Sirius landed in a narrow space, stone walls pressing against his body from all sides. He was forced to turn sideways and slide his way through the gap towards the dim light he saw flickering outside.

Upon reaching the end of the crevice, he hesitantly peeked his head out — swiveling back and forth to check both ways. The breach in the wall was located right in between two copper sconces, positioned where the meeting shadows cast by their torches were the deepest.

‘Shit!’ Sirius sucked in a sharp breath as he ducked back into darkness. Two men-at-arms had just rounded a corner, approaching his position from the right.

The enemies were just as Shadowfire had described. They were equipped with light brown gambesons and well-worn kettle helms. Both men had a hand resting on the shortsword sheathed at their belt as they walked, and a string of bold red text hovered above their heads.

Man-at-Arms, Lvl 3

HP: ?/?

It was the first time Sirius had seen any name-plates, but unfortunately, it was still lacking that critical piece of information. Health Points weren’t the most accurate gauge of strength but it could give them an indication of the target’s stats if NPC values were calculated similarly to their own.

He waited patiently for the patrol to pass, straining his eyes in hopes that squinting with all his might would reveal the unknown. But he wasn't blessed with any luck and neither did they so much as spare a glance towards the crevice

When they’d disappeared from sight, Sirius backtracked and rapped softly on the door. Shadowfire hopped down a moment later as he made room for the man to enter.

“A patrol just passed — we need to move quickly,” Sirius whispered. He and Shadowfire entered the passageway as Talia clambered down, assisted by Roan. Now, out in the open, Sirius had a better chance to look around. The corridor was relatively wide and tall — and appeared too smooth to be natural. He assumed that it had been carved out somewhat to accommodate the large size of the average Khilaite. Although, he still had no idea what this cave system was originally used for.

“Everyone ready? Should we go from where the guards came, or follow after them?”

“Let’s follow. I don’t want to run head-on into anyone if we can catch others from behind. We should also see if we can gather any information from them — so try and leave one alive.” Shadowfire directed.

“Okay. They shouldn’t be far. Is your [Wind Barrier] ready, Talia?”

She nodded, and Sirius suddenly saw a violet stream of gentle light emerge, snaking around her body like a ribbon.

Not more than a few moments later, he received a buff of his own.

You have been bestowed the [Aspect of the Tortoise] by user Shadowfire!

Base defense increased by 11 (Does not stack with equipment or other defense modifiers)

Effect duration: 2h 59m

‘That’s impressive,’ Sirius murmured internally as a nearly invisible green barrier surrounded his body, clinging closely to his clothes and skin. The Spell’s effects wouldn’t have much use on a heavily-armored player, but right now — it was a real godsend.

Feeling a measure more confident, he stalked down the cave shaft in the direction of the unsuspecting patrol, finally releasing [Aura of Might] as well to fuel his Rage now that no enemies were in the vicinity.

As expected, it didn’t take long to catch up. The men-at-arms moved at a leisurely pace, seemingly unfazed by the vibrations of conflict and erratic shaking of the earth above.

Sirius felt a tap on his shoulder and canceled his aura when the party had entered into an acceptable range. In an impressive display of coordination, Roan and Shadowfire each raised a hand, charging up their [Spark] as Talia directed the stale cavern air to seal the guards’ escape.

The men seemed startled by the sudden gust of wind brushing past them, but they didn’t have much chance to react as they were suddenly struck by a flash of muffled lightning each.

At the same time, Sirius had dashed forward. And as soon as the men tensed up, their bodies spasming from the shock, he flooded his legs with power — fueling a [Reckless Charge] to close the remaining distance in a flash. His momentum carried both him and his target straight into the wall, crushing the stunned man-at-arms with a dull thud.

Sirius didn’t need to glance at the enemy’s empty health bar to let him know that the man had perished. As he extracted himself from the wall with a strained grunt, the patrolman collapsed to the ground in a boneless heap.

The slain man’s companion looked on in mute horror as Sirius dusted himself off. He clawed desperately at the dense barrier of wind barring his way, but his movements were still jerky thanks to the lingering effects of [Spark].

