Golden rubble floated in murky water all through Ligala Lepis. Owin cracked his eyes open and scanned the area. He was lying near the stairs to the second tier, completely surrounded by chunks of broken columns and shattered tiles. He sat up slowly, maneuvering his head to avoid knocking it against a chunk of stone.

Health 2/140

Would it do damage if he bumped his head? It would be better to not find out.

“Katalin?” Owin’s voice was weak as it passed into the water.

His hand pressed hard into the wall as he made his way to his feet, fighting against the stings of pain with every small movement. Ligala Lepis was silent in the aftermath.

Owin breathed in deep and winced. At least one rib was broken. Maybe more.

“Owin! You’re alive?” Ernie ran up from behind holding the golden trident. “This nearly took my head off.”

Owin took it and immediately leaned heavily on the weapon, digging the shaft into the cracked tiles. “I should’ve ran with you.”

Ernie’s index flashed in front of his eyes. “Shit.” He immediately took off his backpack and started digging through. “How are you even standing? Two health? You must have a dozen broken bones.”

Owin closed his eyes, letting the cool water brush past his face. The water within the dome of Ligala Lepis had yet to settle, causing a weak current that carried the dirt and blood that had been caught in the water.

Ernie found a health potion and shoved it right into Owin’s hand. “Drink this.”

Owin opened his eyes, finding Ernie directly in his face. He held a second health potion and still had his index in front of his eyes. Owin didn’t hesitate. He flicked the cork out and drank the whole potion. It moved oddly in his mouth as the red liquid slowly sank through the ocean water.

Bones snapped into place and cuts and burns returned to normal green skin. Owin clenched his jaw and let the trident hold him up as the pain pulsed through his body. Ernie shoved the other one against Owin’s chest.

“Drink both.”

Owin did as he was told and watched his health bar climb all the way back to full. Ernie quickly took both empty bottles and stashed them back into his backpack.

“Let’s find Katalin and get out of here.”

“She’s alive?” Owin asked. He shivered and shook out his limbs. It was incredible how fast he felt better. It was as if nothing had happened, like he had never been injured.

“She should be.” Ernie took off toward the entryway. He shoved chunks of floating rubble aside, not slowing down to look at anything. The explosion had devastated the edge of the city. Any archways that still stood had cracks or pieces missing. Every column was marred in some fashion.

Owin held the trident as close as he could to how Graliel had held the weapon. It was much different than the hammer, the greatsword, or any of the knives he had used in the past. Jabbing seemed like the best option, but Owin was sure if he swung it as hard as he could, it would still do some damage.

His job now was to ensure Ernie was protected. Owin had already failed to do his job twice, and he couldn’t let Chorsay think he had made a mistake letting Owin join the Nimble Hogs.

How disappointed would Artivan be if Owin was kicked out of the hero company?

“What happened?” Ernie asked.

“I only saw the bombs explode. The berserker died right away.” Owin wouldn’t forget how fast that man had died. The bloody mist had crashed into Owin right after Harold’s death. “How would Katalin be alive?”

“Explosion Ward is an ability that’s always active. Even if Katalin wanted to turn it off for some reason, she couldn’t. It lowers her total mana, but boosts her resistance to explosives. I never took that ability because I never planned on making so many grenades. It turns out Althowin encourages all alchemists to make grenades and she relentlessly scolds me for not taking Ward.”

“Katalin was at the center of two massive explosions.”

Ernie didn’t look the least bit swayed. “She also has Divert that lets her push damage aside. Realistically, she should be able to Divert explosions.”

“I’ve seen that one before,” Owin said. Back in the Great Forest, Naxile had pushed aside Kidibose’s arrows with the same ability.

The Thunderstrike Maul was buried in some rubble right near where Owin had been hiding before he was launched farther into the city. Its metal shaft stuck out from the collection of golden stones. Owin lifted it easily, letting the rubble fall back to the ground.

A crater had formed right in front of the bridge back to the tunnel. Sand, dirt, blood, and rubble all hung above like a stormcloud about to unleash its wrath on the figure in the center of the crater.

Katalin was on her knees, head slumped. Her black hair hung above her, no longer kept under control from her headband, waving gently in the moving water. Blood leaked from wounds all over her body. Even from far away, Owin could see torn skin and some exposed bones through the tears in her clothes. Only the fur shawl over her shoulders was untouched.

“Kat,” Ernie said, taking off into a full run.

