Just a Bronze

Just a Bronze

by Seth Richter

Prologue: Four Minus One

"Come on, Kat, it'll be fine."

"I know, I know, Avery. But I can't help being nervous!"

"The math is on our side. Four million portals a year, and someone is lost only once every twenty years. I don't know the percentage, but that's basically zero."

Kat's eyebrows scrunched up in concentration for a moment before she replied. "Um...point zero-zero-zero-zero-zero-one-two-five percent."

"Like I said, basically zero," Avery replied, giving her an encouraging smile.

"And besides," Melinda chimed in from behind. "You've got Snuffers to protect you!"

Avery, Melinda, and Lindon chuckled as Kat's cheeks tinged pink, and she snuggled the faded stuffed cat to her chest. She appreciated their teasing. She knew they didn't mean anything by it, and it helped to take her mind off of the upcoming portal.

She just wished they didn't have to take a portal. She knew the math was on their side, that they'd have to be some of the unluckiest people in existence to get swallowed by the portal. But as small as the chance was, it still existed, and she struggled to push it out of her mind.

She had initially suggested taking a caravan to Adamil rather than a portal. But the others had soundly rejected the idea. While the price would be about the same – almost all of their collective savings – a caravan would take nine months compared to the split second of a portal. And after four years of training and preparing for their new lives as adventurers, none of them wanted to wait that long.

On the surface, they made a strange team. Well, the other three made an amazing team. Kat thought she was what made it strange.

Avery was the top guardian in their class with a chiseled jawline and rippling muscles. The son of a minor noble had no shortage of girls begging him to join their own squads. But he only had eyes for Melinda, their mage.

Melinda was the daughter of a countess: a beautiful, elegant, and powerful elemental mage. She and Avery had been engaged since they were kids, but unlike so many other arranged marriages, their love for each other only grew as they matured.

Lindon was the third member of their party, and while he didn't have the good looks or charisma of Melinda or Avery, he was widely considered the most powerful graduate of the academy in the last decade. By his final year, the rogue was better than most of his teachers in stealth, sneak attacks, and scouting.

In contrast to the rest, Kat was a small, mousy woman of middling power. She wasn't the worst healer in the academy, but she was nowhere near the best. Others could heal twice as much as her in half the time, all while under duress. One of those other healer’s in their class demanded Kat's spot on the team, claiming it was only logical.

He was immediately rejected by her teammates. Since their first year, the four of them had been friends. Kat wasn't sure entirely how it happened, to be honest. At first, she was pretty sure it was pity that caused the three friends to take her under their wing as the mascot of their group.

But as the years passed, their superficial friendship morphed into something much more real. Kat had studied like crazy to try and keep up with her teammates, and though she never achieved anywhere close to her friends' success, she was proud to stand by their side as a graduate of the academy.

"Everyone ready?" Avery asked as they walked into the room with the glowing blue portal. Flashes of lightning and fissures of nothingness danced across the opaque surface, and Kat took a deep breath before nodding. It was finally time.

"Next!" the attendant called out, and Avery confidently stepped forward, only looking back to flash a smile to his friends before disappearing.

"Next!" Melinda followed her fiancé, vanishing into the blue light.

"Next!"

"See you on the other side," Lindon whispered back to Kat, and then he stalked forward through the portal before disappearing as well.

"Next!"

Finally, it was her turn. Kat took a deep breath, clutching Snuffers to her chest and her loaded bag to her side. And then she stepped forward, and like her friends, disappeared.

Thousands of miles away, in a receiving portal room almost identical to the one they just left, three friends appeared in flashes of light, an attendant guiding each of them out of the way so that there was room for the next.

"What's taking her so long? Did something go wrong over there?" Melinda finally asked.

"It was all fine when I went through," Lindon said, a note of worry creeping into his voice.

And so they waited, nervously tapping their feet and holding onto their bags. Waiting. Hoping. Praying.

Finally, there was another flash as someone was disgorged from the portal and they all began to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Uh, what are you all waiting on?" Jeffery asked, the barbarian from the adventuring team behind them in the portal line at the academy asked.

Kat was gone.

Chapter 1: Breaking Free

Forty Years Later...

Dr. Havernough looked through his notes, double-checking that everything on the extensive checklist had been completed. Only after five minutes of careful examination did he relent.

"Okay, we are good to proceed with the experiment," he said.

There was a sudden burst of movement around him as technicians and assistants scurried to activate all of the project's protocols.

"Project Piercer, test thirteen point six," an aide said out loud, more for the benefit of the recording crystal than any of the scientists.

They knew what they were supposed to do. Dr. Haverough was in charge of the operation, but when it came down to the actual experiments he acted mostly as oversight. This was but one among hundreds of different tests, so everyone knew their parts to play with exacting precision. Although…if everything went according to plan, this test would be a little bit different than anything else before.

Piercing into the nether-realm. The aptly named Project Piercer had a surprising amount of success. At first mostly considered a vanity project funded by a few nobles with more money than common sense, everything changed two years ago. When Project Piercer actually succeeded.

They managed to create a portal to the nether-realm.

Up until that point, the nether-realm was largely considered a hypothetical rather than a real place. The only reason people believed it existed was that there was no other way for portals, with their strange warping of space and magic, could exist. Until two years ago, when Project Piercer, led by Dr. Havernough with a team of two young assistants, created a working portal.

The portal couldn't fit a hand through it, much less a researcher's entire body. But it was there. For two minutes it hovered in the air. Dr. Havernough's assistants frantically took measurements before it collapsed in a spark of light. Unlike normal portals, they could see through this portal to the other side. And what they saw was amazing.

It looked like a dry wasteland. There was nothing but dirt and tiny shrubs for miles in any direction. But off in the distance, they could see the outline of mountains. It was only noticed by coincidence that those mountains followed the exact outline of the mountain range that laid to the north of their office in their own realm. The following ten tests after this discovery illuminated some facts about the nether-realm.

In some ways, the nether-realm mimicked normal reality. General geography within the nether-realm looked the same as in their realm, although without any buildings or man-made structures. And the sky of the nether-realm was a fractured rainbow of colors that undulated to an unheard beat, with cracks that stretched every which way to the horizon.

Suddenly, Dr. Havernough's small project exploded as they raked in the funding. They weren't sure of the potential uses access to the nether-realm could provide, but none of the nobles wanted to be the ones without those potential benefits.

Dr. Havernough was sure that the nether-realm could provide some interesting insights into the field of space magic, but he doubted some of the other admittedly interesting physical benefits that were theorized by his colleagues. If they were able to gain access to mines in the nether-realm, untouched by human hands, he wouldn't say no to a few gems or chunks of precious metals. But that wasn’t his focus.

What called to him was figuring out how the magic functioned. Or rather, how it didn't function.

They had managed to send through multiple magic probes, each of them covered with complicated runes for advanced functionality, but they hadn't yet managed to glean much concrete information. The problem was that once the probes entered the nether-realm, they didn't do what they were supposed to do.

At the very base level they still functioned, but many of their more complicated functions simply didn't work. Some of the magic was extremely weak, while other parts did the opposite of what they were supposed to.

Somehow, magic functioned differently in the nether-realm.

It was exciting, but also extremely frustrating. They could easily see into this strange realm, but the information they could gain through any sort of magic examination was limited.

That would all change today, though. If everything went correctly, today would be the day the first human would walk into the nether-realm.

A small part of Dr. Havernough wished that he could be the one to take the historic first step. He had even pondered a few dramatic lines that he might be able to say as he stepped through the portal. But ultimately, it wasn't to be. Dr. Havernough was old, and not suited to explore a potentially hostile world. It wasn't worth the risk, especially when there were so many adventurers available who would be willing to throw themselves headfirst into twice the danger than this for less than half the money.

Dr. Havernough glanced at the adventurer. Apparently he was some big-shot in the adventuring scene, and Dr. Havernough could believe it. Though stark streaks of grey ran through his long beard and hair, he looked the exact opposite of what anyone would describe as 'frail.' The man was over six feet tall, with bulging muscles contained by impressively runed armor. He stared silently ahead with calm anticipation as scientists rushed around him, charging the mana-stones arranged in a hexagon around the portal's specified origin.

This first human test was only planned to be a quick trip, no more than stepping through the portal and then immediately stepping back, but it was clear the adventurer was taking it seriously. Dr. Havernough was relieved. With the reputation of the adventurers guild, he half expected the man to show up drunk and then piss through the portal.

"Eighty percent charged, hold!" an assistant called.

"Stage two, starting," another one said.

And so continued the five-stage process of creating the portal. Through painstaking trial and error, Project Piercer managed to create a repeatable method for making a human-sized portal to the nether-realm which would last for ten minutes before degrading. It seemed extravagant, the number of mana-stones and precious attunement crystals they burned through for a single portal that only lasted ten-minutes, but Dr. Havernough knew the math. Their portal's efficiency was an achievement. He knew they were still leagues ahead of the dozens of other labs that had sprouted up in the two years since their unprecedented breakthrough, and was proud of their accomplishment.

Finally, the portal hummed into existence. The edges glowed with all the shifting colors of the rainbow.

"Remember, in and out. We can test more once you're safe," Dr. Havernough reminded the adventurer. He just grunted in response, in what Dr. Havernough hoped was the affirmative.

But just as the adventurer moved to step forward through the portal, he paused.

"What's that noise?" The adventurer asked, head cocked to the side.

"What noise? I don't hear anything..." Dr. Havernough responded.

"It sounds like a siren. I think it's coming from the portal." He paused, still listening. "Whatever it is, it's getting closer."

Dr. Havernough strained his ears. He was much lower level than the adventurer, so it was natural for the man to have a better sense of hearing than him, but eventually, he could hear the noise as well.

He made a split-second judgment call.

"Toss a probe through, and then begin closing the portal. We'll see what the probe tells us. No need to risk it."

He could see the disappointment on the faces of the adventurer and some of the assistants, but no one argued. A rune-covered probe was tossed through the portal, and then it immediately began to shrink. The strange wailing noise got louder.

"Wait!" the adventurer said suddenly. "It sounds like a person!"

Dr. Havernough's eyes widened in surprise, but he didn't change his earlier order. This world was a dangerous place, and though they hadn't yet seen any monsters in the nether-realm, he wouldn't be surprised if there were some strange mimicry of human life in there.

The adventurer leaned forward, his face only inches away from the portal, clearly looking for the source of the noise. Dr. Havernough wasn't worried about the man disobeying his orders. Despite the sound getting louder and louder, the portal was already too small for the massive man to fit through.

"...aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiIIIIIIITTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!" the wailing reached a crescendo as the adventurer suddenly leaped backward across the room, drawing his sword in the same motion, as a brown blur shot through the portal and landed with a thud on the hard ground in the lab.

A...girl? Dr. Havernough took a step back with the rest of the scientists as what appeared to be a young adult woman looked up from her place on the ground, panting heavily.

She had dark skin and black, stringy hair, and was absolutely filthy. Every part of her was covered with a thin layer of dust, and she wore a ripped backpack. She held a small knife in her right hand, and in her left, a small, equally dirty stuffed toy cat. The girl looked up at them, flicking her bangs out of her eyes with a practiced motion, and smiled at the crowd of stunned scientists and one adventurer.

"Hello! I'm Kat, bronze healer of the adventurer's guild, and this is Snuffers! Thanks for waiting!"

Chapter 2: A Slight Disagreement

Kat looked around at the people surrounding her, waiting for their response. Yet none of them moved, simply staring at her in slack-jawed amazement.

Well, most of them just stared. One of the guys didn't seem quite as paralyzed. He was twirling a sword around his hand, although he still stared. He was huge too! Almost as big as one of the smaller shamblers.

The silence stretched on. Did they not hear her the first time?

"Hello! I'm Kat, bronze healer of the adventurer's guild, and this is Snuffers!" she repeated. One of the men took a step back from her. Were they scared? Why would they be scared of her? She was sure she was smiling. Although it had been a while since she had last talked to a human...was she doing it right?

Kat's nose scrunched up as she focused on her facial muscles, her smile widening. Unfortunately, this had the opposite effect as what she intended, as most of the other men wearing the white robes took a step back as well.

Finally, the oldest-looking of the men cleared his throat. "Hello, Kat, nice to meet you. I'm Dr. Havernough. Why were you…no, how were you in the nether-realm?"

"Nice to meet you too!" Kat replied, raising the toy cat up beside her face. "Snuffers also enjoys meeting you. But it seems like he's feeling a little shy, so he might not tell you himself."

"Ah, of course…nice to meet you too, Snuffers."

"You asked about the...nether-realm?" Kat asked. "What's that?"

Dr. Havernough stared at her blankly. "It's where you just came from. We had a portal from our world to the nether-realm. Are you...from there?"

"Ohhh. Nether-realm. That's a much better name than what I came up with. I'm gonna use that from now on. Nether-realm. Oooh, it sounds so mysterious!"

"And…are you from the nether-realm?" Dr. Havernough repeated as the apprehension of the men faded.

"Oh, of course not. That's why I introduced myself as a bronze adventurer! They don't have any adventurer's guilds there," Kat said, and then she hesitated. "I used to have my adventurer's badge, but I lost it a while back."

The large man with the sword finally stepped forward, joining in the conversation. "What chapter of the adventurer's guild were you with? How long have you been there?"

"Eh, none yet. I was about to join the Adamil chapter, but I got stuck in the nether-realm place when I was portaling over. As for how long I've been there..." Kat's smile dimmed for the first time. "I'm really not sure. It's hard to keep track of time in there. At least one hundred night-cycles, but I stopped counting after that."

"Night-cycle?" Dr. Havernough asked.

"Yeah, night-cycle! Like when it gets dark here, except all the monsters come out and you never know how long it'll last."

Meanwhile, the large man was rubbing his chin in apparent thought, muttering under his breath. "Adamil, in the north with the beginner dungeons?" he finally asked.

"Yeah! That's it! I've got some friends waiting for me. Could you help me book a caravan there? I'd...rather not take another portal."

"We can look into it," the man replied. "I can send a message through the portal for you, if you like, to make sure that's where your friends are."

"Oh, thank you, that'd be amazing! Their names are Avery, Melinda, and Lindon. I'm sure they've moved up to at least silver adventurers by now!"

"I'll have someone check for you. In the meantime, why don't you stay in the local chapter of the adventurer's guild?"

"Wait, wait," Dr. Havernough interrupted. "She should stay in the lab, quarantined. At least until we ensure she isn't carrying any harmful diseases or magical residues. And we need to question her, find out all we can about the nether-realm. She could advance our research years!"

"You've been retrieving probes from the nether-realm for years, and haven't detected any harmful residue on them," the large man replied. "And she's an adventurer. She's under the protection of the Adventurer's Guild. You can visit the guild hall to ask your questions."

"What? What gives you the right to make that decision? I'm head researcher of the Piercer Project, so I make the decisions. You can't just take her away when we don't even know for sure where she came from!"

Kat was looking back and forth between the two arguing men, wondering if she should voice her opinion. Although, it appeared they were getting along just fine without it.

Suddenly, Kat felt a weight settle on her shoulders. For a split second she panicked, swinging her knife out in front of her and tossing Snuffers behind her to watch her back. But no, it wasn't the return of the night-cycle. It wasn't nearly strong enough for that. It was just the large man's killing intent. He must be pretty angry at this Dr. Havernough guy.

As quick as Kat's reaction was, it was nothing compared to the reactions of the rest of the people in the room. Dr. Havernough paled and stumbled, barely catching himself on the table next to him. Some of the others weren't even able to do that much, collapsing on the ground under the sudden weight. Kat even noticed one man passed out in the corner of the room.

"I am vice-master of the Cranlon chapter of the adventurer's guild. She is an adventurer. I have every right to make this decision. End of discussion."

Despite struggling to stay standing, Dr. Havernough didn't concede in the face of the large man's killing intent. "Baron Alec will hear of this," he muttered, clearly struggling to speak.

Suddenly, the pressure disappeared as if it was never there, and the people throughout the room gasped in relief. "Do what you will. I am taking her now." He turned to face Kat and smiled, although it didn't look nearly as friendly as Kat was sure her own looked. "Follow me, please."

Kat picked up Snuffers and draped him over her shoulder, freeing up her left hand, which she used to adjust the backpack. "Sure!" She turned to the rest of the people in the room. "It was nice meeting all of you! Thanks again for waiting for me to get through the portal!"

And with those parting words, she followed the large man through a doorway and out of the building.

Chapter 3: Blue is the Best Color

Kat walked next to the massive man down the city streets, stumbling over a loose bit of cobble. She bumped into a man holding a basket full of vegetables walking from the other direction. He tripped and almost fell, barely keeping the food inside his basket."Hey, watch it!" he said, his tone angry. At least until he looked up and saw the man accompanying Kat, at which point he continued walking without another word.

"Ah, sorry," Kat replied, although her heart wasn't in it. She had almost stabbed the man on reflex, but luckily she managed to quell that instinct.

Aside from Snuffers, she hadn't had any physical contact with another person for...ages. She was a little curious to learn how long exactly it had been since she entered the portal, but then Kat wasn't sure if that would provide an answer. Time in the nether-realm felt different, somehow, than it did out here.

It had been a while, though. She had a lot of instincts that were forced upon her, instincts that saved her life too many times to count, that wouldn't be appropriate to carry back into this world. At least not into a busy city street.

But it wasn't as hard to adjust as she thought it would be. The world here...there was something that just felt different, aside from the obvious. Similar to what she felt when the big man and Dr. Havernough were arguing.

She didn't feel that weight of danger here. In the nether-realm, it was an ever-present companion, and the lack of it was like a breath of fresh air.

People bustled back and forth across the streets around them, haggling at market stalls and waving to friends and acquaintances. Occasionally Kat would wave back, although both times she did she realized afterward that the people were actually waving at someone else behind her.

The sounds and the colors were marvelous. The people even more so. Yet the thing Kat found the most comforting was the sky.

For so long, she had gazed up at a fractured sky of rainbow shades. The vast blueness above her now was proof: she was finally home.

It might not be her city. The people waving weren't her friends, at least not yet. But the sky...this was her sky.

She bumped into the back of the big man as he stopped in front of her, not enough time for her to react with her chin pointing almost directly upward.

They had arrived at the adventurer's guild, a larger building that could easily be confused for a high-end bar. Which wasn't incorrect: almost all of the first floor actually was a bar, catering to famished adventurers fresh from a dungeon delve. A few men yelled out something across the room to her guide, but he just lifted a hand and waved the people away, leading Kat up the stairs to the second floor.

This floor was much quieter than the first, containing a long row of desks with five lines stretching behind them. Clerks at each desk talked with angry, confused, or pleading adventurers, helping them with whatever they may need. Or, based on some of the interactions Kat witnessed, denying them the help the adventurers demanded.

Now that she didn't have the sky to distract her, Kat's head swung back and forth on a swivel, her eyes wide as she tried to take in as much of the scenery as she could. She didn't get long, though, as her guide only took a moment to cut to the front of one of the lines and mutter a few words to the clerk. Surprisingly, none of the waiting adventurers had a word of complaint while the clerk rummaged through his desk and handed the man a key. Once again, Kat was led up another flight of stairs.

This floor was just a long hallway with doors on either side. The big man led Kat to the third door on the left, holding a runed stone to the doorknob before opening it.

It was an office. The man stepped around the desk in the middle of the room and sat in a chair behind it, gesturing to a smaller chair in front of the desk. Kat happily took a seat.

"So," he began, looking down at her. The desk was scaled to his massive size, which meant her chin barely reached above the top. She didn't mind though. It made her feel cozy.

Before the man could get any further, though, Kat interrupted. "Sorry, I didn't get your name earlier. I'm Kat and this is Snuffers, in case you forgot. Thank you for showing me here!" Kat knew it was a little rude to interrupt like that, but it would be even ruder to start the conversation without a good introduction.

The man momentarily looked non-plussed, but quickly responded. "I'm vice guildmaster Brevid. I have just a few questions for you, and then I'll take you to your room where you can get cleaned up and rest."

"Oooh, that sounds lovely. I haven't had a shower in ages," Kat said, and then she blanched. "I bet I smell terrible. Sorry."

Vice guildmaster Brevid waved her concerns away. "It's no issue. I haven't even noticed." Kat breathed out a sigh of relief. "Although, on the topic of washing...how have you managed to survive in the nether-realm? Did you find a source of water?"

"Nah, that place is bone-dry." She turned and reached into her tattered backpack, pulling out a small canteen of water. "Luckily, I had this with me when I went through the portal." She shook it in her head, creating a faint noise of sloshing from a mostly-empty canteen. "It never runs out!"

"And food?" Brevid asked.

Kat pulled another item from her backpack, this time a faded green lunchbox. "Same deal with this thing!"

Brevid nodded. "That's interesting, and I'm sure someone would like to examine those items later if you are willing to part with them." Kat hugged them to her chest, her eyes wide. "Or not. It's up to you. I am not concerned with them, really, although they look different from any ever-flask or storage bag I have seen. My main concern is the nether-realm itself."

"What do you want to know? It's not a very interesting place. Not nearly as interesting as here."

Brevid's eyes narrowed with intensity, and Kat felt a very slight weight settle on her shoulders. Nothing large, not like the weight that was in the portal room. Kat wasn't even sure she would have noticed it before she got stuck in the nether-realm. But after just escaping and feeling the absence of the weight for the first time in forever? It was immediately recognizable.

She wanted to pull out her knife, but she fought that impulse. She didn't want to ruin her first real conversation with violence.

"Did you see anyone there?" Brevid finally said, his eyes focused on Kat.

"People? Of course not, there're no people there. Do you mean monsters? There's a ton of them, although they definitely aren't people."

Brevid waited for a beat before he leaned back, his manner relaxing. "What kinds of monsters did you see?"

"Oh, tons. Mostly shamblers, they were all over the place. Wigglers every now and again. Only one juicer, but that was probably the worst of them, so I'm lucky that I only saw it once." She paused, realizing that Brevid probably had no idea of what she was describing. She had to come up with all the names herself, after all. "Do you want me to describe them?"

But Brevid just waved her offer away. "Maybe later. For now, go ahead and relax. Your room is on the fourth floor, room seventeen. Here's your key." Brevid tossed a small key across the desk, Kat nimbly catching it with one hand. "I'll look into your friends for you, see if we can find out where they are." He got up and walked around the desk, opening the door to his office.

Kat took that as an obvious sign that their interview was over. It was shorter than she would have liked after being starved of contact for so long. Aside from Snuffers, of course, but he wasn't the best conversationalist.

After leaving the office, the door closed firmly behind her. Ah well, she was sure she could meet some other interesting people. The question was: where to first? The second floor looked like a good place to learn a bunch of stuff, but then it didn't look like people really wanted to talk there. It had been a long time since the last time she had to wait in line, but she remembered that it usually made her grumpy.

The first floor was probably better for getting some good conversations. It looked like everyone there was much friendlier than on the second floor. Or maybe she could explore more of the third or fourth floors? Were there floors above the fourth? No, she should stick with the first floor for now. Vice guildmaster Brevid didn't say she wasn't allowed, but snooping usually wasn't polite.

Decision made, she stepped confidently down the hallway towards the stairs, but then she blanched and gave her armpit a quick sniff.

She couldn't smell anything, not after living in her own scent for so long, but she was sure she didn't smell the best. Which wasn't a very good way to try to make friends. She should put her best foot forward!

So shower in her room on the fourth floor first. And then to the bar!

In his office, Brevid wrote down notes of everything the girl mentioned before safely stowing the notes in a runed drawer. There were a few interesting things about her. Even her ever-flask and storage bag were strange: they didn't have a single rune on them, at least not that he could see.

It didn't matter though. She was out of the Piercer Project's clutches, which was the important thing. Though he doubted they'd be willing to give up all the knowledge and experience she could provide so easily. For her to stay out of their hands, she needed to disappear.

He smiled as an idea came to mind. One that would kill two birds with one stone.

Chapter 4: F is for Friends

Kat had been planning on just hopping in the shower quickly so that she could get downstairs to the bar. But after she stepped under the hot water-stone, she couldn't move.

Bliss.

That's the only word she could think of to describe it. Pure bliss. She had forgotten how nice a shower could feel. Or maybe she had chosen to forget? After all, you can't miss what you don't remember.

Eventually, the pleasure wasn't strong enough to outweigh her growing desire to meet new people. So she set to scrubbing. And scrubbing. And scrubbing.

Was there something wrong with the water stone? It kept coming out brown.

She stepped back out of the water. No, when she wasn't in it, it flowed clear.

Was all of this from her?

Sure she knew she was dirty. It would've been impossible to stay clean after so long in such a dry, dusty environment. But this was just ridiculous.

It felt as if she scrubbed off her entire top layer of skin before the water finally started to flow clear again. Seeing everything that was flowing down the drain, she was doubly thankful she didn't choose to immediately go down to the bar. She must have looked like an insane vagrant!

Her hair was even more of a struggle. She shampooed it three times, but it still felt greasy between her fingers. And no matter how many times she tried to comb it out it seemed like there were always more tangles.

After breaking a few of the teeth of the comb on a particularly tough tangle, she gave up. She wouldn't look her best, but that was fine. She looked immeasurably better than she had an hour earlier. And besides, she was about to try and make friends with adventurers. They weren't exactly known for their stellar hygiene and put-together looks.

She spent a few more minutes washing Snuffers, who was just as dirty as she had been, before she finally felt they were clean enough to meet new people. Snuffers was still soaking wet and she considered leaving him in the room to dry; being waterlogged wasn't the best way to set a good first impression, after all. But in the end she set him on her shoulder. He wasn't nearly as excited as she was to meet new people, but then he also didn't care nearly as much about setting a good first impression. And Kat had to admit, his presence on her shoulder calmed some of the butterflies in her stomach.

Finally, she'd meet new people! Brevid and Dr. Havernough didn't really count. They were nice enough, she supposed, but they were much more excited about the nether-realm than they were about her, and Kat had had more than enough of the nether-realm.

Thankfully, there was an extra set of clothes in the closet of her room. After finally being somewhat clean, she shuddered thinking about putting her old ratty outfit back on. The set of clothes was a robe that she pulled over her head, and was way too big for her. It also looked different from the mages' robes some of the other people downstairs were wearing, but that was fine. She'd had a robe in her bag when she got trapped in the nether-realm, but it got destroyed almost immediately. Since then, all she'd been wearing were trousers, a long-sleeved shirt, and a jacket over the top. This robe was a welcome change.

Unfortunately, it didn't seem to come with a belt, so she strapped her old belt around her waist. It made the robe fit much better, though the last few inches still dragged along the ground behind her. After a final pat-down on her still-wet hair, she tucked her knife and a small pouch into her belt and walked downstairs.

It only took her a minute to make her way to the first floor. Even though it was still bright outside, the people in the barroom didn't seem to mind, some of them already visibly drunk. She went to the bar and looked around for a bartender.

It took a minute and Kat waving her arm in the air before he noticed her, and he looked a little confused before a standard air of professionalism smoothed his face back into a welcoming mask.

"What can I get you, miss?"

"Do you have anything non-alcoholic to drink?" Kat asked. "And what do you have for food?" Kat had had alcoholic drinks before, but she'd always been a bit of a lightweight, and she doubted all her time in the nether-realm drinking nothing but water improved her tolerance. And besides, she didn't want her wits even the slightest bit dulled now that she was experiencing so many things anew.

"Eh, not a lot, I'm sorry. We can get you water, of course, or we have a few different types of tea. Or I guess you can have some milk if you like, though we usually only serve that in the mornings."

Kat's eyes widened. "Milk sounds amazing, if that's okay," she said. She would have preferred some fruit juice, excited to taste something sweet again, but milk was a good substitute for now. She'd have to go to the market for some fruit juice or candies later!

"For food we've got either baked fish or a potato leek soup, which would you like?"

"The soup, please!" she answered.

"Twelve copper, and it'll be right out."

Kat blanched at the cost, but reached into her pouch and pulled out a handful of coins, separating out a few of the coppers and handing them over to the man who made them disappear into a pocket. Twelve coppers was three times as expensive as any meal at the academy, but then she knew prices were usually higher in bigger cities. She had a little bit saved up that had been sitting in a pouch in the bottom of her pack, useless, during her time in the nether-realm, but at those prices she'd need to find a job sooner rather than later. Ah well. She'd cross that bridge when she came to it. While she waited for her food, she twisted around on her stool, observing the other patrons of the bar.

It was everything she had hoped for in the adventurer's guild.

Despite spending LOTS of time running from and fighting monsters in the nether-realm, she knew she was still extremely wet behind the ears as an adventurer. She'd spent so long daydreaming about what the adventurer's guild was like, what her friends might be doing while she was away, but she was unsure how much her daydreams would match up to reality.

But this...this was what she had imagined.

Gruff looking adventurers sat at round tables scattered throughout the room. One man with a massive sword longer than she was tall resting against his table banged his fist to punctuate his statement, his table-mates exclaiming in outrage when some of their beer spilled. A beautiful woman in white told a story at another table, surrounded by men hanging off of her every word, her song-like laughter occasionally echoing up over the rest of the clamor. In the corner with his back to the wall sat a hooded man, shrouded in shadows with an untouched mug in front of him, examining everyone who entered and exited the room. An older man with a beard reaching down to his chest and a tall pointed hat on his head sat alone at another table, absently running his hands through the fur of his leopard familiar that sat on its haunches next to him.

There were definitely more men than women, but the ratio wasn't so skewed that Kat stood out simply by her femininity. Her robe was different from anything anyone else wore, but she didn't think it was so weird that people would judge her for it. After all, the bartender served her without asking to see her adventurer's badge, so she must at least somewhat look the part. Snuffers was a little different from the other few familiars she saw throughout the room, but that was to be expected. She already knew he was special.

Finally, the bartender returned with a steaming bowl of soup and a mug of milk, setting it in front of her without a word.

She sniffed the soup. It smelled delicious. But before she dug in, there was something more important for her to do: make friends.

Looking over the room one more time, she eventually decided on a smaller table in the middle of the room. Three people sat around it, what looked like an experienced adventuring team. They argued loudly, but it sounded more like a good-natured argument of friends rather than anything angry. And most importantly: there was a free seat.

She carefully picked up her bowl and mug and navigated across the room.

"Excuse me, may I sit here?"

Three pairs of eyes turned to her, blinking slowly at the interruption to their argument. Finally, the skinny man on the right nodded as he looked her up and down. "Er, sure. You new here?"

"Yep!" Kat replied as she plopped down in the seat and set down her food and drink. A little milk spilled from her mug onto her hand, so she licked it clean. "I'm a bronze healer! Just got into the city earlier today. My name's Kat, and this is Snuffers."

The woman to Kat's left gave her a wry smile. "Nice to meet you, Kat and Snuffers. I'm Monica, silver rogue, that's Bruce, a silver mage," she gestured to the skinny man across the table from her before gesturing to the large man sitting across from Kat. "And this ignoramous is our silver guardian, Peter."

Peter glared at Monica. "Don't introduce me like that," he grumbled. "Just cause you're angry that I'm right about rogues being useless in the Bellview dungeon doesn't give you the right to call me names."

"I'll introduce you as someone better when you start acting like someone better," Monica answered primly.

"What's this about rogues being useless?" Kat asked, leaning forward as she absentmindedly scooped a spoonful of soup into her mouth. The food was delicious, but the conversation was even more so. "I've always been taught rogues were the most important role in any team."

Monica smiled triumphantly while Peter grumbled even more. "Of course! I knew I was going to like you. See, Peter, she knows what's what."

"What do you know about the Bellview dungeon, Kat?" Peter asked.

"Absolutely nothing."

"See, that's the thing. I'm not saying rogues aren't useful. In most dungeons, I might even agree with you that they're the most important piece of the team." Peter looked like he’d swallowed a lemon saying that. "But Bellview dungeon is different. It's got three levels, and all of the boss rooms are brightly lit, which means sneak attack skills are useless. And the three bosses all have projectile shields, forcing you to melee them, so bows and darts are also useless. Which means the rogues are..." he trailed off, looking at Kat expectantly.

"Useless?" Kat replied with a smile, happy to stoke the fires of conflict.

"Exactly!" Peter said, hand pointing at Kat triumphantly.

Monica slapped Peter's hand away. "Stop poisoning our young friend's mind with your gibberish. If I weren't there, how would you disarm all the traps?"

"Easily," Peter scoffed. "Pretty much all the traps in Bellview are tripwires. Bruce could just send a fireball down the tunnels and clear them out faster than you ever could!"

"Don't bring me into this," Bruce interjected. Monica and Peter both ignored him.

"Yeah, and what happens when he runs out of mana in the final boss room? Or what if there's a loot chest in a tunnel and it's ruined from his fireball?"

"A loot chest appearing in the tunnel? That's like a one in one-thousand chance in Bellview."

"But those are the chests with the best loot!"

It looked like Peter and Monica had entirely forgotten about Kat as their argument continued, and she stared wide-eyed as the words flew back and forth.

"Don't mind them," Bruce said in a quieter voice. "They've been dating on and off for the last five years. This'll just end with one of them going too far, the other getting offended, and then them both apologizing and making up two days from now."

Kat nodded. She didn't think she'd want to be the type of person who always argued with her friends, but she couldn't fault Peter and Monica if it worked for them.

"Three is pretty small for a team," Kat asked Bruce, ignoring the escalating argument. "Do you have anyone else on your team?"

"Yeah, actually. Brandon's our healer, but he's got some business out of town to take care of, so we're on our own for the next few days. Part of the reason why Peter and Monica are so antsy. It's been too long without a dungeon delve to get rid of the stress." He leaned closer to Kat and lowered his voice. "And don't believe that nonsense you said earlier about rogues being the most important member of a team. Healers are more important, by far."

Kat blushed at the compliment to her specialty. "But can't potions replace healers?"

Bruce nodded consideringly. "To an extent, but not when you really need them. In nine out of ten delves, a healer will barely do anything. But it's the one in ten when the healer is desperately needed, when healing potions can't cut it, and someone's life is on the line – that's what you've got healers for. We might be willing to do a delve or two without Monica if she's busy, but we'll never delve without Brandon."

"Ah, I guess that makes sense."

"Where's your team, by the way? There aren't too many beginner dungeons around here that I'd be comfortable sending fresh bronze adventurers to. Or are you here for another reason?"

"Ah, yeah. I didn't really choose to come here. I was going with my team to Adamil, which is supposed to have a lot of beginner dungeons, but I got...separated along the way. I'm hoping to catch back up to them soon, though!"

"Hm, Adamil. I don't think I've heard of it. But that seems wise. Not that I'm doubting your skills, but most of the dungeons around here are really much more suited to silver adventurers. Bronze healing might not be enough for that one in ten, not with the injuries that some of the monsters around here could cause."

Kat hesitated. "About that...I'm actually a little worried about being a healer..."

"Why?" Bruce replied.

Kat looked at his face, which showed nothing but open concern and curiosity. "Well, I'm not sure my skills are up to snuff. I've been separated for quite a while, and I'm worried they might have gotten so far ahead of me I can't keep up. Plus, I've barely used my healing skills since we were separated. I'm much better with elemental spells than my healing skills now, but my team already had an amazing offensive mage. What if I won't be able to join back up with them?"

Bruce let loose a small bark of laughter as Kat's concerned eyes looked up at him, and she bristled. Even compared to the most terrifying of monsters in the nether-realm, this was the fear that had plagued her most: that her team would leave her behind, unwanted and useless.

Upon seeing Kat's angry features, Bruce's face softened. "I'm sorry for laughing, but I don't think you have anything to worry about. It's obvious you care for your team, and I'm sure they care for you as well. I doubt they're too far ahead of you, and even if they are, I'm sure you'll be able to catch back up in no time. It's no big loss for silver or even gold adventurers to delve beginner dungeons for a bit to get you some experience. And as for your role, that's a frankly ridiculous concern."

"What do you mean?"

"So what if you're not a dedicated healer anymore? Your team can have more than one offensive mage. And you having auxiliary healing skills is even better. If I had even just a few weak healing skills, we might be comfortable enough to delve without Brandon."

Kat smiled.

They sat in contented silence for a few minutes as Kat finished the last of her soup, absentmindedly listening to Peter and Monica's continued argument, which had somehow shifted to a disagreement about the most difficult dungeon monster types.

Unfortunately, it didn't last, as a voice suddenly sounded out from behind Kat's chair.

"Hah, I knew you were a pervert, Bruce, but even I didn't think you'd like them this young."

Chapter 5: Throwing Hands

Peter and Monica's argument ended abruptly, both of them glaring at someone behind Kat's chair.

"Evan," Monica spat. "I should've noticed you were here. I thought there was a nasty funk in the air."

"Ah, Monica, and I didn't notice you were here. You just blend into the drab background so seamlessly," the voice responded.

Kat twisted around to see the people standing a little too close to the back of her chair. It was a group of five men. The four in the back looked like stereotypical adventurers: big, mean, and just a little push away from violence. The man in front, however, was different. He had aristocratic features and wore a fancy-looking orange vest over a red suit, each of them perfectly tailored to his slim frame. Kat supposed that in some circumstances the clothes might look pleasing, like a beautiful sunset. But after his rude introduction, Kat thought it looked more like a rabbit's puke after gorging on carrots.

"Evan, what do you want?" Bruce said in a flat voice before Monica could respond with another jab.

"Can't I just come by to say hello to one of my oldest friends and his adventuring party?" Evan responded, a few of the men behind him grinning cruelly.

"We're not friends," Bruce responded. "That ship has sailed."

"Ah, you wound me," Evan said, holding the back of his hand to his forehead in a dramatic pose. "But you're right, I actually do have something to say. I just wanted to let you know that my team will be delving the Three Winds dungeon four days from now. It seemed there was a sudden cancellation, and we jumped on the opening."

"That's our slot!" Monica yelled, her chair clattering behind her as she jumped to her feet. Peter reached out a hand and rested it against her forearm, though it looked like he was having just as much trouble holding himself back.

Bruce, though, was still stoic. "This is the adventurer's guild. Your petty politics don't mean anything here. The guildmaster won't allow it."

"Ah, that's where you are wrong, little Brucy. Politics always matter. And go ahead and check with the registrar, if you like. It's done and dusted: my team is registered for that slot."

"We'll see what the guildmaster has to say about you meddling in guild business," Bruce answered, and this time Kat could hear a slight growl beneath his words. It seemed he wasn't containing his anger as well as it had first appeared.

Evan must have heard the same thing, because his cheshire grin widened. "I guess we'll see then." He turned and began walking away, but before he took more than a single step he looked back over his shoulder. "Oh, and I guess congrats are in order." He flicked his head in Kat's direction, though his gaze never left Bruce's face. "You're finally willing to get a new prostitute. I never thought you'd get over your last harlot."

Kat wasn't surprised, as inured to violence as she had been from her time in the nether-realm, but it seemed like everyone else was. With a wave of muted killing intent, Bruce stood from his chair with a smooth motion, took a single step forward, and punched Evan in the face.

Despite Bruce being skinny and his team's mage, he must have been a higher level than Kat realized, because his punch packed a wallop. Evan flew backward, one of his cronies behind him only barely managing to catch him under his armpits before he collapsed on the floor.

The entire room went silent, every table now paying attention to the spectacle.

Haltingly Evan stood back to his feet, blood dripping from a crooked nose.

"You'll pay for that," he said. And then he charged, lunging at Bruce in a flying tackle.

He must have been his team's mage as well, because the tackle had some of the worst form Kat had ever seen, even compared to the novices back at the academy. It wasn't lacking for passion, though, and Bruce didn't react before they collided, both of them collapsing in a tangle of limbs on the ground.

"Oh, it's on," Monica said, charging forward and jabbing at the neck of one of Evan's cronies who stepped forward to help Evan against Bruce.

Chaos erupted around her as Kat stayed in her seat, seemingly the only one in the room to do so. A few adventurers from other tables retreated to the corners of the room or out of the front door, but the majority took the opportunity for stress relief, joining in on the fight with abandon.

In her strange bubble of peace surrounded by chaos, a grin stretched across Kat's face. Her first day in the adventurer's guild, and already she was living the dream. At this rate, she'd catch up to her team in no time!

With a wide grin still pasted on her face, she carefully took Snuffers off of her shoulder and set him beneath her chair. Muted killing intent suffused the room, but it didn't look like anyone actually wanted to kill each other. Swords and daggers stayed in their sheaths while mages, rogues, and warriors brawled equally with their fists. There was no need for Snuffers to get involved.

Bruce and Evan wrestled on the floor, neither seeming to get the better of the other. Evan's cronies tried to help their leader, but Peter and Monica intercepted them before they could get close. Peter somehow managed to grab two of them in headlocks, one under each arm, twisting in place as the men futilely punched his side and tried to escape. Monica fought the other two men, dodging past their blows as they tried to pincer her in. She was fast, but she couldn't see everything at once and she stumbled when one of the fists clipped her shoulder. She would be the one Kat would help, then.

And so Kat calmly and silently stood up on her chair, but she was still shorter than the massive bear of a man that had his back to her as he tried to grapple Monica. So with a high-pitched warcry, Kat jumped, soaring through the air and landing on the man's back.

The man barely stumbled from the additional weight, but noticed when Kat climbed up and wrapped her arms around his throat from behind. His back was so broad, Kat doubted she'd be able to wrap her legs around him. That was fine though; despite her robe being too large for her, trying something like that might flash a little more than she was comfortable showing. She could hang on just fine with her arms.

The man tried to reach back and pry her off, but she moved her head, dodging the flailing limb. He tried to reach behind his back, but wasn't flexible enough to even brush a finger against Kat's robe. Then he tried to pry Kat's arms off of his neck, but her grip was like iron.

The man was huge, maybe even a little bigger than Brevid, but it was a different kind of size. Brevid reminded Kat of a lion: massive and powerful, but still possessing of a feral grace and savagery. This guy, on the other hand, reminded Kat of a bull: still dangerous, but much easier to deal with than a lion, especially if you knew what you were doing.

So the man flailed to no avail as Kat held on like a bull-rider, still screaming a warcry into his ear. Until finally the man seemed to realize Kat was only a minor inconvenience and turned his his attention back to Monica, who, now that she was fighting one-on-one, easily had the upper hand.

Kat couldn't allow him to double-team the rogue again. She tried hitting on the top of his head with one of her free hands, but he was wearing a thick leather skull-cap. Unless she broke the unwritten rule of not really trying to hurt someone, it was unlikely he would ever feel the impacts of her hands against his protected head. She needed something harder to whack him with.

Kat smiled.

She had always heard the expression in the academy of 'hitting them with their moneybags,' referring to those mega-wealthy adventurers who conquered dungeons above their level with expensive enchantments rather than skill.

Kat was going to do the same thing...just a little more literally.

She grabbed her small pouch of coins from her belt and wrapped the strap around her wrist, raising her fist to the sky. And with an audible bonk and jingle of coins, brought it down on top of the man's head.

That was enough for the man to refocus his attention to the spider-monkey clinging to his back, and he returned to flailing in a futile attempt to dislodge Kat from her perch. Kat continued bonking the man's head with her coin pouch, her warcry only occasionally interrupted with giggling.

Unfortunately, all good things must eventually come to an end. A wave of killing intent even stronger than the wave Brevid released in the lab stretched across the room, accompanied by a single word.

"Enough."

Though it was stronger than the killing intent of the vice-guildmaster, these adventurers were likewise stronger than the lab technicians, so none of them collapsed under the sudden weight. All fighting did immediately cease, though.

Well, almost all fighting. Seeing that her fun was about to end, Kat rushed two more bonks against the man's head, the jingling easily audible in the suddenly silent barroom.

Kat looked around guiltily, refusing to make eye contact with the source of the killing intent.

Eventually, she could feel his gaze leave her. "Who threw the first punch?" the man asked. He was older than she expected, with a hunched back and silver streaks in his black hair. But despite using a cane and a face covered in wrinkles, weakness was definitely not the impression she got from this man.

The man's question was met with silence, until it was interrupted with the collapsing of the half-broken leg of a table in the corner, the mugs piled on it clattering to the ground.

Finally, a voice spoke up. "I did, guildmaster." Bruce shakily stood to his feet.

The guildmaster nodded. "I expected more from you," he replied. "You will pay for all damages from your own pocket. And your team is banned from any delves for the next week."

"What? No! That's not fair, Evan started..." Monica began, but she was cut off as another wave of killing intent passed through the room.

"Silence," the guildmaster said. He turned to Evan, who still lay on the ground next to Bruce with a smirk on his face. "Evan, for bribing a clerk of the adventurer's guild, your team is also banned from any delves for the next week."

Evan spluttered as Monica smirked instead. All the other adventurers just stared, frozen, as the guildmaster turned to walk back up the stairs, his cane landing on the first step with a thump. But then he paused and looked over his shoulder. "That means there is currently a vacancy for a delve of the Three Winds dungeon four days from now." Then he disappeared up the stairs.

Clamor broke out in the barroom as adventurers rushed to disentangle themselves from each other and race up the stairs to the second floor. Although Kat noticed that despite their haste, all of the adventurers were careful not to attack each other or damage their surroundings any further.

Kat gave her target a pat on the shoulder before hopping off. He turned and glared at her, but only moved to help Evan up. Kat moved in the opposite direction to where Bruce, Monica, and Peter were nursing small wounds.

"Does this happen regularly?" she asked, stars in her eyes.

Bruce chuckled at her expression and then winced as he gingerly touched a forming bruise on his jaw.

"Not regularly, no. Maybe a couple of times a year? First one I've been in in almost a decade." He sighed. "Sorry guys, I let him rile me up and lost us our slot."

Peter and Monica both shook their heads. "Don't be sorry. If you had been a second slower I would have been the one punching his face in," Monica said.

"And it looks like our new friend enjoyed the experience," Peter said with a smile, gesturing to where Kat hopped in place from the leftover adrenaline, throwing out an occasional shadow-punch.

It took a minute but Kat eventually calmed down, picking up Snuffers from where he safely sat under Kat's upended chair and placing him back in his spot on her shoulder.

"What's the deal with this Three Winds dungeon, anyway?" Kat asked.

Monica was digging through her pack for a healing potion for bruce, so Peter responded. "It's the main reason the adventurer's guild is as big as it is here. Probably a big reason why this city's so prosperous as well, now that I think about it."

"But what's special about it?" Kat asked again.

"It pretty much always gives skill-stones as rewards for completing the dungeon, and specialized skill-stones at that." Kat whistled in amazement. "Not always, but something like ninety percent of the time it drops a specialized skill-stone. There's something like a nine-month waitlist to delve it, and you can't sign up for delves when you're already on the waitlist.

"Nine months between each delve? That's...a long time," Kat said, somewhat lamely.

"Nine months, minimum. It's gotten as long as a year and a half before, but it's worth it, for a ninety percent chance of getting a good skill-stone."

"Sorry you guys lost your spot," Kat said.

Peter sighed, but then shrugged, waving a hand in Kat's direction. "It's not that big of a deal. It was more annoying when we thought Evan took our slot. Getting to see Bruce drop Evan with a punch like that? I'd consider that even payment. Besides, we're all pretty much done with our builds, so we'd just be reselling any skills we got, anyways."

Kat nodded. Skills were great, but most adventurers had already gotten all the skills they needed for their build by the time they reached silver rank, barring a few extremely rare skills.

For her part, Kat had three general skills, which was more than many new bronze adventurers. She was only able to afford the three through the generosity of her teammates.

Skills could be anything, from [swordsmanship] to [fireball] to [abstract painting]. They didn't give mastery over the domains they represented and didn't level in the same way people did, but they allowed for a level of power that practice by itself could never achieve.

A master swordsman without the [swordsmanship] skill would always beat a novice swordsman who had the skill. But between two masters? One with the skill, and one without? The one with the skill would always win handily.

Even mages could learn spells without the requisite skills to back them up, although it was an extremely long and arduous process. Most people had a few key skills that made up their build and then practiced them to perfection, allowing them to perform super-human feats of magic and muscle.

For the same reason, the more specific the skill, the better. [Unarmed combat] covered a lot more situations than just [pugilism], but it would take significantly longer to master and bring out the full potential of the more general skill compared to the narrow focus of [pugilism]. Which would mean that in a boxing match between two people of equal level and equal time spent practicing, the man with [pugilism] would always win, despite the match still falling under the umbrella of [unarmed combat]. In the same way, a magical skill like [phoenix ascent] was generally much more powerfull than something like [fireball], at the cost of some versatility.

Kat's skills were all very general, and though she had spent a LOT of time practicing them in the nether-realm, she was excited at the prospect of getting more powerful and specific skills.

"Do you think I'd..." she began, and it seemed Peter had read her thoughts.

"No," he said, not even letting her finish. "Three Winds isn't a dungeon a bronze team can tackle, not even a high-bronze team." At Kat's crestfallen look, he laughed and gave her a pat on the head. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be there in no time. And besides, other dungeons also drop skills, just not with the same consistency as Three Winds."

