Our footsteps crunched on loose dirt as we descended into Beastden.

Ahead, I heard the muffled sound of voices and clattering armor. I heard hammering, too, rhythmic and piercing through the relative quiet.

I paused mid-step as something flashed in my vision.

I blinked, reaching out toward the growing fuzz of color in front of my eyes.

The colors sharpened, and I realized what I was looking at.

A map?

A mini-map, like one from a video game, snapped fully into focus and slid to the bottom right corner of my vision.

It was a zoomed-out depiction, sparse in detail but showing plenty. I saw white lines indicating curving passageways, antechambers, and several much larger rooms. There were even a couple of walls shown in faint gray colors with a blinking line in front of them. Maybe hidden passageways?

The map also contained colored dots. The most common colors were brown, gray, and red. There was a single dark purple dot and a greenish-yellow dot as well. Both looked like they were much deeper down in the dungeon, and I couldn’t guess what those colors symbolized. I remembered Circa saying the ranks went Wood, Iron, Silver, Gold, Diamond, Mythril, and then people assumed it ended there. Could there be some legendarily strong people in the dungeon? Or did those colors mean something else?

I realized the dots were moving, too. Was this a live depiction of the entire dungeon?

Holy shit.

I also noticed a few collections of little black “X” marks. Some were clustered, and others were isolated.

The last thing that caught my eye was the largest chamber with a skull symbol in the center.

Was that the final guardian?

“Lyria,” I whispered.

“What?” she hissed.

“I think my helmet shows me dungeon maps.”

As I stared, I saw some brown dots moving in a group. Were those Woods? Maybe the gray dots were Irons. That would imply the red were hostile creatures. What would happen if a person turned hostile? And what the hell was with that purple dot and the gross greenish-yellow one?

Sure enough, I oriented myself to the map and saw two brown dots at what must be the entrance tunnel, right where Lyria and I were standing. As I watched, two more brown dots appeared behind us.

“You’ve lost your mind if you think you—” she began.

“Shh,” I said, raising a finger. “Watch this. Two Woods are coming. Maybe thirty seconds away?” I guessed.

Lyria looked over her shoulder, frowning. She didn’t look like she believed me, and I didn’t blame her.

It would be a massive advantage if my helmet gave me a live dungeon map. We would know what we were walking into, more or less. And the knowledge of what looked like hidden passageways had to be huge. Would there be treasure in them? Or maybe just accomplishments? I’d take either one.

Or maybe trophies? Damn, now I wanted a secret passage-finding trophy.

I spent a few more seconds digesting the map. Some of the red dots were bigger than others, too. Was that an indication of strength? Or was it simply the size of the enemy?

Two women in brown robes appeared, each holding torches. They stopped short, and one gasped in surprise at the sight of us standing there in the dark.

I supposed we probably looked creepy just waiting here in the near-total darkness.

Whoops.

“Um,” one of them said, “is everything okay?”

“Just tying my shoe,” I said awkwardly, bending down to come face to face with my boots, which had no laces.

Whoops again.

I cleared my throat and moved my fingers on open air, hoping it was too dark for them to tell.

“Okay,” the girl said slowly, moving around us and continuing down the tunnel.

I watched the map in the corner of my vision and saw their two brown dots spread out, pass us, and continue down the tunnel.

“How’d you know they were coming?” Lyria asked once they were gone.

“I told you. A map.” I spent a moment explaining what I could see. Lyria finally seemed to accept it, shaking her head in disbelief.

“Damn,” Lyria finally whispered. “That’s going to be a game changer. Good. Let us know if anything is sneaking up on us or if we’re about to walk into a death trap.”

“I’m glad you cleared that up,” I said. “I thought maybe you wanted me to let stuff like that be a surprise.” We began walking again, heading toward the main central chamber I could see on the map.

“You said dark purple and greenish-yellow?” Lyria asked after a little. “Maybe they are rare monsters?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I’m leaning toward just staying away from them if we can.”

The flicker of yellow light began to punch through the tunnel's darkness. It grew brighter until we rounded a corner and came into a wide-open cavern. Fires burned within standing torches and several campfires. The scent of cooking food filled the cavern.

Like the landing on the surface, the central area was busy with activity. There was what looked like a medical tent. Walking into the room, I saw two men pulling a sweating, grimacing woman into the tent. She left a wet trail of red that glistened in the torchlight. Her body had dozens of thick spines sticking out of it like a monstrous porcupine had attacked her. Each spine was nearly as thick as my forearm, and I could hardly believe she was still breathing.

When I inspected her, I saw she was a level 20 Iron, and figured that must be how she wasn’t dead.

