Zoey’s attributes shot up when she went from level eleven to level twelve. She noticed a significant drop in attribute boosts from levels twelve to fifteen. Pete was right, she had to admit. Slapping himself to sleep will make him stronger.

Between her level-ups, skill-ups, and victories over the higher-level crabs, she’d accrued thirteen skill points. As she looked over her skill tree, she saw four skills left to activate. To the bottom right was an ability called Weapon Boost. It seemed self-explanatory enough. She guessed it was either a passive skill that would boost her weapon skill on a permanent basis or a skill she could use for a temporary boost. In her case, that weapon was a pizza fork. Even so, she had a paladin skill tree. As such, she guessed the increase would apply to all weapons.

To the bottom left, she had an ability called Shield Slap. It connected to a third ability. Until she learned Shield Slap, she couldn’t see what the third ability was. Then—at the top point of the skill tree—it read, Apprentice Promotion. It cost fifteen skill points, but for the time, it remained locked. I’ll need to learn the abilities from the novice tree before I can move to the apprentice one. She told herself, and she began to allocate points to abilities.

She started with Weapon Boost and Shield Slap. They cost a respective four points a piece, leaving her with seven points. Upon doing this, she learned the Weapon Boost was a permanent increase to her pizza fork skill. Shield Slap was an attack skill with a timer.

She put five of those remaining points into the final skill. The skill tree called the ability Insult Your Ancestors. It functioned much like Draw Hate and Strong Draw Hate, helping her keep the monster focused on her. This prevented it from attacking her other party members.

The Apprentice Promotion unlocked. But with only two skill points left to allocate, she’d need thirteen more before she could activate it.

Zoey closed her window as Flowerbeard jumped from the waterspout to the tunnel’s edge. It had taken him thirty-two attempts, but he’d made it. As he landed inside the new tunnel, he hit hard against the stone floor with an audible, “ooof.” Gasping for air, he stood and said. “I…would…have…done…it faster, but…I…didn’t…level…my…agility…stat…enough… I…could have…but what’s…the point…like…whatever…stop talking.”

Zoey patted his shoulder. “We know.”

“Stop talking?” Skye wrinkled his forehead and whispered to Hope in confusion. “No one was talking.”

Before Flowerbeard could answer, Zoey said. “Now that we are all here, we need to figure out what to do next.” She looked at Introvice. “Is there any chance we clear this dungeon tonight? I’m sure the triplets’ parents are worried sick, and it would be nice to get them home tonight.”

“I don’t see that happening,” Introvice admitted.

“Then it would be best if we rest for the night.” Zoey said, “recover our energy and try again tomorrow.”

“I agree,” Introvice pointed to a groove in the tunnel’s wall. It looks dry there. We can make a fire. What do you guys have in the way of food?”

The group of adventurers began toward the space.

“If you don’t have any food,” Flowerbeard said as the group reached the space. “We’d be happy to share in exchange for some of your dungeon loot.”

“We have food.” Hope said as the non-pixie members of the party sat while the pixies remained hovering. “We work at a Pizzeria, so we always have pizza. That way, when you say, ‘what’s pizza,’…”

“What’s pizza?” Flowerbeard asked.

“…see,” Hope continued. “When you ask that question, I have a free sample to share. That way, you can try the pizza. Then when you like it, you go to the pizzeria and buy some. That’s why I always have a free sample pizza to share.”

Hope materialized a pepperoni pizza from her inventory, made with pepperonis from the Turkey Titan. One of Zoey’s favorite things about having an inventory was how food stayed as fresh and hot as when it went into the inventory.

In her own inventory, Zoey kept an emergency cheese pizza. But she decided to ration it for later. There was no telling for sure how long they’d be in the dungeon. If they ran out of pizza, they’d only have crab meat, and Zoey wasn’t a fan of sea food. Though, she wondered how a crab meat pizza might sell at M&P’s. After the dungeon, they’d have plenty of crab meat.

As Hope set the pizza down in front of Fred, Introvice, and Flowerbeard, she explained. “We’ve cut the pizza into triangles like a pie. There are seven of us and eight slices. That means everyone gets one slice. Flowerbeard, you can have two, but you have to promise to stop being a grumpy pants.”

