I stepped into the Dungeon and cursed. It was a ravine, just like the name said, but unlike the one outside, this one was thin, maybe only ten feet wide. I stepped forward, giving Sunie some space.

  “This is narrow,” he muttered.

  “Yep.”

  The Dungeon Notifications flashed before our vision.

  WELCOME TO THE DARK STALKER RAVINE DUNGEON

  THE OBJECTIVE OF THE DARK STALKER RAVINE DUNGEON IS TO FIND THE LIGHT’S EDGE RING AT THE END OF THE RAVINE. THE LIGHT’S EDGE RING IS GUARDED BY THE SHADOW SCORN STALKER. DEFEAT THE SHADOW SCORN STALKER AND RECLAIM THE RING.

  OBJECTIVES:

  DEFEAT THE SHADOW SCORN STALKER 0/1

  DEFEAT DARK STALKERS 0/40

  CLAIM THE LIGHT’S EDGE RING

  TIME LIMIT:

  15 HOURS

  14:58:19

  We could see for about twenty feet in front of us, the light coming in from the opening. Even though it was a portal, it still mimicked a real opening in the cliff so a small bit of sun leaked in. Made me wonder about the Infinite Tower and where it got all the Arcanum to do all this. The Dungeons, and I’d only been in four so far out of the literally infinite number, were all pretty complex. They weren’t just a simple go in and kill everything you saw. There was a lot of killing but not it was far from simple. Each required a bit of strategy.

  It was like the ones on Earth and other planets that started popping up after integration with the Celestial Challenge System. Earth had gained a Worldcore, each Dungeon having a DungeonCore that interacted with the Worldcore. The Worldcore powered the Dungeons and the DungeonCore created them. The Infinite Tower had to be a huge worldcore. When I’d first heard of it, because of the size and infinite nature, and I still wasn’t buying that it was infinite, there had to be an end, I figured the Tower’s biomes and Dungeons would be pretty simple.

  Basic.

  It was anything but and I was still on the first floor. It got crazier the higher the floors, from what I understood. Completely underwater biomes, huge jungles where you never saw or touched the floor.

  I couldn’t wait.

  We started walking, staying in the middle. I scanned the walls, ceiling and floor, looking for traps. The name of the monsters, Stalkers, reminded me of what I’d faced in the Cliffside Walk Dungeon. Those Stalkers had climbed down the walls to get at me, so I was figuring it would be something like that.

  At least it wouldn’t be spiders. Hopefully.

  But there would be more than just forty-one, counting the boss, monsters in this Dungeon since it had a fifteen hour time limit. The other beasts wouldn’t count towards the quest. They were just there to slow us down.

  It’d be spiders.

  The ravine turned a pretty sharp corner. I paused at the edge of the wall, listening, scanning what I could see without exposing myself. Couldn’t hear or see anything, but right around the corner was a great place for an ambush. Scanning the floor, I found a loose rock.

  Picking it up, I tossed it up and down. Had some weight to it.

  I tossed it down the next part of the ravine, hearing it clack against the wall and roll along the floor. There was nothing else. I looked to Sunie, who just shrugged.

  He’d mentioned that his people had complete files on all the Dungeons and biomes, where to find resources, what monsters to expect and how they fought. Stuff compiled after hundreds of delves. Not just the Sunrise Formation, but others they had bought information from. It was available for any of their Adventurers. Sunie hadn’t read any of it.

  Same as me. I could have bought the info but where was the fun in that?

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Sunie wanted to go in blind, to be surprised, and have the challenge. It was called the Challenge System afterall. There should be a Challenge. Most Adventurers skipped the dossiers, at least the ones that wanted to push to the higher floors. The early floors had teams of gatherers, their job to just go in and farm materials. When they got too high Leveled for the floor, they moved up until they just couldn’t go any higher. They’d then retire. When an Adventurer retired, they’d lose their access to the Nexus. They’d keep their Levels but be stuck on their planets with nothing to really do. Most became instructors of the next generations or the government of newly acquired worlds, stuff like that.

  It sounded boring.

