"I don't think Gerald's coming, Valoria," Randy said. "I've activated a distress beacon, so what we need to do now is try to survive as long as possible." The problem was that he was already getting exhausted.

  Valoria glanced down from the hole in the ceiling and looked incredibly distressed. "How long will it take for someone to rescue us?"

  "I don't know. It's unlikely anyone will come at all," Randy said as he furiously kicked his legs to stay afloat and fumbled underwater to unbuckle his quiver and backpack. Letting them fall into the depths of the lake alongside his favorite coat, the weight of his waterlogged trousers was still weighing him down, so he took a deep breath, dove underwater, and pulled them off.

  Now, with just underwear, a t-shirt, his bow, and a handful of arrows, he had solved the immediate issue of drowning. Turning, he saw Vesper and Valoria doing the same as him.

  "Make sure to keep hold of your weapons," Randy reminded them as his eyes flickered to the shoreline of the lake. A two-meter-tall orc had appeared alongside a small legion of Clay Goblins. It was the only area of the lake that wasn't a sheer cliff face.

  "Should we stay in the lake?" Valoria asked, her voice shaking, and her soaking hair was plastered to her face.

  Randy shook his head. "No. Despite our stats, we will get tired soon. We also need food and water, and those bastards know it. They will wait there on the shoreline until we either drown or starve."

  "You two wait here, I'll dive under and see if there's a possible escape route underwater," Vesper said, his eyes shaking with fear, but his voice was steady.

  "That's a good idea. Since the Clay Goblins and Orcs haven't come after us yet, I assume they are weak to water, making your idea our best option right now."

  "Okay, hold these," Vesper said, passing his two daggers. Randy struggled through the water to grab them.

  "I'll be right back. Stay here." Vesper took a gulp of air and dove down.

  Randy turned to Valoria. "Are you able to stay afloat?"

  She nodded, her cheeks expanded like a hamster. No doubt she was filling her lungs with air to float.

  "Good, stay like that." Randy calmed himself and decided to use this opportunity to size up the opponents. "Appraisal," he said, as mana rushed to his eyes. Sweeping across the shoreline, status boxes manifested above the heads of the monsters.

  [Clay Orc (Level 27)]

  [Clay Goblin (Level 18)]

  [Clay Goblin (Level 21)]

  [Clay Goblin (Level 19)]

  [Clay Goblin (Level 23)]

  [Clay Goblin...]

  He blinked as his head pounded from a sudden headache. Canceling out the skill, he had gotten what he needed. The monsters were all beatable, or at least would be in a normal situation. Now soaked and without most of their gear and supplies, it was going to be a brutal last stand.

  Vesper resurfaced and breathed in deeply.

  "Any luck?" Randy asked, and as expected, his friend shook his head.

  "It's far too dark to see shit," Vesper said between gasps. "I tried to feel for any flow in the water, but there is none. I fear we are in a lake of still water, which honestly makes staying in here all the more worrying. What if there's brain-eating bacteria in here?"

  "Worrying about brain-eating bacteria can come later. For now, we need to deal with those guys," Randy said, gesturing to the shoreline with his eyes. "Any ideas?"

  "I can take out the orc, but then I'll be in deep and surrounded," Vesper said. "I can hold on for a few seconds tops, but then I'll probably be mauled to death by the goblins."

  "Okay, I think that can work. Valoria? Got any thoughts?"

  "I can get us—" she began, sinking as she let out the air in her lungs. Vesper moved to support her. "—Thank you, Vesp. I was going to suggest using Ground Manipulation to make it easier to climb onto the shore. But after that, it's going to get messy."

  "This really is a fucked-up situation," Vesper hissed through his teeth. "Randy, gimme my daggers."

  "Are you sure about this plan of yours?"

  "No," Vesper said, taking the daggers anyway. He then began swimming toward the shore.

  "Keep up, Val! We need to back him up," Randy said as he put the arrows in his mouth and used breaststroke to keep up with Vesper. Luckily, it seemed Valoria was quite a strong swimmer despite being weighed down by her wooden staff. She hugged it like a sloth to a branch and glided past him on her back, using her legs to kick forward.

  Once they neared the shoreline, Randy winced as he saw the dozen Clay Goblins overshadowed by the Clay Orc waiting expectantly on the edge, their claws twitching in anticipation, and some even licked their lips. This situation was precisely what made Clay Goblins so fearsome—their traps. Since Gerald had been taking the lead and systematically avoiding or destroying every trap, they had seemed so weak. Because of that overconfidence, he had let his guard down and was paying the price for it.

