Chapter 16: Competition

The way down was simple enough that the path didn’t need to be marked. Vivi descended down the next set of stairs, onto another similarly decorated floor of bones. Two more demons were waiting for monsters to respawn in the room.

This time, Vivi didn’t stop to chat. The demons glared at her as she calmly walked past, deeper into the dungeon.

By the seventh room, having descended four stairways and tens of demons waiting for monsters to respawn, Vivi finally found action. The cavern was wide and a little more colorful than the ones before it. Greenery attempted to grow from between cracks in the ground. Weeds, mostly. Anything valuable had been picked, and the remaining vegetation was trampled.

By the back of the cavern, Vivi spotted ether-auras. Not a lot of them, but monsters nonetheless. Half a dozen skeletons were gathered near the back, swinging swords. The skeletons’ ether auras were slightly larger than the first ether stick’s. Each monster dueled a demon.

The demons here were clearly stronger than Jorr. The demons wielded blades or clubs of their own, and their muscles were larger.

Vivi stepped closer cautiously. Ten or so more demons were spread across the cavern, some standing around waiting, others sitting atop their backpacks. Were they waiting for more monsters to respawn?

“Back!” a demon suddenly called.

Vivi froze, realizing the order was for her. A tall demon with sharp horns and orange skin stood between her and the ongoing fight. “Stay back,” he said. “You’re not stealing a single wisp of our ether.”

“Sorry, I’m new,” Vivi said, hoping her ignorance would be forgiven. “I thought this was the free dungeon?”

“It is,” orange-skin said. “But this fight has been claimed by us. The monsters respawned next to our group. That marks this as our fight. The closest group to a respawning monster gets the right to fight.”

“This wasn’t written in the rules,” Lucius said.

Fighting is allowed in the dungeon, Vivi thought. This must be an unofficial rule.

“I see,” Vivi said. “Thanks. I don’t want any trouble.”

“Then I recommend you stay off,” orange-skin said. “This floor is well contested, as you can see. It’s better for everyone if you find a floor with less people. One of the upper levels will work well for a beginner. Where are your weapons?”

“I’m just looking,” Vivi said. “To know what I’m working with.”

“You’ve seen what you need to see,” orange-skin said. “Get back to the hub before someone tortures what little ether you have out of you. People are desperate. Buy a weapon, and fight on the upper levels.”

“We’ll never gain ether fighting on the upper levels,” Lucius said. “We should head deeper.”

You’re right, Vivi thought. The upper levels aren’t worth it. But I think we’re still too weak to head any deeper. The demons here are already strong. We might need a different approach.

“Thank you,” Vivi said to the orange-skin. “I’m glad not everyone here is hostile.”

The orange-skin frowned. “Get out.”

Vivi lowered her head, then turned around.

She had taken no less than twenty steps when something rattled next to her feet. A clump of bones grinded against each other, activity spurring out of nowhere. Vivi took a step back and watched.

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Ether reanimated the clump of bones. There was no ether surge; ether merely appeared from the ground. The bones rose, and a skeletal figure formed. A sword of pure misty ether appeared in its hands as the monster faced Vivi.

It lunged. Vivi dodged.

“This is our fight!” Lucius shouted. “It spawned next to us!”

Vivi’s heart began racing. This was bad. She wasn’t prepared. She had no weapon to fight. Using Lucius’s claws would reveal her powers in front of too many people. The skeleton’s swings were clumsy. Vivi dodged, staying nearby, but didn’t make a run for it.

Demons around her watched intently. They knew she was in trouble, and were prepared for any opportunity to steal her kill.

Lucius, empower my muscles! Vivi thought. Give me as much strength as you can without the others seeing.

“Good plan,” Lucius thought.

Ether flowed through Vivi’s body, strengthening her. Lucius shaped ether to empower her arms, as well as her supporting muscles. The 98 ether wasn’t a lot, but Vivi felt faster, more powerful.

She maneuvered around the skeleton’s clumsy swings easily. Its skeletal arms gained momentum slowly, and the skeleton wasn’t nimble enough to stop its sword from clanking against the ground. Each time a swing hit the floor, the skeleton took a second to lift its weapon.

Vivi could use the opportunity. The sword missed again, clanking against the ground. Before it could lift the weapon, Vivi tackled the skeleton with her shoulder, pushing the being to the ground.

The skeleton clanked against the ground, but its bones held. It was sturdy. The sword stayed in its grip.

Getting up, however, proved to be the skeleton’s weakness. It pushed up with one arm.

Its defenses were totally open. Lucius redirected ether to Vivi’s lower body. She kicked the skeleton in the back of the head, knocking it back on the ground. Then, she kicked at the skeleton’s weapon arm, attacking the wrist.

By the third kick, the skeleton lost its grip on the sword. The weapon fell on the ground.

Vivi seized the weapon for herself, then drove it through the skeleton’s head. With enhanced strength, the ethereal sword passed straight through.

She did it. The kill was hers. The skeleton turned back into an immobile clump of bones. The sword disintegrated in Vivi’s hands. Ether sizzled on the corpse, ready to be collected.

The wisps flew past the air, straight into the core of a nearby demon.

“Thief!” Lucius shouted in her head. “This asshole stole our ether!”

The thief was a bald demon, far bulkier than Vivi. His skin was scorched and horns long. The demon faced Vivi, as if ready to fight. Even with Lucius’s ether, Vivi didn’t think she was any match for him, especially if he had ether of his own.

“I killed the monster,” Vivi said. “Stealing ether is not allowed, no?”

“It’s not encouraged,” the demon said with a wide grin. “Will you fight me for it?”

Vivi stared at him. She kept her composure ostensibly.

“You fought well,” the demon said. “But you’re weak. You should know your place.”

Vivi gave him a frown, then turned around, back toward the hub.

“No, Vivi, this is wrong,” Lucius said. “He stole our ether! We can beat him. Let’s fight!”

Fighting him is suicide, Vivi thought. He’s a bully. People like him are never alone. If you beat up a bully, they bring friends. Suddenly, you’re the one who gets beat up. It’s not worth it. We’ll have to give up a few ether if it means saving ourselves.

Lucius clearly didn’t want to agree. Vivi sensed him sulking. But he didn’t argue.

Let’s head back to the hub, Vivi thought. We don’t know enough about how this place operates. Uundref barely told us anything. We need a weapon somehow.

“Do you claim my claws aren’t enough?” Lucius asked. “My powers will continue to grow. A weapon won’t.”

Your claws are good, but we can’t use them while people are watching, Vivi thought. Holding a weapon will make us look more competent. Demons will be more hesitant to fight us if we carry a sword.

Vivi stepped back upstairs, feeling everything but eager to start her new life.

I still feel like I’m being watched, Vivi thought. Let’s be careful.