Arwin ripped his gaze away from the cloud of dust. Lillia was fighting to keep the Bonehemoth’s attention, and letting his emotions get in the way of killing the monster would only result in the situation degrading even further. He raced forward, his skull pounding in a furious haze, and leapt onto the monster’s massive arm bone as it raised to swat at Lillia. He dismissed Verdant Blaze and ascended the craggy surface, climbing it like a spider. Lillia’s shadows stabbed at the monster’s eyes and it roared in anger. Arwin clung onto its arm for dear life as it swung at Lillia. Her wings tucked in close to her back and she dropped, shooting past the hand and gliding up behind the monster to send more shadows stabbing at it. Beneath them, Arwin could just barely make out Anna sprinting away from the relative safety at the edge of the room toward where Rodrick had last been seen. His heart clenched and he ripped his eyes away, continuing his climb. If the Bonehemoth turned its attention away from Lillia, Anna would likely be its next target. He scaled as quickly as he dared and then some, using small bursts of power from [Scourge] to jump from bone to bone. The surface of the monster’s body was somehow simultaneously slippery and jagged. His feet only found purchase on the jagged cracks running throughout it, and keeping his balance when the whole world was moving around him was immensely difficult. Lillia was forced to dive out of the way once more and the Bonehemoth screamed. Arwin’s body locked up – and a wave of blue slammed into him, freeing him after no more than half a second. Lillia plummeted in the corner of his vision, but all Arwin could do was hope that Reya would save her in time. The Bonehemoth’s glowing eyes turned as the shadows finally stopped assaulting its head – and their gaze went right past Arwin, locking onto the easy target kneeling in the fading dust cloud. Arwin gritted his teeth, pushing his body to the max. He leapt farther with every jump, using almost all of the energy he had remaining. The Bonehemoth’s arm lifted. Arwin swirled his hands, desperately trying to keep his balance, but it was impossible. “It probably wasn’t that big when it came down here,” Arwin said wearily. “Something in the dungeon gave it enough power to evolve, and it definitely had a number of Titles and Achievements. I suspect the Mesh will let us know some of that soon enough.” “Is it just sitting around and waiting for you as well?” Reya asked. “Yeah. I owe it thanks for that. I think anything I read right now would pass right through my eyeballs without even registering,” Arwin said. “Is everyone else okay?” “Yeah. I’m fine,” Lillia said. “I don’t think we would have been if it weren’t for Reya, though.” “We’d all be dead,” Arwin said with a nod and a grimace. He’d known how useful Reya’s ability was, but he hadn’t expected it to save their lives this quickly. “You did fantastic, Reya.” “I should have broken the control on you before Lillia,” Reya said with a shake of her head. “My screw up almost got Rodrick killed.” “Everyone screws up inevitably,” Arwin said. “And Lillia was in imminent danger while I was not. You did the right thing. There’s nothing to blame yourself for, especially when nobody actually died.” Reya flopped down across from Anna and nodded mutely. It didn’t look like she’d be able to muster any more words anytime soon, and he didn’t blame her. Distant eyes spoke volumes. Reya had gotten something from the Mesh for her participation in the fight. Lillia walked over to sit next to Arwin, making a small semi-circle around Rodrick’s body as his chest rose and fell in slow breaths. Arwin’s heart still slammed in his chest like a runaway freight train. Now that the adrenaline was leaving his body, all that remained was a heavy blanket of weariness that wrapped around his shoulders and weighed down on his back. They’d won – but now that the fight had ended, his mind had nothing left to distract it. Does Rodrick have some form of Unique class or ability? I can’t claim to know every single warrior ability in existence – I don’t think anyone can – but there’s no way that glowing light was a normal warrior. His attacks were also doing more damage to the Bonehemoth than I feel like normal blows, empowered or not, should have been. He could tell by the look in Anna’s eyes that she knew what he was thinking. Her features tightened and she shook her head, a silent request to hold off on mentioning anything. Arwin wasn’t in any rush to press for more information – he had secrets of his own that he suspected wouldn’t be lasting through the night. Golden light shimmered before Arwin’s eyes. The Mesh finally decided that it had let him rest for long enough. It would be denied no longer. Golden lines shimmered through the air as if drawn by a dancing butterfly, light blooming from them and turning into words. Achievement: [Savior of the Bonehemoth] has been earned. [Savior of the Bonehemoth] – Awarded for aiding in the destruction of the Crystalline Bonehemoth and granting it peace from its agony. Effects: Your party has received access to the Bonehemoth’s Hoard. This achievement has been consumed. [Giantsbane] – Awarded for slaying a monster over ten times your height. Effects: One skill in your next Skill Selection has been upgraded to Unique. This achievement will be consumed upon choosing your next skill. Holy shit. Two Achievements? The Mesh is really raining the rewards down on us. I suppose it makes sense. That might be one of the roughest fights I’ve ever had, and we actually managed to win it. A delicate chime rang through the air. Arwin looked up as a shimmer of green energy lit in the air directly above Rodrick’s head. A loop of metal the size of a small dog emerged from it. It was followed by a thick, rusted bar and, after that, the rest of a key. Arwin’s hands shot out to grab it before the heavy metal could land on the resting warrior. “Did everyone else just get that Achievement?” Arwin asked, holding the key out before him. It was comically huge in his hands, but when compared to the Bonehemoth, it was the opposite. “I got two achievements,” Reya said. “A skill upgrade and the Savior one.” “Two here as well,” Lillia put in. “Same for me,” Anna said. “Along with other things. I went up to Apprentice 4 and got a ranged healing spell. But… did the Mesh make a mistake? I don’t think what we did could be considered saving in any sense of the word.” “It didn’t seem particularly intelligent either,” Lillia said. “Or, if it was, it was far too malicious for it to matter. That thing was doing its absolute best to kill all of us.” “You think the hoard is in that platform above the hole?” Reya asked as she squinted across the room. “Where else would it be? That’s prime treasure-hiding estate, Reya.” They all looked down as Rodrick spoke. His voice was weaker than normal, but the cheeky grin on his lips told them that he was alright. “Rodrick!” Anna exclaimed, pulling him up into a tight embrace and pressing her lips to his. She said something muffled, then pulled back and cleared her throat. “Are you okay?” “Thanks to you, yes,” Rodrick said. “I knew you’d save my ass. You always do.” “Idiot,” Anna said. “What if you’d gotten crushed? If the hand was just a little higher up…” “It wasn’t. That’s all that matters. I took the risk. If I hadn’t, I suspect Arwin would be a pancake. It didn’t seem like he had any way to throw off the paralysis and Reya’s ability has a limit to how fast she can use it.” “Rodrick’s right. He saved my life,” Arwin said. “I owe you one.” “Hey, we’re a guild, right? That’s what mates are for. Also, I got two Achievements. If all I have to do for that is nearly die, I think I’m going to do it a whole lot more.”