Sid POV

  [Skill Crystal Detected—Compatible Skill: Dash (Common)]

  [No slots available]

  Of course it’s Dash, Sid thought as he pocketed the skill. He had overclocked his soul to beat the shaman, and he could not use any skills until he had a good night’s sleep; fortunately, he finished the fight before he started bleeding from his eyes, or the damage might have been permanent.

  He turned to see Rohan picking up the skill from the shaman.

  Sid came up beside Rohan and Aditi, limping. “What did we get?”

  “Minor Heal, an uncommon skill.” Rohan picked up the crystal and passed it to Aditi.

  “That’s probably valuable if it can help with injuries,” said Sid, noting Aditi clutching the crystal tightly. “Aditi should take it. All of us have skills, and she dealt the final blow to the shaman.”

  “Thanks.” Aditi turned her gaze towards the crystal when Sid called out, “Wait.”

  “Absorbing an uncommon skill can be painful, so hold off for now. Let’s find Varun first,” he said, sweeping his gaze across the undergrowth, looking for anything that stood out. “Could you two take me to the snare trap that caught Rohan?”

  Rohan tipped his chin toward the trail and started back the way they had come. “I think it’s that way.”

  They arrived shortly at the tree beside the snare trap. A large log balanced against a V-shaped nook between the branches, and the remaining rope from which Rohan had hung upside down was still visible.

  Sid undid several of the knots and took the rope. “Might be useful later,” he said, meeting Aditi’s questioning look. He walked a few paces away from the tree. “They probably attacked Varun when he was standing here,” he said, and the other two nodded.

  Sid flicked a hand toward the far side, away from their original camp. “He would’ve chased the goblin that way. We should split and cover more ground. Use your spear to probe for traps before each step.” His eyes settled on Aditi, who was looking at him with a questioning gaze.

  Aditi’s brows knit. “Is it safe to split up? What if there are more monsters?”

  “The goblins likely cleared out the nearby monsters for their ambush, and it will take some time for them to return,” replied Sid, his tone calm and confident. “If you still find a monster or something else, just holler and we will come right over.”

  “You seem to cope well with everything,” said Rohan, his shoulders drooping. “We almost died a few minutes ago, Sid.”

  “But we didn’t. I want to find our friend before it is too late; I can process everything else later,” said Sid, turning and retracing their original path.

  Sid recovered the spear he had thrown earlier and moved with measured steps, tapping the ground ahead of each step to check for traps.

  Through the thinning fog he spotted two goblins, bent under a stone they could barely manage, their faces screwed up with effort as they shuffled towards a pit.

  “Get away from him,” he shouted, choosing volume over speed because stumbling into a hidden snare would help no one; the warning was for the goblins and also for his team, who would know exactly where to look. The pair startled at the sight of a human instead of their shaman, abandoned their plan without a fight—turning around and bolting.

  Rohan and Aditi joined Sid soon after, and together they found Varun in the pitfall trap.

  Varun hung partway down, in an ugly compromise between falling and holding. He had jammed the spear across the shaft of the pit and braced his boots into the opposite wall, yet the clay had smeared under his weight, and a spike had pierced his left shoulder and pinned him in place.

  The goblins had been trying to finish the task by throwing that heavy stone at him.

  Sid edged closer, keeping his weight off the crumbly rim. “Varun, are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I am chilling down here with a beer. What does it look like, idiot?” Varun’s breath hitched with pain. “Hurry and get me out of here.”

  Sid lifted a hand toward Rohan. “Hold his legs.”

  Rohan dropped to his stomach, reached down, and clamped both hands around Varun’s shins to stop another slide.

  Sid tracked Varun’s hold on the spear. “Can you shift your grip from the spear to those protrusions? Then we can pull you up.”

  Varun tried, jaw clenched. His shoulder twitched and went slack. “I cannot move my arm. My left hand is almost unresponsive.”

  The pit was about six feet deep with very little footing on the floor, and Sid decided that if their pull failed he would go down and muscle Varun out.

  “Need your backpack,” said Sid, taking Aditi’s pack and knotting two rope lengths to the shoulder slings so the straps could work as a crude harness.

  Sid placed one end of the rope in Aditi’s hands. “Hold this and do not let go.”

  He moved to the edge of the pit, lowered the pack and ran the other line beneath the spear. “When the backpack settles under Varun’s torso, pull until the line goes tight and keep it there while we lift him slowly,” he said to Aditi, walking around the rim to the opposite side of the pit.

  “Now,” said Sid, raising the backpack and Varun with it. “Aditi, pull harder. Rohan, if your grip slips, cast Mana Web on his feet,” he called.

  Varun screamed as they hauled him free, blood gushing from the wound in his shoulder; he could not stand, so they sat him against a tree, and Sid pressed a cloth hard against the wound.

  “Absorb the Minor Heal skill now,” said Sid, looking at Aditi.

  Aditi drew out the crystal, which dissolved into motes of light, and she collapsed to the ground clutching her head.

  Her screams lasted a minute or two before she returned to herself.

  “How do I do this?” asked Aditi, standing before Varun and looking to Sid for guidance.

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  “Remember how Rohan used Mana Web by clearing his mind, bringing up his status, and focusing on the skill name; try that while pressing on the wound,” said Sid, shifting the pressure from his hands to hers.

  “It is not working. I am failing somehow,” said Aditi, opening her eyes.

  “Try touching the wound directly,” said Sid, lifting the cloth that had been soaking the blood.

  Aditi flinched at the sight of the blood and the torn flesh, then she closed her eyes and focused inward.

