The monster's eyes nearly bugged out of its head as we charged. Turning, it darted backward, but shouts from the Templars within the mines made it hesitate. That was its first mistake.

Swinging my sword at its back legs, I tried to sever its hamstrings. My blade grazed the monster's thick hide, slicing off a few thick hairs, but the damage was minimal. Whipping around, the monster screeched, sounding like a cross between a dinosaur and a squeaky fence, and slashed its massive paw at me. I barely had enough time to get my shield up. The blow rattled my arm all the way up to my shoulder, and I was thrown into the wall.

Before it could leap on me, Tristan swung her mace into its side. She'd gotten enough strength into the swing to knock the monster sideways, but just barely. With a squeaky whimper, it ran on all fours back down the tunnel. I teetered back to my feet as its black fur began to shimmer. It was blending into the shadows.

"It's getting away!" Tristan cried out.

"Don't let it double around!" I charged forward, shield first, just as the gloomfang disappeared completely.

My instincts screamed to stop, but instead, I kept going, crashing down the tunnel. I heard the creature snarl and jump out of the way, but I wasn't aiming for it. With all my strength, I slammed into the iron doors leading into the mine. With a deafening boom, they slammed shut, and a shower of dirt and rocks fell on my head. Before I could get my bearings, something slammed into my back, throwing me face-first into the doors. I felt my sword slide from my fingers.

[Unbreakable]

The word appeared in my head as I crumpled to the ground. What did it mean?

"Alex!" Tristan's voice echoed around me.

My head spun, and pain flooded up my spine, but my breastplate had stopped the worst of the attack. I tried to catch my breath, but my armor was pressing into my back, making it hard to breathe.

"Look out!" Her footsteps echoed off the dirt walls.

The sound of her voice cleared my head. Rolling over, I lifted my shield. An instant later, the Gloomfang's massive jaws latched onto the rim. The monster snarled and shook me like it was a dog and I was a stuffed animal.

Searing pain shot through my shoulder as it pulled me off the ground and whipped its head, and me, around. I was certain my shoulder would tear, but those words appeared in my head again:

[Unbreakable]

As much strain as I felt in my shoulder, it held fast. That didn't make the experience any more pleasant. When my arm didn't tear off, the gloomfang started whipping its head harder. My entire body cut through the air like a sword.

Right on time, Tristan's mace slammed into its head. I fell to the ground as black blood sprayed across my face, and the monster stumbled backward.

"Get up, Alex! I need you." Tristan placed herself between me and the monster.

"Trying to..." Trying to get my breath back, I rolled onto my stomach and struggled to get on all fours. Pain rocketed through my body, forcing me to squeeze my eyes closed, but I gritted my teeth and pushed myself up anyway. A wave of nausea and dizziness swept over me, and I struggled to remain steady as the world swam beneath me.

Tristan jumped back, dodging a swipe from the monster's deadly claws. "Hurry. I can't fight it alone!"

Shaking the stars out of my eyes, I stood up and held my shield in front of me. As I did, I noticed that the metal band circling the shield was bent and mangled from the monster's bite, and half the wooden planks had cracked. It wouldn't hold up much longer. So much for gloomfang's being weak, Ro!

"You okay?" Tristan's eyes were fixed on the monster.

"Yeah." Even if the shield was broken, it would be enough. "I'm going for my sword. Cover me."

"I've got you."

Raising my shield, I rushed forward. The gloomfang snarled and struck at me, but Tristan parried the attack. It was like we were flowing together. Every movement was so easy, so effortless. I wondered if that was what [United We Stand] did?

I didn't have time to think that through. Slamming into the gloomfang's chest, I was struck with the smell of dog, blood, and feces as my shield, and face, buried into its fur. The monster screamed as it flew backward and slammed into the iron doors. I kept running until I slammed into it again. Pinning the thing with all my weight, I threw my leg out and kicked at where I'd dropped my weapon, but I wasn't that cool. Instead of flying into my hands, the sword skittered away.

"Tristan, get that!"

