[Titan Slayers in alliance with Blanche Brigade faction have engaged Second Floor Titan, Scaldera, in battle. All other ascenders in the vicinity awaiting their turn, please standby. May the god of all titans have mercy on their souls.]

  “Spread out!” TJ shouted, already moving to flank the beast. “We need to distract her, keep her focused on us!”

  Dawn stood there, staring at Scaldera. Her grip tightened on her weapon, like she was trying to hold onto something that was slipping away. “We don’t have to kill her,” she said, voice shaking. It was like she was fighting with herself, the compassion in her tone battling the logic in her mind. “She’s just defending her nest.”

  TJ didn’t even break stride, his words coming out like a slap. “It’s us or them. You want to die or get stuck here being all noble? Be my guest.”

  Dawn looked like she wanted to argue, but the words stuck in her throat. She bit her lip, eyes locked on the titan, torn between what felt right and what had to be done. Her shoulders slumped—she knew TJ was right but seemed to be unable to say it.

  Nick caught her eye, giving her a quick, understanding look. One of those silent exchanges that said everything without a word.

  Scaldera had no interest in their moral debate. Her tail lashed out at Rose, forcing her to instantly react.

  Rose positioned herself at the center, with an ominous glow she summoned every ounce of power she had in reserve. Joe could see the strain in her eyes, but there was no hesitation as she slammed the staff down with all of her force combined.

  The thorns on her staff tore into Scaldera's flesh, ripping through the scales with a sound that made Joe’s stomach churn. It wasn’t simply the crunch of bone and scale—it was the realization that they were playing right into the Lich's twisted game. The Lich had set this up, putting these titans here to force them into slaughtering a mother trying to protect her young. It was a sick joke, and they were the punchline.

  [Scaldera HP: 16,553]

  The mother titan howled in pain, her wings flaring out as she reared back, blood pouring from the wounds Rose had inflicted. The sight of that crimson staining the rocky ground was like a gut punch to Joe. He hated this—hated that they had no choice but to kill her if they wanted to survive.

  And then the real nightmare began.

  With an agonized shriek, Scaldera spread her wings wide in a protective stance and unleashed a dazzling flare of light. Joe threw his arms up, but the light scorched through his eyelids, burning white-hot into his vision. Spots danced in the darkness as his eyes throbbed as if he’d stared at the sun for too long.

  “Damn it! I can’t see!” Joe shouted, blinking rapidly to clear his vision, but it was no use. Everything he glanced at blurred into shadows and burn spots.

  [Lightstrike. Your vision has been impaired. Three minute debuff.]

  “We need to take her down before she does that again!” Dawn yelled, though Joe could barely catch a glimpse of her location.

  Sensing their disorientation, Scaldera struck with ferocity. Her beak snapped at the air with deadly precision, and her talons slashed through the ground, sending shockwaves that reverberated through Joe’s bones.

  “This is some nursery from hell.” Joe struggled to stay focused as his senses screamed in overload. “Ryan! I don’t know if these titans can respawn, but if we all go down, we won’t get another shot. Someone else will swoop in for the kill and loot!”

  Ryan’s party was already in motion, every move sharp and calculated. “Understood!” Ryan shouted back, his voice firm. “We need to finish this now— If other alliances can join in, whoever lands the final blow gets the biggest reward, but we all get crystal loot!”

  Joe gritted his teeth and pushed forward, even though Scaldera’s blinding light had nearly wiped out his vision. His heart kicked up a notch as the reality hit him—Andras had numbers on his side. Once the elf took down the male titan protecting Scaldera, he’d have his factions scrambling up the volcano to take out Scaldera. Joe couldn’t let that happen.

  “Stay focused!” Joe heard Rose call out, though her voice sounded distant, distorted. “We need to adapt—compensate for what we’ve lost.”

