Jack nodded his approval as he eyed their claimed shelter. "Looks solid as anything. And the window frame must have a metal insert, which I'm guessing isn't cheep in this time and place..."

Mitch smirked, looking at the luxuriously appointed room behind them. "Place is decked out in enough furniture, tapestries, and finery as any lord's villa. Of course we chose the nicest house as our base. Why the fuck wouldn't we?"

"Well, at least now the wooden beams holding it all together won't break, no matter how hard those fuckers claw at the walls." Jack frowned. "At least... I hope." Shaking his head, hating having to pay full price, now that he knew there was a cheaper way, he still infused both metal grates with blood runes of Resilience, giving a satisfied nod, despite the cost. "There. Now we're secure."

Their merchant flashed a strained smile. "I am quite sure that Lord Hecklebart will have nothing but praise for the heroic Team Troll Killer who managed to save his town villa from the depredations of the horrors outside. In fact, I will do my utmost to assure it."

Jack frowned. "Good. But if there's an actual lord in residence, what about the town mayor..."

The man flashed Jack a sad smile. "Truly, to be such an idealist is a wonderful thing."

"He's saying the mayor who shriveled like a raisin offering us that quest is just a figurehead with no real power of his own. Basically he gets to take on the headaches of managing the town while the lord gets to sit and relax, rake in the profits, and not even have to worry about the headaches of administration. In other words, he's Lord Hecklebart's puppet." Sin smirked and shrugged. "Probably why he shriveled like a raisin in the first place, when you think of it."

"Sacrificing himself to save a town he loved. A heroic act!" Lauren declared with crossed arms.

Sin winked. "Never said otherwise, beautiful."

"Watch it Sin..." said Mitch, glaring Sin's way.

Their rogue chuckled softly. "Hey, I'm not the one who said I look like her ex." Before his bemused demeanor instantly transformed to something hard and cold. "Can you guys feel that?"

Jack frowned, wondering what Sin was talking about, then he realized, to his horror that he understood exactly what his friend was talking about.

A sudden weight crushing down upon them, a crackle in the air.

Sharon paled. "Oh hell. A gate's opening."

Lauren paled in alarm. "We have to get out of here!"

"No, we have to close it. Come on!"

Jack's heart began to pound as he and his friends raced outside with a final shout to the family to keep that door shut at all costs... and the awful lurch in his gut that he felt upon catching sight of the tendrils of crimson overhead that seemed to be tearing through the deep blue skies of the world he had known and loved all his life... he was not afraid to call what it was.

Absolute dread.

"Please don't tell me it is what I think it is," Jack whispered.

Yet everyone gazed in speechless horror at the sight as the undead roared and howled, still struggling to break through the central keep.

Sin gave a bitter chuckle. "Yeah, boyscout. It's exactly what you think it is." He turned to glare at Jack, as if it was somehow his fault. "Just like in the game. Before it became our fucking reality."

"Jacob, please tell me you know where the gate is!"

But her lover's panicked gaze was all the answer she needed. "No, Sharon." He gave a frustrated shake of his head. "I don't see—"

Magesight skillcheck successful.

Quickness check made!

Jacob's words were cut off when a the air seemed to shimmer and vibrate right where his head had been, the powerfully built paladin collapsing to the ground when Jack tackled him down.

"Jack, what the hell do you think you're doing?" he roared, eyes wide with surprised fury.

But there was not time to explain or apologize, Jack thought as time seemed to stretch and slow with his terror as he sensed more than saw the twisting of light and shadow that could only be one thing.

"Cloaker!" He cried, and like a spell discharged, the wavering light flickered away to reveal a massive creature of freezing ebony darkness, a hulking troll-like monstrosity of shadow, the ground turning to ice at its feet.

Sharon screamed and stumbled back though Lauren, focus debuff or no, still managed to shout a discordant chant that actually had the monstrous blur of shadow stumbling forward before it could claim Sharon, it's clear target. Leaving it off-balance long enough for a roaring Mitch, axe glowing a brilliant shade of ruby, tore open its back, showering the ground with inky blood that covered the ground in rimfrost.

Mitch beat shield against axe. "We can kill this fucker!" He roared, Jacob only then activating his blade and striking the creature of shadow, leaving a golden line of fire upon tarry flesh as the warriors sent it lurching back.

Before it exhaled a chilly blast of air that had both men instinctively warding their faces against the blast, their armaments clearly glowing with Sharon's Tier 3 buff... Before being sent crashing to the ground as the Claoker slammed right past them.

