Must and soot fills the air as we pass into the cave - sadly, the name of Minestrone fails to conjure the smell of the same. Though, anything`s better than the stench of troll& fluids. I feel my breakfast crawling its way back up just thinking about it. The cave quickly grows dark, with only faint glimmers of light penetrating this deep inside, but Sammy conjures a small orb of crimson flame to illuminate our path.

　　Thankfully our three friends` venture along a different branch through the mines, leaving just the two of us to meander about our chosen path. Despite everything, including how tense her steps were a few moments ago, Sammy now seems completely at ease, even cracking a smile as we whisper to each other about our plans and about her adventures while I was locked up in our room.

　　"Ash, I just wanted to apologize," she says in the middle of our conversation. "I shouldn`t have been so harsh on you earlier. I just- I don`t like seeing you get hurt, you know! Even though I know you can take care of yourself, that doesn`t mean I don`t worry when I see you charging at trolls and getting stabbed by crow feathers."

　　Her words sting harder than any of those feathers ever did, though I`m not sure why. It annoys me that she doesn`t believe that yes, I know what I`m doing in this world. My actions, calculated through decades of practice and theorycrafting, are enough to ensure that I can survive all future encounters. But only barely, in some cases. And I think the fact that she doesn`t like I`ve been scraping by these fights so tightly. Is she that worried about me?

　　I shake my head - of course I`m being a heartless dumbass! I`m too busy thinking about this game as just that, a game. And for me, it is, or maybe a stepping stone back to real life. But to her, this isn`t a game. This is her real life, her world, the only one she knows. And I wouldn`t want to see my friends get hurt either. Wait - does she consider me a friend? It`s too awkward to try to ask.

　　"You`re right," I say after ruminating on it. "There`s a lot of things that I-. That we will need to do in the coming weeks and months that won`t be pleasant, that won`t be fun. That`s just the life of an adventurer. The life you chose when you decided to leave Penne and set out to find your place in this vast odyssey. And part of that means accepting danger, accepting the possibility that you or I might get hurt. Badly, even. Knowing that`s the case, don`t you agree that it`d be best if we work to get stronger and adapt to the challenges in situations where we know we`re safe, where we can retreat as soon as needed to prevent long-term, serious injury?"

　　Sammy turns to me and sighs. "I guess you make a point, Ash. Doesn`t mean I have to like it, though."

　　That`s fair. I decide to change the subject. "I could go for some music right about now to go with this dungeon exploration. It`s pretty quiet in here."

　　"Now you`re just messing with me, Ash." She playfully slugs my shoulder, though, with her being a bit stronger after these last few days, it still leaves me sore just a bit.

　　Honestly, it would be nice to actually be playing LSO instead of living it - one of the best parts of that game was that it had an absolutely stellar soundtrack, with some absolute bangers, including some incredible progressive rock music for some of the dungeons, and the track that plays in the Minestrone Mines is absolute fire! That perfect balance of grittiness with adventurous spirit to get you absolutely pumped as you explore the tribulations of your first dungeon. Thankfully, other than the fights at the end of the dungeon, none of the cave`s inhabitants are that dangerous.

　　Another thing that really doesn`t make sense when you think about it too hard - the notion that the relative strength of monsters and even wild animals increases almost monotonically as you continue on through your adventures. No encountering Half-Celestial Behemoths or Dire Phoenixes in the first couple of towns. Good for gameplay, but here, it makes one wonder about the ecosystem and how it manages to so elegantly cordon different beasts off by their battle capabilities.

　　We encounter our first collective of monsters - four giant spiders. Far larger than the ones on Earth, though no towering behemoths, they about reach waist height. Ugly, in a grotesque sort of way, with numerous compound eyes pointed directly at us and their forelegs raised as though to pounce given the slightest window of opportunity. Sammy readies her rod to attack them, though I yell out to her before she can finish her incantations.

　　"Why are you trying to stop me? Are you planning to get stung by these things in the name of toughening up your body?`"

　　"Nothing of the sort," I say. "I simply don`t wish for you to exhaust all your mana. We`ll be encountering more trolls later on, and while I can swing this sword all day, you only have a limited number of those spells you can cast, and I have a feeling we`ll be needing every one of them before the day is done."

　　I stab the closest one, which squeals out some horrible gurgling sounds before expiring. Driven by rage, the other three scurry closer, those beady eyes making me shudder for a half second before I regain my composure. A part of me wants to conserve my limited mana, but mine is a lot less important than Sammy`s since she`s our only source of fire damage right now. Channeling my fighting spirit once more, I launch a blade of solidified air forward with a sweeping horizontal slash of my sword, slicing the nearer two clean in twain and delivering a glancing blow to the last one. It approaches Sammy, but a quick thwack of her rod is sufficient to stun it and a follow-up slash of my sword sends it hurtling to the ground with a lifeless sigh.

