"Run! Spiders! And so many disgusting bugs!" Zad, who was scouting ahead, trembled with fear as his voice cracked at the sight of swarming insects emerging from the darkness. Without hesitation, Dagger grabbed an Alchemist's Fire from his belt pouch, lit it with his torch, and bolted.
The Alchemist's Fire wasn't powerful enough to hold back the tide of insects flowing like a black river. The two fled in panic.
As melee professionals, neither was adept at handling such dense swarms. But there was a powerful archmage not far behind them - this was clearly the time to retreat.
The underground passage lacked proper lighting, and the uneven terrain made escape difficult. Potholes and loose rubble turned their flight into pure misery.
The buzzing of wings grew louder behind them. Zad's hair stood on end from terror. Suddenly, his foot caught on something, sending him crashing into Dagger beside him.
At 5'7" and 280 pounds, Zad's bulky frame collided with the slender rogue like a battering ram, slamming Dagger unconscious against the stone wall. The impact barely grazed Zad, who scrambled up and kept running without a scratch.
The insects swarmed over the unconscious Dagger. When the chasing sounds stopped, Zad grinned - but his expression instantly shifted to terrified panic when Yoda arrived: "Master! Help! Swarms of insects! I've been bitten! Poisoned!"
Yoda frowned as he rushed forward. As a monk, he specialized in fighting humanoids, not pest control.
Fortunately, the mage had their back.
"Save him first!" Yoda shouted before charging. His battle cry echoed through the tunnels as he focused his ki. A stunning strike sent disgusting vermin flying off Dagger's body. Grabbing the rogue's collar, he slung the lightweight over his shoulder and retreated.
Zad kept screaming about bugs and poison as he ran. Upon hearing the commotion, Lolo at the team's center immediately cast Mage Armor on herself first. When Yoda arrived carrying Dagger, she quickly incanted - a patch of filthy grease appeared behind Yoda to block pursuit.
"Careful! Grease spell!"
This upgraded version didn't just make surfaces slippery - it was flammable. While ineffective against multi-legged insects, it trapped several reptiles. In the torchlight, the dark tide of reptiles emerging behind Zad turned the little witch pale. She shrieked "Mama!" before fainting.
Yoda gritted his teeth and hurled his torch backward. Flames erupted across the greased area, briefly halting the swarm - until more insects surged forward, smothering the fire with their bodies.
These mindless invertebrates advanced against all natural instincts, driven by unknown madness.
Anthony watched his useless teammates - every one quicker to flee than fight - wondering what value these cowards could possibly have.
As the party's only warrior, Zad should've held the line with the paladin. Instead, he abandoned the fallen casters, racing past Anthony without slowing.
Clearly planning to keep running.
Anthony subtly extended his foot. Zad's shin hit what felt like solid stone, sending him sprawling with a cry. Anthony ignored the wailing fool, turning to the young woman beside him who trembled convincingly - though her eyes showed no real fear.
"Stand here and sing your inspiring ballad. Don't make me repeat myself."
This woman was one of only two normal people in this group. Yet her calmness amidst this chaos was itself abnormal for a female.
The other sane one was the short-legged paladin still catching up.
When the paladin finally arrived, the situation proved far worse than imagined.
The usually silent little witch had fainted. The rogue's face bore sickly green hues. The gnoll stood resolutely before them despite his small stature. The warrior's pitiful wails drowned out the bard's beautiful song.
(How did things deteriorate so quickly?) The paladin activated his Aura of Heroism with a shout. Then rustling sounds ahead made him freeze - the dying flames revealed giant insects relentlessly pursuing his teammates.
Two-foot-tall giant spiders, stench-filled flies the size of human heads, and countless writhing centipedes covered the ground. A single glance was enough to stop the heart of anyone weak-willed.
"Oh my God..." Even the paladin felt his scalp crawl. He had no idea how to fend off these grotesque insects with just a longsword and shield, but his faith drove him forward regardless, raising his shield as he charged.
