Orrin waited for two long heartbeats for Rhys to give an order, make a plan, or lead in some way. Instead, the young man continued to stare at the ten-foot-tall metal dome that covered the exit to the dungeon.

“Rhys, I think you need to drop the turtle shell spell so we can escape, bud.”

Iona moved up to her ward and jostled him when he didn’t respond.

“That… if I take it down, I can’t cast it again. It’s all that’s protecting us from another attack.”

Orrin took note of Rhys’s shallow breathing and dilated eyes. His rapid, jerky movements at the slightest sounds broke his normal veneer of a calm and collected heir to the family’s lordship.

He’s in shock. Orrin couldn’t blame him. He could feel [Mind Bastion] nipping at his brain, trying to make him take the most logical approach and simply flee.

Orrin cast [Calm Mind] on himself instead and took another look at his [Map].

Guesstimating the speed at which the Skylight Anglers were traveling toward them, Orrin figured he had two to three minutes to make a plan to save himself, Iona, and Rhys. The other members of their party had removed themselves from his consideration by leaving them behind. If they survived, good for them.

Still… Orrin noted Sloane and Hamish’s location. They were slightly to their east and the majority of the incoming monsters were located in the northern part of his [Map]. It might make sense to use the two of them as a meat shield if no better plan arose.

Despite the calming balm of his anti-anxiety spell, Orrin surrendered over to [Mind Bastion]. He needed the quicker processing speed that came with discounting the emotional aspects of himself. His best plan was to try and use [Tilth] to dig a hole under the steel dome hiding the door.

“Rhys, I’m going to use a spell on you. It’s called [Calm Mind], do you know it?” Orrin let his [Map] fall away for a moment as he approached the duo. “Iona, can you use your magic to make a hole under his dome? We need to get out of here now. I’ll help protect Rhys once we are through to the exit but we can’t fight the hundreds of Anglers that are about to be here.”

Giving Iona credit after her earlier hesitation, she grasped the situation better this time. She nodded and turned her back to them both, focusing her outstretched hands on her new target.

Rhys held his glaive up as Orrin approached him. “How do I know you aren’t a part of this? I know it’s you. You work for Lady Sanerris. She’d be happy to see me dead as revenge against my mother.”

Orrin with emotions would have talked to Rhys but he didn’t have time for that and he was letting [Mind Bastion] dull his normal empathy at Rhy’s confused situation. He pointed and cast the spell three times for good measure.

Rhys’s breathing evened out but he kept the weapon pointed at Orrin.

“We can talk about whatever problems you have with me later but right now; I want to live. Get that shield down.”

Rhys risked a glance at Iona, who was using the last of her mana to tunnel under his steel. Except, every time she made a hole, the metal reacted and flowed into the empty space between its lip and the newly formed lowest point.

“We can make it out without your help,” Rhys countered, quickly reasserting himself between Iona and Orrin. “Iona, stop doing that. It won’t work and you’re wasting your mana.”

“Rhys, we don’t have a choice. The exit to the seventh floor is two hours away if we run and I can’t protect you against that many Anglers.”

Orrin felt a twinge of surprise that she was voting for trusting him. She’d never warmed up to him before. He pushed on her heels. “I promise you. I don’t want to hurt you guys. I am not a part of this and will protect you both. Please, take that down now.”

Rhys teetered, torn between his choices. With a grunt of annoyance, he flicked his hand and the metal collapsed into a molten pool that evaporated into the air.

Where the stone door used to stand was a crater the exact size of the dome that just disappeared.

“I’m going to take a wild guess and say that wasn’t your spell,” Orrin broke the silence as they stared at their lost opportunity for escape. “I think the second canister was an attack meant to take us out if the assassin failed. Your quick thinking might have saved our lives. I owe one, Rhys. Thank you.”

Orrin spoke aloud as he processed the scene before him. He didn’t even know a floor door could be destroyed. Did that mean the entire sixth floor was now unreachable the normal way? Did somebody else take out the entrance to the seventh floor? His mind raced along different possible ways out.

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His compliment to Rhys at the end was meaningful. It was true and he meant his words but Orrin spoke them aloud now for a reason. He needed Rhys back to his collected self. If they had a chance of escaping this alive, Orrin had to be able to count on him.

“What do we do now?” Iona whispered. “I think the seventh-floor entrance is to the north, right?”

Rhys walked to the edge of the burnt and broken ground and nudged a piece of dirt into the hole. “Yes. The door to the seventh floor is two to two and a half hours north, northeast without any battles. You can avoid the Skylight Anglers by sending magic flares. They will move toward bright lights.”

He recited the words as if reading them and Orrin felt another surge of emotion through [Mind Bastion]. Someone else who studies ahead!

The Anglers reached Hamish and Sloane. The two dots on his [Map] moved quickly among the first ten and Orrin watched one red light blink out. He shut it off.