A bald man—another Iron—with white and red robes like the ones Minara had worn approached. He raised his palms and began channeling buttery light over her body. The spines started pushing out of her skin one by one.

To the other side, there was a group of a dozen or so young men and women wearing blue cloaks. A boy with blonde hair was moving around confidently, barking out orders. He was a level 12 Iron, but the remaining blue cloaks were Woods. The Iron was directing them as they built some kind of barricade to cover one of the many branching tunnels leading deeper into the dungeon.

“What’s that about?” I asked Lyria.

“I’ve heard of them. It’s a program for children of nobility. They hang around at the entrance of dungeons, and I guess they go back and brag about all the time they’ve spent in dangerous territory. It’s a joke to anybody outside the nobility, though.”

I looked at my map and saw that the pathway they were blocking was absolutely full of red dots, and dozens of black “X” marks were a little deeper in. I felt a slight chill. I suspected an X signified a death, but I couldn’t be sure.

The rest of the entrance chamber was busy as well. Clusters of adventurers crouched over half-finished maps. One group of Woods argued over whether a passageway bent left or right. Some were unstrapping armor and laying it out, using the pommels of swords and hammers to knock out dents.

“Just a second,” I said, approaching the group with the map. I tried to take a casual look at the map, comparing it to my readout. The girl I took to be their leader noticed me.

“Hey,” she snapped. “What are you doing?”

“We just went down that way yesterday,” I lied, pointing to the passage they were arguing about. A man had a piece of black charcoal between dirty fingers. They had scratched out several renditions of the passage already.

“You did?” she asked, eyes narrowed. “We were just in there yesterday. We would’ve seen you.”

“Maybe it was a few days,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck. “Time gets weird down here.”

She gave me a look. My still-filthy clothing probably helped back up my story.

With a small nod, she pointed to the map. “I’m saying this goes left and dead ends. He’s saying it goes straight and leads to another section of the dungeon. If we have to go back that way only to find I’m right and it dead ends, we’ll waste hours.”

I checked my map. The man was right. It did go farther, but a little past the area they were talking about was absolutely stuffed with black “X” marks. It looked like at least fifteen people had died just ahead.

I shook my head. “No, you’re right. It’s a dead end. You should save yourself the time of going back down there.”

“See?” she said, whacking the guy on his pauldron.

He shook his head, glaring up at me. “If he was down there before us, why was it full of monsters?”

The girl suddenly looked suspicious, then made a gah sound. “Fuck. Alright. We’ll go your way. These guys are probably trying to save that section for themselves. Nice try, asshole,” she said.

The group stood and gathered their things, heading down the passageway.

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“What was that about?” Lyria asked.

I explained what I’d seen, and she nodded grimly. “Maybe whoever died down there weakened the monsters. Nothing says they’ll die, too.”

“Yeah,” I said, feeling something sour gnaw at me. Once again, I felt frustrated and helpless.

I hated the feeling.

If I had been wearing a Silver badge, they might have believed me. If I was a Silver, I could have offered to walk them down there and make sure they got through safely.

But the thought was silly. Even as I worried about the group, I saw nearly a hundred other dots on my map. This place was bustling with activity, and I doubted power short of something divine could protect them all. Most of them would have probably told me to fuck off and let them gain their experience, too.

I sighed. “Let’s get started.”

“Which one looks safest to start?” Lyria asked.

I ignored the twenty-or-so gaping black pathways leading from the central room and consulted the map. One of the longest paths seemed to head to a section with harder monsters. All the dots there were gray, indicating Irons had found their way back there. It was also close to where the skull room was. There was also a cluster of “X” marks near where the Iron area began, probably showing unfortunate Woods who had wandered too close.

Man. This map was really going to save our asses.

“This one,” I said, pointing toward a relatively short passage with only a few red dots before reaching a circular room with a secret passageway. The red dots along the way were all spread out from each other, as opposed to some areas where they were clustered. The path I pointed to also didn’t have any larger red dots, which I would have us avoid for now.

“You’re sure?” she asked.

I explained what I saw, and then she gave a curt nod. “Alright, then. Let’s do this.”

We left behind what felt like the last safety zone in Beastden, walking slowly down the winding dirt tunnel. The sounds of the blue-cloaked Iron shouting orders faded. The clink and clatter of hammers and voices disappeared.

As we traveled, the dirt began to give way to twisted roots and dangling moss from the cave ceiling, which was growing so narrow that the moss brushed against our clothing.

“Who put all these torches here?” I asked, wondering about the regularly spaced torches providing light along both walls.”

“People who came before us?” Lyria guessed.

“There are no bodies ahead and red dots. I don’t think anybody came this way, yet.”

