A landscape of solid green washed over level twenty six much like the blue sea that had swept over the floor below it. Instead of an ocean however, this Dungeon was a dense jungle of lush foliage composed of trees, ferns, vines and everything in between.

It was so humid and tightly packed with plant life that it was borderline claustrophobic. The Corpse Hunter had hated it from the moment he stepped onto this floor. He couldn't see more than fifteen feet ahead of him and it bothered every nerve he had left. Even the boy and girl behind him were forced to follow more closely out of the very realistic concern of getting lost.

Aiden didn't enjoy company, not outside the Dungeon and especially not in it. Vagrant, of course, was an exception to that rule among many others. The one thing that made up for the young Ascenders and their unwanted company was their understanding of their own limitations. They both knew that running off into this rainforest without the Corpse Hunter would mean joining their father in the afterlife.

So long as the boy and girl knew that they didn't belong this high up in the Dungeon he would tolerate them. And so they traveled together in silence until the dense jungle gave way to a small clearing. The Corpse Hunter stopped abruptly, prompting his companions to do the same.

He had expected them to say something when he froze, like asking why he stopped or what he saw. Instead the teens froze in place as well and remained just as silent as he was. Their father’s training was visible and even Aiden couldn't deny that the youths knew more than most their age. Maybe they would get out alive after all. Leaving his cart where it was the Corpse Hunter moved towards the boy and girl.

"What Fates were you given?" he asked quietly, not even bothering to ask their names.

"I have the Fate of the Shining Star," the girl said

"And I have the Fate of the Entangler," the boy said.

The man in gray stroked his scruffy chin hair. He wasn't a fan of facial hair but rarely kept up with his clean shaven preference. After mulling over what his younger counterparts could do he nodded.

"Alright we can work with that," the man in gray said.

If they had been Fated to something like farming or crafting he would've ordered them to hide under his cart. But they both had practical gifts that could be useful on the field of battle. He knew it, their father knew it, and even they knew it. Hopefully they had been given the opportunity to hone their gifts enough to hold their own against whatever they were about to face.

Those born with the Shining Star Fate could create sudden bursts of light often used for blinding their foes or illuminating your surroundings. Other creative uses had also been found over the years such as communicating with distant allies and signaling the start of a joint attack. It wasn't the most robust of gifts but it wasn’t a bad Fate to have all things considered.

Similarly the Fate of the Entangler had a number of different applications its Fate Holders could take advantage of. Entanglers could manipulate objects around them that were similar in nature to rope. Chains, vines, long pieces of fabric and of course rope itself were at their disposal. With considerable training these Fate Holders could eventually learn how to create magical ropes directly from their own life force.

The man in gray was reminded of the rope that had been wrapped around the veteran Ascender's legs and lower waist when he recovered the body. It was clear to him now what had happened. His son had tried to pull him out of the water back on the twenty fifth floor. Aiden cleared his throat and pushed the sudden revelation out of his mind.

"How many times can you use your primary abilities in the same hour without passing out?" Aiden asked the young Ascenders.

"Three," the teens said in unison.

"I said without passing out, not before passing out," the Corpse Hunter said more firmly.

"Two," the brother and sister admitted, sounding a little deflated.

"You've already used your primary recently, haven't you," The Corpse Hunter said to the boy.

The young Entangler wasn't sure how the man knew that but he nodded.

"When was the last time you used yours?" Aiden asked the girl.

"No less than an hour ago," she said.

"Be mindful of that, both of you," the man in gray cautioned them. "It can be tempting to try and sprint to the finish line but if you fail to reach the end of the race you'll die."

They had probably heard this before while being trained but he needed to make sure it was fresh in their minds. The Dungeon had laid claim to entire family lines in the past. Given the chance it would do it again.

"When we enter the clearing ahead of us we can expect a fight. Stay focused and do as your father taught you. He survived as long as did through his own experience which he surely passed on to you both."

After the teens nodded, Aiden almost felt a smile trying to force its way onto his face. Children that listened to those who knew more than they did. What a rare treat that was. The three Ascenders waited on the edge of the clearing.

