I took a second to scan over the holographic table in front of me. A group of fifteen figures stood at the base of a mountain. From the jagged peak of the mountain to about twenty feet away, trees were torn up and dirt gouged. Sitting not ten feet away, an impressive wreck explained how the group ended up there.

  From what I could see, they were lucky to have survived at all. In fact, the first thing I needed to do was to see if they had a medic on the team so that we could get everyone checked out. Sure, the noise and smoke would draw in various creatures, but nowhere near as fast as fresh blood. I also didn’t want any of them to try and tough out whatever pain they were in, only for them to falter a little later.

  With a quick scan of the various things on the walls, I tried to figure out what information was available. The notes were on the various potential sites and the finalized flight plan. Those would be useful later, but not what I needed.

  One of my hands held onto the desk as I leaned forward to touch one of the people in the hopes that it would bring up some information on them. Mana and power vibrated against my hand. It slid against my senses. Almost as though it was reaching, checking to see if I was listening. To see if I was there to help.

  The feeling nearly caused me to stop what I was doing. To see if I could figure out what was going on. Maybe to even see what the system itself could tell me. It wasn’t the first time some machine or system had tried to tell me what was wrong.

  In fact, most of the time I would welcome the information as it helped fix them. Every good mechanic would. It was something my mother taught me. After all, every machine tells you where it needs help, if only you are willing to listen.

  Unfortunately, I wasn’t here to fix it. I was here to take a test. So the information it could give me wasn’t likely the information that I was looking for. While my mind and eyes wandered over the interface, my fingers tapped at the edge. Without warning, a small window popped up.

  Tree

  Species: Unknown

  Estimated Age: Unknown

  Material Uses: Unknown

  Mana Signature: Low

  Notes: Scan for more information.

  The information was, well, useless to be honest. But the fact that one of the trees at the edge of the interface was highlighted told me all I needed to know. My fingers tapped through each person in the small group. With each, I scanned their information as I looked for someone with medical skills. On my fifth tap, I found what I was looking for.

  Tracey Novek

  Species: Human

  Age: 43

  Power: Healing

  Power Category: Elemental

  Relevant Skills: Medical Knowledge - Intermediate

  Notes:

  That was a bit odd, as most healing powers fell into the Enhancement branch. Pushing and enhancing the body's natural healing process. Elemental healing, on the other hand, was much rarer to see. Mostly because it required the healer to manipulate the elements present in a person to heal them.

  Still, that didn’t mean Elemental Healing was any weaker. If anything, in some ways, it was a bit more versatile. But the amount of work wasn’t worth it for most. Though it did make me wonder as to what power she had started with. Mostly because she would still have access to it.

  I had to force myself to focus and to ignore the random questions and thoughts flitting their way through my head. To focus on the task in front of me.

  It took a bit of fiddling with the edge of the interface before a command interface appeared in front of me. With a tap on one of the inputs, I entered a simple command.

  Tracey Novek, scan and heal everyone.

  While I expected this command to do something, I didn’t know how well the system would listen. The command itself was a test of the system and how it interpreted what it was ordered to do. Would it scan each person and heal one injury? Would it do full-body scans and heal every bruise? Whatever it did would tell me how specific my commands had to be and if I could even chain commands.

  Tracey walked to the nearest person and started to glow as she went to work. Within a few moments of starting, the glow around her intensified. When it faded, she moved on to the next person. After the third, she started to look a little tired. After the sixth, she was tilting to one side.

  That wasn’t a good sign. The light surrounding her finally sputtered and died after the eighth person, and someone barely caught her as she collapsed. Thoughts of what I could have done differently. Of what I should have done. Of the commands I could have given that would have allowed her to treat everyone? All of that and more went through my head as I looked at the exhausted woman.

  Unfortunately, what was done was done. There was nothing I could do to change it. I had a test to complete, and I doubted that I had the time to let them rest.

  I took a moment to scan through the rest of the group and found someone with an interesting set of skills.

