Over the next two days, Rudo led Topher, Zanasha, and Hana through a series of wending tunnels and caverns, sloping erratically downwards and through twisty switchbacks. They encountered another pack of wendigos, a triad of chitinous insectoids with both freezing breath and red-hot skin (which Topher thought was an unforgivable failure to adhere to theme), and a few other strange types of monsters. The wendigos were by far the most straightforward -- functionally just balls of claws, teeth, and fur -- but most of the other monsters had weird and unexpected attacks or abilities that would have caught them badly off guard if not for Rudo's patient, timely instructions and warnings.

After a few battles, Topher began to notice a few patterns emerging; Zanasha almost always took the brunt of the first attack (either by aggressively rushing in or swiftly interposing herself between an attacking monsters and the rest of the party) and typically began a fight by using her Mighty Blow Skill to either dispatch an enemy immediately or knock it away to create space for the rest of the party to attack. Rudo stayed flexible, darting in and out of combat fluidly to shore up weak points in their defenses or break strengths amongst the enemies, and Hana mostly served as a spotter and an anchor point for the others to drive enemies towards.

Topher, as expected, mostly stayed out of fights; he was pretty sure his Arch Shielding would protect him from most attacks, but didn't see any reason to find out the hard way and mostly spent his mana as judiciously as possible. On the first day, when he only had a few MP to spare, he primarily stuck to Shield and Feather Fall spells to avert unexpected attacks and falls -- most of the combats didn't give him many opportunities to try out his Trajectile Bracelet, and the one that did (against the hot-and-cold bug guys) resulted in the weapon just bouncing off harmlessly. He didn't consider it a complete waste, though -- the creature had glanced in his direction long enough for Rudo to plant a spinning hook kick in its bulbous compound eye, and the distraction set up a chain attack that led to Hana impaling its brain with a large spear.

It took Topher longer than it probably should have to notice that the others were setting up the young Japanese woman to deliver most of the finishing strikes on the enemies, especially towards the ends of combats where things were more under control; this confused him at first, until he remembered that her Flux Blade needed to accumulate power from killing blows. Totally, let's help refuel the weapon she was planning to assassinate us with. Great idea, gang.

After they made camp at the end of the first day on level three of the dungeon, though, Topher felt a little more empowered to risk a few MP here and there on an attack spell; he mostly stuck to empowered, wand-spun Entangle spells that immobilized and crushed troublesome or highly mobile enemies, but at 2 MP per casting he didn't have to be too stingy with them (especially considering his much-higher MP max with the ring Rudo had given him). Additionally, Rudo's Stocked Larder Skill freed Topher from having to spend MP on Create Food And Drink and appeared to give them small bonuses to their Attributes as well; Topher routinely saw +5s and +10s in his Attribute list on his Status after eating the Innkeeper's meals, though none of these bonuses ever increased the Rank of an Attribute. By the time they reached the entrance to the fourth level of the dungeon, they were working together efficiently and had gained another Level each (and Hana had gained two more, bringing her to Level 21 and unlocking the Hostess Class's Elegant Step Skill).

"It's nonsense," Hana complained, even as she balanced coins on all ten of her fingers simultaneously while walking backwards across rocky terrain. "This is beyond physically impossible."

"What, balancing a coin on your nose?" Topher asked. "You're clearly doing it, no matter how impossible it might sound."

With a smooth, elegant sweep of her hands, the young Japanese woman gathered up all the coins and tucked them back into her hip pouch, then crossed her arms and huffed. "And here I thought I was used to this world being ridiculous."

"One finds it curious that you experience such difficulty with rationalizing this particular behavior, rather than much more jarring things like a bag that holds a cabinet or a man who can conjure flames from his pen," Rudo observed, gathering up his meal-preparation supplies as they prepared to descend to the next level. "Though I do agree it can be a strange feeling indeed for one's own body to perform implausible actions."

"Either way, it's a Skill," Topher pointed out. "It doesn't have to make sense to aliens like us. Imagine trying to explain a smartphone to people from this world."

"Or speculative trading," Rudo murmured. Zanasha's mouth opened to ask a question, then closed as her face assumed a thoughtful expression.

"Quit it," Topher objected. "If we're going to jaw, let's talk about something useful."

"Very well." Rudo finished arranging the things in his own Magic Bag -- a weird, three-foot cloth circle that he laid on the ground to open and rolled up to close -- and tucked it into his belt contemplatively. "We have confirmed that we appear to be gaining Levels much faster than expected, even given the sizable Level difference between ourselves and most of the monsters we fight. Mister Bailey, you believe this to be to related to your presence in our party, correct?"

