[Your party has killed a Hellfire Ant. You have received 250 XP.]

  [Your Skill's Triggered Ability Memento Mori has been activated.]

  [You have received a new skill: Hellfire Charge]

  [Card Name: Hellfire Charge]

  [Card Rarity: Bronze]

  [Card Type: Combat]

  [Card Effect (Activated Effect) When this skill is activated, you will move forward up to 16(Strength) feet, ramming into everything between you and your destination point for 21(Intellect) Damage and pushing them forward. If you fail to stop before hitting a wall or other immovable barrier, any creatures carried forward by the charge will also take 21(Intellect) damage, including yourself.]

  This was... This was the Ant Boss's skill. This whole time I'd thought that Memento Mori was meant to give me the powers of an ally that fell in battle, but I could take them from bosses too?

  Maybe Underworld Emperor wasn't as niche as I'd expected. Boosting my repertoire with abilities captured from bosses would be amazing.

  Hellfire charge had a decent chance of hurting me more than anything, especially with my low HP, but if I powerlevelled that a little bit...

  [Evaluator: Hey, look at that, you just popped that cherry of yours. First time using your triggered skill.]

  [Connor: Gross. But also, this is suprisingly cool.]

  [Evaluator: I told you it was Overpowered. Any skill that can steal powers from another Hunter is.]

  I waved the evaluator's messages away and looked for Spark-Dog. He was emptying the last few dregs of a large glass bottle filled with red liquid. I watched his burnt leg regrow muscles, then veins and nerves. Finally a layer of light brown skin formed over the now bare leg as Spark Dog let out a heavy sigh. "Guess it's a good thing I dodged, otherwise I'd definitely be violating Terms of Service. He turned and smiled at the lens of a small autonomous drone I'd only just noticed.

  "Hey, wait, you were filming that?" I tried to stand up, but my body was still a crushed, burned mess.

  "I film all my fights, kid." He sauntered up to me and tossed me a bottle. It landed with a heavy thud on my chest. "You never know which fight will launch you into the big time. I remember when I hit level 25, it was against a giant mutant alligator that was living in a sewer dungeon. I thought it was my worst fight, but it was the first time I broke 4k viewers."

  "Viewers?" I choked as I tried to wrap my limp fingers around the neck of the potion bottle. "We almost died!"

  "But we didn't." He walked over and poked me in the forehead. "I'm still here. You're still here. And my viewing numbers? Through the roof." He chuckled before showing me his phone. "Look at that. 42K. For a Stairwell guardian."

  The stopper came off the bottle with a pop and I lowered the bottle to my lips. I felt the bones in my arms and legs knit back together, my burned skin and scortched hair restoring themselves.

  [HP 65/65 SP 79/150]

  I pushed myself back up onto my feet. My outfit was shredded, I was barely covered.

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Spark Dog, looked at the drone "Alright, Dog-pound, remember to like and subscribe, and as always, thank you for watching!" He pulled his hand across his throat in a signal to the drone to kill the feed. "I think they like the drama, too. You and me, I mean."

  "Drama huh? I feel like you and your friends trying to kill me is a lot more than drama."

  "Please, kid. We weren't gonna kill you." I shot him a look and he rubbed the back of his neck. "At least, not exactly... Nick wanted to talk to you, specifically. Something about you being special. A boon to the streamer network is what he was saying."

  A boon to the streamer network? Me? What was that about? Oh god, was this because I showed off my platinum card?

  [Evaluator: I told you not to go showing that card off to everyone your meet.]

  [Connor: Wha- no you didn't!]

  [Evaluator: What, really? Damn. I meant to tell you that, that's probably just as good.]

  "And the girl shooting fireballs at me and my friends was what, trying to roast some congratulatory marshmallows for us?"

  "That's Magmegan. Meg for short. She was a hardcore gamer from Japan when she awakened her skill card. She's... intense, but we all got orders not to hurt you."

  "You hit me in the back with my own electrified mace!"

  "Okay, not to kill you." He tossed me the knife again before picking up his own sword. "You were the one who suggested we join forces, kid, so don't get all weird about it now"

  "Right, right, sorry." I sighed "I'm just a little freaked out because I was almost killed by a giant ant."

  "It's cool, kid. Adrenaline is a bitch, I know. Here, I'll open up the stairwell and we can check out the third floor."

  I finally noticed the stairwell entrance that had formed in the center of the floor. It was the same odd sphincter structure in the center of the room. Spark-Dog covered his sword in lightning again and jammed it down into the stairwell.

  There was a flash of light, and the two of us fell directly into the third level.

  The third floor was horrible.

  A wide open space filled with stone pillars. Every surface was completely coated in sticky strands of white goo.

  [Evaluator: You know what that looks like to me?]

  [Connor: If you finish that thought I'm never opening one of your messages again.]

  "Stay away from those things." Spark-Dog warned me as he led the way through the web-filled corridor. I... poked at one of the globby masses.

  "Stop... doing that..." Spark-Dog shouted at me. Well, not shouted. I think he didn't want to make a lot of noise. So he just sort of... angrily whispered.

  Moving some of the goop away revealed a softball sized egg, with a tiny shifting ant shape inside. "Oh... Oh no. Spark-Dog, this whole layer is filled with eggs..."

  "I know that!" he shouted, for real this time. The egg I had been poking shifted again, its shell cracking open.

  So did every egg within 20 feet of Spark-Dog.

  "Oh... Shit."