I cut my practice session short and meditated with Peace as we came closer to the red dot ahead. On my map, the tunnel seemed to bulge slightly, as if there was a larger chamber around the enemy.

On the one hand, it would be nice to fight with a little more breathing room. On the other hand, it was slightly worrying.

Pebble had told me the dot wasn’t a nightmaw. It was apparently big, according to a pebble, at least. That made me worry it was some kind of elite or mini-boss, if things like that existed in this world.

Thorn continued to lead the way deeper down the passage, which began to widen.

Most of us were taking the opportunity to chew on tasteless rations. There was apparently a direct correlation between how long food lasted and how boring it had to taste. I chewed on my tasteless food as I walked. I found myself daydreaming of meatballs, of all things.

These crazy bastards have infected me with their ridiculous meatball fever, haven’t they?

I put away the rest of my food when I noticed something.

Milky white mist was drifting along the ground as the temperature plummeted.

In minutes, I had gone from sweating in the warm humidity to shivering. The mist was getting thicker, too, and it was becoming harder to avoid tripping on roots.

The dirt walls abruptly ended, and smooth stone replaced them. It looked old and darkened with age. The new materials gave the passage the look of a castle hallway. Even the torches here were held with decorative, sculpted metal hands. Pillars and engraved, organic patterns wound along the walls.

So strange. Did the dungeon really create all of this from thin air? Or did part of this structure already exist down here?

“Is this normal?” I asked Lyria. I was whispering, because it felt appropriate, given the ominous atmosphere.

“Dungeons are unpredictable,” she said, eyes darting around, searching for threats.

The air carried a damp, musty scent, like a forgotten crypt. Our footsteps echoed unnervingly in the enclosed space, and I could sense the others growing tense as we moved forward.

I stared at the red dot on my map, noticing something I hadn’t before. When I watched it closely, it looked like the dot was wiggling. Why was the dot wiggling?

I tightened my grip on my Silver Scream bow, every sense on high alert.

The passageway suddenly opened up into a larger, circular room. The mist was thicker here, swirling in dense patches that obscured parts of the chamber. The walls were lined with ancient, crumbling pillars, their surfaces etched with faded runes that glowed faintly in the dim light. There was a raised section in the center of the room, almost like a decorative crypt.

A large stone angel stood half-obscured and indistinct in the mist.

Movement beneath the statue caught my eye.

“What is that?” Lyria whispered.

We all stopped mid-stride.

There was something within the mist. It was enormous—easily over twenty feet long, but it was low to the ground, its bulk spreading out across the floor like a mound. As the mist thinned slightly, I caught a glimpse of what looked like fur—dense, matted fur that clung to the creature’s body in clumps. But there was something wrong about the shape and the way it moved. The fur rippled and pulsed, as if it was alive.

Then, the creature’s back… bubbled?

I realized with a jolt that the fur wasn’t just fur covering the thing’s body.

A mass of small, writhing creatures clung to the larger beast like parasites. There were dozens, maybe hundreds, of pale, nearly hairless rats whose bodies were bloated and misshapen. Their eyes glowed a sickly yellow, and their sharp teeth glistened with viscous fluid.

The larger creature slowly reared up, revealing a grotesque, elongated head with jagged teeth and a pair of small, beady eyes that glowed with the same pale light as the rats. Its body was a twisted amalgamation of different animals—parts of it looked like a massive, emaciated bear, while other sections were more reptilian, with scales and claws that gleamed in the dim light.

The rats covering its back shifted and chittered, clinging on as the main creature slowly dragged itself upward, revealing its terrible form above the mist.

[Host of Horrors, Level 50 (Wood)] “This creature was once known as a ‘Burrow Maw,’ an opportunistic beast known for insatiable hunger. Burrow maws are often found in graveyards or among the aftermath of battles, feasting on the dead. Burrow maws will eat until they are too large to move, at which point their young will eat the host mother. This burrow maw has been corrupted by dark mana, changing some or all of its properties.”

The Host of Horrors let out a low, rumbling growl. The creatures on its back began to jump free, landing with the sound of claws on stone as they disappeared within the mist.

Within seconds, almost every single rat-thing from the Host of Horror’s back had jumped free, leaving only the massive amalgamation of animals to loom upright on its bloated-larvae-like body.

It had thick, muscular arms like a bear that it was using to hold its huge weight, both palms planted on the ground. The head was like a dog, with an elongated snout full of sharp teeth. As I watched, a pair of huge, leathery wings unfolded from its back.

