I Stopped Simping and the Heroines Lost Their Minds

Arthur reached Gate Three with Whisperwind over his shoulder and a half-eaten breakfast wrap still in one hand.

Felix was already waiting near the entrance, his massive shield resting against his leg. Alicia was adjusting her sword belt. Cedric looked like he would rather still be asleep. Nessa had her heavy pack open on the dirt, running a final check through her supplies.

She looked up as Arthur arrived. "Everyone actually bring water?"

Felix nodded. Cedric tapped his pack. Alicia had a canteen strapped to her waist.

Arthur lifted the water bottle sticking out of his bag without stopping his breakfast.

Nessa closed her pack.

Several other student teams were gathering near the surrounding gates, adjusting armor and checking inventory. An academy warden walked over to their group holding a clipboard.

He checked the assignment sheet, handed Nessa a heavy brass route token, and gave them the rules.

"Three marked samples. Stay in the upper tunnels. Red marks on the walls mean turn around. If someone can’t walk out, use the flare."

Felix looked past the warden at the dark, reinforced timber framing the mine entrance. "That’s it?"

The warden looked at Felix’s enormous shield. "Try not to get that stuck."

Felix stopped looking pleased.

They went in.

Bracken immediately felt old, dirty, and heavily used. Thick timber beams supported the ceiling, some old and dark with age, others obviously replaced much more recently. Rusting cart rails ran down the middle of the floor, half-buried beneath mud and old boot prints. The stone walls were scored with faded academy directional arrows, and someone had carved their initials deep into one of the wooden pillars.

Glowing light crystals were fixed into the rock along the main route, but several were dim enough that Arthur was glad they had brought their own.

The first tunnel was narrower than Felix expected.

His shield caught hard against the stone wall. He swore, turning sideways to scrape past the uneven rock. Alicia got stuck directly behind him. Cedric nearly walked into Nessa’s back when everyone suddenly stopped moving, and Arthur had to angle Whisperwind sharply to keep the upper limb of the bow from catching on a low crossbeam.

Felix finally squeezed through to a wider section. "Whoever dug this place hated normal-sized people."

Alicia looked at him, then at the shield. "Pretty sure the mine isn’t the problem."

Arthur looked ahead. The sightlines were terrible. The tunnel curved around a support pillar and bent again, leaving only a short stretch of clear ground before the rock cut off his view.

He couldn’t hang back at range and pick targets apart in here.

They kept following the tunnel until Felix suddenly slowed.

Everyone behind him stopped automatically.

Something was scratching against the stone ahead of them.

Arthur brought Whisperwind up. Alicia drew her sword, the steel hissing quietly in the damp air. Cedric raised his hands, pulling pale mana together between his palms.

They waited.

Nothing came around the bend.

Nessa looked upward. "Above us."

A Tunnel Crawler was clinging upside down to the rock ceiling. It had a low, insect-like body roughly the size of a large dog, its pale hide coated in gray mine dust. Its hooked legs released the stone, and it dropped.

Arthur saw the movement. He formed a Mana Quiver arrow and fired before the thing hit the ground.

The spectral shaft punched straight through its side, slamming the creature against the tunnel wall. The corpse hit the dirt hard enough that its legs kept twitching.

The scratching noise ahead suddenly got much louder.

Two more crawlers charged rapidly around the bend, their ugly, splitting mouths hissing in the dark.

Felix planted his boots and brought the shield down.

The first crawler slammed directly into it. The heavy metal barely budged.

Alicia stepped out around Felix’s right side and brought her sword down hard on the second crawler. Her blade bit deep, but it hit the tough carapace instead of the neck. The creature didn’t die. It twisted violently, its hooked claws nearly catching her calf.

Alicia stepped back, adjusted her angle, and drove the sword through its head.

Another crawler scrambled low along the left wall.

Cedric threw a mana bolt. The crawler jumped sideways, and the spell shattered harmlessly against the stone.

Arthur drew and released. His arrow sparked off the rock right behind the crawler as it violently changed direction again.

He immediately pulled another Mana Quiver arrow. It formed in his grip noticeably faster than it would have a week ago. He tracked the crawler, waited for it to commit to its next jump, and fired.