"I mean, it's gotta be," Topher agreed. "Hana and Zanasha hunted monsters for years before I came along, and never Leveled this fast. But as soon as we ran into each other in Wanbourne, they started experiencing it too." He rubbed his chin with his thumb, frowning. "But I don't know why being around me would affect anyone else's Level gain."

"Well, it's got to be party XP, right?" Hana ventured. "That works differently than solo XP, so that could explain it."

Topher blinked. "Excuse me?"

Hana and Zanasha looked at each other in confusion for a moment, then Hana sighed. "Right. I keep forgetting how new you are to all this."

"When multiple people work together to defeat a monster," Zanasha explained, "the XP for the combat is divided amongst them, regardless of who delivered the killing blow. Even seemingly inconsequential actions, such as shouting encouragement or making ineffective attacks, can sometimes produce this effect, though the circumstances are different each time and not all actions will trigger the gain of party XP." She gathered her hair up at the nape of her neck into a long ponytail and tied it off with a short piece of string, forming the ends into a butterfly-like bow that Topher found almost painfully adorable. "However, the defining factors seems to be whether or not the final slayer considers the others to be allies, and whether the action placed the actor in danger; high-Level adventurers must often deal with attempts to 'assist' in killing monsters from hopefuls who wish to benefit from the XP of the kill." From the look in her eyes, Topher guessed that she had more experience with such situations than she'd have preferred.

Uncomfortably, understanding dawned; Topher's mouth turned down at the corners. "That's why high-Level adventurers are such dicks a lot of the time, isn't it? They're trying to keep idiots from getting themselves killed by buddying up and leeching XP."

"Often, yes." Zanasha closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them. "The Adventurer's Guild encourages... distancing oneself. It is also why many assignments have a minimum Level requirement for all members of a party, and why members must be registered; without a system to enforce the Guild's administrative rules, it would be more difficult to ensure compliance with its more pragmatic directives."

"Jesus." Topher was beginning to understand how the draconian rules of the Merchant's and Mage's Guilds must have evolved, if they'd faced similar challenges. "Society just ruins everything, huh."

"That which nature has not already ruined, at least," Rudo agreed with a smirk. "Are we prepared to continue?"

"I am ready, Master Muchenje," Zanasha volunteered with a nod. "What sort of monsters will we face on the new levels?"

The older man lowered his head, thinking. "Living opponents will become more scarce as we descend; undead creatures and constructs form the bulk of enemies until the seventh level, whereupon we will begin encountering the dungeon guardian's minions directly. For constructs, focus on attacking their joints and any glowing runes you may reach; their Defense values are much higher than other enemies here, and it will require concerted effort to prevent them from simply overwhelming us with brute force."

"What about the undead?" Hana interjected, drawing her Flux Blade and balancing it on one finger. "Do we need any special protections? I still have a couple of Vials of Vitality if we need soul-strengthening potions."

"Possibly," Rudo admitted. "The Bone Fiends and Shambling Slaughterers are straightforward -- though you must beware their rapid strikes -- but if we come across some of the rarer types, caution will be required. Do not approach within three meters or so of Miasmic Malefactors without holding your breath; you will become sickened and poisoned at best, and inhalation of such vapors can very rarely cause instant death." Topher blinked, but decided not to comment; chance of instant death sounds pretty bad. Let's not go near those. "Beyond those, the only creature which might require special preparations is a Shadowborn Bodach which wanders the sixth level, but we will take pains to avoid it; it has destroyed several parties of adventurers much higher-Level than ourselves, and even should we be victorious, we would likely weaken ourselves too much to be worth the effort."

"Why?" Topher asked, confused. "It's not like it's stronger than the dungeon guardian, right?"

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"A Bodach," Zanasha cut in quietly, "is a particularly fearsome undead creature that is deadly to look upon, in addition to possessing poisonous claws and consuming souls with its bite. I am not familiar with the epithet 'Shadowborn', but I suspect it implies the creature has exceptional stealth capabilities, allowing for very deadly surprise attacks."

"As well as the ability to rapidly teleport short distances," supplied Rudo helpfully. "Should we encounter it, it is likely one of us would perish before we even knew it was upon us; the rest of us might manage to regroup afterwards and drive it off or even dispatch it, but the damage would be done."

"What if we drink Hana's vials of whatever?" Topher hazarded. "Would it still kill us if we looked at it?"

Hana nodded. "Soul-strengthening draughts would protect us from its bite, but not its gaze. We would need to blind ourselves -- leaving us vulnerable to its poisonous claws." She inclined her head respectfully towards Rudo. "Muchenje-san is right. We should avoid it at all costs."