  Lee Groska

  Species: Human

  Age: 54

  Power: Silence

  Power Category: Null

  Relevant Skills: Scouting, Blur, and Flash Step

  Notes:

  Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

  I ignored the power category. It wasn’t something I had seen and would have loved to ask questions, but the three skills captured every bit of my attention. He could move through the forest, checking paths and for various beasts. And if he did find something, he had the ability to get away. Or at least, that is if Flash Step was what I thought it was.

  With a tap and flick, I sent him off to scout the area while I sent the rest to search the wreckage for any working equipment. It was a good thing I did as they managed to find a memory stick containing a map of their flight path.

  As soon as they had that in their hands, the interface around me updated to include a map. One that showed a few features not visible from our current position. Features that would be nearly impossible to cross without taking a few risks.

  Just as I started to look for a better path forward, one that avoided any dangers and impassable terrain, Lee came racing in. With his appearance, a report popped up showing what he found.

  Monsters encountered: Sliver Mites, Mosswart Boars, and Giga Carpenters

  Danger: Extreme

  Map Updated

  I didn’t need the system to tell me the danger level of those monsters. Just the mites alone were a nightmare. Add in the giant carpenter ants, and we were between a rock and a hard place. Especially given how the two were on opposite sides of our group, and they looked to be working their way toward us.

  The only thing blocking our path was a small herd of Mosswart Boars. Of the three threats, they were the least dangerous. Not that I wanted them to fight the things. Less dangerous did not mean they were not dangerous. There were fewer of them, but each boar was worth a dozen of the ants and more than twice that many mites.

  That being said, if I wanted to avoid both, I needed the group to move now. And they couldn’t move haphazardly. I needed them to move in a formation that would cover every angle while letting them move as a single unit.

  With deft keystrokes, I wrote everything out. The first thing I sent was the formation I wanted them to adopt. For this, I was fairly sure a diamond would be the best option.

  A person in front to lead the group while the person in the back watched for stragglers as well as any monsters that tried to sneak up. The rest acted as support and protection for the two in the middle. All while Lee scouted ahead.

  As they got into formation and started to move, I dictated various situations. Things that I wanted them to do if I didn’t have time to order them. Just as I finished typing, a monster appeared from under a bush. It had waited until the group was about halfway passed when it took to the air.

  Pale green fur rippled as the creature’s claws reached for the nearest person. At the height of its jump, a pale blue hammer smashed into its chest with enough force to knock it off target. Still, that didn’t stop it from taking a swipe at the guy as it flew past his head.

  The group didn’t stop. They continued running until they caught up to Lee. He was still as he looked through the thin gap in the trees. A group of twenty mossy green boars milled about the clearing. Tusks cut through roots and into the dirt as they sifted around for something. Likely food of some kind. Whether that was plant or flesh, I had no clue. I probably didn’t want to know either.

  The group tensed as a monster shifted and, in doing so, got fairly close to the group. For a moment, it looked like the creature didn’t notice them. That is, until it suddenly let out a loud squeal and charged.

  Lee stepped to the side, vanishing only to appear on a root a dozen feet away. Beatrice, the person I chose to lead the group, lifted up her left arm as her right hand held it steady in front of her. A harsh yellow light flared from both of her bracers.

  The yellow light coalesced into a short wall. But while it was short enough for anyone to see over it without issue, it was long enough to cover most of the open space between two trees.

  With a low thump and a sharp crack, the creature smashed into the shield. Small cracks spiderwebbed out from the point of impact. Almost as soon as they appeared, mana spiraled out from the bracer. The streams splashed against the wall, healing the cracks in real time.

  It was a setup that would hold, so long as Beatrice had the mana to do so. Thankfully, not something I would have to worry about as the rest of the group started to attack the creature.

  As one man drew his sword, lightning crackled down the blade. When it reached the tip, it shot outward to hit something in the direction it was pointed. Roughly one in every ten bolts struck the target the tip pointed at. That didn’t sound all that great until one considered the hundreds of bolts that shot out every second.

