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Ever since they'd been paired up, Landen hadn't once seen what his team could actually do. But today, that will change.
They pushed deeper into the forest, Landen trailing the group. He watched the mini-map light an amber band around their position, signaling they had entered uncommon territory.
He didn't know the exact gap in difficulty between common and uncommon beasts, only that it was a step up. And not knowing how big a step made his stomach tighten. He could be walking his team into something none of them were ready for. All he could do was stay sharp, gather data, and prepare for whatever came next.
System, show all the information you have on everyone.
"Compiling."
A beat later, stat blocks appeared across his display — Essence grade, Strength, Agility, Dexterity, Intelligence, physical and magic defense, the works.
This is good. How about their abilities? Skills, cooldowns, any info on that?
"No, I do not have that information. However, I can record and log anything used in real time, starting now, if you'd like."
Do it.
A small camera icon appeared in the corner of his vision.
Also, can you show life bars as you did during the 1v1 match?
"Certainly."
Bars appeared, floating over every head. Then, further out, more bars. Beast signatures, tucked between the trees. They were low numbers, most likely common beasts. Then one that wasn't. The biggest life bar he'd seen since arriving. A block label hung above it: Iron-Hide Bristleback.
Landen quickly bounded across a cluster of rocks, cutting Jareth off before he could go any farther. Raising a hand, he signaled the team to stop, then dropped to one knee. The others immediately mirrored him. No one spoke.
System. Give me everything you've got on that thing.
[System]
Beast: Iron-Hide Bristleback (Uncommon) Massive. Thick hide deflects most energy attacks. Built to charge and trample. Relies on brute force.
HP: 1,000.
Reward: 62 EXP.
Rear Defense: +100 Armor.
Front Defense: 0 Armor.
Immune to Magic Attacks.
Deflects energy attacks and is immune to magic, so Veya and Ember are out of the picture. That left Jareth or Elle. Landen looked between them for half a second — armor versus speed — and made his decision.
Ember grew impatient as Landen stared out into nothing. "What are we waiting for?" she murmured.
"A bristleback," he said.
The others looked at each other nervously.
The bristleback came out from the brush like something that had no business existing. It took the shape of a boar from earth, but it was large. Three times larger. Its wall of muscle was wrapped in crystalline mud plates, spine-like tusks ran down its back and sides, and two more curved low and heavy beneath its jaw. Its red eyes glowed as steam came from its nose.
"Is that really an uncommon beast?" Landen exclaimed.
"There are multiple stages of a Bristleback's evolution," Ember said. "This one's still in the early stages. It looks like it only recently grew its side blades."
The beast's snout lifted as it heard the voices, twitching while it sniffed the air for intruders. A moment later, it locked onto the group, let out a loud squeal, and charged straight at them.
Veya fired first — a burst of energy shots that hit dead center and did nothing. The bristleback didn't even flinch.
"Jareth!" Landen yelled.
He didn't move. His face had gone tight, frozen.
"JARETH!" Landen yelled again.
That snapped him loose. He stepped in a half-second before the thing would've plowed straight through the group, silver gauntlets catching the lowered tusk, boots carving twin furrows into the dirt as he held the line.
Landen turned to the others and pointed behind them. "Fall back."
Ember frowned. "What are you saying?"
"Aren't we fighting this together?" Elle asked.
"Yeah, we need to help him," Veya said.
Landen raised his voice. "Jareth! You've got this."
Jareth glanced back over his shoulder, eyes widening. "Wait! You're leaving me?"
Landen held his arms wide like a security guard, leading the group away and creating distance between them and the fight. They watched from the tree line as Jareth grappled with a thing three times his mass.
"What's your logic?" Ember asked, not taking her eyes off him.
Jareth caught a hit and went skidding across the clearing.
"If we want to level fast, we need to farm one at a time."
Text blinked into the corner of Landen's vision.
[System] 25% bonus experience points for the first encounter + solo engagement.
Landen smiled. This data is more of a reason to let him fight himself.
Jareth found his opening and drove a punch square into the bristleback's forehead. The gauntlet's gold tracing flared, a golden explosion detonated, and a boom rolled through the clearing as the beast was hurled backward into a tree.
