The Worm Pit didn’t do anything to Morgav. He fell in, swiped his hand and sent a ripple through the entire pit, annihilating all the worms that were inside it. They joined his Flesh Moon almost immediately, sliced pieces raining from the ground towards the giant sphere.

  “I’m going to pretend you didn’t do that,” Morgav said, climbing out of the pit. He gathered all the Gold that Flesh Moon squeezed out of the carcasses.

  That made things worse!

  Gareth was halfway into running when Morgav fell into the pit, but he stopped when Arcen didn’t join him. He came back, dragging his feet defeatedly. Their entire escape plan had failed.

  Thinking about it more rationally, it never could’ve worked anyway. The rest of the Nostrum team was downstairs. The Nostrum team was never going to be dealt with tricks like pits on the ground.

  Morgav went through about forty chambers in the twenty second floor before he was satisfied with what he got and bored with what he had to do. He had about two million Aura and Gold covering his right hand to the elbow. He decided that was enough work for the day.

  They reached the twenty third floor before anyone else. Morgav killed a couple creatures and quickly found a comfortable spot. He sat down with his pipe. He smoked for hours, nodding in and out of sleep. Arcen and Gareth sat on the ground without speaking a word. They had nothing to say and talking was dangerous. There was no telling what Morgav could overhear.

  The Nostrum members gathered at the twenty third floor after pillaging through the remaining chambers of twenty second. Karla stumbled in, dirty and exhausted, drenched in blood from head to toe. She’d managed to gather about one and a half million Aura and she had some gold on her palm. Isadora came in with seven hundred thousand something, with a small bit of gold on her fingers. Leyland had little over one million and gold on his forearm. Jackson came with two hundred thousand and a broken leg.

  “Well, fuck it. You’re not coming with us,” Morgav said, glaring at Jackson’s lower leg. “Isa, Restore that shit.”

  Isadora did as she was told and Jackson tested his leg for any pain. Freed from pain, his flushed face relaxed.

  “P-please, I can help! Don’t,” Jackson whined.

  “You’re gonna stay with our hunter friend here. On this floor. He can’t come with us either. He doesn’t have enough Aura,” Morgav said, pushing Jackson towards Gareth.

  “What about the Slimehead?” Karla asked, rubbing her bloodied face with a wet rag. “Jackie can’t handle them both if you’re leaving them here.”

  “Tentie’s coming with us,” Morgav said, looking at Arcen. “He’s got something to show me.”

  Gareth stared at Arcen, a concerned look on his face. Arcen nodded sideways, telling him not to intervene. Gareth had a better chance of escaping if he was going to be left with the whiny Jackson.

  “For the record, I don’t trust him,” Isadora said, leaning back on a boulder, keeping her sharp eyes on Arcen.

  Morgav exhaled purple fumes and smiled. “You don’t need to trust him. You trust me. We leave in two hours. Get ready. Jackie. Go with the hunter guy and gather things to set up camp. You’re gonna wait for us on this floor.”

  “Um, for how long?” Jackson asked in a shaky voice.

  “However long it takes. Is that a problem?” Morgav replied in a raised tone.

  “N-no,” Jackson said, retreating back with Gareth at his side.

  Oh yeah, Gareth can escape from this wimp easily.

  Arcen was relieved after a long day. At least his message would be getting to his family when Gareth inevitably escapes from Jackson.

  Two hours later, Arcen guided them towards the shortcut with directions and scenery that he remembered from his dive sessions. It took about an hour to orient himself based on the familiar surroundings. Norm and the oily girl found the capillary shaft soon after entering the twenty-third floor. At his request, Morgav ordered the Nostrum team to find nearby chambers that had ferns with long leaves. Arcen remembered Venti, Norm’s friend, slashing those with his polearm as he cleared the way towards the shortcut.

  Leyland found it twenty chambers from the entrance.

  “Where to next?” Morgav asked, lazily swiping his hand at the thick vegetation before them, clearing everything out instantly.

