Alf readjusted his grip on Blix’s arm as a river of dust flowed beneath his fingers. “It’s working!” He turned to Blix, eager to take in her expression, but her eyes were closed, her face slack.

“Blix?” He tugged on her arm, but it was limp as a rag doll. “Blix, wake up!” He had to check twice to find her pulse. Her breathing was shallow but steady. She seemed to be in a deep sleep. A side-effect of the regeneration spell, perhaps? It made sense. Regrowing nerves for a new limb had to be a lot like rewiring a house. Always safest to turn off the main breaker before adding a new circuit.

The tunnel shuddered beneath his feet. Scrapes and rumbles, the thuds of falling rock. The centipedes were trying to dig them out.

Scooping Blix’s limp form into his arms, he staggered down the tunnel until he came to a pile of giant ant legs. The dust had already pulled apart the bodies, but for whatever reason it had left the legs intact. If they were Blix’s reward for defeating the ants, that meant they were valuable, right? He stopped and hooked a few of the severed limbs into the straps of his harness before continuing down the narrow passage.

A few hundred feet beyond the site of Blix’s ant battle, the tunnel turned suddenly downward. He had to choose his steps carefully to keep from slipping on the smooth wet stone. After a good ten minutes of steady descent, he stepped out into a cavern the size of four professional football stadiums arranged end to end. Glowing crystals studded the ceiling, filling the cavern with the blue-tinted light of a thousand moons. A host of gaunt stalagmites rose up around him. He felt like a toddler lost in a crowd of glowing phantoms. Danger lurked on every side, but he was too small to see it.

“Whoa.” He looked down at Blix’s sleeping face. “You might want to wake up now. You don’t want to miss this.” Keeping his eye on his mini-map, he made his way towards a winding ribbon of cold blue light. It was a stream. The lights shimmered and rippled on its placid surface.

He dropped to his knees, setting Blix gently on the stream’s sandy bank. Her arm was fully formed now, the skin as soft and smooth as a toddler’s. Her newly grown fingernails were even polished to match the ones on her right hand. He couldn’t wait to see her expression. She was going to freak.

Plunging his cupped hands into the stream, he scooped up gulp after gulp of crystal clear water. It had a faint mineral taste, but even so, it was the best water he’d ever tasted. He was just about to dribble a few drops into Blix’s mouth when three dots appeared on his mini-map.

“Alright, slacker. Break’s over.” He hoisted Blix into his arms and headed back towards the tunnel. Halfway there he noticed a line of holes bored into the cavern wall, twenty feet up, just above what looked like a narrow ledge. Following the ledge with his eyes, he spied a jagged line running diagonally to the ground. Stairs.

A series of discordant shrieks rang out through the cavern as the centipedes undulated into view.

He ran for the stairs. The steps were uneven and cracked, but they looked solid enough. He took them two at a time, sprinting to the ledge as the centipedes closed the gap. There were five of them now. And the mini-map showed three more dots approaching from the other end of the cavern. He reached the first hole as the lead centipede rose up on its back legs and lunged for the stairs. The ground shook. Cradling Blix close to his chest, he dove through the two-foot-diameter opening, twisting in the air to take the brunt of the fall with his back.

The ground shuddered as the centipedes pounded against the wall, but they didn’t come anywhere close to the hole. The ledge was just out of their reach, and the stairs were too narrow by far. Alf set Blix gently on the ground and then turned to explore their hiding place.

“Ahhh!” He shouted as his hand touched something soft and furry. He dove to put himself between Blix and the creature, shouting again as he landed on something soft. More fur. It seemed to be a pile of fur coats or blankets or one of those animal skin rugs they sometimes showed on black-and-white movies.

Checking to make sure the furs weren’t attached to anything living, he spread them out on the floor to form a comfy bed and repositioned Blix to make her more comfortable. The centipedes had gotten quieter, but a quick glance at his mini-map showed that they hadn’t moved on. Feeling his way on his hands and knees, he explored the rest of their hideout. It was roughly ten feet deep and six feet wide. In the back right corner, he found what felt like a large, metal-reinforced wooden chest.

He jumped back and braced himself, but of course nothing happened. A booby trap wouldn’t go off until he tried to open it—assuming booby trapped treasure chests were even a thing. He checked the mini-map. Not only were the original six centipedes still there, but now there were eight of them.

Oh well… He knew he was going to open it. Might as well get it over with. He crept towards the chest, stretching out an arm until his fingers brushed the lid. It didn’t seem to be locked. Turning his body to protect his head, he fumbled with the hasp and then threw open the lid.

Soft blue light filled the room. A fist-sized glowing crystal sat atop a pile of leather bags. He pulled it out of the box, holding it aloft as he sorted through the rest of the treasure: a copper cooking pot, a ball of twine, three empty leather pouches, a wooden cup, and best of all, a flint-and-steel fire starter kit!

Setting the crystal on the floor, he plopped down next to Blix and pulled one of the ant legs from his harness. The barbs near the foot were sharp enough to penetrate skin, but it was far too unwieldy to be used as a weapon. The chitinous shell was reddish brown and shiny, but not that unlike a giant crab’s leg. Using the hilt of his sword as a hammer, he cracked open the shell of the upper leg and tried to pull out the meat, but it was too wet and squishy, much like uncooked crab. It had to be edible or the dust wouldn’t have left it. He had the flint and steel, now he just needed some wood.

He eyed the beautiful wooden chest. His stomach was so empty it ached. They needed to eat soon, or they wouldn’t make it out alive. Easy decision.

Grabbing his sword and the copper cooking pot, he ducked through the window-door and stepped out onto the ledge.

