The path to the fourth floor was wider than any of those that came before. The stony steps becoming stout ridges that could be separated by a few inches or a few meters at a time. Some of them had coral growths attached to them. Sharp, cutting edges of ruby reds and royal purples mixed with bright greens and yellows. Their outer layers glistening with wet, sticky mucous that could be mistaken for morning dew up in the surface.

That shiny concoction reflected what little light rained down from the crystals above us. Making the unnatural reef glow like hundred clustered diamonds as they twinkled and sparkled.

I had found it all stunningly beautiful when I had first descended into these depths. Every puddle and outcrop making me feel as though I were an astronaut exploring an alien landscape. Seeing things that no man was meant to see and stepping through vistas no human eyes had taken in before. My heart had been pounding in excitement. The whole experience reminding me that, as horrible as magic could be, it also held wonders beyond normal comprehension.

But those had been the idle, confused musings of a level 0. Someone who could only see with their eyes and hear with their ears.

The current me was not quite to foolish.

I could feel the coral now. Sensing its very presence engulfing the floor at large and pulsating like the heart of some malevolent leviathan.

Descending these steps was no longer an adventure. Now, it was more akin to willingly walking into the jaws of death. Into the hungry maw of something too large and too ancient to care whether I lived or died.

'It's like the forest I made.' I realized with a start. 'It is a whole host of different lifeforms coming together. Both more and less than the sum of their parts.'

Only, this wasn't like my creations at all.

This amalgamation held no affection for me. No spirit of kinship bound us together.

To this biome, I was food. A morsel so small that it could pass between its sharpened fangs without arousing suspicion.

Perhaps not even that.

My hand went to my stomach then. My body trying to still the panic my magic was causing.

And it was my magic.

None of the others looked particularly disturbed.

Least of all coach Russell.

"How are you liking the suit Cecil?"

I paused to swallow my mounting dread before answering him. The others keeping their silence as we moved deeper into the spiraling tunnel.

"It's... certainly an improvement coach." I managed after a few seconds. "I'm very grateful."

That much, at least, was true.

The not-quite-a-wetsuit was tight. Too tight in some areas for my comfort. Yet, it covered me from the neck down and remained flexible enough to allow unhindered movements while still offering an extra layer of protection.

More importantly, it transformed when I did. To a point, at least.

It hadn't ripped when I had grown bony ridges on the second floor. Nor when I grew spines from my back and forearms on the third.

Instead, it merely mended itself. Turning from a solid piece of fabric into a gelatinous liquid resembling half-melted tub of mint ice-cream, before congealing itself back together in the shape it had originally had.

"I'm glad you like it." Coach Russel said casually. "Because you're gonna be wearing thing like it from now on. At least, you'll be doing that if you value your modesty. Trust me, that's the right way to go about these things. Marco's suit is just like that one. Well, it's similar, at least. It only has to grow, but it has to do that very, very well and very, very quickly. The point is, you need the right tool for the right job. After all, you wouldn't go around a forest in heels would you? Why, that's how you end up in a bikini, being chased around the lake house by a masked maniac with a machete or a chainsaw or a chainsaw made up of machetes."

His kids looked like they wanted to ask him what exactly he was on about, but all they managed were strangled gasps.

'I'm pretty sure that qualifies as abuse.' I thought to myself. Though, to my shame, I didn't have the courage to say it out loud. That had been their mistake and I wasn't looking for a hug. Mending bones might be easy for me right now, but it certainly wasn't any fun.

"Yes coach." I said instead. Making sure to keep my tone as meek as humanly possible.

"Good lad. I'll introduce you to Sheri after we're done here. Or tomorrow, if we run late. The stuff Sava sells is only for casual wear. The kind of thing you need to be comfortable around the house. It's nice, but it'll rip the second you use any kind of body modification spell. Or when a monster gets past your armor. That trash might have been enough for a level 0, since you couldn't handle anything heavier, but you'll have to get the plates or the scales woven into your battle-suits from now on. What you need is custom-made magic outfits. Tailored especially to you. I bought you a dozen or so because I figured we might need them for training. The rest are back in the car. Of course, there's no accounting for taste. If you don't like them, well that's fine. You can order your own from Sheri when we get topside. I'll even pay for the next dozen, if you'd like. It's the least I could do after you've been such an amazing student."

"Have I really been so amazing?" I asked like an imbecile.

His jovial attitude making me momentarily forget that this jerk was an actual, literal sadistic psychopath. The kind who would absolutely be chasing people around a lake house in their spare time.

"Oh Cecil!" Coach Russell intoned while wagging his finger. "Of course you are! Why, half the people I've trained broke down in tears after enduring a third of what I put you through! I pushed you to the limits of your body time and time again and like a model Olympian, you smiled and asked for more! I don't know that I could have had a better pupil! At least, you're certainly better than these two!"

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

He brought up the arm hugging his teenaged children. They both looked utterly, incomprehensibly terrified. Of their father, yes. But, for some reason, their eyes were filled with fear when they saw me as well.

"Not only that...." Coach Russell continued. "You're also a dammed genius! At least, where training is concerned. Just dumb enough to go off and train on your own, while still being smart enough to know when you needed supervision! Truly, Cecil. I cannot begin to tell you how proud I am that you made that decision." Coach Russell bellowed happily. No doubt referencing my calls for supervision back on the first.

His right hand mussing up my hair while his left arm held his kids in a vicious chokehold.

The others walked in silence after us. Filing down the stairs whilst trying not to notice the half-strangled pleas of Julian and Fernanda.

Their poor poor hands clawed at coach Russell's biceps even now, but he either didn't notice or didn't care. His biceps leaving them just enough room that they could breathe, without making it comfortable for them to do so.

