“I’ve got this! Lilith, let’s kick its butt!” Aris said.

  Lilith responded with a solemn nod. “I shall assist you.”

  Aris reached the [Mecha Golem] first thanks to her incredible speed. She ran up its leg, swinging her swords, sparks flashing as the loud clang of metal on metal resounded.

  Lilith followed. She leapt onto an arm on its other side, ran toward its elbow joint, and stabbed one of her two daggers deeply into it. The grinding sound that came forth was like nails on a chalkboard, but it served to stall whatever gears were used to help it move.

  While they were keeping it distracted, Susan took to a knee, notched back an arrow, and released it.

  [Long Shot]

  -90,600!

  While [Long Shot] was technically not a skill meant to be used in enclosed spaces like this and more of a sniper attack, it could be used to great effect due to the amount of damage it did. Susan had also upgraded the skill to level 4, increasing both its range and power.

  The arrow she fired penetrated the core located near the golem’s chest. Sadly, while the attack was aimed perfectly, a barrier around the core prevented it from penetrating. This [Mecha Golem] seemed to have some kind of magic field that protected its weak point from all forms of attack.

  “Fayte! Kureha!” Susan commanded.

  “Right!”

  “Kureha’s got this!”

  [Overflowing Cascade]

  [Thunder Bolt]

  The first attack that struck was Kureha’s [Overflowing Cascade]. A massive tidal wave of water appeared out of nowhere and swept over the [Mecha Golem]. It would have taken Adam and the other vanguard with it, but they were warned ahead of time and leapt out of the way. The ferocious attack did an impressive -94,500 points of damage, but more than that, it staggered the [Mecha Golem] once more, disrupting its attack pattern.

  That was when Fayte’s attack slammed into it.

  A bolt of lightning flashed through the cavern and struck the [Mecha Golem] right in the core. An attack like that would have normally done an already impressive -201,096 points of damage, but because the [Mecha Golem] was both wet and a mechanical contraption, it did -603,288 instead.

  The attack was so impressive that the [Mecha Golem] came crashing to the ground with a loud rumble. It tried to get back up, but lightning cascaded over its body, a sign of paralysis.

  “My turn,” Adam mumbled.

  [Blood Sacrifice]

  [Dance of the Sakura Blossoms]

  Adam dashed forward and used his two greatest abilities in conjunction with each other. [Blood Sacrifice], which increased his attack power by three in exchange for halving his health, and [Dance of the Sakura Blossoms], which stacked the damage he did by three for every hit he landed.

  -270,270; -810,810; 2,432,430; -7,297,290; MISS!

  Adam clicked his tongue when his last attack missed. He backed off as a massive hand came down, crashing into the ground where he’d been standing. Such was the force behind the attack that a gale wind slammed into Adam and sent him stumbling back. He turned his stagger into a roll and came back on his feet, but the [Mecha Golem] used that time to stand back up as well.

  “Titania, how’s its health?!” asked Adam.

  “It’s down to half health,” Titania called back after casting [Scan].

  Now that their numbers have swelled thanks to the Grim Reapers joining Destiny’s Overture, they had decided to tackle the [Mecha Golem] again with a raid party.

  A raid party was made up of up to eight parties consisting of five players each. They had about thirty-six people, so their raid party only consisted of eight parties.

  In the case of most VRMMOs, each party would have a number of different classes, including a tank, healer, DPS, and a long-range attacker like a mage or archer. The Grim Reapers couldn’t do that. Their entire guild was made of assassins. This put them at a disadvantage when they did PvE, though they excelled at PvP.

  “It’s getting ready to attack again,” warned Susan. “Adam, draw its agro!”

  “Right!”

  Adam raced forward and began attacking once more, whittling away at its health. The damage he did would have been considerable against anyone else, but against a monster that had thirty-billion health, it was just a drop in the bucket.

  Once the [Mecha Golem] locked onto him, Susan directed Aris and Lilith to back him up. Then she had Asmodeus and his party go around and attack from behind. Once both groups attacked, she further directed the remaining parties to hang back and heal up before joining the fray again.

