Timothy started walking down the street towards the library, and Emma laughed. “No, we’re not walking.” She said.

“Oh! You can teleport us?” Timothy asked her.

“Not me, her.” Emma pointed at Zoe.

Zoe nodded and held her arms. “Grab on, make sure you’re making actual skin to skin contact. If your hand is a prosthetic or glove or something, my skill will leave you behind.”

Timothy nodded, and the three grabbed on to Zoe’s hand. Earth rose up, lifting the group off the ground and creating a solid platform for everybody to stand on, and then Zoe Cosmic Stepped three times, arriving at the bottom of Kaira library.

“Woah!” Timothy said as they arrived. “That’s quite convenient!”

Zoe summoned a towering tsunami of water, a dozen feet tall and just as many wide to crash down on the flickering purple elemental that guarded the entrance before it could launch the attack it was preparing as they arrived. She didn’t have time to check its level, but if the size of it was anything to go by, it wouldn’t be comparable to the smaller ones they met on the outskirts of Flester.

Timothy jumped as the wave crashed down and exploded into a cloud of steam. “Jeez! Give me a warning at least!"

“If I gave you a warning, the elemental would have had time to attack. And then you would have died. Listen up, you two.” Zoe pointed at Jeffrey and Timothy. “You’re coming with me, because I’m confident I can handle whatever this dungeon will throw at us. But if I think, for a single moment, that I might have even the slightest trouble keeping you safe, I am grabbing you and dropping you off outside the dungeon.”

“But!” Timothy started to say, before Zoe held up her hand.

“No buts. We don’t know what this dungeon is, we don’t know what level the creatures here will be. We don’t even know for sure that they’ll all be fire elementals, though that’s probably a safe guess. I will allow you to try your hand at the dungeon as long as I think it’s safe, but if I tell you to jump, you jump. Understood?” Zoe asked.

“Sure thing, boss lady. I’m just here for the free stuff.” Jeffrey answered. “Make me look cool in the statue though?”

“You… All of you. Do you have any respect for the integrity of my work? For the importance of this historical moment?!” Timothy shouted. “If you want to look heroic, then be heroic. I will not falsify our precious recording of history for your amusement.”

Jeffrey rolled his eyes.

“I’ll take the lead until we see what level these elementals are, and how difficult they are. Then you can give them a try, okay? Timothy, if you’re going to fight them again then don’t just use pillars. Cover them completely and suffocate them.” Zoe said.

“I am perfectly content remaining in the back and allowing you all to fight. In fact, I would prefer it.” Timothy said.

“Lets go!” Emma said and walked up to the entrance of Kaira library. Zoe followed along next to her, with Jeffrey and Timothy not far behind her.

Inside the library was beautiful. The floating bookshelves that Zoe had spent so much time browsing were once more floating throughout the tree’s trunk, with winding platforms twisting throughout. Purple flames rose off the bookshelves and platforms, reaching for the wooden walls and crawling up towards the top.

“Any of those flames could be an elemental.” Zoe said.

“Or they could all be one elemental,” Emma suggested.

Timothy gulped, anxiety and excitement flooding off him like a dam barely holding back a heavy week of rain.

Zoe walked up to the edge and peered over it, leaping back as a purple flame rocketed out of the tree’s roots and seared into her stone mask, leaving dark burns on the surface. The flame coalesced in front of Zoe, floating above the deep pit. A dark red level one hundred eighty four to Zoe’s identify.

“It’s only got its fourth class?" Zoe questioned as she looked at the elemental. ”Do monsters roll for class caps, too?“

The elemental shot out a purple fireball that Zoe blocked with a pillar of Frost which erupted into a pillar of steam as the fire washed over it.

“Is this the time to question that? It’s level one eighty four!” Timothy shouted.

“I dunno, I’ve never thought about it before. I guess they do? Can you imagine getting to one eighty four and still not having your fifth class though. God it’s sixth class wouldn’t be until like six hundred.” Emma shuddered. “Poor thing.”

