The cathkabel inside had no time to react as Owin punched straight through its head, splattering blood across the stone columns and the wooden chest nestled in between. He picked up the body and tossed it to the side, allowing Thalgodin to approach the chest. The demon ran his three free hands over the surface.

“Cathkabel treasure. What lies inside?” He flipped it open and barely moved aside as a spinning blade swung out of the front. Luminous fire spewed from a jet on the lid, brushing Thalgodin’s shoulder. The demon lifted his three arms, pulling the bottom one close to his chest. Blood dripped from his fourth and fifth fingers, which had been chopped in half.

“A trick,” Myrsvai said. “Do you need to return?”

Thalgodin leaned his double bladed axe against the column and patted the luminous fire out on his shoulder. The skin was bubbled and warped, but it had stopped on the strap of his breastplate. “I am fine.” He looked into the chest without stepping in front again. “A true and lowly trick.”

Owin inched close to the chest until he was certain it wasn’t going to activate again. He leaned over and looked into the empty container. “Will you regrow your fingers when you go back?”

“Consuming another demon will regenerate some injuries, though I cannot be certain it will return lost fingers.” Thalgodin checked his shoulder, then grabbed the double bladed axe once again. “It will hardly stop me from slaying cathkabel.” He marched back into the hallway.

“You summoned him to help find the secret, right?” Owin asked.

“That and more. Another body may be important in swaying those Void Nexus heroes from attacking again. Do you trust them?”

“They’re not strong enough to matter.”

Myrsvai looked down at Suta, who was standing directly at his side. “That’s what we had thought too.”

“Oh.” Owin nodded. “You’re right. Underestimating isn’t going to help us. I don’t think they’re going to bother us.” Although Owin had his own plan for the Void Nexus heroes. “If he’s hurt, you should send him home. We can handle Siora and Nikoletta.”

“A neural demon can manage minor injuries. Thalgodin wants to be here. He’ll be fine.” Myrsvai tried bending the prosthetic leg, causing it to squeak.

“Is this your first time in a dungeon after getting that leg?” Owin asked.

“Why do you ask?”

Suta nodded.

Myrsvai gently bumped Suta with his staff. “Let me keep my secrets.”

“Not from Owin.” Suta shifted to stand beside Owin. He crossed his arms and looked up at Myrsvai with little beady red eyes.

“It’s our first time in a dungeon since the incident.”

That had been obvious. Myrsvai was too awe-struck to have been frequenting dungeons. And with how famous he had apparently been, his level was too low to be intimidating. Chorsay, Veph, Ernie, Katalin, and even Vondaire were all higher levels than Mrysvai.

“If we get an option to choose a reward, I am sure we can find a leg replacement. Or something to help,” Owin said.

“I would be better off summoning Poti.”

Owin tilted his head. “Who?”

“Potirantoma, a schemer demon.”

Owin nodded slowly as if he understood. “We should catch up with Thalgodin first so he doesn’t lose more fingers. I really think we can find loot that will help your leg.”

“Sure, Owin. We’ll follow you.”

Thalgodin was waiting at the next door. “Only a chest at the far end. No traps, as far as my eyes can see.”

“Trap,” Suta said.

“Based on the last one, that is a fair guess.” Myrsvai lifted his staff. “I can hit it with Abyssal Blast.”

“Is that what your staff has?” Owin looked at the wooden hand holding a red gem atop the staff. It looked too impressive to use something weak. “What is that, Power 1?”

“Power 3, actually,” Myrsvai said. “Though no, this staff is unique. I can use it to cast my spells.”

“Oh.” Owin pointed his hand and shot a Bolt that hit the chest. “That’s probably a better use of mana.”

“That chest has teeth,” Thalgodin said.

Everyone turned their attention back to the wooden chest, which quivered and drooled.

“A mimic chest,” Myrsvai said. “I had read about them before, though I had never seen one.”

“Are they used in alchemy? Can I eat it?”

Suta shook his head.

“Yes, actually,” Myrsvai said.

“Consider killing it first.” Thalgodin stepped into the room with his axe raised.

Owin followed the demon inside, watching the chest shake a little. There was a scorch mark where Owin’s spell had hit, though the damage looked minimal. Examine brought no information.

