"Blue, watch out!" Alex yelled.

The mole was clawing towards the controller. Alex, who was on the back, was the first one that noticed the movement. The creature didn't even change its position. It merely raised its arm and slashed. Blue managed to duck at the last moment, almost falling backward. The attack made a large gash on the ground, showing the strength of the creature.

"Careful with the claw. Taking the beast head-on is the most dangerous of tasks," Thomas was watching the group fight. He wanted them to show their abilities while fighting.

"I know, just let me work!" Blue shouted before punching the creature's nose twice.

Alex jumped above the mole and slashed her daggers at its back twice. The thick fur lowered the attack's speed, making what should be a fearsome strike leave just a superficial cut.

"Focus on stabbing attacks. The beast's mighty hide is resistant to slashing attacks," Thomas gave the duo yet another hint.

"My daggers are made for cutting, not stabbing" Alex tried to stab her weapon on the mole's neck, but the blade wasn't able to pierce deep enough to cause any lasting damage.

"Fear not, my Lady. Your weapons are but a part of your craft. Show me your strength," Thomas proclaimed with a big smile.

"Stop calling me your Lady! I'm not yours, and I'm not a fucking Lady," Alex snapped and body-slammed the mole. Blue took advantage of the momentum and made the creature spin around, falling to its back while holding the monster's nose under her arms.

The creature started flailing around, trying to reorient itself, but Blue's nose lock kept it at bay. Alex kept stabbing the monster, trying to hit its neck. In a few moments, the mole stopped moving. Alex was breathing heavily with some blood on her armor.

"Are you ok?" Blue asked.

"No, I'm not ok! What are we doing here? This was supposed to be a trip to figure out if we could hunt here, not a damn spartan training," she turned to Thomas, "And you. What the hell is this? We fought five of those creatures on our own for what? What kind of sick game are you playing here. And don't you fucking dare to give me that knight crap."

"This may have been a challenging ordeal, but my Lady, you must understand..."

Thomas was cut off by Alex, "Call me, my Lady one more time, and I'll feed you your eyeballs,"

Hera and Blue instinctively stepped closer to Alex and shared a look. Her reaction was too strange from her usual demeanor. If she truly snapped, they might need to step in and stop her.

"Apologies, Alex. To me, calling you that is a sign of respect. Alas, I understand that it might make you uncomfortable, and I should have been more aware of your displeasure with it," Thomas replied in a calm tone. Hera couldn't help but admire that. She had no idea how she would react if someone made that kind of threat to her.

"It's fine. I should have said something sooner. Just... don't do it again," Alex said.

"I won't, knight's honor," Thomas replied.

"That only works if you are an actual knight," Runir replied with a sigh.

"Being a knight is a mindset. Knighthood will come eventually for those who are truly worth it," Thomas scoffed.

"Yeah, Yeah, fine. You are a knight and all, but what the hell was that. Why did we have to fight five of those things, and not even to let us use skill or spells?" Blue complained.

"It was to prove your mettle. If you fought in perfect conditions, you would never see if you could survive a vicious attack at your weakest. With that knowledge, you can fight much more confidently when all your skills are available."

"That's... kind of smart," Alex said.

"Yeah, I'm surprised," Blue agreed.

"I've told you guys, Tom knows what he's doing," Runir said.

"Yeah, I'm impressed," Hera said.

"Thank you, my...," Tom started speaking to Hera but stared at Alex behind him, "Thank you for your kind words, Hera. But now it's time we confirm your strength. You shall fight the same way as your brethren. Four of the beast, the first with all your capabilities, the second with only skills. The third with only spells, then one with only your bravery. It will be you and Runir fighting this time."

"But I'm a healer. I stay in the back line," Runir protested.

"Exactly, I need to know the abilities you bring to our cause," Thomas replied.

After some protest, Hera and Runir finally agreed to the terms. Thomas wouldn't tell them, but if anything happened, he would step in to help. It didn't take long for them to find another giant mole. The first one was on the smaller side of the moles, which took minimal effort. Runir, although being a healer, was trained into hand to hand combat and took the part of a diversion before starting. Hera hid in the shadows and stuck her handaxe in the monster's head. At the same time, she activated the Mana Reinforcement spell, and her [All In] cutting the mole's head clean in half.

"That is a mighty blow. Can you do that repeatedly?" Thomas asked.

"Once every day and a half or so," Hera replied.

"It's a shame, but it is a mighty killing blow when required. Onto the next one," Thomas started to head deeper into the tunnels.

While using the spells, Hera focused on keeping the mole's attention while her poison needle took effect. Runir barely did anything during that fight. He only walked around, throwing a barrier when Hera got close to getting hit, but not a single attack from the mole connected.

The third fight started with Hera throwing her chakram. The movement made the mole turn, but it worked as a small distraction only. Hera tried to focus on the monster's nose since trying to flank it by herself was very complicated. Hera chose guerrilla tactics, going for an attack before retreating. Runir kept feeling more and more useless as the fight went on. Hera was proficient in evading strikes aimed at her, and the opportunities for him to use barriers or heals were nonexistent.

Hera rushed toward the beast, striking twice towards its head. Unfortunately, the first attack made the mole take a step back, and with the follow-up, she was too close to be able to run before the next strike. The mole swung its claws at her. Before the impact, Runir sent one of its barriers towards Hera. The attack hit her arm, but the combination of the repulsion blast and the protection from the Healer not only sent the claw back but only pushed Hera half a meter to the side.