The arrow caught it through the chest and dropped it into the dirt.

Then a final crawler clawed its way out of a narrow vertical crack in the rock, dropping into the tunnel right next to Nessa.

Nessa jerked backward, reaching frantically for her belt.

Alicia saw it. She pivoted away from Felix, closed the distance in two steps, and intercepted the crawler before it could lunge. Her sword sank smoothly through its softer underside.

The tunnel went quiet.

Felix looked down at the dead crawler hanging halfway over the front edge of his shield. "Ugly little bastard."

Nessa glanced toward the rock wall where Arthur’s first missed arrow was still sticking out of the stone.

Arthur saw her looking. She didn’t say anything. Arthur just pulled the arrow free as he walked past.

They reached the first academy marker carved into the wall beside a deep mineral pocket.

Nessa checked the number on the stone against her route sheet, then handed Alicia a small hammer and chisel from her pack. Arthur held the light closer while Alicia worked the marked piece loose from the wall.

Felix rested his shield against the rock and rolled his shoulder.

Cedric crouched near the first crawler Arthur had killed. Its back leg was still twitching in the dirt.

"Don’t touch it," Nessa said, watching Alicia fill the container.

Cedric looked at her. "I wasn’t."

Nessa looked at his hand, which was hovering a few inches away from the leg.

Cedric stood back up.

Nessa sealed the container, dropped it into her pack, and they kept moving.

The next section of the mine opened up into a much wider, rougher excavation gallery. The old iron rails disappeared completely beneath heavy mud. A broken wooden cart lay tipped against one wall, its wheels rotting away. One of the side shafts had completely collapsed and was marked off with a thick stripe of red academy paint.

They followed the main route, ignoring the collapse.

Arthur finally had enough room to raise his bow without worrying about Felix blocking every possible angle.

Then they started hearing something heavier ahead.

It wasn’t scratching.

Thump.

A long pause.

Thump.

Felix brought the shield forward, his grip tightening on the heavy handles. Alicia stopped talking. Arthur drew the bowstring back a few inches.

A Stoneback came around the far bend.

It had a low, massively thick body built around heavy shoulders and thick front legs. Rough, stone-like plates covered its skull, spine, and upper shoulders, leaving very little exposed from the front. Its rear half was noticeably less armored, but its entire build was designed to charge into something until that something stopped existing.

It lowered its armored head.

Felix braced his boots in the mud. "Oh, fuck."

The Stoneback charged.

Felix set the shield and locked his shoulder against it.

The Stoneback crashed into the shield.

Metal rang through the tunnel as Felix was driven backward, his boots carving through the loose gravel and mud. Alicia had to jump out of the way because Felix suddenly came sliding straight into the space she had planned to step into. Cedric lost focus on the spell forming around his hands and stumbled backward. Nessa got shoved hard against the tunnel wall trying to clear the lane.

Arthur drew Whisperwind, but Felix’s shield and everyone crowded behind it filled the entire lane.

He lowered the bow before he put an arrow through somebody’s back.

The Stoneback shoved again. Felix gave more ground, his boots slipping in the mud.

"Warn me!" Alicia snapped.

"Busy!" Felix yelled back.

Alicia forced herself into the narrow gap alongside Felix and struck at the Stoneback’s exposed head.

Her sword sparked against the heavy plate and barely left a scratch. Alicia shifted lower, trying to get behind the armor near its shoulder, but Felix was shoved backward again and knocked her strike wide.

Arthur was still moving sideways, trying to find a clean shot.

Then he heard claws scraping rock right beside him.

One of the smaller tunnel crawlers had slipped out of a crack in the wall behind the group while everyone was focused on the massive threat in front of them.

Arthur turned. The crawler was already leaping. He was way too close for a clean bow shot.

Arthur activated Shadow Step.

The crawler snapped its jaws right through the space where his throat had just been. Arthur reappeared several steps sideways near the opposite wall, but the tunnel gave him almost no room to work with. The crawler hit the ground, twisted, and came straight at him again.

