Leilani doesn’t hesitate for a moment as Sione steps forward and triggers his Power, the strength of our group bolstering his Attributes. He rushes forward as Leilani snaps off shot after shot to his left down the hall, flexing her Bullseye Power. Every plasma beam or projectile seems to strike an eye or head for the kill shot, or take out scrambling legs to spill a rat across the swarm to slow it down. Her output is truly tremendous and I wonder if that’s the effect of Vaiola’s Power Boost, even if it’s only a Tier 2 Spark. A notification flashes past me and for a moment my adrenaline surges in victory even though I haven’t sensed any Soul Sparks yet. I glance at it and grunt, blasters ready to help out if needed.

  Power Boost!

  !!... error…!!

  Power unable to be Boosted

  Vaiola has triggered her Power again and cries out then slumps down, completely spent, as her family fights in front of her. Sione becomes a literally wrecking ball as he surges forward. Rats crunch against his shield and are knocked back as his Boosted Power gives him superhuman Strength. He swaps that rapidly for massive, crunching blows to rats climbing over their fallen companions and then back to the shield to surge forward a step. Leilani’s hail of projectiles from Sione’s left side continues, while anything that passes by Sione on his right side is carved up by Keoni’s short swords as his Boosted Power gives him speed well beyond human levels.

  And still… there are no Soul Sparks for me to reclaim.

  I knew it was unlikely since I’ve been in Dungeons like this a hundred times, but still I’m disappointed that in a Dungeon I can handle there are no Soul Sparks to be reclaimed. I reach out and focus on some of the rats as they’re slain by my Party, for now at least more than capable of handling the onslaught. As I bear down and focus I can feel the Soul Sparks from the rats like tiny flashes that dissipate before they even form into something I can reclaim.

  Eventually the tide of giant rats subsides and Keoni whoops and cheers with the others joining in. I smile and genuinely feel happy for them, but don’t join in. I haven’t fired a shot and I’ve found out what I needed to here.

  “Well done everyone! Any of you Level Up?” I ask, more out of politeness.

  “I did!” exclaims Vaiola, and I’m glad. Levels are harder to come by with a support Class. Everyone is checking their notifications and I assume that between the number of rats they killed and their low Levels someone else might also have Levelled.

  Suddenly the temperature in the hallway seems to plummet and we all notice at the same time, our weapons raising simultaneously. Bones rattle and echo down the hall.

  “Back?” I ask again.

  “Let’s see,” says Keoni, and I can understand it - they’re riding high on a good swarm kill where none of them got injured, but I think this is different.

  “At least take some cover,” I advise. I’m at the back of the group anyway, but I move to my right and duck down where several rat corpses give me at least some protection as I raise both my blasters to shoulder height. Sione refuses to take a step back and the others seem reluctant to leave his proximity, so I get the best view of what comes around the corner and it’s not good.

  Feral Skeletal Rat (Level 32)

  Damage Reduction Index: 1

  Mana: 18/20

  Conditions: Death’s Cold Embrace

  A damage reduction index of one means it’s going to be as hard to hurt as we are and its Level is no joke. I’ve seen this happen before where a surge of Mana inside a low Level Dungeon can mutate something to well beyond normal for the Dungeon. At least we’re still near the entrance.

  “We got this!” yells Keoni again, but this time I don’t think he’s right.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  I can see Vaiola’s first Power Boost fade from Sione and the others at the same time the cold becomes real and fills the corridor, sapping our energy. Leilani opens up with her guns and I have enough of an opening to join her from my position on one knee behind the mangled rat corpses. I focus my fire on the skeletal rat’s left rear hip and try to blast it apart as Sione’s inherent Strength allows him to shrug off the worst effects of the rat’s cold. Our plasma beams splash against its body and sizzle, corroding its bones, but Leilani’s projectiles simply ricochet off it.

  I flick my blasters to a higher power setting as Sione crashes his massive mace against the side of the rat’s head. The crack of the impact and smack into the wall doesn’t seem to deter it at all. Keoni dances forward into my line of sight to try to help, but his movements are sluggish and all he’s doing is putting himself in danger.