Kat nodded, determined. In the time she'd been gone, it was likely that her teammates got all the skills they needed for their builds. She would have to delve as much as she could to catch up.

"Well, that was fun," Monica said, putting an empty potion bottle back into her pack. Bruce already looked much better, and Kat belatedly realized she should have offered to heal him so they didn't have to waste a potion. "But I think that's also about as much fun as I want in a day. I'm gonna go back to our rooms."

"I've got to settle up with the bartender, first," Bruce said with a wince. "But I'll join you if you'll wait a minute." Peter nodded in agreement, before Bruce turned to Kat. "It was nice to meet you, Kat. And Snuffers too. Sorry you had to get involved in all that though."

"No, no, it was just like I'd dreamed it would be," Kat replied, stars in her eyes.

Her new friends laughed. "We'll see you around the guild hall," Monica said. "With the way you tackled that guy, I'm sure you'll pass us to the gold rank in no time at all." She winked at Kat.

Kat blushed, but smiled. "It was nice meeting you all!" she waved to them as they walked to the bartender, making Snuffers wave a paw as well with her other hand.

She wasn't really tired, not after all the excitement from the fight. But she supposed she should probably head up to her room as well. The sun had set half an hour earlier, and she should get some rest if she wanted to get an early start tomorrow.

Today had been an exceptionally good day. She couldn't wait to see what tomorrow would hold.

Chapter 6: Test Anxiety

Kat woke early the next morning with the rising of the sun. The bed was ridiculously comfortable, and she wished she could have said that she slept like a baby, but that would have been a lie.

After so long of sleeping half-buried in holes in the ground, waking up ready to fight at the slightest noise, it was much too soon for her to adjust back to the sleeping habits of normal people. She wasn't too worried about it, as it was only a matter of time. And despite the many times waking up in the middle of the night to the creak of a floorboard or exclamation of someone in the bar downstairs, she still felt more rested than she typically did after a night-cycle in the nether-realm.

She started her morning with another luxurious shower before exploring her room a little more. She'd been so excited to meet new people the day before that she only gave her room a cursory examination.

She was delighted to find one of the enchantments in the bathroom was a vent that would blow hot air, and she quickly used that to dry her hair along with a still-slightly-wet Snuffers from the previous day's cleaning.

There wasn't much else for her to find, unfortunately. A large closet, empty except for a pile of her old ratty clothes and her backpack. A few mage lamps. A desk with a pen and some papers inside. Kat took a few minutes to practice writing. Her penmanship had always been pretty bad, but after so long going without it was an entirely new level of horrible, and her hand started to cramp after just a few minutes of practice. She pushed through, though, as she was sure she'd have to write something down for someone to read eventually, and she didn't want people to think she was illiterate.

Eventually, her practice was interrupted by a knock on the door.

Kat patted herself down, making sure she looked presentable, before opening it.

"Uh, hello. Miss Kat?" a young girl with brown hair and large blue eyes stood on the other side. She looked about Kat's age, though she was maybe an inch taller, and she wore the same uniform as the clerks on the second floor.

"That's me!" Kat answered. "Nice to meet you...?"

"Oh, I'm Paige, an apprentice clerk. I was told you were to be tested for a new guild badge?"

"Oh! I didn't know about that, but yes, that sounds good! I lost my old badge, you know," Kat explained, running back into her room and yelling over her shoulder. She checked on Snuffers, but he seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the air dryer, so she decided to leave him to that for now. After another quick check of her person, double-checking that her knife was securely attached to her belt, she skipped back to the door where the girl was craning her neck to see where Kat had gone.

"Um, if you need to change I can wait a few minutes while you get ready," Paige said.

Kat closed and locked the door behind her before she replied. "No need, I'm ready to go now."

Paige gave Kat a quick look up and down before shrugging and leading the way down the hallway.

"What's it like being an apprentice clerk?" Kat asked to distract herself from the butterflies in her stomach. She'd leveled a lot in the nether-realm and had practiced her skills a ton, but it was really difficult to tell how much she had improved without anyone else there to compare herself with. The monsters weren't very good for comparison: no matter how much stronger she grew, there was always another monster stronger than her.

"Um, it's good," Paige responded. "I just started recently, so I don't know everything there is about the job, yet. The benefits are great, though; I hear that after a certain amount of time working you get to choose from certain non-combat skills for free."

Kat's eyes widened. "That sounds amazing! I'm brand new to being an adventurer too! I can't wait to get some new skills."

Paige looked over at Kat. "You said you lost your old badge, though? How did you do that if you're still new to the guild?"

Kat rubbed the back of her head. "Ah, well I became an adventurer and got my badge ages ago. But I got a little lost and haven't really been an adventurer at all since then. I haven't even delved a dungeon yet!"

Paige gave Kat a strange look but just nodded in response. She led Kat down the stairs to the first floor, and then out a door that led to a separate building behind the adventurers guild. This building was huge, closer to a warehouse than anything else. It had a bare dirt floor with a small pond of water in the corner, and a small copse of trees in another corner that stretched up almost to the ceiling thirty or forty feet over Kat's head.

It reminded Kat of the sparring chambers from the academy: large and with every resource that an adventurer might need to show off their prowess.

Paige led Kat to the center of the room where a gruff-looking man waited for them. "Kat, this is your evaluator, Mister Levros. Mister Levros, this is..."

"I know who she is," the man interrupted. He looked Kat up and down, and Kat stood up straight so as to make a good impression. His expression showed he wasn't impressed by what he saw. "I’m testing you as a healer, correct?"

"Actually," Kat said, remembering Bruce's advice from the day before. "Could you test me as a mage? I have a few healing skills, but I think I'll be better as a mage than a healer."

Mister Levros glared at Kat as if the change was a major inconvenience. Actually, maybe it was? It was possible they'd need someone else to run a mage test compared to a healing test.

Oh well, Kat thought. She'd introduced herself as a healer the day before, but it wasn't like they'd asked her what she wanted to be tested as before scheduling the test. That was on them.

Finally, Mister Levros spoke. "Girl, what level are you?"

Paige gasped. Kat knew it was taboo to ask people their exact level and skills, though teammates and families usually shared that info with each other. Kat hadn't ever really understood the reason for all the secrecy, even before her time spent in the nether-realm.

"Sixty-three," she answered.

Mister Levros snorted. "Fine, keep your secrets. It was just to save time, anyway. I'll start you off on the weakest golems, and they'll gradually get stronger. Keep fighting until you can't destroy them." He gestured with his head towards her waist. "Feel free to use that knife if you need to, but remember we're evaluating you as a mage, not a fighter. Kills with the knife won't get you a higher ranking."

And with those final words, he turned and walked to a door on the far wall next to a large panel of one-way glass.

"We'll be observing from the other side of the glass," Paige whispered. "Good luck!"

"Wait!" Kat whispered back before Paige could get more than a step away, a sudden idea striking her. "We're both brand new to this right? You as a clerk, and me as an adventurer?"

"Um, yes?" Paige responded.

"I bet I can get platinum ranking before you become head clerk," Kat said with a smile.

Paige laughed. "Let's see how your evaluation for bronze goes before you start planning for platinum."

And with that, Paige scurried away through the same door Mister Levros had just entered.

Kat took a deep, excited breath. Finally, it was time to show her stuff as an adventurer. She was nervous, but she wasn't really worried about the test itself. Worst case, she would be evaluated as a bronze adventurer, the same as when she first got her bronze badge. It took a year or two of delving before most adventurers reached silver rank, so her testing as a bronze was the expected case as well.

Absolutely nothing to worry about. And besides, today already was a win: it seemed like she had made a new friend in Paige.

A whistle shrieked through the room as three small golems pulled themselves up out of the dirt. They stood a little taller than Kat, but they looked as if they were made of clay and wobbled as they walked. Their faces were featureless blobs and their arms ended in spikes rather than hands.

Kat took a deep breath and palmed her knife. She was ready for this. She wasn't planning on using her knife against the golems directly, but she'd fought for so long with it in her hand that it would feel weird to cast spells without it.

Kat knew exactly three skills: [healing touch], [lesser ward], and [elemental manipulation]. She'd started at the academy wanting to be an elemental mage, and so had purchased the extremely generalized [elemental manipulation] skill.

It was only a few months later, after making friends with her teammates, that she got her healing skills. Monica had been a much better mage than Kat, so Kat had offered to fill the still-needed role of healer for the team, and her friends had chipped in with money for the skills to make that happen.

But after all her time in the nether-realm with only her knife and her [elemental manipulation] skill as weapons to fight off the monsters, she was ready to be a mage.

Clay golems like the ones she was fighting were typically resistant to fire attacks, but Kat wanted to show off a bit for this first wave, so she conjured a small flame at the tip of her finger. It took a moment to form, but when it finally did she swung her arm across her body, sending a consuming wave of fire out to destroy all three golems at once.

Or at least that was what she meant to do.

Instead, the flame extended just a few inches out in front of her before spluttering out. Kat looked down at her hands in disbelief. What was going on?

The golems continued to shamble forward, heedless of Kat's weak attack. She lit another flame at the tip of her finger and flung it forward in the same motion, but the weak flames once again spluttered out almost immediately.

Kat's face morphed into a determined snarl. If fire wasn't working for some reason, maybe air would. She whipped her hands over her head in a circular motion before gesturing forward.

A slight breeze blew forth, barely enough to rustle the hem of her robe.

Not air, then, either. Earth next? With a grunt, Kat kicked into the ground. Her foot dug in without issue, but instead of the massive boulder like she planned, only a hand-sized clump of dirt shot forward.

This one at least had some effect, as the dirt clod clipped the shoulder of one of the golems, exploding into a million pieces and breaking the golem's arm from its body. It was better than air and fire, but it wasn't nearly what she was hoping for. Aside from the size, the dirt should have been compressed into dense rock, and she should have been able to somewhat control and aim it after it left contact with her body.

This felt more like she was just kicking dirt at the monster.

But it was a little effective, so she tried again, and again, and again, each time clods of dirt flying towards the golems. Her aim was atrocious though, and only one of the golems went down when a lucky clod hit its knee.

The golems were almost upon her, so Kat turned and ran towards the pond. Water was the element she was the least familiar with, but desperate times called for desperate measures. She walked ankle-deep into the water and began the motions to summon water bullets. And though small streams of water began to rise from the pond towards Kat's hands, there wasn't enough power for them to raise more than a few inches.

Desperate, Kat tried to shoot them forward anyway. A few small waves lapped at the edge of the pond.

What was going on? She knew the nether-realm messed with her senses, but she was better than this. She knew she was better than this.

The two remaining golems continued to advance towards her, implacable.

Kat began to panic, feeling just as hopeless as those first days in the nether-realm, alone and weak, with no way to defend herself against the monsters. Frantically she tried to use her [lesser ward] skill, and though it flickered into existence in front of her, it was thin and weak. The lead golem only leaned into it and it shattered, dissipating into motes of light.

Kat stumbled backward and collapsed onto her butt in the water, hyperventilating. Frantically she attempted to call water bullets again and again, to no avail.

"Snuffers!" she called out, forgetting in her desperation she had left him in her room. She curled her legs to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, the water soaking her robe, hoping, praying for a solution.

She pricked her arm with her knife, still clutched tightly in her right hand.

"No," she said, her voice less than a whisper, yet filled with determination.

So what if she didn't have her magic? So what if she didn't have Snuffers? This was just like her early days of the nether-realm, trapped and alone and helpless with only her knife to defend herself with.

She had survived then, and she would survive now. A low growl came from her throat as she hopped into a crouch, knife held at the ready by her side. She was barely over ankle-deep in the water, the golems along the bank. One more step forward, and she would strike...

The golems collapsed into the ground as if they had never existed, Kat still waiting on for their final step.

A shrill whistle echoed through the building, and Kat remembered. She was being evaluated for her adventurer's badge, not still trapped in the nether-realm. The door next to the glass window opened, and Paige hurried out.

"Are you okay?" she asked, concern in her eyes.

Kat nodded absently, still disoriented from the sudden mental shift of life-or-death combat to a simple evaluation,

"I'll take you back to your room," Paige said, stepping forward and linking her arm with Kat's, heedless of her wet sleeves. "Mister Levros will make his decision, and someone will send your new badge up to your room later."

Once again, Kat nodded, still somewhat out of it.

What happened? Why didn't her magic work?

She had spent so much time running, hiding, and fighting in the nether-realm, completely dependent on her [elemental manipulation] skill. She had learned to trust her magic implicitly; anything else could lead to ruin.

Yet now, for the first time in what felt like forever, it failed her.

She wished she had brought Snuffers.

"Hey, about your wager earlier," Paige said, breaking Kat from her thoughts with the non sequitur. "Platinum and head clerk seem a little much. How about we race to silver and a full-fledged clerk, no longer just an apprentice?"

Kat smiled. "What does the winner get?"

"Hmm, good question. A free meal somewhere nice?"

Kat shook her head. "That's too little. If there aren't any real stakes, is it really a wager?"

Paige giggled. "True. How about we think about it for the next few days? We'll each come up with a few options, and we can pick the best of the bunch?"

Kat nodded, resolute.

She still felt miserable, betrayed by her magic which she had come to implicitly trust. All she wanted to do was curl up with Snuffers in her giant bed. But she had made a new friend.

All in all...today was shaping up to be a good day.

In the observation room, Levros rubbed his chin. That girl was supposed to be a bronze adventurer? After seeing her first attempt at magic, he had weakened the golems to an even lower level than what he normally started with for novice adventurers, yet she could only destroy one of them.

"Give her the bronze mage's badge," a voice said, and vice guildmaster Brevid stepped out from the shadows in the corner of the room.

"Are you kidding?" Levros responded. "At her level of power? She's liable to get herself killed in the first dungeon she enters."

"I'll make sure she's put on a competent team that will be able to protect her," Brevid responded.

"But still..." Levros began, but he stopped talking when he felt the muted killing intent coming from Brevid. "We're square after this, right? Nothing more?" he said instead.

"Nothing more," Brevid responded. "All debts will be paid."

"Fine, I'll give her the badge," Levros said. "But anything that happens to her or her team is on your head."

Brevid just nodded.

Chapter 7: An Apple a Day

Kat returned to her room, picking up Snuffers from next to the air dryer. The enchantment had long since automatically turned off, which Snuffers didn't seem too happy about. But the enchantment wasn't going anywhere and Kat could use a bit of emotional encouragement, so she laid back on her bed and cuddled him to her chest.

With only a minor amount of trepidation, Kat brought up her status menu for the first time since leaving the nether-realm.

Name:

Katherine Allbright

Level:

64

Vitality:

71

Perception:

35

Strength:

91

Mind:

74

Dexterity:

83

Free Stats:

5

Huh. She'd gained a level since the last time she had checked her status. She didn't hesitate to dump all five of the new free stat points into mind, the primary attribute of mages.

Early in her time in the nether-realm, Kat had checked her menu fanatically. With the way that place seemed to mess with her perception of time, the slow growth of her levels was the only sign that she wasn’t trapped in some never-ending limbo.

As time passed and her leveling pace slowed, though, she checked her menu less and less. She'd had to assign attribute points willy-nilly by necessity, increasing the stats that seemed most likely to let her survive another day, and the mish-mashed stats was a grim reminder of how far behind her teammates she was falling. Her more even stat distribution was a stark contrast to the careful min-maxing the academy advised for adventurers to best fit in with their teams and builds.

Kat could only hope she wasn't too far behind her teammates. With everyone's reticence to share their levels and stats, she was unsure how she compared to other bronze and silver adventurers. Obviously, she was much stronger than the level three Kat who entered the portal so long ago. But compared to her teammates? Who likely had been delving and leveling this whole time, carefully adding stats to the attributes to maximize their skills' effectiveness?

She had only had the leeway to add more to her mental stats starting around level forty, as she had finally been more confident that she had the physical stats to survive a single glancing blow from some of the monsters. And now that she was free of that awful place, she was determined to add every single free stat to mind to best support her dreams of becoming a mage her team could rely on.

People could level outside of killing monsters by buying experience cores, but it got extremely expensive extremely quickly, which was why Kat and her friends had all been less than level five as novice bronze adventurers. But after delving dungeons and killing monsters for experience, Kat was sure they would have shot up in levels very quickly.

Of course, levels were only a small part of an adventurer's power, and for now Kat was more concerned with the other part. With a thought, she brought up her skills menu.

Skills:

Elemental Manipulation (Corrupted - Severe)

Healing Touch (Corrupted - Moderate)

Lesser Ward (Corrupted - Severe)

Corrupted? What did that mean?

She very rarely checked this menu. After all, there really wasn't any way for the menu to change in the nether-realm, since there weren't any skill-stones.

Well, at least that's what she had assumed. Had she been poisoned by one of the monsters there? It wasn't too unusual for some of the monsters to spit poison, which was one of the reasons she raised her vitality so high. But a poison that affected her skills and wasn't cured by [healing touch]? She hadn't ever encountered something like that before.

Or was it something that happened after she left the nether-realm? Her skills had worked like normal against the last monster she had fought there. Until her evaluation, she hadn't had a reason to try to use her skills. And why were two of the skills listed as 'Corrupted - severe' while [healing touch] was only 'Corrupted - moderate'?

Kat looked at the small cut on her arm from where she had nicked herself earlier with her knife and activated her healing skill.

Over the course of ten seconds the skin came back together, eventually leaving her arm completely unblemished.

It worked, but Kat still frowned. Such a small cut like that should have healed almost instantly. Were all her skills on the fritz?

Kat wasn't sure if [healing touch] was more effective than [elemental manipulation] or [lesser ward] had been. Maybe just a touch more effective? It worked, at least, compared to some of the things she had tried to do with [elemental manipulation]. Was that the difference between moderate and severe corruption?

She should go to a healer to see if they'd ever heard of something like this before. She hadn't seen any signs for healers when walking to the adventurer's guild yesterday, but she was sure a city of this size would have plenty to pick from. One shouldn't be too hard for her to find. She hopped to her feet from her bed, her course determined.

Her stomach gave a loud rumble.

Kat's face turned red as she glanced down at Snuffers to see if he had noticed. Maybe she'd make a quick stop for food, first.

Kat walked through the streets of...actually, she wasn't sure where she was. She didn't think anyone had mentioned what city they were in, just that it was a long way from where her team was. Or maybe someone had mentioned it but she just hadn't been paying attention.

She probably should figure out where she was, eventually. But right now, she didn't care, because she had something much more important occupying her attention.

Namely, the large skewer of seasoned meat and vegetables that she was working her way through.

Kat had thought the meal yesterday had been amazing. And it had been. But this skewer was an entirely new level of culinary bliss. Objectively, it probably wasn't as good as the soup, if she were to judge with a refined sense of taste. But the greasy skewer freshly grilled in a market stall satisfied a craving she didn't know she had.

She perused other stalls as she ate, oohing and aahing over trinkets and runed items so amazing she guessed they had to be scams. Surprisingly, the people manning the stalls weren't nearly as aggressive when trying to lure her to their stalls compared to how they cajoled the people around her. Kat wouldn't complain though, as she was mostly just window-shopping and didn't want to be lured into spending all her money too soon.

Because unfortunately, her money pouch was feeling lighter and lighter as she looked at the prices in the stalls. She had hoped her coin would last a little longer, but if she expected to feed herself after this week, she'd need to either start delving or get a job.

Kat resolved to visit Brevid as soon as she got her new badge. If he hadn't been able to find her old teammates yet, she might need to find a temporary team to delve with in the meantime.

As stressful as her money situation might be, Kat pushed away her worries with ease. On such a beautiful day, seeing so many new sights, sounds, and smells, there was no need to feel grumpy. Even her worries about her corrupted skills seemed trivial and overblown in the face of fresh air and rays of sunshine.

Although...Kat felt a drip on her nose and looked up at the sky. Maybe it wasn't quite as beautiful of a day as she had thought. The sun still shone through gaps in the clouds, but those gaps became more and more sparse as time went on.

Kat smiled, breathing deep through her nose. She had forgotten the smell of the air just before the rain. As the drops came down in more regular frequency, most of the other shoppers shifted to the overhangs above the stalls, to the delight of the stall owners. That left plenty of room in the middle of the street for Kat to walk with her hands stretched wide as if welcoming the rain.

She giggled. After finally getting dry this morning, Snuffers wasn't happy to already be wet again, so she took him off of her shoulder and stored him in her backpack instead. Although with how worn the backpack was and the number of holes poked through it, she doubted it would keep him dry if the rain picked up.

She should probably get her errands done before it really started to pour.

She began to earnestly look for a healer to consult about her skills but was distracted by a shop with dresses hanging in the window. The store looked nicer than all of the stalls that lined each side of the street, so Kat carefully checked to make sure her feet weren't too dirty before stepping inside.

A bell rang out as the door shut behind her, most of the sounds from the street cutting off into near-silence.

Kat looked around and saw an attendant helping a lady on the far side of the shop, but otherwise the place was empty. Kat wandered through aisles of clothes and marveled at the fabrics, so much nicer than even her new robe. She longed to rub her fingers over the cloth displays, but only barely managed to hold herself back. Her fingers were still a little greasy from the skewer and she didn't want to ruin any of the dresses.

Kat continued wandering through the store until she saw something that made her freeze in place: a mirror. For the first time since before she entered the portal to Adamil, Kat saw her reflection.

A young girl stared back at her, looking younger than Kat would have expected after what felt like an eternity in the nether-realm. Her brown hair hung just below her shoulders in a stringy mess, slightly damp from the rain outside, and her plain robe hung off of her like a blanket, a good three inches longer and wider than was needed to fit her slim frame. Around her waist was her well-worn belt, obviously an adventurer's belt with its many loops and pockets for potions and blades. But the thing that stood out to Kat the most was her eyes.

It wasn't that her eyes were particularly noticeable, at least not to anyone else. They were a simple green that matched the eyes of half of the people on the street. But to Kat, who faintly remembered how her eyes had looked before being lost, they were amazing.

She had always been a timid girl, shy around anyone but her closest friends. But the eyes that stared back at her were brimming with confidence. They were certainly more world-weary than her old eyes had been, yet they still contained a spark of excitement and anticipation for the future.

Kat decided she liked what she saw, and struck a pose: legs spread apart, hands on her hips, chest forward, and chin raised. She held it for a second before breaking down into a fit of giggles.

"Oh wait!" she muttered to herself. "I'm sure Snuffers would want to see this." She dug in her backpack and pulled him out, setting him on her shoulder before taking a new pose.

It was during one of her poses where she was turned around and looking back over her shoulder into the mirror when she noticed it: a magnificent red vest.

It was in the smaller men's section of the store, but Kat didn't hesitate to scurry over for a closer look.

"Oh look," she muttered. "It's definitely too big, but this would look amazing on you, Snuffers."

Kat already had her robe. After wearing the same clothes for so long in the nether-realm, more than one set of clothing seemed excessive considering her meager funds, and her visit to this store was just looking for something to look forward to for when she finally started making some money.

But Snuffers hadn't gotten anything new since coming back. He had been cleaned up, which was nice, but he hadn't gotten anything new to wear like Kat's robe. He had used to have a nice red collar, but that had ripped off and been left behind ages ago. This vest was a perfect replacement. She could only imagine how regal he would look.

She doubted they would have anything close to his size, but she was sure this place could make adjustments, or perhaps a custom order if the fabric couldn't be adjusted that small. She just needed to see how much it would cost...

Ah, it looked like the other woman was just finishing up with her purchases and the attendant was free again.

"Excuse me," Kat called as she walked over. "How much for the vest over there?"

"Let me check that for...you," the woman's voice stuttered when she looked up and saw Kat. But like a true professional, she immediately walked over to examine the vest Kat pointed out. "That'll be one gold and two silvers. Plus another silver to adjust the fit for you, unless it's for someone else, miss..."

Kat's smile dimmed, but she resolved to still be polite. "Kat, nice to meet you! It would be for Snuffers, here, but I'm afraid that's a little out of my price range for now."

"Unfortunately that's as low as we can go," the woman responded, a pitying look entering her eyes. "But I happen to know the owner of a stall one block that way, it's got some great clothes for a girl your size and...Snuffers...at a much more affordable price."

"Ah, thanks. I may check that out," Kat responded as she walked out the front of the store, the bell dinging behind her. She knew she wouldn't, though. After seeing that vest, she was sure anything else would just be a disappointment. She couldn't have Snuffers looking anything but his best. "Don't worry, it's just giving us a target to shoot for," Kat whispered. Snuffers didn't seem to care that they couldn't afford the vest, but Kat knew he was just putting on a brave face.

One gold and two silvers was pretty much everything she had in her pouch, and she still needed something to live off of until they started making money. While she would love to splurge for the vest, she needed to be responsible.

Her steps through the street were much more determined than they had been earlier as the light rain came down around her, the baubles in the market stalls no longer distracting her from her purpose. They still looked amazing, Kat had to admit, but after walking around in that store they had lost some of their luster.

Now that she was walking with conviction, it only took a few minutes to find a healer. Like the store with the fancy clothes, this place had its own building as opposed to being a simple market stall. She had seen potions in a few of the stalls next to other knick-knacks, but she hadn't even checked what kind of potions they were, knowing that her corrupted skills probably couldn't be cured by a simple potion. She needed a specialist.

Once again a bell dinged as she walked in the front door to a small empty room.

"Be right with you!" a voice yelled from a doorway to another room, before a bang echoed through the shop followed by some colorful curses from the same voice. Kat giggled, barely managing to restrain her laughter as the man emerged.

"Doctor Reynolds at your service, how can I help you?" he said, rubbing his elbow. He looked old, probably fifty or sixty, although the exact age of a healer could be tough to determine with any accuracy. He was clean-shaven, and the hair on his head was pure white and stood up in a big poof. He stared at Kat through large spectacles, blue eyes magnified by the glass.

"Hello, I'm Kat, and this is Snuffers! I have a bit of a peculiar issue, and I was wondering if you might be able to offer some expert advice."

Doctor Reynolds smiled. "I've been in this business longer than you've been alive. Probably longer than your parents have been alive. I'll be amazed if you're able to surprise me."

Kat smiled back. "Well, it's an issue with my skills. They're much weaker than they used to be, and in my skills menu they all show as ‘corrupted’, with different levels of severity."

Doctor Reynolds' eyes furrowed. "Corrupted, eh? I don't suppose you have a method to demonstrate how exactly they're corrupted?"

"Well, I can't prove it or anything, since I can't show you how my skills used to look. But this is one of my skills now." Kat carefully looked around the small room, making sure she had enough space before she called upon her magic, a [lesser ward] weakly flashing into existence.

Doctor Reynolds leaned forward, staring closely at the ward, before reaching forward and tapping it with a single finger. The ward shattered into a million pieces.

"It used to be much stronger than that," Kat said a little defensively.

"How strong, exactly, would you say it used to be?" he asked as he pulled out a small notebook and pen.

"Umm, strong enough that I couldn't break through it with ninety strength," Kat replied.

The man's eyebrows rose, and his look turned somewhat skeptical. He pulled out a nearby chair, sitting down. "Hm, this isn't anything I've heard of before," he said, rubbing his chin with his pen. "You'll forgive me for being skeptical. That looked like a standard [lesser ward]. An extremely weak one, but I couldn't see anything 'corrupted' about it. Although if you like, I can give you a standard heal to see if that takes care of the issue?"

"I have the [healing touch] skill, and it doesn't fix it. Would your heal be any different from that?"

"No. If [healing touch] wasn't effective in removing the corruption, I doubt my skill would be of any use," he said, leaning back in his chair.

"Is there anything else you can do? Any tests you can run to see what might be wrong? I swear my skills used to be much more powerful..." Kat said, and she considered telling him about the nether-realm. It was likely related to the 'corruption' of her skills and might help the doctor figure out what was wrong, but...she really didn't want to have to recount that story. Not so soon.

"...I guess I can test your blood," the doctor finally said before Kat could make up her mind. "There are a few poisons and venoms that are able to evade normal healing skills but can be detected in the blood. I've never heard of anything that can affect the skills menu, though."

Kat brightened. "How much does that cost?"

"Eight silver," he said, and Kat blanched. That was...a lot. More than she wanted to spend, but if it could fix her skills, it would be worth it.

She reached into her pouch and pulled out all five of her silvers, setting them on a small table next to her, before grabbing a handful of copper and counting them into groups of ten.

Doctor Reynolds sighed in his chair. "Five silvers, actually," he said as he reached forward and swiped the silvers from the table. Kat beamed at him.

"Do you want to take the blood now?" she asked.

"Yes, if you're fine with it. You may feel a little woozy afterward, and you'll want to drink lots of water once you leave, but it shouldn't hurt much. Just a little prick in your arm, and we'll be done. I'll heal you back up after, of course," he said as he rummaged through a drawer, eventually pulling out a small vial sealed with wax.

Kat nodded, holding her left arm forward. Doctor Reynolds popped the seal of the vial and pulled out a needle, holding it over her wrist. "If you're squeamish, you may want to look away."

Kat nodded but kept staring at the needle. He just shrugged and poked her in the forearm.

He pulled the needle back and frowned, looking at the unbroken skin.

He lined the needle up with her wrist once again, this time glaring at Kat's skin as if it had offended him, and pushed, until finally with a sharp spike of pain he broke the skin.

"Stupid thing," Doctor Reynolds murmured, tossing the bent needle into a small waste bin. Blood began to rise from Kat's arm as if it had a mind of its own, flowing smoothly into the vial.

He must have a blood manipulation skill, Kat realized. She had never heard of a skill like that, so it must have been super-rare. She stared at the floating blood in fascination.

All too soon the vial was filled and her small wound smoothly healed over. "All done," Doctor Reynolds said. "Come back in a week, and I'll let you know what I've found."

"Okay, I'll do that!" Kat replied. A week was longer than she was hoping for, but she was glad that something was being done to potentially solve the mystery of her corrupted skills. "Thank you so much, and see you soon!" Kat waved as she skipped out the door.

Doctor Reynolds waved back, bemused by his strange new patient.

Chapter 8: Can You Feel the Love Tonight?

Kat skipped through the rain back to the guildhall, heart light knowing that someone was looking into the issue with her skills. Although...the doctor had said it would take a week for him to test the blood. Would she still be here by then? What if Brevid found her teammates before then?

Kat shrugged, deciding it wasn't a big deal. She wasn't planning on using a portal to meet up with them, and an overland caravan would take a while to get anywhere. An extra week at the start wouldn't make a huge difference.

Though she should probably still check with the vice guildmaster to see whether he'd heard anything about her friends. It had already been a full day, and she doubted finding them would take too long since she was sure her friends had achieved at least a little bit of fame in the time she'd been gone.

Kat shook herself at the door of the guildhall before entering, only leaving a few drops of water on the floor behind her with each step. She looked around the barroom but didn't see Bruce, Monica, or Peter anywhere. She was tempted to stop for another bite to eat and an opportunity to make new friends, but she held herself back, her light money pouch reminding her to be conservative with what remained.

Instead, she walked upstairs to vice guildmaster Brevid's office, confidently knocking on the door. She waited a few minutes, knocking twice more, but there was no answer. Shrugging, Kat walked back to the stairs, already imagining the warmth of the air-drying enchantment. She'd come back later.

On the last step to the fourth floor she almost collided with a small figure. Kat nimbly dodged out of the way, grabbing the girl's jacket to keep her from tripping down the stairs in surprise.

"Paige! Good to see you!" Kat exclaimed, letting go once she was sure Paige had her footing.

"Ah, Kat! You scared me. But I was just at your room looking for you," Paige replied as she held out a small box.

Kat gasped as she gingerly accepted the box and carefully opened the lid. "Woooooo-hooooo!" she yelled after looking at the insignia. "Look at that, Snuffers! I'm a bronze mage!" Kat picked Paige up in a massive bear hug, spinning the girl around once before setting her down.

Paige laughed. "Congratulations! Remember, our bet's for you to get silver, not bronze. You haven't won anything yet!"

Kat giggled. "I know, don't worry. But this is step one!" She rubbed the sleeve of her wet robe against the badge, trying to get a little more shine out of the piece of metal.

Paige awkwardly watched Kat fawn over the badge for a moment before speaking. "By the way, I'm going to be grabbing dinner tonight at the bar downstairs with a few other clerks, and you're welcome to join if you want. We could treat it as a celebration of you getting your badge?"

"Of course!" Kat replied. "When?"

"After we get done with our shift, in about two hours." Paige smiled. "That'll give you some time to get changed into something dry."

Kat finally noticed the damp splotches on Paige's uniform from Kat's hug. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I wasn't thinking..."

"Don't worry about it," Paige said, waving Kat's concerns away. "I should be getting back to work, though. See you later!"

"See you later!" Kat responded, then happily walked down the hall to her room.

After sitting under the drying enchantment with Snuffers until her lips felt cracked, Kat decided to take some time to meditate. It was a practice she'd been taught to do at the academy as a way to strengthen her magical skills, but she had fallen out of the habit in the nether-realm, since being that oblivious to her surroundings would be a death sentence. Now that she had a safe space in her room she decided she should get back into the practice.

She had never felt her magical skills had been particularly hampered by the lack of meditation in the nether-realm. But maybe not having meditated so long could be part of the reason for her corrupted skills? It couldn't hurt to try, at least.

It was much harder than she had remembered.

She twitched in response to every slight noise, and in a building like the adventurer's guild, the noises never ceased. The squeaking of the floor outside her room, the muffled voices from an office on the floor below hers, the clang of swords colliding in a practice room, the squealing laughter of a child playing in a puddle outside...each of them startled her out of the meditation, forcing her to restart the process from scratch.

When it was finally time for dinner with Paige, Kat felt as if she had accomplished nothing. But she hadn't managed to survive so long in the nether-realm by being a quitter; she would persist, at least until someone more knowledgeable than her told her otherwise.

Stretching, she threw her now-dry robe back on, placed Snuffers on her shoulder, and belted her knife around her waist. Time to make new friends!

The barroom wasn't as crowded as it had been when she ate the previous night, so it didn't take her too long to find Paige at a table in a small alcove against the wall. The girl scooted over on the bench on her side of the table to make room.

"Kat! Glad you can make it! These are my friends, Todd and Henry. Guys, this is Kat, a newly minted bronze mage."

"Nice to meet you both!" Kat said. "And this is Snuffers!"

"Nice to meet you," the boy Paige identified as Henry said as he fiddled with his glasses in what looked like a nervous tick.

"Speaking correctly, only I'm a full clerk. These other two are still apprentices," the boy named Todd said with a large smile. He looked a little older than Paige or Henry, but only by a couple of years. He looked more fit than Kat would have expected of a clerk and was almost a foot taller than Henry sitting down, who was already a few inches taller than Paige and Kat. Paige glared at Todd, who just smirked back. "But it's nice to meet you as well. How are you liking the adventurer's guild so far? You got a team lined up yet?"

"Oh, she's not completely new," Paige jumped in before Kat had a chance to speak. "But she used to be a healer, and took a break for a while."

Kat supposed that was a good enough way to describe her time in the nether-realm. "Yep! I'm happy to be back, though. And I don't have a team yet, I'm hoping to talk to Brevid about it sometime soon. Do you have any advice?"

"Brevid? As in the vice guildmaster?" Todd asked incredulously. Kat nodded. The other two looked just as shocked. "Why would you ask him for help with a team?"

"He's kinda the one who brought me back to the adventurer's guild," Kat explained. "Is there someone else I should talk to instead?"

"That's not something the vice guildmaster would normally handle," Paige explained. "Normally, if you're new to the area and don't already have a team, you can use the free-agent board to find one."

Kat leaned forward. "What's that?"

Paige and Henry looked at Todd as if waiting for him to speak. But Todd just stared right back, so after a beat of silence Henry explained. "It's a board we've got set up in the clerk's office. Anyone can list there, but it's got to go through the clerks for approval first, although I've never heard of someone being rejected."

Paige picked up as Henry trailed off. "It's a way for teams to fill out the roles they need to complete their team, or for individuals to find a team that they'll join. You just list your name, rank, and role, and teams will be able to find you if they need a bronze elemental mage. Or you can look for any listings posted by teams looking for a mage. Either way, those postings can be for just a temporary partnership or even a permanent team."

"I don't need a permanent team, I've got one already in Adamil. But that sounds like a good idea!" Kat said. "What roles are usually most needed on teams?"

This time neither Henry nor Paige spoke up, so Todd jumped in. "That depends on the area. We've got a good warrior training academy nearby, so there's usually a surplus of the physical builds. Mages and healers are in higher demand. Some of the specialties, like control mages, are snatched up almost as soon as they're posted."

"Really, why's that?" Kat asked. "I get that they're rare, but I learned most teams get on fine without a control mage. Why would they be in such high demand?"

Once again Todd sat silently until Henry answered. "They aren't required on a team, you're right about that. Most teams can clear dungeons just fine without a control mage. They're still helpful, of course. But on normal dungeon runs they aren't going to be as essential as a frontline fighter or rogue. But let me ask you this: what's the most dangerous thing about dungeons?"

"Swarms," Kat replied instantly, remembering the lesson from so long ago. For the most part, dungeons could reliably be completed by teams of the same level: bronze teams could clear bronze dungeons, silver teams could clear silver dungeons, and so on. But not always.

Every once in a while, not more than one delve in a thousand, a swarm would occur. Rather than just a few enemies in each room followed by a boss, the dungeon would spawn hundreds or even thousands of monsters on each floor, swarming down in a wave that would defeat almost any adventurer team of the same rank.

No one knew exactly how or why swarms occurred. But among adventurer deaths where the cause could be identified, swarms were more deadly than anything else. And for those deaths with causes that couldn't be identified? Where the entire team was wiped? It was widely believed that those were caused by swarms as well.

A large portion of their dungeon training at the academy had been on how to identify and escape from swarms early into a delve.

"Exactly," Henry said. "And control mages are the best at managing swarms. You probably won't be able to defeat a swarming dungeon, but you'll have a much better chance of at least escaping it if you've got one on your team. Better than any other build, at least."

"Except a transport mage," Paige said. "A transport mage is even better than a control mage at escaping a swarm."

"That's true. But they hardly ever become adventurers," Henry replied, and the conversation devolved into the amount and merits of the different adventuring archetypes, apparently a common conversation even among the clerks.

"I'm going to go grab us some food," Todd said during a lull in the conversation. "Kat, can you come help me carry it?"

Kat nodded, sliding off the bench and following Todd to the bar while Paige and Henry continued their conversation behind them.

Todd took a seat at the bar and pulled out an adjacent stool for Kat, though he didn't make an attempt to flag down the bartender, simply sitting in silence.

"Um, aren't we going to get some food?" she finally asked.

"Give it a few minutes," he replied.

"What? Why?"

Todd turned and looked at her consideringly. "Can you keep a secret?"

"No, not really," Kat replied instantly. "Not for longer than a few days, at least."

Todd laughed. "Well, I guess it doesn't necessarily have to be a secret. I'm trying to help Henry out."

"Help him out?" Kat looked over at where Paige and Henry were leaning over the table in conversation. "By not getting him food?"

Todd snorted. "No, by giving him some alone time." Kat looked up at Todd, still confused. "He's got a bit of a crush on Paige. He's not the most confident, though, and I've been trying to encourage him to just ask her out on a date, but he hasn't worked up the nerve yet. I was trying to get the conversation going between them back there, and now give them some time to hit it off. Hopefully."

Kat's eyes widened, and she looked back over at the table. Paige glanced over and noticed Kat staring, and gave her a little wave. Kat quickly waved back and spun around on her stool to look away.

She had never been a big fan of drama. Back at the academy, it felt as if every day a different student was caught in a dramatic crisis that her popular teammates somehow got pulled into.

But after spending so much time alone in the nether-realm...Kat smiled. "You're pretty devious," she said, looking back up at Todd. "I'll keep my mouth shut, though." She mimed zipping her lips shut and tossing away the key. "At least I'll try," she added on after a moment of thought. "For a few days, hopefully."

Todd laughed. "Don't worry, it's not really a secret. And I'm not trying to be devious. Henry's a good guy, but he needs a bit of a push sometimes.

Kat nodded. Her teammates had often been like that with her, pushing her out of her comfort zone 'for her own good.' It annoyed her to no end, but she usually ended up thankful for it. Eventually.

She sat for another few minutes in companionable silence with Todd while trying to stare at Paige and Henry across the room through the reflection of a nearby glass.

Her focus was lost when she saw a face she recognized enter the tavern.

"Oh! Mr. Brevid!" she exclaimed, hopping off the stool and waving. "I looked for you earlier, but you weren't in your office. I got my new bronze mage badge, and I was thinking about joining a team to delve with. Have you been able to find my teammates?"

The large man nodded, though he didn't stop moving. "Kat, hello. I've been meaning to talk to you, but I am busy now. Can you come to my office tomorrow at dawn?" he replied in a low voice.

Kat nodded, excited. "Of course, see you then!"

Brevid continued to the stairs unimpeded, no one else calling out to him. Kat returned to her stool and sat down, happy that she hopefully wouldn't have to bother with the free-agent board. She looked over at Todd.

"Huh, why is your face so white?"

Brevid looked over notes in his office, but his mind was elsewhere.

One of Dr. Havernough's aides had come by today looking for Kat. Luckily, few enough people in the guild knew her name, and after showering and changing out of her old ratty clothes anyone would be hard-pressed to identify her by the description the man gave. It helped that she was now a mage rather than a healer, a stroke of luck Brevid couldn't have planned for.

But that would change if she stayed for too long. Barely over a day, and she already was making inroads with some high silver adventurers and multiple clerks. If it wasn't exactly the opposite of what he had hoped she would do, he would be impressed with her networking skills.

He needed her out of sight. Delving was a perfect way to accomplish that, but for that, she needed a team. Luckily, Brevid had a solution.

A knock sounded at the door before it opened, a young man with a furrowed brow entering. "You called for me, father?"

"In this office, it's vice guildmaster, Brevon."

Brevon rolled his eyes. "You called for me, vice guildmaster?"

Brevid nodded, ignoring his son's tone. "I have a task for you. A bronze mage needs a team. She is weak, essentially a noncombatant. You will escort her on delves, but treat her as if she were a full team member. Keep her happy and delving. Understood?"

"Pffft, no," Brevon responded.

Sharp killing intent filled the room and Brevon's face paled, though he stayed upright and defiant. "Do you want to run that by me again?"

"Why should I?" Brevon spat out. "Lester and I can clear bronze dungeons by ourselves easy. Why should we split the loot a third way while making our own lives more difficult?"

The killing intent disappeared and Brevon took a deep breath as Brevid rubbed his chin. "Why should you, indeed? Let me think of a few reasons." He held out his fingers as he spoke. "One: you are already skirting the rules, running dungeons as a bronze team with only two members. Adding a third official member will allow you to keep delving without all the cloak and dagger you currently have to go through for each delve. Two: I may not be willing to disgrace my own name by having you punished, but I will not hesitate to revoke Lester's membership and have him blacklisted for your rule-breaking if you do not do this. And most importantly, three," Brevid's tone deepened as the killing intent returned, even stronger this time. "Because I said so. Understood?"

For a moment, Brevon stared into his father's eyes, defiant. But after a beat he lowered his head. "Understood, sir."

Brevid nodded, his killing intent gone as if it never existed. "Be here tomorrow at noon to meet your new teammate. I expect you to delve as much as possible with her, so I will be waiving the normally required rest period between delves. Dismissed."

Brevon left the room without a word, slamming the door shut behind him.

Brevid leaned back in his chair and sighed.

Chapter 9: Are You Talking to Me?

The rest of the evening passed in a blur of happy conversation, although Kat found it difficult to focus too heavily on any of the shifting topics. She was too distracted with anticipation for her meeting with Brevid the next morning. In just a few hours, she might find out how her teammates were doing!

That didn't mean that she didn't enjoy herself, though. Despite his meddling between Henry and Paige, Todd was a great conversationalist, and he had tons of funny stories of 'battles' between adventurers and clerks, the rowdy adventurers always attempting to avoid any real work while the diligent clerks barely held the adventurer's guild together.

Kat supposed she should be offended by the picture he painted of adventurers. But she still hadn't delved a dungeon yet, so she wasn't sure if she could technically call herself an adventurer. Besides, she was too busy laughing to be offended.

She wasn't sure how successful Todd's plot of getting Henry and Paige together was. They certainly seemed to be enjoying each other's company, more so as the night went on, but it also seemed like they enjoyed Kat and Todd's company just as much. Kat wasn't very good at reading social cues like that, though.

If she and Paige were going to become even closer friends, perhaps she should just ask Paige directly about it? Todd said it wasn't a secret, and that seemed like something her teammate Melinda might have done.

Eventually, the night ended as the tavern filled up with more of the evening crowd. There wasn't another fight, unfortunately, and though Kat wanted to stick around in case one broke out, she forced herself upstairs to her room. The sooner she went to sleep, the sooner tomorrow would come!

Kat hopped from foot to foot outside of Brevid's office. Snuffers sat on her shoulder, but her hair was still wet from her shower as Kat was too impatient to use the air dryer.

It was still dark on the other side of the window at the end of the hall, but it was ever-so-slightly brighter than it had been a minute before, so Kat figured it was close enough to dawn. She knocked excitedly on the door.

"Enter," she heard from the other side and gladly pulled the door open.

She wasn't sure how long Brevid had been at his desk, but considering the number of papers already strewn across it, he must have started crazy early. Or maybe his desk was always like that? Either way, it didn't matter, because Kat had something much more important on her mind.

"Mr. Brevid! Have you been able to find anything about my teammates?"

Brevid sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Please address me as either vice guildmaster Brevid or vice guildmaster, not Mister Brevid."

"Oh, I'm sorry. So vice guildmaster Brevid, have you been able to find anything about my teammates?"

"Unfortunately, no," Brevid said, and Kat's face fell. "The adventurer's guild in Adamil has no current members named Melinda, Avery, or Lindon. Well, they do have a Lindon, but he is a thirty-year-old silver mage, so likely just a coincidence. But don't worry, that might just mean they've moved to a different city. The guild in Adamil is looking through their past records of membership for your teammates. It will take longer, but they will find them eventually. Going through records like this can take time."

Kat smiled sadly, somewhat mollified. It wasn't the good news she was hoping for, but it wasn't bad news either. It just meant more waiting. "Well, I guess that means I should join a team here, then, and start delving, at least until you can find them."

Brevid nodded. "About that. I have taken the liberty of finding a team for you. It's a bronze team with two members, a warrior and a rogue, so they're in need of a bronze mage, and they have already indicated their willingness to accept you."

Kat's eyes widened. "Really, without even meeting me first?"

"It's a lucky situation. They have a strong desire to delve as soon as possible but need a third to be allowed in dungeons. You're in need of a team and fit the role they require perfectly. It works for both sides."

"That sounds amazing, then!" Kat exclaimed. "When can I meet them?"

"Right away," Brevid replied. "Their names are Brevon and Lester, they should be downstairs in the barroom right now."

Kat half-ran down the stairs after leaving Brevid's office, skipping the last few steps on each flight. New friends were always a good thing, but new teammates? That was an entire level above just friends. It likely would only be temporary, of course, until her old teammates could be found. But that just meant she had to savor every moment she had with this temporary team.

They were easy to find once she got to the barroom, as it was almost completely empty this early. There was one team of five preparing their equipment for an early delve slot, but besides them, there was only one occupied table.

Two boys sat in chairs next to each other at the round table, sipping at drinks in their hands. They both looked a little older than Kat, maybe seventeen or eighteen. The one on the left was clean-shaven with short brown hair. He was extremely tall and thin, as if the rest of his body was still trying to catch up to his vertical growth. The one on the right looked like he was failing in an attempt to grow a beard and had a mess of red curls on top of his head. He was shorter, though still taller than Kat, but just as thin as the first boy.

Kat smiled and strode towards the table. "Hello! Are you my new teammates, Lester and Brevon? I'm Kat, bronze mage, and this is Snuffers. Nice to meet you!"

The two boys looked up at Kat from where they slouched in their seats. "Our new teammate, I guess?" the shorter one asked.

"Looks like it," the taller one responded, and he sighed as his eyes flicked to Snuffers, then to her robe, and finally landed on her well-worn belt.

Kat wasn't entirely sure how to describe the looks on their faces, but any description she came up with definitely wouldn't include the word 'nice.' Despite the frosty reception, Kat maintained her smile, determined to set a good first impression. She pulled out the chair next to the shorter boy. "So which of you is which? I was told one of you is a rogue and one a warrior, as well as your names, but that's about it."

Finally the shorter one sat up in his seat, but the way he moved made it look like it was the hardest thing he had ever done, and gave Kat a forced-looking smile. "I'm Lester, and this is Brevon. I'm the rogue, he's the warrior. We've got a delve slot in the Underhill dungeon two hours from now, do you want to join?"

