Forward. They kept pushing forward, though a little slower. The second wave down the same street had come soon after Sarah had recovered, the fight this time being just a little less hectic. Fewer monsters starting further away which meant Lance had more time to pick them off.

The pair learnt fast. Chokepoints gave them places to reduce the numbers they had to face, while the long spear took out monsters before they could close in. The tiny goblins were easily finished off with a single strike, though they would have to work fast to kill them. Here, Neil and his shield shone as he swung both around to knock two, sometimes even three aside.

The centipede dogs were more dangerous if less numerous. They struggled to close in on the group, being targeted by Lance first and foremost, while Sarah’s spear would stab out and pin the monsters down when they arrived.

Slowly, they pushed forwards. As they killed and cleared the way, more and more monsters kept arriving but their own speed kept increasing too. Neil’s much wanted leg armour came soon after, the simple metal straps covering everything beneath his armoured skirt.

“You want my skirt?” Neil panted as he finished strapping the last item on, slipping his dress shoes into the armored coverings.

“I have one,” Sarah cried out, her body arched as she pushed down on the spear that kept the centipede dog pinned.

“Not you. Him.”

“Lance. That’s my name.”

“Right, right.” Neil paused, trying to remember if the other had ever introduced himself then shrugged. “Whatever. You want it?”

“No. Armour the front line first,” Lance rearranged his arrows, eyes dancing across the surroundings. “Basic tactics. If I’m that close, it’s a problem anyway.”

“You mean, like fifteen minutes ago?” Sarah said, sarcastically as her opponent stopped thrashing and began to dissolve.

“Exactly like that. You got my coins?” Lance asked.

“Trading…” Sarah muttered, eyes flicking over unseen information. After a second, she touched her bandaged side. “It feels better. Still hurts a lot but I’ve had migraines that were worse…”

“Mmm…” Lance half-closed his eyes, flicking over the numbers. He rolled his shoulders again, wincing at the soreness. Shooting so often was taking it’s toll. “Come on, let’s move. I need another thirty coins or so before I can stop wasting coins on arrows.”

“Sure…” Neil hefted his shield and mace and the group moved forward, not even slowing down as another group of five goblins tumbled out of a broken glass corner store.

The first fell with an arrow through its throat, pinning a second with its body and the arrow head that pushed through. Sarah rushed the rest of the group, swinging her spear in a long arc that caught an arm and tore a long strip from it. She stopped at full distance, stabbing outwards to drive the goblins back, the remainder spreading out as they tried to flank. Neil hit the one on the leftmost flank, using his shield to bash it to the ground before he stomped and kicked the monster to death. Another arrow took the rightmost monster, leaving Sarah to mop up the remainder.

“That… we’re getting better at this, aren’t we?” Neil said, grinning.

“Yes. A little too fast,” Lance muttered to himself, turning his head from side-to-side. He would have sworn they were getting things like experience or something that was aiding those two from improving. But no matter what he tried, he couldn’t call up a status screen.

More mysteries.

“Did you say something?” Sarah asked.

“Nothing important,” Lance replied, waving them on. “Come on. We got to plug the hole.”

The pair nodded and they moved forwards again, covering the rest of the block at a slow trot. Monsters and mysteries or not, they only way was to push forward.

***

Two blocks, each time as they came to the end of one, a pitched fight. After all, each block ending meant monsters from both ends of the street they were joining could see them, rush in from both side. After the first time, the team learnt to set-up and pull backwards into their original seat, allowing Lance to snipe and kite in monsters so that they had fewer to deal with.

Game tactics. It worked, to some extent, though these monsters were a lot smarter and less restricted than any game. There was no crouching low and sneaking right pass them or putting on a box hoping to hide as you went crawling forwards.

The centipede-dogs had full use of their senses, the goblins were curious and prone to destruction and semi-verbal. Their warbling screeches alerted others in the vicinity, though thankfully it seemed they worked in patrols of four to seven only. Only if a patrol was visibly being overwhelmed did the others rush forward to join the fight.

More interestingly, as they were splattered with blood and guts, as the stifling heat of the day slowly gave way as the sun began to set, the sound of additional fighting could be heard. The crack of a gun was the most prominent, though it’s rate of fire was low. Unusual for certain.

Finally though, they managed to push ahead, over an hour and a half of intermittent fighting to cross a few long city blocks. Time taken to rest, to heal and to buy necessary equipment.

Lance finally had his Never-Ending Quiver, the arrows within slowly popping into existence. He still had his normal quiver, half-filled with recovered arrows over his back since the Never-Ending Quiver only regenerated arrows at the pace of one every ten seconds and stopped at twenty.

On the other hand, Neil had finished purchasing his armour, a mish-mash of steel and leather that covered his body along with, ‘the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever worn…’. Ever since he picked up his latest arm bracers, he’d been saving.

And lastly, of course, was Sarah who had finally finished paying off her debt to Lance and was busy saving again.

Experienced, hardened over multiple fights, if exhausted but for the woman with her newly empowered body; the group was not expecting what they came across as they hit the final stretch.

“Is he… is he using a musket?” Neil said, eyes wide as they caught sight of the other group fighting at another street corner, coming out of the alleyway. They had managed to push onto the pavement just outside before having to stop as the monsters pushed back. The construction workers wore a mishmash of construction hardhats, ear protection and safety goggles while wielding sledge hammers, spears and clad in a mishmash of armour. One of them even had samurai armour on and was wielding a cavalry sabre and a punch dagger.

“Baker rifle. Not musket,” Lance said absently as he made sure he had a few arrows in hand. Learning how to carry multiple arrows for quick shooting was a skill, but was only useful at the start. After that, trying to grab and put them in your fingers between shots was troublesome unless you had a few seconds. It did mean a quick flurry at the beginning though. “I bet…”

“Bet what?” Neil said.

“The woman wielding the rifle. She’s the owner of Lowell Antiques,” Sarah said. “I walk pass their store everyday. They have the best selection of 19th century China.”

“Okay. So, we help them?” Neil said, gulping at the swarm. The group in the alleyway looked to be doing well, what with their position and the rifle that scared their attackers each time it fired. However, like the three of them, the group was exhausted, their actions beginning to flag. “Because that’s a lot of monsters…”

Rather than answer, Lance just started loosing his arrows, picking the monsters from the back. They were already in a decent position to back off if necessary and they had a fallback position, so he was not worried. More importantly…

Well, they were humans.

At first, the monsters did not realise they were being assaulted from behind. It took nearly a half-dozen falling before the majority recognized the threat, though a few at the back and streaming in had started charging the trio.

Grim faced, Sarah thrust forwards smoothly with her spear, catching the centipede-dog in the face and killing it almost immediately. A twist of her hips and hands shed the monster, throwing it onto another dog before she reset and thrust again. The knocked over creature never managed to make it to its feet as Neil bashed its forelegs in, crippling the creature before he retreated and reset himself.

Breathing slowly, Lance continued to loose his arrows, though he now targeted those coming for him and his friends. No more time to aid the others, the swarm before them enough to make him a little worried. As the front line fighters kept retreating, so did he, the arrows in his Never-Ending Quiver running out in short order, forcing him to switch to the normal recovered arrows.

The warbling cries of the goblins had pulled not just those on the street but even more from the surrounding buildings. What had seemed like a manageable number at first had exploded, as tiny green creatures and black centipede dogs exploded from buildings around them.

“I think… ooops?” Neil said.