I followed a designated trail through Objective B.

Moving quickly, I created a gap between the oncoming bear army and myself. The bears would find a wide lane bordered by a row of tall trees. The area followed a gentle slope going upward. At their feet were low-lying brush with big fronds covering the forest floor from view. All forest obstacles thinned out here, granting the bears a spacious and mostly clear path to barrel forward to chase down the giantess.

The [Ursine Men] were the first to reach the area after me, showing greater speed and endurance than the others. It had been a decent run from Objective A to here. Covering the distance had me feeling somewhat fatigued, if not completely put out. When I came to a stop before reaching a clearing on the other side of the forest lane, I fully expected the [Ursine Men] to leg it harder.

They didn’t disappoint.

I got a good look at them as I caught my breath. The [Ursine Men] had bear-like faces with flat snouts and little round ears. Their teeth were big enough to shred the flesh of any prey they caught hold of. And while they stood on two legs, they reached up to my height or taller. If it had been the smaller me facing them, I would’ve found them quite intimidating. After all, they held huge wooden clubs made from ironwood bark. I recognized the make of their weapons and knew they would not break easily if the [Ursine Men] swung with full force and caught me flat.

They had a chance to do just that if they closed the last bit of distance between them and me. But they would find the task difficult the further they went. Their bodies started to betray them. Soon as one of them faltered, my chest felt a wicked buzz of glee. The plots behind Objective B began to reveal its savage face.

More of the [Ursine Men] started to slow down. They struggled with their movement. A few of them collapsed as their bodies locked up. One [Ursine Man] raised their paw and revealed a sharpened stave of wood that had been implanted into the forest floor.

The splinter was twice as long as my finger and just as thick. Cassandra had planted a countless number of them halfway into the loamy forest floor underneath the fonds. Each one had a glob of paralytic poison spread over the point.

The [Ursine Men] looked over their feet and found multiple poisoned splinters lodged into their soles. Through their mad rush to catch me, they overlooked the danger my team had set for them. They may have been resilient creatures, but they weren’t resilient enough under their feet to save them from sharpened splints. Their vitality proved to be their undoing as they pushed beyond the pain they probably felt from getting their feet stabbed by splinters in their efforts to chase me.

Now, most of the [Ursine Men] were paralyzed completely or partially. But they were not my true concern here at Objective B.

I looked beyond them as the [Forest Firestarter Bears] started to catch up. They would have an easier time coming forward since the [Ursine Men] had trampled over the initial trap.

From what I remembered in my ranger lessons long ago, the [Forest Firestarter Bears] were a creation of an Ironwood witch who had a love of bears. She had been in the middle of weathering a terrible winter. Hungry for warmth and comfort, the witch had taken a bear, imbrued it with hellish power, and the [Forest Firestarter Bears] came to exist hereafter. Now, I watched the descendants of the original spew fireballs from their mouths. The smoldering orbs arced through the air and fell toward me.

I windmilled Jakki around, stirring up some gales as my weapon drained my stamina. The expense was worth it. The cleaving wind slapped aside multiple fireballs and scattered them from around me.

Some of the fireballs splashed among the paralyzed [Ursine Men] and burned them up. A small circle around me remained untouched by the dull roar of fire and the billowing smoke that came with it.

Still, I held my ground. I even lodged Jakki into the floor next to my foot. I needed both hands free to concentrate on one of my Empty powers.

I reached forward and snatched at a space of my attention. At the same time, I rapidly channeled outer-mana through my mind. With a deep inhale, inner-mana jettisoned up from my diaphragm and pulled a great heap of my stamina along with it.

Two distinct sources of fuel met together and expanded in my chest. Then they channeled down my arms, through my hands, and extended across the air. They reached further and further. They reached past the struggling [Ursine Men]. They reached the [Forest Firestarter Bears] as they charged up another volley of fireballs to rain upon me. They reached a little further beyond that, ensuring I had all of my Objective B targets.

“[Spatial Pull],” I said.

I wrenched my arms backward. The magic became a physical force as if I gripped multiple strands of rope connected to a great net.

My arm and back muscles burned! It was a welcomed sensation, better than the mana-burn in my head and my increasing fatigue. But the results were more than worth the sacrifice.

Forest soil tore out from underneath every bear in front of me. Burning ferns ripped away along with the earth. The [Forest Firestarter Bears] lurched bodily in my direction. The [Ursine Men] fell forward into a short tumble. A wall of unyielding magic scooped the earth and the bears that stood on it together and shoved it in my direction. The farther they were from me, the greater the push⁠—or the pull when basing the maneuver from my vantage point.

