Dungeon Runner

Stepping Up, Chapter 27

"Tibs, You're back!" Sto exclaimed, startling Tibs. He'd been pacing among the nervous Runners, waiting for Fedora and her team to finish their run. "Where's the rest of your team? I can't see them. I have something to show you!"

He checked where he was and confirmed he was out of Sto's range. What had been Sto's range? Like the Runners, Sto was growing in strength, and beyond adding floors as the mark of graduating to the next rank, how far his senses stretched was growing.

Tibs looked around. There were a lot of Omegas, another group had been brought in the day before, and while they all looked older than him, they were so scared he didn't think they had spent much time surviving the streets on their own.

"I'm not going in today," he whispered, but not softly enough to keep an older boy to eye him, then step away, as if Tibs was scarier than the dungeon.

"Oh. Hurry up. I can't wait for you to see."

Tibs didn't reply, stepping further away. He'd have to be more careful if he didn't want Sto to realize why he was there.

A few minutes later, her team came out. Again, the group was whole and Tibs smiled. It looked like she was part of a good one. They handed over their equipment, then ignored the merchant's stalls that had been set up since the bazaar had left. Instead of getting shops, some of them had set up stalls. Less of an investment, Darran told him, but also a riskier situation, since they had nowhere to secure their inventory.

And few of the Runners seemed interested in dealing with them. The Omegas hardly had coins, and the more experienced ones knew the merchants of Merchant Row better. Maybe this was one of those things about losing coins now, in the hopes of making more later. Another thing Darran had told him merchants did sometimes. Tibs didn't see how not having anyone buy from them now would lead to more buying later, but he wasn't a merchant.

"How did it go?" Tibs asked Fedora as he fell in step with her. The others were used to him tagging along on their return now.

"Hard," she answered, tired. "I want a longer weapon too now. I hate how close those things can get."

"I told you to stay behind," the fighter said, then looked at Tibs. "I can deal with those rats and bunnies easy." He had an element now: earth.

"I was able to handle them," she replied. "I am still here, aren't I? I won't be one of those rogues that just looks for traps, then sits on her ass and lets the others do the rest of the work."

"I'm just saying that you don't have to—" the fighter closed his mouth at the glare Fedora gave him.

"I have no idea how you survived your first runs without anyone to give you proper training," she told Tibs.

"The dungeon was weaker then. It's sort of our fault it's so hard for you now. Those who died fed him, and those who survived forced him to grow stronger."

"You'd think the guild would work harder at training us then," the sorceress said. "The only thing I'm getting is, 'let the others get in and take the hits while you point and fire', and stuff about molding the energy so..." She shook her head. "It's sorcerer stuff. Probably doesn't mean anything to you."

"I think it's clear the guild doesn't care about us beyond throwing us into that thing," the archer said. "At least with Tibs's friend I'm able to hit what I aim at most of the time."

"Can I get some of that help?" the sorceress asked.

"I'm sure Carina will be happy to help you," the fighters replied before Tibs could say he'd check. "They've all been really great at training us."

Tibs exchanged a look with Fedora and tried not to smile. They were only good at it compared to the guild. They didn't have anywhere near the teacher's knowledge, but at least Tibs and his friends wanted the Omegas to survive.