The next hour or so was more of the same. Kat sniped the frog monsters with Overpressure while Dorrik slowed their advance with Ego Shards. Meanwhile, Kaleek enthusiastically ripped apart anything that came close enough to threaten them with their dewclaws.

She lost track of how many of the frog creatures they killed. Once their team perfected their routine, the fights became so easy that she found herself sleepwalking through fights. So long as they made sure to recharge between rooms so that she could recharge mana and Dorrik could rejuvenate their stamina, none of their opponents managed to pose anything approaching a credible threat.

Finally, they reached the last room. Kat hopped through the exit of the winding cave their party had taken to get there, waving a hand in the water to rotate herself slightly so that she was facing the rest of her team. The dungeon had hardly turned Dorrik and her into olympic swimmers, but there wasn’t much doubt that both of them were significantly more comfortable maneuvering through the depths.

The boss chamber was better lit. To the point where Kat could have deactivated Nightvision if she really wanted, but at the same time, there wasn’t quite enough natural lighting at the bottom of the lake to make abandoning the perk a good idea.

Still, the massive claim, lit by a ray of light from above the water’s surface, was impressive no matter how one viewed it. It was almost the size of an ordinary room, a gargantuan oval of dull armor, it stretched well above the top of Kat’s head as it lurked, immobile and menacing in the center of the chamber.

The armored top of the bivalve cracked open slightly, releasing a stream of bubbles and a half dozen shadowy, armored figures. As they closed the distance toward Kat and her companions, more and more details became visible.

Their opponents jetted through the water, curling their fanned tails up to their chest before flicking them backward in order to burst toward their party. The monsters were covered in a flexible, segmented exoskeleton, broken only by a pair of beady eyes and two waist sized claws.

Overpressure knocked one of the creatures off course, blood leaking through cracks in its armor. It righted itself, gingerly cradling its injured right pincer, and darted forward again. A moment later, a javelin of purple energy punched into its chest, freezing the creature for just over a second before it regained control of its senses.

Kat shared a worried glance with Dorrik, her mouth pressed into a thin line. Apparently this round of combat wouldn’t be quite as easy.

“Cover your eyes!” Kat shouted, waiting the extra fraction of a second for the enchantment to translate her words as she poured mana into Dazzle.

The silent pulses of light left the attackers in complete disarray. As Kat had suspected, the creatures were adapted to the depths of the poorly lit lake. Even if they had an ability to blink, it wasn’t a reflexive response to bright lights.

Kaleek went wild, the glow of martial abilities surrounding him like a nimbus as he tore into the monsters. Somehow the big otter came to a full stop before swinging his greatsword one handed with enough force to split his target’s armor. His left hand lashed out, grabbing one of the creatures by its flopping tail and whipping it into a companion hard enough that Kat felt the force of their impact almost fifteen paces away.

She began casting Levitation, focusing on one of the creatures that began righting itself. Kaleek spun like a top, burning stamina as he swung his greatsword in a wide arc that caught two more of the monsters, severing a claw on one and burying itself through the torso armor of another.

Then Levitation took hold. With an audible crack her target disappeared, the sudden decrease in its weight causing its buoyancy to skyrocket. A second later, it broke the water’s surface, barely slowing until it splattered against the room’s rocky ceiling.

She paused, startled for only a moment before she duplicated the spell, catching a monster that Dorrik had just released from Halt Momentum. The water roiled around it as it shot upward, giving Kaleek the time he needed to clean up the last of their opponents.

“Huh,” Kat remarked, cracking her neck. “Maybe that wasn’t actually that hard. I was just using the wrong spells.”

“Indeed Miss Kat.” Dorrik nodded in her direction. “Many spells are highly dependent upon one’s environment. Often the dividing line between a good and a great warrior is learning which spells become spectacular and which become useless under a specific set of circumstances. For example, I suspect that Pseudopod will not provide you with much benefit in this dungeon. It operates by creating a slightly higher pressure tendril of water. This deep, most opponents will barely-”

“Sorry to cut you off professor,” Kaleek interjected, motioning toward the clam with a spare hand as it began to open once again. “But it looks like we’re about to get more company.”

“Oh, yes.” Dorrik’s crest fluttered quickly with agitation as they tried to find their spot in the conversation. “The only way to conquer this dungeon is to slip inside the Megaclam while it is releasing craymen and to remove its manapearl from the dungeon altar. At that point, the water will drain from the room and the Megaclaim’s corpse will disappear. Until then, it will continue to endlessly spawn larger and larger broods of craymen until the dungeon’s invaders are overwhelmed.”