Owin stayed directly at Ernie’s side as the alchemist crawled into the crater and dropped to his knees right at Katalin’s side. She didn’t react even as Ernie grabbed her shoulder.

“Kat,” he said, louder. His index flashed. “Owin, grab a potion from my backpack.”

Owin flipped the top flap of the backpack open and found a collection of bottles that seemed to be bigger than the bag could ever hope to hold. Most were now empty bottles, but a few health potions still lingered near the top. Owin grabbed two and handed the first to Ernie.

He gently used his finger to lift Katalin’s head, which immediately fell back down when he moved his finger. “Hold her head up. We need to get her this potion right now.”

Footsteps crunched in the sand above. Owin dropped the second health potion beside Ernie and brought the trident into a position to throw.

“Is someone there?”

A deep laugh rumbled from above. A laugh Owin had heard before.

The first thing Owin saw was the golden ridge of the hero’s helmet. It was decorated, framing his tanned, if not a little burned, face. A bright red mustache covered his upper lip. He had a smirk on his face as he stood right on the edge of the crater with his oversized sword in one hand.

“The alchemists and the goblin! What a pleasure!” He laughed. Even in the water, his voice boomed.

Hero

Arkasti Duragoz

Berserker

Golden Bull Hero Company

Level: 55

Strength: 364

Constitution: 288

Dexterity: 170

Intelligence: 90

Wisdom: 91

Charisma: 261

“Fuck,” Ernie whispered. He shook Katalin again. “Wake up!”

Arkasti bent down and lifted the corpse of the Void Nexus entertainer into the air. Ludovi was missing an arm and most of the skin on his face, revealing his cracked, bleeding skull. “I see those Void Nexus heroes were giving you trouble!”

“They were,” Owin said. If he threw the trident perfectly, he could potentially harm the berserker.

Potentially.

His armor covered everything but his face. There were no weak spots, and even if there were, Owin’s aim was nowhere near good enough to hit any of them. He would be lucky if the trident even hit with the prongs first.

“Do you have any grenades?” Owin whispered.

“No.” Ernie took off his backpack and started digging through it.

“Is the other alchemist alive?” Arkasti asked, staying above the crater.

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“Yes,” Owin said. He tensed, readying to leap. The level difference was going to make the fight incredibly dangerous for Owin. He would be lucky to score a single hit before Arkasti ripped him in half. Over three hundred strength was unlike anything Owin had fought before.

“Relax,” Ernie whispered. “If he wanted to kill us, he could before you ever reacted.” Ernie shut his backpack and stood. “You’re trying to get your first shard?”

Arkasti grinned and carelessly tossed the entertainer’s corpse aside. His index flashed in front of his eyes. “Ernworth,” he called. “I am. The Ocean is my first of the seven!” Arkasti drove the claymore into the sand and dropped to one knee. He pulled off his backpack and opened the flap. “I have a proposal for you.”

Owin didn’t relax. If the berserker suddenly charged, he wanted to be able to try to defend Ernie, even if it was impossible. Arkasti’s massive sword was buried in the sand, but he still had knives sheathed on both hips. With his insane strength, he could also kill Owin with his bare hands.

Ernie crossed his arms. “What is it?”

“How talented are you?” Arkasti asked. He grabbed something from his bag but had yet to reveal it.

“I am the prime apprentice of Althowin Alegarra.”

Arkasti’s eyes widened. “Prime apprentice of the 7 Shard Hero?” He pulled a hot pink bottle from the bag and held it out. “I will gift this to you in exchange for a favor from your master.”

Ernie gasped.

“What is it?” Owin asked.

Ernie waved, shushing Owin. “I can’t promise anything from Althowin. All I can do is ask.”

“Then let us shift our deal. If Althowin doesn’t wish to create equipment for me, you will do what you can to make what I need.”

Ernie crouched beside Katalin, squeezed her shoulder, and whispered something. He waited as if she might respond.

“What is that potion?” Owin asked again.

“The second best healing potion.” Ernie whispered one more thing to Katalin before facing Arkasti again. “What equipment do you need? It looks like the Golden Bulls have been treating you well.”

“I plan to become a 1 Shard Hero right now, Ernworth.”

Ernie flinched at his full name but said nothing. “What of it?”

“This potion would serve me well in my journey, but alas, I look to the future, to the next tower. To conquer the Sky next, I will need something like Voolyn Eskitorra.”

“I want to help you, but I can’t make something like that. I’m only an apprentice, and I can’t promise Althowin will help.”

