The day everything went to hell, three teams did what they could to make the most of it. Artyom, Neitra, and Rugul the assassin fled to a safer place, choosing to bide their time. The ladies at Tommy’s side, the servants of the goddess, were the ones who had brought hell down in the first place and they reveled at the supposed end to their woes. And finally, the Terran Otherworldly Advocacy League, TOAL, Artyom’s comrades in arms, came to his aid. They did not send a new scout or even a single team to find him. They sent the whole army, bent on saving their friend and captain, come hell or high water. Whether they knew it or not, hell would soon come for them too.

 

---

 

  Annabelle Gardner walked with the rest of Delta Squad along the dirt road, all of them clad from head to toe in reinforced green camo uniforms with guns slung on their backs. Several other squads of similarly armed and armored soldiers walked alongside them, but spread out over the space of half of a mile. It was Annabelle’s first real mission after joining TOAL, and she was happy to finally be helping others from Earth.

 

  Not that she was ungrateful about helping others in need, she welcomed any opportunity to do good. It’s just that she could especially sympathize with kids from Earth getting dragged into a terrible situation. She escaped her own problems back home, and was happy to have been given a second chance in a World of magic and adventure. But the idea of living a happy life and getting dragged into hell for the crime of just being unfortunate enough to be the target of the wrong summoning spell sounded terrible. So there she was, travelling with like-minded individuals on their latest mission.

 

  “You’d think we’d be given more of a break before the next mission,” said one of the other soldiers walking alongside Annabelle. Under his helmet was a head of short, messy brown hair, tanned skin, and a somewhat wide face hosting a bored expression. “At least you don’t have to worry about resting up, Annabelle.”

 

  “If this weren’t an emergency, then sure,” replied another man. He was of a similar age to the first, but much more grizzled in both voice and looks. “But we’re here to rescue one of our own, and I bet you wouldn’t want your rescuers complaining when it’s your ass on the line, Ramirez.”

 

  “Ha, Mike’s got you there!” exclaimed another man. He was tall and lanky, hosting jet black hair in a buzz cut along with square-rimmed spectacles and a goofy smile.

 

  “That’s Sergeant Mike to you, Ray,” replied the grizzled man.

 

  “Yes, Sergeant,” replied Ray, his back snapping straight.

 

  “Looks like someone’s all bark and no bite!” joked another man in Delta Squad. This one had brown skin and hair similar to Rodriguez, but much more curly and extending down the sides of his face into a magnificent beard.

 

  “Yeah, yeah, Aidos,” replied Ray. “How about if I bite your ass?”

 

  “You may do so, Ray. Please, go ahead and bite my shiny, royal ass!”

 

  They all began to laugh, including Annabelle. It all reminded her of when she was still an adventurer working to save the World she was summoned to from a terrible evil alongside a group of similarly boisterous friends. She was happy that some things stayed the same.

 

  “So where exactly are we headed?” asked Ramirez.

 

  “It was in Prithvi’s speech, man,” replied Ray. “We’re headed to the nearest city to get ourselves set up there.”

 

  “Yeah sure, but where is this city, exactly? Or better yet, what’s it called and how far away is it?” responded Ramirez.

 

  The others were silent for an uncomfortably long moment while Ramirez waited for an answer. “You were saying something about Prithvi’s speech, Ray?”

 

  Sergeant Mike sighed and put a thick, calloused hand to his pockmarked face. “We’re headed to the city of Eastgate which is still another hour away. And all of our squads are spaced out so we don’t scare the town guards when an army shows up at their door.”

 

  “I think that they’ll remember us even if we do come in one squad at a time,” replied Aidos. “We don’t exactly ‘blend in’ when we’re all in full camo, ironically.”

 

  “Just let the Environmental Specialists on each squad take care of that with their auras,” replied the Sergeant. Roles in each squad were split into several archetypes, and that of the Environmental Specialist dealt with crowd control abilities and auras. Any deficit in skill could be made up by spell scrolls, grenades, and potions to mimic any particular spell or aura, to a limit.

 

  “Well Sergeant,” said Aidos. “I’m not exactly well-trained in auras, at least not enough to get us through the town gate without getting their attention. I never had to use them when I was first summoned, just my charisma alone was enough.”

 

  “Are you sure? You don’t seem that charismatic to me,” chided Ramirez.

 

  Aidos stared back at him, focusing on his glare.

