“I’m afraid I cannot allow that,” the guard said, shaking his head. “Our sworn duty is to protect you.”

“No, see, that’s where you’re wrong,” I said, desperately trying to figure out how to convince this guy. “That’s your current mission. Your sworn duty is to the city of Basecrest, and to Baron Sinclair, who rules it. We might be the first parties to survive one of these ambushes, for all we know. Or, if the other delvers did survive, I’m guessing their guards didn’t. We need someone to report back. We need to tell Sinclair what’s happening here.”

“While I understand the importance of relaying this information, it can wait until we have safely delivered you to your destination.”

“Your captain is dead.”

To everyone’s immense surprise, those words didn’t come from my mouth, but Aerion’s.

I turned to look at my elven friend, who frowned, staring daggers into the ground. “Your captain is dead,” she repeated.

She seemed to have gotten through to them, because the guards didn’t immediately reply.

“Look, we’ll be fine. Aerion and I can handle ourselves—we better be able to, given where we’re headed. You’ll just be putting yourselves in unnecessary danger. I’d rather you do a service to the city instead of dying pointlessly.”

The guards glanced at each other, their resolve clearly wavering. But they weren’t over the hump yet, so I gave them one last little nudge.

“Alright, if you don’t go, then Aerion and I are calling this off. We’ll head back to town to report what we’ve found, and you’ll be forced to accompany us.”

“You cannot!”

“Watch me,” I said, making for the forest we’d just come from. Aerion followed suit, forcing the guards’ hands.

“Alright! We’ll go.”

“Thanks,” I said, turning around. “And make sure you tell the Baron about all of this. That this was my idea. He doesn’t strike me as the type to reprimand you for this, but Commander Tarth might. I want it known that you two were following orders.”

“Understood,” the guard said. “Then we’ll be off. I only wish we could have given them a more proper sendoff…” He looked down at the bodies, which lay where they had gone down. We hadn’t touched them at all.

“As would I,” I replied. “It’s just too risky. We don’t want whoever comes to check on them thinking there were more of us. I’m hoping they’ll see this as a stalemate fight to the death.”

I knew that with things like footprints, an experienced tracker could probably figure out there were more fighters here, but by that point, I was hoping we’d be well inside the dungeon.

“Godspeed, then,” The guard said, throwing me a crisp salute. “May Dominion watch over you both. And if we do not meet again… Thank you. For risking your life for our country.”

The man turned and left before I could reply, taking his partner with him.

“We’d better make a move ourselves,” I said. “I’d rather not linger here any longer than necessary.”

Besides the threat of someone coming to check on their comrades, the sight of dead bodies wasn’t something I’d gotten used to yet—monster or human.

“I just can’t believe Samaul is dead,” Aerion muttered. “He was so experienced.”

“Just goes to show that anything can happen in a fight. Levels and stats are good and all, but sometimes, all it takes is a lucky shot.”

Despite not wanting to look at the gruesome scene anymore than was absolutely necessary, I did a once-over to see if I could find anything valuable. In particular, I searched the enemy leader’s body.

His body stank of sweat and grime, and his armor was far too large for me, and looked to be badly mangled even before our recent fight, so I didn’t bother seeing if it’d be useful, but I did search his pockets.

“Bingo,” I said, delicately retrieving two small blue vials from a pouch inside his armor.

“A potion?” Aerion asked.

“Your guess is as good as mine. I figure we test this on something before using it ourselves, but my money’s on healing.”

Aerion frowned and nodded. “I have heard tales of delvers encountering such things within dungeons. Almost always on the bodies of their foes. They are exceedingly rare, however, from all that I’ve heard. And only found in small quantities.”

“Figures,” I said. “Only question is, how effective is it? Is it as good as the miracle water? Or is it closer to the stuff you brought along?”

Aerion had packed several balms, salves, and a handful of potions, but the first two were natural remedies, and the only Boonworthy in Basecrest with the ability to make healing potions was low-level. Aerion had told me not to expect much from them. Good for nicks and bruises, but useless for any real injuries.

“I suppose we’ll have to experiment to find out,” Aerion said, searching the other bodies. She shook her head. “Nothing.”

“Figures that only the commander would have something like this,” I said.

I stashed both vials in my inventory for now. Until we knew what they did for sure, we’d be stupid to use them. I regretted not thinking of searching the bodies earlier, while the guards were here, but I really doubted they knew any more than I did.