A hard jab to the nose knocked the remaining opponent onto his ass and Sirius layered on the suppression by re-activating [Aura of Might].

Shadowfire and the rest hurried over as Sirius lifted the man by his collar.

“Where are you keeping the prisoners!” he hissed.

The Man-at-Arm’s mouth flopped open and closed as he stared up at Sirius’ cold expression. Then, as he noticed the approach of the others, his eyes suddenly rolled back into his head.

“What the fuck?” Shadowfire cursed. “Did he just pass out?”

“Looks like it.” Sirius sighed as he dropped the man back onto the ground. He tried slapping the guy around a bit to wake him up, but nothing seemed to work. “Should we wait? Or just kill him?”

“I vote kill,” Talia chirped. “That was fun!”

“Roan — got any more of those leaves?” Shadowfire asked with a frown.

“Yes, but only a dozen. I want to save them for any prisoners, so I vote to kill as well.”

“Damn. Kill it is. You do the honors, Sirius.”

Sirius knelt over the man and slammed a fist down onto his body. The 25 Rage [Heavy Strike] was met with minimal resistance, caving in the invader’s chest and pulverizing his heart.

It felt no different than beating on a punching bag, almost as if the man was filled with sand rather than flesh and bone but Sirius still shuddered as he stood back up and looked down at the corpse. Crimson blood leaked from the man’s mouth, flowing lazily across his pale skin.

“Wow, Sirius — you’re so strong!” Talia’s delighted praise helped ease the tension of the moment and watching his experience bar shoot up by almost 10% worked wonders quelling his guilt as well.

“Alright. That was great work.” Shadowfire moved over to the body and flipped it over, standing in front of it to obscure the scene. “Combo was nice and clean — we’ll keep using the same one unless presented with more than two enemies at a time. I checked the Combat Log and it looks like the Men-at-Arms only have around 60-70 HP. On the first guy, my [Spark] did 25 points of damage, followed by 33 from Sirius’ charge, and another 7 terrain damage. We can easily clean these mobs up, but keep that number in mind for leaving one alive.”

Seeing a round of nods in reply, Shadowfire continued on, “It’s more than decent experience too, so we shouldn’t shy away from any patrols. However, prisoners remain our first priority. Sirius — lead on.”

The group got right back to work, proceeding through the labyrinth of corridors with ease as they took down patrol after patrol. It was a shame, but they couldn’t get any of the survivors to talk. They either passed out like the first man had or spat defiantly at the questions. No one in the group had the stomach or desire to figure out if torture could work on the NPC’s either.

On the bright side, Sirius and the rest quickly hit level 4, though their exp progress slowed down significantly once they established a level gap with their opponents. But unfortunately, no one received any new Skills or Spells, so the speed of their encounters was only marginally quickened thanks to an increase in Attributes.

It wasn’t until they stumbled upon a group of prisoners — nearly half-an-hour later — that they were met with some change. Everyone had been growing increasingly nervous because they knew they were working on borrowed time. It was unclear how long Rath and the other Heralds would be able to distract the main force of the invaders.

“Finally…” Talia and Sirius seemed to sigh at the same time.

The path had come to a dead-end, opening up into a small, domed room. Five Toth men were shackled to the back wall, huddled close together with heads hung low. Their bodies were smattered with all manner of lashes and dried blood, and the whole area stank of fear, urine, and feces.

Talia had to pinch her nose and turn away from the sight, and even Roan looked like he was struggling to suppress the bile rising in his throat.

“Back off,” One of the men suddenly growled, lifting his gaze as Shadowfire approached. His eyes were swollen shut from a recent beating. “I thought we made it clear that you’ll have to kill us before you can take the boy.”

‘Boy?’ Sirius wondered.

“Brothers, we mean no harm,” Shadowfire urged. “We have come with the Blackguard to rescue you from this accursed place.”

A few of the others lifted their heads now as well — confusion etched clearly on their faces. “You…? Who are you? I have never seen your face before in Blackhill. Have the invaders sent you demons to play tricks on our minds now as well?” The oldest among them uttered.