Since I reached just beyond the [Forest Firestarter Bears], they hurtled toward me harder and faster than the others. They tumbled over the ground. They spiraled through the air. They collided with the pile of [Ursine Men] that hadn’t moved too much. Together, they created an even greater pile. Even then, more [Forest Firestarter Bears] soared head-over-heels and clipped the top of the pile. They smashed down a few paces in front of me.

A wave of dirt showered down upon the bears in a passing sweep. It rained over me and the carpet of flames around me. Gouts of fire that were rising before the dirt fell quickly died. Then the falling sods came to a stop.

As the bears started to recompose themselves, I grabbed Jakki. I prepared myself to face even more unforgiving fatigue as I made use of the little stamina I had left.

A [Forest Firestarter Bear] pushed up from under a pile of soil, the clods hissing and smoldering as it sifted over the flaming body of the bear. The beast sighted me and opened its mouth. Down its throat glowed the precursor of offensive power. I dodged aside as the bear spewed a fireball meant for my torso. More [Forest Firestarter Bears] rose out of their stupor and prepared to blast me directly now that we were so close.

Indeed, I had endangered myself by moving them all to a position right in front of me. They were endangered, too.

I chucked Jakki sideways to my right. It was not a strong throw. But the Skyripper whirled near top-speed anyway as she drank greedily from my inner-mana and stamina. I stifled an exhausted cry as my body started to feel sluggish, heavy, and exhausted. I pushed past my discomfort and grasped the bond between Jakki and me. As I pulled her back, I waved my guiding arm in front of me from right to left.

A second later, Jakki came spiraling from one side of the [Forest Firestarter Bears] to the other, following the same motion of my arm. In the wake of her sweep, a dozen [Forest Firestarter Bears] burst apart. Burning blood flung in arcs all over the area, splashing the [Ursine Men] heavily.

That was the most I could do for now. I pulled Jakki back toward me. But instead of catching her, I had her land behind me. She cleaved deep into the ground and offered herself as something I could lean against.

I fiddled with my top.

Set against the sternum above my cleavage, I found the [Stamina Resuscitator Mk1] and pushed on the honeycomb-shaped device. My body seized as the enchanted artifice creation pumped me with stamina-recovering energy. My fatigue dropped greatly, but it didn’t disappear as it would before. To my dismay, I might’ve outgrown the current version of the stamina resuscitator. But it was still quite the boon.

An [Ursine Man] charged my side slowly with its club raised. Burns and paralytic splinters covered the relentless creature. With one stride, I closed the gap before it could swing and grabbed its weapon arm.

I pulled it close and sank my teeth into its neck. I ripped open the flesh and consumed what I could greedily take as the [Ursine Man] gagged on its own blood. It tried to wrestle its arm away from me, but my grip was crushing and merciless. The more it pulled, the tighter my grip became until I broke its forearm. It trembled in fear as I took another bite from its neck. And another, nearly beheading the creature.

The [Ursine Man] sagged toward the floor and died. That was okay. I was satisfied now. Eating the [Ursine Man] had done nothing for my health, but my fatigue started to fade quicker. Even if it was a little help, I found that a welcoming change to Ravenous Eater. At this point, managing fatigue was my greatest trouble.

The surviving [Forest Firestarter Bears] regathered themselves and spewed fireball volleys at me. I dodged each one and snatched Jakki from her spot on the ground. I repeated the prior tactic of throwing Jakki sideways and manipulating her flight to come around in a lateral cut in front of me. This time, I finished all of the [Forest Firestarter Bears].

To the detriment of the remaining [Ursine Men], the destruction of the [Forest Firestarter Bears] sprouted more roaring flames. The blood of the firestarters burned where they splashed. The blood clung to the victims, sizzling unprotected flesh while spreading more harm and destruction.

I watched dozens of [Ursine Men] lose their lives to the paralysis and the fire. It was a horrific fate. I heard their tortured bawls and whimpers as the flames cooked their bodies alive while they were unable to do anything to save themselves.

A smile crossed my face. I found the [Ursine Men]’s painful ends novel. A combination of trickery and their determination played against them had created a place like the Below Hells, but here on Mythokos.

Beyond the burning pile of death, I saw [Behemothhunting Bears] loom closer. Their tremendous shapes stood out despite the thick cover of smoke that streamed up between them and me. I could hear the [Gianteating Black Bears] army trampling across the forest alongside the [Behemothhunting Bears].

Darkness arrived, and the shadows thickened as the sun dipped below the horizon. I stood highlighted by the flames as the first of the [Behemothhunting Bears] reached the burning pile and barreled over it unbothered. The monstrous bear had the biggest teeth I had ever seen. Its dark eyes reflected the fire, enhancing its wrathful disdain for me. It looked hungry, too.

I turned away and fled with Jakki held at my side.

