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New Reality: 31 August 1525, near Rome

At Dragon's speed, flying the twenty miles to the sea should have taken fifteen minutes, but they made thirty because Ardent made sure to fly as high as possible and hide in the few clouds present, zig-zagging between formations. They followed the river, downstream. The crocodiles could have come on it, as for the jaguars, running on the banks was no biggie.

The sea was glinting in the sun and was beautiful. He was not skillful with words, but that thought was comprehensive enough. Not far from the shore were the ruins of the Roman port of Ostia, not much there. On the southern side of the river, a small port with a galley and a few fishing vessels moored in it, and that was about it. Clement was supposed to have more ships, but they were on a mission to buy back slaves from some pasha, Ardent had forgotten the details because other people's businesses were not of great interest to him.

It was not hard to spot the dissonance. In front of the Tiber's mouth, exactly where the waters of the river met the sea, was a carrack. Large and wide, built for the high seas, it had all its sails up but was not moving an inch, and the deck was empty.

Bingo!

As soon they landed on the deck, a door opened and about twenty janissaries charged at them with swords and pikes, soon to be reduced to ashes by Dragon, whose Firebreath proved extremely effective. There were four more waves, appearing at a minute interval, and Ardent let his steed deal with them as he read his notifications times again, puzzled.

You have landed on the Readbearded's Scorn, a Wild Magic Dungeon.

Warning: Wild Dungeons are unpredictable and dangerous. There is a 50% chance of coming across areas where Rezzes would not work and demise would result in PermaDeath. Proceed with caution!

No more hostile wild magic users were detected around. The System's educated guess is that you have cleared the Dungeon's First Floor. Your minion, Dragon, has killed 100 Mutated Janissaries (estimated equivalent in System Scale: Lvl. 10). Firebreath has reached tier A. You have leveled x 1 and are now Level 42. You have obtained 1 Fate Point.

While he read the notification, the steed, changing back to his normal horse form, tried to bite on the ropes around, or burn the sails. Both were repairing under their eyes. Ardent summoned both Ana and Meanwood, sharing his notifications with them. "This looks dangerous, so I won't blame you if you want to go away. Say the word, and I'll free you," he said.

"I'll take up on your offer, but only after we're through with this," Ana said, pulling her Tarot deck, and arranging ten cards on a barrel of water. "Our fates are in our hands, but it can go both ways," she concluded, picking the cards back. "A major challenge lays ahead."

"So, my friend, you wish to stay or to leave?" Ardent turned toward Meanwood. "You float, you could swim ashore, right?"

"You're asking me too, m-master? Bwhaaaa!" The monster's eyestalks started to squirt tears like a garden fountain. "I won't leave your side until this old wood makes sprouts again, master!" Meanwood yelled.

There was no point in asking Dragon, the steed and him had grown together. Ardent stored him away before stepping on the stairs to the lower deck.

As soon they arrived on the next floor, the dimensions of the boat changed. It was now over three hundred yards long and fifty wide, a huge open space with cannon windows at regular intervals. It was empty, tied hammocks swinging with the waves. On the far side, there was a pantry and a kitchen, as well as some privies, with a tarp as a door and holes giving to the sea.

"Awful floor planning," Ana noted. "They shit near the kitchen?"

"This is the crew's quarters," Meanwood said. "But where are they?"

"Maybe in Rome," Ardent shrugged and stepped on the next stair. The next deck looked like another cannon deck, yet as soon as they stepped inside, a bluish light enveloped them. "What the fuck?"

It was raining. They had landed atop a hill, in a small clearing. A range of mountains stretched on the horizon and rivers beneath them, jungle everywhere. A flock of parrots flew over them, with loud cries, and so low Ardent felt the impulse to grab one.

"This is wrong…" Ana whispered.

"Dungeons are pocket universes," Ardent said.

"So big?"

"Maybe it's a holodeck, like in Star Trek," the Mimic said.

"You watch too many movies. This is real. I'm immune to illusions."

"Or we found an exit, and we're in another place, but still on Earth," Ana suggested.

"Let me check something…"

The bluish light of the portal was still visible behind them. Ardent stepped in and arrived back on the ship. Returning to the hill immediately, he scratched his head.

"I dunno… From what Salvatore told me and the data I read, long-distance portals cannot be maintained active, they deactivate after you go through. This is a short-distance gate, and thus, we're still in a dungeon."

They took a minute to look around, pondering what to do next. "Master! There's a pyramid in the valley, I can see its tip. I bet we'll find the next monsters or evil magicians there!" Meanwood called.

"Well done!" Ardent patted the monster's lid. "Let's go and check it out."

"Err… master, we could fly," the Mimic said, its voice panicking. The chest's short and ungainly feet were not the best for that kind of terrain.

"Yeah, but they'll see us coming. You better go into storage."

"Thank you so much, master. I'm an urban item by heart, mud is not my favorite environment."

Ardent opened the way with his normal side sword in hand, to serve as a machete. The progress was slow and painful, the jungle vines thick and resistant, the terrain either rocky or muddy, and their orientation skills lacking. The magical smartphone compass app wasn't working, and the pyramid was all but invisible from the jungle. Ardent had to stop and climb in some trees twice, to find the way.

