---

Loralie stays bent over the corpse of her friend for several minutes. Sharod didn’t know Jack or Diane well. Sure, they’d been at a party or two together, but he had always just kind of orbited Loralie, and they always did their own thing.

Between the static in her ears, she hears the mysterious dungeon voice providing instructions on a ‘tutorial guild’.

The gory lower half of Diane’s body nearly curdles Sharods stomach, so he takes a few steps away from Loralie and moves down the hall. Just far enough to peek into the next room. He finds that the hallway comes to an end and splits into a left and right path.

It’s with this knowledge that he returns to his friend. “Lor- I get the feeling we need to get moving.” He grits his teeth, and moves to help her up by her elbow.

She tears her arm away from him and nearly snarls at him. “We can’t just leave her here!”

Sharod closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose. “I know- I know- but I’m most concerned with keeping us alive at the moment. If we get to safety, we can try to come back for her.” He knew he was lying, but they had to keep moving.

Loralie finally lifts herself from the ground.The knees of her pants are stained a deep burgundy, and her eyes aren’t far behind. He turns and without another word, they walk side-by-side into the dungeon. Each turn leads to another hallway, and each time, they choose the left path.

All right turns lead to Diane. She repeats that over and over, trying to sear it into her brain.

It starts to get musty as they continue. The air is a lot like the dampness of a leaking basement. She thinks she can taste mold in the air. A skittering sound echoes off the walls from up ahead and Sharod’s arm shoots out to block her from walking further.

“Sharod if you don’t knock this off-” the skittering gets louder, and that’s when the black forms of three golden retriever sized spiders come out of the darkness. They’re heading right for them. One of them rears back, and jumps at Sharod. Without thinking he forms a fist and punches the incoming spider in an uppercut fashion.

The beast flies upwards, hitting the ceiling with a crack.

The other two slip past his guard, low and fast- attacking Loralie. She kicks hard, following through until the spider crunches against the wall to her left.

Both injured spiders make a sort of squealing sound, and the last one takes the opening to latch its fangs around Loralie’s wrist. The pointed ends pierce into her wrist, and spray of blood pumps out onto her shirt. “Oh- fuck- you!” She swings the beast against the opposing wall, dislodging it.

She makes a sort of screech as she stomps down on top of it. Its exoskeleton crunches.

Sharod made a discovery in the meantime, his spider has 4 red boots glued to the ends of 4 of its feet. Grabbing hold of one, he uses his foot to hold down another. In one swift motion he tears the thing in half. Blue-green ichor slips out of its carcass. Both halves fall to the floor.

The last spider moves to pounce on his back, but Loralie catches the shoe of this one before it hits its target. She hauls it over her shoulder smashing it onto the ground.

Three carcasses with red boots glued to their legs lay at the crawlers feet. Sharod’s silent. Loralie bursts into laughter- sharp and a little too loud “can you believe this?” Both of her hands extend to point, palms open at the boots.



“Do they understand our pop culture? This stuff is dated- but Yabba Dabba Doo?” Sharod says while sounding exasperated.

Loralie’s wrist is mildly damaged, two puncture holes in her wrist flow freely with her blood. 85%... 84%... the slow bleed is causing her to lose health, but not at a particularly alarming rate. “This feels like quite the cosmic practical joke.” She grits her teeth as she rips the bottom seam off her shirt, wrapping it around her wrist.

Once it’s in place, she flips her arm over to show Sharod. “All fixed up.” A glance to her health bar and it’s frozen at 83% and is no longer going down.

Proceeding further into the dungeon, still following Diane’s principle as she began to call it, they take every left. Several lefts later, and they hear the rolling of several sets of wheels. They dip into an opposing hall, as they grow louder, and louder.

Part singing, part squealing voices filter down the hallway from them. “The Way You Move” by Outkast in acapella fashion slowly getting louder in the distance “Boom, boom, boom” one of the voices is doing the percussion high hat in the background.

That’s when a synchronized group of four spiders, each on eight rollerskates, nearly overblows the turn, and then corrects to come straight for them. All four coordinate their skating, down to the lean of their bodies, and which skates they have down at a given time

“Rollerskates??” Loralie is hysterical, her eyes wide and bulging out of her head.

Sharod sneaks out a toe from their position pressed against the wall. He catches the edges of the wheels on the left two spiders as the spiders overshoot them. Both spiders hit the ground and their performance stops abruptly. The other two screech as Loralie and Sharod each take a spider, dismantling them with the same tearing motion that worked on the first set.

The other two are on them then. Sharod takes a hold of one of their legs and uses the skates momentum to slam it into the wall. Its leg comes off and it crumples to the ground in front of him. Blue-green slime sprays him all over his front. Loralie dodges the spider, anticipating the lack of precision in their skating. It hits the wall and she starts kicking at it furiously.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, he turns around, and is greeted by the welcome warm glow of a sign in the distance. It’s message reading- "Crawlers Welcome! The tutorial guild".

Upon hitting the floor change fell out of their skates- quickly they stuff their pockets with the small amount of money.They are opening and shutting themselves into guild without any caution at all.

“Oh great, now there are three of you.” Both of HUDs pop up with information on the characters in the room, Igva- level 85, and another crawler! Hannah. She looked a bit pale, and like she’d been roughed up a bit. Not that they looked any better. “And what flavor of green goo is that you’re covered in?”

“Spider blood?” Sharod’s left eyebrow rises and his right eye shuts. If they’re the tutorial guild master, shouldn’t she know everything about the dungeon.

“Not a real question there pal.”

It’s at this moment that the voice controlling the dungeon pops in again.

---

SPECIALLLL ANNOUNCEMENT!!

---

Alright crawlers! Hold on to your seats because this one is a doozy. Some of you may have been wondering about this as some of your companions have seemingly dropped dead out of nowhere!

That’s because the Squim Conglomerate are trying something new this season! They’ve pivoted to what they’re calling a ‘Soulbound Crawl’. What does this mean you ask?

_{Well, let me tell you.}

---

---

She had just woken up to start getting ready for work, stepping out into her backyard to have a smoke. She liked this time of the day, it was dark, and quiet... the only real noise was the quiet buzz of the streetlight. Which was a sound that had been present for most of her life... that quiet thummmmm, of those lights. They sounded the same everywhere... every city, street, or prison.

She had drawn her cigarette up for a long drag, when it happened. When humanity was ended... well, most of humanity anyways. Zoe had debated... before eventually deciding to enter the dungeon. She was not dressed for this. Tiny little shorts, and a loose tank-top, atleast she could scrunchie her hair into a ponytail.



The only sound in the hallway was the soft clacking of her Birkenstocks. She had a few achievements flash past her face, one of which was basically taunting her for entering the dungeon horribly unprepared. She had found a fountain, with some dead lizard looking things... that the system helpfully labeled as Wet Wily's.

She didn't find much, expect a purple backpack... which looked comically small on her. She had been in the middle of looting when she heard several more enter the large chamber. It had been a rough brawl, the whole time... Zoe wished she had a knife, or blade. She really really hated the feeling of bones snapping, especially when she was doing it with her hands. It had been four of them, and being an experienced brawler... Zoe had made short work of them, just based on the size difference. She was however bleeding from several bite wounds.

She had spent a lot of time in the computer lab while in prison... learning and goofing off. Video games had a surprising place in prison computer rooms. So Zoe was able to transfer some skills and thoughts to this system. She even found out she had a heal spell! Which sorted out her bleeding wounds, and that was a welcome boon.

As she looted, and rummaged through the pockets of her kills... More of these little freaks stopped in, but these ones were armed! I mean their little swords were like knives... Zoe liked knives. It was over very quickly after she got her hands on a blade. Zoe was VERY practiced with a knife, or shiv... a sharp object, hell even a shaved toothbrush!

She got that annoying glitchy flash in her eyes, of the system awarding her something... She found her experience bar had reset, no... That wasn't right, she had leveled! Now she was even more keen to find a tutorial guild. She took every blade the "Life Guards" had been wearing. That was kind of fucked up, but she guessed these were aquatic themed lizards? really more pool themed. It was strange.

Zoe decided to follow the bodies. Hopefully there was a guild ahead. Zoe turned a corner, and found a pack of 6 of the armed Wilys. With her heal spell, and new found weapons... well she wasn't John Wick, so there was plenty of blood spilled. Both hers, and the Wilys. The system reminded her that in 5 minutes there would be a special announcement... and that she should do her best to be in a safe room, or guild.

"Fuck me." She grumbled seeing another pack of the damned lizards between her and the shining guild sign.

There was a ten minute cooldown between heals. So... By the time Zoe reached the door to the guild, she was a bloody mess. She looked like she had just reenacted the infamous scene from the movie Carrie. She entered from the opposite side Loralie and Sharod, and she was nearly level 3!

---

Hannah watched as the door burst open. Two people entered, looking like she had when she first stumbled into this room. Pale faces, a mix of human and inhuman blood covering them. Igva jumped straight to ordering them about. They had barely finished dealing with the irate little goblin, when the message blasted into their brains.

It explained that on this season of Dungeon Crawler World_{hosted by the Squim Conglomerate} would be featuring a new never before seen feature. Soul binding, in which the lives of two crawlers become twisted together... if one dies, the other will be struck dead instantly.

"What the fuc-" Hannah said jumping from the couch, only to be shushed by Igva.

"Let the message finish, kid." The goblin said sternly, sitting on a chair near the middle of the room. The announcement promised more information, and a run down of potential rewards would be coming at the end of the day. Hannah was about to start questioning the goblin, when the safe room door slammed open... and in stepped probably the scariest person Hannah had ever seen.

