Lukas held up his hands to the blazing fire, trying to dispel the chill of the previous night. Every day they were trapped here, he grew weaker, and the cold felt more biting. Already, his clothing was hanging off him like he was a scarecrow. If they didn’t find a way back through the Black Pyramid soon, they would starve to death.

  Unless the dread owls take us first.

  For once, the birds hadn’t returned last night. Every sundown since their wild flight from the pyramid, the birds had come after dusk, taking many of their group. Now only he and his companion Demetrios remained.

  “This is your fault,” Demetrios raged from across the fire. “What sort of incompetent idiot leads us to the wrong side of the pyramid?”

  Lukas fought down a sigh. “I was running from the demons, the same as you. This is where the corridor led us.”

  “And thanks to you, we have no way home.” Demetrios stood up and kicked a rock. It skittered across the hard ground before striking one of the cairns they’d built for the fallen aspirants. “We’re trapped on this cursed mountain, with no food, no water, and no way home. May the Undying Emperor curse you and your family for eternity.”

  “Do you think your anger is helping?” Lukas rose to his feet. “Philemon swore he spotted a great bronze gate further down the valley. We should at least try to reach it.”

  “Do you honestly believe anyone lives out there?” Demetrios waved his arms at the valley. “Is there a clan of dwarves waiting behind it with a steaming meal for us? Nothing would dare live this close to the pyramid. It’s probably a relic from before Thronefall.”

  “Then what would you have us do?” His voice rose slightly as he spoke. “Wait here and die?”

  “I’ll make sure you die first,” Demetrios spat. “I never should have come here. It was you who convinced me.”

  “You wanted to become a wayfarer as much as I did.”

  Demetrios thrust a quivering finger in Lukas’s direction. “I have a real combat class. What are you? A pathetic mage who can summon a lump of mud?”

  Lukas was about to reply when an impossible sight greeted him. Over the rise, a pair of farm girls appeared, with one of them clutching a strange bow. Neither looked old enough to have even awakened.

  Both the girls look gaunt and exhausted. The blond-haired one had a terrible scar on her face and almost reminded him of a walking corpse. Meanwhile, her companion with dark hair wore tattered clothing. They’d clearly had a rough time.

  Still, how had they survived the monsters dwelling in the mountains to reach this place? Even more perplexing was that they carried what looked like the leg of a dread owl. There would be more than enough meat on it to feed them for days. Assuming they wanted to share it.

  His brow rose further in surprise as he used [Identify]. The younger of the two clearly hadn’t awakened—he received no result for his skill. But the class of the dark-haired girl only deepened his confusion.

  Human, Level 10

  But then a string of notifications sent alarm bells ringing in his head.

  Ding! Your skill, Identify has reached Level 12.

  …

  Ding! Your skill, Identify has reached Level 14.

  Immediately, he knew this girl was dangerous. Perhaps even the most dangerous person he’d ever [Identified]. He’d been too busy running from the demons in the pyramid to use [Identify] on them, but no monster he’d ever encountered had ever given him more than a single level in the skill. Something was seriously off here.

  “Hello,” the dark-haired girl called out. “Would you mind if we shared your fire?”

  “And breakfast,” the younger one added. “Preferably bacon, eggs, and bread if you have it.”

  Demetrios stepped forward, a pair of daggers appearing in his hands. “Do you think we’d share our food with a pair of peasants if we had any?” His gaze dropped to the dire owl’s leg. “If you give us that meat, we might let you leave with your lives.”

  “You’re welcome to share our fire,” Lukas called back, ignoring his companion. The last thing he wanted to do was get on these girl’s bad sides. He still couldn’t tell if the dark-haired one was dangerous, or if there was another party hiding out there somewhere. Either way, his best bet was to remain friendly with them.

  “I’m happy to share the meat,” the girl replied. “But I can’t let you take it.”

  “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Demetrios reared back and hurled his dagger with the power of a skill behind it. The blade rocketed forward, but somehow the girl twisted her body impossibly fast and took the dagger in the shoulder. It would almost certainly have been a fatal wound if it had struck her chest.

  At the sight of his companion trying to murder an innocent girl, something snapped inside of Lukas. He cast [Summon: Mud Golem] and an opening to the Earth Realm tore open beside him. A shambling elemental standing almost half his height waddled forth before stomping toward Demetrios.

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  Without even pausing, Demetrios spun around and hurled a blade in Lukas’s direction. The first one he’d thrown had already reappeared in his hand from the use of another skill.

  Lukas cast [Mud Shield] and a swirling disc of sludge appeared in front of him. It didn’t completely stop the dagger, but it altered its course enough to miss him. As he lowered his shield, his eyes went wide as he saw Demetrios leaping toward him with both daggers raised to strike.

  I’m going to die.

  He’d already made peace with the fact that he probably wasn’t going to escape this cursed place with his life. That he was never going to achieve his dream of becoming a Wayfarer. But now that he was staring down death, he realized he wasn’t ready yet.

  Right before Demetrios landed his blow, a jet of mud hammered the young man from the side. The stream of slimy liquid sent the young man flying through the air. Demetrios struck the hard ground and rolled for a few paces before coming to a stop.

  Lukas breathed a sigh of relief as his Mud Elemental finished using its skill. Then he watched as it plodded forward, unleashing a series of mucky blows on the prone form of Demetrios.

  For a second, it seemed like the elemental was going to win. But then without warning, it exploded, sending sludge flying out in every direction. The battered form of Demetrios strode through the corpse of the elemental, his blades spinning in his hands.