“My friend speaks the truth.” Talia stepped forward and cast a [Mending Rain] over the prisoners. The golden motes of light fell across their skin, washing away the blood and grime; however, the scars left behind would forever remain. “We are the Heralds — sent by the Gods to bring aid to the tribe.

“T-That’s [Mending Rain]!” one of the men stuttered in disbelief. “A Spell like that cannot be faked. She is a true priestess of Nimera!”

The aggressive tension and unease in the air dispersed, and Sirius was able to join Shadowfire in breaking the chains that bound the men. He also discovered the boy they had mentioned. A child, no older than 5 or 6, lay huddled on the ground behind them.

Dense anger boiled in Sirius’ gut as he helped one of the men lift the boy. He was all skin and bones, whimpering pitifully in his sleep. The guilt that had been lingering in the back of his mind from killing the patrolman in cold blood disappeared in an instant.

“What did they need the boy for?” Shadowfire asked as he helped one man to his feet.

The Toth warrior coughed, spitting out a glob of blood. “Claimed they wish to educate us savages. Show us the ‘Light of Truth’. They said it’s too late for us adults — only the children can learn properly and experience the embrace of their Goddess. At first, we let them go. Didn’t want the young ones down here slowly withering away to die. But then… they started coming back. In the company of those cursed knights. They showed them off to us like our children were cattle. The boys… they had no life in their eyes, almost as if their soul had been sucked right out of them…”

“...That’s enough Garth. We will have plenty of time to share our tale once we’re free.”

“You’re right. I apologize,” Shadowfire assented. “We need to hurry and find more of our brothers. Are any of you familiar with the layout of these caves.”

“Aye, the name’s Bernard” The man who had admonished Garth stepped forward. “I can lead you around for the most part—-”

*Boom!*

A tremendous seismic wave sent everyone tumbling to the ground, dirt, and chunks of stone, pelting their backs as the cavern quaked violently.

Roan was the first to his feet. “That didn’t feel like it originated from the surface,” he warned.

“The knights must have been alerted to your presence,” Garth added, panic etched clearly onto his face. “W-We need to hurry!”

“We probably don’t have time for another group,” Shadowfire quickly took charge. “Bernard — where is the closest exit? We’ve marked our route so far, but it may take too long to completely retrace our steps.”

Bernard chewed on his lip for a moment. “Closest exit is the Ceremonies Chamber, but that’s where all the knights usually gather... I-I was only an ordinary crystal miner, so I’m not sure where all the hidden entrances are. Only the Blackguard would know that.”

“Shit,” Shadowfire grunted. “Then we can only backtrack. I’ll lead. Sirius, you hang back with your Aura active so we can maintain a steady pace. And Roan — distribute the herbs. We’ll need all the buffs on the prisoners we can get.”

Not long after, they were back running through the tunnels. Sirius agreed wholeheartedly with Shadowfire’s judgment. Talia had been able to wipe away the wounds on the surface, but the men were still weak from months of malnourishment and whatever other punishments the invaders inflicted upon them. And it was a long run back to Blackhill.

In hindsight, it was a blessing that they’d chosen to clear out the patrols rather than avoid them. The way back was relatively void of worry aside from the incessant shaking of the ground and walls around them.

Sadly, their luck eventually came to an end. And not at their own fault, but the interference of another party.

“Help!” A despondent cry echoed around the bend in front of them, followed by a flurry of stampeding footsteps.

“Idiot—!” Shadowfire roared as a Toth man stumbled into view. He was easily identifiable as a player by a lack of cuffs and the ragged clothing he wore. But it was too late to curse the other man’s stupidity further as the pack of men-at-arms behind him soon followed.

“Quick! Wall them off, Talia!”

She was already a step ahead of Shadowfire, finishing her chant as he spoke. The barrier sprung into existence, trapping the player inside with his pursuers.

The man could only look on with an aggrieved expression as numerous blades were plunged into his body. He roared in mute anger as his body dissipated but no one felt any sympathy for him.

“Back again we go!”

Sirius brought up the rear as the group spun around. He looked over his shoulder to see if the barrier would be enough to hold that many men, but the result was much worse than he feared.

The men-at-arms had stepped aside and a knight wearing gleaming silver plate armor strode forward. He lifted his shield — an image of a golden sword wrapped in feathery wings emblazoned upon it, and smiled tauntingly.

