Movement by his feet caught Severance's attention. One of those black things wriggled towards him like a snake. Maybe a foot long, it was covered in dark scales and had two long fins running alongside its body. It used these to help propel itself forward, adding speed to its slither. It wasn't exactly a snake, nor was it a lizard. It was more like a stubby earthworm in shape, with no distinguishable difference between its front and back ends.

One glance was all he needed to decide the thing was horrifying. He danced out of its reach, only to find himself dodging half a dozen more that were writhing on the ground.

What was this? An attack of mutated earthworms?

"Ah!" Snow let out a startled cry. "They spit!"

At the same moment, Snow's health bar in the party list began to flash. It dropped by a fraction with every pulse.

Severance sidestepped another worm, before glancing at Snow. The cryomancer had frozen the ground around himself, encasing four worms in solid ice. A fifth sat at his feet, its frosty body half raised as if trying to reach for him.

"Inflict!" Snow stretched out his hands, and cloud of icy mist closed in around that worm. In the next second, the cryomancer flicked out his wrist. "Frost Bolt!"

A spike of ice shot out and struck the worm. It pierced right through, shattering the rest of the ice that had encased it. The worm flopped over and wriggled, still very much alive despite the fact a shard of ice had impaled it.

"It's still not dead?! What are these things made of?"

The butt of Valentin's glaive came down on the worm, smashing in the bolt of ice. The worm flattened into a greasy dark smear.

Kiah's health bar also began to flash at that time. Severance had no time to help either of them, for several worms were closing in on him. Three had reared up, like the one near Snow. Their formless heads split open into little crescent maws.

Severance didn't even think. He leaped straight up, then arched his body back while lifting his legs. From this position, he could see fine threads of pale fluid shoot out from the worms. Whatever the goop was, it landed harmlessly onto the ground.

His stomach tightened. What the heck was that stuff?

The world tilted once as he flipped his body around. He landed deftly on his toe and immediately darted away from the worms. As he moved, wind gathered around him.

The second he was in a safe spot clear of worms, he skidded to a stop and snapped out a fan with a little flourish. "Radiant Dome!"

A translucent Dome folded down over them like a bubble. It filled the majority of the room, generating a gentle breeze within its shimmering walls.

As long as his teammates were under the dome, they'd regenerate up to 20% of their health. It should deal with whatever ailed Snow and Kiah, or at least keep their bleeding health bars from dropping too low.

A growl filled the room. Its source wasn't too hard to identify. Jack Coyote stomped on the back of a worm and hacked at its head. Without even looking, he swung his shield over to catch the milky spit from another.

"I can't hold their aggro." With several furious swipes, he finally managed to cut the worm into two. It still wriggled. "Rage Strike!" He pulled his shield in, before slamming it onto the worm. While the attack failed to squish the thing, it still stunned it.

"Vengeance Strike!" A golden light flickered around Jack's blade. He thrust it straight down, as if trying to plant the sword into the ground. A shockwave burst out, throwing both halves of the worm into the air, where they immediately burst into violet sparkles. The other nearby worms were shoved back a few good feet.

Severance moved in. Jack's skill had stunned them, so it was a good chance to move in attack. A glance at the party list showed that Kiah and Snow's health bars still flashed, but they hadn't dropped very much yet. It was safe to leave them alone for a short while.

Wind morphed into electricity as he switched to Sky Dance. At once, blue light brightened the room.

"Severance!" Jack Coyote snapped his head towards him, a sharp glare burned into his sharp features.

Severance ignored it. He launched into a Skyfall, with trails of electricity following the movement of his war fans as he sliced at the nearest worm. It took all five strikes of the skill to cut the worm into two. Both pieces shivered as little blue sparks danced over them.

Two running steps took him to the next target. Cold air blasted past, along with a few snowflakes, but he ignored it. He trusted Snow not to freeze him.

"Restoring Step," he muttered, and lunged at the worm. The blade of his fan slipped off the scaly hide, doing no damage. But that didn't matter. "Flowing Step." His feet moved quickly, one crossing over the other, while at the same time, both fans struck in vertical cuts. The skill only moved him a short distance, but it moved at a strange angle and left him with a bit of range. It placed him at the perfect position for the next skill.

"Quelling Step!" He took a running step and pushed off with a toe. It launched him into a spinning leap, one that had him turn a full revolution in midair. Electricity flared brilliant blue as it doubled its intensity around him in an instant. He plummeted like a comet. Against most targets, he'd just deal a large amount of damage against their flank. But with the little worm, the skill hit them right from above.

