If I’d been asked what I hoped to find deeper within the temple, I would have responded with the obvious answer: nothing. No matter how slim the odds of that were, I sincerely wished for us to waltz through the tunnel and end up in another region with our quest completed.

  As for the worst-case scenario, there were too many bad options to pick one. Currently, though, I was waffling between “neverending swarm of venomous snakes” and “multi-week temple sub-dungeon filled with multiple bosses.”

  All of these and more were still on the table, but what immediately followed the vine door was something far simpler.

  “At the risk of stating something unnecessarily obvious, this appears somewhat familiar.” Verin stopped before a small pillar, noting upon the scene that greeted us.

  Another stone pedestal. Another hole. Another set of vicious vegetation.

  Admittedly, the specifics were a bit different: Rather than blocking our way with a door, this time, it was with a trapped tunnel. Trying to advance resulted in sharp, spear-like roots shooting from the walls at ungodly speeds.

  “I mean, not an issue for me, but this sucks for you two.” Selectively enabling Apex Shroud, Cal waved a hand into the tunnel with impunity. Sadly, the rest of us weren’t so lucky.

  To my horror, I quickly discovered that only a fairly powerful application of Overcharge Armor could keep the roots from digging through my armor, and even then, they battered me quite badly. When it came to Verin’s glacier ice, they basically ignored it entirely.

  And thus, it was back to the drawing board. As a minor saving grace, it appeared the first section of the temple was now permanently disabled, as when we turned around, we discovered the vine door had completely vanished. To move further forward, though, we would need more poison.

  Here, my initial speedy victory proved to be more the exception than the rule. Unable to recreate my earlier feat of brewing a named potion, I struggled to make anything strong enough to break through.

  For a while, I worried that my Alchemy just wasn’t high enough to cut it. It wasn’t until nearly a week later that inspiration struck.

  My goal was to create a paralytic to freeze the roots before they could attack us. And when it came to paralytics, hadn’t I eaten the junglings’ paralyzing soup not too long ago?

  I’d learned a lot about Herbalism from the jungling harvesters. Why hadn’t I tried to learn just as much from the alchemist chefs?

  You have been paralyzed!

  It took nearly no time at all to hunt down the pot I’d sampled from on my arrival, and a single taste was enough to assure me I’d found the right place. When my muscles began to work again, I dutifully shadowed my new jungling mentors, watching as they made fast work of dozens of different herbs.

  This, I quickly learned, was the most important lesson for me. For countless ingredients that my own Alchemy drew a blank on, the junglings knew just how to extract the most important parts of them. Powders, pastes, and potions followed one after another, each ingredient transformed into its most potent form before any manner of cooking ever began.

  Perhaps it was mostly from the higher-leveled ingredients I’d been using non-stop lately, but as I took mental notes on exactly what the junglings were doing, I was rewarded with yet another skill notification in only a few days.

  Watch and Learn has activated!

  Alchemy has reached level 13!

  While my impromptu internship hardly inspired me enough to instantly brew what I needed, it paved the way forward. A few days later, I had a full batch of a rather brutal, sickly yellow paralysis poison on hand.

  This time around, it was a much more comical affair when I used it. Stepping into the trapped portion of the tunnel, a few roots began to peek out of their holes in the wall, questing inwards at the pace of geriatric snails.

  Needless to say, Verin and I passed through without incident.

  As perhaps was to be expected by now, we were once again met with a pedestal and a vegetal impediment -- this time a set of impossibly tough roots that not even my strongest blow could pierce -- but I’d learned what I’d needed to by now. The solution ended up being to brew the strongest plain-old poison I could, and within a few days, I succeeded. What ended up being our final barrier crumbled away, allowing us to move forward unmolested.

  Once again, I found myself hoping that we’d passed the extent of the dungeon’s trials. A faint, uneasy tingling from my Danger Sense implied that hope to be little more than wishful thinking, however. As we crept through the narrow, overgrown tunnel, only Cal was able to maintain some level of levity.

  “So? Has anyone been thinking about what the boss is going to look like?” She scratched a dagger at the side of the wall as we walked, cutting through patches of moss. Whether it was for fun or for finding hidden secrets, I couldn’t say, though I would have wagered on the prior.

  “And what grants you such high confidence that there will be a boss, Lady Calilah? Certainly, crafting three alchemical poisons is a suitable feat for this region, no?” I doubted Verin actually believed that, but it was nice to hear she thought it was possible, at least.

  “Nah. I didn’t really want to say anything because the quest rewards are based on how we clear it, and Tess seemed to be having fun, but I doubt alchemy was the only way to clear this puzzle. Pretty sure we could have conscripted the junglings to help somehow. Actually, I’m like 90% sure we could have just poured some of their soup onto the pedestals to get this far.”

  I felt my footsteps falter mid-stride as my brain started to short-circuit, only managing to eke out a single word: “What?” Why hadn’t she said anything earlier?

