Mist swirled around Alyssa as the monster launched itself at her. Moving far more quickly than any normal human could have managed, she raised her Spear of the Dragon Lancer just in time to intercept its snapping jaws. Still, its momentum hit her like a truck, sending her tumbling onto her back. The monster followed, raking its claws across her breastplate. The metal held, but only barely, and Alyssa used the creature’s inertia against it as she rolled, kicking up as she sent it flying past her. It hit a nearby wall, shattering glass and distorting the steel frame of a floor-to-ceiling window.

Even as it skidded across the building’s lobby, an arrow followed. Just before it hit, the projectile split into three, each of which slammed into its chest. A stream of pale blood arced into the air as the monster screamed. A blur materialized behind it, and suddenly, its head was rolling to a stop at Trace’s feet.

The Outlaw disappeared a second later, but Alyssa didn’t see it. Instead, she was too busy pushing herself to her feet so she could face the next threat. There were three enemies, each advancing with cautious implacability. They looked much the same as all the other monsters they’d faced in the city – pale white skin, with almost human features and abnormally muscular bodies – but Alyssa wasn’t concerned with their appearance. She had already seen enough of them, after all.

Stomping down, she used Shockwave, the ability sending out a wave of force that briefly stunned them. Then, she thrust her spear forward in a move that might’ve looked odd from a full fifteen feet away. As she lunged, she used Unstoppable Thrust, sending a thick wave of ethereal force piercing through them.

Unstoppable Thrust

Thrust with a spear or lance, hitting all enemies in a straight line.

It wasn’t enough to kill the monsters, but it certainly did plenty of damage. More importantly, it kept them off-balance as she used Heroic Leap, pushing herself high into the air. Then, she fell upon them with Descending Dragon, skewering the centermost monster with her spear. Even as the blade exploded through its skull, she let loose with Champion’s Shout, striking fear into the remaining creatures.

It wouldn’t last long. She knew that. But then again, she didn’t need much time to wrench her spear free and sweep it out in a wide arc that hacked into the second monster’s neck. She used that momentum to sweep the legs out from under the third monster, which she dispatched with a two-handed thrust to its inhuman face.

But that’s where her luck ran out.

Something rammed into her back, sending her sprawling across the concrete sidewalk. The metal of her armor screeched in protest as she tried to twist around, but her assailant had timed its attack well. Without looking back, she used Bulwark, hoping to superimpose the invisible shield between herself and her attacker.

But without being able to see, her aim was off, and she placed the shield behind the pale-skinned monster. So, she improvised, gathering her limbs beneath her and pushing up with all her might. As she did, she once again activated Heroic Leap. Bones crunched – hers as well as the monster’s – but she gritted her teeth through the pain and sent an elbow back to hit the monster again.

It let loose with what sounded like a combination of a dog’s yelp and a human’s scream, but it didn’t loosen its grip. If anything, it clung to her back with even more fervor, its claws digging deep into her flesh.

Then, heat washed over her, and the monster’s screams ceased.

“Stay still!” yelled Bryce. Then, Alyssa screamed as something ripped the claws free. Bryce called out, “Need a heal!”

“I’m almost out of Ethera!” responded Verin.

But despite the healer’s lack of fuel, a spell of Regeneration washed over Alyssa. The wounds in her back closed, though she knew that a single spell wouldn’t entirely heal the damage. In fact, if she moved too violently, the lacerations would re-open. Still, it was better than nothing.

She used Recover, sending her Regeneration through the roof.

With that done, she levered herself to her feet. Wobbling, Alyssa thrust the butt of her staff into the ground and looked around. The monsters were dead, and everyone had survived.

For now.

She’d lost track of how long they’d been there. Time was difficult to track in the mist, and even without it, there was no night or day to mark the time. Still, she suspected it had been days, at least. Maybe as much as a week, based on how often they’d been forced to rest, and barely an hour of it had passed without significant combat.

But according to Trace, they’d finally reached their destination. More importantly, they’d done so without losing anyone else. Sure, they’d all been injured, but they’d made it.

Letting out a deep sigh to steady her nerves and help herself deal with the pain of her persistent wounds, Alyssa looked around. Everyone was there, and aside from Roman, they were all looking to her for direction.

She said, “Into the building. Find us a defensible position.”