Kat looked back and forth between the two boys. "Two hours from now? Shouldn't we practice together first, maybe learn some strategies and do some research on the dungeon?"

"No need," Lester said, giving Kat the same forced smile. "We're strong enough to delve Underhill on our own. You'll get a third of the rewards, but we'll do the actual delving. You just stay back and let us handle the monsters in each of the rooms. It's about an hour and a half to Underhill. Can you get changed and be ready to leave in half an hour?"

Kat slid to the edge of her chair, as far away from the boys as she could get. "Yeah, I can do that..."

"Good, we'll meet you here in thirty minutes, then." Lester leaned back in his chair and took a long sip of his drink, clearly having already dismissed Kat.

Kat slipped out of her chair and walked up the stairs to her room. She felt like she had whiplash. They...were not the kind of people who she would like to have as teammates.

Should she go ask Brevid for a new team? She hesitated on third floor, staring at the door to his office. But after a moment she turned and walked up to the fourth floor.

Maybe they just weren't morning people and needed a few hours to be less grumpy. She doubted it, but it was a possibility. She could endure a day with them to make sure. Even if they were rude the entire time and didn't let her participate in the delving, it sounded like they were fine with giving her a third of the loot. Frankly, she needed the money if she planned on eating for the next few days.

If it was a miserable disaster, she could talk to Brevid and ask for a new team tomorrow.

It made her a little sad that her first delve would be with such...jerks. But as she opened the door to her room and grabbed her ratty backpack, she turned and looked at Snuffers, still perched on her shoulder, and smiled.

At least one of her teammates was a friend.

Chapter 10: On the Road Again

Kat trailed Lester and Brevon through the streets, the rest of the city starting to wake up around them. They didn't make any conversation with Kat, but that was fine. She breathed deeply of the brisk morning air.

Eventually, they exited the city through a gate, the road transforming to hard-packed dirt as they walked between farmsteads and rows and rows of crops. She drifted a little ways back behind her teammates and simply enjoyed the walk.

Loneliness had been one of the biggest struggles of the nether-realm. Even though she had Snuffers, he wasn't exactly the best conversationalist. And on some level, walking on this road reminded her of that. Yet compared to the nether-realm, she didn't dislike the current feeling.

In the nether-realm the loneliness felt cloying, with fears and dangers lurking after every step. Here she could simply be at peace, savoring the sights and sounds of nature without fears or worries.

The road stretched out in a straight line before her, empty save for her two teammates. She closed her eyes and breathed in, feeling her muscles relax. Crickets hopped through the grass and flies buzzed around her head. In the distance a bird chirped, welcoming the morning.

She could feel herself drifting into meditation, the state of mind that eluded her in her room somehow so easily acquired out here. It was peaceful, and she was able to brush off any of her lingering worries about her teammates. She would have to deal with them later; why borrow future issues to spoil the present?

But her peaceful state of mind couldn't last forever, and she tripped over the raised edge of the side of the road. So focused on her meditation, she wasn't able to catch her balance and flopped gracelessly into the grass on the side of the road. She giggled before hopping back to her feet and brushing the dust from her robe.

She should have known that she wouldn't be able to blindly walk straight for more than a minute without veering to the side of the road.

It didn't feel like the time was wasted though. She wasn't sure how much, if any, benefit it would be, but she was fairly certain she got more from that minute of meditation than from the entire hour she had attempted in her room. She should come out here tomorrow to meditate to see if she could catch the same feeling by sitting next to the road. But for now...

She looked down the road to make sure it continued straight and there were no other travelers. Lester was staring back at her with a strange expression, so she smiled at him, which made him immediately turn forward again. Then with a deep breath, she closed her eyes and continued walking.

She must have tripped over the raised edge of the road twenty times before they finally turned down a smaller fork. She had kept her eyes open when the road curved or if there were any other travelers nearby, occasionally jogging to catch up to the boys, but otherwise she practiced her walking meditation.

It never lasted more than a minute before she would veer off, tripping and falling on her face. She had tried walking just along the side, hopeful that she could feel out the slightly raised edge with her feet to keep walking straight. But that ended up being too distracting and she was unable to enter the needed state of mind. She could only truly meditate if she walked unbothered in the middle of the road, uncaring of any obstacles that might be in her way.

It probably wasn't making a very good impression of her skills to her teammates, tripping over nothing every minute. But it couldn't be any worse than the impression they seemed to already have of her, so she decided she didn't care.

Ten minutes after taking the fork, Lester and Brevon paused at the side of the smaller road, Kat catching up a few seconds later.

"What's going on? Are we here?" Kat asked, looking around curiously. Lester and Brevon were fiddling with their equipment, Lester adjusting daggers strapped to various parts of his body while Brevon tightened the straps to his small but sturdy backpack.

Lester nodded his head to the side, and Kat noticed a small wooden sign that had been hidden behind Brevon as she approached. The only thing on the sign was the word "Underhill" with an arrow pointing forward.

"Where's the dungeon?" Kat asked.

Brevon sighed, but paused in his preparations to point in the same direction as the arrow towards a hill. "Just over there," he said. Kat followed his finger and finally saw what she had originally believed to just be a shadow.

"That's it?" Kat asked. "The guild doesn't have a guardhouse or something? What if someone accidentally wanders in?"

Brevon scoffed. "Why would the guild do that? It's just a bronze dungeon. There's enough around the city that the adventurer's guild would bankrupt itself trying to guard them all. And if someone wandered in, they could wander right back out easily enough once they realized it was a dungeon. And as for those who are stupid enough to go deeper into a dungeon they aren't prepared for?" Brevon shrugged. "They deserve whatever happens to them."

That wasn't a very nice attitude, but in the spirit on maintaining team unity Kat didn't comment on it. "So what's the Underhill dungeon like? What should I expect?"

Brevon sighed again and returned his focus to his straps. Lester eventually took pity on Kat and responded. "It's an underground goblin dungeon, the most common type. Nothing too bad. Only three floors. You'll be perfectly safe."

Kat frowned. That wasn't at all what she was worried about, but getting more than the bare minimum from her teammates was harder than pulling teeth. She supposed she'd just have to find out about her first dungeon through experience.

Kat took a thin leather strap and looped it around Snuffers before tying it to the strap of her backpack. She wiggled in place, making sure that Snuffers was nice and secure on her shoulder before she looked up.

She was as prepared as she'd ever be, so she just lightly hopped from foot to foot while she waited for Brevon and Lester to complete their preparations. Finally, they finished whatever they were doing and nodded at each other.

Brevon turned and looked at Kat with intensity, completely different from his usual apathy and disgust.

"I'm the party leader for this delve. What I say, whatever I say, goes. As weak as this dungeon is, our lives are going to be on the line, and I will not tolerate any frivolity. You will remain at the entrance to each room of the dungeon while we clear the rooms, and then follow behind while Lester checks for traps and treasure. You will remain in the hallway outside of the boss chamber. You will not walk at the front of the party. You will not engage any monsters. If you see one coming towards you, call out and either Lester or I will take care of it. Understood, mage-girl?"

Kat could only nod mutely, unprepared for his sudden intensity.

"Let's go then," Brevon said, turning to Lester. "I'll take primary in the first room, you're on cleanup and watching the asset. Assuming everything goes well, we'll switch to primary-secondary for the rest of the rooms."

Lester nodded, just as intense as Brevon.

Kat followed the boys through the slight underbrush until they stood just above the hole. She hadn't been able to see them from the road, but thin dirt steps led down into the darkness.

This was it. Everything she had prepared in the academy for, and so much of what she looked forward to when trapped in the nether-realm. Her first dungeon.

The boys walked down the stairs, and with only a minor amount of trepidation, Kat followed.

Chapter 11: Pack Mule

Down the stairs Kat walked, only a few steps behind Lester. Brevon led, a shield that hadn't been there a moment before affixed to his left arm, sword held low and ready with his right.

The tunnel around them was constructed from loose dirt with a few thin roots poking through the ceiling. But as they continued deeper, the light from the entrance fading behind them, the tunnel transitioned.

It wasn't over a single step. Kat wouldn't have been able to point to an exact moment when they 'entered' the dungeon proper. But by the time Brevon stepped off of the last step into a long, flat corridor, the stairs and walls around them were made purely from stone. Dim lights set into the ceiling illuminated their way, forming a line leading them down the corridor.

Kat looked around with her mouth open in awe, examining the hundreds, or maybe even thousands, of runes carved into the walls surrounding the stairs. She had learned that the practice of rune-carving originated from dungeons, but she hadn't expected to find such a beautiful example of the runes so quickly in her first bronze dungeon.

Brevon and Lester continued forward with weapons at the ready but otherwise relaxed. Kat had to concede that Brevon might have been right about the dungeon not being a danger to someone stumbling upon it. The shift from dirt to stone, the runes lining the entrance, the lights guiding the way forward...it should be clear to anyone entering that this wasn't just a normal cave.

On top of that, there was a weight to the air around her. It felt similar to the killing intent she had felt from others and identical in type to the weight that suffused the air during every night-cycle of the nether-realm. But despite that similarity, Kat easily brushed off any memories that it otherwise might have engendered. Compared to the weight in the nether-realm, this felt weak and...fake, somehow. Similar to how a thin stick might feel compared to a sword. Flimsy.

The runes on the walls disappeared a few feet from the entrance, and Kat scurried to catch up to her teammates. She leaned to the side in an attempt to see around the boys to what lay ahead, but couldn't see anything except for the lighted hallway continuing straight for at least thirty feet.

It was at times like this when she wished she wasn't so short. Usually she didn't mind being tiny; it made it much easier for her to hide in places the scarier monsters couldn't reach her. She considered holding Snuffers up so that he could get a look ahead but quickly realized that even with her arm fully extended he would still be lower than the top of Brevon's head.

It was probably for the best. It would take a little bit of time and focus for her to untie him from his strap, time and focus that shouldn't be wasted on something trivial when potential dangers lurked about.

As the minutes passed and they continued walking forward, Kat found her anticipation and excitement from entering her first dungeon transitioning to boredom. She knew that delving could be long, drawn-out affairs, with the higher-ranked dungeons taking days or even weeks to fully clear, but this felt ridiculous. She didn't feel that she was in any danger, with solid walls to either side and the boys blocking the passage in front of her. They hadn't passed any alcoves or forks that monsters could use to attack her from behind, and the risk of her triggering any traps was negligible since she was following just steps behind the heavier boys.

But as she attempted to peek around Lester for the fifth time, she finally noticed something different. A cavern! Up ahead the corridor opened up into a larger room, although from her position Kat couldn't tell how large. She hopped from foot to foot, impatient at their slow pace. Soon she might see her first dungeon monsters!

"Remember. Don't engage," Brevon growled. "Stay here until it's cleared." He shrugged out of his backpack, letting it fall to the ground next to Kat.

They were still a good twenty feet from the room, which Kat thought was entirely ridiculous. But Lester turned and made a waving motion with his hand, further cementing the command to stay. Kat grumbled but dutifully stopped moving, letting Brevon continue to the cavern with Lester following a few steps behind.

A moment after Brevon stepped out of the corridor, animalistic shrieks echoed through the dungeon as Brevon's slow shuffle transitioned to a run, taking him out of Kat's limited light of sight. She felt his killing intent suffuse the air, joining with the muted weight of the dungeon.

Kat focused, trying to make sense of what she could hear. There was a loud thump, followed by several smaller thumps. A rock clattered on the ground, followed by what sounded like a gong being struck, followed by the squish of a blade passing through flesh. The screams of rage and pain from the dungeon monsters continued throughout.

Kat inched forward, desperate to see what was going on. But Lester stood just at the entrance to the cavern, dagger held loosely in one hand. He frowned at her, once again motioning for her to stay put, before returning his focus to whatever was going on in the cavern.

Kat pouted. She didn't want to just be a passenger on this delve, she wanted to be an adventurer! To join in on the battles against the monsters, looting her way to fame, fortune, and ever more power!

Less than twenty seconds after Brevon set foot in the chamber silence descended, and Kat eagerly walked forward. Lester frowned at her again but didn't make any motion to slow her down, and in just a moment she got her first full view of the chamber.

It was less magnificent than she had imagined.

In her mind, she had pictured a massive coliseum and epic battles with creatures of monstrous proportions. In reality, the cavern was barely bigger than her room back at the guildhall. Three small grey goblins lay on the ground, grey-black blood pooling beneath them. They were shorter even than Kat and their arms were pencil-thin, making them look emaciated. Even in death, frozen snarls adorned their faces. One had been stabbed in the chest, one's head looked like it had been bashed in, and the third was completely bisected above its narrow waist.

Kat didn't know how strong these goblins were, but she had to admit that it was a little impressive for Brevon to take them on so quickly alone. Even though they were weaponless and pitiful looking, she knew not to underestimate the danger and savagery of monsters, regardless of their appearance.

For his part, Brevon didn't even look winded as he wiped the blood from his sword with an old cloth he pulled from a pouch. The goblins wore nothing but loincloths, and Kat understood him not wanting to use those to clean his blade.

As she edged up to examine the monsters closer, they dissolved into motes of light, leaving nothing but a few copper coins and a small stone behind.

Lester unceremoniously scooped up the loot and stored it in his backpack.

"What was that rock? Aren't you going to examine it first, see what we got?" Kat asked excitedly. "What if it was a skill-stone?"

Brevon breathed out through his nostrils in a light scoff. "This is just the first room of the first floor of a bronze dungeon. I'm sure it's happened before, but the chance of us looting a skill-stone this early is basically zero. And one of the first rules of delving: don't mess with the loot until you've cleared the floor. It'll just distract you from what you should be focusing on, and, worst-case scenario, it could be cursed. Don't worry, we'll go over it all and give you your share when we get back to the guild."

Kat's face fell, but she quickly perked back up. "That reminds me...how are we splitting the loot? I know you said into three equal shares, but what if there's something good that we all want but can't be split evenly?"

"Basic bidding system," Brevon answered.

Kat looked back and forth between the two boys, confused. Brevon sighed and then continued. "Everything we loot will be sold to the guild at guild prices, and we split the coin into three even shares. If there's something you want, it comes out of your portion of the share at the price the guild would have paid for it. If there's something that more than one of us wants, we'll take turns bidding portions of our share in addition to the guild price for the item until someone wins it."

Kat nodded. That made sense, and now that he had explained it she realized she had learned the same thing at the academy as the standard way for distributing loot, although it had been called something different back then.

She did think it was a little unfair that Snuffers wouldn't be getting his own share. Although neither Snuffers nor Kat was doing much of anything in this dungeon run so far, so she supposed splitting a third-share was fine.

"Onward?" she asked after Brevon had fetched his backpack from the corridor. She edged a little closer to the only passageway leading from the cavern, a corridor that looked identical to the one they had just walked through. Maybe now they'd let her take the lead...

"Give Lester a minute to go over the room for any secrets. It's unlikely, but we don't want to miss them 'cause of impatience. They have some of the best loot."

He still wasn't being nice, but his business-like approach to delving the dungeon meant he was at least cordial to Kat. Well, 'cordial' might have been a bit of a stretch, but at least he was answering her questions.

It only took Lester a few minutes to declare the room free of any secret passageways or hidden stashes of treasure.

"Lester will lead from now on to clear out any potential traps. Don't enter any of the rooms until we give the all-clear; there could be traps in there too, even if we've killed all the monsters. I'll be second, and you follow behind, mage-girl."

Kat frowned. And now he was back to being rude. She was almost positive he knew her name. How could he not? She was named Kat and had a stuffed cat sitting on her shoulder. It wasn't hard.

But she dutifully slid into her position in the rear. He was annoying and rude, but he was the party leader, and she wasn't going to argue with him in the middle of a delve. She'd definitely have some words for him for when they finished, though.

They continued down a long and straight corridor, identical to the first one. Their pace was slightly slower than before to give Lester time to check for traps, but they still moved at a slow walk.

Kat fought boredom. Now that they had passed a room, she supposed it was possible for monsters to attack them from behind where she'd be vulnerable. But that was very rare in a bronze dungeon, which usually only employed simple traps and strategies with generic monsters. At higher-ranked dungeons, adventurers would need to be on constant alert from attacks from any and all angles. It was even possible for dungeons to manipulate the paths and spawn monsters as the adventurers walked through their halls, although never within sight of the adventurers.

Kat sighed. Honestly, she hoped some goblins would attack them from behind. It would at least give her a chance to be an actual adventurer rather than simple baggage.

She tried meditating as she walked, hoping to do something productive with her time. But even when she paused and closed her eyes, she found she wasn't able to fall into the required state of mind.

So she walked. And walked. And walked. Were all bronze dungeons this boring? Or was it just this one? Maybe the dungeon was trying to lull them into a false sense of security before it hit them with a larger challenge. If so, then the strategy was working. On Kat, at least; she couldn't speak for her teammates. Maybe they were having the time of their lives.

Finally, they approached another cavern. Once again Brevon shrugged his backpack to the ground, this time Lester's bag also joining it.

"Stay here, by the bags," Brevon said with command in his voice. To Kat, it sounded as if he was trying to talk to an unruly pet rather than a human teammate. She glared but stopped, letting the other two continue without her.

Once again noises erupted from the cavern, though this time Kat wasn't paying as much attention. She stood with her hand on her knife and stared at where the corridor met the cavern, hopeful that one of the goblins might somehow slip around them.

There was no such luck. Just as quickly as the first cavern, this one was cleared. A minute after that, Lester gave the all-clear for traps and Brevon called that Kat could enter the room.

She carried her teammates' bags with her, figuring that she'd make herself useful somehow.

The goblins had already dissolved by the time she entered the cavern and tossed Lester and Brevon their bags, but based on the sizes of the pools of blood, she figured there were at least four in this cavern.

Lester scooped up the new loot, searched the room for secrets, and they continued onward. Once Kat was in the rear, unable to even see up the corridor that they walked.

At one point they paused while Lester disarmed a trap. But after only a minute they continued again, without Kat even getting the chance to see what kind of trap it was.

With nothing else to do, she practiced her [elemental manipulation] skill. Maybe she could excise the corruption with enough practice?

With her knife in her right hand, a flame formed on an upraised fingertip as a breeze gathered around her left. Brevon glanced backward but didn't comment. She'd have less mana to use if she was ever attacked, but based on how this dungeon was going so far she doubted she'd need it.

The flame was small and weak, flickering from the wind created by her left hand. After just a minute it blew out, almost at the same time as the breeze around her left hand dissipated.

Kat's eyebrows scrunched up as she focused and resummoned the flame, just as weak as it was before. She wanted to try casting it out in a fireball but was worried she might hurt her teammates if it somehow actually worked. She decided to leave it, for now, and just practice the easier things allowed by [elemental manipulation].

Lester and Brevon cleared the third room with just as little trouble as the first two and they continued onward through yet another corridor. Kat's conviction wavered. Glancing up at Brevon's skinny back, she turned behind her and cast the flame out, intending for a fireball to blossom into existence and explode twenty yards back.

Instead, the flame traveled a few inches before snuffing out as if it was never there.

On the positive side, she now knew that she could at least try to practice the more destructive parts of [elemental manipulation] without endangering her teammates. On the negative side...pretty much everything else.

Kat looked to her shoulder and gave Snuffers a pat. He was on the positive side of things as well.

The fourth room concluded in much the same way as the previous three, though this time she was able to see at least some of the battle. A man in shining silver armor clashed with two goblins, each of them just a little larger than the ones in the first room and both sporting large clubs. The man in silver armor deflected one of the goblin's attacks with ease, leaving the goblin wide open for him to stab through the chest. At the same time, Lester appeared behind the other goblin, plunging a knife into the back of its neck.

The man in the armor gave that goblin a second stab, double-checking that it was truly down. Then the armor shifted into rays of light and was absorbed by the man's left forearm, revealing Brevon.

"Wow! That's amazing! Is that a skill?" Kat yelled, taking a single step forward.

"Stay there!" Brevon barked. "Lester hasn't given the all-clear yet."

A minute later Lester yelled the all-clear, and Kat dashed forward with the bags in tow. "That's amazing, what skill was that?"

Brevon glared at Kat. "None of your business."

Kat deflated. She supposed that it fell into the taboo realm of asking after people's stats, but she had hoped he'd be willing to share with his teammate. Although if she were honest with herself, she didn't think they'd be teammates for much longer.

She stayed silent while Lester checked the room for secrets and wordlessly fell into the back of the line as they entered the next corridor. She half-heartedly practiced her skills as they walked, but had trouble committing her full focus.

Adventuring...wasn't what she had hoped for.

For so long she had dreamed of finally being a real adventurer, delving dungeons and fighting monsters for loot rather than just to survive the night. Yet here she was, on a real dungeon delve...and it was even worse than the nether-realm.

Kat shuddered. Actually, it wasn't worse than the nether-realm. Not even close. It was bad, but at least it was better than what her life had been before she escaped through the portal…right?

And her issue with adventuring wasn't with the adventuring itself; it was with her teammates. Once she was reunited with her old team, she was sure it would all be better.

Resolve strengthened, she resumed her practice. She needed to be ready when Brevid finally found her friends.

Once again the corridor opened into another cavern, and Kat sat down next to the bags to wait. But she was startled when Brevon and Lester didn't immediately walk in.

"This is the boss room," Brevon explained to Kat. "It might take a bit longer, but stay here. There's serious danger with this one, and you could really get hurt if the monster targets you."

Kat just nodded.

Instead of immediately walking into the chamber as they were, silver armor flowed from Brevon's forearm to fully cover him. It looked like sturdy plate armor, yet seemed to shift flexibly with Brevon as he walked. A shield appeared on his left arm and he held his sword in his right. Behind him, Lester stood ready with a dagger in each hand.

They stepped forward.

This fight lasted much longer than the previous ones, but Kat barely saw any of it. Only once did the combatants enter her narrow view, and she spied their opponent: a tall, gangly version of the goblins wielding a wicked-looking dagger.

A hobgoblin.

Eventually, the fight ended the same way as all the rest and Brevon called her forward.

"There aren't any traps in the boss room, at least not in this dungeon," he explained as he accepted his backpack from her. He and Lester were sweaty from the fight, but neither looked injured.

She was just in time to see the hobgoblin's body dissipate into motes of light. Instead of the usual pile of loot, a chest formed on a pedestal in the back of the room.

Lester opened it up. "Eh, mediocre haul. Mostly just coin," he said, shoveling it all into his backpack, tossed to him by Kat.

"Okay, let's break for lunch, then, before we continue to the next floor," Brevon said after wiping down his sword before pulling food from his bag.

Kat pulled a sandwich from her own bag, bought that morning from the bartender with some of the last of her money. It had taken about two hours to clear the first floor, the vast majority of that spent slowly walking through corridors. Kat had done practically nothing, but she was still hungry, and she scarfed her sandwich down in no time.

The two boys finished their meals a minute later. Brevon hopped to his feet. "Onward to the second floor?" he asked, pointing to the two staircases behind the pedestal, each surrounded by hundreds of runes. One led downward to the next level of the dungeon, while the other led upward, somehow through weird dungeon physics leading directly to the entrance of the dungeon. Kat could even see some faint rays of sunlight shining down over the stone steps.

Lester nodded. "I'm ready to go."

Kat took a deep breath. "Um, no. I'm done."

Chapter 12: Forgiving and Forgetting?

"Um, no. I'm done."

Brevon and Lester stared at her in confusion before Brevon responded. "What?"

"I'm done. You can keep going, but I'm done. You can keep all the rewards for the rest of the dungeon, of course, and just give me a third of what we got from this floor." Kat felt a little bad for insisting on her portion of this floor, considering she hadn't really done anything and was abandoning them midway through the run, but she needed the coin if she was going to be able to eat until she found a new team.

"What will you do next?" Lester asked.

Kat gave him a strange look. "Go back to the guild, of course,"

"I meant after that. Are you only going to want to do the first floors of dungeons? Do you still even want to do dungeons?"

"Of course!" Kat replied. "I'm definitely planning on doing more floors of dungeons. So I'll be going back to the guild and seeing if there are any other teams I can join."

Brevon's expression morphed from one of confusion to anger. "What? New team?"

"Yeah. It's obvious this isn't working. You both hate me for some reason, so there's no point in dragging this out any longer than it needs to. I'll find some other team that'll actually be willing to work with me."

Brevon's angry expression turned even darker, and he took a step towards Kat, small bits of killing intent leaking out to join the aura of the dungeon. But Kat had dealt with enough today, and she wasn't intimidated. She stayed where she was, staring defiantly up as Brevon loomed over her.

"Why we hate you? It's because all you noble brats are the same!" he yelled, turning away and pacing back and forth when it became clear Kat wouldn't be intimidated. "You only care about yourselves, regardless of what danger or inconvenience it may cause to others. It was bad enough that you forced yourself on me and Lester. Now you want to force yourself on some other team, potentially getting someone hurt or killed when they're forced to try and protect you?!"

"Force myself?!" Kat replied, her voice rising to match Brevon's. "I did no such thing. Any risk from trying to 'protect' me is on you." Then she registered something else that Brevon had said. "And noble brat?? I don't even know what that means."

Lester looked back and forth between the two as they yelled, looking more confused than angry.

"Noble brat," Brevon sneered. "As in the bratty kid of a noble, relying on daddy's power to get you what you want, heedless of how it affects anyone else."

"I know what it means," Kat replied, exasperated. "But why would you call me that? I'm not noble, and I haven't seen my parents in years."

Now Brevon looked confused as well. "...you aren't some eccentric noble, trading favors with my dad to get a taste of adventuring? You're a real adventurer?"

"Of course I am!" Kat yelled, throwing her hands up in the air. "And I have no idea who your dad is. And I don't care."

"Then why are you so weak? And why are you wearing that?"

"What, this? What else would I wear? This is my only robe, and I don't have the money to get anything else. And as for why I'm weak...none of your business," Kat said angrily, mirroring the boy's earlier words.

Lester stepped between the two of them, raising his hands in a calming gesture. "I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot, and it seems like there have been some incorrect assumptions made on both sides. Why don't we all take a deep breath and start over completely from the beginning?"

Kat and Brevon glared at each other over Lester's shoulder.

Lester gave a meaningful look back to Brevon before he faced Kat, plastering a painful-looking smile on his face. "Hello, my name is Lester, bronze rogue, and this is Brevon, bronze adventurer. What is your name?"

Kat stared at him. Behind Lester, Brevon still looked angry, though with less fury than he had before. She thought about the offer.

She wanted to take it. She was a strong believer in second chances. But looking at the expression on Brevon's face...

Today had been miserable. She wanted to forgive, but she also didn't want to thrust her hand right back into the fire after being burned.

"No, thank you," she said, her voice polite but distant. "Like I said, I'm done. Good luck with the rest of your delve, and I suppose I'll see you around the guild sometime. But I'm done."

After patting her shoulder to make sure that Snuffers was still secure, she turned and marched up the stairs out of the dungeon.

After climbing out of the dirt tunnel, she turned to the woods next to the road, walking until she couldn't see the road, or the dungeon, or anything. She found a comfortable place on the ground to sit, untied Snuffers from her shoulder, and hugged him tight. Then she cried.

She wasn't weeping. Nothing so dramatic had happened that deserved that sort of response. And they weren't painful tears, caused by terror or worry or pain. They were sad tears, caused by the disappointment of what she had for so long anticipated.

She cried for just a few minutes before her tears dried. She wasn't going to dwell on it, but it was good to get that out of her system. The dungeon was no place to have a breakdown, but neither was it good to bottle the tears up inside of her forever. Now that she'd had her cry, she could move forward.

Sure, her first experience with delving hadn't been great. But so what? That just meant she needed to keep searching to find a better delving experience. She knew better than anyone: just because the past was bad didn't mean the future couldn't be better. So with a less heavy heart she stood to her feet and walked back to the road. Then she began her lonely journey back to the city.

It took Kat longer to get back to the guildhall than it had taken to travel to the dungeon that morning, mostly because she stopped halfway to attempt to meditate for a few hours in the grass on the side of the road.

It was less successful than it felt like it had been that morning. Her emotions were unsettled and the road was much busier at that time of day, which kept breaking her focus. But it was still much better than her attempt in her room had been.

She only got a little lost on the way to the guildhall after entering the city. But Kat viewed it less as 'getting lost' and more as 'taking the opportunity to sightsee a part of the city she hadn't yet visited'. Eventually, though, she got to the guildhall. With the last of her coin she bought a meal from the bartender, wishing she had made a plan with her former teammates on how she could collect her portion of the day's delve.

It was just the first floor of a bronze dungeon, but the number of coins Lester had raked up looked like roughly the same amount that she had left the nether-realm with. Of course, that had to be split three ways, but then it also didn't account for any of the non-monetary rewards that would be identified and then sold to the guild. Once she got her portion, she should hopefully be good for at least another week, barring any major expenses like her blood test.

She still felt down as she scooped spoonfuls of her soup into her mouth. She sat alone at her table while teams laughed and ate together at the tables surrounding her.

Like she had so many times before, she patted Snuffers and smiled. Never completely alone.

"Kat! Good to see you!" A voice startled her from her musings as she looked up in surprise. Chairs clattered as Bruce, Peter, Monica, and a fourth man she didn't recognize sat down in the seats around her. "You haven't met our fourth team member, Brandon. He's a healer like you! Brandon, this is Kat, and of course Snuffers. She's the girl we mentioned who helped us out in the brawl."

Monica leaned close and stage-whispered to Kat. "Brandon's not very happy with us right now."

Kat brightened at the arrival of her friends. "Nice to meet you, Brandon! And I'm no longer a bronze healer!" She pulled her new bronze mage badge from her backpack and proudly displayed it to her friends, to 'oohs' of appreciation.

"Nice to meet you too, Kat," Brandon replied. "And of course I'm unhappy. I leave for only three days, and you lot somehow manage to lose us our slot in the Three Winds dungeon," he shook his head in faked exasperation.

"Eh, you would've done the same thing had you been in our place," Peter said, waving a hand at Brandon.

"Of course I would have," Brandon replied. "But that doesn't mean I can't be unhappy with you as well."

A few minutes of good-natured ribbing followed, each side giving as good as they got. Eventually, Bruce turned the conversation to Kat. "What's new with you?"

"A lot!" Kat exclaimed. "I made friends with a clerk named Paige. Well, actually she's an apprentice clerk, but she's really nice! And then I made friends with Todd and Henry, two friends of hers who are also clerks." Kat looked back and forth across the barroom before she leaned forward, lowering her voice. "Henry has a crush on Kat," she whispered conspiratorially.

Bruce laughed.

"Ah, young love," Peter sighed. "To be that age and have a chance to do it all over again."

Monica slapped him on the shoulder. "Hah, like you could ever do better than me. I still don't know how you managed to land me in the first place."

"Bah, I could land any girl I wanted. You're lucky I chose you!" Peter joked back. "How about it, Kat? If I were ten years younger and single, tell me you could resist this." He assumed a dramatic pose in his chair, alternatingly flexing his chest muscles.

Kat laughed. "I...don't think I'm going to comment."

"Smart move," Bruce muttered under his breath.

"Don't believe a word this guy says, Kat," Monica said. "He could barely string two words together the first time we met. Ooh, do you want to hear the story about when he almost got skewered in the Boomtop dungeon 'cause he kept getting distracted by my butt?"

"Ah, she doesn't need to hear that story," Peter interrupted. Then he muttered, "Those pants were entirely too tight to be practical..."

Their bickering continued as Bruce once again addressed Kat. "Anything else new with you? Have you found a team, yet?"

"Um, yes?" Kat responded.

"Good for you!" But then he saw the look on Kat's face. "Um, not good for you?"

"Yeah...I'm going to have to find a new team, I think."

She then proceeded to tell her story of her first dungeon delve to her increasingly angry-on-her-behalf audience.

"Don't worry about those idiots," Monica spat after Kat finished. "It's their loss."

"Thanks, I appreciate it," Kat replied.

"No really," Brandon said, speaking up for the first time in a while. "You did the right thing. These stooges have been friends since before they were adventurers, and they formed their first team together. I've been around the block, though. I was on two different teams before I joined this one, and trust me: you're better off getting out of a bad situation like that earlier rather than later."

Kat's smile felt a little less forced after their support. "Thanks, guys. But what have you all been up to, since you can't delve?"

Bruce groaned in frustration as Peter and Monica leapt into a story of their past two days.

Apparently, their team spent the vast majority of their time either delving or preparing to delve. They each had their own hobbies, of course, but nothing that would consume so much time as to get in the way of their adventuring lifestyle. They were a high-silver adventuring team, and if they wanted to keep advancing they needed to be serious.

Unfortunately, this meant that without the ability to delve they had an excess of energy and nowhere to easily direct it. As Peter and Monica told their tale, Bruce occasionally groaned in ways that Kat had only ever before heard from parents of toddlers.

Kat laughed at the antics, feeling the last of her worries and tension from her day seep away in the presence of her friends. Unfortunately, it couldn't last forever.

"Excuse me," a voice said during a lull of their conversation. "Kat, can we speak to you?"

Kat turned. Behind her, sheepishly holding their hands behind their backs, stood Lester and Brevon.

Chapter 13: Run from it or Learn from it

"Um, okay," Kat said, a little unsure of where this would go. She felt like everything that needed to be said had already been said...unless they already had her portion of the loot from the delve?

"Would it be okay if we talk to you alone?" Lester asked.

Bruce must have connected the two young men with Kat's description of her former teammates because he replied with hostility in his voice. "Anything you want to say to her, you can say in front of us." He glanced down at Kat, who smiled back up at him gratefully.

She wasn't worried about being alone with the two. After all, she'd been alone with them for hours in the dungeon, and aside from their rudeness they hadn't tried anything untoward. And after her meditation and dinner with her friends, she was confident she could emotionally handle a short confrontation with them. But she was still thankful for their support.

On the other side of the table, Monica and Peter sat tall and serious, a contrast to their normal joviality.

Kat felt an inkling of déjà vu, and she suppressed a grin of excitement. Could this be the start of another barroom brawl? That would certainly be one way to work out any lingering emotions she had with her former teammates.

But no, it didn't look like Lester or Brevon was there to fight, unfortunately.

Lester looked disappointed at Bruce's refusal to let them speak privately, but also resigned, as if that was what he had been expecting.

"Well, Brevon and I just wanted to apologize to you about our behavior in the dungeon earlier today. It was wrong, and I'm sorry. I know it doesn't make up for it, but here's all the loot from the first floor. We were stupid, and we're sorry."

He reached forward and placed a medium-sized sack on the table with a clink of coins. He stepped back next to Brevon and subtly elbowed him in the side.

Brevon looked as if he was chewing on lemons, but he eventually spoke as well. "I'm sorry as well...I made stupid assumptions and was cruel to you to try and spite my father. In doing so, I was just as bad as what I falsely accused you of. Sorry." At the start Brevon had his head down, looking at the floor beneath his feet, but by the end he was staring Kat in the eyes. "We were forced to take you onto our team, and were cruel to you. We'd like to offer you an invitation to join our team again but for real this time, as our own choice."

Kat's mouth dropped open just a bit. They were still trying to get her to start over with them?

Brevon and Lester stood there awkwardly waiting for a response. But after a few seconds, when it was clear Kat wasn't going to immediately respond, Lester nudged Brevon and they turned and walked away.

Monico snorted. "What a bunch of morons, trying to get you back after what they did."

"Yeah. Good riddance," Peter agreed. Then he looked over at Kat. "Wait...you're not really considering their offer, are you?"

Kat looked up at her friends guiltily. "...maybe?"

Peter, Brandon, and Monica all started speaking at the same time.

"C'mon, Kat!"

"We were just talking about this..."

"Don't waste time with those losers, we can find you a much better team..."

Kat turned to the still-silent Bruce. "...how hard is it to clear a bronze dungeon with a two-person bronze team?"

The rest of the table quieted as he responded.

"That depends on the strength of the dungeon, of course," he replied. When Kat just kept staring at him, he sighed. "Although the majority of bronze dungeons? A party of just two bronze adventurers would struggle. They'd have to be slow and careful, and a lot of it would come down to if they had the skill set to exploit the dungeon's specific weaknesses."

Kat nodded. Part of her rebelled at even considering joining back up with the two boys. But...she needed to catch up with her old team. How many other bronze teams with openings would be able to teach her everything she needed to know to not slow down her friends? By now, they had to be at least high-bronze, or maybe even silver!

"How sincere do you think they were?" She asked the table, though mostly directed at Bruce. "I'm not the best at reading people," she added with a wry grin.

Once again, Monica and Peter exploded with exclamations denying the idiots' sincerity. Brandon though looked unsure of himself, and Bruce gazed thoughtfully at Kat.

"I can't say with complete certainty," he finally answered. "But if I had to guess? I think they were genuinely sorry. That doesn't mean that they won't do the same thing again, though."

Kat just nodded, standing to her feet and walking across the bar to the corner booth where Lester and Brevon now nursed drinks of their own.

They looked up, startled, at her approach, but she started talking before they could say anything.

"I'll join your team, under three conditions," she said, holding up a single finger. "First, that you both treat me as a full team member, just like you treat each other."

The two boys nodded slowly. "You'll still have to follow the orders of the party leader in the dungeon, which is me," Brevon said. "But we can treat you like we would any other mage member of our team."

Kat supposed that was good enough. "That’s fine. Second, this is only temporary. Once I track down my old teammates, I’ll be joining their team." Lester and Brevon both nodded, so she raised her third finger. "And finally: it wasn't just me you were rude to. You have to apologize to Snuffers, too."

Kat lifted her other hand, holding Snuffers up to look the two boys in the eyes.

Lester and Brevon glanced at each other with furrowed brows before they shrugged.

"Sorry, Snuffers."

"Yeah, sorry."

Kat's face bloomed with a bright smile. "Great! When's our next delve, then?"

Lester and Brevon still looked a little confused, but Brevon was the first to regain his bearings. "Day after tomorrow? We should spend a few hours going over team strategies in one of the training rooms, first. How about we do that tomorrow? Meet here at lunch?"

Kat nodded, beaming. "Great! See you tomorrow!"

She skipped back to her table with Bruce's team. "Why do you look so chipper?" Brandon asked suspiciously.

"And why would you do that!? We could have helped you find a great new team!" Monica added.

"Well, they're my teammates again. If I'm going to give them a second chance, I should treat them how I'd like to be treated: as friends. At least until they are mean, again. And as for why...it's like Brandon said."

Monica and Peter both glared at Brandon, who held his hands up defensively. "What I said?? I said nothing about joining back up with them. I said the complete opposite!"

"No, you said I was 'better off getting out of a bad place early,' or something like that. But that goes both ways: I should get out of a bad place quickly, but I should also be quick to jump into a good place if I can find it. Brevon and Lester seem like really strong adventurers; they beat the first floor of that dungeon no sweat. I bet I can learn a lot from them. And if it doesn't work out, I can always find a new team later. But this might be my only chance to find a team this strong, one that doesn't already have a mage."

Peter sat back in his chair while Brandon muttered, "...if you know what you are doing..."

Monica, however, wasn't so easily convinced. "If you're just looking to get stronger, why didn't you just ask us to train you?"

Kat looked at Monica with a bright smile. "Would you? That would be amazing! I guessed you might have been too busy, though..."

Monica turned to Bruce with a pout and a pleading look in her eye. Bruce nodded consideringly. "I suppose we can spend some time working with you...it's not like we have much better to do until our ban is done. Tomorrow morning?"

Kat threw her hands up in the air in celebration, almost losing her grip on Snuffers in the process. In only a few minutes she went from money-less and team-less to a sack full of coins, membership on a strong team that would (hopefully) treat her like an equal, and training from her high-silver friends.

Things were looking up.

Chapter 14: Montage

Kat woke the next morning excited and ready to face the day. She showered and dressed in record time, running down the stairs to meet with Bruce's team for her training.

Unfortunately, reality didn't cater to her excitement. The sky was just barely lightening by the time she got to the barroom, and her friends were nowhere in sight.

She ordered a light breakfast from the sleepy bartender, happily digging through her heavy bag of coins to pay. Unfortunately, the amount of money was much less than the bag's heaviness would imply, since almost all of the coins were copper. At some point she would have to trade them out for silvers, if only to keep her pouch from ripping.

Eventually, Bruce and his team arrived, tiredly walking through the front entrance into the bar.

"Good morning!" Kat called, waving from her table. The four adventurers gave her small smiles before ordering their own breakfasts and joining her.

"Why'd you come from out there?" Kat asked. "Do you not have rooms upstairs?"

"Of course not," Monica replied. "Rooms in the guildhall are crazy expensive compared to what you can get in other parts of the city. They're convenient, but we'll only stay here if we have to. Usually, it's just the higher-ups in the guild or the people with more money than sense who get rooms here." Kat's eyes widened, and Monica looked at her suspiciously. "Wait, you don't have a room here, do you? I thought you said you were short on coin?"

Kat shrugged. "Well, I was. Not after yesterday though. And no one's asked me to pay anything for my room here, at least not yet." She looked around at her friends worriedly. "You don't think I'll have to pay it all when I leave, do you?"

Peter looked thoughtful. "Doubtful. Usually they charge upfront. We've stayed at various guildhalls in different cities when we've traveled for dungeon delves, and they've never let us stay on credit. Although you should probably check with your clerk friend to make sure."

Bruce nodded. "If we're training you, that's one lesson you should learn early on: get a good relationship with an inn. There's a limited number of dungeons within a day's travel of any city, so you'll be spending a lot of nights camped at the entrances to dungeons, especially once you hit silver. Unless you're loaded, it's not worth it to get a house, but if you let an innkeeper know you'll be planning on staying there fairly regularly for a few months, you should be able to get a good discount."

Kat nodded. This was the type of common-sense knowledge she needed. Things the academy didn't teach, but any adventurer worth their salt would already know.

They chatted as they ate, only standing up once everyone was done.

It turned out that several of the buildings surrounding the adventurer's guild were also owned by the guild, to be used for training or testing. Bruce had reserved a room for them the night before, so they followed him outside and to the building across the street.

The room they were training in was very similar to the room Kat had tested in for her bronze badge, although less than a quarter of the size. It had a dirt floor, with a few small plants and shrubs on one side and a tiny pond on the other.

"It'll mostly just be me and Brandon training you today," Bruce explained. "Peter and Monica wanted to watch though, and they'll chime in if they have anything to add."

Kat nodded, determined to make a good impression of her adventuring skills to her friends. Although...

"Um, I'm not sure if this is the best time to tell you, but my skills aren't entirely and completely working to their full potential right now," she blurted out in a single breath. "They used to be stronger, but now in my status it says that they're 'corrupted,' and they're really weak."

The team of silver adventurers looked at her blankly before Bruce replied. "That's...strange. I've never heard of something like that before. We can revisit that later, but that shouldn't be an issue right now. For what we're teaching you first, you won't need your skills at all."

Kat nodded again, happy that she wouldn't have to immediately show them her weak skills. They weren't the best way to make a good impression.

Peter, Monica, and Brandon walked to one of the walls and sat down in the dirt to watch, Bruce apparently handling the first lesson.

"The first thing you have you get used to about dungeons is the atmosphere. It's impossible to ever be fully comfortable in a dungeon. You probably felt it, at least a little, when you delved yesterday."

Kat thought back to the Underhill dungeon and the faint feeling of pressure, similar in type to what she felt during the night-cycles in the nether-realm.

"It usually isn't an issue for a single fight. But as you spend longer and longer in dungeons, and especially as you delve to deeper and deeper floors, that can be dangerous. The feeling itself isn't dangerous, but especially for bronze adventurers who aren't used to it, it can lead to nerves, inattention, and sloppy mistakes. In a dungeon, those can mean injuries or death, either for you or for a teammate."

Bruce stared at Kat, as if making sure she was taking his words seriously before he continued. "I can't replicate that feeling perfectly, but killing intent mimics the result close enough for training purposes. As we train for the next few hours, the four of us will take turns releasing a continuous, low level of killing intent. It will be uncomfortable, but remember that none of us actually want to hurt you. Are you ready?"

Kat smiled confidently. "I'm ready."

"Okay, let me know if it gets to be too much and we can take a short break. You can't become a gold adventurer in a day."

Kat stared at Bruce, waiting. Slowly, barely creeping up from nothingness, she felt a hint of his killing intent fill the room. She grit her teeth, ready to endure. But after a few moments the killing intent stopped increasing, instead leveling out to an amount barely above what she had felt on the first floor of the Underhill dungeon.

"Is that it?" Kat asked curiously.

Bruce frowned as muffled laughter came from Peter and Monica.

"You don't feel too bad? You need to be honest if this training will be any good," Bruce said.

"Yeah, I'm doing fine," Kat replied, a bit confused.

The killing intent once again rose until it flattened out at maybe double the amount that had been there at first. Kat wasn't completely sure; it was hard for her to gauge exact levels of killing intent, especially in such small amounts.

Bruce stared at Kat's face. Kat stared back, waiting for his next instruction.

"We'll stop here for now," Bruce finally said. "If you do fine with this today, we can raise it a little more next time. Although any higher and I don't think the four of us will be able to maintain it continuously, at least not without actually battling."

Bruce hesitated, squinting at Kat's face. Kat rubbed her mouth. "Do I have something on me?" she asked.

Bruce sighed. "I was going to go over some techniques for dealing with killing intent or dungeon pressure, but we'll leave that for later. Brandon, you're up."

At this point the laughter from Monica and Peter was significantly less muffled, and even Brandon had a smile on his face as he pulled himself to his feet.

"You're planning on being the mage and auxiliary healer on your team, correct?" Brandon asked.

"Yep!" Kat replied, nodding as she turned her focus to Brandon. "I've only been a bronze healer until a few days ago though, so I'm still completely new to filling the mage role in a team."

"Bruce will cover some things you should know as a mage later. But I wanted to go over some things you should know as an auxiliary healer first. Now I apologize for asking, and you don't have to tell me if you don't wish to, but it will save time if you can explain what type of healing skill you have. Ranged? Touch? Aura? Chant?"

Kat shrugged. It still baffled her how everyone was so careful with their skills. She didn't mind sharing, and even if she did, she trusted her friends. "It's the [healing touch] skill."

Bruce nodded. "Thank you for sharing. [Healing touch] is harder to apply than ranged or aura healing skills, but easier than chant skills in the midst of battle. What is extremely important for you to keep in mind will be positioning. More than anything else, that's what you'll need to learn: proper positioning."

Kat tilted her head to the side. "Positioning is really that important?" Obviously, she knew from her time in the academy that positioning and formations were important parts of any team's strategies. But more important than anything else?

"Yes. Not as much for other healing types and for most mages. But for a touch-based heal? It's integral." Kat still looked skeptical, so Brandon continued. "Suppose you and your new team are in a dungeon. Your teammates are a fighter class and rogue class, correct?" Kat nodded. "Your fighter's job will be to engage with the enemy. Your rogue's job will be to harry the enemy's backs while they focus on the fighter, and perhaps attract some of the attention if there are more enemies than the fighter can safely handle at once. A typical mage's job is to stay at a distance and fling magic, dealing the most damage they can without stealing the monster's attention from the fighter. A healer with a touch-based skill? You need to be close enough to be able to reach either the rogue or the warrior within a moment's notice, but far enough back that you don't get in their way or attract a monster's attention."

"Really?" Kat asked, a little disappointed. "Why can't I attract a monster's attention? I want to fight!"

Brandon shrugged. "Maybe you will be able to. Technically, you're a mage so what I'm saying might not apply. And obviously, any strategies will need to be adjusted to fit your team's specific skillsets. But I'm speaking of your role as an auxiliary healer. Even if you can fight and defeat the monsters that come for you, any time you spend fighting will be time when you aren't ready to help your teammates. And if you aren't able to defeat the monster by yourself, you will force one of your teammates, usually the fighter, to pull the monster off of you, potentially leaving themselves open to an attack."

"This...seems more complicated than what they taught at the academy," Kat replied.

Brandon shrugged again. "Most academies are content to make mediocre adventures. Adventurers that might reach silver, but go no further. If you want, you can be that type of adventurer: the healer who always stays at a distance, simply waiting until the fight is done before restoring your allies." Brandon leaned forward, a sharp smile on his face. "But I don't think that's the kind of adventurer you want to be. You want to be a true part of your team, the one they can always count on when everything else goes wrong. The one who will be there mid-battle to heal their injury, even if it means taking a hit of your own. The reason they can fight without fear of death. A truly great healer."

Kat stared wide-eyed up at Brandon before nodding fervently.

Brandon took a step back from Kat and cleared his throat, coming back to himself after being caught up in his passion. "Well, if that's the case, then positioning is paramount. Obviously, nothing is static; where you need to be will change completely based on your teammates, the monsters you face, and even the environment you fight in. But we can go over some general guidelines to get you thinking before you train with your team this afternoon. Monica! Peter! Come be the rogue and fighter. Bruce, you're the dungeon boss. Now watch what I do..."

