"Okay, we can cast, and take out the closest ones. Keep me in the lead, and when I say retreat, cast flames again. That will take out more when the numbers get too much for us to handle." He said and stood shoulder to shoulder, though he was shorter by nearly a foot.

Three. Two. One.

"FLAMES! GUST!" The double casts in this large room had an unexpected effect on the flames. More of the heat was dispersed into the surrounding area, and though it did damage, it didn't do near as much as before.

"Crap. Alright, focus!" Severely burned kobolds rushed forward but were crushed by a hammer, or dispatched by a blade. They didn't need to retreat either. They were near the door of the stairwell down, and there was a short wide hall that opened into the main room. Though they swarmed forward, their numbers were too few to overwhelm with sheer weight.

As the last few fell, Alea let out a slow breath.

"That was intense." She held out her hand and scanned the area. Baris nodded with a smile.

She finally got it into her head that just because you trust your partner, they might not see everything, or assume you see what they do. Those assumptions can cost her heavily, even if magical healing would heal most any wound, it couldn't bring her back to life.

"We'll rest. Did you level up?" She shook her head. "I got to level twelve. I need to rest a bit." He handed her his sack, did one last scout around, and laid down at the entrance to that floor. She squatted down, and chewed on some jerky while she watched him sleep so peacefully.

"So different from us." She whispered, her eyes glowed red a little. Alea was not even aware that her eyes had been used by a higher being for a few seconds.

* * *

"Fourth floor is done, and fifth was obviously a boss room." Baris cracked his fingers, and stretched.

"Ten orcs may not feel like a boss room, especially when they go splat so easily, but orcs are top dog in this dungeon." She said, but Baris lifted an eyebrow.

"From here on out, don't assume anything. Scan, heal, eat, but also scan the water, just in case they manage to foul it." He said firmly. Alea nodded, but wasn't sure on whether or not to believe him. By the looks of the stairwell down, it was rough, and rounded, which meant an unstable dungeon expansion.

As far as she had read, these expansions don't have the facilities set up properly, nor the walls and floors stabilized, or hardened. It should be easy to collapse it.

Until she scanned the first room, that is what she believed.

"No fucking way. Twenty orcs?" She asked incredulously.

"Yep. The next floor is the start of the sixth, and orcs are on the menu of battle." He grinned wickedly. Some people on Earth had written orcs to be not only harmless, but also could be good allies.

On this world, orcs were dungeon monsters, and if left unchecked, they would consume everything as they were omnivorous, just like the pigs they were modeled after.

"Magic?" She asked. She scanned the crowd again, and shook her head. "Too much hp. It will barely singe their fat."

"So we do what we've already done. Are you ready?"

* * *

"When are you going back to work, Lilith?" Ethys said with a frown. Lilith stared at her sister, and started to grin.

"I'm already working, little sister." She said with a soft smile. "Why do you think the mortality rate has dropped so much?" She said and bared her teeth. Ethys went to her screen, and closed her eyes.

"There are still deaths." She retorted, but before Lilith could fire back, she felt Nuella's hand on top of hers.

"There are deaths due to interference in the balance of the world, Ethys." Nuella said. "When we find out who tipped this balance, they will be dealt with." She said, and turned back to her screen. Ethys turned away, and looked worried.

'She still refuses to tell you, even when her own sphere of influence is so badly affected.' Lilith growled.

'She may not like it, and acts like a child, but if she doesn't accept it, the blood will be on her own hands.' Nuella lightly tapped her sister's hand. 'How long can you stay, Lily?' Her sister smiled and let her long tongue lick Nuella's ear.

"I have to go, Nu." She said reluctantly. "I have an area that needs observation, just in case it affects your pet. I don't want to make you sad should he be unprepared. Send me a word when they leave the dungeon, and head to the next one." Lilith smiled, and leaned down. "I'll come back for a little bite when they head inside." Nuella smiled, and lightly tapped her hand three times.

'Hm, maybe a little taste.' She put her lips over Nuella's ear, and slid her tongue along her inner ridges. 'I've always loved how my little sister tastes. Your submissive tendencies always make me want to eat you up more than before.'

* * *

"No way, you've leveled up again?!" She rolled her eyes.

"I'm earning my points, Alea, and so are you. You've improved with your sword, although you looked quite rusty when you first entered with me. Your form is good and solid, and with each strike, you improve or make improvements in how you move." He smiled a little.

"Glad that I have your back and not Shaala?" She asked with a slight smirk.

"Maybe, but she's still young, right? She'll level out over time. This will force her to harden up in order to protect the ones she loves. Don't you have your own mate to protect?" he asked and watched her face clear of all emotion.

"Yeah. I hope she agrees to give me a colt this time." She said softly.

"Then make her believe you're ready. I may need to solidify my level up, but we need to close this dungeon down. We get to the eighth floor, rest to get our manna up, and to the ninth. We'll sleep for a couple of hours on the first floor. Good?"

"Sounds like a plan to me." She concentrated on her blade. "How did you rinse it again? Mist! What do you know, it worked." She dried her blade, and followed him down to the next floor.

"Crap. Advanced goblins, kobolds, and kobold archers. Looks like they intended this to be like the dungeon upstairs." Baris said quietly.

"Magic it is." She said and he nodded. They lined up side by side, but she watched as Baris held out both hands. "Is that possible?" She asked.

"I'm not sure, but at least it will give me one." He grinned with that now familiar grin.

"Alright, I'm going to try too." She held out both hands.

"Believe it will work, and picture it. See two flames, one from each hand." She nodded, and firmly concentrated.

"FLAMES! GUST!" Her eyes popped wide open as the two of them cast double flames, and double gusts. The manna costs were higher, but the results were so satisfying.  Not a single survivor.

"Clear." Baris said and watched her face twitch. "I'll keep a watch. Sit, and eat. We are done the seventh, and it's time to clear the eighth."