“Did someone say exit?” Tabby yelled from the back of the group. “Because I’m way over these freaking spiders.”

  “Yeah, I think we’re close,” I hollered back. “We need to reach the cavern wall.”

  “What are we waiting for?”

  “The human has a point. There’s no need to wait around,” Latro said. He looked directly at Ersabet and winked. “Race you there.”

  Latro sprinted away, and most of the other Dalari chased after.

  “Come on!” Fela said.

  We all bolted after Latro, but he was a Dalari, and although I was enhanced, I was still human, so I had little hope of catching up. More importantly, I wasn’t about to abandon my friends, and neither was Ersabet, who matched her pace to mine. Fela ran ahead of us, apparently unsure if she wanted to race to the front or hang back with the dregs.

  Coming in last in a race wouldn’t have been a problem in most circumstances, but the world was fucked, and we were in a spider-infested dungeon. Sensing our flight, they were coming out of their hidey-holes in droves. The further we went, the more spiders we agitated, until hundreds were in pursuit, closing in on all sides.

  This was Latro’s intention. He knew we’d fall behind and be easy pickings for the spiders, and he knew Ersabet would stay behind with us. If he wanted to take her out, this was one way to do it.

  What he didn’t count on was Fela.

  She fell back and ran alongside me, at the back of the pack where we were most likely to be attacked. Ersabet led the way with Delen, Kitz, and Tabby behind her.

  Trouble came quickly when at least ten spiders closed in on us from the side, but Fela did her sword-in-the-ground trick and blades shot from the earth, impaling half of them. I nailed two with my regular daggers. Previous daggers I had thrown were retrieved, but these daggers were now lost forever.

  A horde of spiders closed in from behind us, and no matter how fast we pushed, the mass of fangs and legs would be on us before we reached the exit.

  “We have to slow them down somehow!” I said to Fela. “Do you have any bombs?”

  “Bombs?” she asked, incredulous. “Seriously? Anyone running around with bombs in their inventory is a total anarchist and probably compensating for something.”

  “Do you have a way to slow these spiders down?” I asked, frantic.

  “Oh, sure.” Her eyes sparkled with laughter. She turned around and planted her feet, facing the oncoming horde of spiders. She clapped her hands together, and a shockwave blasted through the spiders for twenty yards before dissipating. Any spiders in the path of her attack were launched through the air only to crash down onto other spiders, which caused more spiders to crash into them in a cascading effect.

  “Can you do it again?” I asked.

  “It takes a lot out of me,” she said. “My body needs time to recover first.”

  I wondered how long her cooldown timer was for that ability because it was awesome.

  Fela’s shockwave attack had bought us some space, but it was going to be tight. The Dalari were far ahead of us now. They’d be at the exit in less than a minute. I didn’t know how these exits worked, but I assumed once one walked through, they were sort of teleported to the next floor. If that were the case, it would leave all the spiders chasing the Dalari with nothing else to chase.

  Except for us.

  “Hurry!” I shouted, grabbing Kitz by the hand. He and Tabby were fast, but not fast enough for what we needed. I pulled Kitz along, and Delen did his best to help Tabby keep pace. Ersabet and Fela were doing everything they could to keep the spiders at bay.

  Ersabet had two different whirlwinds blowing through the oncoming spiders. It spun them around a bit but did no damage. When the spiders started closing in behind us again, Ersabet cast her quicksand spell, and a substantial amount of the ground behind us turned to quicksand, and the spiders sunk quicky under the earth. Historically, Ersabet had used this spell to trap people. She would stop channeling the spell, and the ground would return to normal, trapping some unfortunate soul halfway underground. This time, she didn’t deactivate it. Her arms remained levelled, her palms held upwards, and I could see her straining to maintain focus.

  She held it for five more seconds before cutting it off. That single spell must have killed a hundred spiders, and surely bumped up our odds of survival quite a bit.

  “I didn’t know you could turn such a large area into quicksand,” I said, struggling to breathe and talk at the same time.