  The [Mecha Golem] did not know what to do after being attacked from two sides. It only became more confused when Susan, Fayte, and Kureha launched a long-range assault. It tried to fire its bow, but Susan paid careful attention and would direct the two attacking groups to stagger it whenever that happened.

  Just like before, they brought the [Mecha Golem] to the ground, and Adam attacked with his two most powerful skills.

  -270,270; -810,810; 2,432,430; -7,297,290; -21,891,870!

  “We almost have it! Let’s keep fighting!” Aris cheered as she went on the attack.

  “Do not get overconfident,” Lilith warned.

  “I know. I know. Don’t worry. I’m being careful.”

  Because the [Mecha Golem] had so much health, Adam and Asmodeus’s parties were forced to swap out with the others several times and rest up. The battle had been going on for well over twelve hours.

  Adam watched the battle during one of his moments of rest. The other two parties could not deal the kind of damage his party could, but that was to be expected. Every member of the Grim Reapers had a standard assassin class. Those might deal the most damage among the starter classes, but they couldn’t hold a candle to the special classes.

  “Su is doing a really good job directing us,” Aris interrupted his musings.

  “Hmm? Oh, yeah. Su has an incredible sense of spatial awareness and a really good head on her shoulders. She’s also well-versed in strategy. And thanks to her Fairy Archer Class, she can survey the entire battlefield much more easily than anyone else,” Adam explained.

  “Is that why you recommended she lead us?”

  “Yes.”

  Adam and Aris stood side-by-side. They had already downed their MP and HP potions to restore what they had lost, so now they were just resting to recover from the mental strain of fighting for several hours.

  “Su is pretty cute, isn’t she?” Aris suddenly asked.

  Adam skewed a glance at Aris from his peripheral. “I guess. Where are you going with this?”

  Aris gave a mischievous smile. “I’m not going anywhere. It was just an observation.”

  “Riiiiiight.”

  “Adam! Asmodeus! Swap back in,” Susan ordered.

  Adam wrapped his fingers around his spear, embedded into the ground, and pulled it out.

  “Well, time to get back out there.”

  “Right! Let’s do this!” Aris cheered, thrusting one scimitar into the air.

  -270,270; -810,810; 2,432,430; -7,297,290; -21,891,870!

  Adam backpedaled after finishing his latest attack, then watched silently as the [Mecha Golem] toppled over and didn’t get back up.

  Ding!

  [Congratulations! You have defeated [Mecha Golem]! Items dropped: [High-Class Magic Core], [Golem’s Bow], [Golem’s Great Hammer], [Golem’s Greataxe], 10 [Mythril Ingots], 10 [Mythril Gears], and 20,000,000 gold coins! +1,500,000,000 experience points! +150,000,000 ability points!]

  Ding!

  [Congratulations! Kureha has leveled up! She is now at level 28! +740 HP! + 3,820 MP! +10 SP!]

  Ding!

  [Congratulations! Asmodeus has leveled up!]

  Ding!

  [Congratulations! Beelzebub has leveled up!

  Ding!

  A number of notifications popped up to show that almost everyone within the Grim Reapers had gained at least one level. They were all around level 20 and 21, so that made sense. Only Kureha leveled up among Adam’s party. He put all ten of her skill points into Intelligence to bring up her magical attack, defense, and MP.

  “Oh, man! That was rough,” Aris said as she stretched.

  “Good job, Su. You were great at directing us,” Fayte said with a smile.

  Susan blushed but smiled back. “Th-thank you. I was a little worried, to be honest. I was afraid I would let everyone down.”

  “Well, I had complete faith in you.”

  While Fayte was complementing Susan, Kureha walked over to Adam and tugged on his pant leg.

  “Big brother! Big brother! Did Kureha do a good job?! Tell her she did a good job!”

  The little fox yokai looked at him with such big, innocent eyes that Adam had no choice but to kneel and rub the girl’s head. Kureha’s fox ears twitched happily as she leaned into his hand and began rubbing herself against it like a cat seeking affection.

  “You were great.”

  “Hehe.”

  “I want you to rub my head, too,” Aris said with a pout.

