[You have defeated Berserker – Lvl 19!]

Ex’s voice rang in Trace Taylor’s head along with the gunshot reverberating throughout the room. For a moment, she couldn’t hear anything else. Her vision blurred. Her hands shook. Her breathing hastened. Then silence.

Peace.

She’d already made peace with her decision. An eerie calm overcame her. A quietus. Her breathing steadied and mellowed out as her senses came flooding back to her. A hand tried to steady her. Then a voice— a familiar voice. Her best friend’s. Elizabeth Evergreen.

And Trace lowered her pistol.

“Trace— Trace, are you alright?” Liz asked, standing before her with a worried look.

The redhead blinked. She looked at Adair Russell as he steadied her. Just like Liz, he wore a concerned face, although he didn’t say anything.

“I’m fine, guys.” Trace smiled, gently brushing Adair off. “My AI swamped me with a bunch of notifications now that the fighting is over, so I was in a bit of a daze.”

Liz pursed her lips. “Are you sure? Because you kinda, like… executed a man.” She gestured at Janus’ crumpled corpse. “You know, maintain a good mental health is a very—”

Trace rolled her eyes. “I know, I know. I’m fine. I killed a man. With how often I shot at people since… all of this, I knew it’d happen eventually. So, don’t worry too much about me.” She looked over at the door at the end of the hallway. “Anyways, we have other things we need to do.”

“What’s over there, anyways?” Samuel Diaz asked, blinking.

“Erm…” she exchanged a look with her best friend. “It’s a lot to deal with.”

* * *

There were, alas, a lot of notifications to sift through.

[(F+) Magically Enhanced Accuracy has reached level 17!

(F+) Magically Enhanced Accuracy has reached level 18!

(F+) Magically Enhanced Accuracy has reached level 19!

(E-) Quick Fire has reached level 11!

(E-) Quick Fire has reached level 12!

(E-) Quick Fire has reached level 13!

(E) Recall Weapon has reached level 9!

(E) Recall Weapon has reached level 10!

(E+) Vulnerability Vision has reached level 13!

(E+) Vulnerability Vision has reached level 14!

(E+) Last in the Chamber has reached level 10!

(D-) Mystic Bullets has reached level 11!

(D-) Mystic Bullets has reached level 12!

Adept Spellshot has reached level 20!

Adept Spellshot has reached level 21!

Adept Spellshot has reached level 22!]

Name: Trace Taylor

Race: Human (Earth A314)

Class: Adept Spellshot – Lvl 22

Vocation: Augur Architect – Lvl 11

Craft: Tinker – Lvl 4

Traits:

Strength: D-

Magic: D+

Endurance: E+

Vitality: E+

Dexterity: D

Skills:

Class Skills:

(F+) Magically Enhanced Accuracy – Lvl 19

(E-) Quick Fire – Lvl 13

(E) Recall Weapon – Lvl 10

(E+) Vulnerability Vision – Lvl 14

(E+) Last in the Chamber – Lvl 10

(D-) Mystic Bullets – Lvl 12

Vocation Skills:

(F) Hasty Design – Lvl 4

(E-) Magically Makeshift Materials – Lvl 3

(E) Silent Construction – Lvl 2

(E+) Restoration and Creation – Lvl 3

(D-) Architect’s Hand – Lvl 3

Craft Skills:

(F-) Tinker’s Mind – Lvl 5

(F+) Upgraded Schematics – Lvl 1

(E-) Immersed Perception – Lvl 4

She’d gotten into many fights since this mission began, so as expected, she levelled up a tonne. Janus was her only proper kill, though, while everyone else was left injured and alive. One of her Skills, Magically Enhanced Accuracy, was getting close to level 20. Trace wasn’t sure what the max level for each Skill was after her class evolution, but it exceeded level 10 like it was prior to it.

Perhaps her Skills would max out at level 20, this time. Or maybe level 30. Or maybe each Skill had a different level cap. She didn’t know. She would think about it later. For now, her attention was drawn to something else.

Freeing the women.

Honestly, the redhead didn’t consider the logistics behind saving the kidnapped women when she decided to do this. And, well, the logistics was a pain in the ass. Or a pain in the arse. Or it was both— it was a pain in the arse and a pain in the ass. Because that was show much of a pain it was.

There were a lot of women trapped in a long room, all chained to posts and wearing the bare minimum of clothing. At first, when Trace said that they were free, they were dubious. However, once she went down the line along with Liz, Sam, and Adair, releasing them from their bindings, they were beyond grateful.

