They had gone through half the floor, smashing the outermost wall every step of the way. Myrsvai handled the bristle worms, including Chaeta once again, while Owin and Suta took turns destroying.

The level of strength needed to destroy the stone was higher than what Owin would have been able to do on his last visit. Now, it didn’t require all of his strength to break apart, but he couldn’t lazily hit it either.

Only a few inches of stone broke away with each strike, and beyond that was stone that was unbreakable as far as Owin could tell. His strongest punch, Suta’s strongest attack, and an Abyssal Blast from Myrsvai all did nothing to the stone.

They found another bristle worm that managed to surprise the Withered Shade before Myrsvai could attack. What would have been incredibly painful for anybody else ended up as a slight inconvenience for the Shade.

After Myrsvai killed it, the skeleton stood beside the dead worm covered in bristle hairs. He poked at them, lodged into the bone, and somehow scowled without a face to move.

“If my bones felt pain, I would be furious.” The Shade kicked the dead worm and lost his balance from the strike, causing him to fall on top of the corpse. He flailed, dropped the orb, and rolled away, leaving himself covered in even more hairs.

“Don’t get near me,” Owin said.

“Is that an—”

“Yes, it’s an order. I don’t want those hairs anywhere near me.”

Myrsvai strode past the Shade, through a narrow passage, and looked both directions down the cave. The light from the exit where Olmu waited was nearby, meaning they had almost made it all the way through again.

“We have a small space here, then only a little section left before we will need to try the right side of the cave,” Myrsvai said.

“”We can go down if we need to,” Owin said.

“Nonsense. Shade, what do you think?” Myrsvai walked back over and used the knuckle of his gauntlet to brush some of the hairs out of the skeleton’s shoulder.

“Punch, punch, punch. What do we have to lose? We’re already drenched anyway.” He ran over and punched the wall beside Suta. The skeleton practically crumpled against the wall as his whole arm went limp from the strike.

Suta took a step aside. “No hairs.”

The Withered Shade sprawled out on the ground. “Just unsummon me and resummon me. The hairs should stay here.”

“Go stand over on the worm so the hairs don’t float around the wall.” Owin pointed, helping guide the skeleton.

A second after Owin cast the spell, the Withered Shade collapsed as a pile of gray dust and bristles. Owin resummoned him beside the wall. The skeleton yawned, picked up the blue orb in one hand, and poked the wall.

“Who is hitting it firs—”

Suta punched the wall beside the skeleton, causing it to burst. It had the same result as the rest of the cave. Three more hits would cover the area they were in, so Owin went ahead and rapidly hit the wall three times, hopping between each one.

Dust and debris covered everything. Owin walked right through to where Mrysvai waited near the narrow passage. “We can keep moving.”

Something clicked and hummed. Owin and Myrsvai both turned, readying weapons, only to see the Withered Shade standing in front of a brick wall with the blue orb lodged in a depression. Blue lines, like those from mana crystals, spread through the wall.

The Shade turned his head all the way around. “Keyhole!”

The orb popped out and landed on the skeleton’s foot, causing the Shade to howl.

“I thought you didn’t feel pain,” Owin said.

“That doesn’t mean it didn't hurt!”

“Isn’t that exactly what it means?” Myrsvai gently pushed the skeleton aside with his staff. The hidden door slid open, revealing a dense mana wall. Blue energy the same color as the orb hummed and caused the whole area of the cave to glow. Myrsvai stood inches from it. “Suta?”

Suta ran over, slipped between Myrsvai and the wall, and immediately stuck his arm through. When nothing happened, he stuck more of his body into the wall until he stepped all the way through.

“Alive,” Suta said.

“What’s over there?”

“No water.”

Myrsvai reached his arm through, handing his staff to Suta. “Owin. Thoughts?”

“Let’s do it.”

Myrsvai smiled and stepped through, disappearing.

“A mana wall of that caliber is a serious thing. That orb isn’t a crystal, so something else is powering that room. A powerful mana crystal brings a powerful monster.” The skeleton picked the orb up again. “I want you to find another bone, but . . . well, it’s hard to admit, but I don't want you to die.”