Hannah thought when she had arrived, she had been slathered with lizard blood... it was nothing compared to this woman. This lady had the posture and demeanor of one of the caricatures of an old tough tom cat... right down to the missing eye. Igva jumped up, "Nu-uh you ain't coming on my carpet looking like that!" She said, pointing a green finger at the woman.

"The fuck do you want me to do about it?" The woman asked in an annoyed and angry tone. Igva snapped her fingers as the woman attempted to step off the tiled entry way. There was a woosh, Hannah could feel it... it was like a gust of hot air.

"I'm not supposed to use spells on you ungrateful bunch... but I was not given a cleaner bot, and I refuse to have my room messed up by you dolts." She jumped up on the table, and point at each of them in turn. "You four should be soulbound. As you heard, that means if you-" She pointed to Loralie, "Die, that one also kicks it." This time she pointed to Hannah, and then alternated between Zoe and Sharod. "Same goes for you two, and vice versa."

"It ain't rocket science, and usually if crawlers traveling together start to die... they start dropping like flies anyways. This just makes it instant, instead of a grueling grinding agonizing game of when. I'm sure you idiots have a bunch of questions, and I probably got the answers... but your gonna listen to me talk first." She said looking them up and down in turn.

"I am Igva, and I will be your guide through the first 2 floors of this hellhole. I was once in your fucking shoes, so I understand how unbelievable this shit is. You need to. Get. The Fuck. Over it. Your part of the dungeon now, baby, just roll with the damn punches. You literally don't have time to whine, bitch, moan, or complain about being stuck here. You-" She pointed to Sharod, "What did you do before the dungeon?" She waited for him to start answering, and blow a big raspberry. "Doesn't matter, your a crawler now. Your life started 40-ish minutes ago, Kapeech. Same goes for the rest of you fucking yahoos."

Hannah sheepishly raised her hand, and got leveled with a glare from the 3 footish tall ball of sunshine. "Why only the first two floors?" She asked, in a quiet tone.

"It's called the TUTORIAL guild for a reason. After my time trying to pound the basics of Dungeon Crawler World into your thick skulls, I will be reassigned to a deeper part of the dungeon. Now! I assume you all are familiar with the idea of RPGs? Stats make you stronger, Gear makes you stronger, Abilities and Spells get stronger, the monsters get meaner and tougher... Yada Yada Yada...? Right?" She waited for a round of nodding heads.

"Good." She snapped her fingers and all four UIs flashed to life in front of them and her. She picked at the screens, "Which one of you bloodthirsty little cretins is Zoe?" She asked looking up, and the late joiner made a move of acknowledgement. "What did you do out there? Almost level 3?! Damn!"

Zoe made a noise, but didn't really answer. "Well I don't want to keep you all very long... So lets get to opening some boxes, and see what exactly we are working with!" Igva said, pointing to Loralie. "You first, and we are gonna do this one at a time as a class. Once we get the basics situated, you all have a quest. Your gonna have to find a saferoom."

---

"You first, and we are gonna do this one at a time as a class. Once we get the basics situated, you all have a quest. Your gonna have to find a saferoom."

Loralie blinked, still relatively shell shocked from the entire experience. But there was a hopelessness in resistance that felt even more depressing. So she moved, opening her menus and popping boxes. She’d neglected to check previously, but she was nearly level 2. Probably kicking an enemy would put her over the edge.

Gold Asshole Box - - 1 x Oathkeeper’s Pall - Passive - Records names of the fallen. +1% Damage Resistance, +1% Healing per Name Max 20%. Active Ability hidden until Class Selection. Binding.

Igva clapped once and pointed at the item. “It’s a shield. That’s gonna be the best thing you get until floor three. Unfortunately- after you put it on, it’s not coming off. Like, you can ‘hide’ it, but you will only be able to attach this to that slot for the rest of your time in the dungeon. Unless you find something else of course- but the chances of that are close to 1%.”

Loralie reads the ‘Records names of the fallen’ line 10 solid times before she opens the next two boxes. The wet knees of her pants heat her blood. Through a grimace she asks Igva- “And you’re sure I’m not going to regret it?”

Silver Killstreak Box - 2x Healing Potions, 1 x machete

Bronze Spider Box - 2x Glue trap, 1x mana potion

She closes her eyes and leans back for a moment, considering her options. She equips the machete, gives it a slash, and puts it away again. “Lets see what everybody else gets, but you better equip that shield before you go into the dungeon. You’ll regret it if you don’t, I can’t say if you’ll regret equipping that eventually.

The goblin then shifts her attention away from the shell-shocked blonde and to her soulbound crawler. Hannah was interesting. She was slight, and looked like she didn’t get a lot of sun. Probably someone who was very busy in the rat race of the outside world. Or, the world before this one. “So- we’re going to travel together then?”

Igva snorts- “that’d be something- huh? No, you'll be separated until later floors. That’s when things will get interesting. Until then though? Focus on now. You don’t have the energy to be doing anything else.”

Loralie couldn’t understand it. Why would she be bound to someone that she couldn’t team up with. If Hannah got into a bad spot, what would she do? Glancing at the taller woman and then at Sharod, she felt at least a small bit of relief. Zoe looked like she’d been through a lot, and someone like that would always keep moving. No matter what life took out of them.

Sharod had a chance.

Glancing at Hannah, she wasn’t so sure that they did. Between Loralie’s heart condition, and a lack of brawn between them. Loralie had to admit that she was scared. She catches Hannah’s eye- embarrassed of her own train of thought, she looks away. Her blood rushes in her ears. Igva helps Hannah next, then Sharod, then Zoe.

Sharod’s boxes were next.

Silver Killstreak Box - - 1x Brass Knuckles w/ Blades

Bronze Spider Box - 1x Glue trap, 1x health potion

Bronze Asshole Box - - 2x throwing knives

“Those brass knuckles are pretty good- but you gotta get out there and get some more boxes. This isn’t setting you up for success.” Igva flips thru his menus and becomes still. She investigates a flag he’s got in his stats menus:

Passive Flag Applied: Unseen Liability

“That’s- not ideal.” Sharod looks like he’s stressed about her comment, but just nods. He’ll ask her about it later. The broader audience shouldn’t know what his weaknesses are. Something about the word ‘unseen’ stresses him out, but he doesn’t know what to do about it.

In the meantime, Loralie has shifted to sit closer to Hannah. “So - where are you from?” She waits for her answer, and introduces herself in turn. “I’m from Pennsylvania- I’m a mechanic and a late night radio dj.” Her eyes are a bit hollow while she communicates, but she forces herself anyways. She’d hate for the person she’s relying on to stay alive to be a stranger.

“What did you get in your boxes?” Loralie pulls the machete out in the meantime. Giving it a turn over in her hand, she shows Hannah. “Never even held one of these, but it kind of feels like a big wrench.”

Once Igva has finished with everyone’s loot boxes- she turns to the broader group. “Alright. Are you all familiar with the concept of ‘grinding’ in a video game?” Loralie grimaces but Sharod hums in affirmation. He leans over to Loralie whispers- ‘complete tasks to level up.’

The action is kind. Just like Sharod always is to her. Too kind.

“I need you all to get out there and start. Stay alive, kill monsters, and come back here with loot. You can open them as you go through, but whatever you do- do not equip something without reading the description and talking with me first.” Loralie looks unconvinced but Igva stalks up to her and points a finger in her face.

“I mean it. If you can’t even follow those directions you’re as good as dead.” Igva projects a big aura as she moves through her space. Loralie swallows- and nods. Their game guide stalks away to a bookshelf where she pulls down a notebook and begins rifling through it. “For now- you should stick to smaller mobs. Bigger ‘neighborhood bosses and above that are going to wipe any of you out at this point.”

The more Igva talks, the less Loralie feels she can pay attention. Luckily, this is where the guide stops for today. “Okay- like I said before. Get out there, and find a safe room, I’m sick of looking at your faces.” And from there on- Igva does her best to ignore them.

Sharod is immediately on his feet, taking Igva’s earlier comment about his loot to heart. If those spiders were the easiest- flashes of horrible creatures from common media scare him into action. Loralie doesn’t move, so he grips the back of her shirt, and pulls her up to her feet. “Come on dude, we gotta get going.” She rolls her shoulders back, and looks at Hannah one more time before she moves to leave.

When they step into the dungeon- Loralie feels the weight of the situation gravely. An echo of her earlier thoughts comes back Sharod leads the way. ‘All lefts lead back to Diane.’ Her heart squeezes, tears sneaking out the sides of her eyes silently. Wiping them on the back of her hand, she follows closely behind Sharod.

Sharod continues to follow her previous rule- he’s doing it for her sanity- every turn he makes is left. Two lefts away and the familiar skittering of spiders sounds from up ahead.

---

Hannah stood from the chair she had been sitting at, as the goblin advised them to focus on the dungeon. It was basically a pick yourself up by the bootstraps peptalk. She watched the others, and was guiltily glad everyone looked a little frazzled and disheveled.

The pair had entered on the opposite side of Hannah and fourth crawler. She caught the eye of the woman, who was apparently the crawler she was bonded with. Hannah had lived her whole life as the smallest person in the room... and she felt like it still, even with Igva being there.

She watched the woman, Loralie, open her boxes. Then with Igva's instructions opened her own boxes. She only had two, but they were of good quality. Igva was especially happy with the platinum boxes potential.

The boxes showed up in her vision, the first was a large metal crate with electricity crackling across it's polished silver body. The crate behind it, was golden, and had the skulls with glowing eyes atop it.

