[h2]Neo-Umbrella Facility, Shadow Eternity Commandos[/h2]

The two groups had successfully rendezvoused. Jack Morgan opted to take both of the Pawn Cards, and stored them in a safe place for later use. After a brief check-up of each other's health, the platoon moved along, through a door on the far right edge of the room.

The room beyond looked somewhat like a foundry, if the architects involved had no idea how industrialized metallurgy worked. Vats of boiling iron dangled precariously on thin buttresses, threatening to tip over at the slightest motion. Mazelike catwalks zig-zagged their way across a lake of molten slag, blind to all laws of convection.

Hampus stared at the place in abject horror. "I want you all to take me to the leader of this place, so that I may voice my concerns! This is simply [i]unacceptable![/i]"

Jack Morgan chuckled. "What's the matter, can't take the heat? With any luck, the guy who built this little diversion's the same guy who's running it. Private Vilderil, do you have a bead on this room's exit?"

Rimanahson Vilderil spent a few seconds staring off into space, before clearing his throat and speaking. "The exit is directly across this room. However, I do not think these catwalks will give us a straight shot. In addition, I surmise there is yet another keycard in this room, judging by how things have been going."

Though Hampus's face could not be seen, his confusion was palpable. "What? How could you guess that?"

Vilderil gave a tinny chuckle. "Narrative convenience. One challenge brings one key to success. This room will be a challenge, and so we shall find the next key to our ultimate goal: a Pawn Card. Do you understand?"

Hampus scoffed, and took a look around the room. He wracked his brain for lessons learned from his time in Aldrheim, and came upon one particularly interesting tidbit. The voice of his wonderful instructor Vlad rang through his mind's ears.

[i]"Magica ister special! En Secrithinter: Vatten en magma, blir sten!"[/i]

Hampus's eyes lit up, and he approached the massive pool of molten slag. Jack rushed forward and attempted to drag Hampus away before he was burned alive, but was quickly shoved away by Hampus himself. 

With a few simple movements, a quintet of glimmering, blue orbs appeared around Hampus. With one more movement, a single dull, brown orb appeared as well. Hampus braced himself, and condensed all of the orbs into himself, and jammed his hands forward.

A fist-sized ball of rock, water spouting forth from it, rocketed forth from Hampus's hands and burst on the slag, spreading water everywhere. Wherever the water struck immediately turned into fully-cooled mudstone, literally as if by magic. Hampus stepped onto the newly-made island in a sea of liquid metal, and beckoned for the others to follow. He repeated the spell he had just cast, and created another island connected to the old one.

This trend continued for a short while, Hampus making islands and the platoon following. At last, they reached the edge of the pool of slag, and walked towards the door. It opened with barely a sound, and revealed a coolly-lit monitor bank just ahead. 

A small plastic keycard anticlimactically fluttered down from the ceiling and was picked up by Jack.
 "Well, that's 3 out of 3. Let's get to that upgrading terminal!"