Wow! That was fast, Joe thought, watching the dust clouds rise as five figures charged toward them. It was like something straight out of a cool western movie, if cowboys rode dinosaurs instead of horses. The dust swirled and danced in the air as the riders got closer, the ground beneath Joe's feet rumbling with each thunderous step.

  In a heartbeat, Ryan and his team were upon them, some pulling their mounts to a jerky halt that sent waves of dust rolling towards Joe and his crew.

  “Now that’s the way to travel,” Dawn said, admiring the dino steeds with a grin.

  “Yeah It’s the most badass thing I’ve seen out here.” TJ grinned, offering a hand to the kobold perched atop a mean-looking velociraptor with purple feathers that gave it a punk rock mohawk.

  “You should’ve seen Nick talk them out of making us the main course at dinner. Now that was badass, which is kind of a funny compliment if you think about it. Anyway, I’m rambling.” She tightened the knot in her orange hoodie around her waist, adjusted the straps of her white tank top, and then took TJ’s hand.

  Landing lightly on her feet, she flashed a brilliant smile. “I’m Luna, and you are?”

  “Terrorclaw Jadescale Mufiforanlexo of the Deep Defenders and Revered Brotherhood clan from the Kingdoms of Cragmire,” TJ said, straightening up with his chest puffed out.

  Seeing her confusion, he quickly added, “But my friends call me TJ.”

  She glanced down at her feet, then back up at TJ, exhaling with a smile that said, ‘thank the gods.’

  Nearby, a much smaller, stockier kobold with thick red hair and a well-groomed beard braided to perfection struggled to dismount. He groaned, “Little help here, before I fall to my death.”

  Brian stepped in with a grin. “I’ve got you. And might I add, that’s one mighty fine beard you’ve got there.”

  The little kobold ran his fingers over the twisted braid, clearly pleased. “Thanks! Gotta work with what you’ve got, right? I’ve got some carnauba wax in my inventory that could help tame that ratty goatee of yours.” He stretched out his arms like a kid waiting to be picked up. “Lord Lich, in his infinite wisdom, put me in the body of a dwarf-kobold hybrid. Must’ve been a real piece of work in my last life.”

  Brian, looking a little self-conscious, gave his goatee a quick, awkward stroke before he lifted the hybrid off the raptor and set him on the ground. “Appreciate the offer—might take you up on that when we’re not gearing up for a boss battle.”

  “Wow, didn’t know they had giants here,” the hybrid said, looking up at Brian, starry-eyed like he was his new best friend. “Thanks for the lift. Now I know who to call when I need something from the top shelf in the crafting room. I’m Grizzle, by the way.”

  Brian chuckled. “Not a giant, just a tall human who used to be a dwarf. Name’s Brian. Nice to meet you. I think we can help each other out—I’m an alchemist, and,” he raised his big hands, “working with those delicate vials can be tricky.”

  “Deal.” Grizzle jumped with surprising spring in his tail to high-five Brian.

  Meanwhile, a tall guy with his green hoodie up, seemingly unfazed by the heat, leapt off his raptor and let it nuzzle him like an oversized puppy. “Such a good boy, yes you are, Big Delta,” he murmured, completely absorbed in his conversation with the creature, almost oblivious to the rest of the group.

  Ryan and Gaia, having finished their quiet conversation, dismounted as well. Ryan clapped Nick on the back, only to get a rooster-like crow from the raptor in response. Ryan threw up his hands in mock surrender, laughing as Nick soothed the big beast and sent the pack on their way with a cheerful wave.

  Nick joined the group, and Ryan introduced the elf to Joe and the others, but it was Dawn who struck up an easy conversation with him as they quickly began comparing notes on the map.

  Looking around, Joe’s spirits lifted as he saw how easily everyone was connecting. It was a good reminder that they were all in this together. He wiped the sweat from his brow, thinking about the challenge ahead.

  ***

  Joe and TJ leapt back, barely dodging the fiery lava rocks skidding across the ground.

  TJ laughed. "Close one, and we’re more than five miles out from the volcano."

