The cave opening was crawling with bugs, far too many to count. They piled over one another, pincers clacking, their beady little eyes staring at nothing. Their deadly stingers pointed toward the sky, waiting for you to slip up and not pay attention. Next thing you knew, you’d be paralyzed on the ground while the rest pierced your eyeballs out of their sockets.

  Lucky for us, that hadn’t happened yet, but who knew how long we could keep them off? Still, with the sheer number amassed before the cave, it felt like only a matter of time.

  Nefa’s high-heeled shoes, oddly enough, were perfect for killing the pests. She’d lift her foot and bring it down with a satisfying crunch, white pus oozing from the impact before she moved on without breaking stride. My shoes, on the other hand, were coated in bug guts.

  The insects were too small for me to slice and dice, so stepping on them turned out to be the most efficient way to deal with the infestation.

  Sparks clung to my shirt pocket, unable to do much against the wind. She tried firing off a couple of missiles, but the creatures’ hard shells deflected them right back in our direction. After that, she settled down, content to ride it out until we faced a different kind of creature, one she could hurt.

  The sun beamed down from high above, its light telling me we still had plenty of hours before it slipped behind the horizon. Even so, Nefa worried about clearing the cave before nightfall. Not wanting to let her down, I hiked up my pant legs and marched toward the cave, ready to stomp out the insects until the area was clear.

  After that, we headed inside to face whatever lurked in the cave.

  I kicked through the cluster of bugs at the entrance, clearing a path, then stomped down hard, crushing the rest. Easy. Messy. Fun. Nefa’s face twisted in disgust, but I could tell she enjoyed snapping their gross bodies as much as I did.

  Just as we reached the threshold, a massive insect dangled from the rock above and snapped at my neck, missing me by a heartbeat. I snatched its body, hurled it down, and stomped until my boots slipped in the pus that squirted out.

  Once it was done, nothing else blocked our way. Sparks flared her glow to full power, and by her light we pushed into the dark. I squinted, but all I could see were our moving shadows and Sparks hovering faintly.

  The minimap showed red blips scattered deeper inside, but the cavern’s layout only revealed itself as we explored. Until we found a proper light source, Nefa led the way, Fang and Viper drawn, her mask pulled up over her chin.

  “Be prepared,” she said.

  I was playing rear guard, with the map glowing in the corner of my vision.

  My hand brushed the chain of Black Tusk at my waist, while my claws flexed, ready for whatever came crawling out of the dark.

  Every few steps, a skittering echoed somewhere ahead or behind. I’d whirl, ready to strike, only to find nothing waiting for me. Either I was paranoid, or something was toying with us.

  Either way, my spidey senses were tingling, ready to pounce on anything inside this dank cave.

  With one hand on the wall, I followed close enough to smell Nefa’s skin and occasionally bumped into her in the shadows. Each time, she hissed over her shoulder.

  “Watch where your feet take you.”

  I mumbled an apology and carried on behind her, my heart ticking a little faster.

  “Nefa,” I whispered, “when are we gonna get some light? Walking blind in here is bad for my nerves.”

  “Nerves?” She chuckled softly. “We are too young to be worrying about that. Up ahead, there’s a cavern big enough for Sparks to shine brighter. Once we reach it, we should be okay, for a while. You just keep an eye on our back.”

  “For what?”

  “A goblin, for one,” she said. “Red-faced little cretins. Sneaky, fast, and they love environments like this. Not strong, but they’ll rob you blind. Weapons, HP potions, whatever they can carry.”

  That made me open my inventory. Twenty-three HP potions, seventeen MP potions, eight buffs, and the lone resurrection vial. Seeing them listed out gave me a strange kind of comfort. Those potions had saved my life more than once. Without them, we’d be up shit creek, and that was one destination I had no interest in visiting.

  Nefa crept like always, silent and determined. She never once hesitated or stumbled. And her mood was as deadly as they came.

  As we found our way through the caverns, I couldn’t help but think how lucky I was to have found someone so adept at this kind of thing.

  Goblins. Not the enemy type I expected to see. And thieves, too. In the games I played, they were dumb, clumsy with explosives, and hardly a threat. But here, they were sly and expert pickpockets.

  A real danger.

  As we crept through the dark, my mind drifted. Sparks’ light suddenly dimmed, snapping me back.

  “Sparks,” I whispered. “Is everything alright?”

  Panic surged through the bond.

  I shouldered past Nefa, pressing her against the wall in my rush. Sparks’ wings fluttered in front of the cavern Nefa had mentioned earlier, her face covered in shock.

  One look at the minimap explained everything.

  Below us, a chamber stretched several stories down, hazy with smoke and lit by torches. Even from up here, the stench was foul. I held my nose and nearly gagged at the scent.

  I equipped the Expert Vision Goggles and zoomed in. Yeah, it wasn’t pretty. A horde of goblins reveled in a frenzy, and at the center, on a throne of garbage, sat a massive one wearing an animal skull, gnawing on a slab of meat.

