Drake looked across the room waiting for Cortez’s signal. They stood well across the empty space from each other, both barely breathing and completely prepared for battle; holding their breaths to remain as quiet as possible.

Drake glanced out of the room she hid in to see Cortez’s upraised hand counting down. His upheld fist was all Drake needed to see, and she rushed out into the open room.

Three hobs and two trolls…

The trolls roared and Drake smirked as her giant skeletal minion barreled into the group of monsters from behind. Its upraised shield smashed into the two larger figures, knocking them down as its spear flashed outward. All five monsters were struck at the same time, and Drake took advantage of their disrupted formation.

“You stepped into the wrong building buckos!”

One overhead swing brained a hobgoblin, while the other two were barely able to rise from the ground before arrows were lodged into their eye sockets.

Fuck that kid is lethal.

Both Drake and her giant skeleton took a defensive step backward, slowly beginning to strafe the remaining trolls. The two larger monsters had far higher constitutions than their smaller brethren, which is why they dispatched the hobgoblins first.

The trolls were closer to Drake’s own giant skeleton than the hobgoblins in size. Their dense musculature set them in a category of their own as far as the monster’s within the instance were concerned. Drake’s bruised ribs from their first fight with the monsters of their stature told her just how at risk she was, as she had only recently just recovered from the ribs being entirely broken.

Who are you kidding Drake, you barely survived the blow and you know it, your lucky they aren’t still shattered, just focus!

It had been hard to breathe at first, and Drake had to put on a face in front of Cortez to convince them to keep fighting rather than flee, but with her new partner as close to leveling up to Adept as he was, Drake couldn’t stop until the boy gained his class.

Cortez had been right about the Elite status of the monsters within the city. The tag in their scan was the only information given beyond their names, which had honestly worried Drake, but having no other choice but to engage with the enemy came with its benefits.

Drake dashed in, swinging Havoc at the nearest trolls knee. The monster lifted its leg to dodge, and swung its massive fist at Drake’s head. Zen raised its palm out toward the strike, blocking the incredible weight behind the punch; the force sliding Drake backward even as Havoc managed to open its fist, wrapping it around the ankle of the troll.

Even as Drake slid backward, she widened her stance, pulling Havoc back as hard as she could; Zen even grasping the handle of its partner and helping Drake yank the troll off balance.

An arrow pierced through the knee of the troll’s now extended leg, and the monster bellowed in pain.

Drake’s metallic minion rose from her back, arcing over her shoulder in a flash. The magical weapon detached, and hammered down with its palm open; a twisting black energy swirling at its center.

A vicious crunch was heard as a singularity punched into the arrow pierced knee, and the troll’s leg buckled under the weight of its own mass. Drake surged forward, lifting Havoc over her head, flipping over the flailing arm of the handicapped troll, and brained the monster.

“Sorry bout this bud, but you know what’s up!”

Drake lifted the weapon again, and again, and again, hearing her own slamming weapon echoed by her skeletal giant’s own spear. Both trolls skulls being crushed.

“Fuck fuck fuck!”

Drake quickened her pace, slamming her weapon over and over, joined by her minion a moment later, as the trolls extremely powerful regeneration fixed its knee, popping the bones back in place before it started to work on the skull even as they smashed it.

Dealing with the trolls made Drake worry over having to face an ogre or even the monsters Cortez said were called mountain trolls, making her completely sure that facing the monster horde as a whole would have resulted in her inevitable death.

“Come the fuck on, just die you son of a bitch!”

Cortez began firing arrows, riddling the troll with projectiles, aiming for vital spots. It wasn’t until Drake’s magical minions raised into the air, and attacked that Drake and her giant skeleton were able to stop.

A bone spear pulsing with crimson lightning punctured the trolls heart, as its partner grabbed the regrowing skull, crushing it in its grip; the singularity it held devouring the trolls brain near instantly.

Then another roar was heard as the second troll her giant minion had been fighting rose to its feet. Drake sighed, glancing between her two flying magical weapons, pointing Havoc toward the troll.

“Sick em!”

…

Drake dragged one of the two troll bodies toward the open window. Though the monster was heavy Drake managed it well enough with the aid of her two magical minions, and Zen.

“Heave,” said Drake, lifting the troll’s upper half over the edge of the open window.

“Hoe..!”

Her magical minions lifted the monsters legs op, allowing for its weight to take it over the edge. Drake stuck her head out the window, watching as the troll fell into a growing pile of bodies at the rear of the building they were in.

The courtyard below serving as a great place for the corpses to be hidden, as it was walled off from the surrounding buildings.

She looked over to see Cortez pushing out a hobgoblin from a nearby window, both watching the body fall. The sound of the corpse falling nowhere as near to as bad as it had been at first when there wasn’t a mound of the dead below to cushion the fall.

“Did you get it,” asked Drake as they pulled their heads back inside. Cortez nodded, smiling.

“I’m officially classed, and have my third tier of skills unlocked.”

“I’ve never tiered up, what is that like?”

Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

Cortez frowned at first, but Drake assumed that he remembered that she’d said that she was unranked, and answered her.