The platinum crate opened with confetti, and two items jumped out. A ring, and a book. Invaluable grinned, as Hannah grabbed one in each hand. The system didn't waste anytime telling her about the items.



"Both good. You'll find a lot of this basic jewelry. To boost your stats now... later the good stuff will come." The goblin said, then looked over to the book. "That spell is basic, but... it's highly upgradeable, it could be the thing to craft around."

---

Next was the golden box, a killstreak box. It popped open with a jingle of notes, and all that came out was a round piece of golden metal, which she quickly realized was a circlet. She read the description as the AI read it to her.

It was called, Crown of the Overflowing Chalice. Igva who had been reading along, grinned. "That is a good item. I'm not surprised, the AI is probably over compensating a little. The soulbound rule is a bit of a double edged sword, I think, especially early in the dungeon... when you crawlers are vulnerable. Your loot on this floor will probably be above average."

This crown had two effects, and both were kind of crazy. If this was an RPG, which Hannah played often, she would think this item was broken.


She put the circlet on, as Igva instructed. With the ring, that put her at 8 intelligence. Which gave her 8 mana points, with a pool of potentially 16, her only spell cost 2 mana points, but the circlet made that 3. If it killed something, she could get 5 points back! Which meant if she could one shot a mob with her spell, which was easier due to the spell being cast at a higher level... she had infinite mana?

"That crown is good for small spells, I can see the thinking going on in there. The overflow tax isn't optional, so if you have 2 mana... you won't be able to cast arc lightning, without removing the crown."

This whole thing gave Hannah a lot to think about. She looked up as Igva moved on, and found Loralie there. She sat back down in her chair, beside the woman. "I'm from Nebraska, Omaha to be specific. I was a pharmacy tech, and student." She said, she was unable to make eye contact... she kind of hoped Loralie didn't take it personally, the day was just too overwhelming already...

"I got a spell, it's kind of crazy we will be able to cast magic. The description makes it sound like sith lightning. I also got a ring, and this circlet. I think, the loot is setting me up to be a caster..." She paused looking at her stats in her menu. "I am a little concerned about being a glass cannon, when our lives are on the line."

"This whole thing is crazy... it was the middle of the night, I was only outside walking to my car after class. I go to night school." She explained in her soft voice. "I dont think anyone I knew... I have been thinking about it, I dont think anyone I knew would have been outside."

It wasn't long before Igva was pushing them out the door. Grind, level-up, find a saferoom. As Sharod and Loralie left, that left Hannah and Zoe. Hannah really felt intimidated by the woman, but... she smiled, and moved to introduce herself.

"Hello, my name is Hannah. I think we might have entered from the same door."

---

Zoe was finishing up with her boxes. She had 5 boxes... the single bronze chest, had a very sharp but completely ordinary chef's knife in it. Zoe was not complaining, this was better than the "weapons" she had looted from the Wilys.

The costume box had a pair of jeans, exactly her size. Fuck. Yes. The other silver box, had a pair of health potions, a mana biscuit, and two tiny little throwing knives.

The two gold boxes. First was the cutting edge box, and Zoe was almost disappointed. As a cheap looking knife sharper popped out, like one of those from late-night TV. Then the Skywalker box, left her kind of shocked.



She was used to wearing a prosthesis eye, and this was basically just like the one she wore daily. Igva showed her how to equip items through the inventory. They spent a few minutes talking about the knife enhancement kit.

They decided it would be best used later. Zoe wanted a knife that was more suited for combat, like a dagger... something with a little heft.

Zoe looked up as the smallest crawler approached her. The other two had just left, "My name is Zoe, did you fight some lizard bastards, too?" She asked, trying to keep her voice friendly. This girl looked ready to bolt.

"Yeah, they were about this tall... and looked ready for a day at the beach." She said, with chuckle. "The AI called them Wet Wilys for some reason. I think they are weak to electricity, cause my tazer was killing them."

"I think they have guards that pat around their territory." Zoe said, running a hand through her brown curls. Hannah perked up, that was gamer jargon. "Cause they last few groups I fought had weapons."

"We should try to skirt around their territory, Igva said to avoid elites." Hannah said as Zoe stood, and made her way to the door.

"But Elites are probably where all the good stuff is." She motioned for Hannah to follow, and she did. Zoe opened the door, and Hannah peeked outside before stepping into the dungeon.

---

"So you game?" Hannah asked after they started down the hallway.

"Yeah, mostly World of Warcraft." Zoe said, "I hope some of the knowledge is transferable." The older woman watched as Hannah peeked around a corner. She had a good foot of height on Hannah,

"I played a little, but most MMOs have similar jargon." She said with a smile, "There is a group there." She said softly, weapons like you said. "I can open with Arc Lightning, and we can ambush them from the corner with an LoS?"

Zoe peeked the corner, seeing 5 lizards. These were a bit wider and more muscular, and more crocodilian than the other Wilys... but they were still considered Wet Wilys.

"Do these look buffer?" Zoe asked quietly. Hannah nodded, and spoke "Well we are moving into their territory. These might be elites."

Zoe made a hmm of agreement. "Maybe we shouldn't? I mean you haven't even leveled up."

"Yeah, but what does leveling even do... you said we can't put the stats in until floor 3. So levels are kind of meaningless, until then." Hannah said, "I think, I can kill or seriously maim one before the fight starts."

She looked down at the Wily sword in her hand... it was a chipped rough looking metal with a patina look. It looked almost like a sword in her hand... but really it was like a huge dagger. "Let's do it." Zoe said, still sounding a bit reluctant.

Hannah reached a hand around the corner, and cast Arc Lightning. She felt the mana gather and then blast from her palm with a Crack of lightning. She grinned, that would be so cool... if she wasnt in a death dungeon. The one she hit, screeched and slumped over nearly dead... the others turned and charged. Hannah blasted the almost dead one again, and felt the rush of mana returning to her.

"They are coming." She said as the first one rounded the corner. She jumped back as Zoe leapt forward. These were almost as tall as Hannah, they hadnt looked that big.

Zoe slashed at the first one with her knife, using the surprise of her being there to kick it in the stomach. Hannah zapped it arc lightning, it's health dove but it didn't die. Damn.

She had 4 mana left. She needed to kill it, and she really couldn't miss another kills hot. Zoe dodged the next lizard, as Hannah loosed another bolt, killing the nearly dead one. Returning to 6 mana, she grinned.

The rest of the lizards came around the corner, Zoe fought two... the third charged Hannah. Zoe slashed at one, and stepped back quickly and badly tossing one of the throwing knives at it. It didn't matter the dagger corrected itself by making a 90° turn mid-air and slamming into the lizards throat.

Hannah tried to dodge the swing, but it clipped her side! She screamed, and cast arc lightning while pushing the lizard away. Casting heal would use up mana she needed to cast another lightning... but she was cut pretty bad. Fuck.

She cast heal. Leaving her at 2 mana. If she took off the circlet to cast Arc bolt... then she wouldn't get refunded, and the spell would be weaker. She blocked the next swing with her weapon, barely... the monster's swing broke her weapon, and nearly cut into her again.

She reached up pulling the circlet off and cast arc lightning again, the bolt of electric energy slammed into her target killing it. "I'm oom!" She called to Zoe, who was down to just one lizards. The older crawler had obviously cast heal on herself.

"One left!" Zoe called, as Hannah moved to help. They made quick work of it, Hannah distracting while Zoe slammed her knife into the soft scales on it's side. "These mob weapons suck." Hannah said, as they looted. Holding up another Wily sword... "
Mine got cleaved in two like butter."

They looted coins, and 1 health potion... "I get a mana points about every 20 minutes... like an hour before I can cast again." Hannah said softly, as they walked. "I need to find some mana potions..."

---

The skittering increases volume as Sharod equips his weapon from his inventory. Loralie's heart beat is pounding in her ears, tunnel vision is the only thing that moves her forward. Through a grimace she 'shows' her shield in the menu and finds her arm weighed down by its heft. She'll need to increase her strength if she wants to become more useful with this thing.

"I'm gonna try to take them out like bowling pins." Loralie waits until the spiders get closer, and then she slams the shield down in front of them. Four rollerskating spiders hit the front of her shield, and fly over to the top. Inexplicably, the Scooby Doo scrambling sound accompanies their ascent and descent to the hard ground. At that point, Sharod is on top of one, stabbing down through its head with the brass knuckles. The knife of the weapon cleaves open the skin in a slash after the initial impact. ‘

Breath rushes into Loralie’s lungs as she lifts the machete into the air with her right hand. At the height, a shout escapes her. It carries her through the slash. Blood spurts out of two cleaved limbs. The head of the beast leans forward taking a chunk out of her forearm.

Red stains her skin and her jeans are completely the color of wine at this point. A strangled noise leaves her throat, and she kicks the spider against the wall. As it comes down, she slices it in two.

Her pained outburst causes Sharod to swivel in her direction, fist raised in her defense. The spider jumps on his back, mouth digging into his neck. He swears, throwing himself back into the wall in an attempt to knock the spider off. ‘Crunch’. Pressure relieves from the bite at his neck, his blood dripping down the front of him.

The last spider approaches his front, spitting a blue-green substance. Its ass-end shakes back and forth like it’s about to leap. Loralie pivots, bringing down her machete- cleaving its body at the natural break in anatomy.

Lightly crushed against the wall, the spider hisses. Sharod doesn’t waste any time spinning and punching it in the face a few times.

