3

Harper had been stunned the first time the Witch used her spell, but she wised up to that quickly. Even though she could finally run on her bare feet without pain, she reverted back to riding the boulder to avoid the ground. After getting blasted by the Witch’s green spell, she defeated one of the attacking worms with Mana Flash. Now she weaved between the columns and raced toward the Witch. Armando had run in ahead of her, and as she closed in, she could see that he was in danger.

The huge mouth on the monster’s wrist had closed on the orc’s throat. Blood oozed from his neck. Harper fired a Dirt Bag, knowing it was similar to but less powerful than Fire Bullet. The advantage with the spell was that it didn’t need to be charged to gain size. What she was looking for more than anything was to jolt the Witch from her stance and force her to release Armando. The foot-wide ball of hard earth slammed against the Witch’s head and exploded. It was enough to jar the boss loose. Armando fell onto his back, clutching at his throat.

Rachel, we need you up front, Harper telepathed as she sailed toward the retreating boss.

Its gaunt face grinned at her. “Hello, white witch! You look worn from your travels. Soon, I will relieve you of all your miseries.” The Witch broke off one of the pointed green spikes that covered her body and threw it at her.

Harper swerved on her boulder, nearly crashing into a pillar. The spike grazed across her left calf, gouging a long wound. She yelped painfully and queued a Fire Bullet.

The boss cracked off another spike, which quickly grew back, and pitched it at her again. Harper deflected it with her steel staff, then whipped the fireball at the Witch. It slammed against her body. The flames and rock exploded, appearing to do no damage.

With a quick flick of her wrist, the Witch shot the fire and rock chunks back at Harper. Not expecting the counterattack, the veteran mage felt the full force of the blowback. Hot rocks and flames laced through her body, striking her face, and searing her neck through the rip in her steel scaled armor. Her enchanter cape caught fire.

“Uuuuh!” she cried desperately, racing to a water stream descending from the ceiling. With the fire doused, Harper sped back to the Witch just as Sierra flew in on her boulder, looking to help the veteran.

“Those worms keep coming,” the rookie shouted.

Harper called back, “I saw that. Watch out for this boss. She has some kind of barrier and can fire back our spells!” As she swerved to avoid another green spike, Harper told Sierra, “So far, my spells have done nothing. She’s still at max HP and MP, but let’s keep hammering her. She must have a weak spot.”

The Witch wailed at them, “I don’t have a weak spot, you bitches!”

She unfurled her arms like a bird and shot three green waves from her hands. Two were headed straight for the mages. Harper saw that the spell, which came at a diagonal angle, expanded toward the ceiling but not to the floor. She dipped under the green blast and heard Sierra cry out to her left.

Still, the two mages fired their spells. Sierra unleashed Mana Flash, and the boss laughed at her. “Such primitive spells,” she chided as she shot the spell back at the rookie, who swerved out of its way. Meanwhile, Harper wielded Mana Leech.

An annoyed expression came over the Witch’s gaunt face as her magic pool started reducing. “Bitch!” she growled, turning her attention away from Sierra and focusing solely on the veteran. On her worm tail, the boss moved like a snake, much faster that she had so far.

Harper instinctively moved backward as the Witch fired spikes at a much quicker pace. The veteran evaded one, but another pounded into her armor, bruising her chest. The onslaught was so fierce that she hid behind columns to avoid the projectiles.

But the Witch kept chasing her as Sierra followed closely behind. Damon entered the battle, chasing after the rapidly moving boss and shouting his frustration when his weapons bounced off her rubbery frame. But Harper could see the end coming. Her Mana Leech spell had the Witch down to her last 51 points of magical energy. The veteran mage swerved away from another green spike, but she wasn’t quick enough. The projectile sliced through the hand holding her steel staff. As warm blood bloomed on her skin, she dropped the staff. Without its steadying weight, she lost her balance on the boulder.

Harper hung on for half a second, then plummeted to the water-softened ground. Her active spell drained the last of the Witch’s mana. The veteran mage telepathed the team, She’s out of mana. The Witch is out of mana!

