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Landen was digging through his bag when Orio walked up, a bristleback corpse slung over his shoulders.
"So you're just going to stand there and let me win, huh?" Orio said, dropping the beast in front of him.
"Gotta give you a head start, or it wouldn't be fair," Landen said, not looking up. Then he pulled out five small items and held them up. "But I've seen enough. Time to make our comeback."
Orio looked closer. "Are those comm-links? You're going to beat me with comms?"
Landen stuck one in his ear. "Watch and learn."
He took off toward the others. Jareth was finishing untying himself when Landen jogged past and tossed him an earpiece and a green orb.
"Jareth. Catch. In your ear."
Veya was up on the rock, checking her shooters, when Landen pressed the same pair into her hands. "Put this on."
Elle was dusting herself off when something sailed toward her. "Heads up!" She caught the items by reflex, staring at them in confusion until Landen pointed at his own ear.
There was a brief, static silence. Then, one by one, voices crackled to life in their ears.
"Can everyone hear me?" Landen asked.
"Yeah."
"Got you."
"Loud and clear."
"What about Ember?" Veya's voice broke in.
"She's too far away," Landen replied. "She's on her own for now."
With the channel established, Landen wasted no time laying out the situation. He explained Varro's strategy and exactly how they were being set up.
"Kill, steal," Jareth grunted.
"I knew it," Veya hissed. "They know everything about us, and they're using it against us."
"That little snake," Elle muttered.
"Now that everyone's in the loop," Landen said, "it's time to make our move. Listen carefully." He paused, adding internally, 'You too, system.'
[ I'm always listening, Landen. ]
"If we want to win this, everyone does exactly what I say. No questions."
"Yes, sir!" they said, mocking him a little.
Landen quickly broke down the terrain. They were standing in a wide circular clearing centered around a lakeside boulder.
"The center boulder is our zero-meter mark. Think of the clearing as a giant clock face. That unique, twisted tree on the ridge is 12 o'clock. If I need you somewhere, I'll give you a distance and a time. 25 meters at 3 o'clock, and so on. Got it?"
"Genius," Veya said.
"I love this already," Elle laughed.
"Wait — what's the orb for?" Jareth asked, holding up the orb Landen had tossed him.
"That's a Hunter's Orb," Landen said. "It cuts beast damage taken by twenty-five percent and boosts your own damage against them by twenty-five percent. I found a stash of them at the bottom of the supply bag."
Everyone froze.
"And you're finally giving these to us now?" Veya yelled.
"Could've used this earlier," Jareth added flatly.
Landen scratched his head. "Yeah, they probably covered whatever's in this bag during Support class. Maybe I should actually start attending."
"You think?!" they shouted together.
"Alright, break! Move to your new positions," Landen commanded, cutting off the complaints. "Veya, Jareth — you're switching lanes. Jareth, you're on Zirk, covering nine to twelve. Veya, you've got Gragic, six to nine. Elle, stay on Cynder, twelve to three. I'll take three to six."
They scattered. Landen moved too, eyes on the map floating above his wrist.
'System, I need a custom overlay on this display.'
[ Sure. Reconfiguring UI view. ]
As he explained what he needed, the display filled in with detailed, big-headed mini-figures that perfectly captured everyone's actual likeness. Each mini-figure was wrapped in a distinct team glow to tell them apart: Team Halvek in green, Team Varro in blue, and the bristlebacks in red.
But the real game-changer appeared a second later: floating, real-time health bars mapped out over every single bristleback.
The fog of war was gone. Now he knew exactly where to strike, and when. Four targets lit up on his radar immediately.
"Jareth — 50 meters, 11 o'clock. "A bristleback is pinned between two jagged rocks. Zirk is crouching in the brush ten meters away, waiting to ambush it. Break the boulder on the right side to flush the beast out, but don't attack it. It's in a desperate state. You'll take heavy damage if you do. Let Zirk shoot it."
Jareth ran to the location and slammed his hands into the base of the boulder. It shattered with a loud CRACK.
The startled bristleback shrieked, charging blindly out of the debris. Right on cue, Zirk stepped out of the brush and fired an energy arrow into the beast's flank, and a hunter mark appeared on the bristleback's head. Mark one: +10% Attack Range.
"He's stacking," Jareth reported, stepping back as Zirk's two more arrows zipped through. The counter climbed: 2... then 3. The beast's health bar began to plummet as Zirk's passive damage and armor penetration spiked.
"He's at three marks," Jareth said.
"His next shot applies the slow," Landen said. "If he hits five, he gets the massive stat surge, and he'll instantly melt the beast." Landen saw the bristleback life bar drop. It was low enough for Jareth to kill it with one hit. "Jareth, step into the path of the next arrow. Take the hit."
"Take the hit?" Jareth grunted. But he, being prone to taking orders, was already moving.
"Zirk's passive removes all marks if he changes targets," Landen explained. "Block the shot, force the reset, and get the kill."
Zirk fired the fourth arrow, but this time Jareth lunged sideways, his large gauntlets intercepting the line of fire with a sharp ping!