Arthur dropped Whisperwind into his inventory and drew the Necrotic Dagger.

He caught the crawler’s hooked front limb against his left forearm, twisting his body just enough that its snapping mouth missed his chest. A claw tore straight through his sleeve, ripping the fabric and grazing his skin.

He stabbed down. The dagger hit one of the harder chitin plates on its back and skidded off.

Now Arthur had an angry monster thrashing directly against his chest. He shoved it hard, feeling its foul spit and cold mine dirt smear across his arm.

Arthur stopped trying to make space that wasn’t there.

The movements from Silent Knife Technique came naturally at that distance. Arthur kept the dagger close and let the crawler come to him. When it snapped forward again, he drove the blade upward under its jaw.

This time the dagger sank deep. The crawler jerked violently, its legs scraping wildly against Arthur’s armor.

Arthur yanked the dagger sideways to widen the wound, kicked the creature off him, and watched it drop into the mud.

He looked at the dark blood and slime covering his torn sleeve.

"I fucking hate tunnels."

He turned back to the main fight.

Felix was still holding the Stoneback, but his arms were shaking. Cedric finally had enough room to rebuild his spell, firing a heavy blast of mana directly into the creature’s side.

The spell hit hard. It cracked some of the rough outer stone on the armor plates, but it didn’t punch deep enough to stop the monster.

The Stoneback dug in for another shove. Its shoulder plate shifted with the movement, briefly opening a strip of softer flesh behind the front leg.

Alicia saw it.

She tried to reach it. Felix slipped in the mud at the exact wrong time, and Alicia had to jump backward before the Stoneback’s swinging head caught her in the ribs.

Arthur pulled Whisperwind from his inventory and formed a Mana Quiver arrow.

Still no shot. Too many bodies.

Alicia saw the same problem.

"Felix! Right side!"

Felix gritted his teeth. "What?"

"Turn the shield!"

He finally understood. Felix stopped trying to meet the Stoneback perfectly square. He angled the right side of his shield backward, letting the metal slope.

When the Stoneback surged forward again, its charging head slid across the angled shield, opening enough space for Alicia to step in and drive her sword behind the shoulder plate.

The Stoneback bellowed, jerking sideways in pain. Felix stumbled forward, finally released from the crushing pressure.

Arthur saw the wound open up. He had his lane.

He drew Whisperwind back and used Phantom Shot.

He released. The false trajectory flashed high, streaking straight toward the Stoneback’s eyes. The creature reacted instinctively, jerking its heavy head up to take the hit on its thickest armor.

The real arrow came in much lower. It punched straight into the bleeding gap Alicia had just opened.

The shaft sank deep behind the broken shoulder plate. The Stoneback staggered heavily, letting out a wet, rattling sound.

It was still alive.

Cedric threw another spell into the same damaged area. This one hit much harder, blasting into the already-broken flesh and tearing the wound wider.

The Stoneback dropped down onto one front leg.

Felix immediately charged. He slammed his shield into the creature’s side, throwing his entire body weight behind it, and drove the monster violently into the tunnel wall before it could recover.

Alicia followed right behind him, driving her sword deep into the gap one last time.

The Stoneback went down for good.

The group stayed where they were, catching their breath.

Felix let the bottom edge of his shield drop heavily into the mud. He leaned against it, rubbing his shoulder with a wince.

Nessa went straight for Felix’s shoulder. He insisted he was fine while she pushed his hand aside and checked it anyway.

Alicia wiped thick blood from her sword. "Next time you’re getting pushed back, tell me."

Felix looked at the dead Stoneback. "Sure. I’ll schedule it."

Arthur was wiping the Necrotic Dagger clean on a relatively dry patch of his trousers.

Nessa noticed his torn sleeve and made him hold out his arm. The scratch underneath was shallow. She wiped it clean and dabbed on disinfectant.

Arthur held still. The sting was worse than the cut.

When they started moving again, Felix began calling out whenever he had to give ground. Alicia kept a little more room off his shoulder, and Cedric stopped walking directly behind the shield.

Arthur started moving with the front line instead of hanging at the rear and waiting for an angle.

