AH Update Saturday canceled - Infrasound Berserker Chapter 23-25 (PDF/EPUB 1-25) (Patreon)

AH info: I'm taking a few days off, rest of the time I planned for this month, so no chapters on Saturday. Hopefully more on Tuesday though.

Chapter 23 Tracking

Kate looked at the leaves moving in the wind. She checked the straps of her backpack and rolled her shoulders. Barely any weight. A glance at the others suggested they didn’t quite share the same sentiment. Everyone had the same pack, the same gear, besides their weapons of course.

She glanced back to the gate when she heard it move, the creaking sound downright piercing. Jon and Melusine joined them after a few minutes with their kids. Kate gave Logan a glance but his face was hard. The parents had made their decision. They would join them, even knowing what it could mean.

Kate whipped her head to the side, raising her hammer when she heard steps, fast, pattering. She watched, seeing a squirrel rush up one of the trees, vanishing behind the brown and yellow leaves.

“I found something,” Allison said, the woman crouching a few meters away. She moved a few branches aside and pointed at a spot in the dirt.

Kate walked over, Grey and Logan joining them.

“I don’t see anything,” Logan said.

Kate couldn’t see it either.

“No you’re looking too close,” Allison said and stepped back, gesturing with her arms to suggest a large creature.

“Ah,” Grey exclaimed.

“Right,” Kate said. “The Ogre.” The shuffling step was obvious now that the woman had pointed it out, much of the surrounding weeds and leaves flattened or pushed aside. She would’ve just thought it a bit of a dry patch on the forest floor. “Is that the easiest one to follow?”

“By far,” Allison said. “The goblins might as well be rabbits. They’re nimble. If you think it’s the best idea?” she asked, looking between Kate and Logan.

“They were together. Just keep an eye out for any other tracks,” Logan said and grabbed his radio. “To Jon, Logan, check.”

“To Logan, Jon, check back,” came Jon’s voice, through everyone’s radios.

Logan checked with everyone else to make sure they were working. “Kate and Grey, you two stay with Allison at the front, followed by Jon, Ethan, and Melusine. I take the rear. Only use the radios in an emergency. Try to signal for people to stop instead of speaking, and stay calm, no matter what you see. Everyone ready?”

The others nodded, none of them speaking.

Kate noted the slight smile on his face. She was glad too, even Ethan had understood the gravity of the situation, probably due to their experience from the previous night. She blinked, taking a steadying step and a deep breath. Focus.

“Kate, if you hear anything, let us know. Allison, if you see anything strange, the same,” Logan said. “Let’s go.”

Kate expected Allison to take time to follow the tracks but the woman just started walking, looking around before she stopped and glanced back. “Are you coming? I can’t exactly defend myself,” she said, awkwardly holding the spear she had more or less been handed.

Grey joined her side, his sheathed sword held in one hand.

Kate nodded and went to her other side.

“Great, now I feel like a fucking Princess,” Allison murmured.

Kate didn’t comment, instead focusing on the many sounds around them. Birds, small critters hiding or running away at their approach, the rustling leaves, the loud steps of her companions, their breathing. She focused on adjusting, tried tuning out the sounds that weren’t important. But then what did she have to focus on? What could offer her insights into her surroundings? She had never heard like this, the sense enhanced to something near overwhelming. She assumed mostly due to the unfamiliar feel. Eyes had always been the focus. Sure, sounds were important too, the creaking of a burning support beam above, a falling tree, shouts for help from people trapped by the flames.

But her eyes led her through the houses, let her see the fires, let her aim the hose, and her eyes were how she oriented herself among her team. But now she could hear the steps, she could hear creatures in the underbrush that her eyes would have never spotted. It felt strange. Something she would have to get used to. She was glad the ability was magical in some way, adjustable and not simply heightening her ability to hear sound.

More impressive, she thought, was Allison’s ability to track the Ogre’s steps. The woman did describe it as following an escaped crack addled elephant through Neverland, something she whispered to herself after they had traveled for about twenty minutes. Kate decided not to comment on it, her lack of tracking knowledge not enough to consider the comparison in any meaningful way. Allison did more or less walk through the forest at a normal pace.

Kate stepped ahead of the two others, holding up a hand. The birds were gone. It was quiet. Not a single critter in the vicinity.

The others stopped behind her, Logan moving up to the front as everyone prepared their weapons.

Breathing, shuffling, heavy steps from Logan. She couldn’t focus. Kate glanced back and glared, raising a finger to her mouth. Quiet. The fuck. Down.

They tried. And she listened. To anything that seemed out of place. One minute passed. Two. Scratching. A slight sound, just ahead and up, quite a ways up. She followed the noise with her eyes, coming up with a blank.

She shook her head and looked at Logan.

“What do you hear?” he asked in a whisper, slowly moving closer, his large sword at the ready.

“Something in the trees,” she whispered when she heard more. Scratches from a few trees nearby, then dull impacts, light and masked by the rustling leaves. “They’re around us, in the trees.”

It was just enough for everyone to look up and prepare, the group forming a circle with the melee fighters stepping up to protect the others.

Something jumped down from the trees. A small creature, large claws on its arms. It aimed for Grey but he was ready, moving to the side with a strange sliding motion before his blade flashed out towards the landing creature. It collapsed into two pieces, dark blood staining the dead leaves around its corpse.

Kate saw one of the critters move around a tree ahead of her before it jumped, aiming for one of her companions. She heard the twang of a crossbow and a heavy impact from behind, activating Mindless Ferocity in turn. She raised her hammer and slammed it into the jumping critter, the thing near exploding in a mess of gore, dark blood splattering on her face as she turned, her focus now entirely on the battle. She saw one of the monsters rushing towards Ethan, the man’s arm shaking as he aimed a fire spell. Reckless charge let her intercept the thing, her knee slamming into its side. She followed the flying critter with fast steps before she stomped down on its head, the impact heavy and wet. It felt good. She felt good. Better.