"Sharon, look out!"

Quickness Check made!

And all Sharon could do was blink in stunned terror as shadowy death leaped into the air like a panther, pouncing for a fatal kill.

Before bursting into flame.

"Ignis Sanguis!" Jack roared, Crimson shield raised as he punched forward with his fist washing his foe with wrath fueled flames.

You have been tackled by Lesser Darkbeast! Light Wound suffered!

You have saved versus stunning blow.

You have critically hit your foe!

And Jack choked back as gasp of pain when his thankfully armored back slammed into the ground, the enchanted slab of clay absorbing the force of the blow far better than any steel plate could, leaving him just focused enough that when darkest shadow sought to tear out his throat, only a single pinky was shredded as the rest of his fist jammed down the creatures throat and he filled it with flame.

"Ignis Sanguis!" Jack roared as his foe exploded in shrieks and darkness, sending Jack flying.

He groaned, spending long moments just gasping for air, for precious life as he came back to himself, powerful hands helping him to his feet as his friend's worried gazes carefully watched his own. "Jack, are you alright? Jack, talk to me buddy. I Think you took a blow to the head!"

Jack smiled at the well-meaning paladin. "I'm alright," he said, "Just a bit winded."

"What the hell was that thing?" whispered Lauren. "It nearly... in nearly."

"It's called a Cloaker," Jack whispered. "They're very good at hiding, and consider mages a delicacy. Don't ask me how I know that."

His smile turned to a grimace as he focused his will on repairing his mangled finger, hissing in pain and then exquisite relief as he tapped into his mana and repaired it in the handful of seconds he needed, his mind also clearing up, though Jacob still insisted on laying hands upon his skull and Jack couldn't deny the utter relief he felt, exhaustion and fatigue instantly washing away. It felt like he had just woken up from a good 8 hours sleep. Even the haunting visions he always received when he dared to use his own healing skill faded like the mos distant of memories, no more real than a tragic scene once read in a book of history. Even if that history had once been his own.

He snapped out of his daze when a gentle hand clasped his own. "I think you just saved my life back there, after I froze like a fool," said Sharon, covered in sweat and grime did nothing to mar the beauty of her features, or the weight of gratitude radiating from her gaze.

Jacob wrapped her in his arms, also nodding his gratitude to Jack. "I won't even ask how a level one managed to do what you just did, Jack. Just know that I'm damn grateful to have you on our team."

Jack jerked a nod. "No problem. Cloakers aren't even fully here, which is why the curses and cuts didn't have full effect on them. They are pretty vulnerable to Fire, however, especially magical flame. Because it kills them in both worlds at once. Don't ask me how I know that either." He then frowned, gazing at his own dented blood shield, wondering just how close to death he had come, hard eyes glancing all around, relieved by what he didn't see. Before lurching around and jogging toward the central keep.

"Jack, where the hell are you going? And seriously, how the hell do you know what you do?" shouted Mitch.

Jack waved the question away, focused only on what mattered. "If there's a rift entrance forming, and we sure as shit know that it is, then the keystone has to be the former dungeon, right?"

"Well yes," said Jacob. "But we have no idea where that is!"

"Exactly," he said, voice lowering as the rest of the party caught up. "And that's why we have to clear the keep, and fast, so whoever's there can tell us where we have to be to close this thing!"

Sin chuckled. "Boyscout does have a point." He flashed his own blade of shadow. "But if you had given me just a second longer..."

Jack smirked. "Sorry, Sin. Too slow! I thought you had invested your points better than that?"

Sin barked a laugh. "You arrogant little shit!" his smirk hardened when they slipped into the periphery of the town square. "Seriously, though. What's the plan?"

"Plan is the same as before," Sharon snapped. "We still have to take out those assholes, the rift just makes it more urgent. And isn't that our agreed upon perch right there?" She said, pointing to the rooftop of a nearby flat-roofed building."

Sin gave a curt nod as the six of them quickly slipped in from the alleyway and entered the building, none of the fiends that were making too much headway into actually jerking the massive keep gate off its hinges paid them a moment's mind.

Jack paused only long enough to blaze several quick obscuro and resilience wards in the door and two quickly secured windows before racing up the stairs for the rooftop once more.

***

"You sure you can handle this, babe?" Mitch asked the girl who's diminutive hand he had claimed, Lauren flashing a reassuring smile. "Jack's insight was on point. Lay on Hands totally removed the debuff, so I'm good to go. And don't worry! Since I'm just using two of those spells, my focus wont' be split too far." She glared at the swarm of undead across the square as the cries of the defenders within picked up in urgency. "And I don't think we have anymore time to burn. Sharon?"

