“You sure you’re ready, rookie?” Erin asked. She looked different in armor, more imposing. Her posture and bearing suggested she knew what she was doing, and her uncovered hands told him one of her Evolutions was some sort of attack from the palms.
“I guess we’ll see,” Grey said.
Behind Erin, Austin flashed him a thumbs up. The kid was younger than him, and Grey’s presence had freed him of much of the ribbing the others had given him. He had some sort of Evolution that allowed him to meld with shadows, so Grey knew to kill him first.
“Hold still for a second,” Brent said from behind him, and the deep-voiced man placed a large hand on the top of Grey’s hand. His hand glowed red. “There, that should last an hour or so. It’ll help numb some of the pain and ward off some fatigue.”
Grey had marked the man as the most valuable of them all. Those without Evolutions like his own had to develop an idea of their next Evolution. The stronger the idea, the more likely they were to attain an Evolution that resembled their desire, but whether it was a quirk of Chi or a product of the human mind, many- at least from Grey’s observations- had an easier time achieving Evolutions that fell in line with their previous abilities. To have such a powerful aid meant Brent was a healer or support type.
“Alright, I’m ready,” Grey said, drawing the sword at his waist and holding up a round shield. He had lied about his capabilities, of course, and they knew him only as a fighter with a physical enhancement Evolution and the ability to teleport to a limited extent.
They stood in the middle of a street before the bottomless doorway to a Silver Dungeon. As friendly as his group was, they had no qualms with throwing him in first, not after Alin had told them his origins. He was in the outgroup once more, but that was fine. He had already learned much. Besides, many of his assignments going forward were to be solo.
He pulled the helm over his head and stepped into the tear, emerging into a dimly lit forest. The thick vegetation had a silver tint to it, and the bark of the twisted trees seemed almost blue. A creature bounded out of the vegetation. It had dark leathery skin and orbs of mercury for eyes, but it looked almost like a werewolf with ivory antlers sprouting from its skull.
His sword lanced through its throat and drove it to the ground. His shield smashed into another, and a bar of purple-tinted flames shot past his head, sizzling into the monster. More spilled out from the brush. Austin appeared behind one, emerging from the shadows. A sword made of darkness sat in his hands.
Natasha’s bullets, crackling with electricity, shot into the monsters. One leapt at Grey. Chi Breathing slowed the world down, and he stepped out of its way, driving his boot into one of the thing’s legs with a crunch. It fell and rolled onto its feet. He pulled its sword free, hacked the same leg into a dangling piece of meat, and then stabbed into its chest, twisting his blade for good measure.
The rest of the Dungeon soon followed.
---
Jessica sat at her desk. A Silver Key laid in front of her. She had looked over it with a microscope, ran her fingers over it, everything. She could not see what Grey desired about them.
They held value as weapons, of course. With enough Keys, he could hold the entire city’s safety in his hands. Though Anomalies could not be commanded through their Keys, their rate of respawn could be slowed. Otherwise, they seemed to hold no value.
She frowned. Perhaps she was looking at this the wrong way. The Anomalies could not be commanded, but maybe there was something else she could will them to do. Grey knew things she did not, it was true, yet he was not the only one who had experienced an unusual Tutorial.
Gather the Keys. She had been told that much, but she had thought nothing more of it until recently. She opened a small safe beside her desk and ran her hands through a multitude of Keys. So many Silver, so many Bronze, so little Gold. She pulled a few more Silvers out.
Grey thought himself clever, and he was. The Keys he searched so desperately for, however, had been under his nose the whole time. He underestimated just how important she was to this whole operation. Oh, well, she would turn him to her side soon enough.
She had read his constant reports from the Hunters with amusement. He wasn’t as far out of her reach as he thought, but it was still far enough that she could complete her plans in peace.
She arranged the Keys in various formations and hummed a lullaby to herself, one her mother had sung to her. She willed various commands into the Keys as she did so. Her mind ran through what she knew about Grey and his desires.
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He wanted power. He had admitted so himself. He was a fighter, one prone to risks for greater rewards. They differed in many ways. Their chess game had shown her that. She was willing to lose to win the next time, but Grey didn’t strike her as the type to lose. No, he was more likely to just win in a way that concealed his true intelligence. It was a sort of arrogance. The fact that he had tipped his hand accidentally showed her that there was no other way to achieve whatever goal he had in mind, and the only thing the Keys might provide that couldn’t be achieved through normal means was...