Logan fought off two of the monsters, the same ones she had faced two nights prior, large claws scratching against his medieval plate armor. He threw one of them off.

Kate brought her hammer down before it could regain its bearings, the sound of the impact reverberating through her ears. She heard its bones breaking, its insides turned to mush, and she felt a surge of energy flow into her. A deep breath. Logan was fine. She circled around the chaos, Jon grasping his leg, one of the creatures running at him with nimble steps. Reckless Charge brought her forward, between the two. She watched the creature come and crouched, gripping her hammer as she growled. The sound was strange. Barely audible, but present, heard not only by her ears but felt in her spine.

The creature hesitated. She didn’t.

The horizontal strike impacted with a clinking sound before the creature hit the ground near instantly, unmoving and dead. She didn’t stop, instead turned around and looked for more but the battle was over. Kate looked up and listened, twirling her hammer as she ignored the pained moans from Jon, the fast shuffling of Mel, heavy steps from Logan. Distractions.

The fight is over.

She blinked, taking in a deep breath as her magic deactivated, just now noticing the bloodied leg of Jon and his pained expression, panic and fear in his eyes.

“The Bograth I told you about. It should wear off in a few hours,” she said as she walked up to the others.

Melusine stopped the bleeding, her hand covered in a strange glow as she talked to her husband in a calm voice. She opened her pack and grabbed the first aid kid, cleaning and disinfecting the wound before she started testing his leg with a needle. “Useful side effect,” she murmured. “Might be usable as an anesthetic. You don’t feel anything at all?”

Jon looked away, shaking his head. His face was pale, lips quivering.

“It’s going to be fine. The cut went to the bone, but it was clean. My magic took care of that,” she said.

“I don’t n… need to know… that,” he murmured in a pleading tone.

“Oh shush, dear,” Mel said with a smile. “Healing magic is wonderful,” she added with a smile, finishing off the stitches before she applied a bandage. “Someone will have to carry him if we continue.”

“Short break, take a breather. We’ll continue when you’re ready, Jon,” Logan said.

“It’ll take hours to wear off,” Kate reminded them.

“I doubt it had much time to spread or linger,” Melusine said. “I can tell he’s already recovering.”

“This should be the venom gland. Maybe,” Allison said, a blood covered hunting knife in one hand and a piece of flesh in the other.

Ethan puked up his breakfast.

“Ew. At least go to the bushes,” Allison said, wiggling the small organ. “Grey, get me a container.”

“I… j… just have the sandwich… one,” the man stuttered, blood covered blade in hand, some splatters on his clothes.

Allison raised her brows. “He just puked. Sandwich for him, container for me.”

The man followed her instructions as she started cutting into the other arm of the small Bograth.

Kate glanced at Logan but he just slowly shook his head.

“You didn’t get injured?” Melusine asked, now glancing her way.

“Doesn’t feel like it,” Kate said, looking down on herself.

“All their blood?” Mel added.

She nodded. “I think so.”

Kate glanced at the notifications in the corner of her vision as she collected the other corpses and brought them to Allison.

‘ding’ ‘You have defeated [Young Bograth]’
…
‘ding’ ‘You have defeated [Young Bograth]’

‘ding’ ‘Mindless Ferocity reaches lvl 14’

‘ding’ ‘Reckless Charge reaches lvl 11’

‘ding’ ‘Toll for the Living reaches lvl 12’

‘ding’ ‘Two Handed Weapon Fighting reaches lvl 10’

‘ding’ ‘Intimidating Presence reaches lvl 2’

‘ding’ ‘Silent Striker reaches lvl 2’

Serenity +1

‘ding’ ‘Frightening Growl reaches lvl 2’

‘ding’ ‘Heightened Hearing reaches lvl 2’

No stat bonuses from the Support Class then? She frowned, stacking the smashed corpses next to Allison.

The woman gave her a look.

“Sure you’re not a psycho?” Kate asked.

Allison dug her knife into flesh. “Who knows really?” she said. “Not the one who killed these funny little creatures with a hammer and a smile on her face. That growl was quite… interesting,” she said, biting her lower lip before she continued.

“Funny?” Jon asked in a pained groan.

“You don’t feel your leg, you don’t have to act injured,” Allison said without looking his way.

“Jesus Christ,” the man murmured and rested his head on his pack.

“My Support Class leveled up, gave me one stat point in Serenity, but nothing to distribute myself,” Kate informed the others, Grey nodding in a thoughtful manner, still holding the sandwich in his free hand.

“Would’ve been nice,” Logan said, patting Ethan’s back as he still retched. “We should move on soon. The blood might attract predators.”

“It’s certainly a stench,” Allison said, moving on to the next body. “This is unworkable,” she murmured, moving the bits and pieces still stuck to the vague outline of a spine aside. She gave Kate a look.

“What?” Kate asked.

“Absolutely nothing,” the woman answered in a deadpan voice. “Impressive hammer.”

Kate didn’t reply, back to her surroundings as she listened for other creatures.

Nothing showed up.

A few minutes later, they continued, Ethan supporting Jon with the rest in the same formation. Melusine considered the injury negligible at this point, the venom’s effects the only thing causing some trouble. The others agreed it was not enough to return, Jon included.

Their pace slowed down a little as they followed the tracks, the trail soon leading them vaguely southwards and up towards the mountains.

Allison stopped and looked around, murmuring to herself as she raised bits and pieces of the underbrush.

Kate waited and let her work, an intense look on Allison’s face as she stepped from left to right, crouching down a few times. She returned. “There was a fight here… I found blood in various places, some of the dried pools suggesting heavy injuries. A group of pawed creatures attacked the Ogre and whatever was with it.”

“Pawed?” Kate asked.

“Yeah… wolves maybe?” Allison suggested.

“Shouldn’t be many in the region,” Kate said. “It would’ve made the papers if an entire pack was around.”

“Pawed monsters,” Logan said. “We know orcs and goblins aren’t the only thing around. This is good news.”