A huge paw slammed the earth a second too late to catch the bear-murdering giantess⁠—me!

My smile grew larger. Another plot that made Objective B special was already underway.

Now I needed to meet with Moffee at Objective C.

***

I slid to a stop beside the tiny lean-to shed I made for Moffee. It was a bundle of sticks loosely tied together. Foliage covered the top of the shed to mask the unnatural construction from watchful predators that might find goblin a delight. When I got on all fours and lowered down in front of the shed, I saw my little goblin sitting cross-legged while concentrating on the spell she was channeling.

Through my studies as her apprentice, I learned the power behind repetition, alteration, and risk management.

There were many glyphs. Each glyph in a spell had a role to play when constructing the first series of wholly unique circles. Then you repeat the construction to solidify your intent and raise your success rate. Wizards could do just that and make good use of their spells without risking failure.

But as the apprentice of a chaos wizard, I learned a little risk could provide larger gains. A lot of risks could provide incredible gains. I knew Moffee’s mind was whirring rapidly as she continuously stacked alterations behind repetitions to raise the potency of her chosen spell and manage the risk.

One slip up. One wrong placement of a glyph. One out-of-order circle. Everything could explode around us and kill her and grievously injure me. I was unsure if it would kill me since I had grown quite resilient, but I wouldn’t want to suffer through the pain. I wouldn’t want to suffer the loss of my friend.

Now that I knew the truth behind wizardry and what Moffee did as an ambitious wizard, I felt worried and thrilled at the same time. I wondered if her chaos-touched mind pushed her to seek these dangerous results that could end horrifically for her.

I had asked, but she continued to reassure my worries that she had it under control. She learned and studied magic at an extensive and methodical pace. While her power gains had been quick for a wizard, she attributed that to being around me rather than her seeking out more power overzealously.

Still, it was undeniable that chaos magic was her burden to have alone. I was okay with that. I didn’t trust myself with such power that could drive one insane. Instead, I waited with bated breath to see the result of her hour-long channeling.

I sat beside her shed and surveyed our positioning. We were east of the fishing village. The ground before us sunk into a wide basin that would fill with water at the start of spring. There was still water at the bottom of the basin, making it mucky and hard to press through.

I exhausted a lot of my stamina to dash through the mud to get all the way over here. Now that I got to sit and relax, I watched as the remaining bear army waded through the mud to reach Moffee and me. There were fewer [Behemothhunting Bear] than I recalled seeing when I ran from Objective B to Objective C.

“Tell me when Cassandra arrives,” Moffee asked.

A [Behemothhunting Bear] fell face first behind the others and stopped moving. A few seconds later saw another [Behemothhunting Bear] slumping into the mud. Then another fell over, slamming down on some of the [Gianteating Black Bears] that covered the basin like a moving carpet wriggling toward Moffee and me.

More [Behemothhunting Bears] collapsed midstride without realizing the truth behind the pattern of their deaths. It was coming from behind them. One by one. Some of the [Gianteating Black Bears] started to notice and bawl out toward their bigger brethren. But the [Behemothhunting Bears] paid them no mind. As moonlight shone over us, the [Behemothhunting Bears] leading from the front charged my position on a rise of earth overlooking the basin. Where I sat was leveled with their faces. Given a minute, they would be on top of me.

Cassandra didn’t give them a minute.

I spied her small form zipping from the nape of one [Behemothhunting Bear] to the next. Every time she landed on the back of their necks, the tremendous beasts fell as if their life had been stolen away.

Cassandra was like a touch of death.

Then the final [Behemothhunting Bear] collapsed dead right before Moffee and me. Cassandra soared through the air and landed in an unrefined heap on the other side of Moffee’s shed.

“[Renew Breath],” she said, gasping while on all fours. A green aura radiated around her, and she quickly recovered from her fatigue.

“Moffee, dear, our lovely Cassandra has arrived,” I reported. “And all three hundred [Gianteating Black Bears] have swarmed the basin.”

“[Fire Bomblet Zone],” Moffee droned quietly.

The night became like day.

I noticed a presence to my right immediately. With a quick sweep of my hand, I drew a [Ent Queen Paralytic Throwing Dart] and flicked it at the last [Shadowbane Bear] that tried to sneak attack us.

The light of Moffee’s explosive display had revealed it. My dart struck its neck. The poison spread quickly enough to stun it a second later.

When the roaring, earth-trembling, steamy explosions settled down, I turned to the others. “Moffee, would you like this [Shadowbane Bear]?” I asked. “I do feel bad you’ve been placed here by yourself with one task.”

Moffee peeked out of her little shed, rubbing her head. “I guess I can test [Tormenting Lightning Lash] on it. But what about the survivors?” she pointed toward what remained of the bear army.