Arkasti shook the hot pink potion. “Then you will need to convince Althowin, won’t you?”

“People have conquered the Sky without wings.”

“Some, certainly. But how many have done so with a shard?”

Ernie held out his hand. “I’ll do everything I can to convince my master to help. For free.”

Arkasti’s grin grew tremendously. He tossed the bottle, which moved slowly through the water, making it easy for Ernie to catch. While it dropped through the water, Owin used Examine.

Revive Potion

That was all the information provided. Ernie carefully caught the pink potion and immediately dropped back to his knees.

“Owin, lift her head again.”

“I will leave you to it, Ernworth. I will see you in Vraxridge in a week!” Arkasti yanked the sword from the sand. He circled half the crater and stopped, looking down at Owin. “Goblin, will you become a Shard Hero?”

Owin nodded.

“Then I will seek you out.” Arkasti’s index flashed in front of his eyes. “Where are these Nimble Hogs located?”

“Atrevaar,” Ernie said. “Right outside the portals.”

Arkasti nodded eagerly. “I will visit the Nimble Hogs once I have ascended the Sky. I expect you to have a shard.”

“I will.”

Arkasti looked over his index for another moment. His face shifted into confusion before he bellowed with laughter. “I will see you soon, Owin.” His footsteps crunched in the sand as he strode right into Ligala Lepis.

Owin immediately dropped to his knees and carefully held Katalin’s chin up. “Her health isn’t low anymore. Why didn’t she wake up?”

“She might not be at risk of dying now, but health potions don’t fix every injury.”

Owin had seen that with Artivan. The potions helped a lot, but they didn’t heal him all the way.

“But this will help?”

Ernie carefully removed the cork from the pink potion. “Revive potions will always wake someone up. If there was damage to her brain from the explosion, this will repair it when the health potion wouldn’t. Unfortunately, these are also the worst tasting things in existence. Sorry, Kat.”

The pink liquid glowed as it flowed from the narrow bottle mouth. It drifted down through the water, misting out as it entered Katalin’s mouth. She twitched immediately. As soon as the last drop was in her mouth, Owin let go and took a big step backward.

Katalin coughed, folded over, and vomited. She scrambled back as the puke floated in the water. “Fuck, Ernie.” She collapsed on the rounded edge of the crater. “I forgot how horrific that is.”

Ernie sat beside her and rested his head on her shoulder. “Remember when Althowin made us try a sip?”

Katalin coughed and spat. “Unfortunately.”

“That worked fast,” Owin said. The revive potion had worked so quickly it almost seemed like Katalin had been faking it.

“There’s a reason it’s called a master item,” Ernie said.

Katalin grimaced and placed her hands over her stomach. “It’s horrible.”

“We have to convince Althowin to create wings for a Golden Bull,” Ernie said.

Katalin pushed Ernie off and sat all the way up. Her brown eyes locked onto Owin. “Did I hurt you?”

“A bit.”

“He’s fine,” Ernie said.

Katalin quickly shushed him. “I should’ve given you more of a warning.”

“I know what to expect next time.”

Katalin laughed and winced. Her face suddenly contorted to a scowl as she turned on Ernie. “You.”

“What?” He tried taking a step back, but Katalin grabbed his shirt.

“You were ready to fucking hand him over!”

“No, it was more complicated than that!”

She shoved him back. “Don’t lie to me! You are always looking for an easy way out! You’re a fucking coward!”

“It’s . . . I have nothing against him,” Ernie said, keeping his gaze far from Owin, even as he tried looking anywhere but at Katalin’s glare.

“You have nothing against him? That’s the best you can do?”

“It’s fine,” Owin said.

“It’s not,” Katalin snapped. She advanced on Ernie, snatching his collar before he could retreat. “We’ve let heroes die before, but this? Not a fucking chance!”

“What’s the difference? We’re not here to make friends! It’s our job, and without this, we’re fucking failures like everyone else! Do you want to go back to that?”

Katalin shoved him straight onto his bottom. “This has nothing to do with our jobs, Ern. This has nothing to do with our lives.”

“Then what is it? From where I was standing, it was our lives or his, and I won’t let anything happen to you. I don’t want anyone to die, but—”

“I don’t need you watching my back.” Katalin crossed her arms. “Stand up.”

Ernie scrambled to his feet as fast as he could. He stared at the ground.

