Corporal Tanner's boots hit limestone hard as she lands. She turns to look back into the spike filled chasm before glancing up at her squad. They're leaping from pillar to pillar in turns while keeping an eye out for any surprises.

"Shit!" Corporal Davis shouts.

The blood leaves Tanner's face as she sees Corporal Davis' foot slip on the limestone, and with a heart wrenching scream the man falls down into the pit of bronze spikes. The entire squad stares slack jawed at their skewered comrade before Sergeant Santos gets their attention.

"Get moving, Private Feng! We haven't got all day!" Sergeant Santos shouts.

"Understood, Sir!" Private Feng barks back.

The group moves in an orderly fashion across the room with no further incidents, but the loss of a squad mate weighs heavily on their minds. Davis' death leaves a bitter hatred in their hearts.

"I'll take the wheel for this next room!" Sergeant Hudson announces loudly.

There's a quiet shuffling of boots on wood as the soldiers let the man through, while metallic clicks accompany Sergeant Hudson's movements. He checks his weapon once more before kicking the door open with his heavy boot, and aiming into the narrow room.

Bullets shoot out from his rifle like bees from a hive as he pumps holes into several helpless Dire Rats, and when they die a few more pop out of the barrels only to meet the same fat as their predecessors. Sergeant Hudson scoffs while slinging his rifle onto his back, and leads the way for the rest of the squad into the long barrel filled room.

"Get those barrels open, boys!" Sergeant Hudson barks.

Corporal Tanner can't help but roll her eyes as she joins the search for system items alongside her male counterparts. The squad works quickly, and have nearly finished the job when there's a surprised shout from the back of the room.

"Ah- Get off me!" Specialist Rudy yells frantically.

The whole group trains their guns on the terrified medic while keeping their fingers off the trigger. There's a particularly fat Pack Rat on the medic's back, and it tears away his medical bag before attempting to dive out of the room. The rodent's getaway is in vain as a hail of bullets bring it a swift death.

~

"Yes! That's two items down, one to go!"

Katia has been thoroughly enjoying soldier's delve. She's still feeling pangs of guilt in regards to that corporal's death, but she's certain the military wouldn't show up unless they wanted to hunt and kill her or take advantage of her somehow!

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Of course there's one glaring flaw with this assumption of hers, and that's the lack of a quest appearing like it did the last time she dealt with dungeon hunters.

"How am I supposed to figure out who wants to kill me..?"

Quest Added: Hunting Hunters

Objective: Kill three delvers who wish to kill you.

Reward: Skill 'Intent Detection' learned.

~

"Corporal Tanner will use the grapple here, as she has the necessary training." Edison explains stiffly.

The squad understands his reasoning, and Corporal Tanner moves up to the edge of the spike filled pit. There are no pillars nor bridges in this room, just a spike filled chasm with a treasure chest on the other side. Tanner takes a loot at the pit, then the ceiling above.

"I'll have to make I throw it at a tight angle..."

Torchlight reflects off the grapple's steel anchor as it swings in a circle around Corporal Tanner's arm. There's a whistling sound as it builds momentum, and then a clunk as the think hits the ceiling above the pit and bites into the limestone above. The drill whirs for a second and the steel hooks anchor into the stone.

Tanner gets a running start before grabbing onto the cable midair, and swings through the air for a fleeting moment. Then the grapple's anchor falls from the limestone like a bird shot out of the sky, and a sickening crunch of bone being split fills the room.

Silence weighs like a blanket on the squad of soldiers as they stare at Corporal Tanner's lifeless body, and many of them get a far away look in their eyes. The grapple hits the bronze spikes, and with a clinking noise it comes to rest beside Corporal Tanner's body.

~

"What the fuck?"

Katia's guilt has turned from a nagging sensation to disgusted shock. Killing people who did nothing wrong was never her intention, yet these deaths are on her hands. The mental distance provided by Katia's unique perspective vanishes in this moment.

The system notifies her that she's killed one of three delvers who seek to kill her, and a pit forms in her metaphorical stomach. That should be some kind of consolation, but it just makes her feel bitter and sad. Katia killed their friend, so of course they want to kill her.

Arrows shoot harmlessly against the wall as the soldiers take cautious steps through a corridor. Watching the soldiers delve doesn't seem so fun anymore, so Katia decides to spend some time reflecting on her choices and why she made them.

~

Sergeant Hudson is not a soft man, nor is he a heartless one. The loss of two good corporals in a dungeon of all things is shocking, but he puts on a brave face to give the soldiers the backbone they need to make it through the inspection.

"Sergeant Santos, if you will?" Sergeant Hudson implores.

The mustached sergeant nods briefly before pushing into the next room. His rifle is raised, and bright muzzle flashes illuminate his face as he shoots unseen hostiles. The whole squad moves in after getting an all clear, and groan at the sight of a pit filled with bronze spikes.

There's a wooden bridge connecting the two sides of the room, albeit that bridge has quite a few bullet holes from Sergeant Santos' shooting. Half the boards are missing while the remaining half are shot full of holes. Originally the squad thinks to blame their sergeant, but upon glancing into the pit they can see not a single plank of wood has fallen.

Staff Sergeant Edison scribbles something onto his notes before glancing across the room at the other side of the pit. He sighs quietly before pointing at Sergeant Santos, and the man in question gives him a pleading look in return.

"You'll lead the way, Sergeant Santos." Edison says coldly.