Chloe understood, of course. Many of the players had lives in the real world, and for them, Obsidian was entertainment for them to indulge in when they had the time. For others, Chloe included, this was life. Some players took days off work or sick days from school in order to scratch their digital itch.

  Still, they set off at the exact time Chloe had said and she led them outside the gates, clearing the area and helping pave the way for a party who was in terrible shape, indeed. They limped back into the city, thanking their defenders, and the gates closed.

  The fighters then spent the next several hours wandering around the wilderness, fighting demons and hunting for dreyda. Although the counter had stated there were now additional dreyda in the area (and the volume of demons confirmed that), they were nowhere to be seen.

  In fact, even in passing conversations with other party leaders, the word on the street was that they just didn’t exist. That maybe the game had glitched, and demons were spawning from where there was no dreyda.

  “That can’t be true, can it?” Chloe asked the others.

  Ben and Gideon shrugged. Talbot thought hard, coming to the same conclusion.

  Yet still, they looked, getting excited when they heard a horn blow on the far side of the valley. They sprinted toward the sound, discovering a dreyda that had spawned in the depths of the cavernous basement of a house near the lake. The blaring horn was being blown by the owner of the house as he ran away from the demons, terrified.

  They worked quickly, all parties in the area now coming because of the horn. As they fought the dreyda, Chloe tested her newfound skills. With more warriors and mages around, she had the time to focus and train the etheric, finding the rabbit after several attempts and shooting Deic Light into the sky.

  As promised, the Monster Slayer skill came into effect, showing Chloe and her comrades exactly where they needed to target their attacks.

  “Impressive range on that,” someone said from beside Chloe.

  She turned, seeing a handsome man with wavy hair and gleaming armor. His voice was deep and rich. He had the scent of someone who came from a background of privilege—a smell she had come to know very well, considering her lineage.

  “Thanks.”

  “Don’t mention it.” He winked, charging at the orgas ahead and disappearing into the fray.

  When the dreyda was defeated, the bell chimed.

  Dreyda: 7/15

  “Great. That leaves two more to kill, and seven more to find,” Jessie said. Blueballs was breathless beside her, demon blood smeared in his fur.

  “But where are they?” Chloe said, looking in every direction from the house.

  No one had an answer.

  The search lasted for hours. Several more dreyda spawned, and still, there was nothing to find. The demons kept coming, scattering across the land, but no one could find the remaining dreyda.

  “They have to be coming from somewhere,” Tag grumbled as the night wore on and a crescent moon made itself known.

  “Well, obviously, genius.” Ben scoffed.

  Blueballs trailed at the rear of the group, sniffing the air. After several hours of various rangers leading them on wild goose chases, Chloe had the idea of letting the creature sniff out the creatures.

  Now Blueballs wandered toward the lake, going to all fours at its edge to sniff the ground. He growled, standing tall before letting out an almighty roar.

  “Great. Another dead end,” Tag said.

  “Do you not get annoyed by your friend’s negativity?” Leonie asked.

  Huk and Therese joined them at the toffet’s side, staring into the water.

  “You kinda get used to it,” Chloe replied. “You just have to remember he means well at heart. It’s just that he doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut.”

  “Sounds familiar.” Veronica smirked, eyes fixed on Huk.

  Jessie, who had been clingier with Tag than usual since the hunt for the dreyda, shuffled by his side. She draped an arm around him and raised her nose at them.

  “Just a few hours to go until the quest is over,” Ben said. “We need to find these dreyda. Who knows what’ll happen if we can’t do it within the time limit?”

  Chloe nodded. She wracked her brain, trying to think of where they hadn’t looked. They’d searched in caves, they’d searched in the copses of trees surrounding the city, they’d searched the plains. They hadn’t searched the lake, but it wasn’t possible for the dreyda to exist below the water.

  At least to Chloe’s knowledge.

  She tapped her forehead, trying to think of something, anything that would help her travel around faster. She was in need of speed, and walking along on the ground tracing with a band of parties wasn’t the most effective use of time.