Owin clenched his jaw. There had been a moment where Ernie looked like he was ready to toss Owin to Void Nexus. It hadn’t stuck out that much to Owin. Why wouldn’t Ernie watch out for his own life? That’s what Artivan said most people do. And what Owin had to do. But . . . that wasn’t what Owin would do. Katalin had risked herself to protect Owin, just like Artivan. People kept dying or injuring themselves for him. If he couldn’t escape partners, he would help them like they’ve helped him.

“Heroes we’ve hired have died. Plenty of times. But we have never been the reason why one of those heroes died. Is Owin a hero?”

Ernie nodded.

“Is Owin a hero?” Katalin shouted.

“Yes.”

“Then why would we kill him?”

“We’re not hero killers,” Ernie said quietly.

“And we never fucking will be. Are you going to remember that?”

Ernie finally looked at Katalin. “I won’t forget, Kat. I know I fucked up.”

Katalin reached over, grabbed the top of Owin’s head, and dragged him over. She patted him on the head after placing him at her side. “Go ahead.”

Ernie looked directly into Owin’s eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“I don’t really know what to say. I thought I was going to protect you but this isn’t really me protecting you. This is—”

“Stop,” Katalin said. “Not excuses. Ernie knows what he did wrong, and there’s a lot you don’t know, Owin. But that doesn’t excuse the slightest fuck up. Ern.” She sighed. “I know you’re scared, but we’re not going back to that. Ever. We escaped and we’re here. We aren’t going back. Okay?”

Ernie closed his eyes and nodded slowly. “Okay.”

Katalin dropped to her knees and met Owin eye to eye, uncomfortably close. Their noses brushed. “You’re okay?”

He tried to back up, but she grabbed his arms. Her grip was surprisingly strong for an alchemist. “Yes,” he said quietly.

“Althowin set a series of rules when she brought us on as apprentices. Rule number one said we cannot go in a dungeon without an escort. It doesn’t mean we couldn’t handle it on our own, really, but we would be kicked out of Althowin’s compound if she found out we broke any of her rules.”

“How many rules does she have?”

Ernie grunted. “Two dozen.”

Katalin shrugged. “They’re manageable. But rule one is especially important for reasons she won’t tell us. Me defending you does not mean you aren’t doing your job. You stopped Amkati and the cathkabel. Those are both helpful, and you’ll fight plenty more mobs before we’re out of this hole. Okay?”

Owin nodded. It felt like they were being too easy on him, but Katalin’s brown eyes bore into Owin. He had never seen her so serious.

“Are you okay?” Owin asked.

“The pain is gone, but that potion really sits like fire in your stomach.” She covered her mouth, burped, and frowned.

“Are you ready? I think we should go before the Golden Bull gets back,” Owin said. He lifted the hammer, awkwardly carrying both weapons. What else could he say? Ernie was being uncomfortably quiet after the confrontation.

Katalin stood and patted him on the head again. “Owin’s right. We should get moving. He can handle Baby Head and we can push through the third floor fast enough.”

“Last time we thought we would go quickly, we had to leave,” Ernie said, still a little sheepish.

Katalin checked her backpack. She flipped it upside down and poured broken glass into the water before letting the whole ruined backpack fall to the ground. “Well, last time we didn’t have Owin.” She held her hand out to Owin.

He looked at it for a second before slowly handing the trident over. Katalin snatched it from his hand and used it to help her climb out of the crater. Ernie scrambled after her.

Owin simply jumped out of the crater, but caught his toe on the lip and fell right onto his face. The Thunderstrike Maul glowed as it swung while he fell.

“You really need to get that dexterity up,” Katalin said as she pulled Owin to his feet.

“I know.” Owin brushed some sand from his clothes. Ludovi’s corpse was nearby, all mangled and still bleeding.

Katalin looked over Owin’s shoulder. “Entertainers can buff themselves if they’re good enough. Looks like he was talented.”

“The other two disappeared,” Owin said.

“Two pipes might have been a little much.” Katalin put her hand on Owin’s head, flattening his hair, and guided him back toward the tunnel. It was glowing green again now that more than a half hour had passed, allowing the Green Death to grow back.

Katalin plucked all the mushrooms again and placed them in Ernie’s bag. “Might as well bribe Althowin if we’re going to ask a favor.”

“We’ll need more than Green Death,” Ernie said.

“I think Owin will be able to get us some prazene parts. Right, Owin? As long as you don’t eat them.”

Owin nodded.

What was a prazene? Why did he agree without knowing things? He had to stop doing that.