Without warning, the wolf leapt at Alicia. She wanted desperately to throw up a barrier, to hide away from this monster, but she fought that instinct and instead raised her staff. Gripping it tight on the other side, she intercepted the beast’s attack by shoving it into the beast’s jaw. It barked and snarled as it tried to bite down, its massive size nearly throwing Alicia to the ground, but she reinforced her stance by rooting her feet. Her heart pounding, she desperately pushed back against the wolf, hoping she was buying time for the others to act.

  Tabitha appeared in her vision, her speed making her a nondescript blur as she buried her sword deep in the monster’s side. It fell to the ground, but kept snarling as it tried to kick her off.

  Alicia was shocked that Tabitha’s strike hadn’t mortally wounded the creature, but she had a feeling she knew what kept it fighting. Mixed with the blood that poured from the monster was a collection of fungal spores and roots, and she had to fight the urge to gag as she leapt back into action herself. She threw her weight behind her staff and struck at the wolf’s head, trying to disorient it enough for Tabitha to finish the job.

  The Foxgirl withdrew her bde, then redoubled her efforts to finish off the wolf. The speed of her attacks was incredible, and it reinforced just how much she’d been holding back when fighting Alicia.

  “Two more fnking us!” Kat shouted. Hurried music erupted from her guitar, and Alicia heard a discharge of magic as well. She turned around in a panic, and caught sight of Katrina taking to the air as her music threw another wolf several dozen feet away. The third wolf had leapt at the Vampire as well, but she managed to narrowly dodge its strike as she flew higher, weaving between the lower branches of the trees surrounding them.

  Leaving the first wolf to Tabitha, Alicia stood up and ran to intercept the new monsters. She summoned a barrier between them and the wolf Kat had knocked away, hoping to dey its return to the battle, then brought down her staff on the remaining foe. Between the thick fur and heavy fungal ptes, she feared that her blunt stuff wouldn’t hurt it much, but she threw everything she had into her strikes.

  The second wolf, the one Alicia had blocked off, rounded a tree and began charging at her. Just then, another melody sprang forth from Katrina’s guitar as she nded safely behind Alicia. The charging wolf immediately tripped over itself, staggering back and forth as Kat induced vertigo.

  The distraction of the attack had left Alicia exposed, however, and the wolf in front of her swiped at her legs. She managed to summon a barrier at the st second, which blunted the attack somewhat, but its thick cws still managed to graze her ankle.

  She winced for a moment, then tried to swing her staff at the wolf. It ducked under her attack, then leapt at her and forced her to the ground. She tried to wedge her staff in its mouth like she had with the first wolf, but missed. Her weapon now pushing against its neck, it took all of Alicia’s strength to hold back the monster’s fearsome jaw while it snarled and snapped, trying to bite at her neck.

  Several feet away, Alicia heard the first wolf gasp its st breath, followed by a series of impossibly quick footsteps. Tabitha leapt at the monster pinning Alicia to the ground, knocking it on its side. The wolf yelped with surprise as the Foxgirl’s bde sank deep into its infected body, and Alicia quickly crawled to her feet.

  She took a moment to check on Katrina, whose magic was still disorienting the third wolf. She was safely in the air, but Alicia knew that every moment she spent flying was a waste of precious mana.

  Alicia summoned a series of barriers to box in the disoriented monster, then nodded at Kat to nd. She then turned her attention to Tabitha, who winced as she jumped back from the wolf. Alicia could see heavy cw marks on the front of Tabitha’s armor, but thankfully no blood was visible.

  Deciding this needed to end quickly, Alicia ran towards the monster as it attempted to stand up. She summoned a thick barrier at the end of her staff, then readjusted her grip and tried to bludgeon it back to the ground. She threw her entire body into the attack, and while she ended slightly off bance, she managed to knock the wolf down again. It snarled as it hit the ground, its massive paws filing in an attempt to push Alicia away. One of its cws clipped her thigh, and she continued to summon more barriers from the ground, hoping they would help hold the creature still.

