“You’re wasting power! Focus on one leg, then let it travel up from there!”

Tanila grunted and nodded, waiting for her ensnare ability to come off cooldown. Once it was ready, she raised a hand, and Tom began jogging around the training field.

“He is something else, isn’t he?” Fowl asked, massaging his neck with a hand. “I didn’t think he’d kick my arse so easily or so fast.”

Max nodded, hearing Fowl’s question but watching Tanila as she tried to follow their trainer's instructions.

A few hours ago, they arrived after a good night's sleep and got their first real experience sparring with a tower climber.

Others stopped and watched as Fowl and Max sparred with Tom, occasionally cheering them on or letting out a groan. It was as if they felt the man's years of experience firsthand.

Tanila had not realized all the little tricks her spells had to them. Tom demonstrated to her some new combinations of ways to use her spells. He had been shocked to discover that she had elemental mastery but said nothing, reminding them again that their skills and abilities were secrets known only to him and Everett.

The roots sprang up as Tom’s foot was about to hit the ground, vines reaching up first and grabbing his ankle and foot. The older man was fast and quick, but he was playing fair. He was not using his strength or speed to break or prevent her spell from landing but helping Tanila understand how to hold down a target better.

As the first foot was ensnared, the roots reached out, helping to lock down Tom’s other foot and leg.

“Good! Much better! The timing on that was your best yet!”

After praising her, Tom strode toward her, ripping the roots and vines off his legs as if they were nothing more than a piece of string.

“That’s insane,” Fowl muttered. “I’m not sure even you could do that.”

Max nodded, smirking as he saw the actual difference in power. Inside him, the voice had already mentioned multiple times how powerful Max could have become if Tom had met an unfortunate fate.

“I think you four are about as ready as a group can be,” Tom said after he got near the four of them. “Let’s talk tactics real quick since I heard how things went the last time you ventured into the dungeons below your current level.”

“The centaurs are tough, as you learned. Their ability to kite you makes getting close very difficult, and much falls upon Tanila's shoulders. She has to lock them down, and you have to close that gap. If they run off and bring friends, it will only get worse. Not having a fifth person,” Tom held up his hand, stopping Fowl from what he was about to say, “makes this harder, and yes, I know you’re not looking for one right now. Eventually, you need to consider an archer or another mage. Realize each of these dungeons is based on some of the tower floors. Some floors might only take a day or two to beat while others up near the top can take months.”

Max wanted to gag at that possibility even though he already knew it. Spending a month on a floor was difficult to imagine.

“The spider dungeon is one you need to try and eventually beat. We have potions you can get here to help with poison, but there are tactics they use that are best learned now instead of inside the tower.”

Holding up his third finger, Tom frowned. “The giant apes… those things are, pardon the pun, beasts. They have a higher strength than most adventurers, especially the ones wearing plate armor. They are fast and have a solid amount of health. Add in their intelligence, group tactics, and, as you mentioned from your only visit, calling for reinforcements.”

Tom crossed his arms as he stared at them. “This is only the beginning of creatures like that. The dungeons are all about learning how to overcome these things. Your rise through the tower can only happen if you know how to do that before you get somewhere, and suddenly twenty monsters are attacking. And please, please do not go into the level forty dungeons until we’ve helped you prepare for them.”

Max nodded, having already read up on them, and realized how bad things would get.

“Any questions?”

Everyone looked at each other and shook their heads.

“Good,” Tom said with a single nod. “Now, Fowl, Tanila, and Batrire go inside and get six potions to cure poison. I need a word with Seth for a moment since it appears he is your leader.”

The three of them glanced at Max and then at Tom but nodded and moved toward the faction house.

Once they were gone, Tom turned his attention to Max, who did his best not to shift under the man’s gaze.

“So, are you going to be honest with me about what level you really are?”

Tom’s question caught Max a little off guard, but he’d known it would come at some point.

“Does it matter?” Max replied, watching as Tom’s expression didn’t change.

“No,” he answered, rubbing his chin with a finger. “The problem with sparring with me is that I have spent years with adventurers like yourself. You move faster than most rogues and hit harder than you should. I’ve done some research and know your gear is good enough to potentially come close to what I suspect your stats are. Based on how you handle my attacks and combos, I also have an idea of your skills.”The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Tom took a step and got right up next to Max. “If I didn’t know better, I would say you are at level fifty. Maybe even a few levels higher. This leads me to wonder why you are grouping with those three except how I see you and your mage look at each other.”

Max’s heart felt like it was trying to set a new record for how fast it could beat. He was doing everything within his power not to react to what Tom was saying.

“Listen to me carefully. I want you to know I won’t tell Everett or anyone else about your level. Do what you want, but know if you desire a trip into the tower, I’ll gladly just take you with me. I have no doubt you would pass the level check, and you could quickly rise in power based on what I’ve seen today. Yet if you do, we both know you can’t help your friends anymore. You would level too quickly, and they wouldn’t get any experience if that gap became too great.”

Nodding once, Max kept his mouth shut.

