Standing outside the apartment, James gathered everyone, including Elder Bo. Linda was especially pissed, but not over the fact that James was in trouble. She was angry because she didn't get to fight the giant beetle and missed out on all of the souls.

He could only stare at her in bewilderment. The woman had gone from fearful to a fully blown murderhobo. Any Forsaken that moved or breathed were going to die by her hand. It was kind of terrifying.

Bronson tried to placate her by patting her shoulder and promising that they would join the next excursion. It was just enough for her to forgive everyone.

"Now that Linda is calmed down…" James started. "I believe it's time to discuss what we are going to do. We can't leave this city as it is. If Forsaken are already this powerful, then we need to exterminate them and find out why this city is here in the first place."

"What do we know about the city?" Luna asked, directing her attention to Bo.

"Nothing," the elder admitted. "All of the cities that I have been to and know of are destroyed. I haven't seen anything like this before."

Rubbing her temples, Amber took a deep breath. "So, not only do we have two story beetles that James couldn't kill quickly, but it called hundreds of little beetles to kill him. That was only in a few block radius. We have a ten mile diameter city to explore. What the hell are we going to do?"

James understood her frustrations. He had no easy solutions either. "We start with clearing the outside edges of the city," he stated. "Once we clear as much as we can, we move into the layer that had the beetles. I can't guarantee what we'll find once we advance that far again."

"Like the different districts," Luna pointed out. "The apartments have those freaky humanoid monsters, but the shops might have something else?"

"Exactly." Nodding, he scanned the street before settling on Amber. "You are going to be going with Jamie. I need you two to scout the area and find what we are up against. The entire outside edges of the city need to be searched."

Nodding, Amber stepped over to Jamie. "Why exactly am I teamed up with the enchanter?"

"That was my question," Mender stated.

"I have a bow," Jamie said. "And I'm a very good scout. I won't be detected."

That was good enough for Amber as she slung her arm over the shorter girl's shoulders. "We'll be a great team!"

"Get off me," Jamie said coldly.

Jumping back, Amber looked shocked. James chuckled as he turned to Mender. "Most of our fights will likely be indoors, so your Consecration won't help the most. If we are lucky, we can lure many of the Forsaken into the street for you."

"I'll make it work," Mender said with a shrug.

"What about me?" Luna asked.

Rubbing his chin, he thought it over. Her Soul Form was too large for fighting indoors. That was going to limit her to big battles, but she still needed to grow stronger. "You'll have to make do with Soul Siphon and your normal wolf form. You are fast and Soul Rend is deadly. Clear out the apartments."

"What about us?" Bronson asked.

Gesturing to all of the buildings, he said, "take your pick. We need everything cleared and that means you four are going to grow the most. Especially Linda."

"Damn right," the elf growled.

Blinking back his surprise, he continued, "Mender will do what he can to clear out buildings, but he's our slowest one. I'll be nearby, waiting to pull anyone out."

"Not going to fight?" Luna questioned.

"I gain such a little growth from the souls that it isn't worth it. If something stronger comes, I'll focus on it."

Nodding, they all turned back to their apartment. They declared the building as their base of operations before splitting up. Amber led the way with Jamie as they jogged toward the west, passing by apartments and toward some small shops at the outer edge.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Luna kissed his cheek before hurrying to an apartment to get started. Their original plan of letting the others kill everything was in tatters. Now they needed to purge the city.

***

Amber controlled her breathing as she ran through the city. Blocks passed swiftly as she rejoiced in the feeling of her body tempering. She was faster, stronger, and more durable than she ever thought possible. She was only level three, but she already knew normal mortals wouldn't be able to harm her.

Her thoughts kept her distracted until they reached the first shop. Slowing to a stop, she felt her ears twitch as she listened to her surroundings. Jamie was breathing lightly next to her, each breath tinged with her unbrushed teeth.

Amber felt her nose scrunch up as she focused on the scent of rot and death instead of her partner. Something scaley was moving nearby, shuffling across the ground as if its stomach was dragging.