  With his summoned creature defeated, Lukas had no choice but to retreat. He desperately wracked his brain for ideas as he picked up a staff to defend himself with. How could he stop a Blade Spinner like Demetrios with his limited spells?

  “Enough,” the young woman shouted, surprising both of them.

  Lukas turned to see her striding forward. Was she really going to get involved in a fight between two people with combat classes? Everyone with a profession class knew not to do that in the Empire. That was a good way to get a person killed.

  Unless she’s a far higher level than she seems.

  But apparently Demetrios still hadn’t realized that something was off about the girl. He charged at the young woman, his blades flashing in the light. Right when he was about to strike her, she raised her hand and pointed at him. He stumbled to a stop and then started to shriek.

  Demetrios dropped his weapons and turned and fled. Straight toward the Black Pyramid.

  “Wait,” the dark-haired woman called out as he ran blindly into the entrance. “Stop!”

  Lukas watched Demetrios disappear inside the pyramid, his fate almost certainly sealed. While he’d mourned the loss of the other wayfarer aspirants who had accompanied the party of adventurers, he wouldn’t mourn Demetrios.

  “I didn’t mean to…” the young woman said, looking distraught. “I just wanted him to stop fighting.”

  “What’s your name?” Lukas asked, leaning heavily against his stave. “Mine’s Lukas.” The use of mana had drained what little strength he had left. His limbs were trembling from the exertion. And probably from the adrenaline coursing through his body.

  “I really didn’t mean to do that…” She trailed off as she shook her head. “My name is Piper and this is Ophelia.”

  “Way to give out your real name,” Ophelia said with a chuckle. “Like I said, best disguise ever.”

  “I’m tired and hungry,” Piper complained. “Give me a break.”

  Lukas relaxed slightly as the young women exchanged words. The way they talked almost certainly proved they weren’t monsters in disguise. Still, he couldn’t understand how the one seemed so powerful.

  He suddenly remembered her wound and hurried over to the pack containing the first-aid kit. Throwing open the flap, he gathered bandages, some healing herbs, and a potion left over from one of the adventurers. He was pretty sure they wouldn’t be needing it now.

  Returning to Piper, he hesitated. “I… need you to take off your shirt.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “So, I can dress your wound,” he hurriedly explained. “I need to stop the bleeding.”

  “Oh, that.” She smiled a brilliant smile at him. “It was barely a flesh wound.”

  “But I saw it sink into your shoulder…” He frowned. Only those from the upper and ascendant realms had healing powers to shrug off an injury like that. “I really think I should inspect the injury.”

  “Honestly, it was nothing.” She pushed past him and headed toward the fire. When she found an iron spit, she made a happy little noise. Then she set about cutting off pieces of the meat from the bird leg she held.

  Lukas watched in confusion as she placed the meat above the fire. Within a few minutes, it was sizzling as juices dripped down. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

  Piper nodded before sitting down on a boulder. She leaned down to rub her leg and let out a gasp. Then she looked up at him with the bluest eyes he’d ever seen. “Do you know the way through the Black Pyramid?”

  Lukas nodded. “But there’ are probably a dozen demons between us and the other side.”

  “Are you from the Arissian Empire?”

  He nodded again.

  The young woman bit her lip. “How did you get through in the first place, then?”

  “I volunteered as a porter,” he replied. “It was my job to carry the supplies and any loot the adventurers might find.”

  “You volunteered to go in there at your level?”

  Lukas bristled slightly at her words. He was already level 55 in his race, and 47 in his class. For someone barely 16, that was more than acceptable. He wasn’t flying up in levels like the children of nobles and rich merchants, but he was doing alright. He held up his iron aspirant badge. “I would earn 50 tallies for going with them.”

  Piper blinked her eyes at him.

  “Don’t you know what tallies are?”

  She shook her head. “I’m from a farm over the mountains.”

  “You’re from the Bloodviel Empire?” he exclaimed. “How in the name of the Undying Emperor did you get here?”

  “It’s a long story. So, what are the tallies?”

  “To become a Wayfarer, you have to earn a certain number of tallies based on your rank. Since my class is uncommon quality, I have to earn 150 tallies.” As he spoke, the delicious scent of cooking meat began to waft around the campfire.

  Ophelia stepped forward. “Is that how you become an adventurer?” she asked excitedly. “Or is that another name for an adventurer?”

  “It’s one step on the path.” He sat down across from Piper, his stomach rumbling angrily. It had been days since he had last tasted real food. He could probably eat the entire bird’s leg on his own.

  The sound of drums and trumpets made him turn his head. What now?

  Piper surged to her feet and stared down the valley. Then she spun around to look at the Black Pyramid. “We need to get going, and you should probably come with us.”

  “Into the pyramid? You’d never make it across.”

  “If we stay out here, we’re going to get killed for sure.” Piper hurried over and grabbed her friend’s hand, dragging her away from the fire.

  “But the meat!” Ophelia wailed. “I didn’t get to eat any of it.”

  “What’s going on?” Lukas demanded.

  “Those drummers are accompanying a vampire duke who’s been chasing us for a while.”

  “A vampire is chasing you?” he said incredulously. “What did you do?”

  Piper shrugged her shoulders. “He doesn’t like humans. Are you coming with us?”

  Lukas looked from the Black Pyramid and back to the valley where an armored host had appeared in the distance. With a curse, he began to gather his stuff. If he had to choose a slow death at the hands of a vampire or a quick one by a demon, he would choose the demon every time.