The boss hit the dirt with a final shudder, and after what had felt like hours of fighting, the clearing fell quiet.
Then the silence was broken as the rest of the raid continued the fight.
The pack of lesser forest chimera roared in protest of their fallen leader, vines and claws attacking in furious abandon. But without their big boss to lead them they were little more than dumb beasts once more. Eric and Kate shouted overlapping formations, their squads answering in practiced unison. Fire, lightning, wind, and steel crashed down one the beasts all at once. The last of the bear-things were put to the sword in minutes, reduced to twitching carcasses scattered among the tree roots and stone.
As the last one gasped its final breath, Rynel and Selka were already moving through the bodies with blades in hand, cutting free glittering essence fragments and beast cores. Doran and Garret pried tusks from ruined skulls, keeping anything that might fetch a price or be reforged into something useful. Henry, Allie and Myrae seemed intrigued by the Boss’ vines, as they began cutting them free to store them in bags. Everyone got to work rather quickly in collecting a few cores, their faint glow pulsing before being dropped into pouches and packs. Everything was efficient, and well practiced.
Alex wanted to help, but he was having trouble getting back up. Standing or walking was out of the question, and he barely managed to crawl a few feet before having to stop. He slumped against the shrine instead, the cold stone digging into his spine. He wasn’t sure if it was his bones or his pride that hurt worse, but either way, he needed a moment.
The shrine loomed over him, a grotesque tree of bone, glyphs and talismans humming faintly with sinister green hued aether. He could feel the System’s presence in it, patient and waiting for him to continue. He fumbled with his storage bracelet, pulling out a small green stamina potion and downing the contents. It wouldn't lessen his body’s physical strain and injuries, but it will at least give him the energy to stay awake.
A soft rustle drew his attention. Holly had dropped down beside him, her light frame brushing against his arm as she leaned her back against the same altar. She glanced at him sidelong, the corner of her mouth twitching.
“You look like hell,” she said.
Alex snorted, tilting his head toward her. “Yeah? You’re one to talk, you’ll need to wash those martial robes four times at least to get all the purple blood out. You couldn’t have been more careful with all that slicing and dicing you were doing? Next time, you’re going to have to sit the fight out.”
“Hardly,” her smirk deepened. “Admit it. You like watching me work.”
“Oh, I wasn’t watching your technique.” He managed a tired but playful grin.
Holly’s laugh was short, her eyes glinting as she leaned a little closer. “Careful, soldier. Say things like that and I might think you want a private performance later.”
“Oh intriguing tactic you have there,” Alex tilted his head closer to hers, his lips barely brushing her cheek. Her breath was hot against his ear as he spoke. “Don’t threaten me with a good time, Holly.”
She pulled back just an inch and gave him a long, considering look. Then she flicked her braid over her shoulder, before brushing his chest and arm as she settled back against the stone again. “Mm. Cute. Keep talking like that, and I’ll let you live long enough to see how far you can push it.”
Alex opened his mouth to say something else, maybe something reckless, but the sound of boots on stone interrupted the moment.
“Oi.” It was Rynel. The archer stood a few feet away with a brow raised, his expression was somewhere between amusement and impatience. Cole was already at his side, and behind them, the rest of the raid was gathering. All of their packs a bit heavier and their weapons cleaned. “Whenever you’re done flirting against the creepy bone altar, we’re waiting on you, Alex.”
Alex exhaled dramatically, dragging a hand through his sweat-damp hair. “Right. Yeah. Shrine time right?” He pushed himself up, Holly rising with him, though she gave him one last sideways smirk before turning to face the others.
The clearing was still scarred and bloody from the fight, but now all eyes were on him. Alex pressed a shaky palm flat against the cold altar stone, and despite his agony ridden aether channels, ran a pulse of aether through the material. The talismans shivered, their glow flashing like veins beneath taut skin, and then a System message blinked into his vision with an accompanying soft chime.
The words on the notification screen were like a breath of clean air. He hadn’t even realized how heavy the tension was until it lifted. The gnawing certainty that every fight would have chimera’s that simply absorbed their aether… it would have been a total nightmare.
So that is what the biome objectives are for. He confirmed in his mind. They can cripple the Hive’s abilities and tactics. He doubted they would be able to remove their rapid adaptability completely—that seemed to be ingrained into the species. But the big abilities, like the aether pattern mimicry, that one at least the hidden objective shut off. And, something like that in the hands of a final Dungeon Boss, could mean the difference between success, or a total party death.
