I appeared back in the main cave, heart racing and needing some answers. My feet carried me to Korren.

“What exactly was that? Why are there guns here?”

Her lips contorted into a half-smirk. “Miss Knight, with TNT in the mines did you honestly expect that we hadn’t learned to weaponize explosives? Even if we hadn’t, we could have learned from your world. Although, I’m fairly certain some trickster spirit brought the concept of black powder over from our realm to yours, but that’s beside the point.”

“How can I buy a pistol like yours?”

“You can’t.”

“Why not?”

She sighed. “Look, even if I could get you a pistol, you wouldn’t be able to use it without the bullets, and those are impossible for me to give you.”

“Impossible? Really?” I said, voice dripping with every ounce of sarcasm I could inject into it.

“It’s against the rules of the game.”

“Then how do you have them?”

“I’m a floor protector, and the things I shelter the upper floors from are far more dangerous than you can comprehend.”

“I can comprehend more than you think.”

“Not like this. The things down there could terrorize the beasts that reside in your current nightmares.”

“Then it’s a good thing I don’t sleep.”

“At least until you’re forced to.”

I hugged my bow and stared at her to see if she would back down.

“I guess I’ll have to find out for myself when I defeat you.”

“For your sake, I sincerely hope you fail.”

I stuck my tongue out at her and dropped into my mine.

***

“Again?” Korren said as I broke into the space between floors.

“Yes again.”

“Last time you arrived with alacrity.”

“I just grabbed a few more items to replace the charges I’ve lost.”

She nodded, and the doors opened.

I floated into the entrance closest to me and pulled out 7 cubes, naming each the same as the last set.

Ogee! Here we go!

Oooo, yeah!

“Remember to stay silent while I fight, or I won’t use you.”

Did you hear that?

Oooo yeah, I did!

I sighed.

The gong sounded, and I flew into the vines.

“Set!”

Ooooo! Here I go!

My weapon charged and I hit Korren before she could start zigzagging.

She reappeared close, sword in hand, a smirk on her face.

When she reached a block from me, she rose her sword high in the air as if to slash but then tossed a landmine.

It exploded in a fiery blast.

I appeared 4 blocks away filled with anger and 1 less charge on my armor.

She could do that again, without giving me a chance to defend myself.

I flew far enough away that my weapon charged.

She dashed after and reached the point where she couldn’t dodge my attack. Before I could release, she threw a grenade at me.

I smirked and fired anyway.

A blast of energy engulfed the metal egg causing it to blow up both itself and Korren.

“You’re getting better at this,” she commented.

“This mine creates fast learners and quick thinkers.”

“I won’t deny that. But even as fast as you are, you can’t defeat me.”

“We’ll see,” I said. “Sin!”

Ooo yeah!

An arrow appeared.

She tossed a landmine at me.

I cast telekinesis on it and threw it at her. Unfortunately, casting magic had distracted me enough for her to leave my line of sight, so it blew up without doing any damage.

I ground my teeth and backed away. Korren kept far from the various TNT crates that littered my map. I also couldn’t rely on her throwing another explosive anytime soon now that I knew the trick.

An idea formed. I didn’t like it, but it was the only reliable way of defeating her superior bow.

She zigzagged until an arrow became nocked in her weapon.

I flew under her and 7 blocks away, exactly within her range.

She paused and pulled back. “I’ve got you now!”

I cast telekinesis on my bow and flew down even as I moved my weapon up.

But Korren had already released her missile. Just after her weapon’s energy blasted my weapon, I released my charge. Energy consumed her, and she appeared several squares away with the kusarigama.

“Hah! Intriguing.”

I grinned. “I thought I’d be too slow on that.”

“You were not. But you’ll be too sluggish for this!”

She bolted to the side. I was starting to recognize her zigzag pattern, but I wasn’t good enough at it to risk losing a weapon charge cube.

“Qua!”

My turn!

The cube spun happily and flew into my bow.

Korren lobbed a grenade at me, which I avoided then barely sidestepped a vine trap smelling of rotten meat.

The dark elf hovered close to a TNT crate, but just out of its reach. Then I noticed that a vine trap rested above it with a light boulder on top.

Light boulders made the explosions larger.

I aimed for the trap and released.

When my energy harmlessly missed her, she scoffed, right up until the TNT blast hit her in her smug elven face.

“Tray!”

Once again my bow charged.

She appeared but I didn’t let her have the chance to use the kusarigama and blasted her immediately.

I knew what was coming next and yelled “Doh!”

Korren armed her pistol and aimed it at me.

With my bow recently charged I fired toward her but missed completely while destroying a vine trap that had been behind her.

“Tch.”

I bolted down and collected an energy orb to recharge my durability.

“Oh, Miss Knight. Soon you’ll understand just how pointless it is for you to progress further.”

“Other’s have beaten you, so will I!”

“But the others had infinite chances.”

“Wait, what?”

She tossed a grenade at me.

I barely dodged its blast.

Did she just say that to shock me?

I rushed down several more blocks until my bow charged.

Again She blasted the pistol. This time I noticed that it went out 3 blocks at the base and 5 blocks forward, making a long T shape.

I could defeat the gun. It had less range than I had!

Korren reloaded.

I leveled out until we both floated on the same line of blocks.

She charged forward. I backed up. When I willed my bow to fire, she flew up and blasted me. Just before the energy hit me, I reappeared 4 away from her with no more armor.

“Al!”

She was so shocked by my closeness that I didn’t even need to stop her from dodging. I shot, hitting her with a solid blast and she vanished.

Eight blocks away from me, she appeared, a gentle smile on her face, at least that's what it looked like in my mind map.

In her arms, she carried a massive scythe that already glowed with a charge. It was even larger than the one Mr. Black had. She started floating toward me, vine blocks bursting in her wake.

Just what exactly was the range on that thing? Would I even have the chance to hit her before it cut me down? And why did Korren have a reaper’s weapon?