Olives were overrated.

Now, Potilia recognized the issue with that statement. There were plenty of people in Minolitana Prima that would wring her neck just for suggesting such a thing.

But . . . come on. Who liked them? It felt as though all the people of Graisetus were faking it just to get others to eat the weird little fruits.

She forced herself to swallow the weird bread stuffed with olives that she had found at a cart on the side of the road. Was it enjoyable? No. Did she need some energy before confronting the Golden Bull? Absolutely. Hunters were annoying.

Well, everyone was annoying. Were hunters more annoying than other classes? It didn’t matter.

The thing with Golden Bulls is they never blend in with their surroundings. What is the point of being a Golden Bull if you can’t be adorned from head to toe in gold?

Potilia scratched her head, accidentally smearing olives into her hair. Why was Veph dressed like a Golden Bull?

She looked at her hands, frowned, and smeared the rest of the olive concoction on the retaining wall she was sitting upon.

Hero

Toth Balazs

Hunter

Golden Bull Hero Company

Potilia rolled her eyes at his stats. “Hey, s-stop,” she said, almost mumbling.

Toth stopped. He glanced at the olive bread vendor, then gave Potilia an awkward side eye. “Yes?”

Toth Balazs wasn’t even a budding hero. He was probably somebody that worked in their office and hoped to prove his worth someday.

Was Potilia different?”

Yes. She didn’t want to prove her worth. She only helped Chorsay out of the kindness of her heart.

“Are you a Golden Bull?” she accidentally shouted the question, earning her an odd glare from the food vendor.

Toth looked down at his own outfit, as if he could hardly believe the question. The shining gold jerkin, the cheesy golden hat with a feather in it, and the matching somewhat puffy trousers made him look like a big stick of butter.

His shoes were red, and she couldn’t take her eyes off them.

Toth shifted uncomfortably like he was trying to hide his feet. “Do you need something?”

She shook her head quickly.

“Okay.” Toth lingered for a second, then continued down the street. He looked over his shoulder a few times before turning a corner farther down.

“Is that your idea of flirting?” the vendor asked.

“No. Is that yours?”

The vendor scowled and turned his attention back to his food.

Potilia rolled her eyes as she stood. She felt an urge to wipe her fingers off again, but what was left of the olive was already smeared across the retaining wall.

Her casual walk wasn’t all that convincing as she followed Toth’s path, but the vendor was awkward enough that he kept his eyes on the food he was preparing. The northwestern side of the city was less popular than the city center and the docks, which were still overflowing with tourists. Only those who had been in Minolitana Prima before ever ventured to the fringes. The people were unwelcoming while simultaneously not caring about anyone else’s existence.

Why was Toth Balazs in the northwestern side?

No idea.

They were only a block from the main hub, hence the food cart, but the direction he was heading in only brought him farther from the main population. Maybe as a Golden Bull, he already knew he didn’t blend in all that well and was giving up.

That seemed unlikely.

Maybe he was going to find . . . something.

She’d figure it out.

Potilia turned the corner just as Toth knocked on a door. He stood on the little set of stairs before an old wooden door to one of the many identical tenements lining the street. The door quickly opened and Toth stepped inside with a quick glance down the road.

Potilia tried acting casual as his eyes passed over her, but she was impossible to miss. There was one other person on the street, and it was an older man with gray hair who was walking a small, shaggy dog.

She was holding a kanabo, which specifically did not look like a dog.

The tenement door closed. She heard an audible click of a lock even from her position. She jogged over, took the steps in huge strides, and knocked on the same door.

“Who is it?” The voice wasn’t Toth’s.

“Uh.” She should have thought of something before knocking. “Delivery!”

“Of what?”

Fuck it. Iron Skin. It felt like she had been sitting in the sun for hours as her skin tightened and pulled. An odd feeling she never enjoyed, though it was far more enjoyable than a knife through the face. Bull Rush. The world became a smear of colors as her body was launched forward, right into the door. Wood splintered and shot into the tenement as Potilia tripped over what remained of the door.

A hallway led straight from the door, past a living room, a stairway, and into the kitchen in the back of the tenement. Toth stood to the side, wide-eyed, while the other man was flat on his back.

Hitting him had hurt worse than hitting the solid door. He was in golden chainmail, and a quick Examine said he was a soldier. Nothing she couldn’t handle.

Toth looked at the kanabo in her hand.

She looked at the bow in his.

Bull Rush had a thirty second cooldown.

“Uh.”

An arrow pinged off her face. Good thing she had activated Iron Skin. Toth was fast and already drawing another arrow.

Meanwhile, Deak, the soldier, climbed to his feet and grabbed a nearby fireplace poker as some sort of makeshift weapon. What kind of career hero walked around without a weapon?

