A fist wrapped in grey light hurtled for Steven’s face, the air screaming around it.

He dodged instead of calling, the last time he’d tried to block still fresh in his mind.

The woman didn’t let him gain any space, raining blows down as he backpedaled.

A right hook missed his nose by inches, followed by a jab that grazed his ribs.

Steven didn’t actually know how to fight. Not traditionally. His entire strategy was the magical equivalent of pulling his opponent's shirt over their head and punching them in the stomach.

The woman, on the other hand, had obvious training. Her movements were confident, each punch flowing into the next, leaving Steven constantly on the back foot.

He was barely keeping ahead of her, and that was with Micheal’s buff. Without it, he’d already be a flash of light on his way out of the contest.

He tried to call shields, but every time he split his focus, he risked catching a fist.

She had broken his Hand-Shield in one punch last time. His body wouldn’t fare any better.

Steven managed to trip her with a hastily called shield, but he couldn’t capitalize as he had to turn and block a red sword swinging at Margie.

By the time he turned back, a fist was rapidly closing in.

Think Steven.

He backed up but then had to jump to the right to avoid leaving the pillar.

What is her Class?

From where he was standing, her Class seemed…wrong. She’d somehow thrown a water orb at him in their first fight, redirected Buford, and punched with enough force to shatter his shield.

And just now, she had jumped to the pillar from more than thirty feet away.

How did that all fit together?

As Steven dodged another punch, the grey light rippling along her fist faded.

Steven stopped back peddling and took a swing.

His fist curved just as it was about to reach her, slipping to the right of her face.

At the same time, grey light returned to her fist, though not as much as before.

He was hopelessly out of position as his opponent’s supercharged fist raced toward his gut.

Shit.

He called desperately, and the shield snapped into place just in time.

Her fist crashed into the green oval with a crack! But his shield didn’t break.

Steven realized the Skill she was using with a start.

He pushed the shield straight at her, and at this range, she didn’t have a chance to dodge.

She gasped as the shield buried itself in her gut and sent her tumbling.

Steven didn’t chase her, opting to take potshots from safety.

She managed to dodge a lot of shields, especially since he had to break from his onslaught to protect his team, but it was still enough to stop her from advancing.

“You can siphon kinetic energy, can’t you?”

The woman gave him a sharp look as she slipped around a Hand-Shield.

“No! And don’t ask about my Class in the middle of a fight, you weirdo!”

Steven wasn’t really expecting her to answer honestly, but it was worth a shot.

Just as he missed with a push aimed at her leg, grey light exploded from behind the woman and sent her hurtling for Steven.

He was so surprised he didn’t have time to call a shield before she crashed into him.

They hit the ground and rolled, leaving a furrow in the snow.

The woman punched Steven in the face twice before he called a shield between them and pushed her off.

He hastily climbed to his feet, the freezing snow burning his hands as his face throbbed.

“That’s what you get, fucker!” The woman rasped while holding her stomach.

“Stupid fucking shields!”

Steven was pretty sure he’d have a broken cheek if not for Micheal’s buff. The woman hit hard.

“You hit like a train, don’t whine about my shields!” Steven groaned.

And as he complained, he reached out to the shield he had placed before reaching the pillar.

The Tower-Shield that, after gaining Compass Push, he’d decided to equip with Shield Pull.

He reached, and he really pulled.

Fur Coat charged him, and Steven let her, only throwing up a few shields to slow her down. She ducked under a shield aimed at her head, then cocked back, grey light pouring off her fist.

Screams, audible over the roaring battle, reached them.

And then the Tower Shield burst into view, sending bodies flying as it went.

The massive shield trucked forward with far more strength than his Hand-Shields, knocking bodies into the air like a bull. By the time Fur Coat realized something was wrong, the shield slammed into her back.

There was a flash of grey light, and she went up at an angle, flying away from the pillar like she’d been launched from a cannon.

Steven looked to the rest of the battle. His shield had left a furrow in the fight, breaking or throwing everyone in its path.

The sight of people lying broken on the ground, broken because of him- Steven shook himself before the emotions could rise.

Not the time, your job’s not done.

But, just as he turned to his team, the pillar flashed blue and green.

It flashed once, twice, and then the world vanished.

But they didn’t appear back at Margie’s or in the chalet.

They didn’t appear anywhere.

Steven looked around, his heart in his throat. Darkness everywhere he looked. There was nothing but an endless expanse of darkness.

“Hello?” His voice echoed out, the sound stretching and warping in the endless black.

“Margie? Micheal?”

Nothing.

…Nothing.

His panic started to build, but something stood out in the darkness, drawing his attention like a scream at a funeral.

His Skills still pounded in his ears, but it was winding down.

He focused on the pounding, and as it slowed, so did his breathing.

“Your bond is strong for your Threshold; nothing unprecedented or anything, you're not that special. But you have surprised me, Steven.” The System’s voice lacked its usual mocking edge, and it felt…more than normal.

Steven didn’t know how a voice that spoke directly into his mind could be more, whatever that meant, but he couldn’t shake the feeling.

“The soul is deeper than the mind, Steven.”

Before he could question that, the System continued.

“I thought it was a fluke against the Giant, but you’ve done it again and again…It’s nice to be pleasantly surprised. It’s been a while.”

The System sighed, and in that moment, it felt…old.

“Anyway, time to move on to your rewards.” As it spoke, the enthusiasm slowly bled back into its voice.

“For defeated foes, you have gained…enough points to buy your remaining Augments! As well as a lot left over, not that it matters since I won’t let you use these on anything else.”

