I launch a Fireball at a Demon that charges at me, it explodes before it can land a single attack. It seems my theory was correct, spells can be effectively overcharged if you push enough mana into them while keeping them smaller.

  Moxie sounded astounded when I proposed the idea, saying it went against all the principles of modern mana theory.

  But I think the demon that just died would agree. Well, if it wasn't reduced to a pool of blood and ash.

  Unfortunately, battle is a place for testing, not for figuring out what the test results mean. So I end up bouncing around from monster to monster, testing different amounts of mana. Though more than a few meet my blade as well, and I get more than a few bruises for my efforts.

  We have spent the past two days making our way to the site of the third praetorian. It was on the complete opposite side of the Queen’s rift, so we had to go around. Though we have also managed to destroy all the hatcheries along the way, so that objective is done.

  The location of the third praetorian is in some form of barracks that must have housed the soldiers that operated this facility.

  “This place is creepy.” Liv says as we walk into the front doors. There is stuff scattered all over the floor, mugs, clothes and even a few plasma rifles.

  “Everyone must have left in quite a hurry, either to fight the monsters or desert.” Stephen says, assessing the situation.

  “Ha, well good thing we are all here and brave enough to charge right back in!” I say, causing everyone to let out a strained laugh.

  “I think you mean you all are bloody fools.” Violet quips back.

  My vision flashes red as my Trace Clues skill activates. I Blink to the side just as a blade nearly relieves the burden of my body from my head.

  Then, as if nothing happened, the blade disappears into the shadows of the corridor. “Fuck, it has stealth.” I proclaim.

  “Thanks captain obviously, we really needed that observation.” Liv says, activating her taunt in attempts to draw out the monster. The rest of us assume battle positions, Violet and I form a circle with Liv and Stephen and Moxie take the center.

  I pay close attention, making full use of my Trace Clues skill. It has come quite in handy, if only indirectly. It may not help me deal damage, but knowing where the enemy is is at least half the battle.

  I see a glimmer in the air, and a shard of aetherium flies right towards Moxie. I conjure a plate of stone and manage to deflect it just in the nick of time. In my distraction, I feel a sharp stabbing sensation pierce my side.

  I Blink away, the hole in my armor healing, though that does nothing to stop the gaping hole that is in my actual flesh. Luckily Moxie is immediately ready and starts to heal me up nice and good.

  Which is good, because the mysterious enemy appears from a shadow and charges right towards me. It is very thin and tall, without much armor. It has long claws that look very eager to dig into some nice and juicy human flesh. The system identifies it as a [Demon Assassin Lvl 200 180 (Praetorian)].

  I dodge its claws, just as Violet comes in behind it, stabbing right at its torso.

  Her blade sinks in deeply, and the monster lets out a blood curdling screech and flails around and manages to dislodge the blade. It then disappears right into a nearby shadow.

  A screeching sound comes from my left and I turn to see the demon clinging onto Liv’s shield and trying to claw its way towards her. The demon seems to fast for Liv’s counter skill to hit.

  Stephen picks up a random socket wrench from the floor and throws it at the demon, only for it to harmlessly clink off the armor. “Damn.”

  I Blink next to the monster and stab it deeply in the side, adding a bit of fire for good measure. As it tries to run away I throw some mud and manage to stick one of its legs to the ground.

  It turns its head and I get a face full of teeth as it tries to bite my head off. I weave a few runes together and throw a combination of darkness and ice at it, freezing its mouth shut and blinding the creature.

  To my great horror, it then reaches down and slices off its own leg, and then dives into a shadow again.

  The hallway goes silent as it appears the monster ran away.

  “What the fuck was that?” Liv shouts the moment it seems to be gone.

  I sigh. “Great, now we have to chase a monster that can move faster than us and travel via shadow. Also, since when do they run away?”

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  Violet appears next to me and bends down to inspect the spot where it disappeared. “Our ever idiotic scout should get scouting then.” She turns and smiles at me.

  “Well then, if that is what you wish, it shall be done!”

  I rush off down the hallway. I presume the assassin’s ability to use the shadows is similar to my Blink. Thereby it likely can’t go very far, and cannot remain submerged in the shadows.

  Thus, the best way to find it is to simply run around and wait for it to attack me. A truly brilliant strategy that has won me more than a few competitions in the past. After all, a singular weak target that looks very appetizing is very hard to resist. Especially when one is injured and needs resources to recover.

  Unfortunately, those resources happen to be me in this case. Oh well, with Violet’s confidence in me, I can do practically anything at the moment.

  I run down the corridor, the others trailing a bit behind me. After several turns I run into a large open room, a mess hall it seems. I barely dodge as the assassin jumps from beneath one of the tables at me, its claws bared. Unfortunately, it seems its leg is fully healed again, monster regeneration is simply not fair.

