The storm had passed, and four figures crawled out of the cave.

  "Mom said to teach them survival and train them," Hunter grumbled.

  "Ugh, I know, but Victor is so annoying," Christy said with a pout.

  "I realize that, but you're the caster! Go teach him the magic stuff, and I'll train Rieley how to hunt," Hunter said, throwing his hands up and pointing at Victor.

  "You know I can hear you, right?" Victor shot back.

  "Your magic is too unstable, and you're too impatient," Christy retorted.

  "Well, fine! If you're not going to help me, I'll find someone who will," Victor declared, marching deeper into the forest with his new familiar "Fluffy ", the black cat he is holding in his arms.

  "Heh heh, maybe Vic will get eaten by a jaguar," Riley snickered.

  "I mean, would that be a bad thing?" Christy replied, a mischievous glint in her eye.

  "Eh," Hunter shrugged, walking the opposite way.

  "Fine," Christy sighed, transforming into a bird to follow Victor into the woods.

  Not long after, Christy found Victor sitting on a rock, hitting his leg. "Stupid, stupid, stupid body, why can't you ever work right?" Victor muttered to himself.

  Christy looped once more above him before landing. "Fine, I'll help you, but if your cat tries to eat me again, I'm giving it one of my boom berries."

  "I don't want your help!" Victor yelled back. "I can't do it anyway. What's the point? I'll just die out here like my father."

  "You're wrong. He's still alive, and so is mine," Christy said proudly.

  "How do you know?" Victor cried.

  "Because they're strong and stupid-smart," Christy continued, her voice firm. "Now put your big boy pants on and train so we can find them faster, or I will leave you out here by yourself and let the wolves eat you."

  "Fine," Victor grumbled, setting Mr. Fluffy on the rock beside him before he began to cast a spell.

  Some time later, Hunter and Riley sat hidden in a tree, waiting for something to come by. Riley, bored, jumped down to stretch his legs and jokingly danced near their trap that they dug up and set small branches and leaves above to hide their spiked pit.

  "I wouldn't if I were you," Hunter said quietly.

  "Come on, like this!" Riley taunted, putting his foot dangerously close to the trap and nearly setting it off. What Riley didn't know was that a jaguar was hiding in the bushes nearby. Before Hunter could say anything, the jaguar pounced, aiming for Riley. Hunter threw his magic returning disc, similar to a metallic version of a disc golf disc, but missed with the first throw.

  Riley was running frantically, eyes wide with fear and determination, the jaguar hot on his heels. He dodged back and forth, claws at his heels, until Hunter yelled, "The trap! Get to the trap!"

  Riley turned and booked it towards the trap, leaping over the pit they'd created with the jaguar lunging right behind him. Hunter threw his disc one more time but missed again. But Riley had a trick up his sleeve. In mid-air, he twisted with his sword in hand and slashed backward hard enough to knock the jaguar off course into the pit. He landed on the edge of the pit, his eyes opened wide, fear filled his eyes as he saw the jaguar down in the pit pierced and trying to get free, nearly losing his balance wobbling back and forth swinging his arms wildly before falling back onto his butt beside the pit.

  "That was close," Hunter said, a slight tremor in his voice.

  "Yeah, he almost got me!" Riley exclaimed, his eyes gleaming with excitement before standing up. "Let's do it again!"

  "You really like the rush, don't you?" Hunter asked, a grin spreading across his face.

  With a huge smile, Riley nodded enthusiastically.

  "Ha ha, I do too," Hunter confessed. He jumped down from his branch, walked over to the pit, and added, "Okay, let's find more after we put this one down."

  The forest was now ablaze as a young teenage girl and a young boy tested out their magic.

  "Now try to contain the fire!" Christy said frantically.

  "Ehhhhh, I'm trying, but it's too strong!" Victor protested.

  Christy grabbed his hand. "You're not alone. I'll help you by channeling mana through you; maybe it will help soothe your mind."

