The Academy dungeon entrance was located towards the back of the islet. The nine students and Master Sims had to leave through the main gate and walk along a thin rocky path that ran down to the water line and around the island. The stone path had been sleek with seawater and bird shit. Waves smashing against the rocks just below them had thrown salty mist into the air.

The path had led around the back of the islet to a cave large enough for three students, walking side by side, to enter at once. There were no guards on duty and no door barring the way. Edan, having expected a bit more grandeur, felt let down.

“Remember, the deeper you go, the denser the Vitalis. Go too deep and you’ll become oversaturated. If you don’t blow up, you’ll disintegrate. Neither option is good!” Master Sims yelled over the crashing waves. A strong sea breeze pulled at his clothes and made his mustache dance above his lip. “You have a day. Stick together. Watch each other's backs. And protect yourself! If you need to, run back up here, There is a guardian near the entrance that will kill anything near it.”

Not eager to stay there any longer, Master Sims hustled the lot of them forward. Aser stalked forward with his usual confidence. Nose and Teeth flanking him like ever-present shadows. Ashina seemed to be swallowed by the other members as her small frame disappeared behind Kumi and Lorien.

Edan hung back. He hadn’t liked the way Aser glared at him, the taller boy's gaze had not been friendly.

Moisture dripped from the ceiling of the cave, collecting into pools of water in depressions along the hard stone ground. Darkness seemed to swallow them the deeper they pushed. The sound of the sea echoed strangely in the space, sounding like a constant roar.

“Don’t damage the glyphs, runt!” Aser called out from the front, pointing to the ground as he sneered at Edan. “You couldn’t afford the repair.”

Edan ignored the barb but slowed down even more so he could examine the runes running along the floor. Each glyph was carved into the ground, the sharp angles and swirling loops were thicker than Edan's finger and deeper than his hand. Water had long since filled up the runes and Edan wondered if that affected it at all.

He also wondered how on Terra Aser thought he would damage the glyphs?

“Just being an ass.” Edan had muttered.

He had jumped when he heard soft laughter near his ear. Spinning around he didn’t see anyone.

Rushing off after the others, Edan didn’t look back a second time. Whether it was the guardian Master Sims had mentioned or a ghost just messing with him, Edan didn’t feel the urge to find out.

The darkness had slowly receded as the group traveled further into the cave. The path sloped down gradually and looped around on itself a few times. The other eight students stuck together, their whispers bouncing off the wall. Edan followed close enough to see them, but not so close he would draw attention.

Replacing the darkness, a soft yellow glow started to light the walls. What had once been rough stone became smooth. Almost polished. There was no more moisture in the air, instead a warm breeze drifted up to them, drying the sweat and sea mist on their skin and leaving behind salty powder.

Edan ran his tongue over his lips, enjoying the taste.

The yellow glow changed to a light orange, before turning into a deep red. The ground beneath their feet no longer had the hard texture of rock and Edan noticed it was soil when he looked down. Dry and cracked, but soil.

The group in front disappeared around a bend and Edan heard them gasp in amazement. It was enough to make him put a little hustle in his steps.

They stood before a massive cavern lit by the red glow Edan had noticed earlier. Crystals, some as large as houses, others smaller than his hand but clumped together like appleberries, grew from the walls and floor. Each crystal gave off its own red glow, the light within making them sparkle like gems.

Edan had expected dry dirt floors but a lush sea of flowers carpeted the floor. The buds looked like little flames dancing in an imaginary breeze. It was as if a thousand candles had been left behind, but their flames cast no light, and the plants gave off no shadow.

Lorien gasped and pointed up. Edan, like the rest of the group, followed her finger. High above their heads and arcing across the entire cavern were white support beams. Edan followed one curving beam as it arched down to the ground. There was something about the pillar that reminded Edan of…

“Bone!” Lorien said excitedly. “Its bones!”

“Chaos Realms!” Kumi cursed, looking around in shock. “We’re in the stomach.”

They were right. Holding the ceiling, and likely the academy up were the bones of some ancient monstrous creature. Now that Edan knew what to look for he could see the central spine running the length of the room. Ribs sprung out and merged with the walls on either side of them. Where the head of the great beast was, Edan didn’t know, but he imagined if they went deeper they would likely find it.

And that led to the main source of light in the room. Brighter than all the crystals. There was a hole in the middle of the room, its edges perfectly symmetrical and smooth as if someone had melted a hole right through the floor. The red, fiery light, came from within that hole and it was towards this that Aser moved.

As he marched through the field of flowers, the petals fell away before darting through the air. Edan realized that the petals weren’t actually petals but little humanoid whisps of fire that shook tiny fists at them.

