They sat down between obsidian pillars that were up to three meters high, and their function remained a mystery. If they did not serve as supports, Yleen reasoned, then what were they for? The group could feel the magic, strong and unstoppable, covering everything around them with an invisible veil. Latludious’s mana was immediately restored after the spell was cast, the experience increasing by 0.001% with each passing second. They sat under the purple magic dome and looked around, ready to fight at any moment.

All six of them sat for over three hours without speaking or moving. Barahu huddled against Ronnie and occasionally raised its head and sniffed. Faolandan picked up someone’s bone from the ground, twisted it in his hands, and struck it against a pole. There was a thud, followed by throbbing and magical vibrations echoing through the tunnels. Everyone stared at him at once, eyes opened, frightened. After a ten-second silence, they heard the indecipherable and silent speech. Ronnie recognized the familiar sounds of this language. He had met them earlier when the Doppelganger was talking to an Orc Mage. The whispering stopped and was followed by a howl. Latludious took the small stones in his palm and squeezed them in his fist with all his might. The group looked at each other. Illyseh approached Faolandan and whispered to him:

“Next time you hit something, do it with your head so you can put your brains back in place. I don’t want to die because of you, you fucktard.”

Barahu raised its head again, and this time everyone paid attention to it and waited, not knowing what. The wolfhound barked at the top of its voice.

“Something’s about to happen,” Yleen said. “Get ready.”

A few seconds later, one obsidian pillar glowed purple and released black smoke, which pulled some remains from the ground into it. A skull emerged from it first, followed by a dozen arms. The monster rumbled, its limbs regained their gray skin and crunched, and it spiraled downward at the speed of the wind. The terrified players jumped to the side, and Barahu roared and attacked back. The creature extended its first two arms and grabbed the dog by the neck and fractured its cervical vertebrae. Faolandan released his weapon from his hands. The officers grimaced. Latludious’s body felt as if it had gone numb. With his free hands, the monster tore off Barahu’s limbs and threw it down. Tentacles crawled out of its skull and stuck into its prey’s eyes, nose, and mouth, drying it up.

A black flash. The players turned away for a second and watched as the creature tossed the mage aside and stunned him for a while. The protective dome spell dissipated. Ronnie aimed his rifle and took aim at its head, but the monster faded and appeared a second later at his back and tried to grab the sniper by the neck. He dodged in a roll and tried to take a shot at random in a U-turn. He did not make it in time. The dark creature punched him in the jaw, grabbed him by the neck, and threw him three feet forward. Ronnie would have gone further if he had not hit the pole with his back.

Faolandan and Yleen pointed their weapons at the enemy and fired a dozen bullets. The creature vanished and teleported next to Illyseh. Its arms glowed, and it blocked a dozen blows with its palms and elbows and counterattacked, but the enemy disappeared and this time it was behind the lord’s back and grabbed him with its arms and tried to squeeze him to death. The supreme officer’s armor activated and protected him with a layer of ceramic plates. Illyseh bent both arms at the elbows and snapped his fingers. Everyone clutched their eyes after seeing the bright flash of light. The monster howled. The healer took his chance and zipped over to his teammate and cast a “sizzling light spell” on his palms. They lit up with white fire. Illyseh severed the creature’s arms in two swings, tossed Yleen aside, and then brought the monster closer and crushed its skull.

The hall went dark. The first sigh of relief was heard.

“Thank you,” said Yleen, rising from the ground, “but I think you dislocated my shoulder.”

Illyseh looked at Ronnie. He was lying unconscious.

“He got it worse than you.”

“How is he?”

“Probably his spine.”

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Latludious watched the healer with envy. Vvy stood aside. He did not expect the healer to be strong, though his level suggested otherwise.

What do you think? He wrote in a PM to Latludious.

That we’re going to have a problem with him.

Ronnie seems to be out of the picture.

Illyseh walked over to the sniper and touched his head. His palm glowed and throbbed.

No one can heal wounds like that. The mage wrote. It’s a waste of time.

Vvy walked up to Illyseh and said with all the seriousness in his voice:

“There’s no saving him. The five of us will go on.”

Yleen stood beside him and smiled:

“You’ve never seen what healers can do, have you? Just shut up and watch.”

