“What did you do to them?” Nathan asked Saleh, his footsteps echoing in the dim moss light.

The white haired man cocked an eyebrow, one corner of his mouth tugging up. “Oh, that? It was nothing. I told them not to mind us, so we have slipped from their minds.”

“So, mind control?” Cleo asked.

“Not exactly.” Saleh twisted his mouth in thought. “That makes it sound a lot more sinister. More like mind… suggestions.”

“How long do we have before they realize what’s happened? That’s not permanent, is it?” Nathan didn’t like the idea of those men being turned into such mindless things as they had been forever. It seemed almost worse than just flat out killing them.

“Permanent?” Saleh laughed. “Oh, gods no. I wish. We have four or so hours at best until they are back to normal. But don’t worry, they won’t remember anything from while, or right before, they were suggested.”

“Just keep your slimy words away from us, and we won’t have a problem,” Cleo snarled.

“My words are silky smooth, thank you very much,” Saleh said with a wink.

Winking after saying something certainly didn’t inspire confidence.

“What is your class, Saleh?” Nathan asked. Immediately, it felt as if he had just done something taboo.

Saleh abruptly stopped walking, turned, and stared straight at Nathan, his white eyes glowing with the pale green hue of the moss, his expression stony. But then, as quick as it had disappeared, his grin came back. “Quite a personal question there, Colonel. I like you, but we’ve only just met. Are you planning on telling me yours?”

No. No, he was not. Curiosity had just gotten the best of him for a moment and the question had slipped out. With the lack of conversation on classes that Nathan had had in the short few days he’d been here, it was obviously something that most kept very close to their chest.

“Sorry,” Nathan said, waving a hand dismissively in the air. “You’re right. That ability of yours has just got me thinking. What should we be expecting in this dungeon anyway? I had assumed there would be monsters or something, but so far all I see are puddles and moss.”

“I don’t know much more than you do,” Saleh said with a shrug. “This dungeon has been locked for quite some time, and last I checked, you were the one holding the key.”

Nathan grumbled but relented and they continued on their walk, an awkward silence enveloping the three of them. Saleh took the silence as an invitation to start that life story he’d begun telling before Cleo shot him. Both assassins tuned him out.

Nathan had no clue about anything class related. How many there were, how people got them, what the differences between them meant. He’d apparently gotten his from killing some sort of demigod, but that probably wasn’t the usual path to receive a class.

They continued their walk in the eerie, uncomfortable silence of the dungeon for several minutes, Saleh’s prattling unceasing. The only other sounds were that of their footsteps and the occasional drop of water. Saleh hadn’t seemed worried about the men only being out for a few hours. Did that mean they should be finished and out of the dungeon before then?

Nathan knew he shouldn’t, as they were in a dangerous area and he had no idea what to expect, but he was getting bored, so he pulled up his stat screen to look through it. The words shimmered into existence before him, no one else able to see it unless he allowed them to. And he didn’t trust either of the people he was with enough to do that.

Name: Nathan Fleet

Race: Human*

Class: Ferryman

Level: 8

Stats: (Stat Points: 3)

– Strength: 29

– Agility: 31

– Endurance: 27

– Intelligence: 13

– Charisma: 18

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

– Luck: 7

Abilities:

– Aspiring: You have not yet reached the grand heights that you wish. There will be more to your life.

– Echo of the Dead: All souls must journey across the waters, but some need a guide. Enables the user to absorb and store Echoes of any entities slain by Echo of the Dead.

The user can summon any stored Echoes, commanding them as they please. When the summoned Echo dissipates, it is then Ushered and can no longer be summoned. Ushered Echoes grant you a portion of their power and can also grant a temporary ability.

Echoes Stored: [3/5]

Total Echoes Ushered: [3/5]

Traits:

– Mantle of the Ferryman: Charnun has passed his Mantle on to you.

– Master of Death: You have died and come back from the grave. Necromantic capabilities significantly increased.

– Peerless Assassin: You have dedicated your life to the art of killing. Physical capabilities significantly increased. +10 to all starting physical stats.

– Soulchained: Whether by acts of gods or demons, you have found your existence and soul bound to that of another. While within a certain distance the one whose soul you have been bound to, you receive improved physical and magical capabilities. However, should the two Soulchained entities be sufficiently apart, capabilities will be reduced based on distance. Damage to either entity's soul will be shared amongst both.