A fast, experienced hunter that had the range advantage with a nearby soldier who was likely at least semi-competent, was more than Potilia had bargained for. It didn’t mean it was impossible.

One of the first lessons Chorsay had taught her was to keep your secrets close. An enemy couldn’t predict your next move without knowing what moves you had. Both Golden Bulls could see her class, but without knowing her level, they had no possible way to guess which abilities she had unlocked, and after seeing Iron Skin and Bull Rush, they could assume she was at least level 15, but that didn’t say much. What weapon, body, and aura abilities did she have?

They were about to find out why most heroes panicked when they found themselves stuck in an enclosed space with an angry berserker. It wasn’t the rage or the weapons.

It was the auras.

Potilia took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and activated Rift Aura.

Spacetime shifted like old gears in desperate need of oil, creating tears through reality that leaked a beautiful blue light that reminded Potilia of a perfect summer sky.

“What is that?” Deak shouted, taking a step back.

The tears filled the room and hallway. There were likely some covering the staircase and the floor above. She had done her best not to let any of it form behind her into the street, as that could kill innocent lives.

Toth shot another arrow, aimed right at Potilia’s head. It hit a rift and vanished, reappearing behind him. His own arrow pierced right through the back of his head.

To his credit, much to Potilia’s surprise, he survived. The arrow stuck right out the back and he wobbled a step, but he did live, which was more than a little bit impressive.

Deak took a step, passing his shoulder through a tear. The rift surged and shot beautiful blue energy out, slicing directly through his neck.

At level 30, he should have just stayed home.

Toth drank a health potion, forcing his head to heal around the arrow.

Potilia winced. That isn’t how she would’ve done it.

It didn’t matter. It was the end. Toth had nowhere to move without bumping into a tear in reality. Potilia walked straight through the rifts, ignoring the blasts of energy that activated as she touched each one.

“Who are you?” he asked with slurred words.

“Just protecting my friend.”

“The goblin.”

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She clubbed him over the head, forcing him to pass through a tear on his way to the floor. Blue light flashed, causing Potilia to blink.

When she opened her eyes, she heard the splat as the top half of Toth’s head fell in the hallway.

“Oh, this is a big mess. How do I clean this up?”

She picked up Deak’s fireplace poker and looked over her shoulder at the small fire burning inside the brick hearth.

“Hm.”

Was a fire too noticeable?

Was a fire more noticeable than two corpses and a broken door?

She dragged Toth’s corpse over and stuck his foot in the fire. A few more well-placed logs and some scattered bark from beneath the wood holder made it look like a fire might eventually spread.

Eventually.

Potilia sighed and put her elbow on a shelf, knocking over a bottle. She scrambled to catch it, but the glass hit the floor and shattered, spilling the liquid all over the floor and into the rifts, splashing it all over the room. As soon as a drop touched the flames, they brightened and roared to life.

“Oh.”

Within seconds, half the floor was on fire.

“Oh. I need to leave.”

Toth’s corpse fully ignited almost instantly.

“Oh my. Okay.” She hurried out the door while the flames quickly grew. Potilia ran next door and knocked loudly.

The door cracked open. “Yes?”

Potilia needed to start thinking of what she was going to say before knocking. “The building next door is on fire. Please leave!”

The man pushed past her and down the stairs. He noticed the broken door. “Is anyone in there?”

“No. I checked. I was the one who broke the door.”

“What’s this?” he asked, reaching out to her hair.

Oh no. Did blood splash through a rift and into her hair?

He picked some olive mush from her hair. “Is this olive?”

“Please don’t touch me.”

“What?” He looked back at the fire. “Fools must have left their fire going.”

“Probably. Is there anyone on the other side?”

“No. That’s been empty for years.”

Potilia nodded slowly. “Let’s go somewhere safe.”

***

The seamount in the middle of the floor was a full mountain. A ramp circled it, spiraling up to the top. From so far down, it was difficult to see if there were people or mobs anywhere on the ramps or at the top of the seamount. Owin swore he saw some cetanthro looking down, watching them, but he couldn’t confirm.

They passed by the metal building, taking the outside route alongside the boundary wall. The light grew brighter as they continued until they finally rounded the corner. A ruined building, about the same size as the metal structure, stood in the middle of a river of lava that leaked from the base of the seamount.

Water near the lava boiled while chunks of the lava solidified and shifted, causing sections of the river to change course. Entire sections of the wall were destroyed with bricks scattered as far as the metal building. They seemed resistant to the heat, as none melted even as the lava passed right over the base of the walls. It was difficult to see what was inside, though Owin had no doubt there was going to be a chest. Whether it was the chest guardian of the floor or just a place to find loot.

