As we stared at the monster, our eyes struggled to make sense of it. We saw that the space where its body should be seemed ed, distorted, as if the world itself was rejeg its presence.

  Then the ground trembled, a heavy, rhythmic pulse that sent shivers through my legs. The monster lurched toward us.

  Fast.

  It tore through the trees in its path with brute force, splinters flying like shrapnel as erunks snapped and crumbled us charge. This wasn’t magic or some ented tool carving its way forward—just pure, uing strength.

  Katheried first, stepping forward with surprising graeet the almost-invisible foe. Her pained cry soon jois growl, but the beast’s roar shook the air and the impact of the air itself seaggering back.

  I barely had time to react before she crashed into me. Her warmth might have been a fort in another moment, but now it was nothing more than a grim reminder of the danger we were in. She gritted her teeth and, with my support, sprang fain, her resolve determined. Just like streams.

  Mana surged around us like a storm as Tramar and I both began drawing runes in the air.

  “Fire floor!” Tramar’s voice rang out just as his spell pleted. Fmes erupted beh the monster, spreading outward in a circle of seari. The ground hissed and cracked uhe intense fire, but the monster barely flihe fmes licked at its distorted form, the air shimmering around it strahe heat seemed to steady the ed spastead of intensifying it.

  Now it was my turn.

  I raised my hands, the movements shaky as I started f the runes without the system’s help. Mana swirled chaotically arouhid rigid, resisting my trol like a wild beast. Easy now, Charlie. Focus.

  I was on the sixth rune when I felt it—a subtle vibration in the mana surrounding us. Tramar was casting again. Normally, I wouldn’t have noticed it, but now, with every fiber of my being focused, the surge of his magic pulled at mine, destabilizing the fragile bance I was holding.

  The feedback forced me to juggle mana across three ru once, a task so delicate my breathing turned shallow, and beads of sweat formed on my brow. My fingers cramped, sharp pains shooting through them. It reminded me of the time a three-hundred-pound Italian guy had sat on my hand during a bet. That pain was still seared into my memory.

  No, focus! Stay with it. ime, I’ll let the system help. Promise.

  With a st surge of effort, I locked the runes into pce; the mana spiraling inwards.

  “Princess’ grace!” I shouted, releasing the spell.

  The runes glowed brilliantly, mana bursting outward in a wave of radiant energy.

  [Pyer Katherine’s strength increased by 15!][Pyer Tramar68 intelligencreased by 15!]Yes!” I bounced up and pumped my fist in the air, beaming with joy. Victory was in sight—until I turned and saw Katherine. Bloodied and battered, three deep wounds on her shoulder gushed crimson, p like a broken bottle tipped upside down.

  “Shatt! Sorry, Kit!” Panic surged through me as I grabbed an agility potion from my belt. The gss ked against my shaking hands as I dow in one go.

  [You have used the Agility Potion][Agility increased by 50]Before I could act, Katheri out a scream that sent chills down my spine. “Chyort!” she roared as an invisible ssh ripped across her thigh. The attack came out of nowhere, and she stumbled to the side, swinging her sword wildly into the empty air.

  pared to my ultimate skill, healing runes were a breeze—sed nature by now. My fingers dahrough the air, leaving shimmering trails as the mana flowed effortlessly.

  [Perfect Runecraft! Healing x2 - 37HP]The soft, golden glow of my healing spell desded on Katherine, ing her in its embrace. The light seeped into her wounds, greedily ed by her battered body. Thankfully, the bleeding slowed, her strength visibly returning, and though irely healed, she fshed a fierce grin toward where she thought the enemy was lurking.

  “Die!” she shouted, sshing again—only to carve through empty air.

  Beside me, the temperature spiked. “Fireball!” Tramar yelled, a massive ball of fme f at his fiips. With a quick flick of his wrist, it sailed toward the invisible threat.

  The fire struething. The sound of sizzling flesh filled the air, and the putrid stench of burni hit me like a punch to the gut. My stomach turned, bile rising in my throat.

  The smell was too familiar, triggering memories I’d rather fet. My heart sank. A Bl.

  “Katherine, retreat!” I screamed, my voice crag with panic. “We ’t win!”

  My mind raced bay imperial training. One lesson stood out like a gring neon sign: Never engage a Bl without being fully prepared. The memory to take down a level fifty Bl at level one hundred resurfaced—a humiliating minute-long fight that ended in my death.

  Without exploits, these things were practically invincible.

  Katheriumbled again as another invisible attack tore through her armor, ripping into her back. Blood poured freely from the fresh wound, and she spun around defensively, her breathing ragged.

  “Wut? Show yarself!” she roared, her voice filled with both pain and fury.

  “Retreat! Now!” I yelled again, desperation creeping into my tone.

  Tramar had already jured another fireball, but his aim faltered uhe pressure. The spell whizzed past Katherine, setting nearby trees abze instead of hitting its target. Fmes crackled in the distahe fire casting shadows against the foliage.

  As Katherine fought to hold her ground, her strength waning, I khe burden of keeping her alive fell squarely on my shoulders. This is bad. Really bad.

  [Perfect Runecraft! Healing x2 - 37HP]“Kit, you’re at level ten, right?” I asked, still thrashing through bushes, desperately trying to keep pace while retreating. My voice barely carried over the rustling leaves and the distant crackle of fmes.

  My question caught her off guard, her sword hand freezing mid-swing. Not like it would’ve hit anything anyway—the Bl had vanished again.

