Ahrie was still flat on his back, staring up at the sky through the smoke.
Chest rising.
Barely.
Then—
[ 2 EXP]
[ 2 EXP]
[ 2 EXP]
[ 2 EXP]
[ 2 EXP]
He stared at the notifications.
"...2 exp."
Blinked.
"...2 fucking EXP for that...?"
"Urkk—" He pressed a fist to his mouth.
He tried to sit up, winced, flopped back down.
Koko and Min rushed over.
Koko dropped to one knee and shoved a health potion into his hand without a word.
Min, to his credit, looked concerned.
Mostly.
The corners of his mouth were doing sothing he clearly couldn’t control. His eyes said, "Are you okay?" The rest of his face said I’m trying so hard not to laugh right now.
"Here, idiot. Drink."
Koko shoved two health vials at him.
Ahrie downed them in one go—thick, sweet liquid sliding down his throat. Cuts started knitting, bruises fading a little.
But he wanted faster.
"Screw it."
Ahrie sat up slowly, took stock of his wounds, then sighed through his nose.
His right hand began to glow.
Koko tilted his head. "What are you—"
[P.A.I.N.]
Ahrie pulled his fist back.
And punched himself in the face.
The sound echoed.
Thwack.
A long silence settled over the group.
Then, slowly, the glow faded. The cuts are sealed. The bruises faded out. His breathing evened.
Ahrie rolled his neck. Cracked his knuckles.
"...Good as new," he muttered.
A lump the size of a small egg sat swelling on the side of his face.
Min, Rocky, and Koko stared at him.
Then at each other.
Then back at him.
"This motherfuc—"
Ahrie stood up—
Brushing the dirt off his clothes.
He stretched a little... rolled his shoulders... checked his arms, his legs—
Twisting his waist a little to check if anything still hurts.
Nothing.
Well... aside from that lump.
Behind him, Koko and Min were already deep in their dumb argunt.
"—I’m telling you, if I was in his shoes, those wolves would’ve been DONE faster!"
Min puffed his chest out.
Koko raised a brow.
"Faster? You would’ve been flattened in ten seconds."
"Excuse ?? I’m the tank!"
"Exactly."
"...what’s that supposed to an?"
"—I’m telling you, if I was in his shoes, those wolves would’ve been DONE faster!"
Min puffed his chest out.
Koko raised a brow.
"Faster? You would’ve been flattened in ten seconds."
"Excuse ?? I’m the tank!"
"Exactly."
"...what’s that supposed to an?"
anwhile—
Rocky climbed onto a low branch and struck his best hero pose—tiny chest puffed, one paw flexed, the other pointing dramatically at the charred wolf corpses. He squeaked twice, nodding hard like I could’ve done it solo, easy.
Min glanced at him and snorted.
"I bet you can’t, bud."
A lazy point.
"All you do is throw rocks and flip people off."
Rocky froze mid-pose.
Turned slowly.
Flipped Min off with both paws, squeaked angrily—then started acting it out.
Koko snorted.
From far off—High up in the trees—a shadowy figure crouched motionless.
Hands cupped around their eyes like makeshift binoculars.
"Hoh... that’s interesting indeed..."
The voice was low, almost amused.
A faint ripple in the air.
It continued watching them from afar.
Leaves rustled once. Then silence.
Ahrie glanced toward the trees for half a second, frowning.
"You guys feel that?"
Min shrugged.
"Feel what? Rocky’s ego?"
Rocky squeaked indignantly from the branch.
Ahrie shook his head.
"Never mind. Today’s food... wolf at."
He started walking toward the wolf corpses, rapier still in hand.
Ahrie skewered the at and propped it over the fire without asking if anyone was on board.
Nobody complained.
Rocky already had the first cooked piece.
The thing was almost bigger than his head.
He held it with both paws—
Eyes sparkling.
Ahrie rotated the skewer slowly.
Juice dripped into the fire—
tsk—tsk—
Small bursts of smoke rose.
The sll spread fast — gay, smoky, drifting up through the trees.
Up in the branches—
The shadowy figure was still watching.
Completely still.
Completely locked in.
Then—
Grrrrrr...
Then its stomach growled.
"...fuuudgeee..."
It grabbed its stomach, wincing a little.
"I should’ve eaten before my shift..."
It smacked its own belly lightly like that would fix anything.
Then its gaze shifted—
Scanning the surroundings.
Left.
Right.
Then—
Paused.
"...wai—"
Its eyes narrowed.
Through the trees—
Shapes moving through the dark. Low to the ground. Drawn in by the sll.
Monsters... Heading straight for them.
"...Are these guys stupid or what," it mumbled.
It glanced back down at the group — and paused.
Koko hadn’t moved.
Still sitting by the fire.
