Joe stood still for a moment, letting his feet sink into the sand as the tide crept closer. The others didn’t notice; they were too busy arguing over whether to face the titan in Craggy Bottom or brave the unknown depths of Red Bamboo Lagoon.

  Luna crossed her arms, glancing at Nick. “I’m with TJ and Dawn. Let’s find the titan, smash it, grab whatever it drops, and get back to Gaia and Ryan. Grizzle will cure what ails him. Heading to the lagoon sounds like a big fat waste of time.”

  Nick took a swig from his flask, clearly unconvinced but keeping his mouth shut.

  “With the titan we know what we’re dealing with.” TJ’s eyes swept over the group with an exasperated look. “Big monster, time crystal loot. Simple.”

  “Better the devil you know.” Dawn hopped on one foot to shake sand out of her boot. She scowled when more spilled into the other and muttered something about hating beaches.

  Brian shook his head, undeterred. “I disagree. Red Bamboo Lagoon’s hidden on Dawn’s map for a reason. There has to be rare loot there, waiting for us to pick it up.”

  Dawn squinted at him like he’d just suggested juggling flaming swords. “And probably some nasty traps. And I hate traps even more than beaches.” She stomped back into her boot and started shaking sand from the other one.

  Lucky’s whiskers twitched with excitement. “Exploring a hidden lagoon sounds much more like an adventure. Besides, puzzles aren’t as deadly as scary titans.”

  Nick, finally, spoke up. “We’re not at full strength. The lagoon’s risky, but the titan… We’d be going in shorthanded. Maybe splitting up gets us out of this faster—or at least makes sure we don’t miss out on both.”

  Joe caught the flicker of hesitation in Nick’s eyes—the guy didn’t want to split up any more than he did. He was laying it out for Luna, forcing her to think it through. Without Grizzle’s healing, Gaia’s system knowledge, or Ryan’s backup, fighting the titan on this floor wasn’t going to be as predictable as she thought.

  Luna looked at Nick like he’d lost his mind. “Are you kidding? Just the two of us against a titan? We need at least some of the Titan Slayers with us.”

  Joe resisted the urge to sigh. Splitting the group was the last thing he wanted. They all looked at Rose as she ran her fingers over the knotted bark of her staff. “Why not do both? If we focus, we could take down the titan first and still have time to handle the lagoon.”

  “Because splitting focus means splitting resources.” Dawn tied her bootlace with a final yank. “If we take too long on one, we risk losing out on both. That’s Tower 101.”

  “And we don’t know what’s waiting for us in either place.” Brian stroked his goatee. “If we burn through stamina and potions on the titan, there’s no guarantee we’ll have enough left to solve the puzzle—or survive whatever’s guarding it.”

  Rose frowned, clearly not thrilled with the pushback, but she nodded. “Fair point.”

  Joe took a step back from the shoreline, letting the cool foam brush his boots. The bickering had gone on long enough—it was time to bring them together. He cleared his throat, cutting through the noise. “Alright, listen up. We don’t need to take down every single titan ourselves…” He let that sink in, smiling as a few heads turned toward him, eyes wide like he’d suggested they all break out into song.

  “Let me finish before you keel over. As long as the faction that takes out the titan isn’t Andras and his crew, we’re golden.”

  Poppy’s avatar pranced into his vision, her eyes sparkling. “Yip-yip! Good plan, Joe! Puzzle way more fun and rewarding!”

  Joe grinned. “Exactly. And if Andras’ faction tries anything, we’ll figure out how to keep them busy.”

  Dawn nodded, puffing her cheeks as if considering his suggestion. “So we head to the lagoon, grab whatever loot’s there…and let someone else deal with the titan. But who?”

  “The Bruiser Battalion.” Joe didn't miss a beat.

  Rose’s face lit up. “Ooh! They’re amazing! They’ll wipe the floor with Andras!”

  TJ raised an eyebrow. “You really think they can handle it?”

  Joe nodded. “Fast, vicious, smart—that’s a winning combo. I’ll message KT and see if she’s game.”

  He'd barely sent the message when a reply notification popped up in his vision from KT herself.

  KT: Already on it. Titan’s on our to-do list, right after we deal with a few jelly monsters and the poor fools still thinking Andras is worth their time.

  Joe: Music to my ears. We’ll let you know what we find after the lagoon puzzle.

  KT: Appreciate it. Too many factions are ‘friendly’ until they’re not. Nice to know we’re on the same side.

  TJ: Bunch of two-faced, shit-talking liars, that’s what they are. Not us.

  Joe: Good luck, not that you’ll need it.

  The chat filled with shamrock and hug emojis. TJ stared at the notifications, shaking his head. “Who sends hugs before a death match? Psychopaths, that’s who.”

  Rose shrugged. “Psychopaths come in all flavors, TJ. Some send hug emojis; some throw tantrums about them.”

  TJ scowled, jaw working like he was chewing on her words. Before he could fire back, Brian raised a hand. “Alright, kiddos, let’s move on. We’ve got bigger problems than who likes hugs.”

