"Thanks for the information." Gareth turned to Corvus. "It was useful."
"Useful?" Corvus looked at him with the expression of something that had expected more. "That's all you can say...?"
"Yes. Useful." He repeated.
Corvus tilted his head.
"Dorian."
Elizabeth's voice came from the dining room.
"Your girlfriend is about to leave. It's too late for her to go alone — it's dangerous. You need to walk her home."
From the dining room, clearly audible:
"I'm not his girlfriend! And I can walk home perfectly fine on my own!"
Gareth's face dropped.
Corvus looked at him.
"You never told me you had a girlfriend."
"She's not my girl—" He stopped. Exhaled. Put a hand over his face. "Ugh. Why do I even bother explaining."
He opened the bathroom door.
Lyra was at the entrance with the expression of someone who had spent the last two minutes trying to convince Elizabeth of something with zero success.
"Thank you for everything." She said to Lady Elizabeth with a genuine smile. "Really. And I'll return the clothes washed as soon as possible."
"Don't mention it." Lady Elizabeth looked at her with the warmth of someone who had already made up their mind about this girl and was satisfied with the conclusion. Then she leaned in slightly and lowered her voice just enough to make it sound like a secret without actually being one. "By the way — you two make a very good couple."
Lyra froze.
Her cheeks went from normal to completely red in under a second.
"Let's go. Now." Gareth took her by the forearm and pulled toward the door before either of them could add anything.
***
The streets of Eldralid at night had that specific quiet of a city still processing something big. Fewer people than during the day. More light in the windows than usual — people awake later than normal.
They walked without saying anything for most of the way until Lyra broke the silence first.
"I had a really good time with your family."
Gareth didn't respond.
"And this makes up for the fact that you've been so cold toward me lately." A pause. "But don't let it happen again."
Gareth glanced at her sideways.
"Sure."
Lyra nodded with the satisfaction of someone who had just closed a deal.
The rest of the walk passed in silence until they stopped in front of a light stone residence with the first floor windows still lit.
Lyra stopped. Turned toward him.
"Good night." Said naturally. Then she turned around and started walking toward the door.
Halfway there she stopped.
Turned around again.
"See you tomorrow at school."
And went inside.
Gareth stood on the sidewalk for a moment after the door closed.
He exhaled.
"I thought this was never going to end."
He put his hands in his pockets and started back.
Corvus landed on his left shoulder three blocks later, without announcement or explanation.
"I thought you hadn't come." Gareth looked at him.
"I couldn't miss the scene." A pause. "You two looked really cute together."
Gareth shot him a look.
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."
"Why? I'm telling the truth."
"I hear you say one more word related to that topic and I swear I'll kill you."
"Alright, alright. Don't get mad." He looked away. "By the way — what's the plan for tonight? Do we just go back and sleep?"
Gareth opened his system interface.
[Active Passive Buffs]
[Emerald Edge (Claws of Marveth): +40% base damage / +10% critical hit / +15% attack speed]
[Absolute Regeneration: On cooldown — 48 hours remaining]
'Just the blade buffs and the one that came with the system.'
'If I want to enter the Necromantic Fortress in any kind of shape I need to start stacking buffs now. Not tomorrow. Now.'
"Now that you mention it." He closed the interface. "I need buffs before getting involved in the Fortress raid. What I have isn't enough."
"Then our mission for the night is clear." Corvus didn't sound surprised.
"Exactly." A pause. "And I have the perfect place that isn't far from here."
***
Eight minutes of walking.
The building had no visible sign of being what it was — grey stone facade, boarded windows, a wooden door that hadn't seen maintenance in a long time.
Gareth went in first.
The inside was thick with dust. The light was scarce — just enough to see that the main space was empty except for a portal hovering in the air at the far end of the room.
Corvus looked at it.
"A Raid?!" A loaded pause. "Don't tell me you're going to fight the second floor boss right now."
"Obviously not." Gareth approached the portal without rushing. "This isn't a raid. It's a Stronghold." A pause. "Besides, in my current state I couldn't even stand up to the second floor boss."
"I see." Corvus looked at him. "And what kind of Stronghold is it?"
