"Will you quiet down?" Nathan snapped. "I'm sleeping, here."

"Help!" Keith exclaimed as he fired off several more air slices at the trio of boars he was fighting. "Nathan, help!"

Nathan grumbled as he sat up and assessed the fight. There were more than a dozen carcasses on the ground, though they all looked and smelled old to Nathan's quick look. Then, there were the three boars that Keith was actively fighting.

"Fine," he muttered. "Then I'm going back to sleep."

Nathan charged forward, punching the boar charging towards Keith from the right with enough force to alter its path into another boar. The two of them tumbled as Nathan glared at the other boar before charging towards it as Keith attacked the two that were recovering from Nathan's initial attack.

As Nathan took on the third boar, his wind elemental joined him and stopped its attempts at tripping up the boars to form a wall of wind in the beast's path. The beast ran through the familiar, which sent a spike of irritation through Nathan, though its attempt at stopping the creature did succeed in slowing it down.

The warrior grabbed the boar by the horns, taking note that it had a mostly-full Health bar through Scan. Only one of the three was empty, charging itself with power, and Nathan had punched another boar into it.

Pivoting, Nathan heaved with all his might, throwing the boar at the other two and sending them tumbling in the other direction. Then, he charged forward again, using Impact into the side of the boar he'd just thrown, the force of his punch sending all three of them scooting a few inches before he pushed out with force magic.

"Nathan, get back!" Keith hollered, and Nathan jumped back.

A flash of light blinded Nathan as thunder boomed, the smell of ozone filling the air.

"One down!" Keith said.

"The fuck was that?" Nathan growled as he tried to clear the spots from his eyes while listening to the boars.

"Lightning!" Keith answered as Nathan ran forward, aiming where he guessed a boar was.

His fist slammed into a tusk, and the boar squealed as Nathan pulled his hand back, shaking it.

"Lightning?" Nathan asked. "I just fucking woke up, and you try to zap me with lightning? The fuck you trying to do, kill me?"

"Kill you?" Keith asked as Nathan drop-kicked the boar, his vision finally starting to clear enough he could see again. "Nathan, I told you to back up for a reason! The bolt stunned the two it didn't hit and wiped out a lot of Health!"

Nathan grabbed the boar's tusks and heaved with all his might once more, this time lifting the beast up and slamming it into the other, before twisting while still gripping the tusks as firmly as he could, sending the boar tumbling across the path.

"You killed the one without Health!" Nathan snapped. "Now stop whatever you're doing and help me more! Then we're talking about waking me up!"

"Just keep them distracted!" Keith said as Nathan kicked at the remaining boar. "I can summon another bolt, I just need time to charge up and form the spell!"

The boar Nathan had thrown stumbled off into the darkness, though both teens knew it was likely coming back with a charge, so Nathan focused on the one he was already beating down on, hammering away at its Health without giving it a moment to rest.

As he did, Keith continued charging his spell, before giving Nathan a warning to move back. As soon as the warrior was a few feet away, the boar stumbling around, Keith fired off his second bolt of lightning, removing the rest of its Health and burning its flesh.

"Damn," Keith muttered. "That one's got more than the others. Nathan, handle the other, I'll finish off this one!"

Nathan glared at Keith before charging at the charging boar, hearing the other squealing at Keith's attacks. The warrior and the boar collided, Nathan grabbing its tusks and using its momentum to swing it around, throwing it at the other boar.

"Dammit, Nathan!" Keith exclaimed as the warrior charged to the boars.

The magician sighed and watched as Nathan beat down the boars, finishing them off with a mixture of his martial arts and force pushes. When he finished, Nathan glared at Keith.

"I was sleeping."

"You've been sleeping for two days," Keith gestured to the dead beasts all around them. "Meanwhile, I've been dealing with boars, bats, and a particularly annoying spider. I could've handled the boar if there were only two of them. As it was, I still did more in that fight than you."

"I count fourteen beasts," Nathan decided not to argue, as Keith had a point and did seem to have fought a lot while he was out.

"I shoved some of them out of our space," Keith rubbed his temples. "Why are you so cranky?"

"I'm always cranky when I just wake up."

"Uh, not to contest that, but I spent more than half a year in the game with you," Keith said. "And I've seen you training first thing in the morning. You haven't been cranky."

"What do you think the training's for?" Nathan asked. "I'm getting more rest. You handle anything else that shows up."

"No," Keith said. "You and I are eating, then we're getting away from here and hunting down the next talisman fragment."

"I'm sleeping," Nathan laid back down, resting his head on his backpack. "Wake me when we're dead."