  Aditi flinched but did not step back, then she shut her eyes and forced the fear down, so she could find the skill; a green light rose under her palms and the bleeding slowed, and her strength went with it until her knees gave, at which point Rohan caught her and held her there without asking permission.

  Aditi opened her eyes slowly and found herself in Rohan’s arms, while Varun sat with his eyes closed, brows relaxed.

  Relief softened Sid’s voice. “Looks like he will be fine. Thanks, Aditi.” He tipped his chin at the stab wound on his leg. “Use the skill again when you can; you still have plenty of work ahead,” he joked.

  Aditi managed a smile, pushed to her feet, crossed to Varun, and sank beside him, spent.

  Sid turned to Rohan with an easy smile. “We keep watch while those two recover.”

  Varun flashed a broad grin. “I did not think you were such a badass, Sid. You alone took out half the goblins.”

  “I just got lucky.” Sid fed a few branches into the campfire.

  Rohan watched the flames lick higher. “How did you not get affected by the leader’s skill? I had never felt so afraid, and the only thing I could do was curl up.”

  “Probably one of my skills. Sixth Sense, maybe. It might have helped me realize the fear was not real.” Sid’s gaze drifted past the firelight.

  “What skills do you have? In fact, read out your entire status page,” said Varun, leaning in and looking Sid in the eyes.

  Sid still had not gotten used to people being so open about their skills; habits built over decades do not break in days.

  Name: Siddharth Krishnan

  Race: Human (Tier 0)

  Traits [1/1]:

  ????—Contract [0/1]

  Strength: 3

  Agility: 3

  Endurance: 3

  Vitality: 2

  Perception: 9

  Intelligence: 10

  Willpower: 8

  Charisma: 2

  Affinities: None

  Skills [3/3]:

  Veil of the Mind’s Eye (Common)—Level 3

  Mist Blend (Common)—Level 3

  Keen Eyes (Common)—Level 2

  Sid read his status aloud almost exactly as it was, except for the name of one skill; he said Sixth Sense instead of Veil of the Mind’s Eye. He had already told Rohan about Keen Eyes and would likely use Mist Blend in front of people in the future, so there was no point in lying about those.

  Veil of the Mind’s Eye was different. The skill crystal had been black, and it was one of the most powerful and versatile skills he had ever heard of, definitely in the Class A category of common-rank skills. He wanted to keep its inner workings to himself for as long as possible.

  “Damn, you already have three skills.” Varun pressed his lips together.

  “Didn’t you kill three goblins? You should have one more skill, right?” Rohan scanned Sid from head to toe.

  “Yeah, I got this Dash skill from the goblin with the eyepatch.” Sid took out a crystal from his pocket, holding it up shoulder high.

  “Do you want to absorb it?” he asked, looking at Varun. “I am curious about what happens when you absorb a skill you already have.”

  Dash was a versatile movement skill, one of the most common in this dungeon, with a wide range of evolutions. If not for Mist Blend, he would have wanted it as his movement option, but now he had a specific skill in mind.

  Sid had saved the crystal thinking he could trade it with Naga, but he did not mind giving it to Varun. He needed a team to take the best rewards from the dungeon before the governments got involved, and he was already planning to recruit Varun; increasing Varun’s strength was the same as increasing the team’s strength.

  If things worked out the way Sid hoped, it would be a strong team: he would serve as scout, Varun as frontliner, Rohan as support and control, and now Aditi could be the healer.

  Varun considered it for a breath, then nodded. “You know what, let’s try it. If it really takes another slot, I can get more when I move up in tiers.”

  He took the crystal from Sid and absorbed it, then flicked his gaze to his status.

  “It leveled up.” A wide smile broke across his face as he tossed his head back. “Now I just need more Dash crystals to raise it to uncommon.”

  Sid angled a look at him. “Share your status.”

  Name: Varun Sharma

  Race: Human (Tier 0)

  Traits [0/1]: None

  Strength: 4

  Agility: 11

  Endurance: 3

  Vitality: 3

  Perception: 2

  Intelligence: 3

  Willpower: 3

  Charisma: 2

  Affinities: None

  Skills [1/3]:

  Dash (Common)—Level 9

  Numbers bloomed on Varun’s panel and he read out his status aloud.

  Sid’s question slipped out before he could cage it. “How are you level nine already?” Sparks from the campfire drifted upward and winked out. It had been only three days.

  Varun laughed. “It is okay, Sid; you have other talents.”

  He really is a monster; no wonder they targeted him before he grew too strong, and I need to rein in his tendency to show off, Sid thought.

  “Now, Rohan,” said Varun.

  “All right, all right,” said Rohan, sharing his stats.

  Name: Rohan Verma

  Race: Human (Tier 1)

  Traits [0/1]: None

  Strength: 3

  Agility: 3

  Endurance: 2

  Vitality: 2

  Perception: 3

  Intelligence: 14

  Willpower: 3

  Charisma: 4

  Affinities: None

  Skills [1/5]:

  Mana Web (Uncommon)—Level 23

  All three of them looked at Aditi and gave her a nod, and she returned only a blank stare.

  Aditi rolled her eyes. “What?”

  Rohan leaned in, curiosity brightening his tone. “Tell us your status.”

  Aditi’s mouth tilted into a smirk. “Nope.”

  Varun’s jaw tightened. “You have a trait or an affinity or something, so why the secrecy?”

  Aditi smiled, enjoying how worked up he was. “A lady is entitled to a few secrets.”

  Varun drew a breath to argue. Sid lifted a hand. “All right then. Keep your secrets.”