It took over an hour to eliminate the stragglers.

Being able to use <Clairvoyance> through the <Light Balls> gave Penelope a much wider search area, but there was over twice the amount of area to search than there had been on the previous floor. Add in that the Shadow Demons were actively hiding instead of mindlessly charging the Humans like the monsters did once all the Shadow Demons were eliminated, and that resulted in a very long game of hide and seek.

Once the barrier came down, everyone met at the center of the square.

"We need to get this area set up for our base!" Patrick barked as he turned his attention to the other Casters. "Aly, I like your enthusiasm, but burning down all the trees is depriving us of building material and filling this place with smoke." He pointed at the woman beside her. "Fae, use your magic to put out the rest of the fires, then we'll see how much of it we can still use."

Penelope tuned out the older man's voice as he continued to bark orders. Her mind drifted to how they were going to clear Dungeon in time if the Demons decided to dig in and not engage in all-out battle.

"It happens." Jeru broke into her thoughts. "The nearby squares have already seen how you were able to overpower what was in this square." He motioned at the barriers. "It might not be the next square, or even the one after that, but once they realize they can't destroy you, they're going to switch to stall tactics to try to wait out the timer."

Penelope groaned as she realized that the fights were about to get longer and more drawn out, especially since the Demons would have Healers in every group now.

"Pen!" Patrick clapped his hands to grab her attention. "Head out of the clouds." He shook his head disapprovingly. "We've got two upgrades for you to switch out. Good job on spotting the traps and helping root out the last few monsters with those floating eyes." He looked up at the darkening ceiling. "It looks like we're going to have night and day on this floor. The construction team is still working on getting a camp set up, but I'll see what I can do to get some buildings set up for people to sleep in." He eyed the crowd. "You've got your orders. If you finish and don't know what to do, come find me and I'll find you something to do."

Most of the group headed off in different directions as they set out to complete the tasks Patrick had given them. Penelope picked up the two items that had been designated as hers and looked them over.

Light Ring

Speed +3

Light Damage +5%

Dark Sandals

Magic +3 Aura +3

Dark Resistance +11%

Skill: Shadow Chains - Create chains of shadows that restrain a single target, restricting their movement.

The gear increased her total Aura, Magic, and Speed by one point each, while also giving her a small bump in her light damage.

"You really need another point of Recovery." Jeru mused as she looked at her stats.

Penelope Flynn

Level 21 - Spellslinger

Experience 2084/ 2100

Stamina 70/70

Mana 150/150

4 Power

3+3 Defense

18+7 Speed

30+13 Magic

13+6 Recovery

6+7 Aura

Fire Damage +15%

Light Damage +11%

Poison Damage +25%

Dark Resistance +32%

Earth Resistance +5%

Nature Resistance +6%

I'll probably get that on the next level-up, considering I've been sitting still and using mana potions. Penelope closed the menu as Patrick, Frederica, and Raelyn approached her.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"Nine Essences…" Glass clinked as Patrick patted the bag under his arm. "Not enough to bring one of our elevens up to Tier Three."

"We need to get the backup teams ready." Raelyn eyed the bag for a moment before turning to Frederica. "I've got some suggestions about who would be good to bring up."

Frederica waved her hand. "We'll worry about that tomorrow." She yawned. "It's been a long day and we've still got a lot to do before we turn in." The blonde woman pointed at the pile of dirty bags that had been piled next to the large rock in the middle of the square. "Why don't you start going through those supplies and see if there's anything edible or useable in there?"

Raelyn opened her mouth, but Patrick had already walked away, taking the vials of Shadow Essence with him. The Healer motioned at two of her party members. "You heard the boss; let's start sorting through this junk."

I would have liked that job. Penelope frowned as Frederica grabbed Penelope's arm and pulled her away from the sorting.

"You're the strongest Caster they have, so they need you tying sticks together to make shelters." Jeru gestured at the people pulling half-eaten fruit out of the bags. "Let the Healers and Buffers sort through the Demon leftovers to see if there's anything useable in there."