And so, with a smile on her face, Kat trained.

Chapter 15: Gettin' Prepped

Bruce waved with the rest of his team as Kat skipped out the door of the training room to meet her teammates at the bar.

When she was gone, Monica let out a sigh of relief, the killing intent that she had been projecting for so long finally dissipating.

"What is up with her? I'm glad she trusts us, but it didn't seem like she cared about the killing intent at all."

Killing intent was easy enough to project for short periods of time and almost impossible to not project during a serious fight. But to sustain that level of killing intent for hours, when they were just training? It took its toll.

And yet Kat didn't seem the slightest bit bothered by the killing intent projected toward her. Even for Bruce it was a little uncomfortable, although he was able to ignore it easily enough. For a bronze adventurer? She should have been at least somewhat hampered.

"She said that yesterday was the first dungeon she's been to, right?" Brandon asked.

"Yeah. And was it just me, or was she much quicker than I remember being when I was a bronze?" Peter added.

Monica snorted. "That isn't saying much. What was it you used to say? 'I don't need to be fast if I'm strong.' Besides, I'm pretty sure she's faster than you are now."

Peter gave Monica a playful shove. "I learned my lesson, didn't I? And no way, I'd crush her in any dexterity competition." Monica gave Peter a look. "Well, I'd win, at least." Monica stayed still, Peter locked in her gaze. "I'd be a close second?" Monica snorted.

"Well, I hope she isn't too skewed towards dexterity," Brandon said. "No matter how fast anyone is, they'll get hit eventually, and she'll need at least some vitality to survive long enough to patch herself back up."

Monica hummed. "I'm not sure about vitality, but she at least had the perception to keep up with her speed, so not everything has been dumped into dexterity."

Bruce waved his hand. "Either way, that's her business. We'll help if she asks for advice, but there's no need to go prying where we aren't wanted."

Her speed made their training today simultaneously more and less difficult. Less difficult, because it meant she had a lot more leeway in her positioning than what they had expected. But also more difficult, because she obviously wasn't working with the standard stats of a low-level bronze adventurer, which meant the standard training wasn't appropriate.

Bruce could only think of a few situations that would inure her so thoroughly to killing intent at such a young age, while also forcing her to allocate so many stats to dexterity despite being a healer. None of them were good.

He was curious about the strange girl who had somehow wandered into their lives. Extremely curious. But he wouldn't be the one to dig up memories of the past, especially if they were as painful as he suspected hers might be.

Kat got to the barroom before her teammates and ordered a sandwich while she waited. They still hadn't arrived by the time the sandwich was prepared and set in front of her, so she looked at it consideringly.

They hadn't talked about if they were going to eat lunch together, or if they were just meeting here around lunchtime. She decided to wait. If they had already eaten she could scarf the sandwich down in a few seconds, and she didn't want to be rude by already eating if they had planned on eating with her, especially so soon after reconciling.

It only took a few more minutes, but the two boys walked into the barroom and ordered meals of their own before joining her at her table.

"Hey!" Kat waved, happy that she had made the correct choice. "How's your day been?"

The two boys didn't look entirely comfortable talking so casually with her, but that was fine. Friendships took time.

"Not bad. Sharpened my blades, but that's about it."

"Same here. Just took care of my sword," Brevon said shortly.

Kat looked down at her small knife at her side. She hadn't sharpened it...well, ever. She hadn't really noticed any issues when fighting monsters in the nether-realm, but maybe she should give sharpening it a shot to see if it helped.

"I've been training with Bruce's team," Kat shared. "I'm new to being a mage -- I used to be a healer -- and they were helping me with positioning. Oh, Bruce was the guy at my table last night."

"I've seen them around the guild," Brevon replied. "They're high silver, correct? That's good, they'll know what they're doing."

Kat nodded as the boy's sandwiches were brought out, happily digging into her own. "That's something I should ask them, actually. I've always just been calling them 'Bruce's team,' but I wonder what their team name is. Actually! What's our team name? Something great, I hope?"

Lester and Brevon stared at Kat. "Teams don't have names. They're simply registered under the party leader with the guild."

Kat waved Brevon's explanation away. "I know that. But the informal name! What do you call yourselves when talking about your team?"

Lester shrugged. "Haven't had one. It's always just been the two of us, so it seemed a little strange to have a name."

Kat rubbed her chin. "Well, now that there's three of us we should come up with something." She tapped her fingers on the table in excitement. "I have a few ideas, but it should be something we all like. Let's spend a day or two coming up with ideas? Oh, and you said it's always just been the two of you? How did you know each other?"

Brevon looked a little overwhelmed. "...why don't we leave that for later," he said. "I booked us a slot in the Darkwing dungeon for tomorrow, and we should probably focus on preparing for that."

"Ah, sorry. Yeah, that's a good idea!" Kat replied. "Did you book us a training room to practice in?" She hurried to finish her sandwich, though Brevon and Lester were both only halfway through theirs.

"I did, although there are a few things we can go over out here. How are your long-range capabilities?"

"Eh, so-so. They used to be pretty good. I've got [elemental manipulation], which is great for range, but my skills are 'corrupted' right now, so they're all pretty weak. I've got a doctor looking at my blood though, and hopefully he'll have a fix for me in a few days."

"That's fine," Lester eventually replied, while Brevon sat back in his chair, a little overwhelmed. "We don't need much. Darkwing dungeon is a giant cave, and the monsters are batlings. They sleep up on the ceiling, so we'll need you to aggro them for us."

"Really?" Kat asked, impressed with the responsibility they were already giving her. "Do neither of you have long-range attacks?"

Lester shook his head. "Not really. We've only cleared this dungeon once before, and only the first two floors. It was a pain. We had to constantly search for rocks to throw up at them. But it should be much better, now that you're here."

Kat smiled at the compliment. "Well, I'll do my best."

A minute later they all finished their meals and followed Brevon outside to another building, into a training room almost identical to the one she had been practicing in with Bruce's team earlier.

"Okay," Brevon said, taking charge immediately as they walked in, while Lester fiddled with something by the door. "Let's all share our abilities and the way we operate. We won't tell or ask for your specific skills, but we all need to know each other's general capabilities."

Kat shrugged. "I don't mind sharing everything. But just general stuff is fine if that's all you want to share."

Brevon nodded. "In that case: I'm a frontline fighter. I have a full suit of enchanted armor that I store in my gauntlet, as well as a shield. I can take a hit really well and have limited self-healing. I have the strength to kill most bronze monsters pretty easily, but my sword is nothing special. My armor has a 'shine' function, which often will draw monsters to me, but I don't have a true taunt skill, so you'll need to be careful about taking the monster's attention. I'm focused on vitality, strength, and dexterity."

Kat nodded. From what she could remember from the academy, which was admittedly a little fuzzy, that was a fairly standard setup for a frontline fighter.

"I guess I'm next," Lester said, looking a little reluctant. "I'm a rogue, but with a few magical skills. I can usually one-shot most standard dungeon monsters if they don't see me coming, and have a decent debuff to use against stronger dungeon bosses. I have a short-range self-teleporting skill, which I use to get behind monsters. I focus on dexterity and perception."

Kat's eyes were wide. Teleporting skills were extremely rare, and one he could use repeatedly in a dungeon even more so. Most people with teleporting skills used them to make piles and piles of gold transporting nobles and wealthy merchants around the world, although it didn't sound like that would be possible with his skill. How much must that skill have cost him?

She realized that the two boys were staring at her, and shook herself from her thoughts. "So I'm a mage, but I'm hoping to also help with healing. Like I said, I have the [elemental manipulation] skill, as well as [lesser ward] and [healing touch], although they're all corrupted and weak right now. My highest stat is strength, but I've been putting everything into mind recently, so it should catch up soon." Kat glanced to her shoulder, where Snuffers rested. "Snuffers is all about melee, and he's really quick, but he's also pretty lazy. You can count on him in a pinch, though. He doesn't have any skills, I don't think."

As Kat spoke, Brevon's earlier confidence faded. By the time Kat finished, he just let out a deep sigh. "Well...in that case, how about you adopt a 'harry' approach, at least for tomorrow's dungeon? We can change it up later after we see how the first floor goes, but for now, we'll plan on using you to aggro the bats, and then duck behind me. I'll try to take their full focus while Lester strikes when he sees the opportunity. Kat, you take any opportunities to distract or wound the bats that you see, though be careful not to grab their aggro from me. Maybe you can use lesser ward to ground them as well?"

Kat nodded enthusiastically. "That sounds good. What about Snuffers?"

"...we'll leave him with you, to watch your back."

"Okay!"

They spent the next two hours practicing against invisible opponents. Similar to her earlier training with Bruce and the gang, the main focus was on positioning. How close would Kat need to be to hide behind Brevon so the monsters would aggro him instead of her. How far back she needed to stand so that Brevon wouldn't accidentally step into her when swinging his sword.

She wasn't being fully integrated into the team strategy. Mostly, she was just learning how Brevon and Lester already moved and attacked, and doing her best to work around that. But that was okay. It would take time for her to figure out how she could fully slot into their team, time spent in actual combat rather than fake-fighting invisible enemies.

Brevon and Lester moved slowly for her so she could better figure out their movements, which was nice. She marveled at their skills, with Brevon's shiny and flexible armor popping out of seemingly nowhere, and Lester disappearing and instantly reappearing with a dagger ready to strike. They were a fearsome combo, and Kat could see how they managed to delve dungeons entirely on their own.

The only thing they were really missing was a ranged attack and healing for Lester, and Kat hoped she'd be able to fill both roles. In a flat space, Lester could sometimes fulfill the 'ranged' role by teleporting across to enemies, but that didn't work well in dungeons like Darkwing where monsters could fly. As for healing, they always carried several healing potions, though Lester admitted he'd only needed to take one twice.

Hopefully it wouldn't be needed, but Kat would be ready to use [healing touch] if Lester was in a bind. Brevon claimed his self-healing skill was strong enough that he wouldn't need any assistance, but Kat resolved to be ready anyway. After all, most skills wouldn't automatically heal you if you were knocked unconscious.

The ranged-attack was a little more difficult for Kat. If her skills weren't corrupted it would be fine, but as it was her control of the elements only extended a few feet beyond herself before that control was lost. That worked for if she was harrying monsters from just behind Brevon, but aggroing the batlings all the way up on the ceiling would be tough.

She found she was able to use [lesser ward] at a distance; the corruption only seemed to affect the strength of the ward, rather than how she could project it. So she planned on forming wards around the flying batlings to bring them down.

If that didn't work, she could always just form rocks with earth manipulation and chuck them at the batlings. It wouldn't be as fun or glamorous, but her teammates had proven it would work.

Eventually they finished up their simulated battles, Lester claiming he couldn't teleport much more without some rest. They sat against the walls of the room and drank deeply of their waterskins.

"Ah, one other thing I wanted to ask you," Brevon said, sounding a little awkward.

"Ask away!" Kat replied.

"In regards to your outfit...is that what you are planning on wearing?"

"What? What's wrong with my robe?" Kat asked. Sure, it was a bit big for her and was a different style from most of the robes she had seen other mages and healers wear. But it should work just as well. And she had washed it just the previous evening in the shower.

She pulled the fabric up to her nose and gave a long sniff, just to be sure.

Breven looked even more awkward now, and he turned to Lester for help, who just raised up his hands and shook his head. "...well, nothing's wrong with it, I guess," Brevon said. "It just seems a bit strange to wear a nightgown into a dungeon."

Chapter 16: R-r-r-rumble!

Kat fiddled with the sleeve of her new blue robe as she walked with Lester and Brevon in the early morning light.

It fit much better than her old robe and matched the style she saw other casting adventurers wear. It also had runes sewn into the hem with silver thread. As long as the sewn runes stayed intact it would never smell nor stain.

Kat didn't like it.

Her old robe had been too big for her, but wearing it made Kat feel like she was constantly receiving a big hug. It was much softer than this robe too.

She took a deep breath. As much as she wasn't a fan of her new robe, she would do her best to enjoy it. It was real adventurer's clothes, after all, and she couldn't go everywhere wearing just a nightgown.

Kat sighed as she absently pet Snuffers on her shoulder. The things she did to not look weird.

After their training the previous day, Lester and Brevon had shown her to a nearby shop that catered to casting adventurers and then left her alone. For some reason, they weren't excited to help her shop, and Kat decided not to push them. Her old friend Lindon had been the same way about shopping, and she didn't want to make them miserable.

It all worked out because the lady running the shop was more than happy to offer Kat plenty of advice, showing her robe after robe until Kat picked one that was her favorite shade of blue. After a quick use of skills to perfectly size the robe, the woman took half of Kat's accumulated wealth from the Underhill dungeon, and she was on her way.

She wasn't worried about the money spent. Now that she was part of a proper adventuring team, she would have a steady stream of income from delving. She smiled at Snuffers. If they were lucky with the loot, they might even be able to get him that vest after today's delve.

In spite of her misgivings about her robe, the trek to the Darkwing dungeon was much more pleasant than the trip to the Underhill dungeon. It was closer, only a thirty-minute walk from the city, and she walked side-by-side with her two teammates. They didn't chat, but it was a companionable sort of silence that she didn't mind.

She didn't want to mess that up by meditating, so she simply walked and enjoyed nature. With her excitement over her training the previous day and the early delve that morning, she hadn't yet given meditation outside the city a good shot; her attempts to and from the Underhill dungeon didn't count. She doubted they'd be delving two days in a row...maybe she could try it out the following morning?

Eventually, they arrived at the entrance to the Darkwing dungeon, which was a rocky crevice in a formation of rocks a hundred yards from the road. Brevon and Lester double-checked all their gear while Kat made sure Snuffers was securely strapped to her shoulder.

"Everyone ready?" Brevon asked once they had finished preparing. Lester and Kat nodded. "We'll do it like we practiced. We'll revisit after the first room to see if something really needs to be changed. And remember: follow my orders."

Brevon looked at Kat as he said the last, and she responded with a fervent nod. Now that they were working together as a team, she wouldn't do anything to jeopardize that, even though his demand evoked an automatic reaction of distaste.

But she wasn't in the nether-realm anymore, nor was she in the Underhill dungeon. She was a true member of the team, and part of that meant listening to her team leader's commands.

Apparently, this dungeon wasn't known for traps, so Brevon would be leading the party with Kat bringing up the rear. Of course, Lester would still keep an eye out just in case.

As Brevon and then Lester squeezed through the crack in the rocks, Kat wondered how some of the larger adventurers entered this dungeon. She doubted Peter would be able to fit unless maybe he stripped and rubbed himself down in grease first. Kat giggled and appreciated her size as she walked into the crack easily, not even needing to duck.

The cave quickly widened as they went deeper, and Kat noticed the dungeon's pressure as they passed by some runes carved into the cave wall. And then, after just a few more steps, the tunnel opened up into a massive circular cavern, at least fifty feet high and twice that across. Kat looked around in awe, but she quickly refocused as Brevon's shield and armor flashed into existence.

A single glowing orb hung from the ceiling in the middle of the cavern. It was dim enough to leave the corners of the cave crowded in shadows. Her perception wasn't high enough to pierce the darker shadows, so she needed to be ready for an attack from any direction.

Brevon and Lester were scanning the ceiling for the batlings. After a moment, Brevon slightly lowered his sword. "Anything?" he asked in a low whisper, though it still echoed strangely.

"Nothing," Lester confirmed, and when Brevon glanced to Kat she replied with her own "nothing."

"Wait here, I'll do a thorough sweep," Lester eventually said, waiting for Brevon's nod before he moved away.

Brevon stood just past the entrance to the cavern with his armor and shield activated while Kat peeked around his shoulder. It took a few minutes, but Lester returned empty-handed.

"Nothing, no monster or loot. Didn't see any bloodstains either," he said.

"Is that normal?" Kat asked, to which Lester immediately shook his head.

"It definitely isn't. There're only a few possibilities. A party could have come through before us and cleared it out, and the dungeon hasn't had time to respawn the monsters. But there wasn't anyone on the schedule before us this morning." Lester looked to Brevon for confirmation, who nodded.

"Not since yesterday morning."

"What else could it be?" Kat asked, curious.

"The dungeon could be dying. If it doesn't have the energy to respawn the monsters, the monsters nearest to the entrance would be the first it would give up on. Although that also doesn't seem likely, since the pressure doesn't feel as weak as a dying bronze dungeon would feel." He hesitated. "It could also be a dungeon swarm."

Kat's eyes got wide.

"That's a possibility, but it's far more likely that someone wandered in here and cleared the first room, either a rogue adventurer or some punk kids trying to prove themselves," Brevon said. "We'll keep going to see if the next few rooms are also cleared. And if it is the worst-case scenario, we should be able to retreat from a batling swarm without too much risk. They're quick and agile, but they don't pack as much of a punch as most other bronze dungeon monsters."

Kat smiled and gave him a thumbs up. Her heart was still beating a little fast at the thought of a dungeon swarm, but she wouldn't be the one to slow the team down. Plus, she couldn't deny that the mystery and danger made it just a little more exciting. "Lead on, party leader!"

Brevon snorted. "Depending on the strength and timing of whoever cleared this room, we might run into them up ahead. Keep your ears peeled for any sounds of combat."

With that, they continued through the tunnel on the other side of the cavern. The walls and floor were made up of jagged rock with random damp portions, so they walked a little slower than they had in the Underhill dungeon so as not to slip or trip.

Despite this, the tunnel between the rooms wasn't nearly as long as in the Underhill dungeon and it only took a few minutes for them to arrive at the second cavern.

It looked identical to the first, and as Brevon stepped forward with his shining armor, Kat scanned the ceiling and walls for any signs of batlings.

"Nothing," Brevon said with a sigh.

Without a word, Lester stepped around him to search this room as well.

Once again, it was devoid of monsters, loot, or any signs that people had been there, and they continued into the next tunnel with little fanfare.

Kat's heart hammered in her chest as she felt the anticipation building. This was what it truly meant to be an adventurer! Braving the (what felt like) unexplored depths of dungeons, not knowing what was around the next corner.

Wait...that wasn't her heart...

"I hear something," Lester said, and the three of them halted, standing still and silent. Kat could only barely make out what sounded like the beat of distant drums.

In front of her, Lester's eyes widened. "Dungeon swarm!"

Brevon jumped into action, turning and calling out orders. "Back the way we came, at a jog. If they catch up, we do a fighting retreat, Lester leading while I bring up the rear. Kat, you're in the middle."

Kat had already turned and was slowly running back the way they came. Without a sound, Lester popped into existence in front of her, setting the pace a hair slower than she had been going. "Don't rush," he said over his shoulder. "We need to stick together and we don't want to trip."

Kat was caught somewhere between elation and terror as she nodded, despite Lester not being able to see her action. The dungeon's pressure slowly rose as the drums got louder, and Kat was finally able to make out what it was.

The beating of hundreds, or maybe even thousands, of wings.

They made it to the second cavern and ran across, not slowing down in the slightest. The beating of wings got louder and louder, the noise echoing through the cave as if they were surrounded.

They only made it about halfway through the tunnel to the first cavern before Brevon slid to a stop and yelled, "Fighting retreat!"

Kat turned, and her eyes widened when she saw what looked like a wall of batlings descending down the tunnel towards them. She could just barely feel Lester's killing intent behind her over the pressure of the dungeon, comforting in its presence. And then they were surrounded.

The batlings were small monsters, and would only come up to Kat's knee if they stood upright, but they had wickedly sharp tiny teeth and claws. They would have a hard time getting through any armor, but their agility meant that they could exploit chinks and weaknesses in the armor that other bronze monsters couldn't take advantage of.

To Kat's eyes, Brevon's armor didn't have any such weaknesses.

His armor shined as he punched forward with his shield, downing at least three of the batlings in a single strike. He didn't bother finishing them off, taking a careful step backward instead. The wave of batlings seemed to initially flinch away from Brevon's armor, only to dive forward towards him even more aggressively a moment later. Every swing of Brevon's sword and shield knocked at least one batling from the air, usually two or more. But there were much more than just those in front of him, and others dove towards Brevon's sides and head.

Kat snapped into action. She grabbed her knife out of reflex with her right hand, swinging out to stab a batling that tried to fly near her head. With her left hand, she cast a weak [lesser ward] in front of a few of the batlings diving Brevon's flanks. It shattered immediately, but the unexpected barrier, weak as it was, was enough to disorient the batlings.

Kat couldn't see what Lester was doing behind her, but she could still feel his killing intent, and no batlings attacked her back, so she hoped he was fine. She kept casting [lesser ward] and stabbing out with her knife, each of her strikes bringing down another monster. One of her swings missed the mark, the batling swerving out of the way at the last instant. But a small flame extended from the tip of her dagger, singeing the batling's wings and eliciting a shriek of pain that was lost among the beating of the wings. One batling collided with her head, sharp pinpricks clawing at her scalp. Kat swung with her knife, and the batling was knocked away.

As they fought, they slowly moved back to the entrance of the dungeon. Carefully, they felt out each step before committing their weight; they couldn't afford to trip now.

The batlings swarmed around them, and they knocked them from the sky. What had initially seemed to Kat to be a solid wall of batlings turned out to luckily be not quite as overwhelming. They still swarmed, but there was enough space that she was able to keep a small area around herself free of any of the monsters.

A large part of that was due to Lester and Brevon. The ceiling was close enough that the batlings weren't easily able to mob her from overhead, and with her teammates protecting her front and back, she only needed to watch her sides.

She kept casting [lesser ward] around Brevon, the barriers shattering as quickly as she created them, but after a moment she turned around. Brevon had his armor, and seemed to be doing fine against the swarm of monsters. She was better served by aiding Lester.

But after focusing on the rogue, she realized he was fine on his own as well. He didn't have Brevon's armor, but he had enough dexterity that every swing of his daggers held in each hand hit precisely the batling he intended, his blades forming a wall that seemed just as impenetrable as Brevon's armor.

Well, mostly impenetrable. A batling attacked him from above, managing to latch on for a split second before he slashed it away. Kat refocused and resumed her casts of [lesser ward], hoping to relieve some of the pressure.

And so they continued, slow step after slow step. Despite his dexterity and skill, cuts built up on Lester's hands, neck, and face. Kat reached out her left palm and pushed a [healing touch] at him, though she wasn't sure how much help it was, not without taking the time to wipe the blood away.

The seconds passed slowly, but eventually they got to the entrance of the first cavern, and Kat realized something strange. She felt...bored.

Not bored in the sense that she had nothing to focus on. But bored in the sense that her heart no longer thumped in her chest. She realized that, despite the terrible reputation of dungeon swarms, she felt no real danger.

Sure, she could understand how higher-ranked dungeon swarms could be terrifically deadly. But this swarm of batlings? Kat figured Brevon and Lester probably picked this dungeon for her first real delve because it let her be useful to the team without any significant danger.

While she reached forward to cast another [healing touch] on Lester, a batling managed to land on her back and latch its teeth into the back of her neck. Her right hand was busy stabbing at surrounding batlings while her left was busy with [healing touch], so Kat ignored it for five more seconds before finishing the heal and knocking it away.

It hurt...but the amount of damage it dealt? The teeth were tiny and reminded her of a kitten's claws. Sure they were painful, but she doubted they could do anything serious unless she gave the monsters an opportunity to truly swarm her. But while she worked together with her teammates, that was impossible.

She figured that the three of them could probably ignore the batlings easily enough and just run for the entrance of the dungeon, and they'd be fine. But she could see the appeal of the fighting retreat. The bronze monsters wouldn't give much experience, but with how fast they were killing them she was sure that the numbers were adding up.

Finally, they stepped into the first cavern and began to slowly make their way across.

With the high ceiling, the batlings were suddenly able to attack them from overhead, and they took full advantage. Having to defend from three directions rather than just two was much harder, and she appreciated the skill of her teammates.

More and more batlings dove down at her, and she sliced or batted each one away. More and more Batlings had a few split seconds to latch on and dig their tiny teeth in before they were knocked down.

Kat wasn't truly worried, though the tiny bites were annoying. Her team moved across the cavern and were only a few feet from the initial tunnel, slowly making their way to the exit.

A bat dove down at her and landed on her shoulder. She swung out and batted the batling away, but the small claws dug into the strap that held Snuffers to her shoulder. It stretched and then snapped.

Snuffers fell, but before he hit the ground a batling grabbed him and flew towards the middle of the cavern. Kat could have grabbed him, but she was in the middle of a [healing touch] on Lester. It would be fine. Snuffers could take care of himself.

In the air, another batling collided with the one holding Snuffers, grabbing onto his ear with its teeth. It pulled.

It was fine. Snuffers was tough.

The ear started to rip, the threads holding it to his head beginning to pull apart.

Kat snapped.

Brevon guarded his team's rear, fighting off wave after wave of batlings.

He was surprisingly pleased with this delve. It was his first-ever dungeon swarm, and it couldn't have come at a worse time, on his weak new teammate's first true delve. But despite himself, Brevon was impressed. She hadn't panicked when the swarm arrived, and had instantly followed his orders. In the one instance he had glanced back at his teammates, he was amazed to see her stabbing batlings from the air with surprising skill while simultaneously casting wards to help Lester.

Truthfully, he had only agreed with Lester's proposal to offer her a slot on the team because he had believed she would reject it. But now, seeing her competently dealing with a dungeon swarm, meshing well with his team's skills and style? For the first time, he thought they might actually be better for having her.

And even better than that, it looked like they would survive the dungeon swarm. Brevon took another slow step backward, judging the location of his teammates by the feeling of Lester's killing intent. Kat's killing intent was absent, too weak to be felt over the dungeon's pressure, but that was fine. That was something that would come with experience.

They were only a few feet from the last tunnel. Once they entered that, the batlings would once again be limited in their ability to attack, and then it was just a short walk out of the dungeon where the swarm couldn't follow. With the constant attacks from the batlings, he could feel his connection with the armor weakening. A few more minutes of this and he wouldn't be able to maintain it any longer, but that was plenty of time for them to make their escape.

His celebratory musings were interrupted by the sight of a batling flying over his shoulder with Kat's stuffed toy cat in its claws. Before he could react, it was out of his reach in the middle of the cavern with another batling latched on.

He heard a snarl behind him as a wave of killing intent, stronger even than what Brevon had ever felt from his father, washed through the dungeon.

Just for an instant Brevon's knees felt weak, but he was no novice adventurer to collapse at the first bit of killing intent. With a force of will, he stood tall, ready to continue defending his teammates' backs.

But then his newest teammate leaped around him, diving into the swarm of batlings. Alone and unarmored, with only a knife and weak magic to defend herself with.

He tried to grab her before she was completely past, but he was too slow. She blurred, moving at least as fast as Lester, with each movement stabbing a different batling that barred her path.

His first instinct was to leap after her, to somehow carry her free of the storm. But with just a glance at her progress, he hesitated.

The way she moved...he couldn't believe it. It was so different than what he had expected of the strange, tiny mage. She had a snarl on her face as she continually stabbed out, racing after the batling that held Snuffers. Every few seconds a small flame or gust of wind would shoot from her other hand, knocking away those batlings that were out of her knife's reach.

It was animalistic, with a savagery he had only seen in dungeon bosses. One batling managed to slip past her knife and flapped its wings in front of her face. With another snarl she grabbed it with both hands and ripped a wing off, throwing the two pieces to the ground.

Brevon had trained for years in the sword and had [swordmaship] to back up his practice and natural talent. In Kat's attacks, he saw plenty of openings he would have been able to exploit had he been fighting her. She seemingly had no tactics, no strategy in how she moved, relying purely on instinct.

Yet those instincts weren't entirely wrong. While Brevon was sure he could land a strike on her, he was just as sure that she would land plenty of strikes on him.

Lester blinked next to their mage, stabbing a batling from the air that would have otherwise landed on her back, and Brevon came back to his senses.

He wasn't sure what was going on with their teammate, but as new as she was to the role, she was still their teammate.

He dove into the swarm.

They fought for what felt like hours, but realistically couldn't have been more than fifteen minutes. Brevon and Lester formed a triangle with Kat in the middle of the cavern, back to back and striking out at any batlings that dared to approach. A few minutes in, Brevon's armor disappeared into his bracer, but he still fought on with just his sword and shield.

Beneath Kat's legs lay the battered form of her stuffed cat. Brevon wasn't sure what was going on with her, but he had hoped they could retreat after retrieving the toy.

Instead, she stood over the toy protectively in the middle of the cavern, as if challenging any monsters to try to take it from her. And so Brevon and Lester stood with their teammate, fighting what seemed to be endless waves of batlings.

But eventually their enemies' numbers thinned as the bodies piled up around them; they killed the batlings faster than the dungeon could absorb the corpses.

Finally, the waves stopped coming as what looked like the boss of the first floor flew towards them. It looked almost identical to the normal batlings except it was five times the size, at least as tall as Brevon.

Before Brevon could respond, Kat ran directly toward the boss. The boss didn't seem concerned with the tiny girl with only a knife and heedlessly continued its aerial charge. Kat leaped, knife held outward, and they collided.

Regardless of stats, physics always worked. The boss batling's momentum crashed through Kat and continued onward. Somehow, though, Kat seemed fine, and hung on tight to the large batling, dragging it to the ground with her weight.

Once grounded, the fight only lasted a few seconds more as Kat eviscerated the flailing batling boss with her knife, stunning it over and over and over. Until only the three adventurers were left alive in the silent and bloody cavern.

Chapter 17: No Secrets Among Friends

Kat stood after eviscerating the large batling, looking around for more enemies.

Only silence greeted her.

She turned to Snuffers, who lay on the ground where she had caught up to the batling that had grabbed him. She carefully picked him up, cradling him in her arms. His ear was connected to his head by only the thinnest of threads, and he was battered and dirty, but otherwise he seemed okay. Kat sniffed.

He would be fine.

Lester plopped on the ground with a groan and reached into his tattered backpack. He was covered in blood, both his own and that of the batlings, and after a moment he pulled out a potion. He struggled to pull out the cork that held it closed, but his fingers kept slipping. Brevan sat down next to him and helped.

Kat finally remembered she and Snuffers weren't alone. [Healing touch] wouldn't work for Snuffers, but the same couldn't be said for her two other teammates. She rushed over and crouched in front of Lester, putting a hand on his knee.

Brevan looked better than Lester, but he was by no means uninjured. So after carefully placing Snuffers in her lap, she put her other hand on Brevan's knee and cast another [healing touch].

They sat in silence, recuperating. Ten minutes passed, the only sounds being Brevan and Lester's deep breathing and Kat's sniffles. Eventually, Lester and Brevan's faces relaxed from their grimaces of pain, and Kat sat back.

"So," Brevan began, finally breaking the silence. "Should we talk about what happened?"

"I'm sorry," Kat replied, her voice weak. "I promised I would obey your orders. But one of them got Snuffers, and he was getting hurt..." She wanted to say that she wouldn't do it again, but knew that would be a lie. She couldn't just abandon Snuffers, no matter what orders she was given. "I'm sorry," she repeated.

Brevon sighed. "How about in the future, you leave...him...in your backpack where it's safer?"

Kat nodded. Snuffers hadn't shown any real interest in delving, so that wasn't a bad idea. She looked down at him in her lap, ear barely hanging on, and gave another sniff.

"...you want me to try and sew him back up? I've got a small sewing kit in my bag," Lester said.

Kat's head snapped up to him, smiling. "Would you? That would be amazing." She was hoping to get Snuffers fixed back in the city, but she didn't want to leave him in this state for so long.

"Sure," Lester replied, reaching out and carefully accepting Snuffers from Kat. "I'm not the best, but I'll make sure his ear is fixed."

Kat smiled happily as Lester dug back into his backpack, pulling out a small needle and thread.

While Lester worked, Brevon stared at Kat curiously. Eventually he seemed to work up the courage and asked, "So, how are you so strong?"

Kat tilted her head as she looked back at him. "Strong? What do you mean?"

Lester chuckled while Brevon made a choking sound. He gestured to her. "You're supposed to be a novice adventurer. There's no way you should be as strong or as fast or as tough as you are!"

Kat glanced down at herself. Her new robe was in tatters, the hem with the runes sewn in torn to shreds. Luckily, she was covered in enough brown-red batling blood that she preserved her modesty in front of her teammates. She realized she still had her own small injuries from the fight and cast another [healing touch] on herself.

"...I'm not sure what you mean. I don't think I'm as quick as Lester, and from the way you swing that sword around I don't think I'm as strong as you, either."

"That's exactly what I'm saying!" Brevon replied, throwing his hands up in the air. "You might not be our equals in those areas, but you're close. Extremely close. Lester is a rogue focused primarily on dexterity. I'm a frontline fighter focused primarily on strength. And yet you, our mage who has only ever been in two dungeons, can keep up with both of us in our focused areas, while still having enough vitality to survive in the middle of a batling swarm!"

"Oh," Kat said, finally seeing his point. She realized she may have underestimated how much adventurers specialized in their attributes if Brevon expected her to be so much further behind them in those areas. "Well, I haven't been in any dungeons before yesterday, but I have killed monsters that gave me some experience."

Lester looked up from where he was huddled over Snuffers. "Monsters outside of dungeons? How's that possible?"

Kat hesitated. It wasn't exactly a secret, but she had avoided talking about the nether-realm for the last few days. Her memories of that place...weren't good.

But there were no secrets among friends.

"Have you ever heard of the nether-realm?" she finally said.

Brevon and Lester both stared at her with blank faces.

Taking that as a no, Kat continued at a fast pace. "Well, it's this weird realm place. I got trapped there with Snuffers for a while after going through a portal, and we had to fight monsters during the night-cycles. So I got quite a bit of experience from them before we escaped."

Brevon's eyes were wide as Lester returned his focus to Snuffers.

Once again, Brevon looked like he was working up the courage to ask a question, so Kat patiently waited. "Sorry for asking, but...how much is 'quite a bit'?"

Kat pulled up her status menu, and frowned. She had killed a lot of batlings, but was disappointed to see that she hadn't gained a level. "Sixty-four," she answered.

"Sixty-four?!" Brevan exclaimed, hopping to his feet and pacing back and forth across the cavern. "I'm only level twenty-seven, which is really high for a bronze adventurer. And yet our tiny novice mage with the weak skills is level sixty-four. I think that might even be higher than my dad..." he mumbled under his breath.

Kat looked at Lester curiously, who shrugged before replying. "Vice guildmaster Brevid."

"Oh!" Kat said with a smile. "That must be why I was put on your team! He was there when I escaped from the nether-realm...was it four days ago?"

Brevon ceased his pacing and plopped back down on the ground next to Lester. "That just figures," he spat.

"All done," Lester said a moment later, passing Snuffers back to Kat, who eagerly accepted him and turned Snuffers over in her hands, looking him over.

There was a scar of stitches between his triangular ear and his head, and he was thoroughly battered and bloody. But he was fine. She smiled and hugged him close.

"Thank you," she called to Lester, her face buried into Snuffers' side.

Brevon sighed. "...we'll talk more about this later, and what all this means for the team. But that's not a conversation for a dungeon." Kat looked up and around herself, readying for another batling attack before Brevon waved her down. "It's unlikely that anything will respawn for another few hours, especially after a swarm, but there's no need to risk it."

Kat nodded and hopped to her feet, carefully placing Snuffers in her backpack. "Back to town, then?"

Brevon and Lester gave her strange looks.

"We just defeated a dungeon swarm," Lester said with a smirk. "We're gonna get the rewards, first."

Kat followed Brevon as Lester led the way through the tunnels of the dungeon. She was a little annoyed that no one had ever told her that dungeon swarms gave much better loot than normal delves. Apparently, the guild intentionally tried to keep it secret, especially from bronze adventures, as they didn't want adventurers killing themselves out of greed.

Kat supposed that made sense, but she was still annoyed.

There were no more monsters on that floor of the dungeon, but there was still a slim chance of a trap remaining untriggered, so their pace through the tunnels wasn't as quick as it might have been. Eventually, they made it to the boss room.

It was identical to the earlier caverns, except bigger, with the same single light floating high above them, leaving the edges of the room shrouded in shadows. It only took a minute before Lester called out that the room was clear.

On the far side of the cavern were two small tunnels: one leading slightly up and the other slightly down. Runes were carved into the walls surrounding each of the paths. Their focus, however, was on the chest that lay in front of the two tunnels.

It looked no different to Kat's eyes from the chest that appeared in the Underhill boss room, but she still gathered around it eagerly with Lester and Brevon. Brevon flipped open the lid, and Kat's eyes widened.

"Two skill-stones," Lester said as he pulled out two small orbs. "These by themselves would be an amazing haul."

Brevon leaned forward and gingerly lifted out a red scrap of cloth and a wooden coin, different in design from the coins the dungeon normally handed out. And underneath those...coins.

Lots and lots of coins.

Primarily copper, but almost half looked like silver, and Kat could even barely make out a few glints of gold buried among them.

Despite the riches, Kat found her eyes drawn back to the red cloth, now laying on the ground next to the chest. It was thin, maybe three feet long and three inches wide. The ends of the cloth were tattered strips, fluttering in the slight breeze created from the two nearby tunnels.

She reached out to the cloth.

"Don't mess with those, yet," Brevon said, digging through his backpack. "They might be enchanted."

Kat's eyes widened again. Runed items were fairly common and were often incorrectly referred to as 'enchanted'. They were created by runesmiths to accomplish a bevy of useful functions, limited by the runesmith's knowledge and understanding of runes.

True enchanted items, however, were different. They could only be created by dungeons and looked identical to normal items. And they could potentially do anything. From something as simple as boosting one of the user's stats, to something as vague as 'increase their luck.' Enchanted items were significantly more rare and valuable than their runed counterparts.

"It's probably fine, but we don't want to risk messing around with them in case they're cursed or have dangerous effects," Brevon continued as he pulled out a small runed stone from his backpack.

"What's that?" Kat asked curiously.

"Appraisal stone," Brevon grunted as he held the stone up to the red cloth, one of the runes on the side lighting up and then fading. "Handy, but a bit expensive and has to be replaced after a few uses. We'll get the skill-stones appraised back at the guild." He touched the stone to the coin, and a different rune lit up and faded.

Brevon waited a moment before nodding. "They should be fine to touch. Headband of mental resilience and coin of the lucky kill. The headband is self-explanatory; it just increases the wearer's resistance to mental attacks. The coin is a bit more interesting. Once a day, the user can flip it. If it lands heads, it will instantly kill a single monster of the user's choice."

Kat nodded, but her focus was back on the headband. "...can I claim the headband as part of my share?"

Lester looked up at her from where he was emptying the chest into his backpack. "We usually wait to distribute loot until we get back to the guild and get everything appraised. What if one of the skill-stones is perfect for you?"

"I'm sure I'll want the headband," Kat replied, resolute. Now that she was part of a team and delving, money wasn't a concern.

Lester shrugged. "Fine with me. Aren't many dungeons with monsters that have mental attacks, and I plan on staying far away from those that do."

Kat looked to Brevon. "Fine with me as well," he said. "But we'll still need to get it appraised by the guild, and the price will come from your share."

Kat smiled and nodded as she grabbed the headband. It felt soft between her fingers but otherwise felt just like normal cloth.

She pulled Snuffers out of her backpack and carefully wrapped the headband around his neck, letting the ends hang loose. Then, using [elemental manipulation], she created a small breeze, the scarf flapping majestically behind him.

She smiled.

The vest from the store had been nice, and she had thought Snuffers would look great in it, a very regal and handsome cat. But this scarf...this scarf felt right.

Snuffers wasn't a fancy cat who kept himself clean and polished. He was a cat who got himself dirty, getting into and out of various scrapes, though no less noble for it. This scarf, with its tattered ends, just fit him. Plus, this was won in battle, not bought from a store, and that also seemed appropriate.

Kat looked up to find Brevon and Lester staring at her with strange looks on their faces.

"Ready to go?" Lester finally asked.

Kat tucked Snuffers back into her backpack and nodded.

Together, they walked into the narrow tunnel leading upward. None of them so much as glanced at the other tunnel.

Brevid stepped out of the portal with a flash of light into a city far from his home guild. He walked from the room without hesitation. Through the streets he strode, each step confident and sure. Casual shoppers hurried to get out of his way.

In no time, he stood before the gates of a mansion, the guard examining him for only a moment before letting him pass.

He resumed his confident walk through the hallways of the estate, passing servants and more guards until he stopped in front of a large set of doors and waited while another guard verified his identity. After just a moment, the doors swung open.

In this room was a portal. But unlike the previous portal, this one wasn't opaque. With only a small amount of hesitation, Brevid stepped through, into a dry world with a fractured sky of rainbow hues.

Brevid hid his distaste as he walked to the gates of another estate, almost identical to the one he had just passed through. No matter how much time he spent here, he could never feel comfortable in the nether-realm. But his patron refused to meet him anywhere else, so Brevid had to make due.

Eventually, he knocked carefully on a door, letting himself in once he heard 'enter' called from the other side. He stood in an office, a small man with back hair and sharp green eyes staring at him from the far side of a desk.

"Ah, Brevid, good to see you. How goes Dr. Havernough's research?"

"Poorly," Brevid replied. "I'm still the only one who has been through the portal, and most of his equipment doesn't survive the trip. I've managed to sabotage the few that do. He has become...frustrated."

"Good, good," the man replied. "And there's no chance he's hiding anything from you, performing any experiments on the side?"

Brevid shook his head. "The baron still requires him to use the adventurer's guild for any excursions into the nether-realm. I have vetoed his requests for different adventurers, and the only one who can overrule me is the guildmaster, and he won't play politics."

"Ah, very good then. Keep up the good work. You can pick up your payment from Francis on the way out."

Brevid turned, once again hiding his distaste, and left.

Chapter 18: Victory March

The trip back to the city was uneventful, though once they entered the city, Kat noticed she was getting a few more stares than normal.

"It's the blood," Lester replied when she asked.

Kat looked down at her blood-encrusted robe. The dried blood over her skin certainly wasn't comfortable, but after so long in the nether-realm without access to a bath, she found it easy enough to ignore.

"Do other adventurers not come back looking like this?" she asked. It wasn't like she was an expert on dungeons, but enough of her battles with the monsters in the nether-realm ended with her covered in gross bodily fluids that she figured it would be a somewhat regular sight for adventurers returning from delves.

"...not typically, no," Lester replied.

"Bronze monsters aren't usually big or numerous enough to leave quite so much...behind," Brevon explained further. "And adventurers of higher rank usually have runed items to clean themselves up with. It's not completely unheard of, though, which is why we haven't been stopped."

The three certainly looked different from most of the people they passed.

Brevon was the cleanest of the team, but his armor hadn't been able to protect him from all of the mess that coated his teammates. Lester seemed to have dodged a lot of the blood from the batlings but had been clawed enough that his own blood made up for the deficit. As for Kat...she needed a shower. Now that they were out of the dungeon, she had returned Snuffers to his proper place on her shoulder, scarf blowing majestically behind his blood-soaked form.

Kat was sure they looked impressive: noble adventurers returning triumphant from a harrowing delve.

Their proud walk through the city only lasted until they got back to the guild, where they went their separate ways. They decided to meet back up in a training room in a few hours to split the remainder of the loot.

Kat enjoyed her shower, washing Snuffers off at the same time. And after, she gladly slipped back into her nightgown.

They had brought lunch for the delve, but after only clearing the first floor hadn't gotten a chance to eat it. Kat was craving something warm, so she decided to head down to the bar and save the sandwich for later, leaving Snuffers under the air-drying enchantment.

On the way down she spied Paige behind one of the desks on the second floor. Kat didn't have any business to bring up with the clerks, but there was only one person in line in front of her booth. Kat decided to stick around to see if she had a free moment to catch up.

While she waited, Kat perused a board filled with posters and advertisements. Compared to the free-agent board her friends had described to her, this one seemed a bit more...chaotic.

It looked like anyone could post anything here. In just a glance, she saw advertisements for a nearby weapons shop, a job listing for a bodyguard position, and a request for testers of experimental potions.

Huh. If she hadn't found a team, she could have taken that job. She was surprised the position hadn't already been filled, considering the amount they were offering.

Her eyes latched onto a different, brightly-colored poster in the corner, and she grinned. She ripped off one of the stubs at the bottom that had the pricing, times, and dates, and looked back at Paige's booth.

Good, empty.

"Hello, Paige!" she called happily as she approached the apprentice clerk. "Guess what I found!"

Paige smiled back. "Hello, Kat. What did you find?" She glanced around the room and then relaxed when she saw how empty it was.

"The perfect prize for our wager!" Kat called, presenting the stub to Paige. "Err, unless you've come up with something better," she hastily amended.

Paige laughed as she looked over the scrap of paper. "No, I haven't come up with anything yet. But...how would this work? I don't think they'll still be around by the time I become a full clerk or you're a silver adventurer."

Kat frowned and thought. "In that case...how about we go now, and then whoever loses the wager has to pay the other back for the price of admission?"

"That's not a bad idea. Although I'm a bit surprised. These stakes aren't nearly as high as what I would have guessed you'd come up with."

Kat waved her away. "It's no fun if the loser is miserable after losing the wager. Why would they ever do it again, then?" She deflated a bit. "But I guess if you think it should be more punishing, we can come up with something different..."

Paige laughed. "No, no, this sounds amazing. It's much better than anything I could have come up with. But...how about we invite Todd and Henry? That would make it even more fun, but also more punishing for whoever has to pay."

"That's a great idea!" Kat said with a sly smile. She thought for a moment. "Can I bring my team, and maybe some other friends, too?"

"Oh? I didn't realize you got a team, congratulations. And sure, the more the merrier. Who are your teammates, maybe I know them."

Kat gave Paige another smile. "Well, you'll just have to wait until you meet them..." she glanced at the stub, finding the soonest available day. "...tomorrow evening."

"It's a plan, then," Paige responded. "I'll tell Henry and Todd." She glanced around Kat to an adventurer who had stepped into line. "I should probably get back to work for now. Thanks for coming by, though."

"Of course!" Kat replied, and then left down the stairs to the barroom.

Unfortunately, she didn't spy any other friends eating lunch, so she ate alone at a table. It was fine: though Kat preferred time with friends, she knew alone time was also important.

After eating, she grabbed a slightly-damp Snuffers from her room and walked out of the city to try meditating.

She wasn't as successful at it as she had hoped, but it was better than any of her previous attempts. Unlike her last effort after the Underhill dungeon, it wasn't sadness or loneliness that distracted her from meditating: it was excitement for the future.

Even if that future was just a trip to the circus with her friends.

Kat sat on the floor of the training room, opposite her two teammates. Their positions were reminiscent of their discussion in the dungeon, except without the blood.

And with a lot more coin.

On the ground between the three of them was their collected loot from the Darkwing dungeon, separated into five piles. The first three were different stacks of coins: one of copper, one of silver, and a tiny stack of three golds. Next to them lay the two skill-stones, and then all by itself was the enchanted wooden coin.

While she had cleaned up and meditated, Lester had borrowed the scarf from Snuffers to get it and the rest of their loot appraised. He listed out the results.

"One hundred and five copper, seventy-six silver, and three gold coins, totaling eleven gold, six silver, and five copper. The two skill-stones are [grappling] and [economics]. Both passive skills, but we got lucky with them, especially with [economics]. Not useful for most adventurers, but it's really in demand among nobles and merchants. Three gold for [grappling], and nine gold and five silver for [economics]. The enchanted coin, though, is the best: fifteen gold was the estimate by the appraiser, although we could probably get more by putting it up for auction rather than selling it directly to the guild. The headband was eight gold. And then it cost one silver to get everything appraised."

Kat did some quick mental math. Over forty-six gold to split between them. Of course, eight gold of her share would go towards Snuffers' scarf, but that still left her with over seven gold. Aside from when her friends had lent her the coin to buy her healing skills, that was more gold than she had ever possessed in her life.

"Before we split it up, does anyone want to claim the enchanted coin or the skill-stones as part of their share?" Brevon asked.

They sat in silence.

"The coin is interesting," Lester finally spoke. "But for fifteen gold? It's powerful, for sure, but it seems like it would be an item of last resort. I don't think I would want something like that to only work half the time. Seems like I might be better off not having it at all than it failing when I was counting on it."

Kat agreed. Although after having already claimed the scarf, her remaining share wasn't large enough to claim the coin even if she had wanted to.

It was fun to get new skills, but neither [grappling] nor [economics] would help her as a mage, and if she truly needed another skill she could just buy.

"I'm good," Kat said out loud, waving her hand in the direction of the skill-stones. Besides, who needed [economics] when you could make this much money from a single delve?

"Before we finish divvying everything up, I think we should talk a bit more about your skills, Kat," Brevon said, and Kat looked back in surprise.

"What about them?"

"You're level sixty-four. Which is still crazy to me, but I accept that. But how are your skills so weak?"

