I was still surprised the gods had spoken to me.

  My conscious mind didn’t doubt it. I knew it had to be done.

  Were they talking about the cold sinking in my stomach when I thought about it? I hadn’t felt it when I killed the two myriads a week ago.

  Why would I feel it now? Because he was human?

  Because I was planning to do it?

  The answer came naturally, the same way my wand appeared in my left hand and my dagger in my right.

  My left arm actually kicked back as the lightning bolt shot out, hitting one of the alphas running down the hill right in the chest, sending the creature rolling down toward me.

  Lyratho’s dagger found its home in the monster’s fur, sinking easily with its sharp edge and tearing through as I dragged it upward, serrating its insides.

  The monster thrashed and died, and I earned credits for its death. And that didn’t make me feel anything. There were more—way more—to deal with before I could feel anything other than determination.

  With that in mind, we pressed forward. I sensed everyone’s steps climbing the hill but couldn’t look to the side or down.

  I knew Tress was on my right and Mary and Elk were on my left.

  I kept releasing lightning bolts, dropping as many monsters as I could, but I couldn’t keep it up forever. Soon, I’d start to feel depleted, and my plan to use [Lightning Momentum] to reach the city stone wouldn’t work.

  The monsters kept descending in what seemed like a never-ending wave. I wanted to jump over them and head straight for the city stone, but without knowing if more were waiting at the top, I couldn’t risk it.

  I felt confident enough to fight one of them with my new stats and equipment—maybe two if I was smart enough—but more than that, I’d end up surrounded.

  It was a race to the top, but one with obstacles, not one to be won with sheer speed.

  The show seemed to be aware of that. Ever since we started our charge, the number of viewers skyrocketed.

  The monsters came at us in waves we could actually manage, but that would slow our progress. I could almost see the strings being pulled, the show producers milking as much action as they could from the moment.

  Knowing that, I kept one eye on Max and moved up as fast as I could, stopping only to fight.

  Tress finished off one of the fallen creatures, and I stored my wand. They’d keep coming as long as the system wanted, so there was no reason to deplete my mana.

  “Gather up, let’s do the spiral formation.”

  I looked to the side and watched as Mary pushed forward and to the left, her shield high as she shoved one monster aside, allowing Elk to step in and strike with his heavy new staff.

  The monster took about five strikes before its skull shattered and its brain hit the ground.

  Mary was already a few steps ahead, shoving another Vorrak while she and I fought two more on the side. We were clearing the way for the others, keeping close so they could fight too. Looking to the side, we were clearly gaining ground over Max with our strategy.

  The Vorrak tried to overpower Mary, but her shield and new armor gave her enough constitution to dig her feet into the steep slope, refusing to lose ground.

  We just needed to keep pushing forward.

  It felt like a video game, where you defeat a boss, and after a while, it turns into just another mob. These Vorraks were clearly nerfed, but they were still dangerous. Their long arms and sharp nails were the biggest problem—we had to read their moves and end them quickly, or they’d eventually reach out and rip off our heads or necks.

  Knowing that, I decided to test something.

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  I threw a dagger toward the skull of one of the Vorraks as another rushed down at me on all fours. I didn’t dismiss the blade after throwing it. Instead, I equipped the basic one from my inventory and hurled it at the second creature.

  It struck the Vorrak middle of its eyes, making it slump and fall, the blade sinking deeper. I dismissed both daggers, and they reappeared in my inventory.

  “That’s interesting,” I muttered between breaths. I could juggle the two daggers—throw one to injure an enemy and immediately keep fighting with the other, or even switch between them and my wand. The possibilities started to expand, but the monsters didn’t give me much room to think.

  The show didn’t seem to like our strategy. More monsters started pouring from the top of the mountain—only on our side. We could handle it, but not everyone in the line could.

  For the first time, I looked back and left, seeing that the bulk of our fighters were a few steps behind, struggling against the wave of monsters.

  Our strategy worked for the four of us, but it put the others in danger by funneling more monsters to the left.

