Probably the typical party would find this place a nightmare, maybe even unclearable without serious grinding to gain levels. When I thought about that, I remembered Jessica and I had unused EXP potions available. These mobs weren’t bad EXP at all, even when split among a six-person party.

Arguably, the potions could be better used if Jessica and I were to duo, but the dungeon’s difficulty could ramp unexpectedly and then we’d be that imaginary party having to stop progressing in order to grind EXP. With that thought in mind, I realized the biggest growth in our group power would be via my party members, rather than myself or Jessica.

The others were level 16-18 range, Maria being level 16, Lucas 18, and both Thomas and Alan level 17. I flashed the potion in my hand to Jessica, which got me a confused look back. “Exp potions.” I said. “Why don’t we pass out at least one to each of them.” My eyes glanced over the others who were still glowing from Alan’s first item drop.

“We have six, so that’s one for each of us,” Jessica said. “We can save ours for a better time.” I liked how easy-going, and even selfless she could be, and something of my feelings must have shown in my eyes, “What?”

“Nothing.” I shook off my contemplation of my beautiful comrade. “Let’s give them out and keep moving. It must be around mid-day right now, we need to find somewhere safe to camp for when we all get tired.” Everyone else was still crowded around Alan and gawking over his new wear.

“One for each of you,” I said while passing the potion bottles out.

Lucas held up the grey liquid with a confused look, “What’s this?”

“EXP up potions, they give Increased EXP gain. It might be wise to use them if we start killing a lot of monsters.”

“Is the boost time based, or does it run out after a set amount of EXP gained?” Lucas asked a good question. Many games made potions last a duration of time, but others might have their effect last for just a certain quantity.

“Honestly, I’m not sure. Never used one and it doesn’t say in the description,” I replied. The difference between the two though, was enormous. One meant the faster you killed, the more you were rewarded. The other meant regardless of how fast or efficient you were, you got the same benefit from each potion. It was easy to see which would be more ‘fair’.

“What will you do with this thing?” I turned to Alan while nudging my foot into tower shield previously used as his shield. It was a mess. The shield edges were chipped and bent. There were dozens of gashes digging into the metal frame as well.

“I’d like to say I’d keep it for sentimental val—” Alan started before Thomas started at him.

“Who are you kidding? You’ve never been sentimental a day in your life.” Thomas laughed, “Just toss the thing.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Alan took one good look at his old shield on the floor then picked it up. He held it in both hands and then for some reason had the bright idea to spin in a circle to build up momentum before chucking it.

“Jesus Christ, a little warning!” Maria yelled at him after nearly being hit by the sweep of the shield. The rest of us made distance while Alan spun like a child in death roll.

“Alleyoop!” With one final circle, Alan threw the shield as hard as he could and fell clean on his ass. His strength was impressive to say the least, as the car door had decent airtime. It hurdled towards the swamp and then landed in a small pool with a loud splash. The noise was nothing to scoff at, and every single person gave him a dirty look. “Whoops…” He started to scratch his head.

The door disappeared beneath the water with a gurgling bubble that rumbled through the air. There was no doubt that this was the start of a new chapter for Alan. He had been using the burnt and nearly destroyed car door since his journey started and it was clear he had wanted the mark the moment. But I was uneasy about having made a racket. And so were the others. No one could take their eyes off that little pool.

“Careful!” Jessica yelled suddenly. “From the front!” I was caught in a brief moment of confusion. The front was the swamp and that small pool, and I saw nothing threatening coming from that direction. The dark pool continued to seethe and bubble just as before, and only in that moment did I realize what had happened.

There was almost no time to react as a reptilian head nearly as thick as the pool burst forth. Snake-like, with black and brown splotches all over, the monster had green eyes that came to a point as sharp as any dagger. The creature’s jaw was filled with razor-sharp teeth that curved like the claw of a bird of prey. Powered by a neck of pure muscle the snake sprang from the depths.

It towered over us a dozen feet high, looking at us like pests that had disturbed its cozy slumber. “Alan!” I yelled, but he was already getting to his feet, new shield in hand.

We were just about to engage when Maria’s panicked voice drowned out everything else, “What… should I do?” I turned to her in that brief moment to see a tentacle-like appendage rip from her side and disappear into the swampy mud. Her hands clenched her side quickly, but her face was one of panic and pure confusion.

“Alan hold on defense while we retreat!” I yelled. There would be no battle, we needed to run or Maria would die. “Thomas, heal Maria!” No one but me had noticed exactly what happened, but as soon as the group turned to see her drenched in blood that was quickly flowing through her fingers, everyone understood. It was a sneak attack.

Jessica reached Maria even before me, as I frenziedly sent out my minions to deter this unknown enemy. Alan charged forth as well, feet nearly dipping into the swamp as he attacked as if enraged. He didn’t have time to look back, but he could probably hear from our anxious cries that Maria’s situation wasn’t good.

A bandage was already in Jessica’s hand as she haphazardly wrapped Maria as quickly she could. Thomas sent a heal, and Lucas scooped Maria up without a second thought. “Hold that monster for just five seconds!” I instructed Alan.

