“This won’t hold me for long. When I get out of here, I’m gonna fucking kill you!” Ashkar roared, drawing the mercenary’s attention back to him.

Boork chuckled and said, “Just be glad I decided not to kill you. And of course, I’ll be helping myself to the entire chest.”

“This ends badly for you,” Zinnia said, her tone sharp and foreboding.

Ashkar added, “You’d kill us if you could, but you can’t. I know how time prisons work. Do what you want with the kid, but if you take that chest, I will find you and kill you.”

Kill me? Kaiden blanched at that last part. Whatever was supposedly in that chest was worth more than his life or at least to Ashkar.

Boork looked up for a moment, as if mulling over the statement, weighing whether having Ashkar as an enemy was worth it. Kaiden could only stare in horror, but then he began backing into the tunnel. He knew he couldn’t outrun the mercenary—Boork would capture him no matter where he went—but if he could get the Bracer artifact, perhaps he’d stand a chance of surviving whatever came next.

He heard Boork yell after him, “I’ll give you a head start while I empty this chest first! Hahaha!”

“Merc!” Ashkar bellowed.

“Fuck you!” Boork shouted back. “Once I present whatever’s in this chest to Thorne, you won’t be able to touch me! Hahaha!”

Thankfully, Boork moved over to the main chest, and Kaiden turned his focus back to his own task. Activating Arcane Vision, he revealed the runes and removed the Bracer chest from the wall.

Kaiden opened the chest to find a potion bottle with a multicolored liquid in it. He grabbed it, and a notification popped in his head:

Potion of All Heal

An artifact that heals all physical ailments. Increases stamina and mana to full. Speed of recovery depends on the severity of wounds. Can regenerate severed limbs. If there is life, there is hope.

Deliver the Medicine (Passive): When the potion is summoned, gain +40 and +20% to Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution for 30 seconds.

Cooldown: One use every 24 hours.

Summonable at will or 24 hours after use.

Warning: Soulbound upon activation. Once bound, it cannot be separated, removed or transferred to another.

Do you wish to bind this artifact?

Kaiden sped through the message and selected yes to bind the artifact. He didn’t have time to revel in the artifact’s amazing capabilities or its details. It seemed like it could heal anything—and that was good enough for him. There were more pressing matters at hand, with the mercenary surely on his way.

As the potion disappeared, a notification flared in his vision: Title Gained: Four For One. Kaiden blinked it away without reading further. A title wasn’t going to help him right now.

The awareness of his new artifact clicked into place, just as it had with the others, and Kaiden bolted down the tunnel, his heart pounding in his chest. He dropped one of his two shields along the way, hoping it would make him move faster.

He briefly considered abandoning the other shield as well, reasoning that he now had the artifact shield, but something about relying on an untested weapon left him uneasy. A persistent thought whispered that the artifact was all he needed now—it was part of him after all and it should be natural to use. But Kaiden couldn't bring himself to fully trust it, not yet.

"Dammit," he muttered under his breath, his frustration mounting. Once again, he found himself running for his life, but this time the threat wasn’t from a monster—it was from his own party member. “Former party member now...”

Kaiden's hope was to make it down the tunnel, circle around, and head through another tunnel back to Ashkar and Zinnia. If he could get to them, maybe he could find a way to free them before Boork caught up. But he knew the mercenary could outpace him with ease. The man was probably relishing the chase, confident in the knowledge that Kaiden had nowhere to hide and no way to escape.

Still... just maybe. Maybe the thrill of the hunt would make Boork underestimate Kaiden and give him the sliver of a chance he needed to survive. Once at the end of the tunnel, Kaiden skidded to a halt, his chest heaving. His plan shifted in an instant, spurred by a surge of desperation and cunning. The shield wouldn’t save him—not from Boork. But maybe, just maybe, it could serve as a distraction.

Gripping the shield tightly for a moment, Kaiden muttered a quick, “Please work,” and hurled it to the right with all his strength. The clattering echoed down the hall as the shield disappeared into the darkness. He prayed that the mercenary would see it and follow the hall right as he went the opposite.

