Lightforge opened his eyes and found himself floating in the revival tube. As it turned out, the second time around was a lot less disorienting than the first time. Instead of panic, he only felt a deep emptiness that seeped down into his bones. Even as the tube drained and released him, he didn't move. He stayed in place, wet skin quickly cooling in the air, but he ignored the chill.

He'd died again. But it wasn't like the first time. The first time had mostly been a fluke; he'd been a starry eyed newbie with no clue what was happening and he'd been jumped in a dark alley. No warning, no real chance to defend himself. It hadn't really been his fault, and it hadn't really cost him anything.

None of that was true this time. He'd let down his team and failed his mission. Maybe they'd been able to pull through without him, but he didn't know. Part of him was trying to pull him back, to tell him that this was how these games worked. You fight the boss and die over and over until you learn their attacks and strategies. They were meant to be challenging, so it was expected.

That little voice was struggling to find purchase. Those had been the old rules, before respawns had gained a month long cooldown. Before he'd been able to feel the pain every time he was struck. Now it was different.

He finally came to his senses when a chime started going off in his ears. He recognized it; it meant that he had a message. He stared at it long and hard for at least ten seconds before giving a heavy sigh and opening the message. It was short and to the point.

TPK. We're meeting at your shop to talk.

-Cannoneer

Those first three letters were some of the most feared in gaming. A total party kill. No one had even managed to escape; each and every member of the team had woken up in a tube just like he had. Whatever items and experience they had accumulated from their dungeon run was all gone. And, of course, Cannoneer wanted to talk about what happened.

Lightforge was still damp and naked in his revival tube. With an effort he shook himself and took the first step out into his base. The next step was a little bit easier, and the next was easier than that. No matter what had happened, he was alive. His team was alive, and it seemed like they were prepared to give the boss another shot.

By the time he was dressed and standing in front of the gate to the outside, he'd banished the dark thoughts, at least for the moment. He had work to do, and the first step came in meeting his friends to figure out their next steps.

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

He was the last to reach the shop, with the others all waiting outside for his arrival. Well, sort of. Cannoneer, Sunbird, and Gray Guardian were sitting on the curb as he approached. Circe was, naturally, sitting at his workbench inside the shop. He couldn't even muster the energy to roll his eyes at her.

He waved to the others and said, "Didn't Circe tell you about the back door she added?"

Sunbird popped to her feet and said, "Yeah, but we all got trespass warnings when we tried to use it. She didn't mind, but we all did."

"Thanks for that. I'd almost forgotten what it was like to have people respect my boundaries."

"What a [BLEEP]. Don't worry, we're here for you."

"She did save our lives a time or two down there."

"Fair enough. Now hurry up and open the doors."

He obliged, and the group walked inside to talk. There weren’t any chairs; things like comfort and aesthetics were still far down Lightforge’s list of priorities. His plan had been to start addressing those kinds of things once he had the haul from the mission. Now that seemed like it had been a bit premature.

They all sat on the floor and were silent for a time. There was a lot to say, and a lot of it wasn’t exactly pleasant. Several were looking to Cannoneer, who’d called this meeting in the first place. He was staring off into the distance, and Lightforge could all but see the wheels turning in the hero’s mind. The weapon specialist was still going through all the information, deciding where to start.

While the others were thinking, Gray Guardian softly cleared their throat and said, “It’s not all bad news. I kept the synergy skill that I unlocked.”

All eyes turned to them at that, but only for a moment. As one, the others all opened their status windows to check for notifications and skills. Lightforge didn’t expect to see anything, but he was wrong.

Synergy Skill Updated!

Sabotage

* Use your specialized tools and skills to deal massive damage to enemy machines

* Active Mode:

* Destroy or suborn machines without resistance to such effects

* A hard light weapon must be in contact with the target for at least three seconds to activate

* Effect limited by level

* Passive Mode:

* +20% Damage to hostile machines

* +30% Knockback to hostile machines

* Applies to all attacks made with hard light weapons

Interesting. The new passive mode was what he’d already started doing to bypass the resistance that the robots in the dungeon had. But now he wouldn’t need to perfect his split second timing, he would be able to focus on fighting and trust in the skill to do the extra damage.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

He looked up and saw the others nodding. The skills that they’d gained were there. This was all confusing, and Lightforge said as much to the others.

“What do you mean?” Circe asked, “It seems pretty straightforward to me.”

“Really?” Lightforge said, “Because to me it feels like the synergy system almost exists outside the rest of the game mechanics.”

“And that conclusion is pretty straightforward."

Cannoneer interrupted before Lightforge could respond. He raised a hand and said, "That's the problem, Circe. If it doesn't follow the game system, then that raises questions about this world. What else is different? Are those changes consistent, or are they going to shift over time?"

"Fair enough. But at the moment, survival is a full time job. Existential questions about the nature of the world can wait until we have a foothold."

"Exactly!" Sunbird shouted. Her wicked grin was fixed firmly in place and there was a fire burning in her eyes. Her head shot back and forth, trying to look everyone in the eyes at the same time.

She said, "I hate to agree with Ms. Cryptic over here, but Circe's right. Who the hell cares what's different around here? We still have a giant hentai robot to kill!"

