Two years ago…

  The morning after the Heroes Party had dinner with Lord Eric Lasair, Will learned a couple of new things when Andy asked Eric Lasair to join their Heroes Party to enter the Midnight Dungeon.

  Andy made his request to Lord Eric in the courtyard as the older man trained with his own knights that morning. He said Heather’s ‘intuition’ told her Lord Eric should join them that day for entering the dungeon and his presence would be of significant help.

  Andy never asked others to join us, even when an additional sword would make it safer. He emphasized we had to set an example as the Heroes Party to show we could handle any challenge alone. Personally I thought he just didn’t want another person getting dibs on the loot.

  It was shocking to me that he went out of his way to ask for Lord Eric’s help, especially considering he didn’t like how the noble lectured Heather last night. I was also confused as to why Heather’s ‘intuition’ was seen as a legitimate reason.

  Lord Eric appeared to take the reason very seriously. At first Lord Eric tried to offer his son Duncan to go instead. But once Heather intervened in the discussion and explained she had a gut feeling it had to be him, he instantly agreed. I thought the only gut feeling Heather had was knowing what clothes were best in fashion for the season.

  Asking around, I learned priests and clerics often had intuition or instincts. Basically none of them tried to claim they literally heard their goddess Liora, speaking into their ear. But it was always seen as the goddess’s influence if a cleric or priest felt a mental nudge to do something.

  So Lord Eric was joining us on our visit to Midnight Dungeon. It was determined Elane would stay behind. Heather would sometimes insist a dungeon would be too dangerous for Elane, but I never saw any real assessment of danger used. I think Heather just made the call depending on her mood.

  It took about a six-hour hike to reach the dungeon from Lasair Manor.

  The entrance to Midnight Dungeon loomed before us like a wound in the earth. Though it was mid-afternoon with the sun blazing overhead, the cave mouth appeared as a perfect void—not merely dark but an absolute absence of light that seemed to swallow the very air around it. Even from ten paces away, I could feel the unnatural coldness radiating from the entrance.

  "Well, this is cheerful," Patrick muttered, hefting his warhammer nervously.

  "According to my research," I began, pulling out my journal, "the locals call it Midnight Dungeon because of how it treats light sources. Any flame or magical illumination is instantly extinguished once you cross the threshold."

  "So we'll be fighting blind?" Jesse asked, her fingers tightening around her bow.

  "Not necessarily." I reached into my pack and pulled out several glass vials containing a luminescent green substance. "This is Ghostmold. It gives off light through a chemical reaction rather than combustion, so the dungeon's magic shouldn't affect it. A village elder gave me the tip."

  Lord Eric examined one of the vials with interest. "Impressive forethought, young man."

  I felt a flush of pride at his words. "The nearby villagers say the dungeon is home to Night Wargs—large wolf-like creatures with poor eyesight but extraordinary sense of smell. They hunt by scent, which is why they've adapted so well to the darkness."

  "And at the heart of the dungeon?" Andy asked, already looking impatient.

  "A Cave Troll—green-skinned and twice the size of a man. The locals call it 'Old Mossy' because of the fungus growing on its back. It's been raiding their livestock for months."

  Nick frowned. "If these Night Wargs hunt by smell, won't they detect us instantly?"

  "That's a valid concern," I admitted. "I've prepared these vials of Ghostmold with leather straps. We should each wear one around our belts or wrists for light. Just be aware that while we can see them, they can definitely smell us."

  Heather wrinkled her nose at the vials. "They smell awful. Is this really necessary?"

  "Unless you want to fight in complete darkness, yes," I replied, handing each person a vial. The glass was cool against my palm, the green glow pulsing gently like a heartbeat.

  "Let's get this over with," Andy said, striding toward the entrance. "Remember, I take point, Patrick covers our rear. Will, stay close to the middle—no running ahead to scout this time. We don't know what we're dealing with."

  I tied the glowing vial to my belt, watching as the others did the same. The leather cords were sturdy enough to secure the vials without risk of breaking them. As we approached the entrance, the temperature dropped noticeably. Two runes were carved into the stone above the cave entrance, marking it as a Two Sigil Dungeon.

  “Oh and Patrick, light up a torch so we can test this so-called magic putting out flames. It wouldn’t be the first time Will was wrong on his intel,” Andy called out behind him before entering. I simply rolled my eyes as I saw Patrick pull out a torch while giving me an apologetic look.

