesai got rough.¡± She looked at me. "Oz showed off which made Fray panic. She tried to prove she was as good as Oz and everyone did risky things to cover for the person who covered for the last person.¡± She shook her head. "Oz is going to be better than Fray for a while at least. She was trained by Adventurers from birth, not to mention the last month of training we¡¯ve had.¡± The red-haired woman looked over at me. "Doesn¡¯t mean she¡¯s getting kicked off the team. Or Gesai.¡± She let out an exasperated chuckle. "We¡¯ve been collecting strays, not turning them out.¡±

    ¡°Did they say what happened?¡± I waved my hand over my shoulder at the room behind us. ¡°With everything?¡±

    ¡°Like?¡± She looked over at me.

    ¡°Who¡¯s staying, who are we dropping off at the Cathedral, how long are we staying here?¡± I swallowed. "What happened between Fray and Gesai after they knocked me out?¡±

    ¡°Trent is planning on taking me to the bosses with Jovena tomorrow. He wants her to at least have the first three floors unlocked before he hands her over to Warder.¡± She nodded. "You can imagine Aelin had a good piece to say about Mitchel staying, but¡­¡± Rix turned around so she could look inside while she leaned on the railing. "Jovena needs a little more ¡®military discipline¡¯.¡± She made air quotes. ¡°Than Trent feels like he provides. The environment around here is kind of¡­¡± The redhead looked over at me. "Chaotic?¡±

    She wasn¡¯t wrong. ¡°What about Gesai and Fray?¡±

    ¡°Gesai¡¯s in the RV for the rest of our stay.¡± She chuckled. "If I¡¯d known that was a punishment¡­¡±

    ¡°Rix.¡± I touched her arm. "Please.¡±

    She shrugged. ¡°Compared to how the others described them, they both seemed fine. You on the other hand¡­¡± She looked up at the floor above us. "You seem off.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just worried about people.¡± I stared out at the water. "I never realized how broken things are.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t fix everything.¡± Rix turned sideways so she was facing me. "You heard what happened to Dee. She had Trent and Tres in her corner and still got Desolated. That¡¯s two of the most powerful forces in this Ward.¡± She sighed. "You need to stop worrying about what¡¯s coming and focus instead of what you can do here.¡± She gave me a playful nudge. "Like catching up to me.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not that simple.¡± I pulled away. "People get hurt.¡± I looked back at the empty dark room. "People I want to protect.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t stop people from getting hurt.¡± Rix moved in between me and the window so I was looking at her. "But you can be there to bandage them afterwards and help them pick up the pieces.¡± She tapped my shoulder. "Come on, I know what you need.¡±

    I watched her walk over to the east side and tie a rope on the railing. She waved at me. "Come on.¡±

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 49

    We snuck out of the palace.

    I had a feeling that we hadn¡¯t left undetected, but I didn¡¯t really care. We weren¡¯t stopped and that was the main thing.

    Once we got outside the wall, Rix started running. There was something free about just letting loose and taking off in the night. The cool air rushed against my face as I tried to keep up with Rix. I should have had similar Speed stats, but she was easily staying ahead of me.

    After an hour of running, She led me to the overlook where Trent had parked the RV before.

    ¡°You spent stat points.¡± I dropped onto the ground as I tried to catch my breath.

    She wasn¡¯t even breathing hard and just looked at me like I¡¯d stated the obvious.

    ¡°Why¡¯d you bring me here?¡± I motioned at the harbor.

    ¡°It¡¯s a good view.¡± She pointed at the mountains on our right. "And a good place to watch the sunrise.¡± She trailed her finger down to the water. "Then I¡¯m going to throw you in there.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    Rix smiled. "Because you need to stop for a moment. You need to appreciate the sunrise. Take in the air. Swim a little. Forget about the dungeon. Forget about the Gods and monsters. For a few minutes, just appreciate being alive.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t swim.¡± I folded my arms.

    ¡°Then don¡¯t go out over your head.¡± She eyed me like she was waiting for me to get something.

    ¡°You¡¯re doing a Trent thing.¡± I stood up and walked over to her. "Aren¡¯t you?¡±This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.

    ¡°Probably.¡± She sat down on the edge of the cliff. "You and I, we have more to worry about than the others.¡± Rix patted the spot beside her. ¡°But we also have a lot more that we can do to help.¡±

    I walked over and sat next to her. ¡°So what are we supposed to do?¡±

    ¡°Let Trent worry about the big stuff.¡± She grinned. "And let me worry about killing stuff.¡±

    ¡°What does that leave me to worry about?¡± I shook my head.

    ¡°Breakfast?¡±

    It wasn¡¯t the worst thing she could have teased me with.

    ¡°You¡¯re telling me not to worry? How? What about everything that happened yesterday?¡±

    ¡°What did you have to worry about yesterday?¡± She eyed me. "You had to buy equipment and clear two floor bosses and be home in time for dinner.¡± She shrugged. "What was so hard about that?¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± I tried to think. "That wasn''t everything I had to worry about.¡±

    ¡°That was everything that you had to worry about.¡± She started twirling a dagger between her fingers. ¡°The two new ones were worried about getting rejected again, which they weren¡¯t going to. Fray and Gesai were worried about not being good enough to keep, which almost got people hurt.¡± She looked at me. "And you were worried about not being able to protect everyone.¡± The redhead shook her head. "You¡¯re not the Tank. Even if you could be. You need to focus on who you are, then help people patch up their cuts on the way home.¡± She swallowed. "Trust me, Trent has more safety nets in place than I can find.¡±

    ¡°You know something.¡± I looked at her. "You know more than you¡¯re saying.¡±

    She tapped her chest. "Funny thing about these seals. They can do so many different things.¡± She looked to her right. "Suns coming up.¡± Rix tapped my shoulder. "Hey! Are you listening?¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± I pointed at the harbor. "Are they supposed to be opening the containers from that end?¡±

    She turned to look at where I was pointing.

    It looked like a pair of dockworkers were opening one of the shipping containers from a panel on the side. They pulled out a box that looked big enough to hold a watermelon and closed the panel back up.

    ¡°That does not look normal.¡± I knew she was about to get into trouble when I saw the grin on her face. ¡°Let¡¯s check it out.¡±

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Chapter 50

    We were both invisible.

    Apparently Tres had joined their training session to help her learn about how not only did her abilities modify her, but also the God class.

    They¡¯d taught her how to link her buffs to me.

    We¡¯d been invisible almost the entire time and given her passive, that explained how we¡¯d gotten out of the palace without security stopping us. They hadn¡¯t been able to see us.

    Rix led us straight for the harbor and it didn¡¯t take us long to find the two men who were loading the box onto the back of a truck. It looked like it was heavy for them and I wondered what level they were, because it wasn¡¯t like we could fight most Adventurers.

    ¡°Now what?¡± I saw her messing with her Crystal Band.

    ¡°I¡¯m figuring out what¡¯s in that crate.¡± She pointed at the men who were looking around as they got into the truck. "Think you can distract them?¡±

    ¡°With what?¡± I glared at her. "They could kill us!¡±

    ¡°How?¡± She looked confused. ¡°They¡¯re Mundane.¡±

    ¡°How do you..?¡± I waved the question away. "Nevermind. What do you want me to do?¡±

    She started running over the top of the containers. "Stop the truck!¡±

    I took off after her. ¡°DASH!¡±

    I let the speed boost propel me and I landed almost fifty feet from where I¡¯d started. I rolled until I found my footing. The truck had started and I was about thirty feet in front of it. Rix was still on the containers and running towards the back of the truck. If these were really Mundane, then weapons would be overkill.

    ¡°BIND!¡± I felt myself shimmer out of invisibility as a pair of vines wrapped around the truck. Before I could speak they were both getting out of the truck.

    ¡°BY WURN¡¯S WILL!¡± The one in the driver¡¯s side pulled out a metal pipe and charged while the other one headed for the back of the truck.

    I grabbed the pipe and punched the man in the gut. He folded like paper as I threw the pipe away.

    ¡°Rix! You okay?!¡±

    She stood up in the back of the truck. "ATLAS! WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!¡± She jumped out of the truck holding what looked like a black egg with a glowing purple mark on it.

    ¡°You¡¯re too late!¡± The man I¡¯d hit was laughing beside me. "Wurn¡¯s will is done!¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I went to grab him and realized that his skin had started glowing purple.

    I backed away as the light intensified. ¡°That¡¯s not good.¡± I looked over and saw that the same purple light was shining out of the huge egg that she was running with. I started running after her. Whatever stats she¡¯d allocated, she was a lot faster than me. Even with keeping my Dash up all the time, I wasn¡¯t able to keep up with her.

    I could tell that she was trying to make it to the water, but there was still a few hundred feet and the egg looked like it was going to explode.

    Rix fell down and a blonde man was holding the egg. He arched back his arm and threw it past the double lighthouses. It sank into the water, turning almost the entire harbor''s water full of purple light.

    There was an explosion and the water where the egg had landed and a wave as tall as the lighthouses surged towards the harbor. I¡¯d caught up to the pair and realized it was Tres who was standing next to myself and Rix.

    ¡°What are we going to do?¡± I looked over and saw that Trent was standing next to us.

    The old man was casting a spell with the God. I turned back to the harbor and the water crashed into a golden barrier between the two lighthouses. The water swirled a little as it settled back down

    I looked at the two older men. "What was that?¡±

    Trent ignored me as he helped up Rix. "Who were they?¡±

    ¡°Cult of Wurn.¡± She nodded back at the truck. "I knocked one out, but¡­¡±

    I turned around. I¡¯d been so focused on the damage in front of me that I hadn¡¯t realized that there had been an explosion behind me. The truck was on fire and there was a black spot on the ground where I¡¯d left the laughing man.

    ¡°What just happened?¡± I looked between all of them searching for an answer.

    ¡°That was a dungeon seed.¡± Tres took a deep breath as he patted Trent on the shoulder. "Thanks.¡±

    ¡°What..?¡±

    ¡°Wurn was a god researching dungeons.¡± Trent pointed at the island out past the lighthouses. ¡°His Desolation is over there¡± He shook his head. "For some reason his followers believe that if they can cause a dungeon break, they can bring him back.¡±

    ¡°Seriously?¡± I swallowed. "Did that..?¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t close enough to trigger the dungeon.¡± Tres pointed to a tower on our left. "But it may have started another one. I¡¯ll get a team to check it out.¡± He clapped me on the shoulder. "Don¡¯t worry about it, this kind of stuff happens all the time.¡±

    Somehow I didn¡¯t believe them, but before I could say anything else Rix and I were back in the main area of our floor in the palace. I felt very dizzy. Like I had when Sipher had been jumping around floors with us.

    ¡°What..?¡±

    ¡°Teleportation.¡± Rix grabbed the back of the couch to steady herself.

    I closed my eyes and sank to the floor.

    ¡°Atlas!¡± Fray wrapped her arms around me from behind.

    ¡°Hey.¡± I pulled my arm back and touched her face. "How are you..?¡±

    ¡°Better.¡± She squeezed me. "What happened?¡±

    ¡°Rix and I went for a walk.¡± The brunette felt calmer than normal. I had my doubts that all Trent did was talk to them, but whatever he did, it seemed to have given Fray a little more peace. ¡°We found some trouble.¡±

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± She let me go so she could come around in front of me.

    ¡°We¡¯re fine.¡± Rix answered as she walked over to the window and looked out at the harbor. There were already ships with flashing lights heading out to the place where the seed had landed.

    I got up and walked over to her with Fray beside me.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Oz rubbed her eyes as she walked into the room.

    ¡°I have no idea.¡± I turned back towards the chaos on the water below. "I have no idea.¡±

 Book 5 - The Recruit - Epilogue

    It was another attack.

    Trent folded his hands as he sat on the couch on Tres¡¯ floor and watched his friend pace.

    ¡°How many is this?¡± The old man knew that things like this were kept away from the general populace, but he would have hoped that someone would have kept him in the loop.

    ¡°It started about a month ago.¡± Tres motioned at the window wall and it went black and screens started opening on it. ¡°Vefe got hit first. The same day as the Mantle trials.¡± He pointed at the outpost on the map. "Upgraded it to an Uncommon dungeon but they were able to contain the break. Their dungeon is still a mess though.¡± He pointed at Slece. "Two weeks later, they hit Slece. It broke her personal dungeon as well as the Temple dungeon.¡± He looked at Trent and shook his head. "I see you didn¡¯t know anything about that.¡±

    Trent was upset. He¡¯d been working on getting Atlas and Rix back, but his people should have still told him about this. ¡°How bad was it?¡¯

    ¡°Temple got destroyed and Slece did her thing to clean things up.¡± The God shook his head. "Honestly, she was probably the one who destroyed the Temple, but it¡¯s her city¡­¡± He pointed at the four dungeons in that city. "Rumor has it that there are Tunnels connecting all of them on the sixteenth floor.¡±

    The ArchWizard gritted his teeth. ¡°Any other attacks?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the second one here.¡± Tres shook his head and pulled a purple seed out of the Crystal Band on his wrist. ¡°We were able to stop this one from going off, but¡­¡± He tossed it to his friend. "It¡¯s still live.¡±

    Trent examined the seed then tossed it back. ¡°Any idea how they¡¯ve gotten so powerful so fast?¡± He got up and looked at some of the other notes and reports on the wall. ¡°Until today, I thought they were just a misguided fanatic group.¡±

    ¡°The Dispatchers are busy trying to stabilize the dungeon in Vefe and the Temple¡­¡± Tres shook his head. "You know their stances on Desolations.¡±

    Trent sighed. When a Desolation happened, it usually bound all the dungeons in the immediate area together, but it also created cases of high level monsters that roamed lower level floors. Until the floors were cleaned, the Temple wouldn¡¯t go anywhere near them. Even then, they¡¯d wait until Noble families got assigned to the city before they¡¯d start building a Temple over the dungeon.

    ¡°I¡¯d love to go check it out, but¡­¡± Tres let the implications vanish.

    It was too dangerous. There were Gods that took control of multiple cities, but very few. It was too much power and other Gods tended to band together to remove them. The only way that Tres could go to the Desolation of Wurn to see what was going on without inviting war into the Ward was to wait until the Adventurer Games at the end of the year when all the Gods of the Ward met for their annual meeting. Even then, the other five would have to approve his request. And that was a longshot.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    Which led to the next best thing.

    ¡°You want me to go check it out¡­¡± Trent looked over at his friend.

    ¡°You¡¯re a little too high profile to do any subtle investigating¡­¡± Tres swallowed. "But¡­¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Trent shook his head. "There is no way I¡¯m sending them over there.¡±

    ¡°We can package it as a learning excursion.¡± Tres folded his hands together. "We don¡¯t have to let them know about Gesai¡¯s level. She¡¯s still in the database as a twenty-three. They won¡¯t think twice about her bringing a class over there.¡±

    ¡°A class¡­¡± The ArchWizard shook his head. "You want me to send six students with a new teacher into a minefield of a dungeon and think I¡¯ll be okay with it?¡¯

    Tres took a deep breath. ¡°I¡¯ll send Arlo with them.¡±

    That made it even worse. "You want to send your SON into a Desolation?! Seriously? You think that makes me feel any safer?!¡±

    ¡°He can keep them safe and no one knows of his connection to me.¡± Tres swallowed. "He¡¯s been working as a Guide for the last decade and¡­¡±

    Trent knew by the long pause that he wasn¡¯t going to like the next part.

    ¡°Celia is here.¡±

    That was news. He had talked to the Amazonian the day before and she hadn¡¯t mentioned being here.

    ¡°She wanted to check on Vefe, so she brought her class here to grind a little.¡± The God looked at his friend. "She already agreed to go before this happened. So¡­¡±

    Trent saw where this was going. "So no one will question a new teacher tagging along on a trip that¡¯s already been scheduled.¡± He sighed. "And I¡¯m assuming that you want me to do something to draw the bulk of their attention elsewhere?¡±

    Tres nodded. ¡°Wurn has started to rebuild. It won¡¯t be long before someone tries to claim it. You can keep their eyes on you above ground.¡±

    ¡°What makes you think that they¡¯re in the dungeon, on the lower floors at that?¡±

    Tres pulled up a map of the Desolation of Wurn. "This dungeon is unique in that it¡¯s made up of pockets." He pointed at the numerous small rooms littering the map. "There are a lot of unexplored places and since they¡¯ve been using Mundane to transport their seeds¡­¡±

    ¡°Then they have to have some type of base on the first floor and you need a low level team that won¡¯t draw too much attention to ¡®look¡¯ for it.¡± Trent shook his head. "And if I¡¯m scouting around topside, while the Temple¡­¡± The ArchWizard realized he''d been played. ¡°And Celia are arguing over who is going to claim it, then they won¡¯t be as worried about the leveling teams that are killing time on the lower floors.¡±

    Tres nodded. "Honestly, I had just been planning on using Celia, but¡­¡± He looked at his friend. "When you showed up, it makes it look even more convincing.¡±

    Trent shook his head. "Fine. I¡¯ll play.¡± He closed his eyes. He had a bad feeling about this mission.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 1

    I was glad to be on land.

    Growing up in Zeb, there hadn¡¯t been any significant bodies of water around and I wouldn¡¯t have had the time or money to go out on them if there had been. It wasn¡¯t that I got nauseous on the trip over to the island, just that spending a few hours surrounded by lots of people while knowing I couldn¡¯t swim if something went wrong hadn¡¯t been my definition of a fun boat ride.

    To make matters more complicated, Geasi, the red-haired, green-eyed assistant teacher, had been acting more awkward than usual. I knew that she was nervous about not being a good enough teacher to have her own class. She¡¯d been so anxious to prove herself that she¡¯d pushed a student so hard that the rest of the team had been forced to expose themselves during a boss fight, to cover for her.

    By contrast, Fray Harror, the quiet brunette with brown eyes, looked like nothing had gone wrong the day before. Whatever Trent Vowler, our head teacher, and Gesai had said to her last night had calmed her nerves and she was at least smiling, which was usually difficult to get her to do.

    The rest of our team got off the boat to make way for the other team from the Cathedral. I hadn¡¯t realized that Celia Taray¡¯s class was going to be joining us on this extra side trip. Five of her six students were children of Nobility, which meant that of the four original teams that had started this year at the Cathedral, she had the most privileged students.

    Except for James Juel. The red haired, brown-eyed Hitter was the only Mundane, or child of parents who weren¡¯t Adventurers. Until recently I¡¯d thought that a person could inherit a Mantle randomly, but it had been pointed out that most of the Mundane students knew that they were the illegitimate children of some Noble. I felt bad for him because I knew what it was like being around Nobility that thought little of the Mundane.

    His teacher, Celia Taray, was one of the most successful Nobles in the Ward. Most dungeons were owned or maintained by either the Dispatchers or the All-Temple. She owned four different dungeons and kept Farming teams going all the time. She used her position as a teacher at the Cathedral to scout new talent and network with more Noble families.

    That was why we had been diverted from our task of filling out a backup team and sent to this Desolation. Trent was representing the Temples'' interest in claiming the dungeon here, while Celia was trying to claim it for herself. It was the middle of the semester, so we still had to have classes in the dungeon and rather than leave her students behind she had brought in a dungeon guide, Arlo Heema, to teach her class while she was in the negotiations.

    The blonde-haired blue eyed man was in his late eighties, though for an Adventurer, that was only around middle aged, especially for a dungeon guide. Most Adventurers who pushed floors ended up dying in the dungeon, but a guide was someone who stayed a few Tiers below their level and helped others Farm. Since he was looking after students, he couldn¡¯t powerlevel them, but the experience he had with so many different dungeons was going to be almost as good as the person he was filling in for.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

    We watched the eight of them walk by. Celia nodded to her former teacher, but that was the most of an interaction they¡¯d had for the entire trip. There was a parking lot at the end of the dock, where they split into two Chasers, four-seater vehicles without tops and large wheels that were made for driving in rough terrain, and drove off.

    All twelve of us followed after Trent as he led our group to the same place where Celia¡¯s group had left.

    A short, balding man of about seventy met Trent before he got to shore.

    ¡°Welcome to the Desolation of Wurn!¡± He voice came out in a singsong way. ¡°What can Vone Gona help you with today?¡± His red eyes shone as he smiled.

    ¡°Hello Vone.¡± Trent reached out to shake the man¡¯s hand, ¡°I need four Chasers.¡±

    ¡°Four?¡± He looked at the parking lot where only two vehicles remained. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, but I only have two left, perhaps if you had been the first ones off the boat, I would have had enough for you.¡± Vone gave up what had to be the worst fake sad face, ¡°But! Do not worry! You look like you would be good friends, so! I would be willing to rent you my own personal Chaser for you as well.¡± He looked at us, ¡°And if you feel that you cannot squeeze together, I could look around and see if I could find another one.¡±

    Trent pulled out four chips. I couldn¡¯t see what the denominations were, but considering the size of Vone¡¯s eyes, I knew they were way more than the dealer had been expecting. The older man put one of the chips back into the Crystal band on his wrist where he kept his inventory.

    ¡°That was what I would have paid for four Chasers.¡± He fanned the three coins, ¡°There will be four Chasers in the parking lot by the time that my students get there or I¡¯m taking another coin away.¡± He plucked one coin with his other hand. ¡°And if I make it to the parking lot before the Chasers are there, then this is what I¡¯ll pay for them.¡± The other two coins disappeared.

    Panic began to crawl over the other man¡¯s face, ¡°You¡­ you¡­ know that we have Dispatchers here.¡± He wiped his forehead, ¡°And Authority!¡±

    Trent smiled, ¡°Good, tell them that Trent Vowler is here to collect the Chasers he reserved and someone is acting a lot like a Bandit and trying to gouge him¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re Trent Vowler? THE Trent Vowler?¡± Vone turned around, ¡°Iago! Bert! Get those other two Chasers out here NOW!¡± He looked back at the other man, ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were THE Trent Vowler. I thought that was just a name someone was giving. Like we get people calling themselves King Sidam. I mean, who in this Ward has ever met royalty from the other side of the world?¡±

    Trent lifted an eyebrow.

    ¡°Of course YOU have. I meant like¡­¡± He turned around. ¡°BOYS! WHERE ARE THOSE CHASERS!¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 2

    All four were ready before all of us reached the parking lot.

    ¡°Who¡¯s driving?¡± Ether Klix looked at the rest of the group, ¡°Aelin?¡±

    The usually bubbly blonde was staring at the sky, ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°I asked if you wanted to drive.¡± The white-haired, red-eyed woman repeated herself.

    ¡°Oh, sure.¡± Aelin Zeb held out her hand.

    ¡°Starters are in the vehicles.¡± Trent got in shotgun of the one the farthest to our right.

    ¡°Oh.¡± Aelin got in the next one over. Justia Publian followed after her.

    ¡°Can I drive?¡± Ren Zavel raised her hand.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t look like anyone else is volunteering.¡± Ether nodded to the next Chaser, ¡°I¡¯ll take the last one, so¡­¡± She looked at the group, ¡°Who¡¯s driving Mister Vowler?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± Jovena Bothua volunteered.

    ¡°That gives us all our drivers.¡± Ether nodded at the other white-haired woman. ¡°The rest of you can find where you want to ride.¡±

    I walked over to the last Chaser and climbed in the front while Ether got behind the wheel.

    Mitchel Zorboe got in the first Chaser, Jenne Vilou and Gesai Alard got in the second, Oz Mite and Rix Zeb got in the third one, and Fray got in behind me in the last one.

    With all of us in vehicles, the lead one started down the road..

    ¡°How far is it to the Desolation?¡± Fray leaned in between the two seats as she tried to keep her brown hair out of her face.

    I looked at the map I¡¯d saved in the display of my crystal band, ¡°This says four hours.¡±Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

    ¡°So we¡¯ll be there¡­¡± She did the math in her head, ¡°At about three?¡± She looked at me, ¡°Do you think Gesai will want to take us into the dungeon?¡±

    ¡°No clue.¡± I looked out at the dead trees in swamp water that surrounded both sides of the road. It was definitely different from the last Desolation I''d been to.

    ¡°What was it like?¡± Ether seemed to know where my mind was, ¡°The Desolation?¡±

    ¡°It was a wasteland.¡± I looked around, ¡°Actually kind of like this, just not any water or trees.¡±

    ¡°So like this without all the scenery?¡± Fray snickered, ¡°How is that the same?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the lifeless part.¡± I waved my hand around. ¡°It feels so¡­ empty.¡±

    ¡°Oh, okay. That makes sense.¡±

    I shifted in my seat so I could look at her, ¡°So what happened yesterday with Trent?¡±

    She shrank back into her seat, "That.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± I looked at Ether out of the corner of my eye, ¡°You were beyond consolable in the dungeon. Then Gesai put you to sleep and¡­¡± I shrugged, ¡°Now you seem fine, but I know Trent did something or said something. I¡¯d like to know what.¡±

    Fray looked nervously at Ether and swallowed, ¡°He¡­¡± She began undoing buttons on her shirt, then peeled it back to reveal a tattoo over her heart almost exactly like the one that was sealing my class from prying eyes. ¡°He gave me this. It means that we¡¯ll always be a team.¡±

    I eyed her, ¡°He sealed your class?¡±

    She touched the marking on it. ¡°The staff and the dagger¡­ You and Rix.¡± She traced her finger over the sword in the middle, which was the thing that mine didn¡¯t have. ¡°Now I¡¯m part of it too.¡±

    I understood a little of why she was more calm. And I knew why he¡¯d done it. The more of us with the tattoo, the less likely that a God would zero in on it being something that was hiding our class. But there was something that I didn¡¯t understand.

    ¡°Why was Justia there?¡±

    ¡°She healed me.¡± Fray began buttoning her shirt back up.

    ¡°Couldn¡¯t Gesai have done that?¡± She was a stronger Healer.

    Fray looked away and took a deep breath, ¡°She got one too.¡±

    I was going to have to have a talk with Trent, though I had a feeling I already knew how it was going to go. I¡¯d gotten in the way before he could explain what he was doing and if I would have just trusted him, then I would have been in the loop about this.

    ¡°Are you mad?¡± She read my silence as anger rather than me thinking.

    ¡°No, this is a good thing.¡± I took her hands, ¡°I just should have trusted Trent, then he wouldn¡¯t have had me knocked out so I wouldn¡¯t get in the way.¡± I kissed the back of her hands, ¡°I¡¯m not going to replace you. You¡¯re part of this team.¡±

    Her eyes sparkled as she hugged me.

    Ether patted me on the back.

    Maybe this detour wouldn¡¯t be so bad.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 3

    The ¡®city¡¯ was mostly tents with a few wooden houses.

    It¡¯d been almost seventy-five years and the Desolation of Wurn was still under Dispatcher control. The main reason was that the floors were like a maze of rooms, but just because you went through the portal on your left didn¡¯t mean you moved into the room on the left. Every room had at least two portals in it and it was taking forever for the Dispatchers to map a way to the boss room, let alone mapping out the entire dungeon. The dungeon had calmed down years ago, but the lack of a mapping system is what had kept it under Dispatcher control for so long.

    Trent¡¯s Chaser pulled up to a worn wooden building that was smaller than our dorm had been before being remodeled. There was one other Chaser here, but it didn¡¯t look like one of the ones that Celia had taken. This one was a completely different style and much older.

    Our teacher waved for us to stay in the Chasers as he walked inside.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the dungeon?¡± Fray craned her neck to look around.

    ¡°Probably in one of these buildings¡­¡± The dungeon wasn¡¯t at the top of my worries. It was how there were quite a few people in gray uniforms walking around. The Authority handled matters involving the people outside the dungeon, while the Dispatchers policed those inside the dungeon. The Temple was the one who took care of those that neither felt was worth their time or resources to help. I¡¯d lived almost my entire life in either the Temple or Dispatcher¡¯s care, so I¡¯d never really had any interactions with the Authority, except what I¡¯d overheard from Adventurers. None of it had been any good.

    This was supposed to be a dungeon issue. I couldn¡¯t imagine why there would need to be this much Authority.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it strange?¡± Ether broke me out of my thoughts. ¡°We¡¯ve seen those Wurn Cultists everywhere we¡¯ve gone, but here in the Desolation of Wurn, there aren¡¯t any.¡±

    Suddenly the presence of so many Authority started to make more sense.

    ¡°Maybe they¡¯re all out in the other cities?¡± Fray was leaning on the back of my seat as she looked around.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°Probably.¡± I didn¡¯t believe that, but it was what I was going to go with for the moment.

    Trent walked out of the building and waved for everyone to follow him. Ether navigated us to a cleared spot at the northwest edge of the small town. There wasn¡¯t too far to go since the entire place was only a four block square.

    Trent got out of the Chaser again and pointed around us. The perimeter lit up around us in a soft blue glow. ¡°This is where we¡¯ll be staying while we¡¯re here.¡± He looked at the other teacher, ¡°Gesai, start putting up a fence. Ether, you can start supervising people putting up the tents.¡±

    He started pulling tents out of his crystal band and throwing them on the ground in front of his Chaser. Once the white-haired man was finished, he pointed at the building diagonally to the southeast. ¡°That¡¯s where the dungeon is, but¡­¡± He looked at us, ¡°We can only send in one team at a time.¡± He tapped on his crystal band, ¡°This is what has been explored of the first three floors as well as the fastest known path to the boss rooms.¡± Trent cleared his throat, ¡°Do NOT get in the Black team¡¯s way. The team that stays topside can work on improving our camp, then I¡¯m told there is a Summoner here that we can use.¡± He pointed at the building that was to our east. ¡°I will be in there negotiating with Celia and the Dispatchers. If anyone needs me, then send a message to my CB.¡± He tapped his wrist. ¡°Otherwise, stay out of trouble.¡± He looked at Aelin, ¡°Are there any questions?¡±

    The usually bubbly blonde was still behind the wheel of her Chaser. I would have expected that she''d have a lot of questions, instead she was staring at the building where Trent had said he¡¯d be doing his negotiating.

    ¡°How often are we going into the dungeon?¡± I decided to ask a question if no one else was.

    ¡°You should be able to make it down to the boss room on the first floor today.¡± Trent turned to me, ¡°We¡¯ll use five man teams and change up the composition each day we¡¯re here. I don¡¯t expect this to last but a week, maybe two.¡±

    After a moment of silence, he nodded, then walked away.

    No one spoke until he was inside the other building. Rix grabbed Mitchel, Jovena, Oz, and Ren and went to help Gesai put up the fence. The older woman was pulling boards out of her CB and standing them up to give us an eight foot barrier. It looked like she was going to wall off almost half of the lot that we were in.

    ¡°Alright!¡± Ether clapped her hands, ¡°Let¡¯s get these things set up! Aelin, Justia. Start over there.¡± She pointed at the corner that Gesai had finished walling off. ¡°Fray, Jenne! Start setting them up in the middle.¡± The white-haired woman looked at me, ¡°We can start setting up a tent in this corner.¡± She pointed at the southwest corner.

    I nodded and followed her lead. It wasn¡¯t going to take long for all of us to get camp set up.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 4

    I was part of ¡®Team 1¡¯.

    It had been called that because for today, it was the first team to go into the dungeon. I had been expecting the gate to be guarded, but there wasn¡¯t even a covering on it. Just a room for us to gather in while Gesai opened the gate. I could see that she was starting to get frustrated with it a little.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I walked over to see what she was doing.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never had to work one of these in a place where I haven¡¯t at least cleared a floor.¡± She finally got the menu where she wanted it, ¡°I¡¯ll get used to it.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve never been here?¡± That information surprised me, ¡°I thought Trent did tours to get his students experience with all the dungeons in the Ward.¡±

    ¡°Not the Desolations.¡± The red haired woman got the gate to open, ¡°This is my first time here.¡±

    ¡°Which means we know as much about this place as you.¡± Jovena walked up to the gate.

    Gesai grabbed the white-haired woman¡¯s arm. ¡°Apparently not. This is a pocket dungeon. That means that there is no trail. Each room has a monster in it.¡± She nodded at Mitchel, ¡°So the Tank goes through first.¡±

    The blonde man stepped up and held up his shield, then stepped through the gate.

    Fray and I walked in after him, followed by Ren, Jovena and Gesai.

    The room itself was about a fifteen feet in diameter mud box. The lighting was so low that the first thing Ren did was wave her hand. ¡°LIGHT!¡±Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    That lit the room up enough to show what looked like a place that might be under the swamp that we had driven through to get here. The putrid odor was strong enough that my nose burned as I breathed. The floor was spongy and definitely did not promise to allow for good footing if we had to move around a lot.

    The next thing that I noticed, now that the room was lit up, was that there was a zombie in the middle of the room. Mitchel had his shield up in between us, but as slow as the purple-veined monster was moving, it was going to take a few seconds to reach us.

    I took out my pistol and aimed between its eyes. ¡°FIRE SHOT!¡±

    I still had Earth Shots loaded into the magazine in it, but it seemed like fire would be the element to use here. The two flame bullets burned through its skull and it vanished into a cloud of smoke.

    Mitchel picked up the crystal and handed it over to Gesai, ¡°They don¡¯t seem very difficult.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t get too complacent.¡± Our teacher warned, ¡°Their bite inflicts a curse that prevents healing.¡± She looked over at Ren, ¡°We¡¯ll need to see about getting you a spell to cure that. Until we do, I¡¯ll heal you, but if I step in before the battle is over¡­¡±

    The Tank swallowed. Right now, Gesai was just a supervisor, which meant the dungeon basically treated her as if she wasn¡¯t there, but if she started interacting with us or the monster during a fight, it would bump it up to an Elite. Which wouldn¡¯t be an issue for the Sacrist teacher to destroy, but a monster that upgraded mid-fight would become untauntable. So the whole fight would become a lot more difficult.

    ¡°Can it get through our armor?¡± Ren looked at her sleeve and touched her hood. She and Jovena only had on cloth jackets and pants. Normally, that would be plenty of defense for them since they stayed away from the fight. The other three of us were wearing tough leather armor with a hood connected to our jackets.

    Gesai looked us over, ¡°Your faces are exposed, but probably not the ones on this floor. Who knows about the boss or once we get deeper.¡± She pointed at the portal in front of us, ¡°This way is the fastest to the bossroom.¡±

    Mitchel nodded and headed for the portal. I swapped out magazines as I followed after him. It was going to be a long afternoon.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 5

    Twenty three rooms.

    That was the fastest route to the boss room.

    The monsters themselves weren¡¯t very difficult to defeat. Fray and I were trading off killing them, while Jovena did nothing really to contribute. I¡¯d thought about saying something, but considering the reprimand she¡¯d gotten yesterday, I didn¡¯t want to have her have to go through a second round of that.

    Ren had to recast Light every time we went through a portal, which had earned her the spot right after the Tank. For someone with less mana than myself, I could tell that it was wearing on her and if we needed spells from her later, she was going to be limited.

    ¡°Should we take a break?¡± I pointed at the door to the bossroom, ¡°Catch our breath before heading in?¡±

    ¡°Good idea.¡± Gesai started to sit down, but as soon as she touched the spongy floor, she stood back up.

    Ren crouched so she was sitting on the back of her feet while keeping the rest of her body off of the ground. She took a blue bottle out of her CB and started drinking it.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± I pointed at the drink.

    The blonde finished it, ¡°Mana potion. I thought I¡¯d need to be topped off before we go in.¡±

    ¡°Gotcha.¡± One of the downsides of working with Farmers was that I hadn¡¯t seen a lot of the staples of most Adventuring teams. I probably needed to look into buying some of those.

    ¡°What can we expect from the boss?¡± I turned my attention to our teacher.

    The red-haired woman looked at her CB. ¡°It''s a quadruped, so it''ll be faster than the ones you''ve been fighting.¡± Her lips moved as she kept reading, ¡° Horns and claws, so you need to watch out for those. And the charge move is¡­¡± She scrolled down, ¡°A charge. Mitchel, you need to keep it taunted and the rest of you shouldn''t have much of a problem chipping away at it. Fray, the crystal is in its head, so if you can take off its neck, that''ll end the fight. Atlas, this says its skull is reinforced, so don''t try to get at it that way. Focus on the legs and try to hobble one of them. Ren, keep Fray and Mitchel buffed and if you want to, focus on one of the back legs. Jovena, it looks like it''s immune to poison, but Paralyze and Weaken will help them out a lot.¡± She looked at us, ¡°Any questions?¡±This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    When no one spoke, she tossed me the eye she would use to watch us.

    ¡°I''m going to go in and beat this thing first, so once you finish we can all go through to the second floor, then head back to camp.¡± She pointed at the artifact in my hand, ¡°You can watch me with that thing.¡±

    The other four crowded around me as our teacher walked into the boss room. At first we couldn¡¯t see anything, then the room lit up as flames crawled up her sword. It wasn¡¯t as much light as Ren¡¯s spell, but it was enough to get the job done.

    A monster the size of a bear rose up out of the ground and fixed its glowing purple eyes on the red-haired intruder. It let out a roar as it lumbered towards her.

    Gesai sidestepped it and cut a small gash down the side of the horned monster¡¯s flank. She took a few steps back to put distance in between herself and the monster.

    ¡°What¡¯s she doing?¡± Fray¡¯s voice quivered. ¡°Why hasn¡¯t she beaten it yet?¡±

    The monster closed in again and this time, she blocked the charge with the flat of her sword. She pushed the monster back, which caused it to roll away. For us, these things were something we would have trouble soloing, but for her, they were a lot weaker than the things that she should be fighting at her level.

    ¡°She¡¯s showing us what it¡¯s like.¡± I pointed at the howling monster, ¡°See? Now it¡¯s charging.¡±

    In just a few seconds, the purple and black furred monster leapt through the air at her. Gesai sidestepped it and took its head off in one swing. The monster went up in smoke before it hit the ground. She reached down and picked up the crystal and the loot, then walked back out to our floor.

    ¡°That¡¯s the gist of it.¡± She held out a purple bladed sword and laughed, ¡°Cursed Blade of Speed.¡± She turned to Fray. ¡°It starts stacking a curse and ups your speed by one.¡± She offered it to the other woman, ¡°Do you want it?¡±

    Fray looked at the katana at her side, then back at the offered weapon. ¡°That¡¯s a really nice bonus, but I like this type of weapon better.¡±

    ¡°You can use it to upgrade it then.¡± Gesai held the sword out to get it closer to the other woman. It almost felt like she was trying to give her a peace offering. ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯ve got a blacksmith around here somewhere.¡±

    Fray took the purple blade, ¡°How?¡±

    ¡°Put it in your CB for now.¡± Gesai motioned at the door behind her. ¡°We still need all of you to beat this so that I can run the next group down here.¡± She kept her focus on Fray, ¡°Nothing flashy. Just get in there and clean it up. Do your job and stay in your zone and it¡¯ll be easy.¡± The teacher looked at the rest of us, ¡°This is not an evaluation. This is an assignment, so do your jobs and don¡¯t show off.¡± She ended her gaze on me, ¡°And don¡¯t hold back.¡±

    I nodded, though I knew that even if I was doing what she considered letting loose, I was still going to be holding back. Jovena was here and she wasn¡¯t going to be sticking around, so I had to maintain my cover as just a Caster.

    ¡°Will do.¡± I smiled and looked at the rest of my team, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 6

    Fray was the last one to walk in.

    Ren cast Light as soon as she got in to start the fight. We could have waited out the timer, but standing in pure darkness for five minutes, just wasn¡¯t an appetizing option.

    The boss started coming out of the ground and Mitchel waited until it was all the way up and roared before he engaged it.

    ¡°LOOK AT ME!¡± The blonde man gripped his shield with both hands as he braced for impact.

    ¡°Harden! Hone Weapon!¡± Ren pulled a six inch stick out of her CB and pointed it at the monster. ¡°Earth Blade!¡±

    A green blade grew out of the hilt and she ran towards the monster.

    I¡¯d never seen that skill before, but there were a lot of skills I''d never seen. The magical sword in her hand hummed as it cut into the monster¡¯s shoulder.

    Fray was working on the other side, so I rotated while firing at the back leg. The Fire Shots were burning holes through it and just before I emptied the magazine, the leg gave and the off balance monster fell on its left side.

    Fray had to back up to keep from getting fallen on.

    ¡°Sorry!¡± I swapped magazines. I had one more of Fire Shot, one of Earth Shot, and one of Electric Shot. I hoped they¡¯d be finished soon though, because I wasn¡¯t sure how well the other two would work, so I¡¯d be having to cast the magic manually.

    The monster didn¡¯t even have time to get up before Fray and Ren were able to finish it off.

    ¡°That wasn¡¯t too bad.¡± Jovena walked over and started picking up her bolts.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you get a magic arrow type skill?¡± I went over to help her.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    ¡°I could and probably will.¡± She put her weapon away, ¡°But right now my Magic is at six and¡­¡± The white-haired woman paused, ¡°The dungeons in Tres aren¡¯t nice to Casters, so having a physical weapon made more sense.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t most Shooters go for daggers or a fast melee weapon?¡± Fray sat down next to me. ¡°Then you wouldn¡¯t have to pick up the bolts that can be reused after every fight.¡±

    ¡°My Mother uses a Recall skill, but¡­¡± She shook her head, ¡°They¡¯re really expensive and something that requires at least level five to use.¡±

    Gesai walked in clapping. ¡°That was perfect!¡± She looked at Fray. ¡°Fray, good job getting out of the way when it fell over, then getting right back in.¡± She turned to the Tank, ¡°Mitchel! Good job holding its attention. Ren, you¡¯re a one-woman team by yourself.¡± She looked over at Jovena and myself, ¡°Good job on support you two.¡±

    Jovena nodded, then pointed at the item that Ren was holding. ¡°What did we get?¡±

    The blonde woman held up a blue ring, ¡°Bolt Ring.¡± She tossed it to me, ¡°It¡¯s Caster gear.¡±

    I caught the ring and looked at its stats. All it did was cast the spell Bolt. There were no stats or anything attached to it. I offered it to Jovena, ¡°Do you want it?¡±

    The woman froze for a second, then shook her head, ¡°Ren¡¯s right, it¡¯s Caster gear.¡±

    I looked at the blue ring in my hand. I didn¡¯t really need it and would probably never really use it. I walked over and held it out to Ren, ¡°I¡¯ve already got an electric spell, so I think you¡¯ll be able to use this more.¡±

    The blonde reached out and took the ring and slipped it on, ¡°Your funeral.¡± She smiled sweetly and gave me a hug.

    ¡°What..?¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Let¡¯s go! I¡¯ve got another group to run down here!¡± Gesai started motioning towards the exit.

    ¡°I¡¯m so confused¡­¡± I stood in the middle of the boss room and watched Gesai lead Mitchel, Ren and Fray to the exit.

    Jovena stopped beside me, ¡°Seriously?¡± She looked me in the eyes, ¡°You don¡¯t get it?¡±

    I shook my head as the two of us started walking towards the exit.

    ¡°You just gave Ren a ring¡­¡± Jovena laughed, ¡°In front of Fray and before Oz.¡± The white-haired woman smiled broadly, ¡°Tonight is going to be entertaining.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not what¡­ whatever.¡± I waved her off, ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re enjoying yourself at my expense.¡±

    ¡°Nothing else to do.¡± She shrugged, ¡°At least I''m getting experience before you ship me off to military school.¡±

    She went through the exit before I got a chance to speak. It hadn¡¯t been my decision, well maybe a little my decision, but she needed a little more structure than the chaotic always on survival mode method that Trent used. I sighed as I went through the portal. I¡¯d figure something out with the other two.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 7

    Camp was set up.

    Ether had labeled everyone¡¯s tents so they knew where they were staying, not that we had any gear to store in them. Mitchel had his tent at the Northwest corner, while Rix, Jovena, Trent, and Gesai each had theirs clockwise in the center of the enclosure. Fray had a tent beside mine while Oz and Ren were above it. Justia and Aelin had taken the southeast corner and Jenne was right next to them.

    Gesai took the second group down, which left the six of us at camp to fend for ourselves. I found Rix in her tent, which surprised me.

    ¡°Hey.¡± I peeked into the open flap.

    Rix looked up and nodded.

    I sat down in front of the tent, ¡°I thought you¡¯d be out exploring the town.¡±

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t much to see.¡± She nodded behind me, ¡°Supposedly everything starts happening once the mappers get back.¡± The redhead shrugged, ¡°Otherwise, there''s not much going on.¡±

    ¡°Is there a blacksmith?¡± Fray¡¯s voice made me jump as the brunette appeared behind me.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Rix looked at the other woman, ¡°You need something fixed?¡±

    I scooted so that Fray could sit in the opening as well. She pulled the sword we¡¯d found out of her CB. ¡°Gesai said that a Blacksmith might be able to move the properties of this to my katana.¡±

    Rix held out her hand and the quiet woman passed it over. ¡±It¡¯s a decent weapon. The extra Speed is nice, but curse is very niche.¡± She handed the sword back over and started to get up, ¡°I can take you.¡±

    We started walking through the camp. Mitchel and Jovena were talking by the lone opening and Ren propped against the fence opposite them.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ¡°Where¡¯re you going?¡± Ren pushed herself off the fence.

    ¡°Rix is taking us to the Blacksmith.¡± Fray smiled, ¡°To see about the sword.¡±

    ¡°Are there any other shops?¡± Ren looked at Rix.

    ¡°A supplies store, but the guy that runs it is mapping in the thirties, so it won¡¯t be open until tomorrow, maybe. There¡¯s a bar, but¡­¡± The redhead looked at her CB, ¡°It¡¯ll be another hour before the mapping crews get in, so they¡¯re probably not serving any food right now.¡±

    ¡°Where is the other team staying?¡± Jovena made the question sound casual.

    ¡°Second building east of here.¡± Rix raised an eyebrow, ¡°We¡¯re supposed to stay away from them.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not supposed to get in their way.¡± The white-haired woman corrected, ¡°I think I¡¯m going to go see what they¡¯re doing.¡±

    Rix sighed as the other woman started walking away.

    ¡°I can go make sure she stays out of trouble.¡± Mitchel motioned in her direction.

    Everyone was looking at me, ¡°Go ahead if you want to, or you could come with us.¡± I shrugged, ¡°Or you could stay here or you could wander around on your own. All we were told to do was not get in other people¡¯s way.¡±

    He nodded and started down the road after Jovena.

    ¡°How worried should I be?¡± I looked at Rix.

    ¡°About Vena?¡± The redhead shook her head, ¡°She¡¯s hoping Celia will rescue her from Warder. I¡¯d say she¡¯s going to be on her best behavior. Mitchel..?¡± Rix shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Right¡­¡± I thought about going after them for a moment, but decided that they both probably knew the world of the Nobility way better than any of us except Ren. Which meant it was probably in my best interest to steer clear of them. Especially since Ades Roge, Savyn Triscan, and Gileon Alard were in that group. Ades and Savyn were both from Zeb and while I didn¡¯t know either of them, we had met briefly during the Mantle Trial. They¡¯d made it very clear what they thought about Mundane Adventurers. Gileon was Farsch Alard¡¯s grandson and I already knew what the Patriarch thought about Justia and Gesai. Considering Gileon¡¯s disrespect during the selection, I doubted the grandson¡¯s views were any different.

    ¡°They¡¯ll probably be fine.¡± I looked at Ren, ¡°You coming too?¡±

    The blonde shrugged, ¡°Sure.¡±

    I turned to Rix, ¡°Lead on.¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 8

    The building was hot.

    It was already muggy due to us being in the middle of a swamp, but when you added in the extra heat from the furnaces, it created an environment that was almost unbearable.

    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± A gruff voice was hidden by a screen.

    I looked at Fray, but she backed up behind me. ¡°We¡¯re looking for someone who might be able to transfer properties from one weapon to another.¡±

    A scarred man in his sixties with blonde hair and red eyes came around the screen. ¡°You¡¯re a little young to be with the mappers.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re here with Trent Vowler.¡± That much information I assumed everyone here would already know.

    ¡°He¡¯s trying to claim this place for the Temple? HA!¡± The older man slapped the side of his leg, ¡°He might be some bigshot back on the mainland, but out here, coin is king and the Taray¡¯s have had the coin here for over a decade.¡± He stuck out his hand, ¡°But never hurts to make new friends. The name¡¯s Tophua Malnon.¡±

    I took his hand, ¡°Atlas Vowler.¡± I couldn¡¯t stop the smirk when he flinched, ¡°Rix Zeb, Fray Harror and Ren Zavel.¡±

    ¡°Sorry ¡®bout that, I didn¡¯t know Vowler had any kin.¡± He gave me a nervous smile.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°It¡¯s dads job, not mine.¡± I shrugged, ¡°My friend got a drop in the dungeon today, but she really likes the sword she has and she was wondering if you could move the enchantments over.¡±

    ¡°And which of these lovely ladies would be the lucky one he calls a friend?¡± He winked at Rix.

    ¡°All of us.¡± Ren stepped in front of the redhead.

    While I still reddened at the look he gave me, for once I was glad for it. Rix might not have been able to physically hurt the man, but I had no doubt she knew of things to say that would make him regret flirting with her.

    ¡°All? HAHAHA!¡± He held his belly as he laughed, ¡°A playboy, ain¡¯t you!?¡±

    I smiled, ¡®You could say that, I guess.¡±

    ¡°If you think this is impressive, you should see the rest of us.¡± Ren put her arm around me. She giggled as I pulled her closer to me

    ¡°Enough about me.¡± I turned to Fray and held out my free hand. The quiet brunette slowly took the sword and katana out and put them in my hand. I turned around and handed them to the blacksmith, ¡°What do you think?¡±

    ¡°A Tier Zero?¡± Tophua chuckled, ¡°We make the Embers do these. I can have this done for you¡­¡± He looked around, ¡°Gimme an hour.¡±

    ¡°How much.¡± Rix finally spoke.

    The blonde man looked at her, then over to me, ¡°How bout this? You put in a good word with pops and I¡¯ll call it even.¡±

    ¡°Sounds like a deal to me¡± I let go of Ren so I could shake his hand. ¡°Do you know when the bar opens?¡±

    ¡°Aryne Minti owns that, pretty good fellow. Tell him Fooda sent you over there to beat the rush and he¡¯ll let you in before the Scribblers get back.¡± He laughed at the nickname. ¡°Go on, I¡¯ll have this done in no time.

    I grabbed Fray¡¯s arm and guided her out of the forge with the other two behind us.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 9

    The bar smelled wonderful.

    I¡¯d lived most of my life on cheap mush or ration bars, so this last month where I¡¯d been eating cooked food had gotten me used to looking forward to my meals.

    The building itself wasn¡¯t much more than four walls and a roof. There was a pair of stoves behind the bar where whatever smelled so good was cooking.

    An older man in his eighties with black hair and brown eyes was toiling away over a pot. There was a white-haired man in his seventies seated at the bar. The older man looked like he had started drinking a long time ago, which I took to mean that he wasn¡¯t part of the Mapping teams.

    ¡°By the Gods! When are yas going to learn that dinner is served at five and not a minute¡­¡± He turned around and saw us, ¡°You aren¡¯t the Scribs.¡±

    ¡°Fooda sent us over?¡± I looked around at the empty tables, ¡°Said you let us beat the rush?¡±

    ¡°Did he now¡­¡± The man stroked his chin, ¡°And why would I do a thing like that for some people I don¡¯t know?¡±

    I walked over and held out my hand, ¡°Atlas Vowler.¡± I pointed at my companions, ¡°This is Fray Harror, Ren Zavel, and Rix Zeb.¡±

    He eyed me as he shook my hand, ¡°Aryne Minti. Vowler you say?¡±

    ¡°Yes sir.¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re kin to Trent Vowler?¡± I could see him doing math in his head.

    ¡°He¡¯s my father.¡± I tried to smile.

    ¡°He¡¯s your father¡­¡± He put his hand on my shoulder, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you lead with that?¡±

    ¡°Because¡­¡± It wasn¡¯t like I hadn¡¯t been using Trent¡¯s name to open doors, but in this case¡­ ¡°Because Fooda made it sound like the people around here respect my father, but they aren¡¯t going to do him favors just because of who he is and who he represents.¡± I shrugged, ¡°I would rather be seen as someone who talks to the locals rather than someone who uses his family name to conquer what I want.¡±Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

    Aryne nodded, ¡°I see why Fooda thought I¡¯d like you.¡± He motioned at the women with me, ¡°And I can see why Fooda liked you. Poor man hasn¡¯t left the island in over a decade and the clientele we get around here is nothing like this latest group.¡±

    He motioned for us to sit at the bar as he walked back to the stove. ¡°You¡¯ve got about thirty minutes before the Scribs get here. I¡¯d be out of here before they come in unless you¡­¡± He shook his head as he stirred the soup, ¡°I¡¯d rather not have you da mess up my floors when the Scribs get disrespectful.¡±

    ¡°Ah.¡± I took a seat in between Ren and Fray, ¡°You said new group?¡±

    ¡°The Taray kid brought her class here. Only one looker, but from the looks of things she was running the show.¡±

    He must have been talking about Savyn. Considering how quickly Andes had pined for her attention when we¡¯d first met, I could see how she could take over a class where the rest were guys. It was bad news for Jovena though. I seriously doubted Savyn would let another ambitious woman join the team without a fight.

    ¡°Good to know¡­¡± I picked up on what else he¡¯d just said, ¡°Taray kid?¡±

    ¡°Yep, Ceridwen Taray¡¯s Niece. She¡¯s been here for about as long as anyone.¡± He shook his head as he brought us bowls, ¡°I know your da¡¯s going to give it his all, but this isn¡¯t going to the Temple.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡± I took a spoonful, ¡°This is delicious.¡±

    ¡°Glad you like it.¡± He motioned at the food, ¡°That¡¯ll be a hundred All.¡±

    Fray choked on her food. For us, that was a lot of All, but I still had plenty left over from the shopping spree. I pulled out the coin and pushed it across the table, ¡°This is worth it.¡± It wasn¡¯t, but he¡¯d waited until we¡¯d started to eat to tell us the price. Something I¡¯d have to be mindful of in the future.

    He pocketed the coin and went back to the food on the stove.

    ¡°Something I¡¯ve been wondering¡­¡± Rix set a coin down on the table, ¡°We¡¯ve been seeing a lot of the Cult of Wurn back on the mainland, but there¡¯s not been a single one of them here in Wurn.¡±

    The black haired man walked over and picked up the coin, ¡°With all the Authority around here?¡± He shook his head, ¡°But you should be careful, rumor has it they¡¯ve found a tunnel on the fourth floor and are using it to jump back to the mainland.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Rix pushed the empty bowl forward, ¡°Where to?¡±

    Aryne shrugged, ¡°Who knows, but those wackjobs have been spouting on and on about how they¡¯ve found that purple horned God down there. Pure madness, if you ask me, but who knows what will happen down there.¡± He nodded at the clock. ¡°You probably want to finish up and get out of here.¡±

    I ate the last few bites and got up, ¡°We¡¯ll head back to Fooda¡¯s and check on our order. Thanks for the food!¡±

    The old man waved at us as he got out more bowls.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 10

    Tophua wasn¡¯t ready for us.

    He was in the process of soaking the katana in purple liquid when we walked in.

    ¡°I¡¯m almost finished!¡± He laughed, ¡°How was it? Best you ever had?¡±

    ¡°It was good.¡± Fray¡¯s voice was so soft that I could barely hear her.

    Apparently he didn¡¯t because he moved straight into a new topic, ¡°You can watch this last bit if you want.¡± He motioned for us to get closer, ¡°Never going to turn away a chance to make the scenery nicer.¡± His laughter was so contagious I had to work to keep from joining him.

    I glanced over to see how Rix was doing, but she wasn¡¯t with us anymore. I wasn¡¯t sure when she¡¯d slipped away, but with her stealth skill, I wasn¡¯t sure if Trent would even be able to detect her if she wasn¡¯t wearing the seal that he¡¯d put on her.

    ¡°I¡¯m always eager to learn new things.¡± I looked at the tub that he was working over. ¡°So what are you doing now?¡±

    The blonde man pointed at the purple sparks in the water, ¡°I broke the enchanted sword down to essence and mixed it into this enhancer.¡± He motioned at the tub, ¡°Added a few level one crystals that I broke down to energy to make this soup.¡± He stirred it with the metal rod in his hand. ¡°Now I¡¯m applying heat to fuse the enchantment back into the katana.¡± His red eyes focused on Fray, ¡°You can¡¯t apply too much heat or else you¡¯ll melt it down and if there isn¡¯t enough, it won¡¯t fuse.¡±

    He took out the rod and blue light shone from his fingers and focused on the sword.

    ¡°Now I¡¯m using magic to bind the enchantment to the blade.¡± He wiggled his fingers, ¡°Yes, I know. I¡¯ve got magic hands. It''s such a burden, but someone has to carry it.¡± He laughed again as Fray shrank away from him. ¡°Don¡¯t be scared, miss, these hands are reserved for those that aren¡¯t taken¡­¡± His eyes sparkled, ¡°Perhaps you have an older sister or Aunt you¡¯d be willing to speak to on behalf of this poor talented man.¡±A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    ¡°Could you transfer an enchantment from like a pair of gloves to a sword?¡± Ren diverted the conversation.

    ¡°Depends on the enchantment, but mostly no.¡± The blonde man smiled as he turned to the woman to my right. He nodded at his CB, ¡°I¡¯ve got a library of what enchantments are unique to which pieces of gear.¡±

    ¡°What about upgrading gear?¡± I pulled the SnakeSword out of my CB, ¡°This is a level two sword. What would it take to upgrade it to level three?¡±

    ¡°Gimme a moment¡­¡± He reached over and grabbed a pair of tongs, then pulled the katana out of the liquid. The blade was purple now instead of silver and there were runes up and down the blade on both sides in gold.

    ¡°I had a low level enchantment lying around and the Sribs are never going to use it, so I threw it in there. Turned out pretty good, I think.¡± Tophua tapped the blade with his finger a few times like he was checking to see if it was too hot to hold. He picked up the katana and offered it to Fray. ¡°I believe this is yours.¡±

    She took the weapon and used her CB to appraise it. It was now a Cursed Consecrator. It not only applied curse to the wounds and gave her an extra Speed while she was holding it, but it was also more effective against Zombies.

    ¡°That¡¯s a pretty useful bonus.¡± I looked back at the Smith and realized he¡¯d taken my sword without me noticing.

    ¡°Around here, sure.¡± He turned the sword over, ¡°But anywhere else in the Ward?¡± The blonde man looked at me, ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s another Zombie dungeon in the whole Ward. Plus it¡¯s only useful on Tier Zero, which none of these Scribs are mapping anymore.¡± He offered me the sword back, ¡°Maybe once this place becomes an actual town, but for now, it might as well have been a blank sheet of paper.¡± He nodded at the sword as I took it and put it in my CB. ¡°You¡¯re not going to find the materials I need to upgrade that around here. Sorry, but unless you¡¯ve got a lot of snake crystals on you, there¡¯s nothing really that I can do for your weapon.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± I shrugged, ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll find something out of the second floor boss tomorrow. Speaking of, we should head back to camp. Thanks again!¡±

    ¡°If you have anything else you need worked on, bring it by!¡± He called after us as we walked out, ¡°And maybe bring some more of your friends to meet me too!¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 11

    Everyone but Rix was back.

    ¡°How¡¯d it go?¡± I walked into camp and gave Ether a hug. She had been back long enough that she was out of her metal armor and was wearing a comfortable shirt and shorts.

    ¡°Not bad.¡± She kissed me, ¡°We got the charge skill as a drop, so we gave it to Oz.¡± She nodded at the raven-haired woman, ¡°Otherwise it was a good day. I don¡¯t think we could farm this as well as we did at the Temple Dungeon in Harror, but it was still good experience.¡±

    ¡°Speaking of good experience¡­¡± Trent walked over, ¡°A group of students decided to do pulls in the Harror Temple to mimic how you leveled. Two students died.¡± He looked at us, ¡°I¡¯ve been told to ask you to not engage in such risky behavior anymore.¡± He smiled, ¡°And now I have, for what it¡¯s worth.¡±

    ¡°What was that about?¡± Oz walked over.

    ¡°In order to level up quick, we were splitting up and fighting monsters solo while still in a group.¡± I had forgotten that she hadn¡¯t been with us when we did that. ¡°It was slimes, so they were easy.¡±

    ¡°And that worked?¡± The green-eyed woman didn¡¯t seem convinced.

    ¡°We got almost a hundred experience in a day.¡± Ether yawned, ¡°Why am I so tired? It¡¯s only five-thirty.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long day.¡± I ran my fingers through her white hair, ¡°But it does feel too early to go to sleep.¡±

    She leaned against me and yawned again. ¡°Maybe we should go to our tent and see.¡±

    ¡°Maybe¡­ In a minute¡± I waved at Jovena, ¡°Vena!¡±A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    The white-haired woman walked over, ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°How¡¯d it go at the Black team?¡±

    ¡°Why don''t you mind your own business?¡± She turned and stormed off to her tent.

    ¡°They shot her down.¡± Mitchel gave a half wave as he approached, ¡°Or, actually, Savyn told her ¡®We don¡¯t need washouts on this team¡¯.¡± He made air quotes and tried to mimic a very regal voice.

    ¡°Ouch.¡± I shook my head, ¡°Trent seems to have a good eye for things, maybe she should give it a try and see.¡±

    ¡°Have you met Jovena?¡± The blonde man shook his head, ¡°She¡¯s going to try to find a way to get what she wants. Or out of what she doesn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°True.¡± I shook my head, ¡°Who knows, maybe she¡¯ll get bumped into Bethil''s class.¡±

    Mitchel shrugged, ¡°Who knows.¡±

    Ether yawned again, ¡°I think I need a nap.¡± She pulled on my arm.

    ¡°Okay.¡± I waved at Mitchel, ¡°See ya.¡±

    I let her pull me to the tent, but before I could close it up, Oz slipped in.

    ¡°So¡­¡± The green-eyed woman glared at me, ¡°You¡¯ve given a ring to Ether and now Ren?¡± She eyed me, ¡°What do you have to say for yourself?¡¯

    ¡°She was the best person for the loot?¡± I shrugged, ¡°I mean, if you want a ring so bad¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Oz covered her mouth as she interrupted me, ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do.¡± My mind was spinning as she hugged me. I was still trying to figure out how I was going to get into the boss room when her kiss pulled me back into the present.

    I blinked after she pulled back. ¡°What was that for?¡±

    Oz shrugged, ¡°Getting what I want.¡±

    I turned around to look at Ether, who was suddenly not looking tired at all.

    ¡°Everyone is here!¡± I motioned at the tent door. ¡°They can hear..¡±

    ¡°Nothing.¡± Oz knocked on the door. ¡°Sealed and soundproof.¡± She cupped her hand over her ear to emphasize her point.

    She was right, the only noises I heard were coming from inside the tent.

    Oz pushed me over into Ether¡¯s arms and kissed me again. I had a feeling that I wasn¡¯t going to get much sleep as I wrapped my arms around her and started to kiss her back.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 12

    They were both still asleep when I got up.

    I needed to talk to Gesai before the others got up and get her to set the teams to the group I needed to farm the boss over and over again.

    It seemed everyone else was still asleep at six in the morning. Everyone except for Rix and Trent it seemed. Though I had my doubts that either of those slept at all. They always seemed to be awake when I went to bed and up before I woke up.

    The flap to Rix¡¯s tent was open, but she was nowhere to be seen. I didn¡¯t doubt that she wasn¡¯t somewhere around. Probably watching the locals somewhere.

    Trent on the other hand was leaning up against one of the Chasers. He saw me and waved me over.

    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± I walked out of the camp and leaned against the chaser that was across from the one he was on.

    ¡°Waiting for Celia to get up.¡± He shook his head, ¡°Gesai isn¡¯t planning on getting people up for another hour. What are you doing up?¡±

    ¡°Old habits, I guess.¡± I got in the Chaser and sat in the seat sideways, ¡°I was going to talk to Gesai about the teams for today.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s sooner than I expected¡­¡± Trent stroked his short beard.

    ¡°What is?¡±

    ¡°You going into the dungeon without supervision.¡± He grinned, ¡°I thought you¡¯d at least last two days above ground before you got bored.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not..!¡± I let my shoulders sag, ¡°Are you going to stop me?¡±

    The old man laughed, ¡°In my experience students eventually do what they want regardless of how many times a teacher stops them.¡± He raised an eyebrow, ¡°So the better question is, are you willing to pay the consequence of your actions?¡±

    I swallowed, ¡°Which is?¡±

    ¡°Depends on the infraction. But I¡¯m sure I can find something creative.¡±

    I had a bad feeling that I wasn¡¯t going to like whatever he came up with. ¡°By the way, the Blacksmith in town asked me to put in a good word for him with you.¡± Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°Tophua drew you in?¡±

    ¡°Do you know him?¡± It seemed like the Blacksmith had only known about my teacher by reputation.

    ¡°Never met him.¡± He pushed himself off of the vehicle, ¡°Ah! Perfect timing. It looks like both of our meetings are about to start.¡± He nodded at Gesai¡¯s tent. The red-haired woman was just getting up. He started walking towards the building beside ours where Celia was heading. The brown-haired woman looked angry, but maybe that was her default setting.

    ¡°You¡¯re up early.¡± Gesai walked over to the Chaser I was sitting in and leaned on the front of it with her elbows.

    ¡°I wanted to talk about the group setups for today.¡± I turned in the seat so I could face her. ¡°I was thinking about Oz, Ether, Aelin, myself, and Ren staying here this morning and doing some more exploring around town.¡± I nodded towards the south, ¡°Maybe see what the Blacksmith can do with our gear.¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­That works, I guess.¡± She eyed me, ¡°You¡¯re not planning on getting into trouble?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m trying to find a ring for Oz.¡± I motioned towards the south, ¡°I¡¯m going to try to get into the supply store and see what they have.¡± I nodded back towards camp, ¡°And there¡¯s something off with Aelin. I¡¯m going to try to figure out what that is too.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­¡± She shook her head, ¡°Just don¡¯t get into trouble okay. I can¡¯t protect you if you¡¯re up here while I''m in there.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± I gave her my best smile. ¡°We¡¯ll be fine. But there is one other thing. Could you take the other group out first? I want to give Ether and Oz some time to sleep in. We were up¡­kinda late last night, um, talking about what to do while we¡¯re here.¡±

    ¡°Talking¡­ Ri-i-ight.¡± Gesai shrugged, ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll take the others outfirst so your girlfriends can sleep in.¡± She turned to go back into camp.

    I hopped out of the Chaser and caught up to her before she made it back inside the fence. I turned her around and pulled her close to me. She was a Tier Four, so if she wanted to resist, there was no way that I¡¯d be able to budge her. I could feel her heart beating wildly against my chest as she started breathing faster. I put my forehead against hers.

    ¡°Wait.¡± She put her hand against my chest, ¡°I¡¯m not supposed to until the end of the year because I¡­¡±

    Ouch. I knew she¡¯d gotten in trouble for pushing Fray, but that seemed a little extreme. Though if someone told me that extreme was Trent¡¯s middle name, I¡¯d believe it.

    ¡°Then don¡¯t.¡± I tilted her chin up, ¡°But no one told me I can¡¯t.¡±

    Her eyes lit up as I kissed her quickly. I could tell she wanted to lean into it, but did a decent job of restraining herself. She was beaming as she smiled at me when I stepped back.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, I¡¯ll be fine.¡± I looked around the camp, ¡°I¡¯ll be here at noon when you get back.¡±

    She nodded wordlessly and went to go wake up the first team. I smiled as I went back into my tent. I¡¯d let the others sleep a little while longer, then get them up. We¡¯d be able to do a boss every twenty minutes, so we should have plenty of time to get enough kills in to find a ring or two before we needed to get back to camp.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 13

    It took nine times.

    We¡¯d waited until eight thirty to go down to the second floor then backed through the gate to the first floor. Three hours later a ring finally dropped. I picked it up and checked it out.

    ¡°A Speed Ring.¡± I held out the yellow ring to Oz. ¡°All it does is give you one Speed.¡±

    ¡°I want it.¡± Oz held out her hand for me to put it on her hand. She smiled broadly as I slipped it on her finger.

    ¡°Aw¡­¡± Ren grabbed Ether¡¯s hand and held it up. ¡°We kind of match.¡±

    Ether had a Recovery ring with a passive effect,so her ring was light green, Magic rings were blue, which was what Ren had. Once Oz put her hand in, they had yellow, green, and blue.

    I looked over at Aelin. She¡¯d been unusually quiet the whole morning.

    ¡°Aelin!¡± I motioned at the three women with their hands together. ¡°You¡¯re seriously not going to comment?¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± The blonde looked at us, ¡°Cool.¡±

    ¡°Gimme a sec.¡± I waved at the women, ¡°Aelin!¡± I ran over to her as she headed for the exit ¡°What¡¯s going on with you? You¡¯ve been acting weird since the boat.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± She sighed and walked through the exit.

    ¡°Hey!¡± I rushed through the portal after her. Once we were in front of the second floor gate I grabbed her shoulder while we waited for the others to catch up. ¡°What¡¯s going on with you?¡±

    ¡°We need to get back.¡± The usually bubbly blonde tapped her CB. ¡±We can talk once we get back.¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t we talk while we go back?¡± I touched her shoulder. ¡°I know we need to get back, but we can¡¯t do anything until the others get here.¡±

    ¡°Fine,..¡± She crossed her arms in front of her chest.. ¡°It¡¯s Savyn. She¡¯s¡­¡±Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    ¡°The only woman on the Black team.¡± I finished for her. ¡°I take it you know her.¡±

    ¡°After my mom tried to get help from my father and he turned her away, Andes and Savyn found me at the diner and started¡­¡± She shook her head as she fought back tears.

    ¡°Hey! It¡¯s okay!¡± I wrapped her in a hug. I noticed that the others had come through the gate, which meant that now we could get back to the surface.

    ¡°Oz can you get us back?¡± I looked at Ren and mouthed ¡®HELP?¡¯

    The other blonde nodded and took over the embrace. I couldn¡¯t hear what she said, but it made Aelin look not quite as lost.

    ¡°Gate¡¯s open!¡± Oz motioned, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    We went back up to the surface and no one said anything until we got back to camp and the five of us squeezed in my and Ether¡¯s tent.

    ¡°What did they do to you?¡± I wasn¡¯t sure that I wanted to hear the answer.

    ¡°I really thought I¡¯d gotten over it.¡± Aelin took a deep breath. ¡°I¡¯d been so happy that I hadn¡¯t been put on a team with them at the selection, and to be honest, I thought that I¡¯d gotten past it.¡± She closed her head, ¡°After my mom died, they¡¯d come into the diner where I worked and make sure I was their server. They¡¯d make comments about my mother and talk about how she got what she deserved. They even started backing me into corners and one time Savyn even¡­¡± She rubbed her left arm. ¡°But they were Nobles, so the owners didn¡¯t do anything about it. I thought about quitting, but those two would have followed me wherever I went.¡± She swallowed, ¡°I thought I was mostly over it when I got my Mantle and got put on a team here with everyone, but¡­¡±

    I heard Ether grinding her teeth. I looked over at the White-haired woman. ¡±What happened?¡±

    Ether looked at Aelin. I could see anger on her face as well as concern. ¡°While you were kidnapped, Savyn approached Aelin about burying their grief and apologized to her for how she¡¯d treated her.¡± Ether took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, ¡°About a week before you got out, Savyn invited Aelin to eat with them in their courtyard.¡± The white-haired woman was growling at this point. ¡°But it was just so that they could get her alone. They tormented her and chased her back to our dorm. Fray and I got in trouble because we pulled out our weapons when Aelin came running back screaming. They¡¯d even hit her with a few debuffs! And we were the ones who got in trouble!¡±

    I swallowed as I tried to control my rage. I was tired of Nobility who treated other people like toys.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± I tried to keep my voice level. They¡¯d hurt one of my team members while I wasn¡¯t there.

    ¡°A priest came and healed me.¡± Aelin wiped her eyes.

    ¡°Who was it? Does Celia know?¡± I wanted names and Rix. Okay, probably not Rix, but someone to help me do non-lethal Rix things.

    ¡°Missus Taray wasn¡¯t there. It was just Gileon, Andes, and Savyn.¡± Her eyes got wide as I got up. ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°Fixing this.¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 14

    I got out of the tent before they could stop me.

    I knew that starting a fight wasn¡¯t the smartest move, especially when Trent was about to levy some form of punishment for going into the Dungeon alone. I honestly didn¡¯t care if I got in more trouble. There had been the Yellow team survival exercise, then Sipher, and Whisper, and the Cultists from two days ago that would have killed most of the city if Tres hadn¡¯t intervened. They were all threats that were outside of my level range. Things I had to hide behind other people while they solved the problem.

    This was a level three problem. I just needed a way to goad them into starting it. It almost walked into me.

    ¡°Hey!¡± Jovena pushed me back, ¡°You almost ran into me!¡±

    I saw Justia and wondered if she knew. That was a conversation for another day.

    ¡°Are you ready to head out?¡± Gesai motioned towards the gate.

    ¡°Can I have a few minutes, there¡¯s something I want to take care of.¡± I grabbed Jovena¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Walk with me?¡± Her blue eyes told me that she was about to say no, ¡°Please?¡±

    ¡°Fine.¡± Jovena sighed.

    Once we were in front of the building that Trent was meeting in, I stopped.

    ¡°What¡¯s this about Atlas?¡± Jovena tapped her foot.

    ¡°How would you like a little revenge?¡±

    Her eyes narrowed, ¡°Excuse me?¡±

    ¡°I heard that Savyn was very rude to you. How would you like to get a little revenge?¡± I looked the Shooter over, ¡°Think you can take her?¡±You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    There was a fire in those blue eyes, ¡°Of course I can take her.¡± She crossed her arms in front of her, ¡°What do you get out of this?¡±

    ¡°You know the Nobility in Trent¡¯s team was kidnapped?¡±

    She nodded.

    ¡°While we were gone, Savyn, Gileon, and Andes decided to teach Aelin a lesson. They hurt her pretty good, but got away with it because they didn¡¯t use any weapons.¡± I couldn¡¯t keep the smile off of my face, ¡°I want to see how they like a target that will fight back.¡±

    ¡°It''s not like they can kick me off the team.¡± A wicked grin crossed her face, ¡°I¡¯m in!¡±

    ¡°Non-lethal force and no weapons.¡± I looked around. I would bet good money that Rix was close and invisible. ¡°Did you hear? No weapons.¡±

    ¡°Who are you..?¡± She realized the answer to her own question, ¡°Nice.¡± The white-haired woman looked around, ¡°What are we doing here?¡±

    ¡°The Black team goes to their base for lunch which means that they should be coming along soon.¡± I looked over at the building where the dungeon gate was.

    ¡°What if..?¡± Jovena motioned at the building we were in front of.

    ¡°I¡¯m counting on it.¡± My heart was racing with anticipation, ¡°Ether doesn¡¯t think that Celia knows about it. I know that they¡¯ll be out here in a few moments, so make your punches count.¡± I looked at the building, ¡°You weren¡¯t at the selection, but Gileon got a little lippy and Celia put him in his place.¡± I turned to the Shooter, ¡°Violently. I¡¯m hoping that a little display of force will impress upon her just how serious this is.¡±

    ¡°Um.¡± Jovena started to back behind me when the Black team walked out of the dungeon building. ¡°What about their other teacher?¡±

    I nodded at the gateway of our camp where the rest of our team had gathered, ¡°I think Gesai can take him.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s Tier Five.¡± Her voice said she wasn¡¯t so sure anymore.

    ¡°Ges has killed one of those before.¡± I flicked my finger towards the building we were in front of, ¡°Trent is Tier Six. Besides, as long as we don¡¯t draw any weapons, then he won¡¯t step in.¡±

    I looked at the white-haired woman, ¡°You good? There¡¯s still time to bail if you want to. I can handle this on my own.¡±

    The fire came back to her eyes as she shook her head.

    ¡°Let¡¯s do this.¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 15

    I walked towards the other group.

    ¡°Savyn!¡± I waved, ¡°I heard you don¡¯t want Jovena to join your team because you think she¡¯ll seduce all your zombie men out from under your control!¡± I smiled as sweetly as I could.

    ¡°Atlas,¡± Their blonde guide put his hand on her shoulder and stepped in between us, ¡°I think you should go back to your camp.¡± He put his hand up to silence the lone woman on his team before she could speak.

    ¡°You¡¯re new, so you probably don¡¯t know this about half of those people.¡± I focused my eyes on the black haired woman, ¡°But not only was she very rude to my friend¡­¡±

    ¡°She called me a Defiler!¡± Jovena yelled from behind me.

    I swallowed. Nobility who married the children of Mundane were whispered about behind their backs. A Noble who openly wed a Mundane was openly mocked as referred to as a Defiler. Sometimes the word was used as an insult to Nobility who were with the child of a Mundane, which made it a very severe insult, but not as bad as the one I was about to use.

    ¡°Not only did she do that, but that heathen you¡¯re protecting ganged up on one of my team members three-on-one, then turned them in for drawing a weapon to even the odds.¡± I tried to keep my voice as steady as possible. ¡°If you¡¯d move aside, I¡¯d like to see how well the bully fights against even odds.¡±

    ¡°You were nothing!¡± Andes waved his fist, ¡°I remember you! You were nothing but trash that should have been swept out of Zeb!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s on my list too.¡± I pointed at Gileon, ¡°And so are you.¡± Of the three of them, he looked the least willing to fight. Upset, yes, but he did not look like he wanted to fight.

    ¡°It¡¯s three on two and you think your team is going to lose?¡± Jovena spit on the ground, ¡°At least we know that the teachers are smart enough to know we¡¯re stronger.¡±Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    Andes muttered something and Arlo snapped his fingers. The blue eyed man turned around to look at the younger blonde.

    ¡°Seriously?¡±

    The man from Zeb looked mortified. If I had to guess, one of us had just been the target of a debuff and Arlo had countered it.

    ¡°I believe that counts as an attack.¡± I smiled, ¡°Which means that I can defend myself.¡± I crouched, but before I could move, I was slammed face first into the ground.

    The pressure vanished as Gesai started helping me up. I realized that I wasn¡¯t the only one that got hit. All seven of the other students were still on the ground.

    ¡°Stop it.¡± The redhead beside me pointed at Arlo.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to let them fight.¡± Arlo narrowed his blue eyes at my teacher.

    ¡°Then let her go and I¡¯ll take them.¡± I saw sweat on her face. She was actively struggling against his ability. ¡°There doesn¡¯t have to be a fight.¡±

    Honestly, I was surprised that Rix had stayed out of it as long as she had. I kept expecting her to pop out of invisibility at any moment,

    ¡°Why not?¡±

    I looked to my right and saw Trent standing in the doorway of the building he¡¯d been meeting with Celia in. The brown-haired Amazonian was standing next to him with a scowl on her face.

    The pressure on the other students must have been released, because they started standing up.

    ¡°You¡¯re seriously going to let them fight?¡± Arlo looked over at the two senior teachers.

    ¡°They want to fight?¡± Celia pulled a dagger out of her CB, ¡°They¡¯ve got an arena here. We could use that.¡± She tossed the dagger up in the air and caught it.

    ¡°The qualifiers are in sixteen weeks.¡± Trent nodded, ¡°It might be good practice for them.¡±

    Arlo threw up his hands, ¡°Do what you want.¡±

    ¡°We should wait until the Mappers get back, let it get exciting.¡± Trent walked over to Gesai and put his hand on her shoulder. ¡°That gives you time to run the other half of your team this afternoon.¡± He motioned for us to leave.

    ¡°One thing Trent¡­¡± Celia put her hands on her hips, ¡°You¡¯re not using that assassin of yours.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Trent waved at her, ¡°Jovena here will do a fine job of representing my team.¡± He smiled, ¡°And I¡¯m sure you wouldn¡¯t mind if I made another substitution?¡±

    ¡°However you want.¡± She turned to her team, ¡°What are you standing around for!?¡± She clapped her hands, ¡°Get your sorry butts MOVING!¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 16

    Gesai took us straight to the dungeon.

    No one was really talking, but we also weren¡¯t having a problem with the zombie in each room either. Gesai took us on a winding path that was off the map I had, then backtracked us to the main path to the boss room. I assumed we were doing a little bit of exploring while we had extra time.

    Once we were at the boss door, we took a small break.

    ¡°This boss is similar to the one on the first floor, except it is a wolf and has a bone collar around its neck.¡± Gesai looked at us, ¡°Fray was able to cut through the collar, but she has a sword that¡¯s specifically crafted to be effective against zombies.¡± She turned to Oz, ¡°You¡¯ll probably have to destroy the crystal, which is in its heart.¡±

    ¡°Ether, keep its attention on you, Aelin, buffs and ranged support. Atlas, try to take out a leg. It¡¯s faster than the Horned Bear, so slowing it down will help the team a lot.¡± She looked at the last member of our party, ¡°Ren, try to keep most of the buffs up so that Aelin can focus on shooting.¡± She eyed us all. ¡°Its charged move is a rush attack, so it¡¯s just like the last one, just a little faster and better armored. Any questions?¡± When none of us said anything, She pointed at the door. ¡°Then let¡¯s do this so we can talk about what happened earlier and get you ready for tonight.¡±

    I got up and walked through the door. I could feel her eyes on me, but I couldn¡¯t tell what the emotion she was trying to convey was.

    It didn¡¯t take long for the others to get inside.

    ¡°LIGHT!¡± Ren came in last so she¡¯d know it was okay to start the fight.

    The boss monster slowly began to come out of the spongy ground.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    Maybe it was because we¡¯d just done nine of the Horned Bears, but we fell into the attack pattern we¡¯d been using.

    ¡°Look At Me!¡± Ether started moving as fast as she could.

    ¡°Bind!¡± With the Horned Bears we hadn¡¯t worried about keeping them in one place, but I assumed that this thing we¡¯d want to try to keep it in one place. Vines wrapped around the body. It wasn¡¯t going to take it long to chew them off, but it would at least make it easier for Oz to hit.

    ¡°Quicken!¡± Aelin threw the buff at Oz, ¡°Soften!¡± She pointed at the collar.

    ¡°Dash! Quickdraw!¡± Oz flashed forward using her skill to get her axes into her hands.

    ¡°Hone Weapons!¡± Ren targeted Oz¡¯s weapons.

    ¡°Earth Slashes!¡± Oz had figured out that she could combo from quickdraw into an Earth Slash by timing the attack for when she was mid-swing with the quickdraw.

    Her axes bit into the bone collar one after the other. I switched to my pistol as she set up for another run at it.

    While the buff and debuff were still up, Aelin switched to her bow and Ren used her ring.

    It took us about twenty minutes to take it down, which was about the same time as the first floor boss.

    ¡°What¡¯d we get?¡± Ether put her shield away.

    ¡°Bone Armor.¡± Oz held the white armor up. It looked like a lot of bones tied together perpendicularly. ¡°It¡¯s for a Tank.¡±

    ¡°Save it for Mitchel when he hits three?¡± Ren started heading towards the exit.

    Ether nodded, ¡°I think my metal armor is better.¡± She pounded on her chest.

    Oz stored it in her CB, ¡°Sounds like a plan.¡±

    Gesai walked in, ¡°That looked smooth¡­¡± She looked at each of us, ¡°Like you¡¯ve done it a dozen times.¡±

    ¡°I guess we just work that well together.¡± I smiled as I wrapped my arm around Ether.

    The older woman didn¡¯t look convinced, but she motioned at the exit, ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here so we can prepare you for your ¡®game¡¯.¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 17

    Trent was waiting for us.

    He gathered us all in the middle of the camp and had us sitting on the ground.

