After running up to the tunnel entrance, Luke stopped and waited for the rest of his party. The recent experiences, as well as cold, hard logic, told him that it would indeed be insane to rush into that waiting darkness all on his own. Nate was hot on his heels, and Mateo's fluid running made it seem like he flew across the uneven stone floor. The others took their time, almost as if they were making a point of making Luke wait.

  As he waited, Luke inspected everyone again to get a sense of their progress now that his head was a little clearer. Liza had leveled up again, he noticed.

  Nate. Knight. Level 7.

  Mateo. Lancer. Level 10.

  Penny. Stormsinger. Level 11.

  Hannah. Vesper. Level 8.

  Liza. Warder. Level 7.

  Luke. Lifeweaver. Level 12.

  "Hey, Liza. Long time no see," Luke said as she approached with Hannah and Penny.

  "It's been a couple of days," she said, flashing a smile as she adjusted a blue and white baseball cap that pushed her bangs down so they almost covered her eyes.

  That gave him pause, but she was right. "Feels like a lifetime."

  With everyone gathered and with Milla's team, now with Curtis added, already having disappeared down the rightmost tunnel entrance, Luke folded his arms across his chest. "We need a party leader."

  "Yup," Penny agreed.

  "Nate," Luke said.

  "Yes?"

  "You should do it."

  Nate frowned. "Me?"

  "An excellent choice!" Mateo said, his voice booming enough to startle the members of another party who were making their way past, heading down the center tunnel.

  Luke put his hand on Mateo's shoulder and nodded. "You're our tank. It'll be good having someone at the front to direct the party."

  "I guess," Nate said. He didn't look convinced.

  "No," Penny said.

  "No?" Luke asked.

  She shook her head and then walked up to stand next to Liza. "The Warder should do it."

  "Another perfect candidate!" Mateo helpfully added.

  "Me?" Liza asked, shying away.

  Penny grabbed her around the shoulders. "No offense, Nate, I'm sure you're good at what you do, but having someone up front means you can't see everything. It makes sense for a support class to lead the party."

  "I'm fine with that," Nate said.

  "Sounds about right," Hannah said. "I saw Liza here when we fought dwarves, yelling at people to move this way and that to enter her wards. She'll do fine."

  Liza looked around the group. "Really?"

  They all nodded.

  "It's settled then," Luke said. "We should head out before the others get too much of a head start."

  "No," Liza said.

  He turned to her. "What?"

  "We're not hurrying," Liza said, her voice wavering a little. One deep breath later, her confidence grew as she continued. "This is a life and death situation. We will be careful."

  The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  "Right, of course."

  Liza took a small step forward, then another, until she was in front of all of them. Turning, she bit her lip, let out a shuddering breath, then straightened and squared her narrow shoulders. "We’ll need to know more about abilities."

  About ten minutes later, Luke had learned a lot about the others, even some new things about Mateo’s and Penny’s capabilities.

  Penny nudged Luke in the side with her elbow. "Told you she knew her stuff."

  "Yeah," he said.

  "So, about Ray," Penny said, changing the topic out of nowhere while Liza spoke with the others.

  "It’s," Luke began, not sure what to say. "I think Relian is in control of him at this point. No, I’m sure of it. The DIA is helping me look for him. I’ve got this new skill I’m hoping will help me counter his stealth.

  "What new skill?"

  "Weavesense. It lets me see spells. Hopefully, people in stealth, too."

  "You should test it out on someone else who has stealth."

  "That’s…" Luke began, sighing. "I should've thought about that. Of course I should do that."

  "I’m pretty smart sometimes."

  Luke chuckled. "You’re not wrong. That reminds me, could you cast a spell for me? Something small. Want to test something."

  Penny raised an eyebrow and gave him a suspicious look. "What?"

  "I’m not sure," Luke said.

  "Fine," she said. "Ready?"

  Luke focused. "Ready."

  Wow. So scary. Little zap.

  Hold me back, it might just snap.

  Here. It sparks. You happy now?

  A jolt of lightning surged between her held-up thumb and finger, like a prolonged jolt of static electricity. To Luke’s eyes, bluish white threads of mana danced in the air in an intricate pattern, becoming fixed for a millisecond before moving again.

