"Ugh," Roy groaned, "smells like a wet boot!" he yelled as they stepped from the sector leading to the thirtieth floor boss chamber.
In front of them was a series of damp caverns that opened into unexpected pockets of bioluminescent forest. Water dripped from stone fangs overhead, pooling on root-torn ledges and slicking the ground underfoot. The humid air deadened every echo, making the scuff of their boots sound flat and close. Glowing mushroom caps pulsed with a soft, mobile light, casting shadows that writhed and danced.
"Stay sharp, kids," Takara said, her voice low. "Rava, can you get some light on those high ledges?"
"On it," the mage replied. Soft orbs of light lifted from his palm, drifting up into the high canopy. In the shifting glow, eyeshine flickered. Small, monkey-like creatures clung to the trunks and vines, their hands tipped with short, sharp hooks.
"Lynder, what are these things?" Roy asked.
"Kanaro," the guildmaster said, his eyes tracking their fluid movements. "Vicious ambushers. They'll try to flank. They don't trade blows like true warriors, they harass and retreat."
"Then we don't give them the space," Andri said, planting the butt of her spear.
"I'll force them into the open," Orin added, already moving to position himself near a narrow ravine. "Tall people are good at blocking!"
The Kanaro descended, a chittering wave of hooks and fury. The Trio held their ground. Orin's presence acted as a wall, his footwork forcing the creatures away from the wide-open cavern and into the narrow area he'd chosen. Rava used sharp gusts of wind to herd any stragglers, while Andri's spear became a barrier of jabbing metal, denying any attempts to get around their formation.
One of the creatures used the chaos to drop from the ceiling, aiming directly for Roy. It never landed. Eryndra's hand shot out, her palm connecting with the creature in a flat, dismissive crack. It vanished into fading particles. A small mana gem clattered to the floor.
"Ooh, shiny!" Roy squealed. He bent to inspect it for a moment before awkwardly clearing his throat and straightening up. "Right. Carry on. Presidroids, sweep the area."
They descended deeper, the air growing thick and heavy with each level. By the thirty-fifth, it was like breathing water. They emerged into a swampy basin of black water and gripping mud, the air smelling of old river and iron. A low vibration thrummed through the water, a deep yowl that resonated in their chests.
Orin laughed. "Hey, that tickles."
"What is that?" Andri asked, her knuckles white on her spear.
"A Billabore," Lynder answered, pointing toward a ripple near a wall of reeds. "A thick-furred ambusher. It uses the water to hide its approach. Stays just under the surface…like a coward."
"Boy," Roy chuckled, a low rumble in his chest, "you really don't like the stealthy types, do you?"
"Hmph, no, no," Lynder insisted, a flush creeping up his neck despite his denial. "I just… I have a preference."
"I'll take this one," Andri announced, her voice firm. She waded into the knee-deep basin, planting her spear deep into the mud for a solid anchor.
"Give her some light, Rava," Takara ordered.
"Lutrian taught me this trick," Rava said, launching glowing orbs that sank beneath the surface, illuminating the murky depths and turning the water into a lantern so Andri could read every wake and ripple without surface glare.
The Billabore, a fast moving, furred monster with high-set eyes on a long, wedge-shaped head, rushed her. Its claws raked for the spear shaft, trying to wrench it from her grip. Andri simply rolled the spear in her hands, giving the creature nothing to lever against. On its second pass, she pivoted, letting its momentum carry it past before snapping the heavy shaft of her spear across its gills with a wet smack. On its third rush, she feinted high. As the beast rose, she dropped the point, pinning its jaw to the mud. The maneuver was flawless, giving her just long enough to drive a final, powerful thrust through the seam of its eye.
"Andri, yes! That pivot was textbook," Takara said, clearly impressed as Andri calmly retrieved a set of grungy, dripping armor from the fading corpse before leaving it to sink.
The fortieth-floor boss chamber was a suffocating labyrinth of warm, stale sandstone. Shadows clung to every architectural detail, deepening the sense of unease that settled upon Roy and his companions as they cautiously stepped through the arched doorway.
A scraping sound, like dried bone dragging across rough stone, echoed from the depths of the chamber. From niches carved into the sandstone walls, where they had been lurking in wait, a horde of Shiloko began to shuffle forth. Behind them, a larger, older, and more wicked-looking figure stood, presumably their leader. Their sallow, sickly skin seemed to absorb the faint light, and their joints were grotesquely swollen, giving them an ungainly, lurching gait. Each step they took was accompanied by that disturbing, persistent scraping, a sound that grated on the nerves. Their eyes, beady and black, gleamed with an unsettling intelligence as they converged on the intruders, their twisted forms moving with an unnerving, deliberate malice.
