Screams echoed all around.

  Chaos had broken loose. A wailing alarm pierced through the cries.

  "Hunter!"

  Stones littered the streets. Buildings crumbled. So many lives extinguished.

  "Hunter!"

  Was this his fault? If he hadn't come to this town... would this have happened?

  "Hunter!"

  Pain exploded in Hunter's cheek like he'd been hit with a baseball.

  "A rock?"

  He looked toward the wall—then Indy shook him hard, snapping him back. "Hunter, snap out of it. That alarm tells us to go to the center of the city."

  Hunter could hear her, but his mind kept losing touch. "So much destruction." Indy grabbed his arm, pulling him along. "More lives lost."

  Finally, as they approached the city's center, the yelling outside his mind was louder than the yelling within.

  A river of people pressed into the city's center, except for two figures, who stood alone in a vast, untouched circle.

  Indy mumbled, "The Adventurers' Guild and the Researchers' Guild… they're arguing." Hunter still couldn't see them, but their voices carried through the crowd.

  The adventurer's guild leader said, "You have to stop it. You told me it would never get to this point."

  The other man spoke in a rough tone. "We can't."

  "You can't or won't?" the first retorted.

  The researcher's guild leader raised his voice even louder. "We have been working on this since this city was conceptualized. Do you even understand how important this breakthrough is?"

  A long pause was pierced by nothing but the sound of the alarm high above. "At what price?"

  "The price doesn't matter," came the quick response. Hunter saw the man in long robes start to walk off.

  A wave of heat and energy flowed over him. The adventurer's guild leader's booming voice echoed through the streets. "My job, and the job of every adventurer, is to protect its people from monsters. And Bryan!"

  Bryan must have been the name of the robed man as he turned around, a livid look on his face.

  The first man continued, "Bryan, monsters come in all shapes and sizes. With how many people you have killed, you are starting to look like one."

  Moments passed in silence, and Hunter realized the alarm was gone. Distant yelling from the walls was still audible as Bryan, and the adventurer's guild leader looked at each other.

  With a swirl of his robes, Bryan turned and stormed off again.

  The square returned to its silence for only a few seconds before the booming voice of the adventurer's guild leader returned. "You all have the same rights to know as I do. As you are aware, this city is under attack from a blitz. This is normal around here, but lately, they have increased in intensity."

  The man's voice wavered as he continued. "We have already lost people."

  He let that stand momentarily. "I swore to protect this city—and I'll fight till my last breath to keep it standing."

  Mumbling erupted from the crowd, and someone screamed, "It sounds like you know why this is happening. Why don't you put a stop to it?"

  Again, everyone was silent as they waited for an answer.

  "I truly hope it doesn't come to that. Our main weapons against these hordes of monsters come from the researcher's guild. We need their help."

  A hollow, empty cry came from behind Hunter. "My children are dead!"

  More screams of loss and fear echoed as unease and doom spread.

  A wave of heat spread across them all. Hunter gasped, and he couldn't breathe for a few moments.

  The guild leader’s voice was quiet, even so, it carried. "I have failed those who have died. Please allow me to protect those who are left."

  People still looked unsure and afraid but waited for him to continue. "This city's walls are strong. They'll buy us time to defend and push back the monsters. We've asked for help from Ilian—it's about a two-day journey. We need to hold out until then."

  "Two days?" Hunter thought. "If something could bring down the towers, they might not even have that."

  "Adventurers!" the man said, this time using a more commanding tone. "The time has come to prove our worth. I'm enacting war protocol. This city is our home. Here is my first order from me, the guild leader of Manarith."

  Like the breath of a campfire, a wave of heat rolled over Hunter.

  "Defend your home."

  The heat around Hunter turned to courage as he suddenly felt like he could take on a Salager. Still, he turned to Indy to ask, "What is war protocol?"

  Some of the crowd cheered, while others sounded uneasy. Indy shook her head and pulled him away from the noise by the shoulder.

  They pushed through the restless crowd, seeing countless faces tight with fear, until the city center faded behind them. Indy kept mumbling... “Research always research...” as they walked.