Topher shrugged. "Not like I wanted to fight it anyway." His traitor brain, very much against its will, tried to imagine what it would look like if just seeing it was sufficient to kill you, and he squirmed uncomfortably. "Still, the sixth level is still a ways down from here. Let's stay focused on what we're doing right now."

"Mister Bailey is correct." Rudo, crouching by the entrance to the next tunnel -- how did he get up there so fast? He was right next to me two seconds ago -- had closed his eyes and appeared to be listening to something. "There is something coming up from deeper within the level. A humanoid creature, judging from its tread."

Topher's gut unexpectedly tightened, and his temples began to throb in anticipation. "Uh, guessing it's not the Bodach, right? This is a little far from the sixth level..."

Rudo shook his head. "I would not be able to hear its step. It is alone..." Pausing, he frowned, then gestured for the others to move back. Smoothly and automatically, Zanasha and Hana took up defensive positions in the flanking areas of the room, while Topher faded back and nervously checked behind himself for ambushes. Maybe I should have tried to figure out how to downcast that Foresight spell. Rudo stepped back to stand between Hana and Zanasha as the footsteps became loud enough for even Topher to hear them, just before a figure appeared in the tunnel entrance.

At first glance, the figure was human; tall and slender, with a red cloak about its shoulders and light, leaf-patterned gold mail adorning its limbs. But as the newcomer stepped into the light from Topher's Mage Light spell, he recognized the slant of its eyes and the lightness of its bearing; Elf, he thought to himself. But what's he doing down here?

"Elkyll Cloudseeker." Rudo inclined his head in greeting. I guess he knows this dude. "Well met."

The elf, whose nose turned up an additional two degrees at this salutation, merely stared back at the Innkeeper. "You greet me with familiarity, but I know you not." His head cocked to one side slightly. "The Innkeeper?" Topher noticed that the elf's hair was jet-black, and his skin was a clear, pearlescent color; Must be a Moon Elf. "Is this deceit?"

"The reverse, in fact," the older man chuckled. "In my professional aspect, I wore a Hat of Disguise. This is my true self."

"I see." Elkyll's eyes flicked over the others. "And you have decided to partake of your own hunting grounds this day. But who will tend to the Inn?"

"ICEBREAKERS is permanently closed, I fear," Rudo informed him with a sigh that Topher was pretty sure was almost entirely theatrical. "Political events. It is the fate of many business, when war breaks out."

"War?" The elf's immaculate eyebrow twitched slightly upwards. "Thoxen is not at war. And if it were, how would that reach us here, at the world's northernmost edge?" His hand abruptly occupied a new position at the top of his sword's hilt. "This business grows passing strange, and I mislike it."

There was a short pause. After a moment, understanding of what was really happening penetrated Topher's mind, and he groaned. "This guy's an assassin, isn't he."

"Quite so," Rudo agreed. "Though I had hoped to extend the conversation longer before revealing our knowledge of it." He turned back to Elkyll, whose sword was now drawn despite Topher having not seen it leave its sheath; this guy's fast, he gasped to himself. "The main question is which of us he is here for."

"All of you, obviously," spat the elf. "All that remains is to determine which of you will die first." He stepped back a pace, coolly eyeing the others, and raised his sword in a one-handed grip in front of him while the other made a strange gesture behind it. "You are welcome to volunteer."

Topher's brain roiled with questions; how'd he get here so fast? How does Rudo know him? How do we take him down? But the thought of the elf's blade moving so fast it was unseen made him wary, and his Stylus appeared in his hand; guess I should stay focused on not getting murdered before worrying about any of that.

"Be wary," Rudo addressed the others, stepping back himself and drawing a long, heavy-looking quarterstaff from somewhere within his jacket; "Mister Cloudseeker possesses the Arc Saber Class, allowing him to attack swiftly and at range. Do not attempt to overwhelm him with numbers." He whispered a word to the quarterstaff, and it began to glow brightly with an incandescent blue light so powerful that Topher couldn't even look in its direction.

"This is probably a dumb question," Topher commented, already starting to sweat, "but I don't suppose there's any chance we could talk about this?"

In response, the elf's face twisted in confusion; but before he could respond, everything went to shit.

Topher heard a soft grunt of effort behind him, then was abruptly thrown forward; a sharp, cold sensation jabbed into him suddenly between his shoulder blades, his arms flew up involuntarily, and he found himself facedown in the dirt as all of his limbs went limp. He heard Zanasha cry out, and just barely managed to raise his head to see Elkyll's attack.