 

  Ramirez looked back with a smirk, before letting loose a reflexive shiver. “I call bullshit! That was definitely an aura right there!”

 

  “Hey, I have to practice to make up for my supposed lack of charisma!” Aidos responded back. “All hail the king, baby!”

 

  “Oh yeah,” said Ray, interrupting the duo’s childish argument. “Annabelle, you’re also an EV specialist! Do you think you can make up for Aidos?”

 

  Annabelle’s attention was snatched away from the banter by the innocent question. “I don’t think I’m good enough either, sorry. Auras aren’t really my specialty. I’m more of a direct combat sort of person.”

 

  “Don’t worry about it, the other teams will cover for us,” replied the Sergeant, a kindly smile on his otherwise rough face.

 

  Aidos let out an exaggerated sigh of relief, and everyone laughed again. Annabelle especially relaxed, her only worry now being how they would fill the next hour of travel. As if the universe was listening, she immediately got her answer.

 

  “So, it looks like we’ve got a while longer until we reach our destination,” began Ray. “I don’t think we’ve had the chance to talk about how we ended up here in the first place.”

 

  “What’s there to talk about?” asked Ramirez. “TOAL found us in whatever World we were summoned to, and we agreed to join.”

 

  “Yeah, but what about ‘whatever World we were summoned to’? I’ve heard tidbits of what the rest of you have done while there, but nothing beyond that.”

 

  “You know, that sounds pretty fun!” exclaimed Annabelle. “I’d love to hear about what all of you did before joining. So, who’s going to start?”

 

  “I suppose I will, having had the most experience as a leader,” said Aidos. Ray rolled his eyes but quickly looked straight ahead when Aidos glared back. “So as I was saying, I was summoned by a kingdom in need of an heir to the throne, since the last one had died in mysterious circumstances and they were desperate.”

 

  “They must’ve been if they summoned you!” interrupted Ramirez with a guffaw.

 

  “Ok fine, I walked into that one,” accepted Aidos. “But they did end up crowning me king!”

 

  The other soldiers in the group looked at him nonchalantly.

 

  “Well? Why the bored faces. I said I became a king!”

 

  “Sorry, Aidos,” said Annabelle. “We kind of already knew.”

 

  “What? How?!” he asked, frustrated at the lost thunder.

 

  “Well, you kind of made it obvious with how much you implied being better than everyone around you.”

 

  “What do you mean by that?” asked Aidos, his eyes beginning to narrow.

 

  “She means you were acting like a stuck up prick!” all but shouted Ramirez with a cheeky grin. Seeing an unexpectedly dejected reaction from Aidos, he quickly backtracked. “Woah, you haven’t done anything that bad, trust me! But you did act like you were some real hot shit, you know?”

 

  Aidos sighed and quickly recollected himself into the ideal of confidence. “Well, that’s what’s expected of you when you’re a king, so I’ve still got to get used to talking like a peasant again.”

 

  Everyone laughed once more, reminding Annabelle that this was all just friendly banter. It really did feel like her last home.

 

  “So, where was I?” asked Aidos. “Right! Apparently the ones who summoned me were also responsible for the deaths of the heirs, no surprise, and they thought they could use me as a puppet. Apparently, they forgot that Earthers level up faster than others, and I was able to wrest control away from them!”

 

  “And then they tried to kill you?” asked Sergeant Mike.

 

  “Sort of. They sent me to the front lines of a war they started in the hopes of turning me into a martyr so they could take full power and abolish the crown, but I ended up being an even better military leader than a civilian one! What a surprise it was to them when I’d ended the war and earned the love of the people and the army. I was able to use the support to force them out of power in my own little coup and replace them with much more qualified candidates. Then when TOAL showed up, I decided to abdicate and pass on the crown to someone more qualified for times of peace.”

 

  “Damn, that’s one hell of a story!” exclaimed Ramirez. “Mine doesn’t compare to the grandioseness of it, but I’d say it’s a lot more fun.”

 

  Aidos motioned for him to continue with his eyes, more curious of his opponent than defensive at the challenge.

 

  “I got dragged to this World straight out of the American wild west by some settlement that found a portal diagram buried in an old mine from some long gone civilization. They mostly wanted me to stop a gang of outlaws that were attacking them, but once they were taken care of, I decided to wander around. There were these three big nations embroiled in a huge war of colonization, with the natives of the land trying to just keep their way of life from getting smothered in between all the fighting or land grabbing. I was mostly a mercenary who took the biggest contract from whoever would pay it, unless it was to do something nasty, like killing innocents.”

