Centoo was the first to fall, the three kalvex overriding his claw defence in a rush formation and dragging him down.

Skarm leapt free and struck out on his own in retaliation, but he didn't stand a chance against them all alone.

Levi rushed to his aid, sword flashing in rapid arcs as Skarm clawed and stabbed.

They brought down the first kalvex, the others took advantage of their focus to flank them. Levi could have leapt clear, but that would leave Skarm defenceless. Instead he physically tackled one of the kalvex to the ground, trusting Skarm and Cen to handle the other. The kalvex didn’t take kindly to being tackled, biting and snapping furiously, thrashing its tusks at Levi, slashing at him with its clawed hooves.

They weren’t going to make it at this rate. He needed something to tip the scales, and he needed it fast.

"Sorry, Cen, I need a shield." Levi grabbed Skarm and jumped behind Cen. The centipede coiled protectively around them obediently, even as his own health began dropping fast.

"Take these." He shoved a health and mana restorative into Skarm's hands, then drank one of each for himself in quick succession. The combined weakness and blindness left him utterly helpless, but then the combined restored power flowed into him with nearly the same strength as increasing in level.

Cen's body protected him from the kalvex, but Cen himself wasn't so fortunate. In the seconds Levi was out of commission, the kalvex duo slashed away the last of his loyal minion's health, leaving only the husk of a centipede coiled around them to shield him and Skarm from the kalvex's wrath.

But Levi had some wrath of his own to dish out. He and Skarm leapt from their protective barrier just as Cen's remains were torn apart by the hunting kalvex, each springing on one of the attackers.

The lingering strength of the health boost still fed his regeneration for a few seconds longer, letting him dive recklessly into the fight without fear for his wellbeing as neither kalvex was strong enough to kill him in a single hit. His mana stayed full with only minor dips as he slammed Beast Bite after Beast Bite into his kalvex.

Meanwhile, Skarm was running and leaping, leading his kalvex on a chase through the room, turning to slash it across the snout or jump to stab it in the back whenever he found an opening. Without any other enemies to distract them, they were able to keep their focus fully on their individual adversaries and quickly brought them down by a significant amount.

Then the brief burst of nigh-untouchability wore off, the last remnants of the restoratives fading, and it became again a battle of attrition. Skarm was doing well, but Levi himself was in more trouble. He'd burned through nearly all his stamina.

There wasn't much to do but keep fighting. He didn't have any more tricks.

Skarm's health dropped dangerously low, and Levi abandoned his own kalvex to run to his minion's aid. He may have a hard time against one, but he wouldn't stand a chance alone against two. Fortunately, Skarm's was the more injured of the two, so with his help they finished it off before it could do any more damage. The diversion left him open from behind, but with them finally outnumbering their opponent Levi accepted the dip to his health as necessary.

Level 2+

(Essence Kalvex)

Health 32%

The kalvex snarled and snapped, but it seemed aware of the fact that its hours were numbered. It slunk about, darting in and retreating, instead of maintaining a sustained attack or trying to savage them like it had before.

It took another twenty minutes to wear it down, neither Levi nor Skarm able to use special attacks with their pools depleted, but Levi was more interested in surviving than rushing through the fight at any cost.

Level 2+

(Essence Kalvex)

Health 1%

Finally, with a final weary stab through its side, Skarm finished off the last of the kalvex's health. The doors unsealed, allowing them to exit the boss room at long last.

Levi stumbled into the treasure room, sank to the floor beside the table without looking at it, and hugged Skarm to his chest. "You did good."

Skarm seemed a bit uncertain of how to handle the sudden affection, but patted Levi's shoulder reassuringly.

Neither of them moved for a long time.

After a time, once he'd recovered enough to force himself to his feet, Levi stood to look over the treasures laid out for them on the stone table. Two destruction tokens, and three items.

Circlet (Headwear, Standard)

Abilities: (Insert power stone)

Power stone: 0/1

Upgrade Slots: 0

Staff (Item, Basic)

Abilities: None

Longbow (Manabow, Standard)

Abilities: (Insert power stone)

Power stone: 0/1

Upgrade Slots: 0

Finally.

