Irises darting, breath stuttering. The orcen man dressed in blue robes and accented by its different shades bowed to the seven of them, staff barely holding on to his back.

"Who the hell's this loser now!?"

"Yeah! Who are you!?

"My god they never shut up."

"Does it matter? He didn't get picked up by any other party. Let's just get going."

"Ooooh a cutie, c'mon why you gotta hide your face big boy."

"Zeizei, this guy rocks! We gotta take him!"

"Please, raise your head. Could you introduce yourself?"

The orc raised his head, eyes unable to meet anyone's. His small tusks contrasted his oblong, septum-pierced, nose.

" Hello...M-my name is Torell. I use magic, fire magic more specifically. What else...w-well I also like video games and animation-"

"Shut it! No one cares! Why are we wasting time on this loser!?"

"Aw, he seems cute though, why can't we take him with us?"

"Oogie!" Wu woke up, attentive.

"I agree with her… But only this once!"

"A second long-range dealer would be nice…Jejj, what do you think?"

"Seems good."

"What! Are you blind? He's an orc who uses magic! He's useless!" Boom imposed.

"Yeah! Useless!"

"Both of you, quiet. What's the call here, Anodos."

Zein contemplated for a moment. "Alright, welcome to the team! You don't have to be too polite okay?"

"Really!" Torell straightened himself, towering over all of them. His excitement vained upon realising who he teamed up with. His body rang alarm bells, rattling him to run, yet his mouth would not move.

Clark noticed, putting an arm around the frightened orc, bringing him down to his height. "Don'tcha worry buddy, we'll take care of ya."

Torell nodded, joining the party. Wu hopped from Skada's head and landed on Zein's shoulder, perching himself.

"Before we head in, we need to decide on-" An interruption. "Begin!" a faint shout from the distance.

The Skull Kidds entered, leaving the rest of them behind.

"Alright, we'll decide on a raid leader later. Torell, you ready?" Zein asked the green giant.

"R-ready sir." Torell gulped.

Clark and JJ's cheeks puffed as Skada fawned over the orc, pinching his cheeks. "Deja vu." Zein smiled.

"Open Inventory." Zein drew his spear from the blue space. "Shall we head in?"

"Hell yeah." Jejj punched their palm.

"Let's gooooo." Clark hopped in place. Ppssh pppsh psh psh. He mimicked, throwing jabs and hooks.

One step.

"Aria Mountain Range. Recommended level 23. Begin?" the system displayed.

"Begin!" they said in unison.

Two steps. A narrow path nestled between two jagged mountains. The five began their trek as Zein checked in on Skull Kidds.

"Half health!?"

They all turned to Zein, confused, checking their status. Realisation struck as they quickened their pace.

"Jejj, Torell, Moles are going to be popping out from everywhere, be careful."

"Got it."

"O-okay!"

Rocks crumbled by Jejj's head. Nails, then head, then body, fly at Jejj. A level 17 mole. They step back and punch it into the wall. Clark ignored it, Skada shot it in the head, Zein slashed it, Wu scratched it, and Torell picked up 4 red gems and a mole nail. Ding. Wu levelled up to 6.

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The mole's numbers grew. One. Two. Three. Five. Eight. They popped from the ground, the sides, from above, and in front. Most of the moles appeared at random, however, some of them, ones where anger seeped through their nails, targeted Jejj.

"We have to ignore."

Ignore. Ignore. Ignore. Dodge. Dodge. Dodge. Throw a punch in, a shot in, a slash, a scratch, a stab in whenever possible, leaving any drops behind. They had to move faster.

And yet, Torell struggled to keep up, taking hits every so often as the rest weaved their way closer to the trio. Wu helped the fledgling mage as he perched on Zein's shoulder. "Oogie!" He'd point at the ground.

"Are you doing okay back there, Torell? We've almost caught up." Zein asked, watching the roughened orc.

"I-I'm okay! I may need a health potion when we-"

Clark fell to the back, running with Zein as he tossed a potion to Torell who juggled it. "Here ya go, Rell. Make sure ya don't drop it!"

"Ye-yes! Thank you, Kalel." the orc bowed. Using the tips of his massive fingers, Torell downed the potion. His cuts disappeared.

"Hey! Maybe I should-"

"Get back in position."

"Man…" Clark pouted, returning to his place.

"The Skull Kidds' health bars continued to drop. Lower, and lower, and lower as the party hiked faster, and faster, and faster, until they arrived at a diamond-shaped field.

Flanked by 34 moles, the low-health trio sat on the ground, blood dancing down their skin and spotting their clothes.

Zein drew his staff, raising it to the air. "Heal: Boom, Biim, Buum. Heal: Boom, Biim, Buum." his mana dropped by 120.

"Retreat!" Biim roared, louder than he ever was.

'Retreat!" Buum parroted.

"Shit." Boom spat.

Behind the five of them, 21 moles trailed. Zein scanned his surroundings. A warning sign was placed by the entrance to the field depicting rocks rolling down an uneven slope. He scratched his thumb.

"I'm not going to ask why you guys rushed in, but for now, listen."

"And why the hell-"

"Boom. Enough. And Buum, if you open your mouth."