  Chloe snapped her fingers. “I’ve got it!”

  “Got what?” Veronica asked, eyeing Chloe suspiciously. Since Veronica had technically been the lead of her group, she hadn’t like it much when Huk, Therese, and Leonie had started to warm up to Chloe and take instructions without question.

  Chloe searched her menu, looking for the Steed option. She hadn’t yet used this function, so she was only guessing how this would work. She found Sir Wingsalot’s name and avatar, accompanied by a useful list of statistics, and selected Summon.

  Her vision returned to normal, and she looked wildly at the skies.

  “What are you looking for?” Therese asked, copying Chloe.

  “Just wait…”

  A caw echoed around in the night sky. Several fighters took battle stances, trying to find out where the sound came from. After a few seconds, Chloe grinned when the terrordaxil appeared above her.

  The creature swooped down at a terrifying speed, flapping its great wings as it neared the ground to slow itself down.

  “Sir Wingsalot!” Chloe cried. She ran to the bird and hugged its long beak. “I’ve missed you.”

  Sir Wingsalot cawed in reply.

  “What are you going to do with that?” Veronica asked.

  Gideon responded for Chloe. “Ride it, of course. Smart thinking, Chloe. You’ll get around the map much faster that way.”

  “Right.” Chloe nodded, noticing the strange look that had come from Blueballs. “Uh-oh. Trouble in paradise.”

  Blueballs approached with claws at the ready and an angry expression on his face. Chloe grew tentative, letting the creatures sniff each other before Blueballs let out another roar and Sir Wingsalot screeched, flapping his wings aggressively.

  “Now, now, Blueballs, Sir Wingsalot, no need to fight,” Chloe urged. She stood between them, both hands on Blueballs’ powerful chest. The toffet relented, stepping back, but his eyes stayed fixed on Sir Wingsalot.

  “I guess they don’t like each other much,” Jessie said.

  Talbot walked forward in awe. “Is that a terrordaxil?”

  Chloe chuckled. “You know about them?”

  “Only from the books I’ve read in the library—bestiaries containing wonders of Obsidian’s natural creatures. These are rare, aren’t they?”

  Chloe shrugged, still keeping Blueballs at bay. “I don’t know. We stumbled across him in Bahrum. Well, actually, we flew through the sky, and I managed to tame him in time to help us safely back.”

  Several mouths dropped open. “Your life is amazing.”

  Chloe shrugged. “Sure?”

  She climbed aboard Sir Wingsalot, holding onto his neck tightly. “Keep looking for the dreyda. I’ll come and find you if I see anything.” She pointed at Ben. “You’re in charge now, buddy.”

  “No worries.” Ben smirked.

  They waved Chloe off as she flew away.

  “Right, everyone,” Ben said, clapping his hands. “Let’s keep searching.”

  Chloe didn’t see Tag’s reaction to Ben’s command, but she imagined it in her head as she flew off. The wind was chilly, but not too strong. Sir Wingsalot was a sturdy steed, though it took Chloe a few moments to get used to the sensation of his wings flapping as they soared through the skies.

  Chloe kept her eyes peeled, looking for any sign of something that might be a dreyda. Here and there she could see small crowds of fighters like ants on the pavement. Clusters and groups roaming around in their own hunts for dreyda.

  At one point, she thought she saw something that might have been their target, but on closer inspection, it was nothing more than the shadowy corner of the valley where a small stream poured out of the wall and created a mini waterfall.

  Chloe grew impatient. They had to be around here somewhere, didn’t they? She commanded Sir Wingsalot to fly higher, scoping the higher reaches of the valley. She came to the top rim, a small distance away from where she had stood almost a week ago and seen Killink View for the first time in her life.

  Killink View looked tiny from here, a dollhouse peppered with tiny orange lights. Below her, she now couldn’t tell which were fighters and which were demons.

  “Hold on…”

  “Any luck?” KieraFreya asked.

