Wednesday came faster than she had hoped.

It was an ironically beautiful day. The sun was shining, and birds were chirping somewhere. Nobody knew why the wildlife seemed so much less affected by the magic output, but they rarely showed the kind of reactions that humans did. Zach had brought up the question of why there weren’t any animals in the other world, but Alex had just proposed that the Grue had eaten them all.

The thought of Zach brought the memory back of the text she’d received before the bus had come to bring her to the containment area. Her suspicions had been correct. Zach was already reporting a higher magic level for the Survey today. Nobody had learned a thing. Not yet, at least. She just hoped they would come to their senses before someone really got hurt.

Not that she was betting on that, of course.

The other Surveyors were gathered in front of the portal, all milling around and looking slightly nervous. Alex exchanged nods with her former teammates, trying to reassure them as much as she was trying to keep herself sane. Her own teammates hadn’t talked to her very much; they mostly stood apart, joking and laughing among themselves. They seemed to be the only ones that had any optimism about the situation.

Liliana walked over to the portal and called for silence. It took her a few tries, but she managed to wrangle everyone’s attention to her. “Surveyors, you’ll all be going through the portal together this time. Please line up by team. Gamma will go first, then Beta, then Alpha. Come, come, let’s get moving.”

Alex lined up with Team Alpha, watching the others go into the portal first. Sam glanced back at her, his face serious. He gave her a quiet nod, maybe acknowledging that they both had the same ‘hunch’ about this Survey. Then Team Gamma went into the portal, vanishing in a spray of light.

Team Beta was next. Clara looked back, seeming worried until Alex gave her a smile. Joanna and Audrey both glanced her way, more as if to make sure she was there. Alessa looked too, and she shrugged before they stepped forward and disappeared.

Then it was her turn. The other members of Team Alpha lined up to her right, still talking and laughing without involving her. She set herself for the coming Survey. No matter what, she had to get through it.

She stepped forward into the light…

[E Rank Surveyor Alex]

[Ascension Level: 3]

[Role: Page (Role Skills: Running(13)]

[Role Level: 3]

[Experience: 40/1000]

[Attributes: Strength -> 3, Speed -> 6, Life -> 0, Devotion -> 0, Control -> 0]

[Current Skills: Combined Arms–Axe/Shield(15), Anticipate(15), Recovery(11)]

[Permanent Skills: None]

[Current Titles: War Maiden (Increases Skill grade of Combined Arms and Weapon Mastery by one.),

Ferocity (Increases Skill grade of Melee, Weapon Mastery, and Combined Arms Skills by one.),

Quick Reflexes (Increases Skill grade of Dodging, Anticipate, and Evasion by one.)]

She calmed slightly at the sight of her hard-won Skills and Attributes. No matter what happened with the new team, she would be able to survive thanks to the foundation she had built before they came along. All she had to do was stay focused and complete her mission.

Then things changed a little from what she was used to.

[Please select your intent]

[Exploration]

[Vengeance]

[Patrol]

[War]

[Salvage]

Alex’s eyes widened slightly. She’d heard her mother occasionally mention the different types of missions she’d been on, but she hadn’t realized that they would translate into a different assortment of Quests when she advanced her level. It took her a minute to run back through her memory, trying to match up the descriptions to the stories her mother had told.

Exploration would lead her to different locations in the other world, likely important places where the Grue had placed Camps. Vengeance was a more dangerous route, sending her against higher level enemies like the Killer. Patrol would give her more routine missions, like the ones that would have her clear out a certain number of Grue, while War focus more on destroying their Camps rather than just finding them.

She didn’t know which one her teammates would want to do more. They hadn’t included her in any of their discussions, and she’d never gotten to know them well enough to know which one they would want to use. Alex was dimly aware that they were relatively higher-level than her previous teammates, since they’d been able to clear quite a lot more without risking as much, but they definitely weren’t at level three yet. Maybe it wouldn’t have mattered.

