The light faded into total darkness, then a glow appeared. It came from a portion of the cavern floor. As they watched, a crystal cylinder rose out of the floor. The light from the node was weak and only illuminated about three meters in every direction, but that was enough to reveal they were in a cavern of some kind. Stalactites poked up around them.

  Devin stood at the very edge of the lighted area. Casey was closer to the crystal and Milo was on the far side, crouched at the edge of the crystal’s light.

  A hiss sounded from the darkness, followed by a cracking noise like a breaking stone.

  Milo slid into the darkness. Devin gripped the hammer in his right hand and drew his short sword in the left. He opened the Party chat.

  Devin - What did we teleport into?

  Milo – There’s something out here. It’s about ten meters out, sort of behind you to your right. It’s moving at an angle to your right. It’s a lizard with eight …

  Milo has left the Party Chat.

  Your Party lost the Boost ‘Translation.’

  Your Party lost the Boost ‘Logical.’

  Your Party lost the Boost ‘Pack Tactics.’

  “Milo!” Devin called. “Milo!”

  Another hiss came from the darkness.

  Casey – What’s going on?

  Devin – A lizard with eight … legs? It’s got to be legs. Oh, man. I bet it’s a basilisk.

  Devin’s Ability ‘Identify Opponent’ identified Basilisk.

  Basilisk (Magical Creation, Silver, Hostile)

  A fierce lizard that wants to kill you. These creations are often used as guardians. Anyone meeting the gaze of this reptilian creature will be turned to stone. Its sharp teeth and rock-hard skin also make it a formidable opponent in hand-to-hand combat. Its acidic saliva is designed to let it tunnel through stone, but it works fine on flesh, too. Oh, and it can see in the dark.

  Note that it isn’t four dragons. See, I keep my promises.

  “Milo!” Devin called. He circled the node, keeping his back to it. The cracking sound came again, this time closer but from another angle.

  Casey – I can finally see, and the first thing we run into is something that kills you by sight. How do we fight something we can’t look at?

  Devin – The usual method is to use a mirror.

  Casey – I don’t have a mirror. Do you have a mirror?

  Devin – No.

  Casey – I can try locating it with my ‘Vision of Rainford’ Boost. I bet that thing can’t stone me through that.

  Devin – That’s what the guy in Birdbox thought. I’m not willing to take that chance.

  Casey – What’s a birdbox?

  Devin – Never mind. I’m going to track it by sound. If something happens to me, try to find a way out of here. Now that you’re Silver level, you should have a chance of escaping.

  Casey – Got it. If something happens to you, I’m to charge in and kill it with my bare hands.

  Devin – That’s not what I … you’re not going to leave, are you?

  Casey – Nope. I have faith in you.

  Devin closed his eyes and concentrated. The cave wasn’t quiet. Water was dripping from somewhere, and the echoes made it hard to know where sounds were coming from. Wherever the creature was, it hadn’t made a sound since the last cracking noise.

  He pulled out the light globe and tossed it in the direction where he’d heard the last sound. It bounced into the darkness.

  He heard the sound of scales sliding against stone. It was a lot closer than it had been last time. Devin’s imagination painted the creature rearing up behind him and biting his head off. He made himself stand still and listen.

  Another scrape, and another. It sounded like the basilisk was moving around to attack him from the side.

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  Time to take a chance. Devin set the hammer on the ground handle up and drew his short sword. He stepped out of the ring of light.

  The scraping sounds stopped. He turned his back to where they’d come from and took a step away. Then another.

  Scrape. It was close now. He froze in place, head tilted, ears straining. Claws clicked on the stone behind him. He timed his spin and slammed the short sword down with both hands.

  For a moment, Devin thought he’d missed and driven the sword into the rock floor of the cave. Then the basilisk hissed like a broken radiator. A spray of warm liquid hit Devin. Pinpricks of pain flared across his body as the stuff hissed and burned at his enhanced skin.

  The sword was wrenched back and forth. He held on with all his strength, but the hilt snapped off in his hand. He tossed it aside and drew his dagger.

  The lizard crashed into him and bore him to the ground. Six legs wrapped around his torso while another pair of claws ripped his chest.

  Devin stabbed where he thought the head was. It sank in. The dagger was ripped out of Devin’s hand. Claws raked and ripped into his enhanced skin.

  His hands groped across the lizard’s face. He squeezed, but it was like trying to crush a boulder. He pushed with his legs, dragging them both backwards towards the light of the node.

  The head snaked down. The basilisk sank its teeth into Devin’s chest and bit down. Its bite was big enough to envelop his entire torso. His ribs creaked.

  Devin’s Ability ‘Spot Weakness’ activated against Basilisk. Go for the eyes, boo!

  His right hand slipped up the basilisk’s face to its eye. He pressed down as hard as he could. There was an instant of resistance, then he felt the eye socket collapse.

  The basilisk roared. The claws loosened their grip. Devin threw the monster off him and rolled onto his feet. His entire torso was a mess of deep and savage cuts.

  He opened his eyes to get his bearings. He was about two meters outside the node’s circle of light. He stumbled forward into that light.

