The mutated hound moved first.
One head snapped toward the crawling boy on the ground, while the other turned toward Team 13 the moment they broke from the trees.
Arin did not go for the beast.
He went for the boy.
The hound lunged at once, but Taren struck from the front and forced its body off line. Ren came in from the side, driving it farther away. Liora cut low to slow its legs, while Mila's voice came sharp from behind them.
"Left turn. Again."
That was enough.
Arin reached the injured boy, caught him by the shoulder, and dragged him back just before one of the beast's paws slammed into the ground where his head had been.
The boy gasped in pain but stayed conscious.
"Can you stand?" Arin asked.
A weak nod.
"Then don't fall."
He pulled him behind the tree line and turned back.
The hound was worse than the earlier beasts. Heavy, fast, and difficult to read. One head rushed. The other waited for openings.
"Watch the second head!" Liora shouted.
Ren barely pulled back in time. "I noticed!"
Taren pressed from the front again and took a glancing hit across the shoulder for it. He cursed, but held his ground.
Mila shifted position. "Now. Right side."
Arin moved in at once.
This time Team 13 did not let the beast control the pace. Ren and Taren pressured it from two sides. Liora kept cutting low whenever it shifted weight. Arin blocked its retreat. Mila kept reading its movements before the attacks fully came.
The hound tried to break out twice.
The first time, Ren took a scrape across the arm.
The second time, Arin caught a sharp hit along his side while forcing it back.
Neither was serious.
Then Taren saw the opening.
"Neck!"
Arin moved with him.
One head turned too late. Taren's strike landed hard across the upper neck while Arin drove in from the side. The hound staggered. Liora cut low one last time and broke its balance.
The beast crashed down.
Ren ended it before it could rise again.
A clear chime sounded from all five terminals.
Mutated Beast Eliminated: +60 Points
Team Score: 260
For a moment, no one spoke.
Then Ren let out a hard breath. "That thing was worse than it looked."
"It looked terrible," Liora said.
"Fair."
Arin turned back to the boy near the roots.
Up close, he looked bad, but not finished. One sleeve was torn open and soaked dark with blood, and his breathing was uneven, but his eyes were clear.
"Name?" Arin asked.
The boy hesitated. "Kale."
Ren crouched slightly. "Only Kale?"
The boy gave him a tired look. "Kale Verin."
Liora checked his wounds. "He can move. Not well, but enough."
"I can walk," Kale said at once.
Taren glanced at him. "Good. Carrying you would be annoying."
Kale looked too tired to answer.
Arin looked at him for a moment, then asked, "How many points do you need to pass?"
Kale blinked. "What?"
"How many?"
Kale looked down at his terminal and swallowed. "Forty."
Arin nodded. "Then follow us."
Kale frowned. "What?"
"We help you get forty points," Arin said. "You take the next resources or kills until you pass. After that, you move with us and do what you're told near the final gate."
Silence followed.
Kale looked at him more carefully this time.
"Why?" he asked.
"I'll need help near the gate."
Ren straightened slowly. "There it is."
"At least he said it clearly," Liora said.
Taren looked at Kale. "Better than dying here."
Kale lowered his eyes.
Forty points. That was all he needed.
If they were telling the truth, this was his best chance.
He nodded. "Fine. I'll follow."
Arin watched him for a second longer. He did not trust the answer completely, but that was fine. A useful person did not need to be honest. Only manageable.
"Then stand up," he said.
Kale pushed himself to his feet.
Liora glanced at Arin. "You trust him?"
"No."
The answer came so fast that Ren laughed.
"Good," he said. "I was about to worry about you."
Mila looked at Kale once. "He's thinking too much."
Kale's expression shifted slightly.
Ren grinned. "See? She notices annoying things too."
Taren looked deeper into the forest. "Can we move now? Talking doesn't give points."
Arin checked the time, then nodded. "Move."
They continued through the outer forest with Kale following behind them.
After that, they did not waste time.
The next beast appeared near a low ridge thick with brush. Team 13 killed it quickly and gave the points to Kale.
Then they found another herb.
Then another beast.
Then a hidden resource under broken stone and wet leaves.
The pattern stayed the same. Team 13 handled the danger. Kale claimed the points.
By the time the trial passed the two-hour mark, all of them were breathing harder. Sweat clung to their clothes. Dirt, blood, and small cuts marked sleeves and hands.
But they were still moving.
And no one had been lost.
The numbers made the result clear.
Team 13 — 350 Points
Kale Verin — 250 Points
Ren looked at the display and exhaled. "Now I feel safer."
"You only feel safe when the number gets big," Liora said.
"That's a reasonable way to live."
Even Taren did not argue.
Arin was already watching the gate marker. It had grown brighter, and the sounds ahead had changed.
Earlier, the noise in the forest had been spread across different directions.
Now most of it was coming from one place.
They stopped taking extra points and moved more directly toward the end.
The terrain grew rougher as they advanced. Exposed stone, narrow slopes, roots crossing broken ground. On flat stretches they moved quickly. In the rougher parts, they slowed and chose their footing carefully.
Kale stayed close and did not complain.
Another half hour passed that way.
The closer they came, the less peaceful the forest felt. Twice they heard fighting nearby and shifted away from it. Once they heard a beast roar and a boy shout at the same time. Another time there was only a burst of noise, then silence.
Even Ren had gone quiet.
At last the ground rose into a long ridge.
Arin stopped and raised one hand.
The others halted with him.
From there, they could see the gate.
It stood beyond a wide clearing framed by dark stone, broken roots, and uneven ground, its surface glowing with a cold steady light.
But the gate was not the problem.
The people near it were.
Arin narrowed his eyes and counted.
Twelve.
At first it looked like two groups, but after watching their spacing, he understood the truth.
Three teams.
They were spread across the clearing in prepared positions, covering different approach lines without getting in each other's way.
Ren cursed under his breath.
"They're not waiting," Mila said quietly. "They're blocking."
Kale swallowed. "Can three teams really do that?"
"They already are," Liora said.
Taren's face hardened. "Cowards."
Arin did not think that was the right word.
Ugly, yes.
Efficient, definitely.
As if to prove it, movement flashed near another tree line. A shout followed, then a short burst of violence. A few breaths later, it went quiet again.
Whoever had tried to approach from that side had been driven back or put down quickly.
The teams near the gate were not nervous.
They were settled.
That meant they had already done this before.
Taren was the first to speak. "We hit one side hard and break through before the others close in."
Ren shook his head. "Twelve people in prepared positions aren't getting pushed aside that easily."
"Rushing the middle gets us killed," Liora said.
Mila studied the ground instead of the people. "There is some cover. Not enough for all of us."
That was the important part.
Not all of us.
Arin crouched slightly and studied the clearing again.
The center was too open.
The left side had better cover, but one team was already watching it.
The right side had lower ground, broken stone, and a few exposed ridges. Not enough for a full team. Maybe enough for one fast person if the others were distracted at the right time.
He looked once at his group, then back at the gate.
Ren, Liora, Taren, Mila, and Kale were all watching him now.
When he finally spoke, his voice was low.
"At least one person has to get through fast."
No one answered right away.
They all understood.
The goal was no longer a clean finish.
It was making sure the trial was passed, even if the last stretch turned ugly.