"Standard protocol," Tessa muttered, her vines coiling. "Goblins take the front, kobolds release fire from the rear. Stay clear of the shaman's totems. It gives random debuffs to enemies, and buffs to all allies."
Zander shoved Kael forward. "Keep your chin up Sparkplug! Don't just doze around."
Zander laid on a thick performance, convincingly portraying a C-Rank Captain brimming with capability. His dramatic pronouncements were all part of an act designed to deceive them into believing he was someone who could confidently lead them through any challenge.
The boy stumbled through the portal's membrane with a schlorp sound. Zander followed, his stolen badge buzzing—[All C-Ranks got 10% mana resistance], but the transition still felt like diving into frozen syrup as the portal swallowed them.
— Inside the dungeon
The first chamber of the dungeon sprang into existence: a cavern bathed in the eerie blue light of glowing fungi. The very stone walls seemed to breathe with a soft pulse emanating from strange symbols etched into them – "D-Rank containment runes," a clear warning of the dangers held within. A grim testament to the dungeon's defenses hung above: the rotting corpses of goblins, ensnared in thick spiderwebs, remnants of ill-fated expeditions by weaker parties.
"Stick close," Zander barked, channeling his inner action-hero. "Lyra scouts ahead. Tessa watches our backs. Sparkplug here"—he jabbed a thumb at Kael—"zaps anything that moves. I'll handle… uh… strategy."
Lyra rolled her eyes. "Strategy? This is a D-Rank hole. Worst we'll get is some goblins and kobolds."
She regretted those words when the first growl echoed.
Suddenly, a bunch of small, ugly goblins rushed into the room with rough weapons, while behind them, even smaller, lizard-like kobolds with fire smoldering in their throats. In the back, you could see a kobold shaman holding a weird stick (a totem), and strange magical objects (more totems) quickly appeared around it.
"Oh crap, oh crap—" Kael stumbled backward, arcs of raw lightning tearing from his fingertips. A sizzling bolt slammed into a snarling goblin, leaving a smoking husk against the cavern wall. Another bolt ripped through a kobold's fiery exhalation, the creature erupting in a shower of sparks and greasy smoke.
Tessa roared, thorny vines erupting from the damp stone floor. They snaked out with terrifying speed, constricting a pair of screeching goblins, CRACK* CRACK* CRACK* their bones audibly cracking before they were slammed against the rough-hewn walls.
THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!
Lyra's rifle spat lead, each shot a precise punctuation mark in the chaos. A goblin cartwheeling through the air tried to sneak in, fortunately Lyra saw it coming and a bullet was released mid air penetrating the goblin's head, collapsing on the spot twitching. "Headshots only, damn it! Every shot counts!" she yelled over the din.
A frantic chittering filled the air as a goblin in tattered tin can armor, wielding a battered knife, darted towards Zander. The small, desperate creature lunged, its rusty blade aimed for Zander's gut. Just as the knife flashed—
'Gods, that was close. Too close for a scrawny thing.'
Zander's foot caught on a loose stone, and he stumbled sideways, a clumsy, unexpected lucky movement. Whoa! The rusty blade swished past his side by a hair's breadth.
'If it weren't for that stone just then... That would have cut my gut.'
He hadn't intended to move, his limbs heavy and unresponsive. "Captain?!" Kael yelled, fear lacing his voice. An instant later, Lyra's bullet punched through the goblin's makeshift helmet, the creature collapsing in a clatter of tin.
Zander let out a shaky breath, his heart hammering against his ribs.
'Lucky stumble. Too damn lucky for such a pathetic little thing to almost get me.'
He tried to appear nonchalant, adjusting his collar with a forced casualness. "Just… uh… demonstrating the importance of… uh… situational awareness," he said, his voice a little strained. "You gotta watch out for the little ones too, Sparkplug. They can be sneaky."
Zander let out a low whistle, never taking his eyes off the fallen foe. He slowly stretched his neck, a faint smirk playing on his lips.
'Damn it, need to focus. Can't let them see… can't let them see.'