  “Maybe later,” replied Adam.

  While everyone else congratulated themselves on a job well done, Titania flew over to the massive door and studied it. Adam only noticed after several minutes when he didn’t feel her familiar weight appear on his shoulder.

  He walked up to her. “You wanna see what’s on the other side?”

  “Of course,” Titania responded immediately. “Are you not also curious? The Dwarves would never have such a strong [Mecha Golem] guarding any old treasure vault. There must be something of incredible value on the other side. I have no doubt that whatever it is, it will help increase our strength.”

  “I don’t doubt that you’re right… but how do we open this door?” asked Adam.

  “Now that the [Mecha Golem] is beaten, it should open on its own.”

  “… But it isn’t.”

  “I… I’m sure it will open in time.”

  Adam and Titania stood and waited to see if the door would open. The others, curious to see what they were doing, also came over. Several minutes passed and yet the door remained closed.

  “This is so strange… the door should be opening,” Titania murmured.

  A closer inspection of the door revealed several indents. They were small circular depressions with a number of grooves inside that looked to be in the shape of gears.

  An idea formed in Adam’s mind, and he retrieved the [Mechanical Gears] from his inventory, inserting five of the ten into the door. The gears spun. Loud clicks echoed around them as mechanisms inside the door began unlocking one by one. There was a soft creak, followed by the cranking of gears before the door slowly opened.

  “Nice thinking, Adam,” Aris said.

  “I figured there was some trick to opening the door,” Adam replied with a shrug.

  “Hmph. I would have figured that out sooner or later,” Titania muttered with a huff as she landed on Adam’s shoulder.

  “Shall we see what’s on the other side?” asked Fayte.

  “I am curious,” Susan added.

  “Master, I doubt you need us for anything else, so I think our groups should head back up while you check out whatever is in there. We shall return to the guild,” Asmodeus said.

  “All right. Contact us if anything happens,” Adam said.

  “Yes, Master.”

  The seven parties that made up the Grim Reapers traveled back the way they had originally come. Adam, Aris, Fayte, Susan, Lilith, and Kureha turned back toward the now-open door, their hearts hammering with anticipation as they took their first steps through.

  Under the Mountain

  The first thing Adam felt upon stepping through the doorway was sweltering heat. The first thing he saw was a waterfall made of lava.

  “What is this place?” Aris asked as she looked around with inquisitive eyes.

  “Some kind of city?” theorized Fayte.

  They were inside what appeared to be a volcano, or perhaps an underground riverbed of lava. Red hot magma flowed from an area above into a pool down below. The walkway they stood on was maybe halfway between the top and bottom.

  But it wasn’t just a pool of lava they found. Sitting on shelves against the mountain’s interior were several domiciles that reminded Adam of adobe huts. They were made of thick granite and cobblestone. Adam counted at least two hundred located on various levels. Now that he was studying the area in depth, he could see the walkway they were on traveled around the interior like a spiral.

  “Hey! There are people over there!” pointed Susan.

  Adam and the others turned toward the direction Susan pointed and found several people running over to them. All of them were armed with axes and hammers of massive proportions. They wore armor made of gleaming metal. Their thick beards were the kind that would have made performers like ZZ Top mad with envy.

  They were also short.

  Really short.

  Really really short.

  “Are those Dwarves?” wondered Adam.

  “Looks like it,” said Fayte.

  “I’ve never seen a Dwarf before!” Aris exclaimed.

  “They’re so short! They’re even shorter than Kureha,” the little fox yokai said excitedly.

  “Halt, intruders! Don’t take a single step! Stay right where ye are, or yer gonna regret it!”

  The one standing at the forefront of this group was a Dwarf with red hair like a lion’s mane, a beard to match, and beady black eyes. Like all members of his race, he was quite stout. He possessed a stocky build, thick arms, a barrel chest, and was diminutive enough that he didn’t even come up to Adam’s waist.

  His armor was more decorative than the other Dwarves. It was made of a golden material, though he didn’t think it was made from gold. Gold alloys were far too soft to be practical. Etched into the armor was a majestic lion roaring. It was intricately detailed beyond anything he’d seen a human create.

