The rune covered platform that Susie now controlled was a gift -of sorts. Well, moreso -it was a piece of Dungeon Adventurer Tax- furniture that Jack had acquired from a clockwork dungeon that had taken over a gnomish city of tinkers and engineers in the Otherworld. Jack had learned early on that sometimes dungeons were able to create items -or living things- that had no analog in the mundane world. And the Dungeon Adventurer’s Tax was a perk of the job.

And it was once again proving its worth -Jack only wished he’d been able to grab its twin before the dungeon was collapsed.

Susie grunted in concentration, her arms and shoulders quivering as she fought to maintain control. Sweat dripped from her forehead, collecting at her chin, before falling into a puddle at her feet. She adjusted the platform’s angle just in time, steadying it as Jack sprinted toward her with the beast still writhing in his grasp.

Moments later, with a final, guttural roar, Jack hurled the Worm Lord onto the platform. The impact sent Susie staggering to one knee, her knuckles white as she clung to her mental tether with every ounce of raw willpower she had available to her. The creature thrashed wildly, its severed limbs spewing black sandy ichor as it tried to reconnect with the ground. As it spasmed and convulsed, the platform wobbled, tilting dangerously.

“Hold it steady!” Jack barked, vaulting onto the platform. His machete gleamed in the dim light as he raised it high, then brought it crashing down. The blade carved through the Worm Lord’s grotesque form with surgical precision, slicing from its head to the base of its torso. The creature screeched, a deafening wail that shook the chamber, but Jack didn’t stop. He hacked and slashed, severing its writhing appendages and ensuring no piece could reform.

Finally, he reached for another card. This one burned hot in his hand, its edges glowing with an intense, fiery aura. The Cleansing Flame. A gift from the Cloud Giants, forged in their ancient forges as payment for a favor Jack had nearly died fulfilling. He activated it without hesitation, channeling the last of his reserves into the card.

A searing fist of alchemical blue-white fire erupted into existence, hovering like a miniature sun. Jack directed it with his will, sending it hurtling toward the Worm Lord’s remains. The flames consumed the creature instantly, reducing its regenerating parts to ash. The air filled with the acrid stench of burning flesh and sulfur, but Jack didn’t flinch. He held his focus until there was nothing left -no writhing, no twitching, just charred remnants scattered across the platform.

Jack gave her the signal, and with a ragged gasp, Susie released her mental hold on the platform. The energy animating it rippled visibly as it converted back into the card, the glowing form folding in on itself before vanishing into her outstretched hand. A faint pulse of warmth returned to her chest, the system’s way of recycling some of the energy she’d spent. Jack experienced the same phenomenon as he released the flames, though his reserves were so depleted it felt more like a drop in a parched desert than true replenishment.

And then a flood of energy poured into the both of them for having defeated the boss. It was more than they had expended during the fight, a reward for overcoming a dangerous foe, and Jack had been banking on that. Not much more, but enough to make the difference -and anything was better than nothing, he supposed.

If he’d had an active quest tied to this fight, the boost would have been even greater. That was the trick to leveling: maximizing gains by stacking payoffs. Every experienced adventurer knew the key was to line up quests, bounties, and bonuses, hitting targets with precision to extract every last bit of progress from the effort expended. Victory rewards the bold, after all -and the opportunist.

Jack evaluated their situation, now that the boss was defeated.

The Worm Lord’s body was no more than incinerated ash -barely even dust on the wind. The cleansing fire had done its work well, leaving nothing behind that could regenerate or reform. Jack let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding as the system’s rewarding flood of energy reached its peak. The surge left him steadier on his feet, his aches dulled, his stamina topped up.

“Loot’s yours,” he said, waving Susie forward as he leaned against a jagged pillar of stone. His muscles ached, and the warning signs of overexertion pinged faintly in his HUD, but he kept his focus sharp. This wasn’t the time to let his guard down.

Susie hesitated, her eyes flicking to him. “You sure? You did all the heavy lifting. Literally.”

Jack smirked faintly. “Yeah, but you’re the one who held it together -literally.” Jack waved his hand again, encouraging her to claim the rewards. “Go on, take a look.”

She approached the remains cautiously, her hand hovering over the faint glow of armor nestled within the pile of ash. She held her breath as she claimed the prize -the shimmering objects taking on material weight in her hands. Her eyes widened as she held up a pair of bracers. At first glance, they looked like worn leather, but as she turned them in the dim light, their true nature became evident. The bracers were crafted from a supple stone that mimicked leather’s texture, their surface etched with intricate sigils and patterns that glimmered faintly.

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“These are…” She trailed off, running her fingers over the runes as Jack joined her.

“Tier-three bracers,” he said, appraising them with a practiced eye. “Not bad for your first boss loot.”

Susie’s face lit up with wonder. “They’re beautiful,” she murmured. “What do they do?” She asked as she wasted no time putting them on. Looking like they were made for her, they shifted and adjusted themselves to fit her slim form.

Jack rattled off the details, pleased by her obvious excitement. “Increased agility, minor resistance to physical and magical damage, and a small regenerative effect when worn in specific environments.”