Then she shook her head. It didn’t matter. There were going to be Grue all over the place; if she picked Patrol, she doubted that she’d have to worry about finding enough to kill.

[Your intent is to Patrol]

[Quest Issued! Destroy sixteen Grue Soldiers.]

[Quest Issued! Clear at least six Grue patrols.]

[Hidden Quest Issued!]

[Hidden Quest Issued!]

[Hidden Quest Issued!]

Alex relaxed as she read over the Quests she’d been assigned. It would be a lot of Grue, but there were probably going to be a lot to deal with, anyway. Four patrols sounded like a lot, but it would be manageable with five capable Surveyors. She still had all her Skills, and the other teams would be fighting in the town as well.

She tried not to tense up too much as the light swept over her…

Alex stepped out into the ruined town and let out a short, tense breath.

The other teams had already grouped up and headed out. Clara waved at her, and Tim gave her a salute that almost made her laugh. It looked like Joanna and the others were headed in the direction of the Library; Sam was leading his group north towards the Bank. She sighed. If there was any advantage to all being here at once, it meant they could hit multiple Camps at a time and keep the Killer from defending any one spot.

She turned and found her own team already grouped up and waiting for her. Alex walked over, and Paul looked over at her. “Oh, hey! What Quests did you get?”

Something about the question put her on edge. For a moment, she almost answered honestly, explaining that they’d need to hunt down a bunch of patrols.

Yet the way he’d asked it… he wasn’t looking for a way to help her, or make sure that she was taken care of. He could have included her in any part of their planning before this point. Why ask now? Why was he looking at her so closely, almost like he was waiting for the chance to pounce on a weak spot?

“Exploration. I have to go through the Mall.”

Paul nodded. His face settled into an expression of regret. It made her think of Liliana for some reason. “Well, that could be a bit hard. We’ve mostly got Quests for the Field and the Church, so it might make it a bit difficult to get over there. We’ll do our best, but we’ve got to move quickly, okay?”

She nodded, trying to keep her eyes from narrowing. Was that the plan? Just happening to leave her Quests undone? Or was she being too suspicious? Team Alpha formed up and headed southeast of the portal. One way or the other, she was going to find out what this new team would be like.

Something about the way Team Alpha moved bothered her more and more as they walked.

Maybe it was the casual way they continued to talk as they moved. They weren’t set up in any particular formation, either. Paul and Cash were Squires, armed with broadswords, but they weren’t out in front. Christopher was their Acolyte, with a longbow, but he was up front, talking with Emmett, their shield and mace armed Porter. Meanwhile, she’d been left to trail after them, instead of out front or off to one side. It didn’t make sense.

She was still feeling off balance and unsettled when they hit the first ambush.

One moment they were all strolling along, without a care in the world. The next, Grue poured from the houses around them, howling for blood. There were more than even the last Survey, and Alex threw herself into battle with immediate fury. Here, at least, was something familiar, something she could understand.

Her newly increased Speed and Strength brought her right into the middle of a pack of the Grue, their vicious howls becoming startled snarls as she practically dove into their midst. She brushed aside a spear with her shield, dodged another that had been aimed at her face, and spun, delivering an upward strike with her axe that hacked a brutal gash in one of the things.

Alex completed her spin by using her shield to smack a whole group of spearpoints to one side, hacked through two more Grue in a single hard swing, and pushed off her back foot to shield-check another Grue into next week. It tangled up with two other Grue as it flew backwards, and Alex followed it, watching for another spear coming in from her right. She spun again, catching the thrust in a shield trap and sending the spear spinning across the battlefield. Then she fell on the downed monsters, hacking away with her axe and crushing with the edge of her shield. A backstroke killed the disarmed one as it jumped for her, and she sidestepped the falling corpse.

When she straightened up from her attacks, there were two more Grue coming in at her from the side, their spears held ready to strike. She didn’t wait for them; she charged, shield held out in front. Both spears bent and shattered, and one’s startled yip of surprise was cut short as she chopped down on its head. The other jumped her, throwing aside the broken weapon, and the impact knocked her back as it clawed at her shield.

