Vivi woke up with a groggy head on a soft bed.

The stone ceiling was low and triangular. The walls were closed in, as if Vivi slept in a closet. The room was filled up by a small nightstand and a potion rack with wheels. Two yellow potions were on it. Judging from the bitter taste in Vivi's mouth, a few potions had probably made it to her mouth as well.

She sighed and hugged her sheets—made of silk fit for nobles—and focused on her headache. Her body felt sick and exhausted, as if she'd just barely woken up from a long coma.

But she was alive. Her skin was no longer purple. Rather, the right side of her body was the same color as her white sheets.

Lucius? Vivi asked in her head. What happened this time?

"Oh, you're awake?" Lucius said. His figure appeared from her core. He floated on top of her and stretched his paws. "About time. It's been two days. We went a bit overboard swinging that sword."

Vivi slowly recalled the events prior to passing out. She'd been on a runesmithing spree, finishing up a venerium greatsword in Ven's lair, when the gang got attacked. Where are we?

"We're in the Union place in the public side of the dungeon," Lucius said. "This is another one of their secret lairs. The Union guys have a lot of facilities. I also saw the gang leader. Aang. He's quite scary. Perhaps as strong as Andre. I don't know if we'd win in a fight. Maybe if you're fully recovered."

Is he a threat? Vivi asked.

"I don't think so. If this was an emergency, I would have talked to you in Paradise, but I thought you'd need to focus on rest. I stayed on guard, watching your body. That one woman fed you the antidote with a dozen other medicines and thingies. But she seemed serious about saving you, so I figured I would let her live."

The demons actually saved me? Vivi thought. She had expected to be betrayed again. Waking up without ropes tying her down was a pleasant change.

Her raincoat was placed neatly on a coat hanger next to the door. The holes in the coat's back were no longer there. Vivi blinked in surprise. Someone had patched her raincoat?

Vivi pushed herself to sit. The right side of her body was numb and weak, but her legs worked mostly fine.

I'm surprised… Vivi thought. We're actually alive.

"Saving someone is a good way to gain their trust," Lucius said. "You did defeat the black masks and save everyone from being captured."

Only thanks to my sword, Vivi thought. We need to craft a proper hilt for the venerium sword to block the poison from making it to the grip. And I need protective gloves. Long-sleeve leather gloves from any twilight animal will work best. A lot of animal hides are resistant to venerium, but twilight is probably the most accessible here.

"You're already thinking about crafting?" Lucius asked.

Well, the sword was strong, Vivi thought. It's necessary for our survival. But a deadly sword is not very useful if we die from the venom as well.

"The sword is not just a venerium sword, by the way," Lucius said. "It's called Abyss Destroyer!"

Right… Vivi had agreed to let Lucius name it. She'd need to get used to calling the sword by its name.

Do you think it's safe to get up from bed?

"If your body can take it," Lucius said. "I don't think these demons will kill you. We can probably step out and talk to them."

Vivi tested her footing. She could stand with only light pain coming from her right shoulder. Lifting the arm was tedious, but she managed to touch the ceiling. That was enough of a sign that Vivi was probably ready to wake up. She squeezed past the potion rack and pushed the door open.

The door led Vivi to a hallway lined with doors. The layout was similar as with the apartment district, but more cavernous with a stone ceiling. At the end of the hallway, a door was ajar. Dim lights shone in the room next over. Hesitantly, Vivi pushed the door open.

She found herself in a cramped bar or tavern. Barstools lined the hardwood counter. Dim, orange-tinted ethereal lamps lit the place in a moody glow, a match for the paintings of hellish lava landscapes adorning the walls.

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A tall demon was washing glassware behind the counter, wearing a long-sleeved clean white shirt and a black vest. He had to crane his head not to hit the ceiling. He glanced in Vivi's direction as she entered, but didn't give much of a reaction.

The rest of the bar had two large round tables. The cavern's walls had been mined slightly, embedding the tables into circular alcoves in the back-wall. Demons sat on the tables, drinking what looked like dark ale. Vivi didn't recognize any of them. They all looked strong muscle-wise, but none were breakers.

"Ah!" a surprised woman said. The same dark-skinned woman Vivi had freed. She ran over from behind the counter. "Vivi, was it?"

"Yes," Vivi said. "Where am I?"

"This is Aang's private tavern," the woman said. She spoke nervously. "You, um, weren't supposed to get up yet. Healing from venerium poisoning takes time. The potions were supposed to keep you asleep."

"I feel fine," Vivi said. "Thanks for the antidote."

The woman studied her with a suspicious look. "Human skin should not be white, right? You have not recovered."

"If the human feels fine, let her stand," Ven said. He entered from deeper in the tavern. "That's Feni. She's stayed up for over thirty hours in hopes of keeping you alive."

Feni bowed. Her movements were nervous.

