The double mask didn't help.

  Magi adjusted it again as he descended the rusted ladder into the northern sector's main sewer line. The first mask made of a simple cloth, pressed against his nose and mouth.

  The second treated with some herbal mixture Eli had insisted would help, merely added the scent of mint to the overwhelming stench. The combination somehow made it worse.

  "It's like someone died down here," Jax complained from further down the tunnel. "Then came back to life just to die again."

  "That's not biologically possible," Eli said.

  She wore a sleek filtration device that covered the lower half of her face. She'd offered to make one for everyone, but only after they'd already purchased their less effective solutions.

  "How are you so calm?" Layla asked Magi. Unlike the others, she'd opted for the brute-force approach, a clothespin on her nose and pure willpower. "It smells like twenty monsters decomposed in here."

  Magi shrugged. "I had a supervisor once who never cleaned his microwave after heating fish. This is better."

  The sewer tunnel stretched before them, a curved concrete passage with a channel of slow-moving water in the center. Dim emergency lights cast everything in a sickly yellow glow.

  The walls glistened with moisture and something else. Patches of translucent, pulsing growth.

  "There's our target," Marc said, pointing at the nearest patch. "Slime molds."

  "This is what we're clearing?" Layla poked at one with her boot. The gelatinous mass quivered. "These tiny things?"

  "They're harmless individually," Marc explained, consulting the mission brief on his tablet. "But they consume organic matter and multiply rapidly. Left unchecked, they'll block the entire system."

  "And they're slightly caustic," Eli added, examining one with a small instrument. "Fascinating adaptive mechanism. They secrete acids to break down complex proteins for absorption."

  "So we're basically janitors," Jax said flatly.

  "Sanitation engineers," Marc corrected, trying to maintain some dignity.

  "We're janitors with magic and sword," Layla sighed.

  Magi unfolded a large collection bag. "Let's start. The sooner we finish, the sooner we leave."

  They moved deeper into the tunnel network, scraping slime molds from walls and pipes.

  The work was tedious and messy. When struck or cut, the molds released a viscous fluid that smelled even worse than the sewers themselves.

  "This is impossible," Layla complained after twenty minutes. She smashed another patch with her sword pommel, splattering herself with goo. "They're too squishy. I can't fight something that doesn't fight back!"

  Jax wasn't faring much better. His precise dagger work merely carved the slime into smaller pieces that reformed almost immediately.

  "This is beneath my skill set," Jax muttered.

  Eli approached the problem methodically, freezing small sections with controlled wind magic before scraping them into a container. It worked but was painfully slow.

  Magi watched them struggle for a few minutes, then stepped forward.

  "Try this," Magi said.

  He placed his palm against a large patch of slime mold.

  The surface frosted over instantly, crackling as ice crystals formed throughout the gelatinous mass. When completely solid, he simply kicked it.

  The frozen slime broke away cleanly, falling into his open collection bag with a satisfying clunk.

  The team stared at him.

  "What attribute was that?" Eli asked.

  "Basic Water," Magi answered. "Just controlling the temperature." He moved to another patch and repeated the process. "Lower the energy state, increase density, apply force."

  Marc nodded slowly. "Oh… Efficient."

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  "Show me," Layla demanded, abandoning her sword.

  Magi demonstrated again. "Think of it as cleaning, not fighting. You're just changing its state."

  "Cleaning not fighting… cleaning not fighting… cleaning not fighting…," Layla repeated, looking unconvinced.

  She placed her hand against a slime patch and concentrated. Nothing happened.

  "Less force, more control," Magi suggested. "You're not trying to break it yet."

  Layla tried again, focusing intently. A thin layer of frost appeared under her palm.

  "There," Magi encouraged. "Now spread it through the whole mass."

  Ten minutes later, they had established a rhythm. Magi and Layla froze the slime patches, Jax and Marc kicked them loose, and Eli cataloged and bagged them. The work proceeded quickly.

  "Strangely… This is actually satisfying," Layla admitted, watching another frozen patch shatter. "It's like popping bubbles."

  Jax nudged a large frozen chunk into a bag. "Still the worst job in the city."

  "Not even close," Magi said. "I once had to count paper clips in an office supply closet because my manager thought someone was stealing them."

  "Were they?" Eli asked.

  "No. The box said 1000, but it only contained 997. Manufacturing error."

  "And you counted all of them?" Marc asked.

  "Twice," Magi confirmed. "This is better. At least we're moving."

  They continued through the sewer system, following the main line toward the central drainage hub.

  The slime molds became more numerous but easier to handle as they refined their technique.

  "You know," Layla said as she froze a particularly large patch, "you're weird, Magi."

