-/-)) Travis ((-\-

They'd been close.

Close enough that one of the carcasses hadn't quite yet decayed. Close enough that rain hadn't fully washed away the remains of a campfire. The barbarian had spent time in that place, likely taking time to whittle down the massive number of beasts that were found in the valley. It was the only instance where they'd caught wind of him since the incident at the first camp, and it only happened because a scout had spotted a massive creature floating high in the air. By the time the scouts reached the valley, everything was over and the man was gone - likely off to kill the next high-level beast. Travis could, at least, appreciate the dedication required to grind down such large numbers, then immediately set off for the next target.

He could've used more of that motivation in his own soldiers.

His punitive force, meant to find and kill the barbarian, hadn't found success in luring the man out - which made sense if he was solely focused on beast fights. Instead, the continuous and intentional 'failed' attacks left his forces lethargic and drained. Between low morale, a clue to the barbarian's location, and satisfactory progress with his favorite prisoner, Travis had been given another opportunity. He didn't let it go to waste.

Belar forces returned to their bases, and he ensured the intended prisoner and a few others escaped amidst all the change and bustle. He'd planted the seeds of an idea deep within the prisoners and his own men that they wouldn't be able to pursue any escapees because of their urgent need to stock up on supplies and find a greater threat. The story grew so well, the prisoners themselves were convinced they wouldn't be followed. The scouts Travis left to trail the rogue locals back to their camp confirmed to him that they'd said it practically word for word. The escapees only had minor suspicion thrown their way once they reunited with their fellow locals. Two days of isolation and questioning, then they were let back into the fold.

He could vividly recall the moment the man broke. It was just one day in a long line of conversations nudged just enough to always come out in his favor. Travis had shown some actual data of refugee and support camps Belar created on Vuxarina as part of the takeover. The company always kept a few hundred real charity camps running to lend legitimacy to their actions - and it had finally been time to show them. The normal disbelief was thin, and it tore under the weight of videos showing his people receiving the humane and courteous treatment. He broke down in tears, then cursed the prince. He cursed all the royals, and the late king, and himself.

And just like that, Travis had one more potential route towards ending the barbarian.

One more set of chances to succeed.

He stopped daydreaming of his own success, and put his attention back towards the recordings. Travis would've loved to see the valley and the camp in person, but travel times made that unrealistic. He needed to stay in a more central location, ready to respond to whatever clues and trails his men uncovered. Clues were plentiful. The man had left a cheap bed and a once-ornate chair to rot side by side in one section of the valley, which meant he either planned his campsites poorly, or that he didn't care much about the price of his possessions. A wreck from a crashed bone glider confirmed the man didn't have flight skills, which meant they'd be able to track him from the ground. The very obvious remnants of a crash through one of the nearby plants meant he wasn't equipped to handle high falls well. Damage to the bodies of the creatures revealed a fighting style that had an interesting mix between high force, high mass impacts, and something else that peppered things with smaller wounds. He came up with different strategies that might be effective, to pass the time until he could finally put the man down.

While he waited, his F-grade officers were pursuing another path to locating their target. With the barbarian going after beast lords, and not Belar settlements, his men were truly free to roam and handle their own beast related questline. By knocking out all of the lower-leveled questlines, they'd eventually catch up to the barbarian and make it to the beast lords themselves.

As soon as that happened, each beast lord marker would either lead them to the barbarian - or to the place where he would appear.

Travis grinned. No matter how far he physically might have been from his target, the man was nearly in his grasp.

His face flattened as blue-grey clouds rolled over the sky.

+ Reid +

Difficulty Adjustment - Increase In Process

ERROR: Questline Difficulty Cannot Exceed Tutorial Maximum

ERROR: Theoretical Difficulty Limit Reached

Recalculating Bounds... please wait...

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WARNING! Exceeding theoretical limit may result in difficulty cascade!

NOTICE: Difficulty Adjustment Cancelled for Adverse Impact.

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ERROR: Current Action Found to be in Violation of Core Tenet IV - Alpha. NOTICE: Override in effect. WARNING! System Bounds Theoretical Limit Exceeded.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. WARNING! Unable to Generate Valid Warnings.

NOTICE! DIFFICULTY INCREASE COMMENCING.

-

Reid's eyes were wide as he watched his notifications fly by. Familiar blue-grey clouds overtook the sky, and flashes of light and sound followed. Reid fell to his knees and used a finger in the dirt to approximate the distance and direction of each. He was stunned and confused by what had just led up to this, but the difficulty increase itself was a known factor. He'd had plenty of time to think about what he could've accomplished in the moment of those flashing lights, and even though it took him a moment, Reid capitalized on the opportunity.

As he expected, the first 4 flashes were generally the same intensity - and the last was different by a wide margin. To the south, blinding light flared and a shockwave tore through the tutorial space. Creatures erupted in screeching cries, and filled his ringing ears with their ballad of fear.

Reid only felt a warm heat in his gut.

He'd been getting stronger. Strong enough that the final beast lord might not have been much of a challenge if it stayed at the level it was meant to be.

Now, he had a true trial ahead of him. A fight worth every bit of strength he could muster.

The raindrop slamming into the back of his hand brought Reid out of his daydream.

Ever since his rise to F grade, Reid had been drinking more water the same way he'd been eating more meat. The resource just wasn't enough to satiate him like it had before. But this water, from these clouds, was more.

