Since I’d predicted this outcome I didn’t hesitate to step towards the unmoving woman. Reaching for her wrist, I placed my index and middle finger on her right wrist at the base of her thumb and felt for a pulse. To my shock, there was a weak throbbing under the skin. I quickly positioned my palm above her mouth and nose and could feel a whisper of breath across it. 

“She’s alive,” I announced with surprise. Silas, who was frantically trying to wriggle out of the sticky web, froze and looked at me with relief evident on his face. 

Knowing time was not on our side, I delved into my small bag of supplies and pulled out the first aid kit. While I sorted through the items it contained I used my mana to create a tourniquet around Carol’s upper arm and shin to try and stop the bleeding from her missing limbs. 

“Does anyone have a water-based ability?” I asked while pulling out all of the heavy gauze in my kit and briefly loosening the tourniquet on her arm. When no one stepped up, I used my water bottle to rinse off the mangled stub then tucked the gauze under the tourniquet before tightening it once more. 

The crunch of loose rocks being displaced came from behind me. I glanced over my shoulder to see another member of the team following my example with treating her leg and several other people were helping extricate Silas from his sticky situation. 

“Silas, were there any spiders left up on the ceiling?” I asked over my shoulder as I pulled out an emergency blanket and laid it over as much of Carol’s body as I could. 

“A handful, yes,” Silas responded with a grunt as he finally pulled himself free and quickly came over to check on Carol. 

“We need someone to run to the clearing team and bring back a healer,” I pointed out firmly as I looked around for something to prop up Carol’s legs. 

“I’ll do it,” Silas immediately offered. Glancing around the protected dome I didn’t see anyone else willing to volunteer so I nodded. 

Realizing belatedly that I’d taken charge of the situation when Silas was the team leader I glanced up, ready to apologize, but he was already at the edge of my shield. With a stray thought, I created a Silas-sized hole and he fearlessly ran out and went deeper into the cave.

It didn’t take long for Silas to come back with the entire clearing team in tow. The spiders who were hiding on the ceiling were quickly dispatched by the team and I finally released the huge dome and directed the healer to Carol, who hadn’t stirred an inch the whole time. Enhanceds with a healing ability were rare and about as diverse as any other type of ability user. It seemed like this healer was specialized in speeding up a human's natural recovery speed, so Carol’s limbs wouldn’t grow back but her open wounds closed rapidly. It would do nothing to help her get past the trauma she would no doubt experience, but at least she wasn’t in critical condition anymore.

I suddenly found myself in a bone-crushing hug. It took at least a dozen wheezes of “I’m fine!” before Gail released me and began thumping me painfully on the back. 

“You’re one-in-a-million, kiddo,” Gail told me with a subdued grin. “The whole collection team might have died if it wasn’t for your shields. I’m glad you came with us on this one.” 

I smiled quietly up at her, not knowing what to say. After a quick discussion, two collection team members carried Carol on a makeshift stretcher while being escorted by one of the clearing team members to the dungeon entrance. Everyone else continued with their duties, although the clearing team made sure to check the ceiling thoroughly as they made their way toward the boss monster. 

The collection team worked in heavy silence at first, but when one brave soul told Garrett they thought his lightning was awesome that seemed to open the floodgates. Soon they were rehashing the harrowing experience and pestering both Silas and me for details. I was a little surprised to see the group accept my abnormally calm response to both the surprise attack and Carol’s injuries without much issue. A few of them kept asking me if I was really 13, but other than that they were all just grateful to have survived. 

Once the clearing team trapped the boss monster so that the people waiting for their dungeon experience could come in, they helped the collection team remove the rest of the crystals in the latest batch of deceased spiders. With the last crystal harvested, we all left the dungeon together. As soon as I stepped out of the cave I stumbled slightly and heaved a breath of what seemed like stale air, completely devoid of the rich mana that I’d been absorbing just moments ago. 

“You okay, kiddo?” Gail asked as she reached over and steadied me. 

“Yes… The change in the air just surprised me,” I responded while looking over my shoulder at the black gate with a silver pulsating center that would lead me back to the cave-like dungeon. 

“Mmm. Not everyone can feel the difference so keenly,” Gail pointed out with an amused glance. “You’re gonna be a beast of a fighter when you get older.” 

“Hmph. I held my own just fine as I am now,” I responded cheekily, making Gail guffaw and squeeze the top of my head with her hand. 

“Can’t deny it, that’s for sure,” she agreed with another laugh. 

“Teagen,” a familiar baritone voice called from behind me. I turned to see Dr. Montressor regarding me with an impassive expression as Silas stood slightly behind him with his shoulders slumped and guilt written all over his face. 

