BANG!

Penelope bolted upright.

"It's only someone knocking at the door." Jeru's voice helped her focus. "And before you ask, no, I don't know who it is, because I can't see through walls."

"Pen!" Patrick's gruff voice was muffled as he attempted to be quiet, despite the knocking on her bedroom door. "I know you're awake! Come on!"

Penelope rubbed her eyes as she pulled on her new orange robe. While they still hadn't found a robe that increased Magic by more than 1, her Magic had been 41, but it could only be raised to 40, so she'd traded the Tier Zero gear for [Earthen Robe]. It only gave her 2 points of Recovery, and that wasn't enough to bring her Recovery up to 20, but it boosted her mana regeneration, which was enough to make it worth upgrading to.

"What do you want?" Penelope hissed as she pulled the board off the hooks to unbar the door. She glanced at her menu to check the time.

Day 11 - 5:38am

Time Remaining 7:02:16:2

"We're going to make the rounds." Patrick motioned behind him. "Come on."

Penelope gathered her weapons and followed him. She glanced at her menu as she equipped her items. The class passives that her items granted her activated as the stats were added to her.

Penelope Flynn

Level 20 - Spellslinger

Experience 1900/ —

Stamina 60/60

Mana 142/142

4 Power

3 Defense

17+6 Speed

29+11 Magic

13+6 Recovery

6+6 Aura

Earth Damage +8%

Fire Damage +15%

Light Damage +6%

Poison Damage +25%

Dark Resistance +6%

Earth Resistance +5%

Ice Resistance +5%

Light Resistance +5%

Nature Resistance +6%

Head

Darkness Hood

Magic +1

Dark Resistance +6%

Neck

Diamond Necklace

Speed +2

Light Damage +6%

Passive: Perfect sight - You can see in the dark and can't be blinded.

Off Hand Toxic Wand

Magic +2

Aura +2

Poison Damage +11%

Spell: Cursed Life - Poison spells deal extra damage to the target based on how many debuffs it has.

Chest

Earthen Robe

Recovery +2

Earth Resistance +5%

Main Hand

Burning Wand

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Aura +2 Recovery +2

Fire Damage +15%

Passive: Char - Your fire skills and spells burn the target, increasing the physical damage they take.

Hands

Poisoned Gloves

Recovery +1

Poison Damage +3%

Belt

Ice Magic Belt

Magic +2

Ice Resistance +5%

Hands

Poisoned Gloves

Recovery +1

Poison Damage +3%

L Finger

Toxic Ring

Magic +2 Speed +2

Poison Damage +8%

Spell: Toxic Jar - Poison the target. Each additional instance of poison doesn't extend the timer; instead, it increases the potency of the current stack.

Legs

Green Pants

Magic +2

Nature Resistance +6%

Spell: Snare - Vines lash onto your target, holding it in place.

R FInger

Rock Ring

Magic +2

Aura +2

Earth Damage +8%

Feet

Light Leather Boots

Speed +2

Light Resistance +5%

"What are we doing out here?" Penelope didn't have to hurry to keep up with the older man.

"Recon." Patrick led her the rest of the way through the tunnels in 17A and 18A in silence. Once they reached the barrier between 18A and 19A, he pointed at it. "Do your thing."

Penelope activated <Clairvoyance>.

"The path ahead comes to a Y in about forty feet." She motioned with her left hand. "There's a path that goes that way, but there's nothing this side of the path but solid stone, and there's a room on the other side of the tunnel. Looks like it runs all the way to the outer barrier, but my vision doesn't go that far; the other side is…" She turned her attention to the right. "The same. Nothing but solid stone between us and the tunnel."

"You can get about a hundred feet from the barrier in that direction." Patrick sketched what she described on a thin, square, stone tablet.

"You want me to draw?" Penelope cancelled the spell so she could focus on the man behind her.

"We've already tried that. You take too long going back and forth." Patrick tapped the back of the charred stick he was using as a pencil against his cheek. "It'd be faster if you'd let someone carry you…"

"We had this discussion yesterday!" Penelope crossed her arms. "That's too weird."

