The invader flashed between the members of the party, its daggers like a snake’s fangs as it struck out at every opening they provided. Twice, Franklin got cut, and Rida had a thin gash on their right forearm that hadn’t stopped streaming blood since the wound had been inflicted. Doubtless, some kind of poison was on those daggers that stopped wounds from closing naturally.

  ? Grim stood frozen at the threshold of the boss arena, watching with tense expectation. Despite the wounds, the fight seemed almost even. In return for the hits they’d taken, they’d inflicted two wounds on the invader boss; two long lines spilled some kind of white mist into the air, and the longer it ‘bled’, the slower it seemed to become. That was a stretch, though, as it still moved in a blur, easily dancing around the delvers’ weapons, striking at openings and punishing them for every major mistake while also narrowly avoiding their retaliatory swings.

  ? “Damn, I wish I had a debuff skill!” Rida snarled, their hands once again clutching at the air where, half a second before, the boss had stood. It stayed especially clear of her, as one of its wounds was due to her getting her hands on it and holding it still long enough for Franklin to slash it.

  ? “You’d be terrible at using elemental skills!” Roderic called back, then shuddered slightly. He vanished from sight just as the boss appeared, striking through the air where he’d just stood. Roderic appeared behind it, cutting out at the vulnerable tendons of its knee. No blood was spilled, but the boss did stumble, letting Ellen ram her sword through its shoulder before it faded into shadows. “Ha!”

  ? “Don’t drop your guard!” Franklin called, turning on the spot and looking. “We already know that doesn’t mean it’s dead.”

  ? Grim activated Camouflage, sure that the monster was just lurking in the shadows and analyzing the stances of the party. He was too late to provide any warning as the boss threw one of its knives, the blade appearing in Ellen’s thigh as if it had always been there. She let out a grunt of pain and went to seize the weapon, but it faded into black smoke like its owner.

  ? “Quit hiding, you little shit, and face me!” She growled. Grim saw mana flash over her body, closing the small wound and stopping the flow of blood. “I’ll show you what I’ll do with that knife!”

  ? When the boss did appear again, it was before Roderic, who immediately used another Dash Skill. But this time, the boss copied his action, using Shadow Dash to once again end up behind him, where it struck with his knife. The ranger seemed truly doomed, but at the last instant, Franklin used his Light Swap, trading places and raising his sword. The two weapons clashed with a shower of sparks, but he held the monster’s attack back.

  ? “Nice try,” he growled in triumph. Then, before the Invader’s Dash skill could recharge, he rammed the dirk in his free hand into its side. It let out a silent screech, its side now spewing that white mist, and wrenched itself free.

  ? “It seems you are more than a monkey waving a stick,” its ethereal voice sounded, the white eyes beneath its hood burning fiercely for a moment. “But can you withstand the might of my magic?”

  ? “Let’s find out!” Rida shouted, lunging forward. They crossed no more than three feet before their progress was halted, and they were slammed down to the ground. Black tendrils had lashed out from the shadows behind her, wrapping around her legs and arms, holding her fast. “Agh! Fuck!”

  ? Cursing in her own turn, Ellen whirled around and cast Flash. The Light-attuned skill did no damage to anything, but it banished the shadows in a twenty-foot radius. The tendrils holding Rida burst into smoke, freeing the delver, who rolled back to her feet. “Shit. Thanks, El.”

  ? Instead of replying, Ellen turned to where the tendrils had come from and cast Light Bolt. The skill shredded its way through the darkness, carving a bright line that lingered for several seconds, but gave them no feedback. Grim called out from the entrance.

  ? “He’s to your three o’clock! Block!”

  ? He was glad they took him and his rather limited skills seriously, because neither Ellen nor Franklin hesitated. The boss had barely become visible when they slashed in the indicated direction. Franklin’s slash was powerful, opening a long gash across its torso from shoulder to opposite hip. But Ellen’s attack, a powerful Light Strike imbuing her sword, cleaved the invader in half in the opposite direction.

  ? Grim nearly jumped and let out a cheer, but Ellen cursed. “Missed its core! It’s still alive!”

  ? And indeed, more tendrils lashed out from the shadows at Ellen’s legs. She jumped clear, but more followed, wrapping around her head and yanking her back. She was both blinded and silenced and pulled from her party. Grim didn’t know what conditions her skills had, but if any of them relied on verbal activation–as her Light Bolt and Light Strike had–she was effectively prevented from using them.