She used a low swing to carve the legs out from under it and stomped down on its throat with a crunch that made her feel a little queasy. Alex forced herself to ignore it, and turned away, still looking for enemies. A moment later she found one last Grue, charging in towards her with a desperate howl. The spear in its hands struck at her, but she knocked it aside and cut it down before looking for the rest of her team.

She found them a short distance away, clear of danger. There were some Grue piled at their feet, but it looked like they had handled the ambush just fine. Alex smiled. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad after all. Her breathing began to steady out as Recovery took the load, and her grip on the axe and shield loosened a little.

As she approached, Paul gave her an uncertain grin. “H-hey, good job! Just make sure you get those ones a little faster next time, okay? Our team is depending on you to do your part.”

Alex blinked, her eyes going to the bodies only now starting to disappear beneath purple fire. There had been about twenty Grue total, and she’d killed almost half of them. What did they want, for her to clear the entire patrol by herself?

Instead of pointing it out, though, she just nodded and turned away. Yellow text was already appearing in her peripheral.

[Combined Arms–Axe/Shield has advanced to 16!]

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

[Anticipate has advanced to 16!]

[Recovery has advanced to 12!]

[Main Quest Progress: 10 of 16 targets destroyed]

[Main Quest Progress: 1 of 6 targets cleared]

The team paused long enough to gather up the crystals from the fallen Grue, and then continued onwards. There were plenty more to deal with where they’d come from, after all.

They were doing it on purpose. The morons had to be.

Alex gritted her teeth as they bumbled along the street, meandering along on their way to the Field. Their team walked into three more ambushes after the first one, a fact that was a measure of just how slow they were moving and how careless they were being with the noise they made. The last fight had happened after Cash had kicked a can across the street; the idiot had laughed when howls had risen the next street over, and then once again they’d been in the middle of a fight to survive.

The horns had sounded almost thirty minutes ago, and they had to know what that meant. If they didn’t hit the Camps, and soon, they’d be trapped here by a wall of Grue. What were they doing? She was still killing at least half of each patrol, and the strain was starting to wear her down. Did they really think they could handle things on their own without her?

At the very least, she’d already completed one of her Main Quests and started on another. She’d been stunned at first to discover that one of her Hidden Quests would be to kill an extra thirty-two Grue, but given the number she’d already put down, it was clear that she wasn’t going to have any problem finishing that one. At least her Skills were showing the effects of all the work; she’d nearly reached twenty again in both Combined Arms and Anticipate.

Paul called her over as they grew close to the stadium where the Field Camp was located. “You still doing okay? I know we’re putting a lot of work in today, but I want to make sure you can keep up.”

She restrained the urge to punch him right in his nose. “I’m fine. Are we hitting the Camp?”

He paused as horns rose over the town again, this time the triple burst from near the portal. Then he grinned. “Now we sure are! Sounds like the Killer is on his way elsewhere, so we should be good now.”

Alex felt another burst of rage as she realized another part of Alpha’s plan. If the other teams hit the Camps first, the Killer would be after them, which would make it that much easier for them. Never mind that it put the other Surveyors at risk, or that it made the entire process take longer for everyone. “What’s the plan?”

Paul shrugged. “We go in, wipe them out, and clear the Camp. Nothing fancy.”

She stared at him for another moment, feeling the ache of fatigue in her muscles, and then nodded. “Let’s get going then.”

The Field was a fairly straightforward Camp by comparison with some of the others. It had been built inside of a high school football field, a miniature stadium complete with bleachers and everything. Alex supposed that the rest of Team Alpha would feel right at home there.

“That’s a lot of Grue.” She glanced over at Cash, who actually seemed worried for once. It didn’t make sense to her, though. There were only thirty or so; she’d actually expected to find way more of them waiting here.