"Got it!"

Her footsteps echoed behind me, and the gloomfang's eyes grew wide. It snapped at me. Forcing my shield upward into its neck, I used my leverage to force its jaw closed. It snarled and swiped at me, but my shield was in its way. When that didn't work, it kicked, and hard. Once, twice, three times, its foot slammed into my armored legs. Then, its fourth attempt struck true. One of its wicked claws hooked under my greaves and slashed through the flesh and muscle of my shin. My vision went blurry with tears of pain, but I fought through it.

Tristan appeared in the corner of my vision, dropped down, and picked up my sword. "Take it!"

I held out my hand, but just before she got close enough to slap the sword into it, the monster twisted its neck. My grip faltered, and the gloomfang got its head loose enough to bite Tristan. It snapped onto her wrist and wrenched.

She screamed in agony.

A wicked crack echoed in the tunnel. My sword fell from her hand as it picked her up and flung her into the wall. She slammed into a rotten wooden beam and fell to the ground in a heap.

Her scream echoed in my head.

My mind went blank. Then, every inch of my soul ignited. I saw red, roared, pulled my arm back, and slammed my shield into the monster's throat. The gloomfang shrieked and clawed at me, but I didn't care. I slammed my shield into its neck again, then again. Slam after slam, strike after strike, I drove my shield into its throat, listening as its shrieks turned to cries, then its cries turned to whimpers. Pieces of wood flew away as my shield crumpled, but I didn't care. I kept striking. Until it was quiet. Until I felt the black droplets rain down on my face. Until all I could smell was blood.

By the time I stopped, the gloomfang lay in a heap of ruined flesh and crushed bone on the ground before me. All that remained was its long upper snout. Everything else had been smashed into oblivion, so pulverised that it was almost unrecognisable. The rage dissipated from my mind. A feeling of satisfaction washed over me, but it was tinged with sadness... and emptiness.

Then I choked. My vision was blurry. I hadn't been breathing.

Dropping to my knees, I pulled at my breastplate, trying to relieve the pressure on my chest, but something was digging into my back. Unhooking its straps, the breastplate fell away from my chest. Pulling it around, I saw that the entire back plate was crumpled in. That's what had been digging into my back. I coughed and took a slow breath in. So much better. I took a few more deep breaths and waited for my vision to clear.

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As I did, the monster began to fade away into black mist. At first, the fur faded away, but within seconds, it's flesh and bones dissolved into the air. a minute later, all that was left was a smile like of glowing crystals and a single bone. I reach out and picked them up, then put them into my belt pouch.

As I did, words appeared in my vision:

You complete the Shield (2★) task [Protect the Weak].

You reach level 1.

You gain +1 Strength, +1 Resilience.

You complete the Fighter (★) task [A Good Fight]

You reach level 2.

You gain +1 Strength.

That's when I heard Tristan whimper.

Crawling to her as quickly as I could, I pulled her into my arms. Her head hung limp on my shoulder, and her skin was on fire. The air rushed from my lungs when I saw her arm. It was facing the wrong way and bent at a ninety-degree angle.

"Oh god. Oh shit." I cradled her face and pulled close. "Please. Please tell me you're okay."

Her eyelids fluttered open and shut. When she spoke, her voice was thin and shaky. "I-I'm... Fine..."

"Thank the Goddess." I kissed her forehead. "Just rest. I'll get you help soon."

"But..." Her sapphire eyes gazed up at me. They were hazy, unfocused. "You're hurt too... silly."

I hadn't realized my neck was on fire. Reaching up to my collarbone, my fingers came away slick with red. How hadn't I noticed that? "I'll be okay."

Her eyes grew wide. "Did we win...?"

"Yeah. We won."

She smiled. "Good..." Her eyes closed, and she fell into soft, if strained, breathing.

Breathing deeply, I tried to pull myself together. "Alright. Okay. Gotta pick her up. Get her back home. Yeah, I can do that." It took effort, but I got to my feet. Kneeling down, I picked my sword up, sheathed it, then scooped her up into my arms. Step by step, I made my way out of the mine and into the Light, where I hoped someone would come and help us.