“How are more monsters good news?” Ethan asked.

“It means we’re not the only ones fighting to survive. Might be a territorial dispute, might be they just eat each other, or there’s more to it,” Logan explained. “We should continue. No corpses means they’re still around.”

“Or they ate the corpses,” Allison said, giving him a look.

“Or that,” he said.

They continued for another twenty minutes, following the slope. Kate soon spotted a bench in the distance, the resting spot one she had stopped at more than a few times in her expeditions. One of the last easy to reach locations before more appropriate gear became necessary. They found it untouched, the road to Keilberg castle indicated far below by the split in the forest. Keilberg itself was visible too, the houses kilometers away, tiny and serene. Farther out extended the Maar Valley, various rivers, isolated farms, and villages spread throughout.

Smoke rose from more than a few places, tiny pyres visible in the distance. Kate took out her binoculars and had a look, some of the others doing the same. She soon spotted the first groups of beings, mostly thanks to the large creatures in their midst. Ogres and some even larger.

“I suppose quite a few of them do move by day,” Kate said.

“What are they doing?” Logan murmured.

“Pillaging?” Jon suggested. He hopped over to the bench and sat down, tapping his leg before he moved it a little.

“It’s chaotic, unorganized. Some of them are fighting each other,” Logan murmured. “Is that… a dragon?”

Kate tried to follow his line of sight and soon found what he had seen. A yellow winged creature, though it was difficult to make out any specifics. It was smaller than some of the Ogre like beings and one of its wings seemed to be bent.

“They’re hunting it,” Logan said.

“Terribly sorry to interrupt your creeping, but I think I found what we came for,” Allison said, pointing along the slope and to an outcrop of stone, a cliff side leading up at a steep angle.

Kate walked over. “There’s nothing th-” She stopped talking and looked through her binoculars. “What the fuck is that?” She saw a small outcrop at the bottom of the cliff, the forested area she had seen many times before now adorned with a large cavern entrance. Nearly twenty meters wide and at least five meters high, not something she would’ve missed before. If anything it would be an attraction for Keilberg. “That shouldn’t be there.”

“Yeah. I would’ve had pictures taken there before,” Allison said. “That probably looks fantastic at night.”

“Goblins standing guard,” Kate said.

“Just two of them,” Logan added, having joined them. “We should go back to the tracks, to make sure that’s the place.”

“I’m more interested in how a cave entrance just suddenly appears,” Kate said.

“How do monsters suddenly appear?” Ethan asked.

Grey walked over and looked through his binoculars. He gulped before a smile blossomed on his face. “I think… that might be a dungeon.”

“Where you assumed the monsters come from?” Jon asked as he limped over to see.

“It could be. I mean why did only a few come in the first night? Then more and more?” he asked.

“There could be many reasons for that,” Logan said. “Anything we should know about it?”

Grey looked at the ground when he realized their full attention was on him. He scratched the back of his head and smiled in a bit of an awkward manner. “I… it’s usually… a difficult area. Sometimes with puzzles… or a boss monster, like a very powerful variant of whatever creatures are there. There’s usually loot too, but so far things have been… well not quite like I expected.”

“So it might just be their lair, or a place where they hide during the days. Or there’s more to it. Let’s see if the tracks lead there,” Logan said.

It didn’t take long for Allison to confirm the location, the group of creatures that had attacked Keilberg Castle the previous night came from the cavern entrance Kate was pretty sure shouldn’t exist. But Ethan was right, the same was true for the monsters themselves.

“Jon, how’s your leg?” Kate asked in a low voice, her eyes on the still distant goblins.

“I can walk more or less,” he said. “Good enough.” He raised his crossbow.

“Then let’s find out what’s in there,” Kate said as she gripped her hammer.

Kate Lindgren

Unspent stat points: 0

Class: Berserker – lvl 10

- Active: Mindless Ferocity – lvl 14
- Active: Furious Dance – lvl 13
- Active: Reckless Charge – lvl 11
- Active: Hunting Leap – lvl 3
- Active:
- Passive: Toll for the Living – lvl 12
- Passive: Courage of the Unarmored – lvl 10
- Passive: Two Handed Weapon Fighting – lvl 10
- Passive: Unrelenting Carnage – lvl 3
- Passive: Intimidating Presence – lvl 2

Support class: Silent Striker – lvl 2

- Active: Frightening Growl – lvl 2
- Active:
- Active:
- Passive: Heightened Hearing – lvl 3
- Passive:
- Passive:

Status:

Vitality: 21
Endurance: 15
Perseverance: 10
Strength: 15
Dexterity: 8
Intelligence: 7
Wisdom: 10
Serenity: 2

Equipment:

Torso: -
Legs: -
Trinket: -
Food: -

Chapter 24 Darkness

Kate approached in a crouch, her team spread out throughout the underbrush all around as they closed in on the massive cavern entrance. She stopped behind a moss covered tree stump, leaning against it with her hammer in hand. Glancing over, she could see the goblins standing at the entrance. Well, one of them was standing. The other one had chosen to sit, the creature hitting the ground with its small knife in a monotonous pattern.

She couldn’t spot anything in the dark cavern behind, other than the sheer size of it. Close to the opening however she could see two stakes, one adorned with a massive wolf’s head, the other one with that of a human. Kate grit her teeth as she moved her head back behind cover. Had she known the person? She heard a clicking sound and watched again, the twang of a crossbow resounding a few meters away, the bolt rushing out before it struck the sitting goblin in its chest. She got up and rushed forward, seeing a gray flash a few meters to her left where Grey rushed out, a clean slash of his blade cutting through the other goblin’s neck.

Kate reached the stumbling creature. It had let go of its blade in favor of clutching the bolt in its chest. Reckless Charge brought her close before she slammed her weapon down, making sure the creature couldn’t cry out or call for help. She looked over to Grey, the man looking back. A slight nod. She walked over to the stake on her side of the entrance while the others joined them.