  “I’ve upgraded the ability twice,” she said quietly, so only I would hear. “Now, I can make it cover a large area, but channeling the spell uses up most of my energy.”

  “Well, I’d say it’s a good investment because it may have just saved our lives. When can you cast it again?”

  “I can cast it now, but I fear it would push me past my limit. Perhaps in a few minutes.”

  “A few minutes is all we have. We’re getting close.” Just as I said, Latro and the other Dalari reached the exit. Spiders were swarming them, but they fought them off and disappeared into the darkness underneath the red light

  “This is about to get bad,” I said. “All those spiders are going to be coming for us.”

  “I can’t channel yet,” Ersabet said.

  “I’ll be able to send out another shockwave soon,” Fela said.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “We need something now,” I said. Realizing their prey had vanished, the spiders were now turning their attention to us. They’d be on us in seconds. “We have to clear a path and get to that exit before we’re eaten alive!”

  “We can fight our way through,” Fela said, but her face didn’t mask her bold words. There were just too many spiders.

  We needed a miracle, but sadly, we were stuck with me. “Stay ten feet behind me. I’ll clear the path.”

  I activated Enshrouded. As the shadow enveloped me, I took note of Fela’s shocked expression. I wasn’t sure how much the shroud would obscure my presence among the spiders, but at least they wouldn’t be able to see me in the visible light spectrum.

  I cast Simple Distraction and aimed it behind some of the oncoming spiders. Surprisingly, it worked, causing the spiders in that area to temporarily freak out. They started skittering in all directions, looking confused.

  Next, I activated Silent but Deadly.

  Finally, I activated Speed Check and went to work. I sprinted forward, a silent ghost, into the oncoming mass of spiders. I hit them after only a second of running, and began to spin like a dervish, using my razor-sharp blade to sever limbs with ease.

  I wasn’t completely invisible to the spiders, and they eventually noticed me, but never soon enough. I reactivated Silent but Deadly, exhausting its charges for the day, and continued my murderous, shrouded sprint, muffled once again.

  I think my silent steps made the most difference because the next few spiders I killed were clueless to my presence.

  Speed Check ran out, but I still had time left on Enshrouded and continued to cleave my way through. I cut one spider down, and the one behind it leapt over its fallen friend. It seemed surprised when it collided with me. The spider reacted instantly and latched on tight with its legs. Its fangs glistened before shooting directly at my face. I raised my arm to block the bite, and the spider bit into my Duelist Bracers, which Tabby had upgraded for me. The daggers, sheathed on the outside of my bracers, also served as protection against the bite, and the spider’s fangs couldn’t pierce through.

  There was a thunderous roar from behind me, and I was launched off my feet by a tremendous shockwave. The spider became dislodged as I tumbled through the air. I started to wonder when I’d hit the ground, just as I landed hard on my back, the momentum sending me rolling a few times.

  It took a moment for my senses to return, but my ears finally stopped ringing, my mind cleared, and I realized what had happened. I had been blasted by Fela’s shockwave attack. Although it had been a hard hit, the attack saved me from the spider, who didn’t handle the blast of the shockwave nearly as well as my fleshy skin did.

  I was still on the ground, trying to reorient myself, when Fela grabbed me by the shoulder and ripped me to my feet.

  “The path is clear, but only for a few moments. Run!” Fela screamed.

  She held on to me as I stumbled, still discombobulated by her shockwave. Ersabet had simply picked up Kitz and was sprinting ahead to the exit. Tabby and Delen were right behind them, and it looked like they would make it before the spiders could get them.

  Fela pushed us hard, practically dragging me to the exit. She had us sprinting as fast as we could, and we were gaining on Tabby and Delen. Control of my body returned as we ran, and I was no longer dazed and confused.

  The entry to the stairs had been carved into the wall of the cavern, and Ersabet tossed Kitz down the stairs to safety. Ersabet herself did not go through the exit. Instead, she drew a circle in the air, and it activated, turning purple along the edges and leaving a black mirror at the center. Was this the same spell she had used to open a hole through the walls of Danver? She sprinted to us, taking out a long-legged spider along the way.

