As the door to the private room shut, Max stared at the food Alexander had brought and set on their table.

“We aren’t paying this man enough,” he muttered, motioning to the food before them. “One of you three has to make him understand we need to pay for all this.”

Fowl was already chewing on a piece of meat while nodding in agreement.

“Eat, and let’s talk,” Batrire said, motioning to the plates of food before them. “I want to hear more about this being too easy.”

Sighing, Max nodded, picked up his tankard, and took a long drink.

“We shouldn’t have near enough points to hit Rank C yet. We just hit D, and now we are suddenly C? That doesn’t make sense.”

Tanila nodded. “The question is, who can make that happen and why?”

Having swallowed the massive bite of food, Fowl pointed a finger at Max and Tanila. “You’re both looking at things wrong. We are Rank C, and we should rejoice in that! However it happened, someone is looking out for us!”

Batrire shook her head at Fowl, who looked at her confused. “They are right, you fool. I’m not sure who made the four of us the next rank, but it puts us in a bad position by lowering our rewards.”

Everyone ate in silence as they mulled over what this could mean.

Leaning back in the chair, Max studied the empty plates stacked in front of Fowl. “You sure eat a lot for being the smallest person on this team.”

Snorting, Fowl grabbed his tankard and emptied it, releasing a massive belch before slamming the cup on the table.

“Wew… I feel better now!”

Waving her hand near her face, Batrire grimaced and scooted her chair back.

“Gods, that smells worse than usual.”

Chuckling, Fowl leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head, “So what have we decided?”

“None of the possibilities add up,” Tanila answered.

Max nodded, having pointed that out earlier and listening to her complain.

“Regardless, nothing else changes. Tomorrow, we repeat the process. In a few days, we can get everyone to level thirty-five. From there, a few more dungeons will open up for us.”

Fowl grunted and stood up, moving to Batrire's chair and giving it a gentle tug. “Care to join me in the master suite?”

“Like you actually paid for it,” she replied, rolling her eyes but quickly hopping out of the chair.

“Aye, I paid for it. Unlike some who got arrested and thrown into jail, I’m the dwarf who obeys the law.”

Tanila laughed as Max held up a middle finger.

“You two don’t stay up too late,” Batrire said as she followed Fowl toward the door. “I would probably wait at least ten minutes before coming upstairs.”

Fowl turned around, his face and cheeks red.

“Maybe even just five minutes,” teased Tanila as the two left the room.

Lying in bed, Max closed his eyes, trying to will himself to the place where he could talk to whatever was inside him. No matter how hard he tried, he never succeeded.

Two days passed of challenging grinding out experience by killing the golems and dragonkin. At the end of the second day, Fowl, Tanila, and Batrire had managed to hit level thirty-five.

“Are we up for trying a new dungeon?” Max asked.

“I’m up for anything as long as we don’t have to fight any more golems,” Fowl grimaced.

“The guild has a warning about this dungeon being harder than most due to the centaurs’ speed,” Max stated. “Remember, they won’t engage like other enemies we usually face.”

Fowl grunted as he stayed closer to Tanila and Batrire. “So how are we going to do this?”

“We will figure it out. Our biggest strength comes from Tanila’s and my ability to ensnare or root things.”

The dungeon was a massive, flat area with short grass that shifted gently in the wind. A rare occasional tree rose up in the massively flat grassy plain. The top of the dungeon looked like a sunny day, with small clouds drifting across the sky.

Massive mountains encircled the entire floor, creating a bowl that seemed to encompass everything.

Ahead was a pack of three centaurs. One with a sword and shield, while the other two had bows and quivers of arrows. Each one was taller than a grown horse. Muscles rippled across their massive humanoid torso that connected to a horse's body.

“I can stealth in and maybe take out one, or at least disable it. Then Tanila can ensnare the back one.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Fowl said, rotating his shoulders as always before they started.

Attracting the centaur with the melee weapon was easy enough, but Fowl was initially surprised at how fast they were, even after Max had given a warning.

After the first attack on Fowl, the melee centaur attempted to dodge around him and head for both casters when it ran smack into an invisible wall of air. The stun from hitting it face-first allowed Fowl to swing solidly at its back leg while positioning himself for another attack.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Immediately, two arrows came flying from the archers aimed at Tanila, who dodged sideways as they approached.

Content to attack from a distance, neither noticed as Max approached from behind and took off both rear legs from the archer on the right.

The one on the left immediately started to run, turning its attention to Max, but vines grew underneath it, tangling its hooves.

Max ran forward, not wasting the moment, letting an arrow pierce his shoulder while swinging his halberd with all he had.

The cut went through the haunches of the centaur, cutting it cleanly in two.

With both archers out of commission and bleeding from their massive wounds, Max raced toward Fowl, who had managed to get a second attack on the same leg, limiting the centaur’s movement enough that it couldn’t focus on the casters behind him.

Two swings later, the warrior fell to the ground, cut in half by Max’s strikes.

“Holy elf tits,” muttered Fowl as he glanced at the corpse before him.

[ Consume has Consumed a Higher Rank Skill ]

[ Archery - Common has been upgraded to Archery - Rare ]

The cold wave hit him, and Max didn’t stumble as before. The effect from his upgraded Consume seemed to protect against it.

“Well, these centaurs don’t seem that tough,” Max stated, pointing at the three corpses. “I guess we can keep at this?”

“Most warriors also don't appear out of stealth and cut them in half either,” Tanila reminded Max as Fowl started cutting the mane off one of the centaurs.

