“What problem, exactly?” Siel asked, shoulders stiffening.

  “There's an intelligent boss out there controlling the next wave. They're surrounding the building.”

  “Alright,” she said, turning and scanning the room. “We need to see if there are any other entrances, and either hold them there or funnel them into this room.”

  Siel jogged to the other side of the chamber and stuck her head through the door. Sam joined her, but kept looking back nervously towards the main entrance.

  “These hallways seem to go quite far back.” She gestured to the twisting series of corridors that snaked away from the main chamber. “It will take the enemy time to get through them. I say we deal with the squad at the front, then reposition to defend here.”

  Sam raised an eyebrow, but nodded his assent. As the weeks had gone by, she’d become more and more confident in voicing her opinions. While neither of them had grown up with it, she was a natural when it came to devising battle tactics. She excelled at quickly assessing a situation and allocating resources.

  When they needed something big and flashy—and dumb—that’s where Sam tended to thrive. She’d commented more than once that his default plans sounded like a madman’s last resort. He couldn't argue, but he couldn't deny they were effective.

  “Okay, I'll hold the line up here, you stay in the center for support, and leave Molly guarding the rear entrance. I'll try to deal with these as fast as I can. Call me when you hear them coming.”

  “Try and save your cooldowns, this is still only the third wave. I have a suspicion it's going to get a lot harder.”

  Sam grunted and ran towards the barricade. He’d been thinking the same thing. The tanky gorillas were already time-consuming to deal with, and that was when they didn’t have weapons.

  He jumped up onto the vine platform and summoned his spear, steadying himself as the first group charged up the ramp. The leader wasn't with them, which was good news. Ideally, it would be with the final group, giving them time to clean up the lesser monsters before needing to deal with them.

  The gorillas slammed into their makeshift barrier and immediately began adding to the defences. Siel's vines snapped at their ankles, sending them crashing to the ground, only to be trampled by their fellows. Sam took advantage of his position to rain blows on the beasts. He made every strike count, aiming for their faces and necks.

  Not a single one was even able to land a blow on his armoured legs. Their barricade was perfect, and he couldn't help but laugh at the chimes that sounded in his ear one after another.

  “Sam!” Siel’s voice rang through the chamber, and he turned to see her send an arrow flying into the group of monsters running down the opposite corridor.

  He left the final monsters on his side to bleed out and dashed across the room, joining Molly just as they spilled out from the hallway.

  The fighting was fierce. The monsters were extremely strong and wielded their banded wooden clubs with shocking force. Sam’s teeth rattled with the impact as they bashed against his shield, the sound carrying all the way to the distant stone ceiling.

  I need some kind of area attack, he thought to himself as the last of the middle group was dispatched. All of his skills were primarily single-target. He really needed something that could help him deal with groups of enemies.

  They took a few seconds to stack the corpses by the entrance. Sam had taken a blow to his dominant hand, so he let Molly do most of the work while he focused on healing his broken fingers.

  The last wave came a few minutes later. Whatever route they'd taken, it had severely delayed them. Sam could hear the crack of the whip as it echoed against the ancient stone. The monster had lit a torch, and the light from the flames danced above the heads of the howling foot soldiers.

  His hand had healed enough that he could comfortably grip his spear, but he still winced with every impact. Molly was doing an admirable job soaking up the majority of the monsters’ attention, and he spent most of his time dealing with the ones who managed to make it through the gaps.

  The War Boar let out a squeal of pain as the enemy’s whip cracked across her snout, sending a trail of blood splattering against the wall. The familiar retreated, shaking her head as she tried to remove the thin barbs that remained deep in her flesh.

  Siel let out a hiss and jumped down to heal her, leaving Sam to take down the remaining gorillas and their pre-human handler.

  The sight of Molly’s blood elicited a spike of anger, and his [Prototype Cor] thumped against his ribcage as he channelled as much mana as he could into [Iron Skin]. While the active was incredibly powerful, the passive was nothing to scoff at. He felt his skin harden as he waded into the fray, swapping to his [Runic Hammer] as he smashed skulls and turned flesh to pulp.

