She stood up and resumed her journey, and he stood up and followed her as usual. It didn’t take long until the next mob of neared them, a couple one-star Rogue fairies and a two star Transmuter flying above them.

Kara sat in cover. It didn’t seem like she was going to engage.

Mouthing a thank you, Nico sat with her. Soon, his stiff body began to unwind. His racing mind slow down, the incessant throbs no longer feeling like a piece of metal was bouncing in his skull. He breathed out slowly and tried to relax. They stood up and walked past a few mounds, stopping every so often to let monsters pass them. He didn’t know the range of her Kinetic Sense, but it must have been at least higher than the average by quite a bit. Moving without being spotted was an art in itself.

Soon, Nico found himself wishing for something he thought was an antithesis of who he was—peace. He didn’t want to fight today. He hoped they would just continue navigating through the wilds without having to stress themselves with being killed or killing. Tomorrow, or maybe in a few hours, he would gladly smash skulls, but for now he only wanted their little break to last longer.

The heat didn’t bother him, making the jungle rather scenic. A part of him even began to enjoy the trek. The sweat that ran down his back and the light soreness he felt was comforting. He’d forgotten how pretty the world was.

It was a nice walk, and like all good things, it didn’t last as long as he would have liked it to. The dirt and trees were suddenly cut off by a long plain of cracked and withered bronze.

The Deep’s Trail—Plains of Bronze

It was a largely empty plain that was occasionally separated by rock formations that served as oasis from the sun’s ceaseless light. Nico stepped onto the metal floor. It was like walking into an oven. The bottom of his soles made a rather nasty smell.

The Deep moved in a rough circle in between all the cities, leaving the bronze ground bear underneath it. It consumed everything, from the trees to the dirt, and occasionally rose steep mountains in its place.

The mountains are where the Bosses were at, and one of the main reasons the Deep hasn’t been solved yet—without the Deep, there are no Bosses. Without Bosses, Rankers cannot Rank up.

Anything that lived here had to be a heat resistant creature that can reflect sunlight, or can convert it into something else, otherwise even someone in a Ranker’s suit would slowly bake under the sun’s naked light.

With no trees the spotting distance jumped up from a dozen meters to a couple thousand. With no camouflage, they were no longer able to pick and choose their own engagements. Monsters that lived on The Deep’s Trail were the rare type to have good sight. There were very few of them, but they were generally stronger. They were classified as Elite monsters, one category below a Boss.

“Get the Locust to Rank II,” she said.

“Wonderful.” Nico thought he saw people in the far distance, but it was probably a monster or two. Or three, maybe even four. The heat radiating off the bronze made them blurry. From their distance Nico thought they had a quarter of an hour before they encountered each other, probably less if the monsters were fast.

Nico took a deep breath and coughed it out. He breathed too quickly, too deeply, and the air had irritated his lungs. He coughed more, sucked in more air to replace the one he lost on, and coughed it out. Urgh. Where was I? Oh yeah—things are wonderful. If they somehow get passed this area’s monsters, and somehow kill a Boss that is likely a few Ranks higher than them, and the Iron House that’s hunting them, then they’ll reach the 1st Zone. A day’s walk, probably two, and he can get back home.

Though that was an issue itself. Nico wanted to return, but he didn’t want to bring the sword with him, nor could he just leave Kara, as that might be a breach of his contract with Devi. Even if it wasn’t, Kara had all the answers he wanted.

Besides, he didn’t want to explain to the guards why there were no records of him leaving the city after requesting to enter it.

From the two dust clouds kicking up towards them, though, the guards were the least of his problems. His estimate was hilariously off. It barley took a minute before the monsters reached them. There were two of them, both shaking the ground with each stomp. It made a rapid drum beat that became louder the closer they came. The clouds of red-orange dirt behind them struggled to catch up.

It was, by far, the strangest creature Nico had ever seen or heard of. Its torso was like an egg turned sideways, with two thick human like legs attached. It had a long neck that was shaped like a question mark. Large scales the size of hands covered every part of it. Hot air blew from the crevices. Its eyes, if it had any, were protected inside indentures behind a long sharp beak.

(Elite) Ostrich of Doom ★★★

Shields: ******

Energy: 6/6

Heat: 12/12

Body Trait: Heat Shield (Epic III)

Per each 2 Heat you have generate 1 Shield. Each Shield lost reduces Heat by 2.

1st Skill: Thermal Resistant Metal (Common III)

Provides High resistance to thermal Damage. Doubles Heat Storage.

2nd Skill: ?

3rd Skill: ?

“They’re called Doomies. Rank III, Body Trait is Heat Shield, and 1st skill is Thermal Resistance. They look like they can slaughter a Rank I Boss,” Nico said, nodding, as Kara ran towards the first one. “Yeah that looks right.” He placed the axe in his mouth as he made a healing shell. He put it in his hand. He was going to make a Kinetic Shell but thought better of it. The cast-time was short enough, and he didn’t know whether Kara will be able to leave one of them for him to Siphon.

The first Doomie made no signs to turn and neither did she, but one was made of bronze while the other of flesh.

The Doomie stabbed forward with its beak, somehow even faster than it was running.

Kara jumped to the side and ducked below the Doomie’s head with her sword’s edge pointing towards the sky. The Doomie curved its head downwards mid-run, an outrageous feat considering its speed. Before it reached her, a green tracer went through the Doomie’s neck. The Doomie past her, past Nico, and ran into the far distance. Its head bounced past him shortly after, turning into yellow mist before he could Siphon it.