  A lot of the tips I gathered for dungeons were based on rumors. Which meant of course they weren’t always right. At this point I didn’t even care if Andy wanted to test the validity of my claims.

  Although I’m pretty sure the inky blackness was a sure sign I was right.

  Patrick was the last to receive his vial after holding up a torch in one hand. I gave him a nod before following Jesse inside with him close behind.

  The moment we stepped through the entrance, Patrick's torch was extinguished with a soft hiss, plunging us into what should have been total darkness. Instead, the Ghostmold cast an eerie green luminescence that transformed the cavern into something otherworldly. The walls glistened with moisture, reflecting the verdant glow like thousands of tiny emeralds embedded in the stone.

  It reminded me of those chemical light sticks we'd use during power outages back home, though these gave off a stronger, steadier light that illuminated about ten feet in any direction.

  The tunnel was surprisingly spacious—at least fifteen feet wide with a ceiling that arched a good twelve feet above our heads. The floor sloped gently downward, worn smooth by centuries of water flow, though now it was merely damp rather than flooded.

  "Fascinating," Lord Eric murmured, his voice echoing slightly in the cavernous space. He drew his sword from its ornate scabbard, and for a brief moment, flames erupted along the blade's length, illuminating the tunnel in a flash of orange-gold before sputtering out completely, leaving only the green glow of our mold vials.

  "Curious," Eric murmured, examining the runes etched into the steel. "I've never seen my sword without its flames before."

  Andy nodded approvingly. "A fine blade, Lord Lasair. Its power will serve us well in the darkness ahead."

  I was not looking forward to Andy’s ‘sucking-up-to-nobles’ comments, no matter how poetic they sounded.

  “Ah, thank you, this is Fire-Friend. This blade has been with my family for more generations than I can count.”

  Gripping the sword's hilt, Eric fell into step beside the younger man, his brow furrowed in thought. I kept pace near the center of the group, my eyes scanning the tunnel for any sign of movement. The faint patter of paws on stone echoed in the distance, growing steadily louder.

  "I never realized these runes were here," Eric said quietly, almost to himself as he traced a finger along strange symbols that seemed to shift under the green light. "Always hidden by the flames... I wonder what they mean."

  "We can discuss ancient rune lore after we've cleared this dungeon," Andy said, his voice clipped with impatience. "Keep moving."

  The tunnel continued its gradual descent, winding deeper into the earth. The air grew noticeably colder and damper, carrying a musty odor of wet stone and something else—a rank animal smell that made my nostrils flare. The walls occasionally widened into small chambers before narrowing again, creating a natural labyrinth that would be easy to get lost in without my careful mental mapping.

  For nearly an hour we pressed deeper, the only sounds our footsteps on stone and the occasional drip of water from the ceiling. We tried our best to move quietly, but wet rock didn’t make footsteps soft.

  The sudden sound of rapid pawprints echoed through the tunnel, growing from a distant patter to a thunderous approach in seconds. The sudden, rapid scrabbling of claws against stone echoed through the tunnel, setting my nerves on edge.

  "Positions!" Andy barked, his sword already drawn. "Nick, Eric, with me on the front! Heather, Jesse, Will—support positions! Patrick, guard our backs!"

  We fell into formation with practiced efficiency, despite having never fought alongside Lord Eric before. The older warrior moved with surprising grace, taking his position beside Andy without question, his flameless sword held at the ready.

  I pulled my hand crossbow from its holster, the feeling of the weapon in my hand familiar. The first Night Warg burst into our circle of green light—a massive beast the size of a small pony, its hairless body covered in mottled gray skin, eyes milky white and nearly useless, but its jaws... those jaws could snap a man's spine with one bite.

  [Scan Results] Monster: Night Warg Race: Beast Level: 18 Stats: Str 17, Con 15, Dex 17, Wis 3, Int 3 HP: 43/43 MP: 14/14

  "There's a whole pack!" Nick shouted, tiny white bolts of electricity dancing off his blade with a spell he cast. The sword would now give a nasty shock with each hit.

  The wargs attacked in a coordinated rush, their enormous bodies moving with surprising speed. Andy met the first with a brutal overhead strike, cleaving halfway through its skull. Eric moved like water beside him, his bladework so precise it was almost beautiful, each stroke severing a vital area.