“This seems dangerous.” Shade walked right to the edge of the lava. The bubbling, boiling water caused his scarf to flutter. “Oh, a breeze.”

Owin walked with Suta along the river’s edge, staying where the water was calm. Owin had no doubt everyone could jump inside without difficulty. The river was thinnest on their side. It spread out like the start of a lake on the opposite end of the building.

The problem with jumping inside was not knowing what was in there. The walls were ruined, but enough remained to hide the contents.

“Shade first,” Suta said.

“I feel bad when we send him in.”

Suta shook his head.

They both looked at the skeleton, who was crouched beside the lava. He poked his hand into it, lifted a chunk on the edge of his finger, and stuck it in his mouth. It fell right out the bottom of his jaw, hit his knee, and hardened.

“What did you expect to happen?” Myrsvai asked.

“I figured if I’m not going to really feel any pain, I might as well see if it has a taste. Who hasn’t wondered? You may think I’m acting like a moron or some type of simpleton, but how many things have you seen where you want to know what they taste like but can’t try them knowing you would die?”

“Literally nothing.”

“Ah, sorry. I forgot you hate the idea of fun.” Shade grabbed the chunk of hardened lava from his knee and broke it off.

“See?” Suta said.

“Yeah, I see.” Owin put his arm around Suta’s shoulder. “Shade, can you take Myrsvai to check the side close to the mount? I want to see what’s all over before we go inside.”

Myrsvai gave him a look, then bumped Shade with his staff. “Let’s go.”

“Can I not keep better company? What about a deep sea walrus? Is that a thing? You know, the big tusks?”

“You don’t know your own name, but you know a walrus.”

“Unfortunately, I don’t believe a deep sea walrus is a thing. Can you imagine?”

“No.”

Myrsvai bumped Shade with his staff again, forcing the skeleton to start walking.

“Safe?” Suta asked.

“There aren’t any mobs there. And if something dangerous happens, we can get to them in seconds. Follow me.” Owin jumped over the small river in front of them. The ruined building acted as a break in the river causing it to split. Suta jumped over with ease, following a few steps behind Owin.

“After this floor, it will just be you and Myrsvai.”

Suta nodded. “Owin and Shade.”

“Yeah, I’ll have him with me.”

Suta put his hand on Owin’s shoulder. “Not Artivan.”

“No, he’s not. But I think he is trying to be friendly. I’ll be okay on the isolated floors. Are you going to be okay?”

Suta nodded once.

“The floors are going to get more dangerous. Are you sure you don’t want to use magic?”

Suta squeezed Owin’s shoulder. “No hurting Myrsvai.”

“Suta, what happened?”

The familiar squeezed a little harder, but not nearly hard enough to hurt Owin. “Nothing.”

“It’s okay to be scared. I’ve been scared a lot. Artivan taught me to be scared and to use that to be strong. You have to be smart even during fights. Right now, we fight the same, but I’m stronger. Soon, punching might not be enough to beat the mobs you need to fight. Your strength is with all the spells you have.”

There was no real way for Owin to read Suta’s facial expression. His beady eyes and mandibles didn’t have the same expressions that humans or human-like mobs had. But as his posture slumped, the body language was easy to understand.

“If I know what happened, I can try to help,” Owin said.

Suta grabbed Owin’s left hand with both of his and gently rubbed his clawed fingers over the back of Owin’s chitin gauntlet. “Power 6.”

“Sorry, I don’t know anything about Power 6 spells.”

“Sacrifice item for spell.” Suta lifted Owin’s hand. “Sacrificed gauntlet while still on arm.”

Owin kept his face calm even though Suta only stared at Owin’s hand. “What happens when an item is sacrificed?”

Suta squeezed his hand. “Crush.”

Owin lowered his voice, even knowing only Suta could hear him. “Is that how he lost his arm?”

A quick nod.

“But you did it to protect him.”

“Spells hurt Myrsvai.”

“But so will strong mobs. If it seems like the two of you can’t handle it, promise that you will use magic.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Myrsvai stays safe.”

Shade and Myrsvai returned from the other side, waiting back where they had been before. Myrsvai watched them from a distance, obviously getting parts of Suta’s thoughts or emotions through their connection.

“You don’t have to keep him safe. You’re both trying to protect each other, but you’re both strong. Work together instead of only trying to keep each other safe.”

Suta let Owin’s hand drop.

“I’m not asking you to use Power 6 spells.”

Suta walked away.

Myrsvai and Shade jumped over the river, joining Owin.

“It was a good try,” Myrsvai said.

“What was?” Shade looked back and forth. “Did I miss something?”

“Suta needs help over there,” Owin said.