  "Wait, what?" Victor asked in confusion.

  "Just do it," Christy insisted.

  "Okay," Victor relented.

  Seconds later, Victor closed his eyes, and Christy watched as the fire began to pull itself together until a gigantic ball of fire formed in front of them.

  “See, good job.” as she punches him in the shoulder and walks away.

  He pulled the fire into his hand and dispersed it, then turned to catch up to Christy, rubbing his shoulder. "Wait, are we done already?"

  "It's lunchtime, and I'm hungry. Time to go back." Christy said plainly.

  "Okay," Victor replied.

  Not far from there, deep inside a cave hidden behind some large bushes, two middle-aged women worked around a fire. They were skinning and cooking meat, with a few vegetables wrapped in leaves lying in the coals.

  "The kids should be back soon; will the food be ready?" Cat asked, looking at a map of the surrounding area etched into the cave floor.

  "Yeah, it should be ready. Where should we look next?" Ann asked.

  "Well, seeing as we've checked over here by the edge of the forest where the spider grove lies, we should head through there towards the mountains as soon as the kids are ready." Cat said plainly.

  "Okay, you know I hate spiders, and those aren't small either. Didn't Hunter spot some big ones too, the size of a common motorcycle?" Ann said with a dead-serious look on her face.

  "Yes, he did.” Cat replied. “However, that doesn't change the fact that we need to make it through there. Also, there are a ton of experience points there, and you said we need more levels to get into that dungeon we found near the river."

  "The guys better be that way. I'm tired and need a break," Ann said, her face worn out.

  "Soon, I can feel it. They are closer than we think," Cat said with conviction.

  This time, Scott decided to sneak up behind the Goblin. He moved through the bushes and past a few trees like a beast hunting its prey. Then climbed up a tree to perch on a branch and watched the two patrolling goblins and their Goblin dog. Surprisingly, the dumb dog—or more like the big naked mole rat—didn't catch Scott's scent. That was probably due to the stench these two bozos were giving off; it smelled as if they'd gone swimming in a landfill in the middle of July, usually the hottest month of the year where Scott's from. They reeked so bad it almost made him gag. “The stories were definitely true about the stench; now let's see how smart they are.” Scott thought.

  His teeth started growing, and Scott waited for just the right time to kill the Goblin dog. He jumped down once they walked directly below him, driving one sword into the back of the Goblin dog's head because he believed the dog would give him more of a run for his money than the two goblins. Both goblins simultaneously started to back away, hissing and coughing something that sounded more like gibberish than a language. Sliding to his feet with both blades in hand, one Goblin moved to attack, and the other pulled a horn from its side.

  "Oh no, you don't!" Scott grunted, blocking a swing from the first one. He followed with a front kick to his chest, kicking him back into the one about to blow the horn. They both fell, and the horn flew from his hand, rolling a few feet away. That didn't stop the Goblin, who immediately scrambled and crawled for the horn.

  Slicing the other's neck, and using his mana, Scott pulled out his dagger and launched it at the back of the second goblin's head, stopping him dead in his tracks. “Well it seems like this is going to be easier than I thought.” he mused. Picking up the horn and Scott looked at it for a moment studying it and realized the horn wasn't horribly made before he stashed it in his bag. “Seems like their craft isn't half bad. Then he walked up to the dead goblin with the dagger sticking out of its head and pulled the dagger out and sheathed it. They're not as stupid as he thought, but he believed they were still simple-minded.

  Moving all the bodies away from the wall, two more bodies suddenly dropped with a thud. Scott looked up and saw Rick waving and whispering, "Hey, bud."

  Saluting him with a middle finger and a smile, Scott continued moving the other two lifeless goblins away from the wall, grumbling as he worked, tucking them into some bushes. "Now, to find some more. It's hard to see much down here near the wall." Scott thought, realizing he needed a bird's-eye view from a high tree.