    ¡°Before I get into what this is, I need to know who wants to go?¡± He looked at everyone.

    ¡°I¡¯m going.¡± I stood up.

    ¡°I¡¯m going too.¡± Ether stood up next to me.

    ¡°I¡¯m our only Healer.¡± Justia stayed on the ground, ¡°And Gileon is there.¡±

    I saw a look pass between Justia and Gesai. Gileon was the grandson of the current Patriarch of the Alard family. I¡¯d seen how Farsch had treated Gesai and I could only imagine that from what I¡¯d seen of Gileon, the heir had treated Justia at least as badly.

    ¡°Jovena, I know you¡¯re not a part of the team, but do you want to join?¡± Trent looked at the other white-haired woman.

    ¡°Will I get to punch Savyn?¡± Jovena cracked her knuckles.

    Trent shrugged, ¡°It¡¯s going to be a team fight, so maybe.¡±

    She smiled, ¡°I¡¯m in.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to join.¡± Fray¡¯s timid voice was slightly unexpected.

    ¡°Okay, that leaves¡­¡±

    ¡°Fray.¡± Oz interrupted Trent, ¡°Would you mind if I did it instead?¡±The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    Fray shrank back, ¡°I-i-if you want to.¡±

    ¡°Why do you want to participate?¡±

    ¡°They hurt Aelin.¡± Oz put her arm around the blonde, ¡°They messed with family. That makes this personal.¡±

    Fray swallowed and looked at me. ¡°She¡¯s the better fighter.¡±

    I reached over and squeezed the quiet brunette¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re more than good enough to beat those snobs.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Fray touched the mark on her chest as she turned to Oz, ¡°Make it hurt.¡±

    The raven-haired woman smiled, ¡°I plan on it.¡±

    ¡°That just leaves the Buffer.¡± Trent looked at Aelin, ¡°I understand if you want to sit out¡­¡±

    ¡°I want to do it.¡± Aelin was breathing fast, but her voice was firm.

    ¡°Then we have our team.¡± Trent started taking weapons out of his CB, ¡°Each of these weapons has been enchanted.¡± He banged two swords together, ¡°If they hit each other, then they act like a normal weapon, but if you hit a person¡­¡± He stepped forward and stabbed me.

    It felt like the sword had gone straight through me, but when I looked down, the blade was like faded light next to my jacket. He pulled the sword back and it felt like he was pulling a blade out.

    ¡°It will feel real and it will incapacitate you.¡± Trent snapped his fingers and I felt an electric tingle run over my body. ¡°You will each be shielded with magic to protect you from magic, but it will also transfer the pain of being hit by the spell.¡± He slashed the sword across my chest and a deep red line followed the blade. It felt like I had just been cut in half.

    Trent pointed at the red smear over my chest, ¡°It will also simulate bodily harm for the Healers to heal.¡± He looked at the group, ¡°This is going to be a much different fight than you are used to. This won¡¯t be the six of you ganging up against a single monster. This is a group of peers that are going to match everything you do. So you have to do better, work together better, and be the better team that I know you are.¡±

    The white-haired teacher looked at each of us, ¡°I know you¡¯re upset with this team for how they acted, but if you get hung up on revenge, you will lose.¡± He turned his attention to Jovena, ¡°All it takes is one person to make it personal and the whole team falls apart.¡±

    ¡°Why are you looking at me?¡± Jovena crossed her arms, ¡°I¡¯ll do my part.¡±

    Trent clapped her on the shoulder, ¡°I know you will.¡± He waved his hand and a board appeared, ¡°Now let''s get to our strategy.¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 18

    The Summoner¡¯s ring was packed.

    I had expected there to be a turnout, but not like this.

    Except, I didn¡¯t see a ring at all. People were gathered in a large empty grassy place in the south east corner of town. There wasn¡¯t going to be room for us to do a one on one duel, let alone all twelve of us.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the ring?¡± I leaned over and whispered to Gesai. I had no idea where Trent was. She has been the one to escort the ten of us down here. I was starting to get a little worried. I hadn¡¯t seen Rix at all today. I was sure she was doing something important, but she at least usually checked in.

    Gesai pointed to the table that was being placed in the middle of the lot. A brown-haired red-eyed woman in her seventies took a small bag out of her CB and dumped about twenty crystals on the table. Trent walked up and started sorting through them.

    ¡°Fyth Kane.¡± Gesai pointed at the older woman, ¡°She¡¯s the Summoner around here. Trent will choose three of those floor boss crystals, then Celia will choose one from those three. Then Fyth will summon the boss room instead of the monster.¡± She looked a little worried, ¡°That¡¯s where you¡¯ll be fighting.¡±

    ¡°Gotcha.¡±

    I watched Trent pick out three crystals and offer them to Celia. The Amazonian picked one and handed it to Fyth. The older woman held up the crystal, it shone brightly. Then a portal appeared in front of her.

    ¡°That¡¯s your cue.¡± Gesai began ushering the six of us to stand beside Trent.

    Once all twelve of us were lined up on either side of the portal, Fyth walked between us and cleared her throat.

    ¡°We have special entertainment tonight! Straight from the Cathedral!¡± She waited for the cheering and yelling to die down before continuing, ¡°This is a taste of the Selection Matches that you¡¯ll be able to watch in sixteen weeks!¡± She held out her hands while she turned in a slow circle, ¡°We have the Black team, led by Celia Taray!¡± There was more cheering. ¡°And Trent Vowler¡¯s Blue team!¡±This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    I hadn¡¯t expected the handful of boos that we got. I did hear Tophua cheering for us. I couldn''t stop the smile from splitting my face. He really was a pervy old man.

    ¡°This is an elimination round. The barriers on you will keep you safe and the weapons are AGC issued, so you can go all out while you¡¯re in there. If you take lethal damage or are incapacitated, then you will be forcibly removed. The first team to have all of their players removed, loses.¡± She looked from Celia to Trent, ¡°Any questions?¡¯

    ¡°Nope.¡± Celia spun her finger in the air, ¡°Let¡¯s get it started!¡±

    There were more cheers.

    Trent shook his head and nodded to Fyth.

    ¡°Then if the teams would enter the ring!¡± Fyth motioned at the portal.

    ¡°Nobles first.¡± Andes Roge pushed his way to the front of the line and glared at Aelin, ¡°I finally get to show you what a Noble is really capable of.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take notes on how to cry.¡± Jovena shot back.

    ¡°Or how to wet ourselves.¡± Oz looked at Gileon Alard, ¡°You¡¯re good at that right? I seem to remember an incident on the Third Grade Playground¡­¡±

    The red-haired man¡¯s face got red, ¡°Someone spilled water on me! I didn''t..!¡± He turned and stormed into the portal.

    ¡°One of the few benefits of growing up around him.¡± Oz smiled, ¡°I know all the embarrassing stories.¡±

    Aelin smiled for the first time. She still looked like she had seen a ghost, but she was starting to show some life.

    ¡°What if we lose?¡± The blonde shivered.

    ¡°Then we¡¯ll still be here with you.¡± Justia gave Aelin a hug, ¡°But that¡¯s not going to happen.¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Aelin looked away as Savyn touched the portal. She was the last one to get in. The black-haired Caster glared at us, but didn¡¯t say anything as she went inside.

    ¡°Our turn.¡± Oz and Jovena charged in. I grabbed Aelin¡¯s left hand and Justia grabbed her right. We followed Ether through the portal.

    It was time to start.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 19

    They didn¡¯t wait for us to group up to attack.

    The room looked like the Boss Room on the first floor of the Cathedral, which meant we had a stadium sized area to fight in.

    Savyn cast multiple fireballs at Aelin, who was still next to me.

    ¡°WAVE!¡± I swept my hand in her direction and a wave of water crashed over the fireball, extinguishing them.

    ¡°Ether!¡± I looked across the room at our Tank, ¡°I¡¯ll handle her, take Francis off the board!¡±

    ¡°LOOK AT ME!¡± Ether directed her attention to their shooter. The white-haired man pointed his large crossbow at her and focused on firing just at her.

    ¡°You¡¯ll handle¡­ME?!¡± Savyn pointed at me, ¡°BOLT!¡±

    Another wave would just soak up the electricity, which could be enough to put us out if someone was standing in the leftover water.

    ¡°MARK!¡± I pointed my finger. ¡°EARTH SHOT!¡± The two marbles that shot out of my finger hit the bolt of electricity and dissipated it. ¡°Was that the best you could do?¡±

    ¡°Rals! Take him! James! Take out that woman!¡± Savyn shrieked.

    ¡°LOOK AT ME!¡±

    I felt a compulsion to look at the red-haired Tank. Everything else faded as I developed tunnel vision.

    ¡°Earth Shot! Fire Shot! Ice Shot!¡± I started firing every projectile I had in my spellbook at his black metal defenses. I needed to take care of him so that I could get back in the fight. I thought about closing the distance and switching to my sword, but there were probably thirty Adventurers out there watching, as well as a bunch of Dispatchers and Authority. There was no way that at least one of them wouldn¡¯t pick up on me having too abnormal of stats. Which left me a couple of options.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

    ¡°BIND!¡± I focused on his weapon hand, to make it harder for him to get out. ¡°Back up!¡± I couldn¡¯t tell where anyone was, which meant that I was going to have to get close to keep from hitting them with this. ¡°WAVE! SPARK SHOTS!¡±

    ¡°SHIELD WALL!¡± His black shield multiplied and formed a half circle around him, but only six feet high.

    ¡°WAVES!¡± My legs felt weak and my vision blurred. Wave took a lot out of me and casting multiple at a time was even more draining.

    I let four build up before I released the spell, I had a ten foot high wave though, which was more than high enough to crash over the top of his defensive wall.

    ¡°ELECTRIC SHOTS!!!¡± I held up both hands and didn¡¯t bother pointing. I just needed to electrify the ground around him.

    My vision cleared as his taunt fell. I looked around to see if anyone needed help.

    Ether had pulled Francis¡¯ attention away and moved to the left side of the room, keeping him out of the fight. Jovena had taken over harassing Savyn for me and was using her crossbow bolts to throw off the woman¡¯s aim. I had a feeling that these were also laced with status effects. Justia had gotten behind us and was focusing on healing Jovena and me. Aelin was helping Oz keep James worn down, who was the focus of Gileon¡¯s attention. From the look of things, the pair was about to overwhelm him. Just Oz alone looked like enough to beat him as he struggled to keep up with the black-haired woman¡¯s attacks. Honestly, if it wasn¡¯t for Gileon focusing all his healing on the other red-head, that fight would have already been over.

    Which only left one person. The whole reason why I¡¯d been feeling so weak was because Andes had been debuffing me. I thought about dealing with the other Noble from my hometown, but at the moment making sure the Tank couldn¡¯t distract us anymore seemed like a better way to focus my energy.

    As I closed the distance on Rals, I pointed at the blonde Noble debuffing me, ¡°Fire Shot.¡± Just because I wasn¡¯t going to take him out first, didn¡¯t mean that I couldn¡¯t couldn¡¯t make him sweat.

    I shifted my focus back towards Rals. The mana exhaustion was getting worse not better. With the Mana Recovery passive that I¡¯d picked up, I should have been regenerating mana fast enough that the one fire bullet shouldn¡¯t have made my head start hurting. It was something I¡¯d have to ask Trent about after the fight.

    Rals had managed to get up to a knee, but had dropped his shield to switch his sword to his other hand and was almost through cutting the vine on it. I refocused his chest. ¡°Bind!¡± The vine on his arm disappeared as another pair grabbed his chest and pulled him face first into the puddle he was standing in.

    ¡°WAVE!¡± I kept both hands focused on him and the water from rising up. Instead I tried to hold it in place as much as I could. My vision began to blur as I saw the Tank melt through the floor. I released the spell, but it didn¡¯t help. I felt the floor rushing up for me, but never felt myself hit it.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 20

    I had died.

    Gesai was next to me and I could feel the warmth of her healing magic washing over me.

    ¡°What happened?¡± I looked around. I was sitting in a chair just outside the middle area. There wasn¡¯t a portal anymore, instead, there was a miniature boss room in the middle of the crowd that was about ten feet in diameter.

    ¡°That Roge kid has almost every debuff in the book for his level.¡± Gesai squeezed my shoulder, ¡°You couldn¡¯t tell?¡¯

    ¡°I knew I was being debuffed.¡± I felt really stupid, ¡°But I didn¡¯t know I was being killed.¡±

    ¡°We should have gone over debuffs and what they feel like.¡± The red-haired woman shook her head. ¡°Trent covered that with us in the second semester.¡± There was a disgusted look on her face, ¡°You weren¡¯t ready for this.¡±

    ¡°How¡¯s everyone doing?¡± I looked at the other side and saw both Rals and James sitting in chairs next to Arlo. I looked around and noticed that neither Celia, nor Trent were in the circle. ¡°Where¡¯s Trent?¡±

    ¡°He said that there was a call from the Cathedral that they had to take and left with Celia.¡± Gesai nodded at Arlo, ¡°We¡¯re supposed to serve as the teachers for now.¡±

    I started to wonder if Trent and Celia hadn¡¯t agreed to this fight so they could look into whatever Rix was looking for. I had no idea what was keeping the Hero preoccupied, but I was going to try to remember to ask her about it the next time she surfaced. There wasn¡¯t anything I could do about it now though.

    ¡°It¡¯s five on four now.¡± I turned my attention to the fight in front of me, ¡°How¡¯s everyone doing?¡±If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ¡°Ether¡¯s about to beat Francis.¡± Gesai pointed to where the white-haired woman was fighting against their Shooter at melee range. ¡°Savyn is about to be ejected.¡± She pointed to where Jovena was still trading blows with Savyn, but Jovena had the benefit of Justia healing her. ¡°Oz is about to take out the runt.¡± She motioned to where our black-haired friend was slashing at Gileon¡¯s staff and had already cut him a few times. ¡°Which is leaving Aelin and Andes.¡±

    I swallowed. It felt a little shameful that I had been taken out first, but we¡¯d managed to turn the fight into a bunch of duels and we had the numbers advantage.

    Savyn appeared in a seat next to James. She was breathing hard and holding her chest. Jovena had found a clean hit to shoot the other woman in the chest.

    Ether was using her shield attack to keep Francis from focusing his weapon and following it up with a sword attack. He went down on one knee as Jovena joined the fight and started shooting him with her weapon.

    Fyth spread out her hands and that portion of the fight zoomed in as Francis looked up at Ether.

    Her sword glowed green and sliced across his neck. The crowd screamed as he appeared in a seat beside Savyn. I flinched at the number of boos that we were getting. But Tophua was as close to the middle as he could be screaming his head off and cheering for us.

    The white-haired man grabbed his throat with both of his hands as his brain tried to reconcile the damage that his body had felt. I felt for him. Getting stabbed earlier hadn¡¯t been fun, but it was a lot better than the real thing.

    ¡°It¡¯s five on two.¡± Gesai shook her head, ¡°They should just surrender.¡±

    ¡°Do you really think those two are going to do that?¡± I looked up at the older woman.

    Gesai sighed, ¡°No, but¡­ it¡¯s¡­ what are they doing?¡±

    I looked back at the fight and saw that Oz had disarmed Gileon and was holding him down, but not finishing him off. Instead, the other three were standing behind her and watching the fight between Aelin and Andes.

    ¡°They need to finish this!¡± Gesai smacked her fist in her hand, ¡°Just because they have the numbers doesn¡¯t mean the other team can¡¯t come back!¡±

    I smiled as I watched the miniature boss room zoom in on the two blondes. ¡°They know she needs this.¡± I put my hand on my teacher¡¯s shoulder. ¡°It¡¯ll be okay. She¡¯s got this.¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 21

    Both Buffers were running.

    They were each trying to circle the other, piling buffs on themselves while trying to debuff the other. Andes looked like he was using status reducers, Poison, Curse, and Bleed while Aelin had buffed herself with Quicken and Mystify and was shooting her pink Magic Arrows. On the other half of the battlefield I could see concern on Justia¡¯s face, but she wasn¡¯t using any heal spells. Aelin wanted to do this on her own and they were letting her.

    Andes gestured at the ground in between them and a puddle of tar formed under Aelin¡¯s feet.

    She jumped back and pointed at it and came down on a solid black footing. She¡¯d hardened the tar, taking away its movement reducing quality. The thing that she couldn¡¯t take away though, was its flammability.

    Andes ignited the tar, setting fire to the ground under her as he tried to move away.

    Aelin used her Soften to make the rock flooring under him spongey, which slowed down how fast he could move.

    She landed a few Magic Arrows on him as she ran out of the flames.

    Andes changed tactics and knelt down, creating a golden barrier in front of him as the tar spread out from in front of him. He did something to it because now it was bubbling.

    ¡°What skill is that?¡± I¡¯d seen the inky tar during our fight with the tentacle monsters in Tres Temple dungeon, but I hadn¡¯t seen it do that.

    ¡°He¡¯s stacking skills¡± Gesai pointed at the bubbling tar that was now on fire. It was like a column of fire chasing after Aelin. ¡°If that catches her¡­¡± The older woman shook her head.

    Aelin must have realized that too because she started putting distance between them. The fire only made it out to about fifty feet before it stopped and the flames died down to embers as it smoldered on the tar.

    The crowd was yelling and cheering. I heard a few people commenting about how impressive it was that someone so young had that much control at being able to manage three skills at once. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    ¡°What does she do?¡± I looked over at the teacher, ¡°She can¡¯t get close now and that barrier of his¡­¡± I shook my head, ¡°With the Poison, she can¡¯t have much longer if Justia doesn¡¯t heal her .¡±

    A globe of darkness settled around Andes as Aelin took a knee. Then another and another and another.

    ¡°When did she learn that?¡± Gesai tapped on her CB and scrolled through the menu until she pulled up Aelin¡¯s information. ¡°Void Zone?¡± The red-haired woman looked at me, ¡°She didn¡¯t have that yesterday.¡±

    I looked away, ¡°She must have got it from the Supply Store.¡± It was one of the skills we¡¯d earned while farming the boss this morning. I¡¯d thought about taking it, or giving it to Ren, but Aelin hadn¡¯t gotten anything in a while and while it wasn¡¯t very useful for fighting bosses, it could drop aggro if used on an ally. Though the ally would be blind unless they had darkvision, which was a skill we were going to look into getting once we got back to the mainland.

    ¡°The Supply Store has been closed all day.¡± Gesai glared at me, ¡°I went to see if there might be something that would help with this fight. You went into the dungeon alone!¡±

    ¡°If it helps, Trent knew about it?¡± I tried to smile.

    ¡°That doesn''t...!¡± She pointed at me, ¡°When this is over¡­¡±

    I had a feeling that Trent wasn¡¯t going to count whatever punishment she came up with towards his idea. ¡°Sorry.¡±

    ¡°Why...?¡±

    Her question got cut off as the crowd gasped. We both looked to see Aelin, still on one knee. She had her bow lying horizontally on her knee and was gripping tightly with her left. Her right hand was sweeping across the shaft and pulling up to the string. It looked like almost a dozen pink Magic Arrows were lining the bow as she fired the volley into the void zones.

    I could see the determination on her face as she fired another, then another. The magic drain was extreme to shoot that many at once, not to mention that she was poisoned and bleeding.

    ¡°NO!!!¡± Andes screamed from his seat next to Savyn, ¡°There is no way that WHORE beat ME!¡±

    The crowd was ignoring him though. There was no way for Aelin to know that she had beat him, but she fired another, then another, then she started to fall.

    Her head landed on my shoulder and I grabbed her to keep her from falling out of the chair.

    Oz was already in motion as the darkness in the room vanished to reveal that both Buffers were gone. She skid to a stop and turned around.

    ¡°I tried¡­¡± Aelin was crying.

    ¡°Hey.¡± I held her shoulders and moved in front of her, ¡°You got him.¡± I steadied her, ¡°You won.¡±

    Her brown eyes looked over me and I saw a smile spread across her face. ¡°I got him.¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 22

    Justia finished off Gileon to win the match.

    I had been surprised when the brown-haired Healer had taken Oz¡¯s sword. Given her hangup over weapons after our first week with Mantles, I¡¯d partially been surprised that she¡¯d even agreed to participate.

    Once Gileon landed in his seat, the other four members of our team appeared in theirs. There was a lot of grumbling in the crowd, but one very happy man.

    ¡°Pay up! Pay Up! Paaay Uuuppp!¡± Tophua was dancing around as he collected his winnings from people who had bet against us.

    I shook my head. At least someone was happy about our win. It felt empty. Sure, we¡¯d proven that we were better at fighting, but I wondered how much respect they¡¯d have for us going forward. One thing was obvious, this fight had encouraged them to get better for the next time we fought.

    My team, on the other hand, looked beat. Other than congratulating Aelin on her win, the rest of us weren¡¯t really celebrating. It was like beating the Zombie Horned Bear for the Tenth time. It was just another win.

    Jovena puffed out her chest and smiled at Savyn. The white haired woman smirked as the other woman turned and walked away with the rest of her team behind her.

    The crowd was starting to dissipate and the rest of our team made their way to us and began to give hugs and congratulate us on our win.

    Tophua finished collecting his winnings and came over as well, ¡°I knew betting on you was a sure thing!¡± He smiled broadly, ¡°I¡¯ve got retirement money now!¡±

    ¡°I hope you¡¯re not planning on retiring before you have a chance to work on our gear.¡± I forced a grin.

    ¡°Of course not!¡± He puffed out his chest, ¡°You¡¯re my favorite customers!¡± His eyes got wide as he started counting. ¡°Eight?!?!¡±

    I thought about correcting him, but Aelin was apparently feeling more like herself, ¡°Nine.¡± She batted her eyes and rubbed Gesai¡¯s arm.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    That hadn¡¯t been the direction I was going to take the number.

    The older man smiled as he grabbed my shoulders, ¡°I think you are my hero.¡±

    I glared at Aelin as he pulled me in for a hug. She bounced her eyebrows and grinned.

    At least the fight seemed to get back the Aelin that we¡¯d had before. That was something at least.

    The blonde man released me, ¡°Well, I¡¯ve got to get back to the shop.¡± He smiled, ¡°Lots of All to count.¡± He waved at us, ¡°Come by and see me if you want your gear worked on!¡±

    ¡°So now what?¡± I looked at Gesai. Almost all of the crowd was gone.

    Before she could answer, a black-haired woman in her eighties walked up to us, ¡°Very impressive, though I would have liked to have seen you with a bow.¡±

    I tried to figure out who she was talking to when Oz rushed over and gave her a hug.

    I looked at Justia and raised an eyebrow. The brunette shook her head and shrugged.

    ¡°Everyone, this is my Great-Aunt Zorna Reace.¡± Oz pointed at us, ¡°Aunty, this is¡­¡±

    The black-haired woman squeezed her great-niece¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I know who everyone is dear.¡± Her eyes rested on me, ¡°That was a very good showing. I would have expected no less from a team that Trent Vowler was teaching.¡±

    I felt like a mouse in the gaze of a hungry cat, ¡°Thank you.¡± I tried to smile. This woman was Jana Reace¡¯s younger sister. Jana was one of the Nobles that was on a first name basis with the War Goddess, Slece. And Jana was someone Trent had warned me to steer as far away from as possible.

    ¡°Where is your teacher?¡± The older woman looked around, ¡°I saw him leave at the start of the match.¡± She turned back to me, ¡°It¡¯s a pity that he couldn¡¯t stick around to see such an impressive match.¡±

    ¡°He had to take a call from the Cathedral.¡± Gesai cut in between us, ¡°It couldn¡¯t be rescheduled.¡±

    ¡°Ah yes,¡± Zorna smiled, ¡°The negotiations over ownership of this dungeon.¡± She shook her head, ¡°The Tarays have been running it for the last decade, I don¡¯t know why the Temple thinks they have any claim to ownership now.¡±

    Gesai shrugged, ¡°Above my paygrade.¡± She smiled, ¡°It¡¯s been nice meeting you, but I need to get my team back to camp and go over that fight with them.¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± Vorna hugged Oz again, ¡°I¡¯m stationed over there.¡± She smiled at us as she pointed at the Authority Station, ¡°Don¡¯t leave without saying goodbye.¡±

    I swallowed as I realized she had the gray emblem of the Authority on her shoulder. And not just any emblem either, but one that marked her as a Commander.

    Oz¡¯s Great-Aunt was the one in charge of the Authority in town.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 23

    It wasn¡¯t time for bed.

    It was past six, but that still left us with over two hours before we needed to get some sleep. Though after the fight, I was ready to at least rest for a while.

    Trent still wasn¡¯t back from whatever he was busy with and Rix wasn¡¯t in her tent either. I had no clue what they could be doing, but it was probably pretty serious for them both to be so absent.

    ¡°You all did a good job in there.¡± Gesai was in teacher mode, ¡°Can anyone tell me why we won?¡±

    ¡°We were better?¡± Aelin put her hand over her mouth, then raised her other hand.

    ¡°That helped, though stat wise, we were at a disadvantage.¡± The redhead looked at each of us, ¡°They underestimated us and got reckless because they thought they could overwhelm you one-on-one.¡± She shook her head, ¡°They won¡¯t make the same mistake when you face them again next semester.¡±

    She focused on Jovena and for a moment I thought she might ask the younger woman to leave. If she was getting into strategies, then everything she told us was going to get relayed to Warder and used against us later.

    ¡°What could you have done better?¡± She looked at Aelin, ¡°To not have only won with four members?¡±

    ¡°I-I-I¡­¡± The blonde looked around for help. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Combo skills are something that will help you out as well as something that you need to look out for.¡± Gesai looked at Justia, ¡°Justia, you need to learn more Cure spells to help out your team. As well as working on your Mana management.¡± She looked at Aelin, ¡°Aelin, if you plan on sticking with Magic Arrows, you should look into learning spells that combo with it.¡±You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    She looked at me, ¡°Atlas, the Shot spells can be very powerful from a Mana conservation standpoint, but in duels like this where your magazines are prohibited¡­¡± She raised an eyebrow, ¡°You can see how you might need to branch out into other spells. Maybe ones that work with Wave. Which¡­¡± She glared at the five of us, ¡°We need to talk about what you did this morning and how dangerous it was.¡±

    She looked around and shook her head. We had a fence up and I¡¯m sure that Trent had done something to it to add protections, but it was still just an eight foot tall solid wooden fence.

    ¡°There have been reports that the Wurn Cultists have been using the dungeon here as a connection point to a lot of different dungeons and using that to harass low level Adventuring parties.¡± She looked at all of us, ¡°There have been reports of kidnappings as well as party wipes.¡± She waited for the implications of what she¡¯d just said sank in. If the Cultists were able to kill a group of Adventurers, then they were at least Tier Two. And that was something that only Gesai would be able to handle.

    ¡°If it¡¯s so dangerous, then why are we going into the Dungeon¡­¡± Ether stopped as she answered her own question in her head, ¡°You¡¯re looking for them. That¡¯s why you had us explore the unmapped zones. You¡¯re using us as bait to draw them out.¡±

    Gesai didn¡¯t say anything as she closed her eyes. ¡°The point is that what the five of you did was very reckless¡­¡± She held up her hand when I started to speak, ¡°I don¡¯t care if Trent knew and was watching you. Unless he was down there, he couldn¡¯t have gotten to you in time if something happened.¡±

    ¡°I could.¡± Gesai jumped as Rix materialized behind her.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough Rix.¡± Trent walked into camp. He looked at Gesai, ¡°Thanks for taking over while we had to step out.¡± The white-haired man walked in front of all of us. ¡°We have a few things to discuss.¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 24

    Gesai sat down behind me.

    It was times like this when I forgot that she was seven years older than me. Right now, she just felt like another member of the team.

    ¡°Rix found one of their hideouts.¡± Trent motioned at the woman standing beside him, ¡°They¡¯re taking advantage of the portals within the Dungeon here to hide their own portals to pocket dungeons.¡± He waited for a second for that to sink in.

    ¡°What does that mean?¡± Ether was the first one brave enough to ask.

    ¡°It means that we¡¯re going to have to be more careful while you do your training.¡± The white-haired man looked over at Gesai, ¡°From now on, stick to the explored paths for farming. I don¡¯t want you accidentally stumbling on one of their pocket dungeons.¡± He looked over at Rix. ¡°So that it looks like you¡¯re still trying to explore, Rix is going to start mapping the rest of the third floor.¡± He swallowed, ¡°That information will stay with just us and the Black team.¡±

    That got a reaction from most of us.

    ¡°Why!¡± I stood up, ¡°Why are we..?¡±

    Ether pulled on my sleeve for me to sit down..

    ¡°They¡¯re in on it too.¡± Ether gave the answer. ¡°This whole mission is a ruse to try to flush out the Cultists. Which means you and Celia are really¡­¡± Her eyes widened as she started making connections, ¡°There are Cultists in the Scribs! And for one that¡¯s strong enough to make pocket dungeons¡­ is Fyth..?¡±

    ¡°Fyth Kane is clean as far as we can tell.¡± Trent shook his head, ¡°The only way that the pocket dungeons have been able to stay hidden until now is if there are Mappers on the teams that are able to keep their bases off the maps as well as alert them when a Mapping team is getting close.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°So if you¡¯ve been looking into the Mappers¡­¡± I let the implication hang in the air.

    ¡°Celia and I have been following them into the dungeon and observing them.¡± He shrugged, "So far, none of them has done anything suspicious.¡±

    ¡°So we¡¯re supposed to keep walking around down there being bait?!¡± Jovena waved her hands in front of her, ¡°I don¡¯t think so!¡± She looked over at Gesai, ¡°And you gave us a HEALER to protect us?¡± She shivered, ¡°We could be dead right now!¡±

    I wondered who was going to tell her about Gesai¡¯s scars that were hiding under the elbow length white gloves that she wore. About how she was Tier Four and had gotten that way by killing the most wanted, and deadly, criminal in the world. But no one spoke in her defense.

    ¡°I assure you.¡± Trent walked over and patted Gesai¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Gesai here is more than capable of taking on any of the Cultists.¡± He looked over at the young Shooter, ¡°Since you have such a low opinion of Healers, this next part is going to be one that you really don¡¯t like¡­¡±

    We all turned to follow his hand as we waved towards the front of the camp.

    I recognized the white-haired, red-eyed man as the drunk from the bar yesterday. He was wearing the same gray uniform that marked him as a member of the Authority. He looked a lot better today, even though he had a frown on his face.

    ¡°This is Sandez Boly.¡± Trent walked over to the other man and shook his hand, ¡°He¡¯s going to be taking over the Green team for the duration of our stay here, while Gesai.¡± He nodded at our teacher, ¡°Will be leading the Blue team.¡±

    ¡°I thought we were going to be farming on the third floor.¡± Oz looked around, ¡°We¡¯re all level two.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you won''t be on level three for that long.¡± There was a mischievous gleam in his eyes, ¡°And the teams will be the ones Atlas broke you into this morning.¡±

    I swallowed as everyone looked at me.

    Our punishment had just begun.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 25

    Gesai woke us up at six the next morning.

    Just the Blue team, which, at the moment, was Oz, Ether, Aelin, Ren, and Myself. I felt a little bad about dragging everyone into this, and even worse because getting Aelin up meant she woke up Justia as well.

    The brunette Healer rubbed her eyes and waved to us as we headed for the gate. Once we got to the third floor Gesai started giving us the plan for the day.

    ¡°We¡¯re going to end today with fighting the Floor boss, just like the other group, but¡­¡± Gesai looked at us, ¡°We¡¯re not going to out pace the other group, which means¡­¡± The redhead smiled, ¡°You¡¯re only allowed to kill forty eight things. But¡­¡± She pulled up a map of the floor. The map that we¡¯d gotten from the Authority in town displayed like normal, but there were a lot of rooms and paths highlighted in blue.

    ¡°Rix has cleared all of these rooms.¡± She pointed to where the map was green and black. ¡°This is where the other teams will be going today, so we plan on getting a lot of this map registered.¡±

    ¡°That has to be over seventy rooms that we¡¯re going through.¡± Ether looked at the Teacher, ¡°And you¡¯re only going to let us kill forty eight things?¡±

    ¡°You can kill as many as you want.¡± Gesai held up her hands, ¡°But for every zombie over the limit you go, you¡¯ll have to go through two more rooms.¡±

    ¡°This is the punishment isn¡¯t it?¡± I sighed, ¡°More survival training?¡±

    ¡°You have no idea, with my class he¡­¡± She caught herself. A big grin spread across her face, ¡°Let¡¯s just say there are still a lot of surprises before you graduate.¡±

    ¡°Great.¡± Oz twirled the axes in her hands.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ¡°Was it worth it?¡± Gesai nodded at the yellow ring on the other woman¡¯s finger.

    The raven-haired woman looked down at her hand, then over at me, ¡°Easily.¡±

    ¡°But I didn¡¯t get a ring!¡± Aelin pouted her lip and crossed her arms

    ¡°Do you want one?¡± I looked at Ether and shrugged.

    ¡°Oh Atlas¡­¡± Aelin walked over and put her hands on my shoulders, ¡°I¡¯m so flattered that you keep asking me to join your harem, but alas, my heart belongs to another.¡± She patted my cheek, ¡°But since this is your fault I''m down here so early in the morning, there are other ways to make it up to me. I could use some new skills, but I spent all my All the last time I went to the store¡­¡± The blonde pouted her lip, ¡°If only someone had some extra All that they would give me so I could buy the things I need¡­¡±

    I reached into the inventory of my CB and pulled out a one-hundred All coin, ¡°Will this work?'' ''I knew it¡¯d only really get her one skill, but she¡¯d have some All left over to buy clothes or food or whatever else she wanted.

    ¡°Thanks!¡± Aelin smiled, snatched the coin and put it in her CB. Then she frowned, ¡°But What about Jenne? I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll want to go too.¡± She batted her eyes at me.

    ¡°Fine.¡± I handed her another coin.

    Aelin held the coin in front of her, ¡°I¡¯m sure Justia will feel left out if we don¡¯t take her too¡­¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no way you¡¯re going to convince me that Justia spent all of the All that Trent gave her.¡± I glared at the blonde who was doing a bad job of hiding how much fun she was having.

    ¡°You want Justia to spend her own money on the shopping trip you¡¯re giving us?¡± Aelin gasped, ¡°Atlas, I didn¡¯t know you were that type of guy¡­¡±She clicked her tongue.

    ¡°Fine.¡± I handed her a third coin. ¡°Happy?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the best!¡± She leaned forward and kissed me on the cheek, then ran to the portal, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    ¡°Aelin! Wait!¡± Ether charged through the portal after her.

    ¡°Oh Atlas¡­¡± Oz clasped her hands together and pursed her lips.

    ¡°You got something already.¡± I turned to Ren before she could join in, ¡°And so did you.¡± I nodded at the portal, we should get in there and help them.

    ¡°I knew you were easy, but I didn¡¯t know you were this easy.¡± Oz kissed me on the cheek as she walked by laughing.

    I shook my head. This punishment was just starting.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 26

    We spent twelve hours in the dungeon.

    That included stopping to eat, which we were only allowed ration bars and water. Given that I couldn¡¯t remember the last time I¡¯d had a ration bar, the wood tasting bar banished my appetite after the first bite. I finished it though, because I knew that if I didn¡¯t, I¡¯d be weaker and that could lead to mistakes, especially against an at level floor boss.

    Gesai had settled into teacher mode as the rest of us collapsed in front of the door to the floor boss.

    ¡°This is a Zombie Lizard.¡± Gesai projected an image of it in front of us. It was about four feet tall at its shoulders, which made me imagine what it¡¯d be like to ride one.

    I raised my hand.

    ¡°Atlas?¡±

    ¡°What would I need to do to summon one?¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Aelin stuck out her tongue, ¡°Eww.. I mean, I could understand if it was one of those crawlers from Tres and you wanted to play Hero with someone¡­¡± She wiggled her eyebrows as she glanced at the other women.

    I was starting to wonder why I had wanted the old Aelin back. ¡°I think it might be interesting to use as a mount.¡± I pointed at Aelin, whose mouth had opened in an O, ¡°Not like that.¡±

    ¡°Phew.¡± The blonde wiped her brow,

    I shook my head and turned back to the teacher, ¡°I know I¡¯d need a skill, but is that all?¡±

    ¡°It eats up a lot of Mana to summon a monster.¡± Gesai tapper on her CB to put a display over the top of the monster.

    Floor Boss Zombie Giant Lizard - Level 4

    13 Power 14 Defense 11 Speed

    10 Magic 1 Recovery 11 Aura

    Skill: Cursed Bite, Cursed Slash,

    Charge: Cursed AcidThe story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    Passive: Undead, Poison Immunity

    ¡°It¡¯s got better stats than any of you.¡± She looked at us. ¡°Its stat total is sixty, which¡­¡± She pulled up my stats

    Atlas Vowler - Level 3

    Age: 18, Hair: White, Eye color: Green, Height: 6¡¯

    259.1 Exp

    Caster

    10 Power 6 Defense 6 Speed

    12 Magic 3 Recovery 3 Aura

    Stat Points: 0 - Mana:36/36

    Skills: Dash (1), Earth Shot (2), Bind (5), Siphon (10),¡­

    Passive: Targeting, Mana Recovery

    It looked the same as my display except for the Mana statistic as well as the numbers after the skills.

    ¡°Your Mana level is equal to twice the combination of your Magic, Recovery, and Aura stats.¡± She pointed at the thirty-six, ¡°You only have thirty-six Mana, and the Zombie Giant Lizard costs sixty, which means¡­¡± She turned back to me, ¡°You¡¯d need to get twelve more stat points in one of those three before you¡¯d be able to summon one of these.¡±

    Ether gave me a sideways look. Aelin was the other person here who knew that I actually had tens in every stat and twelve in Magic. Which meant that I really had sixty-four Mana. Yet another thing I was going to have to keep my eye on going forward.

    ¡°Gotcha.¡± I shrugged, ¡°It was a thought.¡±

    ¡°Even a level one floor boss would be too much for you at the moment.¡± Gesai shook her head, ¡°They take forty-eight Mana to summon, which is at least three more levels away.¡±

    Ren held up her hand, ¡°Or he could get some gear with stats on it!¡±

    Gesai nodded, ¡°True, but getting gear to drop with a stat, especially one that you want, isn''t very common.¡± She eyed me, ¡°How many bosses did you farm yesterday?¡±

    ¡°Nine.¡± There was no point in lying. I¡¯m sure Trent had already told her the number.

    ¡°And how many of those items had stats?¡±

    ¡°Three.¡± I nodded at Oz. ¡°Zombie Leather Gloves and a Ring of Speed for Oz.¡± I nodded at Ether, ¡°A Barrier Sword for Ether.¡±

    ¡°Accessories throw the distribution off, but finding stats on armor or weapons is about one in ten.¡± Gesai shook her head, ¡°You got lucky, but with six stats, that drops the chance even lower to get one you want. Add in that there are five pieces of armor and usually two weapons and you¡¯re looking at trying to find seven items you¡¯d need to run a boss¡­¡± She started typing on her CB.

    ¡°About thirteen hundred times.¡± Ether finished for her, ¡°At a rate of ten bosses per day, it would take us over three months of constant farming just to equip one person.¡± The white haired woman shook her head, ¡°And we¡¯d be level eleven, at which point adding just one stat point won¡¯t be nearly as helpful and we¡¯d have to start all over again.¡±

    Gesai looked up from her CB and nodded, ¡°So sure, you could do it, but it''s not very rewarding.¡± She turned back to the monster, ¡°This thing has a charge move of spitting poison, so try to stay away from Ether when it''s charging.¡± She looked at us, ¡°Any questions?¡¯

    We all shook our heads.

    ¡°Then get in there.¡± She motioned towards the door.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 27

    This one smelled.

    There was a sweetness to the smell almost like rotting fruit. I tried not to breathe through my nose, but that just left the taste of it in my mouth. This was one boss I did not want to farm.

    ¡°Ugh!¡± Aelin exclaimed in the dark, ¡°Why does this one smell???¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Talking just moved the smell around in my mouth, ¡°Maybe its breath?¡±

    ¡°REN!¡± The blonde woman begged. ¡°Hurry up and start this thing!¡±

    ¡°Yuck.¡± Ether had joined us, ¡°I thought this didn¡¯t happen until later.¡±

    ¡°¡±You knew this was a thing?!¡± Irritation laced every word as it sounded like Aelin was trying to wipe the taste out of her mouth.

    ¡°I knew that the environments became more complex the deeper you went.¡± Ether sounded like she was getting closer.

    ¡°By the Gods!¡± That was the first time I¡¯d heard Oz swear. Not that I hadn¡¯t expected it. Of all of them, Aelin was the most girlie and it wouldn¡¯t have shocked me to hear her swear. Probably the only one I couldn¡¯t see using an expletive was Justia. She was too much of a color within the lines type of person.

    ¡°It smells bad, we know!¡± I was going to have to take a long shower after this except¡­ We didn¡¯t have a shower at camp. I was going to have to ask Trent about that because I did not want to wait until we got back to the mainland to get the smell out of my armor.

    I pulled the drawstrings on my hood tighter and tucked my head so that I could breathe into my jacket. It made it a little better, but not much.

    ¡°Oh sweet¡­ LIGHT!¡± Ren cut off her expletive to start the fight.

    The room lit up and the monster began to rise out of the ground.

    ¡°Look At Me!¡± Ether started off the fight like we had been and charged at the monster.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

    ¡°Bind!¡± This thing seemed to have more flexibility, so I didn¡¯t plan on it staying trapped for long and it didn¡¯t.

    ¡°Quicken!¡± Aelin threw the buff at Oz, ¡°Soften!¡± She pointed at the monster¡¯s neck.

    ¡°Dash! Quickdraw!¡± Oz flashed forward and waited to trigger the next part of her combo until Ren was done.

    ¡°Hone Weapons!¡± Ren targeted Oz¡¯s weapons.

    ¡°Earth Slashes!¡± Oz twirled so that she could hit the same spot one ax after the other, then dance back. With the previous floor bosses, there¡¯d at least been cuts, but against this one, we weren¡¯t so lucky.

    One of the big differences between the floor monsters and the boss was that the boss didn¡¯t have any missing pieces. It was almost like it was a monster that had just started the zombification process. Which meant for something like this that had scales instead of skin, there wasn¡¯t a weak spot to target.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t going to work as well!¡± Oz put away her axes and took out the sword.

    I started shooting at it, but I might as well have been shooting at a brick wall.

    Ether rammed into its face, which knocked it off balance, but we couldn¡¯t really damage it, then it didn¡¯t matter how many opportunities there were to attack it.

    I really needed to figure out how to make better use of that spell. Since my guns weren¡¯t doing much, I swapped to my sword and started running.

    ¡°DASH!¡±

    I closed the distance and swung. Given that Oz hadn¡¯t made a dent I hadn¡¯t been expecting much, but my sword barely left a scratch on the scales. It tried to swipe at me and I danced backwards. ¡°DASH!¡±

    I had another idea, but I wasn¡¯t so sure how well it would work.

    ¡°Hey Ren!¡± I waved at the other blonde, ¡°Do you still have the spear you were using when we met?¡±

    She looked confused and nodded slowly.

    ¡°Can I borrow it?¡±

    Ren pulled the wooden spear out of her CB and handed it to me. It was a generic Tier Zero weapon, which meant that it would do worse against higher level monsters, but I was hoping it would do what I wanted it to.

    ¡°Thanks!¡± I looked back at the boss that was trying to find a way around Ether¡¯s shield. I grabbed the spear with both hands and started running.

    ¡°DASH!¡±

    I activated the ability when I got close and used that speed boost to increase the damage the attack would do.

    The tip of the spear bit into the boss¡¯s side. It let out a satisfying scream as it arched its neck back. Ether used that moment to ram into its throat, knocking it over.

    I tossed the spear at Oz, ¡°Think you can use that?¡±

    The raven haired woman ran at the downed monster and began jabbing it.

    ¡°Aim for the holes!¡± I pointed at Aelin, then at the monster.

    The blonde nodded and lifted her bow.

    I took my pistol back out. Now I would be able to get some use out of this.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 28

    It took us a half hour.

    Over a half hour in that stinky room until the boss vanished into smoke.

    Every time it used its charge attack the smell got worse. Even Gesai didn¡¯t even stop to talk to us about the fight, she just ran through the room with her face in the bend of her elbow.

    Oz grabbed the item and crystal and ran after her.

    Once we were on the fourth floor and breathing in as much non-polluted air as we could, I looked at Oz.

    ¡°What did we get?¡± I sat down.

    ¡°Elixir of Power.¡± She held up the Red vial, ¡°Maxes out the current tier of Power for one hour.¡± Oz looked at Gesai, so does that mean that my power wouldn¡¯t go up at all since it''s ten and I¡¯m Tier Zero, or would it treat the ten as like zero and raise it to twenty?¡±

    ¡°Raise it to twenty.¡± Gesai shook her head, ¡°I forgot how nasty some of these places can be.¡±

    ¡°Wait¡­¡± Ether looked at Gesai, ¡°How did you get into the boss room if you hadn¡¯t been here before?¡±

    ¡°Trent brought Rix and I down here last night and he did most of the bosses with me.¡± The red-haired woman yawned, ¡°It was a long night.¡±

    Aelin copied the yawn, ¡°Speaking of long nights, I¡¯m ready to spend one in bed.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t get too comfortable.¡± Gesai started to open the gate up to take us back to the surface, ¡°We¡¯re coming back in here at six.¡±

    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Aelin pouted, ¡°Why..?¡±Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

    ¡°Because you decided to sneak into the dungeon unsupervised.¡± Gesai got the gate open, ¡°And you aren¡¯t the only one who has to come down here too early in the morning.¡±

    ¡°Then can¡¯t you wait for a few hours before you get us up?¡± Aelin got on her knees to beg.

    ¡°I¡¯ve tried sleeping in¡­¡± Ether bumped into me, ¡°I¡¯m not doing that again.¡±

    ¡°Ugh¡­ Atlas!¡± Aelin got up.

    ¡°Do you really think Trent wouldn¡¯t get someone else to do it if I boycotted with you?¡± I chuckled.

    ¡°Trent still having students use those waterballs to wake up students who oversleep?¡± Gesai looked at Ether.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Ether bumped into me again, ¡°Atlas got roped into being his culprit.¡±

    Gesai clicked her tongue, ¡°See? No sleeping in for any of us.¡±

    We made it to the surface and headed back to camp.

    Once there Ether, Oz, Ren, and I went back to our tent. Aelin and Gesai went to theirs.

    ¡°What do you think we¡¯ll be doing tomorrow?¡± Ren sat cross legged by the door.

    ¡°We¡¯re probably too low level to try to Farm on the fourth floor.¡± I laid down on the floor mattress that was taking up the back half of the tent.

    ¡°And we weren¡¯t too low level to survive almost empty-handed on the first floor?¡± Ether shook her head, ¡°I get the feeling that while they don¡¯t want us stumbling into a pocket dungeon accidentally, we¡¯re still bait.¡± The white-haired woman laid down next to me and rested her head on my chest.

    ¡°Which means we''ll probably be on the fourth floor tomorrow with a limit to how many Zombies we can kill.¡±

    ¡°That was¡­different.¡± Ren shook her head. ¡°How long do you think we¡¯ll be here?¡±

    ¡°I get the feeling that they aren¡¯t just looking for Cultists.¡± I shrugged, ¡°I have no idea what they¡¯re looking for, but did you see how much Rix is mapping that place out?¡±

    ¡°With her invisibility skill, she can basically just run around and never have to fight anything.¡± Oz peeled herself out of her armor, ¡°That would be really useful in these ¡®training sessions¡¯.¡±

    I looked up at the ceiling and closed my eyes. It was only seven, but I was wiped. Maybe with a good night''s sleep I¡¯d be able to feel more rested in the morning. I drifted off while the others kept talking about what might be happening and what we might have to do. I had a feeling that we¡¯d know everything as soon as Trent wanted us to.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 29

    We ¡®Farmed¡¯ on the third floor for the next three days.

    I was glad it wasn¡¯t the fourth floor, just because there was an Event there. It was a pocket the size of a boss room with rapidly respawning monsters. Once you killed a certain amount, an Event boss would spawn. I hadn''t been given any information about it, but from what I¡¯d seen from my days as a Porter, the Events were a good place to both Farm and level.

    I had a feeling that if we¡¯d had to farm the Event, we¡¯d have a cap on the number of monsters we could kill, which would mean only being able to summon the boss a set number of times. Though I¡¯m sure Trent could have come up with some weird rule for how we were supposed to take it down.

    We ended each day with the third floor boss, which we got better at beating. The only problem was that it was dropping level four items as we were all either level two or three. Aelin was fine with that since we got Jumping Scale Boots and a Sneaking necklace that we gave to her. Once she hit level four, she was going to have a lot of fun with both of those.

    On the third day we got a Zombie Slayer, which was a sword that Oz would be able to use once she hit level four, though I doubted we¡¯d still be on the island by the time she was that level.

    We¡¯d just got back to camp when Trent called us in the middle of the tents. Sandez wasn¡¯t there, which didn¡¯t really surprise me. The older man already had a place in the city where he was staying, so there was no reason for him to camp out with us.

    The other team looked like they were in fairly high spirits despite our ¡®training¡¯. Aelin was over by Justia and Jenne, while Fray and Jovena had joined Ether, Oz, Ren and myself on the other side. I hadn¡¯t been expecting Jovena to sit with me, but the lippy Shooter took her place on the dirt within arms reach without a word.

    That left Mitchel as an odd man out. I felt bad for him. It wasn¡¯t like we were trying to segregate him, and no one would have told him to move if he wouldn¡¯ve sat with us, so maybe he preferred to be by himself.

    ¡°Why are we here?¡± Jovena folded her arms before Trent even had time to speak.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    ¡°I¡¯m getting to that.¡± Trent waved his hands and I felt my ears pop. ¡°Now we can talk.¡±

    I noticed that Rix was off to the side as well. Her being in this meeting, but not up in the center meant that she was being looped into something as well.

    ¡°I have been on a mission to look into the Cult of Wurn and what they¡¯ve been doing here.¡± Trent looked around, ¡°By the looks on your faces, most of you have figured that out already.¡±

    ¡°Rix has made great headway in mapping out the lower floors and we now know where most of the pocket dungeons are in the lower four floors, as well as the locations of a couple Tunnels to other dungeons.¡± The old man shook his head, ¡°There¡¯s one to Vefe, to the Dispatcher¡¯s dungeon in Gaus, and to Slece¡¯s private dungeon that we know of.¡± He sighed, ¡°There might be more that we¡¯re unaware of, but for now, these are all that we know about.¡±

    He waited for that to sink in. ¡°I¡¯ve coordinated with Celia and we are going to strike at the Mundane in the dungeon and arrest them. Fyth has already been made aware of this and has prepared a special pocket dungeon just for them. Jart Spari has been put in charge of watching it.¡± Trent tapped his CB, ¡°I just sent you all the pocket dungeons that you each are supposed to hit. You are to arrest whoever is in there and bring them to Jart at the Authority Station. Do not kill anyone.¡± He looked directly at me.

    I nodded. The seal that he¡¯d placed on me would get overridden if I killed someone and gained the PK modifier. That would mean that if anyone tried to scan me, they¡¯d be able to tell that I was a Godling and not really a Caster.

    ¡°If you run into an Adventurer, then leave it to either Gesai or Rix.¡±

    ¡°What about you?¡± I felt like the pause was long enough that he wouldn¡¯t mind us asking questions.

    ¡°There¡¯s been a disturbance on the sixtieth floor,¡± He shook his head, ¡°So Arlo, Celia, Sandez, Fyth, and Zorna are going down there with me to check it out.¡± He looked down at his display, ¡°We¡¯re going to leave in just a few minutes. We wanted to give the Mappers time to naturally get out of the dungeon before we go down there. When we do, the rest of you will head out.¡±

    ¡°What about the Black team?¡± Aelin¡¯s voice wavered just a little, ¡°If you¡¯re taking Mister Heema, Mister Boly, and Miss Taray with you, who is going to be looking after them?¡±

    ¡°Celia has brought in someone to help with that, don¡¯t worry about the Black team. Just focus on your assignments.¡± He nodded at Rix, ¡°Rix will go with the Blue team to the second floor, while Gesai will go with the Green team to the first floor. The Black team is handling the third floor.¡± Trent took a deep breath, ¡°I want to remind you that these are Mundane, but they can still kill you and you can easily accidentally kill one of them. Be careful.¡± He waved at someone at the front gate, ¡°My group is here. Good luck everyone.¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 30

    We were going back into the dungeon.

    I was tired and sore and we had to go back into the dungeon. There were three rooms spread out on the second floor and it was going to take us a few hours to reach them. Suddenly I realized what the past few days training of getting through the rooms fast without killing anything had been about. I shook my head. Of course Trent would turn a punishment into another training exercise.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Rix motioned at the gate, then vanished. I had a feeling that we weren¡¯t going to see her again unless we got into trouble.

    ¡°We¡¯ve got a few hours of work, so let''s do this so we can get off this island and back to civilization so we can all shower.¡± I smelled myself, ¡°Because we stink.¡±

    That got a few nervous laughs. I waved at the other team, then the five of us made our way back to the gate. I fired it up and set our destination. Everyone else looked too nervous to say anything. Honestly my nerves were buzzing, but I knew if I stopped that I might not start again, so I was going to use that to push forward.

    The gate flared to life and I motioned, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Once we were on the second floor I pulled up the map again. The routes to pockets were in three different directions, so I selected the closest one and sent it to the other¡¯s CBs. ¡°We¡¯ll go after the fastest one first.¡± I looked at Ether, ¡°We¡¯ll leapfrog, you take the first one and I¡¯ll take the one after that. Oz can pick up the third one and we¡¯ll alternate.¡±

    ¡°I have a question.¡± Oz looked confused, ¡°If these are only supposed to be Mundane, then how did they get so deep in the dungeon?¡±

    I looked around, ¡°Rix?¡±Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

    ¡°They must have been brought there by Adventurers.¡± The invisible voice seemed to have no starting point, ¡°None of the people in the pocket on the first two floors registered as Adventurers.¡±

    ¡°Rix, that¡¯s SUPER creepy.¡± Aelin was looking around.

    ¡°Let¡¯s hurry up then.¡± I nodded at Ether, ¡°Go ahead.¡±

    The white-haired Tank started running the route that had been mapped out for us.

    I went through the portal after her, but didn¡¯t stop as she pushed the Zombie back. As soon as I was in the next room I pulled out my sword and slashed through the Zombie¡¯s left leg, hobbling it. When I turned around Ether was running through the room. The Zombie was still trying to move, but it was having to crawl across the floor, which severely lowered its mobility. I ran after Ether and through the next room, where Oz was incapacitating the Zombie in her room. I kept following Ether through the room and then ran for the portal as Ether peeled off to knock back the zombie in that room with her shield.

    We followed that pattern for about twenty minutes until we got to the first room with a pocket dungeon portal in it. The three of us were breathing hard and we took a moment to catch our breath.

    ¡°There¡¯s two in there.¡± Rix''s voice came from nowhere, ¡°They don¡¯t know you¡¯re here yet.¡±

    I nodded and put away my sword. If I needed a weapon, then Rix would handle it. ¡°Aelin, Charm the one on the left. I¡¯ll bind the one on the right.¡± I suddenly realized that we didn¡¯t have any restraints. ¡°Rix, what are we supposed to¡­¡±

    Two pairs of restraints hit the floor.

    ¡°You just happened to have those on you?¡± Aelin looked around with a grin on her face, ¡°Kinky.¡±

    ¡°Aelin¡­¡± I waved at the blonde, ¡°Whatever. Oz and Ren can get the restraints on them.¡± I pointed to the next place on the map. ¡°Rix, Can you go and restrain them, then we¡¯ll go collect them?¡± I pointed at the portal, ¡°You already know that these two are Mundane, so we shouldn¡¯t have a problem.¡±

    ¡°Going.¡± Rix¡¯s voice seemed to vanish.

    ¡°Why doesn¡¯t Rix just bring them back herself?¡± Aelin sighed.

    ¡°Could you drag two people back through a few dozen rooms of Zombies?¡± Ether shook her head, ¡°This plan will work.¡±

    I took a deep breath and nodded at the portal, ¡°I hope so.¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 31

    I turned right as soon as I got through the portal.

    The woman in front of me had the purple horned demon mark on the side of her face. She seemed surprised to see me and I didn¡¯t give her a chance to try to fight back.

    ¡°BIND!¡±

    To vines shot out of the ground and wrapped around her, pulling her to the floor and holding her tight.

    ¡°Let me go!¡± She thrashed as she tried to break free, ¡°I must do the will of WURN!¡±

    Ren was on her and slapping the restraints on her hands. As soon as the restraints were on, I released my spell and tried to help Ren get the woman to her feet, but she kept kicking and screaming and even tried to bite me.

    I looked over at the other pair who were having a much easier time with their target. The balding man looked like he was high as he bobbed in Aelin¡¯s grasp.

    ¡°What did you do to him?¡± I looked at the blonde.

    ¡°This is Charm.¡± Aelin smiled, ¡°Give it a few minutes to wear off and he¡¯ll be as feral as yours.¡±

    ¡°What is this?¡± Ether knelt down at what almost looked like a potted plant, except it was nothing except foot long black hair growing out of a pot of purple goo.

    ¡°I have no idea.¡±

    ¡°DON¡¯T TOUCH THAT!¡± The woman Ren was holding doubled her efforts to get free, ¡°HEATHENS MUST NOT DEFILE THE SEEDS OF OUR GOD!¡±

    I swallowed. I¡¯d seen a dungeon seed a few days ago. It had almost caused a dungeon break in Tres. I did not want to be around if something like that happened here.

    ¡°A seed?¡± Ether looked at me.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    ¡°Dungeon seed, they must be growing them here.¡± I looked around at the rest of the pocket. There were two beds and some containers, as well as some papers, but otherwise, not much.

    ¡°Should we take them?¡± Ether backed up.

    I swallowed. I had no idea what the proper way to transport them was and I really didn¡¯t want to be holding one if it went off.

    ¡°Let¡¯s leave them for Trent to clean up.¡± I looked at the rest of my team, ¡°We¡¯re just supposed to get the people and get out.¡± I nodded at the portal, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Ether got up and ran through the portal as Oz and I got our weapons out.

    It was slower going back than it had been coming down because the prisoners weren¡¯t being very cooperative. Aelin had been right, All it took was a few minutes for Charm to wear off and we had two resisting, screaming, and cursing prisoners. Aelin was at least able to reapply Charm, so I felt for Ren. She had to wrestle her prisoner all by herself.

    Once we made it back to the dungeon gate, I linked it to the surface and fired it up. It took a moment to connect, but once it did, we were able to all get out of the dungeon.

    Unfortunately, we had to go two blocks to get to the Authority Station and that took us right past Tophua¡¯s Blacksmith. I¡¯d tried to angle us through the middle of town to avoid the barracks and the bar on the outside, but the amount of screaming that the woman was doing, drew everyone out to see what was going on.

    We must have been the first ones to reach the surface because there were a lot of confused looks on people¡¯s faces.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡± Aryne saw us and put his hands on his hips, ¡°What are you kids doing to those poor people?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a Temple matter.¡± I found myself wishing for some type of badge, then remembered the mark. I grabbed the woman and turned her face so the black-haired man could see. ¡°They¡¯re part of the Cult of Wurn.¡± I tried not to let the nervousness of seeing so many Tier Three and Four Adventurers focusing on me show, ¡°We¡¯re taking them to the Authority Station as directed by the Temple!¡±

    Tophua came out of his shop and stood in between us and the crowd coming out of the bar to our right.

    ¡°Leave them alone!¡± Tophua motioned at us, ¡°I¡¯ll go along with them and make sure that this whole thing is on the up and up.¡±

    While the crowd didn¡¯t look happy, that was at least enough to get most of them to head back inside.

    Tophua grabbed the woman Ren and Ether were wrestling by the collar and started dragging her towards the Authority Station. He looked at me as I jogged to try to keep up.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to have to tell me what¡¯s going on.¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 32

    I told Tophua everything about our mission.

    I assumed that most people would learn what was happening anyway and even if Tophua was in on it, the others were already on the sixtieth floor investigating whatever was happening there.

    The older man stopped right outside of the Authority Station. ¡°You should have been a little more discreet with the details.¡± He looked us over and for a moment I was starting to regret trusting him. ¡°How do you know I¡¯m not a Cultist?¡±

    I could feel Ether tense up beside me, but he was a Tier Four. If he wanted to hurt us, there was nothing we could do about it.

    ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± I took a deep breath, ¡°But if you are, then us showing up with them has already told you that we¡¯re on to you. So nothing I told you would be anything you didn¡¯t know or wouldn¡¯t know soon.¡± I looked towards the bar, then back at him, ¡°And if you aren¡¯t, then we can use all the help we can get.¡±

    The black-haired man started laughing, ¡°Maybe I read you wrong.¡± He nodded back towards the dungeon, ¡°Go ahead and get back to your mission. I¡¯ll get these squared away and wait for the others.¡±

    I looked at the rest of my team. It felt weird to leave while we were so close, but we¡¯d left Rix down there alone and she probably already had the other two rooms restrained and was waiting on us.

    ¡°Thanks!¡± I turned around and started jogging back towards the gate.

    ¡°Did you really think that through?¡± Ether was having to run to keep up with me, ¡°Or were you just playing it by ear?¡±

    I shrugged, ¡°If he is with them, then there¡¯s nothing we could do about it if he wanted to hurt us.¡± I swallowed. ¡°Every one of the high Tier people Trent trusted are in the lower floors.¡± I looked around at the Mappers that were watching us head back to the dungeon, ¡°Do you really think that none of them are a part of this?¡±Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

    Ren moved closer to me. Aelin turned to our audience and stuck out her tongue.

    ¡°Aelin!¡± Ether smacked her.

    ¡°What?¡± The blonde grinned, ¡°They can¡¯t all be in on it.¡± She turned back to the crowd, ¡°That¡¯s right you Wurn heathens! We aren¡¯t stopping until we round all of you up!¡±

    I saw a blonde-haired, green eyed woman in her mid thirties glaring at us with a clenched fist. I made a note of her face to tell Trent later. She may have just hated hearing the word, but it was still probably worth checking out.

    ¡°Aelin.¡± I leaned against the gate with one hand as I set it to open to the second floor, ¡°You remember that some of them could squash us right?¡± I nodded at the white-haired woman in between us and the rest of the town, ¡°Ether¡¯s right, we really shouldn¡¯t be antagonizing them. Especially not when Trent¡¯s not around.¡±

    ¡°Fine.¡± Aelin crossed her arms. She kicked at the floor. ¡°How do you think Justia is doing?¡±

    ¡°She has Gesai with her.¡± I backed away from the gate as it began connecting to the floor that I¡¯d set. ¡°She¡¯s in one of the safest places she can be.¡±

    ¡°Yes, but¡­¡± Aelin watched the gate flare to life. ¡°How do you think she¡¯s handling all of this?¡±

    ¡°All we¡¯re doing is arresting people and bringing them back.¡± I put my hand on the blonde¡¯s shoulder, ¡°She¡¯ll be fine. And as soon as we¡¯re done, we get to head to Mive to find the next member of our team.¡± I pushed her, ¡°And you can shower. You stink.¡±

    ¡°I smell like a spring rose compared to you.¡± She stuck out her tongue as she slapped me on the chest. ¡°Tag!¡±

    ¡°Aelin!¡± I tried to grab her, but she¡¯d already run through the gate.

    I looked over at Oz, who was running towards the gate. The black-haired woman stopped and looked at the rest of us, ¡°You know she¡¯s not going to wait for us.¡± He stepped through the gate.

    I hurried after the pair with Ren and Ether right behind me. Maybe we could get this done without any issues.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 33

    There were three in the next room.

    Two men were struggling, while the red-haired woman was out.

    ¡°Artemis Hortle.¡± Rix was propped up against the wall, waiting for us. ¡°Level twenty-eight Healer.¡± She clicked her tongue as we entered the room, ¡°You took a while.¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t just run past everything like you can.¡± I knelt down next to the older woman. ¡°What¡¯s she doing here?¡±

    ¡°Probably one of the researchers working on whatever they are doing here.¡± Rix motioned at a pair of pots like the ones in the other room. Except one of the pots was empty. She pulled the woman over her shoulders, then faded from view. ¡°There is a pair in the last room. They¡¯re already out and restrained. I¡¯ll stay with you the rest of the way in case there are more.¡±

    That gave me an idea.¡±On our way back there was a blonde-haired, green eyed woman in her mid thirties that looked like she was pretty mad that we were rounding up the Mundane in here.¡± I looked at the space where Rix had been, ¡°Do you think she might be a Cultist?¡±

    ¡°Jacquel Krisa.¡± Rix¡¯s voice came from the other side of me, ¡°She works as a bartender at night for Aryne. And it¡¯s possible, but I haven¡¯t been able to find anything on any of the Adventurers that I''ve followed around here.¡±

    ¡°Right, well, let¡¯s get these in and maybe we¡¯ll be able to get done before Trent gets back.¡± I helped Ren get her person on their feet. Aelin had already charmed hers, which allowed her to move a lot easier. ¡°Ether, we¡¯ll follow you.¡±

    The white-haired woman led the charge back through the dungeon to the gate. Once we got there, we were able to stop to catch our breath while the invisible Rix set the destination back to the surface.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°I don¡¯t get it.¡± Ether grabbed the other side of the guy that Ren was trying to hold on to, ¡°Why are they using Mundane to grow these seeds in the dungeon?¡¯

    The man said something under his gag as he glared at Ether. He repeated the same noise again.

    ¡°I think he wants us to take the gag off.¡± Ren looked at me.

    ¡°Rix, do we have time?¡± I looked at the gate.

    ¡°A little bit, but I doubt he tells you anything.¡± The invisible voice seemed way too close to be by the gate.

    ¡°Go ahead.¡± I nodded to the blonde.

    Ren pulled the gag down.

    ¡°You have done nothing!¡± The black-haired man spit at us, ¡°Wurn will smite you all!¡±

    ¡°See? Nothing useful.¡±

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± I kept an eye on the gate as I looked at the man.

    He turned up his head, ¡°I don¡¯t have anything to say to the non-believers.¡±

    ¡°Then convince me.¡± I pointed at the gate, ¡°You¡¯ve got until that thing connects to convince me why I should let you go.¡±

    He sneered at me, ¡°Why should I try to convince someone beneath me of anything?¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡± Aelin shook the guy she was holding, ¡°You¡¯re the one restrained here. That doesn¡¯t look like we¡¯re beneath you to me.¡±

    ¡°When Wurn grants me a Mantle, you will be,¡± He tried to lunge at her, but Ren and Ether held him too tightly.

    ¡°Wurn is Desolated.¡± I shook my head, ¡°And people don¡¯t get Mantles outside of the Mantle Trial.¡±

    ¡°You will all burn for that blas..!¡±

    Ether pulled the gag back over his mouth. ¡°So he¡¯s crazy.¡±

    I shook my head as the gate connected. He sounded crazy, but if anything he was talking about was true¡­ I tried not to think about what Trent and the others might have walked into. Hopefully, they¡¯d be able to handle whatever they found down there.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 34

    Wurn was burning.

    I smelled the smoke as soon as the gate connected. Part of me wanted to tell the others to stay, but Justia was bent over someone within sight of the Gate.

    ¡°JUSTIA!¡± Aelin dropped the man she was holding and ran through the gate, pulling out her bow.

    Oz grabbed the guy and dragged him with her as she chased after the blonde.

    If the building around the gate was that badly destroyed, then the fight had to have got bad enough that it was way above our Tier level. Still, we knew our friends were out there and I knew that Ether and Ren weren¡¯t going to stay here with all of us out there. And if I knew Rix, she was already out there.

    ¡°Get him to the camp. There should be a barrier still around it.¡± I looked at Ether and Ren. ¡°Try to get the Chasers inside in case we need to make a run for it and wait for us. I¡¯ll try to get the rest of the team back there.¡±

    I grabbed Ether and put my forehead against her helm. I couldn¡¯t kiss her unless she took her helmet off and I didn¡¯t want to waste the time or make her more vulnerable. I let her go and ran through the gate, pulling out my pistol. ¡°GO!¡±

    I watched the two of them run in the opposite direction once they were out of the gate. The fighting was all happening towards the Authority Station, which meant that our camp was the furthest from the fighting that you could get.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    I made it to Justia and saw her crying over the body of a blonde-haired man in his late fifties.

    ¡°Hey!¡± I grabbed her shoulders and tried not to look at the hole in his chest. ¡°Justia! Where is everyone?¡±

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t save him¡­¡± Justia looked at her blood smeared hands.

    I looked at the Blonde woman next to her, ¡°Aelin, get her back to camp. ¡°Help Ether however you can.¡± I turned to the other woman. ¡°Oz¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m staying with you.¡± The black-haired woman pulled out her sword, ¡°We need to find the others.¡±

    I looked at the Mundane that was laying at her feet, ¡°What about the prisoner?¡±

    I saw a dark thought cross Oz¡¯s face for a second, ¡°Our friends are more important.¡±

    ¡°Get Justia back to camp, then you can come find me.¡± I looked at the fighting happening. ¡°Or find RIx. If you can see her.¡±

    I helped Aelin get Justia to her feet.

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t save him¡­¡± The brunette¡¯s voice was distant.

    ¡°Justia.¡± I snapped my fingers in her face and pointed at the dead Adventurer, ¡°He was at least Tier Three. There was no healing spell you could have used to heal a cut, let alone that.¡± I looked into her blue eyes, ¡°But you can help our team. Where is everyone?¡±

    ¡°Black team was being attacked¡­¡± She looked at the bar, ¡°Gesai went in there to help¡­ Told us to get back to camp, but I saw him and¡­¡±

    I nodded and looked at Oz. ¡°Message me who is missing when you get there.¡±

    ¡°What are you going to do?¡¯

    I hated what I was about to say.

    ¡°Help Gesai save the Black team.¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 35

    They deserved to suffer.

    The way that Savyn and Andes had treated Aelin and then none of the other three had stopped them once Gileon had joined their merry band of torture. The whole team deserved to suffer in my opinion, but even if I wanted them to hurt more for how they¡¯d treated my friend, they were still allies and there was a difference between suffering and death.

    The blonde woman that had scowled at us earlier was draped half out the window of the burning bar. Her neck was broken and I wondered how many others were going to wind up dead before the night was over.

    I opened the door and Gesai hit the wall right beside me.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± I looked to see who she was fighting.

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have meddled.¡± Arune Minti began gesturing at the flames licking at the building. He smiled as he looked at me, ¡°Ah! Another sacrifice has come to offer itself for Wurns revival!¡±

    ¡°What are you doing here?!¡± Gesai got up and moved in between us.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just stop?¡± The black-haired man began collecting the flames onto the stove. I marveled at his control. ¡°You¡¯re only a Tier Four and I¡¯d rather not kill you¡­¡± He clicked his tongue, ¡°The sacrifices didn¡¯t have enough time to cook¡­¡± HIs brown eyes locked into mine. ¡°But we¡¯ll have enough with the two of you.¡±

    ¡°Get out of here.¡± Gesai gripped her sword. Her white lace gloves were almost completely destroyed and there were holes burned into her green leather armor. ¡°Get the others and GET OUT OF HERE!¡± She charged the older man, who was laughing at her effort. I wanted to run, but I heard screaming coming from the kitchen. As much as my body screamed at me to get out of there, I couldn¡¯t leave the Black team like that.

    ¡°WAVES!!!¡± I waved my hands in front of me as water drenched the building. I knew I wouldn¡¯t be able to directly damage him, but I could put out the fire and make the terrain a little harder to move on.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    I ran outside. There was no way that I was going to get around him, but I could get around the back.

    Ice erupted out of the door behind me and I heard what sounded like a wall being knocked down. Their fight was intensifying and if the Black team was still inside when the building went down. I shook the thoughts out of my head as I made it around the back.

    I spied a hole in one of the boards and looked in. All six members of the Black team as well as three other people were in what looked like a storage room.

    ¡°Hey!¡± I got close to the building, ¡°Get away from the wall! I¡¯m going to try to cut it down!¡±

    ¡°HELP US!¡± Savyn got right up next to the hole, ¡°PLEASE! GET ME OUT OF HERE!¡±

    ¡°Get back so I can!¡± I was starting to regret this already.

    My CB beeped and I looked down at the message. Before I read it I noticed that there wasn¡¯t global signal. Somehow the signal was being jammed, keeping our CBs to only be able to communicate within a few thousand feet.

    Everyone was here except Gesai and Rix. Chasers inside. Do you need help?

    I put my sword down so I could respond.

    Found Gesai and the Black team. Trying to get them out now. Tell everyone to stay put.

    I picked my sword back up, ¡°Get back!¡± I saw the black-haired woman backing away from the wall. The boards had been burned a little, so I tried to aim for a place that didn¡¯t look like it was supporting the roof.

    The vibration that ran through my hands as my sword bounced off of the wall made it feel like it would have hurt less if I would have just punched it. The wood had to be at least Tier Two. If it was Tier Zero, I would have cut through it without a problem. Tier One I would have at least cut it. For my sword to bounce like that, Tier Two was probably even too low of an assessment.

    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± Savyn was back next to the wall, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you getting us out of here?!¡±

    ¡°The wall is too strong! I¡¯ll¡­¡± I heard someone behind me. I turned around and saw a figure that froze my spine so fast that I wet myself a little.

    The blonde man that I¡¯d hoped I¡¯d never see again was looking down at me with his red eyes.

    My throat was so dry that I couldn¡¯t swallow.

    The third most dangerous criminal in the world raised his sword over me. I closed my eyes and didn¡¯t even try to defend myself. Whisper Err was Tier Five. There was nothing I could do to budge him at my level. I hung my head and waited for darkness to claim me.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 36

    I got hit by splinters.

    I opened my eyes to see a huge hole in the side of the building.

    Savyn ran out, followed by the other members of the Black team.

    ¡°Get out of town.¡± The deadly man glared at us, ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not with them..?¡± I¡¯d found my voice, but that hadn¡¯t stopped my knees from shaking.

    His blue eyes bored into me like I¡¯d just asked a stupid question. He started walking around the building towards the front.

    ¡°That was¡­¡± Rals was staring where the bandit had just left.

    ¡°Whisper Err.¡± My heart was still thundering in my chest so loud I could hear each beat in my ears. I looked at the tree people still inside. ¡°What about them?¡±

    ¡°Mundane idiots.¡± Savyn was the first to regain her composure.

    ¡°We need to help them.¡± I grabbed the side of the hole.

    ¡°Don¡¯t.¡± Rals grabbed my arm.

    I turned to look at the red-haired man in black metal armor, ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°They chose to be here. If you try to save them, they¡¯re just going to try to get back and will endanger everyone.¡± Rals shook his head, ¡°We were supposed to get them topside and we did.¡± He nodded in the direction Whisper had walked, ¡°If he told us to run, we need to run.¡±If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°What about your teacher?¡±

    I looked in the room again, ¡°Trent said you had someone.¡±

    ¡°The old guy killed her.¡± James answered, ¡°Then threw us in there.¡±

    I closed my eyes as I tried to think, ¡°Fine.¡± I looked at Rals, ¡°Get your team to your base and get out of here in your Chasers. If you can make it to the dock maybe you can get the mainland to send help.¡±

    ¡°Why can we just..?¡± James looked down at his CB, ¡°Oh.¡±

    ¡°Our CBs are being jammed.¡± I swallowed, finally able to moisten my dry throat, ¡°Which also means that we can¡¯t call our teachers.¡±

    ¡°Good enough for me.¡± Savyn straightened up, ¡°We¡¯ll get to the dock and call for help, though it won¡¯t arrive for hours.¡±

    I had an idea, ¡°Call Celia¡¯s base in Vefe, tell them to use the Tunnel on the fourth floor.¡±

    That surprised her, but she just slowly nodded.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go boys.¡± Savyn turned and started running towards Celia¡¯s building.

    I watched the Black team leave. I wanted to follow them, but I couldn¡¯t leave without Gesai. I pulled up my CB and began typing a message for Ether.

    Get everyone in the Chasers and get to the Dock. Black team is heading that way. Call Tres and let him know what is going on. I¡¯m getting Gesai and Rix, then we¡¯ll follow.

    I had a feeling that Celia probably had reinforcements that could be mobilized pretty quickly, but that might not be enough. My other two options for calling in reinforcements were the Cathedral and Tres. Of the two of those, Tres would probably be able to get help here faster.

    The only problem was that it was a few hours for them to reach the dock. Even if there was an army waiting, it would be morning before any help arrived.

    I thought about telling the party that Whisper was here, but Ether wouldn¡¯t get it and the ones who were with me in that bunker and saw what he could do would have a similar reaction to the one I had. Except Rix. I had no doubt that Rix would try to kill him on sight.

    I put away my weapon and headed towards the fighting. I hoped I¡¯d be able to find her before she found Whisper.

    I doubted he¡¯d be as gracious to her as he had been to me.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 37

    Whisper was fighting Aryne.

    Gesai was sitting against a portion of one of the Blacksmith walls that hadn¡¯t been destroyed. I tried to ignore the two Tier Five men fighting as I ran over to the redhead.

    ¡°Gesai!¡± I ran over to the red-haired woman. I touched her cheek, ¡°You have got to stop getting stabbed!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m¡­not¡­ going to¡­ die.¡± She leaned her face against my hand.

    I looked at the wound. I¡¯d seen worse on her and she¡¯d lived. Passive recovery was something she focused on, so she was very resilient. But I did need to get her away from the fight.

    There wasn¡¯t much of the smithy or any of the buildings between the bar and the Authority station still standing. The Dispatcher¡¯s office was on the opposite corner of the bar and still looked like it hadn¡¯t been touched. I started to pick her up and felt her get lighter.

    ¡°Rix?¡± I felt Gesai¡¯s weight shift as I got under her left arm.

    ¡°I¡¯m here.¡±

    I looked over at the flattened Mapper¡¯s bunk where Whisper and Aryne were fighting. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re here.¡± I looked over at Gesai¡¯s right side, ¡°I¡¯d thought you¡¯d try to kill Whisper.¡±

    ¡°Thought about it...¡± There was a pause, ¡°He¡¯s helping us right now.¡±

    I could hear the disgust in her voice. Of our team, Rix had been the most messed up when another kidnapping victim had tried to escape. The Noble had been a Tier Three and almost made it until Whisper had executed him. Rix had tried to help the Noble and felt partially responsible for his death. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    I didn¡¯t know what to say and we walked in silence. Once we were behind the Authority Station, I was able to see in the dark down the road well enough to see red lights going away from the town. Someone had at least gotten away. I wondered who, focusing on that was only going to get me killed right now.

    ¡°What have we here?¡± A brown-haired man with blue eyes came around the side of the Authority Station. I felt all of Gesai¡¯s weight lean on me.

    ¡°She got stabbed by Aryne!¡± I nodded at the Dispatcher¡¯s building, ¡°I¡¯m trying to get her to the Dispatchers.¡±

    ¡°Here let me help you.¡± Deputy Jart Spari started walking towards me. I couldn¡¯t help but notice how calm he was.

    I backed up a step and nodded towards the fighting, ¡°Aren¡¯t you Authority? Shouldn¡¯t you be trying to stop that?¡±

    There were flashes accentuating the fighting that could be made out in the low light. Outside of town was basically pitch black though it looked like some of the fighting might have spilled over into the swamp.

    ¡°She looks like a more immediate concern.¡± He reached out his hand for her other shoulder, ¡°I can help you patch her up inside.

    ¡°ATLAS!!¡±

    I looked behind him and saw Rix standing at the corner. There was a crash and the breaking of glass. I looked down and saw that Rix had thrown a health potion at Gesai. A Tier Four Health Potion that Sipher had given us to use on Gesai when we¡¯d been kidnapped. Rix had only used half of it back then and right now seemed like a great time to use it.

    ¡°HE¡¯S GOT FOODA IN THERE!¡± Her chain sword zipped out and wrapped around Jart¡¯s neck.

    Gesai blinked as the Health potion did its job. She braced herself. ¡°What?¡±

    Jart yanked the weapon out of Rix¡¯s hand. The look on her face told me that she hadn¡¯t planned on being the one to take him out. She¡¯d planned on being the distraction.

    I pointed at Jart.

    ¡°Badguy.¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 38

    Gesai hit Jart in the face with her elbow.

    She followed it up with the back of her fist, then her other fist. Aryne had been a Tier Five, which had her at a HUGE advantage. Jart on the other hand, was only a Tier Four. and he might have been with the Cultists, but he wasn¡¯t ready for Gesai.

    The red-haired woman didn¡¯t let up to give him time to get out his weapon. She also didn¡¯t pause to take our hers, instead she started silently casting her weapon skills on her hands.

    Her gloves had been completely destroyed, leaving her showcasing the blackened scarred skin that would probably never heal. One fist froze over as the other one caught on fire. I¡¯d seen her fight with a sword before, but this was completely new.

    Jart tried to scream, but she caught him in the throat, silencing it. It took two more hits after that to knock him down. The unconscious man fell face first to the ground and she held her fist above him as if she was contemplating killing him.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get him into the Station and we can put him in a cell.¡± I looked at Rix, ¡°Will that work?¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Rix walked around to the front and went into the Authority Station.

    ¡°Let me¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve got it.¡± Gesai grabbed Jart by the collar and started dragging him towards the front. I ran around her and opened the front door so she could walk in.

    There wasn¡¯t much inside. A desk, a bed, a crystal the size of my fist, and a cell.

    Rix was helping Tophua onto the bed and had the cell door open.

    ¡°Take his CB.¡± The red-haired woman nodded at the crystal, ¡°Supplies are in there.¡± She was handing another red vial to the Blacksmith.

    Gesai ripped the CB off of the Cultist¡¯s wrist and tossed it on the desk. She slammed the cell door closed.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    ¡°We need to get the two of you out of here.¡± She looked at Rix and myself.

    ¡°Chasers are gone.¡±I motioned at the road, ¡°I sent the three teams to go get help. They¡¯re jamming any messaging further than local.¡± I tapped my CB.

    ¡°You both are idiots!¡± Gesai shook her head, then looked at the recovering man, ¡°Can you keep an eye on them in here? I need to go see what I can do out there.¡±

    Tophua nodded, ¡°It would be my pleasure.¡±

    Gesai pointed at me, ¡°You.¡± She pointed at Rix, ¡°Stay.¡± She moved back to me, ¡°Here.¡±

    We both nodded and she pulled her sword out of her CB and headed out the door.

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to stay here¡­¡± I turned to see that Rix had already vanished. ¡°Here?¡±

    ¡°Wow.¡± Tophua waved his hand through the area that Rix had just been in, ¡°I thought she was a student.¡±

    ¡°She is.¡± I walked over to a window and peeked out. The fighting was still intense, ¡°What happened to the people you were bringing here?¡±

    Tophua shrugged, ¡°Jart knocked me out while I was putting them in that dungeon¡­¡± He looked at the bare wall by the door, ¡°Pocket. Looked like they shut that down.¡± He waved his hand around again, ¡°What family is she with?¡±

    ¡°Mundane.¡± My nerves were getting the best of me. My heart was beating fast and it felt like I had ants crawling all over me. I knew there wasn¡¯t much I could do out there, but I felt like I should be doing something.