  “Yea, why?” she huffed, her breathing bored as blood dripped from another wound.

  “I knorestige css that’s perfect for you,” I said quickly, the words spilling out as my mind raced. “I summon an angel and unlock it, but we o keep the Bl off us for at least five seds…” My voice trailed off as another ssh found Katherine, f a painful moan from her lips.

  “Which is impossible,” I muttered under my breath.

  “I have fire sacrifice,” Tramar cut in, a grin spreading across his face as we reached a rocky clearing. The forest thinned here, the open terrain allowing the Bl to maneuver more freely. Not good.

  Katheriayed ahead, still backpedaling, her shield up and her movements growing sluggish. The relentless assault of the invisible enemy was taking its toll.

  “Are you sure?” I asked Tramar, biting my lip as I caught anlimpse of Katherine wing from yet another urike. Watg her take this kind of beating wasn’t just painful—it was infuriating. Oream, it was different. There was always a sense of safety, even in failure. But now? Now it was real.

  “What’s one small sacrifice for a new friendship with you two?” Tramar’s voice carried a teasing edge, but his tone was steady. My puzzled expression must have been obvious, because he quickly added, “You want to call an angel, right? She’s a ranker. Besides, I only lose an hour of pytime if this fails.”

  “I’ll make it up to you,” I said, my voice firm, carrying a rare note of determination. It wasn’t every day someone offered to take a fall for me. Actually, it was the first time.

  “Kit!” I shouted, my voice cutting through the chaos. “Stay there! We’ll fall back a hundred feet, and then he’ll s!”

  Tramar’s mouth opened slightly, his eyes shimmering with a mix of surprise and curiosity. “How do you know?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

  “No time! Now!” My scream jolted him into a.

  With a single swift motion, he created a small, intricate rune—so fast it was as if he’d rehearsed it a thousand times. As the ruivated, it greedily devoured an enormous amount of mana, leaving me momentarily uo cast anything. It felt almost like being hit with a silence spell; the sudden disruption was disorienting.

  From the glowing rune, a line of fire shot forward, eg with Katherine.

  In an instant, the world seemed to blur, and they sed pces. Katherine appeared beside me, her expression a mix of fusion and relief, while Tramar took her p the front lines, fag the invisible terror head-on.

  “I call the God of War, acc to Agreemey-Four!” I yelled to no one in particur, my voice rising.

  A fireball ed Tramar, and an explosion followed, clearing at least fiftee of the battlefield. The sudden burst of fmes faintly revealed the Bl’s monstrous form, its ed outline flickering in the light. But it wasn’t enough to cause serious harm.

  At any other time, I would’ve ughed at the utterly baffled expression on Katherine’s face, but there was no time for that now. The Bl screeched, a sound that seemed to pierce the very air, its burning fur releasing a putrid, oily stench that cwed at my nostrils.

  The breeze from its cry brushed against my skin, sending an involuntary shiver down my spiill, there was no answer from the heavens.

  “You called, I answered,” came a voice behind me, soft and melodic, with an edge of authority that atention.

  I turned ao one knee, bowing my head with haste. “My friend Katherine seeks the path of the Glory Seeker,” I said, my words tumbling out. “Please, erect a holy barrier around us during her sideration.”

  The Bl, still engulfed in fmes and now visible, let out another ear-splitting scream and barreled toward us. Its every step shook the ground, and time felt like it was slipping away.

  “You are a firmed hero,” the voice responded, calm and unhurried. “Do you guaraherine’s character?”

  “I—I do!” I stammered, panic edging my voice. “Please—fast!”

  “Very well.”

  As soon as the words left her lips, the surrounding groued with a hundred glowing ruheir ethereal light bathed the area in a warm glow, and with a fsh, a red barrier shimmered ience, encirg us pletely.

  The sight brought back a rush of memories. Back when I was exploiting army quests, my squad had stumbled upon a random acolyte. Simple enough, right? Wrong. We had no idea he was uhe God of War’s prote until we found ourselves helpless against one of these very barriers. Unbreakable. No on, no spell, no exploit could bring it down.

  I smirked as I saw the Bl pawing uselessly at the barrier’s edge. The beast tried to sm against it with brute force, but the glowing wall didn’t even flicker. Tough luck, blob.

  “Wut? Charlie?” Katherine dove away from the barrier, her wide eyes dartiween me and the angel. “Wat’s a Glory Seeker?”

  The aepped forward, and I couldn’t help but stare. She was stunning—a young woman heavy, intricately crafted armor. The silver-red pting gleamed with divine energy, and the enormous sword strapped to her back radiated power.

  Her bck, curly hair spilled out from beh her helmet in defiant strands, framing almond-shaped eyes as dark as a starless sky. Her skin, a deep brown, reflected the light of the runes, giving her an otherworldly glow.

  Definitely a southerner, I thought. Before her assion, she was likely born and raised there—one of the rare humans from the region. Traders aside, southerners werely known for their hospitality to outsiders. Most of my attempts to exploit their quirks had failed miserably.

  “Present your case,” the angel said, her voice soothi firm. No wohe God of War chose her—his very obvious i iiful women made this choisurprising. Still, she’s perfect for this role.

  “Katherine here has reached a pivotal point in her life,” I begauring toward my friend, who still looked half-fused, half-awestruck. “She ow decide her future. I nominate her as one of the eight Glory Seekers—specifically, Juggernaut.”