"Ahhhh, I’m stuffed," Alex patted his stomach.

Stallus shook her head. "That’s the only thing that will make your ears stand, Alex."

Alex frowned. "You like food too, Stallus. See, you finished your food already."

Stallus rolled her eyes. Alex had taken two portions, and Catena ate the remaining in the skull pot. Azaroth ate only one portion. It was enough to get him going.

He would have taken more if the food wouldn’t have been enough, and he might need more. Or if it would hinder his ability to function later.

Azaroth stood and stretched. The effect of their constant fighting with monsters was already evident. His muscles had gotten lean and firm. They flowed smoothly from one to the other with less effort.

But the main effects wouldn’t be seen yet, only later as they advanced.

"Time to go," Azaroth said. There was nothing to loot here, and the only thing that might be valuable was already in Catena’s hand, but Azaroth doubted that the wooden club would really be useful, maybe for making fire.

They made their way out, following the path they took earlier around the rocky stones. Soon, they reached the portal and went out.

Instead of stepping into the rocky area of the crypt, they found themselves standing up in the sky. Everything spread below them in a wave of green and the brown-black of the mountains.

It was as if they were stepping on glass. Azaroth understood and he growled, "Crypt Master."

The man himself laughed. The sound might have come from anywhere as it filled the very air they breathed.

"What now?" Stallus frowned. "I thought we would only be meeting him by the end of the first stage. Are we in trouble for something? Not completing enough crypts?"

Azaroth didn’t think that was it either, but he also couldn’t think of any other reason why the Crypt Master was here.

They waited, and then the Crypt Master came. This time, he was dressed in clouds, blue and white, and his eyes shone with a merry light. His horn was even longer here.

"See, little ones!" He got taller the closer he got to them, and by the time he reached them, he was looming like the sky over them. The Crypt Master bent down and looked at them. Thankfully, he had hidden his monstrous aura. "It’s been a while, you curious little things!"

The wind that followed the last part almost blew them back and they shielded themselves against it while the Crypt Master laughed and laughed.

Stallus glared up at the Crypt Master, her blue hair messed up. "Why are you trying to blow us away? We know we look like ants to you, but please don’t treat us as one!"

Alex put up his right hand and nodded. "Yes, don’t do that!"

Catena and Azaroth just stared up.

The Crypt Master laughed again, and Azaroth was beginning to think that he was in a rather peculiar mood. Really, Azaroth had no time for this. He wanted rest, to treat his aching body, and to prepare for the crypt clearing the next day.

And now, the Crypt Master was going to mess that up without telling them what was going on? The Crypt Master liked to dangle information in front of them like a carrot.

Then the Crypt Master shrunk and looked at them with eyes that were shrewd. "You ask why I am here? Easy, to speak with you. It’s been three months, hasn’t it?"

"Has the first stage ended then?" Azaroth asked flatly.

The Crypt Master shook his head fast and his head continued to spin full circle for a while before it stopped. "Of course not. It is a stage that is as long as a year. And you have still not grasped the true nature of this exercise! You haven’t! Haven’t! You’re not curious enough." He flashed them a smile. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Azaroth was beginning to think that the Crypt Master had some serious personality problems. The way everything changed about him unnerved him a little. "The true reason for stage one? What’s that?"

The Crypt Master turned to Azaroth. "Would it be a lesson now, if I tell you? No, you must find it yourself or the true meaning will be lost to this stage."

"Huh," Stallus began. "If you don’t tell us, then we might actually miss the right answer."

The Crypt Master shook his head. "There’s no right answer. You can’t get the right reason why this stage was set. You are blind and stumbling in the dark, but your hand will strike a lot of things. Be sure it touches something of value."

"Meaning," Azaroth demanded, "that all reason is solid if it helps improve our fighting capacity?"

The Crypt Master shrugged. "Something like that." His eyes glittered.

"Is that why you are here?" Alex asked.

"Of course not! I’m here to tell you that congratulations! You just received your first enchanted weapon! And a very powerful one at that!" The Crypt Master clapped. It sounded like a thunderclap.

They shared a look, and Azaroth tried to remember when they gained a weapon like that when something clicked. Surely, the Crypt Master didn’t mean the wooden club that was in Catena’s storage space?

"Impossible," Azaroth said flatly. He thought that was useless. Something to be used for making fire. How did it turn into an enchanted weapon?

Stallus had caught on as well, and her eyes widened. She looked at Catena and the ring on his right hand. "You mean, that was an enchanted weapon? That?"

"Which ’that’ are you talking about?" Alex demanded.

Catena just looked as confused as well.

The Crypt Master explained. He laughed and reached out with his right hand and grasped the air as if he was touching something. Catena’s hand jerked forward, and the wooden club appeared, slamming into the air they were standing on and cracking it.

The weapon was still as tall as it was. The wood was very dark brown with lighter stripes running around it.

The Crypt Master clapped. "Now fight to the death for it!"