“I heard what you did to that boy in the arena. If you were level thirty, I guess the rumors of you heading into dungeons alone and fighting alone have also got to be true.”

Max couldn’t help it, his eyes narrowed at Tom’s words.

Tom chuckled and grinned. “Yes, people notice when a warrior heads off by himself toward dungeons. Even Dexic mentioned that you were standing outside the troll dungeon like a fool, ‘wanting to test your weapon’ against one of them.”

Groaning, Max took a deep breath and let it out. “She told you about that?”

Howling with laughter, Tom finally coughed after he stopped and nodded. “She told me she finally met someone as dumb as I was. I often tried dungeons solo because I had gotten fortunate with an item that helped me level alone. That would explain the growth and how you are further ahead of your friends.”

Tom’s hand reached out and grabbed Max’s shoulder. “Not to mention the experience you would have gained if the rumor about what you faced on the street was true.”

A slight twitch of his eye made Tom nod, and the man removed his hand and leaned back.

“I said all that to now say this. Be careful with them. If you do all of the work, they will depend too much on you, and there will come a time when you can’t save them. They need to know how to handle themselves. That is why I was much harder with them after we sparred.”

Max gestured he understood with his head.

“I’m assuming they know?”

“They do,” Max replied.

“Good. Secrets between a group at this stage in one's adventuring career are dangerous. Better that each person knows and trusts the others completely.”

Tom’s attention turned toward the faction house, where he could see Tanila, Batrire, and Fowl all exiting.

“Now listen to what I’m about to say, and please believe me when I say this. Do not go into the dungeons for the last ten levels alone. No matter how strong you think you are, one mistake can cost you your life. What you will face as your group makes it to level fifty will be worse than what you faced outside the walls yesterday. Do you understand?”

Max nodded.

“Good. Now, go join your group and have fun in that spider dungeon. Just remember, take things slow and check every shadow. Those damn spiders love to hide.”

Tom stuck out his hand, and Max shook it. Tom then turned and moved off toward another area on the training grounds where two other faction members were sparring, leaving Max to meet his friends.

“That looked interesting,” Tanila said when they reached where Max was standing. “Everything ok?”

Nodding, Max shrugged. “Seems Tom is a lot smarter than I realized. He knows I’m stronger than you all.”

Each of his three friends' eyes shifted between where Tom was across the training area and back to Max.

“As in…” Fowl said, waiting for Max to explain.

“As in, he believes I’m level fifty, and I need to be careful and not protect you all too much. I was also told I shouldn’t go into the level forty to fifty dungeons by myself.”

Batrire winced. “That’s it?”

“No,” Max replied, shaking his head. “I can share more in the dungeon. For now, we need to try out this spider one. Tom said it’s going to be fun.”

“On me!” Fowl shouted as the two spiders he saw spinning their webs came at him along the stone floor. The tunnel they were in was dark, and the lightstone he had dropped on the ground before throwing a rock at those two did not give off as much light as he had hoped.

Max grunted as he tried to stay hidden, but their tunnel seemed to have every inch covered in webs, including the floor. “Stealth won't work!” he yelled as a third spider descended on a thick thread of webbing from the tunnel's darkness behind the other two, its face full of eyes looking right at Max.

Fowl looked so small compared to the spiders that were coming toward him. Their eight legs clattered against the stone, and their hair looked more like spikes than something soft one might want to feel. Chelicerae as big as the dwarf’s head opened and closed, and a green liquid started to ooze from its mouth, covering the black fangs.

“Helping you first!” Max shouted as he moved back toward Fowl as the first two spiders closed in on him. One paused momentarily and shot out some web from its backside, streaming like liquid before splattering all over Fowl’s plate armor and starting to harden.

“I’m fine!” the dwarf said as he hefted up his shield and began to swing his hammer toward the spider that was almost upon him.

The spider didn’t even flinch as it bit down on Fowl’s shield and tried to wrench it free from the dwarf. His hammer slammed into the face, catching one of its eight eyes. The creature hissed and yanked back, almost pulling Fowl off his feet as it kept a grip on the dwarf’s shield.

Running to help, Max got there in time to swing his halberd at the first spider. He sliced through its carapace with ease, sending guts and innards falling to the floor.

It let out a horrible, ear-piercing screech, which hurt Max for a brief moment before his sonar skills were able to deal with it.

The second spider came at Max, realizing he was a bigger threat, and lunged forward with a speed that was not obvious from how it ran.

Spinning quickly, Max lifted his halberd and allowed the spider to impale itself onto the weapon.

It took the weapon deep into its abdomen, and its legs reached for Max as it tried to grab and bite him. A stream of white came from the spinnerets pointing at him, spraying Max in the face and covering his whole front with the liquid that quickly started to harden.

“I’ve got the third!” Fowl shouted, seeing his friend currently engaged.

Max didn’t respond, allowing his sonar skill to help him move his head away from the fangs snapping at him while keeping the legs from latching on to him.

Then, Max sensed behind him two more spiders descending on his friends from above.

“Tanila, look up!”