 

  The others nodded solemnly, but still intrigued with the story.

 

  “And once another summoning portal was found and abused by one of those big countries, TOAL showed up! I ended up meeting with ‘em when I was hired by another kingdom to sabotage the summoning ritual. I ended up beating them to it, and they decided to hire me full time! Though helping out other folks from Earth doesn’t hurt as a nice side benefit!”

 

  “Yeah, I’m not beating any of you guys,” replied Ray, slumping in a defeated posture, yet still holding a smile on his face.

 

  “Don’t worry, Ray,” replied Annabelle. “It’s not a contest, we’re just killing time. And I think something more ordinary would do us some good as a palate cleanser.”

 

  “Alright then,” he began. “I was pulled to a World that was a lot like ancient Rome, with togas and a senate and everything. I was supposed to be a soldier and I was really good at it, but the thing about ancient Rome is that you can’t escape politics. I tried, believe me, but I just don’t have a mind for it! Luckily, I met Herennia, who helped me navigate that dreadful world so I could focus on what I was good at. Of course, once all of the business they summoned me for was over, we got married!”

 

  “Congratulations!” exclaimed Ramirez. “I really don’t see myself settling down, but I’m happy for you. But why did you join TOAL if you’ve made a happy life for yourself back there?”

 

  “Well, fighting’s what I’m good at, and there’s not much fighting that needs to be done there anymore. Besides, TOAL pays really well, at least when it’s converted to the local currency. And the benefits of having access to Earth food and culture don’t hurt, either!”

 

  Another round of laughs later, they all looked at Sergeant Mike. He looked back with a raised eyebrow. “What? You really want my story?”

 

  “Yeah, sure!” exclaimed Ramirez. “I bet you were probably dragged over to a grimdark World or something, with how you’re always so grumpy. So, what is it?”

 

  “Yeah, I’d like to know too,” added Aidos. “It’d be good to improve our morale if we know more about our superior officer.”

 

  “Alright, fine,” relented Sergeant Mike. “I got summoned to a fairytale World.”

 

  “Wait, really?!” asked Ray. “Not even a gilded one?”

 

  “Nope, fairytale,” replied Sergeant Mike, his usual frown beginning to deepen. “I was a generic chosen one who had to kill the even more generic Dark Lord.”

 

  “It doesn’t sound like things went as expected for a fairytale World,” observed Annabelle out loud. “Something bad happened, didn’t it?”

 

  “Sharp,” the sergeant replied curtly. “Things started out well enough, I’d made great friends with my party members as we carved our way through the Dark Lord’s armies. Throughout the experience, my second in command, Cuthbert, and I became best of friends. We were inseparable and fought by each other’s sides for years.”

 

  Everyone was listening in, enraptured at the story. They were scared to know how it ended, but their collective curiosity demanded that knowledge.

 

  “And then we reached the Dark Lord’s fortress,” continued Sergeant Mike. “We fought through his guards and lieutenants, some of the strongest enemies we’d met up until that point. And then we reached the Dark Lord himself. That thing… he wasn’t anything like what we’d fought before, even more so than those guarding him. He was on an entirely different level and we had to fight for our lives in a way we’ve never done before. And that’s when it happened, Cuthbert that idiot. He took a mortal wound to protect me. I paid it back by delivering the final blow on the Dark Lord, killing him. I just wish I could’ve repaid it by doing something to heal him, instead. We were out of potions and no first aid could’ve saved him. He died in my arms, and there was nothing I could do about it.”

 

  Mike took a deep breath, none of the other soldiers on his squad daring to interrupt the solemn moment. “So that’s why I’ve since dedicated myself to learning the healing arts. How to brew and apply healing potions, cast healing magic, and even traditional Earth medicine, just so something like that never happens again. And now, I’m taking care of you lot, so you learn enough to not end up like Cuthbert.”

 

  Everyone was silent. The story had completely killed the cheerful mood of the group and replaced it with a somber fog that weighed down on their consciences with a feeling of misplaced survivor’s guilt.

