I dove to the side as one of the pangolin creatures rolled through where I had been standing just a moment before. They moved fast, like living steel balls, quick enough to make you misjudge their speed. I dropped to one knee, lining up a shot at the creature that had just passed, but a heavy thud slammed into my back, and I went flat onto my face. Another pangolin rolled over me. Pain exploded through my legs and spine as I felt bones crack under the creature’s weight.

  I was about to activate a healing potion from my system when warmth surged through me, completely unexpected. Frank’s palm was on my shoulder as he knelt beside me, steady and reassuring. He was a healer now. I watched through the tunnel of pain as my bones shifted back into place, the agony subsiding into a dull ache. The crossbowmen had formed a defensive wall around us, bolts already notched and ready.

  I pushed myself up and saw Shawn and Farah fighting back to back. Shawn shoved one pangolin, using a force push that sent it careening into another. The two tumbled, and Farah seized the moment. She raised her hand, and a jagged bolt of lightning shot from her fingers, striking the downed pair. The bolt arced to another rolling creature, then jumped to a fourth. Smoke began to curl off their scaly bodies. They weren’t dead, but they were stunned, twitching from the electric charge.

  Shaheerah charged into the fray, smashing through the creatures with her warhammer like she was crushing watermelons. The weapon hit with bone-crushing force, sending blood and carapace flying in every direction. She spun, planted her feet, and raised her hand at another pair rushing toward us. Two small projectiles shot out from her palm, arcing through the air like tiny rockets, and detonated with explosive force on impact.

  So... that was [Magic Missile]. I had used that spell before in games, but I never thought it would manifest as actual tiny ballistic missiles. They were powered by tiny propulsion jets, ripping through the air and blowing apart everything on contact.

  “Holy shit, could you guys not totally destroy them? I can’t reanimate them if there’s nothing to reanimate!” Shawn called out, exasperated.

  “And you two,” he snapped, pointing at the crossbowmen, “Stop kneeling there and shoot something!”

  I turned to see the two archers still on their knees, looking around, unsure of what to do. I sighed. “On me. Frank, stay close.”

  I moved behind them, giving orders as I kept watch. We concentrated fire on one pangolin, and together we shot it dead with a flurry of arrows and bolts. I scanned the battlefield, seven pangolins were down, but five more were still rolling in wide circles, avoiding Shawn’s blasts.

  “Shawn!” I shouted and pointed.

  Without a word, Shawn reanimated the one we just shot dead, and it rolled into the fray, slamming into the others. Bolts and arrows snapped off it as it crashed into the group, sending them tumbling. Shawn followed up with quick energy blasts, stunning all five remaining creatures in rapid succession.

  I saw Shaheerah charging in for the kill, her warhammer raised high, but I called out to her, “Stop!”

  Where the hell were the two fighters? I quickly scanned my minimap and found them behind a park bench nearby. Were they… hiding?

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  The creatures wouldn’t stay stunned for much longer. I called out their names, but it wasn’t until one of them peeked out from behind the bench that I saw their faces.

  “Get the fuck over here!” I shouted.

  Shawn ran over and physically dragged them by their arms, pulling them toward the stunned creatures. We had seconds left.

  “Well?” Shawn shouted, exasperated, pointing at the five creatures that were starting to stir.

  The two of them weakly plunged their swords into one of the creatures before collapsing onto their hands and knees, vomiting up their dinner.

  “Oh for fuck’s sake…” I muttered, staring at the scene in disbelief.

  “Shah…” Shawn began, but didn’t need to finish. Shaheerah was already in motion. She swung her warhammer down, smashing the stunned pangolin’s shell open and sending gore flying everywhere. The explosion of blood and viscera drenched us in pangolin goo.

  “I think… you’re beginning to enjoy this too much,” Shawn said dryly, pulling pangolin guts out of his hair. Mavis, the other healer, stepped forward and cast [Purify] on each of us, clearing the gore and making us look presentable again. I hadn’t seen her at all during the fight and had no idea where she’d come from.

  That... wasn’t good. With the exception of Farah and Shaheerah, the rest had frozen up. Frank had at least jumped into action to heal me, but the two crossbowmen had done nothing until I gave them direction, and the two fighters had run and hidden. I didn’t even want to know how Mavis had vanished and reappeared but her shimmering coat suggested she’d gone invisible.

  “We’re going back,” I announced, walking toward the ambulance. The others followed quietly. Well, except for Shaheerah and Farah, who were animatedly discussing their spells. From what I could gather, Shaheerah only had [Magic Missile], while Farah had a handful of cantrips with [Fireball] and [Chain Lightning] as her major spells.

  Again, I couldn’t shake the feeling they were overpowered. If this were a tabletop game, they wouldn’t have access to such high-level abilities and spells at this point.

  Our HUDs pinged with experience and loot notifications as we reached the ambulance. I told everyone to check their rewards back at camp. No need to clutter the cramped space in the back.

  I opened up my chat with Shawn as I drove.

  Chris: Good first outing, but not great. Those idiots froze.

  Shawn: Why’d they pick fighter classes if they can’t stomach it?

  Chris: They thought they could. But, they couldn’t. Keep an eye on Shah. She’s smart, and it’s great she and Farah adapted quickly, but she’s got a mean streak.

  Shawn: No... She doesn’t. She’s just letting out her frustrations. I can feel it.

  Chris: Really? Okay... But still, keep an eye out.

  I expected the camp to be quiet, with most people asleep, but when we returned, it was still buzzing with activity. We were greeted like conquering heroes, surrounded by those who were eager to see the new powers and equipment. Everyone wanted to hear about it, their faces alight with curiosity.

  Siva was waiting for us and led us to the officer’s quarters, where they had set up four cots in a room. We gave Jess and Siva a quick rundown of what had happened. Jess seemed more forgiving than I was when I mentioned how some of them froze.

  Jess updated us that, aside from being a little malnourished, most of the people in camp weren’t suffering from serious ailments. I asked Siva if he had managed to ride the motorbike yet. He gave me a blank stare in response. I laughed at that.

  “Well, keep at it. We need you riding,” I said, shaking my head and decided to call it a night.

  Tomorrow, or rather, later that day, was going to be another long one. And there were still over a thousand more people to go...