Slithering closer, the boss grinned over Harper’s prone body. The veteran mage clambered to her feet as Sierra swopped in on her left and unleashed a Fire Bullet. It exploded and bounced off the monster’s backside.

The Witch paid no attention to it and wrapped her arms around Harper. “You see, young slut, your powers are useless. You’re just inferior scum.”

The green Witch threw her head back, and her mouth extended into a long, gaping hole. As Damon and Sierra continued to attack, Harper saw shapes moving up from the monster’s black throat. Oh god, she thought as she realized they were worms. Hundreds of small worms squirmed up the boss’s jade-colored flesh as she pulled the veteran mage close.

As the first worms latched onto Harper’s lips, pulling them apart, Damon swooped in and tried to saw his blade against the reaching worms, but like everything else, the sword couldn’t penetrate the Witch’s rubbery defense. As Harper struggled to pull away from the boss, the orc pushed as well, but he didn’t have the leverage to separate them.

The worms wiggled into her mouth, carrying soil and filth with them. They inched deeper, swarming the back of her tongue. Vaguely, she saw Sierra continue to hammer the Witch with spells. Damon was shouting at the team. Harper didn’t hear what he yelled. She gagged as the worms burrowed deeper and began to chew her flesh.

4

When Vlad heard Damon cry, “Everyone to the front of the room,” he spun away from the giant armored worm he was fighting, disappointed that he couldn’t finish the job. He swerved to avoid other worms and raced toward the boss, his footfalls splashing loudly against the flooded soil.

As he drew closer, he saw the abomination. It looked like the Witch was kissing Harper, but the monster’s teeth had sunken into the mage’s cheeks.

“Pizdets,” Vlad gasped as he slowed slightly, unaware he was doing so. Around him, the other teammates were converging on the same site. Vlad picked up his pace and dashed to the three members with the Witch. “Damon, move back,” he shouted, and the orc complied.

The Russian wielded Fire Scorch, and the flames burned the boss’s skin. The Witch screeched and threw Harper aside as the worms shot out of the veteran mage’s mouth like a cork, making an audible pop. Harper fell to her knees and scraped her fingers frantically against her tongue.

“She’s vulnerable to Fire Scorch, everyone!” Damon shouted as Vlad continued to blast the flames at the retreating boss.

Soon, another stream of fire slammed against the monster’s thick hide. As her green hair burned away, the Witch broke off another spike and fired it at one of the gigantic worms that had risen from the ground. The spike impaled the worm’s underside, and the mob crashed to the wet soil. Suddenly, the Witch’s defense was back. The flames surged harmlessly past the monster’s skin.

“What da fuck,” Vlad muttered as the boss ripped off another spike and pitched it toward him. He dove to the ground, barely dodging it.

The boss shot another spike at Sierra. It ripped through her leather armor and embedded into her hip. The rookie mage screamed, staggering, and painfully pulled the spike from her flesh. She stumbled to the ground, bleeding. The Witch started attacking the gigantic worms again, taking down two more, but their replacements rose from the earth thirty seconds later.

“It’s not Fire Scorch,” Harper croaked as loudly as she could. She was still on her knees. Small runlets of blood had trickled down the corners of her mouth. “It’s the worms. They… they must be kept alive.”

The Witch hissed at the veteran mage and bolted for her. “You bitch!” she raged and fired another spike, taking down one more worm.

Jordan rushed in and swept Harper off the ground, running away from the temporarily invincible boss. With the greater dexterity stat, he easily outpaced the Witch.

Meanwhile, Damon instructed the orcs to station themselves near the massive, armored worms. “You have to protect these things from the Witch,” he shouted. “Use your shields or your armor.” The five orcs, including Damon, ran to the worms, which rewarded them by attacking them.

“Damn it,” Zack grumbled. “How the hell are we going to defend these creatures like this?” He raised his shield to block an attack on his body. Then he turned and deflected an attack from the Witch.