The person had indeed been someone she had known, albeit in passing. An older woman who used to buy tons of vegetables in Lars’ shop. Always wondered how she ate all that alone… half of my veggies go bad in a week. The stake was a thick piece of wood, rammed deep into the ground. Kate ripped it out with a single pull, removing the head before she closed the woman’s eyes. She looked at the thing for a few seconds before a hand touched her shoulder.

“Later. We have a job to do,” Logan said, carefully taking the head out of her hands.

Kate still looked at her hands before she shivered. She wanted to say something but her mouth didn’t open, instead she ground her teeth.

“This isn’t a normal wolf,” Allison murmured.

“Focus. Get your headlamps. Kate to the front,” Logan said before tapping her shoulder.

She nodded, putting on the lamp before she flicked it on. Into the den of fire. She heard the words of her friend, wringing her hands around the heavy steel handle. “Try to keep up,” she said to the others. Mindless Ferocity activated as she took in a deep breath. Grey was next to her, Jon close behind. Logan was at the end of the formation, but she looked ahead, and walked into the depths.

She soon started hearing the dripping sounds of water, plenty of small alcoves and hiding places around but none of them occupied by any creatures. Taking out the guards in relative silence had certainly helped. Storming this place with an aware group of defenders would be a nightmare. Kate stopped a minute later, holding up a hand to the others. She glanced back and turned off her headlamp, looking at the group of humans standing in the tight corridor between stone walls.

She talked in a whisper. “I hear creatures sleeping… wait here, and come when you hear battle.”

Gray nodded and relayed the information to the next person in a whisper.

Kate was already gone, very slowly moving through the darkness as she kept one hand on the wall. They knew the creatures were light sensitive and she didn’t plan to wake all of them up the moment she walked into that room. She could feel the tunnel opened up after the tight section they had just been through but she trusted her hearing. There were no guards. Their enemy didn’t expect intruders.

Silent.

Slow steps. She was getting closer. Another somewhat tight section. She was careful not to let her hammer scrape against the side of the wall. And she was inside, hearing dozens of sleeping creatures. Kate didn’t hesitate. She could hear the different pitches of the snores, going to the closer goblins first before she crouched down. She couldn’t see much of anything but based on the sounds she could make out where their faces were, based on the slightly shifting bodies, she could make out where the rest was. It took her a minute to make sure she wouldn’t step on anything and wake the creature. When she was sure, she slammed down the knife using both her hands, one still gripping the hammer.

A wet sound. Steel piercing flesh, crunching bone. She waited. And moved on to the next. First she focused on the more isolated creatures. There were a few groups she didn’t want to risk as of yet.

Fifteen minutes later, she had killed all the isolated ones, two of them even orcs based on the sounds. She didn’t check the messages yet, instead sneaking back to the others. Kate had to cover her eyes with a hand when she walked into the shining lights of their headlamps. “Grey, Logan, there are three groups still in there. Seven orcs in total, six more goblins. They’re too close together for me to kill them silently.”

“Can you lead us there without light?” Logan asked. “If they’re sleeping, we’ll all prepare and turn on the lights at once,” he said in a whisper. “Ethan, no fire down here.”

“Form a line and hold your hands. Move very slowly. Keep your feet close to the ground, there are corpses inside. When they wake up, you turn on the lights and finish whatever is left standing,” Kate said and grabbed Grey’s hand. He did the same with Jon’s, the line quickly forming. They were moving half a minute later.

Kate winced at their steps, scraping jackets against stone, but they managed to keep their weapons close, their breathing controlled. And soon they stood in the same cavern she had just been in. Kate removed Grey from the line and slowly moved with him to an unoccupied space near one of the groups, careful not to step on any of the corpses she had already left behind. Next was Jon, then Logan, and so on.

She chose the smallest group and unsheathed her bloodied knife once more. Close to one of the orcs, she hovered over its head and slammed down the weapon with all the strength she had. Again, the metal penetrated with ease, slamming through the skull with a wet crunch and killing the creature instantly. She didn’t wait this time, leaving the blade inside as she unsheathed another one of her hunting knives.

Another orc died and then a goblin. The creature’s leg twitched slightly, hitting the ground a few times in its death throes. The last goblin in the group woke up. It made a confused noise before a blade slashed into its face.

Kate didn’t quite get the angle right as the creature was moving. She did pierce its flesh but it cried out in pain, the other beings now rousing from their sleep. She let go of her knife and swung her hammer in a horizontal arc, striking the goblin down where it crawled.

Lights flashed in the dark cavern, confused guttural noises resounding from the two remaining groups as the monsters got their bearings, some reaching for their weapons.

A crossbow was fired, swords came down, and Kate rushed forward. She reached the next group where injured beings shielded themselves against the light. Her hammer cracked a knee, bringing down an orc before it blocked another hit against its skull. She kicked it down and struck a confused goblin in the back of the head, cracking the bone.

She growled, feeling the vibrations reverberate through the dark cavern. A broad greatsword cut halfway into the neck of an orc. Kate activated Furious Dance when she saw the remaining creatures grouping up, with their weapons ready. She reached the crawling orc, one hand clutching its leg as it cried out, roaring when it turned around and saw the hammer coming for its face. Three strikes and she left it unmoving. The spike of her hammer was ripped out, bloodied and wet. Kate turned to look at the illuminated group, her allies circling around as the enemies roared out.

Loud.

A bolt struck one of the orcs in its face. There were two remaining, and three goblins, the small creatures trying to hide behind the orcs.

One of the large ones was aware of all the attackers, its jagged sword held in a defensive stance. The other one was more aggressive, focused entirely on Grey.

Kate watched the latter one. Patience.

Silent.

She crouched slightly, waiting. A few seconds and the orc made its move, going for Grey with a few bold swings. Reckless Charge brought her close, her hammer held close as she slammed the head into the monster’s jaw. Three more hits and it stumbled. She ignored the slash it managed to get in on her shoulder, seeing Grey’s thin blade slice through the large orc’s neck as she stepped back to avoid one of the goblins.

