To lack a better term, Noland's group was… monstrous.

Noland and Rey jumped around the Metal Trenches like bolts of lightning.

Noland looked like a streak of Flow-colored lightning. He struck heavily, his massive blade cut through the Raptors' necks and legs with exploding power.

Rey, his little brother, looked like a slimmer lightning bolt made of Shade as he bounced right and left along the trenches’ walls. His attacks were lighter but equally destructive in the long run.

When they stopped to rest, they unleashed blades of wind-propelled Flow in Noland's Case or Shade for Rey.

However, they did not fail to accumulate damage, but that was where Giada came into play. Her Healing was powerful, but it was clear that she siphoned out Health from herself to give to the two fighters.

She regenerated Health very fast, likely thanks to Breathing Pattern and something else I could not say. If that wasn't enough, she could switch around casting Barriers that were very effective against non-physical attacks, and Shade-shields to absorb attacks that would disturb the two lightning-fast attackers.

Yet the scariest among them was Jamie.

I grew envious the very moment I saw what he was capable of.

The combination of Piercing Shot and Death Shot was something… unfair, just unfair.

His arrows literally dug through the creature's metal skin like butter, but that was not enough, not even remotely enough, because then, Death Shot came into action.

"Death Shot," said Jamie with a smug smile, aiming to impress Roana more than to explain something, "exists only for killing. But, it's impossible to kill something which is not exactly alive. Thus, Death Shot slightly shifts its functions to disintegrate more than destroy. However, it has to hit a weak spot otherwise its effect doesn't take action."

He shook his head, "Without that, Death Shot works just like another simple projectile, weaker than Piercing Shot."

"That's really interesting," Roana said, flirting back herself.

I wondered what I would be able to do with something like that.

Maybe I really didn't need that. I could outsmart that power, also, if it was useless as he said if it didn't hit a crucial weak point, then it defeated its ties to the Strength Attribute. Or at least, I would have liked something to crush, break through things which my explosions wouldn't be able to put a dent into, while the killing itself could be left to my Blow arrows.

Still, seeing the creatures slowly starting to erode from the inside-out or even leisurely fall to pieces had a certain mystical glamour to it.

"Does it work even if you imbue the Death Shot in the arrow and attack with it like a knife?" I asked out of the blue, mimicking the gesture.

"What?" Jamie asked back with the frown of somebody who had been interrupted while he was having the best of times. "Just shut up and watch, kid, no asking useless questions," he answered back.

I sighed, telling myself that I had promised myself to behave.

"Jamie, don't be a giant, disgusting, fetishistic dick, please. Or I will be forced to give you another lesson," said Harlow.

Jamie sighed too, but he didn’t answer.

"Anyway… no, this doesn't work in that weird way you described; it must be shot with a bow, a gun, no throwing, no… stabbing or anything."

"Peculiar ideas, your friend, here," Jamie said to Roana, "What did you say your name was, honey?"

Roana smiled, "Oh, I never told you."

"Ah, right… not planning on telling me, are you?" Jamie asked, shooting another arrow with nonchalance.

"No, not right now, no; maybe one day…"

"You really know your value, then. You know, you look like a beautiful Shade rose, ready to shed its vest for the coming of the Flow seas-"

"Yeah, save it. I've lost that little interest I had in you, too chatty," she cut him out, turning toward Harlow, and winking.

Nova started chuckling, and Jamie, not oblivious to the situation in the least, said, "I've never even got a chance, did I?"

"You busted it the moment you insulted my friend," Roana said with a smirk Jamie shrugged, focusing back at shooting down his targets.

***

"So," Noland said, dusting his trousers, "That's pretty much how you do it, how you farm. Alright, you don't have to actually do it our way, but the idea is that you enter the trenches, kill everything in your path without endangering the ranged attackers or supporters, and you get out, resetting the score. Pretty easy."

"Cool," Alistar said.

"So, that'll cost you the armor," Noland said, holding out his hand to Alistar.

"Yeah, no, that's not gonna happen."

"Ten thousand crowns! No, twenty!"

Alistar sighed.

In the meanwhile, I followed with my eyes how the Metal Trenches closed themselves shut and soon later opened up; there was not even the most remote trace of a battle and of creatures' remains.

The floor and the walls were perfectly smooth.

"I wonder what really happens when the Metal Trenches close like that,"

I asked Harlow.

"That was exactly what I was thinking about," Harlow answered.

"Oh, I know. I kind of expected it from you.”

She smiled, kissing me on the cheek.

"You know me so well, love."

Jamie looked at us, gawking. Then he turned toward his friend Giada, who laughed at his face.

"She's replaced you with a better version, Jamie," Giada said, still chuckling.

"Don't… just don't…"

***

"So…" Faruq said, after Noland party's demonstration had ended and we exchanged our goodbyes, "it's a shame to say, but even though I might move like them for a while, I'm not going to last that long. True Stamina has yet to bloom for me."

"With that face of yours," Alistar said, placing a hand on his shoulder, "You really wouldn't need to last long; your face would be enough. Although, a few scars here and there would really give you that small edge you need even to tackle Koboldesses or a male if you so wish."