 

  “But that was years ago,” said Sergeant Mike, forcing out a warm smile through the severe melancholy. “I’ve made plenty of new friends since then and saved even more lives. So don’t go crying for my old tragedy. Annabelle, we haven’t heard from you yet. If your backstory is happier than mine, then I’m sure it’d do us some good to hear it.”

 

  “Hmm, sure,” replied Annabelle, after deciding that her story was hopefully cheerful enough to lift everyone’s spirits. “I was brought over to a heroic World, so better than a noblebright World, but not as nice as a fairytale World. But the funny thing was that for me, it was a World out of an otome game.”

 

  The others, slightly pulled out of their funk, collectively gave her a look of confusion.

 

  “Oh, sorry!” she quickly said. “An otome game is pretty much a dating sim. Where you have a bunch of guys vying for your affection while you go about daily life or whatever the background story is. For me, that story was to defeat that World’s Dark Lord while all of the guys in my party were all trying to hit on me.”

 

  “Oh snap!” shouted Ramirez, jolting everyone from their stupor. “You got sent to a harem World! That’s super rare, lucky you!”

 

  “Yeah, those are pretty rare, all right,” added Sergeant Mike. “According to Artyom’s report, this is also probably one. Though that claim only comes from a sample size of two.”

 

  “Sorry, but what exactly is a harem world?” asked Aidos. “I’m not familiar with that particular term.”

 

  “It’s a world where the people are generally more… loose when it comes to romance and sexuality. My world was pretty open in that regard, it being like ancient Rome and all, but it was only a few who took part in that kind of lifestyle. It’s mostly an unofficial term used by TOAL members who compare it to stereotypical harem stories, where large numbers of men or women flock to the main character and are fine with sharing them. These worlds are like that in which a chosen hero or anyone of a high standing will invariably attract a swarm of interested romantic partners.”

 

  “That’s pretty much it,” added Ramirez. “But you were beating around the bush with that definition, if you ask me. A better way to put it would be a World where if you’re special, everyone’s gonna want to get into your pants!”

 

  “Well, there’s also the romantic aspect of it. Everyone’s going to fall in love with you,” added Annabelle. “All of the men did things like write me poetry, serenade me with music, and try to show off their muscles as much as they could to try and woo me.”

 

  “I said it one and I’ll say it again,” said Ramirez. “You’re hella lucky and I wish I had a party of hot babes fawning over me like that! Instead, all I’ve got are you grumps!”

 

  “Yeah, same,” replied Annabelle, wistfully.

 

  “Hold on,” interrupted Aidos. “You already had that.”

 

  “No,” said Ray, suddenly realizing what she’d meant. “She was replying to Ramirez, who said…”

 

  “I’m lesbian,” said Annabelle, abruptly. “And throughout my entire quest, I couldn’t find a single woman who was interested in me. I swear, everyone in that World was straight! And the entire time I had to deal with a bunch of guys going on and on about how they believed in true love, and that I would be the one to complete their hearts. I feel a bit bad for having to reject them, but those kinds of speeches wear on you when you can’t find anyone to share your own true love with! I felt like some kind of loveless outcast, like where’s my true love? Huh?!”

 

  Annabelle was panting, and forced herself to calm down once she saw the shocked faces of the other guys. “Uh, sorry about that. I guess I got a bit carried away there. It really wasn’t that bad though, it’s not like I ever lost anyone, it was just a bit lonely was all.”

 

  The other squad members remained silent, until Ramirez began to chuckle. Despite the looks the others gave him, they ended up succumbing to the same fit of laughter. Before long, everyone was giggling along, including Annabelle.

 

  “I take it back, that’s really unlucky! I’m so glad I’m not you!” said Ramirez, through his chortles.

 

  “But don’t worry,” added Ray. “The multiverse is a big place, and I’m sure you’ll find your own special someone!”

 

  “Who knows?” asked Aidos. “Maybe we’ll even find a World entirely populated by gays and lesbians? It could definitely happen!”

 

  “Hold on, how would that work?” asked Ray. “If everyone is gay or lesbian, then how would they make babies if nobody wants to?”

 

  “Maybe they’ll use some kind of magic to make them pregnant, like some kind of mystical version of in-vitro fertilization? Or maybe they use the stork?” joked Ramirez.

 

  “Well, we haven’t found anything like that yet,” said Sergeant Mike, concluding the discussion. “But Annabelle, you’ll be travelling a lot with TOAL, and I guarantee you that you’ll find someone while you’re with us. Who knows, maybe you’ll find someone on this very mission?”

