"It is good to trust," Hiroki said. "But only a fool trusts without verifying."

  "The quest literally says to trust this guy," Luke countered.

  "To make a deal with it," Curtis said. "It doesn’t say how that has to end. Or that we have to honor it."

  "So we should lie?" Luke asked, not liking the sound of it.

  "The dungeon’s too low-level," Curtis said. "I don’t care what we do. Just pick an option and let’s move."

  Hiroki shrugged. "I’m fine with either path."

  "I say we help them and see what happens," Hannah said. "Maybe they can help us find the missing Integrated."

  Luke made up his mind. "We’ll work with them. But if we even get a hint of them trying to screw us over, we kill them all. Deal?"

  He raised his fist toward Curtis.

  "Deal," Curtis muttered.

  Luke shook his fist. "Bump it. Come on, Curtis, you know you want to bump it."

  "I’m not going to bump it," Curtis said, turning away.

  Luke grinned and turned to Hiroki. "Bump it."

  Hiroki obliged with a small smile. "Once we’re done with this, Luke, we’ll need to have a conversation about your technique with the bo. I think we’re going to need more practice."

  "Of course," Luke said. "We’ve only had a few classes."

  "Let’s make it twice per day," Hiroki said, clapping him on the back and giving him a small shove toward the goblins.

  Hannah did not bump it.

  It was time to make the deal.

  After a long back-and-forth with the Goblin Leader, Luke pieced together what they wanted. The building they’d spotted was some sort of encampment, land that had once belonged to the blue-band goblins but was now occupied by a rival tribe wearing red armbands. To the Goblin Leader, that was a slight that could only end in one way. The death of every red-banded goblin or the annihilation of his own troop.

  Through a mix of guesswork, gesticulation, and slow, simple words, Luke learned a little more. The goblins had seen the portal open and hadn’t been impressed with the first humans to come through. Humans already existed in this world, and they killed goblins on sight, no matter the clan. But the Goblin Leader had guessed correctly that Luke and his friends weren’t from here, and when Curtis, Hiroki, and Luke dispatched a large gathering of red-banded goblins, the leader had realized he had to make contact. From what Luke could piece together, they hadn't seen another human around. Where the hell was that Integrated?

  Despite asking several times, Luke never got a clear answer on what kind of "treasure" the goblins would give them for helping. Either way, since the blue bands were preparing for battle, they’d soon find out. The trio followed behind the goblin party as they made their way across the grasslands. The goblins kept glancing back at them, their eyes darting, until the path opened up onto a much larger army of several hundred goblins, all with red armbands.

  "There are a lot of them," Hiroki whispered.

  "And the other ones look ready for company," Curtis added, nodding toward the sprawling encampment.

  The place reminded Luke of the outpost they had seen in the previous dungeon. Rough wooden walls, log buildings that looked old and weathered, leaning as though they might collapse at any moment.

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  "I don’t think they built that themselves," Hannah said. "The buildings are too tall."

  Curtis nodded. "Humans probably built it. Lived there until these little bastards killed them."

  Luke swallowed hard. "I don’t like this."

  Hiroki leaned forward, squinting.

  "What?" Luke asked.

  "There." Hiroki pointed.

  The glare of the sun made it hard to see, but Luke’s eyes adjusted. His stomach sank. Humans stood on the wall of the encampment. Just a handful, but enough. Their height and pale skin made them stand out against the goblins around them.

  "Our lost Integrated?" Curtis asked.

  "There are more than one," Luke noted.

  "Just normal humans from here, then?" Hannah suggested.

  "They said there are humans in this world," Luke said, shaking his head. "But didn't sound like they were the kind to work with goblins. Either way, we can't kill humans."

  "Why not?" Curtis pressed. "We did it in the Tutorial and for the communications gem."

  "That was different," Luke said. He stepped forward, heading for the Goblin Leader.