Ana sighed. "Sorry, I could clear the way with my powers, but I'd rather—"

"I know. Keep your Mana for when it counts."

They continued their agonizing trip in silence. An hour or so later, Ardent was about to go up another tree when they heard voices. Ana disappeared, entering one of the trees around, and his Monster Location sense showed her moving forward, jumping from trunk to trunk.

Activating his Stealth and Silence, Ardent tried to listen. The voices were clear enough, but the universal translator was not managing to get the meaning. Either it was an obscure dialect or its form was too old for the perk to function.

[Ana]: Come forward, the jungle ends after twenty yards. I didn’t detect any traps.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

[Ardent]: Roger.

He proceeded with caution and peeked out of the tree line. First, there was a meadow, about a couple hundred yards in width, then a small hill, on top of which was the pyramid, rising about sixty yards high. Two large terraces interrupted the construction, both filled with armed warriors standing at attention.

It was a religious complex, that much was clear. The voices were chants. Groups of twelve men dressed in strange robes stood at the visible corners of the pyramid, singing incantations. Loud and strident, the pretended songs grated on Ardent nerves. All over the place, guards, armed with spears and clubs, and some kept watch of a group of about a hundred prisoners, the latter with their hands and feet tied.

The giant crocodiles Raphael told him about were patrolling the meadow, he counted four but guessed there were more. And there was the Mana… Corrupted, evil, flowing up from the top of the pyramid toward the sky, in a reversed river. Only one explanation was logical.

[Ardent]: They're doing human sacrifices to feed their powers. The nexus is up there, I guess the Boss too. I need you to do me a diversion, as soon as I give you the signal.

[Ana]: OK. I can use these plants, despite their strangeness.

Praying there was no magic counter to his Stealth, Ardent dashed forward, going over the lawn with two Shadow Steps, then running on the pyramid. On the way, he passed two guards who were dragging a child, a girl not older than six up the stairs. She was crying. His resolve only grew.

[Ardent]: Execute.

A short gaze at the valley showed that behind him, rows of vines crawled out of the forest, grabbing at the warriors guarding the prisoners, and untying the captives. The guards on the pyramid were rushing down, to help their comrades fight the attack and prevent the prisoners from escaping, leaving Ardent a free path up. The dryad had managed to attract every enemy's attention to one spot, and now she made ten trees emerge from the jungle, interposing them between the troops and the prisoners.

Atop the pyramid were three things. A pool—or a very large tub—filled with blood, in which a man bathed. An altar, with a dead body lying on it and grooves cut into the stone, allowing the blood to flow into the pool; and a well, going inside the pyramid. Ardent didn't need to look inside to know that once drained, the sacrifices were thrown there. The stench was next to unbearable. From the middle of the well, the beam of evil Mana was shooting up in the sky.

The ruckus behind was growing in intensity, and the man in the pool opened his eyes, grimacing in displeasure. There was only one other person on the platform, a priest with a dagger in hand, the one doing the sacrifice and ensuring the blood flowed properly. Ardent summoned Meantongue, cut the priest's throat with a swipe, and kicked the bathing man in the face with his boot at the same time. Kneeling near the pool, he pushed the man's head under the surface, keeping it there, and summoning Meanwood directly into the pool.

[Ardent]: Hold his legs.

The opponent struggled, and thrust his hands up, grabbing at Ardent's arms, clawing at them, trying to turn to find a better position. It did him no good, the fight was over the moment it started. His second threshold in Strength had come with an ability that allowed him to double his stat once a day and buffed his minions too. In under a minute, the body of his enemy became inert. He pulled it up by the hair and smashed the head against the stones around the pool until it became a pulp, just to make sure. The upward beam of Corrupted Mana disappeared.

You have slain a Priest of Blood, rank S. Equivalent in System Scale: Level 100.

You have slain the Boss of the Third Floor: Dungeon Master Xepetelcualetelc, Rank S. Equivalent in System Scale: Level 100.

You have leveled x3 and reached level 45. Your stats have been increased accordingly. You have received 3 Fate Points. Because you have been exposed to Blood Magic, various skills from that discipline are available for learning. You are at 95% toward reaching the next Level.

Aghast, the two guards dragging the girl destined to be the next sacrifice looked at him with slacking jaws. They had barely arrived and had been concentrating on the steep stairs, observing Ardent at the last moment. Ardent let the body sink into the pool and thrust his minion forward. Meantongue beheaded the warrior on the right, made a circle, and split the second guard's skull in half. The girl fell on the stairs and was on the point of rolling down when Ardent caught her.

"It's good, you're safe," he said in a warm tone, to make her understand the idea, if not the exact words. He cut her ties and rested her on the platform.

"A hand, Master?"

Gurgles accompanied the Mimic's voice, as he was struggling to get out the tub, but it was too slippery.