Kat humphed. "I already told you that yesterday in practice. I'm not sure why, but they're corrupted."

Brevon looked a little annoyed, but Lester jumped in before he could respond. "Yes, and we're sorry we didn't believe you or talk about it more then. But can you explain it again to us, in more detail? How long have they been like that? Do you know what might have caused it? How long do you expect before they will be un-corrupted?"

"I'm not sure for how long exactly," Kat said. "But they worked the last time I tested them in the nether-realm. And then the first time I tested them after I escaped, which was during my bronze mage badge test, they didn't work. So I guess when I left the nether-realm, four days ago? Like I said, I'm getting my blood tested by a doctor to see if he can find out how to fix them, but I won't hear from him for another few days. I've also been trying to meditate, to see if that helps, but so far it hasn't done any good. [Lesser ward] and [elemental manipulation] are still listed as 'corrupted - severe', while [healing touch] is still listed as 'corrupted - moderate'."

Lester nodded. "So...it's probably safe to assume that whatever corrupted them has something to do with you leaving the nether-realm, right? There's nothing else you've done that might be related?"

Kat thought for a moment. "I got in a barfight on the day I escaped as well. But yeah, I don't think that would cause it."

Brevon was rubbing his temples while Lester smiled at her. "Yeah, that sounds unlikely. So, just to sum up: you are level sixty-four, with a relatively even stat distribution and skills that, for the moment, are extremely weak."

"Yep! Although my perception is much lower than the rest of my stats. Not many hidden traps in the nether-realm."

Brevon and Lester gave each other a look that Kat couldn't decipher before they both leaned forward. "We've got a proposal for you," Brevon said, and Kat leaned forward as well at the conspiratorial note in his voice. "With your high level and corrupted skills, you have an opportunity to start over with a new build, one that most people could only dream of."

Kat was hesitant. Changing her build? She liked being a mage. But she would hear them out. "What do you mean?"

Lester responded to her question with a question of his own. "Why do you hardly ever see any successful mage-fighter hybrids among adventurers?"

"Um, lots of reasons," Kat answered. The two boys just kept staring at her, so she counted them off on her fingers. "External magic doesn't cast very well through armor, and no one wants to fight up close without armor. It's better to have skills that overlap than ones that are entirely separate, and combat and magic skills don't usually overlap. And you would be weaker than pretty much any specialist since you would need to invest in every stat. Well, aside from maybe perception..."

Kat frowned, realizing where they were going with this.

"Exactly!" Lester stated. "The first two still might be issues for you, but you've solved what I believe to be the biggest issue: any mage-fighter hybrids would be both weaker fighters and weaker mages than those dedicated to either role, simply because, at the same level, you'll lag behind in the necessary stats."

"Except that in your case, you won't," Brevon jumped in. "If you eventually advance to silver or gold, it might be an issue since others will start to catch up to your level. But for now? Your stats are more than enough to be just as good as any of the dedicated roles. And with your current skills on the fritz, it's the perfect opportunity to pick up some new skills to fit a role that pretty much no one else can fill!"

Kat had to admit, they made a really good point. But still, she hesitated. "...I'm not sure I want to abandon my old skills."

Her [elemental manipulation] skill was what kept her alive in the nether-realm. Even though it was now 'corrupted', she didn't want to just forget it and move on to new skills. And her healing skills were gifts from her old teammates. She definitely wouldn't be abandoning those.

Lester waved his hands in a calming gesture. "You wouldn't have to abandon anything. You should still try and get them fixed, of course, and once they are I think they'll be able to be integrated with whatever new skills and build you have. And to be honest, from the way you were fighting in Darkwing I think you may already be used to using your skills as a fighter-mage hybrid."

He had a point there, Kat supposed. That was why she had to spread out her stats so much in the first place: without a team, she had to fill every role herself in the nether-realm.

She came to a decision, and smiled. "That sounds amazing! Do you have any ideas on what skills I should get, then?"

"That's why I wanted to talk about this now," Brevon said, grabbing the skill-stones. "The guild has a skill-stone swap program, where skill-stones can be directly swapped for other skill-stones of equal tier that the guild happens to have. It's usually much cheaper than selling and then buying different skill-stones separately. We probably can't get anything for [economics], since adventurers wouldn't have any use for that skill, but [grappling] is a tier-two combat skill. It's not the best, but there should be a bunch of other tier-twos we can swap it for that might be more appropriate. And looking at the list could help you figure out what else you might want to buy. If you need some extra coin to get them, we can extend your share a bit, since what you'll be spending will be directly helping the team."

Kat patted Snuffers and then excitedly hopped to her feet. "Let's go look, then!" she called.

And then she spent the next few minutes helping Lester pack up the accidentally-knocked-over stacks of coins, carefully stacking them before he put them back into his bag.

Kat was excited about the future. The potential new skills sounded wonderful...but more than that was the feeling in her chest. A feeling she recognized, for she had felt it before, long ago.

Once again, she had teammates who cared, helping her to choose new skills to best benefit herself and the team.

Chapter 19: Always Wear Protection

"Sixty-four. As in a six, followed by a four."

"Yep!"

"As in fourteen above fifty, six less than seventy, twice..."

Peter elbowed Monica in her side, and she finally stopped asking the same question on repeat.

"...explains some things," Bruce murmured to himself, before addressing Kat. "We're honored with your trust, but I assume you have a reason for sharing this with us?"

It was the next morning, and Bruce's team had once again met up with Kat to train. She hadn't wasted any time, jumping straight into an explanation of her level, an abbreviated description of her time in the nether-realm, and what she needed help with.

"Yeah! My stats are almost all even across the board, and Lester and Brevon suggested yesterday that I should maybe change my build from a mage-slash-healer into a mage-slash-fighter hybrid. Since, you know, my current skills aren't working and my stats aren't the best for a mage," Kat explained. "And well...I was wondering if you had any advice on what skills I should get? Or, I guess, just advice in general. Do you think it's a good idea?"

She, Brevon, and Lester had the evening before looked through the guild's registry of skills that were available for trade. The skills themselves were actually stored at the guild headquarters, and once she made her choice it would take a day for them to be portalled over to her. The list only got updated once a week, so there was a small chance that it was out of date...but there were a LOT of skills.

Kat's head had already started to spin after just a minute of looking through line after line after line of skills. And then Lester had turned the page.

Some of them, like [trap detection] or [basic heal], were easily eliminated. Others were eliminated simply based on price -- she didn't even know you could pay that much for skills. And others she simply didn't feel as if they would fit her. As cool as [blinding light] sounded, glowing so brightly that enemies wouldn't be able to look in her direction, it wasn't a skill that appealed to her on a personal level.

Which was something Lester insisted was important. It wouldn't matter for quite a while yet, but with only ten skill slots and each skill acquired being permanent (aside from some very rare and special circumstances), she should pick skills that she wouldn't grow to eventually regret.

This brought up another point: Lester and Brevon had presented the idea of a mage-fighter hybrid build as a way for her to take advantage of her balanced stats and contribute to the team. Which certainly had some appeal; she had been sad every time she was forced to allocate stats to something other than mind to survive in the nether-realm, and relished the idea that those stats hadn't been 'wasted'. And of course she wanted to contribute more to her team, which she had to admit her current skills weren't accomplishing very well. They had worked reasonably well in the Darkwing dungeon, but that was because of how fragile the batlings were; in most dungeons, her [lesser ward]s wouldn't even be a hindrance.

But was being a mage-fighter hybrid something that she truly wanted?

She had thought long and hard about it the previous night before bed. And her conclusion was: she wasn't sure.

It sounded cool, but everything about adventurers sounded cool. She definitely wanted magic of some kind, but her skills would hopefully become un-corrupted soon, which would let her contribute to the team without having to change her build.

At the end of the day, it came down to one thing.

When Snuffers had been caught and hurt by that batling, she had jumped directly into the fray.

She hadn't hesitated for even a second, and she knew that were she in the same position again she would do the same. She didn't think she had it in her to stay at a distance and blast out ranged skills if one of her friends were truly in danger.

Changing her build would let her do that, without putting her other teammates in further danger from trying to protect her.

So this morning, before meeting up with Bruce's team, she had returned to the registry alone to look over the skills again. But despite her newfound conviction, there were still hundreds of possibilities that called to her. So, she decided to ask the most experienced adventurers she knew for help.

"I could potentially see the appeal in that, making full use of all of your stats," Bruce said, rubbing his chin. "Is it something you really want to do?"

Kat nodded resolutely.

"Well, the first issue is cost. I know you were having some money troubles a few days ago. Can you really afford a skill-stone right now?"

"Yeah. Not the most expensive ones, but we got really lucky yesterday! There was a dungeon swarm, so the loot was amazing."

"...dungeon swarm?"

And so Kat spent the next few minutes telling the team of her first real dungeon run. Peter slapped his face when Kat told of diving into the swarm after Snuffers, but they all were great listeners. Everyone oohed and aahed after Kat showed off Snuffers' new scar and scarf.

"Even for a bronze dungeon swarm, that is a pretty good haul," Monica said after Kat finished. "You can probably get at least two solid skills with your share, and maybe even three if you wait for a good deal."

"My teammates said they'll lend me some of the rest of our haul too if it's needed for the skills to round out my build," Kat added.

Brandon had been quietly rubbing his chin in thought as they talked. "Mage armor," he said out of the blue.

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking," Brevon replied, as Peter and Monica nodded along.

"What do you mean?"

"If you want to be a hybrid of a fighter and mage, that should be your first priority for new skills: some sort of mage armor skill."

Kat pulled out a pad of paper she had taken from her room and wrote 'mage armor' in large letters across the top, underlining it a few times for good measure. "Why should that be first?" she asked.

Peter jumped in to explain. "If you're going to be fighting close-up, then you need to have protection of some kind. Even for us tanks with high vitality, armor is essential." He rapped a knuckle against his own leather armor for emphasis. "But if you're going to be casting external magics, physical armor won't work. Which leaves mage armor."

"It shouldn't be too expensive of a skill-stone, either," Bruce said. "Most mages don't bother with it, since warding or shielding skills are more efficient, and most mages don't need protection that allows them to move. Other than that though...I suppose you'll want a spell that takes advantage of your strength and dexterity?" He over to see if Monica had any ideas.

"Nothing comes to mind right now...but how about we get a message out to Sylas, see if he has any ideas?" she said.

Bruce slapped his forehead. "Of course, should have thought of that myself."

"Sylas? Who's that?" Kat asked.

"Old friend of ours," Monica explained. "For six months we worked out of the same guild around five years ago. Good guy, but crazy. He delved dungeons solo."

Kat's eyes widened. "That's a thing?"

"No," Bruce answered. "No, it's not. It's not even allowed for bronze adventurers, with the three-man party minimum. That rule is relaxed once you get to silver, but you'd have to be insane to try and challenge dungeons alone. Most people who try it end up dead. He's the only person I've known who's done it more than once and had any success -- assuming he's still alive. We don't know for sure what his build is, but from hints he would drop I think it might have been similar to what you're trying to do."

"You think he'll still be around the Phonica guild?" Peter asked.

Monica snorted. "He was all about the Mansfall dungeon. Filled with succubus monsters. He's still there."

"Ah, yeah. What a dungeon, Mansfall." A wry grin curved up the corner of Peter's mouth as he stared wistfully into the distance.

Monica slapped his arm.

"We'll send him a message, see what he thinks," Bruce said. "We can also look over the guild registry with you as well, to weed out some of the ones we think won't work. But first: we should get back to training."

Peter and Monica both let out exaggerated groans, and Kat giggled. "What are you going to teach me today?"

"Well, you're no longer going to be a pure mage, so most of what we practiced two days ago is useless," Bruce said with scrunched brows. "You said you got some close-combat experience in the nether-realm? Why don't you spar with Monica so we can see what you've got."

Two hours later, Kat flipped through the guild's registry of skills while Bruce's team huddled around her, throwing out recommendations if they saw anything they liked.

[Summon armor] looked interesting. It let Kat summon a temporary suit of armor that acted like normal plate armor in all ways except that it allowed the wearer to cast unimpeded. They eventually discarded it, though.

It was clear after a few minutes of sparring that Kat fought more like a rogue than a tank, relying on her speed to get in close and make strikes. Plate armor would be too cumbersome.

[Mana suit] was similarly discarded. At first it seemed perfect: it would create a skintight layer of magical protection for the user without inhibiting magic skills, while still giving the user full flexibility and movement. But it turned out that it required quite a bit of mana to sustain, and each hit to the user would drain even more mana. If Kat was planning on casting other magical skills, she couldn't let her armor be such a drain.

Eventually, they settled on [nature's protection]. When cast, it would add a thin layer of magical bark to the user's skin. It had none of the negatives of the previous skills, as it only slightly inhibited the user's movement, would let magic cast as if it wasn't there, and required no mana to maintain after it had been initially cast. The initial cost was still a little high, but not nearly as bad as [mana suit].

The main downside of the skill, at least in the eyes of most other mages, was that the power of the skill scaled off of both vitality and mind rather than just mind. For Kat, this wasn't a detriment at all.

It was a tier-2 skill, which meant she could swap it directly for [grappling] without having to pay anything extra. With only a tiny moment of hesitation, she placed the order with the clerks, committing to her new path. It would take a day or two for the skill-stone to arrive, but she wouldn't have to provide [grappling] until it did, which gave her time to get it from her teammates.

"We'll let you know when we hear back from Sylas," Bruce said.

Kat nodded absently, busy imagining what she would look like with bark for skin. She laughed to herself. With it active and Snuffers on her shoulder, people might get worried, thinking the cat was stuck up in a tree.

But as her friends were waving goodbye, she realized there was something she had forgotten.

"Oh, wait, before you go...are you all free tonight?"

Bruce looked around at his teammates. "I had a few errands I was going to run, but nothing pressing. What's going on?"

Kat's smile widened. "Want to come with me and some friends to the circus? Our treat!"

Brandon looked hesitant, but Peter and Monica nodded fervently before he could say anything.

"Yes, definitely, yes."

"I haven't been in ages! Of course we're coming!"

Bruce chuckled as Kat handed him a stub of paper from the poster with the times. "I suppose we'll see you there."

Chapter 20: The Greatest Show

"So, what do you two have scheduled this evening?" Kat asked her teammates after they finished training.

Without fully knowing Kat's new build they couldn't work on team tactics or positioning, so instead they just sparred and exercised together in the training room. The sparring helpfully gave Kat a few ideas on what she might want her next skill to fulfill.

Despite her higher level, she found it difficult to land any good hits on either Brevon or Lester with her sheathed knife. Lester was too quick, with his teleports and dual-wielded daggers, for her to get close enough to land a blow. And Brevon had his armor and sword; no matter her speed and skill with her knife, she wouldn't be able to land a good blow on him without taking something much worse in return.

She was used to [elemental manipulation] and [lesser ward] letting her control the battlefield and strike from range. As much as she loved her knife, she would either need some new skills to shore up its weaknesses or get a new weapon.

It made her a little sad after how faithfully her knife had served her, but the knife wasn't like Snuffers. At the end of the day, it was just a weapon, regardless of her emotional attachment. If it didn't serve its purpose, she would need to replace it with something better.

"Nothing much. Was planning on doing a little more exercise, and then scouting out what dungeon we should delve next," Brevon replied.

"Just going to do some shopping for a new bag, since my last one got torn up in Darkwing," Lester commented. "Why do you ask?"

Kat beamed at them. "I'm going with some friends to the circus tonight! You both should come! I'll pay."

Both boys stared at her with skepticism.

"...I really should get to looking at what dungeon we should delve next," Brevon finally said.

"Bags are important gear, you know," Lester added.

"Pshaw," Kat replied. "I'm sure you've already got a list of potential dungeons for us to do, and just need to pick one. It shouldn't take more than a few minutes." Brevon looked like he wanted to disagree, but kept his silence. "And Lester! The main show doesn't start for a few hours, yet. We can go get your bag together on the way there!"

The day before, Kat had asked her teammates what they liked to do in their free time. Both of their responses had been: delving.

Despite the obvious differences, Kat realized that her two new teammates probably weren't too dissimilar from herself when she had first joined the academy and met her old teammates: introverted and fully devoted to being great adventurers.

By itself, that wasn't a bad thing. Kat certainly loved adventuring and wanted their team to be the best that it could be, which required a lot of time and effort. But...that wasn't all there was to life.

So, she took it upon herself to do the same thing her old teammates had done for her.

Lester and Brevon stood up and were edging towards the door of the training room, what was sure to be an excuse on their lips. But before they could make their escape, Kat dashed over and linked an arm through each of theirs, Brevon on her left and Lester on her right.

"Don't worry, it will be a ton of fun! And you can meet Paige and Bruce and everyone else!"

They were sweaty from their exercise, but Kat doubted she'd see them again that evening if they split up to get clean. It was fine -- they weren't that stinky.

Arm in arm, the three adventurers walked down the road from the training room.

An hour later, they exited the gates at the north side of the city, a new pack on Lester's back. Brevon kept looking back and forth as if searching for an opportunity to escape, but Lester, at least, had a wry smile on his face, resigned to having fun.

Kat was sure that Brevon would join him in that attitude...eventually.

They were early for when Kat was expecting to meet with the rest of their friends, but luckily there were plenty of things to occupy their time. Contrary to Kat's expectations, there was a massive festival grounds set up around the arena that would house the main show.

"Ooh, how about that one?" Kat asked, pointing to a game where players would have to throw balls at quickly moving targets.

Brevon sighed. "You know pretty much all of these are scams. They're rigged against us, and even if we do win, the prizes are worth less than the cost to play."

"On the contrary, good sir!" the carny manning the booth heard Brevon's claims and took the opportunity to launch into his sales pitch. "This game can't be rigged, because you are playing against each other rather than the house! Pure skill! A guaranteed prize in every round!"

"That just means the prizes are gonna be worth even less if they're handing out that many," Brevon said with a wrinkled nose.

Kat sighed. "Fiiine..." she turned to the man. "I'm sorry, it doesn't look like we'll be playing your game. My friend is too scared of losing in a public place like this. Are there any games that don't require skill? Maybe ones where we can work together?"

The carny grinned a wide smile at her. "Of course, of course, completely reasonable! This game probably wouldn't be fun for you anyway, lopsided as the competition would be. There are some more appropriate games that way, although for some of them I'm afraid you might exceed the height limit."

Lester was struggling to contain a smirk, while Brevon rubbed his temples in exasperation.

"I know what you're doing. But you know what? Fine. This is coming from your pocket, though."

Kat let out a whoop of triumph before rushing up to the booth. There were four lanes in total, and they lined up in front of separate ones as the man brought out a different colored set of balls for each of them.

On the far end of the lane were small metal stylized monsters, some as large as Kat's head and others as small as a finger. Each one had a number written on it representing its point value, the smallest being worth the most.

"You have one minute. Most points when the time runs out wins," the carny explained. Kat nodded seriously. "Ready...go!" He pressed a button, and suddenly the metal monsters dodged back and forth in seemingly random patterns.

The three teammates started chucking balls as fast as they could.

"...let's go again," Brevon said a minute later.

"You can have it," Kat said, handing the large bear-shaped plushy to a frustrated Brevon, substituted out for her three smaller plushies. Lester carried his own small whale plushy, his prize for winning one of the four rounds. Kat reached to her shoulder and put a hand on either side of Snuffers' head. "He can get a little jealous," she whispered.

Brevon grumbled, but he looked slightly less sour as he held the bear to his chest.

An hour later they waited outside of the main entrance to the arena while Kat licked her fingers clean of the stickiness from the spun sugar.

As fun as the games were, they weren't cheap, so they only played a few more, spending the rest of their time just wandering the fairgrounds. Kat had to save some coin for her new skills, after all.

"Oh! Paige! Todd! Over here!" she called after spying Todd's head over the crowd, waving her hands crazily in the air.

"Kat! Good to see you," Paige said as she gave Kat a quick hug in greeting. "Glad we found you. This place is much more crowded than I expected!"

Henry nervously stood just behind Paige while Todd was to the side, a slight smirk on his face.

"Oh yeah! Paige, Todd, Henry, these are my teammates, Brevon and Lester. Brevon and Lester, this is Paige, Todd, and Henry."

"Nice to meet you," Henry said, barely audible over the crowd.

"Nice whale," Todd said to Lester.

Lester's smile widened. "Thanks! Earned it fair and square." Brevon shot him a dirty look over the head of his bear.

"Should we go get some seats?" Paige asked. "It looks like it's filling up pretty quickly."

"Hm, maybe you all should go grab some? I'm still waiting on..." she paused before waving frantically. "Peter!"

"Hey!" Peter said, leading his team over and glancing at the new stuffed animals. "Looks like you have been having fun."

"Yep! And it's about to be even more fun! Let's go grab seats!"

She led their party to the ticket booth, splitting the cost with Paige, and hurried to their seats.

Their seats were together in one long line, and Kat examined each ticket before passing them out. Paige, of course, sat next to Henry, with Todd on her other side. She noticed a few dirty looks being thrown from Bruce's team toward her teammates, apparently not entirely forgiven for their actions in the Underhill dungeon, so she made sure she was between the two groups.

"Have you ever been to one of these before?" Kat asked Monica after they were seated. The arena was massive, and she was amazed that it was only a temporary structure that would be gone in a week.

"Yeah, but it was years ago. Back before I was an adventurer. How about you?"

Kat shook her head in the negative as the lights dimmed, shrouding the arena in darkness. The murmuring of the crowd slowly quieted.

"Ladies and gentlemen, and children of all ages..." a voice boomed, and Kat excitedly bounced in her seat. "Welcome, one and all...to the greatest show in the world!"

A spark, too dim to truly illuminate anything, formed in the middle of the arena. Slowly, it floated up until it was higher than the walls of the arena. And then, it exploded.

The middle of the arena, completely empty only a few moments before, was illuminated, and Kat gasped.

Dozens of men in colorful costumes flipped in synchronized feats of acrobatics. A life-sized dragon puppet danced across the ground, fireballs shooting from its mouth. Something large swooped over their heads, trailing sparks from its wings. A dozen performers half-transformed into various animals swung from trapezes, catching each other at the last possible second. Beautiful music trilled through the air, and Kat fought the urge to stand up and dance.

It was a riotous din of light and sound, combined to form a spectacle that Kat couldn't take her eyes from.

Eventually, the chaos calmed, a single spotlight focusing on a man who summoned different monsters one at a time, each one performing a different trick before disappearing.

Next, the spotlight turned to the biggest man Kat had ever seen: at least five hundred pounds. Ten other men bounced him on a trampoline, higher and higher and higher, until after the last bounce they removed the trampoline, the entire arena shaking when the massive man stuck the landing.

A contortionist stuck herself in a box barely a few inches wide. Three clowns built a house, 'accidentally' colliding with each other and humorously destroying what the previous had just done. A woman shot waves upon waves of fire into the sky, each one forming into beautiful vistas before disappearing.

At one point, a man called for a volunteer from the audience. Before he had finished speaking, Kat was on her feet with her hand raised, jumping up and down. Unfortunately, their seats were too far back and a young boy near the front was chosen instead. The man performed a series of tricks with a 'disappearing' coin, the trick made obvious to everyone in the arena except the boy.

Eventually, a woman took the limelight, two chains of light seeming to drip down her sleeves, stopping after extending for three feet. Twelve performers surrounded her, each with a different variation of an earth manipulation skill. Together, they launched a barrage of earth missiles at the woman.

In the middle of the circle, the woman danced.

The chains spun around her, creating blurred circles of light. Each rock was knocked from the air by the chains, blasted into a million pieces. The earth manipulators increased their pace, rocks flying faster and faster. Yet no matter how fast or from what direction the rocks flew, the woman couldn't be touched.

Kat stared open-mouthed at the performance, art and skill woven together to create something beautiful and dangerous.

In that moment, Kat knew what she wanted her next skill to be.

Chapter 21: Juicy, Juicy Gossip

The show finished in a similar manner to how it started: with an epic finale of sight and sound that involved all of the performers. Kat rose to her feet and applauded with everyone else in the arena.

Then, as most of the people started migrating to the exits, Kat told her friends that she'd catch up to them and made her way toward the center ring.

Most of the performers milled around the ring in the middle of the arena, greeting and waving to the children who wanted to meet them.

Unfortunately for Kat, the woman she wanted to meet was one of the more popular performers, both with the kids and a number of male adults. She had to wait a few minutes in line for the others to say their pieces, but eventually, she was at the front.

"Hello! I'm Kat, and this is Snuffers. We loved your show!"

"Nice to meet you both. I am Maiden Aurora, and I am pleased you enjoyed yourselves."

This close Kat could finally make out the features of the woman. She looked young, though not nearly as young as Kat, with a tall and slim figure, clothed in a skintight suit of alternating splashes of black and white. Her hair hung in a long braid to her waist, and she carried herself with an aloof, mysterious air.

"I was wondering what skill it was that you were using. It looked amazing!" Kat said.

Maiden Aurora gave Kat a slight smile. "Ah, that is an important secret, I'm afraid, that I cannot divulge, even to fans as devoted as you and Snuffers."

Kat's face fell, but she resolved to try once more. "Please? I'm an adventurer, and I'm looking for a new skill, and yours looked like it would be perfect!"

Maiden Aurora blinked, her air of mystery suddenly gone. "Really? It's magic, so you won't be able to use it very well with armor, you know."

"Yeah, that's what I guessed. But that's exactly what my friends and I are looking for!"

Maiden Aurora blinked again, thought for a moment, and then shrugged her shoulders. "I don't think it's normally used for combat, but if you're sure..." She smiled, pulling herself back into character, and leaned forward until her mouth was right next to Kat's ear. "[Chained light]," she whispered.

Kat nodded seriously, committing the name of the skill to memory. Then she smiled at Maiden Aurora. "Thanks so much!"

The woman looked a little bemused as Kat scurried off to find her friends. She shook her head and turned to the next fan in line.

They spent another half-hour wandering the fairgrounds, laughing and snacking on junk food. Luckily for Kat's coin purse, Bruce bought the next round of snacks for everyone. Kat only realized what he'd done when he passed her one of the caramel apples, and he refused to say how much they cost. After a minute of pestering him without success, Kat gave in and accepted his generosity.

The fun couldn't last forever, though, and when the booths started to close their doors the group made their way back into the city. They walked the streets together, splitting off into smaller and smaller groups as they passed their homes until it was only Kat and Paige walking side-by-side towards the guild.

"How much did you spend? We should make sure it's even," Paige asked her as she pulled out her coin purse.

Kat had much more important things on her mind, however. "Sooooo..." she casually began, waving away Paige's question. "That was a pretty long goodbye to Henry you had."

Paige's cheeks reddened as she snorted. "Speak for yourself. Seemed like you already were having fun long before we got there, with two boys, no less."

"Pfft, we're teammates, it's not like that," Kat immediately replied, though a small part of herself couldn't help but remember her two engaged friends on her old team. She forcefully squashed that thought beneath her boot before focusing on what was important. "But really. Henry seems nice, and you were getting along really well." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Paige sighed. "Yeah, he is nice. And he's clearly really into me. But, I don't know..."

"You don't know, what?" Kat asked as she tucked Snuffers into her backpack. This was girl talk.

"It's just," Paige began, her face reddening even further. "When I applied as an apprentice clerk, I kinda pictured some strong and handsome adventurer sweeping me off my feet. Henry is nice, but he's...not that. Am I crazy?"

Kat absently shook her head as she thought. She had been hoping for just some juicy gossip, but it had turned into something she didn't feel prepared for. "I don't know. Maybe? I might not be the best person to ask, and I barely know Henry. But..." Kat once again thought back to her old teammates. They had all been passionate about adventuring, but Avery hadn't started out that way. He had only joined the academy to be with Melinda, knowing how difficult it would be if she adventured without him. "Adventurers might not be all they're cracked up to be. They spend all day training with their teams and delving, and at the higher levels that might even last multiple days at a time." Kat leaned close to Paige, despite the street being almost completely empty around them. "Also, Todd told me Henry reeeeaaally likes you."

Paige laughed as they paused in front of the guild. "You have a point. Maybe I am crazy, I don't know. I'm not going to worry about it now." She waved to Kat. "Today was fun! We might need to make some more wagers soon. I don't know if I want to wait until we're promoted before doing something like this again."

Kat nodded in agreement and waved as Paige continued past the guild to her nearby apartment.

Despite it being late, the barroom was packed with adventurers, though none of them Kat knew. She hadn't had a true dinner, but she was full from all the snacks, so she walked across the room without stopping.

The second floor was empty of any clerks or other adventurers, but the guild's skill-swap book was luckily freely available to peruse. Kat took a moment to skim the book for [chained light], unsurprised to not find it. It had looked like a powerful skill, but adventurers weren't likely to want a magical skill that required melee range to be effective. She'd have to ask her friends where else she might be able to search for the skill tomorrow.

With a yawn, she closed the book and climbed the two flights of stairs to her room. In just a few minutes, she was asleep, dreaming of monsters and dungeons and chains of light.

The next morning, Kat decided she'd take an hour to meditate outside of the city. It wouldn't help her with her soon-to-be-acquired new skills, but she hadn't yet given up on fixing her old skills. She still had no idea if the meditation would help, but it was the best idea she had. Besides, when she was able to get into it, she enjoyed meditation.

The barroom was mostly empty that early, so Kat ordered a quick breakfast before walking outside and stretching.

"Excuse me, miss," she heard as she exited the building. "I'm looking for a healer with the adventurer's guild. She has dark skin and hair, and goes by..." The man drifted off into silence as Kat turned to face him, revealing Snuffers on her shoulder. "...Kat?"

Kat smiled brightly at the man. "Dr. Havernough! It's been a while! How have you been?"

Dr. Havernough stumbled over his words for a moment before he responded. "Um, good. Do you have a moment to chat? I can buy you breakfast?"

"Already got breakfast," Kat said, holding up her sandwich. "But I can eat with you if you want." She turned to go back into the barroom.

"Wait!" Dr. Havernough called. Kat looked over her shoulder at him and raised an eyebrow. "Er, I know a restaurant not far from here. Why don't we eat there?"

Kat shrugged. "Fine by me."

She followed the man for a few minutes through the streets to a cafe only a block away, where he quickly ordered his own breakfast and sat down at a table. He stared at her as if worried she would disappear the moment he looked away.

"I was wondering if you'd be willing to answer some questions about the nether-realm," he finally asked after his breakfast was served. Kat forced herself to keep smiling, and Dr. Havernough quickly added, "Nothing too personal, of course. It's just, your account could speed up my research project immensely."

Kat nodded as she unwrapped her sandwich and took a bite. Talking about the nether-realm, even thinking about the nether-realm, wasn't exactly something she enjoyed. But he asked so politely. And who was she to deny something that, based on his expression, was so important to him?

"Sure," she said after swallowing. "What do you want to know?"

Dr. Havernough grinned a slightly manic grin as he pulled out a notepad and pen. "You are an adventurer with magical skills, yes? In your own words, can you describe the effect, if any, of the nether-realm on your skills and stats? And did you have any runed items with you when you were trapped? Oh, and you had mentioned a night-cycle. Could you go into more detail on that?"

Kat took a deep breath. It didn't seem like she'd get her chance to meditate this morning.

Brevid was working in his office when a clerk knocked on his door.

"Message from the adventurer's guild in Adamil, vice guildmaster," the man said after entering.

Brevid accepted the paper and broke the seal, quickly scanning through the document. But halfway down he paused, eyes widening.

"There's no way that's right..." he muttered to himself.

But then he shrugged. It was easy enough to prove wrong, and there was no harm in double-checking. He pulled out a blank sheet of paper and scrawled a quick message.

"Take this to the messenger's guild," he said to the silently waiting clerk as he sealed the message in an envelope. And then, in slightly neater handwriting than the message itself, he wrote the name and location of the recipient.

Count Avery, Bradwick City.

Chapter 22: Efficiency, Efficiency, Efficiency

"Hmm..." Dr. Havernough rubbed his chin in thought. "I've never heard of this 'corruption' happening to skills before, but it is obvious our runes do not function properly in the nether-realm. Best guess? Something about using the skills in the nether-realm is the issue. One way we might be able to test is for you to re-enter the nether-realm to see if the corruption still exists, but I assume you would rather avoid that."

Kat nodded her head fervently.

She had spent the last hour talking with Dr. Havernough, answering dozens upon dozens of questions, some of which she had no idea how they pertained to the nether-realm at all. But eventually, his questions had dried up -- for now. He insisted upon meeting up again at the cafe in a week's time for another question-answer session after he'd had the chance to run more experiments.

Kat had finished her breakfast in the first ten minutes of their conversation while Dr. Havernough's was pushed to the side after a single bite, forgotten in his furious questioning. But as he finally returned to his food, Kat took the opportunity to ask if he might know anything about her corrupted skills.

"Is there anything I should do to fix them?"

Dr. Havernough thought for a moment before replying. "I'm not entirely sure. Without confirming the source, I can't give a proper resolution. But, if the source is truly just having used them too much in the nether-realm...my recommended solution would be time. Spend long enough in our realm, and hopefully the corruption will disappear."

Kat nodded resignedly. That was worse than what she was hoping for but better than what she feared. If he was right, she'd eventually get her skills back...but who knew how long 'eventually' would take.

The belltower in the city chimed, and Kat belatedly realized she was soon to be late for her meeting with Bruce's team, and hurriedly bid Dr. Havernough a polite goodbye.

Luckily, the normal practice room was less than a block away, so she burst through the doors thirty seconds later. Bruce and Brandon were already there, waving her a good morning as she entered.

"Where are Peter and Monica?" Kat asked, looking around the room for the cheerful couple.

"I'm wounded!" Bruce replied, turning to Brandon in mock outrage. "Not only does she not believe we are sufficient teachers, but she believes the lives of our entire team revolve around her training!"

Kat guiltily looked between the two of them. She had been taking up a lot of the silver adventuring team's time without offering anything in return...

Brandon chuckled.

"Just kidding. We don't mind having our lives revolve around you," Bruce said with a grin. "They're off to visit Sylas in Phonica to ask for advice about your build."

"Really? When you mentioned asking him for advice, I thought you were just going to send a message..." Even between major cities, portal travel wasn't cheap, and it usually took some time to book a reservation.

Bruce waved away her concerns. "We were originally, but Peter and Monica wanted to do this. They've got some old friends there they wanted to catch up with, plus they get some alone time away from the rest of us."

"And the rest of us can get some time without their bickering..." Brandon added, though his smile belied any true annoyance.

"What am I going to be learning today, then?" Kat asked.

"Without Peter or Monica, we don't have any physical brawlers. Brandon and I know enough to probably continue training you correctly in melee skills, but that's neither of our specialties. We figured we'd talk a bit about mana management when it comes to casting skills. Unless there something else you wanted to work on instead?"

Kat shook her head and then hesitated. "I do have a question for you, but it can wait until later."

Bruce nodded before sitting on the ground, patting the dirt next to him. "You don't have non-corrupted skills to practice right now, so we'll just be talking. I'm sure you know most of this, but I'll start from the beginning just in case. Brandon, feel free to jump in if I miss anything."

Kat dropped down across from Bruce while Brandon sat a little ways off to her right.

"Skills can be divided into two types: spells and non-spells. Spells are any skills that require mana, while non-spells, obviously, don't. Generally, non-spells are passive skills while spells are active skills, although this isn't always the case. Spells can be further divided into internal and external spells, where mages and healers typically use external spells while melee combatants are relegated to internal spells, due to their armor."

Kat nodded. Bruce wasn't joking when he said he'd start from the beginning: she was pretty sure this was information that had been in her very first lecture at the academy. But she still paid careful attention to his words.

"For now, we'll focus on spells in general rather than specifically internal or external. Skills provide a framework that guides our mana to help us cast the spells. Once we acquire a skill, we can simply push mana into it to create the desired effect." Bruce raised a finger towards the wall, and a thin bolt of lightning shot out to the wall. "Skills aren't required to create that effect, however. If we were to push our mana into a formation identical to what the skill would provide, we could cast the spell without possessing the skill."

"That's pretty much impossible for anyone but the most devoted of geniuses, though," Brandon jumped in to add. "You really shouldn't waste your time trying. It can also be dangerous if your framework is not exactly correct, as it could cast a completely different spell or even explode back in your face."

Bruce nodded. "But that doesn't mean we can't learn from the framework, though." He thought for a moment. "Imagine a cup, which is the framework for a spell, given to you by a skill. And then imagine water is your mana. Simply pouring mana into your skill's framework is equivalent to dumping water into the cup until it overflows. It works, but some of the water will spill and go to waste. By becoming more familiar with the frameworks of your skills, which people naturally do through practice, you can learn to pour just enough water to fill the cup without overflowing, increasing your mana efficiency.

"Plus," Bruce continued. "As you grow more familiar with your skill you can even optimize the framework. My water analogy breaks down a bit here, but..." He pointed to the wall again with the same finger. But this time, instead of a thin stream of lightning, a flood of lightning burst forth, and Kat had to blink blearily for almost thirty seconds before her eyesight came back. The wall where Bruce had pointed had a black mark scorched into it. "With experience and practice, you can make the same skill much more powerful for the same mana cost."

Kat's eyes widened. "Those were the same skills with the same amount of mana?"

Brandon snorted. "Don't believe this guy, he juiced that second one to show off."

Bruce looked a little embarrassed, but he nodded. "Yeah, I may have put a little more mana into the second cast, but not nearly as much as you might think. If I were to try and cast a bolt that big without any optimization, it would use half my mana pool. And it likely still wouldn't be as powerful, even with that much mana."

Kat looked to Brandon for confirmation, who nodded begrudgingly.

"The mind stat is an important part of mana optimization," Bruce added, "In addition to slightly increasing processing capabilities, it gives us much finer control of our mana, allowing for more optimization than would otherwise be possible."

Kat had generally known the concepts behind everything they were describing, but the specifics of how they worked together were new to her. Or perhaps she had learned it at the academy and simply forgotten it. She knew practicing skills could make them more powerful and more efficient, as could the mind stat, but she hadn't known the specifics of why.

"How does this affect how I practice?" she asked. "Normally I just cast my skills a bunch and meditate and they get better over time. Or, at least they used to."

Bruce sighed as Brandon laughed.

"It won't change much, unfortunately," Brandon said. "Knowing exactly what's going on might help a bit when it comes to optimizing skills, but you'll subconsciously do the same thing if you just practice casting the skills over and over."

"It's small, but it is an improvement," Bruce said. "I'd recommend trying to feel out the frameworks of your skills when you meditate, and maybe practice trying to cast the skill with as little mana as possible."

Kat nodded resolutely. She didn't yet have her new skills, but she was resolved to optimize them like crazy as soon as she did.

They spent another hour talking about the finer points of optimization and skill frameworks, but eventually the lesson wrapped up.

"There was something you wanted to ask?" Bruce reminded her as they stood and stretched their legs, sore after sitting for so long.

"Oh yeah!" Kat replied. "I found a skill that I think I want. It's what that lady at the circus was using last night, and it's called [chained light]. It's not in the guild's registry, though. Do you know where I might be able to find it?"

"Huh, [chained light]," Bruce replied, rubbing his chin. "It looked like it might be strong, and certainly seemed like it would fit your build of a melee caster, but you should read up on it before you buy it in case it has any restrictions. As for where, there's a skills emporium I know of in town whose prices aren't too exorbitant. They might not have it, but you can put in a request and they'll try to get ahold of it for you, for a fee."

"That sounds perfect!" Kat replied, hopping in place. "Where's this emporium?"

Bruce chuckled at her enthusiasm. "I can take you there now if you like."

They both turned and looked at Brandon, who shrugged. "I've been thinking it might be time to add a new skill to my repertoire. I'll tag along and see if anything calls to me."

Chapter 23: Distractions

Kat pressed her nose up against the runed glass, staring at the hundreds of different-colored skill-stones, each with its own small paper label with its name next to it.

"What skill are you looking for?" she asked Brandon, who looked over the skills at her side. After a moment she added, "If you're fine with sharing."

"Heh," Brandon replied. "I guess it's not really a secret. I'm not looking for a specific skill, mostly just seeing what's available. But I'm thinking about adding a debuff to my skillset. Bruce and the rest are good at hitting hard and fast, but we're a bit weak when it comes to the drawn-out fights against bosses."

"Do you think I should get a skill like that?" Kat asked, rubbing out the smudge from her nose on the glass with the sleeve of her robe. She didn't think her team had much in the way of wearing down monsters. It seemed like Brevon and Lester's damaging skills revolved around stabbing the monsters harder.

Brandon shook his head. "No, not yet. At bronze rank you should be fine with just direct damage skills. It isn't until you get to the upper silver or early gold ranks when monsters are tanky enough that it turns into a battle of attrition, where debuffs and damage-over-times start to really earn their keep."

Kat nodded as Brandon returned from speaking with the manager of the emporium carrying a large book. There were hundreds of skills on display in the store, but even with so many, it didn't take long to realize they didn't have [chained light]. Like the guild's compendium of skills, this store had a partnership with various stores selling skills in other cities, and she'd hopefully be able to find the skill she wanted in one of them.

Unfortunately, this book wasn't quite as well organized as the guild's compendium and was filled with scratched out and added on skills as they were bought and sold. Kat had to look through the book line-by-line until...

"Aha!" she said triumphantly.

"Found it?" Bruce asked, looking over her shoulder.

"Yep! [Chained light]. 'External spell, allows the user to summon twin heavy chains of various lengths that damage whatever they touch. Moderate mana cost to summon, low mana cost to sustain.'"

"Huh. Not exactly heavy on the details, but that's not surprising. But it sounds like this will work for you, provided you can learn how to use them."

Kat nodded confidently. "Can't be that hard, right?" And then, carrying the heavy book with her, she approached the manager. "How much for this skill?"

The manager turned the book around to read the description, interpreting a few symbols in the margin next to the skill's name. "Hm, narrow-focused skill, relatively rare, but in low demand. I can part with it for ten gold, plus another two silver to get it transferred here. We'll require at least two of the gold upfront."

Kat deflated. That was more than what she had as part of her share from the Darkwing dungeon. Brevon and Lester had said they'd be willing to let her borrow from their shares to get a skill, but she had been hoping that skills for a mage-fighter hybrid would be cheaper.

"I'm...going to have to talk to my teammates," she finally got out. The manager nodded understandingly, closing the book and storing it on a shelf.

"That's fine. Come back if you decide to get it."

Fortunately, it was a higher-end store, which meant the manager wasn't pushy like so many of those manning the stalls in the market. Unfortunately, it also meant that haggling wasn't appropriate: the price stated wouldn't change. Ten gold was the price, and it wouldn't change no matter how she might beg.

The time for training with her teammates was quickly approaching, which would give her the chance to ask about getting the skill and collect the coin if they approved. With a quick word of thanks, she waved goodbye to Bruce and Brandon and headed back to the guild, stopping only for a greasy meat-filled bun from a nearby stall.

Lester and Brevon quickly agreed to the purchase of [chained light] after getting Kat's assurance that she was confident it was the skill she wanted. Brevon took a few minutes at the end of the training to make sure she understood that the extra cost for the skill would eventually come from her shares of future dungeon delves and that most delves wouldn't have nearly the loot as their success against the dungeon swarm, even if they completed multiple floors.

Kat appreciated the warning, but she was too excited to care. She was tired of waiting.

It was strange to her...so much time in the nether-realm had been spent waiting. Waiting for the monsters to find her, waiting for the next night-cycle, waiting for an opportunity to escape. Yet now, waiting for things that were so much better than anything in the nether-realm, she found her patience running much thinner. Was that just the difference between anticipation and dread?

She managed to convince her teammates to accompany her to the skill emporium after their training ended, though they would take a quick break to clean themselves and for Lester to grab the needed coin first.

Kat ran up the stairs to her room, despite knowing that regardless of her speed she'd still have to wait for the boys. But on the second floor of the guild, her mad rush was interrupted.

"Kat!" Paige called from behind the clerk's desk, freezing her in place. Reluctantly, Kat turned and approached her friend.

The room was almost completely empty, only a single young man, who looked roughly the same age as Paige, standing in front of Paige's booth. He looked a little annoyed by the interruption, but after a glance at Kat his face smoothed out and he took a polite step back without comment.

"How's it going?" Kat asked her friend. A few of the other clerks, without lines of their own in front of their booths, smirked in their direction.

"Oh, good, good," Paige replied. "How are you? You get a good night's sleep after the circus last night?"

"Um, yeah, I did," Kat answered, and then brightened. "Actually, you know that skill we saw the woman using? Swinging around the light? I found it in the skill emporium! It's called [chained light], and I'm going to grab it as my next skill!"

The boy behind her jumped in.

"Actually, that isn't a standard..."

"That's great!" Paige said, interrupting the boy. "When are you going to get it? Can I see it once you do?"

Kat was a little confused. "Yeah, definitely. I'm going to go reserve it right now, actually, after I get cleaned up, and I'll hopefully get it in a few days. Lester and Brevon are going to come with me." Kat took a small step towards the stairs.

"Oh, actually, before you go, I wanted to ask...how is Bruce's team doing? I heard that they got banned from dungeons for a week. They aren't too sad about that, right? They aren't hurting for coin or anything?"

Kat paused. "Um, I don't think so? It seems like they're doing well, but they haven't really talked about that. They've been helping me train, which is really nice, although Peter and Monica are out of town right now." She took another small step away.

"That's good, that's good. Have they been working with Brevon and Lester too? It seems like that would be helpful for them as well. I looked up their records, and your teammates are some of the better bronze adventurers, but everyone can use some advice from the higher-leveled adventurers now and then." The boy tried to say something again, but Paige spoke over him before he could get the words out. "When's your next dungeon run? Are you going to wait for your skills to come in first? I can schedule it for you if you like."

And so it continued, as Kat grew more and more confused. Until, after fifteen minutes, the young adventurer behind her finally got tired of waiting and left.

"...thank goodness," Paige muttered, deflating back into the chair on the other side of her booth to the laughter of a nearby clerk. "I thought he would never leave."

Kat looked back at where the boy had been standing, the pieces slowly clicking into place. "...weren't you interested in talking with adventurers?" she finally asked.

Paige blushed. "Eh, maybe, if there was actually 'talking' involved from more than one side. But with Eagle, it's just listening -- no 'conversation' needed. Honestly, he could go on for hours with a brick wall, telling tall tales about his epic adventures. I doubt he even knows my name."

"...Eagle?"

"Not his real name," Paige replied with a groan. "At least I'm almost certain. It's what he fills out on all of his forms, but there's no way his real name is actually 'Eagle Starclaw.' Thanks for saving me, though. I'm glad to talk with you anytime, of course, but I'm sorry for keeping you so long when you're busy. But I actually do have something for you."

Paige reached into a pocket of her clerk's uniform and pulled out a small orb. Kat's eyes widened.

"Is this...?"

"Ta-da!" Paige said, handing the skill-stone over the counter. "Saw that it was to be delivered to the guild's registry to wait for your pickup, so I snagged it for you. One skill of [nature's protection]."

Kat cradled the skill-stone, holding the shiny orb in front of her eye before showing it to Snuffers. "If you had this the whole time, why didn't you just tell me? I wouldn't have been in nearly as big of a hurry to meet up with the team if I had known!"

Paige laughed. "Sorry again, but I needed you to stick around until he got bored. And I knew you wouldn't be able to hold yourself back if you had a new skill to play with." Kat was absently hopping from foot to foot in her excitement, the skill-stone held carefully in her palm. "Go ahead, I won't keep you any longer. Come visit me later with the payment."

"Of course!" Kat called, starting to wave goodbye with the hand holding the skill-stone before she caught herself, waving with her other hand instead and rushing down the stairs.

Being clean was nice, but other things took priority.

"What took you so long?" Brevon asked as she ran out the front doors of the guild. "We thought you'd beat both of us back."

Kat just held up the new skill-stone triumphantly in response.

There was a pause.

"What are you waiting for?" Lester practically yelled. "Absorb it and let's test it out!"

Their visit to the emporium all but forgotten, they rushed back into the luckily-still-available training room. The boys spread out to give Kat some space, who focused intently on the orb.

It only took a few seconds for the skill-stone to sink into the skin of her palm, disappearing in less than a second. Kat carefully removed Snuffers from her shoulder and set him to the side. While she knew generally what the skill-stone would do, it was better to be careful with the first activation.

And then, with a thought and a surge of mana, she activated her new skill.

Chapter 24: I Got No Roots

Roots crawled over her body, twining themselves around her limbs. They started thin, but as the seconds passed they grew thicker and thicker, eventually merging together to form a layer of bark.

"...not corrupted," she whispered to herself with a smile.

It felt different than what Kat had expected. Not the roots: those were unsurprisingly uncomfortable as they crawled over her. What was different was the feeling of her mana activating her skill.