”That-” wheeze “was a really good strat. Rinse and repeat.” Sharods chest is heaving, the tops of his cheeks turn a maroon that looks like it would be hot to the touch. His toothy smile lights up the room.

Loralie’s eyes are deadly as she rolls her shoulder. The shield is heavy, and her joint feels loose from the stress of bowl-striking the spiders. She casts a heal spell on both of them. ”If I cry out again like that, make sure to take care of your own surroundings first.” The venom is truly unheard of from her. ”I need to be able to do it myself.” Each word carries a bite.

Jaw dropped- Sharod’s eyes are dinner plates. ”Woah- okay fine- no friendly fire dude.” He raises his hands in defense. This kind of lashing out is new for her, he’s used to her brutal looks and accompanying silence.

A heavy sigh wracks her frame, and the dungeon pipes up around them- awarding them both a level, and Loralie with a bowling joke.

Sharod hides a tiny smile from his friend, knowing that this has likely been the worst day of her life. Probably his too- but he’s had to be able to joke about things like this for a very long time. He rumages through the rollerskates, and finds a spool of thread, a few gold pieces, and a simple gold ring.

Not thinking twice, he slips the ring on his finger. A popup alert in his HUD appears. “It’s probably just loot scaling.”

Ring of Negative Space:
Item: Gold Ring, Red Jewel
Rarity: Unknown
Description: “Occupies less.”
+5% Evasion Chance
-10% Enemy Target Priority.

Loralie leans over to him in question, and when she sees the ring on his finger she shakes her head at him. Her shield hangs at her side, her shoulders slumped, as she begins walking away from him and down the hall.

He’s making mistakes, and it’s not like him at all.

Loralie can’t fathom why Sharod isn’t taking this more seriously. Someone is dead. Wait no, everyone is dead.. They’re not even really on Earth anymore. As she reaches the end of the hall, she starts to smell something acrid. Blue, green sludge smeared down the hall to the right.

Sharod is a few feet behind her when she stops. Ramrod still. Her machete hand lifts slowly and freezes in the air. His steps get lighter as he approaches her.

Careful to avoid the sludge, they creep along the hall the right. Each step they take, the worse it smells. At a certain point, Sharod covers his nose with the neck of his shirt. He breathes slowly, and that’s when they see it.

A creature is leaning against the wall of the hall, rivulets of blue ooze creep down the brick. In the center, another creature, its figure more clearly defined as humanoid, drags itself forward on what are presumably its arms.

The smell is so horrendous that their eyes start to water. For a moment, the ooze drips away from the side of the creature on the floor, and a matted bloody mess of hair is visible underneath for a moment. Loralie turns and hurls. Sharod takes a step back and prompts the creatures. ”Are you alive?”

The creatures stop, and the one leaning against the wall turns their head over their shoulder. Black holes where their eyes might’ve been stare back at them. It’s mouth falls open and a horrible creaking sound builds. It starts low, and its rattle increases until it’s above speaking volume.

Sharod stumbles backward, his close range weapon completely out of the question. He pulls Loralie up by the shoulders, ignoring the dribble of puke on her chin. ”Time to go.” Wet squishing sounds begin. The edges of the slime pile begin to creep toward them. ”Now.” The upright mob turns slowly, and falls into the sludge beneath it. When it impacts, the sludge reacts like cornstarch mixed with water- hard at first, and then it melts around it.

Unfortunately- the impact squishes red blood out of the rotten corpse. That’s enough. Is this the dungeon cleaning crew?

Loralie pulls him forward by the arm, just as the edge is about to touch his shoe. Then they’re running down the left hall. She supposes they should have gone left and skipped the spectacle entirely. A vision filters through her thoughts of this same creature devouring her friend, and for a small moment, she wonders if one of them was Diane.

Mid run, she stumbles to a stop. ”What? Why are you stopping?” Sharod slows to a stop, dancing back and forth sideways- towards and away from her. He’s on his toes as he does.

All lefts lead to Diane.

Maybe it’s a warning. Yeah- she can work with that. Trust left, first. Okay. Yeah.

All lefts lead to Diane.

She doesn’t notice, but with the thought, an invisible pen etches ‘Diane’ into the face of her shield. On the inside arm band- “All Lefts Lead to Diane” carves itself into the leather. It’s ornate, created with a precise hand.

Dead ahead- is a group of 5 spiders, skating in perfect formation. “I’ve been searching for an answer, but I ain’t found one. I’ve been known to tear shit up and go off like a gun.” One of the spiders is excellent at beat boxing. They leave that one last.

It seems like what they witnessed down the hall increased their stakes and they both are immediately down to business.

---

Hannah's lungs burned as the bulky lizard charged into her, knocking her flat on her back. She felt stunned, as her body tried to remember how to breathe! Her ears rang, and the world seemed to slow to a crawl. Her frantic eyes searched for Zoe, but she couldn't find the taller woman!

They had been in 3 fights, not including this one, since leaving the guild hall. These larger and more crocodilian Wilys were out in greater numbers. The AI dubbed them Double Wet Wilys, the bigger ruder and tougher cousin of the Wet Wily. They wielded make-shift swords and spears, sometimes with hunks of metal strapped over their Hawaiian shirts. They were indeed both tougher and ruder than the tiny lizard-folk. These knew how to fight, and even scarier they fought together.

Hannah barely managed to dodge the downward cleave of a rusted sword as the blade shattered against the hard floor of the dungeon. The Wily that swung the weapon let out a agitated growl, and grabbed her ankle. Hannah kicked with her other foot, aiming at the one weak-spot she knew these things had... their eyes, she kicked with everything she had. The heel of her Vans making contact with the creatures large yellow eye. It screeched in pain, and flung her. As her back crunched against the stone wall of the dungeon, her breath was knocked loose again. that familiar burning and hollow feeling radiating from her stunned diaphragm.

Zoe was fairing better than her small traveling companion. The older woman was light on her feet, and refused to be grabbed...She sliced with her knife carefully, aiming for quick and risk-free attacks. Each slice adding more and more cuts. She twisted out of a lunging strike, and grabbed one of the shitty Wily Daggers and threw it... The passive of her eye tiggered and she felt it buzz, the blade making a sharp 90^o turn to lodge itself in the reptilian's side. All of the cuts on the creature began to bleed like this was a low-budget slasher.

She heard the thud of Hannah being tossed into the wall, seeing the Wily Hannah had been fighting with a bloodshot eye, she guessed what had happened. "You've got to stay out of melee!" She said, jumping forward and pushing the kitchen knife through the bottom of her opponents jaw. The knife was surprisingly durable, but it was already showing signs of wear... it wasn't built for this, even with the dungeon buffing it up.

"I'm fucking trying. You think I want to get beat up like this." Hannah croaked through gasping breaths, as she saw Zoe engage her wily. She composed herself enough to finish the fight with a zap from Arc Bolt. With a groan she leaned back against the hard stone wall.

---

Zoe and Hannah had formed a pretty fast and efficient partnership. It was easy to view this through the scope of an RPG, Zoe was by far the better melee fighter, and if Hannah could keep Zoe between her and the enemies... it was a breeze. Though it really hadn't went so easily, for a few reasons.

First, they didn't have any way to stop the Wilys from charging Hannah. The fights had been 4 or 5 vs 2, and the numbers were proving to be a pain in their ass. Hannah would get charged by 1 or 2, and have to scramble to survive while Zoe finished her own fight. After running out of mana in the first two fights, Hannah had began to keep a reserve for heal.

Second, the mobs were getting stronger. Arc lightning was doing less, and Hannah wasn't sure these guys were weak to lightning damage. Even with her circlet, and a mana potion from Zoe... She was running out of mana, at an alarming rate. She needed a way to deal effective damage that wasn't a spell. The Wily weapons were shit, poor quality and held together by strings... so it was hard to count them as actual weapons.

It was putting a lot of stress on Zoe to kill these things.

Hannah stood on shaking legs, and cast heal on herself. She gasped at the feeling, a gush of hot relaxing air and the pain melted away. Hannah had a few more achievements that awarded boxes, and just as many that awarded nothing but snarkiness from the AI. They began looting the Wily's for everything... Their clothes, bags, belts... everything, short of chopping them up and taking the pieces.

---

"This is all so crazy." Zoe broke the silence, they had chosen to back track... They guessed this area kind of swirled inwards, by looking at the mini map. They agreed that maybe a saferoom would be somewhere safer than what was surely a monster's den. "It just seems like a fever dream, all of it." she added, gesturing to a corner up ahead. They had taken to waiting and peeking at corners... trying to get a feel for the way the dungeon's inhabitants moved.

"Yeah, I'm not even sure anyone I know survived the collapse... and I don't even have time to really think about it. I can't even die without a guilty conscience. When I croak, I'll take someone else with me... and if I do good, and adapt to this place... I could just die at random anyways." Hannah twisted and fidgeted with the bottom button of her sweater. Which was about a size and half too large for her, but Hannah was used to that... she liked baggy clothes.

Zoe listened to Hannah, and peaked around the corner. Where she saw something that stuck out against the drab plain walls of the dungeon."I think we just have to assume that our partner is playing to win. Worrying about them, when we have no way of helping them is not worth our time. It's sucky advice, and I feel bad giving it... but I think it's for the best." Zoe said, before a smile cracked her lips. "I think there is a Wing-Stop down this hallway, and I think we should check it out.

"A Wing-Stop?" Not that Hannah had never heard of the restaurant, just that... it was so out of place. She looked at the store front, which looked like it had been plucked out of a shopping center and smoothly fitted into the wall. The absurdity of this made her forget about the gloom she had been feeling just a minute ago. "Look in the window, we found one." Hannah said pointing to the neon sign above the door, that would normally say 'OPEN' and now read 'SAFE ROOM'.