Lyria thought for a second. “Dungeons are weird,” she finally said, as if that settled it.

I inspected the moss hanging from the ceiling and confirmed it wasn’t an alchemical ingredient. Too bad.

I also checked the status of my bedroll.

[Hunger 40%]

That was interesting. It had been 41% when I checked it a while back, and I was certain it would be higher by now. Maybe the dark mana in the cave was having an effect already.

I tried to open my senses to the mana in the air. Unlike in the infested ruins, I didn’t feel chaotic mana or anything obviously out of the ordinary.

Instead, I felt a subtle pressure at the back of my skull. The more I focused on the sensation, the more I thought it reminded me of something trying to push itself in.

It wasn’t a pleasant thought, given what I had learned about dark mana and its influence on people’s minds.

“Alright,” I said once we had walked for a few minutes. “There’s a red dot a little ways ahead. I think we should take a minute.”

“To do what?” Lyria asked.

“I haven’t even figured out how to use my Heart abilities yet. It would be nice if I could heal you.”

She sighed. “Why haven’t you been trying to do that before now?”

“We’ve been kind of busy. I didn’t want to risk sinking our boat, and it wasn’t like I saw people walking around Thrask practicing their abilities. And then I was distracted by the map.”

“I was kidding,” Lyria said softly. “I know we haven’t exactly had a calm moment. I just… it feels like you’re not going to have time to figure those new abilities out. We may have to fight with what we have, and you can squeeze in practice when you get a chance.”

I knew she was probably right, but it didn’t stop me from feeling frustrated. “At least give me just a few minutes. Maybe I’ll get it faster since I know how this all works now.”

“While your bed gets hungrier by the minute? And we continue to get sleepier?”

She was right about being sleepy. The last time we rested was before the carapax queen. It felt like so much had happened since then, but we pushed through the night to reach Thrask after that. Then, I lost track of how much time passed on the surface as I visited the alchemist’s shop, the tavern, the grommets, the tavern again, my personal space, and then rushed out of the city to come to the dungeon.

Just thinking about it made my eyes hurt and my head feel foggy.

“Maybe… Maybe we should try to grab a tiny bit of rest instead,” I said. “You’re right. We’re running on fumes.”

“I don’t know what that means,” Lyria said, “but I also don’t know how wise it is to sleep right here. Couldn’t we go back to that main chamber, at least? Or even up to the surface?”

“My bed seems like it’s not getting hungry as fast inside the actual dungeon. And I think I may need to be careful about who I let see my bedroll. It might raise a few questions.”

“Just a few?” Lyria asked, lifting a hand to her mouth to cover a sudden yawn. Even alluding to sleep seemed to be making her more tired. “We could take turns. You go first and take a one-hour power nap on your creepy little bug-infested bedroll. Then you can be alert, work on your abilities, and guard me while I sleep… on the cold dirt.”

I grimaced. “Sorry. I really would share if I wasn’t worried about you being aggressively haunted to death.”

“So sweet of you. While you rest, I’ll see if I can progress with my Shield abilities. If you’re right about the bed not getting as hungry down here, we should be able to afford the rest. Assuming nothing wanders our way. If that red dot you say is ahead comes for us, I’ll wake you. And I’ll activate my Sword stone before we fight if there’s time.”

She lifted an arm, making her basilisk shield snap open, and then wiggled her eyebrows. “Or maybe I’ll petrify its ass and smash it to pieces by myself. No need to wake the little godling from his beauty nap.”

I laughed. “No. You’ll wake me up if something comes. We’re fighting together.”

“Alright, alright,” Lyria said.

I braced myself. I honestly was a little scared to summon the cursed bedroll. I hadn’t brought it out of my slip space since I claimed it, and I wasn’t completely sure the increasing hunger wasn’t already having an effect on it. Maybe being at 40% meant it would try to eat me, just a little bit.

I decided not to let myself think too hard and summoned it.

The Cursed Bedroll of Restless Days appeared in my hands. I saw a little black bug jump on my arm almost immediately. I swatted it and grimaced when it exploded with more blood than should’ve been possible for something so small.

I looked down at the bedroll, which was rolled up and tied by blood-red leather straps. In the mostly dark passage, it was giving off a soft, pulsing red glow.

Lyria took an unintentional step back.

I could feel the bedroll vibrating in my hands as it let out a low, growling moan.

“Is that supposed to happen?” she asked.

“I… don’t know,” I admitted.

I knelt, unbuckled the straps, and let it unfold. The inner fabric was matted black fur covered in something red. Considering how much the bedbug bled when I slapped it, I really hoped that wasn’t actually blood. Bug blood.

Ugh.