Sharon frowned. "Give me a minute."

And Jack could only gaze in awe as she cried out a chant to her spell, and the entire keep took on a pale Silver glow as the beautiful asian girl collapsed in a heap, Mitch darting in so fast she barely swooned before folding into his arms.

"Shit, you're pushing yourself too hard, Sharon!" an anxious Jacob cried.

She took a deep breath, then flashed a beatific smile. "Probably, but look at the keep, love."

And they all did, gazes widening with newfound respect for the enhancer in their midst.

Because she what she had done went far beyond enhancing a single piece of gear.

Somehow, she had managed to buff an entire castle. And Jack had no idea if that had taken an unexpected tole from her or tapped into her level-up points and he was determined never to ask, knowing how sore a spot it was that he learned skills so quickly when she had to pay for the privilage, at least if she wanted to learn at his rate.

But all he had to do was look at the sight of the massive keep glowing like something out of a fairytale, the defenders inside cheering as if filled with renewed energy as they pushed the ghouls back with a trio of silver-tipped spears, desperate to lodge shut the massive wooden door once more. Jack frowned, noting that the undead were now fighting with renewed zeal, as if whipped into a frenzy by the necromancer in their midst, doing all they could to break in, before Lauren's words washed over them all.

"May the cursed and wretched embrace well-deserved woes! May they trip over their own feet, balance unable to keep, as they fall to all our blows!"

And suddenly the writhing mass of undead became just that, a writhing mass, and finally Jack felt as much as heard the gate door close.

"Yes, we did it!" Mitch crowed.

Lauren positively beamed. "Yes we did!"

Jack glanced Jacob's way. "Just one last step."

Their paladin nodded. "Taking them out. But Sharon's winded, Jack, so it's a holding game for now."

Jack flashed a smile of his own. "I don't know about that."

before he turned all of his focus back on the frenzied swarm of undead surrounding the keep still a good thirty yards away, feeling that same curious tingle racing down his spine once more as he shifted his stance and focus, just as he had before.

Gazing at the milling mass of undead until they almost seemed to pop up in his mind's eye, forging a connection he could almost feel.

A connection so real, in fact, that the necromancer snapped its glowing gaze his way.

Just as its skull was washed over in corrosive death.

"Sagitta acidum!" Jack roared, over and over, his fingers jutted out as he unleashed bolt after bolt of caustic death, streaking through the air to crash into the massive milling swarm of undead, too frenzied still to realize that final death was raining down upon them, their necromancer nothing but a half dissolved corpse that many soon joined.

And then Jack found himself not just striking where his opponents were with pinpoint accuracy, but shifting his trajectory with the tiniest of nudges, sensing just where they would be by the time his caustic arrows found their target.

Which they did,

Time after time.

Utterly oblivious to the cheers and hoots of his friends by his side, he embraced and held that perfect state of zen, not even paying attention to the messages blazing across his interface, not even when he understood in a sudden surge of inspiration, why arcane missiles resonated through the air the way they did, and how with just the tiniest surge of effort, reality itself could be made to crash into itself, to reflect and duplicate, just like splitting a beam of light, and where there had been a single acid bolt, there now were two twisting around eachother at inconceivable speeds.

Streaking forth so fast Jack could only sense the transformation, but the results when they impacted their targets spoke for themselves as ghouls went from being crippled and occasionally killed to blasted to heaps of putrefying flesh with each shot, the boosted, duplicated bolts utterly dissolving the thin necrotic strands of power forcing the corpse into a state of unlife. A state Jack was more than happy to relieve as many from as he could, before at last collapsing to his knees, only realizing just how utterly he had depleted himself when the rooftop with the mock parapet they were using for concealment was spinning before his gaze.

"Well done, Jack. That was some mighty fine shooting there!" Powerful hands gripped him and gently eased him against the ornamental crenelations, Jacob flashing him an approving nod as Jack did all he could not to spew on the ground before them, his blood shield instinctively absorbed to free up much needed mana reserves.

Sharon just shook her head, an odd smile equal parts admiring and bitter gracing her features. "He actually managed to split his arrows. That fucker actually hit journeman rank, and was splitting his arrows!"

"That he was," Sin smirked. "Jealous?"