"Thanks!" she yelled as she turned away to retreat. Seeing its prey move, the mole lunged forward, opening its mouth, revealing four large, yellow teeth. The bite hit Hera's back, and she rolled forward, away from the mole. Runir used his only battle heal right away, but he felt no effect.

"Are you dead?" he asked as Hera finished her tumble.

"I'm still not a zombie, so no," she replied, getting back up and turning around, "How big is the damage?" Hera kept facing the mole. She had to know how much she could move around.

"It... hit you, right?" Runir asked, staring at her back.

"Yeah, can the armor still hold?"

"There is... nothing,"

"What? One strike ripped a 12k armor?" Hera looked around, searching for the missing pieces of armor.

"No, I mean, the armor is fine. Not a single scratch. What about you?" Runir asked.

"A bit sore, but I still can do it," Hera replied before dashing at the monster again.

Frustrated with the situation, Runir flanked the creature and attacked its legs. Since his heals and barriers were close to useless, he might as well do something. In a bit over three minutes, the mole was defeated.

"Very good, Runir. You show incredible bravery by jumping into the fray, and Hera, a knight, is nothing without her armor. Yours is truly a work of art," Thomas applauded the duo.

"I wasn't expecting it to be so strong, honestly," Hera was trying to touch her back to confirm any damage.

"And I wasn't expecting to be so useless. I mean, I did nothing most of those fights," Runir sighed.

"Don't be like that. It was a bad matchup. Your barriers help me so much when we fight," Blue tried to cheer him up.

"Yeah, and Hera and I are better at taking turns to hide and attack. Our groups were the worst possible combos," Alex said.

Hera turned towards Thomas, "Was that planned?"

"I would love to be praised by such an exemplary tactic. Alas, it was but a pleasant coincidence. Yet, I must say that your protests did give me a sign that it was an unfamiliar grouping," Thomas explained.

"By the way, do we have a way of carrying the monster back?" Blue asked.

"We are able to rent some carts in the Guild. However, they must be pulled by hand," Thomas replied before starting to chant once more and recast the floating lamp that was about to vanish.

"What about drones? Can we use them to pick up the bodies?" Hera asked.

"Unfortunately, that is not possible. The bats that inhabit the area tend to roam around. Any object that crosses a certain height would be a pray for the beasts. The secondary tunnels are much smaller."

Blue turned to Thomas, "Ok, so this is fine and all, but can we go eat? I didn't bring any food."

"Yeah, I agree. I'm hungry," Hera said.

"Very well. We had not prepared enough supplies for a long journey. Let us return," Thomas spun around and started walking back towards where the group came from.

They headed back to the city and looked for places to eat. Thomas had a few suggestions. Among them was a barbecue place that had mostly mole and bat meat that made Blue interested. They head to the restaurant. After the meal, Runir said he wanted to get some extra spells, and he would go to the Guild to use an ATR to learn them. Blue and Alex decided to search the shops for better gear. Blue wanted better armor, and Alex looked for something that would be better to use for stabbing. Hera wanted to talk to Alex, but it was hard to have a moment alone with her friend. She made a mental note to ask about her snap later.

Hera suggested the shop where she got her chakram enchanted, but Thomas said that if they were looking for new equipment, it was better to go to one of the bigger stores. The group spent most of the afternoon looking for new gear. Hera looked for a new axe, but she was surprised by how all the weapons she found were either barely an improvement or excessively expensive. The ones in the display were also several times heavier than Iris. If Hera used one of them, her attacks would be much slower.

Thomas was incredibly helpful while they were looking for equipment. He made suggestions both for usability and style, but he also talked about maintenance and even offered to help Alex and Hera sharpen their weapons. Alex accepted the help, but Hera wanted to do it herself. She was trying to increase her weapon maintenance skill and taking care of her own gear was the best way to do it.

They've met Runir a few hours later. He managed to get two more spells, one that increased the target's strength by 20% for a minute and another that would increase the damage that an enemy received by 10% for a few seconds. With that, he could play a more active role in the fights. They discussed going to look for a group of bats when Helena sent a text in the house group chat.

'Hey, guys, just a head's up. A rampage is starting to happen in the room. Everyone is gathering up to defend the cities, and they locked the doorways to leave.

You guys might want to stay around there for a couple of days. I'm heading to the Guild, and I'll be there until it passes.

Does anyone want me to take anything from the house just in case?'

Hera turned to the group, "What is a rampage?"

"A rampage, you say? Oh, that is the most thrilling of challenges. Hundreds and thousands of monsters rush through a room, destroying everything in its path. Months past, we had to face one of such calamities here. We fought for days until the beasts were finally defeated.”

Hera stared at Alex and Blue, "I have to go back,"

"Hang on, are the monster stronger in any way during a rampage?" Alex asked.

"I can't say they are, the numbers are a problem, but with several people fighting as one, they were just an incredible treasure. After all, unlike conventional monsters, during a rampage, they disappear as they are defeated, leaving valuable loot behind."

"Ok, then we are going," Blue said.

"Yeah, Runir, Thomas. We'll talk to you guys later. We have to go," Hera said.

"Nonsense, I'm not one to shy away from a fight. If a rampage is happening, it's a perfect opportunity to show my valor to all of you," Thomas replied.

"Yeah, I've never been a part of a large scale fight. And your house is there, right? It's right to defend it."

Hera nodded, and the group ran towards the doorway.