I knew that if we didn't take care of the peregrines first, we would end up like porcupines, so I started my barrage of Crystal Blow arrows.

The damn peregrines could evade my arrows, but they were flying low, so when I unleashed my explosive arrows and their Trick Shot's copy on the droids head, the blast would end up engulfing them as well.

Technoperegrine of the Fallen Kingdom, Level 51 (417,789/510,000)

Durability: 100%

Agility: 105

Constitution: 95

Strength: 40

Focus: 86

Perception: 90

Willpower: 0

Strengths: Beak, Dive, Flight, Metal body, Mobility, Talons

Weaknesses: None

Ability: Piercing Feathers

Damaging their wings and thrusters was enough to bring them down. Still, I was speedily consuming my Crystal Blow arrows reserve, but if I hadn't acted like that, they would have undoubtedly overwhelmed us.

Technoperegrines and droids had fallen like flies by the time the horde reached up to us, but the bulk of them were still there, their momentum likely going to get the better of us.

I knew of their specialties; the only information I lacked was about the gorillas.

Technorilla of the Fallen Kingdom, Level 68 (37,888/6,200,000)

Durability: 100%

Agility: 40

Constitution: 168

Strength: 128

Focus: 60

Perception: 62

Willpower: 0

Strengths: Hammer punch, Rage, Taunt

Weaknesses: None

Ability: Hammer punch

Techonrillas are very powerful and resistant fighters. Their Strength, almost reaching up to their Constitution, boost their defense more than one would expect.

Their signature move, Hammer punch, extends their already long reach adding further explosive power to their powerful swings. They are best fought from range.

Nova had fought against those beasts on her own. The only thing saving her had probably been relying on Combat Forms.

But then I realized…trust was needed in our relationship, and she was by no means defenseless anymore but had I really let her fight such monsters all on her lonesome? Was I losing my mind?

I vehemently shook my head, no more group separations from now on; Alistar's Kobold friends could go fuck themselves for what I cared.

"Watch out for the gorillas!" I shouted.

However, there was no more time; the creatures were upon us.

"Shoot at their center; let's separate them!" I screamed to Aisha; she was already on it.

When they reached us, we all got behind Aisha's back, as with her conjoined hands, she let go of the strongest Flow burst she could.

The creatures engulfed by the burst of Flow started melting, its sheer violence was the first thing hitting them, pushing them back or aside. Yet the Technorhinos were by far those that weighed most. The power of displaced air from Aisha’s flow burst was not enough to move them. For the moment, we would have to deal with them directly.

I had roughly a third of my Stone reserve, but it would have to do.

I had to take down the Rhinos; their Homing horns were too dangerous for our only heavy-hitter.

So, I took my knife in hand and conjured a Crystal grenade; and then I started dancing.

Moving from one Technorhino to another, closely avoiding their Homing-horns by sheer effort or with my transfer's help, I threw the grenades in their mouths.

One grenade carefully placed was enough to shut down a Rhino.

It helped that I had, once again, borrowed Loki's Focus. It was a slight increase in damage, but it was still an increase.

Yet dealing directly with Technorhinos was not something I could just do by myself; my Classes were not built for exposing myself like that.

In fact, after I had blown up a few Rhinos' heads, one especially nasty quadruped had taken an interest in me.

A Homing horn was heading right at me, speeding in the air thanks to the thruster attached to its bottom.

I would not be able to shoot an arrow nor throw my knife in time, not like this.

Would I be able to avoid it in time? Would I get skewered? But then, why was I asking myself those useless questions? I had a SolarTitanium clock-arm installed on my body, and it had a terrifying shield on its back.

The fucking arm weighted more than both my combined legs; I had to start doing exercises to grow my back muscles to fix that.

So, with a backswing of my clock-arm, I received the horn on the shield, slamming it away.

I could do this. Even without my weapons, I had terrific clock-parts now.

So I ran at the creature, kicking a Technodog with my SolarTitanium leg on the ground as I headed toward it, then I grabbed the neck of a droid and tore it apart with my clock arm.

Droid Constitution reached up to hundred twenty points, my arm's Strength was one hundred and five, but its build was much more robust than theirs.

I had learned that Equipment Strength acted exactly like Basic Strength, which meant that I had a disgustingly powerful arm now.