  Panic gnawed at the edges of his mind as his world blurred and narrowed. Not willing to give in Joe fumbled for the small metal tin Brian had given him earlier. He popped it open and grabbed one of the pellets inside. Rough between his fingers, but as he bit down, the surprisingly mild flavor brought instant relief, cooling his throat and calming his nerves. Gradually, his vision cleared, the haze lifting enough to make out shapes and movement. He still had two minutes left on his debuff.

  With Quick Wit activated, Joe still sensed the vibrations of the titans' movements. He reached out, feeling for the rough texture of the rocks around him, using touch to guide himself forward.

  “Rose, can you counter the flare attack?” Dawn’s voice was strained as she tracked the beast’s movements.

  “Thorn strikes are useless now. It’ll have to be wide and ranged until I can see better.” Rose summoned her water whip with a flick of her wrist. The whip crackled through the air, lashing out at Scaldera’s face. Water slashed across the titan’s scales, hissing as it met the heat of her body, but the impact was more annoying than damaging, barely making Scaldera flinch.

  Ryan came into view on the far side toting dual pistols trained on her as she leaned to the side to defend her brood. He fired off a quick volley, each shot dead-on, but Scaldera’s hide was too tough—the elemental bullets bounced off her scales, sparking brilliant blue before fizzling out.

  Joe activated Shadow Step and charged forward. Scaldera’s talons came down hard, missing him by inches as he ducked and rolled to the side. Even with his blurred vision he could see enough to aim his strike. With a roar, he drove his butterfly knife into the titan’s exposed flank, feeling the resistance as his blade met flesh.

  “Aim for the eye!” Joe shouted, his voice cutting through the din, his vision nearly returned.

  Ryan quickly adjusted his aim, focusing on Scaldera’s massive, glowing eyes. He squeezed the triggers, sending two shots straight into the beast’s left eye. The bullets hit their mark, piercing the soft tissue. Scaldera screeched, rearing back in pain as her vision clouded with blood. She thrashed, blinded in one eye by the attack.

  [Scaldera HP: 14,426]

  With the lightstrike debuff gone, Joe saw Brian respawn and raise his crossbow from the distance. A bolt whizzed past Joe toward Scaldera’s good eye, but the enraged titan swatted it away like an annoying fly. Orange dust burst from the bolt as it slammed against the volcanic rock.

  Lunging, Scaldera speared him with her beak, plucking his stomach apart. Brian’s body faded away.

  TJ, seizing the opportunity, leapt towards her and hacked at her legs. “Taste of your own medicine.” His strikes were more powerful than Joe’s allowing his machete to slice through the thick skin, blood sprayed like a fountain this time.

  Some fat drops splashed poor Grizzle darting around Scaldera’s feet, launching rainbow-colored haze grenades. The grenades exploded in bursts of colorful smoke, meant to disorient and distract. But against a titan like Scaldera, they were little more than a flashy display, their effectiveness almost nonexistent. Still, Grizzle kept at it, his small form dodging and weaving between Scaldera’s thrashing limbs.

  Luna clung to Scaldera’s tail, gripping it like a rodeo rider on a bucking bull as the titan thrashed.

  Seeing the danger, Gaia shouted, “Binding Chains!” as she cast a spell to hold the tail in place. For a brief moment, glowing chains wrapped around Scaldera’s tail, giving Luna a chance to steady herself.

  “Hold on, Luna!” Gaia called out, but the spell was short-lived. The massive difference in power between Gaia and the titan became apparent as the chains quickly shattered. Scaldera’s tail whipped back, and Luna flung off, hitting the ground with a hard thud.

  Luna bounced back to her feet, a bit clumsy but grinning like she hadn’t just been flung across the battlefield. “I’m fine! Let’s try that again!” she seemed to cheer, already eyeing Scaldera’s tail for another round.

  Gaia shook her head, exasperated. “It’s your funeral. She’ll mash you into kobold paste and spread you on toast. I can’t use my spell again—the cooldown time is a bitch.”

  “Like you,” TJ said with teeth bared as he hacked another chunk out of Scaldera’s leg. Ryan rounded the titan his pistols glowing and unloaded a barrage of bullets at her one good eye. Her wing shot up and fanned out protecting her head. The bullets ricochet forcing Ryan to leap out of the way.

