What the heck? Lucas grumbled and cursed as he saw the numbers. So, at Level 3, the players will get to bring NPCs.

Thankfully, there was only a single caster out of all eight combatants. Lucas began channeling Meddling Minds as soon as he saw the Mage, but his opponent was quicker. A blast of fire soared in his direction before he could even complete channeling his own spell, forcing him to dodge away to the side. By the time he collected himself and was prepared to begin casting again, his guards had already been turned to shish kabobs by arrows and then hacked apart by a combination of daggers and swords. Only one of his defenders had succeeded in attacking someone, striking with his halberd before being gutted, but even that small injury was healed by one of the Healers as soon as it was inflicted.

I should have started with Chain Lightning and been faster about it. Lucas cursed as he finished casting Meddling Minds. He managed to get it off right before another Firebolt spell was cast at him, and this time, the flaming orb crashed into three of his foes from behind.

“It’ll be my treasure!” the Mage shouted, sticking to his previous script. Unfortunately for him, that new script ended seconds later with his own demise when the archer next to him pulled out a dagger and slit his throat.

Lucas unleashed the three charges of Chain Lightning he had been preparing, but a Force Shield instantly sprang up in front of him, causing the spells to rebound toward him. He gained half a point of Lightning attunement, but it was little comfort as the Lightning magic arced through his body.

Agony rippled through his every nerve, and his muscles involuntarily contracted against his will. Unable to move, all he could do was watch helplessly as his health plummeted from damage dealt by his own spells. He grunted through the pain and watched his impending death, certain of the fact that he was finally going to die due to his own carelessness, but the second his health hit 1 HP, the scenario changed. The enemies disappeared, and he was once more back in his own chamber with a full Hit Point gauge. He had suffered a humiliating defeat, but he was unharmed.

“You’ll get used to it,” Xun Guan said, a knowing smile on her face. “The pain fades with the scenario, which is a good thing when it’s basically your job to die nearly every encounter. If this dungeon gets as busy as we hope, there’s a good chance you’ll end up having to fight one group after the other for hours on end. The system compensates by stopping you from dying and healing you up after each defeat.”