As I returned to the gate, the air shimmered in front of my eyes. Numbers materialized, glowing with cold blue light that seemed to burn itself into my retinas.

  35:23 until next Dungeon Break

  The digits ticked down with mechanical precision. Each second another heartbeat closer to death.

  "We need to form ranks." Ryker's voice sliced through the murmur of survivors poking at translucent menus that hovered before their faces. "Shields up front to draw aggro, damage dealers stay fluid."

  I recognized the cadence immediately. Riot control briefing. Crowd management tactics. We were treating an interdimensional monster invasion like a protest that got out of hand. My mind was already running the same calculations, sorting people into positions, identifying chokepoints, measuring sight lines. Old habits, even when the world had gone to hell.

  Charlie cleared his throat, his knuckles white around his sword. "What if two of the big ones spawn?" The question came out steady, but his eyes already knew. We all did.

  "We split." The words tasted like copper on my tongue. Like blood. "We become bait. One group pulls a monster, the other tries to burn theirs down fast." I paused, watching the realization settle across their faces. "If the bait gets killed..."

  The wind picked up, carrying the enhanced smell of the forest through our gathering.

  Logan's jaw muscles bunched and flexed beneath his beard. "The next man steps up."

  Another body in the grinder. Another name for the memorial wall we could inly build if we survived.

  "Okay." Ryker's face could have been carved from granite. "That works for me. Shanira, you and the other two archers set up behind everyone else. Kira, you stay with them, we'll funnel the wounded..."

  "Like hell I will."

  The words cracked across the group like a gunshot. Every head turned. Ryker's mouth hung open, his command dying half-formed.

  Kira stood with her spine straight, arms crossed over her chest, feet planted in that stubborn stance I'd seen her use on belligerent drunks and condescending supervisors. Her green eyes blazed. "I'm on the front line. I can't heal anyone if I'm a hundred yards away."

  A grin tugged at my mouth before I could stop it. I caught Ryker's bewildered expression and shook my head. "Give up, man. You're trying to argue with a force of nature." I gestured at the space beside me. "Put her in my group. It's the only way I can keep an eye on her." I gave Kira a wink.

  Kira's glare could have stripped paint off a cruiser. "Says the man who can't go two minutes without getting himself nearly killed. I'll be the one looking after you."

  Ryker threw up his hands, a general who'd just lost a battle he never had a chance of winning. "Fine by me." He raised his voice to carry across the assembled survivors. "I need a guard for our rear line. Any volunteers?"

  "I will." Gideon strode forward, his massive frame making the oversized shield look almost reasonable. He lifted his warhammer and brought it down against the shield's face. The impact rang out like a church bell, deep and resonant, vibrating through my chest. "Nothing gets past me." He shot a confident smile at Shanira.

  She rolled her eyes, but crimson bloomed across her cheeks.

  Ryker started calling out names, pointing, dividing our ragtag collection of police into something that might, if we were lucky, resemble a fighting force. He jabbed a finger at a cluster of twelve people, then at me.

  Logan clapped me on the shoulder hard enough to rattle my new armor as he headed toward his own squad. "Shout if you need someone strong to take care of the bad guys for you," he bellowed, his laugh booming across the lot.

  I gave him a shove back but he barely moved. “Let me know if you need help and I will zip over and handle anything you cant” I gave him a wide grin that he returned before nodding and heading to his group. I turned back to my group and realized they were staring at me.

  The silence crashed down like a falling tree.

  Twelve sets of eyes locked onto me. The weight of their stares pressed against my chest, making it hard to breathe. Twelve people who thought I had answers. Twelve people who were about to find out I was making this up as I went along.

  A man with a scar bisecting his left eyebrow stepped forward. Soren. We'd exchanged maybe three sentences before this. "You've got the most experience with these things. We think you should lead."

  Heads bobbed in agreement. Kira beamed at me, pride radiating from her like heat from asphalt in summer. My stomach twisted into a cold, tight knot. These were seasoned operators from another district, and they were looking at me like I knew what the hell I was doing.