Sharon laughed. "That's a stupid question, Sin. I can cast third tier spells and reinforced the whole damn castle!" She sighed and shook her head. "Of course I'm fucking jealous. My Acid arrow is only Apprentice Rank 2 and I spent a fair amount of our apprenticeship just training with that and Dissolution Orb! I thought I was hot shit, actually getting Apprentice Rank 5 with my favorite Tier 2 spell, and that was only after risking our lives in that golem cave that I finally pushed through!"

She chuckled ruefully, rubbing her eyes. "So I knew that when I put that point for Journeyman Rank 1, I was saving myself months of training, with tutors. And the best perks available were Causticity and Mana Efficiency. Spell Splitting wasn't even open to me!"

Lauren nodded. "That's why, assuming we survive this shit, we're attending the Arcane Academy and learning our spells the right way."

Sharon gazed up at the now crimson sky above them, giving a quick nod. "Damn right. Here's to hoping we live that long." She turned back to Jack, flashing him an almost playful smile.

But Jack was no idiot, he saw the hunger, and the barely concealed frustration, in her twinkling eyes.

"So, can I count our newest teammate teaching his patient instructor the tricks to learning at a madman's pace?"

Jack gave a quick nod. "You know I'll teach you whatever you want, Sharon, as best I can." He flashed a smile of his own. "Because I have no doubt you'll do the same for me. And together we're kicking ass and taking names."

Sharon grinned, quickly nodding her agreement. "You know I will, boyscout."

He smirked at that, before turning back to the keep still blessed with the brilliant glow that his Magesight so clearly picked up. "But seriously, you're sweating the knack of splitting an arrow or two, when you can do that?"

She chuckled throatily. "And that's not all I can do, Jacky-boy. You rest, and watch a master at work."

Jack's gentle chuckle turned to a look of awe when her gaze turned steely hard and a stream of massive balls of caustic death flashed through the air from her open palm.

"Sublimato! Sublimato! Sublimato!"

The air vibrated with the pulse of mana and the ring of her voice as the globes streaked through the air, each hitting its target as twisted flesh given unlike dissolved into puddles of quivering rotting flesh with chilling speed, splash damage causing discordant shrieks as peripheral limbs fizzed and smoked.

And finally, at last, the hissing mass of undead broke free of their maddened frenzy, glaring with unholy yellow eyes at the source of their torment.

But it was already too late.

"Sagitta Acidum!" Jack roared, already feeling revitalized as the flood of potency roaring through him left him feeling more invigorated, more alive, more in the moment than he had ever felt before. As if he was truly and utterly in the zone, aware of every movement and shift in stance in himself and his foes, sensing as well the euphoric woop of Mitch and the others and tasting like never before the glorious pulse and throb of magic resonating through his soul.

And even as his acid arrows streaked out with ever greater potency and surety, he understood what was happening, the source of the incredible oneness he now felt with the world and his place within it.

"Damn sweet, girl, I've never felt such a rush!" Mitch roared with a throaty woop. "Leave some of those bastards for me, and I'll cleave them like never before!"

And Jack couldn't help but silently smile in fiercest agreement as he whispered the deadly words that promised death streaking through the air as all that potency, all that potential screaming through his soul as they took ruthless advantage of distraction, terrain, and position, to slaughter their over-leveled foes like never before, funneling his potency into such a profound understanding of the tool he was using to tear through his foes that it didn't surprise him at all when his acid arrows got easier to cast with each fresh kill, now hitting so hard one in three of his targets ended up bowling over.

And in thrice the time it took 1 to become 2, two became 4.

Congratulations! You are directly responsible for destroying 20 Tier 2 Undead! You share in party experience for the destruction of 35 additional Tier 2 & 1 Tier 3 Undead. Acid Arrow has hit Adept Rank!

Perk retroactively chosen.

And the whoop and holler he so wanted to shout to the world when his mind blazed with sudden understanding, and he at once sensed how easy it would be to mirror his mirrored arrows, now slamming into his targets so hard they went flying back before screetching their last as their instestines and spine dissolved with his center mass barrages, his throat went dry with sudden dread.

Dread echoed by at least some of his companions. "Babe, you've killed a hundred of those fuckers, but their still coming! There's more now than when we started! What the hell's going on?" Shouted a panicked Jacob.

But Sharon, faced tight with dread, could only give a desperate shake of her head, forcing out the word 'Sublimato,' a trio of deadly balls of acid streaking through the air to explode into and kill another handful of Ghouls as she stumbled on her feet, before braced by her lover's powerful arms.