  Spotting the highest tree wasn't as easy as he thought it would be. When you're in a forest surrounded by trees, they all seem to look fairly the same size, besides a few saplings that were sprinkled here and there. Picking one was a bit difficult, but he managed to find a decent one.

  Climbing trees before the system was something Scott hadn't done since he was a kid. It was very difficult for him then. His brother, Lance, could climb anything like a human monkey—the swing set, any tree he could get his hands on, he would climb. But now, with the extra stats, trees are easier to climb. Scott was even enjoying it now since it didn't wear him out. He used to be afraid of heights, and now doesn't fear them anymore. He got to the point of thinking, “Why should he fear death when it's all a part of the life cycle, and living in fear is not living.” Now, Scott tries to live every day without fear.

  From the top of the tree, Scott surveyed the area and found another group, the same makeup as the previous one: two goblins and a Goblin dog. But before he climbed down, he turned to look further down the wall and caught David in bird form diving into the tower and transforming into an Owlbear. Soon after, two goblins made an unintentional dive over the wall and went splat on some rocks below.

  Scott wondered how many they had slain so far.

  **GOBLINS 7/150**

  **Goblin dogs 1/40**

  **Ogre King 0/1**

  **Mystery 0/1**

  **Timer 47H:00M:05S..**

  "Hmm, we still have a lot to go, but it's a start." Scott mused, scanning the distant landscape. "Though I wonder what they're hiding in the cave David spoke of—at least, I think that's where this so-called mystery is."

  Looking back where he'd last seen the patrol, Scott spotted them again. They were moving around the corner, disappearing from his view.

  Climbing down the tree, Scott decided to test his body's limits, jumping when he was about thirty feet from the ground. He wondered if it would lead to a broken leg or, just maybe, a superhero landing. He landed on his foot and knee, one hand bracing the ground, then stood up, checking himself over. “Feet moving—check. Legs and knees are good—check and check. Hand still working from hitting the ground—check. Looks like he was good.” Scott mused.

  Taking off in a dead sprint, Scott moved through the shadows until he neared the patrol's last known location. He stopped and paused, listening for their proximity. Using his enhanced hearing, he caught footsteps from around the corner. He jumped as high as he could, landing on top of the wall, nearly tumbling over to the other side. “Holy Shit! I didn't realize how high I could jump.” Seeing the fort for the first time, he noted tents covering the ground, with one large tent in the center. It looked like the crew had cleared all the towers. Dropping down and clinging to the side of the outside wall, he waited.

  The Goblin dog came into view first, so Scott pulled the horn from his pocket and tossed it a little further away from the wall, hoping they'd focus on that. The dog moved towards the horn until the goblins rounded the corner. Both goblins spotted the horn immediately and walked towards it.

  Everything was going according to plan until the Goblin dog turned and tracked Scott's scent towards the wall. Both goblins began searching the area, and the Goblin dog sniffed around the wall. Scott dropped down, meeting the beast from above. This time, however, it didn't work as he'd planned. The darn dog heard him and stepped back, letting him fall in front of it. Then it pounced. Both of Scott's swords were embedded in the ground, so he rolled backward into the wall to dodge the teeth, while the Goblin dog got wedged between his blades.

  Both goblins turned to see Scott sitting against the wall. The one with the horn went to pull it out, only to find it missing. The guard searched his surroundings frantically and turned around just in time to catch a blade in his throat.

  "Looking for this?" Rick said as he appeared out of the shadows, shoving his blade deeper into the guard's chin.

  Using the distraction, Scott got to his feet and jumped up into the air into a twist to maneuver his body around onto the Goblin dog's back before he grabbed ahold of its skinny waist and bit down into the back its neck. Now, if you've ever tasted a Goblin dog, Scott wouldn't recommend it. The taste of the skin was so bad that he gagged a little, releasing the creature, and it bucked like a bronco, freeing itself from his blades.