  I Blink to the side and throw Mudball at the demon, but it recognizes the spell and dodges it again. Without wasting any time, it lunges right for me, going right for my throat.

  The monster is fast, but I am just a little bit faster.

  I duck and drag my blade along its chest as it goes flying past me, its armor poses absolutely no resistance. Heck, I bet my fist could break it.

  The demon lets out a scream and lands on the wall, diving into the shadow and then jumping out from the ceiling instantly.

  A crack sounds as Stephen fires, and the demon gets hit midair and goes flying with the momentum from the bullet. But, he missed the core. Which is fair enough, even hitting the damn thing must’ve been near impossible.

  I glance over at Stephen and he flashes me a smile as Violet leaps over him towards the demon.

  I move in and fire a few Mudballs, pinning the demon to the floor and allowing Violet to get a nice hit, shattering its core in a single blow and we both get covered in monster blood.

  “Well that was a nightmare.” I collapse onto one of the nearby benches. “But now all we have left is the queen.”

  Moxie sits next to me and looks at me, as if trying to find where I am hiding injuries. I pat her on the head and reassure her I am completely fine, but she just gives me a skeptical look.

  “Look what I found!” Liv presents a strange yellow creature. It seems to be made out of some sort of hydrocarbon polymer. It has an orange blob that seems like a beak and two black dots for eyes.

  “What is that bizarre thing?” I have never seen such a strange thing before.

  Violet bursts out into a fit of laughter. “It is a rubber duck, you idiot.”

  “What is this ‘rubber duck'?” I ask with a befuddled expression. “Is it some ancient religious idol?”

  Violet sighs. “It is just a plain toy, who knows why someone thought it valuable enough to escape with.”

  Moxie takes the duck from Liv and inspects it. “Why called rubber duck when made of plastic?”

  None of us can give her an answer. Ancient people sure were strange, I wonder what other wacky names they gave to things. I can imagine them calling the luminal speed constant the ‘speed of light’ or something ridiculous. They seem like a people that would oversimplify things like that.

  Stephen hands out rations. “Who knows, the ancient people sure loved to weave complicated stories and ways of understanding things. I once read a story that said they actually thought planets were orbited by stars. Truly insane.”

  “Was that not a product of information control though?” Violet asks, “Once they broke the idea, they almost immediately ascended into the stars. Though it is strange to think that we are descended from them.”

  I watch Violet as she absolutely nerds out, and she is super cute. The lightning makes her look hotter than normal for some reason. There might be a scientific explanation, but for now I shall simply chalk it up to Violet being pretty enough to defy the rules of reality.

  A hand waves in front of my face, snapping me back to awareness.

  “Maka, are you still alive in there?” Liv asks, looking ready to poke me back to life if necessary.

  “I am perfectly fine. Just thinking about some important things.” I look at Violet and she glances at me, and then immediately turns away from me.

  We end up deciding to rest for several hours before heading back out. After all, it is important to be well rested, being sleepy is very likely to get us killed.

  Once we finally set out for the Queen’s rift, we are beset by a literal horde of monsters. They don’t seem to stop coming no matter how many we kill. It's absurd, and none of us know where they are coming from.

  We spend three days traversing through the hive, slaying monsters almost constantly. But finally, we come upon a large arch of black aetherium. In the center lies the ominous Queen’s rift.

  The rift is in the center of a large open space, flattened buildings lay all around us. And sitting right next to the rift is the source of the horde of monsters.

  It is basically a massive cluster of monster eggs, constantly being replenished as monsters drag eggs out of the rift and throw them onto the pile haphazardly. Guess since they have no hatcheries, that was the best solution they could come up with. It is quite a disgusting sight.

  But, that isn't really a new thing for us anymore. All that stands between us and the rift is a thousand or so monsters, they seem really mad at us for some reason. I take a look at my squadmates, and everyone looks determined, ready to do what we do best.

  So without any hesitation, we jump right in and start slaying monsters.

  [Scout has leveled up! Lvl 170 -> Lvl 176]

  [Mage has leveled up! Lvl 166 -> Lvl 178]

  [Average Level is now 177]

  [Lemon has leveled up! Lvl 150 -> Lvl 158]

  [Stealth has leveled up! Lvl 22 -> Lvl 24]

  [Magic Fundamentals has leveled up! Lvl 24 -> Lvl 25 (capped)]

  [Spell Book has leveled up! Lvl 18 -> Lvl 25]

  [Trace Clues has leveled up! Lvl 15 -> Lvl 17]

  Next Chapter: Enter The Tower

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