“Let me see the results first.” I quickly surveyed the smoldering basin. Through the steam and smoke, I found dozens of bears that struggled to flee. What a shame. Moffee was not yet at the power that could decimate an entire force like this altogether. She probably killed a hundred at most. Maybe half of them in total if I counted bears that would most likely succumb to their burns.

The [Shadowbane Bear] bawled in terror as it remained paralyzed next to us. Moffee dawdled over to have her fun with it.

As a wicked high-electric whine buzzed through the air, I considered the options laid before me. Should we hunt down more of the bears and ensure they were so thoroughly reduced that another army wouldn’t rise any time soon? Or should we take what we had done as a victory and move on?

Moffee returned from her business with the last [Shadowbane Bear] and stood in front of me. I glanced at the bear and observed how the corpse remained twisted about uncannily. Its mouth was stretched open as if it had spent its last moments in horrific pain before expiring. I noticed the lash burns that traveled around its body, the skin and flesh underneath torn and burnt and wet with rising blood leaking through. Maybe I shouldn’t joke about Moffee’s exploration of chaos spells beyond the fire bomb route.

“The encounter isn’t over,” Moffee said. “This is more than enough to end the encounter unless we’re at a momentary impasse.”

“I think I can hunt down more,” Cassandra said. “I only used [Renew Breath] once so far. It was a lot of work keeping my momentum going from the back to the front of those big suckers.”

Cassandra had been waiting in the treetops at Objective B for that reason. Once the [Behemothhunting Bears] presented their backs to her, she had to work her way forward from there. It was an impressive feat. Regardless of star power, these creatures outmatched her in size greatly. One mistake would cost her everything. And as she killed one, she had to move on to the next quickly. Then the next after that. I could imagine her exhausting [Quickstep] and [Super Leap] at an accelerated rate.

But hunting down a fleeing army of bears desperate to survive might push her into carelessness. The plan worked out well because of the [Behemothhunting Bear]’s largeness, enabling Cassandra to run across their backs without their notice. I was unsure if a [Gianteating Black Bear] would lend Cassandra such an advantage. I was still wary that she could still die to any one of them if she slipped. Overeagerness could kill her. Or any of us.

“Moffee,” I called, getting to my feet. “There are still bears who are unable to flee quickly. Finish them with another [Fire Bomblet Zone]. Cassandra, be watchful of our surroundings. After this, we shall call this battle our victory.”

“Skol,” the girls said in unison.

As Cassandra watched our backs, Moffee channeled another [Fire Bomblet Zone]. Moments later, I watched sparkling orbs form near clumps of surviving bears. Then Moffee eradicated them with a flourish of her little hand and a thought.

There were still a few stragglers that weren’t too far away.

“My little one, see how those bears are gathering?”

“Yup. It looks like they’re trying to help each other escape.”

“Is that too far for your [Fire Bomb]s?” I asked.

At this distance, I could snipe them with arrows. But I wouldn’t want to spend such precious ammunition. I could throw Jakki, but the cost in stamina didn’t seem worth it. It would be more beneficial to feed my goblin wizard kills and grow her power.

“Mm, there right in range,” Moffee said.

“[Fire Bomb] there, there, and there. I wish for you to slaughter them with impunity.”

“Will do, milady!”

Moffee blasted the stragglers trying to escape in groups. She blasted the ones that tried to flee alone. A giggle fluttered out from between her lips as she massacred bears methodically.

One bear turned to us. Half of its body was ravaged by fire. It stood and spread its forelegs wide, crying out to us as if begging for mercy. It appeared to have hope in its eyes.

“Mmmm,” the goblin wizard hummed. “No.”

She exploded the crying bear into burning bits.

This pleased me greatly.

I peered across a basin filled with fire, smoke, steam, and charred corpses. I spotted a few bears that were out of Moffee’s range. That was okay. I felt satisfied with the results.

It seemed like Moffee’s numbers had improved to near two hundred bears, now. Maybe more. She would gain a good amount of star fragments from this. Cassandra would have a good number herself from slaying three dozen [Behemothhunting Bears]. I figured my gains would be modest. That was okay, too. The thorough destruction of the bear army was more important to me.

The survivors would know not to gather in such a way again. They would return to living as simple forest creatures. They would fear me lest they wished to summon my wrath and be crushed under my heavy heel. I was not a mere survivor anymore. I was a hunter of wild creatures that refused to follow the way of things⁠—keeping Brogheimr safe as land for giants and giant friends.

“No worries here, still watching our backs and….” Cassandra glanced at the massacre. “I think I understand why I’m a Death Rogue. How can I not be when hanging with ladies like you two?”

“The battle is at an end,” I declared.

A gold light blinked in the corner of my vision followed by a whimsical chime.