  Her distraction gave Tabitha the space she needed to return to the battle, and her bdes went to work trying to finish the monster off. A few seconds ter, with the combined efforts of the two of them, they managed to reduce the wolf to a puff of smoke, a small handful of loot falling to the ground.

  There was an uncomfortable twitch in Alicia’s mind, and her attention got pulled back to the barriers holding the st creature in pce. It was thrashing about, trying to escape, which had damaged her barriers.

  “Dropping them, get ready!” Alicia shouted.

  There was a quick nod, from both Katrina and Tabitha, and Alicia released her barriers. The wolf was now free, from both its prison and its vertigo, and set its sights on the group.

  Alicia charged first, continuing to hold the wolf back so that Tabitha could get into position. This wolf seemed less eager to charge her directly, however, and instead tried to cw and bite at her feet. She did her best to parry its advances with her staff, and even used her Racial Features to tangle the monster’s back legs with roots and vines. It was able to break free retively easily, but the tiny slivers of distraction helped Alicia keep control of its movements.

  With her distraction a success, Tabitha closed the distance and began sshing at the beast, but this time Kat joined in as well. Her short sword in hand, she ran to the other side of the monster and tried to take out its legs.

  The wolf wasn’t held down, unfortunately, and yelped in pain before managing to leap back from the group. It retreated a dozen feet away, where it gred and snarled at the party. They circled each other slowly, Alicia trying to find the right time to charge the wolf and knock it down, when the monster pulled a leg back in pain.

  A series of ssh marks appeared on its front legs, and Alicia looked to her side to see Tabitha swinging her swords, their edges blurred with magic. This was the opening Alicia needed, and she rushed the wolf to try and secure the kill. It tried to intercept her attack, but at the st second, one of Tabitha’s magic sshes tore into its leg, and it fell to the ground. Alicia jumped into the air, the end of her staff growing thicker and heavier, and she brought it down on the monster’s fungal-infested head.

  Bits of mushroom pting scattered as her attack nded, and in one st puff of smoke, the wolf vanished.

  There was another burst of loot, but Alicia was more focused on catching her breath. She fell to her knees with a gasp of relief, her heart racing, and she ughed quietly to herself.

  “We… we did it!” Alicia said, looking back at her friends.

  Tabitha sheathed her swords before taking one st look around the cluttered forest clearing. “That was… wow. What a rush!” She crouched down where the second monster had vanished and started picking up loot, digging through the leaves and vines to find it.

  “How are you feeling? Are you hurt? What’s your HP at?” Kat said, rushing to Alicia’s side.

  With a flirtatious giggle, Alicia grabbed the back of Katrina’s neck and pulled their foreheads together. “I’m fine, Kat, I promise. Besides, it’s my job to take the hits so you don’t, isn’t it? I’m a Tank!” They kissed quickly, and it was impossible not to notice how nervous Kat seemed. Alicia wanted to keep reassuring her, but a noise in her head pulled her attention away.

  PING

  “Alicia? What is it?” Kat asked, worry creeping into her voice.

  “I leveled up! I hit Level Three!” Alicia said, bouncing in excitement.

  “Hey, congrats, Cherry Blossom!” Tab said, walking closer. “Fantastic timing, too. Whatever you pick up now will help us for the rest of this run!”

  “Shouldn’t we wait until we get home?” Kat asked. “We have no service down here, so we can’t help her look up abilities if she doesn’t know what they are. I’d hate to see her get stuck with a useless ability just because she picked one at random.”

  Alicia reached out for her girlfriend’s hand and squeezed it tight. “I’ll be okay, Kat. I did a bit of research earlier, and I even made a post about it in a Bulwark forum. I found a bunch of information about the different abilities and skill trees, and I’ve been reviewing it pretty consistently over the st few days.”

  An obvious look of hesitation crossed Katrina’s face, but she ultimately relented. “Alright, if you feel ready, then let’s do this.”

