The next month progressed quickly for everyone but Mash. They had been leveling steadily over the many dungeons they had visited. They had also gained a bunch of magical items. None of them were particularly useful or valuable. Only Lisa found things to use, and that too only for utility, like a storage item. Now, they had enough money to custom order some magic items though, and they spent their nights planning on what to get.

Most of the dungeons had tended to be easier than the sewer labyrinth. The only one which was in a swamp was more difficult, and that too mostly because the mud in the dungeon had been magical. It would stick to whatever it contacted, and they couldn’t remove it so long as they were in the dungeon. Without Jill’s ability to teleport them out, one or more of them would have suffocated from the mud. That had been when Mash realized that something was wrong.

That dungeon had been harder than any of the others. The boss had been an amphibian monstrosity that could use mud magic. It was one of many affinities that Mash had acquired on their trip. There were plenty of repeats too, but he still gained a lot. That wasn’t the problem. He stopped leveling. The others were steadily catching up, but he was stuck with one level left for his next advancement. It had been like that for over a week now. Jill had tried asking the guild, but they didn’t have anything to add. His situation was of course unique. He really shouldn’t have expected anything else at this point.

At that moment, they were flying to their next dungeon. Mash was carrying Lisa, and they had been talking about skills and enchantments. Lisa was explaining how there were skills and classes that would allow them to improve magic items. Most rich families hoarded items for a reason and she told them to do the same. Their next advancement could offer something that would utilize their slowly building horde.

“Who knows maybe we will get an item to give me another level.”

Mash grumbled his complaint as they flew. He didn’t like complaining like this and immediately felt bad for making the comment. His frustration was his own as far as he was concerned. Lisa didn’t seem bothered by it and even offered a solution.

“I still have the apple if you want it.”

Lisa had proved too kind for her own good. It was excessive, a byproduct of her time as a slave and her natural tendencies. Mash shook his head. Tempting though the offer was, it was far too much to ask for. He should be able to level without relying on it. Plus, they didn’t even know if it would work and wasting it would be horrible. No, more than that, he just didn’t want to take something that valuable from her or anyone. That would just make him feel wretched.

“No, there is probably something stopping me. I doubt the fruit would even work.”

His words dragged on as he sighed.

“Maybe it's like the level 100 trial. That’s the only thing I’ve heard of that could stop someone from leveling. That or just refusing the advancement, but I don’t think that’s applicable here.”

It wasn’t a bad idea. Lisa's suggestion had some merit, seeing as he hadn’t tried to start a trial like before. He had always entered the dungeons with the others. The idea of a trial made some sense to him. It wasn’t like it would hurt to try, he could just escape any dungeon if it proved too dangerous. Jill and he were proving that the ability to escape dungeons on demand was incomparably convenient. It made entering more dangerous dungeons viable and let him avoid some of the nastier mechanics behind those dungeons.

“That’s not a bad idea, and I feel kind of dumb for not thinking of it.”

He spoke while letting Priscilla share the idea with the others. Lisa shrugged her shoulders briefly.

“It's not like I thought about it before now, and usually those special trails only happen at the larger interval levels like 100 and 200.”

“Still, it seems like something I should’ve tried already.”

Mash formed a more concrete plan for the remaining trip. It wasn’t so much a plan as a method to get in contact with the others if needed. As a bonus, he agreed to leave the trial and check with them at the end of the day. While that could hurt his chances to complete the trial on his first attempt, it would at least prove that he was on the right track. There was a pretty good chance it just would work too, that a trial wasn’t what he needed. The others didn’t have a problem with it, especially since both he and Jill could travel in and out of dungeons freely. Jill could come to get him if it became necessary.

They arrived at their next destination within an hour. The dungeon in question was connected to an abandoned building. One of its entrances had been changed into the dungeon portal. This dungeon was famous for having almost no monsters in it. But it made up for the lack of numbers with power. The dungeon was home to a handful of powerful undead. Undead that had retained much of their skills and stats. It was said that the house had belonged to a Lich and that their creations and that they had created the dungeon somehow. Mash was more inclined to believe those rumors, now that he had skills that could functionally do the same thing. Plus, the house gave off that vibe. Spiderwebs and scratches covered the wooden walls. Every window was broken, and pieces of glass were still embedded into the window frames that he could see.

There were actually other people hovering around the dungeon entrance. Mash could see them, and he was fairly sure they weren’t strong enough for this. They kept fidgeting and glancing at the house and then at him and his friends. If they were that nervous already, the dungeon itself was probably out of their league. He gave the group one last look before turning to his friends.

“They are probably going to need help.”

He didn’t speak particularly quietly, and he hoped the adventurers would take the hint. They either couldn’t hear or choose to ignore him. Luke obviously missed what he had been trying to do and replied swiftly.