He would have preferred to save his Stone power stone for armor or a sword, but the ability to attack at range was too important to put off. He fished out the stone and slid it into the manabow's central socket. They fused together as though the grey sphere had always been a part of its design.

Stoneshaft Longbow (Manabow, Standard)

Abilities: (Basic) Stone Shot

Power stone: 1/1

Upgrade Slots: 0

Levi drew back on the bowstring and ran mana into the weapon. A shard of spectral grey stone, like a bladed stalagmite, formed between the power stone and his hand on the string.

He felt it humming and strengthening the longer he held it, the edges refining, the missile elongating, the phantom energy solidifying. When he finally released it, the missile fired out like a gunshot, shattering against the far wall in an explosion of sound. The spectral shrapnel dissipated a moment later, short of hitting Levi or his team, but he could tell that it would have done serious damage to anyone in the immediate vicinity.

After a few more shots to test the range and power of basic attacks and more empowered ones, he began to feel more comfortable with the weapon. The basic attacks were most mana efficient, and could be fired as quickly as he could physically draw the string. There didn't seem to be a maximum limit on how overcharged an attack could be, but the cost increase and damage increase didn't seem to be proportional, leading to diminishing returns at higher mana investments.

Once he'd finished for the moment, he stowed his new items away securely, then searched the room thoroughly just in case he'd been mistaken and the hidden treasure was still here to be found. He took it slow and methodical, staring into every crack, running his hand across every inch of the wall and floor and as much of the ceiling as he could reach by standing on the table, but it seemed his instincts were correct. The treasure was missing.

He backtracked into the boss room, looking down at Cen and Centoo's torn apart remains. He'd never tried reviving a minion so violently dismembered, but the revive option showed up when he focused on them, with the same roughly 2 hours remaining as for Gremlin Two.

He could revive one soon, then the other two would have to wait for a day or two. It would be a hit to their combat power, but he could live with it. A few days no longer felt like the eternity it once had. With Gordon and Flomper to compensate, they may have to stick to level 1s for a bit, but they should still be able to progress.

Levi exited the dungeon, then immediately re-entered. He encountered only a single small swarm of three rust scarabs on his way to where Gordon and Flomper waited.

"You alright?" Gordon's eyes widened at the sight of Levi and Skarm. "What happened to the centipedes?"

"They're in the boss room. I'm going to wait here until I can revive one of them, then use him to transport the other's body. I won't leave anyone behind."

Gordon nodded. "Alright. You do what you have to."

"You coming?"

Gordon looked at the trap corridor, still running same as before, and shook his head. "I'm good waiting here."

Levi and Skarm returned to the boss room to wait. He wanted to keep Cen and Centoo in sight. He didn't trust the dungeon not to try eating them or something.

While he waited, he continued to practice with his new manabow, trying to increase his accuracy to something approaching decent. His old Swordsman class had enough extended blade slashes that he'd never used a bow more than a handful of times.

Finally the time came, the revive cooldown expired. With a silent apology to Gremlin Two, he elected to revive Centoo. The spell drew the scattered pieces back together, forming a fully restored and only somewhat battered Stone Centipede.

Centoo immediately ran to Cen's body, looking down at his fragmented remains, then up at Levi, then back at Skarm, and finally to Cen again.

"Yeah, we didn't all make it," Levi said. "Can you carry him?"

Centoo didn't protest as Levi and Skarm loaded Cen's body onto his back, then the three left the dungeon, Centoo half coiled to keep his brother's remains secure.

Levi re-entered to collect Gordon, then they headed out to the car. Cen’s body went in the trunk, while Centoo, Skarm, and Flomper resumed their previous places.

Levi saw the blinds move again; someone in the house was watching. “Drive.”

“Where to?”

Levi shook his head. “Just… not here. I feel we may have overstayed our welcome. Find somewhere safe to settle for a bit nearby. I have some research to do.”

“What kind of research? Do you need a library?”

“Anyplace with internet access will be fine. I’m going to get in touch with Doom Raiders Triple X. I want my treasure.”