  With an excited grin, Alicia mentally reached for her Status and began the Level Up process.

  ***

  Choose One:

  Unmoving

  Wall of Thorns

  Deadwood

  Battering Ram

  ***

  “Oh, that’s… interesting,” Alicia said.

  “What’s wrong?” Kat asked.

  “I only recognize two of these: Unmoving and Battering Ram. Unmoving gives my barriers extra resilience against attacks, while Battering Ram gives me the ability to use barriers more offensively, charging them at monsters. There are two other options here, though, and it sounds like they’re Race-specific: Wall of Thorns and Deadwood.”

  “I’ve never heard of those either,” Kat said, sitting down next to Alicia. “I’ve been a little wrapped up in my own Css the st few days, unfortunately.”

  “I’m not the most up-to-date delver, if I’m being honest. Most of my pns for my Css have come from my chat; they’re constantly pitching me different guides for Mage Knights, making bets on what I might take when I level up, stuff like that.” Tab still sounded like she was combing the area for loot as she spoke.

  “Alright, so, time to make an educated guess.” Alicia stared at her Status screen, trying to figure out what the new options might be.

  “Ugh, this is exactly what I was afraid of.” Kat picked up Alicia’s hand and squeezed it.

  “Still, the names might be helpful,” Alicia started. “Deadwood sounds like a defensive ability, if I had to guess. Like, maybe it would let me make extra barriers that are weaker, since the wood isn’t as healthy. Wall of Thorns, though, sounds more offensive. Honestly, that’s a pretty tempting option. What if it just literally turns my barriers into walls of thorns? Then we’d have another source of damage, and Tab wouldn’t need to do all the heavy lifting.”

  “But it could be something else,” Kat said. “What if turning your walls into thorns removes all their defensive capabilities?”

  “Could a Css Feature do that? Completely change the main purpose of a Css?”

  “Oh yeah,” Tabitha said, joining the two girls on the ground. “I’ve heard it’s not very common, but anything is possible. Remember, our Csses weren’t programmed by friendly game developers that want a challenging, but ultimately fair, experience. There are literally Csses with Self-Destruct Abilities that… well, let’s say that’s the kind of Ability you only use once. And someone had to test it out before we knew that.”

  A shiver ran up Alicia’s spine. “Oof, point taken. Still, I think it’s a safe bet. Unmoving would be nice, but it doesn’t give me more options when we’re fighting. Now that we’ve actually been through our first fight, I think it would be nice to have something offensive.”

  “What about Battering Ram? That sounds like it’s exactly what you want,” Kat said.

  “I mean, you’re not wrong, but… well, honestly, I’m not sure it’s the kind of thing I’d be able to use effectively. I had trouble splitting my focus against the wolves, and you already have a spell that lets you shove things away. These monsters were also covered with thick fur and fungal pting, which made my staff strikes feel incredibly unhelpful. I was thinking of asking about attaching a bde to my staff, but if I could summon thorns, that might solve the issue.”

  Although Alicia couldn’t see—her vision was still eclipsed by her Status—she felt Katrina slide closer. They squeezed each other’s hands again, then the Vampire spoke up. “I’m in favor of whatever you want. Even if we don’t know the specifics, it doesn’t sound like the kind of Feature that would completely ruin your Css.”

  “I’m with Fangs on this one,” Tab said. “More defense keeps us safer, but a way to fight back means the monsters have less time to hit us. I think all of those Features would be helpful.”

  Alicia nodded. “Thanks, you two. I’m going with Wall of Thorns, it just feels right.”

  With a bit of mental focus, Alicia directed her Status to choose Wall of Thorns as her next Css Feature. The Level Up screen vanished, and she was left staring at her regur Status, now with one additional Feature.

  “Hm,” Alicia muttered. “I don’t feel any different.”

  Tabitha ughed. “You normally don’t unless you’re taking something real crazy or getting some Stats. You gotta try it out!”