  Dawn slammed a fist on her hip. "Wiped out again!" Joined moments earlier by the Blanche Brigade, she had been studying her map, tracking the movements of ascender groups scouring the area near the titans. "Every time that happens, another group of ascenders comes back out from the zone inter-exchange. It’s the same faction that goes up against the titan, respawning in the common room because they fail."

  Joe twisted the cord of his hoodie as he paced, trying to make sense of their actions. "All that time lost hiking back—what are they thinking? No one’s getting past that titan. Its sonic booms hit too fast for anyone to get close to the volcano. And with those quakes cracking open lava-spewing crevices, it’s slowing everyone down even more.Who knows if they’re even dealing any damage to it."

  Gaia tapped her bracelet, a smirk tugging at her lips. "I bet I could scale that mountain faster than the lava erupts, like I did in our battlebox." She locked eyes with Joe, halting his pacing. "And you won’t have to bother catching me this time."

  Ryan shook his head. "Joe’s seen more speedsters disappear from the base, only to be blasted into nothingness by that titan’s sonic boom. There’s no getting past the first titan."

  “Look around.” TJ gestured to the skeleton graveyard, barely large enough to hide the rodents chomping on what remained of carcasses. "Even if we were small enough to hide behind these bones like Grizzle, we couldn’t move quick enough before the titan’s booms or lava spews blow us to smithereens."

  Dawn straightened, her eyes scanning the area. "One, two, no... wait." She paused, her gaze settling on a large prehistoric skeleton where a set of rats scattered. "There’s another way. Can you see where the clever rats are coming from?"

  Joe activated his Quick Wit, following a trail of tiny rat paw tracks. "Tunnels over there."

  Rose raised her staff, blasting a mist into the ashen sky. Joe pulled his hoodie over his head as flaming lava rocks sizzled into muted brown chunks and fell around them—each ascender dodging to the left or right.

  "Thanks again, Rose." Joe adjusted his hoodie before turning to Dawn. "Does your map show any tunnels that lead to the base of the volcano?"

  Dawn's eyes glossed over. "I’m not able to shift to a lower level on the map. Nothing shows beneath the ground level." She paused, then engaged in a trance-like chant. "Nerus, hear my call."

  Beady black eyes darted in Dawn’s direction as the rodents sniffed the air before funneling into a swarm toward the tunnels.

  "Home sweet home," Brian grunted as he bent down, entering the volcanic tomb. "Wonder if there’ll be any good mining opportunities in here," his booming voice echoed through the long corridor.

  With Dawn out front, lighting the way, they ventured two by two into the tunnel. "Ah, my map still doesn’t show this lower level. How about yours, Nick?"

  Nick bounded to her side. His shaved head was a stark contrast to Andras’ dark emo-styled hair. "I’ve got it—had to reach QRL16 to show multi-level mapping."

  Dawn groaned. "Two more level-ups and I’ll have that capability."

  Joe inhaled the cooler air, only to cough as a warm draft carrying the stench of rotten eggs wafted by. "Watch out for the sulfuric gases. There may be steam pockets."

  "No, that was me," the dwarf-kobold hybrid boasted with pride.

  "Good one, Grizzle!" TJ's voice bounced off the walls behind Joe. "Reminds me of mama’s home stew."

  Brian muffled his nose with a sleeve. "Where’s the canary when you need one?"

  Nick paused, stopping the group. "There’s a split in the tunnel ahead, but the map doesn’t show much difference. Both paths wrap around the base of the volcano in either direction."

  Dawn crouched low and closed her eyes. "The rodent clan continued to the left. I suggest we follow them."

  A sudden vibration sent small pebbles rolling down the walls. Joe activated Quick Wit, scanning the area. "Another sonic boom, this time above us. Good thing we’re clear of its effect down here."

  Brian ran his hand along the wall, shaking his head. "Only for so long. The formation is weakening. Either we find a way out forward, or we’ll be stuck digging our way back from where we came."

  Luna, shrugged. "Even as a kobold, I’d rather respawn than dig through this brittle stone,” she said in a sweet, innocent voice if not a little clumsy, reminding Joe of Sailor Moon.

