I checked my experience bar. After that fight, I was halfway to level sixteen. The Dalari were stealing most of the kills, greatly stunting my experience gain, but those warriors would have wiped the floor with us if not for our new, blue companions. The boosted XP I received inside the dungeon mostly made up for my lack of kills.

  Ersabet looted some of the bodies on my behalf, storing items and weapons in her quantum inventory that she could share with me later. A couple of the warriors carried light spears, and she made Delen take one instead of the cheap sword I had lent him. It was a practical gift. The extra reach of the spear would serve him better in the trials ahead. The gesture showed me that Ersabet did care for him and was doing her best to keep him alive through this.

  Fela and her team led the way, choosing to traverse the hallway the warriors had come from. The hall was ridiculously long and incredibly spacious. Every so often, we would pass a large stone door or see a statue with gemstone eyes along the wall, but thankfully, none of them came to life and attacked us.

  I was sure each door offered some uniquely terrible experience, so I was glad we were ignoring them. Mercella meant what she said about speedrunning this floor. It helped that the Dalari had completed iterations of it before. Even if their previous runs had different enemies or an alternate layout, I assumed the base design remained largely the same.

  They paused when we came upon a section of the hallway that had been destroyed. The wall on the right side had a hole in it big enough to drive a truck through.

  I had been hanging back with my fellow NPCs on this floor, so I couldn’t hear their discussion, but I was more than happy to let the Dalari carry us through the rest of this dungeon.

  There seemed to be some consensus among them, and they led us through the hole and into an enormous bedroom. The bed itself was twice the size of a king bed, and a silken canopy draped from the tall bedposts.

  We didn’t stay in this room long, going through another door, this one wooden, which led us into a smaller hallway. Further down the hall, a spiral staircase led to a floor above, and, from the looks of it, to the floor below as well.

  “Be on your guard,” Fela yelled back to us. “Danger is near.”

  I checked my map, but didn’t see anything concerning ahead, but my Monster Hunter ability only allowed me to track enemies that fell under the, in my mind, undefinable category of ‘monsters.’ Perhaps, Fela had tracking abilities of her own.

  She was right, regardless. Danger was in fact near, as I heard an ear-piercing wail from down the hallway, and we were all struck by a powerful wind. I stepped back to stop myself from falling over and was hit by a million tiny needles. I closed my eyes and shielded my face from an intense and isolated sandstorm.

  Someone ahead of me cried out in pain. It was difficult to hear anything against the wind, but I could make out the faint sound of metal upon metal.

  Time appeared to freeze as the sand abruptly froze in the now-still air. Then, the sand fell to the ground, covering the previously pristine floor like a grainy carpet.

  “What the hell was that?” Tabby asked. Dirty tear streaks dripping from the corners of her eyes.

  “A powerful enemy,” Latro said, picking up a gleaming shield before it vanished into his inventory. “Sand elemental. A very dangerous conjuration.”

  He bent down again to pick up a curved sword resting on a large pile of sand, and I noticed his arm was bloody. It must have been him who cried out, and I’m sure he was also responsible for turning that elemental into a big pile of sand.

  Latro tossed the sword back into the sand pile. He must have inspected it and found it not to his liking.

  Damine snatched it up for himself and pocketed it away in his inventory. It irked me that I was missing out on so much loot. I’d never really had many opportunities to find new gear in this game, and dungeons were ripe with loot, but the tradeoff of having a team carry us through it was well worth sacrificing some loot. Plus, Ersabet could loot freely without concern, so it wasn’t a total wash.

  “Down we go,” Fela said, following Latro down the spiral staircase.

  It was wide enough for two, but we were a large group, so I had to wait my turn. I went last, with Tabby next to me.

  Sounds of fighting broke out from below us, and we picked up our pace down the spiraling stairs. Flashes of green light reflected off the polished stone walls as Latro went to work on more black-clad warriors with his energy spear.

  By the time we reached the bottom, all the warriors were dead. There were only six, but I wouldn’t have minded the opportunity to gain a little more experience. They could at least have waited for Ersabet, so I could receive some shared experience.