“We have a minute or two before the monsters arrive. I’m going to use a spell on the three of us. It is not [Invisibility] but similar to it. If we don’t attack anything and stay close to one another, we might be able to make it to the next floor. We can rest in the room between floors or try to go to the next floor and exit from there. Does anyone have a better plan?”

Orrin asked because he hoped one of them had an ace up their sleeve. [Camouflage Ward] would let him cast [Camouflage] on his party but only at the first level. If the monsters on this floor could see through his spell, they would be fucked. If Rhys or Iona lost their nerve and attacked, they were dead.

“I could build a stone barricade around us and we could wait for a rescue,” Iona ventured a solution. “The door won’t rebuild itself for a week but when Rhys doesn’t show up for class in a few hours, the school will send someone looking for him.”

“Unless someone is in on that hit attempt,” Orrin said with a little hesitation. He didn’t want to implicate Graem or even Wren but there was too much unknown still. The timing of the attack was too perfect. Either Hamish or Sloane… or maybe both of them… were in on this and Wren created the party. Graem knew something was happening and tried to stop the entire dungeon run but as the person in charge of the school, he’d let Orrin play hero a little too easily. The cloaked figure’s attack was coordinated for it to be a coincidence.

Orrin checked his pockets for anything unusual. Even with [Dimension Hole], he could still place objects in a regular pocket. He turned out the inside of his pants and patted his shirt. “Do either of you have anything that could be tracked on you? Something that someone gave you recently?”

Rhys shook his head and nodded at his glaive. “This is all I brought with me. Iona has my potions and some basic supplies only.”

Iona picked up the bag she had dropped earlier and rummaged inside. A wooden box came out first, followed by a smaller canvas bag. She threw out waterskins, two blankets, a rope, a clump of metal the size of Orrin’s fist, and a sleeping roll. Reaching inside, she turned the bag upside down and shook it.

A coin rolled along the trampled grass before falling to its side.

“That’s not mine.”

Rhys moved to pick up the silver piece but Orrin grabbed his hand. “Give me a second.”

“You said we don’t have a lot of time. I can tell a lot about a piece of metal from touching it.” Rhys stared back into Orrin’s gaze with a semblance of his old self.

“You aren’t the only one with tricks,” Orrin muttered as he studied the coin. It didn’t look different from any other silver piece he’d seen. “You’re sure that this isn’t yours?”

“I packed this bag myself and no money was ever put inside.”

Orrin used [Analyze].

Silver coin.

He tried again, focusing hard for any tell of magic. Orrin nearly gave up after the seventh attempt gave him the same result.

One more and then Rhys can try.

Silver coin – proximity enchantment.

“It has a proximity enchantment. I don’t know that magic. Do either of you?”

“We need to leave,” Iona said with worry in her voice. “I can see them coming.”

Orrin turned and looked for himself but had to check on [Map] to figure out how close the monsters were. Iona likely had a skill like Daniel’s [Telescope], letting her see far into the distance.

Rhys picked it up and slipped it into his pocket. “I’ll study it later. Who had access to your bag outside of our group, Iona?”

The woman slipped the items back into the bag as she kept her eyes on the ground. “I packed it this morning as soon as we knew we were coming here. The other students waiting around us or the professors, maybe? Hamish was near me at one point. Casimir offered to carry it. Sloane sat on it once after a fight. I’m sorry I failed you.”

“You didn’t fail anyone,” Orrin cut Rhys off before he said anything more. He reached down and grabbed Iona’s rope before she repacked it. “It’s going to be hard to see each other when I cast this spell. Hold tight to this. Hopefully, the Angers don’t see it. If you get separated and still can’t see your hands well, sit down and wait. I’ll find you. We are going to travel fast but carefully. Do not attack unless I give the order.”

“When did you get put in charge?” Rhys fought back, standing close to Orrin. “You might be leading us into another trap.”

Orrin clenched his fist. It might be easier for him to knock them both out and try to carry them. His strength was high and neither Rhys nor Iona appeared particularly heavy.

“There isn’t a better option,” he said instead. “Make your choice because I’m leaving either way.”

Rhys’s helplessness at the situation was blossoming into anger and stubbornness. Despite his smooth talking and privileged upbringing, Orrin could tell this might have been the first real danger he’d encountered in his life.

“If you trust me now, I’ll answer any questions you have once we escape,” Orrin offered, holding the rope out. “You can take the point as well. I don’t know where we need to go.”

Rhys snatched the rope from his hand. “Every question.”

Orrin nodded. He cast [Ward], [Light Ward], and [Water Ward] on all three of them. If they didn’t take damage, the other two might never know about the spells. If they did get hit and noticed something weird… Orrin would cross that bridge if he reached it.

“Lead the way,” Orrin said, taking the end of the rope. Rhys walked up front and Iona posted herself in the middle. Orrin cast [Camouflage Ward] and watched both of his party members go hazy just as the first Anglers came into view.