    ¡°Really?¡± Tophua laughed, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a family yet with an ability like that.¡±

    I had a bad feeling that he was about to start asking questions that I was going to have trouble answering.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think we should be out there?¡± I pointed towards the fighting, ¡°How many Tier Fives are there?¡±

    ¡°Aryne, Ceridwen, Peregrine, and Zorna are the four we have here.¡± He stood up, ¡°Forgot how good those things are.¡±

    ¡°Peregrine?¡± That was the only name I didn¡¯t recognize, ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Peregrine Publian.¡± Tophua shook his head, ¡°Came out here back when Hye took over the Clinic, said something about retiring away from all the politics.¡± He laughed, ¡°Bet she¡¯s wishing she was back in Harror now!¡±

    I couldn¡¯t imagine a Publian working on the other side, which meant that there were two Tier Fives out there on our side. We actually had a chance to win this!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not good.¡±

    I moved over to the back to see what he was looking at. There were four Cultists in the middle of town. Each holding a glowing dungeon seed. My whole body screamed for me to flee.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± I swallowed, ¡°That¡¯s really not good.¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 39

    I ran to the door.

    Tophua grabbed the handle and held it closed.

    ¡°The pretty lady told me to keep you in here and I¡¯ve already lost one of you.¡± He looked at me, ¡°I¡¯m not losing another.¡±

    ¡°Do you know what those are?¡± I let go of the handle and took a step back.

    Tophua took a position in front of the door, ¡°It¡¯s ugly, glowing, and people are killing for it. That¡¯s enough for me to know not to mess with it.¡±

    ¡°Those are dungeon seeds!¡± I pointed at the back of the station. ¡°I saw one go off in Tres. It created a wave as tall as the lighthouses!¡± I took a deep breath, ¡°Those things create dungeon breaks and dungeon tunnels. Do you really want to figure out what level of the dungeon they are breaking?¡± I motioned widely towards them, ¡°With THREE of them?¡±

    ¡°So I let you go out there. What are you going to do to stop them?¡±

    ¡°We have to stop them from activating them.¡± I had a feeling we were too late for that. ¡°And If they¡¯re already activated, then we have to get them as far away from here as we can. If we get them far enough, then worst case scenario, there''s another dungeon in Wurn. Best case, there''s just a big explosion.¡± I wasn¡¯t a hundred percent sure those were the right details, but that was the summary of what I¡¯d gotten from Tres.

    He took a deep breath, ¡°Fine, but I¡¯m coming with you.¡± He opened the door.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to turn away Tier Four help.¡± I ran out the door into the darkness.

    It wasn¡¯t really darkness. There were lights on everywhere and with the fighting happening, it didn¡¯t feel like nighttime.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go this way.¡± I turned to my left and started running. I knew Tohphua wouldn¡¯t have trouble keeping up with me and the east side was the route away from all of the fighting. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    We rounded the corner and I saw the ritual. There was a purple circle that was forming on the ground around the three Mundane. The seed in each of their hands looked like they were leaking purple ooze onto the ground.

    There was a person in a purple robe who was chanting something around them.

    I pointed at the man, ¡°Tophua! Take him!¡±

    I ran at the Mundane and tackled the closest one to me.

    The seed that he was holding rolled into the edge of the purple circle. Purple gunk spit out of the ground as the mark began to absorb the seed.

    ¡°NO!¡± The man grabbed the seed, but he couldn¡¯t pull it out of the ground. ¡°MY MANTLE!¡±

    I decided that trying to get that seed was a lost cause, so I turned to the other two. I grabbed the seed out of the woman¡¯s hand and tried to run with it, but when I reached the edge, I was able to go over it, but purple light shot out of the ground. The seed couldn¡¯t go past the barrier, which stopped me in my tracks.

    ¡°GIVE IT BACK HEATHEN!¡± The woman grabbed the Seed. She wasn¡¯t strong enough to take it from me, but that didn¡¯t mean I could move it through the barrier.

    The seed got really heavy and I was having trouble holding it up. ¡°Tophua! Help!¡±

    The blonde man had finished restraining the man in the purple robe and ran over, but even with his help, we couldn¡¯t keep the seed from falling to the ground. We both backed away as the woman tried to dig the seed out of the ground.

    ¡°NO!¡± The third man was trying to pull his seed out of the barrier as well.

    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± I kept backing away.

    ¡°Nothing good.¡± Tophua grabbed my shoulder and started pulling me back as the entire ground of the circle illuminated and began absorbing the three Mundane into the ground.

    As soon as they all went under, the whole thing shone and then there was a flash of light that knocked us down.

    All of the people fighting stopped as we all focused on the thing that was floating where the ring had been. It was pretty easy to do because the blast knocked out every light in the town.

    It was translucent and looked like a purple ghost of a Minotaur.

    I chill ran down my spine as one of the bowed their face to the ground and screamed.

    PRAISE WURN!!!

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 40

    They¡¯d resurrected Wurn.

    As far as Gods went, it seemed like he wasn¡¯t fully brought back, because he didn¡¯t have legs. He was also not moving or looking around or anything. It was like they had summoned the image of him.

    I knew what was about to happen as I tried to get to my feet.

    ¡°RIX! DON¡¯T!¡±

    There was a spark as Rix activated her ability and shimmered into view behind Wurn. She had aimed for his neck, but her blade didn¡¯t go through him. Instead, there was a loud BOOM and she was knocked back twenty feet. She rolled on the ground. When she stopped, she was smoking and wasn¡¯t moving.

    ¡°Gesai!¡± I looked around for the redhead as I ran towards my teammate. When I got to her, I checked for a pulse. She started to glow green as Gesai ran over and knelt beside her and began healing her.

    ¡°She¡¯ll be okay.¡± Gesai looked at me, ¡°What happened?¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°I have no idea.¡±

    ¡°Stop him!¡± A brown-haired, green-eyed woman in her eighties wearing a medical jacket was pointing at Aryne.

    I stood up and saw the black-haired man was running towards whatever the thing in the middle of the circle was.

    Whisper tried to intercept him, but a red-haired man and a red-haired woman intercepted him. He was having trouble taking both of them on at the same time. The blonde Bandit was stronger than them, but they were working together so well that they managed to keep him busy.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    Aryne reached the ghostly image and instead of being repelled by it, the ghostly image began to crackle purple sparks as it shrank down to cover him as he hovered just above the purple pool.

    The Cultists began falling down at once chanting their praises while the Adventurers stared in complete confusion.

    ¡°Arrest them all!¡± The brown-haired woman that I assumed was Peregrine Publian grabbed the nearest cultist and started to put restraints on him.

    A bolt of purple lightning shot through the air and hit her in the chest. It knocked her back and left a black mark on her white jacket. Peregrine dropped to one knee as she began healing herself.

    YOU SEE?

    Aryne¡¯s voice was almost like there was a deep echo as he talked. It was hard to focus on him as the purple glow shone in the darkness.

    BOW TO YOUR NEW GOD!!!

    ¡°You¡¯re not a God.¡± Peregrine sneered, ¡°You¡¯re just a weak man with an ego that¡¯s too big for your head. I think I even see some leaking out.¡± She stood up and locked eyes with him.

    YOU WILL OBEY ME!!!

    The force of his voice was enough to drive most of the Adventurers to their knees. Except I didn¡¯t feel anything. I mean, I felt the vibrations around me, but it was like this order was passing right through me.

    Gesai grabbed my arm and yanked me down. She glared at me, grabbed my head and shoved my face into the ground.

    As soon as she let go, I lifted my head a little to see what was happening.

    Whisper, Tophua, Peregrine, and a red-haired, brown-eyed woman in smooth leather armor were the only ones not on their faces. Tophua was on a knee, but he¡¯d managed to mostly resist.

    Rix started moving and Gesai held her down. I guess I needed to count Gesai among those who could resist too because she was sitting down between myself and Rix.

    IF YOU WILL NOT BOW. YOU DIE!

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 41

    Purple electricity shot out of Aryne.

    There were five bolts, one for each person who had defied him.

    Gesai sat on top of Rix as she put her hands in front of her. The sparks from the crash blinded me for a moment. I blinked away the sparks and looked around. All four of them were still standing, though Tophua and the woman whose name I didn¡¯t know looked like they had just barely blocked it.

    Gesai grabbed myself and Rix and stood up. She started walking us backward. ¡°Start up the gate and get in there. He won¡¯t follow you into the dungeon. Hide until I come get you.¡± The redhead lowered her voice as she angled us towards the gate.

    WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!?

    There was another wave of compulsion as Aryne directed his power at us. Gesai pushed both of us down while she dropped to a knee. I could tell by the way she pushed us both that Rix wasn¡¯t being affected by the compulsion either.

    The wave ended abruptly and I saw that Whisper and Peregrine had started attacking Aryne. Whisper was slashing with a large silver sword while Peregrine was swinging a spiked mace. It amazed me that none of the Cultists were getting up to help, but it didn¡¯t look like Aryne needed any help. He was able to handle both Tier Five Adventurers with little effort.

    ¡°What are you DOING???¡± Gesai hissed, ¡°Get into the gate NOW!¡±

    I got up and started up the gate. Gesai was still holding on to Rix. I didn¡¯t blame her, the younger redhead looked like joining in that fight was the only thing she wanted to do.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    I looked back at the gate and opened the menu, but when I tried to select something, It gave me an error and said the gate was already open.

    ¡°What¡¯s taking so long?!?¡± Gesai looked at me, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you opening it?!?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s locked.¡± I pointed at it and backed away.

    Gesai got up with her fist still holding Rix¡¯ armor tight. I could already see the wheels in Rix''s head turning, trying to figure out a way out of the older woman¡¯s grasp.

    ¡°See?¡± I pointed at the error message, ¡°It wasn¡¯t me.¡±

    ¡°How is¡­¡± Gesai turned at the same time I did. We both looked at the shining purple ring in the middle of town.

    ¡°The seeds¡­¡± I was getting chills.

    ¡°They opened a portal to a floor in the dungeon.¡± Gesai pulled Rix closer to herself. We¡¯ve got to shut the gate¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we just go through it?¡± I realized the problem with my question as soon as I asked it.

    ¡°Because that gate is probably connected to one of the low floors. It has to be for that thing to be there and no one has found it yet.¡±

    ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    We turned and saw Tophua standing next to us.

    ¡°That ring opened a gate to a floor somewhere in the dungeon. Until it¡¯s closed we can¡¯t get Trent¡¯s team out.¡± Gesai summarized the part of her plan that I¡¯d assumed and skipped over the part about hiding us in there.

    ¡°How do we do that?¡¯ Tophua scratched his head.

    ¡°There isn¡¯t a ring on this side, but there should be on the other.¡± Rix was bouncing in Gesai¡¯s grasp, ¡°I can go invisible and get in the portal and shut it off from the other side.¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Gesai shook her head. ¡°We have no idea what floor you¡¯d wind up on. What if it¡¯s in the seventies or eighties? You¡¯d die in there.¡±

    ¡°Maybe I could stealth my way back.¡± Rix pulled against the older woman¡¯s grasp.

    ¡°I¡¯m not letting you do it! We¡¯ll find another way!¡± Gesai pulled Rix closer to her.

    ¡°Um, guys¡­¡± I realized that Tophua wasn¡¯t standing next to us. He¡¯d got all the way to the portal and was standing next to it.

    ¡°That man is out of his mind!¡± Gesai started towards him, but stopped.

    ¡°Tell them I saved everyone!¡± Tophua saluted us and jumped in the portal.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 42

    The portal vanished.

    I felt numb. Tophua was gone and we had no idea where he¡¯d been sent.

    Aryne didn¡¯t seem the least bit concerned that the portal was closed and didn¡¯t even turn around as he kept pushing the now three Adventurers who were trying to find a hole in his defenses.

    The Cultists were backing away from the fight, but none of them were joining in the fight.

    It felt empty. Like Tophua had just vanished and no one noticed or cared. I wanted to scream, but I knew that wouldn¡¯t help anything. Tophua had risked his life, I refused to think of him as dead, to give us a chance. I wasn¡¯t going to waste it.

    I turned around and started keying in the gate, but it flared to life before I could finish.

    ¡°We¡¯ve got¡­ Something?¡± I wasn¡¯t sure if this was a problem or the solution.

    ¡°Now what?¡± Gesai turned around and I saw a tear in her eye. She wiped it away with the back of her free hand.

    ¡°Someone¡¯s coming through.¡± I pointed at the gate.

    Trent marched through the gate with the rest of his team behind him.

    ¡°Trent!¡± I wanted to hug him. ¡°Aryne¡­¡±

    ¡°I know.¡± Trent¡¯s voice was cold and this was the first time he¡¯d ever seemed angry to me. ¡°Gesai, keep them back.¡± He looked at Rix, ¡°We might need her.¡±This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    A flash of white crashed through the sky and hit Aryne. The bolt actually budged him and left a little smoke. There was a blast of purple and the three were knocked back as Aryne turned and sneered at Trent.

    TAKE THEM!!!

    The Cultists got up and started to attack the prone Adventurers. Aryne shot forward, and had to stop as a ring of arm length icicles started sprouting from a wall of ice that formed around him.

    Celia screamed and I felt bloodlust roll off of her like I¡¯d felt off of Edward, but this felt so much worse. My stomach twisted as the brown-haired woman leapt into the air and swung a sword over her head as she landed inside the ice ring..

    Arlo was busy creating shields around the various prone Adventurers while Sandez was doing some sort of mass healing spell.

    Zorna had vanished, but someone was shooting arrows into the Ice ring that Aryne was tearing apart with an ax. The former cook was actually defending himself from the attacks from Celia and Zorna.

    Fyth was busy tending to a pocket dungeon where she was storing Cultists that the other team and freed Adventurers were defeating.

    Trent began unleashing spell after spell that landed right as Celia backed away to ready for another strike. It was like they¡¯d practiced the tempo a thousand times.

    Zorna was doing her part staying hidden and adding more holes to Aryne. Instead of bleeding blood though, he was bleeding that purple gunk. The aura around him didn¡¯t seem to fade, but his power was. It was almost like he wasn¡¯t able to control the power of the aura without having it saturated in the purple ooze.

    The moment that Aryne dropped to one knee, I knew it was over. Apparently so did he because he tried to unleash a wave of power, but the pulse died as he was frozen in a cube of ice.

    Trent was breathing hard. I¡¯d seen him like this once before, after fighting Sipher and Whisper. I looked around the battlefield, but the blonde Bandit wasn¡¯t here anymore. I wondered when I¡¯d see him again and hoped that he¡¯d be on our side whenever that time was as well.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 43

    Aryne was a bomb.

    The revelation that killing Aryne would trigger a Desolation was enough motivation for the Adventurers that could still move, to start loading up those who couldn¡¯t into whatever vehicles that were still working.

    Gesai was being sent to the port with almost everyone else to heal people along the way and to watch over our class once she got there.

    That left Rix and I pretty much unsupervised, which I would have thought that the mischievous Redhead would have disappeared by now, but apparently watching Trent argue with Celia was more entertaining.

    ¡°We can¡¯t kill him.¡± Trent looked at Celia. ¡°If we do that, he will Desolate and kill everyone here.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s not even a real God.¡± The brown haired woman pointed at the pool of purple stuff, ¡°Once he runs out of that stuff, he¡¯ll separate from whatever that thing is.¡±

    ¡°That thing¡­¡± Trent shook his head. ¡°Celia, I need you to get everyone as far away from here as possible. Arlo, Rix and Atlas will stay here with me while I try to¡­¡± He shook his head, ¡°Disarm this bomb.¡±

    ¡°What if he gets out?¡± The brunette countered, ¡°You needed us to help take him down the first time.¡±

    ¡°As you pointed out.¡± Trent motioned at the purple goo, ¡°He¡¯s getting weaker every minute that passes. IF he gets out, then Arlo and I will be enough to handle him.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    Zorna came walking up, ¡°I checked from the fiftieth floor to the sixty-second. If Tophua¡¯s in there, he¡¯s further down than that.¡±

    ¡°Just the fiftieth? Why not..?¡± I realized the answer to my question, ¡°Because he would have just left on his own.¡±

    There was a somber silence for a moment until Trent clapped his hands. ¡°We can put together a rescue crew later, but right now we need everyone else out of here now!¡±

    The morning sun was just starting to come up. I felt like I hadn¡¯t done anything to contribute last night, so I shouldn¡¯t feel so exhausted.

    I watched Zorna and Celia round everyone up and start heading out of town.

    ¡°I messaged dad to let him know we don¡¯t need reinforcements..¡± Arlo looked at Aryne, ¡°Do you really think this is going to work?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the only play we¡¯ve got other than¡­¡± He looked at Rix. ¡°An even more risky one.¡±

    Arlo shook his head, ¡°I¡¯m not high enough Tier, I shouldn¡¯t even be trying this.¡±

    Trent waved his arms around, ¡°This place used to be lush and fertile until the Desolation. It killed the whole island.¡± He pointed in the direction that the people had gone.¡±They aren¡¯t going to make it out before he loses control and Desolates.¡±

    I raised my hand. ¡°Um, what exactly are we trying to do?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re trying to keep that thing from going Desolate¡± Trent was stroking his short white beard while he nodded at the frozen man.

    ¡°By doing something VERY reckless.¡± Arlo shook his head.

    ¡°I don¡¯t get it.¡± I looked between the two men, ¡°What exactly are we doing?¡±

    Trent took a deep breath. ¡°Within each Desolation is an echo of the fallen God. It resides in one of the Tier Seven floors. When a God wants to try to claim a city, they go down into the Desolation dungeon until they find¡­¡± He waved at Aryne, ¡°A Mantle of the Gods.¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 44

    A Mantle of the Gods.

    I¡¯d known we had Mantles, because that was how we got our jobs, stats, skills, and everything else. But what I didn¡¯t know was that we got a second one.

    ¡°Tres explained that he gets a little bit of experience every time someone gains experience in a dungeon in his city, right?¡± Trent waved at Aryne, ¡°This is how they form a connection with that dungeon. This is how they start a city.¡±

    ¡°But you said you were too low level.¡± I looked at Arlo.

    ¡°I AM.¡± Arlo glared at Trent, ¡°You¡¯re supposed to be at LEAST Tier Six to try something like this. I¡¯m only Tier FIVE.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re in the upper fifties.¡± Trent sighed, ¡°Which do you think is less risky? You trying to bond with the dungeon?¡± He motioned at Rix, ¡°Or channeling enough power through her that her skill can snuff him out?¡±

    Rix swallowed, ¡°He¡¯s Tier Five, probably Six¡­¡±

    We¡¯d seen what it¡¯d taken for a Tier Two to take down a Tier Five. For a Tier Zero to take down a Tier Six¡­ I doubted she¡¯d survive.

    ¡°I like Plan A.¡± Rix swallowed and started to back away a little.

    ¡°I have a question.¡± I pointed at Arlo, ¡°Why is he here? Wouldn¡¯t you be a better candidate to deal with that?¡± I looked at Trent. ¡°What exactly is it that he¡¯s going to try?¡±If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    ¡°I¡¯m here because I¡¯m like you.¡± Arlo was looking at the huge ice cube in front of us. ¡°Except I¡¯m a LOT older and higher level.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re¡­¡± I was confused, ¡°Are the Heema Gods?¡±

    ¡°No¡­¡± Arlo shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s complicated and I¡¯d rather not get into it. Short story is that Tres is my father and Mala Heema is my mother.¡±

    ¡°So you being here..?¡± I turned to Trent, ¡°This was all PLANNED?¡±

    ¡°Our participation was a happy coincidence, I assure you. And this was one of the worst case scenario contingencies.¡± Trent shook his head and looked at Arlo. ¡°We need to try it now or we¡¯re going to lose our window.¡±

    Arlo closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead, ¡°I still say this is a bad idea.¡±

    ¡°Bad ideas are all we have¡­¡± Trent shook his head, ¡°Who else could get here before this thing goes off? There are none of the Lesser Gods that we could get here in time, even if we DID trust them with a city.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m assuming you know what I have to do to pair the Mantle?¡± Arlo looked at Trent, ¡°Because dad hasn¡¯t covered that yet since I¡¯m still too low level.¡±

    Trent gave him a look that told me that Arlo had just asked a question that didn¡¯t deserve an answer.

    ¡°Are there any other relevant questions before we get started?¡± My teacher looked even more tired as he scanned us.

    I raised my hand, ¡°I have one. If he¡¯s supposed to pair that Mantle,¡± I pointed at Arlo, ¡°And Rix is supposed to try to kill it if he can¡¯t.¡± I tried to swallow the nerves that were shaking my voice, ¡°Why exactly am I here?¡±

    ¡°Because¡­¡± Trent started casting something, ¡°You¡¯re plan C.¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 45

    My mind was overloaded.

    Arlo, a Tier Five, was concerned about surviving pairing with a Mantle of the Gods and I was the backup if it failed.

    I had to blink a few times before the world didn¡¯t seem so far away. I realized that I¡¯d taken a few steps back.

    ¡°You think I could pair with that thing if he can¡¯t?!¡± I realized that I was breathing fast so my voice came out high pitched. I closed my eyes and tried to slow down the panic, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that mean that this thing Desolated? Wouldn¡¯t I be dead?¡±

    ¡°Desolation isn¡¯t instantaneous.¡± Trent had his hand on Aryne, ¡°There will be a few seconds that we can try to extinguish it with Rix¡¯s Godslayer, but I would have to channel Magic through her to raise the Tier of the attack. If that doesn¡¯t work, then hopefully, it will be weak enough that you can pair with it.¡±

    ¡°Wait!¡± My mind was racing, ¡°Don¡¯t I need to know what to do if that happens?¡±

    ¡°I just said¡­¡± Irritation filled Trent¡¯s voice, ¡°I¡¯m going to thaw him out. When I do, I¡¯ll try to drain the rest of this artificial bonding fluid out of him. That should separate him from the Mantle. Arlo is going to be holding the Mantle and try to pair with it. The hope is that the Mantle is still looking for someone to pair with since it was forcibly paired and it will start to pair with Arlo¡¯s Mantle.¡±

    ¡°What do I do if I have to pair with it?¡±

    ¡°Grab the Mantle and use your Siphon skill. That should be enough to connect with it, then charge as much of your Mana as you can into the Mantle. It should feel like you¡¯re casting a spell. Once you charge it up enough, then it should pair with you and overlay your Mantle.¡± Trent had his eyes closed. ¡°Please, I need to focus.¡±This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    I backed up as the ice started thawing and Arlo walked behind Aryne and grabbed the unconscious man¡¯s shoulders.

    I moved over to where Rix was standing, ¡°Do you think they can do it?¡±

    ¡°I hope so.¡± There was fear on her face.

    I¡¯d seen her sad, irritated, bored, angry, and even concerned, but I¡¯d never seen Rix afraid. She usually attacked problems blade-first, but this was one she was scared of.

    ¡°It¡¯ll be okay.¡± I put my arm around her, ¡°It¡¯ll work.¡±

    ¡°But what if I can¡¯t do it?¡± The redhead looked at me, ¡°What if he can¡¯t do it and I¡¯m not strong enough¡­¡± Rix looked in the direction of the docks, ¡°They¡¯ll¡­¡±

    ¡°Hey.¡± I squeezed her. ¡°Tell you what. If Arlo can¡¯t do it, I¡¯ll be plan B.¡±

    Rix shook her head, ¡°No, you¡­¡± She looked at me, ¡°You can¡¯t do that unless it¡¯s weakened first.¡± She put her hand on my shoulder, ¡°You have to go after me.¡± She seemed a little more confident. ¡°You have to do it if I can¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯ll be okay.¡± I looked back at the men, ¡°It¡¯ll be okay.¡±

    It didn¡¯t look okay. Aryne had been completely thawed out. Trent was covered in the purple ooze and Arlo was on his knees. Wind started to pick up around them and the air was getting warmer. It almost felt like there was a sour taste in the air.

    I didn¡¯t know what was happening, but it did not look like it was going well.

    ¡°RIX!¡± Trent held out his hand, ¡°IF WE HIT IT NOW, MAYBE HE CAN FINISH!¡±

    If she did it, it would kill her. If she didn¡¯t, then it would kill everyone else and her. There was no reason why she shouldn¡¯t do it, but I grabbed her hand and pulled her back. It was enough that she was out of reach of Trent as I grabbed on to Aryne with my left hand.

    ¡°SIPHON!!!¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 46

    Everything went black.

    At least there wasn¡¯t any wind or anything, but I had no idea what happened. Wherever I was, I was laying on my back on something hard.

    My head was throbbing as I rolled onto my side.

    ¡°Hello!¡± I slowly pushed myself up. ¡°TRENT! RIX! ARLO?¡±

    No one answered.

    I squinted as I tried to see something, anything in the darkness, but it was pitch black. Just like¡­

    I swallowed. I had been about to use a spell, but now probably wasn¡¯t the right time

    There was a bright light that hurt my eyes. I blinked as I got accustomed to the light. Before I could see, someone grabbed me. Someone with shoulder length red hair.

    ¡°Rix.¡± I had to blink as I looked around.

    ¡°You disrespectful..!¡± Trent¡¯s voice was full of irritation and anger. ¡°This is what I didn¡¯t want to happen!¡±

    I was able to find Trent in the white room that we were in, but my eyes still hurt. I managed to see Arlo as well.The blonde man was laying on the floor holding his stomach.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I started to stand up, but my legs felt that sitting was a better option and refused to straighten all the way up.

    ¡°This is¡­¡± Trent looked around. I could finally see without it feeling like there was a sun in my face.

    ¡°This is the Bequeathal Chamber.¡± A baritone voice behind us finished Trent¡¯s statement.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    Rix and I turned around and saw the figure that had been a purple ghost before, but now looked like a real person. One with brown-hair, red-eyes, and black horns. He was wearing a purple suit and carrying a crystal glass with something in it that he was sipping.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± I felt like I really should be given a lesson on these things. I could feel Rix tense up beside me. I grabbed her arm to keep her from attacking Wurn. Until we knew exactly what this was, she needed to hold back.

    Wurn clicked his tongue as he walked towards myself and Rix. I felt my shirt get grabbed and the two of us were dragged by an invisible hand behind Trent.

    ¡°So many unworthy¡­¡± Wurn shook his head, ¡°Two Gods and a Hunter come to take my Mantle, but these are just babes¡­¡± He held out his glass towards Trent, ¡°And you¡¯re barely worthy of a challenge yourself.¡±

    Arlo was on his feet and that was when I realized that he didn¡¯t have on any armor. None of us had on any armor. We were just wearing whatever clothes we had on under our armor.

    Wurn started walking towards a golden throne that I knew hadn¡¯t been there just a few moments ago.

    ¡°Is this really what has come to die? Babies, a Celestial, and a..?¡± He spit over his shoulder, ¡°Gibborim?¡±

    That was a word I¡¯d never heard before.

    ¡°What¡¯s a Gibborim?¡±

    ¡°Later.¡± Trent pointed his right hand at the dead God and a blue robe started to slowly wrap itself around him. Once it was finished there was a silver sword with an emblem at the end of the hilt. I¡¯d seen that emblem a few times. It was the one that had been burned into Gesai¡¯s hand when she¡¯d killed Sipher.

    ¡°Someone tried to take your power instead of earning it.¡± The white-haired man kept his sword pointed at the thorne. ¡°He is going to Desolate unless you give us your Mantle.¡±

    The horned God started laughing, ¡°You think I¡¯m going to just give YOU this Mantle?¡± He pounded his fist against his chest, ¡°You aren¡¯t GIVEN a Mantle. You EARN it or you TAKE it!¡±

    He put down the crystal glass and it and the throne vanished. He pulled out a wand and pointed it at Trent.

    ¡°You should have just let me kill you.¡± Wurn¡¯s red eyes started to glow. ¡°Now I¡¯m going to make you suffer.¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 47

    Purple lightning split the air.

    Arlo was in front of Trent with a golden shield. The force of the blast pushed the blonde back almost a foot. I started to move back, then realized that Rix was no longer beside me. Because of course, if we were fighting a God, why wouldn¡¯t she try to assassinate him?

    I tried to think of what I had in my arsenal that could help. The problem was that however I¡¯d gotten wherever this was, I hadn¡¯t brought my CB with me either. Which made me curious how Trent and Arlo had donned armor.

    Trent was hitting Wurn with Fire, Electricity, and Ice. Throwing balls and streams of each at him while Arlo fended off the attacks.

    Wurn was creating a shield with his left hand and firing lightning from the wand with his right. I was thankful that I was being ignored and kept looking for Rix. I was hoping that I could spot her before she got herself killed.

    She phased out of invisibility behind Wurn. Her chainsword in her hand as she was bringing it down on his neck.

    ¡°GODSLAYER!!!¡±

    I threw out my hand ¡°BIND!¡± two vines shot out of the ground and grabbed Wurns wand hand. It didn¡¯t hold him and snapped almost right away, but it caused enough of a delay that Rix was able to roll forward, under the lightning bolt and pop back up. Springing her blade under his chin.

    ¡°GODSLAYER!!!¡±

    Trent grabbed her with an invisible hand and yanked her back as he ran forward. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    The red-eyed God was wiping his neck where Rix had stabbed him. Considering what that ability was supposed to do, drawing blood right now, even if it was little more than a scratch, was impressive and had Wurn off balance.

    At close range, Trent forced Wurn to try to block with the wand, with which the brown-haired God was still firing off purple lightning, they were just wildly off.

    Arlo crashed into him. It wasn¡¯t enough to knock him down, but it was enough to throw his block off. Trent¡¯s sword sliced a shallow cut down Wurn¡¯s arm.

    The dead God roared and knocked Arlo onto his back twenty feet away. His left hand started glowing as he swung it at Trent.

    But seeing Arlo¡¯s attack gave me an idea. And I¡¯d been wanting to try it, but never thought about it when I had time.

    ¡°BINDINGS!¡±

    Vine after vine after vine latched on to Wurn. They didn¡¯t do anything more than stutter him, but that provided openings for Trent to begin to cut at him.

    Arlo kept charging him, over and over. Knocking Wurn off balance and it wasn¡¯t long before Rix joined in, only adding small cuts, but it was keeping the dead God even more off balance.

    I felt my head start to spin and my lungs felt like I was breathing Ice as my Mana ran out. I fell down on all fours and heard the satisfying clank of the wand hitting the floor.

    I looked up and saw Trent shove his sword into Wurn¡¯s chest. The brown-haired man grabbed the blade, but couldn¡¯t hold it as my teacher slid it out.

    Wurn dropped to his knees. He looked at the wound that was making a red stain under him. ¡°No¡­¡± his voice was raspy, ¡°A Gibborim is not worthy¡­¡±

    Trent grabbed the other man¡¯s brown hair and turned the other man¡¯s face up to his.

    ¡°You Mantle isn¡¯t worth this Gibborim¡¯s time to take.¡± Trent let him go and took off Wurn¡¯s head before the dead God could respond.

    I watched Trent flash over and over and over. The eighth time was the last.

    We¡¯d won.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 48

    Wurn was gone.

    The blood, the mess. It was all gone. The only thing that remained was the purple jacket on the floor.

    Arlo pointed at the jacket, ¡°It¡¯s yours.¡±

    Trent sat down on the floor. He looked exhausted. We all did.

    I half crawled, half scooted over to where Trent had collapsed.

    Rix was laying on her back with her arms stretched out a few feet away. Arlo was the only one standing.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want it.¡± Trent shook his head as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, ¡°You can have it.¡±

    Arlo looked stunned. ¡°That¡¯s not how this is supposed to work¡­¡± He swallowed, ¡°You¡¯re not supposed to be a¡­¡±

    ¡°Godmaker?¡± Trent finished for him. ¡°Do you know why?¡±

    ¡°Because if a city had been Desolated, then having a weak God take over would just invite it to be Desolated again.¡± Arlo sounded like he was quoting from something.

    ¡°So don¡¯t tell anyone you took it.¡± Trent stood up and brushed his robe off, ¡°Go back to Tres and let Celia set up a base here. Work out something with her to farm the dungeon extensively, and then when you¡¯re high enough, come back.¡±

    ¡°I thought the Gods weren¡¯t supposed to leave their cities for long.¡± I still didn¡¯t feel like standing up was a good idea. I was barely managing to sit up.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

    ¡°The other Gods can view it as an invasion.¡± Trent looked at Arlo, ¡°I doubt your father will see it that way.¡± He nodded at the jacket. ¡°The only way we¡¯re getting out of here is if someone puts on that Mantle¡­¡± He pointed at Rix and something invisible pressed her against the floor, ¡°No!¡± The white-haired man looked at Arlo, ¡°The only other option is for one of them to put it on and you know how fast Slece will be up here to wipe them out if they do.¡±

    ¡°Wait¡­¡± My head was finally starting to clear up. ¡°I get why Arlo or I could put that on, but wouldn¡¯t you or Rix just be like when Aryne put it on?¡±

    ¡°The Mantle can be put on by both Gods AND Heroes.¡± Arlo glanced at Rix, ¡°There are a couple cities that have Heroes who have given up fighting running them.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­ did not know that.¡± I looked at Trent, ¡°Does that mean you¡¯re a Hero too?¡±

    Trent closed his eyes and took a deep breath. ¡°No, Atlas, I¡¯m not a Hero.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a GOD¡±???¡± I felt dizzy.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not a God either.¡± My Teacher glared at Arlo.

    ¡°He¡¯s a Gibborim.¡± The other man continued to reveal his uncle¡¯s secrets.

    Trent just nodded.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± I looked over at Rix. She seemed perfectly content to lay pinned to the ground. Or maybe that was just how tired she was.

    After a long pause Arlo spoke, ¡°Gods sometimes have kids with other Gods, but most of the time, it happens with Adventurers.¡± The blonde man looked at me, ¡°Those half-Gods are referred to as Nephilim and most of the time have that class line or¡­¡± He looked at Rix, ¡°A new Sugaru line gets started.¡±

    ¡°Wait, is that..?¡±

    Arlo motioned at Trent, who sighed.

    ¡°We don¡¯t know who Rix¡¯s parents are, but from what I can tell her mother wasn¡¯t a God.¡± Trent let out the breath he¡¯d been holding, ¡°Very rarely a God has a child with a Mundane. When that happens the child is called a Gibborim as a slang term.¡± He pointed at himself with his thumb, ¡°Which is what I am.¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 49

    Trent was half God.

    Which explained how he was able to join the three of us in whatever it was that we¡¯d just done.

    ¡°Your Father was a God?¡± I swallowed.

    ¡°Mother actually.¡± Trent shook his head, ¡°It wasn¡¯t very glorious. In the name of keeping me safe, my mother had very little to do with me.¡± He sighed, ¡°My father died when I was young, which meant I spent a lot of time alone. I had to take her name as my family, which was actually the closest I ever felt to her.¡±

    ¡°What was your Mother¡¯s name?¡± Most Mundane either married into a Noble family and took that Family''s name or they gave themselves a new on to start a new family line.

    ¡°Vowler.¡± He shrugged. ¡°She was Desolated by what I now think was the Primus while I was at the Fane, but I don¡¯t know why.¡± He shrugged. ¡°Almost twenty years later, my half- brother took back her city, but very few Mundane people keep their city name, especially not an extinct one. That¡¯s one of the reasons I tried to make a name for myself. So that people wouldn¡¯t forget her.¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s your brother?¡± I started thinking of all the cities with male Gods that had been around almost a hundred years old. Mive, Tres, and Juel were the only three male Gods in the Cathedral Ward. Tres had taken the city about fifty years ago, which meant he was out. Mive was older than that, but I wasn¡¯t sure how much and Juel had been around for a long time.

    ¡°Iver.¡± Trent swallowed, ¡°And yes, he knows who I am to him, but we don¡¯t have the most brotherly relationship.¡± The white-haired man clapped and turned to Arlo, ¡°That¡¯s enough of a trip down memory lane.¡± He pointed at the jacket, ¡°Would you please pick it up so that we can get out of here?¡±

    Arlo grumbled something under his breath, but he walked over and picked up the purple jacket. ¡°What¡¯s supposed to hap..?!¡±

    The jacket wrapped around the blonde man¡¯s arm and began spreading over the rest of Arlo¡¯s body until everything but his face was covered. Arlo glowed so brightly that I had to cover my eyes with both hands.

    When the light vanished I peeked between my fingers. The blonde Tank looked the same as he had before he¡¯d touched the Mantle.

    ¡°Now what?¡± Arlo was examining himself, ¡°I don¡¯t really feel that different. How are we supposed to get out of here?¡±

    ¡°Wait for it.¡± Trent released Rix, who jumped to her feet. She glared at him, then walked over and helped me up.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    ¡°How long do we have to..?¡±

    The room shaking interrupted my question.

    Trent grabbed both Rix¡¯s and Arlo¡¯s arms. ¡°Atlas, don¡¯t let go!¡±

    I held on to Rix as the white room started to fade to purple, then vanished.

    I felt dirt under my face and I realized that I was laying down again. I opened my eyes and saw Trent, Arlo, and Rix laying next to me. Each of them getting up slowly.

    ¡°I still hate that feeling.¡± Trent shook his head.

    ¡°You¡¯ve done this before?¡± I groaned as I rolled over.

    ¡°I was with Tres and Dee when he claimed the city.¡± Trent looked over at Arlo, ¡°I didn¡¯t help out nearly as much back then.¡±

    ¡°He was almost ten levels higher than me and you were almost ten levels lower than you are now!¡± Arlo waved around, ¡°And I told you I wasn¡¯t ready!¡±

    ¡°Twenty.¡± Trent corrected.

    ¡°What?¡± the blonde shook his head, ¡°I very clearly remember dad talking about how he was sixty seven when he took the city and you weren¡¯t fifty five yet, because you hit that on the way back.¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Trent turned his display for the other man to see. I got up and walked over to see it.

    Trent Vowler - Level 70

    Age: 132, Hair: White, Eye color: Brown, Height: 6¡¯2¡±

    43,380,971.43 Exp

    Mystic - Mana 12,250/12,250

    495 Power 672 Defense 1,750 Speed

    3,821 Magic 1,696 Recovery 608 Aura

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± I didn¡¯t have words.

    ¡°A lot of stats¡­¡± Arlo finished for me.

    I nodded. One of his lightning bolts would melt most people now. Which meant I was really glad he was on our side.

    Rix was examining Aryne¡¯s body. ¡°What are we going to do about the Cult?¡±

    She had a point. Without Arlo coming out and saying he¡¯d taken the town, the Cultists were going to try again. I wasn¡¯t sure how long it took to grow the Dungeon Seeds, but I had a feeling it was going to be a problem again.

    ¡°I can set something up with Celia.¡± Arlo took a deep breath, ¡°Get her to check on the lower levels regularly and start building some actual houses here.¡± He looked around. ¡°This place feels different.¡±

    ¡°Can you sense people in the dungeon?¡± I had a feeling what the answer was going to be.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s a thing.¡± Arlo shook his head.

    Trent tapped his fingers to his chin. I could tell he was thinking about something.

    ¡°Let¡¯s tell everyone it¡¯s safe to come back.¡± His brown eyes shone. ¡°I think we could put a rescue team together.¡±

    I yawned, ¡°That means we get to sleep.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you haven''t served out your punishment yet.¡± Trent grinned at me, ¡°Not until we leave.¡±

    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± I looked at Rix, ¡°Why..?¡±

    Rix patted me on the back, ¡°Because you couldn¡¯t wait until the Supply Store opened to get your girl a ring.¡± She looked around at the ruins. Not a single building was still standing.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Chapter 50

    It took them six days to find Tophua.

    For those six days, Gesai took us into the dungeon and had us farm like we¡¯d been farming for the last four. Well, sort of. Trent let me sleep until noon the first day back.

    During that time, every one of us, except Rix, leveled up. Which meant that we were now level three and four. The Black Team seemed to try to match our speed and I¡¯m pretty sure they all hit level four as well, though I doubted they¡¯d do much leveling. The preliminaries were in seventeen weeks and the maximum level you could be for those was level five. I wondered how we were going to get around Rix being level seven, but that was a problem for Gesai and Trent, not me.

    When they finally came back with Tophua he was smiling ear to ear. He hadn¡¯t lost a lot of weight and looked rather good for someone who had been stranded for almost a week.

    The Adventurers in town started clapping when he walked out of the dungeon.

    ¡°THANK YOU! THANK YOU!¡± The blonde Blacksmith threw kisses to the small crowd.

    ¡°Don¡¯t encourage him¡­¡± Arlo shook his head as he walked past me.

    ¡°What happened?¡± I looked at all the attention he was getting.

    ¡°He had almost the entire Authority Storage with him. He could have lasted a year in front of that gate and still been fine.¡± The blonde God sighed ¡°And don¡¯t ask him¡­¡±

    ¡°MY FAVORITE NUMBER!¡± Tophua was cackling. ¡°I¡¯m going to get it tattooed on my bum! One on each cheek!¡±

    As naughty as it was, I couldn¡¯t help but smile. The place wouldn¡¯t have been the same and I was glad that we¡¯d be able to leave. Aelin, Ether, and myself had all hit level four shortly before we took on the boss today. If we¡¯d had to stay any longer, I wouldn¡¯t have doubted that we would have mainly been doing evasion training.

    I noticed that Jovena had moved away from the rest of the crowd and followed her back to our camp. I heard her crying softly in her tent.

    ¡°Knock knock!¡± I could¡¯ve knocked on the pole, but I might¡¯ve knocked it over and I really didn¡¯t want to bury her in her tent.

    ¡°What?!¡± The white-haired woman wiped her eyes quickly.

    ¡°You okay?¡±

    ¡°Of course! We finally get to leave this Godless place now!¡± She tried to sound happy, but it was hard to mask how sad she was.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to be okay.¡± I touched her hand from my seat in the door, ¡°You and Gesai would have killed each other if you got put on her team, so I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll like the team that Warder puts together so much better.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°Maybe¡­¡± Her blue eyes bored into me. ¡°Atlas..?¡±

    I waited for a few moments, but it felt like she was building up the courage to ask something, ¡°Yes? What is it Vena?¡±

    ¡°Do you think there¡¯s any way that you can keep me with all of you?¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°Trent got a pretty clear order. Exactly one Noble¡­¡± I almost said reject, which was how a lot of the Nobles who got into the Cathedral referred to the Nobles that didn¡¯t make it in. ¡°... From each of the six cities are to be added onto his secondary team.¡± I shook my head, ¡°Gesai wanted Mitchel.¡±

    ¡°I could have been nicer to her¡­¡± Jovena¡¯s shoulders dropped. ¡°I just didn¡¯t¡­¡± She had to wipe away another tear, ¡°I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d enjoy being here so much. I¡¯ve learned a lot and I¡¯ve gotten so much stronger.¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± I shrugged, ¡°It¡¯s actually been fun having you around.¡±

    ¡°You just like it because I make fun of the Black team.¡± She scooted closer to me and bumped into my shoulder.

    ¡°I mean, they make it so easy.¡± I chuckled, ¡°But we can still do that once we get back to the Cathedral. We¡¯ll still see each other a lot. Like in the Cafe and we¡¯re supposed to be working together on the event on the fourth floor. So it¡¯s not like we¡¯ll never see each other again.¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± She looked at me, ¡°Rix is so much higher than everyone else, what if I took her spot and she did, I don¡¯t know, special training or something?¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± I didn¡¯t know how to break it to her that Rix wasn¡¯t going to be moved off the team. It was true that we wouldn¡¯t be training with her much until we caught up, but I didn¡¯t see that ever happening. ¡°I don¡¯t¡­¡±

    She leaned in and kissed me. I backed up just a little, ¡°Whoa! Where did that come from?¡±

    ¡°I thought that if you and I were together maybe¡­¡± She looked like she was about to cry again.

    ¡°Hey¡­¡± I wrapped my arms around her. ¡°You are going to be fine. Oz¡¯s parents talk about how they spent more time with Trent than they did with their own teacher when they were at the Cathedral.¡± I let her go and pulled back. ¡°You are going to be fine and in a couple weeks when we get back, you probably will have had so much fun that you¡¯ll have forgotten all about us.¡±

    ¡°Doubtful¡­¡± She looked down at her knees.

    I shrugged, ¡°If not, then you can come over to our dorm and spend most of your time there. Gesai will probably never admit it, but I think she¡¯s going to miss having you around.¡±

    That seemed to brighten her up a little. I squeezed her shoulder, ¡°And if you ever get lonely¡­¡± I tapped my CB, ¡°Message me. Unless I¡¯m helping fight God ghosts, I¡¯ll message you back.¡±

    She smiled and nodded. We sat in silence for a few more minutes, then I got up.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to head to my tent. We¡¯re leaving in the morning, so Ether wants to get things as cleaned up as possible.¡± I chuckled, ¡°She¡¯s probably going to try to sleep in a little since we won¡¯t be going into the dungeon tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± She forced a smile, ¡°night.¡±

    ¡°¡®Night.¡± I started to walk away and felt my CB buzz. I looked down and saw I had a message from Jovena. It read:

    Thanks. I feel a lot better :)

    I typed back.

    Anytime.

    I had a good feeling she¡¯d be fine. I looked over at the bonfire in the middle of town that most of the Adventurers were gathered around. Aelin, Jenne, Tophua were arm in arm dancing around it singing Harem! Harem! I shook my head. Some things never change.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 6 - The Cult - Epilogue

    Trent had dreaded this communication.

    The Mystic had managed to avoid it by spending the last week looking for Tophua, but now that he was heading out, he didn¡¯t have any good reason to put it off any more.

    The white-haired, green-eyed God appeared in the middle of his tent.

    ¡°Brother.¡± Iver looked down at the seated man.

    ¡°You only call me that when you want something.¡± Trent folded his arms, ¡°I know about Gues making moves towards your city. I¡¯ve already talked to Mavery and Tres, but you¡¯re in a different Ward. There¡¯s only so much they can do without it becoming a global event and you know what happens if it gets taken to that level.¡±

    ¡°Thanks for your concern, and I need to talk to you about that later, but the reason for my call is something else.¡± The image of Iver took a seat across from his half-brother.

    There were over fifty years between them and they had different fathers, but both had inherited so many of their mother¡¯s features that at this age, they could pass as full siblings.

    Trent swallowed, ¡°It¡¯s really bad then.¡±

    Iver opened a screen between them. It was a map of the world and there were circles around a dozen Desolations.

    ¡°My city sends a lot of raw materials all over the world.¡± Iver began pointing to some of his major trade partners. ¡°I have contacts in a lot of families and they are all telling me stories that are almost the exact same.¡± His eyes narrowed, ¡°I understand there was almost a dungeon break at Wurn that you helped stop?¡±

    Trent had no idea how that information had gotten out, but it was just a matter of time. There were too many people who¡¯d died. Too many families that were going to have to be investigated. Too many Adventurers who¡¯d seen too much.

    ¡°The potential dungeon break on the sixtieth floor was a diversion so that a cultist could summon the Wurn Mantle from the sixty-ninth floor and bond with it.¡± There was no point in hiding the information from his ally. He¡¯d figure it out eventually anyway.

    Iver stroked his short white beard. ¡°I¡¯m hearing similar things about the resurrection of Thalda. Her fanatics are picketing the dungeons here and in every other city in the Ward.¡±

    ¡°Have you found any dungeon seeds?¡± Trent cut into his brother¡¯s report.

    ¡°Dungeon seeds?¡±

    ¡°About this big.¡± Trent held his hands open, ¡°About the size of a melon. Except it''s a melon with stringy black hair and purple ooze.¡± He took a deep breath, ¡°And they can cause dungeon splits, upgrades, or fusions. It¡¯s also how the Cultists were able to force a portal to summon the mantle.¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t heard anything about any of that yet. All I knew about it was that there was a Noble that was able to open a portal to the Mantle floor, but I¡¯ll ask around.¡± Iver shook his head, ¡°If the Nobility are trying to summon Mantles of the Gods, why aren¡¯t the Primus showing up?¡±

    ¡°They may not be as informed as we thought.¡± Trent shrugged, ¡°I know most of the Adventurers here really well, I doubt any of them are secretly a Divine class.¡±

    ¡°Then maybe this is a good thing.¡± Iver shuffled some papers around, ¡°Maybe they won¡¯t be looking at you so hard.¡±

    ¡°I can only hope.¡± Trent tried to smile. It wasn¡¯t a great feeling knowing that there was a secret organization of Gods with their eye always on him.

    ¡°Anyway, the reason I have been trying to call is to let you know that based on how the Cultists are starting to ramp up, it appears like what happened at Wurn may have been a test run. And once whoever is behind this figures out how to control it better¡­¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Iver started putting Xs on all of the towns with Dungeons that didn¡¯t have Gods. There were over a hundred Godless towns in the world. The Cathedral Ward by itself had eight. And only one of those was a Desolation. If the Cultists started opening portals to the lower floors where the Mantles were and leaving the portals open. A lot of people were going to die.

    ¡°I doubt this is enough to get Gues off of me completely, but it has gotten at least Slece to back down.¡± Iver swallowed, ¡°If nothing else, it¡¯s bought me some breathing room, but Trent¡­¡± His brother paused, ¡°A war is coming.¡±

    A week ago, Trent had thought the same thing. In fact, he¡¯d been trying to rally a resistance against the war he thought was brewing. But this. This was strong enough to get all the Gods'' attention.

    ¡°What do you need from me?¡± This wasn¡¯t just a social call. Trent knew his brother too well.

    ¡°I need more allies and¡­¡± Iver sighed, ¡°I¡¯m not popular. I know that. You are. I want you to use your contacts to get some of the Gods together. The Adventurer Games are in the Shrine Ward this year. If we can ride this out for that long. I want you to help me sell them on the idea of taking all the Mantles off the table.¡±

    That was going to be a big ask. Sure, there were a lot of Gods walking around who didn¡¯t have a city, but to actively have all of the towns, outposts and Desolations assigned? It would be chaos trying to stop the level of infighting that would unleash. Trent wasn¡¯t sure that such an outcome would be better for the people, but he knew it would be better for his brother. Because if there were over a hundred new cities, then Iver¡¯s enemies would be looking at the weaker Gods to absorb instead of having a whole city to conquer.

    ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡± Trent shook his head, ¡°But even if I say yes, you know how big of an ask this will be.¡±

    Iver nodded, ¡°I know, but at least with Gods, we know what we¡¯re dealing with.¡±

    Trent wasn¡¯t so sure about that statement. But something needed to be done before the Cultists moved to populated areas.

    ¡°Was that all?¡± Trent also needed to talk to his contacts in Atray and Haux. If Slece really was backing down, then continuing with a Mundane evacuation wasn¡¯t necessary.

    Iver nodded. ¡°Let me know if you need any resources. I¡¯m willing to put up a lot to get this done.¡±

    There was a pause and Trent could tell his brother had something else on his mind.

    ¡°There¡¯s something else, isn¡¯t there?¡±

    Iver looked very uncomfortable. ¡°You¡¯re going to Klix on this little tour thing of yours.¡±

    Trent just nodded. His ¡®grand tour¡¯ was all over the news with people wanting to talk to his son. He needed the fanfare to die down, and hoped that once he finished this publicity stunt, the Nobles would be satisfied and leave him and Atlas in peace.

    ¡°I owe Klix a favor.¡± His brother was starting to look sick. ¡°A very BIG favor. And she¡¯s calling it in. She wants to have a face to face talk with you and your son¡­¡± There was a little contempt in the God¡¯s voice as he said the word. ¡°When you go there.¡±

    ¡°You want me to pay your favor?¡± It was typical of his brother. When Trent was younger, at least he¡¯d been paid for the favors, but now, he could probably earn more in the Dungeon than the time it would take him to do whatever task Klix had in mind for him.

    ¡°It¡¯s urgent and¡­¡± His brother paused. ¡°Not something that can be talked about even on a secure line. But I promise you, if you¡¯ll hear her out, you won¡¯t regret it.¡±

    Trent sighed, but he had a problem that his brother could fix while he was with his class. ¡°Fine, but I¡¯m going to need something in return.¡±

    Iver smiled. ¡°I¡¯m sure that it will be easy enough¡­¡±

    ¡°A set of Tier Seven gear.¡± Trent smiled at how quickly his brother was silenced.

    ¡°Why do you..?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Tier Seven now and I have a feeling that if I¡¯m seen working with you, the Primus are going to come for me. I¡¯d like to be as ready as I can, but I don¡¯t have the time at the moment to farm level seventy gear. And it¡¯s not something that you can buy on the open market.¡± Trent folded his arms, ¡°You want my help and that¡¯s my price.¡± He leaned forward. ¡°For the thing with Klix.¡± He wanted to specify that the price for setting up meetings with the other Gods was still open.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Iver sighed. ¡°I have some old gear that you can have. I was going to use it to get my current gear enhanced, but I suppose it would serve you better.¡± He rubbed his eyes, ¡°I¡¯ll send it to Klix and she can give it to you when you get there.¡±

    Trent nodded. He would have preferred to get the gear up front, but Iver didn¡¯t do business that way.

    ¡°I¡¯ll talk to you again after you meet with her.¡± Iver waved his hand over the screen, reaching for the button to end the communication. ¡°I¡¯ve got to go and start collecting your things.¡±

    Trent sat alone in his tent after his brother ended the communication. This wasn¡¯t how he thought things were going to go. He was going to have to look into it more, but there was one thing that he knew for sure.

    A global war was coming.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 1

    I was finally going to spend the night in my bed at the dorm.

    It¡¯d been two days since we¡¯d left the island where we¡¯d beaten the shadow of the Minotaur God, Wurn. Trent Vowler, the teacher of the Blue Team of first years, was giving ArchBishop Mavery a rundown on what had happened while we were in Tres. It wasn¡¯t really what had happened there that needed a debriefing, it was the side trip that we¡¯d taken.

    ¡°Atlas?¡±

    I looked down at the woman laying on my chest. Her hair was the color of milk and her red eyes almost looked like they were glowing. When we had been in Harror, the people there had called her a demon because of those features combined with skin the color of ivory. Most of the people that I¡¯d seen in that city had green skin, so considering it was the town of Healers and most Healers that I¡¯d worked with had green skin, I could understand how there might be some prejudice against the other classes.

    I ran my fingers through her hair. ¡°Yes?¡±

    Ether Klix snuggled closer to me. ¡°What are you thinking about?¡±

    Honestly, I hadn¡¯t been thinking about anything in particular. I was just enjoying being able to relax for a little bit before we headed out to Mive to figure out who our next party member would be. After I had declared myself to be Trent¡¯s son, which I wasn¡¯t, but given that he was a Caster with white hair, brown eyes, and ivory skin, the only thing that we didn¡¯t share was our eyes, mine were green. I hadn¡¯t noticed it before, but after I¡¯d looked at the two of us together, we did have some features that were close enough that I could pass as his son. I¡¯d needed a way to protect Rix from bounty hunters and being the son of one of the most famous Adventurers in the world made me worth a lot more than the price on her head.

    While it had saved our redheaded Shooter¡¯s life, it had also gotten the Nobles of the six cities in the Ward to start very loudly protesting that we only had one Noble in our class. So Trent had gotten Mavery to add secondary classes to each of our four classes and then promised that he¡¯d add a child of a Noble from each city to our secondary party. We¡¯d just gotten our third and fourth teammates and honestly, once we went to Mive and picked out our fifth member, our sixth one would be almost set.

    I realized that her question had sent me down a rabbit hole and she was staring at me, waiting for my response.

    ¡°I was just thinking about how close we are to filling out our team.¡±

    ¡°You mean your Harem?¡± Aelin Zeb walked over and put both of her brown hands on the footboard of my bed.

    The blonde had come up with the idea that I needed to start a harem for some reason and the other women on the team had started running with it. What made it slightly confusing, for me anyway, was that she was currently in a relationship with our Healer and had no intention of joining a Harem with me. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ¡°I really wasn¡¯t.¡± I looked around the room. Of the twelve of us that were currently in the open room building, there were only two of us that were guys, myself and Mitchel Zarboe, the new tank that we¡¯d picked up in Tres. And he was acting very reserved, preferring to stay near the corners of whatever room we were in, almost like Rix. I made a note that I was going to have to ask him about that. He seemed pleasant enough the little I¡¯d been able to talk with him so far.

    ¡°Is he thinking about handing out another ring?¡± Jenne Violu looked at her empty golden hand, ¡°Hmm, I think I¡¯d like something that gives a magic boost¡­¡±

    I could feel most of the eyes in the room on me as the rest of the woman waited for me to respond.

    ¡°I gave the last ring we found to Fray.¡± I swallowed, ¡°Plus, when are we going to be going back into the Dungeon to do a boss room?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re level four now.¡± Gesai Alard, the red-haired, green-eyed, silver skinned teacher of the secondary class reminded me. ¡°You could do events.¡±

    ¡°I thought we were supposed to slow down on how fast we were leveling.¡± I looked over at the slightly older woman. She¡¯d graduated a little over a year ago, which made her seven years older than us, which was usually too young to be a teacher, but after she¡¯d destroyed her hands and arms so badly that she had permanent burn scars from using a item that was way above her level to kill someone to keep my secret, she¡¯d kind of earned her place as Trent¡¯s helper.

    ¡°There are ways to collect experience.¡± She tapped the crystal band that she wore over her elbow length white gloves. The crystal band, or CB as most people called it, was the way that we interacted with our Mantles. It could also hold a limited amount of items as well as information about different Dungeons that we went to. ¡°Almost no one uses them because why would you store experience, when people would earn more by being carried instead, but Trent and I have talked about getting a collector for Rix while we¡¯re in Mive.¡± Gesai looked at the four of us that were level four, ¡°We could look into getting one for the four of you as well.¡±

    Which meant that our excuse to not have to be in the Dungeon quite as much was about to be nonexistent. But maybe we could feed that experience into the lower leveled members to bring them up.

    ¡°Speaking of other ways to get experience¡­¡± I looked at Jovena Bothua, who was sitting on the bed next to mine where Ether was supposed to sleep, but never did. ¡°Has Warder got the rest of your team?¡±

    The white-haired shooter rolled her blue eyes. ¡°That eager to try to get rid of me?¡±

    Aelin smiled widely, ¡°He¡¯s just hoping you¡¯ll bring more girls to add to the Harem.¡±

    I sat up and threw my pillow at her. She laughed as she dodged out of the way. ¡°Why Atlas, are you sure you want to start this?¡± Her eyes promised mischief.

    I scooted up against the headboard. ¡°You can take your pillow fight fantasies and live them out with Justia.¡±

    I could see the green-skinned Healer blush, even though she was on her bed on the other side of the room.

    Aelin clicked her tongue as she walked away. ¡°Such a dirty mind¡­¡±

    I suppressed the smirk that tried to crawl over my face. The teasing wouldn¡¯t stop if she saw something like that. I looked at the woman who wasn¡¯t part of our team, ¡°Have you gotten the rest of your team?¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 2

    Jovena looked afraid.

    The arrogant Shooter was usually mouthy, but I¡¯d figured out that was just her way of keeping people away from her. I hadn¡¯t figured out why she didn¡¯t like people getting close, but I had a feeling that I¡¯d have plenty of time over the next six years to figure it out.

    ¡°There were three there when we got in.¡± Jovena reached over and picked up the discarded pillow and handed it to Ether.

    Our ivory Tank took it and put it behind her as she scooted back to sit next to me.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got most of your team.¡± It was the same amount that we had. I wondered if the teachers were taking turns picking students again.

    ¡°We¡¯re missing our Buffer and Caster.¡± She leaned back on the bed. ¡°We don¡¯t have a teacher yet, so we don¡¯t really have much to do at the moment. I think Warder is going to try to rotate us with Bethil until we get full teams.¡±

    ¡°Celia doesn¡¯t want to share?¡± I smiled at my joke, but the look on her face told me I wasn¡¯t far off.

    ¡°Savyn is the one who doesn¡¯t want to share.¡± Jenne sat down on the foot of my bed. ¡°Arlo came back with them and he¡¯s already got a full team¡­¡± She raised an eyebrow, ¡°One woman and eleven guys..¡± She smirked as she looked over at Mitchel, ¡°I think she does the harem thing better than you.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± I sighed as Ether giggled. I looked over at Jovena. ¡°Are you going to be okay while we¡¯re gone?¡±

    The Shooter shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t think Savyn¡¯s going to be too much of a problem, we shouldn¡¯t be in the Dungeon at the same time, so the only other time I could really run into her is when we¡¯re in the cafe.¡±

    ¡°I should introduce you to Wrye.¡± I was a little shocked at how easily I thought about him as an ally. When I¡¯d first met him in my first week here, he and his team had tried to rough us up. Then Rix had almost killed him and another member of his team. The few times that I¡¯d seen him since, he had seemed genuinely friendly.

    ¡°I¡¯m not looking to get set up.¡± I could see the panic on her face.

    ¡°No.¡± I waved the hand on the arm that Ether wasn¡¯t cuddling with, ¡°He¡¯s one of the second years and Trent¡¯s old team. And I know he wouldn¡¯t mind looking out for you while we¡¯re in Mive and Klix.¡± I nodded at the black-haired woman talking to Justia. ¡°Plus Oz¡¯s dad is working as their assistant teacher, so you¡¯ll have someone you kind of know.¡±

    She didn¡¯t look convinced, but that was the end of her resistance to the idea.

    ¡°How much do you think they¡¯re going to be in here?¡± Ether looked over at me.

    ¡°You don¡¯t think Oz and Justia will go over there?¡±Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    Ether sat up so she could look at me. ¡°Oz might have waited until her dad got back to take her trail, but she was staying with the Dispatchers instead of across town with her parents. She might go over there sometimes, but he¡¯ll be over here more.¡±

    How she explained it made a little bit of sense, though I was still curious why she¡¯d choose to live with the Dispatchers. I¡¯d lived in a Dispatcher¡¯s Hub for over four years before I¡¯d received my Mantle and been moved to the Cathedral. It wasn¡¯t an experience that I¡¯d want to repeat, though I¡¯d been working from sun up until sunset almost seven days a week. That coupled with the meager wages that I had been making and I¡¯d almost never had time to do much of anything other than sleep when I wasn¡¯t in the Dungeon.

    I looked around the Dorm room. It was large enough for the eight beds and three bunk beds that were in it, but if we were going to start having a lot more traffic, then it was going to start feeling cramped very quickly.

    ¡°How much time do you think we¡¯ll be spending in the dungeon?¡± I looked at the woman next to me.

    ¡°Not as much as you have been.¡± Gesai walked over, which prompted Jenne to move to the other side of the room. ¡°Trent is going to start using Pocket Dungeons once we get back to give my class enough time to catch up.¡± She stopped at the foot of my bed. ¡°You¡¯re far enough ahead of the other classes that he¡¯s going to be using a private one in the courtyard instead of the one that the four teams are supposed to share.¡± The redhead sighed, ¡°Which is only going to put even more pressure on my team for the Adventurer Games this year.¡±

    ¡°What does that have to do..?¡± I saw Ether shaking her head and knew that I¡¯d missed something.

    ¡°Rix is too high level to participate.¡± Gesai shook her head when Jovena¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°No, you can¡¯t substitute for her this year.¡±

    The white-haired Shooter folded her arms in front of her and scowled.

    ¡°Which means that people will be expecting your team to be the one to win?¡± I had a feeling that we weren¡¯t going to be allowed to compete, though I¡¯d been basing that more off of trying to keep my Godling class a secret than it being because Rix was too high level. Though that might have just been a convenient excuse to keep both of us out of the spotlight.

    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Gesai shook her head. ¡°Maybe if it was some other year, but most teachers who want to compete in the Adventurer Games try to avoid the years that Trent teaches. Bethil isn¡¯t here for that, but Celia and Warder are. Which means I¡¯m going to have to go up against some of the best.¡±

    I could tell by the tone of her voice that she didn¡¯t have very high expectations for herself. ¡°Hey, you¡¯ll still have Trent to help you and so far, you¡¯ve got a pretty awesome team.¡±

    Gesai forced a smile, ¡°Thanks.¡± She looked down at her crystal band, ¡°Trent¡¯s going to be back soon.¡± She looked at the other side of the room. ¡°We¡¯re turning in early because we¡¯re going to be on the road before six!¡±

    I heard groans from most of them.

    ¡°Vena, you should probably head back to your dorm.¡± Gesai looked at the student on Ether¡¯s bed.

    ¡°Ether said I could sleep in her bed whenever I want.¡± The white-haired woman settled in, ¡°And Atlas said it was okay for me to spend the night tonight.¡±

    The glare I received was as far as Gesai pushed it. As far as the silver-skinned teacher was concerned, I was second in command only to Trent, and I had a feeling that she would take my side more often than not if the two of us ever disagreed on something. I thought about pointing out that I¡¯d never said that she could stay tonight, but that would start a debate where for now, everyone had let it rest.

    I settled in as everyone else got ready. It was an eleven hour drive to Mive, so we were going to be on the road for most of the day tomorrow and I had a feeling that Trent was going to want us to go into the Dungeon first thing after we got there. For now I was going to enjoy sleeping in my bed.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 3

    I woke up first.

    Technically third since Trent and Rix were gone, but I didn¡¯t count either of them, since they almost never slept. I knew that for Rix it was a defensive thing. She was almost on guard and felt too vulnerable in bed. For Trent, I had no idea. He was a hundred thirty two years old, even if he looked like he was barely sixty. A longer lifespan was a product of having a Mantle, and I¡¯d recently learned that his mother had been a Goddess, so between both of those, I assumed he¡¯d probably have a very long life. It wouldn¡¯t surprise me if he had some skill that didn¡¯t require him to sleep.

    I slid out from under Ether and walked as quietly as I could to the door. I was surprised to see Rix standing in front of the tree that Trent liked to sit against. Usually, she kept her stealth on when she was in the courtyard.

    ¡°Morning.¡± I waved at the two of them. ¡°What¡¯s the plan for today?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re about to wake everyone up.¡± The white-haired man looked up at me. ¡°Then we¡¯re going to head out. I was about to send Rix to the cafe to get breakfast for us, then we can meet her at the RVs.¡±

    ¡°RVs? As in plural?¡± We¡¯d been just driving around in one. Even our last trip had just been a really big one.

    ¡°We¡¯re two classes, so each class should have their own vehicle.¡± Trent stretched, ¡°Plus that will make us look like less of an easy target for bandits.¡±

    I saw just a moment of apprehension cross Rix¡¯s face before she was able to dismiss it. I knew that the bandits that she¡¯d been living with had a bounty out on her, but I doubted anyone would try to collect it while she was around Trent.

    ¡°Are we splitting it up by class or..?¡±

    ¡°You can do whatever you want.¡± The old man stood up, ¡°We just need to spread out evenly.¡±

    I had a feeling that Aelin was going to split up the groups, which meant that her five would take one RV and the rest would be with me. Which was okay with me, because that meant that I might get a chance to talk to Mitchel.

    ¡°Do you want me to go wake everyone up?¡± I pointed my thumb at the dorm behind me. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    ¡°Here.¡± Trent reached for his CB.

    I waved my hands. ¡°No thank you. If I walk in there with one of those water bombs, Ether will kill me.¡±

    Trent put the marbles back in his CB. ¡°Then I¡¯ll see you at the garage.¡± He started walking towards the exit.

    I expected that when I looked over, Rix would already be gone, but she looked like she was deep in thought.

    ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Considering she was a slice first, ask forgiveness after kind of person, if she had something that was making her mull it over, it had to be heavy.

    ¡°We were talking about getting an experience storage while we¡¯re in Mive.¡± She took a deep breath. ¡°There¡¯s been more bandit sightings in the last week. It seems like Sipher was holding a lot of the Godless territory as well as a significant number of Desolations. Now that he¡¯s dead, at least one Desolation in the Fane Ward has broken, Trent doesn¡¯t know how many more have and we¡¯re just not able to tell.¡±

    I saw some regret on her face, which I thought was weird because Gesai was the one who killed Sipher, not her.

    ¡°Hey, it¡¯ll be okay.¡± I put my hand on her shoulder, ¡°Plus with Trent being Tier Seven now, I¡¯m sure he can handle anything we might run into.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s just the problem.¡± Rix looked towards where Trent had gone. ¡°There are very few Gods that are Tier Eight, which means that if Trent was seen as a threat to the Primus before, he really is now. He doesn¡¯t think they¡¯ll do anything right now because of all the chaos, but when it settles down¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re worried about him.¡±

    Rix shrugged, ¡°He¡¯s like the father I never had. I thought losing my mom was hard, but this¡­¡± She looked down at her hands. ¡°I want to get stronger.¡± She looked at me. ¡°In the Bequeathal Chamber levels didn¡¯t matter. We didn¡¯t have our Mantles augmenting us, it was only the skills and training that we had. I need to get better, because¡­¡±

    ¡°Hey, you can¡¯t even get down low enough to challenge the Beque¡­¡± I saw where she was going. ¡°You want to use the seeds to bring the Mantles to you.¡±

    Rix took a deep breath. ¡°Right now we don¡¯t know enough about how the Cult was making the seeds, but it¡¯s something to consider in the future.¡± She smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not going anywhere, I¡¯m just trying to plan for the future and worst case scenarios.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡± I gave her shoulder a playful punch. ¡°Because we need our Shooter.¡±

    ¡°You and I are bonded.¡± Rix touched her chest where the mark that hid her class and stats was. ¡°Where you go, I¡¯ll follow. I just want to be able to keep you safe.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll all be safe enough for now.¡± I smiled. ¡°So go get our food and I¡¯ll wake everyone up.¡±

    Rix gave me a weak smile, then turned and walked to the exit.

    I watched her leave and thought about what she¡¯d said. If the Primus came after Trent, then I¡¯d be helpless as a Tier Zero. I just hoped that they¡¯d wait until we graduated, then I¡¯d see if Trent or Gesai would power level us up. Because I had a feeling that if they went after Trent, they¡¯d take care of all of us.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 4

    Gesai was waiting for me.

    I had a feeling that she¡¯d woken up when I got up, since she was already dressed and wide awake.

    ¡°Are they up?¡± I nodded past her into the room.

    The redhead reached her hand through the doorway and flicked on the light. ¡°Wake up!¡± She smiled, ¡°They are now.¡± There was mischief in her eyes, ¡°How many water marbles did Trent give you?!¡±

    I heard feet hitting the floor as most of my teammates hurried to get ready. Ether was the first one to the door, with her boots in her hands. The icy glare she gave me as she searched for the offending material confirmed my belief that if I had been holding one of those marbles, I¡¯d be having a lot more of an unpleasant conversation than I was about to be subjected to.

    ¡°You¡­¡±

    I held up both hands so she could see my palms. ¡°Gesai was joking! I specifically told Trent that I wasn¡¯t going to wake anyone up like that again!¡±

    She glared at me for a little bit longer, before the storm behind her eyes began to fade. The white-haired woman turned to Gesai. ¡°That was NOT funny.¡±

    Gesai just smiled and pointed at the exit. ¡°Trent¡¯s waiting at the RVs.¡±

    Ether moved over to my side. ¡°RVs?¡±

    ¡°Yep. We¡¯ve got enough students now, both classes get their own.¡± The teacher had to move as Aelin shot out of the building.

    ¡°There are TWO RVs!?!¡± The blonde smiled broadly. ¡°I¡¯m going to drive the whole way!¡± She looked at me, ¡°Are we splitting by class?¡±

    ¡°Trent said that we get to decide who goes on which one.¡± I winced as she started yelling.

    ¡°Justia! Jen! Let¡¯s go! We get our own RV!¡± She turned to run back inside.

    Gesai put her arm across the door. ¡°You¡¯re out here already. No going back in to slow down everyone else.¡±

    ¡°But..!¡± Aelin bounced back and forth on each foot.

    ¡°Besides.¡± I moved away from the energetic woman, pulling Ether with me. ¡°Trent said that we have to split evenly.¡±

    Aelin paused and I saw her doing the mental math that I¡¯d already figured out. ¡°Justia, Jen, Oz, and Ren are with me and you get everyone else.¡±

    Ether laughed, ¡°So I¡¯m an ¡®everyone else¡¯?¡±

    Aelin shrugged. ¡°Easier to say that than Ether, Rix, Fray, and Shelly.¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    ¡°Shelly?¡± I raised an eyebrow, ¡°How did you come up with that?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s a Tank?¡± She smiled wide, ¡°And he¡¯s so quiet, it¡¯s like he¡¯s in a shell?¡±

    ¡°And he knows you call him that?¡± I found it hard to believe that the large man would find the nickname endearing, but I also didn¡¯t know him that well.

    ¡°SHELLY!¡± Aelin peeked into the building again, ¡°Hurry up! You¡¯re riding with Atlas and¡­¡± She looked at Gesai, then at me, ¡°Ether in Trent¡¯s bus!¡±

    ¡°Why..?¡± I shook my head. I had a feeling that she would want to ride with Gesai, but considering that Trent had known Oz and Justia since they were little and there had been a lot of bad blood between the Alard and her younger cousins, I wasn¡¯t sure if they¡¯d want to share an RV with her. If there was still any apprehension there, it seemed like Aelin was blowing right by it.

    The dark man walked out of the building next and just nodded at me, before moving towards the exit. Shelly paused halfway through the courtyard. The blonde man turned around with confusion in his brown eyes.

    ¡°We¡¯re going to the garage.¡± I realized that this was probably the first time that he¡¯d been to the Cathedral, so he didn¡¯t know where to go. I didn¡¯t blame him, the place was basically a city itself. It¡¯d been over a month since I¡¯d gotten here and there were still lots of places I¡¯d never been. ¡°Once Fray gets out¡­¡±

    The shy brunette walked out the door. ¡°Nevermind. Fray you¡¯re with me.¡± I started walking towards the exit, ¡°I¡¯ll show you where we¡¯re going.¡±

    Fray walked behind me on my right, while Ether stayed on my left. Shelly fell in behind us. I knew that Aelin wasn¡¯t going to let the others lag behind too long, so I felt confident that they¡¯d be along soon.

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to say bye to Vena?¡± Fray looked up at me with her big brown eyes.

    I looked back at the building. If I went back, then Gesai would have to let Aelin follow me in. I didn¡¯t want to countermand her order. I turned my CB over and started typing out a message. Not as good as one in person, but it would suffice.

    ¡°What are you saying?¡± Ether looked over my shoulder.

    I shifted so that she could see the display hovering above the crystal, ¡°Just telling her that we¡¯ll see her when we get back and that I sent a message to Wrye last night and he promised to look after her and that he¡¯d make sure that Savyn wouldn¡¯t mess with her.¡± I switched over to the message that I¡¯d received last night after she¡¯d fallen asleep. Then I remembered the last thing that he¡¯d added.

    ¡°Do you want me to look after your blonde tank too or is she fair game?¡± Ether narrowed her eyes as she read it out loud.

    ¡°I¡¯ve not even seen Bridget since we¡¯ve been back.¡± I held up my hands, ¡°So I really have no idea what he¡¯s talking about.¡±

    I saw a look between Ether and Fray.

    ¡°What did I miss?¡± I looked between the two women.

    ¡°While you were¡­¡± Fray looked at her green hands, ¡°Away. Bridget started telling everyone that she was with Trent¡¯s son. Ether got into it with her.¡±

    ¡°¡®Ah.¡± I pulled the ivory tank close to me and kissed her forehead before looking into her bright red eyes, ¡°And you set her straight?¡±

    Ether sighed. ¡°Every guy here has heard the story of how the two of you hooked up on the first day.¡±

    I started to protest, but she silenced me with a finger.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter that it didn¡¯t happen.¡± Ether shrugged, ¡°She got called into the ArchBishop¡¯s office, which gave her story credence. Add in that she¡¯d turned down any advances before then and now no guy here will touch her.¡± She removed her finger from my lips.

    ¡°Well¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t keep the smirk off my face as I looked towards the dorm. ¡°I¡¯m a guy here, so¡­¡± I turned back to her and wrapped my arm around her shoulders, ¡°It¡¯s a good thing Justia likes blondes.¡±

    Fray started fumbling for words. ¡°B-b-but, Aelin would kill her if she tried to take Justia!¡±

    I laughed, ¡°Problem solved.¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 5

    Trent was waiting for us.

    ¡°Where are the others?¡± Our teacher was leaning against one of the four RVs in front of the garage.

    ¡°Everyone else is riding with Gesai.¡± I motioned at the three people with me, ¡°Aelin decided that we¡¯re riding with you.¡±

    Trent eyed me for a moment, then nodded at the RV. ¡°Rix has already set out breakfast in both of them, you can head in and start eating if you want.¡±

    Shelly smiled and went inside, followed by Fray and Ether. I pointed at the other two RVs. ¡°Are we having company?¡±

    Trent shook his head. ¡°Celia got her secondary team lined out already, so she¡¯s going to take them down to Gar and work down there for a few weeks.¡±

    ¡°Is she taking Arlo with her?¡±

    Trent nodded cautiously.

    ¡°Is it safe for him to be traveling like that?¡± I looked around. There was no one else out in the yard this early in the morning, but I could tell by the look on his face that he wanted me to be cautious when talking about his nephew.

    ¡°Arlo Heema is a very capable individual.¡± My teacher crossed his arms. ¡°And with eight teams here, the Dungeon is going to be a little more crowded, so we¡¯re going to be moving around more than usual. Since Celia has just set up an outpost at Gar, it¡¯s only logical that she uses that Dungeon right now. Plus there is a lot to sort through in the bunker there.¡±

    I remembered how many shipping containers there had been in that underground bunker. And considering that it was made out of at least Tier Seven materials, it would be one of the safest places for the new God to be. At least until Arlo got a better handle on the new City that he¡¯d just taken possession of. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    ¡°Gotcha, what about the other two teams? Are they filling up from the towns we¡¯ve already been to or..?¡±

    ¡°There are still options, but for the most part, their teams have been decided.¡± Trent shook his head, ¡°Honestly, there¡¯s really only one Healer candidate for us in the last two towns, and he¡¯s in Klix.¡±

    ¡°So we¡¯re not going to go there..?¡±

    ¡°My old friend, Iver, set up a meeting with the two of us and Klix. Seems that she wants to meet you and she has something on him where he can¡¯t say no.¡± Trent shrugged, ¡°So we¡¯ll keep up the pretense of the tour and go see what she wants.¡± He looked down at his CB, then back at me, ¡°We have only two choices for a Shooter in Mive, so that will narrow the choices down a bit. We shouldn¡¯t be there too long, then we can go to Klix and get this whole thing over with.¡±

    I saw the other team coming across the yard. They must have taken a different route than the one I¡¯d used.

    ¡°That one¡¯s yours.¡± Trent pointed at the RV next to ours, then turned to climb inside of ours.

    Aelin was cheering and running for the other RV. There was a part of me that felt sorry for the others. It was way too early in the morning for that much energy, but once we were on the road, anyone who wasn¡¯t driving would at least have the option to sleep.

    I climbed inside of my RV and closed the door. Trent was in the driver¡¯s seat and Shelly was riding shotgun. Rix was sitting at the table with Ether and Fray, who were both still eating breakfast. I sat down in the open space next to Rix and began sampling the fruits, meat, and breakfast cakes.

    ¡°Once you finish eating, you¡¯ll have your first test.¡± Trent announced as the vehicle began to move.

    ¡°Over what?¡± I tried to think about what he¡¯d taught us so far, but most of it had just been survival.

    ¡°The Dungeon bosses in Mive.¡± I could hear the pleasure in his voice, ¡°And the Events.¡±

    Rix beat me to the console and started pulling up information. I slowed down how fast I¡¯d been eating. I wanted to have plenty of time to study.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 6

    The strategies were censored.

    We still had access to what monsters spawned, but not on the strategies on how to fight them.

    ¡°What¡¯s first?¡± Ether pushed her plate towards the outside of the table. She was blocked in by Fray, who was still eating.

    ¡°Temple Dungeon.¡± Rix did something and the window began to display what was in front of her. ¡°It¡¯s an uncommon one, so the boss is going to have features from both floor monsters, plus an extra one.¡± She looked at the screen in front of her, then the two monsters appeared. ¡°It¡¯s mostly rocky terrain, because Mive is at the foot of the mountains.¡±

    ¡°An elemental and a wurm?¡± I looked at the boss that looked like a worm with scales ¡°And the boss is going to be solid rock and able to burrow underground.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s going to make it hard to tank¡­¡± Ether started tapping her fingers on the table. ¡°It¡¯s also going to be hard to hit if it¡¯s underground all the time.¡±

    Fray looked down at her CB. ¡°I¡¯ve only got the katana. That¡¯s not going to be good against rock monsters.¡±

    ¡°We need some air skills.¡± I pointed at the screen. ¡°Are all the monsters there earth elementals?¡±

    Rix pulled up the second floor, it looked like the earth elemental was also on this floor, while the second monster was a lizard.

    ¡°Don¡¯t we have those at the Cathedral?¡± I pointed at the Dust Lizard. ¡°We never fought them, but I¡¯m pretty sure that was the third monster.¡±

    ¡°It is.¡± Ether agreed, ¡°But ours was a first floor monster.¡±

    ¡°So different monsters can show up on different floors in different Dungeons.¡± I guessed it made some sense, since there were Dungeon tunnels that connected different Dungeons together, that they would also share monsters at some point.

    ¡°The boss of the Cathedral first floor had their breath attack, do you think that¡¯s what we¡¯ll see here?¡± Ether looked from the two monsters to the boss of that floor.

    Just like with the wurm, the boss looked like a Dust Lizard, but with stoney skin instead of scales. ¡°This is another boss that Fray is going to have trouble¡­¡± My mind started running with the word trouble. I realized that the people that we had with us would not make a team. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    ¡°Trent? How are we supposed to plan this out? We have both tanks and no healer.¡± I looked at our other teammate, ¡°MItchel, you should probably be over here.¡±

    ¡°Neither team has a Shooter either, so you can¡¯t plan for how they will factor in either.¡± Trent partly turned around so that he could look at us. ¡°Right now, you¡¯re trying to determine who can come up with the best strategies, then we¡¯ll evaluate them and I¡¯ll prepare something special for the winners.¡± He turned back to driving.

    I got out of my seat as Shelly walked over. Rix was out of the booth right behind me. She sat on the counter across from us as Shelly took her spot. I slid back in beside him.

    ¡°Do you have any thoughts?¡± I motioned at the window where the three monsters were displayed.

    ¡°Getting elemental gear for each dungeon is going to get expensive.¡± Shelly shook his head. ¡°I know we have the All Mister Vowler gave us, but that¡¯s going to run out. Once it does, we¡¯re going to have to start funding ourselves again.¡±

    ¡°What do you propose?¡± I could see his logic.

    ¡°We should try it with what we have first, then decide what we have to have and go get that.¡±

    I remembered our GIant Slime boss fight in Harror. ¡°We tried that strategy already.¡± I looked at the green woman across from me. ¡°Fray got hurt because we didn¡¯t bring the right gear, so I¡¯d rather not go through that again.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Shelly looked down, ¡°Sorry.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a valid point.¡± I glanced at the driver¡¯s seat. ¡°This class has already moved around more than most, from what I have heard. So normally, getting one set of gear and running with it would work, but it seems like we need a new element every time we go to a new city, which means¡­¡±

    ¡°Each person would need eighty items to fully gear themselves out in all ten elements.¡± Ether provided the information. ¡°Though your accessories could probably stay the same.¡± She began fiddling with the green ring on her hand. ¡°Which means sixty-two pieces of gear.¡±

    ¡°Each.¡± I emphasized the first word she used. ¡°Trent. How many pieces of gear can our CBs hold?¡±

    ¡°Twenty.¡±

    I looked around the table. ¡°Which means three sets of gear is the most that we could carry with us anyway.¡± I turned to Shelly, ¡°So you are right, not only from a financial sense, but also from a storage sense. We can¡¯t get all new items for every dungeon, but¡­¡± I looked at our Hitter. ¡°Fray won¡¯t be able to fight the Earth Wurm with her katana, so she at the very least, has to have a new weapon.¡±

    Shelly just nodded silently.

