The group trudged wearily through the hollow, carefully avoiding the plethora of severed grivaxian limbs that littered their way. As they reached a fork in the path, Mandrix turned to Brian seeking direction.

"Hey, which way should we go?" he asked, glancing between the two diverging tunnels.

[30 Grivaxian signatures detected]

[Energy Rank: Trace]

"The tunnel on the right has a lot of grivaxians," he said, meeting Mandrix's gaze.

[3 Grivaxian signatures detected]

[Energy Rank: Glow]

"But they're not as powerful as the ones on the left. In fact," he paused, squinting into the darkness of the left tunnel, "I think I can sense Syla's energy coming from that direction."

"Well, we've gotten this far," Lana said with determination. "And ultimately our mission is to take down the alpha.”

Mandrix stroked his chin. “That was indeed the mission statement.”

Lana continued. “Let's go left and confront the greater challenge head-on. Unless you don’t want the full payment.”

"Whoa, hold on a second!" Mandrix responded, momentarily startled. "I'm all for hunting that grivaxian alpha. I definitely want that full payment. Left it is!"

"Are alphas strong?" Brian asked, getting the impression that this grivaxian alpha seemed like a final boss.

“I actually don’t know, I’ve never fought an alpha, has anyone beaten one?” Mandrix's gaze swept over each person, but none of them responded positively. “They’re definitely stronger than betas”

The alpha seemed to be even stronger than Gravx. However, Brian found comfort in the fact that he could rely on his Chronal Gaze, provided his valtite would be replenished by the time they encountered this boss.

Just as the party prepared to continue on their way, the sound of approaching footsteps caught their attention. A cluster of rugged-looking young men, about Ilex's age, sauntered toward them with careless swagger. They appeared to be fellow decimators, decked out in matching gear and exuding an air of confidence. Brian, wanting to conserve his energy, decided not to delve deeper into their valtite signatures and merely observed the newcomers with cautious curiosity.

Mandrix rolled his eyes and muttered, "Damn it, what's Bull's group doing here?"

Bull spotted Lana and greeted her with a charming grin. "Well, if it isn't the lovely Lana!"

She responded with a polite nod, "Nice to see you too, Bull."

Noticing Mandrix, Bull’s eyebrow shot up, "What are you doing hanging out with these losers?"

Mandrix, his face turning red, quickly stepped in, "Hey, watch your mouth, prick!"

Lana chuckled, slightly embarrassed, and tried to change the subject. "I see you've got some new members."

Bull's demeanor softened when he addressed Lana. "Yeah, we do. Meet the Grald brothers, they are both named Grald for some reason, but one is older than the other. And you already know Geugevon and Dixmar." The four men waved hello.

Bull continued, smirking, "So, was it you who created all this carnage, Lana? I can't imagine these losers even killing a lesser grivaxian." He seemed accustomed to emphasizing the word ‘loser’.

Mandrix, growing increasingly irritated, interrupted Bull's idle talk. "Listen, if you are not here to help, we're busy stopping the grivaxian invasion."

Bull dismissed Mandrix with a wave, "Yeah, I know. We all got the same assignment, loser. And I also met with a government rep. They've been tracking the grivaxians' movements closely. Turns out they're being influenced and powered up by the Sovereign Core. Besides obviously killing the alpha, the directorate wants us to retrieve the core and bring it to headquarters."

Mandrix shrugged and said, "Well, there's activity in both directions. We were planning to go right, so if you want, you can take the left side."

“Right?” Brian looked at Mandrix, but he quickly shushed him.

Bull snorted dismissively, "We'll take the right tunnel. You losers go left, or better yet, just stay here while we handle this grivaxian problem." He glanced at Mandrix's wound and remarked, "Looks like you could use the rest."

Mandrix, clenching his jaw, replied, "Fine, whatever you want."

Bull eyed Brian with disgust. "And who is this?"

Brian offered a friendly smile and said, "I'm just auditing."

Bull scoffed, "Figures. You look like an even bigger loser."

***

The group progressed steadily across the left tunnel, observing the subtle transformation of their surroundings. What began as a subterranean passageway adorned with rough, jagged walls and uneven ground littered with rocks and pebbles gradually evolved into a pristine hallway. Vaulted ceilings towered overhead, while the walls and floor were polished to perfection, creating the impression of an elaborate, sophisticated dungeon.

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Moving further in, Brian noticed the tunnel's end was marked by a blue glow. The light wasn't bright, but in the otherwise dim hallway, it caught his eye. There were no nooks or crannies in this carved-out space to provide cover; it was just a plain, straight tunnel leading towards that eerie light. Each step felt heavier as the open space played on Brian's nerves.

The light grew stronger, revealing itself to be originating from the chamber beyond the tunnel's end. Once within range, he made out four grivaxians. The largest of them was monstrous, clearly the alpha. Its valtite signature resonated within Brian, a tremor that coursed through his being. He wasn't quite sure what 'glow' precisely entailed, but the sensation was unmistakable - a quantum leap in power, akin to those distinct, game-changing power spikes in video games when you reached a significant milestone or unlocked a new ability tier.

[Grivaxian Beta (Flicker) - lvl ???]

[Grivaxian Beta (Flicker) - lvl ???]

[Grivaxian Beta (Flicker) - lvl ???]

[Grivaxian Alpha (Glow) - lvl ???]

“We should definitely turn back, the monsters ahead are on an astronomic level,” Brian’s words trembled out of his mouth.

Mandrix adjusted his spectrasight, “Even these shitty government goggles can detect it. We’ll just take a quick look and turn around.”