Shade sighed. “I get it. You don’t have to tell me twice.” He stayed standing in the same spot.

“Can you go over there?” Owin asked.

“I guess you do have to tell me twice.” He bowed. “Yes, master.” Shade started toward Suta. “Hey, want to taste some lava?”

“I have a feeling if we could see Shade’s attributes, his wisdom would be fluctuating from nonexistent to incredibly high just about every other second.” Myrsvai’s index appeared. “But we can’t see anything.”

“Is that possible?”

“You possibly know more about the Cursed than I do after the Doomed Harbinger. There are secrets to uncover. Maybe you will learn something soon. If you do—”

“I’ll tell you.”

Myrsvai nodded. “Now, I sensed deep frustration from Suta.”

“He told me about the Power 6 spell.”

Myrsvai held out his arm, turning his gauntlet over. “This was part of a pair. Some gauntlets are found one at a time, but this was a unique pair I found in the Desert Dungeon. During our battle against the Husvrina Hero Company . . . well, late into the battle, I was losing my leg from a horrible cut on my upper thigh. The umbra’s poison was leaking into my bloodstream. I couldn’t walk. I was out of mana. I was out of ideas. At that point, I assumed I would die. I told Suta to run, but . . . it’s Suta.”

Owin nodded.

“We had already killed dozens of heroes.” Myrsvai stared at the boundary wall. His demonic eyes were still as he recounted the event. “At least, I had. I don’t know how many we killed between the two of us. As Siora and Nikoletta had said, there was nothing left of that hero company by the end. But it wasn’t me. When all was lost, when I was unable to move, Suta cast Nightmare Metamorphose and transformed himself into something nearly comparable to a Lord of the Abyss. Power 6 and 7 are strong every single time they’re used, but there is another component to each. With both requiring a sacrifice, the strength is directly influenced by the item or person sacrificed to cast the spell. Sacrificing a level 10 citizen will allow someone to cast a normal Power 7 spell, but sacrificing a Shard Hero would more than quadruple that power.”

Owin looked at the intricate details of Myrsvai’s gauntlet that he hadn’t noticed before. There were carvings and designs across the metal. Some of it looked like language he didn’t recognize, and other parts looked purely artistic.

“Since your gauntlet was unique, it was at least master rarity, right?”

“Exactly. Nightmare Metamorphose transforms the caster, allowing them to take on aspects of the Abyss. Enhanced speed, strength, durability, spells, and anything else a demon or demon lord may have. With the way Suta cast it, he became something new. Now, unfortunately, I couldn’t see what happened. The left gauntlet extended up the arm to connect with a pauldron. Casting the spell crushes then destroys the item. There was no time. Suta cast it before I could remove the armor. It crushed my entire arm.”

Suta looked back. He was too far away to hear the conversation. Shade gently kicked him and pointed at the brick wall. The skeleton grabbed part of the wreckage and hauled himself up. With as clumsy as the skeleton had been, it was no surprise as Shade tumbled over the other side. Suta gave them one more look before jumping over the wall to follow Shade.

“He killed every last hero and dragged me across the floor, even as the spell wore off and he became exhausted. He fought mobs and bosses and brought me to the exit. There isn’t a chance I would have survived without Suta. But that moment, the Power 6 spell, did so much damage to my body that he hasn’t cast a spell since. I have tried everything to convince him to use magic again.”

“That was your last time in a dungeon until the Ocean, right?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Myrsvai lowered his eyebrows. “Would you enter a dungeon after—” He cut himself off and sighed. “Sorry. You didn’t hesitate to help Ernie and Katalin after Void Nexus hunted you in the Great Forest. If anybody I know understands even part of the horror I felt, it’s you.”

“That’s why I want to get stronger. I want to stop people like that.”

Myrsvai adjusted his grip on the staff. He sighed again. “Nobody in this world is perfect. The hero companies don’t attract great people. We’ve all killed others. The Nimble Hogs aren’t above anyone else. Chorsay’s past is just as cloudy as the rest of us. I don’t know how you would stop people from hurting each other.”

“If I’m the strongest, they’ll listen to me.”

“Hm.” Myrsvai finally looked back at Owin. “I don’t know if that’s the way to approach this ideal. There have been heroes in the past that led the nations with violence and fear, and it has never ended well. Vekuborg’s history is full of tyrants.”

“I’ll figure it out.”

“Spend the time on the isolated floors thinking about it. Even if you are the strongest, you would have to kill a lot of people before anyone listened.”

Something exploded inside the ruins, sending a plume of lava high above where it hardened and rained down chunks of obsidian.

Without another thought, Owin was sprinting toward the building with Myrsvai a few steps behind.