  “Give me a second,” Arcen said, touching his forehead, pretending to think hard.

  He hadn’t seen Norm entering the capillary shaft. He caught one glimpse of this fern chamber, and the next glimpse started when they were already inside the shaft.

  “It’s somewhere around here,” Arcen said, looking around. “Have you used these shortcuts before?” He asked Morgav.

  “Nothing that skipped four hundred floors. Maybe ten or twenty at best.”

  “It was this tube, filled with coral polyp things. They called it a capillary shaft.”

  “So you don’t know where this fucking thing is?” Leyland yelled angrily.

  “I don’t have it on a map!” Arcen replied.

  Morgav snapped his fingers at Isadora, bringing her into the conversation.

  “They appear next to the central stalk, or next to the outer walls,” she said, tapping her lower lip. “Which one are we close to from here?” She asked from Karla.

  Karla immediately got on her knees and placed her ear on the rocky floor beneath her feet.

  “The stalk. We’re about two chambers away.”

  “Alright. We check every chamber around this one in the stalk direction.” Morgav said. “There’s only like four or five. We’ll find it.”

  Jackson found the shortcut in the chamber right next to the stalk. It was a well-lit chamber with one glowing wall. Arcen didn’t have time to ask questions about it as Morgav hurried everyone along.

  The shortcut was a hole in the ground that no one would’ve seen if they hadn’t come here looking for it.

  That’s it. This about the size of the hole that I remember.

  “Alright. Who’s going first?” Morgav asked, crouching next to the hole.

  “Not me,” Karla said, backing off.

  “Me neither,” Isadora said, raising her hands.

  “Why don’t we throw the Tentie in it?” Leyland asked, pushing Arcen towards the hole. He almost tripped into it.

  “No. I need him to show me something.” Morgav grabbed Arcen and pulled him off to the side. “Jackson, you found it. You do it.”

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Jackson looked at them eyes wide.

  “But he’s not—” Isadora started.

  Morgav raised his hand. “He can make his own choices,” he said, interrupting her.

  He took a rope from his backpack and tied it around his waist. Leyland held the other end of the rope after tying it around a nearby tree.

  Jackson gave one look at Isadora, sighed and walked towards the hole. He crawled in headfirst. The rope followed as he went deeper into the shaft.

  Did I forget something?

  Arcen wondered as he watched the man disappear into the hole. He was just paranoid about what awaited him in this pipe from hell.

  About halfway through, the rope suddenly tightened, pulling Leyland towards the hole. Jackson was screaming, his sounds muffled by something. Leyland started pulling the rope with everything he had. Morgav kicked Arcen, joining in pulling the rope out faster.

  “The fuck’s happening!” Leyland yelled through gritted teeth. Arcen started pulling the rope behind him as Gareth also joined behind him.

  Suddenly, Jackson went silent, and the rope loosened. All four of them flew off, falling over each other onto the wet ground. Leyland fell face first into the mud. Arcen tripped backwards and hit his head on a rock. Gareth stumbled back, slamming himself against a tree.

  In the aftermath, Morgav held a frayed end of the rope. There was no Jackson anywhere. The rope was drenched in a clear, slimy liquid mixed with blood and a bloodied piece of fabric, leaving a thick trail of red behind it on the lip of the hole.

  “Did you know about this?!” Morgav asked, glaring at Arcen. His face was twisted in anger. Isadora started screaming as Karla held her back from the hole.

  What the fuck happened?!

  “I d-didn’t know!” Arcen howled, trying to get back on his feet.

  The beat down that followed was much worse than the one he got before. He couldn’t even process where he got punched and kicked from. He was tossed around like a piece of meat in a blender.

  Arcen spat blood when Morgav grabbed him by his tentacles and lifted him off the floor. He wasn’t the only one getting beaten. Leyland was punching Gareth for some reason.

  “Stop him!” Arcen yelled. “I didn’t know! I didn’t know!” He cried.

