The hard texture of his metallic toe bit into the rock, enough for a side jump, followed by a Double Jump into a somersault over pressurized jets of acid. The poisonous acrid air ignored by his amazing helmet.

Enoch felt the edge of the acid mist brush him as he glided over it, close the ceiling. The droplet fought against his high Resist. Did some minor damage and spread an unpleasant tingly feeling.

His left hand caught a crack. He used it to propel himself a bit further. Anticipating the drop of his trajectory, he projected his thought into his sword. Blink.

He appeared on a safe platform. Easy. He took a dramatic pause as Choo circled around him. A look back at the section and multiple points of interest flashed into his visor. Pressure points. Light detector. Acid hoses. A meat grinder pit? These Hollows were out of control.

The huge scroll unrolled to summon four elite players. Bored. He rolled the scroll, strapped it on his back and turned to the next stretch. The traps popped to his awareness, highlighted in neon pink. A cocked hammer. Suspicious Mana batteries. Wands embedded into the wall, pointing down at an angle. A motion sensor disguised as a fancy light source.

The chat scrolled at the edge of his vision.

“This doesn’t look suspicious at all.”

“Don’t forget to pause dramatically on the other side, you only waited two seconds. I need more time for my 360°.” Tip | 40$

“You have to show me how you did the last part.” Tag | Little bro

His mind calculated a path, then four more. He chose one and went for it, mechanical legs springing with pure power.

***

Multiple tons of rock fell behind him followed by a cascade of blocks. Enoch lightly jogged in front of the catastrophe.

An angle in the tunnel revealed an open courtyard, or as open as a cavern could be. He walked in a bit further and saw the castle.

Spires over spires, iron gray. The structure flared up like a tree up to the cavern’s canopy. Huge creepy drones, hollowed, flew around it, their Mana crystals trailing the colors of the rainbow, heralding doom.

Choo said, “The castle you and the others talked about so much?”

“Yes, anything to say about it?”

“Not much. I did notice, however, that the empty drones are boring to kill.”

Enoch gave a curious look to his murderous artifact, said “really?”

“Yeah, not much reaction, they just cease to function.”

Enoch shrugged while he unrolled his summoning scroll.

“Here it is,” exclaimed Turner as pixelated smoke dispersed around him.

“It is,” confirmed Anton.

Ally gave them her delightful laugh, a clear crescendo of wholesome notes.

Tetsuo retrieved two scrolls from the folds of his coat. Ordered a regroup and read them. [Invisible | 2 minutes]. [Silent | 2 minutes]. Five players, three animated Artifacts and one real tiny Drone, turned translucid, caught in a pocket of silence. Choo bumped into his shield to no avail. Not a sound.

They ran forward. The ground perfectly smooth, perfectly cleaned. They dodged the Hollows. Made good time until, predictably, the Spell went out.

The nearby hostile stopped in their track, rotated slowly toward the sudden group of Outsiders. Far above by the canopy, a squadron of flying drones dove toward them.

“Go,” said Tetsuo, pushing Enoch toward the castle. “Make good time, our liv…” the rest didn’t reach the running scout already too far away.

Five hundred feet later, he turned to his companion for a quick check. As planned, Tetsuo retrieved another scroll, read it and a Wondrous Castle materialized around Art Delvers, pixels building on pixels. The size modest for fortress, absurd for a Spell. Solid smooth walls formed an octagon, five stories high. Tiny spires dotted the structure, a forest of antennas hanging at weird angles, giving it a vibe of madness and magic.

The big hitters converging to it paused to launch projectiles. The familiar green bubble popped, denser, enhanced by the castle’s defensive options.

Best luck to them. Enoch stopped running backward and pivoted back to his objective. Shocked by the recent transition from silence to pure action, his soundtrack blasted heavy metal distorted by his synthwave filter. Electronic keyboard and epic crescendos.

The omnilegs ramped-up to insanity. Their acceleration pressuring the biological parts attached to them. Trailing behind, Choo’s serrated shield whistled in the rushing air. Stuck to it, the purple core shouted incomprehensible babble. Somewhere in there, caught by Enoch high Perception, there were promises of violence and deactivation to the legions of boring opponents.

Multicolored shards rained down. The sheer volume of projectile managed to land some hits even if the aim was off. They hadn’t factored enough Speed in their shots. [-4 Health Point]. [-7 Health Point]. [Corrupted – 45 seconds]. Bad debuff right there. His Resist were high, but nothing was absolute in this game.

Running at full speed, Enoch signaled his animated friend, two fingers up, then his fist came down with intent. The purple core detached from his favorite shield, matter coalescing around him. [-3 Health Point]. Epic tribal bongos started playing and the Totem Golem came down. His Healing Aura hit his master.

The corruption debuff drained his Stamina and Mana at an alarming rate. [-5 Health Point].

Quick calculations, or, more precisely, his best guess, told Enoch to continue at full speed. His Stamina pool would hit about zero somewhere close to his destination. With luck.

[-8 Health Point]. [Poisoned | -5 Health/second | 45 seconds]. [-4 Health Point]. [-5 Health Point]. [-2 Health Point].

He made it. 4 Stamina Point left. Enoch signaled Choo again, his whole forearm raised this time. The Totem Golem faded, replaced by the Tower Golem. Four feet of solid white rock, steel and a crystal up top. Choo activated his Mana Shield, then proceed to a barrage of Magical Bolt.

Enoch rolled away as the enemies’ fire switched to the threatening tower. Far in the distance, the Wondrous Castle withstood a huge explosion. Two spires fell. It was time. The scroll unrolled, summoned three Delvers.