Evolve. She commanded the Key, and it shuddered, other Silver Keys slamming into it. A burst of light sparked in her room, but when she blinked the spots from her eyes, a Gold Key sat in front of her. She smiled to herself and pulled out a map, looking it over. Her pen marked a number of areas.
If she counted the Keys in her drawer and the remaining Silver Dungeons in the ARA territory, she would have around fourteen Gold Keys. She did the math for the rest of the city. There were four Gold Dungeons in the whole city, two of which were in ARA territory. Grey had one of the Keys and a number of Silvers he had accrued from his ‘secret’ raids in the night. She knew the Hunters had taken down the one in their territory, as well, but neither they nor the Guild had as many Silvers as the ARA did. Twenty-seven Gold Keys in the whole city.
How would she get them in one place?
“Get me in contact with one of Eastin’s men. In person. I have something to run by the Guild,” she said, walking into the coffee shop’s main room.
Agent Rodriguez nodded, having come over at her word.
---
Grey had figured out how to get the Keys in one place. It was simple really. He had only to escalate the war through the Keys. Then they would be part of any treaty.
Two weeks had passed since he ‘joined’ the Hunters, and Grey stood on a specific rooftop, one he had designated as a drop-off point. It sat between Hunter and ARA territory, the building right on the line that divided the city into two iterations. He had chosen it for multiple reasons, but they would not become relevant until later. Beneath an upturned bucket, he sat a small envelope.
He had put most of his Evolution points into Single Player, saving a few in case anything caught his eye. The past week had seen him fight in a few more Dungeons, patrol a few areas, and serve as a general meatshield for a few different teams. He suspected he was meant to die. In fact, he would’ve if not for a few quick uses of Dungeon Walker and Metallurgy. Anyone else might’ve, but he acted as though it were luck that kept him safe.
Alin had requested his presence, which meant another assignment was imminent. There was one Dungeon in particular he was after, one which he knew the Guild was preparing to raid. He had even made sure one of his group members had seen the place and mentioned the guild had been scouting it, so he knew Alin had heard of it.
He would enter regardless, but it would be easier if Alin assigned him there. He had something else to discuss with the man, at any rate. He started the walk back towards Gilded.
The guards allowed him to pass with barely a glance now, and he stopped to talk to a few familiar faces on his way to the top floor office. What he was about to do was risky. It could win Alin over to his side or put the man on edge. It depended on how much goodwill his actions thus far had earned.
Grey, however, never liked to gamble. If things didn’t work here, he had an anonymous message ready to be sent to the leader of the Guild. Either way, he had to move his pieces. It was time to rid himself of Jessica permanently.
The guards let him into the office. Alin waved towards the seat in front of his desk, and Grey settled into it with a feigned smile of nervousness.
“Nice to see you again,” the man said with a smile.
“You too.”
He splayed his hands. “I have another assignment for you. A special one. Accept it, and you’ll be rewarded. Very handsomely, I might add.”
“Oh? May I ask what it is?”
“A Dungeon raid. Sort of.” He shrugged. “I’d like to play my cards close until I know if you’re willing.”
Grey thought about it for a moment. “Would I have proved myself after this?”
“You would. Everyone has spoken highly of you so far. There is simply one last thing you must do, one last step to cement yourself as a Hunter.”
“Then deal.”
Alin smiled winningly. “That’s what I like to hear. You’ll be partnered with another rookie, one who is suited to this sort of work as well. Austin. I think you’ve worked with him before. There’s a Dungeon, right on the edge of our territory. The Guild thinks they can have it. I want their raid party eliminated.”
“Just the two of us?” Grey frowned.
He waved a hand. “Both of you have high mobility and can disappear quickly. It shouldn’t be a problem. High risks are how you prove yourself. We discussed this.”
“Of course,” he nodded. “May I… May I ask something else?”
“Ask away.”
Grey tapped the arms of his chair, seemingly gathering his thoughts. “The ARA uses the Keys to stop the flow of the monsters.”
“We use the same practice, as does the Guild. But continue.”
“Well,” he said, “Once the ARA had halted the flow of those monsters, they patrolled the area a lot less. Maybe even once every few weeks or so. And those were right in the center of their territory. If someone else had those Keys and withdrew the limiter…”
Alin rapped the table. “I see what you mean.” He frowned in thought. “You think we could use this to our advantage? Release monsters into the Guild?”
“Maybe? I’m not really good at these sort of things, but it was a possibility my boss talked about frequently. She was worried about the dispute spilling into ARA territory.”
“Thank you for bringing this to me. I’ll think about it.” He stood and clasped Grey’s hand. “Meet up with Austin. He’s down below, and he has the rest of the details.”