  “No, he tried to get in the way.” Morgav said, letting Gareth’s screams and Leyland’s grunts fade into the background. His red eye danced on Arcen’s face, blinking slowly.

  “You really didn’t know?” Morgav asked softly.

  “I didn’t! I only saw pieces here and there! I told you!”

  Morgav looked at the hole. “Well, It’s nobody’s fault then.” He said, dropping Arcen on the ground.

  “Stop him!” Arcen begged again. Leyland was kicking Gareth’s unconscious body against a tree.

  “No.”

  “Why not!”

  Morgav crouched. “No one will hit you again. They’ll take it all out on your friend. Don’t fuck up again.” He said, frowning at Arcen. He stood and walked back to the hole. Arcen desperately crawled back to Gareth. The man wasn’t moving at all. He was bleeding from his forehead.

  Poor guy got beaten for nothing!

  ╭────────────────────╮

  ︶╯ SKILL ╰︶

  ????

  RESTORE

  ╰─────────╮╭────────╯

  ╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯

  The cut mended itself and the bleeding stopped, but Arcen had no idea if his Restore was powerful enough to fix what could be a skull fracture. There was nothing he could do about it.

  “What do we do!” Karla yelled, trying to hold Isadora back. She was yelling gibberish, screaming at the top of her lungs, hands extended towards the hole.

  “Shut her up!” Morgav said. “I’ll go check.”

  He jumped into the hole without a rope. Leyland stopped kicking Gareth and ran to the hole in a hurry. He’d missed the entire thing and only caught a glimpse of his leader disappearing.

  “Found him.” Morgav’s voice came from the hole.

  Seconds later, Jackson’s head poked out of the hole. Limp and blooded. His head lolled to the side, blood dripping from his lips and nose.

  “Jackson!” Isadora screamed, trying to get to him as Karla held her at the waist. “Let me go!”

  Leyland grabbed Jackson by the shoulders and pulled. Jackson came up, spurting blood everywhere.

  “Jesus Christ!” Leyland screamed as he fell to the floor. There was only half of Jackson remaining. Something had ripped everything below his stomach.

  “NO!” Isadora screamed, completely losing it. Karla dropped her to the ground, pinning her under her weight.

  Morgav came out of the hole, drenched in bloodied slime, pieces of Jackson clinging to his outfit. He wiped his face.

  “What happened to him?!” Karla asked, restraining Isadora with everything she had. The girl was whimpering weakly under her weight.

  “Teeth. There was some sort of worm in there.” Mogav said, shaking the slime off his arms. “I killed it. We can go now.”

  “Please, can you bring him back?” Isadora yelled, face pushed against the ground. Her eyes were blurred with tears.

  “Hmm.” Morgav looked at the ripped half of Jackson. “Again?”

  “Please?! Please!” Isadora begged on her knees. “I’ll pay it all back! I’ll do whatever you want!”

  Karla frowned at Morgav, gesturing at Isadora with her eyes.

  “He already cost me millions. He was never going to make it, stupid girl.” Morgav said, kneeling beside Isadora. “Look at me,” he said, pushing Karla’s knee off her back. He lifted Isadora’s face up.

  “Pleasse!” Isadora yelled, her eyes closed. Morgav forced her to open her eyes.

  “He was never going to make it. He was weak and pathetic. I told you it was never going to work. You didn’t listen to me.”

  “Please!” she cried.

  “What’s so special about his dick, anyway?” Morgav said, dropping her head with a sigh. “Why do you want to keep on fucking these losers, girl!”

  Karla cleared her voice, frowning at Morgav again.

  “What? I’m just saying it as is.” Morgav defended himself.

  “It was my idea! I brought him here! Please! I need him! He’s not-” Isadora yelled, breaking into a cough, her words getting stuck in her throat.

  “You can bring him back.” Karla said, tilting her head meaningfully. Morgav grunted as he stood. He rubbed the back of his head, maintaining eye contact with Karla.