  I wish Gerald were here, Randy thought genuinely. While many things were unsettling about the man, he was no doubt competent and surprisingly considerate, as he was willing to take the frontline and even drew the majority of the Clay Goblins' attention in the tunnel.

  "I'm going in," Vesper's voice snapped him back to attention. His friend got a solid grip on the wet stone and hauled his body out of the water. The Clay Goblins rushed to slash at his face.

  "Shadow Sever," Vesper said, vanishing into the shadows before the Clay Goblins got a chance to tear him apart. Having caused confusion, it allowed Randy and Valoria to make landfall.

  "Ground Manipulation," Valoria said, and Randy felt the stone wall of the lake shift forward and form a rough staircase. His feet found their footing under the water, and he was able to push his body up.

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  The confused goblins turned their attention back to him a second too late.

  "Grugh?" the nearest goblin said before Randy rammed one of the arrows he had been holding in his mouth into the goblin's eyes like a spear. It howled in pain and fell forward into the water with a splash. Unfortunately, that got all of the goblins' attention except for the Orc, which was busy tracking the ground for Vesper.

  Unfortunately for Vesper, his Shadow Sever skill had a timer, so he had no choice but to appear behind the Orc and attempt an execution. Unlike last time, when Randy had assisted with a distracting arrow, the Orc was ready and easily blocked the brutal attack with its arm.

  "Shit!" Vesper shouted, kicking off the Orc and backflipping. One of his daggers remained firmly lodged in the Orc's massive arm, leaving him with nothing but a single dagger. Clay Goblins swiftly began to gather around him.

  Randy swiftly took the bow off his back. "Piercing Volley, Quickdraw Step," he called out. In one fluid motion, he fired off the remaining three arrows that he had been storing in his mouth at the goblins. They luckily struck perfectly despite the bad conditions and his bow being wet, killing three out of the dozen goblins.

  "Randy, duck!" Valoria said.

  Randy fell forward and felt a wind pass over his head as Valoria swung her massive wooden staff. Multiple pained goblin cries and splashes of water followed as she smacked them into the lake behind them. Glancing over his shoulder, Randy watched as the water reacted with the goblins, softening their bodies and causing them to sink into the murky depths.

  That's when he got an idea.

  "Vesper, pull back to the shoreline! We need to fight near the water!"

  "Got it!" Vesper shouted back and began dashing toward them while trying not to slip on the slimy stone.

  Randy saw a goblin perched on an outcrop leap down onto Vesper's back, so he drew on his mana pool to conjure a mana arrow and shot the little bastard down. Vesper didn't have time to acknowledge the save as he was still knee-deep in goblins, and the Orc was charging behind him.

  "Snaring Roots!" Valoria shouted, and the ground cracked as arm-thick vines erupted between the Orc and Vesper. While the vines did manage to latch onto the Orc's legs, tripping it up with a ground-trembling thud, they weren't strong enough to hold the monster down as it used its raw strength to tear the vines out of the ground.

  Vesper reached Randy's side, wide-eyed and panting. "I'm sorry, I couldn't get the Orc."

  "It's fine," Randy said, but he wasn't too sure. Goblins could be dealt with despite their condition, but an Orc that out-leveled them? That was another story. "If only I had some more arrows, we might stand a chance. But mana arrows aren't going to have enough strength to penetrate that thick skin."

  "Maybe aim for the eyes?" Valoria suggested. "I can try to keep it still."

  Randy tensed as he saw blood trailing from the corner of Valoria's lips. Either she was suffering some internal injury or was past the limit of her mana pool already.

  "Yeah... I'll try that," Randy said, drawing back his bowstring and taking aim at the lumbering beast that was standing back up and staring down at them with a cruel smile.

  To these monsters, they were nothing but terrified food.

  That's when Randy's ear twitched. He could hear the methodical clang of metal that was getting closer... from behind him? Quickly glancing over his shoulder, he noted it was echoing down the hole in the roof.

  Was that the clinking of armor? Was someone climbing down?

  Perhaps it was Gerald?

  A roar forced him to focus on the fight before him. The Orc was calling in more goblins despite Vesper and Valoria already struggling to keep them at bay.

  "Shit," Randy clenched his teeth and aimed at the Orc. It glared at him, as if taunting him to dare to fire. "Piercing Volley," Randy said, feeling what was left of his mana pool drain into the skill. He swiftly fired off two mana arrows right at the Orc's face. One struck true, the other bounced off its hard forehead. It let out a roar of pain, but its regeneration soon kicked in, and its eye was already healing. It strode forward, easily trampling the vines that rose to try to stop its advance.

