Jerik took a step back once more, then another. Suddenly, the urge to reach for his rifle was back. Equally surprising, Nick was also on guard now, and he backed up with him, stepping slightly to the side to give him some cover. His hand rested on the handle of his tek sword, and his legs were crouched slightly. Max, who had noticed this, seemed to retrieve a weapon of his own out of nowhere, a long and slender blade. He didn’t brandish it, however, merely keeping it ready for instant use.

“What are you talking about?” Nicholas said, his voice cold. “That wasn’t part of Sel-Kenna’s plan. She wanted to put an army of humans and monsters under the command of a particularly gifted commander.”

“That may be what she told you,” Max said, taking a step forward to place himself before Jel-Kenna. “But the Elder has decided to augment that plan further. It is our best chance at stopping Kan-Menora.”

“Says you.” Nicholas took another step to the side, partially obscuring Jerik from their gaze. “What’s your plan? Depending on your answer, I’m prepared to get my leader far away from you.”

Max took another step forward, and the tension in the air sharpened incredibly. “We’re going to have Jerik bond with a monster. The same way that Vernex and I have bonded.”

“That’s why you’re so strong,” Jerik said suddenly. “Your bond with Vernex raised your Class.”

It was the one thing that had confused him since he’d first met Max. How could a Legendary-Class player be so strong that he could easily trounce another Legendary-Class player like him? The only logical answer was that he wasn’t Legendary Class. Max gave him an amused laugh, then put one hand to the front of his flowing white robes. “Correct.”

He yanked the fabric off of his body in one swift movement, revealing the armor he wore underneath. Made of what looked like dyed and enchanted black leather, it carried undeniable power. As soon as the concealing robes were gone, his status had changed. 

Maxari Mshindi

Raid-Class

Dragon Guardian

Before he knew what he was doing, Paragon was in his hand, and he’d switched to the red-dot sight., leveling the weapon directly at Max’s head. It was his only chance at a quick end to the warrior, as everywhere else was protected by that scaled leather armor. He could feel his heart beating faster out of nervousness, but his aim remained steady. Behind them, he could sense Morgan, Benji, and Katrina readying their weapons again, ready for a fight.

“I beg you to try,” Max said. There was a different light to his eyes now. It was similar to the way he’d looked after learning that Vernex had nearly died but somehow more intense. “I could snap that rifle with ease.”

Jerik let out a snort of disbelief. “This weapon is Raid-Class. You can’t break it. I pull this trigger at such a short distance, you’re dead. We’re leaving.”

“Try it,” Max growled. “You’re not going anywhere. You’re our first legitimate match, and you’re bonding with a monster.”

Well, he did ask, Jerik thought. Twice. “Get ready to move, Nick.”

Nick raised his gauntlet and summoned the tower shield at once, his helmet forming over his head. “Ready.”

Jerik squeezed the trigger at once. With nothing to brace himself, the rifle nearly knocked him on his ass with the kick, but he recovered quickly. He immediately started moving back, reloading the rifle clumsily. It was impossible to do it quickly on his feet. Nick didn’t move with him. He looked up, ready to bark an order, but the words froze in his throat. Max was standing before them, completely unscathed. Then he lifted his free hand, which was glowing white, and shot some kind of magical bolt at them.

Nick was quick to react, shifting his shield to intercept it. The conjured energy shield stood no chance against the attack, which tore right through it and struck Nick himself. The force of the spell threw the warrior back into Jerik, sending them both flying several feet back. The younger man took the brunt of the attack, but Jerik’s vision was still tinged with red when he finally regained his senses. Nicholas’ armor, meanwhile, was in a horrible state. It sparked in several places, and he could hear the beeping that indicated critical damage. With one spell? He couldn’t believe it.

With Nicholas disabled and, in his eyes, no way to avoid outright violence, he scrambled back to his feet, lifting Paragon and firing again. This time, he could see what happened clearly. The bullet, mere inches from his face, shredded into wisps of white energy. This energy then coiled down and around his head, and into the armor. Then his free hand glowed white once more. He lifted it again but didn’t fire off the spell.

