Great Forest Dungeon

Fifth Floor

Five Shards Active

Egnatia leaned on the wide trunk of an old tree. Creatures were roaring angrily in the distance. Leaves fell and gathered on top of the thick underbrush. Voolyn stomped the plants down as he paced. The oaf hadn't stopped moving since they set up camp.

Nastya cooked a slice of wolf meat over the fire. The smell made Egnatia's stomach rumble, despite the fact that she'd just finished eating. Juices sizzled on the meat's surface.

"Will you hurry up?" Voolyn said. He stopped beside the fire, looking down on Nastya.

She continued cooking the meat without responding. After a few more seconds of loud sizzling, she pulled the meat away, set it gently on a plate she had brought along, and cut into it, revealing a perfectly cooked, perfectly seared piece of meat.

Nastya sat back and carefully cut her meal into thin strips, using such precision to not even touch the knife blade to her plate. With careful, delicate bites, she ate the whole thing, never breaking eye contact with Voolyn, who grew more impatient by the second.

Nastya took her time to clean the plate with a rag, wipe her fork clean, and pack it all away with careful, thoughtful attention. "Might I remind you," she finally said, "you would be half a man, decomposing out in some manure-covered field if it weren't for Egnatia and myself. Your impatience will not be tolerated."

Voolyn huffed. It looked, for a moment, like he might control himself. "I wouldn't have been so broken if it weren't for that crone."

"Crone?" Egnatia blurted, laughing. "I'm at least ten years younger than you. If you can't handle a little extra damage, how are you expecting to fight a 7 Shard Hero?"

A sharp look from Nastya shut Egnatia up quickly.

"Now that I've eaten, I am ready for my fusion. If the two of you cannot handle yourselves, I will find replacements." Nastya helped Olena to her feet.

The wizard was still mostly silent. She sat where they put her and did what they told her to do. It was the life of a doll in the worst imaginable way. Dragged around, carried, and told what to do. She wasn't even able to see any of it.

The fire-eyed wizard just stood silently.

Nastya put a pear in Olena's hand. "Voolyn, watch her."

"I—"

Nastya turned a sharp eye to him. "Will watch her."

Voolyn nodded curtly.

"Egnatia, you will stand guard for my fusion. Come." Nastya walked over the flattened underbrush and into the dense forest.

Egnatia stuck right behind the mender. Sunlight dappled the leaves. Not every tree in the forest was a grand tower as ancient as the dungeon. Many were, and they cast shadows across whole swaths of forest, but there were just as many saplings and trees fighting for the warm sunlight.

Another roar reached them, dulled by the trees.

"It's angry," Egnatia said.

"It usually is." Nastya gestured for Egnatia to walk at her side. "I expect some of that anger will reach me, and I intend to use it. I was passive as one of the Three Heads, I believe. More passive than I should have been. The Three Heads should have equal power, but Isaak liked to push himself into the front of everything, even while I had a shard more than him." Nastya moved her active shards from her shoulder onto her hand. All five floated above her palm, orbiting slowly. "There are three people in the entire world with more shards than I have, and I don't have the slightest doubt all three are more powerful than I am."

Engatia immediately thought of Vondaire or Chorsay. Both defeated heroes with more shards. Were they more talented, were the circumstances to blame, or were the heroes they defeated worse than their counterparts?

"Oryta—"

"No," Nastya said, cutting Egnatia off. "Oryta Gurmrot is like the wind itself. Once I fuse, and once I have Olena back, I will be ready to establish the Three Headed Hero Company as a true force once again. With Magna Regum as allies, the three of us will be able to do whatever we wish. Althowin won't be able to resist us, we will free Vraxridge, and open all of Brukiya. There is no reason for me to be afraid of any heroes. Oryta has no interest in the affairs of hero companies, Althowin is a recluse, and Zezog is a ghost."

Egnatia opened her index and started looking through the list of Shard Heroes. At the moment, there were still six other 5 Shard Heroes. Kikuno was the biggest threat of them all, should any decide to stop their little war on Althowin. "What about the third 7 Shard Hero?"