  "We are dead," Vesper said.

  "Hold on," Randy said, feeling the burn from exhaustion as he drew back his bow string again. "Someone is coming."

  "Nobody is coming to save us, Randy," Vesper said, as he slit the throat of a goblin that lurched at him and kicked the corpse into the water. A second goblin rushed him and bit deeply into his arm, making the assassin howl.

  Randy dropped his bow and rushed to Vesper's help. He grunted as he hooked his fingers in the goblin's mouth and forcefully pried it open. Holding it at arm's length, he hurled the monster into the lake with a splash.

  "Ground Manipulation!" Valoria yelped behind them.

  Randy turned in horror and saw the Orc had reached her. The ground under it shifted, causing the monster to almost fall... but it didn't. It grinned, as if it found their struggle amusing. The Orc reached forward, and Valoria tried to swat its hand away with her staff, only for the Orc to smack it out of her hand like a twig.

  "Valoria, no!" Randy cried out, only for a trio of goblins to get in his way.

  The Orc went to reach for Valoria, but she ducked and quickly jumped into the water.

  Randy felt a wave of relief seeing the Orc pause on the shoreline and growl angrily. The problem was when the Orc turned to look at him. At this rate, they would all be pushed back into the water, causing them to surrender their position on land and setting them back further than square one. Now they had no mana or weapons, and the enemies would be more prepared.

  "Vesper, you—" Randy began, but words failed him when he saw the blur of an armored person drop from the hole in the ceiling and impact the water like a bomb. A monumental splash followed, showering them and making the goblins cautiously retreat.

  Randy quickly bent down, retrieved his bow, and then put his back to Vesper.

  "Was that Gerald?" Vesper asked as he waved his dagger with his working arm.

  "I sure hope so," Randy said, stealing a glance at the lake that had calmed. "He isn't going to drown down there, is he?"

  "With all that armor on? I wouldn't be surprised. Wait—where is Valoria?"

  That was a good point. Randy panicked as he searched the water, and sure enough, Valoria was missing. Had she passed out after casting that last spell?

  "Valoria?! Where are you?!" he shouted and received no response.

  "We will search for her in a bit, Randy, but focus on the now," Vesper reminded him. "Ugly brute charging at us from three o'clock."

  Randy looked in that direction, and sure enough, the Orc was almost on them. He drew back his bow, but it was too late. The Orc was already there, balling its fists and going for an overhead smash. His eyes widened as the promise of death barreled down on him. Randy desperately raised his comparatively frail arm in response as a last-ditch effort—the Orc's fists came down with the force of a cannonball, snapping his arm with an awful crunch. The soul-breaking pain hit a second later.

  Randy screamed, and the Orc grinned in response. It hadn't gone for the kill. The monster was enjoying this. It swiftly picked him up off his feet and held him up like a trophy. His legs flailed around, trying to find ground, and he felt his body being squeezed.

  Yet despite the situation and his imminent death, Randy's focus wasn't on the putrid-smelling Orc before him—it was on the dark water. He just wanted to make sure Valoria was fine.

  That's when he saw it... a red light deep under the water.

  His eyes widened as the light seemed to get bigger—no, closer. It was coming right at him. The water erupted a second later as a crescent of crackling red mana struck the Orc in the side, forcing it to drop Randy hard onto the stone below.

  As Randy lay there, coughing, Vesper covered for him.

  "What the hell was that?" Vesper said as he waved his dagger at the goblins closing in.

  "I don't... I don't know," Randy wheezed. Yet he and Vesper both had a hope in the back of their minds. A hope that was confirmed as the water parted and a still-armored Gerald stepped out of the lake with Valoria thrown over his shoulder.

  "You called for me," Gerald said, not gasping for breath despite the water literally pouring out of his armor. He set Valoria down beside Randy. "I'll take it from here."

  Randy had never been so glad to see anybody in his entire life.

  "But you must agree to something."

  Randy nodded for him to continue.

  "I'm nobody special and would like to keep it that way. Understand?"

  Randy and Vesper shared a glance and a silent understanding.

  "You could call down the wrath of the gods, and I'll tell everyone it was a freak storm," Vesper said, gesturing that his lips were sealed. Randy agreed with a grunt.

  "Good," Gerald straightened up and raised his sword. "Because things are about to get ugly, and I won't have the luxury to hold back anymore."

  to read ahead!