Damn, it felt good to be strong. I had to admit, wrecking that troll after Rogar and Philip had their turn was more therapeutic than I'd have guessed. Maybe I oughta delve Trials more often, just for the thrill. Everyone needed their stress relief, right?

  I glanced at Philip and Rogar, only to find them giving me weird looks. Actually, they were giving us all weird looks.

  “What’s got their panties in a bunch?” I asked Aerion, who narrowed her eyes at me. “Er, you know what I mean.”

  “Is it really so hard to guess? They just had a near-death experience.”

  I nodded knowingly, thinking back to our first fight. We’d been chased out of the lair into a Sanctuary chamber by goblins, so we didn’t—

  “Oh shit,” I said, hearing voices in the distance. “Goblins, people. Let’s grab that soul crystal and boogey.”

  I started to run, but got strange looks from everyone. Even Richard.

  “Uh, what?” I asked.

  “Any reason not to just… take ‘em out?” Richard asked, scratching his head.

  “Orrr, we could do that,” I said, suddenly noticing how hot everything was. Rogar and Philip looked grim, but Aerion didn’t hide the smirk spreading across her face. She looked just about ready to giggle.

  “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up,” I muttered, grinning despite myself. I suppose I deserved that.

  As it turned out, Aerion and I only had a minor role to play in ending the goblins. Allowing Rogar and Philip to engage was too dangerous with their current numbers, and while either I or Aerion would’ve managed the feat, none of us could have done it as spectacularly and efficiently as Richard.

  He just… shattered their hearts. Nearly all of them. All at once.

  One moment, the enraged goblins were running at us, expletives hurling, spittle flying. The next? They were dead. Just like that. No sound, no explosions, no drama.

  Which sounded anticlimactic, but in reality, made it so much more terrifying. I tried to imagine a more efficient form of causing death, and I honestly couldn’t. The ability to make the enemy die without fanfare or warning...

  I wasn’t the only one staring at Richard after he pulled that off. He might be physically weak and easy to kill, but goddamn did he have some serious firepower. A glass cannon if there ever was one. That was even more true now, after his most recent upgrades.

  I was just glad Richard was a nice guy with a good head on his shoulders. And that we were friends.

  In typical Richard fashion, he even left four alive for Rogar and Philip. All without me ever asking. The guy was nothing if not conscientious.

  Our unpowered friends engaged the remaining goblins, taking them one at a time while Aerion and I ran interference, jabbing and poking at the others to keep them distracted until our allies dispatched their foes.

  Philip, being a lifelong warrior, had no issues dispatching the goblins. Quick, efficient strikes to their exposed necks shattered them with a single strike. Despite his age, his flawless technique made his attacks a lot more lethal than mine had been when I was first thrown into this Trial.

  Rogar, on the other hand... Well, let's just say he treated the goblin like a sword to be hammered, using the same technique with his ax that he used with his forging hammer. Even I could tell how bad it was.

  Even so, Rogar's muscles made up the difference, and though he took longer than Philip, he managed to get through them nonetheless. Though, to everyone's amusement, he felt it necessary to accompany every strike with an epic roar.

  “Go figure. Hollywood got it right after all,” I muttered.

  Richard snorted.

  We made it through the adjoining tunnels without much more trouble. Just another horde of goblins that Richard dispatched in similar fashion, leaving a few more for Rogar and Philip. It was funny how the existential threats of yesterday had so quickly become commonplace. If we’d had this strength back then, would Emma be alive? Would that woman who died to the Obsidian Dragon have met a different fate?

  Almost certainly.

  I clenched my fist. It was pointless to think of what ifs. The fact was we didn’t have that power back then. We failed them both, and nothing we did would change that now. All we could do was gain more power going forth, to avoid any chance of a repeat. I didn’t know what I would do if the same thing happened again. Probably nothing nice.

  While the Trial might not have been the deathtrap it once was, the shimmering portal-like door was nonetheless a welcome sight. One of the several welcome differences between Trials and Cataclysm Dungeons.

  As a party of five, the Sanctuary room was greatly expanded over what Aerion and I had encountered, with a grove of fruit trees at the center of the forested space. A dirt pathway ringed it, and the walls and ceiling were all covered in vines, while the floor on either side of the walkway was covered over with fruit and vegetable plants.

  No meat, though. Come to think of it, there never was any meat. Maybe meat was harder to synthesize? Or maybe it was because, unlike Earth, meat was a luxury on this world. It wasn’t that the average person couldn’t afford it. Just that they could buy many times the amount of vegetables for the same money.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  This room also had a couple of large wooden tables at the back that were covered with bread, nuts, olives, and all sorts of other goodies. The opposite corner had five straw mattresses laid out on the floor. There was even an outhouse-style latrine with a thatched reed door hidden along one wall, obscured by bushes and vines.

  And of course, no Sanctuary would be complete without the fountain. This one was more like a trough that ran all along the walls, with miracle water pouring into it from wall fountains at regular intervals.

  A utopia, if there ever was one.

  I had to admit, Dominion really went all out with these. I wished we had them in the Cataclysm Dungeon.

  “Penny for your thoughts?” Richard asked, walking up to me. “I must say, this room is quite a welcome change from Passion’s rooms. Not even a single bust of Dominion himself. Quite surprising, really.”

  “Oh?” I replied, stretching. “What are hers like?”

  From his description, I felt like I could guess.