Without a word, I moved over to stand in front of him. As I expected Dr. Montressor immediately reached a hand out and gently nudged my face side to side. When he tapped my shoulders I obediently lifted my arms and even threw in a spin and a jump for good measure. Once he was certain that I hadn’t sustained any injuries he rounded on Silas and the full measure of his cold fury was leveled at the large man. 

“You are very lucky my foster daughter was unharmed, Mr. Orners,” Dr. Montressor said in a steely voice. “I would have sued you for negligence had she come back with a single scratch.” 

Silas flinched and it was a little strange to see someone so huge becoming as timid as a kitten in front of my dignified scientist of a foster father. Feeling bad for Silas, I reached out and hesitantly held the fabric of Dr. Montressor's shirt sleeve in my fingers. He immediately turned to look and I gave him a small smile. 

“I was protected behind my shield, Dr. Montressor. Silas was just worried for his team member who got hurt. Please don’t be too mad at him,” I pleaded in a soft, cajoling tone. 

Dr. Montressor’s face remained completely blank as he regarded me for several long, silent seconds. He finally let out a barely audible sigh and reached out to gently pat my head. 

“I’m glad you were able to keep yourself safe,” he remarked before gesturing for me to follow him. He gave Silas another scathing glare but didn’t say another word as he led me toward the medical tent set up for the researchers who would assess the people who were going on a dungeon excursion. 

“Hey there, Sweet Pea!” Margie’s boisterous voice called out from where the group of 15 or so people waiting for the dungeon experience to start were waiting. 

She practically skipped over to me with a familiar scanner in her hand and before I could even greet her she began waving the scanner barely an inch away from my skin. Her eyes widened and a manic glee that was honestly more often there than not made her eyes glisten. 

“I heard that you used a lot of mana in the cave,” Margie stated as she flipped some pages on her clipboard over and began writing whatever was recorded on the scanner. 

“Yes. I created a dome the size of a classroom, a safety net that spanned the same distance, and I used mana to float Mr. Silas up to the cave’s ceiling,” I replied, listing off all of my mana usage as succinctly as possible to try and avoid Margie’s famous interruptions. 

“Wow! But… then… Darrell, look at this! Look at the numbers she’s showing!” 

Dr. Montressor moved over to look at the scanner and clipboard Margie was holding out for him. One of his eyebrows quirked up about half an inch but then his usual taciturn expression returned and he looked over at me. 

“How do you feel, Teagen?” Dr. Montressor asked me, not giving away whether the number he’d just seen was good or not. 

“I feel great,” I responded immediately, but couldn’t help looking over my shoulder at the gate that still pulsated in the air. “Being surrounded by mana feels amazing. It’s like… my whole body became more efficient all at once. When I came out I felt heavy, like Aunty Gail had weighed me down with extra gravity and it was a little hard to breathe.”

“Fascinating,” Margie cut in, rapidly scribbling down notes. “Darrell, we should let her back through the gate with the hopefuls,” Margie suggested while pointing at the group behind her. 

“Why would she go back?” Dr. Montressor snapped back, his eyebrows narrowing dangerously. Margie smiled obliviously into her angry boss’s face and tapped her clipboard with the scanner. 

“These numbers are her mana levels after exerting a lot of mana. We should see if she can absorb any more mana while she doesn’t have to use it,” Margie pointed out with a wide grin. 

“I’d like to go back,” I interjected immediately, cutting off Dr. Montressor’s most likely rejection. 

He blinked in surprise, apparently not expecting my eagerness to return. With a frown, he turned towards Margie and looked like was about to argue. 

“I won’t let anything touch her, Doc,” Gail butted in suddenly, coming up from behind me. “I’ll be in the guarding team looking out for the hopefuls, so let her back in. The girl’s like a fish out of water now that she’s experienced a dungeon.” 

Dr. Montressor glowered, obviously not wanting to do anything that Gail requested. However, he turned to look at me. I threaded my fingers together and clasped my hands in a silent begging position. He let out another tiny sigh and finally waved his hand, giving his tacit approval. 

Fifteen minutes later I was back in the gate and my lungs felt like I’d sprouted wings and took flight. In all of my past lives nothing, not magic, aura, qi, or any kind of power that I experienced came close to the euphoric feeling that mana gave me. It honestly felt like my whole body from the tips of my fingers down to the blood flowing through my veins had been turned into light. 

As the people who were trying to become enhanced milled about at the entrance of the cave, I sat down next to the cave wall. Habits from past lives kicked in and I almost immediately crossed my legs, rested my hands in my lap, and began meditating. Concentrating solely on my breathing and the feeling of mana slowly and steadily entering my body, winding throughout my airway, then seeping into my muscles, joints, and bones. 

It’s too bad the dungeons close once the boss monster is defeated, I thought to myself languidly as I breathed slowly and deeply. If I could, I'd stay here all day.