"If nobody can say who it is, they might as well not exist." Nastya pushed through underbrush, guided them around a pond, and up a short hill before stopping.

Another roar.

"You're sure about this one?"

A massive clawed hand wrapped around the trunk of a massive, ancient tree about a hundred feet ahead. Judging by the distance, the incoming monster was at least fifty feet tall, if not more. Egnatia couldn't really remember the true scale of the beast, but she would be reminded before long.

An entire ancient tree snapped at the base as the clawed hand shoved it aside, revealing a lizard-like creature. It looked like it wore a mask of bleach-white bone over its crocodilian face. Each step shook the ground and its tail easily knocked over trees behind it.

"Certain," Nastya said.

"The thing has no mind." Egnatia took her shield from her back. She wasn't going to get to fight the floor boss, but at least she would be able to have some form of fun.

"I don't need its mind. Mine will do just fine. I need that brutality." Nastya drew her ridiculous wooden sword. "Are you ready?"

"Tell me what to do."

"Tank it. I won't be long."

Proteunia were weak to luminous and abyssal, so Egnatia needed to refrain from using any magus spells. That wouldn't be difficult, since she was far from using any instinctually. Practice and experience would come later. For now, she only needed to use her classic soldier abilities to get the job done.

Nastya flared with luminous light. The giant proteunia roared and turned its gaze to the mender.

Distraction easily, effortlessly grabbed the mob's attention. Egnatia walked part way down the slope of the hill and stopped. Her boots dug into the soil as her whole body shook from the lizard's roar.

As the proteunia raised its hand, claws hovering above like a guillotine, cool shade passed over Egnatia. For the briefest moment, it was peaceful. If the lizard had meant to shade her, she would've thanked it. Instead, she activated Almighty Block and gave a slight bend to her knees.

The following strike destroyed nearly half of the small hill Egnatia stood on. Upturned grass and chunks of dirt rained down upon the forest. Trees cracked and fell like there had just been a tornado.

Egnatia went from standing upon a slope to standing on flat ground with the top of the hill sheared off. A brief ray of sunlight shone on her face, making its way in through a gash down the middle of her shield. She tossed the ruined thing aside and drew her sword.

Reinforce.

Reflect.

She brought the sword up in a perfect block, just angled enough to push the massive claws to the side. Most of the force would still pass into her body, but Reinforce would help her stay standing.

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The world went black as the lizard's claws covered Egnatia. She moved the sword just slightly upon impact, trying to force the beast aside. Instead of pushing it, her health bar vanished.

Everything was red.

Egnatia collapsed to her knees. Her head swam. Unyielding didn't activate, so she didn't die, but . . .

Luminous light pushed the red aside. Health appeared on her bar, climbing rapidly. Egnatia's vision snapped back, only for her to be blinded by an absolute beacon of Elysium. Nastya's wooden sword roared as burning branches grew from the blade.

Wings of white fire grew from the flaming form of Nastya. Heat forced Egnatia back. Her health continued to climb as Nastya squared off against the proteunia boss.

The lizard's next attack was stopped before it could even begin. Nastya thrust her sword out. Burning branches shot through the air, snaking, and coiled around the lizard's arm. With a grunt, Nastya swung the sword down, and the branches followed, forcing the lizard's arm to the ground. The entire beast roared and stumbled to the side. Nastya blurred into a white line as her fiery wings carried her to the lizard's face. A giant ethereal silver hand with four fingers appeared. It looked like it was made of smoke, moving in wisps as it formed a fist.

Just as the lizard steadied itself, the fist came down, hitting the bone-like mask in a thunderous crash. Egnatia squinted as the shockwave blew past. Her helmet was pulled from her head, and she let herself fall to a sitting position.

Nastya pulled the sword toward herself, throwing the dazed lizard further off balance. It stumbled toward her and accidentally pressed its nose into her outstretched palm.