The only thing that really made her worried were the two Grue that were lounging around near the center. They stood head and shoulders above the rest of the monsters, and they were armed differently. Both had shields and broadswords, and they both seemed far more heavily built, as if they were some kind of bodybuilder in comparison to the others. She opened her mouth to ask if the others had seen them, only to pause as her Screen activated.

[Hidden Quest Discovered! Clear two Grue Camps.]

[Hidden Quest Discovered! Destroy four Grue Knights.]

She closed her mouth. If there were only two of those things at each Camp… she needed to kill both of them. If she let the rest of the team know what she needed to do, they might get in the way. Better to stay quiet and try to take care of it herself.

Paul conveniently solved the problem for her a moment later. “All right, we’re going in. Alex, go ahead and try to distract those two big ones, okay? We’ll clear up the rest of the Grue, and come to help you.”

Alex knew better than to trust that offer of help, but she nodded anyway. At least they would actually help out, hopefully.

True to form, Team Alpha lined up and charged in with wild yells. It was sloppy; Alex couldn’t help but miss the planning with Sam and the others, or the quiet competence of Joanna and her team. Still, she gritted her teeth and ran forward, her own eyes fixed on the two Grue Knights at the center of the horde.

They weren’t at the front of the enemy, though, so Alex had to swat a few of the small ones out of the way first. The first Grue she smashed aside with her shield, and then went low to avoid a handful of spears shoved in her direction. She cut her axe through a thicket of Grue legs, then rose and put the back spike of her axe through the head of another one. Yet another one dashed in with a victorious howl, but she sidestepped the spear thrust and planted the edge of her shield in its face. It produced the kind of crunch that promised the thing wouldn’t be getting up anytime soon.

It looked like that was enough to attract some attention; the two big Grue were wading their way through the horde to face her. She waited for them to approach, finishing off the fallen Grue at her feet in the meantime. Her breath was coming a bit too fast; she tried to calm herself, to study their movements carefully.

They weren’t rushing; compared to the frantic hostility of the others, they seemed quietly confident. Given that she’d just minced six of their friends, that said a worrying amount about their strength. Alex studied them a moment longer, watching the way they held their weapons, the way they grinned and grey light spilled from their mouth and eyes.

Then she charged, her yell rising above the howls and shouts of the rest of the battle.

The first Knight reacted with a blisteringly fast side slash. It would have cut her in half, easily, but she’d seen it coming. She stopped short, bracing herself, and met the sword blade with the very center of her shield.

Impact, harder than any spear thrust she’d ever met. It slid her a full three steps to the side, and a jolt of agony went through her left forearm. She still stopped the hit, though, and as the Knight leaned in, shield poised to strike, she moved to meet it. As the shield punched forward—again, so fast it was nearly a blur—she lashed out with her axe, hooking the inside edge with the back spike.

Alex nearly laughed as she saw the Grue Knight’s grey eyes widen in shock. Whatever it had expected, it hadn’t anticipated having its shield pulled forward, and it was off balance before it could react. By the time it tried to pull the shield back, Alex was in under its reach and past the shelter of its shield. Her first sideways cut hacked deep into its gut; she followed it as it tried to backpedal, yowling in agony. She caught it twice more, with hacks across its right thigh and left knee. Then, as it started to buckle and fall backwards, she crouched and put every ounce of her strength into a rising slash that carved up through the thing’s chest and chin, sending a spray of grey smoke towards the distant clouds.

She had a moment of sublime victory, and then she had to snap her shield out in front of her as the second Knight lunged forward with a sword thrust over its companion’s falling corpse. The sword hit her shield just left of center, spinning her with a painful wrench on her left arm. Alex landed a heartbeat later, still sliding backward from the strike, and the Knight followed immediately with a second sword thrust, this one pointed straight at her head.