  [SIDE QUEST]

  KILL GOBLIN HORDE

  “Lamont,” Nefa growled behind me, “if you ever disrespect me like that again, ”

  I clapped a hand over her mouth. “Shh,” I hissed, dragging her to the edge so she could see for herself.

  “Oh,” she whispered, her voice suddenly small.

  Sparks dimmed her glow completely, and we crept back a few paces into the dark. When we were a safe distance away, she turned up her luminescence.

  “Sorry,” I whispered. “I missed that mob cluster on the map. Must’ve been tweaking and forgot to check.”

  “If ‘tweaking’ means being an idiot,” Nefa shot back, “then yes, your words are correct.”

  A pang of regret twisted in my gut. Sparks fluttered down and perched on my shoulder, her warmth a tiny comfort.

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  “At least she gave us the heads-up,” I said quietly. “Ain’t that right, Sparks?”

  Sparks crossed her arms and nodded.

  Nefa rolled her eyes. “So, how do you want to handle a mob that size?”

  “Uh, I don’t even know how we’re going to climb down the wall, let alone fight them.”

  “If my memory serves me, there’s a cliff that will take us down. The problem will be getting there without making a sound. And trust me, if that’s a war party, like I suspect, their archers are deadly accurate with bows and arrows.”

  “I have a few stealth potions that can help in that department. We gotta be fast, though, because they only last a couple minutes.”

  “We should only need a few.”

  I went into my inventory and counted the darn things. “Will three be enough?” I asked.

  Nefa’s face tightened, her brow creasing. “If I use my Speed Dash, I can get down first and wait for you. Possibly even kill a few while I hide in the shadows. But using my ability will make me considerably weaker. I’d need to wait five minutes to recover my strength.”

  I pressed a potion into her hand. “Here, take a stealth potion and get down there. Wait for me to arrive. I’ll hold on to these two,” I said, trailing off as I thought about our separation. “Oh, and under no circumstances do you advance. Got me?”

  She looked back at me with a deceptive grin.

  “Please, Nefa,” I begged. “There were so many of them god damn goblins I lost count, and the leader’s down there too. You getting hurt would fuck up everything.”

  “You must respect my skills, Lamont.”

  I shook my head. “Woman, I more than respect your skill. I just don’t want anything to happen to you.”

  “I’ll be careful.” She moved closer. “For luck,” she said, pressing her lips against mine.

  A warm feeling spread from my face to the center of my chest. And I’m sure if the lights had been brighter, she would’ve seen the goofy look on my face in full.

  Sparks twisted her face into a jealous scowl and buzzed off my shoulder.

  Nefa smiled. “I’m off,” she said, leaving me crouched there, feeling amazed.

  A thousand emotions welled up inside me, fear of the goblin horde below, Nefa running off alone, the kiss we’d shared, Sparks’ jealousy, even thoughts of what Cashius was doing.

  It took every ounce of discipline to shove it all aside and focus on what I had to do, conquer this cave and emerge on the other side with all my limbs intact.

  My feet scraped along the gravel as I tried to keep up with Nefa. By the time I reached the opening, she was nowhere in sight.

  Craning my neck, I noticed the ramp hugging the wall and laid my eyes on her backside, circling down toward the chamber floor. If I followed behind her, it would take me straight to ground level.

  Nefa glanced back from a few paces ahead, uncorked her potion, and raised it with a sly smile. Next, she tipped it back, drained it, then set the empty bottle on the ground with deliberate care.

  Grimacing, she shot forward with alarming speed, moving down the walkway with the grace of a cat.

  Her pace wasn’t blinding, but it was still quicker than mine. I uncorked my own potion, downed it in one gulp, and started my descent.

  By my calculations, she was moving at least twice as fast as I was. With the stealth potion’s +11 boost, our footsteps were nothing but whispers.

  The ramp itself was tricky, and navigating it was no easy feat, that’s for sure. Steep, narrow, and slick with loose gravel. All it took was one wrong step, and you’d be dead.

  I zoomed in and read the goblins’ description.

  Goblins, Level 34

  As I got closer, the noise from below grew louder, and with care, I made out their voices. Thick accents, sharp and nasal, heavy on the British side. It reminded me of those kids from Harry Potter, Ron in particular.

  “Aye, ya bum,” one shouted, loud enough for me to hear. “Pass the grub before I shove it down your bloody mouth.”

  “Try it, and you’ll be eating steel.”

  I waved them off and scanned for Nefa. Spotting her several stories down, slipping further away, she moved with incredible speed. That lit a fire under me. I picked up the pace, stepping over jagged stones and other obstacles in my attempts to join her.

  By the time I reached the halfway mark, Nefa was already on the ground floor. She glanced up, her face, or what I could make of it in the dim light, hopeful. She gave me a quick nod, then melted into a quiet corner to wait.

  The timer on my potion ticked toward its final minute. If I wanted to join her before she flew off the handle again, I’d need to down the last stealth potion and boogie down this ramp.

