The giant swordfish jumped out of the water, diving spear-first at Eem. Its mouth was massive with an underbite of serrated teeth. Its upper jaw was a spear-like sword, over three feet long and shining with ether.

Vivi summoned her runesword, quickly filled it with ether, and threw. In the water, her toss didn't have much leverage, but Eem was about to get hit. Vivi only had one chance.

The runesword pierced the falling swordfish's forehead right between the eyes. The blow pushed it slightly backward, redirecting its descent. The fish splashed on the water behind Eem, its sword missing by inches. The splash sent Eem half a foot into the air before she fell, face first, back into the water.

Vivi swam over in a hurry. Eem was coughing water, barely staying afloat. The fiend was totally spent. Vivi grabbed her and hugged her tight.

The dead swordfish was sinking along with Vivi's sword. Lucius dove into the water, collected 26 ether from the dead fish, and returned the sword to storage.

Lucius, ether! Vivi thought. She held Eem on top of her, then swam on her back toward shore. The large stone gate glowed blue in the corner of her vision. Vivi inched closer.

A slash and a splash sounded from below as Lucius clawed an approaching fish. Vivi kept swimming. She didn't want to know what monsters were attempting to kill her from below.

She made it to the hard stone shore, climbed a few steps up, then placed Eem down on her back.

Eem was alive. She coughed heavily, but her lungs seemed to be mostly clear of water. Her clothes were torn and ragged. She had bruises beneath. A few were bleeding.

She was shivering, skin losing its color. Vivi opened her raincoat, then hugged Eem, trying to heat the fiend up with her body. Eem was trembling; her body was so cold that Vivi's chest felt frozen from the hug.

Vivi held tighter. She examined her surroundings while listening to Eem's whimpers. The shore was calm with no monsters immediately approaching. She could feel ether from the stone gates—the type of feeling that active monsters radiated—but Vivi was far enough that nothing attacked her.

Panic and adrenaline slowly simmered down. Finally, she had a short moment where nothing threatened her life.

The panic was all immediately replaced by anger.

This cursed goddamned facility… Vivi thought. Why is everyone so cruel? Who are those black-masked murderers?

Lucius stayed silent. He ignored her by surveying their surroundings. He, too, wore a gloomy look.

Who would toss Eem in a raging river? What has she ever done wrong? What do they gain from killing her?

"Yeah…" Lucius said. "It's cruel."

Slowly and with the help of ether, Vivi's body heated up. The heat spread to Eem, and she shivered less and less. Eem only clung tighter. She pressed her face against Vivi, sniffling tears.

Vivi bit her lip, trying to stop Eem's tears from spreading to her. "You're strong, Eem. Good job surviving the waterfall."

They'd both survived—that was a miracle in itself, considering the strength of her opponents. We're not alone in this dungeon, Lucius. The hidden dungeon isn't hidden at all.

"Seems so," Lucius said. "The black masks have been hunting here for a long time. They have multiple members maxed out, and they definitely have skills. If we meet them again, we're probably dead."

If they're found, they'll be killed. Vivi thought. I wonder if they're strong enough to rival the Stewards…

Ven was a part of the black masks. That was Vivi's only hint as to their identities. If Ven truly was a real member as Lucius said, Ven must live a double life. He stayed in Aang's Union and lived as a nimrod, and as a secret gang member in the hidden dungeon.

The other black masks were probably the same. Vivi wouldn't know if she passed one of them on the streets.

Thinking about the gang made her sick. The image of the creepy tall-headed masks gave her the urge to puke. For now, she had her surroundings to worry about. From the feeling of ether in the air, Vivi was far from safe.

The shore extended around three hundred feet from the wall and the large stone gate. The glowing bricks reached nearly to the ceiling, forming a rectangular gate with pillars and intricate architecture. The gate itself was fit for a giant. Again, however, the gate was mostly blocked off by stone, leading nowhere.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

At the bottom of the gate, a more human-sized arched doorway led into the dungeon. A paved brick path extended from the doorway, leading straight into the waters and continuing at the bottom of the lake. The dungeon's signature blue glow shone between bricks, lighting the surroundings in an atmospheric glow.

Vivi sat to the left of the path in the shadowed section of the shore. She had a feeling that getting near the path would be dangerous.

