Sid POV

  Sid watched Varun flash past him and drop into the ravine, his movement quick and practiced. Their hideout looked undisturbed. However, appearances could be deceiving, and Varun was the best choice for a quick verification.

  “It’s safe,” Varun called out, waving them in. His voice carried an edge of excitement that he did not bother to hide.

  Tension drained from Sid’s shoulders as he moved. They had pushed hard to get back, cutting breaks short and keeping conversation minimal. The pack of skill crystals weighed more heavily on his mind than on Pallavi’s back. Everyone felt it. The promise of progress had buoyed them through the exhaustion.

  Sid was no exception. Reaching Tier 1 afforded him more options. He could finally shore up some skills he had absorbed out of necessity rather than choice. This was the first time he could do something about his long-term growth.

  The thought of the pool intruded soon after. Varun would not let it go. Sid could already see it in his eyes, the way he was storing questions for later.

  He descended into the ravine first, boots scraping against the rock as he dropped the last few feet. Pallavi followed, careful but efficient, her grip tight on the pack. Rohan paused above them, scanning the perimeter one last time before joining them below.

  Once inside, they settled into position without speaking. Each of them took a corner, spacing themselves out while keeping the bag within reach.

  “What was that pool?” Varun asked at last. Curiosity softened his tone, but suspicion lingered beneath it, and his gaze stayed fixed on Sid. “It was not ordinary.”

  Sid met his gaze. “That was definitely not water.” He paused, watching Varun’s reaction. “I couldn’t even scoop it out of the pool.”

  Varun leaned forward. “So you didn’t find a use for it?”

  “I tried many things, but nothing worked.” Sid allowed frustration to edge his voice. “Then I figured that if it was magical, maybe it would react to skills.”

  “I used Sixth Sense first. Nothing happened.” Sid glanced away. Varun had been vocal about using the skill actively to check for threats from day one, and Sid had shut him down every time. He needed to sell the embarrassment if his story was going to sound truthful.

  “When I tried Mist Blend, everything changed. Power rushed through me, and I leveled up twice.” Wonder crept into Sid’s tone, as if he were describing something he still did not fully believe in himself.

  Varun scratched the back of his head, frowning. “Why couldn’t I see the pool after?”

  Sid shook his head. “I don’t know.” He kept his tone neutral. Too much certainty would only invite doubt. Having neat explanations for every strange phenomenon would raise more questions than it answered.

  Sid was relieved that no one else examined the pool in enough detail to challenge his lies. A natural treasure like that was rare inside a dungeon. Even stumbling onto one was an anomaly. It would be tough to find a matching treasure to prove him wrong.

  Varun was not letting it go. His brows knit together as he stared at Sid, lips tightening. “Why did you rush us out?” he asked. “We could have tested the pool more.”

  Sid kept his face still. That’s exactly why.

  “Don’t be greedy,” Rohan said, cutting in before Sid. His tone softened the words, turning them into a mild, almost playful reprimand. “We walked away with more crystals than we hoped for, and without a fight. Missing one pool isn’t worth complaining about.”

  Varun clicked his tongue. “You really don’t get it.” He sighed, frustration bleeding through. “Sid leveled up twice in minutes. Imagine if we had the pool for a day. Or two.”

  His gaze swept across the group, searching for agreement.

  “We could even hit Tier 2,” Varun said. The corners of his mouth lifted, eyes bright with possibility.

  Sid spoke before the momentum could build. “You’re missing a key detail. We couldn’t move the pool. Not unless you had some plan to carry it with us.”

  The firmness in his voice surprised even him. He leaned into it anyway. Varun’s confidence, when fueled by success, often tipped into recklessness, whether he was dealing with monsters or people. Sid had seen it happen too many times already.

  Varun hesitated, jaw working as if chewing back a response.

  “The water level dropped when I leveled up,” Sid said, squaring his shoulders. “That means it’s consumable. Not an endless source of levels.”

  “That doesn’t prove it won’t regenerate,” Varun said, irritation flaring. “We still left something valuable behind.”

  Sid felt heat rise in his chest. “Sixth Sense reacted,” he said, forcing himself to slow down. “It leveled up for the first time since I got it. I don’t think we’re ready to deal with an army, whether it’s goblins or spiders.”

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “The goblins should be gone, right?” Rohan asked. Shock crept into his voice as he looked between Sid and Varun.

  “They were trapping spiders to use as mounts,” Varun said, his irritation redirecting at Rohan. “Of course they’d be at the spider lair. Why else would it be empty?”

  Rohan’s shoulders sagged, his gaze dropping to the ground.

