Duelling Dungeons

“So do you really think that Sylvia can handle working here?” Luther asked, sinking into one of the plush chairs across from me.

“Please, this is Talia we’re talking about. If she weren’t sure, she wouldn’t have invited her,” Bella countered, as she threw her arms over the back of my couch. I shot the pair a dirty look, then slowly turned up the volume on the massive wall-mounted display to drown them out.

The three of us were sitting in one of the lounges to watch the latest practice. Well, that wasn't quite true. I was there to watch the latest match, Bella and Luther kinda tagged along to give color commentary.

I preferred to watch the entire thing in my office, like usual, but when Bella returned from her vacation yesterday, she had dumped all her souvenirs in our office. She’d bought so many that they spilled off her desk and covered mine. Since I didn’t want just to shove them all on the floor, and I didn’t have anywhere else to put them, I just had to wait until Bella moved them.

“Shouldn’t you be putting away all your souvenirs?” I asked.

“I will! I’m just waiting for my new shelves to be delivered. The other ones are already full,” Bella replied.

“So why did you buy so much if you didn’t have anywhere to put them?”

“I have to show my support for all the adventuring teams I watch,” Bella exclaimed.

“You watch all the teams,” I grumbled. “Whenever I see you, you have multiple streams going.”

Bella grinned. “That’s why I had to buy so much merch!”

“Right… Well, feel free to stick around to watch the practice with me, just keep it down. I really need to make sure I don’t miss anything,” I said.

“Don’t worry, we’re just as excited about this as you are,” Luther said. “It’s not every day you get to watch a new staff member fight a squad of newly evolved warriors.”

“Hopefully it’ll be a good fight,” I muttered. “I’m worried that Bea might be pushing her sisters too hard. They only got out of the hospital yesterday.”

“If they weren’t ready, the doctor wouldn’t have let them leave,” Bella said. “I’m sure they’ll be fine.”

“We’ll see…”

The wall display flashed, lighting up as it finally received the feed from the Training grounds. I immediately sat up and shushed my companions.

On the screen, Bea and her entourage exited the safe room, and when I saw how much the warriors had changed, I nearly dropped my tablet. They were all a head taller than before, heavily muscular, and wearing a full set of dark-copper plate mail. Even though each of them was carrying a tower shield, a heavy spear, and a longbow, they were moving around like all the equipment weighed next to nothing.

“I didn’t realize their evolution would be so drastic,” I said.

“What did you think would happen to them? A slight change in hair color?” Bella snorted. “Most evolutions come with some sort of physical change. For physical species, an increase in muscle mass is completely normal.”

“Well, how was I supposed to know that? I don’t think I’ve ever known someone before and after they evolve,” I pouted.

“How? It’s not like evolution is all that rare…” Luther asked.

“Probably because I went from living around the Abyss to working as an adventurer,” I said. “And since most adventurers come from the humanoid races, I didn’t see many evolutions.”

“Well, you’ll see it fairly often around here. I think we get someone evolving once a year around here,” Bella said as she floated over the back of the couch and settled down next to me. “You’ll get used to it soon.”

“I hate to interrupt your gossip,” Luther said, raising his voice. “But Bea’s team is about to encounter their first hurdle. “

My eyes shot back to the display and locked on the Anthophilan formation. The girls had created a loose perimeter around Bea and were constantly scanning the area. They looked like expert bodyguards, or in this case, royal guards.

I didn’t see the wraiths sneak up on their group; they just seemed to appear around the Anthophilans, ready to fire. Considering the floating ghostly archers specialized in stealth and skirmishing, I probably shouldn’t have been surprised by their appearance, but they rarely struck as a full group, and the ambush caught me off guard.

Before the wraiths could unleash their barrage, the Anthophilan warriors reacted. They stepped back next to Bea and slammed their oversized shields down, creating an impenetrable wall. As the first salvo ricocheted off the heavy shields, the wraiths shrieked in range and began circling the small phalanx, looking for openings.

“Why are the Anthophilans playing so defensively? Shouldn’t they be able to rush out and engage the wraiths? Is their new armor too heavy?” Bea asked.

“If I had to guess, instinct. Bea is a queen, and an Anthophilan warrior’s first instinct would be to defend her,” I said. “I’m sure Bea isn’t all that impressed by their overly protective nature right now, but I’m sure they’ll work through it soon enough.”

“They're better,” Bella muttered. “Those shields may be impressive, but the wraiths are professionals. They’ll find a gap sooner or later.”

As she said that, a crack appeared between two of the shields. The nearest wraith dived down, took aim– and promptly caught an arrow in the eye. Before the wraith fully dissolved, the crack between shields slammed shut again.

“Uhhh… what happened?” Bella asked.

“I don’t know, it was too fast,” I said, leaning forward.

One of the wraiths fired on the shield formation out of frustration, and a second later the shields cracked open and another arrow shot out.

“Do you think it’s Bea firing the arrows out of the formation?” I asked.

“Either that, or she swapped positions with one of the other girls. That’s some impressive coordination considering this is the first time they’ve used this tactic,” Luther said.

“This is the first time they’ve used this tactic, but they’ve been working together for years,” Bella said.

The remaining three wraiths slipped behind cover and seemed to discuss a plan for a minute before splitting up and approaching the shield wall again.

I just shook my head. I knew the wraiths were bloodthirsty, but this was far too aggressive. They were now outnumbered two to one, a nd even if they somehow managed to down an Anthophilan each, something I very much doubted they could do, the exchange wouldn’t be worth it.

I’d definitely have to talk to them about that later.

Two of the wraiths began to rapidly circle the shield wall, while the third stayed in cover. I didn’t quite understand the plan until the two mobile wraiths passed the far side of the Anthophilan formation. As they did, the third member broke cover and immediately began flying up and over the shields, attempting to gain a high-ground advantage.

Just as it got high enough to peek over the shields, an arrow shot out and caught it directly in the face. As it dissolved, the Anthophilan formation exploded apart. The Wraiths fired wildly, surprised by the sudden attack. Their arrows went wide, and they received a spear in the gut in exchange.

As the remaining wraiths dissolved, the warriors returned to their previous defensive positions. If I hadn’t witnessed the fight, I would have thought they’d never fought at all.

“They’re a lot faster and more brutal than they were before,” Luther muttered.

“Yeah… they were already an effective fighting force before, but now there’s no way they’re going to avoid an elite designation. Both the training yard and the gardens are going to be light on troops,” I said, taking down some notes.

“If they fight like that during our matches, then I think we’ll survive,” Bella giggled. “I can’t wait to see how they do against Rembrandt.”

“Well, you’re going to have to wait for at least a few minutes,” I muttered. “They’ve got to deal with another challenge before they get to the revenants.”

“Really?” Luther asked. He passed a hand in front of his face, and his mask changed from one of cheer to one of interest. “How so?”

I just pointed at the screen. The Anthophilans had entered the next arena and come to a complete stop. Standing across from them was a massive warrior decked out in spiked, blood-red plate mail. Even though she was completely enclosed in heavy armor, without any skin showing, it was quite apparent who it was. There weren’t many ten-foot warriors on staff.

“You wanted to see how capable Sylvia is?” I said. “This is your chance to find out.”