The Nimble Hog Hero Company.

A wreck.

Little was left of their headquarters. Quite the disappointment.

Arkasti scratched his neck. Whatever had caused the mess was long gone. The street was partially repaired, and rubble had been cleaned. The people of Atrevaar had been busy at work.

So why was everyone looking at him with so much venom?

“Excuse me, sir,” someone said.

Arkasti turned and thrust his hand out, immediately shaking the hand of the woman behind him. She wore the black armor of the Stelsodo Security Regime. “Officer! How do you do?”

“I’m a lieutenant, sir,” she said.

“Yes, of course! How can I help you?”

She scratched her chin, looking between the ruined Nimble Hog building and Arkasti. “You . . . you know what happened here, don’t you?”

Arkasti unlatched his helmet, pulled it from his head, and tucked it under an arm. “I’m afraid I know little at the moment. I have been rather preoccupied for some time.”

The Security Regime lieutenant’s index flashed in front of her eyes. “You are a Golden Bull.”

“Obviously!” He pounded his free hand against his chest. “Until the day I die.”

She looked uncomfortable. After a moment she sighed. “When you were preoccupied, what were you doing?”

Two shards lifted from his shoulder, humming in the air. The lieutenant's hair billowed in the sudden pulse of energy pushing off Arkasti. If he hadn’t taken a closer look before he approached, he would have warned her before releasing the shards. Luckily, he got to see her react to the sudden increase in energy without a warning. She was strong enough to be around the shards, though obviously not strong enough to face him in battle, if there was a need to do so.

“You’re a Shard Hero.” She took a sharp breath. “Andres Orben attacked the Nimble Hogs and was killed by Chorsay Eoghet.”

“Ah.” Arkasti looked anew at the wreckage around him. Evidence of a battle between two incredible Shard Heroes. That changed things. “What caused such a battle? A disagreement?”

She looked over her shoulder where some other Security Regime members had gathered. “I can’t disclose everything. The, uh, the goblin was apparently brought up as an issue.”

Arkasti nodded slowly. That little swine hadn’t stopped being a topic of conversation since his emergence. “I was hoping to speak to the goblin.” He nodded toward the broken building. “Was he home?”

“He’s not currently in Atrevaar. I’m not at liberty to disclose more information.” She bowed her head. “I apologize for breaking the news this way. I recognized your armor and I wanted to ensure you weren’t here to cause more trouble.”

“Trouble? No. The goblin is a friend of mine. Andres had his own agenda.” Arkasti put his helmet back over his head but left it unlatched. “Are the Bulls going to suffer any consequences?”

“Rebuilding and a series of fines. A party has already made their way to Nagyati with the information.”

“My thanks.” Arkasti yawned and looked about. “Is there a place that serves pot pies still standing after this brawl?”

“Pot pies?”

“I normally find myself enjoying other countries, but Stelsodo is appearing to not meet my expectations. Where can I find a place to eat more than my share of warm, savory food?”

“Oh. I have some recommendations.”

Arkasti nodded and listened closely. If he was going to wait for the goblin’s return, he might as well find a way to enjoy himself.

***

It was the biggest spider Owin had ever seen. It had tentacle-like growths hanging from its face, wobbling gently in the water as it approached. Shade ran, flailing, and dove between Rahlish’s legs. The anguin boss tried to step on the skeleton, but before his foot could land, Owin delivered a punch that crushed the cetanthro’s bones, causing it to stumble aside. Anguin could endure incredible damage. A few broken bones weren’t going to stop the chest guardian.

Rahlish fell against the rocks, swearing as he still tried to kick the flailing skeleton. Shade managed to get up and away from both bosses. He grabbed Owin’s shoulders and ducked behind, doing his best to hide despite his height.

At the moment, the bigger concern was the wandering boss and its incoming shadow.

“Is it a spell?” Owin asked.

“No.” Shade reached past Owin’s face and wiggled his fingers. “Tiny, little spiders.”

“That’s a lot of spiders.”

“If only you could get experience.” Shade blindly poked at Owin’s face and flicked his nose.

“Can you stop?”

“I could.”