As they neared the end of the tunnel, their steps turned into a shuffle. Their aim was simple: reach the chamber without being noticed. As they moved closer, the blue light grew stronger. Keeping to the walls, they moved a fraction at a time towards the border of the chamber, squinting against the intense glow. Just when they thought they'd been blinded, they took a deep, silent breath and leaned over to peek around the corner, their eyes straining against the glow, trying to decode what lay beyond.

Mandrix's voice was barely a whisper, an impressive feat for someone with a naturally loud voice. Luckily, his strained vocal cords granted him the ability this time. "Guys, keep hugging the wall. And be ready to retreat, we do not want to engage in another battle."

They peered into a vast, open dome, its architecture mirroring the hall they had just traversed. Their stare followed the curvature of the vaulted ceiling, drawn upward by the intricate designs etched into the stone. A powerful light source, nestled near the far wall, bathed the entire chamber in an ethereal glow.

Brian saw the diamond and couldn't help but recall the valtite Oculus Core he'd once destroyed. There it was, the Sovereign Core, perched on a large smooth rock. It rotated and shook so quickly it was hard to distinguish its edges, it was like looking at a hummingbird’s wings. Sparks flew off its surface, It was as if the diamond were a mischievous sprite, the energy was practically bursting to get out.

Around it, there were the four terrifying grivaxians. Sylas was among them, along with two others that bore a striking resemblance to him. One had scales with a turquoise hue, while the other had almost magenta colored scales. The most intimidating of them all, however, was the alpha in the center. He was twice Mandrix’s size, of course the final boss had to have black scales, and his sinister yellow eyes bored through Brian's very soul.

Brian trembled. "This isn't going to work. We need to leave right now."

Sylas screeched, “That was the alien who spoke to me.”

“Bring him to me,” the enormous black grivaxian grunted.

Mandrix, Lana, Ilex, and Shinmu could only hear guttural growls and screeches, but Brian heard every word.

Brian took a shaky breath. "Mandrix," he said, "I’m not ready for this. We need to get out."

Mandrix looked at him. "What are you talking about? We’re here, and we’re on a job. We’ve talked about this."

Brian swallowed hard, his gaze dropped to the ground. "I can't, Mandrix. I just...I can't. I'm not a hero, I’m not even supposed to be on this planet. I’m sorry, this is…the real me. I'm just...terrified. I’m a coward alright."

Flashbacks of Xezia's death flooded Brian's thoughts, he realized he was in way over his head. He finally was being honest with himself and accepted that he simply didn’t know enough about this world, and he had been treating it as if it were a video game.

Lana placed a compassionate hand on Brian’s shoulder. "Brian's right. We need to get back and regroup with Bull and the others. See for yourself, put on your V-scanners."

Mandrix and Ilex took out their Spectrasight scanners and placed them over their eyes to assess the threat.

To the eyes of the others, the red grivaxian disappeared in an instant, but Brian saw everything; the monster charged towards them with alarming speed. Panic washed over him, he pressed his body against the wall, desperately hoping to remain unnoticed by the terrifying creature. He wanted to stop pretending to be the hero; he wished he was an NPC safely tucked away in Arcasium, or whatever the name of the aestari city was.

“THE RED ONE IS HERE!” Brian screamed.

Brian’s world shifted instantly. The red grivaxian appeared before him, outstretching his lizard-like hands. In this moment, Brian realized the true capabilities of the decimators. Lana took an arrow from her quiver and attempted to stab him in the back, Ilex shot a stream of acid towards his torso, and Mandrix swung his sword at the grivaxian’s neck. But then, time, which seemed to have slowed down, returned to its normal pace. The grivaxian tensed, repelling all three attacks. Then, he gripped Brian’s arms tightly.

With all his might, Brian sent a punch flying. The red grivaxian ignored it, and Brian's punch landed on the reptilian’s cheek. It felt like hitting a brick wall. Brian heard a crunch in his wrist and when he pulled back his hand, it dangled limply from his arm. After that, things blurred for a few seconds.

Mandrix struggled to communicate over his diminished timbre. “Move in, we have to save Brian and get out of here.”

On the other side of the room, the large grivaxian growled, the guttural sounds resonating through the air. Only Brian understood the chilling words: "Fools! There’s no getting away from Zarkon!"

The red grivaxian tossed Brian onto the floor in front of Zarkon, whose yellow glowing gaze pierced into Brian's soul. "How can you understand us?" Zarkon demanded. "What are those aliens on the lower side planning?"

Brian didn't know what to say. Improvising had never been his strength; he always needed to rehearse his words, even for a simple call to customer service. Now, his life hung by a thread. One wrong word could spell the end.

Brian stood there for a moment, his broken hand throbbing and useless, scanning the room for an escape route; he knew it was a long shot, but his mind instinctively sought to create plan b and plan c.

Zarkon, infuriated, scratched the floor with his legs and turned to Sylas. "What is the meaning of this? Why have you lied to me? He’s not communicating!"

Without any other options, Brian hoped he could persuade Zarkon to let him go, a highly unlikely scenario; if charisma were a stat, his would be at zero. His backup plan was to rely on his dodging abilities to survive the confrontation, but even that seemed far-fetched. Deep down, he knew that no matter how quick his enhanced reaction times were, the grivaxians were faster.

Taking a deep breath, Brian spoke. "Can we work together?"

Zarkon glanced at Sylas and grinned, then fixed his gaze on Brian once again. "Your kind broke the balance."

"What balance?" Brian asked with a shaky voice.

"You can’t comprehend it? We will expand our territory and fortify our defenses before the calamity. And inevitably get rid of your kind."

Maybe Zarkon wasn’t a terrible monster, yes he seemed ruthless, but Brian sensed a purpose behind the alpha’s words.