Power Plant

January 12th, 2022

***

He glanced at his notifications from earlier.

['Elite Goblin Level 11' killed. 15% XP awarded]

['Elite Goblin Level 11' killed. 15% XP awarded]

'Tch, no copper.'

"Status."

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[Name: Richter Maier || Mana: 100%/100% || Level 13: 25% XP || Unused Attribute Points: 12]

[Class: Swordsman (intrinsic)]

[Attributes: Strength: 19 || Agility: 22 || Constitution: 15 || Magic: 18 || Intelligence 13]

[Abilities: Transcendent Bloodlust (innate), Transcendent Sense (innate), Swordsman's Tenacity (passive) || Skills: Sunder]

[4 Copper || 0 Healing Potions || 5 Mana Potions]

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"Richter," Rio whispered. "Pay attention. What should we do?"

The group was crowded around a bundle of trees hidden in the shade to scout the exterior of the power plant. This was the first of the dungeon locations they encountered.

From the outside, one wouldn't suspect anything out of the ordinary. The goblins had executed a perfect takeover, with not a single piece of destruction anywhere on the property.

"Your group drew the shortest straw, this is all you."

"You bastard!" Reed hissed.

"You gotta learn somehow. But fine, I'll tell you a little this time."

He pushed his sense to its limits, feeling out the auras in and along the building.

"There are eight auras total. Three seem to be patrolling a fixed route, the other five are stationary."

Koga turned toward Richter, his mind working overtime to formulate a plan.

"Can you tell us anything about the patrols?"

"The description won't make sense when we don't know the layout."

"Well, what about the strength of the auras?"

"They're all on the same level, just like the goblins from earlier. Though I have no means of qualifying what that level is."

Koga grit his teeth. His analytic mind needed something more concrete.

"Well maybe-

"In life," Richter cut in. "You have to deal with problems as they arise. It's called adapting."

Reed's face turned red and he clenched his fists. "If I had a detection ability like you, I wouldn't need any help."

"Don't mistake my Sense as the reason I'm so good. I'd still destroy that dungeon without it.

"And try having some faith in yourselves, 'cause I'm struggling to see how you and Koga will make it back alive. You two have done almost nothing this whole trip."

The two flinched at the harsh remarks, lowering their gazes to the floor. Richter would never understand how they felt, having gone from a game that gave them confidence, to reality where they doubted every move they made.

Still, it was a sad sight to see. Rio felt especially bad for them. It reminded her of the days when she tortured players in-game before the devs removed that feature. They wore the same expressions that Koga and Reed had now.

"Don't demoralize my team before we even begin."

"I'm not. I'm encouraging them to do their best. They should be full of motivation now."

Rio clicked her tongue, "Asshole."

She turned around to her disturbed teammates.

"Come on, let's go before more arrive."

Rio, Reed, and Koga set out through the clearing. They didn't have far to travel, jogging the first half and sneaking the second. They soon disappeared from view, weaving in and out of rubble and fallen debris.

Brent had remained silent throughout, watching with a complicated expression. From the beginning, his intuition had told him to stick by Richter. But the man consistently caused trouble, on top of being a smart ass most of the time. Was it worth it? Should he continue to listen to him?

He opened his status and glanced at one of his abilities:

[Transcendent Intuition]

After a couple minutes, he spoke up.

"Would you really be able to complete these dungeons by yourself?"

Richter didn't even glance at him, his focus trained on tracking the group's progress.

"I guess. Honestly — you all overestimate just how difficult it'll be. The captain from earlier left too heavy an impression. He wasn't that capable; his use of mana was also terrible."

He picked his feet up and turned back to the city.

"Now let's go, it's already noon."

The sun rested directly above them, mighty and proud. Its powerful rays keeping them warm on a cold winter day. The pair left the clearing, heading east to find another dungeon.

***

Reed, Koga, and Rio ducked behind a wall, their hearts racing.

The lack of a single goblin sighting made them nervous. In particular, Rio hated fighting indoors, since her teleport is more limited. It was the opposite for Reed and Koga, whose shields excelled in those situations.

She placed her back to the wall and inched over to the corner, barely gazing around the side-

'!'

her body jerked back, knocking into Reed.

A purple goblin in green armor stood around the corner, roughly a dozen feet away. His tall, lean stature blocked a metal door leading inside.

She put a finger up to her mouth, lowering her voice.

"I'm going to teleport and fireball his throat. Once I disappear, dash around the corner to cover me."

The two nodded, drawing their weapons. It sounded like a solid plan.

Rio held up a hand, counting down from five. She roused the mana within her body, slowly pushing it around to warm up.

4...

3...

2...

1...

