A black pot boiled on the magic fire. Twist, Targe, and Bells sat around the boiling water, adding things as they saw fit. Each held a bowl and something like a spork, dishing out food or spearing meat as it cooked. Ethan pulled a length of mystery meat from the boiling liquid, setting it atop a pile of freshly cooked noodles before slurping a mouthful down.

“Meat is better when you don’t know where it came from,” Targe said, nodding to himself.

“And with the threat of imminent danger,” Twist added.

It had been at least an hour since the fight was over. Void still rested on the ground, stirring occasionally. But the party was hungry, with much more of the corrupted dungeon to clear. There was no sense in rushing through it if they could take time to eat. Twist and Targe seemed determined to burn through their fresh ingredients quickly, leaving the dried rations for the last half of the dungeon.

Ethan had been telling the group about Earth. Cars, electricity, and the internet were oddities to them. They didn’t see technological advancement as a good thing. Not entirely, anyway. This world had its own technology, derived from the various classes people could take. The airship they’d seen near the [Goblin Dungeon] was proof enough of that. Or the artifice fire that ate copper coins for fuel.

Twist was mostly hung up on the idea of a job. Some people in Avansea took jobs as they needed them, only working when they needed money for something. That subset of adventurers weren’t even considered lazy in this world. Exploiting one’s talents to get by was a smart move. A swift rise to power represented a chance to fall.

The group ate and discussed small topics. Ethan couldn’t help but edge the conversation toward restoring Lucantele’s temple.

“Hard to say,” Targe started, slurping down more noodles. “No one would stop you from laying claim over the temple.”

“The duke would be willing,” Twist said.

Ethan didn’t know what he thought about owning the temple. That sounded expensive. “Not sure I have the coin for that.”

“Well, you’ve got to find the coin to restore it, don’t you? Might be some fat chests with those orcs,” Targe said, rubbing his shoulder under his armor. “Not eager to face down those bastards.”

“Depends on the rank,” Twist said.

Void groaned, then flipped onto her belly. She dragged herself along the ground, pausing a few times to sniff the air. When she had dragged herself to the circle of companions, she held a hand out. Twist placed a bowl and a spork in her hand. Without saying a word, she righted herself, sitting cross legged before picking vegetables and small cuts of meat from the stew.

“Did you have a nice nap?” Ethan asked.

Void grunted a response no one could understand. With her head down, she slurped the broth, and chewed the food like a bored cow.

“Her health is full,” Ethan said, poking the Mage in the arm. “Guess that ability takes a lot out of her.”

“That’s the truth,” Targe said. “Never met a [Void Mage]. Never wanted to know one long enough to watch them die.”

Void grunted again. “Death… close.”

The trio shared a look. That was too grim for Ethan. Void needed a few days at Lucantele’s temple. Something to take her mind off whatever that [Void Mage’s Core] was doing to her. Maybe the Great Spirits knew something about helping the woman out. He wouldn’t share his thoughts, but it lingered in his mind as they ate.

Void brightened up after a while. None gathered wanted to draw the line between the power she’d used and the state she was in, but the Mage shared anyway.

“[Void Madness] is more than just insanity,” she said, patting her round belly. “The core itself is damaged. Great way to start off my life as an adventurer, right?”

“Have you tried to have it removed?” Targe asked.

“Yeah, they tried to yank it out,” Void said, tracing a line down the center of her chest. “There’s a fissure in the core. When they tried to yank it out, the gap widened. So, I get more [Void Madness] than other [Void Mages]. Fun, right?”

“Not fun at all,” Ethan said. He couldn’t stop thinking about the Great Spirits. “Have you prayed to the Great Spirits?”

Void pressed her finger to her chin. “No use in that, is there?”

“Is there a Great Spirit of Healing?” Ethan asked.

Targe shrugged. “Dunno.”

“Feels like a Caller should know this,” Void said.