"I don't know," she gasped, heaving for breath. "I killed them. I killed so many of them!" Wild eyes looked Jack's way, her laughter brittle. "And this beautiful, brilliant bastard can now split his arrows four-fold! That's an impossible feat. And it's not enough," she sobbed breathlessly. "They're still coming!"

And she was right. Even with Lauren crying out her curses, tripping well over a score of those horrors, even with Acid arrow's cost being only a third of what it had been when he had first dared cast that spell, now shooting four from one, still, it wasn't enough.

The keep, that had earlier faced less than two score restless undead was now surrounded by over a hundred, and Jack, fighting to function past the sudden dread he felt, now understood why.

Arcane Perception skillcheck successful!

"Guys, I don't think we have to ask the keep where they're coming from."

Mitch frowned, nervous hands clenching the haft of his axe, sneeking quick glances down the street below, as the restless undead were now hunting for them, but hadn't even tried to smash into their own building yet, thanks to the wards Jack had in place. "What the hell are talking about Jack? We got to focus!"

Jack chuckled ruefully, sinking into a crouch as he took deep breaths and tried to restore his once more depleted mana, having forsaken all reserve spells save for his bloodshield, needing to be as full as possible for his sniping duties.

"If you look just past the keep, you'll see a dark shimmer that seems to cut through the air. If you gaze at it long enough, it no longer looks like a heat haze, but like something else entirely."

Lauren gulped, green eyes widening as her lightly freckled features paled. "You mean like a rift filled with sickly green and black crackling energies warping and stretching in directions alien to any point on a compass?"

Jack gave a tired nod, taking just a bit of comfort in the message now flashing across his mind's eye.

Congratulations! You have achieved Rank 1 in High Intensity Training while fighting for your own survival. Your Mana Pool has permanently increased by 10 points!

The young witch seemed to crumple, terror in her eyes. "Oh heaven's mercy, that's too much. This is a full scale trial, and we're only level 5!"

"Six, babe," Mitch said quietly, giving her an encouraging squeeze. "And that's just from being linked to the party. Me, and the boys haven't been able to do shit, and it pisses me off that I'm not doing my part. But if grouping got me a full level..."

Sharon's eyes widened, she flashed a desperate smile. "Yes, he's right, Lauren! I was so busy casting for my life that I didn't even notice... and will you look at that, Dissolution Orb went up a journeyman rank, and it didn't cost me anything!"

Sin smirked. "There are advantages to be sent on what was clearly a fucking suicide mission, and I absolutely can't wait to share with dear, dear Lord Hecklebar, just how grateful I am."

Jacob flashed a fierce smile, nodding his agreement. "It will be a right damn pleasure."

Mitch smirked. "Damn, that's bloodthirsty talk. My kind of paladin!"

"Um, guys? You do remember that this is all real, right?" Jack cautioned. "Not that I don't want to cleave this guy a new asshole as well, and I haven't even met him, but for all we know, he's really just a fool with that lord's luck thing you were talking about, which means it really is all just coincidence."

Sharon nodded. "More to the point, how long do you think we'd last if we actually tried to take out a nobleman and pissed off all the powers-that-be in a city of well over a hundred thousand? Because if we've come this far in just a few days..."

Jack nodded. "You know there have to be at least a handful of Delvers who have gotten very, very powerful indeed, and like things just the way they are." Jack raised his hands when Sin glared his way. "I mean, it just stands to reason, doesn't it?"

Lauren trembled. "Oh for Pete's sake, please don't get us any more killed then we're already are, Sin!"

Sin just snorted and spat. "Whatever."

Mitch held up his hands. "Alright, babe. Let's just try to survive today, then we'll figure out what the hell we're going to do, okay?"

She trembled but nodded, doing her best to calm down when Sharon took her hand, flashing an impish grin. "You good, girl? Because now is when we power up and kick ass, and I just know you saved up at least a point, so we can buy Rank 8!"

Lauren couldn't help flashing a smile at that. "Assuming no other one-time perks pop up, then yes, I absolutely am getting that Rank 8, even if Rank 9, and actually getting 4th Tier spells, is going to take us 2 more levels!"

Sharon smirked. "Isn't that the truth. Now I think it's about time we powered up, don't you?"

And with a shared smile they arched their backs and cried out, the glow surrounding them even brighter than before, and Jack almost imagined an arcane concussive wave of force and ripped out from the pair, so intently he was surprised he didn't knock over.

Till he blinked in surprise, hearing howls of alarm and confusion below, stealing a quick look over the parapet to see that there were, in fact, a flood of prone ghouls only now struggling back to their feet.