  With a nod, Alicia closed her Status and stood up. “That’s a good idea. I’m going to take this slow and start by summoning a regur barrier.” She reached out a hand, gesturing at the ground a few feet in front of her. A barrier quickly sprang into existence, a series of roots and vines, and it felt no different than the st hundred times she’d done so. A close inspection revealed that the barrier didn’t look any different, either. She didn’t see any thorns, or anything simirly aggressive.

  “Alright, well, my normal barriers haven’t changed.”

  “That’s good!” Kat said, hugging Alicia from behind. “That means we’ve avoided the worst-case scenario!”

  With a quick flourish, Alicia dispelled the barrier. She then refocused on the same spot, only this time she tried to activate Wall of Thorns. As the pnt life and detritus began to stir, she felt a small surge of energy race through her body, ending at her outstretched hand before it vanished completely.

  The second barrier appeared, and the difference between her Features was immediately obvious. Instead of a solid wall of pnt matter, this new wall was a collection of thick vines, all of them completely covered with harsh, elongated barbs. They didn’t block vision like her normal barriers; in fact, the rge vines had enough space between them that smaller creatures might be able to squeeze through with only minimal harm.

  The other notable feature was the rge, bulbous pods positioned randomly throughout the wall. Alicia moved closed, her mind racing through years of pnt research, as she tried to pce what these were.

  With a small gasp, Alicia pieced it together. “Kat, look at this! These are hura crepitans fruit!”

  “Alicia, you know I can’t remember all these pnt names,” Kat said, cautiously stepping closer. “What do they do?”

  “Pretty much all pnts have ways of propagating themselves, and the hura crepitans has an incredibly unique method. When their fruits are fully ripe, they burst open with incredible force, scattering their seeds. It literally sounds like an explosion, and getting hit by the seeds can be horribly painful.”

  “So… not only is this full of thorns, but it also explodes?” Tabitha said, stepping back.

  “I mean, it certainly looks that way. The thing is, in combat, we’re probably not going to be waiting for the fruit to ripen. However, the fruits can also explode due to outside interference. If someone tries to force their way through this wall, it’ll blow up in their face!”

  “Alright, I’m sold. That sounds really cool!” Katrina said.

  “Just be careful, alright Cherry Blossom?” Tab asked, stepping closer. “If there’s gonna be shrapnel flying everywhere, I’d rather it not be aimed at me.”

  “I’ll need to get some practice in, obviously. I wonder if I can aim the fruit outward, to minimize the bst radius…” Alicia stepped up towards her Wall of Thorns, tracing her fingers over the vines as she ruminated on her new css ability. When she was finished, and the barrier had been dispelled, the group took a few minutes to reflect on their fight with the wolves.

  While it hadn’t been perfect, they’d still escaped with retively minor injuries and a small collection of loot. No new pieces of the Bean yet, unfortunately, but a quaint handful of copper and various crafting materials.

  Katrina started up some healing Inspiration, and once everyone was ready, they began pressing deeper into the Dungeon.

  —

  "What did she do?!"

  You mean Tabitha?

  "Did she give you metal? METAL?!"

  Well, yeah. I had a feeling she wasn't being honest, but you weren't here, so...

  "Ugh, she has no respect for the cssics. Anyways, how about we get back on track this time? Today I wanted to highlight Fingals H?hle by Joseph Kaspar Mertz. It's a bit of a simpler song, but I love the way it escates. It starts nice and slow, and continues to grow louder and more energetic as the tension rises, just like our first delve!"

  It's a wonderful song, Kat. I'll make sure Tabitha doesn't swap out any more recommendations, alright?

  "Oh, I don't think she'll be making any more appearances. That was a special, one-time thing since I was on her stream. Ugh, I still can't believe her. I mean, I've got nothing against metal, but here I am trying to educate everyone and expand their musical horizons, and she comes in here with her metal and her sass and..."

  Uh, bye, I guess?

  Nyx <3