Derek glared at his Codex, the sharp lines of his jaw tightening as he flipped through the pages with rising frustration. Each turn of the page increased his irritation.

  Noticing the tension in Derek’s furrowed brow, Nathan leaned against a nearby tree, arms crossed casually. “What’s going on? You look like you've swallowed a fly.”

  “Damn it! I’ve lost my favorite skill—Flameforged!” Derek exclaimed.

  Nathan couldn't suppress a chuckle. “Did you really swap your best orb? You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  Rubbing the back of his neck, Derek sighed, exasperation heavy in his voice. “I didn’t think I'd lose my slotted skill, dammit!”

  “Did you even bother to pay attention during the experiment we did on those rookies?” Nathan retorted.

  “Forget it! This will have to do,” Derek muttered, tapping something in his Codex. “I need something fun for a change.” His voice dropped, as if some darker weight laid upon him.

  In a fit of irritation, he hurled his torch to the ground, where it sputtered violently. “Argh! Even the name of the skill sounds lame!”

  “Nathan! Keep an eye out while I try out my new toy,” Derek added. Nathan stepped next to him, setting down his torches and casually resting his spear against his shoulder.

  As the light from the torch flickered, Derek's shadow morphed into a shape resembling a dog. Derek muttered his spell: “Sniff, sniff...” his irritation now evident.

  Juan watched as Derek closed his eyes, his head jerking about inconsistently.

  A grin spread across Derek's face as he shouted, “Found you!” The excitement in his voice sliced through the forest, sending a ripple of tension through Juan, who instinctively tensed.

  Derek tightened his grip on the spear. He leaned back and hurled the weapon with a grunt, more out of frustration than precision. The spear spun through the air, slicing through leaves and branches before landing harmlessly in the dirt below Juan's hiding spot.

  Did they find me?

  “Missed,” Derek grumbled. A tiny blue shape appeared from the foliage. “It’s just a damn slime.”

  In that instant, Juan saw Nathan acted. A sizzling green sludge burst forth from Nathan's mouth, striking the slime with precision. It barely had time to move before it died, releasing a noxious stench.

  Nathan turned to Derek with an inquiring look, raising an eyebrow. Derek groaned, rolling his eyes. “It’s because of Elmer’s pathetic orb! Even the stats are lower than my previous one!” He kicked the dirt beneath his feet in frustration.

  How... how is that possible?

  Juan exclaimed. A human had just unleashed some kind of magical sludge from his own mouth, effortlessly dissolving the strange creature.

  This is bad—a bulky guy with a fierce temper and now a long-range magical shooter.

  The rules of the world he knew no longer applied.

  As Derek moved toward the spear he had thrown, Juan swallowed hard, realizing how dangerously close he was to being discovered.

  Derek retrieved his spear and began to turn, but at that moment, he sniffed!

  In a split second, he pointed up at the tree. “Nathan!”

  Shit!

  Without a moment's hesitation, Juan summoned every ounce of courage he could muster and leaped toward Derek, swinging his stone axe with all his strength, aiming directly for the man's head.

  As he soared through the air, fully committed to his strike, a flash of green goo zipped past him, forcing him to twist his body at the last second. He narrowly avoided the corrosive substance.

  Juan's heart pounded in his ears as he lunged toward Derek. He could see the man's eyes widen in surprise, and in a desperate attempt to defend himself, Derek held his spear horizontally, bracing for the impact.

  The axe crashed into the spear, splintering the wooden shaft. Shards flew in all directions, some striking Derek's face. Juan's strike cut into Derek's right eye, drawing a gush of blood. Blinded and staggered, Derek stumbled backward.

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  Juan steadied himself. He couldn’t let Derek recover. Juan seized the opportunity, swinging his axe down at Derek.

  As Juan's axe descended, Derek lunged desperately, hand shooting upward in a frantic attempt to grab the weapon. Juan instinctively bit his lip, twisting the axe just as Derek’s fingers grazed the handle. Derek's other hand clawed for leverage, locking onto Juan’s wrist as they collided in a chaotic grapple.

  Gritting his teeth, Juan drove his knee into Derek's stomach with all his force, earning a sharp grunt of pain from the larger man. Seizing the moment, Juan swung his leg out, sweeping Derek’s feet from under him, sending him crashing to the ground. Derek sprawled, momentarily incapacitated, and Juan staggered back a step, catching his breath.

  Just as Juan prepared to deliver another strike, a sizzling glob of green sludge hurtled toward him with a sharp hiss. Acting on instinct, he ducked low, the corrosive substance whizzing past and splattering against the ground. His eyes darted to the side, locking onto Nathan, whose mouth was already open, ready to unleash another sludge.

  Nathan's long-range sludge attack was proving to be a real pain in the ass, and Juan knew he couldn't afford to be hit by one of those corrosive projectiles. He quickly repositioned himself, circling around Derek to use the larger man as a shield against Nathan.