  I flicked my wrist, and the vial appeared in my hand. That’s when something bumped me, hard enough to jolt my balance.

  Heart jumping, I spun around, only to find a grinning goblin holding the potion I’d been about to drink.

  “Looking for this?” he snickered.

  The goblin wore an army-green vest, kind of like Sparks’, but bigger and loaded with pockets. His pants were nothing but tattered rags that had seen better days, and a silver hoop dangled from one ragged ear.

  I opened my hand and found only my sweaty palms staring back. Sparks looked just as shocked, her mouth hanging open. Thinking back to the description I’d just read, an idea struck me.

  “Yo,” I whispered. “Why do you have to scream so loud?” I peered over the ledge. “You want everyone else to hear you, for God’s sake?”

  “What are you talking about, human?” the goblin shot back.

  “If you keep quiet, I might have a real deal for you,” I murmured. “Is that something you can do, or am I wasting my time?”

  His eyes gleamed. “No, sir,” he said, stepping closer. “What type of deal?”

  I leaned in. “I’ve got a couple HP potions and five hundred pieces of gold I could part with, but only if you turn around and don’t let anyone know you saw me.”

  He squinted, weighing it over. “Make it one thousand gold, and you got yourself a deal.”

  “Seven hundred and fifty, but I keep the potions.”

  He grinned and extended his slimy hand. “Deal.”

  I gripped it, suppressing a shudder, then produced the gold in two pouches and handed them over. In return, he slapped the stolen potion back into my palm.

  His face lit up, rubbing his hands together with glee. Seconds later, I heard the quick slap of his bare feet scampering across the cave floor.

  Sparks shrugged and drifted back to her usual spot while my mind replayed the whole interaction. Something about it reminded me of my time in Glasborough, me using my high Personality stat to fandangle my way into clubs and squeeze information out of people. Funny thing was, I hadn’t needed that skill since leaving town. Most of the folks I’d met so far had been decent enough.

  But I knew that wouldn’t last forever. That stat was going to come in handy again, whether the game wanted it to or not.

  I resumed my descent into goblin party central after swallowing the last of the potion. Nefa was still in hiding, and so far it looked like I’d make it down without a hitch.

  That was until I spotted her leaving cover, sneaking up on a goblin with its back turned. Even from up here, I knew this wasn’t going to play out well. She crouched low, clamped a hand over its mouth, and slit its throat in one clean motion. After the body dropped, she dragged it into the shadows and slipped back into her prowl.

  I swore under my breath but kept quiet, moving faster along the wall in hopes of reaching her before her little stunt backfired. Only a quarter left to go, and I’d be there.

  But luck’s a twisted thing, and mine always ran out at the worst possible time.

  I rounded a corner, stepped past a massive boulder, and caught my foot in a crack. The stumble pitched me forward, and I smacked the stone hard enough to slice open my hand. The groan slipped out before I could stop it.

  Every head in the cavern turned my way. Even the goblin Nefa was about to finish off. Here I’d been thinking she’d be the one to blow our cover. Turns out it was me.

  In seconds, arrows whistled overhead, clattering off stone and sparking against the floor. Screams, curses, and chaos erupted through the cavern as goblin packs rallied, weapons raised, rushing straight for me.

  Nefa shook her head like I was the biggest fool alive, then wrenched the head clean off the goblin in her grip. Ducking under a barrage of wild swings, she lashed out in a frenzy, Fang and Viper carving throats, her scythe plunging through abdomens. Whenever I risked a glance her way, all I saw was a curtain of blood.

  Still halfway down, I met the first goblin head-on. White paint smeared beneath his eyes, teeth bared, he lunged. Black Tusk flashed from my hand, burying itself in his chest before I yanked it back on its chain. I spun, ducking as a flaming torch whistled past my head, and brought out Slugthrower. One squeeze of the trigger turned a goblin into Swiss cheese. A second blast tore through another.

  [Epic Kill]

  When I was finished, six of them squealed across the cavern floor before I switched weapons, and Havoc Maker materialized in my palms. The instant I raised it, the weapon’s cold wrath surged through me, chilling my blood with rage and anger.

  My chest heaved as I charged into the next group, Havoc Maker’s massive blade dragging behind me, sparking against the stone.

  Their screams rose, their stupid accents echoing around the cavern. Sticks, rubble, and sharpened knives came flying my way, a few biting into my flesh. It didn’t matter. With a brutal sideways swing, I carved through three necks at once, decapitating the bunch. The goblins behind them gasped in shock, their courage faltering for just a heartbeat.

  [Brutality]

  One goblin in crude armor sauntered toward me, larger than the rest. His meaty little arms flexed like logs, showing off his supposed strength.

  “We got a fighter, I see,” he grinned, raising his voice. “Get the pack!” he bellowed over his shoulder, hefting a massive cudgel studded with spikes and nails.

  Sparks zipped around me on support duty, shoving potions into my hands, glowing bright to keep me moving. Her expression flickered in the half-light, and through the bond I felt it, sharp and heavy, settling deep in my chest.

  Be careful.