Chapter 36: 35. One More Tally

After handling the wave of Maedra, the tunnel remained silent aside from the distant sounds of fighting behind them. Jake maintained his Sensory magic and Mora periodically tossed fresh flares to illuminate the far end of the tunnel for the others. In their moment of reprieve, the forward guard tended to their weapons to clean them of Maedra fat. Fien was eating with Pari to recover her mana and Nuro spoke with a member of the command team who had come for a visit. With the higher-up, several workers arrived from the rear, clearing the floor of mana crystals. Further up the tunnel, there was an ore vein that could be mined. With the tunnel not properly cleared though, the workers only marked the stone before finishing with the rest of the clean-up.

Under normal circumstances, Nuro would have pushed the team forward and covered the workers so that they could mine. However, with the appearance of the Knight, it was unsafe for even Pharos to be there. The village would have to make do with the crystals for now. Jake agreed. The Knight’s presence in the tunnel was enough to erase the feeling of victory he had felt. While there were no Maedra in sight, Jake didn’t think they had made much progress.

“Sir! Problem!” Jake stiffened as he heard the shout from behind. He looked back to see a runner sprinting towards Nuro and the Higher-up. Jake pressed his teeth together and opened his ears, listening in to see what issues they would have to deal with now.

“What’s the issue?” The man spat. The wrinkles on his aged face twisted with annoyance. The runner halted a few paces away from the man and then knelt down. In between breaths, he spit out his message.

“Sir! Orn has made contact with the Beasts. They need support. Their leader is injured,” the runner reported. It didn’t sound good.

“We have none for them,” the higher-up huffed. He pressed his fingers against his temples and let out a low groan as he tried to think.

“Orn won’t last, Sir. They’ll need help.” Nuro added his thoughts but the older man shook his head.

“You survived. Why won’t they?” The higher-up waved off the worry and then did the same to the runner. “They’ll be fine. The number of Beasts expected to be in the side tunnels was low in the first place.” Jake didn’t like that answer. It was as if this guy was assuming all of the teams could operate the same, with equal efficiency. That wasn’t fair.

“Sir, the reason we survived is that we have two competent mages. Orn only has a newbie and no healer. They won’t last.” The restraint was evident in Nuro’s voice. Jake could see he was frustrated.

“And who will we send, Nuro? You? Pull a warrior team from the main force that’s currently struggling with the nest?” The higher-up pushed back. His tone felt like a slap to the face.

“I could send a Mage,” Nuro glanced over to Jake, who nodded briefly. If Orn needed help and an entire team couldn’t go, then shedding just one individual to fill the gap was smart. Jake could do it.

“And weaken your team when the Beasts have been confirmed to be here? You said it yourself. The reason you were successful is that you had two mages. What will happen if they come again, and now you only have one?” The higher-up folded his arms over his chest and stared at Nuro. The dark elf squinted at the man.

Jake cut off his sensory magic and stood up. He had cultivated enough mana to restore his flow and had filled four tails worth of mana. With that amount, Jake had no doubt he could support both tunnels. As long as he remained efficient with his casting and cultivated as he went. His spells would need to be accurate and thorough. Otherwise, he would waste it. If needed, he could use his Spell Blade and switch to close combat.

“I can do it, Nuro,” Jake said aloud, hoping his voice would carry some kind of weight. Both Nuro and the Higher-up looked up at the boy. The man’s eyebrow raised and he let out a brief laugh.

“This is your mage?” The higher-up continued to chuckle as he shook his head. “Then no. Definitely not.”

“What?” Jake clenched his fists and glared at the old man. Nuro held up a hand, staying Jake’s agitation. The boy bit his tongue.

“Sir, he may look young but he’ll do the job.” Nuro continued trying to persuade the higher-up but it didn’t seem to be working. Just then, another runner appeared from the tunnel entrance.

“Sir! Orn is falling back! The Beasts are overwhelming them!” The runner sounded desperate as she screamed.

Time was up for politics.

“Jake, go,” Nuro ordered.

“Wait!” The higher-up shouted.

“Yes, Sir.” Jake didn’t wait for further approval and launched himself off the raised platform, using wind magic to blast himself down the tunnel. Wind coiled around his feet and he soared out into the large cavern. Just as he did, he was made aware of how desperate the situation was in the other two tunnels.

