A world of massive trees greeted her, speckled with swathes of moonlight. Alta’s eyes wandered around the scenery in helpless wonder. Experiencing hundreds of new sights and sounds was so much better than just hearing stories.

She inspected the wildlife. Each tree towered into the skies, their canopies too far to see. Bugs larger than hands could be seen crawling on the soil, on bark, under a fallen log, or on leaves. Even the plant-life grew large and vibrant. Grass tickled her arms, and everywhere she looked bushes dwarfed bears and vines grew like giant serpents. A few spiders as large as her head crept on the tree leaves, illuminated by fireflies, only for an arrow from the bandit archer to pierce them.

“Those things creep me out.”

“Oh? What about that, then?” His companion pointed at a large worm beneath his feet, the tip of its head almost the size of a shoe. The archer shrieked and tripped away, into a pile of bushes, where something rustled and fled. Alta turned her head to look at the others. Unlike those two, the other bandits walked mostly in silence. Beads of sweat ran down their skin, for the heat and humidity had increased.

A boar lumbered out from a bush on the side. It charged once it saw them, impaling itself onto a spear from one of the bandit rabble. Two more bandits moved to turn it into the meal for the night before they set up camp in a secluded area.

From a leather pouch, the bandit leader pulled off a cork from one of the bottles inside. He poured some red dust onto the campfire and sprinkled it onto the flames, letting them burn even higher. She glimpsed several bugs scatter. The men cheered and sang songs while their leader poured some other substance onto the meat, red and apparently delicious. Spices, her lord had called it. They drank a sweet-smelling brew then went to sleep for the night, with the archer and his companion as a lookout.

Daylight illuminated most of the area even through the thick treetops. Nothing particularly dangerous appeared close to the entrance to this dungeon, except for a few beasts at the peak of rank one at most. These posed a threat to the weaker of the group, but with multiple men wearing the animals down, dealt no real damage before dying.

The group marched for a long time, and just as they were about to take another break, howls broke through the air.

“Danger. Get into positions,” said the bandit leader.

Dozens of wolves broke through the foliage and encircled the group. She spotted multiple rank two wolves among the pack and became more cautious. The wolf leader stepped to the front and growled.

A few of the bandits moved nervously and shifted their hands onto their weapons. However, the wolf leader took this as a major sign of aggression and howled. Giant, rank zero wolves rushed at the group, beginning the fight.

Alta cut the throat of a giant wolf with her disguised sword, while the bandit leader charged forward at the pack leader. A gauntlet of molten rock surrounded his left fist, and a thin layer of obsidian encased the rest of his body. His hand grasped a yelping wolf, immolating it, before throwing it onto another group of wolves. The flames consumed the wolves it landed on.

Abilities, spells, and arrows shot forward, damaging plenty of the rank zero wolves but not killing many. Their rank one brethren stood back and watched, waiting for an opportunity. Each bandit struggled to fend off the advance, growing even more exhausted when the vanguard attacked. One wolf knocked a man off his feet, having exploited his worsened speed and posture. His friend helped kill it, but the damage had already been done.

“Use your ability, you twit!” Alta looked over to her right and saw a fellow bandit captain fighting off a wolf with red and blue glowing fangs. He looked unharmed, but a mistake towards the end of his fight would end up costing him his life without her intervention. She ignored his advice and instead lunged at its neck. Her blade sliced through its jaw, but at a moment too late. It still managed to bite the man’s shoulder again beforehand.

“What’s wrong with you, Flobane?”

“I will never forget that snake,” she said. “Have to never rely on my ability again.”

She pivoted and cut down another wolf before engaging a third with fiery fangs.

“People are dying, you—!”

Suddenly, the wolf leader howled, and a field of vines burst from the ground. The wolf pack moved in harmony with the vines, allowing the plants to first entangle the men before moving in for the kill. Three bandits died while Alta dodged. Nine rank ones, and seven rank twos. The vines dislodged the rest from their positions, reducing the cohesion of the group.

The rest of the bandits tried to reorganize together. In the midst of their movement, a group of wolves slammed into a shifting group to stun the others back while their companions tore open a captain. Six.

Flame lances showered onto the area, damaging more wolves, and burning a few vines. It came a little late, but the bandits hurried into the safe zone. A few wolves moved to block them, only to trip as an earth wall rose beneath their feet.

Alta used the chaos to bring her wolf over to the bandit captain who insulted her. He cursed and tried to defend himself, but she kicked him in the back. His wide eyes simply glared at her, too shocked to utter a dying cry. Five. She finished off the wolf and rushed through the battlefield to relative safety.

The bandit leader carved his way further into the pack. By now, the wolf pack had thinned out considerably – from about forty to twelve. But their leader had another trick. Its second howl brought a new raging bloodlust into the remaining wolves, including itself and its vines. They ripped apart anyone not immediately reinforced by other men. Seven, four. Good.

