Orion, Shadow, and Arika sprinted down the entrance to the dungeon and immediately came to a three-way split in the main tunnel.

“Down here!”

Honeypot’s voice seemed to come from the tunnel to their left.

“Hurry, if it pleases you!”

They ran down the path to the left, Shadow suddenly boosting past them after using his Silent Speed ability. He was holding a torch that he’d lit, lighting the way.

Orion and Arika followed the waning light as he pulled further and further ahead of them.

Before the trailing pair could round the bend and see what was happening, they heard Shadow yell, “Death punch!” followed by what sounded like a body hitting the floor bonelessly.

As they rounded the corner, they finally caught sight of their fellow adventurers again.

Shadow was kneeling down over a prone Honeypot, who lay on the ground with a gaping wound running down his calf. Around the jagged slash, puncture wounds riddled his leg.

On the ground and slumped against the far wall of the tunnel was a giant, mole-like creature. It had long, sharp claws and vicious teeth that looked perfect for chewing through thick roots and debris.

Or an adventurer’s leg…

It had a green tinge to its fur that was similar to what the wolves had possessed, but lacked the obvious green growths.

“That damn thing could see through my Stealth.” Honeypot winced as he tried to sit up. “Nice shot, Shadow, right in the, ow, karate artery.”

“Well, that thing is clearly some kind of mole,” Orion said, pointing at the slain creature. “It likely located you by sound and vibration, not sight. Wait, why hasn’t your tentacle hat healed you?”

“I’m not damaged enough to be at half health yet. You can see it in the party interface, remember?”

In the panic of thinking Honeypot might die, Orion hadn’t remembered. Sure enough, he hadn’t even lost a quarter of his health.

“You sounded pretty dramatic for a man only missing a quarter of his health,” Arika said. “I would have thought you were about to be sent to respawn.”

“Yeah, well, it hurts, alright? I might have a bunch of health thanks to my level and the gear we jacked from that asshole Felsteg, but I don’t have the pain tolerance abilities that the tanks I’ve spoken to have.”

“You’ve spoken to tanks?” Orion asked, raising an eyebrow.

Honeypot rolled his eyes.

“Fine, I don’t have pain tolerance abilities like the tanks I’ve eavesdropped on. Better? That’s not important right now. What matters is that my leg is full of speed holes and we didn’t bring any healing potions.”

“Here,” Shadow said, pulling a potion out of his inventory and passing it to Honeypot.

The Priest gladly accepted the potion and downed it in one gulp. Orion could see Honeypot’s health heal back to full over five seconds in the party interface; in the same amount of time, the gaping wound on his leg healed back together, as did the many puncture wounds.

It was both astounding and off-putting to witness.

How could I have forgotten healing?

He’d brought his party back out into the forest to adventure without even thinking about the healing they might need. He’d rushed them back out, relying only on the tentacle hats they’d looted from defeating the slime dungeon, two of which were already depleted for the day.

What kind of leader didn’t even think of one of the most essential elements of any game—healing? What made it even worse was that while there was a System this was far from being just a game.

We’ve all experienced genuine pain in this world, and I treated all of their lives too lightly by not preparing enough.

“I’m sorry, Honeypot. I should have thought about healing.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Honeypot waved his apology away. “I thought about healing before we left Valbrand again, but the only apothecary I know of is on the other side of town. Who knew it would hurt so much if we got injured, though?”

He shuddered.

“I counted on my hat taking care of any injuries. My Stamina gives me more health, but doesn’t help with the pain in the least.”

“But you did think of healing,” Orion said. “I didn’t.”

“It’s no matter.” Shadow tried to console him with a hand on the shoulder. “I had healing potions on me already, and now you’ll know for next time. I still have three that’ll heal anyone back to full health with how little our health pools are, so we can keep going if you want to.”

I need to prepare better—to be better.

“Besides,” Honeypot said, breaking his train of thought, “even without a health potion, that wound would have eventually healed. We naturally regenerate health, and anything short of amputation will heal, given enough time. Assuming you don’t die from blood loss or damage, that is.”

“What happens if you lose a limb?” Orion asked, suddenly worried.

“No biggie.” Honeypot shrugged. “Go to the temple and they’ll sort you out. They’ll even heal you for free if you have no money, but expect a bit of a wait if you’re not paying. Now, are we going to beat this dungeon or what?”