Her luminous light vanished, replaced immediately by a twisting, swirling green light that moved between her chest, through her arm, and to the proteunia's heart.

Egnatia watched, breathless, then folded over and vomited onto the wrecked hillside. She sat back, found her helmet nearby, and fumbled with it until it mostly sat right on her head.

"What the fuck." She whispered to herself, groaning a little. She drank a health potion just to settle her stomach. Whatever Nastya had been doing already healed her most of the way.

Green light pulsed and grew brighter inside the lizard. Egnatia pulled herself to her feet and cautiously approached the mender's side. Was she losing or was the fusion nearly done?

White light joined the green, spiraling from Nastya's heart and coiling around the green light like a constricting snake. Luminous fire reignited on Nastya's back, and wings of pure luminous magic grew slowly, unfurling fiery feathers. The white light grew brighter, coiled tighter, and choked whatever life lay inside the green. With a flash, only luminous remained as Nastya hovered above the ground. Her sword released the lizard's arm and rapidly shrunk back to a harmless wooden blade.

A pulse of energy pushed Egnatia away. One more flash, which she had been ready for and actually covered her eyes. When she opened them, Nastya was on her knees. Fiery wings faded to wisps.

Nastya barely turned her head.

Egnatia clenched her jaw. Now wasn't the time to say anything.

Nastya's face had morphed into a smaller version of the lizard's. It looked like she wore a white bone mask over the top of her crocodilian face with only her golden jaw visible beneath. Her hair had remained unchanged, still tied back in a bun despite the battle and thrashing wind. Her boots were destroyed in the fusion as her feet had rapidly grown into lizard claws, splayed wide with talons that tug into the dirt. The back of her pants was also torn open, showing far too much of the mender's behind. A wide, spike-covered tail protruded, reaching nearly three feet behind.

Nastya turned her hand over before her face. Long, black claws curved from green fingers. "Interesting." She stood, wobbling uneasily on her new feet. "Thank you, Egnatia."

Egnatia just nodded. The woman had been so beautiful before, and now she was horrifying.

"Olena next."

Egnatia nodded. At least the wizard couldn't look worse.

***

Cockiness got people killed. Owin was fully, painfully aware of that fact. There was a difference when one was just simply confident in their abilities. Especially when the opponent was a trap and not a human.

Humans were unpredictable.

Traps were predictable. As far as he was aware.

Before Chorsay could protest, Owin activated both shards and bolted forward. He flew through the first room, far faster than the trap could close. As he prepared to skid to a stop, Owin saw the faintest glint, spotting a slight edge, and leapt into the air. Spikes lifted all across the room, rising like a wave.

Owin hit the ceiling and bounced awkwardly. Before he could fall and impale himself, his armor sprouted legs and dug into the ceiling. Crumbling bricks fell and clinked on the metal spikes.

"Owin?" Chorsay's call seemed calm, but Oiwn could hear the slight worry.

"I'm okay. I didn't know there'd be two trap rooms in a row."

"Where are you?"

"The ceiling."

A pause.

"How are you going to get out? Can you see the battery?"

There was a faint blue glow through the next doorway. Owin tried to swing a bit with the crab legs, but one fell loose as an entire brick fell from above. It clattered and broke in half on a metal spike. Sand and dirt poured in after, clinking repeatedly on the traps. After a moment, sunlight shone through in a tiny beam.

He stayed perfectly still as the crab leg positioned itself and stabbed into a different section of the ceiling.

"Owin?"

"I see a glow in the next room."

"Can you get there?"

"Yes."

"Hmm," said the bag.

Owin flinched and nearly pulled the specter bag off his shoulder. Mortar and dust fell from the sudden jolt. Two crab legs came loose, nearly flipping him over.

"Stab into the ceiling and swing," he said, hoping his armor was listening.

The legs partially managed, but the ceiling was coming apart far faster than Owin could swing. He spun as the legs came loose and reached desperately.

"Urp." The bag forced the Incandescent Blade out, handle first.