"I mean, you are only 14 after all, but for someone of your age to be so gosh-darned smart. To recognize how much safer and quicker this training regiment would be if you had an adult supervising it. After just one incident. Why, it almost brings a tear to this old man's eyes."

Then the allowed some of his magic to leak out. A brief glimpse of murderous intent shocking me to my core and disrupting the natural recovery of my reserves while I was still reeling from the previous bout of exhaustion.

'Holy shit! It actually pushed back the dread I felt from the coral!'

And the coral were many and ever present. While Coach Russell was merely another man. A single being, stronger and more terrible than an entire floor.

It was almost enough to make me retch.

"Granted, it would have been preferable if you had made that decision BEFORE you descended into the Dungeon, but whatever I guess. You're young, newly inducted into magic and newly endowed with powers most of us would envy. It is perfectly understandable."

He laughed his usual booming laugh, though I could see that there wasn't that much mirth in it.

No.

Coach Russell was pissed, and he wanted all of us to know it.

Wanted us to remember this moment.

Some, more so than others.

Case in point, he gave his bicep another flex. Julian and Fernanda started turning purple.

"Now these two. Heh. They're hopeless. Didn't even try to talk you out of going. Despite me drilling them all their lives to value safety. To be more like Homer. And after I spent so much time explaining that you were my new favorite pupil and how they should try and become friends with you. To guide you on the right path and help you develop those stat points quickly and efficiently. After all, they have had a lifetime to learn the ins and outs of most magics known to humanity, while you've had just over a month to serve as a crash course. They don't study as hard as they should, but the point still stands."

He released some of the tension on his arm. Allowing both of them to catch another breath.

"That's what we were doing!" Fernanda complained.

"Yeah! We were literally teaching him and giving him advice when you showed up!" Julian added.

"Tut tut, my little pups. Lying will make your nose grow so big that birds will nest on it." Coach Russell chided. "I was there from the beginning. Trailing after you just out of sight. Not only did you not go over the proper techniques for managing one's magic over a series of targets, but you also didn't immediately step in after Cecil started drifting off to dreamland. I mean, I didn't act because I knew he'd be alright, but you've never met the other guys with [Plant] cores that I'm friends with. You had no way of knowing about the specifics. As such, you should have known to start small. Like the rules say. Like all your teachers always say. That way, any mistakes that arose could be managed."

He whistled a congratulatory tune to himself.

"Besides that, you, Fernanda, went ahead and started making fun of poor Cecil for a wardrobe malfunction. Now, where in the rules of Dungeon etiquette does it say that you're supposed to make fun of your teammates? Where does it say that its a good idea?"

Fernanda opted to take another gulp of air instead of answering.

"That's right dear daughter. Nowhere. Because we human beings are supposed to play nice with each other if we want to have any hope of surviving the coming apocalypse. Bullying someone a little here and there might feel good in the short term, but it will result in burned bridges."

He let the two go and turned his attention to Elsie in the back.

"You of all people should know that, Miss Robertson. I know Carlyle had a conversation with you recently as well. I also know that you're one of the brightest kids in your generation. You, of all people, should know that the rules and general guidelines are there for a reason."

I had to say something at that point.

"You're always skirting the rules though! You're skirting the rules even now!"

He barked out a more genuine laugh then, though the irritation was still visible just beneath the surface. His heavy steps thundering down the staircase with such force that all the weaker monsters at the bottom had taken the hint and ran for the hills.

"True! But I have enough experience and wisdom to know when to bend the rules for the greater good. Like how I designed your training regiment to be a wee bit more taxing than those of the other normal students I've had over the years. I'm also wily enough to know which rules can be bent, which ones can be broken and which ones should never be broken. Case in point, I took you and some of your friends down to a deeper floor earlier in the week. I did that because I was there and I was more than strong and fast enough to kill every monster on that floor before any of them could say 'cheese'. If things had gotten truly dangerous at any moment, I would have retrieved you at once. Case in point, I did retrieve you at once. Remember?"

That was true enough, though it felt like a lie when he said it.

"But enough about that. Why don't you look at your Analyzer and tell me how much stronger that little blast of [Life] magic made you?"

I did as he asked. Figuring that it would be best to avoid antagonizing him further.

Name:

Cecil Fowler

Core:

[Life] (7th Stage) / Gains skills from: [Adaptation] / [Constitution] / [Healing] / [Hunger] / [Effort] / [Animal] / [Plant]

Level:

1

Vitality:

7.2

Endurance:

6.5

Potency:

4.8

Precision:

4.4

Fortitude:

6.5

Skills:

[Drain] / [Perseverance] / [Heal] / [Transform] / [Spawn]

"It, isn't very impressive." I conceded.

"On the contrary my dear boy!" Coach Russell beamed. "A few decimal points for that display is a fantastic development!"

"He's right." Ramji quipped. Seemingly finding some courage, now that coach Russell seemed to be in a slightly better mood. "Decimal points are where it's at. Gaining whole points like you did doesn't happen unless you're about to grow a core or gain a new level. Even then, people don't usually get as much as you did."

"Must be nice to have a 7th stage core I guess." Fernanda followed up. "Ya just get stats left right and center with no effort."

Coach Russell's clicking tongue was enough to silence her. Indeed, looking at her then, you'd think she'd been recently whipped.

"Careful now miss. My pupil here can be accused of many things, but being a layabout isn't one of them. He's fought and bled for every advancement."

He smiled then. Once more showing rows of perfectly straight teeth.

"And he's about to fight even harder now." He said ominously.

"Why do you say that?" Drew asked, jinxing it with the careless comment.

"Because, my little student, I see some tracks down here that might belong to a batch of recently grown green beans." Then he gestured with his free hand. "And there, up ahead, I hear the distinct sound..." He paused for effect, though we all knew what he was about to say.

"Of gunshots."