From what I can tell, there are four people a few rooms down. Spreading my mana to focus on them, I can see them much more clearly. Their party comprises a spearman, an archer, a scout, and a mage. This is the first group I’ve run across without a swordsman, but having a scout seems to be the most common dungeon delver. There are probably specific skills that make them more suited to exploration and navigation than combat, enough to leave it all to them. Hopefully, the other members of a party have at least some ability to safely navigate the dungeon. Specialization is useful, but it makes any losses so much more dangerous, not that we’re following that philosophy. There’s only so much I can do. This is the first time I’ve seen an archer, though. You would think having a mage would make them useless, so there must be a reason for them to be in the party. Plus, arrows might not be the best weapon against inorganic monsters, which works in our favor.

  ?

  “Pim, there’s a group of four ahead. I think we could handle them if we set up an ambush.”

  ?

  “A group of newbie intruders, then, sounds like good pickings. We are outnumbered, but we should be able to take out two of them right away. We can’t rely on the traps up here, so we’ll need to strike at the same time. You can keep us all connected with your mana, right, kid?”

  ?

  “Yeah, my mana should be able to link all of us together within a room. I want to try to blind a few of them to start with, but are you and Vulcan going to be blinded, too?”

  ?

  “I’ll be fine. I can cover my face with my wings, so I’ll just need to hear your call to swoop in. I dunno about the big guy, though. I don’t think he has eyes. Hey, Vulcan, can you still see through a bright light?”

  ?

  “...Yes”

  ?

  “Well, there you have it. So, how do you want to do this, Willow?”

  ?

  “I think we should set up at the exit of a room. Vulcan can blend in with the rocks by the exit, and you can cling to the roof of the connecting tunnel a little bit further up. We need to take out the mage first. I don’t know what they’re capable of, so they pose the most danger. The archer and scout won’t be as effective against a stone golem, so the spearman is the next priority target. I’ll try to blind him to keep him out of the fight long enough to pick off his support. They should focus on Vulcan and me, so you, Pim, can get a clean hit on whoever’s in front. Even if that surprise attack doesn’t take out your target, you should fly away quickly and wait to strike from the shadows, a hit-and-run tactic. We can then focus on whoever’s left, sound good?”

  ?

  “Yeah, looks like a good plan. We’ll be counting on you, big guy, so don’t go down too fast. At least, focus on defense if you start to take too much damage.”

  ?

  With that, Vulcan nodded, and we made our way to the spot where we would launch our ambush. Only time would tell if we succeed, and if we’re lucky, we’ll become even stronger coming out of it.

  ?

  …

  ?

  Dungeon Delver’s POV:

  ?

  The group of four was making steady progress in the Hill-Valley Depths dungeon. They were a new dungeon delving group formed in the nearby town. Still being new to the profession and each other, their skills alone and together weren’t that impressive. But, with time, they could become formidable delvers with a slew of monster kills and spoils, the main draw of dungeons across the continent.

  The leader of this band was the party’s resident mage, skilled in both fire and earth magic, and serving as the tactician of the group. Under his lead, they’ve been able to progress a respectable amount in the dungeon for their first time, but not without some hiccups. As expected, each member was still learning their roles and each other's roles in the dungeon, so some toes were stepped on. Of course, nothing seriously bad has happened yet. The first floor of this dungeon was known for being a good training ground for new delvers. Unfortunately for them, no one could predict the emergence of an anomaly in the dungeon.

  Eventually, they were able to clear the few traps and monsters in one of the many rooms of the dungeons. They were able to take down a small group of lesser arachnoids, spider-like monsters with tough chitin that sell for a decent amount in the eyes of beginner delvers. Salvaging as much chitin as they could, they were satisfied with the haul they had managed to collect so far. However, within all of their hearts was the core of greed and curiosity, characteristics important to the best dungeon delvers. This, however, would lead them to an encounter they couldn’t prepare for.

  ?