Alex pulled his hand back from the alter, he flexed his fingers as the stone’s glow dimmed. He turned on unsteady legs, the whole raid party already staring at him expectantly. “Alright,” he said, “that’s one piece down. But listen, this proves something.”
He gestured around the clearing at the mangled chimera corpses, the broken vines and torn tusks. “If every biome has its own shrine or altar. Each one we complete cuts into the Hive’s power, and makes the final push for the dungeon clear that much easier. But—” he bit his lip, uncertainty warred in his mind about what he was going to say next, “—every minute we spend wandering, every fight we drag out, the chimeras get smarter and stronger. They’re not just learning and gaining combat experience, its more than that, its gotta be some kind of evolution, or primal adaptation ability. They’re adapting faster as we fight, and they are changing their bodies and skills to counter us.”
That created a ripple of whispers in the party. Garret frowned. Devon shifted nervously, clutching his gear. Selka looked skeptical but she didn’t argue.
Alex pressed forward, driving the point home. “If we try to clear everything together, moving slow, they’ll figure us out before we ever reach the city. The longer this takes, the worse its going to get. We need to finish the biome objectives as fast as possible. That means splitting up.”
The reaction was immediate.
“Split the party?” Allie’s said, incredulous. “That’s suicide.”
“Yeah,” Doran rumbled. “Even I’ve heard that rule. Nothing good ever comes from dividing forces.”
Kate crossed her arms, her favorite pose. “It’s insane. If one group gets overwhelmed—”
Alex cut her off, “This isn’t a game, its not an RPG with best in slot items, and meta strategies. There's no meta rules like don’t split the party, and all that. So, stop thinking like it is. The System likes to pretend its a game, but it isn’t bound by game logic. It can do whatever it wants, and it wants us dead.”
He stepped forward, every bone in his body ached, and he felt a tremor running through his limbs, but he still manage to stand tall. His gaze was stern as he looked over them all.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“Staying together is the best course of action in games back home because that’s how the human designers made it to be. The human DM’s reward it, even encourage it. But, the Heavens is NOT human, it doesn’t think and reason the way we do. If we move together, too slowly, the chimera’s will learn every spells, skill and trick we have and they’ll eat us alive piece by piece. Fast and hard is the only way through this dungeon.”
Kate looked at Alex with irritation in her eyes, but he didn’t back down. Eventually, the irritation looked to give way to respect, and she nodded. The silence stretched. A few glanced between one another throughout the group, some still clearly unconvinced.
Alex’s eyes narrowed. “We’ve got numbers. Two teams, evenly split. One goes clockwise, one counterclockwise. We clear the shrines, meet at the far side of the city, and hit the center objective together. If we don’t take risks now, then the Chimera hive will adapt beyond what we can handle. You saw how fast that boss learned.”
The memory of the hulking bear with glowing vines drinking the aether of his [Vita-Surge Cloak] made his skin crawl. He let that weight hang in the air, daring the others to argue.
Finally, Ghrukk grunted. “He’s right. Every fight against those things was worse than the last. If they keep changing…” He dragged a thumb across his throat.
Selka blew out a sharp breath, her shoulders tense. She looked to Sarson, the tall mercenary also seemed uncertain but he stepped forward and grabbed her hand, giving it small squeeze before kissing the back of her knuckles. “We can do it, love.” He said.
She rolled her eyes but in the end, she gave a curt nod. “Fine. We do your idea. Hit hard, hit fast.”
Reluctant murmurs followed, but one by one, the raid party accepted.
Alex leaned back against the bone-draped stone altar once more, exhaling slowly through his teeth. Relief never came despite the new plan. His gut twisted with unease about the decision he had convinced everyone to make. He knew this was the right call. He knew it. But “right” and “safe” weren’t the same thing—and the Dungeon was sure as fuck going to prove that.
After eventually leaving the clearing, they found a defensible patch of forest beneath a cluster of ancient trees, their large roots sprawling into natural barricades. Backpacks came off shoulders, canteens were passed, and weapons laid across laps as everyone settled into a wary rest. They made no fire or noise beyond the muted scrape of gear being checked and rechecked.
Near the edge of the roots, Alex crouched with Kate, Ghrukk, Eric, and Allie, their voices were hushed but taut as they discussed how to split up the teams.
“We need balance,” Eric said first, his fingers tapping against his knee as if drumming a beat. “Healers, tanks, support mages split evenly. Strikers can fill the gaps for cohesion.”