Cannoneer visibly cringed at the choice of phrasing, and Gray Guardian was suddenly stiff as a statue. Lightforge felt a little bit uncomfortable, but was at least trying to keep from showing it.

Circe, on the other hand, began cackling with glee. She nearly doubled over with laughter before stumbling across the room and throwing an arm around Sunbird's shoulders. She pulled the other woman into a bouncing hug and said, "There's the spirit! I like you, glow pants. You know how to focus."

Sunbird overcame her shock after a moment and grinned. She returned the hug and said, "Hell yeah! Let's do it."

Gray Guardian was the next to recover. They shook their head slowly and said, "That's all well and good, but we need a plan this time. Not just something thrown together in the heat of battle."

"I actually disagree," Cannoneer said, "Our plan was working. I couldn't see the boss's HP, but I'm pretty sure we got hit with a red revenge."

"A what?"

"Sorry, it's a thing my old guild used to say. Most bosses switch up their tactics when their health gets low. Bigger attacks, wild movements, that sort of thing. The party is in the most danger when the boss's HP hits red, hence 'red revenge.' If that's what happened, then we weren't far from killing it. With a little more refinement to our tactics, we should be able to pull it off."

"Right," Circe said, "But a lot of bosses also change tactics when they hit 50% HP. Or they just have a lot of different patterns. What if you're wrong?"

"It's possible, but I doubt it. It's a mission for level 5 characters, the boss shouldn't be that complicated."

"That's fine, but not what I asked. What if you're wrong?"

"Then… we'll probably die again."

“Exactly. So I’ll ask the question: is it really the best plan?”

Lightforge sighed as silence fell over the group again. The thought of dying was obviously scary, but a lot less so since it wasn't permanent. His pod still had three charges left, after all. He could afford to take the risk. But what about the others?

He looked around and asked, "How many revivals does everyone have left? I've got three."

"I have two," Circe said, "But don't be in a hurry to use them. It takes forever to get any back."

"I know a month is a long time, but it could be worth it."

This time the silence was deafening. The rest of the group looked around awkwardly, sharing knowing glances. It was a familiar situation to Lightforge; it was the look of a group trying to silently decide who had to break the bad news.

Gray Guardian apparently drew the short straw. They cleared their throat and said, "It's a month for the first one. The second charge takes six weeks. And then ten weeks. Every time you die, the next revival gets further away."

"No way. What about if you let it charge back up? Does it go down?"

"No." That one word came from Circe. She was staring at the ground and shaking her head. She looked like she was remembering something painful. Without looking up she said, "It doesn't matter how charged the pod is. Every time you die, the time goes up. And it’s exponential; after 8 deaths, charging takes more than a year. Number 11 would take two years. After that, it's not really worth doing the math."

"Oh." It was the only word that came to mind. His head was suddenly swimming as he tried to wrap it around what that really meant. Just hours earlier he hadn’t been particularly concerned about dying; disappointed and upset with himself, sure, but not concerned. That was one of the appeals of video games, after all: not having to worry about death as a consequence.

While that wasn’t completely gone, it wasn’t nearly as low risk as he’d been expecting. He wrapped his arms around himself to stop his hands from shaking. This wasn’t good. The problem wasn’t in the higher stakes; he could learn to live with that. After all, it was just one more difference between the game and this world. Those seemed to be piling higher and higher with every passing day.

The problem was that he hadn’t known the score. He’d been living without a key piece of information, one that would have changed how he’d been acting so far. He probably wouldn’t have fought those robots alone; he definitely would have run away from the villains that attacked him and Sunbird. He would have been more careful.

A hand rested lightly on his shoulder, and he looked up. Gray Guardian was there, mask as inscrutable as ever but their voice was shockingly soft and soothing as they said, “It’s alright to be overwhelmed right now; trust me, it’s just as uncomfortable for all of us. But at least you’re not alone, right? You have a team here.”

Lightforge looked up and found all his teammates looking at him, smiling. Even Circe managed to make her grin look sincere. The sight lightened the weight that had settled in his stomach. He hadn’t noticed when it got there, but now it was gone.

He smiled and nodded. The weight of that revelation would return sooner or later, but it was gone for the moment. He took a deep breath to steel his resolve. When he finally spoke, his voice was firm and unwavering.

“I’ll be alright. Thank you all. Even knowing all that, I think we should go with Cannoneer’s plan. This is a starter boss, and we have more flexibility than we could have ever hoped for over a computer screen. We can win this.”

“Huh,” Sunbird said, “Crying to confident in no time flat. I’m impressed. And I was already on board to just waltz in and punch the thing in the face. Let’s do it.”

Gray Guardian nodded and softly said, “As you all don’t do anything stupid, I’ll gladly be there to heal you.”

All eyes turned to Circe. For a moment, the villainess reclined where she sat and seemed to relish the attention. Then she waved a hand dismissively and said, “What’s with the faces? I was with Sunbird telling you all to stop overthinking things. I just wanted to make sure that everyone knows the risks going in.”

Just like that, they were all in agreement. They were going back into the dungeon, and this time they were going to win.