Passing through the gate, he noticed that the start of the dungeon this time was in a cave. It stretched forwards, with a slight decline. Having questioned Leah about the dungeon, they knew the basics of what to expect. It was called the Descent, and was as the name implied, a passage downwards. It could be through an underground tunnel or alongside a cliff. Even hearing of ledges that needed to be jumped from. They also got some information on the common types of monsters to expect. There were only a few different types of creatures they could run into, a bat-rat hybrid monster that varied drastically in size. Those occupied the cave portions of the dungeon, while chicken like monsters crawled along the cliffs. Occasionally there would be a few rarer types, but those were the most common they would encounter.

Luke used his buffs on himself, creating light in the dark cave. Once their eyes adjusted, he could see watermarks marring the walls and floors. Small puddles scattered in crevices along the ground. He looked around making sure everyone ended up in the same place and was somewhat unsurprised to see that Leah had followed them. She had been looking like she wanted to enter, but he hoped that she wouldn’t. She wasn’t an adventurer and would probably get in trouble for this, he had to ask.

“Are you allowed to be here?”

“With Ellis around, I probably won’t get in trouble. Plus, this seems far more enjoyable than just waiting.”

Shrugging her shoulders, she responded flatly. What she said was true enough, nobody would want to get on the bad side of someone over level 150. The bigger issue he saw, was if something happened to her, they would likely be blamed for it. He frowned at the thought, trying to think of some way to convince her. She was the most likely to be able to run away and would be able to stay safe with her invisibility. Unable to come up with something convincing, he looked to the others. They seemed at a loss for words, and he just let out a sigh. Thinking that this would be annoying. Glancing at her, he knew there was no convincing her otherwise.

Instead of trying to argue with her, they started discussing what her role would be. Asking her a plethora of questions about her skills. The most significant thing of note was that she could remain invisible indefinitely. They decided that the best role for her would be to go for finishing blows on enemies. She would remain invisible for the whole time and share targets with Luke. Everyone else’s attacks were designed around indiscriminate damage, and she would be just as likely to get hit. Mash could also avoid her since he was the only one that could see her, but it was only within a range and too risky. Coming up with a basic plan had been enough for her, and they proceeded into the dungeon.

Mash didn’t lead the way anymore, his mana territory’s range being enough to react even if he was in the middle. Instead, Red was leading the pack, with Jill directly behind her. Red’s blood dress was the most capable defensive skill among the group, and Jill could still spot traps from that position. Luke and Leah took up the rear, mainly so that Leah could run away if necessary, and Luke was there to guard their retreat, but also because he was their best healer.

They proceeded into the dungeon, after grilling Leah on what she should do. This dungeon wasn’t convoluted, apparently most of the beginner dungeons were simple and focused on the monsters. They learned that this one, lacked many traps and the biggest challenge would be the boss. It could be a creature of any type, even one not native to the dungeon. That made clearing the dungeon hard since no one could predict what the boss would be.

As they proceeded through the darkness, they watched for the first sign of movement. They were not trying to hide, if anything they were doing the opposite with Luke lighting up the surroundings. Prepared, they were able to get the first attacks out against the monsters that they saw. Though only Jill could hit targets at that range, and she used her magic to make a cluster of the monsters explode into viscera. The entire cave shook, as he heard a chorus of screaming and stomping heading towards them.

Mash could only get a good look at them once they entered the light, and he was disgusted by their appearance. They were hybrids of rats and bats but stood on two legs using their wings to increase their stride. It didn’t seem like they could fly, only managing to jump awkwardly. When one fell the rest would trample over them, some even stopping to eat those that died. They were vile, a combination of smooth skin with sickly patches of rat hair. Its face a twisted combination of the two creatures, having a snout that extended outwards, and a mouth lined with sharp teeth. Wings of fleshy translucent skin sprouted from its back, revealing the interconnected segments of bones and veins, most also covered in infected wounds.

Red lashed out with sharp vines of blood, while Jill let Mash up beside Red. He was glowing with Luke’s buffs and made a sharp javelin that kept growing even after it passed through the first monster. Instead, it started branching out in different directions, piercing others. It was like the spike trap from the previous dungeon, but he had full control of it now. It pierced through creatures’ limbs, he didn’t bother aiming or even killing every creature. Luke stepped up beside Mash and killed any that got too close. He spotted Leah occasionally jumping in and killing a few. Jill was in the back, using her spells whenever they were available. She created little pockets of dead monsters within the group. There were a lot of creatures, but the cave was narrow and made the fight easier.

