Dan stood and looked at the giant dead bugs. They shouldn't work. Insects and other terrestrial invertebrates just didn't get that large. Hundreds of millions of years ago there were big bugs, when there was more oxygen in the atmosphere. It was something about how the method insects used to move oxygen through their bodies got less effective with the size of the insect, if he remembered right. But there had never been anything remotely similar the scorpions he and Ray just killed, not that he knew of. They were much, much too big. Possible explanations: One, aether/System weirdness, aka "a wizard did it." Not helpful, because useless from a predictive standpoint, but possible. Two, the oxygen level in the atmosphere here is impossibly high. Probable, at least as a partial explanation. Which would indicate that this dungeon was on a different world than the entrance had been. Three, very different physiology in these compared to the invertebrates Dan was familiar with. Even if they looked like super sized versions of familiar creepy crawlies, their internal biology could be totally different. In fact, it almost had to be unless this was explanation One, where nothing could be understood and nothing made sense.

Other questions. Why were they venomous? That was usually a trait of small predators, wasps, snakes, centipedes, stuff like that. The dead scorpions were far more massive than venomous animals back on Earth got, maybe partially excepting Komodo Dragons, which may or may not have anti-coagulant saliva. That part at least could be explained. First, they were monsters. Monsters were essentially living weapons. Pretty much any adaptation that helps them kill people makes sense if whoever or whatever makes monsters, or makes normal animals into monsters, put it there. The System also said that these bugs, both the scorpions and the assassin flies, were altered. Robber flies on Earth weren't venomous, they were more like hawks of the insect world. Could that be an intentionally engineered change in these? The venom injection apparatus seemed pretty darn central to the design of the scorpions. That stinger didn't look like something that could reasonably be grafted on to a simpler monster template, and it wouldn't make any sense as just a tail spear. But maybe increased lethality in the venom was engineered? Just how were these things altered, and what could that tell him about what other bugs in here might be like? Best guess: Poison. Everything here was going to have some nasty poison. Even things that shouldn't have poison would have poison. Nightmare Australia: The Dungeon.

"So Ray, I've got a hunch that everything we run into during this part of the Dungeon is going to have a poison sting or bite or something, and that those poisons are gonna be extremely dangerous. What do you think?"

"Crawling kind often stings. It would not surprise me. It is cause for worry. Our abilities are not well suited to fighting swarms."

"Great. Anything we can do to improve our chances?"

"Yes. There is an Aether Ability, 'Lesser Cure [self]'. It attempts to purge the body of toxins, parasites, and pathogens. You will not be able to use it well due to your penalty to non-Esper school abilities, but it could still help. Also, there is a Perk, 'Poison Resistance 1'. It gives 15% resistance to all toxins and poisons. I do not know if this would be worth taking though, as that may not make a difference if the venom of these monsters is potent. It will weaken you later not to have the Perk available for something more broadly useful."

"If I get stung and die now, there isn't any later. I'm taking both." Dan did.

After a few minutes, when their aether pools were both full, the duo continued down the hall. The layout was oddly linear, as if it were on a track they had to follow with no real options to split away or vary. There was a door in the wall a bit down the hall, just around the corner, but it had been cemented shut. A flight of half a dozen assassin flies attacked, but Dan and Ray had little trouble bolting them out of the air. The next monsters up were three seven foot long centipedes that Dan felt pretty sure would revisit him in bad dreams to come. Oddly, the centipedes were only level four, though they seemed much more dangerous than some higher level monsters Dan had fought. Dark Bolt took care of them nonetheless, and again Dan and Ray paused to restore their Aether.

"So Ray, outside of one assassin fly that got close to me just inside the door to this part of the dungeon, this has all been kinda easy so far. Does that seem normal to you?"

"Many dungeons test mental and physical endurance with weaker monsters. Even a low level monster can kill if the dungeon party loses focus for a moment. These monsters with their poison are a rather classical example of the type. Easily killed, but dangerous enough to punish any lapse or error."

That made sense. In basketball, free throws were easy. Good shooters could make 80% or better. But that still meant one out of five shots, on average, they missed. If a miss could cost your life? The ease of these battles was just an illusion. They were each seriously dangerous fights. Then there was also the cumulative psychological strain of staying fully alert, maintaining maximum concentration for many minutes or even hours at a time. Eventually it'd get very, very hard not to slip.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Dan's "Detect Monster" Aether Ability alerted him to something buried under the wet dirt of the floor ahead. As they got closer, his Danger Sense flared as well. The hall was empty, dank, lit by torches, and altogether creepy and unpleasant. After a quick conference with Ray, he used "Penetrating Sight" to look through the ground. It revealed an enormous worm, a foot in diameter and at least fifteen feet long. The worm had a row of spines, spaced regularly, that ran down each side of its long body. Its head widened to an oval mouth ringed with fangs. Not just scary looking sharp teeth, they looked to be actual fangs used to envenomate victims. Dan used System Identify.