Edan knew what they were. Flame elementals. When rich enough Vitalis saturated an area, sometimes it could take on a fake sentience. The little flame figures taking to the air as Aser passed would eventually fade out of existence when their Vitalis fell apart.

Not every flower was a Flame elemental though. Some of them were real, and Lorien and Yaw, the third-ranked in the class, began to pick them. Yaw even produced a pair of bronze clippers to help.

Edan slowed down further, giving them more space. He slipped a dagger from a sheath along his chest and cut a few flowers of his own. These were tucked away into his pack. He didn’t know what they were, but if the Flame elementals liked them, they were likely worth a few tokens.

The hole in the room took up most of the first floor. The students were basically traveling across a small ring to reach it and once near the lip, Edan could make out stairs leading down to the second floor.

There was a railing that came up to his hip running along the stairs, but Edan still gulped when he looked over and saw the long, long, drop. He couldn’t even see the bottom of the hole and if one of them fell…Edan didn’t know if you’d ever stop screaming.

“I’m lead!” Aser called, moving down the stairs cautiously.

Edan was more than happy to fall to the back. There seemed to be some unsaid agreement that your rank determined your position in line. Even Teeth and nose lost their spot near Aser and fell between Kumi.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

A warm, almost suffocating breeze floated up from below. Sweat stung Edan’s eyes and ran down his face in rivers. The collar of the shirt he wore, along with patches under his arm, was wet already. Actually, the whole shirt was soaked. Edan could feel it sticking to him as he moved.

The stairs led to the second floor, another ring like the one above, but more uneven. Rock walls rose up from the ground to ceiling, sectioning off areas of the floor. They could choose to move on to the third floor as the steps they followed continued down, but Aser stepped off and the others followed.

Each breath made Edan’s nostrils hot. The air felt heavy and Edan found he had to exert more effort to fill his lungs. It wasn't a hindrance. If anything, it made Edan feel more alert and focused.

The Vitalis! Edan realized. It’s the Vitalis. The airs thick with it!

Focusing on his breathing, Edan tried to get a sense of how his SoulScape was doing but he didn’t quite have the skills needed to meditate while moving.

The ground on this floor lived up to Edan's earlier expectations. Barren and dry the soil was cracked. Small tufts of the same flowers above grew here, but the green leaves were tinged brown and the beautiful flame flowers looked twisted and deformed.

Edan was watching the flowers when Aser walked past so he noticed the petals fall. They didn’t rise in the air like they had on the first floor. They dropped as if weighted, hitting the ground in small puffs of dust. It seemed to set off a chain reaction as other petals fell, from flowers that hadn’t been disturbed.

Meanwhile, the group had pushed further into the floor. Kaneel passed the first patch of flowers, leaving only Edan left to bring up the rear. From his position at the back, Edan noticed the petals rolling together. It was like watching raindrops merge and for a second Edan stood transfixed. The petal turned drop went from a soft orange flame to a fiery red blob as it grew with each new addition.

“Guys!” Edan called out. He looked around the floor and noticed similar blobs forming from each of the flower patches the group had passed. “Guys! Look at the flowers!”

Surprisingly it was Ashina who listened. There was a startled gasp from her as she pulled the short sword from its sheath at her hip. More on reflex than actual thought, the others copied her.

Edan was proud of his classmates. They clumped together, turning so they were back to back, their varied weapons held out like a bristling shield of sharp tips. Of course, Edan had been hanging so far back that he was left out of the circle of protection.

When the globs of red liquid fire began to roll toward the group, Edan was thankful they had left him behind. The…whatever they were…completely ignored him. Using [Identify] told Edan what they were called.

[Amaglomated Fiery Elementals - lvl 15]

“Aser?” Tooth asked, his voice shaking as he waved his saber in front of him.

“Push forward!” It was Kumi who answered, his staff wirrling through the air. “They're low-level. We can’t allow them to group up on us.”

To put words into action, he stepped forward, his staff whipping through space as he batted one of the glops. It looked like he’d struck a rubber ball. There was a poing sound as the red glob was blasted through the air. It bounced off the wall, then the floor, before coming to a rest. Everyone froze, waiting to see if it would remain still. The blop began rolling forward again.

“Kumi, your staff!” Kaneel said.

Kumi swore violently when he saw the tip of his weapon. The wooden shaft had a noticeable burn mark on it as if the large boy had left it in a fire too long.

