The dungeon crawl sped up. Hannah relied on the advancing skeletons and spectral spiders more. She hadn’t exploited her command list for Zarian’s heavy artillery support just yet.

She saved the big guns for later.

Zarian remained just fine and always willing to help. When he wasn’t needed, he studied in the background. The spider scouts found multiple traps and marked them each with a glowing x made of blue arcane webbing.

Hannah scanned each marked trap. She broke their runic makeup into simple components and sifted for information that would tell her what the traps were made for. Then she disabled them for safety.

The traps centered on classic game-designs: pitfalls, wall spikes, falling ceiling, arrow launchers, sweeping wall blades, guillotines, and more. Hannah scanned so many traps she’d learned a couple of new runes out of the experience.

Beyond the trapped hallways were more fights with bookworms. Hannah and the others had a personal system going that spared her from wasting more Co-Opt Bombs.

Instead, she crept near the edge of the new room filled with bookworms. She changed her gauntlet settings from kinetic force to force lightning.

Holding onto her gauntlet’s back with her other hand, Hannah let it rip, unleashing controlled coils and arcs of lightning in branching torrents where she pointed her palm. She swept left and right, eliciting painful rustles from the bookworms, lighting them on fire and electrocuting them in equal measure.

The opening salvo filled the latest challenge room with the scent of burning pages and covers. The dungeon’s anti-fire procedures kicked in to control the blazes.

She counted down to a predictable time before lunging back into the hallway and getting behind the skeletons. The spectral spiders launched their web-ensnaring guerilla warfare tactics, and the skeletons charged in with immense confidence.

After so many of these fights, they didn’t fear the bookworms having more numbers and a higher quality than them. They were called advancing skeletons for a reason. Not only do they level up and advance on their own, they could also learn and adapt to new tactics.

“There’s a lot more this time,” Hannah said.

They’d counted over forty in the room. The space was big enough to hold them all. Hannah had to sweep the force lightning fast to cover as many bookworms as she could.

All the spectral spiders sprayed their arcane webbing to cut off half of the room. It wasn’t a long-lasting solution, but it was the best they could do. Hannah worked fast, running with her gauntlet raised, her aura draining away.

The force lightning was an aura guzzler and highly, highly wasteful. But it was a bookworm-slayer, especially when they were now between Level 35 to 40.

The high, crackling whine and multi-stalk force lightning pulsed from the palm of her gauntlet and tore through a bookworm, its smoldering pages bursting everywhere. The tip of her force lightning struck the head of another bookworm and blasted it apart.

A different bookworm moved quickly to intercept her from the side.

Loner was already there before she was halfway turned, his arms pumping in a volley of punches. Each punch ended with forceful shockwaves that thrashed the bookworm apart.

Hannah shut off the force lightning and looked around while catching her breath. She saw Flamer, Windy, and Icicle facing three bookworms, one for each skeleton. Glowy and Darko paired up against one bookworm.

When she looked to the other side of the room, she saw Mighty was finishing one bookworm. Hasty moved quickly to divert the attention of two bookworms. Warper kept sliding past attacks. And Blender was camouflaged with the background before launching a surprise attack on a bookworm from behind.

They were all occupied.

“There are still too many enemy monsters.” Hannah turned to observe more bookworms bursting through the barrier of arcane webbing the spectral spiders had set up.

Her side was about to get overrun. It looked like Hannah had to call in the big guns.

Then, to Hanna’s surprise, Reiki joined the fight.

She pirouetted with the grace of a ballerina. Her six arms raised in different elegant poses. She performed more spirals on the tips of her feet as pale, web-like magic swirled with the movements of her limbs. Then she extended her arms forward, concentrated her magic, and sent forth forceful and sticky bolts.

The web bolts struck with enough force to rock back bookworms and coat them with heavy webbing, gluing them up.

Reiki didn’t let up on the dance. She unleashed more web bolt volleys. She pushed back a dozen bookworms while the spectral spiders kept spraying down more arcane webbing. With their combined efforts, the spiders kept Hannah and the skeletons from getting overwhelmed.

“Loner, help finish that side. I’ll help over here. Then we all push!” Hannah ordered, her heart pounding in her ears.

She rushed to her left as Loner rocketed in the opposite direction.

Hannah set her gauntlet to the kinetic force mode. She dashed between Glowy and Darko and struck their bookworm in the head with a powerful kinetic force spike.

It was a kill steal, yes, but Hannah had momentum now as she dashed onto the back of a slithering bookworm and ran up its spine.

Reaching the top of her impromptu run route, she hopped off its head and flipped through the air. She pointed her gauntlet like a miniature cannon, her other hand gripping the back for support.

She blew out the bookworm’s paperback face and sent smoking pages flying everywhere.

Before she landed, she felt a snag. She noticed the leathery harness Para had formed around her body was assisting her. Para helped her land softly before Hannah raced off and defeated another bookworm.