Across from them was a tree towered over all of the rest. It was well over one hundred feet tall and so wide it would take three men to link arms around it. That was probably where this floor's boss monster was long with multiple smaller threats.

Some floors had traps and enemies spaced throughout the whole level. Others were packed into one localized area. They hadn't faced any trouble yet so it was probably hiding within the massive redwood.

The Corpse Hunter wasn't interested in fighting his way up the tall tree despite the plentiful branches that wrapped around the trunk like stairs. Rather than enter this Dungeon within a Dungeon he decided to speed things up.

He reached into his backpack and retrieved a longbow and quiver full of arrows. It wasn't strung to save the weapon from unnecessary wear and tear. After restringing it and knocking an arrow he fired the weapon into the branches near the top. An angry roar echoed from the canopy above causing the tree to sway from side to side.

"That's what they call kicking the beehive," Aiden said to Vagrant with a grin, momentarily forgetting about his young companions.

The Corpse Hunter waited in the brush with the teens to see what beast would come out of the tree. Branches rustled as several monsters could be heard thundering their way down the tree's natural staircase of bark and densely packed leaves. After a very tense minute of waiting a large gorilla tore out of the redwood and leapt off a branch twenty feet in the air before landing in the center of the clearing.

It landed on all four limbs and solely rose on its back legs to examine its surroundings. It was at least twelve feet tall and looked as though it wanted to tear the first thing it saw into pieces. The monster scanned the tree line to find the person responsible for the arrow jutting out of its shoulder. Seconds later a dozen smaller primates poured out of the tree. They stood off to the side of their leader, chattering loudly and looking agitated.

The Corpse Hunter looked back to the boy and girl. "Do you two want to deal with the big one or the small ones?"

They looked at him as if he had asked if they wanted salt with their meal or live scorpions.

"Fine, I'll take the big one but you're going to have to deal with all the small ones yourselves. My hands will be tied."

Stepping into the clearing the man dressed in gray fired another arrow at the hulking gorilla. It glanced down as the second projective embedded itself into the monster’s hairy body. For Aiden this might have been the same response he would give to a sliver or perhaps a bothersome hangnail. When the creature turned back to him it let out a thunderous roar even louder and more frightening than the one before. Now it had a target, something to vent its rage at.

If the arrows hadn’t been the true start of the battle then the gorilla’s battle cry was. It charged towards the Corpse Hunter on all fours, tearing up clumps of dirt and grass with its hands and feet. Were this monster to get its hands on the man with the bow it would likely try to do the same to him that it was doing to the ground beneath it.

“Time to see what this one can do,” the Corpse Hunter said, drawing a beautifully crafted arrow with a small inscription chiseled into the shaft.

A keen eye could make out the small text on the projectile which read, “Arrow of the Beast Slayer.” Many of the monsters within the Dungeon were considered beasts, not all, but many. The charging gorilla with the black and gray hair and the bloodshot eyes was one such beast. While the normal arrows had done little more than enrage the monster the magically imbued arrow tore through the monster’s chest as though it were made of clay. Blood and meat splattered the ground as the projective passed straight through the gorilla’s bicep.

A chunk of flesh and muscle the size of the Corpse Hunter’s palm lay on the ground where the arrow had cleaved it from the beast’s arm. When the ape put its body weight on the injured arm it gave out, sending the lumbering creature into the ground and as it rolled head over heels. That single arrow could have kept Aiden supplied with enough alcohol for a month-long drinking binge if he’d sold it.

He didn’t sell the things he found within the Dungeons though. Not the things that were scattered about the floors as a reward to those that had cleared them and especially not the things carried by the dead. They became tools of his trade, a means of Ascension for the man in gray whose job it was to retrieve the fallen.

By right of salvage even the spears that Aiden had found on the body of the veteran Ascender of the previous floor were his to do with as he pleased. And those he had chosen to return to their next of kin, which he did on occasion. The rest he used to carve a path through the floors above as needed so that his duties could be fulfilled.