With barely any time to respond, Alex twisted to catch the sword with the head of her axe. There was no hope of blocking it; instead, she deflected it up and to the right, twisting her body to try to avoid it. The edge of the sword still scraped past her helmet, shaving a gouge in the metal and making her grateful she’d selected it. She yelled in desperation and fury, forcing herself to step forward and swing her shield like a blunt weapon.

It caught the Knight as it pulled back from the lunge, hitting it directly in its right knee. There was a cracking noise, and it jerked in pain. Alex kept moving, swinging her axe at the same knee. The Knight was too fast, however; it jerked its own shield in the way, and Alex grunted as her axe rebounded from the surface of it.

She pivoted to clash the flat of her shield against the Knight’s, the impact jarring her arm again. For a moment, they struggled and pushed against each other, but she couldn’t force it back and she didn’t get pushed back either. The broadsword came up and cut at her head awkwardly, but she knocked it away. A stab came next, but she’d been waiting for it, and ducked away. While the Knight pulled its sword back, she hooked the curve of her axe blade into its shield and yanked to the right while she slipped left. It yipped in surprise, and she bashed an aborted stab aside with her shield.

Then, in under its guard, she leaped forward and hacked away at it until it toppled backward on top of its friend.

Alex stood over the bodies of both Knights, breathing hard. Her muscles ached, especially along her left arm. She needed to fight two more of those? With at least two more patrols to clear, and who knew how many more Grue aside from that? How was she supposed to keep up with that kind of challenge? Especially since…

Her thoughts cut off as Paul yelled at her. “Hey! Stop goofing off and come help us!” She looked over and saw the rest of Team Alpha still fighting the remainder of the lesser Grue. After a moment of incredulity, she shook herself and started in their direction. At least she’d probably finish her first Hidden Quest.

“I’m sorry, Alex, but we just can’t afford to waste time, especially for someone who was just taking a break in the middle of the fight. Someone could have gotten hurt, you know.”

Alex tried to shut out the torrent of nonsense that Paul had been spouting since they’d cleared the Field. He was still trying to drill home why they were going to the Chapel instead of the Mall next, but she wasn’t particularly interested. She was far more focused on how quickly she was returning to normal after that last fight.

Recovery was definitely helping, but she was still feeling an ache on her shield arm. There could be some kind of fracture there, but she knew better than to ask Paul for a dose of health potion. He’d make some excuse about conserving resources, she was sure. At least his lecture was going to serve her purposes. After all, the more he talked, the more they’d attract the attention of Grue patrolling the area around the Chapel.

Four horns howled their way out across the dead town, and Paul paused. They all did, looking around uncertainly. Christopher was the first one to respond. “What was that? I’ve never heard four before.”

Alex hesitated, and then reluctantly answered. “We think four means that the Killer is falling back to defend the last few Camps. The others have probably killed three or four of the other ones, so it’s running low on reinforcements, and will probably want to protect what’s left instead of guarding the portal or hunting Surveyors.”

Paul’s eyes opened extra wide. “So you’re saying it might be headed to the Chapel?” She shrugged, and he snarled. “You didn’t think that would be relevant? We might get caught with twice as many of those things waiting for us!”

She looked back at him impassively. They had fifty percent odds, since there was probably another Camp there somewhere, but she wasn’t about to discourage him from speeding up a little. She only needed two more patrols, after all.

He turned back to the others, and for the first time, there was real urgency in his voice. “Come on. Let’s get to that Camp, and then we’ll need to go straight home. I’m sorry, Alex, but you should have shared more information if you wanted to get all the way back to the Mall. You’ll have to do better next time.”

Alex didn’t respond. Instead, she braced herself for another charge; she’d already caught sight of shadows moving ahead of them.

Just two more patrols, two more Knights, and one Camp. Then she’d be home.

Sure enough, urgent or not, Team Alpha did not move quietly enough to avoid the next two patrols they ran into. Paul was practically foaming at the mouth by the time they arrived at the old church where their objective was located, but Alex just ignored his increasingly bitter comments and watched for signs of another ambush.