  “Step back. We need to keep in line, or we’ll be surrounded—or they’ll be slaughtered,” I told Mary, close to her ear.

  She nodded, giving in to the momentum and making the Vorrak fall with its head between her legs. She slammed her shield down with force, beheading the creature in one go.

  “This shit is overpowered,” I muttered, looking at the rest of the monsters on the ground. “Are you sure this is a beginner weapon?”

  She shrugged, walking back without taking her eyes off the top.

  I could only imagine she was smiling.

  “Elk, burn the lines at the back. Can you do it?” I asked.

  The Arahaktar nodded.

  I rushed to help Mila and her people, who were closest to my position, while watching Elk create the biggest wall of flames I had ever seen.

  At least two rows of monsters in the back burst into flames, irradiating it to those nearby, lighting up the whole battlefield.

  The fact that the sun was starting to set and the day would soon be over made it look almost beautiful, like a Renaissance painting depicting hell on fire.

  The rows of burning monsters left us enough space to fight the ones still struggling.

  I threw a dagger at a monster attacking Mila, hitting it in the ribcage and giving her space to continue her movement. She made a huge gash across the monster’s chest and nodded as if to say thanks, her forehead drenched with sweat.

  I looked down the slope and saw at least two dozen Vorraks dead, and only three of our people—one human and two Myriads in white armor—had fallen.

  We’d only climbed a quarter of the slope. If it kept like this, we’d lose a lot more people in between.

  Slowly, the lines began to breathe as they pushed forward.

  Looking toward Max, I saw they were struggling with the same problem. He and his ally were cutting through the waves with a strange magic.

  Wide red arcs sliced through the monsters, creating gaps in their lines, which the duo slowly began to occupy. They kept close to their left while their friends struggled.

  The dark-skinned man pulled Max violently by the back of his shirt, and I watched as they moved back to help the others.

  I could swear I heard the other man shouting at Max that he wouldn’t die surrounded, not before reaching the top.

  “You better keep your eyes open, friend. He’ll come for you next,” I muttered as our formation tightened.

  The wave slowed with our aligned push, but they were still coming.

  “Tress! Zach!”

  A familiar voice reached us. The older elf ran from behind the lines, rushing to get to us.

  “Lucari!” Tress shouted, and I realized I’d never asked the Myriad’s name.

  I pushed against two Vorraks with Mary and Elk, making space for them to talk. The man had urgency in his voice.

  “We’ll never reach the top this way,” he said between breaths. “Remember the story lessons? We need the cube formation to go uphill. They’ll never stop—only when we reach the top. That’s my theory.”

  He spoke as fast as he could, and even without fully understanding it, the idea made sense. A square-shaped formation to climb the hill. We could put warriors in the front to defend, like Mary, while the others handled the Vorraks trying to surround us. It was a tight strategy that could go wrong, but it gave us a good chance to close the distance.

  “We’d need four more shield bearers. We only have Mary,” Tress argued as Elk and I dealt with a new monster. They didn’t stop coming, and most people near me were panting like marathoners.

  “We have them. Can I call it?” Lucari asked, looking toward me.

  I nodded.

  The older man started giving orders, and we followed.

  After a few minutes of trying to understand it while fighting off the monsters, we managed to form five lines with four or three people in each. I was in the second line, supporting the frontliners. Elk and Tress were by my side, taking advantage of her healing.

  Slowly but surely, we made progress. The waves came in bigger numbers, but not enough to break our formation. The monsters on the sides were quickly overwhelmed, while the bulk of them focused on breaking through the first line of shields.

  I glanced over my shoulder and realized we were halfway up—and we hadn’t lost anyone since forming the lines.

  This will work, I thought, looking toward the other group on the right. They kept a straight line, fighting. But Max wasn’t at the front anymore. He’d actually moved a few lines back with his ally and a woman.

  He was pointing toward us.

  She raised her staff to the sky, and the world seemed to explode above our heads—a sea of flames descending toward us.