B2Ch11: Bottom of the Pile_Team Player

The next day dawned bright and early, and Alex dragged herself out of bed to face it.

Everything seemed like it ached. Her conversations with her parents hadn’t entirely helped her to rest, either; her eyes felt like they were heavy as she got ready for the day, and she wasn’t alone in grumbling vague threats about what she was going to do to Wells once crunch was over.

The smug look on Wells’ face did nothing at all to ease her anger when they all staggered into the portal room. He was already standing in that stance of his, waiting for them to file in. Given what she suspected he was going to do, it only made her wish she could wipe the look off his face, the same way she had Liliana.

Wells waited a moment longer and then spoke in his usual booming tone. “Troops! Unfortunately, due to some personnel concerns, we will need to adjust how our Survey teams are organized.” Alex gritted her teeth and tried to look neutral; at least three more E rankers had resigned after their last Survey the day before. With both her and Ed moving up to D rank, that left twenty-five E rankers left for the Survey teams. Almost half of the forty-eight they’d started with.

“Going forward, there will be two teams of three D rank Surveyors going through the portal. Their responsibility will be to make up the difference in materials, since we no longer have enough to keep twelve teams active.” He paused and then gave the group a broad smile. “We also have reason to congratulate two of your fellows. Alexandretta Morrison and Edgar Morat have both advanced to D rank, and will be participating as Vanguard for the coming Surveys.”

Alex heard muttering among the others and tried to school her face to neutrality again. Sam had dropped by the barracks the night before to tell her that rumors were already flying about the Shade; plenty of the Surveyors were going to see her as some kind of albatross or jinx. She could already tell that nobody was going to want to be on her team.

Unfortunately, she also had a pretty decent idea that Wells wasn’t going to care. He was going to stick her with whatever Surveyors he wanted to get rid of, and then hope they either quit or got themselves crippled or killed. The glint in his eye as he nodded to her told her the next day was going to be especially unpleasant.

He began calling off names with their team assignments. Laura seemed relieved when she went to join one of the D rank teams; she’d obviously had enough of shepherding E ranks for the near future. Ed was called as the head of an E rank team; unsurprisingly, both Bob and Mary were sent to join him. Sam was also sent in that direction, something that seemed to surprise the Adept, along with a fourth E ranker that Alex didn’t know.

Joanna and Audrey both went to a different team, with a third person from Red Blade to join them. Brian and Tim got a different three-person team, which they didn’t seem too happy about. Team after team were listed out, with most of them having just three E ranks and a D rank to lead them.

Alex waited patiently until her name was finally called, tapping her axe handle with a hint of impatience. Finally, Wells turned to her a spoke, his voice once again booming out over the crowd.

“Alex, you’re leading your own team this time. Be a good Vanguard. You’ll be working with Clara, Alessa, and Raul.”

She looked at the others. Both Alessa and Clara looked like they were disgruntled and worried; they both probably knew as well as she did what Wells had planned. Raul was a Surveyor she didn’t know well, but he simply seemed excited to begin the Survey. Maybe a little too excited, given the way he bounced on the balls of his feet.

The teams lined up to go through the portal. Alex waited patiently to join them, and when it was her turn, she took a deep breath.

Then she stepped into the light for her first mission as a D rank…

[D Rank Surveyor Alex, Gatekeeper]

[Ascension Level: 5]

[Role: Porter (Role Skills: Recovery(0), Blocking(0)]

[Role Level: 0]

[Experience: 20/2100]

[Attributes: Strength -> 5, Speed -> 10, Life -> 0, Devotion -> 0, Control -> 0]

[Current Skills: Focus(0), Dodging(0)]

[Permanent Skills: Battle Maneuvers(20)]

[Current Titles: Heir of War (Increases Skill grade of Melee, Combined Arms, Weapon Mastery, and Battle Maneuvers by three.),

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

Destined Champion (Increases Skill grade of Dodging, Anticipate, Battle Maneuvers, and Inspect by four),

Relentless (Increases Skill grade of Recovery, Running, and Marathoning by three.)]

Tireless (Increases Skill grade of Recovery Skills by three.)