Without hesitation, Kaiden turned left, his legs pumping as fast as they could carry him. His only chance at survival was avoiding a direct confrontation with Boork. Shield or artifact, it wouldn’t matter. He needed to get to those two.

With the faintest sliver of hope, it was enough to fuel his escape as he sprinted toward the next junction. The sound of his own footsteps filled his ears, drowning out the sound of his own heartbeat which threatened to beat out of his chest. He went down another tunnel, keeping up his brisk pace. He was confident in his running and didn’t tire easily, but he knew he was nowhere near as fast as the mercenary. His only thought process at the moment was to make it to Ashkar and Zinnia and see what ideas they had so he could free them.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

He finally made it through the tunnel, and sure enough, there were Ashkar and Zinnia, each frozen in their own little bubble. Their backs were to Kaiden as he now picked up the pace and sprinted toward them. Thankfully, Boork wasn’t there.

“Zinnia!” Kaiden called out. “How do I free y—”

“Kaiden, run! Just get out of here,” Zinnia cut him off, even though she couldn’t turn to face him.

“Take the portal, boy,” Ashkar said.

“But maybe I can hel—” Kaiden started to say, and then a figure crashed into him, sending him flying to the ground.

Kaiden hit the ground hard, but it was nowhere near as strong as some of the hits he’d taken from some of the monsters in the dungeon, and he was a lot sturdier now too. Still, he rolled around a few times and took a few seconds to get his bearings and took a knee.

He looked up to see Boork walking slowly toward him with a wicked smile.

Kaiden could hear Ashkar and Zinnia cursing him from behind, but the mercenary just ignored them and kept walking toward Kaiden.

“Y’know, I would’ve just killed you quickly at this point, but you slighted me, and I promised you some payback,” Boork said.

Kaiden cursed mentally. How was he going to get out of this? There was no way he’d be able to talk himself out of it. The only thing he could do was escape.

He didn’t answer the mercenary, but instead shifted his eyes to the portal. Even if he did escape through there, Boork could easily chase him down, but there was still the slightest chance that someone might be able to help. The portal should bring them out back to where they entered, right? Back in Camp Thorne territory.

Boork chuckled and said, “Thinking of escaping? You won’t make it.”

Then he rushed forward and punched Kaiden in the face. Kaiden’s vision swam as he hit the ground, blood dripping from his nose where Boork’s punch had landed. He scrambled back, trying to clear his head. His ears rang with the muffled sounds of Zinnia and Ashkar shouting behind him, though their exact words were lost in the chaos of his thoughts.

Boork grabbed Kaiden and tossed him back away from the portal, slamming him into one of the shimmering bubbles encasing Ashkar. The bubble wasn’t soft, however—it felt like crashing into solid stone. Kaiden gasped as the impact knocked the air from his lungs, and he coughed up blood.

Without hesitation, he slapped himself with Healing Touch, easing the worst of the pain, though he wasn’t in terrible shape yet. Still, his mind raced. Keeping his voice low, he murmured just loud enough for Ashkar to hear, “How do I free you?”

Boork was strutting back toward him, putting on a smug show of triumph as if he had all the time in the world.

“You can’t,” Ashkar replied in a low voice. “This is a time prison. He can’t hurt us, but we’re stuck in here for maybe ten more minutes.”

Kaiden’s eyes widened, but he kept his gaze down, ensuring Boork didn’t notice.

From the other bubble, Zinnia spoke up, her voice sharp. “You don’t want to make enemies of the Perennial Petal.”

Boork scoffed and waved her off. “I did nothing to you. Your share of the loot is right there.” He motioned toward the massive chest with a casual tilt of his head. “Once the time runs out, you’ll be free and unharmed. Surely the Perennial Petal won’t seek grievances over that.”

Interesting, Kaiden thought. Even with General Thorne’s backing, Boork seemed to tread carefully to avoid offending the Perennial Petal.

Before Zinnia could retort, Ashkar’s voice boomed from his bubble. “And what of mine?”

Boork smirked wickedly, his gaze turning colder. “I took all of yours, of course. You’re just some solo diver, right? No one important. Nobody Thorne could easily take care of.”