  There was a small line of…something coming out of the edge of the lake. Chloe turned her head and strained her eyes to look into the darkness, not 100% sure she was seeing what she was seeing.

  “There!” She pointed at the waterfall.

  “Yes. Very pretty,” KieraFreya said.

  Chloe shook her head. “No. Inside the waterfall. Look!”

  She could see them only as tiny dots of yellow. Several large shapes that looked like orga stood sentinel in the mouth of the cavern behind the falls. Around them came demon after demon, diving into the water and disappearing into the lake, only to emerge at various points across the water’s edge.

  The realization suddenly dawned on Chloe.

  “They’re all inside the cave,” Chloe exclaimed. “At least two of them, possibly all seven. My bets are on all of them, though.”

  It would make sense, she thought. Make the first part of the quest easy enough to get people going, then raise the stakes as time begins to run out.

  “How are we going to get everyone in there?” KieraFreya asked.

  “I don’t need everyone.” Chloe grinned. “I just need the KieraSlayers.”

  Chapter Fifty

  The KieraSlayers jumped into battle the minute their feet landed on the cave floor.

  She had flown toward them, giving them their instructions and that she would send Sir Wingsalot to carry each in turn while she made the entrance secure.

  Utilizing Etheric Manipulation, upon landing in the cave, Chloe managed to either take down or push back the initial wave of demons and orgas using Deic Light. They growled and roared in protest, but after Decaru sped through the air and provided a protective bubble of light, they had no choice but to take a step back.

  That didn’t stop several demons from sneaking around the edges of the bubble and leaping into the water in the meantime, but they were the least of Chloe’s worries.

  The KieraSlayers came one by one, Gideon first, followed shortly by Talbot, Jessie, and Therese. When Tag appeared, he looked greatly disheveled and was keen to get off the terrordaxil. Then came Veronica, Huk, and Leonie.

  Ben was the last to arrive. As the designated team leader in Chloe’s absence, it was his duty to ensure the others all were sent on first.

  “What about Blueballs?” Jessie called.

  “There’s no way he’ll go on Sir Wingsalot’s back,” Chloe said sadly. “He’ll have to wait for us until we’re done.”

  “The hell he will.” Tag smirked.

  There was a grunt from behind them as a soaking wet paw clawed its way over the shelf of the cave entrance. Another came shortly after, and an exhausted toffet raised himself up to meet them.

  “Blueballs?” Chloe laughed. “You really are a persistent creature, aren’t you?”

  Ben chuckled. “He swam off the minute he saw you and Sir Wingsalot head up here. I guess he’ll climb, swim, or pummel his way through fire and water to stay with us.”

  Chloe felt a surge of warmth as she looked into the toffet’s face. “You rock,” she said softly, before turning her attention back to the line of orgas now coming at them.

  The cave was choked with enemies, and they began to make their way forward, Chloe breathing steadily and channeling her connection to the etheric to control her Deic Light more effectively than she had before.

  In her mind’s eye, she could see the rabbit. Could feel it calling to her. With a sweep of her hand, the column of light shone from one side of the cave to the other, crippling or even destroying the demons as it passed. The orgas growled in pain, but some were brave enough to step into the light before being attacked by Talbot, Tag, Therese, Huk, Leonie, and Blueballs.

  Spell power increased: Deic Light (Lv 2)

  The gods have treated you kindly, and you have channeled their light well. Now enemies in the darkness will cower before your might as you blast through shadow and harness the power of the gods.

  Requirements: n x 50MP (where n is equal to the number of seconds taken to cast the spell)

  Hell, yeah, Chloe thought.

  “Oh, come on. Save some of the little guys for us.” Tag grinned.

  Chloe nodded at Decaru, who dimmed his light to let them see but not deter the demons and orga.

  The group worked as a unit, finding their stride as each adopted their role. Tag and Therese took the front, blocking and taking the brunt of the attacks. Ben and Gideon stood at the back, working their long-range attacks. Huk, Leonie, Blueballs, Talbot, and Jessie somewhere in-between, while Veronica went about them all, casting Healing Hands and ensuring people were fighting fit, occasionally blasting light from her fingers to push enemies back.