  The other guard was killed by Rick's blade in mid-run, as he threw it at the guard's head, embedding it deep into the unfortunate guard's face as he turned around to see Rick once more. Rick grabbed both of his blades from the now lifeless bodies, then disappeared back into the shadows.

  Meanwhile, back on the ranch, Scott was holding on for dear life as they moved all over the place. He could go for some claws about now to take this dang thing out, but he'd go for the next best thing: his dagger. Pulling the blade out while clinging to the Goblin dog was difficult but doable. Imagine trying to hold onto a knife while riding a crazy rollercoaster, with a guy in front of you trying to kill you. Well, that's how it felt as the beast's sharp teeth tried to turn and bite him while repeatedly slamming him into the wall. For a naked looking mole rat this thing could turn its head further than a Dire wolfs.

  The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Scott finally got enough grip with his left hand and pulled out his dagger with his right hand. Everything was going great until he got slammed into the wall again and dropped the dagger. Finally, he wrapped his arm around its neck and put it into a headlock, slowly choking it out.

  The dang dog dropped and rolled, forcing Scott to lose his grip and throwing him off its back onto the ground beside it. As soon as he landed, the dog was on top of him, its teeth nearly inches from his face. So he grabbed its throat with both hands, just keeping it out of reach as the goblin dog struggled to reach him. Looking around, he finally spotted his dagger and let go with one hand to use his mana to pull the blade to him.

  Big mistake, because he lost his grip and cocked his head to the side just in time as the beast's mouth hit the dirt where his head had been. Using his mana, he pulled as hard as he could, and the dagger came flying towards him like he was using the Force to pull a lightsaber. He caught it in mid-air as the beast lifted its head once more to go for the bite, and he lodged the blade into the side of its head.

  Tossing the goblin dog's lifeless body aside, Scott collected his gear and tossed the guards and the Goblin dog into the bushes like the rest, and moved on. Using his enhanced hearing once more, Scott could hear talking on the opposite side. No matter how much he listened, he couldn't understand the language they spoke. So he moved on to find a few more unlikely prey.

  Continuing around the wall, three more goblins fell from the sky, landing at his feet with a thud. Of course, Scott looked up to see Rick again. "Hey buddy," Rick said, waving a middle finger at him. Scott shook his head and dragged all three bodies off into the bushes.

  Listening while walking slowly around the corner, he heard two more, along with the heavy panting of another Goblin dog. "What's the game plan now?" Scott thought. "Eh, I know. I'll rush towards the woods to make my footsteps lead towards the shadows of the forest, break the horn that I'm carrying with me and toss it onto the ground, then turn around and jump back onto the wall because it worked so well last time. This time, it should surely work. I hope."

  Of course, the dog came around the corner first, and this time Scott was ready. He grabbed one of the scrap pieces of leather from his bag, and as soon as the Goblin dog got to the wall to look up, he tossed the scrap behind the beast, making it turn around to line him up for that epic finish. That never happened. “Why does this keep happening to me?”

  Somehow, Scott's shadow getting bigger while dropping from above looked like a swooping predator going in for the kill, which was kinda on point with what he was hoping to do, and it spooked the Goblin dog. It began beelining it for the forest line, running for its life. Both of the guards turned to see their dog running with Scott in pursuit, and that's when they started running. Maybe they thought Scott was some big hairy beast chasing their dog. He didn't know, but it seemed like he ran out of luck today on the surprise front.

  Using his boosting speed, Scott caught up with the dog and took out its legs with his swords, immobilizing it after cutting off its left two legs. The goblins already made it to the forest line and into the bushes. Using his sword, Scott quickly slit its throat before it could yelp and warn the others. Luckily, he used his eyes to follow the guards by their heat signatures until he finally caught up with one of them.

