After getting thrown, Jay redirected his gravity and returned to the cliff. He was laughing at the top of his lungs, so it took him a minute to settle down. Then they regathered their battle composure and launched the next leg of their fight with the Action Figure Militia.

They latched onto Dennis’s huge frame and held on for dear life when he used [Mountain Leap]. They sailed past the damaged staircase and hurtled toward the ground. Mike gave Jay the signal to do his thing before impacting the ground.

Jay grunted, feeling the strain of supporting four people all at once. But it wasn’t as bad as when [Dance Floor Relativity] was at Level 2. At the same time, they weren’t burdened with rucksacks which added considerable weight. The distance was way shorter, too. He only needed to use his Skill briefly.

The sensation of landing upside down while at the zenith of their rise was uncanny. But effective. Jay cut off [Dance Floor Relativity] before they fell back into the air. He got a neat notification for his efforts.

Dance Floor Relativity leveled up to 8!

Jay cheered for himself. The higher the Skill leveled, the easier it was to use, giving him more room to play around without gassing himself out. Hell, the way it was now would’ve made the mauler fight easier. It had been straining to hold [Dance Floor Relativity] while hammering [Grav Kick] after [Grav Kick] on her.

“They’re going to come rushing down,” Frank said. “You mind picking up your other sword where you left it, Jay?”

“I’ll get to it later,” Jay replied. “I’m starting to dig the one-short sword style. It’s revolutionary in a way. It’s almost as if I can use my free hand for other things rather than looking cool.”

“Be careful, Jay,” Mike warned. “You’re trespassing on a dearly loved trope of the duel-wielding master.”

“Ah, my bad, my bad, I’ll keep it to myself then,” Jay said. “But when I find a duel-wielding master and beat them with only one sword, I’ll be coming to collect, Mike.”

“Collect what?” Dennis asked curiously.

“My tears of disappointment,” Mike answered.

“Game faces, gentlemen,” Frank commanded. “Mike, wall up the stairs and keep your wand at the ready. Jay, watch our backs. Dennis, on me.”

Mike performed Solid Stars with a few flicks with his wand combined with a Skill. He poured a shower of sparks at the staircase bottom without closing it completely. He constructed a funnel that only one action figure could traverse at a time. For Dennis and Frank, that was a piece of cake. They took turns smashing the toys.

“Was that supposed to be the contingency if I failed the speedrun move?” Jay asked.

“Yes, but I don’t know if I would’ve succeeded,” Mike admitted. “I would have to cast it against the wall, solidify it into a ledge, and hope it doesn’t break when we land on it. All within a few seconds while we’re at the apex of whatever height we reach.”

Jay thought about it. “We could’ve gone ledge by ledge with that idea.”

Mike smiled. “When Frank hedges his bets, he goes all in. He really wanted you to succeed and help us speedrun this dungeon.”

“He’s turning out to be an okay guy, honestly. But he’s dealing with a lot. I can sense that.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask,” Mike said.

“Something to do with my [Freak] nature and affinity. I can sense the gravity or density of things and things that aren’t things that people can’t sense with the regular five senses. Like, maybe, the weight of negative emotions?”

“Hm. Interesting. Is this a Skill?”

“No, it’s undefined. It gets stronger with my [Perception] attribute.”

“Of the two Mana-growing Attributes, that one is quite fitting. It could be that we need to reach a higher Rank to understand our systems better. Or maybe YoAnna has more to tell us that she didn’t have time to explain.” Mike polished his glasses on his robe’s sleeve. “There’s a lot to explore in this new world of ours.”

“Yeah, man,” Jay said. “I’ll be honest by admitting it’s hella scary and exciting. But at least it’s happening with people I know, or I’m learning to know.”

“I wonder how the others are doing,” Mike said. “The Divine Four. Lilith’s group. They don’t have a super agent in Frank.”

“But Casey and the Divine Four have always been overachievers in everything they do,” Jay said. “Then you have Lilith and, well, I don’t know about the other three. Two are cool guys but rumored to be drug dealers near the junkyard. Then you have the Band Lead, who doesn’t stand out much for anything other than that.”

