Wolf's Run and Gold Chariot

Justice carried me in his arms, and he and Heather set a brutal pace. The dungeon was three days from the city for normal humans. We ran for the full night, with only brief stops to rest. To our surprise, the man kept up, even if he wheezed loudly and collapsed every time we stopped.

Assess. I probably should have done that immediately, but I’d honestly expected him to fall behind right away. Since he’d managed to keep up with us for almost seven hours, it seemed unlikely that we’d lose him, so it’d be better to know what we were working with.

Name: Maxwell                                                            Level: 140/–
Birth Date: 02.28.67
Type: Human - A
Status: hungover                                                         Health: 850/900
Skills:                                                                             Available Points: 0
     Active: Sprint Lv. 10, Lockpick Lv. 10,                  Passive: Daggers Lv. 10,
     Stealth Lv. 5, Scout Lv. 5, Poison Lv. 8                 Drunkard Lv. 4
Titles: –

I studied the results with confusion. The Skills made a certain amount of sense. He'd said he was a thief, and he was obviously a drunkard (though discovering that he drank enough to earn a Skill was impressive in a way). What was with his maximum level, though? If he was an A-ranked adventurer, why did he look so much like a random bum? Where are your summons? I asked. He had to have some, so why hadn’t he brought them?

He looked up from where he’d collapsed onto the ground and, slowly, gathered himself enough to sit up. “They died,” he said flatly. “My wife and I… we were adventurers. Part of a good party. But we ran outta luck, and most of the party died. My wife and I survived, but… she’s still in a coma, and I’m… Our two daughters pay for everything. I’m just a - All I can - It’s all I can…” He broke down sobbing.

I felt bad for asking, but this was the first time I’d met someone who’d woken up after losing their summons. I’m sorry, I said. I understood the maximum level now. Whatever he should have been capable of reaching was now impossible, because his summons no longer existed. To have reached such a high level and rank, he must have been an impressive adventurer once, but losing them had reduced him to this.

He shook his head. “I know I should do better. Clara and Marie deserve better. I know that. When I try, though… I just end up drinking and getting fired and drinking and getting kicked out and drinking and drinking and -” He stopped midsentence, staring into the distance as though he’d forgotten he was even speaking in the first place.

So this was what they meant when they said those who recovered became shells of themselves. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have your parents suddenly one day end up in comas. To have this result when one finally awoke seemed like adding insult to injury. It sounded miserable. I felt for his daughters.

After another few moments of staring into space, Maxwell shook himself and curled up onto his side to sleep. I turned to Heather and Justice, who seemed equally at a loss. Go ahead and sleep. I can keep watch tonight.

They nodded, and I waited until they’d both fallen asleep too before I turned my attention to the presence I felt waiting in the back of my mind. What happened, Fyth? Why did it close after I’d gotten out?

He stepped out of the early morning darkness as though he’d always been there. As was usually the case, he sounded like he was enjoying himself. Sometimes I wondered if his goal was anything more than entertainment. “Why ask me? Dungeons have nothing to do with me.”

I noted the comment. Did that mean Fyth had no control over dungeons? But I’m the one with Hated by God. If God wants to kill me, why wait till I’m out of the dungeon?

“Who says He wants to kill you? Haven’t you ever heard of trials? Maybe He wants His little Hero Candidate to evolve faster.”

I was surprised. Can that even happen? Fay’s the one with her, and she can’t evolve.

Fyth scratched at his head, an odd motion that looked like his hand was sinking into and dissolving into the shadows of his head. “It’d cost Him a fair number of points, sure, but He could. Will He? Who knows. I’m serious, Miss Kitty. I had nothing to do with this.”

You seemed like you knew about the last dungeon, I pointed out.

Fyth sighed heavily and squatted down to look me in the eyes. “Look, here, servant. That title, Agent of Fyth, means I can detect when God meddles with you, and I can put a stop to it or meddle right back. Doesn’t even cost me anything to do, so why not? You weren’t in the dungeon, so I didn’t sense anything. Whether what’s happening now is God or just random chance, I have no idea because it doesn’t affect you.”

I hissed at him. Doesn’t affect me? I die if Nero dies!

“No, you don’t.”

I froze.

Fyth cackled. “Why do you think I made you an SSR? You think I’ll let you follow him if he dies?" The smile dropped in an instant, and his voice went flat. "No. You’ll bind yourself to someone else. This man, here, maybe, or his wife. You won’t escape me that easily, my dear servant." As quickly as it'd disappeared, his amusement returned. "Or… who knows?”

His body shifted, blood and muscles flowing down his bony limbs, followed by skin until his body began to look human. The tar bled off his head and wrapped around him like clothes, leaving an ordinary, black-clad man with long, black hair, red eyes, and a wolfish grin. “Perhaps I’ll forfeit the game and come act as your Master directly. That could be fun, too.”

