Chapter 8

“Are we almost there?” Lucas groaned from a few paces behind Caleb at the back of the group.

They’d been walking the entirety of the day now and the sun was starting to dip below the far horizon, painting the peaks in oranges and reds, like bloody teeth. Besides a few fights that Caleb had promptly handled, the trek had been rather uneventful. Most people would consider that a good thing, but Caleb couldn’t stop thinking about how much time he was wasting. He should be training, fighting, killing, getting stronger, not ferrying a group of people he didn’t even like to the place he’d just left.

At least most of them had the wherewithal not to talk too much. Besides a few groans and moans of pain, Tyler hadn’t said a word. He was currently holding onto Caleb’s back, being carried like a child. He’d started out walking, but it only aggravated the wound in his thigh further. Even for an injured person, this wouldn’t be an easy hike. Caleb had had to force him to get on his back so they wouldn’t be setting a snail’s pace. They still were, but now it was like a fast snail.

Angela had returned to being silent, yelping at the first sign of danger, and sniffling from the middle of the group. Some people, when faced with danger, rose to the challenge, others cowed and broke down. She was obviously the latter. Even if she got out of the Dungeon alive, and that was a big if, she would never adapt to this world.

The only one that wasn’t actively annoying Caleb was Chloe. She walked beside him, silent, head on a swivel, and obeyed orders without question. A few times, she’d even spotted monsters before Caleb.

It really made Caleb question what someone like her was doing with the rest of her group.

“Hey,” Lucas yelled, jogging up next to Caleb. Before the System had arrived, the few times they’d met, Lucas had been a couple inches taller than Caleb, but now he barely made it to Caleb’s eyeline. Hooray for magical System bullshit!

“Did you hear me? The sun’s going down. If we aren’t nearly to wherever it is you’re taking us, we should find somewhere else to camp.”

Caleb glanced toward Lucas. “Scared of the dark? I thought you could handle yourself.” He kept walking, not slowing his pace in the slightest.

Tyler groaned from Caleb’s back. “He’s right. We don’t want to get caught out in the open, defenseless.”

“You’re not defenseless. You have me.”

It quickly became evident to everyone that the plan wasn’t up for debate and the rest of their protests died in their throats.

They were cresting the final cliff before the blue mountain would come into view. At their current pace, another three or so hours and they’d arrive. A cold, blistering wind ripped at them, sending up flurries of snow. Despite wearing basically no clothing, Caleb was unaffected by it. But that didn’t go for the others.

Tyler squirmed his body against Caleb, like a weird fleshy backpack, trying his best to stay warm. The others were doing little better, teeth chattering, lips losing color, arms rubbing at their arms, desperate for an ounce of warmth.

Caleb stopped, staring out toward the blue mountain as it came into view. Something caught his attention – a faint flicker of cerulean blue on the mountain side. It appeared to be glowing. What the hell was that? He rubbed his eyes and squinted, trying to get a better look, but it was already gone.

Huh? Am I imagining things? I swear I saw something.

Whatever. Now was no time for daydreaming. The blue mountain was still roughly two miles away. Two miles of harsh, jagged drops and deadly steep inclines. They might not make it before serious frostbite sets–

“Incoming.” Chloe pointed her salvaged boggart spear out over the mountain ridge – to the east, opposite where he’d seen the light, and Caleb saw them.

Boggart
Aether Level 8

Direwolf
Aether Level 11

Ice Troll
Aether Level 17

It was one of the largest scouting parties he’d seen yet. Well over a dozen boggarts, four grey wolves padding through the snow, and to top it all off, a troll, two thick chunks of solid blue ice in its hands. And they were headed straight for them. They’d been spotted. This should be bad – that troll was the highest level creature he’d face yet, but… why couldn’t he stop smiling?

“See? See, we told you.” Tyler started whining from atop Caleb’s back, so he pawned the crippled boy off to Lucas, who then also started whining.

“Just stay here,” Caleb growled. “I’ll deal with this.”

With a thunderclap of air, Caleb shot himself ahead, spirit arms materializing and slamming the ground, bounding him forward like a sprinting panther. He passed the distance in mere seconds, crashing into the scouting party and ripping two boggarts to crimson ribbons.

There was that beautiful sensation again. The same one he’d gotten from climbing during his life before. He was already starting to lose himself in the thrill of the fight, the euphoric adrenaline, and it had only just begun. Monsters surrounded him, rushing in from every direction, claws, teeth, and weapons ready to pierce his skin, bleed him out. He could feel it already. He could taste it on his tongue. Let them come.

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A pulse of feeling thrummed within his being. Like someone had plucked the cord of a harp that was buried in deep his chest. It reverberated throughout his entire body before washing out of him in every direction like a burst of hot air.

The wave of invisible force crashed over everything around him. He watched as the boggarts stumbled, eyes going wide, tripping as the strength in their legs failed. Their faces hit the snow with pitiful squeals and puffs of icy snow. The wolves ground to a halt, their claws digging into the ground, ears going flat to their necks, fur standing on end like they were cowering mutts. All at once, everything stopped.

What the hell?

Everything except the troll.