Hannah and Loner eased the pressure. Now all the skeletons could rush forward into the other side of the large room.

“Thank you, Reiki!” Hannah shouted.

The White Spider Dungeon Boss waved her off.

Hannah couldn’t help but give thanks.

If there was one thing that Zarian had rubbed off on her that she genuinely liked, it was his propensity for politeness, even when faced with unreasonable pushback. That might seem surprising coming from him, but it was part of his duality as an individual.

Since she was in the middle of intense combat, and things were going well enough, Hannah was feeling very thankful so far. Reiki had both slowed and damaged the bookworms in the back half of the large room. The spectral spiders kept applying more arcane webbing to slow them further.

It looked like Hannah’s side would have an easy sweep.

Then the dungeon threw the proverbial wrench into her plans. Something new appeared from under a stack of books. Hannah slowed her approach while the skeletons rushed ahead to engage more bookworms.

She scanned for weaknesses as a new skeleton – a dungeon skeleton – shook free from the layers of cobwebs and dust that clung to its raggedy form. It looked rickety and poorly held together by its own necromancy. It wore an ancient robe riddled with holes, suggesting that it had been around for a long time.

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In one bony hand, the dungeon skeleton held ancient, yellowed papers with faded ink. In the other bony hand, it held a glowing flask with purple contents that bubbled dangerously.

The skeleton turned to Hannah, gaped at her, then threw its glass flask of mysterious contents. Hannah shifted her gauntlet’s setting before the skeleton finished its throw, and she conjured a force wall between her and the flask.

The flask crashed into the force wall and released hissing and noxious looking smoke that fanned out and covered a small area. When it cleared, Hannah saw the results.

The piles of books affected looked more … papery. Even the spot of the stone floor that was showing looked papery. The skeleton had tried to turn her flesh and bones into paper.

Hannah found that creepy.

“Zarian, what is it?” Hannah asked over the roar of fighting.

Zarian informed her:

Hannah switched the setting on her gauntlet. She looked up and saw the book skeleton rushing her with surprising speed.

Its skeleton body oozed with more of that Paper Alchemy substance. It ran with arms wide open for a transmutation embrace.

She waited before juking to the side. The book skeleton overshot her and stumbled to a stop over some books.

When the book skeleton turned, it took a gout of force incendiary to the face, turning it into an instant blaze. The book skeleton shook so violently, the rattling sounded more terrible and scary than the roar of forceful flames.

It was an extreme answer to a Level 42 problem, but Hannah didn’t want to take any risks. She only cut off the flames once she received the notification of the monster’s defeat.

She quickly backed away as the hungry flames jumped from dry book to dry book. But it didn’t spread far. The dungeon’s nature suppressed out-of-control flames.

Hannah’s pounding heart slowed down a little now that the surprise monster was gone. She turned to watch the rest of the fight proceed only to discover another book skeleton lunging from under the piles. She didn’t bother handling this alone.

Instead, she used a kinetic push to shove the monster backward before it could throw its flask. It tumbled onto its back. Hannah formed a kinetic wall to pin the creature, but not for long, since it had enough monstrous Strength that pushed her back steadily from under the kinetic wall.

That was okay. She had time now. She could call in the big guns.

“D-Beam, Charge, L-Palm.”

Hannah raised her left hand. Pure darkness gathered in her palm by the power of another’s will – Zarian’s. She had no idea how much or how powerful it would come out. She only pointed and enchanted the dark charge with her favorites, Reinforcement +2 and Amplify Force +2.

“Release.”

She removed the kinetic wall before the dark beam struck with so much force Hannah stumbled off her feet. The beam ended on a short but impactful note, throwing heaps of books everywhere, most of it away from Hannah.

Sitting up in a daze, Hannah searched for the remains of the book skeleton. She couldn’t find it. She checked her notifications. She’d defeated the book skeleton.

“It’s about time we tried that live,” Zarian said, still in the hallway they’d come from.

Hannah looked down at her left hand covered in a thinner glove. Her fingers were still tingling.

That combination attack was far more powerful than Hannah had imagined. She was covered in goosebumps after having a touch of Zarian’s power shared with her.

“Again,” Hannah said, her heart skipping a beat. She couldn’t believe how she was acting. There was no denying it. This was fun. “Let’s try that again.”

Hannah stood with Para’s assistance. She found a few more remaining book worms, such as one in the far corner.

“D-Bolt, Charge, L-Palm.”

She aimed her left hand as another dark conjuration passed into her palm like a divine boon. Once she enchanted it, she was ready.

“Release.”

The recoil sent her back a few steps. She looked past that and saw the immediate results. The bookworm was scattered far apart, and there was an enormous crater in the stone wall.

Hannah went for the D-Bolt command again. She raised her left hand with the enchanted conjuration. She lined up her aim on three bookworms and ordered for the release.

Bang. All three went down in one go.

The battle ended with Loner pummeling the last bookworm.

