“Everyone, please calm down.” The Doc clapped in an attempt to silence the crowd. “We will get through this, I promise.”

  “Three dungeons per week,” John replied, reminding his teammates once again why he studied in the STEM track. He raised three fingers for emphasis. “We’ll need to destroy three dungeons per week to purge the city in a year’s time.”

  “We can’t, not with our limited numbers,” Crypto said. “Some of the Dungeons will probably take days to weeks to safely destroy, depending on their layout and defenders.”

  “What about the Mall?” Someone asked at the back of the room.

  Matthew froze like a deer in a headlight, but Liv swiftly reassured him. “Chang confirmed that the entrances are still locked, but they haven't collapsed either. That Dungeon shows no sign of starving.”

  This greatly saddened the Doc. “It took us a month to starve a stage one Dungeon, and nearly a year to degrade a stage two into a Cell. I had hoped a stronger Dungeon would burn through its Flux quicker than its smaller counterparts, but I’ve clearly missed the mark.”

  “According to our current models, a Dungeon requires roughly a victim a month to sustain itself and more to grow in strength,” Crypto replied. “Skipping a meal means death for a stage one and a slow loss of power for anything upward in the food chain.”

  “If we can close a newborn Dungeon, the problem will go away within a month’s time,” Liv added. “If any of you find an entrance that can reasonably be cordoned off, you should report its location and condemn it to the best of your ability. At best, those Dungeons will starve to death. At worst, we’ll deal with them after we’ve purged the more dangerous ones.”

  Matthew crossed his arms. Condemning a Dungeon instead of destroying it felt like kicking a can down the road to him, with no guarantee that someone would pick it up later; but they had to work with what they had.

  Sasha raised her hand. “What’s the Mall?”

  “An extremely dangerous Dungeon located inside the Little Brussels supermall,” Crypto replied while Matthew remained silent as a tomb. “Since our member Mr. Chang owns the place, we’ve successfully condemned its entrances.”

  “But you couldn’t destroy it?” Petro guessed.

  “No,” Crypto replied bluntly. “It boasts both an exceptionally lethal defender and multiple floors.”

  “We attempted a large raid a few years back with reinforcements from other cities’ wreckers,” Liv said with a grim look. “T’was a disaster through and through.”

  “We suspect that the Mall’s continued existence is why Evermarsh suffers from a much higher rate of Dungeon infestations than any other city in Europe, like rot inviting infection,” Crypto added. “Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to do anything about it for four years.”

  And Maggie wanted to change that on her own. Matthew knew she would almost certainly get herself killed trying to clear that cursed place. He should have a word with Mr. Chang about reinforcing the entrances after the meeting.

  “Moreover…” Crypto gathered her breath. “We will need to reshuffle most teams into trios assigned to a different district each.”

  That caught Matthew’s full attention, alongside that of his teammates. They all exchanged a knowing glance.

  “Trios?” Kari asked, her eyes turning to the Doc, whose brow had noticeably furrowed. “Does that mean…”

  Matthew’s group had operated for a year and a half under the Doc’s stewardship. The school’s Dungeon run had been one of the few instances where they operated without his guidance. If the Association downsized its teams…

  Crypto nodded as her hand ran across the city’s map. “We have divided the city into nine areas, ten if we count the marshes: Consul’s Hills, the Golden Towers, Temple Alley, Little Brussels, Parc-Magritte, the Dumps, Chemtown, the Hub, and Old Town.” She pointed at the shopping district and then the projects. “With our new team compositions, Finn, Liv, and Lou would oversee Little Brussels while Umar and Sol handle the Dumps. Mr. Chang can continue to deal with the Golden Towers on his own, since he doesn’t need a team to back him up.”

  “Is that wise?” the Doc asked, a scowl of worry forming on his face as he observed his students. “My students have acquitted themselves well, but they are still teenagers.”

  “For one more year, Doc,” Matthew replied. It annoyed him that people would coddle him because of his age in spite of his experience and phenomenal cosmic power. “We can take care of ourselves.”

  “We do have a few victories to our name,” Kari conceded. “Though I wouldn’t mind a little more training.”

  John shrugged. “We don’t have a choice, Matsumoto. We’re stretched thin as we are.”

  The Doc studied his students carefully, then searched for support elsewhere. “Liv–”

  “They’ll have to leave the nest sooner or later, Finn,” his on-and-off girlfriend replied with a sigh. “Bodies will rack up in unsupervised districts.”