 

  “Yeah,” replied Annabelle, a wistful smile resting on her face. “I hope so.”

 

  The squad stayed silent.

 

  “To be fair, a really long dry spell totally beats having your best friend die in your arms,” said Ramirez.

 

  “Dude!” shouted Ray as he and the others turned to him with shocked faces, Ramirez finally realizing that he might have made a mistake.

 

  The tension in the air was finally cut after a pair of loud cackles ended the standoff. Annabelle and Sergeant Mike were gripping their sides, trying their best not to fall over, their faces contorted into massive grins on the verge of leaking tears.

 

  Ramirez visibly relaxed, more so than the others staring daggers at him. His nervous smile quickly turned back into his usual arrogant one, but not before Sergeant Mike had something to say about it.

 

  “Don’t think you’re getting off so easy with that remark, Ramirez,” he said between fits of laughter. “You’re taking a shift of night watch tonight for that.”

 

  “Oh come on, Sergeant,” whined Ramirez. “We don’t need a night watch, Ray’s good enough at handling the tech to take care of it for us! I’ve seen him handle the radar and ward network!”

 

  “It’s called punishment detail for a reason,” replied the sergeant, leaving his argument and the conversation at that.

 

  The rest of the short trip was made in silence, heads held high except for Ramirez, who pouted the entire way to the city of Eastgate.

 

  The men and women of TOAL were able to enter the town without any issue and get themselves set up, and use the local teleport network to travel to their next destinations.

 

---

 

  Later that night, as darkness descended upon the world, a small group of men and women made their way towards a familiar cave. Bedecked with their true arms and armor, they skulked through verdant foliage, alert for any disturbance or abnormalities as they made their way to their first mission.

 

  “Come in, base camp. This is Alpha Squad: ‘No Shit on Sherlock’ reporting in, over,” one of the women whispered into a walkie talkie.

 

  The device forwarded a sound rich in static to everyone’s equipped headsets, before a voice responded to the initial query. “This is base camp, we read you loud and clear, Alpha Squad. At least as well as we can with all of this static,” replied the voice of Captain Michaels. “What is your current status? Over.”

 

  The radio operator, Sergeant Natalie Murphy, held out a hand to her squadmates. They weren’t able to make out each other’s faces due to the cover of night, balaclavas, and visors, but they knew what it meant. They stopped in place, mid-crouch, right outside of the entrance to the dungeon. “Base camp, Alpha Squad has arrived at the entrance of the Point of Interest ‘Crystal Kobold Crossing’. We’re about to begin our mission. Over.”

 

  “Very good, Alpha Squad. Though Crystal Kobold Crossing was reported to have been cleared out twice, take no risks against potential enemy presence. Over.”

 

  “Will do, captain. Alpha Squad will take full precautions and utilize maximum firepower against all threats. Sergeant Murphy out.”

 

  The line went dead, and the sergeant nodded at the others while putting the device away. With practiced precision, the tech operator of the squad pulled out a bulky metal device featuring a monitor, several dials, and an antenna. After some quick tinkering, the device sprung to life, detailing several silver-blue lines and red dots across the screen on top of a light-green grid.

 

  “Detection suite active,” said the tech operator with a soft masculine voice reduced to a bare whisper. “Sonar has a read of the cave’s structure and Detect Life’s pinpointed several entities within, with a single particularly large entity towards the deepest part. Detect Unlife is coming up negative, so no undead. Also there seem to be several traps in place, possible triggers at several points. Data has been uploaded to your visors.”

 

  “Thank you, Keoki,” replied Sergeant Murphy. “Mahmood can take care of any traps.”

 

  Another man wrapped in several extra layers of clothing and body armor over his already bulging muscles silently nodded with a thumbs up, his clothes straining against the motion.

 

  “Remember team, we’re here to investigate the remnants of this goddess’ influence on the cave. It might’ve been cleared twice, but there are bound to be some leftovers that Prithvi wants us to take a good look at if they can help us learn more about how to fight her. As the Supernatural Tech, that’ll mostly be my job, while Keoki will take care of anything more mundane.” Everyone nodded. “Alright, let’s move out!”

