We stood at the entrance to the sewers, staring down into the dark opening.

  The smell hit me immediately.

  "Oh god," I said, covering my nose with my hand.

  "Told you." Aditya's voice was muffled as she pulled a cloth over her face. "Sewers are the worst. And with goblins living down here? It's ten times worse."

  She lit her torch, the flames casting flickering shadows across the damp stone walls leading down. "Stay close. The tunnels branch off in a few places, but the nest should be in the central chamber. That's usually where they congregate."

  I nodded, trying not to breathe too deeply. Nox didn't seem bothered by the smell at all, padding forward without hesitation.

  Fei circled overhead, letting out a low screech.

  The sewers were too narrow, too dark. An eagle wouldn't be much use down there. Better to have him stay topside where he could actually move.

  That left me with Nox.

  I adjusted the short sword at my hip, feeling the unfamiliar weight of the leather armor I'd bought a day ago. It was stiff, uncomfortable, but better than going in unprotected.

  Just focus. Stay calm.

  "Ready?" Aditya asked, glancing at me.

  "Yeah," I said, though my heart was already beating faster.

  We descended into the darkness.

  The sewers were exactly as unpleasant as I'd imagined. Dark, damp, with water trickling along channels carved into the floor. The walls were slick with moisture and something I really didn't want to identify.

  Don't think about what you're walking through. Just keep moving.

  Nox moved ahead of us, his dark form nearly invisible in the shadows.

  "What's your level, by the way?" Aditya asked as we started down the steps.

  "Twenty-one," I said.

  She paused mid-step, glancing back at me. "Twenty-one? Really?"

  "Yeah. Why?"

  "I just figured you'd be higher, that's all. With two D-rank monsters..." She shook her head. "Most D-ranks are around level thirty themselves. I thought you'd be closer to that."

  Right. That would make sense, wouldn't it?

  "Guess I'm different?" I said, though it came out more like a question.

  She shook her head slowly. "No wonder they call you a genius."

  Heat crept up my neck. "I'm just a little talented, I guess."

  She kept silent after that.

  Was I too humble? Or did I sound like I was bragging?

  I couldn't tell

  We moved deeper into the tunnels, the torchlight barely pushing back the darkness. Every sound echoed off the stone, making it impossible to tell how close or far anything was.

  After a few minutes, Aditya held up her hand.

  I froze.

  She tilted her head, listening.

  I strained my ears. Faint scratching sounds. Chittering voices speaking in some guttural language I didn't understand.

  "Goblins," she whispered. "Sounds like we're close."

  My grip tightened on my sword hilt.

  This is it. First real combat job.

  Through my bond with Nox, I could feel his anticipation. He was ready.

  Okay. Stay focused. Don't lose control.

  I could do this.

  I had to.

  We crept forward, each step deliberate and slow. The chittering grew louder.

  Aditya stopped at a corner where the tunnel branched. She peered around the edge, then pulled back quickly.

  "Five of them," she whispered. "Small ones. Probably scouts."

  "What's the plan?"

  "We take them out fast. Before they can alert the nest." She looked at Nox, then at me. "Can he handle two or three at once?"

  “Yeah. He can." I was fully confident.

  It had been a while since I'd seen a goblin. Not since living in the forest. Back then, Nox and I dealt with them almost daily. They'd wander too close to our territory, scavenging for food or trying to steal from my traps.

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  We'd gotten good at handling them.

  "Good. I'll take the two on the left. You and Nox handle the rest."

  Aditya counted down on her fingers. Three. Two. One.

  We rounded the corner.

  The goblins were huddled around something on the ground. Small, twisted creatures with gray-green skin and oversized heads. Their ears were long and pointed, twitching at every sound. One of them held what looked like a rat's corpse.

  They noticed us immediately.

  The closest goblin opened its mouth to screech, but Nox was already moving. He covered the distance in two bounds, jaws snapping shut around the creature's throat. There was a wet crunch. The goblin went limp.

  Just like old times.

  The others scrambled backward, hissing and reaching for crude weapons. Rusty knives. Sharpened bones.

  Aditya moved like water. Her sword flashed twice, and two goblins dropped before they could even raise their weapons.

  That left two for me.

  One lunged at me, its knife aimed at my stomach.

  I sidestepped, my body moving on instinct. The training with Marcus kicked in, but so did the muscle memory from the forest. How many times had I done this before? Ten times? Twenty?

  My sword came down hard on the goblin's arm. The blade bit deep. The creature shrieked, dropping its weapon.

  Don't hesitate.

  I brought the sword across again. This time catching it in the chest. The goblin crumpled, making a gurgling sound that made my stomach turn.

  The last goblin tried to run.

  Nox pounced. There was a brief struggle, then silence.

  I stood there, breathing hard. My hands were shaking.

  "You okay?" Aditya asked.

  "Yeah." My voice came out rough. "I'm okay."

  "Come on. We need to move before the nest realizes these scouts aren't coming back."

  I looked down at the dead goblin at my feet. Its eyes were still open, staring at nothing.

  Then took a deep breath.

  "Let's go," I said.

  The tunnel opened into a wider passage. The smell got worse here.

  "We're getting close," Aditya whispered.

  We rounded another corner, and the passage opened into a large chamber.

  There they were.

  At least twenty goblins, maybe more. They clustered around makeshift shelters built from scavenged wood and debris. Bones littered the floor. Some looked disturbingly large. Human-sized.

  Don't think about it.

