It was once again the solitude and confinement of the underground paths that formed the daily life of Xicackna. Queen Xa-tar-Lona had assigned the princess to defend one of the subsections of the Dungeon as before. She had tried to express to her the fears that another unfortunate event would occur, like the last time, but the queen had been inflexible:

"Danger is low. When we lost last time, all the doors turned blue again, decreasing the danger we were in but also preventing the red doors from forming. The doors have just returned to their green color and the desire for freedom gauge has never been so full. The assault on the monster world could begin at any moment. Unlike intentionally triggered red doors, I wouldn't be able to choose which door to open and there isn't much explanation about this in the System help. I suppose, however, that the individuals who want to go out the most could be selected first."

"I see. This is why you assign me to these dark tunnels, far from the comfort of the city, after these days spent on the surface... Would I really be useful?"

"Of course. Remember: the most important thing in war is to obtain information about the enemy. Take care of yourself out there."

A shiver ran through Xicackna's body and she stood up abruptly. A strange feeling ran through the Dungeon. Her senses perceived it as clearly as pheromones or light, but yet it was neither. She felt it in the form of serpents of red smoke that roamed the tunnels and danced around the Zcarbbs they encountered, around her.

A powerful desire to move filled her and she began to run, joining an ever-increasing crowd. The still conscious part of her mind realized that she was moving much faster than she should be able to, as if carried away by the red streamers.

Now she found herself in another subsection of the dungeon, a few hours of normal walking away. She wasn't out of breath in the slightest as she stared at a large, glowing door. In front of her, many soldiers and workers were massing, gradually passing through this red door.

She saw one of the mature princesses, the arcanist Xubu-Lemonay, who was pressing all her paws against the door without succeeding in crossing it. As she reached her, she turned her head towards Xicackna. Except for a slight confusion indicating that she was seized by the same irresistible desire to pass through the door as the one who dominated her, it was seen that she remained lucid. The same could not be said for the commoners who seemed literally hypnotized by the coils of smoke and the brightness of the door.

"Ah, Xicackna. So, you managed to get called, as expected. See, it looks like I'm going to be leading this assault. The door refuses me passage for the moment, but it slowly nourishes me with its energy: there is no doubt that I will be greatly strengthened when it finally lets me through."

"What should I do?"

"Go through the door. I will join you soon. Several soldiers with classes are already on the other side and directing operations. Help them, but don't forget that your mission is above all to observe and survive. I will succeed in securing the ground before reinforcements arrive, but even if we are not defeated, your observations will be necessary for the future: take this seriously!"

The little princess nodded then turned her gaze towards the door. The structure shimmered, both solid and fluid, a strange aberration that opened the passage to the unknown. Her sixth sense trembled at the hostility that seemed to emanate from it, unlike the sensations of the yellow door of the hunting ground. Taking a deep breath, Xicackna stepped forward. She felt the strange sensation, as if she were surrounded by jelly, as she passed through the colored material, and then she found herself somewhere else.

The first sight of the monster world filled her with terror and a sense of crushing: as far as the eye could see, gigantic columns of stone and glass (probably) rose, as large as surface palaces. It looked like a great gathering of thousands of monstrous termite mounds.

Many of these incongruous buildings were in ruins, at least for those closest to them. Fighting raged everywhere as soldiers arrived and confronted the monsters. Some climbed termite mounds while others faced the swarming mass of monsters and their iron-spitting weapons on the strangest roads imaginable.

Touching the ground, Xicackna considered that it must be some sort of amalgam of stones melted to trace a path. Such a strange technique would probably interest Xana-Eloba, so she tried to commit the details to her memory and picked up a small piece to put it in her bag.

Her attention then returned to the fight. Strange metal structures cluttered the streets, often overturned or half-melted by the violence of the clashes. They looked like some sort of covered wagons. Hiding in one that was damaged enough to enter, but intact enough to serve as a hiding place, she began to observe everything she could from this shelter. She took the opportunity to study the messages from the System that had appeared during her entry:

World: « Earth »

Dominant species: Humans [F]

Congratulations:

You have entered a new world for the first time.

Bonus: +200 XP

Quest rank « F »

« Bridge-Head »

Success Condition: Secure a forward base for your people on this new world. The longer you hold out, the more higher-level reinforcements will be able to join you.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Bonus: Following your entry into this scenario, you benefit from a x2 bonus to XP gain for one hour.

Reward: 500 XP. The gate becomes permanent and the surrounding land adapts to the needs of your people.

Failure: If your advanced troops are defeated, the gate will close.

Total failure: If the Boss of your assault is eliminated, the door will close.

500 XP! For a supposedly F-rank collective quest? Even if she did nothing, her next level and the next were going to happen quickly and probably simultaneously. She took a look at her experience:

Current experience: 1740

Stored experience: 3038

Experience needed for next level: 10

All she would need to do is eliminate a level 1 enemy! Just one and she would advance to the next level. Even the “still growing” penalty wouldn't stop her if she accomplished this while the experience multiplication bonus remained active...

The sight of countless corpses of Zcarbbs, scattered among the remains of the monsters, suddenly robbed the princess of her enthusiasm:

“Oh... Okay, I'll just calmly wait for some event to give me the missing XP... I'm not going to die stupidly just for one more level.”

