Cole and Thesta were standing on a palisade on the east side of the town, which faced up the mountain that he’d originally come down on his first arrival to Venture.

It had been almost two hours since the meeting in the Guild Headquarters, and the moon was breaching the horizon once more, bathing the soon to be battlefield in its eerie light. The red glow of the Infernals now lit up the entire surrounding forest.

While the Surge had originated more to the north-east, which was where Cole had been exploring yesterday, the Infernals wouldn’t just attack in one big straight line. Scouts had reported that they were spreading around the forest to surround the entire palisade, leaving the wide river as the only truly safe side of the town. Luckily for Venture, water was the antithesis to creatures from the Hell-like dimension, they wouldn’t be able to cross the river even if they wanted to.

Unfortunately for Venture, they were severely lacking in class users with water-based abilities. The closest they had was a late first phase [Mage] who had been planning to develop into a [Storm Mage]. While most of their spells were wind based, they did have the ability to summon storm clouds that could pour rain on any fires. They couldn’t be everywhere, however, and their talents were being kept in reserve in case the village began to catch alight.

In front of the pair, just outside the gate, were the group of adventurers who had been assigned to that section of the defences. They all had first phase classes that were based on physical combat. There were four [Knights], two [Archers] up on the palisade, surprisingly one [Ronin], and three [Spearmen].

The [Ronin], who did not have the customary Vestrian features of most of the people who lived in Venture, had an air of confidence surrounding him that matched his mature age. Cole surmised that he was close to reaching the second phase, perhaps seeing this crisis as a chance to break through and develop his class.

The other adventurers didn’t look scared, rather just slightly uneasy. They were all much younger, closer to Cole’s age. It was likely that this was their first monster wave as adventurers, and the Surge was likely an unexpected spanner in the works for the standard path of development of a green adventurer.

He was yanked out of his thoughts by a yell from one of the [Archers] above, who had spotted movement up ahead with his enhanced sight. Sure enough, a pack of Infernal creatures were emerging from the trees. Cole strained his vision, but he couldn’t quite make out what they were. He turned to Thesta, whose eyes were shining with blue light.

“They’re Kobolds. Infernal of course, but still nothing to be overly concerned about. Feel free to join the others, I’ll keep watch for anything stronger from up here.”

‘Kobolds huh...’

Cole wasn’t familiar with the Infernal variant, but he’d killed countless Kobolds in his time as the Magus Supreme. Perhaps the Gate crisis had allowed them to migrate to the Infernal dimension? Their dragon like features and tough scales would serve them well in such a place.

Kobolds were short humanoids, about four to five feet tall, covered in scales that were resistant to piercing damage. Their heads were like those of dragons, giving them razor sheep teeth. While they were physically weak, Kobolds made up for it by traveling in numbers, surrounding a single foe, and overwhelming them.

Cole empowered his legs with Runic Strength, hoisting himself up and over the palisade. He hit the ground, easily absorbing an impact that would have sent pain shooting up his legs had he not been a magical warrior. While the situation was dire, he couldn’t deny that some parts of his new life were just really, really cool. He dismissed the Rune, reconstituting almost all of the energy he’d used.

As he walked over to join the other adventurers, Cole could make out the individual Kobolds, forming part of the huge tide of red that was sweeping towards the town, many of them had various types of weapons, some chipped or broken. The hairs on the back of his neck bristled in anticipation, but Cole didn’t feel scared. He wasn’t sure how much of that confidence was because Thesta was standing behind them, but it wasn’t all of it. Hallowed Blast proved that he could hold his own. Hopefully he didn’t have to use it as a crutch.

The two [Archer] class users raised their longbows, arrows nocked and ready to draw back. Because they were only first phase, they were limited in how much damage they could output with a single arrow, but their ranged attacks would provide a constant stream of damage that would at the very least distract the oncoming Kobolds.

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Cole could see Infernal flame burning in the eyes of some of the advancing dragon like monsters. The battle was about to start. The melee class users around him raised their weapons. One of the [Spearmen], a young man who looked about as old as Cole himself, was shaking as he did so.

There was a low *tha-thump* and a hiss, as the [Archers] released their first arrows. One Kobold dropped instantly like a puppet with its strings cut, a heavy arrow thrust into its eye. Another fell to its knees, the scales of its chest slightly cracked.

The Kobolds rushed at them.

Cole traced Runic Speed in the air, feeling the familiar adrenaline rush as it activated. He also prepared two Runic Blasts by not quite completing the rune, holding one in each hand.

‘Screw it’ he thought.

Cole dashed out in front of the group of adventurers. He quickly closed ground with the leading Kobolds, raising his hands up. He flicked his fingers, completing the last line of the Runic Blast. Cole grinned

‘Bang!’

