Julian could feel the shift in battle as things turned for the worse.

  His own fight had been rounding down, and he’d felt like he could best the giant with one or two more landed blows. His opponent had already taken a few hits from his shield, and one from his sword.

  He was flagging.

  On the last pass, one of John’s shadow men popped out and stabbed the giant while Julian had him locked sword to sword.

  “Hey!” the giant glared.

  Not the most honorable, but neither was ambushing with intent to permanently wipe out his party. “Give up now, and I will show mercy.”

  “Sorry,” The giant adjusted his grip. “Contract work. Doesn’t look good if you betray your boss.”

  Julian stabbed at the giant. “It also doesn’t look good if you PVP.”

  Party versus party was taboo in the adventuring guilds and dungeon delving community, and anyone caught party killing would have their guild membership revoked or even get banned from certain dungeons.

  “I’m not an adventurer, I’m an assassin.” The giant pulled back. He raised his sword and fainted a sweeping blow. When Julian set his shield to block, the giant turned and threw his sword at the [Barrier] defending the platform.

  The [Barrier] fell.

  Julian activated [Multi-Shield], but not before watching Alice appear behind Gerda and touch the trolls back.

  As the shield came up, Alice portalled away.

  Julian’s heart stopped– until he realized that Gerda was otherwise fine.

  “[Piercing Thrust].” The giant had summoned a new sword from somewhere and Julian barely managed to lift his shield in time to take the blow at an angle.

  [You have been dealt 350 force damage. Royal Valarian Shield blocks 200 damage. You have taken 150 force damage.]

  [Current Health: 964/1274]

  Julian cursed under his breath. He needed to finish this now. At his direction, John’s shadow moved to intercept the giant, but his opponent noticed and jumped back.

  There was a flash in the corner of Julian’s vision.

  Visha had taken a blow to the stomach that sent her clean through two giant icicles… where she hit the left side wall of the cave.

  The trap that Gerda had warned them about activated, pulling the entire wall down on top of the elf, crushing her beneath the rubble. By some miracle or skill, no more stalactites fell from the impact.

  Jeffry sent over the party interface, [We’ve lost Visha].

  And that was when Tully lost his temper.

  The human exploded in a burst of red light, charging across the cave at the beastform who’d hit Visha. His warhammer hit the ground instead of the transformed leopard that had been standing there previous.

  Two things happened simultaneously. The leopard jumped on top of Tully, large claws attacking his back as the paladin stumbled from the impact. His Strength was higher than anyone else in the party, however, and he did manage to throw the beastfolk off of him.

  At the same time, the force of his hammer sent shock waves throughout the entire cave and the remaining stalactites fell on top of everyone.

  The giant in front of him vanished.

  Julian braced his shield and sunk most of his mana into defending his party members as a ceiling of varying sized ice spears crashed down on top of them. All except Pram had their [Multi-Shield] destroyed from the impact.

  [You have been dealt 980 points damage. Royal Valarian Shield blocks 200 damage. You have taken 780 points damage.]

  Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

  [Warning! Health has dropped below 15%.]

  [Warning! Mana had dropped below 10%. Rest is recommended, or you may suffer Nausea, Heartburn, Indigestion, Upset Stomach, or Death.]

  [Current Health: 184/1274.]

  [Current Mana: 23/500.]

  But that wasn’t all.

  [You have been affected by the poison [Dandyvine]. You have been dealt 40 points of [Bleed] Damage to all Senses.]

  In preparation for the ambush, Alice had poisoned some of the ice spears. The debris and snow and dust that kicked up from the spears impact had poison effects.

  Julian cursed, but since he was protected under the pile of ice braced overhead by his shield, he took a moment to pop an Antidote and a Health Potion. He’d barely opened the top of a Mana Potion when he heard the muffled sounds of talking.

  “A little earlier than planned, but it’ll do.”

  “Julian!” Gerda’s voice was laced with panic, and Julian dropped the empty mana bottle and thrust aside the ice spear that had been trapping him.

  Alice was downing a potion, unharmed, with the rest of her party members. She was standing where the wyvern had been. The boss monster was gone, and in its place an blue spire pedestal with a glowing orb on top. The dungeon core.

  He turned to see the wreckage that was his party.

  Jeffry was nowhere to be seen, trapped somewhere under the rubble. Tully cursed as he downed an [Antidote], but otherwise looked unscathed. Pram was standing with Gerda under an ice wall that wrapped around them for protection… and John was at their feet, semi-crushed by a pile of large ice spears. The man was unable to shadow walk away because he was unconscious.

  Julian immediately cast [Multi-Shield] again, and sunk his newly refilled Mana into healing his party members with [Divine Arts].

  If Alice reached out to touch the dungeon core, she would open the exit. She could escape, having claimed her prize.

  But then Gerda might escape as well, and Julian didn’t think the celestial would allow that.

  It was two steps with [Light Foot] to land on the platform beside his panicked troll.

  “It’ll be alright.” He told her.

  “No, it wont. You need to focus on fighting and not defending me.” Gerda argued.

  Julian lifted the ice off John, and Pram pulled the human free.

  “Or… do you think that was all of her traps?” Julian asked his troll.

  She hesitated, “Maybe…”

  Gerda suddenly pulled Julian’s shirt, bending him forward towards her shoulder. A blast of [Void Arrow] whizzed where his head had been.

  “Thanks.” He said, straightening. “John.”

  The newly healed rogue groaned. “One second.”

  He was still lying at their feet, and Pram crouched beside him checking his recovery.

  “One.” Julian said.

  “Alright, alright.” The rogue sunk into a pool of shadow that disappeared into the field of ice spears and slunk into the stalactite graveyard.

  Alice lifted a hand in some unknown signal and ordered, “Defend the Dungeon Core, but don’t touch it.”

  Tully, who was closest to Alice’s party, pulled out a small hand ax and hurled it at the beastfolk. The leopard ducked, and the ax hit the lizardkin blunt side to the nose.

  She toppled over.

  “Ah Ah Ah,” Alice pointed at Tully. “Wrapped in empty embrace, [Void Cage].”

  Tully tried to leap out of the way, but since he was hemmed in by ice, Alice guessed his next move perfectly. A pink void bubble trapped the paladin.

  “By battle movement be undone, [Prisoner Exchange].” Tully activated one of his more rare paladin abilities. War was in the Justice’s domain, and so he required a fair trade.

  Tully and the giant traded places, bringing Tully within range of the dungeon core… but as the paladin reached out to touch the orb, Alice’s hand reached out to drab his wrist.

  And Tully was suddenly portalled away, dropping from the ceiling upside down towards a particular jagged collection of ice and stone.

  He barely managed to catch himself.

  The void bubble popped, and John was locking a set of familiar manacles around the giant.

  “Not you again.” Alice cursed, attempting to throw a poison dagger at John, but he’d slipped back into the shadows.

  “Alice!” Gerda shouted. “Why are you even here? You’re the Keeper of Fate. You know it was Julian’s fate to conquer this dungeon, and yet here you are, standing in the way of his destiny.”

  “You’re one to talk,” Alice shot back.

  “But I thought this is what you cared about?” Gerda waved a hand around them. “Isn’t that why you were so angry at my intervention? Because I was changing things?”

  “I’m angry because you made everything wrong.” Alice’s face fell, for a moment losing her determination. “And if I can’t right it, I can at least go after the person responsible.”

  Julian stood in front of Gerda, “Over my dead body.”

  “As you wish.”

  Jolly has these atrocious ginger shots in the fridge and I might try one, I'm that desperate. No one wants a dehydration headache, especially me right now.