Blake drank deeply from his water bottle as he sat beneath the rock overhang. He had just completed a scenario, and sat before the portal to rest before he entered his next.

The chill air brushed against his skin.

Ah… That feels good.

It was the beginning of April, three days after he evolved his Mind Blast. In that time, he earned enough nano to fully fund the faction hall upgrade, and finally supplied their landlord the nano he pledged to provide.

The old man was ecstatic with his increased strength and health, and Blake promised that he could retain the jewelry until a combat team needed it.

According to Jordan, the level three building would be finished this afternoon. Once completed, Brent could continue his work on the glass house, which was the last prerequisite required to build an alchemy workshop.

In a few days, he could finally grant his brother the alchemist class he had promised him. After that, he could only hope that Oliver would be too busy working on his cure to cause them any more problems.

Who am I kidding?

Blake took one last swig of water, and finished off the bottle. He crumpled the trash, threw it back into his duffle bag, and stood.

I guess it’s time to head back in.

This would be the second level two scenario he would complete today, and likely the last. It was a rare day that he had the time or energy to complete more than two.

He learned long before to never go into combat when tired. No matter how powerful you are, exhaustion leads to mistakes, and mistakes eventually kill you.

Blake began the spellform to renew his Flame Shield. After ten seconds passed, the barrier formed around him and a notification appeared.

You have gained mastery over a spell. Flame Shield is ready to evolve.

Finally!

He had spent the last few days recasting the ability repeatedly to speed up its mastery. The spell’s evolution was the last thing that stood between him and his attempt to upgrade his Elite Solo Warrior achievement.

He quickly spent fifty mega-nano to upgrade his Flame Shield. Unlike his previous evolutions, this change was relatively straightforward. He intended to increase the amount of heat the barrier could absorb before it collapsed.

A few moments later, he was successful.

Improved Flame Shield - Places a protective barrier around a target which shelters them from heat. As this heat is absorbed, it radiates outward from the shield, while the target is immune. Flame Shield uses a moderate amount of mana energy, and lasts until it absorbs a high amount of heat or one hour passes.

The upgrade increased the spell’s absorption at the cost of additional mana. It was nothing exciting or new, but he hoped it would allow the spell to last an entire fight against level three Manders. Their Magic Power would be higher, which would make their fire spells far more potent.

Should I just go for it now?

Blake still needed more experience before Regeneration could be evolved, but its upgrade would not aid him against monsters two levels above him. After all, even if he increased the spell’s power by fifty percent, a broken bone would still take hours to fully heal.

Yeah, I can upgrade that later.

He checked his energy levels, and saw that his mana and aether were a bit low.

That’s fine, I need to wait to recast Flame Shield anyway.

The last thing he reviewed was the time remaining on his attribute boost from breakfast. His father had finally cooked a meal that could provide a temporary increase to his power, roasted Mander.

The meat was chewy, not exactly pleasant, but was masked by heavy spices.

For twelve hours after he ate the dish, his Magic Resistance would be raised by one point. Unfortunately, like the increases obtained through his nano-gear, it was not affected by his achievements.

Five more hours. Plenty of time.

Blake waited impatiently for the cooldown on Flame Shield to disappear. When it ended, he recast the spell and replaced it with the upgraded version.

After one last check to ensure he was ready, he stepped into the portal and entered the void.

You have re-entered a combat scenario you have already completed. Would you like to increase the difficulty?

For the first time in either life, Blake increased the difficulty twice above his own level. Now, at level one, he would attempt to complete a level three scenario. It was something unheard of, and incredibly dangerous. He could only hope that he was strong enough to survive and upgrade his Elite Solo Warrior achievement.

Once he confirmed his choice, the objective of the scenario was displayed to him. To his surprise, the expected elimination objective was replaced with something new.

Objective: Eliminate twenty-five Manders before your opposition.

Alternate Objective: Eliminate your opposition.

My opposition? Did someone else make it this far already?

There was no way someone on Earth had surpassed him in level. However, that did not mean they could not attempt a scenario two or even three levels above their own. Firearms were a force multiplier, and would allow a well outfitted team to take on higher level monsters.

