"Soomin, now!" I ordered.

She launched herself forward with a feral roar that echoed through the cavern, sending shivers down my spine. The transformation had taken her completely – soft pink hair now a ghostly white, those gentle blue eyes transformed into glowing predatory slits, fingers elongated into razor-sharp claws. Her white tail whipped violently behind her as she disappeared into the darkness, moving with a speed that made her nothing more than a blur of pale fury.

The sounds that followed would have made a horror movie director proud. Primal, violent, and utterly savage – claws tearing through digital flesh, goblin shrieks cut horrifically short mid-scream, bones snapping like twigs beneath a boot. The cavern walls themselves seemed to tremble as her uncontrolled power ripped the passage apart, stalactites cracking overhead and small rocks tumbling down around us like deadly rain.

In the brief flashes of light from the simulation's ambient glow, I caught glimpses of her – a whirlwind of white and red, her face contorted into something feral and hungry as she tore through the goblin ranks. Not a hint remained of the shy, stammering girl who could barely make eye contact without blushing. This was something else entirely.

"Holy shit," Raphael whispered, his usual bravado momentarily subdued by the carnage. Even in the dim light, I could see his eyes wide with a mixture of awe and something else – was that fear? From our self-proclaimed alpha? Interesting.

"Is she supposed to be doing that?" Juan asked weakly from the ground, still sprawled where he'd fallen when the paralysis dart hit him. His fingers twitched uselessly as the venom slowly wore off, his usual lazy drawl now tinged with genuine concern.

I ignored them both, my eyes scanning the left wall of the cavern methodically. The rumbling from Soomin's rampage had revealed something useful – a network of hairline fractures spider-webbing across a section of stone where the cavern wall had weakened. Fault lines created by Soomin's assault vibrating through the rock. Perfect.

"Raphael," I called, pointing at the fractured section. "Hit it. Now."

His face twisted with annoyance at being ordered around, lips curling into a sneer. "Don't tell me what to—"

"Forty seconds," VEGA announced, her synthesized voice echoing through our neural links with sadistic cheerfulness.

"Fine!" Raphael growled, charging his fists with explosive energy that crackled and hissed around his knuckles like angry hornets. The orange-yellow light cast harsh shadows across his face as he slammed his fists into the wall with a roar that was as much frustration at following my order as it was exertion.

BOOM!

The wall didn't just break – it exploded inward with a thunderous crash that shook the entire cavern. Rock fragments and choking dust billowed outward in a gray cloud, coating us all in a fine powder that stuck to the sweat on my skin. Through the settling debris, a new path emerged, leading directly into what had to be the Chieftain's chamber. Score one for improvisation.

"Th-there!" Jacob's voice cracked with panic as he pointed through the newly created opening, datapad clutched to his chest like a shield. His skinny frame shook with each rapid breath, glasses sliding down his sweaty nose. "M-massive biometric signature! Heart rate approximately one-fifty beats per minute, body temperature elevated two degrees above baseline, adrenaline levels through the roof! The Chieftain's in there!"

I was already moving, calculating angles and approach vectors in my head, when something – no, someone – flew out of the original passage, hitting the ground with a sickening thud and skidding several feet across the rough stone floor. Soomin lay crumpled on her side, her transformation flickering and dying like a faulty light. Her white hair faded back to pink in uneven patches, her single tail dissolving into nothing as her body gave out from the strain. Blood – or whatever passed for blood in this simulation – trickled from the corner of her mouth.

"She's down," Skylar noted clinically, her knives already drawn, the metal catching what little light there was in sinister gleams. Not a hint of concern colored her voice – just cold, professional assessment. I could appreciate that.

A guttural roar echoed from the original passage, followed by the sound of dozens of feet pounding against stone. The goblins were regrouping, probably pissed off that their buddies had just been turned into virtual confetti.

"Thirty seconds remaining," VEGA announced with what sounded suspiciously like amusement. Was an AI supposed to enjoy watching us struggle? Sadistic bitch.

I made my decision instantly, mind racing through possibilities and discarding most of them just as quickly. "Skylar, with me!"

Without waiting for a response – I didn't need to, she'd follow if she was smart – I dashed through the hole Raphael had created, ducking under a jagged outcropping of rock. The sound of Skylar's light footsteps right behind me confirmed my assumption as we entered a larger chamber, this one lit by glowing fungi that cast an eerie blue light across the scene.

The Hobgoblin Chieftain stood atop a raised platform of rock, its hulking frame nearly twice the size of the regular goblins we'd dispatched. Heavy armor made of bone and crudely hammered metal covered its torso, adorned with what looked like the skulls of previous victims – a charming decorative touch. It wielded a massive stone axe that looked like it could cleave a man in two with disturbing ease, the edge jagged and wicked. Four elite guards surrounded it, each armed and ready, their yellow eyes gleaming with malice in the dim light.

"Distract them," I told Skylar, my voice low enough that only she could hear.

She didn't bother with a verbal response – why waste time on words when action speaks louder? She simply exhaled a cloud of indigo smoke that billowed outward, dancing through the air like living ink in water. From within that mysterious fog, two illusory copies of me materialized, flanking the Chieftain from opposite sides. The guards hesitated, heads swiveling between the real me and my doppelgangers, confused by the sudden appearance of multiple targets.

I didn't waste the opportunity her illusions provided. My enhanced agility – thank you, System – allowed me to move faster than I ever could before the Gacha gifts. I slid under a wild swing from the nearest guard, feeling the rush of air as the crude blade passed inches above my face. My palm heated up as I activated [EMBER], a burst of concentrated flame engulfing the goblin's legs, making it stumble backward and shriek in digital agony.

Skylar was a ghost on the battlefield. Her smoke wasn't just for illusions – it provided perfect cover as she vanished and reappeared without warning or sound. A flash of steel in the corner of my eye, and one guard dropped, its throat slit with surgical accuracy. Another guard fell before it could even register her presence, a knife buried in its eye socket.

We worked in perfect synchronicity – my loud, flashy elemental attacks drawing attention and creating chaos while she struck from the shadows with lethal stealth. Two more guards fell to my [SEVER], their digital bodies dissolving into swirling pixels of blue light as invisible force sliced through them like they were made of wet paper.

"Twenty seconds," VEGA reminded us.

The Chieftain, enraged by the loss of its guards, let out a roar that shook the cavern, small rocks and dust raining down from the ceiling. It ignored my illusion copies completely – apparently smarter than its underlings – focusing instead on the ceiling above us. With a powerful swing of its massive axe, it struck not at me, but at the base of a massive stalactite hanging precariously overhead.

KRAKOOM!

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