"Go back in storage for now, you'll scare the kid," Ardent said. "Sweetie, I have to take you in my arms, it will be faster," he forwarded his hands at the girl. Come," he beckoned her. After a few seconds of hesitation, she grabbed her neck, and he rushed down. Ana was still fighting the ads, and he sent Meanwood and Dragon to help as soon as he arrived on the lawn.

The problem was what to do with the girl, as letting her down in the middle of a fight was not safe. Fortunately, two of the former captives rushed forward, trembling and speaking fast, gesturing toward the child. The best bet was they were her parents, so he offered the girl to them and joined the battle.

[Ardent]: The Crocs have a weak spot behind the rider's coccis. Hit that and they die.

[Meanwood]: Master, but if you killed their Boss, aren't they supposed to run or die?

[Ardent]: You play too many video games. This is real life. Use your tongue.

[Meanwood]: This is so gross!

The mimic managed to kill one of the monsters, but a spray of gore bathed him in a disgusting coating, caked over the blood from the pool. Ardent slew another monster seconds later, managing to avoid the same fate by jumping aside.

While Ana sent vines to grab the Crocodiles' legs and Dragon pinned them with his weight, he and Meanwood lashed their weapons in complicated patterns, aiming at holding the attackers at bay. It was chaos. After the Dragon showered them with a Firebreath, killing scores, the warriors and priests abandoned the fight and ran North, leaving the giant lizards to fight on their own. That helped. Soon, from the ten crocodiles facing them, only half remained.

"What's that noise, Boss?" Meanwood asked.

Large shapes ran toward them through the jungle, making the trees bend and snap in their way. The Jaguars. Their riders yelled insults, waving javelins in the air.

"Cats! Help!" the Mimic blurted, trying to hide inside the spatial storage, but Ardent denied him the entry.

"Fight, you coward," the young man yelled.

"But Master… Cats are my Nemesis. They pee on chests to mark their territory. And they scratch—"

There were a lot of new enemies, and they were obviously very fast. Cursing, Ardent sent Ana and the Mimic into his Monster Storage and ran up the Dragonling's back. Moments later, they were airborne.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck," he let out in a flurry, looking back. "Faster, Dragon!"

The Jaguars' riders had wings too and were approaching fast, twenty of them. As Dragon was still ascending, his speed was lower than the tiny foes. It was to be expected that once up, Dragon would have the advantage in speed, altitude, and range, but they had to arrive there first.

Taking out his repeating rifle, Ardent pressed the trigger twice. The head of the closest monster exploded, and the second creature yelled and fell, its wing broken. The rest persisted, screaming, and starting to throw javelins.

"Shield," Ardent yelled. His spell ionized the air around, buzzing, an Energy Field at maximum intensity. He was already low on mana, under half, and the shield took out half of that in mere seconds. Nevertheless, the javelins were obliterated, disintegrating into dust, likewise to a few monsters that were too close.

Dismissing the shield, he threw the strap of the rifle over his shoulder and pulled out his revolvers, reveling in shooting at the flying creatures. His twelve shots, enhanced by his passive, took out ten, and the survivors tucked their wings to their bodies and dived down, screeching and cursing, with eyes injected with fear and hate.

"Hold the altitude and stay over this spot," Ardent said to his steed, summoning Ana back, taking care to place her safely on the Dragonling's back.

"Whoa!" she somersaulted, but he put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"You have poison bombs, right? Let's test them on those jaguars and crocodiles."

She nodded and extracted a couple of glass recipients from her shoulder bag, and threw them down, using some form of guidance. She repeated the same procedure twice, and then Ardent signaled her to stop and called up his notifications, in their short form.

You have killed two Mayan Warriors, estimated at level 20 on the System's Scale. You and your minions have slain have slain 5 Reptilian Abominations, the equivalent of a level sixty Elite (Rare) monster. You have slain 16 Mutated Vampire Bats (Humanoid). Estimated to be the equivalent of a level fifty Rare monster. Level up x1. You are now level 46. Progress toward the next level: 56%.

Those were old news, no jaguars or crocodiles had been killed by the poison. He tried to call Raphael, to inform him about the flying abilities of the smaller foes, but as was to be expected, there was no signal inside the dungeon.

"Maybe they're weak to fire," Ana proposed. "I can throw an incendiary bomb and light the forest."

"Or not. Look."

Looking toward the direction he was pointing at, Ana let out a deep breath. "How large is this place? This is insane."

They had thought the valley and the pyramid were all the floor was about, but now they could see there were more mountains, rivers, villages, and even a sea or a giant lake in the distance. The villages were made of simple huts, but to the north of the pyramid was a city with large avenues and houses made of stones.

"It might be an alternate reality," Ana proposed.

"We'll find out eventually," Ardent said, sending her to the storage. Looking below, he noticed that the monsters and warriors were retreating toward the town. On the other side, the captives were running toward the closest village on a path following the river. The girl and her parents were among them.

The best thing he could do was to go to that village and try to find more information. Maybe if he spoke slowly, the translator would work. If not, signs or drawings were the next options. Feeling his intention through the empathy link, Dragon leaned toward the right, accelerating.