Buum placed a hand over his mouth, shaking his head. The moles grew closer with each word.

"What's the plan." Biim inquired.

"Boom. Jejj. Cover the back. Clark, play with me in front, we'll tank the 34. Torell and Biim, stand in the middle. Skada and Buum, cover them." Zein drew on the ground using the end of his staff.

"Okay!" Skada wrapped her arm around Buum's, pumping her fist in the air.

"Aah!" Buum squealed.

"I have to work with her!?" Boom cried.

"Do you always complain?" Jejj retorted.

"U-um are you sure?" Torell stuttered.

"Just hit your shots." Biim drank a mana potion.

"Now we're talking!" Clark unsheated his sword.

"Alright. One more thing, watch for landslides. Wu, buff anyone you think needs it but don't leave my side. Understood." Zein confirmed, glancing at Wu.

"Oogie!" the little monkey saluted.

With almost no space to move, Clark charged the moles in front of them, spinning his sword. Wu buffed upon contact, slinging moles all over the place and drawing their aggression. Zein followed, storing his cleric staff and drawing his axe. Stab and slash. A simple combo which proved efficient as their numbers started to dwindle.

Biim, anticipating a fight at the entrance, shot a magic missile at the mountain, forcing a landslide. "Fall back! Torell, shoot the mountain too." he ordered.

Jejj listened, Boom listened slower as rocks almost buried him with the moles. Most dug their way out, the rest turned to gems, nails, and skin.

"O-okay. Magic Missile." Torell shot at the mountain, making rocks fall. Ding. Level 20 for Torell. Boom and Jejj dove the remaining moles. Smash. Strike. Smash. Strike. Skills were thrown on cooldown. Whenever Boom or Jejj missed a mole, Skada would cover with a body shot.

Rumbling below her feet. In a flash, a mole by her face, swiping at her. Skada ducked and shot the mole in the stomach. Buum, late on the uptake, slashes its throat, killing it. Gems and items drop by their feet.

"That was good Buum! Thank you for keeping me safe." Skada winked.

"Ye-ye-yes, of course!" Buum blushed.

Zein and Clark blitzed their way through them. Ding. Zein levelled up. Ding. Ding. Ding. Wu's level shot up, giggling every time it did. Zein pocketed the ravaging guild leader, switching weapons and healing him anytime his health dropped to half. It was poetry in motion.

Poetry wept on Jejj's end, unfortunately, as Torell missed skill shots, Jejj and Boom couldn't sync, sometimes punching each other, and Biim could barely keep up with heals.

"Buum! Come here and help! Now!" Biim commanded.

"Okay! I'm coming." Buum ran to them, blades ready.

Zein eyed his party status, biting his lip. "Skada-"

She moved with Buum, shooting stray moles. Wu studying their situation, buffed Skada. Bullets flew as Skada's hands moved with precision, reloading as her eyes were fixated on the battlefield, hunting for her next target. Zein grinned.

The mountains rumbled. Harsher, and harsher. Zein's ears pricked, eyes tracing the mountain. As he turned to speak, a mole drilled him in the stomach. With a roll, he regained his footing. Zein slammed his staff into its stomach like a bat and pierced it with his spear.

"Landslide! Watch out you two-" Another mole jumped him.

"What the f-" Nails connect, drilling Boom in the stomach. He landed amongst the pile of rocks, health dropping rapidly as the mole continued its assault. Jejj punted the mole and attempted to drag the fallen man closer to Biim.

Crassshhhh.

Rocks crushed both of them with the moles. "Oh no!" Torell shrieked. Torell dropped his staff and dug through the rocks. All he found was a pair of claws stabbing him in the throat. Torell staggered, mole still attached. He grabbed the little animal and flung it into the wall. Skada finished it with a shot to the head.

"Be careful big guy! Watch their health bars, they aren't dead yet okay?" Skada reassured.

"O-okay. I'm sorry…" Torell apologised as blood oozed from his neck. Skada stretched, ruffling his permed hair.

A hand shot out of the ground. Its fingers wiggled and tapped around. The hand placed itself on a rock and pushed itself up, revealing a dust-covered Jejj clutching onto a pebbled spitting Boom.

A few moles remained. Jejj tossed the stocky man at Biim as they returned to the battlefield, working with Skada and Torell. Buum stayed by the injured man's side.

Landslides became more frequent; it forced them to dodge while dealing damage. Health bars and mana bars dropped, and yet they persevered. Torell used his staff as a club. Jejj punched with newfound vigour. Wu fainted from exhaustion after applying a buff on Clark. Skada's eyes grew weary. Clark and Zein used every opportunity to crush the moles with the landslides. 5 minutes later, the moles had met their fate. To turn to gems and items.

Wu levelled up 4 times. 9.

Zein levelled up twice. 16.

Jejj levelled up twice. 17.

Torell levelled up once. 20.

Biim levelled up once. 18.

Boom levelled up once. 18.

Clark walked towards the injured Boom. He towered over him. Clark grabbed the man by his chest piece and lifted him. Boom held his armour with disgust and fear smeared across his face.

"Tell me. Boom. You ain't tryna throw are ya?"