Text populated Landen's display.
[System] Passive skill logged.
Knockback (Passive): Attacks knock the target back with a 0.5-second stun.
17% chance to trigger.
+50 damage bonus.
No cooldown.
Landen's eyes went wide. His first time watching a skill get logged in real time, laid out in full — and a good one at that. Almost one in five odds for a stun was nothing to scoff at.
The bristleback shook off the hit, planted its hooves, and came right back at him. Faster this time.
The bristleback slammed into him again. Jareth swung and missed clean, and the tusk caught him and threw him ten feet back. He rolled, came up on one knee, chest heaving.
Elle shifted her weight, ready to move. Ember's hand curled around a half-formed spell. Veya's energy gun clicked and charged. Landen leaned forward, half a heartbeat from jumping in himself —
"… No," he said, stopping himself. "Stand down." He held a hand out. "Jareth can do this."
The bristleback didn't let up. It rushed him again and again, faster than something that size had any right to be. Jareth threw punches — but every time he did, the bristleback turned its back, blocking every attack.
"The armor is on its rear!" Landen shouted. "You need to attack it from the front."
"Yeah, I just noticed!"
The Bristleback kept its back to him, so Jareth quietly closed the distance and waited. If it wanted to attack him, it would have to turn around eventually.
It did.
The beast spun to face him, and Jareth was ready. He settled into a wide stance with his arms spread. Energy surged from his core, blue light swirling around his forearms like a storm before threading into his clenched fists.
[System] New ability registering.
He punched — into open air, ten feet from the target. A fist of blue energy, three times the size of the gauntlet, flew out and slammed into the bristleback's jaw. It stumbled sideways. A second punch was thrown with the same blue energy flying into its head. Then the third landed dead center, gold light flooding the clearing, and the bristleback left the ground entirely before it hit the dirt and stayed there.
[System]
Ability: Triad Breaker (Active): Fires three energy punches that extend 10 ft in range. Knockback chance increased to 30% for the duration.
Cooldown: 17 seconds.
First two punches: 150 damage.
Third punch: 200 damage, guaranteed knockback.
Now it was Jareth's turn to attack. He rushed in, but before he could close the distance, quills shot out from the boar's back, flying straight at him. Jareth was fast enough to block a few, but some punched through his defense and stuck into his legs and shoulder. His life bar dropped low — and so did the bristleback's.
"He's hurt," Veya said.
"We need to help him," Elle said.
Landen cursed under his breath, his fists clenching at his sides.
"Damn it, Jareth. Get up."
Jareth did just that. He got up, and so did the bristleback — but this time, instead of rushing him, it began to retreat. It knew it was hurt. Running for help was the only move left.
As a last attempt, it unleashed a second volley of quills. But Jareth was ready this time. He broke to the side, dodging the spread, and closed the distance to its front before it could reset.
He planted his feet and activated Triad Breaker. His gauntlets flared with blue energy, surging up from his core. This time, he was point-blank — every punch landing flush, no room for the boar to twist away. Each hit triggered the bonus Knockback proc, gold light flashing off his knuckles with every strike.
The bristleback went flying. It hit the ground and didn't get up.
Landen checked the bristleback's health bar. Empty. He checked Jareth's experience next and grinned.
He walked over and pressed a potion into Jareth's hand. "Congratulations," He clapped him on the shoulder. "You're now in Elementary Grade 3."
Jareth looked down at the potion, then up at Landen and smiled nervously. He caught his breath. "How — how do you know?"
Landen smiled back. "Trust me."
Ember's eyes cut to Landen, surprise plain on her face that he was actually right. Then, past him, she turned back toward the treeline where the bristleback had come from.
"We need to get out of here," she said. "Bristlebacks usually travel in herds. If there's one, there are probably more nearby. We can handle one, but not an entire herd."
They broke into a jog, putting the clearing behind them.
Landen looked over the group, his gaze settling on the three girls. Now that Jareth had leveled up, it was their turn.
Further back in the trees, unseen and unhurried, a scout in River's colors crouched low in the branches, watching the whole thing play out. Their notes were short and to the point:
Jareth Hale. Fighter. Malee. Raw power. Watch out for energy punches.
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