Levi’s stamina was out, mana was out, and health was at eight.

Another few seconds in the corrosive and he’d have been dead. If the kalvex hadn’t abandoned the chase, he’d be dead. If he’d had even a fraction less stamina and been unable to heave the kalvex off him, he’d be dead.

On the one hand, Levi wanted whatever treasure it was this hidden boss guarded. Heck, the boss itself was almost more of a treasure. A double-plus-level Kalvex so early... if he could tame it, it would be a formidable ally, and only more so as it grew. This was a kalvex at level 1. Unheard-of.

But he could already tell that there was no way he could fight it into taming range over and over to bring its resistance down without losing more than he was willing to risk. He wasn’t even confident in his ability to hurt it significantly in the current circumstances, let alone kill it. He was barely confident in his ability to survive it.

So... he needed another plan.

"Becca, once you’re recovered enough I need you to scout the place. If you can find whatever treasure it's guarding, grab it and bring it here. Wait until your mana is recharged, and be ready to teleport away if you're in danger."

Becca purred and walked around Levi, pushing against his side hard enough to almost knock him over. They waited a while, then Flomper stuck her head out of the wall to stare at them. She scowled, searched in all directions, then disappeared back into the wall.

"You two wait here and keep recovering, I'm going to go check in with the others," Levi told Maggie and Becca, then hurried back up the tunnel to where the hole in the distant ceiling shed faint light down.

"Hey, how's it going up there?" Levi called up.

"We're fine, what's going on down there? Skarm got very agitated, running around in circles and screeching like a banshee."

Levi briefly explained about the corrosive, the kalvex, and the dangerously deep pool that was its lair.

"Do you want anyone else down there?" Irene called. “I should come help you, It sounds like you need a medic.”

"No. This is way too powerful."

"But it's still only level one, right?" Gordon asked. "And what happened to Frosty?"

"I haven't seen her since the fight,” Levi admitted. “I... think she might have been killed in the initial scuffle, if she's not with you. Have you checked her status?"

There was a pause, then Gordon cursed softly. "I already used my Revive today. Can you revive her?"

"I've never tried doing it without the body, and since she’s not linked to me I’m not even sure how to go about trying. Sorry.”

“I’m coming down.”

“Wait, don’t—“

Gordon dropped beside him with a splash, Flomper clinging to his shoulder, Plus wrapped loosely around his neck like a weird slimy tie. “It sounds like you need another tamer. And I need to find Frosty.”

“Should I come down too?” Irene asked.

“NO. Stay up there. It’s not safe.”

“Sounds like all the more reason for me to come down.”

“Don’t. Drok, don’t let her.”

Darkness covered the opening as Levi’s ogre sat down on it, effectively blocking anyone else from doing anything stupid. Irene’s muffled protests were too distant to make out.

Levi turned to Gordon. "You shouldn’t have come down here either. We don't even have a way out yet."

"You're down here," Gordon pointed out aggressively.

"And I know I can survive." Barely. "I don't know that I can protect you." Levi hurried toward the trap alcove, the only place down here that was free of the corrosive, so they could rest and regenerate before the coming fight.

Gordon grinned, easily keeping up. "Don't you worry about me. Just show me where this boss is at."

“Did you hear what I said? This is a kalvex. A double plus kalvex. You can’t just—“

“I can and I will. We’re either bringing this bad boy in or taking him out, and I’m going to get Frosty back either way.”

“We’re not strong enough yet.” Levi’s temper was beginning to rise with Gordon’s stubbornness. “It nearly killed me without even trying. You won’t stand a chance.”

To his surprise, Gordon smiled wider, a secretive sort of smile that sparkled in his eyes. “Then you won’t mind if I pull out my secret weapon.”

“What kind of secret weapon could you possibly have? I can see you’re not level 10 yet, so unless you found some special ability for Flomper I don’t see—”

"I have a new option I've been dying to try out, but upstairs your guys had everything sorted, so I didn't feel the need. This... this will be perfect." Gordon surveyed the dim swamp tunnel like it were his new dream home. “Don’t worry about it. Just stay back and I’ll handle this. Be ready to tame it when I get it low enough.”