Seeing nearly all of her Skills at zero was not a fun feeling. If anything, it was going to going to make sparring all that much more important—if she managed to get past the next three Surveys, of course.

The orange text still seemed wrong.

[Please select your intent]

[Exploration]

[Vengeance]

[Patrol]

[War]

[Salvage]

She grimaced at the sight of the options. Once she got out of Red Blade, she was going to select anything but Patrol as soon as she possibly could.

[Your intent is to Patrol]

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

[Hidden Quest Issued!]

Seeing the sudden lack of Hidden Quests was almost alarming. In a way, it was something of a relief to not have to focus on quite so many tasks, but it also made her worry about what types of Hidden Quests she’d be getting. Laura had implied that fighting the Brutes was important, but would she need to compete with the E ranks for Knights and Archers, like Laura had implied she needed to?

She was still thinking it over when the light washed over her…

Alex stepped out into the other world.

She drew in a careful deep breath, feeling the magic all around her. It seemed more… present somehow. As if she was more aware of it. Was that due to Focus? The Skill had something to do with mental concentration, but she wasn’t entirely sure how to use it.

Alessa stepped through next, followed by Raul and Clara. They stepped forward carefully; all three of them seemed tired already, even though they were facing the first Survey of the day.

Alex looked at them for a moment, wondering how to proceed. Alessa beat her to the punch. “Well, this sucks.”

Raul glanced at her with a frown, and Clara put a hand over her eyes. Alessa glared at both of them before switching her gaze to Alex. “What? You know I’m right. He’s picked us out as people he wants to eliminate. We’re the worst of the bunch, according to him.”

The words were delivered with bitter venom, and Raul blinked and drew back. Some of the enthusiasm drained from his face, and Clara broke in before Alessa could keep going. “You don’t know that—and even if he had decided that, it probably doesn’t mean anything in terms of what we can do.”

“Easy for you to say. You weren’t picked out as the worst team in Golden Swallow, either.” Alessa pointed at Alex with an accusatory finger. “I have, though. This makes twice that my supervisor has decided I was such a bad Surveyor that they wanted to sabotage me—and both times I’ve needed to rely on you to bail me out! It’s getting a little old.”

Raul was looking back and forth between them, his expression uncertain now. He obviously hadn’t quite put things together yet, but Alex was sure he would.

All the same, it was time to work. She broke in. “Are you really going to compare experiences with me on that front, Alessa? Cause I’m pretty sure my history has a bit more unpleasantness than yours.”

The Porter hesitated. Then she sighed, and some of her anger faded away into weariness. “No. I just… I’m so sick of this happening. Why can’t I just do the job I signed up for? Why does it always have to be some kind of evil conspiracy?”

“An evil conspiracy? What are you guys talking about?” Raul’s eyes were wide now, and he was looking back and forth between them like they’d all gone crazy.

Clara tried to make her voice gentle. “Some of us think Wells might be picking favorites for the teams, and that sometimes he groups together people he wants to get rid of.” Alessa looked like she was about to say more, but Clara glared at her until she closed her mouth.

“That can’t be true.” Raul frowned. “If he had such a low opinion of us, then—”

“What Wells does or does not think doesn’t matter. Not today.” Alex made her voice firm, and the others all jumped slightly. “We’re going to get through the last few missions of crunch, and we’re going to do it better than anyone expects. Understand?”

She waited until they nodded. Then she grinned. “All right. Since we’re breaking expectations, let’s go a bit farther. What are your Skills?”

Raul jumped like she’d just goosed him, and with good reason. Most Surveyors thought it was rude to demand information on someone else’s Skills, and with the competition at Red Blade, it seemed especially rude. Clara, however, didn’t hesitate.

“My main Skill is Snipe; I got it when I Chained Ranged—Crossbow and Aim. I also have Sense and Presence.” Then she paused, looking a little bashful. “I also took Holy—Nature. I’ve been thinking about Chaining it with something, but I haven’t had the chance yet.”

Alex nodded. “Which Skill are you planning on bringing to D rank? Remember, you only get one.”

