The charging gnoll exploded to bits. Wisps of ether sprayed to the wall, as if caught by a powerful gust of wind. The crush rune ripped through the gnoll with force, utterly destroying the upper body into a mess of ether. The first gnoll died instantly.

  “Vivi, watch out!” Lucius yelled.

  I know, Vivi thought. She sensed the second gnoll right after the first. Vivi swiped at it with a claw-attack.

  Control it! Vivi told herself. She wasn’t skilled enough to make full use of Alisa’s teachings, but she had learned enough to concentrate more ether into the claws, thus charging more ether into an attack. She landed a clean hit.

  The gnoll was knocked off of its footing, slash marks appearing across its fur. Vivi finished the job with her sword. The greatsword was heavy, but with ether-enhanced strength, swinging wasn’t a problem. Vivi crushed the gnoll into bits of ether.

  Her allies watched from the side with shocked expressions. “Well, that’s destructive,” Ven said.

  Vivi gave an awkward laugh.

  “We’re lucky the monsters aren’t bloody,” Aang said. “As always, Vivi can collect the ether from her kills to hide them within Lucius’s reserves.”

  “Actually, Lucius is mostly maxed out,” Vivi said.

  Lucius pouted at that. He claimed he still had room to grow. And it was clear he did—his powers did grow a lot stronger when he went past the limit of 4500. But every time Vivi gave him ether beyond that, those wisps were quickly lost. Either Lucius couldn’t hold it in, starting to act weird, or he ate the ether like a hungry animal.

  “Any ether that I collect goes to my debt,” Vivi said. “I’m currently at minus 14359.”

  “That’s fine as well,” Aang said. “We’re going to have to pay you out of debt eventually.”

  “The Stewards might grow suspicious to see her debt situation suddenly improving,” Ven said.

  Aang frowned. “You might be right. Perhaps we should limit Vivi’s debt growth to a thousand ether for each collection day. At most, two thousand. That amount can be explained.”

  “The ether we collect could be used to save struggling nimrods,” Vivi said.

  The demons glanced at Aang with funny expressions. Vivi felt like she was missing something. The leader sighed and said, “Any ether we give off to nimrods will just make it to the Stewards on collection day. If you save a beggar one cycle, they will die on the next. The best we can do for the nimrods is grow stronger ourselves.”

  Life isn’t all about fighting, Vivi thought. Everyone had something they were good at, even the weakest of nimrods. Tailoring, craftsmanship, cooking. So many professions existed in the world. What if someone was good at singing and telling jokes? Surely, a healthy community could pay that person a few hundred ether every month to support them.

  Still, Vivi didn’t say anything. Helping nimrods was a distant dream. Her job today was to defeat the Elder Gnoll.

  Vivi picked up the ether from the fallen gnolls. Each one was worth just under two hundred. The debt ate the ether, never to be given back. But Vivi would have to pay off the debt eventually. The number lessened to 13983.

  “Before we advance, let’s go over our formation once more,” Aang said. “Vivi. Did Rohan tell you about the gnoll mineshaft?”

  “Yes,” Vivi said. “Ven and Rohan spoke to me. The Elder Gnoll doesn’t work like normal bosses. It doesn’t have its own arena. It lurks within the lower levels of the mineshaft. It can ambush us from anywhere. The boss is also quite small, and its aura is hard to make out. The creepy feeling in the air comes from the boss’s extended aura, which covers the entire mineshaft.”

  Aang nodded. “And for that reason, the Hollows will stay in circular formation for the whole descent. The formation ensures that no blind spots are left for the boss to ambush us from. Clearing the way down will be slow and tedious, but it’s a step we must take. The guards have completed their patrol, and we will be killing every monster on the way down.”

  “And the fight itself?” Lydi asked.

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  “Ven and I will be our main fighters, while everyone else acts as a support,” Aang said. “We will drive the Elder Gnoll into a corner, where Rohan will pin it down. His armor should be strong enough to withstand the Gnoll’s claws. With the boss immobilized, we will pour as many potions into its mouth as we can. If all goes well, the boss will be brewed to its maximum, and we will fight it a second time with the intent of killing it.”

  “And our fighting strategy?” Lydi asked. “To kill it?”

  “Ven and I should be strong enough to fight it,” Aang said. “Planning too much will cause us to confuse ourselves. You will all form a circle around the fight, supporting us if the boss tries to escape. Fighting head-on, any more than two fighters, especially inexperienced fighters, will get in the way.”

  The last comment referred to Vivi and Lucius, she knew. Lucius was annoyed, hearing that he wouldn’t be dueling a boss yet again, but Vivi didn’t complain. Her swordsmanship and control over ether were improving rapidly with her teachers’ practice. Dueling an Elder Gnoll was a meaningless reason to risk her life.