    ¡°Let¡¯s try to figure out the bare minimum amount of gear that we need to get to help us with the fights.¡± I looked at the snowy woman diagonally from me. ¡°Ether can keep up with the list.¡±

    ¡°Third floor has an earth elemental and a mountain goat.¡± Rix pointed at the screen. ¡°The boss is the same as the last two. The second monster covered in rocky skin.¡± She pointed at the window and it moved forward to the fourth floor. ¡°The event floor has earth elementals and spiders.¡± She looked at the front. ¡°They aren¡¯t fighting the fourth floor boss?¡±

    ¡°You can leave off the fourth floor boss.¡± Trent chuckled, ¡°I think Mavery would have a stroke if you hit level five before we got back.¡±

    ¡°Which means everything in the Temple Dungeon is earth element.¡± I leaned back in my seat. ¡°What does everyone think?¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 7

    Ether was the first one to speak.

    ¡°Since our groups are uneven, then I think the purpose of the exercise is to evaluate which strategy would work best for both teams, regardless of composition.¡± Ether looked at Rix, who nodded. ¡°Also, the event floor is going to be the focus, because both groups will probably try to get there within the first day.¡±

    Three boss fights in one day would be a long run towards the Boss room. It had been taking around two hours to walk to the boss rooms from when we first started. Add in the time to fight the bosses and rest, and the math did work out, but it was going to be a very long day.

    ¡°Trent. Are you going to take us to the boss rooms?¡± I looked at my teacher. ¡°Since you mainly want to see how we work on the fourth floor anyway. Wouldn¡¯t it make sense to port us to the floor above, then have us backtrack into the boss room?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m thinking about it.¡± Trent shrugged. ¡°Still haven¡¯t decided how long I want to be in Mive.¡±

    I had a feeling that he had some secondary reason for going there as well. Which would mean that it would only be Gesai who was taking us around. I hadn¡¯t been in a dungeon with Trent since the second day, so that wouldn¡¯t be anything different.

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t have any bearing on your strategies.¡± Trent added from over his shoulder. ¡°You haven¡¯t finished the first one yet and you¡¯ve got two more.¡±

    ¡°It says that the Authority has control of the third Dungeon in Mive.¡± Rix had been doing something in the bottom corner of the screen. ¡°I thought we were avoiding the Authority.¡±

    ¡°Just because you aren¡¯t going to go there, doesn¡¯t mean that you can¡¯t be tested over it.¡± Trent chuckled. ¡°There are lots of people whose only job is to theorize ways to beat bosses that have never been challenged before and most of the strategists will never go within a Tier of those monsters. In fact, the best strategist in the world is in the Kingdom and is only Tier Three.¡±

    I would have to remember to look that up later. For now, I needed to get back to the exercise at hand.

    ¡°Temple Dungeon.¡± I drew everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°All of them but the first floor look like they can be bound, then we can have our damage dealers focus them down?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think your Bind spell will work.¡± Rix pointed at the screen where she had zoomed in on the Earth Lizard. ¡°It doesn''t have smooth skin. It¡¯s jagged.¡±Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    She was right. Binding it would only slow it down or stumble it. I wouldn¡¯t be able to lock it in place.

    ¡°I missed that.¡± I sighed. ¡°How do you think we should handle it then?¡±

    ¡°The Wurm will probably clear taunt when it goes underground, which means everyone will need to spread out when it does that.¡± Rix switched the page back to the first boss. ¡°Also, the longer the fight goes, the more torn up the room is going to get and the harder it will become to dodge.¡± She nodded at me. ¡°Water might not do much damage to it, but I think it should force it to stay above ground if you keep flooding its tunnels.¡±

    ¡°Okay, so that¡¯s how we make it surface faster, but how do we beat it?¡± I didn¡¯t think I needed to point out that Jen didn¡¯t have the Wave spell. That would go on the list of things to buy.

    ¡°We don¡¯t know where the core is, so focus on taking off the head?¡± Ether pointed at the monster that was about three feet wide. ¡°The Buffers could use Soften on its neck, then the Hitters smash it while it''s on the ground and the Caster and Shooters focus on the Head if it¡¯s out of reach?¡±

    ¡°That sounds like it could work. Should we move on or do people think that we need to go over this some more?¡±

    No one said anything, which I took as confirmation that we could move on.

    ¡°Second Floor boss?¡± I changed the image.

    ¡°Second and Third boss should have almost the same strategy.¡± Ether changed the image to show both bosses. ¡°Tank holds their attention, Buffer Softens the neck while the Hitter works on it. Shooter and Caster add ranged damage where they can.¡± She swapped to the Fourth floor. ¡°For the Earth Elementals, Air damage should focus on their cores, while the spiders can be bound and then smashed.¡± She looked over at me, ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be able to solo these.¡±

    ¡°At Zeb, the ninth floor had spawns in groups of three, while the sixteenth floor had groups of four.¡± I nodded at the two monsters. ¡°We know that after the first floor, monsters can start spawning in groups in higher rarity dungeons. So it¡¯s possible that we might see combinations of those two monsters in groups of up to four.¡±

    ¡°I need a better taunt.¡± Ether tapped her fingers on the table. ¡°I can only hold the attention of one thing at a time.¡±

    ¡°What about you, Mitchel?¡± It felt weird calling him that out loud when my mind was using the Shelly nickname that Aelin had given him, but I didn¡¯t feel comfortable using it out loud until I¡¯d had a chance to ask him about it.

    ¡°I can only taunt one thing too.¡± He leaned back. ¡°This is going to get expensive.¡±

    ¡°Yes, but once you get the skill to let you keep multiple taunts up at a time, you¡¯ll be good until floor ten.¡± That was the thing about skills. They had level minimums, but they were good until you reached the next Tier of floors.

    ¡°I guess¡­¡± He started fiddling with his thumbs.

    ¡°Does anyone think we need to add anything to our strategies?¡± I didn¡¯t see anyone indicate that they did. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s move on to the Dispatcher¡¯s Dungeon.¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 8

    It was an indoor swamp.

    Which looked a lot like what I¡¯d imagine a natural sewer system might look like.

    ¡°The Dispatcher¡¯s and the Authority¡¯s Dungeons are both Common Dungeons, so we only have one monster per floor with those.¡± Rix changed the screen to show seven monsters. The four floor monsters and the first three Boss monsters.

    ¡°First floor is a Giant Rat and the boss is a Rat King. Second Floor is a Spitting Snake and the boss is a Giant Python. Third floor is a Leech Head and the boss is a King Sucker. Fourth floor spawns were Cube Slimes.¡± I looked at the list as I read them off. ¡°This event floor might spawn less monsters, but those Cubes look a lot like the Slimes in Harror.¡± I smiled, ¡°This might be easier to farm experience than the Temple Dungeon.¡±

    ¡°Acid Slimes were weak to ice?¡± Fray looked down at her hands.

    ¡°You¡¯ll be fine.¡± I reached across the table and took her hands. I wondered if they might still hurt even though Justia had healed the burns from when she¡¯d used a weapon above her level to help us beat the Giant Acid Slime.

    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Fray looked up at me and forced a smile.

    I patted her hands then leaned back. ¡°So the Casters need ice spells for the Cubes, what about the others?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you need a blunt weapon to smash the ice?¡± Shelly shifted in his seat.

    ¡°You do.¡± Ether agreed. ¡°Which emphasizes that our Hitters need both types of weapons.¡± She pointed at the other monsters, ¡°But they¡¯ll need weapons that can cut for the rest of them.¡±

    The Giant Rats were large enough that their shoulders would come up past my knee. The Rat King was even larger and looked like its shoulders would come past my waist.

    ¡°Do we know what elements they are?¡± I pointed at the rats.

    ¡°Rats don¡¯t have an affinity, snakes and cubes are acid, and the leeches are water.¡± Rix sounded confused about that last part.

    ¡°That means that any earth weapons we get from the Temple we can use on that floor.¡± Fray looked a little more relieved. ¡°Maybe that¡¯s where we should farm?¡±

    The Leech Heads were about the same size as the Giant Rats and looked like they were chubby cats with nothing but a round mouth that was full of teeth for a face. The King Sucker was waist high and it had a tentacle coming out of each of its front shoulders. Each tentacle also looked like it had a toothy sucker on the end of it. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s start at the beginning.¡± I had the window zoom in on the rats. ¡°King Rat?¡±

    ¡°Beast type monsters tend to die when you stab their heart.¡± Shelly pointed at the thing¡¯s chest. ¡°Taunt it. Bind it. Then let the Hitter go for the heart?¡±

    ¡°What about the Shooter?¡± Rix folded her arms in front of her.

    ¡°Oh, I¡­¡± Shelly looked away. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay Mitchel.¡± I patted him on the shoulder as I looked at Rix. ¡°Actually, don¡¯t most Shooters go into a Speed based Hitter subclass?¡±

    ¡°Your options for damage are pure Speed, which is really just faster and more accurate shots. Sub Power, which usually go daggers, dual wielding, or¡­¡± Rix tapped her CB. ¡°A Chainsword.¡± She held up two fingers. ¡°Then you have Sub Aura, which is debuffs, like Vena and Sub Magic, which use spells for ammo like you and Aelin.¡±

    ¡°Which means that we¡¯d need to compensate for the possibility of the Shooters we get assigned to potentially be melee.¡± I looked over at Ether. ¡°Would that change things too much?¡±

    ¡°A melee build would focus on the back legs and try to cripple it.¡± Ether thought for a moment. ¡°For the Temple Dungeons, they¡¯d need to go with hammers, which would just mean having to rotate attacks with the Hitter.¡±

    ¡°Sounds good.¡± I moved the window to the Giant Python. ¡°I have a feeling that this is going to be like the Skeletal Snake boss on the Cathedral first floor.¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t fight it the same way.¡± Ether closed her eyes as she thought.

    I saw what she was talking about. The Skeletal Snake had exposed ribs on its lower half. I¡¯d been able to bind its spine and that had locked it pretty much in place. The Giant Python didn¡¯t have that exploit. If I tried to bind it, it would be able to just slither out unless we were able to gouge it somehow.

    ¡°Wouldn''t ice work on them too?¡± Shelly looked around the table. ¡°Since reptiles slow down in the cold, then if we lowered the temperature of the room, wouldn¡¯t that at least slow it down?¡±

    ¡°That could work.¡± Rix pointed at the Cube Slime. ¡°We¡¯ll already need to invest in ice attacks and spells to farm the Cubes, so we would already have those.¡±

    ¡°Have the Casters use a Freeze spell to try to hold it in place, while the Hitter and the Shooter try to take off the head?¡± I smirked, ¡°That¡¯d be exactly like how we did the Skeletal Snake.¡± I pushed Shelly¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Good job.¡±

    Ether sighed as she opened her eyes. ¡°That leaves the King Sucker since our strategy for the Cube Slimes is going to be freeze and smash. And that¡¯s only if we can¡¯t destroy their cores by ourselves.¡±

    ¡°Right, so the King Sucker is weak to earth and looks like it has a fairly soft body. Take off the tentacles first, then focus on the core?¡± I looked around the table.

    ¡°That seems a little too easy.¡± Rix zoomed in on King Sucker. ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but I get the feeling that these things are fast.¡±

    ¡°So we¡¯ll have trouble hitting them?¡± I looked her over. ¡°Are you afraid that you wouldn¡¯t be able to keep up with it?¡±

    ¡°No¡­¡± Rix shrugged. ¡°They just look like a predator, but this picture makes them look¡­¡±

    ¡°Harmless?¡± Fray raised her voice barely above a whisper. I was sitting across from her and had trouble hearing her.

    ¡°Exactly.¡± Apparently Rix¡¯s hearing was much better than mine.

    ¡°Any ideas on how to compensate for that?¡± I didn¡¯t know what they were seeing, but I wasn¡¯t going to question Rix.

    ¡°We¡¯ll just have to see¡­¡± The redhead shrugged. ¡°Last Dungeon. What would we do if we went to the Authority Dungeon?¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 9

    It was bunnies.

    The Authority Dungeon was four floors of different types of knee high rabbits. Granted, these monsters had cat-like teeth and a horn at the top of their head. And that was just the floor monsters. The bosses were all at least waist high.

    ¡°What. Are. Those. Things?!¡± Fray¡¯s eyes got wide.

    ¡°Unilops.¡± Rix shuttered. ¡°First floor is wood, the second floor is Bone, the third floor is rock, and the fourth floor is metal.¡± She pointed at the different colored rib cages that were exposed on each one of them. ¡°Their ribs grow outside of their pelts and are composed of different types of whatever their typing is, so with the metal ones, you¡¯d see copper, iron, steel¡­¡± She waved her hand. ¡°There¡¯s a rarity to what can spawn, so you¡¯ll obviously see copper more often than a silver one.¡±

    ¡°You know about them?¡± Fray turned in her seat.

    ¡°The bandits I was with would deal in them a lot. Their horns in particular are made out of pure¡­¡± She waved her hand. ¡°Whatever they are. The higher rarity Unilops are worth a lot more than a regular crystal and if you could extract the horn from one, those were worth a lot more.¡±

    ¡°So you know how to beat them?¡± I was starting to regret that we wouldn¡¯t be going into that Dungeon.

    Rix zoomed in to the picture of the wooden one and pointed at the back of its neck, ¡°They try to gore their targets, which means they have to have a pretty straight spine. It also means that right here is exposed when they charge. All you have to do is let them charge, then sidestep and¡­¡± She made a chopping motion with her hand. ¡°At least that¡¯s what I¡¯ve seen done. The Giant ones are probably going to be more difficult and require a really tough shield.¡±

    Ether shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m glad we¡¯re not fighting one of those.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t want to have the cute monster try to gore you?¡± I smirked when she glared at me.

    ¡°How hard is it to summon one of them?¡± There was a look of awe on Fray¡¯s face.

    ¡°You can¡¯t be serious.¡± Ether pointed at the window, ¡°Out of all the monsters that we¡¯ve seen and this is what you want?¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s cute.¡± Fray turned around. ¡°Mister Vowler. How much mana does it take to summon just a floor monster?¡±

    ¡°At level one?¡± Trent didn¡¯t turn around, ¡°Most first floor monsters have twenty-four in total stats.¡±

    Fray started doing math in her head.

    ¡°You have thirty Mana.¡± Ether glared at the green woman.

    Fray smiled back, but also looked confused. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you liked the idea.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± Ether took a deep breath. ¡°I think that you¡¯re a physical class, so you¡¯ll be spreading yourself thin to try to keep up with it. You also have to remember that the Mana you spend on it won¡¯t regenerate even if you use a potion, so you¡¯re going to be able to use exactly two Slashes before you deplete yourself. And that¡¯s not to mention that you¡¯d need to take up a skill slot for Command Summon and that¡¯s only if you have the crystal embedded into a piece of gear. Otherwise, you¡¯ll have to take up a skill slot for that too.¡± She finally let out all the breath that she¡¯d been holding in. ¡°But if that¡¯s the way you want to build and Mister Vowler¡¯s okay with it¡­¡± She shook her head. ¡°Yes, you have enough Mana that you could do it.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Fray looked down at her hands. ¡°That¡¯s a lot¡­ I just¡­¡± She looked at me, then back at the window. ¡°Thought it¡¯d be a way I could do more.¡± A small smile cracked her lips. ¡°And they¡¯re cool.¡±

    I did not share her opinion on the cool part or that she wasn¡¯t doing enough, but I wasn¡¯t going to challenge her on the first topic.

    I slipped around the table so that I could sit next to her. Both she and Ether had to scoot together to make room. ¡°Hey. You¡¯re a valued member of the team. You do your job well, so don¡¯t feel like you need to do more.¡± I put my arm around her and hugged her. ¡°But if it¡¯s something you really want¡­¡± I knew that I¡¯d been thinking about dabbling in summoning, but that was for a mount that could get us around the Dungeon easier. This felt like something she was going to use more outside of the Dungeon than in. ¡°Then I¡¯m sure we can figure out a way to get you fixed up.¡±

    ¡°Really?!¡± Fray looked up at me, then over at Ether. ¡°Really?¡±

    Ether rolled her eyes and sighed, ¡°Yes. I may not want to do it, but if that¡¯s the way that you want¡­¡±

    ¡°Thank you!¡± Fray pulled away from my embrace to wrap Ether in a hug.

    Rix was chuckling as she watched us.

    ¡°What?¡± I slid out of the booth and leaned against the counter next to her.

    ¡°You just agreed to let her get a pet.¡± Rix had a huge smile on her face. ¡°I¡¯m curious what Aelin is going to want.¡±

    ¡°Why would..?¡± I didn¡¯t have to finish that sentence. Once we fixed up Fray with a monster crystal in a piece of gear, there would be no way to say no to Aelin, or Jen, or I could also see Ren participating. I hung my head. ¡°What have we started?¡±

    Rix smiled, ¡°No clue, but I have a feeling it¡¯s going to be entertaining for me to watch.¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 10

    I didn¡¯t get a chance to talk to Shelly.

    To be fair, we had a good seven hours that I could have talked to him, but I wanted to be able to give him some privacy in case he wanted to say some things that he didn¡¯t want, Trent in particular, not to hear. Though I knew any conversation I had was probably monitored by Trent, it was at least the illusion of privacy, which was the best that I could give him.

    We reached the walls of the city without incident. Trent wouldn¡¯t comment on our strategies, so there was no way for us to know if we needed to modify our strategies or if we should make a list of the new items that we needed. Despite the promise that we¡¯d made to Fray, Trent also wasn¡¯t letting us look at the stats of the Unilops. Which translated into watching a lot of trees along the road, which then turned into a lot of mountains.

    I was ready to stretch my legs when we stopped outside the walls. I was about to open the door to the RV when we started moving again.

    ¡°They¡¯re not going to inspect the inside of the RV?¡± I looked at the guard station that was passing us.

    ¡°They said they have a new system that can scan the whole thing and see who¡¯s inside and they verified that it was only the people I reported.¡± Trent shrugged as we got inside the city.

    Harror had been a city built around Healers, so there had been a lot of clinics there. Tres was all about protection, so I¡¯d seen a lot of private defense companies being advertised there. Even Zeb, the Godless town that it was, was built around meat and dairy production. But here, I didn¡¯t know what to think.

    I moved to the front of the RV as we drove through the city. There didn¡¯t seem to be a predominant amount of anything here. I saw a clinic, a shopping center, even an accounting firm. It felt rather homogeneous until I realized what there was more of. Advertisements. There were more billboards and banners for things here than I¡¯d seen in Harror, which was a much bigger city. The largest billboard that I saw was one that read ¡®The Six. Your voice in Mive¡¯s ear.¡¯.

    ¡°Who are the Six?¡± I pointed at the billboard.

    ¡°A group of the six most powerful and wealthy families in the city.¡± Trent looked at the six people on the billboard. ¡°Looks like Vanya Wesh, Remy Harlax, Sigun Gara, Chrice Faeru, Joi Inon, and Sandez Jinsu.¡± Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t Harlax the name of one of the people on Celia¡¯s team?¡± The name sounded familiar.

    ¡°Rals Harlax. He¡¯s their tank.¡± Ether answered before our teacher could.

    ¡°Ah. I thought I recognized him.¡± If Rals would have had red hair, then he would have looked exactly like an older version of his great-grandson. ¡°So I take it these are the families that we need to avoid?¡±

    ¡°Actually both of our choices are from those families. Zel Inon and Astrid Harlax.¡± Trent took another turn and I realized that we were going into the wealthier part of town, which was usually not where the Temple was located.

    ¡°How did children of two of the most powerful families in the city not end up at the Cathedral to start with and where are we going?¡± I was starting to feel very out of place as I saw a crest on every gate that we passed and some of them looked like they were worth enough to have a steady stream of thieves trying to steal them.

    ¡°With Astrid, you¡¯ll notice when you see her. She takes after her mother¡¯s side of the family and Remy is an old school Tank. Having a descendant who got a mantle other than Tank is something he sees as a slight against his family name.¡± Trent shook his head. ¡°She¡¯s also the younger of the twins, which are usually the ones who get left out of the chain of family power.¡±

    ¡°If he¡¯s so against her joining our team, then why is she a potential?¡± I did not understand rich people''s politics.

    ¡°Zel is the front runner, and the only candidate that was submitted when the Nobles were throwing a fit about exclusion.¡± He shrugged, ¡°But I looked at the Mantle records and saw that Astrid was here too, so I thought we¡¯d give her a chance.¡±

    ¡°So where are we going?¡± I motioned at the houses. ¡°Because the Temple is not going to be in this type of neighborhood.¡±

    ¡°The Temple¡¯s housing section is being remodeled.¡± Trent stopped in front of a gate. ¡°The WHOLE wing. So the Six have offered to put us up in one of their spare houses so that we don¡¯t have to stay in public housing.¡±

    ¡°He means the Six paid off the Temple here to deny us lodging so that they could woo us with their pretty things.¡± Ether sighed as she translated it for Fray.

    ¡°It also means that the house is most certainly wired. With lots of security you can see and more that you can¡¯t.¡± Trent turned so that he could look at us all. ¡°What I say before we go anywhere goes double for here. Watch what you say and do¡­¡± He looked right at Rix.

    ¡°I know.¡± She held up her hands. ¡°No going invisible.¡±

    The gate started opening, so Trent turned back to face it. ¡°Let¡¯s go meet our hosts.¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 11

    They were waiting for us.

    There was a part of me that had been expecting to see Remy Harlax and Joi Inon in front of the house, but it appeared that we hadn¡¯t made it up to that level of importance yet.

    Except for her blue eyes, Rayna Harlax looked nothing like her grandfather. Golden skin like her daughter standing next to her and brown hair were a sharp contrast to the black hair and silver skinned man who had been on the billboard. She was also short, though I had no idea how tall he was, but she was definitely not much over five foot if she even was that tall, because she had on heels and was still only as tall as Fray¡¯s five foot two.

    Astrid looked like a taller version of her mother, but with the same blazing red hair as her twin. Her piercing blue eyes locked on to me as I took in the five people waiting for us. I could feel anger in her eyes, though it wasn¡¯t directed at me. I started to feel almost like I had when we¡¯d first met Vena. She seemed to have that same fire inside her. It was also something Rix possessed, which made me wonder if it was an innate Shooter trait.

    The Inon¡¯s seemed very happy to be there to greet us, while the Harlax seemed like they were angry and upset about something.

    Pete Inon had the same light red hair and blue eyes as his mother, but his skin was much darker than her silver pigment that I¡¯d seen on the billboard. Mara Inon had jet black hair, red eyes and silver skin, but with much stockier features than Pete and Joi. They each had their hands on one of Zel¡¯s shoulders.

    The strawberry blonde had vibrant red eyes and silver skin. She was the shorter of the two candidates, though that could have been due to Zel being the only woman not in heels. She was lithe and dressed in blue light armor with a row of knives around her waist interrupted only by a pair of short swords on her hips. The other four were in what I assumed was more formal clothes, while she¡¯d come dressed for the Dungeon and in our team¡¯s colors, which I thought was funny because Gesai¡¯s team color was green.

    ¡°Mister Vowler!¡± Pete walked forward and offered my teacher his hand. ¡°It is the highest honor of my life to entertain you at this humble abode.¡± He turned to me. ¡°And you must be his son!¡± He grabbed my hand and started shaking it as he turned back to Trent. ¡°I see the family resemblance so strongly between the two of you. How ever did you manage to hide him for so long?¡±

    Ether snickered behind me. I was just glad that Gesai¡¯s RV had missed a light, so they were just now pulling in. Aelin was going to be a handful with all this glamor.

    ¡°Survival instincts.¡± Trent smiled back. ¡°I only have part of my team, but this is Ether Klix, Fray Harror, Rix Zeb, and Mitchel Zarboe.¡±Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    ¡°A Zarboe, such a wonderful line of Tanks.¡± Pete looked at Shelly. ¡°I trust your parents are still well? I see your aunt from time to time at functions. Such a wonderful lady Miss Wesh is.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡± Shelly looked at his feet.

    ¡°Well.¡± Trent cut into the conversation. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet all of you and I can see you have come out to greet us and I truly appreciate it, but we¡¯ve been on the road for almost twelve hours, so if you could show us to our rooms, I¡¯m sure my team would like to get settled in.¡±

    ¡°VEE!¡± Pete clapped his hands and a seventy something black haired man with silver skin came out of the house and bowed.

    ¡°Whatever you need while you¡¯re here...¡± Pete motioned at the older man. ¡°Just ask Vee and he¡¯ll see to it.¡± He stepped out of the way.

    ¡°Could you show us to our rooms?¡± Trent looked at the manager.

    ¡°It is an honor.¡± Vee saluted and walked towards the house.

    ¡°We¡¯ll see you later after we¡¯ve regrouped upstairs.¡± Trent nodded to the Nobles, then motioned at the top floor. ¡°Does this place still have the conference room on the third floor?¡±

    I had to bite my lips to keep from smiling. Of course Trent would have been here before, especially if it was the place where they put people. But the confusion that was on all three of the adults'' faces was satisfying.

    Vee paused in the doorway and half turned back towards us. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but that was converted into a records room almost fifty years ago.¡±

    ¡°A shame,¡± Trent shook his head. ¡°I liked the view from the window. Oh well.¡±

    ¡°There is room in the library for all of your team, though I¡¯ll have to move some chairs.¡± Vee rubbed his hands together like he was cold.

    ¡°That sounds wonderful.¡± Trent nodded at us. ¡°Head upstairs and once you¡¯ve got your rooms, meet in the library for tomorrow¡¯s assignment.¡±

    ¡±We¡¯ll be waiting for you in the common room when you finish.¡± Mara guided her daughter to the edge of the steps, while Rayna and Astrid barely moved.

    Trent half turned and motioned for Gesai¡¯s group to follow him in, then motioned for us to go.

    I made it to the door when I realized that Trent wasn¡¯t following. I turned around to see that he was looking at the two women.

    ¡°We¡¯ll be having a team meeting to go over our schedule for the next few days while we¡¯re here.¡± Trent motioned towards me. ¡°Until you¡¯re told otherwise, you both are part of this team which means when I said head upstairs, I meant both of you as well.¡± He looked at the Nobles. ¡°I know you were wanting facetime, but we¡¯re behind schedule and I¡¯m very tired, so any meeting you would like to have will have to wait until morning.¡± He waved his arm towards the road.

    Astrid tried to cover the smirk on her face with her hand, but it spread to mine and I couldn¡¯t bite it back. As much as I wanted to watch the rest of how Trent was kicking the Nobles out of their own home unfolded, I knew me standing there smiling wasn¡¯t going to help anything. I turned and hurried to catch up to Ether.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 12

    The rooms were HUGE.

    There were six rooms on the front side of the second floor, and twelve rooms on the third floor. Six on each side with a locked room at the end of the hall that I assumed was the records room that Vee had talked about.

    Each room had two floor length windows as well as a door that went out on the balcony. There was a walk-in closet that I could have fit my bed in as well as a personal bathroom that had a tub that was too big to merely call a tub. And by the way that Ether looked at the biggest bed I¡¯d ever seen, I had a feeling that an upgrade was going to be happening to my bed back at the Cathedral.

    ¡°We all get one of these?¡± Fray had come back into the south east corner room that Ether had claimed as ours.

    ¡°Twelve of us and two teachers.¡± I sat down on the bed. ¡°Each of us takes a room up here, even Trent and Gesai will probably claim one.¡±

    Fray looked over at Ether, who was admiring the view on the balcony. ¡° Ether¡¯s not staying by herself and Aelin won¡¯t use one¡­¡± Her voice drifted off as she came up with how we would fill twelve rooms.

    ¡°Rix has already claimed the room across the hall.¡± I scooted back further on the bed, ¡°Are you going to pick one before Aelin starts telling everyone where they¡¯re sleeping?¡±

    Fray was just staring blankly out the window. I leaned forwards and touched her shoulder. She flinched, then realized who had touched her.

    ¡°Sorry¡­¡± Fray began fidgeting with her fingers.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± I laid down so that I could see her, but still be at arm''s length. ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just a lot of new stuff that I¡¯m not used to.¡± She took a deep breath, ¡°I never thought I¡¯d ever leave Harror, and now I¡¯ve been all over the northern half of the Ward.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

    I was about to correct her, then remembered that she hadn¡¯t been with us when we¡¯d been kidnapped.

    ¡°And you¡¯re probably going to see even more of it.¡± For some reason the thought excited me. ¡°We can¡¯t go to the Adventurer Games this year, but next year, I¡¯ll bet we go. I¡¯m not sure which Ward they¡¯re going to be in, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be Cathedral.¡±

    There was an unease that spread over her. ¡°You really want me to go with you? You¡¯re not going to take Oz again?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re my teammate, why wouldn¡¯t..?¡± I remembered the mock fight we¡¯d had a few weeks ago. ¡°Hey, that fight was about giving Oz a chance to punch Gileon.¡± I started to touch her leg, but diverted to her hand. ¡°While we¡¯re doing Dungeons we may swap things up, but when it comes to team events¡­¡± I looked up into her brown eyes. ¡°You¡¯re our Hitter.¡± I tapped on my chest where the seal that changed how other people would see my stats was.

    Fray touched the similar one that she¡¯d gotten above her heart. I wasn¡¯t sure if she realized just how much she was promising when she¡¯d gotten it, but for better or worse, she was linked to me now.

    Ether walked back in and sat down behind me on the bed. I laid back so that I could put my head in her lap.

    ¡°Enjoy the view?¡± I closed my eyes as she ran her fingers through my hair.

    ¡°It¡¯s more than I could have imagined.¡± The ivory woman shook her head. ¡°They¡¯re really trying to impress us.¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m impressed.¡± I opened my eyes so I could look into her glowing red ones, ¡°How about you?¡± I looked over at the green woman in front of me, ¡°Fray?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m definitely impressed.¡± Ether looked around the room.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Fray gave a little smile.

    ¡°So how long are we going to wait here until Aelin comes to get us?¡± I hadn¡¯t heard the blonde yet, so either she was awestruck or she hadn¡¯t made it upstairs yet.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, do you think we should check on her?¡± Ether looked towards the door.

    ¡°I¡¯m good with waiting.¡± I stretched a little. ¡°This is nice.¡±

    I heard noises from the hallway and recognized Aelin¡¯s voice. It wouldn¡¯t be long until we got dragged out of our rooms to talk about what we were doing tomorrow. But until that happened, I was going to enjoy the comfort.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 13

    Trent was in the hallway.

    ¡°Atlas! Ether! Fray! Let¡¯s come on!¡± His voice seemed to shake the house.

    ¡°Coming!¡± I rolled off of the bed and started walking towards the door with Ether right behind me and Fray trailing a little behind her. Once I walked into the hallway, I realized that we weren¡¯t going to meet downstairs, because chairs had already been placed outside our rooms. Rix must have got booted from her choice across the hall, because she was leaning against the doorframe of the room four doors down. Aelin and Justia were the ones across the hall from us and I assumed Aelin must have assigned Fray the room beside mine because that was where the other empty seat was.

    Gesai and Trent were standing at the front of the stairs. Zel and Ren were the other two on our side of the hall, while the other side went Astrid, Shelly, Jen, Aelin, and Justia.

    Trent cleared his throat. ¡°I¡¯ve looked over your strategies for the Dungeons and we¡¯re going to go over them and the schedule for the next two days.¡± He nodded at the two sides. ¡°You¡¯ve been split up into your teams based on which side of the Hall your room is on.¡± He pointed at the front rooms, ¡°I¡¯m taking this side and Gesai is taking that one.¡± He motioned towards the back of the house. ¡°We will run all of you through the bosses of the Dispatcher and the Temple Dungeons. My team will do the Temple Dungeon in the morning, while Gesai¡¯s will do the Dispatcher Dungeon. After lunch, we¡¯ll switch. Any extra time will be spent on the event.¡±

    Aelin raised her hand.

    ¡°Yes, Aelin?¡± Trent let out an exasperated sigh.

    ¡°Since we¡¯re heading out in the morning does that mean that we¡¯re going shopping tonight to get what we need?¡± Aelin and Jen exchanged a smile.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    ¡°If you want to go out¡­¡± Trent looked over at Gesai. Her shoulders sagged as she nodded. ¡°Gesai will take you once we finish.¡±

    ¡°YEAH!¡± Aelin pumped her fight in the air, then brought it down slowly before she bumped it with Jen¡¯s.

    ¡°Is there anything else that anyone would like to ask?¡± Trent¡¯s glare dared us to interrupt him again.

    Aelin raised her hand again. Honestly, the look on Zel''s face made me think about raising my hand. She was in utter shock.

    ¡°Do you know how awesome we think you are?¡± The blonde started spreading her hands apart to indicate the amount.

    ¡°Aelin,¡± Trent eyed her. ¡°What do you want?¡±

    ¡°Well, you remember how you gave us some All for new gear when we hit level three?¡± She batted her eyes. ¡°I was wondering if there was going to be the same rewards for hitting level four.¡±

    Trent rubbed his temple with his thumb. ¡°Aelin¡­¡±

    ¡°We do have to buy all new gear since what we bought for the zombie place won¡¯t work here.¡± The blonde smiled sweetly. ¡°So it¡¯s like the stuff we bought doesn¡¯t exist. Which is why I think a reward could be justified.¡±

    Jen joined in with the puppy dog eyes.

    I thought about adding a please daddy in, but just the thought of it made me chuckle. I covered my mouth as fast as I could, but it was still audible.

    Zel looked like she was about to die. Mitchel had close to the same expression, while Astrid seemed to be able to read from the rest of our reactions that this was a normal occurrence.

    ¡°How about this: you convince me after you buy it that it was an absolutely necessary upgrade, then I¡¯ll reimburse you.¡± Trent didn¡¯t bother with the staring contest Aelin tried to bait him into. ¡°Now if there¡¯s nothing else, then I¡¯d like to get into evaluating your strategies.¡±

    I had a feeling that I had missed a few things, but I still felt pretty good about the strategies that we came up with. I just hoped he went easy on us.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 14

    The Shooters had no idea what was going on.

    I could tell by the confused look on Zel¡¯s face and the curious one on Astrid¡¯s. The look in Trent¡¯s eye told me that he was enjoying the suspense he was creating, while shattering their expectation of what being on the team would be like.

    ¡°We¡¯ll start with the Temple. Blue team said to bring air elemental skills, blunt weapons for the Hitter, and to utilize Soften to make the bosses easier to damage. The burrowing aspect of the Rock Wurm they proposed using water to flush it out. For the Rock Lizard, they didn¡¯t come up with anything to counter its gravel breath. They also didn¡¯t have a counter for the Rock Climber¡¯s charge or its item eating ability.¡± Trent looked in my direction as he spoke. Once he finished, he turned towards Aelin and Justia.

    Astrid raised her hand right as he started to speak.

    ¡°Yes, Astrid?¡±

    ¡°This is obviously a test with a grade that is going to be assigned to the team. I would like to look at my team¡¯s answers before they¡¯re graded.¡± She looked to her left towards Aelin.

    ¡°A reasonable request.¡± Trent shook his head. ¡°But no. Not everyone is fortunate enough to find groups they can consistently go into the Dungeon with. When that happens, the Dispatchers will put you on a team that is down a person for some reason or other. There was a lot of that, in particular that happened last year with the plague. Many teams found themselves with sick members who couldn¡¯t go into the Dungeon, but they still needed to work.¡± He slowly scanned the room. ¡°If you¡¯re one person, joining a group of five, then you might not know what their strategies are until you¡¯re in front of the boss room. We¡¯ll use this to simulate that situation.¡±

    ¡°My family wouldn¡¯t¡­¡±

    ¡°Your family...¡± Trent cut Astrid off. His glare completely silenced any argument that she was going to voice, but he wasn¡¯t content with keeping it off her tongue for the moment. ¡°Both of your families didn¡¯t submit either one of you as initial candidates for the Cathedral. Do you know what that means?¡± He waited for a moment, but neither spoke. ¡°That means that they didn¡¯t think either of you were worth splitting resources away from Rals, who they were putting all their support behind.¡± He waited for a moment for that to sink in. ¡°If you can¡¯t gain their support against only your year¡¯s students, why do you expect that they are going to allocate resources against generations of Adventurers?¡±The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    I could see shame on Zel¡¯s face. She already knew where she stood, but there was almost a desperation there as well when I saw her look over at me.

    Astrid was leaking off so much rage, that there wasn¡¯t room for anything else. I¡¯d felt that bloodlust from Rix many times, right before she attacked something. Trent picked up on it too, because he focused on her.

    ¡°Neither of you are heirs to your families.¡± He paused as he looked around the room. ¡°This goes for the rest of you as well, because Justia is the only one here who is an heir¡­¡± He paused, then motioned at Gesai. ¡°Tell them what most Noble families will do to the non-heirs when they need a sacrificial pawn to build up the family.¡±

    Gesai took a deep breath and began pulling off her elbow length white gloves. The newest four members of our group collectively gasped at her item burns that had charred her silver skin black and required extensive healing magic to get her fingers usable.

    ¡°¡±I was pulled off of my Adventuring team and made a wall to stop what the patriarch viewed as a rival from progressing.¡± She swallowed. ¡°When the bounty hunter he hired to kidnap Justia and Oz decided to make some extra All by taking me as well, my uncle decided that I wasn¡¯t worth the ransom and left me to that monster¡¯s mercy.¡± Gesai zeroed in on Astrid. ¡°I was lucky that this was all I was left with.¡±

    A lot of the fire started to die down in Astrid, while it seemed like it only made the desperation sink in more with Zel.

    Trent put his hand on Gesai¡¯s shoulder. She stepped back and started putting her gloves back on. He gestured at Astrid as she tried to get up, locking her in her chair with an invisible force.

    ¡°Running away will only delay this meeting, which hurts your team.¡± My teacher walked over to the struggling woman and squatted so that he was on eye-level with her. ¡°You already knew that Rals was the favorite and probably hoped that things would be different once he graduated.¡± Trent shook his head. ¡°They won¡¯t be different, so you have to be. Learn how to use what you have and don¡¯t wait for those who see you as a pawn to tell you how they will spend you.¡±

    Tears were flowing down her cheeks as Astrid was finally able to lock eyes with him. ¡°My mother isn¡¯t like that.¡± She had to force the words through clenched teeth.

    ¡°Maybe not.¡± Trent stood up and walked back to where he¡¯d been standing. ¡°But even though she¡¯s the heir, how much power does she have?¡± He let the question hang in the air as he turned to look at Zel. Her eyes immediately moved to me as she silently pleaded for an intervention to keep him from evaluating her.

    But one wasn¡¯t needed. Trent cleared his throat and looked back towards Aelin and Justia.

    ¡°Let¡¯s continue.¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 15

    No one made a sound.

    I had been expecting some banter from Aelin, especially after earlier, but the argument with Astrid had silenced anyone from derailing Trent¡¯s evaluation.

    ¡°Green team also said to bring air elemental skills, blunt weapons for the Hitter, and to utilize Soften to make the bosses easier to damage. In addition, they proposed getting barbed anchors for the Shooter and possibly the Hitter to lock the Bosses in place.¡± Trent raised an eyebrow, ¡°Aelin, why did you think that the monsters in the Temple Dungeon would be susceptible to poison?¡±

    The blonde stiffened a little. ¡°There¡¯s always a flaw. I didn¡¯t think burning or bleeding would work on something that solid, but thought that if we needed to soften its defenses, then maybe acid would work, which would mean it could be poisoned?¡±

    ¡°A decent train of thought, but unfortunately, that isn¡¯t the status effect that the Temple bosses are weak to.¡± Trent put an image of the Rock Wurm in the middle of the hall.

    ¡°The burrowing attack is the most dangerous, because it will try to swallow its target and as the Blue Team guessed, it does clear taunt when it goes underground.¡± Trent looked over at me. ¡°Water can flush it out early, but the most effective thing to use is one of these.¡± He pulled a trident out of his CB. ¡°A sound fork. It emits vibrations into the ground. The moment that the Rock Wurm tries to burrow, it¡¯ll abort it this is in the ground. You don¡¯t want to just plant it though because it will pull the taunt from your Tank, which makes it a good weapon for them to carry.¡± He looked over at Aelin. ¡°Chains will work better than binding, but the better option in that regard is to use Root, targeting the rocky body instead of the ground. Accelerate it with Growth and you can spread the roots into the floor and lock the Wurm into place.¡±

    ¡°For the Rock Lizard¡­¡±

    ¡°What status effect is effective against the Temple bosses?¡± I interrupted Trent without raising my hand. ¡°You said poison wasn¡¯t the one to use, but didn¡¯t say which one was.¡±

    ¡°Paralysis.¡± Trent smiled.

    There was a part of me that wondered if he had intentionally left it out to see if one of us would ask him.

    ¡°Anything else?¡± The white-haired man eyed the room, ¡°Good. For the Rock Lizard, the one thing that neither group picked up on is that it can climb.¡± The monster in the middle of the hallway shifted into the Rock Lizard. ¡°It will do this when it uses its gravel breath, which will hit a very large area.¡± The illusion jumped onto the ceiling and blasted at the floor. ¡°During this phase, melee will be useless and depending on where the Tank is, a good portion of the room will get hit.¡± He eyed us, ¡°There is also the danger of it pouncing at the end of the breath attack.¡± The illusion jumped off the ceiling and landed on the floor, but in a belly flop instead of on its feet.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°This can seriously hurt your Tank if they are caught directly under it.¡± Trent looked at Ether, then Shelly. ¡°The problem is that it will jump the moment it stops breathing, which means you need to be ready to move, while also putting distance between it during the breath phase.¡±

    Trent looked at Oz, then moved to Fray. ¡°Since the Hitters will be unable to damage it, the usual method to deal with these types of monsters is to have them plant stakes in the ground, then for the tank to move towards the stakes and¡­¡± The monster jumped back up on the ceiling and three sharp metal stakes appeared in the floor. The Rock Lizard jumped down again and impaled itself.

    ¡°Once it¡¯s been trapped like this, it¡¯s just a matter of the Tank holding its attention, while the rest of the damagers take off its head.¡± Trent had the Rock Lizard flip over. ¡°If you¡¯re lucky, one of the stakes will break the core, which is here.¡± The crystal between the front legs lit up.

    ¡°The Rock Climber¡¯s boss room is the first time these teams have seen anything other than a clear level floor.¡± The floor of the hall began to sprout rocks. ¡°As you get deeper, the boss rooms will start to get more unique and begin to favor environments that aid the boss.¡± Trent pointed at the rock covered goat monster that was bouncing from rock to rock. ¡°The Rock Climber is very agile, and will still bounce around even while taunted, but if the Tank loses line of sight¡­¡± He looked at the Tanks.

    ¡°It breaks out of Taunt and will attack the closest person.¡± Ether finished for him.

    ¡°Exactly.¡± Trent pointed at the highest rock. ¡°One strategy is to have the Tank climb on the highest point so that they can¡¯t lose line of sight since the only time the Rock Climber gets off the rocks is if it attacks a person who is on the floor. Can anyone tell me the flaw with this plan?¡±

    ¡°If the Tank taunts it before they start climbing, then they¡¯re going to get hit while they¡¯re unable to defend themselves.¡± Ether leaned forward to look at the floor layout better. ¡°If they wait to taunt it until they¡¯re in position, then the boss will attack the others, who can¡¯t defend themselves as well.¡±

    ¡°Exactly. So..?¡± Trent motioned at the floor.

    ¡°Paralysis.¡± I decided to try the hint from earlier. ¡°Find a place where the Tank can see everyone, then make it come to us and paralyze it.¡± I looked at Ether, ¡°Then we root it in place?¡±

    ¡°Sadly, root won¡¯t work on the Rock Climber and neither will chains or stakes. They¡¯re quite limber and can eat through anything.¡± Trent shook his head, ¡°Also, paralysis becomes less effective and takes longer to trigger each time. For this boss, it will only work for three times before it will barely stagger it.¡±

    Trent folded his arms in front of him, ¡°As far as which team planned out the fight better, I¡¯d say it was about even. Flooding the Rock Wurm out does make it attack early, but it still does its burrowing attack. Chaining it down does keep it from burrowing, but requires a lot of setup for something this large. If you¡¯re not able to stop it from burrowing the first time, you pretty much lose your chance for the rest of the fight because the chains you¡¯ve already applied will be destroyed.¡± He tapped his fingers on his arm. ¡°And neither team picked up on the nuances of the second or third boss.¡±

    No one said anything. I wasn¡¯t sure if he was waiting for a question, but if he was, no one asked it.

    Trent dismissed the image of the boss room in front of us. ¡°Let¡¯s move on to the Dispatcher¡¯s Dungeon.¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 16

    The Rat King appeared in between us.

    ¡°Blue Team said to Bind it and have the Shooter try to cripple it while the Hitter goes for the heart.¡± Trent looked over at Aelin, ¡°Green Team thought to try the same thing.¡± He snapped his fingers and the Rat King exploded into six Giant Rats. ¡°The unique thing about the Rat King is that once you kill it, it spawns six Giant Rats, not too dangerous, but it can be if you push yourself. The Tank needs to be ready to taunt multiple targets before you finish the boss.¡±

    I saw Zel shiver a little and Ren made a disgusted face. On the other team, Shelly looked worried, but none of the others looked concerned.

    ¡°You need to be prepared for the swarm, but if your Tanks can taunt multiple things, you¡¯ll be fine.¡± Trent switched to the next monster. ¡°Both teams picked up on using Freeze on the Giant Python to slow it down, though the Blue Team didn¡¯t pick up on the poison spit from the floor monster. Also, once this boss dies, it spawns six Spitting Snakes, which you need to be mindful of.¡±

    Ether raised her hand.

    ¡°Yes, Ether?¡± Trent gestured at the snake and it vanished.

    ¡°Is it safe to assume that all of the Floor Bosses in the Dispatcher Dungeon spawn six of the floor monsters when they die?¡± The ivory woman didn¡¯t sound very pleased.

    Trent smiled. ¡°That is correct, which is a mechanic that you haven¡¯t encountered before, so it¡¯s not something I¡¯m counting against your evaluation, but it is something that you¡¯ll need to plan for.¡±

    Ether leaned against me and closed her eyes. That meant a shopping trip with Gesai, unless we gave a list of what we needed to Aelin again.

    ¡°It is also worth noting that the chained spikes that the Green Team proposed to use against the Rock Wurm would be very effective here.¡± Trent began gesturing with his hand. ¡°The Blue Team thought about trying to freeze it in place, but the amount of magic required to do that¡­¡± He looked at me. ¡°Isn¡¯t practical.¡±

    What I got from his look was that I could do it, but it would give away my stats, which meant that even though I could, that didn¡¯t mean that I should.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    ¡°Last was the King Sucker.¡± Trent motioned and the monster appeared in between everyone. ¡°Blue Team said that earth element skills were the way to go and to take off the tentacles first. Rix had the suspicion that it was fast and she was correct.¡± He snapped his fingers and a display appeared above the monster.

    Floor Boss King Sucker - Level 4

    12 Power 10 Defense 16 Speed

    1 Magic 15 Recovery 6 Aura

    Skill: Leech, Tentacle Attack,

    Charge: Sharp Tongue

    Passive: Regrow Tentacles, Poison Immunity

    On Death: Summon Leech Heads

    ¡°That¡¯s got more Speed than any of us!¡± Aelin stood up, then looked at our two trial members, ¡°Unless they¡¯re that fast.¡±

    ¡°That brings us to another topic that we¡¯ll have to discuss, but we can save that for after we¡¯re done here.¡± Trent motioned at Aelin¡¯s seat.

    The blonde crossed her arms and sat down.

    ¡°The Green Team assumed that due to its tentacles, it would be slow, relying on them to close the distance.¡± Trent tilted his head a little, ¡°Though they were correct about it being able to regrow its tentacles so their strategy was to rely on ranged attacks.¡±

    ¡°So what is the strategy?¡± I rubbed Ether¡¯s shoulder with my left hand. It was only around seven, but I could tell that she was getting tired. It would be over an hour for the shopping trips and I wasn¡¯t sure how many places would even still be open that late at night.

    Trent motioned at the image and it spat out its tongue. He let it wrap around his arm and then braced as it tried to pull him in.

    Gesai pulled a metal spike out of her CB and stabbed it through the tongue, but barely rested the tip on the floor. The image vanished and she replaced the item back into her CB.

    ¡°Obviously, you would drive the stake into the ground, but¡­¡± Trent looked from Zel to Astrid. ¡°I¡¯d rather not have to repair the floor.¡± He smiled and looked at the rest of the class. ¡°Once you¡¯ve secured it, you can box it in since it won¡¯t be able to use its tongue or teeth to attack you. Also¡­¡± The King Sucker appeared in front of us again. ¡°The core is right here.¡± A spot in between the two tentacles lit up. ¡°The tentacles will drain your energy, so if you let one latch on to you for too long, you¡¯ll be taking yourself out of the fight.¡± He dismissed the image.

    ¡°Out of the three bosses in the Dispatcher¡¯s Dungeon, you both had the same strategy for the Rat King, the Blue Team failed to account for the poison spit, and you were each right about a different aspect of the King Sucker. Which means that the Green Team did a better job of evaluating the Dispatcher¡¯s Dungeon.¡± Trent waved his hand. ¡°Last is the Authority Dungeon.¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 17

    There were so many Unilops.

    It seemed like Trent had made an image of every possible Unilop that we might have been able to run into. I tried to ignore the infatuated sigh from Fray or the cooing noise that was coming from Jen. Aelin, on the other hand, had almost climbed into Justia¡¯s lap.

    ¡°The strategy for the Unilops isn¡¯t very different until you get into the higher Tier versions.¡± Trent gestured at all the different kinds and they consolidated down into four. ¡°On the first four floors, there is one variant on each floor that the strategy that you both came up with of severing the harness at the neck won¡¯t work on.¡± He pointed at them one at a time, ¡°Elderwood, Lyndwurm, Diamond, and Mithril.¡± He shook his head, ¡°But the odds of running into one of those are really low and the odds of it being a boss monster are even lower.¡± With a wave of his hand there was nothing but a single Unilop skeleton. ¡°The outer harness ribs overlap the actual ribs, which makes getting to its heart almost impossible.¡± He turned the skeleton around so that it was facing him. ¡°The core, on the other hand, is right below the base of the horn, so if you wait until it charges¡­¡±

    The skeletal image charged at our teacher. It froze in the air in front of him.

    ¡°With most of the variants, your Hitter will be the one responsible for¡­¡± He nodded at Gesai.

    The red-haired older woman chopped with her hand and the harness above the spine broke and the skeleton disappeared.

    ¡°It requires you to have some timing, but once you do, it¡¯s quite easy to two-man these.¡± Trent waved his hand and the image reappeared. ¡°If you run into one of the rarest varieties or think it would be easier than the multiple hits it will take on the handful of other varieties¡­¡± He nodded at Gesai.

    She pulled out the stake again, except this time she thrust it like a spear and shattered the core that was in between the eye sockets.

    ¡°It¡¯s messier and has an even smaller target, but it¡¯s almost the only way to bring down those four.¡± Trent waved away the image, ¡°We¡¯re not going to the Authority Dungeon this trip, but it¡¯s useful to study all of the potentials.¡± A scowl covered his face. ¡°Speaking of potential, I have to say how disappointed I am in all of you.¡±Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    The look of shock was shared by everyone except Rix.

    ¡°W-Wh-Wha-What did we do?¡± Fray looked like she was about to cry.

    ¡°Do you know when I locked the information about the Dungeons in Mive?¡± His glare seemed to cut right through me.

    ¡°This morning.¡± Rix sighed from against the doorframe to her room. ¡°As soon as you got up.¡±

    Trent glared at her and I had to stifle a laugh. Ether wasn¡¯t so quick and it escaped her lips in a quick single squelch.

    ¡°And you..?¡± Trent¡¯s gaze was fixed on her.

    ¡°Already downloaded it. As well as all the files to all the dungeons in the entire Ward.¡± She shrugged, ¡°I planned on reading them in my bunk on the drive up here, but then decided that would be unfair to the other team.¡± The golden woman pushed off of the doorframe. ¡°Can I go now?¡±

    ¡°When did you get everything?¡± Aelin shifted in Justia¡¯s lap. ¡°He only unlocks things at the Cathedral one floor at a time.¡±

    ¡°I had to upload the maps I scouted to the main server. While I was doing that, I had access to all the data.¡± Rix tapped the CB on her arm. ¡°These things will only hold enough information through most of Tier Two.¡±

    Trent scowled at her. I could see him thinking through possibilities and weighing how much her having information to every Dungeon in the Ward for more than what we¡¯d see while at the school would change some of the tests that he ran.

    ¡°We still have a few things to discuss and you and I will need to have a private conversation about this later.¡± Trent shook his head. ¡°The thing that you all need to take away from this is exactly what Rix did, though she went overboard. You need to be ready. We¡¯re going to Klix next, then Lagu, and we¡¯re stopping in Harror on our way back. I hope that this encourages each of you to look at the monsters on each of the first four floors for all of those Dungeons.¡±

    We all nodded.

    ¡°Good.¡± Trent looked over at Rix, ¡°You¡¯re going with the Blue Team¡­¡± He held up his hand to silence Aelin¡¯s protest. ¡°She is only going to be there in case something goes wrong since they are five-manning it. She¡¯s only going to step in if they really need help, which they might since Ren is going to be pulling double duty.¡± He nodded at the redhead. ¡°Zel and Astrid are only level two, so I¡¯m going to go get anchors for all the level fours. You¡¯ll be feeding all of your experience into our Shooters here.¡± He looked at the two women. ¡°We¡¯ll at least leave whichever one of you is staying here in a lot better shape than you were when we arrived.¡±

    Rix raised her eyebrows as Trent swept the room. When his eyes met with hers, he nodded. The golden woman stepped into her room and closed the door.

    ¡°Meeting is adjourned.¡± Trent waved at us.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 18

    Fray followed us into our room.

    Not that I minded having the green woman around, but she was starting to seem clingy again. And that wasn¡¯t good for her focus in the Dungeon, because it made her reckless.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± I stretched out on the bed. Oz and Ren were giving Aelin the list of things they wanted from the store, which meant that we had a little bit of time to relax.

    Fray nodded as Ether sat down next to her and started rubbing her shoulders.

    ¡°It¡¯s just¡­¡± I tried to think of the right word. ¡°You¡¯ve seemed off as soon as we got here. I know you said that it¡¯s just the glamor, but you seem¡­¡± I knew I wasn¡¯t going to say the right word. ¡°Tense.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just a lot of space and it makes me feel really alone.¡± Fray began fidgeting with her fingers.

    Ether looked over at me and nodded at Fray.

    ¡°You can stay here if you want.¡± I stretched out my foot and didn¡¯t even come close to touching her. ¡°The bed is big enough that you could fit multiple people in here and they¡¯d never bump into each other.¡±

    Fray looked over at Ether. ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s okay?¡±

    The ivory woman nodded. ¡°If it¡¯s too uncomfortable for you to sleep in the bed, then we could get Oz and move your bed in here.¡± She looked over at me. ¡°Or we still have the camping supplies.¡±

    I had thought she¡¯d turned those back in, but apparently she¡¯d kept them.

    She looked back down at her hands and mumbled something I couldn¡¯t hear.

    ¡°That works too.¡± Ether patted her shoulder. ¡°Do you want some help?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Fray seemed to brighten a little. ¡°I can grab it.¡± She scooted off the bed and rushed out the door.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I eyed Ether as she crawled over to me and snuggled up beside me.

    ¡°She¡¯s going to get the blankets and pillows from her bed and put them on the floor¡­¡± Ether pointed at the walk in closet. ¡°In there.¡±

    I was able to stop my humor at only a smile. It was endearing how shy the woman was, but at least she¡¯d built up the courage to ask Ether even if it had been prompted.

    There was a knock on our door frame. I looked over to see Shelly standing in the doorway. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    ¡°Are you going to go with Gesai?¡± He was looking in our direction, but not directly at us.

    ¡°I think we have to.¡± I motioned for him to come in. ¡°Come on in, I¡¯ve been wanting to chat with you for a little while.¡±

    ¡°Oh. Well. Um.¡± He shuffled in a little.

    ¡°Sit down.¡± Ether tapped on the bed with her foot. ¡°I promise he won''t bite¡­¡±

    I covered her mouth before she could finish. ¡°Seriously. Come sit. I wanted to see how you were doing with¡­¡± I scowled at Ether as she licked my palm.

    She bounced her eyebrows at me and licked it again.

    ¡°You win!¡± I removed my hand. The saliva on my hand didn¡¯t bother me. Knowing that she¡¯d keep upping the ante until I relented did.

    The ivory woman smiled triumphantly.

    ¡°Anyway¡­¡± I turned back to the other man. ¡°How are things going for you?¡± I motioned around the room as Fray walked in hidden by an armload of blankets and pillows. ¡°How do you feel about all this?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m thankful for the opportunity to work with you.¡± Shelly still wasn¡¯t looking at me.

    ¡°You just seem a little¡­¡± I looked at Ether for help, but she just shook her head. ¡°Uncomfortable.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Shelly took a deep breath. ¡°It¡¯s just¡­¡± He looked around. ¡°Intimidating.¡±

    ¡°How so?¡± I could understand how Trent and even Aelin could be a lot.

    ¡°You.¡± He winced like he expected me to attack him.

    ¡°Me? How am I the intimidating one?¡±

    Shelly looked at Ether, then over to Fray who was walking out of the room. ¡°You¡¯re the great Trent Vowler¡¯s son! Do you have any idea how much my parents tried to get my older sister in his class?¡± He looked at the door like he expected Trent to walk in. ¡°And everything here is yours. It¡¯s your father. Your team. Your harem.¡± He shook his head. ¡°If I mess this up, there¡¯s no going home for me. Actually, there may not be a home for me to go back to¡­¡±

    ¡°I thought your parents wanted to get your sister in Trent¡¯s class? Why would they disown you?¡± I didn¡¯t understand.

    ¡°Because Faer is a vindictive harpy and the current heir.¡± Gesai answered for him from the door. ¡°She was in my year.¡±

    That got my attention. ¡°So you know his sister?¡±

    ¡°She wasn¡¯t on the team, but she tried to get our tank killed so there¡¯d be an opening. She almost got expelled over it.¡± Gesai nodded at Shelly, ¡°When he graduates, there¡¯s a good chance that he can replace her as the heir. And if I know Faer, that¡¯s not something that she¡¯ll relinquish without a fight.¡±

    ¡°Which means?¡±

    ¡°That Faer is going to get married in the next five years to someone powerful enough for her to take over the family. Then she¡¯ll use Mitchel as a bargaining chip.¡± Gesai twirled her finger in the air. ¡°Probably to someone here.¡±

    ¡°Just like that?¡± I looked over at Shelly who was nodding. ¡°And what happens if you get sent back home?¡±

    ¡°Then my parents ship me off to a minor family in a different Ward.¡± Shelly took a cautious breath. ¡°So I can¡¯t afford to step on any toes. Because as long as I stay here, my parents will have ground to push back.¡± His brown eyes pleaded with me, ¡°So I¡¯m not going to rock the ship.¡± He got up and gave a little bow to Gesai, ¡°But I am very thankful to be part of the team.¡±

    I watched him leave. There was a part of me that felt bad for him.

    ¡°He seems like a good kid. A lot better than I thought he was going to be.¡± Gesai turned to me. ¡°We¡¯re ready to go.¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 19

    I sent Shelly a message to send us a list of what he needed.

    Oz, Ren, Shelly, Astrid, and Rix were all staying behind while everyone else piled in the RV with Gesai. I sat down in the booth while Aelin argued with Gesai over who was going to drive.

    Ether sat next to me while Justia sat across from me. Zel slid in beside Justia before Fray or Jen could sit down, so Ether scooted closer to me so that Fray could sit next to her.

    ¡°Is Mister Vowler always¡­¡± Zel had changed out of her adventurer armor and was wearing a simple set of jeans and shirt. It was a lot less flashy than I had expected her to wear considering how dressed up her parents had been. ¡°Intense?¡±

    ¡°It grows on you.¡± I looked at Justia. ¡°We haven¡¯t had much time to talk in a while, how¡¯ve things been? Sorry about stealing Aelin for the last week.¡±

    ¡°I understand why you did it.¡± There was a hint of frustration in her voice. ¡°And while I¡¯m okay with it, I still would have liked to be asked if I was okay with it.¡±

    Zel looked between us. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    Jen leaned on the back of the booth between her and Justia. ¡°Atlas wanted to sneak into the Dungeon to farm floor bosses so he could get a ring drop to give to Oz.¡± She put her hand on Zel¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Which is so romantic¡­¡± The Caster looked at her bare hand and held it up, ¡°Though he hasn¡¯t asked me to join his harem yet, so I¡¯m not sure how much of a romantic he really is. Anyway, he needed a team that could clear the bosses fast, so he took Ether, Oz, Ren, and Aelin into the dungeon with him¡­¡± She stopped when she saw the confusion on Zel¡¯s face. ¡°Aelin is with Justia, the others are his harem. Atlas didn¡¯t ask if Justia was okay with Atlas borrowing Aelin, then they got in trouble for sneaking off and had to do special training as punishment, which meant that except for last night and today, Justia¡¯s been separated from her love.¡±

    I was starting to get used to the stunned and confused look on Zel¡¯s face. ¡°Jen¡­¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re not looking to build relations with the families?¡± Zel wasn¡¯t looking anywhere specific.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    ¡°Why do you say that?¡± I looked at Zel, but she was still stunned by whatever it was that was so shocking. I turned to Justia, ¡°What am I missing?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re now the heir to the Vowler name and all the wealth and resources that Trent possesses.¡± Justia nodded at Ether. ¡°But there¡¯s only one heir, which means that there¡¯s only going to be one wife that has control of everything. The rest will be taken care of, but for Nobility, the mother of the heir is the one that shares a portion of that power with. Which is why waning houses try to pair their ¡®extra¡¯ children out to other heirs in order to funnel some of those resources back into the main family branch somehow.¡± She looked at the woman sitting next to her. ¡°Which is what I¡¯m guessing her family¡¯s plan was.¡±

    Jen leaned forward so she could look at Zel''s face. ¡°So not a fan of joining the harem since the prime spot has been taken?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll do it!¡± Zel snapped out of her trance and tried to stand up, which only banged her thighs against the underside of the table. She sat back down and tried to wipe the embarrassment off of her face. ¡°I¡¯ll join his harem as one of the extras if that¡¯s what it takes to join the team.¡±

    ¡°If that¡­¡± I pointed at Jen. ¡°No. I already went through this with Aelin and Fray.¡± I looked back at Zel. ¡°Look, joining isn¡¯t a prerequisite, because if it was, then Jovena would have been added to the team instead of Shelly and we wouldn¡¯t even be having this conversation.¡± I looked at Ether, then Justia for help.

    ¡°What he¡¯s saying is that he¡¯s not going to add you unless it¡¯s something you both want. Not something that you¡¯re okay with.¡± Justia looked at Jen. ¡°Which is why she teases him about not having a ring, but you¡¯ll notice that she¡¯s never asked for one.¡± The green woman smiled. ¡°And despite there never being a chance for something to happen between us, he¡¯s already pledged his support as if something had.¡±

    ¡°Wh¡­ Huh?¡± Zel looked very confused.

    ¡°She¡¯s with Aelin.¡± Jen motioned towards the driver.

    ¡°Oh. OH!¡± Zel¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°You¡¯re an heir and you¡¯re with¡­¡± She stole a glance at the front, ¡°Her?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll probably have to choose an heir from one of the other family branches, but yes.¡± Justia looked at me and smiled. ¡°He¡¯s helped me to start feeling safe, which is something that I never thought would be possible.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s so¡­¡± Zel shook her head. ¡°Different.¡±

    I smiled, ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because I wasn¡¯t raised as a Noble, so I have a different view on things. Or maybe I¡¯m just a revolutionary.¡±

    The silver woman started to say something, but the RV stopped and Aelin stood up.

    ¡°IT¡¯S TIME TO GO SHOPPING!¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 20

    The stores were only going to be open until nine.

    That gave us about an hour and a half to get what we needed and get out. Which meant we had to split up. Oz and Fray needed new weapons, most of us needed new skills, and there were the sound forks and metal stakes that we needed to get. Aelin and Jen went to get skills, while Ether went with Gesai and Zel to get Supplies, which left Fray and Justia to go with me to get the weapons.

    There was both a Reace and a Bright Weapons in the mall, but we weren¡¯t looking for ranged weapons so I headed towards the Bright Weaponry. I felt a little bad at separating Justia and Aelin again, but I wanted to talk to my priest in an at least partially private setting. When we walked into the shop, the green woman behind the counter rushed over to us.

    ¡°Atlas Vowler!¡± The white-haired, red-eyed woman in her late thirties gave me a small bow. ¡°I¡¯m Sydney Faeru. My niece told me that you would be coming tonight and that you needed some weapons.¡±

    I raised an eyebrow and looked at Justia, who shrugged. ¡°Your niece?¡± I looked back at the older woman.

    ¡°Jenne Violu.¡± Sydney looked around, ¡°She asked me to help you however I could.¡±

    ¡°Ah.¡± I tried to imagine the woman in front of me with black hair, green eyes, and golden skin. The heights were about the same and I could see some similar features, but I wouldn¡¯t have guessed the two were related if I hadn¡¯t just been told.

    Justia lightly elbowed me in the ribs to let me know that the woman in front of us was waiting for me to let her know what we needed.

    ¡°Oh. Right, um.¡± I looked over at Fray. ¡°She needs a weapon with air affinity to use in the Temple Dungeon here.¡± I nodded towards the rows of blades. ¡°Fray prefers a katana, but the monsters there are all resistant to blades, so she needs something that she can use that¡¯s comparable.¡±

    ¡°Actually¡­¡± Sydney waved us over to the Tier Zero section. ¡°We usually keep these handy for when the second years start their tours, but that¡¯s not going to be for a few weeks.¡± The green woman handed me a crystal case.

    I¡¯d seen skill cases before, but I hadn¡¯t realized there were so many. I looked over the wall. ¡°All of these can be added to a weapon?¡± I looked down at the skill in my hand that displayed Rock Piercer.

    ¡°Most shops keep the enchantments in the back, since it doesn¡¯t take up floor space, and we specialize in enchantments at this branch, so we keep them out here instead of in a catalog.¡± Sydney gestured at the item in my hand. ¡°You¡¯ll need a rare quality weapon to enchant it with Rock Piercer and Air Affinity.¡± The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    I had a feeling the price tag wasn¡¯t going to be one that I enjoyed.

    ¡°We try to keep our items at base Tier, so that they can be leveled to our buyer¡¯s needs. I do have a rare Katana in stock.¡± Sydney picked up a white katana from the weapon rack.

    Fray¡¯s eyes lit up as the weapon was placed in her hands.

    ¡°At base, it is One Thousand Five Hundred All. If you purchase the enchantments here, then we can slot them for free. I¡¯m assuming you¡¯re level two?¡± The older woman tried to move so that Fray would be looking at her.

    ¡°She¡¯s level three.¡± I could do that math in my head. If level one was fifteen hundred, then three times that would be forty five.

    ¡°Impressive.¡± She nodded from Fray to me, ¡°Then the cost of the weapon and the enchantments would come to four thousand seven hundred All.¡± The green woman smiled at me, ¡°But since you are on a team with my niece¡­¡± She bobbed her head, ¡°I could do Four Thousand.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± I still had over three thousand All on me and I had a feeling that Fray had at least that much as well, but that was for one weapon. We still needed to get Oz something with an air affinity. I looked down at my CB and had an idea.

    ¡°What if I had some materials?¡± I touched the display on my CB. I wouldn¡¯t be able to take an item out in the store, but I could show it to her.

    ¡°It depends on the item.¡± She raised an eyebrow, ¡°What do you have?¡¯

    I pulled up the section I¡¯d labeled TRASH and held out my arm so she could look at it.

    ¡°A level two unslotted rare bone club, a level three common bone chestplate, and a level four common bone spear.¡± Sydney rubbed her temple as she thought. ¡°At this level that club is the only thing really worth anything.¡± She counted on her fingers, ¡°But I¡¯ll take six hundred off for all three.¡±

    I looked at Fray. ¡°How bad do you want it? Because I can give you¡­¡± I looked at the clerk, ¡°How much would a pair of level three air affinity handaxes be?¡±

    ¡°About two hundred, but I could go down to one fifty.¡±

    ¡°So thirty five fifty for everything.¡± I turned back to Fray, ¡°If you pay two grand, I¡¯ll do the rest.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡± Fray finally snapped out of the trance she¡¯d been in. ¡°I didn¡¯t help farm those items and that¡¯s¡­¡± She swallowed, ¡°Too much for you to spend on me.¡±

    I eyed her. ¡°I just need a yes or a no from you. Because if you don¡¯t want it, then we have to¡­¡±

    ¡°I want it!¡± Fray sucked her lips in between her teeth and bit down on them. Her outburst drew the attention of a few of the other patrons, but all we got were stares.

    ¡°We¡¯ll take it.¡± I received the trade request from Sydney and transferred the items and All to her.

    I watched Fray do the same.

    ¡°How long until this is done?¡± I looked at the time. It was a quarter past eight.

    ¡°I won¡¯t be able to finish this tonight, but you could pick it up tomorrow.¡± She took the katana back from Fray, then went further down the aisle.

    ¡°How early?¡± I followed her to the axes. ¡°Because we¡¯re supposed to head into the Temple Dungeon first thing tomorrow.¡±

    She reached over to a mounted bar that Hand Axes were hanging on and took down two of them. ¡°I can have them sent over, so they¡¯ll be waiting for you with the Dungeon Attendant.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± I nodded at her.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure. Tell my niece I said hi and to stay out of trouble!¡± Sydney waved at us and disappeared into the back with her items.

    I turned around to look at my companions. ¡°So Justia, do you want to look at anything?¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 21

    We headed back to the RV.

    We were ready to go back to the house and go to bed, plus none of the three of us were browsers like Aelin and Jen. We were halfway through the parking lot when Fray started panicking.

    ¡°Atlas, I have enough All, I could pay you back for that. That was really too much to spend on me¡­¡± Her teeth started chattering as she spoke.

    ¡°Hey.¡± I moved in front of her, so that I could look into her eyes. ¡°It was something you wanted and it was going to be useful to the group. And who knows, maybe there is another dungeon in the Ward where you¡¯ll be able to use it¡­¡±

    ¡°Cere is the only other dedicated earth affinity dungeon.¡± Justia shrugged when I looked at her. ¡°I looked them all up while Oz was talking to Aelin.¡±

    Which was what I should do soon. I made a mental note to read up on all of them once we got done here.

    ¡°See? That¡¯s at least one more Dungeon where we¡¯ll need you to have this, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡± I lifted her chin with my right hand so she¡¯d have to look me in the eyes. ¡°Okay?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but¡­¡±

    I slid my hand around the side of her face and cupped her ear. Fray froze like she was a kitten and I¡¯d just grabbed her by the scruff of the neck. Her eyes were looking at me now, but they were full of panic. Which wasn¡¯t the reaction I was going for. When I did this to Ether, the ivory woman usually leaned into my hand and it calmed her down.

    ¡°Look. You¡¯re someone who is precious to me and doing this for you made you happy.¡± I smiled and looked over at Justia, who was frowning and shaking her head. ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°She thinks you¡¯re buying her.¡± The other green woman nodded at my hand. ¡°And that¡¯s what you do to Ether before you kiss her.¡±

    I yanked my hand away. ¡°Sorry, that wasn¡¯t what I was trying to convey.¡± I looked up at the night sky, ¡°What I mean is that I haven¡¯t got to do much for you¡­¡± I looked over at Justia, ¡°Either of you in a while and this seemed like something nice I could do.¡±

    ¡°Having me go shopping with you instead of Aelin was something nice?¡± Justia raised an eyebrow, ¡°I don¡¯t think that word means what you think it means.¡±A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    ¡°I still have to figure something out for you.¡± I shook my head, ¡°But I really wanted to talk with you¡­¡± I looked around. There weren¡¯t many people in the parking lot, but we were still out in the open. ¡°In the RV.¡± I moved around so that I could look at Fray. ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    The green woman nodded slowly.

    ¡°Good. Let¡¯s get inside before anyone gets back.¡± I turned and started walking. The RV was only a few spots away.

    When I reached the RV, I noticed that while Justia had followed me, Fray was still standing where I¡¯d left her, tapping the tip of her right boot on the parking lot.

    ¡°Fray.¡± I motioned for her to follow. ¡°Come on.¡±

    She started moving, but stopped an arm¡¯s length from the door.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I was confused and starting to get a little frustrated.

    ¡°You said you wanted to talk with Justia.¡± Fray nodded at the door. ¡°You have those talks without me.¡±

    ¡°That¡­¡± I groaned. Part of it was my fault for not explaining better, but we hadn¡¯t really had time. ¡°Just get in here.¡± I reached out and grabbed her arm. I didn¡¯t need anyone else overhearing what I was going to tell her. At least I knew that the RV was fairly secure. I closed the door behind her and locked it.

    ¡°Okay.¡± I pinched my eyebrows together. ¡°At the moment, you¡¯re one of the few people that I know I can talk to and around.¡± I tapped on my chest. ¡°Because of this.¡±

    It¡¯d been an effort to put her mind at ease, so Trent had given both Fray and Gesai the same seal that Rix and I had that was hiding our true classes. The thing was that their seals also bound them to the pact that I¡¯d made with Trent, Justia, and ArchBishop Mavery. Except their seals only bound them to the deal of not being able to bring harm to me and to protect my secret. I¡¯d been a little uneasy when Trent had informed me of one-sidedness on their seals, which meant I would have to be careful not to abuse that power.

    ¡°But Justia doesn¡¯t have one of these. The only mark she has is on her left hip and it doesn¡¯t look anything like the one I was born with¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not what¡­¡± I looked over at Justia, ¡°When were the two of you naked together?¡±

    ¡°There aren¡¯t any stalls in the showers.¡± Justia thumped me on the head, ¡°Get your mind out of the gutter.¡±

    ¡°Sorry.¡± I rubbed my head. Honestly, I¡¯d never had to shower with anyone else since Shelly was giving me a wide berth, so that possibility hadn¡¯t crossed my mind. I nodded at Justia¡¯s right hand. ¡°Show her.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Justia rubbed the back of her hand.

    ¡°Her seal is linked to those as well. She¡¯s part of the pact.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­¡± Justia held up her right hand.

    Sealing pacts with magic turned out to be fairly common, and it would be unsightly to have all of those icons all over a person¡¯s body. So a spell was developed that hid the mark until the person it was on ran magic through it.

    Like Justia was doing.

    A blue mark almost exactly like the one I had over my heart appeared on the back of her hand.

    ¡°See?¡± I sat down in the booth. ¡°You¡¯re one of us.¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 22

    Fray pulled her shirt so she could look down at her own mark.

    Justia released the magic and the mark vanished.

    ¡°Do I get one of those?¡± Fray grabbed Justia¡¯s hand and started looking for the seal.

    ¡°No.¡± Justia and I said together.

    Fray looked up from her search. ¡°Why?¡± Her face got red. ¡°Does Ether have one like that?¡±

    ¡°Why..?¡± I sighed. ¡°No, Ether does not have a mark on her hand or her heart or anywhere.¡± Now that I said it out loud, I probably should talk to her about that. Not that I didn¡¯t trust her, but accidents happened and if one happened with this in the wrong place, I¡¯d be dead.

    ¡°ETHER DOESN¡¯T HAVE A MARK?!?¡± Fray looked up at me. ¡°Who else does? Oz? Ren?¡± She looked at Justia. ¡°Aelin?¡±

    ¡°No. No. And no.¡± I motioned at the booth. ¡°Now could you please sit down. I¡¯ve got a lot to talk with Justia about and not a lot of time before they get back.¡±

    Fray took a seat across from Justia, while I leaned against the cabinet across the booth so that I could see both of them.

    ¡°What are your thoughts about the secondary team so far?¡± I waved my hand at her reaction. ¡°Minus Oz and Ren.¡±

    ¡°Jen is fitting in too well, but Trent vouched for her, so I¡¯m not going to try to blow her cover.¡± Justia tapped her fingers on the table.

    ¡°Could your feeling about her be jealousy?¡± I held up my hands to ward away the glare I received. ¡°Just making sure.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s just it.¡± The blue-eyed woman sighed. ¡°If I was into it, she¡¯d be down to join us.¡± Her icy glare dared my mind to envision what she¡¯d described. ¡°But I¡¯m not and I¡¯m pretty sure neither is she.¡±

    ¡°How do you..?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just a feeling.¡± Justia shrugged. ¡°But she hasn¡¯t tried to jump you yet like all the other women you¡¯re around.¡±

    ¡°Rix and Fray haven¡¯t.¡± I tried to defend myself.

    ¡°Both of which are severely damaged.¡± Justia reached across the table to put her hand over Fray¡¯s. ¡°Which is okay.¡± She turned back to me. ¡°But we both know that if that wasn¡¯t there, then they¡¯d be all over you.¡±

    ¡°What about Aelin?¡± I felt dirty for bringing it up. ¡°She didn¡¯t. And until I let it slip you liked her, she hadn¡¯t even considered that possibility.¡±

    ¡°You rejected her.¡± Justia said it like it was a fact I should have already been aware of. She held up a finger to silence me. ¡°Not vocally, but mentally. Which means that your magnetism is something that you can turn off.¡±

    I didn¡¯t have a defense for that. ¡°So either I nixed the idea of her as a romantic partner subconsciously, or..?¡±If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°Or she is bound to something else.¡± Justia held up her right hand.

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± I closed my eyes. Of course Trent would bring a spy onto the team. I sighed and looked between the two green women. ¡°At least we can trust that she¡¯s on our side.¡±

    Fray was blinking as she tried to absorb everything we were saying. Unfortunately, I didn¡¯t have time to pause.

    ¡°What are your thoughts about Mitchel? Do you know about his situation?¡±

    ¡°Shelly?¡± Justia shook her head. ¡°He already knows that¡¯s what Aelin calls him. He¡¯d probably feel more like you were accepting him if you used it.¡± She waved her hand, ¡°But that¡¯s not the issue. All I know is that he has an older sister who has already graduated, so I can imagine what his situation is.¡±

    I nodded, ¡°So how close do we let him get?¡±

    ¡°I think he¡¯s honest enough not to push off the team.¡± Justia scooted back in the booth so that she was facing me as she hugged her right knee against her chest. ¡°But definitely limit what he sees. He could be a strong ally in the future, but right now, he¡¯s a pawn in his sister¡¯s game.¡±

    I hated that I was having to learn how to navigate all the plots and schemes. Life would be so much simpler if the Nobles would just adhere to Noblesse Oblige.

    ¡°As much as I hate to say it, I agree.¡± I shrugged. ¡°What about the two candidates?¡±

    ¡°Zel¡¯s already tried to throw herself at you.¡± Justia¡¯s eyes narrowed, ¡°What do you think?¡±

    ¡°She sounded desperate.¡± I rubbed the side of my face, ¡°I don¡¯t know why though. But not even Bridget came on that strong.¡±

    ¡°The blonde?¡± Fray looked at Justia.

    My Healer just nodded. ¡°I agree. So as much as I hate to say it, until we figure out what that is, Astrid is the frontrunner.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± I looked at Fray for a hint, then back at Justia. ¡°I know she¡¯s Rals twin, but he didn¡¯t seem that bad. Maybe a jerk for not stepping in when Savyn, Andes, and Gileon were bullying Aelin, but not risking himself to protect someone he doesn¡¯t know doesn¡¯t make him a bad person. It actually makes him a normal person.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not that.¡± Justia shook her head. ¡°I mean, yes, I¡¯m upset that he didn¡¯t step in, but that¡¯s not it.¡± She looked at Fray, then moved to me. ¡°She¡¯s angry, neglected, eager to please and has something to prove.¡± She raised an eyebrow. ¡°Sound familiar?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s also defiant, which we know how Gesai feels about that.¡±

    ¡°That brings us to the last one.¡± Justia sighed.

    ¡°Last one?¡± I was confused. ¡°Trent said that there was only one potential in Klix, but he wouldn¡¯t tell me who it was. Do you know?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not talking about the last member of the team.¡± Justia shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m talking about Jovena.¡±

    ¡°Vena?¡± I shrugged. ¡°What about her? She¡¯s not on the team.¡±

    ¡°And neither were Mom, Uncle Paul, or Aunt Dacine¡­¡± She let the implication hang between us.

    ¡°Okay, what about her?¡± I shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not going to kick her out. Plus she¡¯s headstrong and a fighter. AND she takes the fight to people in charge, which will be a great help considering what we¡¯re up against.¡±

    ¡°It will.¡± Justia nodded. ¡°Until YOU¡¯RE the one in charge. Then the question becomes, was she fighting against oppressive rule or ALL rule?¡±

    I opened my mouth, then closed it. She had a point and I didn¡¯t have an answer for her.

    ¡°So we have to watch ourselves around the new teammates¡­¡± I shook my head. ¡°I was hoping things would get simpler once we got back.¡±

    Justia laughed, ¡°That all went out the window once you outed yourself as Trent¡¯s son. And he went from being a folk hero hermit to a legend with an heir overnight. Things are never going to be simple again.¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 23

    We didn¡¯t have any more time to talk.

    Ether, Gesai, and Zel got back first, which I assumed that Aelin and Jen would have to be thrown out of the mall since it was so near closing time.

    ¡°How was it?¡± I pulled Ether close to me and kissed her forehead.

    ¡°We got what we needed.¡± The ivory woman slid under my arm, to lean on the cabinet with me. She gestured at Gesai, who had moved to the driver¡¯s seat. ¡° Gesai has the supplies for her team and I have the stuff for ours. Did you find weapons?¡±

    ¡°Fray got a new katana and I had to commission hand axes for Oz. Turns out that Jen¡¯s aunt was working there. She said that she¡¯d have the weapons waiting for us at the Temple.¡± I looked at Zel, ¡°Zel. Do you go shopping? Or do you have servants or a butler like Vee who does it for you?¡±

    Ether elbowed me.

    ¡°What? I¡¯m just trying to get to know her better.¡± I looked at the silver woman sitting between me and Justia, ¡°I¡¯ve never been around someone who lived somewhere so fancy.¡±

    Zel slid out of the booth, tripped and ended up on the floor in front of me. She pushed herself up on her knees. ¡°It¡¯s okay! I¡¯ll tell you whatever you want to know!¡±

    Justia mouthed the word DESPERATE.

    I nodded, which Zel took as me prompting her to answer the question.

    ¡°My parents have servants, but they didn¡¯t really pay much attention to me. So if I wanted something that wasn¡¯t provided, I had to find a way to get it myself.¡± Zel tried to smile, ¡°I¡¯ve been to a lot of Mundane stores, since those sell the cheapest things.¡±

    My opinion of her started to change a little, though I wondered if she was literally throwing herself at me because she wanted out, or because she thought that I was her ticket to a life of riches. I decided to pull a Trent.

    Unlike my fake father, I couldn¡¯t go down to the lower floors of the dungeon and kill one monster that was worth thirty thousand All. But I did know that twenty All was more than I¡¯d been able to save after working for four years. Which meant the hundred All coin I took out of my CB would be worth a significant amount to someone who had to earn their own money like a Mundane.