Clara hesitated, as if taken aback. “I thought Snipe, originally, but the magic seems so much more effective. I don’t know.”

“You’re going to need to figure it out soon. Given the number of Surveys ahead of us, you might want to Chain something else and get the Skill up higher.” She turned to Alessa, finding the Porter looking at her with clear skepticism. “What about you?”

“Weapon Mastery—Staff is my main one. I took Blocking again after I Chained it. Resist and Recovery are my other two Skills.” The Porter paused, and then shrugged. “I’m taking Weapon Mastery with me to the next Role, I guess, unless I stumble across something better.”

Alex nodded. Resist wasn’t really all that common, but for a Porter it made sense. It would help her deal with damage. Blocking didn’t help out a whole lot with that, but at least she had Recovery. Then she turned to Raul. “And you?”

The Squire seemed reluctant to speak, but he eventually spoke. “I’ve got Weapon Mastery—Sword. I’ve also got Dodging, Lift, and Leap. I was planning on taking Weapon Mastery to my next Role.”

She nodded. “All right. I’ve just reset most of my Skills, but the main one I have is Battle Maneuvers. I also have Focus, Recovery, Blocking, and Dodging.” They nodded, and she continued. “I still have Battle Maneuvers fairly high up, so I’ll probably be our heaviest hitter. We’re facing about twenty Soldiers, six Knights, six Archers, and a Brute in every patrol. How do you feel about taking all that on?”

They exchanged a look. Even Raul looked subdued now. Alessa summed it up for them. “Not good.”

“Good. We’re up against it, but that doesn’t mean we’re dead.” She took in a breath and let it out. “I’ll make you guys a deal. If you help me get my Skills up during this Survey, I’ll have you Chain or reset your Skills for the next one. That way, we’re in a better place for the third. Questions?”

Clara raised a hand. “How much are we planning on doing today?”

“As much as we can. The Main Quests at a minimum.” Then she glanced at the portal. Other Surveyors were starting to come through. “Let’s move. We have a lot to do.”

They’d talked tactics as they moved towards the area Wells had assigned them. By the time the first patrol found them, the Grue tearing across the pavement towards them, Alex felt halfway ready.

Orange text flickered in her peripheral vision, bothering her.

[Hidden Quest Discovered! Destroy four Grue Brutes]

[Hidden Quest Discovered! Destroy six Grue Archers and six Grue Knights]

She was tempted to rush forward toward the enemy, but Alex held back. Marathoning wasn’t going to help her this time, and Clara needed to get her shots in first.

The Acolyte had already brought the crossbow up and fired. It wasn’t the same weapon that she’d carried at Golden Swallow; now it had been upgraded and enhanced. When Clara pulled the trigger, the bolt shot out of the weapon like a shaft of silver, speeding through the ranks of the Grue. It didn’t hit a Knight or even a Soldier. Instead, it took one of the Archers directly in the head.

It hadn’t even finished falling before Clara had loaded and fired a second shot, taking another Archer. The Knights started to fan out, trying to block her attacks with their shields, and Alex grinned. “Now!”

She and the other two Surveyors sprinted forward. Alex outpaced them, but not nearly by as much as she was used to. Without Marathoning, or even at least Running, she felt so slow compared to what she had been before. Her charges into battle were going to pale in comparison to what they had been before.

At the same time, she was far from helpless. As the Soldiers charged in at her, she dodged and weaved, cutting and hacking at them. Their spears still shattered, and if they didn’t get knocked flying into the air, they still crumpled in dying piles as soon as she reached them.

Unfortunately, not every Grue was going to be so easy to kill. The Brute ran at her with a howl that shook the air. She glared up at it as it raised its hammers, ready to smash her into the pavement. Confidence and hatred flared from its grey eyes as the smoke-form bulged, bringing its full strength to bear. With an air-ripping snarl, it brought both hammers down on her.

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Alex dodged to the side, and the hammers struck the bare pavement. The weapons smashed a crater in the ground; cracks spiderwebbed outward, and that part of the street crumpled downwards, as if the Grue had somehow collapsed an underground sewer beneath the road. She made to dart in at it, but she was too slow, now. A Knight came at her from the side, forcing her to pause long enough to blow a massive sword swing that nearly knocked her off her feet, and then the Brute was beginning to lift its hammers again.

