Edge reached out and caught a falling petal from the air, holding it in front of his nose to enjoy the wondrous aroma before letting it fly free in the wind.

  Today’s hunt had taken Trapper’s crew to a sub-biome he had always wanted to visit, a wide swath of level terrain known as the Cherry Orchard. The name came from the trees engulfing him on all sides—tall, widely spaced specimens that dominated the local landscape.

  They weren’t cherry trees imported from Earth, but the resemblance was strong enough that the name had stuck. This species didn’t bear fruit, blossomed in the fall instead of spring, and featured pale pink petals that glowed with a soft inner light.

  The flowers smelled amazing. They were used to make a perfume Sasha wore when she was in town that he had grown quite fond of. The petals swirling through the air were gorgeous, creating miles-wide patterns that were even more vivid when contrasted against the magicytes flowing across the plains.

  While the curtain of falling flowers limited the hunters’ field of view, the beasts they were stalking weren’t particularly stealthy, and Riller’s drone was watching their position to supplement their sensory skills.

  Their target was an early stage-three beast known as a legion beetle, along with its army of lesser insects. Legion beetles led nomadic lifestyles. They didn’t have set territories and could travel vast distances in a single day. It meant laying extensive traps wasn’t an option, given the time constraint the crew was under.

  One of the benefits of trusting more people with his secret was that Dialla and Earl were keeping an eye out for creatures with skills Edge wanted to steal. Yesterday, the keepers’ scouts had sighted a beast that was using one of the auras he’d merged to make Warlord’s Mantle—Vigor.

  It was a fantastic opportunity to advance Mantle to rank four before the kaiju arrived, and his friends were happy to lend a hand. The crew was looking forward to picking up some high-grade parts, cycling up their cores, and ranking up their skills the old-fashioned way, and he was glad that his comrades were benefiting from the hunt too.

  For this mission, Trapper had invited two other hunters to join them. They were both familiar faces, although he had only worked with one of them before. Lilly and Ann walked side by side as they crossed the sub-biome, where the shadowkiller could protect her sister if anything ambushed them along the way.

  Edge had known that Lilly could fight, but he was surprised to learn she was late stage-one. The sunny blond shopkeeper wasn’t nearly as strong as her sister, but she was considerably more powerful than he would have guessed, since Ann was one of Puppet Town’s most prominent merchants and rarely left the settlement.

  “Times are changing, and I need to change with them,” she had explained the night before, when everyone gathered to discuss the mission.

  “I still intend to manage my store and help run the Mortium exchange. But going forward, I need to be able to defend myself and protect my home from the high-stage critters that are migrating onto the plains. I want to focus my hunting efforts on harvesting valuable resources, but I need to be tough enough to go toe-to-toe with beasts and monsters too.”

  As the hunters crossed the Cherry Orchard, Ann turned to Trapper and said, “Thanks for letting me tag along. I haven’t worked with an elite crew before, and this is a valuable opportunity.”

  “Of course.” Trapper smiled. “We owe both of you a great deal, and having Lillian with us is a weight off my mind. Besides, our crew specializes in beast hunting, except for Edge, who has fought more than his fair share of everything Ord has to offer. Being on good terms with a veteran shadowkiller and an up-and-coming harvester benefits us too, so working together is a win-win.

  “Stick with Violet and Riller when the fighting starts. They’ll watch your back and show you how a stage-one hunter can contribute in a fight with powerful combatants on both sides. I know you have some devices to use in an emergency, but let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

  As the women conversed, Edge let his mind wander, although part of his awareness was firmly focused on the surrounding terrain.

  The crew had left Puppet Town early this morning, after Dialla sent a messenger with an update on the beetles’ position. While they were eating breakfast, he distributed the gifts he’d ordered to everyone except Mel—who he would meet up with shortly after they returned from this hunt.

  By the time Edge was done handing them out, everyone was smiling. Trapper loved her new knife, and everyone appreciated the canteens. The biggest hit, however, was the pins. Everyone put theirs on right away—thrilled to have something that signified the tight-knit bonds they had formed.

  Rue and Blue had looked comically sad to be left out… until Edge pulled out the pair of pins he’d been saving for last. Rue’s was fitted onto a collar the fox could remove on his own and store inside Edge’s vault, and Blue’s was attached to her harness. The beasts had insisted that he put them on right away so they would match the rest of the team.

  After traveling throughout the morning and into the early afternoon, the crew arrived at the Cherry Orchard. By now, they were drawing near the area where the scout had sighted the beetles. Given their unpredictable movements, they could encounter the beasts at any time, although it was likely they would have to track them for a while first.

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  That was when Edge felt a familiar tingling around his temples. The sensation came from Sakura’s Sense Link, which she had refreshed the night before, though they were both too busy to speak at length. The signal meant she was watching over them with her powers and would provide logistical support while keeping an eye out for any surprises along the way.

  “Thanks, Sakura,” he whispered. He knew his ally could hear him, and it was reassuring to have the information specialist watching his back. Trapper was the only one who had hunted this species before and had briefed the team as they crossed the Ivory Plains.