Since her skills had been corrupted, her mana hadn't quite felt the same whenever she activated her skills. She was used to the mana flowing simply and the magic of the skills following, but ever since her test for the bronze mage badge it had felt as if the skills were fighting her mana rather than guiding it.

This was like a breath of fresh air in comparison.

It took a lot of mana, more than she could remember her corrupted skills ever taking, but it flowed into the appropriate configuration so smoothly. All she had to do was provide the mana, and the skill did the rest.

Eventually, she had a thin layer of bark that covered her entire body, save her face. The bark wasn't completely pliant, but it flexed more than any normal bark should have been able to, giving her much more flexibility than normal armor could provide. Her face was completely uncovered, but the bark crawled up her neck until it split back into smaller roots at the top of her head, where it twined itself around threads of her short hair in a way that made it look like she had dreadlocks.

Kat pulled her knife from her belt with bark-enclosed hands and stabbed forward, feeling how the woody protection flexed with her. She ran the blade gently against her arm, the bark unmarred. She tried again, yet it still did no damage to her new protection. Finally, after sawing back and forth with some force behind the knife, she broke through her new second-skin and hit the normal skin underneath, a small amount of blood blending with the brown-green sap.

After she finished casting, [nature's protection] required no additional mana. But, following her instincts, she poured more mana into the skill and watched the wounded bark over her arm heal in front of her eyes.

"Well, this is awesome," she remarked.

Her two teammates took the chance to jump in.

"How does it feel? Lose any flexibility?" Lester asked.

Kat wiggled her fingers. "Some, but not much. It feels amazing!"

"Test out if you can cast while it's up?"

Kat nodded resolutely, calling on [elemental manipulation] instead.

After casting her new skill, she realized how weird it felt to try and cast her old corrupted skills. Almost uncomfortable.

But she persisted, and in a moment a small flame formed above her outstretched finger. It wasn't any larger than what she could cast in the last two dungeons, but it wasn't any smaller either.

"Is it..." Brevon paused, his face a little red, before he gestured over his midsection. "Does it protect you everywhere?"

Kat looked down and realized for the first time that the bark grew over her body underneath her robe. Except for her arms and the few other parts of her body not covered by her clothes, her teammates couldn't see the skill.

"...well, that might be annoying," Kat commented. "I was looking forward to not having to keep replacing robes..."

Lester chuckled, and then they got to work.

They spent the next two hours testing the skill in as many ways as they could. First: her flexibility and reaction times.

She was, unfortunately, slower than she had been without [nature's protection] active, but the difference was small enough that the trade-off with the increased protection was very much worth it. She would have to practice fighting within [nature's protection] to grow accustomed to her new limitations, but Kat was confident it wouldn't take long for her to be comfortable fighting while enclosed in bark.

She would also have to learn how to trust in the protection provided by the skill. Kat had a much higher vitality than pretty much any other bronze mage, but at the end of the day she was used to fighting without armor. She was accustomed to using her speed to dodge everything she could, only accepting those wounds she would be able to easily heal with [healing touch].

It took some nerve-wracking testing, but, with the help of her teammates, Kat figured out what she'd be able to block with her new armor rather than dodge. From there, it was just a matter of re-training her instincts into the appropriate reactions. Kat was hopeful that it would still require fine-tuning, though, as she believed the protection offered by the skill could grow stronger with time and experience.

For hours they tested and sparred, seeing how long she could maintain the skill, how quickly she could form the skill from scratch, if she could use it to partially cover her body, and so much more.

Eventually, they wrapped up their testing, Kat happily activating [healing touch] to close up all of her lingering injuries. After two full training sessions, one of which enclosed in a non-permeable layer of bark, Kat was sure she smelled terrible. But she couldn't bring herself to care.

She had a new skill! One that was full strength and would let her fight as a true adventurer. And in a few minutes, she would hopefully be just a couple days away from getting another.

"How comfortable are you with your new skill?" Brevon asked as they packed up their things.

Snuffers was back on Kat's shoulder, the bark nowhere to be seen. Dismissing the skill had been an equally uncomfortable experience to activating it, as the bark had rapidly withered away into roots that split and dissolved into nothing. But Kat had a large smile on her face that simply wouldn't leave. She had managed to keep the skill active for the entire two hours of training, healing any damage as needed. Her mana was below half, but still far from empty, and Kat was confident she could reduce the cost of the skill with practice. The future looked bright.

"Extremely!" Kat replied happily. "Why do you ask?"

"I was thinking," Brevon answered. "You don't have a good way to do more damage until you get your new skill from the emporium, but that doesn't mean you're useless. How do you feel about doing a dungeon run with just this skill, to put it through its paces in a real combat environment? I think I know a dungeon that'll work well for more testing."

"That sounds amazing!" Kat said, brightening even more. She would always be excited for a chance to delve, and the sooner she could start paying off her debt for her new skills, the better. "Do you think you could get us a slot tomorrow?"

Brevon thought for a moment. "I think so. The dungeon I'm thinking of isn't the most popular, so hopefully it'll have a slot. I'll need to reserve it before the clerks close up for the evening, though."

Kat nodded. "Sounds like a plan, then. Lester and I can go reserve the skill at the emporium while you do that."

The plan made, they split off, Kat and Lester down the street to the skill emporium and Brevon to the guild.

After a block, Kat couldn't help herself and cast her new [nature's protection]. It wasn't frowned upon to activate skills within the city as long as they weren't damage-dealing skills, but it was still a little unusual to see a bark-clad girl walking down the streets. Lester just smirked at her without comment.

By the time they got to the emporium, Ket had cast and then dismissed [nature's protection] three more times and was completely out of mana, but she had a massive grin stretching across her face. The manager of the store flinched upon initially seeing her, but after a moment recognized her as the customer from earlier in the day.

"Um, come back to make the reservation for that skill?" he asked, pulling out the massive registry of skills.

Kat nodded happily and quickly flipped through the proffered book until arriving at the correct page. Lester leaned forward to read the skill's description before he nodded as well.

"Two gold down-payment?" he asked, pulling the coins from his backpack.

"That's correct," the manager replied, swiping the coins and making a mark on the page in the book, wrinkling his nose as he leaned near Kat. "It will be here within three days for you to pick up."

Lester smiled at the uncomfortable-looking man before turning and leaving the store, a still widely grinning Kat following behind a moment later.

Kat woke early the next morning. As much as she had wanted to spend all night celebrating her new skills in the bar with other adventurers, she wanted to be fully rested for their morning delve through the Crawler's dungeon.

Kat shadow-boxed the air a few times in preparation before she picked up her backpack and put Snuffers on her shoulder. She was glad she had limited herself: while celebrating with fellow adventurers would have been fun, the true celebration for a true adventurer was a competent delve, not partying in a bar.

Besides, none of her friends had been around, and Kat didn't feel like celebrating with strangers.

Kat smiled as she descended the stairs. A week ago she had still been in the nether-realm, no real hopes or prospects of escaping, with only her memories of her old teammates keeping her going. Yet now, she had a new team and enough friends that she was completely fine with leaving behind all of the 'strangers' in the bar to retreat with just Snuffers to her room. For so long she had been so desperate for friends or just any sort of human contact.

But now she felt...content.

Not that she had given up on reuniting with her old teammates. She was sure they would love her new teammates, that they would be glad she had found a temporary team while she waited to be reunited with them. They would surely get along well with Bruce and his team, and of course would be great friends with Paige.

She hopped down the last few stairs to the first floor of the guild and looked around the mostly-empty barroom. Lester and Brevon were already there, eating their own breakfasts at a table in the corner, and waved at her as she appeared. She waved back and walked to the bartender to order breakfast of her own.

As she did, she scanned the rest of the barroom. A more experienced team huddled in another corner, clearly preparing for their own delve. Other than them and her own team, only one other table was occupied.

It was a man and a woman, each past their prime with grey streaks in their hair, though they looked healthy and sat straight-backed in their chairs wearing fancy-looking but obviously non-combative clothing. It was strange to see a clearly non-adventuring couple in the guild, especially this early in the morning, but Kat supposed they might have had some other business in the guild hall. She dismissed the vaguely familiar-looking duo without another thought.

And then the woman looked over and made eye contact with Kat from across the room, her face turning pale as a sheet.

"...Kat?"

Chapter 25: Butter Over Too Much Bread

"...Kat?"

Kat froze, staring as the man and woman rose to their feet. Who...?

They...looked familiar. She had thought that the moment she had glanced at them as she stepped down the stairs, but she hadn't given it a second thought -- lots of people looked vaguely familiar.

But this was more than just an imagined resemblance: they knew who she was. And from the looks on their faces, it wasn't a distant relationship.

The woman looked like her old teammate Melinda's mom, Countess Alice. Kat had only met the woman once, but she could still remember the quiet yet powerful dignity the woman had carried herself with, a match to the feeling Kat got from this woman. Yet there were undeniable differences between the two.

The man took a single step in Kat's direction, and Kat took a matching step backward, away from the duo. He reminded her of Avery, Melinda's fiancé and the guardian of their old team. This man didn't have nearly the frame, his chest and arms much skinnier than her teammate's, but otherwise the resemblance was uncanny. The two took another halting step forward, and Kat took another step back.

A sound like a rushing wind blew through the barroom, cutting off all of the other ambient noises, though no one else reacted. Vaguely, she heard Brevon call her name from across the room, but she just shook her head and ignored it. She grabbed Snuffers from her shoulder and hugged him to her chest, her shoulders hunched around her friend.

It...couldn't be.

The rushing wind increased as Kat ducked her head and squeezed her eyes closed.

She knew she had been in the nether-realm for a while, but not that long. Not long enough to be left behind by her friends so utterly. It was the truth she had clung to when everything else fell apart: that when she escaped her friends would be waiting for her. She would re-join the team, and together they would adventure in dungeons around the world.

With her eyes shut tight and the sound of wind rushing in her ears, she clung to that truth. She had escaped. It was taking longer than expected, but she would eventually find her old team. In the meantime, she would delve with Lester and Brevon to catch up.

But the truth was slipperier than she had remembered. No matter how she grasped at it she could feel it drifting away, so desperately she clawed at what she knew to be true. She repeated it internally. Over and over and over.

She would not be left behind.

Yet with each repetition, the truth slipped further and further from her grasp. Tears slipped through her clenched-shut eyelids. The wind increased, sounding like she stood in the midst of a hurricane.

She felt something start to crack within her.

And then two sets of arms were there, wrapped around her and holding her tight. She leaned into their warmth.

The cracking stopped, but her grasp on the truth faded with it. It slipped from her fingers, and slowly, the wind calmed.

It took a moment, but Kat realized that the guildhall in which she stood was no longer peaceful.

"Back away! Now!"

Kat opened her eyes. She was still held tightly in between the arms of the man and the woman, Snuffers in her own arms and tears dripping down her cheeks. A few feet away Brevon glared at the pair, sword half-drawn from its sheath. Behind him, Lester stood with a hand resting against his chest near to where she knew he kept one of his daggers. In the corner of the room, the other adventuring team stared but made no motion to intervene.

Kat smiled, her heart warmed by her teammate's defense as well as her old friends' refusal to back away from her in the face of threats. Before the situation could escalate further, she spoke.

"Lester, Brevon," she said with a small smile. "These are my teammates, Avery and Melinda."

It took a few minutes for everyone to calm down enough to have a rational conversation, but eventually, the five sat together at a table, breakfast in front of each of them. Kat sipped on her warm soup, her old team to her left and her new to her right.

"Your teammates? From before the nether-realm?" Lester asked. Brevon slouched in his chair, frowning. "Did you time travel forward or something while you were in there?"

"Nether-realm? Is that where you've been all this time?" Melinda quickly asked with a glare at the two younger boys.

Kat smiled to herself as she finished her spoonful of soup. Melinda could be a bit vindictive, and Brevon almost drawing steel against them would definitely earn the boys her ire. But as quick as she was to anger, Melinda was just as quick to forgiveness when no ill intent was meant, so Kat was sure they'd reconcile and be friends soon enough.

Her smile dimmed. Although, that was the Melinda of decades ago. She supposed it was entirely possible that her friends had changed over the years; despite how she looked, Kat certainly wasn't the exact same girl who entered the portal so long ago.

"Yeah, I was trapped in a place called the nether-realm," Kat answered Melinda's question first. "A scientist named Dr. Havernough made a portal directly there, which I used to escape about a week ago. And not time travel," she replied to Lester. "I...didn't believe it. I didn't want to believe it. And I'm not sure why I didn't get old or anything like that. But I was trapped there for a few decades. I'm the same age as Avery and Melinda."

Silence greeted her statement as her four friends stared at her.

"Forty years," Avery finally said, in a voice weaker than the one Kat remembered him having. "We went through the portal together forty years ago. I'm fifty-seven years old."

Kat nodded. "I'm fifty-six, then." She grinned cheekily at Brevon and Lester. "So you better respect your elders!" Some of the tension drained from the table.

"...I'm so sorry," Melinda said. "What...what was it like? We searched for you, but we had no idea how to even start."

Kat shrugged. "It's not your fault. It...was bad. But I'm out, now, so it's better! What have you been up to? Forty years...I guess you're all gold adventurers by now? Have you retired?"

Avery shook his head and gave Kat a small, sad smile. "Never made it out of bronze. Only delved one dungeon, actually. After we lost you..." he shrugged. "Adventuring lost a lot of its appeal. We tried the one delve, but it just wasn't the same. We ended up succeeding Melinda's parents when they passed away thirty years ago, and run the city of Artford."

"Ah, I'm sorry, Melinda," Kat responded. "Actually, sorry, Count Avery and Countess Melinda. I didn't realize I was in the presence of real nobility."

Melinda snorted, and the tension of table drained further.

"Lindon is the captain of our guard," Melinda explained. "He hardly uses his rogue skills anymore. Got a few managerial skills, if you can believe it. We didn't really believe it was you when we got the message from the guild, and we had to leave someone in charge at the estate. Avery and I thought this was just going to be a short vacation away from Artford, not that we'd actually find you, so we'll have to send a message to bring Lindon here to see you. Or you can come back with us to Artford with us and see him there?"

"Through a portal?" Kat asked. "I'd rather not." Melinda winced, but before the mood could drop Kat continued. "But this can still be a vacation for you! I've only been here for a week, but I can show you some of the city! And I've already delved two dungeons with Brevon and Lester, so I'm more of a pro adventurer than you two! Well, one and a half, but I've still got some great stories...look at Snuffers' scarf!"

Avery laughed. "Glad to see you've still got Snuffers around to protect you." Kat nodded seriously. "And we can send a message through for Lindon to come over -- Artford will be fine for a few days by itself. We've got so much to catch you up on, and I'm sure you've got even more stories for us. Plus, we've got to meet your new team!"

Brevon and Lester still looked uncomfortable, but as the conversation continued they slowly relaxed.

"Why don't we head over to the messenger's guild and send for Lindon right now, and then you can show us around?" Melinda asked as they all stood from the table, their breakfasts finished.

"We'll leave you be so you can catch up, if you're okay," Brevon said, the last directed towards Kat. She nodded, and he and Lester took a step back.

"Why don't we all meet up back here for lunch?" Avery said. "My treat. I wasn't one for long, but I remember how tight money can be for bronze adventurers, and it's the least we can do after you've looked after our teammate in our stead."

They all agreed and split up, the scheduled dungeon delve abandoned without another thought. But to Kat's surprise, she didn't mind not being a 'true' adventurer for a day. She was still shaken from her realization of being so thoroughly left behind, but as she talked, laughed, and reminisced with her friends, she found that being 'left behind' wasn't quite as terrible as she had feared.

Chapter 26: Later Alligator

"You'll come visit again soon, right?"

"Of course," Melinda said, squeezing Kat in a tight hug. "Not for a few days, though. The Artford festival is coming up, and we're going to be crazy busy until it's done, unfortunately. Are you sure you don't want to come check it out?" she asked gently.

Kat quickly shook her head.

They were standing just outside of the portal room to say their goodbyes, those not traveling through thankfully not allowed into the portal room itself. Though she couldn't see it, simply knowing the portal was only a dozen yards away from her made Kat extremely nervous, and she hugged Snuffers to her chest as Melinda stepped back to stand in line with Lindon and Avery.

"Have fun and tell me all about it when you come visit," Kat said with a forced smile. Maybe one day she'd be willing to go back through another portal, willing to brave the minuscule odds of returning to the nether-realm for the convenience of instantaneous travel...but not today.

Lindon snorted. "Won't be having fun, I can tell you that much. Something always goes wrong during the festival. It happens every year, and for some reason it always seems to fall on one of us to fix it." He smirked at Kat. "We'll have plenty of stories, they just might not be ones we enjoy. Might be fun to tell, though."

"You get some stories of your own," Avery said, hand reaching out and rubbing Kat's shoulder. "Be safe though. Next time we'll try to bring the grand-kids -- they'll love you."

With a few final goodbyes, Kat smiled and waved as her three friends turned and entered the portal room. She forced herself to ignore the possible dangers of portal travel as she left the building as quickly as her feet could take her without breaking into a sprint.

The last two days spent with her friends had been...interesting.

A ton of fun, extremely nostalgic, and a balm for her soul. But also interesting.

Technically, she was the same age as her friends, though she often didn't feel it. When they were talking, laughing, and reminiscing, it was easy for her to remember them as the friends she loved and trusted. But every once in a while she would look at them and see different people.

They were old. They had lived full lives. Had children and grandchildren, experienced so much of what the world had to offer. In those moments, Kat looked at her friends and saw strangers.

Those moments passed quickly, though. With a few words, she was always able to find her companions hidden in the strangers' bodies.

Introducing her old teammates to Bruce's team had been another strange experience. Kat saw Bruce and his team as powerful adventurers, as leaders to respect, follow, and learn from. She saw her old teammates largely as peers, friends at her same societal level.

Yet Bruce and his team were nothing but polite and respectful to the two older nobles and their guard captain. Every sentence ended with the word 'sir,' and Kat had never seen Peter and Monica so serious and well-behaved.

In Kat's mind, she and her friends should have been the ones looking up to the experienced adventurers, rather than the other way around.

But even more disconcerting was her sparring match against her old friends.

At the academy, she had always been the weakest of their team. And not just because she was the healer; Kat was only mediocre at her role, compared to her friends who were each at the top of the class in their respective roles.

Yet Kat absolutely thrashed them in the spar.

Some of that could be attributed to age. Despite being technically the same age as Kat, she hadn't yet experienced any deterioration of the body due to time. But even beyond the 'age' difference...they were weak.

It wasn't that Kat had disbelieved Lester and Brevon when they told her how high her level was, but the experience of running circles around her old teammates in the sparring ring without using a single skill hammered that truth home. As much as she hated to admit it, there were some benefits to spending forty years fighting monsters in the nether-realm.

It once again forced Kat to reevaluate her perception of her friends. Realizing the ones that had always been so much better than her at all things adventuring were actually weaker than her was...difficult.

At the end of the day, though, they were still her friends. Despite the changes wrought by time and distance, Kat treasured every moment of their two days spent reminiscing and catching up.

But it couldn't last forever. Her friends had lives: busy lives that were very different from the life of an adventurer. And as painful as it was to realize, Kat wasn't willing to give up on her dreams and force herself back into their lives, assuming they would even welcome her. She was sure they'd spend plenty of time together in the future, but for now, they would go their separate ways.

It was only a little out of her way back to the adventurer's guild, so Kat stopped by the skills emporium after leaving the building that housed the portal. But after a single step through the door, she made eye contact with the manager who just shook his head in the negative, and she turned and walked back out.

She had been hoping to show off her new [chained light] skill to her friends before they left, and so had been dropping into the emporium a couple times a day to check the status of her delivery. Unfortunately, she would have to keep waiting.

It wasn't too bad, though. Brevon had rescheduled their missed delve for the next morning, and though she wouldn't have her new skill, they had never planned on her having access to [chained light] for the delve anyway.

"So. The Crawler's dungeon," Brevon said. "It's another dungeon that's fairly easy, but frustrating to clear."

Kat, Brevon, and Lester walked side-by-side down the road in the early morning light. Well, Lester and Brevon walked; Kat was doing her best to contain herself, but she skipped along in her excitement for a dungeon delve with her new [nature's protection] skill.

"Which is why we've been able to get the slots so quickly," Lester added. "The more popular dungeons, even the bronze ones, have queues that can take a few days or weeks."

"What makes this one so frustrating?" Kat asked.

"Do you know about shades?" Brevon asked, and Kat shook her head. "They're typically a silver-ranked monster that are made of pure darkness. Quick, dangerous, and tough to kill. The Crawler's dungeon is full of them."

"Really? Then why is it a bronze dungeon?"

"Typically silver-ranked," Brevon responded. "For some reason or another, the shades in the Crawler's dungeon are much weaker than other shades. They're just about as resiliant, but they're slow and don't hit too hard. So they're not very dangerous, but they take forever to kill. It's why it's called the Crawler's dungeon. Unless they can punch way above their weight class, delves from a bronze adventuring team are about as fast as a crawl."

Kat wrinkled her nose. These shades didn't sound like very much fun to fight. Although she supposed this delve was more about getting her some real combat experience with her new skill than it was for fun. A relatively safe environment for her and her teammates to practice and grow.

Although, that had also been the intention with the Darkwing dungon, which had turned out to be plenty exciting. Kat had no intention of letting down her guard.

After just a few more minutes of walking they arrived, Brevon leading the way down a small fork from the road. This dungeon was closer than the previous two dungeons, only a fifteen minute walk from the city, but Kat decided that she rather enjoyed the longer walks of the previous dungeons.

Less than a minute down the fork, Brevon paused in front of what looked like an extremely fancy but old shed. Smaller than her room at the guild, the double doors had ornately carved handles and large stylized knockers. What looked like marble pillars supported the roof on each corner of the shed, carved with tongues of flame flowing up from the base. Despite the ornate architecture, everything was faded and run-down as if the place hadn't been visited in years.

Brevon and Lester double-checked their gear by the entrance while Kat tucked Snuffers away inside her backpack and secured the straps keeping it closed. She considered activating [nature's protection], but ultimately decided to wait until they were closer to combat. The drain after activating the skill was pretty negligible, but for longer delves she would need to get in the habit of conserving her mana as much as possible.

"Ready?" Brevon asked after a minute. Lester and Kat nodded back, and Brevon turned and pulled open one of the large double doors, leading the way into the darkness.

Chapter 27: Paint it Black

Kat didn't have much experience in dungeons, but of the three she'd been in, this was definitely the strangest.

From the outside, the building, which apparently was the dungeon, was tiny. But after taking a single step past the doors, they found themselves at the top of a long spiral staircase that looked over a large ballroom.

She had gotten another new robe for this dungeon run, this time not paying extra for sewn-in runes, but she still felt she was severely underdressed as they descended the staircase. The place looked run down, but it was what she imagined an imperial palace might look like had it been left to rot for a couple of decades.

"There aren't any monsters in the ballroom," Lester muttered back to Kat, the slight echoes around the empty room encouraging him to keep his voice low. "But don't get complacent; our intel could always be wrong."

Kat nodded and readied her mana, prepared to activate [nature's protection] at a moment's notice.

They descended to the floor of the ballroom and spent a few moments ensuring they were fully alone before relaxing. Lester moved away to search the room for hidden treasures.

"This dungeon's a little different from most others," Brevon said to Kat while they waited. "You can actually head directly to the boss without fighting any of the monsters if you want. We won't do that, of course, since you miss out on the rewards from those monsters or rooms, and the floor chest is typically worse if you don't fully clear the floor."

"If we don't clear the monsters on the way to the boss, isn't there a chance they might attack us from behind? Why would anyone skip them?"

"Yeah, which is another reason we won't be skipping them. But in terms of money and experience gained versus time spent, it's most efficient to just rush directly to the boss room and loot the floor chest. You'll see soon, but the shades take a while to kill and don't have the best rewards. But we're here for training and testing as much as for the loot."

Kat nodded, and a few moments later Lester regrouped with them empty-handed. He gave them a simple nod before leading the way down an ornate hallway, walking slowly to check for traps.

The hallway was about seven feet wide with a checkered tile floor. Against the walls were marble busts on stands underneath beautiful, if faded, framed paintings. The light-stones in the chandeliers over their hands didn't provide the best illumination, but Kat kept having to remind herself to focus on watching for danger rather than just admiring her surroundings.

"Why aren't we looting any of this stuff?" she eventually whispered. "I'm no expert, but it all looks expensive."

"Dungeon-made," Brevon replied over his shoulder as Lester dropped to a knee to disarm a tripwire. "If they're removed from the dungeon, they'll slowly degrade over the next week or two. You can get arrested for trying to sell something dungeon-made without telling the buyer. Anything that isn't dropped from monsters or inside of a chest is like that."

Kat swallowed and nodded before following as Lester stood up and resumed moving forward. That tidbit of knowledge seemed like something they probably should have taught her at the academy.

After another minute the hallway turned and the surroundings changed. In addition to the busts and artwork, there were four doors, two on each side of the hallway, each separated by about twenty feet.

"These are the rooms that have the shades," Brevon said as he pulled out his sword, his armor and shield appearing from his bracer a moment later. "Get ready for combat."

Kat activated [nature's protection].

It was no more comfortable than it had been the first time she used the skill, but with all of her recent practice she was able to ignore the unpleasant sensation of the roots crawling over her skin until they merged into the protective layer of bark.

"Ready," she said, and Brevon turned the doorknob, slamming the door open into the wall on the inside of the room. He confidently stepped forward with his shield raised, Lester and Kat only a step behind.

The room was relatively small, about the size that Kat would have expected the Crawler's dungeon to be from looking at it from the outside, and she immediately saw the two shades. The room was dim, with shadows shifting around the room as the chandelier overhead gently swung back and forth, but it was impossible to confuse the shades for real shadows.

Black. That was the only word that came to Kat's mind upon seeing them. The blackest black she could imagine.

They were a little taller than a human, amorphous blobs that undulated in the adventurers' direction. It was impossible to tell anything else about their features, as they didn't even look three-dimensional. Any indicators of depth on their bodies disappeared into a single solid mass of blackness.

"I'll get this one, you get the other, Kat," Brevon called. "Lester will jump in if you need help."

Kat stepped towards her assigned shade. It was difficult to tell the exact distance of the monster, so Kat decided to play it safe and swung forward with her knife when it still looked far out of her reach.

But as the knife swung out, a small flame formed from the tip and flung out towards the shade, closing the two feet of separation before colliding with the monster and immediately extinguishing.

The shade didn't react to the attack except to maintain its slow advance toward Kat. After another foot, a tentacle formed from the central mass and swung forward at Kat's head. She ducked, dodging the attack.

It was surprisingly easy.

Even given the description of the shades from Lester and Brevon, she had expected the attack to be a little quicker. Yet even with [nature's protection] slightly slowing her down, it was trivial for her to dodge the attack.

She didn't allow herself to be complacent, though, as she waited for another attack. Who knew how many tentacles the monster could form? And there was always the potential that the monster was holding something back.

The first tentacle shrunk back into the shade's body before a second tentacle swung out again at Kat in almost the exact same trajectory. Once again, Kat dodged easily.

Three more times this repeated. None of the attacks came close to hitting Kat, yet the shade didn't show any sign of switching up its strategy.

Not only was this monster slow; it was stupid too.

Kat allowed the next attack to come a little closer before she dodged, feeling the wind from the strike waft against a few loose strands of her hair. She stepped forward and spun around the shade, facing it from its presumed 'backside.' A new tentacle formed as the old one disappeared, swinging at her from a slightly different orientation than when she stood on the other side, but no less easy to dodge.

For a few minutes this continued, Kat dancing and dodging around the shade. Each time she pushed herself a little harder, allowing the tentacle to get an inch closer before she began her dodge, even occasionally letting it make glancing contact against her arm or shoulder.

In many ways, this 'training' of her new skill was vastly inferior to the training she could have done back at the guild with her teammates or with Bruce and his team. But Bruce had insisted it was just as important to train against actual monsters with real danger as it was to spar with her teammates, that it would allow her to fully trust and understand how far she could push herself with her skill. Kat didn't know if he was right -- after all, almost all of her previous training with her corrupted skills had been in life-and-death battles rather than spring matches -- but she trusted his advice.

Although with how slow the shade was moving, she wasn't sure if this fight truly counted as dangerous.

Eventually, she attacked back, striking out at the shade's tentacle with her knife as she dodged, barely feeling any resistance to the blade passing through. The shade didn't scream or have any other reaction to the quick slash, but Kat noticed what looked like a small amount of gaseous darkness evaporating from where she hit it.

And so it continued. The shade would form a tentacle of darkness and swing it at Kat's head, who would, at the last moment, dodge and stab the passing tentacle. After a few rounds of that, Kat started to dash forward and stab the shade's body as well before backing up and waiting for the next strike.

After a minute, what looked like thin columns of dark steam were evaporating from dozens of locations on the shade's body. After ten minutes, the steam changed to thick smoke and the shade's body wasn't quite as impossibly dark as it had originally been. Kat kept dodging, stabbing, and slashing for another thirty minutes until the shade lost so much of its darkness that it simply...disappeared.

Kat stood back, knife still held at the ready, until there was a small clink of a few copper coins appearing on the ground where the shade had been.

"Took long enough," Brevon said with a smile. Kat had noticed him and Lester watching her as she fought, but she had put them out of her mind in favor of focusing on the battle. He was leaning casually against the wall of the room and had dismissed his shield and armor. "Lester already searched the room for loot, so we're ready to go as soon as you're rested."

Kat responded with a large smile and two thumbs-up. She was sweating heavily, [nature's protection] not being very moisture-wicking, but felt invigorated after the near hour of combat. "I'm good to go! Sorry that took so long."

Brevon waved her away. "You're fine. This is good practice for you. But it'll be nice when you get your offensive skill. With the word 'light' in the skill's name, I bet it will be extra effective against shades, too."

Kat brightened. "Really? Can we come back after I get it, then?"

Brevon chuckled. "Let's focus on this delve before we start planning for the next."

He led the way out of the room and across the hallway, pausing for only a moment before slamming the door open.

This time, there was only one shade waiting for them. Brevon stepped forward and engaged it.

"Let's practice our harrying," he yelled, and Kat and Lester jumped forward to join.

It was something they had practiced for dealing with some of the larger floor bosses, but it would work just as well against the shade. Each of them took a side with the shade in the middle, Brevon stabbing forward with his sword to draw its attention. When it formed a tentacle to swing out at him, Kat and Lester dashed forward to attack it from behind.

The next tentacle targeted Lester, who dodged back while Brevon and Kat slashed forward. And each time the shade focused on someone new, they repeated the strategy.

It wasn't identical to the strategy they'd use against a strong floor boss. In a battle like that, whoever the monster would target would have to focus entirely on defense, while against the shade it was easy enough to dodge and attack simultaneously. Additionally, Lester wasn't using his teleporting skill at all, wanting to conserve the mana in case it was needed later in the dungeon.

But it was still good practice. If nothing else, it helped them to familiarize themselves with the attack patterns and body language of their teammates, understanding and trusting how their allies would move in any given situation.

It was also much faster than Kat taking on the shade by herself. In just fifteen minutes the shade dissipated, leaving behind a handful of copper coins that Lester unceremoniously scooped up.

The next room was almost identical to the first two, except it had three shades. This time, Lester lured one away to the corner while leaving the other two for Kat, Brevon standing by to jump in if needed.

The shades were just as slow and as stupid as a pair as they were alone, but the presence of a second attacker represented a significant increase in the difficulty. When fighting just one, Kat could essentially stand in place, leaning back to dodge the tentacle and forward to stab. But with two she was forced to move around the room a bit more, leading them in circles and stabbing whenever they got close. Honestly, she could probably still defeat them without moving, but kiting monsters was something important to learn and practice.

After thirty minutes of leading them around and stabbing whenever she got the chance, Lester and Brevon joined in to help finish them off. They couldn't spend all of their time waiting for Kat to whittle down the monsters, not when they were still only on the first floor.

The fourth room was identical to the third, with three shades. This time, they worked together from the start to bring them down.

It was here that Kat got her first taste of her new role. As talented as Brevon was, without a taunt skill there was no way for him to keep the attention of all three shades by himself. Kat wasn't sure how [nature's protection] compared to Brevon's armor, but it was unquestionably better than Lester's light leather armor, so it was her job to keep the monsters' attention while the rogue did the damage.

Once she got her [chained light] skill she could help in dealing out more significant damage, but in the meantime, she was reduced to an extremely agile tank.

It took a while, but they were able to defeat the three shades without issue.

Finally, they were ready for the boss.

Kat remembered she had been fairly interested in dungeon theory back at the academy. Unfortunately, as an academy for training adventurers, the classes were much more focused on teaching the students how to defeat dungeons rather than on teaching the whys behind dungeons' existences.

One thing she did remember, though, was that no one completely understood dungeons. Sure, people had learned trends and the rules that dungeons adhered to, but the nuances of those rules and the whys behind them were a mystery.

Maybe some scientists had figured it all out in the last forty years. Or maybe someone had always known but just never bothered to tell Kat. Either way, Kat didn't fully get dungeons.

While there could be huge variations in the types and styles between different dungeons, within the same dungeon there always was a theme that the dungeon adhered to. Kat just couldn't figure out what this dungeon's theme was.

In contrast to the shades, the boss of the first floor of the dungeon was a sentient flame at the end of a giant candle in the middle of the boss room. Kat could sort of see how the shades and flame could be related in the contrast of light and dark, but as to how that related with an old abandoned mansion? She had no idea.

Luckily, understanding the theme wasn't a prerequisite to understanding how to defeat the boss.

The shades were basically impossible to defeat in a single blow. Even a strong strike that bisected a shade through the middle would only cause it to leak darkness at a slightly faster pace. The flame was similar, though different in the details.

"Everyone ready?" Brevon asked. "Remember, if you get flames on you, back off and put them out immediately. It can attack from range, but as long as one of us is in melee range it will ignore anyone out of its reach."

Kat took a deep breath before nodding. This would be her first real boss fight, and she was determined to not mess it up. With a single look back at his teammates, Brevon led the way through the doorway at the end of the hall, leading to another giant ballroom. In the middle, just as her teammates had described, stood a large candlestick, about three feet tall. The candle was cylindrical, almost a foot in diameter, yet it looked minuscule compared to the massive flame that burned from the tiny wick.

It towered over them, the flame itself at least as tall as Kat. As the door burst open with a thud, tongues of fire reached out as if to embrace the adventuring party.

The party moved forward to oblige it.

Kat could feel the temperature increase as they moved to within striking range of the monster, though it wasn't nearly as hot as a similarly sized bonfire would be. She saw a tentacle of flame grow from the edge, a layer of orange surrounding a white core, and she was sure that wouldn't hold true if the flame actually touched her.

The flame tentacle swung out towards Brevon, who huddled behind his shield for safety. The fire splashed against his shield, lingering as if looking for a way to crawl around it before it retreated. But before it could completely return to the main body, Lester was there, bisecting the tentacle with his dagger.

The fire that was cut off flopped on the ground, more of a solid object than plasma, where it would burn for another thirty seconds before disappearing. But Kat had more important things to focus on than watching the tentacle of fire dissipating on the ground beyond noting to avoid stepping on it. A second tentacle, only a second behind the first, was lashing out at her.

She didn't have a shield to hide behind, so she dodged, ducking to her right. The tentacle chased her for a moment, slightly faster than the tentacles of the shades, before it gave up the pursuit and returned to the main body of flame.

Before it could escape Kat slashed out with her knife. Unfortunately, the tentacle was thicker than her small knife was long, and she could only stab it rather than cut all the way through. Liquid fire dripped from the wound onto the ground, but it was much less than what Lester had cut off.

She scrunched up her nose, once again wishing for her [chained light] skill.

Another tentacle swung at her and she shook herself free from any distractions, dodging and then stabbing. Before the tentacle could fully retreat, Lester blinked into existence next to her and swung his dagger at the base, removing the tentacle completely, skipping back and away a moment later.

And so they battled.

Like the shades, it was a slow battle, though the stakes were higher. They got into a system of Kat and Brevon drawing the attention of tentacles so that Lester could blink forward to cut them off, retreating immediately after. With each lost tentacle, the mass of flame diminished.

Brevon occasionally was able to cut off a tentacle of his own with a swing of his sword, but mostly left the cutting to Lester. Kat found that she was able to do a little more damage to the flame by coating her knife with a layer of water from her water pouch, but the improvement wasn't worth the effort, at least not when she had two allies who were plenty capable of whittling down the boss.

Only once did a tentacle hit her, and even through [nature's protection] Kat felt a searing pain on the back of her shoulder from the glancing blow. But she didn't allow her movement to falter, activating [healing touch] as she continued to dodge.

As the flame got smaller, the tentacles got easier and easier to dodge, losing the reach that they originally had. Eventually, the tentacles got thin enough that Kat could sever them with her knife, which accelerated their pace even further. Finally, after a half-hour battle, there was only a tiny, half-inch long flame burning the wick of the massive candle, unable to do anything except gently sway in their direction.

"Would you like to do the honors?" Lester asked, gesturing to the tiny boss.

With a grin, Kat leaned forward over the tiny flame and blew.

Chapter 28: Welcome to...the Future!

Kat supposed she had been spoiled with the loot from the dungeon swarm, because she couldn't help her disappointment as she looked into the first-floor chest.

"That's it?" she asked.

Brevon huffed. "What, were you expecting more enchanted items? They're almost never in bronze dungeons, much less the first floor."

"This is a bit less than average, though," Lester commented as he counted the coins before storing them in his backpack. "Hopefully we'll have better luck on the next floor."

Kat hopped from foot to foot. "What's it like? How much harder than this floor will it be? And how does the loot compare?"

"First things first, let's break for a quick lunch. We don't want to stop mid-floor, and we need to keep our energy up." Kat was about to interject but Brevon cut her off with a raised hand. "Even if you don't feel tired after this floor, there's no harm in resting for a bit. Pushing and pushing without breaks is how mistakes happen."

Begrudgingly Kat nodded, finding a somewhat comfortable patch of floor to sit down on and pull out her lunch, also taking the opportunity to let Snuffers get some fresh air.

For a few minutes they ate quietly, Kat enjoying the artwork scattered around the ballroom.

"This might not be the best place to bring it up," Lester spoke into the silence. "But I figure it's something we shouldn't avoid, and if we've got some time..."

Kat looked over at the skinny boy, who looked uncharacteristically nervous. "What's that?"

"Well, I was wondering...we were wondering," he amended after a glance at Brevon. "What's the plan for the future?"

"What do you mean?" Kat asked, looking at him quizzically.

Lester took another bite of his sandwich, taking a moment to chew and fiddle with his hands before he responded. "With the team," he finally said.

"Um, keep delving? What else would we do?"

Brevon sighed before joining in on the conversation. "What he's meaning to say is, what's your plan for the future with our team? When you joined you made it clear that this was only temporary, that you would be leaving to join your old teammates once you found them. Well...you found them."

Kat put her sandwich to the side and replaced it with Snuffers in her lap.

"Well..." she began, hesitatingly. "I can't really join them, since none of them are adventurers anymore. So...I guess I'll keep delving with you." She paused, then added in a whisper, "If you'll have me."

Brevon let out another sigh. "That's the question, isn't it? Please, Kat, don't take any of this as an insult to you or your skills, but...joining a team permanently is a big deal. There needs to be a lot of trust and synergy between teammates, and speaking frankly, we've only known you for a week. Lester and I are planning to go for it for the long haul. Is that something you can commit to? As we grow, your levels will come much slower than ours since you're already so high level. For how many dungeons you've delved, you're amazingly strong, but do you think you'll be able to keep up as we advance, with your stats as split as they are? How about portals? They're pretty much a necessity to get around to all the higher-level dungeons. Will you abandon us whenever we have to portal to a dungeon? Will our team be forced to only delve local dungeons, traveling from city to city via caravan?" He sighed again. "When you joined, we all thought it would be temporary. You've been a full member and we've tried to treat you as such. But that's always been with the knowledge that sooner or later we'll go our separate ways. But now..." He shook his head. "You're of course welcome to stick around to delve and train with us until you figure out what you plan to do. But both we and you need to decide if we're a good fit together as a team for the long haul."

Kat looked between the two boys with wide eyes before nodding and resuming her meal.

She...wasn't entirely sure what to think.

They made some good points, she had to admit. Up until she reunited with her old friends two days ago, she had treated everything with Brevon and Lester as merely temporary. She shouldn't be upset with them for treating her the same way. Joining a team was a big deal that should involve careful consideration from both sides. She knew that they had originally only brought her along to the first dungeon because of Brevon's dad, and then only accepted her as a teammate as an apology for being jerks. That wasn't enough to justify forming a permanent team together.

It made perfect sense for everyone to take a step back and reevaluate what was best.

Kat hugged Snuffers.

It made perfect sense, yet she couldn't stop the weight that wrapped around her heart upon hearing the boys' words.

She was a much higher level than both of the boys, yet she was still the novice on the team. They were the ones who knew the dungeons, who taught her strategies and trained her in her new role. All her strongest skills were corrupted, and it would take years for her new skills to catch up. The boys were high-bronze, pushing on silver, while she had fought her first dungeon boss less than fifteen minutes earlier.

An old, old fear surfaced in her heart, the fear of someone surrounded by friends so much more competent than her. How could she ever hope to keep up with them? Maybe it was for the best that she looked for a new team rather than waiting for the boys to kick her out.

But...weren't they getting along well? They had defeated this floor so easily, smoothly working together to bring down each monster and the boss. And she enjoyed training with them, and it seemed like they enjoyed the training just as much.

But then she remembered the Underhill dungeon. By themselves, even when worried about protecting her, they had managed to clear it without issue. Would they be able to do the same to this dungeon? How much did she really contribute? They had waited for her to fight a few of the shades on her own simply to give her experience. Without her, they probably could have cleared the dungeon faster. And they already mentioned how the Crawler's dungeon wasn't very popular, that they were only here for her to test and train her new skill. How much was she holding them back?

Kat's thoughts chased each other around and around in her head as she forced down the rest of her sandwich.

"Ready to go, Kat?" Brevon asked, interrupting her from her spiraling thoughts.

She looked up, surprised to find both Brevon and Lester already on their feet with their bags packed. She nodded.

Brevon and Lester shared a glance with each other.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought this up while we were in a dungeon," Lester said. "If you're not feeling up for it, we can take a break, maybe come back to clear the rest of the dungeon on another day?"

Kat forced a smile onto her face as she tucked Snuffers away into her backpack, reluctantly giving him a final pat on the head before latching it shut. "I'm fine. Let's go!"

Brevon and Lester shared another look before eventually nodding, and Brevon led the way down the stairs to the second floor of the dungeon.

To Kat, the second floor looked identical to the first, though she didn't put much effort into looking for differences. She tapped her foot as they waited for Lester to search the initial ballroom for any traps or loot before he led the way down another long hallway.

Quickly, they turned a corner and once more walked down a hallway lined with doors. Kat immediately nodded when Brevon asked if they were ready, and he slammed open the first door.

The monsters in this room were once again shades, though the three blobs of darkness were slightly bigger than the ones on the previous floor.

"Kat, distract the two on the right, if you can! Lester and I will take out the one on the left before switching to help with yours!"

Kat sprang forward into motion, dashing forward to make sure the two shades on the right latched onto her as their first target. Then as two tentacles formed, one from each of the shades, she skipped backward to dodge.

This time, instead of waiting for the first tentacle to disappear before forming a new one, a second tentacle formed only a second after the first had swung. Kat nimbly dodged the two new limbs and began to lead the monsters on a chase around the room.

The additional limbs didn't add much difficulty compared to when they only formed one at a time, at least not when she wasn't looking for openings to strike back. So, after a minute of simply running and dodging, Kat decided to do so.

As the tentacle of the closer of the two shades swung at her, instead of dodging away she dodged forward, ducking under the limb and slashing with her knife. She was fast enough that, by the time the second tentacle lashed out at her, she was already skipping back and away.

Unfortunately, the second shade was close enough for its tentacle to graze her shoulder as she dodged back, but Kat didn't mind. After all, she was supposed to be testing out her new armor skill, right? How was she supposed to do that if she didn't ever get hit?

So she continued attacking and dodging, trading her slashes for the occasional retaliatory strike from a tentacle. But the hits from the shades were weak, glancing blows, and beneath [nature's protection] she could barely feel them. Over time, though, bruises began to form, so with a thought, she activated [healing touch] and continued to fight.

After a few minutes, Lester joined Kat in her battle. Kat looked over and saw that the third shade still attacked Brevon, but she didn't care to question the change in strategy. With Lester's help, she was able to attack the shades even more frequently, and they managed to clear the room quicker than any on the previous floor.

The following rooms followed a similar pattern, though Brevon never called for Kat to fight any shades by herself again. Was he worried about her being able to take them on alone?

Kat decided it didn't matter and pushed herself harder to strike out at the monsters whenever she got the chance, getting a better feel of what hits she was able to take versus what she needed to dodge. She used [healing touch] more and more as they progressed, but that was fine; what was the point of having a healing skill if she wasn't ever going to be injured? Her bruises didn't heal nearly as quickly as she was used to, but the battles were long and drawn out. They healed eventually.

She noticed Brevon and Lester casting a few concerned glances her way between the rooms, but she kept her focus on the battles, thinking through what she could have done better even after they cleared the rooms.

Eventually, after a blur of combat, they faced the boss. Kat was disappointed to see it was only more of the same.

Instead of a single sentient flame at the end of a candle, two sentient flames burned at the ends of two branches of a candelabra, each a little smaller than the one on the previous floor. It added a slight challenge since someone always needed to be within melee range of each of the flames to keep them from spewing projectile fire, but between her and Brevon they held the attention of the monsters without issue. In hardly any time, the flames were once again tiny.

Lester gestured forward for her to take down the dual bosses, and Kat unceremoniously swiped out with her knife through each of the wicks, extinguishing the flames.

"Next floor?" she asked as Lester packed away the coins from the boss chest. There were about twice as many coins as had been in the previous floors' boss chest, but unfortunately, there weren't any skill-stones or enchanted items. Maybe they'd get lucky on the third floor.

Lester and Brevon shared another look before Brevon cleared his throat.

"Eh, it's getting kind of late. Let's head back to the city for now. Maybe once you get your [chained light] skill we'll be able to clear it a little faster, and we can clear the third floor as well."

Kat just shrugged before she took Snuffers from her backpack and placed him on her shoulder, before leading the way ahead of Brevon and Lester out of the dungeon.

Chapter 29: Catharsis

The walk back to the city was thankfully short, and Kat wasted no time waving goodbye to the boys before retreating inside the guild. The barroom was just starting to fill with early dinner patrons, but Kat walked through to the stairs without slowing.

She would have continued the same pace all the way to her room, but halfway up she was interrupted.

"Kat! How was the delve? Did your skill work out well?" Paige asked brightly, pausing in the middle of the stairs.

"Um, it worked well, thanks," Kat replied, glancing up at Paige before quickly looking back at her feet. She was happy to see her friend, but...right at that moment, she just wanted to be alone in her room.

Paige frowned. "Are you okay? You didn't get hurt, did you?"

Kat shook her head. "No, no, I'm fine. The skill protected me, and the shades weren't very difficult. It's just..." she hesitated.

Her first instinct was to spew a quick excuse that might get Paige off of her back and out of her way, but nothing came to mind. She thought about making something up...but Kat had never been much of a liar, and had no desire to start.

She sighed.

"Brevon and Lester talked to me about the future of the team. They didn't come out and say it, but...I think they're going to kick me out if I don't leave on my own."

She waited for Paige's response, but only got silence. After a second, she looked up to see the expression on the other girl's face, but before she got a chance she was engulfed in a massive hug that, had her stats not been as high as they were, might have knocked her down the stairs.

"I'm so sorry," Paige whispered in her ear, not releasing her from the hug. Kat grabbed Snuffers to keep him from falling off of her shoulder before she wrapped her arms around Paige and leaned into the hug.

For half a minute they just stood there, only interrupted by the occasional sniffle from Kat, before a cough sounded from behind Paige.

"Excuse me," an older adventurer muttered, waiting above them on the stairs. Paige turned and glared at him before shuffling over to the side with Kat to make room for him to pass.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Paige asked after the man had passed.

Kat thought she didn't, and almost immediately responded no. But...maybe it would help.

"If you're free?"

Paige nodded. "Of course. I was going to grab some dinner with Henry and Todd, but this is more important. Just give me thirty seconds to let them know, and I'll meet you downstairs?"

Kat wiped her eyes and nodded.

A few minutes later, they sat across from each other in a small booth in a corner of the barroom, a bowl of soup in front of each of them.

"Henry still hasn't asked you out on a date?" Kat asked with a small smile as she took her first sip.

Paige just sighed. "Not yet. Todd's still pushing him along, but he's not taking that last step. I'm pretty sure Todd was planning to be a no-show for dinner today."

