A [Fire Dragon], with six legs like trees, a tail that ended in a spade-shaped point, and jagged fin-like plates all the way down its back chased Trella at a relentless pace. Its scales rippled with red that wasn’t just heat but pure fire Mana.

Every time it breathed in, Trella [Shadow Stepped] away to avoid the blast of white hot heat that melted the stone. Kaden grabbed a rock from the floor and threw it.

It struck the dragon’s chest and melted.

The air shook as it roared and slammed a claw down.

Kaden dodged with split second, and charred the skin on his palm as he touched the [Dragon]. *Hey. Those wasps are killing everything and taking over.*

The Dragon recoiled as though shocked. Its tail lashed side to side, and it shifted its weight the way Trinity did when she was getting ready to lunge. *Not. Everything.*

*Well, of course not you. You’re a Dragon. A Fire Dragon. So much larger than Suridev.* If he didn’t mention the undead dragon it was just common sense. *I’m sorry about the misunderstanding with my lover. She doesn’t speak dragon and those chains were her way of warning you about the wasps.*

*I. Kill.* The Dragon’s thoughts thundered through Kaden’s mind, a connection he couldn’t break if he wanted to.

*Excellent, we’ll get out of your way—*

*I. Kill. All.*

[Moment of Speed] let Kaden lunge forward as the dragon slammed its claws down right where he’d been a second before. *I know we didn’t get off to the best start, but how would you feel about giving me a scale?*

The roarered answer was a maybe, in Kaden’s book. He engaged [Stealth Aura] and sprinted toward the nest. *Maybe we could work out a trade? I make a nice chicken soup!*

He would need to make a lake of it.

Kaden dropped [Stealth Aura] so the dragon would keep focus and aggro, and shouted, “I don’t even know your name. How can we be friends and you give me a scale if I don’t know your name?”

*Alev.*

“I’m Drumond Stag,” Kaden shouted back. “See, look at us exchanging names like friends where one friend would give another, smaller friend, a scale.”

*Burn!* Alev roared as he breathed out destruction.

Kaden was so close the Nest loomed overhead, but the wasps now had a much larger problem. [Stealth Aura] wouldn’t activate, so Kaden poured mana into [Moment of Speed] past wasps missing limbs and legs. *They’re actually fire-proof, so it would help if—yeah, that does it.*

Wasps were not squash-proof or dragon-jaw-proof or intelligent enough to recognize a losing battle. They swarmed to attack, and, to Kaden’s shock, their stingers wedged between the scales, while others tore at the dragon’s legs. But it was the [Burning Queen] herself who drew blood, tearing skin and muscle from the dragon’s neck.

Kaden was deep in [Stealth Aura].

He almost forgot to breathe as the dragon became brilliant white. Its head whipped down and ripped a wing loose from the [Burning Queen]. She tried to fly, but without a wing, spiraled through the air. A precision tail-strike set the [Burning Queen] on actual fire and sent her shooting like a comet across the cavern.

With brutal calm, the dragon squashed and bit and whipped the remaining workers, before clawing down the nest with all its weight, leaving a ruined mess.

Only [Stealth Aura] saved Kaden’s life.

The Dragon’s attention whipped up to scan the area.

Kaden’s focus was only, entirely on [Stealth], even as Alev’s presence hung over him like a spiked blanked.

Your skill with [Stealth Aura] has increased.

Alev turned and lumbered back toward the center, scattering bosses as it went.

Kaden almost screamed when Trella appeared beside him. She pointed to the nest. “I’m finishing off workers. You clear the nest.”

With Remembrance, Kaden went to work, smashing juvenile workers. But in one hexagonal cup, a different egg rested. Unlike the others, it pulsed red and black.

This [Burning Dream] egg is not developed enough to identify.

Kaden put the entire cup in Inventory. The Druids would know if there was anywhere safe or if it had to die.

“Kaden.” Trella’s voice was filled with awe.

He stalked over to her. “What?”

She pointed with her toe. “Don’t touch. It’s so hot it burned me through my boots.”

The chunk of skin torn from Alev lay on the ground, smoking. Kaden hooked it with Remembrance and flipped it over. The edges were torn, but in the center lay a single glowing scale. Inventory was already full. Already stretched, and yet, this had to come. Kaden took it, too. “Workers?”