“Let them handle it,” Myrsvai said after Suta whispered something to the magus.

Owin stayed right at Thalgodin’s side. He didn’t want to let the demon get hurt again, though Thalgodin had hardly reacted to losing fingers.

“What type of enemy are mimics?” Owin asked.

“They are their own species. A mimic can appear as nearly any object. They are most commonly seen on the mansion floor of the Fortress Dungeon,” Myrsvai said. “I am curious to see how this one will attack.”

Thalgodin stopped two feet before the creature, who had stopped moving once again. “It’s your turn.”

“You’re too big to be scared of a chest.” Owin watched blood drip from his missing fingers. “Sorry. It can be my turn.”

Owin drew the lich bone knife and took a big step. Two massive white eyes opened on top of the mimic. They went cross-eyed as they swung inward to look at Owin. The top of the chest popped open, revealing a massive mouth with three rows of fangs. A tongue lashed out, spewing hot spit.

Owin ducked and slashed the tongue in half. Before he could recover to follow up the attack, Thalgodin brought his axe down, cleaving the chest in two. The mimic went still and oozed clear blood.

“From what I understand, the tongue is edible and provides a small boost. There may be an actual alchemical use, though I believe that just makes it more palatable.” Myrsvai leaned over the chest. He poked it a few times with his staff. “Fascinating creatures.”

Suta picked up the tongue Owin had severed and held it out.

“I don’t know, Suta.”

The familiar once again held it out, shaking the tongue in front of Owin’s face.

“Fine.” Owin took the tongue and shoved it in his mouth. It was incredibly chewy and was hot enough that it felt like it had just been cooked.

Charisma +10

Charisma: 160

“Charisma? Really?”

“Tricking others is a function of charisma, though that isn’t normally how it’s done.” Myrsvai hadn’t stopped watching Owin. “How did it taste?”

“Bad. Chewy.”

Myrsvai nodded as if he had known. “Would drinking a potion version be preferable?”

“That also sounds horrible.”

“I don’t disagree.”

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Thalgodin picked up half the mimic and tossed it aside. It dropped some gold, which he picked up and passed to Myrsvai. “Two more doors. I smell cathkabel.”

They followed the demon to the next door, only to find another identical room with a single cathkabel and a pit with a grate over it in the center. He was ready for them, though he lasted less than a second as Thalgodin ripped him in half.

They all stood over the pit and looked down.

“It looks almost as if you would fall to the Abyss,” Thalgodin said.

“I don’t think there’s a way to find out, but I feel like you would just die,” Owin said.

“If I tossed you in, I wouldn’t know what happened.” The demon reached all three hands over and faked pushing Owin forward.

“Couldn’t you use your wings to fly out if you fell inside?”

“No.” Thalgodin walked right out of the room.

“Did I make him angry?”

“No.” Myrsvai watched Thalgodin round the corner. “Maybe. A point of insecurity, I guess.”

“The next door leads to a hall. I smell cathkabel,” Thalgodin called.

Suta calmly left the room, following the demon through the next doorway.

“Why do you think there was another door on the other side?” Owin asked. They had already been through thirteen rooms and still weren’t at the end of the secret. “Artivan didn’t mind skipping rooms when he thought they were too dangerous, but I don’t like missing things.”

“I know less about secrets than you do. If this is as big as it looked from outside, there is likely an entire other half on the opposite end.” Myrsvai guided Owin out of the room and through the next door into a hallway. Thalgodin and Suta stood around the next corner, behind the room they were just in. Thin alleys filled the space between the three rooms they had just entered.

“Gray foot,” Suta said, pointing down the alley.

Luminous flames shot out at intervals, filling the alley with bright fire. Owin had to duck a little to see the object lying at the far end of the hall. A gray, fuzzy-looking, skeletal foot.

“Oh. I need that. I need that really badly.” Owin bounced a little. “That’s what I need the most.”

“What is it?”

The luminous flames receded. Owin sprinted down the alley faster than he had expected. He crashed into the stone wall and bounced back just as the flames came back to life. He fell onto his back, staring up at the raging fire inches from his face. Its heat was comforting rather than painful, as luminous fire worked differently than regular fire.