As he spoke, Susie listened intently, her expression a mix of awe and disbelief. When he finished, she turned to him, her brow furrowing slightly.

“What about you?” she asked. “You took all the hits, ran yourself ragged, and you’re just gonna let me walk away with these?”

Jack held up a shard, its dusky, sandy surface gleaming faintly in the chamber’s muted light. It had a yellowish tint, like citrine, but with an otherworldly sheen. “I get this,” he said simply.

“What is it?” Susie asked, curiosity sparking in her eyes.

“The beast’s Prismata core,” Jack replied. “Should be useful -maybe I’ll turn it into a card or something else. We’ll see.”

Susie nodded, though her gaze lingered on the shard for a moment longer before shifting back to her bracers. She touched a rune on them, the sigils flaring briefly as they readjusted to her, becoming a veritable second skin. “They’re incredible,” she said, a note of wonder in her voice.

“Good,” Jack said with a faint nod of approval. His gaze swept the chamber, and his attention caught on two newly revealed passages. One of them was unremarkable, a narrow tunnel likely leading deeper into the dungeon or to another mob-heavy area. The other, however, made his lips curl into a grin.

“Well, would you look at that,” he said, gesturing toward the second passage.

Susie followed his gaze and gasped. The faint glow of a shrine radiated from within, its light shimmering with a golden hue. “Is that…?” she started, her voice tinged with awe.

“Yeah,” Jack said. “Looks like you’re getting something good after all.” Thank the gods, Jack thought. Now he wouldn’t have to feel bad about taking the class opportunity once they conquered the dungeon now.

He’d already told her about dungeons and shrines. Taking her on as an apprentice of sorts was no big task, as she’d quickly proven herself time and again in their brief dungeon dive. And like Lord Arlington, he wasn’t about to neglect any apprenticeship he had adopted, no matter how temporary it might prove to be.

They approached the shrine cautiously. Its design was intricate, resembling an ancient altar carved from sandstone, adorned with pictoform symbols that pulsed faintly. The shapes depicted were barely recognizable, their forms in constant motion as they shifted. The air around it shimmered with a sense of timelessness, as though the very fabric of reality bent slightly in its presence.

“This one’s a good one,” Jack said, scanning the runes. “It’s tied to the Lord of Deserts and Sands -a god of time.”

“A god of time?” Susie echoed, her eyes wide. “That’s… big, right?”

“Big enough,” Jack said with a smirk. “He’s got a reputation for meddling with the other gods. Likes to mess with them for sport. By choosing to be a shrine deity, he’s not on equal footing as the dungeon’s patron -but that’s not how shrine deities work anyways. Besides he’s got his own agenda.”

“What do I do?” she asked hesitantly.

“Go touch it, talk to him. And if the offer is good enough, take him up on his gift.” Jack stood back and waved her forward.

“But you said-” she started to protest.

But Jack waved her off, “What I said was most dungeon patrons are bad news, and dungeons as a whole should be conquered and closed -permanently.” Before she could interject, he continued, “And I said that the dungeon deities are all right bastards, and they are. But that’s not the same thing – you’re not going to be asked to be an avatar. Instead you’ll take on another role, one with less strings attached.”

“You really think I should…” Susie trailed off, glancing between the shrine and Jack, her temptation apparent as she tried to justify seizing the opportunity.

“It’s your choice,” Jack said, his tone serious. “Shrine deities aren’t the same as dungeon lords. They’re usually on our side -or close enough. They’ll grant you power, but their terms can be… tricky.”

Susie hesitated, her gaze flicking to the shrine. “What kind of power?”

Jack’s smirk returned. “With him? Likely a chronomancy based class -which are often a blend of healer and utility.” Seeing that she was still unsure, Jack continued to describe what he knew of the followers of the gods of time that he had encountered during his travels. “If you’re lucky, you’ll gain the ability to manipulate time -reset injuries, speed things up, slow them down. Pretty low-tier to start, but the endgame potential is massive.”

Susie’s expression shifted to one of resolve. She stepped forward, placing her hands on the altar. The air around her grew heavy, charged with unseen energy. The shrine’s light flared as a deep voice resonated in her mind, offering her a pact.

She didn’t just accept the terms however.

Jack was further impressed when he could tell that she was negotiating with the thing.

Atta girl, Susie, he thought with a grin. You show him who’s boss.

As Susie placed her hands on the shrine, the air around her thickened, the weight of time itself pressing against her skin. The shifting runes pulsed, their flickering patterns slowing, twisting -then solidifying into something tangible. The ground trembled slightly as a warm breeze stirred the sand at her feet.

Then, from the heart of the shrine, a voice oozed into existence.

Lord of Sands: "Ahhh, what a sight! A lovely desert rose blooms before me."

The voice was rich and deep, full of amused indulgence. Then, with a shimmering ripple in the air, a figure emerged, stepping from the altar as though time had momentarily reversed to allow him passage.

And there he was -the Lord of Sands, a weathered old man draped in loose golden robes, his skin tanned like ancient parchment, his eyes twinkling with far too much mischief for someone supposedly divine. His beard was long, his frame slightly hunched, but his smile was alarmingly full of teeth.

Susie’s brow furrowed. “Uh… hello?”