“The Great Spirits are having issues. If the interaction between Lucantele and Telbarantis is anything to go by.” Ethan thought for a moment. Perhaps there was a connection between that and the dungeons being corrupted. Or something else. It was hard to say. “The plan is to get more pacts with the spirits. So, maybe we can find a Great Spirit of Core Repair.”

Void let out a mirthless laugh. “Well, keep me posted on that. After this dungeon, I’m taking a long rest in Oudsted.”

Ethan spotted how serious Targe’s face had become. The Fighter wanted Void to leave the dungeon. For her safety. He didn’t know if that was even an option.

“Void needs to take it easy,” Targe said. “We’re heading directly for the boss. I’m praying we find a common puzzle there.”

“Prayers won’t work,” Twist said.

“Yeah, but I can hope,” Targe said, almost snapping at his friend. He took a deep breath. “The only other option is to retreat. Train to the absolute peak of Rank 1 then come back.”

“You don’t know what’s going to escape while we’re out,” Void said.

Targe looked more annoyed than before. But he took another long breath. “I’m aware. The decision falls to me. There’s one bit of good news for you, Void.”

The Fighter rummaged through his things, pulling out the [Void Mage’s Subduing Robes]. Void’s eyes lit up. She snatched the robe from him, nearly losing it in the boiling pot, and stared at the item.

“Seriously?” she asked. “I can mitigate my madness? Just found it in a chest, did you? What are the odds?”

“One out of four?” Ethan asked, not sure of his math. “Perhaps even better, considering we may have an observer.”

“Telbarantis,” Twist said.

“Good to know,” Void said, undoing the various straps that kept her black dress in place. She threw it to the side, slipping her new robe over her head. “Oh, and it’s comfortable.”

“Whether we go forward depends on you, Void,” Targe said. “Will this robe allow you to… not die?”

“Uh, yeah?” Void said, chuckling. “I struck out on a subduing piece of gear on my way down here. Ran three dungeons on the way, got absolute crap for gear.”

“Then, we proceed,” Targe said.

Compared to the dungeon Ethan had run before, they adopted a completely different strategy. There was no need to clear the entire thing. That would have been dangerous. Instead, they’d cut straight up the western wing, and hit the boss as soon as they could. The shorter the time they spent in this place, the better.

The group packed up their camp, finally leaving the room they’d battled the sub-boss in. The next room was apparently the room the massive ant was in originally. Now it was empty, giving way to the next room without issue. There they found the regular corrupted ants, as well as a [Corrupted Hive Brooder]. It had the head and front appendages of a regular monster-ant, but with a vile grub-like backend. The monster was twice as large as the others, and spat little ants out that scattered around the room.

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“Standard tactics,” Targe said, poking his head around the corner. No one would step foot in the hall. “Four ants, one brooder.”

Ethan cast his [Summon Lucantele] spell and waited for the order. Targe instructed him to target a normal [Corrupted Ant], instead of the brooder. Based on the size of the creature, it couldn’t move swiftly. They had plenty of room to kite the monsters around, leaving no one with the desire to engage her. Not just because she looked like a pulsing grub that crapped ant monsters.

Luca sprinted down the passageway, weaving around the brooder and attacking the closest regular ant. All the others turned to the summoned spirit, barreling in to attack. Ethan did his little jig, activating [Caller’s Sprint]. Luca was back with the group in a few moments, leaving the flailing tentacle ants behind. As Targe expected, the brooder didn’t follow. It stayed behind, spewing tiny, near-harmless ants behind. Those chittering things followed behind, but they didn’t seem like much of a challenge. Like the tiny goblins from the bonus fight in the [Goblin Dungeon].

Targe did something amazing. Two ants passed the threshold when the Fighter activated the ability on his [Mail Shirt of the Earthenworks]. A barrier of dirt sprung up from the tunnel, sealing the passage and locking the other ants behind its wall. They immediately attacked the dirt wall.