Once they were far enough away that the others couldn't hear them, Frederica pulled Penelope close and lowered her voice. "I want you to pick three Casters that are most likely to stay loyal to us." She nodded towards Raelyn with her chin. "If Rae gets any more power, we might have a mutiny on our hands."

Penelope frowned. "I don't think Raelyn has it in her to stab us in the back like Dawson did."

Frederica clenched her jaw as her nostrils flared. "I should have took care of that traitor when he first refused to help us back on the first floor…" She wiped a tear off her face with the back of her sleeve.

"Sorry." Penelope looked down at her new black sandals.

"You weren't the one who killed Oak." Frederica cleared her throat. "And if you hadn't acted so fast to stop him, Dawson might have killed more of us."

You have no idea… Penelope pushed the memory of their party being eliminated out of her mind. She swallowed. "Why not ask Patrick instead?" She looked behind her towards the original safe zone where Patrick was barking orders.

"He's too comfortable taking charge." Frederica shook her head. "This place already doesn't run without him and making us any more reliant on him to give orders would cripple us if something happened to him in one of the squares." She sighed. "What I need are more assistants who are competent but don't want to take over."

Jeru? Penelope looked at the blue Elf hovering behind her friend. I'm sure you have some insight on who to pick.

"Jeru do this, Jeru do that, Jeru do something else." He mimed talking with his hands. "I've told you before, the butterfly effect—"

Causes people to react differently, but there have to be some people who have personalities that are suited to working as part of a team.

"The problem is that when you spend most of your life killing things, the bloodlust erodes your sense of restraint." Jeru shrugged. "Whatever, Rae already has two of the best people working for her, but Kayden Tilden and Benedict Gates are two others you can bring in who will step up when given responsibility and they're already part of your backup squad."

Thank you. Penelope turned her attention back to her leader. "I've got two people in mind that could help. They're both part of the backups that Circe and I have been training."

"You're sure about them?" Frederica eyed the middle of the square, where Raelyn was still sorting through the bruised fruit. "We don't need to create a third faction."

"Technically, there's already eight factions on the surface, plus the numerous factions in the city." Jeru sighed. "But those two guys have almost as little interest in being in charge as you do."

"I'm sure." Penelope recalled how Benedict had been helpful to the other students during the lessons that she'd given on the previous floor. "Benedict isn't the strongest, but he takes instruction well and is always willing to help others."

"That's good…" Frederica glanced behind Penelope, then stepped closer so she could lower her voice. "Keep this conversation between the two of us." Before Penelope could reply, the older woman melted into the shadows.

That was… Penelope shook her head.

"Sad." Jeru finished for her. "Oakley helped to ground her; with him gone, she's going to stay in her head more and more. Eventually, she'll start lashing out as the paranoia eats at her."

What do I do? Penelope slowly turned to walk towards where Patrick was barking orders. Set her up with Patrick?

"You could try, but he's never hooked up with her in any of the runs that I can remember, so I doubt you'd have much success and getting rejected would really mess up her head."

Great. Penelope sighed. So what do I do?

"Be her friend. Maybe give her a hug sometime so she'll slow down and not feel like she's alone against the world."

I can try. The words felt like an empty promise in her mind.

"Whatever discomfort you're going to feel from it, it's going to do way more to comfort her." Jeru floated in front of her. "Just focus on that and remind yourself why you're doing all of this."

Images of Ula, Judah, Marlow, Oakley, and Eldri all flashed in her mind. Penelope stumbled over a vine. She pushed the images out of her mind as she fell to her hands and knees.

I know what I'm fighting for. Penelope growled as she stood up and dusted off her hands and knees. You didn't have to do that.

Jeru held up his hands in front of her. "Wasn't me. The system can tune into your emotions and thoughts to give you images of what you're thinking about."

Great, just what I needed. Something else in my head. Penelope sighed and closed her eyes. I can see how this would make people want to tap out.

"Your final run is going to be five years long." Sympathy filled his voice. "You've barely scratched the surface of what you're going to have to go through."

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