He'd been expecting a lightning-fast sword strike, or maybe even some kind of spell, but what happened was so unexpected it would have taken his breath away if it hadn't already been knocked out of him. The elf's upraised sword exploded with brilliant, coruscating argent light that shot out curved, scything pulses of solid energy in every direction, flickering and zipping so fast that he could barely register them before they were already biting and searing into their targets. Rudo appeared in front of the rest of the party, wielding his staff in a blur; Topher heard a cacophony of clang and ping noises as the older man parried dozens of the blades in the space of an instant, protecting those behind him to the best of his ability. Many of the blades still got through his guard (several of them shooting past to tear up the stone around Topher) but no one appeared to be seriously hit yet; Zanasha was dodging and parrying wildly, and Hana seemed to have disappeared.

Topher blinked. Why can't I move? Maybe I got stabbed in the back.

4x damage, the distant part of his mind agreed. He felt no pain, only a numbness spreading through his limbs; probably bleeding out. Great way to start a fight. He needed to get up, try to lay an Entangle on the elf, but his Stylus had bounced away somewhere and he couldn't figure out exactly how to get his legs under him.

Abruptly, he heard a footstep right next to his face, but the air appeared empty; he blinked in sudden recognition. Oh. Someone's invisible. Elkyll has a partner. He struggled, trying to make a grab, but his hands wouldn't move; they just quivered uselessly in front of him, as though his spine had been severed. This is bad. We're all going to die at this rate.

Then, suddenly, Hana appeared from out of the darkness; her Flux Blade was in full bloom with chaotic energies, and her eyes shone with a bright amber-colored radiance. With a triumphant shout, she shifted her weapon into a hooked, barbed spear and thrust it with obvious desperation into the air two feet above and to the right of Topher's head; there was a scream of pain, and hot crimson blood shot out in both directions around it.

Something hard and sharp scythed over Topher's head, but Hana was already in the air, leaping incredibly deftly to somewhere out of his range of vision; he heard snarls and the sounds of combat from behind him, but couldn't even turn to look. Shit. He worked his mouth, trying to call for help, but only the barest whisper of air passed his lips; diaphragm's weak too, but not entirely paralyzed; I can breathe a little. At least until I drown in my own blood.

In front of him, he could see Rudo and Zanasha flickering about, striking heavy blows and making desperate parries, but Elkyll's form was a blinding flicker of white shadows, constantly in motion; even when the other two could fight past his onslaught of blades to strike at him, he flickered away effortlessly. Rudo was already bleeding from several shallow cuts, and Zanasha was panting heavily; Topher could see a dark bruise forming along her left side, and a long, shallow cut had appeared on her right cheek. Bastards.

Topher closed his eyes, blocking out all sights and sounds, and concentrated; he was starting to get dizzy from what he suspected was incipient hypoxia, which helped, but it still took him several agonizing seconds to drop into a Metaphrasty trance. When he felt the akasha begin to flow through him, he opened his eyes to see that the milky white energy was already flowing between his outstretched hands; guess channeling the stream back into myself is second nature at this point. Real cool if I wasn't about to die.

He stared at the light between his palms, bitter and tired; not like I can do anything with it. Wish I knew how to make a Wyrd. He knew at this rate, the light would only draw attention to him; it couldn't be more than a few seconds until Elkyll or the invisible assassin noticed him and realized he wasn't out of the fight yet. At that point, they'd hardly be able to resist finishing him off.

How did Kelfir's work, again? Something about Ghan, with a spiraling Palz transform... don't need gravity here though. Need fire... burn these guys... How did Flame Jet go again?

"Ru," Topher whispered, and the stream of akasha twisted and bent in his hands. He stared at it, shocked.

Oh.

Oh.

It connects the runes to me.

Abruptly, his mind seared with understanding; the akasha was his own magical energy, radiating out uncontrollably, and by directing it back into himself he was completing a circuit, allowing his own internal quintessence to touch and be touched by things outside of himself. He didn't understand why it caught physical things on fire -- probably something profound there about the nature of the soul, fucking stupid -- but he did understand the runes. And as Topher brought his magical essence in tune with the rune of Ru, he felt the akasha warp and twist to mold around it, forming an isomorphism defined by the differences between it and himself. It felt wild, alive, but incomplete; Ru itself wasn't enough to sustain anything beyond an ember.

It needs solidity. Something to give it form.

"Ikei," he mumbled, and the band of akasha twisted again, forming a strange, eye-watering shape in the air; a kind of square spiral that seemed to bend and refract into itself. Control. My own will? Like Mage Light? "V-vahraj..." And motion. Something to make it move... fall... restraint... wind... "Ib..."

The akasha between his limp hands was a dense knot of light now, fractal and incandescent, but it still lacked something; Topher could feel its deadness, like a toy without batteries. Still needs something. Life? Identity? No... the union of those. He heard a shout, and felt more than saw Elkyll flicker in his direction, but barely noticed. He almost had it...

"Danx Jhu Ahtvor."

The light between his hands came alive.