King stepped deeper into the territory. The ash-colored trees gave way to creepers and ruins. Vines covered every stone surface. Wild grasses reached his knees.

The path sloped downward, carved into the earth by centuries of rainfall.

Maya clung to his back, taking occasional peeps at the path before them.

King had barely walked deep into the territory when he heard it, a growl from fifty meters away.

It sounded maddened, guttural, and familiar.

He turned toward the sound.

A demi-human clung to a collapsed wall. The creature looked the size of a full-grown man but hung like a wild beast. Its skin was gray and cracked like dried clay. Its fingers dug into the stone, leaving gouge marks. It stared at king, with eyes glowing red.

The berserked state.

King had fought these creatures during the First Woe. They had been dangerous then. Fast, strong and most annoyingly, relentless. But king wasn’t the same man he was during the first woe.

This one lunged.

King dodged to the left. The demi-human’s claws passed within a centimeter of his ribs. The creature stumbled past him and crashed into a tree trunk.

King raised his right hand. Blue energy coursed through his forearm, extending to form a construct blade from his palm.

The demi-human turned and charged again.

King sidestepped and swung the blade in a single motion. The construct edge passed through the creature’s neck. The demi-human’s body took three more steps before collapsing with a soft THUD. Its head rolled into the grass.

[NPC ELIMINATED: BERSERKED DEMI-HUMAN]

[PRUNING POINTS REWARDED: 5]

King dismissed the blade. He turned in a slow circle, scanning for another target. One more low-tier NPC. Five more points. That was all he needed.

His eyes darted around the surrounding, searching for any possible threat.

And his eyes spotted a shift. He focused his gaze and realized there was someone on top of a ruined wall. The man crouched behind a curtain of creepers. The top of his head was visible through the plant vines. Watching.

PooFF!

King moved before the man could blink.

His Speed carried him across the distance in a blur. He landed on the wall behind the scout, Maya still pressed against his back. The scout spun around. His mouth opened.

King saw the a device in the man’s hand. A small crystal disc, it flickered with a rhythm light.

A communication device? 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

King snatched the device from the scout’s fingers and crushed it in his grip. The crystal shattered into fragments that fell between the stones.

He immediately opened his map on the side of his view.

Red dots converged from three directions. The man had called for reinforcement, bounty hunters?.

King looked at the scout. The man’s face had gone pale. His hands trembling in fear.

"You humans never listen," King said in utter disgust.

The scout opened his mouth to speak.

King drove his fist into the man’s jaw. The scout’s eyes rolled back. His body went limp and collapsed onto the wall.

King leaped off the ruined structure. He landed on the grass below and ran.

Maya did not make a sound, she remained fixed on his back with a firm grip.

King sprinted, swerving between the ruins. His boots pounded against the earth. The red dots on his map grew closer. He needed cover, distance. But then...

FFFFFFFFFFFFF

A bullet whistled past his ear.

King veered right.

BANG!

The bullet struck a tree trunk and embedded itself in the bark.

He stopped, turned around and looked up.

A man stood on a ruined building thirty meters away. The building had once been a tower. Now only half the structure remained.

The man balanced on the broken edge, holding a machine gun against his shoulder. His grin stretched across his face like a wound.

"Die!" the man screamed.

WHIIINNNNNNN

The machine gun roared.

KRA-KATAKATAKATA

King dropped low and sprinted in a continous zigzag pattern. Bullets chewed the earth behind him.

Crack Crack Crack Crack Crack

They tore through grass and stone and tree bark. One clipped a rock near King’s shoulder. Another passed through his sleeve.

Maya pressed her face against King’s back, closing her eyes tight.

The machine round lasted for a few minutes before it clocked empty.

Tck Tck.

The man, overwhelmed by the chase had forgotten to check the bullets.

King straightened with a smile.

But just when he was about to close the distance.

CRASH!

A figure burst through a nearby building, skidding to a stop in front of him.

The man stood seven feet tall. Covered in armor from helm to boot. Black steel plates overlapped at every joint. A towering shield rested on his left arm and a battle axe hung from his right hand.

Clearly, he was a tank.

The man charged forward bringing the axe with him.

King twisted away from the axe swing. The blade passed through empty air and embedded itself in a stone pillar. The tank yanked the weapon free and swung again.

King leaped backward.

Krak-KooM

Three lightning bolts fired from a nearby rooftop aimed to catch him mid-leap.

A Construct Dome manifested. The multilayered barriers materialized around him and Maya a heartbeat before the lightning struck. The bolts slammed into the dome and dissipated across its surface.

King landed on firm ground, his eyes scanning around for the source.

He a mage, covered in hood. The man’s hands crackled with electricity. His face was hidden in shadow.

But giving king no time to thought, the tank charged again, swinging the axe downward.

King back stepped. Watching as the axe carved a trench in the earth.

The mage released another volley of lightning as a quick follow up. The attack was timed so perfectly that it hit before his was firm on the ground.

Again, king could not evade. His momentum carried him into the path of the bolts. Acting with little reaction time, he quickly raised a construct shield.

The lightning struck the shield. Leaving a slight crack, but the defense held firm.

Then...

Tink Tink Tink

Three small objects rolled to King’s feet.

He looked down.

Grenades. And they were already ticking.

"!!!" King’s eyes widened.

PAFFFFFF

The grenades exploded.

The blast was not a violent explosion. Instead, a thick gas erupted from each sphere and expanded outward in a dense cloud. The gas filled the environment around king. Settling densely around him. King held his breath, but it was too late.

His vision hazed at the edges. The world softened. Colors bled together, and firm shapes lost their definition.

King staggered. Trying to grab hold of Maya but his grip faltered.

He caught himself on a fallen pillar and forced his eyes to focus.

Three players. A Tank, a Mage and a Ranger.

This was a specialized team, and king had underestimated them.

The tank walked through the gas cloud. The man’s armor protected him. His axe dragged along the ground, carving a furrow in the earth.

The mage descended from the rooftop approaching King from the left flank.

The gunman jumped down from the ruined tower. He had discarded the empty machine gun and now drew fresh grenades from his hip pouch. His grin had not faded.

King blinked. The gas burned his eyes. His thoughts moved slower than they should.

The tank raised his axe. "Night, Night, number One."