  "Here I go," Luke said. "You should probably look away."

  Penny closed her eyes, and Luke slashed through the spell weave with Threads of Mana, interrupting the pattern. The spell fizzled, and the dancing jolt fell away as the thread he’d used disintegrated.

  "It worked. It really worked."

  "That was strange," Penny said, wrinkling her nose like she’d smelled something foul.

  "What do you mean?"

  She frowned and mumbled a few words that Luke didn’t hear, bringing the spell back. Once she got it going, Penny looked up at him, her eyes full of intensity. "Do that again."

  He obliged her. This time, the formation resisted his thread. Penny grinned, prompting Luke to set his jaw and flex, for lack of a better word. The spell slowed but didn’t break. Frustrated, sweat breaking out on his brow, Luke brought forth a second thread, pushing. That did it. The spell broke. This time, however, it didn’t just fizzle. It flared and expanded, blinding them both. Thankfully, there was no damage.

  She rubbed her eyes. "That’s cheating."

  "All is fair between Integrated and monsters," Luke said, squeezing his own eyes to get the motes to stop drifting in his vision.

  "Who’re you calling a monster?"

  "Uh," he said.

  Mateo jogged up to them, saving him. "What happened, my friends?"

  "He messed with my spell," Penny said, hooking her thumb at him.

  "Ah, such a weapon makes a fine tool, I’m sure."

  "Ready to go?" Luke asked.

  "It is time to face the depths together!"

  He set off after Mateo, but Penny grabbed his arm. "One more thing, Luke."

  "Yeah?"

  She squeezed. "We’re in this together, right?"

  "Of course."

  "Good," she said, nodding as she let go. "Then you’ll call all of us once you or the DIA finds Ray? We’ll all help. Lucy, too."

  "Where is Lucy?" Luke asked, feeling kind of like an asshole since he hadn’t realized she wasn’t in the party. Being limited to six people would make it difficult to have everyone join every time.

  "She went on ahead to scout," Penny said. "Lucy decided to join Kirk’s party."

  "Oh."

  "So?" Penny asked.

  "What?"

  "You’ll call us?"

  He gave her a long look, then nodded. "Alright."

  "Good. Let’s go find this gem."

  They gathered up front with the others, and Liza cast a spell with bright threads of mana that settled into a sun-like pattern. Touching Nate’s shield, that same symbol embedded itself into the metal, and light shone from it like a strong flashlight. She cast other spells in quick succession, touching each member of the party in turn. When she got to Luke, he had to restrain himself from picking the spells apart with his Threads of Mana and Weavesense. Doing so would annoy her, sure, but from the different reactions when Penny’s zap spell fell apart, the effects could be harmful. Best not mess with his party’s spells without permission and preparation.

  Ward of Flowers: Mask the target’s scent to avoid detection.

  Ward of Light Paws: Dampen the sound of the target’s footfalls.

  Ward of Stoneskin: Increased defense and improved resistances.

  Ward of Shadows: Make enemies less aware of the target’s presence.

  "These are quite something," Nate said, the front of his armor covered in the same wards Luke just received.

  "I’ve focused on support and defensive wards so far, but there are a lot of offensive alternatives too," Liza said, adding the light ward to Mateo as well.

  Satisfied with the wards in place, Liza went over the formation they would use going forward. Nate was the obvious pick for heading up the party, with Mateo staying a step behind and to the side so he could attack but still take cover behind Nate’s new, larger metal shield. Behind those two, Luke and Hannah would act as support as needed, with Penny and Liza bringing up the rear.

  Voices drifted toward them from the outpost and farther into the tunnel as they walked. More Integrated were joining in. Soon, the caverns would be flooded with people. Liza and, by extension, Nate didn't let that rush them as the party set off, walking at a leisurely pace, heading deeper and deeper.

  They'd walked for less than half an hour when the telltale sounds of combat rang out somewhere in front of them. Metal slamming into metal, shouting, war cries, and the faint glimmer of spells in the dark. More so than the faint shimmer of spell effects, Luke saw the threads connected to the spells through Weavesense.

  So. Many. Spells.