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  "I can't see a damn thing beyond the light!" Jesse cursed, loosing an arrow that disappeared into darkness, followed by the yelp of a wounded warg. "They're circling just outside our vision!"

  I darted to the side, using the shadows to my advantage. A warg lunged at Nick's exposed flank, but my crossbow bolt caught it in the eye, causing it to veer off course with a howl of pain.

  "Nice shot, Will!" Nick called, thrusting his blade into another warg, the huge canine shook as if having a seizure as metal and electricity was pushed into it.

  Blood and saliva sprayed across the stone as Eric's blade opened a warg from shoulder to haunch. The beast collapsed, twitching, as two more leapt to take its place. Patrick's warhammer crushed the skull of another trying to circle behind us, the impact sending bone fragments scattering across the tunnel floor.

  I reloaded my crossbow under three seconds, a skill I'd practiced countless times. Another warg lunged at Heather, who screamed and stumbled backward. I fired, my bolt striking the creature's flank. It wasn't a killing blow, but the pain distracted it long enough for Eric to finish it with a clean thrust through its throat.

  "They're using the darkness!" I shouted, noticing their strategy. "They stay just outside our light until they're ready to attack!"

  "Then we bring the fight to them," Andy growled, ripping the vial filled with glowing moss from his belt and rolling it forward.

  I really hated it when Andy came up with a brilliant idea. Because for all of Andy’s posturing and arrogance, he really was someone who thought fast on his feet and came up with split-second decisions which kept everyone alive.

  If only he didn’t have to be such a dick about it.

  The vial of Ghostmold rolled forward and now six wargs could be seen clearly in the darkness. We didn’t need to be told what to do.

  Jesse, with a smirk, shot arrow after arrow in quick succession, one arrow piercing a warg just as another flew into the air. I did the same with my hand crossbow although not as effective. Even Heather joined in, using the only ranged attack spell she had to send a bolt of radiant energy shooting straight from her hand. It hit the head of a warg, sending the beast tumbling to the ground.

  We had disrupted their strategy. We weren’t supposed to be able to hit them from a distance, but we were. After a moment of indecisive growls, three remaining wargs ran off into the darkness.

  "Good work, everyone," Andy said, sheathing his sword. "We'll take five minutes to catch our breath before pushing deeper. These tunnels twist like a snake—we need to stay sharp."

  I took the opportunity to reload my crossbow and check my remaining bolts. Fifteen left—not ideal, but I'd managed with less before.

  Nick kicked one of the fallen wargs with his boot, scowling. "Worthless beasts. All that effort and not a single thing worth salvaging. Back in the Blood Caverns, at least the Crimson Orcs dropped gear."

  "Actually," Lord Eric said, moving closer to the wall where our green mold light cast eerie shadows, "there's something far more valuable right here." He pointed to what at first glance appeared to be just another crystalline formation embedded in the stone wall—but as I looked closer, I could see the distinctive blue hue, easily the size of my fist.

  Heather was at his side in an instant, her previous exhaustion miraculously vanished. "Oh my God," she breathed, reaching out to touch the gleaming surface. "It's beautiful! Is it really a gem stone?"

  “Sapphire rock if I’m not mistaken. I know a jeweler at the capital who is always looking for such things, Grendal’s Jewelry Store. I’ll give you more details on how to find them after our little adventure here.”

  As Lord Eric spoke, he carefully pried the sapphire rock out with a dagger before handing it to Heather who studied it with glee. I was reminded of how if I tried to grab a giant gemstone, Andy would shout at me for a full minute for ‘being greedy’.

  Supposedly the general rule was Jesse would keep all loot and proportion it out fairly. That rule never appeared to apply though if Heather saw something pretty she wanted.

  Before my thoughts could spiral further I felt Patrick’s hand on my shoulder. He was giving me a grin as he gestured towards his own vial of mold.

  "That was some quick thinking with these light vials, Will," Patrick said, his voice lowered so only I could hear. His broad face split into a genuine smile as he tapped the glowing container at his belt. "Without these, we'd have been torn to pieces in the dark. Those beasts would've had us surrounded before we knew what hit us."

  I felt a warmth spread through my chest at the unexpected praise. Patrick wasn't one for empty flattery—when he complimented someone, he meant it.