  First, he tripped the Goblin by kicking the back of his leg, and the goblin went tumbling to the ground. Scott jumped on top of him and took his head as fast as he could. The last one disappeared behind a large tree, losing his line of sight. Scott decided this last one he should take it slow and sneak through the forest searching for the last Goblin. He meant, hopefully, it should be behind the tree. After searching for a few minutes looking around the tree, he couldn't find him. Until he looked up and saw the Goblin dropping from above. "Ha ha, not going to happen." Scott stepped to the side and sliced both blades from the top of his right shoulder towards the front of his left knee, cutting him down where he landed.

  "Well, that went well," Scott thought to himself while cleaning his blades. "Let's have a look at the progress."

  **Goblins 35/150**

  **Goblin dogs 6/40**

  **Ogre King 0/1**

  **Mystery 0/1**

  **Timer 46H:45M:30S..**

  They'd made some progress, and taken their time doing it. The Crew kind of had to, otherwise, they would have a full-blown battle on their hands. Being outnumbered twenty-seven to one could be doable with guerrilla tactics, but Scott didn't want to test their luck with an all-out war. Even though blowing the horn had crossed his mind to get this dungeon done faster, having only one life to live really changed his perspective on how to approach these things. "Hey, on second thought, maybe we can get a boost of XP for getting it done faster. I need to keep moving and stop overthinking everything if we want to get this dungeon done in time," Scott mused.

  Sneaking all the way back would be time-consuming, so Scott did the next best thing: tree walking, kind of like that little orange ninja from the Leaf Village. First, he tried walking straight up the side of the trunk, but that didn't quite work. He couldn't just stop at one try, so he attempted a few more times and fell flat on his butt, bruising his pride more than his actual backside.

  Second, he climbed high enough to reach the branches and started jumping from tree to tree. The first try was a disaster since he overcalculated the jump and flew past the intended branch, landing on a smaller one below. A few more tries, and he started to get the hang of it. Scott was still getting used to his added strength, and it might take a while until he finally got the hang of it.

  The tree running earned a definite five-star recommendation from Scott. Even though he'd saved himself a few times along the way from possibly falling to his demise the higher he went, it was like doing parkour in the forest rather than in a city, and he loved it. The breeze in his hair, the constant jumping from branch to branch—it felt like he was a spider monkey being watched on the Discovery Channel. “Wait, are we being watched? Man, I think too much.” Scott mused.

  Once Scott finally found the crew all huddled together near the entrance, he landed next to them with a thump, scaring Peter shitless as he hit the ground running.

  "You're late," David said with a grin.

  "I took the scenic route." Scott grinned with a wry smile, dusting the leaves off his clothes and fur.

  “You do that too often.” Osia snickered. “Maybe next time let's speed things up.”

  “I shall try.” Scott laughed.

  That's when Peter finally turned around and noticed no one else running.

  "Are you okay over there? Or are you going to need a change of clothes after that?" Scott inquired, giving Peter a look of disappointment.

  "Nope, I'm good," Peter said, walking back, a slight blush creeping up his neck.

  "Okay, much like before, I want two groups of two and one group of three," Tomas ordered, taking charge. "Osia, you go with Peter and Rick. Scott and David, you pair up, and I will travel with George."

  "Have any of you been able to create some type of walkie-talkie or communication skill yet?" Scott asked, looking between them.

  "That's in the works. Osia is working on a spell to connect us somehow, or items to be handed out like pendants or something of that sort," Tomas said, his game face on.

  "Okay, cool, because the whole mind-meld thing wouldn't be good since my brain doesn't ever shut up. The constant monologue that goes in my head, not including the conversations and theories I talk about inside there, would drive a normal person mad, let alone a whole group of people." Scott laughed.

  Tomas totally ignored Scott's rambling and continued, "I want Scott and David to work the right side, going from tent to tent, creating chaos. Osias’ group can stay near the door to take out any Goblins trying to escape, while my group will go for the Goblin dog pits."