“Mostly dead. We can’t be sure. The Queen’s not dead, but we can warn the mages and they’ll send someone to clean her out. I hacked the abdomens out of a ton of workers. You can [Reap Materials] later.” Trella began to lead them back. Injured bosses were less hostile, but it still took an hour to safely reach the cavern edge.

Sara stood on the other side. She waved for them to join her, and Kaden did, hand in hand.

You have entered the final trial cavern.

You must learn the greatest lesson a mage will ever face.

Your mana will not regenerate in this zone.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

The rewards here are unparalleled.

“No mana. No big deal,” Trella said. “We can still take down one of the bosses. There’s a giant spider on the right hand—”

Sara held up a hand. “Who’s missing here?”

The Mabies. And Wren. And Trinity. And Eve. Skully had re-arranged bones again to look much more like a frong with a tail, a tail that wagged as it stared at him. “Where are they?”

Sara offered them both a bowl of soup. “This is the final zone. They took a vote and agreed the spider was the boss they’d burn their mana on. The ‘monsters’ here appear to be exactly what Trella reported.”

Mages who had died permanently in the trial.

Sara began to explain. “The minions here are remarkably easy to avoid as long as you exercise caution. They don’t even engage if you don’t attack, and only warn you to move along. It’s really all about what boss you believe you can handle. What do you think you can handle?”

Kaden shook his head. “None. Trella got a dragon to tear down the [Burning Dream] nest. We killed most of the workers. The Queen is crippled but not dead, we’ll warn Ignus and have him send someone to clear it.”

“Excellent.” Sara’s broad smile was contagious.

“This hasn’t been fair to you at all,” Trella said. “You’ve barely gotten to kill anything.”

Sara’s gentle laughter went on and on. “If I didn’t trust you, I wouldn’t tell you this. You know the Party Leader gets a cut of party Xp, correct?”

Kaden nodded. He never had a problem with it. If it was anything like what he got from the Dungeon, a long, long term gain.

“I get a cut of everything they gain as well, and a final bonus when we finish the Quest. I didn’t mention it because I can’t share, and I regret that.”

“Don’t you dare,” Trella spat. “You dealing with those…darlings…probably cost you a year of your life. Take that bonus and run with it.”

“Eve said the same thing. Let’s join them and see how the battle goes.” The three of them skirted single ghost-mages and parties who had fallen in the challenge. And not a few [Shields] and [Healers], Kaden noted. The final cavern gave wide space for every boss to fight without running the battle into another, and the [Ash Spider Giant] was very much worth its name. Kaden couldn’t have reached its belly with Remembrance.

Eve stood close, ready in case of a wipe, while Wren had actually put on her [Mirror Shield] armor, ready to charge in and save them, while Trinity lay, all three heads resting as she watched the battle. Intense bordom radiated off the TriTerror.

The battle was a team test, where every mage had a role to fill and if any of them failed, all of them would pay. The ‘Ash’ part of the spider’s name came from noxious clouds of ash it spewed at intervals.

These, the Wind Mage dispersed.

The Life Mage healed the damage it did. The Ice Mage and Shadow Mages poured in damage—and all six moved in a set pattern to avoid the boss as it rotated, stomping.

Kaden found it boring. His kind of battle was the wild, unplanned fight that took split-second decision and even better timing. When the spider finally collapsed (in a careful, coordinated way that gave each a chance to dive aside), Kaden felt bad for it.

The Mabies did not.

“Nearly half way to twenty five!” Osharam shouted. “And the loot!”

Second tier spellbooks.

Now Kaden understood the value of this trial. If Mage Spellbooks cost as much as the rest of the second tier gear this was an incredible reward.

Neshad left the celebration to come to Sara. “We’re truly ready to leave now. None of us made twenty five, but all of us will within a year. Are you ready?”

Kaden pointed to the corpse. “You’re not just going to leave that there, are you?”

[Reap Materials] gave dozens of options, so Kaden followed the rule he’d been taught. Go for the rarest material. He activated [Reap Materials] and guided the skill for over twenty minutes as it separated dozens upon dozens of mana connections.

Your skill with Reap Materials has increased.

You have received 2x Ash Spider Spinerrets (Epic Crafter Tool Material).

Kaden had to store it in Skully, he was out of room, and then he held the rear line of the party as they made their way through the pitch black of the cavern. As they approached bosses, globes of light lit up ahead, but at last, stairs rose to a platform Kaden recognized as a FarPortal.

