The bonfire burned like the inside of a furnace, the juices of the meat slowly turning above it dripping into the flames and sizzling upon contact with the hot coals. The beast skewered on the metal rod was incredibly heat resistant, so the flames had to be that much stronger. It was a weird creature, some kind of mutant, a mix between a snake and a slug.

It was supposed to be delicious, if deadly. As it fed on the fungus that grew in these depths, its flesh oftentimes contained the toxins it ingested. Thorough preparation was key if you wanted to avoid a slow and painful death.

As the roast was slowly turning, I became familiar with the group that I would call my team for the foreseeable future. There was the general, the leader, whom everyone called Red. He carried twin swords on his back, each of them longer than the height of a common man. Then again, he was a giant nearly four meters tall.

Then there was a big guy with a weirdly stocky build and an immense amount of muscle, clad nearly entirely in thick Ferrite plates, called Torin. He was supposed to be the vanguard, just like me. A special tower shield was strapped to his back like a cape, probably weighing a ton, but he didn’t seem to mind. It was decorated with runes and glyphs that no doubt provided him with extra protection.

Beside the guy stood a woman, looking petite in comparison, but large nonetheless, similarly dressed in thick armor. Her name was Astrid and she specialized in a rare form of healing magic, capable of even reversing curses. I was told that many beasts in the Underdark liked to attack swiftly from the shadows and curse the target, before running away, letting them die off slowly.

She was there to prevent that. Also, the heavy armor helped her stay alive and do her job.

Sunfire was another interesting character, a bonafide Fire Mage. She was the smallest in the group, though the most well-endowed. And by that, I mean endowed with jewels. The woman had them practically everywhere. A tiara with a blazing red beast core rested on her forehead, she had earrings and a necklace, and even her leather breastplate was similarly covered in sparkling orbs, as were her scaly vambraces and metal greaves.

Lastly, there was Magnus, the wild-looking… barbarian? There was no other word that would better describe him. His hair was long and wild, his gaze firm with a subtle tone of madness, just like mine when in a bloodlust rage, and he was leaning on a giant weapon I could best describe by calling it a pickaxe. It was probably supposed to be some sort of a warhammer. I don’t know.

He was comparatively lightly armored, carrying leather and metal just on his body, with his hands and legs free of any distractions.

The five of them were the main characters. There were, of course, other fighters, but with a bit of asking around, I quickly realized they had more of a supporting role, while the five of them fought on the front lines and did the heavy lifting.

“So, heard you are supposed to be a vanguard? How are you going to fight in that flimsy robe of yours? The beasts will tear you apart in seconds!” Torin thundered, looking at me.

I detected no ill intent from his words despite what one might assume so from his powerful voice.

[My body is often enough to withstand the attack, but in case it’s not, I have this!] I summoned my Arcane Wardplate in its entirety and let it drop on the ground.

“Oh~! A full suit of armor! But… it’s small?” Thorin lifted an eyebrow.

[It sure looks like so, doesn’t it?] I took a gauntlet and tossed it to him. The giant of a man caught it and it expanded as he held it in his hand. His eyes opened wide, reflecting the light of the bonfire, and he slipped it over his chunky fingers.

“Amazing! It fits perfectly! Wow, this enchantments, it must’ve cost a fortune!”

He almost appeared reluctant when handing the gauntlet back.

“Isn’t Ferrite supposed to have anti-magical properties? How can it be enchanted?” Astrid the healer asked with a frown. Clearly, she was jealous of my enchanted gear since hers was not. And to answer her, I used my secret tactic to explain things I didn’t fully understand. I shrugged!

“Who cares how all that complicated stuff works?” Thorin the vanguard giant said, waving his hand. “The real question is… Can you even hold back a monster? You don’t look all that strong.”

“What about an attack? Can you hold your own on the front lines?” Sunfire asked as she forced herself to the front. “How about your punches?” Her fists lit up and she did a few boxing moves, punching empty air around me. “Are they any good?”

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“How is your pain tolerance?” Magnus the barbarian joined the conversation. “We don’t need cowards in our-”

“Guys, leave the new guy alone. You will suffocate him with your questions!” General Red jumped to my aid. I gave him a grateful look and he returned a smile. But then he laughed and continued. “Besides, that’s not the most important. The real thing we need to know is how good is his swordsmanship!”

I had to resist rolling my eyes. We barely knew each other and those guys were already joking around. They really were way too relaxed.

“What’s your name, anyway?” Astrid asked.

[Gerald Fireborn.] I answered. [Guess I should have introduced myself at the beginning.]

