Ethan crept up the small ridge to look down on the thunder drake’s nest. The group was high in the Eastern mountains, having spent the last two days searching for definitive signs of their prey. The notice Ethan had taken was old, partly because so few Hunters would risk an encounter with the deadly monsters, and partly because the creatures would hunt in such a large area that they were difficult to find.

  Fortunately the group included two members who had faced thunder drakes before, and they had a good sense of where to find the beasts. The team had been lucky enough to spot the trail the first day, following fresh kills deeper into the mountains. Still, it took a rough night of camping and another half day of hiking to finally reach the location they were now gathered.

  Glenn and Maggie had both come, there being concerns about Ethan traveling so close to the border, but the two had wisely waited in a small village at the foot of the mountain. Ethan was a bit envious, the rainy weather having made the trek up the mountain quite challenging, and facing a menacing opponent on wet terrain after a cold night’s sleep was an unpleasant prospect.

  The stress of the last two weeks since he’d infiltrated the Dunebreaker wasn’t helping his mood. The princess had only taken the time to get his assurances that Viridus wouldn’t be blamed for the sabotage, then hungrily snatched up the intelligence he’d stolen. She’d given vague promises of preparing him for the duel, but dismissed it as being a few months away, lining up roughly with the half-year mark of Ethan being on this world.

  He’d resolved to focus on this Hunt, though, needing the danger and potential gains to keep his mind on the present. The mysteries around the rifts and Terranova were beyond him at this point, and he had to put all his energy into surviving this world, and this insane predicament he’d found himself in.

  Savilar crawled up next to him, and they surveyed the area together. There was a small waterfall above them, which appeared to have hollowed out a bowl into the mountainside. It looked like the water had eventually worn through one side, letting it spill freely down into the valley. This left a deep impression hidden from sight until you climbed above it, the thunder drake clearly having taken advantage of this fact to build its nest.

  Ethan looked up, seeing the water spilling over from a similar tiny lake above them, and followed its path to where it dropped a couple of hundred feet down the mountain. “Let’s try not to fight next to the sheer cliff,” he said sagely.

  “Brilliant, that’s why you’re in charge,” Savilar said with a smirk.

  Ethan considered the rest of the scene, looking for anything that could help or hinder. The area was mainly rock, with a few boulders large enough to make decent cover, as well as a collection of logs that had been washed down from above. It was fairly open though, and favored the thunder drake, which Ethan knew enjoyed charging around during battle.

  The monster itself was clearly visible, sleeping on a nest of bones and rotting vegetation. It wasn’t the biggest Dawn rank monster Ethan had seen, being a little bit larger than a rhino, but it had thick, sinuous muscles under its scaled skin, and he knew it was built for speed and power. It was surprisingly simple in appearance, though, despite its draconic origins, looking more like a huge lizard than anything else.

  It was grayish brown, blending in well with the stoney environment. It was quadrupedal, with a fairly short tail, that could nevertheless be used as an effective weapon, given its bladed appearance. The head was the true danger. It had wide, powerful jaws, with long, deadly teeth. Two sets of horns flowed forward as well, making its charges all the more vicious.

  Ethan was ready to move back down, but noticed Sav still looking, a concerned expression on his face. “What’s wrong?” Ethan whispered.

  “Probably nothing, just a feeling,” he said, then slid back down the rise to join Valanor and Selina. Ethan followed, coming to a halt at a distance from the monster that they could speak freely.

  “Well, what did you see?” Selina asked eagerly. She was still wearing robes, but they were open at the front, and worn over top of more appropriate clothing, including some sturdy leather armor. The interior of the robes were covered in easily accessed pockets, which made her Rune Magic far quicker and more reliable–she was taking this as seriously as she could, painfully aware of being under ranked.

  “It’s up there,” Ethan said. “Wide open area to fight it in, including some water we’ll either want to avoid–or use strategically.” He turned back to Savilar. “Anything you want to add?”

  The dark haired man was likewise dressed for combat, his gray metal armor gleaming in the sun, and wicked flanged maces dangling from his belt. “Not precisely, but we should be wary. My instincts are telling me something I can’t put into words.”

