INSIDE ROOM EIGHTEEN was a large space filled with mattresses and bedframes stacked one on top of each other.

  "Looks like barracks..." Jiehong said.

  "You would know," Whiskey said. "You take up a whole wing back in the base."

  "Sorry. Do you want to move in with me?" Jiehong replied, perhaps sincere.

  "Heavens, no. I am fine where I am, taking up one bed, in one wing. I'm only saying, once we expand as an Order, we are going to need beds. Which means you are going to have to give up your private wing," Whiskey said, striking the matter at its root.

  "She is right, you know," he said, joining in on the discussion as the group moved into the room.

  Becoming flustered, Jiehong said, "Yeah, guys, I know, okay? I don't plan on abusing my power as second-in-command just to take up a whole freaking wing back at the base!"

  "Okay. Fine. As long as you are aware... it's not like any of us spend too long at the Command Center anyway," Whiskey said, ending her role in the conversation by spreading out and investigating the new space.

  Whiskey had the right idea, he thought. He took a corner unoccupied by either Whiskey or Jiehong and looked around.

  Although he was glad to have a moment to give the room more attention, he found nothing of note except the mattresses. He sat on one mattress and felt a relaxing chill course through it. He wondered what the material was, so he asked MAC.

  "The material is called 'softy,' and it comes from a fused process between two alien materials coated in designer energies by a skilled magical artisan," MAC explained.

  "It sounds complicated," he said back, not understanding, as usual.

  "It is, but it is also outside of the purview of your responsibilities as a Grandmaster-in-Training. The mattresses are in good condition and will not need to be replaced for many years. Hence, you do not need to worry about recruiting someone with such specialized talents, not yet."

  "Okay... as long as that remains true, I guess I..." but he couldn't finish the thought. 'Why am I talking about mattresses?' he asked himself. He must've really not known what to do if he fell off track so quickly. Centering himself again, he rose from his seat upon the mattress, and announced, "Let's get out of here, guys. This place doesn't have anything for us. We found some beds, cool!" Mild sarcasm aside, their third break since coming in from the outside was over. It was fine and all to traverse a dangerous place at their own pace. 'Not so fine' if that pace threatened their progress all together.

  Neither Whiskey nor Jie gave any pushback and before he knew it, they both were at his back as he left room eighteen.

  "Magic door number three -- who's up?" he asked.

  "Let Whiskey and I handle this door since you broke that first one all by yourself," Jiehong said.

  He allowed his teammates to handle the door by themselves. He watched carefully as they imbued the door with energy. "Remember, go slow. You don't want too much haphazard jitters infecting the flow. Steady as you go when you breathe or as your heart beats," he instructed.

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  It was difficult for him to see if his teammates improved their output rate. He thought their output was of a more refined quality, this time around, but it could be hard to tell. Or it could be difficult to tell, at least, when Whiskey and Jiehong met the door's mana threshold so quickly.

  A chime. The door pulsed green. Then slid open.

  He was about to walk through when Whiskey stopped him and said, "Remember -- the door? Fae?"

  "Argh! Forgot myself! So much to keep track of!"

  It was a lot to keep track of, but that is why he had his team with him, so he could help them, and they could help him.

  Checking the door quickly, he found no sign of a Poison Needle nest. They walked into the nineteenth room unopposed. Until MAC sounded an alarm in their ears, "Warning! Warning! Fae activity detected! Warning! Fae activity detected!"

  He went instantly into defense mode and brought his buckler to bear as he led the way. His eyes scanned the room and then scanned again.

  Slowly deepening their presence in the room, he asked, "What are we looking for?"

  "Unfortunately," MAC said, "until you get closer to the fae, my sensors will not be able to pinpoint and recall its biometric data. Not until it is close enough to attack you or you it."

  Of course, he grumbled.

  He continued to wade into the room, expecting trouble at every turn. He marched ahead. The hallway they had entered was stout and confined. Hence, he did not think the enemy was waiting for them, trapped within the mesh of the walls like the Poison Needle. Ahead, the hallway let out into a more open space. 'That was where the fae would be waiting for us,' he told himself in a whisper.

  They entered into the larger portion of the room, leaving the narrow hallway from whence they had come, behind them.

  He glanced to the left and right, making sure every direction was covered. He saw the fae right away -- burst from the wall, crystalline growths merged with cables and horrifically bad-smelling residue from centuries old machines, to give life to a fae construct. Ping.

  His headset's voice spoke to him. "Proximity trigger activated. Updating System. System Updated! Fae creature data retrieved: Creature Identified: 'Un-Fun Gas,' the Gaseous Fea Creature. Sentientized vapors given life from potent eldritch magics, this fae creature is commonly seen near destroyed pipes and ruined ancient machinery, especially those afflicted by malign sorceries. Its body is a thin and gooey membrane which finds its rest on ultra-volatile system machines. It attacks its prey with an obnoxious vapor cloud which causes a number of nasty side-effects, paralyzing their victims."

  "Weaknesses?" he asked, hopeful the system had some suggestions.

  "Lightning-oriented magic is this creature's weak point. Even a small lightning-based incantation will wholly destroy most appearances of this creature.

  Knowing none of his teammates had access to lightning magic, as lightning was an advanced fire-based technique very few practitioners could do unless they had sustained, specialist training, he asked for another tip. He waited for MAC to respond and watched the fae creature at the far-end of the room. It was spread all over the walls, clearly it had an immense amount of time to colonize as much of the wall as it did.

  "Additional Tip," the headset said, "If you find an Urgent Fae Repair Kit, you might instantly eliminate the fae construct. Clarification: Urgent Fae Repair Kits can be found within every Order structure. They offer quick and easy solutions to instantly handle every fae entity."

  "Oh... cool.. is there one nearby?" he asked.

  "Yes," the Screen Master said. "Next to the fae."

  He looked carefully at the wall. "Is that it?" he asked, seeing a compact box attached to the wall by its handle. The box had a marking on it which he took to be the maker's brand.

  "Correct," MAC said. "Unfortunately, it looks like, based on your current positioning, it will be difficult for you to remove the repair kit. I recommend caution."

  "Not helpful, MAC. Is there nothing else you can help us with?"

  "Unfortunately, not. The Unfun Gas fae is weak to lightning. A secondary weakness is water-based incantations. However, it would take a long time and a lot of water to render the fae inert. How you approach this enemy is up to you," MAC said before dipping out and leaving the back and forth with him.

  "What shall we do, boss?" Jiehong asked, both with a smirk to his tone, as if he had the perfect answer himself, already, but only wanted to see if he, as his brother, also had the perfect answer -- thus! -- being worthy of sympathy. Or maybe he was overthinking it all because of stress.

  "Screw it!" he said. "Let's go the water route. MAC, where is the closest spigot or well?"