    ¡°Here.¡± I dropped the coin into her hands. ¡°I don¡¯t have much, since I¡¯m only Tier Zero, but I just realized my father didn¡¯t give you any spending money like he gave the rest of us. I know it¡¯s probably too late for you to spend it now, but we¡¯ll probably come back tomorrow and you could buy something for yourself then.¡±

    She looked at the coin, then over at Gesai, then back to me. She offered me the coin back. ¡°Miss Alard already bought me some better gear tonight.¡± The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

    I put my right hand against the cabinet and my left arm was around Ether¡¯s shoulders. I tried to think of what to do next.

    She must have misread the pause, because she continued. ¡°If you¡¯d like to do something nice, there¡¯s a really good ice cream parlor on the way home. You can get a cone for only one All. It¡¯s much better and cheaper than the ones in the mall.¡±

    She wasn¡¯t after All it seemed. I took the coin back and looked at Gesai. ¡°Do we have time for a pitstop?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the ones fighting in the morning, not me.¡± Gesai pulled up the menu on her CB, ¡°I¡¯ll tell Aelin she¡¯s not getting any if she¡¯s not here before nine.¡±

    ¡°Should we ask the ones back at the house if they want some?¡±

    ¡°Astrid likes chocolate!¡± Zel closed her lips tight.

    I raised an eyebrow at the woman that was still on her knees in front of me. ¡°You two are close?¡±

    Zel nodded. ¡°Our families are all close, but Astrid and I aren¡¯t heirs, so we were both ignored.¡± She swallowed. ¡°She¡¯s my only friend here.¡± A smile started to creep across her face. ¡°We used to sneak out all the time and go get ice cream, or see a show, or¡­¡± Her voice drifted off, then she was back. ¡°We didn¡¯t think that I¡¯d have a chance to go to the Cathedral, so when this happened, we were so excited.¡± She shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s why she was like that tonight. I have to leave this place.¡± The silver woman wove her fingers together and pressed her fist against my chest. ¡°I¡¯ll do anything to convince you to take me with you.¡±

    Fray¡¯s eyes went wide and she started shaking her head. Justia reached over the table and touched the other green woman¡¯s arm. She¡¯d picked up on the same thing I had.

    This wasn¡¯t the first time an anything offer had been made to me. Except this one didn¡¯t have a single drop of sexual energy in it. In fact, there was nothing in that offer but fear and desperation.

    ¡°Hey.¡± I untangled my arm from around Ether so I could help Zel stand up. ¡°What kind of trouble are you in?¡±

    Zel trembled as she looked around the vehicle, ¡°Why would you think I¡¯m in trouble? I just offered¡­¡±

    ¡°He knows what you offered.¡± Ether cut in. ¡°He also knows that you¡¯d probably make good on the nastiest thing his mind could think of.¡±

    They were the same height, but it felt like Ether was towering over Zel. ¡°What he also knows is that there¡¯s none of this¡­¡±

    I wasn¡¯t expecting the kiss. It was fierce and warm and passionate and it shut down everything else. For a moment, it was just the two of us there.

    She pulled away before I could grab her.

    ¡°Or that¡­¡± Ether motioned at Gesai who looked like it was taking everything she had not to join in on the show and tell demonstration that Ether was putting on. ¡°So¡­¡± The Tank poked the Shooter in the chest. ¡°Unless that anything includes explaining why you have to get out of here, then you can bet your life he¡¯s not going to touch you.¡±

    It felt like my beating heart was the loudest thing in the room as Ether stared down at the other woman like a cat staring at a wounded mouse. It probably helped the analogy that Ether had shark-like teeth and Zel¡¯s only sharp teeth were normal canines.

    ¡°WE HAVE THE LOOTS!¡± Aelin burst into the RV, shattering the silence.

    ¡°AND IT¡¯S SKILLS FOR EVERYBODY!¡±Jen jumped in behind her.

    Aelin looked around at all of our faces. ¡°Who died?¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 24

    The ice cream was the best I¡¯d ever had.

    Granted, the pool it had to compete against was only the cafe back at the Cathedral, but still. The chocolate cone I¡¯d just finished tasted like there was no possible way to make it any better.

    Zel had been silent for the rest of the trip and somehow managed to steal shotgun from Aelin while Gesai drove us home.

    Aelin gave me the Freeze and Air Bullet skills, while Ether got a skill called Pull the Room. The description said it would taunt everything in the immediate vicinity and it cost twenty mana to cast. With that mana hungry of a skill, we were going to have to be careful when we killed the Dispatcher Dungeon Bosses.

    As soon as we got back, Zel took the chocolate cone and ran inside past Oz and Ren, who came out to meet us.

    ¡°What¡¯s up with her?¡± Oz took a vanilla cone and handed the berry one to Ren.

    ¡°She¡¯s hiding something.¡± Fray summarized.

    Oz looked at me and raised an eyebrow.

    I shrugged. ¡°No idea. She offered to do anything and Ether called her bluff.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take those to Shelly and Rix.¡± Jen reached for the last two cones. Rix had wanted nut and Shelly chose vanilla.

    ¡°You can take Shelly his, but I have a feeling Rix will come down herself.¡± I looked up at the third floor where the door to the balcony of Rix¡¯s room was open. ¡°RIX WE¡¯RE HERE WITH YOUR ICE CREAM!¡±

    I had expected her to walk out on the balcony and jump down. It was only twenty feet and I¡¯d seen her fall more just fine. But there was nothing.

    Except a woman¡¯s scream.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    Gesai shot into the house like she was on fire, which I think she was a little, since I knew she could coat one of her swords in flames.

    Oz was right behind her, with me doing something we had been told never to do.

    ¡°DASH!¡±

    I sped up, clearing a whole flight of stairs in two steps. As the temporary boost wore off, Oz appeared beside me, then we both Dashed again.

    Gesai had put away her sword and was standing over the crying strawberry blonde. Zel was in the middle of the floor of Astrid¡¯s room, wailing like someone had died.

    ¡°What''s going on?¡± Oz had her hand axes in both her hands.

    ¡°She won¡¯t stop this¡­¡± Gesai shook her head as Zel wailed again. ¡°Screaming¡­¡± The teacher grabbed the younger woman by her shirt and pulled her up.

    Zel¡¯s feet refused to stand, so Gesai held her in the air. Given how high Gesai¡¯s Power was, I knew that holding her like this would be no problem for the teacher.

    ¡°Zel. Stop.¡±

    She started to wail again and I stepped forward and put my hand over her mouth. I looked into her red eyes.

    ¡°You promised to do ANYTHING.¡± I kept my hand over her mouth. ¡°So I¡¯m telling you to stop screaming and tell us what¡¯s going on.¡±

    Tears were still streaming down her face and she was sniffling, but the wailing stopped.

    I took my hand off of her mouth. When I backed up, I realized that everyone else was in the doorway and Shelly was right behind Oz. He was wearing nothing but his boxers, but he had his shield out and was still on guard even though the rest of us had put away our weapons.

    ¡°Good.¡± I nodded to Gesai. ¡°Answer her.¡±

    The redhead tried to set Zel down on her feet, but the other woman was still limp.

    Gesai growled as she lifted the younger woman back up. ¡°Where is Astrid?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s¡­¡± Zel looked down at the floor as the tears started flowing again.

    ¡°Hey!¡± I snapped my fingers. ¡°We can¡¯t do anything if we don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on!¡±

    ¡°I-I-I told Astrid that you weren¡¯t going to pick me¡­¡± Zel fought back tears as she clutched the red mask close to her heart. ¡°She said she was going to fix it so you¡¯d have to take me¡­¡± Her voice trailed off.

    ¡°What is she doing? Hey!¡± Gesai shook her a little. ¡°Come back. What is she doing?¡±

    ¡°She said that if things ever got too bad that she was going to let people know¡­¡± Zel squeezed her eyes tight as gentle sobs began to escape. It took her a few moments to ride out the wave. She looked over at me. ¡°Crimson went to the Pits¡­¡± She brought the red mask up to her face. ¡°This is her way of saying goodbye.¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 25

    I had no idea what she was talking about.

    ¡°Pits?¡± I looked at Gesai, ¡°What are those?¡±

    ¡°Pit Fighting. Think Adventurer Games, but underground and bloody.¡± Ether started going through menus on her CB. ¡°I¡¯ve got her!¡±

    ¡°How do you know about..?¡± The glare Ether gave me was enough to stop that line of questioning. For now anyway.

    ¡°You know where Astrid is?¡± Gesai put Zel down.

    Ren, Justia and Jen ran over to try to comfort the young woman who had started crying again.

    ¡°Not Astrid exactly¡­¡± Ether looked at me.

    ¡°With all the disappearing that Rix was doing while we were in Wurn, we thought that maybe we should have a way of tracking her in case she did something¡­¡± I waved my hand around. ¡°Like this.¡±

    ¡°You put a tracker on Rix?¡± Gesai shook her head, ¡°She¡¯s going to kill you.¡±

    ¡°At least she¡¯ll be alive to do it.¡± Ether motioned for people to follow her.

    I looked at the other Tank. ¡°Shelly, I need you to stay here in case something happens.¡± I looked at Aelin. ¡°You too Aelin.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡±

    ¡°No buts.¡± I slashed my finger in front of her. ¡°Look, I know you¡¯re okay with what we might have to do, but if you go, then Justia isn¡¯t going to be able to stop worrying about you, which means that when their parents¡­¡± I pointed at Zel. ¡°Get here, There won¡¯t be anyone to handle the Nobility.¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡± Jen pouted. ¡°I¡¯m here!¡±

    ¡°And you¡¯re going to do exactly what Justia says.¡± I turned back to Aelin. ¡°Call Trent, tell him what happened.¡± I touched my chest. ¡°He can track both of us.¡±Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    The blonde nodded and walked out of the room.

    I turned to the other two women. ¡°This isn¡¯t an order¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going.¡± Oz headed for the stairs.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go.¡±Fray seemed a little more sure of herself.

    I grabbed Oz¡¯s collar and pulled her back. ¡°We¡¯re taking the shortcut.¡±

    I took off running and lept off of Rix¡¯s balcony. The grass in the lawn was pretty soft and I rolled to a stop and got up. It wasn¡¯t perfect, but I was able to get down about the same time as Ether.

    Oz and Fray landed beside me and we headed towards the RV.

    ¡°No.¡± Gesai slashed her hands. ¡°I am only taking Ether because she can track Rix. I¡¯m not taking the three of you into that death trap.¡±

    I ignored her and kept jogging towards the RV.

    ¡°Hey!¡± Gesai reached out to grab me, but her hand got shocked.

    I stopped and turned around. ¡°Look. I get that you¡¯re worried about me. But I¡¯m going to go help my friends.¡± I shook my head. I didn¡¯t even know Astrid, but I¡¯d already thrown her into that category. I let out a nervous breath. ¡°You promised to follow me, because you knew that I would be worthy of following. Which means you can¡¯t stop me, so you can either waste time with you failing to block me. Or we can get in that vehicle and go save our teammates!¡±

    I couldn¡¯t hear what Gesai grumbled, but she walked past me and got in the RV.

    I looked at the other two women. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    ¡°Took you long enough.¡± Ether had a map of the city on the table at the booth and was standing over it. ¡°She¡¯s not moved much in the last few minutes, so I think this is where they are.¡±

    ¡°On it.¡± The RV started moving and I was pretty sure that if we got seen by any Authority, we were going to be in a lot of trouble for how fast we were going and how little of the lights and signs we were adhering to.

    Oz and Fray were both putting on their armor and I started doing the same. It was a little heavier than our casual clothes, which is why I preferred not to wear armor outside of the dungeon, but in this case, our blue leather could pass as casual clothes. Ether¡¯s more solid armor wouldn¡¯t be able to pass as casual clothes. Not that it was going to be a lot of help if there were Adventurer¡¯s there. Depending on the type, I might be able to take on a Tier One, but Tier Two and above were out of my league and I wasn¡¯t sure if Oz and Fray would be much good against anything other than Mundane.

    I made sure my pistol was loaded with the cartridge of magic bullets, and put it in my holster. I really hoped she was going to be okay.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 26

    There was nothing there.

    No buildings, no man hole, nothing. It was just a large open lot in town.

    ¡°Should I start digging?¡± I could tell that Gesai wanted to be doing something. But I wasn¡¯t sure what that something should be.

    ¡°If there¡¯s a room below us, you could cave in the whole thing.¡± I shook my head. ¡°I don¡¯t want to risk how many people that could kill. ¡°

    ¡°What do I do then?¡± She began pacing.

    ¡°I don¡¯t¡­¡± I looked around. There was a Shim Grocery store to our west, a Mundane Supplies store to our south, and a Faeru accounting firm to our east. To the north was an incline with the ¡®better¡¯ Mundane neighborhoods that way. There were lots of vehicles in the grocery and accounting firms¡¯ parking lots, but almost nothing in the Mundane Supplies parking lot. Which was supposed to be closed.

    ¡°Atlas.¡± Ether nodded towards the accounting firm. ¡°Follow me.¡±

    There was a rather large Minotaur standing in front of the door and he waved us away. ¡°This is private property. You need to leave.¡±

    I looked at Gesai, ¡°What Tier do you think he¡¯s in?¡±

    ¡°Looks like Tier Three.¡±

    I looked at the Minotaur. ¡°We¡¯re just here to get our friend and leave. We don''t want any trouble.¡±

    The demihuman reached for his CB. ¡°It won¡¯t be any trouble¡­¡±

    I nodded. ¡°Take him.¡±

    Gesai surged forward. It took three blows to knock the bull-man out, but he didn¡¯t draw his weapon and his hands were so busy that I knew he hadn¡¯t sent a message. Though I had no idea what kind of security this place had, there could have been someone watching this on a security feed and more security inbound.

    ¡°It¡¯s a hand scanner!¡± Oz pointed at the panel by the door.

    Gesai grabbed the large man by the wrist and dragged him over to the scanner. Oz was waiting for it to unlock and threw the door open.

    It was a two story building, with metal shutters that were protecting the wall length windows. A wide staircase wrapped around each outer wall, leading to a second floor that looked like it had one wide hallway running down the middle of it. The second floor wasn¡¯t what concerned me. It was the empty security desk in the middle of the ground floor. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

    Ether ran over to the desk and sat down. There were two screens, each showing four fights going on. None of them were Astrid of Rix, which was a good thing. The cup of a hot beverage in front of each screen was not.

    ¡°They know we¡¯re here.¡± I realized that I was stating the obvious.

    ¡°Yes, but¡­¡± Ether was looking around the desk for something to tell us where to go.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing here.¡± Gesai came back and slammed her fist into the wall.

    I looked over at Oz, who had run upstairs with her. ¡°She even kicked in the locked doors. There¡¯s not any stairs or an elevator that we could find.¡±

    Fray was behind me with her katana in her hands. ¡°What if this isn¡¯t the right one?¡±

    ¡°I think we¡¯re at the right place.¡± Ether looked up from her search.

    ¡°Why?¡± Gesai stopped at the front door.

    The ivory woman picked up one of the mugs. ¡°Because you didn¡¯t find whoever was drinking these.¡±

    The older woman walked over and touched the other mug. ¡°They just got these.¡± She started looking around the open room.

    ¡°Are they invisible?¡± Fray began slowly rotating. ¡°Like Rix?¡±

    Gesai looked around, ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Trent has been having me use her to work on my stealth detection. I doubt anyone that could have stealth that high would be hiding from us.¡±

    ¡°So they ran to¡­¡±

    ¡°I found it!¡± Oz ran in from one of the rooms in the back. She waved for us to follow her.

    The layout of the first floor had the security desk to the left as we walked in, while there was a hall about two-thirds of the way from the left that ran all the way to the back of the building, where there was another door. There were three offices on the right and one large room on the left. She led us into the larger room.

    Inside was a giant table, with nice chairs all around it. There were potted plants in each corner of the room and various paintings covering each wall. There was also a cut mark in the wall about waist high everywhere except a six foot section on the front wall.

    ¡°I was thinking that this wall was too big.¡± Oz tapped on the wall that had the security desk on the other side of it. ¡°I thought that any secret door would be built out of stronger material than the rest of the building.¡± She tapped her handaxe on the section where there wasn¡¯t a cut. ¡°I can¡¯t scratch this.¡±

    Ether started looking at the painting on the right of the section.

    ¡°Move.¡± Gesai moved in front of Oz and punched the wall. She began shaking her fist as the wall barely dented. ¡°This is a Tier Four wall.¡± The older woman pulled out her sword, ¡°This is going to take a few minutes.¡±

    ¡°Hit here.¡± Ether pulled the painting off the wall.

    Gesai stopped midswing. ¡°Why? That¡¯s not the door.¡±

    ¡°No, but an elevator would have controls, which I couldn¡¯t find at the security desk. Which means that is a Tier Four door that¡¯s probably got some type of magical key to it. It also means that it is protecting stairs that the Minotaur could have gone down.¡± She pointed at the west wall. ¡°We know Rix is that direction, so either the stairs go that way.¡± She pointed at Gesai. ¡°And loop around. Or they go this way.¡±

    Gesai swung at the wall where Ether had indicated. Her sword cut into it like the wall was made out of paper. The older woman began to pull the plaster off, revealing stairs behind it that went down the length of the wall and under the lot to the west.

    ¡°Most people only think about going through the door, so they only reinforce the door and leave the rest of the structure made out of cheaper materials.¡± Ether grinned, ¡°Especially an All counter.¡±

    ¡°Atlas¡­¡± Gesai looked at me.

    ¡°I¡¯m going.¡± I nodded at the stairs. ¡°After you.¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 27

    It was loud.

    Considering there were eight fights going on, I would have expected the few hundred people watching, but I hadn¡¯t been expecting just how loud it was going to be with the cheering and screaming.

    Each of the eight ¡®pits¡¯ was below ground level arranged in a three by three square with the center area without a fighting area. Each one had a transparent cover over them which kept anyone from throwing something into the fighting area. There was a railing around the edge that was keeping most people out, but I saw a few that were on top of the glass, excitedly following the fight going on below them.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Rix?¡± I had to get close to Ether so she could hear me over the cheers.

    The ivory woman pointed at the area to the far left, which was diagonal from where we had entered. The other three women had put their weapons away before we came down, which I regretted as Ether tapped on her CB.

    ¡°There¡¯s a jammer in here, just like in the mall.¡± She looked around. ¡°We¡¯re weaponless.¡±

    ¡°Not completely.¡± Gesai moved in front of us and opened her jacket to show a dagger under her arm. ¡°Come on.¡±

    I grabbed Fray¡¯s hand and followed after Ether and Gesai, with Oz bringing up the rear. We were moving around the edge of the huge room, which didn¡¯t have many people to move around, since most were at the railing, watching the fight.

    If I assumed that Rix was in the third area and we¡¯d come in at the seventh one, then as we reached the first ¡®pit¡¯ we ran into our first trouble.

    Two Grim walked up to us and tried to push Gesai, but she didn¡¯t budge.

    ¡°You don¡¯t belong here.¡± The first of the bone covered skeleton looking men made a fist and part of his exoskeleton between his wrist and his elbow peeled out, giving him a foot long blade fin. This one was a Reaper, which meant that even if he was a Mundane, he was going to be tough for the four of us to fight. But there was something about him that screamed that he had a Mantle.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    ¡°Leave.¡± The other Grim peeled out both of his fin-blades. ¡°And we won¡¯t arrest you for trespassing.¡±

    Of course they would be Authority. We were in an underground, probably highly illegal, fight ring and there were Authority down here for security.

    ¡°Gesai¡­¡± I could feel Fray tense. Against Mundane, we could more than hold our own. I could probably even go up against a Tier One. But anything higher than that and we were relying completely on the teacher.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got this.¡± The redhead glared at the two skeletal looking bruisers. ¡°I¡¯m a teacher at the Cathedral. Two of MY students are down here. Once I get them, we¡¯re leaving.¡±

    The second Grim looked at the four of us. ¡°You brought the rest of your class?¡±

    ¡°I can keep an eye on them if they¡¯re with me.¡± She flexed. ¡°But I¡¯m in a hurry, so get out of my way, or I¡¯ll get you out of my way.¡±

    ¡°The Temple doesn¡¯t have any authority here!¡± The first Grim peeled out his other fin-blade. ¡°We only answer to the Six!¡±

    He started swinging, but Gesai was so much faster. She caught his fist with her right hand, pivoted on her right foot so she could grab his right shoulder with her left hand. She pulled his right arm up as she pushed his shoulder into the floor.

    I winced as the sound of breaking bones crunched above the crowd¡¯s yells. The Grim had exoskeletons, which gave them a lot more natural protection than my skin did, but it was also more vulnerable to breaking than my bones were.

    Gesai kneeled on his arm and slid her hand up to the back of his head. She slammed his face into the floor once and he stopped moving.

    I expected the other Grim to attack her while she was on her knees, but he retracted his fin-blades and started backing up.

    ¡°Get your students and get out of here.¡± There was a sneer in his voice that told me he didn¡¯t like being outmuscled, but at least he was smart enough to recognize that he could only slow Gesai down.

    The redhead stood up and motioned for us to follow her.

    I watched the Grim start typing on his CB.

    ¡°GES!¡± I nodded at the Authority Officer.

    Gesai grabbed his wrist and pulled it back. ¡°What are you doing?¡± She looked at the message. ¡°Backup?! Seriously?!¡± She twisted him around her, then grabbed the back of his head and slammed his face into the wall beside us. That was all it took to knock him out.

    ¡°He reported that there was a Tier Four plus rampaging and to send a containment unit.¡± She looked over at me. ¡°We need to get RIx and Astrid and get out of her NOW!¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 28

    Rix wasn¡¯t at the ring.

    But Astrid was. Not at it exactly, but inside it.

    I looked down into the pit and saw the golden woman armed with a bladed arm-shield on each arm. Her shoulder length red hair was braided tightly down each side of her head with another down the middle of her head, then the three were braided all together. Her blue eyes looked like they were on fire as she danced around her opponent.

    The other person in the ring was a MInotar. The brown bull-man had a huge hammer that it was swinging. But every time it would get close, Astrid would use the arm-shield to divert it just enough to miss her, then make a tiny cut with her other weapon, before dancing back.

    ¡°Can you believe this? Our little Crimson Dancer has Miltoor looking like a fool! Who would have believed that a Tier Zero could survive this long in the Gauntlet! But all it will take is one strike from our Champion¡¯s Hammer to end it! Place your bets on the third match of tonight''s Tier One Fight to the Death!¡±

    The voice of the monkey-man in a very expensive looking purple and gold suit was the loudest thing in this section. The Raijin announcer was parading around on top of the transparent ceiling above Astrid and the Minotaur she was fighting. It reminded me a lot of the few times that I¡¯d seen the Adventurer Games. The Raijin were the primary announcers for those matches.

    ¡°We¡¯ve got to stop this!¡± I turned to Gesai. ¡°Can you..?¡±

    I expected her to jump over the railing and smash the glass, but instead, she knelt down and pounded on the section that was right in front of her.

    ¡°It¡¯s Tier Four.¡± She stood back up. ¡°I can break it, but it¡¯s going to take a few minutes.¡±

    ¡°We need to find where the contestants get in.¡± Ether was looking around, then pointed at the large ring of counters in the middle section.

    Fox women in barely any clothes were taking All from people in line. There was a screen beside the Kitsune with words and numbers that I couldn¡¯t make out, but that hadn¡¯t been what Ether had been pointing at. There were only seven counters, each one facing one of the pits. Except for number six. Instead of a counter, there were two Grim that were guarding what looked like a large spiral staircase.

    ¡°That has to be it!¡± I looked at Gesai. ¡°We need to get down there so we can stop this fight!¡±Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    The silver woman beside me pulled us back. ¡°We don¡¯t have time.¡± She pointed at the entrance where a group of six Grim had just walked in. There were three more coming from the sixth section and two coming from the first one.

    Oz jumped over the railing and ran out onto the glass.

    ¡°It looks like we have a jumper! You know what that means!¡± The announcer pointed at Oz and electricity crackled on his hand.

    EXPULSION! EXPULSION!

    The crowd was chanting and banging on the railing.

    Gesai jumped over the rail and intercepted the blast. It sizzled over her and made her red hair poof out.

    The crowd got silent for a moment as everyone else tried to figure out what was going on.

    Then they started cheering.

    Gesai dashed at the announcer and swung at the extravagantly clothed Raijin. The monkey-man was able to dodge her fist and tried to shock her again, but she kept rotating and kicked his fist aside, directing the blast at the ceiling.

    Rubble rained down on the two of them as the teacher didn¡¯t stop moving.

    ¡°He¡¯s Tier Four.¡± Ether grabbed me and pulled me over the railing with Fray in hand.

    ¡°What are we doing?!¡± I looked down at the fight below. It actually looked like Astrid was winning. She hadn¡¯t been hit yet and the Minotaur was covered in cuts.

    ¡°Rix will be able to see us this way and Gesai will have a clearer field to fight.¡± The four of us started moving towards the north west corner. ¡°Anyone without a CB is who we focus on.¡± Ether held out her hand towards the Raijin.

    Look At Me!

    Against a Tier Four, she didn¡¯t have much of a chance of the taunt holding his attention. And she really didn¡¯t have a chance at being able to survive a hit from him. Even though she tried to use the skill, I could tell that nothing had happened. But that didn¡¯t matter, because she only needed to distract him for a second. And a second was all the opening that Gesai needed for her fist to connect with his body.

    The silver woman chained her attacks as one fist caught on fire and the other one froze over. She stood over the unconscious Raijin as the crowd cheered. She wiped her face with the back of her hand as the eleven Authority Officers began climbing over the rail.

    One of the Grim stepped forward and pointed at her. ¡°You are to be detained for trespassing and assault. Surrender peacefully, or we will detain you with force.¡± He must have seen the look in her eye, because he added. ¡°I am level fifty one. You cannot win.¡±

    I knew she was going to fight. Aryes had been Tier Five and she hadn¡¯t backed down from him during our fight in Wurn. I looked down at Astrid and our eyes met. There was something there that almost seemed happy and content. She took a step back and dropped to her knees. Her arms on the ground by her side with her palms up.

    The Minotar looked at her and swung his hammer. He wasn¡¯t going to reject a free kill.

    There was nothing I could do but scream.

    ¡°NO!¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 29

    The hammer fell.

    It landed where Astrid had been sitting, but she wasn¡¯t there anymore. She was on her back a few feet away.

    Both of them looked completely confused, but I started laughing as tears streamed down my face. I knew what was about to happen.

    Rix appeared behind the bull-man and a dagger grew out of his throat.

    The Minotaur dropped the hammer and grabbed his throat. His hands began to glow as he focused on healing himself.

    Rix looked at Astrid and said something then pointed at the MInotaur. The hero vanished and appeared behind the Minotaur, this time aiming for the back of his neck.

    The bull-man twisted and tried to slap her, but Rix vanished again and appeared a few steps in front of him. He pulled his other hand away from his neck and I could see that the wound was mostly healed.

    Except he¡¯d forgotten that Rix wasn¡¯t the only one in the ring.

    Astrid slid behind him and stabbed the blade on her left arm-shield into the back of his right leg.

    Without his hammer, all the Minotaur had was his fists. His right fist slammed into the small spikes on her right arm-shield and knocked her away from him, but that also exposed his back.

    Rix¡¯s chain-sword snapped out, planting itself into his left shoulder. When she pulled it out, she was able to knock him off-balance, so that he fell forward and caught himself with his left hand.

    Astrid was back on her feet and running at him. The Minotaur swung wide with his right arm, which she ducked under and went to stab him in the chest.

    With her in front of him and on his knees, the Minotaur used the only other weapon it had on it.

    Its horns.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!

    The bull-man tucked his head and charged.

    Astrid got both of her arm-shields up in front of her, which saved her from the brunt of it, but one shield cracked and the other one was gored and was yanked off as the bull-man ran over her.

    The Minotaur turned around and stood up, yanking the bloody arm-shield off of its horn. He threw it to the ground and smashed it with his hoof. It tried to roar in triumph when Rix appeared beside it and stabbed it in the right side with her chain-sword, as a sword.

    Rix danced out of range of the fist that tried to slam into her. She stopped beside Astrid and said something to her.

    The other woman was trying to get up. She had a hole in the side of her right arm where the horn had gored it, then yanked the arm-shield off. Her red outfit was torn in so many places, and every one gave a peek of bruises on her golden skin. Astrid was favoring her left leg as she stood, but there was a fire in her blue eyes that I recognized.

    The Minotaur was laughing as soft green light began to wash over it. The bull-man walked towards its discarded hammer like it didn¡¯t have a care in the world.

    Rix tossed a knife in the air and Astrid caught it with her right hand, then they both disappeared.

    The Minotaur froze as the crowd got quiet. Even the Authority were engrossed with watching the fight below us.

    The bull-man started running towards his hammer, but part way there Rix appeared on his back with her chain-sword in his neck. Instead of pulling it out, though, she started wrapping the chain around his neck.

    The minotaur grabbed at his throat with his left hand as he began to glow again. He tried to grab at her with his right arm, but she planted a knife in his shoulder. The blade began to bend as he struggled against it.

    Rix began trying to pull her blade out sideways as she kicked at the back of his knee. It took three tries, but she drove him to kneel in front of her. She swapped her hold on his left shoulder and her sword to grab both of his horns. She pulled her knees up into his back and pulled as hard as she could.

    Astrid appeared under him and the knife that Rix had given her was in his skull from under his exposed chin. She blocked the right fist as it hammered onto her left arm-shield. While he slammed into her, she pulled out the knife and kept stabbing faster than his healing could keep up.

    One of the downsides to healing magic is that while it could heal a wound, it didn¡¯t replace the blood that you lost. A health potion would do both, which is why sometimes they were better than a healer.

    The blood loss was slowing the Minotaur down, until it didn¡¯t have the strength to raise its right arm. It began to sway as its left hand dropped to its side and the glow vanished, but Astrid didn¡¯t stop stabbing.

    Rix rode the bull-man to the ground as Astrid flashed twice.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 30

    The crowd cheered.

    The end of the fight also snapped the Authority Officers out of their fascination. The lead officer pulled out a set of restraints.

    ¡°If you resist we will use force.¡± He nodded and three officers backed up and headed for the middle section.

    ¡°If you think I¡¯m going to let you touch one of my students¡­¡± Gesai¡¯s fists started burning and icing over again.

    He was fast, but not faster than Gesai. And instead of how Rix and Astrid fought with mainly dodging, Gesai fought head-on.

    And dirty.

    There were very few places on a Grim that weren¡¯t covered in their boney exoskeleton. Their eyes and in between their legs.

    He doubled over as she moved out of the way so she could focus on the other seven. Two of them didn¡¯t have CBs, which meant they were our targets, but that left five for Gesai to take on and three of them were cautiously approaching her, while their leader wheezed on the glass ceiling.

    Gesai lashed out at the one closest to her. He was able to block her, but when she feigned a groin hit, he crossed his legs and dropped his hands. She hit him twice and laid him out.

    Before she could turn around, the other two were on her.

    She wasn¡¯t fast enough to stop a restraint from being slapped on her left arm, just below her shoulder. Gesai dropped onto the floor like she was dead weight, pulling the Grim behind her on the left on top of her. Except, she also tucked her legs.

    His face hit the soles of her boots and she kicked him off of her, sending him almost twenty feet away. The glass cracked just a little where he landed, but not all the way through.

    That left one more who decided that non-lethal force was only going to earn him a beating. The third Grim extended his fin-blades and lashed out at the woman on her back.

    The two Grim that had CBs that hadn''t joined the fight ran over to their wheezing boss to help him up. The four of us rotated away from them, which brought us closer to the two Grim without CBs. I thought about attacking them, but for now, they seemed content to not join the fight and I knew that if we started fighting, Gesai would get distracted by trying to keep an eye on us. And we needed her focused.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    Gesai was back on feet and so was the one that she¡¯d kicked away. She was holding out, but she was losing. Unless she was able to isolate them and take one down like she had the first two, she wasn¡¯t going to win.

    The two that were fighting her realized it too, which had them fighting a lot more cautiously. It also emboldened the two without CBs to head towards us.

    ¡°Surrender and allow yourselves to be¡­¡±

    I didn¡¯t let him finish. I knew that my skills wouldn¡¯t work because of the dampener, but I was able to clear the distance in a second, and I knew Oz and Fray were right behind me, speeding towards the other one. I also knew that since Gesai was able to use her skills, the suppressor only worked as high as Tier Three. The owners must have assumed that their bouncers could take care of any higher Tiered threats and save the money and energy by not getting a stronger generator.

    It felt like I was punching a brick wall, but I still knocked him back. He dropped the restraint that he¡¯d been holding as he extended his fin-blades.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to enjoy this¡­¡± The Grim swung at me.

    It wasn¡¯t enough to just dodge their fist. I also had to dodge the blade and the swipe as they pulled their arm back. There wasn¡¯t really a good place to grab him, and he knew it.

    Except he wasn¡¯t ready for Ether.

    The ivory woman crashed into him, wrapping her arms around his left and taking him to the ground.

    ¡°Restraint!¡± Ether struggled to hang on as her white blood began to drip down his arm.

    I scooped up the restraint he¡¯d dropped and grabbed his other hand. The sharp edge cut me once, adding a small black streak in the palm of my hand. Once I had the restraint on, we were able to roll him over and restrain the other arm. Oz and Fray were able to finish restraining the one they¡¯d been fighting just before I finished with ours.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± I nodded at Ether¡¯s torn sleeves. Oz had a few white scratches, and Fray had some red ones, but Ether¡¯s were easily the worst of all of our wounds, even if they were combined.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Ether turned to Gesai and gasped.

    The Grim leader had regained his composure and had joined the fight. Gesai was still on her feet, but she had been beaten up pretty badly.

    The leader smiled as more Authority poured into the room. Satisfied that he¡¯d won, he paused and pointed at us. ¡°I think it¡¯s time for you to watch what we do to all who resist us.¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Gesai tried to move, but the other two were in front of her, and the two lower-level ones started coming towards us.

    A deep voice commanded everyone¡¯s attention, freezing the Grim in place.

    ¡°I THINK THAT¡¯S ENOUGH.¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 31

    I¡¯d been expecting Trent to show up.

    But this wasn¡¯t Trent.

    My heart started racing as the blonde-haired, blue-eyed, silver man stepped onto the glass.

    ¡°You¡¯re...!¡± The leader narrowed his eyes and smiled. ¡°I¡¯m going to get a big promotion for this.¡±

    Whisper Err, the number three most wanted man alive just shook his head. ¡°You should just leave.¡±

    The leader started laughing as the rest of the Authority showed up.

    ¡°Number Three is Tier Five! Tier Fours take the woman! The rest clear the civilians and detain those four!¡± He motioned at me.

    I¡¯d failed Rix and Astrid. At least they were alive, though. I looked down in the pit, but all I saw was two Grim and not my teammates. The Officers looked very confused. I couldn¡¯t help but grin. Maybe the two of them would make it out okay. Though, knowing Rix, she¡¯d probably use the lower-level ones to start leveling herself up until she could fight on Whisper¡¯s level. Which reminded me. Rix still wanted to kill Whisper for how he¡¯d stopped us from escaping when we¡¯d been kidnapped. Though she knew that he¡¯d saved us and the Black Team back in Wurn, and I hadn¡¯t gotten a chance to talk to her about that, so I didn¡¯t know if her feelings about him had changed. Mine were still very complicated, but I was glad he appeared to be on our side at the moment.

    Whisper pulled out a black sword as three Grim moved to surround him. The Officers that were trying to push back the crowd only served to draw in even more attention. Every eye in the room wanted to be on the fight that was about to start.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to say this once!¡± Whisper began rotating slowly. ¡°Anyone who tries to stop me, or these five from leaving will wish they¡¯d never been born!¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    The Grim started laughing.

    ¡°It¡¯s four on one!¡± The leader was laughing the hardest. ¡°And you think that you¡¯re going to beat us?!?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t say anything about beating.¡± Whisper stabbed the glass with his sword. Black spiderwebs that were covered in red light crisscrossed their way all over the glass. Before the leader could react, Whisper snapped.

    The glass shattered so finely that it basically vanished.

    It was only about a fifteen-foot drop, which wasn¡¯t too bad, but no one was able to land solidly on their feet.

    And Whisper was gone.

    The black sword blossomed out of the leader¡¯s chest. As Whisper pulled it out, he threw a white sword at Gesai. I¡¯d wondered why she hadn¡¯t drawn a weapon, but considering she grabbed the sword, I assumed that the CB¡¯s item function was a lot easier to suppress than our skills.

    There was a part of me that was afraid that Whisper had just thrown her a Tier Five weapon and she was going to get hurt again, but the look on her face was like someone had just given her a shot of adrenaline.

    ¡°Restraints!¡± Whisper stabbed another one and pulled five restraints off of him. He threw them towards us.

    I caught one and wondered who he was wanting me to restrain since he was killing them. But I noticed that they were still moving. His sword was doing something when he stabbed them to put them in a ton of pain. But it wasn¡¯t killing them.

    Spikes shot out of the ground and crisscrossed two Grim that were advancing on us and pinned them to the wall.

    ¡°NOW!¡± Whisper stabbed another one, leaving only one more Tier Five to stand against him.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got this one. Oz, Fray! Get those two!¡± I hurried over to the leader and slipped the restraints on him. The genius of the team was that it was woven down from tier five materials all the way down to Tier Zero. So it would hold a Tier Five but could be used by a Mundane.

    We finished restraining the other Grim, including the ones that Gesai took down. None of the others seemed eager to jump down into the pit with us, but the door was locked, which meant that we were trapped.

    I looked at Gesai. ¡°What are we going to do?¡±

    ¡°We¡­¡± Whisper looked at his CB, ¡°Are going to wait¡­¡± He held up a finger. ¡°For that¡­¡±

    Nothing happened.

    ¡°For¡­?¡± I didn¡¯t get to finish my question.

    The entire roof of the whole underground fighting ring exploded.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 32

    Trent had arrived.

    As far as entrances go, it was pretty dramatic. Dust rained down on everyone there as not all of the dirt was blown out of the hole.

    ¡°Always late¡­¡± Whisper shook his head and jumped out of the hole. With another jump, he aimed for the street level.

    Trent grabbed him by the neck.

    Whisper struggled in my teacher¡¯s grasp as lightning bolts fell from the sky and hit every one of the Authority Officers. Trent moved over to hover above us and with a single motion, pulled all five of us up and slowly set us on the street next to our RV.

    My heart was hammering in my ears as I looked at Gesai. ¡°He knows that this is going to get Mive¡¯s attention?¡±

    Gesai shrugged, and Rix and Astrid blinked into sight and floated over to us.

    Trent hovered out of the hole, then started gesturing. The hole began to fill in until there was no way to tell that there had ever been anything wrong.

    My heart wouldn¡¯t slow down as he walked over to us, still holding Whisper by the neck.

    ¡°PUT ME DOWN! LET ME GO! THIS IS ABUSE! ASSAULT! IT''S INHUMANE!¡± Whisper was beating on Trent¡¯s arm, but he couldn¡¯t break free.

    ¡°Be quiet, or I¡¯ll freeze your lips shut.¡± Trent glared at the bandit.

    ¡°Are you going to kill him?¡± Rix¡¯s hands were shaking as she glared at the blonde man.

    ¡°Kill him...?¡± Trent shook his head. ¡°No, we need him.¡±

    ¡°You NEED me?!?¡± Whisper pulled against the grip again. ¡°That¡¯s not...!¡±

    A mask of ice spread across his face.

    ¡°I told you to be quiet.¡± Trent walked towards the RV.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that you¡¯re going to bring Mive¡­?¡±

    Trent silenced me with a wave of his hand. The white-haired man motioned inside the RV. ¡°Not out here.¡±

    We all piled into the RV. Whisper sat on the floor behind the driver¡¯s seat with his arms folded across his chest. Rix leaned against the doorframe across from him and didn¡¯t take her glare off of him. Gesai sat in shotgun but had her legs facing the driver''s seat, while Oz and Fray sat on the far side of the booth. Ether stretched out on the near side of the booth, and I stood behind the booth with my left arm around her. Astrid moved over to Rix¡¯s right side.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!

    Trent cleared his throat and glared at Astrid. ¡°What you did today was VERY, VERY foolish.¡± He turned to Rix, who was still glaring at Whisper. When snapping his fingers didn¡¯t work, he moved in between them. ¡°RIX!¡±

    She slowly looked at him. ¡°He doesn¡¯t belong here.¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡± Trent raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°He killed an innocent man! And beat one of our classmates so bad he couldn¡¯t walk! He¡¯s a Bandit and...!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re every one of those things.¡± Trent silenced her. He shifted his gaze to Astrid. ¡°So are you Miss Crimson Dancer.¡±

    Astrid looked like she had just been slapped.

    ¡°Yes¡­¡± He pulled out his CB and held it out for her to see, which was at an angle where I could see the display as well.

    Astrid Harlax - Level 4 - PK

    Age: 18, Hair: Red, Eye color: Blue

    Skin: Golden, Blood: Red, Height: 5¡¯7¡±

    352 Exp

    Shooter

    3 Power 8 Defense 12 Speed

    6 Magic 4 Recovery 4 Aura

    Stat Points: 4

    Hide Presence, Shadowstep

    Passive: Counter-Attack

    ¡°Which means that if you want me to execute him for what he¡¯s done, then I have to execute both of you as well.¡± Trent raised an eyebrow. ¡°So I¡¯ll ask you again. Do I kill everyone who fits that description in this RV?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no way that Astrid has been a Bandit.¡± Rix finally moved her gaze over to Trent.

    ¡°Really?¡± Trent smiled, ¡°So which of the Crimson Bandit¡¯s crimes do we list first? The part about her being a Vigilante? Or maybe the break-ins at some of the Six¡¯s businesses? Or the illegal pit fighting? Smuggling medication to the slums during the plague?¡± He looked at Astrid. ¡°You¡¯ve got a four-year list of accomplishments that make him jealous.¡± He motioned at Whisper.

    ¡°MhMph!¡± The gagged man tried to protest.

    ¡°But that list of crimes easily classifies you as a bandit.¡± Electricity crackled in his hand. ¡°One last time, Rix. A yes, and I will kill all three of you right here.¡±

    ¡°Trent¡­¡± Ether had a death grip on my arm, or else I would have gotten in between them. I could see he was serious and she was thinking about it.

    ¡°RIX!¡± I swung my right fist as hard as I could and hit her in the shoulder. ¡°RIX! You are the sword, and I NEED you.¡±

    The golden woman blinked back tears. ¡°No.¡±

    I hadn¡¯t realized that Astrid had stopped breathing until that single word seemed to unlock her lungs and she gasped for air.

    Trent extinguished the electricity. ¡°Good. Now swallow whatever resentment you have because we¡¯re going to need him for the next few days.¡±

    ¡°WHAT!¡± Rix and Whisper stood up at the same time.

    Trent glared at Whisper, and the bandit sat down.

    Things were going crazy, but there was something big I felt couldn¡¯t wait. ¡°Trent?¡± I motioned outside. ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried that what you did is going to attract Mive?¡±

    The way people looked at the older man told me I hadn¡¯t been the only one thinking that.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Trent looked sad. ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I was trying to do¡­¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 33

    Trent was trying to summon Mive.

    My heart felt like it was beating in my throat. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because Tres is worried about him.¡± Trent looked at Astrid like he was debating knocking her out. ¡°He hasn¡¯t heard from Mive in a decade, and he is afraid that something has happened.¡±

    I was confused. ¡°How could something have happened?¡± I motioned around. ¡°The city hasn¡¯t been desolated.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why he hasn¡¯t come himself.¡± Trent looked at Astrid. ¡°Do you know what happened to him?¡±

    The golden woman looked terrified as she shook her head.

    ¡°A yes then.¡± Trent rubbed his chin. ¡°Does it have something to do with your little stunt tonight?¡±

    Rix was barely able to catch her as she passed out.

    ¡°Also a yes¡­¡± Trent looked at Rix. ¡°Lay her on the floor and¡­¡± He turned around and put his hands over Whisper¡¯s eyes.

    The other man tried to scream and struggled as something black covered his eyes. I would have guessed that he would have tried to pull it off, but that same black stuff pinned Whisper¡¯s arms to the side of the RV.

    ¡°Keep struggling and I¡¯ll have to knock you out until you¡¯re needed.¡± Trent patted Whisper on the cheek.

    ¡°Why did you do that?¡± I looked at Astrid. ¡°Is she going to be okay?¡±

    ¡°I did that because I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d want him to see this¡­¡± Trent ripped Astrid¡¯s shirt open. I was about to protest when I saw what he¡¯d been looking for.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    There was a black crest above her heart like the one above mine. Except this one had a dark green face on it with what looked like tentacles for a beard instead of weapons like I had on the seal over my heart. I looked at Trent. ¡°Is she a..?¡±

    ¡°The PK shorted it out, which is the only reason why it¡¯s visible.¡± Trent looked over at Rix. ¡°Was that why you fed her the kill?¡±

    ¡°I thought you¡¯d be mad if I got any more experience before you put a limiter on my CB.¡± Rix shook her head. ¡°I didn¡¯t think it was this bad.¡±

    ¡°What is that?¡± Ether was standing on her knees in the booth.

    Oz had gotten up to come see, but Fray was trying to hide in the corner.

    ¡°Mhmah!¡± Whisper was looking around. ¡°Mhmah!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± He turned to the other two women, and I saw what he was about to do.

    ¡°No!¡± I moved in between him and them. I met his eyes. ¡°They need to know what this is eventually.¡±

    Trent eyed me for a moment. ¡°You realize that if one of the Gods gets their hands on them, they¡¯ll do to them what I¡¯m about to do to her?¡±

    I took a deep breath, and it felt like ice. ¡°Then let them decide.¡±

    I stepped out of the way.

    ¡°Atlas¡­?¡± Ether looked at me.

    ¡°It¡¯s about to get deeper.¡± It almost felt like a betrayal. Fray and Gesai hadn¡¯t been brought into this yet, but it felt like a pretty good time to do it with almost everyone together. ¡°You know the general picture, but we have to talk details¡­¡± I took her hand. ¡°This is a huge ask. Bigger than just keeping it a secret of what we are.¡± I looked at Rix, then back at her. ¡°I have an idea of what he¡¯s about to do.¡± I looked at Oz. ¡°And it¡¯s going to be worse than what he did to Gesai. If you take this step, you¡¯re going to have to get a seal like this, but it also means that if you¡¯re ever captured, then you''ll know exactly what the Gods will do to you to get the information you have from you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± Oz straightened. ¡°I¡¯m with you.¡±

    Ether was staring at Astrid and nodded. ¡°I need to know.¡±

    The way she said it made me very uneasy. I tried to reach for her, but she flinched. I pulled my hand away and blinked back the tears in my eyes. I knew this day was coming. I just hoped she¡¯d understand.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 34

    Trent clapped his hands.

    I felt my ears pop as even more magic enveloped the RV. ¡°Is it really a good idea to keep doing high Tier magic?¡±

    ¡°If Mive is here, then I¡¯ve done what Tres asked me to. Besides, he owes Tres a favor that I can spend if he¡¯s upset. If he¡¯s been bound somehow, then he¡¯ll know someone is here and considering that I¡¯ve been fixing everything that I¡¯ve broken¡­¡±

    ¡°He¡¯ll know you¡¯re looking for him.¡± I finished.

    Trent nodded as he walked up to Oz and Ether. His finger turned blue as approached them. ¡°I don¡¯t have enough time right now to put a full seal on you right now, but I can put a mark on you.¡± He touched both of them above the heart with his finger. The faint blue outline shone through their shirts. ¡°I¡¯ll fill it in the next time we have time.¡±

    ¡°What don¡¯t I know?¡± Ether swallowed. ¡°And is it okay for him to know without a mark?¡±

    ¡°He won¡¯t say anything.¡± Trent paused and looked at me, then Rix. ¡°Your team.¡±

    I swallowed. ¡°You know that the seals that Rix and I have are there to hide our stats and statuses.¡± I looked at the symbol on Astrid. ¡°But it¡¯s not just Sugaru that it can hide.¡±

    ¡°UMUHUM!?!¡± Whisper looked at me even though he couldn¡¯t see me.

    ¡°It can also hide Gibborim, Nephilim, and Godlings.¡± I nodded at Astrid. ¡°In order to blend in, most Gods will mark not only their kids but also that kid''s team.¡± I took a deep breath. ¡°Which means that there''s a chance that she¡¯s been planted in the Harlax family and is really a child of a God.¡±

    I could see the shock on their faces. Even Fray and Gesai were surprised. Whisper, on the other hand, was bobbing his head in a way that told me that he was rolling his eyes.

    ¡°Not really.¡± Rix corrected me. ¡°The PK tag clears that, so her class is Shooter.¡±

    ¡°Right.¡± I¡¯d forgotten about that. ¡°So she¡¯s just someone close to them, and it could be like Rals or Zel.¡± I nodded at Trent to continue.

    ¡°Wait.¡± Ether¡¯s voice was wavering. ¡°Those are children of Gods?¡±Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

    ¡°Yes. Gibborim is when a God has a child with a Mundane. A Nephilim is when they have a child with an Adventurer¡­¡± I looked at Trent. ¡°Are Godlings always when they have a child with another God?¡±

    ¡°Any child of a God can be a Godling or a normal class, but yes, when two Gods have a child, it will always be a Godling.¡± Trent knelt down by Astrid.

    ¡°Do all Gods start off as Godlings?¡± Gesai looked very confused. I didn¡¯t blame her. From an early age, we were told that Gods just came into being, which I guessed was kind of true. When they took a Mantle and claimed a city, they kind of would just appear on the scene.

    ¡°Yes.¡± I assumed it would be safe to give them this information. ¡°Tres started out as a Tank with Trent and Mavery, then he claimed the city that now holds his name.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a lot of information¡­¡± Ether¡¯s voice trailed off, and I saw the wheels turning. ¡°But if you¡¯re fighting Gods, that¡¯s not information we¡¯d need to know later unless¡­¡±

    I saw the light go off when she put it all together. The look she gave me was one of horror.

    ¡°Ether¡­¡± I reached for her and she pulled away, putting Oz in between us.

    ¡°No.¡± She shook her head as she backed up. ¡°No-no-no. NO!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Oz hadn¡¯t followed the thought trail all the way.

    ¡°There¡¯s only one reason why we would ¡®need to know everything eventually¡¯.¡± Ether was trying to pace in that small space. ¡°If you and Rix are fighting Gods, then this might never come up, unless you¡¯re going to be hunting kids.¡±

    ¡°What? No!¡± I shook my head. I was glad that was what she had been freaking out about.

    ¡°Or if you¡¯re actually a Godling.¡± Her red eyes bored into me. When I didn¡¯t deny it as quickly as I had the last statement, she knew. ¡°By the Gods¡­¡± She covered her mouth with her hands.

    ¡°You¡¯re a WHAT?¡± Oz looked at me, then turned to try to console Ether.

    Gesai was just shaking her head. I had a feeling that she¡¯d been starting to piece it together. Especially given the magnitude of the seal that¡¯d been put on her and just how far she had been willing to go to protect my secret. She might not have thought it was this big, but she knew it was bigger than what she¡¯d been told.

    Fray was hugging her knees in the corner of the booth. She was always a nervous mess, and this didn¡¯t look like it¡¯d helped any.

    Oz was the only one of the four of them that wasn¡¯t having any reaction at all.

    ¡°No.¡± Ether pushed Oz away and ran into the bathroom.

    ¡°Ether¡­¡± I moved to go after her, but Oz stepped in front of me.

    ¡°It¡¯s a lot, and you know how she feels about trust.¡± Oz nodded at the bathroom. ¡°But you know she loves you, so once she¡¯s had time to process this, she¡¯ll come around.¡± She nodded at Astrid. ¡°Let me know what you figure out. I kinda like her.¡± She turned and followed Ether into the bathroom.

    It tore at my heart to hear her crying when Oz opened the door.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 35

    Trent was starting.

    ¡°This is going to be delicate.¡± The old man glared at me, but I was barely paying attention. ¡°HEY!¡± He snapped in my face. ¡°If you use Siphon to put yourself in there, then it could kill her and me. Do NOT follow me in there. Do you understand?¡±

    I nodded. There was only one place I wanted to go and one person I wanted to follow and they were in the other room.

    ¡°Hey.¡± Gesai got up and walked over to me. ¡°It¡¯s going to be okay. I mean I knew you were special, but I didn¡¯t know you were THAT special.¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°I just want to fix this.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not something that you can just tell anyone. She¡¯ll see that you told her as much as you could and you weren¡¯t trying to hurt her.¡± Gesai wrapped her arm around me. ¡°Everything is going to work out.¡±

    ¡°MHUHUMHUMUH.¡± Whisper decided to add in his two All.

    ¡°You¡­¡± Gesai kicked him. ¡°Be quiet.¡±

    Whisper just shook his head and leaned against the wall.

    ¡°Um, I don¡¯t think this is good¡­¡± Rix pointed at the seal on Astrid¡¯s chest. It was starting to smoke. Both she and Trent were covered in sweat and the contortion of Astrid¡¯s face told me that she was in a LOT of pain.

    Fray got up and came around the booth to look. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with them?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡±

    Trent fell over, cutting off what I was going to say as Gesai grabbed him.

    ¡°I need to¡­¡±

    ¡°Start that word and I¡¯ll put you to sleep until he wakes up.¡± Gesai glared at me.

    ¡°Is he dead?¡± Fray looked like she was about to have a panic attack.

    ¡°No, he¡¯s not dead¡­¡± Gesai felt for a pulse. ¡°I don¡¯t think.¡±

    Trent¡¯s ivory skin looked almost gray and Astrid didn¡¯t look much better.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°What do we do?¡± Fray was breathing fast as she sat down on the floor.

    I closed my eyes. I had no clue what was happening or what to do. It was almost midnight and I knew that the Six were up to something. Usually, I would think to go to the Temple, but the whole reason we were staying where we were was because the Temple had been paid off.

    Which meant that I had no one here that I knew I could trust, and I had the number three most wanted man alive restrained, gagged, and blindfolded in our vehicle. Not to mention, Trent had just really upset a LOT of Authority Officers to send a message to Mive.

    There was only one person I could think of right now who might be able to help. I looked back at the bathroom.

    ¡°Hey!¡± Rix hit my leg. ¡°Do you have a plan or not?¡±

    Whisper was straining against his bonds, but even if I wanted to, there was nothing I could do to free him.

    ¡°Yeah, but I don¡¯t know how smart it is.¡± I moved to the driver¡¯s seat. ¡°But first I think we need to get out of here.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t Trent cast a barrier around this place?¡±Gesai looked around.

    ¡°And what happens when it breaks?¡± I started up the engine. ¡°Trent is a well known person. They might not know who we are for a while, but I wouldn¡¯t be surprised¡­¡± I hit the call button.

    ¡°Did you find them?¡± Justia appeared on my screen.

    ¡°Get out of there.¡± I glanced at Astrid. ¡°Trent beat up a lot of Authority Officers to send a message to Mive, but now he¡¯s unconscious and I don¡¯t know when he¡¯s going to wake up, but I can bet that someone is on their way to you for a confrontation.¡±

    ¡°AELIN! GET EVERYONE IN THE RV!¡± Justia looked at me. ¡°Zel?¡±

    ¡°Her too.¡± Astrid had been willing to die so that we¡¯d take her. I didn¡¯t know what that mark had to do with anything, but that didn¡¯t mean that I was just going to leave her behind.

    ¡°Where do you want to meet?¡± Justia was moving through the house.

    I looked at Gesai. ¡°Where is safe?¡±

    Whisper started straining against his bonds. He was making a motion like he was trying to write.

    ¡°Gesai give him a pad.¡± I looked at Justia, ¡°One second. Whisper is trying to tell us something.¡±

    ¡°Whisper is with you?!?¡± Her voice was full of concern.

    ¡°He¡¯s kind of restrained.¡± I looked at him. ¡°Okay, mostly restrained.¡±

    ¡°Ulalu?¡± Gesai looked at him. ¡°What is that?¡±

    The scowl on his face was evident even with so little of it visible. He started over.

    ¡°V?¡±

    Whisper nodded.

    ¡°L?¡±

    The bandit scribbled it out and tried again.

    ¡°I?¡±

    ¡°Violu?¡± Rix looked at me. ¡°Does he mean ask Jen?¡±

    Whisper was violently shaking his head no.

    ¡°There was a Violu that worked at Bright weapons¡­ her name was¡­¡± I was trying to remember her name, but I just remembered that she was Jen¡¯s aunt and it wasn¡¯t Bright.

    ¡°Sydney Faeru.¡± Justia finished for me. I¡¯d forgotten she had been there.

    Whisper was nodding yes.

    ¡°Tell Jen to meet¡­¡±

    ¡°ATLAS RUN!¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 36

    I threw the RV into drive.

    ¡°GESAI, FIGURE OUT WHERE SYDNEY FAERU LIVES! FRAY, TELL OZ AND ETHER THAT THEY CAN BE MAD AT ME LATER, BUT WE NEED THEM OUT HERE!¡±

    Gesai got up and grabbed the wheel. ¡°You need to let me drive.¡°

    I had a feeling she knew that whichever way we were supposed to go, I was going to drive by to check on the others.

    ¡°Justia said to run. You need to trust that she wouldn¡¯t say that flippantly.¡± Gesai pulled me out of the driver¡¯s seat. ¡°Look up where the Faeru estate is while I get us somewhere else.¡±

    Oz and Ether hurried out of the bathroom in front of Fray.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Ether knelt down by Trent.

    ¡°He tried to go into her seal, and this happened.¡± Rix was wiping the sweat off his face, but he didn¡¯t look good.

    ¡°I called Justia to get them to move because I thought that someone was going to go to the house after the mess we made, and she told me to run.¡± I was a little surprised that all of those words hadn¡¯t run together.

    ¡°What were you saying about the Faeru Estate?¡± Oz looked very concerned.

    ¡°Trent said that we can trust him, and he says that¡¯s a safe place.¡± I nodded at Whisper. My hands were shaking so much that I couldn¡¯t type.

    ¡°How do you know that it¡¯s not a trap?¡± Ether looked at Rix.

    ¡°Because if it''s a trap, I¡¯ll cut his heart out.¡± The golden woman glared at the bandit.

    Whisper tilted his head and mumbled something.

    ¡°Can someone look up where we¡¯re going? I¡¯m having trouble typing.¡± I looked out the front windshield. Actually, there was the card I had been planning on using, but I wasn¡¯t sure how smart it was.

    ¡°Actually, wait¡­¡± I navigated my contact information until I landed on the person who had sent us on this cursed mission.

    The blonde-haired, blue-eyed, dark-skinned God appeared on my half of the windshield. ¡°Atlas! What...? Tres leaned forward in his seat. ¡°What happened?!?¡±Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    ¡°Trent was asking Astrid questions, and she passed out. We found a seal on her like mine, but because Rix got her to PK someone earlier, we know she¡¯s not a deity.¡± It seemed like a better word than listing all the possibilities. ¡°Trent tried to go inside it, and now he¡¯s unconscious. And Justia told me to run. Probably because someone came to the house after Trent blew up a bunch of stuff to send Mive a message, but now we don¡¯t know where is a safe place to hide!¡±

    ¡°You have Whisper???¡± Tres was looking around the RV.

    ¡°Trent restrained him, but he said we can trust him, but I don¡¯t know if we should, and he said go to Sydney Faeru, but I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s safe¡­¡±

    ¡°Atlas.¡± Tres interrupted me. ¡°Breathe.¡± He looked around me. ¡°Hunter, show me the other girl¡¯s mark.¡±

    Rix scooted over and picked Astrid up from behind.

    ¡°That¡¯s good, you can put her down. And you should probably cover her up¡­¡± Tres shook his head. ¡°Videt.¡±

    The restraints around Whisper¡¯s face fell off. The bandit glared at us, but he had a deep scowl on his face as he looked at the front.

    ¡°Tres.¡± There was venom in every letter Whisper spoke.

    ¡°You¡¯re bound to obey.¡± Tres glared at the bandit.

    ¡°Don¡¯t do that¡­¡± Whisper saw who Tres was talking to. ¡°No. Please, anyone else.¡±

    ¡°Anyone?¡± Tres smiled, and I didn¡¯t know what was being exchanged between them, but I could tell that the God had some kind of control over him. ¡°Fine. You are bound to obey and protect the Hunter.¡±

    There was a look of dread on his face and a look of satisfaction on Rix''s.

    ¡°Videt.¡±

    The rest of the restraint fell off as Tres spoke the word.

    ¡°One of these days¡­¡± Whisper began, and I could tell there was more he was trying to say, but nothing was coming out.

    ¡°He¡¯ll do whatever you tell him to within reason.¡± Tres was looking at Rix. ¡°He¡¯ll protect you until I cancel the contract, but don¡¯t push him too far, and there is one big thing to know about him. He can¡¯t knowingly kill someone. So don¡¯t send him into a situation where he has to kill someone or give him that order.¡±

    Tres looked at Whisper. ¡°There¡¯s also a limit to what you can make him tell you. Is it safe for them to go to the Faeru estate?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Whisper looked panicked. ¡°But it is safe to go to Sydney Faeru!¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± I looked at the bandit.

    ¡°Not my secret to tell.¡± Whisper shook his head.

    ¡°Do you know where she lives?¡± Rix took over the questioning.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Is it safe to go there?¡± Rix seemed to enjoy having the bandit do what she said.

    Whisper looked pained. ¡°She is safe. I don¡¯t know if her house will be at this moment.¡±

    I realized that everyone was looking at me. ¡°It seems like as good of an idea as any.¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 37

    Whisper was navigating.

    I moved my conversation back to the booth. Rix and Ether were still trying to take care of our unconscious passengers. Which left Fray sitting across from me and Oz beside me.

    ¡°Do you know what that mark is?¡± I looked over at Ether. She¡¯d put one of her spare shirts on Astrid and was holding the unconscious woman¡¯s head in her lap.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen that particular symbol, but there are a few things that I¡¯m guessing.¡± Tres was looking on another screen at something. ¡°It¡¯s probably linked to what is restraining Mive right now. Because the city would not be there after what just happened¡­¡± He shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t look at the news.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Oz reached for the console.

    I grabbed her hand and shook my head. I was curious too, but if Tres was telling me not to, then there was something on there that I didn¡¯t need to see.

    ¡°There''s a lot of fluff, but the basic gist is that Trent went off the rails and the Six got Mive to arrest him and all of his students, so everyone is safe.¡± Tres shook his head.

    ¡°But we still have Trent and they haven¡¯t caught us¡­ Do you think the others are okay?¡± I hated that I couldn¡¯t just walk over to wherever they were holding them and bust them out.

    ¡°They¡¯re probably smart enough to know that hurting them would invite war with the Cathedral at least.¡± Tres shook his head. ¡°Slece would join in just because it a war, which means Juel would follow. Once you add me and Iver¡­¡± He let the implications play out in my head. ¡°They¡¯ll probably ransom them back to the Cathedral and ban them from ever coming back to the Mive.¡±

    That was a little reassuring, but not much. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    ¡°What we need to do is figure out how to untether Trent from whatever link he has right now to whatever is holding Mive. huh¡­¡± Tres'' voice trailed off as he started reading off of whatever other screen he was looking at.

    ¡°What?¡± I hated how much in the dark I was.

    ¡°There¡¯s a pretty good chance that if you kill the host, it¡¯ll wake him up.¡±

    I could tell by the look on even Rix¡¯s face that no one in the vehicle thought that was an option.

    ¡°What else can we try?¡±

    Tres shook his head. ¡°Until we know how they¡¯re holding Mive, we won¡¯t know how to go about breaking him out. But what I do know is that Mive is a lot older than me. So if it¡¯s strong enough to hold him, then¡­¡±

    ¡°Then what?¡± I could see Tres thumbing through something.

    ¡°The oldest God in this area is Nevah and he¡¯s also¡­¡± Tres looked at Oz, ¡°Fond of Trent. He might know a way to help.¡± The blonde God shook his head, ¡°But, you have to remember, there¡¯s only so much that we can do until there is a clear reason for us to invade. Otherwise it will be our cities that the army of Gods is threatening to Desolate.¡±

    ¡°I know¡­¡± I shook my head. ¡°I don¡¯t have a direct line to Mavery. Are you¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll handle Mavery, though you should expect a call from him as soon as we get finished talking.¡±

    I nodded. I was trying to think of what I was going to say to the old Healer. I¡¯d almost asked Oz to call her dad and ask him to get a message to Mavery, but had decided that this would be the better way to go.

    ¡°Try to keep them comfortable and hydrated.¡± Tres looked at me. ¡°I¡¯ll do what I can from here. Call me again if something changes.¡±

    ¡°Thanks¡­¡± I watched the screen go dark. I had no clue what we were going to do.

    ¡°We¡¯re getting close!¡± Whisper pointed at an alley. ¡°Pull in here.¡±

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Rix got up and stepped in front of him.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to see if it¡¯s safe.¡± Whisper motioned towards the house. He sighed when Rix didn¡¯t move. ¡°I¡¯ll come back.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll stay here.¡± Rix looked at me, ¡°I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Then she vanished.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 38

    Whisper sat down next to Fray.

    I could see the way she tensed up that she wanted to be anywhere else, but he¡¯d boxed her in, and she wasn¡¯t going to climb over him.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe Trent has a Hunter¡­¡± Whisper shook his head. ¡°And a Godling on the same team. Mavery has to be sweating..." He looked at me, then in the direction that Rix had gone. ¡°They¡¯re really doing it.¡±

    ¡°Doing what?¡± Oz scowled at him.

    ¡°Taking on the Primus¡­¡± Whisper smiled widely, ¡°And the two of you are going to be their weapons.¡±

    ¡°How do you know about the Primus?¡± From what I understood a very small number of people knew what they were.

    ¡°Most people will say they¡¯re a myth, like Elves or Dragons, but for a few people, they are very real.¡± He clenched his fist. ¡°All I will tell you is that I know someone they took out.¡±

    ¡°Who?¡± Oz didn¡¯t seem to believe him.

    ¡°The deal is within reason.¡± Whisper shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s no reason for you to know that.¡±

    ¡°Then I think you¡¯re all talk.¡± Oz scowled.

    ¡°You don¡¯t like me.¡± Whisper eyed the raven-haired woman next to me.

    ¡°You beat one of my friends almost to death in front of me.¡± Her green eyes glared at him. ¡°Why should I like you?¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

    ¡°I saved that kid¡¯s life!¡± Whisper raised his voice. ¡°Do you know what Gilma was compelled to do since he made it that far?¡± He looked between the two of us. ¡°It was a lot more final than what I did to him. Will he have nightmares about it for a few years? Sure. But he¡¯ll be alive to have those nightmares.¡± He poked his finger on the table.

    ¡°She wouldn¡¯t have been able to do anything if you hadn¡¯t stopped Yhan¡­¡± Oz sat back in her seat.

    ¡°If Yhan would have been able to kill her, do you know what would have happened?¡± Whisper eyed both of us. ¡°That bunker would have gone into lockdown until Sipher came back and opened it up.¡± He shook his head. ¡°And do you think he would have been merciful?¡± The bandit shook his head. ¡°I helped Glima clear out that bunker so you could find a legitimate way to escape while taking out any of the bandits that would have refused to leave.¡± He had a smug smile on his face. ¡°I saved you then like I saved you in Wurn and how I saved you¡­¡± He looked at his CB. ¡°Yesterday.¡±

    ¡°You wanted him to get free¡­¡± I looked over at Oz. ¡°He brought him there so one of us would let him out!¡± I was upset and I¡¯d just found a reason to vent it on him. ¡°You brought him there to die!¡±

    Whisper looked confused. ¡°That¡¯s a weird way to say thank you.¡±

    ¡°Why should I say thank you..?!¡±

    ¡°Do you know how hard it is to find a Noble that is worth kidnapping that will actually get their hands dirty?¡± Whisper shook his head. ¡°Most will happily order others to do their killing for them, but when it comes time to get that PK tag, they can¡¯t do it.¡± He looked at me. ¡°I know you looked in those crates. I took those off of him when I nabbed him. He might have been registered as a Merchant, but he was a smuggler. I did the Ward a favor by setting him up to be taken off the board.¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± I shook my head. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Why what?¡± Whisper looked strained.

    ¡°Why try to save us?¡±

    Oz looked at me like I¡¯d just wasted one of my three wishes.

    Whisper was mulling over the answer in his head. ¡°Because¡­¡± He shook his head as he changed what he was going to say. ¡°Because I thought it might make up for some of the things I¡¯ve done.¡±

    None of us could say anything until the door opened and Rix walked in with Sydney Faeru.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 39

    We moved the RV to an empty warehouse.

    Sydney didn¡¯t seem fazed at all by Whisper being there, though she also didn¡¯t seem fazed by Trent being unconscious, so maybe she was just used to weird things happening.

    Fray had fallen asleep in the booth, so Oz and Rix had moved her into one of the bottom bunks. Ether had crawled into the one above that, then locked the screen.

    I¡¯d kind of been expecting her to have a reaction like this, which was part of the reason that I¡¯d wanted to have her in on the conversation. I¡¯d known it would have been far worse if I¡¯d let Trent knock her out.

    I hadn¡¯t been following the conversation, and after the third time Gesai looked at me for direction, I got up and walked out of the RV.

    Sydney was treating the teacher like she was the one in charge. The spy was smart enough to pick up on a different dynamic between the two of us and since I didn¡¯t know how much Trent was comfortable divulging, I was just going to remove myself from the equation, especially since I was lost on what they were discussing anyway.

    There wasn¡¯t anything in the Warehouse, so I moved up to the roof. It was a fairly clear night and the city noises seemed comforting in a weird way. Zeb had basically gone to sleep when the sun went down, so I found it fascinating how much the larger cities seemed to come alive at sunset.

    I heard the door open and got excited as I turned around, but it was only Oz.

    ¡°Not who you were hoping for?¡± The brown woman smiled as she walked over to the edge and leaned next to me.

    ¡°I mean, I¡¯m not disappointed you came up here; I just¡­¡±

    ¡°Was hoping it was Ether?¡± She bumped into me.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± I looked into her green eyes. ¡°Sorry. I¡¯m glad you¡¯re here, though.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± She turned around so her back was against the ledge. ¡°For what it¡¯s worth, I think she¡¯d like to be up here. But¡­¡± She grabbed my arm as I turned towards the door. ¡°She needs some time to process everything. She feels like every time she gets close to someone, they turn out to be taking advantage of her.¡± Oz let go of my arm. ¡°She¡¯s not going anywhere, though.¡±This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    I let my shoulders drop as I turned back to the city. ¡°How are you okay with all this?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not.¡±

    I bristled at her admission.

    ¡°But Ether is processing, and Fray is panicking.¡± She looked at me. ¡°Gesai has to take charge, and Rix is¡­¡± She shrugged, ¡°Already in the loop, I guess. But someone needs to be up here with you, so I¡¯m it.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡± I touched her hand and was glad that she didn¡¯t pull it away. ¡°What do you think about all of this?¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s a lot to take in.¡± She shrugged. ¡°Initially, I thought we were going to be one of those big dungeon farming families, with a force so strong that even the Gods would have to respect us.¡± A gentle breeze played with her black hair. She brushed it back into place. ¡°Now it looks like we will be the Gods.¡±

    ¡°Not quite.¡± It may have just been the nerves, but she looked like a beautiful beacon of hope. ¡°I mean, our kids might be¡­¡± That felt really weird to say. ¡°I mean, you won¡¯t become one.¡± I saw a little disappointment on her face. ¡°Sorry.¡±

    ¡°I thought as much, but still. Are we going to get our own city? How does that even work?¡±

    I eyed her. ¡°You seem a little too excited for someone who¡¯s not okay with this.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not okay with how I was brought in.¡± Oz clarified. ¡°Looking back, this whole secondary class thing wasn¡¯t just to placate the Nobles, was it? It was so that you could keep an eye on us? Me, Ren, and Gesai?¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t all it was¡­¡± I looked down at the city. ¡°You know that because if it was, then I would have had a much different conversation with you when we were kidnapped.¡±

    ¡°But it was a part of it?¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°I didn¡¯t ask for it, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re asking. This was a Trent decision, and he¡¯s not answering any questions at the moment.¡±

    ¡°So you didn¡¯t want me here?¡± Her voice was soft, but also choked like I¡¯d just punched her.

    ¡°Hey.¡± I put my arm around her and pulled her close. ¡°I¡¯m a level four in a world where the highest-level Adventurer is downstairs unconscious because of something he touched.¡± I ran my fingers through her short hair. ¡°I¡¯m just trying to not get squashed, so I don¡¯t even let myself think about what I want, because I know that most of it would earn a no faster than I could ask the question.¡± I turned her face so that she was looking at me. ¡°But I did tell Trent earlier that I wanted you to know. I wanted you to be able to be here..." I searched for anything reassuring on her face. ¡°If you wanted to be.¡±

    Oz leaned forward and put her head on my shoulder. ¡°I want to be.¡±

    I squeezed her tight and held her like that until I realized that she¡¯d fallen asleep. I picked her up in both my arms and headed for the door. Something she¡¯d said had struck a chord. I needed to start thinking about what I wanted. And right now, that was to get back the rest of my friends.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 40

    Rix helped me get Oz into a bunk.

    Gesai looked worried but stayed in the booth.

    ¡°Where are we?¡± I looked at Whisper, who was leaning against the cabinet. Sydney had turned around in the passenger seat and was sitting there. Rix moved into the space next to Gesai.

    ¡°We were just finalizing how we were going to get out of the city.¡± The blonde man glared at me. ¡°What were you doing?¡¯

    ¡°Getting some perspective.¡± I looked at Sydney. ¡°What is your deal with Trent?¡± I looked at the unconscious man lying by Whisper. Astrid was in the fourth bunk, but they were too afraid to move him. The ivory man had started to stabilize, but he was still ashen and sickly.

    Sydney looked insulted. ¡°Why would you...?¡±

    ¡°Your niece is warded against high-level charming.¡± I was tired and didn¡¯t have the patience for this dance. ¡°Someone doesn¡¯t just have something like that. And not only does Trent say that we can trust you, but so does HE.¡± I pointed at Whisper, ¡°And Tres.¡± I smiled as she flinched when I named the God. ¡°But they don¡¯t trust your in-laws, which means that the Violu are spies of some type. I need to know what your deal with Trent is so I can decide what to do next.¡±

    ¡°And why are you deciding?¡± Sydney looked over at Gesai.

    I stepped in between them. ¡°Because I am Trent¡¯s son, which means she will do whatever I say.¡± I nodded at Whisper. ¡°And so will he.¡±

    ¡°Excuse..!¡±

    ¡°Shut up.¡± Rix cut off Whisper¡¯s rant.

    Sydney bit her lip as she looked at me. ¡°I¡­ Can¡¯t tell you.¡± She started tapping her finger on her arm. ¡°But I¡¯ll do what I can to help you.¡±

    I hadn¡¯t been expecting a confession. There had been a small part of me that had hoped that by coming on strong, she¡¯d lump me in with whatever deal she had with Trent. I assumed it was some type of seal like the one I had. I started wondering just how many people he had bound to him like that. Considering how long he¡¯d been alive, it was probably a bigger number than I¡¯d guess. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

    ¡°Okay, then can you tell me where my friends are being held?¡¯

    Sydney shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m sure I could find out, but there¡¯s a limit to how much I can poke around.¡±

    ¡°Okay, how about this? Trent asked Astrid if she knew what happened to Mive and if her stunt had something to do with Mive¡¯s disappearance. Would you go catatonic too if I asked you questions like those?¡± I was hoping that I would be vague enough that if it would, I wouldn¡¯t have just knocked out our best help.

    ¡°I know Mive hasn¡¯t been seen in just over ten years.¡± Sydney looked at Trent, ¡°But I don¡¯t know why.¡± She turned back to me. ¡°And while I may not know why Astrid tried to get killed in the pit, I can guess that it had something to do with the seal that they tried to put on Vanya and Sephia about that same time.¡±

    ¡°They tried to seal your kids?¡± Whisper eyed her. ¡°And you let them?¡±

    ¡°I already had a protective seal on them both, so the one like Astrid has didn¡¯t embed itself.¡± She shook her head. ¡°So I know it¡¯s not Mive that put the seal on them, but for it to do something like that¡­¡±

    That was probably why Trent thought he could handle it. If the seal wasn¡¯t stronger than whoever had sealed Sydney¡¯s kids, then he wouldn¡¯t have been too worried about himself. I was tempted to go in myself, but if Trent wasn¡¯t able to get out, then I would definitely get stuck.

    ¡°Whatever. We need to talk about how we¡¯re going to get them out of here. Like I was saying, I know a way out¡­¡±

    ¡°No.¡± I knew that Whisper wasn¡¯t compelled to stop talking, but he did it anyway. ¡°We¡¯re not leaving without the others.¡±

    ¡°Are you kidding?¡± Whisper sighed. ¡°You don¡¯t even know¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± Rix silenced his rant again. ¡°Don¡¯t speak again unless someone asks you a question.¡±

    Whisper glared at her, but crossed his arms and settled in.

    ¡°Look, I know Tres said that they will probably all be ransomed back to the Cathedral and banned from the city, but I can¡¯t just leave them behind.¡± I looked at Sydney. ¡°Astrid was so worried about us not taking Zel, that she was willing to die to force our hand. And I don¡¯t think that was bravado either. It felt like she was making a choice between which one of them lived by who we took.¡±

    ¡°So you want to stay to rescue Zel?¡± Gesai eyed me. ¡°She¡¯s not even part of the team yet.¡±

    ¡°She is on my team right now.¡± I looked around the room. ¡°And our team is with her, which means there¡¯s a chance that whatever it is that the women were so afraid of, our team has seen it. And I don¡¯t trust that there won¡¯t be an accident where something happens to all of them.¡± I turned to Sydney, ¡°So we aren¡¯t leaving until we rescue them.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can find.¡± Sydney got up and put her hand on my shoulder as she walked past me. ¡°You remind me a lot of your father.¡±

    Whisper coughed.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± I watched her leave and looked at my CB. We still had a few hours until morning. ¡°We should try to get some sleep.¡± I looked at the other three people. ¡°I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a long day.¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 41

    I barely slept.

    I was too worried about the others and what might be happening to them. Too worried about Ether and that she might not forgive me for keeping that I was a Godling from her. Too worried about Trent and that he might not wake up.

    It also didn¡¯t help that I was trying to sleep on the cold concrete of the warehouse floor. I¡¯d slept in what I¡¯d thought had been some very uncomfortable places, but apparently there was still room at the bottom. It probably didn¡¯t help that this was the first time I¡¯d slept by myself in a while. I knew that Gesai would have come out with me, but I¡¯d insisted that she sleep in the passenger seat instead. Whisper was the only one who was outside with me, unless you counted Rix on top of the RV.

    When it was finally time to wake up, I didn¡¯t see Whisper or Rix. Not that I was surprised. I had a feeling that Whisper kept the same hours as Trent and Rix.

    Sydney walked in before I made it to the RV, so I waited for her to go in. Though most of my hesitation was worry about what I was going to say to Ether.

    ¡°Did you find anything?¡¯ I looked at the green woman.

    ¡°I found them.¡± Sydney nodded at me as she crossed in front of me to enter the building.

    ¡°Where are they?¡± I looked around the RV and noticed everyone was up. Ether looked down at her breakfast as my eyes looked at her. I felt like my heart was about to get ripped out. But I noticed that Oz grabbed her hand, and that she was still wearing the slime ring I¡¯d given her. She hadn¡¯t taken that off, so at least there was hope she¡¯d forgive me.

    I looked over at Trent, who looked like he was dead, except I could see the slight chest movements of him breathing. Rix was wiping his forehead with a cloth.

    ¡°How is he?¡±

    ¡°About the same.¡± Rix left the cloth over his forehead. ¡°At least he¡¯s not getting worse.¡±

    I nodded and looked at the others. Gesai and Fray were sitting at the booth across from Ether and Oz. It looked like they were all almost finished with breakfast. Whisper looked very annoyed from his seat in the passenger¡¯s chair, and his silence was probably an order from Rix.

    I nodded at Sydney. ¡°She found them.¡±

    Gesai half turned around. ¡°Where?¡±

    ¡°The Hex.¡± The white-haired woman shook her head. ¡°I have no idea how you¡¯re going to get them out though.¡± She nodded at Whisper. ¡°Not even you could brute force your way in the front door.¡±

    The bandit looked insulted, but he held his tongue.

    ¡°What if we don¡¯t go in through the front door?¡± I nodded at Ether. It was like she¡¯d told us last night. Sometimes people worry so much about reinforcing the door, they don¡¯t worry about what¡¯s next to it. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Sydney looked confused.

    ¡°The pit looked like they were built out of old sewer tunnels.¡± I was taking a longshot, but I had a feeling I was right. ¡°Could there be tunnels under the Hex?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure there are, but the minute you broke through, you¡¯d set off alarms and security would come running from everywhere.¡± Sydney shook her head. ¡°There¡¯s no way you¡¯d be able to fight your way through all of them.¡±

    ¡°What if we weren¡¯t trying to fight our way through them, but that person was just a distraction?¡± I looked at Whisper.

    The bandit started shaking his head furiously.

    ¡°He¡¯d love to be the bait.¡± Rix grinned. ¡°Because he¡¯s the only one who would have a reasonable chance of surviving.¡±

    He made a rude gesture.

    ¡°Can you..?¡± I saw the answer to my question on her face, so I pivoted. ¡°Get us a map of where they are?¡±

    The older woman nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve got it right here.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡± I looked at the women in the booth. ¡°Then the plan is; Whisper goes with Rix and causes a big distraction in the basement. The rest of us sneak in and grab our friends and get out.¡± I took a nervous breath before I added the last part. ¡°There¡¯s a chance we¡¯ll have to carry them out, and since Gesai needs to keep her hands free to fight, I could use all of your help, but if you don¡¯t want to go, I won¡¯t make you.¡±

    ¡°I want to go.¡± Oz joined immediately.

    ¡°I-I¡¯ll help.¡± Fray straightened. ¡°You¡¯ll need my strength.¡±

    There was a very long uncomfortable pause as we waited on Ether.

    ¡°Ether, it¡¯s okay. You don¡¯t have to¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go.¡± The ivory woman cut me off. ¡°I¡¯m going to help our friends.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± I looked at Sydney, ¡°Do you have anything else to add?¡±

    She shook her head. ¡°I talked to Whisper¡¯s contact this morning. I think we can get you out of the city, but we¡¯ll have to make sure you¡¯re in the clear first.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll figure that out when we get to that part then¡­¡± I remembered something and looked down at my CB, but there weren''t any missed messages. ¡°Did someone talk to Mavery?¡±

    ¡°I talked to him this morning.¡± Gesai looked down at her hands. ¡°He hasn¡¯t received any messages from the Six, so he told me to tell you to stay put until he works something out.¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°I don¡¯t want to sit on my hands and do nothing.¡± I looked at Sydney. ¡°Do you think it will work?¡±

    ¡°In theory, but there are too many things that could go wrong.¡± She looked down at Trent. ¡°I think you should wait.¡±

    ¡°Could you wait if they were your kids?¡¯

    The look on her face told me I was right. It might not be the best plan, but I doubted Whisper would have a problem holding off the guards until we got out. And Gesai would be fine unless¡­ ¡°Does Mive have a personal guard?¡±

    Sydney shook her head. ¡°He did, but they all vanished along with his high priest ten years ago when he stopped making appearances.¡±

    At least there was that.