He turned back to his friends, and couldn't help but grin at the looks that could only be called rapture gracing both their faces. "So, was it as good for you as it was for them?" he snarked, pointing his thumb over the parapet in the direction of the stunned ghouls.

Lauren flashed a wicked grin. "It was indeed, boyscout." she chuckled throatily. "I absolutely cannot wait to see your expression when you finally level up, and I'll make you blush so hard that you'll rue the day you ever thought to tease a witch."

Jack chukled nervously. "Apologies?"

She winked at that, before slipping into Mitch's arms and squeezing him so tight even his eyes widened before his features fell into a concerned smile. And only then did Jack realize how much of her bravado had been an act, the silent sobs as she shook against her boyfriend were subtle, but unmistakable. "It's gonna be okay, babe. You'll see."

Jacob turned to Sharon. "How are feeling beautiful?"

She shook her head and sighed. "Not sure if I was brilliant, or just played the fool."

Jacob's gaze grew intent. "Babe?"

She lowered her gaze when Lauren caught her own, almost as if in apology. "I didn't um... I know what I said, but in the end I didn't put anything more into Rank 8 Enhancer."

Lauren tilted her head. "Sharon, what's wrong?"

She flushed. "I just... I...I know we need every tool we can get a hold of if we're going to get through today, and I just got the strangest feeling when I was communing with my interface, took a second look at my spells option and, you know how there are no good Enhancer Tier 3 attack spells?"

Lauren smiled. "I do. You've told me, more than once."

Sharon bit her lip. "Well, it turns out that if you're actually crazy enough to put 3 points into your Tier 2 spell and instantly Adept-Forge it, 1 more point is all you need to make an identical Tier 3 version of that spell. With all the advantages of starting at Adept Rank 1, and it's carrying over both the potency perk, and the mirror globe perk."

Lauren's eyes widened. "Wait, wait wait wait... You effectively paid 4 points to Grab a Tier 3 spell, when 7 points would have finished purchasing you level 8 with a free Tier 3 spell?"

Sharon's cheeks blazed. "Yes, pretty much. And the rest went into mana. Because today, I need all the mana and mana efficiency I can get, with one lethal spell." she sighed, giving an angry shake of her head, even as she winced at the guttural growls and shrieks of the roaming undead below. "I knew I was being an idiot, letting myself feel stressed and pressured because we're fighting for our lives, thinking only of the moment, not the future!"

She bit her lip, looking frustrated to the point of tears, when Lauren gently wrapped her up in her arms. "Hey, come on, sister. I didn't say that. And hey, correct me if I'm wrong, but you now have a Tier 3 attack spell that already has 2 perks attached to it, right? And starting off at Adept status? Do you realize how juiced up that is? If it's anything like the original code, that's a 170% Damage bonus at 1/3rd the cost! And with Rank 7 in your chosen art already multiplying your base by an additional 233%... shit, Sharon, that's fantastic!"

Sharon flashed a relieved smile. "So, you don't think I was being a complete idiot?"

Lauren firmly shook her head. "Genius, maybe. Idiot? Never." she squeezed her friend's hand. "Well?"

"Well, what."

"Show me, you silly goose!" she flashed Jack a wicked grin. "Let's show our boyscout here just how badass a powered-up Tier 3 spell can be!"

Sharon took a deep breath and did just that, her uncertainty of just moments ago replaced by the confident gaze of a true mistress of her art, open palm jutting forth as she glared down at the swarm of howling undead that chose that moment to look their way.

"Shit, they see you, Sharon!" Sin snapped.

"Hush!" Lauren glared, just as the air rang with the power of Sharon's spell.

"Dilabor!" she cried, as multiple shimmering globes streaked through the air before crashing into the swarm of ghouls below.

Jack gazed, open-mouthed with wonder as over a dozen ghouls near instantly dissolved under the impact of those massive globes of inconceivably potent acid exploding into them like bombs or massive water balloons, hissing smoke and jets of flame pouring from their rapidly melting forms, seemingly devouring their targets so thoroughly that they were consumed as much as dissolved, the undead legions hardly having time for a single shriek before there was nothing but a pool of caustic, bubbling slime in a shallow crater that had actually been eaten into the ground.

Jack jerked around, hands tightly gripping the parapet, catching Sharon's near rapturous gaze. "That spell totally kicks ass. You totally kick ass, you know that?"

This earned him a sultry chuckle. "You're damn right I do, boyscout."