Hannah looked down at her left palm and soaked in the moment. Yeah, it felt good using Zarian’s power.

She wasn’t so prideful like Naomi. She didn’t have Bianca’s shining specialness. Unlike the other girls, Hannah felt like she was more of a scavenger, researcher, and journey woman of the runic trade.

It wasn’t righteous.

But the potential was amazing.

“Anything of worth?” Hannah asked as the summons kicked around and checked the room for valuables. “Then let’s move on.”

“Nay, let’s take a break,” Zarian said with a yawn.

“I can keep going,” Hannah said.

“Take a break.”

That was that. Hannah found a pile of books and sat down. In no time, Para passed her a waterskin and some hot food in a wooden box, both remaining fresh after staying inside her pocket dimension.

Hannah drank and ate her fill. She watched Zarian go through several food boxes while Para feasted on corpses she had stored in her pocket dimension.

“Level 36, huh?” Zarian said.

Hannah blinked, stupefied. He hadn’t spoken so directly in a while. How long had they been down here? Had it been hours already? Days?

“I’ve lost track of time.” Hannah shook her head slowly. “This fighting and leading business is intense.”

“You’re good at it,” Zarian said. “Makes sense. You’re not a traditional fighter.”

“Shouldn’t Naomi or Gilbert be better at it than me?” Hannah asked.

“Naomi’s fixing to be the most powerful woman in a new world. Gilbert has too many concerns as healer, tank, and support. Bianca’s Bianca. Other than me, you’re the one who has a clear vision of things and an appreciation for what’s outside of the battle craze.”

Zarian chuckled, giving her an impish smile. He had an off brand, unusual, yet arresting charm to him that was eerily alluring.

Hannah always wanted to hear his thoughts because of that magnetic darkness of his and the hidden cleverness lurking behind the smiling and foolish guises. Granted, he had his idiotic moments, which invited rebuttals and debates, too.

“By the way, don’t think I didn’t see you run up a monster’s spine and flip off its head to shoot it in the face.” He laughed some more. “I guess we all get the battle craze in our own ways.”

Hannah’s face felt hot. She could hardly believe she’d done that. Embarrassed, but not undaunted, she steered the conversation to something more productive.

“Will the dungeon get more difficult with its variable challenges now?” Hannah asked.

Zarian looked over at Reiki. She sat with the skeletons and the dancing spiders. Roller waited in the middle, still sending out waves of aura for boosted recovery.

Reiki caught Zarian’s gaze. She frowned at him before looking at one of the exits. Her frown was upsetting for Hannah.

“Yeah, it’s going to get much harder,” Zarian said.

“We’ve fought so much already.”

“That was the warm up.”

“Okay, I see why we needed the break.” Hannah sighed. “I wonder how many more monster variants live in the dungeon.”

“Plenty more, I reckon,” Zarian said. “I’m still in the thick of studying the third dread mire folktale. But I’m going to pay a bit more attention to you, okay? Just in case.”

Hannah wanted to feel relieved. Instead, she felt a hint of disappointment in herself. Wasn’t that vexing? Nobles would give up their babies for the right to have Zarian’s more attentive care.

It was one thing to use his power. It was another thing to be so weak that he had to pay more attention to protect her.

“I understand,” Hannah said.

Zarian shuffled over and pressed his side against hers. “You’re still the lead, you know? Push all the way to the end of the dungeon, Hannah. Fight the boss, even. I’m just here to support you with overwhelming power whenever you need it.”

Hannah relaxed into his side. She lay her head on his shoulder.

She knew Zarian was a troublesome man. There was no stopping him when he set his mind to do something, even if it meant others would be caught in his wake.

Hannah had never surfed before, but she imagined following Zarian was like being on an immense wave, wondering when you would wipe out or make it out on the other side.

Granted, she wanted to be a wave maker as well.

“I’ve always wanted this,” Hannah said. “To make big changes. To be more than a farm girl. To construct something major. And make fantastic discoveries. I want to have an immense impact on the lives of many.”

“Why not become a goddess?” Zarian asked.

Hannah took a long time to respond. “It can’t be that easy.”

“Doesn’t matter. If it’s what you wish, I’ll make it so you can get there.”

Hannah held her mouth shut. She wasn’t ready to admit what she wanted as her wish. If Zarian was like the genie out of the bottle, then she needed to consider that wish carefully.

“I’ll think about it.”

“Wait, maybe I was wrong. There can be a greater wish you want deep down. Ah, of course. I know what it is.” Zarian nodded profoundly.

Hannah held her breath.

Could Zarian truly see into her deepest desires? Could he know things that even Hannah didn’t know about herself? What could it be?

Hannah waited tensely for Zarian’s wise insight.

Zarian grinned. “You want an elf husband, too!”

Hannah shoved Zarian away with most of her might. He rolled off dramatically while howling with wicked laughter.

Ugh, he could be such an insufferable devil of a demigod.