Healers bustled around the aid station, shouting and calling for supplies as they tended to dozens of injured Warriors. Runners sprinted back and forth from the main tunnel, constantly feeding information, requests, and fresh orders from the line. The higher-ups were shouting at one another, pointing aggressively at the map as they tried to sort the situation. To the right, Orn’s tunnel was a similar mess. Jake could see runners sprinting to and from and he could hear the screeches of the Maedra. Flashes of magic appeared in the distance but they were infrequent and weak. Maudraga spells were crashing into the walls from beyond Jake’s line of sight and the Scouts were being pushed back rapidly. Any further and they would be pushed into the main cavern.

Jake landed in the cavern and then used his wind magic to project himself towards Orn’s tunnel. He landed with a heavy thud and then darted into the fray. Pharos' team was comprised of six competent warriors, seven including Jake, and eight total members including Lao. Orn was a larger team of ten- five front liners, one leader, one mage, and two support. Their healer was not with them for this mission due to a prior injury. Thus, even with their stronger front line, with no Healer, they were corpses in the making. When Jake arrived, two were already out of the fight, one was struggling to keep his shield up, and the other two were doing their damndest to fight the wave of meat. The mage was kneeling, his face a mess of stress as his pitiful spells periodically slapped one or two Maedra. The spells were water spells and they were largely ineffective against the Maedra.

The leader was shouting for a retreat but his team was ignoring him. Not because they didn’t want to retreat. It was because they couldn’t. If they fell back they would die and it would open up a path straight to the support teams. At least if they continued to fight, they could buy time. They had done just that.

“Get down!” Jake shouted. Two front liners glanced back, their eyes widening as they spotted the boy and what he was doing. Quickly, they dove backward and out of the way. The third couldn’t move, as his shield prevented four Maedra from advancing. That was fine, Jake would adjust.

Mana surged from Jake’s hands and his tails as he generated several fire spears. Replicating Fien’s spell and increasing the density of the spears with his stronger mana, Jake launched eight of them over the heads of the front line. The spears skewered the meat bags, scorched the rock, and purged the rear of Maudraga. The explosions were violent and loud. The ground thundered with the impacts. Several Maedra in the front turned their eyes towards the source only to get a face full of fire as Jake followed up his initial spell with a barrage of fire cones. Using wind magic to increase the velocity of the spells, Jake pelted the front rows of the Maedra.

Pouring mana into the floor, Jake filled the ground in front of the shield scout and then triggered a massive wall of fire, stretching it outwards to create a thick barrier of scorching heat to prevent the Maedra from advancing. The creatures caught in the fire screamed out in peril as their flesh melted away. They pushed forward through the inferno, their bodies alight, only for Jake to pierce their bodies with rock from the ground beneath them.

Jake stepped up next to the leader of the Orn team and extended his hands, connecting his mana with the three remaining front liners. They were injured and heavily fatigued so he went to work healing their wounds and restoring their stamina. None of them would be back to full strength but it would hopefully be enough to re-establish the front line.

“Nuro sends his regards,” Jake said with a smirk to the other leader. The Oryk swallowed a hard lump in his throat and his hands curled into fists.

“Thank you,” he muttered.

“Save it. They’re back,” Jake’s fire wall ran out of mana attached to it and the flames began to recede. His healing task was mainly completed and the scouts stepped back up their line with renewed vigor.

“Hold them off!” The leader shouted to his scouts. The scout to the front gripped his shield and raised it firmly in front of him. The others stuck themselves to his flank. Sword and spear at the ready. “Can you deal with their mages?” The leader looked at Jake. Even with the boy, he didn’t seem convinced that they would survive.

“Of course,” Jake used rock magic to elevate himself and knelt to avoid the ceiling. The distant blue lights were like targets for him. Jake triggered his Sensory magic, the spell illuminating the distant Maudraga and outlining them for him. This tunnel wasn’t straight and there was a bend in it behind which several Maudraga were hiding. However, Jake had an idea.

Conjuring up another fire spear, Jake coiled it and attached a small sphere to its tip- a sphere full of sharpened rock and mana in the center of it to work as an explosive trigger. He stiffened the orb to ensure it would survive the flight and then verified the spell was stable. With the payload set, Jake used Wind magic for an additional push and then launched the spear down the tunnel. It cracked through the air, whistling as it screeched towards its target. The Maudraga on the far end spotted the spear and howled as it moved out of the way.

The creatures didn’t move enough. The spear smashed into the floor, the fire blooming and exploding outwards. The sphere full of stone cracked and blasted apart, sending dozens of pieces of vicious shrapnel down the bend. The lights dimmed and cut out both from the initial fire and the secondary explosion. The Maudraga scrambled to reassemble themselves. A second spear landed before they could. Then, a third. The walls cracked and trembled, loose rocks fell from above, and the floor disintegrated around the impact points as the powerful spears reduced the Maudraga to ash and clumps of shredded flesh.