  Nick respawned next to Joe, using some Crocodile Dundee trick with his hand to calm and misdirect Scaldera. As soon as her gaze shifted away from them, Nick gripped his handaxe. Activating Shadow Step, Joe moved in unison with Nick, their blades striking the titan’s flank again.

  “We need a combined attack.” Joe yelled and his pals, knowing the score, moved into position. He called over to Ryan and Gaia. “When we're done, there should be stacking damage so unleash hell on her before she recovers.”

  Rose snapped her water whip, the crack of it landing right where Scaldera’s scales were weakest. Joe saw his chance and rushed in, his butterfly knife slicing through the opening Rose had created. TJ wasn’t far behind, swinging his machete and tearing into the exposed flesh. A Dual Strike faction notification flashed, the titan’s HP dropping by twenty percent.

  Dawn made a consecutive strike from the opposite side, her steel blade flashing in the dim light. If their faction boon hadn’t still been on cool down, they’d have made greater damage.

  [Scaldera HP: 8,740]

  Scaldera violently thrashed, her wings beating the air in a desperate attempt to fend them off, but their two factions kept slamming her with coordinated strikes. Each hit stacked up the damage, forcing Scaldera to stagger back, her defenses crumbling. That’s when Gaia stepped up, chanting something under her breath. The ground rumbled, and suddenly, jagged stone spikes shot up from the earth, slamming into Scaldera’s side, right where they’d softened her up.

  The sheer size of the earth spikes drained Gaia’s mana rapidly, nearly exhausting her as they tore into Scaldera’s side. The titan’s HP dropped rapidly. With a pained roar she swayed side to side before keeling over, wings limp.

  Ryan approached, his steps slow and reluctant, guns raised but with a pained look on his face. He raised a single pistol, aiming it right at Scaldera’s eye. “May you find peace,” he said in a soft tone, the weight of the moment heavy in his voice. He pulled the trigger, and the earth-and-wind-infused shot pierced straight through her eye.

  Scaldera let out one final, heart-wrenching cry, drowned by the roar of the male titan’s sonic booms echoing in response.

  As the smoke curled from the barrel, Ryan’s shoulders slumped, the adrenaline of the fight draining from him. He stood there, watching until her massive form finally went still.

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  [Congratulations! Floor Two Titan Scaldera has been defeated. Floor three remains locked until Tremorion has been defeated.]

  Joe stood there, breathing heavily, his heart pounding. Around him, the others were silent, weapons lowered as the reality of what they’d just done sank in.

  They’d won, but the victory felt hollow. The Lich had forced them into this twisted game, making them kill a mother defending her young, and Joe couldn’t shake the feeling that they’d lost something important.

  “Guilt and regret are for the weak,” the blue flame inside Joe whispered, heating his chest. “You did what needed to be done. Remember her lifeless form, and let it fuel your vengeance. The time will come.”

  “The Lich designed this hellhole, and we’ve still got two titans to deal with,” Joe said, trying to shake off the voice.

  Nick knelt beside the nest and carefully pushed back one of the Mother Titan's wings. Beneath it lay the cluster of eggs. They pulsed faintly with a soft, internal glow, a reminder of the life that could have been.

  “Anyone fancy an omelet?” TJ asked, breaking the heavy silence. He nudged one egg with his boot. “Or do you prefer them fried, sunny side up?”

  Dawn scowled.

  “What? Too soon.” TJ shrugged. “Just trying to lighten the mood. You think I enjoyed that? Besides, I can tell the one I kicked is a slug, a non-fertilized egg. The rest, though, we should save. Maybe they can be hand-reared.”

  “Or sold on the black market.” Brian patted the top of an egg. “Whatever the equivalent is here, I’m sure someone will be interested in buying them.”

  Ryan nodded. “We have a duty not to sell them to the likes of Andras or anyone working on his behalf. I’ve got a large enough inventory to store them for now.”