“But the capital is right there…”

She glared at Trace. The man’s armor had definitely seen better days, but due to Verin’s ministrations, he was whole. The same could be said for all the others. For her part, Alyssa’s armor was mostly intact, though she’d lost one of her vambraces during a previous fight. Still, for her next suit of armor, Alyssa intended to ask Carmen to make her a more robust backplate. The current level of protection back there was woefully insufficient, as she’d discovered when the latest monster had sunk its claws into her back.

Aside from the terrible state of their armor, everyone looked exhausted. And given what had happened the last time they’d gone from one level of the tower to another – which was what she assumed would happen when they reached the capital – Alyssa wanted everyone in the best shape possible. That meant rest and repast.

No one spoke much over the next couple of hours. By that point, they didn’t have much to say. For her part, Alyssa watched for any sign of attack, planting herself in the doorway as the rest of her team prepared for what was to come. She was so focused on the lobby of the building – which looked like every upscale office building she’d ever seen – that she didn’t even notice Roman until he put a hand on her shoulder.

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She flinched, moving with incredible speed as she extricated herself from his grip. She had her spear up and at his neck in only an instant. The moment she realized what she’d done, she retracted the blade and apologized.

Roman shook his head, saying, “No need to apologize. We’re all on edge. I shouldn’t have snuck up on you.”

Alyssa sighed, then resumed her vigil. Roman joined her.

“What do you think we’ll find on the next level?” she asked at last.

“More monsters,” he stated. “Beyond that…I don’t know. But I don’t think we’re done with this one.”

“Really?” she asked.

“You read the guides. There’s probably some kind of guardian.”

“Boss monster!” supplied Bryce from across the room.

She turned her head and glared at him. “Don’t eavesdrop.”

“Sorry, boss.”

“Right,” Roman said, running his hand through his hair. “There’s probably something we’ll have to beat before we advance. Maybe it’s another horde of monsters. Or it might be a bigger, badder monster. But I don’t think we’re done with this level. Not by a long shot.”

Alyssa didn’t know how to respond to that. She was already prepared for something worse, so it didn’t really matter if they met it at the end of the second level or the beginning of the third. So, she just said, “We’ll beat whatever we find. We don’t have a choice.”

Roman didn’t say anything after that, instead giving Alyssa’s shoulder another squeeze before heading back to rest with the others. At one point, he might have tried to relieve her, but he’d learned firsthand that doing so wouldn’t do any good. She had a responsibility, and with her heavy armor, Recover ability, and high level, she was the best person for the job. So, if someone wanted to replace her as the group’s guardian, they’d have to physically drag her out of the way.

No one was willing to try that.

After a couple more hours, Alyssa’s wounds had healed, and everyone had recovered enough that they felt confident in moving forward. So, they set off from the skyscraper’s lobby and down the wide street. The evidence of the previous battle remained, but they all ignored it. Instead, they kept moving along the route defined by Trace’s scouting, and soon enough, the capital came into view.

“Familiar,” she muttered.

And it was. The building before them lay at the center of a wide plaza whose details were lost to the mist. However, the building itself was almost a perfect replica of the U.S. Capital building, though even larger than the real thing. Still, Alyssa was less concerned with that than the creature planted at the base of the steps.

“Eyes up,” she said a little louder, hefting her spear. “Boss monster ahead.”

The monster in question looked a lot like the others they’d fought, though where they were roughly human-sized, this new creature was the size of a giant. If it was less than fifteen feet tall, Alyssa would have been surprised, and its frame bulged with dense muscle. More, the pale skin was riddled with raised green veins.

And what’s even worse, it had clearly noticed them because it pushed itself to its feet – an act which made Alyssa reassess her previous estimate of the thing’s height; it was at least twenty feet tall, and maybe even larger. A shiver of fear slid up Alyssa’s spine, but she suppressed it.

“You all know what to do.”

Indeed, the group had been working together for long enough that they were all extremely familiar with the most effective strategy.

Alyssa stepped forward. The monster echoed the motion, cocking its head to the side as if surprised that she wasn’t running in fear. She hefted her spear in both hands. Then, she used Heart of the Dragon, flooding her body with Ethera and inflating her physical attributes.

Meanwhile, Roman stepped to the side, raising his bow. He drew an arrow from the quiver at his waist, but he didn’t draw it back. Not yet. At the same time, Bryce started casting a spell while Trace slipped away unnoticed, fading into the mist.