“Would you like to purchase these Augments?”

Steven paused. He was about to jump on the chance, but… “Is there any reason not to buy them?”

“You’ll be considerably weaker, so if you were looking to make your life harder…”

“Why the fuck did you bring it up then?”

“I don’t know. Maybe you were feeling spicy today?”

“…Give me the fucking Augments.”

“Fair enough.”

Steven felt the Augments connect to his Class in a way he didn’t quite understand.

“Huh. Last week you wouldn’t have sensed that at all. Not when I’m adding them like this.”

“What? Has my magical sensitivity increased or something?”

“You don’t have the clearance to know the answer.”

“How do I raise my clearance?”

”You don’t have the clearance for that- na, I’m just messing with you. Pass through more Thresholds to raise your clearance.”

Steven sighed, but at least he’d gotten one answer.

”Now, for your team’s second place prize… early access to a Third Threshold Trait. That’s something you wouldn’t typically have until level 15, in case you’re bad at math and couldn’t tell.”

Trait: Lesser Identify

Effect: The System will tell you someone’s name, age, very, very basic details on their background, and the Thresholds they’ve passed.

Use up to three times a day.

Hmm. Not some overwhelming advantage, but he wasn't about to scoff at free information.

Steven didn’t know how useful the basic information was. It would depend on just how barebones the System considered ‘basic’ to be. But knowing at a glance if someone had passed the First Threshold? That was nice to have in the back pocket.

And while only having three charges a day wasn’t ideal, that was a total of nine charges between the three of them.

“Oh, also…

Level up!

Level up!

As it finished speaking, Steven felt the changes roll into him.

The familiar rush of a level-up coursed through his body, banishing his fatigue and filling him with strength.

He felt the Trait settle into him like a Skill and instinctively knew how to activate it.

A moment later, the endless darkness vanished, and his feet thumped onto Margie’s yard.

Steven looked around. Margie, Micheal, and the dogs were right next to him. If it wasn’t for the fact that it was dark—or as dark as it could get with a glowing sky—then it was almost like they’d never left.

Steven looked at the others, his heart still pounding. He had to fight the urge to look around for the next threat.

“So…that happened,” Micheal said. He plopped down in the snow and let out an explosive sigh. “I never want to do that again.”

“Agreed.” Margie and Steven echoed.

Buford leaned against Micheal, accepting the scratches on his side with a wide grin.

Steven forced himself to calm down. It had been easier in the void, with only the darkness and System to focus on.

Getting tossed back to Margie’s sent him right back into fight or flight.

He took several deep breaths. Noodle, with Margie’s Skill still coating him, slinked over to Steven and leaned against his shins.

He gave the dog a tight chuckle and leaned over to scratch his back. The shadows were cool to the touch and flowed around his fingers like a liquid.

A new System prompt roared into their heads.

”This grand contest is over! I hope you teeming masses enjoyed your show, and I hope the contests enjoy their rewards! With the slight downside of everyone in the city who cared to watch has an idea of what you can do!”

Steven scowled.

Now, to announce the winners of the points contest, first place is…Hungry Water Punch! They didn’t have a team name, so I took the liberty of making one for them.”

Oh no.

”Second Place is The Sorry Kill Stealers! Who didn’t have a single elimination that was wholly their own! Cowardly? Yes. Effective? Well, they aren’t second place for their personalities.”

Third place is…The Elementals! They’re kinda dull, to be honest, but they got the third most points.”

Steven frowned. He was sure none of those groups were them, but they had taken out swaths of people at the end. How had they not made it?

”You missed third place by 10 points. Feels bad, man.”

Steven glared at the sky.

“Now, onto the other victors! The brave fools who managed to hold the pillar against the hordes!”

”In first place, the only team that was smart enough, daring enough, to give themselves a team name! Drumroll, please….The Roaming Ruckus! It wasn’t even close, either. They organized and held the pillar before most people even got there!”

”And in second place…”

Steven exchanged a smile with the others. Through the stress and mental exhaustion, he was proud of what they’d managed.

”The Old Timers Incorporated! A team with two members over sixty, and they still managed to beat the majority of the people competing! Unfortunate for everyone who got beat by a couple of wet-behind-the-ears college kids and some geezers!”

Margie shrugged. “It could be a worse name.”

Micheal gave her a look.

”AND IN THIRD PLACE! Is Hungry Water Punch! The only team to place top three in both sections!”

”And with that done, you can all chill for a bit. You’ve earned some rest.”

”System out!”

“Hungry Water Punch,” Steven said with a scowl.

Margie grunted. “That’s definitely the fur coat lady's group. Angry Guy had those stupid water orbs the lady could punch, and the other girl tried to eat in the middle of a fight.”

“They are going to be…well, I’m not sure. Some people are going to be a lot tamer than they were in there since it was a contest without lives on the line. But…”

“They’re strong,” Micheal finished.

Steven nodded. “Yeah. Let’s just hope they don’t hold a grudge.”

Micheal gave him a doubtful look. “You hit their leader in the back with a tower shield.”

“She started it.”

Margie laughed and waved to the house. “Let’s continue this talk inside, my ass is freezing.”

They slowly made their way to the house, and as soon as Steven sat down on the couch, Noodle jumped into his lap, the motion far more graceful than normal.

As they all sat there, the quiet tick of a grandfather clock in the corner and the gentle creaks of the house filling their ears, Steven relaxed.

And as he did, his exhaustion crept up and clubbed him.

He was asleep as soon as he closed his eyes.