 

  The soldiers took out their weapons in the form of specially designed rifles, and made their way into the cave. Mahmood led the way, his darkvision-enchanted visor lighting up their path. The first half minute went by slowly, as the team skulked about in silence. It was long enough that most local adventuring parties would begin to talk amongst themselves at the sense of safety the lack of danger provided. Alpha Squad knew better. As soon as they reached the first corner, Mahmood raised his left hand and everyone stopped in place. He bent over and began fidgeting at an object on the ground, a piece of string tied to a sort of mechanism. With several quick and practiced motions, he disconnected the string and tied it to a protruding hook, disabling the trap.

 

  The other squadmates looked at him with apprehension under their face covers, which would’ve been more congratulatory if the trap he’d disarmed was more lethal. Instead, the string was tied to a blunt hammer, that if it hit, would’ve at most left a slightly sore spot that an ice pack would easily fix. If this dungeon was made for a “Great Hero of Prophecy,” they expected it to have something… better. They continued on, picking up the pace.

 

  Past the corner and slightly further down, they encountered the first signs of life. Once again, Mahmood lifted his hand to signal the presence of a new threat. Through their visors, they saw several red blobs moving around, some of them performing taxing physical activity by indents in the walls, most likely digging. The soldiers stopped and gripped their rifles, ready to fight. Sergeant Murphy held out her own hand with three fingers extended. Then two. One...

 

  They ran into the small room, safeties disengaged and guns already pointed at the Kobolds before they could even be truly seen. Bullets began to fly from the automatic rifles with a thunderous fury, their steel jackets embedding themselves into scale covered flesh. The victims of the armed assault were too shocked to make a sound for the most part, and those who were able to scream had it covered by the roar of automatic fire. The remaining few Kobolds lucky enough to not be mortally wounded tried to reach for their crossbows to fight back, but were struck down in a subsequent hail of gunfire before they could even point their weapons towards the soldiers.

 

  “Clear!” shouted Keoki, after sweeping the room.

 

  “Alright team,” began Sergeant Natalie. “They probably didn’t know we were here before, but they definitely know now. So speed and safety are the names of the game. Stealth is tertiary to getting to the end quickly and without casualties.”

 

  The others nodded and continued. Heavy footsteps thundered through Crystal Kobold Crossing, broken up by the regular cracks of combustion from their assault rifles whenever a new wave of enemies were encountered. What few traps that stood in their way were also quickly neutralized, not that the effort was worth bothering with. Still, safety was safety and TOAL’s finest truly did not want to take any risks.

 

  Room after room, Kobold after semi-prepared Kobold, the assault squad made their way through the cave.

 

  “From Artyom’s reports, it looked like that so-called Foreman and this goddess are the ones controlling the Kobolds, they don’t even seem like they want to be here,” said one of the soldiers who hadn’t spoken up before, a Japanese man in his mid 20s named Sano.

 

  “Forced to fight or not, they’re in the way of getting to our friend,” replied the fifth member of the team, a similarly aged American woman named Christina. “At least they’re independent enough to make the choice for themselves, unlike other Earthers. If they really wanted to, they could’ve left and formed their own tribes. At least, that’s what it looked like according to the bestiary entry on them Artyom sent over. They signed up to work under this goddess.”

 

  “Still,” continued Sano. “They seem at least somewhat innocent in this, like they could be living better lives. It just doesn’t sit very well with me.”

 

  “Of course it doesn’t,” replied Christina. “You were in med school before you got grabbed, you signed up to help people, not kill. But at least you didn’t take the hippocratic oath yet, or else this conversation would be a lot more awkward.”

 

  Everyone let out a soft giggle, letting some of their nervousness dissipate.

 

  “And don’t forget Artyom’s report of this place, or at least what happened right after he left,” added Mahmood, speaking aloud for the first time in a deep yet smooth and accented, basso voice. “The Kobolds charged him in innumerable waves, not letting up even when he took down dozens of them barehanded without tiring. Or even when he applied his fear aura on them. Anyone who did not want to be there would have left well before it got to that. There were but two groups of Kobolds he met, there are most likely more who live far away from this mess.”

 

  Sano’s face began to droop, before he lifted it back up in resolve. “You’re right, my friend. Thank you for reminding me who we are up against.”

 

  Mahmood simply nodded in response, a smile beneath his balaclava.

 

  “Alright team, heads back in the game,” said the sergeant. “If the kobolds are digging out this place, then it must be back under construction. And at the head of every construction crew is a foreman, so you all know what to expect once we reach the end.”

