As the tir wound down, I stepped closer to the front-line. This fight had the potential to push so of the wolves over the threshold for their class evolution, and I knew that Sadie and Xander were on the cusp of evolving as well.
Since being freed, they were the only two from their group who had consistently joined our fights. The rest still struggled. According to Jared, most of them remained shell-shocked, lingering on the edges of our settlent, hesitant to pick up weapons or face combat again.
Who could bla them?
If it had been , if I had been the one chained up like that, forced into helplessness—
No.
I wouldn’t let that happen to . Ever.
And I think Sadie and Xander felt the sa way.
They were growing into their roles fast. Xander’s path especially intrigued . His class mirrored mine in so ways—he wielded fire in his attacks but also fought with a sword, focusing heavily on agility. anwhile, Sadie was evolving into a pure spellcaster, she conjured earth with devastating force.
I was excited to see where they would go from here.
Class evolutions fascinated .
The first 25 levels were so basic, so foundational—everyone started from the sa building blocks. But once evolution hit? The paths branched into infinite possibilities.
Take Stetson, for example. He started as a simple gatherer, a support role that provided resources. Then, at level 25, his class evolved into Golemmancer. Now he could craft and command golems to do his work for him.
I loved my own progress, but there was sothing deeply satisfying about watching others reach their full potential—about helping them reach it.
One by one, we were all growing into sothing greater.
But my thoughts were cut short.
The tir reached zero.
Imdiately, our entire force tensed.
The strategy was straightforward, Muscle in the front. Rangers and spellcasters in the back. Agility-based classes played disruption, harassing enemy flanks and intercepting stragglers.
Mischief, Nick, and the wolves were especially deadly in this role—shadows in motion, always in the right place at the right ti. If any of our fighters got overwheld, they would be there in an instant.
I lifted my hand.
The portal flared open.
And as the first enemies erged, I cast my Do of Protection.
-
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A group of twenty-foot-tall tree monsters lumbered through the portal.
Their bodies were twisted masses of bark, roots, and thick vines, and rather than wielding conventional weapons, they carried massive boulders wrapped in tangled roots, turning them into brutal makeshift clubs.
I had asked Ellison to attempt diplomacy, though he had been adamant it would be a waste of ti.
“They won’t listen,” he had said. “Even if they did, they wouldn’t believe.”
I still wanted him to try.
So, he did.
Ellison cupped his hands to amplify his voice. “Welco!” he called across the open field. “Please, wait! We would like to disc—”
A massive boulder hurtled through the air, cutting off his words.
It struck my Do of Protection with a thunderous crash, exploding into a thousand fragnts. The entire do warbled and shook, but it held.
Ellison gave a deadpan look. “I tried.”
I sighed. Another senseless fight.
Still, we didn’t charge. We held our position, waiting as the treen advanced.
They were slow and lumbering, thick bark encasing them from head to toe like natural armor. They had power, that much was obvious. Their stats likely leaned into Strength—and possibly magic. But agility?
Not their strong suit.
Yet, they didn’t continue their boulder assault, which told sothing important—they weren’t mindless.
Instead of wasting their ammo, they closed the distance, preparing for close-quarters combat.
Ellison barked a command, and our ranged fighters let loose.
Arrows and spells rained down in a relentless volley. Would this be over before it even started?
To my surprise, the treen countered.
A massive translucent green barrier shimred into existence—a wall of conjured vines and bark, almost like stained glass woven from plant life.
Our attacks struck the wall with incredible force, sending shockwaves rippling through the valley, bending the grass in all directions—but the wall held.
From behind it, one of the treen took a massive, ground-shaking step forward.
Then, it slamd its foot into the earth.
The ground rippled like water, and a tremor shot outward.
A second later, an eruption of roots and jagged stone exploded from beneath our ranks.
Screams filled the air as several of our fighters were thrown into the sky—so landing dozens of feet away.
Dirt and shattered rock pelted my back, and I twisted to assess the damage.
Elise was already moving.
Her hands glowed with golden light, and she sprinted toward the injured, casting healing spells with swift, precise motions.
I turned back to the fight.
“Keep hitting the barrier!” I shouted. “Do as much damage as possible!
ALEX! We need to break through! Ellison, tell Durkil to follow! We’re going in!”
Another volley of arrows and magic slamd into the barrier ahead of , and I saw it begin to splinter, cracks spiderwebbing outward.
A second explosion erupted behind us, another devastating root attack from the treen.
No ti to think. I moved. Instinct took over.
I didn’t hesitate. I charged.
My sword stayed sheathed—I didn’t need it for this.
Lowering my shoulder, I slamd into the green wall with everything I had.
A deep, cracking groan echoed from the barrier, but it didn’t give.
Then—A second impact.
A massive force crashed into the wall beside , a tallic clang reverberating through the air.
The barrier shattered. Beyond it, the battlefield was chaos.
At least twenty of the treen were engaged, but—only two root attacks had been cast.
Sothing wasn’t adding up.
Why?
And then I realized—
While I had gone through the barrier, Mischief, Nick, and the wolves had simply gone around it.
I wanted to slap myself for the sheer stupidity of not anticipating that.
But there wasn’t ti. I drew my sword.
A massive tree limb swung toward —I twisted, letting it whistle past my head, and retaliated with a brutal slash to the first leg that crossed my path.
Just like every other raid before this—once we closed the distance, the fight was over.
Even before we had broken through, Mischief had tore through the battlefield, chunks of bark flew from treen’s bodies, it caused havoc among their ranks.
Arrows stuck from the trees like pincushions smoking strange black smoke while the wolves weaved in and out of the long tree trunk legs they ripped and pulled at them.
Their moans and wails filled the air as Guildians flooded in behind , Alex, and Durkil.
They were overrun. And minutes later—
The raid was over.
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