“Open,” Kass demanded, pushing a burrito into my face. I somehow managed to take a bite of it without taking my eyes off the screen. The two of us were sitting in a lounge, watching the various battles back so I could take notes, and Kass quickly got upset when I decided to work through lunch.

“You can’t keep ignoring your own needs to study. It’s not healthy,” she said.

“Mhmm,” I replied, idly.

I watched what I could during the match, but missed a lot due to the simultaneous battles. I found Kass’s battles to be particularly impressive, not that I was showing favoritism or anything. I had to rewind the match against Captain Gayle multiple times, especially the part when the gargantuan elemental crushed her.

Calliope also showed her worth, multiple times during the battle, especially when paired up with Toto. The massive crab was tough, even tougher than George, and provided not only a stable platform for Calliope to cast spells, but also occasionally acted as mobile cover. A reliable healer, protected by a dedicated tank just allowed us to completely overrun some of the Dread Isle staff.

“You know what I’ve noticed?” I asked suddenly.

“I’m sure you’ve noticed a hundred interesting things based on the number of times you pause and rewind the footage,” Kass replied with a sigh. “But what tidbit of wisdom have you gleaned from the battles so far?”

“Having support from squad leaders, or sub-bosses, with classes are a HUGE advantage. In almost every fight that Bella, Bea, or Calliope participated in, they made a major contribution.”

“And that’s why the league has decided to update the rules, following some rather one-sided fights during round one,” said a voice from behind me.

I spun around on the couch, only to find Lanivia standing right behind us.

“You know you could spend a few more days relaxing. I did give everyone a week vacation,” she said, hands on hips.

“This is how Talia relaxes,” Kass said, with a slight chuckle. “Don’t worry, I’m making sure she doesn’t spend the entire week here.”

I ignored their banter and focused on, what I considered to be, the most important part of the discussion. “They updated the match rules?” I asked.

“Yes, young one,” Lanivia replied with a sigh. “It was quickly determined that the dungeons that used quality, over quantity, devastated their opponents. So during an emergency session it was decided that there would be a limit of four sub-boss or classed staff members allowed to participate in a match, and they need to act as independent operators.”

“But… we only had three active sub-bosses,” I said, throwing my arms over the back of the couch. “We didn’t win THAT hard.”

“Perhaps, but both the Elder Woods and Tombs of the Last Dynasty used them extensively. Almost one per floor.”

Kass winced, “That would be the equivalent of an additional adventuring party in each match,” she said.

Lanivia nodded. “Like I said, some of the other matches were a little more one-sided.”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Wait… Wait wait wait,” I interrupted, as a thought entered my mind. “That means we could still have another sub-boss during matches! I was just thinking we could use more healing during matches”

“Alright, settle down now,” Kass said, rubbing me on the back. “Even if that’s true, we would have to check around… unless…” she narrowed her eyes and looked at Lanivia, “Sylvia?”

“Sylvia,” the lich agreed, with a nod, as she passed me a tablet. “Sylvia used to work in the Ballroom, before you came, but had serious issues with the previous floor boss, Gustave. She is currently working at an amateur level dungeon I control, as the dungeon master. Since you’re the one developing our strategies, I wanted you to evaluate her, and invite her back if you’re satisfied with her skill.”

I nodded emphatically, and started opening up the tablet before Kass stopped me. “Later,” she mumbled, pointing at Lanivia.

“It’s fine,” the lich said, with a laugh. “That is why we hired her. I included the rule changes on the tablet, along with Sylvia’s details. If she doesn’t meet your requirements, or doesn’t want to come back, please let me know and we can discuss it further.”

“Can do!” I replied with glee.

Lanivia just nodded to us, turned, and disappeared into thin air.

“Still freaks me out that she can do that,” I said, turning back around on the couch, and turning to Kass.

“You’ll get used to it,” she said with a smile. She threw her arms around me, snuggling in close, so she could look at the tablet I was fiddling with.

“Sooo…. Sylvia,” I said slowly, as I checked what files were on the tablet.

“You don’t want to finish reviewing the fights first?” Kass asked in mock surprise.

“I have plenty of time to do that later,” I replied.

Kass snorted. “I’ve been telling you that all week. I’ll tell you, but you eat at the same time,” she said, holding out the burrito to me. I took it, and after a moment of hesitation, took a giant bite of it. Out of the corner of my eye I saw George scramble to his feet, so I pulled some chicken out of it and threw it his way.

Once I swallowed my mouthful of food I stared at Kass, “Now spill.”

“Fine,” Kass said, as she passed me a glass of juice. “Sylvia is the master vampire that used to keep those vampire layabouts in the Ballroom in check. Unfortunately Gustave treated her like complete shit, so she asked for a transfer away. From what I understand, she also learned ritual magic, and worked to find a way to protect, and keep her staff alive during fights.”

I nearly spit up my juice at that last part. “How? I thought ritualists dealt with black magic, based around placing debilitating debuffs on their enemies.”

“You’re right, for the most part,” Kass said as she took control of the tablet, and swapped to Sylvia’s profile, “but her favorite trick is to use ‘Lifelink’ on her entire group, making it very difficult to pick off a single target, then have her natural regeneration slowly heal everyone through the same link. It can’t be used for long, because of the side effects, but it’s very effective for shorter fights.”

“That’s… pretty smart actually,” I mumbled, as I concentrated on the page. “Combination tank, debuff and healer.” I paused for a moment. “So what’s wrong with her?”

“Nothing’s wrong with her!” Kass said defensively. “She might have a little bit of an attitude problem, but that was mostly due to her frustration with Gustave, and he’s gone now.”

“If you say so,” I said. “I don’t see anything here that would cause any issues. We can go talk to her later this week.”

“We?” Kass asked, with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, I do want some backup when meeting her,” I said. “And we could maybe make it a day out, just the two of us,” I continued, blushing slightly.

“That would be lovely,” Kass replied, before placing a kiss on my forehead. “We’ll make an appointment later this week.”

“Until then, research!” I announced, activating the crystal display again and pulling up the battles once again.

Kass sighed, and pulled me into a tighter cuddle. “You’re lucky you're cute.”