    ¡°Okay, then we¡¯re going to need two vehicles.¡± I looked at Whisper. ¡°Can you get that?¡±

    The bandit nodded slowly. I could tell he didn¡¯t like the plan, but he was bound to help for some reason.

    ¡°Do you have a better idea on how to rescue them?¡±

    The blonde shook his head.

    ¡°Alright. Then as soon as Whisper gets the vehicles, we¡¯ll head out.¡± I looked at Sydney, ¡°Can you watch him while we¡¯re going?¡±

    The spy nodded and walked over to my teacher. I could see a level of genuine concern on her face. At least, I hoped that¡¯s what it was.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 42

    We were waiting for Whisper to start.

    Whisper had found a moving van that was mostly empty that we were hiding in. Gesai was driving, while Ether was sitting shotgun and Oz, Fray, and myself were in the back. I¡¯d hoped Ether would come back here with me so we could talk, but she¡¯d declared that she was needed up front for technical support.

    There weren¡¯t any windows in the back, so there wasn¡¯t much we could do but wait, so I decided to try to find a way to pass the time.

    ¡°Fray.¡±

    The green woman looked at me.

    ¡°What type of Unilop are you wanting?¡±

    ¡°She wants what?!¡± Oz looked at Fray. ¡°You want a pet monster?! It''s highly illegal to smuggle a monster out of the Dungeon.¡±

    ¡°She wants a Unilop crystal that she can summon.¡± I nodded at the timid woman. ¡°Probably in a ring or a necklace. So I was wondering what kind she was wanting.¡±

    ¡°I think they¡¯re all pretty¡­¡± She smiled as her voice drifted off.

    ¡°Demonic is what they are. Creatures spawned from the pits of darkness.¡± Oz shook her head. ¡°Why couldn¡¯t you want a cat like a normal girl?¡±

    Fray shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t like cats, they¡¯re mean.¡±

    ¡°And you don¡¯t think the man-eating hellspawn aren¡¯t?¡± Oz started to pace. ¡°Why do you want a summon anyway? It¡¯s not like you can fight with it in the Dungeon.¡±

    ¡°I could keep it around the dorm and it would be good to have right now. We could pet it to help calm down.¡± Fray hugged herself.

    ¡°No.¡± Oz wagged her finger at Fray. ¡°Uh-un. There is no way I¡¯m touching one of those things if¡­¡± She looked at me. ¡°You¡¯re serious?! You are seriously going to get her a Monster to make into a PET?¡±Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

    ¡°Trent thinks it¡¯s safe and it¡¯ll make her happy, so why not?¡±

    ¡°UGH!¡± Oz picked up her pace. After a few circles, she went over to the side of the RV and put her hands and forehead against it. ¡°They need to HURRY UP!¡±

    ¡°You know, if you bang on that, we¡¯ll get caught.¡± I eyed the Hitter. ¡°Come sit down.¡± I scooted beside her and patted the floor.

    Oz sank to her knees then leaned over and laid down with her head in my lap. I hadn¡¯t been expecting that, but my fingers instinctively started playing with her short black hair.

    ¡°So what would you pick?¡± I rubbed her brown arm with my hand. Her skin was cold, so I rubbed wider swaths to try to warm her up.

    ¡°Something strong and fast, like a cat.¡± Oz shifted so that she was laying on her back. ¡°What do you think Justia would want?¡±

    We were playing that game. It would at least pass the time.

    ¡°Probably a dog of some kind.¡± it seemed to fit her personality.

    ¡°Rix would want an Assassin Shadow.¡± Fray sat down on my left.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± I hadn¡¯t heard of that one yet.

    ¡°It has claws and a face like a cat, but with scales instead of fur and only front legs.¡± The green woman shivered. ¡°I¡¯ve seen them in Adventurer Games. They know Backstab.¡±

    ¡°That sounds like Rix alright.¡± I laughed a little. ¡°What about Aelin?¡±

    ¡°Pixie Dragon.¡± Oz held up her hand. ¡°Tiny, Pink, Always flapping their bugwings, and they shoot little stingers while also throwing dust everywhere.¡±

    ¡°What about Ether?¡± She was the only one left in the original team that we hadn¡¯t done.

    There was silence as neither woman wanted to intrude on my thoughts.

    ¡°She would want a Slime.¡± Ether opened up the back door. ¡°Because they¡¯re transparent.¡±

    I felt like that one had been aimed at my heart.

    ¡°Ether¡­¡±

    ¡°Not now.¡± The ivory woman shook her head. ¡°We don¡¯t have time. Come on, Whisper¡¯s doing his thing.¡±

    The three of us got out of the back and followed her across the street. I at least had a little hope. She¡¯d said not now, which meant that there would be a conversation in the future. I had hope that it was going to be okay. But as much as I wanted to, I couldn¡¯t think about that right now. Right now I had friends to rescue.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 43

    Gesai broke through the wall next to the side door.

    I¡¯d been right. The door was made out of Tier Four materials and the walls were only Tier Two. For the Tier Four teacher, it was almost like they were made out of paper.

    ¡°I guess they know we¡¯re here now.¡± Oz didn¡¯t have her weapons out.

    In fact, Gesai was the only one with a weapon. If we ran into someone that we couldn¡¯t knock out with our fists, then we needed to let Gesai handle them. Not that we¡¯d seen anyone yet. But our destination was in the basement, which meant we were heading towards the fighting.

    ¡°Which way?¡± Gesai looked at Ether, who had the map on her CB.

    ¡°Down this hall, then to the right. There¡¯s a set of stairs.¡± Ether pointed the way.

    ¡°This has been easy¡­¡± Oz¡¯s voice trailed off as we turned the corner and ran into four guards.

    ¡°You had to jinx it.¡± Gesai charged the guards, but even if they had been able to get their weapons out in time, they wouldn¡¯t have been a match for her. These human guards were only Tier Two at best and it looked like they had been trained to handle Mundane threats. The observation that the Six used the Authority for Adventurer problems and kept cheap security for most of the positions seemed to pan out.

    The redhead planted her sword in the ground so that she could focus on knocking the guards out, because with their level, fighting them with a sword might cost them a limb. Their weapons were clubs and shockers, but all they could do with those was make her mad.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Once they were all unconscious, we each picked one to steal the restraints from. Once they were restrained, we dragged them into an empty office and shut the door. We were going to have to come back out this way and we didn¡¯t need to fight them a second time or trip over them.

    ¡°Any word from Rix?¡± Gesai pulled her sword out of the ground. There was a blocker for the Hex, so she didn¡¯t want to put it into her CB in case she couldn¡¯t take it out again.

    ¡°Nothing.¡± Ether zoomed in on the map. ¡°If I could get to the security station, I could see better, but it¡¯s on the other side of the building.¡± She looked at Gesai.

    I shook my head. Oz and Fray would have to go with her for cover and I wasn¡¯t sure that they could have taken out one of the guards that Gesai had just knocked around.

    ¡°We¡¯ll just have to hurry.¡± Gesai turned and started jogging towards the stairs.

    We all had to run to keep up with her, especially Ether, who had the lowest Speed of anyone on the team and Fray was barely faster.

    I could hear the fighting when we hit the bottom of the stairs, but couldn¡¯t see anything as I followed Gesai into the hallway. We made two turns, then we were in front of the doors to the largest room in the basement.

    ¡°Ready?¡± Gesai grabbed the doorknob.

    I looked towards the noise and nodded. I really wanted to go help, but I knew that if Whisper needed help, there was nothing I could do.

    The redhead jiggled the handle, but she couldn¡¯t turn it. ¡°It¡¯s locked.¡± She tapped on it. ¡°Tier Four though.¡±

    We moved back as she started hacking at it. It took her less than a minute to chop enough of the lock away that she could kick in the door.

    The room wasn¡¯t empty.

    The Six, Sandez Jinsu, Vanya Wesh, Remy Harlax, Sigun Gara, Chrice Faeru, and Joi Inon, and three others were all standing there smiling at us.

    ¡°We¡¯ve been waiting for you.¡± Sandez Jinsu spread his arms wide. ¡°Welcome to the greatest event of your short lives!¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 44

    It was a trap.

    Before I could get upset that Sydney had set us up, or that the hundred-something Noble was gloating, my eyes went to my friends.

    Each one of them was hanging on a cross. Zel was directly in front of me, while Justia and Aelin were on either side of her. Jen was beside Aelin and Ren, then Shelly was to Justia''s left. There were also four empty crosses on my right and five on my left.

    ¡°What are you doing to them!?¡± I wanted to pull out a weapon, but I knew that Sandez Jinsu was Tier Five. He was the only Tier Five of the Six, Remy Harlax and Sigun Gara were Tier Four, which left Vanya Wesh, Chrice Faeru, and Joi Inon as Tier Three. The only way we had a chance at winning was if I could stall them until Whisper got here.

    ¡°We¡¯re just preparing the sacrifices that you''ve offered.¡± Sandez gestured at the larger cross behind Zel. I''d assumed it was ornamental since the figure on it wasn''t moving. But when I looked closer I realized that it wasn''t a statue of Mive. It was Mive.

    I put my hand on Gesai¡¯s and lowered her sword. I had to keep them talking and he looked like he wanted to gloat. ¡°What did you do to him?¡± I nodded at Mive?

    ¡°Oh, the battery?¡± The ivory man with yellow eyes and reddish-brown hair smiled. ¡°It''s a funny thing about these ¡®mantles¡¯ and ¡®gods¡¯. There''s a safety switch in case the god becomes uncontrollable.¡± He patted the other Kitsune in the room on the shoulder. ¡°Fera here is the high priest of Mive. Or she was, until the Six made a contract with us ten years ago and let Anon take over her. Now Fera is nothing but a suit that our friend wears as he makes the mantle his own.¡±

    ¡°You what!?¡± At first I thought I was the one that said it, but that voice belonged to Ether.

    ¡°You POSSESSED them?¡± She motioned at the people on stage. ¡°ALL of them!?¡±

    ¡°It was the price that they promised for the power to bend their god to their will.¡± The yellow-eyed man grinned. ¡°And now they have promised me a bride and here she is¡­¡± He stroked Zel¡¯s face.

    ¡°You¡¯re sick.¡± Ether sneered.

    ¡°I like that one.¡± Remy Harlax grinned. ¡°Can I switch to her? It¡¯ll be fun breaking her from the inside.¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    I stepped in front of Ether and guided her behind Gesai. ¡°What are you?¡± I turned my attention to Sandez.

    ¡°Some call us the Devourers. Others the Corrupted. We¡¯ve answered to Master to many as well¡­¡± The others on stage chuckled at that one. ¡°But!¡± The ivory man gave a little bow. ¡°You would probably know us best as demons.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re WHAT?!¡± Gesai fielded that one.

    ¡°How?¡± I put my hand on her shoulder. The sounds of fighting behind us were getting quieter. I just needed to keep dragging this out. ¡°You said you used Fera¡­Anon to do it. But how?¡±

    ¡°There is a special place within the mantles of these gods.¡± Sandez began parading behind my friends. ¡°The veil is very thin there, which means that we can cross over, but it requires a lot of magic and using that much magic would draw the attention of the other gods or the Elves. Which means we have to wait until the once a year Camping Games tryouts where Mive is supposed to create a pocket dungeon for them to train in. Except..!¡± He held his finger in the air. ¡°When Trent unleashed so much magic last night, it now gives Mive the opportunity to fight back! Such a battle would use more magic than we could possibly give off by possessing everyone here.¡±

    Whisper walked into the room with Rix right behind him. ¡°What are you still doing..!¡±

    ¡°Ah! Almost everyone is here. Tell me. Where are Trent and Astrid?¡± The yellow-eyed man studied our faces to see who was going to talk.

    ¡°They¡¯re not coming.¡± I hoped he could see the sincerity on my face. ¡°Using that much magic last night tapped him out.¡± I looked at Zel. ¡°And Astrid was too scared to come with us.¡±

    ¡°No matter.¡± Sandez looked sad, then smiled. ¡°That just means another fight between the two!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Rix moved closer to me.

    ¡°Enjoy your last breath of freedom!¡± Sandez nodded to Fera.

    The fox-woman put her hand on Mive¡¯s chest and there was a pulse. I felt my skin tingle as darkness washed over us.

    ¡°You are all so dead.¡± There was venom in Rix¡¯s words.

    I was trying to calm my heart and remember what I¡¯d been told about this last time. Except last time I¡¯d had Trent.

    All of the sudden there was light and I could see in the room again. I had been expecting to see Mive and the nine in the Bequeathal Chamber and have Rix by my side.

    What I saw was that everyone was in the Bequeathal Chamber. Except they were all unconscious on the ground. Of the nine that were possessed by demons, only Fera was still standing. Over the other eight stood ten foot tall monstrosities with faces like the one on Astrid¡¯s chest. I heard someone move and turned around.

    Whisper was standing and had his black sword out. There was rage on the blond man¡¯s face. As he focused on our new enemies. But he wasn''t the one that I¡¯d heard move.

    A chill ran down my spine as I looked into her red eyes.

    ¡°Atlas. What¡¯s going on?¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 45

    Ether was in the Bequeathal Chamber.

    Considering that the rest of my team was also in there and unconscious, her being there wasn¡¯t the terrifying part. Her being awake was. I knew what it meant, but there was no time to explain it. She needed a rundown fast.

    ¡°Levels don¡¯t matter.¡± Rix had her chain-sword in her hand. ¡°Kill bad guys.¡± Then she vanished.

    ¡°It feels weird but you get better the more you practice. Just trust your training and your skills.¡± Whisper elbowed his way past us. ¡°The big one¡¯s mine.¡±

    HOW ARE YOU STILL CONSCIOUS! THIS DOESN¡¯T HAPPEN! ONLY THE GOD AND HIS PRIEST ARE CONSCIOUS HERE!

    I looked at the tentacle faced monstrosity that had come out of Sandez. ¡°That¡¯s because we ARE GODS!¡± I got some satisfaction from the confusion on his face, which gave me a second to turn around.

    I looked at Ether. ¡°I love you.¡±

    I didn¡¯t wait to hear her response. Whisper was already moving and I was going to be more useful this time.

    I focused and thought about my SnakeBlade and it materialized in my hand as I charged the closest one.

    Except its head fell at my feet as Whisper decapitated it on his way to the leader.

    GODSLAYER!!!!!!!!

    Rix¡¯s blade shone bright as her strike cut one of them in half from head to toe.

    Another one fell to Whisper¡¯s blade, then he was fighting the huge one. Rix was flashing around the room slashing at them while her Godslayer was on cooldown. I angled towards the closest one to me. It had a fireball in its hand, but I had a counter for that. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    ¡°INCOMING! WAVE!¡±

    Rix blinked behind Ether and Whisper seemed completely unaffected as the wall of water as high as the ceiling crashed over the demons. The fireball died as I followed the water and stabbed the demon in the chest. It staggered backwards as I pulled my blade out. I went to swing again, but this time it used electricity, which tensed up all my muscles, but didn¡¯t stop my ability to use magic.

    ¡°BIND!¡±

    I targeted its arms, changing the trajectory to the floor.

    The demon stopped the spell, which gave me the chance to pick up my sword. This time I swung into a stream of ice slowing my swing.

    If it wanted to play hardball, then I''d play.

    ¡°Bindings!¡±

    I threw my right hand at its face as a mass of vines wrapped around its face and neck and started pulling it backwards. I focused on the spell, imagining where I wanted the next vine to grab and how hard I wanted it to pull.

    That freed my left hand to stab it. I was able to get in two more jabs before I felt safe enough to grab my sword with both hands and swing at its neck.

    I was used to things vanishing when I killed them. This one didn''t. It was like it was slowly leaking off smoke. I didn''t have time to examine it as I looked for my next target, but Rix was finishing off the one she was fighting and Whisper had beaten the leader down to one arm and somehow part of a leg. It was really weird how their bodies weren''t following the normal way a monster or person would.

    ¡°You think you''ve won?!¡± The Sandez demon sneered. ¡°You¡¯ve won nothing! These bodies are ours to take whenever we want!¡±

    ¡°Let me know when you would like me to kick you out again.¡± Whisper cut the demon in half.

    That only left the high priestess.

    The three of us started walking over to her.

    ¡°You think you¡¯ve won?¡± Fera put a knife to her throat. ¡°If I kill this one, then the only way out is for you to Desolate your city.¡± She glared at us. ¡°STOP!¡±

    Rix blinked behind her and hit her on the back of the head, but as she was falling the demon inside her peeled itself out, grabbing the knife and making good on its threat.

    ¡°Now you¡¯re trapped in¡­¡±

    GODSLAYER!

    The Demon fell in half.

    Rix stood triumphant over the last demon.

    I didn¡¯t feel the same pride that she was displaying.

    Now we were trapped.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 46

    Rix started cutting people down.

    Ether mostly got over her shock and confusion and started to help gather everyone up into the middle of the room. Justia looked rough, but she was at least able to sit on her own at the base of the cross she¡¯d been on.

    Whisper was over at Mive, looking at the bindings that were holding the God unconscious against the cross.

    I walked over to him since Rix and Ether seemed to have taking care of our friends under control.

    ¡°Have you ever fought one of those things before?¡± I gestured over at the bodies. The pieces of the shadowy demons looked like they were slowly burning away in a shadowy fire.

    ¡°Nope.¡± Whisper rubbed his chin. ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve seen non-Gods in a Bequeathal Chamber too.¡±

    ¡°It seemed like you¡¯d been in one of these before.¡± I looked at the older man and started wondering just how old he was. A Mantle did a lot to slow down aging versus a Mundane, which made it hard to gauge. Especially since higher Tier Mantles slowed it down even more. ¡°How many have you been in?¡±

    The blonde man glared at me. ¡°No reason for you to know that.¡± He held up a finger in Rix¡¯s direction. ¡°And there¡¯s no reason to tell you what my lineage is.¡±

    ¡°I thought you were a Mundane.¡± The look he gave me told me that he was anything but. ¡°But there¡¯s no record of Err anywhere but you. Although there¡¯s no record of Vowler either except for Trent, so I assumed you were from a Desolated city like he is.¡±

    Whisper took a deep breath, then shook his head. ¡°Just¡­ Don¡¯t try to figure me out.¡± He looked at Ether. ¡°Though I am curious about what You are.¡±

    Ether scooted behind Rix to hide from Whisper¡¯s gaze.

    ¡°Who are your parents?¡± He tapped on his chin

    ¡°Hayh and Miel. They¡¯re both Mundane.¡± Ether looked down at her hands.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°Hey!¡± I moved over to her and this time she didn¡¯t pull away. ¡°Why are you interested in her?¡±

    ¡°Because Gods hide their kids with the Nobles and Mundanes all the time.¡± He shook his head. ¡°When we get out of here, we¡¯re checking your class. If it¡¯s changed to Nephilim, then we know you were hidden and your parents aren¡¯t really your parents.¡± He turned back to look at the God. ¡°And if it hasn¡¯t changed then you¡¯re a Gibboram.¡±

    ¡°Why isn¡¯t Sugaru an option?¡± I wrapped my arms around her as she leaned into me.

    ¡°Her?¡± He turned around and pointed at Ether. ¡°Be that?¡± He pointed at Rix and shook his head. ¡°All the Hunter¡¯s I¡¯ve met have been sharks, just like this one. As soon as the fight starts, the blood flows.¡±

    Whisper looked at the Kitsune God. ¡°We need to figure out how to wake him up.¡±

    ¡°Any ideas?¡± I could feel Ether shaking against me. She felt cold. I looked down at her. ¡°It¡¯s going to be fine. We¡¯re going to be fine.¡±

    ¡°Wait¡­¡± Whisper walked over to Justia. ¡°Why are you awake? You look way too much like Suna and Hye to be a plant¡­¡±

    Justia looked at me and I nodded. ¡°Trent said to trust him.¡±

    ¡°Him?¡± The green woman started scooting away from him until she was next to Aelin. ¡°After everything he¡¯s done?¡±

    I sighed. ¡°Trent already had this argument with Rix. If he is going to condemn Whisper, then Rix and Astrid have committed the same crimes.¡±

    ¡°But that was to¡­ Astrid?¡± Justia looked confused.

    ¡°She was in a fight to the death. I fed her a kill. It revealed the seal on her that zapped Trent, which led us here.¡± Rix looked at Whisper. ¡°Now I can tell him what to do.¡±

    Justia¡¯s eyes bulged. ¡°You can what?¡±

    ¡°Tres did something to him. Watch.¡± Rix turned towards the bandit. ¡°Whisper! Dance a little for me.¡±

    ¡°What reason ¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯ll make Justia feel safer.¡± Rix cut him off.

    I had to hide my eyes. I couldn¡¯t watch his attempt at¡­ whatever that was. But it got Justia to laugh, which kind of helped everyone.

    ¡°Now that I don¡¯t have any dignity left, can we try to get out of here?¡±

    I opened my eyes. I¡¯d seen Rix laugh before, but the smile on her face¡­ The only way I could describe it was peaceful. She wasn¡¯t thinking about how we were trapped, how our friends were unconscious somewhere that they shouldn¡¯t be, or how she had just made the third most dangerous criminal in the world embarrass himself to make a woman laugh. She was at peace. And there was a large part of me that was jealous.

    Then the Rix that I knew and loved came back.

    ¡°He¡¯s got a point.¡± She looked at me. ¡°And it might be our way out.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Whisper looked between us. ¡°What is she?¡±

    Rix clapped me on the shoulder. ¡°His High Priestess.¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 47

    Ether slapped me.

    ¡°What was that for?¡± I thought about dodging the next one, but I didn¡¯t. I found myself regretting supporting her raising her Power as she smacked the other side of my face.

    ¡°Ow!¡± I rubbed my face as she balled her fist. ¡°Wait! Why are you hitting me?¡±

    ¡°You told me there was nothing going between the two of you!¡±

    ¡°There isn¡¯t!¡± I waved my hands in front of me. I¡¯d let her hit me all day if this was over not fully disclosing Justia¡¯s role, but this? Nope, not got to let her have free hits for something I¡¯d never do.

    ¡°Everybody knows what the relationship between a God and their High Priest is!¡±

    I pointed at myself. ¡°Do you seriously think that I would put this¡­¡± I pointed at Justia. ¡°In that..?¡± I realized what I said as soon as the words came out of my mouth. ¡°Justia, no offense, you¡¯re wonderful and all, but¡­¡±

    ¡°Some taken.¡± Justia folded her arms in front of her. ¡°But he¡¯s right. Atlas has never even tried to touch me that way.¡± She looked at me. ¡°I know I¡¯m as safe as he can make it when I¡¯m around him.¡± Her brow furrowed, ¡°What¡¯s going on between you two?¡±

    ¡°I told Ether, Oz, Fray, and Gesai everything and now Ether is mad at me for not telling her everything..!¡± I winced as Ether started to swing. ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m sorry! Okay?¡± I let my hands drop. ¡°You want to hit me? Fine. I won¡¯t stop you. But here¡¯s one more thing. I didn¡¯t know that I was this until eight weeks ago when we got our Mantles. I didn¡¯t even know about what these things were until last week and I still don¡¯t know everything about them. I may have held back some of the details, but honestly, what is the difference between a Hero and a God? Both can ascend. As far as I can tell the only difference is I¡¯m better at seduction and Rix is better at killing. And honestly I think that may have to do more about the individual person than the class.¡±This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    I let my hands fall by my side. ¡°So if you want to hit me, then hit me. But Ether, I love you and that won¡¯t change. So if that¡¯s what you need to do. Then I¡¯ll take it.¡±

    I saw her fists start to loosen and I knew she wasn¡¯t going to hit me anymore. At least, not until I found some way to mess up again. She wrapped her arms around me as she sat on my lap.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, I just¡­¡± Tears were running down her face.

    I looked into her red eyes. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I knew you were freaked out and I wish I could have found a way to tell you earlier, but we¡¯ve¡­¡±

    ¡°Not really had a chance to stop.¡± Ether kissed me.

    I let the warmth spread over me. It¡¯d been crazy since we arrived and this was what I needed to help calm the storm in my mind.

    ¡°Hey lovebirds!¡± Whisper came over and shook my shoulder, breaking the kiss. ¡°Make-up on your own time where I don¡¯t have to watch it.¡±

    I was about to tell him off when he pointed at the walls of the Chamber. There were over a dozen tears in various places and the black smoke like the stuff that had been wafting off of the dead demons was coming in.

    ¡°We¡¯ve got a problem.¡± Whisper had his sword in his hand again.

    We¡¯d been able to handle nine and now with Ether and Justia, I had a feeling that we could handle them all okay. Until they started forming into almost thirty.

    ¡°Justia!¡± I stood up and willed my sword into my hand. ¡°Now would be a good time to figure out how to get us out of here!¡±

    ¡°I have no idea what to do!¡± Justis stood up. ¡°I didn¡¯t even know about these things.¡± She motioned at the Chamber.

    ¡°Fera put her hand on Mive. See if that does something!¡± Ether pointed at the unconscious God. She looked at my sword. ¡°How did you do that?¡±

    ¡°I just thought about it and it appeared.¡± I shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t¡­¡±

    Blue metal armor covered Ether, but I¡¯d never seen that armor before. It looked like something that someone Tier Four or Five would wear. There were tiny runes all over it, written in some type of gold, and her shield was as big as she was, but in the shape of my seal, complete with the emblem that was on my chest on it.

    ¡°Where did you get that?¡± I couldn¡¯t take my eyes off of her.

    ¡°You said you thought of it and it came in your hand¡­¡± I knew she was smiling inside that helmet. ¡°I saw this at an Adventurer Games once. I thought since Whisper said levels don¡¯t matter¡­¡±

    ¡°Seriously?¡± Rix stood up and a flaming chain-scythe appeared in her hands. Her golden skin started to sprout leather as she was covered head to toe in an armor that I¡¯d also never seen before.

    ¡°Oh, this is going to be fun¡­¡± Rix vanished.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 48

    Ether charged at them.

    They weren¡¯t all the way formed, but there were enough of them that Rix has already chopped up two of them.

    Not to be outdone, Whisper had joined in and was cutting them down too. There was no way they were going to get all of them, but we¡¯d last longer.

    I ran over to Mive with Justia. She reached out her hand to touch him and there was an electric spark that shocked her.

    ¡°Ouch!¡± Justia pulled her hand back. ¡°I don¡¯t think it likes me.¡±

    I touched his chest, but nothing happened to me. ¡°Try it again?¡±

    Justia reached out her hand and didn¡¯t get it as close before she got shocked again.

    ¡°OW! I don¡¯t think this is going to do anything!¡± Justia stuck her finger in her mouth.

    ¡°We have to do something.¡± I turned around. Some of the demons had finished forming and were fighting back. Rix was having the time of her life, cackling with glee as she shredded demon after demon. Justia had once asked me how Vena would react when I was the authority to rebel against, but in that moment, I wondered what Rix would do when there were no more enemies to kill. It wasn¡¯t like that time was going to come in the next fifty years. But it was something I was going to have to think about. I knew I could find an alternative for her, but thinking about it now was just distracting me from the present problem.

    I touched Mive¡¯s chest with my right hand and held out my left. ¡°Let¡¯s try this.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Justia stared at my hand like it was a snake. ¡°That much electricity running through you¡­¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve got to try something!¡± I reach out my open hand towards her. ¡°We don¡¯t have much time!¡±

    The demon smoke was coming in even faster. It wouldn¡¯t be long until they were simply overwhelmed.

    Justia grabbed my hand and I felt POWER run through my body, but it didn¡¯t shock her at least.

    ¡°Now what?¡± Just glanced back at the fighting.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, try to tell it to close.¡±

    ¡°Close! Shut Down! Exit! Disappear!¡± Justia shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s not working! I can feel something, but I have no idea what to do with it.¡±

    I looked at Mive and tried to see what they¡¯d done to him. The bindings that were holding him in place were so dark of a purple that they looked almost black, but I could feel them pulsing. There was power in them. Power that was holding him in a mental prison.

    ¡°Trent¡¯s going to kill me¡­¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Justia looked at me, ¡°Did you figure it out?¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°No, but I think I might be able to ask him how to do it.¡±

    Justia looked at the hanging God. ¡°You¡¯re going to go into his mind?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°Ish. We¡¯re already sort of in his mind, so this would be like going through another door? I don¡¯t know. I just know that I¡¯ve been able to hijack mental spells like this before.¡± I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. ¡°You don¡¯t have to come with me¡­¡±

    ¡°I think I do.¡± Justia squeezed my hand tighter. ¡°You need him to tell me how to close this.¡±

    She had a point and while I was glad that I was going to have the company, I hoped Mive would be understanding.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m going to do this.¡± I looked over at the fight and they were getting driven back. It wouldn¡¯t take long for one of them to falter, then they¡¯d all fall. I had to do this fast.

    SIPHON!

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 49

    I was sitting at a tea table on the lawn.

    I blinked and looked over to my left and Justia was sitting beside me, still holding my hand. The whole scene was very confusing.

    ¡°Not what you were expecting?¡±

    I looked across the table at Mive. ¡°You¡¯re trapped. I thought there''d be more..!¡±

    The landscape around us shifted from the peaceful lawn to an underground dungeon where people were screaming in pain.

    ¡°Is this what you¡¯d prefer?¡¯ The old Fox-Man sipped his tea.

    ¡°No!¡± I realized I said it too forcefully. ¡°Sorry, no. This is what I expected, but I preferred¡­¡±

    The landscape shifted back to the lawn scene. I felt Justia relax just a little.

    ¡°Thanks¡­¡± I looked around. ¡°Are you really trapped in here?¡±

    ¡°Just because I can control what goes on in my mind doesn¡¯t mean that I can will away those bindings.¡± He put down his tea. ¡°I¡¯ve been trying for over a decade, trust me.¡± He shook his head. ¡°You¡¯ve grown up so fast!¡± He was suddenly behind me. ¡°Stand up, Let me look at you!¡±

    I slowly let go of Justia¡¯s hand and stood up. ¡°Do you know me?¡±

    ¡°Atlas!¡± Mive smiled. ¡°Of course I know you. I knew your mother too, and no, I don''t know who your father is. But I know it¡¯s not Trent. He¡¯d never have been with her. But that¡¯s not the point¡­¡±

    ¡°Wait! You know who my mother is?!¡± I faced the Kitsune. The Fox-Man was a good foot shorter than me, but something about the way he held himself made him feel bigger.

    ¡°Of course.¡± A large pillow chair appeared behind him for him to sit on. ¡°I was the one who smuggled you into Zeb."

    I waited for a few seconds, but he didn¡¯t speak. ¡°Well? Who is she?¡±

    ¡°A favor for a favor, my boy.¡± Somehow the teaspoon in his hand became big enough for him to smack me on the top of the head, then it shrank back down to regular size so he could keep stirring his tea. I was curious about how sanitary that was because I was pretty sure I had Demon blood in my hair, but maybe that part hadn''t come in with me.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to make us pay to get out of here?¡± Justia¡¯s voice grew aggressive. ¡°We came here to rescue you!¡±

    ¡°And look at how well that is going.¡± Mive shook his head. ¡°But! We don¡¯t have much time, so here''s the deal.¡± He held up one finger. ¡°Deal one. I tell you how to close the Bequeathal Chamber and you take my body with you to safety.¡± He held up his other hand. ¡°UMPH! That hammer you brought with you will be able to cut the physical bindings.¡± He looked at Justia. ¡°As this is a time-sensitive matter, I am prepared to pay up front in good faith?¡±

    Justia looked at me.

    ¡°I think we can do that.¡± There was a shock that felt like it pierced my heart.

    ¡°The deal has been struck.¡± He looked at Justia. ¡°You need some of his blood. Enough to coat your hand in it. Then place that hand on my chest. The Mantle will accept you as a High Priestess and obey your command.¡±

    ¡°You are trying to take¡­¡±

    ¡°No! This one would never¡­¡± He shook his head. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. She¡¯s yours and you can keep her.¡± He held up a second finger. ¡°If you can wake me up, then I will tell you who your mother was.¡±

    He had information that I so desperately wanted. And he knew it.

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t seem like an even trade.¡± I tried to slow down my heart. I couldn¡¯t believe that I was haggling.

    ¡°You do have a point¡­¡± Mive rubbed his furry chin. ¡°What else would you want..?¡±

    ¡°The demons put a seal on Astrid and Zel. Can you tell me how to remove it?¡±

    Mive started laughing. ¡°Tell you how to remove it? HAHAHAHA¡±

    I let him have his fun for a few more moments. ¡°Can you stop? We¡¯re on a clock here.¡±

    Mive wiped his snout with the back of his hand. ¡°Fine. If I tell you how to do it, with the power you have right now, it¡¯ll kill you.¡± He held up his finger. ¡°You want the girls. So! You wake me up and I¡¯ll tell you who your mother was, free the girls of their seal, AND¡­¡± He paused for what I was sure was for dramatic effect. ¡°I¡¯ll pardon your hammer there for killing the Six.¡±

    ¡°Killing the Six?! Why?¡±

    ¡°They made a deal with those demons. While those with the seals can be possessed by the hole they found. The ones who they¡¯ve already possessed are essentially husks. Whoever they were has been carved out, leaving them as mindless bodies that the Demons can jump into whenever they want.¡±

    ¡°You want us to kidnap the God of the city and kill its leaders?¡± Justia squeezed her forehead. ¡°You realize what happens if we fail?¡±

    I nodded slowly. ¡°But it sets the demons back and makes it harder for them to chase us.¡± I looked at Justia. ¡°This will basically just be burying them.¡±

    She didn¡¯t look convinced. It didn¡¯t help that I didn¡¯t feel convinced. But I could see the logic in it. The only problem was that Whisper wouldn¡¯t kill them, but if it came down to it, I¡¯d do it.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do it if¡­¡± I looked at Justia. ¡°You provide information that could be helpful to waking you up as part of the deal as well.¡±

    ¡°A deal has been struck!¡± Mive clapped his hands. ¡°Now, the two of you must go. It¡¯s getting really bad out there.¡±

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Chapter 50

    They were losing.

    We needed to shut this down fast.

    ¡°Here.¡± Justia handed me a knife. ¡°Cut your hand and then¡­¡±

    I stabbed it into my left arm.

    I would have stabbed my leg, but that was armored and I didn¡¯t want to deal with¡­ I guess it wasn¡¯t actually armor. Probably should have done that. My head is feeling funny.

    ¡°Hold still.¡± Justia put her hands over the wound and it started healing. ¡°You hit an artery.¡± She shook her head. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you do what I¡­¡±

    I grabbed her hands. They were covered in my black blood. ¡°Shut it down.¡±

    I thought she was going to protest, but she got up and put her hand on Mive¡¯s chest. There was a black glow and then the demons were gone.

    The armor and weapons that Ether, Rix, and Whisper had been using had also vanished. Everyone started getting up, except Fera. She had been killed by the demon possessing her.

    ¡°WHISPER!¡± I pointed at Sandez. All I had to see was those yellow eyes and I knew there wasn¡¯t a person inside him.

    The bandit stabbed him in the back with his sword, then incapacitated the others as well.

    ¡°We need to get everyone out of here.¡± My arm was still hurting, but we could fix that later. ¡°Whisper. I need you to grab Mive.¡±

    I had expected the bandit to argue, but the blonde man walked over to the cross, cut Mive down, and hoisted the unconscious God over his shoulder.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    ¡°Help those who are having trouble walking, but we have to get out of here NOW.¡± I did my best to shoo people along. Ether, Rix and Justia were all helping who they could.

    I stopped at the door to the room and waited for everyone to leave.

    Gesai leaned up against the door. ¡°Let¡¯s go. I¡¯m bringing up the rear.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll catch up.¡± I tried to smile, but it came out mangled. I knew that Rix would do this, but that would overlevel her so much. At least if I did it, Mavery would find something to do with me. ¡°I have to take care of something first.¡±

    Gesai looked at the pinned leaders, then back at me. ¡°You¡¯re going to kill them.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re already dead.¡± I pulled out my SnakeBlade and looked at it. It was Tier Zero, so I didn¡¯t know if it would actually be able to kill them.

    ¡°Go.¡± Gesai pulled out her sword.

    ¡°I can¡¯t¡­¡±

    ¡°This is what I do.¡± The redhead pulled off her left white, shoulder length gloves as if to accentuate her point. ¡°You don''t have to watch this.¡±

    I moved to lean outside the door as she went inside. There were four flashes, then she was back out.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    I draped her right arm over my shoulders to help her walk. We didn¡¯t run into any resistance on our way out. Though it looked like Whisper took care of a few guards.

    Whisper was already behind the wheel of the moving truck by the time we got close enough to get in.

    Justia helped me get Gesai in the back, then Rix closed the back and we started moving. My CB buzzed and Rix appeared on my screen.

    ¡°Where to?¡±

    I looked around at everyone. They were tired, beat, and looked like they might have been drugged. I needed to get them somewhere safe, but first we had to go get Trent and Astrid. The way that Sandez had been talking, he had expected Trent to be there, so I felt it was safe to assume that Sydeny didn¡¯t intentionally betray us.

    ¡°We have to go get Trent and Astrid first.¡± I closed my eyes. ¡°Then we have to get out of the city.¡±

    It seemed like everyone was thinking the same thing.

    ¡°Tell Whisper to do what he does.¡± I had a feeling I was going to regret that order. But that was a later problem. For now, everyone was out of harm''s way. I¡¯d worry about the rest later. Right now, I was going to get some sleep.

 Mantle of the Gods - Book 7 - The Six - Epilogue

    Tres had a bad feeling about what was about to happen.

    The blonde God was in his conference room in a meeting with the other Gods of the Ward. Minus Mive, who had been kidnapped and Arlo, who no one had learned about. That left the green Healer Harror, the ivory Hitter Klix, the Grim Slece, and the Kitsune Juel.

    ¡°Trent Vowler must be brought to justice!¡± Slece slammed her fist on the table. Even though all the Gods were in their respective cities, Tres still winced at the display of violence.

    ¡°Flaunting Tier Seven magic in the middle of town. Killing the Six AND kidnapping Mive!¡± Slece looked at the others, ¡°That Fox is the oldest of all of us! If Trent Vowler can do that to him¡­¡± She shook her boney head. ¡°He is a threat to us all.¡±

    ¡°What if the Six were leading a coup and Trent fought with Mive to repel them, but Mive was wounded, so they¡¯re in hiding in case there are more conspirators until Mive can recover.¡± Tres knew that was basically what happened. He fudged a few details, but the summary remained the same.

    ¡°I agree with Tres. We don¡¯t go hunt down someone that powerful on a whim.¡± Klix leaned forward. ¡°I¡¯m practically the closest¡­¡±

    ¡°So my city doesn¡¯t exist?¡± Harror interrupted the other Goddess. ¡° Or are you saying that you could handle this better than me?¡±

    ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Klix made sprinkling motions with her fingers. ¡°Heal them to death?¡± She picked at her shark-like teeth with her finger. ¡°If I go, then I can evaluate what happened and if necessary, take him down¡­¡±

    ¡°What if it was like Tres suggested and they are hurt?¡± Harror glared at the ivory Goddess. ¡°He would need healing. And how would you do that? Poke him with a sword until you¡¯ve let all the bad stuff out?¡±

    ¡°Then why don¡¯t both of you go?¡± Tres was hoping that they¡¯d buy this. It was the only way he saw for the Gods not to vote to mobilize against his friend.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    Slece looked like she was ready to pop out of her exoskeleton, but she was remaining quiet.

    ¡°How about this?¡± Juel leaned forward. ¡°Klix and Harror go to Mive and ascertain what happened. If they find Trent Vowler to be protecting the God, then we let this pass, but¡­¡± He held up a furry finger. ¡°If he really did kidnap Mive to try to take the city, then¡­¡± He motioned at the other three Gods. ¡°We ALL go and deal with him.¡±

    Harror thought for a moment, then nodded. ¡°That is acceptable.¡±

    ¡°I was going anyway.¡± Klix grinned. ¡°Mive loves me.¡±

    Tres turned to Slece. ¡°Is that acceptable for you?¡±

    The Grim ground her teeth. ¡°Fine.¡± She waved her hand. ¡°Inform me of whatever you learn.¡± Her image vanished.

    ¡°I need to start packing.¡± Klix looked over at Harror. ¡°Oh, but so do you. So do I have like one day or two before you finish putting your stuff together?¡±

    Klix vanished before Harror could respond.

    The green Goddess vanished without a word. Tres nodded at Juel and the Kitsune disappeared. Leaving Klix in his conference room.

    ¡°You¡¯re playing a very dangerous game.¡± Tres shook his head. ¡°You managed to dodge Slece, but you and Harror in the same city¡­¡±

    ¡°Harror will be fine. It won¡¯t be the first time that we bumped around. I mean, there was this one time a bunch of us were with Iver and¡­¡± Klix grinned widely as Tres waved for her to stop.

    ¡°Anyway, she¡¯s just mad that she¡¯s one of the ones who didn¡¯t get knocked up. Give her a decade and she¡¯ll be over it.¡± The ivory Goddess grinned. ¡°But you know that¡¯s why I need to make sure nothing happens to Trent.¡±

    Tres shook his head. ¡°If you do this, there¡¯s no going back. No hiding it.¡±

    Klix got up and walked over to the door. ¡°Nothing ever stays hidden forever. Might well make a grand entrance¡­¡± She tapped on the doorframe with one of her nails that might as well have been a claw. ¡°Besides, HE started it.¡±

    Tres watched her leave. There was a large part of him that wanted to chase after her, but he knew that would be a mistake. Klix had her eye on something and no one was stopping her. He just hoped that they would be able to survive the whirlwind that she was about to bring.

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 1

    The Warehouse looked abandoned.

    From the outside at least, but that didn¡¯t mean that there weren¡¯t a dozen high-level Authority Officers inside waiting for us. Thankfully, we had a way to check. Rix Zeb was almost undetectable when she was in stealth, something she used to her advantage a lot.

    So while our redheaded hero was investigating if it was safe to go get our teacher or not, the rest of us were stuck in the back of the moving van. Gesai had moved up front with Whisper, the bandit who for some reason had been following us around and gotten himself compelled to obey Rix. It was a strange situation, but I was glad to have the Tier Five man, since Gesai was only Tier Four and Trent was unconscious in the warehouse the last time we¡¯d seen him.

    We had thought we¡¯d been clever, creating a distraction, then slipping in the side to rescue half of our team, but not only had the Six, the former leaders of the city of Mive, been waiting for us, but they had also revealed themselves to be possessed by demons. To make matters worse, when Trent had used a LOT of magic to try to force out Mive, the God who the city was named after, that gave them the cover they needed to use a large spell to possess all of us under the guise of subjugating Trent.

    We¡¯d won, but we were now being hunted by the Authority and I assumed soon the Adventurers would join in. It didn¡¯t help that in order to slow down the demons, Gesai had killed the Six after they had been exorcized. According to Mive, during the short time I had been in his mind, the spirits of the Six had already been forced to pass over and their bodies had been empty husks for the demons to ride around in.

    I looked at the Kitsune God lying unconscious in front of me. The Six had done something to him to bind him, and it had been his request that we take him with us to protect him. The problem was that now it looked like we had killed the Six and kidnapped a God. Which is why I knew it was only a matter of time before we¡¯d have to start fighting everyone in the city.

    Most of the rest of my teammates were asleep. It¡¯d been a long night and those who had been captured were just as exhausted as those who went in to rescue them, even though it was still morning. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    Ether Klix was on my right arm, happily sleeping with her head on my right shoulder as I sat against the side of the moving van. She was holding my arm tightly against herself as she slept. The white-haired woman was the Tank of my team and until this morning, I had thought that she was just a normal, red-eyed, ivory woman with very sharp teeth. But when we had been pulled inside Mive¡¯s Mantle, which was where the demons had planned on possessing us, she hadn¡¯t been knocked unconscious like the rest of the team. Which meant that despite her assertion that her parents were Mundane, those without a Mantle, the only way that she would have been able to be there was if one of her parents was a God. There was also the small loophole of a High Priest, but she would have to have been bound to a God in that capacity and since she was bound with me, I seriously doubted that was the case.

    I looked over at Justia Publian. The green woman was my High Priest and the only reason why we had been able to escape from inside the Bequeathal Chamber. But the effort had taken a lot out of her and she was sleeping next to Aelin Zeb.

    The crystal band, or CB, on my left wrist buzzed. The CB was our item storage box, how we maintained who was in our party, how we kept track of our stats and skills, a repository for information about Dungeons and monsters, as well as a communication device. My version had a limited item capacity as well as lacking the function for me to spend my skill points.

    I had to tap it with my chin, since my other arm was pinned. There was a message from Rix.

    It¡¯s clear. Only Sydney is in here and Gesai has her restrained. Waiting on you to question her.

    I tried to disengage myself as best as I could from Ether.

    ¡°Huhmm?¡± She rubbed her red eyes.

    ¡°Shhh.¡± I patted her head and helped her lay down. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back.¡±

    She fell back asleep as Oz moved over to me. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡¯

    ¡°Gesai wants us to go into the ware..!¡± The moving van started moving. ¡°I guess we¡¯re going to them.¡±

    In a few moments we stopped and then the back opened up. The blonde bandit was standing outside.

    ¡°Hurry up.¡± Whisper motioned towards the RV. ¡°I¡¯ll stay out here in case anyone shows up.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡± I stood up and stretched. Maybe I¡¯d be able to get some answers.

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 2

    Sydney Faeru was tied up.

    There was a part of me that regretted that we had to treat a potential ally like this, but she had been the only one that had known that we were going to try to rescue our friends. She was someone that supposedly Trent trusted, but we had no way of asking him that.

    Oz Mite had come with me. I hadn¡¯t had the heart to wake up Justia or Ether and the only other one who¡¯d been awake had been Jen Violu. Jen was Sydney¡¯s niece though, so I didn¡¯t want her to come along until I knew for sure that I could trust the green woman.

    Sydney was a Power class and had the usual white hair and red eyes that most of those shared. Though Oz was also a Power class, yet she had black hair and green eyes as well as brown skin, which was an outlier compared to the usual snow-white that most Power class Adventurers had. Though the Nobility with that skin tone preferred the designation ivory, reserving the term snow for the Mundane. As a snow myself, I¡¯d always found the term endearing because it snowed so rarely in the Cathedral Ward, so snow was usually an anticipated sight. But there were plenty who didn¡¯t share my opinion on the matter.

    The restrained woman struggled in her bindings. ¡°I told you! I didn¡¯t set you up!¡±

    ¡°Then how did they know that we were coming?¡± Gesai squatted in front of the green woman.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± Sydney pulled against her restraints. Knowing Gesai, she would''ve used the strongest ones she could, which meant that those were Tier Four ropes. Despite her Power, she wouldn¡¯t have been able to bend Tier Five ropes that tight. But that told me that this woman was at most Tier Three.

    ¡°How did you find out where our friends were?¡± I put my hand on Gesai¡¯s shoulder.

    She glared at me. ¡°I don¡¯t answer to you! If I¡­!¡±

    ¡°You answer to my father.¡± I motioned at where Trent was lying unconscious. I eyed her small reaction. ¡°Or someone you answer to does. Either way, my FATHER¡­¡± I made sure to emphasize the word. ¡°Is incapacitated and has left me in charge.¡± I eyed her. ¡°Which means you answer to ME.¡± I made sure to hold her gaze until she broke. There was a small part of me that wondered if I could use my magnetism on her, but she probably had the same protections that Jen had and I wasn¡¯t interested in having to chase off a married Noble if she didn¡¯t.

    She was quiet for what I considered too long. ¡°I asked you a question.¡±

    ¡°I have a security guard pass that I use to gather information like this. I looked for information about how shifts were being changed and duty assignments. I saw that the safe room was receiving more attention than normal and had one of the custodians that I get to look into things do a quick walk by. She confirmed that they were in there, hung up on crosses.¡±

    ¡°You left that last part out.¡± I eyed her. ¡°Did you know what they were doing?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d heard whispers about an empowering ceremony, but nothing concrete. I didn¡¯t think it was relevant, probably just something to freak you out.¡± She must have seen something on our faces. ¡°It was bad wasn¡¯t it.¡±The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    I looked at Gesai. ¡°I want to believe her¡­¡± I shook my head, ¡°But she could just be faking.¡±

    ¡°We could poke her a few times.¡± Rix pulled out a knife.

    I glared at the golden woman. ¡°I¡¯m not torturing her.¡±

    ¡°She didn¡¯t know that.¡± Rix put the knife away.

    ¡°If Trent were here, then he¡¯d just do that mind thingy and we¡¯d know for sure.¡± Oz looked at Rix, ¡°You think Whisper knows something like that?¡¯

    Rix shook her head. ¡°Whisper is more Speed and Power based, I doubt he has a skill like that.¡±

    ¡°I have an idea¡­¡± It was a very bad idea. And I had a feeling that none of the women with me at the moment were going to approve. But I had a feeling it would work. ¡°Rix, go get Whisper to bring Mive in here.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve got Mive with you?!¡± Sydney looked at each of us to see who would talk to her. ¡°Is he okay? Where did you..?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going to do the thing¡­¡± Rix shook her head. ¡°Okay.¡±

    ¡°What thing?!?¡± Sydney strained against her restraints. ¡°What is going on?!¡±

    Oz had never seen me use a spell to hijack a mind link, so she had no idea what I was about to do. I¡¯d pulled Rix in with me once and one time I¡¯d hijacked one of Trent¡¯s spells to go into Gesai¡¯s mind. I wasn¡¯t sure if it was going to work, but to me it seemed like the best idea I had.

    ¡°Do I need to get Jus to stop whatever insane thing you¡¯re about to do?¡± Oz inched towards the door.

    Concern covered Gesai¡¯s face. ¡°Are you sure you can do this?¡± She nodded at the unconscious white-haired man. ¡°Trent couldn¡¯t handle the one that was designed to contain a Tier Zero¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m hoping¡­¡± I paused as Whisper walked in carrying Mive.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to get yourself killed.¡± Whisper point at me as he laid Mive down next to Sydney.

    ¡°What happened to him?!?¡± Sydney strained against her bonds again. She looked at Rix, who walked in after them. ¡°Did you do this to him?¡±

    Rix glared at the spy. ¡°I kill Gods¡­¡± She nodded at the sleeping Kitsune. ¡°Does he look dead?¡±

    To be fair, he did. His skin was ashen and his fur didn¡¯t have any sheen at all. To top it off, he was breathing so slowly that if you didn¡¯t watch carefully, you couldn¡¯t see his chest rising and falling. But Rix¡¯s comment drained the color out of the green woman¡¯s face.

    ¡°The demon¡¯s did this to him¡­¡± I saw the confusion on her face and started to feel apprehensive about what I was about to do. Mental magic seemed to cause a lot of pain, though I¡¯d never felt any. Either way it looked like there was going to be a lot of explaining I was going to have to do. ¡°He¡¯ll be fine once we figure out how to wake him up.¡± I looked at Gesai. ¡°If I don¡¯t get out of there, follow Rix¡¯s instincts.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that what we¡¯re already doing?¡± Whisper turned to leave.

    ¡°What¡¯s your problem with me?¡± I stood up so that I could face the Bandit. ¡°You¡¯ve been short with me since you showed up even if you have saved my life more times than I can remember right now.¡±

    ¡°You know what my problem is? It¡¯s¡­¡± The blonde looked around the RV. ¡°You know what?¡± He reached out and grabbed my shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m going in there with you.¡±

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you stay out here in case..?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a reason for me to do this.¡± The bandit looked over at Rix. The bond between them stated that she could give him a reasonable order. It seemed like he was daring her to countermand his plan.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go run around the block.¡± Rix vanished.

    Whisper looked at me. ¡°We¡¯re following Rix¡¯s instincts, yes?¡±

    I sat down and put one hand on Mive and one had on Sydney. My hope had been that the bindings would only keep in larger things, like Trent who was Tier Seven or Mive who was probably Tier Eight. I started to share my concerns, but he had already been inside the Mantle this morning, so I had a feeling that whatever floor they used hadn¡¯t included Tier Five. Probably because that was what Sandez Jinsu had been.

    I closed my eyes and muttered one word.

    ¡°Siphon.¡±

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 3

    It was dark.

    Not pitch black like when we started a floor boss, but like at night without a moon.

    ¡°Twice in one day?¡± Mive snapped his fingers and it began to get lighter.

    We were still in the same meadowy landscape that he¡¯d brought us to before.

    Sydney hit her knees and put her face to the floor. I guessed her reaction was probably normal for most people. Gods were absolute within their cities and their power was unrivaled by anyone else in those cities. Instant humility might have been my reaction as well if I wasn¡¯t one on top of having already been in the presence of three, plus technically Trent, who had the potential to become one.

    Mive turned to Whisper and opened his arms like he was going to give the other man a hug. ¡°And¡­¡±

    ¡°I go by Whisper Err now.¡± Whisper nodded at Sydney. ¡°We need you to do a truth spell on this one.¡±

    ¡°A favor?¡± Mive raised an eyebrow. ¡°And what is to be given in return?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve got a bone to pick with this one and I wanted a private place to do it.¡± The silver man turned around. ¡°This seems like a good place.¡±

    Mive shook his head. ¡°That is two favors for nothing¡­ That won¡¯t do.¡±

    ¡°Look kitty, if she¡¯s loyal, then she can help get you out of the city. If she¡¯s not, then she helped set us up to keep from rescuing you.¡± Whisper eyed the God. ¡°I don¡¯t have any deals with you, which means that I could walk out of here and leave you to those finger-chin things.¡±

    A picnic table appeared in front of Mive and the Fox-Man sat down and began to sip some tea. After a few sips he nodded. ¡°You have a point Whisper Err. A deal can be made.¡±This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    ¡°Up.¡± Whisper grabbed the back of Sydney¡¯s shirt and hoisted her to her feet. He guided her over to the table and sat her down across from Mive. She winced as he grabbed her arm and laid it palm up across the table, then looked at Mive. ¡°Do your thing.¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t need to be so forceful.¡± Mive patted the green woman¡¯s hand. ¡°She would have walked over here willingly.

    ¡°And taken her sweet time too.¡± Whisper backed up. ¡°The faster she¡¯s out of here, the faster I get my answers.¡±

    ¡°As you wish.¡± Mive looked at Sydney. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this won¡¯t hurt¡­¡± He closed his eyes as she winced. After a moment he opened them again. ¡°She knows nothing about the ambush. I imagine it was a trap that she stumbled into.¡± The Fox-Man shook his head. ¡°But she does know that both of her daughters were given the same mark as the one on Astrid, but as far as she knows her husband doesn¡¯t have one.¡±

    There was shock on her face and she tried to speak, but nothing came out.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry dear. I can look because it is the same seal that holds me. But this is my mind. It has no power over me here.¡± Mive shook his head and patted her arm. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I allowed this to infect our city, I should have been more vigilant.¡±

    A tear started to roll down her cheek and then she vanished.

    ¡°She¡¯ll try to help you get out of the city, but I fear you have a much bigger problem brewing.¡± Mive looked up at the sky.

    ¡°And what¡¯s that?¡± Whisper folded his arms in front of himself.

    ¡°As they discussed plans and options, I learned a great many things about what their goals are.¡± The Fox-Man looked at me. ¡°Since this may help you free me, there is no need to exchange, though I feel that the coming discourse between the two of you will be quite worth the price of this information regardless.¡±

    That did not make me feel comfortable about what I had done.

    ¡°Also you should limit your trips here.¡± Mive looked around. ¡°You are like an ant entering a house. How many times can you get in before the owner sees you?¡±

    I swallowed. While it was probably a fair assessment of the difference of power between us though.

    ¡°Whatever. I don¡¯t plan on being back here.¡± Whisper poked me in the shoulder. ¡°You wanted to know what my problem with you is? Just who are you, because I know for a fact you¡¯re not Trent¡¯s kid!¡±

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 4

    I didn¡¯t know what to say.

    As I looked at the older man, I knew that in this instance saying nothing was a bad idea.

    ¡°Why do you say that?¡± I glanced over at Mive. ¡°And is this the best place to be having this discussion?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s not going to rat you out.¡± Whisper didn¡¯t take his eyes off of me. ¡°He¡¯s helped to hide more Godlings on the planet than there are Gods.¡± The blonde shook his head. ¡°Part of his deal is protecting the identity of those children from anyone else¡­¡± He waited for me to put that together.

    ¡°Which means that he¡¯s the one who helped hide me, so anything we say in front of him falls under that?¡± I REALLY did not like where this was going. But maybe that meant that Mive would protect me to an extent. ¡°But that doesn¡¯t explain why you don¡¯t think¡­¡±

    ¡°Trent has only ever loved one woman and he hasn¡¯t been with anyone since she died.¡± He eyed me. ¡°If I had to bet, I¡¯d say you were one of Nevah¡¯s since this one told you that your mother was a Goddess.¡±

    ¡°When did he..?¡±

    ¡°Mive only deals with Gods and Goddesses. If he knows who your mother was, but not your father, then your mother was a Goddess, besides I don¡¯t know of any Goddesses who have been Desolated within the last twenty years who had the Infatuation passive.¡±

    ¡°Why only the Desolated ones?¡± My heart started beating faster. I had been starting to plan a reunion with my mother. I¡¯d been thinking about what I¡¯d ask my parents if I ever got the chance to meet them. I¡¯d started refining the list in my head since this morning, but now it felt like all of that was fading away.

    ¡°When you told Ether, the first time you said was.¡± Whisper looked over at the Kitsune. ¡°Details matter to him and you wouldn¡¯t have used that if he hadn¡¯t.¡±

    I thought back to our conversation and realized that he was right. Mive had only used past tense when talking about my mother. Suddenly it was like half of me had been ripped away. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

    ¡°So I¡¯ll ask you again. Who are you and why are you pretending to be Trent¡¯s son? Because he hasn¡¯t spoken to his grandfather in fifty-six years and I seriously doubt he¡¯d do that sextoy a favor after the way they ended things.¡± Something shimmered in Whisper¡¯s hand for the blink of an eye, then vanished.

    ¡°Let''s leave the weapons where they belong.¡± Mive shook his head. ¡°But if you want to hit something¡­¡±

    A dozen different items appeared in between myself and Whisper. The blonde scowled at the God. ¡°This is serious.¡±

    Mive waved his hand and they all disappeared. ¡°Then be serious, not punch-y.¡±

    I could see the agitation in Whisper¡¯s eyes as he turned back to me. ¡°So who are you?!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just an orphan from Zeb. I don¡¯t know who my parents are or anything.¡± There was so much in his previous statement. ¡°Nevah is Trent¡¯s grandfather¡­¡±

    ¡°Be amazed later.¡± Whisper looked over at Mive, then back at me. ¡°Why did he agree to go to that length to protect you?¡±

    I opened my mouth to tell him the plan, but no words came out.

    Whisper pinched his brow. ¡°Of course there¡¯s a seal¡­¡± He looked over at Mive. ¡°Would you be entertained enough to remove it?¡±

    Mive thought for a moment. ¡°I think the entertainment has almost run out.¡±

    ¡°How do you know so much about Trent?¡± I was hoping that I could learn something about the bandit. ¡°And why are you so upset that he¡¯d claim his¡­¡± I tried to do the math. ¡°Uncle..?¡± Okay, that was definitely weird, but it would explain why we could pass as father and son. ¡°As his son?¡±

    ¡°How many Godlings do you think Trent has seen in his lifetime?¡± Whisper glared at me, ¡°How many do you think he¡¯s stuck his neck out for?¡± The blonde man stomped over to me and poked me in the chest. ¡°ONE! YOU!¡± I could see the veins in his neck bulge. ¡°What makes YOU so special?!?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± There had to be other children of Nevah, or even their children, which would be Trent¡¯s cousins, that he could have helped. But he¡¯d agreed to help me before he¡¯d known about my infatuation ability. There had been something he¡¯d seen within seconds of meeting me that had convinced him that I was worth all this. Or maybe it had nothing to do with me at all.

    ¡°I think I was in the wrong place at the wrong time with no other options.¡± I saw something in Whisper''s eyes and knew that he had experienced a ¡®take-the-deal-or-die¡¯ situation.

    I waited for him to say something, but he just stood there in awkward silence for way too long. His anger seemed to have dissipated though.

    ¡°The entertainment is gone.¡± Mive clapped his hands. ¡°I believe you have your answer?¡±

    Whisper just nodded.

    The darkness enveloped us as Mive expelled us from his mind.

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 5

    Whisper wasn¡¯t there.

    Somehow the bandit had managed to regain consciousness before me and get out of the RV before I could open my eyes.

    I noticed that Sydney hadn¡¯t woken up yet. Mive must have kept her unconscious until he pushed all three of us out.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Gesai touched my arm, then my shoulder then my cheek. She let her hand linger on my cheek. I could see the hunger in my eyes, but my stomach was still rolling, so I did not think a kiss at that moment would be smart.

    ¡°I feel like breakfast might come back up.¡± I realized the last thing I had eaten had been the ice cream last night that Zel had offered to buy us.I suddenly realized that I was very hungry. I hadn¡¯t felt like eating before we left and now it was past noon and I was starting to regret that decision. Because I doubted I could hold anything down. ¡°But I¡¯ll be okay.¡±

    ¡°What happened in there?¡± Oz crouched down next to us and began looking me over.

    ¡°Do I really look that bad?¡± I looked at my arms. I didn¡¯t think I looked sickly.

    ¡°Whisper bolted out of here like he was on fire.¡± Gesai gestured at the door. ¡°We thought he might have done something to you.¡±

    ¡°No, he just¡­¡± I looked over at Trent. ¡°I think he¡¯s jealous that he got passed over and I got picked.¡±

    ¡°He got passed over?¡± Oz stood up and looked out the open door. ¡°For what?¡±

    I started to answer, but stopped myself. We hadn¡¯t told anyone that Whisper and Ether were both Godkin of some type. Or a latent Hero. I looked down at my CB, but Ether¡¯s class still read Tank, which meant that she wasn¡¯t Nephilim. That meant that she was probably the child of a God and a Mundane, though both of her parents were supposedly Mundane. That was a problem for another day, and we could discuss that as soon as we got somewhere safe.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know.¡± I nodded at Sydney. ¡°We need to let her go. She didn¡¯t set us up.¡±

    Gesai didn¡¯t look like she wanted to leave my side, but Whisper was the only other one of us who could untie her.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, you really should have her free before she wakes up.¡± I smiled to let her know I¡¯d be okay.

    The green woman started stirring, letting us know to hurry.

    Gesai shifted over to Sydney and began untying her. She finished before the other woman woke all the way up.

    ¡°How¡¯re you feeling?¡± I eyed the woman who looked like she had a bad hangover.

    Sydney¡¯s eyes went wide as she looked at Mive. ¡°What did you do?¡±

    ¡°Fare and the Six made a deal with demons for power to do that to Mive so they could take over the city.¡± I steadied myself as I took as big of a breath as I thought I could without making myself sick. ¡°As you just saw, we were able to communicate a little with Mive and he asked us to take him with us to protect him from¡­¡± I looked at Gesai. ¡°I need to talk to Whisper.¡±

    Both women helped me stand up.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Sydney blinked as she tried to stand and sat back down. ¡°We need to get you out of here before the Six lock down the city even more.¡±

    ¡°The Six won¡¯t be a problem.¡± I patted Gesai on the shoulder. ¡°She made sure of that.¡±

    ¡°You KILLED them!?!¡± Sydney really looked sick now. Or maybe it was because she was naturally green.

    ¡°The demon killed the person that was in the body and was wearing it like a living costume.¡± I shook my head. ¡°If anything Gesai honored them by stopping the people who were marring their good names.¡± They had made deals with literal demons to overthrow a God, so I wasn¡¯t sure how good they had been to start with, but still.

    ¡°We need to get out of here. I¡¯m sure we have half the city looking for us as soon as what we did becomes common knowledge.¡± As if on cue my CB started buzzing. I looked down and saw that it was ArchBishop Mavery.

    ¡°Great¡­¡± I looked at the two women in front of me. ¡°I¡¯ve got to take this.¡± I nodded at Sydney, ¡°Could you help her out?¡±

    I winced as they helped the weakened woman out of the RV. The notification had ended, which meant that I was going to have to call him back. Gesai walked back into the RV and locked the door.

    ¡°Tres or Mavery?¡± She walked over to the driver''s seat and pulled up the call list.

    ¡°Mavery.¡± I moved to the passenger¡¯s seat and put my hand on hers. ¡°Thanks for coming back.¡±

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 6

    The ArchBishop was furious.

    ¡°WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!¡± The balding gray-haired green man was wearing his white robe with gold trim. He was the highest authority for the All-Temple in the Cathedral Ward and the first person to learn that I was a Godling.

    Gesai didn¡¯t even flinch. ¡°They were possessed by a demon.¡±

    ¡°DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW BAD THIS IS?¡± Mavery slammed his fist into his desk. ¡°THE GOD¡¯S HELD A QUORUM! THEY¡¯RE SENDING KLIX AND HARROR!¡±

    I swallowed. ¡°At least it¡¯s not Slece?¡± Of all the Gods in the Ward, she was the most violent. Actually of all the Gods in the world, she was in the top ten of having the most Desolations under her belt. When a God was killed, it was like detonating a bomb big enough that it would wipe out the entire city. If that God was in charge of a city, then all the Dungeons in the city would collapse into one. It was very destructive, but considering that you got half of the experience that a God had accumulated, it was also an easy way to get stronger.

    The look on Mavery¡¯s face told me that my comment was not appreciated.

    ¡°There was a coup. The Six deposed Mive and contained him. They kidnapped my class and were going to possess them. This was the only way to ensure that Mive didn¡¯t come to any harm.¡± Gesai gestured behind her where both Mive and Trent were lying unconscious. ¡°Was I supposed to just leave them to the mercy of the demons and those who supported them?¡±

    ¡°You may have just killed everyone!¡± Mavery¡¯s voice had calmed a little. His eyes were riveted on Trent. ¡°Has there been any change?¡±

    ¡°I talked to Mive.¡± I gestured at the unconscious God, ¡°Not only did he ask us to take him away from there, but he ordered us to execute the traitors.¡± I shook my head. ¡°I know that there is no way to verify it for the people, but¡­¡±

    ¡°The Heirs have already taken over and put bounties out for all of you! If the Authority finds you, then they will use lethal force!¡± Mavery let out a ragged breath. ¡°I¡¯ve talked with Tres, If you can get to Cere, then he will redirect Klix there.¡±

    ¡°Is Klix an ally?¡± I looked over at Gesai. After my interaction with Tres, Arlo, and now Mive, I wasn¡¯t nearly as apprehensive about meeting some of the other Gods. Mavery had fed me a story about how the city Gods would kill off Godlings to remove future competition, but I¡¯d helped and been helped by all the Gods I¡¯d run across so far.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    ¡°She¡¯s¡­¡± Mavery closed his eyes. ¡°Not aggressive right now, but I do NOT want you or that Hunter girl around her!¡± He opened his eyes and glared at my companion. ¡°Gesai! Do not let them anywhere near her!¡±

    ¡°What do you want us to do?¡± I motioned at the two unconscious passengers behind me. Three, if you counted Astrid, even though I couldn''t see her. ¡°Split our teams and send someone to Cere, provided we can even get out of the city? Who goes? You don¡¯t want me or Rix to go and you want Gesai to stay here as well to watch us, so we¡¯re going to send who? Whisper with just the two of them?¡± I motioned at the unconscious passengers.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get smart with me¡­¡± Mavery let the threat remain unspoken.

    I spread my hands. ¡°Just trying to figure out what you want.¡±

    ¡°I want you to quit causing problems everywhere you go! This was supposed to be a simple PR mission to calm the Nobles! Now you have them beseeching their Gods to intervene! Why can¡¯t you just be simple?¡± Mavery rubbed his temples.

    ¡°If we sneak Mive and Trent to Cere, then we have a problem of Klix being in Cere and Harror being here. Which would mean no safe place for him.¡± Gesai motioned at me. ¡°So the smart play would be for me to sneak Atlas, and Rix out of the city and go to Cere, while Whisper stays here and waits for the Goddesses to revive Mive and Trent.¡±

    ¡°And Ether!¡±

    Mavery rolled his eyes at me. ¡°We¡¯re not risking¡­¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s Gibboram.¡± I cut off his rant. ¡°So she¡¯s going.¡±

    Mavery looked at Gesai, ¡°Did you know about this?¡±

    ¡°No sir, or I would have included her.¡± Gesai gave me a quizzical look.

    ¡°Are there any other Godkin on your team?¡± Mavery seemed irritated to learn that we had another potential weapon.

    ¡°No sir. I¡¯m sure.¡± I could see the next question on his lips, so I headed it off. ¡°The way that the demons were possessing people was by pulling the target into the Bequeathal Chamber, then using the seal to enter their body since Mundane and those without a Godkin Mantle remain unconscious when inside a Bequeathal Chamber. My entire team was dragged inside, so I am quite sure that no one else is Godkin.¡±

    ¡°Interesting¡­¡± Mavery was having an idea that I knew I was going to regret later. ¡°Fine, you four get out of the city¡­¡±

    ¡°Whisper will only behave if Rix is here and Gesai is wanted for the murder of the Six.¡± I pointed out the flaw in his plan. ¡°So we either have to take everyone or Rix will have to stay behind.¡±

    ¡°Thanks a lot¡­¡± Mavery threw up his hands. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll see if we can bring in another operative before the Goddesses get there.¡± He reached forward. ¡°Don¡¯t get into trouble before I contact you again.¡±

    The communication ended leaving just the two of us alone in the RV.

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 7

    My stomach wasn¡¯t feeling as bad.

    Gesai got up and headed towards the door, but I slid out of the passenger seat and grabbed her hand. She froze and I could feel her pulse quicken. With her Power level, she wouldn¡¯t have even had to try to resist me but I pulled her close. I wrapped my arms around her belly and rested my chin on her shoulder, so that I could whisper in her ear from behind her.

    ¡°Thanks for sitting through that with me.¡± I pulled her tighter in a hug. Her hands lightly touched mine, then pulled away. She¡¯d become obsessed with proving that she needed to belong and push us a little too hard and Fray had gotten caught up in the panic and ended up hurt. As a punishment, she was forbidden from initiating anything romantic with me. The loophole that Trent seemed to be okay with, was that I could initiate, provided it was minor reassurances. Right now felt like one of those times when she needed to be reminded that I did value her.

    I took her hands in mine and pulled them back into the hug and just stood there in the middle of the RV like that for a few minutes. I let go of her hands and touched her chin, guiding it, so that I could give her a quick kiss. I squeezed her one more time, then let her go. I knew she wanted more, but it already felt a little creepy with both Trent and Mive on the floor and I knew I was pulling her over a line with what I was doing with her.

    ¡°You should probably put them both in the bunks.¡± I nodded at the unconscious men. ¡°They''ll probably be more comfortable.¡±

    Gesai picked up Mive and carried him over to the bunks. She had none of the reverence that Sydney had displayed, but still used a lot of gentleness.

    ¡°Atlas..?¡± Her voice trailed off as she stared at Mive. ¡°Is everything going to be okay?¡±If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    I smiled as best as I could. ¡°I guess what Mavery didn¡¯t know was that Trent already agreed to meet with Klix and bring me along.¡± I shrugged, ¡°So us meeting her in Cere wouldn¡¯t be an abnormal thing.¡±

    ¡°Trent said Klix wanted to meet with him, but that was all that was said.¡± Gesai picked up her mentor. She had been a part of the last class he graduated. Teaching hadn¡¯t been her profession of choice, but I felt like she was doing a pretty good job. Especially since she¡¯d been present in the dungeon with us more than Trent. The older teacher always had one of his eye drones watching us, but that was a lot different from being there to give us real time feedback. I knew that Trent wanted us to be able to think on our feet and survive with what we had available so we were prepared for a worst case scenario. I just felt like it would be nice if he was there sometimes.

    ¡°That was basically what he told me too.¡± I looked at the communicator and thought about calling Tres. The God was a former party member of Trent¡¯s and his brother in law, so I felt pretty safe checking in and seeing if he had any advice, but I felt like I needed to check in with the people who were physically present was a little more important.

    Gesai put Trent in an empty bunk. ¡°He feels almost¡­¡± She shuddered. ¡°Dead.¡±

    I thought about defying him and using my magic to hijack myself into his mind. But if Trent couldn¡¯t find a way out, then I would definitely be stuck. Which would defeat the purpose.

    ¡°Maybe¡­¡±

    Banging on the door interrupted my thought.

    ¡°We¡¯ve got a problem out here!¡± Whisper¡¯s voice on the other side of the door sounded urgent, almost rushed.

    I unlocked the door, which swung open as soon as I did.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I watched him as he knelt under the drivers console and began rooting around.

    Whisper pulled out something that was about the size of a deck of cards. ¡°They¡¯re tracking us.¡± He held the item out for me to see as he crushed it in his hand. ¡°With this.¡±

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 8

    We had been found.

    ¡°How close are they?¡± I looked out the door to the RV as Gesai ran outside.

    ¡°Rix saw some Bounty Hunters coming straight for the warehouse. They stopped a few blocks away, but they were setting up scrying equipment to look through the warehouse¡¯s defenses.¡± Whisper shook his head. ¡°This is too many people to move quietly.¡±

    ¡°Are you offering to fight them?¡± I was trying to think of my options.

    The blonde man shook his head. ¡°No, even if I can go out there and restrain them all, that won¡¯t stop whoever they might have alerted.¡±

    ¡°You think they called for backup?¡±

    Whisper looked insulted. ¡°We¡¯re lucky that there aren¡¯t any Tier Six Adventurers in town or we¡¯d have a really big problem. But yes, sharing the reward for bringing me in is better than not getting one at all. Even if they have been greenlit to use lethal force, the two things that can remove a PK tag are the Gods and an ArchBishop or higher. You have people like Trent that can hide them, but those will show up again as soon as they get another PK, which can make life a little more difficult if they have to justify an old kill over and over.¡± He nodded towards the west. ¡°Even if the new Six greenlit lethal force, they don¡¯t have the power to actually expunge it, just to keep the current Authority from going after them. Without Mive to back it up, I doubt any will actually try to go through with it.¡±

    ¡°So we just break through and¡­¡±

    ¡°That was just the Bounty Hunters. The Authority would get expunged by Slece, so they¡¯ll definitely be out to kill.¡± The bandit cut me off.

    ¡°Which means we need to get out of¡­¡±

    Ether, Fray, Oz, and Ren climbed into the RV with Gesai. The other teacher nodded at the Blonde man. ¡°Go, I¡¯ve got these.¡±

    ¡°Wait!¡± I watched Whisper leave as Gesai got behind the wheel. ¡°We¡¯re splitting up?¡±

    ¡°Rix had to stay with Whisper and we have to get you out of the city.¡± Gesai pulled up a map. ¡°Sydney has marked one of the sewers that we can get through, but we have to travel with as few people as possible.¡± She nodded at the women. ¡°They can carry our patients and Ren will speed them up.¡±This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    ¡°But what about..?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but notice that she had selected all of the women that were part of my harem. Though to be fair, by her logic they were the best four to bring, even if I could carry one of the unconscious passengers.

    ¡°They¡¯ll be fine.¡± Gesai floored it and the RV shot out of the warehouse. ¡°We¡¯re the bait, which gives them time to hide.¡±

    ¡°Wait, we have the people they want and we¡¯re the bait?¡± I grabbed onto the back of the passenger seat and slid into it.

    ¡°There wasn¡¯t enough time to switch vehicles.¡± Sirens began blaring in the distance as if to accentuate Gesai¡¯s point.

    ¡°Should I get on the turret?¡± Oz pointed her thumb at the ceiling.

    ¡°Too many civilians!¡± Gesai took a wide turn and entered traffic.

    ¡°Is this smart?¡± I looked at the console to see the vehicles chasing us. There were only two at the moment, but that number was only going to get larger.

    ¡°We might be fair game, but they won¡¯t risk hitting a civilian!¡± The redhead gritted her teeth as she swerved around vehicles. She nodded at the crystal in between us. ¡°How many crystals do we have?¡±

    I checked the readout. The vehicle ran off of crystals, which usually required crystals of equivalent power to the Tier of components to run. Too high of a crystal would overload the magical and the electrical components while too low of a crystal wouldn¡¯t give it enough power. Since Trent had been able to collect Tier Six crystals, he¡¯d attached a converter to this specific RV that would break down the energy within the crystals and release it as the Tier Four RV needed it. It was an expensive piece of technology that wouldn¡¯t make sense for almost anyone else to have because few would be able to use it.

    ¡°We¡¯ve got enough in here to fill it up at least three times.¡± Granted, we had a much larger reserve than any other Tier Four RV. There were a lot of modifications that took more power than normal.

    ¡°Good.¡± Gesai looked around as she timed her next turn so she could cut through oncoming traffic. ¡°We¡¯re getting close! Find something to hang on to!¡±

    I looked at the building she was aiming for. ¡°Are you going to ram that?!¡±

    ¡°Fastest way into the sewers.¡±

    ¡°But..!¡±

    ¡°Blueprints say that it¡¯s a Tier Two building that was vacated last month. Renovations are supposed to start next week, which means it should be empty.¡± The redhead gripped the wheel. ¡°We¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    Any other protests I had were cut short as our Tier Four vehicle drove through the side of the building.

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 9

    It was like we¡¯d driven through a paper wall.

    I¡¯d been expecting a larger crash, but at our speed and the Tier difference, that¡¯s almost what it had been like. I looked around at the destruction as Gesai ripped the crystal out of the center console.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I watched her put the handball sized object into her jacket pocket.

    ¡°Do you have any idea how much this is worth?¡± The silver woman patted her pocket. ¡°We might need a bribe.¡±

    Ren was outside already while the other three grabbed someone. Ether grabbed Astrid, Oz had Mive, and Fray was carrying Trent. Gesai locked the door behind us. It wouldn¡¯t keep them out indefinitely, but it would at least make it harder for them to get into.

    The older woman pointed at the door on her right as the sirens got closer. ¡°We¡¯re going down the stairs.¡±

    Once we were in the basement, she lit her hand on fire and melted the door handle and hinges. Again, not going to stop anyone, but would slow down a Tier Two.

    ¡°I found it!¡± Ren looked up from the display on her CB and pointed at a place on the floor.

    Gesai touched her CB and pulled out her sword. She stabbed it into the ground and began cutting a hole six feet wide. When she was almost done, she pulled what looked like a metal rod out of her CB and stabbed it into the disc, then finished cutting. She pulled the concrete disc out of the floor and motioned for us to get inside.

    The smell was strong enough to remind me that it was a good thing I hadn¡¯t eaten yet today.

    ¡°That¡¯s strong enough to wake them.¡± I pulled up the collar of my shirt to cover my nose as I jumped in. I landed knee deep in a soup of things that I didn¡¯t want to think about what the main ingredients were.

    The others jumped in after me, with Ren casting Light before she did.

    The tunnel wasn¡¯t as big as I¡¯d been expecting. I was only about seven feet in diameter with what felt like a flatter bottom, though I wasn¡¯t going to stick my hand in the goo to verify that.

    When Gesai jumped in, she used the metal rod to move the concrete disc back into place, then began to walk around the edge of it, filling in the crack with something.

    The tunnel that we were in went east and west with the sludge flowing to the east, which was the direction of the city wall. I started walking that direction.

    ¡°We¡¯re going this way.¡± Ren pointed upstream as she started following the map on her CB.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t the city wall that way?¡± I pointed in the direction that I had been walking.

    ¡°Almost a straight shot.¡± Gesai motioned for me to follow the rest of them. ¡°Which means that¡¯ll be the route they follow and the exit they cover.¡±

    I hurried after the five of them. After about an hour of hurried walking we made it to a junction where there were two tunnels that merged into ours. Ren pointed at the one on the right. ¡°This way.¡±

    ¡°Should we take a break?¡± I looked at the three who were carrying people.

    ¡°I¡¯m good.¡± Oz shifted to hold Mive better across her shoulders. It was a very undignified way to hold a God, but it was effective for walking fast.

    Fray just shook her head. She had Trent over her right shoulder and of the three of them looked the least tired.

    I looked at Ether. ¡°Want me to take a turn?¡±

    The white-haired woman had Astrid in both arms and was cradling the unconscious woman¡¯s head by her left shoulder. ¡°I got the easiest job.¡± She shook her head, ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    I felt like I wasn¡¯t doing anything. Ether, Fray, and Oz were all carrying someone. Ren was navigating and Gesai was bringing up the rear in case someone decided to check this way. There wasn¡¯t really anything for me to do other than watch everyone else be useful.

    ¡°Less chatter.¡± Gesai put a finger close to her lips. ¡°These tunnels carry sounds.¡±

    Ren resumed our journey and we all followed the blonde woman as she led us through the tunnels. After four more hours of trekking through smells that I doubted I¡¯d ever be able to forget, we finally reached a place where our dark guide pointed at the ceiling. ¡°We¡¯re here.¡±

    We all moved out of the way while Gesai began cutting in the ceiling. As soon as she finished, she caught the concrete disc that fell on top of her, then pushed it back up through the hole and off to the side.

    ¡°Wait here.¡± The older woman jumped up through the hole.

    I started to lean against the side of the tunnel, but as soon as I put my hand on the slimy stone, I instantly decided that would be a bad idea.

    Gesai jumped back into the hole. ¡°We¡¯re good.¡± She pointed up. ¡°Can you jump through?¡±

    ¡°Not while carrying him.¡± Oz patted Mive¡¯s furry leg.

    The others all shook their heads.

    ¡°You go up first.¡± The redhead nodded at me as she took Mive.

    I reached up and grabbed the lip of the hole and pulled as I jumped. I was able to pull myself out of the hole into a crouch.

    It was in an empty building that had a large amount of dust covering the floor. The building itself was smaller than our dorm and had all the windows boarded over. It looked like the front door was also covered with something, though I couldn¡¯t tell for certain. There was a cargo door in the back of the building, at least, I assumed it was the back.

    Gesai landed next to me and dropped into a crouch with her right leg out. She twisted in a partial circle and blew a lot of the dust away from us, but it also threw a lot of it in the air. Oz coughed as she pulled herself out of the hole.

    ¡°Did you have to do that?¡± The brown woman tried to wave the dust away from her face.

    Gesai laid the Kitsune down on the cleaner floor. ¡°I was trying not to lay him in a lot of dust.¡±

    ¡°Well, now he¡¯s breathing it.¡± Oz coughed again.

    I looked around. ¡°Where are we?¡±

    Before she could answer, Ren called up from the tunnel. ¡°Uh, Gesai?! There¡¯s something down here!¡±

    I ran over to the hole just in time to watch Ether get pulled under the sludge.

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 10

    Gesai beat me back into the hole.

    Fray moved towards me as Ren got pulled under and started being dragged the other direction.

    ¡°OZ! HELP FRAY GET TRENT UP THERE!¡± I took off after Ren. As much as I wanted to go after Ether, Gesai had gone that way and she would do a better job of rescuing her than I could.

    I saw Ren¡¯s hand go up above the sludge and grabbed it. The thing that had her was strong and I realized as it started pulling back, stronger than me.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got you!¡± I focused on where the thing should be and held out my left hand. ¡°WAVE!¡±

    I had tried to focus on pushing the water back, so that I could see what we were fighting, but I hadn¡¯t put enough force into it, so all it did was raise the water level a few inches before it flowed down the tunnel and leveled out.

    I tried to think of what other skills I had that I could use.