With the mages handled, Jake grabbed his dagger and yanked it free. His mana was fine but the front-line scouts weren’t as experienced as those from Pharos. They were in danger of being overrun again and the Maedra were persistent. Healing would keep the scouts in the fight but a fatal strike would be the end of it. Jake lept down from his raised platform and gripped his dagger firmly in hand as he lunged towards the right flank of the Maedra.

Channeling fire mana into his weapon, the blade began to glow a bright red and flared with heat as he sliced through the meaty side of the first Maedra. He then jammed his hand into the wound, dumped mana into his palm, and conjured up a massive fireball directly inside of the Maedra. Its body bloomed and then splattered, the meat and innards blowing apart as the fireball shredded the creature from the inside.

Another Maedra came to fill the space but Jake met it with equal energy, slicing his Spell Blade through the Maedra’s reinforced arm with ease. The injury caused the Maedra to recoil and Jake took advantage of the gap. He fired off a wind cone from point-blank, blowing a hole in the Maedra’s chest and exposing its mana crystal. Jake stabbed the crystal, shattering it with his dagger.

“Faster,” Jake told himself. He twirled and sliced through the Maedra, his feet and hands moving rapidly as he cut through the wall of rot. He envisioned the movements of Mora, relied on his practiced Flow of Chi stance, and ensured he kept himself alongside the other scouts. He relied on them to cover his left side and put his full attention on keeping their right clear of threats. Whenever he was given an opportunity, he aided his allies with a swift blast of fire to take out their enemy.

The Maedra’s advance stalemated, wavered, and collapsed as their numbers were whittled down. Just as he had learned on the mats, Jake regulated his fatigue levels and kept his muscles fresh by using internal recovery magic. He kept his blade reinforced with fire-based mana and he stabilized his mana flow to match the output the fight required. Over time, the world blurred and his focus tunneled towards the Maedra. Adrenaline surged through his veins, his vision cleared, and his thoughts went silent. Everything felt natural as he and the other scouts cut through the Maedra.

For the first time in a fight- Jake’s lips curled into a wide smile.

In time, the Maedra numbers crumbled and Jake backed off, allowing the other team’s scouts to avenge themselves. They cut through the remaining Maedra and cleared the tunnel of threats. Jake used his Sensory magic to look for any other foes. More so, he checked to see if the Knight would show itself. The scan produced nothing of note and Jake cut it off once the last Maedra was killed. He wiped his blade off on his pants, cleaning the edge of filth as best as he could. He would have to tend to the weapon after the operation.

“You’re from Nuro’s team, right?” The leader called out as Jake moved away from the front. He sheathed his blade and stopped as the leader held out a hand. “Thank you for your support.”

“No worries. Just doing the job. Let us know if you need more help.” Jake shook the leader’s hand and then started to head back towards the central area.

“I owe you one,” the leader called out, but Jake didn’t acknowledge it and he upped his pace to a slow jog. There was nothing to owe- Jake had done what his task entailed. Secure the tunnel and eliminate the Maedra. Being allowed to slaughter those pests was enough.

A runner met Jake at the entrance as if she had been waiting for him. She was just a bit taller than him but there wasn’t anything in her eye that said she was above him.

“The tunnel is clear. Call for the support team,” Jake said to her. She acknowledged and sprinted towards the central command area. Jake hurried back towards his tunnel, but stopped and looked over towards the command area. The higher-ups were throwing a fit with one another, shouting and pointing fingers at the map aggressively. Why were they so upset?

“We need to seal the entrance!”

“What, and lose resources?”

“We need reinforcement. Send a runner to the village!”

“Sending a runner only admits that we failed.”

“We should push forward and force the Beasts back!”

“Push them back with what Warriors?”

Jake approached the command team from the side and watched from a short distance as three of the Higher-ups seemed to all attack one man dressed a bit more nicely than the others. He wore a small blue fancy-looking hat and he was the only one holding a long pointer stick. The others were staring at the map, pushing and moving the icons around as they tried to make their arguments. One man seemed keen on retreat, another argued for more aggression, and the other was doubtful either would succeed. The man they all shouted at resisted each of their arguments, slyly winding his way around them as he stared blankly at the map.

“Jake.” The boy looked towards the voice and saw Yae standing there, holding a small bucket in her thin arms. It was full of red stained water. She looked confused to see him. “Shouldn’t you be with Pharos?” She asked, setting the bucket down and walking over to him.

“I just came from helping Orn. I was heading back,” he said. Yae nodded and looked at him oddly. “Something on my face?”

“Nope. You just look… different?” She hummed as she reached up and poked at his face.