  Grizzle looked at Brian, his eyes gleaming with excitement. “Who knows what kind of alchemy or crafting we can get from that slug egg, not to mention the loot from the mother.” He pointed to something that looked like a stack of rainbow-colored dragon scales and crystals.

  Before they could finish discussing the details, a rumble shook the ground beneath them, followed by a deafening sonic boom that left Joe’s ears ringing again.

  [Congratulations! Floor Two Titan Tremorion has been defeated. Floor Three is unlocked for all ascenders. Proceed with caution to your designated zones.]

  Joe looked down across the plateau to see Andras and his team standing victorious over the massive corpse.

  “Andras did it.” Joe crossed his arms. He watched as Andras stood in the background, calm and calculating, like a general orchestrating a battle from afar. The members of his faction moved with military precision, gathering loot while Andras’s music played softly in the background, a haunting melody that seemed to control the very wind around them.

  Andras’ hair still seemed pristine and not a smudge of blood or sweat poured from his fingers. Joe’s shoulders and chest tightened. Sure enough, the dark elf never directly engaged in the fight. He let his less-experienced members serve as cannon fodder to test Tremorion’s strength and weaknesses. All the while, Andras didn’t even blink as his party fell.

  “He uses them like pawns,” Joe said, disgust creeping into his voice. “He’s got five active members, but the rest? Just waiting to be sacrificed.”

  Ryan, standing beside him, nodded. “If an active member dies or respawns, a non-active member takes their place. It’s a brutal system, but it works.”

  “What happens now?” Dawn asked, her voice edged with concern as she followed Joe’s gaze.

  Rocks skittered over the edge of the cliff, dislodged by TJ as he stepped up beside her and stowed his weapon with a practiced motion. “We take what’s ours and move to the next floor. Forget those losers down there—they’ll be old news by the time we’re taking down the next titan.”

  “Not if Andras has his way.” Dawn placed a hand on her hip, staring at Andras coordinating his faction. “He’ll be shouting from the rooftops about how he single-handedly took down a titan and how we couldn’t have done squat without his so-called help.”

  A pit of dread formed in Joe’s stomach, twisting tighter with each word. Damn, she was probably right. As soon as they got back to the Orange Zone, he’d need to check in with Lucky—figure out a way to contact him between zones.

  After collecting all the loot, they took advantage of Nick’s climbing expertise and gear to scale down the cliff to the plateau below. The descent was tricky, the wind swirling around them like a playful but dangerous ghost, threatening to yank them off the cliffside. Joe’s grip on the rope tightened until his knuckles turned white, the only thing keeping him grounded was Andras’ flute echoing from below. In that moment, he couldn’t be more than thankful for the ringing in his ears.

  Once they reached the bottom, Andras’s music had been replaced with god awful gloating.

  “There they are, the Titan Slayers, themselves.” Andras pointed the end of his flute at Joe. “I’m not going to let you take my faction’s loot too, you thieves.”

  Joe took a swig of the mana potion, Brian had handed out to the party. “What’s yours is yours, and the system knows that. No one can steal the time crystals from the faction or alliance that defeated the titan.”

  Andras’ eyes narrowed. “Don’t believe Joe’s lies. Johnny boy, here,” Andras tugged on a ratfolk’s red hood, pulling him up from collecting loot. “He’s done the math.”

  Johnny’s furry, gray ears twitched as he gave a quick nod.

  Andras patted his back, adjusting the ratfolk’s hoodie. “With their stats, there’s no way of winning two titan battles in a row.” He turned toward the few factions that remained, accepting the time crystals from Andras’ faction members. “The Titan Slayers have to be bribing somebody to win. They’re not playing fair. I bet Joe has it in with the Lich Master.”

  Rose cupped her hands around her mouth. “Rumors!”

  A screen emerged from the cliff’s wall, along with an ancient, rattling cough. “Ahem, thanks, Poppy.” The lich appeared, his lipless smile unnerved Joe to his very core.

  “And so it should.” The blue flame flickered to life in Joe’s chest.

