Very early the next morning, Blaze and I shared breakfast, coffee, and the leftover peach cobbler. The kitchen smelled faintly of coffee and the cobbler’s syrupy peach scent still strong from the microwave’s reheat.

  “Matt messaged me that I’m on the speech setup and helping handle the politicians who show up,” she told me between sips and bites. “Your mayor gets a few minutes to introduce a special guest, then thanks her at the end. If your governor shows up, he gets a few minutes too. They’re allotting everyone besides the President only thirty minutes total on stage. A helicopter will wait at the university stadium parking lot to take her to Air Force 1.”

  “When do they find out who she is?” I asked.

  “Nobody’s said,” Blaze replied. “Do you think she’s going to change clothes after the fights?”

  “I don’t know,” I answered. “After last night, I don’t think she will. I think she’ll come on stage in full gear, mask and all.”

  “That’s what I’d do if I was her,” Blaze said. “They’ll know soon enough. It won’t be a disguise for long, but if someone else wears it, people will think it’s her unless they can cast REVEAL STATS. That’s getting more common now as people level up.”

  I nodded, finishing the last sweet bites of cobbler. The coffee’s bitter edge helped cut the sugar, grounding me for the day.

  The kitchen clock ticked toward seven…three minutes to go. “Take a last bite and finish your coffee. Then we can go outside,” I said.

  “Roger that,” she mumbled around a large final forkful.

  We both laughed, rapidly rinsed our cups and plates, and headed for the front porch without the usual coffee mugs in hand. All our gear was already on. I locked the door behind us.

  Outside, the air was still cool and damp. A thin mist hung in the street, trying to become rain but not committing to it. The smell of wet asphalt and wet grass mixed with the smell of freshly laundered clothing and armor.

  Some of the same fighters from last night were already gathered. Megan stood among them as the Healer. Patrick Flanagan, the Metal Mage, and Falstaff and Yoshi’s father, was there too.

  Before the fight, Meg told me she now had a Level 2 Heal Over Time spell…five points each round for three rounds. The perfect counter to the Shaman’s Curse.

  Falstaff, though a year younger than Yoshi, could take more hits and wore heavier armor. He’d also taken the Warrior skill, PAIN REDUCTION, after last night’s fight.

  Just as the clock must have hit seven, the faint blue glow of the portal shimmered through the open doorway.

  We were waiting for something new…and we got it. Boy, did they get it. I wondered how they’d handle this one.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  The first spawn through the door looked like Gar-Kosh at a glance, but smaller. His ax was shorter, round shield cruder. The six-foot-tall, green-skinned Orc warrior bellowed a war cry that froze everyone but Falstaff, who CHARGEd forward before the thing had taken more than four steps. Shield slammed against shield with a crack that might’ve been heard three blocks away.

  Ryan cast LIGHTNING BOLT at the Shaman as it trailed behind two Goblins.

  “Will? Should we help them?” Blaze asked, her voice tight.

  “Not yet. Get something ready for their back ranks.”

  [William of Brinsford:] [Irregulars] [Level 5 Orc tank. Ax and shield.]

  [Sir Andrew:] [Irregulars] [Level 4 Hobgoblin and 3 Goblins, 5 Kobolds, Shaman]

  [William of Brinsford:] [Irregulars] [Same Goblins, Shaman, and Kobolds as yesterday.]

  “Damn it, the System’s mixing things up. Get ready,” I told Blaze.

  Megan looked frantic, casting every round. I hoped she had her MANA BATTERYs ready. Ryan and Pat rained LIGHTNING and METAL BALLS, the latter hitting like shrapnel. Yoshi broke from the Orc fight to slice down Goblins. The Kobolds were already dead. He tanked the rest of the spawn to keep them off Falstaff and the Orc.

  It wasn’t looking good for the home team, but they weren’t finished yet. When the Shaman fell, Patrick switched targets to the Orc. Ten-penny nail-sized copper missiles peppered its shield and armor. The Orc blocked a few, but it kept his attacks off balance. Ryan stayed on the Goblins until they went down.

  Suddenly, Yoshi spun, exposing his back, and drove his katana into the Orc’s spine. The creature reared and screamed, the sound cutting off as Falstaff’s sword slashed its throat deep enough to nearly take its head. It collapsed like a dropped sack of grain.

  Yoshi tried to dodge the last Goblin’s strike, but not quite fast enough. A deep gash tore his left arm. Ryan and Patrick each fired a BOLT to drop the Goblin for good. The street fell silent. Golden level-up light shimmered around both boys…and Ryan.

  Blaze and I exhaled and jogged over. Leveling fully healed and cleared all debuffs, so I knew they’d live, but that had been a hell of a fight.

  “You did it. That was one hell of a fight. Gratz on the levels. Next time, double teaming might be the better choice,” I told them.

  “We couldn’t get the people. A lot of them said they were up too late last night,” Yoshi said, pulling off his helmet with a wince. His father took it from him.

  “How are the rest of you doing?” I asked, looking around, while Blaze offered quiet words to the boys.

  “I ran out of MANA, but your batteries saved us,” Ryan said.

  “My batteries are out,” Megan admitted. “When I told them, Yoshi turned and stabbed it.”

  Pat Flanagan nodded. “Next time, I’ll have something to fight with if we run out again. We all will. You taught us that last night with the President.”

  “That’s why I carry a sword. We’ll work on this now that it’s jumped up a big level,” I said. “I just hope not too many people die from being outclassed by the current spawns. That Orc was mean.”

  “Yeah, he was. I learned things from fighting him,” Falstaff said. “Us charging each other was…well, one hell of a charge.” His grin cracked the tension. We laughed, relief settling in.

  “You better finish looting them before they despawn,” Blaze reminded them. Patrick and Ryan got to it so the boys could rest.

  The Orc, Shaman, two Goblins, and four Kobolds gave them 205 experience each and 240 shields total. The Orc dropped one Moon. The full haul included a crude sword, two crude leather ponchos, a Shaman’s staff, two pouches, and a crude wooden shield…good loot for mostly level threes.

  Before leaving, I refilled the Whitfords’ MANA BATTERIES. Patrick claimed the staff. The shield was set aside for Carlos so he could ditch his trash can lid. They didn’t say who’d get the pouches.

  We said our farewells, promising to meet at the President’s speech. Blaze and I split up a few minutes later, both heading our separate ways.

  Le sigh.

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