The thick, swampy atmosphere of this floor is suffocating. That’s a lot coming from me. I used to actually live in the sewers during the summer, and I’d rather be there than here. At least in the sewers, the only thing I had to worry about was the rats, also known as dinner, and silent Pete. Silent Pete considered the sewers his territory and would… often get territorial. Luckily, if you cover yourself in sewer water, it makes it harder for someone to track you via smell. That tactic really only worked a couple of times. What was I doing?

  Looking down, I find myself slowly sinking into the swampy mud. Oh, right! I’m actively dying. I kind of forgot about that. Should I be panicking right now? Penelope and Hopper strain as they try to pull me out of the quickmud.

  “Not to hurry you guys, but you do understand that I’m actively sinking, right?” I ask in a calm manner as Penelope pulls with all her might.

  Hopper ties a rope around what’s left of my chest. “We’re working on it.”

  “Maybe work a little faster. No time crunch, really, but just a tad bit faster would be nice,” I say sarcastically.

  Penelope huffs as she ties the other end of the rope to her waist. “That’s a lot of talk for somebody who managed to get themselves stuck in quickmud,” she retorts.

  “First of all, it looked like every other piece of mud around here. … I don’t have a second of all. Just get me out of here before a frog shows up,” I say with a smidgen of urgency.

  Penelope loops the rope around a tree and pulls hard on the rope. “You’re certainly taking a tone against the people trying to save your life. Maybe try asking nicely.”

  “Oh, you’re right. Penelope, who is as strong as a bull and as stubborn as one too, please pull me out of this quickmud before I die. Is that nice enough for you?”

  “Did you call me a stubborn bull!?” she asks as she yanks the rope hard.

  The sudden burst of strength from Penelope sends me flying out of the quickmud and straight into a tree. Catching my breath, I look up at the fuming Penelope.

  “You know I was only saying that to get you riled up. I would never say that otherwise,” I [Lie].

  Penelope blinks hard. “I’m going to get you later.”

  Hopper sighs as he looks around. “As much as I like watching the two of you bicker. You do know that we’re in the middle of a swamp filled with who knows what, right?”

  Brushing the mud off my clothes, I stand up. “Well, at the very least, we know there are frogs. What else is usually in swamps?”

  Penelope rolls her eyes. “A great variety of things. Ranging from Ogres all the way to normal frogs. Although this floor is odd. It should be teeming with life, but other than the occasional frog, we haven’t seen a thing,” she explains.

  “We should count ourselves lucky. If we can move onto the next floor without having to fight some great beast, I’ll count that as a good outcome,” I say as I empty the mud out of my boots.

  Hopper leans against a tree. “You do know that we’re trying to [Level Up], right?”

  “Please, Hopper, he doesn’t care about [Leveling Up],” she retorts.

  Hopper nods. “I guess that makes sense. He is The Chosen One after all. It's not like he needs [Levels]. I get it. You want to conquer this Dungeon and get the loot. I’m with you all the way, CJ.”

  “Yeah, that was the goal,” I [Lie].

  Penelope shakes her head disapprovingly. “We haven’t [Leveled Up] since the Giant fight. Which means it has been almost three weeks. The rest of the class is going to leave us behind if we keep this up.”

  She’s right. We haven’t [Leveled Up] since we came back to this Dungeon. It would probably be a better idea to make our way out and go back to hunting in the Whisperwood Forest, but there’s something good about this place. I have this sixth sense that if we make it to the bottom, we might find something worthwhile.

  “Penelope, trust me when I say this. I think we should clear this Dungeon. I’m sure there’s something worthwhile here.”

  Penelope looks me straight in the eyes and then clicks her tongue. “It wasn’t like I was saying we should abandon this Dungeon. A Dungeon is almost always a good idea to clear, even if it doesn’t give many [Levels]. The experience from the fights and the loot at the bottom is always worthwhile. Not to mention the Dungeon Gem will grant everyone a free [Skill]. I don’t have to explain how beneficial that is,” she quickly rattles on.

  With a devilish smile, I jab her in the side. “Enough rambling lets find the entrance to the next floor.”

  “I wasn’t rambling, Charlatan.”

  “I’m sorry, Princess, but you were.”

  Professor Schist goes on and on about the founding of the Empire and who knows what else. For the most part, I’m trying my hardest to stay awake through his boring lecture. I swear I’ve heard him say the sentence for the third time already. Get to the point!

  “Hey, we need to talk,” a voice creeps into the side of my ear.

  “God?” I ask.

  “No, you idiot, it’s me, Garus,” Garus whispers from behind me.

  Swiveling in my chair, I meet his gaze. “What’s up, my good friend?”

  “I thought I told you we’re not friends? Besides that, we need to talk about the plan for the Class War,” he whispers.

  “If you keep saying we’re not friends, it’s going to hurt my feelings eventually, Garus. Also, what do we need to talk about? I thought we already solidified the plan for this week?” I say with a fake tear forming in my eye.

  “Please, it would take a dragon-sized insult to hurt your feelings.”

  “True.”

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “But enough about that. We have a problem,” he whispers with urgency.

  “What kind of problem?”

  “It’s about Turk and Xarex.”

  A thousand different names and faces swirl through my mind, but not a single one matches those names.

  “Who?”

  Garus gives me a confused look. “My teammates. The ones who were with me when I threatened you in the forest. The ones who were at the strategy meeting last week. Is this ringing any bells?” he asks.

  “Huh, oh, those guys. Yeah, what about them? Did they fail to avoid a duel?” I ask as I completely and blatantly ignore the class.

  “Well, it’s… Kind of,” he struggles to explain.