  Really, Vivi was here to study her runeswords in action. Was everyone satisfied with her work? Did anyone have trouble adapting to the new runeswords? Was there something Vivi could do better to improve her work?

  The descent started. Vivi was positioned near the front of the group beside Ven. The position drew a lot of gnolls her way. She defeated lone gnolls without much of an issue. The boss wasn’t supposed to appear on the upper levels either. Still, the Hollows moved down with the circle formation regardless, everyone staying focused.

  After fifteen minutes, Aang said, “We’re entering the lower levels. Everyone, stay on guard.”

  Upon entering the tunnel, the mood switched entirely. The kerosene lamps in the ceiling were lit with creepy black ether. The black light didn’t illuminate surroundings. Rather, the lamps seemed to take light away, making the dark mineshaft even more difficult to see. Vivi could make out her footing, but seeing past fifteen feet was difficult.

  The lamps were ethereal dungeon structures, meaning they would respawn. Lydi shot discharges of ether with her staff, destroying the black lamps. The discharge was bright, revealing every monster that lurked in the dark.

  And lurking they were. The discharge revealed wooden platforms. There were eight gnolls in total. Three jumped down from the platforms, charging the Hollows along with three smaller gnolls on the lower level. Two archer gnolls remained on the platforms.

  Their bows immediately became a problem. A thick arrow shot toward Vivi with force. Vivi knew Lucius’s claws wouldn’t stop its path. The arrow was ethereal. Vivi stepped out of the way. The formation was broken for a moment.

  Two gnolls charged at Vivi. She grimaced, slashing with her sword. Her timing was off. The gnoll blocked her sword with its hatchet.

  Another arrow shot toward her. The gnolls focused their attacks on the weak point in the formation. Vivi held her sword to block the arrow in a panic.

  The two gnolls charged for the killing blow.

  Wisps of ether rose from Ven’s eyes next to Vivi. He slashed wide with the katana, cutting two gnolls, one in front of him, one on Vivi's side.

  Vivi thanked him silently in her head. One more gnoll was charging at her from the right with two hatchets.

  My weapon is stronger! Vivi reminded herself. The gnoll jumped for her with both hatchets aimed at her face.

  Vivi swung straight into the attack. Her sword connected with the hatchets, cracking both. Her swing crushed the gnoll’s hands, but she didn’t quite reach its stomach. The gnoll lifted its clawed feet at Vivi.

  She swiped from below with her claws. The timing was perfect. The gnoll had nothing to defend itself. The claws cut right through, slashing it open.

  With the gnolls dead, Vivi looked up at the archers. Both were laying on the ground, Pink Bunny and Jam Muffin piercing their heads. Alisa grinned as she used gravity pull to retrieve her daggers.

  “Vivi…” Rohan said behind her.

  Vivi flinched. Rohan had the same tone of voice as back when Vivi lost to a ghost-blade.

  “Your swordsmanship is solid when you have the advantage in a fight,” Rohan said. “If you land your initial timings, forcing opponents to react to your attacks, you’re a strong fighter. The moment you lose that edge, however… You totally crumble.”

  “Yes…” Vivi said. “I would have lost to the gnolls without Ven.”

  Rohan nodded. “It’s good that you understand. We will need to work on this.”

  “Should I be placed to the back?” Vivi asked.

  “No,” Rohan said. “Continue at the front. Fighting gnolls further improves your offense. When things go right, you gain valuable experience. When things go wrong, utilize your claws. The claws are your main weapon to push yourself back to the offense.”

  Vivi lowered her head. “Thank you, teacher.”

  Rohan nodded. “Focus and improve.”

  After collecting the ether, Vivi’s debt hit 13695. The gnolls of the lower levels dropped less ether despite being far stronger. Ven claimed this was because the Elder Gnoll’s presence evolved the lesser gnolls, essentially granting temporary ether to the smaller monsters.

  The descent continued and more similarly packed rooms passed. Vivi didn’t get into a pinch again. She dealt with the gnolls aggressively, even more aggressively than before, cutting down two charging gnolls at once.

  Her strategy was reckless. If she executed a swing poorly, the gnolls would have an easy opportunity to counter-attack, possibly landing a fatal hit right away. When done right, however, aggression was the most powerful way to make use of Vivi’s runeswords. With a good hit, Vivi’s runeswords could break any stance. Any opponent’s defense could be overwhelmed.

  The Hollows grew more focused with each room. The boss monster wasn’t anywhere to be seen, and its aura didn’t seem to be getting closer. The ominous feeling cloaked every cavern. Vivi still felt like she was being watched from every direction. Ven and Aang were eyeing every corner within the gnoll structures carefully, watching out for the ambush.

  “Guys?” Feni asked behind the group, her voice uncertain. “What’s that?”

  Suddenly, an explosive whoosh sounded from behind. Feni screamed.

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