  Seeming to not realize what a bombshell she’d just dropped on me, Cal kept walking for a few paces before realizing I wasn’t keeping up. Only after clocking my expression did she see fit to stop, offering me a sheepish grin.

  “Hey. I’m not going to say this isn’t a shitty dungeon, and I wasn’t loving being cooped up here with nothing to do, but it’s not all bad. This is supposed to be some incredible training ground fit for the young generation of a rich-as-all-hells emperor, right? And on top of that, this region focuses on three of your skills -- Herbalism, Alchemy, and Poison Resistance. Four if we take your word for it that those vats of poison are actually soups.” Despite my insistence, she remained unconvinced.

  “Why waste a good training opportunity?” As she spoke, Cal scooted over to Verin, nudging her in the ribs. “And besides, we made good use of our time. Verin and I picked up Alchemy and Herbalism at the Novice rank. Mostly with safe plants and brewing crappy antidotes, but it’s still something, yeah?”

  It… it all made sense, I supposed. The soup part, too. If the one I’d sampled was a paralytic, what had stopped me from dumping an entire cauldron of it onto the second pedestal? Was there an anti-regenerating soup I could have used for the first?

  She was entirely right that I didn’t regret the training. Any way I swung it, two Alchemy levels and two Herbalism levels in under two weeks was pretty stellar, at least for skills that weren’t class aligned. At the same time, missing the obvious solution had me kicking myself, effectively dissolving whatever pride I felt from brewing a named potion.

  “Less being gloomy! In any case, of course there’s a boss. We still haven’t figured out what the deal is with the soup and the creepy tunnels. Something has to be eating all the soup they’re sending down here, right? So? Has anyone been guessing what it’s going to be?” Stationary, Cal had transitioned from dragging her dagger along the wall to carving little pictures in the moss.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  To her credit, Cal’s question partially broke me from my funk as I contemplated it earnestly. Maybe my alchemy hadn’t been nearly as important as I’d thought, but there was still a chance I could use it against this imaginary boss of hers, wasn’t there?

  Before either of us could offer our thoughts, Cal beat us to the punch.

  “I’ve personally thought about it a lot. What horrifying creature could be down here, guzzling up all that soup? My vote is that we get all the way to the depths of the temple, and it’s just a normal guy waiting for us. Like, we’re going to get into the boss chamber, and he’ll say, ‘Hey! I’m a normal guy who really likes eating poison soup!’ That sounds about right, right?”

  Verin and I shared a look, the noble no longer able to keep her mouth shut at the warrior’s antics.

  “Lady Tess, I do not wish to cast aspersions on your character, but I have been meaning to inform you that you keep rather strange company. One of your closer companions happens to be entirely bereft of good sense.”

  For once, I was forced to take a clear stance on their usual squabbling. “Agreed.”

  Thus said, the two of us moved deeper into the tunnel, leaving Cal behind us. As she took up the rear, the princess kept mumbling about us “teaming up on her,” and her being a “misunderstood genius.” To the best of our abilities, we paid her no mind.

  “All right. You two win. I take it back.” After a long walk into the heart of the temple, Cal stood side by side with us, gazing out into a cavernous room that could fit our humble cabin dozens of times over. At last, we had discovered the pyramid’s main chamber.

  Thick beige tubers covered its perimeter, seeming to ooze directly from the ceiling. These roots parted only at five locations, revealing five vine-laden holes in the wall. If there was any doubt as to the relation between these holes and the ones we’d seen above ground, it was soon dispelled: As we watched, a stream of familiar soup fell from one of the tunnels, landing directly into a large trough set up to catch it.

  All of this, however, was entirely inconsequential in the face of the room’s main feature. Or perhaps main occupant would be more accurate. For, in one sense, Cal had been entirely correct: There was a boss waiting for us here. In another, she had been very, very wrong. In absolutely no universe could the being before us be considered “a normal guy.”

  The size of its body put even Tal’Ket to shame, its massive form covered in sickly green scales. Four legs sprouted from beneath it, thick enough to crush tree trunks with ease, and an extensive, sinuous tail extended from its back. While both of these body parts were imposing in their own rights, neither held a candle to the beast’s main identifying feature.

  From its torso, five long necks diverged from one another, each ending in a fearsome serpentine head. Here, the scales merged and stretched to create something akin to an armored crown, lending the heads an aura that was equally regal as it was deadly.

  The effect would have been far more imposing under other circumstances, but for now, the creature slumbered, its various necks coiled up in a haphazard pile.

  Quest updated: The Hungering Jungling

  You have found the region’s guardian. Defeat it to secure safe passage out of the jungle. Be advised that while it’s normally vegetarian, it’s perfectly willing to make an exception if you give it a chance…

  Having some extra clarity for our quest was a plus, I supposed, but none of us were feeling particularly optimistic when faced with the creature before us.

  “I will certainly try, but I do not believe I will be capable of freezing… that.” Of the three of us, Verin was the most clearly unnerved. It was understandable given the fights she’d been in thus far -- The only truly large monster she’d fought was Din’Ket, and she’d done so far away and on the back of a powerful protector. This was another matter entirely.