"How would you like to serve me directly?" he purred, eyes alight with glee.

My fur stood on end, and I backed away from him warily. No need. Please feel free to stay in your own plane of the universe.

“Oh? Is that fear I smell?” Fyth grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and lifted me off the ground. I scratched wildly at him, but he ignored the deep, bloody scratches I left and held me in the air, shaking me back and forth. My stomach rolled. Eventually, I let my body fall limp. I was just wasting energy at this rate. The scratches dripped black sludge that hissed as it splattered against the ground. 

Fyth grinned even more, the look becoming manic as it spread. He brought me closer to his face, and I had a flash of absurd but intense fear that he'd eat me. Instead, he inhaled deeply and held the breath, eyes sliding closed as though he was savoring the scent. At last, he exhaled and said, “Be careful, servant. Let me taste too much of your fear, and I’ll be tempted to come steal you for real.”

So you’re only into girls who’re scared of you? I asked. Gross. Yes. I was the sort of idiot who insulted the guy she'd just thought was going to kill her painfully. It was a personal failing.

Fyth cackled delightedly. “As expected of my favorite servant. No one else hates and fears me quite like you do.”

You can’t have many servants then.

Shame didn’t exist in Fyth’s universe. “True. Most people’s souls aren’t worth obtaining. The points I get from them barely cover the points I have to spend to grant their wish.” He smiled at me, and I froze. It was the first real, not manufactured, expression I think I ever saw from him, and I couldn’t read the emotion behind it in the slightest. “You’re special, my dear servant, so take this as a warning and reassurance in one. Your soul is mine, I will never release you.”

An unexpected voice spoke up. “Who…are you?”

Fyth’s smile faded. He dropped me, reverting to his normal form as he did, stepped backward, and disappeared.

Justice hurried toward where Fyth had just been and looked around. “Who… was that?” he asked after he’d confirmed that Fyth was gone.

Someone I’d rather not talk about right now, I said. Nero knows about him. He’s… I couldn’t really call Fyth harmless, but it didn’t seem likely that he intended to harm us at the moment anyway. He’s something like an ally.

Justice eyed me doubtfully, but at last he nodded. “Very… well. Let us… move on.” He went to wake up Heather, so I moved to wake up Maxwell. As we got going, I thought about Fyth’s words. How was that supposed to be reassuring? That sounded like nothing but a threat! And a really scary one at that!

Whenever we stopped to rest, we shared information about our skills with each other, making sure Maxwell could at least pretend to command us. Summons by themselves couldn’t enter a dungeon without their Master there to approve it. It was frustrating. I’d always had Nero available to me before, so I hadn’t ever thought about it, but this world was startlingly unjust to summons. We had zero rights of our own. Even Heather, who looked mostly human, couldn’t do anything without Alicia’s permission.

Although we pushed as hard as we could, sleeping only a couple of hours at a time and driving Maxwell to exhaustion, it still took us a full two days to reach the dungeon. This one was called Castle of Bones, and the name was well-suited to its appearance. It was a tower that loomed over the edge of a large lake. It was, as described, made of bones.

However, the visible portion wasn’t part of the dungeon. Apparently, you could explore the upper floors, but it was nothing but Skeletons and Hellhounds, and it behaved like a normal castle, meaning you could exit from the entrance whenever you liked. You could even break through the walls and jump out if you really wanted. The real dungeon was in the basement.

We entered the castle and headed to the kitchen, where a half dozen adventurers with their summons and two guards sat chatting. They looked up at our entrance, gazes immediately switching to Maxwell as the sole human in our group. He stepped forward, acting as our Master. He’d sobered up nicely, and while he was still filthy, he at least looked capable. “I’d like to request entrance to Castle of Bones.”

One of the guards smiled awkwardly at him. “Sorry, but we can’t allow a party of one into the dungeon proper.”

A party of one. Only humans counted in party size. I pushed my annoyance down. This wasn’t the time.

Maxwell nodded. “I understand that, but my children are trapped in a dungeon closure. I need to evolve my summons before the dungeon opens so that I can enter as part of the rescue party.” He bowed at his waist, a full 90-degree gesture. “Please. Will any of you come with me so I can get the Demon cores and Demon Bull horn I need to evolve two of my summons?”

The adventurers present glanced at each other. At last, one of them sighed loudly and stood. “I guess we can go in with ya.” He waved his hand. “Brian, leader of Wolf’s Run, the laziest B-ranked party in all of Asteria, at your service.” At his side stood an Ice Wolf, and I noticed several other elemental wolf-type summons lounging about the kitchen. It was clear where they’d gotten their party’s name.

Maxwell straightened. “Thank you so much.”