“Genius!” Void shouted, throwing a bolt of void magic at the nearest of the two monsters.

Luca cast [Barrier of Hope] on Targe and poised himself to take shots at the creature’s tentacles. Ethan stood near Void, finding himself checking on her as they whittled the two monsters down. It was a much more standard fight than they were used to.

“Can’t wait for the—” Void started.

“Shut it!” Ethan said, pointing a finger at the short woman. “Do not summon another sub-boss. I swear to God.”

“Which god?” Void asked.

The two monsters fell without incident. The ants on the other side of the barrier had worked their way through the wall of dirt, finding it hard to push their bulbous bodies through the gaps. With the addition of their tentacles, they couldn’t fit. But what did come forth was a wave of tiny ant monsters. Rank 0, Level 1, but the poured in like flowing water.

“Ah, crap,” Targe said.

The group stomped on the creatures, killing them instantly. But they were vast.

“Really could use an area attack,” Targe grumbled before yelping. An ant had latched itself onto his forearm and was chewing away at his flesh, between the gaps in his armor. “Ya little bastard!”

Ethan ordered Luca through the hole the ants had created. The spirit dashed down the hall, and he shook his staff. Filled with the power of [Spur], Luca made his way to the brooder. The Caller only got errant thoughts from the spirit, but the brooder was not good in combat.

“Sent Luca to fight the brooder,” Ethan said, stomping on a pile of ants. The squelched under his foot.

“Good idea,” Targe grunted.

“Ah! They bit my butt!” Void shouted, twirling on the spot and swatting at her behind.

Ethan slapped the ant away with his staff, sending it dead to the ground. Then the ants pushed their way through the barrier, shattering it. Another tide came with them. The Caller threw out four heals, topping everyone off. 62 mana consumed, sending him down to 100 mana. The heals popped his [Clarity of MInd] ability twice, allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief in between stomping on ants.

“This is just annoying!” Targe shouted.

The Fighter had trouble angling his shield and stomping on the ants. He was taking the most damage out of everyone. It wasn’t large chunks of his health, but single HP chips that sent him plummeting down to three-quarters health in a few moments. Ethan threw out another heal, only reducing himself to 95 mana. Luca was doing fine against the brooder, jumping over the tide of small ants and kiting them around the room. The Caller felt the fight more than he saw it, and appreciated the spirit’s ability to improvise.

When the two ants fell, the group focused on killing the endless tide. There seemed to be more coming from down the passageway. Targe had taken to holding his shield in both hands, smashing the front-facing side on the ground. Twist stomped with more speed than a human should have been capable of. Void did a lot of angry screaming.

“How is the brooder?” Targe asked.

“Hard to say. I think Luca has it half-dead. At least,” Ethan said. “Oh, Luca died.”

Ethan felt the rush of mana flood through his body, choosing not to summon him back right away. He’d fallen to 60 mana after tossing a few heals around, finding it harder to cast the spells as the tide increased.

“Just rush the damn thing,” Targe said. He angled himself with his shield raised, then blasted down the passage. The little ants flew away, like water parting under a speeding boat.

The Fighter slammed into the brooder at the hall’s end. Twist, Void, and Bells sprinted down the freshly cleared path, finding a clear spot in the room to stand. The Rogue broke off from the group, activating his [Rogue’s Leaping Ring] to vault ontop of the brooder. He dug in with his daggers, slashing at the flailing tentacles without mercy.

An ant chewed on Ethan’s shoulder, and he squashed it in his hand. He focused, casting [Summon Lucantele] and preparing to use his [Mana Tap Ring]. Back at 100 mana from the [Caller’s Resilience] ability, he could stay in the fight much longer. Unlike Void, who was spent. She focused on keeping their immediate area cleared.

The group hacked the brooder down, leaving only the sea of small ants to deal with. What proceeded was like the stomping of grapes. Except the product of their efforts were piles of sour-smelling ichor that stained everything it touched. The process took longer than it should have, but when the room was cleared Ethan felt a rush flood through his body.