  “You have a point…” The Doc thoughtfully scowled at Matthew’s team, his eyes full of worry. “Do you think you will be able to do Dungeon runs without supervision?”

  “We just did it on Friday,” John replied confidently. “Your concern is appreciated, Doctor O’Conner, but unwarranted. We’ll be fine.”

  “I was blowing up Dungeons long before we met, Doc,” Matthew reminded them. His first team might have disbanded under terrible circumstances, but they still managed to get by and gained a few years of experience under their belt.

  Kari smiled slightly. “I’ll keep an eye on these two for you, like always.”

  The Doc didn’t appear convinced, but decided to go along with Crypto's strategy. “I see. In that case, we’ll continue to meet on weekends for training and check-ups.”

  “Good,” Crypto said as she assigned the new teams on the board. Matthew, Kari, and John would patrol all of Temple Alley, but being one member short meant that they would need to pick up the slack with extra effort. “Only Chemtown remains unaccounted for, so we’ll run irregular shifts.”

  “What about the marshes?” Officer Kresnik asked, his fingers intertwining. “Mortality rates are low in the area, but we still need to check it out occasionally.”

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “I suggest that we run a large exercise in the area over the Autumn holidays,” Crypto replied. “Considering the sheer scale of the area and the relatively low chances of any emerging Dungeon claiming many victims there, we’ll gather all the teams and check every inch of ground across the region in a single sweep.”

  Matthew smiled in anticipation. Large-scale Dungeon raids were always a fun experience, since few monsters could resist the might of two dozen Crawlers ganging up on them. Everyone brought some food, competed over the number of destroyed cores, and then partied after tallying the numbers.

  Petro politely raised his hand and caught Crypto's attention. “Yes, Petro?”

  “What about us?” he asked, his Eastern accent showing up. “Do we get an assignment?”

  “Sending you into a Dungeon with your current lack of training would be counterproductive,” Crypto replied, which was a fancy way of saying they wouldn’t last an hour. “We usually work on a mentorship program with newcomers, so I’ll assign you a teacher based on our scheduling. Since most of you attend the same school as Matthew’s team, I’ll also ask that you take pointers from them.”

  “Oh my,” Matthew replied. “Only one of us is a good example to learn from.”

  Kari let out a heavy sigh. “I know.”

  “After you’re trained, yes, I would like you to form a team and help us patrol Chemtown,” Crypto said. "Of course, there are some upsides to joining our organization. You'll receive a stipend from the Association to cover your expenses, albeit a small one, and we'll take care of fencing and selling whatever Dungeon loot that you may gather. Dungeon delving can be a lucrative activity if you're lucky. You will also receive spell training and support from other members, both of which will make your lives much easier."

  "Lives which we'll risk in those places," Petro replied."

  "No one will force you to fight and I do not expect an answer now, but I will be blunt: there’s literally no one else who can do that job." Crypto stared at Sasha's group with a cold gaze. "If you refuse to assist, innocent people will die.”

  The Doc opened his mouth. “Riley–”

  “They have to know what they’re signing for, Finn,” Crypto cut in with a stern face. “This is a war, not a game.”

  Petro scowled at the word ‘war’, while Amélia and Sasha exchanged a few worried glances. While many would have called Crypto too harsh, Matthew wasn’t among them. He knew from experience that Dungeon wrecking was a harsh, dirty task that someone had to complete for the sake of everyone else.

  “What if we get ambushed by a tougher than usual Dungeon?” John asked. “Teams of three are too small for the hard ones.”

  “We have developed a system around this issue,” Crypto replied before inviting Julia to take the stand. “If you would show them.”

  “Hi, guys!” Julia said, waving a hand at the Association and carrying a black briefcase with the other. “I’ve got a surprise for you all!”

  An aeronautic student at Evermarsh’s local university, Julia “Grinder” Vandriel was by far the perkiest member of the Association. Who else bothered to dye their hair dark red and sky silver every day of the week? Her fashion choice looked just as strange, between the red cap fitting snugly over her face, the cheap military dog tag imitation hanging loosely around her neck, and her dirty sleeveless top and overalls. Her dating site-inspired codename was only the cherry on top of the cake.

  However, it would be a mistake to underestimate Julia for her eccentricity. She was a monster-mowing machine whose kill count nearly rivaled that of Mr. Chang. Her Key’s ability to recombine objects together had also turned her into the Association’s bootleg equipment manufacturer. The only downside was that it often took a while to iron out her creations’ kinks.