At least, in the beginning.

Once the monsters gained enough levels, bullets would fail to penetrate their enemies, and without Magic Resistance, they would quickly die. Their awarded nano would be reduced to almost nothing, and Blake even suspected the Architect would refuse to award achievements gained by such a cheat.

The AI was vindictive and punished those that attempted to exploit its rules.

I guess I’ll find out.

Blake expected to immediately transition into the Mander caves, and was surprised when he was kept waiting. Concerned, he rechecked the objective, and read the new text added.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Waiting for opposition…

Blake began to panic.

How long do I have to wait? Will I be stuck here for years?

He had assumed that a special forces team had decided to attempt the higher level scenario, and he would be pitted against them. However, if he had to wait for his opposition, it could potentially be years before he left the void.

Will I starve to death? Does my body need food here? Does time pass at the same speed?

Blake’s mind ran through everything he knew about the void. Unfortunately, it was not much. He had never heard of anyone who spent more than a few minutes within the black. Even when Blake was given an option to increase the difficulty, he was only given a minute to decide. If he refused to answer, the scenario would default to his own level.

His mind raced as he considered how his family and faction would fare without him. He imagined their deaths as they were overwhelmed by monsters and humans alike. However, before he could completely spiral out of control, he was ejected from the void.

Blake quickly unsheathed his sword and scanned his surroundings for threats, but was only presented with a typical Mander tunnel. Most of the cave was dark and gloomy, while the sides and ceiling glowed with heat.

How long has it been?

Blake quickly contacted his mother through chat. Once she confirmed it was the same day, and only a brief time had passed, he sighed in relief.

Okay, now which way do I go?

Blake quickly added the scenario objective to his heads up display and opened his map. He found himself at the edge of the scenario boundary. That meant that while his passage ran in two directions, he could only proceed in one.

This way it is.

Blake proceeded down the tunnel with caution, wary of an ambush. He had no way to know where his supposed opponents entered, and had no desire to stumble across them unprepared. As he walked, his eyes continuously focused on his interface to confirm the current score. Which is why, a few minutes later, when his opponent's kill count rose to five, he cursed.

Should I go faster?

After only a brief moment of consideration, he decided patience would serve him better. He continued to creep through the twists and turns of the corridor until he rounded a bend and found a group of four Manders.

To his surprise, they failed to notice him.

Before his luck ran out, he used a Spatial Step to appear behind the closest monster and impaled it. The moment he appeared, its fellow Manders were instantly alerted and began to cast their spells.

Good, they’re mana users.

He quickly kicked the corpse off his blade, and blasted the three with his psionic spell. All were caught within the cone of effect, but to his dismay, only the closest two had their casts interrupted.

Shit!

Blake thrust with his longsword and ended the closest life, while the other restarted its spell. He yanked his weapon free and stepped forward to bash the next with his shield.

Suddenly, the farthest Mander finished its cast, and a spray of liquid left its mouth. Blake immediately broke off his attack and braced himself behind his buckler to shield himself from the attack.

Blake was only partially successful.

Only his head remained dry. The rest of his body was covered in a caustic chemical which began to eat away at his skin. He quickly enabled Regeneration, but had no time to wipe off the corrosive substance.

After its successful attack, the Mander immediately began another spell, while the one closest to him finished its own. A familiar spray of fire belched from its mouth and enveloped him.

Nice try.

Blake trusted his improved Flame Shield. He sprinted into the inferno with closed eyes and blindly launched an attack at its source. When the thrust of his blade hit resistance, its wellspring of fire sputtered out.

Just one left.

Just as he turned to face his last enemy, a spear of ice impacted his shoulder. The force of the attack threw him backward, and he tumbled along the floor. He came out of his slide and tried to use his shield arm to push off the ground.

It refused to respond.

Blake’s gaze shot to his arm. To his horror, a six-inch spike of ice, a half inch in diameter, stuck out of his shoulder. He quickly pulled it out and threw the projectile to the side. Unfortunately, he could still not move his left arm.