All the light in the passage gathered eagerly near the knight as his shield was suffused by a radiant glow. With a shout, he smashed the shield into the [Wind Barrier], obliterating the Spell and sending a burst of wind into Sirius’ back.

Rhis Talwar - Templar Squire, Lvl 6

HP: ?/?

The men-at-arms surged forward with a rallying cry.

“Shit! The barrier is gone. There’s a Lvl 6 Squire with them and it looks like he can negate magic!” Sirius called out to his companions ahead.

Shadowifre growled and barked at Bernard as they all rounded a corner, “Old man! Are you sure there are no other exits?” The enemies could easily outpace the weakened prisoners and would be upon them soon.

“I-I… I really don’t know!”

“Our best bet is to find another group and follow them to their exit,” Roan spoke up to save the prisoner from Shadowfire’s retort. “I’ll use [Aspect of the Eagle] on myself and take the lead.”

“...Fine. Good call,” Shadowfire assented. “We’ll head towards the intersection near where we found the prisoners. The halls narrow down there and will be easier to defend if we need to.”

“Boy. Can you recall the crest on the squire’s shield?” One of the prisoners suddenly asked Sirius. He looked to have suffered the most of the bunch and was already limping badly.

“It was a sword wrapped in wings—”

“Vik… Don’t…” Garth started. But it was too late.

“You there — pass me a weapon,” Vik announced, his eyes blazing with unquenchable malice. Shadowfire didn’t hesitate in the slightest tossing over the dagger that was on his waist.

Vik caught the weapon in stride and skidded to a halt. “I can’t promise much, but I’ll be sure to leave a scar on that monster’s smug face for him to remember me by,” he muttered.

“I’ll stay—” Sirius started.

“No! Let him. We’ll need this time, and...” Shadowfire didn’t finish the sentence as he glanced at Vik’s leg, but his message was clear. “For now — we need you buffing everyone. But… your turn may come later.”

Talia bit her lip as she looked back at the lone man standing tall within the sputtering shadows.

A few seconds later, a feral roar erupted in the hall behind them. Sirius clenched his jaw as the battle cry was just as swiftly cut off.

Closer and closer the footsteps rumbled behind them. The excited shouts of the invaders seemed so close that he could almost feel their breath upon the nape of his neck.

Vik’s sacrifice was not in vain, however, as in a moment of relief and panic, they finally burst into the intersection. Roan immediately strained his ears for signs of others.

“Left!” he abruptly called out.

“Let’s move,” Shadowfire urged the prisoner’s “Sirius — you’re up.”

“With pleasure,” Sirius cracked his knuckles. He knew it would come down to this as soon as he’d seen the Squire. He was eager to see how long he could hold out.

“Heralds, no!” Bernard shouted. “You’ve already risked much to save us, just take the boy and leave us!”

“Enough. He’ll be fine.” Roan and Shadowfire dragged the remaining prisoners down the leftmost passage as Sirius charged back into the cramped mouth of the intersection they had originally entered from. It would allow him to funnel the men-at-arms two to three at a time.

In they came, flooding the hall with as many as they could squeeze abreast. The invader’s charged dauntlessly into the radius of his aura, swinging their swords without much grace or precision.

Sirius stepped directly into the path of the foremost patrolman and ducked under his horizontal slash. He lifted the off-balance man by his waist and spun towards the other attacker using the new body shield to intercept the second blow.

Surprise flickered across the soldier’s face as his short sword pierced into his companion’s lower back. At the same moment, Sirius’ legs were wrapped in a scarlet blaze as he used [Reckless Charge] to carry his two opponents into the group of stupefied men-at-arms behind them.

The unit went down like a cluster of bowling pins as some took the brunt of the impact while the others stumbled out of the way. Sirius watched Rhis frown as he backhanded a flailing guard with his shield and stepped over the bodies of the groaning men on the floor.

‘Well done, Vik.’ he smirked upon noticing the deep furrows left by fingernails on the handsome young man’s face.