“Its different for everyone. The more you do in between ranks, the more options you have, sometimes its access to more skills, sometimes its a ranked skill outside the normal options for your bloodline type, some times you even get more than one selection for each type, which thanks to you, I got,” said Cortez excitedly.

“Me, what did I do, all I do is smash stuff?”

“I have an Epic achievement because of that last fight before we entered this place, don’t think I would have gotten them if we’d never met, done things I’d never expected after meeting you.”

“Yeah, like what?”

Drake wouldn’t normally ask a question like she just had, but with seeing on how they’d only fought together, Drake was genuinely interested.

“You’ll never believe me even if I told you,” said Cortez with a laugh. He glanced out the window, pointing out another group of incoming monsters.

“I have no reason not to believe you, and any edge I can get in this place will probably help.”

Cortez nodded, looking toward the incoming enemies as they entered the building they were in.

“I combined my skills, didn’t think it would work because it is an advanced technique that Ascended use to increase their power, often doesn’t work for most, but it did for me.”

Drake nodded and thought to herself. After a moment,, she realized that though her minions had combined their attacks, and managed incredible feats by doing so, she didn’t know if she’d ever consciously done the same herself.

I didn’t know that combining skills was such a big deal? Have I ever tried to actively merge skills, what skills would I even combine?

Drake took her place, once more hiding in the room across from Cortez, as her giant skeleton entered the room catty-cornered across from her. Her mind ablaze with her skills, or minions skills, and how they could potentially be fused.

Hmm, lets try it, we have nothing to lose but our lives right?

The next group of monsters emerged, and Cortez’s countdown began.

Three…

Drake felt the power of her magical minions stir, almost as if they felt… excited. She reached out mentally toward her other minions, and could immediately tell that both Havoc and Zen also were radiating and intensity that she’d never felt before.

“Calm down guys, wait for it…,” murmured Drake softly. Electricity began to crackle down her back, and her hair started to blow as a singularity was summoned behind her; both her magical minions detaching from Zen’s mantle, coming to hover above her shoulders.

Two…

“Wait for it…”

Crimson life force energy began to pool around both the hands of Havoc and Zen, and an all around unity began to thrum at Drake’s center. Her core pulsed and Drakes body started to vibrate as her soul began to resonate.

One.

“now.”

Cortez’s final finger dropped and Drake charged. Arrows flew, and Drake felt her body weave between them. She reached the group of five trolls even before her giant skeleton and began her bloody work.

Five arrows punched into the chests of the trolls, and Drake became a blur of motion. She thrusted Havoc toward the closest troll to her. The Trolls stood in a v formation, and in an instant, one, died.

Lightning danced down havoc as it was grabbed down its length by both Drake’s magical minions. Havoc’s fist opened, and black spatial distortion energies twisted through its fingertips. The weapon ripped through the air and into the troll’s chest with ease, and Havoc’s hand closed around the monster’s heart.

The troll’s entire body turned to ash, and Drake sped foreword. She moved into the path of another arrow, blocking it from the sight of the troll she charged, only staying in place for a blink.

The troll reacted and swung its huge fist, only for Drake to dodge and the arrow she’d briefly covered tore into the troll’s knuckle. The monster roared, only to have its jaw torn from its mouth as Drake cleaved Havoc toward the troll’s head, nearly decapitating the monster as it dodged.

Zen deflected two wild blows before reaching toward the troll’s neck, readying itself to pull the monster toward Drake as she crouched slightly, and jumped.

Zen wrapped its grasp around the monsters throat, and yanked down as Drake raised a spartan kick toward the troll’s mangled face. Her foot collided with a crunch, and Drake road the monster to the ground, smashing its skull underfoot.

She launched herself upward as her two magical minions let go of Havoc, intertwining their hands, forming the structure like that of a mace infused with magic. Both weapons snapped down as the second troll’s head tried to reform, only for the weapons to obliterate the skull in an instant. The body of the troll going limp as the skull was disintegrated.

Drake rose into the air, as Havoc closed its fist, thrusting the weapon forward as the third troll roared. Havoc punched into the troll’s open mouth, and began to try and open its hand, locking the monster’s head in place just long enough for Drake’s magical minions to act.

Both minions tore from behind Drake, racing with their open hand’s crackling with power. An incredible clap emanated through the room as the third troll had its head caved in, nothing left of the troll’s head as Drake stepped off the falling monster’s chest.

Drakes magical minions flew through the air, orbiting Drake as the metallic minion grabbed its partner by its middle, and the weapon transformed into a lightning bone spear. The weapons pierced through the air. The spear was then thrusted through the fourth troll’s solar plexus, pinning it to the ground in a flash of movement.

Drake landed on the monster’s shoulders, raising Havoc upward as she smirked. The monster’s eyes went wide as it scrambled, grabbing frantically at the spear through its chest.

“Its okay, I didn’t expect this either big bucko!”

Havoc slammed down on the fourth troll’s head, and Drake flipped through the air, as her magical minions returned to dangle from Zen’s mantle. She landed feet first on the trolls reforming head, her feet surrounded by crimson life force, completely crushing the head of the fourth monster of five.

“PUSH!”