I could see little bugs crawling all over it.

God damn, that is fucking disgusting.

Was I actually going to be able to fall asleep on this thing?

I looked up at Lyria, who was visibly cringing like she was watching somebody about to eat a live spider.

“You’ll wake me if anything comes,” I said.

“I’ll wake you. Just, uh, enjoy your nap?”

I looked back at the bed and carefully laid back on it, feeling the fur crunch beneath my weight. I also felt a wet spot on my back, like I’d popped one of the magically blood-filled bed bugs.

The bed made a deep, rumbling noise.

“Uuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.” It was a throaty, soft whisper from all around me. I thought I even felt a hot wind slide over my body.

Ahhhhmmmmmmmm.

Without moving a muscle, I slid my eyes toward Lyria, who had gone white.

She swallowed with a click. “Was that you… moaning?”

“No…” I said.

She took another step back. “I think your bed liked that, then. Would you two like some privacy?”

“Don’t you dare leave me alone with this thing. What if it tries to eat me while I’m sleeping?”

She smirked. “I’ll save you if your bed tries to eat you. Now go to sleep. I’m tired as hell, and I want my turn.”

I closed my eyes and immediately felt tickling little prickles all over my skin.

Bed bugs. Cursed fucking bed bugs.

Suddenly, the idea of divinely smiting this bedroll didn’t sound so terrible. And how the hell was I supposed to explain this thing to someone other than Lyria?

Don’t mind my demonic sleeping bag. Yes, it moans a little. Yes, those are bugs. No, you can’t borrow it or you’ll be haunted violently to death. No, the blood all over me isn’t my own—it’s from the bed bugs.

I sighed, swatted something on my neck, and curled up to lay on my side. Maybe when I woke up, I’d have the energy to learn my mana shield ability. I wondered if I could magically shield myself from these damn bugs.

I scratched, squirmed, and swatted at the bugs for the first few minutes.

I was even pretty sure I could hear the faintest, tiniest little screams in my ears. The sound was like miniature tea kettles whistling. Each time I heard a small bug scream, it was followed by a soft pop.

Good, I thought. I’ll go to sleep with the sound of your little screams like music in my ear, you bastards.

Eventually, I turned to a kind of meditative trance. I tried to think of my mind floating above my body and the sensation of crawling bugs as separate. I was still aware of the feeling, but with some practice, I eventually convinced myself it was just a sensation.

Mostly.

I wasn’t sure if I eventually drifted to sleep because my meditation worked or if exhaustion finally won.

But I must have fallen asleep because I sucked in a surprised breath and sat upright.

How long had I slept? I felt completely alert, even though it couldn’t have been long.

Lyria squeezed my leg, shaking softly. Her eyes were wide in the darkness, and bright red hair framed her pale face.

One finger was lifted to her lips.

I met her eyes. She lowered the finger from her mouth, pointing down the tunnel.

The shadows ahead seemed to thicken just as I noticed a red dot on my helmet’s map approaching.

Lyria’s grip on my leg went tighter like a silent signal of urgency.

I squinted against the darkness, eyes locked on the black tunnel ahead as I summoned my bow, quiver, and finally, my Alchemist’s Kit, which was loaded to the brim with Bombroot potion. I quickly zapped my bedroll back into my inventory, relieved to know it was stashed away again.

I got to my feet as quietly as possible, leaving the Kit on the ground where I could reach it.

The red dot on my map drifted closer.

My heart thumped in the silence, practically deafening in my ears.

Something so large it had to hunch over lumbered closer, broad shoulders scraping the dirt walls with a slow, terrible sound.

Shhhh. Thump.

Shhhhh. Thump.

Shhh. Thump.

A foul smell like wet fur filled the hall, nearly making me gag.

With my throat dry, I pulled the glowing bright arrow full of Bombroot Potion from the quiver. I slipped the quiver over my shoulders like a single-strap backpack crossed over my chest.

In the back of my mind, I realized I would need to modify this thing if we survived whatever was coming. I couldn’t see the arrows on my back. I’d be drawing blind.

Problem for later, Brynn.

I nocked the arrow, pulling back on the string, surprised by how hard I had to pull to draw the bow.

My hand shook slightly as I waited, holding the drawn arrow in place. I watched the shape approach. It was still far enough that I thought I might miss, so I waited.

Shlick.

Lyria stepped in front of me, basilisk’s shield raised. She lowered a hand over it, bathing the shield in molten fire.

Apparently she had already managed to activate her Sword class again.

Orange light filled the cave, and I got my first glimpse of what was coming.

It took everything I had not to drop the arrow and run.

Maybe a small dot doesn’t mean a small creature.

Shit.