Conqueror Worm, lvl 13. Monster Type: Ambush Worm

"So Ray, have you ever heard of either Conqueror or Ambush worms?"

"No."

"Does Dark Bolt penetrate dirt?"

"Not well."

"Any good ideas for fighting a fifteen foot long, one foot diameter worm monster with a venomous bite and rows of poison spines down the length of its body?"

"It is likely of weak mind. I may be able to disorient it. If it hunts from beneath the ground, then it relies on touch, scent, or hearing rather than vision. If it can be lured out of hiding, Dark Bolt should be effective."

"Alright then, we've just got to get it to attack something that isn't us."

Dan went back and grabbed the least damaged Assassin Fly corpse he could find. He then took careful aim and threw it to the spot on the floor over the Conqueror Worm. There was the worry that monsters might instinctively not attack each other, but the fly was dead, so if that instinct did exist it may not apply. Come to think of it, the worm had to have some kind of friend or foe identification, otherwise it would slaughter all the other bugs and/or naga that moved through the hall. Annoyingly, what would happen when the bug corpse landed was just outside the window of his Tactical Precognition, at least if he wanted to stay a safe distance back - which he very much did. As soon as the gruesome projectile landed, the Conqueror Worm exploded out in ambush. Dan and Ray launched Dark Bolts, but it withdrew into its lair so quickly that only a couple of them hit. The worm was implausibly tough, and barely showed any outward signs of damage from the powerful bolts, though Dan's Sense Life did show it weakening a bit. He wondered whether that sense was giving him a window into other living things' health pools, like the health bar on fighting game characters.

"That didn't work quite as well as I hoped."

"It did not."

"On my world, birds are known for eating worms. Is that true on your world as well Ray?"

"Some of feathered kind do, some do not. They are not to my taste."

"Pity, that would make things easy. You could just fly over and snack on the giant worm monster."

"I'm afraid I haven't the appetite."

"Ah well. Next plan: I poke it with a spear, dodge when it attacks, you hit it with Dark Bolt?"

"I don't like the plan, but have none better. Do be careful."

"I was planning to."

Dan took the Naga spear and slowly approached the waiting monster. This was his idea, but he didn't like it either. The worm was dangerous, high level, and unfairly damage resistant. Getting closer to it felt quite wrong. He stuffed that feeling down and advanced. Before he even got within range to thrust with his weapon, his Tactical Precognition and Sense Danger screamed. The giant worm exploded out of its lair an eye's blink after Dan began to move. Its lunging attack hit the space his torso had been less than a second before. Ray pelted it with Dark Bolts. Dan dodged for his life. The worm's initial strike was blindingly fast, but even after, it moved more quickly than seemed possible. Fortunately, Dan was quick too now. He had slightly super human Agility, vastly super human balance and proprioception, precognition, and a perk that helped him dodge. He needed all of them to dance out of the worm's twisting attacks. As soon as he escaped its attack range, the monster shrunk back into its hole. Sense Life showed that it had been badly wounded by Ray's attacks, though it was still very much alive. Dan decided that being bait sucked. This was not a matter on which he'd had cause to form an opinion previously. If he had, that would have been the conclusion he'd drawn without benefit of first hand experience, but he now knew quite definitively. So that was nice. Sadly, the worm wasn't dead yet, and the danse macabre had to be repeated once more before Ray and Dan's efforts finally felled it. The dumb thing wasn't even a mini-boss. Killing it gave no special rewards or acknowledgment..

"Ray, that sucked."

"An interesting expression. The feeling is clear. Yes, that did not look like a fun game to play. You played it well though, and won. Well done."

"Thanks."

Dan strained his senses. It would be so nice to know ahead of time what the dungeon would throw at them next. He'd tried using Penetrating Sight to look through the walls, but something within them disrupted his efforts. Possibly the stone used in the building's construction was quasi-magical in nature, or maybe the dungeon was just built to screw with him. Or both. Man and raven took a short, thankfully uninterrupted, rest. Dan used cleanse to clear away the coat of sweat and grime that clung to him. Then they continued on the path. Shortly ahead a low, buzzing din reached Dan's ears, and his Danger Sense began to buzz with it.