The climb back up the cliff was brutal.

  Amari led the way, finding handholds in the wet rock. Elara followed, using small bursts of fire mana to warm her hands so they wouldn't slip.

  When they reached the top of the ravine, the forest was eerily quiet. The birds had stopped singing. The wind had died down.

  "It's too quiet," Elara whispered.

  "It's a kill zone," Amari said, crouching low. "The Alpha isn't running anymore. It's waiting."

  He pointed to the ground. There were deep claw marks in the mud, leading back toward the rocky clearing where they had first encountered Bronson.

  "It went back," Amari noted.

  "Why?" Elara asked. "It was chasing us."

  "It knows we jumped," Amari analyzed. "It knows we have to come back up. It's guarding the exit."

  They moved silently through the underbrush until the clearing came into view.

  Amari held up a fist, signaling Elara to stop.

  The scene in the clearing was a massacre.

  The stone wall Bronson had erected was rubble. His four lackeys were scattered across the mud. They weren't dead—the Academy’s emergency shields had activated, encasing them in protective golden bubbles—but they were unconscious and badly beaten.

  Only Bronson was left.

  The big Earth Mage was backed against a tree. His heavy plate armor was shredded. His helmet was gone. Blood ran down his forehead, blinding one eye. He held a jagged piece of rock in his hand, his mana exhausted.

  In the center of the clearing sat the Alpha.

  It wasn't attacking. It was just watching him. Every time Bronson tried to move, the Alpha would growl, and Bronson would freeze.

  "It's toying with him," Elara gasped.

  "No," Amari said, his eyes narrowing. "It's using him. It knows humans travel in packs. It's keeping him alive to make him scream. It wants to draw us out."

  Bronson let out a sob. "Help! Anyone!"

  The Alpha flicked its tail, looking pleased.

  "We have to help him," Elara said, raising her wand.

  "Put that away," Amari ordered. "If you cast a spell now, the Alpha will see the mana flare and kill him before you finish the chant."

  "Then what do we do?"

  Amari looked at the environment. The clearing was surrounded by tall, thick pine trees. The ground was soft mud.

  "We hunt," Amari said. "We have five minutes before Bronson passes out. We need a trap."

  He pointed to two massive trees on either side of the Alpha.

  "Can you burn through the base of those trunks without knocking them over?" Amari asked. "Like a slow fuse?"

  Elara nodded. "Yes. I can burn the core from the inside."

  "Do it," Amari said. "When I give the signal, I want those trees to fall inward."

  Elara crawled away into the bushes to get into position.

  Amari took a deep breath. He unwrapped the bandages on his arms. He needed full range of motion.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  He stepped out of the bushes.

  "Hey!"

  Amari’s voice rang out across the clearing.

  The Alpha’s head snapped toward him. Its blue eyes narrowed. It recognized the scent. The killer.

  Bronson looked up, his good eye widening in shock. "Stone-Breaker? You... you're alive?"

  "Stay down, Bronson," Amari said calmly, walking into the open. "And watch closely."

  The Alpha roared. It ignored Bronson completely now. It wanted the one with the silver dust on his skin.

  The beast charged.

  It was fast—a silver bullet.

  Bronson screamed. "Run, you idiot! Use a shield!"

  Amari didn't run. He didn't cast a shield. He stood perfectly still, his hands hanging loosely by his sides.

  Wait for it, Amari told himself.

  The Alpha was ten feet away. Five feet. It leaped, jaws opening to rip Amari’s head off.

  Its weight committed forward—claws high, belly exposed. One heartbeat of vulnerability.

  Amari didn't retreat. He stepped forward.

  It was a move that defied sanity. By stepping into the attack, he moved inside the arc of the Alpha’s claws.

  Amari dropped to his knees, sliding through the mud underneath the beast’s belly.

  As he slid, he didn't strike randomly. He used the momentum of the Alpha’s own charge against it. He grabbed the beast’s hind leg, locked his grip, and twisted his entire body weight.

  [Technique: Iron Root Trip]

  His bare foot hit rock—pain lancing up his leg as the jagged stone tore through his skin. He ignored it.

  It was simple physics. Even a three-ton monster had a center of gravity. If you disrupted the balance at high speed...

  CRASH.

  The Alpha flipped.

  It slammed into the mud, rolling uncontrollably. It wasn't hurt, but it was confused. It scrambled to its feet, shaking dirt from its fur.

  Bronson stared, his mouth hanging open. He had thrown rock walls at the thing, and it shattered them. Amari had just touched it, and the monster went flying.

  "Technique," Amari muttered, standing up. "Not power."

  The Alpha turned around. It was angry now. The blue light in its eyes flared. It crouched, preparing a pounce that would be too fast to dodge.

  "Elara!" Amari shouted. "Now!"

  From the tree line, a flash of orange light erupted.

  CRACK-BOOM.

  The two massive pine trees, their trunks hollowed out by fire, snapped.

  They fell toward the center of the clearing—right where Amari had lured the Alpha.

  The beast looked up, but it was too late.

  THUD.

  The first tree slammed onto the Alpha’s back, pinning it to the mud. The beast roared in pain, thrashing against the wood.

  THUD.

  The second tree landed across the first, creating an 'X'.

  The Alpha was trapped. It clawed at the dirt, snapping its jaws, but the weight of the ancient timber held it down.

  [System Event: Regional Boss Immobilized] [Bonus Condition: Execution Window Open] [Contribution Points: Pending]

  Amari walked over to Bronson. He reached down and grabbed the big man by his chest plate, hauling him to his feet.

  "Can you walk?" Amari asked.

  Bronson nodded dumbly. He looked at the trapped monster, then at Amari’s skinny arms.

  "You..." Bronson stammered. "You don't have mana. How did you do that?"

  "Physics," Amari said. "And I didn't skip leg day."

  He shoved Bronson toward the forest path. "Go. Take your team's beacons and signal for extraction. Elara and I are finishing this."

  "Finishing it?" Bronson looked at the Alpha, which was already starting to splinter the wood with its strength. "It's trapped. Let's just leave!"

  "It won't stay trapped," Amari said, turning back to the beast. "And I need the points."

  Bronson hesitated. For the first time, he didn't look at Amari with disgust. He looked at him with something else. Fear? Respect?

  "You're crazy," Bronson muttered. But he didn't say it like an insult.

  He limped away, dragging one of his unconscious teammates with him.

  If Bronson lit a beacon, every predator—human or otherwise—would converge here. They were on the clock.

  Amari stood alone in front of the thrashing Alpha. Elara emerged from the bushes, standing beside him.

  "The wood is cracking," Elara warned. "It's going to break free in seconds."

  "I know," Amari said.

  He assumed the stance from the cave painting. Fingers rigid. Spear-hand ready.

  "I need you to heat up its neck," Amari said. "Soften the hide."

  "On it," Elara said, raising her wand.

  The Alpha roared, snapping the first tree trunk. It rose up, furious, ready to kill everything in sight.

  Amari smiled.

  "Round two," he whispered.