Great Forest Dungeon

Fourth Floor

Five Shards Active

Egnatia sprinted past Nastya, who carried Voolyn on one shoulder and guided Olena with her other hand.

A quick swipe of her sword cut the head off a goblin. Before the other could finish its leaping attack, she stuck out her free hand and cast Abyssal Blast. The blue flames struck the goblin in the face and caused the creature to howl as it crashed to the ground, clawing at the flames burning through its skin. She brought the sword down, cutting the head off the goblin in a single swing.

"Who invited so many ugly people?" a hobgoblin shouted from the other side of the hall.

Nastya continued without hesitation, guiding Olena directly over the goblin corpses. "These creatures are infuriating."

"Patience," Egnatia said. She thrust her open hand out and used Dread Bind. Fiery blue tendrils sprouted from the ground, wrapped themselves around the surprised hobgoblin, and dragged the creature to her knees.

Egnatia's stride through the hall was confident and fast enough to stay ahead of Nastya and the others. She stopped in front of the hobgoblin, who lifted its head, fighting against the spell, and spat on Egnatia's leg.

"Filth," Egnatia said, grabbing the hobgoblin's face. Her fingers squeezed, crushing bones in the mob's face. "Abyssal Blast."

Blue fire flared as the hobgoblin's head exploded.

Without waiting, she opened the door and killed the next hobgoblin in two quick swings. To her surprise, it had partially deflected the first. It had been a long time since she had fought anything powerful. Before long, the five shard level was going to overwhelm even her if the others failed to fuse to any useful degree.

"Do we need to switch?" Nastya asked.

"No." Egnatia rolled her eyes and shoved the headless hobgoblin over. "Let's go."

She carved her way through the hobgoblin village with relative ease. Nastya, to her credit, buffed and healed Egnatia whenever the hobgoblins swarmed or temporarily overwhelmed her.

Before long, they were trekking through the woods. Egnatia took Olena's hand, letting Nastya focus entirely on carrying the massive form of Voolyn. Or half of him.

Egnatia, Olena, and Nastya all had their indexes open, following the map of previous visits to the Great Forest. They walked straight through the birch forest to the lakeside and stopped to eat.

Voolyn used his one arm to silently feed himself. Egnatia tried not to watch, but seeing the man's exposed organs move and hearing them gurgle as he ate was perhaps the worst thing she had ever seen. How he was alive at all showed his immense willpower, and she had no doubt his fusion would be the simplest of all.

Egnatia turned away and looked out over the lake. Waves lapped against the locked castle just off the coast. She knew there was a way inside, but never found a way to open the drawbridge herself. There were accounts of what was inside with ocular mobs and undead. Nothing special when it came to enemies, but the treasure was obvious. Even from her current spot, she could see the vault in the middle of the lake, separate even from the main castle. People had tried to swim out and climb onto the bridge before, only to be blocked by a boundary wall that didn't appear until one ran into it.

Once their meal was finished, Egnatia helped Olena to her feet and continued guiding the blind wizard. Nastya buffed herself, did some healing to Voolyn, and hauled the massive hero back into the woods.

The sun moved through the sky toward dusk, inching down to vanish behind the trees by the time they reached the cave. There was an ogre cave beside the village, but the ogres at the end were stronger. Apparently. Egnatia had never taken time to pay attention or really care at all about the mobs on the fourth floor.

"Only kill Gorglig. Leave Borgulig for fusion," Nastya said.

Egnatia stopped at the mouth of the cave, recoiling from the acrid smell. "What?"

"Kill Gorglig. Leave Borgulig."

Egnatia let Olena's hand go. "Walk in here, point to which one to kill, and stop saying their fucking names."

Nastya guided Olena to the wall. The blind wizard felt the stone wall of the cave and slid down until she was sitting peacefully. Nastya carried Voolyn inside and immediately pointed with her index up. "Gorglig."