Reid lifted an open mouth to the sky, then brought everything from storage that could potentially hold water as drops became a shower, and the shower became a downpour. More substantial water pelted the trees around him and plunged itself into the dirt. It mixed into streams and lakes, cascaded down rocks, and flowed throughout the space. Reid stripped himself bare and scrubbed himself, then his armor. Bits of grime came away with the pressure and intensity of the liquid. Reid reveled in the moment, and the minutes as the rain continued. He kept himself naked until the storm subsided, and the blue-grey clouds receded into nothingness.

Reid donned his armor and stored his raincatching buckets while grinning from ear to ear. That rainstorm had been a treat.

His smile stayed plastered on as a notification flashed.

-

Progress Point Reward Dispersed!

Questline Stage Unlocked: The Beast Lords - (Stage 6 of 10) NOTICE: You are the only faction that can currently access this questline.

You taught the branching terror how to fear. Now that you have struck down all lower beast lords, a higher challenge awaits. Face down the upper lords, if you dare. Your enemies and the tutorial around you have been strengthened. Victory will only come from audacious courage and exceptional resolve.

Stage 6: Defeat the Stalking Trinity. (Level 48). Secret Challenge: Complete Stage 6 in less than 115 days. (114d 23h 59m Remaining) Secret Challenge: Complete Stage 6 without any forces succumbing to surprise attacks Secret Challenge: Complete Stage 6 with 50% losses or less

-

The implications were clear. Reid was going to have a more intense fight ahead of him, and the secret challenges themselves were seemingly adjusted for the expected new level of effort that normal individuals might need to complete them. To him, it was just a reason to put in more work on himself, with his stats, and with other weaknesses he was starting to find in himself.

"Hey Nyx."

"Reid, you do realize you don't have to wait for me to respond like this before you ask me for my help, right? You're about to respond with something like 'teach me how to not get mind whispered', or 'help me max out my stats', or 'it's power time'. But you can just say Hey, Nyx - and then ask for what you need. I promise I won't be put off by it. Unless you're trying to sound cool for the two of us that can hear your internally projected thoughts. If that's the case, go ahead and tell me it's time to hit maximum power."

Reid choked on his own spit, and lied.

"I'm... uh, not trying to sound cool... but I do want to do some mental resistance work, and some stat work."

All was quiet. Rain dripped off of leaves and made muted plopping noises as it hit the already-wet ground.

"Reid?"

"...Yeah?"

"Let's make your mind into a fortress."

She managed to hold her composure for a strong two seconds before she snorted, and they both let themselves fall into laughter.

)+\( Hugo )/+(

He'd been running so long, Hugo wasn't sure what stability actually felt like. Even now, with another set of temporary shelters made through skills and effort, he didn't feel any sense of comfort.

Belar had hounded his people for weeks on end, happy and willing to engage them just hard enough to force a full retreat, and then they backed off. Each time, Hugo understood - but there was little he and his people could do against them. The constant running and the waiting for the next attack left precious little time for him and his people to level themselves and grow. As it was, the only reason they were able to hold off any of the Belar troops was because of Serroc's bone crafted items, and the heavy lean into training they'd taken in those magical days between the man's entry into the tutorial and the start of Belar's chase.

Hugo had already figured out why Belar pulled off of them. It was a simple deduction - if your tactics didn't find your quarry, it was time to change tactics. Belar hadn't been after them - letting Hugo and his people escape repeatedly was proof of that. They were after Serroc, and when hounding Hugo hadn't lured him out, they chose a different route. The company hadn't given up on using Hugo, of course. The prisoners that had 'somehow' escaped and made it back to them all seemed to be fine, on the surface.

They were questioned, and released. Because anything different would've let on to the truth, and brought back the attention of Belar and its goons. Hugo was fine with the current scenario. Belar didn't attack, which meant his people could put more focus back on training, leveling, and living. Allowing a bit of tumult into his group was a small price to pay when the result was children that didn't have to wait for the next set of bombs. It was nothing compared to the reality that if he didn't turn a blind eye, his people would be put to blade and bullet the same way he'd seen so many fall already.

Hugo had tried to resist, as long as he could. He'd put himself away from the combat lines in an attempt to dissuade himself from the skill.

He'd first used it when a burgundy-armored guard was about to strike down Tarxiama, a new mother. Her son was so small, he'd barely started moving his arms. And Hugo saw her, and the guard, and his weapon, and something within him snapped free.

Hugo's magic had flared. Not by much, and not powerfully. It was in such a small and unpracticed state that it couldn't do anything truly impactful - but it had done enough. The man was caught off guard and distracted just long enough for Tarxiama to plunge her spear into his eye.

A life was saved, and the door to the possibility of Hugo's magic was forever open.

There were ways to practice, small at first, then growing as time progressed. Hugo became a major reason why their forces were netting more kills in every exchange with Belar's guards. He took more private moments to sit and sense, and that's how he knew.

When the strong rain came, Hugo knew what it meant, and what it did. He stood out in the downpour as it bruised his skin because he could witness its true effect.

The same way he knew the truth about the traitor and the sympathizers in his camp, and the same way he knew there were at least two scouts from Belar spying on him and his people.

He knew because his power was unique and pervasive. Warm, and terrifyingly seductive.

Sublime, and beautiful.

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