They stepped in, and sighed with relief. It was air conditioned, and the cool air felt amazing. They looked around the restaurant, it was a normal damn Wing-Stop. "I wonder if there is food here." Zoe said, they had spoken earlier about being hungry. Hannah nodded bumping the woman with her elbow, and pointing to the menu screens which did not display a menu.

---

Countdown until Level Collapse: 6 days, 20 hours Countdown until the premiere of Dungeon Crawler World: Earth. 20 hours, 13 minutes. Remaining Crawlers: 14,432,611

Leaderboard will populate upon collapse of the third level.

Welcome to the Safe Room. You are on the First Level. Rental halls currently available: 20 Rental hall price: 10 gold. Personal spaces will become available for purchase on the fourth level. Food is available at this location.

Standing behind the counter was a tall lawn gnome, or a dwarf from The Hobbit. A large beard, shaggy hair and standing just about 3 ft tall. Zoe stepped forward, placing herself between Hannah and the unknown. "It's a Safe-Room, I don't think we are in any danger." Hannah said, but found herself readying for combat.

As they got closer the AI finally decided to chime in. Labeling the man behind the counter as Mixlo, a non-combatant NPC, Bopka Fry Cook. "Hello. Can we order food with you? I also was curious what a Rental Hall is?" Mixlo hrmphed, "Of course ye order food with me lass, I'm the Bopka aint I." He said, his eyes flashed, and a screen popped up. It had several food options available, most were food that a wingstop would have. "An a rental hall is a temporary connection with ya guild master, as well as a place for sleeping. Halls are rented by the day... or you can purchase a floor pass for 130gold, that gets you access to the rental halls at all safe rooms on the floor."

Hannah reached out and pressed the button for Hot Buffalo Wings Bone-in. She pressed it again, and she heard something ring in the kitchen twice. "Food is free?" She asked curiously. That's right. Did you want a cup for your drink?" Hannah nodded, and accepted the large plastic cup from the Bopka. She looked over to Zoe, who shrugged and ordered off the screen... also taking a cup. "Oh, and we want the Rental Hall." Zoe said extracting 10 gold pieces from her inventory.

---

They collected their food, Hannah was not familiar with the drink options... Which was weird, these were not earth sodas. She filled her cup with something called Squarb-erry Squish. That she thought was a dumb pun on strawberry... It was not. It was tropical, and very sweet... but carbonated, and kind of tasty... in that way that it grows on you.

Entering the rental hall, they were greeted by shouting "About time!" Igva's voice made them jump with surprise, "I've been waiting for hours." Hannah looked to see the goblin was sitting on the table closet to the door."Waiting here? You knew where this room was?" She asked judgment dripping from her tone."Of course not, you are transported here to my guildhall when you enter a rental hall."

"Yeah, that makes sense. It wasn't easy finding this place." Hannah said with a humph, and sat down in the chair she had occupied earlier. She began to open her food, sipping at the pungent tropical soda. "They didn't have normal sodas is that on purpose? If so I'm really gonna miss Dr.Pepper." Zoe nodded in agreement. Bzarker Cola, was not very good. She was almost regretful of not just getting water.

---

"Have the other's checked in?" Zoe asked between bites, she also had the tale tale glow of using her HUD in her eye. Hannah was too hungry to surf her HUD, and kept devouring her food. Now that they had entered a "safe" place, she was starving. Fighting for your life probably had that effect, and it was only multiplied by her already chaotic eating schedule.

"The show runners sometimes let corporations buy advertisement slots in abstract ways. Sodas and snacks are a huge way, and kind of a gamble... but imagine when the top crawler's trillions of fans see that their favorite off-world soda is Squarb-erry Squish?" The goblin lady said as she looked up from the book she had started to read. "Then a couple million in credits to stock all the soda machines in the dungeon with Squarb-erry is a steal."

Hannah shrugged, and sipped her drink. "I mean, that makes sense..." Hannah looked at the plastic cup in her hands... as Zoe chimed in. So we are gonna have trillions of people watching us... As we try to not die horribly painful and bloody deaths?" Igva shrugged, it was a bit irritating to Hannah that the goblin didn't seem to have much sympathy for them. "Realistically, probably not... Unless you make it to the deeper floors, There is always a boom of viewers on the 3rd floor. That is when fans can start to watch live feeds. They can follow your feed, and favorite it... if they really like you. Viewership really picks up as the 4th floor closes. By that time the leaders of the pack have begun to define themselves."

Igva sighed, and turned in her chair. "I would focus less on that sort of stuff... and truly focus on surviving. Getting stronger, gaining levels, think about how your going to progress..." She shook her head, obviously annoyed. "It would be easier to guide you, if the bonds weren't split apart. Focusing on solo strength will only get you so far, because even if your immaculate... a bad play, a curse, hell! Even random bad chance on your partner's behalf could kill you."

Hannah felt those words deep in chest. She wasn't scared her partner would get her killed... It was kind of the exact opposite. She had been closer to death today, than she had ever been before... and it had happened multiple times. "People just randomly keeling over, probably won't make good TV though? This is like a reality show, like Survivor... Even without million of fans, we are likely to be someone's favorite, wouldn't someone just dying for no good reason cost them fans?" Zoe voiced her annoyance with the soulbond mechanic.

"Idiots who tune into a show to watch people with no choice slaughter each other, and die pointless deaths... Do not have the same feelings and emotions that you do." Igva's voice was stern. "Not that all of them are bad, but... don't forget they get paid either way, in fact they probably make more if you die screaming."

---

Hannah felt like curling into a ball. This was too much, and she hated it. She chose to stop listening as Zoe and Igva talked about the show runners. She opened her menus and began to read through them, there was a skill for everything... like EVERYTHING everything. Hell breathing was a skill, and so was walking.

With some tinkering, she managed to filter her skills... Her Arc lighting spell had leveled up twice! Deeper inspection of the spell showed that at level 5, which is what it cast at with her circlet on... It could be cast at a range of 52.5ft, and she at 10 it would be able to chain between targets. It gained damage and range from her intelligence score.

She flicked through to her achievements and let the AI roll. She had gotten an achievement for casting a spell while her hand was inside the jaw of a mob, for dealing perfectly lethal damage to an injured mob, and for "stealing another crawler's kill". Five others that came with wacky achievements, she got 4 boxes.

---

Hannah slumped in her seat. "I wish everyone would quit reminding me, that I'm gonna die in this place.... for five minutes." She turned back to the boxes waiting to be opened, 1 gold, 3 bronze. She got a handful of little blue potions that were identified as abysmal mana potions, a few torches, and a couple rolls of "full stop" bandages from the bronze ones. Igva turned to watch as the golden Lucky Bastard box opened, A folded up cloth clothing item fell into Hannah's lap.

"That is a good item, about the same quality as your circlet." Hannah examined it, using the mental cursor to focus on it.

---

---

"So does this work with the circlet or not?" Hannah asked looking at the poncho. It looked like something a cowboy would wear, in a cheesy western. Rough-looking woven fabric, that was surprisingly soft. It was 3 shades of brown, and honestly looked pretty comfy.

"I don't think so. The spell part is making the rocks, not launching them. I've seen crawlers use that spell late in the dungeon to, but spells are always better as tomes, and not items." She stretched and pointed to Zoe... "Let's get your boxes settled, then I'm kick ya out to the dungeon again. You need to do some more grinding before you've earned so time off."

---

These five spiders are the toughest they’ve faced yet. Loralie and Sharod work to rinse and repeat their technique. It’s only partially successful- two of the skating arachnids bowl over the top of Loralie’s shield. The other three have just enough time to divert their paths. Two go around either side of the shield and the last stops in front of the shield. It lets out a low hissing sound.

Sharod is ready to intercept the spider on the right of the shield. Loralie attempts to intercept the left with her machete. She cleaves one of the skates from its body before it’s on her. ”We might be taking out the top team here.”

”Now there’s definitely going to be a bigger fish.” Sharod’s blood cools at the image of Obi-Wan Kenobi sitting in an underwater transport being chased by a bigger fish, to only be saved by the appetite of an even bigger fish. He shivers. It feels like his life- running from the injustices of his entire life, upon his family, upon his people. Only to be eaten by the bigger, more devastating and disgusting alien media empire.

It’s disgust that powers his punch to the spider’s face. The blade of his knuckles cleaves it in two. Crack- just like a crab leg, the exoskeleton splits. Its internals are pierced immediately and the spider emits a kind of squeal, falling dead. On his left, Loralie is hacking limbs from spiders as they approach. The pair use her shield to cover them from one side of combat.

It takes a few minutes- and some minor wounds, but they survive. “It’s weird you haven’t keeled over yet.” Back in Harrisburg Loralie would sometimes sneeze and feel faint. It had to be an aggressive one, but it’d happened enough that the effort from her body was entirely unexpected.

Loralie had noticed, and forced it down into a box. What if it was just a good heart day? Could she have good heart days?

Horror- what if the dungeon didn’t kill her at all. What if her disease did? Suddenly the thing that brought her so much sadness shifted inside her. It coiled up and snapped like a snake. Turning to Sharod- ”If I do that takes Hannah out too- right? You’re an asshole by the way.” Loralie knocks into him before digging into another rollerskate for the spider’s inventory. Not much to work with, but the experience they gain is nearly enough to get them to Level 3. Nearly.