  They all agreed and got to work. David transformed into a shrike, flew up to the top of the wall, and Scott followed by jumping up and landing next to him in a spidey-esque pose. "Nice," David said as he noticed the pose.

  "How do you want to do this?" Scott asked.

  "Well, first you take me on a date, and then we will see where it goes from there. Also, that pose is awesome looking, but horrible on your knees," David said with his cocky grin.

  "Wait, what?" Scott said, momentarily confused.

  David continued, "Oh, you're talking about how we're going to attack the camp. I say we grab a rope and hook it to a tower. Then I'll run around the camp, collapsing the tents with the rope hooked to my waist. That, in theory, should take out a ton of the goblins while causing chaos."

  "Okay, sounds good. I guess I'll do cleanup on all the surviving mobs," Scott added.

  Scott ran across the wall to the right until he reached the last tower, then jumped down with a superhero landing right in front of David. "I give your landing a seven out of ten," David said in a semi-serious tone.

  "Why only seven?" Scott asked.

  "Yes," David replied with a cocky grin, already transforming into an Owlbear.

  "Dick." Scott replied.

  They tied multiple ropes together, securing one end to the leg of the tower and the other around David's waist. Two Goblins turned the corner, and David took off running, plowing through them and crushing them with his incredible weight.

  Scott jumped up to the top of the guard tower to get a good view of the chaos David was about to create. “Man, I wish I had some popcorn to snack on while I watch all of this chaos unfold.” Scott thought.

  Watching David work his way through the camp was incredibly satisfying. Heads were falling off, and screams of terror filled the air. Everything was going according to plan until Scott spotted a 12-foot Ogre leaving the fighting pit. Then all hell broke loose. Multiple goblins started swarming out of the woodwork as multiple horns were blown. Even some of the goblins from the now-crushed campsites began crawling out of the rubble and moving toward David's position.

  "Oh no, you don't!" That's when Scott got another grand idea. "I know what you're thinking, David, my ideas suck, but this one is a great one, I swear," Scott mused, speaking as if David were right there beside him. "Hmm, What if I pushed the tower over and crushed the goblins trying to get out of the rubble? Kind of like a big fly swatter?"

  Scott got a move on, jumping onto the wall and heading towards the adjacent tower. Each tower stood ten feet higher than the wall, with a three-foot gap separating them. Scott estimated this tower weighed at least a thousand pounds. He suspected goblins had constructed these towers, making him almost certain they weren't sturdy. He wedged himself between the wall and the guard tower, pushing with his legs. Initially, it didn't budge. Looking down near the base, he noticed the rope barely holding the tower together. “Maybe If I could just cut through the rope while pushing, maybe the tower would collapse.” Using his mana, he pulled out his dagger, lifted it into the air, aimed it at the rope near the base, and released it like a slingshot. The blade sliced a large chunk out of the rope and landed just below. “Well, maybe if I move it back and forth, I can get it to break.” He began rocking the tower until the rope finally snapped. Seconds later, Scott landed on the ground almost simultaneously with the crashing tower.

  Screams filled the air as tons of goblins were crushed and trapped beneath the tower. Scott quickly grabbed his dagger and sprinted towards David, who was battling not only the Ogre King but also about fifty goblins, with more on the way. Running up the downed tower, Scott leaped off, landing in the thick of the fight. He smashed two goblins into the ground, embedding his short swords into their skulls as he rode them down.

  "Ha ha, I'd give that a 10/10 on that landing!" David yelled, looking battered. Cuts and stab wounds now covered his owlbear form.

  "Sorry I'm late," Scott replied.

  Scott got to work, moving like a dance around the battlefield with both short swords flailing about. He moved from one goblin to the next, slicing back and forth until he saw a line of them. Using his speed boost, he tried something David used to do in one of his Pathfinder campaigns: rushing forward with his blade outstretched towards them, cutting them all down in one single attack. And by golly, it worked! Ten goblins lay dead behind him.

