I wasn't quite sure what to make of John. He was certainly jealous that I was special in some way, even if he didn't know quite how. He hated how I'd shown him up, able to endure the journey and hunting trip without difficulty. He was embarrassed at how I'd seen him fail to keep up. On the other hand, he was thankful that I'd given him the chance for a return visit to the dungeon, both for the experience, and, possibly even more so, because of the extra chance to grab this mystery skill of his. A chance for which he'd even been prepared to lend me his spear.

  The first horned rabbit I came across, I dropped my sack, gripped my borrowed spear tightly and prepared to dodge. It was useful that the dungeon only seemed to spawn single monsters in our path. I could dodge a single horned rabbit, but more than one at once would be dangerous.

  I yelled to get its attention, and as usual, its eyes fixed on me as the expression warped from happy bunny to psychopathic killer.

  ... Not that I was an expert on monster expressions, but it was certainly the impression it gave. It was something about the way the mouth curled up to show off the teeth.

  It leapt, and I placed the spear in its path. As expected, it skewered itself, but as feared, its momentum was sufficient to carry it completely over the spearhead and it started sliding down the shaft. I let go and leapt out of the way, only for the rabbit to keep going and pop off the other side.

  "Poo..." I commented, staring at the spear, which was now smeared with blood along its entire length. It took several minutes of rubbing it on the grass to get it sufficiently clean that my hands didn't feel in danger of slipping on it. "So much for being more efficient."

  The spear wasn't bladed, so I couldn't swipe with it. I could dodge the initial leap and then strike, but without a second person to pin down the monster, I didn't trust myself to be fast enough to always end it with that strike. Were there any other options? I didn't exactly have much to hand, other than my sack of food. There was a blanket in there, but that was our only nod to camping supplies. We didn't own such things as 'camping supplies' in the first place.

  Hmm... There was also one of our bricks of bread... It was there to satiate hunger, but not at all in the traditional way. Instead, a single look at it was enough for me to reconsider whether I was actually hungry.

  With difficulty, I poked a hole in it, then slid it up the haft of the spear as a sort of improvised backstop to the spearhead. Surprisingly, the next bunny I killed proved that it worked. Finally, a good use for that bread rather than eating it, a use that I didn't consider good at all.

  And with that, my momentum was set. Monster after monster died to John's spear. The experience was enough for another two levels, and even awarded a Mark.

  Shame the Mark didn't actually do anything.

  More chests spawned, each containing a skill crystal, although the only one that didn't teach [Farming] taught [Fishing]. Not that I'd turn my nose up at it; Skills like that could easily prove vital if I found myself in the wilds needing to forage, and surely [Fishing] wasn't the skill John was after.

  In fact, since no-one was watching me now...

  Three of the skill crystals crumbled to dust as I was once more assaulted by knowledge. The skills may have only been at the first stage, but three of them at once was still heavy going. Three, and yet I still had one more skill point than when I'd arrived at the dungeon earlier in the day. It was a pity I still hadn't found a combat or magical skill of some sort.

  I was, however, feeling tired. With my more efficient solo hunting, it hadn't taken me as long to hunt the monsters, but, while I couldn't tell the time in the dungeon with its artificial sun fixed in the sky, I was certain it was getting late. Time to sleep, because whatever tomorrow was going to bring, I wanted to be alert for it.

  I headed back to the exit, having kept known landmarks in sight at all times. I wasn't sure how Tristan had been navigating, but I knew I couldn't replicate it, so the occasional oddly shaped rocks were my best option. Besides, even while backtracking, periodic monsters still showed up. No matter which direction I travelled, the dungeon always seemed to spawn them right in front of me in set intervals.

  I blinked as motes of light swirled around the monster. It had been number fifty, which meant another chest, but what was probably yet another [Farming] skill crystal was far less interesting than the sudden acquisition of another new Mark. I'd already had one for slaying E-rank monsters, so what was this second one for?

  Stolen novel; please report.

  At least this one had an effect. Not the greatest one in the world, but I wouldn't say no to yet another experience boost, however small. Now, what was in the chest?

  ... The lights were still swirling.

  ... The tornado of floating lights was big.

  My Processing kicked in, and I made a split second decision. I fled. Yes, there was a chance it was some sort of super chest, and if so, I'd be glad there was no-one else around to witness me bolting in terror, but several little things made me suspect otherwise.

  The main one was the way John had stuttered about how many monsters I needed to kill to summon the boss. I thought his delay was because it had slipped his mind, never really having been relevant before, but what if he'd forgotten and thought up an answer on the spur of the moment to save face? Or, worse, what if he had known, but had chosen to lie?

  Had he sent me in here to die?

  His thing about looking for a specific skill hadn't seemed like a lie. But then he'd looked on the fence about spilling the details, only to clam up when I pointed out I could leave the dungeon early as soon as I found it. That implied that he'd wanted me to kill as many monsters in here as possible. And it had been before I'd asked about the boss.

  My Memory brought up that odd smile he'd made, and my Reasoning screamed how strongly that, more than anything else, implied that this was a deliberate set-up.