  They made slow progress through the cave, which wasn’t ideal considering the current time remaining. They needed to find the dreyda—the nests.

  Although Chloe didn’t know for certain, she guessed at the plural. There were far too many monsters for just one nest to have spawned them.

  “Bitch move to hide the dreyda in hard-to-reach places,” Chloe managed between attacks. “You’d think they’d at least give the players a chance.”

  “What are you complaining about? Think how much experience we’re getting from these bad boys.” Tag grunted, crouched behind his shield.

  “Besides, it’s a party mission. You think they didn’t expect parties to band together to try to conquer the mission?” Ben fired an arrow into an orga’s eye, causing it to roar and claw at its face. “We’re not in the little leagues anymore.”

  “Maybe there’s an easier way in, too?” Jessie suggested.

  Chloe shrugged. Whether there was or not didn’t matter right now. What mattered was that they should try to thin the herd of enemies and speed up their progress. They only had half an hour on the clock until the mission was over.

  “Gid, potion,” Chloe commanded.

  Gideon obliged, and Chloe drank it in one. She closed her eyes and found her rabbit pal, feeling a surge of energy before a notification distracted her from her focus.

  Skill increased: Etheric Manipulation (Lv 2)

  You really are a fast learner. Keep this up, and you’ll be in the ranks of the Guardians before you know it.

  Bonuses: +7 etheric potential, spell cast cost dramatically reduced

  Chloe nodded in approval, dismissing the notification and looking for the rabbit again. She found it fast, enjoying the relative ease the upgrade in skills brought her.

  “Okay, tankers. Duck!”

  Chloe felt the power surging through her and shot out Deic Light once more. Thanks to the work the others had done in weakening the orgas, several of them went down and faded into shadow.

  She carved a path ahead, destroying dozens upon dozens of demons, then opened her eyes and ran forward with the others. They got a fair distance before needing to stop again.

  “It’s like a backed-up toilet,” Ben said between shots. “No matter how much you flush, it just keeps coming back.”

  “Ew,” Veronica exclaimed.

  Chloe giggled as she ran to each player in turn. Now that she had dramatically decreased her spellcasting cost, she figured she’d revisit the plan that had contributed to a large percent of the damage during their battle with the first dreyda.

  Chloe channeled her mana, and soon each players’ weapons glowed bright white. Huk, Leonie, and Therese stared at their weapons in awe before an attack from a demon brought them straight back into the battle.

  The cave stretched on, curving around a bend. Eventually, they could see the light at the end of the tunnel…

  Or some of it, at least.

  The cave was enormous, a bulbous thing with a hole in the ceiling through which slivers of moonlight shone. It was partially blocked by the sticky stretch of dreyda gathered on the roof of the cave.

  Chloe counted at least six of them, but couldn’t be entirely sure since it was difficult to see where one dreyda started and another ended. For all she knew, there could be a dozen in here.

  Below the dreyda, dozens upon dozens of demons came for them. Towering above the demons were a handful more dreyda, and, worst of all, was a creature that Chloe had only partially glimpsed during their attack in the copse of trees the previous night.

  “What is it?” Gideon breathed.

  The creature looked like a cross between a hippo and an elephant. Standing on thick, gargantuan legs, it stomped its way around until it was facing them. Its mouth was huge, displaying several inky tusks in its upper and lower jaws, with a long snout protruding from the top and spraying a mist of black liquid.

  Chloe and Ben used Creature Identification.

  Creature: Shadow Behemoth (Lv 17)

  HP: 423

  Resistances: Dark, Electric, Ranged attacks

  Weaknesses: Light, Close-range attacks

  “That’s a big mama,” Tag said.

  Therese nodded. “You can say that again.”

  “I’ve seen bigger,” Huk added.

  Chloe’s shoulders dropped. “We don’t have time for this. We need to go for the big guys.”