"Get up," Keith rolled his eyes. "The longer it takes for us to finish this Dungeon, the longer it'll take for us to get to working on the scrying orb so you can see your son once he's born and you're in the game."

Muttering curses under his breath, Nathan sat up and pulled out some food as Nathan used blades of wind to cut into the hide of one of the boars, cutting out two steaks cooked by his lightning.

"Not as good as what you make," Keith handed Nathan one of the steaks. "But it'll do for now."

"I hate you."

"Yeah, yeah," Keith rolled his eyes. "So what did you dream about?"

"What makes you think I was dreaming?" Nathan glared as he ate some dried fruit from a container.

"The fact that you pulled your exhausted familiar into you," Keith answered. "Ichtvar nearly sacrificed himself to do whatever that was, and it put a heavy magical burden on him. When you pulled him into you, you began unconsciously feeding him magical power to assist his recovery, which is why you went unconscious. Doing that, especially with a strong bond with your familiar, causes you to dream whatever they're dreaming. Heck, just sleeping with a familiar pulled within you with a strong bond to them causes that."

The strong bond between Keith and his familiar resulted in him dreaming of the familiar's time with Mordred, the reason the magician knew the familiar's identity and the truth about back then.

"Ichtvar and I don't have that strong of a bond," Nathan said. "And I doubt he'd dream about being a slave getting tortured for months. This island is fucking with my dreams."

"You dreamed you got tortured for months?" Keith asked.

"Round-the-clock torture," Nathan nodded. "They looked human, but I don't think they were. Everyone had black hair and crimson eyes, and their magic was a different color based on how powerful they were, how cultivated and refined their magic was."

"That's not like how it is at all," Keith shook his head.

"I know," Nathan bit into the steak, then tossed it to Keith, who set it to the side. The warrior began eating more dried fruit. "There are only four colors of mana, and it's not based on power or refinement. Now shut the fuck up."

Keith opted to be silent as Nathan finished eating, then the two of them and packed their things, and Nathan began walking.

"Since Ichtvar's still unconscious," Keith said. "Made obvious by the fact that you haven't released him and I can still see his marks, should we just continue wandering around?"

"For the other pieces, maybe," Nathan began buttoning up his shirt. "Did you move my backpack at all?"

"No."

"Then I know the direction Ichtvar was in when he found the fragment," Nathan told him. "Splashy, you and Keith are to keep an eye out for inert magical objects, especially ones with broken enchantments."

The heavenly storm elemental gave Nathan four thumbs-up, and Keith rolled his eyes at his familiar's friendly attitude to Nathan. Several hours of walking passed as the pair did their best to check every inch of the path and canal they could for the fragments, then they sat down to eat.

"I thought you couldn't use lightning magic," Nathan said as they ate.

"I started to while you were out," Keith answered. "It was one of the only things I could use that did enough to the boars to work."

"And the bats?"

"My wind was fine for those."

"And the spider?" Nathan asked. "That looked charred."

"Yes," Keith winced, and his familiar prodded him. "That was fire magic. I burned it and the web it had woven around us to trap us in. It was the only way I could think of to stop the web from completely repairing itself."

"I thought you hated fire magic?"

The heavenly storm elemental zapped Keith.

"Fine!" Keith glared at it, before looking back to Nathan and telling him about the incident a few years ago, which led to him meeting his familiar and his fear of using fire magics. "So there you have it. Go on, make fun of me, I know you want to."

"I don't make fun of you," Nathan said. "I make you uncomfortable. Also, you're starting our fires from now on. If you're done eating, we need to get moving."

Keith sighed, then grabbed his stuff, and the pair continued walking. Several times, Nathan changed paths, though Keith suspected it wasn't as random as it seemed. According to his familiar, Nathan was taking them down different paths.

"Are you keeping a mental map?" Keith asked.

"No."

"But-"

"I can't do that shit," Nathan said. "My elemental's telling me when we've already gone a direction."

"I see it," Keith said, then walked past Nathan and examined the item. Nathan joined him. "There's something odd about it."

"What do you mean?" Nathan asked. "It looks like another fragment of the talisman, with another topaz in it.

"Yeah," Keith frowns. "I don't know, something just feels off about it to me."

Nathan reached out and picked up the fragment, a notice appearing in their visions.

Talisman fragment found. It is not compatible with the piece you have; it is not a part of the talisman you are attempting to locate the fragments of. You may either leave it here or carry it with you.

"There are two talismans?" Keith asked. "Never mind, there are eight islands. There might be one for each."

"Possible," Nathan stuck the fragment into his backpack.

"At least we know why it seemed wrong to me," Keith said. "Let's start looking for another piece."

"I'm tired."

"You're going to be," Keith said. "And if you lie down for a nap, there's a good chance you'll be out for another two days."