”For what, pointing out the elephant in the dungeon? Loralie- I carried your ass up the stairs for a month after you fell and busted your head open on the stairs. I think out of everybody-” A pointed look- ”that at least gives me the license to acknowledge it.”

A skate flies through the air, falling short of his shins. Loralie’s strength is infinitesimal from her lack of being able to consistently exercise. ”Okay- that’s crazy. You’re not acting right.” Sharod approaches Loralie like she’s a scared animal.

”You don’t have license for anything just-because you took care of me. Are you hearing yourself? She stalks up to him and shoves a finger into his chest.

”Are you hearing me?- Lor I’m asking about your health because I don’t know what is going on in this place either!” Sharod’s voice raises to meet her where she’s at. ”You forget, I can’t read your mind Lor! I only know what you tell me here, so tell me. Is this space magic keeping you upright, or are we going to have to be prepped for you to lie in bed for an extended amount of time tomorrow.” His eyebrows are drawn together, and his chest is rising slightly faster than normal.

His statements momentarily stun her. But when she returns to her body, she launches herself at him. Loralie attempts to knock him to the floor, but he catches her wrists and shakes her. ”Man if you don’t get it together- right now.”

Sharod presses a button in his HUD, and a healing spell is applied to his friend. It doesn’t seem to have an immediate impact until her eyes well with tears. ”We, k-k” she gets stuck on the ‘K’, shivering for a moment. ”killed somebody Shar. How are you keeping it together right now?

He releases one wrist and pulls her into a hug. ”Because for it to mean anything, we have to survive Lor. For anyone to remember her, we have to live.” She sobs quietly for a moment, and then when he releases her she’s stopped.

The bottom water lines of her eyes are blood red when she fixes her gaze on him after. ”No. I don’t think my heart is going to be a problem for me anymore.” It’s quite, and Sharod only nods in response. ”Okay- lets work on that level three then.” She sounds resigned, the foreign burst of anger coming from a well she never knew she had. The look on Sharod’s face when she threw the skate sticks with her. It’s not that it was Sharod that is making her feel this next thing. As she unwraps the bubble wrap on this new source of anger, she’s surprised to find that it makes her feel secure in her ability to be taken seriously.

That maybe- she should be a little more angry. Under her breath she says something that she maybe eventually would come to regret- ”If they’re going to kill me- it’s going to mean something.” That nail in the coffin didn’t feel so sharp then- but in the future. It would.

---

Sharod keeps them moving. He spots a Wingsnob in the distance. Shouldn’t that be- Wingstop? Maybe it’s a dungeon thing. ”Didn’t think we’d have boneless chicken wings for cafeteria food down here.”

The blonde saddles up to the counter and just blinks at the creature behind it. It’s a gnome? Sort of? He introduces himself as Maxlo, begrudgingly explains the deal with the saferoom. They sit in the cafeteria and eat for a moment in relative silence. Sharod gets some soda named “Squarberry Squish”, while she gets “Bzarker Cola” which she runs back to poor out pretty much immediately. It’s enough trying new stuff for her for now- so she settles on water.

When they finish up- they rent and pop into their rental hall room they rent. Sharod jumps out of his skin when Igva is waiting on the other side of the door. ”Certainly took your time, you missed the other girls by just a few minutes. Let’s get through your boxes- and then you’re right back out there.”

---

Zoe watched as the achievements and rewards scrolled past. She ended up with a few basic bronze boxes, with standard rewards. Gold, Torches, HP potions, and a few mana potions. Only three boxes gave anything interesting. She watched as Hannah and Igva fussed over the smaller human's prizes. She took a sip of her soda, and was surprised to find the sweet and spicy carbonated drink was growing on her.

Her whole life Zoe had been quiet, a result of less than ideal parentage... Watching, gauging moods, walking on eggshells. It had lead to a lot of people referring to her as eerily quiet, and a little unsettling. She learned faster by observing, and calculating. Which is why she didn't mind Hannah and Igva going before her.

The gold chest was a golden box, with Crocodile Dundee leaning against it holding a large golden Bowie Knife... Damn she wanted that knife, a sturdy, and unforgivingly sharp weapon. The chest let out an animatronic voice "That's not a knife, This is a knife." as the chest part swirled open and a long fantasy-esque dagger revealed itself.

It was damn near a short sword, as Zoe examined the blade it's tooltip popped up. It was about 14 inches in length, with a large single edge blade with a wicked curve. The handle was covered by a ornate handguard of a black skeletal hand. It looked scary, enough to make Zoe pause.



Zoe grasped the handle, and felt the chill enter her body as she mental equipped the dark blade. There was a strange whirlpool of feelings, as her stats adjusted. The dagger came with a sheath, that she strapped to her waist choosing to have the blade in the small of her back. Her attention was drawn back to her chests as the next one burst open with mild fanfare. Some leather armor popped out, it was fur-lined and a light tan color. She examined it, and grinned. It was just +1 strength armor, but she would take it. The bronze lucky bastard box, contained 3 troll's blood potions, which would increase health regen by 200% for 1 minute.

"That dagger is a blessing and a curse, ya'know." Igva said, letting Hannah get back to her food. "Items that change the fundamentals of spells... are wildcards. You get a powerful spell, usually much earlier than normal, with some harsh restrictions. The true nature of the change will become clear as you level the spell."

"It seems like a powerful item, the restrictions on the spell are whatever... I am mostly concerned with the -1 Constitution, and my position on the frontline." Zoe said with a quiet voice, "Also I only have 4 mana, so this spell is kind of rough... If I wan't to heal also."

"It does seem to focus on making you choose offence and damage over defense and durability." The Goblin examined the tooltip for the blade. "I think you should use the knife sharpener on it." Zoe drew the blade, and turned it over in her hand examining the sheen of the dark metal.

She withdrew the knife sharpener and examined it.

Perma-Sharp Knife Enhancement Kit This Knife sharpening kit will imbue a Knife with a random special enhancement. Permanently. This kit has 2 uses remaining.

She turned the small black sharpener over in her hand, while looking at Kelt's Guiding Hand. "Is Kelt someone important? Shouldn't I save this sharpener? It felt like an item she should save, but if this weapon was something she was gonna use for awhile... It could be extremely valuable to use it now. "Well yes. It is something you won't have to worry about for a long while... but Kelt is a god, and while they are extremely important to the crawl... It's not a subject worth covering for now. Just know that like this dagger, aligning with a god is a double edged blade. This weapon will follow you for a long time, it would be useful to use the sharpener now."

Zoe took a deep breath and dragged the dark metal blade through the sharpener. "Would you like to use both charges?" She mentally clicked yes. She briefly wondered if both points would be used together for the same upgrade... and she had to guess that was the case. +2 intelligence, was the buff her blade got. Which was a comfortable upgrade! having 6 mana, was actually something very useful.

"Intelligence! That's actually a very good upgrade." Igva said with grin. Zoe equipped the leather armor from her inventory, and was amused by the armor just appearing on her.

---

Hannah was dying to try her new spell, as she watched Igva and Zoe go through the boxes. "Igva, while we were traveling earlier the monsters were getting harder to kill. Do you think we should keep working our way into their territory? Is there like a boss?" She asked as they finished up their conversation. Hannah eyed the long, and dangerous looking weapon Zoe now possessed.

Igva nodded, turning to look at Hannah. "Oh, there is definitely a boss. There might even be two." She said, before hopping down from the table. "As good as it would be to kill a boss on the first day, I think it's too dangerous. You should avoid bosses, until you get some more equipment. When you head back out, try working your way out of the 'territory' of the Wily."

"Would a boss be that difficult to kill?" Zoe asked standing from the table, and stretching. "I'm not saying we should fight a boss, I'm just curious how hard the fight would be..." Zoe added seeing the look on Igva face as the goblin turned around quickly. Zoe gave a smirk, and raised her hands in joking surrender.

"It could be difficult, it could be a push over... It's always hard to tell, the boss isn't always themed around the mobs in it's territory... though there will be clues around it's lair. You should be able to tell a bosses lair from it's surroundings. Atleast on the first two floors, after the that... they expect you to be fighting bosses." Igva said as she walked back to her chair, with the book she had been reading.

---

Zoe and Hannah had talked for a few minutes about their options... and had decided to take Igva's advice. They were going to backtrack out of Wily territory, and try to encounter another monster type. Immediately after leaving the safe room, Hannah cast her new spell. 12 smooth stones of varying sizes, but all small, formed around her right wrist. She held her right hand out, and willed one of the rocks to launch.

It flew from her wrist like... well like a bullet. When it collided with the wall, it made a sharp noise before ricocheting off into the distance. "Woah." She wondered how much damage it was going to do... it sounded and looked impressive, but it was just a rock... right?

"I don't think we should avoid fights, while we backtrack... We need the EXP, I still think we could hover in this area, and hunt the stronger Wilys." Zoe said, she had been a bit stubborn. Call it overconfidence, but she thought they should look for the boss.

"We can slow roll it, out of Wily territory... but it couldn't hurt to know what other mobs are around. Igva said there would be a janitor mob... and we haven't seen anything like that. Only Wilys." Hannah said, her eyes moved to the dark blade on Zoe's lower back. A new weapon seemed to embolden Zoe, or atleast... made the woman more confident in her combat ability.

Zoe was thinking about the achievement system, and had made the argument while they had been inside with Igva... That there was probably still time to claim the "Trailblazer" version of the boss killing achievement. Igva disagreed. "Some lucky bastards have already lucked into a boss kill, by now." Their guide had said, and Hannah had to agree... all her impressive achievements had come from luck, a lot of luck.