If even a paladin hesitated, what hope did the others have?
But the moment he stepped over Zad's body, he heard a sharp intake of breath—then a torrent of scorching dragonfire erupted from the mage's mouth. The overwhelming flames devoured the oncoming swarm, surging relentlessly down the tunnel until every last insect within an 80-foot stretch was reduced to charred ash.
The dragonfire lasted a full six seconds. When Anthony finally exhaled, the underground passage fell into eerie silence. Not a single chirp remained.
"Tyr preserve us… So this is the power of a mage?" The paladin stood dumbfounded.
Witnessing such devastating magic left a bitter taste in his mouth. He had answered the call, devoted ten years as a squire in the Church to become a paladin—yet in that same time, a mage's apprentice could have already mastered their craft.
Probably no different from brushing down a mentor's horse or fetching scrolls for a mage, Tegal thought bitterly.
After Tegal cured Dagger's poison and gave Zad a Cure Light Wounds, the party was finally out of life-threatening danger.
He had been about to cure Zad's "poison" too, but Anthony cut him off: "Save it. He was never poisoned. And even if he was, he's not worth wasting a divine spell slot on."
Zad pretended not to hear, curling up on a rock in silence.
Their very first challenge had crushed the temporary team's morale. Now they understood—the ugly, ridiculous gnoll hadn't been exaggerating. This Trial Grounds was far deadlier than they'd imagined.
The little witch was utterly terrified, her face still pale, muttering strange things like, "My mother's coming… She'll kill you all…"
Her mind seemed broken.
Yoda watched the newcomers with growing concern but had no solutions.
Truthfully, his earlier pep talk had been copied from his old captain.
Anthony was thoroughly disappointed with these people. His most lethal Dragon's Breath could only be used three times in total, and he had already expended one charge. Once depleted, he would need to feed to replenish his abilities.
Originally, he had assumed they would at least serve as decent cannon fodder, buying him enough time to react efficiently and reach their destination.
But clearly, they weren't idiots. The only reliable ones left in the team were a gnoll who knew escape was futile and a brainwashed fool of a paladin blinded by righteousness. The rest bolted at the first sign of trouble—some even shutting their eyes and resigning to fate.
These people weren't even fit to be cannon fodder. At best, they might serve as grain reserves.
The only silver lining was that the bugs he'd just wiped out had granted him half the EXP needed for his current level. He was close to leveling up.
Now, he needed to seriously consider how to complete this mission.
The first phase was simply reaching Menzoberranzan—easy enough. But what then?
Excavate the drow's treasure vault? Uncover some elf deities' hidden divine artifact? Or plunge the entire city into chaos?
No, that couldn't be it. Those tasks were far beyond this new team's capabilities. Even if he regained his true form, it would be impossible.
Bad luck, really. The tunnels here were too narrow—even in his true form, he wouldn't have room to maneuver. Not to mention, an underage red dragon stood no chance of destroying an entire city.
Especially Menzoberranzan, one of the most infamous drow elf cities, armed to the teeth with elite weaponry. Over 2000 adult drow professionals were combat-ready. Even an ancient dragon might end up as these guys' spoils of war.
And let's not forget—this was Lolth, the Spider Queen's territory. Any disturbance would draw the attention of that cunning, petty deity, and that was not a memory worth making.
Brute force wasn't an option, so transforming into a red dragon would be pointless. Anthony eyed the disorganized team and decided it was time to show these slackers the harsh truth:
"If you'd rather sit here and feed the bugs, then by all means, stay."
With that, he stepped forward, crushing the ashes beneath his feet as he marched ahead.
The moment he moved, Yoda followed without hesitation, taking the lead to scout the path. Soon after, the young woman and a pale-faced Lolo hurried to keep up with the team.
Tegal hesitated briefly before hoisting his dagger and rushing after them. Zad lingered at the rear, eyes burning with resentment, yet he too trudged along behind his teammates.
Not long after they left, a small figure emerged from the shadows, silently trailing the team at a careful distance.