"Three hostiles spotted, Firing." Corporal Davis says flatly into his mic.

There's a flash of flames and the crack of his rifle as Davis opens fire into the barrel filled chamber. Blood and viscera spray as the Dire Rats are overwhelmed by a rain of bullets. Three animals caught off guard by an armed soldier stand no chance.

"Hostiles neutralized-" Davis starts.

Two of the haphazardly scattered barrels burst open as Dire Rats leap from within. Their aggressive snarling is quickly drowned out by a stream of bullets. The mangled corpses fill the room with the stench of death. Silence fills the room for a brief moment.

"Hostiles neutralized. Proceeding with extreme caution." Davis says to his squad.

The corporal enters the room and his squad follows with their rifles trained on the unbroken barrels. Staff Sergeant Edison is the last man to enter the room. His cold blue eyes quickly scan the room whilst his pen scratches out words unseen, yet the one to take charge is a stockier brown eyed sergeant.

"Check the barrels for system items! Corporal Davis and Corporal Tanner guard the north exit!" Sergeant Hudson barks.

The sound of boots on wood is mixed with the breaking of barrels as the soldiers carry out their orders. Sturdy shovels split wood and pry bronze as the soldiers make quick work of the barrels. The barrels are nothing but debris in under two minutes.

"Sergeant Hudson, Sir! We've secured two Linen Bandages!" Private Feng reports.

Sergeant Hudson's palm slaps the private across the face without warning. The younger man hardly flinches despite the insulting gesture, and listens to his superior officer's lecture.

"Shut your goddamn mouth, Private! We are in enemy territory, not bootcamp!" Sergeant Hudson shouts.

~

Katia would face palm if she could, as the ignorant man's words would alert every monster in the dungeon if Katia hadn't told them to stay in their rooms and wait for the soldiers. Ironically Katia could hear anything in her dungeon regardless of the volume, and she could be considered the most dangerous monster here.

"They're skilled yet stupid... what an odd group."

The soldiers move through the next corridor briskly, and don't notice the arrow trap in time. One soldier looks like a pin cushion after having all but one of the five arrows embedded inside his body. The medic on the squad moves quickly, and within minutes he's on his feet.

This much is to be expected when dealing with trained soldiers, but it still impresses Katia as she has only seen children and thugs delve her dungeon.

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~

"The corridor splits. What are our orders, Staff Sergeant Edison?" Davis asks cautiously.

Edison looks down each passage as if appraising a business he might invest in. He notes something on his clipboard before speaking in that cold, calculating voice of his.

"We go left, while Private Feng and Sergeant Santos watch the right corridor for hostiles." Edison orders coldly.

Private Feng stiffens at the mention of his name, and Sergeant Santos leads the rookie over to the door at that end of corridor. Santos gives the main group a salute while they start moving down the left corridor. Edison glances at the floor before grabbing a soldier's shovel right off his back, and slamming the sharp head down into the floorboards. There's a sickening squeal as a Pack Rat's throat is ripped apart by the shovel's sharp head.

"Break the floor boards before we continue. I don't want any rats following us." Edison growls slowly.

The men let out the breath they hadn't intended to hold before quickly breaking apart the floorboards in the center of the intersecting corridors. The soldiers use the broken planks to plug up the crawlspace in an attempt to hinder the rat monsters' movements. Staff Sergeant Edison gives Sergeant Hudson a satisfied nod, and the man takes the wheel once more.

"Get your asses in gear! Corporal Tanner, take point!" Hudson barks.

Tanner moves up to the front of the group with her rifle at the ready. The weapon is trained ahead as she kicks open the wooden door, pushing inside with her eyes snapping from place to place in the span of a couple seconds. She quickly speaks into her microphone while keeping her eyes moving.

"Room's clear, possible system items spotted." Tanner says into her mic.

The squad files into the room wherein Staff Sergeant Edison works out a plan of action. They've come prepared for virtually everything, and climbing up a small cliff is one of the first things they planned for.

"Tanner will use the new grappler to scale up to the chest, while we watch the door." Edison explains calmly.

Tanner accepts the role easily, and with a few quick adjustments she has the grappler swinging around her hand like a bola. The thing is made mostly of steel and strong cables, but where it really shines is in the automatic clamping mechanism. Tanner demonstrates this feature when she tosses it up against the second cliff face; There's a loud whirring as the machine drills a hole into the wall and clamps down at the same time.

The cables hold fast as Tanner tugs them with all her might. There's a faint sound from the limestone, but it settles and the grapple doesn't budge an inch. Tanner shimmies up the sturdy cabling and onto the top of the first cliff, her rifle slung over her shoulder.

Edison is scribbling more notes as the other soldiers maintain a relaxed watch over the door and Tanner's progress. It takes a few minutes for the soldier to make the climb, yet she doesn't sound winded when she reports her findings over the mic.

"I've arrived at the top. The chest is... full of meat?" Tanner says incredulously.

"What kind of meat? Is it human?" Edison asks seriously.

Several seconds pass before Tanner finally answers. The squad can see her pick up a chunk of dark flesh, inspecting it with a look of disgust and curiosity. She sighs into the microphone before replying with palpable relief.

"It's just Rat Jerky!" Tanner replies.

~

Quest Added: Lootfest

Objective: Have delvers loot three treasure chests.

Reward: Skill 'Monster Loot' learned.

Katia's emotions swell before quickly sinking as she realizes the quest didn't count the chest that soldier just opened. Thankfully she has more than three other treasure chests inside her dungeon, but Katia can't be sure they'll get to all of them.

"In the meantime, It's crime time!"

The Pack Rats scamper into darker corners as Katia formulates a plan to steal that clipboard from the squad leader. The guns are a problem, but Katia is confident she can find a solution.