  Joe glanced at Ryan. "If we pick up our pace, we should get closer to the nesting mother before any of this tunnel collapses."

  Ryan nodded. "Then we’ll be able to attack the male titan from behind once we kill her."

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  As they approached the intersection, Dawn peeked down both tunnels. "There’s light in the other tunnel. I’m not sure where its source is coming from, but it might be a better option. I don’t want to drain too much mana if we’re going to fight soon."

  A steady warmth drifted from the tunnel, making the blend of cool and warm air nauseating to Joe. "The rats probably avoided it for a reason."

  Nick shook his head. "The map shows it widens and curves out in branches. No straightforward route like the rat’s tunnel."

  Joe flung his arms out to steady himself, Dawn grasping his arm as the ground quaked beneath him. The tunnel walls vibrated, a crack venting steaming sulfuric gas behind them.

  Coughing, Grizzle quirked a smile. "Not me this time, but it sure was a booger of a jolt to my senses."

  Brian patted Grizzle’s back. "If we don’t move soon, we could get trapped in this sulfuric chamber before we reach the brood."

  As the warmth of Dawn’s hand slipped away, Joe cleared his throat. "Let’s go with your initial Paladin gut instinct…your god wouldn’t lead you astray."

  Ryan clapped his hands. "Shall the righteous lead us to victory."

  Gaia rolled her eyes. "Who was this god of yours you mentioned? An oversized rat? Even as a goddess, I never met one, and I’ve been to many realms."

  The gradient of the tunnel increased with each step, heat rising from the depths of the cavernous system.

  "The exit is up ahead," Nick pointed his weapon toward a distant light, flashing like rapid-fire lightning strikes. "Go ahead."

  Gurgling pops echoed through the tunnel, followed by a loud crack and hiss.

  “Move!” Joe pushed Nick and Dawn into the tunnel as steam punctured the wall where they once stood. Sulfuric gas filtered the chamber at a steady pace. “Keep going.”

  Dawn crouched, looking back at the rest of the Titan Slayers and Blanche Brigade. The steam curling her fiery red hair. “We can't reach them unless you want to risk respawning from severe burns.”

  Joe exhaled. Even with Quick Wit activated, he couldn't see through the blast of steam. “Then we'll meet them. We have the winding path, there's a straight shot. Right, Nick?”

  In a calm, relaxed voice, Nick nodded. If he ever had doubts he didn't show it on his face. “There are multiple branches on our path, but that means we have options.”

  “Follow the rat droppings!” Dawn yelled, dusting off her hands. No response back other than the constant hiss of steam. She glanced back at Joe. “I don't care about options, let's take the shortest route.”

  Joe glanced up, stepping back from the vent. More ceiling pebbles clinked against the wall. “Another sonic boom—every five minutes.”

  Nick narrowed his eyes. “Five minutes and a five-mile radius.”

  Joe relayed the information through the alliance chat. “We’ve got quakes with sulphuric steam vents about every two minutes to be aware of.”

  As if the universe was hell-bent on proving Joe right, the tunnel walls groaned and shuddered, another quake rippling through the ground and opening up a fissure that sent loose rocks skittering across the floor.

  “Hey, the map changed!” Nick took off down the tunnel. “Follow me.”

  Joe and Dawn groaned, lighting the way as they ran after him and left the steaming vent behind. In mere moments, they nearly slammed into Ryan and Gaia.

  “Aha, good ol’ Nick.” Ryan’s teeth gleamed in Dawn’s light. “He could lead you down a tunnel full of soot and still come out with a sack full of trinkets.”

  “Even with his ranger skills, he can’t see the quantum threads like I can.” Gaia let out a dramatic sigh, yanking handkerchiefs from her ring like some kind of over prepared school teacher. “Put these on your nose and mouth.”

  TJ waved his hand, dismissing her offer. “Smells not that bad—not like my brother’s armpits. Now that was a kobold who could clear a room with a single wave hello.”

