I hurried through the main cavern for the third time. The ruckus around the nest entrance had increased with many more squads of ratmen assembling. I didn’t dare dally. Counting off passages quickly, I located and entered the one leading to the sector’s exit portal.

It, too, was flooded with ratmen.

Most were hurrying in the same direction as me—towards the portal chamber. This isn’t good, I thought. More and more, it was looking like I’d underestimated the ratmen’s numbers. There must be thousands of them in the nest, not hundreds.

How many would I find near the portal?

Seeing me striding alone, a brute at the head of a squad of marching warriors beckoned me to him. Not wanting to give him cause for alarm, I obliged.

“Where be your squad be?” the brute demanded.

I shrugged. “Not sure.”

“Get in line,” he ordered.

I didn’t demur—they were heading in the right direction after all—and dropped into place beside him.

So far, my lesser imitate spell was holding up well. None of the ratmen seemed able to pierce my guise, and while they knew they had an intruder, they seemed to have no idea I looked just like them.

I glanced at my fellow brute. “Bosses find intruders?”

“No,” was the clipped response.

I scrunched up my face in pretended consternation. “Why we go to portal then?”

The squad leader shot me an irritated look. “Intruders always look for portal.”

Huh. That sounded true enough. “What intruders look like?”

“I donno know!” he growled. “Elf, dwarf, or maybe human. Wherever they be, bosses find them,” he finished with a note of finality.

Nodding sagely, I fell silent for the rest of the trip.

~~~

A little while later, we reached our destination.

The cavern housing the nether portal was huge. And majestic too. Its ceiling soared high overhead and was rife with stalactites that gleamed in the magelights dancing amongst them. Thin stalks of stalagmites taller than trees lined the cavern’s edges while the center had been smoothed into a single expanse of space.

One that was filled to bursting with hostiles.

My heart beat faster as I took it in. There had to be at least a thousand ratmen present.

“Move,” the brute next to me snapped.

Realizing that I’d drawn to a halt in the tunnel mouth and was holding up the rest of our squad, I trailed after the brute while I studied the cavern and its inhabitants.

The ratmen were formed up in small squads that neatly encircled the cavern’s only structure—the raised nether portal in its center. There was only a single entrance leading into the cavern, too, I noted. The very same tunnel by which we’d entered.

The gateway itself looked like the one on the previous level, except this one was surrounded by a dome of vibrant green. The horde of ratmen weren’t the nether portal’s only guards, though. A hooded figure—wrapped in his own jade bubble—and two brooding forms also stood in front of the dome.

The sector boss and his bodyguards.

The boss’ presence came as no surprise. His guards, though, were not what I expected. For one, they were most emphatically not ratmen—brutes or otherwise—and for another, they were covered in armor that shone like burnished silver.

Holding back my trepidation, I analyzed the boss, dome, and bodyguards.

The target is a protective barrier formed of earth. Until it is removed, you cannot pass through, nor can the nether portal be accessed.

The target is a level 161 savant disciple.

The target is a level 154 iron golem.

The target is a level 155 iron golem.

Iron golems! I stifled a heartfelt groan. From the time I’d spent as one in the Wolf trials, I knew just how tough the constructs were. My blades would do little more than scratch their bodies. Worse yet, the golems had no consciousness.

That’s both of my strongest abilities made useless.

By this point, our small squad was halfway to the portal, and I realized from our line of march that the brute-in-charge meant to go all the way and, perhaps, even report to the sector boss himself.

For just a split second, I was tempted to stay.

An impromptu assassination could solve all my problems. But there were too many variables to control. The boss might sense my deception before I reached striking range, or the golems could block my escape through the portal, or worse yet, I might fail to find the amulet. Not to mention I had no idea how difficult it would be to penetrate the disciple’s jade shield.

Better to await another opportunity.

I’d seen what I needed to, and it was time to leave. Whipping my head to the right, I pretended something there had caught my interest. “I see me squad,” I said to the squad leader. “I go!” Not waiting for his reply, I dashed off.

No cry or shout followed in my wake.

Weaving out of the crowds of ratmen, I made for the rim of the cavern. While the center was brightly lit by the hovering magelights, there were shadows aplenty amongst the stalagmites lining the edges. Hidden in their midst, I could safely observe my quarry.

Head bent and feigning having lost something, I broke out of the ranks of ratmen and slipped between stalagmites. I glanced about casually. No one was looking my way. Stepping behind one of the tall ivory stalks, I faded from sight.

You are hidden.

Turning about, I peered around the edges of the stalagmite. From my observation point, I had a clear view of both the sector boss and the tunnel mouth.

I settled down, preparing for a long wait.

I didn’t know how I was going to kill my quarry yet; I only knew it couldn’t be done in this cavern. When he left, I would follow.

And then, I would strike.