  Once there, she stopped, letting go of Hunter's shoulder; her voice didn't sound afraid but more disgusted. "War protocol allows the leader of the adventurer's guild to command the people a part of the guild like an army."

  Hunter instinctively stepped back. He'd never seen her eyes burn like that. "That seems good to me; it allows us to work together."

  "It is." She said, starting to pace, her voice still sharp.

  Not understanding, he watched her for a few moments. "Are you ok?" he asked.

  She stopped pacing, and Indy looked him in the eyes for the first time. Her anger was gone, replaced by confusion and pain.

  Taking a few steps and pausing again, she turned back to him and blurted out, "They keep ruining lives. First mine, now possibly this whole city."

  Not daring to say a word, Hunter just watched her pace. He never felt like he had the right words to say; whenever someone he knew was hurting, his mind would go blank, so he waited.

  Indy eventually slowed her pacing. "Sorry, you didn't deserve to hear that."

  Her arms dropped. "During war protocol, all quests are canceled. Every guild member has to register, then they'll deploy us… like soldiers." Her voice was flat, almost emotionless.

  Feeling a new weight drop on his shoulders, Hunter looked down at his frail arms. His mouth suddenly felt dry as he asked, "What could someone like me do? I could barely hold my mace steady."

  Her voice softened. "Everyone matters in times like this; don't discount yourself. The guild knows our strength; they will give us appropriate quests."

  This didn't make Hunter feel better. His neck burned with anxiety as they made their way to the guild.

  Nearing the guild, Hunter noticed a new atmosphere. To his surprise, many of the adventurers were smiling.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Looking around, he tried to find any reason to be happy at a time like this.

  "Names?" came a question to his left.

  Turning, he saw a receptionist with a tablet. They each said their names, and the woman nodded.

  The receptionist first turned to Hunter, looking at her tablet. "You are low-tier rank, have one offensive skill, and haven't met the criteria to fight in this area," she said matter-of-factly.

  Hunter's anxiety spiked as she finally looked him in the eyes. "You will be put with a team who can best utilize you."

  He would be fighting; some of Hunter wanted to be told he was too weak and told to move resources around or wait.

  The receptionist still stared at him expectantly. "Go inside; they will allocate your team. Understood?"

  Wavering, he felt his palms grow slick. "Understood." He said.

  Walking inside the folded reality, he heard the receptionist as they started talking to Indy.

  The sofas and chairs were all gone. The guild hall now looked closer to a warehouse. A young man in familiar light brown clothes with golden stitching waved him over. "Name?" he asked.

  Hunter gave his name. The man messed with his tablet and said, "Ah ha, I found you. Let's see." He spent some time mumbling unintelligibly as he examined.

  The young man glanced up with a smile. "You are in luck, as you are aware, your level and strength aren't at capacity to fight on your own. This is fine, however, as we will place you in a team with others."

  He looked down at his tablet again. "It says you prefer a mace; otherwise, it says you don't have much experience outside training. Does that sound correct to you, sir?"

  Nodding, Hunter felt some relief that he wouldn't be alone.

  The receptionist looked back down, mumbling again. "Now, where to put you?"

  After a few moments, the receptionist looked up. "I skipped a step. Hunter, how this will work is broadly up to the head team of your assigned unit. There will be three teams in this unit, one of stronger adventurers and two to back them up."

  Tapping his foot, he looked at the ceiling momentarily before continuing. "I think that's everything; if you have more questions, ask your senior team, which is." He looked back down at his tablet again. "Let's go with Garth."

  Hunter looked around for someone with a team Garth sign, but when he found none, he asked. "Who?"

  This question also seemed to confuse the receptionist, as his eyebrows temporarily became powered by jet fuel and rocketed to what should have been his hairline. "You know, Garth."

  Shaking his head again, Hunter didn't know how better to explain that he didn't know who Garth was; thankfully, the man finally pointed to a man under the severed head of a massive hedgehog snake-looking thing.

  Shaking his head as he walked away, Hunter still thanked the man.