"...sorry for interrupting."

Paige emphatically shook her head. "No, no. This is much more important. And besides, maybe canceling on him will be the kick in the pants he needs."

Kat giggled.

They sipped their soup in silence for a few moments before Paige spoke again.

"How was the dungeon run?"

And so Kat told Paige about her delve. How great it seemed to be going on the first floor, about the shades and sentient flame, about their strategies and her new skill. And finally, about the conversation at the end of the floor.

"...and I do feel like they have a point, at least about some things. It's just..." Kat paused, unable to find the words to articulate exactly what she was feeling.

"Bunch of jerks," Paige said, shaking her head in anger. "Even if they had a point, which I'm not so sure they do, they could have gone about it better. Tactless, and in the middle of a dungeon run, no less."

Kat smiled. It felt good to have someone angry on her behalf, but she felt obligated to argue for the boys' points. "Aren't they right, though? We formed a team really quickly without knowing each other at all since we all figured it would only be temporary. Now that it's not, shouldn't we reevaluate if it's a good idea?"

Paige thought for a moment before shrugging. "Maybe, but maybe not. I haven't worked with the guild long, but I've heard stories of teams that spent ages to find the perfect composition of members, only to fall apart a month after forming. And I've also heard of teams that formed on the first day they randomly met, yet lasted for several decades. I think I trust my gut and fate more than my mind, most of the time. And I definitely trust my gut more than the minds of stupid Brevon and Lester." She sneered, before reaching over the table and patting Kat's hand. "And my gut's telling me that any team would be lucky to have you join."

"Thanks, Paige," Kat said, a warm feeling, different from the soup, forming in her belly.

"If you do end up splitting up, let me know," Paige added. "I'll keep an eye out for any other bronze teams that are smart enough to recognize your worth."

They spent another hour simply chatting about their lives. Though Kat had introduced Paige to her old teammates when they visited, other than those few minutes they hadn't spent much time together over the last few days, and it felt good to catch up.

Eventually, though, Kat excused herself and retreated to her room. She no longer felt crushed by insecurities and doubts, but between her emotional swings and the long dungeon run she was exhausted. She fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit her pillow.

"...I've done what I can, but Dr. Havernough's research has progressed to the point that he's convinced the baron I'm no longer required for further tests. I'm not sure if he's sending in lab assistants or just doesn't feel he needs humans to explore the nether-realm, but I'm no longer part of the project," Brevid explained, standing tall and staring at the wall behind his short, black-haired employer's head. "Unfortunately, I can no longer perform the tasks requested."

The man frowned. "That is unacceptable. If they create an outpost in the nether-realm..." he paused. "Project Piercer cannot continue. You will need to step up your interference."

Brevid frowned. "Weren't you listening? I'm not part of it anymore. I can't sabotage anything without access."

The man sneered. "The project is centered entirely on Dr. Havernough. You may not have direct access to the project, but I'm sure if you requested a meeting with him, he would grant it. If he were to be...incapacitated, Project Piercer would grind to a halt."

Brevid's frown deepened. "What are you suggesting?" he asked, a threatening tone to his voice.

"I think it is perfectly clear what I am suggesting. Dr. Havernough needs to be eliminated from the equation, and you are the one to do it."

"I'm not your hitman."

"You're an adventurer, which is close enough," the man flippantly replied. As Brevid's frown deepened, the man's smile only grew. "More importantly though, you are under my employ, so you will do as I command."

Brevid's hand flew to his sword. But before he drew it, the man's hand lifted just slightly from the desk, fingers pointing in Brevid's direction, and Brevid froze, reluctantly relinquishing his grip on his weapon. "You may be setting yourself up as a king," Brevid growled. "But you don't command me. I choose who I obey. No one else."

With those words, Brevid turned and stalked from the office, slamming the door shut behind him.

The man frowned and steepled his hands in front of his face. Without Brevid, it could be...difficult to eliminate the doctor. Dr. Havernough wasn't a combat class, but he was exceedingly careful and seldom left his secure lab without precautions. The type of people who might be able to take care of him were also the types who might draw bad attention were they to portal into the city without a reason.

He looked down at a paper in front of him, searching through details of his erstwhile hireling for potential levers to pull, and a smile slowly formed on his face.

Without an inroad, Dr. Havernough would be a tough nut to crack. But perhaps there was a softer target that could accomplish the same thing...

Chapter 30: A Lesson in Futility

The next morning, everything seemed brighter than it had the day before, and Kat enjoyed a quick breakfast before she left town for an hour of meditation in a field of grass next to the road.

She still wasn't sure what she was going to decide in regards to the team, but she also realized something true about what the boys had said the day before: there was no rush. Sure, it'd be nice to know if she would be staying with the team long-term or not. But aside from her own impatience, there was no reason to rush the decision one way or another. She would continue to train and delve with Brevon and Lester until they split apart or she joined permanently. Until either of those happened, she shouldn't agonize over it.

The meditation didn't feel quite as useful for advancing her mastery over her skills as it usually did, distracted as she was by her thoughts of teams and the future, but she felt the resettling of her emotions was more beneficial than the slight gain she might have otherwise gotten for her skills.

Kat realized that it had been over a week since she'd escaped the nether-realm, and it was about time for her to check back with the doctor on her blood test. The man hadn't given her an exact date for her to return for the results, but it had been long enough that Kat was hopeful he'd have something for her.

After going to bed so early the night before, it was still early enough that the stalls and stores in the city were only just starting to open as she navigated the streets from memory, and she had to wait a few minutes outside the locked door of the healer's shop for it to open. Eventually, though, she heard a click of the door behind her unlocking, and she eagerly walked inside.

The bell dinged, and Doctor Reynolds jumped in surprise at the sudden noise only a second after he had unlocked the door.

"Doctor Reynolds! How are you!" Kat waved.

The man looked the same as the last time she had seen him, his white hair still a poofy mess and bright blue eyes large behind his spectacles. It shouldn't have been a surprise, since it had only been a week since she was last here. But a week was almost the entirety of the time that Kat had been outside of the nether-realm. To her, it felt like a small eternity had passed since she had last seen the man.

It took a moment, but the light of recognition flashed in Doctor Reynolds' eyes. "Ah, the girl with the corrupted skills. Kat, was it?"

"Yep!" Kat replied enthusiastically. "And Snuffers too!"

"Ah, well, hello again." He shuffled to the other side of the room and plopped down into a chair behind a desk, before searching through one of the drawers. Kat followed and sat in the chair on the opposite side of the desk. "I have the results of the blood test for you, let me find them. They should be right...ah, here they are! One minute."

Kat waited silently as he read through the paper.

"Yes, well. Just to reiterate, the issue you were looking to resolve is that you say your skills are 'corrupted,' and are much weaker than you are used to?"

"Yeah! And also, I got a new skill a few days ago, but it's not corrupted."

"Hm, interesting. Well, after examining your blood, I couldn't find anything directly related to any 'corruption.' But I did find several oddities. Would you like to go through them with me, and perhaps we might be able to better resolve this mystery?" Kat nodded, and Doctor Reynolds flipped through the papers to the last. "From my divinations on your blood, you appear to be completely healthy. Remarkably healthy, in fact. So healthy that it is an oddity."

Kat tilted her head to the side. "What do you mean?"

"Well, most people of your age are generally healthy, but no one's body functions exactly as it should. Poor diet, injuries, and simple time cause defects within the body that my divinations on your blood are able to pick up on. Your [healing touch] skill will resolve some of those normal issues, and a high vitality can fix others, but your blood...unless you have put all of your stats into vitality, I would expect your blood to belong to one much higher leveled than someone of your age could be."

He gave Kat a questioning look, and she shrugged, catching Snuffers when he started to slip from her shoulder. "I've got pretty even stats, but my level is pretty high, so maybe that's it?"

Doctor Reynolds shook his head. "If your stats are close to evenly distributed, you'd have to be at least level fifty to have blood like this."

Kat brightened. "Oh, that's it. I'm level sixty-four!"

Doctor Reynolds raised an eyebrow as he frowned at her. "I'm sorry, Miss Kat, I don't want to call you a liar...but level sixty-four? Even the most vigorous power-leveling of noble children won't get them much beyond level thirty by sixteen."

"I'm...a little older than I look. Well, a lot older, actually. Technically, I'm fifty-six years old."

Doctor Reynolds rubbed his temples. "...what?"

"It's kinda a long story, but..." Kat proceeded to summarize for the doctor her time in the nether-realm and her recent realization after meeting her old friends.

"That's..." Doctor Reynolds ran a hand through his hair, and then sighed. "Honestly, I don't believe you. But I can't deny the evidence of your blood. Based on what you've told me..." he shrugged. "My only guess would be that your corrupted skills are due to something related to this realm you're describing. I can attempt to heal you using one of my skills, free of charge since the blood test was so unsuccessful, but I doubt it will solve anything."

Kat frowned, partially in the doctor's unwillingness to believe her story and partially due to his words. Although, after her conversation with Dr. Havernough, she wasn't too surprised that he didn't have a way to fix her skills. She sort of figured that conventional solutions wouldn't be the resolution.

That didn't mean she wouldn't keep trying, though.

She plastered a smile on her face. "I'd appreciate the effort."

Doctor Reynolds nodded before he reached forward and grabbed one of Kat's hands with his own. For a few moments she waited silently, until he pulled back and nodded. "Okay, I've used both a standard healing and cleansing skill on you, which is the most I can offer for free. Were they successful?"

Kat quickly pulled up her skills menu and shook her head.

Doctor Reynolds sighed. "I'm sorry, then. There are a few other procedures we can try, such as blood replacement or a full-body scan, but those will both be more expensive. And I seriously doubt they will be any more effective at determining the cause of the issue than the blood test."

"That's okay," Kat replied, standing. "I might come back later though, if that's fine?"

"Of course," Doctor Reynolds replied. "I'll make sure to keep your file. And I'm truly sorry I couldn't be of more help."

"Thanks for trying!" Kat replied with a smile, before turning and leaving. Despite not believing her story, he still listened and tried his best to help. Which was as much as she could ask of anyone.

She stood in the street outside of his store, hand on her forehead to shield her eyes from the early morning sun. Bruce and his team's ban on dungeon delving had finally expired, which meant her daily practice with them was on hold for the foreseeable future. She didn't regret the time spent reconnecting with her old friends, but she was a bit sad that she had missed the opportunity to train on Bruce's team's last few free days.

Now, though, she needed to figure out how to fill the time until her afternoon training with Lester and Brevon. She could go bother Paige at work in the guild hall, but if there were any other adventurers who needed help then Kat would be left bored. Maybe she could go shopping? But there wasn't anything she particularly needed, and though she had more money now than she had ever had before in her life, she didn't want to get in the habit of spending all of her earnings the minute she got them.

There were some stereotypes of adventurers she didn't want to fill.

Besides, they hadn't had a chance to split the loot from the previous day's delve, which meant Lester was still holding onto the vast majority of Kat's coin.

Maybe she could check to see if [chained light] had arrived. Although she once again wouldn't have the coin to purchase it until after she met back up with Lester and Brevon...

She was distracted from her musings by a soft meow from down the road.

From the corner of her eye, she saw a black tail disappear around the corner of an alleyway a few yards away. A grin stretched across her face as she dashed after it.

It wasn't for no reason that Kat refused to be called Katherine, or that her beloved Snuffers had the form of a cat. She loved the animals: their fluffiness, their confidence, even their rude aloofness. It had been decades since she had last petted a cat; while Snuffers resembled one in so many ways, she knew that he wasn't a real cat.

She had found her goal for the morning.

As she rounded the corner to the alleyway, she saw the cat duck behind a dumpster, and she stealthily chased after it. Uncaring of the filth, she pressed up against the dumpster and peeked behind it to meet the stare of a small, barely-glowing set of eyes.

"Meow," she said, hand reaching out in invitation.

Meow, the cat, spontaneously named Cuddles, responded. It's fur was short and scruffy, and almost completely black, the only exceptions the tips of its four white paws. Its ribs were clearly visible through its fur; clearly, it was a stray.

It nosed forward, stretching its neck out towards Kat's extended hand. Kat waited patiently, silently thinking encouraging thoughts towards the skittish animal. Closer and closer Cuddles drew, nostrils flaring as it sniffed at Kat's extended fingers. Kat wondered if it could smell remnants of her breakfast. It was less than an inch away, nose almost touching Kat's fingertips, and then...

Someone on the street just outside of the alleyway guffawed, and Cuddles turned and fled.

Kat frowned, hesitated for just a moment, and then gave chase.

Attempting to chase down a cat was a lesson in futility; Kat knew this from past experience. But she wasn't really attempting to chase down Cuddles.

She gave him...or her...plenty of space, running just quick enough to make sure the cat never got out of sight, but not close enough that Cuddles would be spooked. Eventually, Cuddles would slow down and Kat would get another chance to coax him into living up to his name.

That was what she hoped, at least. She followed the cat across two streets and through three more alleys before Cuddles finally slowed down, sniffing outside another dumpster. But this time, she made the mistake of accidentally kicking a metal piece of detritus, which spooked Cuddles into another thirty seconds of fleeing.

Kat wished she had some food to tempt the cute kitty. She passed a number of food stalls serving breakfast when she followed Cuddles across wider roads which, based on the smells, would work wonderfully for luring the cat closer, but she doubted she'd be able to track Cuddles down again after the minute it would take to pay for the food.

Twice more she came close to petting Cuddles, one time the cat even pushing its head up against her hand before it was scared off by another noise from the street, and Kat was starting to get a little frustrated. She was in a part of town she had yet to explore, a part of town where the buildings were much more run-down with litter scattered throughout even the bigger streets, but she didn't have the time to be distracted from her goal by her surroundings.

At least, not until she heard a muffled yell from a nearby alleyway.

She'd heard plenty of different yells over the last couple minutes, many from people on their way to work that she'd had to dance around in her pursuit of her target. All of those she had ignored. But this yell was different. It was a yell of pain, and also...familiar.

She gave a last longing glance as the fluffy black tail disappeared down a different alleyway before she turned to the alley where she heard the noise.

Now that she was paying attention, she heard other voices also coming from the alleyway, angry voices that she definitely didn't recognize.

"...and you're gonna pay Pavil what you owe 'im, or else we'll be taking the payment in the form of a pound 'o flesh, ya hear?"

Kat heard a familiar grunt of pain, and then the same strained voice that she recognized. "I've got your pound of flesh right here!"

There were a few more thumps and grunts of pain, followed by some gruff laughter. She stepped around the corner.

"Lester?"

Chapter 31: Overwhelming Power

It took a moment for Kat to register what she was seeing, a moment spent staring at the five people who stared right back.

Five of them were strangers in ripped clothes, their outfits entirely black aside from a single splash of red on each of them. Its location differed for each person -- one wore a headband, another an armband, and one even had a red eyepatch. The matching color scheme gave her the feeling of a performing troupe, perhaps a team from the circus -- but the sixth person disabused her of that fleeting notion.

In the middle, laying on his side in the mud of the alley with arms held protectively around his head, was Lester. The five others were all busy staring at Kat, and Lester took the opportunity to look at what caught their attention, eyes widening when he saw Kat standing in the entrance of the alleyway.

He mouthed something, but before Kat had a chance to decipher what he was trying to say two of the strangers stepped between them, blocking him from view.

"Walk away," the same man who she had heard speaking earlier growled, and Kat mentally labeled him as Thug One. It wasn't particularly nice to call someone a 'thug,' especially without knowing them first, but Kat couldn't think of any circumstances that would leave Lester in this position without the man fitting that description.

"What's going on here?" she asked anyway. As obvious as it seemed, she didn't want to jump to conclusions.

"Nothing that concerns you, girly," Thug One replied, while two of the other strangers smirked at her in a way she found distasteful.

"Yeah, so unless you wanna dance..." one of the other strangers made a suggestive gesture. "Git lost."

Calling them all thugs two through five would be rude and dismissive of their individuality, so Kat labeled those two as Perv and Greasy instead.

"Well, Lester is my teammate, and I'm a part-healer, so I'd say his health does concern me," Kat said defiantly. In her head, she added the word 'temporary' before teammate, but that wasn't important to clarify.

A few of the thugs tensed when she mentioned the word 'teammate,' but then relaxed when she said 'healer.'

Thug One smirked. "I admire your loyalty. I really do. But scum like Lester don't deserve that loyalty. So make the smart choice, don't get your pretty little face hurt over someone like him, and walk away."

Kat looked between the smirking Thug One, to the four other minions around him in the narrow alleyway, and then to Lester, wincing in pain on the ground. She didn't see weapons in any of their hands, but at least three of them carried daggers on their belts, and she would wager the others had their own weapons hidden away somewhere.

With his blinking skill, Kat wasn't sure why Lester hadn't simply fled from the group of thugs. She looked where he lay in the mud between the legs of Eyepatch, and he stared back. He was clearly in some pain and not enjoying the situation, but after a moment of eye contact, he reluctantly shook his head and then jerked his chin towards the entrance of the alley, mouthing 'Brevon.'

Kat frowned. She was hesitant to leave a teammate, even a temporary teammate, in a situation like this, not when she didn't know how long it might take to track down Brevon, or what might happen to Lester in the meantime. She stared at Lester with squinted eyes before turning away.

"Good choice," Thug One said, followed by a snort from Perv.

Then, carefully, Kat pulled Snuffers from her shoulder and deposited him safely into her backpack.

"I didn't bring the shoes for it," Kat said, her heart thumping in anticipation as roots crawled across her skin. "But who would I be to turn down a dance?"

"It's a hard path you've chosen," Bruce explained. "In almost all situations, specialization trumps generalization."

Kat sat cross-legged across from Bruce in the training room. Peter and Monica had recently returned from visiting their mage-fighter hybrid friend Sylas, and had returned with a long letter that Bruce had read and was now teaching her. She frowned at Bruce.

"Yeah...if I could go back and do it differently..."

Bruce cut her off. "Almost all situations, I said. Not all situations. Sylas has listed three examples of where having someone with generalized stats is better than having someone with more specialized stats, and I am sure there are others he has not mentioned"

Kat leaned forward, listening closely.

"First, something that we should all be striving for: skill. And not just skill with skills, but how skillful and trained someone is. I would much prefer a generalized, but skilled teammate, than a specialized teammate without the skill. No matter your stats, if you don't train your mind, body, and skills, then you will be less useful than you could be. It's a trap that many adventurers, after they advance to the upper end of bronze, fall into. With your level, and at the levels of many high-bronze adventurers, it's possible to easily clear dungeons relying only on your stats rather than any sort of technique or skills. But that attitude will get you hurt or even killed the first time you face a monster with stats that outclass you. No matter your stats, your skills and technique are always important." He paused for a moment to make sure Kat was still paying attention before continuing. "Second, and what you specifically will be shooting for: a specialized build."

"A specialized build? But I'm generalized with my stats. That's what we're trying to fix, right?"

"A specialized build, not specialized stats," Bruce replied. "Maybe there's a better word for it, but I'm talking about a combination of skills and fighting style that differs from the normal build archetypes of rogue, tank, mage, etc. You're aiming to be a close-combat mage similar to Sylas, a fighting style that requires generalized stats. The hope is that the benefits of the unusual combination of skills and fighting style will trump the inherent disadvantages of your generalized stats." Bruce paused to let his words sink in.

"What's the third example?" Kat eventually asked.

Bruce smiled at her. "The third example of when someone with generalized stats is better than someone with specialized stats is overwhelming power. When the difference in level and stats is so high that any potential advantages from specialization are useless."

Kat dodged under the swinging arm of Eyepatch, knocking back the dagger-wielding hand of Perv with the nature-protected back of her forearm. A moment later, she punched Eyepatch's side, leaving him gasping for breath on his hands and knees behind her.

Eyepatch would be out of the fight for a moment, but with four others still attempting to bring her down, she didn't have any time to rest. She lifted her hands in front of her face, blocking a series of magically-black darts that were unable to pierce through [nature's protection], and skipped backward away from Thug One's swinging dagger.

Greasy's form had gone fuzzy and indistinct, but in the morning light Kat didn't find it difficult to track him as he attempted to sneak along the edge of the alley to her side. She made sure to keep an eye on the man as she deflected another stab from Perv.

...it was surprisingly easy.

She knew the danger she was getting herself into by refusing to walk away. She hadn't been anticipating them attacking her with quite as much gusto as they did, nor bringing their potentially-lethal daggers so immediately into the fight, but fighting other humans was always dangerous.

Delving and monsters were always dangerous too, of course, but at the bronze level they were at least somewhat predictable, lacking the randomness that powerful skills could bring to a battle. But fighting the group of thugs...

She had expected to struggle at least a little.

Headband and Perv attacked simultaneously with their daggers, one high and the other low. Instead of dodging backward, like they obviously expected, she darted towards Perv, knocking back his wrist with her elbow and using her other elbow to smash him in the side of the head. He dropped like a rock, but before she could create distance again Thug One stabbed at her with his own dagger.

He must have used a skill, because it pierced through [nature's protection] much easier than anything they had previously tried. Luckily for her, she was already moving by the time his dagger made contact, and the blade didn't bite deep before she was back out of his range.

Blood dripped from her side, but she ignored the pain and activated [healing touch], a flex of mana toward [nature's protection] patching over the hole in her armor.

Attempting to take advantage of her injury, Greasy's blurry form charged her from the side of the alley in a full-body tackle. She was too slow to dodge it completely, so Kat planted her feet and swung out at the approaching form in a massive haymaker.

Greasy wasn't too large of a guy, but he was much bigger than Kat. Her fist met his bicep, and she expected his tackle to push her backward. And it did...one full step.

Greasy, on the other hand, was knocked to the side with a crack of breaking bone and a cry of pain.

Kat shook her head. Was this just the difference between adventurers and non-adventurers? The way they all moved made her think they were mostly dexterity-focused, but based on how quickly Greasy was moving she expected a bit more strength in his strike. With how easy it was to break his arm, he sure wasn't putting anything into vitality.

Thug One and Headband were the only two left standing, and they shared a hesitant glance before looking over to where Lester was using the alley wall to pull himself to his feet behind them. Kat prepared for their final, desperate charge.

Only to blink in surprise when Thug One just sneered at her before dashing away to the other end of the alley, Headband only a few steps behind.

"Give us what you owe, and there won't be no more problems," he yelled to Lester over his shoulder, disappearing down the other end of the alley a moment later.

It took a second for Kat to realize the fight was over, so soon after it had started, and she belatedly yelled after the fleeing men. "Ha! That's what you get for trying to mess with..." she hesitated, then turned to Lester. "See, this is why we need a team name. How will they know who not to mess with?"

Lester snorted and then winced, and Ket stepped over and pulled one of his arms over her shoulder, activating [healing touch] at the same time. He leaned against her heavily, but after a moment his face relaxed as her healing got to work. Standing this close to each other, Kat finally noticed the thin band of metal that encircled his neck.

"Let's get out of here," he said before she had a chance to question him. She looked around the alley, noticing the forms of Greasy whimpering in pain, Eyepatch puking, and Perv lying unconscious, and then nodded agreement.

Kat led Lester to the entrance of the alley where she took a moment to grab her backpack and pull Snuffers out onto her shoulder. And then, side-by-side, they left the alley behind.

Chapter 32: Story Time

Kat had limited control over [healing touch], allowing her to speed up the healing in certain areas of the body based on how she directed her mana. This was useful when she used it on herself or when the most crucial injuries were obvious. When all she knew of Lester's injuries was that they existed, it was less useful.

They walked side by side through the city as Kat blasted [healing touch] at full strength. Their pace started out slow, with Lester limping and leaning heavily on her shoulder, but when they finally got back to the guild thirty minutes later, they were walking at almost a normal speed, though still with their arms around each other.

Before her skills were corrupted, thirty minutes of [healing touch] would have been enough to completely heal herself back from the brink of death several times over. With the corruption, she had no way to gauge the extent that she had healed Lester beyond what he told her.

"I suppose you'd like an explanation," Lester said when they paused outside of the doors to the guild, fully supporting his own weight for the first time since the alley.

Kat squinted at him. "That'd be nice, yeah."

Lester sighed. "Well, you deserve it." He looked up at the sky. "It's almost time for our training with Brevon. You willing to wait until then?"

Kat shrugged. As much as she wanted an explanation, it wasn't like Lester was obligated to give one. She'd take what she could get.

They relaxed in the training room while waiting for Brevon, sitting side-by-side with their backs against the wall. Five minutes later, Brevon casually strolled through the door and froze at the sight of them.

"What happened?" he asked, eyes narrowed and hand reaching for his sword.

Kat looked down and realized they looked a sorry sight. Neither of them had any visible injuries, but Lester's clothes were torn and muddy. And while [nature's protection] was able to successfully withstand most of the attacks, the same couldn't be said for Kat's robe.

"Westfall's guys caught up to me in the south district," Lester said, extending his neck and pointing to the small band that encircled it. "Luckily, Kat happened to be nearby and fought them off."

If this was meant to calm Brevon down, it didn't work. "How'd they catch you? What were you doing down there? Why didn't you get me?"

"We only just got back to the guild a few minutes ago, there was no chance to get you," Lester replied. "As for the rest..." he glanced to Kat, who looked back and forth between the two boys. Lester gestured at the ground across from him, and after a moment Brevon reluctantly took a seat. "I told Kat I'd fill her in with everything, so I'll start from the beginning."

Brevon looked surprised as he sat, but he didn't try to interrupt or demand any more answers. Lester took a deep breath before he turned slightly to better face Kat.

"What do you know of short-range teleport skills, like my own?"

Kat frowned at the apparent non sequitur. "Um, nothing? Not like I have one. They're rare, obviously."

Lester nodded. "More than rare. They're on the list of restricted skills that can't be freely bought or sold without special permission."

Kat's eyes widened. "Really? How'd you get it, then?"

Lester smirked. "I didn't have permission if that's what you're asking." Then, taking a deep breath, he continued. "I grew up on the streets as an orphan and became an adventurer less than two years ago. Before that, I ran with the Westfall gang. If you see anyone in the city wearing almost all black with just a bit of red, they're probably part of the gang. I..." he hesitated. "I didn't make the best choices. I didn't get involved with any of the worse sides of things, like their protection racket or drug distribution, but I made a bit of a name for myself as a skilled pickpocket. So, when Westfall obtained a powerful blink skill, I was luckily chosen to be the recipient, to best make use of it for robberies."

Kat stared at him with wide eyes. She knew that his life must have been hard, growing up on the streets and as part of a gang, and she didn't want to romanticize it...but she also couldn't deny that it all sounded really cool.

Although...if the rest of the gang consisted of people like Thug One and Perv, the experience probably wasn't as cool as she imagined.

Oblivious to Kat's thoughts, Lester continued. "Part of the reason I was so successful as a thief was due to another of my skills, called [spatial pocket]. It lets me store about a backpack's worth of goods in a separate, invisible space that's impossible for anyone to access but me, which was great for hiding contraband."

Kat gasped. "That's why you're always the one holding onto all of our loot!"

Lester smirked and touched his nose. "Sorry for keeping it from you, but the skill loses a lot of its usefulness when people know about it. But yeah, while my backpack has some general supplies when we go on delves, the vast majority of everything I carry I keep within [spatial pocket]."

Kat nodded. While it wasn't something so strange that she thought it needed to be addressed, she had thought it was kind of weird how Lester, the person with the least strength on their team, was the one always in charge of carrying the loot.

"Between my blink skill and [spatial poket], there aren't many places that can keep me out. Blink can get past even some of the cheaper runic protections, which is why it's restricted. I was...an important commodity for Westfall."

"How'd you become an adventurer, then?"

Lester nodded towards Brevon. "Random meeting with Brevon. Somehow, we hit it off. I think he saw a friendship with me as a way to rebel against his dad," Brevon frowned at Lester's smirk. "And just like so many other kids, I had at one point dreamed of being an adventurer. We ended up delving a dungeon together, and well..." Lester shrugged. "I've kept my distance from Westfall ever since."

Brevon snorted. "There's a bit more to it than that, but that's the general gist. Westfall really wasn't happy to lose access to Lester's skills, though, so we try to stay out of the south district where they run." He glared at Lester, silently demanding an explanation.

Lester winced. "I...got a message from Molly."

Brevon's glare intensified. "Molly. And you trusted it."

"Yeah, yeah, I know...it's just, I hoped that she was sincere. And the meeting time was so early, I didn't think anyone would be active to recognize me."

"Who was it, anyway?" Brevon asked.

"No one too high up. Hank, Jeffy, and three other new guys I didn't know. They were waiting for me. Jeffy managed to grab me before I knew they were there, and I couldn't break free before they got the inhibitor on me."

"Inhibitor? What's that?" Kat asked.

Lester pointed to the band around his neck. "This is an inhibitor. Nasty piece of work. One of the few true enchanted items that different dungeons will drop identical copies of. They block access to all of my skills, which is why I couldn't get my weapons or any potions from my [spatial bag], or blink away after they let go of me."

Kat looked at him, horrified. Her corrupted skills were bad enough. To be cut off from all of her skills entirely? It sounded terrible. "How do we get it off?"

Lester shrugged, looking surprisingly unconcerned. "It shouldn't be too hard to cut free with a sharp knife or saw. But they're expensive, and cutting it off will break the enchantment. If I can get someone who can detach it without destroying it, we can make a pretty penny."

Brevon looked skeptically at Lester. "Who are you going to get to do that? Inhibitors are just as restricted as your blink skill. Anyone on the right side of the law who has the ability to detach it will have some tough questions for you. What are you going to tell them?"

"The truth," Lester replied. "Or close enough. I got jumped by some people of Westfall, and managed to escape."

"That...actually will probably work," Brevon replied after a moment of considering. "What was their plan, anyway? How were you supposed to pay them without access to [spatial bag]?"

Lester chuckled. "Yeah, I'm not sure they thought it through all that well. Hank has never been the sharpest tool in the shed."

Kat thought their conversation was getting a little sidetracked, and she had a burning question that she felt still needed to be answered.

"Um, so what does this mean?" she interrupted, and both of the boys looked at her. "For the team, I mean? Can we still delve around here?"

Brevon waved away her concerns. "Ah, shouldn't have to worry about that. They've been trying to get at Lester for a while, force him to cough up 'reparations' for his skill, but as long as he stays away from the southern district," he paused to glare. "He should be fine. They don't have the clout to attack a member of the adventurer's guild, not if he's not in the middle of their territory."

"You should probably stay away from the southern district too, at least for a while," Lester amended, and then his voice softened. "And also, I didn't say it before...but thanks. You could have gotten hurt, and didn't have to fight for me, but you did. I won't forget it."

Kat just shrugged. "Of course. We're teammates. We fight for each other. That's what we do." She reached over and gave Snuffers a fond pet. She looked up after a moment to see both Brevon and Lester staring at her. "What?"

Lester chuckled. "Nothing." He paused, glancing at Brevon. "Actually, one thing you mentioned earlier...you might be right. It might be time we get a team name."

Kat's smile stretched across her face.

Chapter 33: Lots of Practice

Thinking of team names was more difficult than Kat had expected. It needed to be something that represented the four of them, that they could all be proud of. It needed to be catchy and epic sounding, yet it couldn't be overstated. Subtlety was important.

"How about 'Avenging Heroes of Stygian Darkness'?" she proposed.

Lester and Brevon both stared at her.

"Hm, not my favorite," Lester eventually said, glancing at Brevon out of the corner of his eye. "But I guess I could get behind it."

Brevon groaned. "No. Definitely not. I don't care how much you argue, I'm using a veto."

Kat giggled. Truthfully, she'd given up on thinking of serious names fifteen minutes earlier and was just testing to see how much of a rise she could get from Brevon before he caught on.

"Wait a minute," Kat said after Brevon's words registered. "What do you mean by 'veto'?"

"Ah, yeah, I guess we never told you about that," Brevon said. "It's the way we try to run the team to avoid big disagreements. Whenever we're deciding something, like which dungeons to delve, new strategies to try, or really anything, we can talk and argue things out as much as needed, and we generally try to go with each other's ideas -- unless one of us uses a veto. If one of us disagrees strongly enough with something to use a veto, then we won't do it, no questions asked, no more arguments." He hesitated and then nodded. "I suppose you also have veto power now, too."

Kat smiled a wide grin. "Really? How many vetos do I have?"

Lester shrugged. "No limit, really. Just don't abuse it. Honor system."

Kat nodded seriously. It felt good to be included in something like the veto system, although she doubted she would ever use it. There wasn't anything she could think of that the boys would do that she would be strongly opposed to...although she supposed that was the point. Just in case something like that came up, she'd have the option.

"Sorry Kat, 'Avenging Heroes of Stygian Darkness' is vetoed," Lester smiled at her as he pulled himself to his feet. "We'll have to keep thinking of names. In the meantime though..." he wrapped a finger under the inhibitor around his neck. "I'm gonna go find someone to get this off of me."

Kat nodded as she climbed to her feet as well. After their morning, neither she nor Lester was inclined to spar, so they had spent the entirety of their training room time talking and brainstorming team names. "Is it uncomfortable?"

"Not really," Lester said. "At least not physically. It feels really weird to not be able to call on my skills, though, and I'll be a lot happier when it's off."

"There's probably someone in the guild who can get it off," Brevon said. "I'm not sure who, and they'll likely charge a fee, but you'll hopefully be able to take the fee from the payment for handing over the inhibitor."

Lester shrugged. "As good a place to start as any."

Kat hopped from foot to foot outside of the skills emporium, impatiently waiting.

It had been three hours since they split up at the training room, and Kat had decided to check on her [chained light] skill. To her excitement, it was ready.

Unfortunately, they wouldn't give it to her without payment. And the payment was locked inside of Lester's [spatial bag].

Kat had, of course, rushed back to the guildhall to search for her teammates, to no avail. Paige had seen them come onto the second floor of the guild and then be led to the stairs by another clerk, but she didn't know where they went and hadn't seen the other clerk since.

As much as Kat wanted to go door-to-door through the offices of the guildhall searching for her teammates, there was no guarantee that they were even still in the building. Seeing her impatience, Paige had promised to leave a message if she spotted either of the boys.

Kat went back to the emporium to wait and eventually was kicked out of the building after walking back and forth from wall to wall a few hundred times, and she resigned herself to waiting outside and peering longingly through the windows.

Luckily for both her and the exasperated shopkeeper, Lester and Brevon eventually arrived.

"Finally! You got my message?" Kat yelled as soon as they rounded the corner.

Lester chuckled. "Yeah. Paige said it was an 'emergency'." He held up both hands in air quotes around the last word.

"It is! My new skill is here!" Kat replied.

"I'm not sure if that really counts as an emergency," Brevon said. "But we're here, so let's get it done." While less obvious about it than Kat, her teammates were clearly excited to get a look at the skill.

They shuffled into the store, and the shopkeeper looked like he was about to yell at Kat before he saw the boys accompanying her. "You have the payment?" he asked hopefully.

"Yep! Eight gold and two silver!" She turned to Lester, then whispered. "Er...you do have the coin on you, right? Were you able to deal with the inhibitor?" He wasn't wearing it around his neck, but she wasn't sure if it could cause lingering issues even after it was removed.

"Yeah, I've got the coin," Lester replied, making a show of reaching into a pouch at his waist before pulling them out. "No real issues with the inhibitor, except we didn't get nearly as much as I was hoping. If we'd have gone somewhere off-the-books with it, we could have gotten at least double. The cost of having a conscience..." He sighed.

"If we'd have gone somewhere like that, it wouldn't be more than a day before it was back in the hands of Westfall," Brevon said dryly.

"I never said it wasn't a bad idea. I'm just lamenting the money lost."

The shopkeeper ignored their conversation as he accepted the coins, counting them out before disappearing behind the counter and then reappearing with a small box.

"...pleasure doing business," he said through gritted teeth, as if every word of his normal script pained him to say. "Please consider the emporium for all of your future skills needs."

"Of course! Thank you!" Kat replied as she accepted the box, and then followed Lester and Brevon back outside.

"Let's get to a training room before you absorb that," Brevon said as she made to open the box.

"Really? Why?" Kat replied with a pout.

"Because it's an offensive skill, we're on a busy street, and I doubt your ability to keep from activating it as soon as it's absorbed."

Kat paused. As much as she didn't want to admit it, he had a point. "Fine...to the training room!"

They didn't run through the streets, but their pace was certainly faster than everyone around them as Kat led the way back to the guild. They peeked through the doors of different training rooms until they found one empty, and Kat rushed inside and opened the box.

The orb was a glowing white, and Kat marveled at its beauty for just a moment before, with a thought, she absorbed it into her hand. Lester and Brevon backed away to the other side of the room.

"Well?" Lester asked.

"Hold Snuffers," Kat called, tossing her friend across the space before she poured mana into the skill.

A tingling began in her fingertips, as if her arms had fallen asleep and were just starting to wake up. In the center of her palms dim sparks of light formed. Kat stared in interest as the sparks grew into dots, and then into circles as big as her thumb. And then, from the circles, light dripped out.

It fell from her hands like taffy, extending into long, thin chains. When they were three feet long, Kat grabbed the light, and the chains solidified, no longer as flexible or dripping.

She cautiously moved her right hand back and forth, the chain swinging below. Surprisingly, the chains felt heavy in her hands, each weighing about as much as her backpack. Although she supposed that shouldn't have surprised her; without any weight, it would be difficult to swing them around with any momentum.

Shadows danced around her as the chains gently swung, a line of white light beneath each of her hands. Spots danced in Kat's eyes after staring directly at the chains for more than a few seconds, but she found it difficult to look away. They didn't sparkle, glimmer, or shift in ways that she normally found pretty, yet the simple purity of the swinging light was mesmerizing.

"How does it feel?" Brevon asked from across the room.

"Good," Kat replied. "Heavier than I expected. They're cool to the touch, but make my hands feel all tingly."

"Mind if I feel them?" he asked, and Kat shook her head. Brevon walked over and carefully reached a hand out to one of the chains. "Aack!" he yelled, jumping backward and holding his hand to his chest.

"Are you okay?" Kat asked, concerned. She focused on how to dismiss [chained light], but before she could make any progress Brevon responded.

"Ah, yeah, I'm fine, sorry," he said, cheeks turning red. "Wasn't really expecting that. It didn't feel hot or anything like that, and I couldn't feel anything at all until I touched it. But it definitely burned me." He held up his hand to display the thin red mark where he touched the chain.

"Huh. I guess only I'm able to touch them?" Kat asked. She smiled. "That's pretty cool." She swung the chains a little more vigorously, imagining she was the woman from the circus.

"You'll have to be careful to avoid friendly fire with them," Brevon said. "Although that's no different from a sword or most other offensive skills." He stepped back next to Lester as Kat swung the chains back and forth in bigger and bigger arcs.

"Yeah, but imagine what they'll do to monsters!" Kat exclaimed. "Can we delve the Crawler's dungeon again tomorrow, to get some testing in?" She pictured a shade coming at her and swung the chain in her right hand around in circles, looping it faster and faster. And then just as the imagined shade stepped within range, she swung out, the chain bisecting the shade and turning it to smoke.

And then she realized the chain kept swinging, out of her control on a collision course with her head.

She yelped in surprise as she ducked and lifted her shoulder, only barely blocking the heavy chain. It didn't burn her, but she figured it would leave a nasty bruise until she healed it.

"Maybe you should practice a bit on your own, first," Brevon wryly replied.

Kat sheepishly nodded.

Lester and Brevon helped her figure out some of the quirks of the skill before leaving her to practice on her own. The chains didn't burn anything non-living, which was both fortunate and unfortunate. It was fortunate in that she would be able to train with her teammates without having to worry about destroying their equipment or burning them as long as they wore armor. It was unfortunate in that her chains would be less useful against armored monsters.

Kat figured it was a net positive, since the majority of monsters were bestial and didn't wear clothes or armor. Plus, she didn't have to worry about destroying her own clothes; she couldn't afford to go through robes faster than she already was.

She also found that she could easily adjust the length of the chains from only a few inches to almost six feet long, closer to whips than chains. For the moment, Kat decided to follow the example of the lady from the circus and stick with three feet.

She also found she could easily summon only a single chain rather than one from each hand, something that should have been obvious from the get-go. Between the one chain and activating [nature's protection], Kat was much more comfortable swinging the chain in dramatic attacks and parries, though she still ended up hitting herself almost half the time.

It was going to take a lot of practice.

Brevon walked up the stairs to his apartment, contemplating his newest teammate.

He'd never been a fan of adding her to the team. If not for his father's and then Lester's insistence, he wouldn't have even considered letting her accompany them on a dungeon run. And then even after she proved she wasn't entirely worthless, he fully expected them to go their separate ways once he and Lester advanced to silver.

Yet Brevon wasn't so prideful to be unwilling to admit he might have been wrong. In the week that they'd been teamed together, she'd shown herself to be everything he looked for in a teammate. She was diligent with her training. With her new skills and planned build, she would be powerful enough to keep up with them. And most importantly, with her rescue of Lester that morning, she showed she could be trusted.

She didn't treat it as anything of significance, but Brevon doubted there were many other adventurers who would go so far for such new teammates, especially when they had, only the day before, discussed going their separate ways. Yet she hadn't hesitated to fight on Lester's behalf.

For the first time, Brevon truly considered if they might work well together long-term.

He pulled out the key to his apartment from his pocket, unlocking the door and preparing to step inside. But the moment before he did, he hesitated, his instincts screaming at him.

It wasn't a skill or enchantment that warned him of the danger. It was the result of all his delving and training, and ingrained instinct to react to even the slightest amount of killing intent. And after learning what Westfall did to Lester that morning, he was extra on the alert.

He spun in place and summoned his armor from his enchanted bracer, drawing his sword in the same motion. But before he could fully draw the sword, his armor in the process of crawling up his left shoulder, there was a thump behind him. And then everything went black.

Chapter 34: Making Plans

Kat happily spooned in a mouthful of porridge, feeling the warmth spread from her stomach to the rest of her body.

The morning air was chilly, the coldest it had been since she had escaped from the nether-realm, and she had elected to skip her meditation. It wasn't cold enough that she would be totally miserable, especially in an hour or so when the sun had more fully risen, but she'd certainly be uncomfortable. And now that she had two new skills to help her be an effective member of her team, she found the need to un-corrupt her old skills less pressing.

Not that she'd given up on regaining her mastery with her old skills. She had decades of experience fighting with those skills; to abandon them completely in favor of her new skills would be a massive waste. But the gains from her meditation, if there were any, were so small as to be practically unnoticeable. In terms of managing her time most effectively, she was better served by practicing with her new skills.

Lester sat down next to her and greeted her with a grunt before he dug into his own bowl of porridge, only speaking after eating a few spoonfuls. "Brevon not here yet?"

"Haven't seen him," Kat replied. They had decided to postpone their delve of the Crawler's dungeon until Kat was at least somewhat confident she would do more damage to the shades than to herself or her teammates. In lieu of delving, they decided to meet up and spend most of the day training instead.

While Kat had a lot more she could practice by herself with [chained light], Brevon and Lester would spend the morning sparring with her so she could get a better feel for how to use the chains against a real opponent.

They ate slowly, but Brevon still hadn't shown up by the time they both finished.

"Should we get started without him?" Kat asked.

"He's usually really punctual..." Lester replied, scratching his head. "I'll swing by his apartment real quick first, check if he's sick or something like that. It's not too far away, but you can go ahead and get started on your own if you want."

Kat shrugged. "I'll tag along. I'm in no big hurry, and we should make sure he doesn't need anything."

Lester nodded and led the way out of the barroom.

It was true that Brevon's apartment wasn't far away, and in less than ten minutes they stood outside room two-thirty-one, in a long hallway on the second floor of an apartment complex.

Lester knocked, but there was no response. They waited a minute, knocking a few more times before he tried the doorknob. He looked back at Kat with a hint of worry. "It's unlocked." He pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The room was much smaller than Kat's back at the guild hall, barely big enough to hold a small bed and a desk, and it only took a second to confirm it was empty. Kat was gratified to see Brevon's bear plushie she'd given him at the circus resting on the windowsill, but she quickly refocused on the search. The bathroom was off to the side, similarly empty.

"Does he normally keep his room unlocked when he's not here?" Kat asked.

Lester shook his head. "Not that I've ever asked or tested, but I doubt it. He's usually careful when it comes to stuff like that." After a quick look around to confirm that Brevon's backpack and sword were also missing, they stepped back into the hallway and closed the door behind them. "Let's go back to the guild hall. Maybe he was just running late and forgot to lock up, and we missed each other on the way here."

Kat nodded, and they walked back to the guild, moving faster than the first time they made the trip. In only a few minutes they were back, and they quickly scanned the first floor. A few more adventurers crowded the barroom, but none of them were Brevon.

"I think Paige is working now; I can ask her if she's seen him," Kat suggested. "Or do you have any other ideas?"

Lester thought for a moment. "...it's not my favorite idea, but maybe we can ask his father?"

Kat blinked. "Would he know anything? I got the feeling that they don't really interact much."

"Maybe? They try not to cross paths, but every once in a while Brevon's dad tries to force something on him, which he usually tries to refuse."

"Like me," Kat said with a smile.

Lester chuckled. "Like you, yes. But maybe his dad sent him somewhere? He doesn't much like me, but think he'd tell us if he sent Brevon off."

"Let's check with Paige first, then."

"No, not since yesterday," Paige replied. Her smile of greeting morphed into a frown upon seeing the looks on their faces. "Why? Is something wrong?"

"We hope not," Kat said. "But Brevon was supposed to meet us an hour ago. His apartment was empty but unlocked. We're just trying to track him down."

"Sorry I couldn't help," Paige replied. "Have you checked the training rooms? He practically always has one reserved."

"Not yet. We're gonna ask his dad, vice guildmaster Brevid, if he knows anything first."

"Okay. Well, let me know if you find him, or if you need anything else."

Kat waved goodbye as Lester led them up the stairs. His normally calm expression was replaced with one of worry as Brevon's absence became more and more unusual. Kat still held out some hope that they were worrying over nothing, that Brevon had simply misremembered what time they were going to meet up or something like that, but she had to admit that it was looking less likely as time went on.

They stood outside the door to vice guildmaster Brevid's office, and after only a moment of hesitation, Lester knocked.

"Come in," a deep voice called out immediately.

Lester pushed open the door to the office, revealing the large man hunched over his desk.

"Ah," he said as they entered. "You're here about Brevon."

"What do you mean, taken?"

Brevid's eyes narrowed. "Exactly what I said. To get to me, Count Filmore took him captive." He flashed a sheet of paper. "He sent me a list of demands, and if I don't comply or if I report him to anyone in higher authority, he's threatening to hurt him. Or worse."

There was a beat of silence.

"...what are you going to do?"

"Do?" Brevid snorted derisively. "Filmore's a bully. He's got his little seat of power, and he thinks he's untouchable, that he can do whatever he wants and get away with it. I'm calling his bluff. He knows that if he injures my son, the entirety of the adventurer's guild will be on top of him before he can blink. I don't need to do anything. When he realizes his bluff has been called, he'll release Brevon."

His son's teammates shared a look before turning back to the vice guildmaster. "But what if he isn't bluffing? Why not try and mount a rescue? We can help!"

Brevid shook his head. "Thank you for your concern for my son. But let me assure you, it isn't needed. Filmore is a bastard, but he isn't insane. Once he realizes he has no leverage, Brevon will be released. Now leave my office, I have work to do."

The two kids stared at him blankly for a moment longer before they reluctantly got to their feet and walked out the door, slamming it behind them.

Once again alone in his office, Brevid stashed the ransom letter into his desk drawer, pausing for a deep breath when he noticed the paper fluttering in his shaking hands. After a moment, it stilled.

"He'll release him," he muttered to himself. "Even in the nether-realm, he has to know he's not invincible, not to the guild."

As long as he stayed the course, he would get out of this with both his job and his son intact. He just needed to stay strong and resolute.

He almost made himself believe it.

Downstairs in the barroom, Paige and Kat sat next to each other at a table while Lester sat across from them. Paige had seen their faces when they passed through the second floor and immediately took a break to join them.

"I just don't get why the vice guildmaster won't do anything. Does he not care for Brevon? Is he that confident that it's all just a bluff?" Paige asked after they had explained the situation to her.

"Their relationship has always been strained," Lester said. "But this is definitely a new low. Even if he's completely confident it's a bluff, he didn't even look worried. Just going about his day like normal..."

"If he isn't going to get the guild involved, can we?" Kat asked, looking between her two friends. "Can we just go over his head? Surely someone will care that Brevon was kidnapped."

"Maybe," Lester paused, thinking for a moment before he responded. "I think the guild would be more angry about Brevon being kidnapped for the purpose of blackmailing the vice guildmaster than they would be about the kidnapping itself. By itself, they probably wouldn't see kidnapping as a concern the guild should deal with. We could always tell them about the blackmail, but Brevid is the only one who has evidence of that. If he denies it, then we're left with nothing."

