I swallowed with a smile, reading the increase to the ability. Now I had heavier armor on the areas where I generated scales.

Dengu squeaked as Hammy yanked on one end of the tail, while he yanked on the other.

Lenna spotted my look. "Anything good?"

"My defense got better," I whispered, before turning back to the carcass. "I'm not sure how much I can save from this. It tasted like the turtle, though."

Lenna joined me at the side of it instantly. "Are you kidding? We can pull meat from here, here, and here," she said while pointing.

I ate a giant piece of the Kentro meat to settle my stomach before I chuckled and got to work under her instructions. The pieces were smaller than what I normally saved, but given her interest I kept going. My senses went wild as creatures crept closer in the trees and in the water. The blood that dripped and colored the swamp water drew them in, and I knew we only had a limited time.

Tension increased along my shoulders, and Dengu eventually stopped playing with Hammy and paced along the water's edge again.

"That has to be enough," I whispered to Lenna. "We have company, and should move." She blinked in shock and peeked around. "Really?"

"Yeah, we need to leave what's left and go." My stomach had processed the meat I'd eaten, and I felt full of energy.

"Earlier, I found the path under the water." Hammy marched closer, and he motioned to the area where he'd entered the water. "There are pavers under the surface."

I slowly stood up. "Let's go. Dengu, take the back with Lenna."

My clothing hadn't dried, and I didn't even pause as I stepped into the shallow water. My boots hit the stones immediately.

Hammy kept on my heels as I crept through the water, careful to slide my feet versus pick them up and set them down. It created fewer waves and used less energy. While nothing around us felt like trouble, the sheer numbers were worrisome.

As soon as we put some distance between us and the carcass, they moved.

Lemurs appeared in the branches of the trees, some flying through the air at what we left behind. They covered the thing and fighting broke out.

I stayed on guard as we put more and more distance between us.

Surprisingly, the water lessened until it eventually vanished after twisting through the swamp around a nearby tree. A large standing stone surrounded by ferns marked the end of the swamp, and hopefully this challenge.

As we passed it, the familiar glow pulsed.

I let my shoulders relax as the campsite appeared around a bend. The temple loomed in the same place as it had for the last couple of Paths. The guide stood in the exact same place as well.

"Congratulations on defeating the Scaled Hunter, you can expect better rewards on completion of the dungeon."

I immediately headed to a log and sat down, taking my boots off. Then my soaked socks. I pulled out the damp clothes from my inventory and covered a log with them to dry next to the fire. Then I headed to the water fountain to wash my boots and everything I was still wearing.

"What type of rewards can we expect?" asked Hammy. He unlatched himself from his armor near the fire as well.

"Items to help you in your journey."

I froze at the response as I approached the water fountain before clarifying, "Items, like actual things, not just levels?"

"Whatever skills and levels you earn while in the dungeon depend on you. The results of the dungeon as a whole will generate rewards for each of you, based on your input while completing the dungeon."

"Loot? We get loot?" mumbled Hammy, his eyes wide. Then a smile crept across his face as he turned to Lenna. "Did you know about this?"

"Of course. My people always receive something that they keep with them as they aim for Second Rank." She nodded and kept her eyes on the guide. "Is there a bonus for completing the dungeon more quickly?"

The guide smiled, showing off its pointed teeth again but not answering.

I groaned at the response as I stripped and washed my clothes in the cold water. Then I ducked my head under and rinsed my hair. Hammy pointedly didn't look in my direction as I laid out the rest of my clothes next to the fire to dry. The ones on the log were almost dry, and I quickly dressed in them.

"I gotta wait until my boots are dry," I said. While dry clothes felt good, more pressing was the fatigue that hovered overhead. The fake sun proclaimed it was still only noon, but we'd been inside for far longer than that. My body clearly stated as much. "We should nap here, then finish this boss and head directly to the last path. Make this a good rest and go hard from there."

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Lenna nodded. "It makes more sense than pausing here and then again. We can always change our minds before the next boss. If we can finish the last path, we can rest before the final challenge to complete the dungeon."

I flashed her a thumbs-up as Hammy stuttered. Then I laid down on the grass and tried to get comfortable. I turned over to my side and pulled the second inventory crystal. Slowly, I got to work moving some things from one to the other, including some turtle meat. It didn't take long before my eyelids just got too heavy and I was out.

I woke up what had to have been a few hours later.

Lenna sat on the log next to the fire with my clothes folded beside her. Dengu snored right next to me, almost touching my leg, while Hammy curled up in a ball on the other side of him.

Careful to not wake the others I joined Lenna at the fire.

"I mended your clothes. No more holes," she whispered.