There was a sharp crackle as a large amount of energy struck the worm. A lot cascaded onto the floor since there was so much of it, but when it faded, there were only a few blackened pieces of worm left.

Severance stepped back, already searching for the next target. But Valentin had passed through, and already left a trail of broken worms. The knightglaive now fought near Jack, clearing out some of the worms that had gathered there.

"Aah!"

Snow's health bar plummeted into orange.

Severance's head whipped around to see the cryomancer in serious trouble. He appeared stuck, with one of his legs and part of his torso covered in a gray, stone like coating. How that had happened, Severance had no idea. But that didn't matter at the moment, for a pair of worms had found Snow and currently riddled him with their spit.

"Kiah!" Jack had also spotted the cryomancer's dilemma. "Help Snow!"

Kiah was currently dealing with her own group of worms, but she was doing a far better job than Snow. Her summoned blades acted as a shield, deflecting most of the worm spit, though she was still taking on damage.

At Jack's call, she turned, and saw Snow across the room. Without hesitation, she shouted, "Rush!" And then she blurred, flying at inhuman speeds. Within a second, she was Snow's side, her leather coat lifting about her at the sudden cease of movement. Her blades flashed as she attacked the worms.

Still, Snow's health dropped. He was still taking too much damage, and although Kiah was dealing with the worms, it wasn't fast enough.

Severance narrowed his eyes. He lifted a hand towards Snow, fingers splayed. This was the skill he'd gotten at level 40, and opportunities to use it were rare. But now was the perfect time.

"Saving Grace," he murmured.

Silver light burst up from the ground beneath Snow. He vanished-

-and reappeared in front of Severance, whose hand now rested against Snow's back.

"Earth Dance," Severance intoned. When he felt the lively crackle fade into gentle warmth, he said, "Mend."

Snow looked over a shoulder and gave Severance a grin. "Hey, thanks. That was perfect timing."

"Hm." As he worked at healing Snow, Severance looked over the odd state the cryomancer was in. For all intents and purposes, it appeared that he was growing rock right out of his skin. It obviously lacked any joints or flexibility, so it meant Snow was unable to even move his leg. When Mend's breeze soaked into the rock, little pieces crumbled into dust and fell away.

That made Severance frown, because at this rate, it'd take a long time to get rid of all this strange rock.

"How did this happen?" He asked. Something flashed past, dangerously close to his head. He flinched, about to move, then realized it was only Valentin. He relaxed. Valentin would cover him while he worked to heal Snow.

"It's their spit," Snow said. "A little bit doesn't seem to do much more than poison you or something, but a whole lot of it seems to turn into this rock. Weirdest attack I've ever seen."

More rock crumbled away from Snow's leg. Severance watched it go, troubled. Such a sight reminded him a lot of the poor Afflicted. At least there was no pus or blood.

By the time he got Snow back to near full, the fight was nearly over. There were a few worms left, and Valentin, Jack, and Kiah hunted them down. If the little creatures held very still, they blended in with their surroundings, and it became hard to see them. The last few showed some degree of intelligence, for once they realized they were nearly annihilated, they went into hiding mode.

Severance moved closer to Kiah, carefully watching his step. He could see that her foot had some rocky growth too, just like Snow. She wasn't able to flex her toes, since they were essentially encased in a cast. It would have slowed anyone down, but she had merely altered her steps, moving less and letting her sword summons deal most of the ranged attacks.

He gave a small smile as a readied a Mend for her. Kiah was doing well. She knew her skillset and was able to adapt to the situation. Even better, she was fully pulling her own weight. Surely Jack couldn't complain about that.

"Mend," he murmured, and let the little breeze fly free. It flew towards his target like a homing missile. While it went, he spotted a small shape lying beside one of the open holes in the ground. It twitched.

Still alive, huh? No one else had noticed it yet. He adjusted his grip on his one war fan, trying to decide if a stab or a slice would do the trick here. These little worms had ridiculous defenses.

Something splattered against his hand. Severance froze midstep, startled. He looked down and spotted a second worm. This one had risen up, swaying like it was trying to wave at him. An opening appeared on its head, showing a much paler interior.

The second he saw that, Severance immediately backpedaled. White fluid arced past, just missing him.

"You sneaky-!" He jerked back even further when three shards of ice blew past him. They turned the ground into a plane of ice, and the worm into a shining sculpture.

Valentin dropped down like a bird, smashing into the ice like an anvil. It shattered into mere shards, including the worm.

Room 2 cleared.

Cleared? Severance blinked. What about that other one, by the hole?