At least, it tried to. Snarls of green vines and wooden tendrils abruptly tore out of the cratered concrete, wrapping around the hammers and chaining them to the ground. The Brute paused, surprised by the vegetation binding its weapons. Frustration and rage crossed its features as it yanked harder.

Alex smiled, dodged a second swing from the Knight, and then rushed in at it before it could manage to free the hammers. The Brute saw her coming and let go with one hand. She ducked below the backhanded swipe, deflecting it a bit higher with her shield. Then she chopped at its knee with her axe. The first hit made the creature yelp in pain; the second made it let go of the other hammer and try to punch her away.

This time she caught the blow square on her shield; she heard bones creak and wasn’t sure if it was the Grue’s knuckles or her forearm. She slid a little under the force of the hit, back to where the Knight was already raising its sword again.

Then a crossbow bolt sped in from the side and caught the Knight in the skull. It staggered, and Clara put two more shots into it before it fell. Alex ignored the collapsing Knight and went after the Brute again, who was trying to hobble away from her. A handful of brave Grue tried to rush her from the sides, but she battered them aside and threw herself at the larger enemy again.

This time, the Brute had abandoned its weapons entirely. When she rushed towards it, the creature leaped at her, obviously aiming to wrap its arms around her and crush her. Alex pivoted, ducking beneath one arm and hacking at its elbow. The Brute howled, but she continued her spin, smashing her shield into its already-bleeding knee, and then slashing it across the face with her axe as it fell.

The blow caught the creature square in the eyes. It clutched at its face, roaring as it thrashed on the ground, but Alex wasn’t even close to done. She smacked aside a flailing arm and began bringing her axe down on its head, throat, and shoulders.

It took five swings before the Brute went still, and by the time she’d delivered them, more Grue were crowding in around her. Another Knight came for her too, but she just maneuvered it so that Clara had a clear shot at its back, and it soon toppled forward, a pair of bolts in its skull. More bolts scattered the others, and she was free enough to look for where the others were still fighting.

Alessa had downed one Knight, and seemed to be fine dueling with the other. Raul, on the other hand, had somehow managed to get caught between two of the larger creatures, with only his Dodging Skill keeping him alive. Alex ran over and hamstrung one of them from behind, and fended off the other while Raul finished it. She disarmed it, catching its sword between her axe and shield, and Raul darted back to put his rapier through its heart.

She turned to help Alessa too, only to find that the Porter had killed her opponent as well; the vines growing from the street gave a clue as to how Clara had helped it happen. When she looked for the Archers, she found them all splayed out with crossbow bolts in their heads.

Alex shook her head. What idiot had ever said Clara wasn’t useful? She paused and doubled over for a minute, breathing hard. She was really starting to miss her Skills.

The bodies began to burn, and orange text floated up in front of her, as if summoned by her thoughts.

[Recovery advances to 3!]

[Dodging advances to 8!]

[Blocking advances to 7!]

[Main Quest Progress: 1 of 8 targets destroyed]

[Hidden Quest Progress: 1 of 4 targets destroyed]

Alex waited for the others to gather around her. She looked around at them, trying to control her breathing. “Everyone okay? Any wounds?”

Alessa shrugged. There was a small hole in her cloth gambeson, but the skin beneath looked untouched. “Nothing worth mentioning.”

Raul was breathing hard too, but he seemed much more grateful and happy than before. “No… just… tired.”

“If we get out of this, Raul, you’re going to start doing laps with me.” The Squire looked unhappy, but he nodded. Then she turned to Clara. “Hey, are you okay? Can you keep doing that?”

The Acolyte nodded. “I can, but not forever. I’ll run out of energy, eventually.”

“Okay. We’ll just have to use you wisely.” Alex looked a bit further up the street. She hadn’t seen any signs of the Shade, yet, but it might not last. “You finished at least one Hidden Quest, so now we need to get Alessa and Raul to do it too.”