  “I hate to break it to you, but you’re not a kobold anymore,” Gaia said in a sharp tone, rolling her eyes. “You don’t have the resistance to poisonous gasses like you used to. Please don’t tell me I’m the only one here who understands basic chemistry.” She swept her hair back with a flourish, placing a hand to her forehead like she was about to swoon. “How did I end up surrounded by so many commoners?”

  Nick shot her a deadpan look. “I’m a mathematician, not a chemist, but I’d say the odds are that your sparkling personality is partly to blame.”

  Dawn let out a snort of laughter, much to Gaia’s disgust.

  Joe, not in the mood to die from a gas leak, quickened his pace while tying the handkerchief over his mouth and nose. He made a mental note of the ex-goddess being able to see quantum threads, something that could be more useful beyond seeing the sulfuric gasses. “Gaia’s right—it’s not the stinky stuff that’ll get us. It’s the carbon dioxide we can’t see, taste, or smell. We might have these super-bodies, but it’ll still knock us out cold before we even know it. So how about we save the witty banter—and save the oxygen—for later?”

  “Yep, we need to move faster,” Dawn said, glancing back at the group, her voice rough and raw from the dry air. “You don’t need to be a chemist to know this place is about to turn into a deathtrap.”

  Steam violently hissed behind them as more cracks formed in the wall, like the tunnel was pissed off and ready to snap. The heat intensified, the air growing thicker with every step.

  “Everyone, stick together and stay low!” Dawn pointed at the rat droppings. “We’re following the rats—they’re breathing the same air, and they know the safest path.”

  A loud crack echoed through the tunnel, followed by a hissing roar as a new fissure tore open right behind them, spewing more sulfuric gas like it was auditioning for the role of ‘tunnel of doom.’

  Nick clapped his hands, and suddenly a gust of wind blew by Joe, ruffling his hair with an unexpected minty freshness.

  “I don’t care if I’m part dwarf—I hate this place so much right now!” Grizzle’s voice trembled with panic. “And look! There’s a dead end ahead! Please, can we go back? Let’s go back!”

  Luna sniffed the air and whipped her tail down, beckoning him forward. “Don’t think it’s a dead end, I smell outside air. Hop on, buddy—I’ll carry you, and I’ll rip apart anything that dares get near you.”

  Nick and Dawn pointed up in unison, giving Joe the universal signal for ‘we’re climbing that thing.’

  Joe squinted at what they were pointing to—a narrow shaft leading upward, with faint light filtering down from the nesting crater above. It was the shortest route, but it was like volunteering to climb a chimney with a raging fire at the bottom. Even with Rose’s cooling mist, the heat continued to prickle his skin, like the walls were waiting to deep-fry them.

  Rose stepped forward, her expression a mix of determination and ‘don’t mess with me.’ “None of us want to end up crispy climbing up there.” She raised her staff, and with a wave, icy air blasted out, frosting the walls of the vent. The searing heat gave way to sharp, biting cold—a welcome change if there ever was one.

  Ranger Nick showed he had wilderness skills and was already gearing up with what looked like rock climbing equipment. “Let me go first. I’ve got gear to place on the walls, along with ropes for those of you who aren’t natural climbers unlike Luna.”

  No one argued.

  Nick climbed the vent in seconds, the clanging of carabiners and ropes echoing down as he fixed them into cracks just wide enough to hold.

  Dawn followed, her hands and feet finding grip on the slick, icy surface with surprising ease. Joe waited, making sure the rest were moving, before grabbing onto the wall and hauling himself up.

  The climb was pure hell. Even with his Scaler eternal honor, his strength stat was barely over two. The vent was narrow, the frost making it slippery, but the cold was a relief from the sweltering heat below. Joe’s breath came in harsh gasps, his hands numb from the chill, but he kept going, refusing to look down into the abyss that was definitely trying to kill them.

  Another tremor hit, shaking the vent and sending a few more rocks tumbling down. Joe’s heart nearly jumped out of his chest as he clung to the icy wall, praying it wouldn’t be the last quake before everything collapsed. Time was running out—the poison gas would flood the tunnel soon, and anyone still down there would be screwed.

  “Almost there!” Rose’s voice called down, echoing off the frosted walls. Joe could see the light getting brighter, feel the air getting fresher, and it spurred him on.