 

  Once more, everyone nodded and continued on. Despite the additional tunnels since the last time an Earther entered, it didn’t take long for them to reach the bowels of the cavern. They paused before the entrance to the penultimate room, the utterly enchanting atrium, and crouched down after making sure they were alone. Their visors detected a large red splotch surrounded by several smaller ones, no doubt the foreman and the remaining Kobolds. Before they charged in, they decided to learn more about what was waiting for them.

 

  Keoki pulled out another metal box from his back similar to the one he used to map out the cave. With some quick fiddling, he held out an OK sign with his left hand. Immediately, sound began to filter through the speakers in their ears, shedding light on the scene taking place on the other side of the wall they were hiding behind.

 

  “Another interruption, and more intruders?!” shouted a deep, gruff voice, most likely belonging to the foreman.

 

  “Yes Mr. Foreman,” replied a high-pitched sound from a Kobold standing below him. “Loud sticks, nicer looking than our crossbows. They just point, and then they scream and we die!”

 

  “They’re screaming?” asked the foreman, his voice becoming aggressive. “Then why are you the ones dying?!”

 

  “No, their weapons scream! They scream death!”

 

  “Figures with a bunch of you weaklings. Just wait until they show up here, we’ll take care of them. The Goddess warned me about some kid who came wandering here and killing the last foreman in charge, leaving the place unfinished. It was going to be such a great dungeon too, so she wanted me to take his place and finish it so she could recycle her plans. Now more bozos have to show up and ruin it! Again!”

 

  So they were expected, that was welcome knowledge. According to Sun Tzu or someone like that, even when you were expected, it was still possible to be completely unexpected. Case in point…

 

  “Just like we practiced, team. Go, go, go!” shouted Sergeant Murphy as the assault squad charged out of cover and into the atrium. They detected no more traps obstructing their way, and acted with that knowledge by immediately jumping into action.

 

  “Null Magic!” shouted Christina the Environmental Specialist as she obstructed the foreman’s ability to absorb magic and cast the high-level spells their intel warned of. “Boss Monster’s been locked down!”

 

  The other soldiers split their attention between the two main threats. Mahmood focused his fire on the foreman while the others took aim at the surrounding Kobolds. Bullets ripped across the expansive room, tearing through Kobolds left and right. The foreman only let out a scream of surprise before being pelted himself.

 

  Several seconds into the attack, many of the Kobolds were downed, but the foreman still stood strong. In fact, most of the bullet wounds dotting his serpentine body looked to be only superficial at best.

 

  “There you fuckers are!” he shouted, ignoring any possible pain caused by the results of Alpha Squad’s ambush. “Archers, Strike Team, assemble! [Team Skill: Extreme Strength], [Team Skill: Hypervigilance], [Team Skill: Extreme Resistance]!”

 

  Several groups of crossbow wielding Kobolds appeared from the second storey spaces of the atrium and took aim at the soldiers below. The remaining Kobolds on the ground floor rallied behind the array of Skills empowering them and began their counterattack, seemingly unperturbed by their massive losses.

 

  Despite the foreman’s quick and definitive response, Alpha Squad was ready for it. The same thing was tried against Artyom, and they had come expecting exactly that. Christina flipped a dial on her rifle, switching to the grenade launcher attachment sitting underneath the main barrel. She aimed at the large group of Kobolds looming above and fired a projectile at their general vicinity. The grenade struck true, and unleashed a thunderclap of light and sound, blinding and deafening every one of the would-be ambushers.

 

  “Alchemical flashbang deployed!” she shouted, before turning her attention back to the Kobolds on the ground. She removed several capped vials from a pouch on her side and pulled the top pin off each of them before tossing the magical grenades at the charging enemies. Upon contacting the ground, they each exploded into a different effect. One turned the rocky floor into a deep, viscous lake of mud, submerging the attacking Kobolds to their waists and slowing them down to a crawl. Another began growing ensnaring vines at an alarming rate, binding another group of enemies and constricting their movements to a languid shuffle despite the foreman’s Skills in effect.

 

  Mahmood continued his own assault. He too switched to his grenade launcher and primed a different type of ammunition. “Fleshripper round ready, and firing!” he shouted as the cylindrical object escaped the secondary muzzle of his rifle, speeding at the foreman faster than he could react.