“I don’t have any slots left, and again, it’s too strong. You haven’t seen this thing. Trust me, I know our limits. This isn’t something we can bring down, let alone tame, without serious casualties.”

“Do you want it tamed, or dead?” Gordon asked.

Levi sighed and shook his head. “Obviously tamed would be preferable.”

“Then give me one of yours.”

“You don’t want the kalvex for yourself?”

“I saw the way you looked when you talked about it. You know you want it, probably more than you’ve wanted anything else. I wouldn’t take that away from you.”

Levi regarded him flatly.

“Okay, I absolutely would, but right now I am proving a point so I’m in a generous mood.”

"I don't think we can do it," Levi repeated. "Not yet. You haven't seen it, it's fast and the terrain is uniquely suited to it. It'll be a dangerous fight even if we had everyone, which we don't." Without the centipedes or ogres to tank, trapped in the narrow confines of the tunnel without any room to evade... it would be bad.

"I can do this." Gordon didn't even hesitate. "You want to call one of your gremlins down so I can swap it in?"

Levi sighed, then called up. "Three? Could you come down here please?"

A minute passed, then Gremlin Three came splashing up the tunnel toward them. Levi caught sight of Shadevine holding onto his back, only to skitter off and take to the wall in blatant imitation of Frosty, while Crackle crawled after him careful not to rustle his wings. Levi really should address matters with his scarab at some point, but for now he turned to Gremlin Three. "I just want to transfer you to Gordon, alright? You'll be escorting Laurence either way, so…"

Three nodded and shrugged.

Levi unbound him, braced in case Three attacked them, but he only stood looking a bit confused. Gordon's tame worked on the first try, despite Three's plus status, which made Levi wonder about the interactions of Dismay and tamed pluses.

At least he'd added more verification to Skarm's claim that so long as Levi didn't intend harm to his minions when unbinding them, they wouldn't immediately turn on him.

“Now, let’s do something about that ridiculous name of yours.”

Levi looked over at Three, to find that Gordon had changed his name to Elmire. “Elmire? Really?”

"Elmire Huntington the First, to be precise," Gordon decreed grandly, as though announcing a noble to the world. The gremlin's tag changed accordingly. He grinned in response to Levi's exasperated look. “You called him ‘Gremlin Three’. Your right to judge is currently negative 180%.”

Levi shook his head and checked everyone's status. Becca was fully recovered and ready to go. "Plan A is still steal the treasure and find a way to escape without fighting the kalvex. Plan B, we can try to tame it, but if it looks like we're going to lose anyone—"

"We'll bring it in." Gordon smiled confidently. "Trust me."

Levi sighed. "Becca, you’re up."

The rift cat gave him a disappointed look, flicked her paw like she was already feeling the wet burning corrosive, then bounded off through down the tunnel with a series of light splashes that echoed in her wake.

"Shouldn’t we go after her?"

"Not yet. I told you, plan A is steal the treasure and get out without having to fight the kalvex again." Levi kept a close eye on her health, which dropped slowly and steadily as she ran through the destructive corrosive. Her health regeneration was so high it almost outstripped the damage. Another threshold and she'd be entirely safe walking through the stuff.

Levi remembered having that kind of regen, the ability to walk through lava or cross corrosive rivers with impunity.

In higher level dungeons, the environment was a minor irritant; the monsters were the real danger.

One day. He would regain that power and then some.

A screech, roar, and yowl of pain shook the tunnel, snapping Levi’s thoughts back to the present. Becca's health dropped by 23%, then another 15%.

“I’m going.” Gordon started running forward, even as Becca came bounding out of the tunnel, something small and glinting in her mouth. She ran up to Levi and dropped it in his hand, then spun to face her pursuer.

The kalvex had left its lair, chasing after her without any regard for the spot it had formerly stopped at. Now they had seconds at best before it arrived. Without its body half submerged in its deep lair, it looked even bigger and more intimidating.

"I've got this," Gordon called, setting himself in a stable firing stance.

"I hope you know what you're doing—"

Gordon pulled out a blocky black gun, paused only long enough to steady his aim, then started firing straight into the charging kalvex.