  “Imagine the seediest love hotel room…” Richard said. “Now add a statue of Passion. In the nude, of course. With Sanctuary water flowing from her, er, well… her bosom.”

  I froze. My guess had been very, very wrong. “You’re serious.”

  “Afraid so,” Richard said, pinching his nose. “Was quite the shocker when I first saw it.”

  “I’ll bet…” I said, trying my best to banish the thought. It was too late. The damage had been done.

  “Aaanyway, what were you saying, earlier?” Richard asked, thankfully trying to change the topic.

  “Oh, I was just wondering what the purpose of all this was,” I said, grateful for the invitation.

  “Well, to prepare delvers for the Cataclysms, of course,”

  “Sure, I get that. But in that case, why provide these rooms and shortcuts at all? Why go through all the trouble of building a Trial, for that matter? I’m sure it costs them no small amount of power… Why not just gift promising soldiers Boons or Blessings? And why, despite clearly intending for delvers to succeed, do so many die in the process?”

  Richard rubbed his chin. “Good questions, all. I suppose the gods have some grand design. For example, consider how the Cataclysm Dungeons split everyone apart. No point taking an army, yeah? You’ll want each delver to be as strong as they come.”

  “Maybe,” I said, feeling uneasy. This was something that never sat right with me. This Trial was a deathtrap to anyone without a Boon or Blessing already. It was like it was designed to kill all but the very best. Or those who were well-connected enough to have higher level delvers guide them through, but that felt counterintuitive to me. Even if only the strongest delvers had a shot at collapsing dungeons, the world still needed its soldiers to fight off the monster hordes.

  “Dominion has always been a harsh god,” Aerion said softly. “‘Tis no secret he cares little for the lives of those he deems weak.”

  “So the other Trials are more favorable, then?” I asked.

  Richard shrugged. “The one Passion had me do didn’t strike me as much better. Pretty fields and fun farmhouses, but the succubi were quite deadly when they drained my party dry.”

  Succubi? I shuddered. That was so on-brand for Passion. I sincerely hoped I never had to venture into one of her Trials.

  I turned to Rogar and Philip, who had both rushed over to the water troughs and were drinking their fill.

  “Alright everyone. Let’s make camp here for a bit. Rest up, eat up, and get yourselves fully healed. We’ll fill all our canteens with the miracle water, and then we’ll debrief.”

  The relief among the group was palpable. Even Richard and Aerion relaxed. Despite our power, there really was no comfort like a place guaranteed to be safe.

  “Let’s talk about that fight,” I said after a few hours had passed. Richard, Rogar, and Philip went for the beds almost immediately, while Aerion and I retreated to a corner and chatted for a bit as we gathered the various fruits and vegetables. We’d brought a small amount of provisions knowing we’d have access to a Sanctuary chamber, so stocking up here was good. Not that I had a ton of space left with my forge taking up most of the room.

  I took a seat on my straw bed, back against the wall, as I munched on a surprisingly delicious roasted peanut in between words. It was surprising how much even small luxuries did for the soul. “Rogar, you would’ve died if I hadn’t saved your ass, and Philip… well, what did you think?”

  Philip hung his head in shame. “Call it bad luck, but that’s no excuse. I ought to have been faster. Minimized the time I was in danger. I was so caught up being quiet that I completely neglected other concerns. I’m honestly ashamed.”

  I nodded. “And you, Rogar. You might not be a warrior, but you need to at least read the flow of the battle. It’s one thing for Aerion or me to win against a monster like that. It’s another entirely to keep you safe. Especially from yourself.”

  Rogar’s eyes narrowed. “You told me to attack. I attacked.”

  “Sure, but you really need to use your head in a fight. Trust me, it’ll keep you alive. The reason I’m saying all of this is because you guys will need to participate in the fight against the Dungeon Guardian when we get there, and believe me, that thing is no joke. Even with us looking out for you, you’ll have to rely on your own skills to stay safe.”

  “Understood,” Philip replied immediately. “We’ll be more aware from now on, I assure you.”

  “Good,” I said, feeling very awkward talking to Philip like that. It wasn’t long ago that he was the one training me, and when it came to combat skills, he wasn’t even in the same league. Still…

  “As you’ve no doubt noticed, skill only takes you so far in a place like this. You’ll have to stay on your toes until you receive your Boons.”

  Philip nodded and Rogar grunted… Which I supposed was about all I’d get out of him. “Good,” I said. “Now that we’re all well rested, I want each of you taking one of those canteens. Keep that on you at all times, and if you get injured, don’t hesitate to drink it. There are Sanctuary rooms on this floor and the next, so there’s no point conserving.”

  Everyone took a canteen, and when we set out, refreshed and resupplied, I had to admit, I felt like a god. For the first time since entering Axius, I felt like how I did when I speedran games I’d played hundreds of times. Absolutely confident, sure in the knowledge that I knew about everything that would come my way.

  It was a good feeling. Warm. Secure.

  Which only made the fall that much harder when we came to the stairs to the sixth floor.

  Because, unlike when Aerion and I had delved the Trial previously, there was a boss monster waiting for us.

  A monster with claws that glistened like glass. A monster with four legs, massive jagged wings, and a tail. A monster that stared at us with blood-red eyes.

  A monster that happened to look an awful lot like the Obsidian Dragon Aerion and I had barely defeated last time.

  “The fuck are you doing here?”