  "Okay." I let out a breath. "We split into two fireteams. We surround and we overwhelm." I met each pair of eyes in turn. "If a team gets suppressed, they go full defense. The other team flanks. If the line breaks..." I tapped my chest. "You collapse on me. We reform there."

  Ryker jogged over, his boots crunching on gravel. "Fifteen minutes left. I'm with you guys. Where do you need me?"

  The relief that flooded through me was almost embarrassing. "You can take the second team." I sketched out the plan with quick gestures. He absorbed it with a series of curt nods, then moved to position himself with his new command.

  Kira appeared at my elbow, worry etched into the lines around her mouth.

  "You need to stay fluid," I began, falling into the familiar rhythm of tactical briefing. "Reserve your mana..."

  "Be careful." Her voice dropped low, meant only for me.

  I stared into her green eyes, watching the gold blaze in that uniquely Kira way "I will." The lie settled between us, familiar and necessary. "Besides, I've got the world's first healer and second best player watching my back. I am invincible."

  Her punch caught my in the bicep.

  "Ouch. What did I say?"

  Her smile reached her eyes this time, crinkling the corners. "I will show you second best when I beat you with my staff. Getting cocky because of the system. Watch to see if I save your ass next time."

  I laughed as we joined the rest of the group. We began running drills. The choreography of violence. Advance, strike, retreat. Cover your partner. Watch your flanks. The strangers around me started moving like a unit, their steps falling into sync. Good people. Every single one of them choosing to stand and fight instead of run and hide.

  With five minutes on the countdown, I called for a water break. My inventory beckoned, that mental pull toward the reward box I'd been ignoring. I focused on it, and the blue container materialized in my hands. It pulsed with internal light, like a heartbeat made visible.

  I lifted the lid.

  Light erupted upward in a column that pierced the darkening sky. Survivors scrambled closer, drawn like moths. I reached into the radiance and my fingers closed around something solid. Cool. Smooth. I pulled it free.

  A chest piece. The material caught the fading sunlight and threw it back in shades of emerald and jade, iridescent scales overlapping in a pattern that seemed to shift when I wasn't looking directly at it. A label materialized above it, text floating in the air:

  Rare Carapace of the Elite Killer.

  "Equip," I whispered.

  Cold energy rushed over my skin like diving into a mountain lake. The armor flowed across my torso, wrapping around me with the unsettling sensation of something alive. Scales locked into place with tiny clicks, forming a second skin that moved when I moved, breathed when I breathed. Golden lines traced across the surface like veins carrying luminous blood, pulsing in time with my heartbeat.

  "I wonder how this works." Charlie reached out, running his fingertip along an overlapping scale. Others crowded closer, hands extended, murmuring questions I couldn't answer.

  Kira hung back until the crowd thinned. She stepped up and rapped her knuckles against my chest. The armor absorbed the impact with a dull thunk. "Finally," she said, and the relief in her voice made my throat tight. "Something else to help keep you alive."

  "You can take a break then, eh?"

  "With your track record?" She gave me a wink that was pure Kira—half teasing, half deadly serious. "I doubt it." She turned and headed back to her position, auburn hair swaying.

  Quiet descended as the final minutes bled away. The wind stirred the leaves overhead, those impossible glowing trees that had sprouted around the gate casting shifting patterns of blue-green light across the cracked pavement. Twenty-five faces turned toward the portal, jaws set, weapons ready.

  The timer hit zero.

  The gate pulsed like a failing heart. Reality rippled. Twelve Lesser Lizards burst through in a tumbling mass of scales and claws.

  We hit them like a hammer on an anvil. Both teams converged in a controlled avalanche of steel and fury. Spears punched through scales. Axes bit deep. I was in the center of it, my blades singing as they found flesh, my body moving on pure instinct honed by years on the street.

  Then the light from the gate dimmed. Swallowed.

  A shadow fell across the battlefield, massive and absolute.

  Every head snapped toward the portal. The dead lesser lizards forgotten as the new threat dawned on us

  "REGROUP! FALL BACK!" Ryker's bellow cut through the paralysis like a kick to the chest.