"Teach me?"

She frowned thoughtfully before laughing at his expression. "You're damn right I will, just as soon as we survive this madness!" Her gaze turned serious. "I mean it, Jack. My interface made it clear that it's only because I'm somehow getting a mentoring bonus, studying under a natural savant who's already altered multiple adept-ranked Tier 1 spells in my presence, that I was even given the option to jump into a Tier 3 adept spell like this." She flashed a rye grin. "So, either I should be pissed at you for my impulsively burning all those points, or damn grateful I could force-evolve this kickass spell. But either way, it's all thanks to you."

Jacob's eyes widened. "Wait, you're interface is calling boyscout a natural savant? He doesn't even have a single level to his name. Do you, Jack?"

Jack smirked. "Not unless my interface isn't telling me something, but no."

Mitch smirked, folding his powerful arms. "Jack-of-all-Trades. That's your hidden class, I'm sure of it!" He then turned to Jacob and Sin. "Alright, boys. The girls are set. Let's say we break through and get ready to crush those EX bags below!"

Jacob grinned, Sin nodding as well. "This is what it's all about," Sin said with a soft chuckle, before arching his back, and Jack couldn't help but wince at the sight of his agonized rictus, truly not sure if it was ecstasy or torment the man felt, in the back of his mind hoping his own future level-ups wouldn't be quite so... intense.

And perhaps it was because of the intense flood of mana washing over them all, arcane energies saturating the strange atmosphere, the sky above now tinted with crimson clouds, faint stink of sulfur, a sky now caught on the edge of twilight, the sky awash with an impossible array of purple and violet stars just beyond the edge of the crimson clouds and what looked like a giant blood red moon glaring down at them with a cratered surface that looked as much like a face twisted by evil as it did the pockmarked surface of a moon.

Jack felt an icy shiver race down his soul, knowing that something was terribly, terribly wrong.

But what really scared him was that he was almost certain he knew what it was.

And just how doomed they were.

"Guys?"

Lauren and Sharon had gone deathly silent when the boys had gone quiet with their level-ups rippling through them, forced bonhomie instantly stilling with the oppressive weight all around.

"What the hell is going on?" Sharon whispered, lurching back when her eyes caught the crimson skies, the strange stars, and the horrific caricature of a moon.

Lauren's too wide eyes were darting about with growing dread as she shook her head. "The fuck if I know. But I really, really want to get out of here."

And before they could say anything further, a pair of whoops and Mitch and Jacob were with them once more, giving each other high fives, all of them glowing with incredible energy, vitality, and just radiating a certain magnetism Jack couldn't help but feel inspired by. Even Sin was radiating a certain aura.

Jack couldn't help grinning. "Sin, did you actually put points into Charisma and Appearance?"

The rogue actually blushed at the bemused smiles this earned him. "Back off, boyscout. I'll put my points wherever I like."

Jack raised his hands in mock surrender. "Woah, relax, buddy! You want to look cute for the ladies and find a girl who actually appreciates the charming rogue with a heart of gold, you know I have your back."

Sin's eyes actually blazed, and Jack felt a sudden cold shiver of apprehension, realizing just how outmatched he would be if this now Level 7 Nightstalker truly took offense. Before he gave a puzzled frown and actually grinned. "If my charisma hadn't just gone up a notch. Shit, you're just playing."

Jack smirked. "Well, yeah. No, seriously. Lauren is right. Dark leather looks good on the right type of man and you are seriously working it now. Points well spent, in my book. Because once the killing is done and we've had our level up fun, what's the point if no one in the wide world appreciates us once we retire?"

Sin nodded. "Exactly. Why am I busting my ass for these people if they don't even appreciate what the fuck we're putting ourselves through, after all? Hell, even that one charisma point boost and I can see clearer than ever that that's how bitter misunderstood villains with very short lifespans are made. So, yeah. A point well spent."

"And we sometimes get deals with certain characteristics," a too strikingly handsome Jacob said, smiling at Sharon's hitched blush. His golden laughter would have melted gold. "Would that I had known that last level. But this level I made up for it, with a point in appearance and charisma both. The latter actually aids my class abilities, so that's my excuse right there."

"And the former, appearance, is actually indicative of fertility and genetic health. Not to mention damned clear skin," said Mitch, who looked like just the same powerfully built, rugged warrior that he had minutes before. Only now he also looked like a movie star playing at being a rugged viking, eyes a nearly hypnotic shade of blue, flashing a brilliant white smile when an all but purring Lauren slid into his powerful embrace, wrapping his arms about her and leaning into him with a sigh. "Because what gamer worth his salt won't take advantage of two for one offers, sponsored by a town a half-step from being torn completely from our realm into living nightmare?"