Hell no.

The wings gave a flap, blasting away the mist in a rush that sent the Host of Horrors lurching toward us with a deafening sccrrrrchhh sound as its worm-like body dragged on the stones.

The wave of tiny rats had already covered half the distance to our group.

If I was alone, I would’ve risked infusing a Silver Scream arrow with Bombroot. There was probably enough room in this chamber to avoid a total collapse. Besides, the walls were stone and not dirt, but I didn’t know for certain if that would stop an explosion from screwing us.

Instead, I’d have to trust the team and work with less destructive tools.

I aimed carefully, steadied my breath, and let loose a Silver Scream arrow full of Viperlilly toward the huge beast. The arrow struck home low in its belly. The monster was so big, it hardly seemed to notice.

You may not notice it right now, but talk to me in two minutes, I thought.

I gripped a vial of Viperlilly in one hand and started spraying a jet up high, hoping to bathe a few dozen of the creatures in poison. Chain triggered, doubling the jet of green so it mirrored itself, dousing at least thirty little rats.

The Viperlilly poison didn’t immediately burn through and kill targets like my Rot Poison had, but they noticeably slowed, moving with obvious difficulty and weakness.

I kept spraying while I took stock of the situation and tried to decide what we needed to do.

Thorn was already positioning himself in front of us and to the right. Lyria took up a spot to his left, forming a Shield wall for the group.

Thorn’s chain shield ability snaked out from his torso. He gripped the chain and swung the shield in a wide arc, knocking back several rats in one blow. He fired a chain from his palm into another and ripped it toward himself, punching it in an explosion of blood.

I watched as the Host of Horrors plucked a rat off its back and threw it head-first at Thorn.

The former slave sidestepped, using his momentum to slam his shield into the projectile rat, which exploded into red mist.

Okay, Thorn is fine.

Lyria had her Wind Wall active. With the small mass of the rats, the wind was overwhelmingly strong. I watched one leap to bite her leg, but got blown upward so hard that it slammed into the ceiling and landed back on the floor, motionless. She was already slicing through others.

Lyria seemed to be doing just fine, too.

Ramzi was whistling in that haunting note of his. The magical glow increased around all of us, feeling like cool water against my legs.

Sylara and Zahra were fighting side by side. Zahra was webbing creatures in shadow as Sylara stabbed, showing off what looked like supernatural agility, though I couldn’t quite pin down what her abilities were. It also appeared that Zahra was concentrating on a spell that was improving Sylara’s weapons. They were leaking shadows, and each time Sylara wounded a rat, thick shadows gathered over their eyes, as if blinding them.

From a quick glance, it seemed like everybody was handling themselves just fine.

But then I noticed the Host of Horrors already had more lumps moving around on its body. Where the hell did those come from?

It shuddered, roared, and flapped its wings. Instead of using the wings to move toward us, it used the rush of wind to knock the rats forward even faster like a disgusting leaf-blower.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

A fresh wave of naked rats half rolled and tumbled toward us. Thankfully, I hadn’t been spraying poison at that moment, or it would’ve splashed back over the entire group as a wave of foul-smelling wind hit me hard enough to make me slide back a foot or two.

The sounds of screeching rats, the roaring Host of Horrors, and the electric buzz of magic filled the chamber. It was deafening, but one clear thought pushed its way up through the chaos.

Kill the host, or it’s going to keep spawning more of these things.

Distantly, I wondered if something like this was responsible for the waves of enemies swarming the entrance.

I pushed the thought from my mind and formed an Elemental Spike out of Viperlilly Poison. I was tempted to try Dragon’s Tail, but my memory of how that flame had burned on my arm gave me pause. I worried stabbing the creature with a dagger of flammable liquid would cause it to spray back and I’d catch myself on fire.

Not ideal.

I ran in a wide arc around the group, passing Zahra and Sylara, who were kicking, stabbing, and throwing magic at a group of twenty or more rats.

I formed a Forge Echo at the far end of the room behind the Host of Horrors. Mentally, I asked it to start attacking. The Echo of my Elemental Spike moved as if carried by an invisible figure who sprinted toward the Host of Horrors. As I watched, the dagger lifted up high, as if it was waving to me.

Come on, man. Not right now. I gave a small nod to the thing as I kicked a rat that was about to bite Zahra. I punted another away, stomping on one’s fleshy body as I pounded past the group and toward the huge Host of Horrors to join my Echo.

