At the same time as the right wolf dies, Jim brings down the injured left wolf. After putting a few more arrows into its hide a quick double shot tricks the wolf into dodging into the second arrow. Now with only one wolf left alive the reinforcements arrive and continue going.

Kellinger’s grease spell expertly covered the area right where the new wolves entered. As the three of them were grouped together, they all noticed the slippery ground much too late, sliding across the room and bumping into the wall across from them. Though not before they lose a good portion of their fur as Kelly splashes them with some fiery pitch she summoned up.

The last original wolf tries to back up to support the new wolves but Tess once again makes use of her staff to bring it to the floor. After that it doesn’t get a chance to stand up as Jeremy swoops in and cuts an artery or two on its throat as he is moving past to face the new wolves.

Kellinger finishes another spell at this point and slams his palms onto the ground, which jiggles like a waterbed. The stone under the wolves follows suit, making it impossible for the wolves to stand up before the others attack them.

Jim, being an archer of course gets the first attack on the new wolves and despite the wobbly floor jerking the monsters around he manages a clean shot to the next. Jeremy is there to capitalize on the situation and rips the arrow out, leaving a gaping wound.

Kelly’s spell hits next. Though instead of summoning a new attack she focuses on what burning pitch and causes it all to ignite. This causes small explosions all over the wolves as any significant patch of the stuff suddenly all goes up at once.

Then Bill and Tess join in on the fun, both of them using a skill to increase their blunt damage. Their aim is true and their blows are enough to cripple the two wolves that don’t have bleeding neck wounds.

This allows Kellinger to stop channeling his spell. Not that he would have needed to continue for long. With the wolves on the ground and the entire team there to beat on them, the fight ends quickly.

The group stands there, catching their breath as they watch the corpses fade away. Jim shakes his head, “Welp, that wasn’t too hard. The biggest thing is that it required actual effort on our parts. We all used about three skills or so in the fight and I don’t know how long we can keep it up.”

Kelly nods, “I hate to say it but us founders have been slacking. We weren’t in danger here but if the wolves that attacked had focused on us instead of entering the dungeon we would be dead. And these are normal wolves! They aren’t even some special evolved nonsense. After this all of us really need to sit down and talk about personal strength.”

“Ace, despite what he has said about his goals for the settlement, is still holding onto the old world system. Maybe not in the future, but our current world is very much survival of the fittest. Wanting to rule with a silk glove is fine but we need to make sure the iron gauntlet is there underneath.”

Kellinger shrugs, “It hasn’t really been needed. Everyone with us is truly with us, our bonds forged in a fight for survival.”

Bill sighs, “And you know what? That’s sort of the problem. Everyone who is left right now is following Ace because he is Ace. Our actual strength doesn’t matter and I bet there are a few who are as strong as us in the settlement. We have a head start but like the tortoise and the hare we could squander it away.”

Tess nods, “I’ve been slacking off. I just leveled up my staff skill, and it feels like forever since the last time that happened. Sure, the higher the level the harder it is to raise. But I shouldn’t be facing such an obvious slow down yet. We need to delve the dungeon more actively and face real challenges. Stupid nonsense like running through the earlier floors is exactly that, nonsense. These wolves are perfect. Monsters that can actually stand up to us if we aren’t careful.”

Jim rubs the back of his neck, “I should have really thought of this. The time I advanced the quickest was when I was in the forest, living by the skin of my teeth. I haven’t stopped advancing, but I did slow down by a good bit. Thought it was just the early level rush being over but now that doesn’t seem to be the case.”

Jeremy nods, “We are lucky to be this strong. Me and my wife have kept up our training, but that was for maintenance of a body aged before its time. Now we are able to grow again yet haven’t tried. Though this is interesting to ponder, we should continue our dive. I suspect there is more than just this floor to explore. I chatted with Ace about the possibility but he didn’t agree with me. Too soon, he says. But how do dungeons even form new floors? A lot of wolves died in here and that might have been enough to push the dungeon enough for a fifth floor.”

Kelly shrugs, “That is possible but I have to side with Ace on this. The chances of a fifth floor is low. Though it would be interesting to see what boss the dungeon has ended up with.”

Jim rolls his eyes, “Anyway, we should get going. Wait around too long and maybe the wolves will get bored and come looking for us.”