When I reached the wary Technorhino, I placed my tech foot in its mouth with a kick, then punched it in the muzzle with my left arm, and finally, I grabbed its jaw, forcing it open and finally throwing a grenade inside of it.

It exploded the very moment I left my grip on the creature’s mouth, the explosion bringing it down for good.

I finally realized that I had more than an ace in the hole now, "I can do this even without wasting my Stones."

It was at that point that I started abusing my Form of the Vector.

Spectre's Dignity in my right hand, and my clock-arm ready to grab and stop the enemy's movements, I started the carnage.

***

When we were finally done, I wanted to sit on the ground and just…breathe.

You've earned 689 (x34), 1255 (x6), 1189 (x15), 1358 (x9), 2158 (x7), 3415 (x6) Soul fractions. Soul fractions for next TechnoHunter level: 419,411/430,000

But I couldn't… we had to get to the median ring before another wave of these tech creatures hit us.

Logan told us there would be a platform, before we reached the Median Ring and Horn's party confirmed that it would allow us to rest.

Parties used it to search for other parties that wanted to collaborate, joining up in delving, or simply to rest and prepare for what was ahead.

However, we did not know what lay ahead; Logan said it was not the same as the outer ring.

The Median Ring would be something entirely else.

"Captain, I can see them," Faruq said, breaking me out of my musing and pointing at Nova's party. They were ahead of us, and they had just reached the winding-down platform.

Well, more than a platform, it was a giant ring that spawned all around the path. For some reason, creatures were not attracted by parties that dwelled on the platforms, but they would attack nevertheless if another party started their adventure on the same path we had taken. It was unlikely, though. There really weren't that many delvers that adventured in the Fallen Kingdom.

If the Outer Ring had a recommended level ranging from forty to fifty, not counting Skill Promotions, the Median Ring, which was entirely different, required Ultimate Class holders, and the same was required for the Inner Ring, but with Skill Promotions aplenty.

Reaching the Kingdom required a massive party of focused individuals that were already fully Promoted. While adventuring into the castle...it was madness itself.

"Nova!" Harlow called, waving her hand in the air as we crossed onto the giant platform that separated the outer ring from the median ring.

Nova, Alistar, and Roana had already arrived and were speaking to another party of delvers.

"I don't know those people," Harlow said, pointing at the ones speaking with Party One, "and pretty much everyone there is to know comes to us for supplies or counseling."

"Might be party-hunters," Aisha said, her eyes squinting her eyes in suspicion.

"What should that be?”

"People that hunt down parties for their possessions. Weapon, armors, but more importantly Dark Crystals and such, Captain."

Fuck.

"Let's join them, fast.”

We hurried to them as fast as we could.

In the meanwhile, I connected my sense to Loki's.

Not only did I get to his Soul fractions...

Loki has earned 21528 Technodog's Soul fractions + 19857 Droid's Soul fractions + 4158 Technorhino's Soul fractions. Soul fractions for next level: 121,463/350,000

—but I felt he was slightly weirded out about something; he felt somehow disconnected. Some sort of magic was in place.

I could barely distinguish what the man that looked like the opposing party leader was saying, but they felt like questions.

I Traced him through Loki's eyes.

Ethan Trench, Shade Trickster Level 50 (Max/500,000), Shade Chemist Level 50 (Max/500,000)

Health: 200%

Stamina: 172%

Agility: 30

Constitution: 23

Strength: 20

Focus: 24

Perception: 19

Willpower: 22

Strengths: Agility, Tricks

Weaknesses: Clock-leg

Class Skills: Trick II (Agility), Mega throw II (Strength), Icy Dagger II (Focus), Danger Sniffing II (Perception)

Sub-Class Skills: Fortify III (Constitution), Chemical Knowledge III (Focus), Drug burst III (Willpower), Luck of the Draw (Fortune)

Race: Human

Sex: Male

Height: 180 cm

Weight: 78 kg

Age: 32

Origins: Sundoor

Family: None

A shady guy indeed.

The man was a Shade-cursed, but that was not why he was shady; there was something weird about him, maybe it was his Skill setup paired with his origins.

He was a Sundoorian with Skills that were definitely not suited for fighting in a place filled with tech creatures.

"I believe Loki might have been drugged," I said, rescinding the connection.

"Figures…" Aisha answered. "Did you Trace them, by any chance?"

