Seiji ducks and rolls, not bothering to kill the creatures before him. Unlike his former comrade, the flames on his body do not consume his mind, but instead fuel his strength. Ever-positive Seiji found a positive spin to his current predicament. True, the flames cause dark emotions, but no emotion is inherently bad, in Seiji’s opinion. It depends on what you do with it. Seiji uses the rage he feels as a source of energy to keep on fighting.

On the third floor, Seiji is one man against an army. Elemental Slimes and Mimics attack him from all sides, seeking to devour his flesh. Unfortunately for them, Seiji is turning the tide, ever so slowly. Tongues of flame attach themselves to anything and everything he approaches. Swathes of the ground are covered in flame, which infects the earth-bound slimes and mimics. One by one they turn on each other, spreading the flame further. Occasional swipes of Seiji’s sword don’t do much damage to the slimes with their physical damage immunity. It does, however, recruit more soldier to his army.

Seiji experiences a small shock when he catches sight of his reflection on the shiny skin of a Metal Slime. The Dark Flame smolders on every inch of his skin, obscuring his features, which he had come to expect. What shocked him is that the flames below his neck have condensed oddly. Seiji briefly entertains the thought that the flames created armor for him because he is a valuable asset, but then dismisses it. It would require intelligence for that to happen.

‘This probably happens whenever a creature hosts these strange flames for long enough,’ he reasons.

Skewering the Metal Slime with his flame encased sword, Seiji surveys the battlefield. The once formidable Slime and Mimic Army had devolved into a civil war. The attention is no longer on him as the shapeshifters devour each other, the strongest becoming stronger and the weak adding fuel to the fire. Quite literally. A blue screen swims before his eyes, bringing a grin to his face.

Congratulations! You have defeated the champion of Floor 4, Greater Mimic. Status of Floor 3 Champion has risen to Floor 4 Champion! Contact your Floor Master for appropriate rewards.

Level up!

Seiji quite likes the idea of being a Floor Champion. When he was a Sword Saint in his previous life, he spent much time fighting in tournaments and duels. Outwardly, he always appeared humble to keep from stepping on toes, but on the inside, the pride and glory of winning is something he craves. The idea of defeating other Champions and taking their place in the Dungeon food chain brings him great satisfaction. Somewhere along the line, Seiji stopped worrying about getting out of the Dungeon, and started looking forward to bending it to his will, piece by piece using his new weapon. The dark flame.

In Seiji’s mind, he considers the flame to be a cheat of sorts. He hadn’t even raised his sword against the Greater Mimic. The flames had reached and infected it. In fact, it isn’t even dead. Just devouring its own kin due to the flame’s influence.

‘The system must consider bringing it under the Flame’s influence to qualify as defeating it,’ he decides.

“ENOUGH!” A shout reverberates through the battlefield, pausing the combatants. Many of which are in mid-slaughter. Their victims either look relieved at the interruption, or in agony as they die a slower death, bereft of mercy from a quick kill.

A translucent blue slime drips from the ceiling, and then reforms into a nude blue woman. Majesty and authority emanate from her form. Inside of her, through her skin, Seiji can see dozens of cores, where as a normal slime only has one.

‘It must be a Slime Queen,’ Seiji thinks, a hint of fear peeking through the curtain of rage and optimism that surrounds his heart. This monster is far above Seiji’s pay grade.

“You!” The Slime Queen points directly at Seiji over the heads of her minions, paused in battle by her mere presence. “You brought this… this… This abomination of flame to my levels, corrupting my children. I will make you pay for the damage you’ve caused!”

Her arms wriggle and elongate, forming into dozens of whip-like tentacles. They spread like a net, chasing after the dodging Seiji. Once close, they accelerate, striking down, trying to impale him. He slices at the one’s within reach, trying to use the flame to influence the Queen to his side.

‘If I could take her with me to the upper floors, the battles would be much easier.’ Seiji thinks wishfully.

Unfortunately for Seiji, the path to becoming a Floor Master is long and arduous, meaning that the Queen is no fool. As soon as the flames would touch her tentacles, she would sever them, allowing them to become nothing but core-less jelly, burning uselessly. This game of cat and mouse plays out for several minutes, the Queen systematically driving Seiji into a corner. His chances for survival dwindle by the second.

A wave of arrows covered in black flame catch the Queen by surprise, many landing around her, with a few striking her body. One even landed directly on a shallow core. Screams wrack the Queen’s body as dark flames rapidly cover her, as if the flame knows that assimilating her will aid it greatly.

Surprised, by the life-saving arrows, Seiji seeks their source. A dozen Death Knight Guardians march forward, shields interlocked. Behind them are Death Knight Rangers, raining flaming arrows on the army of shapeshifters in their path. Flaming Skeleton Warriors charge recklessly into battle, not caring for life or limb.

“Champion, we have come to aid you in your conquest,” a Lich rasps. A Lich Seiji is pretty sure he killed not too long ago, but ever-optimistic Seiji decides to not look a gift horse in the mouth. The Undead and Seiji are united by a common bond after all. They are all bearers of the Dark Flame. Seiji is confident that the flame can control the Undead and so he incorporates them into his plans.

“Don’t kill the Queen,” Seiji commands the Lich, taking the situation in stride. “I want to take her to the upper levels with us after the flame converts her. With her producing slimes and you summoning undead, we will be able to overwhelm far more powerful enemies using numbers and flame. This Dungeon will fall before us!”

“Your wish is my command, Champion.” The Lich rattles. “Unless the Master orders otherwise.”