Many of the women broke down crying at Trace’s feet, thanking her profusely. It pained the redhead. It really did. To see their suffering and pain. But she was glad that she could be the one help them escape.

“Thank you… thank you so much…” an older woman— perhaps in her mid-thirties— spoke in behalf of them. She was a level 9 Spellcaster. The highest-levelled woman in the room, besides Trace and Liz. Her head hung low as she spoke gratefully. “You are truly amazing people.”

“O-oh, it’s, erm…” Trace didn’t know what to say.

Sam, however, had a few words to… wel,, preach. “It’s no problem at all!” He gave them a cheery thumbs-up. “We, at the Precursors of Peace, are more than happy to help those in need. That is our mantra, actually. To protect the weak!”

The redhead glared at him from the side, but she didn’t make a fuss about it. The women needed reassuring words right now. They also needed a semblance of normalcy. Someone to help them feel like their nightmare would finally end.

Personally, Trace thought it was tactless to advocate for the Precursors of Peace here. But it seemed to be working. They asked Sam questions— they were given hope that they have a place to return to that was safe now that it was all over. Although, these women would be a bit puzzled when they found themselves at the commune rather than at the Precursors’ headquarters.

The next step now was to actually get them out. Until they had left the Onyx Lair ,they were still, in a sense, captives. Trace had been worried that they’d need to fight their way out. That fear almost came true when they exited the room with the women, only to find nearly twenty men waiting just outside with weapons.

However, the instant they saw Trace and Liz standing next to Janus’ corpse, they dropped their weapons. Throwing their hands in the air, they shouted ,”We surrender!”

“That… was easier than I thought.”

None of the remaining Onyx Lair Crew members put up a fight when they encountered Trace’s group. They either ran or surrendered on the spot. Especially when they heard that Janus was dead. Now, the logistics grew a lot more fuck-y.

Here was Trace, Liz, Sam, and Adair escorting a hundred women and dozens of gang members out of the Dungeon. The group had to spread out wide to ensure that all ends were covered. To be honest, the redhead felt pretty fucking exhausted. Her everything ached. Yet, after levelling up, it seemed like she had regained some strength and even recovered a bit from her injuries. It was weird, but she knew better than to question how that worked at this point.

Still, even if she wasn’t feeling as bad as she was in the middle of battle, she just wanted to go home.

The moment she spotted Jeremy standing outside of the Onyx Lair with his group of officers, she passed the burden on to him. He was far better organised than Trace since managing and looking after people was part of his job. With that, she retired to the side and just stumble-walked slightly apart from the group.

Adair joined her, although Liz and Sam were stuck with helping Jeremy out— much to the latter’s chagrin. He saw Adair wondering close to the redhead and moved to intercept him before being dragged back by his responsibilities.

“Can you walk, Trace Taylor?” He proffered her a hand, and she took it.

“Of course I can. If I couldn’t, I’d be lying on the floor right now. Still kind of hurts, though.”

She chuckled, grimacing as she took each step. He supported her as they trudged alongside the abandoned road back to Liberapolis. There were abandoned cars taking up the actual tarmac— monsters and accidents led to the jamming up of all roads going out of cities. Adair’s gaze swung around the broken windows of the vehicles before he spoke in a soft voice.

“Trace Taylor, I have to say, I believe that you are a very strong young woman.” He stared forward, not meeting the redhead’s gaze.

She raised a brow. “What brought that up?”

“It is nothing. I am just comparing my own experiences with yours.”

“Experience with… walking?”

“Hmm, no.” He didn’t elaborate.

It puzzled Trace a tiny bit, but it clearly looked like Adair wanted the topic to end here, so she didn’t press him any further.

“I’m just glad we can finally fucking go back,” she sighed. “Holy shit, I’m tired of fighting.”

“Agreed. It is tiresome. Although, not all of us seems to be too bothered by it.” His eyes darted over Liz who was marching ahead, sword raised and ready to face any monsters that would pop out from the forest surrounding them.

“Liz has always been eccentric. Full of too much energy and not quite alright in the head.”

“Isn’t she your best friend?”

“I know,” Trace snorted. “That’s why I can say that. And it’s why we’re best friends. Both of us have always been kind of abnormal, so we naturally gravitated to each other.”

“I see.” He looked at the redhead, eyes narrowed.

“What?”

“It’s nothing. We just have a little further to go until we reach Liberapolis.”

“Fucking finally,” Trace said, relieved. “I really need a bath right now.”