"If Igva is right, and she probably is... finding a farmable experience source, would be our best option." The older woman agreed, but she still didn't much care for the idea of tucking tail and running before seeing the boss of the Wily zone. Though she could tell, Hannah while being the voice of reason... agreed with Zoe, the smaller girl was just following the safer idea.

---

Sharod took a second in the bathroom, looking at his reflection before they ventured back out into the dungeon. The concept of looking at himself in such an unfamiliar place was odd. Everything around him was new- his weaponry glinting from his knuckles. Blue-green glue has deepened to a sickly gray/black stain across his clothes. A 1990s Denny’s bathroom, walls yellowed with age, pink and blue painted tile dispersed in a sea of white.

It’s familiar. But there is a sense of dread about all of it. ”Just keep going. We’ll rest soon.”

He’s wearing black Carhartt pants, tan timberlands, a light blue plaid overshirt, and a white t-shirt. His hair is pulled into poufy long locks. The back half of them are pulled into a pony tail. He unbuttons the dirtied shirt and is visibly pleased when it’s unmarred. His boots are fairing much worse.

Leaning over he splashes water on his face, scrubbing the spider juice from his skin. When he’s finished, he looks up from the basin to the mirror, and for an instant, he sees the toilet behind him rather than his face. He blinks hard, by the time his eyes are reopened, he’s there again. Fear highlights his features- what is that all about? Was there a bug in the game? Was this mirror virtual?

Reaching up, his fingers slide under the sides, top and bottom of the mirror. Maybe there’s a button here somewhere. He finds nothing. So he leaves.

Loralie is sitting in a booth, her eyes glued to the spinning logo on the tv in the restaurant. Maxlo is banging pots and pans together somewhere back in the kitchen. Sharod sighs- “Lor- we should get moving again.”

For a few beats, silence surrounds them. It’s the rustling of her clothing that finally breaks it.

---

They spend several hours fighting more derby spiders. Only one set that really matched their last set of opponents. When they’ve destroyed their sixth spider gang, Loralie’s starting to look and feel very rough. Her chest is painful, and while their health totals are high she feels exhausted. Sharod feels like if he has to move another inch he’ll keel over.

They’re nearly level five now and they’re starting to feel the XP gain slow down. With their inventories chocked full of boxes to open, they wordlessly agree to head back to the safe room.

Luckily, they’d already made the call to start backtracking to the Wing Snob. When it comes into view, they stumble inside. Sharod says nothing as he crawls into a bed in their rented rest room.

”I’m not sure I’m going to get used to this.” Loralie is sitting on the side of her bed, facing away from him. The first few fights they fought she’d put her anger into it. Yells and grunts powered her swings. The last two? She’d been deadly silent.

”If you do- I’ll ring your bell myself. You’ve got to hold onto what makes you, you dude. This place is already changing us.” He shuts his eyes. Laying flat on his back he lifts his arm to cover his eyes from the fluorescent lights.

Loralie looks over at him at his revelation and then she falls into bed. Where- it’s lights out- for just a little while.
When they get up, they open their next set of loot boxes, and head out.

---

It’s pretty quiet until they reach a new section of hallway they aren’t familiar with. Sharod rolls to a stop but Loralie’s been on autopilot. She powers ahead, and Sharod barely dashes in after her. Just in time too- because once he’s though the threshold- music begins.

The Dungeon AI takes on a sports announcer tone with the next announcement. "B-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-BOSS BATTLE"

Sharod thinks he’s going to be sick.

---

Hannah followed behind Zoe, the older woman looked intimidating... The scars, the softly glowing eye... Hannah had to admit that Zoe was nailing the vibe. They had spent the last hour or so slowly traversing Wily territory. There was only one fight, and it was over so fast that Hannah was questioning the decision to leave. They had 6 days, it wouldn't hurt to scope out another territory.

They had talked with Igva about the monster territories. The goblin had told them most monsters in the dungeon would have a territory, or area... She had also warned that it wouldn't always be this easy to spot when one territory ended an another began.

Hannah was surprised by their new strength in combat. Zoe's health wore away noticeably faster. That would be something they would need to work out, or solve. Hannah had always enjoyed JRPGs and class based MMOs. She knew their party was shaping up to be a DPS heavy duo. Which was fine in short bursts, with a ready source of healing. Both of these happened to be true currently, their fights were short and with healing potions and the heal spell... They could keep their HP up, and take fights at their leisure.

---

They reached a large hallway, after a little searching. It was about the width of a highway, and eerily silent. Across the hall, there was an entrance into... well Zoe wasn't sure what the hallway across from them lead to, but it was probably a new territory. "This has to be what Igva was talking about. A clear end to the Wily's territory."

Hannah had to nod in agreement. She watched the other side of the hallway for any kind of movement... but it was probably fruitless. They hadn't seen a Wily in about 20 minutes. They had heard several groups of the little party animals, but they hadn't ventured off the path. Igva had advised picking a direction, and walking that way until they hit something like this.

"I was kind of hoping there would be more clues for what is waiting over there." Zoe said, making a sound of disappointment. "Having no information sucks. Dumb hope says that the monsters won't be too bad... if the logic is the same, and the monsters get stronger the deeper we go."

"How are you on mana?" Hannah asked looking across her own hud. "I've got 5 of my 10 MP. It's a pretty uncomfortable number... but I've got a full brace of rocks, and HP. I'm regenning MP faster, with 10 INT. It makes sense, but it's kind of surprising... I was at 3 after that last fight, and that was only 10 minutes ago."

"I've got 4 MP, which is really uncomfortable. I can cast heal or my new spell... but not both." She leaned against the wall, as they watched. They had really developed a system, corners were for peeking, listening, and planning. Each fight they had taken since leaving the saferoom, had been taken with a plan for victory.

It was a time consuming way to travel, but it reduced surprises. It also helped to avoid long fights, which their team was not suited for.

---

"When you get 5 we should cross, I think it's safe to assume that the monsters will work similarly. Weaker mobs towards the outside, so we can get a feel for what's over there... If it's not good, we return here and farm Wilys." Hannah said, after a few minutes of nothing. The blank wall across from them wasn't giving up any information.

Zoe nodded and stood. "I'll lead you ready yourself." She said, and Hannah lifted her hand to show several stones rotating around her finger pistol. "Lock'd and Load'd boss." The younger woman laughed. Zoe smiled, "We run if it's something crazy. If someone calls a retreat, that becomes the plan, no questions. We regroup, and discuss in safety."

Hannah nodded seriously this time. Then they slowly crossed the large stretch of land between the two territories. As they walked into the hallway, "Ding! Ding!" They both jumped as an achievement rolled in, almost simultaneously. Hannah watched it pop up, and slowly fade away. "Eyes extra open, Zoe." She said, "Something is watching us."



Zoe slowly slid the dagger from it's sheathe. Hannah's eyes darted. This hallway was a little different. It was overgrown. Vines hung from the ceiling, and bushy plants sprouted up at random. It gave jungle ruins vibes. "I think we should retreat." Hannah said looking around and seeing absolutely fucking nothing.

"Agreed. Back out slowly." Something rustled and Zoe launched the black dagger with a shadowy tendril. Something squealed, and the bush that Zoe's shadowy apendage launched into shook violently. The shrill screams awakened the world around them with a symphony of tiny roars.

Hannah turned to run away, something launched out and stuck to her side yanking her to her left. She wobbled right, as Zoe's large blade cleaved the slimy apendage that had stuck to her left side. "What the fuck!" She said seeing the tiny little dinosaur writhe and spew blood.

It was about the size of a house cat, shockingly green... It was a cross between a chameleon, and a T-rex? Honestly adorable, and terrifying. The AI kicked in with a description, but she brushed it away... focusing on the retreat. She felt Zoe push her forward, not roughly but guiding Hannah towards the hallway entrance.

Zoe caught a glimpse of the monster that was attacking them, several more tongues launched out to halt them... but Zoe physically moved Hannah to dodge them. This was a lot less scary than the achievements had made it seem. Unless these were juveniles or something. Lord help them, if there is a T-Rex sized Chameleon dinosaur wandering around the first floor 1.

As they rounded the corner, Zoe assumed the dinos wouldn't follow... and she was right, they appeared to be ambush predators. A pack of them, and with the jump on you would be awful. They could pack a punch, Hannah's health had dropped just being hit by one of their tongue shots.

---

"Fucking tiny dinosaurs!" Hannah said, her voice was a mix of excitement, exhaustion, and terror. "Tiny. Camouflaged. Fucking. Dinosaurs." She repeated, a panicked chuckle left her as she leaned against the wall.

"They gave good experience though... More than the Wilys." Zoe said, peeking around the corner and into the hallway of certain death.

"You can't be thinking about fighting that... How are we gonna find them?" Hannah said, watching the older woman peek the corner.

"They can't have true invisibility. It's probably just really good camouflage." Zoe said, looking hard for any sign of the little terrors. "I wonder if that's their full size... or if they are babies. Cause I really don't want a giant one of those chasing us."

---

Camo Camo Camo Chameleon

These little buggers blend right in, you really don't even know they are there until they attack from behind.

The longer they live, the bigger they get... There is really no telling just how big one will grow.

---

---

"B-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-BOSS BATTLE
You have discovered the lair of a Neighborhood Boss!
Put your game faces on, ladies and gentlemen!
Aaand Here. We. Go!"

