Whispers of Stealth and Sabotage
The morning sun cast long, gentle beams through the towering branches of the ancient tree at the village's heart, dappling the cobblestones beneath their feet.
Before they could take a step further into the village, a soft chime echoed in their minds—a system notification, crisp and direct.
[System Notification]
Challenge Directive Activated: Floor 7
Objective: Seek the Village Chief for mission briefing.
Primary Challenge: Stealth and Sabotage
Prepare for covert operations within the Elven domain.
Lira's eyes flicked to Caidyn, a spark of anticipation lighting her gaze. "Looks like this floor isn't about brute force."
Caidyn's lips curved into a knowing smile. "No blazing guns or overwhelming firepower. We'll need finesse."
Kairos hummed quietly, its voice threading through the quiet forest air. Environmental variables indicate heightened sensory awareness in inhabitants. Tactical caution advised.
The pair adjusted their gear, senses sharpening. The path ahead was clear: find the village chief, gather the details, and prepare for the subtle art of infiltration.
Underneath the tranquil beauty of the village, the shadows whispered of secrets waiting to be unraveled.
The path led them to a simple wooden building nestled at the base of the massive tree. Its design was functional, sturdy—built to last rather than impress.
The door opened to reveal a middle-aged elf with a straightforward gaze and a no-nonsense demeanor. "I am Thalir, the village chief," he said plainly. "You're here for the floor's challenge."
Caidyn and Lira nodded.
Thalir continued without ceremony. "This floor focuses on stealth and sabotage. Goblin and orc encampments have been detected in the forest surrounding our village. Your task is to infiltrate these camps and disrupt their operations—destroy supplies, interfere with their communications, and weaken their presence. Direct combat isn't the goal."
Lira asked, "How many villages, and what defenses should we expect?"
"Three known encampments so far," Thalir replied. "Goblins tend to use traps and hit-and-run tactics. Orcs rely on strength but maintain some organization. You'll receive a rough map with basic locations. Navigating and adapting is up to you."
Caidyn glanced at her wristband as Kairos synced quietly.
Thalir nodded firmly, his expression steady and unyielding. "The system will reward you handsomely for success. This floor is a training ground—less theatrics, more precision. Trust your instincts."
Caidyn gave a short nod, already mentally shifting into planning mode as she and Lira stepped out of the chief's home and into the dappled sunlight of the elven village. The towering tree at the center loomed like a sentinel, its roots sprawling into the cobbled paths. The peace here was tenuous—every passerby moved with quiet urgency, a hush of caution in their steps.
"We'll need to prep before heading out," Lira said, adjusting the strap of her pack. "Check our gear, go over routes—"
She broke off as two elven youths hurried toward them from a shaded alley. Their faces were marked with worry, and one held a half-torn satchel clutched tightly to his chest.
"Please—are you... climbers?" one asked, looking between the two with a mix of desperation and hope.
"We are," Caidyn replied cautiously, her tone neutral but attentive.
"We were scouting near the western glade—one of the goblin camps. Got ambushed. We escaped, but we dropped something—an artifact, wrapped in leather, shaped like a small totem. We think it's still near their outer watchpost. If you could retrieve it... it's important."
Lira raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Caidyn crossed her arms, gaze sharp. Could be bait. Could be legitimate.
A familiar digital flicker brushed across her vision.
[System Notification]
Hidden Quest Found: "Retrieve the Lost Artifact."
Optional Objective: Locate and return the artifact to its rightful owners. Rewards scale with outcome.
Kairos's voice slid into her mind with that usual restrained drama. Well then. Timing, as always, is everything.
"We'll find it," Caidyn said at last. "Can you mark where you lost it?"
The two elves nodded quickly, one pulling out a charcoal stick and sketching a crude circle on the corner of the map Lira unrolled. "Here—near a moss-covered stone formation. Just south of the treeline."
"Got it," Lira said. "We'll sweep the area on our route."
As the elves slipped away with hurried gratitude, the two women exchanged a glance.
"Detour?" Lira asked.
"Side objective," Caidyn replied. "Could give us leverage, maybe insight into goblin patrol patterns. Or a better entrance vector."
Kairos gave a low chuckle, Your definition of subtle is flexible at best.
And yet, she thought, I'm still here, aren't I?
They turned toward the forest, steps syncing without effort, shadows of the canopy swallowing them as the village faded behind.
The real challenge was waiting.
And now, so was something else.