  ? With the improved sight that Camouflage granted him, Grim could see the two daggers in the invader’s hand becoming a single longsword as Ellen was dragged toward it. She cast another Flash, illuminating it and shattering the tendrils, but it had already lifted its sword, prepared to strike down with all its might.

  ? Grim’s hands moved without his conscious order, drawing back the string of his bow. By some miracle, his arrow struck it in the chest. It couldn’t pierce through the boss’s armor, but the Concussive Shot still knocked it back, saving Ellen from the almost certain death that would have come from that attack.

  ? Now Grim had another problem. He’d attacked the boss, officially joining the others in its awareness, and he’d been the last one to deal it any damage. Even an intelligent enemy would choose to target him, because the others, unlike him, couldn’t see it move. Lifting one hand, it pointed at Grim, and half a dozen black tendrils raced out towards him. He used Shadow Dash to appear next to Franklkin, avoiding it completely, and drew back his bow for another shot.

  ? “Grim!” The party leader exclaimed. “I told you not to get involved!”

  ? “I didn’t have a choice!” Grim replied, then cursed as the boss easily dodged his second shot. If only he had Rapid Shot like Relvan, he could have suppressed its movements with a continuous rain of silver arrows while Ellen returned to her party. “He was about to kill Ellen!”

  ? “He’s not wrong,” Ellen replied grumpily, appearing back out of the shadows and rejoining her team. “Thanks for that, Grim. But try not to attack anymore. You don’t want the aggro.”

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  ? “Well, I’m going to have it until-”

  ? He rammed his shoulder into Roderic as hard as he could, knocking the ranger aside. He grunted in confusion, then surprise, as a knife went flashing past his ear. “Shit, lad. You can see everything its doing, can’t you?”

  ? Grim nodded, knowing that his eyes would be burning a bright yellow. “As long as I have mana.”

  ? Not that he had much of it left. Ellen seemed to sense that fact, because she shoved a bottle of blue liquid into his hand. “Drink this, then. The cost is more than justified if it keeps us alive! And put that bow away!”

  ? He ignored the second command, but gladly downed the mana potion, feeling it interact with his body. It was his first time drinking the expensive tonic, and the burning feeling of it racing through his mind and spirit was both uncomfortable and very welcome. In an instant, the higher-level potion completely refilled the missing three-quarters of his mana, and he felt a little more confident. “Thanks. That should give me another ten minutes at least.”

  ? “Let’s hope we can finish this before then,” Ellen said. “Where is it now?”

  ? The answer was unnecessary, as another knife raced out of the shadows, narrowly avoiding Grim’s shoulder. Ellen returned fire with a Light Bolt, which punched right through its chest. Grim actually saw the black gem embedded in its chest before the wound closed, and let out a groan.

  ? “What?”

  ? “You missed its core by less than an inch!”

  ? Ellen cursed, but didn’t have much longer to consider her misfortune. The Invader was back, its longsword swinging out of the darkness for Ellen, who parried the blow with her own longsword before slashing back with Light Strike. Again, the beast was wounded, that white mist now spewing from over half a dozen injuries. It seemed that, out of everyone in the party, she had the best chance of wounding it. Grim moved to stand right behind her, using his sight to warn her of each of its approaches.

  ? Combined with his senses, the reflexes of the others, and her own power, the fight didn’t last much longer. The Invader tried to attack from all angles, even jumping high into the air, but Grim guided Ellen’s movement with small steps. Three attacks, and three slashes that cut into it even more. The more damage it took, the less opaque the shadows became. Finally, Grim actually held her free arm, pointing it directly at the boss as it recovered from the last attack, and called out, “Light Bolt!”

  ? She cast the skill as he called out its name, and the ball of vibrant light punched through the Invader’s chest, this time piercing–but not shattering–its core. The Invader vibrated violently for several seconds, its burning white eyes switching to him. It took two steps forward, lifting its free hand for one final attack, then suddenly, its body burst apart. White and black mist exploded from its shuddering frame, mingling into a fine silver mist that also vanished quickly. After a second, nothing remained of the boss save for its armor and equipment.

  ? With the darkness of the room lifted, the party let out a sigh of relief as they spotted the pile of items. Essence was flowing into each of them, almost staggering Grim out of surprise with the amount he received. Weighed against what he needed to acquire to reach level five, it was barely ten percent, but it was far more than any other monster in the dungeon had given. The energy felt heavy in his cores until he directed it into his body.