Faruq shared a look with me, "What's he talking about?"

"You should know Alistar by now; he's that weird."

Alistar laughed, then said, "So! Who's ready to dive into it!? Cause I am!"

We looked around ourselves; we were all looking for confirmation into one another's face.

But really, there was no real consensus or drive to simulate what Noland’s party had done.

"Alright…" I said, "I think I'm speaking for almost everyone here when I say that it's about time we got home…"

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

"Yeah," Aisha concurred, shaking her head, "Noland's group might have been effective, and we've got Nova, who deals a lot of damage, but… we need the upgraded Skills for it. Really, it's no wonder that hardly anyone comes here to delve; those creatures are… just impossible to face, at least for somebody at our levels… Ultimate Class holders or not, most of us don't have enough power or defense to face those creatures." She breathed out a sigh. "So, I'm not joining; I'm sorry."

"I concur. That's simply suicidal," Roana conveyed, "I might not have looked like it, but I was getting the chills, staring at how close they were from death… If it hadn't been for their healer's shields..." She turned to Harlow, "What kind of monster is your father to get through that?"

Harlow chuckled, "I've never seen him fight in my life. No one dares to really challenge him, and I never went delving with him."

Alistar waved his hand, discharging the argument, "All that is meaningless, you heard what Noland said, "the dungeon answers to our power" we wouldn't face what they were facing, but surely something much less troublesome would appear. I believe we should try."

I could understand what he was getting at and would have even gone along with it, or at least tried, but there were two massive problems.

The first one was that the Dungeon would throw terrible things at us when Nova and I were present, which was a thing that, for some reason, not even Logan had found an answer to. It would likely mess up with the power scaling, and we would likely end up becoming paste on the metal floor.

The second reason was more intimate and likely related only to me, and it was: Nova.

There was no way I would put Nova in danger like that, not even if she remained outside to cast her Flow-shields.

I had seen the Homing Horns and lasers attack Noland's party standing above, even considering that the creatures had never left the Metal Trenches for some reason; it was way too dangerous.

In my heart, I wanted to try to fight this place… even by myself if I had to, for the others were… fragile.

Yeah, it was not a good thing to admit; but unlike them, I was slippery, I was fast, I dealt a lot of damage, and at night I was almost invincible, yet they could not fight together with me at night.

Alistar needed Flow to the tank and a lot of it. Although Faruq was getting better, his Stamina drained too fast; Roana was not optimized to fight against these creatures, or at least, not creatures as big as the Technogator or those Triceratop things. Lastly, Harlow, who was the only one decently equipped to fight the tech creatures, was not agile enough.

Nova was out of the question. I could understand undeads, which she could literally melt, but then again, tech creatures were not undeads; even for her blades to penetrate those tech creatures, metal bodies took time, and at night she would only go on with her Crystal reserves.

So, no. We were not ready for this. I had to put my foot down.

"Yeah, I'm out," I said.

"What?" Alistar's reaction was… a little bit too aggressive than usual.

"I'm not going down the Metal Trenches, not right now, not before you guys max your levels and upgrade all the Skill that you can."

Alistar shot up, "Do you have any idea how long it is going to take to farm on the Outer Ring? I can already feel the diminishing return. I don't need Trace to tell me that it's there!"

"Why?" Faruq asked, "What's the rush?"

Star snorted, "There are places I need to go…"

"Yeah? Like back to Murkstall? Are you missing mommy and daddy?" Roana jokingly asked.

"No…" Alistar said, puffing, then sighing. He let himself fall down, sitting, abruptly.

He took a big breath, slowly releasing the air, "I guess I should have told you sooner…"

That fast change in attitude took me back.

What was going on? That was not one of Alistar's normal reactions.

"Star? Did something happen?" I asked, sincerely worried.

"Yeah. I… my family, and Lemmy's too… we're leaving."

I felt the world come crashing down on me.

"What do you mean?" Nova asked, big-eyed.

"The Sunguards, they are putting pressure on us and on the Kobolds of the nearby villages. Most of those guards are still enamored with their previous conditions. They don't like Kobolds, just as they don't like Shade-cursed, but the Inquisition is pushing only for human integrations; Kobolds are... not included, and even the Church stationed at Murkstall is ignoring my family's plea for help."

"Wait, if this is real, I will talk to my dad; we can have the Sunguards placed on the villages at Murk mountains switched for others. I mean, it's not that hard of a thing to do… I think." Aisha said.

But Alistar shook his head, "It's already set in stone; my family has decided, and they have agreed with Lemmy's family to leave together. So, we are leaving; it's been... set in stone since last month."

"I… I can…" I tried to say, but Alistar chuckled.

"Kill them? Yeah, we've seen the results, Loke," he answered.

That dig hurt more than I expected.

"But it's alright. We won't be going far. Actually, I've been getting information from Horn's party; we can settle down somewhere in the southern region; they offered to take us with them, show us around. They're good people."

"You are really leaving, Star? I can't believe it…" Nova said.

