The next scaltari camp included four soldiers, which Artivan wasn’t excited about. Based on what Owin had seen before, soldiers were something of a mix between a knight and a berserker. They never used any spells or flashy attacks, but a soldier like Gropnil, the satyr leader, had easily gone head to head with Nosolus for a long fight.

“What makes soldiers special?” Owin asked. He hadn’t actually fought any himself, not since he had first awakened, which he didn’t count since he was panicked and overwhelmed the entire time.

“They are masters of any weapon and can take an incredible amount of hits before going down. They’re great at dealing damage, but they can protect almost as well as knights. Those four soldiers have four different weapons. Our best option is to rush them before they can surround us.”

“If I wasn’t here, what would you do?” Owin asked.

“I would pass on the fight and move toward the boss.” Artivan drew his sword. The blue wings of the cross-guard flashed in the sunlight. “Luckily, there are two of us.”

“I messed up last fight.”

“So, don’t mess up this time.” Artivan lifted his visor and grinned. “Use that strength. Overpower the soldiers. You are stronger than all of them. Ready?” He lowered his visor, turning his attention back to the scaltari. He didn’t even wait for Owin to answer. Artivan obviously knew Owin’s answer.

Of course he was ready. He wanted to really test the Thunderstrike Maul.

“Let’s go.” Owin swung the hammer back and forth as he walked. Each direction was a small, swift movement that barely made the hammer glow, but the charge slowly ticked up.

Artivan smashed the pommel of his sword on his shield, drawing the attention of all the soldiers nearby. The scaltari each carried a different weapon, wielding an axe, a spear, a sword, and a mace. They were dressed the same as all other scaltari, wearing loose plain clothes.

They split into two groups of two as Owin walked off to the side, drawing the axe and spear wielders toward him. Artivan watched silently before turning his attention back to the others.

Owin stopped swinging the hammer and held it above his head, ready to strike. The two soldiers inched closer until the spear was within range. The scaltari drove the spear point at Owin, who smashed the hammer down on the shaft, breaking the spear immediately. The point sliced his upper thigh, but barely cut deep enough to draw blood.

The axe-wielder chopped at Owin’s head. He dove forward, past the hammer and swung it from behind. The spear scaltari had the unfortunate luck of being in the way. Even without full charge, the heavy hammer crushed the scaltari’s shoulder. The lizard was thrown to the ground, squirming in pain.

The axe immediately swung again, catching the metal shaft of the hammer. Owin grabbed the stone knife and threw it, striking the scaltari in the throat with the knife’s handle. It didn’t do damage, but it threw the lizard off long enough for Owin to swing horizontally, shattering the lizard’s hip. Both scaltari squirmed on the ground until Owin quickly finished them off with two swings of the hammer.

Artivan held off both soldiers. It looked as though nobody had done damage to each other. “That was better,” Artivan said as he ducked behind the shield.

“Are you trying to kill them?” Owin asked.

“Nope.” He blocked another attack and pushed the scaltari back. “I was watching your fight.”

Owin hadn’t even noticed. Artivan just blocked attack after attack. It appeared that soldiers had no way through his defenses, unlike the berserker. Even now, Artivan blocked and parried, but didn’t counterattack.

He watched the winged sword swing and block every attack. It never chipped or cracked, no matter how powerful the opponent’s attack was. Owin had a strong feeling that the sword was far more powerful than the Thunderstrike Maul. Afterall, the Thunderstrike Maul was only a journeyman item. “Show me what your sword can do,” Owin said.

Artivan’s entire stance changed. “I suppose I can use a charge.” He flashed white, causing the ground beneath him to shudder.

Neither scaltari flinched at the sudden change in the knight. The one holding a mace swung high, aiming for Artivan’s helmet. The sword flashed with blue light coming from the wings as Artivan swung in a wide arc. The blade easily sliced through the shaft of the mace like it was paper, and ripped right through the scaltari, fully decapitating the lizard. His wide swing continued all the way around, catching the other lizard in the arm. Nothing had slowed the swing down. Not a weapon, not a full body, and not the scaltari’s arm. It tore the limb right off the lizard before his swing finished part way through its chest.

Both lizards collapsed. Dead from a single swing.

“What was that?” Owin asked quietly.