The group moves deeper into the floor and enters the room where the backup came from. While it is hard to tell, Jim spots claw marks on some of the weaker stone areas. To their right the room lets out into a smaller room, through which the group can make out what might be more wolves in the room after that.

As luck would have it, since they didn’t alert whatever wolves are there, they have a chance to ambush them. Kellinger and Kelly both charge up a spell. First goes down a wide area grease spell that extends well out of their vision. This is enough for the wolves to notice something is wrong. The follow up that is a giant ball of flames streaking into the room removes any doubt.

Then that ball of fire explodes and the two wolves in the room try to escape. Of course, a floor covered in what is now flaming grease is not exactly conducive to a quick retreat. And even once they do manage to leave the room the first one out gets knocked down as Bill and Tess double team it. The second one doesn’t do much better as an arrow is now in its eye and a dagger is in its throat. Suffice to say neither of them live much longer. There isn’t even any backup as the flames in the room are enough to prevent that nonsense.

Of course it doesn’t stop the three wolves from the next encounter noticing what has happened. They might dislike the fire, but something as simple as a normal fear doesn’t do much good at chasing away a dungeon monster. If only they hadn’t chosen to pace right at the edge of the fire.

Small rivers of fiery grease flood out around the three wolves, trapping them in a wall of flames. Then Kelly comes in again to support Kellinger and the flame walls flare up, causing serious burns, before the grease is all burned up. This isn’t the end for the three wolves either, as the group advances on them.

Another arrow to the eye, some blunt trauma, and well placed daggers take the three down. But as the group prepares to rest another wolf comes around the corner. Without noticing it, the party had advanced even further into the dungeon and had ended up inside the room those three wolves had originally inhabited. Or in other words, close enough to call in even more support.

This time it is only a single wolf though, so the group charges it, clashing in the middle of the room. The wolf isn’t going to live long. Just long enough though that another wolf has a chance to attack and the party advances forward once again. Then a third wolf and a fourth wolf as they almost seem to be pulled deeper and deeper into the floor.

They make it into the next section that has a bunch of smaller rooms closely connected, crushing one wolf after another. Right turn, right turn, right turn, but as they enter the fourth small room and another wolf greets them it turns left.

At this point the group is feeling tired so they have no choice but to hold their ground and hope not too many more wolves are coming. Then another wolf attacks as they are killing the last. With two wolves stacked up, their killing speed slows down, allowing a third wolf to join in.

The fight continues and as Jeremy gets a killing blow, reducing it back down to only a single monster, one more wolf comes around the corner. This time is different, though. All the wolves until now have been normal animals. This one however is one of the stone wolves.

The introduction of this new threat, especially when the party is already tired throws a monkey wrench into the fight. Bill and Tess have been using skills almost non-stop and are running out of juice to power them. Problem is, their normal attacks aren’t going to do much to a wolf covered in stone plates.

As the stone wolf attacks together, they are able to block it, leaving the normal wolf to Jeremy. At the back, Kelly and Kellinger are holding their spells but like Bill and Tess, they are running on empty. A couple spells would go a long way to killing the wolves but they aren’t sure if more will be coming or not.

In the end it is Jim who wraps up the fight. While he isn’t exactly overflowing with energy either, an arrow to the face is still an arrow to the face. The stone wolf might have more protection there but unlike the plates on the body, the protection is much thinner. It still takes him ten arrows to take down the stone wolf and by that time the mages felt confident there isn’t any more coming. By then, though, there is no point in disrupting the rhythm.

Maybe they could have killed it on arrow seven or eight but the chances of it interrupting the flow Bill and Tess had fallen into was too dangerous. Hard enough to dance with death without someone else trying to cut in.

With all the wolves dead the group is ready to drop but they don’t allow themselves that luxury. While they aren’t torn up like Ace’s team was, they aren’t free of injuries either. Scrapes and bruises abound, with Jeremy being the worst off. While that last normal wolf wasn’t impossible to handle alone, the stone wolf was able support it despite already fighting the rest of the team.

They might not be moving fast but they are moving back towards the floor’s entrance gate. The group doesn’t know how far into the fourth floor they are but the rest of it can wait. The group almost doesn’t take the time to loot the treasure chest before leaving. Jeremy however knows what kind of things to expect though so takes the time.

Not that anyone is actually against looting the chest. They are all just so tired from the running fight and constant use of combat skills has their brains a bit foggy. And it would have been a shame if they had skipped it.