The creature was spitting out green globs of goopy acid that sizzled upon his shield. There was no time for Alan to even open his mouth to respond. Any lapse in judgment might have him melting into a liquid goop.

“This way!” Jessica said. She was the only one who could lead us right now. There were enemies all around us, and she needed to maneuver us as best as possible through this part of the dungeon. She took off in a rush that almost made it hard for Thomas—me as well—to keep up with her.

Neither Thomas nor I had focused on STR, although we each had enough to get by reliably. We were slipping behind, and even Lucas—whom was carrying Maria in his arms—gained considerable ground on us.

“Don’t worry about us! Keep going!” I yelled ahead. Jessica was constantly swiveling her head back to see the situation, slowing her own speed. I did the same, just in time to see Alan rushing in our direction like a madman. He was red-faced yelling with his bulwark across his back, two hands behind his shoulders holding it up like a turtle shell.

The swamp creature continuously spit out gloopy acid balls that mostly missed, but occasionally landed on that thick board of a shield. Even he, with the massive weight on his back, was gaining on us—good news, truly.

The humidity here did nothing to stop the burning in my throat. I huffed like a man on his last breath, desperately trying to get any amount of oxygen into my body. My calves were spent; this swampy ground was hell to move through. Every step more arduous than the last with this muddy ground gripping so tight.

Things were looking better, until they weren’t. It was an honest mistake, a slight miscalculation: Jessica was pathing for herself and Lucas, skimming through patrolling packs at the perfect interval to avoid triggering the mobs. The same could not be said about me and Thomas, and, in our wake, Alan.

I could not stop following Jessica and Lucas, quite apart from the giant snake chasing us, visibility was poor because of the bushes and the deep pools I was splashing though. It would be easy to lose sight of them. That might be a complete disaster, as I had no magical way to find their location again. Moreover, splitting up would bring about the most dangerous situation possible for all of us and it would probably mean Maria’s life was forfeit, with Thomas unable to heal her wounds.

So I had to keep running in the wake of Jessica, even though mobs had moved dangerously near to her route. And the inevitable happened. The mobsIinadvertently pulled were a pack of three Children of Sobek. As they charged after me I had no idea what would happen. I’d seen situations where monsters did de-aggro, but this was a dungeon. Would they trail behind us for eternity or eventually fall off?

No one could know, we were quite possibly the first humans to step foot into a dungeon in the world—a thought that may have been quite satisfactory ten minutes ago—and knew nothing of the rules. I couldn’t turn and fight either, and so I kept running.

The Children of Sobek did fall behind surprisingly quickly; they were strong, but clearly that strength didn’t translate into speed. The bad news though, was that they didn’t stop chasing. They continued on our trail, and by the time Jessica had come to a stop—nearly five minutes of sprinting—we had another pack on our trail. Quite a train was developing, one that might already too strong to face in battle.

Having caught up with Jessica at last, I would not have been surprised in that moment had I started coughing blood. My throat was dry, and cracked, and my mouth a thick paste. Nevertheless, I strained to force words. “Six… enemies. One minute.” I forced out barely coherent gibberish.

My hands came to my knees as I almost collapsed to the floor, throat burning with every hack coming from my throat. My saliva was thick and the moisture in my mouth was non-existent. Sheer will forced me to stay standing. Every second was crucial, and my eyes scanned our surroundings intently. The location was important, terrain was important.

Jessica had brought us to a stone wall, presumably one of the borders of this first floor. A small cubbyhole was in front of us, merely three or four feet deep into the wall. Not enough to call it a cave, but enough to place Maria down inside. “What did you say?” Lucas asked as soon as he stood up from putting her on the flat rock.

Maybe the best decision was to keep running. The giant snake would arrive in moments and we didn’t know how long that encounter would last, nor how strong of an enemy it was. The fact it attacked Maria through the ground was also problematic. Fortunately, it hadn’t tried to do the same to Alan. Hindsight was twenty-twenty.

Splashing out of the swamp, breath rasping, Thomas pushed by me without a complaint, urging Jessica to move away so he could work his magic.

“Enemies. Coming,” I said still struggling with my breathing. There was a commotion behind us a moment later, and I turned in fear, we weren’t ready. Lucas drew his sword and held it in both hands, ready to strike.

The thick shrubs shook like a lion was inside and ready to pounce. My heart was in my throat as the figure burst through. It was Alan. “Six lizard guys right behind me… maybe twenty seconds,” Alan said. He was breathing heavily, but not nearly as much as I or Thomas had been.

“Jessica, we need you!” Lucas called back. Looking deeply unhappy, she was pacing back and forth near Maria. Ever since she had trained her Expert Tracker passive skill, she had seemed confident. I’d even wondered if I’d ever see a panicked look on her face again. Well, it was there now. This wasn’t good for the situation, but she was right to be desperate. Maria lay behind us dying, while a giant snake and six Children of Sobek rushed upon us and threatened to take our lives.