Illyseh made a magic feather bed that looked like an airplane carpet, put Ronnie on it and started the operation. Rays of light in rhythm with sniper’s heartbeat spread in semi-circular waves and dispersed into the darkness. There was a faintly audible crunch. Latludious frowned, for he realized it was the first vertebrae being set.

Yleen went to the wall and sat down and suggested that the others do the same; the healing operation would take about an hour, maybe two.

“How’s he doing it?” Latludious asked and answered his own question. “Is healing in this game the same as surgery in reality?”

“Yes,” Yleen replied, realizing that it was pointless to hide the obvious fact. “I wish he’d just chant ‘healing’ or ‘rebirth’ and that would have been the end. Alas, it’s not.”

Latludious cleared the ground of bones and created a new dome. They sat and did not take their eyes off the miracle. All except Faolandan. He sat in the corner, between the pillars, stroking Barahu’s dead body, lifeless and bloody. Yleen became sickened by the machine-gunner’s sobs and became furious and asked him to stop acting like a little girl. The darkness was thickening. Black smoke floated down the tunnel and headed toward the exit. A rumbling noise came from somewhere, as if a cave-in happened, then a strange crackling sound echoed again, and the silence settled in.

The operation ended four hours later. Ronnie opened his eyes and felt a rush of strength. His bones creaked as he stood up, but Illyseh reassured him it was normal, just do not make any sudden movements.

The experience bar has increased by 2%.

“It’s time to move,” Yleen said in a commanding tone.

Faolandan could not calm down. Though the dog’s betrayal had left a scar on his heart, death had torn at the seams, letting out a deep sadness. Big and cruel on the outside and so fragile on the inside. Ronnie walked up to him and looked at the Barahu, and walked away. Faolandan shouted at his back:

“That’s it?”

The sniper stopped and answered without turning around:

“What do you want me to do?”

“At least show a little sympathy. He’s so attached to you!”

Ronnie continued to stand with his back facing Faolandan, a lump in his throat and a blur in his eyes. He held the Barrett in his hands and flicked the safety back and forth. Did not answer. He did not know what to say, and he could not.

Faolandan reddened from anger, the veins at his temples swelled, and his fists clenched the wolfhound’s fur with all their might.

“You! Soulless scum!” he shouted and jumped up and took his gun and pulled the trigger without a second thought or the slightest hesitation. There was a deafening popping sound. Illyseh’s eyes lit up with white fire, and he cast a ‘Patronage’ spell with the speed of a bullet. Light covered Ronnie’s body. Bullets, every single one of them, ricocheted off and crashed into pillars, ceiling, and walls, nearly hitting Vvy. A strange sepulchral howl appeared.

“You can't stop doing shit, right, huh? Fucking moron.” Illyseh said.

The healer moved toward the machine gunner and released a paralysis spell, touching his chest with the palm of his hand. The machine-gunner collapsed. Laltludious pulled out his lighter and felt a machine gun at the back of his head.

“That’s enough,” Yleen shouted. “What the fuck are you doing? Are you crazy? Vvy, calm your friend down. He’s making a big fuss. This is a serious scouting operation, not a school picnic. One more stunt like that and everyone will get the ‘enemy of the race’ debuff.”

“AI.”

“At your service, Ronnie. I’m glad you’re safe and sound.”

“What is an ‘enemy of the race’ debuff?”

“This is a right granted only to the “Lord”. A debuff that highlights the player on the map and puts a bounty on his head.”

“Like he’s a PK?”

“Yes. Only after rebirth, the debuff remains.”

“And there’s no way to get rid of it?”

“There is. Talk to the overlord, meet his demands, then he will remove the “enemy of the race” debuff.”

“That’s hilarious...”

As Vvy and Latludious lowered their arms, Illyseh brought Faolandan back to his former state. The machine gunner rose, saying nothing. Yleen had already inserted a scanner into the defeated enemy, when he heard the previous noise emitted by the columns changing into a dull howl. It was getting louder and clearer. A couple of seconds later, all obsidian pillars lit up with purple flames. Bones and skulls on the ground hissed and rattled. Black clouds sucked in the remains and shaped the monsters’ bodies. Ronnie looked around and counted about a dozen new creatures.

“Now we’re really fucked,” he said and spat.