  In the center of the chamber sat a larger goblin. Twice the size of the scouts we'd killed. Its skin was darker, almost brown, and crude armor covered its chest. A goblin chieftain.

  "That's a lot more than the report said," I muttered.

  "Yeah." Aditya's jaw tightened. "We should pull back. Get reinforcements."

  The chieftain's head turned. Its yellow eyes locked onto us.

  Then it roared.

  The entire nest erupted into motion.

  "Run!" Aditya shouted.

  We turned and bolted back down the tunnel. Behind us, the sound of dozens of feet splashing through water. Screeching voices. The clatter of weapons.

  My lungs burned. The leather armor felt heavy, slowing me down.

  "They're too fast!" I yelled.

  Aditya glanced back, her face pale in the torchlight. "The narrow passage! We can bottleneck them!"

  We ran until we reached a section where the tunnel narrowed. Barely wide enough for two people to stand side by side.

  Aditya spun around, raising her sword. "Here! We make our stand here!"

  I positioned myself beside her, drawing my sword. Nox pressed against my leg, growling low.

  The first wave hit us seconds later.

  Goblins poured into the narrow passage, scrambling over each other to reach us. Their weapons flashed in the torchlight.

  Aditya's sword moved in tight, controlled arcs. Each strike found its mark. A goblin fell. Then another.

  I focused on keeping my side clear. Parry. Strike. Step back. The movements felt mechanical. Survival took over.

  A goblin slipped past my guard. Its knife scraped against my armor, the leather holding.

  Nox lunged, dragging the creature down. His jaws closed around its neck.

  More kept coming.

  My arms were getting tired. The sword felt heavier with each swing.

  "There's too many!" I shouted.

  "Just hold!" Aditya's voice was strained.

  I thought about the charges in my reserves.

  But I shook my head, gritting my teeth.

  No. I could do this.

  It was not time yet to create another monster.

  A larger goblin pushed through the crowd. Not the chieftain, but bigger than the scouts. It swung a crude club at my head.

  I ducked. The club smashed into the wall, sending chips of stone flying.

  Before it could swing again, Nox leaped. His weight slammed into the goblin's chest, knocking it backward into the others. They went down in a tangle of limbs.

  The pile of bodies was creating a barrier. The goblins behind had to climb over their dead to reach us.

  It was slowing them down.

  "Keep pushing!" Aditya said. "We can do this!"

  My muscles screamed. Sweat dripped into my eyes. But I kept swinging.

  Another goblin fell. Then another.

  The wave was thinning.

  Finally, the chittering grew quieter. The remaining goblins hesitated, eyeing the pile of corpses blocking the passage.

  One of them screeched something. The others responded, backing away.

  They were retreating.

  I stood there, gasping for air. My sword arm trembled.

  "Did we... did we win?" I asked.

  Aditya wiped blood from her face. "For now. But that chieftain is still alive. It'll just rebuild the nest."

  Right. The job wasn't done.

  Through the bond, I felt Nox's exhaustion. He was panting hard, blood matting his fur. But he was still standing.

  "We need to finish this," I said.

  Aditya looked at me like I was crazy. "You want to go back in there?"

  "If we don't, they'll just keep killing people." I took a shaky breath. "Isn't that the whole point?"

  She stared at me for a long moment. Then she laughed. Short and sharp. "You're either very brave or very stupid."

  "Probably stupid."

  "Yeah. Probably." She adjusted her grip on her sword. "Alright. Let's kill a chieftain."

  We moved back through the tunnel, climbing over the bodies. The chamber was quieter now. Most of the goblins had fled deeper into the sewers.

  But the chieftain remained.

  It stood in the center of the chamber, holding a massive cleaver made from scrap metal. Its yellow eyes tracked our movement.

  It roared again. A challenge.

  "I'll distract it," Aditya said. "You and Nox flank it. Go for the legs."

  I nodded.

  Aditya charged forward. Her sword clashed against the chieftain's cleaver. Sparks flew.

  I circled around, Nox moving with me. We approached from the side.

  The chieftain was focused on Aditya. It swung its cleaver in wide arcs, forcing her back.

  Now.

  I lunged, driving my sword into the back of its knee. The blade sank deep.

  The chieftain howled, stumbling. Its leg buckled.

  Nox attacked from the other side. His jaws locked onto the creature's arm. The chieftain tried to shake him off, but Nox held on.

  Aditya didn't waste the opening. She stepped in and drove her sword through the chieftain's chest.

  The creature made a wet, gurgling sound. It swayed, then collapsed.

  Silence filled the chamber.

  We stood there, breathing hard. Blood pooled around the chieftain's body.

  "It's done," Aditya said quietly.

  I looked around the chamber. At the bodies. At the destruction.

  My first real job. My first real fight.

  I'd survived.

  "Come on," Aditya said. "Let's get out of here before anything else shows up."

  We made our way back through the tunnels. The climb up to street level felt like it took forever.

  When we finally emerged, the sunlight hurt my eyes. Fresh air had never smelled so good.

  Fei swooped down, landing beside me. He nuzzled against my cheek, making worried clicking sounds.

  "I'm okay," I told him. "We're okay."

  Aditya pulled the cloth from her face. She looked exhausted. "Not bad for your first combat job.."

  "Thanks." My whole body ached.

  "You did good down there."

  I didn't feel good. I felt tired. Sore. A little sick.

  But we'd completed the job.

  That had to count for something.

  "Come on," Aditya said. "Let's go home."

  Yeah. Home sounded good.