Nathan grunted, then began walking again. Neither teen sensed any monsters as they continued their search, which yielded another fragment piece after only another half-hour. When Nathan picked it up, a message appeared in their vision.

Talisman Fragment found. Go to the Altar of Light at the center of the island.

"With only two fragment pieces?" Nathan asked.

"The rest might already be there," Keith said. "We did find a corpse, it's possible their party or another past one passed by the Altar of Light, whatever it is, on their journey. If that's where the pieces are supposed to go, then it's possible they were informed they could leave it there."

"In case they didn't make it back," Nathan nodded.

"My familiar says the center of the island is in that direction," Keith told Nathan, and the pair began walking.

An hour and a half of navigating the maze-like paths of the island, and the duo found themselves standing in front of a stone octagonal altar that stood three feet in height and stretched three feet on the top. Resting in an impression on the pedestal was the final fragment piece, though another piece of a talisman rested on the altar as well.

Altar of Light reached. Join all pieces together, then flow your mana through until its self-repairing enchantment activates. It will take a lot. When you finish, place the completed talisman into its slot.

Nathan pulled off his backpack as he attempted to remember something Ichtvar had said about the center of the island. He wished the phoenix was out to remind him of it, but as he didn't sense whatever it was the phoenix had fought against, he wasn't as nervous.

But it still felt like the phoenix had said something important.

The warrior pulled out the fragments and handed them to Keith. There were three topazes with a diamond in the center of the full talisman.

"You're the magician," Nathan looked around. "Are your familiars telling you anything?"

"No, why?"

"I'm not sure," Nathan set his lantern on the talisman's slot on the altar. "I'm on-edge, but I can't sense anything. It's not like when I called Ichtvar back before. Maybe the silence and lack of attacks has made me uneasy."

"I'll get to work," Keith set the three pieces together on the altar, then held the edges with his hands as he closed his eyes. "It said it will take a lot. Hopefully, my regeneration is enough to deal with it."

"With your absurd amount?" Nathan asked. "Sure. Just get to work so we can finish this."

Keith nodded and began pushing his mana into the talisman. As he did, he discovered that the creators had designed it with the thought that it might be broken apart and rendered inert. An enchantment he hadn't noticed before 'guided' his mana to reactivate the enchantment. As he worked, he sensed two unique mana signatures in the talisman.

The only reason he could tell them apart was because one felt incredibly ordinary to him while the other felt similar to Nathan's – a demigod's. The demigod's mana was in the fragment they found near the beastkin, while the ordinary mana was in the piece on the altar. Two separate parties had attempted the Dungeon, it seemed, and both failed. That, or the ordinary and the demigod were in party together and failed.

Just as he thought he couldn't perform the repair anymore, Keith finished, then collapsed onto the ground as the gems in the talisman began to glow, the talisman itself repaired. A moment later, he found himself flying to the side, something ramming into him.

"Nathan!" He gasped.

"Get some rest and avoid dying," Nathan told the enchanter as he stood back up, his sword in his hands as he scanned the area. "Splashy, you seem lethargic. Watch Keith. I remembered what it was Ichtvar had said, which is the reason I'm uneasy. There's something powerful at the center of the island."

"Why did you ram me?"

"It's a wolf," Nathan said. "I'll deal with it, you recover. You're obviously exhausted. Splashy, ensure Keith is fine."

Nathan inhaled, then pushed his mana into his sword, the enchantments on it beginning to glow, the edge of the blade beginning to shine with light. The wolf had dove out of the shadows, and when Nathan tackled Keith out of the way, he noticed it disappearing back into them.

"When did you enchant that?" Keith asked.

"Out of the game," Nathan asked as he continued to scan their surroundings.

The beast had waited until Keith had finished repairing the talisman, then attacked. The talisman itself broke as a result of that, snapping in two. It was still, there, he was sure of that.

"Why did you enchant your sword for light?" Keith asked. "I thought you didn't-"

"I didn't," Nathan interrupted. "It's a Shadow Sword. I wanted to see if a light-based enchantment would work on it. We'll discuss it more later."

Nathan took three swift steps to the side as the wolf lunged out of the shadows of the altar. He swung his sword, and it passed through the beast.

Target -197 Health!

"Fuck!" Nathan swore as the wolf disappeared back into the shadows, only to return a moment later, tackling him and knocking the sword out of his hand.

It slight faded away as Nathan managed to scramble away from the wolf. The beast was faster than him, and it had a high Endurance if he only did that much damage with a light-based attacked. It took time to buy Stat Points, as he had to buy them individually. The only reason he had succeeded in buying a thousand of them to invest into Strength during the Tutorial was because he had moved away from the dragon for a few minutes, and he doubted the wolf would give him time.