***

"Alex!" I looked up to see Na-Ya waving at me from Avina's statue. I waved back but didn't shout. I didn't want to wake Tristan or the boy. Plus, I was far too tired. Physically, mentally, and emotionally tired.

After exiting the mine, I saw the boy and remembered the gloomfang had dropped him. Once I'd gotten Tristan settled outside, I went back and found that he was unconscious but still breathing. Picking him up too, I placed both on the boulder we'd sat on earlier, sat down, and cradled Tristan's head in my lap. That's where I'd stayed for however long it had been. Sitting on a boulder, teetering at the edge of consciousness, waiting for either the Templars to return or someone else to show up. I'd honestly entirely forgotten Na-Ya and Ro-Saleh were coming. My brain was mush.

"Is she alive?" Na-Ya's voice was hesitant. I hadn't realized she reached me. Looking up at the beautiful elf, I saw that she was panting, and she was covered in sweat. She must've run all the way out here.

"She's alive."

"And the boy?"

"Alive, too."

She nodded. "The others?"

"Still inside the mine."

"What happened?"

I explained how we'd stayed outside and caught the gloomfang when it tried to escape with the boy. Then, we talked about the fight that followed. As I did, she healed me. The pain in my neck had gotten much, much worse over time. It was frankly all I'd been able to think about for the past hour or so. The relief was welcome. But, when she finished with my neck, I peeled away my grieve and showed her my leg. The same one that I hurt when I got sent to Reial.

The sight of it made her hiss. "What happened?"

I hadn't looked at it either until now. It didn't look pretty. "Gloomfang foot."

She shook her head. "I'm back to healing your leg again, looks like."

I nodded. "Seems like it."

"Not now, though." She fished a potion out of her belt pouch and handed it to me. Holding it up and swirling it in the light, I saw that it was red and there were sparkles visible in the liquid. "I need to conserve my mana. Use that, and we'll heal you better once we get back to the Temple."

"Sounds good. I'd rather you focus on Tristan, anyway. She got messed up."

Na-Ya looked at me sideways. "I'm not sure you've seen yourself."

Shrugging, I uncorked the bottle and threw the liquid back. It tasted kind of like cough medicine, but it was more bitter. It wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either. It tasted different than the ones I'd drunk all year. Those tasted like ass.

Noticing my reaction, she said, "It's a better potion. Comes from Galden. We use these when we're out in the field, since the ones we make at the temple aren't very strong. They're expensive but worth it, even if they hurt."

As if in response, my entire leg felt like it caught on fire. I clutched at my shin and barely managed to hold back a scream. "Goddamn!"

"Sorry! I forgot to warn you. Alchemical healing hurts a lot more than magical healing, and the better the potion, the more it hurts."

"No," I said through clenched teeth, "It doesn't hurt... It's fucking torture..."

A light smile played on her lips. "Looks like our crybaby is still living up to his name."

"You know what, you're the reason I got that damn nickname in the first place. Rude."

Mirroring our first interaction, she said two words: "Haha. Very funny."

I wanted to snap at her, but the pain in my leg made making words impossible.

Frowning, Na-Ya ran her hands along Tristan's arm. The latter girl groaned as her cousin performed her inspection.

The pain subsided enough for me to talk. "Is she going to be okay?"

She nodded. "Breaks aren't very difficult to heal. But..." She shook her head. "I'm going to need you to put some leather or something in her mouth."

Oh shit. Did we have to set it? That sounded horrible.

"We do."

Did I say that out loud? "Okay. What do I do?"

"We'll need to do it quickly, before she resists. Find something for her to bite on, then hold her down. The hard part can be done quickly."

Reaching down, I grabbed my pack and fished inside. Within, I found an extra tunic I'd stowed away, which would probably work for what we needed. Nodding to Na-Ya, I gently opened Tristan's mouth. "Tell me when."

The elf situated herself. "Right... Now!"