“Then WHY in the name of the ancients are we just standing here listening to a lecture on dungeon theory!” Kaleek slapped his forehead into his free palm. “We should be crawling around inside that thing’s guts!”

“I thought this was a teaching moment,” Dorrik responded, miffed. They ignored the shapes of nine more of the monsters spilling through the giant clam’s open mouth. “Although we can help Miss Kat in the tower, it is impossible for us to be with her while she fights for her people’s freedom. The depths of the lake provided the perfect opportunity to discuss the important role that situational awareness plays in spellcasting.”

“It was a useful lesson,” Kat cut in, trying to infuse her voice with a soothing tone. “But for now, I think Kaleek might have a point. It’s only a matter of time before we get overrun. We should probably look into completing the dungeon before we continue this discussion.”

“Fine,” Dorrik sniffed, obviously still a little perturbed. “I will crawl into the clam. There should still be craymen inside, but I will be much more useful in its cramped corridors than stuck out here in the open.”

“I should have enough mana for a wave or two,” Kat agreed slowly as she checked her status. “That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t hurry, but it sounds like a workable plan.”

Kaleek grinned, giving both of them a thumbs up.

“I have enough stamina for another five or ten minutes,” he concurred cheerfully. “Don’t go too fast, I have a fair amount of steam from a long day on the job to work out.”

Kat just rolled her eyes as the three of them set out toward the clam. About halfway there, the monsters intercepted them only to be stunned by Dazzle. Dorrik continued toward the boss while Kaleek swam into the fray, a dervish of fur and glinting steel as he tore his way through the reeling craymen.

She hung back, using Levitation on any of the monsters that looked like it had the potential to get the drop on Kaleek, but generally trying to preserve her mana. Still, Kat spared a quick glance up at the surface of the lake. There still was something satisfying about launching opponents to their doom against the roof. Mentally, she made a note to check into getting a therapist when she woke up.

Then Kaleek cut the last crayman in half. He spun around, a manic grin on his face while he struggled to breath the heavy water, clouds of monster blood billowing behind him.

Kat shrugged. Maybe both of them needed therapists.

Another wave of chitin covered creatures poured from the clam, letting Dorrik slip inside. Kat and Kaleek stood their ground, letting their resource pools recover as they waited for the even dozen of the monsters to bolt close enough to them.

Once they were in range, Kat called out another warning, and for a third time, used Dazzle to blind the entire swarm. Kaleek swam amongst them, blade flashing as he took advantage of their confusion.

She frowned. Despite the smile on his face, the big otter’s chest was heaving and he wasn’t swinging his sword with its former force. Perhaps most worryingly, Kat noticed that he was no longer wreathed in the ruby glow of burning stamina. Either the desoph was saving it for something, or he was running critically low.

Ignoring the sinking feel deep in her chest, Kat began using Levitation to remove some of the craymen. The splash/crunch of them bursting through the lake surface and splattering against the ceiling was satisfying, but even with her intervention, the monsters managed to recover from their moment of blindness before Kat and Kaleek could dispatch them.

She kicked off the ground, using Levitation to kill another monster even as she tackled one that had circled around to gain access to Kaleek’s back. Kat’s first knife strike skittered off of the monster’s exoskeleton and she had to kick hard, spinning the two of them, in order to avoid the creature’s claw as it tried to return the favor. Her second attack glowed red as she fed stamina into Penetrate, sinking through the monster’s armor and into the squishy flesh beneath.

Kat planted both feet on the creature, kicking off and pulling her knife from the wound she’d left in its back. A moment later, she finished casting Overpressure.

The portion of the spell that triggered outside the crayman’s body shoved it backward, but the jet of dark blood never materialized. Kat cursed internally at the wasted mana as she began casting Levitation instead. Apparently even with the help of her magic, the monster’s blood wasn’t under high enough pressure compared to its surroundings for the spell to be fatal.

It snarled, a flick of its fantail spinning it around until it was above her, facing down and ready to charge. Then, with the last of her mana, Kat cast Levitation.

The monster let out a surprised squeak, as its own buoyancy catapulted it up through the water, and into the air beyond.

She kicked off the ground, dodging to the side in an effort to keep moving just in case she’d been targeted by an unknown assailant. Nothing happened.

A half dozen torn and destroyed craymen floated in the water around Kaleek, the one survivor locked onto his armored forearm with both pincers. Even as she watched, he beheaded the creature with a sluggish blow, sending it to join its comrades.

Heaving for breath he paddled toward her, eyes wild but no longer grinning. He touched down gently next to Kat, planting the tip of his greatsword into the rock to steady himself.

