(Silver Door-Montgomery Park)
"What are you doing here, Henry?" asked a portly orc man with a silver dog-tag around his war hammer, clad in thick metal armor, and sporting a sly grin.
"It was a last-minute switch, and since I was in the area, someone has to ensure you all get back home safely," declared the towering, muscular minotaur, golden dog tags clinking around his neck, with a battle axe and a tower shield strapped to his broad back.
"Hey, what's the holdup? I've got a dentist's appointment!" a teenage boy called out, annoyance evident in his tone.
"Calm down, brat we go in as a group or not at all!" Rick growled, his patience wearing thin after the third complaint.
The subtle scent of burning rubber captured his attention, and as he turned, he saw Cyrus drifting out of an alleyway, heading toward the group.
"Made it!" Cyrus yelled as he skidded to a stop with his bike tilting into the air before slamming down.
"Did you take the scenic route bro?" Jasmine laughed as she rested against her bike surrounded by other silver slayers.
Cyrus simple collapsed against the handle bars of his bike in a tired heap while she gloated with a smug grin.
"Alright, everyone has been accounted for, let's go!" Henry called out. The group marched toward the massive floating silver door, which slammed against the ground with such force that it cracked, while silver energy seeped deep into the earth.
"Bronze group don't push yourself too hard and Silver team keep your heads on a swivel!"
Cyrus was the last one to enter the door while chugging another enery drink. The door shut tight before glowing bright like a beacon.
"Alright, everyone, let's keep the area clear of civilians and get the devices ready," a middle-aged centaur donning a forge guild vest yelled to his large team lounging around.
A young blond elf man stared at the shimmering door with his arms crossed.
"What's wrong Jack?" The centaur asked the young elf was usually the first one to start the operations.
"That last guy..." Jack mused, eyeing Cyrus's rusty bike, "I might be going crazy, but is that the door-kicker guy?"
"Yeah, he's absolutely mad. Can you believe he manages bronze doors single-handedly without any special powers?" The centaur spoke with a hint of admiration, recalling the sight of Cyrus exiting a bronze door with arrows lodged in his back, then crossing the street and entering another door without a moment's pause.
"You must be joking; no one at his level is that skilled!" Jack exclaimed, recalling the sight of a small army of bronze-ranked slayers who had entered a door a couple of months back, only to emerge significantly diminished in number. "Paul, who the hell is that guy?"
"Well, he's not your average slayer, that's for sure," Paul said, grinning as he lit a cigar. "Now, you didn't hear this from me, but when it comes to dispatching the creatures that skulk behind closed doors, that kid is a prodigy."
Members of the forge guild drove vans and trucks into the area along with setting up glowing barriers and drones.
"You ought to see the bodies from his missions; nothing is hacked to pieces or squashed like roadkill. He even stays to help gather them sometimes," Paul said with a smirk. "It makes the research and paperwork go smoothly and quickly, leaving us enough time to watch a movie."
"Okay, but even if he's a prodigy, not having a magical power is strange since everyone has one," Jake muttered, glancing at two team members who were using levitation and telekinesis to move heavy equipment.
"Who knows, maybe the gods just randomly decided to mess with someone," Paul grumbled, then clapped his hands, capturing everyone's attention. "Alright, enough chatting. Let's get back to work and pray that the only corpses we take out are monsters."
(Inside The Silver Door)
"They've caught you again; you're getting old, buddy!" Henry chuckled as he deftly cleaved through five beetles, each the size of a blue bear cub, with his axe.
"How about trying to do this job while a horde of kids keeps you awake at night!" Rick yelled, swinging his formidable weapon into a large beetle, sending blood and guts splashing across the cavern walls.
"Rick, I already told you I'd be happy to babysit," Jasmine shouted over the blasts of her gun leaving holes in two beetles before dashing back to reload.
"No way! You charge an arm and a leg for every hour," Rick growled, his annoyance evident as he crushed four beetles.
"That's only because her services are top-notch; we have her on speed dial," declared an elderly man named Maxwell. He pressed his calloused hands against the ground, summoning large stone hands that crushed seven beetles, then adjusted his purple cloak fastened with a silver dog tag.
