The floor descended downward. A few of the little monsters like the ones that had swarmed Kai roamed around. They mostly ignored Levi and Colin.

Colin pointed at them.

Levi glanced over. He shook his head. “Nah. This high in the dungeon, it’s going to be well picked over. No loot. EXP is nice, but why not EXP and loot at once? We might as well head lower, rather than waste our energy fighting little gremlins that give almost no EXP and no loot.”

Colin thought about it for a moment, then nodded.

“If we hit enemies we can’t beat, it’s different. But until then, let’s keep going down.”

They descended further. Branching paths arced off from the main tunnel. The main tunnel was large enough to drive a car through, while the branching paths varied in size. Some were barely wide enough for one person to squeeze through. Some were literal cracks in the earth. One or two of them were even larger than the main path, enormous gaping rooms that stood wide enough to swallow anything up. Monsters flickered by, visible only in brief dashes as they darted from tunnel to tunnel.

The two of them followed the main tunnel straight down, deeper and deeper into the maw of the earth. Abruptly, Levi stopped. He threw his arm out.

Colin halted. He tilted his head.

Levi lifted his finger to his lips. “You hear that?”

Colin shook his head.

Levi crept forward slowly. He softened his footfalls. His leather shoes were all but silent on the dusty stone floor.

Squawking cries echoed down the stone tunnels. Faint at first, they quickly grew louder. Colin drew close to Levi, clutching his staff so tight his knuckles grew white.

“What are you nervous for? You’re already dead,” Levi muttered.

Bright light spilled around the next corner. Levi drew up to it and put his back to it. He peered around the edge, barely tipping his head far enough to see around it.

A group of scaled lizard-people danced around a fire. Their scales glittered in the fire, shades of red, yellow, and orange reflecting the fire’s light. Massive claws arced up from their feet, like the claws of a velociraptor. They wore simple leather clothes, decorated with scraps of colorful fabric and beads. As they danced, they cried out, causing the squawks they’d heard from afar.

“Wonder if the locals are friendly?” he murmured to himself.

Levi glanced at the fire. A very human torso, still clad in strips of cloth and the remnants of leather armor, turned on a spit.

He raised his brows. “Looks like a no to me.”

Levi leaned back around the corner. He nodded at Colin. “How do you feel about cooked human meat?”

Colin squinted at him.

“Because the guys around the corner are big fans.” Levi patted him on the arm. “Healing duty. I’m going in.”

Colin hefted his staff. He nodded nervously.

Levi dashed out from around the corner. He drew his sword as he ran, racing up on the nearest of the scaled beings. The other three startled, leaping away from the fire. The one he was bum rushing looked around, lost. It looked over its shoulder. Their eyes met.

“Sayonara, sucker.” Levi thrust the sword through the lizard’s back as the lizard went to jump up. The lizard huffed. It grabbed at his blade. Levi yanked it back through its ribs and kicked it to the floor.

The other three lizardfolk stared at him, their slit pupils dilating. They flared their nostrils and flicked forked tongues at him.

Levi gestured for them to come on. “Let’s dance.”

All at once, all three launched at him. They wove around the fire, then all leaped at once. Six pairs of white claws slashed down at him.

Levi threw himself forward. He dove under their charge and jumped back to his feet behind them. Grabbing the nearest by the neck, he plunged his sword into its heart. It latched onto the blade. The other two whirled around and leaped again.

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“Fuck—your own guy?” Levi released the sword and jumped back. The lizards’ claws swept down, slicing into the lizard Levi had stabbed. It crumpled, well and truly dead. Without a second of hesitation, they raced toward Levi again.

Levi snatched up a burning log from the fire. The hot wood seared his fingers. Clenching his teeth against the pain, he forced himself to hold on. He smashed the smaller of the two lizards out of the air with the flaming log, then dropped it on top of the lizard. The lizard screamed and clawed at the log. It rolled out from under it and laid on the ground, hissing in pain.

The other lizard slashed Levi’s shoulder open. A second blast of pain stabbed into his shoulder and chest. It landed and charged again. He tried to raise his arm, but it wouldn’t move properly. Claws slashed open his side.

Fuck.

Another charge. Levi swayed back. As the lizard’s claw whiffed past him, he snatched it out of the air. The lizard jerked to a halt. It stared, looking at its foot, then Levi, then back again.

Gold light shimmered. His shoulder healed, popping back into place. He gripped the lizard’s ankle with both hands and yanked with all his might. The lizard was swept off its feet. Instead of stopping there, he kept spinning. Around and around, spinning the lizard around by its ankle. It screeched in pain and horror.

“He’s got a good spin! Fantastic rotation. And… the release!” Levi threw the lizard. It smashed into the wall and went still.