“This is fun and all,” he began, pausing to take a big gulp of the lakewater, “but Dorrik should probably hurry up. I don’t want to have too much of a good thing after all.”

Kat grinned back at the otter, trying not to think about the fact that she only had two points of mana remaining as she addressed her friend.

“It’s like having dessert before dinner. It could ruin your appetite.”

“Exactly,” Kaleek replied, flashing his teeth in an almost smile in return. “If Dorrik lets me have this much fun here, it’ll spoil me. I just won’t be able to enjoy myself in the dreamscape unless I’m slashing my way through a horde of opponents and the two of you will have to put up with me whining and complaining through every dungeon.”

The clam’s mouth opened, releasing two dozen of the monsters. Almost immediately, they turned toward the two of them and began jetting through the inky water.

“Fuck,” Kat mumbled numbly.

Kaleek’s mouth moved silently as he eyed up their oncoming opponents. He turned to her, a deadly serious look on his face.

“Kat,” He began solemnly. “The first wave had six, the second had nine and the third had twelve. We barely managed to defeat the third wave. Now the fourth has twenty four.”

“I believe there is an error in this dungeon’s progression, and I would like to find a manager so that I can lodge a complaint,” his whiskers twitched as he broke composure, grinning broadly.

Despite herself and the seriousness of the situation, Kat broke out laughing. Kaleek shook his head in mock consternation as he pulled his sword from the rock floor of the lakebed.

“Don’t worry.” She chuckled. “Once we finish off the fourth wave, I’ll find an authority figure for you. Then you can give them a proper piece of your mind regarding the poor level design for this dungeon”

“Good,” Kaleek agreed, bringing his sword up into a two-handed guard. Kat couldn’t help but notice that the tip of this blade drooped and trembled slightly. “It’s simply disorganized and doesn’t reflect well upon the tower. I’m sure that with proper notice they can do better.”

“God,” Kat shook her head, burning the last of her mana to Dazzle the oncoming swarm of craymen. “At least we knew that this would be an underwater dungeon coming in. Without Dorrik telling us what consumables to buy and knowing how to defeat the boss, can you imagine how impossible this all would have been?”

“Dungeon pioneers come in three flavors Kat,” Kaleek replied, eyes on the scattered and disoriented monsters. “Insanely powerful, lucky, or dead. Our goal is to eventually end up in the first category, but the records on dungeons become less and less detailed once you get past your second evolution. The Tower of Somnus changes their contents periodically, and by the time you hit level twenty four, it isn’t terribly uncommon to find that a dungeon’s rules and opponents have changed in the last four to five years since a party has challenged them.”

“That’s a sobering thought.” Kat shook her head. “Usually I talk to Dorrik if I want an unpleasant moment of truth like that.”

“Think of the bright side.” Kaleek flashed her a grin. “There’s a decent chance that we get overwhelmed in the next two minutes here. Then? We won’t have to worry about it.”

Kat opened her mouth to reply, only for the Megaclam to shudder.

It groaned, a deep bass sound that made her bones ache. Next to Kat, Kaleek dropped his sword as he fell to his knees, both hands clamped over his ears.

Distantly, she felt her perk tingling, preventing the acoustic attack from stunning her as the Megaclaim just… deflated. One second, it was well over her head, and the next it began caving inward, like a time lapse video of erosion as it collapsed in itself.

Around the chamber, rocks slid to the side, revealing three dozen massive grates. With a sucking sound, water emptied itself from the lake. Kat stumbled slightly to the side before planting her feet on the rocky floor to resist the current as it tried to drag Kaleek and her toward one of huge mesh covered drains.

The craymen went wild, kicking with their fantails in panic as they tried to avoid being sucked into the vortexes of water as it was evacuated from the room.

Her hand darted out, snagging Kaleek’s greatsword as the current picked it up. She dug her heels into the rock, bracing herself as the heavy weapon turned sideways and caught more of the water flow.

Just as she felt herself starting to get pulled from her perch on the lakebed, a large furry paw closed around her hands. Kaleek gave her a nod of thanks as he wrestled his weapon back from the clutching pull of the current.

For almost a minute, Kat’s entire being was focused on bracing herself. If she had a little more mana, she probably could have helped the situation with Gravity’s Grasp, but despite her muttered curses, her mana pool remained empty.

