It was te in the afternoon when the party turned back for the surface, the staircase for the fourth floor still eluding them. The long curving path actually double backed, coming out into that intersection where they fought the goblins from multiple directions. They made their way back to the surface, only a few roaming groups slowing them down.

  John's exhaustion was building up, and he was regretting not having sex one more time to get that quest reward. He didn't want to ask Nanael to do it in the tent though, as he was uncomfortable with the thought of doing anything with the rest of the party around. Just because they all agreed to be part of his harem didn't suddenly make him comfortable with the thought of them listening to him make love to his fiancée.

  Still, they were making progress in the dungeon, and he already managed hit level eight. He wanted to make it down to the fifth floor before they returned to the guild for a couple days off, this leveling would be a marathon, not a sprint. He was more interested in the spells and skills he could learn here than the levels anyways, as he could bring them back to other worlds.

  Still, I need the strength the levels provide here though.

  "Travel takes a fair amount of time. When we go deeper, do we just stay down there?" He asked Shallia, who was walking next to him.

  "Yep! Nya! Depending on the dungeon, you usually stay inside it for a few days, looking for treasure and collecting magic stones. The way this pce is going though, I think the next time we come we should just stay down for the whole time. These floors are gigantic." She said, skipping along beside him.

  He just shook his head at her seemingly endless energy. They had been moving most of the day and she seemed fresh as she was when they started. He looked over at Evie, and was slightly relieved that at least one of their party members seemed nearly as tired as he was.

  They made it to the entrance without much trouble, only a couple encounters with small groups of goblins. As they stepped out into the evening air, suddenly John was flying sideways, blue hair filling his vision. He felt something hard hit his thigh.

  "AMBUSH! BACK TO THE DUNGEON!" Nanael shouted, then all pandemonium broke out. Arrows started nding around John, some deflecting off his breastpte. He tried to stand, but then someone pushed him down, a solid wall of steel moving between him and the ambushers.

  "COVERING. SHALLIA! Pick him up and lets move!" Terra shouted.

  "Got it! Sorry Hon, but we need to get you to safety." Shallia said, and then tossed him over her shoulders.

  "Evie, cast Wind Wall." He called out, not wanting to be completely useless as he became cargo.

  He looked towards the ambushers, trying to get a idea of their numbers. There were at least thirty of them, all burly men in assorted metal and leather armour, brandishing swords and crossbows. Seeing that, he knew it was dumb luck those bolts gnced off his armour instead of penetrating through.

  That Monster Luck skill seems to be doing something anyways.

  The ambushers had unleashed their shots, and after their remaining arrows his Evie's Wind Wall, they dropped their crossbows and started rushing towards the party with swords drawn. However they were too slow, and the party made it back into the dungeon.

  "Nanael, we need to get deeper, see if we can lose them, even for a bit." He said, getting down off Shallia, salvaging a bit of his dignity.

  "Right! Shallia, take point, Terra take the rear. Everyone else between them. Head down to the third floor. I will meet you there in a few hours." She said, drawing her daggers.

  "Meet us? What are you doing?" John asked, confused at what was happening.

  Nanael came over to him and kissed him on the lips. He kissed her back, but it only sted a moment. "Some morons decided they were going to attack my fiancée. I think they need their numbers culled. Don't argue, just go with my love. I will see you soon."

  "Alright good luck. I love you." He said.

  She winked at him and suddenly shimmered and disappeared.

  "You heard her, lets go!" He said, and they started jogging.

  He was worried, of course he was worried, but she was one of the strongest people in Meritoni. She would be fine.

  That is what he kept telling himself, he had no other choice in the matter.

  Dungeon - First Floor

  The mercenaries, initially deyed from entering the dungeon by the wall of wind the mage casted, retrieved their weapons and waited for the spell to end. Then they swarmed in, thirty-five men hungry to capture the women and kill their target.

  They were not berserkers, charging in blindly, but cold, calcuting, being methodical in their search. They started splitting up when they found branching paths, groups of five splitting off to check every route, every nook and cranny of the first floor.

  Another group remained at the exit, making sure their prey couldn't circle behind them to escape. An armoured man with a spiked pauldron led this group, messengers coming from the different teams, reporting their progress to him.

  "Sir, we have found the stairs to the second floor! Team three is awaiting orders to proceed or not." A messenger reported.

  "Tell them to guard it for now. Once we determine they are not hiding on this floor, we will move up." The man replied.

  "Yes Sir!" The messenger said, then darted off, returning to his team.

  The man paced around the room while awaiting further reports. One by one teams would report in, some sending messengers, some returning, already finished mapping out their routes. It was going much slower than he expected, the size of this dungeon much rger than any he had ever been in before.

  "Any word from team two?" He asked his second in command. The remaining teams had already returned to the entrance, ready to move to the second floor.

  "No Sir. We had only one message from them saying they were exploring a couple branching paths." His second replied, adjusting the crossbow hanging at his waist.

  "Hmm." The man thought for a few moments, considering a few possibilities. "Leave team five here, then we will move up to the second floor stairs. Once team two finishes, have them both join us on the second floor. Make sure no one travels alone from now on, even to go take a leak."

