Richter was on edge. There were remarkably few challenges on the first floor after their initial run in with the satyr and skeleton. On top of that some creature had been incinerated outside of the staircase down to the second floor. He couldn't decide what that meant.

"Listen up. We never finished off that skeleton. It was probably waiting for us to get here," Richter addressed his group.

They were in a forest, one that shifted before them.

"Good news is that means there's probably only one floor boss in the dungeon. Keep your eyes peeled and stay close. It'll be easy to get separated down here."

They would have to wander. They didn't have someone who could easily navigate the woods.

"We'll travel in a straight line. Call out doorways but do not approach them. I cannot stress enough that this dungeons entire goal is to divide us."

Richter led the group in something that could be called a straight line if it weren't for the non euclidean geometry of the place. They passed the same set of trees multiple times but Richter kept to his plan.

"Thant. Don't go teleporting. There's no telling where you'll end up." Richter addressed the group's rogue.

There was only a nod, unseen to Richter, in return.

Bolts of energy, some clear and shimmering while others were purple and smoky, appirated and bisected the group. Some dodged back while others dodged forward. None of the projectiles hit, but once the clear ones were between the now divided group they exploded into a shower of shimmers with a sound like shattering glass.

With that the group's were separated. The forest had shifted in the brief moment that vision was obscured. Richter was with Thant, Morello and Yark, who he wasn't particularly fond of, but was an undeniable asset.

Thant readied his blades.

"Don't bother. The dungeon will go for the others first. It was trying to find the weakest links on the first floor. They're as good as dead." Yark said it so nonchalantly. Richter had to admit he was right though. The other group would be an easier target and the dungeon knew that. The most powerful members of the group were all in the front. It was a dumb mistake. The less capable members were now in some distant part of the forest no doubt being attacked from all sides.

There was a scream. Thant looked in the direction it came from. "If I run that way I'll just end up further from them won't I?" The question didn't need an answer.

"Let's get a move on. We either find a path forward or find the others. No use standing around." Yark was taking the lead now. He spun his scythe a bit as he grabbed a ball off of his belt and threw it in the direction they came from.

The others followed him and after a moment there was a bang ahead of them and Yark took a 90 degree turn to avoid traveling in its direction. As he did he dropped another ball.

Richter was more than a little upset. "Why didn't you lead with this strategy?"

"I figured you had a plan," Yark needled.

Another bang, another turn and another ball dropped.

The undignified silence was interrupted by another blast of clear energy.

Morello lept forward to take the blast to his armored body to avoid a repeat of last time.

"Thant! Fuck. I told him not to do this."

He was gone, no doubt attacking the creature that blasted them.

"That's a shame. 'Cus we're-"

"RHOOOOAAAM"

Paralysis, followed by projectiles from multiple directions. Richter was hit twice and Yark once.

"Fuck!" Richter drew a small blade and looked for one of the creatures. He spotted an imp, out of place in the strangely lit woods. He used mana to throw the blade with extra force propelling it faster. The imp was caught off guard and was struck. It's body was small enough the blow was fatal.

"Not again, beast," Morello engulfed his arms in fire as he intercepted the bonework demon that tried to attack Richter from behind.

Yark spun his scythe and flicked it so that the ball on the bottom of the shaft flew towards the skeleton and armored mage.

More blasts emerged from cover in the forest and Yark continued spinning his scythe to block the blasts.

The bonework demon wrapped itself around Morello and started to pull him off balance and fall backwards. A portal opened where he was going to fall.

Morellos flames started burning brighter and the demons bones charred at the heat but it didn't release him.

Then there was the explosion. The ball Yark had thrown detonated. Bones scattered and the skeleton let out a final screech that paralysed the adventurers just long enough for Morello to finish falling through the portal.

Relative silence followed.

"That solves that," Yark announced.

"Fuck. Ok. Thant should be fine but Morello is going to be in bad shape. We need to go up and find him quickly." Richter was relieved that their biggest threat was slain, but Morello could still die. At least he knew that the portals led to those rooms with sigils in them. They had found remnants of some of the others who were taken near the sigil rooms.