Zoe blocked another fireball, capturing it in a hollow block of Earth that formed around it as it flew. The explosion drew almost thirty thousand mana from her, and Zoe shook her head at the thought of thirty thousand barely being worth noticing anymore.

“Well I’ll take the next elemental too then, just in case. Having its fifth class would probably be pretty significant.” Zoe said, dousing the elemental in another massive tsunami of water that crashed down the deep pit. “Actually, that might have been a mistake.” She chuckled.

“You think you just annoyed a bunch of elementals down there?" Emma asked, walking up to the edge.

Zoe and Emma peered over the edge and watched the water flashing to steam as it crashed through more elementals. Several elementals died from the direct hit, but some were enraged as the water splashed on them or scraped past their forms on the walls.

“Yeah you totally did.” Emma laughed as four purple elementals tore off the flaming walls and began floating up the roots. “Lemme have one? Ah it’s so exciting having a dungeon right here, now.”

“Moaning Point isn’t that far, though.” Zoe said as she watched the elementals continue to rise up the roots.

“Yeah but it’s far enough that I start to miss my babies. Flester’s right here though, and I’m gonna have a lot of fun here I think.” Emma said. “Maybe I start up an escort business here, get people the feat.”

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“That sounds like a good idea. Joe seemed a little upset about Flester becoming a dungeon, but I think it’ll be good for Foizo in the end.” Zoe summoned three projectiles of Frost and flashed on an enchantment of Torrents, Water, Archery and a Torrents focused explosive Elemental Arsenal, firing them off at three of the elementals as they approached.

The projectiles smashed into the elementals, exploding into a puff of steam and the elementals continued climbing. Zoe repeated the process a few more times until the elementals were turned entirely to smoke that was pulled up to the top of the library.

The remaining elemental Zoe left for Emma — dark blue level one eighty six to Zoe’s Identify, much more in line with what she expected. It rose to the top and the two girls stepped back, Zoe all the way to Timothy and Jeffrey to keep them safe. The elemental launched a fireball at Emma who teleported a few feet to the side. The fireball passed through where she was and smashed into the wooden wall behind, exploding into a massive puff of purple flames that clung to everything they touched.

“Careful with that!” Zoe shouted. “If you let them hit us then I’m not letting you pretend you did it yourself!”

“Are you insane?” Timothy shouted at Zoe. “You’re just letting her fight by herself? Do you see that!?" Timothy pointed at the purple flames that crept along the walls and floor, expanding as they consumed the tree.

“Yes, yes I see them. Emma wanted to fight it by herself and part of that is making sure I don’t have to protect you. Or at least I’m making it part of it because I’m mean.” Zoe said.

“You said you would keep us safe!” Timothy shouted.

“Yes, yes. I will. The flames can’t hurt you over there, and if they get close enough that I have to put them out then I’m gonna tell Emma her fight was bad and she should feel bad.” Zoe laughed.

“They’re just like this sometimes.” Jeffrey said. “But they’re reliable. Just trust them. If Zoe says you’re safe, then you’re safe.”

The space around the fire elemental began to twist and compress, but the elemental expanded in violent puff of flames and split off from the twisting space to reform a few feet to the side. As it reformed, it fired off another fireball that vanished just before hitting Emma, reappearing far above and smashing into the wall. Flames dripped to the floor not far from Zoe’s group, burning into the floor and expanding in every direction.

“Need some help?" Zoe shouted as she watched mana be drawn in to her friend.

Space once more began twisting and compressing in the elemental’s form, but before it could disperse and reform the space expanded, capturing the entire elemental and pressing in on it from all sides. Sweat beaded from Emma’s brow as she pressed on it with her magic. The elemental tried to launch another fireball, but it exploded harmlessly against the space Emma was holding.

Mana continued rushing in to Emma as she bared down on the elemental, crushing it beneath her magic. The elemental began to shrink and its vibrant flames died off as Emma pressed into it with her magic. In under a minute, the massive elemental was compressed down to the size of a baseball and the next moment it vanished. Zoe felt a small gust rush past her as the elemental vanished and smiled.

“I think I’m good,” Jeffrey said. “I won’t be able to do anything against these ones. Especially if they get stronger as we go up.”