Logan kept the other orc occupied with his long sword, a bolt striking the large creature in its leg.

It stumbled and growled.

Kate growled back, hitting the goblin before she splattered its head against the nearby wall. She saw the last two shiver in fear, their blades clutched close as they tried to get away from her. They reached the wall of the cavern. She didn’t stop.

Looking up, Kate saw the last orc had fallen to the combined efforts of her team. But she heard more coming, her skills pushing her forward.

“More…” she said. Her mouth moved. She wanted to say more but it was hard to focus. “A…” she gulped, walking closer to the entrance. “Ambush.” She grinned. Silent.

Patient.

Kate heard her allies say some things, the bright lights going out as they moved closer to the walls. Hiding. Bait?

She prepared to turn on her own lamp. She knew what they were planning. Monsters. Approaching. There were dozens of steps, some larger, some smaller. She waited, with her hammer ready. In an effort to protect herself, Kate grabbed one of the larger bodies and raised it up by the simple leather armor it wore.

Her enemies entered the cave. She heard their snarls and noises. She growled, the fast steps turning more wary, fanning out. Two of the creatures carried torches, illuminating the surroundings. Kate switched on her headlamp in turn and rushed forward, two arrows striking the body she held before she let go of it. Her hammer swung and struck a goblin’s head, teeth and blood flying to the side. Her allies joined in but she focused on the next monster, the next creature that stood in her way or slipped up.

Bones cracked and flesh tore. She lost herself in the battle. Lights swung around, shouts resounded, reverberating in her ears. She stumbled, the bloodied orc in front of her once again hitting her with his fist. The sword came down and she blocked it with the handle of her hammer. Her own fist struck back, the steel entangled. Reckless Charge activated, slamming her into the monster, the momentum and weight making them stumble and fall. She let go of the hammer and grabbed two knives. Kate ignored the hits, stabbing down with reckless abandon, cutting flesh and armor as the orc tried to stop her.

Her enemy’s efforts weakened as she continued, a nearby goblin running her way with its blade aimed for her head. She slapped it aside and stabbed the creature in its skull, leaving the knife in there and taking the monster’s weapon. She felt a sharp pain and looked down. The orc had taken one of her own knives and stabbed it into her stomach. She grit her teeth and dug her blades into its head, pushing down until she could feel the metal scrape against bone.

Kate wanted to rip out the blade but she stopped herself. Leave. She stumbled up, her vision slightly blurry. Hammer. She found the thing after a few seconds of searching, the battle around her still going on. She could hear pained noises, breathing, steel hitting stone and metal, a crossbow being fired. An arrow. She felt the thing strike her arm, the impact nearly making her stumble. Instead she found the goblin, growling once more before she ran at it, her steps quickly reaching the thing as it tried to fire once more. She struck its face with the butt of her weapon, a direct strike following after, the impact making the small creature slap against the stone floor. She went to one knee, breathing hard as she forced herself to get back up.

She took three steps and grabbed onto the arm of an injured orc, its head stabbed through by one of her allies a moment later. She let go and nearly fell with the dead creature. One last goblin fell when a large sword cut through its entire form, two halves falling to the blood covered stone floor, illuminated by torchlight and headlamps. She tried to hear, but her head swam. Something came up. Kate retched as she went down to one knee. There were no more enemies, though a few lay dying, gargling as they spattered out blood.

“Don’t move,” someone said, reaching her side.

She recognized the voice. Ally. She knew she could trust her. At the same time she knew there were more enemies down in the cavern. Somewhere. There had to be more.

“Bite down,” the voice said and put something into her mouth.

Kate did just that, a sharp pain following. She glared at the woman but endured, the pain followed by a strange heat, followed by intense itching. Her entire abdomen hurt. She had to focus not to fall on her face. Her magic waned, the pain intensifying as she bit down harder. Tears welled up in her eyes as her breathing intensified. Another sharp pain, the arrow gone from her arm, followed by the same heat and itching. She breathed harder still, now using her arm to stay sitting. The smell was horrible. Burning flesh, blood all around. Sweat. It was stuffy, hot. She tried to raise her shirt up to cover her nose. Someone puked. There was puke already.

She had to get out.

“Someone, help her up and out of here,” Melusine said, her headlamp swerving around before she moved on to the next person in need of healing. Kate hadn’t been the only one injured.

She winced at the pain but soon felt someone help her up. She glanced over and saw the pale face of Ethan, blood on his face and spittle on his chin. He shook a little and didn’t meet her eyes but he pulled her out, the two of them collapsing out in the broad cavern tunnel. She heard his breathing, his heartbeat. Her hand moved up to check on him, brushing away the sweaty hair. It wasn’t his blood. She helped him sit down against the nearby wall, resting next to him as she gripped his hand in hers. She could feel him shake, tears rolling down his cheeks as he gulped.

Kate herself focused on the pain and itching, the wood creaking in her mouth as she bit down harder. Though the fires. Though the fires may rage. All consuming. She rummaged in her pack and found a package of painkillers, taking out the wood before she downed two pills and drank some water. She looked over and held the bottle to Ethan’s face. “Drink,” she said with a slightly shaking voice.

Grey had joined them, the man standing nearby in silence, one hand on the handle of his blade, his headlamp aimed down into the darkness.

“Did…” Kate started but she focused on her hearing instead. It didn’t take her long to realize they were all alive. Logan was hurt, his breathing harder than usual, Melusine picking something out of his armor with Allison there to help. Jon sat down next to Kate. She gripped his hand as well.

“This is horrible,” the man murmured.

Kate took in a deep breath, her eye twitching at the healing magic in her stomach. She wanted to scratch out her insides. Note to self. Don’t get fucking injured. Fucking. Fuck. They remained in silence for a few minutes, no more monsters coming for them as they waited and collected their breath.

“Use the time to level up and check your skills,” Grey said from the side. “And turn off your headlamps.”

