Rin plowed through several more caverns, each harboring a handful of monsters of increasing strength. The fights brought his level to 6 and his available attribute points to 18. Most of the chambers had the same few recycled monsters he’d seen before, from ratbacks to quad bats. The last cavern was more interesting, with monsters called Stone Turtletans that caught him off guard. The creatures looked like grey goblins with camouflaged stone shells on their backs that blended seamlessly with the walls. Rin was daydreaming about his attribute points when five of them ambushed him, leaping from their hiding within an alcove.

The fight was a close call. It was only his years of training that saved his life. He suffered a dangerous slice across his abdomen as he ended the last turtletan, a barbaric chief that resided in a primitive earthen hut.

Rin slumped to the floor, applied pressure to staunch the bleeding, and focused intensely on the wound. Just as his father taught him, he imagined the blood around the wound clotting, the flesh compressing, knitting back together. After several minutes of intense concentration, he received a notification:

You have unlocked a new ability.

Focused Recovery

+2 Recovery to a single wound when given focused attention.

It was a far cry from a true healing power, but according to Rin’s parents, the compounding of minor skills like this led to better class evolutions. As if the Game of the Gods read his mind, a second notification appeared:

Healer class unlocked.

+2 Recovery per level

+1 Absorption per level

+1 Magic per level

+ Multiple basic healing abilities

Would you like to select the Healer class now?

A plus four stat boost? Now we’re getting somewhere. But I’m still holding out for a higher warrior-type class. Only one chamber left, too. Look out boss, here I come!

He rose carefully, wincing with pain. The wound had fully closed but was still tender and badly bruised.

Ugh. I can’t fight like this. One good lunge will rip it right open.

The boy reluctantly sat back down and used his new Focused Recovery ability for several more minutes. When he rose once more, it was blessedly absent of pain.

He crept into the boss chamber, quiet as a mouse. The room was the biggest yet, a broad cavern pierced by shafts of sunlight. The beams highlighted dust motes in the air, making them shine like tiny stars. Dozens of ancient stalagmites rose from the floor. A burbling brook trickled from a crevice, filling a pool where iridescent fish flitted into the light. Against the far wall were carved steps leading upward, blanketed in amber light, the dungeon’s exit.

The room’s serenity was a stark contrast with the rest of the dungeon. And the boss was nowhere to be seen.

Another Turtletan ambush? Maybe another chief, but this time with a true invisibility skill?

Rin was on high alert, closely analyzing every wall and every patch of ground before he took a step. There were plenty of hiding places with the stalagmites in play, and his heart pounded in his chest.

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He crept closer to the tranquil pool, spying a strange flower perched on its rim. It looked like a poinsettia that had been dipped in bioluminescent dye. Identify indicated it was anything but ordinary.

Cursed Dungeon Flower

Highly poisonous. Releases Craven’s toxin into the air when disturbed.

Permanent +1 Charisma and -50% XP gain when eaten.

Damn, these cursed items are no joke. Who would suffer all that for a lousy point in Charisma?

He moved on, finally reaching the far end of the room. The distinct crunch of a foot twisting on grit made him spin around.

“About time you showed,” said a young man stepping from the shadows. He twirled a bejeweled sword as he leaned against a stalagmite with practiced poise and eyes full of murder.

The man was in his early twenties and of noble background, judging from the copious velvet lacing his clothes. His hair fell to his chin in pristine gold locks, framing an upturned nose and a sneer of undisguised contempt. “I was beginning to think you’d croaked.”

Rin’s brow tightened. “Do I know you?”

“Did I say YOU COULD SPEAK!”

The young man moved faster than Rin could see.

A backhanded slap.

Rin’s body soared.

He crashed into a wall. His body crumpled.

“Not very strong, are you? Bastard.” The man loomed over him.

Rin struggled to raise his head. The room was spinning.

“I’m feeling gracious today, so I’ll answer your question. No, you don’t know me. But you may know my benefactress, Lady Mallenda of House Cartwright. She certainly knows you, having sent me out here to do her dirty work.”

The man twirled his bejeweled sword with expert care, flicking it at Rin’s chin. The boy’s flesh parted easily, slicing open to bleed freely on the ground.

The blade was so sharp Rin didn’t even feel it.

“Tut tut, you’ve made a mess of your face. Let’s even things out, shall we?”

He stomped on Rin’s hand with the heel of his finely-crafted boot. The delicate finger bones crunched.

Rin screamed. He beat his fist against the man’s boot. It didn’t budge.

“You’re too weak, boy. That much is obvious.” The man spat the words as he lifted his heel. “Lady Mallenda was wrong. You’re no threat whatsoever. As expected from a bastard of Steven Cartwright.”

The noble leveled his sword against Rin’s neck and used his free hand to withdraw a crumpled dungeon flower from his vest pocket. “You have a choice to make. Eat this. Or allow me the immense pleasure of slicing you up, piece by piece.”

The man shuddered with pleasure, his manic grin stretched wide.

Rin took the flower, trembling. “But my level. The poison will kill me—”

“EAT!”

The blade’s tip dug into Rin’s neck. A rivulet of crimson snaked into his white cotton shirt.

Rin stuffed the flower into his mouth. Juice burst against his tongue. His jaws went numb. The feeling swept down his throat.

+1 Charisma

You have been inflicted with a lethal dose of Craven’s toxin.

Toxicity adjusted for level.

-50 HP/minute

Gods above. I’m dead.

“Do you see it?” asked the man. “Do you see the cursed class as an option?”

Poison flooded Rin’s senses. He nearly blacked out. His vision reeled as he fought to understand the man’s words.

He doesn’t know I was already offered the class earlier.

“Y-yes, I see it.”

The man licked his lips. “Good.”

Without warning, his sword sliced through Rin’s leg, severing it cleanly at the knee.

Rin howled. His gory thigh spurted blood. Tears blurred his vision.

He cried for help.

The man ignored him, striding away, his sword propped casually on one shoulder. “You know what to do,” he called out.

Rin triggered Identify.

Lord Kevin Easton

Level 54 Duelist

Minor Noble, House Easton, Northern Province

There was nothing more he could do.

Rin chose his class.