The transition between worlds felt like stepping through a cold shower.

  The office building's fluorescent lights and polished floors vanished, replaced by cool, damp air and uneven stone beneath their feet.

  Magi blinked as his eyes adjusted to the dimness.

  They had emerged into a subterranean cave system. Phosphorescent fungi clung to the walls, casting everything in an eerie blue-green glow. The ceiling hung low in places, dripping with moisture that formed small puddles on the rocky floor.

  "Cave system," Marc muttered, pulling a small device from his belt that projected a holographic map. "Readings indicate multiple chambers. Likely goblin variant based on the contract details."

  "Perfect," Layla grinned, her greatsword already in hand. "It makes it simpler and straightforward."

  Before Marc could issue orders, Layla pushed ahead into the main passage, her heavy boots splashing through puddles. No scouting, no checking for dangers. Just pure forward momentum.

  "Layla, wait—" Marc called after her.

  Jax sighed. "Here we go again."

  Eli checked her watch. "Twenty-nine minutes remaining."

  Magi stood quietly, watching Layla's reckless advance. The narrow passage curved ahead, disappearing into darkness beyond the reach of the bioluminescent light.

  Something glinted in the shadows near floor level.

  Something thin and taut, stretched across the path at ankle height.

  A tripwire.

  Magi's eyes traced upward to where the ceiling narrowed into a choke point. Several crude but effective spikes hung suspended above, held back only by the tension of the wire.

  Layla hadn't seen it. She was four steps away.

  Magi moved to make their gap closer. Three now.

  He didn't shout. There wasn't time, and noise could attract other dangers.

  Instead, he slipped the packs off his shoulders in one fluid motion and stepped forward.

  Just one basic step that closed the distance between them instantly.

  His fingers caught the collar of Layla's armor just as her boot was about to break the wire.

  He yanked backward with precise force, just enough to halt her momentum without throwing her off balance.

  She froze, startled by the unexpected contact as the spikes released and plummeted downward, passing within an inch of her face before clattering against the stone floor.

  For a moment, no one spoke. The sound of the trap echoed through the cavern, then faded to silence.

  "What the—" Layla whirled around, her eyes wide with confusion, then anger. "Did you just—"

  "Tripwire," Magi said quietly, pointing to the now-broken mechanism.

  The rest of the team caught up, staring at the spikes that would have impaled Layla's face if she'd taken one more step.

  "Damn," Jax whispered. "That was close."

  Marc studied the trap, then looked at Magi with newfound interest. "Good catch. How did you see that in this light?"

  Magi shrugged. "It reflected the fungi glow."

  "And how did you get to her so fast?" Jax asked, suspicion in his voice. "You were behind us."

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  Before Magi could answer, Layla cut in.

  "He's got high Agility," she said decisively, as if this explained everything. She looked at Magi with renewed respect. "You move like water. Why didn't you just say you had combat stats?"

  "I don't," Magi said. "I just walk quickly when needed."

  "That wasn't walking," Layla insisted.

  "I'm sorry for grabbing you without permission," Magi said, deliberately changing the subject. "It seemed urgent."

  Layla blinked, then let out a surprised laugh. "Permission? You saved my face from becoming a pincushion. I think we can skip the formalities."

  "Still," Magi nodded politely, "it won't happen again."

  "Actually," Marc said, "it should happen exactly like that if needed. Good teamwork."

  Eli checked her watch again. "Twenty-seven minutes."

  "Right," Marc nodded. "Layla, you're still point, but slow down and watch for more traps. Jax on her right, I'll take left. Eli and Magi center rear. Standard formation."

  They proceeded more cautiously now.

  Magi retrieved the supply packs and resumed his position, keeping his eyes on the surroundings while the others focused forward.

  The passage widened as they advanced deeper into the cave system, branching occasionally before reconnecting.

  "These tunnels are too regular," Eli murmured beside him. "Natural caves don't form this way."

  Magi had noticed the same thing. "Someone dug these."