  “They’ve saved us before,” Valanor said, voice muffled behind his heavy helmet. “Is there somewhere to fall back to if the battle turns?”

  Ethan considered. “More the opposite, the terrain favors the drake. There’s a sheer cliff next to the nest, and any other avenue of retreat is like this one,” he indicated the path they’d followed up the mountain. “We’d be fighting backward down a mountain.”

  “Then we take it out quickly,” Savilar said. “Val and I wanted this to be a learning experience for you, Ethan, but I don’t feel like we can risk it. We go in, hit the beast with everything we have, no holding back.” Everyone nodded, no one wanting to take big risks.

  Savilar turned to Selina. “You’re the most at risk, especially to physical attacks. I’m going to make a few stone towers for you to fight from. There’s a good chance the drake will destroy at least one. Jump off, and run to another, trust the rest of us to cover you. Don’t hesitate.” She nodded, and he spoke again. “Alright, get us ready.”

  The Runemistress created a circle of power around herself immediately, and began casting spells on each of them. Ethan felt the magic wrap around him, understanding instinctively that he would take less damage from lightning, and his attacks would deal more damage to any creature of lightning Affinity.

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  When she completed her work, Savilar turned to Valanor and Ethan. “You two ready to start us off?” he asked, and both nodded. They’d been discussing these tactics for weeks, and the thunder drake being asleep made their path clear.

  The four carefully crested the rise, though the shield knight stayed back, warhammer prepared for a throw. Ethan conjured his [Many-Faced Blade] as twin wakizashis, then moved forward, carefully avoiding stones as he crept, preparing to strike. The drake was a few dozen paces off, and Ethan used the time to go over his opener in his head again and again.

  When he was finally within striking distance, he invoked [Hydra's Reflection], his twin joining him in channeling the power of Ruin a heartbeat later. [Knife in the Dark] lashed out from both Ethans at the same moment, their short blades cutting deeply into the drake’s tail, dark energy amplifying the attacks. The beast was awake in an instant, roaring in pain.

  What happened next all took place in the same moment, the team having practiced the maneuver many times. Ethan’s reflection disappeared as he channeled Mystic, [Trick of the Light] allowing him to fade from sight in the brief moment before he was seen. Next, a heavy obsidian warhammer crashed into the beast’s head, and three large cylinders of stone rose from the ground.

  Valanor was charging at the drake, which spun around in confusion, its tail already halfway severed. It was met by the powerful shield knight whose warhammer was back in hand, immediately swinging at the monster’s large head. As it began to charge itself with lightning, an orb of water splashed into it, as Selina worked quickly from within a rune circle atop one of Savilar’s towers.

  Even as it tried to react to that new attack, it roared again as Ethan repeated his opening attack, twin sneak attacks carving right through the beast’s injured tail, causing it to flop to the ground in a splash of dark red blood. It was a huge drain on mana for Ethan, whose scars burned painfully, but it was a devastating opener made even stronger through his [Checkmate] ability. He quickly dismissed his reflection and cycled to Flare, allowing his Dimensional power to renew.

  As he began to hack at the drake’s hind legs with [Internal Combustion], Savilar joined him. An aura of warmth and protection spread over the group, and twin maces burst to light with holy power. The Rift Hunter was certainly given specific Bonds from the Church to compliment his role, combining Holy, Earth, and Sun Affinities in shining tribute to their Goddess.

  The man went to work, his maces cracking into bones relentlessly, slowing and crippling the drake as he shifted to Sun. A ray of light came down from the heavens, searing into the monster’s back as it tried to make sense of the many-angled attacks. The group had no intention of easing up on the pressure, however, as Familiars made themselves known.

  Toby was there, but not the tiny form Ethan had seen it use to fit into the tight tunnels. This time the obsidian creature was taller than Valanor, with one arm formed into a blade, and the other looking like a wrecking ball. One stabbed into the drake’s face, keeping it from effectively countering the shield knight, while the other copied Savilar’s attacks, smashing into the beast’s legs from the opposite side.