  We scrambled backward toward the embankment as the first head emerged. I nearly picked Kira up as we moved to the embankment as a second head emerged. Then a third. Each one massive, crowned with horns, eyes blazing with intelligence that sent ice down my spine. Their scales were darker, almost black in places, scarred from battles we couldn't imagine. They shouldered through the gate together, crushing the remaining Lesser Lizards beneath their bulk without noticing or caring.

  Three Elites. All at once. Their bodies fought for space at the portal's mouth, claws scrabbling for purchase on our world. My heart sank as a new sense of dread racked through my body. The urge to rub my hands on my pants began to overwhelm me.

  Hell was being unleashed before us.

  Arrows whistled overhead, Shanira's team loosing volley after volley. The shafts found the smaller creatures, dropping them with precision. However against the Elites, they exploded in white light, doing little to the armored skin of the elites.

  The sudden action brought me back to the fight. "KEEP TO THE PLAN!" I shouted above the chaos before catching Logan's eye to my right. The question passed between us without words.

  Bait?

  He raised his massive axe in salute, the blade catching the last rays of sunlight. "If Death comes for us, she will have to get past me first."

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  I nodded, my throat suddenly too tight for words. We weren't coming back from this. We both knew it.

  Ryker materialized beside me, appearing like he'd teleported. "I've got it from here. Go." He understood. He knew what Logan and I were about to do. His hand shot out and I gripped it, feeling the calluses, the strength. "See you at the next prep time." The lie was fierce in his eyes. Then he spun away, already barking orders, reforming the defensive line.

  I turned to find Kira.

  She was already there, standing beside me. Tears cut clean tracks through the dirt already coating her face, catching the strange light from the trees. "Why does it have to be you? Why is it always you" The words came out broken as she held back sobs. The sound made me hesitate, it sounded so defeated.

  My heart seized as if gripped in the hand of a giant.

  I sighed as I met her gaze "Because I can't stand by and watch someone else do it." Truth, raw and simple as a knife wound. I searched her eyes, begging her to understand what I couldn't explain.

  She scrubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand, smearing dirt and tears together. Her jaw set. Her shoulders squared. "Okay then." Her voice shook but held. "I'm going with you."

  She was already moving before the words fully registered.

  "Kira, wait..."

  But she wasn't stopping. Wasn't listening.

  My memory flashed to the first Elite. The speed. The brutal intelligence in every strike. The way it had nearly killed me even with every advantage. My stomach dropped like I'd missed a step in the dark.

  This is a very bad idea.

  But it was too late. The giants had cleared the gate. I began running, a flash of motion to intercept the one on the left. I leaped, summoning my sword and slamming it deep into the creature’s shoulder. With a cry of exertion, I tore the blade down its leg, a fountain of green ichor spraying in my wake.

  It bellowed and swiped. I dodged, its claws missing me by inches, its sulphurous yellow eyes locking onto mine. Perfect. I feinted, slashing at its flank, but missed the tail lashing towards me.

  The blow was a concussive, brutal impact against my new armor. It sent me skidding into the dirt, the wind knocked from my lungs. I rolled, my head cracking against a rock. My nose exploded in a flash of white-hot pain and a gush of blood that poured from it like a faucet. A warm, tingling sensation washed over me, and the pain vanished, my broken nose knitting back together in an instant. I glanced back. Kira stood fifty feet away, her staff raised, a Lesser Lizard snapping at her heels.

  I was about to shout when an arrow, a streak of white energy, punched through the smaller creature’s torso, blowing it apart in a shower of gore.

  I didn’t have time to feel relieved. The giant I was fighting lunged, its jaws wide enough to swallow a cruiser whole. It crushed a patrol car, the shriek of tortured metal filling the air.

  “GET BACK!” I roared at the nearby officers as I vaulted off the roof of another truck, seconds before a tail swipe obliterated it.