"Yeah. I wanted to get as strong as possible to protect my parents and Lemmy on the trip, so I've been pushing a lot," he said.

And there I thought that he had some sort of inferiority complex… no wonder I couldn't expect anything like that. I did not have a family to care for; other than these people around me, they were my family.

"When is this going to happen?" Harlow asked.

"With the coming of the Flow season."

"We've still got two months, then," said Faruq, a weak smile on his lips, sadness in his eyes.

"So… you'll be coming back here then, after… after you've settled down? With Horn's party, I believe?" Roana asked.

"We haven't really thought about it, and although I'm helping them here and there, I'm still not quite good enough to cut it. However, yes, that's the idea."

Another member of my family was going to abandon me, just like that. That was all I could think about at the moment.

I knew I should have been happy for him; he would likely marry Lemmy at this point and make a family for himself within a few years, still… Why couldn't I accept it?

I wanted to tell him not to leave, I wanted to tell him that I was sorry for having been the one who summoned the Inquisition to act... instead, I said, "Well…I guess we should spend a bit more time to level up then? What do you say?"

"I'm in!" Alistar answered, joyous.

What could I tell him? Nothing… I just had to accept it as another consequence of my actions.

So, in the end, we went back to the start and hunted down creatures until we couldn't anymore. The following day, we decided we would join Party One and Party A and reap the rewards.

***

We went back to the Hillhouse.

It was as deep as dark a night could get. My Night Sight needed to be fed Shade to work, and right now, I was trying to enjoy as much of the darkness as I could. It was my friend, but soon I would have to depart from it and illuminate my sight as day, for I had decided to act.

If the Church of the Sun didn't want to help Alistar's family, then I would be the one forcing their hands. I still had a little pending issue with a certain nun over there.

"Loke," somebody said, climbing the stairs to the roof, "Where are you going?"

It was Roana.

"Hey, Ro," aren't you cold to be out here. It's gonna be frosty tonight."

She shrugged, "Ever since I got the third Shade Star, cold doesn't affect me as much, but don't try to change the topic. I want to know what you want to do."

Let's just say I wasn't in the best of moods when I answered.

"Why not Command an answer out of me then?"

She froze for a few seconds.

"That was not the answer I expected from you… I thought I told you I was sorry. I wasn't doing it to hurt you, Loke. I just…"

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I didn't intend to… say that," I sighed, "It's just Alistar's situation. It's my fault, like everything that has happened ever since the Titan situation."

"Well, you weren't alone then, and I did not stop you; I could have. I actually pushed you. So don't try and take it all on your shoulders, Loke…"

But I wasn't listening, I was convinced that it was all my fault. I actually knew it was. I had to fix it… one way or another.

"Loke! You are not listening to me, don't make me Command you, please. Just, don't go; you are going to ruin everything for the village if you do something stupid, again."

I lowered my head, staring at my feet.

"What options do I have?"

"Listen… I know what it means to hurt; believe me, I do. And I know what feeling powerless and scared is like… it's crippling. It's dreadful. But, you've saved me from that place. You've taken away the hurt, so let me help you, or at least, listen to me… if you go now... If you go creating trouble now, you are going to mess it all up, forever. Maybe even for Nova," she paused, likely waiting for my answer.

"Didn't you say that your chances at getting into the City had soared? Isn't Aisha waiting here with us exactly for that? What will it accomplish if you go and waste your chances, no? There are even Sunguards there, night or not, you can't beat them, what happened last time was a fluke, it won't happen again, and you know it."

I closed my eyes, raising my head to the chilly air of the night sky.

When I opened them up, the many stars littering the sky saluted me with their fizzling twinkling.

"Alright, alright, I won't go... or at least, I won't go there to make trouble, but… but there are things I need to talk about, with that nun. I have questions, and I think she'll answer them. She could have spoken about this," I said, showing her Spectre's Dignity. "But she hasn't; I want to know why."

"You are so damn hard-headed! How do you know that she had good intentions? How do you know if she just didn't want to summon the Spectre's rage? What if she had told it, but Sundoor had covered it up in fear of calling for the Spectre's revenge?"

Those were all damn good points.

"Then I intend to find out," I answered, headstrong.

Roana's expression became darker, harder.

"I won't allow you to go."

"What?"

"I said that you will not leave this place… don't make me do it, Loke. Please."

I shook my head, "I need answers; I'll be back, no trouble whatsoever, I promise."

"Stay here!" she ordered, her voice a powerful yet atonal decree. It resounded both in my head and in my ears at the same time.

Yet, I shook free of it.

"I'm borrowing Loki's Willpower. Your Command doesn't affect me, not enough to stop me, Ro."

"Loke! If you go now, I'm not going to speak to you, ever again! Do you understand!?"

I chuckled, "Yeah, right. I'll make you speak, all the same; I know you can't resist me!" I answered, trying to joke around.

But Roana didn't laugh. She turned away, descended the stairs, and didn't utter any more words.

I was a little taken aback by that, but I couldn't worry about it, not know.

I released a shadow arrow in the night sky then disappeared down the hill.