”We headed for General’s Rest again, oh great Demon King?” Burst asked in a mocking voice between large bubbles of gum. A bit brave of her to just casually keep doing that even in a rift covered in contaminants.

  ”Um- yeah. I think so-“ Damion froze, his eyes tilting to the side. He looked blankly into the sky for several moments. His voice dropped back down to that artificial pitch. “Of course! We must chase the great general even in death!”

  I kicked a rusted sword idly, watching it disintegrate into dust. What kind of monster even dwelt in this place? Undead? Tetanus? Both? Some kind of fog creature? Or were we going against giant worms? That might be fun, actually. Tetanus was the most likely answer, unfortunately.

  Burst rooted around her bag and pulled out a map. I moved over, checking over her shoulder. It was a rather large one with POIs marked all over it. General’s Rest was just one of the many. “What skill was it again?”

  Damion’s eye took on a sinister red glow and he looked up toward the night sky again. His All-Seeing Evil-Eye? Was that not all just part of his act? ”General’s Rally. We should be able to get it in the next… ten attempts? No more than that.”

  Burst groaned, kicking a dented helmet lying on the ground. It clattered a ways before going still. “Ugh… I can’t believe I agreed back then. How many times has this already been?”

  “Only thirty-seven.” Damion’s eyes pulled into a smirk over his demon half mask. “And you owe me one after that time in-“

  Burst punted a rusted dagger at him. “We agreed not to talk about that.”

  “Right, right…” Damion’s eyes flashed red again and he easily side-stepped the rusty weapon. “Enemies up ahead. Looks like Scavengers.”

  ”…?”

  ”Why are you looking at me like that?” Damion rubbed at the back of his head and stared at the ground like a kid that just got admonished.

  Burst shook her head. ”Idiot! Nyx hasn’t been here yet. She's probably wondering what kind of enemy it is.”

  “Don’t call me an idiot, stupid!” Damion shot a glare at the Anchor. ”Um- sorry. Scavengers are the main enemy of the Archaic Battlefield. They’re humanoid constructs that roam around and loot this place, attacking anything that moves. Similar weak spots to a person.”

  ”That means head and heart.” Burst motioned to the two locations. “Preferably the head, though, so we can rip out the ether cores-“

  Sharp clanks of metal came from ahead, seemingly splitting the fog. Burst cut herself off and motioned forward. I moved to the front, took my position as the group’s Vanguard, and drew my sword. The black blade blended in with the deep fog surrounding the Archaic Battlefield.

  We stayed quiet, stalking into the darkness. A flickering flame illuminated the area ahead, casting deep shadows against the fog. I thought they said the Scavengers were constructs? Why did they need a fire? Most of the constructs from back home didn’t need warmth and food. Were these ones different?

  Burst moved up behind me, tapping me on the shoulder. Her voice came out a low whisper. “I’ll take the first shot. Damion will follow up.”

  ”…!” I flashed a thumbs up and snuck closer. I was never great at stealth, but the field conditions made it easy. The ground was soft and quiet. As long as I avoided the rusted armaments sticking up, I could move relatively silent.

  The fog pulled back slightly, revealing a small area cleared of the rusty rubble that covered everything. Piles of tools, weapons, and armor were scattered around the clearing, acting as windbreaks and small walls. Five… people? They looked like people, at least at a glance. Five people stood around, melting down weapons and armor. And it wasn’t a campfire- it was a micro smelter. Even approaching it made the ambient heat rise by several degrees.

  Burst backed away a couple of steps and hefted her water gun high. After a moment, she squeezed the trigger. A bright pink bubble launched from her gun, shooting off into the sky above the group. It grew in size, popping just above them.

  Pink liquid dropped down into the group, rapidly dissolving the Scavenger’s thick layers. They didn’t scream, though, just calmly discarded their clothing to reveal bodies similar to mannequins. The pink acid got into their joints, and somewhat slowed down their action and reaction speed.

  “Demon Slice!” A burst of cutting wind erupted from behind me as Damion made his move. It lopped off a Scavenger’s arm when it tried to block the magic wind. Two more followed it up, lopping off its other arm and head respectively. The Scavenger tumbled to the ground lifelessly in front of me.

  The last four drew weapons and armor from the piles of rusted equipment and rushed at me. Before they got close, another bubble launched out. It splattered point blank, hitting not much of anything. It did leave a pool of acid on the ground, though the Scavengers easily sidestepped the useless attack.

  The two hit me at the same time, one with a maul and the other with a spear. Both seemed at least somewhat capable with their weapons, even if they were just picked off the top of the pile. The maul mannequin approached, and the spear one circled around to strike while I was distracted.

  Taking initiative, I struck out toward the maul one with a simple String Form, Horizontal Slash. It was the most basic attack, lacking any fancy flourishes. Just a straight up swing cleaving at chest height. Most of the time, the basic attacks were more deadly than complicated ones.

  Following my intention, a thin film of ether coated my blade mid-slash. Basic Ether Sword took effect, giving my strike an etheric edge. Simultaneously, another pink bubble bowled over the spear Scavenger before it could hit me. Burst was doing her job as an Anchor perfectly by playing the support.