Egnatia had to squint slightly to see in the cave. Acid dripped from the ceiling, running in small, vibrant streams down the walls and into narrow creeks that had been carved into the cave floor. Pitted stalactites dripped more acid straight from above. Such a liquid would still give the sensation of burning even if the damage would be minimal.

The ogre, Gorglig, had a handful of bright green acid raised to its mouth, loudly slurping. Another form moved within the cave, far in the back. If she remembered correctly, there was a chest in the back of the cave. The stairs and exit were just around a corner that was too narrow for the ogres to follow.

"Easy enough." Egnatia stepped over the first creek of acid and drew her sword.

Gorglig, the massive stone-skinned ogre, turned. Acid dripped from its hand, running in bright streams down its arm. Small, beady eyes found Egnatia. Gorglig mumbled a sentence, then roared. Its voice echoed in the cave, bombarding Egnatia with an almost physical force.

Egnatia thrust her open hand out, casting Dread Bind. Blue flame tendrils sprouted from the ground and latched onto Gorglig's wrist. They tugged, attempting to pull the ogre to the ground. Instead, Gorglig roared and cracked stone beneath its feet. The ogre ripped its arm free, dispersing the abyssal attack.

Egnatia strode forward, doing nothing to hide the contempt from her face. She reached back, unlatched her shield, and brought it around as Gorglig charged. Two massive, acid-covered fists swung from above.

Egnatia spread her feet and said, "Abyssal Armor." Clear blue plates like interlocking scales appeared over her shield.

When Gorglig's fists hit, Egnatia dropped to one knee. The cave shuddered, knocking some of the pitted stalactites loose. As they fell, a quicker, denser stream of acid began to flow from above.

"Do you need assistance?" Nastya asked.

Without answering, Egnatia slipped underneath the ogre's fists. Gorglig staggered as his fists smashed into the ground. Egnatia activated Swift Strike and Greater Pierce. With the combination ability, she swung twice in rapid succession and pierced the ogre's stone-like skin. Her precision helped hit the vital parts of the ogre's wrist. Gorglig started bleeding profusely, and lost any mobility within his hand.

Instinct Fighting warned her of the other hand. Egnatia activated Dodge and easily stepped out of the way, letting Gorglig's desperate attack throw it off balance. The ogre tried to catch itself with its mutilated hand, but the blood and useless mass of flesh caused the ogre to slip and tumble onto its side.

Egnatia was already standing by its face when the ogre landed. "What kind of name is Gorglig?" She sneered as she activated Vital Strike. One thrust of her sword into the ogre's brain easily killed the creature.

"Do I need to immobilize the next?" she asked as Nastya walked up.

"It would be the safest approach."

Egnatia looked at Voolyn, catching the man's single eye that had been watching everything silently since the blast. It was an intense gaze. Almost intimidating, even from such a corpse as he was.

"I'll see what I can do."

Nastya touched Egnatia's shoulder. It took every ounce of self control not to shrug her off.

"I'm giving you Agility Infusion," Nastya said.

Egnatia turned without a word. She could already feel the speed welling within her. She needed to keep the ogre alive, so just attacking ankles would be enough. Her dash sent her deep into the cave, dashing over the streams of acid, and nearly right into the ogre's legs.

Before Borgulig could react, she activated Greater Pierce again and slashed. The skin tore, but nothing serious was damaged. Egnatia used Dodge to easily avoid the first attack, then used Parry to land a strike with the second. Despite Borgulig being a floor boss, she managed against it better thanks to Nastya's speed buff. Pressing Attack, Resonance, and Almighty Block kept Egnatia in perfect health as she waited between cooldowns for Greater Pierce.

It took a few minutes, then she stepped away, letting Borgulig smash into the ground. He reached out, clawing for her, but she was already out of his reach. Nastya approached on the outside, walking right past Borgulig, who was so focused on Egnatia that he likely hadn't even seen Nastya or Voolyn.