The forest had thickened the deeper they went, the trees grown wide and gnarled with age. Moss clung to every surface like the forest's quiet breath. By the time the marked spot on their map was only a few hundred meters away, the village felt like a distant whisper left behind in the canopy.
Caidyn crouched beside a twisted root, checking the glinting cartridges inside the frame of her wrist-mounted toolkit. She slid a new casing into place with a clean snap, the shimmer of her latest remote-detonation grenades catching in the light. Their silver casings bore two faint glyph-lines each—one for charge sync, the other for detonation modulation.
"That's eight now," she murmured, more to herself than Lira. "Core-linked, toggled, mapped. Fully synced."
Kairos coiled invisibly just behind her shoulder, his presence a ripple in the air. You've practically got a munitions factory running in your back pocket. Very on-brand.
Precision prep is still prep, she thought back, flicking the edge of her toolkit shut. I'm not going in blind.
Lira, a few steps ahead, crouched by a narrow ridge overlooking a lower glade. Her cloak shifted slightly as she scanned through her optical overlay, marking movement patterns in the underbrush.
"We're close," she said, voice low. "Moss-covered stone's just up ahead. See that crooked stump? It matches the elves' sketch. Outer watchpost might be just beyond it."
Caidyn nodded, her hand resting lightly against the satchel that held her new grenades. "Then let's go quiet. Get in, sweep the area, confirm the artifact's location. Worst case—we light up the forest. Best case? We're ghosts."
Lira gave a wry grin. "You always make stealth sound like a secondary option."
"Only because it is."
They moved forward, careful not to disturb the foliage. The low wind shifted around them, carrying the damp scent of moss, distant woodsmoke... and something faintly metallic.
Caidyn's fingers brushed the top of a grenade out of habit, checking that the detonation channel was still set to pair sync. Eight charges, two toggles, and a whole lot of silence.
The goblins wouldn't hear them coming.
And if they did?
They'd regret it.
The moss beneath their boots muffled every step, though even that felt too loud. Shadows stretched long in the low forest light, and every creak of wood or rustle of leaves might've been a warning—or a trap waiting to be sprung.
Caidyn moved first, crouched low as she inched her way along the rise of an overgrown ridge. Her visor dimmed reflexively as the filter overlay kicked in, scanning for heat signatures, magical flux, and sound distortion patterns.
Behind her, Lira followed at a near-silent pace, cloak pulled tight, hood low. Her steps were ghost-thin, her breaths paced with calculated care. They didn't need to say anything—every movement was an agreement.
There it is.
Caidyn's HUD pinged as a new shape took form beyond the treeline—a jagged wooden perimeter, reinforced with scavenged metal plating. Crude banners fluttered limply in the breeze, bone charms and rusted glyph-stakes hanging from them like discarded warnings.
Just outside the outpost fence, barely ten meters from its closest watchpoint, was a gleam. Nestled among the roots of a thick-barked tree, half-covered by fallen leaves and packed dirt, was a small metal object—the shape unmistakable even from this distance.
The artifact.
About the size of a closed fist, it shimmered faintly with a pulsing azure glow. Lines of delicate engravings wrapped around its sides like circuit etchings, barely visible but distinctly magical.
Caidyn's breath hitched. She blinked once to mark it on her HUD.
[System Notification]
Quest Target Located: Artifact registered. Retrieval conditions active.
"That's it," she thought, crouching deeper behind a fallen log. "But of course it's nestled right against a goblin watch line."
Kairos whispered inside her system like static filtered through silk. Retrieval distance: 11.6 meters. Line of sight is exposed. Recommended strategy: Distraction or elimination. Preferably both.
Lira knelt beside her, eyes tracking the outpost's pacing pattern. "Two scouts, one archer, one what I think is a shaman or caster. If we try to grab it raw, we're lit up in two seconds."
Caidyn nodded grimly. "Then we don't grab it raw."
She glanced down at her pack and loosened the latch on her satchel. One grenade slid silently into her hand—remote-triggered, dual-core ready.
The artifact shimmered faintly under a clutch of gnarled roots, just meters from the edge of the goblin outpost. Too close. The kind of distance where one wrong footstep could mean a dozen thrown spears.
Caidyn crouched low in the undergrowth, eyes narrowing. Four hostiles—two goblin sentries half-alert, one caster muttering beside a crude firepit, and an archer swaying on a splintered watchtower.
"Too exposed," Lira whispered beside her. "Fog, in and out. Quick grab. Fast exit."