  I had to free myself from Fela to defend against one of the white spiders. It was an easy kill, but more were starting to backfill the space that Fela’s shockwave had created. We raced to catch up to Tabby and Delen and assist in their defense.

  Right when we caught up, Ersabet stopped only a few yards ahead of us and began to draw out another circle. I didn’t fully understand what she was doing, but she needed to do it soon, as the spiders were returning in full force. I could fend off three or four at once, but anything beyond that was too much for me. We were in serious trouble.

  “It’s active!” Ersabet shouted. “Go through now!”

  I didn’t hesitate, pushing Tabby through Ersabet’s portal, and Delen followed quickly with me right behind him.

  I felt nothing at all as I emerged from the connecting portal Ersabet had set up next to the exit.

  That was one hell of an upgrade to her normal hole-in-the-wall spell, if that is in fact what she had just used.

  “Down the stairs,” I shouted. “Now!”

  We all bolted down the dark stone steps at the edge of the massive, gloomy cavern. I felt a familiar tension in the air when I passed through the blackness, but a few steps later, the darkness cleared, revealing a clean, beautifully built sandstone room. It was circular and wide open except for a twenty-yard-wide pillar that rose from the base of the room to the top. There was a door in this central pillar, and many more lined the walls of the room.

  The room surprised me, but not nearly so much as the countless players mingling within it.

  Val, where am I?

  “I believe you are in a safe room. In most game iterations, the dungeons include a safe room between floors. This provides players with the opportunity to trade goods, change their party, rest, or leave the dungeon if they so desire.”

  So, no PvP here, right?

  “Leave the staircase, Ethan.”

  I took a step off the staircase and landed on the room’s stone floor.

  A notification automatically appeared in my HUD.

  You’ve entered a safe room! No mobs can enter this building, and no player-versus-player combat is permitted. You may stay in this safe room for 48 hours. After 48 hours, you will be deposited on the Second Floor.

  Got it. Thanks.

  “Be cautious in here, Ethan. Keep a low profile. Do not draw attention to yourself. If someone were to inspect you, well, you know what would happen.”

  I’ll be good. Promise.

  A woman cleared her throat behind me. Ersabet and Fela were behind me. They had made it through.

  “Excuse me,” I said, stepping to the side and gesturing that they should pass by. “I think I owe you both my life.”

  Fela started to speak, but Ersabet interrupted her. “Don’t even think about it, Fela. This one’s life is mine alone.”

  I shrugged. “You can share a little. Fela did save my life back there. Thank you, by the way.”

  “You are most welcome, Mr. Musgrave,” Fela said.

  Ersabet punched her arm. “Do not flirt with him. In fact, you should not even speak with him.”

  “Well, now I really am going to flirt with him just to spite you.”

  I held up my hands to cool things down. “We can put a stop to this one before it gets weird. I’m married.”

  “I don’t see a ring,” Fela said.

  “The ring is not the soul of my marriage,” I said. “It’s the vows I took, and the vows that she took in return, but most of all, it's our love. I already have what I want. That being said, in another life, I’d be down.” I winked at her, causing her to blush.

  I laughed, but it died out quickly when I remembered where I was. “Ersabet, it’s kind of busy in here, and you know how Kitz gets when he’s around so many people in close quarters. What say we make haste down to the second floor?”

  Ersabet caught on to my meaning right away. “I believe it is of utmost importance that we take care of our dear Kitz. Fela, shall we gather everyone at the entrance to the second floor?”

  “If I can find them,” she said, looking out over the crowded room.

  “We’ll find a private room to wait in until you’re ready.” Ersabet pointed out a nearby door for Fela.

  We walked over to the door, trying to look inconspicuous, but I noticed more than a few players watching us. I let out a sigh of relief when we made it into the room. It was small but big enough to fit our group, and it was furnished with wooden furniture and a sizable table.

  I found a spot and plopped into it. Everyone followed my lead, and we sat there, quiet, wondering what we’d have to face next.