The morning came slow, light filtering through the pale mist that hung over the field where they’d

  camped. The air was still cool, carrying only the faint whisper of distant movement. One by one, the

  team stirred, stretching, shaking off the fatigue that even rest couldn’t completely erase.

  Bash was already sitting up, boots laced, running a systems check through his wrist display. The others

  followed routine: hydration, field scans, protein rations. Taren tossed Bash a bar before opening one for

  herself.

  “Breakfast of champions,” she said dryly, chewing without enthusiasm.

  “Better than nothing,” Rixor grunted, cracking his neck. “Could use a full meal, though.”

  “After yesterday?” Calen said. “I’m not sure I could eat anything heavier.”

  “Still better than that swarm sludge,” Nyra muttered, adjusting the calibration on her rifle.

  They ate quietly for a moment. Then, inevitably, the conversation turned to logistics.

  “Ammo check,” Bash said.

  Taren pulled up her counter. “Four hundred rounds left.”

  “I’ve got about seven hundred,” Bash said. “We’ll balance it. About Five-fifty each.” He handed over a

  fresh mag pouch.

  “Appreciated.”

  “Calen?”

  He tapped the bundle strapped to his leg. “Recovered most of what I fired. One-ninety left out of two

  hundred.”

  “Efficient,” Rixor said.

  “Or lucky,” Calen replied. “Depends on how you look at it.”

  Nyra lifted her rifle slightly. “Five hundred rounds even. Enough if we don’t run into another hive.”

  “That’s the plan,” Bash said, pulling up the holo-map. The soft grid shimmered into view, showing

  their position and the familiar icons. “We’ve got two options, backtrack to the pack we skipped or hit

  the next individual reading. About three klicks out.”

  The group glanced over the map, no hesitation in their answer.

  “Individual,” Taren said first.

  “Agreed,” Calen echoed.

  “Less risk, more control,” Liora added.

  “Then that’s where we’re going,” Bash said. He flicked his display closed and checked his timer: 1.16 /

  3.00.

  A quiet thought crossed his mind as he tightened his gear. I wonder how the others are doing…

  “Doesn’t matter,” S-C said inside his head, calm as ever. “You can only control your outcome, not

  theirs.”

  He nodded once. “Fair point.”

  They packed up efficiently, falling into formation as they set out across the uneven terrain. The light

  was harsh, but the air crisp. Grass hissed beneath their boots, and in the distance, the sound of rushing

  water hinted at the river cutting through the region.

  It didn’t take long to reach the new coordinates, barely a twenty-minute walk at their pace. The land

  sloped downward into a shallow basin dotted with low shrubs and exposed rock. And there, near the

  center, movement caught their eyes.

  A raptor-like beast, lean and long-limbed, its wings half-feathered, half-scaled, was locked in a brutal

  struggle. In its talons it clutched a smaller creature, squat and powerful, its hide patterned with dull

  crystal plates and mineralized fur-spines that glinted like crushed stone. Another, larger one, likely the

  parent, slammed its forelimbs, sheathed in rough, rock-bound armor, against the raptor’s legs with

  earth-shaking force.

  The sound was primal, cracks, shrieks, the dull thud of impact as the raptor tried to lift off and failed.

  “What the hell…” Rixor whispered.

  “The map said one individual,” Calen muttered.

  Nyra frowned. “Guess that’s what ‘based on previous surveys’ really means.”

  “Correct,” S-C confirmed in Bash’s head. “Map readings represent established migration and behavior

  patterns. Not real-time tracking.”

  Bash exhaled slowly. “Noted.”

  The raptor screeched, wings flaring as it raked claws across the larger creature’s face. The blow barely

  made a mark, the beast’s skin glinted with a rocky sheen.

  “What are we looking at?” Bash asked silently.

  “Raptors: Tier One Advanced, healing type. Rabbits: Tier One Greater, mineral type,” S-C replied.