  With the distraction, Brian inched closer to the fallen titan, Tremorion and uncapped an empty bottle. “Loot or not, no one else is going to collect these tears.”

  Andras bowed toward the screen. “And so he arrives, the Lich Master summoned from Joe like a loyal pet coming to heel.”

  “Watch your mouth bard!” Steepling his fingers, the lich’s hollow eyes locked onto Andras. “There’s no evidence of foul play in my tower.”

  Andras' back turned from the lich, and he spoke to his members in a low voice. “See what I mean.” Joe shook his head as a smile crept across Andras’ face, and he put his flute to his lips. A simple melodic tune filtered through the air.

  “That’s better, Ascender 245.” The lich leaned back, chuckling. “Be of good use and let the merriment of your chosen bard class entertain the masses.”

  Joe rubbed the back of his neck. Despite all the time crystals Andras had been collecting from Lucky’s scavenger trait, he’d yet to use any of them for himself. Joe glanced around at the sea of red hoodies plucking time crystals embedded into the volcanic rock.

  Why would he hoard time?

  The blue flame pressed against his chest, pulsing heat waves as he whispered an answer he’d not requested. “He’s smarter than you, chump.”

  “Yeah!” TJ yelled, wiggling a finger in his ear as he looked at Andras. “But get better at playing.”

  Ignoring TJ’s outburst, Andras continued but bounded forward with a quick tap of his foot at one of his own faction members. Dressed in orange unlike the others, the faction member raised a closed fist at the lich’s screen. “You’re the one who put us in this tower of hell.”

  “Now, now. Don’t get too hasty in your accusations.” The lich’s bony finger clinked against the glass screen like he was about to make a toast. “You wanted to die.”

  The changeling Joe had eavesdropped on from earlier in the common room stepped forward. “Lich’s have phylactery’s for their soul. We need to find it—”

  “And take our power back!” His kobold friend with punk-styled spiky hair finished the sentence.

  Joe’s chest burned as the flame seemed to somersault. “This is where things get really interesting.”

  Joe placed a hand on Brian’s shoulder. “This is getting sketchy. I’ve a bad feeling about this.”

  “Go ahead and head back.” Brian glanced at Joe. “You’ve been outed as the leader of the Titan Slayers, I’d hate to see a riot break out, targeting you because they can’t reach the lich.”

  “I don’t want you here by yourself.” Joe twisted a cord on his hoodie, and looked at the scowl plastered on Dawn’s face. “I know how much you love Andras, stay with Brian to make sure that elf doesn’t try to steal Brian’s loot.”

  “Not a problem.” Dawn smirked. I’ll see you back in the Orange Zone after I knock that emo elf flat on his back. No fight taxes out here.”

  Joe nodded. “TJ and Rose, you’re with me. I think it’s time we initiate our own battlebox challenge.”

  ***

  The trek back to the common room entrance was a mix of adrenaline and exhaustion between TJ, Rose, and the Blanche Brigade chatting about the second floor titan battle.

  Joe distracted himself by checking the list of factions with public settings. His eyes narrowed as he quickly scanned the names of those who had died going up against Tremorion. A bit more digging, and it hit him—they all had a Known status with Andras’ faction. As he kept scrolling, their statuses blinked from Known to Hostile. If Joe had to bet money, they were already in an alliance with Andras and whatever he’d been telling them gave them strong opinions against the Titan Slayers. Talking to Lucky would confirm his suspicions.

  After parting ways with Ryan and his faction, they entered the Orange Zone. TJ was in high spirits, practically buzzing that they’d all increased their ascender rank, edging closer to join the Blanche Brigade in the Green Zone.

  Scanning the Titan Slayers’ ascender numbers, TJ’d been right. Once Brian added his time crystal loot, he’d match TJ at 95. Joe jolted from his thoughts as a familiar voice called out.

  “Hey, guys! Well done out there,” Lucky said, his tone wavering. “I couldn’t watch—it’s too distressing. But Andras said you were a necessary evil, that only certain…psychopathic minds could kill a vulnerable, defenseless mother simply trying to protect her young.”