“Yae, shouldn’t you be healing?” He grumbled, his hand pushing hers away from his face.

“The others are doing most of the work. I’m mainly just cleaning up and doing the little stuff. Why are you here?” Yae stopped trying to tease him and then turned to see where he was looking- at the command team.

“I was curious. They don’t look happy.”

“We’ve had a lot of wounded come out of the tunnel, so they’re probably afraid the Beasts might win,” Yae sighed. She wiped her filthy hands on her already dirty shirt and then looked toward the aid station. A bunch of warriors had been gathered around in the small space and were being treated, but the healers were overwhelmed by the number of injured. If there were this many here being helped- how many were still fighting? There couldn’t have been a lot.

As Jake had that thought, a loud bang echoed out from the main tunnel and two Warriors flew out from the entrance, crashing onto the floor loudly. Their bodies rolled for a few feet before coming to a halt. Neither of them were moving.

“That’s not good,” Jake stated the obvious and the entire support area went silent.

From the tunnel, the remaining warriors were pushed back. The scout team with them appeared first, followed by the more heavily armored warriors. They stiffened their defense at the entrance, but the roaring of the Maedra beyond their shields was deafening. The mission was crumbling and the warriors looked like they wouldn’t last.

“Yae, get the wounded. We have to leave.” Jake barked.

“W-What? We can’t do that. Some of them can’t be moved,” Yae’s voice cracked as she too noticed the situation in the far tunnel. Jake raised a hand and fired off a fire ball towards the Pharos tunnel. It exploded at the entrance.

“It’s too late!” One of the commanders shouted. “See?! We have to retreat!”

“And go where?! The village is behind us!”

“Then seal the tunnel! We’ll die if we stay! I’m leaving!” The terrified leader grabbed his things and quickly began to run towards the exit tunnel, fleeing along with a few others from the communication station. Those that couldn’t hold their nerve broke off and abandoned their posts. The others all turned their heads to the true leader, waiting for his order.

“Recall Pharos and Orn. Have them reinforce the warrior teams. Healers, gather the wounded and fall back. We’ll seal the exit. Hurry!”

Following his order, a loud thud echoed out from the middle tunnel. Orn Squad suddenly appeared, running quickly as dust and debris rained down behind them. One of the scouts was too slow. The crumbling ceiling swallowed the Scout, crushing him beneath the stone and dust. The tunnel had collapsed.

Pharos appeared from their tunnel, Nuro spotting Jake as he emerged. The runner with the new orders intercepted the team and Nuro quickly shouted for Pharos to reinforce the main group. They moved quickly, sprinting across the open area to add their numbers to the line. Orn was given the same order but only their leader and two of their frontliners moved to help. The rest separated and returned to the central area. However, they weren’t running. They moved to help the Healers with the wounded.

“Hurry up and leave, Yae. I’ll help hold off the Beasts.” With a new objective, Jake left Yae behind and used magic to accelerate towards the main tunnel. Two warriors were cut down and quickly replaced by scout tanks but their lighter armor wouldn’t hold up as well. A temporary fix. Jake formed up with the backline of the remaining mages and fired off a pair of fire spears down the tunnel. Maudraga at the back intercepted his spears, using their spells as shields. The spears blasted apart in the air, eviscerating the Maedra beneath them but the Maudraga at the back were unharmed. They responded with a volley of their spells and Jake replicated their tactics. Using powerful Wind Cones, Jake’s spells tore through the Maudraga spells and caused them to explode over the lower-ranking Maedra, adding to their casualty count.

Even so, it wasn’t enough. The Maedra numbers were far too high for a few spells to put a dent in. Jake blasted them apart and did his best to shave off what he could. They just kept coming. He lobbed spears towards the Maudraga when he could with little success. Two or three Maudraga seemed to be waiting for those spears to come, as they didn’t cast any spells until Jake attempted to target the back of their forces. Somehow, the Maedra had learned from the conflict in the other tunnels and had adapted- they were countering his tactic.

“Just like with Chul,” Jake thought. He curled his hands into fists and glared at his enemy. Using Sensory magic, he stared down the tunnel to analyze the full force of the Maedra. Beyond the entrance, the tunnel was full of the things. Beyond the Maedra, the Maudraga were just as dense. Their spells crashed into the Scouts, Warriors, and even the frontmost Maedra. Those injured were dragged out of the way but there were no replacements anymore. Those holding the Maedra at bay simply had to handle the increased burden.