Owin reached back and pushed the skeleton over as he used Examine on the massive red spider.

Ocean Mob

Pantopoda

Pycnida Queen

Level 70

The massive spider was the same level as Rahlish, which made it a lot less terrifying. Before eating the Vile Fiend, the bosses of the eighth floor would have been a challenge. Now, he just needed to focus.

“Stay safe,” Owin said.

“Yes, sir!” Shade shouted directly in his ear.

Owin reached back, grabbed Shade’s skull, and shoved him back over. Before the skeleton could climb back to his feet, Owin jumped, shattering the ground beneath his feet. He flew away from Rahlish, directly toward the long, tentacled face of the spider queen.

Pantopoda’s face opened like the petals of a flower, revealing a mouthful of spikes covering every inch of flesh. Owin’s jumps had grown more powerful as his strength increased, and his overall speed had also risen along with his dexterity, although that was still much lower than he wanted. The combination made his normal leap and stab strategy that much better . . . usually.

As he flew straight for the horrifying tooth-filled mouth of the boss, he realized what everyone kept telling him. Even in the water, there was really no way to maneuver after jumping. He was moving too fast to try to move aside like he had the first time he had fought Amkati on the first floor. His only choice was to accept that he was going to be entering a new dungeon. A spider’s stomach.

A quick twist was all he managed before crashing into the spider’s spiked mouth. Its pointed teeth scraped along the chitin, cracking even more of his already damaged armor. He felt the pressure of a tooth press against the back of his helmet, though it managed to stay together as the dark eighth floor vanished before his eyes.

He bounced around and felt water swirl inside. After living in a dark cave for so long, he thought he’d be able to see in the dark, but apparently that wasn’t a thing goblins could do. At least, no goblins he knew.

Did he know any goblins?

Owin steadied himself. There didn’t seem to be anything happening inside the spider. At least, not yet. He could climb back out, or he could cut himself out.

Owin felt around until his nails scraped soft tissue. He tore a chunk out and bit into it, filling his mouth with bile-like sour meat. Even after chewing and swallowing a piece, he didn’t see any changes to his attributes. That was a shame, but also not a surprise. At least he didn’t need to waste time eating the creature.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Instead of only tearing chunks out with his hand, Owin flipped the lich bone knife in his hand and drove it directly into the soft flesh at his side. Everything rumbled and water swirled anew. A strong current grabbed him, threatening to send him deeper into the massive creature.

Owin laughed and held tight to the lich bone. He pulled himself closer to the side and used his hand to pierce the flesh. Once he had a good handhold, he used the knife to cut deeper, working his way slowly into the spider.

With how many disgusting things he had done or seen, ripping through the Pycnida Queen was almost peaceful. He couldn’t see a thing in the pitch black stomach of the spider, and its flesh tore away like he was cutting through blades of squishy grass.

Was that a good comparison? He would have to ask Shade. It didn’t seem good as he thought about it longer, but it was a good try, he hoped.

The lich bone scraped against something solid. Was it the tough outer layer of the spider or a bone? Owin stabbed and felt the knife shake in his hand. Cutting wasn’t going to work. It didn’t matter what it was. It was in his way.

Even as the water continued to swirl, Owin stayed still. He had climbed far enough into the spider’s flesh that whatever its body was doing on the inside was barely affecting him. He pressed his feet into flesh at his sides, pulled his arm back, and released the strongest punch he could manage. The flesh quivered underneath his feet as he shattered the outer shell of the spider. Blood, flesh, and all sorts of other things he didn’t recognize exploded into the water.

Shade stood still behind Rahlish, but it took a moment for Owin to even notice the skeleton since he was covered head to toe in black spiders. He looked like a creepy shadow.

He seemed fine. Rahlish was struggling to find the skeleton, even going as far as attacking his own tent in a futile attempt to kill the immortal skeleton.

Owin grabbed onto the upper part of the wound above him and flipped himself onto the top of the spider. Mini spiders now covered the outside of the queen, but a few solid stomps killed them and cracked the red shell he stood upon.

“Where is your brain?” Owin asked. He doubted the spider would answer, but there was so much he didn’t know about mobs.

