We headed down the stairs to level 2. When we hit the landing, we decided to rest for a few minutes. The battle with GabberRock was intense and a little tiring. I cast Diagnose on each person to ensure everyone was completely healed. Which was expected, because except for the boss monster, the first floor was a walk over. Even the boss wasn’t that difficult, after the first few minutes.

  The first floor was a unique experience for me. I have been in both stationary and running firefights, single one on one fights, and even large-scale armory battles, but nothing, nothing like the fights on the first floor. Magic and swords against fantastical creatures. It wasn’t really like the monster waves for me. This was closer, more personal, more intense. Even the fight with the Skeleton King wasn’t as intense for me. Maybe because it was only my life on the life, not my teammates. And the most surprising thing, I didn’t hate it.

  After the first floor, the team now have a better idea of what each of us can do. This will help us as we continue clearing the dungeon. Which, if as had been explained to me, is good since the monsters will be higher level as we descend to the bottom floor.

  I pull out a Minor Healing tome and head over to Tayla. I think it would be good if we had a secondary healer.

  “Tayla, now that you have Magic Sight, care to learn Minor Healing?”

  “Really. You would just give me the spell? I heard that you do that but don’t know if I really believed it. But, yes, I would be grateful.”

  “This should take about an hour. Let me explain exactly what the spell does, how it does it, and then I will show you the concept. After that, you just need to read the tome. Sound good?”

  I launched into a detailed explanation on the Minor Healing spell. Then I gave her the spell schematic, which she studied for about 2 minutes. Finally, she took the tome and opened it. She was so much faster than the other mages. She truly was s Master Magician. The tome glowed, telling me she was successful. I made a slight cut on my arm and let her heal it.

  “I suggest only using the spell in a life-or-death situation and I am not available until we leave the dungeon.”

  “Is this the spell you use to heal?” she asked.

  “No, not really. I trained other adventurers in this spell, so I don’t use it much. I have a spell call ‘Heaven’s Heal’ that is much more powerful. So powerful, it can regrow limbs. Unfortunately, it is so complicated that I can’t even draw a schematic, much less create a spell tome. Maybe when I become better at understanding magic, but for now I can’t do it.”

  “You should go to the Magic Academy in Decharte City. They should be able to help you learn more about the structure of magic.”

  “Thank you, I will put that on my to-do list.” I said and smiled.

  Earl Donnert indicated that it was time to move on. We gathered up our belongings, placing them in our storage rings.

  “Well, that was a nice warm up, but I am ready for a real challenge now” Justinian said.

  Gorver and Yuri nodded in agreement. Tayla was also eager to move forward. Earl Donnert and Brakford were both stoic, but I did notice a hint of a smile on Brakford’s lips.

  We made our way to the door. It had a large 2 engraved on it. Not sure why, but hey it’s a magic world and I am still learning the rules.

  Instead of a pull handle, this door had a door knob that you needed to turn, and the door opened away from us, into the floor. Everyone got their weapons ready, just in case we were transported again.

  Justinian turned the knob and flung the door open. The floor looked to be a wide-open field of tall grass. It went on and on. The tall grass ended in a wall of trees. Large trees that looked like pine, or other fir. As I looked around, trees lined the horizon in every direction.

  The sun was shining brightly against a cloudless sky. A slow breeze carried the smell of wild flowers. All in all, it seemed idyllic. Justinian pointed out a small building in the distance.

  “We should head there,” Justinian said. “But be careful, there may be hidden dangers in the grass.”

  “Let me check for traps,” Brakford said, and then pointed his arm out, using his skill. “Everything seems to be clear, but this doesn’t check for monsters.”

  Everyone started moving carefully toward the building Justinian pointed out. Brakford was in the lead and would stop every now and then to check for traps. He didn’t find any.

  As we move further away from the door, small animals could be heard scurrying through the grass. I imagined mice or some other small rodents. I kept my eyes on the grass around us, trying to see what the actual rodents were.

  Brakford yelled out “Movement in the trees to the left.”

  We all turned to take a look. I could make out several large silhouettes moving, but couldn’t quite determine the shape. They were mostly moving shadows that didn’t give away the type of monster. I kept half an eye on them while we move toward the building.

  As we drew closer to the building, I could see that it was a tall log cabin. Much like the ones from Earth. It even had a chimney. Except it was much bigger. It was the size of those super-rich cabins in Tahoe. Probably 2000 square feet, and at least 15 feet ceilings. A family of giants could have lived there comfortably.

  The land around the house was cleared to about 30 feet. It was quite a demarcation from the tall grass. We stopped just before it.

  “This seems to be an obvious tripwire of some kind. I imagine as soon as we step into the cleared area we will get attacked. Prepare yourselves for anything.” Justinian told us, then took a step across the threshold and into the cleared area.

  Everything went wild. The door to the cabin burst open, five 12-foot-tall Cyclops rushed out. The shadows at the edge of the woods came running towards us. They appeared to be large wolfmen. Half man half wolf. There were at least 20 of them.

