A [Lvl 36 Arcane Blighted Snorf] poked its head out a large crack in the ground, wiggling its purple snout in my direction. I galloped near it, ensuring it was within my [Blight Cloud], and cast [Enraging Call] for good measure though it was already mad at me. It pulled its hefty body out of its burrow with wide paws boasting knife-sized claws and joined the other Snorfs scurrying after me.

I was already heading to the next hole to bait out its occupant, adding it to my growing number of fans chasing me for an autograph.

“Herald, don’t get too far from us!” Megan shouted from behind the giant diseased moles. Our teammates closely followed her.

“Don’t worry!” I yelled back. “Just pulling the monsters to a nice spot. Don’t attack the monsters until I tell you to.”

My party had no choice but to follow my orders. This was one of the things I loved about being a tank. The harder a tank was, the more unspoken clout he had. It did come with the responsibility of not messing up like an idiot. But that was expected with the power to boss around others.

Using [Poison Bottle Cast], I created a cloud of [Morabodry] by my hooves before moving on. The Snorfs passed the expanding poisonous cloud. I placed a Totem in their way—it quickly died in one swipe—followed by another, to stall them a bit for the poison to latch on. That kept their attention on me.

Exiting the tunnel themed after Swiss cheese, I thundered down a curving slope. It led to an expansive cavern with garish green crystals and sludge pools. From a different quest, I knew that more monsters hid in the slime. The Snorfs needed to be eliminated now before our party pushed further.

Casting [Horde Stampede], I reached the end of the path with a few seconds to spare. I glanced up. More than a dozen Snorfs were closing in, a larger group than my previous pulls. I hoped it wasn’t too much to handle; dying here would be immensely humiliating.

“Megan! Nitana! Stay up there!” I tucked myself inside the curve of the ramp, limiting the space for the Snorfs to reach me.

The giant moles descended, some tumbling, others climbing over their fellows. They scampered to my little cranny. I raised my shields as if they were gates closing. To the first customer, I gifted [Withering Brand]. [Gnawing Rot] and another [Poison Bottle Cast] saturated my chosen chokepoint.

More Snorfs squeezed in. It was a wall of claws and twitching bearded snouts.

After making sure I had turned off my PvP settings, I called for an airstrike on my position. “Do it!” I called. “Turn up the heat!” I had been dying to say that line.

On the ledge above my nook, Megan and Nitana had positioned themselves. They let loose their spells. Megan’s wands and her Totem were relentless flamethrowers, while Nitana sent down squadrons of exploding fairies.

It was like I was inside an oven. I could only see the raging fire and furious claws. Even as they roasted, the Arcane Blighted Snorfs brought down my [Greater Pyro Shell]. Not surprising. They were ten levels above me.

Without my barrier, my health bar gradually shriveled as if it was cold despite my massive regeneration.

Nothing of too much concern.

One [Healing Touch] refilled my health bar, and its secondary effect of Heal-over-Time pushed back the damage I continued to sustain. I could take these moles without [Greater Pyro Shell], but I recast it just the same. The Snorfs used skills I couldn’t see in all the flames and bursts of light; they might have something up their proverbial furry sleeves that could kill me.

So far, nothing could pop [Greater Pyro Shell] in one hit.

The Snorfs did inflict some nasty ailments such as [Deep Cuts], increasing physical damage I took, and [Infected Wounds], a DoT probably related to their Blighted state. Turning on [Cloak of the Plaguespreader], I offered those back to them.

“Take that, you oversized rodents!” I roared, my voice overtaken by explosions.

Are moles classified as rodents? I absentmindedly wondered, focused on catching the flurry of wicked nails bursting out of the blaze. Megan and Nitana ensured that the Snorfs—which may or may not be rodents—got Burned, helping me replenish Ancestral Shroud for my shell each time I Head-On Blocked them.

When I’d eventually wear [Smoldering Hooves of Kaghao], I’d have a more consistent source of Burn. I wouldn’t always be partied with Mardukryons in the future. [Mantle of Kindling] required that I get hit for a chance to Burn the attackers; I wanted something more reliable.

A smattering of Artas, Essence, and Gli flowed to me as the Snorfs began dying. I didn’t get much loot—the level gap penalty worked both ways—but I did receive plenty of Blighted Tokens. Unlike everything else, the penalty didn’t affect the Tokens as they were event-related. I didn’t care for the loot. Everyone and their grandmothers were doing the world quest. The market was flooded with drops from Arcane Blighted monsters.

As the last Snorf died, Megan and Nitana stopped their orbital bombardment. After my baptism by fire, I stepped out of my corner, proving that moles couldn’t beat Stone. They probably just pushed them out of their way when digging underground.

