For a second or two, I couldn’t tell what just happened. One moment, I was ripping through enemies, feeling good, and the next, they just… fell apart.

  I first glanced at Aerion, who came out of Reave. She looked just as perplexed as I did.

  If it wasn’t me, and it wasn’t her… Both our heads turned at the same time to find a bashful looking Richard scratching the back of his head.

  “I might’ve gotten an upgrade or two,” he said, not meeting our eyes.

  I rushed over and grabbed Richard, bringing him back to Aerion’s position. “Alright. Spill the beans.”

  Richard did exactly that over the next minute or two, telling us about his revelation and subsequent upgrade.

  “If only it was that easy for the rest of us,” I muttered. Aerion threw me a withering glare, and I coughed, hastily adding, “I suppose some of us have it harder, though.”

  “Right, well… I dunno if this means I can burst bigger beasties’ hearts, but I ought to be a bit more useful in fights from here on out.”

  “Buddy,” I said, throwing an arm around his shoulder. “You’re gonna be a helluva lot more than just a bit more useful. That was insane! That was on par with my stone barrage! Between the three of us, that’s two ranged abilities. You just doubled our distanced firepower.”

  “Well, when you put it that way…”

  Despite her congratulatory words, Aerion looked a bit downcast, and it wasn’t hard to guess why. I wasn’t worried, though. Her role in the party was easily as important as ours, if not more. Without anyone to pose an existential threat to enemies at close range, Richard and I would have a much harder time being effective. We really did synergize quite well.

  “Well, we’d best get back to the group, lest we give cause to mistrust.”

  “I’m pretty sure Philip and Rogar have a whole mountain of suspicions already,” I said. “Adding one or two more ain’t gonna do too much at this point.”

  We walked back to find our two tagalongs waiting expectantly. If they had any questions for us, they certainly didn’t ask.

  I really appreciated that. The less they probed, the less we’d have to lie.

  “We’re nearly to the cave network leading to the fifth floor,” Aerion announced. “Is everyone ready?”

  She got four nods, and so we set off the same as before. While we’d just annihilated all of our pursuers, I didn’t doubt more would come.

  Given the paltry stat boost I got from these weaklings, I wasn’t especially keen on fighting another horde, and by the looks of distaste on their faces when more started tailing us, I assumed Aerion and Richard felt similarly.

  Luckily, we reached the end of the forest well before that became a problem. Greeting us was another mountain range, running perpendicular to the one we’d just come from, but the differences made themselves apparent well before we got close.

  Even from a distance, I could see the dozens of black pockmarks at the base of the mountains. Some were tiny, and others much bigger.

  Cave entrances. This range held a vast network of caves, and within that was our ticket up to the next floor. I didn’t really understand how that was possible, considering none of the mountain tops actually connected with the roof of the enormous cavern we were in. But I had learned to stop questioning minor details like that a long time back.

  Following Aerion, we rushed headlong into one of the dozens of cave entrances. This was one of the larger ones, but even still, I didn’t have a clue how Aerion knew which one to pick. Without her… Without a doubt, we would’ve been screwed. All the strength in the world was useless when you were lost in a massive cave.

  Aerion charged deeper into the cave. The lighting quickly became nonexistent, forcing us to turn our lanterns on. At least that part was simple. One of the perks of carrying people was they could hold stuff for you.

  Philip held Aerion’s lantern, while Richard held his in front of my chest securing it with both hands. Convenient.

  The surroundings gradually grew more and more familiar, with bioluminescent moss popping up here and there.

  There were surprisingly few turns. A right into a large cavern filled with monsters, which we killed, almost in passing. That was followed by a left at the tunnel at the other end. Then another left, and we found ourselves at a wall.

  “Now what?” Richard said from my back.

  “Uh, you’re sure this is—” I began, but stopped when I saw Aerion’s outstretched finger, pointing up to the ceiling.

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  I looked up. There was no ceiling. This wasn’t a wall. It was the bottom of a colossal chasm.

  A chasm with ledges every ten or fifteen feet.

  “Now,” Aerion said, turning around, “we climb.”

  I looked at the blacksmith and soldier she held in either arm and frowned.

  This… could be a problem.

  It was definitely a problem. Without our cargo, we would’ve managed without issue. As it was, the only good way to carry Philip, Rogar, and Richard, was on our backs. Problem was we had three people, and only two backs.

  That meant one of us had to hang back while the others climbed. The only sensible choice was Richard, considering he was the only one among the three who could actually defend himself if any monsters happened to arrive.

  Rogar hung off Aerion’s back, while I got Philip.

