The first creature to reach Tibs was feline in looks. Its claws and fur were metal over stone, but it also had wooden horns. He took them with his shield, but the force behind the impact pushed him back. His attempt at pulling Earth essence from the ground failed. That was the dungeon's, and it didn't let him take control.

He was fully into daylight by the time he managed to shove it aside. A stone and crystal rabbit flew at him, and he cut it. The feline sliced through his pant leg, and Tibs bashed it away with his shield, for a stone wolf to land on him, sending him to the ground, teeth biting into his shoulder. He added an etching of Corruption to the edge of his sword, removed its head and hurried to his feet. An impact from a wooden limb broke his focus with pain, and he was against the wall before he managed an etching to heal the broken bones.

A fire blast gave whatever that creature was something else to worry about, but a bear was already on him, normal claws into his flesh. A detonated Air etching between them sent it, and the previous creature flying back.

"Why didn't they crack you open?" the dungeon asked.

He got to his feet, keeping track of the creatures. "Send them away, and we can talk. There's a lot you don't know. I can help with that."

"You'll be all the help I need once I've drank you up."

The wolf, fox, and tree creature were made of Wood. Fortunately, they took up enough of the corridor the others stayed back.

He blocked the wolf. "We don't have to fight." The fox nipped at his legs, then darted away under the tree's swing. He dodged that, but the wolf then has his teeth into his sword arm. He focused through the pain to form a Fire etching, but it shattered from the slash into his back. With a growl, he unleached raw Fire and burned his three attackers to ash, then absorbed the essence.

"That was mine!"

Tibs snorted, healing himself while watching for the next attack. "I'm playing by the rules you set." The dungeon replaced those he killed with versions made mostly of stone, but gave them wooden claws and teeth. "I can do worse." The deer changed as he watched, its body turning to stone, but the antlers remained wood.

He looked at the ceiling. "Just stop, so we can talk."

"No."

They charged, and he waited until they were near him to set a quick Air etching under his feet and leap over all of them. He landed at their back and cut limbs off as they turn to attack again. Those were still mostly made of elements he was immune to, and he kept those crystal horns away. The dungeon seemed to lack the creativity to try something it hadn't seen working.

The impact against his back hurt and sent him into the mass of creature. They clawed, bit, and stomped. Most hooves and claws were harmless, but a few were crystal. He extended his shield and pulled his limbs under. The bashing against it, and the occasional clawed paw reaching under, made focusing difficult, but he etched an air detonation, then fed it Fire.

It hurt, but got them off him. He made an etching of Purity, then fed it Fever as he applied it. The pain that accompanied the healing was blinding, but it worked much faster.

"This is getting annoying. Crack already!"

The creatures weren't as injured as he'd hoped. Those of stone and metal barely showed damage. Crystal had broken off, but the only creatures rendered ineffective for fighting were those made mainly of wood or flesh.

"This isn't supposed to be easy for you, either. Runs are so the Runners and dungeon will improve. You test us. When we overcome, you learn to be better, smarter. Just—"

"Don't you ever stop?"

"I can help you," he repeated, trying not to let his exasperation sound. "If you do things the way they're supposed to be done, you can get strong enough to have multiple floors. To have a city with Runners coming in daily." He doubted it would listen, but any time he gave himself meant more healing

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"Things like you? All the time?"

"Yes." He'd explain about people later.

"Coming in, breaking my creatures and…what? Leaving, instead of me drinking them up?"

"You get to absorb those who fail the tests."

"I don't want some of them." They all rushed him.

Blast of Fever fed Fire etchings removed the flesh creatures. Fire blasts took care of the wooden ones, as well as removing those parts on the others, leaving only Crystal as the threat. But the dungeon hadn't seemed to notice his vulnerability to that element.

Small air detonation etching fed with Fire kept them from crowding him, although he suffered as well when he used them too close.

But slowly, he was thinning his attackers. Maybe the dungeon was using up its reserve?

More likely, it was planning something. Remaining alert for a surprise became easier as the attacks were less frequent.

Then he was the only one left, panting, and hoping the dungeon had enough.