  “Is it a briefcase full of cash?” Matthew asked out of curiosity. “I didn’t know that being a university student paid so well.”

  “Did you mistake me for a dinosaur, Matt?” Julia replied with a warm laugh. “Everybody uses crypto-wallets for shady deals nowadays.”

  Charlie snickered and put his feet on his table for dramatic effect. “Only priests and nerds like you believe in something they can’t touch,” he said before glancing at Umar. “No offense to the Imam among us.”

  Umar ignored the jab, much to Charlie’s disappointment. Julia pretended he didn’t exist either and then opened her briefcase to unveil her new creation: a set of blue, wireless earplugs. “I’ve got one for each of you!”

  John straightened up with interest. “Are those the so-called ‘Navigators’ you were working on?”

  “Quite astute, John,” the Doc confirmed with an affable smile. “Indeed they are.”

  “Dungeons interfere with standard methods of electronic communications, but these devices should let us bypass this limit,” Crypto explained. “Not only will it allow for in-Dungeon communication, but a team encountering difficulties can also request reinforcements in a pinch. We will keep a rotating group to stay on standby duties each week to deal with any emergencies.”

  Julia began to distribute the communicators around. Matthew immediately put his own on. It felt a bit heavier than those he was used to, but the sleek hi-tech aesthetics gave him a neat secret agent style.

  “Pizza Hut calling Kari,” he said. “Pizza Hut calling Kari, do you copy? Would you prefer your pizza with cheese or pepperoni tonight?”

  “Copy that,” she replied with a chuckle. “I’ll order a vegetarian.”

  Matthew immediately vetoed that loathsome order. “It’s meat or nothing.”

  John snorted. “Children,” he said before grabbing his own Navigator. “I will take pasta, thank you very much.”

  “Next item on the agenda is to resupply,” Liv declared with a hint of distaste as she invited Charlie to take the lead. “The weapons, please.”

  “Uncle Charlie has brought you your Christmas presents four months early,” Charlie boasted with the charm of a shady telemarketer. He opened his mysterious crates with a crowbar and revealed dozens of firearms sleeping inside them. “I’ve got thirty Heckler & Koch HK416 assault rifles, twenty MP7 submachine guns, ten M79 grenade launchers, two RPG-7V2 rocket launchers, a set Smith & Wesson 3000 shotguns, a Gepard M6 sniper rifle…”

  Matthew had no idea what any of that meant, but the Association’s gun nuts looked like children on a Black Friday run. John immediately left his seat to sample the merchandise with his teammates following shortly behind.

  “Is this a USAS-12?” John asked upon grabbing an assault rifle.

  “With depleted uranium pellets,” Charlie confirmed with a proud salesman’s smile. “I bought it from a North Korean contact for three bags of rice and a computer.”

  “Very nice,” John replied calmly. Most monsters boasted skin as hard as soft armor, so John favored heavier calibers or armor-piercing rounds. “However, I remember ordering a flamethrower and I don’t see it anywhere.”

  Charlie let out a groan. “Again with the flamethrower, kiddo? Don’t you want something more feisty, like an RPG?”

  “Kresnik has a flamethrower,” Matthew pointed out.

  “Because I’m strong enough to wield it one-handed,” Officer Kresnik replied with a snicker. “Besides, bullet boy, doesn’t your Key ability only apply to projectiles? It won’t let you redirect flames.”

  John shrugged his shoulders. “Have you forgotten the trolls that took over the old bridge last year? Their bullet wounds closed faster than we could shoot them.”

  “Oh right,” Matthew said. He recalled absorbing a handful inside his black hole eye, and then the Doc killed most of them with fire spells. “You were completely useless back then.”

  “Don’t push it, Maruki.” John snorted. “But I’ll concede that day taught me that you can’t solve all your problems with a gun. Sometimes, you need variety.”

  “I should ask for a new weapon too,” Kari muttered under her breath. “Knives and rapiers will only carry me so far.”

  “Perfect timing, I’m taking new orders now that I’m done with the Navs,” Julia said. She pulled out a small notebook and pen out of her overalls’ pockets. “How about a retractable sword? A weapon you can carry around and increase your range?”

  Kari’s eyes suddenly lit up with excitement. “That would be great! Can you make it a sabre fencing sword? I’m mostly used to them.”

  “I’d dig a John Wick Kevlar jacket,” Matthew immediately added. He had been looking for one to look cooler at school, and a bulletproof vest would help him deal with enemies in melee.