Caidyn gave a slight nod, then pulled the compact turret from her pack and set it down on a stretch of flattened stone. Mithril-core framework and spiral-fed design—this wasn't for punch, this was for coverage.
"Kairos," she murmured, locking the turret's stabilizers into place. "Run the line. Fog and suppression on my call."
The AI's tone flowed in smooth, deliberate cadence. "Always a pleasure to paint chaos with purpose. Firing solutions online. Suppression pattern mapped. Incendiary shell loaded."
Caidyn's eyes flicked over to the grenade toggles at her belt. She drew one of the remote-detonated mist grenades, flicked the dual-switch to synchronized, and waited for Lira's nod.
"Three... two... mark."
Pop-hissss—
Fog surged across the camp, thick and fast, swallowing torchlight and structures in its hungry roll. Goblin cries rang out in confusion—scattered orders and one arrow loosed into the haze.
And then the turret opened fire.
A scything spread of suppressive rounds swept the perimeter, expertly controlled by Kairos. The archer's tower splintered as lead chewed through its supports. One goblin tripped and vanished in the mist, screams drowned beneath the sharp staccato of the turret's cycle.
Caidyn was already moving, low and fast. She reached the artifact, embedded beneath a tangle of old roots—silver bands etched with emerald glyphs. She yanked it free in one smooth motion, pivoting as Lira cut down the goblin caster across the way with clean, efficient silence.
Retreat was swift and silent. They were nearly out of range when Kairos pinged a final request through the link.
"Incendiary round primed. Shall I... sign the message?"
"Burn it," Caidyn muttered.
The turret swiveled, locking onto the cluster of wooden shacks and firepit debris—and fired.
Fwoom.
The shell struck true. A bloom of fire ignited across the camp, flames leaping across timber and hide. Smoke and panic rose in tandem.
The turret deactivated and retracted. Mission complete.
[System Notification]
Hidden Quest Progress: Artifact retrieved.
Sabotage Objective: Partial destruction of goblin outpost confirmed.
Bonus reward eligibility registered.
The forest floor was damp beneath their boots, layered with fallen leaves and the acrid scent of distant smoke. The turret had retracted, packed neatly into Caidyn's back unit again, though the faint warmth still radiated from its mithril frame.
They moved slow now. No rush. No pressure. Just deliberate movement through the dense underbrush, giving the high of adrenaline time to bleed off into something steadier.
Caidyn exhaled through her teeth, low and sharp. "That went cleaner than I thought it would."
Lira gave a dry chuckle beside her. "Clean chaos is still chaos, Nullghost. But yeah—solid breach."
From a side pouch, Caidyn pulled the recovered artifact free and turned it in her hands. Smooth, dense metal, with subtle engravings that shimmered faintly in the dappled forest light. As she rotated it, a [System Notification] blinked silently in her HUD.
[System Notification]
Item Registered: Elven Craftsmanship — Arcane Mortar Shell
Classification: Artillery-grade Magic-Infused Ammunition
Status: Inert / Requires Specialized Mounting
Her brows lifted slightly. "Well. That's not some lost heirloom."
Lira leaned over for a better look, eyes narrowing. "Arcane... artillery?"
"Looks like it." Weaponized elegance, Caidyn thought, brushing a thumb over a spiral rune near the base. No wonder the elves were panicked.
Up ahead, a shallow incline led them toward the next marked outpost—another goblin stronghold tucked deeper within the forest's crooked heart. Still far enough to avoid detection, but close enough for tension to coil at the edges of their nerves.
They paused at the crest of a weathered stone outcrop, letting the filtered green light settle over them. No system pings. No movement. Just quiet.
Kairos's voice drifted in, smoother than usual, a mellow resonance curled in data-rich calm.
"Efficiency spike noted. You both function well as a team. Unexpected compatibility matrix."
Lira raised a brow. "Did your AI just compliment us?"
Caidyn smirked. "That's the closest thing to affection you'll get out of him."
"Incorrect. I am also capable of dry wit and passive-aggressive mission reminders," Kairos returned coolly.
That earned a small laugh from both of them—soft and real. A tiny crack in the pressure. Just enough to exhale.
Caidyn slid the mortar shell back into storage and adjusted one of the mist grenades at her belt. "We rest ten, then push. Next post won't be as sloppy. We go in sharper."
Lira nodded, crouching beneath the twisted roots of an overgrown tree. "Then let's reload the silence while we've got it."
For now, they let stillness hold the edge.
The next strike waited just ahead.