  "You think it's that Rabbitman?" His second asked.

  "I know it is. We will reorganize the groups on the second floor. It will be slower, but it is better than having an assassin picking off our men one by one as we search for the main group." The man said, remembering how the Rabbitman had nearly caught him from across a square when he was hidden in a darkened room on a third floor of a building. He wasn't going to underestimate her.

  "Yes Sir." The second said, then went to rey the orders to the men.

  So this was your apprentice Galba? Wonder how she will fare against me.

  A grim smile appeared on the mans face, dark thoughts filled of the things he would do to that man's apprentice.

  Dungeon - Third Floor

  The party made it down to the third floor and John was completely exhausted, the adrenaline from the fight long since dissipated, his mind turning to mush. He was leaning on Terra, using her as support as they moved down the staircase. She had a concerned look on her face, but didn't say anything. There was nothing really to say.

  "Well we are here, Nya! Any thoughts on where we should go?" Shallia asked the group, spinning her staff around.

  "We need somewhere that John can rest. Evie, can you use your Earth magic to carve us out a hole somewhere?" Terra asked the mage.

  "I can try but dungeon walls are notoriously difficult to manipute. Digging a hole for all of us will take a lot of time and most of my remaining mana." She replied, pulling her staff off her back.

  Digging? Wait I can do that!

  "Listen, get me down that long tunnel, I have something that will help us dig a hole and build a temporary fortification." He said.

  "What can you do?" Evie asked, thinking she knew all of John's magic already.

  "This. Dig!" He said, then casted his ability on the wall beside them. A one foot cubic block of the dungeon wall popped out and sat on the floor beside them.

  "What kind of magic is this?" Evie asked, poking the brick he made.

  "One of my special abilities. It doesn't follow the same rules elemental magic does... in fact it just... works." He said, losing his train of thought for a moment. "Just get us somewhere I can use this, and I can make a bunch of... holes... god my head... I am... where are we?"

  "John! What is wrong?" A tall woman in armour asked him, concerned ced in her voice.

  "Wow, you are tall. Tall, beautiful... and your eyes... Are you single? I... wait... am I single? Why are we in a cave? Who are you all?" He said. Something was wrong... terribly wrong... He knew he was suppose to be here, but wasn't he supposed to be on a spaceship? Or in a park trying to save a dying child... or was he carrying groceries home...

  "I... I think I am lost and need a nap. Is there a bench or something nearby... I can make my way home once I get a little... rest." He said, still leaning on the tall woman.

  "Pick him up Terra, standing around here isn't helping us. Let him rest a bit and maybe his mind will come back to us. Shallia, lead the way, Iris, you and Quackers bring up the rear. " A short woman with a giant hat said beside John.

  John was picked up by the tall woman that the short one called... Terra? His thoughts were becoming less viscous, and he wasn't able to concentrate. He just knew he was being princess carried again, first by his fiancée, now this one.

  "Wait... I have a fiancée! I probably shouldn't be held by another woman." He said to the one holding him.

  "Yes you do, and Nanael won't mind. She brought us here for you, you know." Terra told him, slowly walking down the corridor.

  "Really? She sounds like a nice dy... just like my wife was... oh... I had a wife... and kids... and grandkids... I think they were your age when I died. Wait I died? A truck hit me... then... I am so confused." He said, his thoughts drifting.

  "Easy John. You need rest... we can talk when you wake up." Terra said to him, her voice quite calming to him.

  "Sure beautiful dy, whatever you say... I'll just have a nap now... wake me up in ten... no twenty minutes, then we can go home." he said, and closed his eyes. All he needed was a little nap...

  Dungeon - First Floor

  Nanael wiped her daggers on the corpses tunic, then sheathed them. She looked around the tunnel, making sure the rest of the corpses were in fact corpses now and not pretending to be dead. She waited a minute listening, her hearing strong enough to hear a heart beat in this silence. That's all she heard though, silence.

  She tracked down this group of five mercenaries and stalked them, waiting for the prime opportunity to strike. Went they split their party to check two paths simultaneously, she followed the smaller group, taking one down instantly, then capturing the other for questioning. He sang after a few minutes, giving her all the information she needed, so she ended his suffering quickly. She then moved on to the remaining mercenaries, cutting the throat out of the one in the rear then fading into the darkness.

  The final two, when they realized their comrade was dead, tried to rush back, but she cut them off, stabbing the first one in the neck and burying a couple throwing knives into the back of the other. He was made of sterner stuff than his buddies though, and charged her, his sword swinging.

  They dueled for a few moments, but it was clear he was weaker than her, the attempted assault more desperate than poised. She caught his sword on her dagger, then moved under his guard, jabbing her other dagger under his chin, stabbing upwards into the mans brain.

  This fight was over, but she needed to move. She was going to slowly wear down the enemies numbers as much as she could before they found the rest of the party. From what she could tell, the weakest of this group was on level with Terra, the stronger ones about the same as Evie, though it was hard to compare fighter types with mages.

  She turned invisible again, moving towards the second floor stairs. She would see what chaos she could sow down their before rejoining the party.

  Just keep him safe girls... that is all that really matters.