The fight was going well, until he heard a scream from nearby. Dreading what he was going to see, his concern grew as he saw that it was Leah. She got bit on the side trapping her left arm to her body, and the monster lifted her into the air, others taking the opportunity to bite at her. In an instant she had become a bloody mess, and Luke broke the formation to go save her. Mash grimaced at the motion, Jill was the one meant to save people in this situation, but Luke had moved on instinct. He charged into the monsters, getting a plethora of bites himself, before Luke’s body morphed giving him extra arms to rip apart the monsters biting at him. Jill didn’t slack though, teleporting beside Leah and pulling her out of danger. Even with Luke’s rage he couldn’t hold out forever, and Jill was forced to teleport him out too.

Now all three of them would be out of the fight, Luke needing to heal Leah and his injuries, and Jill needing to recover her mana. This left Mash and Red on their own for the rest of the fight. He could hear Red cursing but couldn’t understand any of it. Her dress grew longer, turning into a mess of blades and saws. She cut through the monsters easily, adding their blood to her own and increasing the range of her attacks.

Not wanting to fall behind, he changed up his tactics. Growing out limbs from his backs, they resembled wings when connected, but that changed as he attacked. The wings separated into independent blades, that swung with each of his motions. He could control each of them, going through his usual attack patterns, the wings cut through everything within his range. They kept growing beyond that, and he could feel some of them get cut by and cut into Red’s blood. Between the two of them they covered the cave in a deadly dance of blades and attacks.

Their defenses were not perfect, and the creatures edged closer, using the dying bodies of their kind as shields. Mash grimaced as the first managed to reach him, he didn’t stop moving, using his hand to block the creature while growing wood from it to pierce its head. The bite landed though, and he could feel its teeth sink past his skin. It died for that bite though, a wooden spike piercing through the back of its skull. He needed to move faster and did something he didn’t want to. He carved out a piece of the creature as he pulled his arm away, popping it into his mouth. He held back his vomit and felt the boost to his stats as his carnivorous tree skill took effect. It was more significant than he expected, the meat having been very fresh.

He had tested this skill before and new that eating creatures with his wooden creations gave him a smaller benefit, pushing through the disgust of the flavor would yield much better results. That didn’t stop him though, and he grew his wood from his arms turning them into wooden jaws and biting through whatever creatures came close. Though he stopped when his inhumanity skill informed him of the venom that was spreading from the bite wound, while his carnivorous tree skill removed it from what he ate. Looking at it he noticed the veins on his hand slowly turning black. Knowing that Red could remove the poison and Luke could reattach a limb, he cut it off cleanly and tossed it behind him. Although, he didn’t bother restraining his scream, growing more wooden limbs, and moving faster. He stopped the bleeding by replacing his hand with a wooden construct, allowing him to resume his normal motions.

His stats had improved from the eating and at last his persist skill kicked in. His mana territory more than doubled in size with all the bonus stats, and he could easily observe most of the cave. He could see Red falling back, her mana dangerously low. She must have noticed his movements improve and guessed that his skill started working. He grew into a mass of wooden blades and mouths, cutting and biting through creatures by the pack. His improved concentration letting him handle even more diverse attacks, all while continuing his usual motions. There were hundreds of bites across his wood, but it didn’t slow down his attacks at all. Afterall, if one of his wooden creations broke, he simply needed to replace it.

Eventually the creatures all died, and he was left amidst a cavern filled with half eaten bodies. He stopped as he felt the last creature die and didn’t bother resisting the darkness that claimed him. He didn’t need to wait long to wake up, Red having healed him as soon as he collapsed. Luke was still tending to his own wounds, and Mash spoke realizing that Red hadn’t healed him yet.

“Stop, heal Luke first. Venom.”

He knew he sounded weak but got the most important words out first. Red left him, and he unceremoniously slumped against the wall, watching her run towards Luke. If she hadn’t gone to check on Luke yet, she probably just recovered from her own mana expenditure. He could vaguely make out Jill giving Leah one of their general antidotes. He knew it wouldn’t work since the venom was too strong, but he couldn’t get any words out. He was still too drained and couldn’t use his meditation skill. If his limb healed into a stump than Luke wouldn’t be able to heal him, so he needed to wait until after Luke was awake to use inhuman hibernation. There was a temporary solution though, and he grabbed a handful of the nearest creature.

He didn’t do anything fancy to cut or clean it, just stuffing a mouthful of flesh into his mouth. He could feel the food going down, the blood clogging his throat and regretted it the whole time, but it had given him enough stats that he could move again. He formed two wooden mouths and started chomping on the surrounding meat. The bonuses were smaller, but it was enough to start recovering and it lacked the disgusting flavor. He pushed himself up, making his way to the hand that he had tossed earlier, only now feeling the pain from the injury. Tears slowly welled up in his eyes, but he held them back. As he made his way to Red, he saw her leaning away from the rest of them. Hopefully that meant she succeeded.