She pointed a bit further up the street, where there was a rowhouse that had a good view of the intersection. “Raul, Alessa, can you hide in the house across from that one? I’ll guard the door, and Clara will snipe a Knight or something to get the next patrol’s attention…”

Alex concentrated, and the world seemed to narrow.

The Brute in front of her howled. It had been chasing her through the battle for the past few moments, swinging its hammers in wide, wild swipes. Alex had danced backwards away from it, spending a few moments to cut and smash at the Soldiers around her, clearing them away so that she could focus on the biggest threat.

A Knight roared nearby as it dueled with Alessa, who intercepted its sword with her staff. Another one tried to rush in at the Porter, only to stagger as a crossbow bolt struck it in the head. It tried to spin toward Clara, only to take a second bolt to the shoulder. Raul was once again caught between Knights, but one of them abruptly staggered as vines snared its ankles. The Squire leapt on it, rapier stabbing, and Alex smiled.

Her small team was starting to come together nicely, their Skills working in harmony. It was only their fourth fight together, and already they were supporting one another well. Now all she needed to do was find a way to handle her own responsibilities, and they might actually make it through the Survey.

This time she had been the one to lie in ambush, and she’d wiped out the Archers cleanly before the Brute had come after her. Raul and Alessa had already completed their Hidden Quests for the Archers, after all, and even without Marathoning, she was still the fastest of them. The smaller Grue hadn’t lasted long, either, and the Brute had immediately turned to challenge her as the biggest threat.

The other benefit was that she’d finally started to figure out how to develop Focus. Her concentration narrowed as the Brute came in at her. She could see it tensing to charge in at her head on, trying to close with her instead of allowing her to keep the distance. Alex continued to dance backwards, drawing it away from the rest of its friends. Another Soldier rushed in, and she smashed it aside with her shield, clearing the street for her duel.

With a deranged howl, the Brute leapt at her. She’d seen it building its strength, had noticed the tension gathering in its legs. When its feet left the ground, Alex charged forward, ducking in under a swinging hammer and raising her shield. The Brute slammed into her, an impact that sent her sliding backwards from the sheer force. It didn’t do the Grue any good either, though; she could feel bones crunch and crack. Its howl abruptly cut off with a cough.

Alex didn’t give it a chance to get its feet solidly back on the ground. She swept in with her axe, hacking at its legs. The Brute staggered, trying to back up now, but she kept after it, like a buzzsaw tearing into its knees. It managed to swing at her, but Alex caught the haft of the hammer on her shield, skidding a little out to the side before darting in again. Another solid blow to the Brute’s kneecap shattered it, and it went down on one knee, dropping a hammer to catch itself.

It was an opening she couldn’t ignore. She smacked aside another desperate swipe, and went for another overhead strike, this time aiming for the Brute’s throat. Alex caught the monster with the edge of her axe, and it reeled to the side as grey smoke fountained from the wound. With another pivot, she hacked at the arm that was braced against the pavement, hoping to bring the creature even lower.

Then she spun and began tearing into the Brute’s torso, hacking away until it slumped backward and lay still.

By the time she finished it, her breath harsh in her throat, the others had managed to finish off their opponents. Alessa had taken another hit—Alex was suspecting that the Porter was letting some of the Soldiers get hits in, to level her Resist Skill—and Raul actually sat down in the middle of the street, his legs wobbling as he slumped. Clara arrived a moment later, coming down from the house where she’d been sniping from, just as the bodies began to burn.

More orange text flared to life, becoming more and more familiar now.

[Battle Maneuvers advances to 22!]

[Recovery advances to 8!]

[Focus advances to 7!]

[Dodging advances to 15!]

[Blocking advances to 13!]

[Main Quest Progress: 4 of 8 targets destroyed]

[Hidden Quest Completed!]

[Hidden Quest Progress: 6 of 12 targets destroyed]

Seeing her Skills advance was a welcome sight, though Alex wondered how good of a reward it was for the fatigue burning through her. Recovery was already making its growth felt, however. She already could tell that her muscles were regaining their strength faster, and with Dodging getting closer to maximum, she was already beginning to dance around most of the blows the enemy were throwing. All she needed was a few more fights, and she might reach her maximum again.