  With one final heave, Joe pulled himself up over the edge and collapsed onto the rocky ground at the top of the vent. He took a moment to suck in the cool air, letting it soothe his burning lungs.

  But there was no time to enjoy the break. He glanced up, the crater loomed ahead, jagged and broken like the maw of some monstrous beast. And in the center, nestled in a bed of molten rock, stood the Mother of all titans. A massive beast the size of four colossal trucks, her wings peaked above her head as she tucked them close to protect her nest. Scales the color of burnt copper, her tail lashed out, cracking the ground with every swing. With each movement, the glint of enormous eggs flickered beneath her, each one nearly the size of a boulder.

  Joe accessed the information he’d seen in the Titan Hall.

  [Scaldera

  Type: Elemental Titan - Fire/Wind

  Level: 110, Low Silver Mana Rank

  Health Points (HP): 18,993

  Mana Particles (MP): 8,000

  Strength: 79

  Agility: 87

  Intelligence: 62

  Constitution: 130

  Charisma: 34]

  Activating Quick Wit, Joe’s senses sharpened, making him hyper aware of the rocky edge of the crater and the steep drop to the plateau below. The wind buffeted him, forcing him to lean into it, steadying himself as his feet dug into the shifting gravel to keep from falling from the cliff’s edge. The ground seemed alive on the plateau below, but as he zoomed in his focus, he realized it wasn’t the earth moving—it was the mass of ascenders, a couple hundred strong, charging across the battlefield like ants swarming a picnic.

  “Keep an eye on the momma.” Joe motioned to Dawn, his gaze fixed on the scene below. “Something’s going down, and I need to check it out.”

  Dawn gave a sharp nod and signaled the others to move in slowly, keeping their approach low-key. They still had the element of surprise and weren't about to let that go to waste.

  Joe edged closer to the crater, every step making his pulse thud a little louder in his ears. Peering down, he saw the battlefield in all its chaotic glory. Factions were unloading everything they had—ranged attacks, magic missiles, you name it. Each strike lit up the father titan’s azure scales with a bright flash, like fireworks on a dark night, but Joe could tell it was barely making a dent on its health.

  The titan didn’t retaliate right away. Instead, it banked left, pulling off a wide, sweeping circle around the crater. The wind whipped past Joe as the beast picked up speed, the sheer force rocking him back on his heels. Its broad leathery wings flapped once, twice, sending gusts strong enough to ruffle his hair and make his heart skip a beat. For a second, the titan’s enormous eye, dark and unblinking like a moon on the move, sailed past him, gathering speed with each beat of those colossal wings.

  Joe barely had time to catch his breath before the titan unleashed its real fury. It circled back, coming in with a slingshot effect that sent shockwaves through the air. The ground trembled beneath him, and his breath caught in his throat as he watched the Sonic Boom tear through the battlefield like an atomic tornado, ripping apart everything in its path. The destruction was absolute, the sound so loud that even from behind its trajectory rattled his bones.

  The titan didn’t stop there. The beast dipped its head, wings folding inward as to dove into a spectacular display of aerial acrobatics, slicing through the air like a living missile. The wind it generated was like a phantom, sweeping across the plateau and clearing away the dusty haze in an instant, leaving behind a chilling sight—the shattered remains of every single ascender who had dared to stand in its way.

  Notifications flooded Joe’s vision, dozens of them, each one marking the fall of another faction. Ten down in a blink, with more ascenders already streaming in to replace them.

  But then Joe’s eye caught on something else—a lone group holding back at the edge of the plateau, well outside the five mile area of effect. Joe’s chest tightened as his gaze landed on Andras, his dark emo hair unmistakable. The bastard was keeping his distance, letting others take the brunt of the attack while he waited for the health points to drop. Cannon fodder, that’s all they were to him, softening up the titan so he could swoop in and claim the kill when it was weak enough.

  The mother titan roared, the sound shaking the very ground they stood on. Cracks spread like spider webs across the crater’s surface as her murderous gaze fell upon Joe and his crew.