Over the bristleback's head, the glowing hunter's marks shattered, removing his consecutive stacks and leaving him visually weakened.
"What are you doing?!" Zirk's frustrated shout echoed through the woods.
"Now, Jareth! finish it!" Landen commanded.
With Zirk's passive completely broken and his stacks reset, Jareth utilized the heavy twenty-five percent damage boost from the Hunter's Orb. He brought his massive fist down in a brutal downward swipe, shattering the beast's remaining health bar before the disoriented archer could even retarget.
[ System ]
Varro 4 || Halvek 1
"Veya—100 meters, 5 o'clock," Landen's voice in her ear. "You've got Gragic in your sector. He's using those two bristlebacks he tamed earlier to sniff out a wild one hiding deep in the brush. Do not engage the wild beast yet. Focus entirely on his pets."
"Focus on his tamed beasts?" Veya asked, her fingers hovering over the trigger mechanisms of her wrist-launchers. "If I don't go for the wild one, he'll secure the points."
"He won't," Landen said. "Gragic is heavily armored. He has a massive shield and a hunter's spear—he's built for close combat and relies entirely on his pets for scouting and zoning. Strip away his advantage. If you kill his tamed beasts, he loses his vision and his frontline. Your passive will take care of the rest."
"Got it," Veya said, her eyes narrowing.
She drew power into the converter on her chest, feeding it down to her wrist-launchers. Below, Gragic was shouting orders as his two bristlebacks stalked forward.
Veya locked onto the first one.
Snap.
A glowing energy bolt hit its side. She fired again, and again, her passive kicking in — five percent attack speed per hit within three seconds. By the time the beast noticed, she'd already landed four shots. Escalation: 4 Stacks (+20% Attack Speed)
The first pet collapsed, and Gragic spun around, shield raised, just as Veya switched targets. Because she didn't miss, her momentum carried over. Her fifth shot tore into the second pet's shoulder, and with her sixth consecutive hit. Escalation: MAX STACKS (+25% Attack Speed & +25% Basic Attack Damage)
With the Hunter's Orb stacked on top, her launchers fired like turrets. The second pet went down before it could even retreat.
"My pet!" Gragic roared, tracking the bolts back to the ridge. Without his pets to zone the area, he had no idea where the wild bristleback was hiding. He lunged forward blindly, his hooked spear swinging wide to clear the bushes.
Spooked, the wild beast broke cover and bolted for the shoreline.
"Now, Veya! It's running—take the prize!" Landen called out.
Gragic tried to cut it off but was too slow. Veya raised both wrists. A final shower of glowing bolts rained down from the ridge, striking the fleeing beast in mid-stride. Its health bar emptied instantly.
[ System ]
Varro 4 || Halvek 2
"Elle—25 meters, dead noon," Landen's voice cut sharp. "There's a wild bristleback submerged in the shallow lake water, barely hanging on. But you're not alone. Cynder is trailing right behind you."
Hearing that name, Elle's jaw tightened.
"He's aiming for a repeat performance," Landen warned, his eyes looking to the big-headed tactical map on his wrist. The blue miniature icon of Cynder was moving rapidly toward the shore, the scythe's white blade glowing. "He's trying to position himself to tag you with his blood spurts again. If he lands five tags, he will strip your damage and burst the beast down himself. Don't let him get a clean line of sight."
"I needed a swim anyway," Elle chirped, her voice playful.
She ran down the bank and splashed into the lake. Ahead, the bristleback waded through the surf, health under ten percent.
Cynder stepped onto the shore, the white blood sphere in his hand.
"Not today, leech!" Elle shouted.
She triggered Phantom Shift, blinking sideways and throwing up a wall of water. Cynder fired a blood shot, but the rising geyser absorbed it.
Elle didn't stop. She shifted again, cutting a zigzag through the shallows, kicking up wall after wall of spray.
Cynder tracked her movement, firing three rapid blood shots. But all three hit water.
The chaos in the lake pushed the water aside for a second, exposing the bristleback trapped in the trough of the wave.
"Got you," Elle smiled, dancing forward.
Within seconds, She landed five hits in a row, triggering her Five-Blade Requiem. The marks detonated, and with the Hunter's Orb boosting her damage, the beast's health bar emptied instantly. The beast collapsed beneath the water.
[ System ]
Varro 4 || Halvek 3
"Got it!" Elle said, her voice bright and triumphant over the feed.
"Not bad," Jareth grunted.
"Amazing…" Veya said; her astonished voice crackled through the earpiece. "Landen, how do you even know all this?"
"I told you," Landen grinned, darting toward his own sector. "Just do what I say, and don't question it."
"Right!" they chorused.
Landen looked ahead, his eyes locking onto Orio's silhouette in the distance.
But then he stopped.
'System,' he said, eyes narrowing.
[ I see them. Two large bristlebacks. ]
Landen looked around. 'There's two?'
[ Yes. One stalking Orio, and the second near Ember. ]
He turned toward Ember's position. Sure enough, an enormous health bar hovered in the distance, with a label. Beast Class: Rare
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