However, while Sirius was full of anticipation, Rhis now eyed him with more caution than he had before. “What is this?” he said as he drew his sword. The inflection and cadence of his voice seemed to indicate that he was speaking another language, but Sirius still understood it perfectly. He didn't want to let his focus slip, but he couldn't help but wonder briefly if this was something only the players had access to.

“You are not a {Marauder} but you also use Rage?” There was a hint of true inquisitiveness in Rhis' tone, but Sirius was not fooled. The man was circling carefully to the right in an attempt to cut off his escape back to the intersection.

“Answer me!”

Rhis' voice struck Sirius with a tangible force, doing no damage, but locking up his retreat. The momentary stun also allowed the squire to close the gap.

A sharp glint traced across the edge of Sirius’ vision as the longsword pierced towards his chest. He reacted on instinct, bringing up a forearm to deflect its trajectory.

You have been inflicted with a {Minor Bleed} x 2

Lose 2% of your Max HP every second.

Sirius hissed in pain as he stepped forward. The blade had easily sliced through the [Aspect of the Tortoise] membrane, drawing a clean gash across his forearm and side.

His only advantage was that Rhis seemed surprised he had chosen to engage directly and was therefore slow in lifting his shield. Sirius sidestepped the incoming blow and surged forward for another grapple — knowing it would be almost impossible to damage the knight through his comprehensive armor. He clenched one arm around the back of Rhis' legs and ducked his head under the man’s sword-wielding arm, ultimately lifting Rhis over his shoulders in a fireman’s carry.

Sirius’ legs nearly buckled under the impressive weight, but with a roar of effort and a spring of power from another [Reckless Charge], he managed to send his opponent flying briefly through the air and into the waiting arms of the recovering men-at-arms. They all went down in a heap once more.

“Imbeciles! Out of my way!” Rhis huffed as he scrambled to his feet, watching the Toth savage dash away from the fight.

Sirius chose the only passage left available to him — the one straight ahead. To the left was his team and he didn’t want to lead the invaders towards them again, whereas to the right was the dead-end in which they had found the prisoners.

His only worry in forging straight ahead was that he’d lead Rhis right into another group of players, pulling the same stunt as the guy who had gotten them into this mess. If it came to that, he would have to accept his fate and confront the squire directly. But he would try his best to survive if he could help it.

Fortunately, without the prisoners slowing him down, Sirius was slightly faster than Rhis — even with the man using some kind of Skill or Spell to enhance his speed in short bursts.

Sirius continued leading his pursuers on the wild goose chase through the caves. Speeding past a few unsuspecting patrols along the way — who quickly joined the herd behind Rhis. His Stamina was rapidly dwindling, even with the new levels in [Fitness], so he could only hope the same could be said for his opponents.

Eventually, the corridor began sloping downwards, and when Sirius glanced back, he could see a wide grin spreading across the squire’s face.

‘Well, shit.’ Sirius groaned in his mind. Rhis wouldn’t be so confident for no reason, but it wasn’t like he had any other avenues of escape. In another few seconds, the ramp flattened out and a magnificent, glittering cavern opened up in front of him. It was easily as large as the Spawn Cave, capable of holding thousands of people.

Time seemed to slow to crawl as Sirius looked around. There was a man standing nearby, but his presence was dwarfed by the dense clusters of deep blue and amber crystals completely covering the ceiling, twinkling like the night sky.

Sirius stepped forward carefully, eventually coming to a stop as he neared the pool in the center of the area. The water was completely still, reflecting the starry canopy above, and he felt like even the slightest breath or beat of his heart would disturb the image.

He was completely awed, and as his gaze sunk further into the water — Sirius suddenly felt like he was floating adrift in the vast cosmos.

“Beautiful isn’t it?” An unfamiliar voice drifted by.

“Mhm,” Sirius murmured without looking up. He knew who the voice belonged to, but he also understood that he was no match for the man, so he tried to enjoy the space for just a while longer.

Heiros Rhime - ???, Lvl ?

HP: ?/?

“Sir Rhime! It is good to see you well! I assume you have beaten back the savages once more?” Rhis called out as he approached casually from the hall. His voice shattered the phantasmal scene.