  I would never have thought the palace would have an underground level, but it was just as grand as the floor above and just as dangerous.

  We stepped past the bodies and continued our journey through the under palace, seemingly heading for a door at the end. It didn’t take long to reach it, and the Fela strolled over to us before going any further.

  “We expect there to be trouble behind this door,” she said. “I cannot predict what kind, so prepare yourself for anything.”

  “We’re ready.” There wasn’t much else to say. My nerves had been rising the further we had progressed through the palace. The presence of so many other skilled players was a huge relief, but in the back of my head, I couldn't stop thinking about how any of us could die any minute. No matter how powerful our party was, this was still a life-or-death situation.

  Fela shared a sweet smile and said, “Good luck,” before returning to the front of the group near Ersabet.

  Someone opened the door, and everyone spilled through as fast as they could. I heard the crack of Ersabet’s lightning bolt only seconds after she passed through the door. A moment later, I recognized the sound of Fela’s shockwave.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  Shit was going down. “None of you has to do this fight,” I said. “You can stay in the hall if you want.”

  I didn’t wait for a reply and followed Yurian through the tall doorway and emerged onto a stone landing with long staircases curving downward from each end. Past the landing was empty air, but the stairways led down into a huge room with long shelves packed with books. It was a library, and paper was already flying through the air from the battle below. More of those full-plated black knights battled the players. I saw Ersabet using a dagger to strike at the joints of one, where she might strike flesh. She darted in and out, dancing around her slower opponent.

  Scanning the library, I saw more knights jogging down the rows of shelves to join the fray. Their heavy armor slowed them, but they didn’t have much further to go.

  “Tabby, Kitz. Stay here,” I said. “Delen, protect them. If the fight pushes deeper into the library, come down the stairs and stay in range.”

  I ran down the stairs, taking them four at a time. When I hit the ground floor, I drew my sword and rushed towards the knight fighting Ersabet. I slammed the razor-sharp edge of my sword into the knight’s hip. The blade sliced through the heavy armor and managed to sink a few inches deep into flesh.

  When I attempted to pull my sword out, it got caught up on the armor just as the knight twisted to position his halberd for an attack. I wasn’t ready for the movement, and it yanked the sword out of my hands.

  The knight reared back, intending to strike me with the butt end of his halberd, which was affixed with a spiky point, but I dropped to the ground, dodging the blow. I scrambled on the slick, polished floor, managed to get my hand back on the hilt of my sword, and used it as leverage to pull myself back to my feet.

  This time, I put all my weight into it and yanked the sword out. I stumbled back when the blade slipped free of the armor and saw the knight’s halberd rotating my way. With all my strength, I swung my sword downward, slicing the shaft of the halberd in half before it could connect with me. The deadly metal head of the halberd spun through the air, and the other side of the severed shaft caught me in the side, but my jerkin protected me from any harm.

  While the knight was disoriented from the loss of his weapon, I activated Devastating Strike and decapitated him in a single blow. He wouldn’t be getting back up.

  “More come,” Ersabet said. “In a couple of minutes, I’ll be able to channel lightning again. Your sword is our best weapon against them until then.”

  The knights moved surprisingly quickly for being weighed down in so much armor. The nearest one to me was about ten yards out, and I set my stance, preparing to take him on. One of Tabby’s bolts slammed into the top of his helm, embedding itself a few centimeters into the metal, but not deep enough to injure the flesh underneath.

  Tabby’s crossbow bolt offered a brief distraction, so I rushed at him and swung my sword low, attempting to sever a leg at a joint. My blade cut through the weak spot, and I felt it hit bone but stopped short of severing the leg. Instead of wrenching my sword out, I took a step back and slid out the length of my blade, so it didn’t get snagged on the armor.

  The knight tried to press me, but his leg crumpled when he took a step, and I drove my sword tip downward into his chest. I put all my weight behind the kill, and the tip of the blade pierced his armor without much difficulty, even less for his flesh.

  Two knights were down, and from what I could see, there were two more to go.