“I won’t. I need to get all seven shards first.” Owin walked past the skeleton, stepping through the mana wall. It tingled a little, and the sensation of suddenly being in air again was jarring.

The noise, the feeling on his skin, the water dripping from his clothes and his bag, all hit him at once. Myrsvai and Suta stood a few feet away over their own little puddle as water dripped from everything.

The Withered Shade stepped through, blue orb in hand, and shook his whole body, sending little drops of water all over.

Owin crouched and touched the ground. It looked like black dirt, but it felt like tile. The water dripping from them sat in puddles, not soaking in or running in any direction. Old white brick walls surrounded them, leaving no sign that they were inside a cave. They had come into the room in what looked like a dead end. The hall continued around a sharp corner.

Myrsvai ran his hand over the wall, letting his armored fingers press firmly against each white brick. “I haven’t gone far up in the Desert Dungeon, but this brick is nearly identical to the buildings on the first floors. If we continue with the theory of secrets created by other gods, we can expect something from Nehadya.”

“What are we expecting? A horde of rodent men?” The skeleton tapped his bony finger on the blue orb. “Our bigger concern should be this. There is some type of mana inside.” He shook it. “But it isn’t a mana crystal.”

A faint blue line extended from the orb and pointed through the wall. The Withered Shade moved the orb around and even moved one of his hands through the blue line several times.

“It’s leading us somewhere,” Owin said. “But we have to go that way.” Owin approached the corner and peeked around. It was more of the same with another turn not far away.

Suta appeared beside Owin. “Mob?”

“Nothing.”

“Me next.” He ran to the next corner, leaned around, leaned back, then reached for something. When he pulled his hand back, it was covered in a stringy white substance.

“Bring that here,” Myrsvai said as he rounded the corner with the skeleton behind him.

Suta ran over and held his arm up. Myrsvai shoved his staff into the Shade’s arms and started picking at the substance on Suta’s hand.

The Withered Shade lifted the staff, muttered something, and hit the base on the ground.

A fireball formed in the palm on top of the staff and launched right over their heads, striking the far wall. The blast was big enough to stagger Owin, and it was so bright he had to cover his face.

Myrsvai immediately snatched the staff back. “What was that?”

“It looked like Fireball.” The skeleton scratched his head. He held the orb up in one hand. “Can this cast spells?”

“You can use spells?” Owin asked. “Why didn’t you say anything sooner?”

“You know me well enough to know if I knew it was possible, I would have absolutely said something sooner. You think I am capable of not saying something? If I was keeping a secret, I would be impressed with myself, and I hope you would be equally as impressed. It turns out I am a wizard. For the moment.”

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Myrsvai cradled his staff in his hand as he finished taking the substance off Suta’s hand. He brought the familiar to the corner and readied his staff with abyssal fire. “For the moment?”

“Well, I have a theory. Each time I’m summoned, I think I am a different class. Is that proven? No. Is it not proven? No. Wait. Yes.” The skeleton’s brow lowered. “We don’t know.”

“A wizard doesn’t need a staff to cast spells,” Myrsvai said.

“Ah, but like you, I am incomplete and would need something to channel my spells.”

Myrsvai cast a quick glare at the skeleton before sending an Abyssal Barrage into the next room.

Owin ran over and watched as the magenta fire burned away more of the white substance that was spread throughout the room.

“Spiderwebs,” Myrsvai said. “I hate fighting spiders.”

Webs covered most of the room without a spider in sight. The abyssal fire burned slowly, dying before it could burn entire sections of webbing. It didn’t burn like normal fire, which meant Myrsvai would have to cast the spell again and again to clear the room. Owin could help with a few uses of Bolt, but that likely wouldn’t do more than destroy the web where it struck.

“What are spiders?” Owin asked.

“Oh. Wait, you’ve seen one before. The chest guardian on the first floor is a spider.”

“Right.” Owin narrowed his eyes.

“Think of Baby Head but with more eyes and legs, and they make webs like this that are incredibly sticky. If you get stuck, it will wrap you up and devour you.” Myrsvai swirled magenta fire around his staff again.