  Soon, the only one left standing was the neanderthal in armour. Sam took a moment to inspect it.

  [Temple Overseer - Bronze - Uncommon]

  Once a devout follower of Bast, this corrupt overseer is bound to an eternity of servitude with the very slaves and criminals it abused in life.

  Not a boss, at least, Sam thought, as he raised his shield to block the first strike from the whip. The monster’s movements were fast, but nothing that he couldn't deal with.

  His body positively vibrated with power as his improved [Mana Network] hummed. Daily training improving the flow of energy from his Heart Chakra was beginning to pay off. More than ever, he could feel the flow of mana through his body, pushing his skills to their absolute limit.

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  He slipped forward under the next strike, feeling the air whip by just above his head. He brought the hammer down in a fierce horizontal blow, aiming directly for the enemy's chest.

  The circlet of gold around its throat glowed gold, and a protective barrier sprang to life, creating a shield just inches above the overseer’s armour. The sound of metal striking metal rang in Sam’s ears, and he took a slice across the chin in retaliation.

  The cut bit all the way to the bone, and only the anger pulsing in his ears stopped him from crying out. Blood dripped to the floor, and the blocky-faced monster cracked a smile.

  “Not so easy,” it said. The words came out garbled, as though Sam could hear the original language underneath the translation from [Child of Babel]. It had a smug look on its primitive face, only further fueling the flame raging in Sam’s chest.

  He summoned his spear and activated [Longinus Strike]. Light bent around the tip, and the overseer cocked its head, brows furrowing.

  Sam rocketed forward, stabbing so fast the force of it extinguished the sputtering torch. The black iron broke through the golden shield with a sound like breaking glass. The spear punched clean through its chest, the blade protruding two feet out the back. Sam felt his fist impact the rough armour, and he leaned back, lifting the monster off the ground.

  It hung suspended, eyes wide at the sight of the ancient metal. Sam twisted his wrist and slammed his body into the floor.

  It did not survive the impact.

  “Easy enough,” Sam muttered, walking back out into the main chamber.

  “What happened to keeping it alive?” Siel asked, pulling the last of the barbs from Molly’s face.

  “Oh, shit.” Sam grimaced, their plan to stall the fourth wave completely forgotten.

  “It's fine. We’re not injured, and we don't have the time.”

  He checked the timer, shocked at how much the clock had ticked down.

  [Quest 2/3 - Survive the Bereft of Bast]

  Defeat Waves 3/5

  [Time Remaining: 00:1:12:25]

  “Godsdamnit,” he muttered, running towards the entrance. A horn sounded in the distance as the next wave approached.

  They ended up fighting them on the ramp rather than having them attempt to surround the building. Once again, the monsters were different, with the neanderthals becoming the primary foot soldiers, completely replacing the monkeys. They wielded a variety of weapons, with most sporting a short spear and shield.

  Their leader rode a chariot pulled by an oversized rhinoceros. It cut quite an intimidating figure, until Molly charged down the ramp and knocked it over, crushing the driver. The rhino fell in short order, smothered to death under a hail of [Creeping Arrows].

  The fighting was intense, but their strategy of facing the wave head-on significantly cut down the time to defeat it. Sam collapsed on the ramp, surrounded by corpses. He sported a half-dozen wounds and was debating burning [Battle Healing] before the final wave.

  Individually, the soldiers had been easy enough to deal with, but they'd been a coordinated force, utilizing basic shield wall tactics to repel him. He’d been forced to use the active from [Iron Skin] to break into their ranks. Once he was past the front line, it was a simple matter to wreak havoc with his hammer.

  “How are you?” Siel asked, storing the enemy corpses as she descended the ramp.

  “Hangin’ in there,” Sam replied, pressing his hand into a cut on his neck. He looked up, wincing at a dark bruise that spread across her cheeks. She’d been forced to jump into melee and had taken a shield bash to the face. Her nose was broken, but even as he watched, it snapped back into place.