  Joe rubbed his hands together and set off toward the sandbar, following the sign to Red Bamboo Lagoon. Everyone was still buzzing about the loot waiting there, but he tuned them out, focusing on Poppy, his tiny, eager puzzle expert.

  “What can you tell me about Red Bamboo Lagoon?” He glanced at the avatar who stopped swishing her tail in his vision.

  Poppy hesitated, her little form trembling as if she’d been caught with secrets. “Not supposed to say…”

  “What if you go incognito?” Joe tipped his head, miming a fedora like Poppy’s favorite disguise.

  Her eyes bulged with delight, and she spun into a pixelated blur, reappearing with a tiny fedora perched on her head. “Good idea, Joe! Still got to be careful, though. Poppy not like cheating. The puzzle isn’t the lagoon itself—it’s how you reach it.” She spun in place, emphasizing her words. “Expect death and…respawn.” Her expression grew serious for a moment before she disappeared.

  Joe frowned, processing that. Respawning was no picnic, and if they had to start from the common room, it would be a brutal time sink.

  “Hey, Poppy,” he slowed his pace, “if we die on the way to the lagoon, do we get the option to respawn right there, like in a boss fight?”

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  Poppy reappeared, eyes darting in every direction looking genuinely frazzled. “Something strange, Poppy doesn’t like it. You should respawn with your party or in the common room. But…other ascenders report… problems.”

  “A glitch?” Joe didn’t like the sound of this.

  “Maybe. Poppy will go check. Be careful, Joe. Don’t risk respawn!” Before he could follow up, she vanished.

  Joe relayed the warning to the group, and Dawn’s expression hardened. “Great. A pile of ‘rare loot’ isn’t worth squat if we can’t even reach it. If something sounds too good to be true…”

  Brian raised a hand. “Let’s not jump to conclusions. We gather as much info as we can before we dive in headfirst.”

  “Where the heck do we get this info?” TJ swung his machete.

  Brian pointed to a group of ascenders gathered near the end of the sandbar, all caught up in a heated argument. “We listen.”

  As they neared, Joe caught snippets of the argument, loud enough to echo off the water. A mix of dwarfs, kobolds, ratfolk, and one very unfortunate-looking changeling were locked in a heated squabble at the edge of the sandbar.

  “It’s a fookin’ joke!” one dwarf barked, his fists clenched. “Magic fizzled out! The runes block everything. How the hell’re we supposed to make it to the lagoon?”

  “Oh, quit whinin’,” snickered a ratfolk, whiskers twitching. “Maybe you should’ve learned to swim, huh? Your magic can’t do everything for ya.”

  The changeling—who looked halfway between a human and Cthulhu’s distant cousin—scowled, his face a mix of tentacles, gills, and what Joe guessed was supposed to be a nose. “You think this is what I wanted?” He gestured at his awkward, half-transformed state, tentacles flopping around like a dying octopus. “I was mid-transformation when the rune hit me! Now I’m stuck like this, mana depleted and out of luck!”

  A kobold cackled, crossing his scaly arms. “A level twenty changeling should be able to do better than…whatever this is. A halfway calamari?”

  The changeling’s blobby eyes narrowed. “Maybe if the runes hadn’t yanked my mana dry and turned me into a seafood platter, I’d look normal! I’m out of juice, and none of you will spare a mana potion.”

  “Oh, cry me a river.” A dwarf grunted, rolling his eyes. “Why should we waste our resources on you? Not like you’d say thanks anyway.”

  “Thanks?” The changeling spluttered, tentacles flailing. “Thanks for what? I’m out here suffering from your poor planning!”

  Joe cleared his throat and stepped forward, digging into his pack, and held up a mana pellet between his fingers, catching the changeling’s attention. “Try one of these, it should help.”

  The changeling snatched it without a word, chewing as his tentacles began to retract. His gills smoothed over, and soon he looked more human—if only in form. He scowled at Joe, brushing himself off. “Don’t expect a medal.” Turning on his heel he stormed off like Joe had just insulted his entire family tree.

  TJ whistled, shaking his head. “Now, that’s gratitude. Guy looks like a carnival reject, but he’s got the attitude of a king.”

  Another dwarf, clearly still steamed, crossed his arms with a scowl. “Gratitude? I’d settle for some basic warning. My buddy’s stuck back in the common room thanks to Squid Boy’s antics here, and he’s got to hike his way all the way back!”

  The ratfolk rolled his eyes. “Oh, the horror. So you walk a bit. Not like any of us haven’t hiked before. What did you think this was, a luxury spa?”

  “Don’t get smart with me.” The dwarf shot back with a sneer. “I thought Red Bamboo Lagoon would be…y’know, bamboo and maybe some fish. Not a death trap.”

  Joe led the group around them before they wrestled each other to the ground.

  “Okay that was most enlightening.” Rose planted her staff and stared out to sea. “No magic allowed to reach the lagoon.”

  Joe reached for Dawn. “Yeah Poppy said reaching the lagoon was the puzzle. Dawn can you see what route we need to take to reach the lagoon.” All he could see was the ocean and a rocky island some ways out surrounded by red bamboo.

