“You really went too far there, lass.” Gorian was still complaining as we appeared in a grass field ringed by stone monoliths. A dusting of shimmering light settled over us before fading. None of the other members of the party seemed concerned so I assumed this was the usual effect of teleportation.

  “You said to make it quick.”

  The large bald man snorted. “Well now your cover’s completely blown.”

  I brushed some hair behind my ear and shrugged. My hood was still down. I hadn’t bothered. It was nice to bask in the warm breeze and the scent of dried summer grass.

  “To be fair, I believe the cat was already out of the bag. All the townsfolk were already bowing and smiling at her when we passed,” Kamuel remarked as we trekked down a small path in the wilderness.

  “That’s just them being courteous. It’s what they always… oh.” I shrugged again.

  So what if father finds out. It’s not like he’s going to ground me. And even if he did…

  My gaze drifted down to the bracelet hidden beneath my leather sleeve.

  I have ways of getting out now.

  Once I got my Adventurer’s tag, we were led to a small room with a magic circle inscribed on the stone floor. This time, the glyphs were painted blue and not filled with blood. When I stepped into the circle a screen appeared over my vision.

  Next to the “Bedroom” label was an image of my bedroom back home, and the “Boisville Wayroom” was next to the image of the room with the magic circle.

  It was easy enough to open the screen with the thought of [Waypoints].

  So I do have a way of quickly coming back and forth between home and here. I had assumed as much from the bracelet’s description, but it’s good to know how it worked.

  “Yes, I do believe they genuinely care about you, My Lady.” Kamuel continued as he walked beside me.

  “Them Adventurers too. You saw the way they looked at her?” Gorian added.

  In what way did they look at me?!

  “Oh shit.” Justin barked as if struck by some realization.

  My eyes hopped in confusion between the two of them.

  “Yeah, if we bring her with even some hair missing. We’re gonna get lynched.”

  For a moment Justin’s jaw hung. He quickly recovered. “Anyways, My Liege, I can’t believe they skipped you straight to copper!”

  He was about to slap my back but his hand and face froze when he sensed Zadina’s gaze drilling into him.

  “How could they not after that performance?” Serina remarked as she took point.

  A stone outcropping rose up at the end of the trail. Piles of giant stone boulders stacked high over a dark forbidding maw, yawning high over our heads.

  As we took the staircase of crumbling masonry, my heart raced.

  This is something new, something I’ve never experienced before. For the first time in eons, I’m about to embark on a brand new adventure.

  We reached even ground, and Serina stepped cautiously forward with an arrow notched into her bow.

  Gorian pulled his sword out. Kamuel held his staff in both hands. Zadina, who had changed into a suit of white armor, unslung a large imposing hammer from her back. She hefted it in one hand and readied her shield.

  Justin had an open palm facing forward. I eyed him curiously. Last time I was too distracted to see his fire spells, but maybe this time I could catch it.

  I checked my stats, something I should always do when starting something new.

  Since turning five, most of my attributes had increased, seemingly driving up my stats as well. I assumed this was from me obsessively casting spells and the exercises that—though I had loosened up on—had been regimentalized in me.

  The boosts from rings helped a bit as well.

  I’m over 200 [Magic] now!

  Looking over at the rest of the party as they faced the dark tunnel ahead, I couldn’t help but wonder what class and level they were.

  I accidentally blurted it out loud.

  To my surprise Zadina was the first to answer, curt and snappy, military style. “Level 17, Paladin, My Lady.”

  “Level 13, Vanguard,” Gorian grunted.

  Kamuel’s calm voice added, “I’m a level 9 Cleric.”

  “12, Ranger, Joan.” Serina said from the front, her back toward us.

  “10, Fire Elementalist. But shouldn’t you have asked this before we got down here?”

  “She’s five, you dolt.” Gorian’s words seemed to have shut Justin up.

  We advanced until the roof of the cavern turned from lumpy clusters of stone nodules and stalactites to more regular granite tiles. The rocks we had to step over and around gradually dispersed until my boots clicked upon the cold, smooth surface of what looked to be poured concrete.

  The walls were cracked and crumbling to either side of us. Small lizards crawled over the faded patches of paint, the remnant of some ancient mural.

  “Is this place a ruin?”

  “No, there are ruin levels in the dungeon, but this level isn’t usually like this,” Serina said. She had pulled out a short sword and was hacking away at the vines dangling from the ceiling in our way.

