The many-armed, many-legged thing charged.

Barreling towards the line of cars, officers, firefighters and armed civilians. The people were at least smart and fit enough to realize the danger. Throwing their bodies to one side or the other. Just barely escaping from the monstrosity as it threw cars and pick-ups high into the air with a laughable ease.

The ape-like faces hooted and howled as it passed. Rough bark snapping at empty air as each head struggle to get closer to prey so that it could tear them to pieces.

The ursine head at the helm remained stoic throughout. Calmly assessing the wrecks around it with regal indifference. Acting as if total victory was the expected result.

"Damn Cecil. I know I said to put your all into it, but this is a little much. They're supposed to be able to beat it with machetes and power tools. Who in their right mind is going to try their luck against that?"

I whirled to face coach Russell. Incredulous at his reaction.

"How is any of this my fault?" I pulled on my shirt to show the reddish-yellow diamond nestled above my heart. "I've had this for three hours. You've had decades to know the ins and outs of your magic. How is it that I'm being called out for not knowing this would happen?"

"Come on Cecil. Don't be like that. We both know its mostly instinctual."

"Says you!" I bit back, perhaps a bit too loudly.

Some of the people who'd been on the periphery of the conflict had bailed as the second wave was coming over and they started to point fingers at us while running for cover.

Mr. Robertson exerted a small rush of magic through his eyes in response. Causing the few witnesses to faint.

"Gentlemen. I know we have masks, but we should still strive to remain as anonymous as possible until the big reveal. First impressions are very important. We want to be seen as saviors. Not terrorists."

"Speaking of which." Casper interrupted. "I think its about time to step in."

"Not yet. They still have ammo."

"So? That thing is huge! I'd do a double take before fighting it and I'm level 5."

"Don't bring your shortcomings into this Casper."

"My shortcomings!?"

"Yes, your shortcomings. Your grandfather and I were the best of friends. He'd be rolling in his grave if he knew you lacked ambition to this degree. Now hush. The people here need to have no other options but melee combat. Otherwise they'll never be willing to to close the gaps against monsters. Meaning they'll get a tenth of a point at best by the time we're done here."

He shook his head. His eyes stone cold behind his mask.

"That will not do. I need fighters. The world, needs fighters. There's still a chance of this town getting people with second-stage cores. We can't stop now."

"All they'll get is corpses if we don't stop this nonsense. Its gotten out of hand."

"Nothing's gotten out of hand. Look, I'm influencing the monster."

"It's flipping cars over and throwing them!"

"But not at people." Mr. Robertson interjected. Wagging a finger. "This is fine. Our dear officers are doing fine. Have faith."

The hulking monstrosity tackled the side of the fire truck. Flipping it over on its side before lifting it over its head. It roared triumphantly then. Using all of its heads to declare its dominance.

Then, It threw the truck. Sending it flying through the air and into the side of a warehouse. Toppling the whole structure and sending displaced air filled with debris in all directions. The rubble struck several bystanders who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Cries rang out. Some precariously more muffled than others.

Me and Casper turned to stare at him.

"Okay, okay." He sighed. "I guess this is about as much as we could hope for, given that its our first time. Russell. Plan B"

Coach Russell's whole body tensed as he drew in a breath. His muscles bulging as if they were balloons. Ones that were precariously close to bursting.

Then, there was a sudden shock that travelled through my bones, followed by the sound of a canon being fired and the feeling of rushing air whizzing past. My ears were ringing and they remained ringing for a few seconds after the initial impact. It had all happened so suddenly that my eyes had watered and closed on reflex.

When I managed to open them again, the artificially-created boss' upper torso was gone, as were its adjoining whip-like appendages. In its place was a macabre burning mess of splintered wood. Leaking embers down unto the upturned grass.

'How the...? Coach Russell doesn't have any fire powers. His core is [Conditioning]. Same as his son.'

A quick glance revealed that the creatures who were supposed to be part of the second wave had all staggered to a stop. Unwilling or unable to move after Mr. Robertson rattled them with another wave of power.

