Tower and his team ran back into the Fort, the giant man was dripping from head to toe in sweat. The broken armour was removed by Sharp which exposed the tattoo on his back.

“Who was it?” Sharp asked as he bent down.

“Magni,” Tower replied as he got back up. His muscles looked even more defined and he had grown at least an inch.

They all gasped, “How?” Sharp asked.

“I was holding the gate and then th-the tattoo formed,” Tower said.

“This is unheard of,” Sharp said.

“Tell me about it. One moment I was about to die and then I was charging down the mountain side,” Tower said. The man stretched while pulling out a new set of leather armour.

“They’re coming back up the mountain.” Sharp said.

“Mute still has her skill she can use,” Tower said, “we might be able to survive this.”

“No false promises?” Spike questioned.

“I promise we will survive this. As now marked by a god, I give my oath. We will not die here,” Tower swore.

“Good enough for me.” Spike said.

The group exited out of the fort beyond the gate with all their weapons drawn, this was the final straw.

The endless horde came up the mountain pass, all treading over each other to get to the life in front of them. Just as Tower was about to meet the horde about 20 of the undead’s neck snapped instantly and they dropped dead.

The group looked behind them to see Mercy calmly walking through the gate.

“The cavalry has arrived.”

The group all sank to the ground, exhausted; they were saved.

A soundwave echoed from above them and hundreds of undead burst from the inside out. Boseman jumped from a hovercraft down in front of them as did about 15 other Unwanted- Scarface was among them. They were all wearing their masks like the group.

“Where’s Immortal?” Mercy asked calmly.

“Sol got stuck in the dungeon. The ceiling collapsed on him,” Tower explained.

Mercy glanced to Elora and then back to Tower.

“She took an oath,” Tower said.

Mercy nodded, “Did you complete the mission?” he asked.

Elora pulled the lich’s head out of her necklace and handed it over to Mercy.

“You insolent fools, I’ll kill you all! Mark my words!” The necromancer shouted.

Mercy forced the half lich’s mouth shut with magic. He put it into his own storage and turned to the group. “Good work,” he said. “We will need you for the excavation. Miss Evergrand, a personal hovercraft is being sent and will arrive in a few minutes for you.”

Elora forgot who she was for a moment, “Thank you.” she said, returning all lady-like.

“The refugees?” Mercy asked.

Their conversation was halted for a moment as undead were flung miles into the air.

“Inside the fort,” Tower responded.

Two more vehicles screeched to a halt in front of the dungeon entrance and twelve people got out in total.

“Why all the backup?” Tower asked.

Mercy cleared his throat, “It seems we weren't given the correct information about the target. This should have been for mid-range Raptor rank with a fire mage.” He said.

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“Ah… Fuck,” Tower muttered as he got up.

Sharp took the papers from his storage pouch and handed them to Mercy. “We found these,” he said. “He was working on some very dangerous and advanced magic.”

Mercy took them and examined them, even under his mask you could tell he was interested.

“Beyond my expertise,” Mercy stated but still with intrigue, “I’m trusting you to figure it out, you may request others in the venture.”

Mercy knew just how smart Sharp was and had the highest chance at cracking it.

A healer came up the hill and Mercy gave the go ahead to heal and replenish the group. Healers were some of the rarest mages in Gaia, not every team could have one so they were always in demand.

Green light washed over the whole group. Their health and stamina bars all filled to the top.

Mercy nodded a ‘thank you’ to the healer and they took off down the mountain to join the backup group. Overhead, a large hovercraft came into view.

Elora stood up and looked at the group.

Spike walked over and bent down on one knee, he grabbed her hand and kissed it lightly, “It has been a pleasure, M’lady.”

Tower chucked a rock at Spike’s head.

“Thank you, Elora,” Tower said, “Your performance was above what was required. I hope we meet in the future.”

Elora curtseyed politely, the noblewomen returning to her propped up self. She smiled and nodded at the group, she walked away up to the fort and climbed into the magical hovercraft.

“How was she?” Mercy asked without looking Tower’s way.

“In all honesty, Sir, she was fucking amazing. She saved our lives many times, not even mentioning her magical power.”

“Interesting. We will have to pay a fine to them, she wasn’t given the correct mission details,” Mercy said.

Tower nodded his understanding.

“You seem different,” Mercy said, “New skill?”

Tower chuckled, “God mark, Sir” he replied.

Mercy turned to look at him, stunned, “Who?” he asked.

“Magni.”

Mercy coughed from the unexpectedness, “That doesn’t surprise me in the slightest. I am very impressed with yourself and your team. Expect a hefty bonus.”

“We received an Epic, Sol has it with him,” Tower stated.

“The void crystal?” Mercy asked.

“We left it, what exactly is it?” Tower asked.

“Used to travel through and across dimensions. Would Sol mess with it?” Mercy asked.

Tower paused for a moment then kissed his teeth, “I um- probably, Sir. Being immortal often gives him more confidence than others.”

In the distance, Boseman was walking up the mountain pass.

“Tower! Did you get bigger?!” the huge man asked.

Boseman walked up to Tower, both men now standing at equal height and size.

“I’ve been working out,” Tower said.

Boseman laughed. Unlike his drill sergeant job character, he was very friendly. He was also classed as a Calamity rank like and the team had become good friends with him.

“Hel of a dungeon you guys got. They’re still coming out,” Boseman stated.

“We still pulled through.”

The group started walking down towards the dungeon and then went into it. There were a lot more undead than Tower realised. Not just thousands but tens of thousands. The bodies piled high and were pushed to the side. As they entered, they saw the hole in the bottom of the mine where the other Unwanted were killing them as they climbed on each other to get out.

Boseman jumped down, the floor cracking underneath his feet. The Unwanted moved out of his way as he approached the hole. Mercy snapped the necks of the undead that ran at him.

He went over to the edge and rubbed his hands together. Everyone put their hands over their ears as Boseman created a huge soundwave towards the bottom of the whole.

The wave was so strong and focused that the vibrations caused every single one of the undead to explode. A huge uplift of blood, guts and bones was lifted into the air. Boseman brought out an umbrella as it all fell down on the Raptor rank teammates.

A Calamity rank could easily cause city wide destruction if given the opportunity and each one lived up to it.

“Really?” one complained.

Boseman shrugged with a smile, “Pretty cool though right.”

A water mage began to wash the others off as Tower’s team and Mercy made their way to look into the hole.

“I’m guessing it’s down there?” Boseman asked Tower.

Tower nodded, “You also cleared the pile of flesh at the bottom.”

“How did you get down?” Mercy asked curiously.

Spike coughed and then bowed with sarcasm, “Miss Evergrand had some of the finest fairy dust I have even taken in my life! It was splendid!” Spike said in a mocking tone.

Underneath the mask, Tower could tell Mercy was raising an eyebrow.

“It’s true,” Tower admitted, “Could you leave that out of the report to her family? She was very embarrassed.”

“So the princess likes to party,” Boseman remarked.

“Exactly what I said.” Spike added.