“I’m not grumpy.” Flowerbeard reached for a slice. “Your grumpy.”

Hope slapped his hand away and stared him down. “Promise.”

“Fine,” he relented. “I promise.”

“Good,” Hope hovered back a few inches before landing and saying. “You may have a slice.”

Flowerbeard tore the first slice from the pizza. As the cheese stretched, his eyes widened in excitement. Then he lifted the point of the slice to his mouth, bit down, and began to chew. At first, he chewed slow and cautious. Then—as the flavor hit his taste buds—he began to chew faster. Still with food in his mouth, he said. “This is delicious…the best food I’ve ever had.”

Upon seeing their companion’s reaction, Fred and Introvice each grabbed a slice. Fred had a similar reaction to Flowerbeard’s. His eyes went wide. He ate with the excitement of a child trying a delicious food for the first time.

Introvice ate with practiced decorum. He gave no indication of how he felt about the food until after he had swallowed his first bite. Then he spoke, keeping an even tone. “This is delicious. Where does pizza come from?”

“Italy,” Zoey answered.

“That sounds like a made-up place,” Flowerbeard said while still chewing.

“Where is Italy?” Introvice asked.

“Europe,” Zoey said.

“Now, I know you are making things up.” Flowerbeard finished chewing and grabbed the second slice Hope had promised him.

Zoey shrugged.

“I’ve never heard of Europe,” Introvice said. “Are you making it up?”

“No,” Zoey considered how to answer the question for a few seconds before continuing. “But Italy and Europe aren’t easy places to find. Most people haven’t heard of them.”

“Italy is in another world,” Tornado added.

“Another world?” Introvice examined the pixie. “I can’t tell if you’re joking or not.”

Tornado offered no clarification.

“What are the chances we get out of here tomorrow?” Zoey asked.

“To be honest,” Introvice answered. “I don’t think that great. We haven’t even reached a mini-boss yet. If there is only one mini-boss, we could clear the dungeon tomorrow. Also, I should warn you about Fred.”

Fred glared at Introvice, holding a finger up to his mouth as if saying to be quiet.

Introvice shook his head in disappointment as he spoke to Fred. “What does it matter if I tell them? You promised us you’d moved on…haven’t you? There’s no need to feel embarrassed about the past.”

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Fred’s glare intensified.

“What do you mean ‘move on’…and ‘embarrassed by the past.’” Zoey side-eyed Fred with newfound suspicion.

Fred’s expression turned uncomfortable, and he hung his head.

“Fred grew up as an orphan.” Introvice began. “On one of the Eastern Volcano Islands.” At the mention of volcanos, Tornado went from daydreaming to hyper-focusing on the conversation. “To make matters worse, he received the job of mime. This meant he could never talk to anyone. It made for a lonely childhood.”

“Why is that embarrassing?” Zoey asked.

“It isn’t,” Introvice said. “It’s what he did after that earned him some embarrassment.”

“This is the good part,” Flowerbeard said as he shoved the remainder of his second slice into his mouth.

“As Fred entered adulthood,” Introvice explained. “He won an adventurer’s pass in a mime competition. Though, at the time, he had no combat experience. He was level one. He had no way to survive a dungeon crawl.”

“So he exploited his party members,” Flowerbeard explained. “He went into a dungeon, waited for other noobs to enter the dungeon, and if they died, he stole their stuff.”

Introvice sighed. “Right, he grew as a solo adventurer by looting those whose hit points had dropped to 0. When he had enough gear to fight low-level monsters, he began to level. He began to join parties with lower-level members, encouraging them to fight stronger monsters. Once the battle started, he’d run away. If his party members survived, he’d earn experience. If they died, he’d loot them. It became a win-win situation for him.”

“That’s how he met you?” Zoey lifted an eyebrow.

“It is.” Introvice stretched his right arm over his chest while pulling with his left against the elbow. “But once I realized he’d set me up, I decided there was one thing left to do.” He switched to stretch his left arm. “I had to teach Fred how to survive. He was a fast learner, and we’ve been partners ever since.”