  “Kevlar is beyond our budget, Matt, but I’ll see what I can do,” Julia replied. She turned to her next potential customer. “What about you, John? Do you want a sword too?”

  “I’ll stick to firearms, thanks,” he replied. “I’ll take the USAS-12.”

  Matthew noticed that Sasha’s group was browsing the weapons too. Unlike his very good friend and Amélia, who looked more disturbed than anything, Petro handled a rifle in a way that Matthew couldn’t call anything other than professional. That guy had much greater experience with firearms than he should for his age.

  “Matthew?”

  Matthew froze and peeked over his shoulder to find himself facing a pair of sunglasses. He’d recognized the voice and knew very well it could only mean one thing.

  “If you don’t mind,” Mr. Chang said. “Would you have a moment to talk about the Mall?”

  (access to advance chapters, arts and other bonuses)

  My Amazon if you wanna check my other books

  on Tapas

  Thanks to my patrons on :

  ArtHunt Glitter Rabbit (C) Ben Nexous Cross Thomas Russell Pugnar Samantha Kuhn Krosh Pagrek Johan Eenfeldt deez Jeffrey Zhou manna huizar Valentin Claeys Truehearts Mora_Insight Andriy Karpus Thejasvi Prahlad Taccohunter Brian Mccarthy ?a?an O'san Plaszczykov Shaun norden C?me Roy Pear Adrian Castillo Luis Hernandez sageco ProxReader Fritz Kühn Seth Baker Armani Mena Federico Randy FaronAan John Lim Rom Yaskant Cap'nSmurfy Bombastic101 SovereignDag Roma Ivanets CrossingInk ryan dougherty krakan delux Warren (Stephen) Rose Andrew B Alexander Sampson Blitzcread Maxime Bray Brendan D. King John Baugher Colonel Doloryas RA Alexzendor Misra Charles Konstantin eeee elforo Pius Tumwebaze Lemky Wilfire Lucas Troyano Costaud 3107 Zomboss Zonbikirā DatUser higby Adrian Wright SirDeP Josh Exal DKM Mike Baker MomentarilyDisabled Julio Leite Lord Voldemorty industriousrevolution Almander Aleck E. S.P AMERICUH Montana Peter Parker Maxum Tristan Koyamatsu Publius Decius Mus Syom Trasen56 Hudson McBay RepossessedSoul Josiah Henderson Keith Rowland Kingman ioajfidsnmfomds77 CentaureHeart Ouro Nobody Matthew Mocias I Eat Pain Legogredo AnimeKay Douglas Bevil king ramp GloryHound Arnoud Diego Villa Flufflez Matthew Escobar CJ Tamberella Leonardo Yang Lod bing Joseph Abrathat AL Zaid Hyasat Vincent Mourey Spoop Reno Miles Paszek BetterMike Charlie Burstiner Emil Takman Matthew Collins Bury Zenek Abbie TPG bingus1234 Sleep J. K. Mohamed William Keith Sean Coker Patrick Booth Terv Jay Dune Black Pranshu Dhungana Yuval Roth Mmaze Jeff G Aaron U'Ren Mr. Nut undercoverducky Shadow Wing Rainer Jenning Runaway_Cactuar chidera onwuegbu MoEl Christopher Hahn Maria Cobos Mateos Arjun Aletty Eric M MadAdder FirstKingofthePotatoes Tinman Nithhogg Mason Kamer Guessed Dr. Rage Lonnie Tanay Singhvi wahtique Carlos Robert Tylena Simmonds Zharele Thomas Block Monster M Alec Ruth Okman202 Lol Isaac Mcdonald dogmaster20070 Suer Garret Chris hannah922 John Hyland Mikael Markus Malex Seth P Jay Halfcrzy dxpt12 Hex Federico Bellavista Andreas Toffi coffe Dylan Alexander Matthew Flowers Tom Scheibe Cerbero300 Tri Turtar Silim Chillitsagame Nasa Wofford Raymond Santiago Cortes CaptainFlowers locky 0gain antares48 Dylan Crawford Colin Love Marquel Miles Veraenderer Hussar L Karl Marc Berkowicz Arxigal noises Leyse Jacob Ward R3ad Jeff Israel bobnob