Once all of them were fitted with armbands and the little light on them turned green, their opponents made their appearance. One by one, they came running from farther into the big room, Trevor, the man in charge, called The Gauntlet.

  Greeting each other, Luke made note of their opponents, guessing at their class, or at least archetype.

  First to arrive was Greta, who wore a white robe with red detailing. She was short, thin, and pale, almost like a blond version of Sam. A caster, judging by the amount of mana running through her system. The width of her mana channels might be a clue that she used big spells requiring bursts of mana in large quantities.

  Next was Lloyd, a fifty-year-old in a white shirt and khakis, and even a brown tie that matched the rims of his glasses. Sweating, Lloyd kept wiping at his bald head with a towel. This one, Luke didn't have the first clue about. He didn't have much mana, and Weaver's Perception told him this man walked around with a whole lot of minor injuries. Greg sprang to mind, except an older version of the strange Ghost Ranger who'd helped Luke against The Fallen Shepherd.

  Perienka, who spoke with a Russian-like accent, didn't have mana at all, which came as a surprise. She was almost as tall and wide as Tom, and kept her hair short almost to the point of being buzzed, with the tips frosted like a singer in an early 2000s boy band. Her meta-heart still pumped something through her body, but she didn't even have mana channels. Stamina? It was clear at least that she was a fighter of some sort.

  Darius was a tall, somewhat muscular black guy in his thirties wearing basketball shorts and a tank top that hung off his shoulders. The most impressive thing about him was his long arms, reaching almost all the way to his knees. He kept his long hair in a bun at the back of his head and watched Luke and the others with a quiet intensity, saying nothing. Another fighter-type, Darius, still had his mana, but not a lot of it. There was something about him that made it difficult to keep your attention on him, and your eyes sort of drifted off when you tried to take a good look.

  The fifth member of the opposing party gave both her first and last name, Michelle Wong. With shoulder-length, straight black hair, a burgundy robe, and a matching spell book, it didn't take a genius to tell what her class was. This one would be hurling fireballs.

  They were led by someone who looked and sounded a lot like Nash, complete with the same sort of persona and boisterous excitement. Tall, handsome, and with a smile that Luke was sure could impress almost anyone, Henry was the other party's leader. Just north of thirty years old, the metal kite shield and sword combo he carried were clear signs that this man was some sort of tank.

  No one provided actual class names or levels, which, to Luke, made this whole thing a lot more interesting. They'd need to figure out the other team and what they were capable of if The Band wanted to win.

  "Well," Trevor began. "One party wins when all members of the opposing party are disabled." After that, he gave Darius a stern look. "There will be no accidental deaths and no overeager Integrated. Once an opponent is below thirty percent HP, you leave them be. We are working on a second version of these bracelets with built-in shields, but those are not yet ready."

  Waiting a moment to see if there were any questions, Trevor continued. "Healing and potions are allowed, and no skills are off limits except for those that would outright kill your opponents. The papers you signed upon joining Integrated Solutions Group covered any liability regarding The Gauntlet. You are free to leave at any time, and backing out now will not be frowned upon."

  When he said that last bit, he looked straight at the members of The Band. Luke glanced around at the others. Priyah didn't want to be there. That much was obvious with her fidgeting and the fearful glances she threw toward Lloyd, of all people. Tom looked bored, and both Sam and Mas were without emotion. Luke picked up ill-concealed fear from Nash, but knew their leader wouldn't back down now, and there was plenty of excitement mixed in with said fear. Nash was ready.

  "Priyah," Luke said. "Do you want to leave?"

  Priyah turned from looking at Lloyd to Luke. "What?"

  "No one will force you to do this. We can give it a try without you, if you'd rather sit it out."

  She looked around at The Band, then their opponents, and even Trevor, before making up her mind. "No, I'll stay."

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  "Very well," Trevor began. "Lloyd. You take your team back into The Gauntlet."

  Once they'd retreated back the way they'd come, Trevor continued, this time addressing The Band. "Allowing you lot to even attempt this is something I've voiced my opinion against, but the decision was not mine to make. Be careful out there and work together." He held up one of the unused bracelets. "If you squeeze here while pressing this button, the light will turn red. That means you forfeit."