　　Despite the skirmish, I don`t feel any noticeable fatigue. A lot of games releasing around the time of my, uh, passing, started incorporating stamina meters to prevent players from just going all out, assaulting enemies in a button-mashing frenzy. Thankfully, LSO didn`t have such a mechanic, meaning I can charge enemies and swing this sword around all day long without a whit of fatigue for the trouble. If only my Earth body had such fortitude& well, I suppose then I wouldn`t be here right now. Not sure whether to curse or bless my luck right now.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

　　We continue on through the mines uneventfully. Sammy has gone from timid and cautious when we began to& almost cheery? She has a certain confidence to her step which in any other circumstance I`d find utterly irresistible, but I manage to hold myself back in the midst of our exploration. Though Sammy is all cheery with our lack of monsters, I find myself unable to relax.

　　Something isn`t right. We`re nearly at the boss chamber but we`ve only encountered one battle. In over three hundred attempts at this game, I`ve nearly always had either three or four fights. Very rarely, maybe once in twenty attempts, I get a lucky two-battle dungeon. But a single encounter makes no sense. That lingering doubt about the plot changing on me creeps up yet again, though a sudden roar and the return of that oh-so-pleasant aroma of troll in the chamber forces my attention elsewhere.

　　Two trolls - one of them nothing special, but the second gargantuan even by troll standards, perhaps eleven feet tall, towering halfway up to the ceiling stalactites in the large natural cave in the deepest parts of the mine. As the two of us stare down the two of them, my eyes briefly scan the rest of the surroundings. As expected, the faint coppery sheen of metallic ores glints in the dim light of Sammy`s flaming orb, with some interspersed teal-colored crystals I cannot identify.

　　I take a defensive stance, posturing myself between Sammy and the nearer of the two trolls and sigh. Sammy`s going to hate me for this, but I have to plan ahead for the ambush I know is coming and conserve our resources as best as possible. Even if it means putting myself in harm`s way.

　　Thankfully, I`ve gotten stronger since the initial assault on Rigatoni and the weaker troll`s movements seem to be almost in slow motion as I weave through its hardy yet clumsy defenses. Choosing to preserve momentum and mitigate the risk of damage, I choose a hit and run strategy, delivering quick hits at the lesser enemy`s legs when I have an opening, while also making sure I`m always in range to intercept should one of them attack Sammy. Not just because I`ll be damned back to the afterlife before I ever let these insolent filthbags harm the woman I fancy, but because I also need her magic if we`re ever going to take out these insolent beasts.

　　It`s not long before the first troll goes down and a well-timed Firebolt ensures it won`t be coming back up. But the boss troll is proving to be a bit more resilient, especially by the standards of this point in the game. Even with my overpowered sword slashing at it, it seems to be absorbing way more punishment than anything up to this point.

　　I flit through my knowledge of the game, trying to remember something - anything - about this monster`s weaknesses, and its vibrant bluish hue makes me shudder. Ice immunity!

　　"Oh, shit," I mutter. I don`t have a non-elemental weapon on me, and I didn`t think about this resistance. You can`t even normally have any ice elemental attacks at this point in the game, unless you grind the protagonist up to level& 31, was it, when you learn the Frozen Fury technique? But by that level, the fight is long-since trivialized.

　　I shake my head, trying to focus away from my unbridled rage toward the game devs and toward figuring out a strategy. I don`t want to ask Sammy to expend her limited mana pool, so we`re just going to have to do this the long, hard way. I stow my Ice Blade and draw my trusty stick. It`s going to hit like a feather but as I experienced a few days ago, it is possible to die by a few hundred of them. Good thing there`s no stamina meter. I chuckle.

　　"What are you doing?" Sammy asks. "I thought you said you weren`t going to be a hare-brained buffoon and actually fight for real!"

　　"I am! But the damned thing resists my ice-element attacks! And this is the only weapon I have that deals non-elemental damage!"

　　"Ash? I`m going to assume those are actual words and trust that you know what you`re doing. But if I later find out that you`re just messing around, playing games in the middle of a dungeon& Well, you best hope that the goddess herself has mercy on your soul, because you`ll be visiting her real soon!"

　　I nod, though I`m not sure if she can see me doing so as I charge forward, poking away at the troll`s legs, and evading or parrying its attacks, suffering only the occasional minor scuffle. Seconds turn into minutes, darting in and out of its grapple range, smacking it at every opportunity. For a while, I don`t see any progress, though after what might as well be five or even fifteen minutes, I finally start hearing signs that my attacks are dealing significant damage. Thank you, one damage minimums! And thank you, strength increases!

　　"Now, Sammy!" I cry out as the beast reaches critical health. Her Firebolts hit true and with one final Vacuum Slash, I split the beast`s head in two and send its body slamming onto the ground, the impact force so great that several stalactites break off the ceiling and slam into the dirt, sending dusty debris flying and skewering the troll`s lifeless body at least three times. Worse still is the smell, as I suspect those clouds of dust contain bits of troll droppings now desecrating my clothing and nostrils. But still, it`s a victory, and with plenty of health and magic to spare as our three friends` walk in with ominous smiles on their faces.

　　Experience: 2487

　　To Next: 463

　　Experience: 2409

　　To Next: 541

　　Ashley Lancaster

　　Level 9

　　Samantha Relford

　　Level 9

　　HP:

　　536 / 602

　　HP:

　　434 / 434

　　MP:

　　80 / 91

　　MP:

　　102 / 135

　　Learned Technique:

　　Taunt

　　Learned Spell:

　　Lightning Strike