"Why would he lie about that?" Kat asked.

Lester shrugged. "I don't know, but why wouldn't he just go to the guild in the first place? It all smells fishy to me. Plus, there's the question of who in the guild we would even go to."

The two teammates turned to Paige, who winced. "The guildmaster is the only person who has the authority to mobilize anyone for something like this. And he's...well, he's hands-off. Most paperwork goes to the vice guildmaster before it ever gets to him. I can try and get him a message for you, though."

Kat nodded resolutely. "That's a good idea. And Lester and I can plan out what we're going to do in the meantime."

Lester slouched in his seat. "What's there to do? If Brevid's not doing anything, what else can we do except try to go over his head?"

Kat snorted. "Last I checked, only Paige is the apprentice clerk. Dealing with bureaucracy is literally her job." She paused and leaned forward, waiting until Lester made eye contact before continuing. "You and me though? We're adventurers. Now maybe Paige will be able to mobilize the adventurer's guild to help us out, and maybe not. But I'm not going to sit around and wait while our teammate is being held hostage."

Lester took a deep breath and then nodded. "You're right. What's the plan?"

"The way Brevid was talking made it sound like Brevon would have been taken to wherever his kidnapper's power-base is. So first, we need to track down this Count Filmore."

"Shouldn't be too hard," Lester replied. "I'm sure there are records of all the nobility somewhere that we can access. But it might take a bit of time to search through them."

Kat winced. She wasn't sure how urgently they needed to rescue Brevon, but sooner was certainly better than later. Her imagination was running wild with the terrible possibilities of what was being done to him.

Paige coughed. "Count Filmore, you said? He's based out of my hometown, over in Bowton. You should be able to portal there directly."

Lester smiled. "Hah, that was easy. First obstacle down already. What's next?"

But Kat was no longer paying attention to Lester, too focused on Paige's last words.

Portal?

Chapter 35: To the Rescue!

Kat took careful, deep breaths, her eyes closed.

"Okay, he's reconfiguring the portal to go to Bowton. It'll only be for a minute so you need to be ready to go," Henry said before he ducked back out of the room.

"Are you going to be okay, Kat?" Paige asked, holding Kat in a side-hug and giving a little squeeze.

Kat just nodded, her eyes still closed.

There were few things Kat loved more than adventuring. Everything about it spoke to her: the thrill of exploring someplace the vast majority of humanity would never visit, the gratification of leveling up and becoming more and more powerful, the adrenaline rush of combat. Yet the thing she loved most about adventuring was the camaraderie: the bonds of friendship and trust that were formed between teammates as they fought together. That was what she was fighting for: the safety of her teammate, Brevon.

Yet despite that, there was nothing Kat feared more than portals.

Scheduling a portal in less than an hour was impossible without boatloads of money or high-level connections. Luckily for them (or possibly unluckily, Kat still hadn't decided), Henry's uncle worked as a portal administrator and had the power to sneak in an unsanctioned portal in the gap between two others.

At first, Henry had been reluctant to even ask his uncle to break the rules for them, rule-follower that he was. His uncle could get in trouble for doing something like that, and as much as he wanted to help Brevon, he had only met the guy once at the circus and had to be reminded who he was after Kat mentioned his name. He didn't want to ask his uncle to risk his job for a practical stranger.

That conviction lasted all of ten seconds when Paige oh-so-sweetly told him she'd appreciate his help.

Kat chuckled at the memory. She had never seen someone so quickly abandon their principles.

That's it, she thought to herself. Focus on the funny memory of your friends, not on how you're about to walk through another portal and get trapped in the nether-realm for another forty years and this time without Snuffers and oh-my-gosh-I-can't-do-this...

Kat hugged Snuffers to her chest as tightly as she could. She had to do this. For Brevon.

"Remember, they're not expecting you on the other side, so you might have to slip the attendant a few coins to look the other way. It should help that you look young and nervous. Lean into that," Todd explained.

"I think Kat has that covered," Lester joked, and Kat gave a small chuckle despite not finding it very funny.

They waited for another minute before Henry ducked back into the room. "Okay, it's all good to go. You've got a minute to get through to Bowton before the portal needs to be reset."

Paige gave Kat a last squeeze before she gently pushed her forward. "You've got this. You're going to be fine."

Kat just nodded and opened her eyes, following Lester through the door into the portal room.

In the center of the room, it stood. Her worst fear, for all that it looked beautiful and innocent. It was a seven-foot-tall oval, shining a shimmering blue. Small arcs of light danced around the edge as if to lure prey to its dangerous maw.

"You go first, I'll be right behind you," Lester said, giving her a small pat on the shoulder. It was a wise choice, because she wasn't sure she could force herself through if Lester wasn't waiting behind her.

Her breaths were shallow and fast, and she squeezed Snuffers to her chest even harder. It was so close, only a few steps away, but those last steps might as well have been a gaping chasm.

"I don't know..." she began, but then she shook her head. Brevon might be suffering. Her teammate might be suffering. Would she leave him in that state simply because she couldn't overcome her fear?

She shook her head again. And then, with no warning, she ran forward and into the portal, and was through.

She lay on the floor on the other side, eyes closed and breathing heavily. Floor. Not ground. As much of the nether-realm as she explored, she had never found an instance of a 'floor,' so with hope blooming in her chest she slowly opened her eyes.

Walls of white surrounded her, and a confused-looking attendant was pulling himself from his chair to check on her when Lester stumbled out of the portal behind her.

"Sorry, are you on the list?" the attendant asked, and Lester walked over to talk with the man. Kat tried to focus on looking pitiable, but she couldn't stop the smile from blooming on her face.

"Ha! Take that, nether-realm!" she yelled, and the attendant looked past Lester at her in confusion. Kat couldn't find it in herself to care. She made it through the portal!

The difficult part was done. Compared to that, rescuing Brevon should be a cinch.

"Well, this seems impossible," Lester complained.

He and Kat sat side-by-side on a bench down the street from Filmore Manor, attempting to watch the front gate without looking suspicious.

Locating the residence of Count Filmore had been as easy as strolling through the market and asking a few shoppers for directions. Getting into that residence, however, was a different story.

"I've counted eight sets of guards on patrol so far, and none of them repeated," he added. "I don't see any runic enchantments, but I'd guess there's a few on the doors and windows. If I was still running jobs for Westfall, I wouldn't touch this place with a ten-foot pole." The manor was surrounded by a manicured lawn with a gate running along the perimeter. They'd circled the residence and only found two entrances, each with two guards permanently on alert.

"Maybe we can sneak in with one of those shipments?" Kat asked. There certainly were enough of them. There seemed to be an almost constant stream of deliveries to the front gate.

Lester shook his head. "None of the delivery boys are being allowed in. See that pile of stuff just inside the gate? It's all being left there before someone from inside the manor picks it up."

"Not sneak in carrying one of the shipments. Sneak in inside one of those shipments. I think I could fit in a few of those boxes."

Lester looked at her skeptically. "You think so? It'd be tight." He paused for a moment of thought before shaking his head. "I don't like it. Even if we could find a delivery to fit in, we'd have no control once we sealed ourselves inside. And to do that, we'd first have to track down where the delivery is coming from and sneak into there first."

"Or just bribe the delivery boy," Kat rebutted. "But you're probably right. Lots of ways it could go wrong."

Lester scrunched up his nose. "What other options do we have, though? I can't imagine us making it a few feet beyond the gates before getting caught if I tried to blink over. And then we'd just be in the same position as Brevon."

Slowly, a smile formed on Kat's face, and Lester leaned away from her.

"I don't like that look," he said.

Kat ignored him. "How rare, exactly, would you say your [spatial bag] skill is?"

"Um, decently rare. Not as rare as my blink skill, but it's in the upper echelons of skills when it comes to rarity."

Kat's smile widened. "So the odds of them expecting, or worrying about, some kids who break in to have a skill like that are...?"

Slowly, a smile to mirror Kat's own formed on Lester's face. "Low." He nodded resolutely. "Let's do this."

Lester and Kat casually leaned up against the metal fence on the most empty road that was adjacent to the manor. Kat whistled innocently while Lester watched the latest patrol disappear around the corner of the house.

"Go," he called in a whisper, and they sprang into motion. Kat bent her knees into a crouch and cupped her hands at her waist, and Lester stepped into the pocket. It took only a few seconds for Lester to scramble over the top of the spiked metal bars, and Kat followed just behind.

The fence might have been an obstacle for average people, but for adventurers with stats as high as theirs, it was about as useful of a deterrent as a 'keep out' sign. Of course, Lester could have easily blinked past the fence rather than climb over, but they didn't want to risk a guard catching a glimpse and being forewarned of his skill.

They rushed across the lawn and hid behind a bush under a window, taking a few moments to catch their breath. They waited silently for the next patrol to pass before they stood and Lester wedged his knife behind the window's seal, managing to flick open the lock on the other side with the tip of his blade. The window slid open soundlessly.

"We're in," he whispered to Kat. "Maybe it wasn't runed."

As if hearing his taunt, the universe chose that moment to strike back.

"Freeze!" a deep voice yelled. Lester was halfway through the window as the two guards jogged over from inside the house, having just turned the corner in the hallway running along the edge of the manor.

Lester stared at the guards with wide eyes, while Kat forced herself to think of some of her worst memories from the nether-realm.

"I'm so sorry," she cried, a single tear dripping down her cheek as one of the guards pulled Lester the rest of the way through the window, the other guard reaching out and pulling Kat through after. "We didn't mean anything..."

The guard holding her snorted, and then turned to his companion. "Just a couple of brats, probably breaking in on a dare." Holding tight to Kat's upper arm, he pulled her through the hallway, although he wasn't as rough as Kat knew he could've been. Kat tried to keep track of where they were going, but with how fast they were moving in the unfamiliar halls it was difficult. "I don't know what you two were trying to pull, but this place ain't safe. We'll let you off light this time, but don't even think about coming back."

The man led her around two turns and then through a door to the outside. Belatedly, Kat realized they were leading them to the front gate and groaned. Of all the guards to be apprehended by, why did the ones who caught them have to be so lenient? Abruptly, she changed tactics.

"I know what you're doing here!" she screamed, more tears dripping down her cheeks. "You've kidnapped our teammate, and we won't let you get away with it!" She didn't know how much these guards might know about Brevon's kidnapping, and it wasn't ideal for them to forewarn the guards that they were attempting to free him, but hopefully Lester's hidden aces would be enough to see them through.

As she screamed, the hand around her upper arm tensed. "What was that?" the guard asked, in a very different voice than the one he had used earlier. But before she could respond, he turned to his partner and continued. "Change of plans. Let's take them to the captain. He'll sort this out."

Kat tried not to look smug as they abruptly turned and were led back inside the house. It wouldn't do for the 'prisoners' to look too pleased with themselves as they were frogmarched through the manor.

This time they were walked through some of the larger hallways, and it was much easier for Kat to memorize the route before they stopped in front of a door while the guard holding her arm knocked.

"Enter," they heard from within, and they were escorted inside.

"Sir," the guard holding her said as both guards saluted to a man sitting on the far side of a large desk. They waited for the man to salute them back before continuing. "We found these two attempting to enter the manor through a window. We apprehended them and were planning on turning them over to the local authorities when the girl started yelling that 'we took their teammate,' or something like that."

"Did they say anything else interesting?"

"No, sir."

"Have they been searched?"

"No, sir."

The man behind the desk leaned back in his chair, hands steepled in front of his face, before he responded. "Leave them with me, and send in Cullam's squad on your way out."

The two guards saluted, and then turned and marched from the office, closing the door behind them. The man stared at them in silence for a full thirty seconds while Kat fidgetted under his gaze before he spoke again.

"What do you know?"

Kat glanced at Lester out of the corner of her eye. They were inside the manor and relatively unsupervised. Should they take the opportunity to try and get free to search for Brevon while they had it? But Lester just shook his head, a minute motion that she hoped the man watching them didn't notice.

"We know you took Brevon!" Kat called instead. Maybe if they knew the truth, they'd take them to wherever they were keeping their teammate?

The man sighed, and a moment later there was a knock on the door before another guard, his uniform slightly different than those of the first two, entered. "Sir. You called?"

"Search these two, neutralize them, and take them to the boss," he said, and before they knew it Kat and Lester were once again held by their upper arms and dragged from the room. This time, they were guarded by a squad of four guards, each with the slightly-different uniform, and were led to a small side room where they proceeded to pat Kat and Lester down.

Thankfully, they were professional, and quickly stripped Kat of her backpack and knife, while Lester lost his own backpack and a dagger. They dug through each of the backpacks, and Kat felt a moment of panic as one of the men examined Snuffers curiously. She breathed a sigh of relief when he simply tossed her friend back in the backpack, unharmed.

It was a gamble, deciding what to keep on their persons rather than store in Lester's [spatial bag]. They figured that they would be searched and stripped of weapons, so they needed to be armed enough to not draw suspicion to the presence of Lester's skill.

Snuffers, however, was left out due to a simple worry: Kat wasn't sure how [spatial bag] might affect him. Luckily, they didn't try to harm Snuffers in the search.

Now if their luck held, they would be led to wherever they were keeping Brevon and then left alone for Lester to pull supplies from his skill and help them all escape together. Everything was going to plan.

That was when she felt the guard standing behind her snap something thin and cool around her neck.

She looked over at Lester to see him wearing a metal band, identical to the one he had worn only a day prior, around his neck as well.

"You can't do this!" Lester called, speaking for the first time since they had been apprehended. "Inhibitors are illegal without governmental approval!"

The guard behind Kat, who had just snapped the inhibitor around her neck, just laughed. "Trespassing is also illegal, if you haven't heard." Lester didn't respond.

Kat attempted to activate [healing touch] in the hopes that her corrupted skills wouldn't be affected by the inhibitor, but without success. It wasn't as if there was a wall or other obstruction keeping her from using the skill -- it just felt as if her skill simply didn't exist in the first place. Without anything to pour her mana into, it just swirled around in her body, useless.

It wasn't as bad as it could be, Kat told herself as they were led from the room, two of the guards carrying their weapons and backpacks. She was still able to pull up her menu and confirm her skills were still there, just that they were suppressed. They couldn't take away her stats, and both she and Lester were high level for their age. They surely wouldn't expect her to have the strength that she did. As long as she didn't give herself away, they had the advantage of surprise, and she was sure that an opportunity to escape would present itself.

The guards led them through another series of hallways before they stopped outside yet another door. This one had a bit more traffic moving in, out, and around it, but everyone stepped aside when they saw the guards leading Lester and Kat. They stepped through the door, and Kat froze.

"No. No, no, no, no..." she whispered.

Kat had thought her worst fear was the portal that took them to Bowton. But she now realized that wasn't true, because in front of her was her true worst fear. Another portal, but this one was not opaque like the normal portals that connected cities across the world. This one she could see through to the other side. And on the other side...

The nether-realm.

Any pretense of hiding her strength was immediately forgotten as Kat twisted away from the surprised grasp of the guard holding her. She elbowed him in the neck and turned to run out the door she'd just entered. Another guard stood in the doorway, also surprised, but less so than the one who had been holding her. Kat attempted to bowl through him, hoping her surprising stats would be enough.

They were enough to knock the guard over, leaving the doorway cleared, but the man grabbed her as he went down. Kat wiggled in his grasp, throwing elbows and punches in a frantic bid to escape. And she was almost free too, when suddenly, two bands of darkness shot out and wrapped around her legs and chest, binding her arms to her side.

"Grab hold of her!" one of the guards yelled, and Kat realized that a number of other people were also yelling. On the other side of the room, Lester attempted to fight his way free of his own escort, but made it even less far than Kat before the same bands wrapped around him.

She was caught, but Kat refused to give in. They were taking her back to the nether-realm. She couldn't allow that to happen.

Somehow, she managed to free her right arm and clawed at the guard that was holding her. He managed to catch her arm, so she bit him instead, forcing him to let go with a yelp of pain.

But despite all of her struggles and stats, she was just one person fighting many. She kept struggling, but two guards lay on top of her until she finally stilled, exhausted.

"Carry her in," the lead guard instructed. "But be careful, my skill will disappear once you're through."

They picked her up and Kat renewed her struggles as they approached the portal, to no avail. And then, with just a few oh-so-quick steps, they were through.

The bands were gone, but she was still held tight in the arms of the two guards. She gave one last desperate struggle before she stilled, breathing heavily with tears streaming down her face.

In front of her was a massive structure, similar looking to the manor they had recently entered, but so different because of the backdrop. Overhead, a cracked sky shimmered with all of the colors of the rainbow, and beneath the guards' feet the dry dirt shifted.

Less than two weeks she'd been free, and she was already back.

The guards carried her into the building, but Kat struggled to pay attention. Her eyes frantically looked back and forth for an opportunity to escape, yet didn't truly see her surroundings. At least, not until they stopped and Kat saw Brevon.

They were in a large receiving room with a small black-haired man sitting on a massive chair that almost looked like a throne. Next to him stood Brevon, with a familiar-looking band around his neck and a frown on his face.

"Ah, your teammates have come to rescue you, it seems," the man said with a chuckle, and Brevon's frown deepened.

"Careful. This one's stronger than she looks," the lead guard said, gesturing to where Kat was still held by two guards.

The man sniffed disdainfully. "It's no matter. Leave us."

The guards nodded, letting go of Kat and Lester and dropping their backpacks and weapons behind them before leaving the room. They closed the large double doors to the room as they left.

Kat stood still, surprised that they would leave them unguarded with who she presumed was the count.

"Ah, where are my manners. I am Count Filmore, though that title will soon change. To whom do I owe the pleasure?" the man said, confirming Kat's suspicions. Kat ignored him and turned towards her bag instead, preparing to run.

But instead of taking a step, she froze in place.

"Ah ah, none of that now. I'm trying to be polite, and I would appreciate it if you would reciprocate."

Outside of her control, Kat felt her body turn and face the man, giving a deep bow.

"What is this?! What are you doing?" Lester yelled as he similarly bowed.

Count Filmore smirked. "Are you impressed? My skill was never so grand outside of this place. I was only able to very slightly shift someone's actions, and only if they weren't paying attention." He gestured, and Brevon performed a small twirl, a motion Kat would never have imagined he'd willingly make. "Here, though, I am able to live up to my true potential!"

Kat continued to ignore him and desperately focused inward. Unlike the inhibitor blocking her skills, the force controlling her body didn't simply remove her control. Rather, it felt as if there was a barrier between her thoughts and her actions, and on the other side of that barrier, someone manipulated her body like a puppet.

Desperately, she pushed against the internal barrier. She focused with everything she could muster, throwing her fear, her desperation, her panic against it -- without success.

She was trapped.

Her skills were blocked off. Her body was no longer under her control. She was back in the nether-realm.

Trapped.

Forty years she had been trapped in the nether-realm, yet even at her worst, it had never been as bad as this. At her weakest, she at least had her skills.

Yet now, she didn't even have her body.

Trapped.

A desperate sob escaped from her mouth, somehow breaking through the barrier, yet that didn't translate to any other form of control. Everything else was still lost to her.

Trapped.

She took an involuntary step backward and tripped, her legs giving out from under her as she collapsed on the floor, another sob escaping from her lips. She noticed both Brevon and Lester looking at her with worry, and Count Filmore staring curiously, but none of them moved. Behind her, she heard a rip.

Trapped. Trapped. TRAPPED.

And then, as if from a great distance, she felt a small weight settle against her leg. And the chaos stilled.

"Meow."

Chapter 36: I Do Believe in Fairies

Dr. Havernough sat at his desk and frantically scribbled out his thoughts onto a sheet of paper. Over the years he had been studying the nether-realm, he'd had dozens, if not hundreds, of different theories of what made the place tick. Each of them had pieces that seemed correct, but nothing had perfectly encapsulated the strange phenomenons studied.

Until now.

While the nether-realm has no effect on levels, stats, or enchanted items, the conventional ways we have learned to manipulate mana do not function within the nether-realm. Skills have minimal effects, while runes are either entirely ineffective or, in some cases, produce random and nonsensical results.

[Hunch] and [logical reasoning] both pinged him as he wrote, further solidifying his confidence in this latest theory. Of course, neither of the skills was infallible, but combined with everything else he was finally confident in his understanding of how that place truly worked.

This does not mean that magic is entirely ineffective. The monsters that move during the night-cycles are clearly magically based, and the accounts of Subject A indicate that dramatic skill growth is possible, though the skill growth within the nether-realm does not correlate to skill growth within our realm, and in fact leads to those skills being 'corrupted.'

From the beginning, it was obvious that magic functioned differently in the nether-realm from the real world. The question was: how did that magic function? And Dr. Havernough believed that he finally had the answer.

Belief.

I postulate that classical magic, via runic inscriptions and manipulation of mana, does not function at all in the nether-realm. Rather, I postulate that the magic of the nether-realm only works because of belief, that belief fuels everything magical that happens. Not immediately, but over time the reality of the nether-realm conforms to those beliefs. This would explain why Subject A, after spending vast amounts of time in the nether-realm, was able to improve their skills. They believed that with practice their skills would improve, and so they did.

Of course, it is not so easy as to simply 'believe' something into being. This is why, aside from the magic, the nether-realm so closely mirrors our reality. The belief must be true and complete, without any lingering doubts. It is all but impossible for someone to truly believe in something that is contrary to the reality they have experienced their entire life.

Of course, there are exceptions to this. One example is the monsters of the nether-realm. Fear is one of the few things humanity is able to easily believe in even if it runs counter to reasoning or reality. When fear has snuck in, it can be difficult to disbelieve, even with faultless logical reasoning. I posit that the monsters are the magical manifestations of the fear that comes during the darkness of the night-cycles.

For most people, aside from the lack of traditional magic, the nether-realm will function almost identically to our realm. I believe certain people, though, may gain a distinct advantage. Megalomaniacs will be likely to find themselves more powerful than their more grounded counterparts after extended time in the nether-realm, and it is possible that a psychopath would be able to warp the nether-realm to mimic their own twisted view of reality.

Dr. Havernough paused, hesitating before he decided to include one more paragraph.

Though I would never condone any sort of testing to confirm this, I posit that children would also be able to heavily influence reality within the nether-realm. Those with childlike faith, without a view of reality tainted by time and cynicism, may be able to form the reality of the nether-realm to their beliefs: the belief in the invincibility of their parents. The belief in a present-bearing man during the holidays.

Dr. Havernough paused one more time. He wanted to preserve Kat's anonymity as much as possible...yet this theory would never have happened without her, without hearing the story of her time in the nether-realm with her best friend. And so he added one more line.

Or even the unshakeable belief that a beloved stuffed animal would keep them safe.

Kat's head was locked in place, but she found she was able to move her eyes just fine, and she glanced down to see Snuffers sitting in her lap, staring back at her.

"Meow," he said again, and if Kat had the ability to move, she would have smiled.

So many things were worse than they had ever been. She was stuck in the nether-realm, she had an inhibitor around her neck, and she was trapped as an observer in her own body. Yet despite all of that, some things always remained the same.

She had Snuffers, and Snuffers would protect her.

"Meow," Snuffers said again, rubbing his head against her stomach.

She noticed Lester, Brevon, and Count Filmore all staring at him in amazement, and Kat supposed she shouldn't be surprised. Snuffers did look a little different from what her teammates were used to.

The main points were all the same: the same soft fur, stitched-on smile, scarred ear, and majestic red scarf. Yet surrounding his familiar form was a ghostly outline of a slightly larger cat, one that looked significantly more ferocious than the smiling face underneath.

The tattered scarf suited him even more like this, Kat thought.

"...what is that thing?" Count Filmore asked, and Kat suddenly found she was back in control of her mouth.

"I'm Kat, and this is Snuffers," she said as Snuffers lept to his normal spot on her shoulder, extending a single ghostly razor-sharp claw and slicing through the inhibitor as if it were butter. "I can't really say that it's nice to meet you, but it hasn't been completely bad. Our team is all back together, which is nice. Let us go and we can let bygones be bygones." As she spoke, Snuffers unwound his scarf of mental resilience from around his neck, and then with careful dexterity far beyond that of any normal cat, he tied it around Kat's head instead.

Count Filmore sniffed disdainfully. "That is an...interesting construct, but I'm going to stop you right there. Unfortunately, I cannot have a word of my actions here escape to the wider world, at least not yet. So until I am ready, you will need to stay here."

Kat felt the barrier between her mind and body press down on her even harder. Yet with the scarf around her head, it felt so much weaker than it had before. It reminded her of one of the wards created by her corrupted [lesser ward]: present, but brittle and easy to destroy.

And so, with a thought, she destroyed it, and then pulled herself to her feet. She stared defiantly at the count, who stared back at her with wide eyes.

But then after a moment his eyes narrowed. "Hmph. You've got a few fancy artifacts and suddenly you think you're strong? I hate to break it to you, but you are in my kingdom, now, and you would be foolish to attempt to disobey." He smirked and snapped his fingers, a motion that Kat believed to be purely theatrical, and two side doors at either end of the room slammed open.

From the doors burst monsters taken directly from Kat's nightmares. Towering over ten feet tall, they shambled forward, with long, clawed arms dragging on the floor behind them. Their gaping maws hung open with hundreds of needle-like teeth poking outward like a porcupine, low moans echoing from the mouths. Their skin was pitch black, without a hint of color or deviation anywhere on them, and waves of killing intent poured out from each of them.

On some level they looked similar to shades. But if shades were living manifestations of darkness, these things were living manifestations of horror. Everything about them seemed designed to terrify.

And for just a moment, it worked. Kat took a single step backward, the monsters bringing up so many memories that she wished were forgotten. Years and years in the nether-realm, fighting monsters just like these, trapped with no hope of escape.

But only a single step.

Because she was not alone. She had Snuffers on her shoulder, and in front of her, still trapped in their own bodies, were her teammates. She wouldn't abandon them to monsters such as these, not when she knew she could defeat them. After all, she already had.

Dozens of times. Hundreds of times, maybe even thousands of times she had fought and defeated the monsters she called shamblers. There were a few more here than she was used to fighting at once, as with a quick glance she spotted eight, with more still shambling into the room from behind them.

"Now you see how hopeless any opposition is??" Count Filmore monologued, his voice rising over the shuffling of the shamblers' feet against the tile. "I will rule my kingdom, undisputed in power -- for no one knows this realm as I do! Five years I have trained and toiled, becoming powerful beyond your wildest imagination!" He was practically yelling the last at the ceiling, but then he turned back to Kat with an evil smile. "Now, if you hand over your artifacts and beg for forgiveness, I may be lenient to you and your teammates."

Kat just smiled back. "Five years, huh?"

And then she called on her skills.

Not her new skills; her 'corrupted' skills. Because now that her inhibitor was off and she could feel her skills again, using them felt different from what she had grown used to over the last weeks.

It felt like coming home.

First, she erected a box of [lesser ward]s around her two teammates, as strong as she could manage. It wouldn't keep out Count Filmore's strange mind-control skill, so he might still be able to force them to hurt themselves, but it would at least prevent him from using them against her directly or getting hurt by the shamblers.

Now that her teammates were safe, she could focus on the fight.

She had no desire to kill the count. As evil as he was, he was still human, and she was an adventurer: she killed monsters, not other humans. The shamblers, on the other hand...

Kat released her own killing intent, matching and then surpassing the combined killing intent of the shamblers. They didn't respond, but Count Filmore and her friends flinched back.

At the tip of her finger she formed a small flame, barely bigger than the flame from a candle. But slowly, the flame grew, spurts of fire shooting off to the ground around her, growing into dozens of small campfires. And then those grew as well, larger and hotter, until Kat was surrounded by a blazing inferno.

She met the eyes of Count Filmore, who no longer looked nearly as confident in his monstrous army. And then she smiled.

Chapter 37: Cranlon?

With what little control he had, Brevon watched Kat conjure up her own army of flames to combat the army of monsters. As more and more monsters poured into the room, the count's control over Brevon's body diminished, enough so that he was able to turn his head to look around.

Not that he really needed to look around. What was happening in front of him was plenty of a show already.

Snuffers coming alive was enough of a shock. He'd always thought that Kat's quirk of carrying around her stuffed animal and introducing him to everyone they met was simply that: a quirk. But now he questioned everything he thought he knew.

He supposed it was possible that Kat had just somehow managed to bypass the inhibitor and control Snuffers with a strange animating skill, but he doubted it. From the beginning, she had been completely forthcoming with all of her skills, almost disturbingly so, and he didn't think she would hide something like that.

No, Brevon didn't know exactly what Snuffers was, but he definitely wasn't just a simple stuffed animal.

If that wasn't enough of a shock, Kat was now manipulating so much more fire than Brevon would have ever thought was possible, especially from a simple [elemental manipulation] skill.

The rule of thumb was that the more general the skill, the weaker the effect. [Fire manipulation] was weaker than [fireball], which was, in turn, weaker than [fire lance]. Some of the difference could be overcome with time and effort, but at the end of the day, skills had their limits.

And Kat, somehow, was breaking those limits.

There was no conceivable way that [elemental manipulation], one of the most general magic skills in existence, would allow her to conjure and control so much fire. And yet, the evidence was in front of his eyes. Even from behind the wards Kat had created, so much stronger than anything she had previously displayed, he could feel the heat coming from those flames.

Yet for all of her power, the monsters weren't intimidated. Count Filmore snarled something from behind him, and the monsters stepped forward.

Kat gestured, and a snake of fire lifted into the air, pouncing forward onto the lead monster a moment later. The monster stumbled, but it didn't immediately immolate from the flames as Brevon expected.

Brevon had no idea what those monsters were. They looked nothing like anything he had learned about before, but from how easily it was able to withstand that initial blast of fire, their defense had to be at least gold-ranked, if not higher.

But that wasn't all there was to Kat's attack. The river of fire kept flowing, pouring into and then over the leading monster. It stumbled back under the sustained assault, after a second falling to a knee. And then a few seconds later it collapsed to the ground on its back, but Kat didn't let up. For another five seconds, flames flowed over the monster. And when the river of flames finally disappeared, there was nothing but ash left of where the monster once stood.

One of her enemies had been defeated, but the other monsters hadn't been idle while Kat focused on the first. The leaders were finally within striking range, and with surprising speed they swiped with clawed black fingers. Kat jumped back, dodging the claws, and retaliated with another stream of fire. Two other monsters shambled at her from opposite sides while she was still blasting, attempting to pincer her between them. Kat abandoned her attack and lept forward, seeming to float through the air as she bent backward under the claws of a third monster and deflected the claws swinging at her legs from a fourth with a small ward.

And then she stood in the center of a circle of monsters, dipping and dodging all attacks with impossible grace as the flames beneath their feet grew. Not a single motion of Kat's was wasted, as tiny gestures conjured small wards into and out of existence to block the attacks she couldn't dodge, and other gestures formed bullets of flame to shoot into the gaping maws. Each attack from the monsters came within inches of catching her, but she never even flinched from the closest of dodges. It was a supreme display of skills and talent, a dance on the edge of life and death, and Kat was performing expertly with a smile on her face.

It was simultaneously the most terrifying and attractive thing Brevon had ever witnessed.

But for all Kat's skill, there were too many monsters surrounding her to evade them all perfectly. From behind, one of the monsters reached out and finally grabbed hold of her arm.

But before Brevon could even make a sound, a ghostly claw sliced through its wrist as Snuffers hissed his displeasure. Almost absently, Kat brushed the severed hand from her arm, revealing grey and flaky skin where it had touched her. But within a second, new pink skin took its place, her [healing touch] restoring Kat to full combat strength almost instantly.

Her intermittent flame bullets were barely slowing down the monsters, but it didn't matter, not when they couldn't do any lasting damage back to Kat. It would be a long, drawn-out battle, but the ending seemed inevitable, as long as Kat didn't make a major mistake.

Yet it seemed Kat wasn't content to win with a simple battle of attrition. Without the count noticing, the flames underneath the monsters' feet slowly grew in size and intensity. It wasn't until one of the monsters collapsed to the ground, its leg burnt to nothing beneath it, that both Brevon and the count realized her plan. By then, though, it was already too late.

The monsters attempted to back away, but their legs hardly worked after so long in the intense heat, and Kat was easily able to manipulate the fires to follow them until they collapsed as well. One by one the monsters succumbed, their breathy moans disappearing beneath the roar and crackle of the flames.

Until finally only the count was left, his small army of monsters destroyed in a few minutes. He stared wild-eyed at Kat before turning and sprinting for a door on the opposite side of the room.

Kat stomped a foot, and a pillar of rock shot up from the ground to block the doorway, destroying the fancy marble tile in a ten-foot radius.

"Release my teammates, please," Kat demanded, her voice somehow as unassuming as ever even after all the destruction she had just wrought.

The count sneered, and Brevon felt his hand reaching toward his own throat. But before it could come close, the walls of wards surrounding him closed in, locking his body firmly in place.

Brevon didn't see him move, but somehow Snuffers was sitting on the count's shoulder, tail wrapped around the count's neck and ghostly claw next to his eye. From the look of terror in the count's eye, he didn't see Snuffers move, either.

"Release my teammates, please," Kat demanded in the exact same tone of voice. And this time, after a clear moment of indecision, the count complied.

Kat stared at the slightly-shuddering count in bemusement. That had been...easier than she had expected.

It wasn't as easy as the milk-run dungeons she had recently delved with her team to test her new skills, but it wasn't anywhere close to as difficult as any of the battles during the early days of her time in the nether-realm. Even some of the battles later into her time in the nether-realm against a few shamblers had been more difficult.

Perhaps it was because the count was the one controlling them? They certainly seemed less coordinated than she remembered.

"What now?" she asked her teammates, releasing the [lesser ward]s that had kept them safe.

Brevon gestured towards the count, careful not to move his hands anywhere near his face. "The count probably has the keys to these inhibitors. Until we get one of them on him, you should keep us warded up. No telling when he might re-take control and make us do something we would regret."

The count glared at Brevon and opened his mouth to respond, but on his shoulder Snuffers meowed, and the man froze again.

"Good idea," Kat replied, reforming the wards and then jumping over to the count on a blast of air from [elemental manipulation]. She awkwardly began patting him down in a search for the keys.

Luckily, she almost immediately found six strange stones in the pocket of his jacket, and Lester nodded confirmation when she held them up.

Unlocking the inhibitors was as easy as holding each of the stones next to the metal bands until one of them caused the band to pop open, and then replacing the band from Brevon's neck onto the count. The count glared at them hatefully while they fiddled with the enchanted items, but whenever it looked like he was about to speak Snuffers would shift, and the man would wince and fall back into silence.

They all breathed a sigh of relief when the count was finally disabled, and Kat picked up the suddenly boneless Snuffers from the count's shoulder.

"Such a good kitty!" she praised, rubbing her cheek against his while Snuffers meowed plaintively.

"Snuffers seems...different," Lester said, eyeing her friend cautiously.

"Yeah, he's pretty lazy," Kat explained as she dropped him to the ground. "He doesn't like to get involved if I'm not in danger. Do you want to say hi to my teammates, Snuffers?"

Snuffers stared at each of them with an imposing glare, both of the boys freezing under the gaze, before he very deliberately lifted a leg and licked himself somewhere unmentionable.

Kat turned to her teammates with a shrug of apology. "He's a cat."

Surprisingly, this seemed to be enough of an explanation for her teammates.

"What do we do now?" Lester asked as Snuffers hopped back onto Kat's shoulder and snuggled down. "I'm surprised no one's come to check on us after all that racket."

Brevon shook his head. "For as long as I've been here, the count has stayed in this room. And there were constantly people coming and going, but it seemed like they were all just making deliveries. If their skills were weakened, they probably buggered out at the first sign of danger."

Lester frowned. "Which means they're probably waiting with all the other guards on the other side of the portal."

Kat raised up a hand. "If it wasn't already clear, I think I figured out what it meant that my skills were 'corrupted.' They don't work nearly as well, and they're much weaker outside of the nether-realm. So I won't be quite as useful in a fight out there as I am in here."

"Makes sense," Brevon nodded. "But it leaves us in a bit of a rough situation..."

They sat in silence, the count still staring at them angrily from the side, as they pondered a solution.

"Maybe they've left the portal unguarded? We can at least get close and check to see if we have a chance to sneak through." Kat finally proposed. Lester and Brevon looked at each other. It wasn't the best idea, but it was better than simply waiting in the count's throne room for someone to find them.

The guildmaster frowned at the portal, yet another strike among the avalanche of negative evidence against his vice guildmaster.

He had always been hands-off, of the opinion that his adventurers should, for the most part, be able to handle their own problems. For years his strategy had worked, teaching independence and initiative to those who were more used to letting others fix whatever problems they created.

Yet somehow it had all gone so wrong.

A bronze adventurer, under his very nose, had been captured as a ransom against his vice guildmaster. Even worse, his subordinate had failed to report the capture and it had required the initiative of the adventurer's friends for him to even find out about it.

Luckily, it hadn't been too difficult to confirm. Brevid hadn't been in his office, but the expensive ward on the door couldn't keep the guildmaster out for more than a few seconds, and the ransom note in Brevid's desk told the guildmaster everything he needed to know.

He, along with one of his top gold-level adventurer teams, mobilized immediately. Going through the proper authorities might have been a better response, but after learning about the two other bronze adventurers who had chased after their captured teammate, he knew he didn't have any time to waste. He wasn't willing to spend any time longer than was needed waiting while three of his adventurers, barely more than kids, were in danger from something he should have prevented.

The raid of Count Filmore's manor had been simple. While the guards were numerous and powerful, relative to the average citizen, they couldn't hold a candle to the guildmaster or his team's power. Most of the guards wisely surrendered after the first few patrols were easily dismantled.

And then they had discovered the strange portal, surrounded by a large number of other guards and servants who had very recently exited, fleeing an unnamed commotion.

The nether-realm.

The guildmaster wasn't the most politically savvy or aware, but he would have had to have been deaf and blind to not know at least some things about the potentially world-shaking experiments that were happening in his city. He had immediately sent a message back home to Dr. Havernough, hoping the man's expertise would be enough to see them through this situation.

Unfortunately, though the message was given top priority on his authority as a second-level guildmaster of the adventurer's guild, it would still take time to reach the man, time that he couldn't afford to waste. Despite the risks, he would be leading his team into the portal.

So, with his enchanted weapons held at the ready, he stepped through.

"Hey, look guys! It's the guildmaster. Hey, mister guildmaster!" a voice greeted him as soon as he stepped into the harsh sunlight on the other side, and his eyes zeroed in on the source.

A teenage girl and two teenage boys walked side-by-side out of the front doors of a massive manor towards the portal. Behind them, one of the teenage boys dragged a ragged man in a once-nice suit wearing an inhibitor around his neck, a man matching the likeness of Count Filmore. The man looked to be struggling against his handler, but after a moment the guildmaster reevaluated. Though Filmore was certainly struggling, his focus wasn't on the boy who pulled him along with what looked like a set of stone manacles. No, his wide and frantic eyes were focused exclusively on the young girl who led the group, the girl who, the guildmaster just noticed, had a small stuffed animal of a cat resting on her shoulder.

The teenagers matched the little he knew of his three missing bronze adventurers, but he still approached carefully. He wasn't sure how it might have been possible, but with every step he was on the lookout for a trap.

And then, when he was only five feet away, it happened. He was finally within range for his much weakened [threat sense] skill to detect the group of four, and he immediately raised his weapons. Because for all that the girl leading the group looked weak and innocent, she was triggering as one of the highest threats he had ever seen.

"Who are you?" he growled at the imposter.

The girl just looked confused, before she shrugged and responded. "I'm Kat, bronze mage with the adventurer's guild, and this is Snuffers! Nice to meet you!"

Belatedly, the guildmaster realized that the stuffed cat on the girl's shoulder was registering at a threat level only a mite lower than her own, and he readied himself for a terrific battle.

Before he could strike, the young man the guildmaster recognized as his vice guildmaster's son stepped between him and the girl. He seemed to at least somewhat understand what was going on, because there was confidence in his voice as he raised his hands placatingly. "Sir, this really is Kat, a bronze mage and our teammate in the adventurer's guild. I personally can vouch for her. She just...has a history with the nether-realm."

"...explain," the guildmaster growled.

It took a few minutes, but eventually the guildmaster heard the disjointed account of the tragedy that led the girl to his guildhall. And though there were many parts he disbelieved, he at least trusted the group enough to let them pass through the portal.

He passed through first, of course, with the count thrown over his shoulder, to warn those who waited on the other side. Then he turned, and with [threat sense] carefully focused, watched as the girl passed through wearing a relieved smile.

Her threat level, so massive only a few seconds earlier, shrunk to that of a silver adventurer.

"Oh thank goodness," she sighed, flopping on her belly and attempting to hug the ground.

"Tell me about it," the vice guildmaster's son said after he passed through. "I was there less than a day, and I'm already reaaally excited to get back to Cranlon."

The girl looked up at him quizzically. "Cranlon? Where's that?"

"...Cranlon? The city we're from? The Cranlon Guildhall, where you've been living for over a week?"

The girl nodded sagely. "Ah, good to know. I've been meaning to ask someone about that."

The guildmaster shook his head. He was just so very confused.

Epilogue

Two Months Later...

Kat ducked under the tongue of living flame, stepping forward and swinging her chain of light at the base of the tongue. There was a moment of resistance, the living flame not possessing the same innate weakness to her [chained light] skill as the shades, but after a moment her chain broke through, the severed fire falling to the ground.

They were on the third floor of the Crawler's dungeon, in the final boss room facing the candelabra of living flame. As her proficiency with her new skills had increased, so had their speed in clearing the dungeon. As Brevon had predicted, the shades were especially weak to [chained light], which allowed her to clear the main rooms almost as quickly as some of the normal rooms of other dungeons.

It was still a slog, though, to get through the entirety of the Crawler's dungeon, but hopefully this would be the last time. It had been three days since Kat's silver-level evaluation, and she hoped she would soon join her teammates in receiving her badge that would qualify them to delve the much-more-plentiful silver dungeons surrounding Cranlon.

Kat hoped she qualified for silver, because she wasn't sure how many more bronze runs she could take before dying of boredom. The threat when delving would never completely go away, no matter her level or power, but at this point she'd have to make a drastic mistake for something in a bronze dungeon to truly threaten her.

Brevon and Lester had both taken their tests at the same time as Kat, yet had received their badges two days earlier. They constantly reassured her that these things just sometimes took time, that she had nothing to worry about, but she still couldn't help being nervous.

Luckily, her distracted thoughts weren't near enough to pose an issue for the boss fight, and working together she, Lester, and Brevon whittled down the flames until they were no longer any threat, Kat snuffing them out with precise swings of her chains above the wicks.

"How's it look?" Brevon asked as Lester opened the chest at the back of the boss room.

"Not bad, but not amazing either. Above-average number of coins, it looks like," he responded.

"Pack it up and let's get going, then. I'm ready for a shower."

They were much faster at clearing the dungeon than they had ever been, but it was still late in the afternoon when they got back to the city, walking together down the road to the guildhall.

"What are you two doing later? Want to meet up for dinner?" Kat asked, pausing at the front door to the barroom.

Brevon and Lester shared an inscrutable look before replying.

"I'm feeling kind of hungry. We'll probably just pop in for a snack now," Brevon said, Lester nodding along.

Kat shrugged before pushing open the door.

"SURPRISE!!!"

The wall of noise almost blasted Kat back out onto the street as she instinctively summoned [nature's protection] and two chains of light. But after a moment, she realized it wasn't a monster attacking, but all of her friends scattered throughout the barroom yelling in greeting. She dismissed her skills as a smile formed on her face.

Paige walked to the front and greeted Kat with a smile, a small box held in her hands. "As a newly promoted full clerk of the adventurer's guild, it is my privilege to welcome you as our newest silver mage." With a dramatic flair, Paige opened the box to reveal the silver badge resting on a cushion.

Kat gasped and grabbed the badge, holding it an inch in front of her eye to examine. "Really?? I made it?!"

"As real as it gets!" Paige replied, and then leaned forward to hug Kat in congratulations. "...I win the bet," she whispered in Kat's ear.

Kat gasped again and narrowed her eyes at the clerk suspiciously. If Paige had only been newly promoted to a full clerk... "Did you delay giving me my badge just to win?" The smug smile on Paige's face all but confirmed Kat's guess.

"Don't get too angry. We wouldn't have been able to come to congratulate you in person a few days ago," Melinda said as she walked over with Avery and Lindon, surrounding Kat in a massive group hug which she eagerly embraced. "It's not every day you are promoted to a silver adventurer!"

When she escaped, Kat finally looked around the barroom at the small crowd of her friends.

Behind Paige, Henry followed like a lovesick puppy with Todd grinning at Kat a few steps behind him. Bruce, Monica, Peter, and Brandon, who had been gone delving a high-silver dungeon for the last week, were sitting at a corner table, Peter and Monica already deep in what she was sure was an inane argument. Dr. Havernough sat at another nearby table and waved at Kat when he saw her looking.

And of course behind her, yet to enter the guildhall were her two teammates. "Did you know about this?" she asked them. Their satisfied grins were all the answer she needed.

She reached back and grabbed their wrists in each of her hands, pulling them into the room. "You both just got promoted to silver, too!" She turned to Paige. "And you're a clerk now? Congratulations!!" She paused, thinking. "We need a new bet for gold-level...what's the next step above clerk?"

Paige led the group out of the doorway to a set of reserved tables while Todd and Henry disappeared to the bar to retrieve a few plates of food. "Why don't we spend today celebrating this achievement? There will be plenty of time to think about future bets later."

Kat looked around at all her friends, talking and laughing together, and then nodded in agreement. The future would come. For now...she was content.

The hours of celebration passed quickly in a haze of food and laughter. She and her friends only took up a small corner of the barroom, and as the afternoon turned to evening adventurers filled in the tables surrounding them. She wasn't sure who was paying for everything, but it was all delicious, and of a variety she had no idea the barroom served, and she was sure everyone not in their group was staring at them in jealousy.

Unfortunately, it couldn't last forever, and Dr. Havernough was the first to bid Kat goodnight. Avery, Melinda, and Lindon followed soon after, citing an early morning of work in Artford the following day.

"...and we managed to kill the spider, but for the entire fight he's completely stuck in the web upside-down, frantically casting his skills while his face turns redder and redder!" Peter yelled while Brandon slumped back in his chair. "Yeah, just like that!" Peter pointed at Brandon's reddening face with a guffaw of laughter.

After a moment of joining in on the laughter, Monica took pity on her healer and spoke up. "Oh, speaking of getting stuck somewhere, should we talk about that time in Benter's Dungeon?" Peter's laugh morphed into a choking cough, and suddenly Brandon was much more interested.

Kat smiled at their interactions from where she was enjoying a drink with her teammates and the clerks a table away.

"Who do you think that is?" Todd asked their table, pointing to a young man who had just entered the bar. Kat turned to look with her friends.

"Huh. Clerk's uniform, but I don't recognize him," Paige said. "He's not from the Cranlon guildhall, at least."

"Is he from a different guild, then? Why would a clerk travel between guilds?" Lester asked. The young man in question was talking to the bartender, who raised a hand and pointed to their table, the man turning and making eye contact from across the room.

"Looks like we're about to find out," Brevon muttered as the young man made his way over between the other tables.

"I'm looking for the bronze adventurers Kat and...Snuffers?" the man asked, looking between the six of them around the table.

Kat's hand shot into the air. "I'm Kat! And this is Snuffers!" She gestured to Snuffers in his regular post on her shoulder and then smiled at the man. "But we're actually silver adventurers now, as of today."

The young man looked confused to be addressing his message to a stuffed animal, but he retained his professional bearing. "Ah, of course. I'm a clerk with the adventurer's guild HQ in Torovon. You and Snuffers have been requested for a special mission to a location in the nether-realm. The mission is expected to last for up to three weeks. Pay will be five gold per day, with two skill-stones of your choice from the guild's supplies upon completion of the mission."

Kat stared at him, open-mouthed. But after a moment she collected herself. "Can our teammates come?"

The clerk nodded. "Of course, though the pay will remain the same."

Kat looked back and forth between her two teammates. Though a lot of her fear towards the nether-realm had diminished after having visited and escaped a second time, it definitely still wasn't her favorite place...but that was a LOT of money. "What do you guys think?"

Lester and Brevon glanced at each other before responding. "I'm not...opposed to the idea," Brevon said.

Lester shrugged. "Eh, silver dungeons are probably overrated, anyway."

A small smile formed on Kat's face, and she turned to the waiting clerk and held up Snuffers' paws in celebration. "We'll do it! Team Pile of Destruction and Death is on the case!"

"...veto," Brevon said without inflection.

The clerk stared at them with wide eyes, confusion and just a touch of concern on his face.

Thanks for reading!

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