  “How about you? Is it your first time fighting soldiers like that?”

  She nodded, wiping blood from her nose. “It is certainly different from fighting wild beasts. Am I correct in assuming that these were once human? They bear a certain…resemblance.”

  Sam laughed, groaning as pressure tweaked his injured ribs. “Oof, resemblance, eh? I'm hurt. But yes, from what I can tell, this temple was lifted from ancient Earth. What we would call Egypt. From what I can gather from the descriptions, these are former worshippers of Bast who turned their back on her and were punished in the afterlife.”

  He kicked over one of the corpses, gesturing at its square, wide-browed face. “It seems like they were de-evolved, if that's possible. These look like an early human ancestor. Seems like a pretty fucked up punishment if you ask me.”

  Siel opened her mouth to respond when the final chime sounded, only this time it was joined by the sound of trumpets. Sam dragged himself to his feet, willing his injuries to heal faster. Whatever was coming, they would be hard-pressed to overcome it in their current state.

  The final gate swung open with a low rumble, and from it, a single shape emerged, scuttling down the cliff with shocking alacrity.

  “What the fuck is that?” Sam said, breath catching in his throat. He had no love of insects, and something about the way the creature moved triggered some deep-seated human fear response.

  “I am not sure, but I think we should fight it inside. Given its size, it may struggle to maneuver.”

  “It's the size I'm worried about,” he responded under his breath, as the party shuffled up the ramp. They took a minute to try rebuilding the vine and corpse barricade, but it felt like a futile effort.

  They gathered in the center of the room, all three of them breathing heavily. Despite their enhanced endurance, all of them were pushed to their limit. Sam felt a strain on his [Mana Network] that he was unaccustomed to. He hadn't used many active skills, but the constant direction of his passives left him feeling weary in his soul.

  A minute passed, and soon the sound of scuttling claws echoed against the ancient sandstone. The sharp clicking sent a wave of cold down Sam’s spine, and he had to make a conscious effort to stop his limbs from shaking.

  A shadow passed across the doorway as a single, massive claw forced its way past the barrier. The makeshift barricade lasted only seconds as the beast pushed past, its bulk crushing the corpses into a fine paste.

  Sam’s heart dropped as he beheld the ancient scorpion. Its black carapace was scarred from many battles, and its beady eyes exuded a cunning intelligence.

  Beside him, Siel let out a soft gasp, and he followed her gaze to the source of her surprise. The tip of the scorpion’s tail had been removed and was mounted on the end of a wicked-looking staff.

  The staff was held by a woman who rode atop the scorpion as if she’d done nothing else in her entire life. Her dark skin was contrasted by a set of flowing white robes, and she wore a feathered headdress over her shaved head.

  She levelled her stinger-tipped spear and pointed it directly at them. Her voice carried across the short distance, barely audible over her mount’s chittering cries.

  “Why have you come, defilers? Who are you to enter the sacred grotto?”

  Sam glanced at Siel, who shrugged, content to let him reply.

  “We are Warriors of Olympos, and we’ve been given a quest to exit the plaza. Can you tell us what's beyond?”

  The woman hissed, her eyes narrowing. “You speak in riddles, and you reek of foreign magics. You must be thieves, come to raid our most sacred caches.”

  “Sure, why not?” Sam replied, too tired to play into the drama. He was sure there was some sort of deeper story, but he was just too exhausted to care. He set his jaw, trying to look more confident than he felt. “Look, we’re really in a time crunch here. Do you think we can get this started?”

  The woman bared her teeth, clearly unaccustomed to being spoken to so flippantly. “You will regret entering this temple. The gods that sent you will need to search for new champions, as your bones turn to dust among the sand.”

  “Just the one god, actually,” Sam corrected, pointing to Siel. “And we have no quarrel with yours, we just need to pass through.”

  “The only things you will pass are the gates of the Duat,” she cried, launching a bolt of venom from the tip of her spear.