She dragged herself forward, gathering the resources that the enemies had dropped. As the others started doing it, she tried to sound a bit less tired than she felt. “Are we still doing well? Everyone finished one of their Main Quests, right?”

Raul and Alessa nodded; Clara grinned at her. “Sure. I’m good for four more.”

Alex looked at the others. “You guys still all right?”

Alessa grunted sourly. Raul shook his head. “I’ll hold together, but it’s getting a bit harder. Don’t think I want to hit the Archers again, though.”

She shook her head. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of that from now on.” Clara gave her a worried look, but Alex shook her head. Raul was already looking rough enough that she didn’t want to risk wearing him out completely. “Let’s get set up for another ambush if we can. We only need another four of these to work.”

Raul groaned. “Why can’t we just do it here again? It worked well enough.”

“Yeah, but there might be more patrols closer to a different spot.” Alex didn’t mention her actual concern. She hadn’t seen any glimpses of the Shade yet, and she didn’t know if moving around would make her harder to find, but she’d rather put in the effort than get buried in Grue while Liliana laughed. “Plus, we could use the walk to loosen up. Let’s keep moving.”

He groaned again, but the others finished up their work and shouldered their weapons. Alex slipped in next to Clara and spoke softly. “During the next fight, I have something I want you to do. Okay?”

Clara stared at her as she explained, clearly surprised. “I… don’t know if now is the time to mix things up, Alex.”

“If not now, then when?” Alex grinned as the Acolyte nodded. “We need to prove to everyone that this team isn’t some collection of rejects. So let’s show the others how it’s done. Okay?”

Alex waited until she heard the Grue howl. Then she charged out from her hiding place, a small stairway that dipped below the level of the street.

The scene in front of her was as she had expected. Clara had started the fight, putting a crossbow bolt into the head of a Grue Soldier. Two more of them quickly fell as the Grue turned to face the store where Clara was lying on the roof, calmly picking her targets. Half a dozen Archers were already lining up to counter her, their longbows drawing back while their friends charged forward.

Alex hit them from behind at a dead sprint, her aching legs still carrying her fast enough to reach her targets. Two Archers died in heartbeats, and the next two only had enough time to reel back and yelp before she ended them too. She caught the last of them drawing their knives, hacking them aside with contempt.

The threat to Clara ended just that quickly, and Alex turned to face the rest of the battle. Some of the Soldiers had turned back towards her when the Archers had cried out, but most of them were still trying to swarm the entrance of the store. Raul and Alessa were holding them back, the sword and staff destroying them as they pushed in close.

It wasn’t the small fry that Alex focused on, however. The Brute had turned to face her, clearly recognizing the strongest Surveyor present. With a familiar howl, it started off after her, shoving the Knights aside to clear a path.

Alex waited long enough for some of the Soldiers to reach her, cutting them down as they came. Then, as the Brute swung at her head, Alex dodged beneath the swipe and moved past the creature, hacking at its side with her axe. She felt it strike flesh and grinned as the Brute grunted in pain.

Unlike before, however, Alex simply continued her charge. The Brute made a confused sound as it pivoted, lining up a strike at her back. It seemed to mistrust the opening, as if it expected her to use some trick.

Its doubts were justified when Clara’s crossbow bolt hit it a heartbeat later. The bolt had been perfectly aimed, taking the Brute right in the eye. Alex caught a hint of it staggering backwards, dropping a hammer to the ground so it could paw at its face. A second bolt hit it right in the back of its hand a moment later, pinning the thing’s palm to its forehead.

As the Brute staggered, uttering an enraged howl, Alex charged in at the other Grue. The Soldiers at the rear of the pack had just enough time to glance back before she crashed into them, her axe reaping a terrible toll. One of the Knights didn’t turn fast enough, and she hamstrung it with a victorious shout. It went down on one knee, and another two hits sent its corpse crashing to the ground, headless.

