"Jack! What the hell just happened? You could have killed us all!"

A still dazed Jack, wincing as the burns over half his exposed body were still smarting, rubbed his eyes and met the half dozen or so accusing stares. Then he smirked at the man glaring up at him.

"I missed you too, Aroust. What's that you said? That last burst of experience brought you mid-way to level 16 and you're incredibly grateful? Well hell, no problem, buddy. I'm just happy we, as a team, were able to put those fuckers in their place and take out that abomination guarding the gates out of here, and put all those victims who had been screaming in agony you can't understand, having been spared the sight of that chamber of horrors, are no longer stuck in a living hell!"

For long moments Jack and Aroust just glared at eachother before the latter shook his head with a curse.

"You took a terrible, risk, Jack. What would have happened if you had perished? What would our fates have been then?" said none other than his Chu Hua, eyes sympathetic even as her words came at him like hammers of judgement. Words that made him flush and wince, because he really had no good answer for that.

They would in all likelihood have perished, choking on fumes, or have been trapped and slowly starved out or die to peril, if the Greater Soul Flayer had actually managed drive him mad with his etherial worm swarm, an attack no one had expected, no line of sight needed, though even the thinnest of soul-scarves wrapped about his head and his own unstoppable fury bordering on vindictive madness had been enough to push to see him to the end.

Jack then raised his head, meeting his lover's eyes, for all that his cheeks felt hot with an odd mixture of pride and shame. "The alpha horror at the heart of this delve is dead." He let the words hang in the air for a few moments before speaking on. "There were no less than two portals in the central chamber. It was in perfect position to ambush anyone who came through. If I hadn't taken it out, here and now..."

"The damage would have been incalculable," Chu Hua whispered. "Those creatures attack the mind. And we saw the astral tendrils of that monster turn physical."

Veti nodded. "We can only assume that the others were drones. And those were bad enough! Even with Jack's skills and knowing what to expect... even taking them out, one at a time... it was close. And if we hadn't been as coordinated and mindlinked to our tactician as we are... if we didn't actually have one among us with the rare ability to take on a Mind Mage..."

"We'd all be dead. Or worse, enslaved to those nightmares," said a pale-faced Elof.

Drake chuckled darkly. "Mentalists are bad enough. But those Mind Flayers? And that alpha monster was savvy enough to build his layer beside the pair of gates?" He barked with bitter laughter. "There's no way in hell this place is anything but a death trap. Rare as Grey Witches are, I think whoever comes through is two seconds away from being calamari brain food, no matter how tough or high leveled those poor bastards think they are." The young prince's gaze turned pitying. "Hell, I now halfway wonder if that Amir asshole joined the badguys out of desperation as much as malice. For all we know, offering to become their apprentices and agents in the world above is the only reason why he and his friends weren't instantly made brain food." He shrugged. "Not that I'll ever forgive that asshole, if he weren't already dead, but still."

Elva shivered, then nodded her head. "When I first entered... everything seemed so strange and dreamlike. I don't even recall exactly how I ended up on that slab. But if whatever had made its layer truly was before the gates...then Percy and I were just lab rats for Amir's pleasure. His master could have claimed us from the second we had jumped through." She gave a rueful chuckle. "And what an idiot I was, to think I was actually fooling Amir, was actually getting to the bottom of anything before that bastard showed me just how outmatched I truly was." She then turned her blue-eyed gaze to Jack.

"And if you noble heroes come out of nowhere, like the answer to a desperate, foolish girl's prayer, I'd already be dead, or wishing I was." She solemnly bowed her head. "I will always be in your debet." She then flashed a dazzling smile. "And I don't care how unorthodox or outlawed your tactics might have been, if you actually managed to take out that monster Soul Flayer's layer? You'll be a federation-wide hero, considering that any future party would have been walking into a death trap." She then furrowed her delicate arched brows. "But considering the acrid fumes slipping past the wonderfully refreshing wind generator you've somehow fashioned..."

"It's Jack's familiar. Somehow he managed to enlist a Greater Air Elemental to his service," Elof said helpfully."

"Fascinating! Jack, how long do you think it will be before we can actually check the chamber and exit the delve?"

Jack gave a rueful chuckle. "Yeah, that's sort of the million coin question, isn't it?"

"He means we don't have narry a clue," said a beaming Barlton. "In fact, we had ta leave our old homes behind, the last time Jack decided to gas our foes. Just a bit too toxic ta stick around, ya know."

Elva's gentle smile turned hard as stone. "I'm afraid travelling to another realm, however you folk do it..."

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"We just tunnel for days and weeks and months end, Lady Cristova," Elof said helpfully.

"... really isn't an option for me," she finished.

Veti gave a sympathetic smile. "Is it family?"

Elva's confident masked slipped. They all caught a glimpse of the vulnerable woman just underneath. "I have two daughters, they have no father," she said at last, swallowing the lump in her throat. "If I were unable to return to them..." she bowed her head and squeezed her knees, looking ready to burst into tears.