Kate’s lips pursed as she scanned the group, Alex could see in her eyes that she was already sorting names like chess pieces. “Agreed. If we break up the teams unevenly, and one side folds, the other’s will be stranded. That’s not acceptable.”
Allie shrugged. “No argument. I’ll take a team as the main healer, that’s a given.”
“My squad stays together. We’ve trained. We fight as one.” Ghrukk met Alex’s gaze directly, but there was no challenge in his look. The Ork was simply making a stand for his team.
Alex nodded. “That makes it simpler. We can build around that core idea.”
The sorting that followed wasn’t quick, but it was carefully thought out. Arguments rose among them on how to split up the rest of the raid. Occasionally the others in the party made their opinions heard as well—Zach insisting on sticking with Kate, Peter pointing out the dangers of splitting their ranged focus.
Allie had to point out to Alex why no one was bringing up the idea of splitting Rynel and Cole. She gave a pointed look over to the two men, Alex seeing them talking together over a schematic to a water spell. He noticed how the two of them leaned into one another, their fingers brushing as their hands moved across the parchment.
Ah, how’d I miss that? He scolded himself for not paying enough attention to his team. He wasn’t the only one trying to survive out here, getting stronger, making character defining decisions, or finding potential love. His eyes went to Holly for a moment, then he looked back to Allie with a grin. “Gotcha.”
The internal squad relationships created an added difficulty in choosing teams. But each option was weighed, measured, and slotted until it all balanced the best way they could.
Finally, it shook out as follows. Alex’s Team would consist of Allie, Holly, Eric, Henry, Garret, Peter, Lance, and Tom-Tom. Leaving Ghrukk’s Team as Kate, Zach, Selka, Sarson, Rynel, Myrae, Devon, and Doran.
Alex glanced between the lists projected in his mind thanks to Obby’s illusionary holograms. “My team will go counterclockwise. That’s lake biome first, then the tundra, then up into the gardens. We don’t have a fire attuned powerhouse except Garret, and he’s split. Better we handle water and ice biomes.”
Kate’s eyes flicked, calculating. “Leaving us with the rock desert, the ashen wastes, and the crystaline biomes. Fire and shadow can thrive in one, and will at least help in the other. Your plan is acceptable.” Her words were clipped, her mindset obviously back in tactical mode. Her tone made sure he knew what she said wasn’t a compliment, but Alex would take it as one anyway.
Eric leaned forward then, pointing toward the mist-wrapped tree line in the direction of the lake. “If we want to do this fast then we should move, and move now. No dallying.”
“Not yet,” Alex cut in, firmer than he meant it to sound. Everyone turned toward him, and he forced the tension in his shoulders to fall, his posture sagging to show his true exhaustion. “I’ve burned my aether and my body too deep already. My Vita-Surge spell already gave a mean bite in its backlash, after using the [Descending Demon Fist]… I’m held together by spit and stubbornness right now. If I push again without letting the backlash settle, I’ll be deadweight.”
Holly’s hand brushed his arm, her gesture an attempt at being soft and comforting. Meanwhile Allie gave a terse nod of acknowledgment as she visually scanned him for injuries. He had none of course, none that she could heal with her spells anyway.
“Then we wait,” Ghrukk said simply, as if it wasn’t even a debate. “A fighter broken from within is no fighter at all.”
Kate looked less pleased by this, but Eric backed him up with a sharp gesture. “An hour. Two at most. Then we move. We should all use the time well, actually.” He said.
Alex exhaled slowly in relief, leaning back against the oak’s gnarled bark. Actual, physical relief didn’t quite come, but the small reprieve was enough for now. He just needed time to meditate and let his high vitality attribute take care of his body’s strain.
The forest had gone still in their pause. Mist drifted through the undergrowth, curling pale ribbons around the tree roots where the raid party made camp. It wasn’t peace, they were too deep in Dungeon chimera territory for that, but it was quiet enough to pretend, for a little while.
Alex sat with Holly near the tree line, his body still sore. He had meant to close his eyes, maybe actually rest, but Holly had other ideas.
“You know,” she said, leaning her shoulder against his, “watching you punch a twelve-foot murder bear in the face was… well, I’d say stupid, but I’ll admit it was kind of hot too.”
Alex smirked despite the ache in his jaw. “Kind of? I was aiming for devastatingly.”
“Oh, devastatingly stupid works too.” She tilted her head just enough for the braid of her hair to brush his cheek, a deliberate little tease.
He chuckled. “Careful, Holly. People are going to think you actually like me for real.”