  “We’re almost full, but I think we have enough room for one more room's worth of materials. Can you all go for one more?” their leader, the mage, asked.

  ?

  The archer replied with, “Good with me,” the scout said, “I’ve always got room,” and the spearman nodded. They were all in agreement, ready and willing to brave the next dangers to fill up their coinpurses just a little more.

  ?

  “Alright, then we’ll go with the same formation we’ve been using so far. Derrin, just because we’re almost done, that doesn’t mean we’re out of danger yet, so keep an eye out behind us.”

  ?

  “Gotchya.”

  ?

  The party then got into formation, the scout in the lead to watch for traps, the archer next, then the mage to stay safe in the middle, and the spearman following in the rear, watching their back. With this formation, they felt confident in watching out for danger from both the front and the back. For a new group, they worked surprisingly well together, but their inexperience prevented them from being flexible in unforeseen circumstances. That was why their worst possible predicament is to have an enemy past their guard.

  ?

  “Hey, turn around.” A whispered voice, just quiet enough for them to be unable to tell that this voice belonged entirely to someone else. In sync, the mage and the spearman turned around to look each other in the eyes, a questioning look in both their eyes.

  ?

  “What’s wrong?”

  ?

  “What’s up?

  ?

  At the same time, they asked each other those questions, believing the other was trying to get their attention. In that instant, unbeknownst to them, the wisp that began to appear between them signaled for both of their hidden comrades to strike, and glowed bright enough to the mage and spearman.

  ?

  With a cry, the mage and spearman began to rub their eyes, trying to restore their vision, blind to the imminent danger facing them. The last thing the mage heard was the rustling of clothes and armor from his comrades, then the grinding of stone, and finally the rushing wind of something large moving quickly through the air. *Crunch* In one quick motion, Vulcan the stone golem crushed the party’s mage, leaving them without the leadership preventing them from acting purely in self interest. Now, they were fighting for their lives. Before the remaining humans could regroup or get a solid grasp of the situation, another fatal strike landed. With the whistle of wings and one last gasp, the scout fell to his knees, blood pooling down his back as an imp flew back into the shadows of the ceiling. Admirably, the archer tried to find his voice and rally the spearman, but as soon as he saw the stone golem punch the spearman off his feet, only despair filled his eyes.

  ?

  “Derrin! You useless bastard! I won’t die here, gods dammit all, I’m not gonna die in this hell hole!”

  ?

  Forming a magic arrow for the first time in the dungeon from necessity, he aimed straight for the core of the stone golem advancing on the screaming spearman. Loosing the arrow, he was sure this was enough to take out the golem, so he could deal with the imp. In what seems like a miracle, the magic imbued arrow lands against the golem in a cloud of smoke and rubble. But, to the archer’s despair, the golem had turned around in time, warned by a quick observer, blocking the shot at the cost of his arm. Witnessing this almost broke the archer, but he believed he still had a chance as he could outrun a stone golem easily if the imp was dead. Tragically, this plan would never come to pass, as an unknown voice sealed his fate.

  ?

  “Above you.”

  ?

  Thinking his unconscious instincts were beginning to form auditory hallucinations to keep him alive, he listened to the voice and looked towards the ceiling of the cave, watching for the gliding form of an imp. Pim, expecting this turn of events, was already gliding as low to the ground as he could get without scraping the floor. Coming straight out of the shadows, he slashed the legs of the archers, bringing him down to one knee. The archer managed to pull out a knife from its sheath, lunging towards the imp in one last act of desperation, only to have the blade redirected to the stone by the butt of a spear. The archer knew his most valiant attempt to survive had only resulted in failure, and accepted his impending death. With a quick motion, Pim drove the spear through the archer’s ribs, finishing his fight. From where the spearman landed after taking a punch from Vulcan, one final slam could be heard, cutting off the pained screams of a doomed dungeon delver. Quiet returned to the dungeon, and the wisp and his party had claimed the first four lives of a long list of lives to be claimed in the future, all in the name of getting stronger.