Oh. There was Jack, stepping on a gooey mess. The tank ground in his heel, making sure it was dead. As if sensing Severance's stare, Jack Coyote lifted his head and frowned back.

"Severance," he said frostily, "you're taking damage."

What? Severance peered at the party list. Sure enough, his bar was flashing. But how-

His hand itched. It struck him in an instant. He'd gotten spat on. He raised his hand, looking at it. The skin appeared red and blotchy, like it'd been affected with a rash. But other than that, it didn't look so bad.

He let it drop to his side, and met Jack's gaze. "It's fine, I think."

"You think?" Jack repeated. The look in his eyes grew even colder.

Severance sighed. With his unaffected hand, he gathered enough wind for a Mend. He let the skill suffuse into his hand, and watched as the redness began to fade.

Yet the itch remained, and his health bar still flashed.

"It should stop after a bit," he said. After all, sometimes these bleeding debuffs had a set time before they ended. Maybe it was the case here. It wasn't causing him any real discomfort anyway. He looked up at Jack and shrugged. "It's fine. "

Jack's eyes narrowed into slits. He looked like he wanted say something not very nice. But he only turned away, addressing the team. "Get ready for the next wave."

Severance felt someone watching him. It was Kiah, and there was an odd pensive look as her attention shifted from him to Jack and back again. Severance didn't know whether to be amused or worrie; Kiah didn't miss much, it seemed. Still, there wasn't anything strange or unusual about a tank checking up on the team healer.

He quietly gave his hand a little shake and wondered what Room 3 would bring.

***

Time Elapsed: 02:27:57

Three minutes and twenty-two seconds.

That was all it took for things to descend into a hellish brand of chaos in Room 3. Severance didn't even know what was happening anymore. More of the rat-diggers pushed out of every conceivable surface, leaving behind mounds of rocks that surrounded deep holes. For every new rat that popped up came yet another of the spitting worms. The ground crawled with creatures, making it an absolute minefield.

"Sev!" Snow yelled. "I need heals!"

"I know!" Severance shouted back. He could see the names flashing in the party list. It wasn't like he was blind. "I'm a little busy!"

And by that, he meant the nice little horde of rats that were hot on his tail. He leapt lightly over a pile of rocks in his path, taking note of where the holes lay. The second he landed, he twisted his body out of the way of a shiny glob of spit. His eyes tracked it as it arced beautifully past his nose. It looked like a luminescent pearl, innocent and pretty. Then it went splat against the wall and oozed down like milky snot.

The cryomancer's health bar slipped into red.

"Try being less busy," Snow called out. "I'm dying over here! Shattershock!"

Icy wind blasted from the cryomancer's hands and howled right into a field of frozen critters. Their ice-covered forms shattered. It cleared away a small space around him, which bought him some breathing room, but it meant little when the entire bottom half of his body had turned into stone. More rock encrusted the side of his face and neck. He looked more like a statue than a living person.

"Oh yeah?" Severance stomped on a squiggly worm as it started to lift up its head. "Here, have a Ward."

The little bubble shimmered as it enclosed around Snow, who tossed back an entirely unimpressed look. "Wow, that's gonna help a lot."

No sooner than he spoke the last word, spit splashed against the surface of the bubble, making it wobble, and then pop.

"Then freeze the army behind me," Severance snapped. A glance over a shoulder showed his little horde of rats had grown to over half a dozen. "I can't heal you when I'm running."

Snow scoffed, and sent a cone of ice into the nearest batch of worms. "You did before."

"Yeah, a whole minute ago. That skill's got a ten-minute cooldown!"

Still, Severance abruptly doubled back. Skyfall. His fans cut the first rat to shreds, sending a little swirl of healing wind towards cryomancer. Pivot Step. He spun around the second rat, and then immediately found himself surrounded by an entire horde. Several dark wormy heads rose up, swaying like deadly cobras.

Flutterstep! The skill got him out of there fast, twisting and weaving amongst the flash of claws and sparkle of toxic spit. He found himself against a wall, and quickly turned to see that he was momentarily in an open space.

Opposite him, Kiah moved like a tank, her revolving summoned blades working as a protective barrier as she methodically cut and slashed everything in her path. Red flashed overhead, and Severance glanced up. His eyes widened.

There was a hole in the ceiling. Which was nothing new—holes riddled every surface—but this one was big enough to swallow a car. Just as he was looking at it, an absolutely enormous black worm head descended out of the hole like a nightmare.

"Guys," he exclaimed. "Look up! We got problems!"