Her lips quirked into a grin, her eyes sparking as she leaned in close. “Maybe I do. Or maybe I just like watching you get beat up and still crawl back to me”
He opened his mouth with a retort, but her smirk told him he’d already lost that particular verbal sparring round. He simply wrapped her in his arms, pressing his lips against hers despite the pain which jolted through even the muscles of his face.
Across the camp, softer voices filled the eerie quiet. Rynel and Cole sat close, heads angled together. Their words were too hushed to carry, but the way Cole nodded, focused entirely on whatever Rynel explained, was more telling than words themselves.
Selka and Sarson were sat side by side as the two meditated, their knees touching together. Alex could see bits of aether energy passing between the two of them in a strange sort of gathering technique.
Nearer the center of the group, Henry had set out his travel pack, removed his special spacial bag and produced the small plant pots he carried like treasure—well because they were. Tiny sprouts curled in each one of the clay containers, faint glimmers of aether dancing off their leaves. Myrae crouched beside him, listening with wide eyes as Henry explained each herb’s traits calmly and patiently. Pointing to one pot, he intoned steadily, “This one is Ironleaf. It strengthens tendons, and its often useful in salves. I’ve been coaxing it with earthen attuned mineral waters.”
Myrae leaned closer, “You grew all these in this bag? While adventuring around and fighting?”
Henry allowed the smallest smile. “Fighting is only one way to cultivate.”
Elsewhere, Garret had collapsed onto his back, Tom-Tom perched on his chest like a victorious general while Lance and Peter shared quiet banter about attack angles and counter-formations. Even Kate, sitting apart with Zach like a shadow at her side, looked less like a poised deadly blade over one’s shoulder, and more like one resting in its sheath.
They all seemed to relax in their own way.
***
An hour later, Alex sat cross-legged in the roots of a wide-bellied oak, hands resting lightly on his knees, his breath slow and measured. Holly had gone to practice her own skills, and the chatter of the others faded into the white-noise background hum of his focus as his aether ran its course through his meridians. The forest’s ambient energy was thick there, drawn toward the shrine somewhere a few hundred yards back in its clearing. It should have felt nourishing to Alex, almost clean. But it wasn’t the forest that filled his thoughts.
It was the golden energy.
He remembered it like a false dawn in his soulspace, at first serene, warm, and immensely comforting. It had felt right, like safety or love itself. As if every wound, every fracture of his Mage Core, every piece of him that struggled to keep moving forward, would be mended in its glow. For the first heartbeat, he’d wanted to surrender to it completely.
Then it had nearly unmade him.
The memory of that unraveling still made his chest seize. It had attacked his body, his essence. It had begun peeling him apart, like his soul was a thread of a tapestry and the golden power had decided to tug until he came undone. For those seconds he had been certain: he wasn’t fighting a typical energy or foe, he was standing in the path of a truth too vast for a mortal to comprehend. And he had only taken a nibble of that energy, the barest fragment of a fragment.
He exhaled sharply, the muscles in his jaw tightening and relaxing over and over again as he guided his breath back into rhythm. The System hadn’t said anything about the event. No notification, or hidden quest. No hidden passive ability, or new category on his status screen unlocked. Not even a whisper of a change. But there was no way power like that slipped into his body and soul, and left nothing behind. His body felt the same, his soulspace seemed the same, but beneath it all, something was waiting, Alex was sure of it.
But the rest of that golden energy was indeed gone, Obby had eaten the rest. Their bond had flared greedily, drawing the golden stream into that abyss where the two of them touched. “Ascendant energy,” Obby had called it, like it was a sweet snack and not the kind of force that could crack the world open.
Alex clenched his fists in his lap. The sentient rock always talked big, always smug and playful, but for the first time he realized just how far ahead of him Obby might really be playing. Was he a partner? A parasite? A master waiting for the right moment to stop pretending to be a tool? Alex didn’t know. And that ignorance sat like a blade at the base of his spine.
A soft touch suddenly brushed against his neck. His eyes opened to find Holly leaning over him, her smile small but warm, her eyes lit by both amusement and care.
“Alex,” she murmured, her fingertips trailing lightly against his skin in a slow pattern, “it’s time. We have a Dungeon to conquer.”
Alex blinked away the bleariness in his vision, and despite the weight of his thoughts, he found himself smiling back at her. He quickly rose to his feet, rolling the tension from his back and limbs.
He ignored the dread twisting inside his stomach regarding the golden energy and showed a charming smile instead. “Okay, sweetheart. Let’s go conquer you a dungeon.”