The serpentfiends snarled and snapped and slithered and scuttled their way through the streets of the city.

They were wicked creatures, with barbs jutting out of their undulating shapes like broken teeth; their brown and craggy skin let them blend in with the mundane landscape of Liberapolis, especially under the blanket of night. Each serpentfiend varied in size, but these ones were smaller than the serpentfiends Trace fought earlier that day.

That didn’t make them any less dangerous.

Trace Taylor grabbed a hammer off the kitchen counter and dashed for the doorway. She scrambled for what was left of the broken wooden boards, Makeshift Materials telling her exactly what she needed to do to build a barricade with what she had.

“What are you doing, Trace?” Liz asked, frowning.

“We can’t let those fuckers in,” the redhead said. Her heart hammered in her chest harder than the actual hammer in her hand. “They’re fast and deadly and they’ve got a nasty bite. If they get close to us—”

Adair cut her off. “What about the commune?” His eyes flickered, facing northward.

The Evergreen Gun Range was located at the very southern tip of the commune, and it just so happened that the assault of the serpentfiends came from the southeast. The monsters would— at least some of them— try their luck with Trace and Liz.

…Well, Adair was here too, but Trace didn’t really care if anything happened to him or if he did anything at all.

However, she was concerned with his words. She wanted to ignore it, but she heard a scream from outside, and it caused her to hesitate just long enough for Liz to rush out of the broken doorway.

“Nah way, we’re not hiding from those things.” She drew her Obsidian Longsword, shooting Trace a grin.

The redhead didn’t react in time to stop her best friend from charging into the open street. Liz ran straight for the screeching monsters. Two of them were crawling past The Evergreen Gun Range, and she leapt straight into the middle of them. By the time Trace had unholstered her pistol, the monsters were dead.

“That was barely even a challenge. Are they supposed to be dangerous? C’mon, they were barely level 6.”

Liz chuckled, flicking the blood off her black blade. Trace narrowed her eyes.

Level 6? Weren’t the lesser serpentfiends above level 10?

[Affirmative,] Ex confirmed. [However, these are fleeting serpentfiends, an inferior version of a serpentfiend. That is why they are below level 10.]

Well, that explains their size. Still, Trace was wary of them. After all, by the sounds of it, there had to be dozens of them here— maybe even over a hundred.

Their terrible shrieks were grating to the ears like the sounds of bone grinding against a thin metal sheet, filling the night with pain and agony and death. Three blocks down, a woman’s voice cried.

“Help! Someone help—”

And Liz’s gaze snapped. She gestured for Trace to follow, swinging her blade above her head.

“They don’t stand a chance against us. Let’s go!”

The redhead was confident in her best friend, but not stupid enough to believe Liz could take all of them on her own. That drove her forward. Dropping her hammer, Trace raced down the road, gritting her teeth tightly together, and clasping the handle of her gun with both her hands.

“Fuck— wait up!”

Trace whirled around a street corner, pistol already raised and aimed at the first serpentfiend. It cast a long shadow as it scuttled around a fallen burning bin. The spilled flames illuminated a bloody scene— men and women lay dead as Liz stood protectively over a cowering woman, fighting off six serpentfiends at once.

The first serpentfiend crawled over the corpses, opening its mouth wide to reveal rows of spearing teeth. It reached Liz’s legs—

“Don’t you fucking touch her!”

Bang!

It took one shot. The monster collapsed, and Ex notified Trace of her kill.

[You have defeated a Fleeting Serpentfiend – Lvl 7!]

The first serpentfiend’s blood splattered past Liz as she spun around, slicing another of the monsters in half. Maybe it was because they perceived her as a threat, or maybe it was because she was throwing herself straight at them, but they were drawn to her. They might have overwhelmed her. Fortunately for her, Trace was there.

The redhead never would’ve even aimed a pistol close to her best friend just a month ago, even if the safety was on. But now, here she was, firing multiple magically enhanced bullets in the same direction as Liz.

Each shot Trace fired took down a monster. The skins of the fleeting serpentfiends were far weaker than their lesser counterparts. This wasn’t just an observation; Trace could see their weak points with her Vulnerability Vision, and the skill revealed just how defenseless they were. Her Mystic Bullets blasted off large chunks of their flesh and innards all over the pavement as she unloaded her entire magazine to support Liz.

There was a click. Trace reloaded with ease, swapping rounds in one fluid motion. But just as she was about to take another shot, she felt something coarse and bristly graze her feet. Then there was a crack.

A bright light whipped straight for Trace. Her eyes widened as the entire darkened street was briefly lit by the thin streak of lightning. It struck true, erupting into a blinding flash that engulfed the redhead. She stumbled back, her gaze unfocused for a moment.

When her vision returned a second later, she saw the dead monster.

It wasn’t the charred remains of a fleeting serpentfiend: it was far too large in size. Trace gave it one look and she knew it was the higher-levelled lesser serpentfiend instead. Yet, the lightning killed the monster in a single hit. It was a powerful attack— and a familiar one at that. After all, it was once used against the redhead.