  Odd. The only time I’ve seen Garus even hesitate was when Penelope went full Princess mode. What is going on?

  “Spit it out already. What happened?”

  “They actively went against the plan and challenged some lower-ranked second years,” he explains.

  “And why did they do that?” I ask as I feel a headache coming on.

  “I’m not entirely sure. They’ve sort of stopped talking to me ever since the strategy meeting,” he explains.

  My eyebrow raises. “Oh, really? Are you telling me your yes men aren’t saying yes anymore? My, if only somebody had told you this would happen.”

  Garus lets out a long sigh. “It’s not like that. I’m sure they’re just busy with family stuff,” he lies to himself.

  “Sure. If they haven’t been talking to you, how do you know they aren’t going to follow the plan?” I ask as I twirl a quill between my fingers.

  “One of the last conversations we had was them telling me they didn’t want to follow your plan.”

  “You’re leaving something out,” I accuse as I point the quill at him.

  “They said a human didn’t have to follow a devil's plan, nor should they. I… disagreed, and it led to some awkwardness. I don’t understand. Why did they change so much? They always used to listen to what I said,” he laments.

  “Are you sure they’re the ones who changed?”

  “...”

  “Think about that. In the meantime, meet me outside Azalea Hall after class,” I say as I turn back to the class.

  “What for?”

  “Market Research.”

  A gold coin twirls between my fingers and then seemingly disappears. I then open my other hand to reveal a gold coin. Hmm. I’ve gotten a little rusty. I should head into the city with Mateo and teach him how to work a crowd. This weekend should be the best time for it.

  Deep in thought, I barely notice Garus as he comes around the corner of Azalea Hall.

  “Good to see you found the place,” I mock.

  “You didn’t tell me you would be in the back. I’ve been waiting for you in the front like an idiot,” he says with a tinge of anger.

  “You said it, not me. Alright lets get moving,” I say as I make a beeline for Dianthus Hall.

  “Wait up, you still haven’t told me what we’re actually doing.”

  “Like I said, Market Research.”

  “Be more specific,” he says with annoyance, lacing his every word.

  “Fine. You said that Tarex and Xurk weren’t going to follow the plan, right?” I ask.

  “Turk and Xarex, but yes. So, are we going to convince them to follow the plan?”

  “Nope. They’ve made their decision. Now it’s time to find out who their new master is,” I say as I happily walk towards the second year dorm.

  “What do you mean by master?” he asks innocently.

  “Oh, my friend. Xark and Turex are bottom-feeding cowards. They’re the type to latch onto somebody stronger than them and feed off their status,” I explain.

  “That’s… not true. They’re my friends,” he defends.

  “When did they become your friends? Did they ever express an opinion that was different from yours? Why have they been ignoring you?” I ask with a cold tone.

  Garus is stunned in silence as he tries to answer the questions, but it seems that he can’t quite find the right words.

  I let out a long sigh. “I’m sorry. I could be wrong. Which is why we’re doing this. Now follow my lead,” I say as I kick open the doors to Dianthus Hall.

  The doors fly open, creating a large and unavoidable spectacle. The second years immediately recognize me and break into a whisper.

  Taking a deep breath, I ready myself. “Bring me my traitors!” I roar to the entrance area.

  The second years give me a confused and somewhat worried expression.

  “What are you doing?” Garus whispers as he stands behind me.

  “Trust me,” I whisper. “If you don’t bring them to me right now, I’m going to have to start challenging people. Let's see. You look squishy,” I say with a devilish smile.

  “Enough, Chosen One. You’ve created enough of a ruckus,” a woman with jade hair speaks up.

  “Abigail Luft, am I correct? Are you going to bring me my traitors, or have you come to accept my challenge? It’s always good to start with the appetizer before getting to the main course,” I taunt.

  Her eye twitches as she retains her calm composure. “I have no idea who you’re looking for, Chosen One, but they’re not here. Perhaps it would be best if you left. I can’t guarantee your safety here,” she says with a menacing tone.

  Without looking around, I can already tell that the gazes around me are growing… hotter. It’s expected. After all, I just walked into the enemy's lair.

  I shake my head and turn around. “Seems I’m not welcome. Guess I’ll take my leave, but before I do. Tell those traitors, Xur and Ark that I’m on to them,” I say as I begin to walk away.

  Abigail gives a small laugh. “Sure, if I see Turk and Xarex, I’ll let them know that you’re on to them or whatever that means.”

  With a devilish smile, my hand rests on the doorknob. “How did you know it was Turk and Xarex I was talking about?” I ask as I open the door.

  “I…”

  “I guess you’re Rank 3 for a reason,” I say as I close the door behind us.

  “What was that for?” Garus asks the moment we’re clear from prying eyes.

  “Market Research, but more specifically, I wanted to get under their skin. You see, I found it odd how they were able to locate all of us so that they could initiate a duel. My first thought was magic or a [Skill], but then I thought about it a little longer. A rat would make more sense, or rather a pair of rats,” I explain.

  “You think Turk and Xarex are spying on us for the second years?”

  “Yup. I can guess why, but I wasn’t sure it was them until you brought up that they weren’t going to follow the plan. From there, I only needed to trick a second year into confirming it. Which we just did.”

  Garus looks down at the snow and then back at me. “If this is true, doesn’t this foil your plans?”

  With a devilish smile, I look up at the falling snow. “Oh, my friend. It's the exact opposite. Now the plan can truly start. Also, I left an invasive weed that smells terrible in their hall,” I say with a smile.

  “Why, is it for the plan?”

  “No, I just wanted to be petty.”