“Owin okay?” Suta asked.

“I’m fine. Just waiting.”

Suta laid flat and crawled over to Owin. “Foot.”

“I’ll grab it when the fire is done. This is dangerous for you.”

Suta patted Owin’s arm as if comforting him.

The flames shrunk back to little pilot lights on the wall. Owin sat up, grabbed the foot and Suta’s arm, and ran back down the alley. As soon as Owin was back in the hallway, he pulled his bag from his shoulder and grabbed the other pieces.

Bone of the Withered Shade

3 of 50

Journal Updated

He set all three pieces together and waited for a moment. Nothing happened. “Wait a second.” Owin opened his journal and found a new spell.

Summon the Withered Shade

He noted the spell and read the new entry. ‘The Withered Shade is a ceaseless phantom, appearing in all seven of the world dungeons. To summon the shade, activate the spell. More pieces will add substance and power to the Withered One.’

Owin gathered the pieces and put them into his bag. The spell didn’t disappear. He hoped he could summon it without taking the bones out of his bag. If it appeared inside, it might break his potions or rip the bag.

“What is it?” Myrsvai asked.

“I’ll tell you more later. I can summon something, but I think it’s undead, and I don’t want a cathkabel to kill it.”

“Then we shall rip them to shreds.” Thalgodin lifted his battle axe triumphantly.

“I rip,” Suta said.

“The next prey is yours, Suta.”

Owin ignored the demon and checked the next alley. It had the same luminous fire trap. At the end of this alley was a blue sphere, similar to the one he had seen on the fourth floor of the Ocean with Ernie and Katalin.

“Do you know what that is?” Owin asked.

“It appears to be a crystal ball. They can be used as a spellcasting medium, though I need my staff. It could be worth a bit to the right wizard or magus.”

As he watched, the fire didn’t grow or shrink. It stayed a constant small flame close to the wall. Owin inched closer. “I don’t see any reason not to get it.”

“I am following your lead, Owin.”

Owin took a step into the alley, and immediately jumped back as the fire erupted, splashing against the opposite wall. “That makes it difficult.”

Suta flattened himself on the floor and mimicked the crawling he had done earlier.

“Do you think it will be that easy?”

Suta nodded.

It was. Owin crawled all the way to the crystal ball. It sat on a little ring of stone to prevent any rolling. When he turned around, he rolled it down the alley, then crawled back, joining the others. Suta held the crystal ball, turning it over in his clawed hands.

“You could use that,” Myrsvai said to the familiar.

Suta opened Owin’s bag and shoved it inside, though it barely fit.

“It was worth a try,” Myrsvai said quietly as Thalgodin impatiently moved through the next door. It was an empty room with an open archway that led directly to the next room with a cathkabel.

“Intruders this far in?” the cathkabel asked. He raised his hand and summoned an axe made of luminous light. “Demons. I should have known.”

“Hold on.” Owin pushed past Thalgodin and Suta. The cathkabel froze mid step upon spotting Owin.

“You’re no demon.” The cathkabel squinted its oversized eyes. “Purple hair? I believe I’ve heard of you. Have you, by any chance, eaten cathkabel before?”

“Uh, no.” Owin shook his head. “Not me. What’s through that next door?”

“Why would I tell intruders what’s ahead?”

“We don’t need to intrude further if there’s nothing over there.”

The cathkabel looked over its shoulder. “You’ll see.” It grinned. “You’re already going the wrong—”

Thalgodin chopped its head off before it could say another word. Silver blood splattered across the walls. “I heard enough.”

“I think it was about to tell us we went the wrong way,” Owin said.

“Confusion,” Suta said.

“Suta’s right. It could just be an attempt to get us to turn around. Push on.”

Thalgodin opened the next door and strode right through, down the hall, around the turn, and into the next room. As he opened it, he ducked. Multiple red beams flew overhead, burning holes into the demon’s wings.

Suta and Owin both sprinted, easily passing to the sides of Thalgodin. Three ocular mobs floated. Red energy raged inside the little eyes. Each ocular was about a foot tall, making them significantly smaller than the ocular guard Owin had fought back in the Great Forest.

