Levi had to crouch to peer up at them from inside the tunnel, and he couldn't make out more than the round silhouette of Lash's body against the pale stone of the dungeon ceiling.

What was he doing up there? He hadn't found a safe spot against the cliff to rest and recuperate, instead bobbing up higher and higher toward the plateau beyond. Then he passed over the corner and out of sight.

Then the entire pack took off running down the ravine, heading away from Levi toward the distant corner at full speed.

The injured kalvex limped as it ran after the rest of its pack. It had been out in front when heading toward the tunnel, so with the direction reversed it trailed behind. Almost as fast as the rest, but the gap between it and the others did grow noticeably.

Bladefin, the backup copy hovering beside Levi, tapped his shoulder twice with its tail in reassurance, then darted out in pursuit.

Levi didn't bother calling it back. It wasn't any use when they got this way.

Just as the rest of the kalvex pack vanished around the corner further down the ravine, the lone Bladefin reached the limping straggler and sliced into its already-injured leg. Furious, it bellowed and spun on the fish, but Bladefin had already turned tail and was fleeing back towards Levi as fast as he could swim, gaining height by the second.

Skarm squeaked with clear imperative. Bolt got to his feet, letting out a low bleat of what sounded like resignation, huffed out his nostrils, and bumped into Levi's leg.

Levi didn't answer, distracted by the spectacle and fixated on the near-certainty of their absolute demise. For a heartstopping moment Levi was sure Bladefin's arrogant act of defiance was about to get them all killed.

Instead of the entire pack running back towards them, the lone kalvex charged on its own. They may be pack hunters by name, but they were proving surprisingly easy to split off on their own. Though that was a mixed blessing, when he still had to deal with a very angry kalvex to fight without any of his allies as backup.

Bolt bumped him a second time, more insistently, accompanied by Skarm poking him sharply.

"Fine, go. Permission granted." There was no time to second-guess his minions' plan. They had less than a second before the kalvex would reach them.

Before he'd even finished speaking, Skarm and Bolt raced forward, closing the gap between them in a heartbeat.

The enemy kalvex reached Bladefin first, jumping higher than Levi would have thought possible to snatch Bladefin out of the air with a snap of its canine jaws. A moment later, that copy's health bar disappeared from Levi's minion display.

Bolt's stamina dropped as his speed matched and then surpassed the target's, leaping to crash into it midair before it could react. Skarm jumped off just in time, then twisted in midair and landed horn-first, claws in close pursuit, stabbing them all into the kalvex's shoulder before leaping free again. The two kalvex tumbled to the ground in a flurry of fur and teeth, biting and clawing at one another with snarling bleating at a horrifying volume.

Levi shook his head, impressed despite himself by his minions' coordination. What he'd initially taken to be a petulant tantrum had turned into a successful gambit to split up the formerly insurmountable challenge of the kalvex pack into manageable bites.

Poorly timed, certainly. He hadn't intended this to be a combat encounter, or he'd have brought Firelord and the rest of the taming team with him.

Too late now.

There was no time to call for help, and with both Lash and Bolt involved he couldn't afford to hold back. If he didn't jump in there was a good chance he'd lose his best weapon against the rest.

Levi threw away caution and charged in. If they lost these minions now, it was over. Not just his life, but everyone he was responsible for. Irene, Peter, and all the dozens of prisoners he'd promised to help.

Without Lash and Bolt, there would be no stage 2 or stage 3. They'd stay trapped here, unable to leave without being killed until their captors returned. Either they'd be eaten by a monster wandering in without anything to protect them, or they'd be locked up again until something went wrong and they were eaten regardless.

Better to go all in than hold back and fail as a result. His whole escape plan was one of reckless desperation. Why would he expect anything different from his minions now?

Bolt and the injured kalvex rolled over and over, one way then the other, neither holding the advantage for long as they each gave as good as they got.

Levi didn't dare try for a Beast Bite; getting himself dragged physically into a fight between two level 20 creatures each with more than double his health would be suicidal. Instead he skirted the edges of the rolling conflict, slashing in with his Destruction sword wherever possible.

Skarm did much the same, charging in to stab with his horn or slice with his claws before retreating from the tussling kalvex.

With the target's full attention focused on Bolt, Levi and Skarm settled into an easy rhythm to wear it down without any further losses.

When it reached taming range, the battle slowed. Skarm hesitated, looking up at Levi questioningly.

Levi himself wasn't sure what he should do; he'd initially planned to capture the whole pack, then decided they should kill them for experience, but now...

"Two kalvex are better than one," he conceded. Even if it meant Lash would have to wait a bit longer to level, it would increase their short-term survival odds drastically to have a second level 20 creature on their side.

He still had room to tame more, so it wouldn't require any sacrifice on their part. He could always give them to Peter or the other tamers. He'd feel better if they had some kalvex to keep them safe.

"Tame."

RESISTED

Levi frowned. He'd never gotten a 'resisted' notice from anything but a plus before. Seemed their ability to resist carried over to more things than just Lash's mind control.

Bolt's health continued to drop as the furious fight continued, Levi's attempt to tame it doing nothing to slow the frenetic pace of the two kalvex slashing and biting at one another.

"Submit," Levi commanded, again activating the ability.

Tame: Success!

Would you like to name ‘Kalvex Packrunner’ at this time?

The kalvex fight came to a stop, the two creatures falling still. Bolt flipped them over one final time so he was glaring down at the newcomer, then snorted and butted his head against the newcomer. Then he walked a few feet away and lay down to sleep, without so much as turning around.

"You'll get used to him," Levi told the new kalvex.

Then Bolt abruptly jumped to his feet, alert as suddenly as he'd relaxed, staring back up the ravine in the direction the other kalvex had gone.

A shadow fell over them.

Levi barely had time to look up before Lash came hurtling over the plateau down into the ravine, half his tendrils flailing, half clutched close to his front, presumably sheltering Bladefin and Crackle.

A quick glance at his minion screen showed Lash's health dangerously low and dropping. Bladefin and Crackle both were down several copies since he last checked, but still alive.

Bolt raced over at his hypercharged attack speed and leaped into the air, grabbing Lash by one tendril. He didn't slow, dragging the Soul-Seeker with him as he turned and sprinted back to the tunnel, diving past Levi and descending into the passage.

Levi just barely had time to catch sight of the first pursuing kalvex head peering down from the clifftop before Lash's three free tendrils snapped out and grabbed Levi's arm, dragging him along with them.

Understanding dawned at once; they had to get out of range before they had six angry kalvex to deal with. That was a fight they couldn't possibly win, perhaps not even at full strength, certainly not with most of them more than half dead.

Levi joined in the retreat, but he was grinning.

They were all alive, and with another kalvex tamed they'd practically doubled their attack power.

It may have been a stupid, impulsive, and poorly-timed action on his minions' part, but it had worked.