"Good luck," Nastya said as she tossed what was left of Voolyn onto the ogre's back.

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Voolyn immediately grabbed onto the ogre's thick hide and glowed with a dim light.

Nothing happened for a few minutes. Both Voolyn and Borgulig glowed, and Egnatia just leaned against the wall and waited. Everything was internal as Voolyn dominated the ogre's spirit. It had to be an easy endeavor, but it was obviously taking some time.

She cleaned her sword, oiled it, ate a snack, and took the armor and coins from the chest. Before long, the gray light grew brighter. Egnatia stood beside Nastya and watched.

Sinew snaked out of Voolyn's mutilated half. At first, it looked like worms searching for soil, but after a moment, they coiled together and started to form the second half of his body. Bones grew underneath. A ribcage formed as a misshapen lung began to appear. Visually, it was disgusting. Audibly, it was even worse. Organs squelched and bones cracked as Voolyn's body took shape. Borgulig was falling apart, piece by piece, then the gray light flashed.

When it faded, Voolyn stood in his complete form, completely naked. He rolled out his shoulders and neck. Muscles rippled under his stone-like skin. The left half of his body still maintained most of the brown color of his regular skin but with a new, rougher texture, while the right half of his body was fully gray like that of the ogres. His eyes had shrunken to beady, little things with his right eye only a black sphere.

Before fusion Voolyn Eskitorra had been considered the Trueborn Giant. The biggest, tallest person on Verdantallis. As far as anyone knew. There were other tall and overgrown people, but nobody quite as imposing as Voolyn. After fusion, he stood over eleven feet tall and was now beyond any doubt, a real giant.

"Well done," Nastya said.

Voolyn clenched his hands into fists and faced Egnatia.

Her eyes widened as Instinct Fighting screamed danger in the back of her mind. Before she managed to react, Voolyn had his massive forearm pressed against her neck. His breath was rancid and warm like that of the ogres. She was almost a dozen feet off the ground, unable to breath.

"Imbecile," he roared.

"Let her go," Nastya said with surprising ease.

Voolyn pulled away, letting Egnatia collapse to the ground.

She wheezed in a breath and was overcome with a coughing fit. Bright green acid flowed past, running over Voolyn's bare feet.

"She reflected Althowin's blast into me," he growled.

"I'm aware. We all did what we needed to do in order to survive." Nastya walked back through the cave, fetched Olena, and returned, apparently not afraid of Voolyn attacking again.

Egnatia stood up and rested her hand on her sword. Plenty of abilities would allow her to draw quickly and take his head off, if necessary. "Did you actually fuse or do you have an ogre's intelligence now?" Her breath was raspy as she continued fighting for a full, deep breath.

"Our goals align," he said as he crouched. Acid ran over his hand, which carefully raised to his lips and drank. "Or I'd kill you here."

"You lost to a 1 Shard Hero and the 7 Shard Hero. Other than that surprise attack, I haven't seen you do a single thing successfully."

Voolyn drank all the acid from his palm before standing. "I recall you losing to Vondaire too." He wiped his wet hand over his bald head. "Don't mistake my cooperation for weakness. I will no longer hesitate against anyone."

"Good," Nastya said. She stood at the mouth of the entrance to the stairs. "The four of us will be equipped to handle the challenges ahead of us once Olena and I have completed our fusions. Althowin remains at the top of our list, but I believe we all have personal vendettas that play into this entire conflict."

"Vondaire," Egnatia said.

"The one who killed Isaak?" Olena asked quietly.

"Yes," Nastya said. "Vondaire Faikel." Her index was already open. "2 Shard Hero. If we don't handle him soon, he will acquire a third or fourth and be in a position to challenge any of us."

"He killed Isaak with one shard," Egnatia said.

"Others were involved. And despite our warnings, Isaak played with his food. A fault I could not train out of him." Nastya looked more disappointed than angry or sad. She guided them all into the more narrow cavern. It narrowed even farther before opening to the stairs and the exit.