  The Rift Hunter’s Sun Familiar appeared high above them, just a glowing ball of terrible flame, sending continuous blasts of energy downward at any clear opening. Not to be outdone, Revan appeared as well, leaping onto the larger monster’s back, slashing down with its claws then savaging with its teeth. It was organized chaos, and a testament to the thunder drake’s strength that it didn’t fall immediately to the enormous, coordinated assault.

  Ethan was elated as he slashed away, glorying in the power of their team, and the effectiveness of their strategies. It felt like he’d been preparing for this fight since the day Valanor first brought him to the arena, and he saw what teams could accomplish working together. He didn’t hate his role in that moment, not caring what it was or what it said about him. He was just a Hunter, doing his job.

  There was a reason thunder drakes were so feared though, and the rhythm of the battle changed as it grew enraged. It spun in place suddenly, sending Savilar and Ethan flying backward, while destroying Toby’s obsidian arms. Revan landed easily on his feet, though Ethan was knocked downward, his body awkwardly rolling and crashing across the rocks until he came to a stop.

  Valanor held his stance of course, alternately slamming his hammer into the beast’s head and against his own shield in an attempt to keep its focus on him. The space gave it an opportunity to use its special abilities, however, and it stomped the ground suddenly, causing the stone beneath the shield knight to superheat. In seconds Valanor was sinking into lava up to his knees, and he let out his own roar of pain until another orb of water splashed down.

  Selina had neutralized the attack, but left the knight hacking at the rapidly hardened rock holding him in place. The drake then turned on Savilar whose Dusk rank strength and speed had quickly brought him back into the fray. The monster’s large mouth opened and lightning burst forth, blasting into the Rift Hunter who hastily covered himself in stone armor. The attack sent the man flying backward once more, leaving the drake searching for a new target.

  Its black eyes settled on Selina at the edge of the stone bowl, and the Nator’s eyes widened as she tried to think of a spell to use. As the monster charged, she wisely took Savilar’s advice, and dove off the stone tower just before the drake obliterated it beneath her. She hit the ground rolling, then scrambled up, her long legs eating up the distance to the next tower.

  Ethan’s eyes widened in panic as he pulled his bruised body off the ground. Savilar had promised the Runemistress that they would protect her, he’d said they’d have her back, but Valanor was still breaking himself free of the stone, and Ethan was on the wrong side of the battle. He pulled a dagger from his side, knowing that he was already too late as the monster pivoted from its charge and scrambled toward Selina at a deadly pace.

  Then the Rift Hunter was there. He burst from under the ground in a hail of stone, the rocks crashing into the drake and halting its charge. Savilar didn’t waste a moment as he unleashed the fury of his Dusk rank power. Stone spikes erupted from around the monster, barely harming it, but keeping it contained as the man’s maces went to grissly work.

  Ethan got to see the Hunter’s cycling put to work as Savilar flowed from one move to another. A huge earth elemental was suddenly there, pounding downward with heavy fists before evaporating as a golden angelic figure took its place. It fired down a rain of golden bolts as Savilar’s warm aura was renewed, and his weapons began to glow once more.

  The next moment the angel was replaced by the orb of fire that dropped down on the drake from above, its body a living inferno. The Rift Hunter clapped his hands then, and a directed flash of light exploded right in front of the beast’s eyes. It was howling in pain, its battered back burning and bleeding as it swung its horned head blindly.

  As Savilar went to work again with his maces, his own eyes began to burn with a terrible light. When beams of energy fired out into the monster, Ethan could only shake his head in wonder. It seemed like what he’d told Selina about fighting with two Dusk ranks was going to prove true.

  The chaos of the heated battle was loud enough that Ethan didn’t hear the growls until Valanor called out. Selina had scrambled up onto the second stone platform, and her voice echoed around them a second after the shield knight’s. “Thunder drakes!”

  Ethan looked where the two were pointing, as a second and third of the powerful monsters came over the hill. Their furious roars shook the very stone beneath Ethan’s feet.