Aluereon Arthur Ibanda Jimmy J.K. Dixon Gao Lukasz Podgorski H Jayel Savaris Sqishy Vertdure Bazoo juanmi Miles Larson George R Ceagle TheLazerCat TMKnight Nomad Myrrdin Sarcastic Traitor Kris Bruns Joshua Lau Nicholas Al Capone Roberto Tomás Jesper L?mo-Hansen Igor S. Carvalho mark harrell Robert Whitaker Mai0e TGZ Samuel Patterson Carlos Torres Rrazy HonestMan Shadeepta Deggo36 Alexander Ksendzov jak0b Benjamin Hermes BillyBobJangles The Tallest Tree Nicholas Hoekstra Stultus Justin Mott bensorme Yi xiu DB Alidraco richard wechsler Hunter LostOx Droog mea Doctor Zero Ozzy J T Jujuan tillery Evan Fleischer Joel Magnuson Adam Jordy Broussard David Cullen John Ness Janwardha Maulana Vaulex PalmTrees Cd Lluis Jimenez Puig Andrew Moreton Angus Losier SCout75 Sam Kyle Badello Trisper Brennon Shippee Halesmash Ali Cattell Gres Om V Julian Hinck Connor McCaul Joseph Barratt Francisco Rosado Pradian Darrel Kincade Joseph Duchesne Ramapriya Rangaraju Skinnybonz Michael Chermside Joseph Klos ArianaAndBeyond Innes PizzaNachos PcKc Xophos Justin Huddleston hunter117x Joshua Thompson Mike222 Tamás Bodnár John Young Jio TheBlackfirebird Blaize Haynes Garrett Smith B1w2c3 Graham Hildebrandt Dirk Kefferpütz Elijah Tan tdb Stoney06 Dimitar Slavchev Django munkasir masud Tom Stapleton Darth Bayes Dr_Njitram Jukka V?limaa Morgan D Kauffman Elros Notcreepycreeper BoadBoad Von Ridel Trausti Sigurgeirsson Brett Labat thomas flipsen Alex Timothy Smith James Ryan Porcine Pirate Bernardino Campa IV boo Christopher Walker Christopher Sigmann EmliTGM Ikit Claw Alexander Orion1024 Tim Joseph Dumol george haynes padanu Zorro De Las Gafas Ashlee Jacobsen Raphael Mengha Duco Van der Ploeg Treeman4 cadis R. B. Ezo Caleb Smith Kaleb Orduno Ethan Chen Ted Berkowitz My name is Klondike Kooooomakimi P enyuk Ran Rain song gemer Disclancer Luke Darkdej Delakar John Pratt Eddie Christopher Bennett Epiphaner Chris Ferguson Dallas Gillespie BlueGraine Wei b0urne78 Frostbound slammer evan peat Niloc Necrologist Iwritestrangethings Alexander Rodriguez Adrien Matricon Slim Dakhch Miran RandomAnkle Adwait Gautam Sportpix andrew barnes Dirkk Diggler Jeremy Engelberg Clawseeker Sterban Friz DHNightshadow Trucinox A JohnFish Impetusin William Beyer TheFool HeavenDragon Cal Fiala Jarrod Young Sir Sloth Josh Enterman Pride Ricardian Timothy Felker S T Deepsealife Grosbilljunior Loki Gianni Ghiribelli Josh Delgado42 ScottDR Contractk4 Matt Hollowlce Adrian Engel Massgamer T T Deinos AlthePal Rectum Amaury Valcry Charlie Ivan Kal Thundabear95 Adam Johnston Heikki Aitakangas Richard Lee Erik Aleksander Z Dietz Djinn Kite7 Michael S. evilperson41 edmuck Dalton Cade Spence mhaj58 William Johnson John Evans HarbingTarbl KilledbyBooks Guy Incognito HenryMorgan PlasmaticPi Andreas H. YourFavorite Popcorn Spartanstoryteller MasterofNova Walter Sam Paley Bob of Doom Kody Ihnat Puri Iresan morganmoll Jdosnoen Maalsc TTG Siphor Nikhil Majumdar glare31337 Slipperyfish Birbman Jonathan Spaulding H. Scott Taylor Tilbury Ashley Cameron Tate Browder Ryan Trueman Chris Mezmer Roden Alex Lindsay Sadinar Daniel Everest Ausner Gentil Kyle Reese Zach Svarog Peter Christensen-Calvin Matteo Viktor D victorious Maxwell Margetts Hulg Gohen Karthic PbookR John Carroll Parker Groseclose Zack Grog_Guy Marc Claude Louis Durand Rhodri Thornber Dax