  I turned the corner, going about ten feet until I realized the light was fading.

  Just because we didn’t read the dossiers on a dungeon didn’t mean we went in unprepared. No or poor planning was just a good way to get dead. Anything with cave, ravine, or similar in the name meant to bring some kind of light. Some Dungeons provided their own light with glowing moss, but not all. This was going to be one that didn’t provide it.

  I looked back at Sunie, seeing him fiddling with the top of his staff. There was a small gem there that he removed, replacing it with one from his inventory. He tapped the new one into place and then fed it some Arcanum. A soft white glow spread out from the gem, giving us enough light for a fifteen foot radius around the staff. There were some deep shadows at the edges, but it was better than nothing.

  Didn’t take long until the first Stalker attacked.

  I could hear it skittering down the wall to my left, clawed fingers digging into the rock. The noises echoed in the tight cavern, making it hard to pin down where up the wall the thing was. We shifted into fighting stances, putting some distance between us, but not too much. Had to stay within the light. The thing hit the edge of the light, fifteen feet up. Ugly, just like the ones in the other Dungeon.

  All skin and bones, pale white skin, no hair, large eyes. The way it tilted its head, the thing looked kind of blind. The ones outside had a bit more color to their skin and not blind, but this one lived in a cave so being blind and pale made sense. It paused at the line of the light, almost shrinking back, but then it continued, coming down a couple feet and leapt.

  Right at Sunie.

  He raised the staff, waves of cold flowing from it. His other hand pointed at the Stalker, a spear of ice shooting out. It pierced the monster’s shoulder, causing it to fall, landing on the ground in a heap. Sunie rushed forward, sword out.

  I turned and caught the one charging me in the head with a jab, knocking it back. I followed with an uppercut.

  “Sneaky,” I said, smashing it in the head again.

  The things were smart. Used one to make some noise and serve as a distraction, letting the other sneak up on us. I could see two moving shadows beyond it. Two more Stalkers waiting their turn.

  “Keep an eye on the walls,” I shouted.

  “Got it.”

  The Stalker’s head lowered, as it tried to avoid my punch, leaving it open to a chop on the top of the head. I heard the neck snap as the body fell to the ground. I turned to face the other two, both charging at me.

  “Coming from above,” Sunie yelled, the waves of cold spreading out again.

  The Stalkers in front of me started to slow. They didn’t slip on the ice forming along the ground. Clawed feet and all that. But it did slow them enough for me to punch one and then the other. I caught one in the head, the other in the shoulder as it tried to duck away. That was the smart one.

  The one hit in the head staggered back, the other twisting low and slashing up at me. I dodged to the side and stepped forward, grabbing the one I’d given a concussion. Holding onto its wrist, I yanked it in the direction of the other, the claws scratching across it. I pushed, knocking the two back, punching the one in front.

  In the head again. If it didn’t have a concussion before, it did now. I kicked, shattering a knee. It fell, exposing the head of the other. Which got punched with some extra force. The neck snapped, the creature falling. I grabbed the head of the one in front, lifted and shattered it against my knee.

  Both bodies falling to the ground, I looked down the ravine, not seeing anymore. Turning back, I saw Sunie finish off the one he’d been dealing with.

  “That’s five down,” he said. “Only thirty-five more to go.”

  I laughed.

  The things didn’t drop any good loot. Some Stalker Claws and that was about it. I’d gotten that weird Adhesion Essence from the ones in the other Dungeon, so hoped these dropped more. I really wanted to see what that Essence did.

  “You ever hear of an Adhesion Essence?”

  “No,” Sunie answered. “What’s it do?”

  “No clue. Some things called Stalkers in the forest biome dropped it. Was wondering if they were related to these and what the Essence did.”

  “I’m sure someone in the Sunrise Formation knows.”

  “How many from the Formation have run this floor?”

  “A couple hundred,” Sunie answered, his voice going quieter as we started down the cavern again.

  It was fully enclosed, calling it a ravine was dumb. I didn’t say it out loud, no need to get the System or Tower mad at me. I could be reckless but I wasn’t stupid.