  He'd gotten too far away from David's position, so he turned back. Scott noticed one goblin charging from behind David, so he leaped into action, jumping through the air to land on the goblin's back, nearly two feet away, biting into its neck and ripping its spine out. That's when everything went red. Scott started to move faster, and bloodlust filled his body as he saw David get pierced in the back with a sword. Running through the battlefield like a bloodthirsty beast, he moved through the army, cutting each and every one down, using every part of his body.

  His swords were knocked out of his hands by the Ogre, and multiple goblins surrounded him like a trapped beast. With a mighty roar, his eyes turned red, his fangs grew longer, fur turned black, claws sprouted from his fingertips, and his body grew larger. He lashed out, jumping up and over the goblins to land behind them, not noticing that he'd taken a goblin's head off during the jump, which was now sitting in his large, clawed hands, covered in blood. He turned and moved through the crowd to get to David, who seemed to disappear in the chaos, clawing and biting his way through. It was almost like a dream. He could see it all happening, but it felt like something else had taken over entirely.

  Continuing through the mobs, only one goblin and an Ogre stood before him, with no David to be seen. Scott let out another roar and raged forward even faster now. The goblin died first, its arms torn off, and as the goblin stood there screaming in pain, Scott kicked as hard as he could into its chest, launching it into the Ogre behind it, knocking the Ogre back a few feet.

  "Ha ha ha," the Ogre laughed, a menacing sound, and grunted some gibberish before swinging a large club back and forth, hitting the ground hard enough to make it shake.

  That’s when David reappeared from above them as an eagle, flying down toward the Ogre. He transformed into an owlbear once again, performing a WWE-style dropkick to the chest, knocking the Ogre to the ground. The Ogre took a moment to get up, and both Scott and David were on the move. But within his rage, Scott couldn't control his body. When he saw what was about to happen, he yelled, and yet his body didn't respond. He went for David.

  David jumped at the last minute, just above the Ogre's club, not seeing Scott going in for the kill behind him. Scott passed underneath and got smashed with the massive great club. Two hands appeared from underneath the Club lifting it off of him. With what he could tell were a few broken ribs, pain filled his chest, but he still couldn't get control of his body. As his body got back up from that massive blow to the chest holding the club with another roar you could see the club fly backwards into the ogre knocking it back a few feet.

  His bloodshot red, beaming eyes were locked onto the Ogre. Running forward toward the Ogre, Scott jumped up onto it, wrapping both arms around the arm holding the massive great club. He began sinking his teeth in, gnawing on the wrist over and over until the hand and club fell to the ground.

  The Ogre didn't just stand there and take the bites. No, it constantly hit and pulled, trying to get Scott loose while swinging its other arm like it was waving at its kid at a soccer tournament. Working his way up the arm to its shoulder, Scott could see the Ogre had fear in its eyes, probably for the first time in its dungeon life. With his claws sunk into the bicep, each step Scott moved a little closer towards its throat. The Ogre continued to hit and even tried to grab him with its opposite hand until he finally ripped Scott off its arm, taking huge chunks of meat from it.

  David watched this all unfold and rushed in to tackle the Ogre to the ground. The Ogre tried to throw Scott off, but Scott's claws caught its other forearm, and he latched on, biting over and over until its right forearm lay limp hanging by threads until it too fell off. Scott did not stop either, He climbed up the arm and with great strength embedded both of his claws into the ogre Chieftains neck.

  The Ogre fell backwards, the very life leaving its eyes until finally hitting the ground with a huge crash. But Scott didn't stop chomping down on the Ogre's flesh. Covered in blood, David stepped back and yelled, "Dude, get ahold of yourself!"

  That's when Scott lifted his head and turned his gaze onto David. Growling and now slowly crawling off the Ogre's lifeless body, he rushed. David transformed back into his somewhat human form and yelled again, "We are brothers! Look into my eyes! Stop what you're doing and get a hold of yourself man!"