Adair Russell jogged up to her, panting slightly. Electricity crackled around the flame hovering right by his head. The fire washed away the shadows, cleaning the area from the nasty darkness that hid the serpentfiends.

“Perhaps you should have left the range with me,” the man said. “Because you would have backup with you, see.”

“Thanks… wait.” Her brows snapped together. “Are you seriously fucking speaking in iambic pentameter right now?”

He scratched his cheek. “Force of habit.”

“Take that!”

A shout from Liz instantly drew Trace’s attention back to the fighting. But when the redhead turned around, there was almost no fighting left for her. The pavement was littered with the corpses of over a dozen fleeting serpentfiends. Only a single monster was left alive, but this one was faster and bigger than the others.

Elizabeth Evergreen swung and missed her final, decisive strike, giving the lesser serpentfiend a chance to fight back. But instead of going for Liz’s legs, it clambered up the sword. It crawled up her arms as she cursed. She wrestled to get it off her, and Trace cursed.

“Shit—”

The redhead moved without thinking. Her barrel aimed straight for the lesser serpentfiend, even as it clung onto Liz’s forearms. A single misfire would kill Trace’s best friend. But before she could even pull the trigger, Liz punched it.

The fist struck across the lesser serpentfiend’s face. Crunch. It had to have broken something of the monster, but that didn’t matter. Because the punch knocked it straight into the fallen bin— into the fire.

The monster shrieked, burning slowly as it writhed wildly and struck the trash can. It clawed at the screaming metal, tearing into it with its spiked legs. The sound unnerved Trace, and it didn’t look like the fire was going to kill it anytime soon, so she shot it.

“Shut. Up.”

And it stopped moving.

Liz crossed her arms. “Yo, what the fuck, Trace? You stole my kill.”

Trace rolled her eyes, ignoring her best friend. Instead, she walked up to the fallen woman. The only survivor of this group that had been warming themselves by the fire. She looked to be in her mid-forties, with fog-light hair. Trace offered her a hand.

“Are you alright?” the redhead asked.

No response. The grey-haired woman was balled up, scratching her heeks, and murmuring madly to herself. “There were so many of them… they came so quickly, I couldn’t even do anything. And Ethan… where’s Ethan?! Where—”

Trace pursed her lips. She didn’t know what to say. Glancing over at Liz— at her averted gaze— she knew her best friend was at a loss for words too.

But someone knew what to say. Adair walked up to the woman, placing a hand on her shoulder. The spilled flames dimmed, weakened by something he was doing. He helped her up without saying a word.

“Ethan… they killed Ethan, just like that— my useless brother. Even though he was useless, I never wished… I never wished…”

She finally trailed off. Her gaze shadowed over as the fire finally dissipated. Adair dusted her off and turned to a nearby building.

“Seek shelter inside,” he said. “It’s safer. Even without heat or electricity.”

The woman nodded, stumbling off without another word.

Trace turned to Adair. “Are we just going to let her go off on her own?”

“There are more serpentfiends out there, Ms Trace Taylor.”

She closed her eyes. Even now, she could hear their screeches echoing in the night. Not as many as before. But still plenty.

“I—”

And shots rained down the streetcorner. A group of serpentfiends fled down the road, barraged by gunfire. A commanding voice bellowed.

“LPD! Chase those damned monsters out of the commune!”

Liz grew alert as Veronica and several other police officers ran down the junction, finishing off their own group of serpentfiends. Jeremy, her partner, paused when he spotted Trace. He tapped on Veronica’s shoulder, even as she shouted.

“Exterminate those godforsaken pests— hm?”

Veronica turned to Trace, raising an eyebrow. Then she took in the scene— the scattered corpses of the serpentfiend covering the pavement like fallen leaves during autumn’s peak. Her gaze settled onto the human bodies before she looked back up.

“Police officers?” Liz looked impressed. “I didn’t think there were any police still around.”

“There’s not too many of us, but we still try our best,” Veronica said as she walked up to them. She turned to Trace with a grateful look, and the redhead shifted uncomfortably.

“Thank you.” Veronica nodded. Then she let out a sigh. “Again. For helping protect our commune.” Pausing, she turned to Adair and Liz. “The same goes for the both of you.”

Liz blinked. “Wait, what commune? I just did this for the experience.”

[You have defeated a Lesser Serpentfiend – Lvl 11!

…

X

* * *

The rest of the serpentfiends fled the commune without putting up much of a fight, much to Liz’s ire. They were monsters, but they were also intelligent enough to know when they’d lost. At least, that was what Trace assumed.

Who knew what went on in the mind of a monster? They were monsters for a reason… except, she didn’t know what a monster even was.

Why were they called monsters and not animals? Why did they have credits hidden in their bodies? How did they have levels? Were they forcefully implanted with femtochips too?

These were all questions she directed to the only expert she knew: her AI, Ex. But as always, he turned up with no proper answers for her. Practically useless.

[I take offence to that.]

“I don’t care.” She didn’t really mean it, but neither did he.

[I am capable of providing basic information about any monsters you have encountered, Trace Taylor. I cannot aid you beyond that.]