  Back home, the name Garth sounded like a biker. But this Garth? Short, quiet, and calculating. He stood five feet tall, with black hair tied up in a ponytail. He looked to be in his forties.

  "Forties," Hunter paused. Didn't Derek say people aged slower?" Changing his evaluation of the short man, he continued toward him.

  Garth was talking to two other adventurers, who both looked much younger. One also shared Garth's black hair but cut it short and was also much taller,

  The other was a woman with blond hair that came just past her shoulders. Like all the other adventurers who had made it past tier one, she looked beautiful.

  Waiting for a pause in the conversation, he said. "Hey Garth, I was assigned to one of your teams."

  Garth turned to him, nodding, "Alright, what are your abilities, and how do you fight?"

  Taken aback at the direct questions, Hunter stumbled over his words. "Mace, no. I have an ability called amplify."

  As Hunter continued, Garth pulled out a tablet, "I use a mace to attack and am fairly new to it."

  Nodding, Garth said, "The ability seems to be an offensive one that can be used with most any melee weapon. Fairly new? Elaborate."

  "I've trained against Porolf's but don't have a lot of stats," Hunter said, feeling pressured to say it quickly.

  "Low stats?" Garth asked. "Show me."

  Hunter sent them over, getting an appreciative nod from the older man. "Mmhhm", the man said. "Follow me."

  Garth walked off, and the other two waited behind. The older man led him to a folded reality without a flag, and they walked in.

  This folded reality had five large mats. Garth walked on to one with Hunter in tow. "Show me," he said, pulling out a spear.

  Frozen, Hunter felt like a deer in the headlights. "Show you my ability?"

  Garth shook his head. "No! You daft." He stopped himself. "No, show me your fighting level. It's my job to keep you all alive, and I need to know where your skill is at."

  Leaving Hunter anxious, he pulled out his mace; the metal glistened, and his mind raced. "How do I prove mys-."

  Stepping in, Garth was throwing out a stab with his spear.

  The spear was aimed at his chest.

  Hunter sidestepped, reading his mace for a blow.

  He was too far.

  Stepping closer, the spear again rocketed toward his heart.

  He was too slow, and Garth stopped it just an inch away.

  "Come on!" Garth said, "Give it your all!"

  The spear retracted, and then, like a snake, it flashed back at him.

  Ducking, Hunter used his mace to hit the middle of the spear.

  A loud clang echoed as the weapons collided.

  Hunter stepped closer, his mace still ready to strike.

  Garth didn't dodge.

  Mace came down.

  Stinging hand, Hunter looked down at the pointy end of a spear pressing against his throat.

  His mace landed, making a thud a few feet away.

  Spear disappearing, Garth walked over to the mace, picking it up.

  The older man handed it back to him. "Better than I expected. You don't have skill, but you certainly aren't the spoiled kid I thought you were. What's your name?"

  Now, only realizing he hadn't given his name, he said. "My name is Hunter." Garth turned to walk back to the guild, but Hunter asked. "With how I am right now, will I be of any help?"

  The older man's face broke out in a slight smile; it looked foreign, as if he wasn't used to it. "Boy, I think you and the city have much to gain from having you in this battle."

  Hunter followed him back, surprised to see Indy talking to the two others.

  Upon seeing Garth, Indy turned and said, "Hi, my name is Indy. I was stationed with one of your teams."

  Nodding, Garth didn't look at his tablet but said, "The mercenary, how interesting."

  Four more people were quickly sent over, all saying their hellos to Garth, and some were getting test battles.

  The last man stumbled back in with Garth, the older man saying. "Follow me"

  They all did so and were led a few blocks away to a larger house.

  Walking inside, Hunter momentarily felt the tightness in his head. "Another folded reality?" he thought.

  The house was large. There were three couches in the living room, with three halls leading off. Garth turned around. "This is where you all will be staying. All units stay together so we can leave at a moment's notice. The bedrooms are to the right, the kitchen to the left."

  He led them down the middle hallway into a room with three mats, weights, and even some lifting equipment. "This is the training room. In a second, we will split the six of you into teams."