Kate did as he said. It made sense after all. She turned off Ethan’s, the man still shaking slightly. His face was damp with sweat.

Jon did the same after he had reloaded his crossbow.

She tried to slow her breathing, forcing her body to calm down after the intense battle. Looking down the tunnel, the light reaching about twenty meters far, she knew there was more to come. Melusine joined with Allison and Logan in tow.

The man seemed fine, though his armor had several dents and visible cuts. “Five minutes, then we move on,” he spoke, sounding tired.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Kate asked.

Logan chuckled, shining his headlamp her way. “You should see yourself, Kate.”

“Fuck off,” she answered with a tired smile, looking at her blood covered hands and hammer.

Chapter 25 Depths

Kate sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. Five minutes wasn’t a long time but after an intense fight she was glad for every second. Not wasting her time, she checked the new notifications in the corner of her vision.

‘ding’ ‘You have defeated [Goblin Fighter]’
‘ding’ ‘You have defeated [Goblin Archer]’
‘ding’ ‘You have defeated [Goblin Fighter]’
…
‘ding’ ‘You have defeated [Orc Warrior]’
‘ding’ ‘You have defeated [Goblin Archer]’

‘ding’ ‘Berserker reaches lvl 11’

Stat points +2
Perseverance +1

‘ding’ ‘Berserker reaches lvl 12’

Stat points +2
Perseverance +1

‘ding’ ‘Mindless Ferocity reaches lvl 15’
‘ding’ ‘Mindless Ferocity reaches lvl 16’

‘ding’ ‘Furious Dance reaches lvl 14’
‘ding’ ‘Furious Dance reaches lvl 15’

‘ding’ ‘Reckless Charge reaches lvl 12’

‘ding’ ‘Toll for the Living reaches lvl 13’

‘ding’ ‘Courage of the Unarmored reaches lvl 11’

‘ding’ ‘Two Handed Weapon Fighting reaches lvl 11’
‘ding’ ‘Two Handed Weapon Fighting reaches lvl 12’

‘ding’ ‘Unrelenting Carnage reaches lvl 4’

‘ding’ ‘Intimidating Presence reaches lvl 3’

‘ding’ ‘You have unlocked the active skill: Shattering Step – lvl 1’

Active: Shattering Step – lvl 1
Use your strength and 20% of your stamina to slam the ground with a shattering force, disorienting or causing everyone around you to stumble. You may vary the power exuded.

‘ding’ ‘Silent Striker reaches lvl 3’

Serenity +1

‘ding’ ‘Silent Striker reaches lvl 4’

Serenity +1

‘ding’ ‘Silent Striker reaches lvl 5’

Serenity +1

‘ding’ ‘Frightening Growl reaches lvl 3’

‘ding’ ‘Heightened Hearing reaches lvl 4’
…
‘ding’ ‘Heightened Hearing reaches lvl 6’

‘ding’ ‘You have unlocked the active skill: Bewildering Wave – lvl 1’

Active: Bewildering Wave – lvl 1
Produce a wave of sound magic with you at the center, disorienting everyone around you that can perceive sound. Higher levels allow for a more targeted use.

Kate read through the messages, opening her eyes before she got out a pack of tissues, cleaning her hands of the blood as well as she could.

Melusine checked on everyone again without saying a word, lifting arms and opening jackets with a flashlight in her hand.

Kate knew that there were plenty of injuries perhaps not immediately noticed by the person who sustained them. And one could ignore quite a lot with a high amount of adrenaline and potential blood loss. Plus now there’s magic involved as well.

Her new skills were interesting. Both could change the course of a fight if used at the right time, depending on how powerful they turned out to be. There was one major issue however. Her allies all around. Already she had taken a massive risk by activating both Mindless Ferocity and Furious Dance in the middle of that cavern. If she used her new abilities with the others present, there was a high chance of the skills affecting them just as much as her enemies.

New tools are new tools, she thought, glad to have gotten them anyway. There had already been several situations where she had to fight monsters alone, or far enough away from the others where she could’ve used something like a disorienting sound wave. A cave like this one just didn’t exactly qualify for that.

She considered the four stat points she had gotten from her Berserker Class and decided to put two each into Endurance and Strength. Kate felt the new power flow through her, her muscles tensing and her heartbeat quickening. She took in a deep breath and gripped her hammer.

“Time is up. Kate, do you hear anything?” Logan said as he glanced back, him and Grey at the front.

“I would’ve let you know,” she whispered, glancing to Jon and Allison, then Melusine and Ethan. Kate stood up and rolled her shoulders. She looked down to Ethan and extended a hand, the man looking up before he gulped, and accepted.

She raised him up with ease, smiling slightly when he yelped. I could get used to this strength. She glanced up at the dark cavern ceiling a few meters above. Guess I can. I have the stats now after all. She took in a deep breath and joined the two men in front of her, hammer held in one hand as she walked past with steps as silent as she could manage.

“Quiet now. There’s bound to be more,” she said, flicking on her headlamp before they descended further into the dark.

Minutes passed as they made their way into the depths, Kate slowing down when her light revealed steps in the stone. Not perfectly aligned or angled but they looked too deliberate to be anything natural. Or at least so she assumed. It was the only way forward and she didn’t plan to turn back now. Not after the battle they had fought through to get here.

She winced slightly at the descending steps, her healed wounds still itching, distracting her slightly from the task at hand. Luckily nothing showed up during the descent. She heard the others walk down, already able to distinguish who was confident and who was hesitating, who put more weight on their feet and which leg they favored. The information was easy to distinguish now that the sounds were so readily available to her.

The cavern opened up slightly now that they had descended. Drops of water fell from stalactites several meters above, the impacts audible to Kate as she looked around. Boulders and rock formations partially blocked her view, seven headlamps illuminating the darkness. She didn’t hear any steps or breathing in the vicinity that didn’t originate from their own group. The air felt less stuffy than in the corridors before.

“Nothing,” she whispered.