  Joe winced at the accusation, but TJ cut in before he could respond. “It’s not like we had a choice, Lucky. Andras killed the Father and let tons of ascenders lose years in respawn tokens. I’ve said it before—you need to wake up and smell the roses, ‘cause they’re as rotten as your boss.”

  Lucky’s lower lip quivered. “I hate all this killing and violence. Each titan ecosystem created here should be explored—to better understand, not destroyed for entertainment.”

  TJ frowned, the pop of pressure from his drink lid made Lucky jump. “Yeah, well, the Lich is like an armchair big-game hunter—gets the thrill of the kill with the odds stacked in his favor.”

  “Andras isn’t much different,” Joe added, crossing his arms. “Except, he barely had to lift a finger to end that majestic beast’s life. He convinced all those other factions to weaken the titan for him. And now, he’s going to put a positive spin on that?”

  “He’s a coward and a liar,” TJ snapped, not even trying to hide the disgust in his voice.

  “He’s already sending out alliance notifications to those factions that are close to being wiped out.” Joe shook his head. “Looks like there’s plenty more in the Red Zone for him to exploit.”

  Rose pulled her hair down from a bun, the blond locks softening her face even more. “How is he convincing them to risk so much when they’ve got so little time left? It makes no sense that they’d go out there just to die so Andras can claim the kill.”

  “I didn’t like it either.” Lucky’s whiskers twitched. “I told Andras that. He reassured me and those heading out that he had their best interests at heart, that their respawn tokens were safe with him. The first groups he sent out were to gather information. Once they realized the time was too short to take down the titan given its high levels of health and mana, Andras started requesting volunteers to ‘take one for the team.’”

  “Would the Merry Miners be one of those factions?” Joe asked, his voice laced with suspicion.

  Lucky tapped his chin, highlighting the few gray hairs Joe hadn’t noticed earlier. “Why yes, I think so.”

  Joe ran through the list of factions that had died, and it was no surprise—they were all on Friendly terms with Andras. Lucky confirmed this by checking his alliance status screen.

  “That’s all well and good,” Rose interjected, “but you can’t reverse aging with respawn tokens. Some of those guys have less than twenty turns left.”

  “Oh, he promised he knew a way to get extra years beyond the life expectancy of their respawn tokens,” Lucky said, his voice tinged with hope as he bounced on the balls of his feet. “They only need to prove their loyalty by doing a few favors first.”

  “A few favors,” Rose echoed, shaking her head. “That’s really vague, Lucky. Can you be more specific?”

  “I’m afraid I can’t.” Lucky backed away a step. “It’s a case-by-case basis, and I only know the basics. It’s…client confidentiality between Andras and each ascender.” He looked at Joe with an uneasy expression, like he was speaking from experience.

  “Don’t trust him.” Rose rolled her eyes. “This is too much drama right now, I’m going to the washroom.”

  Joe's eyes narrowed on Lucky. “Did you give him your respawn token?”

  TJ stopped drinking, his face hardening. “For fuck’s sake, Lucky, he’s using you. You’ll never get that back.” His fist clenched, the muscles in his arms twitching. “Just say the word, and I’ll take it off him as soon as I see that thieving bastard.”

  Lucky waved his hands in a panicked motion. “No, no, TJ, please don’t. I’m in his debt. It’s not that I can’t fight—I won’t fight. Andras was the first person to offer me a place where I’d be safe and still useful.”

  “What about us? We offered too,” TJ said, his voice cracking with something that sounded a lot like betrayal.

  “I’m sorry.” Lucky backed away further, looking like a cornered animal. “I better go. There’s much to be done, and I was supposed to hand these out in all zones.”

  “Oh, what’s this?” Looking refreshed, Rose returned from the washroom and snatched one of the leaflets from Lucky’s hand. Her face paled as she read it in silence.

  Lucky scampered off, eager to escape the tense atmosphere. Joe’s eyes snapped back to Rose. “What is it?”

  “Joe… I think you better read this…”