  Hearing Derek’s pained groan, Juan eyed him warily, waiting for an opening. The injured Derek struggled to his feet, his remaining good eye frantically searching for Juan. "Nathan! Come over here and use your damn weapon!" Derek bellowed, his voice laced with panic.

  Nathan hesitated, his gaze flicking between his injured comrade and the handsome young man before him. With a resigned sigh, he began to move forward.

  Juan evaluated the circumstances. Derek was a formidable force, a living, breathing melee juggernaut just like in his favorite strategy games, but Derek was slow which he could handle. On the other hand, Nathan—the long-range sludge-spitting bastard—was the real challenge.

  As Nathan drew closer, Juan noticed that Derek was limping, favoring his right leg.

  Looks like that last blow did some damage.

  Juan surged forward, aiming at Derek's injured leg. But just as he prepared to press his advantage, a sizzling glob of green sludge shot past him, narrowly missing his face. He flinched, instinctively twisting to avoid the corrosive projectile.

  Damn it, Juan growled, his eyes darting to the sludge-spitter. He knew he couldn't keep using Derek as a shield forever. He needed to find a way to take down the long-range threat.

  Gritting his teeth, Juan pivoted, shifting his focus from Derek to Nathan. He had to act quickly before the sludge-spitter could unleash another disgusting attack. Juan charged toward Nathan, his movements a blur of determination.

  The sludge-spitter’s eyes widened in shock, clearly not expecting Juan to turn the tables and come directly at him.

  “What the—?” Nathan shouted, bringing his spear forward just in time to weakly strike at Juan. Their weapons clashed with a resounding crack, the force of the blow vibrating through Nathan's arms.

  Juan pressed the attack, raining down blow after blow, straining with effort. Nathan backpedaled, struggling to keep up with the onslaught. “Damn, this kid's got some fight in him,” Nathan grunted.

  Sensing an opening, Juan feinted to the left, then swung the axe with all his might, aiming to shatter the spear. Nathan reacted quickly, twisting his weapon to deflect the blow, but the impact still jarred his grip, causing him to stumble back.

  “You little—” Nathan spat, his eyes narrowing. He lashed out with the spear, the sharp tip lunging toward Juan's chest. Juan barely managed to twist aside, the weapon grazing his arm and drawing blood.

  Gritting his teeth against the pain, Juan pressed on. He couldn't afford to let Nathan gain the upper hand. He swung the axe in a wide arc, aiming to cleave the spear in two.

  Nathan saw the attack coming and tried to parry, but the force of the blow was too much. The spear splintered, the shattered pieces flying in all directions. Nathan's eyes widened in alarm as he found himself suddenly disarmed.

  “No!” the sludge-spitter cried, panic lacing his voice. Instinctively, he opened his mouth, a glob of corrosive sludge surging forth. Juan ducked to the side as the sizzling projectile whizzed past, narrowly missing him.

  Juan watched Nathan's panicked retreat. As the rain of corrosive sludge fell, Juan darted behind a nearby tree, narrowly avoiding the hissing glob that splattered against the bark.

  Peering cautiously around the trunk, Juan spotted Nathan backing up to stand beside the injured Derek, the two men now side by side. "

  This is bad—they're regrouping.

  Juan needed to find a way to separate them, to prevent Nathan's long-range attacks from overwhelming him. Glancing around the forest, he searched for any advantage he could leverage in this situation.

  This is dangerous... and yet, something about this fight feels... strangely right. A grin tugged at the corner of Juan’s mouth.

  - - -

  “We need to retreat,” Nathan urged, urgency lacing his voice as his eyes darted around, sensing danger nearby.

  “Fuck fuck fucking eyes!” Derek exclaimed, struggling to regain focus, impatience brewing behind his gaze. “He’s a newbie for fuck’s sake! Look at his clothes!”

  “Not a chance,” Nathan replied coolly. “He’s a baiter.”

  Derek, shielding his injured eyes, asked, “What?”

  “That stone axe requires 100 essence and a workbench to unlock,” Nathan said, trying to reason with him, his tone serious.

  “Whether it’s true or not, we can still kill him!” Derek scoffed dismissively, refusing to back down.

  “No, we should retreat! His teammates must be around,” Nathan insisted, stepping closer to Derek, who trembled with fury.

  “Impossible! He's alone! He isn’t even using his Codex!” Derek shot back defiantly, wild determination flashing in his eyes.

  “That’s what’s frightening,” Nathan retorted, his expression hardening as he gauged Derek's mental state.

  “No! I want him dead!” Derek yelled, his fury boiling over like magma ready to erupt.

  “I said retreat!” Nathan pressed back.

  With that, Derek swung his splintered spear at Nathan in a fit of anger. The air crackled with the unspoken threat.

  “I see you’ve lost your mind,” Nathan replied, stepping back, wary of how much Derek had unraveled. “Find me once you've calmed down. I’ll prepare your items on your return.” With that, Nathan pivoted and began to retreat into the underbrush.

  Spent 10 hours on this one—my eyes are crying for mercy! ?????