  “Yeah, this place looks decrepit now.” After attempting to hack at vines as well, Justin raised a hand and flames shot out, burning away the tendrils. It was so quick that I didn’t get a chance to see how the magic flowed.

  “Don’t waste your mana.” Zadina hissed from behind me, her eyes roaming warily all over the floor, walls and ceiling. “Perhaps the corruption is peeling back the veneer of the dungeon.”

  I had read that dungeons usually formed around the remains of the ancients of various periods, and one could find hints of the past in them. But this… was more than hints.

  Metal beams jutted out of the walls at points, rust had left deep gouges in them, but one could still make out the characteristic “I” shape profile. Hanging from the missing tiles up top, were not just green vines, but also cables, twisted metal threads bare of insulation.

  The glow from Kamuel’s everbright torch illuminated a side exit, and on the ground was a rusted metal frame, still holding a pane of glass shattered into a spiral web pattern.

  It was shattered and yet, still held together.

  Impact-resistant glass. Modern, as in Steve’s modern.

  I had thought that French being the ancient tongue, meant that the other game was in this game’s past.

  But this… I don’t like the implications of this.

  A hand pulled me forward by the shoulder. “My Lady, are you alright?” Zadina whispered.

  Just as I was about to nod, a disturbance caught my eyes. Something was out there, in the murky darkness, out beyond the reach of our torchlight. The stale air shifted, barely, imperceptibly, but I smelled it.

  That scintillating, anticipatory calm just before, as if death himself was holding his breath in wait... The prelude to battle.

  Serina didn’t seem to have noticed, and Zadina was still looking at me with concern. None of the others seemed to have noticed, but the hairs on my arms tingled. My pulse rose.

  My gaze met Zadina's and I decided to risk casting [Shadow Fingers] in front of her.

  She’ll probably find out anyways, and... information... I need information. Every battle, life or death depends on lifting that fog of war.

  She didn’t react when I cast the first spell, no quick movement of the eyes, or tensed muscles on her face. Though she did notice me observing her. A question appeared in her icy eyes.

  I chained the next [Shadow Fingers] further out into the darkness. With [Shadow Mastery III] my senses through those fingers were even more acute, I could see not just the difference between light and dark but also detailed shapes and even textures of objects in the dark.

  Figures prowled. Short and stooped with large, floppy ears, scrunched up faces and oversized, hooked noses. Rough, thick skin with warts bubbling up all over it. Textbook goblins.

  But there were more than ten of them, more than twenty even, and they were moving slowly, their motions deliberate, cautious, and stealthy. They held swords and spears carefully up and away so that they didn't clang.

  According to the handbooks Mama gave me, goblins don’t appear in more than five for early level dungeons. They were too dumb to do any large group tactics, but here they were... preparing.

  Cool air seeped into my lungs. My blood ran cold. I was reminded of the fog rolling over the grassy field, of men in armor huddled against the downward slope, spears in hand, waiting for the thunder of hooves. Their breaths swirled with the cold white mist.

  This… is a setup.

  I snapped my head around and shot [Shadow Fingers] behind and up into gaps left by missing tiles above. More goblins were gathering behind us, and in the dark empty space above the ceiling tiles, short figures crawled on their hands and knees, approaching the openings of light.

  “It’s a trap!”

  Serina swung toward me, raising an eyebrow. “No? I don’t sense any traps.”

  Up front, behind the wall of darkness, a large wooden platform rolled into place, pushed by larger goblinoid figures. On top sat a giant crossbow. A ballista.

  Artillery!

  “Justin! Big fire spell, there. NOW!” I pointed in the direction of the ballista being ratcheted.

  Click… Click… Click…

  “What? You mean Area of Effect? But I don’t see anything.”

  “Yes! AOE! Do it NOW!” I shouted, pointing.

  Justin’s hand shot up. This time, I saw it all. The pattern of flow of magic swirling around his open palm. The way they spiraled chaotically all around his arm and converged at a point out front. Sparks danced, igniting a ball of flickering flame.

  “Fireball!” Justin’s voice cut into the air, and a ball of flame raced outwards, expanding as it roared away from us.

  BOOM!

  Fire struck wood and exploded. Sharp cries shrieked out as wood groaned and splintered, shooting shrapnel past us. A burning wheel rolled toward us.

  The fire's bright flickering light illuminated the long hallway, revealing rows upon rows of gathered armored goblins.

  This isn't just a large group. It's a phalanx. They're in formation.