  Dawn frowned as she checked her map. She didn’t look any happier after she checked it. “Looks like there is an underwater tunnel that you need to swim through to reach the lagoon but it is 1600 meters long. Don’t think any of us can hold our breath for ten minutes no matter how fast you can swim.”

  Joe knew he was a fast swimmer but holding his breath for ten minutes without using his skills was a nope.

  TJ cracked his knuckles and gave a little grin. “Alright, let’s get this over with. I’ll go first. I’m the strongest, so if anything’s lurking in there, I’ll handle it.”

  Nick rolled his eyes, arms crossed. “Strength’s great, but you’re going to want speed. If I can get a sea monster to pull me through, I’ll make it to the other side before you’re even halfway—”

  He paused, and the realization dawned. “Right. The runes. They’ll block magic.” He scowled at the lagoon, clearly not thrilled about the idea of swimming it solo.

  Just as TJ took a step forward, Rose’s hand shot out, blocking him with her staff. “Hold up, TJ.” She took a deep breath, letting the silence settle. “Back in my world, I was a competitive free diver.”

  Joe’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? I had no idea you liked diving.”

  Rose’s mouth twisted into a half-smile, but there was no humor in it. “I don’t. My parents pushed me into it. Diving, academic clubs—anything they thought would make me the perfect daughter and improve our family’s prospects. I did it all to please them, but nothing I did was ever good enough.”

  Dawn looked at Rose with understanding clear in her eyes. “Keeping up appearances…it’s all bullshit. Did you ever break free and do what you wanted before you died?”

  Rose gave a short laugh, bitter and quiet. “Not even close. They wanted me to go into a high flying career in Parliament—some long, tedious government career path they approved of. Not that it matters anymore.” Her fingers tightened around her staff. “Now I’m gone, all they have left is the trophies and awards I won.”

  A silence fell over the group, and Joe watched her for a moment. She looked at the water with something deeper than determination, something that went beyond the usual challenge.

  Finally, Joe gave a small nod. “Well, then, maybe this is your shot to do it your way.”

  Rose looked at him, a flicker of something lighter in her eyes. She nodded, her shoulders squaring. “Exactly. So if anyone’s going first, it’s me.

  ***

  The water rippled as another ascender dove into the depths, vanishing in a froth of bubbles moments after Rose dove. Joe’s heart thrummed as he paced back and forth on the sand. Even with his Quick Wit activated he could only track her descent for a few meters before the shadows swallowed her whole.

  They’d agreed to keep in contact through the party chat, and Rose was supposed to surface at the first sign of trouble. Respawns? Too risky.

  Raised voices from the beach pulled Joe’s attention. A group of ascenders struggled in the distance, their voices slicing through the sound of the waves.

  “Damn.” Rose’s voice startled him. He spun around, finding her behind them, squeezing water from her hair. “Looked easy at first—straight dive, hold your breath long enough, and handle the pressure. Turns out, it’s not.”

  Brian frowned, his eyes darting between Rose and the foamy waters. “Wait, weren’t you…I swear you went all the way down. What happened?”

  Rose exhaled, rubbing at her neck. “There’s a trap near the entrance to the tunnel. Invisible. It triggers when someone goes through it, and if they try to come back up, they get stuck. Loads of ascenders ran out of air down there and died.”

  Joe winced, glancing at the other groups gathered near the water. Some looked worried. Others, overconfident. The urge to warn them rose in his chest.

  He stepped forward, but TJ’s scowl stopped him.

  “Don’t bother trying to tell them.” TJ jerked his thumb toward the water. “They’ll think you’re trying to scare them off so we can grab the Red Bamboo loot for ourselves.”

  “Unfortunately, TJ’s right.” Dawn rested a hand on Joe’s shoulder. She tipped her head toward another faction gathered near the water’s edge. “While you were pacing, I overheard them. They’ve burned through fifteen respawns already. Some of them know about the trap Rose mentioned. It’s not stopping them.”

  Joe shook his head. “Why are they being so reckless? Respawning’s a gamble right now.” He yanked his hood up, pulling the cords tight. As he took a deep breath to steady himself, he caught the tail end of another group’s argument.

  “Never trust a kobold-ratfolk hybrid.” A dwarf stomped into the sand. “I told you Parson would bail. He’s probably stuffing his face with grapes in the orange zone.”

  “Doesn’t matter.” A green-hoodied changeling rolled her eyes and gave the dwarf a shove toward the water. “Means it’s your turn, Fran.”

  Fran stumbled, her feet splashing in the shallows. “You’re lucky I’m only QRL 19, or I’d drag your scaly ass in with me.”

  The changeling crossed her arms. “Save it. Hold your breath, loot the chute, and stop whining. I’m not getting wet for this lich’s twisted little games.”

  Joe crossed his arms, watching as Fran sighed, flicked the water in frustration, and dove. Her splash sent ripples rolling over the changeling’s calves.

  The changeling groaned, squinting at the bubbles trailing from Fran’s dive. “Parson better show up soon.”

  Joe turned back to Rose. “And they know about the trap?”

  Rose nodded, her mouth pressed into a thin line. “They know. But they’re gambling they’ll be the exception.”

  “And most of them won’t be.” Joe sighed.