The only reason why Luci had managed to catch up with Wip was because, after turning around and not seeing her, Wip had decided to wait for her. She stood there, panting heavily after running for nearly five minutes.

“Sorry,” Wip said, head ducked slightly so as not to brush against the ceiling of a tunnel. “I didn’t know you couldn’t run.”

“That’s,” Luci managed, “that’s all I did.”

Wip scratched at his collar. “Ah, sorry. I got a bit excited.”

“Excited,” Luci repeated in disbelief. “Like that speed is just a normal thing.” She shook her head then pointed behind her. “Anyway, are you sure this is okay?”

They were inside a winding tunnel that was thin enough at points for Luci to reach out and touch both sides of it with her hands. The stone path leading from the entrance to the second floor stairway was torn up. Every time Wip had taken a step, the force of his take offs had caused the stones to either flip up or shatter.

Wip shrugged. “I break lots of things. I don’t know why that would be different.”

“Lots of things?”

Wip counted on his fingers. “Monsters. Monster cores. Aftos, which are also made from monster cores. Stella’s bank account—I don’t know how I broke that one because I’ve never seen it before, but she keeps saying that I did. Oh, and Mori’s will to live.”

“Okay, I’m a little confused now, but this is different,” Luci said. “The path is city property. People work hard every day so that we can use these facilities.”

“Oh, I see!” Wip clasped a hand over his fist and bowed at the path. “Thank you, city people, for letting me kill the monsters and the stones.”

Luci let out a sigh. “That’s… you’ve broken my will to explain these things to you.”

Wip looked up and grinned at Luci, showing his missing teeth. “Okay, let’s go.”

And with that, he was marching down the caverns faster than Luci could keep up.

They trekked through a series of caverns and tunnels. It was nothing short of nerve wracking for Luci. At one point, Luci felt a sharp spike in the pit of her gut. When she’d caught up with Wip, who’d realised he needed to keep walking slowly and not just slow down every once in a while, she instinctively sidled closer to him for protection. A few seconds later, they heard a series of scritches and scrapes coming from a side cavern.

Wip turned to her and cocked an eyebrow. “Oh, your senses are good.”

“No, not at all,” Luci said. She tried to sound normal but she couldn’t suppress the quiver in her voice.

“But you sensed that monster before we got close to it,” he said. “Not many people have senses that good in this city, I’ve realised.”

Luci waved a hand defensively. “What? It’s nothing that impressive. I just get these gut feelings, you know? But I suppose I shouldn’t react upon them. They’re just superstitions, after all. That’s what Mother used to say and, well, who am I to question someone as great as her?”

Wip scratched at his collar, then gestured towards a dark hole on the opposite end of the chamber they were walking through. “Down there is a monster that has long blades for hands. It’s really fun to fight.”

“Yes. Fun,” Luci said in a monotone. It had been only thirty minutes since she’d entered the first floor, but she’d already accepted her death.

At another point, they passed a group of four dungeoneers in assorted gear. Luci turned her gaze away so that they wouldn’t see her eyes or the faint glitter on her cheeks. She’d applied her tube of discarded concealer before entering the dungeon. However, it was something she’d salvaged from a cosmetic store’s trash and there was little of it in the near-empty tube to begin with. She could only apply so much, and it didn’t do that great a job either. She had to be careful around strangers. She was always on edge.

The dungeoneers waved to Wip and he waved back. Apparently, they recognised him.

“They patrol the first floor,” Wip explained to her once they passed. “They make sure monsters stay off the main path so people can get to the lower levels faster.”

“That’s quite thoughtful of the city officials,” Luci noted.

She looked over her shoulder and made eye contact with one of them. The dungeoneer was passing weird glances at Wip and snickering to her party member. Luci tore her gaze away. She reminded herself to avoid the patrols by all means necessary.

The stone path led to an enormous chamber. The path led straight to the opposite end of the chamber, towards a dark hole in the wall that looked just like all the others. This one, however, made the hair on the back of Luci’s neck stand on end. For starters, this one went down, rather than winding at odd angles like other cavern branches. Secondly, there were six dungeoneers surrounding the hole, all decked out in scary-looking gear.

One of the dungeoneers, a man wearing a helmet with an opaque, orange visor, stepped forward to intercept Wip and Luci. A pronged rod was pressed against his shoulder that was almost as tall as Luci. Still unsettled after seeing the path janitors from before, Luci ducked behind Wip and peeked out from around his elbow.

“Paperwork?” the helmeted man said.

“Oh, I have it here,” Wip replied. He plonked his backpack on the ground, its contents making an awful clatter, then dove through its many pockets. “Hm, not this one,” he muttered to himself. “Maybe… nope.”

This went on for several minutes. Luci was growing increasingly nervous. The helmeted man looked her up and down, so far as she could tell through that opaque visor. His party had also started paying attention and they were holding weapons low but ready.

Then he said, “You’re both E-class?” Less a question and more an observation.

