The Sphere

“A raid that will take us directly from the iron ranking to the copper ranking, sounds too good to be true.” I said, while adjusting my sword on my belt.   When contrasting the amount of iron adventurers in attendance here with the amount of silver or gold ones, I couldn’t help but feel like they were using us as cannon fodder.   “They are quite common, most are in the nests or hives of lesser monsters.” Someone in the group replied, but I couldn’t quite distinguish who it was.   “That’s true, we make sure those guys in the gold ranking don’t have to stain their boots with goblin blood during these raids.” York joked, patting me on the back to comfort me.   He looked pretty confident, which wasn't strange to me. Besides not being the type of person who worries easily, York was three monsters away from changing his ranking from iron to copper.   Iron was the hardest stage in an adventurer's career. Fifty low-class monsters or equivalent are required to be killed in order to move up to the copper rank. The large number of people who register as adventurers and mercenaries makes it very difficult to level up in the hierarchy.   "What is supposed to be in there?" I asked, as I looked at the entrance to the sewer system in front of us. I really have no idea what we're hunting in this raid, I guess that's what happens to me for letting York do all the paperwork.   “The guild was informed of a series of disappearances among the workers of the wastewater treatment plant in this area. The few bodies that were found came out of there.” York answered as he adjusted the straps of his shield. “Don't you have one of these?”  He asked me.   "I haven’t had enough money to buy one that’s worth it." I replied. A shield that breaks before my sword will not serve me against whatever is in there.   “Then be careful. The sewers of the second sub-sphere don’t have the best reputation in the world.” He warned me, slapping me on the shoulder.   “Nothing that’s so close to the border has a good reputation.” I replied, but had no chance to say more, as the group began to move away from the caravan and congregate around the entrance.   York and I walked in silence until we joined the others, who were already awaiting instructions from the four adventurers who were standing in front of everyone else, turning their backs on the total darkness behind them. I felt how, while looking at the huge concrete tube, I started lacking air, as if each time I inhaled, less air fit inside my lungs.   “Everything okay, newbie?” A man on my left asked me. A shiver ran down my spine at the idea of looking so fragile that someone would refer to me that way.   I looked at the man before answering and I was impressed by what I saw; it was someone big, much taller than me or York, with a dark complexion, black hair  and features that indicated that his lineage wasn't completely human, although I could not identify what kind of miscegenation it was.   “Yeah, I’m just a little nervous.” I replied with a sigh. “Iron, twenty-two notches.” I added, extending my right arm to show my adventurer’s guild gauntlet.   “Interesting. Copper, first rank, with thirteen notches in this rank.” He replied, showing me his gauntlet. There was a world of difference between the quality of mine and his, I suppose that was also a privilege that had to be earned.   “Is it your first time in the second?” He asked, he looked really friendly, despite his imposing physique.   “Yes, it is a bit overwhelming for someone who hadn't left the fourth sub-sphere.” I explained.   “I guessed that, hearing what you asked when we were back in the caravan.” He said, with a smile on his face. Apparently, he was the one who replied me before. “What about your friend?” He asked, directing his gaze to York.   “I had only come once, to control a plague of dontiphages.” He replied and raised his left hand to show his gauntlet.  “Iron, forty-seven notches.” He added, imitating the way I had introduced myself.   “Nice to meet you, I’m Thyon.” Said the man and extended his hand.   “I’m Norik.” I introduced myself and shook his hand.   “York.” He just said, extending his hand to respond the courtesy.   “You better get out of here alive and ascend to Copper, York.” Thyon told him, with a smile on his face.   “A moment of silence, please.” Said one of the four adventurers who would lead the raid.   They all fell silent at that moment and directed their gaze back at him. He was quite a character; his hair was of different shades of gray, and wore a black tactical armor, made to measure. His gauntlet was highly ornated and the metal it was made from clearly reflected his status and rank in the guild.   The man was young, but he had an aura of authority that was impossible to ignore. His yellow eyes swept the group from one end to the other before continuing.   “My name is Lamorak and I am the one in charge of this group.” He began to say in a firm voice, although it was not intimidating. “We are here because the disappearances of fourteen workers from the water treatment plant and the six members of the guard who were sent to look for them were reported.” He made a pause and observed us, as if he was evaluating our reactions. “Three guardsmen bodies were retrieved. None of them were in condition of being recognised. That's why they have called us; our mission is to enter, investigate and report. As is standard for us, lethal force will be used if necessary.” He concluded.   "Excuse me for being so bold, sir." Someone in the front row of the group began to say. "Do we have an attack plan?" He asked, he seemed nervous, maybe as much as I did.   “I like that initiative. Irena, would you mind telling our companions how we are going to proceed?” Lamorak said, as he took a step back and another of the four, a woman with clear elvish features, took a step forward.   “First, you will divide into four groups, of five people each, and wait for one of us to come to you, he will be the leader of your squad. Once inside, we will separate to cover the four sewer systems that flow to this tube. It is recommended that at least two members of the team wear heavy armor, as intense lacerations were found on the recovered bodies.” She explained and with a wave of her hand indicated that we should continue to choose our teams. I suppose they trust that among us there are already groups that have worked together.   "Thyon, are you coming with us?"  York asked quickly.   "I don't see why not, anyway, I'm coming alone." He answered, approaching us and looking around in search of two other members for our squad.   “Excuse the intrusion, but I notice that you are three and we are two. Do you mind if we join your group?” Asked another adventurer.   He was tall, almost as tall as Thyon, but his build was rather thin. His skin was fair, with shades of green in spots like his cheeks, around his eyes, and the skin surrounding his beard. His hair was a reddish shade of brown and he wore it tied in a ponytail. However, from the hair rose a couple of what I can only describe as antlers.   The horned man was quite peculiar to look at, but his partner was an image that wouldn't leave my mind for a long time. He had all the markings of a lycanthrope, but his skin was gray and his eyes were reddish.   We must have looked at them for longer than would be polite, because the man was quick to speak.   “Oh, manners. My name is Folli and I belong to the lisovik lineage.” He formally introduced himself.   The three of us nodded at the same time and looked away at his companion.   “I'm Conrad, Conrad Pickman, it's a pleasure.” Said the other. He looked less feral now that we knew he could speak.   "What is your ranking and how many notches do you have?" Thyon asked, who seemed to have liked what I did when I introduced myself.   “We are both in iron, I have thirty-two notches.” Folli replied, a little surprised by the question, but agreeing.   "I have forty-five notches." Conrad said, raising his right hand to reveal the gauntlet.   “Do you also wear it on your right?” I asked.   “It is easier to take the notches like that, you cut with the right, you take it with the left and you put it in the glove without letting go of your sword.” He replied, shrugging.   I nodded in approval and extended my fist to bump with his, to which he smiled and reciprocated.   "I guess we're a team now," York said with a smile, although I could tell that he was somewhat disappointed that none of the girls in the group joined us.   “Is this your definitive group?” Lamorak then asked, to whom apparently we would have to answer.   I gulped nervously, at this distance his features clearly gave him away as a lycanthrope, there was no doubt about it. It was my first time seeing one so closely, most of them tend to climb the hierarchy quickly thanks to their ruthlessness, so it was not regular to see them in some sub-sphere lower than the sixth.   "Yes sir, the five of us are together." Thyon replied.   "Very well, everyone in a circle and hands to the center, put your fists together." Lamorak said, to which we all obeyed.   "What are we doing?" Folli asked curiously.   "I'm going to form a bond between the crystals in your gauntlets and mine," he replied.   "Is that possible?" Conrad asked, intrigued.    “It is, and it allows me to obtain your information from the guild’s archives. Let's see what we have here...” A tingling sensation spread through my gauntlet and the crystal on the back shone three times. The five of us looked at Lamorak expectantly. “Very good, I already have them, I will name you out loud so that the others also know who they are working with, do you agree?” He asked, looking up.   We all looked at each other for a moment and nodded in approval.   “Alright, I'll say your name, ranking, level and any prominent skills you may have, after that raise your hand.” He indicated, before starting.   "Isn't our level the same as our ranking?" Thyon asked, confused.   “Not exactly, your ranking is the expression of your experience killing monsters, while your level is an expression of your efficiency doing it. It involves a lot of things like collateral damage during fights and the speed with which you rise through the ranks. They are very technical things; I will gladly answer your questions when we get out of the sewers.” He explained, clearly in a hurry to conclude with this to maximise our efficiency as a unit.   "I'm sorry, go ahead," Thyon apologised, falling silent immediately afterwards.   “Okay, let's get started.” Lamorak continued. "Thyon Hoffman, copper, rank one, level twelve, descendant of a lesser species of giants, incredible physical strength." He said, pausing for him to raise his hand. "Conrad Pickman, iron, level twelve, formidable tracker." Conrad raised his hand. "Norik Yarket, iron, level seven, light on his feet." I raised my hand, worried that was the only thing on my file. "Folli, no last name, iron, level nine, sensitive to changes in the nature of a place." Folli smiled widely and raised his hand slightly. "York Bradbury, iron, level eleven, efficient in fights against multiple opponents." Lamorak said and York raised his hand.   “I guess that's all of us.” Conrad said, removing his hand from the circle.   "Almost, I am missing," Lamorak interrupted. "Lamorak Ruel, gold, rank one, level seventy-three, I'm a werewolf." We all nodded and prepared to enter the sewers, stretching our arms and legs, as well as checking our armor one last time.   I adjusted the lower straps on my breastplate so that I had a little more play when swinging my sword. It was difficult to get the leather panels that made it up to respond correctly to my movements, after all, I doubt that most of the pieces correspond to the same armor. The four platoons lined up next to each other at the entrance, ours slightly in front. Lamorak and Conrad would go to the front, apparently, they could see in the dark, which was strangely comforting, since we wouldn't be totally helpless if we lost our flashlights.   "The roads separate twenty meters inside the tunnel, after that, each platoon will have to fend for themselves, I hope to see you all back here when we finish." Lamorak said, raising his voice and began to walk into the darkness.   York flicked on a light and started walking behind our leader and our tracker. Irena's group was marching to our right and the other two groups, whose leaders had not introduced themselves, were to our left.   The smell quickly turned foul; it was much worse than I expected. The atmosphere grew heavy with worry as we walked, it was evident that I was not the only newbie among us. The metal floor that separated us from the sewage creaked with each step we took, making it very easy to distinguish the gait of those who hesitated to put one foot in front of the other.   It wasn't long until we found the point where the roads parted, everyone fell silent as they saw the four tunnels ahead of us. Lamorak drew his sword and stepped into the tube that belonged to us. There were no words of encouragement this time.   The darkness began to feel more oppressive from the moment that our light sources were reduced to the lantern that York carried. Also, the metal floor had stopped at the tunnel entrance, so we were now walking on a narrow concrete path that ran alongside the sewage stream.   "They'll turn on the lights in the tunnels at dawn," Lamorak whispered, clearly concerned that four of us couldn't see in the dark.   "Got it." We answered one after another.   We walked a long way in silence, occasionally stopping so Conrad had a chance to scan the road for traces of any creature that inhabited the sewers.   "There's a particularly stale smell on the right," Conrad said when we reached a point where the road split in two.   "Are we sure we won't get lost in there?" I asked as soon as I saw the two tubes in front of us.   "Don't worry, I've been leaving a trail of moss since we entered." Folli replied, in a calm tone.   "Quite impressive," Lamorak whispered, turning to face our partner. I tried to do the same, but it was too dark for me.   Then the six of us turned right and continued walking. The search continued for what felt like an hour, although at some point I lost track of time. My feet had started to ache from the distance traveled, but I didn't dare ask for a break for fear of looking like the weak link in the group.   My muscles tensed with each step we took, knowing we were getting closer to what we were looking for. There's something down here with us and I'm not sure if we're the hunter or the hunted.   After changing direction a couple more times, the airflow changed and the temperature plummeted. Suddenly, the warm, oppressive atmosphere of the tube was left behind, along with much of the smell of waste.   “What is this?”  York asked, as his flashlight went off, which made me instinctively draw my sword.   “A generator chamber, in the second sub-sphere the flow of water that cannot be processed is used to produce electricity.” Thyon answered with a whisper.   "My flashlight won't turn on." York stuttered, and I could hear him hit it in an attempt to squeeze a couple more minutes of light out of it.   "That's the least of our problems," Conrad replied, the tension in his voice was palpable.   "Explain yourself." Lamorak asked the guy. I could hear this footsteps as he walked in circles around us.   "This chamber smells like food," said the tracker, which confused us all.   "Food? As if someone lived here?" I asked, a shiver running down my spine.   "The chamber smells like death, corpses." He whispered with a hint of aggressiveness in his voice. I could not understand his reasoning, but that soon ceased to matter.   The six of us clearly heard something moving in the shadows. It moved fast and the tapping of something solid but small hinted at the presence of claws. Also, if I pricked my ears, I could also hear some kind of groan, maybe more than one, it was difficult to concentrate while hyperventilating.   "How long until the lights come on?" I asked and my voice cracked as I spoke. I couldn't help but feel watched by something in the shadows.   I clung to my sword with all my might, waiting for an answer, but no one dared to speak. The sounds were getting closer, it sounded like something was running in circles around us. My legs began to tremble and my breathing quickened as the creature moved closer and closer.   "All in a circle, back to back." Lamorak ordered and the rest of us hurried, moving awkwardly and colliding with each other until we were in position.   At that moment, a series of orange lights came on, illuminating the circular chamber and the huge mechanical pillar in the center. My eyes instinctively narrowed to protect themselves from the light, but when I opened them again, horror paralysed me.   We were completely surrounded by creatures of a kind that I had never seen in my life, not even in my worst nightmares. They were small, standing at about half a meter and walking on all fours, with the front legs ending in huge claws, probably big enough to wrap around my head. Its head was small and featureless, except for a mouth that spanned the entirety of its skull.   "What the hell are those things?" Thyon yelled, horrified.   "I have no idea, but we have to kill them," York replied, extending his sword forward.   The creatures began to close their circle around us, one step at a time, much slower than they had started in the shadows. The creatures had begun to behave as if they somehow knew that we were now ready to defend ourselves.   "Does anyone here know anything about magic?" Thyon asked, I could feel his hands trembling on the handle of his mallet.   "I only know a little about pyromancy," Lamorak replied, though his body language gave no indication of preparing to cast a spell.   "With all due respect sir, what are you waiting for to burn these things?" I asked and one of the creatures began to stretch its neck towards me, as if it was sniffing at me.   “He can't, there's too much methane in the air. It could make us all explode.” Folli intervened.   Before anyone else had a chance to speak, one of the creatures lunged at York, who almost out of reflex stabbed in the creature's direction. The tip of his sword dug into the monster's gelatinous skin and its weight pushed York back, luckily Thyon was directly behind him so we didn't lose formation.   The strange being let out an agonised screech, but still impaled on the blade of the sword, it continued to twist and reach out to try and get hold of York. The rest began to run around us, like a vortex of nails and teeth that sought to destroy and consume us.   "Everyone on guard!" Lamorak yelled and we all raised our weapons.   Two more creatures broke formation and charged at us. Folli tried to strike one with his rapier, but this time the creature disappeared in a cloud of smoke before returning to its physical form and scratching its attacker's arm. The lisovik, who was stationed to my right, let out a cry of pain, but before I could help him, the second creature slammed into me, knocking me out of formation and leaving me barely eighteen inches from the rest of the monsters.   The creature lashed out with its claws as soon as it had me on the ground, and although I was able to block most of its blows with my sword, I could still hear the leather of my armor ripping in places. I could hear York growling in despair and something fell heavily to the ground. I guess he managed to finish killing the one who had impaled himself on his sword, because the next thing I see is his shield hitting the head of this thing squarely, sending it flying towards its nauseating companions.   York offers me his hand to get me up, so I take it and jump to my feet, trying not to turn my back on the horde. I quickly returned to formation, but as I stood guard, I could clearly feel the points where the claws had pierced through my armor and injured me.   For a fraction of a second, I wondered why the creatures took turns attacking us and I almost managed to vocalise the question, but, as if they answered, the circle broke and the monsters closed the distance between us with an impressive speed. I sliced and stabbed as hard as I could with my sword, but every time the blade made contact with one of them, they evaporated in a cloud of smoke and returned to strike again.   "They had been studying us, sizing us up to hunt us down." I thought, as I tried to shake off the two who had managed to latch onto my clothes.   One more grabbed onto my leg, holding me in place and preventing me from trying to flee. I felt like its claws pierced my skin and I gasped as I tried to stay on my feet, if my body ever touched the floor, it would be the end.   I kept waving my sword, but I only managed to scratch some of them, which just infuriated them, although their screams sounded like they were mocking us. However, between our screams of pain and the sound of metal being hit, I seemed to hear screams similar to when that thing was pierced by York.   "Finish off the wounded, I'll take care of the rest!" Lamorak shouted, completely enraged, and then sliced the arm of one of the creatures that was above me.   The being lurched back and I was able to shake it off, then slashed in its direction with all my strength, surprisingly I was able to cut off its head without much resistance.   With my right arm free from the oppression of that thing, I was able to hold the second long enough to separate him from my body so that Lamorak could hurt him. That done, I ran my sword through it and smashed it into one that was too focused on biting Folli's shoulder. The blade of my weapon pierced both beings, spilling their cartilaginous insides onto the chamber floor.   Folli seemed to be the worst time among us, apparently the creature had driven its claws so deep into his side that its arms were still clinging to him.   The creatures were tearing us apart, but for some reason Lamorak was turning the tide of the battle all by himself, slicing through three or four creatures with each cut, even when they were in their gaseous form. The creatures writhed on the floor after losing a limb or two and apparently went into shock, allowing the rest of us to finish the job, decapitating them and, in Thyon's case, dropping his huge boot on them.   I was fighting to stay upright, because even though the creature on the leg regrouped with the others when I killed the other two above me, I could feel my blood running from my thigh to the ground.   It wasn't long before the creatures understood which of us was the greatest threat and began to focus their efforts on the lycanthrope. Conrad and York were quick to come to his rescue, but our weapons were nothing against them, so the creatures easily pushed them back, inflicting grievous wounds in the process.   "Enough!" Lamorak yelled, losing his temper and lashing out with his sword in a fit of fury.   His strength was such that I could see at least a dozen of those things flying through the air. Quickly, the golden adventurer went from a mere man to a ferocious beast, consumed by anger and his desire to kill.   It wasn't long before a gigantic white wolf rose among the creatures and began to tear them apart not only with his sword, but with his teeth and his hands as well. It was a gruesome scene, but I stuck to his orders and kept killing everything that survived his c*****e.   I lost count of how many I killed, but no matter what the amount was, it still wasn't enough, the horde didn't seem to stop. I don't know how much more blood I can lose before collapsing, but we have to resist.   I have to resist, for her.