"What are you doing?" Owin asked.

All but one crab legs slipped, sending broken bricks to the spikes below. With so many bricks ruined, more of the ceiling was rapidly collapsing. Dirt, withered plants, and even a full scorpion fell from above.

Owin felt the world lurch as the last leg came free. Without even thinking, he thrust the sword up, stabbing it deep into what little bricks remained above.

"Oh," he said quietly. "Thanks."

"Welcome," the bag said. Or, he thought it said. It sounded more like a gust of wind whistling through a forest. But . . .

He had no time to think about it. His armor would have to keep up. Together, they'd be able to crawl along the wall and swing through the open doorway with ease.

"I can find a way to help," Chorsay called.

"No. No need." Owin flipped himself so his feet were pressed against the ruined bricks of the ceiling. His armor reached above his head, carefully sliding two chitinous legs into the space between bricks. He felt the bottom legs do the same, so he slowly pulled the sword free. With slow, careful movements, he stretched as far as he could, and tried to stab the sword back into the brick. From the awkward position, there was no good way to do it.

Owin ignited the sword and pressed the tip against the stone. With a little nudge, he scraped it along until the tip fell in the space between two bricks. The fire melted the edges, and soon he was able to slip it deeper. After turning off the fire and giving the stone a moment to cool, Owin held on tight and let the legs adjust.

The pattern stayed the same as he worked his way through the long, spike-filled room. When he neared, he put the sword back into the bag and did his best to ignore its discomforting noises. Both bottom legs pulled free and morphed back into the armor. Owin carefully rocked back and forth until he had a good swing. As he swung forward, the legs pulled free.

With an attribute score of 1440 in dexterity, Owin landed effortlessly on the plain stone floor. The spikes, now apparently not sensing anyone, retreated back into the ground.

Summon the Withered Shade

The skeleton looked around, squinted at Owin, and crouched. "Why do you look like you saw a ghost?" He looked down at his hands. "Oh. it's me."

"No." Owin stepped around Shade and found the glowing mana battery. It was above the same height as him. "I swear my bag responded when I told it thanks for giving me a sword."

"Why would you thank a bag?" Shade grabbed the mana battery and tugged. It didn't even budge.

"I don't know. I didn't really think about it." Owin stepped in front of the skeleton, grabbed the battery, and easily pulled it free. "I have the battery! You should be good!"

Chorsay's steps pounded through the trap rooms, and before long, he was standing in the doorway. "I could only see some of that."

"I would've preferred if you didn't see any of it." Owin held out the huge mana battery. "What do we do with this?"

Chorsay took it, looked it over, then tossed it carelessly into the spike room. "Nothing. We go on to the second floor. What do you say?"

Owin nodded and followed Chorsay down the hall and around another corner. A single hobgoblin stood with a bow. It drew it back.

"Fireball!" Shade fell over as he launched the spell.

The hobgoblin let an arrow fly, but it wasn't powered by any abilities and was simply burnt to a crisp as it made contact with the spell. The hobgoblin was swallowed by an explosion.

When it faded, the hobgoblin still stood, bow burnt to ash. The mob stumbled forward, mumbled something about a mother, and lifted its hands in a drunken fighting stance.

"Explosion!"

Shade pointed a hand at the hobgoblin and made the entire creature burst apart. Gore and bone fragments splattered throughout the entire room, even splashing on the stairs going to a black doorway.

Owin wiped a piece of hobgoblin from his cheek. "I don't think I like it when you're a wizard."

Shade walked with an extra swagger to his step. His skeletal feet squelched in what was left of the hobgoblin. "Look at me. Big fancy wizard." He posed, but his foot slipped on what looked like a small intestine. Shade waved his arms wildly, trying to right himself, and fell face first into the mess.

"Your stories of Shade were missing some details," Chorsay said quietly. "Now, remember. The next floor is isolated. It goes back and forth all the way through the Desert." He walked right by the skeleton and climbed the stairs. "I know you will be fine. Let's go, boys. See you on the third."

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