Chapter 10

  Magus Rel

  “We’ll soon reach the end of the first floor,” said Kaelis, in between a mouthful of food. “Which means we just have the final boss to deal with.”

  “Really?” I asked. “You made that seem easy.”

  “Of course,” he replied casually, although I definitely noticed him sit up a little straighter. “Last week I pushed almost all the way to the end of Floor Two, and I’m confident that soon I’ll surpass even that. Who knows? Perhaps it’ll be during this run.”

  I made sure that I looked suitably excited at the possibility.

  Despite my reservations about how strong the creatures on this floor were, I have to admit that I’d been impressed by Kaelis’s performance. He didn’t showboat or let his confidence get the better of him. He just pushed forward with a ruthless efficiency.

  I wonder if he’d enjoy chopping down trees with his hand. He might be suited for it.

  “Right,” said Kaelis, standing up and brushing the crumbs from his armour. “Let’s finish this. Floor Two awaits.”

  The final boss, it turned out, was an enormous crocodile that could shoot fireballs from its mouth. Rel suggested we call it the ‘firedile’.

  Honestly, the fight was quite entertaining. Part of me was a little disappointed there was no popcorn in Kaelis’s inventory.

  When the fight began, it seemed that Kaelis was concerned about how much damage the fireballs would do, which forced him to fight defensively. He used his surroundings and superior mobility to his advantage. The creature seemed to have to charge up its ability, causing there to be a gap of a second or so between each fireball. Kaelis capitalised on those short windows, using the trees for cover as he dashed between them, gradually working his way closer and closer to the firedile’s position.

  When he was less than fifteen metres away, he burst out from behind the cover of a tree and charged. He anticipated the final desperate fireball, changing course just before it hit.

  Kaelis struck, pushing off the ground with enough force to leave a small crater and leapt through the air. The blade of his axe cleaved deep into the creature’s head, killing it instantly.

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  Rel and I clapped and whooped.

  Kaelis, who seemed to have lightened up a little over the course of the first floor, actually gave a small bow.

  * * *

  It was Rel’s turn to loot the creature, so he wandered over to do that while I attended to Kaelis.

  “Great fight, boss,” I said, handing him a flask of water.

  “Thank you, attendant,” he said, after taking a sip. “I do not fight in order to receive compliments, but I appreciate them nonetheless.”

  You know what? He wasn’t a bad guy at all.

  An excited squeak from Rel drew both of our attention, and we looked over to see what all the fuss was about.

  Rather than transferring it straight to the pouch, Rel had withdrawn an item from the boss’s loot window. On the ground in front of him was a rather impressive looking scroll, the parchment weathered a little with age. It was wrapped in an elegant blue ribbon.

  Kaelis’s eye widened when he saw it.

  “A scroll!” he roared excitedly, jumping to his feet and racing over to examine it.

  Gently, he untied the ribbon and unrolled the parchment, taking great care not to damage it. I leaned over his shoulder to read the title.

  Cast Spell: Fireball

  Underneath were instructions and diagrams detailing the incantations and hand movements required to cast the spell.

  It looked complicated.

  “Yes!” roared Kaelis, rubbing his hands together greedily. “Fireball? This’ll be worth an absolute fortune!”

  He reached over to pick it up, but Rel held up a paw to stop him.

  “Can I have a few minutes to study it before we store it in the inventory?” asked Rel. “I’d quite like to be able to cast Fireball.”

  “Study it… for a few minutes? Cast Fireball, just like that?” replied Kaelis, incredulous. “My na?ve attendant… one does not simply study a scroll for a few minutes and learn to cast such a complex spell! It takes months of hard work under the watchful eye of a master to accomplish such a feat!”

  Rel had already stopped listening.

  Instead, I could see his eyes darting across the parchment. He started to mutter under his breath as his paws moved in peculiar patterns.

  I thought Kaelis was going to have an aneurysm when smoke started to billow from the tip of Rel’s tail.

  “No, not like that,” muttered Rel under his breath as he worked. “Ah, that’s it. Yes. A small adjustment to that gesture and… voila!”

  A fireball burst into life at the end of Rel’s tail.

  Kaelis looked as if he was about to faint.

  “Oh, Petey boy,” said Rel sweetly. Too sweetly. He turned to face me, the devil in his eyes. I stood mesmerised as I watched his tail swish from side to side, the fireball following along obediently. “Don’t I owe you a favour?

  “A favour?” I asked, taking a few nervous steps backward. “Whatever for, buddy?”

  “For the ‘bath’ you gave me earlier,” he said, gesturing to the dry blood matting his fur. “Let’s see if red suits you.”

  I screamed as I dodged between the trees, a relentless torrent of fireballs in hot pursuit.

  I can assure you that they were very manly screams and I did not at all sound like a little girl.

  On the bright side…

  You have gained 1 durability.

  Current durability: 25

  And then I received the biggest surprise I’d had since a branch fell on my head.

  You have gained 1 agility.

  Current agility: 2

  Fuck yes.

  Kaelis watched us, eyes wide, a ten-ton weight of dread settling on his chest.

  Who were these people?