The centipedes rose up on their back legs and slammed into the wall below his feet, over and over again, working themselves into a frenzy. They were bigger and faster than the centipedes from the forest, but they seemed to have the same basic movement patterns. He strode towards the stairs, drawing their attention like a pack of starving dogs. There were too many of them to take on all at once. If he fell off the stairs, even regeneration couldn’t save him.

He brought up his stats and put his two remaining attribute points into dexterity, taking it to 19. A tingle ran through his limbs, but it faded almost immediately. He didn’t feel any different, but 19 was supposed to be good, right? He descended the stairs step by step, until the lunging centipedes were just within reach of his sword.

A centipede hit the wall, and the sword leaped in his hand. Faster than thought, he sliced off both antennae and leaped onto a higher step as the centipede fell back, shrieking and thrashing, into the crowd of raging monsters. It was almost too easy. He hopped back into position and waited for the next creature, slashing and hacking off antennae until all eight centipedes were thrashing around blindly on the cavern floor below.

Then came the real work. Even blind and floundering, the centipede took dozens of hits to bring it down.

Congratulations! You have defeated the Giant Laopede.

Reward: 300 EXP

Apparently, Blix didn’t get to share EXP when she was unconscious. Hopefully she wouldn’t be too upset when she woke up. He burst out laughing and went to work on the next centipede.

Congratulations! You have defeated the Giant Laopede.

Reward: 300 EXP

By the time he finished off the next two centipedes, he was so exhausted he could barely lift his sword. He clambered up the stairs and poked his head into their door. “Honey, I’m home! Still sleeping it off?”

No answer.

He climbed through the door and checked on his patient. Her breathing was normal, and she didn’t seem to have a fever. He squeezed her newly formed hand. It was soft and warm. He could even feel a pulse. He brought up his skills and noticed that regeneration was off cool down. A wide grin tightened his face. She’s going to freak so hard…

Touching the stump end of her left leg, he cast another regenerate. Pain burned like fire up his arms, but it was the best pain he’d ever experienced. A river of dust poured through the door and into her leg. Probably carrying pieces from the dead centipedes. Ewww…

By the time the pain subsided, his stamina had risen 40 points. He dragged himself back onto the ledge and looked out over the writhing monsters. “Wait a minute…” He counted the ones that were still moving. There had been eight before, and he had killed four. How could there be six now? “Hey, this was a private party!” he shouted over the protesting shrieks of party crashers and stepped down onto the stairs.

One of the newcomers attacked immediately, and Alf promptly relieved it of its antennae. “Okay, next!”

The second newcomer waited at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at him with more intelligence in its antennae than the rest of its brothers and sisters. At least it would be more of a challenge.

Wind rushed in Alf’s ears as he sprinted down the stairs. The centipede shuffled its legs and started to coil for the pounce, but it might as well have been moving in slow motion. Alf leaped, slicing off its antennae before it had gotten three feet off the ground.

So much for his challenge.

The rest of the hour was nothing more than a slaughter. By the time he’d dispatched the last beast, he was running on stamina fumes. Retrieving the pot from the ledge, he stumbled over to the stream and plunged his head into the water. Earning 3000 EXP was exhausting. He gulped down water until he felt like a fish bowl. Then, filling the pot to the rim, he plodded back to his cozy little apartment.

“Still sleeping?” He gasped as he took in her leg. “Holy crap! Is that what your leg looked like before? It’s beautiful.” He checked her face, but her expression hadn’t changed. It’s not like he’d been creeping on her while she was asleep, but he couldn’t help staring a little. It was the sexiest, most perfectly beautiful leg he had ever seen.

He forced himself to look away and started breaking down the treasure chest to give himself something to do. “Holy crap. This is really happening. Holy crap!” He started breaking the ant legs into pieces and placed them one by one into the pot. If only he had some avocado and a little sticky rice…

Even with the flint and steel, it took him ages to start the fire. By the time he’d fashioned the metal bands from the chest into a stand for the cooking pot, it was time for the third regeneration spell.

He wrapped both hands around Blix’s remaining stump. “Please don’t run—” His throat spasmed as once again his world was filled with rapturous, radiant pain.

* * *

Name: Jane

Level: 8

Class: Paladin

Health: 256/256

Stamina: 46/256

Mana: 1489/784

Exp: 3077/4500

Attr Points: 0

Skill Points: 0

ST: 16

DX: 19

CN: 16

IQ: 28

CH: 16

Combat Skills:

Faire du Canne 7: (Effective Skill: 12.25, Basis: ST+DX, Enhancement: 36.75%)

Grappling 1: (Effective Skill: 1.7, Basis: 2ST+DX, Enhancement: 5.1%)

Swordsmanship 5: (Effective Skill: 9, Basis: 2DX+ST, Enhancement: 27.0%)

Archery 1: (Effective Skill: 1.8, Basis: 2DX+ST, Enhancement: 5.4%)

Non-Combat Skills:

Woodcrafting 1: (Effective Level: 2.35, Basis: DX+IQ, Enhancement: 7.05%)

Lock Picking 1: (Effective Level: 1.9, Basis: DX, Enhancement: 5.7%)

Command Attention 1: (Effective Level: 2.2, Basis: CH+IQ, Enhancement: 6.6%)

Swimming 1: (Effective Level: 1.9, Basis: DX, Enhancement: 5.7%)

Spells: (Basis IQ)

Minor Healing 5: (EL: 14, Cost: 25, Freq: unlimited, Effect: 42 points)

Major Healing 5: (EL: 14, Cost: 55, Freq: 1/20min, Effect: 600cc tissue regen)

Regeneration 3: (EL: 8.4, Cost: 300, Freq: 1/hr, Effect: regenerate organs or limbs)

Taunt 1: (EL: 2.8, Cost: 5, Freq: 1/min, Effect: 8.4%)