"Breezy!" He commanded, and the elemental attacked the wolf as it went after Nathan.

The familiar was passed through, though Nathan noted that its Health went down, even if incrementally.

What the hell is this thing made of that a wind elemental's slices barely damage it?

The wolf tackled Nathan, sending him rolling. The warrior managed to enter a crouching position, then jumped to the side. The wolf had already taken out a quarter of his Health, and he wanted to do his best to stay one step ahead.

"Jump straight up!" Keith's voice entered Nathan's head, and Nathan obeyed without a moment of hesitation, barely evading the wolf, which had jumped out of the darkness Nathan had landed near.

Nathan's gazed flicked to the magician, whose eyes were shining violet, indicating use of his psychic power.

"Twist and land to your right!"

Nathan obeyed, finding himself beside his sword.

"Activate the enchantment, run to the altar, and stab into the shadows in the side of the altar cast by the lantern!"

Nathan obeyed.

Target -218 Health!

"Beneath you!"

Nathan jumped back, only too late, as the wolf lunged upwards, biting into his side, its teeth stopped only by his remaining Health. As it released him, the wolf clawed at his legs, sending Nathan rolling.

"Don't stop rolling!"

Nathan forced himself to continue rolling as he cursed. He was almost out of Health. Just as he moved another two feet, the massive wolf landed where Nathan would have stopped had he not listened to Keith.

"Jump up and to the right as soon as you stop rolling, try to pass over the altar! You should land by your sword!"

Nathan obeyed, finding the wolf's mouth closing in on his right leg, biting in as the last of his Health disappeared. He let out a string of curses as he pulled out his gun and fired at the wolf, the bullets passing through it.

"That's not fucking fair!" He fired two more shots into it as the wolf threw him to the side. Nathan rolled as he swore, pain shooting through his leg. "Keith, you said-"

"Sorry! It was guesswork based on what I saw!" Keith responded. "Ugh. Nathan, I'm fading out."

Nathan watched as the wolf's Health dropped a small amount again, and guessed that his familiar had probably struck at it once more. It had been doing that throughout the battle, anytime the creature became visible. Realizing that his familiar's attacks were working, he shot at the beast, finding his bullets impacting its hide.

Target -347 Health! Target -342 Health! Target -351 Health!

The rest of the bullets ceased affecting the wolf, which disappeared back into the shadows. Nathan glanced at Keith, who was shrouded by the heavenly storm elemental, which looked even more lethargic than before. Its water and light were moving slower, and he couldn't make out the wind aspect anymore. He made a note to ask Keith why that was after the battle ended. Keith looked to be unconscious, drained by using his psychic power after fueling the talisman's repair.

Nathan shifted to the side, barely avoiding the swiping of the beast's claws. It had taken out all of his Health, and while he recovered 9 Health every ten seconds, he knew it was not enough to help him. Keith was out of commission, the psychic's familiar seemed unable to help, Ichtvar was out.

That left him and his wind elemental, with one barely damaging it and the other being nothing more than a toy. Nathan fumbled for a fresh magazine as he ran, only to be tackled by the wolf again, which pinned him to the ground with one strong paw, its claws digging into Nathan's chest.

"Gaaargh!" He roared in pain as one of the wolf's hind legs dug into his leg.

"Ichtvar," he gave a small mental prayer to his unconscious familiar as the wolf lowered its maw, opening wide. "Please lend me your power, even if we don't have that sort of bond."

Drawing on the sensation of his familiar, Nathan willed fire to form. His wind familiar watched as its master's torso and head became surrounded by flames, a pair of wings burning into the ground beneath him, the flames above the unconscious warrior exploding upwards and ripping through the wolf of shadows.

When the flames faded, the elemental soared forward and caught its master, whose wings had left nothing behind where they had stretched. It didn't want its master to sustain a concussion on top of suffering from extreme magic overload exhaustion.

With its master safe from that risk, it pulled him over to Keith, then looked at its senior. The heavenly storm elemental continued to slow down, and the wind elemental communicated with it. It senior relaxed, then reshaped itself into a ball of water, wind, light, and lightning, a crystal-like shell forming around it to contain its elements, before it dropped down. The wind elemental caught its senior and gently set it between the two fighters, before circling around them.

The only reason Nathan and Keith had lasted against the wolf of shadows had been because of the heavenly storm elemental, which had imbued all of the connected light, water, and air within a hundred-yard radius with its power. It wasn't something just any elemental could do, and even one as old as that one would need to rest after.

Taking watch, the wind elemental wondered what its master was dreaming of.