  Justinian led our attack against the Cyclops. We followed, but I cast Fireballs at the Wolfmen, lighting the dry grass on fire as it flew low to the ground toward them. I fired off four more before they were halfway to us. Two hit Wolfmen directly and killed them, while others were merely singed. However, because the grass was on fire, they slowed their approach. Hesitating to run through the fire.

  Justinian, Gorver, Yuri and Brakford were destroying the Cyclops. They were strong, but slow. Needless to say, their depth perception was abhorrent. Brakford had taunted two, while Justinian, Gorver and Yuri each fought one solo. Earl Donnert shot one of the Cyclops with an arrow straight through its eye, killing it instantly. Tayla took over delaying the Wolfmen, while I went to ensure our fighters were healed if needed.

  The grass fire was putting out a lot of smoke, causing it to become difficult to see far in front of yourself. I put on my Mask of Farsight, which allows me to see through smoke. I also had my Choker of Breather, so it didn’t bother me. It looked like all my teammates had something similar because none of them appeared bothered by it. On the other hand, the Cyclops and Wolfmen were obviously having a hard time breathing.

  If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  Justinian was the first to put his Cyclops down, followed shortly by Yuri. Gorver was done before either could come to his aid. The last remaining Cyclops was full of arrows from Earl Donnert and was slowly bleeding to death. However, Brakford had other ideas. He waited until the Cyclops had missed hitting him, then bashed it with his shield. The Cyclops stumbled backwards arms wide open. Brakford stabbed him through its heart with his sword.

  As the last Cyclops hit the ground, Justinian led the way into the cabin. A quick look around showed a large front/living room. The kitchen was off to the side, but not walled off. There were three doors on the back wall. I took a position by one of the front windows keeping an eye out for the Wolfmen.

  Brakford declared the room to be trap free. Gorver and Yuri lined up by one of the doors. Justinian and Earl Donnert on another. Brakford stood in front of one door, nodded to Yuri. Yuri opened the door as Brakford cast Taunt. Nothing came flying towards him. Yuri and Gorver rushed into the room. They did a quick search. It was empty except for the furniture. No monsters there.

  Rinse and repeat for the next door with Justinian and Earl Donnert. Again, an empty bedroom. The last room was also empty of monster, but was more ornate than the previous two.

  Tayla took up a lookout position on the other side of the main room, overlooking the front and right side of the house. Between the two of us, we had three side of the cabin covered. The back side didn’t have any windows, so we were blind there.

  Earl Donnert came to the front door and opened it. He then started shooting arrows into the smoke. The cries of pain from the Wolfmen indicated he was hitting them. It looked like the smoke and fire didn’t bother his vision either. He kept shooting and hitting the Wolfmen, making them desperate. Finally, having had enough, they rushed through the fire toward the cabin.

  Between the Fireballs, the fire, and Earl Donnert’s arrows, half of the Wolfmen were dead. Only ten remained. All level 30 and running straight toward the cabin. Our melee fighters rushed out the door, ready to greet them. Before they could, Tayla cast Chained Lightening. It took out 5 of them, and damaged two more. A few seconds later, out melee fighters were cutting them down.

  Gorver looted the bodies, but nothing of note came of it. Neither the Cyclops or Wolfmen had used weapons, only their hands and claws, so we couldn’t even scavenge those, and I wasn’t about to skin anything that was remotely human looking.

  We waited for an hour to see if any surprises were coming. Nothing. No surprises.

  Once again, the fight was not overwhelming. Adrenaline pumping, yes, but not all that difficult given our team’s fighting capabilities. Against an ordinary adventurer team, I could see it being challenging, even difficult, but not ours. This team was the best Forest Glen had to offer. You were on this team because of merit, not position.

  Brakford and Gorver began to search the cabin. They were looking for traps, hidden doors, or even a clue as to what to do next. Tayla was using her Magic Sight to check for hidden magic. During their search, they found a few knickknacks, but nothing that was a clue to our next move.

  “What’s the next move, my Lord? Should be scout around the forest? Maybe draw more monsters back to the cabin? It may be a numbers game before the floor boss shows up.” Brakford asked.

  “We do need to explore what else the floor has to offer and try to find the stairs down to the next level.” Justinian added.

  “Gorver, you have the most experience outside of monster waves, what do you think we should do?” The Earl asked.

  “My Lord Earl, I think Lord Justinian has the right of it. Searching for the exit would be my priority. If I run into monsters, I can lead them back here. I would suggest I go alone or with Yuri. We would be the two stealthiest, and both of us have movement skills.

  “Any objections? No, good. Justinian, please get on the roof and keep an eye on Gorver and Yuri. Everyone else be ready to go after them if they need help.” The Earl laid out his plan.