The Chapel was an old-looking church, with shattered stained-glass windows and a bell tower. Sentries in the tower spotted them as her team trotted towards the entrance, and their howls brought a flood of Grue streaming out towards them. There had to be at least forty of them now, with two Knights striding along confidently in their midst.

Alex charged along with the others this time, taking the right flank as they ran down the street. She needed to make sure that her teammates were keeping the little ones busy before she engaged the bigger threats; she’d have loved to be surer of that fact, but she was starting to get suspicious about the fact that she always had to take down so many of the enemy each time.

Fortunately, it seemed like the prospect of being the last team around to face the Killer had provoked her coworkers to be a bit more proactive this time. They threw themselves on the Grue with a bit more ferocity, cutting their way into the ranks in a way that seemed pretty promising. Alex nodded to herself as they started smashing their way through, and then tore a ragged hole in the flank of the Grue, hacking and bashing the monsters until their lines collapsed.

The Knights came for her at that point, but she’d timed it well. She hadn’t left them time to group up; instead, she’d reach them one at a time, which meant she could be a bit more selective in her tactics. As the first one came in at a charge, sword held high, she smacked aside one of the Grue Soldiers and countercharged it.

It snarled and slashed at her, a magnificent overhand blow she wasn’t sure she could have stopped without hurting her arm again. She ducked and deflected it with her shield, more of a gentle nudge to the right instead of a full block. It grunted in surprise as she pivoted past the attack, but before it could bring its own shield around, she had spun around and planted a solid axe strike to the back of its right knee.

Hamstrung, the Knight went to one knee and tried to hit her with a backhand slash. She turned and blocked this one—the angle made it far weaker—and used some of the impact to let herself be pushed back behind the Knight. It tried to pivot to face her, but its bad leg slowed it down too much. Alex darted in behind it before it could manage another attack, hacking as hard as she could.

The second Knight came in at her just as the first one toppled forward, very nearly beheaded. It snarled as it saw the fate of its companion, and it came in far more cautiously. Alex didn’t give it time to try to call for backup. Instead, she charged, her shield held ready to catch the first hit. To her surprise, the Knight didn’t go for an immediate stab. It reared back, lifting the sword high over its head, and matched her shield charge with one of its own.

She felt the impact in her spine, and this time it sent her flying. Alex hit the pavement and skidded, her brigandine barely masking the hit. Then she rolled to the side, knowing exactly what the next move would be.

The Knight’s sword smashed into the pavement where she’d been, digging a deep gash in the street. Alex rolled to her feet and slashed at the Knight’s arm with her axe. She felt the blade bite deep into its wrist, and it howled in rage as it lost its grip. When she turned to face it, she barely had enough time before it shield-checked her again.

This time, she only slid back a few steps, but she kept her feet. When it pulled back, Alex darted in, feinting a charge at its right side. It shifted its shield to guard there, and she reversed course to slip in on its left. She got in a solid hit on its shield arm before it could bat her aside, and grinned when the thing howled.

The swing with the shield was too slow this time, and she ducked beneath it to slip inside its guard. It was over in a frenzy of hacks and slashes, and by the time she was done, she saw the rest of her team finishing off the last of the other Grue.

Her Screen appeared a moment later.

[Recovery advances to 15!]

[Hidden Quest Completed! Two Grue Camps cleared]

[Hidden Quest Completed! Four Grue Knights destroyed]

The others slumped a little. A couple of them looked like they had taken a bit of damage, and Paul was glaring daggers at her. “Who told you to run off and play with those things? We needed your help.”

She just stared back at him, not giving him the satisfaction of a response. He seemed to give up and roll his eyes. “Whatever. Let’s get back to the portal. We’re all done here.”

They barely spent any time gathering up the materials left by the defeated Camp—the Knights were apparently leaving more than just crystals, there were some kind of slab along with them—before they started hurrying off to the north. Maybe they were worried the Killer would show up.

Honestly, she almost hoped he did.