Drake roared, widening her stance to face the next opponent, only seeing her giant skeleton and Cortez left standing. The last enemy of five laying riddled with arrows and spear holes.

“Well damn, that was fast,” said Drake spinning slowly to look at the room. Silence was all that remained and Drake looked back toward the gaping Cortez.

“What in the bloody maiden’s love was that?”

“What do you mean,” asked Drake confused.

“You just tore through four elites in a matter of moments, don’t act like that wasn’t an absurd difference between what we have done up until this point, I mean this is the first time we have fought five straight trolls, and you made it seem as if there was no difference between them and bloody goblins.”

“Oh, I listened to what you said and tried to combine my skills, if I’m being honest I know that I failed, I really only managed to combine the timing of the attacks to be simultaneous, but in all reality its a start, what do you think?”

“I think your team was right about you, you are a bloody monster in Cultivator’s clothing, I mean I didn’t even get to try my new skills…”

My bad just trying to get as strong as I can, as fast as possible, but if I’m the monster,” started Drake smiling at Cortez.

“What does that make them?”

Drake gestured toward the corpses, surprised to her core by Cortez’s response.

“Food…”

It was Drake’s turn for her eyes to go wide, remembering that she was on a time clock to exit the instance.

Lilith said I had a fortnight until I would need more DragonFruit, I got plenty of time, thought Drake worried that if she took too long she would have to drink the blood of monsters or even Cortez to survive.

Let’s just hope it doesn’t come to that.

…

Lilith paced before Vanish and Aurora. They’d managed to return, informing her of what had happened. Where Lilith originally thought that she’d be relieved by this news, she found herself oddly enough frazzled.

Am I more worried about losing a potential replacement for myself in this bloody dungeon, or the girl’s well being…?

Lilith’s mind raced, but she knew that the thought alone was answer enough for her to know that she’d already somehow managed to form an attachment to Drake, wether or not she wanted to or not.

“Can you still feel her,” asked Lilith for the third time since the pair had returned through the portal she left for them at the instance’s entrance. Aurora nodded, sharing a glance with Vanish before she looked to Lilith and spoke.

“I’m pretty sure she is alive, and if I’m being honest I don’t know that I will remain alive if she dies.

From what Lilith had gathered of the two girl’s bond, she knew that Aurora was more than likely correct. Their souls shared the same vessel, and though the girl before her was using what was considered to be a spiritual body, all beings spiritual or not need a vessel or phylactery made for the containment of souls.

“Then we should count ourselves lucky,” said Lilith, still pacing around the pair within the glass pyramid above the manor.

“So what should we do,” asked Vanish, looking to Lilith. She knew that he needed her support in that moment, but how to support was the dilemma for her.

Soft touch, or do I sharpen steel with steel?

“You and Aurora have a lot of work to do Vanish, do you not understand what is happening right now?”

“What do you mean,” asked Aurora, genuine confusion crossing both her and Vanish’s face. Lilith almost rolled her eyes, but scowled at the pair instead.

“She is still alive, surviving an experience that should have already killed her a dozen times over, what do you think that means?”

“The gap that was already there between us and her is only growing,” said Vanish after a few moments of silence.

“Exactly…”

“What are we supposed to do about that, Drake is insanely addicted to growing more powerful, and now she is in a place with a horde of monsters, there is no way we are going to keep up with that, especially when she manages to survive this,” said Aurora.

“If that is your mindset, then you shall fail child.”

“So we must grow as she does, but how,” asked Vanish, and Lilith smiled.

“By entering and even more difficult instance…”

The children shared another look of utter apprehension before looking back toward Lilith, speaking simultaneously.

“How,” asked Vanish.

“Do you want us to die,” asked Aurora.

Lilith smiled.

“I’m going to show you both how to gain a secret skill for new godlings that have entered this dungeon, and when Drake returns, you will show her how to obtain it.”

The pair shared another look, speaking at once again as they looked back to Lilith.

“What?”

…

Drake and Cortez once again climbed the stairs of the large building they fought within. Cortez felt that the smell of blood was too rich on the floor they were on, and Drake agreed.

The pair moved on, and Drake inquired about Cortez’s new skills as they climbed the steps.

“I have a new skill that causes my arrows to explode and wrap vines around my targets, another that lets me shoot through shadows, using all shadows within a short range of one another like portals for my arrows, and another that lets me turn my companions invisible for short periods of time.”

“Woah, that’s incredible, there is so much utility there, you already know how you plan on using them?”

Cortez nodded as he peeked out a window, giving Drake a wordless signal to indicate another group of monsters was incoming.

Without realizing it they found themselves walking onto the roof of the building. Drakes eyes went wide, and Cortez cursed at the sight before them.

The roof was entirely inscribed with a series of pictures that oddly enough reminded Drake of pictograms. She immediately was fixated on the drawings, feeling as if she was reading a list of instructions.

“What is all this,” said Cortez, standing in the center of what appeared to be a zoomed in aerial view of the section of the city they were in.

Drake took in the entirety of the inscribed surface of the roof from the entryway, focusing on the arrows that had strange symbols beside each of them, feeling as if she’d seen something similar before.

“I think it's a map…”