  “I just meant,” he said, voice low, rubbing his hands together, “there’s a chance the goblins were already fighting the spiders. We didn’t see any monsters on the way back.”

  “Going by Sid’s warning, the battle might be over.” Varun glanced at Sid for a brief second, as if weighing his words, before turning his attention back to Rohan.

  “Will they track us here?” Pallavi turned to her left, carefully looking through the narrow gap in the net. The mesh was stiff with caked mud and tangled with dry leaves, a crude camouflage that blended into the ravine wall beyond.

  “I don’t think so,” said Sid, his tone even and slow. “Burning the tunnel should have slowed any pursuers. But we should absorb the skills without delay.”

  “Yeah!” Varun leaned forward and grabbed the loot bag, spilling its contents onto the ground. Crystals clinked softly as they scattered. “There are a lot of duplicate skills. Let’s split them based on rank—common and uncommon.”

  Sid reached into his backpack and pulled out the book and pen he had requisitioned from Naga. He had intended to outline his strategy for the hidden realm in code before time dulled his advantage. It was a welcome surprise that the same tools would also help in planning their skill development.

  “Rohan, Varun, you guys sort the skills into different piles and I’ll jot it down.” Sid waited for their nods before turning to Pallavi. “Could you keep an eye out for trouble while we do this?”

  “Okay.” Pallavi adjusted her stance, turning her back to them. Her shoulders squared as she focused outward, committing fully to watch duty.

  “That’s sixty-three skills.” Varun sounded almost giddy as he traced a finger down the list in Sid’s book. “Forty-five common and eighteen uncommon skills.”

  The military had managed somewhere between forty and fifty skills, according to the report submitted to the Archon, and only five of them had been of uncommon rank.

  It seemed likely that pressure from the goblin army had forced the Matriarch to increase her output, both in sheer quantity and in quality.

  “How do we split the skills?” Varun leaned in, eyes locked onto Sid.

  “We should focus on synergy with existing skills.” Sid paused, letting his eyes move across each teammate. “Varun got the most powerful skill we know by evolving similar skills.”

  “I wouldn’t say most powerful.” Varun looked down at the ground with a small smile. “None of us knows what these skills do. So how do we find this synergy?”

  “Most of the skills should be self-explanatory from their names. I can start if you’re all fine with that.” Sid waited for dissenting voices to speak up. None did.

  “I think the two awareness skills will pair with my Keen Eyes skill and evolve into a strong, uncommon skill.” Sid pointed toward the two largest piles of crystals after Wall Walk.

  He had hoped for a night-vision type evolution for Keen Eyes, but he lacked the time to search for and level the right precursor skills. There was an opportunity for a strong evolution right in front of him, and he would be a fool to ignore it.

  “I’ll take all twenty if none of you want these skills.” Sid looked from face to face, weighing their reactions. He wanted agreement, not reluctant silence. Loot disputes lingered, and he had no intention of letting one take root. If anyone wanted an awareness skill, he would step aside.

  Varun and Pallavi both seemed far away, eyes unfocused as they likely scrolled through their status screens. Sid already knew the outcome. He was the only one with perception-based skills. Unless they changed direction entirely, these abilities would not fit their builds.

  Absorbing skill crystals to raise levels came with consequences. It made future progression harder. Sid was aware of that trade-off, but these were supplementary skills meant for evolution, and he had already raised the foundational skill, Keen Eyes, to level twelve. So the impact would be minimal.

  Besides, he also planned to exploit the time dilation within the hidden realm. It would give him time to refine his skills and patch the weak spots in his armor, both literal and figurative.

  Rohan kept staring at the crystals. His lips parted, then pressed together again, indecision written across his face.

  “You don’t need all twenty, right, Sid?” Rohan finally said. “We can give some to the camp when we get back.”

  Extra supplementary skill levels translated to bonus stat points. Sid would have given that up if his team truly needed it. But giving it away simply because it felt right sat poorly with him.

  He could sense the conversation edging toward conflict. Rohan had a claim, and with it the right to donate up to fifteen skills to the camp if he chose.

  “They’re not yours to give away.” Varun, however, had no reservations about conflict. The edge in his tone made it clear he was not willing to back down.

  Rohan lifted his head, meeting Varun’s stare without flinching. “I want to give away my portion.”

  “We’ll give some skills to the camp, Rohan.” Sid spoke before either of them could push further. “But only after our needs are met.”

  “These extra crystals give you an extra stat point.” Rohan’s voice carried heat now, his eyes bright with conviction. “But it could be the difference between life and death for another person. Do you really value a number more than a life?”