Finally, Verin slipped her morningstar from her waist and cast her own spell. Alyssa felt the woman’s heal-over-time spell hit her, followed by a second effect. Thus prepared, she trotted forward.

The monster was only forty yards away, so it wasn’t long before Alyssa used Heroic Leap, following it up with Descending Dragon. Predictably, the monster was taken by surprise – even if it had expected her descent, it certainly didn’t envision the sheer ferocity of her first strike. Still, it managed to dodge to the side at the last second, so Alyssa’s spear – which had been aimed at its head – hit its meaty shoulder instead.

The blade tore through pale flesh, spraying Alyssa with a fountain of blood. She bounded backwards, leaving the spear embedded in the monster; she might have been capable of dislodging it, but she wasn’t sure of it. So, she’d chosen not to try.

Flipping, she used her newest ability. Leathery wings manifested, spreading out from her shoulder blades and allowing her to glide away. It was perfectly timed, too, because only a second later, the monster charged forward, trampling the spot where she would have landed. Instead, it caught nothing but air, and Alyssa canceled the ability. She landed on its shoulders, grabbed the spear, and used Enrage. With her increased Strength, she yanked it free, then used Heroic Leap to send herself flying away.

Predictably, the monster attempted to follow, but she’d used Bulwark the moment her feet left its bulbous flesh. So, it hit the low wall, tipped over, and landed on its face. That’s when Bryce finished his spell.

The ground beneath the monster erupted, and suddenly the earth worm wrapped itself around its torso. The creature screamed in pain as the worm squeezed, its rocky flesh contracting until bones started to break.

But it didn’t last long before, with a mighty shove, the monster broke free. Rocks and earth exploded in every direction as a roar of fury filled the air.

Before it could rise, Roman shot it.

Once. Twice. Thrice, the thwap of his bowstring sounded, and suddenly, three arrows sprouted from the monster. It seemed stunned, looking down at them in confusion. They had barely even pierced its skin, much less done any damage.

Then, they exploded into whirlwinds of shadow that enveloped the thing.

Another arrow hit its leg, and arcane black chains shackled it to the ground. Another arrow took it in the head, piercing one of its eyes. It stumbled, clearly blinded by Roman’s newest ability. He hadn’t named it, but Alyssa thought of it as Blinding Shot. He’d kept the rest of his ability names a secret as well, but they were certainly effective at hindering the creature.

Still, Roman didn’t have the ability to finish it off.

And Bryce had only just begun casting his latest spell.

Fortunately, that was when Trace made himself known. He launched himself from the mist as if he’d only just manifested from nothing. His swords flashed as he fell on the creature, stabbing down into its chest. Then, he raced away, disappearing back into the mist. The blinded monster never even knew he was there.

But it wasn’t dead. Like Roman, Trace kept his ability names close to his chest. However, Alyssa had seen the Outlaw’s blades rip through lesser creatures with ease, so she knew just how much damage he could do.

The monster had to be on its last legs.

Alyssa just needed to finish it off.

So, she strode forward, and when she reached the hobbled creature, she used Unstoppable Thrust. A wave of piercing force ripped through it, sending more blood to spray across the plaza. Then, she used Heroic Leap, sailing high into the air. When she started to fall, she summoned an invisible Bulwark before kicking off the plane of Ethera with yet another Heroic Leap.

Twice more she repeated the action until she was more than a hundred feet in the air. Then, at last, she used Descending Dragon.

Descending Dragon

Fall upon an enemy, dealing more damage based on distance fallen. Protected from falling damage while ability is active.

She fell, leading the way with her spear. Just before she reached the monster, its eyes cleared, and for the briefest of moments, it saw its doom.

The Spear of the Dragon Lancer bit into the monster’s skull with enough force to shatter it entirely. But Alyssa’s attack didn’t end there. Instead, her knee took it in the chest, obliterating flesh and bone alike before cracking the plaza’s stone tiles and digging a shallow crater in the ground below.

When the dust settled, she rose, covered in the creature’s blood and having defeated the guardian of the tower’s second level.

Without any of them, it wouldn’t have been possible. Roman had hobbled it. Both Bryce and Trace had weakened it so that Alyssa could finish it off. It was a team effort, but to anyone who saw her rising from that crater, it was clear who’d shouldered the bulk of the load.

Alyssa looked around, then down at her gore covered body before letting out a resigned sigh. “I really need a shower.”