The pressure the horde had forced onto him was gone. His wounds turned into phantom pains as the shock sat in his system but their physical representation disappeared.

He unfurled his body and looked around him. The monsters that had pressed him into a defensive position were several yards away from his crouched figure.

The gold light that shined through his closed eyelids had disappeared.

Not wanting to waste a moment, Drew collected his items from the ground and got back into fighting position.

The crowd that had just overcome him had shrunk immensely. All that was left of the crowd were two dozen zombies that had been back from his crouched position.

He turned to make sure Sapphire was fine and saw her shrunken and shriveled appearance. The plump plushy that once guarded his back had been reduced to a husk of her former self.

“Are you okay Sapphire?” Drew crouched down to her limp figure and tried lifting her up.

“Be gentle please, that took a lot out of me. Just leave me on the ground for now.” The elephant wisped to master in a feeble voice, unbefitting of the headstrong summon.

Drew looked back at the approaching crowd and took point to draw all of their attention away from his downed friend. The ploy worked wonders as he led them around in circle, peppering the overextended creatures with stabs and overhead slashes

He finally felt like he was winning. His muscles felt empowered after the golden glow overtook him.

The horde dwindled in numbers once they started to lose the pushing force that such a large mass of bodies could provide.

Drew thrusted his blade into the final zombie's skull and let it slide off it onto the ground below.

He let go of a breath he held deep in his core as the fighting finally stopped on their side of the wall.

Not giving him any time to rest, a loud cracking sound stole his attention away. The ice wall had shrunk in size but still sat tall in front of them.

“Sapphire, I need to go help Nurgle. Will you be fine here?”

The plushy bobbed her head up and down as confirmation and set her master off to help their friend.

He reached the ice wall and found it impossible to find any hand holds on the surface. He needed to make his own.

He took his ax and bashed it into the ice repeatedly. Deep gashes gave him purchase with his hands and feet to climb higher and higher. With the top in sight, one final overhead chop allowed him to pull himself up and over the edge.

He saw the fight that was happening on the other side and blanked.

The monster had been forced against a wall and encased in ice. It looked like a caveman that had fallen into a river and had nearly frozen solid

Nurgle hacked at the ice with one of his cleavers while standing on the other. The large flat of the blade had been stuck into a frozen cocoon and used as a landing for his small companion.

The monster flinched as the cyclops chopped his way deeper in, leaving it pressed harder against the wall.

The piles of ice scattered around the floor showcased what had happened in his absence. The summoner had encased itself in progressively smaller ice cocoons to keep the barbarian out only for it to chop its way in.

Drew almost felt pity for the terrified boss if it hadn't almost killed him a few minutes prior.

He slid down the wall using his ax to slow the descent and walked up to the fighting pair.

Nurgle turned around once he got close and, to Drew, he looked the happiest he had been since the monkey incident.

The mouth breathing grin was not the prettiest look, but it brought joy to him nonetheless.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Nurgle unstuck his other cleaver and slid down the cracked ice. With a blade in both hands, he threw his arms up in the air and did chopping motions a few times.

“Do you want me to pick you up or something?” Drew stared at the actions that went on repeat before he grabbed his little friend by the sides and lifted him up.”Upsies it is.”

The cyclops looked stoked to be lifted up while dual wielding his cleavers. His human transportation guided him to the hole he had been making and allowed him to continue his work.

Nurgle sent out a flurry of wild swings, getting deeper and deeper into the ice with each second.

With one more mighty blow, he cracked it open giving them access to the sniveling mess inside.

Nurgle tried pushing his body inside the gap, but it was only large enough for his face to stick through. The deep breaths sent condensed vapor in the air, causing an undoubtedly horrific sight for the monster inside.

He pulled his head out and went back to chopping his way in. Within seconds, the hole was large enough to allow the small berserker access.

The cyclops dug his cleavers into the ice and launched himself forward into the new gap leaving them behind.

The sight was not pretty. The baby size monster man handled the summoner. The class type did not lend itself well to physical feats based on his limited experience which could explain why he was so shitty at close combat.

He emptied his mind of that thought and watched the gorefest enclosed in ice.

Nurgle latched onto its arm and literally tore it to pieces with his bare hands. The litch tried bashing its skull in with his other hand only for it to be caught on the first swing, repeating the bloody carnage.

The surprisingly adept climber ripped its way inside and entered the the monsters stomach to began making a mess of its internals, sparing Drew the horrific sight if the summoner's face was anything to go by.

Drew felt his stomach rise inside him as he watched the blood pool below the bosses feet while its thrashed around helplessly inside its self-made ice casket.

He turned away, but the noises still left the small hole the cyclops had entered in causing him to empty his stomach contents onto the floor.

“Ugh, I thought the smell would get me, not the gore.” He put his hands over his ears and waited for the experience to pop up for the kill.

After waiting for what must have been minutes, a light tug grabbed his attention. He turned around and saw a blood soaked Nurgle panting behind him. A glance at the monster behind him answered all of his questions.

The cocoon of ice was painted dark red with blood along the entire inside while his friend had dragged the last living chunk of the monster out of the small hole.

The disembodied head laid against the stone with a look of complete loss plastered on its face.

“I think you should have the honors of the final blow. You earned it.” Drew took a few deep breaths and motioned to the head.

Nurgle shrugged his shoulder and launched one of his cleavers at it, bisecting it.

+1100 xp for defeating Rotten Summoner [Summon small monster] has inherited the xp in your place. 4975/6400 xp

“Holy shit, that is a lot of experience from just one dungeon run.” Drew watched all of the gore and ice disappear with a sigh of relief.

Congratulations on clearing the Dungeon Hidden Behind the Falls floor 2 You rank in the top 80 percent of all participants for clear time. Congratulations

He stood up and walked over to his plushy companion. She had sat up and looked much fuller than before, but still was obviously drained.

“Lets get out of here.” The trio made their way to the circle and took it to the entrance.

Fresh air hit their senses, brightening all but Nurgles mood.

Drew opened his fanny pack to inspect the spoils. Some flat stones, oil, and a leather strip made up most of the items. The only other item was a book of some kind.

He withdrew all of the items to get a better look at them and laid them across the ground.

Nurgle grabbed the book and flipped the pages back and forther with Sapphire and him inspect the rest

“I got no clue what this shit is.” Drew lifted the smooth stones and felt the coarse grain with his fingernail.

“I believe… this is for maintaining…… metal weapons….the stones are used to grind the edge…….while the oil is used….. to keep it from rusting or to create a slurry on the stone.” Sapphire spoke in short bursts as she filled her stomach with meat from their food stores.

“That's nice. I have another skill I'll need to hone. Sewing was kinda therapeutic now that I’m not absolute trash at it.” Drew sat the items down and tried his hand at fixing his ax.

In the few minutes he attempted to mend the edge, the blade went from chipped and dull to pocketed and scarred.

“Maybe this is best saved for later.” He looked over to the plushy who had finally finished his meal and asked the question that had been burning on his mind. “What was the golden light that saved me?”