  I sprinted toward the woods, the glowing trees my only cover. Strangely large birds squawked, taking flight on large wings. The sight disorienting before the sound of the monster barreling after me brought me back to my current danger. The sound of snapping ancient trunks like twigs gaining behind me. I leaped from branch to branch, a desperate, acrobatic dance to stay ahead of its snapping jaws. I twisted in mid-air, my blade sparking uselessly off its neck scales as its jaws missed me again. Damn it! I angled my next jump, diving toward the softer flesh of its underbelly. My sword sank deep with a wet, squelching sound. The resistance wrenched me from my path, sending me spinning to the ground. I unsummoned my blades as I tried to land on my feet but slammed into the ground on my back.

  Pain bloomed everywhere at once. I staggered to my feet, every muscle screaming. The monster reared back, a thick stream of green ooze pouring from the wound in its underbelly. The comforting warmth coursed through my veins, a tingling sensation, that I now knew well.

  Kira. My eyes darted through the chaos, but she was no where to be seen.

  A growl of pure desperation escaped me. I resummoned my sword and charged again, dodging under the monster’s lashing tail and driving my blade into its hind leg. It howled, turning and snapping at the air where I’d just been. I vaulted onto another branch, my breath coming in ragged, burning gasps. I can’t keep this up. I leaped towards another branch, closer to the beasts neck.

  The tree ahead of me simply ceased to exist, exploding in a shower of splinters as the lizard charged through it. The branch I was aiming for was gone. My stomach lurched as I fell, weightless for a terrifying second before gravity took hold.

  I tumbled through the air before slamming into the ground. Hard. I felt bones fracture, a sharp, definitive sound that sent a new wave of agony through my body. The warmth surged again, liquid fire mending the breaks as fast as they formed. I tumbled into another tree and came to a stop, the magic receding, leaving only a deep, profound exhaustion in its wake.

  A bellow, too close, drew my head up as I turned towards the sound. And then, I saw her.

  Kira emerged from between two glowing trees, a vision of fierce determination. Her staff was raised, its gem glowing, as she sprinted towards me.

  “Hold on!” she called, her voice a beacon in the chaos.

  My relief lasted for a single heartbeat. Behind her, the massive form of the lizard loomed, its claws poised to strike. Time slowed to a crawl. I watched, helpless, as her every step forward was matched by the monster’s attack.

  “No!” The word was a guttural, fear filled tear in the fabric of the battle.

  She didn’t stop. She didn’t even see it. The claws raked across her side. The sound, a wet, heavy thud of an impact that broke bone and tore flesh. It was a moment, a sound, I would relive over and over again, for the rest of my life.

  Something inside me didn’t just break. It shattered. A raw, physical tearing in the deepest part of my soul. The sight of her crumpled form hitting the ground, so fragile, so still, unleashed an inferno in my veins. The world dissolved. My swords disappeared as space itself seemed to fold as I moved, a thunderous clap of displaced air echoing behind me. Before her body could even hit the next tree, I was there, my arms wrapping around her, cradling her as if she were made of glass. Wood splintered around us but I didn’t feel a thing. My sole focus, my very being was centered around the broken figure in my arms.

  She was breathing. Shallow, ragged gasps. Alive. But barely.

  The ground quaked. The monster was coming. The source of her pain. The beast that had tried to take her from me. She won’t be safe until this thing dies.

  I laid Kira gently at the base of a glowing tree, its ancient roots pulsing with a soft light. “I’ll be right back,” I whispered.

  My sword appeared in my hand. I didn’t remember storing it. It didn’t matter. Power surged from the shattered hole within me, thrumming through my body, into my new armor, down my arm, and extending into the blade. A shimmering blue energy danced along its edge.

  Mana activation requirement met: +15 Stats to Agility.

  New mana skill unlocked: Mana Blade.

  My eyes narrowed on the approaching beast.

  I’m going to make this fucking overgrown lizard pay.

  The rage fueled energy raced to my legs, sinking deep into the muscles as I pushed to meet the monster. The world seemed to stand still and warp around me, turning into a green and brown blur as I launched myself at the source of my rage. I didn’t just run fast, I became the wind. Its living embodiment as I began my assault.

