The gate had dumped us directly into a swamp. Not near a swamp. Not on a nice dry bank with access to the swamp. We were standing in the goddamn water, surrounded by gnarled trees with roots like arthritic fingers and moss that glowed faint green in the dim light filtering through the canopy.
Jordan materialized next to , took one step, and imdiately sank to his knees in muck.
"No. No no no no—" He tried to lift his leg, which made a horrific sucking sound. "I hate this. I hate gates. I hate the academy. I hate—"
"Jordan." Misato stood a few feet away on a half-subrged log, sohow keeping her balance. "Shut up."
Belle appeared last, landing directly in the water with a splash. She looked down at her soaked boots, then up at the sky like she was personally asking God why.
"Wet socks," she said, her voice deadly calm. "I’m wearing wet socks."
"We’re all wearing wet socks," Naomi pointed out, squishing forward toward a cluster of roots that looked marginally more solid.
"Yeah, but I’m mad about it."
I couldn’t help it. I started laughing.
Belle’s head whipped toward . "What’s so funny?"
"Nothing. Just—" Another laugh bubbled up. "We trained for three weeks. Ran simulations. Studied terrain maps. Practiced formations. And the gate literally dropped us in the water on purpose."
"The gate doesn’t have purpose," Misato said. "It’s random."
"Random my ass. This feels personal."
Naomi reached the roots and hauled herself up, offering a hand. I took it, climbing onto the relatively dry surface. Relatively being the key word. My boots squelched with every step, water oozing out the sides.
Jordan finally extracted himself from the muck and joined us, looking like he’d just survived a war. "I’m filing a complaint with the FGRA."
"Good luck with that," Belle said, wading toward us with her crossbow held high to keep it dry. "I’m sure they’ll be very sympathetic."
We regrouped on the roots, which ford a natural platform about ten feet across. The swamp stretched in every direction, broken up by islands of moss-covered stone and the occasional massive tree trunk. Everything slled like rot and stagnant water with a chemical undertone that made my nose itch.
"Belle." Misato’s voice cut through our complaining. "Detection."
Belle closed her eyes, activating her Treasure Sense. With the Gold-tier buff I’d given her last night, her range now extended to fifty ters.
"Six signatures north-northwest, moving slow through the water. Three more west, clustered together. And sothing big southeast, stationary."
"Define big."
Belle’s eyes opened. "Boss big."
Of course there was a boss. And of course it was in the opposite direction from the exit portal, which I could just barely see as a purple shimr about forty ters behind us.
Misato pulled up her tactical display, a holographic overlay projected from her gauntlet. The swamp rendered in wirefra, with our position marked as a green dot and Belle’s detected hostiles as red blips.
"We circle wide, avoid the clusters, and approach the boss from the east. Minimize contact with hostiles until we’re ready to engage."
"What about cores?" Jordan asked. "We need sixty-five points to beat Blair’s team."
"We get them from the boss and whatever we can’t avoid on the way there." Misato looked at each of us. "Priority is clear ti and zero casualties. Understood?"
We nodded.
"Formation up. Belle, stay on detection and call out anything that moves. Naomi, conserve stamina. Jordan, shadows on overwatch. Monroe, center rear and watch the flanks."
I gripped my spear tighter. "Got it."
We moved out, hopping from root to root like the world’s least graceful parkour team. The wood was slick and covered in so kind of sli that made every step an adventure in not eating shit. Jordan almost fell twice in the first minute, catching himself with shadow tendrils at the last second.
Belle led the way, her enhanced senses guiding us around the northern cluster. The water rippled occasionally, sothing large moving beneath the surface. I kept my spear ready, scanning the murk for shapes.
A low croak echoed through the swamp.
Then another.
Then a dozen more, overlapping into a chorus that set my teeth on edge.
"Frogs," Naomi said, her voice tight. "Giant frogs, if I had to guess."
"Why is it always the cute animals?" Jordan complained. "Why can’t gates have puppies? Or bunnies?"
"Because those don’t try to eat your face," Belle replied.
Sothing broke the surface twenty ters away. A massive shape, pale green and glistening. A head the size of a beach ball with bulbous eyes and a mouth that could swallow a person whole.
It looked at us.
We looked at it.
"Oh shit," I said.
The frog opened its mouth and scread.
Not croaked. Scread.
The sound rattled my ribs and made my vision blur at the edges. Jordan clapped his hands over his ears, nearly losing his balance on the root. Belle stumbled, and I grabbed her arm to keep her steady.
The frog launched itself out of the water in a single leap, arcing through the air with horrifying speed and grace.
Naomi’s staff lit up with blue-white energy. She fired, the blast catching the frog mid-flight and sending it tumbling sideways into a tree trunk. The impact shook the entire tree, and the frog dropped back into the water with a massive splash.
"Move!" Misato sprinted forward, her clone materializing to cover our retreat.
We ran.
Well, we tried to run. Running through a swamp while hopping between slippery roots turned out to be about as effective as running through peanut butter. Jordan ate shit within five seconds, his chin bouncing off a root with a sound that made wince. Belle grabbed his collar and hauled him upright without breaking stride.
Behind us, more frogs broke the surface. Five. Ten. Fifteen massive amphibian nightmares, all screaming their terrible song.
"They’re coordinating!" Belle shouted over the noise. "Herding us toward the clusters!"
"Fuck coordination!" I planted my feet, spun, and fired a Wave Motion blast into the nearest frog’s face. The golden spiral punched clean through its skull and exploded out the back in a spray of green ichor.
The frog collapsed back into the water, dead before it sank.
◆ KILL CONFIRD ◆
12 EXP
My stamina bar barely flickered. Bronze rank efficiency at work.
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