Purple energy flared out in front of him. The Kobold directly in front of him flew back, hitting the ground without getting up. The two either side of it were also knocked back, letting out hisses of pain. All the other kobolds around Cole cowered in fear, startled by the sudden flash of light.

There was another *thump*, and an arrow sprouted out of the head of yet another Kobold. One of those [Archers] was a damn good shot. Then the other adventurers, given a chance to attack, crashed into the horde.

The [Knights] were using standard swords and small shields to batter back their foes, slashing at the limbs of the red scaly monsters. The [Spearmen] too, were using taller, broader shields, carefully biding their time before striking out with powerful thrusts. Cole was impressed. Venture obviously trained their adventurers well.

Arrows continued to fall upon the monsters, a steady source of damage coming from the [Archers] back up on the wall, however they had switched to firing into the back ranks of Kobolds, careful not to accidentally strike their allies.

Cole was using his usual strategy of dashing with Runic Speed around the monsters. While he couldn’t always kill a Kobold with his Runic Blasts, as that required him to be quite very close, he could at least injure them, often causing them to stumble straight into a spear tip or sword edge.

He looked around, confused. He couldn’t see the [Ronin] anywhere. A sudden blur of movement caught his eye, and a Kobold who had strayed too far from its pack lost its head. The [Ronin] appeared a short distance past the corpse, which dropped, sending its chipped sword clattering to the ground.

Woah, thought Cole, shocked, ‘He’s gotta be reallly close to the second phase with a skill like that.’. The [Ronin] was using some sort of Flash Step, or other similar ability, in tandem with the precise cuts of his katana. Any Kobold that became too isolated quickly fell to the curved blade of the Shoi Cal man.

Cole continued to weave around the Infernal Kobolds, dodging the occasional short burst of flame from the ones with fiery maws. The group of adventurers had settled into a easy rhythm, and he wondered if Thesta would just leave him to work in this part. They had almost vanquished the first wave, when he heard a scream.

The younger [Spearman], who Cole had observed earlier, had been too slow to raise his shield in time to block a burst of flame. The young man dropped to the ground, weapons forgotten, as he frantically rolled around trying to put his flaming clothes out.

The Kobold who had set him alight clicked its jaws excitedly. A long tongue licked across its teeth. It opened its maw wide, diving forward to bite down, when a flash of purple light sent it hurtling backwards. Cole reached down to the young [Spearman], who had managed to extinguish the flames. An ugly red burn wrapped around his now exposed right arm and torso. He wouldn’t be fighting any longer.

Cole empowered himself with Runic Strength, hoisting the young man up over his shoulder. He dashed back to the palisade, using another quick Rune to give his legs the strength to leap onto the top. He passed the [Archers], who gave him quick nods, before jumping back down to the other side, depositing the screaming man onto a stretcher. Two volunteers, just ordinary citizens, picked him up, heading deeper into the town to the infirmary, where he would be treated for his wounds.

Dismissing his runes after leaping back onto the palisade, Cole surveyed the battlefield. He had been meaning to join the fray once more, but the other adventurers had cleaned up the rest of the Kobolds already. They were making their way back to the palisade, no doubt to rest and recover before more monsters appeared.

Cole turned to Thesta.

“How’d I do?” he asked, hoping that she’d finally say something that was vaguely positive.

The woman had her head on a constant swivel, using her magic to see far further than a natural human woukd be able to.

“Better,” came the reply. Not quite what Cole had hoped for, but he would take it.

Thesta’s head kept moving, then froze. There was a red explosion in the forest. Her eyes flared blue, and the tome that had been floating next to her flew open. The pages flipped before pausing on an extremely complex rune, one that Cole knew he’d never be able to learn. A blue field of light filled the air in front of them, forming into a curved shield angled up into the sky. It wasn’t a moment too soon. A huge ball of fire splashed across the shield, licking flames over its edge. The light seemed to crack slightly but held firm.

As the flames faded away, Cole watched a humanoid figure drop down, landing on the ground outside the palisade.

It resembled a Kobold, but it was far taller and bulkier. Great horns spiralled from the top of its head, and flames were roiling inside its eyes. Rather than loose tattered clothing and a chipped sword, this monster was dressed in flowing robes.

Flame spilled out of its mouth as it bared its teeth in an expression Cole could only describe as a grin.

Thesta blazed with blue light as she reformed the shield into a dome around the strange Kobold, just in time for it to breathe a huge gout of flame from its maw. The dome was filled with fire, obscuring the monster from view, but as it faded away, the monster appeared once more, completely untouched.

It grinned once more, sending shivers down Cole’s spine. The Kobold inspected the blue light surrounding it, seeming confused. Then it began punching.

Cracks began to form on the dome.