  Garth indicated that the tall black-haired man and the blond-haired woman should walk up.

  The blond woman smiled, "I'll be keeping you all alive, so don't upset me. My name is Brit, and I'm a healer."

  Everyone around Hunter gasped, but before he could ask, the taller man walked up. "The name's Ellis. I'll be keeping you alive by killing everything in sight."

  Garth nodded, saying, "We have all looked at your abilities and skill levels, splitting you up so that you complement each other as much as possible. It's not perfect, but use this as an opportunity to fill in gaps you may have when you make a party in the future."

  Feeling a sigh of relief, Hunter was happy when he got placed with Indy. A few seconds later, their other team member was called, "Tren, you are on the first team."

  After reading off their teams, Garth said, "When we fight, our team will be fighting at the tip of a triangular formation; any stragglers or weaker enemies, we will leave for both your teams. Now, my team and I are going to the battle plan meeting, so talk to your teammates and figure out your plan and the leaders of your teams."

  Hunter introduced himself first. "My name is Hunter. I have one ability that increases the damage of my weapon. I use the mace, and I am fairly new to adventuring."

  The two others nodded. Indy spoke next. "I'm Indy, and I have the equivalent of offensive and movement abilities; I fight with my hands."

  Tren was Hunter's height and looked younger; he had blond hair with sharp features.

  Smiling a perfect smile, Tren said, "I guess I'm last. I'm Tren. I have three defensive abilities: hardened skin, which temporarily raises your durability by ten percent; block, which absorbs a single attack; and earthquake, which shakes the ground under enemies."

  "Wow," Indy said, glancing at Tren again. "Those are amazing abilities."

  Looking at the ground, Tren bit his lip. "I guess."

  "Hey, Tren," a man said, walking between them. The man had blond hair and was similar in height to Tren, he continued. "We should change the teams; they didn't put me with you."

  Shaking his head, Tren said. "The unit leaders have chosen our spots so that we cover each other. If we change, that defeats the purpose."

  The man turned around, looking first at Hunter and then at Indy; he paused, saw her, and looked her up and down before saying, "Trade spots with me."

  Hands-on hips, Indy raised her brows. "Like Tren said, they already chose."

  "Really? It would be better for Tren," he looked her up and down again, then said with a smug grin. "We are Wivolts."

  Rolling her eyes, Indy looked at him nonplussed. "That makes sense. Did you know that money can't buy skill?"

  The man smirked, laughing a little, and reached for her arm. She stepped back, and he smirked. "Really? You couldn't do anything without those tattoos; you're hardly an adventurer."

  Indy froze, biting her lip.

  The man stepped toward her. "If you left Manarith, you would be useless."

  Looking at his friend, Hunter saw anger kindle in Indy's eyes, the same anger she looked at monsters with.

  Tren's hand gripped the man's shoulder, his voice lower. "Stop, you have gone too far."

  The man shook off the hand, sneering. “You’re the disgusting child of the Researcher’s Guild.”

  Red light bloomed from Indy’s tattoos.

  Hunter stepped back.

  Before the man could blink, Tren slammed a fist into his back with a sickening crack.

  The man hit the ground hard.

  “You over-privileged prick,” Tren growled. “Do you want to lose your spot in the house?”

  The Wivolt groaned, clutching his side.

  Indy's fist, which was up, lowered slowly as her shoulders sagged.

  Looking down at the man, Tren said. "Go get yourself healed."

  The man winced, trying to get up, and cried out in pain. "I can't”

  "Then this is the last day you may call yourself a Wivolt."

  The man pushed up, his teeth grinding. With sweat pouring down his brow, he clenched his fists and wobbled out of the house.

  Immediately after he left, Tren's voice lost its sting, and he said. "I am so sorry; I should not have let it get that far; I should have expected that to happen."

  Sighing, Tren looked Indy in the eyes, "I understand if you don't want me on this team anymore. My family should be able to pull some strings."

  Indy's eyes were glistening as she looked to where the man had left and then back to Tren. Her voice was hoarse, and a sad smile cracked her face. "It’s fine. Sadly, we can't control others' actions."