“True, and I still had my spells in case we needed it.”

She nodded as Batrire bent down to inspect the hair Fowl had collected. “Seems weird, but I guess the weavers would want something like this.”

Packs of four and five fell with little trouble as the combined spells of Max and Tanila kept the runners in place, and Fowl managed to protect Batrire and Talina.

“Think we can take six?”

Max glanced at Fowl and grimaced. “I’d rather not. Even if I get one from the start, that leaves three archers free. Last time that one was a pain while it ran around before we could land an ensnare on it.”

“So we’re done then?”

“For today, with this dungeon, sure. We still have two others we can attempt if you want.”

“Not the spider one,” Batrire said, a noticeable look of fear on her face as she squirmed where she stood.

“Alright, on to the ape one then.”

The moment they portaled into the ape dungeon, the humidity and heat of the floor hit them. Water seemed to coat their skin within seconds, and the ground was slightly squishy from the air's moisture.

Massive jungle trees with vines running everywhere filled the zone around them, and Max couldn’t help but groan as he saw the thick brush that would need clearing to get through.

“This seems worse than the centaur one,” Tanila said as she pulled at her robe to keep it from sticking to her chest. “Are we sure this one was supposed to be easier?”

Laughing, Max shook his head. “I didn’t say easier. I said different. None of these are considered easy.”

“Let’s just try one and see what happens,” Fowl said, motioning at a path that seemed to lead through the underbrush and trees.

“Warrior’s first,” Batrire said, motioning for Max or Fowl to lead.

“Incoming!”

Max didn’t have time to activate stealth as three massive gorillas, each over ten feet tall and wearing plate armor, fell from the tree tops above them.

Their path was a perfect ambush spot for an attack from above.

With Fowl at the back, both casters were trapped between the two warriors.

“Freezing!”

Tanila didn’t hesitate to cast her ice prison on the one that dropped in the middle near them, stopping it a few meters from where the two of them stood.

The other two gorillas roared and charged, colliding with Max and Fowl.

Both pulled massive clubs from their backs and unleashed a flurry of blows that sounded like a gong as they impacted against the warrior’s shield.

“Rooting!”

Max parried and blocked, struggling with hits from the gorilla's massive attack, unable to land any real attacks of his own.

Large roots came from the ground, grabbing at the gorilla’s feet. As they did, it didn’t hesitate, ignoring Max momentarily. It started swinging at the roots that were binding it.

“They are smart!” Max shouted as he stepped back, put away his shield, and swung with his halberd at the gorilla’s side.

[ Power Strike ]

The beast tried to parry the attack, but with the added strength from the skill, it sliced through the club and tore through the creature’s chest.

The gorilla roared for a moment before falling backward, its torso sliced in half, spraying blood everywhere.

[ 2 Strength Consumed ]

[Consume has successfully Consumed a skill]

[ Skill does not match beings body type ]

[ Consume is adjusting skill ]

[Would you like to learn [Intimidation]?]

[ Yes / No]

Max selected yes, thankful when he didn’t stumble as the skill flowed through his mind. Max turned, looking at the gorilla locked in the ice, and saw it still frozen solid.

“I’m coming!” he shouted, running behind the creature and activating Stealth.

Using both hands, Max drove the tip of the halberd into the beast's skull, right under the base of the plate helm it wore, killing it with one strike.

[ 2 Strength Consumed ]

Grinning, Max raced to where Fowl was suffering under a consecutive rain of blows. His plate armor was taking the hits well, but the strikes Fowl landed did minor damage compared to what the gorilla did.

Ten yards from Fowl, Max saw the gorilla open its mouth and roar.

A wave of unknown force assaulted his mind, causing him to pause for half a second.

Fowl froze as the skill hit him, unable to block the subsequent attacks that rained down on his head and shoulders, knocking him to the ground.

Both Tanila and Batrire appeared unaffected, resisting the skill as Max had. Thankfully, Batrire was able to heal the injuries Fowl was sustaining as Tanila threw up a stone wall, blocking the attacks for a moment.

Suddenly, the gorilla leaped over the stone wall and came at Tanila, almost covering the distance in one jump.

A wall of air caught it in the chest, and as it slid off it toward the ground, Max spun, delivering a massive blow to the gorilla’s left side.

It roared and turned, limping from the almost five-inch deep gash.

Casting ensnare, Max watched as the roots came up from the ground. They were not as thick as Tanila’s but were still doing their job and held the beast in place.

It was unable to move and struggled to stay standing. Max ran behind it, using its limited movement to his advantage, and hacked and stabbed at the creature until he severed its spinal column near its legs.

The roars it let out as it fell echoed through the jungle, and a few new ones responded moments later.

“That’s bad!” Tanila exclaimed.

Nodding, Max pointed back in the direction they had come. “You two go! I got Fowl!”

Max sighed as the two women ran past him, ignoring the dying gorilla and dashing to where Fowl was starting to come around.

Grabbing his dwarven ally by the back of his plate armor, Max hoisted him up and threw him over his shoulder as he ran along the path they had just come.

Behind them, the jungle echoed with roars that matched the one the crippled gorilla had made.

Everyone was panting when they returned to the portal, the sounds of the gorillas having died down.

“Put me down!” Fowl shouted, kicking lightly at Max, who set him on the ground.

“Now you know how I felt,” Batrire said, chuckling at Fowl as he took a moment to get situated.

“Outside, now!” snapped Tanila as some of the trees off in the distance seemed to be shaking.

No one argued as everyone raced into the portal.