"What of the goblin?" Voolyn asked.

"Veph has repeatedly assured me she has that creature handled. In return, we will leave Chorsay Eoghet alive." Nastya stopped at the bottom of the stairs. "That was Veph's agreement to lend Void Nexus to our side."

"Nobody cares about Chorsay," Egnatia said. "What about the Rat?"

"She disappeared after assisting in killing Isaak. I will take pleasure in killing her myself." Nastya stopped talking and cocked her head. A smile spread across her face. "There is a story here we have missed. It appears Sofia Halaby is the most wanted hero in all of Verdantallis."

Egnatia immediately opened her index and flipped to the bounties. Only bounty hunters, certain members of the military, and hero company leaders could actually see the full list of bounties.

Of course, everyone present was a leader of a hero company. Voolyn and Olena also opened their indexes to verify the information.

And Nastya was right. Sofia Halaby was listed at the top for using a Power 7 spell in a public space.

Egnatia fully suspected Vondaire would soon end up on the list. With how arrogantly the umbra disrupted the spy network in Minolitana Prima and how he inserted himself into every conflict, the man would soon find himself unable to escape the fame he so desperately seeked. A bounty would bring him more attention than he could ever want.

As far as killing Vondaire, she doubted any of them were capable of doing it on their own. He was crafty. Clever. Even with fewer shards, he had techniques and talent that made him a headache to even threaten. She couldn't help but think of trying to put a knife to his throat back outside the Ocean Dungeon when he only had one shard. Even then, she couldn't easily land an attack.

"Althowin Alegarra, Sofia Halaby, Vondaire Faikel, Arkasti Duragoz." Nastya closed her index. "Am I missing anyone?"

"What about Kikuno?" Egnatia asked. "She abandoned us."

"She refused from the start. Kikuno is a talented bounty hunter, and not someone I intend to make my enemy," Nastya said.

Egnatia just nodded. It was different with Sofia who had agreed to help and still betrayed them for the ridiculous goblin.

"Veph informed me that Althowin's sponsored party created six new Shard Heroes that all show incredible talent. She had assumed two would return to Void Nexus, though only one did. That means there are five more Shard Heroes within Althowin's compound." Nastya reopened her index and gestured for others to do the same. "Siora Rilokos, Cixilo Lasknaill, Ernworth Eckelson, Katalin Miksa, and Potilia Ennia can join our list. Any of these 1 Shard Heroes will hold a vendetta against us should we succeed in killing Althowin."

Egnatia scowled. "Two of those are Althowin's apprentices."

"Indeed," Nastya said.

"A better reason to kill them," Voolyn said. "And Zezog?"

"If he exists, as I believe he does, he sits at the top of the list alongside Althowin. Something killed Zevvrin Kerekes outside Vraxridge, and we know Althowin was within her compound at the time." Nastya took the first step to the fifth floor. "Keep these names in your mind. I wish for you all to recognize them without hesitation because I have no doubt that there will be attempts of deception from outside our organizations, and even from within."

"Nobody is infiltrating Magna Regum," Egnatia said.

Voolyn walked to the nearest stream of acid and drank deep. Nastya passed him some empty potion bottles, which he filled and passed back.

"We will see," Nastya said. "What of this Myrsvai Ryllsion? The infamous Maimed Magus? You had a hand in his career, didn't you?"

"He worked for Magna Regum when we were young." Egnatia fought to keep a neutral face. Myrsvai was rarely brought into conversation without making Egnatia sound like a villain. It wasn't her fault he quit. She didn't attack him.

"He will need to die as well," Nastya said.

"I'll handle it."

Nastya stared quietly, then grabbed Olena's hand and walked her up the stairs and into the void nexus.

Egnatia went in front of Voolyn, not wanting to wait and give him another opportunity to attack. She disappeared into the blackness and let it wash her mind clear.