"You must think you're so great," it mocked.

That didn't bode well.

So many etchings he needed to work out.

Fever was the element of the body, so he should be able to come up with one that revitalized him. Maybe he'd have to use it with Purity, since suffusing himself with it had taken away the fatigue along with his injury.

After this, he has to go through every etching he hadn't already tested for how they reacted to being fed another element. Figure out which combination was the most effective against each element. Then return to experimenting with new etchings. He'd grown too complacent of his established ones of late.

"Nothing to say?" It asked in a mocking tone. "Nothing about how, if I listen, you'll help me become the greatest dungeon?"

Tibs snorted. "You've made it clear that's never happening."

"I don't have to listen to you. I'll know what you do once you're cracked open and—"

"If."

It paused. "If what?"

"If you crack me open. You've sent a lot of creatures, and I'm still un-cracked."

"But you've leaked. You stopped it, but that shows you can be cracked." It paused. When it spoke again, Tibs was confident he heard a smile. "And I have just the thing for that."

The form that pushed out of the wall, further down the corridor, was twice his height. Tree-like, and lanky in appearance, meant little with dungeon creatures. Sto and Firmen had shown that. It was made mostly of crystal, and was all edges and spikes.

It reminded him of his ice swords, back before he'd mastered keeping his anger out of forming them.

He smiled.

Anger meant sloppiness.

He let it come to him. Both so he could study its essence, to get a sense of what to expect, and for time to heal some more. He missed the near instant healing suffusing gave him.

It was still a dozen paces away when it brought an arm down on him, extending it. His shield was up well before the impact, and the crystal shattered from it, but instead of scattering, the shards clung to his shield, growing over the edges and under it. He let go and flung himself back. He had a new one up in time to take the next attack and had to leave that one behind too, as the shattered crystal reached for him.

He was up, another shield ready, but the creature was still.

"How did you get in here without me noticing?" the dungeon asked.

Tibs force himself not to react to the ploy, but sensing back, muddied essence registered. He glanced over his shoulder as the dungeon asked.

"Is that yours?"

A copper haired young woman in worn leathers stood in the entrance, sword in hand, and smile on her face. The metal between the leather layers told him who that was more than her words.

"Fleet Fingers," she announced, pointing the sword at him. "Nimble Runner, and all the other names you've gone by, are wanted by so many cities, I'm finally going to get the respect I deserve."

"You know what?" the dungeon said dismissively. "I don't care what you are."

The etching formed too fast for Tibs to do more than react with one of his own next to the dungeon's, because any closer and the muddiness from the green stone would have disrupted it. They activated almost simultaneously, and the young woman flew back so fast from the combined effects Tibs worried for her landing; not that that would cause the most damage.

Unlike his, the dungeon's etching expanded in all directions, cracking the walls. "Ouch, ouch, ouch."

Tibs raised his shield in vain.

"Didn't plan this well at all," the dungeon continued. "Ouch."

His shield shattered from the unknown impact, and he slammed into the wall. When he was able to think through the pain of so many shattered bones, he formed the Fever fed Purity etching, and that healing pain barely registered. He hoped his Air etching caught her first, and that she rode the second etching's force instead of being impacted by it.

He hoped she survived.

He wrapped his limbs in Life essence and hardened that, then pushed away from the wall.

"You tried to kill her." The cracked wall and his healing bones made that clear.

"How else am I going to drink her up?" it sounded annoyed. "But because you distracted me, it's outside my reach. Probably won't be anything left by the time it's dragged back in," it grumbled.

"She had nothing to do with this!"

"It was here," it replied, sounding annoyed and puzzled. "What else was I going to do with it?"

Tibs realized he'd held out hope he could make them see reason as it shattered. "You don't care." He couldn't see her anymore, but he imagined her broken body sprawled on the green grass. "I thought this fight would convince you there's a better way, but you just don't care."

"Better than drinking you and it up?" it replied mockingly. "I don't think so."

Tibs returned his attention to the advancing crystal creature. "Fine." He pulled the life essence out of it. "Then, I'm done playing."

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