Flanked and panicking, the remaining Grue tried to form a circle to face both her and the Surveyors in front. Their efforts failed as Alessa lashed out to lay another two Soldiers low. Raul dashed forward to put his rapier through the heart, throat, and head of a Knight, before dodging the sideswipe of another one. Another Knight tried to behead Alex, only for her to twist its sword out of its grip and start hacking away at it.

Behind her, she heard more howls from the Brute. She risked a glance backward to see it still staggering towards her, one hammer clutched in its fist. A vine suddenly whipped itself around its ankle, and another crossbow bolt bounced off its thick skull. The creature threw back its head and roared in rage, swinging at the air.

Then a crossbow bolt took it in the throat, followed by another. The creature wavered and fell, even as Clara’s victory shout rose through the air.

The remaining Grue didn’t last long after that. Surrounded and outmatched, they fell in a few moments, leaving their bodies to burn in the streets.

[Battle Maneuvers advances to 23!]

[Recovery advances to 10!]

[Focus advances to 9!]

[Dodging advances to 16!]

[Blocking advances to 15!]

[Main Quest Progress: 5 of 8 targets destroyed]

[Hidden Quest Progress: 8 of 12 targets destroyed]

Alex grinned at the notifications and then turned to the others. Raul was staring at her like she’d lost her mind. “What was that? Why was Clara taking out the Brute?”

“Seems like a good idea to change things up every so often, don’t you think?” Alex looked between Raul and Alessa. “Which one of you wants to take on the next one?”

Alessa frowned. “Alone?”

“No. I’d distract it or weaken it for you. Like I did for Clara here.”

The Porter nodded. “Then I’ll take it. Might as well get it out of the way.”

Raul didn’t seem to know how to react. “You people are crazy.”

Alex smiled. “Just wait. We’re only getting started.”

They staggered back into the lobby a full hour later.

She was reasonably sure they were only a little behind schedule, but the payoff had been more than worth it. Alessa had worked with her to kill one Brute and it had given Raul enough of a boost in courage to take down the next one. The sight of him jumping like some kind of grasshopper to impale the Grue through the head had been exhilarating. After that, the last patrol had been almost depressingly boring.

Of course, they’d paid the price for their success. Raul was half-dead from fatigue, and Alessa was covered in scratches, but they were all still smiling in satisfaction as they saw the portal in sight at last. Clara was even humming a tune to herself as they walked into the building.

There were still sounds of battle further into the city, but Alex ignored them. Given the distribution of the teams, it was probably the D ranks still fighting somewhere out there. Everyone else had been scheduled to be back well before that point.

She paused before she went into the portal and turned to the others. “All right, if you’re going to reset or Chain your Skills, now’s the time to do it. I’m doing well, so the next Survey is probably our best bet for you to need to recover things. So keep that in mind when you make your decisions.”

They all nodded. Then, her arms and legs still aching, Alex stepped through the portal and let the light take her…

[Mission Report]

[Successful Return! +20 Experience]

[Main Quest Completed! +100 Experience]

[Secondary Culling Quest Completed! +80 Experience]

[All Quests Completed! Glorious Victory! +80 Experience]

A full clear. It seemed like it had been forever since she had gotten one of those. More than that, she’d nearly gotten her teammates a full clear, as well, even if it had worn them out a little. Another two missions like those, and they’d be able to start thinking about moving up to D rank as well.

The text then shifted, and Alex felt even more like gloating.

[Battle Maneuvers increased from 20 to 25!]

[Recovery increased from 0 to 12!]

[Focus increased from 0 to 13!]

[Dodging increased from 0 to 21!]

[Blocking increased from 0 to 20!]

Taken altogether, it represented a massive increase in her Skills. Battle Maneuvers was increasing at a painfully slow pace, but Dodging was making it seem like the enemy was moving in slow motion when they attacked her, and that only made it easier to use Focus to identify their weaknesses. Recovery had kept the worst of her fatigue at bay, which meant she’d be entering the next fight fairly close to being fresh.

None of them were at their maximum level, however, so the options that were given to her were all somewhat unappealing.

[Skill Chain available. Do you wish to combine Focus and Recovery?]