Before the gorilla could recover the Corpse Hunter chugged a bottle of yellow liquid and sprinted towards his adversary. The Potion of Speed doubled his movement and greatly improved his agility. On its own the potion would have only allowed him to match the gorilla’s speed but with the injury caused by the Beast Slayer Arrow now he had the upper hand. The Corpse Hunter only liked to bet on winning hands when it came to combat for the Dungeon didn’t respond well to bluffers.

With their champion still on the ground and the man in gray now racing for him the smaller primates that had been watching and cheering now entered the fray. Though slower than than the Corpse Hunter they threatened to swarm over him while he was fighting with his main target. That would heavily turn the odds in the beasts’ favor but fortunately he wasn’t alone either.

None of the monsters had been aware of the man in gray’s allies that had been waiting in the tree line for their cue. When the pack of chimpanzees made their move the teens acted to counter them. A blinding flash of light dazzled the creatures forcing the ones in front to stop which caused those behind them to slam into them from behind.

They tripped over one another and fell into a heap of tangled arms, legs, and tails. When the monsters that hadn’t been blinded looked around they found that several of their numbers were now held in place as vines wrapped around their limbs and waist. Eight of the dozen primates had been incapacitated by the boy and girl that were now walking into the clearing to face them.

Seeing that his one on one duel could continue without interruption the Corpse Hunter focused on the creature that was now rising to its feet. He cleared the distance between himself and the gorilla just as it became aware of the man’s presence but before it could react. The short sword tore into the ape’s knee cap, slicing the flesh but missing the tendons that the man was aiming for.

When the creature reeled back with its good arm to swing at the man he was no longer there. A searing pain in the back of its right leg caused it to roar in anger as the Corpse Hunter cut into its ankle. With speed and agility on his side he continued to hack and slash at the gorilla’s limbs in an attempt to render the beast immobile before his potion wore off.

If he failed to do so the negative effects of the magical liquid he drank would likely be the death of him. It was a gamble but one the man made with the belief he had been dealt a better hand than his opponent. Sure he had lectured the children about not sprinting to the finish but that didn’t mean he had to adhere to his own advice.

While the Corpse Hunter had landed several successful slashes with his sword the beast had yet to land a single blow upon him. When the monster heard the sounds of battle off to the side near the tree line it saw the smaller humans who were cutting through the smaller apes with their spears. If the gorilla couldn’t vent its rage onto the Corpse Hunter then the teens would have to do.

Unfortunately for the man in gray he had yet to deal a crippling blow to the creature beyond the single arm that his arrow had cleaved straight through. With three limbs still in fairly good condition it broke away from the man and barreled straight towards the boy and girl. With the Speed Potion still coursing through his veins the Corpse Hunter chased after the gorilla and jumped onto its back. The lumbering beast ignored his presence even as he buried the blade of the short sword into its lower back.

The four primates that weren’t impacted by the teen’s Fates had rushed towards them. It was four on two and though the beasts still outnumbered the kids there wasn't any coordination between them. The brother and sister however fought together as a team, just as their father had taught them. When their opponents tried to encircle them the boy and girl stood back to back, covering each other and lashing out at anything within arms reach.

For every blow the young humans received they returned the favor thrice over. Their breathing was heavy and their bodies a few scratches and bite marks but they had come through in one piece. They didn’t languish on their small victory though, the other apes would soon recover and they had no time to waste.

Together the Shining Star and Entangler descended upon the beasts who were still blinded or bound by vines. There was no hesitation over striking down a defenseless foe, they knew what was at stake.

The spears that once belonged to the veteran Ascender were relics that he had earned after a lifetime of Dungeon diving. Masterclass was the term that the smiths and craftsmen of Plinth used to describe such a treasure that only a handful among their ranks could replicate. Even in the hands of a pair of novices these weapons tore through the remaining apes like they were made of paper.

Drenched in sweat and blood the teens felt their well earned victory wash over them and for the first time since their father’s passing they allowed themselves a moment to enjoy their fortune.

Then they looked over to see a massive wall of muscle in the form of a gorilla barreling towards them and their hearts sank.