"A kobold cave." Gareth looked at the pulsing rift. "I have two objectives here. The first is getting the Dragon's Breath." A pause. "The second is the minor kobold boss core."
"What's the core for?"
"Assignment the professor gave for tomorrow."
Corvus looked at him for several seconds.
"An assignment...? I didn't think you cared about those things."
"Not really." Gareth put his hands in his pockets. "But I'm not irresponsible either."
"Fair enough." A pause. "And how do you know there are still kobolds inside and someone hasn't already cleared it?"
"Simple." Gareth pointed to the reader on his wrist — Professor Aldren's artifact. "This Stronghold can't have appeared more than thirty minutes ago. It's emitting exactly two hundred mana units — too low for anyone to have noticed it yet."
Corvus looked at him for a moment.
"You always think of everything, don't you."
"It's my specialty." Gareth turned toward the portal. "Now let's go in. No time to waste."
***
On the other side, it was exactly what it had to be. A cavern.
Low ceiling, damp rocky walls, and the sound of something moving in the distance.
[Cave Kobold — Level 7]
'Standard cave kobolds. They move in groups. Weak individually but annoying in numbers.'
Corvus lifted off his shoulder and settled on a rock protrusion in the ceiling where he could see everything without being in the middle of anything.
Gareth opened the system.
[Combat System — Active Mode]
[Alternate Form Available: Mourgare — Maximum Duration: 60 minutes]
[Activate?]
[ YES ] — [ NO ]
'That's new. It wasn't there before.'
He considered it for exactly two seconds.
'Meh. Doesn't matter.'
He pressed [ YES ].
The change was immediate.
Dorian Thornfield's appearance was replaced by Mourgare's and the Claws of Marveth materialized in his hands.
[Mourgare Form Activated]
[Time remaining: 60:00]
Gareth looked up at Corvus.
"Pay close attention." A pause. "Don't miss a single detail."
Corvus kept his eyes fixed on Mourgare from his rock.
The Claws caught what little light existed in the cavern.
And Gareth launched himself forward.
The first group of kobolds never got the chance to react.
Three in a triangular formation — the one in the center larger than the others, probably the leader. Gareth reached the space between them before they'd finished processing the movement and his right blade found the neck joint of the first at the exact moment his left blocked the second's claw and spun it into the third.
All three went down in four seconds.
[3 Kobolds eliminated]
[EXP gained: +45]
[Total EXP: 45/500]
'I remembered them being a little faster.'
The second group came from the left, alerted by the noise — five this time, more coordinated. The first threw its claws diagonally — Gareth deflected them with his left blade redirecting the momentum toward the kobold on its right. The two collided. The other three reorganized.
'Basic flanking pattern.'
He dropped to the floor sliding between the central one's legs, came up behind it and drove both blades simultaneously into the flanks of the two coming from behind. The central one turned — too late. His right blade found its throat before the movement finished.
Too easy.
[5 Kobolds eliminated]
[EXP gained: +75]
[Total EXP: 120/500]
What followed was a systematic sweep with the efficiency of someone who has done this so many times the process becomes nearly automatic. Groups of three, four, six — all with the same result. The Claws of Marveth always finding the right angle, the precise weak point, the exact moment.
[8 Kobolds eliminated]
[EXP gained: +120]
[Total EXP: 240/500]
[6 Kobolds eliminated]
[EXP gained: +90]
[Total EXP: 330/500]
The cavern widened toward the back. More darkness. More movement — more numerous now, as if something deeper had sensed what was happening and was sending reinforcements.
Gareth ran forward.
'The minor boss is at the end. Simple RPG logic.'
Twelve kobolds in the central corridor — a number that in the game would have required at least two coordinated players. Gareth cut straight through them changing direction between each group without stopping, the Claws in constant motion. He didn't block anything — dodged everything. Speed over defense.
[12 Kobolds eliminated]
[EXP gained: +180]
[Total EXP: 510/500]
[LEVEL UP!]
'That fast...?'
