As Ben appeared in the dungeon, something immediately felt off. It took him a moment to realize what it was—the Energy density here was significantly higher than in any of the dungeons he’d entered before.

  They stood in a large, dark cave, roughly hewn from granite-colored stone. Torches mounted in iron brackets cast flickering light that struggled to pierce the gloom, making it hard to assess the cavern’s full size. Ben guessed it stretched at least forty meters wide and probably twice that in length. The ceiling was lost in shadow above them. Behind, the dungeon portal glowed with faint silver light near the back wall.

  The others appeared beside him, likewise orienting themselves. Anne was still recovering from the queasiness of portal travel. As usual, they were enclosed by a shimmering barrier marking the arrival zone.

  Ben tested the exit condition and received the now-familiar system prompt: they needed to eliminate 50% of the level one creatures to leave.

  Michael spoke up. “Two exits. Left and right side, far end of the cave.”

  Ben squinted into the shadows. He could barely make out one passage; the other remained hidden in darkness. Michael must have a higher Mind attribute—his perception was sharper.

  They gave Anne a few more minutes to steady herself, then stepped through the barrier.

  Only moments later, Jamal shouted, “Danger, from above!”

  Ben looked up, struggling at first to spot anything. Then he saw them—dark figures emerging from the gloom above: black wings, furry bodies, sharp teeth. Bats. Big ones.

  Blood Devouring Bat. Young. Energy-Born. Tier 1. Uncommon Challenge.

  A dozen. Maybe more. Ben barked a quick command for the group to stay close and focused on the nearest attacker.

  His first swing missed. Shorter handle. Need to adjust. A bat swooped toward him, wings spread. He ducked low, spun, and slashed—tearing through the thin membrane of one wing. The creature spiraled down, grounded but not dead.

  Two more bats targeted Allison. Ben pivoted, leapt, and brought his axe down on one mid-flight. A clean kill. Before he could help with the second, a large black crow dove from nowhere and tore into the other. Jamal, meanwhile, had triggered his [Taunt], drawing several bats to himself and readying the small shield he had acquired from the System Store.

  Six or more now swarmed Jamal. Ben landed a hit on one, but after that he hesitated—his heavy axe wasn’t ideal for fighting enemies wrapped around an ally. Michael, armed with short sword and dagger, had no such issues, nor did Anne, who dispatched the attackers with fast, clean strikes.

  The summoned crow intercepted another bat trying to sneak up on Anne. Then—silence.

  They all held their positions, weapons ready, eyes scanning upward.

  “Wow,” Ben said between breaths. “Intense start. Thanks for the warning, Jamal. How did you spot them so quickly?”

  “My [Guardian’s Sense] perk,” Jamal replied. “It alerts me when allies are in danger nearby and points me toward the threat.”

  “That’s incredibly valuable. Looks like we need to start thinking in three dimensions now.” He nodded to the crow circling overhead. “Mom, I assume that’s yours?”

  “Yup. It’s from my [Sprout Companion] perk. Only lasts a few minutes, but it’s proving useful.”

  Jamal had taken a few superficial cuts, but nothing serious. Ben checked the fallen bats for cores—none. Not surprising. So far, no “young” creature had yielded a core.

  Just to be sure, he checked the portal. No—still under the 50% threshold.

  They reformed and headed toward the far end of the cave. Two passages awaited them, both looking like mine shafts—roughly square, around three meters wide, with shallow cart tracks in the stone. No carts in sight. Both corridors sloped slightly downward and curved out of sight after a few dozen meters.

  “Any preferences?” Ben asked.

  Allison gestured to her crow. “Let me send him down one of the tunnels. I can’t see through his eyes, but I’ll know if he’s in danger.”

  Ben nodded, and she sent the crow down the right-hand path. They waited. Minutes passed in silence—then Allison’s expression shifted.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Something’s happening… Danger. A fight. And—it’s gone. The crow is gone.”

  Ben frowned. “Based on timing, roughly a kilometer down the right path, then. Should we go that way or try left first?”

  Jamal and Michael exchanged a look, then nodded toward the right.

  Anne turned to Allison. “Can you summon another?”

  “No. The spell description doesn’t say, but it feels like I can’t. Maybe after an hour or so.”

  “Okay. I’m good with right. Sounds like we’ll need to clear everything anyway.”

  With no objections, they turned toward the right-hand shaft.

  The corridor didn’t change—just endless stone, torches flickering along the walls, and the quiet pressure of Energy humming through the air.

  They had walked for about half an hour when they came to a split in the corridor. One path continued straight ahead with cart tracks; the other was narrower and looked more natural. They quickly agreed to try the narrow path first, assuming it might be shorter than the main shaft.

  Jamal took the lead, as the passage was now too tight to walk side by side. There were no torches, but clusters of bioluminescent fungus grew along the walls. The faint glow reflected off tiny embedded crystals, casting shifting glimmers across the tunnel.