“I joined them after,” Flowerbeard said. “Introvice calls me his current work in progress…whatever that means.”

“We warn everyone about Fred because sometimes he slips back into old habits. As such, I’d advise not taking on anything too powerful until you are one hundred percent sure you are ready…despite any encouragement that Fred might offer you.”

Fred looked up at Zoey and shrugged his agreement with the assessment.

Zoey’s eyes met Fred, and she considered what to say. After a few seconds of eye contact, she said. “We all make mistakes. It’s how we respond to them that determines who we are. You seem to have responded well.”

Fred smiled and quick-nodded a thank you.

With that, the adventurers—pixies included—turned in for the evening.

Tornado struggled to sleep. He missed his mom and dad. He missed his bed. He missed the painting of a tornado on the wall by his bed.

Skye struggled to sleep. He missed his mom and dad. He missed his bed. He missed the wifi for his communication box games.

Hope struggled to sleep. She missed her mom and dad. She missed her bed. She worried her brothers missed their mom and dad, too.

As a vampire, Zoey no longer needed to sleep. Instead, she remained awake. Watching the other adventurers, keeping an eye on the triplets. Her senses allowed her to feel the heartbeats of those around her. As such, she realized the triplets struggled to sleep. It hurt her heart to know they were more scared than they had shown.

After four hours, the triplets’ nervousness outweighed their tiredness, and they didn’t sleep. Around that same time, Zoey recognized that the adventurers had begun to stir. She decided to give them an extra push. “That’s enough sleep. Let’s wake up and get going. If we’re going to get the pixies home today, we have a lot of work to do.

“Stop talking,” Flowerbeard complained.

Zoey materialized an uncooked pizza dough and threw it over Flowerbeard’s face. “I’ll talk if I want to.”

Fifteen minutes later, the group found themselves moving down a monster-filled tunnelway. Crabs—the same as those from the puzzle chamber—appeared at regular intervals. Other monsters joined them. One of the monster types was a cave snake. It was dark blue with gray stripes. There were also water bats.

Even though the cave snakes and water bats gave less experience than the crabs, they tended to attack in bunches. Zoey put her skill Insult Your Ancestors to good use. It had a short cool down which allowed her to cycle it with Keep Hate and Strong Keep Hate. Each time she used Insult Your Ancestors, a loud voice resonated in the air. It sounded like a loudspeaker at a concert. It would say, “YOUR MOM,” “YOUR GRANDPA,” or “YOUR UNCLE’S NEPHEW’S BEST FRIEND.” Then it would follow-up by insulting the identified party.

The snakes must have loved their uncle’s nephew’s best friend because that insult made them extra mad. When one of the angry snakes managed to bite Zoey’s ankle, she received an icon to show she had venom in her blood. Her HP began to dip at a rate of about five percent every ten seconds. Lucky for Zoey, only five seconds went by before Hope cast a spell to remove the venom, and the icon went away.

With the help of Introvice and his team, Zoey and the triplets made short work of anything they came across. Within half an hour, they’d worked their way through the passageway and were fast approaching a second chamber. Everyone unequipped their weapons to examine the chamber. From the outside, it looked much like the last chamber, minus the waterspouts. Also, a simple, waist-high wooden gate separated the tunnel from the chamber.

“That is a mini-boss room,” Introvice said. “You can tell because of the gate. Once we open the door, we’ll have to fight something big and scary. If you want to, you can stay here. Fred, Flowerbeard, and I can handle it.”

“I’m going.” Zoey looked at the triplets. “But I need you three to stay safe. Wait here.”

The triplets didn’t argue as Introvice, Fred, Flowerbeard, and Zoey padded over to the gate. The triplets waited nearby. “From our experience, boss fights come in three different forms. There are the damage sponges. They take a lot of damage and require a more passive strategy. In that case, tank like normal. If we come across one of those in a dungeon like this, it will likely be a giant turtle, a giant crab, or something like that.