I picked up the pile and found the gashes and hole stitched closed with a weird thread. With a smile, I changed, since my current shirt was missing its arms. Once I pulled my armor back on top I felt ready to go.

"Do you need less sleep?" I asked.

"I haven't been injured, but rested a bit." She frowned, staring into the fire and shivering slightly. "I think resting too much here is a trap. Something screams at me to make sure not all of us sleep at once, no matter how safe this camp is supposed to be."

"I understand the feeling, but if I didn't get some sleep in…" I let my voice trail off as my fingers tapped my thigh. "How many days do you think we've been here?"

"At least three, if not more. The Elders warn our people not to stay longer than four days. Leave, even if you're not done." Her eyebrows drew together, and she wrapped her arms around her knees. "We shouldn't stay longer than that."

That felt longer than what my body told me, but I kept that to myself. I swore it'd only been two, but I didn't know for sure.

Dengu's head turned in our direction, and he stood up, shaking himself.

Hammy snapped awake, rubbing his eyes. "We ready?"

"Yeah, let's get going," I finally said, eying the entrance to the temple. Again, here we were. Hopefully, this fight would be as quick as the fight with the Scaled Hunter.

It wasn't.

#

I couldn't freaking believe it as I dodged to one side.

"Kill it faster!" Around twenty small turtles the size of dogs rushed at me as I raced around the beach. The freaking boss was a very familiar creature.

[Armored Snapper, Level 30, Prey, Very Tasty. Makes a great soup.]

When I could, I stabbed a small turtle through its shell with my spear. I didn't even get a notification for it, they were too low-level. There were just so freaking many of them. The fight had started with me attacking the massive turtle, but then Hammy almost got overwhelmed with the little guys.

Now they chased me around the outside of the room while the Lenna, Dengu and Hammy tried to take down the armored turtle. Each tiny turtle I killed I snagged into my inventory to give to Lenna later. However, I tried very hard to not kill them. It made me feel bad.

I kicked one as it tried to bite my boot. It soared through the air and landed in the water that was covering half the room. I paused, then kicked another one, sending it flying.

The creatures didn't move fast, and this sent them far enough away they might not rejoin the fight. Another three went flying into the water when the notification popped up.

[You have gained bonus experience from combat for surviving against Level 30 Armored Snapper. Your Experience is banked.]

The remaining hoard of tiny turtles turned and fled.

My mouth dropped, but I just shook my head as I jogged to the others.

Lenna smiled at my approach.

"Yes, I'm going to get whatever I can, and store it for you." I didn't mention the tiny turtles I'd stored away as well. I then got to work aiming for the heart, but cutting every hunk of tasty sweet meat off the carcass that I could get along the way. Not to mention the large pieces of shell I removed.

I didn't pause when I got to the heart and I tossed it into my inventory and kept going, harvesting the rest of the creature. For some reason, I felt the weight of each moment as it ticked by. My heartbeat increased, and finally, I stood up.

"Let's get moving to the next challenge."

Lenna's eyes went wide. "But…"

"Something's not right about this." I dug my fingertips into the palm of my left hand and then realized what I was doing. "I think time is more of an enemy than we thought. Let's get the last path done."

Hammy stood up and stretched, but then headed to the exit without a word. Lenna's face fell, but she followed, along with Dengu.

That strange feeling continued as I hurried to the exit.

Like all the others, we ended up at the fountain. Hammy used some water to heal a few scrapes while Dengu lapped at the liquid. I ignored it and stood in front of the Path to Wings and Feathers, eating the heart from the turtle.

[You have devoured an Armored Snapping turtle and gained additional experience. Your experience has been banked.]

The sweet crab taste filled my mouth. Even with cleaning my clothes and washing up as best as I could, I wanted a shower or a bath. There had to be a way to magically clean oneself.

"Are you okay?" Lenna stood next to me with a concerned face. "You have this energy about you."

Hammy glanced at us, but stuck near Dengu for the moment.

"I can't explain it. Your Elder's warning keeps repeating in my head. They wouldn't say it without a reason." I stared at the unmoving ferns before glancing over my shoulder at the fountain. The statue at the top seemed bigger somehow. The quills on its back reached farther up. Plating now covered its shoulders and around its neck.

"The statue is bigger," I whispered.

Lenna twisted about and stared.

I knew I was right about the statue.

"You're right." She visibly swallowed.

"We need to speed run this path."

"Speed run," she mumbled, then nodded. "I understand."

Hammy and Dengu joined us "Hey, is the statue bigger or is it just me?"

I glanced at Lenna with a frown. "Yeah, we noticed it too. Let's get moving."

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