Mud caked Felix’s boots by the time they reached the flooded section. Arthur’s torn sleeve hung loose around his arm, while dried crawler blood streaked one side of Alicia’s sheath. Cedric stepped straight into another patch of dark water and swore.

Nessa went around it.

They passed through old iron rails submerged under dark water, walking past wooden supports that were black with moisture. Nessa grabbed Felix by the shoulder and pulled him away when he almost leaned against a support beam covered in pale green fungus, warning him that the spores would irritate his skin and lungs.

When Felix approached a blind bend, Arthur was already sliding sideways toward the wall to keep a firing angle. When the tunnel narrowed, he kept one hand closer to the dagger. When it opened up, Whisperwind came back into a better position.

They reached the second sample.

The second sample was buried much deeper in the wall. Alicia tried the hammer and chisel again, but after several hits they had barely cleared the stone around it.

Cedric crouched beside her.

"Move."

Alicia handed the tools back to Nessa and gave him room.

Cedric gathered a small amount of mana into his palm, directing a controlled force to crack only the stone surrounding the tagged mineral.

His first attempt cracked too much rock, nearly breaking the sample in half.

"Keep the mineral intact," Nessa warned him.

Cedric tried again with less force. Thin cracks spread around the tagged mineral, and the surrounding rock broke away without splitting the sample this time.

Nessa pulled it free and sealed it in the container.

Farther down the route, a side tunnel opened on their left.

Arthur heard claws scraping rapidly against stone before anything appeared.

Two cave hounds burst out of the dark, lean animals with long jaws and patchy gray hides.

They came down the tunnel fast.

"Backing!" Felix shouted as he shifted.

Cedric moved right immediately. Alicia already had room on the left, and Arthur slid toward the opposite wall before the shield could cut him off.

One hound circled Felix, trying to get around the heavy shield.

Arthur used Mirage Shot.

The false projectile streaked toward the right wall. The hound snapped its body toward the sudden movement, completely exposing its ribs.

The real arrow came from the true line and punched cleanly through its shoulder. The hound dropped hard into the dirt, sliding to a stop.

The second hound crashed against Felix’s shield and immediately tried to spring around the side.

Alicia was already moving. She caught its first lunge on the flat of her blade, turned with it, and cut across the side of its neck before it could get past Felix.

The hound hit the mud and stayed there.

Nessa checked quickly to make sure nobody had been bitten. Then they continued down the tunnel.

They were getting deeper. The maintained academy sections were thinning out. The academy markers were still there, but the floor had gotten rougher and the timber supports farther apart.

The smell began to change.

Felix noticed it first. He slowed his pace. "There it is."

"What?" Nessa asked.

"The smell."

Nessa looked ahead, and then everyone noticed it. It was a thick, heavy stench of animal musk, rotting meat, and waste.

Arthur spotted patches of dark fur caught on a splintered timber brace. As they walked further, the ground became littered with bones. They were small, mostly belonging to tunnel crawlers and other mine scavengers, but several of them had been cracked completely open for marrow.

Alicia drew her sword without anyone telling her to.

Nessa crouched near the mud. There were several sets of tracks pressed deep into the wet dirt, and then more overlapping them. Too many to cleanly count.

The third academy marker was visible on the wall much farther ahead.

Unfortunately, that was exactly where most of the tracks were leading.

Arthur activated Eagle Eye.

The tunnel sharpened around him. He could make out movement much farther into the dark now.

Arthur picked out hounds behind the cart, against the wall, near the loose rock. More shapes shifted farther back, overlapping in the dark.

A larger hound moved behind the others, broad through the shoulders and covered in old scars.

The others were getting ready around him. Felix raised his shield, settling his weight. Alicia took her usual spot off his shoulder, leaving herself plenty of room. Cedric gathered mana into both hands. Nessa moved back behind the protected line automatically.

Arthur shifted sideways until he had a clear lane past Felix’s shield, then raised Whisperwind.

A Mana Quiver arrow formed on the string.

A low, vibrating growl rolled through the dark tunnel.

Another growl answered from the back of the cavern.

Arthur tightened his fingers around Whisperwind as more shapes began moving in the dark.