“This is… far too extensive,” Jon said. “It… doesn’t make sense. The tourist guide didn’t mention a cavern like this.”

“It’s incredible,” Allison murmured as she collected a sizable piece of rock from the ground. She moved her headlamp down and turned the piece around. Sparkling light reflected off the crystals.

“They didn’t dig this place out. Not in the time they’ve been here,” Logan said.

“They could’ve been around for years,” Jon said.

“No. Not with the way they’re behaving. They lack that amount of planning and foresight,” Logan spoke. “Be careful. We don’t know what else might lurk down here.” He got something out of his pack and cracked it, dull blue light emanating from the light stick. Logan placed it near the stairs, making sure it wouldn’t move. “That should last a few hours at least.”

“We might not be back before night falls,” Jon said, Melusine lightly touching his shoulder.

“Neither will they,” Kate said and kept on walking. She heard the others follow a few seconds later, the group taking the same formation they had started with.

A few minutes later, she moved past a large boulder and stopped, raising a fist. The sounds had changed. She touched the boulder with one hand and moved forward with slow steps, her headlamp soon shining into nothingness. A cliff reached into the depths, Kate stopping a few meters before the drop began.

“Different way,” she whispered to the others and started making her way around the boulder. “There’s a drop here.”

“A drop?” Logan asked, slowly making his way forward before he saw what she meant, some of the others doing the same.

Kate came out on the other side of the boulder, scratching at her stomach when she heard a high pitched sound. “Fuck,” she murmured, seeing the two goblins at the other end of a five meter long suspension bridge made of rope and wood, two torches set up on the other side. One of the creatures aimed its bow and fired but she had already stepped away. Kate hesitated when she saw the abyss below, the second goblin already running down into a tunnel entrance.

She saw Grey rush forward, the man taking quick steps over the slightly swaying bridge before he rushed forward in a flash. Kate shook herself out of her fear and activated Mindless Ferocity, one hand on the ropes as she made her way over. She heard the string and ducked, an arrow flying past over her head. The movement nearly made her slip as she heard Grey slash through the running goblin. A crossbow bolt flashed past her, missing the bow wielding creature by a meter.

It ducked and moved to look for cover, giving her enough time to cross over. A moment later she was by its side, its bow releasing a last arrow that hit her shoulder before she brought down her hammer.

She swung the weapon to the side, the corpse stuck to the metal released before it slapped to the ground and rolled over. Kate growled as she looked at the arrow.

Grey returned with the corpse of the other goblin, the man waiting next to the entrance with his hand on the handle of his sword.

The others crossed. Slowly.

Logan was the last, testing the wood and ropes before he dared to use it. The suspension bridge had sizable gaps between the wooden pieces, though it seemed well made and secured. The lives of everyone who would use it depended on it after all. The ground below wasn’t visible.

Melusine stopped next to Kate and glanced at the arrow, then at her.

“What?” Kate asked with a slight hiss. She turned her head and listened, Melusine closing in and checking the wound. There was something deeper still. Something heavy. Impacts.

“It’s stuck in your skin. Didn’t even draw blood,” Melusine said, simply taking out the projectile.

Kate didn’t feel it, instead moving closer to the entrance as the others gathered. “There is something down there. Heavy.” Then she moved into the tunnel. A decline followed, light visible at the other side. Kate turned off her lamp and motioned for the others to do the same. She watched six lights vanish one by one.

“I will scout,” Grey whispered in a voice so low the others didn’t even react.

Kate glanced his way, knowing perfectly where he was due to the sound. She heard his steps and saw his outline, then something about him changed. The light was barely enough to make out the others but she could no longer see Grey. “Go,” she whispered back, still hearing his steps as he moved.

Silent.

She felt the itch to go herself, annoyed that someone else would be the first to encounter their enemies. But she held herself back. Furious Dance was not active, either that or her new points in Serenity preventing her from going down the length of the tunnel already. Kate kept Mindless Ferocity active however. There were enemies left after all.

A few minutes later, Grey returned, a strange sound coming from him before his breathing picked up, the man steadying himself against the side wall. “There is… an ogre, or something like it. I think it’s taller, but I’m not sure. It has a cleaver… the size of, well me.”

Kate moved her hands around the handle of her weapon. Good.

“Several goblins, and at least three orcs. It’s a big hall… and there are… corpses,” he said.

Kate ground her teeth. Silent.

“One of the goblins had a small staff or something. Might be a mage,” Grey said. “And there were strange growths or something. I c… couldn’t make out what exactly. It’s a big cave.”

“Where are the monsters exactly,” Logan said, listening to Grey give a quick description of the hall.

“Allison and Melusine, you two wait here,” Logan said. “Grey. You go for the mage. Kate, you take out the Orcs and then join me. I’ll try to distract the big one. Jon and Ethan, you pick off as many goblins as you can. Anyone gets seriously injured, we run back here, cross the bridge, and cut it on the other side. Understood?”

Kate cracked her neck and rolled her shoulders. “Understood, military man,” she whispered.

“Now go forth, warriors of humanity,” Logan said in a strange whisper.

She glanced at him and shook her head lightly. Did he lose it?

“For none shall stand in our way. We shall rage. We shall fight. Go forth,” Logan said as he crouched slightly, a pulse of white light glowing through the cracks of his armor, his eyes visible in the dark for a split second.

Kate felt herself tense up for a moment before she smiled, feeling the strange power. Furious Dance activated, her allies fading to the back of her mind as she focused on her hearing. She stepped forward with light movements, hearing the quiet and fast steps of Grey right next to her, heavier impacts coming from Logan and Jon, the latter farther back.

From ahead she could hear the sounds of various monsters, shifting metal, guttural grunts, a heavy impact of metal against flesh, bone, then stone. She knew where they were before they had even reached the hall, four goblins to the left, two to the right, just as Grey had informed. The three orcs she could hear to the right as well, and the heavy impacts came from farther down the hall, at least twenty meters away.

