The Over-Break System

“If it becomes a subjugation mission, the two of us will do what needs to be done; you both don’t need that kind of burden on your minds, so you will only have to face the adults.”

An oppressive silence descended on the party at Cynrik’s words. By saying the phrase “subjugation mission,” everyone was suddenly aware of how serious the situation had become. Even to Benny and Gabby, it was a well-known fact that Green Alpha Egresses allegedly had a meager rate of casualty. If ten parties of five entered one, it was likely only one or two of the 50 people wouldn’t return, and those instances were generally so far and few between that it was chalked up to “user error.”

All that only applied to typical instances; if what Cynrik said about the potential for subjugation was true, it completely changed everything. With a serious expression and beads of sweat dripping down his forehead, Benny looked at Cynrik questioningly.

“But Cyn, this is only an Alpha…don’t subjugations only form in Beta or Gamma Egresses?” His voice began to waver the more realization set upon him, making Benny increasingly more nervous.

“Heh, yeah. The bulk of subjugations are caused by a swarm of wild monsters or the other two classifications of Egresses. This is different, though; for some reason, our Boss room has become a… err…pocket world…I guess that’s the right way to put it. Seeing as I didn’t step into the place and only peeked at it from the door, I couldn’t trigger an Emergency Quest or anything, but just by a glance, I was able to conclude this by getting a glimpse of the location and enemy forces.” Cynrik crossed his arms and continued chewing on his thumb in thought.

“Look, I won’t lie to you guys; all hell will probably break loose very quickly. Gabby and Benny, you two need to stick to Brance, and I like glue. Don’t leave off on your own, and remember what I’ve taught you about situational awareness. Keep your heads on a swivel; you may be under our concealing skills, but that doesn’t mean the Kobolds can’t touch or even smell you if you end up too close.”

Cynrik stared at Gabby in particular since she had a high probability of wandering off on her own if left unsupervised.

“Look, guys, there’s nothing to panic over. Didn’t we just clear out a bunch of rats and hounds with just the three of us? Now that we’ve got Big Brother back, we’ve got nothing to worry about. Just listen to what we tell you and stay on your toes.” Sensing the anxiety levels of the party spiking, Brance decided to step in and try calming everyone down.

Cynrik wasn’t the best at keeping others’ thoughts and emotions in mind, and as he just proved, had a tendency only to spit statistics and facts. This left it up to Brance to try and soothe his friends and brother. His words seemed to have worked to some extent as he noticed Benny wipe the sweat from his face and put on a look of confidence. Gabby reacted similarly and went to Brance’s side before grabbing his hand and looking up at him.

“Alright, Cyn, hit us with the whole plan; what happens after we get in and you and Benny douse the lavafall?” Brance pumped Gabby’s hand once before tossing her a gentle smile and directing his attention back to Cynrik.

“Right,” Kneeling back down by the crudely drawn village map in the dirt, Cynrik started detailing out the strat he’d been coming up with.

“First off, Infiltration, as I stated previously, we are splitting into two groups, and under cover of our stealth skills, we will position ourselves in the two places as mentioned earlier. Me and Benny at the lavafall, and Gabby and Brance at the Shamans hut. I want you two to carefully and quietly jump up on the roof and find a solid vantage point where you have eyes on as much of the village as possible. The village in its entirety is only slightly bigger than the park we used to go to when we were little. Gabby…” Cynrik stopped and looked over at the little girl to ensure she was paying attention.

“Do you remember the plan we used to have during hide n seek?”

Gabby tilted her head cutely and bit the inside of her cheek for a second before her eyes lit up in remembrance.

“OH OH, the one where you’d have me climb trees and tell you where everyone was hiding so you could sneak up on them?”

Brance frowned as he was hearing this for the first time; he always wondered how whenever the pair of Gabby and Cynrik were the finders, they could hunt down every kid in hide n seek quickly and efficiently.

“Yep, exactly, I need you to do that, except this time, you’ll have your bow, so if you see any Kobolds getting too close or trying to chase us, I want you to snipe them. So pick a good spot on the hut’s roof, and use your [Eagle Eye] to identify anyone for Brance, who will relay the info to me.”

Cynrik paused for a moment and scrunched up his face in thought, debating on whether or not to say the next part. Then, tossing a sidelong glance at Brance, who had an idea what he wanted to say and nodded his approval, Cynrik continued.