  Arcen hurried back to checking Gareth. The man was still breathing. Leyland had beaten him to a pulp.

  ╭────────────────────╮

  ︶╯ SKILL ╰︶

  ????

  RESTORE

  ╰─────────╮╭────────╯

  ╰︶ACTIVATE ︶╯

  He used it again to fix another bloody patch on Gareth’s shirt. He didn’t have time to take everything off and treat him properly.

  He hated everyone here, and he had no words to explain how much. He wanted to see Leyland as dead as Jackson. He wanted Karla and Isadora to be dead too. He wanted to see Morgav ripped from limb to limb.

  If I fucking had the king!

  He would chew all five of them to fine paste this time. He wouldn’t leave a hair behind to revive them from.

  “Suppose I can bring him back.” Morgav concluded. He picked up Jackson’s corpse like a dead chicken.

  “Why don’t we use the Tentie? We know the shortcut. We don’t need him anymore.” Leyland said, standing off the floor.

  “Not happening. I need him.” Morgav said, dragging Jackson’s corpse by the guts. He tossed it next to Arcen.

  What’s going on?

  Leyland grabbed Arcen and threw him off to the side. “Stay there and fucking watch. You get up, I’ll beat you like I did your friend.”

  “Jackson, round two. I’m gonna be pissed if he dies again.” Morgav muttered under his breath as he knelt. He placed his hand over Jackson’s head, pulling Gareth next to him on the other side.

  “Wait! What are you doing!” Arcen yelled.

  “Bringing Jackson back. This is how it works. I need the brain of the dead one and a fully alive one.” Morgav said, looking over his shoulder at Arcen as if he was supposed to know this all along. “Life for a life. You gotta give one to get one back. That’s the contract.”

  This wasn’t how the Oily girl brought him back. Arcen didn’t know the exact contract she used. But she didn’t have a sacrifice nearby.

  “Three million Aura. Fucking unreal. Always something with these motherfuckers,” Morgav whispered. “I literally don’t see what’s so special about this dumbass. She can definitely fuck someone so much better.”

  He sighed, rubbing his fingers.

  “Stop!” Arcen yelled.

  “This is the last fucking time I’m bringing these fucking teenagers into a tower.”

  “Stop!” Arcen yelled. “Don’t do it—”

  “Don’t you start too.” Morgav said, hissing at Arcen. “I’ve heard enough begging for a day.”

  Arcen tried to stand. He had to stop this somehow. Leyland kicked him squarely on the chest, knocking all the air out of him.

  I’ll kill him!

  ╭ ╰︶?? ERITHERIA ?? ︶╯ ╮

  ╭────────────────────╮

  ︶╯ ATTRIBUTE INCREASED ╰︶

  ????

  HATE + 1

  [10]

  DESPAIR +1

  [12]

  ╰─────────╮╭────────╯

  ╭────────────────────╮

  ︶╯ SKILL ACCQUIRED ╰︶

  ????

  ATTRIBUTE [HATE] REACHED

  THE FIRST THRESHOLD OF [10]

  ??

  ENRAGE [1]

  ╰─────────╮╭────────╯

  “No! please!” Arcen screamed as Morgav’s hands started glowing blue.

  He started firing Detonate after Detonate at Morgav. They hit him like tennis balls, only tattering his slime drenched clothes. Leyland hopped on him and pushed his head down with his knee, forcing his eyes away from Morgav. Arcen tried everything to save Gareth. None of it worked. He was more than helpless against these people.

  Thin trails of white vapor gathered around both Jackson and Gareth. Morgav crossed his arms. Gareth shuddered like he was being electrocuted. His face changed as Arcen watched, shrinking in size and growing fur from within. He transformed into Jackson.

  Jackson’s corpse transformed into Gareth, already dead and lifeless.

  “No! you killed him!” Arcen screamed as Leyland pushed his face deeper into the mud.