  "Not someone, but something," Eli corrected. "The contract mentioned goblin variants, but this level of organization suggests higher intelligence."

  The passage opened into a larger chamber with multiple exits. Marc consulted his device again.

  "The Rift core signature is strongest through the central passage," he said, pointing to the largest tunnel. "That's our target."

  Layla peered down the indicated passage. "Seems clear."

  "Too clear," Jax muttered. "We haven't seen a single enemy yet."

  "Maybe they're sleeping," Layla suggested.

  "Goblins don't sleep during Rift activations," Marc replied. "They're drawn to the energy. Should be swarming."

  "Twenty-three minutes," Eli announced.

  They moved forward into the central tunnel, which sloped downward.

  The air grew warmer as they descended, the phosphorescent fungi more abundant, casting stronger light.

  After fifty meters, the passage widened dramatically, opening into a vast underground chamber.

  Magi stopped alongside the others at the edge of the chamber, taking in the sight before them.

  The space was enormous, easily the size of a warehouse. Its ceiling lost in shadow despite the bright fungal growths covering the walls. But it wasn't the size that made them pause.

  It was what filled it.

  Hundreds of crude structures filled the chamber, forming a small underground city. Huts made from scavenged materials, walkways connecting different levels carved into the walls, and in the center, a massive structure built around what appeared to be the pulsing blue core of the Rift itself.

  And moving among these structures were goblins. Not the scattered, disorganized creatures Magi had seen during the initial Awakening, but something different. These stood taller, their skin darker, wearing crude armor and carrying weapons. Some directed others in what looked like coordinated labor.

  "That's not right," Marc whispered. "D-rank Rifts don't spawn elite variants. And never this many."

  Jax swore under his breath. "I count at least fifty elites. This is a colony, not a spawn point."

  "We need to leave," Eli said immediately. "This is B-rank minimum. Maybe A."

  Layla tightened her grip on her sword. "We can take them."

  "No, we can't," Marc countered. "Even if we could, the contract was for a D-rank clear. This is way beyond scope."

  They began backing away slowly, careful not to alert the goblin colony to their presence.

  Magi remained still, studying the layout of the underground city. Something about the arrangement of the structures around the core seemed deliberate, almost like—

  A loud rumble interrupted his thoughts, the ground shook beneath their feet.

  "What now?" Jax hissed.

  Behind them, rocks crashed down as the passage they'd entered through collapsed, blocking their escape route completely.

  The noise echoed through the chamber, and as one, hundreds of goblin heads turned toward them.

  "Twenty minutes," Eli said weakly, her voice barely audible over the growing hum of activity from the colony.

  "New plan," Marc said, drawing his weapon as the first goblin scouts began moving in their direction. "Defensive position, back to the wall."

  Layla stepped forward, greatsword at the ready. "Magi, stay behind us."

  The team formed a semicircle, backs to the collapsed tunnel. Magi set down the packs and watched as the goblin elites organized their forces with disturbing efficiency, spreading out to surround them.

  This wasn't just bad luck. The trap at the entrance, the collapsed tunnel, the unexpected elite colony. It felt coordinated... Deliberate.

  "They're not rushing us," Jax noted, tension in his voice. "They're setting up formations."

  Marc nodded grimly. "Because they don't need to hurry. They've got us trapped."

  "Nineteen minutes until the exit shifts," Eli reminded them. "But we need to clear this blockage first, even if we get past them."

  The goblins continued their measured advance, weapons drawn, communication passing between them in guttural sounds that seemed almost like language.

  Magi watched them come, calculating.

  The team's combat abilities were solid for a D-rank, but this was far beyond that. The odds of fighting through fifty elites and clearing the tunnel blockage within nineteen minutes were effectively zero.

  Unless someone changed the equation.

  Layla glanced back at him, her earlier respect now mixed with concern. "Sorry, Porter. Looks like your first run with us might be your last."

  Magi stepped forward to stand beside her. "Maybe not?"