Finally, the surface of the lake touched the top of her head. Over in the remains of the Megaclam, Dorrik held a beach ball sized glittering pearl with their upper pair of arms while each of their lower pair wedged a sword into the squishy pink meat that made up the insides of the huge creature. Behind them, the dungeon altar was barely visible, pristine despite the gore covered lokkel and the gobs of rotting flesh lining the interior of the boss around it.

With a great sucking sound, the last of the room’s water disappeared into the grates, leaving the three of them standing on the slick rocky floor. Around them, the surviving craymen flopped and crawled, barely able to support their own weight without the assistance of the high pressure water that had filled the room.

Grunting happily, Kaleek pulled his sword from the stone floor and walked over to one of the monsters, beheading it with a quick, decisive stroke. He nodded at his handiwork before turning to the next crayman.

It flicked its tail reflexively, spraying Kaleek with water as it tried ineffectually to escape. Instead, it only rolled over onto its back, letting the desoph plant a foot on its chest as he stabbed downward with his greatsword, pinning it to the rock floor.

Kat walked over to Dorrik, leaving Kaleek to his post battle fun. The lokkel was holding the pearl up in the room’s dim light, admiring its lustrous surface.

“Anything fun?” She asked, pacing up behind them.

“It’s in perfect condition.” Dorrik tucked the pearl under an arm, smiling down at Kat. “At least 600 marks. A lot more than that if we can get a chance to put it up for auction. That’s a lot of gear Miss Kat.”

“Where would we even find an auction?” Kat queried, slipping past him on her way to the dungeon altar.

“The fourth floor Miss Kat,” Dorrik supplied. “The Humbrass Atoll is a center for commerce and trade. If you have something that can be sold, it can be sold there. Usually to unsavory individuals and at a premium.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” she chuckled back, putting her hand on the altar.

A menu popped up in her vision as a cocoon of rainbow energy wrapped itself around her.

Congratulations Adventurer!

You have completed the Iron Tier Level Six Dungeon, Tide Caves.

Three of Three party members surviving. Good Job!

Assigning awards:

Specialization Stone (Dancing Blade)

+3 Mana

A smile split Kat’s face as the teleportation deposited her back onto the misty rocks outside the portal. She made her way over to one of the valley’s boulders and pulled herself up so that she could check her status without getting in her party’s way.

Name

Katherine Debs

Class

Elementalist Initiate

Max Level

6

734 Marks

HP

40

Dodge

Poor

MP

2/65

Damage Mitigation

Insignificant

STA

43

Strength

4

Agility

10

Fortitude

5

Endurance

5

Mind

7

Reaction

9

Charisma

5

Spirit

6

Spells Known

Gravity’s Grasp

Levitation

Pseudopod

Dehydrate

Dazzle

Shadow

Water Jet

Gravity Spike

Mirage

Overpressure

Gravity Plane

Watershape

Skills Known

Knife I - 12, Max

Gravity II - 3, 5%

Water II - 6, 11%

Cat Step - 12, Max

Light I - 12, Max

Cure Wounds I, 12, Max

Penetrate

Crossbow I - 1, 0%

Perks

Nightvision

Leaping

Sensory Dampening

Crippling Blow

Fast Healing

Second Wind

She tossed the specialization stone from hand to hand. Dancing Blade was one of the better second tier specializations for Knife I. It would let her partially animate a knife. She still needed to hold the weapon, but it could attack and defend on its own so long as it was in her grasp. According to Dorrik, it was synergistic with Pseudopod.

In all likelihood, she would use the stone, being able to attack twice at once sounded like an incredibly useful skill. But first, Kat focused on her recent gains. Three points of mana from the Tide Caves and finally hitting level six in the second tier of water, unlocking double casting. Once she added in the point of Fortitude and the Second Wind perk that let her increase her Stamina regeneration speed once a day, it was a fairly satisfying haul.

One after another, Dorrik and Kaleek appeared in sprays of multicolored light. Kat slipped the stone back into her carrying satchel before planting her hands on either side of her body and pushing herself off of the rock.

Her feet landed lightly on the valley floor. She used Cat Step to silently slip between her two companions, draping an arm around either of their shoulders.

“Dorrik,” she began, impish smile on her face. “Old friend.”

“Yes?” The lokkel responded hesitantly, crest flattening with concern.

“You consider yourself fairly authoritative about how the dungeons work, right?” She asked sweetly, batting her lashes at them.

“That’s a gross oversimplification,” Dorrik responded cautiously. “But I suppose there is some truth to it.”

“Great!” Kat clapped her hands together. “While we were in the dungeon, I promised Kaleek that when we got out I’d find an authority for him. I believe he wants to lodge a complaint.”

She skipped away cheerfully, a happy bounce in her step.