The air around Artivan changed. His steps were suddenly lighter. “The Winged Sword of the Swift Behemoth. A bit of a mouthful, if you ask me. A unique item. A gift from Chorsay Eoghet.” Artivan sheathed the sword. “I’ll let you take a closer look another time.”

Owin looked at the hammer in his hands. “I used the hammer.”

“You did much better.”

“You’re still a lot stronger than me.”

Artivan nodded and crouched to search the bodies. “You don’t progress in a day.”

They found more dungeon gold on each body and in the camp. Artivan wasn’t surprised and immediately guided them to the next camp, which held a single hunter with a bow resting on their lap. They had approached about as silently as they were able with how heavily armored Artivan was, but the knight stopped Owin from getting closer.

“Hunters often use traps. It’s one of their abilities.”

“I got caught in one before.”

Artivan lifted the visor of his helmet. “Most traps will just stop you from moving, so they aren’t necessarily deadly. Not at this level. But I don’t want either of us to get caught.”

“We don’t have range. My Bolt wand won’t kill something that high of a level.” Owin needed to find a way to charge his mana again so he could use the wand and his own spells. It was his only reliable way to attack from far away, but he still had apparition damage to his mana bar.

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Artivan reached over and tapped the head of the Thunderstrike Maul. “We just need to recreate what you did to that scaltari earlier.”

“I can’t do that again. I might throw it into the water.”

Artivan picked the hammer up in a single hand and waved it through the air, causing it to gently glow. “I don’t disagree. Your aim is a mess. Mine, on the other hand, is a tad better. Barely average, but the lizard is a large target. Do you mind?”

Owin watched the ease at which Artivan moved the hammer. “I guess not.”

The knight grabbed it with both hands, lifted it above his head, then stepped forward and threw the heavy maul. It spun through the air and smashed into the back of the scaltari hunter. The lizard immediately collapsed, dead.

Owin and Artivan both stood just at the edge of the grove, watching the corpse to see if it moved. Owin couldn’t believe just how well that had worked. It seemed so simple.

“Huh.” Artivan took a step forward. Something loudly snapped around his ankle. “Who would have guessed, little goblin, that there are traps all over in these trees.” He bent down and ripped the trap in half. The pieces vanished. “Follow me through and you should be able to avoid whatever else is in there.”

Owin made sure to follow Artivan exactly, even stepping where the knight had stepped. That made it tricky, as Artivan was more than twice as tall as Owin. The human’s steps were fully hops for Owin.

“How many more camps are there?” Owin asked as they passed through the bushes and into the clearing. He hurried over and grabbed his hammer before Artivan could throw it again.

“Some to the south, but those will be weaker enemies again. We are best to head to the boss, I believe. Is there anything you want to do while still on the third floor?” Artivan picked up the scaltari body and shook until an emerald fell out. He held the gem in the sunlight before tossing it into his bag.

“I was hoping for more buffs,” Owin said.

“Me too. I’m glad we found one. You don’t find potions all that often, so our luck was better than it might seem.” Artivan followed the exact same path through the trees and bushes, then waited for Owin to hike through. It was easier to follow on the way back as the plants had been parted from their passage.

“Am I ready to fight the boss?” Owin couldn’t tell just how much stronger he actually was. The numbers were one thing, but he also had more knowledge and different weapons. Was he really stronger or was Artivan just making him feel stronger? Owin doubted he would have been able to fight four soldiers at once on his own.

“As ready as you’re going to get. If you gained levels like everyone else, I would suggest killing every mob on the floor, but the dungeon gold you would get from it wouldn’t be worth the time. We’re best off getting to the fifth floor and leaving.”

“I have to keep climbing,” Owin said.

“I know. Ruvaine said to climb. I get it.” Artivan started walking back to the raft. “Enemies respawn every half hour. We should get back to the raft before all the scaltari come back. We aren’t going to get anything worthwhile.”

They made it back to the raft before any scaltari respawned. Artivan pushed the raft back into the water and climbed aboard, taking his own oar and directing them to the east. Owin didn’t mind being back on the raft. It was nice to mindlessly row and watch the sky.

The third floor had been so different from the second that Owin could only guess at what would come next. Artivan had said it had hobgoblins and ogres, which Owin was not familiar with. He wasn’t worried about mobs as much as what the land would look like. He had seen more sun on the third floor than he had ever seen before. The goblin caves of the first floor were dark and damp, and the second floor had quick days and a thick canopy of trees. Here on the third floor, he was warm and calm for most of the time.