Another wave of rats detached from the Host, rushing through the mist toward the group. Because I was to the side of the group, I risked holding my Dragon’s Tail vial to Project a line of fire. But my hands were full, so I tried something I hadn’t actually tested yet. I opened my mouth wide and let the liquid rush out of my mouth.

It felt as terrible as I expected, like throwing up spicy food, but ten times worse.

The liquid still sprayed out far enough to create a small wall of flames that the rats blindly charged through, lighting their bodies on fire.

I was also left with a strange aftertaste in my mouth and questions about why I hadn’t tried sending it out of my forehead, chest, or just about any other body part. Why my mouth?

But there wasn’t time for regret. I kept pushing toward the Host of Horrors, trying not to think too hard about the squeals of pain from the burning rats.

My Echo was also doing a good job, stabbing gleefully again and again.

I only paused when I was about fifty feet away, head tilted back to take in the full sight of the massive enemy. It was like walking up to a three-story building with a knife.

Well, at least it’s a really cool knife. And this three-story building probably bleeds…

I pushed down my fear. If it tried to stomp me or swat me away, I’d trigger my Abyssal Step ability. I had Mana Shield, too.

I also didn’t think it even had feet to stomp me with. Those arms, on the other hand, looked like they could do some serious damage…

I took three deep breaths. Ultimately, it was the thought of my Echo fighting all alone that pushed me forward.

The Host of Horrors was leaning on one massive bear arm, using its other to swipe at my Echo. From the way the dagger moved, it seemed like my Echo was acting as if it had a body to dodge with. The dagger went flat against the ground like it was ducking and bobbed upward like it was jumping.

I felt my mana draining faster as the movements of my Echo got more frantic.

I reached the beast’s belly and started stabbing. There wasn’t much art or technique to it. The belly was at least seven feet wide. Up close, I saw it was covered in fleshy scales like a snake.

A snake with bear arms, bat wings, and the head of a rat dog. What a goddamn nightmare.

I especially hated the wings. Bats had always given me a serious case of the creeps.

But my biggest concern was watching both of those bear arms and the head. One arm remained planted on the ground and the other was swiping at my Echo.

I decided the best way to do the most damage was to stick my Elemental Spike in one area and then run, dragging open huge gashes.

As soon as I was close enough, I jammed my spike in. Viperlilly Poison sprayed into the wound so strong that it splashed back on me, pinging me with a notification about my helmet resisting the poison. I didn’t stop running, though. I gripped the knife tightly and dragged the blade along as I ran.

The sensation was sickening, but the worst parts were the sound and smell. Blood and poison were gushing out of the wound, splattering and sizzling on the floor with a smell like spoiled food.

I was halfway through my first gash when I sensed something and looked upward.

My Mana Sense practically screamed from the direction of the monster’s head. Without time to weave a proper mana shield, I immediately spent half of my entire mana pool to create a stacked wall of ten shields between me and the beast’s face.

Boiling yellow vomit dumped out of the host of horror’s mouth, spraying to all sides as it splashed on the first Mana Shield. Shield after shield corroded and gave way beneath the torrent of nastiness.

When the last shield was the only thing between me and the vomit, I activated Abyssal Step and ran through the curtain of still-falling vomit.

I didn’t want to find out if Voidgaze would resist that.

My escape brought me to the giant bear paw planted on the ground, and the monster’s attention was back on my Echo.

In the distance, I saw the hazy forms of my party gradually working their way closer as they chopped through wave after wave of smaller rats. Help was still hundreds of feet away, though.

And who said I needed help, anyway?

I had experimented with smaller amounts of Bombroot.

I told myself I shouldn’t risk it again down here, but I felt pretty confident I could control the amount and keep the explosion managable.

Maybe if I just used a little…

I dismissed my Elemental Spike and my Forge Echo to save on my dwindling mana. Next, I touched a vial of Bombroot and sprayed as much as I dared on the wrist of the bear paw, which was thicker than a tree trunk.

I ran as the Host of Horrors, who was no longer distracted by my Echo, turned its giant body to face me again.

As soon as I thought I was at the maximum range I could reach with Elemental Projection, I planted a foot on stone and turned. I touched a vial of Dragon’s Tail and fired a thin but high pressure line of flames toward the bear paw.

Thoom.

The explosion burst out with a percussive punch to my eardrums and a wave of air that flashed past me, ruffling my hair.

The Host of Horror’s paw and half of its arm exploded in a shower of gore.