  The maul mannequin caught my blade with its arm, sacrificing for a heavy overhead strike. The intent for mutual destruction was evident. My sword easily cut through its limb as if it weren’t there, not slowing me in the slightest. I followed it with a shoulder-check and slammed into the doll’s chest. The Scavenger staggered, messing up its overhead strike and turning the tempo in my favor.

  I twirled my sword into another Horizontal Slash, taking off the Scavenger’s head in a clean slice of my blade. A mysterious fluid sprayed out, evaporating almost immediately. A moment later, its faceless head dropped off to the side with a soft thunk.

  The spear one finally got back to its feet, though its stance was unsteady. I easily knocked aside its weak stab and thrust through its head, killing it in one blow. The ether shroud around my sword made it enter and leave like a hot knife through butter.

  The two in the back finally approached, though they were met with a half dozen wind blades. Damion roared out in his high-pitched voice, “Demon Slice!”

  They both dropped dead in several pieces. I pulled back into a tight guard, eyeing the surroundings for any other threats. Nothing immediately caught my attention. There could still be something out there though, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. I returned my sword to its sheath, though I kept my eyes peeled.

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  My heart barely even picked up with that fight. D-rank wasn’t too much for me to handle… at least, at this rate. The Scavengers might just be weak. Hopefully, there was a stronger monster here somewhere. It’d be boring if it was only at this level.

  The Archaic Battlefield was massive. No telling what kinds of threats lurked around… well, there was a telling. I guess I could always just ask the duo. They said they’d been through here thirty-seven times?

  Damion approached us and laughed snidely. “What’s the matter, old lady? Alzheimer's set in already? Your little bowling bowl bubbles did a whole lot there.”

  ”Shut up, dunce.” Burst shot an irritated look toward the kid. “I just… I forgot to change the firing mode. That’s all.”

  “Grandma needs her med- umph!” Burst punched him in the stomach full force. He crumpled over, gagging into his half-mask.

  ”Forget about this brat, Nyx. Help me dig out the ether cores.” Burst pulled a dagger from her waist and slung her weird water gun over her shoulder. She wasted no time stabbing into one of the Scavengers' chests and dug out a small glowing sphere.

  “…” I nodded, stuffing my hand into my hoodie pocket to form an Ebonshroud dagger of my own.

  I joined her in digging out the rest of the ether cores, tossing them over to her afterward. She stuffed all of them into her bag. “I‘ll split it after.“

  ”Yep.”

  Damion waved his hand. Cold wind blew through the area, smothering the forge in the middle of the clearing. The flickering flames died out, leaving us standing in the dark fog. “That’s one camp already. How far till the General’s Rest?”

  “About thirty minutes in that direction.” Burst pointed out toward the dark fog. “We’ll hear it long before we see it, though.”

  ”That Lament is something else…” Damion pulled his cloak tighter around himself. “Always gives me the chills.”

  “Oh ho- ho? Even the great Demon King gets scared?” Burst laughed mockingly. She checked her map one more time and then walked into the fog, leading the way forward once more.

  Damion’s voice jumped to a higher pitch. ”No! Nothing scares me… just… it just…”

  “…” I patted him on the shoulder. It’s okay little Demon King… you’re still young?

  There weren’t any other camps, though we passed by a few other Scavengers on the way toward General’s Rest. Most of them were solo, packing their bags full of long-forgotten equipment. None of them posed much of a threat. Free Nytes, really.

  According to the two, there were a few other kinds of enemies in the Archaic Battlefield, though we never ran across them. For better or worse, I suppose. Some of them sounded fun, though. There was apparently a gigantic golem prowling between POIs somewhere. They called it a field boss or something like that.

  Before long, we approached a mountain on the edge of the Archaic Battlefield. It stood tall and imposing against the fog as an ominous backdrop of the unknown. At least, for me. The other two didn’t seem bothered by it.

  There was very little wind and no animals. The sounds of insects and the swaying of grass created a quiet backdrop. Underneath it all, though? I was starting to make out a wail. It was a sad, sorrowful tune that evoked a strange feeling inside my chest.

  At first, I couldn’t quite tell what it was. The haunting melody grew louder and louder when we neared the mountain. Eventually, Damion commented on it. “You guys hear it?”

  ”The Lament?” Burst nodded, digging at her ear. “So annoying… think it’ll ever end?”

  ”Not as long as this place keeps getting reset.” Damion’s eyes took on the sinister glow once more. “Close now. Entrance just ahead.”

  ”Right.” Burst checked her water gun and stretched out a hand to stop me. “Before we go in, a quick rundown. Step exactly where we step when we tell you to. The way up is full of traps. There might be a few Scavengers, but they should only be near the entrance.”

  ”Oh! Don’t forget the boss-“

  Burst waved him off. ”We’ll talk about it when we get there. Don’t want to overload Nyx now, do we?”

  Up ahead, the fog parted revealing the entrance of a… graveyard? Were there undead after all? A dark, spiked metal fence encircled the entire place, leading off into the fog. Statues flanked the entrance, all of them defaced at some point. The source of the mournful wails came from further up the mountain that the graveyard was situated on.