Even if a scholar on the topic told me it was perfectly safe, I’d still want to test it. The thing was an unlabeled blue vial, after all. It could be filled with anything.

We started out, breaking from our original plan. The enemy somehow knew exactly where we’d be, and when we’d be there. Which meant Sinclair had a mole. That was the other reason I wanted our guards to head back as soon as possible. As long as the dungeon had someone feeding them information, all outbound expeditions were compromised.

We cut south before tacking east, then north, then east again. Luckily, our route put us in another part of the forest, where I hoped we’d be less likely to be found.

It was only then that I breathed easier, and took a moment to look over the level ups from the battle.

Thanks to my Initialized City Guard Cuirass and the stats Light of the Fearless gave me, I had a lot of overhead in several of my key areas, and that one fight alone made them jump almost as much as all of Tarquin’s raid combined.

Not only that, I’d gained a level, which had been a long time coming. It was almost like something about actual combat seemed to accelerate the process in a way that training never did.

I’d taken the opportunity to uninitialize my old Stainless Steel Cuirass that I no longer wore. I’d left it back at Basecrest anticipating this level up, so that was a happy coincidence. While I’d lose its [Minor Heat Resist] perk, I had far better gear now, so that didn’t worry me overly much.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

That freed up 8 points, which countered the extra points Aerion’s fixed percentage utilization added when I leveled up. I now had a healthy bit of overhead, allowing me to Initialize another piece of my Basecrest City Guard armor.

Initialize [Basecrest City Guard Helmet]? 99% chance to successfully Initialize [Uncommon] armor. Essence Cost: 15. Current Utilization: 209/250.

Initialize!

Basecrest City Guard Helmet [Uncommon]

Now that is one snazzy-lookin’ helmet! Might even save your skull, too!

Essence Cost: 15

Condition: 125/125

Stats:

Order: 14

Passion: 13

Abilities: None

Well, not the worst haul in the world. Initialization not only strengthened it, but I got a decent number of stat points as well. No ability, though. Whether it was a quirk of luck that my cuirass gave me both stats and an ability, or if it was because cuirasses were the biggest piece of armor in the set, I’d just have to experiment more to know for sure.

While Passion was a bit of a throwaway—that was by far the hardest stat to level for me—the bonus to Order was nice. Even if it didn’t do a whole lot for me right now, I was at my limit, and I could at least level it alone, through meditation exercises.

Now all I needed was some gear that granted more Cunning and I’d have headroom in all of my stats.

“I see you used your new ability to good effect,” Aerion said when we took a quick break in the forest. We weren’t far from the dungeon now. The sun was now getting high in the sky, but the forest’s canopy really helped keep the heat at bay. Just a few more hours and we’d be there.

“That worked out better than I’d hoped,” I admitted. “Skewering the enemy boss was definitely not in the cards.”

Aerion frowned as she munched on some bread from my inventory, no doubt puzzling over the turn of phrase I’d used.

I’d been carrying her big backpack for the last while, and though it was filled to the brim with food, that was supposed to be her rations. For when the Cataclysm Dungeon separated us. Apparently, while it couldn’t outright bar people from entering, it did have a sort of defense mechanism that allowed it to split parties up and hurl them to opposite corners of the world.

Quite the nasty feature. I at least had my inventory. Aerion would have to make do with the supplies in her pack until we managed to reunite.

“It’s odd,” she said after a while. “This ability of yours to aim items from your inventory. It feels both powerful and weak at the same time.”

“I admit, it’s a bit weird,” I said. “I don’t think I’ve come across a single game that had this. I figured it’d be the same old inventory I’m familiar with. Seems like there’s more to it, and seeing how my inventory seems to level, I’m hopeful there’s more where that came from.”

“You believe this aiming ability will expand?”

“I sure hope so,” I said with a grin. “I can think of all sorts of neat tricks if it were a bit more flexible.”

“Then I shall pray that you obtain it quickly, and that these tricks allow us to survive in the dungeon,” Aerion said darkly.

“Hey, I’m just as nervous about this as you are. But look, we’ll be fine. We’re both a lot stronger now than when we first entered Dominion’s Trial.”

“Are we really, though?” Aerion asked. “I have [Reave] and [Shock] true, but will that be enough?

“You’re forgetting something important, though,” I said. “Stats. We both have several times the number of stats we had going in. We’re several times stronger, faster, and more dextrous.”

