One apprentice had already fallen, but the horde of monsters was not satisfied. Theo and the other three apprentices desperately tried to regroup, but that was a mistake. Another was eaten as he ran. After seeing this, Theo realized that there was no point in pulling everyone together. Their fighting style was meant for solo raiding. Over-extending to stay together would just get them killed.

This heartless lesson was drilled home as Theo watched Ravens plow through a crowd of monsters. The veteran hadn’t spared a moment to help his two fallen pupils. Theo grit his teeth and continued to fight. In such a clustered environment, it was easy to forget what was going on. Theo focused on the enemies in front of him and nothing else. Somewhere in his heart, he knew that looking around would make him lose the will to fight.

After a seemingly endless amount of time, Theo found that there were no more monsters in his way. His gear was in shreds and only one of his daggers remained unbroken. Theo’s body was covered in injuries and he felt extremely light-headed, but he was alive. After a moment’s hesitation, Theo looked around. Amidst the blood and gore, only one other person was standing.

Ravens stumbled over to the crystal at the center of the arena. The veteran tapped it and the crystal lit up. Floor ??? had been cleared.

After steadying himself, Ravens looked around at the scene that he’d created. Because his face was covered, it was impossible for Theo to guess what he was thinking. Theo lowered his head and wordlessly approached his master. Ravens was still standing in a daze. Without thinking, Theo swiped at Ravens with his dagger. This half-assed attack was easily dodged.

“Hmm?” Ravens turned to look at Theo. “So, you’re the only one left. Congratulations.”

Theo grit his teeth and stabbed at Ravens again.

“Congratulations!? What the hell is wrong with you?”

Ravens sighed and batted Theo’s dagger away.

“All of you were trying to outdo each other, right? Congratulations, you are now my most talented and only apprentice.”

Theo attempted another attack, but he was too exhausted.

“You didn’t help us at all!”

“I gave you veteran gear.”

“You led us in here to die!”

“That’s just how dungeons work.” Ravens shook his head. “If I was planning on keeping all of you alive, then why would I adopt five apprentices?”

At that moment, all Theo could see was red. He screamed and charged forward, but Ravens disarmed him with ease. Theo’s legs buckled as he received a swift kick to the stomach. The veteran raider walked away and used his storage crystal to retrieve some of the more valuable body parts that were strewn around. Theo looked on in horror as Ravens used the same method to collect the bodies of his fallen brothers.

“You…I won’t let you get away with this!”

“Oh?”

“You’re a monster! I’m going to tell everyone what happened! Then you’ll-”

Ravens suddenly disappeared. When the veteran reappeared, Theo found another boot lodged in his gut. The final apprentice collapsed.

“I’ll what? Become an outlaw?” Ravens muttered. “As my successor, you’re too naïve.”

- - -

*Knock Knock Knock*

Theo woke up in his house. Or, more specifically, Ravens’ house. When he wasn’t raiding or teaching, Ravens mostly holed himself away in his study. The apprentices cooked and cleaned for themselves. They were given full run of the house, and with their frequently absent master, it was hard to say who was more familiar with the place.

Theo sat up and winced as his wounds reopened. The apprentice sat in shock for a moment, and then jumped out of bed. Theo rushed out of his room and was greeted with a horrific sight. His fellow apprentices were lying on the floor. Furniture had been moved, glass had been broken and their dynamic poses showed the aftermath of a brutal fight. Of course, Theo knew that no such fight had occurred. Not in their home, at least.

Ravens was nowhere to be seen.

*Knock Knock Knock*

Theo froze as he heard a knock on the door. A similar sound had woken him up. He looked around and realized just how bad this situation was. At the same time, someone broke the door down. A slew of guards rushed inside. Theo didn’t even try to run as they restrained him.

That day, a disturbing rumor began floating through the city. Four of Ravens’ apprentices had been murdered while the veteran was on a raiding expedition. The culprit was the fifth apprentice, who had acted out of jealousy. The people at Brightstone were furious. They immediately began to suppress this information, but raiders were more sensitive to gossip than most. After Theo was branded as an outlaw, many assumed that his master would arrange an ‘accident’ for him. However, that did not happen. Instead, the fifth apprentice vanished from his birth city and was never seen in Jigou again.

Initially, Theo had also worried about being caught up in an ‘accident’. On his first morning after leaving the city, he found a note lying next to him. Beside that note was the enchanted dagger that he’d received from Ravens. Theo picked up the dagger and chucked it with all his might. After some deep breaths, he began to read the letter.

Hello, my apprentice.

You can make all the claims you want. However, if you mention that floor, then you’ll wake up with this dagger inside you instead of beside you. I’m sure you’re aware of what I can do. Even from a distance.

Beyond that, I have no more instructions. Consider this your graduation present.

Theo crumpled up the letter and then tore it to shreds. While he had fought against his charges, Theo hadn’t told anyone about the ??? floor. The outlaw sighed in relief as he realized that had been the right call. Theo debated with himself for a moment and then sat up. He trudged over and picked up his dagger. It was the only piece of enchanted gear he had left.