    ¡°Bind!¡±

    Two vines shot out of the sides of the tunnel and wrapped around her arm just below where I was holding her. Whatever had her was able to move us just a few inches before the vines ran out of slack and provided the extra resistance I needed to win against whatever had her.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got her!¡± Fray appeared by my side and ducked under the vines so that she could grab Ren under her arms and pull her better. ¡°Get that thing off of her!¡±

    As I ducked under the vine, I touched my CB and pulled out my SnakeBlade sword. ¡°What about Ether?!¡± I knelt down trying to feel where the thing had her. As soon as I grabbed the squished tentacle, I had a better idea.

    ¡°PARALYZE!¡±

    I felt a tingle on the end of my fingers as the thing let go of Ren.

    Fray pulled her out of the sludge. ¡°Oz went to help Gesai!¡±If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    I wanted to turn around and look to see if Ether was okay, but I couldn¡¯t take my eyes off the sludge. I dismissed the vine so that Fray could pull Ren even further away from whatever had attacked her.

    I suddenly noticed that the water level was going down. The flow was coming from behind me, which probably meant that Gesai had done something to block it off. But that also meant that I could see what had attacked Ren. And it was something I''d seen before, but hadn''t thought that I''d see for a while.

    The tentacle was called a River Arm. When we¡¯d been kidnapped, one had wrapped around one of the other Nobles with us and since we were all chained together, it had almost pulled us all into the water.

    Ren recognized it too and clawed her way up Fray to try to get away from it as the tentacle began to move.

    I pointed at it.

    ¡°PARALYZE!¡±

    The River Arm had a huge mouth at the end of the stump. I really did not want to let this thing take a bite out of me, but it looked like Paralyze barely had any effect at all.

    ¡°Get Ren out of here!¡± I started to back up. Bind wouldn''t work, that thing was too slimy. But I had another trick I hadn''t tried thanks to our dungeon runs getting nixed. I threw out my left hand towards the monster.

    ¡°WAVE!¡±

    I waited for the wall of water to crash over the tentacle. As it did, I threw out my other hand and cast a second spell.

    ¡°FREEZE!¡±

    The water froze solid around the monster, stopping its attack. I didn''t know how long that would hold it, but it was handled for now. I turned around and saw Oz lifting Astrid up to Fray, who was topside. Gesai had Ether under her left arm, while her right was beating the monsters back. The ivory woman was coughing and covered in way too much nasty stuff, but she was alive.

    I pointed at the wall of sewage that Gesai was holding back.

    ¡°FREEZE!¡±

    The wall froze a few feet deep.

    ¡°That won''t hold for long!¡± The one I''d froze already had cracks in it and there was more than one the other direction. ¡°Lets GO!¡±

    Gesai jumped through the hole and by the time I jumped up there, both Oz and Fray each grabbed one of my arms and hauled me into the building. The River Arm I''d frozen first tried to grab at anyone through the hole, but Gesai slammed the concrete disc on it, then slid it in the hole.

    Ether kept coughing as she crawled across the dirty floor, her clothes getting stained with mud as the dust mixed with the sludge on her. She collapsed against my side as she laid her head in my lap.

    We were safe. For now at least.

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 11

    We all just stared at each other for a moment.

    I pointed at Astrid. ¡°Is she breathing?¡±

    Gesai scooted over and blue light covered the unconscious woman. ¡°I tried healing her before I gave her to Oz.¡± She nodded. ¡°She¡¯s breathing.¡±

    ¡°What¡­¡± *Cough.* ¡°Were¡­¡± *Cough.* ¡°Those things?¡± Ether pulled her legs up into her chest as she clung to me.

    ¡°River Arms.¡± I beat Gesai to the explanation.

    The silver woman¡¯s face beamed. ¡°You¡¯ve been reading ahead.¡±

    ¡°No¡­¡± I nodded at Oz. ¡°We almost got eaten by one when Sipher took us.¡± I almost asked why she hadn¡¯t remembered that, but she¡¯d been unconscious at the time.

    ¡°Oh.¡± Gesai shook her head. ¡°Yeah. I knew the city had some down here to eat the bigger things, but I didn¡¯t think we¡¯d run into them this side of the reservoir.¡±

    ¡°You KNEW those things were down here?¡± Fray¡¯s outrage overpowered her shyness.

    ¡°They should have been the direction that the Authority would have gone.¡± The older woman snapped her fingers. ¡°Unless they fled this way and thought they¡¯d found an easy meal.¡±

    Ether shuddered as she turned away from me and spit. ¡°I¡¯m going to be smelling and tasting that for a month.¡±

    Gesai moved over to her and ran her hand up the ivory woman¡¯s back. ¡°I can Purify most of the toxins and impurities in everyone, but I can¡¯t do much about your clothes, skin, or¡­¡± She winced. ¡°Hair.¡± The older woman touched her CB and took out a few bars of soap. ¡°But these might help.¡±

    Ether grabbed one of the bars and pulled it under her nose. ¡°You just keep stuff like this in your CB?¡±The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    Gesai turned so that she could show the other woman what all she had in her CB. ¡°Once you hit level ten and get a new CB, your spacial limitations will be relaxed a bit and you¡¯ll be able to carry around more things in case of emergencies.¡± She bit her lip as she looked at her mentor. ¡°You might want to think about that.¡±

    ¡°He strands us in the Dungeon again doesn¡¯t he?¡± Ether tried to breath the smell of the soap in as the other three women hurried over to grab one themselves.

    Gesai bit her lip. ¡°Expect everything to be an uphill struggle.¡± She spread her arms as she shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t think I can tell you anything else.¡±

    ¡°Can you tell us how we¡¯re supposed to use this?¡± Oz waved the bar of soap she¡¯d picked up. ¡°Or is it just to smell?¡±

    Gesai got up and started using her earth skill to build a large tub around us. One almost the size of the one that had been in the luxury house.

    Oz stood up. ¡°That¡¯s great, but how are we going to..?¡±

    ¡°I can fill it.¡± I could already feel myself running low on mana, but I had a feeling Gesai had a mana potion on her.

    The brown woman¡¯s green eyes lit up and she began shedding her clothes.

    ¡°OZ!¡± Fray looked over at me. ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°Getting out of these nasty clothes.¡± Oz looked at Fray, then over at me. ¡°What? Nothing he hasn¡¯t already seen.¡±

    Fray pointed at where Mive and Trent were lying unconscious on the floor.

    Oz paused, then shrugged and continued. ¡°If one of them wakes up, then we¡¯re out of this predicament.¡± She began picking up her dirty clothes and touching them to her CB to store them.

    Ether pushed herself up. ¡°How safe are we here?¡±

    Gesai looked over at the other women. ¡°Tres had Mavery send a group of Enforcers for Cere and we made a break for the closest tunnel out of the city in that direction. With the route we took to get here. I doubt anyone will be looking in this area for a while.¡± She went back to her task. ¡°I doubt anyone even thinks of looking here for a few days. By then we¡¯ll have handed them off to the Goddesses.¡± She tapped her fingers by her left eye. ¡°And I sent two of those drones outside, so I¡¯ll know if someone gets close.¡±

    The ivory woman began pulling the tent out of her CB. ¡°Atlas, help me set this up.¡±

    Ren and Oz came over to help as well, while Fray moved Mive and Trent over to the back corner where we were setting up the tent. Once we had it up, the men were moved inside.

    ¡°You can start filling it.¡± Gesai lit her fist on fire. ¡°I can warm it with this.¡±

    I went over and started filling up the tub. Despite everything that we¡¯d just gone through, at least we¡¯d be clean.

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 12

    I was on the roof.

    Fray was the only one who felt uncomfortable with me being able to see them bathe. And that seemed to make her feel even more embarrassed to the point that she¡¯d asserted that she wouldn¡¯t bathe. Since that wasn¡¯t a good option, I¡¯d excused myself to the roof in the name of keeping an extra watch over everything.

    It was dark outside and it was so strange to think that it¡¯d barely been over a day since we¡¯d entered the city. In that time, we¡¯d fought demons, rescued a captured God and fled from people who¡¯d been told that we were the villains. I wondered how the others were doing, but I wasn¡¯t sure how the messaging system in the CBs worked. Which reminded me. The bounty hunters had gotten our vehicles tracking identification, which made me wonder if our CBs might have the same tracking capabilities. I¡¯d have to ask Gesai once they finished bathing.

    It didn¡¯t seem like I had to wait long before the silver woman climbed up the ladder to the roof.

    ¡°Already finished?¡± I eyed her dry red hair. ¡°How¡¯d you do that?¡±

    ¡°The girls are still getting cleaned up.¡± Her right fist caught on fire and a gentle breeze swirled around her. ¡°Just like with filling a tub, you¡¯ll learn that there are a lot of practical uses for your skills outside of just combat.¡± The warm breeze swirled over to me before it faded away.

    ¡°That¡¯s pretty neat.¡± I started thinking. ¡°I¡¯ll have to experiment sometime.¡±

    ¡°It gets easier to play around with combinations once you hit Tier One.¡± Gesai leaned on the solid railing next to me.

    ¡°Is that when you start really being able to mix skills?¡±

    She shook her head. ¡°No, it¡¯s when it¡¯s easier to buy Tier Zero skills to experiment with. Also, you¡¯ll have more mana to spend on the lower Tier skills.¡±

    That made sense. ¡°Hey.¡± I tapped my CB. ¡°Can these be tracked like our RV was?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Gesai hung her head. ¡°If we¡¯d taken Trent¡¯s RV, then that wouldn¡¯t have happened, but because the one they gave me was an extra one from the fleet¡­¡± She let me fill in the rest. ¡°It was on our list of things to do, but I planned on fixing that once we got to Klix and we had a little downtime while you and Trent had your secret meeting with the Goddess.¡± This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    ¡°How much do you know about that?¡± I motioned below us. ¡°About this?¡±

    ¡°You mean about Trent looking into Mive¡¯s disappearance?¡± Gesai shook her head. ¡°Not much. I knew there was something he wanted to look into, but with that old man, he¡¯s always looking into something. And the more you ask, the more likely it is that you¡¯ll have to run errands that will confuse you more.¡± She looked over at me. ¡°I learned a long time ago that most of the time, asking him about it is rarely a good idea.¡±

    We stood there in silence and listened to the sounds of the city. I wasn¡¯t sure where exactly we were, but it seemed like we were a lot closer to the commercial section than the industrial, or residential areas.

    ¡°What¡¯s the plan then?¡± It seemed like this area had at least closed down for the night.

    ¡°Klix will be here tomorrow and Whisper is going to bring her here.¡± I could tell there was something weighing on her. ¡°They should have at least two personal guards with each of them, which means Tier Five minimum.¡± Gesai shook her head. ¡°I¡¯d feel a lot better if it was Tres.¡±

    ¡°Did you know about Tres and Trent being so close?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± The silver woman shook her head. ¡°Honestly, Trent was just a reclusive old man to me. I¡¯ve learned more about his personal life in the last two weeks than I learned in the last seven years.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± I wasn¡¯t sure how that made me feel. Once the Goddesses got here tomorrow, we were going to be completely at their mercy. I just hoped that my seal held. ¡°Do you think I should be somewhere else?¡±

    ¡°Honestly, if they¡¯re going to take out you, then I don¡¯t see why they wouldn¡¯t want to take out Trent or Mive, given their condition.¡± Gesai nodded at the city. ¡°I¡¯m sure there have been a few people who fled once the new Six came out that Trent had taken Mive, but for the most part it looks like business as usual out there.¡± She shook her head. ¡°Plus they wouldn¡¯t desolate Mive without ordering a city evacuation first, so we¡¯re at least safe for a little while.¡±

    ¡°Right¡­¡± I looked out at the city. ¡°So now we just wait until the Goddesses show up and rescue us.¡± A thought occurred to me. ¡°Gesai. Can you access my skill points and spend them for me?¡±

    Gesai opened the menu on her CB and cycled through to the party menu, then shook her head. ¡°According to mine, you don¡¯t have any skill points to spend.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Well, that meant that Trent was the only one who would be able to spend my skill points. I had nine I could use, which would have been able to bring my Magic up to twenty, so I would have at least been able to cast spells like I was Tier One. I knew it wouldn¡¯t really make much of a difference against a TIer Five, but it would at least make me feel like I was a little stronger. ¡°Then I guess we wait.¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Gesai pointed to the ladder where Fray had just appeared. ¡°You¡¯re going to get cleaned up.¡±

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 13

    I realized something about the tub.

    It was how Gesai had known exactly where to cut to get us out of the sewer. There was a drain in the middle of the tub that she had plugged. The circle that she¡¯d cut had been with the drain exactly in the center.

    We¡¯d drained it after the others had finished, then filled it back up and Gesai had warmed it. By the time I¡¯d finished getting cleaned up, the others had eaten and were laying down cots near the tent.

    The warm air trick that Gesai used to dry me off was pretty neat, though I was a little disappointed that despite all of the other items she seemed to have packed, the only thing she had to eat were ration bars.

    The dry, bland bars were full of nutrition, but traded that for a complete lack of flavor. They were very cheap though and the thing I¡¯d eaten almost exclusively before I came to the Cathedral. So the flavor wasn¡¯t something I wasn¡¯t used to, it was just a reminder of all the food that I¡¯d experienced since I arrived.

    Ren and Oz fell asleep pretty fast, curled up together on the same cot. The pair had said they¡¯d been best friends almost from birth and Ren had constantly been around Oz and her cousin Justia, who had been named as my High Priestess. I shook my head as I watched them sleep. There had to be a very high level of trust that they had in myself or Gesai that they were going to be safe in order to fall asleep like that.

    Fray on the other hand, was jumping every time the building creaked. I noticed that she was holding the white Katana that we¡¯d ordered the night before. Sydney must have finished it and brought it along to give to us. She had her knees up against her chest and was hugging the sword between them.

    Ether walked over to me and sat down on the floor with her back against the tub. The water had already drained out and the tub was starting to deteriorate. Gesai hadn¡¯t put much mana into making it permanent, which meant that the magically created stone was breaking down into magic. In a few hours, there¡¯d be nothing but magic residue left. The seal that she¡¯d used to fix the disc that she¡¯d cut out had mixed the two sides of the cut together. There¡¯d be a slight dip in the floor later, but it¡¯d be fairly stable.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    ¡°How¡¯re you feeling?¡± I ran my hand through her white hair as she laid her head on my right shoulder.

    ¡°Like I was dunked in a used toilet.¡± The ivory woman shuddered, ¡°But not nearly as dirty.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± I smelled her hair. ¡°You smell better now too.¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡± She playfully pushed on my chest, then squeezed tight against me when she realized that she¡¯d been loud and other people were trying to sleep.

    ¡°Are you ready for tomorrow?¡± I was kind of hoping that she would have a much more positive thought about it than I did. Something about it wasn¡¯t sitting right with me. Like there was something that I was missing.

    ¡°Gesai said she was going to spend the night on the roof.¡± Ether had closed her eyes. ¡°We cleaned up Astrid and Gesai used a lot of healing magic on her, so she should be okay. Trent and Mive don¡¯t seem to have gotten much on them, so we just wiped them down a little with a rag.¡±

    I nodded. That was good. ¡°You think you¡¯re going to be able to sleep tonight?¡±

    ¡°Probably.¡± She yawned as her voice drifted off. ¡°I think Gesai will know if they find us. Not much we can do anyway.¡±

    She had a point. As a Tier Zero, we might be able to double team a Tier One, but after that, it¡¯d be like a five-year-old trying to fight an adult. We wouldn¡¯t have a chance.

    I wanted to say something to Fray to try to calm the green woman¡¯s nerves, but I couldn¡¯t think of anything that was working on mine. My only comfort at the moment was the woman curled up on my side, but I knew that offer would probably only stress her out more.

    ¡°Fray.¡± I gave her my best smile. ¡°You did great helping out today. Thanks.¡±

    The compliment seemed to help a little and it wasn¡¯t like it was an empty one. I had been losing my fight against the River Arm until she got there.

    I closed my eyes. I wanted to at least offer to take a turn at watch, but that would mean going back up on the roof and it seemed like Ether had just fallen asleep. I knew Gesai was trying to take her responsibility over us seriously, but she was only seven years older than us. I¡¯d try to remember to talk with her about that in the morning.

    My mind started to wander and I realized that despite only feeling tired, I suddenly felt very sleepy. I tried to force my eyes open, but my eyelids felt so heavy all of the sudden. I blinked and looked over at Fray, who was soundly asleep and realized what was going on.

    I stopped trying to fight it. I wouldn¡¯t win and the faster I relented the more sleep I would get. It was just something else that I¡¯d have to talk with Gesai about in the morning.

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 14

    Gesai had cast Sleep on us.

    It was probably the only way that Fray or myself would have gotten any sleep last night, but it still felt dirty. Though I didn¡¯t want to out her in front of everyone, because I had a feeling that Fray would feel even more violated if I did.

    Ether had woken up before, which I couldn¡¯t remember ever happening before. There wasn¡¯t much to do in the way of preparing breakfast. It was ration bars again. At some point I wanted to try my hand at cooking. Aelin had worked at a diner in Zeb, so the blonde was by far the best cook out of all of us. Between her, the Cafe at the Cathedral, and our hosts there wasn¡¯t a lot of room for someone else to try it out. But in situations like right now, I wasn¡¯t sure which one of us would have been the best option to prepare food, if we had ingredients.

    Gesai was still on the roof, it seemed because I didn¡¯t see her inside the building. Fray was still asleep, while it looked like Ren was checking on our three guests in the tent.

    Oz was just outside the tent and talking with Ether in hushed tones that I couldn¡¯t hear.

    ¡°Everything okay?¡± I slowly stood up and stretched.

    ¡°Trent looks like he¡¯s doing a little better. No change in Mive or Astrid though.¡± Ether walked over to me. ¡°How¡¯d you sleep?¡±

    ¡°Too good.¡± I nodded at the ladder. ¡°Gesai on the roof?¡±

    Ether looked at the ladder, then back at me. ¡°Don¡¯t be too hard on her. She was just worried about you.¡±

    ¡°She could have offered or told me¡­¡±

    ¡°And you would have refused and stayed up all night doing nothing but worrying.¡± Ether interrupted me. ¡°So go easy on her. She¡¯s worried about you.¡± The ivory woman grabbed my shoulder. ¡°We¡¯re worried about what¡¯s about to happen.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. They¡¯re here to help.¡± I didn¡¯t really believe that, but I was going to keep saying it and hope that helped it be true. I kissed her on the forehead. ¡°I¡¯m going to go talk to Gesai and see if there is a timetable.¡±Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    I earned a glare from Ether, but she didn¡¯t say anything as I headed for the ladder.

    Gesai was leaning on the parapet and didn¡¯t bother looking my way. ¡°You¡¯re upset.¡±

    I walked over and leaned on the concrete ledge next to her. ¡°You didn¡¯t ask me if I was okay with that.¡± I reached over to touch her arm, and felt her long gloves. It reminded me of what she¡¯d done to protect my secret when Trent had been bound not to do anything. It was hard to actually be angry with her when I knew how much she¡¯d gone through for me.

    ¡°And I¡¯m not angry.¡± I slid my hand down her arm, until I was covering her hand. ¡°Frustrated, yes. A little upset, also yes. But not angry.¡± I looked into her green eyes. ¡°I wish you had let me have a say in whether or not I got to help you on watch last night. I don¡¯t think you would have shouldered that all by yourself.¡± I squeezed her hand. ¡°But that was the longest I¡¯d slept all at once in a long time, so you did accomplish that.¡±

    ¡°Sorry.¡± Gesai looked away towards the rising sun. ¡°I can stay up for a few days without sleep. It¡¯ll start wearing me down, but I can manage.¡±

    ¡°But what if we need you to fight?¡±

    There was a pause, but when she finally turned to me I could see the answer on face before she said it.

    ¡°Then it won¡¯t matter.¡± She shook her head. ¡°Trent was supposed to take me to the dungeon once we got back to the Cathedral and power level me while the twelve of you were having your evening breaks.¡± She shrugged. ¡°Just one of the personal guards would be enough to take us all down. Whisper might be able to hold out against one of the weaker ones, but honestly, we¡¯re about to be at their mercy.¡± She smiled and bumped her shoulder into mine. ¡°I wanted to give you at least one good night¡¯s sleep in case that happened.¡±

    I wanted to argue with her, but all the bluster I¡¯d felt when I¡¯d headed up the ladder was gone. ¡°If you¡¯d have given me that speech last night, then I would have been okay with what you did.¡± I sighed, ¡°So I guess what I¡¯m saying is, next time give me the speech before?¡±

    She nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll try to remember that.¡±

    Her CB buzzed and she tapped on the display. ¡°They¡¯re almost here.¡± She slowly pulled away as she headed towards the stairs.

    I wrapped her in a hug from behind and squeezed her tight. She let herself lean into me as I put my chin on her shoulder. ¡°We¡¯ve got this.¡±

    We stayed like that for too long because the moving van along with a really long vehicle flanked by two smaller vehicles pulled up outside. The block looked like it was normally pretty empty, but there were still enough people around to come out and gawk at the spectacle. At least there were no Authority vehicles present at the moment. I felt my ears pop as the middle door to the back vehicle opened. A casually dressed white-haired woman stepped out and her piercing red eyes locked on to me. I didn¡¯t need an introduction to know who this was.

    Klix had arrived.

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 15

    The front door was gone.

    Two people covered in red armor with white visors were standing on either side of it as I slid down the ladder to the ground floor.

    Fray was awake and had her katana out, but at least she hadn¡¯t attacked anyone yet. Oz and Ren were on either side of the tent door and I didn¡¯t see Ether.

    I was able to take two steps before I was frozen in place like else. I could tell that it had worked on Gesai as well, because I could see her out of the corner of my eye struggling to move.

    ¡°Don¡¯t wear yourselves out!¡± The ivory Goddess walked in. She certainly wasn¡¯t dressed like a Goddess though. Her jeans had holes in them, she was wearing heavy black boots and she had on a pink t-shirt with a rainbow on it. I had a feeling there was a hidden meaning to it, but I had no clue what it was. ¡°You¡¯ll be able to move again as soon as I¡¯ve verified your story.¡± There was a glint in her eyes as her smile revealed very sharp teeth.

    ¡°I already talked to Whisper and the Priestess¡­¡± Her eyes lazed about the room. My face must have been able to move, because she zeroed in on me. ¡°Oh yes. She couldn¡¯t reveal any details, nasty little spell there. Nothing I couldn¡¯t break, but it reeked of Tres even if he didn¡¯t do it¡­¡±

    My heart sank. She knew exactly what I was.

    ¡°How do you..?¡± I hadn¡¯t expected my voice to work. ¡°How do you know that?¡±

    ¡°Easy¡­¡± She looked around the room. ¡°Nod if you were one of the ones who the Six knocked unconscious.¡±

    I could see all four of the women nod.

    ¡°Annnd, all of you are just normal Adventurers.¡± She snapped her fingers and they went limp.

    ¡°What did you do to them?!¡± I struggled to make my body do something other than speak.

    ¡°They¡¯re just asleep, don¡¯t start panicking on me¡­¡± The Goddess strutted over to me and began to trace on my cheek with the nail of her pointer finger, but it could have been called a claw for how thick and sharp it was.

    I felt her draw blood and she licked the black liquid off of her finger. Her eyes lit up.

    ¡°A full fledged God-in-the-Making!¡± She clapped her hands and leaned in close and smelled me. ¡°You even smell a little like him¡­¡± Her voice trailed off, then her nose wrinkled. ¡°And HER. Oh Harror is going to hate this.¡± She clapped her hands as she giggled.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t!¡± I swallowed. ¡°I don¡¯t want¡­¡± I processed what she¡¯d said. ¡°You know who my mother is.¡±

    There was a little bit of surprise on her face. ¡°And you don¡¯t..?¡± She shook her head. ¡°Trent is more devious than I gave him credit.¡± She stepped back towards me and wrapped her hands around my throat. ¡°It would be justice to snuff you out after he turned me down, then went off with HER.¡± She let go of my throat. ¡°BUT! I need him, so¡­¡± She looked me over. ¡°You get to live.¡±

    I let out a sigh of relief. She was crazy and it terrified me. But it seemed like for now, she was on our side.

    ¡°Here¡¯s what I¡¯ve been able to gather, little Godling. Fare was able to channel enough magic to open the Fox''s Bequeathal Chamber and somehow the Six were able to drag everyone in the room inside. The Six then tried to harm you, but you, the rebel, and the priestess were able to beat them back, then once your priestess closed the Chamber, this one¡­¡± Klix reached over and touched Gesai¡¯s sleeping face. ¡°Finished off the Six.¡± She moved back in front of me. ¡°Any details you can add?¡±

    She didn¡¯t know that Ether or Rix had been in there, which meant that Rix was staying far away from her. I was actually a little surprised by that. Usually Rix had a lot more bloodlust when she first met someone. Especially someone this powerful. But that meant that I wasn¡¯t going to sell either of them out. With any luck, she¡¯d skip interrogating Ether, who was still in the tent.

    ¡°They called themselves demons.¡± I swallowed. ¡°And they were possessing the Six and Fare. As well as two others.¡± I tried to point at the tent, but my body still wasn¡¯t working. ¡°Mive told Justia how to close the Chamber and asked me to get his body out of there. There is some sort of seal on him that¡¯s keeping him unconscious.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d like to believe you, I really would, but¡­¡± She traced her finger over my temple and I got a splitting headache. ¡°All of you are sealed against intrusion. And I doubt Trent would be happy if I fried any of you just to take a peek.¡±

    My mind instantly went to Ether and my heart started racing. I was terrified that she would consider Ether an acceptable loss, just to see what had happened. Then I had an idea.

    ¡°I can get in Mive¡¯s mind!¡± I smiled. ¡°He could show you and tell you himself!¡±

    Klix started laughing. ¡°The Fox has a lock on his head to trap him. Do you really think I¡¯m going to go in there and be able to come out again? That''s how Trent got himself caught!¡± She rubbed her chin. ¡°But if you can do that and he plays along then that could work.¡±

    The ivory Goddess moved around Oz and Ren and threw the flap to the tent open. The smile on her face vanished and was replaced by shock as she stared inside the tent. At first I thought it was because of the condition of Mive and Trent. Then she croaked a single word in a whisper.

    ¡°Ether?¡±

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 16

    My heart almost exploded.

    I had no idea what emotion was running through the Goddess, but both of the personal guards ran over to the tent and moved Oz and Ren out of the way as Klix pulled Ether out of the tent. Something that I noticed very quickly was that Ether was moving on her own legs. Then I saw Klix point at me.

    ¡°DON¡¯T!¡± Ether moved in between us. ¡°You¡¯ll have to kill me first if you want him.¡±

    Klix slowly moved her hand to pat Ether¡¯s head. ¡°Oh, this is good¡­¡±

    Ether tried to pull away, but froze.

    ¡°Miel has been worried sick about you for the last six years. You¡¯re not going to run away again.¡± Klix glared at my love. ¡°Though it seems you¡¯re not going home either.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m never going back.¡± Ether growled. ¡°Not to those monsters!¡±

    ¡°Monsters?¡± Kliz raised her hand, and I thought for a moment she was going to slap Ether. The Goddess slowly lowered her hand. ¡°Why do you think that?¡±

    ¡°EVERY. ONE. OF. MY. SIBLINGS.¡± There were tears in Ether¡¯s eyes. ¡°They sold them when they were twelve! Both Kara and Jare! I HATE them!¡±

    ¡°This is not a conversation that we need to have here.¡± Klix nodded at one of her guards, and they grabbed Ether under her shoulders. ¡°We¡¯ll talk in the car.¡±

    ¡°NO!¡± Ether and I screamed at the same time.

    ¡°I won¡¯t help you if you take her!¡± I tried my best to glare at the Goddess.

    I got hit with an Aura so strong that my eyes felt like they were burning out of their sockets. I blinked a few times before I realized that Klix was in my face.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t help me, then I can¡¯t verify your story, and that means I have to kill you for the attempt on a God¡¯s life.¡± Klix snapped her fingers, and the screams coming from Ether silenced. Her red eyes bored into me. ¡°And then Trent will come after me, so I¡¯ll have to kill him now while it¡¯s easy, and since I¡¯m in a killing mood, might as well add in the fox and everyone here so there are no witnesses to dispute my story.¡± My head felt like it was about to crack open under the pressure, but I did my best to hold her glare. ¡°Are you willing to pay all of that just to defy me?¡±

    It was illogical. Throwing everyone¡¯s life away just to save Ether. Ether meant something to Klix, but she meant something to me too.

    ¡°Yes.¡± I was blinking back tears. ¡°I love her.¡± I knew I¡¯d just given her leverage, but I¡¯d also told her just how far I¡¯d go.

    ¡°Really¡­¡± Klix began walking her fingers around in my hair. ¡°Tell you what, we¡¯re in Mive, so let¡¯s do it his way, so..." She nodded at Ether. ¡°We each sit in on a conversation.¡± She must have seen the resistance in my eyes because she grabbed a handful of my white hair. ¡°I sit in on the one you have with Mive and you sit in on the one I have with little Ether¡­¡±

    I started to argue but realized that at least I¡¯d be with Ether. It gave us time to figure something else out. ¡°Fine¡­¡± I looked at Ether. ¡°Just don¡¯t hurt her.¡±

    ¡°She deserves it for what she put her mother through.¡± Klix shook her head. ¡°But that¡¯s a conversation for the car.¡± She nodded at the guard and they carried Ether out of the building.

    ¡°Now!¡± Klix¡¯s claws dug into my shoulder, and I realized that I could move again. I thought about running after Ether, but there was no way that I could shake Klix¡¯s grasp. ¡°I believe that you have a deal to pay.¡±

    She guided me into the tent and sat me down in between Mive and Trent. ¡°Let¡¯s hurry this up.¡±

    ¡°How exactly is this going to work?¡± I swallowed. ¡°Every time I hijack a mental spell it puts me into the other person¡¯s mind, but you don¡¯t want to do that.¡±

    Klix closed her eyes for a moment, then looked at me. ¡°Think about it this way. He¡¯s in a cage right now.¡± She nodded at Mive. ¡°With strong bars that he can¡¯t break, but you can walk through the bars.¡±

    ¡°Okay, but you don¡¯t want to walk in with me.¡± Mive had used an ant and a house analogy, but I kinda liked hers better.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to anchor you so that you stay in your mind. Then Mive can reach his hand through the bars and touch you. He''ll have to strain, and he might get his hand smashed, but if he wants to talk, then he¡¯ll come out to play.¡±

    I nodded and put my hand on Mive¡¯s hairy arm. It made sense, but if he could do that... I let my fingers on my other hand touch Trent¡¯s arm.

    ¡°SIPHON!¡±

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 17

    We were in the Dungeon.

    It was the one in Zeb to be exact. The sixteenth floor.

    There was nothing but pasture here. The monsters that spawned were bulls and they spawned in teams of four. If you beat enough of them, then a Wandering Boss would spawn that was about the same difficulty as the level twelve floor boss. Most farmers were moving fast enough that they would spawn the elite a couple times during their runs. They always stopped to pick up the loot from it. Primarily because I couldn¡¯t pick up item drops as a Mundane. Even at level four, just holding weapons or armor from that level would burn me.

    ¡°This is your happy place?¡± Klix was looking around. ¡°I would have thought you¡¯d be the luxury room at the Reds type of guy.¡±

    Before I could answer something hit me across the back of the head.

    ¡°WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT FOLLOWING ME IN HERE!¡±

    I turned around and hugged the old man. ¡°You¡¯re okay!¡±

    Trent Vowler stood there for a moment, then pushed me away. ¡°What are you doing here?¡±

    I pointed at the Goddess behind me. ¡°Klix wanted to talk to you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m here to listen to what the Fox has to say.¡± Klix eyed my teacher. ¡°But I do want to talk to you.¡± She glared at me. ¡°Someone went off script.¡±

    ¡°What do you want, Klix?¡± Trent sighed.

    ¡°There are lots of things I want.¡± The ivory Goddess glared at me. ¡°I¡¯m not ready for that conversation yet.¡±

    ¡°You were warned about this¡­¡± Mive let his rebuke fade as he looked at Klix and Trent. ¡°This is new.¡±

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    ¡°Yes, yes.¡± Klix turned to the kitsune. ¡°Junior here says that demons possessed the Six and trapped you in here. Then after they freed you, they were told to execute the Six.¡± She eyed me. ¡°Is that true?¡±

    Mive nodded. ¡°Yes.¡± He looked at me. ¡°Have you found a way to break this curse?¡±

    I pointed at Klix. ¡°I got you to her.¡±

    Mive raised an eyebrow as he looked back at Klix. ¡°Have you looked at it?¡±

    The ivory Goddess sighed. ¡°Not yet. First order of business is to establish credibility.¡± She gestured at me, ¡°We can leave now.¡±

    ¡°I need to talk to Trent.¡± I touched my mentor.

    ¡°Fine.¡± Klix looked at Mive. ¡°What happened to your personal guard? No one has seen them in years.¡±

    ¡°They were trapped in the seal like Trent.¡± Mive shook his head. ¡°The Six had to in order to stop them from trying to rescue me.¡±

    I touched Trent¡¯s arm and guided him away from that conversation.

    ¡°What is so important that you¡¯d risk getting trapped in here?¡± Trent eyed the two Gods conversing. ¡°Seems like you found Mive.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± I pointed at Klix. ¡°She knows.¡±

    Trent closed his eyes. ¡°At least you¡¯re still alive.¡± He looked at me. ¡°How¡¯d she find out?¡±

    ¡°When we went to rescue them, the demons opened Mive¡¯s Bequeathal Chamber and sucked us all in. Everyone except Justia, Whisper, Rix, and Ether were knocked out. Did you know that they could go into a Bequeathal Chamber? And there¡¯s something going on with Klix, it seems like she knows Ether, but Ether didn¡¯t know her.¡±

    Trent looked at Klix, then back at me and shook his head. ¡°I need to get out of here.¡±

    ¡°Mive said he could break the seal on Astrid, which should wake you up.¡± I swallowed. ¡°Maybe Klix will¡­¡±

    ¡°Klix will do what makes Klix happy.¡± Trent shook his head. ¡°She also tends to join Slece when there are sanctioned Desolations.¡±

    ¡°Tres said to trust her¡­¡±

    ¡°Tres is also an idealist.¡± Trent shook his head. ¡°He¡¯s a good friend, but his first instinct is to protect, and until he¡¯s labeled you a threat, he thinks of you as someone to shield.¡± Trent shook his head.

    ¡°She¡¯s here with Harror.¡±

    My mentor started rubbing his temple. ¡°At least Slece isn¡¯t here.¡±

    I looked back over at the Gods, who seemed to have run out of things to talk about. ¡°Any words of wisdom?¡±

    ¡°Would you follow them if I did?¡±

    I grinned. ¡°Thanks. I¡¯ll try to get you out of here as fast as I can.¡±

    Trent faded away, so I walked over to the Gods. ¡°Are you ready to go?¡±

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 18

    My head hurt.

    I tried to blink the fog away, but Klix grabbed my arm and hauled me to my feet before I could fully see.

    ¡°Wait!¡± I pointed at Astrid. ¡°Can you get that seal off of her?¡±

    Klix glared at me. ¡°Not here.¡± She paused and sighed. ¡°We¡¯re leaving. We can talk more at the Capitol.¡±

    ¡°Why are we going there?¡±

    ¡°Because that¡¯s where his bunker is.¡± Klix pointed at the unconscious God. ¡°And we have to confront the current Six.¡±

    ¡°We?¡±

    Klix glared at me. ¡°For now. You are staying within arm¡¯s reach.¡±

    As we exited the tent, there were two of the red personal guards standing on either side of the door.

    ¡°A group of scavengers has crossed the barrier.¡± One of the guards reported.

    ¡°I¡¯ll handle it.¡± Klix motioned around the room. ¡°Get them loaded up.¡±

    The ivory Goddess pulled me behind her as she hurried out the door.

    Before I even had a chance to protest we were outside and I saw a group of four Adventurers that had surrounded the moving van. It looked like two Power types and two Magic types by their weapons. They were in their mid fifties, so their level would probably be at the high end of Tier Four, though it could be higher since they were bounty hunters and PKs gave a lot more experience than monsters.

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    ¡°We were here first!¡± One of the ones with a sword pointed it at Klix. ¡°Don¡¯t¡­¡±

    He froze and she never stopped walking. I didn¡¯t even see her hand move as they just fell apart as she walked past them. I had no idea what level she was, but it was high.

    The crowd started running like they were next on her kill list. I looked at the van and Whisper was in the driver''s seat, but I didn¡¯t see Rix. I had no idea where the Shooter was hiding, but I hoped it wasn¡¯t close. I doubted that Klix would hesitate long enough for someone to tell her that Rix was one of ours.

    ¡°Did you have to kill them?¡± I finally found my vocals as we approached her car.

    The ivory Goddess stopped and pointed at the crowd. ¡°There were at least twenty more in the crowd waiting to see if they could swoop in and steal the kill.¡± She pointed at the pile of goo on the ground. ¡°These were the foolish ones that were eventually going to get someone in the crowd killed. By taking care of them now, I saved lives today and someone else¡¯s life in the future.¡±

    I swallowed. It made a little bit of sense, but it also felt really extreme.

    ¡°Besides.¡± Klix posed. ¡°That type of disrespect for a Goddess deserves punishment.¡±

    ¡°Can you call it punishment if they¡¯re not around to learn from it?¡± I realized that I might have overstepped when I saw her face.

    ¡°Another thing to talk about.¡± She pulled me in front of her and pushed me towards the car. ¡°Get in.¡±

    One of her personal guards held open the door for us. I was curious why they hadn¡¯t stopped the hunters, but I was also curious how the bounty hunters had thought that it was a good Idea to get this close in the first place. I didn¡¯t know how much Whisper was worth, or what the Six had added on to it, but apparently it was enough to make them think the risk was worth it.

    I climbed into the vehicle and sat down beside Ether.

    The inside of the car was very similar to the one Mavery had rode in when we¡¯d gone from my hometown of Zeb to the Cathedral. There were two rows of seats inside that were covered in some type of leather. Both rows faced each other and the divider in between the back and the driver was completely walled off.

    ¡°Atlas!¡± Ether hugged me.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± I squeezed her back, then maneuvered her towards the other door as Klix got in and sat on the seat against the divider.

    ¡°So¡­¡± Klix eyed me. ¡°What are you planning to do with my granddaughter?¡±

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 19

    I felt even more afraid of her.

    ¡°What do you mean, ¡®GRANDDAUGHTER¡¯!?¡± Ether tried to stand up, but Klix knocked her back in her seat with a look.

    Ether gave her a look too, one that told me that my interference at this point would earn the ire being directed that way.

    ¡°So you had me hid with those people?!? Who are my parents? What did you¡­?¡±

    Klix cut her off. ¡°Hayh is your father and Miel is my daughter¡ª¡±

    ¡°Is that why they were going to sell me?¡± The ivory woman beside me dug her nails into the seat.

    ¡°THEY WERE NOT GOING TO SELL YOU!!!¡± The entire car shook as Klix started to stand up and hit her head on the roof.

    The car swerved, and I tried to hold on to Ether, who pulled away from me to stand up to get on eye level with the Goddess.

    ¡°THEN WHAT DID THEY DO TO MY BROTHER AND SISTER!?!¡±

    Looking at the two of them almost nose to nose, I could see some similar features, and knowing that I was looking at an older version of Ether helped me discount the scars and markings that I hadn¡¯t noticed before. The biggest difference between the two was that Ether didn¡¯t seem to have the claws that her grandmother had.

    ¡°THEY SENT THEM TO ME!!!¡± Klix swung her fist, and the window to her right shattered.

    I heard the wheels squeal as the driver tried to compensate for the outburst.

    ¡°YOU¡¯RE LYING!¡± Tears flowed freely down Ether¡¯s cheeks.

    I put my hand on her back. I wasn¡¯t sure which one of them would stop me first, but I could tell this was not a fight that either would welcome me in.

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    ¡°You little¡­¡± Klix slammed her left fist on the divider, leaving a huge dent. ¡°STOP THE VEHICLE!¡±

    I grabbed Ether to keep her from falling forward as the vehicle came to a sudden stop.

    Klix glared at Ether as she steadied her breathing. ¡°Send me Kara.¡±

    I felt Ether¡¯s heart start beating faster as she held the Goddess¡¯s glare. I wasn¡¯t sure how she was doing it. The pressure inside the vehicle was making it hard for me to breathe and look in Klix¡¯s general direction. I couldn¡¯t imagine staring into her eyes.

    The door opened, and one of the red armored guards got in and sat down next to Klix.

    The Goddess tapped much lighter on the divider. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± She looked down at the guard. ¡°Take your helmet off.¡±

    Ether dropped into the seat beside me as the guard pulled off her helmet. While I had only seen a few general shapes and features that Ether and Klix shared, what I was looking at in the guard was like a slightly older version of Ether. All three of the women had the same white hair, red eyes, and snowy white skin.

    ¡°Kara¡­¡± Ether swallowed. ¡°But you¡­ You were¡­¡±

    Klix sat down and waved her hand at the window to fix the glass. She looked over at the guard, who was trying to blink back tears. ¡°You can talk to your sister.¡±

    Kara almost leapt across the vehicle to wrap her younger sister in a hug. ¡°We¡¯ve been so worried! We almost tore the city apart looking for you! We thought you¡¯d died!¡±

    Ether was still stunned as she let herself be pinned. I could see that she was trying to process everything that had happened over the last six years and come to grips with this new information.

    Klix glared at me, then looked back at Ether. ¡°All of my Scarlets are part of my lineage.¡± Her breathing started to steady. ¡°I have their parents send them to me when they¡¯re twelve to teach them about court life and to begin physically conditioning them for when they receive their Mantles. Once they get their Mantles, then they join me on resource runs into the Dungeon so I can get them up to a high enough level to be considered my personal guard.¡± The Goddess looked down at the red CB on her wrist. It was the first time I¡¯d seen one of that color; almost all of the ones I¡¯d ever seen were clear.

    ¡°Kara is level sixty-one at the moment.¡± Klix closed the menu she¡¯d been looking at. ¡°She officially became one of the Scarlets a few weeks ago.¡±

    Ether looked at her sister. ¡°But that''s... Five years???¡±

    Kara nodded. ¡°It¡¯s not hard to level up like that when Kli..." She looked over at the Goddess, who nodded. ¡°Grandma is farming on floor eighty-one."

    If Klix was farming on an event floor, then she had to be at least Tier Eight. I knew that our stats were higher and we got more points faster, but that was just ridiculous.

    ¡°Yes, yes.¡± Klix eyed Ether as she motioned at the guard. ¡°See? Your sister is here and not sold to whatever your foolish young mind had dreamed up.¡± She looked over at me. ¡°Which brings me to my first question. What are your intentions with my granddaughter, and why should I leave her with you?¡±

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 20

    Klix wanted to take Ether.

    My first love struggled in her sister¡¯s arms, but she couldn¡¯t get free. ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere with you! I love Atlas! He¡¯s..!¡±

    ¡°I asked him, not you.¡± Klix glared at her granddaughter. ¡°Or are you the only spine he has?¡±

    ¡°I can speak.¡± I swallowed as I shifted closer to Ether, earning me a glare from Kara. ¡°Ether is the core of my team. She has been my sounding board more than even my High Priestess over the last few weeks. I value her input and ask her opinion on almost everything¡­¡± The words seemed a little fake considering that just two days ago, she¡¯d been so mad at me for not telling her that I was a Godling that she¡¯d barely been talking to me, but it was still true. I¡¯d tried to pull her into everything I could.

    ¡°I¡¯m the Prime.¡± Ether straightened. ¡°I¡¯m heir to the Vowler name!¡±

    ¡°I can make more in a month than that pompous¡­¡± Klix shook her head. ¡°Whatever.¡± She rested her chin on her hand and started tapping on her cheek. ¡°I did try to add him¡­¡± The Goddess looked between us. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll run away if you try to take me!¡± Ether glared at her grandmother. ¡°You¡¯ll..!¡±

    I didn¡¯t see Klix move, but I felt the pain as I realized that the Goddess was straddling my lap and her claws were buried in my chest.

    ¡°What if I just Desolate him?¡± Klix looked at her granddaughter. ¡°We¡¯ll all survive such a little explosion, then what will you do?¡±

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    ¡°ATLAS! DON¡¯T!!!¡± Ether strained in her sister¡¯s arms. ¡°LET ME GO!!!¡±

    ¡°You need to understand just how weak you are.¡± She rested her left hand on the back of Kara¡¯s head. ¡°If you stay at school with him, then you¡¯ll stay that weak for years. I can make you strong.¡±

    ¡°What is strength if you don¡¯t have a heart?¡± Ether gritted her sharp teeth. ¡°What kind of power is it if all you do is hurt people and don¡¯t protect those weaker than yourself?¡± Her eyes narrowed. ¡°I have Noblesse Oblige.¡±

    ¡°Why does this family have so many idealists..?¡± Klix pulled back her hand as she moved back to her seat. I looked down and if there hadn¡¯t been black blood running down Klix¡¯s hand, I wouldn¡¯t have known that she¡¯d even been so close to ripping my heart out.

    The Goddess looked at Ether. ¡°We¡¯ll table this for now, until I¡¯ve had a chance to speak to Trent¡­¡± She looked between the two of us. ¡°But that hound you have won¡¯t do¡­ Kara, you¡¯re their babysitter until we get back to my city.¡±

    The guard looked back at her Grandmother and nodded, then put her helmet back on and sat down on Ether¡¯s other side. My ivory Tank scooted closer to me and I squeezed her. This day was definitely not going the way I had thought it would play out.

    ¡°Can you get the mark off of Astrid and wake Trent up?¡± The silence in the car was unnerving.

    ¡°That¡¯s a Harror question.¡± Klix was staring out the window. ¡°The seals are basically curses, so she¡¯ll be the one who will have to remove them, but it looked like a Tier Four spell, so the hermit shouldn¡¯t have been trapped¡­¡± She shrugged. ¡°And I don¡¯t know what type of spell is on Mive, but it seems like something similar¡­¡± She shook her head, ¡°We¡¯ll just have to see.¡±

    Silence settled back over us as I tried to think of some way to break it, but the two women whose faces I could see didn¡¯t look like they were in the mood to be talking. I just held Ether as she relived her life, putting the new information she¡¯d learned into place and re-evaluating what it all meant.

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 21

    The Six were waiting for us.

    It looked like the Heirs to the families had mostly taken over, because they almost all looked younger than the last Six. I didn¡¯t get a good look at them because Klix pointed at them as soon as she got out. ¡°Take them.¡±

    Her Scarlets swarmed them, and hauled them inside, while Harror and her four guards in full brown armor with green visors clustered tighter around their Goddess.

    Harror reminded me a lot of Justia if I was being honest. Her black pantsuit mostly hid her bright green skin. Her long brown hair, just like my High Priestess and Fray, was braided in what almost looked like a crown around her head, that flowed down her back. They had different eyes though, Justia¡¯s were bright blue, while Harror¡¯s were brown like Fray¡¯s, though Harror was much taller than either of the two brunette women on my team from her city. The Goddess was almost six foot tall and was holding herself with confidence as the Scarlets detained the city¡¯s leaders.

    ¡°I see you¡¯ve started with violence¡­¡± Harror glared at Klix. ¡°Typical.¡±

    ¡°Tres was telling the truth.¡± Klix marched straight towards her.

    Kara grabbed Ether¡¯s arm and began to follow which I took as my cue to move as well.

    ¡°We need a secure space to look at¡­¡± Klix was cut off as an explosion shook the ground.

    It had come from inside the capitol building and I could tell by the debris and smoke from the back that something big had been detonated. As the shockwave passed over me, I recognized the feeling.

    Harror knelt down and grass sprouted over the concrete and began radiating out in a circle around her. Klix had her claws out and I could feel magic emanating from the ivory Goddess.

    Both women¡¯s guards went to circle the Goddesses, though there were only two Scarlets, while the four brown guards for Harror created a semicircle between their Goddess and the building.

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    ¡°What was that?¡± Klix craned her neck to look.

    ¡°A Dungeon Seed!¡± I moved closer to Ether and looked back at the van. ¡°We need to get them out of here!¡± I pointed at Whisper.

    Klix spun me around to look at her as her nails dug into my arms. ¡°You know what this is?¡±

    I tried to think of the easiest way to summarize it. ¡°The Cult of Wurn was growing these things in the Wurn Dungeon that could link, merge two dungeons, or split one. They could also force a Dungeon Break. Tres was calling them Dungeon Seeds.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re setting up a Sactuary!¡± Klix looked over at Harror. ¡°Get that tree of yours up and find a way to wake up the Fox so that he can start defending His own city.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t set it up so close to a stronghold.¡± Harror looked like she was sweating just to keep the field up.

    The Scarlets streamed back out of the Capitol Building, with the Six in tow. They began herding the city¡¯s leaders towards the moving van.

    ¡°You can¡¯t put them in there!¡± I moved to block their path. ¡°What if they¡¯re possessed?¡±

    The Scarlets didn¡¯t bother slowing down until Klix barked at them. ¡°Wait! The kid is right. We need a transport just for them¡­¡± The Ivory Goddess looked around, but there weren¡¯t any other vehicles that could hold six people.

    ¡°Put them in there.¡± Klix pointed at her vehicle. ¡°But first¡­¡± She snapped his fingers and all six of them fell asleep. ¡°Now you can put them in there.¡± She looked at the two Scarlets that were between her and the vehicles. ¡°Fan out through the city and look for Portals and seal them as fast as you can, I¡¯ll send the others out once we get the tree set up.¡±

    The two red armored guards vanished as they move in different directions.

    ¡°Are we going to the Temple?¡± My first instinct was to get to familiar ground. While I knew the Temple here had been compromised by the Six, it was still a Temple and it would have large rooms that we could use to shelter people.

    ¡°You don¡¯t go to a Dungeon when you want to set up a safe place during a Dungeon Break¡­¡± Klix shook her head and pulled up a map of the city. She pointed to an area on the city wall that was the farthest away from the Temple, Dispatcher¡¯s Hub, and Authority Station. ¡°We¡¯re heading here.¡± She nodded at the lead vehicle. ¡°We¡¯ll take that one and head out.¡± The clawed Goddess pointed at the four of the Scarlets that were heading back after securing the Six. ¡°Fan out and start directing the people towards this point.¡±

    They nodded and vanished as well.

    Klix looked over at me. ¡°It seems that I¡¯m in need of a driver¡­¡±

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 22

    The city was in chaos.

    For a Godless city like Zeb, we had lived in fear of there being a Surge on one of the floors and the Dungeon breaking. Though when it happened because of a Surge, the monsters started pushing out through the Dungeon Mouth, one floor at a time, until the increase in monsters from whichever floor had been dealt with. The thing about that situation was that the monsters from, for instance, the thirty eighth floor would have to travel down through the thirty seventh, then the thirty sixth, and so on. If a hundred monsters left the thirty-eighth floor, then only ninety-eight might make it down to the thirty-seventh, just due to monster interactions alone. That number would keep dwindling until it was possible that the Surge would peter out on its own. With Adventurers able to deal with the level one monsters that were initially forced out and the slowly increasing level of monsters that were being pushed out.

    With a full on Dungeon Break like what was currently happening, it was like all of the gates inside the Dungeon had become unhooked up to a certain level and had sprouted new Dungeon Mouths all around the Dungeon that they were coming from. Whatever Adventurers who were already inside the Dungeon would only be able to leave that floor once they defeated the Floor Boss. The problem with that was that the Floor Boss was no longer hidden away in their Room and if they were really unlucky, then the Floor Boss would have left the Dungeon entirely, trapping them inside until Adventurers outside the Dungeon were able to defeat it, which would reattach the floor back to the normal Dungeon structure.

    It didn¡¯t take long for us to realize that we weren¡¯t going to be making much headway in the vehicles. Our convoy was only four vehicles, but one was too many to try to get through the traffic jam that was trying to get out of the city. With Mive unavailable and the Six unconscious in our custody, there was no one in charge of the city to tell the people what to do and the guards at the gates were still processing anyone who was trying to leave, which had created this massive buildup that was barely moving. It also probably didn¡¯t help that Most people knew that Klix and Harror were here, so I was sure there were a lot of people who thought that this was an invasion and they were trying to get out before the Desolation flattened the city.

    ¡°Out!¡± Klix kicked the door off. ¡°We¡¯ll run the rest of the way!¡±

    The ivory Goddess stomped over to the vehicle that Harror had gotten into as I got out.

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    I grabbed Ether¡¯s arm and the two of us ran over to the moving van with Kara right behind us.

    ¡°Get everyone out!¡± I banged on the hood of the moving van. ¡°We¡¯re running the rest of the way!¡±

    Gesai got out and came over to me, while Whisper went around to the back.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± The redhead looked at the Scarlet behind us, then back at me.

    ¡°She¡¯s with us¡­¡± I wasn¡¯t sure how to explain it and didn¡¯t think we had time. ¡°We¡¯re fine. How is everyone on your end?¡±

    ¡°Roughed up, but alive.¡± The older woman wrapped me in a tight embrace. ¡°I was so worried¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re¡­ Squeezing me¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± Her hug loosened, but she didn¡¯t release me.

    I saw the rest of my team getting out. Justia was carrying Astrid, while Fray and Oz had Trent and Mive again.

    I heard a scream and saw a Grim run towards Oz. Whisper had his sword through them and pinned them to the ground before they got close, but that was just the first one. Kara had her hand out and a golden barrier appeared around our convoy. Two more Grim collided with the barrier, while Whisper dealt with one who had gotten through before it had been put in place.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡± Klix stomped over to us.

    ¡°They were under attack.¡± Kara gave her grandmother a small bow.

    ¡°Heretics¡­¡± Klix looked at the gathering crowd that was banging on the barrier, while a much larger crowd had rushed the gate, which was now fully open with people running out of the city with whatever they could carry.

    The ivory Goddess looked at Harror, who had walked over. Her four guards were helping the two Scarlets that had been in the front of the larger vehicle get the Six out.

    ¡°Can your tree cover the gate from here?¡± Klix made no attempt to hide the irritation in her voice.

    To respond Harror bent down and touched the pavement, but this time as grass and flowers spread out around her, a large tree began to grow in the middle of the road. It went almost a hundred feet in the air, easily taller than any building in the city.

    Klix nodded and began looking around, then settled on a restaurant two stores down. ¡°We¡¯ll set up there.¡±

    As the group began to move, it amazed me that they were ignoring the people trying to break our mobile barrier like they were nothing but flies buzzing outside of a net. I had thought Trent was powerful, but I was starting to realize just how much power these beings had. And I was only watching their guards. I couldn¡¯t imagine what would happen once the Gods themselves began to throw around their full power.

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 23

    We were in the largest dining room.

    Klix had moved everyone into the largest room, while she and Harror were discussing what to do in the private dining room. Trent and Astrid were laying on the floor on one corner of the room we were in. The Goddesses had Mive and were working on freeing Him of His bindings. The Six had been taken to a building across the street with a Scarlet and a Root to watch over them.

    Gesai was doing her best to keep our team calm, but there was only so much that could be done in such a stressful situation. Fray looked like she was about to have a serious panic attack and Zel wasn¡¯t looking much better. It probably didn¡¯t help that Kara was hovering around Ether. Having one of the Scarlets so close had at least kept Aelin and Jen to serious and brief questions.

    Oz was watching the people who were outside the front window, while Shelly was doing his best to stay out of everyone¡¯s way. Ren, Justia, Aelin, and Jen were in the kitchen and whatever was being cooked smelled amazing. The one person I hadn¡¯t seen yet was RIx, though I had a feeling that she¡¯d show up once there was a way for her to help out.

    The door between the dining areas opened, drawing all of our attention.

    ¡°Atlas.¡± Whisper growled as he said my name. He nodded with his head to tell me that my presence was needed. When I got up, Ether moved to follow me, but the bandit held up his hand. ¡°Only Atlas.¡±

    I thought about arguing, but the look on his face told me that I wasn¡¯t going to be able to get him to budge on that. I pulled Ether close and gave her a quick kiss. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back.¡±

    She lightly touched my arm. ¡°Be careful.¡±

    ¡°I will.¡± I gave her a smile that I wasn¡¯t feeling. When I walked past Whisper, the blonde man closed the door between the two rooms.

    Mive was on a table and the look on the Goddess¡¯s faces didn¡¯t look promising.

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    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I looked at Klix. I wasn¡¯t sure what Harror knew, though I had a feeling that it wouldn¡¯t be long before my secret was out.

    ¡°This is an inverse curse.¡± Harror pointed at the kitsune.

    ¡°What does that mean?¡± I looked at the three of them to see which one would answer.

    ¡°It means that it feeds off of his own magic.¡± Harror shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s also directly applied to his mantle, which means¡­¡±

    ¡°That you need a high priest to open it.¡± There were only the four of us in the room, which I assumed meant that neither of them had brought theirs. ¡°You want to use Justia.¡±

    ¡°She has already worked with the Mantle, so she can open it.¡± Harror looked at me. ¡°If we were to try to attune another Priest to it, then there is a chance that we would become stuck as well.¡± The green Goddess looked at Klix, then me. ¡°She is the one who must.¡±

    ¡°She can¡¯t go in alone.¡± Whisper looked at me. ¡°Mive can¡¯t close it without his high priest and the demons killed Fare, so if we¡¯re going to free Mive anytime soon, then both of you have to go in there.¡±

    ¡°What if the demons attack like they did last time we were in there?¡± I looked at them. ¡°And why isn¡¯t Justia in here?¡±

    ¡°We will send in a team with you.¡± Harror looked puzzled. ¡°I¡¯ll have to go so that I can tell the little one what to do.¡± The green Goddess nodded at Klix. ¡°The thief has agreed to provide one of her reds and this one will go as well.¡± She turned back to me. ¡°And why would we include the little one? She will do as her God directs.¡± She shook her head. ¡°Though to have an attendant at such a young age¡­¡±

    I wanted to argue, but I could tell that it wouldn¡¯t make much of a difference.

    ¡°What about the Dungeon Break?¡± I nodded towards the front. ¡°What are we doing about that?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of that.¡± Klix grabbed my shoulder and her claws bit into it. ¡°It looks like every floor through the sixties broke out there. We¡¯re putting up a perimeter, but this city isn¡¯t going to be cleared anytime soon.¡±

    ¡°Is backup coming?¡± My mind instantly went to Slece.

    ¡°The Dispatchers are sending in more Adventurers to deal with all the floors and help hunt down the Floor Bosses. But nothing can really happen until we get all of the higher Tier portals closed.¡± Klix shook her head. ¡°This city is going to burn.¡±

    I looked down at the unconscious God lying in front of me. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to Justia.¡±

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 24

    I almost forgot why I went into the kitchen.

    I was so hungry, and the smells were so good. I couldn¡¯t remember the last time I¡¯d actually eaten and my stomach was finally starting to let me know.

    ¡°Here.¡± Aelin shoved a biscuit in my hands. ¡°Help or get out.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡± I bit into the biscuit and it was like heaven. ¡°I needed this.¡± I looked around the kitchen. ¡°Is it okay to be doing this? What about the owners?¡¯

    ¡°Klix bought it.¡± Justia walked over to me, drying her hands with a towel. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a plan.¡± I shook my head. ¡°But it revolves around you.¡±

    The green woman froze as the other women in the kitchen turned most of their attention to me.

    ¡°What do they want me to do?¡±

    I looked around the room. As far Aelin and Ren knew, I was just a hero and Jen didn¡¯t even know that, as far as I was aware. None of them had been told how we got out of the fight with the Six either. They just knew that Whisper and Gesai had handled it.

    I shook my head. ¡°Not here.¡± I hated that I was secluding Aelin from her, but until I had a more permanent solution in place, I was going to have to restrict my circle. The one who I was really missing was Rix, but I was glad that she was staying away. I could only imagine what the Goddesses might do to her if they caught her.

    I walked over to the door to the dining room and peeked out. ¡°Ether, could you and Kara come here?¡± I didn¡¯t wait to see if they were moving. I knew Ether wanted to be part of this conversation and Kara was staying close to Ether for the moment.

    I hated how many of my team that I was excluding, but they were the only ones who knew what it was like in the Bequeathal Chamber. I wove my wave through the kitchen to the freezer and motioned inside.

    ¡°Atlas¡­¡± Aelin looked over at the Scarlet following Ether. ¡°That¡¯s not the best place, if you¡¯re wanting some alone time¡­¡± The blonde made a kissy face.

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    ¡°Aelin.¡± I shook my head. For a moment I had thought about rebuking her, but given the heaviness of the situation, I needed some brevity. ¡°You know that I¡¯d let you watch if that was all that¡­OW!¡±

    Ether elbowed me in the gut, then pecked me on the cheek before she walked into the freezer. Kara followed behind her sister and Justia followed after her with a confused look on her face.

    I pulled the door closed and tried to ignore the cold as I looked at the Scarlet. ¡°Can you do something to keep people from listening in?¡±

    ¡°I can keep your team and the Hound, but the other one and her Roots wouldn¡¯t be¡­¡± Kara looked at Ether. ¡°Efficient.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°If you would, please.¡±

    I felt my ears pop as Justia looked at us.

    ¡°What is going on?¡¯ The brunette Healer had fixed her blue eyes on the Scarlet. ¡°Why is one of Klix¡¯s guards here?¡±

    I nodded at Ether. ¡°It¡¯s yours to tell.¡±

    Justia looked at Ether and the ivory woman swallowed. ¡°Klix is my Grandmother.¡± She pointed at the woman in red armor. ¡°This is my older sister.¡±

    ¡°But I thought¡­¡± Justia looked back and forth between the three of us. ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Klix makes Her descendants into Her personal guards. When we¡¯re twelve, She has us start training so that when we get our Mantles, we¡¯re in better physical condition, then She takes us down to the eighty-first floor where She power levels us.¡± Ether looked like she might start crying as she finished.

    I wrapped my arm around her and pulled her close to me. ¡°Kara is here to guard Ether.¡±

    I could feel Kara¡¯s eyes on me through the white visor. ¡°Why did you bring my sister in here?¡±

    ¡°Because I need to discuss what the Goddesses just asked me to do.¡± I looked over at Justia. ¡°They want us to go back into Mive¡¯s Bequeathal Chamber. Are you okay with that?¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Justia looked scared and I didn¡¯t blame her. Being in there was disorienting enough for me. I couldn¡¯t imagine how it was for her.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Kara cut off Justia¡¯s next question. ¡°You¡¯re the God, she¡¯s the Priest. She does whatever you tell her too.¡±

    I sighed. I was getting tired of having this discussion. ¡°Look, I get that part of your training was to take orders immediately from your grandmother, but I don¡¯t have the luxury of centuries of experience, so I rely on the people that I trust. And right now the people I trust who have experience with the Bequeathal Chamber are in this room right now. The Goddesses want us to risk our lives to try to remove the seal on Mive, so I want to know if they are okay with that, because if they aren¡¯t, then I¡¯ll go back out there and tell those old crows where they can stick their plan.¡±

    I could see Kara tense and I knew that I had just talked down to a Tier Six that was five years older than me. My heart was hammering in my ears as I waited for her response, but none came.

    I turned to Justia. ¡°What do you think?¡±

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 25

    She didn¡¯t like it.

    I could tell by the look on her face that the thought of going back in there scared her.

    ¡°Why do they need me?¡±

    ¡°Harror said it¡¯s an Inverse Seal, so if someone of a higher level tries to break the seal, then it sucks them in and uses their magic to make the seal stronger. So they need a High Priestess that is low enough level that they won¡¯t get trapped themselves to unravel it, then break the seal.¡± I hated that basically what I¡¯d just said was that she was the only one who could do this and she knew it.

    ¡°How..?¡± The green woman sighed. ¡°How would I do this?¡±

    ¡°Harror said she would walk you through it and that a team would go in there to protect you from demons while you worked on it.¡± I knew I needed to add the last part. ¡°I¡¯ll have to go in too¡­¡± I nodded as Ether looked up at me. ¡°You can come too.¡±

    Ether smiled, but my response set off her sister.

    ¡°Why should Ether go in there?¡± Kara stepped towards me, which caused Ether to move in between us. ¡°Why risk her life?¡±

    ¡°Because it¡¯s her life.¡± I rubbed Ether¡¯s cold ivory arms. ¡°I have to go because that¡¯s the only way that Justia can open or close the Bequeathal Chamber. Justia has to go because she is the one who can get us in and the one who can free Mive.¡± I looked down at Ether. ¡°Ether is the only other one of my team who can go inside, so I feel like she should have the option to go in if she wants.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±

    ¡°The way I do things.¡± I interrupted Kara. ¡°If you don¡¯t like it, then you can ask your Grandmother for a new assignment.¡± I took some satisfaction from her wince.

    The Scarlet didn¡¯t say anything, though I had a feeling that she had a lot that she wanted to say.

    ¡°So what do¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going with you.¡± I could feel Ether¡¯s glare fixate on her sister, daring the older woman to object.

    I turned to Justia. ¡°I know it probably feels like you don¡¯t have a choice, but I¡¯m serious. If you¡¯re not comfortable with this, let me know and I¡¯ll tell them to find another way.¡±

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    ¡°No¡­¡± Justia shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡±

    I didn¡¯t like the hesitation in her voice, but I had a bad feeling that it may have had something to do with Rix and I didn¡¯t want to say anything about our Hunter in front of Kara.

    ¡°When do we start?¡± The brunette was looking at Kara, not me.

    ¡°We¡¯ll have to talk to the Goddesses, but I would think that They¡¯d want to start as soon as we can.¡± I was starting to feel the cold myself, but it looked like the Healer had something else on her mind. ¡°Is there something else I haven¡¯t thought of?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just the Dungeon Break¡­¡± Justia looked over at Ether. ¡°Why would the Demons have done something that would have made everyone run out of the city if their goal was to possess as many people as possible?¡±

    ¡°What if the Cult thought that they had a chance to take over the city while the Six were dead and Mive was out of commission?¡± Ether looked at Justia. ¡°It was almost a full day since Gesai killed the Six before the Dungeon Seed was detonated and you can get here from anywhere in the Ward in that amount of time.¡±

    ¡°If it is the Cult, then that would mean that Wurn wasn¡¯t where their stockpile was.¡± The implication of that sent my mind after a Unilop. ¡°And it would mean that there are two things that we are fighting against here.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s also worth remembering that the Demons were able to hide in the Six for almost a decade. How are we supposed to know if someone has been possessed?¡±

    That was a very good point. ¡°Maybe Mive knows a way.¡± I tried to give the others a reassuring smile. ¡°He¡¯s been able to observe them for a decade. Maybe He knows a way¡­¡± My voice trailed off as I realized that if the Kitsune God did know of a way to tell, then he would require something in exchange for that knowledge. ¡°But we won¡¯t know until we ask.¡±

    Ether stopped me from reaching for the door. ¡°What do we tell the others?¡± She nodded at Justia. ¡°What do we tell Aelin?¡±

    I almost told her that Aelin understood that there were things that she couldn¡¯t be told all the details of, but that felt a little harsh.

    ¡°We¡¯ll tell them that we¡¯re working on it.¡± I shook my head. ¡°That¡¯s all we can tell them at the moment. Until Trent wakes up and can seal things better, we don¡¯t have much of an option.¡±

    ¡°What about Klix?¡± Ether looked up at me.

    I thought about it for a moment. I could tell that there was a part of Ether that was wanting to believe in her grandmother, but I doubted that Klix would help us exactly how we wanted. But I knew whatever we said in front of Kara would get back to the Goddess. ¡°Compared to everything else that needs her attention, I doubt she¡¯s going to want to divert attention to something like that.¡±

    Ether sagged into me, but nodded. ¡°Okay.¡±

    I kissed her gently, then looked into her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s going to be okay.¡±

    She just nodded and reached for the door.

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 26

    Gesai was missing.

    That was the first thing that I noticed when we walked into the dining area. The second was that so was Klix.

    Harror and Whisper were both looking out at the tree in the middle of the road in front of the building.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I looked around the room. ¡°Where¡¯s Gesai?¡±

    ¡°The Thief took her.¡± Harror glared at me. ¡°Like she does everything.¡±

    Oz was on Whisper¡¯s left, with Harror being on his right as they looked out the window. Fray seemed to have found a reason to be in the kitchen. Shelly was in the front right corner, which placed Whisper in between him and the Goddess. Zel was near the door to the kitchen and moved behind me as soon as I walked into the dining area.

    Oz turned, ¡°Klix said Gesai was too weak and left with her Scarlets.¡± She eyed me. ¡°What¡¯s going on with you?¡±

    ¡°Just logistical stuff.¡± I quickly eyed Shelly to try to send her a message that there were things we couldn¡¯t talk about in front of the others. ¡°I need to talk to Harror.¡±

    ¡°You do NOT demand to speak to a Goddess!¡± Harror glared at me. ¡°Have you no manners?!?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± It was honest. I hadn¡¯t been trained in how to interact with the Deities and I had no idea what the protocol was.

    I felt an incredible urge to bow in front of Her as Her aura washed over me, but I resisted. I might be a Tier Zero and She might be a Tier Eight or Nine, but I still wanted Her to see me as a peer.

    ¡°You asked me to talk to Justia and we¡¯re ready to give you her answer.¡± I straightened as the pressure lessened. ¡°I would appreciate it if you wouldn¡¯t do that in front of my team.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t dictate¡­¡±

    ¡°I can ask you to be civil around my people.¡± I saw the two Roots on my right shift when I interrupted Harror. I felt Kara tense behind me and wondered how far Ether¡¯s sister would go to protect me. ¡°You need me to help you free Mive, which means right now we¡¯re allies.¡± I wanted to throw that in for a little insurance. ¡°I may not be your equal and I have no idea how to speak to a Goddess. In the Dungeon, we were direct when someone needed information, that¡¯s all I know, so that¡¯s what I¡¯m using. Maybe in the future I¡¯ll learn the protocol, but for now, this is all I have.¡± I gestured to the private dining room where Mive was lying. ¡°Would You like to talk about how to save the city, or are You going to give a lecture on how to carry a conversation in the middle of a Dungeon Break?¡±

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    Her glare felt like it was starting to burn my face and it looked like I might actually get that lecture first.

    ¡°How about this?¡± I choked as I swallowed. It took me a moment to clear my throat. ¡°Sorry, wrong pipe.¡± I straightened back up. ¡°You want to one up Klix?¡± The way the two of them interacted was obvious that they were rivals. ¡°I know that my father rejected Klix the night he was with my mother.¡± I hoped this worked. ¡°What if I was able to talk my father into having a private dinner with You in public?¡± Her aggression vanished almost immediately. ¡°Would that earn me the right to speak to You casually in front of my team?¡±

    ¡°IF your father agrees, then I can forgive this slight.¡± The Goddess straightened. ¡°But if he does not, then you will be punished.¡±

    There was a look on Whisper¡¯s face that told me not to make the deal, but I knew that Trent would make good on it. If it earned us the cooperation of one of the Goddesses, then he¡¯d probably be willing to do more than that. I knew Whisper had said that my teacher hadn¡¯t been with anyone since Dee died, but I knew that he¡¯d gone out with a few different people over the years. So a dinner date that would make Klix jealous didn¡¯t seem like too big of an ask.

    ¡°We have business in Klix after this, but on our way back to the Cathedral once we¡¯ve finished gathering my party, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be able to find the time.¡± I could tell that I¡¯d diffused whatever it seemed like Klix had riled up in the green Goddess. I just hoped that I hadn¡¯t upset Whisper too much with the deal.

    ¡°If you¡¯ve made a decision, then we can discuss it in here.¡± Harror briskly moved into the private dining area, with her Roots following behind her.

    Whisper glared at me as he followed her in. I had a feeling that he was going to have plenty to say to me once we were in private. I moved over to Oz.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on with them?¡±

    The brown woman shook her head. ¡°Klix said something about Harror staying here while She went out to be useful.¡± Oz shook her head. ¡°She''s been in a bad mood ever since.¡±

    ¡°Gotcha.¡± I looked her over. ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    She eyed me. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I be asking you that?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s my job to check on everyone and this meeting could take a while.¡± I looked at Shelly, then Zel. ¡°Are you good?¡±

    Shelly nodded.

    Zel grabbed my arm. ¡°As long as you¡¯re here.¡±

    I gave her a hug, then pulled away. ¡°Sorry, but I don¡¯t think Harror will let you attend this meeting.¡± I smiled. ¡°But I¡¯ll be back out in a little bit.¡± She looked sad, so I nodded towards the kitchen. ¡°Why don¡¯t you try to eat something and maybe I¡¯ll be done by then.¡±

    I nodded at Oz, then turned to the private dining room. It was time to free Mive.

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 27

    Harror was already seated.

    ¡°What is she doing here?¡± Harror glared at Ether.

    ¡°She¡¯s going in too.¡± I held up my hand. ¡°Not negotiable.¡± I nodded at Whisper. ¡°She¡¯s already been in there once and she¡¯s fought those things which is more experience than I¡¯m guessing your Roots have.¡± I nodded at Kara. ¡°And considering that her bodyguard is the only Scarlet that Klix left, I think I can say that Klix expected me to take her.

    Harror sighed. ¡°Fine, the little one can come.¡± She looked at Justia. ¡°He told you what to do?¡±

    ¡°Atlas told me that you needed me to open the Bequeathal Chamber and that you would walk me through how to undo the curse.¡± Justia folded her arms.

    ¡°Good. Now do you remember how you closed it?¡± Harror nodded at me. ¡°You¡¯ll need to do it the same way to open it.¡± She looked around the room. ¡°We aren¡¯t going to do an overlay, so you need to be touching Mive or another person who is touching Mive when she starts.¡±

    I grabbed Ether¡¯s right hand in my left, then offered Kara my right arm. Whisper brought Mive over and gently laid the God down on the table in front of Justia.

    Harror scooted her chair in, then placed one hand on each of Mive¡¯s shoulders. ¡°You¡¯ll need to anoint your hand with the boy¡¯s blood, then place your hand over the Fox¡¯s heart. You¡¯ll feel the Mantle and be able to open it from there.¡±

    Each of the Roots placed a hand on one of Harror¡¯s shoulders. Whisper touched Mive¡¯s right arm and Kara had Ether¡¯s other hand in hers.

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    I looked at Justia. ¡°We¡¯re ready whenever you are.¡±

    The green woman looked around. ¡°I don¡¯t have a knife.¡±

    ¡°Kara.¡± I turned and held out my arm. ¡°Would you¡­¡±

    The Scarlet made way too deep of a cut part way up my arm before I could finish my request.

    ¡°Kara!¡± Ether tried to let go of my hand as she turned to her sister.

    ¡°Ow!.. It¡¯s okay. She did what we needed her to do.¡± I winced and tried to give her a smile. ¡°Thanks.¡±

    The Scarlet only inclined her head as she wiped the blade on her arm, then replaced it at her side.

    Justia grabbed my injured arm with both hands and a soft green light began to wash over it.

    ¡°Make sure you¡¯ve got enough before you heal it.¡± I nodded at my arm. ¡°I¡¯d rather not have to do this twice.¡±

    The light vanished as my priestess turned to the Kitsune and placed her right hand over His heart. There was a soft light under her hand as she closed her eyes and then the glow slowly began to cover Mive¡¯s body, then spread to the three who were touching Him. The glow covered the others who were touching them.

    The last time that we had been inside Mive¡¯s Bequeathal Chamber, the demons had covered the entire room almost instantly in the glow before they¡¯d pulled us inside, but now it looked like Justia was only going to pull those of us who were touching him inside. I was thankful for that because I wasn¡¯t sure how the others would be affected if they were brought in and we had to protect them while we fought against whatever was waiting for us when we got inside. Though there had been fewer of us the last time we¡¯d been there. I just wasn¡¯t sure what would happen if someone came into the building while we were inside. I wasn¡¯t sure what the rules were for an overlay and didn¡¯t want to worry about what might be happening to the others while they were unable to defend themselves, though now that I was thinking about it, I was starting to worry about that since they would be left outside.

    I didn¡¯t have a chance to voice those concerns before I felt what was becoming a familiar pull and everything went dark.

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 28

    This wasn¡¯t like the last time.

    The last time that I¡¯d been inside Mive¡¯s Mantle, the entire room had been brought inside the Mantle. That time it hadn¡¯t started out dark like a boss room or when I had gone inside Wurn¡¯s Mantle, so I¡¯d expected that Mive¡¯s mantle would always be lit, but I was learning that wasn¡¯t the case as my eyes tried to see anything in the darkness. For a moment, I thought that Justia might have done something wrong, because as soon as the room lit up, everything looked very wrong.

    The room we were in was similar to the one from Wurn¡¯s Mantle. There was a plain room with Mive sitting on a wooden chair instead of an ornate throne. The difference was that the Kitsune God was tied to the chair with shadowy ropes. The rest of the room was slowly being eaten by whatever shadowy thing that the demons had been made of. It was creating holes all over the wall giving way to nothing but an empty void outside.

    I looked at the others to see what their thoughts were. The look on Whisper¡¯s face was completely unfazed, though that was his usual look, so that might not have meant too much. The Roots and Kara were still wearing their armor, so their faces were being hidden by their helmets. I wasn¡¯t sure if any of the three of them would have given anything away until I looked at Harror.

    The green Goddess had horror written all over her face. I didn¡¯t know what she found so horrifying about it, but I found myself sharing in that assessment. It looked like a giant snake was slowly constricting itself around the old God, and his red fur had definitely lost the diminished luster that the one outside the mantle still had.

    ¡°How am I supposed to get Him out of that?¡± Justia looked at her city¡¯s God.

    Harror was keeping her distance as she examined Mive. ¡°You have to untangle that from around Him.¡± The green Goddess stuck her hand out to stop me from getting closer. ¡°WHAT are you doing?!?¡±

    ¡°I was going to help.¡± I could feel her arm tense as she pushed me back. ¡°The faster we get¡­¡±

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    ¡°YOU CAN¡¯T TOUCH HIM!¡± Harror got in between me and the throne. ¡°If a Deity touches another God¡¯s Mantle while in the Bequeathal Chamber, then a fight for that Mantle begins. None of us would be able to leave this place until either we Desolated him, or He eliminated us.¡± The Goddess swept her gaze over all of us. ¡°The priest is the only one who can attend to Him, so no one else get close!¡±

    Whisper put his hand on my shoulder and pulled me back. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll stay on this side of the Chamber.¡± The blonde bandit nodded at Ether and Kara. ¡°Come over here.¡±

    I swallowed as I nodded at Justia. I didn¡¯t want to leave her with Harror, but it didn¡¯t seem like I had much of a choice. I couldn¡¯t help her, which made me feel like the only reason I was even on the team was because they needed me in order to get into the Chamber.

    ¡°What are we going to do?¡± I looked at the silver man that was leading me to the other side of the room.

    Whisper ignored me and looked at Kara. ¡°How many times have you been inside a Chamber?¡±

    The Scarlet shook her head. ¡°Once. Klix has dozens of Scarlets and I¡¯m the youngest one. She brought me into hers after my confirmation, but after that, she has been more focused on training¡­¡± Her voice choked off like she had just tried to say something that she shouldn¡¯t have.

    ¡°Don¡¯t try to force it.¡± Whisper moved over to the other woman¡¯s side to steady her as she leaned heavily on Ether. ¡°You can¡¯t go revealing secrets that the seal is protecting without pushback.¡±

    ¡°Secrets?¡± I was confused. ¡°How is a Goddess training their bodyguards a secret?¡±

    Whisper shook his head. ¡°Explaining it would just make it worse on her.¡± He touched the white visor. ¡°Would you mind taking this off? I like to be able to look at the people I¡¯m talking to.¡±

    The visor vanished, revealing her red eyes staring at him. ¡°Sorry.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re young.¡± Whisper straightened. ¡°You¡¯ve got plenty of time to learn.¡±

    She hung her head, but that wordless gesture told me that she didn¡¯t really believe that.

    ¡°How do you know so much about the Bequeathal Chamber?¡± I felt like changing the subject while Kara was moping.

    Whisper glared at me, then shook his head. ¡°I used to be like her, but for Mive.¡± He held up his hand. ¡°And that¡¯s all I¡¯m saying about it.¡± The blonde bandit looked between the three of us. ¡°But that means that I can help you learn how to navigate this place¡­¡± A smile cracked his face. ¡°I guess you¡¯re getting a lesson Trent never taught.¡±

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 29

    Whisper was in full teacher mode.

    ¡°The most important thing about combat in a BC is that our stats don¡¯t seem to be applied to our skills.¡± The silver man twirled a flame between his fingers. ¡°Since there aren¡¯t a lot of Gods who are willing to open up Their Mantles for research, and even fewer that are willing to share that research, you end up with only what is passed down to a Godling who is being prepared to take a city.¡± He nodded at Kara. ¡°Usually there are Diety Classes in a God¡¯s personal guard and some of those get allocated to the Godling, so they can learn about how things work, but those are very few.¡± He began walking back and forth in front of us. ¡°The safest personal guard comes from descendants, but new Gods rarely have that option, so they have to pull from regular Adventurers that they trust or Deity classes that They might discover along the way that aren¡¯t beholden to a God already.¡± He looked at me. ¡°Occasionally, there are Godlings that aren¡¯t registered, like Atlas, or Gibboram that fall through the cracks like Ether, but most of the Gods will have Their children added to a list of non combatives with the Gods of a Ward.¡±

    ¡°So does that mean that all the Gods know who my parents are?¡± I glanced over at Harror, who seemed to be giving Justia a lecture as well.

    ¡°Doubtful.¡± Whisper shrugged. ¡°But I¡¯m not privy to that information, but if They did know about you before, then I doubt they¡¯d have let you just disappear.¡± He looked at the throne. ¡°Though Mive is known for helping to hide Godlings, but those are only the ones who haven¡¯t been declared.¡±

    ¡°Why would a God want to declare a child?¡± Ether folded her arms in front of her.

    ¡°Having a child be declared is a way to let the kid live a semi-normal life. The other Gods in the Ward won¡¯t be able to go after them and will even go out of Their way to protect them if they are in Their city, since They wouldn¡¯t want a Desolation to happen.¡±

    That sounded like a pretty good life to me. ¡°So why wouldn¡¯t a God declare their child?¡±

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    Whisper shook his head. ¡°It puts the child under a lot of scrutiny and most Wards require the child to be banned from being able to take a city as long as their parent is alive. If all the Gods in a Ward are from the same family, then it can be seen as a country in itself. That¡¯s the main reason why children are supposed to be limited. Too many Godlings running around without Cities to take would result in too many civilian deaths due to Desolations. Start having too many kids and you can be seen as trying to make a grab for power and the other Gods will come in and cull you to stop a larger war from breaking out.¡±

    He grinned and shook his head. ¡°Then there¡¯s Nevah. That old God has got descendants all over the place. In fact, I think there''s one in every Ward. And if He didn¡¯t have a universal non-aggression treaty in place, He probably would have been taken out a long time ago.¡±

    That was the God that Whisper thought was actually my father. It felt strange to think that I could have so much family all over when I¡¯d grown up thinking that I was all alone.

    ¡°So why have a kid in secret?¡± Ether looked at her sister, then at me.

    ¡°Because Gods are horny?¡± Whisper shook his head. ¡°Think about it. A God can live for hundreds if not over a thousand years. If you¡¯re limited to two kids in that time, how fast are you going to hit that quota? And how scrutinized are Their kids going to be?¡± He nodded at Kara. ¡°She can¡¯t answer this, but for you to be in here, that means your mother IS a Goddess. Which means that there is a chance that one of your siblings could be as well.¡±

    I could tell by the look on her face that Ether hadn¡¯t thought of that. The look that Kara was giving off was as neutral as possible.