"We'll get him on the way out, but first," there were three simultaneous bangs. He turned to walk in the direction of silence. "Let's get some loot." Richter followed and sure enough there was a doorway in the ground after a short distance. Looking into it showed normal rooms again. The pair jumped in and caught themselves as they adjusted to the shift in which direction was down. The path forward was obvious. Only one door.

As they made their way into the final long chamber they could see it. The core. A large cut emerald of exquisite quality.

Yark gestured as if to say an exaggerated 'you first'.

Richter approached the massive gem. He sheathed his blade and removed a gauntlet. He set his hand flat against the largest surface of the gem.

It was warm. He closed his eyes and allowed his hand to sink into the core. It was as if his arm was submerged in a pool of water brimming with life. Souls and mana nipped at his flesh as he reached around looking for something to grab. Only his arm was submerged but it felt like if he opened his eyes he would find himself in a foreign world filled with the dead.

"Sam Marietta Tam. I'm here to take you back and release you from the confines of this dungeon."

He felt something. An engraved pommel. The tips of his fingers fumbled to pull it closer and he grabbed the handle. Slowly he pulled his arm out, followed by the blade. As the hilt emerged he heard something and opened his eyes to look back. Yark was on the floor in a pool of blood. A man stood over him. He was broad with greying hair and stubble.

"Does it really take so much focus you can't be bothered to save your friend?" The voice seemed off in a way Richter couldn't place.

Richter held his newfound blade in front of him, preparing for a fight. Yark was strong but he was caught off guard and he relied on tools usually. Was this foe someone Richter could face?

He took a moment to attune himself to his new weapon, preparing to break concentration if the man tried to close the gap. The blade was longer than it looked. Not quite an illusion, like a sword that was enchanted to look shorter. The exact opposite actually. A short sword enchanted to be longer, though mechanically they would be identical.

The man started walking forward and raised his hands. Richter stepped forward and swung his blade. Not wanting to reveal it's extra length yet he swung closer than he needed to.

Richter was not prepared for the man's strategy. Richters blade met flesh and sunk in. The man set one hand on Richters hands and gripped them as he brought his other fist to meet richters face.

Richter took two blows before pulling his hands away and stumbling away from the man. Before he regained his bearings he heard the blade being removed from the man's side. Richter drew his own blade to block the incoming attack. Instead of a swipe or stab though, the man threw the blade haphazardly and then charged.

Richter deflected the makeshift projectile and stabbed into the man. His momentum was only slowed by an insignificant amount. The man had lost enough blood that he should be unconscious at the least and dead in any reasonable world.

Another flurry of blows struck Richter before he released the blade and fell towards the wall. Richter was baffled. The man's strikes weren't mana infused but they hit like boulders.

Richter slumped against the wall.

"Who are you?" Richters question would go unanswered.

The man picked up the blade that came from the core. "I've always wondered," he set the pommel against the gem, "if these products could be returned somehow."

The blade wasn't accepted. It collided with the core, like a pommel would collide with a gem.

"Disappointing," the man raised the sword and slashed it against Richters stomach. The pain was dulled by the shock of everything.

The blade clattered to the ground.

"Now to business." The man set his hands on the gem. "I offer you a rare opportunity" the man paused as if thinking, or perhaps listening. "Veraform. I have experience and power you can't hope to attain quickly. I offer it to you only because I want you to be strong enough to defeat enemies that know nothing of loss. Accept my council and my strength."

He paused again. "You have little choice. I can slay you if you don't accept. That's all the more reason to believe me. I have enough power that lies are unnecessary on my part."

Once again he paused.

When he started talking again Richter couldn't understand. Reality was fading. He was dying. He felt a hand at his shoulder. Thant. Then a small prism against his flesh. He was out of the dungeon. Lying in the grass beside Morello and others. Some weren't breathing. Some were tending to the others.

His eyes closed.