  The front ranks however, were currently scrambling in disarray away from the flames lashing out of the burning ballista wreckage.

  “What the hell! They can use siege weapons?!” Justin exclaimed.

  “This can’t be… there shouldn’t be that many for one encounter,” Serina breathed, for once sounding stupefied.

  “Mundline save us…” Kamuel gasped.

  Fear... Paralysis... Don't let it set.

  “Gorian cover back! Justin flames up top! Serina shoot! Kamuel buff!”

  “Got it!” Gorian rushed toward the back, sword out.

  “Goddess grant us your blessing.” Kamuel chanted and a soft glow outlined each of us. I could see the flow of magic circling our bodies, but all I felt was a lightness in my step.

  That’s it? No wonder they were so impressed by [Divine Guidance].

  Zadina turned to me, her icy gaze expectant. I yanked her forward by her cloak. She was our biggest hitter, and we needed to hit them hard while they were still disoriented.

  “GO!” I reached for my short sword—one that Mama had given me—and hesitated. This was no time for subterfuge. These might be goblins, but there were too many of them for this to be normal. Everyone’s reaction screamed it. I cast [Shadow Sword] and grabbed the hilt of the greatsword rising out of the shadow.

  Zadina smashed into them shield first, catching a few with their backs turned. Her hammer slammed down overhead crushing a head and then another.

  They staggered away only for me to catch them on the flank. My blade cleaved through five of them, separating their bodies at the waist. Fountains of blood spewed.

  Behind us, fire erupted in the ceiling, jets of flames shooting out the missing tiles. A sea of plasma poured overhead. Flaming screaming goblins dropped from above, rolling on the ground until they became still. Commotion and shouting erupted in the back, but Gorian and Kamuel were holding the line.

  The wall to our right exploded, showering us with chunks of debris and dust. I spun away from a club that cratered the ground, and hacked at the massive arm that wielded it. It was one of the oversized goblins that pushed the ballista, and it towered over not just me but Zadina as well. This one was now missing half an arm.

  Zadina's hammer smashed into its chest as it stared at its bloody stump in confusion. She shoved it away with her shield, but then a tiny goblin hopped on top of her shield. It was hugging a large barrel, and attached to the barrel was a lit fuse, spraying sparks off the end.

  "Sapper!" I thrust my sword in front of Zadina, skewering the little goblin and then flung it off my sword. Another sapper came up running and I stepped in front of Zadina.

  [Force Shield]!

  BOOM!

  Blinding light and a concussive shockwave rocked the hallway, ringing my ears and shaking down the already crumbling wall. Once the smoke settled, the only thing left of the sappers and the giant goblin were streaks of blood and burnt lines on the ground. My shield was gone, but Zadina and I were left untouched.

  We had a moment's reprieve, but more goblins were gathering ahead. I sent more [Shadow Fingers] further out.

  These goblins have to come from somewhere. I need to find their source, their leader, or… general.

  I found it in a chamber two exits down. In the large, high-ceilinged room, groups of goblins knelt before a large female looking goblin on a high wooden platform. She wore a tribal leather dress with beads in her dreadlocked hair and a staff with a crescent hook at its head.

  A goblin shaman? No… a druidess.

  She pointed a clawed finger, and two groups left for the exit. She circled her staff and another two groups appeared to take their place.

  Summoning was never mentioned as a goblin skill in any of the handbooks. Could this be the corruption? We're dead if we don't stop her!

  I fired a [Shadow Spike] from my shadowy finger. It cost a bit of mana, but the reward was well worth the risk. I needed to take her out.

  Glyphs lit up on the platform floor. The black spike slowed for the barest instant before impact and the druidess leaned to one side, just enough for the spike to streak harmlessly past her.

  She shrieked out and then let out a low guttural growl. Two more groups left the room and another two were summoned to replace them.

  "Everyone! We need to push! Their leader is in a room ahead of here!"

  "What?! No, we can't aggro more monsters before we finish this encounter." Justin shouted back.

  Arrows zipped past me, taking out three more goblins. "He's right. We should finish one encounter at a time."

  "No! More are coming. I can see it! We need to move, if we don't they'll wear us down!"

  As Joan, there was only one mantra I lived by in the battlefield. Attack! Relentlessly Attack!

  "By my will!"

  And like a cut-scene on replay, one that had been repeated over and over again, I charged without looking back.

  This time, the voice was my own.