“Brit took a disorganized organization and turned them into an efficient, stylish, state-competition-winning high school band. Where she lacks in academics and athletics, she makes up for by taking the worst and making the best out of it.”

Jay blinked. A smile lit up his face. “Huh. I guess YoAnna scouted her out for a damn good reason. Her group got me more curious about them.”

“I’m curious about Lilith and Hailey’s findings from their dimensions. As the top three students, we could uncover amazing things with the government’s support.” Mike sounded more and more excited as he talked. “I can’t wait till we leave the dungeon. They’ll be so much nerding to be done with my academic peers.”

“I’ll keep my distance so I don’t infect you, eggheads, with my stupidism,” Jay said, chuckling.

Mike was going to say something in return when Jay snapped his head around. A heavy source of malice and evil entered his range. He recognized it when they rescued Kleo and set off the attack on the Action Figure Militia.

Mike followed Jay’s gaze and peered into the torn open walls. The floor was soaked with monster gunk that hadn’t dissolved. Huge piles of loot glinted from within the muck, carpeting the floor with resources.

A set of plodding feet echoed out of the dingy back tunnel, growing louder.

Suddenly, Jay heard the whistling sound of dropping objects. He glanced behind him and saw the action figures jumping down, hurtling themselves at Dennis and Frank. The [Fighters] had their work cut out for them against the ceaseless and relentless mob. With all their work, they might see Level 6 and get closer to Level 7 faster than Jay.

Though, that depended on how the fight with the miniboss went.

“Out of the four of you,” said Murderous Mary, “I’m absolutely ecstatic it’s you two waiting for me like gift-wrapped presents.”

She came out into the light, revealing her horrid glory. She was made of mismatched toy parts, mostly feminine, that were ripped off from the originals and added to her body. Like a Frankensteined doll with a dark leg, a pink leg, and three arms of various shades. Her leathered robe ended in tatters around her ankles. Her cheeks were carved open like a Joker knockoff, adding to her wide-eyed zaniness. Topping off her tall figure was red hair braided into strands where separate toy heads hung like oversized beads.

A metal butcher’s knife was in her hand, good for chopping and stabbing. It emitted a pulsating red glow. In her stomach was the wound Mike had delivered, which was in the process of regenerating. Flesh, plastic, and alien guts were on full display.

She was the nastiest thing Jay had seen yet. Knowing it was only Mike and himself against her didn’t boost Jay’s confidence. Mike was shaking like a leaf as he aimed his wand warily at the monster. Jay felt emboldened seeing his best friend square up for a bad fight.

“Remember 4th grade field day,” Jay said.

“When we won the three-legged race through pure coordination, embarrassing the more physical and bigger kids?” Mike said. “I’ll always remember that victory. It tasted sweeter than cupcakes when we rubbed it in those losers’ faces.”

“So, you know what I’m thinking?” Jay asked.

Mike swung an arm behind Jay’s neck.

Jay swung his arm behind Mike’s back and held on tightly.

“Is that a bromance I’m seeing?” Murderous Mary asked with a growing smile. “Oh, goodness gracious, that’s my favorite thing to murder. Bromances are supposed to be tougher than romances.” She waved her red-glowing knife. “I can’t wait to break and turn you against each other.”

[Identifying]: Dungeon Miniboss Toy, Murderous Mary, Level 9–While levels matter, there are certain tiers that monsters fall into within their ranks, and this monster is at the highest tier–Hardmode Tier. She’s more ruthless, more cruel, and more creative than regular monsters. It’s not her strength that’s dangerous. It’s her human-like intellect, her weapon, and her position as a dungeon leader.

“Star Shot!” Mike shouted, sending a streaking ball of sparks at Mary’s wounded torso.

The miniboss batted the spell aside with her knife. Bloody red energy crackled as Star Shot broke apart into a shower of ineffective sparks to Mary’s left.

“Sacrifice everything and rush them, you dolts!” Mary shouted at her militia, batting away another Star Shot.” Throw yourselves if you must!”

The remaining action figures followed Mary’s orders and risked life and limb. They tumbled down from the stairs, smashing the ground so hard that some of them died on impact. Others were injured but unwilling to stay down. Many action figures landed on their brethren, which served as cushions, and got up at tip-top shape.