  “Durable, hard to kill. The raptor has high regenerative potential but insufficient offensive power to

  breach mineral defense. Neither poses immediate threat unless provoked. However, the fight is energy intensive. The raptor will weaken quickly.”

  Bash relayed it to the others. “Healing type versus mineral type. The bird’s got stamina but no bite. The

  rabbits are tougher, but slower. If we play it right, we might not have to waste much.”

  They watched in silence for another minute. The raptor’s movements were losing fluidity, its wingbeats

  sluggish. The smaller creature in its grip still squirmed weakly while the mother continued to pound at

  its flank, each impact dull but relentless.

  Taren grimaced. “Looks like it’s losing.”

  “Exactly,” Bash said. “We wait for the right moment. Then hit them all at once.”

  Rixor smirked. “You’re thinking kill-steal.”

  “I’m thinking efficiency,” Bash corrected.

  As the raptor faltered, the group got into position.

  “Here’s the plan,” Bash said. “When it’s on its last legs, we all focus fire on the raptor. Quick kill. As

  soon as it drops- Rixor, Taren, Liora, Calen- you’re team one, take the mother. Nyra, Darik, and I

  handle the small one. Eyes and joints. Their hide’s mineral; piercing’s the only way through.”

  Everyone nodded, checking weapons one last time.

  “Targets confirmed,” S-C said in his head.

  “Execute,” Bash ordered.

  The timing was perfect. The raptor turned, exposed its head, and the mid and ranged members fired.

  The synchronized volley was beautiful in its precision: bullets, and arrows all converging on a single

  point. Every shot struck within milliseconds of each other. The raptor convulsed mid-shriek, head

  snapping back, and dropped instantly, crashing to the ground in a cloud of dust.

  Before the body had even hit the dirt, both melee squads were moving.

  The rabbits reacted with frightening speed. The mother slammed one foreleg into the ground, sending a

  shock through the soil that knocked Liora slightly off balance. Rixor met the next swing head-on,

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  hammer striking the hardened limb with a boom that echoed through the valley. Taren fired from

  behind him, rounds sparking off the beast’s carapace.

  The baby creature squealed and lunged toward Bash’s group, claws digging furrows in the ground.

  Nyra’s rifle cracked, hitting it square in the chest. It stumbled, then leapt again, faster than expected.

  Bash rolled aside, firing twice into its leg joints while Darik darted forward, blades flashing.

  The clash was chaos. Stone-hard limbs against steel, gunfire mixing with shouts and roars.

  At the beginning of all of chaos scream tore through the field.

  Taren.

  Her voice cut through the noise, raw and sharp. She dropped her weapon and fell to one knee, clutching

  her chest as if struck.

  “Taren!” Rixor yelled, eyes wide, but she waved him off weakly, shaking her head.

  “Keep fighting!” Bash ordered. “Focus!”

  The battle pressed on. Ten minutes felt like an eternity of stalemate. Every time they scored a hit, the

  rabbits’ eyes shut reflexively, their carapace tightening, deflecting rounds. Liora managed to slice along

  the flank of the larger one, but the cut barely penetrated.

  “They’re closing off!” Calen shouted.

  “Find openings, eyes, ears, joints!” Bash barked back.

  Calen drew, aimed, and released. The arrow flew true, disappearing into the ear canal of the mother.

  She stiffened, staggered, and crashed sideways.

  At that same instant, Liora gasped, a low, pained sound, and bent forward, both hands clutching her

  chest.

  “What the hell...?” Rixor started, but before anyone could react, Nyra fired again, a clean shot through

  the baby’s ear. The small creature convulsed and fell limp.

  A third reaction hit instantly, Darik, dropping to one knee with a grunt, hand to his sternum, face

  contorted in pain.

  The battlefield went still. Dust hung in the air.

  Then, one by one, the three of them straightened. Breathing ragged, but alive.

  Bash rushed over with the others. “Report!”

