Rinse and repeat.

That was what the next few minutes amounted to. We replayed the same successful battle sequence five times over, with Barac staggering the hydra, Moonshadow casting moonbeam, and me severing the creature’s heads while the others kept it preoccupied.

Of course, it was not all easy going.

After the loss of its first head, the hydra focused exclusively on me whenever I fell within range. And while that made me less effective, it gave the others free reign with their own attacks, and soon enough, we had the creature on its knees.

The others allowed me to strike the final blow. It did not increase the experience I'd earned from the battle, but it helped with my bounty task.

You have killed a level 180 stygian hydra.

You have slain 3 / 20 stygian beasts required for bounty 674.

You have reached level 88!

Rising free from the corpse beneath me, I cleaned Jasiah’s stygian blade of blood and grime and looked up to see the party approaching.

“Thanks,” I said, offering the blade back to the duelist.

Ignoring the outstretched sword, Jasiah glanced at Simone. “The rift?”

The archer nodded, eyes darting from the dead hydra to the street beyond. “Go keep watch on it. It won't be long now before more of the creatures emerge.”

Jasiah ran off, leaving me still holding his bared blade.

Feeling self-conscious and aware of the others’ watchful gazes, I sheathed the sword and held it awkwardly in my hand. “What now?”

For a drawn-out moment, no one said anything.

I kept my gaze on Simone, waiting for her response. But to my surprise, it was Barac who broke the silence. “You did well, noob,” he said grudgingly. “If not for your fast work there, I doubt we would have killed the beast before more of its fellows joined the fray.”

“I still think he is crazy,” Moonshadow muttered.

My gaze flitted between the two in confusion. The party leader still hadn't said anything, but I got the sense that I’d joined the conversation midway. It almost sounded as if they were trying to decide something...

“What now?” I asked, looking at Simone again.

The archer folded her arms and stared at me with hard eyes. “Why did you help us?”

Ah, I thought, realizing that this was to be an interrogation of sorts. I shrugged. “I felt bad about what I did earlier.”

“About the mantis, you mean?” she asked.

I nodded. “I shouldn't have used you three as a decoy.”

Moonshadow snorted but didn't interrupt his party leader further.

“Why was the mantis chasing you?” the archer asked.

“I don't know,” I replied honestly.

Simone frowned as she contemplated my answer. “And where is he now?”

“Dead,” I replied simply.

“Dead?” she repeated. “Did you kill him?”

“I did.”

Another hush descended upon the trio, and once more, it was broken by the centaur. “Well, I'll be damned.” He guffawed. “Looks like our boy here has some real skills.”

Simone didn't say anything, and I couldn't tell if she believed me. A moment later, her gaze drifted to the mage.

“He is only rank eight,” the mage protested obliquely.

The half-elf stared at him.

Moonshadow sighed. “Alright, but I still think it’s a mistake.”

Simone nodded and glanced at the centaur.

“You know what I think already.” the crusader responded. “We’re short of firepower, and this won’t work any other way.”

“Agreed,” Simone replied. She turned back to me. “We're about to enter the rift and do our damnedest to close it. Barac is right. We could do with an extra blade.” She held my gaze. “You’re in?”

Now I know why Jasiah didn’t take his sword back. His vote must’ve been yes too. “I don't know much about the rifts,” I admitted, glancing at the corpses strewn about the street. “Will what we face there be tougher than these?”

Barac threw back his head and laughed uproariously.

I suppose that’s answer enough.

“Yes,” Simon replied, an amused smile on her face. “So, what will it be?”