Stop freaking out and kill the monster!

Blake’s Spatial Step was on cooldown, and he did not dare reuse his Mind Blast, so he rushed the remaining Mander with his sword raised in desperation.

Before he could close more than half the distance, it launched its next spell.

Hah!

Fire enveloped him.

As he advanced through the flames with alacrity, his Flame Shield absorbed all heat. He swung his longsword downward with all his strength.

Just before his blade impacted the last Mander, his Flame Shield collapsed, and he was bathed in fire. He gritted his teeth and screamed through his closed mouth as his weapon finally ended the threat.

The Mander’s torrent of flames was vanquished, but without his Flame Shield, he remained on fire. The caustic chemical that coated him was flammable and burned almost as hot as the Mander’s spell. Blake rolled along the rocky ground until the flames sputtered out. He laid still and panted until his breath recovered.

That was a hell of a lot harder than I thought it’d be.

Not only was his exposed skin burned to the third degree, but his left arm remained numb and unresponsive. Without its use, he had no hope of completing the scenario before his opponents.

How far along are they?

Blake quickly checked the objective status.

Shit.

In the time it had taken him to eliminate four Manders, they had taken out two groups and killed nine monsters total.

There’s no way I can beat them to twenty-five kills.

Blake closed his eyes and let out a slow breath as he resigned himself to the only option now available to him.

I have to kill the other team before they finish.

His opponent likely had firearms and spec-ops training. However, he was certain they did not have access to spells. If he were able to surprise them while they were grouped together, teleport next to them, and blast their minds with his psionic spell, he may succeed, despite his disabled left arm.

If I can find them in time. At least guns are loud.

Blake was actually surprised he had not already heard the crack of rifles or explosions. While the tunnels winded and quickly muffled sound, the scenario boundary was not that large, perhaps only two miles in diameter.

Well, how much nano did I get?

Blake checked his logs and found that he had gained four mega-nano per level three Mander kill. The level twos he was used to fighting gave him only two.

So, twice as much.

Blake sat up and inspected his wound. The bleeding had stopped, but his shoulder still contained a large hole. He wrapped his fingers around his bicep and tried to manually move his limb.

Ah!

For a moment, he felt a sharp pain in his arm.

That means the nerves are still connected, just damaged. Maybe from swelling?

Blake let out a sigh of relief. With any luck, his Regeneration would repair the connection, and he would regain use of his arm before his next battle.

If I can find them in time.

He stood and began to stalk through the winding tunnels, even slower than before. Unfortunately, without the use of both arms, he could not recast Flame Shield, and the heat remained oppressive on his burned skin. As he silently moved, he strained his ears for the echoes of distant gunfire, yet he heard nothing. After another ten minutes, the tunnels split into a ‘Y’.

Left or right?

Blake stood frozen in the center of the fork and strained his ears. He heard nothing from either direction, so he shrugged and chose the narrower path to his right. At a sharp bend, he poked his head around a corner and saw a collection of five Manders warming on heated rocks. Blake froze, and silently backed away without alerting them.

Okay, let’s try the left.

While he would attack them if necessary, he would prefer to avoid a fight if possible. His opponents could be very close. Blake quickly retraced his steps and explored the opposite tunnel. As he carefully placed his feet, he began to feel tingling within his left arm.

Good. It won’t be long now.

Blake rounded another corner and heard a faint clatter in the distance. As he continued to navigate the narrow cave, the noise grew louder.

That doesn’t sound like gunfire. What’s going on?

After another turn, the path split into two once again. However, this time, his direction was obvious. To his left, he heard the sounds of battle. Hisses and screams became clearer as he stealthily navigated the narrow cave.

Finally, when carefully he rounded the last corner, his opponents were revealed.

What the hell?!

Where he expected to find a Human fire team, he instead found alien creatures. Six Koza, the race that invaded his world, waged battle against the Manders. They used spells and nano enhanced weapons to systematically take out their enemies with practiced efficiency.

Blake quickly ducked behind the corner and retraced his steps.

What do I do now?