“Make sure you pay extra attention to what I’m about to say now,” shouted Gilgamesh.

I don’t fully understand why I was here. I leaned onto the support of the tent in the dark corner. I closed my eyes. Everyone was so ridiculous, first, they cast me aside when they couldn’t use me but now since they need every able-bodied person to help them they expect me to help them. I picked at the dirt under my nails.

Gilgamesh pointed to the map at a road. “This is where the monster horde will cross through,”

He trailed the stick along the drawn road to a kingdom. “The kingdom of Ariadne has supported our efforts more than anyone else, if they are destroyed we will lose our biggest benefactor and our efforts to stop the Holy Empire will be greatly impacted. Additionally,” He began emphasizing his next words.

“We must keep them safe to protect our honor, they have done a lot for us and we can not simply abandon them in their time of need!”

The soldiers in the room roared in agreement. Garn and his cronies shouted obnoxiously long after everyone else had stopped. The burly blonde twins laughed at the same time as if they were controlled at the same time by some sort of puppeteer. Several people gave them annoyed glances but they didn’t seem to notice or care.

We moved out later the same day at midday. The resistance may have been small but they were efficient. Everyone quickly packed and was out, it seemed like a normal day but we were out to attack monsters, some of them probably wouldn’t make it back - at least not still breathing.

I was awkwardly jammed between several soldiers and every time the cart went over a depression or bump in the road we would all jostle against each other. The soldiers were all giving me the dirty eye. Despite their expressions I part of me felt sorry for them, not enough for me to forgive or like them of course. Their faces were so young, they were my age yet they had seen so much carnage since they were little. How many people here had lost a loved one?

Getric the wizard was at the front of our line of horses and carts in his own special cart. The cart seemed specially designed. It had several ornamental sashes and clothes on it. Now that I got a closer look at it it seemed far older than the other sleeker and more polished wagons. Even from where I was I could hear the creak of his cart under its heavy burden. Getric and Gilgamesh sat there a giant tarp covered a large object behind them. Getric whispered into Gilgamesh’s ear. Gilgamesh pulled on the massive tarp. It fell down in large folds and revealed a jagged vibrant sea-blue gemstone. Getric held his scepter against the gemstone, both the rock and his staff glowed. Mana wafted from the rock giving off a sensation I can only describe as funky. It was unlike anything I had experienced before.

“What’s that rock,” I asked the back of a soldier’s head.

“Huh?” They burst out, Their face seemed to scowl harder when they saw who it was that had asked that question. “it's a portal obviously, did you think one could simply walk out of a dungeon?” They said angrily.

I wonder why we were moving you’d think this would be done in a more stable environment. No wait, maybe the environment had to do with why the portal was being generated now. From my memories I could gleam that most gemstones used for teleportation were hand-sized and required fixed standpoints to move, it was strictly unallowed to teleport while in motion. I’d assumed we’d be teleporting while moving but maybe technically speaking we were going to a specific point. In the split second that the portal opened, it would appear as if we were completely still. As for the size of the gem - of course, it would be bigger if it was after all transporting way more people. The smaller teleportation gemstones that I knew were usually for one person. The answer flashed into my mind. I couldn’t help but smirk. Gelric was smarter than I gave him credit for. Powering such an orb must consume a lot of mana, way more mana than any single individual could produce. There was only one source of energy in the vicinity that he could be used to power the gemstone. Kinetic energy. He must be using all the movement energy generated by all the carts and horses. His staff must be acting as a conduit and transferring that energy to him to activate the spells.

The cart in which the gemstone was cradled glowed faintly.

“We’re at the location,” shouted Getric. “Buckle up boys!” shouted Gilgamesh. Rune markings appeared, their letters were written in long rings that circled the stone several times.