Three rank two wolves gathered together to pressure the bandit leader, who stood all by himself, while the other eight encircled the remaining bandits.

The bandit leader smiled, his fear nonexistent. Instead of waiting for them to attack, he struck first with obsidian claws, prompting the other wolves to attack the bandits in a frenzy. The wolf leader leaped into the fray to aid its weaker kin, trust its lieutenants to win. But its hopes were dashed. An explosion blew one to pieces, while stunning another and leaving it unguarded to the bandit leader’s claws. His molten gauntlet gripped onto the third, burning it alive.

With morale restored, the bandits fought their way out as the wolf leader tried to flee. The archer roared in anguish and a glittering arrow soared into its behind. Alta slashed and slashed, making great strides in her skill, but still not easily crushing them yet. A bit frustrated, she struck harder and almost revealed her disguise.

The bandit leader walked up to the panting bandits and clapped his hands. She glimpsed a little bit of anger creep up their eyes, but also fear. Mostly fear. They were scared of him. Why? She began thinking of him as a tyrant, the opposite of her lord, mimicking their expressions the best she could.

The group began to loot the wolves while burying their friends. Stone cold faces grew on most, as if the loss was inconsequential. They performed the same ritual of mourning.

Alta picked up the glowing heart of the wolf leader and handed it over. If consumed, it provided a single point of Vitality to rank zero entities.

“Good job, Alicia.” The bandit leader dripped the blood into his mouth then tossed the heart away. He clapped each surviving member on their backs and encouraged them to continue. Nobody protested.

Eleven humans and one doppelganger walked into an open clearing with fewer bushes and more spaced out trees than before. A giant bear leaned onto one of the trees, shaking berries down into its gullet. The archer charged an arrow before shooting it into an eye. It responded with a roar, completely ignoring the rank two warriors and archer in favor of the weaker group.

The bandit leader lobbed a black vial at the bear, scorching its fur. It mewled in pain, barely mustering up the strength to oppose him as he wrestled the bear to the ground and looked into its eyes.

“I should’ve done this sooner.” He gestured at the bandits to come closer. “See their eyes? It’s Rage Powder. Made those animals real angry. It’s almost colorless – watch out for this next time.” Claws punctured into its brain. “We’ve got a spy.”

All the bandits turned to stare at the turncoat from earlier, but some shifted their glances to Alta as well. She showed no outward signs of nervousness, however, while the turncoat looked a little jittery.

“I’m watching all of you.”

The group continued ahead. But everyone kept a bigger distance between themselves. The bandit leader plucked a few herbs from the ground and began to grind them together in his hands. He formed a powdery mixture during his walk, which he threw at his next encounter of three large boars. This time, they seemed to calm down a bit, before charging again, a little slower.

The two warriors stepped forward and stopped them in their tracks. The rest of the rabble landed attacks all over the boars’ backsides, killing them quickly.

They continued this routine, gaining experience while their leader tested new mixtures on each animal they encountered. Alta noticed that all their enemies were only Uncommon at most. No Rares had appeared yet, but perhaps that might change soon.

Suddenly, the bandit leader looked to his right. He ignored everyone else and dashed straight into the foliage, obsidian forming around him. The bandits looked at each other and followed. Alta hesitatingly drank her Damage Resistance potion before easing herself in, careful not to let the thorns expose her deed.

A group of men and women were huddled around a small orb when a dozen bandits charged into their hiding place. The enemy drew their weapons: spears, shields, daggers, and bows.

“Magnus. The Obsidian Knight’s squire himself. To think it would be you!”

“Of course it’d be me. Who else?” The bandit leader grinned mockingly. “Good to see I’m still remembered.”

“Enough talk.” The man nodded to one of his compatriots, who ran. An arrow soared forward to cut her off, but the orb on the ground projected a barrier to block it. Artifact. Magnus lobbed another obsidian vial toward them, and the orb blasted it away. It burst midair, showering the area with sharp shards.

The male speaker, who seemed to be the leader of the enemy group, stomped the ground. A geyser of mud splattered the bandits’ clothes with goop. The earth writhed. They struggled to move into defensive positions, leaving them wide open to a barrage of arrow fire. A few arrowheads cracked the shields. The bandit warrior’s eyes widened in fright, but a tarry hand denied his retreat.

Alta felt the presence of her lord drawing closer. A few of the rabble broke away from the group and sprinted out of the battle. Their screams suddenly rang out.

“Now would be the time to use your ability, Alicia. Unless?”

She knew she needed to buy time.

“I’m not the spy. Don’t you realize how the villagers got away? They knew you were coming.” She gestured toward the other warrior, who stared at her coldly.

“Oh, the villagers. You’re right. I should’ve known.” He shook his head then grinned. “But you could’ve done that too, Alicia.”

Alta looked a bit more nervous. She opened her mouth to argue further, but his eyes glinted with disappointment.

“Enough.” He clapped his hands, and a shockwave burst forward. An eruption of fire engulfed both her and the double agent.