  ? “Phew,” Roderic slumped onto the grassy floor beneath them, flopping onto his back and letting his limbs spread out. “That was a nasty fight.”

  ? Ellen showed her skill as a delver once again, making sure that their wounds were bandaged before any mention of gathering loot. Grim, like the others, waited patiently for her to finish the work. His work and share of the rewards ended here. As much as he’d love to get the Invader’s weapons, he knew they were level five and far too valuable to give to someone outside of the party. His contract had stipulated a flat payment, which he’d already received almost double in his share of the actual coin–and an equal share of all essence gained. He had no right to the treasure that the boss dropped.

  ? “Damn,” Rida was the first to begin inspecting the pile of equipment the Invader had left behind, running some kind of wand over each item. “This is all level five. Normally, gear doesn’t level up with the Invader Boss, but it can. This was a damn good run.”

  ? Franklin moved over and stooped to pick up the shadow-infused longsword. After concentrating for a second longer, the weapon split into two daggers, appearing identical to when the boss had held them. He nodded appreciatively as he weighed the two knives, then glanced over at Grim.

  ? “Sorry, Grim,” he said, grinning. “I won’t be paying you your special fee.”

  ? While the pronouncement was surprising–Franklin had struck him as an honest sort from the first meeting–it wasn’t a huge deal. He didn’t need the eighty-five gold they’d promised, as he knew that he’d already earned well over that from his share. But Franklin’s next words surprised him even more.

  ? “Instead, this is my payment to you.” He walked over and held out the daggers. Grim froze, his eyes wide, and looked between the treasures and the man’s face. Surely, this was some kind of trick.

  ? “And this is my payment to you,” Ellen said, holding out a tightly rolled scroll. A skill scroll. Grim hesitantly pushed himself to his feet, regarding them warily. Nobody had ever offered him this sort of generosity before. At least, not without some intention of screwing him over later.

  ? “Why?” It was the safest question to ask.

  ? “For saving my life,” Ellen said, frowning at his question. “Obviously.”

  ? “The mana potion more than covers that,” Grim retorted.

  ? “Like hell it does!” She shot back. “We have a gifted alchemist in our guild who can make that for a quarter of the cost. I value my life much higher than some damn potion.”

  ? “So do I,” Franklin agreed. “Do you not want them?”

  ? Grim couldn’t say no, no matter how… suspicious this all seemed. Almost without thinking, his hand lifted toward the knives, then he hesitated again. “Two level five treasures is too much. Even just one would be… acceptable… maybe. But I can’t take both of them.”

  ? “You either take them now,” Franklin said, his voice carrying a bit of steel in it now, “Or I’ll sell it off, and make sure your Deputy gives the gold to you somehow.”

  ? That was a dirty trick. Veyra would absolutely agree to such a scheme, and she was wily. She could hold on to it for as long as was needed to ensure that he got it, despite his wishes. He wouldn’t even know it. That’s how clever she was.

  ? “Same goes for this scroll,” Ellen added, a smirk stretching her face. “Don’t make me sell a skill scroll. I’d hate you forever if that happened.”

  ? Then, without waiting for a reply, Franklin stepped forward and tucked the two daggers into his belt. Likewise, Ellen pushed the scroll into the collar of his tunic. “It’s from our share, Grim. We have the right to do whatever we want with our share, even if it means giving it away.”

  ? “You won’t be getting any payment from me,” Roderic said, grinning as he sat up. His grey eyes glinted. “I’m already insanely jealous that you’re getting those daggers instead of me.”

  ? Grim hurried to grab the daggers to offer them to the rogue, but Roderic pointedly turned away from him and moved over to where Rida was still scanning the loot with her wand. The two of them cackled like goblins as they mumbled to each other, pointing out the value of the loot. Ellen and Franklin soon joined them, the entire party pretending as if Grim wasn’t there. He had the sense that, no matter what he said or did, they would never agree to take the treasures back.

  ? It was a shock to him that lasted several days, as well as the most important realization. This was the difference between Beastwick and Ironmarsh, he thought. The people here didn’t care for things like wealth, influence, or who your family was. They respected the simple things. And, as that realization sank into him, Grim realized another thing. He felt… at home.