For a short time, Theo considered hiding out in the wilderness. He quickly abandoned that idea when the brand on his forehead began to ache. At least once a day, the ‘X’ mark would throb as if it wanted to tear itself away and run into a dungeon. Based on his knowledge of the surrounding terrain and this throbbing, Theo slowly made his way to Naraka. The trip exhausted him in both body and spirit.

When Theo reached the dungeon’s threshold, he felt a wave of apprehension. What was he hoping to accomplish here? Theo had thought about this constantly as he trekked through the wilderness. Ultimately, he only wanted one thing.

“I’ll get back to the surface and collect weapons and equipment on the way. Ravens described that mysterious floor as a waypoint. That means he hasn’t gotten what he wants out of Jigou. Not yet, at least.”

Theo’s eyes shone with a dangerous light.

“Then I’ll steal it. I don’t care what I have to do. Ravens is going to regret what he’s done.”

The only successful humans are the ones who take the initiative to become predators. Ravens was a man of few words, but this was something he had repeated again and again. The veteran was infamous among raiders for stealing treasures and cheating his contemporaries. Theo wasn’t a fan of this roguish behavior, but he didn’t have many options left. No matter what, Theo wanted to get revenge.

- - -

*Awooooooooo*

Theo finished reminiscing just as a wolf’s howl rang out. Seven more followed it. At first, Theo worried that Nico held some sort of grudge against him. He thought for a moment and then determined that wasn’t possible. All they had done was escape. Theo had never actually harmed Nico’s wolves.

Mavis and its companions were also nearby. It didn’t take a genius to guess that one of them had pissed Nico off. Theo couldn’t pretend that he wasn’t worried, but this wasn’t his problem.

The outlaw stood up and prepared to find a new campsite. Staying anywhere near Nico’s hunting grounds would be dangerous. However, his feet refused to move. Theo turned back and stared in the direction where the howls had come from.

Could he really leave Mavis to die?

Theo couldn’t help but ask himself that. He thought about how Mavis had acted after it learned about his betrayal. The slime’s angry and hurt tone reminded Theo of himself when he had berated Ravens. Despite those feelings, Mavis had saved him for the third time. When Theo realized that, he asked himself another question.

Did he really want revenge at any cost?

It was an idea that sounded obvious at the time. Theo couldn’t bear to let Ravens get away with his actions. Even so, when Theo thought that he was going to be eaten by Mavis back in the first layer, revenge had not been on his mind. He had simply been afraid of dying as an unimportant footnote, just like his brothers.

Fighting his way to the fourth layer, securing a worthy treasure, and then beating his master to the punch. If Theo truly believed he was capable that, then he wouldn’t have been so desperate to sell Mavis.

Frustrated, Theo slapped his face with both hands. This inner debate could be finished later. Right now, there was something that he needed to tell Mavis.

The battle between Nico’s pack and Mavis’s group was already underway. Theo didn’t have any trouble following the sounds of humans yelling and wolves snarling. Nico’s wolves could smell much further than Mavis could ‘see’, so attacking stealthily would be impossible. Therefore, he channeled mana into his boots and vambraces. This combination had caught quite a few monsters off-guard during the blood moon, and Theo was fairly confident that it would work on Nico.

Theo activated the immense speed boost from his boots and braced himself with the defensive enchantment on his vambraces. After knocking Nico away, Theo turned to look at Mavis. His eyes widened as he saw the slime in its humanoid body. Nico must have pushed them very hard, for Mavis to reveal its true form.

“Um…I guess you can take this as a belated apology.” Theo said while grinning weakly. He felt a bit awkward for arriving at such a perfect moment.

“Theo…how…you…where…” Mavis stammered.

“Look, we can talk later. Right now, I’m here to help you guys. Ok?”

Mavis stared at him for a moment and then sighed.

“Ok.”

They needed all the help they could get.

The pair turned towards Nico, who was standing back up. The monster tamer chuckled and glared back at them.

“I don’t know if I should be excited or frustrated.” Nico said, locking eyes with Theo. “Someone who’s actually worth fighting showed up.”

“We don’t have to fight, you know.”

“That slime killed my son.”

“By your logic, Mavis was stronger. What’s the problem?”

“Fool.” Nico spat. “You don’t kill a bear cub unless you’re stronger than its mother. Likewise, you don’t kill a wolf unless you’re ready to fight the entire pack.”

Theo drew both of his daggers. Nico channeled more mana into his gloves, turning his hands back into claws. Mavis raised its ‘hair’, extending the tentacles in a threatening manner. The wolf pinning Marco had already returned to Nico’s side. The two wolves that Vivian had incapacitated were now lucid. Eight apex predators flanked the tamer. Vivian and Marco stood off to the side, neither seemed able to process what was happening. After a moment’s hesitation, the mage bit her lip and grabbed the cat’s eye gem hanging from her neck. It began to glow as she glared at Nico.

“Ok.” Theo said. “Let’s see who’s stronger.”