  Taren managed a shaky grin. “That was… intense. Healing type, confirmed. I’m unlocked.” She tapped

  her chest lightly. “Felt like my core was going to explode.”

  The others looked at her in disbelief, then broke into quick laughter and relief.

  “You’re a healer?” Rixor asked, incredulous.

  She nodded. “Guess so.”

  Liora raised a trembling hand. “Mineral. Elemental resonance.”

  Darik coughed once, catching his breath. “Same here, solid alignment.”

  Rixor grinned wide, wiping sweat from his brow. “So let me get this straight Greys have about a fifty percent chance to pull a second unlock. The same obviously goes for me. Could still surprise you.”

  Bash looked over them all, the corners of his mouth softening. “Doesn’t matter what color or class

  you’ve got. It’s not the weapon that decides the fight, it’s the one who wields it.”

  For a moment his gaze drifted past them, unfocused, remembering his grandfather Masaharu, steady

  hands, rough voice, and the same quiet certainty behind every strike.

  They took a moment to gather themselves, then turned back to the fallen beasts.

  “So…” Nyra said slowly. “Was the map showing the rabbits or the raptor?”

  Bash shrugged. “Could be either, or we just got lucky.”

  They began harvesting the fragments: two T1G from the rabbits and one T1A from the raptor. The work

  came easier now, guided by instinct. The rabbits’ fragments shimmered beneath the mineral plating on

  their back feet, each pulse leaving behind dull stone dust. The raptor’s essence had settled in its beak,

  sharp, resonant, and faintly warm to the touch. When the last one came free, all three fragments pulsed

  together, then condensed into neat, glowing trinkets.

  As Bash slipped the last one into his pouch, he pulled up the map again. Their current zone flickered

  faintly, the border shifting from orange to grey as his system marked it cleared. Near the eastern edge,

  beside a thin blue line, a new marker pulsed into view.

  “River,” he said aloud.

  S-C: “Elemental zones match historical frequencies here, mineral, wind, water.”

  Bash: “Right. They’re common, not linked. Given the river, water’s the likely projection.”

  They all exchanged glances, tired but eager.

  Rixor adjusted his hammer with a grin. “Then let’s go fishing.”

  A faint ripple of laughter passed through the group is water next, that’s Elemental. Highest unlock odds.

  Maybe one of us gets lucky again!.”

  Darik snorted. “Wouldn’t mind another surprise.”

  Bash closed the map. “Pack it up. We move.”

  The team gathered their gear, checked weapons, and started toward the river, their silhouettes cutting

  through the brightening horizon.

  Three battles down.

  Two days left.

  And now, four unlocked with three abilities.

  , we’ve got me tanking, her healing, two Mineral DPS, and everyone else laying down shots? We’re

  unstoppable.”

  Bash couldn’t help a faint smirk. “If you all figure out how to use those abilities, maybe. Work with

  your system cores, learn what you’ve got. We’ll adapt.”

  Taren leaned back against a half-collapsed wall, flexing her fingers. “Pretty sure that’s it for me.

  Browns usually only get one ability, two if you’re one of the lucky five percent.”

  Darik nodded beside her. “Same. But I’m fine with it. This fits me, close range, melee, break things

  until they stop moving. I’ll take that.”

  Taren smiled faintly. “I’m not complaining either. Healers are rare. Browns usually get the grunt work

  in the guilds, porters, scouts, repair crews. If I can actually heal? That changes everything.”

  Across from them, Liora, one of the Greys, let out a slow breath. “Mineral for me,” she said. “Not bad,

  just… not what I was hoping for. Was aiming for something Physical.”

  Darik chuckled. “You’ll still be useful up close. Solid cover, heavy strikes, you can form shields or

  layer your skin in stone. That’s perfect for frontline work.”

  Rixor gestured with one hand, grin returning. “Don’t count yourselves out yet. , short, genuine,

  exhausted.

  Taren glanced toward the flickering map projection. “If it