  “Legion beetles are voracious swarm predators that travel incredible distances over the course of their lives. While the stage-three matriarch is our primary target, we need to do our best to kill them all, or swarms will start popping up across the prairie by the time spring rolls around. An infestation will damage the ecosystem and deprive us of resources we desperately need.”

  She went on to explain the specifics of their quarry—a lesson Edge had found fascinating since most details of the planet’s ecology were still new to him.

  One difference between the beasts of Ord and their counterparts on other worlds was that extreme sexual differentiation was less common, since obtaining skills and advancing their cores let beasts adapt to their environments far faster than genetic evolution.

  However, certain species tended to have radically different skillsets and attribute distributions between males and females, and legion beetles were one of them. Encountering high-stage males was rare, since they tended to die young while protecting their swarm, and the ones that survived led solitary lives outside of mating season.

  The females, however, remained with their mothers for years, focusing on offense until they reached peak stage-two and were ready to start a swarm of their own. At that point, they began picking up auras and other supportive skills, preparing to lead an army that was stronger than the sum of its parts.

  The stage-zero females resided within a cavity inside their mother’s body, while the rest of the bugs served in various combat roles. The females were all-around fighters, while the males were expendable grunts the matriarch could detonate on command. They would jump on you and do as much damage as they could before blowing up, softening you up while their sisters tore you to shreds.

  “This fight is too dangerous to worry about preserving the beetles’ exoskeletons,” Trapper said at the end of her report. “Fortunately, the crafters dissolve this material before making it into things like Lilly’s armor. Unless we destroy the chitin completely, it will retain most of its value.”

  Edge’s thoughts returned to the present when Riller stopped them with a hand signal. Everyone fell into formation while he investigated with his Scout Drone.

  “The swarm passed through the area ahead. It doesn’t look like the insects are anywhere nearby, but these tracks are only a few hours old. We should catch up when they stop to sleep during the hottest part of the day.”

  Since there was a chance they would come across the swarm before that happened, Trapper began her battle briefing now—mostly for the benefit of Lilly and Ann.

  “I know we’ve already gone over our powers, but try to keep our roles in mind once the battle begins. Jumo is damage and control. He has a lot of stamina and knows how to engage dangerous opponents without taking too many blows in return. He can reposition freely with Dash and attack at range with Piercing Javelin without needing to switch weapons. He isn’t nearly as resilient as Edge, so don’t expect him to go toe-to-toe against a beast above his stage.

  “Riller is our most Perceptive crewmember. He’s also incredibly stealthy, even in situations where magical concealment isn’t an option. His drones are an amazing tool and he’s reaching the point where his ranged attacks pack a real punch, especially his Wind Shots and Poison Arrows.

  “Sasha has Silent Step, which enhances the crew’s stealth while stalking prey. Her Hidden Strike is great against anything that isn’t heavily armored, and her fire magic is a force to be reckoned with. Flame isn’t a good fit when we’re hunting beasts for parts, but when our lives are on the line or monsters and jailbirds come calling, she can wipe out entire groups by herself. She is a decent shot with her bow and can provide melee or ranged support as needed.”

  Lillian and Ann nodded along with Trapper’s explanation, although the shadowkiller already knew most of the details.

  “Violet and Blue always work together, since Enhance Beast is crazy powerful when paired with Blue’s attacks. Violet is a support specialist who knows how to use a wide range of traps, devices, and tactics. With her massive body, Blue can hit harder than anyone else on the team—other than Edge when he’s using Overdrive. She’s peak stage-one, and we’re hoping this fight will catalyze her evolution to stage two.

  “As for me, I’m a bit of an allrounder. I lay traps before our prey arrives, deal damage from a distance during the approach, and switch to melee when it’s time to finish them off or there isn’t a better option. I use bladewire nets to suppress my opponents and puffs of Manipulate Air to deflect ranged attacks, along with some other situations that shouldn’t be relevant today.

  “I have Sense Life and Sense Vibration to supplement Riller’s Drone, and Quagmire can impede both swarms and large targets. My magitech crossbow can fire aether-infused bolts that are aspected to a range of elements, which lets me target our quarry’s weaknesses or take advantage of various types of terrain.

  “I know Edge told you about his skills already. With eighteen powers in his collection, he’s more versatile than any other hunter his stage. After growing so much stronger in the dungeon and during the war with the Claws, his primary role in our crew has shifted from skirmishing to fighting on the frontline. He’ll be the one to directly engage high-stage creatures in situations where it’s necessary, since he’s so damned durable and can heal anything that doesn’t kill him outright.”

  Trapper paused to let the information sink in, then turned to the sisters and said, “Lilly is serving as a mobile, mid-range skirmisher on this hunt. I’m thrilled to have the insane damage she dishes out with that boltcaster she loves so much.

  “As for you, Ann. Since this is your first time hunting with our crew, all you need to focus on is maintaining that wonderful aura of yours and protecting yourself. If there’s something else we need you to do, Violet or Riller will let you know.”

  The crew’s leader went on to answer questions, making sure both women understood their roles as the hunters tracked the beetles deeper into the orchard. The sisters were intelligent and worked well with others, and he was glad to have them along for the ride.

  As he walked, his stomach began to growl as both Edge and the core burning behind his ribs fantasized about the feast to come.