The eyes each tracked someone separate, with one following Owin. Before he could take more than two steps into the room, the eye shot another blast. It struck his chitin pauldron, which deflected the blast into the wall. One more step and Owin jumped, driving the lich bone knife right into the eye. He grabbed the mob with his other hand and tore the corpse open as he landed, ripping the ocular heart from its core.

Suta, who had just killed his own, watched Owin then did the same. He tossed the ocular heart to Owin, who caught it. He stared at the little glass-like gem between his fingers, more amazed at his ability to catch than at the ease of killing so many of the mobs.

Thalgodin grabbed the last ocular and slammed it into the wall, splattering it.

Myrsvai walked into the room and analyzed the carnage. “This is quite the strategy.”

Owin harvested the heart from the third ocular before pushing open the next door. Two more small eyes floated in the long hallway.

Ocean Mob

Ocular Swarmer

Level 8

Owin stepped aside as a laser left the swarmer’s pupil. The second fired, catching Owin in the chest, but his chitin armor held strong. Owin sprinted, jumped, stabbed the first, landed and took another beam to the chest. He was in the air killing the second before anyone else could come to assist. He had collected five ocular hearts, which would be a little intelligence buff later.

Beside Owin was an open archway to the next room. He carefully leaned in, spotting a giant ocular mob embedded into the wall. Sinew surrounded the eye like spiderwebs, keeping it attached to the stone.

Ocean Mob

Ocular Lord

Level 12

The eye shifted to Owin. Red energy whorled inside. Owin pulled his head out and waited for each one of his party to do the same.

“I’ve never seen one like that,” Owin said.

“These eyes are of no interest to me,” Thalgodin said.

“We’ll find more cathkabel,” Myrsvai said. “Let me handle this one.”

Suta shook his head.

“We didn’t come here for Owin to fight everything. If we’re getting a shard, I will need to fight. You can’t handle every mob, Suta.” Myrsvai’s index appeared. “I’m not as familiar with ocular mobs as I would hope to be. We should have asked Potilia for more information about all Ocean mobs before we left.”

“Potilia knows about ocular?” Owin asked.

“Potilia knows more about every mob than anyone else I’ve ever met. What do you think she’s reading every day?”

Owin shrugged. “I can’t read.”

“Even with your intelligence over 200?” Myrsvai’s index vanished. “I suppose you still need to learn. It would be easy for you to learn with your new attributes.” Myrsvai stepped into the room, pointed his staff, and unleashed a barrage of Abyssal fire.

Suta flinched as the spell left the staff.

Owin leaned in and found nothing but scorched ocular remains. “Wow.” He ran up to it and searched for the heart, but even that had been melted under Myrsvai’s assault.

“It looked stronger than it was.” Myrsvai poked the remains with his staff. “It felt good to use a spell, actually. I believe I have only summoned for . . . some time.”

“Injured?” Suta asked. He rushed to Myrsvai’s side and checked his arm.

“I’m fine, Suta. You know I can do this.”

Suta stared silently at Myrsvai, which elicited a sigh from the magus.

“Stay close, if you insist.”

Suta positioned himself directly in front of Myrsvai.

Thalgodin had walked right through the room and into the next hall. He stopped at the end, beside the next door. “This is the end. That cathkabel hadn’t lied.” The demon pressed one of his hands against a black barrier floating in the archway. “This is advanced magic.”

Owin touched the barrier and was reminded of the boundary walls. This wasn’t made by the cathkabel. It was simply a trick to force them through a whole series of traps and fights with no real reward.

He could easily see the pit in the center and a wide open archway on the opposite side. “It looks like we need to go back.”

Suta punched the barrier a few times. “Not strong enough.”

“I don’t think strength matters here.” Owin scowled. “Sorry, Myrsvai. We need to walk all the way back.”

“Don’t apologize to me. I’m not here to garner pity. If this secret doesn’t provide a solution for my leg, I will summon Poti and get it fixed.” Myrsvai used his staff to push Owin forward. “Apologize again and I will let Suta finally attack you.”

Suta lifted his wrapped hands.

“Fine. I’m not sorry.”

Suta jabbed the air a few times.