  The beast lunged, and I slid under its massive head, my mana-infused blade slicing through its underbelly like it was made of silk. Green blood sprayed as I severed its right foreleg at the joint. It bellowed, a deafening cry of agony, but I was already moving.

  Fracture Point Proficiency increase.

  The notification flashed before my eyes and was gone as the energy began to dim. Exhaustion clawed at me. Threatening to drag me down. I just wanted to rest. But not yet. She’s not safe yet.

  I drew deeper into the reservoir of pure rage as the image of Kira’s crumpled form flashed through my mind. I leapt again, landing squarely between its shoulder blades. My glowing blades became a whirlwind of destruction as I carved my way up its back, until I reached its eyes. The sound that followed was a shriek of pure, abject terror as darkness consumed it, my blades making a sickening squelching noise as I drew them from the now dim orbs. It thrashed, throwing me into the air.

  This time, I was ready. I twisted, channeling every last ounce of will into one final strike, my sword driving downward into the soft flesh of its neck, piercing deep into its throat.

  A cry of exertion and fury tore from my own throat, a sound of pain, anger, and triumph, as the darkness finally took me, too.

  No, my mind growled. I don’t know if its dead yet. The darkness consumed everything.

  This is it. Did I push myself too far?

  A warm, electric current surged through my body, pulling me back from the abyss. I gasped, sucking in air like a drowning man.

  I blinked. The world crashed back into focus with knife-edge clarity, colors too bright, sounds too sharp. A blue screen hovered in my vision for a heartbeat before dissolving like smoke.

  Grim Resolve Proficiency increase.

  Kira's face filled my entire field of view. Her green eyes caught the eerie luminescence bleeding from the gate, turning them almost luminous, like backlit emeralds. Relief and something fiercer warred across her features. Blood had dried on her cheek in a dark streak, stark against her flushed skin. Beneath the grime and gore, she was whole. Alive. Breathing.

  She looked like she'd dragged herself back from the grave through sheer spite.

  "Kira." Her name scraped out of my throat, unfamiliar and broken.

  Something primal seized control. I surged upward, arms locking around her, pulling her against my chest in a grip that had to hurt. I buried my face in the curve where her neck met her shoulder, breathing her in. Sweat. Gunpowder. Copper. And underneath it all, something uniquely her, something that anchored me to reality when everything else had gone insane.

  She went rigid. A sharp intake of breath. Then her arms came around me, her body yielding, molding against mine.

  "Elias." My name trembled on her lips. "You're okay."

  I pulled back just far enough to grip her shoulders, my hands shaking as I searched her for wounds. Checked her side where the claws had... where I'd seen...

  Steady breathing. No blood. No torn flesh. Nothing.

  "Wait." The word came out strangled. "How? You were..." The image seared across my mind again. Those claws descending. The impact. Her body ragdolling through the air like she weighed nothing.

  She huffed, exasperation cutting through whatever else she was feeling. "Stop squirming." Sweat beaded along her hairline as she tightened her grip on that gnarled staff. Emerald light pulsed from the intricate carvings etched into its surface, washing across both our faces in waves.

  "You stop it." I pushed the staff aside, gentle but firm. Her glare could have set wet timber ablaze. "I'm fine. What happened?" The words came out harder than I meant them, edged with accusation born from terror I couldn't quite control.

  She sighed, and the fight drained from her posture. "I leveled up." She rolled her eyes like I was missing something obvious. When I just stared at her blankly, she continued, her tone going flat with resigned patience. "Apparently, healing your sorry ass counts as a major contribution to the kill. As I was fading out, the system offered me a level-up. I accepted it. And... boom." She gestured at herself, at her unmarred body. "Full health. Complete reset."

  Oh. Understanding crept in slowly, like sunrise through fog. The system rewarded meaningful contribution. My own miraculous recovery after that first Elite came flooding back. "Sorry about that," I muttered, heat crawling up my neck.

  A smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth. "Yeah, well. You're welcome."

  A blue icon blinked persistently at the edge of my vision, demanding attention. I focused on it.