"I Traced the one speaking with Star and Ro; he's a shady guy. Ethan Trench, Sundoorian, Rogue, and Chemist, his Skills definitely don't qualify him as suited to fight these types of creatures. If he wanted to really delve, wouldn't he do it better in the Golden Tower, am I right?"

"Well, there are no clock-tech creatures in the Golden Tower, so a chemist is more useful there, but that's not the point. What's weird about him is that he looks like he's getting too close to them. Parties don't get that close to other parties. It's too dangerous. He's practically leaning on them. He knows they are noobs and is trying to worm himself into them, or so I believe," Aisha stated.

Fucking bastard, trying to worm himself into Nova's trust, I'm gonna wipe the floor with that guy.

I didn't want to show my own tricks right away, though, so I couldn't just transfer right near them.

So, we sped toward them.

"Hey, guys. You actually beat us to it!" Harlow said as we got there, she had definitely learned a bit from Logan's cunning.

"Har!" Nova said, "Loke! Did you see my fighting? Damn, my knees were trembling, but it was really exciting!"

"Yeah," I said, "you were incredible."

Then I gave my attention to Roana, "Ro, won't you introduce us to your new friends?"

She nodded at me, almost imperceptibly. "This is Lucian Bale, a rogue from the City," she said, pointing at Ethan, "his party wanted to fight through the median ring together; he didn't believe we already had someone we were waiting for, no matter how long we kept repeating it."

Lucian Bale, eh?

Yeah, I had to admit it…I lost it there, almost went completely berserk; what reigned me in was Aisha immediately gripping my arm.

I sighed heavily.

Speed-Tracing the other four people on his team, I realized that they were all maxed Advanced Class holders. A Hammer Warrior, another TechnoHunter just like me, and a Technorogue both without Technomantic Body and a Stone Brawler. Nothing I couldn't take on.

"So, Ethan," I said, taunting, "my friends are telling you to get the fuck off," I got closer, twirling my knife in my hand.

Shade's peculiar coldness was tickling my eyes, turning him into different patches of orange and yellow.

"Isn't it enough drugging my lion? Do you want to fuck them up too? What do you say if I fuck you up instead? Because if you don't, disappear right now, and I mean it literally. I'm going to shove my clock-arm so far up your ass that I'll make you gag on your own shit."

"Loke…that's disgusting…" Nova said. Alistar snorted while laughing.

Lucian, instead, was taken aback.

"Who the Hell do you think you are to speak like that to us?"

That was the second time a Shade-cursed from Sundoor mentioned this Hell; I hadn't managed to ask the Sun what it really was about, but right now was not the time to think about people’s beliefs.

A couple of his party members started laughing; the TechnoHunter raised his bow.

By my side, Faruq drew his swords in a flash, Harlow's helmet immediately closed, Roana's thrown knife rose in mid-air, and Alistar spun his halberd in the air.

"Are you sure you really want to do this, Lucian?" I taunted with a grin, "It's eight against four, and I'm sure we're worth twice as much as you, so make it sixteen vs. four."

They all backed out at the same time.

Their action showed their coordination and experience, and I had seen their Tracing; they were all fully Promoted.

Thankfully, not even one among this Ethan's companions was a four Stars, yet; they had us entirely beaten. The only thing in which we were really superior was the unexpected presence of a magician and a healer and our numbers.

"You've messed with the wrong bunch, simple-minded fool; it's about time you earned your place in the world."

At that point, he threw something at our feet, but Aisha's reaction was instantaneous. She summoned a flare against the rising smoke; it burned in mid-air, consumed by the flames, instead of being breathed by us.

"You don't want to do this, believe me," she added.

She had been fast. How would I have responded to that? I could have transferred away, but I couldn't have saved the others from whatever those chemicals in the air did if Aisha hadn't been there.

Damn, I still had a lot to learn.

And I acted on impulse once more, always ready for the kill, always ready to unleash the Abyss upon my enemies, always ready to take lives that I could spare...

I didn't have to fight for my villager's protection now; things were different. Nova and I were not alone against the world anymore; we had friends protecting our backs, some of them were more capable than us, and then again, we would join the city.

I had to begin to learn how to act less…passionately. I knew I could do it.

"You are a Sundoorian," Ethan realized more than said, eyeing Aisha. His smile spread to his cheeks and turned into a wicked grin.