The rest of the bar seemed to share Feni's demeanor. The bartender was paying attention to Vivi with the side of his eye. His look wasn't outright hostile, but he was still wary around her.

"Where's Eem?" Vivi asked. "The fiend."

"We had to tie her down," Ven said. "The fiend kept trying to hug you, as if her touch had some godly healing powers. It turns out, she was not a healer at all, and her hug only spread the venerium poisoning. The fiend had to be treated as well. She's awake, but a little pale. You should show your face so she stops thrashing about."

"I see," Vivi said. "Bring her to me, please."

Ven nodded. He disappeared behind the corner, then came back a minute later. Eem was pale, but had a lot of energy. Eem squirmed and struggled in his arms until she spotted Vivi. Ven placed her down.

Eem ran to Vivi, climbing to her shoulders, where she took a defensive stance, as if expecting a fight to break out.

"Eem, they're not enemies," Vivi said. "You need to stop causing trouble."

Eem didn't listen. She stayed on guard, frowning at the demons around the room. Vivi sighed but ignored Eem for now. The fiend was safe. That was all that mattered.

"Everyone, clear the room!" Ven called. "We will talk with Vivi alone. Feni, please tell Aang and Rensfig that she's awake."

The demons on the tables dispersed out of the tavern into adjoining rooms. The bar was cleared in less than fifteen seconds. The demons took their drinks with them.

"There's a lot I'd like to discuss," Ven said. "If you're willing to talk. Though I understand if you wish to stay quiet. If you wish to leave, I won't argue."

"I am looking for information as well," Vivi said. "We can trade questions."

Ven nodded. "Before any of that…" He bowed. "Thank you for saving us. I can't say I expected you to drive them all away. You saved us from being captured."

"Don't mention it," Vivi said. "If you really want to thank me, you could finally tell me what's happening down here."

Ven let out a laugh. He sat down at one of the round tables at the back of the bar. "Sit down, if you please. Would you like a drink?"

Vivi followed cautiously, picking the edge seat. She sat underneath a painting depicting a lava waterfall. "Water would be nice," she said.

Ven nodded. He looked at the bartender and gave some sort of signal. The bartender poured two glasses, one with water, the other with ale. He delivered the water to Vivi, the ale to Ven.

"Aang and Rensfig will arrive shortly," Ven said. "In the meantime, ask me whatever you need to know. I'll answer as best as I can. I owe you this much for saving us."

"Who are you?" Vivi asked. "What's your gang? The one that operates in the hidden dungeon."

"We call ourselves the Hollow Phantoms," Ven said. "I'm second in charge. Aang is our leader. We have around fifteen members now that two died, most of whom are from Aang's Union. You could call us a secret gang of sorts. The ones on the table just now were members."

"What are you doing in the hidden dungeon?" Vivi asked.

"We hunt bosses and steal skills from the Stewards," Ven said. He leaned back and rested his head on his hands. "That's the simple answer. The long answer will take an hour or two. The Hollows, and any gang in the hidden dungeon, fight for the respawning squadron bosses. Our goal is to gain skills and ether without being caught."

"You mentioned there are rules in the hidden dungeon," Vivi said. "I broke those rules, and I nearly got myself caught."

"They aren't necessarily rules, just strict precautions," Ven said. "Hunting squadron bosses isn't as simple as walking in and killing the boss. You need to make sure the Stewards won't catch you. You need to ensure you've left no trail behind, and you need to kill the squadron boss at a very specific timing to ensure the boss will have respawned by the time the Stewards are there to clear the boss for themselves.

"The reason I told you to stay away from the hidden dungeon is because I'm not an expert either. Boss raids are curated by mathematicians and strategists to ensure that the Stewards will never find out that their bosses are being killed. Hunting bosses down here is a risky game. Make one miscalculation and you will get caught. If you want to get involved, you need to join a gang and join their raids."

"What are the other gangs down here?" Vivi asked.

"The black masks call themselves Reapers," Ven said. "They're led by Bwern, and they're currently the strongest gang in the hidden dungeon. They have the most skills, the most ether, and the strongest members. The Reapers had a truce with us, which they just broke.

"The third, and last gang, is just Andre and his few allies. Andre doesn't have a base down here. He tends to show up and hunt bosses whenever he has a chance to contest one of them. Bwern has tried to kill him multiple times, but Andre always slips away. Although, Andre has been silent for the last few weeks."

"I see…" Vivi said. She thought about Ven's answers. The situation sounded complex, but surprisingly simple at the same time. Nimrods were trying to sneak more ether for themselves through the hidden dungeon, hunting just enough that the Stewards didn't get suspicious, while avoiding guard patrols.

Vivi would have liked to hear Ven's long answer regarding the rules as well. That would have taken too much time. She had more important questions still to ask.

"What do you know about the main dungeon?"

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