  "Thank you," he replied.

  "It wasn't exactly a compliment."

  "Still taking it as one."

  Layla kicked the frozen slime off the wall. "Most people hate this kind of work. You seem to enjoy it."

  Magi considered this. "I don't mind repetitive tasks. They have clear parameters. Start, process, finish. No meetings to discuss the process."

  "You really hate meetings," Jax observed.

  "They're time theft," Magi said simply.

  They turned a corner, and the tunnel opened into a vast circular chamber.

  The central drainage hub. Six other tunnels fed into this space, each releasing a steady stream of water into a collecting pool that dominated the center. Metal walkways ringed the chamber at various levels.

  "Finally," Layla said. "The mission brief says this is the end point."

  Marc consulted his tablet. "We need to check for major slime concentrations, then we're done."

  The team spread out along the walkway, examining the walls and pipes for signs of slime mold infestation.

  "That's strange," Jax called from across the chamber. "No slime here at all."

  "None here either," Layla confirmed.

  Magi scanned the chamber. The walls were clean, suspiciously clean compared to the tunnels they'd traversed. The water in the central pool moved sluggishly, its surface unnaturally still.

  "It's quiet," Magi observed.

  "Too quiet," Jax added.

  Eli took out a small device and held it up. "The ambient mana is vibrating."

  "What does that mean?" Marc asked.

  "Something's gathering energy," she explained. "Something big."

  Magi moved closer to the pool's edge, studying the water. Its surface didn't reflect the overhead lights properly. Instead, it seemed to absorb them.

  "Has anyone seen an actual slime monster before?" Magi asked.

  "Just the small molds we've been cleaning," Layla answered. "Why?"

  "Because I think all those small ones might have joined together."

  As if responding to his words, the water level in the pool rose suddenly, not flowing but lifting as a single mass.

  The surface bulged upward, forming a glistening dome that continued to rise.

  "Everyone back," Marc ordered.

  The team retreated as the substance, clearly not water… continued to emerge. It was transparent with a faint bluish tint, and within its gelatinous body floated debris. Maintenance tools, small bones, and partially dissolved equipment.

  "Gelatinous Cube," Eli whispered, her eyes wide. "A massive one. It's been hiding in the drainage pool, pretending to be water."

  The creature towered over them now, nearly reaching the ceiling of the chamber. Its form shifted constantly, ropes of flesh stretching and slipping back into its body, extending and retracting as it tested the air.

  "How do we fight that thing?" Jax asked. "It must be twenty feet tall."

  "We don't," Marc said, backing toward the tunnel entrance. "This is way above our pay grade. We report it and let an A-rank team handle it."

  Layla reluctantly followed. "For once, I agree with caution."

  They edged toward the exit tunnel, moving slowly so they wouldn’t draw the attention of the unfinished, regenerating creatures. The cube seemed distracted, exploring the upper reaches of the chamber.

  "Almost there," Marc whispered.

  Magi turned to follow and felt the walkway beneath his feet tremble.

  "Wait," Magi said.

  The water level throughout the chamber was rising rapidly, flooding in from the six inlet tunnels. But as it reached the walkway, Magi noticed it didn't behave like water at all.

  It moved with purpose, flowing uphill in places, surrounding them.

  "It's not water," Eli realized. "It's more of them. Smaller cubes."

  The liquid surrounding them began to congeal, taking form. What they had thought was the main gelatinous cube was merely one of many. The entire drainage system was infested.

  In seconds, the water level rose to their knees, then their waists. But it wasn't water anymore. It was a semi-solid mass, thickening around them, trapping them in place.

  "We need to move. Now!" Layla shouted, struggling to lift her legs from the rapidly solidifying substance.

  Marc attempted to generate lightning, but the gelatinous material conducted it harmlessly throughout its mass.

  Jax slashed at it with his daggers. "It's too thick!"

  Eli tried creating a wind barrier, but the substance simply flowed around it.

  Magi watched as the level continued to rise, reaching their chests now.

  It wasn't multiple cubes, he realized. It was all one organism, a colony pretending to be separate entities. And they were now at its center.

  "Can you freeze it?" Marc called to him.

  Magi placed his hands on the surface. "There's too much. It would take more mana than I have."

  The substance reached their necks, still rising.

  "What do we do?" Layla asked, her voice tight with fear.

  Magi looked up at the ceiling, calculating. "Take a deep breath," he advised.

  The gelatinous mass closed over their heads, enveloping them completely. Through its translucent body, Magi could still see his teammates, their movements slowing as the pressure increased.

  Inside the creature, suspended in its body, Echo Squad found themselves completely trapped, with no way to call for help, and very little time before their air ran out.