Orcs.

Quiet.

Fast.

Hunt.

She came into the light, torches fastened to the mostly even walls. Corpses. The smell of blood. She ignored it all. One step, two. A flash behind her. One orc looked her way but she had already charged. The spike of her hammer slammed into the back of a crouched monster. She ripped it out and used Bewildering Wave, her chest tightening before she huffed. Kate stepped forward, the orc to her left stumbling back at the sound, raising both hands to his ears. The other one shook his head, sword unsheathed and held towards her with a shaking arm. Kate slammed it away with her hammer, a second hit breaking through his right knee, a jab to his chin making the orc fall. She brought her hammer up when something bright appeared in the corner of her vision. A glance revealed a flying sphere of fire, Kate jumping up with Hunting Leap.

She watched as the thing exploded below, far more powerful than anything Ethan could summon. Arms held in front of her, the heated shock wave sent her higher still. She grit her teeth against the heat as she came back down, landing in a crouch. Kate turned at the pained groan of an orc, the half burnt creature reaching for its sword before she finished it with a strike to the head. Flames clung to flesh and hair.

She dodged when she heard the steps behind her, finding the last orc. Her pants had caught on fire. It didn’t matter. The orc swung wildly, fast steps bringing him forward before Kate stomped her foot down. Power flowed through her right leg as her heel hit the ground. The very earth shook, a loud sound reverberating through the hall. She watched the orc stumble slightly, his sword flashing past her head. Kate stepped forward, her hammer slamming into his face in a thrusting motion. Something broke. She struck again, his sword coming back around.

Kate blocked the savage weapon with her hammer, one hand letting go as the orc pushed with both. She unsheathed one of her knives and rammed it into his forearm, taking a second as she stepped forward, still holding his sword back with her hammer. Metal slid against metal as the orc grunted in pain, the injured arm letting go of his blade. Kate closed the distance and slammed the second blade into his chest with enough force to pierce through the leather armor, then she kicked, breaking his right leg.

The orc finally let go of his weapon, groaning as he fell to one knee, shaking hands grabbing for the hunting knife in his chest. He ripped it out right before Kate’s hammer came down in a wide arc and impacted his skull.

Blood and bits of bones exploded to the side.

Fire.

She dropped to the ground, falling at the same time as the orc’s corpse did. Then she rolled. She rolled and patted out the flames on her pants and jacket, large holes now visible with reddened skin below. She rolled up into a crouch and ground her teeth, taking in the scene before her. Fires all over, screeching goblins, Grey slashing through them. A crossbow bolt and spheres of fire rushing out from the tunnel, striking the massive being engaged with an armored knight. She moved.

The creature was enormous. At least three meters in height, and two in width. It was covered in strange rock like growths, several horns coming out of its shoulders. Dark yellow eyes took in the invaders as it moved with trunk like legs and arms. The being held a two meter long cleaver made of either stone or crude metal, the edge chipped in several places. Burns and bolts showed on its light green skin, the monster uncaring for the projectiles coming in from the tunnel entrance.

Kate ran towards it, seeing Logan deflect a powerful swing of the creature, the crude weapon crashing into his greatsword. Both his weapon and arms shook from the impact. He stumbled back when the creature raised its cleaver above and brought it down.

Logan’s sword glowed for a split second, bright white light emanating from the entire length of the blade before the weapons met. A pulse rushed out, the cleaver deflected upwards and away.

Kate reached the creature in that moment, using its distracted focus to slam her hammer into its left knee. She heard cracks, looking up to see the thing turn her way. Grey moved past behind it, a sphere of fire impacting the monster’s face.

It roared as a blade cut into the back of its right leg, the cleaver coming down at Kate.

She held up her hammer, the massive weapon striking her steel and sliding off to the side, taking the fingers of her left hand with it. Kate felt her knees buckle from the impact, nearly going down.

Logan’s sword cut into its right leg from the front, Grey’s from the back.

The monster kicked forward, striking Logan, the man flying backwards before he landed on his feet. He went to one knee and came back up.

Another ball of fire impacted the creature’s head.

It roared and walked towards the tunnel, a crossbow bolt striking its chest without eliciting a reaction.

Kate felt the pain in her left hand, blood streaming out as she let go of her hammer. She ripped away a piece of her pants and wrung it around the wound in a quick motion, screaming when she tightened it. She grit her teeth and unsheathed one of her knives.

Grey rushed forward, once again cutting into the monster’s injured leg. He got through right as the creature turned, its heavy hand impacting his chest in an erratic motion.

They watched it fall to the ground, its leg breaking away under its own weight and the cuts from both sides.

Logan and Kate circled it as Grey rolled to the side, coughing up blood as he tried to get up.

Another fireball hit its head, blood flowing from the severed limb.

Kate sheathed her blade and instead took one of the orcish swords. She found it light in her hand, walking forward before she jogged and jumped, Hunting Leap activating as she approached from behind the thrashing monster. She brought the blade down onto its skull, biting through flesh and into bone before she jumped off and landed.

The creature now reached for the new injury, striking the ground and walls with its heavy cleaver.

Logan’s blade flashed with light before it bit deep into the creature’s arm. Grey was standing once more, his movements slowed slightly but fast enough to deal with the large and heavy creature.

They moved in and out of its range, Jon and Ethan periodically sending fire and crossbow bolts against its injured form.

It slowed further until Logan slammed his greatsword into the monster’s open mouth. The creature slowly raised its injured arm to try and pull it out.

Kate came to Logan’s side and pushed the blade in further, the thing breaking through and out of the monster’s skull with their combined efforts. She could instantly feel the warmth of new health flowing into her, Kate stumbling back with a slight shiver as her fingers regrew. She glanced to the side, hearing the others rushing into the hall. Taking in a deep breath, she went to one knee and tried to listen. Her mind slowly cleared when she couldn’t make out any sounds beyond the smoldering flames and the pained moans of her allies. Where did I leave my hammer?