[Ethan Stout] has leveled! Ding! Level 2!

[Ethan Stout] gained 1 free point.

“Yay,” Ethan said with no enthusiasm. “Got a level.”

The party produced a series of half-hearted cheers. Ethan was now aware of how daunting the dungeon was. He realized they should be taking breaks more often, trying to keep morale up against the horrid ant monsters. He clapped his hands together a few times.

“Yay!” he shouted, this time with enthusiasm. Perhaps it was forced, but it was better than nothing. “More [Mana Regen] for me!”

The party returned with slightly more excitement this time.

Ethan placed his point into [Mind], bringing the Attribute to 19. His mana went from 205 to 210 and [Mana Regen] from 14 to 14.5.

“This place saps your will,” Twist said, sneering at the blanket of dead ants.

“Just so,” Targe said, tapping his boot on the ground.

At least Void looked alright. Not like the last time they fought. But they had a decision to make. The party was fed and watered, strong enough to push ahead. But the way the dungeon drained their will to move on made that difficult. Ethan could see how Targe thought about the problem, the gears in the man’s mind turning. Grinding to a halt at this roadblock, perhaps.

“This is my second dungeon, so excuse me if I’m wrong… but how many more sub-bosses are there?” Ethan asked.

“Depends on what way we go,” Void said. “Straight down one side, and that was the only one. One sub-boss per path. Unless—no. I won’t say it.”

“Good, keep those thoughts to yourself,” Targe said. “What are the chances another sub-boss comes for us? From the adjacent tunnels?”

No one offered an answer. Ethan thought about it. He understood a good amount about how monsters locked onto a person, having run the [Goblin Dungeon] solo. But this was not a normal situation. They had to move forward with the best information, not absolute truths.

“We can assume we’re safe,” Ethan said. “Can’t be more than one or two more rooms until the boss, right?”

“Should be about two more rooms,” Void agreed.

“We’ll deal with it. If it happens,” Twist said.

“Good enough for me,” Targe said. “So long as Void understands to take it easy.”

“I will,” the small woman said, waving his concerns away. “You’re not the first soft-hearted adventurer to fall in love with me. Not going to be the last, either. People love a sob-story.”

“That’s not… I’m simply concerned for a fellow adventurer,” Targe said.

“Uh-huh.”

“We can all fall in love with Void later,” Ethan said. “Let’s focus on moving forward. Sprint the rest of this cursed dungeon. I don’t even care about rewards. I just want out.”

“Agreed,” Twist said.

Void and Targe nodded together.

The group waited for their mana to regenerate, relying on Ethan to cure their wounds. Once everyone was topped off, and the Caller’s [Mana Tap Ring] was full, they proceeded down the narrow passageway. Before they hit the threshold, the Caller spotted the boss room. Beyond the next room was the last room they had to mess with. Then he could summon Telbarantis and they could get the hell out of there. He could feel the Great Spirit nearby. Urging him to reach the boss room as soon as possible. Like a distant voice calling over. Vague and confusing.

The dungeon had mercy for the second-to-last room. Five [Corrupted Ants], which they made quick work of. Void didn’t need to strain herself, not with the tactics they’d developed. Twist and Targe had honed their attacks on the tentacles, making quick work of the rabble.

The curious thing about the boss of the dungeon was its size. It looked like the tunneling ant-creatures, but even smaller than those. The height of Ethan himself. The party rested, prepared all their gear, and plunged into the massive room. A strange sensation like being dragged through space by his navel filled the Caller’s body. He stood back at the entrance of the dungeon, blinking away his confusion as a system message appeared.

[Ethan Stout] has entered a [Boss Arena]!

Surprise!

[Ant King 32] has cleared the dungeon, throwing your party into [Individual Trials]!

Each member must solve their own puzzle to clear the dungeon.