The leftover Kinetic Energy sent Kara wildly spinning on her heel counterclockwise, sliding across the ground at an absurd speed. She was rotating so fast her sword left a fleeting green in the air as if it were a paintbrush.

The other Doomie ran straight at her and stabbed low.

Kara must have used a Kinetic Deviation, or jumped real high as she went from spinning across the ground to suddenly spinning in the air, her legs almost horizontal to the ground. Her sword stuck the Doomie’s head from the side, causing a revibrating thud and dealing an enourmous 5 Shield damage. The Doomie’s head was parried to the side.

The Doomie ran forward past Nico as if he wasn’t there and curved around. Kara landed on her feet and stumbled unsteadily towards Nico. Her sword was sheathed. He couldn’t tell from her face, but considering her left arm looked like it was dislocated by a good foot, Nico assumed she needed a particular healer to do his job.

He struck her with the healing shell as she ran past him. His healing acted quickly. Her dizziness was gone, letting her run in a straight line, and her arm re-located itself.

And that was all he did. That was all he could do. He ran behind her, but a way off to the side. There was little to nothing that he could do against something like a Doomie.

Steam began to burst through its scales. It struck the ground with greater strength, screeching out. It regained 1 Shield. The Locust showed it had used its third skill.

(Elite) Ostrich of Doom ★★★

Shields: **

Energy: 5/6

Heat: 7/12

Body Trait: Thermal Shields (Epic III)

Per each 2 Heat you have generate 1 Shield. Each Shield lost reduces Heat by 2.

1st Skill: Thermal Resistance (Common III)

2nd Skill: ?

3rd Skill: Hyper Booster (Epic III)

Consumes 1 Energy to increase Physique by 20%. Creates 3 Heat.

Duration: 4 seconds

Cooldown: 4 seconds

“3rd Skill is Hyper Booster,” Nico said, hoping that she knew what it did.

Kara and the Doomie met again in the same spot. Her charge sword parried the Doomie’s head and dealt 1 damage as they ran past each other. Nico watched closely as to how Kara did it. They curved around and did it again.

Every time Kara ducked, or angled her sword in a way that it would hit the side of the Doomie’s head. She never struck it vertically. He didn’t think she could. She probably swung the moment it stabbed, and guessed where the head was coming at her with a wide swipe.

“It’ll recover 1 Shield every 4 seconds, and 2 in 8 seconds,” Nico yelled, as they crashed again and again, creating a loud bang and a fairy blast of orange sparks each time. As they slowed down, the intervals between their clashes got closer and closer until they were so regular Nico’s voice was drowned out. The Doomie’s head was a broken mess. Molten hot blood dripped to the ground. It was down to 2 Shield already, while Kara seemed uninjured.

He ran in from behind it at their clashing spot. He lunged forward but made a hard stop before he entered its range.

Mid-run it kicked one foot back. Only hot wind and a terrible smell reached Nico’s nose. With the same foot it kicked forward, as if it were shooting a ball into a window.

Kara side-stepped it, putting herself in its corner. She stepped in and slashed it from below as it ran away from them.

Another missed opportunity. He could have pushed it off balance with a Kinetic Shell, or at least tossed his body in there. He should have made that shell.

Kara ran after it, copying its trajectory when it began to turn, probably trying to keep their clashes to her 3 second interval. The dirt cloud the Doomie kicked up didn’t seem to bother her. Nico didn’t follow.

In between the scales of its armor the hot vapor turned into flames. Kara was still chasing behind it, exponentially building speed, but the Doomie was just faster. It ran around in an oval until it was behind her. Both of them ran towards Nico.

Kara continued to run until the very last moment, when the Doomie yanked its head back and prepared to stab. She flipped forward, striking the bottom of her scabbard against the ground. She flung herself into the air above the Doomie, spinning vertically.

Nico saw what she was trying to do. He stepped in front of the Doomie and threw a Kinetic Shell straight at it. It exploded to its front, almost halting it in its place. It struggled to find balance but managed to right itself at the end. It kicked off straight for him.

It’s slow enough. He planted his feet and prepared his body. A Kinetic Shell in between its feet. Or under its feet will throw it off balance. He raised the Locust to protect his head from its beak. Three…two…

It screeched in glory as it neared Nico, then screeched again when Kara dove down, sword swinging like a wheel. It slashed halfway through its egg-shaped body and crashed against the ground, its legs broken towards the sides. The ground under them splintered from the impact, a few feet away from where he was. The only thing that reached Nico was dust and hot air.

“You’re awesome,” Nico said, a nervous smile creeping up his face.

Kara fell to the ground, coughing and wheezing. She stuttered away from him, still unsteady on her feet. She sucked in breath after breath. Soon, her quick and shallow breathing calmed down to heavy and deep gulps. She wiped her mouth with her sleeve.

Nico heard, then saw something kicking up a larger dust storm towards them. It was screaming like its throat were made of metal valves. The noise rung in the air and shook the ground.

“Oh shit,” Nico said, raising up. That was the disadvantage of a charge Sword. It was useless when they couldn’t rest in between fights.

At first he thought it was a flock of Doomies, but apparently it was just a black machine with wheels spinning so fast they seemed still. Instead of a head, a glass plate rose to shield the two riders.