Startled, Luci stared down at her badge which she’d dutifully pinned over her heart. Dungeoneering guides had explained that the badge was made of fuchite, meaning they acted as a small, palm-sized shield. It was recommended that dungeoneers placed them over any exposed vital bits. Given that Luci had no armour, she had decided it wisest to place it over her heart.

Luci nodded. “This is my first dungeon crawl, actually.”

“First crawl, huh?” the man repeated. He gestured at his companions. “Do you know what we do here?”

Luci shook her head.

“We’re outpost guards,” he explained. “We make sure the dungeoneers who pass through have all their paperwork in order. There are a lot of people who try to rob honest dungeoneers. Carrion crows, they’re called. We make sure that their crawl is registered with the city to weed out troublemakers.”

“How very helpful of you, Dominus,” Luci said stiffly, being sure to offer the highest formality to these honourable men.

But then she noticed the badge the man was wearing. It wasn’t a dungeoneer badge as it didn’t have any of the class symbols on it. Instead, it showed five lines ending in dots that aligned vertically in the middle. The sight of it made her tense up—which was a feat, given that Luci was already as tense as could be.

Luci chose her words carefully. “Um, excuse me if I’m being rude but, isn’t that an Aspar Guild badge?”

“It is.”

Luci swallowed saliva. “Why is Aspar managing the outposts? Isn’t that the city’s responsibility? I would have assumed that the taxes dungeoneers pay go towards services such as this, or am I being presumptuous?”

The man flashed a grin from beneath his visor. “You’re a curious one, aren’t you? Be careful who you ask questions to, though. This city’s full of folks who’ll take advantage of sprouts like you.”

Luci narrowed her eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

The helmeted man watched her for a couple seconds before answering. “There are a lot of bad folks in the city, like I said. And you’re clearly not from around here. Dominus is Sylexan, right?”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“The city hires out dungeoneers to manage the outposts since the guards are crap at fighting monsters.” He gestured at the stairway to floor two. “Aspar is responsible for the lomaw to floor two. My name is Ethlan, by the way. C-class scout.” He put particular emphasis on his class.

“Luci,” she introduced herself. She bowed, but only at a slight incline rather than the customary ninety-degrees for when greeting superiors. “Luci Black.”

Her introduction was ruined when an axe flew over her head. She straightened up, heart pounding in expectation of an attack, to see Wip tearing aftos out of his backpack and throwing them all around.

“Mr. Wip, what are you doing?” Luci cried.

“I know I put it somewhere here,” Wip mumbled.

“Have you checked your pocket?” Luci said. “Usually, when I lose things, they tend to show up in the most obvious places.”

Wip looked up and thought for a second. Then he stuffed his hand in his pocket, rummaged around for far too long, and, finally, pulled out a piece of crumpled paper.

“It was in my pocket inventory!” Wip announced for the whole dungeon to hear.

Ethlan pointed his rod afto at Wip. “Hey, keep it down,” he said in hushed tones. “If I have to fight a wave of mezpinsors because of you, I’ll make the both of you farm their crystals for me.”

Luci stepped between them and bowed at a slight incline. “Please, there’s no need to fight, Mr. Ethlan. He’s only doing as you asked.”

Ethlan rested his rod back onto his shoulder and exhaled. His party relaxed a little as well. “Paperwork,” he demanded.

“Right—” Wip smothered his mouth with his hand when he realised that he’d spoken too loudly. He tip-toed up to Ethlan and gently handed him the crumpled document. He whispered, “Right here.”

Ethlan uncrumpled the document and scanned over it. Though Luci couldn’t see his eyes, the way Ethlan’s jaw tightened was enough to tell her that they were in trouble.

“You’re level five,” he said to Wip. “And you want to go to the fourth floor.” He let out a long sigh. “Usually, we don’t allow anyone below level ten into the dungeon at all. I’m sure you can understand. If we let people in here who barely have a grasp on their enma, they’re just going to get killed. The last thing we need is to lose potential dungeoneers since it’s hard to find people who have the talent to use aftos.”

“Um, what about people who can’t use aftos,” Luci said, raising her hand. “But they’re really good at using enma? Also, I’m level twenty-eight, which is, as far as I’m aware, higher than the average C-class.”

Ethlan looked at her but ignored her question. “Where’s your tank?”

“Um… it’s…” Luci’s cheeks flushed. She knew exactly where this was going.

Wip raised his hand. “I’m the tank.”

“It says on the document that you’re the lambaster,” Ethlan said.

Wip nodded vigorously. “Yes, I’m that too.”

Ethlan shook his head. “That’s not how this works. Floor four has a unique enemy combination. There are creepershoots that will tie down your movements with vines, and when you’re caught, that’s when the monkilyxes will go for the kill.”

Luci was getting frustrated with how assertive Ethlan was getting, so she decided to poke some holes in his explanations. “Ah, I’m sure if you can just fend off the creepershoots, it should be okay.”

“You can’t,” Ethlan said. “The floor is covered with them, and they’re indistinguishable from normal trees. They can hit you from any side. You need to fortify your position before you even think of fighting. So, what you do is hack down some trees and use them to build a wall. Then you set up a defensive position with your back against the wall and the tank covering your front.”