***

Owin had adapted to his new attributes quickly. Things were far from perfect, but he had to adjust things every time he took a buff in the past, so none of it was really new. Once he figured out his speed more, he was able to start slipping past Zezog, much to the surprise of everyone. Even as he dodged attacks, he still failed to land hits. Zezog blocked, dodged, or parried every attack.

Their sparring went late into the night with Basolia watching it all. Zezog forced Shade to try different weapons, and even to try different classes by turning him to dust. From Owin's perspective, it looked like Shade was managing with weapons better than before, but he had already been improving on their journey through the Fortress.

After a few hours, Owin slipped fully past a swing from Zezog, and cut deep into the elf's forearm with Isotelus. Owin immediately dropped the sword, apologized profusely, and got a health potion from Basolia.

Zezog pulled Isotelus free and drank the potion, completely unbothered from the damage. He returned the sword, which had melted back to a limp spine.

"Owin," Zezog finally said. "With these buffs Althowin has given you . . ." He crouched and smiled. "Your attributes are officially the highest in Verdantallis."

"What do you mean?"

"When a hero reaches level 100, they cannot earn more experience or attribute points. A hero such as myself at level 100 has 3530 attributes points that were spread out through their training and experiences in life. Any hero starts with 575 at level 1 on their fifteenth birthday. Few heroes reach the highest level in their life. No citizens ever do. Experience from killing mobs allows heroes to gain more attribute points, and in turn level, much faster. Most people plateau in the twenties, sometimes reaching into the thirties if they put in effort." Zezog opened his index.

Owin did the same, looking at his own attributes again. "So, you have 3530 attribute points?"

"Exactly," Zezog said. "And you have 4306. This will give you a great advantage within the dungeons." He reached out a hand and gently touched Owin's head. "Shard Heroes will still pose a danger. They fight unpredictably, have equipment you cannot know, and can still have more shards that will multiply their attributes to exceed your own. Do not get cocky with your new attributes."

"I won't. I will always fight as smart as I can."

"Which isn't very," Shade said.

Zezog turned to the skeleton, who immediately flinched. "It is your responsibility to assist Owin. Keep him safe. Keep practicing. You have more spells and abilities to master than anyone else in history."

Shade just silently nodded.

"Now, unlike you two, I need some sleep. I will take a nap so I can be awake when Althowin leaves for Atrevaar." Zezog stood tall with a shake of his wrist, his massive sword came loose and folded back into a compact rectangle. He slipped it into a loop on his shorts.

"Will Chorsay be safe there?" Owin asked.

"I haven't known Chorsay long," Zezog said, "but he is formidable. I trust Althowin, and I trust Chorsay."

Owin nodded. He agreed. Zezog had no reason to lie.

Zezog walked toward the door. "Enjoy the rest of your evening."

"You too," Shade said. He took a step over and leaned his elbow on Owin's head. "Now what?"

"Should we keep practicing?"

"Should we? Yes. Do I want to?"

Owin looked up at him.

"Yes," Shade said quickly. "Let's establish quickly that my attributes haven't changed and I will probably explode if you hit me."

"We should practice what Suta taught us." Owin glanced around and noticed Basolia nearby. The specter sat as a little ghost off to the side, likely busy working on something else.

"Basolia?" Owin asked.

"Yes?"

"Have you seen Suta's martial arts?"

"I see everything." Basolia lifted off the ground and shifted, becoming a shadow version of Suta. It moved through a set of forms, showing a perfect recreation of Suta practicing.

"Can you keep doing that? We need to practice."

"Yes." Basolia stopped moving, then shifted into Suta's base fighting stance. "I cannot interact with you while recreating Suta's routines."

"That's fine. We'll just follow along." Owin shifted into the same stance.

Basolia turned its back on them. "Inform me if I need to slow down or repeat."

Shade also dropped into the stance, though with how short Owin and Suta were, he looked far more exposed. They could work on that with Suta at some point because Owin had no idea how to fix that issue.

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