Sirius looked up and saw Heiros’ wrinkled face contort into a grimace. “It is an attitude like that which has cost us gravely tonight.”

“Sir… what do you—?”

Heiros dismissed Rhis’ question with a wave of his hand. An oppressive weight swept through the entirety of the cavern, completely suppressing Sirius’ own aura as the ornate runes woven across the older knight’s armor lit up with an ominous glow.

“Need I elaborate when you fail to handle a single Non-Anointed — who is an entire two levels lower than yourself no less!”

“L-Lord Rhime… he uses Skills and techniques I am unfamiliar with… I—”

“Exactly! There is much we don’t know about these people, and acting carelessly will cost us our lives!” Heiros thundered. “...I will give you one chance to redeem yourself, Rhis, or your father will hear of your performance when he arrives with the appointed Governor’s retinue…”

‘What the hell is happening?’ Sirius cursed in his heart. ‘Is this turning into kind of solo boss fight?’

The force Heiros was emitting disappeared, but a golden dome sprung into existence in its place.

Sirius knew there was no way out this time; he could only try and take Rhis down with him. Though, he doubted Heiros would let something like that happen either. Still, it was preferable compared to getting captured alive.

Rhis was already charging at him with a snarl plastered on his face as Sirius spun around.

He stepped to the side to avoid the stab towards his gut, but it turned out to be a feint and he suffered a diagonal slash across his shoulder for his carelessness.

‘Shit…’ Sirius cursed again. ‘I didn’t even get the chance to completely heal back up from the earlier fight!’

Compared to the men-at-arms, Rhis was on a whole different level. His footwork was well-practiced and his strikes fluid; if the squire’s range of motion hadn’t been restricted earlier in the corridor — Sirius figured he would likely have never made it to this point.

Shuffling sideways continuously as he tried to slide and dodge around, Sirius’ mind was working in overdrive. The {Bleeds} were stacking up slowly despite the fact that he was able to limit most strikes to Glancing Blows. But what was worse was that Rhis was giving him no opportunity to step within arms-length this time.

Furthermore, he was restricted on all sides by the barrier and the pool behind them. Sirius surmised that his only opportunity was catching his opponent off guard with a sudden [Reckless Charge] but Rhis was constantly maintaining a watch on his legs as well.

‘Isn’t this way too difficult?’ Sirius sighed. He was already down below half health and had yet to land a single hit. There was only one option left to him and it was unlikely to actually yield any results.

Sirius chugged a health potion as he continued circling around until Rhis' back was towards the pool. Then, following a dodged stab, he lunged forward.

Rhis smiled as victory flashed across his eyes. He lifted his radiant shield and smashed it into Sirius’ face.

You have suffered a Severe Blow!

{Dazed}

‘Should’ve known shields could inflict Impact strikes,’ Sirius grumbled as he was subsequently impaled through the stomach.

A dull ache spread through his body as a flurry of system warnings rang in his ears.

Warning! You have fallen below 10% HP!

His end would come soon, but all was not over yet. Sirius returned Rhis’ grin and pulled himself forward on the sword. Heat gathered in his legs as he used one final [Reckless Charge].

“Fool...” Heiros’ words echoed through the chamber as he and Rhis plunged into the pool, but he had no chance to consider who that sentiment was directed at as one single feeling soon dominated his mind.

‘Cold!’

The pool was bone-chillingly cold. To a degree that seemed unfathomable having experienced ice-baths in the past. In mere seconds his entire body was numb, and even the blood in his veins seemed to have frozen over as he couldn’t even manage the slightest of movements.

He’d wanted to drag Rhis down with him, but Heiros’ managed to quickly retrieve the man from his grasp by employing some invisible force.

Sirius continued to sink down into the abyssal depths as his final Health Points dwindled away. More notifications continued to flash through his Combat Log in a blur, but he was much too cold to concentrate on anything aside from that feeling.

*Ding*

You have died!

Note: There is no penalty for death in the Tutorial.

Respawning in 5… 4… 3…

‘Well, that’s nice. And at least I managed to take his sword with me…’ Sirius chuckled to himself as his avatar promptly dispersed in the pool and the brilliant longsword tumbled downward without purchase.