  I took the lead and entered the graveyard. It was a mess. Most of the graves were dug up, caskets discarded like they were trash. The once-honored dead lay in mounds of rotting clothes and splintered wood. Pitfalls from the dug-up graves were everywhere, as were the desiccated mounds of bodies.

  The desecration leaving a bad taste in my mouth. The dead should be honored, even if they died an inglorious death. Eventually, the graveyard’s style shifted. The graves turned into small mausoleums that blocked sight lines . The haunting cries—the Lament—grew even more eerie. It echoed off the shallow passages formed by the mausoleums.

  The clanking of metal alerted us to Scavengers long before we found them. A group of three of them gathered around a once ornate mausoleum. Two of them tryed to beat open the lock with picks while a third stood watch. These scavs were actually armored though, unlike the ones we found out on the battlefield.

  I motioned to the other two and then crept up, waiting for one of them to make the first move. I didn’t have to wait long. Burst fired a bubble, this time a tiny bullet-sized one. It slammed into one of the Scavengers’ heads, piercing through its helmet like it wasn’t even there. A moment later, its head exploded into shrapnel. It was dead before the fight even started.

  Damion followed up with wind slashes, though they weren’t as effective with the Scavengers wearing armor. It staggered one of them back though, giving me space to dart forward into a testing stab.

  The one I was going to stab reacted on time, catching my ether-clad sword with a kite shield. The rusted metal dented when my enhanced sword hit it full force, though it held against my strike. The scavenger stabbed forward past the shield toward my stomach-

  I backstepped around the blade, reaching into my hoodie for an Ebonshroud dagger. It formed while I ducked around the shield, keeping it between us to block the Scavenger’s sight. I withdrew the dagger and shoulder-slammed the shield, throwing the mannequin off balance.

  Even off-balance, it was a fighter. It slashed at me one more time even while staggering backward. I caught its blade with mine, parrying it to the side and fully opening up its guard. With the dagger in hand, I slammed it forward, piercing through the eye slit of its helmet.

  I stepped away, discarding the buried dagger. I pulled my sword into a block, deflecting the last Scavenger’s overhead attack to the side. A wind blade staggered it which gave me space to move once more. A pink bubble pierced its head immediately after, dropping the Scavenger once it exploded inside.

  Burst slung her pink-bubble gun over her shoulder and smacked loudly on bubble gum. ”Just as useless here as you were in Frescha. Can’t even get past their armor? No wonder-”

  “Hey! Low blow… and this isn’t even a fraction of my true power! I’m- I’m saving mYself for the boss.”

  “I'm saving mYself for the boss.” Burst mocked him, voice crack and all.

  It was getting harder and harder to tell who the kid was between the two of them. At least they were competent. If they were weak and acted like this, it’d feel like babysitting. No way I’d be able to put up with that. Pursius would for sure get my strong word complaint.

  I snatched my dagger and dug out more ether cores from the dead scavengers. Each one was worth somewhere in the ballpark of 500 Nytes, if I remembered correctly. Definitely worth the short stops. Once we were done, the Ebonshroud dagger dissolved back into my skin.

  We continued on through the mausoleums, fighting a few other groups of Scavengers. The further we went, though, the rarer the scavs became until it was just us walking through the cold fog. We drew in closer and closer to the source of the Lament, as the two Anarchs called it.

  A stone brick retainer wall blocked the way forward. The top of it flickered with the giant flow of a ward. Spikes jabbed out of the retaining wall to discourage climbing, not that I would’ve attempted it with the ward still active. No telling what that thing did.

  It was hard to tell, but it looked like even more ornate mausoleums were set up on a terrace above the retainer wall. The structures were mere shadows against the fog from down here. A layer for the elite? It sounded as if the mourning wails came from up there.

  I stared up at it for a while before turning back to my two companions. “…?”

  “Left or right?” Burst kicked the question down the line.

  Damion struck a pose and waved over his eye. “My All-Seeing Devil-Eye says it’s to the right!”

  “Just say right,” Burst muttered.

  I stayed in front as the Vanguard, leading the other two further into the decrepit graveyard. Eventually, we reached a mausoleum sticking out of the side of the mountain. Two lamps hung from it, pushing back the dark fog slightly.

  Damion tapped me on the shoulder. The kid tried to look reliable, though he failed terribly when his eyes blankly shifted back to the sky. “Get behind me, my faithful minion! This is the trapped section. After this, we should enter General's Rest proper.”

  “He may not be great at much, but he is good at face-tanking traps.” Burst laughed snidely.

  The Anchor shot a pink bubble at the door. This time, it was one of those large ones that splattered and sprayed acid everywhere. The door melted away, revealing a dark passage similar to that of a catacomb.

  Lanterns hung from the walls, though all of them were dark. Skulls leered out from the walls, the interred dead entirely at rest. I didn’t trust it. If nowhere else, this was the perfect situation for an undead to pop out. I clutched my sword in my hand and carefully followed behind the duo, ready to step out at any moment.