“Alright, since that’s the case, can you tell me anything about that Bne Worldeater, Ex? Y’know, the one that did this bullshit to you in the Dungeon?”

[Negative.]

There was a drawn-out moment of silence where Trace was certain he was processing a response. She adjusted a nail as she waited for him. Finally, he spoke.

[As I have informed you the last time you inquired, my knowledge-base on its existence is limited. Protocol dictates that they should be exterminated on sight. Any encounter with them will lead to the same reaction by all artificial intelligence units. Of course, I will gladly remind of this information every time you ask me since you are a proven idiot.]

Trace snorted. “At least I know that I’m an idiot. You’re an idiot in denial. Do we need another Bne Worldeater to help you become self-aware of how of an idiot you are?”

[Even if I am an idiot, at least I am not the one embarrassing myself in front of others by talking to no one.]

“I’m talking to you, and it’s not like they’re paying any attention to me.” The redhead shrugged. She struck the hammer hard against the wooden board, pounding the nail in with that hit.

Taking in her craftwork, she drew back and wiped the beads of sweat off her forehead. It was finally finished. Trace had not only repaired but also reinforced the entryway to The Evergreen Gun Range.

[(G) Quick Hands has reached level 7!

(G) Quick Hands has reached level 8!

(F) Makeshift Materials has reached level 4!

(F) Makeshift Materials has reached level 5!

(F+) Rapid Repair has reached level 6!

(F+) Rapid Repair has reached level 7!

Builder has reached level 6!

Builder has reached level 7!]

Now all she hoped was that she didn’t find it in pieces again tomorrow.

Trace spun around, finally turning her attention to the others. Liz, Adair, Veronica, and her partner, Jeremy, had just finished their conversation. Good timing at that, too.

“Oi, Liz, look what I did—”

“I’m not sure about that whole responsibility thing, sounds like too much for me, for real. But I guess I can do this much.” The Swordsmaiden grinned, slapping Veronica on the shoulder.

Frowning, the redhead walked up to them. “What’s going on?”

Liz shook her head. “Nothing much. Veronica here just asked me to help hunt down the rest of those serpentfiends we just fought.”

“They are dangerous, and it seems like they’ll keep threatening our commune,” Veronica said, pursing her lips. “We need someone strong to deal with them. Especially right now, while we’re at our most vulnerable.”

“Wait, and you agreed to help them?” Trace was aghast, but Liz didn’t seem to mind.

“Sure, why not? All the more experience for me. It’s a win-win, Trace.”

“What if you die?”

“I could always die in a Dungeon too. It makes no difference to me.”

“But at least when you go fighting in a Dungeon, you’re with Ken and Kat and Jakob. You’ll be alone, Liz.”

“Actually,” Adair added from the side, “I’ll be assisting her in her mission.”

“As if I’ll trust you with her life.” Trace glared at him, and he backed up.

“Y-yes, of course.”

The redhead turned back to her best friend. “Are you sure about this?” she asked.

They locked gazes. Liz gave a thumbs-up. “Yep. I know my limits, Trace, and if I get bad vibes from those serpentfiends, you know I’ll nope the fuck outta there.”

Veronica tried to reassure Trace. “I am not sending your friend on a suicide mission. I can promise you, she’s allowed to turn back whenever she wants. I asked Adair to accompany her to help her, not oversee her.”

“…alright.”

Her explanation made sense to the redhead. Veronica was, by all accounts, a good person. Trace trusted her, even if she didn’t fully trust Adair. The problem was the scale of this issue. No one here knew how high-levelled these serpentfiends could go. In a Dungeon, its rank informed those who entered that the monsters within wouldn’t be too powerful. There was a ceiling— a sort of cap to how dangerous they could be to those who entered.

However, considering that the serpentfiends didn’t come from a Dungeon, they could possibly even reach level 50 or 100. It was unlikely, but it was possible.

And that was why Trace was worried.

If this was some random prat throwing themselves into possible death, Trace wouldn’t have cared as much. But Liz was not a stranger. And Trace…

She remembered the scene from just an hour or two ago: the image of the corpses strewn around the spilled flaming bin as the grey-haired woman cried was burned into the redhead’s mind. She also remembered how she felt when she saw the man with his kids this afternoon— it had driven her to act and face the serpentfiends, even when she wanted to run and hide.

And Trace sighed.

Perhaps she cared more about strangers than she thought she did. So much for being self-aware. She couldn’t just stand idly by as her best friend endangered her own life.

“Alright,” Trace Taylor repeated herself. “I’m coming with.”

Her words caught even Liz by surprise.

“You sure, Trace? Have you even fully recovered yet?”

The redhead felt her legs— her strength wasn’t fully restored just yet, and she now had cuts at her ankles from one of the lesser serpentfiends. “Doesn’t matter. I’m not letting you go alone.”

Liz stared at her… and smiled. “I knew you wouldn’t miss out on the fun. We’ll kick their asses together.”

Trace raised her pistol, cocking it.

“That’s right. We’ll fuck those serpentshits up.”