“Oh! I like that! Fireborn.” Sunfire said, testing the name. “Fireborn… It sounds so... powerful. But I wonder if you are. Hmm?” She got in my face, eyes curiously blinking.

[Why don’t we turn off this barrier so I can show you what I’m capable of then?!] I proposed and pushed her away from my face. I was itching to get into a good fight, but they all shook their head.

“One thing at a time. Proper preparations are key.” General Red seriously said. “First, we need to eat!”

“Hell yeah!” They all shouted in unison. And so we sat down around the fire, waiting for the meal.

----------------------------------------

With bellies full and morale high, we were ready. About thirty of us stood before the barrier while general Red was busy communicating with the foreman. They were getting the final preparations ready.

“Alright men!” He suddenly shouted. “The time has come! Soon the barrier will fall, and the rift will open! Now it's time to fight! And if there is anyone still afraid, they can take it and shove it up their ass! For blood and glory!”

His roar was accompanied by a reverberating battle cry from all the warriors present. It was like everyone was trying to outshout their friends and colleagues. The sound was deafening.

“Let’s go!” Red roared and unsheathed his swords. He was a rare dual wielder. “Bring it down!” He pointed at the barrier.

At his command, the glowing runes dimmed, and the solid wall of energy started to dissolve. From a solid form, it turned straight to gas and then disappeared.

“Brace for impact!” He shouted and slightly lowered his stance, ready to fight.

We waited as the emotions were high. Excitement and anticipation were the main ones building in intensity with each passing second. The crowd quieted down, turning serious.

And then we waited.

And waited.

And waited…

Nothing came.

“Where’s the beasts?” A guy somewhere in the back shouted. A few people began to murmur.

General Red scratched his head, looking at the breach in the wall. “Um… Yeah, where are the beasts? Was the intelligence wrong?”

He turned to look as a guy ran to him and whispered something in his ear. The general nodded and then the guy released a small floating metallic contraption into the darkness.

We waited a few minutes, but the guy just kept shaking his head. Soon the metal drone returned and he just shrugged, speaking with general Red.

“Ahem!” The man cleared his throat. “Looks like the monsters decided to escape deeper into the tunnels, the cowards, instead of fighting us here. Since the space inside is pretty tight, I’ll just take the elites down there to poke the beasts.”

He looked at the five warriors I spoke with and gestured for them to join him. Finally, with a bit of hesitation, he motioned to me to join them as well.

“The rest of you, set up defenses here! Be ready to fight, it might take an hour, it might take a day, but we will return. We’ll kill the bastards here and use their flesh to grow! Huzzah!”

His shout was echoed by the rest of the fighters gathered. Even though the excitement for battle diminished somewhat, everyone was still in high spirits, some of them even joking about cowardly monsters already.

While the camp was slowly getting turned into a fortress, we entered the breach. A few guys carried lanterns with green gems inside, giving off a peculiar light. I could almost feel it on my skin. It was creepy.

The hole led into the side of a tunnel, creating a T intersection, but one side was collapsed and had been untouched for a long time, so we had only one way left to go. Down.

“According to our scouts, this tunnel descends quite a bit, and then it splits in multiple directions.” General Red said, refreshing our memory. “We have the general idea of where to go, yet still, pay attention to your surroundings, we are in the enemy territory now.”

There was a chorus of agreement as the rest of the team answered. As we ventured deeper into the cavern, our green light source flickered and cast eerie shadows on the walls.

Suddenly, a rumbling echoed through the darkness, sending chills down our spines. From the depths emerged a monstrous creature, towering above us like a nightmarish titan. It resembled an ant, but all distorted and twisted, with chitinous plates as black as obsidian, and eyes that gleamed with a malevolent intelligence. Its mandibles snapped with a sickening crunch as we realized the magnitude of the threat before us. With a deafening screech, the demonic ant charged, its massive legs shaking the earth with each thunderous step.

We knew then that our only chance of survival lay in confronting this monstrous aberration head-on. Or, at least the rest of them did. My mind was preoccupied with another thought entirely.

Minecrawler?! What the fuck!

I knew that beast! I had met them, well, their lesser version, back in the caves of Neloron! If the smaller ones were the size of a horse, the one before us was the size of a house! It towered over us, with limbs thick as tree trunks and front legs curved and sharp like a scythe.

“Fireborn guy!” Torin shouted and gripped his shield, bracing for impact. “Now would be a good time to put on the suit!”

“Take it down!” Red roared, pointing at the monster with his sword. Qi came to life all around me, boosting my abilities thanks to some weird magic from Astrid. “All together! Don’t let it come near!” Our leader shouted.

I thought for a moment and then grinned. I had a better idea.