“Fight to the last, huh, Nuro?” Jake seethed and planted both hands on the ground. He poured mana into the floor and created a massive pool at the entrance of the tunnel. Then, he shoved the stone upwards. A thick wall of rock filled the gap, sealing the entrance. The Maedra that had pushed into the cavern were killed and dealt with but there was no time to celebrate. The rock wall was being hammered on by the Maedra on the far side.

Jake held his hands to the floor, ensuring the connection was kept stable and he reinforced the rock wall. The Maedra’s muffled wails echoed from the far side of the stone and the Maudraga pounded the wall with their spells. The wall cracked and thumped, loose dirt and debris falling loose as Jake held it in place.

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“I can buy time, but not much!” Jake shouted as he looked at Nuro. The Dark Elf looked surprised but that surprise was quickly replaced with urgency. Everyone else must have felt the same as they all looked toward their respective leaders, desperate for the next order.

“Good work. Everyone help the wounded!” Nuro shouted. The frozen legs began to move as the Scouts and Warriors scrambled to aid the fallen. Those that could walk on their own were shepherded out first. Those that needed aid with walking were paired up and limped towards the exit. The non-ambulatory were placed onto stretchers or carried out.

But, it took time. The main force had largely been wiped out and the number of support personnel available was far less in number. The more able had to take multiple trips to help. There was also the task of gathering the equipment and supplies. Much of it was abandoned as time didn’t permit a full clean-up. Jake struggled to hold the wall and added layers several times to keep it from being broken through. However, even with his strength, the Maudraga on the far side were working in unison to tear through his barrier. He was fighting a losing battle.

“Nuro,” Jake grunted, looking to his left to the leader who was standing there. Nuro stared behind Jake, waiting for the last moment. The commander of the operation acted as the median in the chaos, directing retreat and maintaining order.

“They’re getting the last ones out,” Nuro said. With his focus on the tunnel, Jake couldn’t look behind him. He couldn’t see how much longer he needed to hold on, nor could he tell when it would be time for him to leave. If no one called for him, he would be left abandoned.

“Can you strengthen it long enough for us to leave?” Nuro asked. Jake almost answered immediately, but then he recognized the weight behind such a question. The boy looked up to his Squad Leader. One of Nuro’s hands was firmly gripping one of the scabbards on his hip.

“If I say no?” Jake turned his eyes back towards the wall, watching the dust and cracks from the Maedra slamming into the stone. Once Jake released the wall, it would only stand for a few seconds unless he reinforced it. Jake could make that rush to the exit but the Maedra would be hot on his heels. Any slip up and he would be in a fight for his life.

“Then I’ll give you time,” Nuro didn’t hesitate with his response. As if it was something he was already prepared to do. Jake should have expected as much.

“Then it’ll hold,” Jake said. His mana flow tensed as he pumped more mana into the rock. He increased the thickness of the wall by pushing two more layers out from the floor. Then, he pushed mana into the tunnel itself and lined the walls with explosive runes, runes that would hopefully cause a cave-in. He placed runes above the tunnel as well for additional effect. When it was set, Jake connected trigger lines to the runes and stabilized the flow to the main wall.

“On you, Nuro.” Jake huffed, glancing up at his team leader.

“Last man,” Nuro muttered, watching the Commander of the operation pull out of the area. With the support space clear and all of the wounded withdrawn, only Nuro and Jake remained. The Commander stopped at the exit tunnel, his eye turning to stare at his last two underlings. He gave Nuro a nod, so Nuro knew it was time to go.

“You first.” Jake grit his teeth and took in a long breath, stabilizing his mana. Nuro smirked.

“Go,” Nuro spat. His feet slapped the dirt as he started to run. Jake triggered the runes, and the floor rumbled as the tunnel was blasted apart. The outside of the cavern shattered as the ceiling began to quake, the wall crumbling apart. Large boulders and shards of stone dropped down in front of the tunnel entrance. However, the explosions caused more than just the planned rocks to collapse. The loose hanging stones were shaken free and they dropped to the floor like falling spears.

Jake used wind magic to catch up to Nuro and then used mana to cover them in a wind barrier, protecting their heads from the falling rocks. As they approached the exit tunnel, the Maedra began to crack through the collapsed entrance. Jake shoved Nuro forward with wind magic, pushing him across the last stretch. Then, he launched himself forward. Immediately, Jake twirled around and planted his hands on the floor. He covered the entrance with explosive runes, and then launched several fire spears towards the ceiling, increasing the damage to the rocks as he began to blow apart the entrance of their tunnel.

“Run!” Jake shouted at those behind him, glaring up at the Commander who was standing next to him. Following his plea, the others turned to run. Jake waited until they were clear before he set in motion his final task.