  Casey stood with her hood over her face and her hand raised towards him. Green light flickered and warmth spread throughout his body. The cuts on his torso closed, and the pain from the acid burns faded.

  Claws clicked behind him. He closed his eyes and spun around. Some instinct made him fling his arm over his throat to protect it as the basilisk crashed into him.

  Devin ended up on the bottom again. His left arm was pinned between the basilisk and his throat. Claws tore at his chest, but Casey’s healing power continued to flow into him.

  Devin punched at the basilisk’s face with his free hand. It bit down on his arm. Teeth ripped through muscle and sawed at his bones. Devin flailed around to get the lizard off him, but he was pinned.

  Casey grabbed the shard of the sword sticking out of the basilisk’s back. She worked it back and forth like a lever until it came loose. Her Silver-level strength tore the wound in its back into a large gash until the sword came free.

  Blood poured from her hands where the blade cut her, and acid burned her skin in a dozen places. The basilisk let go of Devin’s arm and tried to raise its head to snap at her, but Devin held on with his other arm.

  Casey placed the tip of the broken sword against basilisk’s remaining eye and pushed. The blade slid into the open eye before the basilisk spasmed and jerked it out of her hand. The beast roared and streaked into the blackness of the cave.

  Devin pulled himself to his feet. Out in the darkness, the basilisk hissed and roared.

  Casey squeezed her hands together as blood poured down her arms. She never paused in pumping healing energy into Devin.

  “Using the Vision protected me,” she said. “I guess I’m not in a bird box.”

  “Your hands!”

  “Use the green vial in the right pocket of my pack,” she said.

  Devin fumbled around until he found it.

  Salve of Coagulation (Copper) – This salve will temporarily halt bleeding when poured onto a wound. Salvation is here!

  He popped the stopper out and poured the salve over Casey’s hands. The bleeding stopped, but her hands still looked like something out of a horror show.

  “How much healing juice do you have left?” he said.

  “A lot, but we’re going through it fast,” she said.

  “What are you waiting for, then? Heal those hands!”

  “Healers can’t …”

  With a hissing roar, the berserk lizard charged into the light at the speed of a cheetah, and Devin got his first good look.

  The basilisk’s body was like that of an enormous iguana with twice as many legs. It had a long snout with a mouth full of wicked teeth that hinged open like an alligator’s. A bony protuberance that resembled a hen’s comb projected from its forehead. The shard of the broken sword protruded from its ruined eye, and the dagger hung from the side of its mouth. It was hurt, but it seemed to have plenty of fight left.

  Devin shoved Casey aside and tumbled the other way. The basilisk whizzed by and crashed into the node at full speed. Bones snapped and the lizard hissed again.

  Devin leaped onto the creature’s back. He brought both his fists down on its skull twice before it managed to stand up. The basilisk rolled over to crush him, but Devin jumped off its back and landed on his feet.

  “Devin!”

  He turned his head. Casey flinched as she picked up the hammer with ruined hands, but her throw was perfect. He caught the hammer by the handle and slammed it down on the basilisk’s spine with all his enhanced strength.

  SNAP. CRACK.

  The hammer snapped in half and the head spun through the air. The basilisk’s legs kicked out and flailed. It slumped onto the ground, its back broken.

  You defeated Guardian Basilisk!

  Reward: Increase of +2 to all Primary Attributes and an increase of +1 to all Secondary Attributes. The whole party has earned this reward!

  Achievement Unlocked! A Closer Bond – You and your friends fought together, and lives were saved. You’ve grown even closer.

  Reward: Boost ‘Party Time’ has been upgraded to ‘Party Responsibly.’ – Party members can receive more and better Achievements and rewards. The spells and abilities of the party leader and party members may occasionally synergize, with surprising results.

  Default party range is 100 km. Anyone traveling outside of party range will be removed from the party.

  You may remotely re-invite anyone who has been in your party before as long as they are within 1 km.

  Party members within 200 meters of the party leader who are obscured or hidden from view will now be visible as icons in his field of vision and on the Party Map.

  Party member cooldowns and buffs will now be visible to others in the party. Item and Skill descriptions will also be visible to other party members.

  Congratulations! This is a Very Rare Boost!

  Milo’s Boost ‘Ninefinite Lives’ activated!

  “Well done.” Milo emerged from the darkness. He seemed a little shaky on his feet but was unwounded.

  “Milo!” Casey rushed over. She knelt beside him and hugged him. He rubbed his muzzle against her shoulder.

  Devin joined them. He knelt on the other side of Milo and stroked his fur.

  Devin – What happened? Did you turn to stone?

  Milo – Yes. I did not recognize the creature until it was too late. Fortunately, my Boost is perfectly capable of handling any circumstances up to and including complete destruction of this vessel.

  Devin – Wow! So, it’s like a Resurrection spell. Does it only work nine times, or is that one of those stupid plays on words the AI uses?

  Milo – All of the above. The Boost has nine uses. If I use all nine, I lose the Boost. However, as long as I’m in range of my party leader, it’s free.

  Devin – Wow! That’s broken as hell.

  Milo – It is not broken. I’m special and I deserve it.

  Devin - You sure do, buddy.