  "Thanks," I replied, trying not to sound too eager for validation. "Just part of the job."

  But even as I savored the rare acknowledgment, a familiar bitterness crept in. If Andy had thought to bring special light sources, the others would have been falling over themselves with praise. When I did it, it was just expected—the bare minimum of my duties as a scout.

  I glanced over at the others. Andy was already examining the tunnel ahead, not sparing a second thought for the light vials that had just saved our lives. Jesse was collecting arrows from fallen wargs, while Heather admired her new sapphire rock. None of them had bothered to acknowledge my preparation.

  In other words just another typical day in the Heroes Party.

  Patrick gave me another reassuring pat before walking over to join Andy.

  There were two other battles with wargs as we delved deeper. This time we were ready though. Andy would roll his vial ahead just like before and this time we could hurt them with ranged attacks before they made the first move.

  We also found five more gemstone rocks on the way. Two more sapphire rocks, three ruby rocks, and an onyx rock, all of which Heather would need a minute to study and drool over before we moved along. I wasn’t a geologist, but even I knew it wasn’t natural to have such a variety all showing up in these tunnels.

  I sometimes underestimated how these dungeons, or maybe the System, rewarded adventurers who dungeon dived.

  At the end of the third battle though, we did run into a hiccup. As Jesse fired an arrow at the one remaining warg alive, I heard a curse as her bowstring broke.

  “Problem, Jesse?” Andy asked, as he poked the warg to confirm it was dead.

  “I forgot to bring a spare bowstring. I’ll have to stick with close-up fighting,” Jesse said as she pulled out two daggers, wielding one in each hand. I hid my frown as I pulled a bolt out of a warg’s carcass.

  This wasn’t the first time her bowstring broke, but it was the first time she forgot to keep a replacement. Maybe I was being paranoid, but I had a feeling Andy’s obvious favoritism was causing certain Heroes to be sloppy.

  “Just keep back and call out warnings on flank attacks. You’re too important to lose on the frontlines,” Andy said with a wave of his hand. Yep, there was the favoritism.

  “I think I have something to make up for Jesse’s archery support. I learned a new spell recently called Faith Armor. It increases a person’s HP aura by twenty percent and it’ll last an hour,” Heather said, wrapping her arms around Andy from the side and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

  “Always looking out for us, my love,” Andy said with a grin, returning the hug. I wasn’t going to lie, they were both assholes as far as I was concerned.

  But I was envious they had each other while we were fighting for our lives in this crazy quest to save the world.

  “I do try,” Heather said with a wink before taking a step back.

  “This may be a good time to cast it. I’ve been in enough dungeons to know we should be running into the Cave Troll soon,” Eric said as he studied his blade again. There had to be at least a dozen times he studied those runes on his sword.

  After a year of doing dungeon dives, I had to agree with him, it felt like we were reaching the dungeon boss.

  “Of course, but it will require touching each of you,” Heather said and I nearly dropped my jaw in shock.

  Heather always went out of her way to learn spells of healing and buff where she didn’t have to touch people. Her usual excuse would be she didn’t want to make it weird by placing her hands on people. But I was about ninety-nine percent sure it was because she didn’t want to be anywhere near the front line.

  Technically her class allowed her to wear armor like chainmail to protect herself, but she always wore custom robes and sometimes even a satin dress. She preferred fashionable clothing instead of wearing something which would protect her from a flying arrow.

  But she wasn’t so stupid to not realize her need to dress in style didn’t come without a cost. She only stayed just close enough to the fighting to throw ranged spells at us. Part of me hoped this was a sign she would finally give up the custom sewn robes with pretty patterns and wear something practical.

  I think my shock might have been too obvious because Andy was openly frowning my way. I tried my best to appear neutral to the situation as Heather moved behind me.

  I still tensed up as her flat hands touched my back, the pressure of them felt under my leather armor.

  The open glare from Andy was just daring me to do anything other than stand still.

  Then with a few whispered words, I felt a weird rush of energy.

  [Magic Status: Faith Armor]

  I was reminded of how hard the so-called ‘HP aura’ was to understand. In a video game you have a HP number which basically just determined when you died after so many hits.

