“Are you sure it's safe?”

  Suna eyed the small fire they got going, flickering weakly under the shadow of the rocks they sat on. Around the fire was the hound's meat skewered and grilled with a broken shaft of the spears.

  “There’s no problem,” the Tiefling merely said.

  [Spear Bearer. Lvl 3]

  Only level 3. But, obviously, there was more to the Tiefling’s strength. For starters, his class was an upgraded one. No doubt, Floundea guided him to it.

  “You do not seem surprised when I said I’m her fifth. Unlike Slea and Reki.”

  “Well, I’ve already watched and read a lot of har–I mean, I’m from a country where half the population had a similar marriage to you.” Suna lied smoothly. “Those two must’ve come from the east or south.”

  “Right, you have your own world,” the Tiefling hummed. “You’re not the first one, you know. There’s been some creatures that somehow stumbled here and claimed the system sent them.”

  “I know,” Suna said. He had asked James about this; it had been bugging him how the first Tiefling he met called him human. Maybe it was because of what the system displayed, but that one seemed to already know his race was human from the get-go.

  “They just suddenly disappeared one day, after a month or so.” The runebearer turned a skewer, and the meat hissed as sweat dripped down to the cold cave ground. “Most get killed because they challenge the depth, like you did now.”

  “These disappearances, James didn't know anything about them. It's like they vanished into thin air,” Suna recalled his conversation with the Thiefmaster. He theorized that they could fail the tutorial but still be spared by the system and return. Of course, that was the hope. But surely failing would have consequences. Suna did not plan to fail if he could help it.

  “Floundea didn't know anything about it either. It intrigues her, sure. But, there’s nothing that can be done about it. Our society seems to be at a halt unless we can do something about the undead below or the drow above. Which is why that attack on the gatekeeper happened. A proof of concept…” The Tiefling went on. “Ah, pardon me.”

  He dipped his head and tapped his shoulder.

  “My name is Jack. I can’t believe I ramble on without introducing myself,” he shook his head.

  “It's Suna.”

  “Well, Suna. Let’s eat. Afterward, I want to hear all about this Pyrebone Archer and take a look at your map.”

  Jack picked up one of the two skewers, both with plentiful chunks of meat ready. They were fast to cook, almost concerningly so. Still, this was undead meat, yet it didn’t look any different from normal red meat.

  Jack took a greedy chomp, and his face glowed in pleasure; even a moan escaped him.

  Suna still couldn’t get a hold of the Tiefling naming sense. One named Floundea, and others, James and Jack. He shook his head and took a reluctant bite. It was bland like eating paper if paper were a taste.

  But it did fill the stomach.

  “So? The archer?”

  “Ah, yes…”

  Suna told him everything, and he spread the map between them, with the fire offering a clear picture of it.

  “Pyrebone Archer. And wielder of blue flame. Definitely a creature of second depth or third. Its level is also concerning. It alone might be able to contest James or Floundea,” Jack muttered.

  Suna was more surprised that James and Floundea could handle that archer. Just how many runes did these thiefmasters consume? The fourth and fifth thiefmaster that fell to him during the meeting in the upper world did not seem to have even consumed ten runes.

  Jack continued, kneeling above the map and studying it. “You were right not to go back, Suna. With the gargoyles too, the Tieflings would need to escape to the upper world, at least there the Drow might battle againts the undead instead of being chased around in a tunnel.” He pressed his palm on the edge of the map, smoothing it. “You found this not ten minutes ago, yes?”

  “I think so.”

  “Hmm, yes… yes. The main army will go here… they were forced to split into two groups, we saw wagons being rolled over two different makeshift bridges.”

  Wagon?

  Of course, he had been meaning to ask, why the hell did James and Floundea go deeper? But, if it was revealed it was along the lines of what Desha and Pito were thinking about… Would Jack turn on him? He should ask it casually, like he didn’t care.

  “So, why exactly did this… army go down?”

  Jack mumbled under his breath. He inspected the X, his eyes focused on it, and Suna wondered what he was seeing when there was really nothing more to see. “They're chasing the prisoner.”

  “Prisoner?”

  “Yes, the undead were forcing non-warriors of the second faction into wagons. This happened just when James and Floundea were executing their plan to integrate the fourth and fifth. They rushed with everyone here, but the wagon had rolled, and we gave chase. There’s just been far too many people kidnapped. Of course, James had split some forces just in case the undead attempted to use another exit.”

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “I think those forces have been wiped out.”

  “Yes, I thought so after hearing where you came from…”

  So James did not commit the massacre of the second faction’s non-fighter… That was a relief. Suna discreetly let out a long breath. The non-fighter of the second, in fact still alive, considering the undead hadn’t done anything to them, that is.

  “A great force attacked us. Undead Knight…level 20. Gargoyle… level 25. The flesh soldiers and dogs we can handle all right, but these creatures of greater depth?” Jack shook his head.

  “Did they get eliminated?” Suna blinked. Should that happen, then there really would be no chance…

  “No, we won. But the loss was heavy, the enemy relentless. James and his runebearer managed to break the enemy line and circled around, destroying their flank and killing them. But the enemy army is not only one; more and more attacks are coming. James insisted they go deeper, while Floundea did not want to. But ultimately, after an attack by an entire division of knights, we got separated into small clusters.”

  Suna nodded along. The reason James wanted to go deeper was probably not just because of the prisoner, although they certainly were the main factor. There must also be guilt from the third thiefmaster.

