They slunk through the cavernous room with both speed and stealth. Lyra had been right when she described it as a disused break room - though the entire mine was disused. Filled with rotted wood in the form of chairs, tables, and a row of barrels that leaked dreadfully pungent fumes, the room had clearly once served as a place for the miners to take some rest and relaxation before returning to work. Now, however, it simply served as a spread-out space for the monsters to occupy.

The problem with their plan became apparently fairly quickly.

"They're not budging." Tirus said.

The cavern led into three different tunnels, much like their initial starting point after taking the elevator down into the mine. One of those tunnels led to where they had just come, while another currently hosted the flocking swarm of monsters that had been led far into the depths. It really had been a stellar throw by Lyra.

One passage remained. Unfortunately, it didn't stand alone.

Despite most of their brethren departing to follow the signal-stone Alex had whipped up, a scant few had stayed behind. Whether unbothered by the signal, sleeping, or unwilling to leave their position for reasons unknown, these few outliers clung to the ceiling with an aberrant stillness that, were it any other time, he would have taken to mean they were dead.

"Can we sneak under them?" Alex said.

"Unlikely. Look, their heads are pointed to the floor - all they'd need to do is crack an eye and we'd be caught." Lyra said.

"There's only three of them. We can take 'em." Tirus said.

"Without powers?" Alex said.

"'Course. No point otherwise. Think you can manage it?"

He paused and thought on that for a moment. The prospect of confronting any monster, regardless of classification, without using any power whatsoever filled him with a mild dread. Physically, most monsters he'd heard about sounded more than a match for any human. Even the Feirwolf had rippled with strong, powerful muscles which had little to do with its situation as a natural Augmenter. He looked over the Mitovampyria once again.

If he were to choose a monster to fight without any power whatsoever, they might just be the ones. Rulers tended to avoid physical confrontation where possible, and given the particular skill-set these monsters possessed, it might not be that bad. Could they drain his power if he didn't channel any in the first place? He didn't know, but it bore consideration. Not for too long, though. Who knew when the rest would be back.

"We need to make a decision. I think we've got this." Tirus said.

"Easy for you to say. You're not the one who's going to be at the front either way." Lyra said, sighing. "But I'm in agreement. I can do this without powers. Alex?"

"What, you're asking for my opinion now?" he snarked, a small, petty part of himself still unwilling to give up on their earlier argument.

She rolled her eyes. "Not the time. Are you comfortable fighting without your powers?"

"Pretty much the default state for us Imbuers, you know. I'm fine with it. How do we want to attack?"

"I reckon we just go for it." Tirus said, drawing a sling from his bag. "You two creep up nice and quiet, hit them while they're asleep. Probably our best shot at getting this over and done with."

"Sounds like a plan." Alex said.

Creeping up on things had never been Alex's forte, but with their quarry seemingly unaware, it shouldn't have posed much of a challenge. In keeping with his fortune lately, that didn't work quite how he'd imagined it.

The moment they crossed some invisible line between themselves and the bat-like creatures, they awoke. Shrill cries emanated from every one of them, their beady red eyes shooting open in the dim light, and Alex cursed. Of course they were sensitive to light. How hadn't he thought of that?

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

With the slow and stealthy option removed from the table, he raised his shield. As the Mitovampyria unfurled their wings, he registered a fact - they were of the larger variety, similar to the outliers that had attacked him in the first cavern. Silver-ranks. His lips drew into a line.

"Remember, no powers." Lyra said, flourishing her spear. "We'll only bring the rest down on us. Strike hard and stay alive."

They were not given time to strategize beyond that. The cessation of the shrieking heralded a beginning, the awakened monsters taking wing in an intimidating display of size. Larger than their brethren, each one locked onto an individual target among them. Alex knew his traditional role required defending Tirus while he worked his evocations, but in these circumstances, that would be a challenge. Without imbuement, the metal sword and shield were heavy enough that moving fast would be a challenge. Training he might have had under Arrius, but it took time to build the muscle required to act fast in a fight. Maybe if he was an Augmenter.