Wait, Aspiring was an ability? This whole time, he’d thought it was some sort of passive Trait. Did that mean it was something he could activate and use? What would it do?

Nathan felt the burning bundle of energy stored within his body, pushing some of it into this new ability. He felt a mental clicking, like a key sliding into something, unlocking.

Aspiring

The next ability you use will consume significantly more energy to gain an additional effect dependent on your situation. Once used, Aspiring will be unable to be used for some time.

Nathan blinked. Interesting. How would that enhance–

“Get down!” Saleh yelled.

A tingle ran through Nathan’s mind.

The wall above them lurched, thick trunks of green reaching down toward the ground like falling pillars. Nathan dove to the side as one slammed into the stone next to him, sending up sprays of rubble and water. He landed hard on his shoulder, rolled with the motion, and came back up on his feet.

It must have been a dozen of them. Great big vines of glowing green, hurtling down from the cavern’s ceiling, crashing into the earth like meteors. A rumbling roar split the air from somewhere above, shaking yet more dust and stone down onto them.

“What is going on?” Cleo yelled, dodging another of the vines as it carved a trench through the earth like a massive scythe.

“The flora in the dungeon have been soaking up the dungeon’s energy for years!” Saleh sliced into a thick limb as it pulled back up into the shadows above. A watery substance spilled out like blood as he drew his sword back, but the vine was too thick for the man’s strike to have fully cut through. “Everything has been mutated.”

“The damn plants are attacking us?” Nathan leapt back into the air, drawing his blade, his other hand igniting in verdant flame. He crashed into another thick trunk, his blade sunk into the beast with ease all the way to the hilt. And then it started to lift into the air. “It looks like I’m going for a ride!”

“Don’t you dare get me killed!” Cleo scowled up at him and Nathan waved back.

Down below, the two continued to weave in and out of strikes as the thick vines hammered into the earth, shaking the entire room. Their abilities didn’t seem to be of much use at the moment. It would be difficult for Cleo to land a kiss on the vines mid combat – although entertaining to watch her try – and talking to a plant sounded like an exercise in futility. That certainly didn’t stop them from slicing and shooting every chance they got.

Saleh in particular, looked to be doing very well. His characteristic smile had not slipped from his face, and the creature – whatever it was – was giving him no trouble whatsoever. Nathan would have to keep a very close eye on the man.

But not now. Now, he was ascending up into the air on the back of a carnivorous plant. Seemed par for the course these days. He pulled his legs tight around it as if riding a mechanical bull and gripped his sword.

The closer he got to the ceiling, the easier it became to see. Glowing moss clung to the wet rooftop, shining its green light across a mass of pulsating, writhing vines. And in the center was a great big mouth. It was certainly not the prettiest thing he had ever seen.

[Mutated Nightshade Maw – Lvl. 23]

Fifteen levels higher than Nathan. That couldn’t mean anything good.

It was at that moment that Nathan realized he was not riding the vine up, it was pulling him up, moving him toward the mouth. Like a piece of food. He’d served himself up on a silver platter.

Shit.

The ground was quickly getting further and further away from him. Jumping off from this height, even with his younger body and enhanced physical capabilities, would end with broken legs at the very least.

The teeth were getting closer and closer, a viscous watery sludge dripping from every branch-like fang. Nathan let go with his legs, planting them firmly on the side of the vine as it continued to creep up. Now, the only thing keeping him from falling was one hand clenched tight around the hilt of his sword. He felt the blade give a little, sliding and cutting down through the vine a solid six inches, but it held.

“I promise, I won’t make a very tasty snack.” But the Maw did not care. “Alright,” he said, sighing. “Let’s see how perfect this effect is.”

Once the mouth was within a dozen feet, Nathan kicked, launching himself forward. Straight toward the gaping maw. He shot through the air like a bullet, leaving his sword behind, embedded in the fibrous body of the vine.

For a moment, everything was still. A vine like tongue lapped hungrily. Acidic saliva dripped from the maw’s fangs. Bright flames of green and flickering white shone brightly from his hand, igniting across his skin as he moved like a shooting star.

And then his fist collided with the monster.

Aspiring consumed.