“Where did you go?” Rahlish shouted.

Pantopoda had stopped moving. Was it waiting for some type of attack, or could it just not do anything while Owin was standing on top of it?

His question was quickly answered as the red skin, or shell, or whatever it was, split open in vents all across the top of the spider. More little black spiders spilled out like a flood, all swarming toward Owin.

“Oh.” How could he fight that many? Stomping killed a lot at once, but he would have to stomp incredibly fast to not be overwhelmed. Using Discharge in the water in front of him could kill a lot, but not without causing a lot of unnecessary damage to himself.

Owin stomped on the first spiders that reached him, and more were already crawling up his leg. Tiny bits of his health disappeared with each bite, and with so many spiders suddenly crawling on him, those tiny bits turned into bigger and bigger chunks. Owin immediately leapt off the top of the spider while smacking at his own leg.

He landed among a sea of spiders and felt the ground shake as Rahlish stomped nearby.

“Shade!” What do I do?”

“Jump as high as you can,” the skeleton shook his head, throwing spiders all over. “As hard as you can. Hit the top of the boundary, and launch yourself back down!”

“That seems like a terrible idea!”

They shouted through the small area as even Rahlish swatted at spiders swarming him. The anguin was distracted, muttering as he slapped at his legs and stumbled on his broken foot.

He couldn’t wait any longer. Owin jumped with every ounce of his strength. Spiders flew all over as he shot straight up. If he wasn’t in the water, he would have gone even faster. Still, he soared straight to the top of the trench and landed against the shimmering boundary wall. Pantopoda was a faint beacon of red far below, but everything else was nearly impossible to see.

Shade had been right. None of the small spiders had survived the journey.

Owin pressed his feet into the boundary wall and pushed, sending himself back down, aiming straight at the spider queen. He led with his fist, hoping the collision wouldn’t simply kill him. Based on his previous fights, he assumed it was something he should survive.

Everything was a blur as Owin found himself lying on the ground in a crater. He had passed through the spider so quickly that he hadn’t even realized he had hit the ground.

0 Experience

The water shifted with a familiar, discomforting, hum. Shade scrambled into view, tripping over the side of the crater and falling inside and coming to a rest on his back beside Owin.

“We have a visitor.”

“I know.”

Sloswen appeared a moment later. “This is unacceptable.”

“Oh.” Owin sat up.

The god waved his hand, immediately eliminating all of the remaining miniature spiders. Before the corpse of Pantopoda could fall on top of them, he waved his hand again and caused it to vanish.

“What’s unacceptable?” Owin asked.

“Your strength. It is not earned.” Sloswen remained on the lip of the small crater. “Do you know what we gods do to cheaters?”

“No.”

Sloswen clasped his hands together. His snake tattoo slithered across his fingers, switching to his other arm. He reached up just as Rahlish came into view and snapped. The anguin boss froze in place.

“We punish them,” he said. The god looked at Rahlish for a long, silent moment. His white eyes shifted to blue, to yellow, and back to white. “I do not know what to do with you, goblin.”

“You could just let me get the shard.” Owin leaned back on his elbows. “Then I’ll leave you alone.”

Sloswen folded his arms across his chest. “Humorous.”

Owin scratched his nose. There were some bumps from spider bites. “I wasn’t making a joke.”

“I gave you that rare armor because I thought Ruvaine had wanted you to succeed. I have since learned I made a mistake and have attempted to correct my error.”

“Is that why the loot sucks now?” Shade asked.

Sloswen snapped, causing Shade to puff into dust. “He will regret speaking.”

“He won’t.” Owin waved at the cloud, pushing dust away. “What do you want me to do?”

“That is why I have shown myself again.” Sloswen’s snake tattoo climbed up his shoulder, disappearing under the god’s shirt. He leaned forward, looking down on Owin. “Most heroes go their entire lives without speaking to a god. Here you are, speaking to me for a second time without even acquiring a shard. I need to decide what to do with you.”

“You don’t have to do anything. That’s what I’m saying.” Owin slipped the lich bone knife into his belt. “I just want the shard.”

“You are no different than the humans who roam these halls.”

