I sighed deeply. To be honest, I was embarrassed. I was on the first floor and the first room and I already died once.

  Before I chose, I decided to try and plan.

  I called up my stats and checked all my spells

  I sat down and really looked at the spells I had. Nine total — which sounded impressive — but the moment I started sorting them, things looked a lot less balanced.

  Offensively, I was actually in good shape. Mana Slash had evolved nicely, Arc Lash hit hard, Sapping Bolt was deadly over time, and Mana Bolt… well, it existed. I’d figure out a use for it eventually.

  Defensively?

  One spell. Mana Shield.

  Great when it worked — terrifying when it didn’t.

  Area-of-effect… yeah, that column was practically empty. Arc Lash kind of brushed the edge of AoE, but it wasn’t a real crowd-control blast. If more than two enemies came at me, I was in trouble.

  My control spells were okay: Stun for quick interrupts, Freeze for locking things down. Freeze was pulling most of the weight lately.

  And then there was Illusory Double — good for distraction, but not something I used as often as I should.

  Looking at everything laid out like that made the gaps painfully obvious. My offense was stacked, but everything else felt thin. No real AoE. Barely any defense. And the utility spells I did have weren’t being used to their full potential.

  “Right,” I muttered. “No wonder things keep trying to kill me.”

  I needed more tools.

  Smarter tactics.

  And honestly? A hell of a lot more practice.

  I tried sorting my spells a different way — by range instead of type — and that actually made the most sense so far.

  Short-range stuff was easy to spot. Mana Slash, Mana Shield, Illusory Double… all of those only worked when something was basically breathing down my neck. Useful, sure, but only once the enemy was already on me. Which, let’s be honest, is exactly where I don’t want anything to be.

  The long-range spells were more in line with what a wizard should be doing anyway: Arc Lash, Sapping Bolt, Mana Bolt, Freeze, Stun. All the things that let me stay a few steps back, shape the fight, and avoid getting shredded by claws or teeth.

  Seeing it laid out that way, at least one thing became clear: my instincts weren’t completely wrong. I am supposed to fight at medium distance. That part I’ve actually been doing right.

  I knew there was nothing I could do about my spells at that very moment, but I did need some plan before entering the dungeon again. If, and I suspect it will be, the Kobold is at the door again and the other little monsters attack me, I need a way to deal with them.

  The first time they caught me by surprise, but I knew about the little monsters that time around.

  I’d use Fleetstep to create distance, then hit the Kobold with Arc Lash and hopefully take out two of the smaller monsters in the process. I didn’t know how many of them there were, but Fleetstep should still be active long enough for a second Arc Lash.

  At least… that was the idea.

  “Okay,” I muttered. “Let’s do this.”

  “I choose current-world monsters.”

  The door swung open.

  This time, I was ready.

  The moment I stepped through, I triggered Fleetstep. the world seemed to slow as I exploded forward, boots barely touching the stone floor. Shapes spilling out of the shadows — but I didn’t look back. Distance first. Always distance.

  I spun, staff already raised.

  “Arc Lash!”

  Lightning tore out in a crackling line, ripping through the air and slamming into the Kobold. The bolt chained instantly, arcing sideways into two of the smaller creatures rushing alongside it. They dropped mid-stride, bodies twitching as they hit the ground.

  Good. That worked.

  Fleetstep was still active, so I repositioned again, sliding sideways to keep space between us. The Kobold staggered, scorched but not down, and the remaining shapes hissed and fanned out, trying to flank me.

  Not flawless.

  But not a disaster either.

  I drew in a sharp breath and cast arc slash again.

  The Kobold went down and I was sure it was dead. The others and I had not had time to check, was also dead. I looked around and spotted two more of them at the far end of the room.

  They seemed hesitant to attack, and I took the time to identify.

  I just finished reading when the two goblins decided to attack.

  I used Mana Slash and my aim was perfect, but still only one perished. The other was wounded but not dead. I used my staff and killed it.

  It would have been nice to get loot, but I knew that we got no rewards for no risk taken. This was just a quest for the general wellbeing of all.

  Charity in a way, but we are all benefitting… I hope.

  I checked my Mana and it was full, took a deep breath and —and froze.

  Something moved along the walls.

  Not kobolds. Not even close.

  I caught flashes of slick, elongated shapes clinging to stone, their bodies faintly glowing from within, as if light were trapped beneath semi-transparent flesh. Veins pulsed under the surface, carrying something that looked uncomfortably like flowing mana.

  One of them shifted, and a ripple of color ran through it — blues and violets bleeding into something darker. A cluster of small, pinprick lights turned toward me, not quite eyes, but focused all the same.

  Then a maw opened.

  Circular. Too wide. Lined with sharp, crystalline shapes that caught the torchlight as it flexed.

  My skin prickled.