"What is a precious thing like you doing here, young Lady? Even in the slums, we know that someone as fine as you dwells in the upper-city, what are you doing amid savages?"

Alistar scoffed, "You are kind of getting on my nerves, hummie. If you were obnoxious before, now you're really pushing me into bisecting you."

"Yeah, keep dreaming, Kobold," said the Hammer Warrior; he was a broad-chested regular, much shorter than Alistar though, placing himself between him and Ethan.

"I have her locked on," Ethan, the TechnoHunter, said, aiming at Aisha.

Yeah, she was the true danger in their eyes, the magician.

"Don't ignore the dark queen over there," Ethan added, nodding in Roana's direction.

Roana couldn't help but chuckle, "The dark queen? Really? For a little black leather?"

Roana had indeed started to wear darker colors. Still, the one answering that question was, weirdly, Faruq, "It's how they call female Animancers, Psychomancers, and Necromancers back in the City."

"Really? I kind of like it," she answered with a smile.

I was more surprised by how my companions seemed to have everything under control. I had likely been the one who had fucked this situation up.

I had ever so slowly been turning into a wild horse, and I really didn't like that. It had to be fixed, and I probably needed somebody's help to do it.

Once again, Ethan brought me out of my reverie, "Are you a noble? Your clothes are relatively cheap-looking, but they are sturdy; I can see their quality is high."

Then he even turned to the side, removing his eyes from us, his enemies, "We might have hit the jackpot here."

Alright, I realized. There would be time enough to fix my angsty side. Now we had to get rid of these ill-intentioned fellows.

Yet, that never came to be because unexpected companies came to our aid.

From behind the enemy team, a man with a massive sword appeared out of the blue.

He was a flow-blessed, yet his hair, reaching his shoulders, was darker than they usually were for a Flow-blessed, and they partially hid his round glasses.

The man rested his elbow on the Stone Brawler standing at the right of the TechnoHunter. His massive sword leaned on his right shoulder. He had a clock-arm just like me, and it seemed to be made in SolarTitanium as well.

And yet…I knew that face; I had already seen it somewhere.

When my instinct told me to Trace him, I realized I had already seen that man, but back then, his hair was tied in a knot on his head, and he wore no glasses.

Noland Smith, Flow Sword Master Level 70 (Max/7,000,000), High-Speedster Level 70 (Max/7,000,000)

Health: 300%

Stamina: 287%

Flow Capacity: 100%

Agility: 50

Constitution: 38

Strength: 33

Focus: 33

Perception: 15

Willpower: 30

Strengths: Agility, Constitution, Strength, Focus, Dash, Light Slash, Metal Flow Body

Weaknesses: None

Class Skills: Light Slash IV (Agility), Metal Flow Body IV (Constitution), Master Draw (Strength), Solar Edge (Focus), True Intuition IV (Perception)

Sub-Class Skills: Dash IV (Agility), True Stamina IV (Constitution), True Grit IV (Focus), Neverending Will IV (Willpower), Luck of the Draw (Fortune)

Race: Human

Sex: Male

Height: 183 cm

Weight: 85 kg

Age: 35

Origins: Sundoor

Family: Lara Smith, Rey Smith

"Hey there, Ethan and fellas. You really are hopeless, are you not?"

The Stone Brawler shuddered in surprise, screaming, "Noland!"

Noland raised his giant sword in the air, pointing over Ethan and in Harlow's direction, "You are so dumb that you don't even recognize the Clock-engineer's daughter," he said, shaking his head.

"Do you have any idea what your little boss would do to you if he found out..." saying that he got closer to Ethan whispering in his ear, but I managed to hear what he was saying, "... that you went messing with Gustav's own niece?"

Ethan visibly paled.

Noland then pushed Ethan away, while in the distance, three more people came toward us; they were members of Noland's party, I remembered them.

"These ones are our friends, Ethan," Noland said, "now you and your hobo entourage go back to whatever kind of sewers you've come from, and next time you try to mug someone, try to really understand who you are dealing with first. Now shoo, get out of my sight!"

Ethan and his party scrambled away without saying anything else. They didn't even turn around to check; they simply ran toward the Freelands.

"Thank you for your intervention, Noland," Harlow said as her helmet folded open.

Noland turned toward her with a beautiful smile, "No biggies, Harlow, how's Logan today!?"