"He's got you there, Jasmine is a total lifesaver, even on last-minute calls," laughed Sarah, a tattooed goth lizard woman, as she deftly sliced through three beetles with her twin katanas, each adorned with a silver dog tag.
Cyrus sidestepped the massive pincers and swiftly retaliated, plunging his blade into the creature's skull and slicing downward, causing a spray of orange blood to splatter all around.
"Silver doors are tougher than bronze but nothing I can't handle" He thought with a small grin while wiping blood off his face as the creature hit the ground with a thud.
"Let's take a break everyone!" Henry called out as there was no more beetles around.
"Cyrus, you're hurt," Jasmine said, her expression fraught with concern as she gazed at the deep cut on his right calf.
"Huh, I didn't notice," he replied nonchalantly, sheathing his blade, which prompted her to slap him roughly on the back of his head.
"Don't be so nonchalant; it might be venomous!" she exclaimed angrily, seizing his arm and pulling him to the ground. "Stay still so I can treat the wound."
"Sorry for making you worry, sis," he replied as she took out a medical bag.
"Don't be sorry; it's a good test to see if I can handle your reckless fighting," she chuckled while cleaning the wound.
"I wouldn't call it reckless more like intensely focused due to this being my first silver door" He said with a small eager smile."Why do you work yourself so hard?" she asked, threading a needle.
"What do you mean?" Cyrus asked, his interest evident as he watched her work.
"Now that I'm really looking at you, I see more scars than skin," she observed seriously while poking the faint scars on his leg.
Jasmine cast a look at the other slayers, already weary and gasping for breath, then shifted her attention to Cyrus, who remained vigorous despite having completed his usual share of work.
"Look, I'm not trying to make you feel bad or anything; I'm just concerned," she said hastily. "I've seen too many slayers lose their lives prematurely due to recklessness, and I don't want you to be one of them."
Cyrus stayed silent as he glanced around the cavern area not wanting to make eye contact at the moment.
"Hey, boy, don't let anyone or anything limit you!" a deep, soothing voice exclaimed, followed by a hearty laugh within his mind. "Someday, let's meet again at the top and see what this new world has to offer to those who are brave enough!"
"I may not have Scott's business smarts, Nina's skill in weapon-making, or a useful power like yours, but I needed to find a way to help with the rent and our parents' medical bills," Cyrus said, chuckling softly. "As it turns out, fighting monsters is something I excel at."
"Don't sell yourself short, bro; you've got tactical smarts that can match Scott, insane physical abilities that make me look bad, and a knack for repurposing broken stuff that Nina would've tossed," Jasmine said, grinning as she remembered how Cyrus took down some bigger guys with a stun baton to retrieve her wallet and transformed her busted roller skates into jet boots when they were kids.
"Thanks for the pep talk, sis; it was needed," Cyrus said with a grin, subtly attempting to brush away the tears from his eyes.
"Got more in the chamber, now you better focus otherwise you'll be fighting spirits instead" She said making him burst out in laughter as he pictured himself fighting cartoon ghosts before gasping in pain as his calf suddenly ached.
"Stop laughing, or you'll reopen your wound!" Jasmine exclaimed, pushing a small, red, glowing potion to his lips, which eased the pain and caused a gentle tingling in his leg.
"Catch, you two!" Sarah exclaimed, throwing two triangular gems with color-changing orbs inside to Cyrus and Jasmine.
"With a few more of these, I can finally purchase that enchantment for my gun," she said, grinning as she helped him to his feet.
"I wonder how big the higher rank monster cores are?" Cyrus thought while glancing at Henry's axe and shield to see the glowing glyphs on them before turning his gaze to Rick's armor which doesn't have any scratches on it despite getting hit by the monsters.
"Everyone, Mandy has returned from scouting," Henry announced, shifting his focus to the fox girl dressed in punk rock attire, brandishing a long spear adorned with her gold dog-tag.
"I couldn't locate the artifact or the realm boss, so it seems we're facing a double realm, folks," she reported, frowning, prompting a wave of surprised chatter and murmurs from the group.