  After a few minutes, they entered a small, dark cavern—perhaps ten meters by ten. As Jamal stepped forward carefully, a crunch echoed beneath his boots. Looking down, they saw the ground was covered in guano—bat droppings. Jamal quickly moved aside to let the others file in, his axe at the ready.

  Michael and Allison were still in the narrow corridor when the first bats descended from above. Dozens of them.

  “Only taunt once I’ve got enough aggro,” Ben shouted. “Anne, Michael—hold the passage!”

  With that, he sprinted to the center of the cavern, swinging his axe as the bats swarmed in from all sides.

  They were relatively fragile—at least when facing a battle axe backed by a Body attribute of 18. Ben favored quick, efficient slashes over full-powered swings. He cut down three Energy-born creatures before one latched onto his back, wings wrapping around his torso, teeth sinking into the flesh near his shoulder. Another clung to his leg, but its bite was halted by his armor.

  Rather than risk slashing his own back, Ben switched to a one-handed grip and drove the central spike of his axe backward, impaling the bat’s skull. He ripped it free, blood trickling from the wound on his neck, ignored the bat still attached to his leg, and resumed his furious slashes.

  Moments later, Jamal used his [Beast Taunt], drawing many of the remaining bats toward himself. But the ones already frenzied by Ben’s blood wouldn’t disengage.

  Another bat dodged his swing and lunged. Ben slammed his left bracer into its face, knocking it to the floor, then finished it off. The bat on his leg had repositioned and bit into a gap in his armor near the thigh. Gritting his teeth, Ben crushed it between his leg and the flat of his axe—effective, but painful.

  Out of the corner of his eye, Ben saw Michael and Anne cutting down the bats that swarmed Jamal. The fight slowly turned in their favor.

  Ben edged backward toward his team, fighting as he moved. Michael and Anne joined him quickly, helping dispatch the last of the creatures.

  With the battle over, Ben’s wounds began to clot—his passive healing kicking in. The others were unscathed. A quick search of the cavern revealed nothing of note and no exit—just a dead end.

  A few minutes later, they were back at the intersection and followed the cart tracks forward. Over the next hour, the main shaft branched a few times, but only the straight path continued; all others ended in dead ends. One more skirmish with a handful of bats ended swiftly.

  Roughly two hours into the dungeon, a new cavern opened before them.

  “Break now, or after we explore it?” Ben asked.

  They agreed to press on and rest after whatever came next.

  Jamal led them into a chamber roughly the size of the first, the ground mostly flat, though strewn with head-sized rocks in a few places.

  “Looks like these fell from the ceiling,” Anne observed.

  There were no visible exits—another dead end.

  Allison had walked ahead to where some rusted pickaxes and empty buckets were scattered near the back wall. She pressed a palm to the uneven surface.

  “This isn’t regular stone... it’s an iron deposit.”

  Ben joined her and focused.

  Iron. Mundane Ore. Tier 1. Common mining resource.

  “Nice. Marcus will be thrilled once we get a smithy running,” Ben said, excitement in his voice.

  Just then, Anne walked up—and the ceiling rumbled.

  Ben shoved Allison behind him as stones began to fall. Anne leapt away. Within seconds, the ground around them was buried in rubble.

  When the noise stopped, a new sound emerged: something heavy crashing through the hole above. A long, furred beast landed between Ben and Allison on one side, and the others on the far side of the cavern.

  It was massive—two meters long—with dark gray fur, beady eyes, and silvery-black claws as large as Ben’s torso.

  Giant Iron-Claw Mole. Energy-Born. Tier 1. Rare Challenge & Resource Protector.

  Ben instinctively put himself between the beast and his mother, leaping over a claw swipe. Its front legs were massive—clearly its primary weapons—but Ben couldn’t retreat without exposing Allison. He kept close, landing heavy blows that glanced off the creature’s armored hide.

  Anne was on it quickly, striking with fists and feet, but her hits barely dented its thick fur.

  Just as Jamal and Michael reached them, the ground split and Allison’s roots burst forth, trying to bind the mole. They slowed it—but not before its hind legs smashed Jamal away with terrifying force.

  Michael tried for a weak spot at the beast’s joints but couldn’t penetrate.

  Jamal recovered, and they jointly attacked, but their strikes barely pierced its defenses. Allison’s roots started to snap and Ben and his mother were caught between the rock of the wall behind them, and the very hard and dangerous claws of the giant mole.

  They were making no progress. His mother was most exposed, but if things continued, they could all die. Something needed to change.

  He raised his axe and gathered his strength for another swing.

  A golden message appeared:

  You have received the perk [Cleave] — Active. Channel your body’s strength into a single attack with devastating impact. Uncommon

  How many attribute points would you like to channel?