He raised his shield as his monster flew toward him. Fangs extended, it swept down for a passing attack - he blocked it, teeth thudding against metal. He couldn't raise his sword in time to counterattack. The beast flew back into the air to stare down at him, releasing another piercing shriek. It disoriented him. For a single second, the sound unsteadied his balance.

The bat took advantage. Another sweeping attack grazed a light wound on his sword arm, delivered by the creature's claws. More intelligent than the last. He almost hoped it went for a bite. That, he could react to. But this speed?

As the monster took to the air once again, Alex refocused. In his unaugmented state, all it would take was a single slash across the neck and he'd be dying on the ground. Allowing the monster to control the engagement would lead nowhere, fast. He needed an edge. Watching it prepare to dart forward again, he levelled his sword toward the creature.

Intercepting it could work. Its attack patterns were linear, lacking in diversity. All he had to do was prevent it from retreating without a wound. If it came down to a contest of cut-by-cut, he'd win by virtue of having the larger body. Not to be outdone, though, the Mitovampyria took a new angle. Directly above him.

Alex didn't like staring straight up. His opponent didn't stand in front of him, easily blocked by his shield, but above - at an angle that would be onerous to defend from. It darted down to strike, fended off with moderate ease by his sword tip. To the sides, he noticed Lyra and Tirus having similar problems; without power, the monsters were nimble enough to avoid them.

An idea occurred to him. Crouching momentarily, he picked up a stone. Similar to the pebble Lyra had thrown earlier. He'd have to draw just the slightest fragment of his power, but if it worked, this whole thing would go much smoother.

He did so, all the while blocking the bat's advancing attack. Grasping a strand of energy in his body, he slowly - deliberately - channeled it into the stone. Not too quick. He couldn't alert the swarm.

Whether the wider swarm had noticed or not, his opponent certainly had. The shrieking took on a new pitch, filled with the hunger that he'd experienced through harvesting. The creature's intensified, faster and deadlier with each swooping strike. An errant claw shaved a strand of hair from his head.

Battering the monster back, he waited for it to come around once again. He didn't have to wait long. In the span of a couple breaths, it flew to the ceiling of the cave yet again, and prepared to dive-bomb him in what had become a thoroughly irritating attack pattern.

He waited until it committed to the attack, and threw the stone.

Charged with Air-attuned energy, he'd invested it with just enough power. It struck the monster. Contact released the imbued effect; a small, yet powerful gust of wind escaped the confines of the rock. Caught off-guard and unbalanced by the turbulence, the bat was ever so slightly slower. Slow enough that he had a window.

A short thrust punctured the monster's torso. Reminiscent of his slaughter missions on the third level, the hide was thin enough to break even with the force of his non-augmented muscles. It flailed, for a moment, before he twisted the blade and finished the beast. Flicking his wrist, the fresh corpse struck the ground with a wet thud.

Lyra and Tirus followed his example shortly after - Lyra through an intricate sweeping dance she performed with the spear, and Tirus after finally landing a direct hit with one of the stones in his sling. Silence returned to the cave as they regarded their kills.

"Annoying bastards." Tirus whispered.

"Come on, let's get moving." Alex said, grimacing. "I had to use some power there. Shouldn't be enough to alert them, but I'd rather be safe about it."

Lyra appeared momentarily annoyed by his confession, but shook her head and cleared her expression. A hand gesture directed them back into the tunnel, the young woman leading once again. They all kept their ears open for the sound of the returning swarm, but thankfully, his distraction had done the job. He could only hope they wouldn't have to risk it again.

Their procession down the tunnel ended quickly.

"Fuck." Tirus said.

"Gods damn it." Lyra followed.

A dead end. Whoever had organised for these tunnels to be mined in the first place, they'd decided to cut this tunnel short. Shorter than any of the others. Alex groaned. Not only had their gambit been pointless, but it actually backfired - they'd directed the entire swarm down the only tunnel left available to them.

"Any ideas? I'm fresh out." he said.

"We can still backtrack to the entrance. No shame in it. That swarm looks mighty mean." Tirus offered.

"It'll take much longer than an hour to get back, this time." Alex pointed out. "Same problem applies."

"The solution is obvious." Lyra said, sighing. "We'll just have to fight our way through."