The Maedra started to crawl out of the holes they were making so Jake upped his firepower and stretched his remaining mana out into the room. He planted and ignited explosive runes all over the walls, the ceiling, and the floor, decimating the cavern to pull it down. Most of the space remained intact but the large pieces fell and fulfilled the task he needed. The entrance to their tunnel cracked apart and Jake was forced to retreat as it started to crumble. He left behind a line of explosive runes, blowing the rock to pieces as he evacuated to the cave-in entrance.

Covered in dust, Jake slid down the final few feet to safety, popping out into the far more quiet lower tunnel. He stared ahead and towards a distant bend in the tunnel, and at the backs of many who were limping their way back to the village. He let out a huff of air and slouched against the rock behind him, his eyes staring up towards his squad leader and the operation commander. They were both looking down at him. Nuro looked tired but satisfied. The Commander still looked stressed.

“Who is this?” The commander asked. Nuro chuckled and held out a hand to help Jake to his feet. The boy accepted the aid.

“Jake Furrow. Our team’s new healer,” Nuro smirked as he folded his hands neatly behind his back. Jake brushed off some of the dust and dirt from his clothes but he gave up when it didn’t seem to help. He was covered in the stuff. He needed a bath.

“A healer, huh? Quite a good cover story. I can’t very well put down that we were saved by a healer in my report, Nuro.” The commander sighed and pressed his fingers against his temples again as if now he had something else to worry about now.

“But you can put in that you had to retreat due to a sudden cave-in, right?” Nuro grinned and placed his hand gently onto the shoulder of the commander, giving it a light squeeze. The commander eyed him warily, and then looked down at Jake.

“You won’t be rewarded if I lie, Nuro,” the commander gently nudged Nuro’s hand off his shoulder and shook his head.

“If I did this for money and rewards, I wouldn’t have accepted the mission in the first place. Right?” Nuro’s smile remained broad and firm as he looked at Jake. Jake agreed and nodded. There were plenty of things Jake could do to earn money. While he didn’t like the idea of putting his life on the line for the village, he knew anyone else in his situation would likely have failed. If he could do something, then he would raise his hand to do it. Especially if it meant another opportunity to kill the Maedra.

“Then what do you want?” Not wanting to leave without rewarding Nuro and Jake, the Commander decided to give Nuro the option to choose. However, Nuro only patted the man on the back and held his smile.

“For now, nothing. The teams need to recover and I’m not selfish enough to take after this kind of failure. But, I’ll come asking later.” Finished with the conversation with the commander, Nuro turned to Jake.

“Really hope every mission isn’t like this,” Jake grumbled and glared up at Nuro. This was his second time going out to meet the Maedra and the second time he would be returning as a failure. With fighting the Maedra being this difficult on a large scale, Jake was beginning to wonder how these people had survived for so long. 

“It’s usually a lot easier, so I wouldn’t worry about that. How about a meal on me?” Nuro must have been desperate to boost the boy’s morale. Was Jake’s annoyance that apparent?

“Better be a feast,” Jake sighed and took one last look up the tunnel. He felt uneasy about not having dealt with the Maedra. However, with the amount of destruction and the tunnel practically collapsing on itself, he doubted they would be able to make it through. He hoped he had also caused enough damage to the cavern on the far side to make it uninhabitable and hopefully cause it to collapse eventually as well.

“I know just the place,” Nuro chuckled and the two made their way up the tunnel together. They didn’t make it far before Jake spotted someone standing near the wall. She was practically hugging herself, her eye staring at each person that walked by.

“Yae,” Jake called to her as he walked up. Yae stiffened and looked over, her eye widening with relief as she spotted him. She stepped away from the wall and quickly marched over to him.

“Friend of yours?” Nuro asked as she closed the distance. Before Jake could answer, she hugged him. “...Friend of yours.” Nuro nodded and continued to walk, leaving the two as she held onto him. Jake pressed his lips together and stared at Nuro’s back, unsure of what to do now. He hoped his Squad leader would help him. That must have been asking for too much.

“Y-Yae. You can let go now?” Jake placed his hands on her sides, gently nudging her to try and get the girl to release him. When she didn’t answer or loosen her grip, he sighed and gave her a few uncertain pats on the back.

“You’re an idiot,” she mumbled finally. He opened his mouth to retort only for the words to hang in his throat.

“Just a bit, yea…” he sighed. Yae’s grip finally loosened and she peeled away from him. She stood there, staring at him as her lips seemed to open and close a few times. There was something on the tip of her tongue, something she didn’t know how to say or if she should say it. Jake gave her a few moments to try and collect her thoughts. When the words didn’t come, he smiled and placed his hand on her shoulder.