  Congratulations on slaying an elite monster! 175 XP

  Congratulations on leveling Up!

  A reward box has been added to your inventory.

  My stats materialized before me. Level 6. Five available points waiting to be allocated. My mind flashed through a dozen moments from the last hour. Too slow. Too weak. Always a fraction of a second behind where I needed to be.

  I dumped all five points into Strength without hesitation.

  A deep hum vibrated through my cells, thrumming in my bones. My muscles tightened, became denser, more compact. Power coiled beneath my skin like a live wire. My shirt collar bit into my neck, suddenly too small. But my armor swelled with me, the scales expanding and contracting, breathing with my body.

  That is incredibly cool.

  Inventory. The reward box appeared in my palm with a soft glow, warm against my skin. I opened it. Inside lay leg armor, the label floating above it:

  Greaves of the Swift Hunter.

  Same dark green scales as my chest piece, traced with those golden lines that pulsed like veins carrying luminous blood.

  I equipped them. Cool energy rushed down my legs as the armor materialized, wrapping around me from hip to ankle. Perfect fit. Like it had been forged specifically for my body.

  Kira's laugh pulled my attention. She'd changed too. A new armored tunic hugged her frame, deep shimmering green that caught the light and threw it back in shifting patterns. Glowing designs like intertwining vines pulsed across its surface, ethereal and alive.

  "Wow." The word escaped before I could catch it.

  She struck a pose, one hand on her hip, head tilted. A genuine smile spread across her face, bright and uncomplicated.

  "Pretty cool, huh?"

  "Yeah." I smiled back. "You deserve a hell of a lot more than one piece of armor for what you did."

  The memory hit like a physical blow. That sound. The wet, heavy impact of claws through flesh. Her body crumpling. My stomach twisted into a cold, sick knot.

  Her smile faltered. "Elias?" Concern flooded her expression. She lifted her staff instinctively.

  Warmth began spreading through my chest. I caught her wrist. "Stop. I'm fine."

  "You don't look fine."

  "I am fine." The words came out thick, choked with something I couldn't quite hide. "But you can't do that again."

  Her brow furrowed. "You mean heal you?"

  "No." I shook my head, a hot pressure building behind my eyes. "I mean putting your life on the line. Not for me, Kira. Never again for me."

  The warmth in her eyes vanished like someone had thrown a switch. Cold fire replaced it.

  The slap came so fast I didn't track it. My cheek exploded in stinging heat.

  "You hypocritical asshole." Her voice shook with fury and something deeper, something wounded. She jabbed a finger into my chest, hard enough to make the armor click. "Do you ever think before you speak?"

  The accusation landed like a sledgehammer. Hypocrite. The word echoed in the sudden vacuum of my thoughts. Every reckless charge flashed through my mind. Every time I'd thrown myself into danger without hesitation. All in the name of protecting someone else. Protecting her.

  I'd been trying to shield her from a choice I'd make without a second thought.

  I hadn't been protecting her. I'd been insulting her.

  I let out a slow breath, forcing myself to meet her blazing eyes. "I'm sorry. You're right. It won't happen again." My voice dropped lower. "You scared me, Kira. That's all."

  She blinked. The apology seemed to steal the air from her lungs. She stared at me, jaw working, a whole arsenal of arguments dying unspoken.

  "Sorry," I added, a wry smile tugging at my mouth despite everything. "you can start yelling again if you got more to say."

  Her lips twitched. "Well, yeah. I had a whole speech prepared."

  "Go ahead." I dismissed my sword with a thought and raised my hands in surrender. "I'm listening."

  She let out an exaggerated sigh, her shoulders finally dropping. "No. It's fine. Let's move on."

  "I could always do something stupid so you can yell at me for that instead."

  A real smile broke through, genuine and warm. "Don't worry." She turned toward the distant sounds of battle, screams and roars accented by the clash of steel. "Give it five minutes."

  "Five?" I laughed as we started climbing over the shattered remains of trees and crushed vehicles. "You're being generous. I give it two."

  My laughter died in my throat as we cleared the tree line.