A chunk of something fleshy whizzed past my head and the monster fell sideways, unable to catch itself in time as it crashed hard to the stone floor.

I backed away, hoping there were no tiny rats in the mist, because I was almost out of tools in my toolbelt. My mana was fried, and a Silver Scream arrow was hardly going to do much against a swarm of demon rats.

I jogged back toward the group and heard the sound of the Silver Scream effect detonating a moment later.

I looked over my shoulder to see gouts of green poison spraying up in the air. The Host of Horrors had been trying to get itself up with only one arm. The wings were flapping wildly and its long, serpentine body was flailing. As soon as Silver Scream detonated, the creature twitched violently. Green poison sprayed out of its wounds.

A moment later, a level-up notification confirmed it had died. At the same moment, the remaining rats flipped over on their backs and died, too.

I pumped a fist in the air, celebrating what had felt like a relatively easy victory for once.

The haggard looks on everybody else’s faces said I might have been alone in thinking it was easy, though.

You’ve reached level 47!

[1] Unread Accomplishment. Read Now?

“Is everybody okay?” I asked. I was already moving my senses through the group, checking for injuries.

Ramzi was whistling and using his recovery spell, too, so there wasn’t much left to heal besides a few minor bite wounds. I decided to leave those for Ramzi’s magic, as using mine would drain their mana.

Zahra tilted her head at me as I walked back, having to kick aside dead rats on my way through the mist. “What did you do to the mother of the rats?” she asked.

I looked back over my shoulder toward the vague, broken shape in the distant mist.

“He is the demon in the mist,” Ramzi said, voice almost musical. “He fights in mysterious ways, and he returns with blood on his body, but not his own.”

I thought about telling Ramzi if anything got on me back there, it was probably vomit. But he seemed to be enjoying his moment, so I kept quiet.

Thorn came up and squeezed my shoulder. “Again, it was an honor to fight with you. You fuckers from the Outer Rings really are made differently, aren’t you?”

Lyria was smiling at me.

“What?” I asked.

She shrugged. “I was just wondering if the demon in the mist knows his pants were about to fall apart.”

I looked down.

She was correct.

Ramzi approached me, producing a pair of pants from his slip space. “It would be an honor if you took these.”

“And a relief,” Lyria muttered.

Note to self. Start carrying a few changes of clothes in your slip space.

I grinned, thanking Ramzi before slipping the pants on over my torn pair. I tied the thin rope at the waist and checked my map. There were a few more red dots ahead before the passage ended. I thought we might have time to clear it out before the three Iron dots reached the cave-in. But there was a glaring problem with that line of thought. If the others recovered as slowly as Lyria, they’d all be exhausted and running low on mana for the encounter.

The correct thing to do would be to go wait near the collapsed section of the cave and prepare as much as we could. I just needed to help explain what was coming without admitting I had a literal live, updating map in my helmet.

“There’s a small problem coming our way,” I said. “You’ll have to just trust that I know and not ask how,” I added.

The others shared dubious looks. Ramzi stepped forward, though, smiling. “We will trust you. What comes?”

I explained the potential danger coming in somewhat vague terms. I didn’t want to make it clear exactly how dangerous it might be for now, but I stressed that we needed to be on guard and that some dangerous people might be coming.

“We could hide,” Zahra suggested. “If we entered the hidden tunnels and stayed within, they would walk past us without a clue.”

I nodded. “That’s a good idea. I like it. But there’s one more thing… I am going to go ahead and try to clear this passage while we wait for them to come. I’ll have time to refill my mana, and I’ll be careful. I promise. You guys all just have to stay hidden. If something does happen to me, I don’t want you all dying because I went to get some extra experience.”

Lyria was glaring daggers at me.

I lifted the necklace around my neck and gave it a little wiggle, meeting her eyes meaningfully. “I think I’m going to need all the strength I can get,” I said. “Just trust me. I’ll be careful. And I’ll be back before the Irons arrive. I promise.”

There was obviously a little reluctance among the others, but they slowly nodded in agreement one by one. Before I left, I handed Lyria one of the Talking Stones I had claimed in Thrask. “Give me a ring if anything goes wrong.”

With that, I started meditating with Peace and headed deeper down the passage. If I worked quickly, I might be able to clear the entire passage before those three dots arrived. I hoped I could. Really, I was hoping I could evolve a new skill or grow another ability to Tier 3 before a potential confrontation. Any experience and accomplishments earned along the way would just be nice bonuses.