“I’ve been thinking,” Artivan said, breaking a long silence.

“About what?”

“This boss is strong, but I think you should fight it yourself.”

Owin rowed and didn’t answer. He thought of the Malignant Spirit and what would have happened if he had tried fighting it on his own. He imagined his innards spread all around the cathedral.

“If it looks like you’re in real danger, I will intervene,” Artivan said. “I don’t want to scare you, but I—”

“I’ll do it,” Owin blurted.

Despite the doubts in his mind, the idea of rising to the challenge thrilled Owin. Was he stronger? He kept asking himself the same question, but there was a clear and obvious way to find out.

“Good, good.”

They rowed and coasted between islands for about an hour before a stone building finally emerged on top of an island. The shimmering boundary wall met at a sharp corner right behind the crumbling building. It looked abandoned, with shattered glass windows and an open doorway, letting the breeze wash inside.

Artivan guided the raft right into the island, letting it run ashore. He tossed the oar carelessly back onto the raft, which bounced off and landed in the water. He stopped and watched it float for a minute. “It will respawn in an hour or so.”

Owin chucked the oar far into the water.

“Perfect.” Artivan checked the straps on all his gear.

Owin checked his belt. That was really all he had to do. While Artivan was still checking gear, Owin waved the hammer back and forth to slowly build the charge.

“You tell me if you want me to help,” Artivan said.

Owin nodded and rested the hammer on his shoulder. “Do I go in first?”

“It doesn’t do a lot of good for me to go in first if I’m not fighting.”

Owin collected himself, taking a deep breath. He had his wand and both knives ready on his belt if he needed them. The hammer was about half charged after Artivan had thrown it and the small preparations Owin had taken.

“I can do this,” Owin said.

“Yes, you can.”

Owin confidently strode into the stone building. It was dim inside, with only some sunlight spilling through the trees and the broken windows. The exit and the stairs to the fourth floor sat in the back corner, clearly visible from the door. The magical black doorways called to Owin, but he ignored them, focusing instead on the dead scaltari in the middle of the floor.

Owin cautiously approached, unsure of what to expect. If the boss was undead, he didn’t have any plans of how to fight it differently. The only undead he had encountered had been Nosolus’s skeletons.

Great Forest Mob

Charzosk

Scaltari Guardian

Level 20

Owin kicked the lizard.

Artivan placed his hand on Owin’s shoulder. “Look at its head.”

Owin looked closer, noticing the collapsed skull of the lizard. It was a rounded dent with burn marks on the scales. “That looks like Nikoletta.”

“I believe it is.” Artivan moved the corpse with his foot. “She must have gone up the stairs a few minutes ago. I’m glad we went hunting for those other scaltari.”

“What’s it mean?”

Artivan walked over to the wall and sat down. He pulled his helmet and gauntlets off, setting them to the side. “It means we wait until the boss respawns. The last thing we need is to be chasing those heroes. If they find out we’re behind them, they will corner us. The next floor is long and narrow. There are points meant for standing ground against many hobgoblins or oversized ogres. Even with the two of them, they could hold a chokepoint like that against us with ease. Think of the scaltari mender and berserker combination we struggled against.”

Owin didn’t need any reminders. It had been difficult to take them on and they were weaker than Nikoletta and Miklos.

“So, we just sit and wait until the boss comes back? What if another hero shows up?”

“I doubt there is anyone close enough to worry about it. If so, they’ll respect the order. It’s the way of most heroes.” Artivan rested his head back. “Mind keeping watch so I can rest my eyes?”

Owin looked around the quiet room. “What am I watching for?”

“The boss respawning. Other heroes.”

“I can do that.”

Owin sat a few feet in front of Artivan. He set the Thunderstrike Maul on the ground with the shaft sticking straight up. From his position, he could see the door and the center of the room where he felt the boss would respawn.

Nikoletta had killed a level twenty boss, which meant she had also gotten stronger through the third floor. If she was waiting for them, Owin was going to have to figure out how to stop her.

He was right. They would never accept him. Owin needed to prove himself. He needed to get stronger. People like Nikoletta and Miklos only understood strength and fear.

They would come to fear Owin.