That was when I saw the officers and the firefighters and the members of the impromptu militia. All of them either collapsed on the ground or holding their heads with both hands. My newly enhanced vision managed to make out more details than I otherwise would have noticed. Like the way their heads were bobbing up and down or the way blood trickled from their ears and between their fingers.

'That bastard broke the sound barrier. Without a running start too. The fires...'

The fires must have been caused by the speed. He hit the thing so fast the air in front of him didn't have enough time to move out of the way. It combusted when he moved.

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My first thought was: 'Fucking Monster.'

My second thought was: 'I want to do that too.'

There was hunger inside of me now that hadn't been there before. Stirring at the sight of such a spectacle of violence. My core, was better than his. At a later stage. I might be able to reach those heights someday.

'Someday soon.'

The man in question walked back a few seconds later. Jumping atop the rapidly disintegrating carcass.

"Come on Cecil." Mr. Robertson urged me. "Lets get closer to the action so you can start healing folks."

"I thought healing magic could hinder core formation?"

"Only if you rely on it too much. These guys are not going to be seeing another healer for a long time. Besides, its just a few ruptured eardrums. Maybe some cuts and bruises, with the odd underlying condition here and there. Nothing major."

I didn't even bother to dignify that with a response. Instead opting to move closer to the people my monsters had mauled. Laying hands on them and letting the magic flow through my core. Their wounds felt like, patches of shadow spread across their bodies. Like blotchy tattoos that retreated as they got better.

I could also, feel what they felt. Sort of.

I could tell that they were still reeling from the ringing in their ears when I touched them and I could tell when those symptoms retreated. Knowing when the bones had kitted themselves together and when muscles had regenerated.

Officers had looked at me warily at first. No doubt put off by the mask and the suspiciously good fortune of our arrival at that particular time.

Any apprehension they might have felt dissipated after the healing however. I was receiving looks filled with awe. With incredulity. With hope.

"Good people of.... this town!" Coach Russell began roaring from atop the heap that my creation had become. His words letting everyone know that he hadn't even bothered to learn the municipality's name before coming here tonight.

"I am here to help! To tell you how to fight these things! I've dealt with their kind before and I know what kills them! How to put them down for good!"

Magic was swirling through the air as he spoke. Mr. Robertson's telltale influence spreading throughout the gathered masses. The rolling mists crashed against onlookers and officers alike. Visibly invigorating them so that they ignored their own exhaustion and confusion and fear.

'And their common sense too; from the way some of these guys are reacting.'

"These beasts came from underground! From the center of the earth! They've come to eat us all alive!" He waved his arms above his head for the added effect. "There is no escaping them! There is no one who can help us! The phone lines were cut and the cell towers demolished! They took every precaution to sabotage your town!"

It took all the self-control from all of my stats to keep from gagging at the sheer shamelessness on display.

I marshalled that control again to refocus on the people around me. Healing their wounds and whatever infections they'd been carrying up to this point.

'Its for the good of the people. The good of the world. You know how important cores are. Don't think too much about it.'

"Its up to us to defend our families! Up to us to keep them safe! We have to take up arms and head down into the darkness from whence they came! We have to excise the evil that spawns them! Only then will our town be safe!"

He faced them. His expression exploding with confidence.

"See what I've done here!? This strength came from destroying the evil! From wreaking havoc on all of them! You can do it too! Follow me and save your town! Follow me and save your families!"

Some people were cheering already. Despite how ridiculous he sounded and how suspicious he looked.

Maybe it was the magic Mr. Robertson was generously sprinkling. Or maybe they were cheering precisely because he seemed so suspicious. After all, who would want to anger the six-foot six murder-machine that all but disintegrated the horror you were facing down?

"Bullets don't work and we don't have enough trucks to keep ramming them! We have to fight with axes and hammers! Cut them down to size and crush their roots!"

The crow roared in agreement. A few firefighters springing up like whack-a-moles as I was healing their broken legs.

"Kill them!"