“Sure,” Zoe said. “Emma and I can handle them. If she even wants to try again.”

Emma turned around and waved her hand, the purple flames that crept ever closer to Zoe’s group vanishing as the space they occupied was ripped away. “Done.” She panted. “I envy you having a powerful water class. That seems so much easier.”

Zoe laughed. “It does work out well. Maybe one day we can sit down for a few years and get you some more elemental skills. Once you get the hang of it, it’s really not that bad. For the simple ones, anyway.”

“I should. I know I should. It’s just so damn boring, Zoe. But I should get water or, is it torrents that you have?" Emma asked.

Zoe nodded.

“Yeah, I should get one of those now that there’s a fire dungeon on my doorstep.” Emma laughed. “You wanna help out someday?”

“Of course! I’d love to. That sounds like fun.” Zoe said and started walking up the wooden platform that wound through the trees. Purple flames licked at the edges of it and roared from the bottom, though none seemed to come to life like the other elementals they found.

Emma followed along next to her, with Timothy and Jeffrey following close behind.

“Okay, yeah we’ll do that then. Maybe sometime soon?” Emma asked. “After we figure out what’s going on with Flester’s Might?”

“Sure. It’s a date then.” Zoe nudged Emma with her elbow and laughed.

“Sounds like fun.” Emma said and paused for a moment. “Actually it doesn’t. It sounds horrible.”

“Um, pardon me for interrupting but should we perhaps quicken our pace? I would like to witness the first attempt at the dungeon and I appreciate you bringing me here so quick, but could we not teleport to the top?” Timothy asked.

“Ah have some respect for the dungeon. There’s only two people in Foizo strong enough and stupid enough to throw themselves at the boss of the dungeon before anybody else has had a chance.” Zoe said.

“And what if they get there before us? I thank you for bringing me here, but I think it would be best if we could get there sooner.” Timothy said.

“I am one of them, and the other is Diana. The royal guard stationed in Foizo? She’s going to be too busy right now, so we’ve got free reign here. We’ll walk on up, see everything the dungeon has to offer and be the first there.

“Or, well. Hopefully. Maybe somebody else gets there but if just the normal elementals down here are already at one eighty, the boss is probably at least two hundred. Might even have its sixth class.” Zoe shook her head. “Nobody around here is going to put up a fight against that alone except me and Diana. Maybe Emma if she really tried, but she’d need time to prepare.” Zoe explained.

“But—” Timothy started to say.

“No. I made my rules clear. You do as I say, or I drop you off outside of the dungeon. We will be the first.” Zoe said.

“Very well.” Timothy said. “But if somebody gets to the top before us, I will be quite upset.”

Zoe shook her head, and looked around at the floating library. Shelves and platforms winding throughout the massive tree trunk, the magic of the platform that was once there was lost. But the purple flames that licked at everything were magical in their own way, and the books still seemed real.

She reached out and grabbed a book from one of the shelves they walked past, a detailed look at building and maintaining pools. Zoe stored the book away in her storage item.

Several elementals rose from the pit far below, or peeled away from the bookshelves and platforms they were clinging to as the group continued ascending through the library. But a powerful torrent of water or two was enough to snuff them out and the group continued with little interruption.

At the top of the tree, the platform brought the group up into what seemed to be a lounge. A handful of chairs and couches were placed throughout the room, purple flames clinging to the armrests and backs. Small round tables next to each one, and even a sink with a long counter off to one side.

To the opposite end where they entered the lounge was a large open door that led to the massive wooden platform Zoe watched form across the canopies of the trees. It stretched across, reaching each of the trees which all seemed to have lounges of their own just before the entrance. Purple flames covered the edges of the platform, blotting out the sky and the city that surrounded the library.

Zoe looked at the rest of her group. “This is probably it. I would guess that we won’t be locked in, but anything can happen. Who’s coming in for the fight?”

Emma and Jeffrey both nodded, while Timothy stepped back. “I think I’ll watch from here, thank you.”

The three took a breath and stepped out of the lounge onto the large wooden platform.