"What is a double realm?" inquired a bronze-ranked dwarf boy, brandishing a sub-machine gun, his curiosity piqued by the unfamiliar term.
"It's uncommon, but it simply indicates that another door exists, leading to the boss's location or the protected artifact," Henry explained, recalling a similar golden door that led to an island inhabited by giant ants.
"So what are we going to do leader?" A bronzed rank rat man with twin maces asked.
"Well rules are we leave and call the league for orders aka send more slayers" Henry spoke as he glanced around "But you all know that means less payment."
Rick clenched his jaw as he recalled the countless nights spent poring over eviction notices stemming from noise complaints, alongside the daunting costs of housing for a family of ten.
Sarah's eyes narrowed as she envisioned the smug headmaster of the prestigious school subtly hinting at the need for additional funds if she wished for her son to remain in his dream school.
"Shall we take a vote on whether to proceed or hold back?" Henry proposed, his expression grave.
"I'm going in with or without you," Rick declared, nodding firmly, with Sarah quickly falling in step behind him.
"We should stay back; it could be dangerous," Jasmine stated, her face set in a stern expression.
"I agree, it's not worth the risk," Maxwell chimed in, as his grandchildren pleaded for him to teach them spells.
"There will be other opportunities; there's no need to risk everything for this one," Mandy sighed, her music career gaining momentum as she became a renowned slayer.
The other people voted with their own reasons to go or stay."I say we continue" Henry said as he glanced at Cyrus "Looks like you're the tie breaker"
"Hey, boy, don't let anyone or anything limit you!"
The vision of a man enveloped in a golden aura burst into his mind, accompanied by the voice, prompting Cyrus to clench his fist tightly.
"Let's defeat this boss!" He exclaimed looking at everyone wtih sheer determination on his face.
Henry surveyed his group and gave a decisive nod as they trailed behind Mandy. After a few minutes and dispatching additional beetles, they found themselves before an imposing silver door.
"We may have put it to a vote, but that doesn't mean we should be reckless. Let's play it safe," Henry stated, tightening his grip on his weapon.
He opened the door and walked in with everyone else following as they stared at a deep jungle with a large temple in the distance.
"Looks like we're heading there," Maxwell stated, stowing his handheld telescope and gesturing towards the temple adorned with glowing runes.
"Though getting there will be tough," Sarah said, pointing at the oddly built furry creatures with glowing red eyes perched in the trees, brandishing rusted weapons.
"Let's crush these guys and enter that temple," Rick growled, charging towards the small army of monkeys, with everyone else rallying behind to support his solo assault.
Jasmine let loose gunfire at the monsters in the trees while Maxwell used roots to keep them in place allowing Rick to effortlessly kill them.
Cyrus played it safe and finished off the injured creatures or set up easy kills for the group with selective strikes to their joints.
Henry chopped apart any creature that threw themselves at his shield while Mandy weaved around to stab any monster trying to attack him from his blind spot.
"Damn, that's a lot of steps," Maxwell groaned, massaging his legs as he finally reached the top, finding everyone else already taking a rest.
"Well, if the enemies are as weak as those at the bottom, it will make the climb all the more worthwhile," Rick grumbled, wiping the blood and sweat from his face.
"Hey brat I guess those rumors aren't bullshit after all" He smirked while giving Cyrus a heavy pat on the back making the young slayer stumble forward slightly.
"Glad I could change your mind," Cyrus chuckled, cracking his stiff shoulders—the only injury he had sustained since the mission began.
"No traps, and plenty of dead monkeys," Mandy said with a grin, reporting back from her scouting mission alongside a band of silver slayers.
"Good lets move" Henry ordered as he entered the temple with everyone following in.
"This place gives me the creeps," Sarah remarked, eyeing the wall images that portrayed six warriors in battle with furry humanoid beasts.
Everyone glanced around keeping watch for any sneak attacks before entering a wide-open area covered in blood and bones.
"Hold up, spotted the boss bastard," Rick growled, pulling back an overweight bronze slayer, then pointing at a slender, grey, scar-covered ape lounging atop a heap of bones, feasting on entrails.