  I hit the boss with God’s Eye, catching its name: Adaptive Jungle Hydra. Before I could read any further, however, things quickly took a turn for the worse.

  Steam wafted off from the trough the soup had recently fallen into, seeming to serve as a siren call to one of the five heads. Two beady eyes blearily opened, the head they belonged to slowly questing out towards its meal.

  Only, it never made it.

  Halfway to its goal, the colossal serpent’s head froze, flicking its forked tongue out to taste the air.

  With a speed belied by its great size, the head snapped to the side, unerringly homing in directly on us.

  Before Cal could even attempt to make some form of quip, the hydra opened wide its gaping maw, letting loose a sound from nightmares. Half screeching roar, half sibilant hiss, the noise bounced and echoed off every surface, accompanied by a mana-filled green fog which billowed from its throat.

  In an instant, the other four heads awoke, and the gaseous cloud expanded to fill half the room. Unfortunately, the three of us didn’t have time to appreciate either of these facts, as we had much more immediate concerns to deal with.

  You have been poisoned!

  Take 15 damage per second for 10 seconds.

  Natural healing reduced by 50%.

  All healing spells and effects reduced by 60%.

  The actual poison in the air should have been far, far away still, and out of caution, I was still using Internal Breeze, which should have negated it in any case. With the hydra’s roar, however, Understanding perked up, shooting me a skill description even as I suffered from it.

  Noxious Howl

  Release a howl that carries your natural poison. Any beings in earshot will suffer from a stack of your poison. Bypasses any mundane sound muffling items.

  I didn’t even bother to shout at the others, instead grabbing them by the arms and rapidly high-tailing it out of there. Cal caught on quickly, completely vanishing, leaving me with a free hand which I used to toss Verin into a princess carry. Flaring Flash Feet, I sprinted down the tunnel with all I had.

  Tragically, my speed still left something to be desired. Only a second later, four howls joined the first, complete with a quartet of new ailments.

  You have been paralyzed!

  All motion halted.

  -5 Dexterity

  You have been stamina poisoned!

  -5 Endurance

  -5 stamina per second.

  All stamina expenditures heightened.

  You have been mana poisoned!

  -5 Wisdom

  -5 mana per second.

  All mana expenditures heightened.

  You have been inflicted with a blood-rot poison!

  Continuously lose blood internally. Remaining blood slowly thickens.

  All four came with damage notifications on top of the secondary effects, moving my periodic damage into genuinely frightening territory. Then again, it wasn’t me that I needed to be worried about. A quick glance at the noble form in my arms made that overwhelmingly clear.

  Verin’Sylus: Level 18 Advancing Glacier, 331/350hp, 447 Prestige

  Damn. Damn, damn, damn. I frantically began to cast Heal and Cure in rapid succession, focusing the first on Verin while I reserved the second for myself. With so many different poisons running through me, my newest spell took a few tries to work as desired. Combined with my high Poison Resistance and a small boost from Impairment Resistance, though, it managed to do its job.

  Cure has removed paralysis poison. Normal motion restored.

  Cure has reached level 6!

  I immediately switched the target of the spell, attempting to cure Verin even as her skin began to disappear beneath a layer of frost.

  If there was one silver lining, it was that none of the heads tried to howl again. Whether that was due to arrogance or some skill cooldown, I couldn’t say. That didn’t mean they were content to let us leave, however.

  With outraged cries and stomps that shook the entire temple, the hydra charged towards the tunnel we were running through. Far too large to squeeze its bulky form into the narrow confines, it did the next best thing: Five heads aimed their toxic gullets our way, and they exhaled.

  In an instant, the thick cloud of poison barreled into us, easily overtaking me despite my best attempts. Here, though, we’d arrived prepared.

  Internal Breeze has cleansed the air of poison.

  With Verin having retreated into her glacier, both of us were fully immune to any airborne toxins. With each step, the beast’s audible displeasure grew more and more distant, until I found the temple and its tunnel behind me, spilling out into the ruins surrounding the pyramid. Not until I was on the far side of the clearing did I stop, crashing to the jungle floor and depositing Verin’s frigid form beside me.

  As she was wont to do, Cal soon appeared out of thin air, leaning over us.

  “Well, that sucked. Not to sound too defeatist, but how are we supposed to beat something like that? We nearly died just from listening to it.” Despite having taken a stack of the initial poison, Cal looked none the worse for wear, her own healing and Poison Resistance sufficient to protect her.

  Lying there, still attempting to cure away the last bits of poison, I could only ask myself the same question. What level was it even? I scrolled back through my notifications, pulling up the results from God’s Eye that I’d been looking over being so rudely interrupted.

  A description followed the basic information, and as I read through it, my mounting dread was completely washed away.

  Despite the unexpected ordeal we’d just been through, I found myself with the start of a grin on my face.

  “I know exactly how to beat it.”

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