  Yelling from the inside of his consciousness, Scott began a battle inside his mind to take back control, and it was a fierce battle until finally the beast stopped in its tracks just out of arms reach. On the outside you could see Scott grabbing his head and words came out with growls until finally he sat down, now covered in blood, his body started to transform back into human form, and he ached from head to toe.

  "Dude, are you back with us or do I need to fight you too?" David asked in a serious tone.

  Scott started laughing until his ribs hurt. With so much pain and broken ribs, he began coughing up blood. Wiping his mouth with a rag to get all the blood off his face, he gasped, “That was a 10/10 superhero landing, wasn't it?”

  "Ha ha, yep," David replied.

  They both pulled out what potions they had left and drank each one until the system gave them warnings. They sat there for a little longer until David pulled out a magic stein and started singing until it was filled to the max. He drank a few big gulps and handed it to Scott.

  "What is it this time? Whiskey or beer?" Scott asked.

  "The good stuff," David replied.

  Scott took a few sips from the stein, feeling the burning sensation go down the back of his throat. "Not bad. But should we be drinking on the battlefield?"

  "Eh," David replied with a shrug.

  After they drank the rest of the whiskey, David used his magic to heal Scott.

  "Hey guys! Looks like you guys had some fun," Rick said, emerging from the shadows and pulling down his hood.

  "Yeah, about that, but something hap—" Scott mumbled, being interrupted.

  David cut in, "I would offer you a drink, but we just finished it. How's the wall?"

  "They got the few that came through. However, Peter and Osia wanted to check in on everyone." Rick said

  "We're good," Scott confirmed.

  "We will meet up with you at the cave," David told Rick.

  "Alright, I'll check in on Tomas and George." At that moment, Rick pulled his hood up and walked back into the shadows.

  "Why didn't you let me tell him about the beast?" Scott asked David.

  "We don't need to tell them until we know what's going on. It could be a one-time thing, and besides, you came back," David replied.

  "Yeah, what if I lose control again and kill one of the crew? I couldn't live with myself if that happened." Scott's voice was heavy with concern.

  David continued, "It won't. I believe we can try and activate it and practice your control. But let's keep it between us until we figure out whether or not you can control it."

  "Alright, for now, we can keep it between us." Scott agreed

  "Let's move and meet up with the others," David said.

  "That should do it," George said, wiping sweat from his brow.

  "Yeah, with these extra undead goblin dogs at our side," Tomas added, petting one of his newfound pets. “We will be unstoppable.”

  George continued, "It was a bit harsh until you were able to raise them."

  A hooded figure walked out of the shadows and removed his hood. "Hey guys, looks like you're finished here too," Rick said.

  "We are done here. Let's move. Gather the others and meet us at the cave. Let's find out what lies hidden in that cave," Tomas replied.

  "Well, we are the first ones here." Scott surveyed the cave entrance.

  "Yep, how about another drink while we wait?" David suggested, already reaching for his stein.

  "Ha ha, let's leave the celebrations for after the dungeon," Scott chuckled, a new lightness in his tone.

  "Yeah, let's leave the celebrations till after we finish this," Tomas said as he walked up with George.

  Osia chimed in, approaching, with Peter and Rick, "Well, looks like the band is back together."

  "Shall we continue? My trigger fingers are itching for some target practice," Peter said, cleaning his guns.

  "Who knows what's in there?" George asked.

  "I'm guessing it's that sweet, sweet loot." Scott grinned.

  "Ohhhhh, just one little teensy-weensy drink before we go in?" David pleaded.

  "After. Let's move," Tomas commanded.

  They all headed inside the cave entrance, noticing a bright white light at the end of the tunnel. That's when the ground started shaking, and the cave entrance collapsed and sealed them in from behind. A voice boomed, "I've been waiting for you, little rats."