She didn't dare talk as she turned to Jamie. Gesturing to herself, she pointed to what looked like a grocery store and then to Jamie. Directing her partner to a nearby apartment or office, they split up.

Shifting to the Soul Realm, Amber saw the souls through the walls. Flickering flames were scattered throughout the grocery store, much smaller than she expected, apart from a large one in the back. It was much stronger than her, and would likely need Luna or James to handle it.

Stepping through the open door of the store, she crept into the darkness. Her eyes shifted to her night vision as the world brightened for her and the colors dulled. Shelves were in place, breaking the store into lanes, with giant signs hanging down that marked what was in each aisle. She couldn't read the writing, but wondered what she could find.

Focusing on the nearby souls, she stalked to the edge of an aisle and peered around the corner. What was waiting for her scared her enough that she hurried back to the entrance. Baby dragons, complete with scales were rolling around, playing with one another. They were only as large as an adult human, but that was already too much.

What the hell is with this city?

She didn't like what she was finding, but she need to check on the large soul in the back. Slinking around the edges of the store, she kept her distance from the monsters. The air started growing abnormally warm as she approached the soul.

Amber felt her breaths growing labored as she rounded the last corner and froze in place. A large dragon was scanning the store before settling on her. Getting to its feet, the dragon sniffed the air a few times before stretching. The sheer size of the monster was easily the same size as the beetle.

Well shit…

Backing away, Amber watched as the dragon followed her with its gaze. The baby dragons were oblivious to her, but the mother knew exactly where, and what she was.

Retreating as quickly as she could, Amber hurried out onto the street and noticed that the dragon didn't follow. Heart pounding, she turned her attention to the building that Jamie entered. She could hear her partner rushing down a staircase and started to worry.

Jamie burst out of the building and started rushing back towards James. Amber didn't wait to see what was chasing the girl as she started to run as well. The sound of scurrying feet were racing down the building and it was time to report that they didn't make it more than a few blocks.

Catching up to Jamie, Amber dropped her Soul Shift. "It was a dragon."

Jamie nearly tripped. "A fucking dragon?"

"Yup, and a bunch of babies. What did you find?"

"Spiders…"

Shivering, Amber picked up their pace. As they reached their apartment, she felt James brush his soul against hers and she pushed fear and worry towards him. She didn't have to wait longer than a few seconds before the man was by her side.

"What happened?" he asked while grabbing her arms.

"Dragon," she panted as she tried to catch her breath.

"Spiders," Jamie added. "Hundreds of them. We need everyone to Soul Siphon. We might even need Elder Bo to defeat the dragon."

James looked them both over. "Okay. We'll tackle that tomorrow. Split up and pick an apartment and go get stronger. Tonight, we make more plans."

Amber let out a relieved breath before leaning in and resting her head against his chest. "It knew I was there, James. It could see me in my Soul Shift."

"It won't live for much longer," he said softly. "Go relax and level up. I need you at your best."

Nodding, she pulled away and jogged to a nearby building. She never understood just what exactly they were going to be facing in the wastelands, but now she was scared. If these were the things James was facing before they met, she could never understand just how strong he was.

***

James rubbed his chin in thought as everyone fought to grow stronger. Only Elder Bo was not participating as he sat in the middle of the street, meditating. The Qi in the air was thick and with his ring, he absorbed all of it.

A dragon? What is a dragon doing in the middle of the forest? Why would it claim the outer edge, rather than the middle?

These were the questions that he needed answers to. First it was the horde of angry beetles. Now they had spiders and dragons. What more was in the city? What was he going to find in the middle?

Shaking his head, he walked towards a free building. If such powerful Forsaken were nearby, everyone was going to get their fill of souls. They could all latch onto the dragons and spiders together and still grow in level. That meant, there was not much of a point to taking their time with clearing these apartments.

Stepping inside a free one, he spread out his soul as much as he could. The floor above him was tinged with souls from the Forsaken. Reaching out, he grabbed hold of those he could and siphoned. Their souls shuddered for a moment before the weak monsters were snuffed out and their power was his.

What took his team minutes or hours to clear, he was going to finish in moments and then move on. Tonight, they would make a plan for the dragon.

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