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Beast dungeons held everything from bugs to chimaeras, and had so much potential variety that Levi couldn't begin to guess what specific creature this would be.

He'd heard stories of unbelievable creatures, of unicorns and basilisks, of beetles that could swallow a car, of serpents so long and thin they could pretend to be jungle vines right up until they coiled on you with deadly speed.

(Fortunately, this plains-with-tiny-patches-of-trees environment seemed unlikely to contain snakes. Until he had a power stone for his manablade, anything that could get up close and deal damage through his protective layers would be a legitimate danger. It was very hard to cut an entangling serpent off your body with an unenhanced weapon.)

With a hiss, three dinosaurs leapt out of the bramble, frills flaring in hypnotic warning as they leaned their heads back, preparing their acidic spittle.

Level 1

(Dilophosaur)

Health 100%

The fragile lizards ran on two longer legs, scrawny but very quick, their flaring frills serving to make them appear larger than they really were. Their acid spit was dangerous at medium-low range; too close, and they wouldn't fire for risk of it splashing back on themselves, and too far the attack would lose momentum and splatter to the ground before hitting its target. But within that range, they were very good at tracking and predicting their targets.

"I want one," Levi said, as he backed away to stay out of the threat range.

The system provided no convenient experience tracker to let him know how near or far he was from leveling. There was a chance he could hit level 5 in this dungeon. Beast dungeons had more creatures in wider variety than most dungeons.

Having something with range in his team would be a big help. But, then again, he was also in a dungeon with a non-boss spider skunk. As cool as dilos would be, the larger, slower creature would probably be a better long-term investment. At least for low level dungeons the spider skunk could act as tank, and its webs allowed battlefield control in a way acid-spitting dinos couldn't.

Not that he could tame either at the moment. Until he hit level 5 and unlocked another minion slot, he was stuck.

For a moment he considered unbinding Skarm, allowing his first minion’s body to return to the dungeon of his birth and using the freed slot to tame a dilo instead. Or the spider skunk, either would probably have better utility than the gremlin.

Something deep within him rebelled at the thought. Levi had lost everyone, again and again. He wanted desperately to believe he could save someone this time, that he wouldn’t have to keep going on alone. That he could hold onto someone, even just a tiny dungeon gremlin, and keep him safe.

He was tired of moving on from loss after loss. Skarm was his, his first ally in this new second chance at life. He was not going to leave him behind. It would be an admission of failure, that even with the miraculous opportunity to do everything over and get it right this time he wasn’t capable of saving one gremlin.

For a moment, guilt flickered in his chest, guilt that he’d failed to find the secret to Revive, wherever it lurked. Was it an item he needed to collect? A spell?

He shook the thought away. Even if he didn’t know how to move forward right now, he wasn’t going to admit defeat. He’d fought too long against impossible odds to lightly give up.

A splatter beside him showed the time for thinking was over: the dilos were closing in on him. There was the second pack further away, if he managed to level and decided to go that way he could tame one from there.

For now, he had dinosaurs to kill.

“Two, close in on the left. Aim for the legs.”

Gremlin Two saluted and disappeared into the surrounding grasses. Levi halted his retreat, ducking down out of sight, then waited. The dilos’ acid spit demolished the surrounding plants.

Levi listened carefully, but the dinosaurs were being cautious too. They didn't want to rush in close and ruin their range advantage. The only sound he heard was Gremlin Two rustling his way through the grass.

Fine. They wouldn’t come to him, he’d close the distance himself.

He waited another minute until he could no longer hear Gremlin Two’s movement, then rushed in. Crouched low, he pushed himself into the fastest stamina-fueled sprint he could manage.

One of the dilos screeched in alarm, but too late. The concealing undergrowth had worked to their disadvantage this time. Before they could scatter, Levi slammed his blade up through the first dinosaur’s jaw and out through the top of its fragile skull. It hissed and gargled, acidic saliva dripping through the new hole in its mouth, then toppled to the ground.

The other two took advantage of the moment it took to withdraw his shortsword from their dying compatriot, turning to run and widen the distance to their comfortable range.

Gremlin Two leapt from the bushes, screaming at the top of his lungs, and spooked the dilo nearest him just as it was preparing to launch its acidic spittle. It choked and spun, the prepared attack dripping with a sizzle to the ground beneath it, just as Gremlin Two slammed his horn into its upper leg.

The small dinosaur was still twice the size of the gremlin, and the battle was far from evenly matched. Were it not for Gremlin Two’s dagger, it might have been a near thing. But Gremlin Two wasn’t unarmed or helpless. By the time Levi closed in on the third dilo, Gremlin Two had savagely gashed open the second dinosaur’s stomach.

Either his days of fighting in dungeons had drastically increased his physical status, or dilos were much more fragile than he’d expected. Either way, Levi's fist slammed the small dino to the ground, and his foot held its struggling form still.

He stared down at the helplessly snapping creature and began to reconsider his instinctive desire to tame one. They looked cool, but if they had so little health that he could stomp them as easily as gremlins he’d probably be better off saving the slots for something bigger.

But… dinosaurs.

He promised himself some utaraptors later. Or a triceratops, maybe. Did either of those exist? He would bet they did, sooner or later. But for right now...

“Sorry. Today’s not your day.”

As though sensing his decision, Gremlin Two dove on the helpless dilo, finishing it off with a quick stab through the skull. Levi nodded. “Well done.”

The other group of dilos was on the far side of the central spider skunk, but he decided they should finish them all off first in the unlikely event it was enough to level him to unlock his next minion slot.

The second pack was only marginally more difficult, mostly due to one getting in a lucky shot on Levi’s stomach that melted straight through all his layers of jackets.

An irate Levi was not something they should have provoked.

He slammed his sword through one just as it opened its mouth, followed up the stab with a quick slash that knocked the last of its health away.

It crumpled to the ground even as he moved on to the next, ducking aside from its projectile just in time. The glob of acidic spit still grazed his arm, but didn’t do more than minimal damage to his outer layer.

Levi closed the distance, tackled it to the ground, and slammed the pommel of his sword against its skull until it fell limp.

Gremlin Two jumped atop the last one from behind, stabbing his dagger into its neck and clinging on like a bull rider as the dilo hissed and twisted its head, trying to get its teeth into the irritant on its back.

Gremlin Two clung on for dear life, biding his time as the dino did its best to throw him off. When it slowed its thrashing for a split second, the gremlin twisted and drove his horn into its neck.

The perforation leaked acid spittle to sizzle down the dilo’s back, leaving raw lines of burned skin in its wake as Gremlin Two leapt free and rolled to his feet, watching as his personal behemoth flailed, ran, and died.

Levi nodded fondly. “Nice work.” Two had to be getting close to level 4, if not in this dungeon then certainly the next.

He took a minute to catch his breath, recovering a few stamina while he considered his options. The boss would be the highest experience provider, and his only real chance of hitting level 5 this run. If that didn’t pan out, the regular spider skunk waiting in the middle of the room would end up as practice instead of a minion.

The thought didn’t really bother him either way. He’d be happy to get the level and capture it, but he had no particular desire to own one. They still evoked strong negative feelings in him, even though he could appreciate its potential value as a part of his growing army.

Decision made, he straightened and motioned for Gremlin Two to join him. “Next up, the boss.”