But her lips were moving.
The shadowy figure leaned in, squinting.
Reading them.
"...err, no... we just don’t give a fuck about them..."
Then Koko slowly turned her head.
Directly toward the shadowy figure’s tree.
Gulp.
The shadowy figure froze.
"...what?"
Gulp.
The figure swallowed.
"...can she see ... from here...?"
A beat.
"...no way..."
Another.
"...yeah... impossible..."
It straightened slightly.
Forced a shrug.
Tried to act like nothing happened.
The monsters were closing in—low growls, rustling leaves, claws scraping dirt.
The figure sighed.
"...might as well help them..."
Its lips curled into a faint grin.
Hidden in the dark.
"We can’t afford to lose so specins..."
A soft—
"Kekek..."
Back at camp—
Koko poked at the fire. Again. And again.
Min sat across, chewing.
"Okay." He pointed his stick at Ahrie. "Honest question."
"No."
"You didn’t even hear it."
"Still no."
Min pointed the stick harder. "Ohh co on..."
Ahrie glanced at him. "Want to see a magic trick?"
Min paused. "...aight, bet."
"Look to your left," Ahrie said. "Sothing will disappear."
Min squinted. Looked left.
Nothing there.
He turned back—
Ahrie’s cheeks were stuffed.
Min looked down at his skewer.
Barely anything left.
He looked back up.
Ahrie wiggled his eyebrows. Chewing slowly. Completely at peace.
"Shueee..." Ahrie managed, mouth completely full. "Shomting dissaapea—"
"SPIT IT OUT YOU FUCK—"
Ahrie dodged, laughing so hard he almost choked, bits spraying everywhere.
"Magic, baby! Now you see it—" He swallowed hard, wiped his mouth. "Now you don’t."
Koko cackled so loud Rocky almost fell off her shoulder.
Sowhere nearby—
A horde of monsters crept closer.
Drawn in by the sll.
Low growls rolled through the dark as they closed the distance.
The shadowy figure sighed, dropping from the branches like it was annoyed at having to move.
It landed light, right in the monsters’ path.
"Yoooo... can I kindly ask you guys to leave?"
It smirked under the hood, voice casual, almost bored.
The monsters paused—then growled louder, hackles up, eyes glowing.
The figure raised one finger to its lips.
"Shuuush..."
The other hand moved smoothly—sword sliding free with a soft shing.
"Shut it."
One blink.
Then—
It was over before the growling even stopped.
Every single one of them. Gone.
The figure sheathed its sword, glanced at the ss, then scaled back up to its branch like nothing happened.
Settled back into position.
Down at the camp—
Min was still fuming over his stolen food.
Ahrie was still chewing with zero regret.
Rocky was minding his business by the fire.
Not one of them noticed.
The figure watched quietly.
Its stomach growled again.
"...I really should’ve eaten before my shift."
They kicked dirt over the fire and headed out.
The cave couldn’t be that far.
Probably.
An hour later—
"...haven’t we passed that tree before?" Koko murmured.
"No," Ahrie said.
Another hour later—
That sa tree.
Nobody said anything.
Min opened his mouth.
"Don’t," Ahrie cut him off.
They kept moving.
Up in the branches, the shadowy figure watched them loop around for the third ti, chin resting in its hand.
It sighed through its nose.
Then again.
Then a third ti, longer.
It dropped from the tree.
Landed right in the middle of their path.
Everyone froze.
The figure raised both hands slowly.
"Relax." It jerked its head forward. "Cave’s that way."
Silence.
"...who are you," Ahrie said flatly.
"Soone who’s been watching you walk in circles for two hours." It was already turning away. "You’re welco. Keep up."
It started walking.
Nobody moved for a second.
Min leaned toward Ahrie. "...should we trust this?"
Ahrie watched the figure’s back.
"Do we have a choice?"
Rocky was already following.
They went.
The mont they disappeared inside—
The shadowy figure moved.
It slipped to the entrance of the cave, back against the rock wall, eyes on the surrounding trees.
Then quietly got to work — sealing off the sides of the entrance.
Nobody’s walking out of there without it knowing.
"Syl." it whispered
A small UI blood in front of its face—semi-transparent, edges flickering like bad signal.
It tapped through nus quick—Link Features —Call
Calling.
Waiting.
No answer.
"This goddamn..."
It tapped again. Harder.
Still nothing.
Then—soft crunch of leaves behind it.
It stilled.
"Are you trying to call that bastard you placed in the city?"
Male voice.
A beat of silence.
Before it could turn fully, a female voice followed—softer.
The shadowy figure whipped around.
Five silhouettes stood in the dim light.
The figure’s hand twitched toward its sword.
"Fuuuck this..." it muttered under its breath, barely audible.
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