    ¡°So what happens is this theoretical sibling, then has kids and one of them is a Godling?¡± Whisper turned back to me. ¡°Just because of the chance of continuing the line, by declaring a child, you¡¯ve cut them off from creating a power base and put all of their children under a microscope. To give their children a chance at a normal life, most will hide them among the Nobility.¡±

    Whisper looked at us as he waited for what he had said to sink in. ¡°But I¡¯m not one of the Gods, so what do I know?¡± He shrugged. ¡°My parents weren¡¯t declared and I still didn¡¯t have a normal life. But that¡¯s enough about the politics of the Gods. We need to learn about how to fight in the Chamber for whenever the Demons come back.¡±

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 30

    I¡¯d forgotten about the demons.

    For that little bit of time, I¡¯d been so caught up in why I had gotten lost, that I¡¯d forgotten why we had come here in the first place.

    Whisper called the fire back into his hand. ¡°As I was saying, it doesn¡¯t seem like our stats get applied to our skills in here.¡± He let the flames begin to snake around his fingers. ¡°It¡¯s also worth noting for this exercise that I don¡¯t have fire skill.¡± He extinguished the flames.

    ¡°Wait, what?¡± I looked over at Kara, but she seemed completely entranced by the show.

    ¡°There are a lot of theories, but the one I like the best is that the BCs exist in pure magic, which allows those inside it to directly control that magic instead of channeling it through our own Mantles.¡± He pointed at a place on the wall where the shadows had eaten a fist sized portion. ¡°It helps to use the skill names because that helps you visualize it more, but¡­¡± Three metal spikes the size of his finger shot out of the palm of his hand and struck the hole, vanishing in the shadows. ¡°Basically any spell that you can visualize can be used.¡±

    I swallowed as his eyes fell on me. ¡°You don¡¯t have any metal skills, so try doing what I just did.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­¡± I looked at the target and stretched out my hand and tried to visualize three nails shooting at it. I strained until my eyes started hurting, but nothing happened.

    ¡°You¡¯re trying too hard¡­¡± Whisper shook his head. ¡°Let¡¯s just try it with ones you already know, then we can work up to the stuff you don¡¯t.¡± He pointed at the shadowy hole. ¡°Cycle through your spells..!¡± He held up his hand. ¡°But don¡¯t verbalize it to cast them.¡±

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    I nodded and settled on Pebble Shot. It was my first spell and the one that I¡¯d cast the most outside of my enhancing spells. At first nothing happened and I thought about trying to mumble the words under my breath, but Whisper must have seen what I was going to try.

    ¡°Try to think about how you feel when you cast the spell.¡± Whisper grabbed my hand and came behind me so that he could whisper in my ear. ¡°Remember how it feels to cast it. You may have never noticed it before, but the power builds inside your body, takes form, then releases. You need the skill outside to start the process, but in here, you don¡¯t have to rely on the spell. Feel the magic in you, then tell it what you want it to do.¡±

    My hand would have been shaking if he hadn¡¯t been holding it so firmly. I knew he wanted me to focus on the spell, but right now all I could think about was how the man that I¡¯d lived in fear of while I¡¯d been kidnapped was right behind me. My mind was going to how easily he could kill me and I couldn¡¯t shake the feeling of danger despite all he¡¯d done to protect me in the last few weeks.

    ¡°Maybe if I did it normally, I could see how it feels?¡± I swallowed as I waited for the rebuke.

    The blonde bandit let go of me and shook his head as he walked over to the two sisters. ¡°Training wheels it is. Go ahead and try that while I get them started.¡±

    I didn¡¯t like how he referred to using the spell as ¡®training wheels¡¯. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that he was right. The spell itself was keeping me focused on the end result and without it, I couldn¡¯t cast the spell.

    I focused back on the target. I wasn¡¯t going to use the training wheels for long.

    ¡°Pebble Shot.¡±

    I tried to pay attention to the magic building inside me, the three stones the size of marbles forming in my palm, then shooting towards the target. It all happened in an instant. I knew that was the process and had some idea of how it had happened, but I still couldn¡¯t follow it in my mind. I shook my head. Maybe I was going to need the training wheels longer than I thought.

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 31

    We spent all day training.

    I had thought that I¡¯d made a breakthrough when I¡¯d stopped having to say the spell out loud to activate it, but Whisper had pointed out that all I was doing was saying the spell in my head. Which was progress, but it still wasn¡¯t simply casting the spell.

    Justia looked exhausted when we¡¯d finally left the Chamber and it didn¡¯t look like she¡¯d made much progress in freeing Mive.

    It was late when we walked out of the private dining room. Klix and Gesai were still gone and it looked like the team had set up three tents on the other side of the main dining area for sleeping. Oz was the only one awake and she scrambled to her feet as we walked in.

    ¡°Is everything okay?¡± The green-eyed woman scanned us all quickly.

    ¡°We are fine.¡± Harror turned to me, ¡°I have a sanctuary in my tree, I¡¯ll be back in the morning to try again.¡±

    I watched the green Goddess and her two Roots in brown armor walk out of the building and head for the large tree in the middle of the road. As soon as Harror reached the tree, the bark peeled away, allowing the tree of them inside.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Oz looked at her cousin. ¡°That room was locked so tight that Jen couldn¡¯t get in.¡±

    ¡°We¡­¡±

    ¡°We are working on reviving Mive.¡± Whisper cut me off.

    ¡°Is it because¡­¡± Oz¡¯s voice faded even though she was still trying to talk. She grabbed her throat and coughed, then looked at me. ¡°What¡­¡± She shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s weird.¡±

    I realized that I¡¯d have to tell her later about how the seal would prevent her from talking about how I was a Godling in front of others.

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    ¡°So things are better left unasked.¡± Whisper craned his neck to look into the kitchen. ¡°Is there..?¡±

    Oz nodded and jerked her thumb at the door to the back. ¡°We made plates for all eight of you. They¡¯re in the oven, though I don¡¯t know if they¡¯re still warm.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± The silver man gave a little bow, then hurried into the kitchen.

    My stomach growled to remind me that I¡¯d barely eaten all day. ¡°I guess we¡¯d better eat.¡±

    Ether and Justia followed Whisper with Kara right behind them. Oz grabbed me before I could get through the door and pulled me back.

    ¡°Is everything okay?¡± The brown woman had both of her hands around my right arm.

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± I looked over at the tents. I didn¡¯t know how safe this building was to talk in. I knew that Kara could do some shielding, but she was laughing in the other room while getting her food. It felt wrong to ask her to stop so that I could speak a little more freely. Zel, Shelly, and Jen hadn¡¯t been brought into the pact and I didn¡¯t need one of them to learn something that would get back to the Nobles.

    ¡°Complicated.¡± I tried to smile, but that didn¡¯t seem to put her at ease. I knew that she didn¡¯t like how close Whisper was to us. And given the two Goddesses and their guards, not to mention the dungeon break, I could see how all of those worries were starting to weigh on her.

    ¡°Hey¡­¡± I pulled her close and wrapped her in a hug. ¡°It¡¯s going to be okay.¡±

    ¡°I just feel¡­¡± She pulled back just enough so that she could look at me. ¡°Like I¡¯m not doing anything.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re keeping everything together while I¡¯m helping to bring Mive back.¡± I brushed a black lock of hair back behind her ear. She tilted her head to lean against my hand and closed her eyes. I leaned in and kissed her gently, holding the embrace as she melted into me.

    ¡°Atlas! Your food¡¯s getting cold again!¡± Justia yelled from the other side of the door.

    I broke the kiss. ¡°I¡¯ll be in there in a minute!¡± I looked back into Oz¡¯s green eyes. ¡°Feel any better?¡±

    ¡°Maybe a little.¡±

    ¡°A bunch of littles together can make a lot.¡± I bounced my eyebrows.

    Oz pushed against my chest. ¡°I think you¡¯ve had enough ¡®littles¡¯ until you¡¯ve eaten or Justia is going to throw a fit.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± I held up my hands, releasing her. ¡°But seriously. I feel a lot better knowing that you¡¯re out here watching over the team.¡±

    The brown woman smiled. ¡°Thanks.¡±

    ¡°Now¡­¡± I pushed open the door. ¡°It¡¯s time to eat!¡±

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 32

    We repeated that for ten days.

    There was a part of me that was worried because we hadn¡¯t been attacked by the demons yet. I wasn¡¯t sure what they were up to, but I didn¡¯t feel like they were going to just cut their losses and walk away.

    Our lessons had gotten better. Ether was thriving under Whisper¡¯s training and had outpaced both myself and Kara in what she¡¯d learned. She was able to cast any magic that she¡¯d seen before and was learning how to multicast and keep multiple buffs up at once.

    Kara seemed almost reluctant to learn from Whisper. I knew it had to be strange that she was a higher Tier than he was, but inside the Mantle, he was the master. I knew that she was wanting to learn, but I felt like she would have much rather if it had been Klix who was the one teaching.

    Klix was keeping Gesai away from us so much that I hadn¡¯t seen the red-haired teacher at all. Oz told me that she¡¯d leveled up, but I didn¡¯t know how many levels she¡¯d gone up. I also had no idea why the ivory Goddess was trying to powerlevel Gesai, but I hadn¡¯t seen Klix either to be able to ask her.

    Oz had become my tether to the outside. Shelly was staying in the tent where Astrid and Trent had been placed on cots. Klix had drafted the others to help a pair of Scarlets coordinate the Adventurers who came to the city looking for better rewards from monsters outside the break.

    It was a good leveling system as the experience gained and the crystal dropped were the same as if they had beaten a floor boss, so lots of teams had tried to enter the city. The problem was that there was a finite amount of space that could be used.

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    The complication was the size of the parties. In order to keep the monsters in the city from turning into elites, the Adventurers had to make sure that there were no more than six Adventurers within three blocks of each other. To combat this, Klix had declared that each Adventurer team could only farm in a set area every day. Around each area was a three block ¡®dead zone¡¯ where Adventurers were forbidden from entering. The first day a few Adventurers had refused to listen to Oz when she¡¯d warned them about leaving their designated area. Klix had made an example out of them almost immediately. I hadn¡¯t gotten a chance to really observe it, but to hear them talk after we got finished, I doubted anyone in the city would try to give us trouble.

    They had taken out two floor bosses, the level one from the Temple Dungeon and level three from the Authority Dungeon, that had gotten close enough to the tree that they weren¡¯t in danger of getting attacked by higher level monsters while they had been fighting. Klix had personally overseen the fights, which I wasn¡¯t sure what her goal was, but she seemed to be helping out my class a lot more than even Tres did.

    I honestly didn¡¯t have much energy to deal with anything after we got done with our own training. Having an infinite amount of mana was nice, but the strain on my mind had my ears ringing by the time we finished each day. I was glad that the other members of my team had started feeling productive, but most of the days, I¡¯d just gone straight to bed in the tent that had been reserved for Ether, Oz, Ren, and Kara. At first I¡¯d been weirded out that Kara had wanted to sleep in the same tent, but considering almost all of the time that I¡¯d spent in it, I¡¯d been asleep, it stopped nagging at me after a few days.

    The biggest thing that had bothered me was that we still hadn¡¯t seen the demons. I felt like Harror and her guards were starting to lower their guard, but there wasn¡¯t much I could do. I just hoped that Whisper would be able to handle things when we did get attacked.

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 33

    Klix had finished interrogating the Six.

    Even though there was an urgency about getting Mive free, I was thankful for the day off. For once, I actually slept in on purpose and woke up after Ether did.

    Some of the others had already left for the large tent by the tree where they were coordinating the Adventurers. Now that there was a system in place, they only needed to have four, five if the Scarlet wasn¡¯t there, of them at the tent. I could hear noises from the kitchen and guessed that was where most of my team was, but I wanted to check on Trent before I got something to eat. It had almost become like a morning ritual as I looked into the tent where Shelly was watching over our teacher and teammate.

    ¡°¡®Morning Shelly, Any change?¡±

    ¡°Not yet.¡± Shelly touched Trent¡¯s forehead. ¡°But no change is better than getting worse.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°How about you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± The tank smiled at me, then motioned at the private dining area. ¡°I think Klix is waiting to talk to you. She asked me to send you to Her once you woke up.¡±

    I swallowed. While Harror had mellowed just a little, though She still didn¡¯t want us talking casually to Her, Klix had kept a casual-at-times-explosive attitude towards me in particular. There was no denying that She was the one calling the shots in the city. Harror could slow Her down, but ultimately the city needed someone who could act quick and kill faster. The green Goddess was great for healing people and anyone who got under Her tree was not only safe from monsters, but also healed almost instantly. But healing wouldn¡¯t take back the city, so while people were grateful to Harror, they needed Klix.

    That Ether was my¡­ actually, I wasn¡¯t sure what designation to give her. Prime was the one she¡¯d used, so I probably needed to adopt that title for her as well. Anyway, it felt like because of how close Ether was to me, that Klix was being especially hard on me, the few times that I¡¯d seen Her anyway.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± I turned and started walking towards the room. My stomach growled in protest, but Klix had been waiting already and I didn¡¯t want to give her an excuse to get upset with me by making her wait any longer.

    The Six were in the private dining room, along with Klix, Ether, Kara, and two other Scarlets. Mive was still on the middle of the table and I¡¯d interrupted something by walking in.

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    ¡°I was told you wanted to see me. Sorry, I can¡­¡±

    ¡°Get in and sit down.¡± Klix pointed at an empty chair by Ether.

    I closed the door behind me and took my seat. The city¡¯s leaders were on the opposite side of the table against the long side of the wall. They each looked worn out and I had no doubt that Klix had only bothered to question them at the end of the day if She¡¯d felt like it.

    Sandez Jinsu had led the Six when we¡¯d arrived, but it looked like Yasmin Gara was sitting at the front of their group. The sixty seven year old silver-skinned woman had black hair and eyes that were so black that they looked like voids. She held herself up straight despite her current situation, while the rest of her colleagues looked like they were trying to back away from the table.

    The seventy-one year old woman on her right was Sandez Jinsu¡¯s granddaughter, not his daughter. Varina Jinsu didn¡¯t share a single major feature with her grandfather. She had black hair, green eyes, and golden skin, while her grandfather had light brown hair, yellow eyes, and snowy-white skin. I was kind of glad that she didn¡¯t have those glowing yellow eyes. My heart still sped up whenever I thought about the demon glaring at me with them.

    I remembered from the lecture Trent had given us at the start of our trip here that Evan Harlax wasn¡¯t a Harlax by birth. The forty-three year old man also wasn¡¯t even the next generation under Remy Harlax, but I was starting to see how sometimes that didn¡¯t matter. His spousal name was Baxu and he came from Juel, but he had the silver skin that Remy craved, so he had been the one to receive the backing. The green-eyed man had the same fiery red hair that his daughter and son shared and I wondered if Astrid got her temperament from her father or her mother.

    I¡¯d already met Pete Inon when we¡¯d gotten Zel. The forty-three year old man was wearing a lot less formal clothes now, or maybe it was just that the clothes he was wearing were probably the same ones that he¡¯d been in when the Scarlets had detained them. The blonde man was picking at his fingers like I¡¯d seen Zel doing when she was nervous. I tried to look into his blue eyes to see if I could get a read on him, but the black-skinned man was keeping them focused on his hands.

    Garce Faeru was on the left corner. Sydney¡¯s husband looked tired and his snowy-white skin looked like it had taken on a light shade of gray. His green eyes had dulled and his black hair was unkempt. I felt bad for Sydney, she had taken a big risk to help us get our friends back and to avoid capture. It felt like we were repaying her generosity with bitterness, even if she had been bound to help Trent out.

    That left Remy Wesh as the final member of the Six. The forty year old green man reminded me a lot of his cousin, Hayz Calx, who had taken over teaching Trent¡¯s old class back at the Cathedral. His mother was Hayz''s aunt and he had married Shelly¡¯s aunt. There was a nagging part of me that wondered why we hadn¡¯t been sent to them, since our team had so many connections to the family, but that was a question for Trent whenever the older man woke up. The red haired, brown eyed man had his full attention on Mive and there was a genuine look of fear on his face.

    ¡°Now¡­¡± Klix put both of Her hands on the table. ¡°We can begin.¡±

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 34

    Klix was trying to intimidate them.

    The aura coming off of Her was so intense that I couldn¡¯t look at Her and I knew that even with my lower stats, I still had some protection that was built into my class.

    Yasmin Gara was the only one who was even attempting to look at the ivory Goddess and as soon as the pressure stopped and I looked at her, the toothy smile displaying her razor sharp teeth told me that she was proud of the display she¡¯d just reinforced.

    ¡°To recap for those who slept in¡­¡± Klix glared at me.

    ¡°What makes him so special?¡± Yasmin pointed at me. ¡°He¡¯s just a child!¡±

    ¡°He is...¡± Klix stalked her way over to me and ran one of her claws up the side of my cheek. ¡°Trent VOWLER¡¯S child. As long as the old man is injured from trying to save your city from your families, I think that he should listen in so he can report back to his father.¡±

    ¡°How is your father?¡± Varina Jinsu spoke up before Yasmin could try to antagonize me even more. ¡°Will he be able to join us soon?¡±

    Klix¡¯s left claws scraped into my back where they couldn¡¯t see. I tried not to let the Six see that I¡¯d gotten her message as I looked at the golden woman. ¡°I¡¯m just here to observe and report, not comment on the extent of my father¡¯s injuries.¡±

    The pressure on my back lessened as Klix began to move around to the head of the table. ¡°I¡¯m starting to think that you¡¯re forgetting your place again¡­¡±

    All six of the leaders stiffened and even Yasmin lowered her head. I wasn¡¯t sure what sort of demonstration the ivory Goddess had made, but it had made an impression.

    ¡°Good¡­¡± Klix sat down in the chair at the end of the table and put Her boots up. There was a part of me that wondered if the shark-toothed Goddess was wearing dungeon gear to make a statement or if that was what She really preferred. ¡°To recap¡­ As far as I can tell, none of you knew what your ancestors were doing to my friend here.¡± She nodded towards Mive. ¡°And the tree lover tells me that as best as she can tell, none of you is possessed, but since the city was already freed before we arrived, I can¡¯t really be sure of that. Especially since all of you are sporting that vile seal.¡±

    She pulled her feet down and wove her fingers together as she leaned forward. ¡°Out of the one-hundred ninety-one gates that popped up all over this city, one-hundred nineteen of them have been closed. All of the Tier Six gates are gone as are almost all of the Tier Zero through Two. My Scarlets are focusing on the higher Tier Fives and the remaining Adventurer teams are going into the Tier Threes and Four, while we have teams staying topside to take care of any monsters that get out and to clean up the monsters that are still in the city.¡±

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    Klix smiled as she looked over at me. ¡°Harror tells me that she is close to pulling Mive out of his coma, so it won¡¯t be long before he can take over the reclamation of his city.¡± She glared at the Six. ¡°Which brings us to the present topic which was what again?¡±

    The predatory look in her red eyes felt like it was daring one of them to say something off topic.

    Yasmin cleared her throat. ¡°We were discussing¡­¡±

    ¡°You were telling us what we were going to do.¡± Garce Faeru interrupted the older woman. ¡°You were telling us that because of the seals the former Six had placed on us, you can¡¯t trust us, but that we can use our influence to help get this city back on its feet.¡±

    Yasmin turned to glare at the snowy man, but everyone jumped as Klix banged her fist on the table.

    ¡°I like you!¡± The ivory Goddess flashed a toothy smile. ¡°Maybe there is hope after all!¡± She focused on Sydney¡¯s husband. ¡°It¡¯s nice to see that someone has realized how dangerous of a deal your ancestors made. And to point out just how deadly it is for the rest of the group...¡± She tapped her claws on the table. ¡°How many people have died because of the Dungeon Break?¡±

    ¡°Three hundred and twenty seven.¡± Pete Inon swallowed after he offered the information.

    ¡°And that¡¯s just the ones whose bodies we¡¯ve recovered.¡± Klix shook her head. ¡°The real number is probably three times that many and will likely double before the city can be purged.¡± She looked at Yasmin. ¡°Would you like to discuss how to save more lives?¡±

    The silver woman slowly shook her head.

    ¡°Good. Gather your families. I want anyone who has that mark in the center with you by the end of the day. This Fox should be awake by the end of the week and He can decide what to do with all of you then.¡± Klix waved her hand to let the two Scarlets by the door know that the Six were being dismissed. ¡°I¡¯ll have someone bring a statement for you to read to the citizens later today.¡±

    ¡°What about my daughter?¡± Pete looked over at me. ¡°Are you going to put Zel in the center with us?¡±

    I opened my mouth even though I had no idea what I was going to say.

    ¡°Do you have any idea what they planned to do to her?¡± Ether growled as she stood up and slapped both of her hands on the table.

    Pete glanced at her, then looked back at me.

    ¡°Don¡¯t look at him!¡± Ether balled her fist and slammed it on the table. ¡°Did. You. Know?¡±

    Yasmin looked like she was about to lash out at Ether, but a low growl from Klix was enough to silence whatever rebuttal the leader of the Six had. The others were all looking away, especially Remy Harlax.

    ¡°I knew that she was supposed to serve the Six next.¡± He shook his head. ¡°I didn¡¯t know that meant that she was going to be possessed, but given how Wardy Harlax and Lecia Jinsu were heirs, I couldn¡¯t imagine why she would be next in line, especially since Stime is supposed to be my heir, not Zel.¡± His blue eyes pleaded with me. ¡°I just wanted her safe and hoped that if you took her, then they¡¯d let her go.¡±

    Ether¡¯s expression softened a little at his explanation.

    ¡°She¡¯s safe from them now.¡± Klix waved her hand. ¡°You can leave.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t sure what the look that washed over his face was, but I was hoping it was relief. As soon as they were gone, I turned to Klix. ¡°What was that about? Why did you have me come in here just to watch you tell them¡­¡± I shrugged. ¡°What exactly?¡±

    ¡°Sit down.¡± Klix walked over to the other side of the table. Now it was just myself, Ether, and Kara in the room with her. ¡°We need to talk.¡±

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 35

    No good conversation started that way.

    I swallowed. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Straight to the point.¡± Klix smiled. ¡°You might be a keeper.¡± She winked at Ether, then turned back to me. ¡°At first we thought that the Six or their minions were responsible for detonating the Dungeon Seed that caused the Dungeon Break, but after a week of rooting around inside their heads, I haven¡¯t been able to find any trace of them knowing anything about a Dungeon Seed.¡± She folded her hands after she turned a chair around to sit on it backwards. ¡°There are other people I could call, but you¡¯ve lived through one of these, so I wanted to hear your thoughts.¡± She smiled. ¡°You reminding those arrogant fools where they stand right now was just a bonus.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­¡± I looked over at Ether. ¡°Then why did you have Ether sit in too?¡±

    The smile on her face told me everything I needed to know.

    ¡°You¡¯re establishing us both as the heirs of Trent, but why?¡± I took Ether¡¯s left hand in my right. ¡°Does that mean you¡¯re going to let her stay?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a very complex question that requires an answer only your father can give.¡± The ivory Goddess chuckled. ¡°But I think I already know what he¡¯s going to say.¡±

    ¡°What..?¡±

    ¡°Enough about later matters.¡± Klix waved her hand. ¡°Back to the Dungeon Seed. I need you to tell me what happened in Wurn.¡±

    I swallowed. There was a lot about what happened that I couldn¡¯t tell her. ¡°Um¡­ What do you want to know?¡±

    ¡°There wasn¡¯t a Dungeon Break there, so what did these fanatics do with the Seeds?¡± She tapped her claws on the table.

    ¡°You think that it¡¯s the Cult of Wurn that did this?¡± That didn¡¯t make much sense. The Cult had been trying to resurrect Wurn. Setting off a Dungeon Seed here wouldn¡¯t do that. Especially since Trent had killed the ghost of Wurn and Arlo had taken the Mantle.

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t the Six, so unless you can think of someone else who had access to Dungeon Seeds..?¡± Her red eyes were studying me.

    ¡°It¡¯s possible that one of the Adventurers there could have grabbed one, but I don¡¯t know why they¡¯d release it in town. Maybe to start a coup?¡± I looked over at Ether, who shrugged.

    ¡°The Cult was trying to resurrect Wurn.¡± I swallowed as I tried to think of a way to word things so that I didn¡¯t give away what had happened. ¡°They used the seeds to lock Trent and the other high level Adventurers there who weren¡¯t part of the Cult in the Dungeon, then Aryne Minti tried to use the power the Dungeon Seeds were putting out to resurrect Wurn. A local blacksmith sacrificed himself by going through the portal that Aryne was drawing power from to close it so that Trent and the rest of his team could get out. They were able to shut it down and stop Wurn from being resurrected.¡±

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    Klix nodded slowly. ¡°Mive is still alive, but maybe they didn¡¯t know that. Which means¡­¡± Her voice drifted off as she began to think quietly.

    ¡°Maybe the Dungeon Seeds have a different function.¡± Ether squeezed my hand. ¡°You did say that Tres told you there had been other places where Dungeon Seeds had been detonated.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± I¡¯d forgotten about that conversation. ¡°Tres said that one went off in Vefe and Slece had one go off in her city.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Klix looked up at the ceiling as her face cracked into a toothy smile. ¡°The skeleton has been through one of these too.¡±

    ¡°So it seems like they aren¡¯t just happening in Godless towns.¡± Ether leaned forward. ¡°Do you think Slece would know what the Cultists were trying to do in Her city?¡±

    ¡°If She did, I doubt She¡¯d tell me.¡± Klix shook her head. ¡°We might hunt together some times, but that doesn¡¯t mean that She¡¯d give me information that didn¡¯t help Her. And to be honest¡­¡± Klix leaned forward and tapped Mive on the arm. ¡°She probably wouldn¡¯t mind if this Fox was taken off the board. It¡¯d make Her the oldest one in the Ward, which would give Her a lot more pull during a Quorum.¡± The Ivory Goddess looked at me. ¡°So even if She does know, unless it really helped Her, She¡¯s not going to help.¡±

    ¡°So what do we do?¡± I looked between Klix and Ether. The more I was around them, the more I was picking up on features that they shared. It was starting to feel like I was talking to an older version of Ether when I looked at Klix, which was weirding me out a little.

    ¡°I¡¯ll keep closing gates.¡± Klix tapped a claw on the table. ¡°You¡¯ll finish waking up this sleeping bum so that He can finish cleaning up His city and I can go home.¡±

    ¡°Why are you here?¡± I couldn¡¯t understand why both Klix and Harror would be working so hard to save a city when neither of them seemed to be very happy to be here.

    Klix sighed. ¡°You can¡¯t just leave a Dungeon Break. If you do, the gates start spitting out more and more monsters and those monsters won¡¯t stay in the city for long. And once they get into the wild¡­¡± She let my imagination finish that thought. ¡°So I have to stay until Mive wakes up, because the alternative is to leave and let Slece Desolate the place to clean it up.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± I tried to give her a smile. ¡°Thanks.¡±

    ¡°Enjoy your day off.¡± Klix got up and headed for the door. ¡°If you think of anything else, tell Kara.¡±

    I watched her leave and before I could say anything, my stomach growled to remind me that I hadn¡¯t eaten yet today. I stood up and put my hand on Ether¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Have you eaten?¡¯

    The ivory woman nodded as she got out of her chair. ¡°Kara and I finished just before Klix brought them in.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡± I¡¯d have to see what I could grab from the kitchen that I could eat quickly. ¡°So what do you want to do today?¡±

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 36

    Rix was in the kitchen.

    My heart started pounding as Ether ran over and gave the golden woman a hug. Justia, Aelin, and Zel were the only other ones in the kitchen, but as happy as everyone looked at having Rix back, my attention went straight to Kara. The Tier Five bodyguard looked like she was on edge, but it was hard to read her while she was covered in her red armor. I knew that Rix had been staying away to stay off of the Goddesses radar, so something big had to have happened in order for her to come out.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I swallowed as I turned back to our teammate.

    The redhead nodded at Kara. ¡°How long until you have to contact your Goddess?¡±

    ¡°It depends on what you say.¡± Kara looked over at her sister and shook her head. I felt like there was a little bit of remorse for knowing that she was going to have to report to Klix.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Ether took her sister¡¯s hand. ¡°Maybe you should step out?¡±

    ¡°It won¡¯t matter, so I¡¯ll be quick.¡± Rix looked at me. ¡°I found where the Demons, the Cult, and the Gifted have all holed up.¡±

    ¡°The Gifted?¡± I hadn¡¯t heard that term before.

    ¡°Mundane who can use magic.¡± Rix was looking at Kara. ¡°They¡¯re the ones that the demons originally used to create the binding spell that is holding Mive.¡±

    ¡°If they created it, can they..?¡± My heart started beating faster.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think they¡¯re going to be staying here much longer. They don¡¯t want the Goddesses to find out about them, so they were packing up before the door-to-door cleaning sweeps started.¡± The golden Shooter crossed her arms. ¡°That isn¡¯t why I came to get you.¡±

    I picked up a biscuit from a bowl that was lined with a towel, so that the biscuits could be covered later. ¡°I assumed it was important.¡± I bit into the apple flavored fluffy bread.

    ¡°The Cult is planning something soon, but before we get into that¡­¡± Rix was looking at Kara, not me. ¡°The Demons want to talk¡­¡± She glanced at me. ¡°To you.¡±

    I could see Ether tighten her grip on her sister¡¯s arm. I wasn¡¯t sure how Kara would contact Klix, but given that the Goddess had just left, I didn¡¯t see how she wouldn¡¯t be here fast once Ether¡¯s sister did.

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    ¡°ONLY Atlas?¡± Aelin rolled her eyes. ¡°I mean, I thought he¡¯d add a demihuman eventually, but a demon..?¡± She clicked her tongue. ¡°Kinky.¡±

    ¡°Aelin¡­¡± I shook my head as I turned to the blonde that was hanging onto Justia¡¯s arm. ¡°Is that all you think about?¡±

    ¡°No¡­¡± The brown woman pecked my priestess on the cheek. ¡°But you do have a wandering eye¡­¡± Her gaze swept over all the other women in the room.

    ¡°Ether is the only..!¡± I shook my head as Zel moved closer to me. Of the four other women in the room, not counting Justia, Ether was the only one who was part of my harem and I hadn¡¯t really considered trying to add any of the others. Rix wasn¡¯t interested in a physical relationship, Zel only wanted one to bundle with her ticket out of the city and Kara¡­ Kara belonged to Klix. ¡°Go ahead, have your fun.¡± I looked at Rix, who was smirking. ¡°Only me? And how did you figure this out?¡±

    ¡°They don¡¯t want to draw the attention of the Goddesses or the teachers, but they have a proposition for you, but I don¡¯t know who else they¡¯d want tagging along.¡± The golden woman shrugged. ¡°And he told me this after I interrogated him.¡±

    Of course Rix would have interrogated the demon once she found them. ¡°When?¡±

    ¡°The sooner the better.¡± Rix was watching Kara. ¡°They¡¯re willing to tell you what the Cult is about to do, but they want something in return.¡±

    ¡°What do they want?¡± I kept my focus on Ether¡¯s sister as well. I don¡¯t know why, but it felt like she might attack us at any moment.

    ¡°He wants to trade how to wake up Trent for a blind eye while they leave the city. The tree blocks them from getting through the gate, and they¡¯re too weak to try to go through the sewers, with the Adventurers patrolling down there.¡± Rix folded her arms. ¡°Now the question becomes. Are you going to try to stop us?¡±

    The Scarlet pulled out of Ether¡¯s grasp. ¡°You know I have to report this¡­¡± She paused, then grabbed her sister. ¡°You¡¯d only say this in front of me if you wanted to separate us so that she could go with you. And you¡¯d only want her¡­¡± Her helmet slowly turned to Justia. ¡°You¡¯re going into the Mantle!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Zel hurried over and wrapped herself around my arm.

    I hated how scared she seemed. And I really hated the confused look on Aelin¡¯s face. ¡°Look.¡± I peeled the blonde off of me. ¡°There¡¯s a lot that needs to be explained, but this isn¡¯t the time or the place. But I promise that I¡¯ll tell you later.¡± I looked at Kara. ¡°Are you going to try to stop us?¡±

    Rix had already grabbed Justia by the shoulder and was guiding the green priestess towards the door. She reached me and held out her hand for me to take. I knew that if I took her hand, she could make me invisible and then there would be no way that Kara could stop us.

    ¡°You can¡¯t stop us.¡± I decided to try to make the decision for her. ¡°But you can observe us.¡± I nodded towards where Mive was lying. ¡°Come with us. Wouldn¡¯t Klix rather know what went on, then that it was happening?¡±

    I saw her shoulders sag. ¡°Fine.¡±

    That was all the confirmation that I needed. Rix didn¡¯t look happy, but I knew she¡¯d be glad for the backup. I turned to Aelin. ¡°Stay here with Zel. We¡¯ll be right back.¡±

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 37

    We didn¡¯t have to wait long.

    A single tentacle-faced, dark green monster crawled through one of the festering holes in the wall of the Bequeathal Chamber. It straightened up to almost eight feet tall as its yellow eyes glared down at me.

    I stepped forward as I saw Kara and Rix draw their weapons and move to flank me. Despite having set up this meeting, it seemed like Rix didn¡¯t fully trust the other side.

    ¡°There is no need for weapons, I have not come to fight.¡± The demon held up its webbed hands to show that they were empty. The tightly bound brown robe that it was wearing looked spacious even to conceal a weapon and I knew that with how rich the magic was here, it could have a weapon or cast spells instantly.

    ¡°You wanted to talk with me.¡± I spread out my hands. ¡°So talk.¡±

    ¡°I am Simel, first of our glorious master, Kinwel.¡± The demon knelt on one knee so that it was my height. ¡°I come to offer apologies on behalf of our leader.¡±

    ¡°You..?¡± I looked over at Rix. ¡°You what?¡±

    ¡°The interaction that happened here is a gross misunderstanding.¡± Simel pointed at Mive and the mass of shadowy bindings that were squirming at his feet. ¡°The ones you interacted with were merely supposed to research the Mantles to see if they could help us maintain our forms while in your world, but it seems that they became overly enthusiastic.¡±

    ¡°You mean by possessing people, putting Mive in a coma, and kidnapping my whole team?¡± I shook my head. ¡°How is that a misunderstanding?¡±

    ¡°They¡­¡± The dark green demon paused. ¡°It is imperative that our presence remains a secret. They were just trying to remain discreet.¡± I nodded at me. ¡°And before you say that they revealed themselves after they tried to possess you, they believed that your father had learned of our presence here, though after some review, we have discovered that is not the case.¡±

    ¡°You did¡­ Wait. How did you ¡®discover¡¯ that my father didn¡¯t know about you?¡±

    ¡°We have faithful to look into such things.¡± The demon shrugged. ¡°It was a misunderstanding and now I am here to offer a treaty.¡±

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    ¡°A treaty?¡± I shook my head. ¡°What is it that you want?¡±

    ¡°We want to be able to walk in the sunlight and bathe in the oceans without being dragged back into the Abyss, but you don¡¯t have the power to do such things.¡± Simel shook his head, causing the tentacles on his chin to waggle. ¡°What you can do is let us continue our research in peace. Tell the Goddesses that you made the whole thing up.¡±

    ¡°You want us to¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t believe the brazen request. ¡°You want us to tell the Goddesses that this was all just some story that we made up to get attention, so that you can continue to carve the souls out of people¡¯s bodies so that you can wear them like a suit?¡±

    The yellow-eyed demon blinked with both sets of eyelids. ¡°We only possess the willing.¡±

    I was starting to feel upset, but I didn¡¯t want to let it show. Too much anyway. I gritted my teeth until I could unclench my jaw. ¡°That¡¯s a really big ask. What are you offering in return?¡±

    The demon blinked again. ¡°It is a treaty. You leave us alone and we leave you alone.¡±

    I looked over at Rix. ¡°Did you know about this part?¡±

    The golden woman shook her head. ¡°They told me that he would show you how to wake up Trent in exchange for not looking for them once they left the city.¡±

    I was starting to get a bad feeling about the whole thing. ¡°How exactly did he contact you?¡± I nodded at the demon in front of me.

    ¡°He was inside a priest from the Temple.¡±

    The chill that ran down my spine felt like it was replacing my backbone with ice cubes. They already had more people that they could possess. It made a little sense in a way that if Mive¡¯s High Priest had been possessed, there would be more people at the Temple in Mive that were also possessed.

    ¡°So basically what you¡¯re saying is that you want me to get the Goddesses to leave and forget you are here so that you can keep doing what you were doing before we got here?¡± I shook my head. ¡°And all you¡¯re offering is to what? LET us leave town?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think you realize¡­¡±

    ¡°NO!¡± I cut him off. ¡°You tried to take my friends and the best apology you can give is ¡®we¡¯ll forget how many of us you killed to get your friends that we were about to kill back¡¯?¡± I shook my head. ¡°I thought demons were supposed to be good at deals. Offering things that people wanted. Do you even have the first idea about what a human would want?¡±

    The demon started laughing. It was a deep bellow that seemed to echo off of the walls of the Chamber. In that moment, it also felt like he was mocking us.

    ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± I tried to give him my best glare.

    It shook its head as it stood up. ¡°You¡¯re not human. Even without that flimsy magical coating that makes you think you¡¯re a god, you aren¡¯t human.¡±

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 38

    It didn¡¯t think that I was a human.

    I¡¯d learned a lot of words since I got my Mantle. Sugaru, Elgaru, Nephilim, Gibborim, and Godling were the main ones, but those were just what the Mantle made someone. They were still human, because the other option was that they were demihuman. There were the fox-people that were Kitsune, the monkey-people that belonged to the Raijin, the bone-skinned-people called Grim, the canine-people that were Anubis, the rat-people who were Rhastan, and the bovine-people that were Minotaur. If you weren¡¯t one of those, then you were a human.

    ¡°How are we not human?¡± I spread my arms. ¡°I look pretty human to me.¡±

    ¡°You think that humans have skin that is as white as milk..?¡± He nodded at Rix. ¡°Or pointy ears..?¡± He nodded at Ether. ¡°Or shark teeth..?¡± He finished with Justia. ¡°Or even green skin?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re all human.¡± I shrugged. ¡°That¡¯s like saying that because we have different-sized noses or different colored blood, we aren''t human.¡±

    ¡°Exactly!¡± The demon shook its head. ¡°Almost two thousand years ago, the Elves put a bunch of different races on this planet to see what would happen. The demi-humans couldn¡¯t mix, so they stayed fairly pure, but the rest of the races?¡± It laughed. ¡°You couldn¡¯t call any of you a part of one of those. By this time, you¡¯ve mixed so much that you¡¯re your own race, but it isn¡¯t human.¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± I closed my eyes. It was trying to rile me up for some reason. I needed to focus on figuring out what that was instead of letting it egg me on. ¡±You don¡¯t want a treaty¡­¡± I started backing up. ¡°But you wanted me in here. Why would you..?¡± I realized what he was after. Outside the Bequeathal Chamber, they couldn¡¯t get to us because of the protective tree that Harror had in place. But inside the Bequeathal Chamber, we were very out in the open. And right now we didn¡¯t have half of our protective detail. But it wasn¡¯t me that they wanted. It was the person who could open the Bequeathal Chamber. He was after Justia.

    ¡°We need to get out of here, NOW!¡± I turned around and saw that there three other Demons that were starting to crawl out of the wall from behind Mive.

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    I felt a buzz behind me and glanced over my shoulder. The pieces of Simel were doing the slow shadowy burn thing that the demons did when they died. Rix stood over the mess with her chainsword in hand and a smile on her face.

    Kara took out the first one on my left before it could make it through the wall. Rix backstabbed the one on my right as soon as it got free, leaving the farthest one from us as the only one left. Both women attacked it, Kara from the front and Rix from the back, within seconds it had been cut down just like the others.

    ¡°We need to get out of here.¡± I grabbed Justia¡¯s hand and ran with her over to where Mive was restrained.

    ¡°Foolish little mutts¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t tell where the voice was coming from, but it sounded like it was from everywhere all at once.

    ¡°Where is it?¡± Ether had her shield out and was turning in a half circle as she walked backwards behind us as we ran.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± I looked around the Chamber, but it didn¡¯t seem like anyone else was in here with us. I came to a full stop just a few feet from the throne.

    Justia looked back at me and she pulled against my arm and Ether backed into me.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± The green priestess was breathing fast.

    ¡°I¡¯m just trying to think¡­¡± I looked from Ether to Rix. ¡°Why would the Demons want to lure us in without Harror or Klix, then stop after making such a pitiful attempt at grabbing us?¡± I looked at Justia. ¡°I thought they were going to try to take out Justia, but now¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°What if it wasn¡¯t about getting to us, but getting us out of the way?¡± Rix still had her weapon out as she walked over to us. ¡°What if they were really going after something else, but they didn¡¯t want you or Justia there because¡­¡± Her voice drifted off as she came up empty.

    ¡°That¡¯s my problem.¡± I looked at the green woman. ¡°No offense, but neither of us is that significant compared to the Goddesses or their guards. Really, the only thing either of us is really useful at the moment is to open and close Mive¡¯s Mantle.¡±

    Rix looked around. ¡°I feel like we¡¯re being watched. Can you get us out of here and we can talk about it on the other side?¡±

    Kara sliced my arm without being prompted. I was getting way too used to her cutting me and seeing Justia rub her hand in the blood before she brought us through the Mantle. I knew that once we got on the other side, she¡¯d heal me, then it¡¯d be like it never happened.

    Except this time when we got on the other side, we weren¡¯t in the private dining area of the restaurant. We were in the middle of a street in the downtown area.

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 39

    We¡¯d messed up.

    I wasn¡¯t sure how they¡¯d done it, but somehow the demons had done something to transport us out of the restaurant. Though considering that Mive was hanging in the air in front of us, suspended by the smoking tendrils that were slowly crawling back over his body.

    ¡°Hello!¡± A silver skinned man in his seventies with thinning black hair waved at us.

    ¡°You¡¯re¡­¡± I knew I¡¯d seen him recently, but I couldn¡¯t remember where.

    ¡°Vee.¡± He gave a little bow. ¡°Butler to the Six, though I¡¯m also called¡­¡± His blue eyes flashed yellow for a moment. ¡°Yoriel.¡±

    ¡°Kara.¡±

    The single word was all the prompting she needed, but her white blade bounced off of a purple barrier that flashed in front of the demon for just a moment.

    ¡°Such a wonderful little spell.¡± The silver monster knelt down, and one of the black tendrils wriggled across the ground over the purple line that had formed between him and Mive. ¡°Just add a little magic to get it started, and the host does the rest.¡± His skin shone as he touched the tendril.

    ¡°You¡¯re behind this?¡± I noticed that Rix had vanished as I walked over to Kara and put my hand on her shoulder to guide her back.

    ¡°You could say that I started this, yes.¡± Yoriel stood back up. ¡°Honestly, it¡¯s a shame that you¡¯re still here. These things are so hungry, but much like bees, once they feed, they die.¡± He smiled widely, ¡°No point in wasting the few that we have on things that wouldn¡¯t even make a mouthful¡­¡± His eyes locked on to Kara. ¡°But you have power.¡±

    ¡°NO!¡± Ether had pulled her shield out of her CB and tried to intercept the tendril that snaked out of the mass under Mive. A purple circle appeared under Kara as the smokey limb diverted around my tank and wrapped itself around Ether¡¯s sister.

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    I reached for my SnakeBlade and pulled it out of my CB and tried to cut it off of her, but my sword bounced off of the same purple barrier that Kara¡¯s had.

    ¡°KARA!¡± Ether rammed into the barrier, then focused on the tendril. ¡°LOOK AT ME!¡±

    My blood felt like it had turned to ice as I heard her release the taunt. Relief and guilt washed over me as nothing happened except the demon laughing hysterically.

    ¡°You can¡¯t taunt something that high level!¡± The demon was holding his stomach while he laughed.

    ¡°Atlas!¡± Ether fell against the barrier while Justia ran over to her.

    I turned to the demon. ¡°LET HER GO!¡±

    The silver man tilted his head to the side. ¡°You really are like a child.¡± He shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t understand how so many failed. This was almost too easy.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean too easy?¡± Nothing about the last two weeks felt easy.

    ¡°Emptying the city so that this spell would work. Finding the right time to lure you into the between without that tree freak. Getting you to play hero so you charged in and wouldn¡¯t notice that those demons you cut down had been turned into anchors that would pull you here!¡± He raised his hands and gestured around him. As I watched the motion, I finally realized where we were. We were behind the Hex where the Dungeon Seed had been detonated.

    ¡°You planned all of this?¡± I swallowed as I tried to figure out what his endgame was. ¡°To do what?¡±

    ¡°Simel already told you that. These bodies can¡¯t contain our true power, but with a Mantle, we can attune it to be more powerful than any of the gods in this world.¡± His eyes glistened. ¡°And then we can finally take our rightful place in the Universe!¡±

    ¡°You really think you¡¯re going to be so powerful that you can go into space?¡± I shook my head. ¡°With their Mantles?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need their mantles.¡± The demon shook his head. ¡°Just their experience to feed mine.¡±

    ¡°And that¡¯s enough power to do all of that?¡± I shook my head. ¡°Kara¡¯s experience would barely make a dent in what Mive needs to level up.¡±

    ¡°True¡­¡± He smiled and nodded behind me. ¡°But what about with theirs?¡±

    I turned around slowly and saw Klix and her seven Scarlets along with Harror and her four Roots. Whisper and Gesai were standing behind them. I felt my heart catch in my throat and choke off my voice as the ground around Mive flared to life with fourteen more purple rings to complete four circles of four rings.

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 40

    They never stood a chance.

    Something had silenced my voice as Klix charged. All it had taken was for her to see Kara restrained, and she¡¯d started running. I wasn¡¯t sure what type of message Kara had sent, but whatever it had been had got them running.

    The tendrils waited until they got close, which I realized even Harror and the two Roots that had stayed with her at the other end of the block were too close. I watched helplessly as Klix tried to cut into a tendril with an impressive-looking white sword, only for the tendril to wrap around it. That was all the connection that had been necessary for it to twist down the blade and around her wrist as she tried to drop the weapon. As soon as it touched her skin, it wrapped around her, pulling her to the ground and dragging her towards one of the purple circles.

    Two of her Scarlets tried to pull her in the opposite direction, but that made them easy targets for the tendrils that were coming after them.

    Harror tried to put down a healing field, but that wasn¡¯t helping, so instead she began sprouting vines through the concrete to grab onto the tendrils, but as soon as one of the vines touched a tendril, it shriveled and died.

    Gesai was running towards us and grabbed my shoulder. ¡°What are you doing? Get out of here!¡±

    I felt warmth flow into me from her hand and realized that she was dispelling whatever paralytic had been immobilizing me.

    ¡°HE WANTS YOU, NOT ME!¡± I pushed her away from me and tried to move in front of the tendril that was aiming for her. I missed it as I tried to tackle it, skinning my arms on the road. I hadn¡¯t worn my armor because there hadn¡¯t been a need to put it on for the last week and a half. I looked up to see that the teacher hadn¡¯t been able to dodge it any better than I¡¯d been able to grab it.

    ¡°NO!¡± I slammed my fist on the road. I looked around and saw that everyone except Harror, Whisper, and one of the Scarlets had been captured.

    ¡°HE WANTS YOUR EXPERIENCE! JUST GET OUT OF HERE!¡±

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    Harror started to back up, but she only made it a few steps before the tendril that was after her was able to tear through her wood walls and wrap around her foot. Once it had her, it pulled her down, then immobilized her and started dragging her towards one of the three remaining open circles.

    The other Scarlet managed to make it all the way to Yoriel, who looked panicked until their white blade bounced off of the barrier.

    Yoriel laughed as the Scarlet was grabbed and dragged them screaming to the closest empty purple ring.

    ¡°And then there was one.¡± Yoriel pointed at Whisper, who was doing an impressive job of keeping away from the last tendril.

    ¡°What are you doing?!?¡± I waved for the bandit to leave. ¡°Get out of here! Go get¡­¡± I was going to say help, but if Klix and Harror couldn¡¯t do anything, I wasn¡¯t sure who could.

    Ether was pounding on the barrier that was holding her sister, while Justia was trying to pull her away. I watched as Whisper danced away again, putting more space in between himself and the tendril. For a second, I thought that there might be a chance that the blonde bandit could pull it off. Then I saw what was coming down the street. There were a dozen Adventurers coming from each direction.

    ¡°Just give up!¡± Yoriel laughed. ¡°There¡¯s no way that you¡¯re going to be able to keep this up!¡±

    Whisper was running out of room, and he needed help, except I knew that I wouldn¡¯t be able to take on but one of those almost fifty Adventurers. He was getting closer to Yoriel, but I didn¡¯t know what he was going to try.

    The bandit¡¯s large gold sword diverted the tendril, but he had to drop the weapon to keep it from grabbing his hand.

    ¡°I¡¯ll double his bounty for whoever gets him caught!¡± The demon cackled.

    One of the adventurers in shining silver armor tried to tackle Whisper; they missed, but it was enough to put him off balance, so that he wasn¡¯t ready to dodge the arrows that were being shot at him. There was only one direction for him to go and not get hit by something. I saw the look in his blue eyes and could tell that he knew it was over. He closed his eyes as the tendril hit him in the chest.

    ¡°NO!¡± I started to move towards him, then realized that the tendril had wrapped around something in front of him.

    My heart jumped into my throat as Rix materialized inside the tendrils grasp. Time seemed to slow down as she was yanked off of her feet towards the last ring.

    Whisper stood frozen in shock as he watched Rix get dragged away in his place. The heavily armored Adventurer punched the blond man in the face.

    That was all the free hits that Whisper was going to allow. The silver man caught the next punch and broke the other man¡¯s armored hand.

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 41

    Whisper was mad.

    He picked up his sword and stabbed the Adventurer in the chest. He spun out of the way of the handful of arrows and magic that were shot his way.

    ¡°WAVE!¡±

    I pointed at the Adventurers to the west. A large wave of water surged at them, and as soon as it was ten feet tall, I threw out my other hand.

    ¡°FREEZE!¡±

    The water froze, giving a moment of cover for my ally.

    I touched Ether on the shoulder. ¡°Help Whisper!¡± I knew that there wasn¡¯t much damage that she could absorb, but as long as there were still Adventurers on their feet, Whisper couldn¡¯t focus on freeing everyone else.

    I looked over at the silver man and saw that he was leaving a trail of Adventurers behind him. Each one was stunned by the black mark that his sword was leaving on them as he stabbed them.

    ¡°You¡¯re useless!¡± Yorial growled, then smiled. ¡°Blondie! How long do you think you can keep this up?¡±

    The ice that I¡¯d made had shattered, and the Adventurers on the other side were heading towards the older man. He¡¯d made his way through almost half of them and it actually looked like he might have a chance of winning. I readied myself to throw another spell and a blast of fire washed over the barrier that Kara was trapped inside of. The three of us huddled behind it for cover. I glanced over at Rix, unlike the others whose faces that I could see, she looked at peace.

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    ¡°You think you¡¯re going to win?!?¡± Yoriel smiled broadly as he kneeled down in the circle he was trapped in, and grass started spreading out from where he was. Within seconds of the grass touching them, the black mark vanished and their wounds healed.

    ¡°WHISPER!¡± I tried to wave to grab his attention. ¡°HE¡¯S HEALING THEM!¡¯

    The silver man turned around, and I could see the look on his face change as he gripped his sword.

    ¡°We¡¯ve got to do something!¡± I looked down at the two women that were with me, but we were way out of our league. What we needed was someone who could PK, but both Rix and Gesai were restrained. I wasn¡¯t going to suggest it to Ether and I knew that Justia wasn¡¯t capable of something like that.

    ¡°I¡¯m going out there.¡± I knelt down and looked between the two women. ¡°Try to keep me healed as best you can.¡±

    ¡°Why..?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going to finish them off.¡± Ether cut off Justia. ¡°You know what that will do to your seal and Trent¡¯s not around¡­¡±

    ¡°If I don¡¯t finish what Whisper won¡¯t, then none of us are going to be around!¡± My heart was speeding up as I tried to steady my breathing.

    Both women looked like they had an opinion, but neither had a solution, so they kept it to themselves.

    ¡°WHISPER!¡± I focused on the woman who was keeping us pinned down. ¡°CUT ME A PATH AND I¡¯LL COVER YOU!¡±

    The blonde bandit paused for a moment and looked over at me. His expression changed as he knocked one of the Adventurers away from him.

    ¡°STAY THERE! I¡¯M GOING TO TRY SOMETHING!¡±

    I swallowed and was about to tell him that we were running out of time when the silver man decapitated the Adventurer closest to him.

    Whisper didn¡¯t kill people. That was something that everyone knew. It was to keep the seal hiding his class intact. He didn¡¯t break that rule because he needed someone powerful to fix his seal if he broke it and most of those powerful people would rather arrest him than help him.

    I wasn¡¯t ready for what happened next.

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 42

    Whisper sprouted wings.

    They looked like they were made of pure light and folded around him protectively as the Adventurers realized that their prey was willing to use lethal retaliation.

    Whisper twisted and turned as his wings knocked away projectiles while he cut his way through the Adventurers, but this time instead of them being restrained by some black mark, they weren¡¯t getting back up.

    The silver man parried a swordslash with his left wing, then skewered the Adventurer with his right. He twisted to position a wing to block a stream of fire, then threw his sword into the Caster¡¯s chest. He ran at an Adventurer with a bow and wrapped the other man in a big hug, then took to the air and threw him to the ground. As the archer fell, Whisper followed and landed on another Adventurer.

    With six dead Adventurers, the others tried to overwhelm him, but that led to friendly fire casualties. I watched in awe as he fought, it was like a dance of death as he redirected a spear attack from one Adventurer into another, then used one of his wings to pull in an Anubis with a big shield to block the next attack. All of the melee Adventurers pulled back so that he could be bombarded with spells and projectiles, but the large glowing wings enveloped him as he ran at the closest Adventurer. His golden sword shot out from inside the protective layer, dispatching the snowy ax-wielding Adventurer.

    The Casters decided to switch from offensive spells to containment ones. Vines, wires, walls, ice, mud, slime, and electricity began to bombard the bandit. It felt like their Buffers were trying to do something too as I felt weaker even though Whisper had moved the fight to the other end of the block.

    The melee Adventurers weren¡¯t moving away fast enough, though, and I watched Whisper knock aside another shield, then cut a hole in the chest of another tank. The remaining three tanks had moved over to the magic users, who had all congregated together and were moving slowly in our direction.

    ¡°We need to move.¡± I began pulling the two women away from the fight that was coming to us.

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    Whisper had made his way through almost half of his opponents, and some of the survivors were starting to run away. He changed directions to put himself between us and the others as we headed in the opposite direction.

    ¡°GET BACK HERE!¡± The demon banged his fists on the inside of the barrier. Whatever was keeping us out was also keeping him in. ¡°I FORBID YOU FROM LEAVING!¡±

    The tendril that was connecting Yoriel to Mive was the only one that was pulsing. I wasn¡¯t sure what that meant, but I hoped that the others that were trapped were safe for the moment.

    Two more Adventurers fell and that was all that was needed for the remaining seventeen to scatter.

    Whisper chased after them and some of them would have gotten away, except that they ran into the outermost ring. A dome had formed around everyone inside, trapping us all. I realized it just moments after the first Adventurers did, when I reached the outer ring.

    Ether was in front of us with her shield out, but we didn¡¯t need protection any more. Without any organized effort, it took less than a minute for the winged man to finish off the rest of the demon¡¯s henchmen. He was full of cuts and bruises as he made his way to us. His armor was torn in even more places and his left eye was swollen.

    ¡°Let me¡­¡±

    ¡°It won¡¯t help.¡± Whisper waved off Justia. ¡°You¡¯re too low level for your healing magic to have an effect on me.¡± He walked over to the ring where RIx was being held and lightly touched the barrier. It was like electricity was connecting his finger to the ground as a line of purple appeared to show us where the invisible barrier was.

    ¡°Your wings¡­¡± I was still mesmerized by the shining appendages that were coming out of his back.

    ¡°Later.¡± Whisper punched the barrier. The purple ring flared as it stopped him. ¡°We need to get her out.¡± He raised his sword and tried to cut the tendril that ran over the ground back to Mive, but the same purple barrier stopped his blade.

    ¡°YOU CAN¡¯T WIN!¡± Yoriel laughed. ¡°AND ONCE I TAKE ALL THEIR EXPERIENCE, I¡¯LL FINISH YOU OFF MYSELF!¡±

    ¡°How do we stop this?¡± I followed Whisper as he walked over to Mive.

    The silver bandit touched the kitsune God without the barrier blocking him. He began to trace his fingers over the tendril that was wrapped around Mive back down to the fox-man¡¯s feet, which was where the barrier finally stopped him.

    ¡°Justia.¡± Whisper looked over at the green woman. ¡°Come here.¡± He turned to Ether and motioned for her to follow.

    Once the four of us were together, he nodded at Mive. ¡°I want you to open his Mantle, but instead of bringing us in it, I want you to bring it to us.¡±

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 43

    He wanted to do an overlay like Fare had done.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that take a lot of magic?¡± I looked at Justia, then Whisper. ¡°Won¡¯t that kill her if she tries it?¡±

    ¡°I can channel mana through her.¡± Whisper put his hand on her shoulder, but if he was trying to reassure her, he wasn¡¯t having that effect.

    ¡°But that¡­¡± Justia shook her head. ¡°I saw what that did to Jord back¡­¡± Her eyes widened as she remembered that Whisper had been fighting with the other side when Jord Dinx had absorbed higher Tier crystals to fuel summoning magic to help fight off the bandits that had been with Whisper after we had been kidnapped.

    The silver man pointed at Rix. ¡°This spell was made to drain GOD-LEVEL mantles. What do you think it¡¯s going to do when it reaches her?¡±

    Justia turned and stared at Rix for a moment, then closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

    ¡°THAT WON¡¯T WORK!¡± The demon roared, but the tone it was using wasn¡¯t taunting but more of a command.

    ¡°Ignore him.¡± Whisper caught her face as she tried to look at the demon. ¡°Mantles don¡¯t bring magic with them, which is why we don¡¯t have our CBs when we go in them.¡± He touched the purple barrier. ¡°I don¡¯t think it will break the tethers, but it should strip the barriers off of them.¡±

    Mive sagged from where he was suspended. I reached out to grab him as the tendril that was connected to Kara flared. The Scarlet screamed as her red armor began to melt under the smokey restraints. Whatever it was doing straightened the kitsune back up.

    ¡°KARA!¡± Ether ran over and crashed into the barrier surrounding her sister.

    ¡°You need to do it NOW!¡± Whisper held out his arm.

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    I pulled a knife out of my CB and sliced my left arm and held it out for her.

    ¡°Justia.¡± Tears were running down the ivory woman¡¯s face. ¡°Please don¡¯t let¡­¡± A soft sob cut off the rest of the plea.

    The green woman grabbed Whisper¡¯s right arm midway between the wrist and elbow, ran her left over the wound on my arm, then slapped it on Mive¡¯s chest.

    ¡°How are you..!!!¡±

    Justia wasn¡¯t able to get the rest of her question out as electricity crackled up her left arm. Whisper criss crossed his wings behind her to help hold her up as my ears popped and I felt the mantle open and swallow us into it.

    The barriers crackled and sputtered, then began popping, releasing each of the captives from their suspension, while keeping them bound by the tendrils.

    Whisper started sagging as the field began to pulse and I could feel the Mantle closing.

    ¡°AHHH!!!¡± Justia sank to her knees and her left hand slid down Mive¡¯s chest to his leg.

    I wasn¡¯t sure what would happen if she broke the connection midway through opening the Mantle and didn¡¯t want to find out. I grabbed Mive¡¯s chest and caught Justia¡¯s arm. It felt like there were hot needles being forced through my body. I wanted to scream at the surge of pain, but my mouth refused to open.

    I could taste burnt blood in my mouth. I felt numb all over and couldn¡¯t tell where noises were coming from. I wasn¡¯t sure how much time had passed when I realized that Ether was shaking me and that I was laying on my back, staring up at the sky. Except the sky wasn¡¯t the sky. We were inside the Bequeathal Chamber, not in an overlay. Justia hadn¡¯t managed to do an overlay even with the extra boost from Whisper.

    ¡°Why did you do that?!¡± Ether slapped me.

    ¡°OW!¡± I blinked as I tried to sit up.

    Shock covered her face as she touched my cheek. ¡°Sorry! I thought you might be out too.¡±

    ¡°Too?¡± I looked over at my left where Justia was laying over Whisper. Both were breathing, but that was all the movement they were doing. Whisper¡¯s wings were gone, there must have been a spell or something that broke once he was tapped out.

    ¡°You stupid, STUPID MUTTS!¡± Yoriel growled.

    I got to my feet and tried to envision Whisper¡¯s sword in my hands. The golden blade appeared, complete with flames dancing down the blade.

    Red armor wrapped around Ether as the ivory woman stood up on my right. Right now it was two on one, but I knew those odds weren¡¯t going to stay like that for long.

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 44

    Yoriel started to speak.

    I didn¡¯t care for whatever the demon had to say. Vee was still laying on the ground with the tendril around his arm. I needed to stop the tendrils, but first I had to deal with the demon.

    DASH helped me close the distance in a moment, but the eight-foot-tall dark-green monster backed away from my slash, but that wasn¡¯t my only attack. I pointed my left hand at it and began shooting FIRE SHOTS out of my palm. The first few tore into the demon¡¯s chest, then it was able to get a barrier up to start absorbing the rest. I dropped my hand so that I could step forward and swing again.

    The barrier vanished as the demon stepped back, then materialized a long black sword in its hand. It took a step towards me, but before it could swing, it turned for just a moment to look at Ether. The scarlet-clad Tank rammed into its side with her shield, knocking it off balance.

    I didn¡¯t want to miss a swing and hit Ether, so I gripped the sword with both hands and started stabbing at it. My first two barely connected and I had to divert my third to block the shadowy sword. The vibration from the blow almost made me drop my sword, but I braced against it as it tried to overpower me. It was taller and trying to hold the sword over my head was already making me shake, but I knew that the demon was leaving itself open, so I just had to hold on for a moment.

    Ether slammed her shield into the Demon¡¯s chest, but it had braced for it and didn¡¯t budge. It started laughing and opened its mouth to say something, but Ether closed it, by changing the angle of her SHIELD ATTACK and aiming for under its chin.

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    One of the face tentacles came off as the demon¡¯s head snapped back. The pressure that it had been putting on my sword almost vanished, allowing me to step behind Ether and slice through its right wrist.

    The demon roared as it stumbled backwards, but we couldn¡¯t afford to give it a chance to collect itself. Ether slammed into one of its knees from the side, bending it down close enough for me to stab it through the chest.

    Ether rammed it off of my blade and it fell face down on the floor. I made sure to finish it off before I stopped to catch my breath.

    ¡°You okay?¡± I looked over at the red-armored tank. I smirked as I realized that she had donned the same armor that her grandmother¡¯s guards were wearing.

    She opened the white visor. ¡°I¡¯ll live.¡± She hurried over to her sister, who had stopped writhing on the ground. ¡°Do you think she¡¯s okay?¡±

    The tendril that was still attached to Vee wasn¡¯t pulsing anymore. I wasn¡¯t sure if that was because we were in the Bequeathal Chamber or because the demon wasn¡¯t attached to it anymore. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡±

    Ether got up and came over to wrap me in a hug. ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    I felt tears on my neck and cupped the back of her head so I could have her lean back enough for me to look at her face. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Harror said that if one of the Deities touched a city Mantle, then one of them would die.¡± Confusion covered her face. ¡°When you grabbed Mive¡­¡±

    I realized what she was talking about, but I hadn¡¯t thought about the warning, because I¡¯d done it the first time we¡¯d been in Mive¡¯s Bequeathal Chamber. It had been how we¡¯d been able to learn how to close it. ¡°Oh¡­¡± I was at a loss as to why the fight-to-the-desolation hadn¡¯t happened. I tried to smile. ¡°Well, I¡¯m okay, but we don¡¯t have much time until the demons start showing up.¡± I scanned the walls, but so far there wasn¡¯t any indication that we were about to be invaded.

    ¡°What do we do?¡± Ether looked at all of the people who were unconscious.

    ¡°I¡­¡± I swallowed. ¡°I have an idea.¡±

    ¡°You do?¡± Ether looked up at me.

    I nodded as I stared into her red eyes. ¡°But you¡¯re not going to like it.¡±

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 45

    Ether knew what I was about to say.

    I could tell by the look on her face, but I still had to say it.

    ¡°I need to go back into it.¡± I started to pull away, but Ether tightened her grip around me.

    ¡°Mive told you that you would get caught if you kept going in there!¡± Ether shook her head. There has to be another way!¡±

    ¡°We have a few minutes at best before more demons show up and they already tried cutting Mive out, if they can¡¯t do it, then what makes you think that one of us can?¡± I pulled her arms off of me. ¡°But maybe if I go inside that thing, I can find a way to break it.¡± I took a deep breath because I knew she wasn¡¯t going to like the next part.

    ¡°But you can¡¯t go with me.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Ether shook her head, then grabbed my left arm. ¡°No. No way. I¡¯m not letting you go in there alone.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t be alone.¡± I motioned at all of the tendrils. ¡°Everyone is connected to it. So I¡¯ll have plenty of backup.¡±

    ¡°Everyone is going to be in a cage.¡± Ether corrected me. ¡°No one is going to be able to help you.¡±

    ¡°Maybe that means we can overload it.¡± I shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know. But what I do know is that this is something that we haven¡¯t tried and while I¡¯m in there, I need someone out here to protect everyone.¡± I turned so that I could touch her arm. ¡°Someone has to stay behind to make sure we¡¯re all safe and I¡¯m the only one who can go in there.¡±

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    Ether growled and I could see her mind working to try to come up with an alternative. It didn¡¯t take long for her to close her eyes as she came up with nothing.

    ¡°You need to hurry.¡± She opened her eyes and looked at me.

    I pulled her close and kissed her real quick. I grinned as I backed up. ¡°For luck.¡±

    ¡°Right¡­¡± Ether shook her head. ¡°I think luck gave up on us a long time ago.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± I walked over to the main mass under Mive¡¯s throne. ¡°We¡¯re still here despite everything that¡¯s tried to kill us.¡±

    Ether shook her head as she followed me.

    ¡°You might move everyone closer together.¡± I nodded at the unconscious people. ¡°Just in case we have to fight.¡±

    Ether looked at me, then back at her sister. I could tell that she didn¡¯t like the thought of leaving me.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± I touched the mass and could feel the magic in it. There was only one tendril left that was wrapped around Mive¡¯s left leg. Justia had done a fairly good job of untangling it and whatever the demon had done had almost completely finished freeing him. Before I tried to use the restraint as a medium, I grabbed onto the smokey restraint and tried to pull it off. It was only up to his knee, but it wasn¡¯t budging. It was almost like it was attached to him now.

    I swallowed and tried to ignore how much faster my heart was beating. Despite my assurances that I¡¯d given to Ether, I had serious doubts about whether or not I could pull this off. It didn¡¯t really help to encourage me that we were down to rushing bad ideas. At least it was only a mental spell. If I was trapped inside it, then Justia could still use my blood to close the Chamber, whenever she woke up, anyway. So it wasn¡¯t like my doing this was also going to trap everyone in here. Unless by doing this, I reactivated whatever had stopped it from feeding on Kara and it slowly made its way through everyone that it¡¯d latched on to.

    I shook my head to try to stop my mind from following that line of thinking. I needed to start this quickly, because I had no idea how much time was going to pass while I was in there and I wanted Ether to be alone for as short of time as possible. I closed my eyes and said the spell in my mind.

    SIPHON

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 46

    I needed a LIGHT spell.

    For as many times as I went somewhere that plunged me into complete darkness, I had always relied on someone else to bring the spell to help us see.

    ¡°LIGHT!¡±

    Nothing happened. It¡¯d been a longshot anyway. I still hadn¡¯t figured out how to cast something without knowing the spell while in the Bequeathal Chamber and I wasn¡¯t sure if this place even counted as being a Bequeathal Chamber anymore.

    ¡°MIVE! KLIX!¡± I almost called out for Harror, but decided that I wasn¡¯t sure if she would get upset with me for being informal while the Scarlets were around.Though if this curse was only designed to hold higher Tier people, then there was one other person who might be able to slip through the bars.

    ¡°RIX!¡±

    ¡°Sorry.¡±

    I turned around as the place lit up a little. It was still nothing but a black void for as far as I could see, but there was a little bit of light above the redheaded Shooter. I knew she didn¡¯t like physical contact, but I hugged her anyway. ¡°You¡¯re okay!¡±

    The golden woman didn¡¯t go as rigid as I thought she would, but she didn¡¯t try to hug me back.

    I let her go. ¡°Sorry, I was just worried when you got caught, that this thing¡­¡± I motioned around. ¡°Might have really hurt you.¡± I eyed her. ¡°But why did you take the hit for Whisper?¡±

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    ¡°He was the last one standing.¡± Rix shrugged. ¡°None of those Adventurers that were working with the Temple were Tier Five, so I knew he¡¯d be able to handle them, plus¡­¡± She looked around. ¡°I knew you¡¯d be his top priority.¡±

    ¡°Wait, those Adventurers were working with the Temple?¡± I shook my head. ¡°At least we have an idea where to start looking at who leaked the locator for Gesai¡¯s RV.¡±

    ¡°That was the Chief Priest.¡±

    ¡°You already figured that out?¡± I chuckled. Of course she¡¯d do something like that.

    ¡°I thought that since I needed to stay away from the Goddesses, I¡¯d do some investigating. Over the last decade, High Priest Malk has been doing position changes regularly. As far as I could tell, everyone there is loyal to him.¡± Rix swallowed. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry. Malk and his top aides had all left already, so I assumed that the demon was just wanting to join them. I thought it was a genuine offer.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± I shook my head. ¡°But how did they find you?¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Rix looked away. ¡°Tried to kill him.¡±

    Of course she had.

    ¡°He shouldn¡¯t have been that high of level, but when I couldn¡¯t assassinate him, he offered me a deal instead of fighting me. He said that when he could get away, he¡¯d burn some blue smoke out the main chimney of the Temple and when he did that, I needed to get you into the Bequeathal Chamber as fast as possible to finalize the deal of safe passage in exchange for telling you how to wake up Mive. That was over a week ago. I wanted to talk to you about it, but going under the tree canceled my invisibility and I didn¡¯t think it was safe to just walk up to a building where the Goddesses were staying.¡±

    I put my hand on her shoulder. ¡°It¡¯ll be okay.¡± I looked around. ¡°Maybe between the two of us we can find some way to¡­¡±

    ¡°A HUNTER?¡± The words almost came out as a purr.

    I swallowed. I¡¯d really hoped that Mive was the one who found us first.

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 47

    I moved in front of Rix.

    ¡°She¡¯s mine.¡± I tried to call a weapon, but nothing happened. Which meant that I was at a disadvantage even if Klix couldn¡¯t conjure one either. The ivory Goddess had claws, which was something neither Rix or I had. ¡°She¡¯s been bound to protect me.¡±

    ¡°And yet you are the one shielding her.¡± Klix clicked her tongue. ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem like she can do much protecting that way.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t let you hurt her.¡± I shifted to my left. ¡°Trent told me how your kind treat them.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you mean our kind?¡± Klix laughed. ¡°It¡¯s been almost a decade since I killed a Hunter, but¡­¡± Her red eyes locked on to Rix. ¡°Show me the mark.¡±

    ¡°WHAT?¡± I felt like I was almost hopping to stay in front of Rix as Klix stalked back and forth in front of me.

    ¡°The mark.¡± The ivory Goddess pointed a claw at Rix. ¡°If she has it, then I¡¯ll let her live. If not¡­¡± She ran her tongue over her jagged teeth.

    ¡°She doesn¡¯t have to show you anything!¡± I glanced behind me at Rix before turning back to Klix. ¡°Besides, we¡¯re inside a curse inside a Bequeathal Chamber. You can¡¯t be sure¡­¡±

    ¡°There are some things that are always there.¡± Klix sprinted forward and reached for my neck.

    Rix caught the ivory Goddess¡¯s hand with her left and pushed me out from between the two of them with her right. The redhead locked eyes with the Goddess, took a step back and grabbed the collar of her shirt and ripped it open with one hand. The blue shield with a staff and sword forming an X on it was clearly displayed over her heart.

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    ¡°Oh this is good¡­¡± Klix smiled too wide to now be unnerving. She looked over at me. ¡°Your father has been collecting all sorts of toys.¡±

    ¡°He didn¡¯t..!¡± I shook my head. I doubted the Goddess would listen to anything I said. I turned to Rix. ¡°You can button your shirt back up.¡±

    I turned away as I heard more feet approaching.

    ¡°Just because you accepted her doesn¡¯t mean that I will.¡± The green Goddess glared at Rix. ¡°You can never trust a Hunter.¡±

    I swallowed as Klix turned around, then my jaw dropped as she moved in between Rix and Harror.

    ¡°Give it a rest.¡± Klix folded her arms in front of her. ¡°She¡¯s bound to one of mine, which makes her one of mine.¡± The ivory Goddess tilted her head and smirked. ¡°No reason to be even more jealous of what you didn¡¯t get that night.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not..!¡± Harror straightened. ¡°We were all supposed to make a new team! It should have worked, but Covanus, Ekah, and you came away with something that night even though Roth and I were there too!¡± She pointed at me. ¡°Roth went to Nevah after the games to complete the circle and we just found out that Gar slipped away with Trent to get him! How am I not supposed to be jealous!¡±

    I looked at the finger pointing at me and my head started spinning.

    ¡°Wait. You¡¯re saying that Gar is my mother?¡±

    Harror glared at me, while Klix started laughing.

    ¡°He didn¡¯t tell you?¡± Klix kept laughing. ¡°He has a secret lovechild with Gar and they pretend nothing happens, then has Mive hide you away for all your life and he doesn¡¯t tell you who your mother is?¡±

    I could see Harror getting more upset, which was only amusing Klix more. Both Goddesses went silent as Mive cleared his throat.

    ¡°While a family reunion is precious, I believe we have more pressing matters at hand?¡±

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 48

    I wasn¡¯t paying attention.

    I was the only one who could actually get out of the prison, but I had just gotten too much information for my mind to process anything else. I knew who my mother was and she was dead. Slece had Desolated her over a decade ago over what the Grim Goddess had called a kidnapping. Since there was a legitimate reason for war and Gar had refused to surrender the male Grim that she¡¯d taken, none of the other Gods in the Ward had gone to her defense. Though I was now understanding why Tres, Mive, Harror, and Klix hadn¡¯t joined Slece in the offensive. There had been something with Klix and Harror with Gar, something that I was going to have to ask them about later. And they¡¯d mentioned Covanus, Ekah, and Roth too. I knew that all of those were Goddesses of other Cities. I would need to look into them more as well once I got out.

    ¡°Atlas!¡± Rix poked me in the ribs.

    ¡°Yes?¡± I turned to look at her, but she turned my face back to the three Gods.

    ¡°Are you listening?¡± Klix moved like she was prowling as she came towards me.

    ¡°I¡¯m listening!¡± I swallowed and tried to keep my mind from wandering back to my mother. ¡°But I didn¡¯t understand, so maybe we can go over it again?¡±

    Klix shook her head, then grabbed my face so hard that her claws bit into my cheeks. ¡°You can daydream all you want as soon as we get out of here, but until then, you need to focus. Time might move a lot slower out there while we¡¯re in here, but that doesn¡¯t mean it isn¡¯t moving. We need to close this thing before the demons get back or we¡¯ll all be stuck.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°Okay.¡±

    She released me. ¡°Good.¡± The Ivory Goddess nodded at Mive, ¡°You¡¯re going to have to tell him again.¡±

    I was expecting him to request to negotiate, but instead the kitsune took a deep breath. ¡°Between what Harror has learned and I¡¯ve been able to add, we¡¯ve decided that this curse is rooted in me and since the tentacles are only pulling experience from everyone else and funneling it into the demon, then it is reasonable that without me attached to it, it would die. So if I were to be Desolated, that would be enough to destroy the curse and free everyone else.¡±

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    Now they had my attention. ¡°What do you mean, DESOLATE you?¡± I looked at the two Goddesses. ¡°That will kill everyone in the city!¡±

    ¡°Only those who aren¡¯t Godkin.¡± Klix shrugged. ¡°All of my Scarlets will survive and so will your father.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t¡­¡± I turned to Harror. ¡°You¡¯re a Healer! How can you be okay with this?¡±

    ¡°Two of my Roots won¡¯t survive.¡± The green Goddess looked deflated. ¡°But what other choice do we have?¡± She looked up. ¡°If you leave us all attached to that thing, then once the demons finally kill you and the Hound, they¡¯ll be able to make a Tier Nine.¡± She shook her head. ¡°With that much power, they¡¯ll be able to sweep up more cities until they¡¯ll burn down the whole world.¡± She closed her eyes. ¡°Two Roots is a small price to pay.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not just two Roots!¡± I looked at Rix, hoping for some support. ¡°It¡¯s Gesai, and Aelin, and Oz, and¡­¡± I turned to Mive. ¡°Will my priest survive?¡±

    The kitsune nodded his head.

    ¡°I can¡¯t do that!¡± I started backing up. ¡°I¡¯m not going to kill all my friends just to..!¡± I thought of a reason it wouldn¡¯t work. ¡°Mive is Tier Eight anyway, there¡¯s no way that I could Desolate him.¡±

    ¡°That thing has already drained Mive of almost all of his experience.¡± Klix grabbed my shoulder and started pressing her thumb into it. ¡°Are you telling me that your friends are worth more to you than the lives of everyone else in the world?¡±

    I started to nod.

    Klix shook me. ¡°You don¡¯t get it! If you don¡¯t do this, then in a few minutes? Hours? The demons are going to overwhelm you and mine out there and then they won¡¯t just kill you quick. They are going to toy with you like they¡¯ve done to the Fox. They¡¯ll make you watch as they destroy everything that you care about.¡± She let me go. ¡°This isn¡¯t a choice about if your friends get to live. It¡¯s you choosing how they get to die.¡±

    I wanted to scream. I wanted to fight. I wanted something. But I could see it on all of their faces. The clock was ticking and this fight was over.

    ¡°What if I just cut the tendril?¡± I looked around. ¡°There¡¯s only one connecting him to it. I could just cut the tendril and¡­¡±

    ¡°That thing is a Tier Six or Seven.¡± Klix shook her head. ¡°It still has most of the fox¡¯s experience and is sharing the traitor¡¯s mantle.¡± She sighed. ¡°Not even the Hound could cut it.¡±

    ¡°But levels shouldn¡¯t matter in the¡­¡±

    ¡°I already tried cutting it.¡± Harror cut me off.

    I looked at everyone, hoping for another option, but all I saw was sadness.

    ¡°Fine.¡± I started unraveling the spell in my mind. ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡±

 Book 8 - The Demons - Chapter 49

    Ether hadn¡¯t finished collecting everyone.

    ¡°That didn¡¯t take long.¡± She picked up one of the Scarlets and began carrying them over.

    ¡°You can stop.¡± I closed my eyes and looked away. I didn¡¯t want her to see the grief on my face as I tried to think of a way to explain to her what I was about to do.

    ¡°Atlas.¡± Ether put down the Scarlet and ran over to me. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? What did they say?¡±

    ¡°We lost.¡± I swallowed, but the lump in my throat didn¡¯t go away. ¡°You and I aren¡¯t going to be able to hold off the demons until Justia wakes up and can close the Mantle. And even if she does, we still won¡¯t be able to free everyone as long as this thing is attached to Mive.¡± I kicked the throne the kitsune was sitting on.

    ¡°What are you saying?¡± Ether backed up and I could see in her eyes that she knew what I was about to tell her.

    I closed my eyes. ¡°They told me to Desolate Mive.¡±

    I heard her gasp and pressed my eyes tighter shut. I didn¡¯t want to see the disappointment and horror on her face.

    ¡°B-bu-but, that will kill everyone!¡±

    ¡°The Godkin will survive.¡± I had to press my thumb and index finger against my eyes to hold in the tears as my mind started to list just how many of our friends I was going to have to kill.

    ¡°That¡¯s only¡­¡± I could hear Ether listing people under her breath. ¡°There has to be another way.¡±

    I opened my eyes and saw the horrified face that I¡¯d dreaded looking back at me. ¡°They already ran the math. If we don¡¯t stop the demons here, then they are going to spread over the whole world and kill millions.¡± I shook my head. ¡°And you and I aren¡¯t enough to hold them off until Justia wakes up. Which means our friends die by my hands and we save the world, or we fight and our friends'' lives fall into the hands of the demons that we fought against.¡± I had to breathe in waves because my lungs weren¡¯t wanting to work. My hands were getting cold as I tried to focus on getting a sword in my hands.

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    ¡°Atlas¡­¡± Ether touched my arm.

    ¡°Ether, I don¡¯t want¡­¡±

    ¡°No.¡± She turned my head to look at the wall to my right. A dark green hand was pushing its way through the black scar on the wall.

    The sword in my hand vanished and I had to focus on my hands to get it to reappear. I was starting to feel lightheaded, but I wasn¡¯t going to ask Ether to do this. I couldn¡¯t protect everyone else, but I could at least protect her from this.

    I pulled the sword back over my head and started to swing, but stopped myself. Something that Mive had said had been bouncing around in my head. He¡¯s said that if he wasn¡¯t attached to it anymore, then the tendrils would die. No one here was strong enough to cut through it, but I was strong enough to kill Mive. And if I was strong enough to kill Mive, then I could separate him from the curse.

    I swung again, but this time I aimed for his knee instead of his neck. The sword bit into the throne as the leg fell down. I released the weapon so that I could catch the kitsune as he fell forward, the magic that had been holding him in place, gone.

    ¡°What did you..?¡± Ether stared at me as I pulled Mive out of the throne.

    ¡°If this doesn¡¯t work, I can still kill him!¡± I couldn¡¯t stop the smile from parting my lips as the tendrils began drying up. ¡°But I think this is working!¡±

    I laid Mive down, but kept him away from everyone else. I wasn¡¯t sure why I was able to touch him without entering into a deathmatch for his mantle, but that was a question for later. Right now, I didn¡¯t want to chance it with anyone else.

    I turned to Ether. ¡°See if you can wake Justia up so she can get us out of here!¡± I felt weak, but I couldn¡¯t stop yet. Someone was going to have to hold the demons back until Justia woke up.

    I started to stand up, but felt really dizzy. Someone grabbed me as I fell backwards.

    ¡°You need to¡­¡± I looked up and realized that it wasn¡¯t Ether who had caught me.

    ¡°You need to sit down.¡± Klix guided me to the floor. ¡°I¡¯ll handle this.¡±

    The ivory Goddess vanished, then appeared next to the wall, a short sword in either hand and she moved faster than my eyes could follow as she chopped off demon appendages.

    The chill started to subside as a green aura covered my body. I turned and saw that almost everyone was standing up. There were two Roots and Gesai that were still on the ground, as well as Whisper, Justia, and Mive, but everyone who had been captured had been freed. I smiled as I let myself lay down on the floor. Everyone else could handle the demons now, I was going to take a break and maybe a short nap.