The next dungeon is a few kilometers away. Some of the distance can be covered by using a mountain road connecting the various villages in the area. Soon, we split off from the smooth surface of the road and start a hike up and down a somewhat defined trail. Our goal is quickly reached, not even enough time to enjoy the forest atmosphere.

Miv goes through the delve plan again, “Another elemental variant. Lesser Sand Elementals. We will be changing formation to give our mages some more time to rest. Luci and I will be handling the monsters. Sini and Ery will have our backs if we overextend or get surrounded. Nex, you are on caster guarding duty. And brother, you drew the short stick again, overwatch.” He flashes him a grin and gets a combo of incredulous head shake and eye roll in return. Pemik is always overwatch.

Form up, step through the gate. Everyone moves with even more precision and coordination. It’s like we’ve been training together for months. Fascinating.

We arrive at a vast desert. Harsh sun is beaming down blinding rays of heat. The air shimmers, distorting everything in the distance. Not that there is anything to see, only an ocean of sand and waves of dunes. Temperature is at sixty degrees Celsius. We are going to be well done by the end. Or not.

Sini slightly raises her hands and veils of millimeter thin ice enshroud our heads and upper bodies. The normally fragile ice offers shocking flexibility, allowing near unobstructed movement. The improvised survival equipment blocks the magical solar radiation from the surprisingly realistic forgery and provides a comfortable cooling sensation, extending our cooking time indefinitely.

She looks toward me. “I can sustain the spell for a long time. Don’t worry about breaking it, it will just regenerate.”

“Thank you, Sini.” The others echo my sentiment.

Miv does not fall behind, “What would we ever do without you.” She tries to smile. No one notices the difficulty, or they ignore it.

Pemik warns, his tone is serious, “Welcoming party.”

His brother takes over and addresses me, “Come on, young man, let us demonstrate our prowess. And give the lovely ladies some respite.”

We both rush for the flurry of sand grains. Miv is matching my pace. Pemik kneels to the ground and places his right hand down. The sand starts flowing toward him, raising him on a quickly compacting pillar. He has formed his own perfect vantage point just as we hit the first monster.

Similar construction to the Earth Elemental, but where one was solid and slow, this one is shifting and swift. Their forms are ever-changing, melting between uncanny configurations of limbs and shapes. A singular glass orb glows with a dull, red light, tracking the invaders from its altering position.

Miv’s blade shimmers in the overbearing sunlight, almost overpowering it in its intensity. He dashes through several sand spikes and cleaves through his opponent. The blade passes without leaving any damage, but the elemental turns into a cascading waterfall of inert sand. The treacherous surface is hardly a detriment to his celerity. Before the last grains have even settled, he has already sliced five more. Minimal movement, minimal exertion, he is scarcely even looking at the monsters. His attention is squarely on me, though, he tries to hide it.

I throw myself at my own opponent. Blowing away a spike with a devastating swat. My sword pierces the elemental before it can even form a counterattack, striking its mark true. I explode through the other side of the falling sand curtain and savagely fall upon the next target.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Arrows occasionally fly over our heads, changing potentially unfavorable engagements before they can even begin. Though, again, more of those helping arrows are targeted my way.

As the final monster joins the desert, Miv and I group up, waiting for the others to finish the formation.

“I wouldn’t want to be a Sand Elemental with you around, Luci. Poor buggers didn’t stand a chance.” He mocks an exaggerated wince.

“Did I do well?”

Miv immediately replies, “Yes you did, Luci. Nex and Ery said you knew your swordsmanship.” He throws a glance at the rest of the group. Seemingly satisfied with their distance from us, he whispers to me, conspiratorially, “I wasn’t going to tell you this yet, but we were thinking of asking you to join us.” He quickly adds, “Nex and Ery are great, but they have their own little party. If you were to join us, we could split into two-person teams, your skill set quite nicely complements Sini. Today was supposed to be a sort of test, to see how we all work together.”

I am overjoyed but still trying to keep my voice low. “Really! Does you telling me this mean I passed?”

He chuckles. “Don’t ruin the surprise for the others, okay?” He puts a finger to his lips. I eagerly nod in agreement.

The rest of the party arrives, none the wiser, and we proceed.

Soon, we have another dungeon under our belts, and Miv suggests we take a break for lunch.

We head to a nearby village, and the Rangers guide us to a restaurant they frequently visit. The specialty appears to be some sort of mystery stew. Everyone is very cryptic about the contents.

Even Sini cheerfully says, “You’ll like it. Trust me.” She tries to stiffen a laugh, covering her mouth.

Pemik backs her up, “We’ll all order it too. Right team?” The two other Rangers nod, a little too enthusiastically.

I shrug at the teasing and smirk. “First eighteen years of my life, I’ve eaten the sloppiest of slops. Nexen has no taste buds.” I cover my mouth from him and whisper the next part, “Don’t ask.” Then I continue as normal, “And Erysis can eat more than all of us combined. You are trying to mess with the wrong people.”

Nexen bursts out laughing, while Erysis blushes. She might have been trying to conceal her darker, more gluttonous side.

“Don’t tell them that, Lucius!”

Before she can protest some more, the establishment’s lone server brings six bowls of blood red stew, with chunks of brown matter ominously floating around, accompanied by a pile of flatbread.

Miv starts an impromptu speech, “Don’t let the intimidating appearance turn you off. This, is the food of champions. A reward for what we have thus far accomplished, and the fuel for what is yet to come. I think the honor of first bite should go to our new friends. Dig in.”

The three experienced adventurers stare at us expectantly. Miv has his signature smile, Pemik is trying to appear disinterested, and failing, while Sini is shaking, ready to burst. None of us hesitate, spoon after spoon of stew is shoveled in, nothing is showing on our faces. With each one, the Rangers lose their spirit. The disappearing stew is turning into disappointment.

Sini is the first one to break the silence, “Really! Nothing?”

I keep a perfectly straight face and ask, “Pretty good. Right, guys?”

Nexen answers first, “Yup.” He still has more than ninety percent of his meal left. Started phoning it in after the first spoonful.

Erysis drinks what little is left directly from the bowl, slamming it down on the table. “Another one, please!”

The Rangers turn from slightly disappointed into downright terrified. I just smile and continue eating. “Told you.” They start to chuckle. “Pretty spicy. What’s it made out of?”

Miv wipes some tears from his eye, some from laughter, others from the nearly toxic fumes. “Nature dungeon nearby has these Crimson Blossoms. They harvest them for all kinds of spicy foods. You can guess what the secret ingredient of the stew is.”

As they also start eating their food, Nexen finally breaks and starts practically spilling his water into his mouth.

I take the opportunity. “It’s a miracle!”

Just then Erysis’ next bowl arrives. “Keep ‘em coming.” The server beats a hasty retreat, lest he be consumed as well.

We all laugh, our faces turning redder by the second, both from the merriment and from the spice.