“Let’s go home. The others are waiting,” he said.

Yae lowered her head, a bit defeated that she couldn’t speak up but Jake didn’t want to force her. Her head bobbed just barely and the two began their walk back towards the village. Nuro wasn’t too far ahead and the rest of Pharos was also waiting in the tunnel. They stepped up to Nuro and looked back towards Jake. Before they could say anything, the Squad leader herded his sheep and pushed them all up the tunnel. Jake felt a bit betrayed that his team would abandon him with the awkward situation but he wasn’t going to make a scene about it.

“I learned something important today, Yae,” Jake said softly. She didn’t look at him as he spoke nor did she say anything back. So, he continued to talk. “There’s a lot of people that want to protect your village. There are a lot of Warriors and Scouts willing to risk their lives to protect it but they aren’t strong enough to do it alone.”

Yae blinked and looked over at him. She still didn’t speak. Jake paused for a few breaths, collecting his thoughts and organizing the right words he wanted to say.

“I think I’ll stay here a little longer to help out. How does that sound?” Jake smiled as he turned his eyes to meet Yae’s. Her face turned a little red as she looked away.

“It sounds okay, I guess,” she mumbled.

During the operation, Jake had seen how weak the Scout and Warrior teams truly were. Against a large Maedra force, they were only meat shields. In a battle of attrition, the Maedra would win out every time. The Mages were too weak to provide support and the healers were underdeveloped. The Command teams were fragile and incompetent, with the leaders lacking trust in one another. Only a handful of warriors and scouts were competent enough to fight against the Maedra and their numbers were likely dwindling. One too many encounters like before and the village would be void of any strong and willing fighters.

Not only that, but the appearance of the Black Knight had Jake even more concerned. Who was that? Was it a new kind of Maedra? Or was it something else? A person who sided with the Maedra? Jake didn’t know its capabilities but it was strong enough to interfere with his Sensory magic and could destroy a spell with its sword. What else could it do? The black mana leaking from its helmet didn’t have Jake feeling excited to have to deal with it in the future but he knew he would have to eventually. When that time came, Jake would need to make sure he was ready.

If Jake left the village in the state it was, that Knight would return and the people would be powerless against it. The Maedra would likely overwhelm the village and it wouldn’t last very long. While Jake didn’t plan to leave any time soon, he likely would need to rethink when that proper time would be. He had a lot of training to do and the Maedra were still a threat he needed to deal with. With two losses stacked against him, Jake wasn’t about to let those rotting flesh bags roam freely in the tunnels. He’d get his payback, that was certain.

“Jake, if I said I wanted to go with you to the Surface… Would you let me?” Yae’s question caught Jake off guard. He stared at her for a moment, but when she didn’t say anything else then he knew she was serious. He wasn’t particularly against a companion to travel with. It sounded pretty fun to have someone to experience the world with.

But, Yae was from beneath the Surface. Would she be able to live above ground? Not only that but Yae was also rather fragile. At least, that’s how she looked. Trips from village to village, city to city, country to country, would all be long and tiresome. They would wear down on the individuals and were likely filled with difficult conditions. By himself, Jake figured he would be fine. With Yae coming along? Would she be okay?

“I can’t exactly say no,” Jake said, pausing for a moment as he once again chose his words wisely. “But I don’t think I’d be comfortable bringing you with me everywhere I went.”

He felt it was fair to say. Jake didn’t doubt that Yae was capable of being an adventurer. Anyone could become one if they had the drive to do it, maybe. She just didn’t seem like the type to be able to withstand the rough elements. And Jake wondered if she would be okay mentally. If she worried about him this much when he was just in the tunnels, she probably would worry even more when she had no idea about anything he was doing.

“I see,” Yae frowned and lowered her head a bit. Jake sighed as he saw her reaction and he placed a hand on her back, trying to at least comfort her a bit. He tried to formulate some words to say to her, to try and cheer her up, but he didn’t quite find anything. Since he wasn’t able to, the two walked in silence from the tunnel to the village.

As they reached it, Nuro was standing there waiting for them. Two guards were there as well. Nuro spoke to them briefly and then the guards parted to allow them all entry. The commander was waiting for them inside the village and once the last three arrived, he sent a runner ahead to the council. Nuro, Jake, and Yae were informed of the compensation that would be made available to them at the Association building, and then the commander departed.

“Take the rest of the day off, Jake. We’ll debrief tomorrow in the morning,” Nuro smiled down at the two. “I’ll treat you to lunch after the morning work.”

“Okay,” Jake acknowledged the task, then Nuro left as well. “Shall we get food, too?” Jake asked Yae. She seemed detached, and Jake was unsure how to handle it.