Our plan was simple: race straight through the first three floors, then kill every Demon we came across until we had the materials to evolve me and Heather. Actually, it may be better to say that our plan was straightforward. It was easy to understand, with very few steps, but it wasn't simple at all. The very first monster we encountered was a Dark Fairy, level fifty-five. That was on floor one. We ran from it, but its magic was difficult to escape, and with every additional monster we ran past, the damage from incidental hits accumulated.

Wolf’s Run laughed manically as we ran. “Now this is a speed run!” one of them whooped.

“Who needs fighting?! We can just run! Wolf’s RUUUN!” another cheered.

I wasn’t sure lazy was the right word for them. Eccentric would be better. At least they were having fun.

Between floors, we stopped and healed. Even though we felt the pounding urgency of our Masters’ dwindling likelihood of survival urging us forward, I made us stop on the stairs and wait until we felt well-rested rather than moving on the moment we were healed. Whenever we stopped, Wolf’s Run made small talk. We learned that they’d been adventuring for almost a decade now, and they’d reached B-rank purely by accident.

“We’re strong enough for A-rank, but we just wanna take things easy, you know? None of us wanted to become adventurers in the first place, so we’re just hanging out, doin' the bare minimum till our terms’re up,” Brian told us.

“I lost my wife to a dungeon,” Maxwell told them in return. “I’ve been a terrible father ever since. My girls started adventuring and paying the bills, and I just sat there drinking.”

There was no good response to that. Eventually, one of the members of Wolf’s Run slapped him on the back. “That’s rough, but you’re doin' what you can to make up for it now, right? Good on you. Keep it up after you get your kids outta that dungeon!”

As we’d been told, there were traps scattered throughout the dungeon. For the most part, we were able to avoid them, but Maxwell disarmed them here and there when it allowed us to go more directly toward the stairs to the next level.

At the third level, our progress slowed. The first Demon Bull we encountered nearly killed Heather in its first attack, before we'd even realized it was there. Only Brian’s shout let her stop just in time to avoid the worst of the damage. Blessing! I healed her while Justice held off the Demon. It was shaped like a tortoise, but it was pitch-black, and its shadow writhed unnaturally around it. I stared at it. What part of this was a bull? Sure, its head had horns on it, but call it a Horned Tortoise then!

“Water Claw!” Wolf’s Rain joined the fight, all of them grinning like this was a game rather than a fight for our lives.

“So, you know how these guys work?” one of them asked Maxwell.

He nodded. “Yeah. Sorry. I’m rusty.”

“No worries! We’ll hold it off, you fight! Gotta unrust before you go save your kids!”

Naturally, Maxwell couldn’t properly command us. We’d shared the basics of our skills with him, so he could pretend, but it wasn’t like a Master-summon bond, where we didn’t even need to properly hear the command to act on it. Still, we did well. He really did know how Demon Bulls worked. “Luna, Blessing. Heather, boost her skills. Justice, use your defensive skills on Luna.”

We’d never even known that Justice’s defensive skills could be used on others. It wasn’t in their text. Yet, when he tried, it worked. I guess that was the difference experience made, even after the adventurer in question let himself go.

We encountered more adventurers on the fifth floor. It was an all-woman party with some horse-type summons. “Woah, Wolfy’s actually in a dungeon?” the leader said in mock amazement. “The world must be ending.”

“Shut it, Lise, this guy here needs help. Mind teamin' up for a run?”

Maxwell explained our (slightly altered) circumstances quickly and simply. The woman (Lise) and her party exchanged looks. "Sure. We’ll help get you the horn and cores you need if you let us pick up the rest of the drops." Naturally, those weren't the only items that dropped in this dungeon. Brian complained a bit, but they eventually came to an agreement that seemed to satisfy both sides.

Progress sped up again. Even just having another five people and their summons made things go faster, but they were skilled as well. "We're just here to make some money," Lise explained as we camped out overnight on the sixth floor. Her party’s name was Gold Chariot. I’d actually heard of them before. They were famous as a party of attractive women. I’d kind of assumed they’d be stuck up, maybe from my own experience with cliques back in high school and college, but aside from teasing Wolf’s Run mercilessly, they were pretty nice.

We were on the eighth floor when we obtained the Demon Bull’s horn Heather needed. Maxwell grinned and gave it to Heather, saying, “We’ll do the actual evolutions once we get out of here, of course, but she’s been looking forward to evolving, you know?” Everyone congratulated Heather, who tried her best to smile. When no one was looking, though, she cradled the horn in her hands and concentrated. I suspected she was trying to force herself to evolve. Justice and I waited, holding our breath, but after several moments, Heather's shoulders sagged and she handed me the horn. It seemed like it wasn't possible.

Demon cores were rarer, and it took us until the beginning of the tenth floor to obtain the last one I needed. Brian and his party handed it to me. "Congratulations!" they said. "Let’s get out of here so you two can evolve without worrying about gettin' ambushed!"