“Neshad, as Party Leader, you’ll need to trigger the portal,” Sara said with pride.

There was a simple pleasure in helping others grow stronger, the sort of moment Kaden could savor for a lifetime. But as he stood watching, [Beast Soul] activated. *Rage*

“Look out!” Kaden shouted.

[Shadow Chains] whipped out from Trella, dragging all six Mabies off the platform, which really put a damper on the moment.

A moment completely ashed by the blazing, ruined form of the [Burning Queen] who plumetted from the ceiling to land square on the FarPortal where the Mabies had been a moment before.

“Don’t activate it! We can’t let her out.” Kaden shouted. He summoned his [Eldritch Shield] as the Queen spat a ball of fire at the [Mabies]. In a flash, Wren stood by his side. “Just like old times, huh? You, me, a mutated boss monster from a fire mana zone?”

“Old times. We have to get it off the portal to get them through.”

Wren bashed two shields together to draw attention. “The easiest way is with it dead. Poison her while I draw aggro.”

It was never a question of trust. Kaden dismissed his shield and drew Thorn Caster, firing over and over. The [Burning Queen]s wings were twisted and broken, so she wouldn’t be flying. “Sara, be ready with a crawling horror.”

“Way ahead of you.” Sara clutched a sticky white horror, ready to throw it.

Kaden summoned the [Falcrow] to snatch it, and the bird dove straight for the Queen’s mouth, but the Crawling Horror caught fire and exploded instead of poisoning her. Fine. Kaden hit her with [Mana Drain], flooding the power out with [Mana Well] until everyone rained down spells, arrows, whips or acidic drool.

“Stop!” Kaden shouted, as the wasp collapsed. He rose up the stairs, looking into multifaceted eyes that reflected him back a thousand times. [Soul Binding] let him take control of the dying monster.

You have tamed a legendary beast (Burning Dream Queen).

You have gained an __UNDEFINED__ bonus.

Kaden focused on a memory. The egg, still in its cup. Safe.

The monster ceased fighting.

You have helped defeat a legendary beast (Burning Dream Queen).

You have gained experience.

The shouts of victory behind him, Kaden understood. They wouldn’t understand the sorrow he felt. It wasn’t her fault she had mutated, or that she’d followed her nature, or that her hive would kill everything or that she’d nearly succeeded in her ambush, murder and escape plans.

Kaden strained and lifted the corpse, then steadied as Trinity came alongside him to shoulder weight. He carried it off the FarPortal and waited as the Mabies activated the FarPortal and exited.

You must now exit the zone within five minutes.

Failure to exit the zone in five minutes will result in ejecting your internal organs from the zone.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Only after every last one of the Mabies left did Eve step through, followed by Sara. Wren and Skully left via the portal, and lastly, Kaden and Trinity carried the [Burning Dream Queen]’s corpse. He emerged in blindingly bright sunlight. All around him, crowds cheered.

Kaden blinked his eyes clear, while Trinity’s grumble was, in essence, *You think you’ve got problems? I’ve got eight sets of eyes.*

There were in fact crowds. They were, in fact, cheering. They were not cheering for Kaden. He’d emerged in a small inner couryard, and the cheering seemed to be outside the walls. Eve stood off to the side, smiling and stretching.

Wren was absolutely blinding in her partial [Mirror Shield] armor, and shouted with joy as Sara produced five more [Mirror Shields]. That made Kaden happy, too. Trella lay on top of a wagon trapped in the courtyard, her eyes closed, the sun beating down.

The FarPortal flashed in warning, and Trinity helped Kaden move the [Burning Queen]’s corpse off.

It exploded with rainbow light, and Ashi stepped out.

At least, he thought it was Ashi. Now her wraps were tightly fit gloves and a mask that showed only her eyes. She pulled it off and called out. “Yes! You did not die in the depths! I did not expect that, but it is good to be right!”

Three giant explosions rang out, and the crowds went silent.

A man began speaking, his abnormally loud voice still muffled.

“I did hope we would meet here.” Ignus Malachor stood in the courtyard. He’d traded the impractically tall hat for a wide one like a chef’s hat which was surrounded by a raincloud which kept his robe slick and wet with a steady drizzle. He studied the [Burning Queen], then looked over each of them. “Come. We must meet with the Keeper of the Trial. Bring that under cover. Quickly, the faster this is done, the faster you get paid. The faster you feast!”

That got Kaden moving. That got all of them moving.