Things went uphill from there. No more boring chores, no more exclusion, and no more annoying people to harass Adam.
"Squad twelve, ready for dispatch." [Adam]
Speaking into a radio, Adam, Brandon, and Sora were sitting together in a helicopter.
"Squad twelve, you are clear to go." [???]
Speaking back, a voice replied via helmet speakers.
"Let's go!" [Brandon]
All three jumped out of the helicopter, freefalling into an empty city. The wind whipped their faces and blew the sound out of their ears. It might've posed a problem if they weren't trained for this.
"Activate C.A.R.! Now!" [Sora]
Slamming a hand onto their chest, their uniforms expelled enough air to slow their descent until they touched ground.
"Phew. That's quite the rush." [Brandon]
"You can say that again." [Sora]
"Enough talk. You have a job to do. Eliminate any voidlings you see. You have thirty minutes to clear this sector." [???]
Brandon rolled his eyes.
"Yeah yeah…" [Brandon]
This is a job they've done a few times after Sora was discharged from the hospital. Upon their first mission, they were introduced to their "watcher". In their case, he was just called Bob.
"Bob, can you give us a scan of the area?" [Sora]
"Three voidlings at 8 o' clock. Distance is 21 pops." [Bob]
The three immediately moved out. Within seconds, they saw three grotesque creatures. One that looked like a lion with tentacles for teeth, another that was a bird with six arms as wings, and the last seemed like a… shark with paws for fins.
"Okay… these ones look weird." [Adam]
"I mean, all voidlings look weird in general." [Brandon]
"Weirder than normal, then." [Adam]
No matter how strange their foes looked, they only had one job.
"Pick a target." [Adam]
"I got left." [Brandon]
"Then I'll take the middle." [Sora]
They each aimed the rifle they brought along and stabilized their aim.
"On my mark." [Adam]
Without an exchange of words, they unleashed a rain of mana-made projectiles on Adam's first shot.
"Three voidlings eliminated." [Adam]
"Three voidlings confirmed. Continue the mission." [Bob]
After that, they repeated the same steps. Bob would guide them as if he was their eyes in the skies, allowing them to clear the sector within fifteen minutes.
"Good work out there." [Bob]
They returned to base and found Bob greeting them with a smile. He looked to be your average joe. He wore a uniform just like them, except that he had a beard and was ginger.
"You guys want a cup of coffee?" [Bob]
"I'll pass." [Adam]
"Me too." [Brandon]
"And you, Sora?" [Bob]
"I'll take one." [Sora]
They packed themselves into a small tent, which supposedly was the norm for squads like theirs.
"So, what's the next mission?" [Adam]
"Well… it's an upgrade from your reclamation missions." [Bob]
Moving over to the cheap coffee maker, Bob brewed two cups.
"How do you want your coffee?" [Bob]
"Black." [Sora]
"Will do." [Bob]
Other than the coffee, Bob passed out digital tablets to everyone.
"Your next mission is to locate and secure a dungeon." [Bob]
"A dungeon huh…" [Brandon]
"Doesn't sound too hard." [Adam]
"Is what you may think. Until you see this." [Bob]
He tapped at his watch, causing the tablet screens to shift. From what the squad can see, there was a large mass of voidlings surrounding an abandoned skyscraper.
"It is believed that the dungeon is somewhere inside this building. All you guys have to do is make some trouble on the bottom floor." [Bob]
"...Really?" [Brandon]
What they were told to do was simply to become bait.
"Don't worry. You guys only need to last for about… five minutes?" [Bob]
"Five minutes. Against that many voidlings?" [Brandon]
"You have Adam." [Bob]
Brandon crossed his arm.
"Okay? Is that supposed to comfort us or something?" [Brandon]
"There's nothing I can do. It's an order from above after all." [Bob]
Brandon glanced at Sora and Adam.
"Listen, another squad will be dispatched to secure the gate. Don't think you're alone. There will be support." [Bob]
"Support how?" [Brandon]
Brandon crossed his arms.
"We will prepare explosives to thin out the numbers. You will be provided on-site equipment as well. Use it as you see fit." [Bob]
Adam placed a hand on Brandon's shoulder.
"We got this." [Adam]
Though Brandon still felt anxious, there was nothing he could do.
"I sure hope so…" [Brandon]