"We don't have much space, but when we do—John with me up front, Garet and Jason on our flanks. Seul-ki and Alex behind. Any questions?"

They all shook their heads, so Phuong led the others back down the winding 'Engineer' corridors, back to the main tunnels and the first branch that led to the wizards or the prospectors.

He held a strong grip on his innate blade, comforted as always at the feel, and more and more at the tight feeling of the great tree’s vest around his chest. He didn’t exactly know what it did, but he knew it was far stronger than it looked.

As he did he realized he'd hardly ventured out of Nassau without Mason since he and the others had arrived. But the thought didn't bother him. How quickly things changed! And not just post-apocalypse.

Phuong's life had more hills and valleys than his homeland. A rich life and easy childhood. The loss of all of it and a new name. Rebellion and civil war and foreign ideologies and invasion and years in the jungles before finally peace.

Before the alien the others called 'roboGod' came, Phuong had lost two wives and half a dozen sons to war and turmoil. He had learned first hand the truth of suffering, how to endure, how to escape it and be happy despite it all. His faith had saved him, and even now brought him peace. But he’d thought the twilight of his life had come.

Yet here he was, at war again, a handful of mostly young people behind him, trusting him to lead them. So familiar. So terrible and wonderful. And for the first time in years, Phuong had begun to feel truly alive again.

"Wait." He whispered and held up a hand as he heard noise ahead. Goblin voices whispered as urgently as Phuong's.

Shit.

"They've heard us. Go!"

He relied on his natural and system-gifted Athleticism, charging past the intersection and straight towards the prospector's tunnel, soon seeing a handful of goblins setting up what looked like traps ahead.

Phuong felt a vicious smile. They were wrong if they thought they were going to trick a veteran Vietkong guerilla with crude spikes.

These goblins looked better armed than the scouts they'd first encountered. As the players charged they threw javelins or blew darts. Phuong didn't even flinch.

If there was one man he was beginning to trust to do his job as well as his young patron, it was his surprising new friend in the apocalypse.

Alex’s purple shields flared and caught the missiles easily. Then Phuong was on them. He activated Lethal Cut and near sliced one goblin in half, then just relied on the sharpness of his Duelist Blade and his own agility to take down two more. He had many more powers, but didn’t need them.

They were already running now, though little hairs rose on Phuong's neck as he heard one shout for help. The creature hadn't raised its voice. It was begging something nearby. Something it obviously feared. Something hidden...

Dirt crunched as a fast, dark shape flashed across the cavern.

"Assassin!" he shouted, "be ready!"

Air hissed as several knives spun across the tunnel towards Garet, John and Jason.

"It's a distraction!" Phuong shouted, feeling the thing's true target in his bones. He raced towards Alex and Seul-ki, already starting his Way of the Sword: Stun.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Most of his abilities involved weaving symbols in the air.

They didn't charge themselves, though, or do it for him—he had to actually manage it. This was both very good and sometimes terrible, because while practice and skill could achieve incredibly results, he could also fuck it up and waste both time and effort.

But he practiced daily, and constantly. Besides an almost inappropriate and unexpected romantic entanglement, he had little else to do. So Phuong cut patterns in the air for two hours every morning, and for another at night. He dreamt of sword patterns. He sometimes saw them shaped in objects with his waking eyes.

The assassin’s steel knives clattered as Alex's missile shield caught and dropped them. But he had far worse protection against melee, particularly when protecting himself.

Phuong saw the assassin run out from his cover, a longer blade in his hand. Phuong weaved two circles, then another around them to project a stun. It looked like he had time, but he knew the assassins could 'warp' like Carl.

So he aimed his stun directly beside Alex, counted a half-second, then released.

The assassin jumped almost perfectly. In a flash of dark smoke he crossed the room just as a wall of spears appeared to block him, straight past Jason or Garet's perfectly logical attempt to stop his charge.

The moment froze in Phuong’s eyes—his own power whipping through the air in a satisfying blast, sending dust to the air all along the walls. The assassin’s poisoned blade rose and fell, sinking towards Alex's neck before his eyes went wide.

Phuong's stun smashed straight into his chest.

The little creature blasted several feet and slumped against the wall twitching, his glazed eyes fluttering as he slid towards the floor.

"Don't kill him!" Seul-ki shouted, hiding behind big John as Phuong moved to the fallen assassin.

"He won't talk," Phuong said, stripping the creature of every weapon he could find before holding his blade to its throat. "I know the type. He'll die first. And he's still very dangerous."

"He'll talk," said the Korean girl, kneeling near the assassin as she closed her eyes and started channeling some kind of arcane power. "Start thinking of some questions, please."

The assassin shook and foamed slightly at the mouth, and Phuong exchanged a slightly concerned glance with Alex. Other than her 'enhance' powers, Phuong had absolutely no idea what Seul-ki actually did. But she was certainly always very close to Blake...

The assassin's red eyes eventually cleared. He glanced around at the players before bowing low to Seul-ki.

"Apologies. Did not know you hired guild. I am happy to serve. What knowledge do you require?"

Seul-ki looked to Phuong with her sharp, beautiful eyes, and he tried not to worry as much about her as the goblins and Blake.

"Tell me everything about the prospector's," he said. "And tell me how you'd destroy them, if you had to."

The assassin seemed almost happy to explain.

* * *

Phuong cut the assassin’s throat when they were finished. The mostly pampered young players flinched and clearly didn’t agree, but Phuong didn’t bother to explain himself. As far as he was concerned he was their commanding officer, and they would do their duty and keep their mouths shut.

He led them onwards using the assassin’s guidance, and soon stood at the entrance to the Prospector's dungeon.

"Any other useful powers I should know about?" he said towards Seul-ki with as little tone as possible. The Korean just shrugged.

"You know enough. I can enhance your powers or statistics, and re-charge your mana. I can briefly control a mind. But I have almost no protection."

Phuong nodded. "Keep Alex charging, constantly, and never leave his side. Use your judgment if his shields need a boost. I'll call for something else if I need it. John—you are comfortable with me up front? You look tough, but can you take a hit or two?"

"Or two." The big man grinned, and Phuong matched it.

"OK, friends. We are all soldiers now. Stay with me and do as I tell you, instantly, without question. The assassin told us all we need is their leadership. They sound like a bunch of fat, weak merchants and their guards. So we're going to try and avoid everything we can to get to them. Ready?"

They all nodded, so Phuong touched the gate and read the prompt.

[You have discovered dungeon: Prospector's Guild. This dungeon has a maximum of six players. Would you like to proceed as a group?]

A small stab of excitement struck, calling him back to his first ambush, when he was too young and foolish to know to feel terror.

Perhaps he was as foolish now as he had been then, but Phuong had already lived what felt like many lives. He was very prepared to die. He accepted the prompt, and felt the world disappear.