  The going itself wasn’t so bad. Some of the ledges were close enough that we managed to jump between them. For the others, we drove my Initialized darts into the stone wall, hauling ourselves up that way.

  The task would have been impossible without our stats in Dominion. As it was, we managed just fine. Rock climbers around the world would’ve died in envy.

  What was horrible, though, was knowing I’d have to climb all the way back down and do it all over again.

  Like the stairwell from the first to the third floor, this one took a set amount of time, which was why we didn’t bother to rush. In fact, we went at a glacial pace. What was the point in exerting ourselves and risking a fall?

  Two hours later, the wall ended, depositing us at a ledge at the top of the cavern. The ceiling was filled with thousands of stalactites, some of which ended just a few feet on top of our heads. We’d only climbed about a hundred feet or so, but when we looked down, I couldn’t see the bottom.

  And then it was time for me to go back.

  Four hours later, we were all finally at the top. Despite the fact that my muscles didn’t really get sore these days, I felt utterly exhausted.

  The good news, at least, was that we were back on the fifth floor. Home turf, as it were. The floor F - 0 Greg had spawned into this world on. It didn’t hurt that my Grace was now at a whopping 54, up from the paltry 6 it had been when I first arrived here.

  I looked down at Aerion, who sat cross-legged on the ground, meditating.

  “She’s been that way ever since you left,” Philip whispered into my ear. “Didn’t say a word.”

  Aerion’s eyes fluttered open. “I didn’t say a word because it wasn’t needed,” she said, getting up. “I was meditating. It… helps,” she said, flicking me a glance.

  I pulled up her Status Screen, and just barely stopped myself from whistling. Her Cunning, which had been at 10 before, was now at 20.

  Ten points in four hours. Those Soul Seeds were nothing to scoff at.

  “Do you need a moment to rest?” Aerion asked, her expression softening. “You’ve had a hard day. We should be well rested for the floors to come.”

  “I’m good. Thanks, though,” I replied with a warm smile, feeling suddenly better. It was… sweet of her to ask. “I’m sure we’ll find a Sanctuary room before long. Actually, that ought to be our top priority for now.”

  We’d blitzed through the floors so quickly that we hadn’t searched for a single one, yet. According to Aerion, the Sanctuaries on the first floor were a bit out of the way, so we would’ve had to detour.

  At least on the fifth floor, the Sanctuaries were right along our path. This was the highest floor I was comfortable going without filling up our canteens. This time, we’d brought a half dozen of them. Real ones, not the flimsy vine crap Aerion and I had constructed last time.

  I took everyone’s lanterns and put them back in my inventory. Lanterns were like beacons that announced our position. We didn’t need them here. Not with the glowing moss. I’d forgotten just how bright the natural lighting could be.

  We continued in silence for a good ten minutes before coming to a junction. Aerion picked the right tunnel, and we followed. Yet again, we’d have been utterly screwed without her. Just how much had she prepared for her original Trial run? To think she’d done everything, as a broke, normal elf, all on her own…

  It was sometimes easy to forget just how strong a character her petite frame held.

  Aerion guided us through the tunnels, before finally stopping.

  “I could be mistaken, but I believe the next chamber is the home of the Obsidian Troll.”

  My eyes widened a bit. “You mean the troll we took down together?”

  Aerion nodded. “The very same.”

  “What’s this?” Philip asked.

  “Aerion and I encountered this troll before either of us had gained any power.” Not quite a lie—we were powerless at the time. “Huge, lumbering thing. Powerful, though. We just barely managed to beat the thing back then. Ended up dropping stalactites on the monster until it died. Trials being what they are, I’m assuming it’s respawned—er, resurrected. I’m guessing we won’t have much trouble with it now, but Philip and Rogar should hang back, just in case.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Greg,” Rogar said, glaring at me. Or rather, he was glaring in my direction. That was just his concentrating face.

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “Trials determine your reward by how much you contribute to the delve. At this rate… Doubtful either Philip or I will come away with anything.”

  “That’s… a good point,” I said, frowning. I’d nearly forgotten about that rule. “You’re saying you want to fight this thing?”

  Philip cleared his throat. “If you and Aerion managed to defeat it without powers…”

  “We got lucky,” Aerion said. “Quite lucky.”

  I nodded vigorously. “True that.”

  “Then I suppose it’s no different for us,” Rogar said. “We’ve got you two to watch our backs, haven’t we? If that’s not luck, I dunno what is.”

  I exchanged glances with Aerion, letting out a long breath.

  “Well, fuck. Alright, fine. Then let’s come up with a battle plan that doesn’t get you two killed.”