“Keep one eye on the boss and another on your worm,” Damon replied, but he knew it wasn’t enough. There were six worms in the room, and there weren’t enough orcs to defend the last one. The Witch simply attacked it to maintain her invincibility.

“No one else has a shield,” he muttered to himself, frustrated with the predicament. He looked at the hunters and mages attacking the Witch. Even Rachel was in on the action. But their spells and weapons bounced harmlessly off the boss. “Harper, I need you to protect the last worm,” he bellowed. “You can deflect the Witch’s spikes with your spells.” The mage glanced up at him, shook her head and remained on her knees.

“Let’s go, Harper!”

With that, the veteran mage reluctantly got to her feet and took a place near the last undefended worm.

Then the battle turned quickly. While Harper and the orcs sustained injuries from the worms they were protecting, they managed to keep the mobs alive. Sierra led the attacking group, hammering the defenseless Witch with swords, arrows, and spells. The boss desperately tried to take down the giant worms, but her attacks were thwarted.

As her hit points sank, she screamed at the teammates, “You fucks! You have polluted and debased the very realm you live in. You can defeat me, but you have sown the seeds of your corruption. Those who don’t perish will suffer!”

With the Witch’s HP on the precipice of extinction, Angie told the members to stop their attacks and directed Rachel to take out the boss. The healer did so gladly, ramming her short sword through the Witch’s chest.

5

The gigantic worms disappeared the moment the dead Witch slumped to the ground. Every team member looked at the face sculpture in the ceiling as it opened. Another torrent of water blasted through the opening, dousing the floor and streaming down the successive holes of the dungeon. When the deluge lessened, the teammates didn’t see daylight or the night sky. Only a darkened room waited for them.

“Damn it, I thought that was it,” Harper croaked, and the other members murmured their disappointment. She turned to the group and said in a thin, raspy voice, “I have fucking had it. When we get out of this dungeon, if Cloud Nine isn’t going to take us back, I’m staying at the landing zone.”

She was met with stunned silence, then Jordan asked, “What about Kylah?”

Harper cast Mana Heal on herself. “I’ll convince her and Nevan to stay with me,” she said as her voice cracked. “I have been through too much. From the Dioskilos in the tower to having hundreds of worms rammed down my throat. This is it! This is the fucking end for me!”

While her teammates shifted awkwardly, each privately considering what they would do, Damon placed his gloved hand on her shoulder. “You can sit out the next battle,” he said with a commiserating tone.

Harper pulled back from him angrily. “I don’t want to sit out the next battle. I’m not deserting the team. I’m just saying, after this dungeon, I’m fucking done.”

Annoyed by her behavior, Damon grunted dismissively. “Alright. We heal ourselves as best we can, then move on.” He glanced at Sierra. “Do you want to see what’s in that?” He pointed to the Epiphany cloud floating over the Witch’s carcass.

“Sure,” the mage said flatly, then eyed Harper as she walked by. She reached up over the large corpse, and her fingers barely broke through the cloud’s outer edge.

Congratulations, Sierra! You have found an Epiphany that contains the spell: Stun. This spell will freeze ground-treading opponents for 10 seconds. Ranked progressive and available to all classes, so tell all your friends. Stun will cost you 10 MP, and has a cooldown rate of 20 seconds and a range of 200 meters. Too many monsters? Get the job done with Stun!

A moment later, another spell appeared in her field of vision.

Congratulations, Sierra! You have found an Epiphany that contains the spell: Earth Flash. This advanced elemental spell will deal 15% of HP damage and 10% of mana drain. The spell’s effectiveness will depend on your foe’s elemental alignment. Ranked advanced and available to Hunters and Mages, so tell all your friends. Earth Flash will cost you 15 MP, and has a cooldown rate of 15 seconds and a range of 200 meters. It’s time to take out the organic trash with Earth Flash!

The rest of the teammates, including Harper, acquired the spells and continued with the healing. Rachel focused primarily on Armando, who had suffered many cuts and lacerations, the worst of which was his ripped neck and skinless shoulder. When she was done with the young orc, she turned to Damon.