The Trio formed a defensive perimeter. Andri used her spear's length to keep them at bay, stabbing at wrists and elbows to keep their grasping hands away. Orin refused every clinch, instead turning the goblins by their shoulders and hips, using their own clumsy steps to make them stumble and fall.
"Careful," Lynder's voice, though hushed, cut through the oppressive silence, carrying a note of grave warning. "These creatures are Shiloko, a very tricky goblin variant. Their touch is a curse." The words hung in the air.
One of the smaller Shiloko finally broke through from behind, its claws snagging Orin's wrist. His face drained of color. "Ah, could… have menti—"
"Orin!" Andri cried out.
A pebble zipped through the air from the back line, striking the Shiloko like a bullet hitting a watermelon. It exploded. Eryndra stood with two fingers extended, a wisp of dust rising from them.
"Saved you again!" she taunted.
Orin's color returned instantly. He shook his hand. "I felt myself getting shorter by the second!"
"It's a sympathetic contagion," Lynder explained, his tone academic. "The sickness has no life of its own; it exists only as a parasitic bridge to the host. Sever the host, and the bridge collapses."
The giant Shiloko leader, adorned with a beaded collar and ritual scars, chose that moment to strike. It moved with shocking speed, catching Takara off guard. She threw up a series of layered runic barriers just in time. The creature changed targets, lunging for Andri, but Orin intercepted with a clumsy but powerful block that launched it backward. Before it could recover, Rava pinned it to the floor with multiple spires of jagged ice. Andri dove over the struggling creature, her spear finding its mark in a single, decisive thrust.
"They're getting tougher," Takara noted.
Roy shook his head. "Still too easy. Let's drop ten."
The stone in the fiftieth floor boss chamber looked both worked and grown, ancient and clean. The boss was a nightmarish fusion. A skinless horse with a humanoid rider fused to its back, breathing a poisonous miasma and carrying a spear so long it seemed unruly to wield.
"A Klavee," Lynder said, his hand already over his mouth. "The air it exudes is toxic."
"On it!" Rava shouted, creating a moving channel of clean air around them.
Orin charged forward to draw the creature's attention, his greatsword a massive slab of steel held between him and the skinless horse. The Klavee used its absurd reach to its full advantage, sweeping its impossibly long spear in wide, horizontal arcs that forced the Trio into a desperate dance. Orin was the anchor, planting his feet and meeting the attacks, his own blade ringing out with a percussive clang that shook the chamber, but each parry sent a jarring shock up his arms. He couldn't find an opening to land a meaningful blow.
Andri moved on his flanks, her own spear too short to engage the creature directly but vital in preventing it from circling Orin.
Then the Klavee shifted tactics. It drove the tip of its spear deep into the stone floor, the shaft quivering like a planted flag. Freed from its weapon, the fused rider fought with its bare hands while the horse's body became a weapon of its own, lashing out with powerful back kicks. It was a chaotic, unpredictable style. Orin was forced to defend against the rider's fists while dodging hooves that could shatter rock. Rava's mana was draining rapidly just to maintain the breathable air, leaving him little for offense. The Klavee was too strong to break, its miasma too persistent.
"I see it!" Orin finally roared, seeing a slight overextension after a wide kick. He committed everything to a single, massive swing, aiming for the horse's exposed torso. The Klavee met the blow with a sharp kick from its front hooves, the impact knocking the massive creature a dozen feet into the air.
It was the moment Rava had been waiting for. This was his chance.
"Andri! You're up!" He raised his arms, and two shimmering strands of light shot from his palms, attaching to the backs of Andri and Orin. "Administrator to the Three Hats!"
As their stats split and pooled, Orin grunted, his greatsword suddenly feeling like it was ten times heavier, and he dropped it with a clang. Andri, however, felt a surge of his power flood her limbs, a feeling of density and strength that was both exhilarating and terrifying. She shot forward like a bullet, her spear punching clean through the skinless horse in midair. The Klavee landed on its feet, stumbled once before crashing to the ground, motionless.
The link between the three broke as Rava lowered his arms.
"Yes!" Andri shouted, her voice trembling with adrenaline as she leaned on her spear.
The group relaxed, a collective sigh of relief echoing in the now-quiet chamber. The threat was gone. Roy, Eryndra, Lynder and Takara began to turn, ready to head for the stairs. Orin leaned to pick up his greatsword. As he lifted it, he glanced back at Andri, who was celebrating with Rava. As she turned and waved his way, she shyly looked down. At that moment, his blood ran cold.