  Gorver and Yuri left the cabin to try and locate the stairs. I would have volunteered, but my stealth was nonexistent. I would have been more of a hindrance than help. Before they left, Tayla cast a ‘Quietness’ buff on them to reduce the noise generated by walking.

  I flew up to the roof of the cabin. Literally flew. I was really loving my flight ring. It was one of the reasons I chose to go to the roof. Besides, it was the only way I could make myself useful. I could act as a lookout and warn everyone if anything happened.

  I was up there for about 15 minutes, when Justinian came out of the cabin. He looked around for a minute or two, then rose up in the air turned away from the entrance to floor two and flew away. He must have had a lot of practice flying. I knew I wasn’t even close to that smooth. I watched him until he reached the edge of the woods, then disappeared past the tree line.

  I flew down and went inside to ask about Justinian. I found the Earl and Brakford talking.

  “I just saw Justinian fly off. What’s going on?” I asked.

  “Justinian said he sensed something and was going to check it out. Then he walked out the front door.” Brakford said.

  “Not exactly what I wanted, but no one in our party can really stop him from doing what he wants in the dungeon. And he really hates to wait on anything.” the Earl added.

  I just nodded my head. I checked my ‘Party’ skill display and everyone’s health was at 100%. No need to worry at the moment. But I was still worried because one of the rules of the MMORP games was to never split the party. The power was in the team as a whole, not individuals. Except for Justinian, who was a power unto himself it seems. Gorver had experience as an adventurer, so he should know what he is doing. I may not know much about Yuri, except that he is amazing. So, I shouldn’t be worried. Right?

  An hour passed according to my System HUD. No word, so sign of anyone. My party’s health display never wavered.

  Finally, over Party chat, Justinian said “I have found the Floor boss. It’s a level 37 Ivancalar Knight. It should be an easy fight. I have fought against these Knights before. They are nothing special. I am going to kill it. You all should come here. It should be easy to spot from the air.”

  The Earl indicated that we should leave and go to where Justinian would be fighting. We all left the cabin and flew in the general direction I had seen him fly earlier.

  Five minutes into our flight, we heard that disembodies voice, once again. “Gentle Beings. Floor two has been conquered by the invading adventurers. One gifted adventurer has soloed the Floor boss, while the rest sat on their asses doing nothing.”

  It was ten more minutes before we saw a scar in the woods. We took it to be a sign of Justinian’s fight and moved toward it. We were correct. Justinian was sitting on a tree stump waiting for us. Next to him was a silver chest. We landed and congratulated him on his victory.

  “It wasn’t really much of a fight. I already knew the secret to defeating the Knight.” Justinian said.

  “Next time, please wait for us. Some of us still need experience to level” the Earl asked.

  “Didn’t think of that. I was more focused on completing the dungeon. Next time though.” Justinian replied with a smile.

  “Shall we wait on Gorver and Yuri before we open the chest” asked Brakford.

  “No, go ahead and open it and let’s see what’s inside,” said the Earl.

  Brakford eagerly opened the chest. Inside was a single item. A large glowing yellow gem about the size of my fist. Perfectly cut and shaped, the color uniform throughout, and clear as glass.

  “That is a sun gem. The largest I have ever seen,” Tayla said.

  Of course, I had no idea of what a sun gem was or did and asked “What’s a sun gem?”

  “It is the best Mana repository available. It will recharge from the essence in air over time, or you can charge it. Many high-level mages use smaller ones to power their towers. One this size can power an entire castle or fortification. Any adventuring mage would kill for this gem,” she explained.

  “Sounds like something you could use. I certainly don’t need it. I am not an adventuring mage. I barely know any attack spells,” I said.

  “We should probably wait until the end before we decide who gets the gem. While Tayla has the best claim, it is quite valuable and not of immediate benefit,” Earl Donnert interjects.

  On that note, Gorver and Yuri arrived. Nothing left to do we headed for the exit to the third floor.

  We followed the stairs down to the 3rd floor landing. We discovered two doors. One door went into the 3rd floor while the other was the shortcut door the ranger had earlier found.

  The Earl called us together. We had to decide if we wanted to move forward or stop for the day and return tomorrow. Justinian was all for going on, or course. Gorver was the voice of reason and advocated resting for a fresh start tomorrow. Yuri, Tayla, Brakford and I agreed. Five votes to stop for the day carried the vote.

  Justinian just shrugged his shoulders and said Okay, but I noticed his sidelong look at the other door. Earl Donnert seemed relieved to be done for the day. Even though the day wasn’t all that dangerous, my adrenaline had been pumping all day long. Now that I had the chance to relax, I realized I was mentally tired and ready to quit for the day.

  We went through the same process as any other door. Justinian opened it and Brakford stood in the doorway until we were sure it went outside. The door opened onto the stairs we had seen earlier. Someone had put in light sconces while we were in the dungeon. It made it easier to climb the stairs. We met the rangers at the dungeon entrance. The Earl went off with them. The rest of us went back to camp.