“The second type of boss can hit you hard and fast. These are the equivalent of a glass cannon. If you encounter one of them, you must shatter it before it shatters you. Hit it with everything you’ve got. In a dungeon like this, my guess is it would be a killer whale or some large predator.

“The last type of boss is the one that uses terrain to its advantage. It will ambush, use special attacks, and wait for you to make a mistake. In the case of this dungeon, one of these might be an undead pirate.”

Flowerbeard added. “If you recognize what type of monster we’re fighting, call it out to the rest of us. That way, we can adapt our strategy.”

“Right,” Zoey agreed. By habit, she took a deep calming breath…then she remembered she didn’t have to breathe. “Let’s do this.”

Fred nodded once: moving to the gate, pushing it open, and stepping into the boss room. With careful steps, he moved toward the center of the space. With each step, the water rose higher and higher, leveling out at his hips. As he walked, he materialized a rapier in his right hand and a dagger in his left. Flowerbeard took a position next to Fred, musket in his left hand and cutlass in his right. Intro materialized a dagger in his right hand. They stood back-to-back-to-back-to-back, forming a square in the center of the room. “Stay alert. It’s in here somewhere.”

“There,” Zoey used her fork to point to the edge of the room where she noticed a large dorsal fin submerge beneath the water’s surface.

“Uh, oh,” Flowerbeard said as the fin dipped beneath the surface.

“What is it?” Introvice asked.

“It’s a shark,” Zoey said. “It’s a big one.”

“What kind of shark?” Introvice asked.

“Bull shark,” Flowerbeard answered. “I saw horns.”

Fred slumped his shoulders in disgust.

“Why is that worse than a different of shark?” Zoey asked.

“Bull sharks are smart.” Introvice explained. “Some have high enough intelligence stats that they can learn to speak. This might be an ambush type boss and a glass cannon type boss at the same time. Keep your guard up.”

“Great,” Zoey said. Rather than wait for the monster to attack on its own terms, she forced its hand by activating Insult Your Ancestors.

“YOUR GREAT-GRANDFATHER WAS A VEGETARIAN.” A disembodied voice shouted.

In response to the voice, a fin broke the surface and headed straight at Zoey. Her knees bent into an extended stance. She positioned the shield low, preparing for last-second adjustments. When that last second came, the shark dove under the shield, trying to grab her lower leg.

She activated Shield Slap, knocking the shark’s head down and away. Rather than chomping into her calf, it bit down on the combat boot over her left foot. From there, it continued past her, pulling her off balance and dragging her along for the ride. All the while, it swung its head back and forth, whipping her against the floor and walls. She watched her HP dip by one hundred points. Then it went down by another two hundred, three hundred, four hundred. A few levels back, the attack would have dropped her to 0. As it was, she knew she needed to free herself. She couldn’t continue to take the abuse that the shark was dishing out.

“Whirlpool,” she heard Tornado’s familiar voice. Though, her ears were underwater, so it muffled his shout.

She felt the shark release its grip on her boot as it began to spin in the maelstrom created by Tornado’s spell. By the time Zoey had returned to her feet, Hope had cast a spell to restore Zoey’s hit points.

“You guys shouldn’t have come into the room.” Zoey lectured. “I told you to stay outside.”

Hope answered with a fast panic. “We saw it get you. Then we realized we can stay above the water. It can’t get us if we fly high enough. We’re perfect for this fight.” Hope pointed at where the shark continued to spin in the water.

Above the whirlpool, Skye spun his cutterchakus at a speed that made it hard to see the rotations. Each time the shark spun in the whirlpool, the chakus slapped down into its face.

Hope repeated. “See. We are perfect for this fight.”

All Zoey could do was watch in stunned silence as the boss’s hit points melted away. When those hit points reached zero, a prompt popped up:

You defeated Finley the shark. You gained 1,000 experience points.

You received Finley’s Fork

Skye received Finley’s Chakus

Hope received Finley’s Wand

Tornado received Finley’s Staff

Introvice received Finley’s Dagger

Fred received Finley’s Rapier

Flowerbeard received Finley’s Cutlass

“One mini-boss down,” Zoey whispered to herself. “Who knows how many we have left to go.”