  The shadow in front of me—cast by the light-show at my back—cut out. Something behind me squeaked in a very cutesie way.

  I accelerated, stumbling slightly as my Dexterity leapt. I knew better than to face a monster simply because it sounded cute.

  Mum had said sixty in Strength, Dexterity and Processing were recommended to take the boss without combat Skills. I didn't quite have enough unspent stat points to do that, and besides, boosting my Dexterity had already caused me to stumble. Boosting it more, along with Strength, would leave me unused to my body. I wouldn't be able to fight at full effectiveness. It was irritating as heck; I actually had a proper weapon for once. If I'd known the boss would spawn, I could have prepared. I wouldn't have wasted stat points on mana. I could have cleared the dungeon. Instead, I was reduced to fleeing. I ploughed on toward the exit, while thinking what I was going to do when I arrived.

  I'd thought earlier that I didn't think John was murderous. Most likely, he'd only wanted to give me a scare. He probably expected me to run, but what then? Once I made it back, if I told Tristan what he'd done, what would happen? John socially outranked me, for now. He knew something was up, and had to realise that setting me up would get him into trouble. What would I have done in his position?

  I wouldn't have tried to get my fellow villager eaten in a dungeon, for a start.

  But, presupposing that I was so jealous of John that I'd made a spur-of-the-moment decision to throw the dungeon boss at him, what would I do to get myself out of trouble?

  ... I'd take advantage of the fact that Tristan wasn't here. I'd tell other adventurers that John had stolen my spear and charged into the dungeon on his own. Damn it. The fact that I—a serf, banned by law from carrying weapons—was carrying a weapon, suddenly became a much bigger problem.

  I spun as I ran, throwing the thing at the source of the noises behind me, then completing my twirl and continuing my escape without breaking step. Thankfully, the brief glance backward had shown that the boss was still some distance behind me. I'd had a good head start, but it seemed that the distance had only extended since I'd started to run.

  The thing was very much like the regular mobs, except slightly scaled up and with black fur. If it had the same characteristics as them, its leaps would be dangerous, but it wouldn't be much of a sprinter. It seemed like I could outrun it.

  ... But what if I didn't? Or, more accurately, what if it looked like I didn't? The dungeon would eat that spear eventually, but I was fairly near the exit, and if people were searching for me, it would likely be found before it decayed. If they also found my sack of food, some blood, some torn clothing... The lack of corpse would be a problem, though. I'd heard that even the most herbivorous monsters supposedly ate their kills, but even if that was true, the boss monster was smaller than I was. How would I fit? On top of that, there would be insufficient blood around for me to have bled out.

  Still, it was the best option I could come up with. Maybe forget the blood and torn clothing. Perhaps they'd think I tried to fight the boss, lost my weapon, and then fled, getting gutted by a mob somewhere else from a combination of exhaustion and lack of weapon. As long as no-one saw me leave the dungeon, it would cause enough doubt that hopefully people wouldn't immediately jump to the conclusion that I'd run for it, and start tracking me across the canton.

  I'd planned to work for the baron, trading freedom for legitimacy. If John was busy framing me, that changed the calculus somewhat. The opinions of Matthew and Tristan wouldn't matter if I was locked in a cell somewhere as a criminal. And if John was so far gone that he desired my death, well, that was even worse. New information rendered my original decision obsolete. I needed to disappear, and making use of the boss would give me the best head start.

  I stopped running and made my preparations.

  I wanted more, because if I failed to dodge the boss I'd die for real, but I had the same problem as if I'd tried to fight the boss: there was a limit to how fast I could raise it. Too much, and my body would become so alien that I wouldn't be able to control it.

  More Processing would help me adjust faster, but even then, there were limits. That was as many stat points as I was willing to risk.

  Next was the fact that I needed to both safely disengage from the boss and then get out of the dungeon without being seen.

  Urk. I was really regretting buying the other three skills earlier, despite the fact that I was about to abandon all my stuff, and hence would have lost them if I hadn't already used them.

  ... Which was another good point. If anyone found my sack, Tristan and John knew I had [Cooking] and [Blacksmithing] skill crystals in there. The fact that they were missing would imply I had extra skill points. Oh well; they probably suspected that already.

  The boss slowed, despite being outside of the mobs' maximum leaping range, and squatted slightly.

  It flickered like a bolt of black lightning, and with my increased Processing and Dexterity I could barely keep up. Nevertheless, the leap was a long one, and I had just enough time to throw my sack in its path while leaping to the side.

  It crashed straight through, [Farming] skill crystals and various root vegetables bouncing out in all directions. It turned around and stared malevolently, eyes glowing red. The effect was somewhat spoiled by the way it was now wearing my blanket like a cape.

  I'd wondered if I could have done the spear-trick, letting it impale itself, but the way it had struck the sack made it obvious that I would have failed, and probably broken my arms in the process. It had simply struck with far too much force. I wasn't even sure how. Despite being a little bigger than the mobs, it was still so small. No way could it weigh much.

  I grabbed a few farming crystals while it turned, so that I'd at least have a few coins to my name on the outside. It leapt again, and again I dodged. Now the boss was no longer between me and escape. Once again, I ran.