“I hate to be that person, but I can clear all the webs in one or two spells.”

“You aren’t a wizard, Shade,” Myrsvai pulled his staff away as the skeleton feebly reached for it.

“He might be a wizard,” Owin said. “More of one than I am. What Power is Fireball?”

“Power 3,” Myrsvai said. “Do you even have a level?”

“I believe it just says Cursed, which you know, isn’t all that helpful.” The skeleton wandered into the room and poked at the webs. They immediately clung to his finger. He tried to shake them off, but they only stuck to more of his hand.

There were clumps and shapes throughout the room, currently hidden by the webs. Owin ignored as much of the exchange as he could while looking at each lump. Were any of them spiders? Or other mobs hiding and waiting to ambush?

A fireball shot right over Owin’s head and hit the middle of the room. The webs immediately ignited. The Withered Shade held Myrsvai’s staff in both hands, while the magus was left with the blue orb.

The Shade loudly counted from forty to zero and immediately cast another spell, hitting another portion of the room. He swapped items with Myrsvai and commented on the efficiency of his own work as the whole room burned. A few of the lumps Owin had been watching were furniture that also burned. Tables, chairs, and a few lamps burned as quickly as the webs.

By the time it was done, a thick layer of smoke hung near the ceiling and the floor was covered in ash. A few pieces of skeletons and other random bones were scattered and charred.

“I have to assume the spider knows we’re here,” Myrsvai said. “With our spells, the secret boss shouldn’t be too much of a challenge.”

“I don’t know about that.” The Shade held out the blue orb again. “A mana crystal isn’t powering a spider, and yet we have this to put somewhere else. Wherever this line leads, I suppose.”

Owin took the orb from the skeleton’s hands. No matter where he moved it, the line pointed in the same direction, leading almost straight forward, through another wall. “If the orb was a key before, it’s probably still a key. Probably for the chest.”

“A good idea, though I haven’t seen a mana crystal open a chest before.” Myrsvai strode through the room, gently poking at the various bones with his staff.

“The lake castle in the Great Forest made me drink a blood potion that put a bounty on me before the chest would open. So . . .” Owin shrugged. “Putting some weird ball in another hole doesn’t seem that impossible.”

The Withered Shade tiptoed through the room and leaned on the wall. “I may be able to throw some fire, but I am not qualified to clear this entire hallway of webs.” He pointed around the corner. “They keep going.”

“We have already spent so much time finding the secret. I don’t want to waste more slowly burning all of this away.” Owin looked through his bag. There was nothing specific that would be helpful. He could cut the webs and create a narrow path, but that would leave hiding spots for the spider or other mobs to hide under the webs.

It would be better for everyone to save their mana for any fights. Secret bosses were always stronger, and after dealing with Gracia on the last floor, it would be better to have everyone ready to fight at full strength.

“Wait. I have an idea.” The Withered Shade ran up to Owin. “There’s a spell, and as the only other wizard here, I hope you can think of it. It’s like fire, but it’s sticky.”

“Viscous fire.”

The Shade pointed at him. “Yes! I can cast that on myself and run through the halls. You just need to unsummon me before I die.”

“That might be the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard,” Myrsvai said. “I would never do something like that with Suta.”

“No pain,” Suta said.

The Withered Shade clapped his hands together. “Exactly! What’s the harm? I get a little charred?”

“Yes. That cannot be a good idea.” Myrsvai nudged Suta. “What do you think?”

“Burn him.”

Myrsvai pressed his lips together and walked around the corner. He moved his staff through some webs, which immediately clung to the base. “Is our best choice really to start a member of our party on fire?”

The Withered Shade gasped. “I’m a member of the party?”

“More or less,” Myrsvai said.

The skeleton let out a noise somewhere between a squeal and a shriek.

“Maybe less.”

The skeleton grabbed the staff while Myrsvai was still holding it. He wrapped both bony hands around it and looked up. “I’m not sure how this would work.”

“Hold on.” Myrsvai took a huge step back. “Do not burn my staff. I will find a way to kill you.”

“How would you do that? You wouldn’t be able to use magic.” The Shade managed to smile without having lips. “Viscous Fire?”