Aerion lifted an arm suspiciously. “It certainly does not feel that way.”

“Oh, believe me. We are. I get to experience just how much of a weakling I used to be every time I take off my armor.”

Aerion gave me an interesting look. “True. Is that why you sleep with your armor on, even in Basecrest?”

“Mostly,” I said. “It feels fucking awful being weak.”

“I imagine it must,” she replied. “On the other hand, you do get the rush of all of those stat points every time you equip your gear. It must be quite the sensation.”

I grinned. “Never gets old. Like, ever.”

----------------------------------------

We slept for a few hours, taking turns guarding the camp while the other slept. I figured this was probably our last chance to rest before entering the dungeon, and we didn’t know what the situation would look like once inside, so I wanted us as well rested as possible.

That said, we were deep within enemy territory, and more than once, Aerion and I had heard nearby patrols moving around the forest, forcing us to be as quiet as we could.

Our Cunning stats really saved us here—I shuddered to think of how much my vanilla self would’ve missed out on. We’d have been caught in no time.

As it was, we threaded our way through the forest, and due to the ordeal, my Order had gone up a point to 12. After so long being capped at its maximum, it was good to see that one go up again.

The edge of the forest gave way to another sprawling valley, except this one was occupied.

By a gigantic floating… something. That was about all I could come up with.

“Incredible,” Aerion breathed. “In all my life, I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Ditto,” I replied, jaw agape.

Dominion’s Trial resembled a five-sided upside-down pyramid. Jet black. It was massive, it was imposing, and my brain could understand what it was at a single glance.

This? Well, for one, it had no set shape. Its Landing Castle had burned away entirely, leaving an enormous floating thing that resembled a ball about a half-mile in diameter. Its shape wasn’t consistent, though. It shifted continuously, sometimes resembling something closer to a pyramid, and at other times growing spiky, like my mace. Its surface was mostly black, but it had a shimmering sheen to it, like a blown bubble.

Under it lay a crater filled with all manner of rubble from the crash.

“So, uh… We’re really just supposed to walk under that thing to enter it?” I asked, staring up at the crazy contraption.

“According to the Baron, yes. What sources I’ve read say the same. That though all Cataclysm Dungeons are unique in both size and shape, the method to access them is the same. Simply walk under them.” Aerion whispered.

We were far from any nearby patrols, but after what had just happened to our strike team, I applauded her caution. The enormous amount of rubble beneath the sphere offered any number of places for enemy forces to hide.

“Walk to it and get teleported… Could be worse. At least we won’t have to breach a gate.”

“We normally would. It is good that the gate was destroyed,” Aerion said.

Good indeed. Gates were small and defensible. Even with the swarm of monsters that circled the object, there were far too few to prevent anyone from getting in. Their perimeter was thin and had gaps everywhere.

“It is early in the cycle,” Aerion explained. “Over time, their numbers will grow, and more powerful beasts will emerge. It will not be so easy to enter the dungeon as time progresses.”

“Squash these things fast, before they multiply. Like ants. Noted.”

“Our supplies are intact?” she asked.

“No worries there,” I replied. “Even accounting for heavy exertion, we ought to have enough food and water to last a week or so. Past that, we’ll have to figure things out.”

I really hoped we didn’t have to stoop to eating the monster carcasses, as some past delvers did. According to the records, some dungeons had an abundance of food. Others, not so much. I could only hope we got lucky.

“That just leaves healing,” Aerion muttered.

“Just healing,” I concurred grimly. That was the one thing all Cataclysm Dungeons lacked. There were no miracle healing pools like in Trials. Not only was it D Ranked, but the lack of facilities alone made it manifold more deadly than Dominion’s E Rank Trial we’d cleared.

“Next time we delve a Trial, I am so going to try smuggling some of that water out,” I said, more to myself than anyone. It wouldn’t work, of course. It couldn’t be that easy. But if we could get our hands on it, it’d make dealing with future dungeons far easier.

The minutes passed, and we fell silent, analyzing the patrols. Evaluating when it’d be best to strike.

As it so happened, that moment came about an hour later, as the sun was starting to set.

“That gap,” Aerion said, pointing. “It occurs every hour when the guard shift changes. It is our best bet.”

“I agree,” I said, having come to the same conclusion. “I suppose this is it, then.”

Aerion nodded. “Let’s go.”

The time had come to raid our first Cataclysm dungeon.