I shoved the cloth into Tristan's mouth. Her eyes flew open. "Mmmph!"

"Hold her!"

Grabbing Tristan's shoulders, I pinned her down just as she tried to rise. "I'm so sorry. Hang in there."

Her eyes met mine. They were filled with fear and confusion. She mumbled something, but mid-mumble, Na-Ya pulled on her arm. Tristan screamed as her arm cracked. She trashed and kicked, and it took all my weight to hold her still. Tears flowed from her eyes as she cried in agony, but another jerk sent her eyes rolling back, and she was out.

Na-Ya sighed. "Poor thing. A gloomfang is a difficult fight for a rookie. That arm's going to hurt for a while." Her hands began to glow again, and she started working her magic into Tristan's arm.

I watched for a time, but a sound behind us drew my attention away.

"Keep moving!"

Turning toward the voice, I saw the mine's iron doors swing open, and the Templars appeared. They looked rough. Black and red blood covered their armor, and there were cuts and scrapes all along their exposed faces and skin. I noticed that Maven was leading the pack. Voss and one other Templar were missing.

When they got near, Maven's eyes narrowed on me. Then, when she saw Tristan, I could tell she was livid. "What happened?"

I sighed and pointed at the boy. "A little while after you went in, a gloomfang tried to escape with the boy. We stopped it."

"That wasn't the mission, Alex. You disobeyed my orders." Even if she looked like she wanted to kill me, I thought I heard a note of pride in Maven's voice.

"I know."

She pointed at the boy. "Is he alive?"

"He is."

"Where's Ro?" She asked Na-Ya. I hadn't thought to ask.

Na-Ya's hands, which had been tending Tristan's arm, froze. "Something came up. He's back in Goodfield. I came alone." The priestess looked up. "Where are Voss and Ilan?"

Maven frowned. "They didn't make it."

Na-Ya's eyes grew heavy. "Goddess preserve them." She whispered a quick prayer before adding, "How? Nothing here is that strong."

"I don't know. One minute, everything was fine. Then, when we reached the second level, we found evidence that someone had been here recently. Then, we were attacked on all sides by the undead. Ilan went down, and Voss held them off so we could get out. If it weren't for him, I'm not sure we'd be here."

"Undead? In Copperhill?"

"Yeah. I don't know either."

I looked at each woman. "What does that mean?'

Na-Ya looked down. "There haven't been any undead sightings here for decades." Seemingly finished with Tristan's arm, she moved to examine the boy.

"So, it's a bad sign," I said.

"Yes."

I nodded. "Good."

She blinked. "What's good?"

I didn't always signal sarcasm that well in the language here. "Just grumbling and being sarcastic. Don't mind me."

One of the men behind Maven stepped forward. "Priestess, Captain. We need to go. With the undead nearby, we shouldn't be here once night falls."

"I agree." Waving several Templars over, Maven said, "Carry Tristan and the boy. We're marching back to Goodfield."

"One moment. I'm almost done." Na-Ya's hands glowed brighter, and the boy mumbled in his sleep. "Okay, you can take him."

One of the men picked up Cam, but when another went to pick up Tristan, I waved him off. "I've got her." He looked like he wanted to argue, so I stood up and picked Tristan up into my arms.

Maven shook her head, but even if she looked frustrated, she didn't try to stop me. "Alright, Alex. Do what you want."

Her arm, now straight but very swollen, wrapped around my neck. When it did, words appeared in my vision, and I felt something shift inside of me.

You gain the achievement [Tireless Devotion]

You gain the Human skill [Second Wind]

Without hesitation, I activated the skill.

[Second Wind]

It was like liquid caffeine was poured into my veins. In an instant, all the weariness permeating my everything was gone. Every inch of my body thrummed with energy. Lifting Tristan suddenly became effortless, and it felt like I could have run the entire way back to Goodfield.

And so, we marched. Back through Copperhill, out through the woods, across the fields and meadows, until finally we arrived back in Goodfield, where Ro-Saleh was waiting for us.

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