“Deal with her!” Frank shouted as he and Dennis were on the verge of being overrun.

“Fine, let’s play for all the marbles,” Jay tugged Mike down, and his friend followed his movements without question. [Dance Floor Relativity] came into effect, and the boys fell at an angle along the ground. They slid forward as monster goop parted under their heels and splashed them. They were on course to collide with Mary.

The deranged miniboss lifted her knife.

“Solid Stars,” Mike cast, creating a bumpy, glittery ramp that washed over Mary’s position. Jay pulled Mike up from sliding, matching his friend’s slower stride as they ran downhill with gravity. He sensed Mary escaping to their left and getting around the construction fast.

“To our left,” Jay warned, changing [Dance Floor Relativity] again. He pushed them to the right while their bodies were starting to lurch left. They scrambled onto the other side of the ramp construct before they fell toward Mary’s side. The murderous miniboss jumped onto the ramp and looked over the edge where Jay and Mike waited.

“Star Shot!”

As Mike finished the cast, Jay stepped forward and sprung at Mary. Mike followed along even if he was a lot slower, letting Jay lead the dance. It worked out since Star Shot served as a distraction Mary deflected away from her face.

It left her lower body open for retaliation.

[One Heavy Step, Level 1]: When activated, increase your weight and improve your [Resilience] and [Poise] depending on your Magic Capacity. This effect has a moderate mana cost and only lasts for one step. Your [Agility] for the next three steps will be penalized sharply. Leveling up reduces [Agility] penalization and improves Magic scaling.

Jay connected [Dance Floor Relativity], [One Heavy Step], and [Grav Kick]. Landing this would be a devastating hit, no doubt. And he was aiming at her crotch to add insult to injury.

Too bad Mary had slick moves.

She dodged out of the way, letting the duo fall past her. And she retaliated! She delivered a fast cut along Jay’s side, burning the rib area with pain that made him scream. He lost concentration on [Dance Floor Relativity] and fell in a tumble with Mike. They thumped the goopy ground heavily due to his increased weight before he returned to normal after a few tumbling rolls.

“Mike, you okay?” Jay gasped.

“Ugh, I might’ve sprained my ankle,” the [Mage] said. “Jay, I fear she might be out of our league.”

Jay got into a kneeling position, feeling woozy. The added [Resistance] and [Poise] from [One Heavy Step] might’ve saved him from a nasty injury. But that maneuver, plus all the uses of [Dance Floor Relativity], had cost him a lot of precious mana.

On top of that, Mike was a sitting duck. The [Mage] could try to use a Health Crystal. But Mary was stalking close. Using a crystal could trigger their permanent downfall.

At least she moved with a slow and playful gait, giving them time to think. Or to sink into hopelessness.

“Wowzers, you got a real unique power! I’d never seen that before!” She said giddily. “I’m going to have to put a leash on you. I can’t have you escape when I make you watch your little, wittle friend get tortured.”

Jay staggered to his feet. There was no choice. He had to face her one on one and keep her occupied. Either until the cavalry arrived or he found a way to win somehow. That was a scary proposition.

He wore a big smile on his face anyway. “The Toyreveler didn’t do as he promised, huh?”

Murderous Mary froze.

Those talks with Kleo proved fruitful in more ways than one. The dungeon monsters might not be pleased with the dungeon master in some way or form. Jay sensed weakness in Mary's hesitation and dove in.

“You thought you were special. You thought you were unique. A toy that can out-murder everyone. And then you got your position, miniboss. But what has that given you? Nothing but scraps. Nothing but me screwing you through the backdoor.”

Murderous Mary screeched like a vengeful banshee. The sound of her was so terrible that Jay nearly buckled on the spot. He gritted his teeth and endured, finding power in his [Conviction].

Fear Impairment failed to affect you!

Whoa, was that scream a debuff Skill?

Damn, that would’ve been tragic if it had worked on him.

Jay heard whimpering sounds behind him. His best friend hadn’t come out unaffected. He was curled up like a frightened animal.

Jay’s smile turned into one of anger.