  In this world, everyone had a HP number and it affected how badly someone could be hurt. I’ve received stabs, bites, and all sorts of attacks which left my flesh wounded and bleeding. I could tell my HP aura though never let the wounds be severe enough to stop me from fighting back.

  The cutting of muscles in the arm should leave a hand useless at holding a weapon, but I’ve noticed I could still swing with my short sword with grace even as the said arm holding it was dripping with blood from a deep cut.

  The benefits of the HP aura was even more obvious with Andy, Nick, and Patrick. I’ve seen arrows bounce off open skin and daggers never even able to pierce the flesh. In their case it really was a protective aura which surrounded their bodies and protected them from harm.

  So as far as I could tell if the HP number was high enough, the body wouldn’t even suffer a wound. Eventually at some certain point, I had no idea where, the HP aura would only make sure you could still function while receiving wounds which damaged the body.

  Didn’t take a genius to figure out what happened though when HP reached zero.

  As I contemplated how much this Faith Armor would help me, Heather continued casting the spells on the others. She walked behind each one and placed her hands on them, even with Jesse who wasn’t planning to join in the next fight.

  "Something I just remembered, my comrades, trolls have incredible regenerative properties. A troll doesn’t stay dead unless his remains are burned… but we can’t create a fire in this dungeon," Lord Eric noted, his golden armor now bathed in the ghostly green light, making him look like some otherworldly sentinel.

  “I already made preparations for the problem. We just need to pour this acid on his remains after we take him down,” I said, pulling a large glass jar filled with acid from my Inventory Box.

  “And our scout comes through again with a solution. Your devotion to your work is admirable,” Lord Eric said with a proud grin. Heather’s face briefly twisted into an ugly scowl. She definitely didn’t like how no compliment came her way for her buff spells.

  Before I could answer, Andy cut in. "The time for small talk is over. The path is clear." He unsheathed his sword with a dramatic flourish, the steel blade catching the green glow. "It's time to go slay the Cave Troll!" He pointed his sword forward with an exaggerated sweep of his arm.

  I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from rolling my eyes. The theatrical gesture was so obviously for Lord Eric's benefit—Andy never wasted energy on dramatic poses unless there was someone important watching.

  "Right behind you," Lord Eric replied evenly, though I caught the slight quirk of his eyebrow.

  “Hey Will, get over here. I want you to hold my bow while I try to tie this string together,” Jesse said, not really making it a request. I held the bow with a sigh, knowing once a bowstring was broken, it stayed broken. Jesse should know that too, but maybe she was just getting desperate to join the fight coming.

  We proceeded deeper with me and Jesse lagging behind, our footsteps eerily silent on the smooth stone floor. The tunnel branched occasionally, but Andy confidently chose the widest paths each time. His instincts aligned with proper dungeon tactics—creatures as large as trolls always carved out the biggest passages.

  Eventually as Jesse failed multiple times trying to tie the string as we walked, she gave up and took it from me with a huff.

  After about ten minutes of walking, the tunnel abruptly widened into a vast chamber that took my breath away. The ceiling soared at least thirty feet overhead, and the walls curved in a perfect circle nearly a hundred feet across. Unlike the barren tunnels, every surface here was carpeted in the same luminescent moss contained in our vials, bathing the entire chamber in vibrant green light.

  For the first time since entering the dungeon, we could see clearly—which meant we had a perfect view of what waited on the far side of the chamber.

  Old Mossy stood at least twelve feet tall, its massive frame hunched forward like a gorilla's. Its skin was a mottled green-gray, thick and leathery, with what looked like actual moss and fungi growing from its shoulders and back. Its arms hung nearly to the ground, ending in hands the size of wagon wheels, each finger tipped with a yellowed claw as long as my forearm.

  "Holy shit," Nick whispered beside me, his knuckles white around his sword.

  The troll's head swiveled in our direction, its small eyes squinting in the light. A nose larger than my arm twitched and sniffed the air, its mouth opening to reveal fanged teeth. A guttural growl rumbled from its chest, echoing throughout the chamber.

  "Spread out," Andy commanded, his voice low but carrying. "Will, target its eyes. Patrick and Lord Eric, with me on the front. Nick, try to flank it and give it a good jolt of electricity. Heather, keep those healing spells ready. Jesse, stay near the entrance to the chamber."

  Any further orders couldn’t be heard as the growl turned into a roar echoing against mossy stone walls.