And it was Drake who gently patted her shoulder. "No need to worry on that account, Elva. Unlike last time, we now have a greater Air Elemental on our side, right Jack? One way or another, we're claiming that beasts prize, whatever chest of goodies the dungeon's potency manifested itself into in return for not coring this fucker, and then we're leaving. Rich as lords and we'll be escorting you back to your kids as quick as we can." He flashed a cheeky grin. "After all, we're counting on you to be our guide while we're here. Where else are we going to go?"

The beautiful blond flashed Drake a grateful smile, squeezing his hand in turn. "Thank you, Drake. I... I needed to hear that." She turned her hopeful gaze Jack's way. "Any idea when it will be safe to return?"

But Jack could only shake his head. "Not a clue. But I did unseal one of the passageways in that central chamber, and Ariel will soon be funneling the fumes as much as she can down that monster tunnel." He flashed a wicked grin. "Because if those beasties think hunting us is fair sport, it's only right that we return the favor, hey?"

Drake laughed at that. "Brilliant! Maybe it will even pay off. I'm all about free experience!"

Chu Hua gave a resolute nod before standing up, facing them all. "Well then, now that we finally have an exit plan, it's best we make use of the time Jack's familiar is earning its keep. We should be doing the same."

Aroust blinked at this. "And what exactly is it that we should be doing?"

Jack's girlfriend flashed a wide smile, gracefully showcasing her arms like a model, taking in the entire massive tunnel they forged over however many miles. "What any good soldier does when not on active campaign. We incorporate every lesson learned during the endless weeks we were constantly fighting for our lives. We train our hearts out, perfecting all our skills, so death never comes so close to claiming us ever again!"

Aroust flashed an oddly approving smile with those words, and Jack found he wasn't the only one who had mixed feelings about what the days ahead were likely to entail. But he'd be the first to admit he could benefit from more training. All of them had come incredibly far, incredibly fast, and none of them had done much killing save in the most controlled of circumstances.

If they were truly going to be worthy of their classes and levels, they needed to train, and train hard, particularly in sparring against one another, lest they wanted to be quickly put in their places by lower leveled grunts who had done nothing but take on humanoids or even fellow warriors, much like themselves.

Besides, Jack thought with a smile as he found himself stumbling back on his ass to the gentle laughter of his girl after she made it exquisitely clear she'd push him to improve both his skill with spell and shield and the strength of his crimson armor, he couldn't deny how excited he was to unlock whatever chest full of prizes awaited them once the boss chamber was finally clear of fumes.

If he was really, really lucky, it would be an Air Affinity sphere and maybe, just maybe, he would be able to absorb it, balance his now 4 elemental affinities and unlock the greater Elemental Adept class, especially if he had the option for a bloodmage variant.

It was a pie in the sky dream, and the most elite class imaginable, at least for him, with his affinities. And even if all he did was open himself up to the possibility of that class, to know that that would be an option even if he stuck to his unorthodox path of pure skill focus, determined to get at least a couple more Mastered spells under his belt, knowing such would be almost impossible once he took a class... he couldn't deny the thrill of what the future held.

And to think. An Earth so like the one he had left behind, an Earth 2.0, even if it was technologically stuck in the 80's with a dash of magitech and who knew how many epic table top roll playing games happening in bookstores all across this world's version of the northeast made him giddy with excitement.

Enough so that he found himself smacked on his butt once more.

"Focus, Jack!" said a grinning Chu Hua, and Jack couldn't help but chuckle, brush aside her training staff, and sweep her up in his arms, kissing her long and slow.

"What was that for, Jack?" she said somewhat breathlessly, eyes twinkling with mirth and hunger of a different sort.

"Sorry, sweetheart. I'm just excited about what I hope we'll find when we can finally claim that monster's den. If my hunch is right? I'll unlock the class of my dreams. And if the world beyond this endless cavern has any of the promise I think it does? I think we're all going to have loads of fun. After all, who doesn't want to live in the 80s where tabletop role playing games rule, only now you can actually adventure on the weekends for real?"

His girlfriend's bemused smile turned to throaty laughter, even if she had no real idea what he was talking about, once he challenged her to a match of a different sort, in that section of their tunnel they had claimed for themselves, now savoring sweet moments of peace between the storms of their lives. And as an awed Chu Hua heard tales of the first life Jack had ever lived, she too found herself giddy with excitement for what they might find in the realm that was now just a single gate away. Blue jeans, surfing, and college with delving on the weekends. With trips to paris, walking on the beach under a moonlit sky, and a family of their own one day in a beautiful house surrounded by forests and fields that never saw bloodshed or war of any sort. Best of all, miniature towns called malls that they could drive to in horseless carriages whenever they wanted, filled with nothing but stores to buy all the clothing, food, books, and magically sealed musical recordings she could desire. And gigantic bigscreen movie theatres that displayed illusionary tales right from her favorite childhood fariy tales!

Whether her man was spinning fantasies of an impossible world, or just trying to make her smile, Chu Hua now also found herself eager experience whatever the future might hold, excited for the adventures to come.