"Once I figure out how to make a tube, I'm going to build you a wagon and have Circe wheel you around in it." Patrick grumbled as he finished his sketch.

"I'm not sure…" Penelope let that thought drift off. Being moved around while she was using her spell was disorienting. Changing from a person carrying her to a wagon wasn't going to stop that, even though it would be more comfortable for her.

"Let's map out the length of this barrier and see if you can't find some of the monsters to give us an idea of what we're going up against." Patrick motioned at the room to his right. "Everything on this wall is empty, so we won't have to worry about running into anyone."

"We should have been doing this since I got this spell." Penelope hung her head. "I didn't think—"

"You've never had to think about this stuff." Patrick huffed as he scratched on a map. "Don't get me wrong, your heart's in the right place, but forcing you to think about everyone's lives was a mistake on our part, not yours."

"You're saying I'm a bad leader?" Penelope bristled.

"Yep." Patrick walked towards the empty room. "Come on, tell me what you can see here."

Penelope didn't move. "Do you think I'm the reason why Marlow died?"

Patrick chewed on the end of his stick, then nodded. "Partly." He motioned at the entire Dungeon. "But this cursed thing is also to blame!" He turned to Penelope. "And so am I. I knew he was out of it, and I still went along with your plan." He knocked on the wall. "I could have held my shield in the door until Freddy showed up, but I figured we'd be able to handle things on our own." He sighed. "We got cocky, and someone died." He tapped the stick on the map. "Which is why we're going to do more prep work."

He walked into the room. "Come on! We need to get this whole barrier done before the others wake up!"

Penelope followed after him, waiting until she was far enough down to give a better description of what the next square looked like. The responsibility gnawed at her as the two of them filled in more of the map.

"You think it would have gone differently if we would have waited?" She waited until they finished 19A before voicing what had been eating at her.

"I think he was gone when we went in there." Patrick closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"What do you mean?" Penelope leaned against the wall.

"I mean, he lost faith in his abilities, and that made him lose hope that he was getting out of here." Patrick gestured at the stone walls. "This place is a meat grinder…" His voice trailed off. "Look." He tucked the map under his left arm. "The what-ifs and what-could-have-beens will eat you alive." He shrugged. "We can't go back and redo that run; all we can do is move forward and not mess up again." He glared at her. "And I need you to learn how to at least earn the respect of your team because I don't plan on running your team for you for very long once we get into the next floor."

"You think they'll ever trust me again?" The memory of Marlow dying on the first floor surfaced. Penelope shoved it back down. I'm not sure if I want them to trust me.

"Circe would follow you to the heart of this thing naked as the day she was born." Patrick snorted. "Marlow would have charged too, dangit, so would I…" He shrugged. "You care about your people. You just need to start showing everyone that they're also your people, and the rest will handle itself."

"I just feel like I could have done it better; I just don't know how." Penelope looked at the older man. She managed to hold her gaze for a few seconds before she had to look away.

"We can always do better." Patrick spat on the ground. "That's life. There's always something you could have done for a more optimal result." He shrugged. "But you get stuck dissecting the past, and you'll miss what's happening in the present." He pointed at her. "And if you tell anyone I gave you a pep talk, I'll deny it and make sure you get nothing but rat meat for the rest of the time you're down here."

"What pep talk?" Penelope chuckled. "You told me I was going to keep screwing things up."

"Exactly! Now, get up, and let's go finish mapping this thing!" He shook his head as he headed to the next square. "Seriously! If you sit around talking, it's going to be lunch before we get finished!"

"Thanks." Penelope pushed off the wall. "I feel a little bit better." She took a deep breath. "But not any less responsible."

"And that's how you know you'll be a good leader." Patrick summoned another stone tablet. "The bad ones blame other people or freeze up and refuse to make the tough calls." He nodded at her. "You're weird, but I know when push comes to shove, you'll do what you have to do to protect everyone, even if that means leaving someone behind."

Penelope swallowed as she got into position. "I hope neither of us ever has to make that call." Her mind went to Ula, Judah, and now Marlow, who were all waiting for her to reset so she could save them.

"You and me both, kid." Patrick patted her shoulder. "You and me both."

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