~~~

Hours went by, and my enemies’ disposition did not change.

Overseen by the sector boss—who stayed shielded the entire time—and his bodyguards, the ratmen kept a vigilant watch on the gateway. Any hope I had of escaping the second sector quickly had long since faded, and I’d resigned myself to remaining in the sector for however long it took.

Idly, I wondered what happened to the mantises. The assassins should have found me by now. Either they had failed to enter the dungeon as I expected, or… they had some other strategy in mind.

I wasn’t sure which perturbed me more. But whatever the mantises did was not in my control, and I set aside further thoughts on them.

Movement in the cavern drew my eye.

The ratmen in the rear were turning about. I exhaled a relieved breath. The sector boss was finally standing down his forces.

Intently, I watched as the ratmen squads began to disperse, first in ones and twos, then in a rush. Not all of them were preparing to leave, though. Nearly a hundred of my foes made no move to depart—including, unfortunately, the savant disciple and his two golem bodyguards.

A hundred ratmen, one savant, and two golems were still too many for me to take on at once.

Hell, even the boss on his own will be a challenge.

The reorganization of the enemy forces around the portal was not quite done, though. While I was pondering my options, the two savant lieutenants and their escorts entered the cavern. My focus intensified. Now, this is interesting. Why have they come?

The three savants gathered near the portal, silently communing with each other, and a moment later, the golems jerked to life.

My intuition sparked. This is a change of the guard, I realized.

The boss is going to leave.

I was certain of it. My mind raced, forming and discarding plan after plan. I could follow on the savant disciple’s heels and strike at him from the shadows. Or I go ahead and lay an ambush in the tunnels.

But neither of those options appealed to me, especially not with the golems accompanying my mark and the lieutenants close by.

There is a surer way to do this. Resuming the guise of Rugar the brute, I stepped out of the shadows and slipped in behind one of the squads.

Amongst the stream of ratmen exiting the cavern, I went unnoticed. Skipping quickly through the nest’s central hub, I ducked into the tunnel leading to the boss’ chambers.

It was as deathly quiet as before.

This time, knowing what awaited me at the end, I stayed hidden, creeping through the pools of shadow between the torches. As I neared the cul-de-sac, I slowed to a halt.

Six hostile entities have failed to detect you!

The brutes I’d spied earlier still stood guard outside the boss’ chamber. I was nestled deeply enough in darkness, though, to escape their notice. Dispatching the six wouldn’t be difficult, but I doubted the savant would enter his room if his guards were dead or missing.

I had a better plan in mind.

Letting my gaze drift around the surroundings, I studied the cul-de-sac in more detail. It was more brightly lit than the rest of the tunnel and had torches inset in the wall every three feet, leaving me no shadows deep enough to hide in.

The walls were smooth and unclimbable, and the roof was out of reach, even with two-step. I turned my gaze to the room’s doors. They looked ordinary enough, but I’d not forgotten the ratmen’s fondness for traps.

Casting trap detect, I enhanced my sight.

Glowing dust-like particles appeared in my vision, swirling around whatever my sight touched. When my gaze rested on the door, they coalesced into sharp red lines, signifying danger.

You have spotted a trap!

Well, well. The door and the ground underfoot were outlined in a crimson haze. Guards and traps. The savant disciple was a careful one.

However, for my intended purposes, it was not enough to simply know there was a trap; I needed to identify it too. Letting my gaze linger on the door, I traced each individual line of magic woven between the trigger and trap elements.

It was harder to do from a distance than if I was right beside the door. Still, slowly but surely, I learned the intricacies of the trap’s design.

You have successfully identified a trap. This is a rank 1 explosive trap formed of two trap elements: an explosive fire enchantment and a motion pin.

My lips curved upwards in a smile. The savant disciple had certainly not skimped on his defenses. But that would only make his surprise all the more complete when I penetrated them.

It was time to put my plan in motion.

Retreating from the cul-de-sac, I backed far enough away that the brutes would not see what I was about.

Then, one by one, I began dousing the torches.