'Damn it!' Exile grit his teeth as he dodged around a tree to use it as cover. A golden shock wave suddenly blew apart part of the tree. It was the same spell that took Clay out of the fight. He thought he had dodged it only for it to explode and catch him with the aftermath. There was shouting going on all around them. Kaleidoscope had attacked during their trip back to Valheim.

However, where they attacked was the problem. Other players were in the area exploring, looking for new mobs. Unfortunately for those groups, they got caught up in the fight. Clay and the others had held up their end of the deal and stood by him. But Kaleidoscope outnumbered them, and now Exile was the only one left alive. Barely...

[HP: 21/70 (55+15)]

[DP: 0/10 (8+2)]

'How am I going to get out of this one?' Exile cursed as he checked his current HP and DP. 'If it carries on like this, I'm screwed...'

Exile dashed between the trees, hoping that his enemies would hesitate to attack for fear of wasting more DP. 'If I could reach Valheim...' His mind raced to think of a solution. The area around the city would be full of players, which should make Kaleidoscope warier of continuing their assault. Even they could not afford to offend too many other players this early in the game.

There was only one problem with that plan. He would have to cross the open fields full of Divine Wolves. Not only would he be an easier target, but one wrong move could cause him to aggro the mobs calling that area home. Though, the same applied to Kaleidoscope. Exile grit his teeth as he decided that it was the best plan for now. If he stayed in the forest, they would eventually corner him.

Donna screamed from somewhere behind him as a disgruntled player decided to target her. Exile grinned at her misfortune. But that's exactly what would happen if you got other people caught up in your own problems. The sounds of battle carried throughout the forest as splinters flew through the air. Many trees became unfortunate victims of the carnage unfolding around them.

Exile's eyes narrowed as he spotted the edge of the treeline, meaning he was about to rush out into the open! 'Here goes nothing!' As he left the forest behind and entered the hills, he noticed around twenty other players grinding the wolves there. 'Good! I can use them for cover!' he was careful enough to skirt around the edges of their battles to show that he had no intention of kill stealing.

As such, these players paid him no mind. It was only when Aeri and a couple of others burst out from the forest and pointed at him angrily that these players realised that something was wrong. Aeri fired a spell that missed Exile by a wide margin, striking a nearby mob instead. The players who were fighting the pack it was a part of were instantly infuriated. They thought Aeri was attempting to kill steal!

The other groups in the area who saw this became wary of Aeri's group. Sending one player each to the edges of their own battles to warn them away. Exile grinned when he saw this, as they did not stop him. After all, he was just passing through. Whereas Kaleidoscope were potential poachers. Exile could hear Aeri swearing at him from somewhere behind him. Probably because she was now being forced to take a longer way around.

'I can make it!' Exile raced around the mobs and avoided the players while keeping his eyes on the walls of Valheim up ahead. That was when he heard numerous players shouting in outrage! When he glanced over his shoulder, Donna was barrelling her way through the players, who tried to warn her away. She was not even trying to protect herself from the spells that were fired in her direction!

'Damn! What's she thinking?' Exile's eyes went wide as he realised that she would be able to catch up to him. He cursed under his breath as he glanced to the side to see how Aeri's group was doing. 'If Donna holds me up long enough Aeri will be able to corner me...' Exile frowned as he realised a dark cloud now hung over his hopes of escaping the pursuit.

'If I'm going down... I'm taking you with me!' Exile cleared the last pack of wolves and spun to prepare himself for battle. Donna had managed to close most of the distance by this point, and there was a glint in her eyes when she saw Exile had stopped. 'She's probably put most of her points in endurance and speed.' Exile frowned while raising his shield and gripping his axe.

Donna laughed as she pulled a spear from her inventory and cleared the last pack of mobs as well. Exile stared at the weapon in her hands. She never had it before, which meant that Kaleidoscope had probably given it to her. His eyes met hers, and the tension between them rose.

"You're going to pay for not dying back there! If you had just fought them, they wouldn't have cornered us! It was you they wanted anyway!" Donna yelled as she inched towards Exile.

It was then that Exile realised something. 'Where's Beans?' Exile sighed as he guessed what had happened. Kaleidoscope had probably killed Beans, and Donna had offered some intelligence in exchange for her life. Now, she was blaming him for her friend's death. 'Well, you guys abandoned me first. So don't expect me to feel sorry for you!'

Exile roared as he pounced towards Donna while swinging his axe! The latter snorted as she easily dodged the blow and thrust her spear towards his exposed side! Exile was prepared for it and swung his shield in a way that made the rim deflect the spear before it could land. 'Her reach is longer than mine... This won't be easy!'