“Right, but then the monkilyxes will climb over the wall and get you from behind.”

“That’s what the strikers are for, and you should have more than one. Next, your support and scout will stay mobile and cut at any vines that try to grab the tank. When the monkilyxes dive the tank, your lambaster hits them hard.”

“But… but a good tank should be able to deal with the front themselves.”

Ethlan nodded. “Yeah, if you’re strong, you can get away without a support and second striker, but the tank, lambaster, first striker, and scout are mandatory—the scout especially since they need to run a fog the entire time. You’ll get swarmed the moment you enter the fourth without a fog.” Ethlan lowered his chin and his lips stretched into the shadow of a smile. “But you all came here unprepared.”

Wip was nodding along the entire time with his eyes glazed over. On the other hand, Luci was biting her nails. As much as she didn’t trust the Aspar Guild, and despite her best efforts to argue, she knew that every word Ethlan spoke was true. Sure, Wip was strong so far as she could tell, but a strong party caught unawares was just as dead as a weak party against impossible odds. Furthermore, this bit of information offered her a way out, both from this stand-off they were having and from having to go to the fourth floor.

“You, know, Mr. Wip,” she said gently. “I think Mr. Ethlan here makes a good point. Perhaps we should only try floor four once we have a full party?”

“But there’s a really good spot I wanted to show you.” Wip gave Luci the saddest look she’d ever seen and she almost relented on the spot.

“I’ll tell you what,” Ethlan continued. “If you really think you can do well on the lower floors, why don’t you prove it to me? If you guys can kill twenty monsters on floor one and bring back their cores, I’ll consider you capable of making it to the next floor. How does that sound?”

Luci paused. Whatever anxiety she’d been feeling since she first entered the dungeon had vanished. She turned slowly to Ethlan and narrowed her eyes. “You want us to bring you twenty kin,” she said slowly.

He nodded. “It’s a test. If you can’t kill twenty mezpinsors, you won’t survive on the lower—”

“And where does this twenty kin go?”

The air around Ethlan grew tense. His party members, previously seated on chairs and at tables they’d brought into the dungeon for their lounging, now stood and gripped their aftos. Luci immediately regretted opening her big mouth, yet she wasn’t going to back down, not from this injustice.

“Hey, sprout,” Ethlan said thickly. “Didn’t I tell you to be careful who you ask questions to?”

“And why should I?” Luci snapped. She planted her staff on the stone floor. “So that people can get away with their scams? All it takes for injustice to spread is for the just to do nothing.”

Ethlan’s party were approaching slowly. “And you’re going to do something?” Ehtlan said sarcastically. “With your legs shaking like that?”

“I—of course! If I see the injustice, that is.” Luci cursed her legs for being so honest.

“Me too!” Wip shouted, raising his voice again.

Ethlan pointed his pronged rod at Wip. “I told you to keep it down.”

Wip strolled up to him, not bothering to moderate his voice. “Hey, do you remember the prickle face I came here with last time.”

Ethlan’s lips pursed. “I’ve never seen you in my life.”

Wip turned to face Luci and he flashed his half-missing teeth. “Well, prickle face taught me how to deal with these guys.”

He spun around, and then everything happened at once. First, crimson lightning arced alone his arm. Luci’s stomach churned and she knew that it was too late to stop what was about to unfold. Then, as Wip spun, he threw his arm out and struck Ethlan clean in the gut. Ethlan’s coat flashed as it absorbed the force of the hit. However, his coat did nothing about the momentum. With a wheeze, Ethlan went soaring through the air and straight down the staircase to floor two. Luci cringed as she heard Ethlan’s body crash and tumble down.

Wip turned to Luci. “But prickle face did it with less punches.”

Ethlan’s body kept tumbling. His party members watched the staircase with shock plastered on their faces. Wip took the time to pick up all of his tossed aftos and stuff them into his backpack.

The clatter stopped echoing up the stairs after a full minute and the dungeon was deathly quiet for a while. Luci started muttering to herself. “He’s dead, Luci. Your party member just killed someone. Sure, he may have been a scammer, and from the Aspar Guild as well, but murder is still murder. You’re going to spend the rest of your life behind bars.”

Then a loud uuurrk echoed up the stairway, accompanied by the splatter of bile on dirt. Luci wasn’t sure if she should be relieved or concerned.

Wip fastened his backpack onto his shoulders and grinned down at Luci. “Ready?”

Luci stared at Wip with her jaw slack. “Do I have a choice?”

“Sure you do!” Then Wip dashed down the stairs, leaving his documents behind.

Luci stared at the stairs, then glanced at Ethlan’s party who watched her nervously, then looked behind her and considered the long, potentially monster infested path back. “Slow down, Mr. Wip!” she cried.

She picked up the document off the floor and rushed to the exit. Before entering the lomaw, she bowed at Ethlan’s party members. “Please try not to scam anyone from now on,” she said, before stumbling after Wip.