“I don’t think you need the verbal component.”

Owin had just stood to the side with the blue orb, watching the other three be morons. There was a part of him that appreciated not being the one to look like an idiot. “This is a bad idea.”

“It might be, but—” Before the Withered Shade could finish his thought, liquid fire flowed from the top of Myrsvai’s staff and dripped onto the skeleton’s skull. He immediately threw the staff away and started running. The fire clung to his bones and flared as soon there was a breeze.

He screamed the whole way. Everything the Shade passed ignited as he flailed his arms and ran in a ridiculous, wide-legged trot. He was like a silhouette inside the huge, flaring fire.

The skeleton took a right, going in the opposite direction of the blue line. His screaming echoed down and back, and soon he was out of view. Owin wanted to follow, but the burning webs were also covered in viscous fire that would cling to him just as easily.

“When do I unsummon him?”

“I have no idea. This is beyond my knowledge.” Myrsvai leaned against the wall. “When it seems appropriate, I guess.”

The screams were coming closer. Owin looked around the corner, seeing the Shade sprinting back down the hall. “Spider!”

“Oh, that’s a spider,” Owin said.

The creature was massive, running along the wall behind the Shade.

“Spider?” Myrsvai hurried over. “It’s bigger than I expected.”

“Can I just stab it?” Owin still held the blue orb. “Or punch it?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. We’re going to be improvising here.”

Suta took the blue orb out of Owin’s hands. “Stab.”

“Okay.” Owin grabbed the lich bone knife.

The skeleton flew past as a blur of fire. His screams continued in the next room in the direction the orb pointed.

Owin jumped into the hall. The burning spider continued its charge along the ground, moving faster than Owin had originally thought.

“Shit.”

Whether the spider could see him or not, it plowed right over, knocking Owin straight onto his back. Its legs kicked him around before he could recover, sending him straight into a wall.

Suta pulled Owin back to his feet and mimicked stabbing.

“I know. I’ll do it.”

Summon the Withered Shade

Summon the Withered Shade

The skeleton reformed right beside Owin. He looked exactly the same as he did before.

“Did that even hurt?”

“No.”

“Why were you screaming so much?”

The skeleton shrugged. “Drama.”

The spider, which had turned a corner in its pursuit of the Shade, reappeared. Venom dripped from its fangs while fire continued to burn along its legs and abdomen.

Ocean Mob

Weaver Spawn

Level 28

Owin didn’t give it time to attack. He leapt right for its head and slashed the knife across its eyes. Its body thrashed and smashed him into a wall.

A bright Abyssal Blast hit its face, tearing a chunk of skin away. Things oozed from the face where the skin was torn away. Owin fell between the spider and the wall, quickly rolling away from its burning legs. The spider tried to charge again, but its legs buckled, weakened by the fire.

It fell right on top of Owin. He had just enough time to bring the knife up before the huge body fell on top of him. He ripped the lich bone through the spider and felt the warm, wet innards spill all around him.

It was far from the first time he had crawled through a corpse. He worked his way up, cutting with the knife when needed, until he emerged from the top. Webs and a variety of other spider pieces clung to him, flattening his hair and dripping from his clothes.

“Why does this always happen?”

The remains of the spider’s head sizzled with abyssal flames. Owin had thought he had gotten the kill, but Myrsvai had given it no chance to get any closer.

“Have you considered that your fighting style may be at fault?” The magus smiled. “I appreciate how quickly you act, even if it is not what I would choose to do.”

“At least this will all get washed off when we go back out. Was the chest that way?” Owin asked, pointing the opposite way of the orb.

“There were some chairs. Thrones, you might say. I didn’t see what else was around because you know, I was on fire and the spider wanted to eat me.” The Shade pointed behind Owin. “There is another door that way, and if the orb wants us to go through it, I would think that’s where your chest lies. But, let’s check out those chairs first. Everyone loves a throne, right? No? I love a throne. Oh boy, do I love a good chair. Who doesn’t want a great chair?”

Owin jumped off the spider and shook out his hair. The webs clung to him but some of the guts shook out and splattered the others. “Let’s go look at the chairs, I guess.”