  “Can you tell me what happened to Slea, and why the first did…That. To the second warriors?”

  To his surprise, Jack just casually answered it. “Oh, it's something that's been brewing for ages. The incident with Slea was what made Floundea finally act. They tried one-upping us in the equipment, and blackmailed some of our youngest to befriend Slea and this Reki to get weapons from them. But, when the second faction entrusted a palm-sized equipment rune to our youngest member for Slea to crack. She handed it to our rune bearer instead, because she thought it was from us.”

  Jack continued. “The system for the rune cracking was to entrust the runes to the human with writing on where they came from. Each first, second, and third has a limit per day. But the second sneaked in more and more, making the writing confusing. Then, our youngest member was tortured because they failed the deliveries, and some were ordered to kidnap both humans. Some were not willing to do so and turned on their brethren as they were about to execute the plan. The fight happened in front of both humans. These youngsters were especially close to Slea, you see… so she took it quite hard.”

  James should have absolutely told him that. He couldn’t believe the thiefmaster had not know this was happening. Sure, he trained Suna to ignore the exterior aspect and focus inside. But this took things too far.

  “Suna, I could make out the army movement, the biggest bulk of what was left at least. They went deeper… I intend to follow them. What about you?”

  “You can see their movement?” Suna asked, his brow raised.

  “Yes, some of these bloodstains are darker; they signify a longer period.”

  “Ah…” Suna mumbled. That made sense.

  Jack proceeded to trail a path from the closest exit to them, leading straight to an X. This one was very dark compared to the others.

  “There's plenty of paths they could have taken, unlike the exit you came from… and if gargoyle were still chasing them, their best bet is to rendezvous with a group.”

  “They're not helpless,” Suna said, but the word hung with a sliver of doubt. If it were gargoyles alone, then sure, they could handle them, but… if the Pyrebone Archer followed… he would need James and the whole third faction’s rune bearer, if possible. “Jack, the reason the Tiefling never conquered the first depth was because its gate guardian, right?”

  “Yes,” Jack said, his tone suddenly somber. “A named one, just like the necromancer. Delia the Undead Mistress.”

  “What exactly is she? What level?”

  “She was a mage, wielder of death magic. And her level is above fifty and lately been growing. A coalition of three factions led a delve before. All three Thiefmasters were brutally killed by her, with their bodies raised as an undead”

  Level fifty… and what was most concerning to him was..

  “She can raise death?”

  “No, there's no report of such things. It might've been the necromancer who did that.” Jack tapped his chin. “This Delia, she always had her sisters accompany her, each was strong. And lately… there's rumor of her seeking something… a reincarnation, a way to be freed from the system she claimed been chaining us”

  “And she knew this, how?”

  “Undead stuff I guess” Jack shrugged. “Anyway, better not think too deeply about it. The Council refuse opening communication with her, and I couldn't agreed more since that one had cause so many death whitin us”

  “I see,” Suna tried to think about what James would do. “Surely James and Floundea will not challenge her, right?”

  The question met with silence, and his stomach churned.

  “Floundea felt guilty about what happened to the second faction's non-combatants,” Jack instead said. “She thinks that had their combatant not been dead, then they would at least be able to evacuate.”

  Added to that, James, by nature, would also feel responsible.

  “Still, this will be a suicide mission, right?”

  “Not necessarily. James was one of the best close-quarters combatants we ever had. And Floundea was blessed with a class upgrade and climbed her way to become a mage. A feat only a few tieflings ever achieve. Both of them are worth ten times the three dead Thiefmaster.”

  Suna tried to see if these were a mere delusion. But Jack seemed earnest. Maybe it was possible. If combat were to happen, then Suna would need to lend his help there. His presence could determine whether the Tiefling wins or loses.

  He did not want to lose them, especially since they still have the Drow to deal with.

  Still, though. At the very least, he had to check on the humans.

  “I will join the fight, Jack, but I have to check on the other humans' fate first.”

  “Even risking meeting this archer? The one that almost killed you had you not had this skill of yours.”

  He did not need to be reminded of that.

  Suna merely nodded. Jack rubbed his chin, ruminating, with a loud mumbling.

  “That is unfortunate,” Jack sighed. “You will make a difference in the battle, just like against the gatekeeper,” he pointed out. The rune bearer marked a path with a smudge.

  It led toward a circle he highlighted with thick smudges.

  “These are the gates leading to the second depth. There’s no guarantee Delia would be there; this hasn't happened before.” Then Jack proceeded to point to six back-to-back Xs. “These are the routes you want to take to find your friend. Make sure you circle around to the gate to find us.”

  If James and the others are still alive, that’s it.

  Jack grunted, using his spear as a prop to stand. His golden chainmail was a mess with sword slashes, marred by three long gashes across it.

  “Good luck, human,” Jack said, walking deep into the fog.

  Suna just realized the runebearer did not take any potion from him. He would be willing to offer him one at least… Looking to his left, he began walking.

  The map was also left to him. He kept going, perhaps for ten minutes or so, until he heard a low growl rumbling through the cave. Suna did not hesitate to draw his enhanced arrow and pull it by his arcane string.

  The Bow of Wind rushed across his face, coalescing in his hand. It still felt alien, and soon enough, Suna would force it to be part of his being. He could sense it in the back of his mind, how his Archer Sense was probing and examining this bow. They slowly embraced each other.