“Herald! Are you okay?” Megan trotted down the ramp, peering over me.

“He’s obviously fine,” said Nitana. She gave me an energetic thumbs-up—it was obvious whom she was mimicking—with a mischievous glint in her four eyes. “Hey, we no longer need Kezo to tank for us.”

“These are just level thirties,” I said. “I’ll need more time to replace Kezo as our tank.” It hurt my pride to hide behind Kezo, given he was a DPS. Well, snobbery aside, a lifesteal tank was still a tank.

“Herald, Let’s just take it slow,” said Megan.

That’s what she said, I chimed in my head. It was reasonable for this hypothetical female to say; no need to rush things. But I could handle it, so I was diving in. If I wasn’t mistaken, that might’ve also been uttered by the theoretical she.

“I know you’ll kill the monsters before I die,” I said. “If enemies die faster, I’ll have better chances of survival.” I held up my thumbs, grinning Nitana’s way. She laughed, but Megan didn’t find it funny.

“You’re our healer and tank, Herald,” Megan sternly said, sporting a serious expression. “We don’t have anyone to ress you if you die.”

It dawned on me why Megan wasn’t her usual upbeat, carefree self. She was our party leader and had her friends with us. This was her thing. It’d be on her shoulders if the run failed, even if it were my mistake.

I raised my hand. “On my honor, I promise I won’t do anything risky. I won’t pull more than what I’m sure I could tank.”

“Come on, Megan,” Lavender said, nudging her friend with her elbow. “Trust the guy who started this world quest gig. He seems to know what he’s doing. And you and Nitana are pretty strong, eh? You’ll squish these weak monsters, no prob!”

“They can still kill us if we’re not careful,” Megan said.

“Yep, we’re squishy too,” Nitana said, probably sensing that Megan wasn’t her usual self. “We might be unable to save you guys if monsters go for you.”

“Sorry, we’re not much help.” Kai raised his sword and shield. “Melee problems. Really not going to risk coming close to enemies when we could die from a sneeze. Only Jani here can contribute something.” Kani nodded to the second staff-wielder in our party.

“Contribute what?” Jani asked, matched with a derisive exhale. Unlike Lavender and Kai, Jani’s gears looked much more formidable—probably hand-me-downs from Megan and Nitana. It pays to be in the same class as your stronger friends. “I can contribute to scratching Snorf bums.”

“After the Snorfs, what’s next?” Nitana pointed with her staff at the field of sludge puddles stretching in front of us. At the far end of the cavern was the only other opening. “Like, what’s up with these weird avocado ponds?”

“I think Herald knows,” Megan said, turning to me. “You mentioned you’ve done this quest before?”

“The level twenty version of clearing the tunnels mission,” I clarified. “Mostly the same layout so far, but with different enemies. Monsters are lay in wait in those puddles; they’ll show up when we get near. Some will attack, while most will run in all directions, slipping in the cracks or jumping into neighboring pools.

“Of course, we’ll have no choice but to kill the monsters attacking us. However, our priority should be those fleeing—they drop Blight Tokens several times the amount of the other monsters. We’ll have our fill of Tokens here. That’s on Megan and Nitana to farm them. My part is to hold the aggressive monsters in the meantime.”

“Sounds complicated,” Nitana drawled. “Tell me my part, and I’ll just think about that.”

“I know what our part will be,” Lavender said with a chuckle, patting the shoulders of Kai and Jani. “Hide and stay out of the way.”

I leaned forward, beckoning for them to come closer. “Here’s what we’ll do…”

After the team huddle, we chose a nearby sludge puddle far from others so we wouldn’t accidentally wander by them. I stood a few meters from its edge, ready to catch whatever would come out when the fight started. I’d also cast Totems to my right and left to stall the prized monsters.

Behind me, Nitana protected Lavender, Kai, and Jani—also me, to some extent. On top of that, Nitana was tasked with killing Token monsters so long I could hold onto the aggressive ones. Across the puddle stood Megan. Since she and her powerful Totem could fire at different things, I figured she’d be fine on her own. Most aggressive monsters should attack our side since we had five people here.

“I’m ready, Herald!” shouted Megan. With a flair of her wand, she planted her [Spell Bonded Totem] that would copy any spell she cast. A quarter of her health was lost as payment.

Before starting the countdown, I waited for her to drink a health potion—she was out of my healing range. “Three, two, one!” I approached the pond, fully buffed. Bubbles broke the surface, followed by beady eyes—dozens of them.

The first [Lvl 37 Arcane Toady Token] hopped out of the sludge, landing on Megan’s side. She shrieked but then composed herself. Another Toady Token appeared, and another. A chorus of croaking soon reverberated.

I met Megan’s eyes. Raising my shields, I commanded, “Attack them!”