Imps. Generally known as the lowest rung demons and small annoying creatures. Their short stature came with long tails, short claws, warped and torn ears, and strange snouts and faces. The imps of the dungeon had scattered throughout the dungeon and made themselves known by noise. Along with their claws they threw around fire magic with the occasional demonic acid spell.

The novices were doing ok by James’s count. The environment wasn’t great for them. Recreated by the dungeon was a high noon sun beat down on them. The walls of the dungeon red rock canyons and occasional caves that reflected the heat. The ground looked like it had once contained a great river but had since dried up completely. From high above a few imps would appear to harass them until Naomi could deal with the imps and their cackling.

The main trap for this area was falling boulders and stalactites dropping from above. In the short sections of caves, it gave some relief from the heat of the floor. It wouldn't last as artificial winds would push their scent towards the nearest group of imps. It kept them to keep moving lest they get ambushed on both sides of the cave path.

James watched over the novices only interfering when the imps started seeing him as a target. In those cases, he moved to avoid their attacks while making note of how the novices dealt with having him attacked as a non-combatant.

The answer was not very well. Only when they entered the tunnels was James shielded in the front by them were they able to protect him. As an instructor, it was his formal job to watch and observe without interfering unless necessary. While it wasn’t common to have a non-combatant joining a dungeon. On occasion for a larger group dungeon a designated porter would carry supplies for multi-day delves. This dungeon was on average shorter with an average time of one to two full day to complete all fifty levels, so a porter wasn’t necessary or recommended.

Of the novices James watched the one having more trouble than the rest was of course. Ian and his affinity for fire magic did little to effect the imps. So, he had to switch to pure mana attacks for the most part which were less efficient for him to use. It was starting to cause a few problems, but James hoped that they would be able to weather the decline in damage output through till the end of the floor.

The other novices were having varying degrees of success against the imps as well. Moving forward with this floor the amount of more magical beasts would increase the further you went. It wouldn’t end up being every enemy on the floor by the end, but it was something the novices would get a taste of now. The fire-based attacks of these magical creatures were a lot harder for this group to deal with. All because Ian couldn't adequately fight them.

“Let’s get this moving. They are boxing us in. I can see their tiny head poking up from the canyon ridge,” said Ian, “Take them out before they burn us.”

Ian shot a few pure mana bolts of energy, but his range was off at this distance causing them to veer off and hit the canyon side.

“You could always do it,” Naomi replied, “I’m kind of busy here.”

Their group had just left a tunnel when they entered an ambush of sorts. A dozen imps approached them from everywhere but where they had come from. Derek slashed at the nearest ones his armor looked a bit black from the soot and rock dust, but it was largely undamaged. He continued swinging at the heads of the imps. The open area allowed him to swing a bit better and with more force but with the drawback of his stability. He often overcorrected and took in fireballs as a result.

Wes waited at the exit of the tunnel keeping his shield up so that Ian and Naomi could fire from behind, but he did not try to push forward. He still shook every time an imp hit him, but he kept his feet rooted to the ground and did not budge. Even to the detriment of his team.

“Get out of the way,” Naomi shouted at Wes.

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Up above them, fire balls burst above their heads. Wes was the only one who did not move. Naomi tried to aim and move around him, but the tunnels were not very wide, and he stood in the middle.

“Just move!”

“But then I will have to stop using one of my abilities,” said Wes.

Naomi bugged him further until he released his feet’s grip on the ground. Naomi almost pushed him over as she got passed him to find a spot where she could fire at the imps above her. Ian was more impatient. After seeing Naomi run off to be more productive than he, Ian pushed Wes aside as well causing him to drop his shield and fall. Ian continued without a glance back.

James made note of the interaction and helped Wes to his feet as the last few imps on the ground floor came their way.

Once Naomi was out of the way of Wes she rained down fire on the imps allowing them to proceed further into the canyon. Naomi resumed firing arrows at the ones up above. She left her knives to stab the imps getting too close for her on the ground. Once the safety of the encounter rose James stepped back and let the novices group back up while he watched for attacks coming his way.

“Rocks!” Naomi shouted alerting the group.

She jumped back and the others followed suit. A moment later a boulder crashed into the ground in front of them before breaking apart. Naomi examined the scene for a minute before motioning for their group to continue. They had to move a few of the rock pieces aside to continue on the dungeon’s path.

It wasn’t much longer until they had their next fight against the imps and each other.

“Get out in front of the imps and stall them. You as well. I don’t see no tank skills in use,” Ian shouted to Derek and Wes.

“I don’t see no fire mage skills either,” Naomi quipped back.

“You know I am doing what I can,” he said frustratedly.

“She is teasing you. You are fine,” said Derek.

He resumed his slashing and followed the instructions. Only a few of the imps had enough time to release an attack before his sword came down on them. His attacks were crude and forceful but did the job. Perhaps if he had more time to practice he would not waste so much energy and would not let so many of the imps get attacked.

Ian did his best to stay near the front so that he could kill as many imps as possible, but he was always a bit slower than the others. Soon the frustrations came to the forefront when an arrow whizzed past him and hit an imp in the head before one of his mana bolts did the same.

“Hey, that was my kill!”

“Well, it counts as mine now. You were just a bit too slow,” said Naomi mockingly.

“You are making me waste my mana.”

“I’m not making you do anything. It is your fault for trying to kill an imp that was already dead.”

“It wasn’t dead yet.”

“I couldn’t tell because it had not been hit by your attack yet. I guess you’ll have to choke on a mana potion now. It would be better for the rest of us.”

“If you would rather I not take part then have at it,” said Ian letting his staff hand fall to his side. “Kill the imps by yourself. You want to show off and do it alone.”

“Oh really. Is that what you think? Are you sure that you aren’t backing out because you are a coward?”

Naomi didn’t even wait for a reply before rushing at two imps and pulling out her daggers. Instead of throwing them she spun and activated one of her abilities causing them to blur as she spun. The imps dropped dead and exploded into motes of mana. Finally, she turned back with a smile and looked Ian dead in the eyes before running off to kill more imps.

After a moment Ian followed behind with some grumbling as he threw out more spells and mana to keep up. He tossed fire spells as well when the imps grouped up. While the imps did have some fire resistance it was not enough to deal with Ian’s callous attacks. He continued to burn them and his mana away.

Behind the murderous rampage was Wes. The others were more worried about themselves and how many imps they had killed so far than him. James picked up Wes and followed behind. He walked the canyon path slower than the rest. Wes's eyes darted from side to side watching for any stray imps that had been forgotten about. He didn't want to get jumped by those left behind by the others. His eyes peeked above his shield as he jumped at every sound.

“It is time for us to pick up the pace,” James reminded him, “They need you and could use your help. Especially as they will enter the boss area soon.

Wes nodded and dropped his shield a few inches. He shuddered at the sound of the others battling up ahead but did as he promised and walked a bit faster towards the boss area.

Wes got to the boss area a minute behind the others. The imp boss was an enlarged flying version of the imps they had been fighting before. Naomi was taking charge of fighting at the moment as the others took occasional shots. In the end, the oversized imp died to a lucky shot that brought the imp low enough to the ground for Derek to finish it off.

With the eleventh floor cleared they continued onward towards the twelfth floor.