  The blue-band troops erupted into agitated shrieks, waving their weapons and pointing at Luke. They weren’t happy with this new discovery. After another brief but confusing conversation with the leader, Luke returned to his friends.

  "The red bands aren’t supposed to have humans with them," he explained, "but… they do."

  Curtis crossed his arms. "So?"

  Luke shrugged. "The Goblin Leader repeated what he already told me. It should be impossible for them to recruit humans from this world. At least, that’s what I think he said."

  "Perhaps they are Integrated. Might be the injured ones out front just didn't know about them," Hiroki offered.

  "Maybe," Luke admitted. "Either way, we should talk to them."

  "How?" Curtis asked, gesturing toward the broad field of grass separating the blue-band army from the red-band encampment. "You think we can just stroll up there?"

  "Things are about to get ugly," Luke said. "But if we can get close enough, we can at least see if they’re Integrated or not."

  He waved for them to follow as he started forward. The Goblin Leader watched them go, his expression a mix of confusion and irritation. They hadn’t made it halfway across the field when war horns blared. The sound carried across the grasslands, deep and thunderous, the signal for attack.

  "Shit," Luke hissed, looking over his shoulder.

  "We should run," Hiroki said. "Run away?"

  "No." Luke pointed forward. "We run toward them."

  "This is such a bad idea," Hannah muttered. But she still followed, sprinting after Luke as the four of them charged toward the encampment.

  The goblin horde rushed after them, which might not have been the best look for wanting to talk with the humans on top of the wall, but at least Luke and the others were quicker. When they approached, a sinking feeling made him slow down a little. Up close, it became obvious these were not humans at all.

  Integrated Zeluym. Starlinker. Level 15.

  Integrated Zelaui. Navigator. Level 15.

  Integrated Zimeio. Stierna. Level 14.

  Integrated Zaoyu. Cardyum. Level 15.

  They stood taller than most humans, their limbs long and slender, skin pale with a hint of blue. All four wore loose-fitting garments in white with short sleeves and shorts in a material that might've been cotton. With bald heads and human-like faces except for much smaller noses, somewhat larger eyes, and no ears at all, they appeared alien. Two were female and two were male, Luke thought, judging by their smaller frames and softer features. Each of them, male and female both, looked down at Luke and the others, their faces set in what looked like stern disapproval, rather than surprise at finding other Integrated.

  "They are Integrated," Curtis said, stopping, his voice hoarse with disbelief.

  Luke swallowed hard, stopping right beside Curtis. "But they're not human."

  "Have you met others before?" Hiroki asked. He stood at the ready but seemed relaxed enough.

  "No," Luke said. "Never."

  "So, what do we do?"

  Unable to suppress a smile, Luke glanced over his shoulder at the advancing blue-band army, then back to these strangers. "If they're friendly, we should talk to them, right? There is so much we could learn."

  "They're doing something," Hannah said.

  Up on the wall, the tallest of the bunch, Zaoyu, with more pronounced muscles and wider shoulders, was leaning over to grab something from the floor of the wall ramparts.

  "What is he doing?" Luke asked, narrowing his eyes.

  Zaoyu stood and heaved, throwing something toward them with enough force that the object blurred. All they had time for was jumping back. In doing so, they avoided being hit with what turned out to be a blood-covered corpse with the same hair and piercings as the two Integrated outside the dungeon.

  "Don't think they want to talk," Curtis said.

  Luke drew in a breath, feeling rage grip his chest. "They killed him."

  "Look," Hiroki said, a somber expression on his face. "They're saying something."

  It was still far enough that the words were impossible to make out, but the gesturing was impossible to misinterpret. Zaoyu showed the same would happen to them unless they retreated.

  "They must've just killed this guy," Curtis said. "Or his corpse would've disappeared."

  "What do you want to do?" Luke asked.

  "It’s a taunt," Curtis said. "They’re from another system, and they’ve sided with the red-banded goblins, not that I care, but I say we kill them."