His powerful baritone chuckle washed over them all, kissing Lauren long and deep, as if in defiance of the growing horror all around them, before lifting his head to flash the fiercest of grins. "And this level I broke all the rules, going all in with Vampiric Blow!"

Jacob furrowed his brow. "You went all in? Wait, you force-ranked it to level 5? But..."

"But nothing. One of the perks of the dungeon gifting us with non standard perks is we're not tied to the limitations of our classes. I don't know if I can push it any further than my actual class level, that might be a hard and fast limit, and maybe I'm a fool not evolving my basic class perks this level, but damn if my bit of madness didn't work exactly like I hoped it would."

The beautiful redhead in his arms flashed him a bemused smile."And what bit of madness would that be, Mitch?"

He kissed her long and deep, earning a moan and desperate eyes, breaking it off with a rueful chuckle. "Sorry, babe. I'm just... Jacob, it's so fucking epic. It worked! I actually did it!"

Jacob flashed his friend a bemused smirk. "What the hell are you talking about? Seducing your girl in the middle of the world's worst shit-storm?"

"No, idiot! I got rank 5 in Vampiric Strike, and procced the evolution I was hoping for. The evolution we need in this hellhole."

Jacob frowned. "And that would be..."

In the blink of an eye, so fast Lauren visibly paled, the powerfully built Fighter clipped free his axe and raised it high, the razor sharp axe head and backspike now glowing with a crimson light as foreboding as the moon overhead. "Vampiric strike now works against undead! I can drain those fuckers and instantly heal wounds, no matter what current of power or energy or magic or unholy might they use!"

Jacob whooped and pounded his friend's back. "My man. That is awesome. Fucking epic!"

"I know, right? Only problem is, I had to give up a 100% multiplier bonus and the rage-proc tree. But fuck it. This Delve's making it damn clear that standard orcs or bandits are not the norm!"

Sin snorted. "Like you're not powerful enough." He winked when a suddenly incensed Mitch glared his way. "You're going to melt through those fuckers like butter while I'm still picking my targets from the shadows."

Mitch's furrowed brow eased, he chuckled softly. "Yeah, I will. And don't pretend you're helpless, Sin. I caught sight of how well you were using that Shadowblade not that long ago."

Sin grinned, buffing his nails. "Trust me, friend. You haven't seen anything yet."

Jacob's favored their rogue with a curious smile. "I've always wondered what the Rogue Evolution Tree looked like. Anything we should know?"

Sin flashed a genuinely pleased smile. "Not going to spoil it quite yet, folks. But wait til our next fight. Then you can decide for yourselves if it's worth keeping old Sin around."

Lauren and Sharon exchanged bemused smiles.

"Strange, I almost found that last bit of reparte charming."

Lauren chuckled. "Clearly someone's finally decided to boost a couple key social stats."

"Which is a good thing," Sharon quickly added, glancing Sin's way, as if expecting to see him frown and curse, but all he did was smile and wink.

"Like what you see?"

Lauren laughed. "Still saucy as hell, though." She rubbed her chin in mock consideration. "I made some friends while we were busy training our asses off for all those weeks, back at the compound. A very sweet, very affectionate girl in particular, who might have been giving you calf-eyed looks you were too clueless to pick up on... and I just might be willing to introduce you to that certain someone if you're on your best behavior, Sin." Her grin widened. "Now you might actually be worth the headache you'll inevitably give any girl."

Sin's eyes widened, a curious blush coming over his swarthy features. "Wait, you don't mean..."

This earned him a wink.

Sin's mocking laughter rang over them all. "As if I needed anyone's help, melting the hearts of any girl with a taste for adventure." Before seeming to fade into shadow before their eyes, Jack smiling as he caught the faintest whisper near a smirking Sharon's ears. "We'll talk. Later."

And the roar now coming from behind the keep made it clear that the time for moral boosting had past. Because if finding themselves slipping into a realm of crimson skies, enchanted moons and a town full of undead revenants hadn't emphasized how perilous their situation was, the hideous roar of a titan sized creature made of magic and bone, opening a serpentine jaw filled with too many teeth, brilliant white orbs of crackling light where it's eyes should be, certainly did.

"Holy fuck!" Jacob whispered in awe. "Did those assholes actually resurrect a T-rex?"