“Exactly.”

Sloswen scowled. “You speak so casually to a god.”

Owin sat up again and smiled. “I ate two lords of the Abyss and defied Ruvaine. What’s different about you?”

“You dare ask?” Sloswen pointed at Owin.

The pressure smashed Owin into the ground, cracking the stone directly surrounding him. The air left his lungs and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t breathe in. With another flick of Sloswen’s finger, the pressure increased tremendously, sending Owin into the ground. He continued to sink, unable to breathe as he was sent plummeting into nothingness. The boundary wall greeted him with force, cracking most of his chitin armor as he crashed against it. His shield took a massive part of the hit, but couldn’t stop his breastplate from falling apart.

Just as suddenly as he sank, Owin was lifted back to the surface. He collapsed to his hands and knees as the pressure lifted. Vomit and blood fell from his mouth, spilling into the water.

“That is a fraction of my power, goblin. Stand.”

Owin did as he was told, wobbling as more blood dripped from his mouth.

Sloswen pointed and healed Owin, filling his health bar immediately. “Do you understand now?”

Owin looked at the ground and nodded.

Sloswen resummoned Shade, who sat without saying a word. “I will allow Chaudius to fight at increased power. I will not change the remainder of the floor or the ninth, despite my displeasure. Until I have the opportunity to fully convene with the gods, I will allow you to compete in a fair setting. I will not go against my word, even if I despise the situation.”

“Who is Chaudius?” Owin asked quietly.

“My champion. He will not use a shard. His power increase will be within a fair competition. You are an anomaly and have made a fool of my bosses. This should not be so simple.”

“What about Vondaire?”

“A polite hero. He will find a challenge as his shards increase. When one enters at level 100, they will always find the first tower to be simple.”

Owin and Shade looked at each other.

“Who?” Shade whispered.

Owin rolled his eyes.

Sloswen glanced to the side. “Your comrade is finding this boss an appropriate challenge.”

“Is he okay?”

“We will see.” Sloswen snapped, letting Rahlish unfreeze.

The anguin took a step onto his broken foot and howled in pain.

“What about the spider swarm?” Owin asked as he stood, still keeping his eyes averted from the god.

“They disappear shortly after their queen’s death. I didn’t need them to disturb our conversation.” Sloswen gave Shade a look that Owin couldn’t read. “We will speak again before your battle against Chaudius. As long as you don’t truly cheat, I will attempt to keep things fair. It is not your fault that you are . . . broken.”

“Oh.”

“Defeat the chest guardian and be on your way. I prefer to avoid keeping heroes in purgatory while Chaudius fights.” The water shifted, then Sloswen disappeared in a stream toward the dark, distant surface of the ocean.

Shade reached over and put his hand on Owin’s shoulder. “Well, this is unfortunate.”

“What?”

“The gods hate you as much as they hate me.” Shade looked up. “Probably not, actually, but I like to pretend it’s possible.”

“Ah!” Rahlish stabbed his spear in their direction but fell on his broken foot.

Owin leapt out of the crater and punched the anguin in the face, immediately killing the boss. He fell back on the remains of his tent. The cetanthro’s legs were riddled with spider bites, which made Owin pause. The bosses were fighting each other?

“How did you get out of the spider boss earlier?” Shade asked. “I missed it when I was preoccupied.”

“You were standing still with spiders crawling on you.”

“As I said. Preoccupied.”

Owin walked toward the chest, waving the skeleton on. “I ripped and cut until I hit its shell, then I punched my way out.”

“It’s an exoskeleton.”

“No, you’re a skeleton.”

“Sure.” Shade leaned back over the crater. “Did you know there is a goblin shaped hole in the ground?”

“Yes.” Owin lifted Rahlish’s arm and shook it. When nothing fell out, he sighed and dropped it. Sloswen was obviously still changing the loot after giving him the chitin set. He lifted the chest and found a single gold coin. “I think we can skip any chest guardians on the next floor.”

Shade put his hands on Owin’s shoulders and leaned forward. “You’re rich.”

“I don’t find you funny right now.”

“Right now? Does that mean you do other times? This is news to me. Very exciting.”