  "We don't be needing that!" Nash said, his eyes not leaving the disappearing members of the other party. "We'll win this."

  Trevor just shook his head and stepped away, gesturing for them to go.

  Nash turned to the group. "Tom, I'll need you to be up front with me. Priyah, don't try to control them against each other, just focus on holding them for now, OK?"

  "O-ok," she said.

  Nash pointed at her feet. "You should probably take those off."

  "My shoes?"

  "You want to try running in heels?"

  She shook her head and raised a foot. "They're pumps. I can run in them... somewhat."

  "And the thick skirt?"

  "I'm not going to run around without clothes!" Priyah barked, surprising even herself with the volume of her voice. "Are you some sort of creep?"

  "Just saying," Nash said.

  "Let's keep our clothes on for this one," Luke said.

  "I can be naked if you think it helps," Sam said, moving her hands to unbutton her jumpsuit.

  "Everyone keep your clothes on!" Nash said, waving his hands about and throwing nervous glances Trevor's way. "Let's just drop it. Priyah, you hold people, and we kill them off. Sam and Mas, you help out by draining them and Luke?"

  "Yeah?"

  "You heal."

  Bringing out the Tempered Staff, Luke nodded but felt like he had to voice an opinion. "These people aren't monsters. They'll ambush us and try to divide us. If they can't stomp us right away, at least. Their levels are a lot higher than most of yours."

  "Well, yeah," Nash allowed, both his arms turning a dull gray, almost matching Luke's staff. "But we don't know enough about each other's abilities yet, so we rock on and do our best, yeah?"

  "Maybe we should've been training instead," Priyah muttered.

  Nash ignored her. "Ready?"

  A tall sledgehammer-like weapon appeared in Tom's hands. The handle was about as tall as he was, and the lump of what looked like stone at the end must've made it difficult to use, but their tall Warrior didn't seem to mind. "Ready."

  "Sam? Mas? Priyah?" Nash asked.

  "We are ready," Sam said. Neither of them wielded weapons, and they just stood there, slouching and looking half-asleep.

  Priyah drew in a sharp breath, then exhaled, as if trying to center herself. "Ready."

  As they made their way across the empty space leading up to the stone buildings and assorted geometric shapes they'd named The Gauntlet, Luke fell in beside Priyah and the siblings, walking behind Nash and Tom. Priyah, the Shepherd, trembled and kept looking left and right, as if expecting to be attacked at any moment.

  "They're still far off," Luke said.

  She glanced at him before looking away, her head still swiveling this way and that. "How do you know?"

  "I can tell."

  "You can?"

  "It's a skill."

  Her shoulders relaxed a little, and she brought out a handkerchief to wipe at her brow. "Thank you."

  "Have you tried your skills on Integrated before?"

  The question made her stiffen again.

  "Yes," she said.

  The tone of her voice told him the point wasn't something she was interested in elaborating on, so Luke dropped it to focus on the other two. That went about as well as he expected, with neither of them even acknowledging his existence. A well-timed distraction appeared on his interface.

  Penny: "School is boooooooooring. You let me know when a dungeon opens up, right?"

  Luke: "Sure. Now go do math."

  Penny: "One lightning bolt plus one lightning bolt equals an electrified Lifeweaver."

  Luke: "You should also work on your threats."

  Penny: "Grrrrrr."

  Penny: "Did you read the news about Belgium, by the way?"

  Luke: "Don't think I've ever read anything about Belgium."

  Penny: "Well, now you won't have to. It's now called Nouvelle Belgique, New Belgium."

  Luke: "How imaginative."

  Luke: "Wait, so Integrated took over the country? Aren't they in the EU? Must be a shit-show."

  Penny: "You should check out the news. Europe is a mess. It's a whole thing. My social sciences teacher is so stressed out, she let us watch a movie for class."

  Luke's attention moved from the interface to The Gauntlet. They were getting close.

  Luke: "I'll check it out. Have to go now, go watch your movie."

  Penny: "Buh-bye."

  Stepping forward to walk shoulder to shoulder with Nash, Luke spoke in a low voice. "Two of them are just past the first line of buildings to the left of that pillar to our left. Lloyd and Perienka."

  "That's fine," Nash said with a grin. "Let's see what they're made of!"

  The party leader turned to the group and pointed. "Charge!"