Ashina darted forward, her sword flashing out as she skewered the blob closest to her. Her blade sunk deep into it before pushing out the other end. The metal that appeared was cherry red and with a few choice words of her own, Ashina whipped her blade to the side, trying to fling the fiery glop off her weapon. The blade cut cleanly through the creature, the two halves melting back together, and then it continued its advance.

Edan considered his options and came up short. He only had daggers and Ashina had just proven blades weren’t the way to go. Even Kumi’s blunt attack hadn’t been enough to put it down, though it had given him space. Edan watched the boy swing his staff down on another glop and it flew through the air, bouncing off the roof.

Lorien skewered one on her trident but ran into the same issue Ashina had, the prong began to warp under the heat. Thinking fast she pulled the weapon out, spun it around, and used the blunt end of her weapon like a club to bat the elemental away.

Aser drew his longsword. The blade was a mix of black and white metal, and its pummel was beautifully designed in silver. When he stabbed a blob approaching him, his weapon didn’t melt, or even turn red, but nor did it seem to have any effect on the small molten creature.

Edan looked around desperately, he looked back to the steps, maybe they could run for it? Though running on the steps could be dangerous, the hole…the hole!

“Kumi!” Edan called out loudly, waving his hands to try and get the other man's attention. “Kumi!”

Grey eyes darted over to Edan before turning back to the approaching globs. They were getting close enough that the students could feel the heat rolling off them in waves.

“Hit it towards me!” Edan yelled frantically, pointing to himself and then behind him. “Get it to the hole!”

There was a bark of laughter as Kumi understood what Edan wanted. Twisting his body and angling his next swing right, the staff tore through space as it collided with one of the closest globs. There was a poing and Edan swore as he dove to the side, avoiding the red ball of molten fire that streaked towards him.

Another blob went sailing through the air as Kumi adjusted his backswing and took out another one. This one bounced off the ceiling, then the floor, before sailing over the lip of the hole.

Getting the idea, Lorien joined in. Her weapon was a lot less effective than Kumi’s, the butt of her trident wasn’t meant for wild swings, but she still kept a majority of the blobs back until Kumi could handle them.

Tooth joined in, using the flat of his blade, he crouched low and swatted the blobs away. They didn’t go very far, and he couldn’t hit many in a row before his weapon became hot, but every little bit helped.

Edan spent the time ducking and dodging the globs as they sailed passed him. To his credit, Kumi wasn’t aiming at him, but there wasn’t a lot of open space, what with the stone walls on either side.

With one final poing the last of the globs was sent sailing over the lip of the hole to start its, presumably, very long fall to the bottom. Everyone took a break, whipping the sweat from their brow and drinking deep from their water canteens.

“Good looking out,” Kumi said, raising his fist for a bump when Edan approached.

Edan rapped knuckles with him, surprised at the acknowledgment. Lorien flashed him a salute with her customary smile stretched across her face. Even Ashina dipped her head in recognition.

“It would seem,” Aser drawled. “That being a coward and hiding at the back served you well, though you cost us experience.”

“Fuck off, you can’t use experience if you’re dead. Besides, what experience were you expecting to get from a level fifteen?” Edan snarled before he could help himself. “Besides, last I checked we all moved by rank. You’re first. You’re meant to lead. I didn’t see much leading there.”

The group stilled. Whether in preparation for violence or in displeasure, Edan didn’t know. He expected Aser to rage, or attack him, or snarl back. What he didn’t expect was for the other man's face to become deathly still, his eyes turning calculating. Slowly a smile formed on his lips.

“You’re right,” Aser said, his voice devoid of any anger and all the scarier for it. “I’ve obviously been underestimating you.”

Alarm bells were going off in Edan’s mind. There was something more at play here. Some angle.

“I think it would be best if you stayed up front. With me. You’ve shown yourself to be…observant.” Aser gave a little half bow. “Together we could protect everyone so much better.”

Before Edan could say anything Aser turned to the rest of the class.

“Do any of you have an objection to Edan helping me take the lead?”

There were no objections. Worse, the lack of objections meant that Edan couldn’t object. What would he object to? Helping them all stay safe?

His original plan of moving off alone when they reached the second or third floor had gone out the window. If he had been alone, surrounded by molten balls, there was nothing he could have done with his daggers.

Edan remembered the discussion with Tali. A bat was looking more appealing by the second.

“I believe we should move,” Kumi said, holding out a hand to help Lorien to her feet. “We have wasted too much time on our first encounter.”

“After you, ru-Edan.” Aser gestured for Edan to take the lead.

The small of Edan’s back prickled as he walked past Aser. He half expected to get stabbed in the back, but who was he kidding. If Aser wanted to stab him, he was more than strong enough to do it to his face.

Strong enough for now! Edan vowed.