As she examined the walls, looking for exits, Vivi saw movement in the arched doorway. A skeleton stepped out onto the path.

The skeleton was seven feet tall. Large with broad shoulders, but not gigantic. It walked with two feet like an ordinary skeleton, though its steps weren't clumsy, and the posture at which it carried its spear was straight and smooth. Inside its rib cage, a blue flame of concentrated ether burned, lighting the skeleton's surroundings. Its spear was entirely ethereal. The spear's surface appeared unstable, even more unstable than a spirit blade, though the spear held a lot more ether.

The skeleton's aura was stronger than the Fang Tanker's. This one small skeleton alone made Vivi shiver. Eem, too, flinched, glaring at the monster while hugging Vivi.

"That one wields at least seven thousand ether," Lucius said. He hid deep within Vivi as he spied on the skeleton. Vivi stayed perfectly still, hoping the monster didn't sense them.

The skeleton seemed to just be patrolling. It walked to the end of the path, then turned around and headed back toward the arched doorway. It didn't spot Vivi.

Lucius? How deep are we? Vivi asked.

"Deep enough that I can't sense Zand's hub anymore," Lucius said.

Is that a boss monster? Vivi asked.

"No," Lucius said. "That's a basic respawning skeleton. We're deep. Really deep. We really shouldn't be fighting monsters like these."

Vivi watched the skeleton with a concerned expression. How does it have seven thousand ether? I thought hunters and demons typically maxed out at five thousand.

"Monsters break the rules," Lucius said. "They can channel as much ether as they can hold without exploding. The worst bosses hold hundreds of thousands of ether. Still, that skeleton should be easier than a maxed-out demon. Monsters are still mindless. They haven't practiced technique for thousands of years."

Looks like there's no other way out, Vivi thought. We might not make it back for collection day. Do you think we'll be written off as dead?

"Probably," Lucius said. "I doubt they'll start searching. The Stewards seem to trust that nimrods need to rely on the hub's services. If we just don't show up… They'll have no choice but to believe we're dead."

I'll be marked as absent, then, Vivi thought. And we'll be punished if we show up late. I'd like to make it back if possible.

"At least we're alive," Lucius said.

Vivi glanced up at the waterfall. Returning through the way they came would be impossible. She couldn't climb walls. Even if she did make it back up, there was no way she could swim through the river's current.

That meant she only had one way to go.

Is there any chance we can defeat the skeleton? Vivi thought.

"Your sword can probably damage it if you land a lucky hit," Lucius said. "But if the skeleton lands even a slight hit, you'll die. I can't protect you from that much ether."

Can your shield block a blow from the spear?

"No," Lucius said. "I'd need to be maxed out. Even then that spear will probably pierce right through anything I can attempt."

The skeleton's patrol returned from the dungeon. Vivi sat still, thinking of solutions, until the skeleton turned back. Its movements were smooth and robotic, as if it had been patrolling this same route for hundreds of years uninterrupted.

If I had a three-runed sword, I could probably overpower its spear… Vivi thought. But she didn't have a three-runed sword, and she didn't have an anvil, metals, or carving knives…

"We seem to be safe on this spot," Lucius said. "Nobody will bother us. In the worst case, we could start practicing channeling ether. Although, elevating your core to a strong enough level will take months, if not years."

Lucius, I'm a runesmith, Vivi thought. I create weapons to solve issues.

She had one iron root in spatial storage. The same ether root that Eem had given her.

We can probably throw a surprise attack, Vivi thought. I have an idea.

"Eem, can you stand?" Vivi asked. She grabbed Eem and placed her down on the ground. The fiend's legs seemed to be working. Eem stared up at her curiously.

"We need to get out of here," Vivi said. "Maybe we can collect some ether on the way. Wait and watch."

"What are you planning?" Lucius asked.

I'll craft something, Vivi said. There's not much we can do without tools, but I have an iron root. There's one thing I can make to ambush the skeleton.

She didn't even have a stool to sit on. This would be a painful job, she already knew. But maybe it could work.

Vivi relocated as far to the left as she could, away from the skeleton's patrol. She summoned the iron root and sat down on the ground.

"Lucius, initiate the root."

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