“I want you to do a skin graft,” the orc general told her, and the healer laughed until she realized he was serious.

“What you are asking of me is beyond my capabilities. I don’t have a dermatome, and I’m not even a nurse.”

He shook his head stubbornly. Flecks of blood dripped from destroyed left cheek. The hole that had been there before was now two times the size, extending from the top of his cheekbone to his lower jaw. In it, Rachel could see many of the orc’s teeth.

“Look, either you do it or I’ll get Sierra to do it.”

Rachel passed a glance at the mage, who nodded, indicating that she would do it. Still, the healer hesitated.

“Come on, Rachel,” Damon urged. “You slice some skin off my backside and slap it onto the side of my face. Ang has canvas thread, and you can stitch it to keep it in place. The healing spells will do the rest.”

The healer stepped closer to further examine his facial wound. “Well, it would prevent the possibility of infection, but…” She faltered.

Damon groaned impatiently. “It’s either you or her,” he grunted. “What’s it gonna be?”

6

Rachel finally agreed, warning the orc general that she’d be removing more than just a layer of skin. “As I said, I don’t have a dermatome.”

“That’s fine,” he grunted. “You’re replacing more than skin anyway. My whole cheek has been ripped off, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

The healer ignored his grumpiness and raised her palm close to the bloody wound. Her hand was too small to mirror the size of his injury. “I need an orc,” she said, then called Zack over. “Don’t touch his flesh. I want you to hover your palm just over the injury.”

“Sure thing, gorgeous,” he replied, and she laughed. He removed one steel glove and positioned it above the left side of Damon’s face. “Hey, would you look at that,” he said, mildly impressed. His palm roughly covered the shape of the wound. He turned to the healer. “Now what?”

Rachel laid a hand on Damon’s shoulder. “Where do you want the graft taken from? Your ass or your inner thigh?” He opted for the former. “Alright, lose the armor, brace yourself against that pillar, and pull down those cute furry panties.”

The orc general complied begrudgingly and, as soon as he dropped the bear skin undies, the other teammates roared with jeers and catcalls. Damon grimly ignored the indignity and barked at Rachel to get started.

The healer motioned to Zack. “Plant that big hand onto his left buttock.” The blonde orc grinned. “Sure. No problemo.” He strode up to his longtime friend and smacked his hand down hard.

“Goddammit,” Damon growled as the spank jostled him forward slightly. Behind him, more teammates were laughing. He telepathed Zack, I’m gonna get you for this, but his fellow orc laughed too.

Rachel squatted next to Damon’s backside. “Okay, no more fun and games. This is serious now.” She equipped her short sword and cut a line around Zack’s hand. Blood began oozing from the incision, dribbling between the blonde orc’s fingers.

“Ewww,” Zack said disgustedly. “You’re going to owe me big-time for this, bro.”

Damon ignored the comment and stared at the column he was leaning on. Rachel finished cutting the circular shape and had Zack back up.

“Okay. I’m gonna pull it off,” she warned and pushed her fingers under the top edge of the incision. Grabbing the flesh with her thumbs, she carefully started pulling away the graft. She grimaced while Damon groaned quietly. As she pulled the skin, she was able to grab more and quicken the process. As the last bit of the graft tore from his backside, Damon moaned, and Rachel immediately cast Mana Heal on the injury she had created.

Then she dropped down to the ninth floor to grab the leftover canvas from Angie’s supplies. Rachel pulled a thread loose and, using the points from Thao’s steel spur as a makeshift needle, roughly sewed the graft onto the orc general’s face. Although he initially warded her away, she convinced him to have the rest of the canvas tied around his face to keep the graft in place.

“Just don’t cover my eyes,” Damon grumbled, muffled by the layer of cloth.

After that, Rachel continually cast Mana Heal on the veteran, waiting for her mana pool to replenish. As she did, Zack couldn’t resist the urge for another dig.

“You look like an ass,” he said, grinning ear to ear.