A bright light enveloped us all, blinding out the world. The first sensation that came back was the rocking of the cart. When the light cleared our environment had changed. Instead of the grassy green environment we had been in before. We were in what was more of a quarry. The road was man-made and with sections were the road cut onto hills were hewn out of rock. I clasped a hand to my stomach. The teleportation had sent a queasy sensation through my body. Judging by the retching sounds that rang through the wagons and the soldiers kneeling over the edge of carts and over the sides of horses I wasn’t the only one feeling sick. The tarp was subsequently thrown over the gemstone and we traveled further still. Gilgamesh raised a fist. The procession slowed to a crawl.

The road to our left side had stretched downwards into a ravine. The figures of many monsters lurked at the bottom.

“What the hell are they doing,” murmured the soldiers in the wagon with me. I don’t blame their surprise. The monsters were silent and marching in a line. Normally they would be roaring and shouting into the sky. They were never this organised.

The back of the cart opened up and we climbed out. The tension hangs thick in the air. We got to work positioning ourselves in key locations and readying equipment. Our lives hung in the balance of our next moves. Even Garn was dead silent. I stationed myself by a cart at the front of the monster horde. The cart was full of rocks. One of the rocks shifted and fell lower into the cart. The sound echoed across the ravine. A spider monster looked upwards with its ugly face. Its many eyes scanned the sheer cliff face. Everyone froze, they didn’t so much as move a muscle. It looked back forward. Everyone breathed out a sigh of relief in unison. Gilgamesh raised his fist again silently. Me and several more soldiers pushed the boulders down the ravine. They clattered and thudded as they rolled down the walls. The spider monster hissed in surprise but was crushed by the boulders. The monsters were panicking and squirming around. Unable to go forward they turned in on themselves. Any second now, A black tar-like substance poured down the side of the ravine. It washed over the monsters, they howled at the liquid as it boiled their flesh. The monster tried fleeing but the obsidian liquid kept the creatures in place. Bows were pulled taut, arrows rained down onto them. The purple blood from their bodies stained the tar red. The larger monsters were able to get free using their huge mass to rip their way free the goo, leaving long strands of sticky black liquid.

“After me!” Roared Gilgamesh descending down the ravine to the monsters. Soldiers followed him down. Ropes tied around their waists and connected to carts slowed their descent. The carts moved closer to the edge the further down the soldiers went.

I moved to the edge.

“Soldier! Where’s your rope?” said a voice.

“I don’t need one,” I said promptly before taking a step over the edge.

“Wait!” I heard them call after me. I free-fell mid-air for an instant before reaching the sides. I almost chuckled. Did he expect me to stop mid-air. I took fast steps at first but changed my method into simply sliding down the steep slope. The rocks grinded against my shoes.

I landed at the bottom at the edge of the road where the tar did not reach. I bent down swiftly. A paw the size of my torso ripped into the rock were I had just been. Stones and pebbles rained everywhere. I glanced at the place it had struck. A hole could clearly be seen. I turned to face the creature. The monster bear roared, its red eyes furious. It lunged forward, its maw open. I unsheathed my sword and jabbed it into its left eye. It reared back onto its hind legs, blood flowed from its now mangled and useless socket. I jumped up and slashed at its now exposed neck. Its head splashed in its own blood when it hit the ground.

I looked around. Planks of wood had been placed onto the tar-like substance to step safely on. I jumped onto the bear corpse. I locked eyes with a praying mantis. It was taller than I was, it must have weighed over 100 kilos as well. Its scythe-like arms shone menacingly in the light. Its mandibles opened and tiny finger-like teeth moved within it. I extended mana threads from my fingers. They extended around the creature. It would take no more than me closing my fist for the creature to die.

“Get out of the way, Otherworlder!” shouted a voice.

Garn darted in front of me to the praying mantis.

“You’ll just mess things up, I will protect the kingdom of Ariadne!” he said.

“Get back!” I snapped at him. My mana threads that had nearly encircled the mantis were now encircling Garn as well. My sweat ran cold. I wouldn’t be able to stop them in time. It would cut him.

Why Garn, you fool!