I thought about it for a moment, then grinned back. “Count me in.”

~~~

My decision wasn’t as reckless as it seemed at first glance.

I knew I was under-leveled for the rift. Hell, I seemed to be under-leveled for everything in the sector.

But at the back of my mind was the thought that if I was going to do something as dangerous as entering the nether—the very lair of the stygians—it was best I did it with a team of players as skilled as the four seemed to be.

And, of course, I expected I would gain a wealth of experience in the process.

Simone turned to Barac and Moonshadow. “Loot the corpses. Quickly.”

The two hurried off, pulling out small objects that looked like alchemy stones.

The half-elf glanced at me. “This your first time in the quarter?”

I nodded.

Simone pursed her lips. “I thought so. There are no laws in the plague quarter; you must know that already. But that doesn't mean anything goes. The players who frequent this part of the city have a few unwritten rules, and they take it upon themselves to punish any who break them. You understand?”

“I do. What are they?”

“One, stay the hell away from battles between other players, and most definitely don't attempt to score easy kills from any that are wounded in the conflict. If it doesn't involve you, it's not your fight.” She paused, waiting for my acknowledgment.

“Understood.”

“Secondly, don't loot any kills that aren't your own.” She gestured to the player corpses lying nearby. “Especially those of fellow players. Doing that is a surefire way of earning a reputation as a scav. And believe me, you don't want that.”

“Got it.”

“Good,” Simone pronounced. “Now, do you have a means of gathering alchemy ingredients?”

I nodded.

“Perfect. You can loot the two serpents you killed earlier, but nothing else.” Simone grimaced. “I'm sorry we can’t share the spoils further, but we need the reagents too badly ourselves.”

I tilted my head to the side. “Why's that, if you don't mind me asking?”

The archer shrugged. “It’s no secret. We're on a mission for a Light Power.”

“Oh? And you've been given a task to collect the reagents? They must be important then.”

“They are,” Simone said, not elaborating further. “And we're drawing near the end of our time limit.” She hesitated, then added reluctantly, “That’s the only reason we're risking the rift.”

My eyebrows furrowed in concern. Suddenly, my decision to enter the nether with them didn't seem that wise anymore. “You're worried about our chances there?”

Simone shrugged. “The biggest risk, as always, is getting overwhelmed. So long as we maintain our lines of retreat, we’ll be fine.”

I nodded, unsure whether her answer relieved me or not.

“Anyway,” she continued, “since you will officially be a member of our party during our time in the nether, the loot distribution will be fairer there. You will get one-fifth of everything we collect.”

“Sounds good,” I said.

Seeming to consider the discussion closed, Simone moved off to begin her own looting, and I did the same.

Stopping in front of the first stygian serpent I killed, I placed the alchemy stone on it, or rather inside it—even dead, the creature didn’t seem to possess a true body.

The stone activated, pulsing emerald. With each pulse, the serpent shrunk, shriveling before my eyes, and in less than a minute, the corpse vanished entirely.

The light from the alchemy stone faded, its work done. Leaning down, I picked up the object.

You have retrieved an alchemy stone. New ingredients acquired: 2 x lumps of necrotic plasma and 1 x vial of nether residue.

Hmm. I rubbed my chin thoughtfully at the Game message as I strode to the next corpse and began collecting its loot too. Given the party’s task, I assumed stygians’ reagents were valuable.

But how valuable? I wondered.

If the reagents were expensive enough, they could prove a viable source of income. The serpents, at least, I was sure I could kill on my own. But first, I would need to get a stygian blade of my own.

New ingredients acquired: 3 x lumps of necrotic plasma and 1 x vial of nether residue.

Done with my looting, I glanced about and saw that the others were still busy. I had a few minutes at least before they were done. After munching quickly through a ration bar, I sat down cross-legged, closed my eyes, and meditated to regain my last psi.

~~~

“Hey, noob! You’re just gonna sit there staring off in space? Or are you gonna join us?”

I opened my eyes to see the centaur shifting impatiently before me. “Coming,” I murmured and rose to my feet.

Not waiting for me, Barac spun about on his hooves and headed down the street at a steady clip. Following more slowly, I checked the waiting Game messages and saw to my progression.

Your psi is now at 100%.

Your dodging has increased to level 60. Your shortswords has increased to level 65. Your chi has increased to level 52. Your telekinesis has increased to level 54. Your meditation has increased to level 72.

Your Dexterity has increased to rank 32 (+5 from items).

Satisfied that I was ready as I could be for the rift, I surveyed the surroundings. The streets were still empty of life, and I spotted signs of fresh damage on the nearby buildings. The residents had fled, and there was no telling when they would be back. If every influx of the stygians was this disruptive, it was no wonder the plague quarter was in the state it was.

As we turned down the corner, the rift came into view, and I stumbled to a halt. Less than a dozen yards ahead was a hole in reality.

Where open air and sunlight should have existed was… nothing.

It was a blackness so complete that it seemed solid, and not even my night vision could penetrate its depths. But for all that, the void of nothingness was remarkably similar to the opening Worca—and come to think of it, I, too—had created when performing a summoning, if only many times larger. This one was wide enough that it occupied the entire width of the street and tall enough that it rose above the nearby buildings.

So that's a rift.

At a more wary pace, I resumed walking. The rest of the party was gathered before the floating void. I noticed that it didn't quite touch the ground, and I wondered idly what would happen if the rift cut across the road, or for that matter, through the adjacent buildings.

Would they have vanished into nothingness?

I shuddered at the thought. Living in the plague quarter was more dangerous than I realized. As I neared the party, Simone turned to face me, seemingly unfazed by the nothingness behind her.

“This is for you,” she said, handing me a small cylindrical-shaped object.

I took the proffered item. It was a three-inch-tall crystal similar to the trap-making ones I’d used against Wengulax. “What enchantment does it hold?”

“A ward of protection,” Moonshadow said.

My eyebrows rose.

“The rift opens directly into the nether,” Simone said, answering my unspoken question. “The air there is thick with a dark miasma, and it goes without saying that breathing it will do you more harm than good. The ward will shield you from the nether’s negative effects.”

I nodded. “How do I use it?”

“Break the crystal while holding it,” Moonshadow instructed.

I did as he bade, the slim crystal cracking easily as I applied pressure to its ends.

You have activated a single-use enchantment, casting ward of nether protection around yourself. For the next hour, you will be shielded from the ill effects of the nether.

“Done,” I said.

“Let’s go then,” Simone said. Without further ado, she swung back around and dashed towards the rift.