A black cube materialized in Boork’s hand as a triumphant look appeared on his face.

“My artifact!” Ashkar roared, his voice reverberating through the cavern.

“This belongs to General Thorne now,” Boork said with a cruel laugh. “I imagine he’ll reward me handsomely for this and make to take care of some random swordsman who tries to come after me.” Then he turned his attention back to Kaiden and kicked him squarely in the gut. Kaiden doubled over, the wind knocked out of him, a pained scream escaping his lips.

“Stop!” Zinnia yelled. “I already told you—he’s mine. If you kill him, you risk insulting the Perennial Petal and me personally.”

Boork froze for a moment, his eye twitching in frustration. He glared at her and said, “That… that’s a risk I’m willing to take. He personally offended me, and he isn’t part of the Perennial Petal. Perhaps your sister will see reason.”

“You’ll regret that dearly.”

Kaiden watched the mercenary warily, struggling to catch his breath. He needed to act, and soon.

Boork sneered, his voice dripping with malice as he turned to Kaiden. “Not as much as he’s going to regret pissing me off earlier,” he said, a cruel grin spreading across his face. “And now, time to keep my promise to my little pet here.”

A dagger flashed into his hand, and with one swift motion, he sliced off Kaiden’s right hand at the wrist.

Kaiden’s scream echoed through the cavern as white-hot pain shot through his body. He stared in horror at the bloody stump where his hand used to be. No! His mind raced as he cast Healing Touch, desperately stopping the bleeding as Boork let out a maniacal laugh. He was sure Mindforge was the only thing keeping him from going into shock.

“Oops,” Boork said mockingly, picking up the severed hand and tossing it across the cavern like trash.

“You bastard!” Zinnia screamed, her voice cracking with fury.

“This is the worst mistake of your life,” Ashkar growled. “And no one, not even Thorne, will save you from me.”

Boork chuckled darkly. “I’ll take my chances.”

Meanwhile, Kaiden’s mind spiraled. The situation was dire—his body battered, his hope dimming. He was outmatched and outmaneuvered. Every instinct screamed for him to run for the portal, but he knew he wouldn’t make it. Boork was faster, stronger, and most likely ready to chase.

I’m not strong enough to change this. The thought stung more than the pain in his wrist. He was utterly powerless. Or was he?

He remembered the lesson from his first dungeon. Use everything at your disposal. He wanted to hide the artifacts he had at first, but that was stupid. He held back in his first dungeon and Coren died for it. It didn’t matter if revealing his artifacts meant exposing himself to suspicion later. If they could turn the tide, he had to try.

Boork had his back turned, taunting Zinnia and Ashkar with his smugness. Despair slowly turned to anger. How dare that asshole do this to him. Kaiden was tired of being weak and tired of getting his ass beat. If he was going to die, he'd rather go out in battle now than get tortured to death later.

Fuck it! He summoned the Potion of All Heal into his left hand, the multicolored liquid shimmering faintly.

A surge of power shot through him as his physical stats skyrocketed. Strength, Dexterity, Constitution—he could feel every fiber of his being strengthened. Thirty seconds. That’s all he had.

He crushed the bottle, and warm healing energy rushed through him as his body knitted itself together in almost the blink of an eye. He watched in awe as his hand reformed at the wrist in seconds, feeling as good as new. This is incredible, he thought, flexing his fingers.

Thank Oros, he added internally, relieved that the temporary stat boost didn’t vanish with the potion. It seemed to take effect as soon as the bottle was summoned and lasted the full 30 seconds.

Twenty seconds left, he thought to himself, his focus sharpening.

He summoned the Bloodforged Fangclaw, a spear taking shape in his hands with a thought. It felt like an extension of himself. Anger mixed with resolve as he charged, his footsteps echoing through the cavern.

Boork turned, his predatory grin faltering, most likely tipped off by the sound of Kaiden’s approaching footsteps. “What the f—”

The spear plunged forward, cutting his words short as it pierced through his armor. The mercenary’s eyes widened in shock as the weapon impaled him.