[Teleport.]

Rio blinked to the right side of the goblin, desperately pumping mana toward her right hand. The goblin, to his credit, reacted well. Only pausing for a moment before reaching for the blade on his hip. It just wasn't fast enough.

[Fireball - 5%]

The bright ball of fire seared into the creature's throat, burning away any hope for survival. It collapsed onto the ground-

'phew'

-managing to bang one of its fists against the door on the way down.

Reed and Koga were next to her by now, and all three of their hearts stopped at the stroke of bad luck.

The metal door whipped open, revealing a bulkier, heavier, purple goblin with a two-handed axe. Koga stepped back toward Rio, volunteering Reed to block the overhead strike coming their way.

The axe hit bit deep into his shield, nearly cutting his arm which was numb from impact.

"DO SOMETHING!"

Fortunately, The axe was stuck good. No amount of pulling allowed the goblin to reclaim his weapon. Koga and Rio jumped out from either side, digging their blades deep into its stomach.

It staggered back into a hallway, paling from a dark purple to a light lavender color. The body slid down a wall, dead.

At least now they knew what it looked like when a purple goblin got anemic.

The three took a moment to catch their breath.

"That could of gone better."

Rio wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Ya think? Still, our teamwork wasn't bad."

Though the encounter did more good than they realized. It had helped them get over their nerves. The three stepped into the power plant, eager to continue.

The right wall in the hallway contained small window panes every several feet. They only extended down to about waist height, meaning it was possible to sneak through if they wanted.

But the hallway itself was a good funnel to fight enemies in. If they showed themselves in the window to attract goblins, this could be an easy way to clear the rest of them.

The three turned to each other, torn on their decision.

"There's no guarantee that anyone is on the other side of those panes."

"It would be pretty silly if there wasn't. They possess enough intelligence to block doors, they should understand the value of transparent glass."

"I can check..."

Rio and Koga turned toward Reed.

"Go for it," Koga said.

He turned back to Rio, tensing his body.

"He won't let us down, so get ready."

Reed walked over to the first window and poked his head out, trying to get a good look. The only thing reflected back in his vision was the image of a tall goblin drawing their sword. He jumped to the side as a blade broke through the glass, stabbing his prior position.

Scrambling to his feet, he stumbled back to Rio and Koga.

"Told you so," Koga said.

Two more goblins burst through a door at the far end of the hallway. They pointed their fingers at the trio, saying strange words they didn't understand. Still, a narrow hallway and stationary targets are the perfect combination.

"Move aside," Rio pushed the two men out of the way and roused her mana again.

"I'm going to use a lot of mana this time, so I won't be as useful against the next goblin that comes."

The new skill she unlocked at level ten was strong, but it varied greatly on input. Normally, the attack was about 8 inches wide, but at higher inputs...

She poured mana forth into her body and brought her arm back.

[Slice – 50%]

The wide, sharp blade of mana screamed through the hallway, drawing deep gashes on the walls as it traveled. The goblins possessed no defensive equipment besides the armor, and they vastly underestimated the danger the thin blade contained. Starting from their weapons, the blade sheared through armor, bones, skin, and everything in between.

Sadder still was that two more goblins had rushed in at the last second, getting cut in half as well. Only two remained now. But where?

Koga's ears twitched as he turned back toward the exit. He stuck his head outside to see two goblins sprinting in their direction.

"They're coming!"

Reed jumped into the corner by the doorway.

The first of the pair entered; their heavy spear flicked into Koga's shield. He grit his teeth, almost losing it as the goblin yanked their weapon back. Still, the goblin wasn't cautious enough.

Reed shuffled forth from his corner, stabbing his sword through the their neck.

Koga could see the second following up closely. Once Reed pulled his blade out, he charged forward with his shield, shoving the corpse and the goblin back outside. The sword on his hip reappeared in his hand, arcing down into the disoriented enemy.

They had done it. Just like Richter said they could. It kind of pissed them off, not that they were unhappy to be alive.

Reed took a deep breath, sitting down in the hallway.

"Still, these goblins didn't seem as smart as the group we ran into earlier. You think they were just special?"

Koga took a swig of water from a bottle he kept on his belt.

"I can't even process that right now man. That was only eight goblins, and we still have a bunch more inside to deal with."

Rio smiled wryly at the two. "Come on, let's see what the dungeon looks like."

Venturing further inside, they arrived at the center, where the dungeon entrance had popped up.

[Recommended Level: 12 - 16]

[Monsters: Goblins, Elite Goblins]

Rio pressed 'enter' on the screen and watched the blue wall swirl.

"Ready?"

"Yeah," they replied.

And the group walked through the portal together.

***