"Crush them!"

"Tear them to pieces!"

"That's right!" Coach Russell bellowed. The magic rising higher and higher. "Think of your families now! Of your wives and husbands and kids! Who will protect them of you don't fight!?"

There was an angry roar moving through the people them. Like a rising tide swallowing a pier.

Leaving behind a cacophonous collection of chants.

"Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!"

I felt a tug from my right and coughed as a shimmering bubble enveloped me. The next time I opened my eyes, Casper was there. His face on his mask. Holding on to it as if he were dying from shame.

Mr. Robertson was the opposite. He looked like he was on the verge of weeping. His wrinkled old face taught with a manic smile as his eyes grew moist behind his own mask.

Tear actually started falling then. Wet trails flowing downwards and staining the fabric.

He did not pry his eyes away from the mob when they descended on the second wave with batons and fire axes. Nor did he tear his gaze away when they kept rolling down the street and gathering around the manholes.

"Are they going to be okay?" I asked without thinking. Feeling slightly stupid once the words had left my mouth.

"Of course they'll be okay." Mr. Robertson said out of hand. "Russell won't let any of them come to harm. Not in any meaningful way. The things you left down there will only hasten their rise to power."

His body stiffened for a moment, before relaxing.

"It is a foolish thing to rush growth in this manner Cecil. These monsters are basically sweating liquid magic. So that being around them will have a profound effect on normal people. They'll get stats faster than even you could imagine. Yet, it comes at a cost. Levelling using an excess of dead monster cores without proper training and exercise can leave you, destitute. Magically speaking. You hit a wall once you reach the range of 2 in every stat and gaining anything past that becomes a pipe dream. We're, essentially ensuring they get basic cores or slightly better, by burning down their foundations. No one in this group will get an advanced core. Even if they might have had a chance to do so."

I nodded.

"How much stronger will they have to be to unlock basic cores?"

He shrugged.

"Its not an exact science, but continued observation shows that they should have a stat average of anywhere between 1.4 and 1.8. Though we have seen second stage cores pop up in people with averages as low as 1.5 before."

"That, seems low."

Him and Casper sighed at once.

"Its all we can do with a limited amount of time. People on the outside will eventually wonder why they can't contact their relatives or why all the roads are blocked off by landslides. I expect there will be a concerted rescue effort within a week. Maybe less. We'll have to make the most of that time."

"That's not what I meant. I...." My eyes rose to meet theirs.

"I meant that even stage two cores are low. You're ruining these people's chances at power. Their children's chances at power. It isn't enough." I paused for breath. Choking a bit on the smoke drifting over from some of the wrecked cars.

"I thought we were helping people here. I thought, that we could get them to, I don't know. A decent level?"

Mr. Robertson turned his face to meet my eyes.

His features, which had been so stiff under the mask, softened.

"You're quite right. Cecil. It isn't enough. But its all we can do for now."

He waved over at the mob.

"In the world I lived in, none of these people made it. Not one. They had the distinct misfortune of living next to the spot where a giant monster appeared during the break. And that, my dear Cecil, was that."

His eyes went back to the crowd.

"These people will be stunted, yes. However. They will get to live, where the versions I knew died. It was a hard choice to make, but I still made it."

That faint smile of his widened. If only by a hair's breath.

"Besides. This is only the beginning. A proof of concept, if you will. Whose to say what you and I could accomplish in a month or two? Whose to say what we could change in a year? Who knows? Perhaps we could even make an artificial Dungeon to rival any natural example."

He chuckled dryly.

"But enough about that. Casper here will get you back to your family, now that your role is more or less done. We'll call upon you if we think we can get away with forming another artificial dungeon around the edges of town. Until then, take a break. Its been a long day for you and you deserve to be rewarded for all your efforts. I'll arrange for payment in the next week or so. Take care of yourself until then."

I was about to rebuke his offer, but Casper was much too fast.

The shimmering surrounded me, cutting off the wrecks and the howls of the mob as the trickled down into the lair of my beasts.