  Then there was the archer who fired bolts of what looked like ice or compressed and solidified air. And while their firing speed was pretty slow, at least compared to those around them, each shot held quite a bit of force.

  Spears of water and fire twisted around one another as they shot from a pair of wands. Each was held by one of the twins. The only difference between the two was their hair. One looked like they had flames rippling down their back, while the other had something akin to a waterfall. And no, the one using fire was not the one with red hair.

  A series of cracking noises speared through the cacophony as one of the people near the center fired their gun. Seeing it, I had to double-check the person's information.

  Orelia Dillons

  Species: Human

  Age: 23

  Power: Restore

  Power Category: Technomancy

  Relevant Skills: Rapid Reload

  Notes:

  That explained his use of a gun. While there were some powers in the Technomancy tree with combat abilities, Restore was not one of them. Given how his mana flared when he reloaded, that might explain why his reload speed was considered a skill.

  Not that the various attacks did much damage. The creature's mossy fur was thick and compressed when hit. Which would be fine if it weren’t also ablative. So it not only spreads out any blunt attacks, but it absorbed those meant to cut.

  It took a dozen hits to one spot to get enough of the fur removed to hit the hide beneath. At which point, only blunt attacks really did much damage. Oh, and let's not forget that there was more than one creature.

  Even as the group finally brought the first one down, another pair charged. And they were only the first to reach them. The rest would be there within the next half minute, and that was only because they took off after the first was killed.

  Not that there was much I could do. If the group turned around to run, they would have a hard time outrunning the things. Sure, Beatrice could stay back. Hold them off as long as possible. But that would mean sacrificing her. Something I was loath to do.

  The worst part was that even if I was willing to do that, it wouldn’t help. Not when the other two groups would be worse. No, I needed another solution. Something that would get the group across the clearing and lose the monsters.

  A sudden and sharp squeal drew my attention. I watched as a boar turned and charged at a tree. Grey bark sprayed out from the impact point. Unlike normal bark, each fragment disintegrated as it flew. It vibrated. It twisted. It writhed. Even as it splattered on everything nearby. It continued to move.

  Some of the grey material managed to land on the boar, and it let out another squeal. One that seemed higher and more desperate. The creature raced toward another tree, smashing the grey goo against it. Some of the material latched onto the tree, but not all of it.

  Red seeped out from somepart of the monster as it continued to race around. Then, without warning, the monster stopped. It crashed to the ground as its legs stopped moving. It stopped screaming as its chest stopped moving. In a fight that lasted, at most, half a minute, the boar died.

  As one, every boar turned to face the new foe and charged. Mana flared around them as they built up speed. Smashing through trees and boulders as they raced forward.

  I didn’t wait to see what the outcome of the battle would be. I didn’t need to. The boars were dead. Food feeding itself to the mass of monsters. Sure, they would kill millions of the things, but for every one they killed, a thousand more were right behind it. And if I didn’t get the humans moving, they would be next.

  With a swift tapping of keys, I sent the order to move. The shield dropped as the group surged forward. My heart leapt into my throat as one of them tripped. In what looked like a reflexive action, they reached out for the nearest thing they could. It just so happened to be one of the boars.

  The creature twisted around to see what had just tried to, in its mind, attack it. To return the favor. It never got the chance as another of the boars, one already covered in splotches of grey, crashed into it. Both of the creatures went sprawling as the mass gorged on monster flesh.

  None of the people in the group hesitated to race out of the clearing. To put as much distance between them and the Sliver Mites while they were distracted by their current meal.

  All too soon, the group started to slow as they reached the limits of their endurance. They had managed a fair distance in their flight from the fight, but it was nowhere near far enough for me to feel comfortable. Not when something like those mite might still be out there. Stalking them. Waiting for them to let down their guard.

  With a command, Lee took off. He would keep an eye out while the rest of the group took a moment to catch their breath. Fortunately, the first target was only a couple more miles away. And judging by the map, they wouldn’t be all that dangerous.

  No, seeing as how the map showed a number of monsters and dangers marked on the map, the danger was in the trip to the nearest city.