 

  Upon making contact, the grenade exploded in a forceful blast, releasing several large chunks of shrapnel into the sprawling wound it created. Whatever mad genius at TOAL that invented the Fleshripper grenade could have done to simply leave the weapon at that. Creating a wound in thick hide or scaled armor and filling it with shrapnel would definitely classify as tearing flesh. But that wasn’t enough for them, oh no. They had to go and design the pieces of shrapnel to not disintegrate or deform from the blast, and for each of them to be enchanted with a different combat spell.

 

  The foreman screamed as the enchantments on the metal shards embedded within him released their magic. Fire burned at his left shoulder, frostbite ripped at his pectorals, acid melted away at where his heart should’ve been if he were human, and electricity surged across his entire body at a voltage that could stun even a giant. He fell to his knees, the current flowing through him forcing his muscles to seize up and jaw to lock, ending his screams and not letting him get out so much as a whimper. Unlike with the Kobolds, Sano didn’t feel a shred of sympathy for him. He’d read about the kind of creature it was.

 

  The remaining soldiers took down the enfeebled Kobolds, needing additional hits per takedown, but still clearing the field of them at a steady rate. As the smoke around the foreman cleared, Mahmood put on a deep frown behind his face covering. The foreman sat on his knees, flesh and bone visible through the injury on his chest and intestines hanging loose from his stomach. His jaw was still clenched tight from the electricity, but he had gained enough control of his body to try and stand. He mumbled something between the jolts and the surviving Kobolds’ eyes began to glow red. Somehow, the foreman was still alive and he wasn’t done yet.

 

  “We’ve gotta take out the foreman first! The Kobolds will scatter once he’s dead!” shouted the sergeant. “The last one died after snapping his neck, so aim for the head!”

 

  “I swear, it’s like I’m doing all of the heavy lifting on this mission,” grumbled Christina as she channeled more of her magic. “Chains of Light!”

 

  Yellow, luminescent chains began extending out of the ground around the foreman, wrapping themselves around his arms, legs, and neck as they pulled him to the ground. Despite the additional restraints, the monster didn’t stop invoking Skills, and this time the archers from above received the benefit.

 

  Coming out of their previous stupor, they fired empowered bolts at the squad, every single one of them striking true. The enchanted quicksteel thread armor Alpha Squad wore absorbed most of the blows, but that was because almost all of the attacks were aimed at what they deemed the true threat; Mahmood. Magical bolts of strengthened metal pounded at his armor, straining its enchantment until a few finally pierced it. That is, pierced the first layer. As the designated Heavy Unit of his team, Mahmood wore a second layer of specialized armor underneath meant to take and deflect such blows. Mithril scale mail, each tooth-shaped slice of the magical material enchanted to generate an equally opposing force when struck, was TOAL’s magical answer to reactive armor. Any piercing blow strong enough to overpower quicksteel would have to contend with a second line of defense developed specifically to counter it. And counter the blow, it did.

 

  Every single lucky arrow stopped short of doing any actual damage, some of them outright flying out of his armor as soon as they went in. Unperturbed by the potential injury, the giant of a man loaded a second Fleshripper grenade and fired it directly at the foreman’s head. The resulting explosion removed the very top of his skull and deposited the shrapnel throughout his brain matter and neck. As the monster’s face burned and dissolved right before everyone’s eyes, they could swear it was still trying to activate its Skills, staying alive as long as he could out of pure spite.

 

  Eventually, the goddess’ emissary relented to the prolonged damage, collapsing to the floor in a heap of acidic sludge and viscera. Seeing their leader dead, the Kobolds once again turned tail and ran away, the ones above disappearing into whatever corridors lay beyond their alcove while the ones below struggled to free themselves from the crowd control spells and headed to the service tunnels along the floor. The assault squad didn’t bother to finish them off, there were too many for that. And besides, they weren’t in the business of shooting at a fleeing enemy.

 

  Everyone took a deep breath and sighed in relief as Keoki took out his mapping device and confirmed that they were now truly alone.

 

  “Alright, great job team. If basecamp knew that there was another foreman here, they would’ve sent someone else with us. But since we’re already here, that means one more team can focus on killing something bigger. So let’s get to it, everyone! I want us done scanning this place and out of this cave by sunrise! I swear I’m not going to eat one of those sawdust bars for breakfast tomorrow.”