Levi shaded his eyes, pretending to watch it fly. “The throw is short, but it’s a good try. Team Levi might not be taking home the gold in shotput, but I think they’re proud of what they did here today.”

Colin walked out from behind the corner. He squinted at Levi.

“What? Does your world not have the Olympics?” Levi asked.

Colin nodded.

“Mine used to, anyways. Real pity when they became irrelevant. But hey! Let’s focus on the present. Where were the heals, man? I can’t fight like a madman if there aren’t constant heals.”

Colin showed his hands. They were bloody, the skin peeling back from the palms.

Levi sighed. He put a hand on Colin’s shoulder and pushed the last of his mana into him. “I get it. This shit hurts. But you’re going to have to get over that. We’re team pain tolerance, okay?”

Colin shook his head emphatically.

Levi sighed again. “You’re the one who’s supposed to be unafraid of pain, not the necromancer. Come on.”

Another head shake.

Levi turned. Grabbing his sword out of the lizard’s back, he kicked the human torso off the fire. He knelt next to one of the lizard and started skinning it. It was slow-going with the sword, but he made it work.

“How do you feel about roast lizard?” he asked.

Colin shook his head.

“Come on. I’m eating it. They’re just monsters!” Levi complained. He sliced a section of thigh meat off the lizard. Walking over to the half-roasted human torso, he yanked the spit stick out of it and shoved the thigh meat on instead. He plopped it back on the fire and started turning the spit.

Colin stared into the fire. He swallowed. “I’m afraid that if I start eating, I’ll never stop.”

“Convenient, that.” Levi remarked.

Colin blinked at him. “Huh?”

Levi gestured. “You’re like a garbage disposal! I’m going to kill a lot of peo…monsters from here on out. You’re going to keep me out of a lot of trouble with the law… fellow dungeon-goers.”

“I want to stay human. As human as I can,” Colin said earnestly.

“Nothing inhuman about having a few gator nuggets,” Levi countered. He gestured. “Toss me another one of those bad boys. Not the burned one.”

Colin obeyed, passing Levi one of the dead lizards. Levi took it and carefully removed its skin. “I’m going to make you some lizard gloves. See if that helps your staff-holding problem a bit.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem.”

Levi ate dinner, then worked with the lizard skin for a bit. He fashioned two crude gloves from the raw skin and tossed them at Colin. “Give ‘em a shot. Let me know if they’re too big.”

Colin nodded. He slipped them on, then made a face. He wiggled his fingers in disgust.

“What? I don’t have anything to tan them. That’s the best I can do. It’ll be a little slimy for a while, but it’ll get better with time.”

Colin nodded. He flexed his hands a few times, then lifted his staff and pointed it at Levi. Gold light flowed over to him.

“So?”

Colin gave him a thumbs-up. “It won’t last forever, but it’s better than nothing.”

“Excellent.” He cut more skin off the lizard and got to work making a few more pairs of gloves. When he was done, he checked his status.

Levi | 18 | Lv 11

Class: Necromancer [SPECIAL]

Str: 11

Mag: 29

Dex: 13

Spd: 16

Def: 9

Res: 23

[Basic Swordsmanship]

[Shadow Manipulation]

[Shadow Step]

[Raise Dead]

[Drain]

Absorb life force or mana from your opponent and convert it into your mana. If you kill an opponent with this ability, they cannot be Raised with Raise Dead.

“Neat. A level and a new ability. What about you, Colin?” Levi glanced over.

Colin looked his sheet up and down, then nodded.

“Nice. Levels all around.”

A cool sensation swirled around Levi as he sat there. He breathed it in. The coolness in his chest grew stronger. He touched his chest. More mana?

He looked at the bodies. Lifting his hand, he swept it through the air. Not that cold. He passed his hand over a body. That cold sensation swirled through his palm and wrist again.

“Ohhhh. No, that makes sense,” Levi murmured.

He turned. “Hey, Colin. Do you get more mana, just sitting here?”

Colin glanced at him. He wavered his hand back and forth, then pointed upward.

“It’s better on the surface, surrounded by plants and living shit?”

Colin nodded and gave a thumbs up.

“Yeah, that tracks. You’re a Life Cleric, so you fill up your mana from life. I’m a Necromancer, and I get mine from death. Makes a lot of sense.”

Chirps sounded nearby. Strange squawking calls that sounded oddly familiar. Levi hopped to his feet and dusted himself off. “Stay on top of those heals this time. Swap the gloves when you need to.”

Colin nodded. He climbed numbly to his feet.

Levi tossed him a wink and a jaunty salute. He backed toward the hallway, swirling his sword with a grin. “Daddy’s going to work.”