  “Out of the way, Keoni!” I yell and Leilani darts forward then pulls him back as the rat surges forward. Sione holds his ground in an impressive display of strength, but the rat twists and thrashes toward us beyond him and Sione can’t pivot in time to prevent it. Vaiola backpedals and I curse, feeling the rat’s Power draining my energy and speed, then activate my portable shield generator and leap out to crash into the rat. My bulk barely pushes it aside, but I’ve got my two blasters turned up to full and I hammer it in the head over and over as we roll in a tangle of limbs. Sione’s mace crashes down on the spine of the rat and then he charges into it with his shield to knock it over while I keep firing. The rest of them wisely stay away.

  Eventually, it’s done and I’m on top of the rat straddling a shoulder. With a grunt I deactivate my shield and get off it, then sit down on the Dungeon floor near the wall to catch my breath. I check and half the battery’s been drained on my shield and my blasters, about what I expected. All I can hear is deep breathing and the noise of Leilani reloading her gun as I slump back against the wall, disappointed that despite all that I still didn’t feel any Soul Sparks from the rat. I can’t help but wonder if it’s because it wasn’t really alive, just animated by some crazy concoction of Mana.

  “What the fuck was that, bro?” Keoni asks to nobody in particular, breaking the silence. “This is supposed to be a low Level Dungeon.” His voice echoes down the hall

  “Thank God you were here Calrik,” Vaiola says, staring at the dead undead rat amongst all the other corpses. It’s bloody and a mess, but none of us are keen to move just yet.

  “I didn’t do much,” I say. “But you’re welcome.”

  “You dived right in front of that thing,” states Leilani, and I shrug. As far as danger goes, I don’t really think I was in any. If things had gotten hairy in close quarters, I might have just jammed a grenade in the goddam thing’s mouth and rode out the shockwave with my shield.

  “Let’s go back and report on this,” I suggest. “They might need to upgrade the rating of this Dungeon if it isn’t just a freak occurence. I’m headed out no matter what; my batteries are down under half and it’s been plenty of adventure for today.” This Dungeon run has been super short, but I want them to be clear I won’t be joining them if they keep going and they should be wary of the fact this rat was here at all. If there are other surprises like this deeper in the Dungeon, someone or all of them won’t be coming back.

  “I got another Level,” says Vaiola softly. At first I think she means that because they’re gaining Levels so fast in this Dungeon they should stay, but one look at her face makes it clear she’s saying the opposite, and she’s ready to leave with her Level gains and life intact. Hopefully this hasn’t put her off for good - her Power is useful and if she picked up a spear and some lessons with a gun she’d probably be handy on any Dungeon run.

  “Yeah. Let’s head back,” says Sione, backing up his sister. Good on him. It’s the right call. Keoni looks like he might object for a second, but then he looks around.

  “Agreed,” says Leilani, and that cements it.

  The electric blue Portal is almost embarrassingly close, if the Dungeon has been as difficult as it was meant to be. There’s no regret as we emerge again.

  Another Party is waiting to go in and eyes us up. They’re half a dozen low Level Adventurers of mixed backgrounds and Classes, and they see us covered in blood and looking a bit worse for wear, but uninjured. We’re well ahead of schedule and they’re probably assuming the Dungeon is even easier than advertised.

  “Not recommended, bros,” warns Keoni with a sincerity that would be hard to ignore. “We’re about to report to Brockil that there are powerful creatures over Level 30 in this Dungeon.”

  The lot of them look uncertain as we walk past them.

  “I wouldn’t - not until it’s properly checked out,” I warn them seriously while I look a few of them in the eye in turn as we go past. I don’t know for sure that there are more powerful Monsters in this Dungeon and I’m not responsible for these people, but they do deserve a fair warning. There’s every chance they won’t listen to us. At least, they don’t immediately enter the Portal as we’re leaving.

  Brockil is surprised to see us when we return to his desk.

  “I don’t usually see people back here so soon!” he exclaims. It’s not long until he notices the looks on our faces. “What’s happened?”

  It’s mostly Leilani that tells him what we found, and Brockil’s expression gets darker as she describes the swarm of giant rats and then the feral skeleton rat. It’s fair to say he’s outraged to hear about its Level and the kind of Power it had.

  I don’t stay for the full briefing and excuse myself while wishing them all the best. I hope they get the Levels they’re looking for and Evolve their Powers. For now, I’ve got some business to take care of before Auntie V arrives that can’t wait, and I’ve got my answer about running low Level Dungeons… it’s not going to get me the Soul Sparks I need.

  Time to take my armor and weapons back to Storage King.