A shiver ran down my spine as I watched the myriads clad in white armor rushing in our direction. Some of them looked up toward the Vorrak alphas at the top of the mountain, while others stared directly at us.

  I couldn’t see perfectly from the distance Max and his group were, but I believed he was smiling at the front of his group, imagining I was being attacked while the alphas would descend on both groups.

  That would make things very hard for us—thankfully, it wasn’t the case.

  We all shared gulps of water calmly as the monsters above us remained halted. The only ones moving were the myriads coming our way. I actually decided to sit amidst my allies, making sure no one from Max’s group could see me behind Mary’s raised shield.

  Mila had understood what the others coming meant. The despair on her face from a few minutes ago had been replaced by sheer exhaustion. More people sat, and I wouldn’t blame them. We were soaking wet, and the prize was still a few miles away.

  The sun was still up, bathing us and drying our clothes.

  “They’re not coming down, are they?” Mila finally asked, sitting by my side and asking for a gulp from my canteen. I handed it to her and shook my head.

  “An uphill battle against those monsters doesn’t seem very fair,” she offered, and I shrugged.

  “I don’t think they’ll be empowered like the one we fought before. Just bigger and meaner. This whole lot of alphas, if in that berserker mode, would just annihilate us over time, and that’s not fun to watch,” I added, and she stared at the top of the mountain thoughtfully.

  “What is he thinking?” Elk asked, pointing at Max’s group at the far right of the line.

  “Probably ‘why aren’t they running from the other group?’ or something like that.” I took a deep breath.

  “They’ll realize very soon what’s going on,” Tress added, drinking as one of the healers in the group mended a few scratches on her face.

  “Doesn’t matter,” I finally said after watching the white monsters for a few seconds. “We still have a few hours until the seventh day comes, and we can actually make use of the city stone.”

  “What if we charged against him using our increased numbers? They wouldn’t expect the others catching up to help in the middle of the fight.” Mila’s words surprised me. I knew she wanted revenge against him, but I somewhat expected her to fear it when we got closer to him again.

  “We could probably kill them all, but we’d lose half of us, and maybe the Vorrak would decide that’s a good time to attack… If we were in their position and we were the ones on the right, then maybe we could flank them from all sides.”

  “In this position, we’re as open as they are.” I fidgeted with my thumb against my teeth, trying to bite off a piece of nail that had been bothering me for the last few minutes. It was hard to control the anxiety of the moment.

  “This isn’t a fight. It’s a race.” I looked up, meeting my companions’ eyes as they stared back at me. Then I turned toward the Arahaktar—Kira—the one with a speedster skill.

  “I can’t. I’ve been using it nonstop since yesterday to get here. It’s a miracle I’m still standing.”

  I searched the shop for a mana skill or anything that could help her recover her powers and rush toward the city stone with me, but nothing clicked.

  However, I found something interesting in the shop.

  Magical Trap - 1000 credits.

  Aligned with the user’s affinity, the trap will activate and lock an enemy in place.

  That could be useful in a fight, but I needed something to boost my mana so I could use more [Lightning Momentum] to reach the top—and something that would give me speed.

  I found things I could actually buy.

  Boots that looked like any military boots but had a fancy name.

  Hermes’ Provider - Common - +2 Speed - 1000 credits

  Then, I searched for something to boost my mana and spells—something that could be useful for the race ahead.

  I sorted by magic, and the system offered me staffs, wands, rings, and pieces of magical armor, but they were all too expensive for my credits.

  Everything I could afford was either common or uncommon, which made me value the rare items and skills we’d gathered over the past days even more.

  I finally found something worth my credits. It was expensive for its rarity, at least from my limited perspective, but it would still help.

  Stormbreaker’s Wand - Uncommon - +2 Magic, +1 Mana - 5000 credits

  Once the wand of a mighty warrior who traveled worlds, it lost its powers over time but still preserves a spark of its former glory.

  The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  I didn’t hesitate—I bought everything and equipped the new items immediately.

  Ding! Congratulations! Your soul core has been upgraded.

  Calculating…

  General Rank upgraded.

  Mana upgraded.

  Speed upgraded.

  Magic upgraded.

  New Stats:

  Subject: Zach Walker

  Race: Human (Earth)

  Class: Mage, Rogue

  Merged Class: Undergoing calculations

  General Rank: F2

  Constitution: F0

  Magic: F0

  Mana: F2

  Speed: F1

  Strength: F1

  I decided to test if the stats were temporary or not, but simply removing them from my inventory and equipping the previous wand, for example, kept my stats the same.

  I guessed I could only test it for real when I had better equipment than what I had now and tested it all properly.

  The trap in my inventory looked like a small circle, but it promised to lock an adversary in place, and I knew that could come in handy in the next few hours.