[Level 15 → Level 16]
[Stats updated]
Strength: 47 → 53
Agility: 52 → 59
Endurance: 38 → 43
Perception: 61 → 69
Dexterity: 48 → 55
[Buff Master bonus applied: +15% to all stats]
'Good.'
He didn't stop to process it. Filed it away and kept moving.
At the back of the cavern, in a wider chamber with a stalactite-covered ceiling, Gareth stopped.
[Kobold Guard — Level 9]
Four guard kobolds. Larger than the ones in the corridor — darker scales, natural bone formations on their forearms that functioned as improvised shields.
But there was no boss.
Gareth scanned the entire chamber in two seconds. Every corner. Every shadow behind every stalactite. Every point where something the size of a minor kobold boss could be waiting.
Nothing.
'Strange...'
In the game the boss was always in the back chamber. No exceptions. It was part of the design — guards first, boss behind. A pattern so consistent Gareth had memorized it without meaning to.
But this wasn't the game.
'It moved. Or it's hidden. Or the pattern simply doesn't apply here.'
The four guards watched him with that fixed attention of things that have already decided the intruder in front of them is a problem that needs solving.
Gareth looked back at them.
'Which means I have to find it.'
Something in his chest responded to that thought with something that wasn't concern.
It was exactly the opposite.
'I like this.'
The first guard charged from the left with its boned forearm raised — Gareth deflected it using the angle of the bone against itself, redirecting the momentum into the second coming from the right flank. The two collided with a dry sound that echoed off the stone walls.
The third tried to flank from behind.
Gareth wasn't there anymore.
He had launched forward sliding between the two that had just collided, came out the other side, turned and drove his right blade into the third's neck joint before it finished repositioning.
[Kobold Guard eliminated]
[EXP gained: +35]
[Total EXP: 545/800]
The fourth was different.
It didn't charge. It stayed at the back of the chamber watching — with a calm that didn't match a standard kobold. Yellow eyes tracking every movement without the immediate instinct to attack.
'Smart for its type.'
The two that had collided recovered and came back — one high and direct, the other low aiming for the legs. Gareth jumped over the low strike, blocked the high one with crossed blades absorbing the impact with bent knees, and used the rebound to launch himself toward the one that had been watching.
Caught it off guard.
Left blade in the side. Right blade in the chest. It fell without a sound.
[2 Kobold Guards eliminated]
[EXP gained: +70]
[Total EXP: 615/800]
The remaining two exchanged something — a short guttural sound that had too much structure to be pure instinct. Then they deliberately split in opposite directions, widening the angle between them until Gareth couldn't have both in the same field of vision.
'Basic tactical coordination. Better than expected for level 9.'
Gareth chose the one on the right.
He faked left.
The one on the right corrected anticipating the real movement — exactly what Gareth expected. He changed direction at the last instant, reached the kobold's blind spot and finished the fight before the one on the left could close the distance.
He turned.
The last one stopped a meter and a half away.
They looked at each other.
Then the kobold charged with everything it had — no tactics, no coordination, just speed and weight. Gareth dropped to the floor letting it pass overhead, came up behind it and closed the fight cleanly.
[2 Kobold Guards eliminated]
[EXP gained: +70]
[Total EXP: 685/800]
Gareth stood among the four bodies staring at the empty space where the boss should have been.
Corvus descended from the ceiling and settled on a nearby rock.
That was when he noticed it.
Kobold guard bodies in the left corner that he hadn't touched. He moved closer. Deep burns with blackened edges — clearly explosive damage.
'Fire magic.'
He looked up at the corridor he'd come through.
He'd moved through it too fast to notice. But now that he looked carefully — dozens of bodies he hadn't killed, through a corridor that connected with this one. Scattered across the walls and floor, all with the same burns, all eliminated with an efficiency that had nothing chaotic about it.
He counted in silence.
Easily forty or more.
"I told you that you should have considered the possibility." Corvus's voice came from behind. "That someone else was here."
Gareth didn't respond.
A Stronghold with no registration at the Association. Someone who had entered before him, without notification, and cleared forty kobolds in silence using fire magic with surgical precision.
'Who could be here?'
"There's only one way to find out."
He headed toward the curious corridor.