“I know Brance, and I have never really explained it, but we both have a particular skill, unique to our Dads side of the family called [Mana Sight], it basically allows us to see all the Mana Particles within a specified radius; it’s what we always use for targeting and such. So it’s basically like a super-strong version of Gabby’s [Eagle Eye], which lets her see things outside the typical spectrum of eyesight.”

“This brings me into the second part of the plan. Once we are all in position, I will give Benny the signal to start manifesting as much water as possible to dump on the lava creating a massive cloud of steam, but this isn’t the only task.”

Cynrik started drawing on the map again, making a big blobby-looking thing that he focused on the lavafall.

“The reaction will be instant, but without any outside force applied on the steam, I don’t expect it to do what we need; thus, Brance….” Cynrik grinned and held up his left-hand palm side facing the sky. With a slight twitch of his muscles, a small green tornado formed from Wind Mana appeared and danced lightly in his palm before being directed onto the map.

Brance mirrored his brother’s actions and created a similar Wind Tornado, with the only difference being its lighter shade of green.

The two brothers articulated their fingers with unspoken coordination moving the small tornados to either side of the dirt blob and started directing it around the map until the whole village was covered in dirt, nearly wiping the map away entirely.

“Brance and I will use our Wind Affinities to manipulate the steam, forcing it closer to the ground and shrouding the village. This is why it’s so essential that Gabby is on the lookout with her [Eagle Vision];. At the same time, Brance, Benny, and I are occupied with this; Gabby will be on the lookout, steadily picking off any Kobolds that try entering the area close to the lava fall.”

Once the blob was in place, Cynrik and Brance released control of their tornados, allowing them to break apart and vanish.

“Once we get the steam cloud in place, Benny and I will make our way towards the Shaman hut by making use of it, taking out any enemies we come across, effectively thinning the herd. I want everyone to treat this as a subjugation mission. Suppose the System or Egress Core tells us otherwise. In that case, the plan will only be adjusted to reflect this, so pick and choose your targets carefully and prioritize anything carrying a weapon.”

Cynrik leaned forward and placed a big X on the box representing the Shaman’s hut.

” Once we all meet up at the hut, it’s game time, Brance; you are first in the door…er…ceiling; I want you to blow a hole in the roof and drop in on the target with Gabby’s cover fire. Benny, you will be breaching the door simultaneously as Brance is dropping in, while I’ll come in from a different side through the window.”

As Cynrik spoke, he drew lines around the hut, indicating the path he wanted everyone to take.

“Strike ’em hard, hit ’em fast. We want to catch the Shaman off guard and unprepared, so he won’t be able to retaliate. Curses and Debuffs are nasty, so the less time it has to spew them or drop totems, the better off we will be. Gabby, I want you to stay on the roof while the three of us are on the move; your job is to not only watch the village but also try and find an opening to place a well-timed arrow onto the Boss.”

Gabby clenched her fists tightly while rapidly nodding up and down with confidence, making Brance and Cynrik smile. The little girl was tough; that much could be said.

“Now then, the final part, everything banks on what happens once we take down the Shaman; there are only two answers here, but since this whole Boss raid is a fucking Anomaly, I can only have backup plans in place, I can make all the preparations in the world, but even I am unable to tell the future.”

Cynrik took a deep breath and stood up, making the rest of the party join him on their feet.

“If the worst-case scenario happens, and we actually go into full-on subjugation mode, Brance and I will move at full speed, taking out everything we find while causing the maximum amount of damage possible. You two don’t have to worry about anything other than watching each other’s backs. Benny, you will be on protection duty, so join Gabby on the roof and don’t let anyone up there. Gabby take as many shots as possible to lessen the load on Brance and me. That’s it, end of the plan.”

“This is the hardest shit we’ve faced as a group.” Cynrik made eye contact with each of them as he spoke. “Let’s go kill some fucking lizards,” and with a cocky grin, Cynrik grabbed Benny by the scruff of his neck, just as he had during the practical exams.

“Oh, one last thing, Brancie Catch,” Cynrik pulled out two Small Mana potions and the small Health potion and tossed them to his brother, who stored them instantly.

With the handoff complete, Cynrik cast [Shadow Veil] while Brance picked up Gabby in a princess carry, much to her joy, and cast [Vanish], before making their way towards the door with Cynrik giving one last command.

“MyrkLys, Move out.”

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