  “I advise you to spend your credits now as well. Max will realize soon enough that we’re not in danger and take the first step toward the city stone. Then we’ll rush after.”

  They nodded in agreement, and after a few minutes, Mary was clad in some kind of medieval armor that looked adapted to her body—like she was a damn superhero. The thing shone like simple metal, but it was still impressive.

  “Damn,” I let it slip as I looked at her. Suddenly, she felt taller and less fragile, her apocalypse-survivor look now just a memory. No more a girl in cargo pants and military boots, but a real warrior. “How much was that?”

  “Everything. But Elk will buy me food, right?” She elbowed the Arahaktar, who grimaced.

  “What are the stats of this thing?” he protested, massaging his ribs. “I’ll buy you nothing. You’ve been nothing but a nuisance these last few days. You’d better kill some of those wolf creatures, or you’ll starve.”

  He grew more aggressive with each word, but by the end of his speech, he handed her a piece of jerky.

  She bowed like a true knight and thanked him.

  After a while, Elk was the one in new clothes—surprisingly human ones. He now had armor very similar to mine covering his chest, a black shirt that covered his whole body, and trousers with plates over his thighs.

  In his hand, he held a new staff—completely black and rectangular. The thing looked more like a piece of granite than a wooden staff.

  “What does it do?” I asked.

  “Amplifies fire magic and can be used as a weapon more consistently. It actually has a Strength stat.” He waved the staff in his hands, feeling its weight and swinging it like a baseball player testing a new bat.

  “Since when are you doing close-quarter combat?” I asked, and he shrugged.

  “He proved himself more than capable in the forest. I saw him kill two Arahaktar, double his weight,” Tress added, a sidelong glance on her face, measuring Elk’s reaction.

  The Arahaktar only shrugged.

  “Did it feel good?” Kira asked from behind. “I can’t imagine what it was like for you in Hell, but I’m not fond of the warrior caste, and I definitely enjoyed killing the one from before.”

  She let the words slip like a river, the moment clearly cathartic.

  “I don’t want to sound like them, but I guess I need to do it more before I decide how I feel about it. It’s not bad, though.” Elk frowned and looked down at me. “Am I wrong for feeling that?”

  “No,” I replied promptly, “and don’t ask yourself that again. When the moment comes, you’ll strike.”

  “Will you do it?” Mila asked, hope in her raspy voice, her eyes locked on Max, who had stopped at the edge of the slope—one leg on the road, his body turned toward us. He seemed nervous.

  “If I get the chance, he won’t breathe another day. I understand this is a game and only one person will win in the end, but they made sure to say we could get powerful things for ourselves, help our planets, or maybe both. If that’s a choice for him, he’ll always choose himself.”

  “And he deserves to die because of that?” Tress asked, analyzing me.

  “Not just because of that—because he tried to kill me, because he wanted me to kill Elk, because he stabbed you, tricked me, and threatened Mila. Should I keep going?” I raised an eyebrow, surprised by her question.

  “I just wanted to make sure your heart was in the right place. It’s one of our obligations to the faceless—never strike if your mind isn’t aligned with your heart,” she explained.

  She didn’t seem to have bought anything for herself, which made me curious.

  “His death will be good for everyone—except him. I can live with that.” I got up, wiping my clothes and looking toward the approaching myriads.

  They were half a mile away, the elder we had met and his ginger-haired son at the front. They waved at us—I assumed they were smiling, but I couldn’t be sure.

  Any moment now, I thought, looking toward Max.

  “We need to make sure I reach the top before him. That’s our mission. Keep yourselves alive and get me to the top. Once I reach the city stone, everyone will be safe. Let them know the plan, Elk and Mary. Tress—”

  “I won’t leave your side.” She was almost demanding it, but that was exactly what I’d ask of her.

  “Keep an eye on them. They probably have a trump card. If you get a clean shot, kill the bastard on the spot. Can you do it?”

  She nodded in agreement, and I gazed toward Max. He was looking up, probably having a similar conversation with the dark-skinned man beside him.

  Then, he ran up the hill, and we followed our own path upward. The monsters descended the slope’s steps to intercept us, while another wave replaced those at the top.

  If you have something to offer me, now would be a good time. I spoke to Lyrathos, hoping they’d reply. I had never prayed before, but the gods weren’t the kind to answer pleadings.

  They answered actions—violent ones.

  As I ran, I couldn’t stop glancing toward Max as he pressed forward, his eyes meeting mine now and then.

  Words are meaningless. Lyrathos’s male voice echoed inside my mind, seeming irritated to have to address a human.

  Act upon it. Shed the blood of the unjust and make the world better, the loving woman whispered in my ear.

  Strip yourself of doubt, he commanded.

  Kill, she pleaded.