“Are you guys happy to keep going?” Orion asked, turning to his team.

“I’m down.” Honeypot gestured at the slain creature. “If I’m keen to keep going after meeting the business end of a giant mole, you guys are still in, right?”

Arika and Shadow both nodded.

Orion bent down to have a closer look at the creature, taking note of the sharp claws and teeth.

“Alright. We keep going, then—with care.”

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He peered at the tiny eyes on the mole’s head, confirming his suspicion about the mole’s means of detection.

“There’s no point in sending you alone if they can see through your Stealth, so we move as one.”

They traversed the path ever downward, Shadow’s torch lighting the way.

“The map is invaluable down here.” Orion brought it up as they reached a four-way intersection of two paths. “It’d be easy to get lost in these tunnels without it revealing where we’ve already been.”

“The way it loops back and forth is certainly annoying.” Honeypot ran his hand along a wall. “But I have no doubt our supreme leader could find—mole!”

Honeypot jumped back from the wall he’d been touching the moment before the creature in question burst through.

He stunned it with his Chastise ability as he scrambled away.

Shadow dispatched it with a single Vicious Blow.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I am having so much fun.”

“I bet,” Arika said. “You’re the one that gets to fight all these things.”

“Feel free to interject with a boop of your staff.” Honeypot mimed bringing down a two handed staff. “Right on the noggin.”

She laughed.

“I’m good. I think I’ll let Shadow do all the slaying for now. Call me when you need something exploded.”

When what must have been the tenth mole appeared from the wall a few hours later, Arika brought her staff down with two hands, smacking the stunned creature right between the eyes.

Shadow followed up with Vicious Blow, ending the encounter.

“Hey!” Honeypot complained with mock anger. “You said you were leaving the slaying to Shadow!”

She looked between the dead mole and Honeypot, shrugging.

“I got bored. That was actually kinda fun, Shadow.”

Shadow face lit up.

“Right? Something about bringing down your—loot! There’s loot!”

Orion looked where Shadow was emphatically gesturing. There was a small white bag at the feet of the slain monster.

Shadow dashed over and picked it up.

“Oh, neat. They’re gloves that give one Intellect!” He turned to Orion. “For Arika?”

Orion smiled and nodded.

“For Arika.”

He passed the gloves to her, and she put them on.

Honeypot laughed so loud that Orion had to shush him, worried that every monster within a few kilometers would come running.

“Th-they’re beautiful, Arika,” Honeypot said through fits of laughter. “Really bring out your eyes.”

The gloves in question were furry gloves with the fingers cut out. The fur matched the wiry coat covering the moles that inhabited the dungeon.

She let out a sigh.

“I hate that it gives you so much joy, but a free point of Intellect is too much to pass up on. Guess I’m rocking the hobo look until I get an upgrade.”

Honeypot scowled at her, full of suspicion.

“There’s no way you’re that chill about having to wear those. You’re just refusing to give me the satisfaction.”

She gave him a sweet smile.

“Maybe I am.”

He scowled at her, full of suspicion.

“You know, it’s much less fun for me when you’re self-aware.”

While Orion was enjoying the back-and-forth, he interrupted it with something productive.

“I think we’re nearing the boss room. We’ve been seeing less of the offshoot tunnels, and this one is wider than the ones before it.”

Honeypot looked at the walls, then back to Orion.

“It is?”

“Yeah, not by much, but it’s definitely wider. You didn’t notice?”

“Nope, but I trust my glorious leader with undying certainty.”

He turned and strode further into the depths.

“Onward, followers!”

A few winds of the path later, the tunnel opened up before them, and they arrived.

The cavern looked similar to the slime boss’ room, with a giant pool of green liquid on one side of the room, and the same alien-looking plants growing around it.

Where the rooms differed, however, was that this cavern had a mole the size of a Volkswagen Beetle that appeared to be sleeping in the center. Boulders scattered around the room, which Orion noted they could use for cover.

The boss that lay sleeping was a sight to behold.

It had the same green-tinted fur coating it as the rest of the moles, with claws the length of his forearm. It was facing away from them, so he couldn’t see its face, but he could only assume its teeth were similarly enlarged.

He motioned for his party to come closer, so they could hear his whispered instructions.

“We’ll lead with your Explosion, Arika. The rest of us will hide behind the boulders in the room, just out of range. As soon as Explosion goes off, we all rush in.”