  Battles raged through the stack as the Dalari spread out, most engaging in single combat against the black knights. My view was blocked by shelves of books, but I could hear the destruction as some were knocked down or cleaved through, becoming unfortunate casualties in the melee.

  I stopped thinking about others and focused on the fight before me. Ersabet stayed close as I walked forward to meet the next knight, this one carrying a decorated straight sword. Gems lined the center of the blade, and I felt an overwhelming desire to claim that sword as my own.

  Before I could make my move, the knight lunged forward unexpectedly and extended the tip of his sword, attempting to impale me before the fight could even begin. I was so caught off guard that I tripped over my own feet as I tried to backpedal. I fell on my ass, but it probably saved my life, as the glittering blade slid through the space my chest had previously been occupying.

  The world seemed to calm around me as I watched the blade retract above me. The knight was repositioning for another attack. From the way he twisted his body, I could tell he was bringing the sword around and then above for a downward attack, which made sense, as I was lying on the ground. My instinctual evaluation of my opponent’s next move let me know that Close Combat Specialist had activated.

  Instead of retreating further, I rolled once to get closer to the knight before the blade could land. I heard it slam into the floor behind me just as I conjured one of my Shadow Blades, which I immediately slammed into my opponent’s armored foot. It pierced the armor as if it wasn’t even there. The knight grunted as the ethereal blade cut through his foot like a driven nail.

  I let go of the dagger and launch myself upward, planting my armored shoulder into the knight’s midsection. It knocked him back, and he had to move his injured foot to catch himself. When he did, he nearly toppled, and that’s right when my sword cleaved through his helm and embedded itself about three inches deep into his skull. I pulled my sword back out before he collapsed to the floor, dead, but still in the game. I popped open his visor, plucked out his gemstone eyes, and pocketed them. Then, I snatched up his pretty sword and looked around to see if any of the Dalari could see me, but I was safely blocked by bookshelves, so I sent it to my inventory, along with the gems in my pocket.

  Not wanting to waste Close Combat Specialist, I sprinted to the next knight about twenty yards down the aisle. My heightened combat awareness effect was still active when the knight decided to meet me halfway. In my heightened state, it looked like he was moving in slow motion or attempting to fight underwater. His sword was held outwards in his right hand, indicating the attack would come at my side, but I had a gut feeling it would be a feint. It was the angle of the sword that gave it away. The tip seemed to be dipping a few degrees downward, preparing for an upward slice.

  I became overwhelmed with confidence in my response to his predictable attack, and a manic smile spread across my face.

  We were closing in fast, soon to collide. The knight feinted with his wrist, trying to throw me off, but the tip of the sword maintained its angle. He swung his arm back and lowered it at the last second, swinging his sword in a downward arc, aiming to slice me from the belly up.

  I could feel the rhythm of combat flowing through me. My steps were perfectly timed to put me ahead of his attack, and I stomped hard on his blade just before it could rise upward. My boot slammed the tip into the ground, and I drove the tip of my own sword through the gorget that protected his neck. I wiggled it around a little before pulling it back out, and a stream of blood followed it. The knight fell to a knee, and before he collapsed, I opened his visor and ripped out his eyes.

  This time, they were emeralds.

  A bookshelf ahead of me exploded in a mess of wood and paper, and the biggest knight I’d seen so far came barreling through. With heavy steps, he moved to face us. He hefted a ridiculously large mace with one hand and rested it on his shoulder.

  This one wasn’t going to be easy. I grew anxious, sensing that Close Combat Specialist had deactivated. That mace could kill me in a single blow, so I had to either be really careful or really fast. As I was considering the pros and cons of using Speed Check to rush him, a thunderous crack sounded from behind me, and my vision flashed blue as a bolt of lightning passed by me and blasted the armored knight. He seized inside his electrified armor. This lasted a good five seconds, and then, he just stood there, unmoving, for a long, drawn-out moment before slowly tilting backwards and smashing into the ground.

  “Hey, you stole my kill,” I said to Ersabet.

  “You’re welcome,” she replied. “I believe that is the last of them.”

  “He’s not dead yet,” I said, popping his visor and plucking out his eyes.

  These were diamonds.