Music starts to increase from the background. Sharod and Loralie find themselves in an old Rollerrink, a kind of Skate Hall. It looks like a hall abandoned in the late 00s. The walls are covered in graffiti. A makeshift stage has been cobbled together from strange materials. There are a concerning number of cinderblocks in the center of the scratched and dinged skate floor.

The speakers start to boom with drums, a guitar, and bass. A spotlight comes on, lighting center stage. A large framed man, with black hair covering his eyes, and dark black eyeliner applied too thick and sloppily stares at them slack jawed. He wears a white tank top with armpit stains, a black chain necklace with a cross hanging just above his navel, and converse with his left big toe sticking out. A yellowed fractured nail catches the light.

Loralie’s stiff, Sharod is scrambling backward. His back hits the door. It knocks the wind out of him.

Behind the man, are 3 rollerskating spiders like they’d faced earlier. These spiders are each in a cage. Based on the locks connected to chains that are at the end of the singer's microphone, Sharod shouts. ”When we kill this guy, it frees those spiders. Don’t burn out too quick.” Each one is responsible for a different instrument.

Loralie can feel her sanity slipping from between her fingers. It’s all so- unbelievable. This is stretching what her mind ever thought possible, and it’s something about the familiar vibe this man is putting out. It’s not a good one. A barked laugh forces itself out of her lungs like it’s choking her. “This is insane. I’m losing my mind.” Her voice is high pitched, and tight.

The man, who seems to be the stature of an ogre? Maybe? Lifts the microphone and screams into it. It’s not a well trained vocal scream, it’s a high pitched whine. Both Sharod and Loralie cry out- covering their ears. He pulls it away from his mouth, and a ball of spikes becomes visible in the spotlight.

The spikes are bloodied. It makes Sharod assume the worst- they aren’t the first crawlers to make it in here.

The dungeon pipes back up.
”The Elder Emo
Level 6 Neighborhood Boss!
Abandoned by his scene sometime in the late 2000s, this elder emo has lived in this abandoned skating rink since he lost his home town’s battle of the bands competition. He won out to a short red head with a power voice, and he’s been bitter ever since. Generally regarded as a creep- he’s never quite let the good times go. He’s been creating captive audiences for almost two decades- and he’s about to captivate you thats for sure.”

”Focus up Lor- this is gonna suck.” He equips his bladed brass knuckles and turns his body into a more protective stance.

Loralie stares, arms limp at the oozing man up on the stage. A shimmer of gold, and her arm is once again weighed down by her shield. “Diane would have kicked the crap out of this guy.” Loralie’s mouth is dry as she says it. Memories of late nights sitting around- listening to old alternative and emo music filter through her consciousness. Regret for spending time with people too old for either of them, alcohol at ages way too young, and bad memories all around.

Awareness of a kind of revenge tickles at the back of Loralie’s mind. Maybe- maybe Loralie can avenge them both in some sort of way. What had Igva implied? That every thing in this dungeon is made out of the parts and components of the real world?

This wasn’t a real guy- the ogre face betrayed that. But- maybe something in him once had. Loralie takes a step forward, hefting her shield in front of her. It flashes a dim gold, as she equips her machete.

With a grunt, the singer hefts the microphone-flail and begins to move it around in a circle in front of them. Loralie knows she’s going to have to tank a large hit on her shield for the first time. Her gut churns, but she rushes at the singer.

The flail strikes her shield and she feels like a bell that’s been rung. Her eyes see double for a moment.

”Nice-” with her right hand, she raises the machete, and clips some of the skin of his shoulder as he knocks her swing out of the way.

A roar comes out of the singer’s mouth- “You said I was too much- my feelings a phase- you left my hoodie smelling of your betrayal- you never understood the pain you gave me-” Loralie blinks, spit covering her face has he screams. The flail lights up a neon blue-purple as it comes down once again at Loralie.

She’s fast enough to adjust her angle and it glints off of our shield once more. The impact knocks her back a step, and she falls on her ass. ”Shit- ow-!”

It’s at this point her friend steps to the man. Sharod approaches the elder-raccoon from the side. His fist slams into his gut, and the blade slides in. He pulls it out and sinks it in once more before the singer pivots and smacks him away. The ogre is strong, and Sharod slams up against the bars. His head makes a ‘brr-iinggg’ sound as it bounces against the bars. He grunts.

The ogre steps forward, flail seemingly increasing in size. “Black runs down my face again- _{its the rain, im not crying} Can’t see thru the eyeliners, can’t see thru the pain- you never stayed to know my PAIN” It’s a bellow of a scream. The sidebar comment about the rain catches Loralie completely off guard.

It feels like a fourth wall break, except, she’s inside the tv. It makes her want to turn and look at a camera. She’s- inside a tv show- probably- she almost forgot. A laugh escapes her at the absurdity of the statement.

The distraction is enough for the flail to come down and catch her off guard. It knocks down, into a blinding fiery pain. It smashes into her left shoulder, and her shield falls limp against her side.

She keeps the reaction to a high-pitched grunt. But it’s not until the ogre steps onto her shield, searching for leverage, to rip the flail out of her should. ”You said I should ^{let! go!} and you left! You took mr. kitty! And left me all alone in the world!”

His voice is taking on this whiney quality that sounds nothing like any alt or emo band on Earth. The Earth before, at least. It’s a clown mask over Loralie’s community. She’d be more upset about the way one of her subcultures that she grew up with was being remembered, if she wasn’t actively being maimed at the moment.

A kind of squeal escapes her as the flail finally comes free. Blood pours down her arm, gliding against the surface of the gold.

This squeal urges Sharod back to action, and he doesn’t fool around with his next blow. As the ogre raises his flail to take another crack at Loralie, Sharod slides the blade into the monster’s neck.

As fast as it’s in, it’s out and plunging back in repeatedly.

The creature is no longer able to sing, his voice coming out in gargles. The flail falls to the ground beside him. Fingers claw up his throat, as he tries to stop choking on his own blood.

A few more hits, and his neck starts to separate on one side. It’s not much longer until Sharod’s lobbed it clean off.

Tears filter down Loralie’s face as she stumbles around in her game menus, attempting to apply a healing spell. It freezes the rapid descent of her health bar, but the wound stings and remains just as gnarly.

Not bleeding out was going to have to be the state for a little longer, because the second the microphone-flail crashed to the ground. Each of the connected chains seemed to shatter like glass.

The sound seems to trigger the spiders into action- as they begin to throw themselves against the walls of the cages. When they free themselves, all three spiders pounce at the woman who has shifted to her knees. She’s starting to stand as one of them latches onto her machete arm with venomous fangs.

Something inside Loralie splits at this attack. She feels herself break open a little on the inside as she rips her arm against the spider, dragging its fangs thru her arm. It comes loose, and she plunges the machete into it, slicing it cleanly in half.

Blood pulses out of the wound, a weird gray hue tinging it.

Sharod is able to sneak up behind the drumming spider as it approaches Loralie. He pops the spider open like a boiled crab with his knife fist.

The last spider is able to slash Loralie with one of its fangs. It causes the ‘setlist bracelet’ to activate on her hud. +1 strength for every 3 separate enemy hits. The pair pivot on the last spider together, and the metal of their weapons collide inside its body. A kick of strength from the bracelet forces her machete in harder than she’d been able to previously. ‘Shiiinngg–”

”Wiiinners- Loralie and Sharod versus- Elder Emo” The voice booms around them.

The doors fall open, and Loralie’s health bar is rushing quickly toward zero. Half of her health bar seems to be tinged with an olive-green color. She swears, ”I’m poisoned.” Her voice falls open, horrified, and also somewhat resigned.

Sharod rushes over, meeting her where she remains on her knees, eyes inspecting the forearm wound. He’s sputtering as his thumbs pull the skin apart. Loralie forces down a scream. A tool tip appears next to her health in the menus and it reads- ”Status Effect- Poisoned, Apply antidote from inventory?”

When she selects ‘Yes’ nearly all of the poison indicator is removed from her health bar. A heaved sigh of relief escapes her.

”That- was too close. I don’t think we should fight one of those again for a while.” Sharod was already cataloging details about the opening to the area. Like how the door was slightly narrower than the hallway. If you looked at the floor in the middle of the doorway you could see a locking mechanism just barely hiding in the floor.

Loralie was shell shocked. This was the most injured she’d ever been. The pounding in her chest makes her acutely aware of the dungeon's ability to keep her standing upright. How something about the dungeon suppresses her heart condition.

That’s the thoughts she stumbles through on the way back to the safe room. The ‘Wing Snob’ sign shining red and green in the distance like a moon at night.

Sharod- is rambling the entire way back. He’s walking through the fight step by step aloud. How the monster didn’t attack until its introduction was given. How it used a secondary ability to increase the size of the flail- and that it seemed connected to the singing. They’ve gotten to the part where the spiders are freed from the cage as the sign comes into view.

It shuts him up as the last observation filters through his awareness.
Three spiders slamming against the insides of their cage. Flinging themselves out of the cages- and directly at them. No- her. Directly at Loralie.

Why do the spiders always seem to target Loralie? Did she have some weird debuff he was unaware of? Was there something wrong with his stats? Was being ignored by enemies something- wrong though?

The vision of Loralie, with a flail sticking out of his shoulder gives him a violent full body shiver.

He should be tanking for her. He’s bigger than her. Older. Less- ill?

The reminder of his sickness files even more questions into his folder to ask Igva later.

When they stumble inside Maxlo immediately begins shushing them. “Quiet! Quiet! The Dungeon Premiere is on!”

On every tv in the former sport bar, are shots of crawlers experiencing horrendous things to them as a large metallic logo flies in from off screen.