“I’m very curious to meet this Master of ours,” Seiji says, but inwardly thinks something else entirely.

‘The flame has chosen me as it’s Vessel. We’ll see whether or not this so-called Master is worthy to command me or not.’

***

Head in her hands, Quinn stares at the devastated chamber, trying to figure out what happened. After Snowflake and Ra’hel had fallen into the trap, Nevasca had gone crazy trying to break a hole in the floor. Quinn and Mordai fought back the attacking hordes of creatures in the maze while Honey and Nevasca hacked away at the floor. After several minutes of negligible progress, they had broken through. Quinn and Mordai finished off the wave of monsters and followed the Beasts into the hole in the ground.

Source hardened walls, torn to shreds. Burn marks mar the stone in irregular patterns. Massive chasms crisscross the floor. The damage in here is tremendous, indicating a hard fought battle. Therein lies the issue. Ra’hel lays dead, burnt alive by all appearances. Snowflake is a crumpled heap of broken bones that Nevasca won’t let anyone close to. But no matter where Quinn searches, she can’t find the bodies of any Dungeon creatures.

‘Were their attackers so strong they couldn’t even slay one?’ Quinn ponders. ‘Or perhaps there is a darker story? Ra’hel does often crush the bones of her enemies and Snowflake has that odd crown of flame he never uses in battle… Did Snowflake kill Ra’hel?’

A dark part of Quinn hopes so. Although Quinn’s relationship with Snowflake had a dubious start, she now has honest feelings for him. Twinges of jealousy had plagued her every time Ra’hel made a pass at Snowflake. On a logical level, Quinn knows she has no right to be jealous. After all, she is married and still regularly sleeping with her husband. Not only that, but she had originally come on to Snowflake because she wanted to get revenge on her abusive husband. Snowflake was kind of cute and she knew he wasn’t very valuable to the Guild, so if her husband, Alexander, killed him in a rage, it wouldn’t matter too much.

At least, that is what she thought at the time. They bonded in that cave. The days together, sheltered from the horrors of the world, had been amazing for Quinn. A man who was genuinely nice to her, and treated her with kind words without trying to manipulate her, resonated to a part of her that was in pain. That is still in pain. But that pain eases when Snowflake holds her in his arms.

In their old world, Alexander had been the Truthseeker, appointed by the gods to eliminate evil. Quinn had been his guide and guardian, sent by the gods, for his quest. They fell in love. Even in the beginning, Quinn knew that Alexander had a darker side. As a Truthseeker, he could find the truth of a matter as easily as turning over his hand, using his god-gifted power. Despite his great power, he still resorted to physical and mental torture. At the time, Quinn had justified it, saying it was for the greater good. Deep down though, she knew. He did it because he enjoyed it.

Over time, his blessing as a Truthseeker became a curse. He found the truth of his world, that it doesn’t exist and they are nothing but fiction. That was his breaking point. He became more and more moody and withdrawn. He no longer kept the façade of torturing for truth, but instead tortured for pure pleasure. Quinn, his loving wife, did her best to save him. She believed she could, but before long it became clear that he didn’t want to change. By that time, it was too late for Quinn to escape from his grasp. She was in too deep.

After that, they were summoned to this world together. He kept her a comparatively low level by convincing her he wanted to be strong enough to protect her. She believed him. She always did. She always does. She wants nothing more than to save the good in him. The good man she remembers him being. However, when things between them turn bleak, Quinn often sought comfort and escape in the arms of other men. Other men such as Snowflake.

Quinn’s jealousy is not rational, but emotions are not known for their reasoning. Quinn knows that her jealousy stem from fear. She is afraid that Snowflake will be taken from her. Despite her original attentions when approaching him, she truly does like him. She may even love him, but her experiences in love make her afraid to admit the possibility.

She tries to approach Snowflake, to hold her lover’s broken body in her arms, but is beaten back by Nevasca. Quinn frowns at this.

“Come on Nev, I thought we were friends.” Quinn addresses the black and white, feathered creature. “I just want to make sure he is okay. Can you let me close? He might need healing!”

Nevasca shakes her head and bares her teeth. She pointedly looks at the burnt corpse of Ra’hel, and then back at Quinn. Her meaning clear.

“I know you think Ra’hel betrayed him,” Quinn says in her best soothing voice. “But I’m not her. I promise you I will take care of him. I’m worried about him. Please let me close, Nev. It is really important.”

Nevasca stubbornly refuses to give into Quinn’s begging.

“He’ll be alright Quinn,” Mordai lays a hand on Quinn’s shoulder, speaking gently. “I can see from here that his wounds are knitting back together. What we need to do now is to keep moving. We are still stuck on the 9th floor and we need to beat the 10th floor to leave. Honey is making a stretcher out of some fabric and those halberds from the 1st floor. I need your help breaking down this wall Ra’hel made.”

“How do you know Ra’hel made it?” Quinn asks.

“The stone is different from the walls,” Mordai informs her. “It doesn’t look like a normal part of the Dungeon. I’m pretty sure there is a tunnel leading out of here behind it.”

‘Next time I’ll keep you safe,’ Quinn vows, looking at Snowflake with a heavy gaze. ‘I’ll keep you safe and I’ll fix everything. You can rely on me, my darling.’

A giant drill forms from light particles in the air and attacks the wall. The drill pierces the wall easier than it would’ve been able to with its Source hardened counterparts. Quinn’s mind is only half on the task at hand. The rest of her is focused on finding a way to save her lover from her husband. A monumental task at best.

“A pretty girl with a massive drill, all my dreams come true!” Mordai quips, trying to lighten the heavy mood.