“I noticed that as well. I will see if they would like to enter together. We could help for one run at least. But we can do that once you’re gone.”

Luke smiled at Mash, seeming somewhat proud of his friend for bringing the idea up. Mash decided to let the misunderstanding be and just nodded. He may have thought like Luke once, but he wasn’t as willing to trust random adventurers anymore. It wouldn’t be his problem either. And his friends could handle themselves. Mash spoke with confidence as he said his goodbyes.

“Well, I guess it’s time to go. I’ll hopefully see you guys tonight.”

“Wait! Give me one of your marks. Won’t it let us know if you die?” Lisa stepped closer to Mash as she spoke. “Not that I think that will happen, but it might help in other ways. And you can never be too safe.”

Mash was a little surprised by how worried she was. The others didn’t seem anywhere near as concerned, and he wasn’t particularly worried either. A lot would have to go wrong for him to be in any real danger.

“Are you sure? I’m not exactly sure what the mark does. Also, Luke might be a better-“

“No, I also just want it. Your marks helped you get your class right. I want something that free.”

Lisa was struggling to remain calm. Her face and voice drooped as she grew dejected. Mash still didn’t think it was a very good idea.

“I think it was breaking the marks that did that.”

He looked to the others for some support, but they were giving him a look that said it was between the two of them. He wanted to sigh but didn’t since Lisa was staring directly at him. Then he realized something. She was an adult and deserved to pursue freedom however she saw fit. Even if it felt like this was the wrong way to go about it, the decision was ultimately hers. He said as much.

“Fine. I will do it, but I still think it might end poorly.”

He held out his hand to give her the mark. She didn’t immediately grab his hand, instead, she hesitated a little before opening her mouth.

“Thank you, I will take the mark. But how does it look and where will it be? Is it liking a tattoo?”

“Ooh, that’s a good question. A weird tattoo on your hand would’ve been awkward.”

Jill interjected as the tense moment of debate had vanished. His friends were being extremely careful around Lisa, and he wasn’t entirely sure if that was a good thing yet. This time Mash did sigh out loud.

“It won’t be anywhere. If I had to bet, It will be in your soul like mine were.”

“I wouldn’t bet on it; he’s got a thing about tattoos.”

Jill was well and truly making things harder than he needed to be. Red and Luke were both offering suggestions for possible locations. Mash decided to leave them to their stupidity and patiently waited for them to finish their deliberations. Idly, he started counting the seconds.

It took two whole minutes for her to settle on a location. Ultimately, she settled for a completely boring location and jutted one elbow out toward him. He placed his hand on her bicep and noticed that she was surprisingly muscular. The thought was strange, and he stopped focusing on it as soon as he felt his skill activating. A stinging pain spread from his palm and ran down his arm. He pulled his hand back reflexively unsure of what he had done. He stared at his palm which was stained red with his blood. He just stared at it for a moment, before turning toward Lisa.

His blood was moving down her arm, and alarmingly up it too. It spread over her shoulder and slightly onto her back dissolving the clothing that would have resisted. Her clothes didn’t burn but got eaten by the blood in a way that stopped anyone from trying to swat it away.

“Mash, stop whatever you’re doing.”

Luke said it as he rushed over to heal them both. Mash would do it if he could, but he wasn’t doing anything anymore. All he had done was start it. Luke’s healing repaired his palm quickly but wasn’t doing anything for Lisa, not that she seemed hurt. Thankfully, it didn’t seem to be hurting her, although her eyes were wide as she stared at the blood. It spread over her entire arm and hand too. When it stopped moving her sleeve had been completely devoured, and her arm was covered in a thin layer of blood.

When it was all over, the blood started to fall from her like a normal liquid. As soon as the first drop fell, all of the blood got pulled toward Red’s outstretched hand. Her brows were furrowed, and her arm seemed tense as she drew the blood. It left behind a tattoo and Mash winced as he saw it. It was not limited to just her bicep.

The tattoo spread across her entire arm and extended out onto her back and chest a little. It was also extremely weird. It looked like a bunch of bite marks. As if many creatures had been fighting over the same piece of meat. Some of the teeth-like indentations were large, while others could’ve belonged to a common mouse. The colors varied with the shapes. One was red and looked more like a set of small puncture wounds. Another was jagged and uneven. The tattoo would’ve been scar-like if not for the odd bright colors of some of the marks. And the coloration was arbitrary too, with one of the marks shifting from yellow to blue in an especially odd way.

Mash was able to see everyone’s reactions to the tattoo. Lisa didn’t seem to be giving it much attention. Her gaze was foggy, probably busy checking her status. Luke just seemed worried. Jill and Red though, they were very clearly angry. Mash could practically feel the moment when their gazes turned from the mark toward him. As it turned out, he was conveniently standing next to the dungeon portal and waved them goodbye before stepping inside. He would deal with consequences at dinner.