She nodded, so he continued.

“Lead with your stun, Honeypot. We’ll need you to use it on cooldown. This fight looks like it could give us a lot of trouble without a tank or healer, but let’s do our best. I’ll keep my eye out for a weakness and yell if I figure one out. You all do the same if you notice anything. We should assume this thing can also see through Honeypot’s Stealth, so we won’t be able to abuse his distractions.”

Arika began casting her ability, while Shadow, Honeypot, and Orion began slowly making their way toward the center of the room.

Before they could reach the point they were advancing to, the mole stirred. It lifted its head, smelling the air. The second it had moved, all approaching members moved to the closest rock and hid behind it.

Orion looked between his three party members. Arika was still casting, unperturbed by the movement of the mole.

How long has it been, and how long does she have left on the thirty-second cast?

It was hard to keep track of time, but he hoped she was almost finished. If the mole moved and she missed, that could be the difference between victory and death.

Honeypot was looking calm and, of all things, smiling, his eyes locked intently on Arika—waiting for the Explosion to go off.

Orion heard Shadow before he saw him.

The man was panting, his sections of plate armor rubbing against each other; he looked as distressed as Orion felt. He got Shadow’s attention by waving his hands. When the Warrior looked up at him, Orion mimed taking deep, calming breaths, using his hands to show the passage of air going in and out slowly.

Shadow understood the point and closed his eyes to focus on his breathing.

The sound of Shadow’s armor rubbing against itself disappeared, but an even more distressing sound emerged—the boss monster rolling over and getting to its feet.

Its heavy footsteps could be heard as it walked forward, sniffing the air.

It knows we’re here…

Despite showing a facade of calm acceptance to Shadow, Orion panicked.

It might be all over if it charges for Arika. A single hit of the monster’s massive claws could end her.

Before he could freak out further, Explosion detonated—quicker than the thirty-second cast-time.

The boss must have left the ability’s radius, so Arika used Invoke to cast Explosion, Orion thought.

Even with a boulder between him and the boss, he was almost knocked off his feet, barely managing to stabilize himself with both hands on the ground.

He let out a wordless yell, stood up, and charged toward the—

What the fuck…

The boss stood before him, every single one of its hairs burnt away by Arika’s Explosion. It only had a few burns and scorch marks on its body, and was otherwise healthy. Well, healthy in the sense of its life force—its droopy face and misshapen body made it look like a geriatric diabetic subsisting on a diet of painkillers and vodka.

Orion squinted at the boss and the name ‘Merv’ appeared above it in red letters.

“My beautiful fur!” Merv looked down and patted itself, feeling smooth skin where its thick, wiry fur had been.

The comment dazed Orion. He hadn’t expected the overgrown mole to be self aware and capable of speech, but his momentary pause wore off when he saw Honeypot almost at the boss.

Orion resumed his charge, and the silent form of Shadow shot past him.

Honeypot reached Merv first and used Chastise to stun it—well, to stun him, as was now clear without the thick layer of fur acting as pants.

As the stun took hold, Merv’s arms went as limp as another, more prominent appendage.

“Arika!” Honeypot looked at her over his shoulder as he retreated. “A little warning would be nice before you remove another bloke’s pants with us in the room!”

“Shut the fuck up, Honeypot!”

He spared a half a second to give Orion a shocked look, but Orion could see the glee dancing in his eyes behind the facade of indignation.

A moment later, Shadow reached Merv.

He used his Vicious Blow, unleashing a brutal overhead strike. The attack left a wound where the beast’s shoulder met its neck—either by coincidence or design—aimed for the point that Honeypot said one could find the karate artery.

Orion reached the beast too, and short of any offensive abilities, began raining down blows with his staff.

Shadow joined him in his assault, lashing out again-and-again with his sword.

Honeypot was on the other side, unleashing a series of blows with the scimitar formerly belonging to Felsteg.

After what felt like much less than the four seconds Honeypot’s stun lasted, the boss could move again.

“REEEEEEEE!” Merv screeched, charging directly through them and at Arika. “You did this!”

Orion hit the floor hard as the charging boss tossed him aside, causing him to lose an insignificant amount of health.

He looked up just in time to see Arika get slammed by the boss’ clawed hand.

She flew across the room and hit the wall with a sickening crunch.