Extending her perceptions to the hive mind and opening her eyes wide, Xicackna began to visualize the state of the battle. Some inferiors who were not busy fighting transmitted to her their experience of the first clashes, clarifying her perception of the situation.

Apparently, the first to arrive were among the weakest soldiers and some workers. Fortunately, their numbers had easily overcome the first defenses of the Humans, allowing reinforcements to arrive, ever more powerful.

Despite very significant losses, the area around the gate had been secured. Several patrols roamed the monstrous termite mounds, exterminating any monster nest that could directly threaten the gate, while heavy guards formed a first security cordon in the streets of this sort of town for monsters.

The assault troops were currently facing many hostile creatures. Some resembled classic human warriors, using their iron spitters and explosive objects to attack the gate defenders or man their own barricades. Others, fewer in number, wore the strange robes and armor of the last waves of Humans. All having classes, these monsters were often of high levels.

She swallowed when she spotted one of them level 28, or category “D” and a few others close to this power. Knowing that Xubu-Lemonay was approaching level 35 which would (according to predictions) bring her to category “C”, the fight was going to be difficult. With such striking power, it was understandable that there were more corpses of Zcarbbs than monsters on the battlefield.

There were also some Human workers who were hiding as best they could. Xicackna considers the possibility of trying to hunt one to gain a level. No: there was no point in exposing yourself for that. And then, they seemed harmless: it would be more interesting to capture some to study them.

She saw a few warriors pushing captives towards the gate, proof that Xubu-Lemonay must have already given them this type of instruction before they crossed: left to their own choices, soldiers would not take prisoners and would simply mercilessly kill anything that appeared to them to be a threat to the hive.

Curious, she watched the prisoners until they passed through the door. This confirmed to her that the red door worked in both directions. Reassured, she was about to resume observing the fight when, suddenly, she caught a not very reassuring thought:

It's an arachnidan hidden in what's left of this car. From what I can see, it must be a worker given the size. [Expression of displeasure]! I'm not going to be able to sneak to the door if this [Expression of Displeasure] [Expression of Contempt] notices me. I have to smash it discreetly...

The princess looked around in panic. While her “Thought Observation” allowed her to hear this, she had difficulty locating the source. As far as she could understand, her power only worked on subjects she targeted, which meant that she must have seen the monster who thought like this, but without realizing its presence. That also meant it was dangerously close!

[Expression of displeasure]! It looks like it's panicking. Its appearance is still odd: it looks a bit like a young girl. Some kind of mutant infiltrator? [Expression of displeasure]! There really is everything in these [Expression of contempt] portals!

Tss! Ah! There you have it: right in the line of sight. With the silencer it should do it...

Xicackna rushed out of what appeared to be a car. Immediately, a small metal projectile reduced to shreds a sort of seat on which she had been sitting a moment before. She made herself invisible and moved again.

[Expression of displeasure]! This thing can also make itself invisible. Tsss! Fortunately, I have the “Detection” skill. Coupled with “Analysis”, this should give me a good idea of what I’m up against.

Her heartbeat accelerated. If she understood correctly, the enemy had a skill of a nature close to hers, but coupled with another allowing it to see her even invisible.

Oh, “Xicackna the Observer”? A named monster! An “optional sub-boss”? Never heard of one as low as 7. It's my lucky day: I wonder what loot she drops... Let's see... She has the classic Zcarbb skills, but also invisibility, camouflage and some kind of sixth sense... Maybe some kind of assassin? No: the class is Analyst... Oh, maybe that's what coordinates their swarm. If I kill her, we'll clear this Dungeon Break in no time...

If she had taken "Analysis" instead of "Thought Observation", assuming the enemy's skill was of equal level, the enemy would not be able to obtain more information about her and would therefore be more cautious ...But that wouldn't change its "Detection" ability which saw through her invisibility.

It looks like the beast didn't spot me. She looks around her with the look of a beaten dog... [Expression of displeasure]! I really feel like I'm going to shoot a kid here... Ah, no: it's just a monster that looks a little human, it's like the Orcs or the Snow Elves...

It's still ironic: I'm going to kill her using the place she occupied just before avoiding my first shot. This time, with burst mode, there is no way around for her. Come on, for the record, let's see what her other skills are... Oh, never seen such a high intelligence stat in a low-level monster... Observation? Ah! Ah! Ah! What a [Expression of Contempt] skill! Oh, and she has one more… Observation of…

Oh [Expression of displeasure]! [Expression of displeasure]! [Expression of displeasure]! [Expression of displeasure]! [Expression of discontent]!...

But by the time the Human realized this, it was already too late. Before it could pull the trigger on its gun, a rain of acid rained down on the car from all sides. Before being melted into a block with the remains of the vehicle, the creature saw the Zcarbb turn in its direction and click incomprehensible noises.

"Ah! Too late monster!"

Xicackna looked with satisfaction at the pile of metal and bubbling acid that eliminated the terrible threat. While monitoring the captured thoughts, she coordinated all the nearby soldiers to simultaneously spit their acid towards the target she designated for them. It had worked perfectly.

Despite the fear that still filled her, the adrenaline of victory made her euphoric. Only the realization that she had only gained 2 XP from participation brought her back to a more even mood.

"Seriously System? Maybe it was the acid that killed it, but without my direction... Why only two XP? And even just one with this annoying “still growing”? You are poorly adjusted, stupid System! Recognize my merits a little more and give me your XP!"