“Sure,” Yae nodded passively. Jake frowned and nudged her.

“I don't know what’s wrong unless you say something, Yae,” he prodded. The girl looked at him, her face a mix of emotions as she stared. This time, Jake waited patiently for her to speak.

“One day, Jake, it isn’t going to come out all okay. I’m scared that you don’t see that,” she said.

“I know that. Why do you think I practice and train so much?” He shrugged and then held out his hand, calling forth a wind ball with ease to give her an example. Her jaw tensed and she slapped his hand out of the air, scattering the wind ball.

“It’s that attitude, Jake. You can’t train for everything. You can’t practice for everything. You aren’t as strong as you think you are, and it’s going to get you killed,” her voice changed. He could see the tension building. Once more, he could see the anger growing in her eye.

“What do you want from me, Yae? I can’t just stop. I can’t not learn Magic or stop learning how to fight,” he said, sighing heavily. What did she want him to do, just sit on his hands all day and let the Maedra just exist? Who else would fill in for him?

“No, Jake. I don’t want you to stop learning or to stop fighting. I want you to stop being so stupid about it. Rushing around, flinging your magic, trying to play hero like back in the cavern. What did that get you except almost killed?” Yae’s eye narrowed and she jammed a finger into his chest, prodding and digging at him as she challenged his decisions. Jake glared at her and grabbed her hand. While he was annoyed, he made sure not to grab too tight.

“How many people survived because of those decisions, Yae?” He asked, pushing back with just a single question. She opened her mouth, ready to fire a retort, but then she bit her lip and held her tongue.

“Exactly. It’s because I did those things that Orn survived, that we were able to get the wounded out. It’s because I did those things that the Beasts aren’t running down that tunnel, storming the village.” He hissed, straightening his spine as he stared at Yae. “So what do you want, Yae? Do you want me to let people die, when I am strong enough to stop it? Should I have just stayed with Pharos and let Orn get overrun, and then let the Beasts run at you and the support teams?”

“I want you to be safe, Jake,” she started to speak, but he shook his head.

“I can’t do that, Yae. Not when the Beasts threaten this village. Not when there are things out there wanting to kill you all,” he said quickly. When there were beings like the Black Knight lurking in the tunnels, he couldn’t just sit by and listen to rumors about people being killed by such a thing.

“So what, you’ll just jump in to save everyone and be some half-baked hero until you finally die?!” She spat. Jake blinked at her use of the word hero again but waved it off and shrugged.

“Who else will do that?” He asked, his eyes looking around and his hands raised for effect to show that there wasn’t anyone else covered in dirt and grime from burying those tunnels. He was the only one who had stayed behind to seal off the Maedra. Not a single other mage offered to help because they couldn’t. They ran away in fear. Useless, pitiful fear.

“Anyone else! Anyone!” She yapped. Jake had enough and inhaled deeply, collecting himself before he exploded.

“Can you use fire magic, Yae?” He asked. “Can you use rock magic, water magic, or wind magic? Can you heal three people at the same time, regulate your mana, and cast offensive spells all together? Can you both cast a spell and swing a blade?” He knew he wasn’t playing fair, but he hoped he would make his point clear. Of all the people in the Village, so far Jake could do far more and was more effective at it all. Everything except swordsmanship.

“You can’t. None of you can, but I can,” he huffed.

“That doesn’t mean you have to!” She stomped her foot and curled her hands into fists. Her voice boomed through the air, thundering into his ears as she stared at him. Jake returned her glare, but he couldn’t hold his anger anymore. It faded away as he looked at the tears brimming on the edges of her eyes, showing the true concern behind her words.

“But I need to,” he said softly. He placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to console her. Yae swatted his hand away and stepped back. “If I don’t, then who will?” He asked.

“I told you… Anyone else,” she muttered. Jake shook his head.

“No one else can, Yae.”

“There has to be,” she muttered again. She hugged herself and took another step back. Jake frowned and closed his eyes. He took in another long inhale and on his exhale, Jake let out the cluster of hesitation and disappointment on his mind.

“When they show up, then I’ll be sure to give them my place,” Jake stepped away and started down the ramp towards the village.

“Where are you going?” She asked meekly.

“I don’t know,” he answered, not stopping.

“Jake-” She started, but Jake held up his hand to stop her.

“It’s late, Yae. Today has been a rough one. Make sure you rest enough and wash up. The other two will probably be back soon if they aren’t already,” Jake spoke without looking over his shoulder. When he was finished, Jake continued to walk. He walked until the noise of the main street deafened his screaming thoughts.

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