  “Are you the leader of these Dwarves?” Adam stepped forward.

  “I said don’t take another step!” warned the Dwarf.

  Adam stopped moving and held up his hands. He didn’t want to start a battle right now.

  “Who are ye people? How did ye get in here?” asked the Dwarf.

  Adam shared a look with Fayte. He gestured toward the Dwarf with his head, indicating she should do the talking.

  Fayte looked at the Dwarf, careful not to move from where she stood. “Hello. I am Fayte. My party and I were exploring the dungeon above when we found the [Mecha Golem]. We were able to get here because we defeated it and unlocked the door.”

  “Ya beat [Mecha Golem]?!” the Dwarf was shocked.

  It wasn’t just him. The other Dwarves began whispering in hushed tones of surprise as well. Adam couldn’t hear what was being said. He wondered what they were talking about. Their expressions were an odd mix of fear and hope that he couldn’t make heads or tails of.

  “We did,” Fayte confirmed.

  “Aye cannae believe it. Someone actually managed to beat that monstrosity,” the Dwarf murmured. He was so shocked that he dropped the halberd he had been holding. Like the rest of his equipment, that halberd was something special.

  “Does that mean we’re free?” asked another Dwarf.

  “It’s been so long since we’ve been outside!” cried one.

  “Maybe I’ll finally be able to smell something other than brimstone!”

  They seem rather excited all of a sudden.

  “Quiet, the lot of ya! No one will be going outside! Don’t forget why we sealed ourselves here in the first place!” After quieting down the Dwarves, the leader turned back to them. “Ye must be rather strong if ya defeat [Mecha Golem]. That monster was made by the best craftsmen of the Dwarves. We’ve tried many times to beat it ourselves, but it defeated us every time,” said the Dwarf.

  “Wait a moment. You were trying to beat it? Why? Aren’t you its creators?” asked Fayte.

  The Dwarf shook his head. “Everyone played a part in makin’ it, but the one who created the core went mad after being locked inside here for so long. He tried gettin’ out, and when the rest o’ us tried to stop him, he commanded [Mecha Golem] to attack. Unfortunately, he died before we could make him command it to stop, so it went on o’ rampage. Took everythin’ we had just to lock it outside.”

  Adam was beginning to understand what happened. The Dwarves sealed themselves away during the war between humans and beastmen and created the [Mecha Golem] to protect themselves. Thousands of years passed, however, and the Dwarves began going crazy from being stuck in one place this entire time. One of them tried to break out. When the others tried to stop him, he set the [Mecha Golem] loose. It was probably a case of very bad luck that the one who went mad just happened to be the same person who created the core, which Adam guessed was like a command console.

  Fayte opened her mouth to speak again, but Titania flitted forward and captured everyone’s attention. The Dwarves stared at her with uncomprehending eyes. It was like they couldn’t figure out what they were looking at.

  “It’s been a long time, Thohkum Boulderblade,” Titania said.

  “Ee gads! Titania?! Is that you?! Why are ye so tiny?!”

  Titania’s face went bright red.

  “Excuse you! How dare you call me tiny, you hairy midget!”

  “Gya ha ha ha! By the Sun Goddess, it really is you! Yer the only one who would ever insult me, the leader of the Dwarves, like that!”

  Aris placed her hands behind her back and leaned over. “Do you know him, Titania?”

  Titania clicked her tongue, but then sighed and gestured toward the Dwarf. “Everyone, this is Thohkum Boulderblade. He’s the leader of the Dwarves and someone I’m unfortunate enough to know very well.”

  “Don’t be like that, Titania. Didnae we create many great memories after forming a party together?” asked Thohkum. He didn’t seem particularly hurt even though her words were quite harsh. He actually seemed rather pleased.

  It turned out, the Dwarf known as Thohkum had been one of four other people who formed a party with Titania several thousand years ago, which would make him really old. He didn’t know Dwarves could live for so long. In either event, it was clear that Titania didn’t really like him. She hurtled insults like it was going out of style and always had a harsh quip for anything and everything he said.