“See?” He said, his face hard as stone. “You stand no chance. I could take three more of those shots without being in danger.”

“If you think you can intimidate me into doing what you want, you got another thing coming,” Jerik said. He’d leveled Paragon again after reloading, but hesitated, not willing to fire. “So you either kill me, or I get the hell out of here.”

Max’s hand stopped glowing, and he lowered it. He shook his head in a very exhausted fashion, that dangerous light missing from his eyes now. “I’m not trying to intimidate you, Jerik. Far from it. I’m trying to convince you.”

“Convince me by attacking me?”

“Indeed.” Max turned slightly to the side, his hand glowing once more, and discharged the spell at a random tree. It was vaporized. “I can do that because of my bond with Vernex. If you succeed, you can get a similarly powerful ability.”

Jerik lifted his eye from the red dot sight but kept the rifle level with Max’s face. He didn’t have to aim across such a short distance in any event. He was still on guard, but a strong surge of curiosity was claiming him now. “How does it work?”

“Well, after taking this compound,” Max said, retrieving the yellow liquid and waving it. The compound glittered in the bright sunlight, almost as if it were made of melted crystals. “You have to bond with a Raid-Class Monster.”

“Just like that,” Jerik said. He phrased it as a statement rather than a question. “You make it sound easy.”

“It’s not. It will be the hardest thing you’ve ever done, and you have to do it alone. Any monster that senses an approaching attack force will be impossible to communicate with.”

“I’m assuming I’ll also have to cure it with Monster’s Bane first,” he guessed. It was a logical assumption. “Or do you already have a monster in mind for me?”

“You’ll have to find one on your own,” Max admitted. “I already told you that we managed to make a few monsters immune, but none of them are Raid-Class.”

There was a long pause, in which Jerik did some very quick thinking. Almost by its own accord, Paragon’s barrel dropped a few inches. He glanced back to where Morgan, Benji, and Katrina stood, their weapons still ready, almost as if asking for their advice. The sisters looked impassive as if they couldn’t care either way. But Morgan, after meeting his eyes for several long seconds, gave him a discreet nod. He turned back to Max, lowering the rifle and putting it on his back once more.

“Fine,” he said. “But I want Nick to do the same.”

Nick looked up at him in alarm from where he was laying on the ground. It was quite plainly the look you gave someone who was insane, but Jerik gave him a curt hand gesture, warning him not to interrupt. He looked past Max to Jel-Kenna, making it clear that he was telling her directly. He wouldn’t have Max be involved in this decision. If they wanted him to take part in their plan, he wouldn’t do it alone.

Jel-Kenna nodded in agreement at once. “If he’s willing, then he may. But no others.”

“That’s fine,” Jerik said shortly. He stooped to offer Nick a hand up. “I doubt any of them could do it except for Morgan, and she doesn’t care about power.”

The matter seemed settled. Max put his sword away, as did Nick. The villagers who had gathered at the others’ arrival dispersed to return to their previous activities, and Jerik led the command group a ways away to have a short discussion.

“You can’t really be thinking of doing this,” Benji said, once she was clear that they couldn’t be overheard. “It’s suicide. A Raid-Class monster would kill you in seconds if you’re alone.”

“I am doing it,” he replied firmly. “So is Nick. We could use that kind of power against Kan-Menora.”

She opened her mouth to argue further, but Morgan spoke first, cutting her off. “Leave it. If they fail, we’ll just return and get our revenge.”

Another long pause and they all nodded. Even Nicholas was in agreement, to Jerik’s surprise. He added one more point. “That reminds me. Morgan, I want you to hold onto Paragon for now.”

Her face showed nothing but blank shock. “You’re not taking it with you?”

He shook his head. “It sounds like I have to do this without trying to kill the monster. Besides, Paragon can’t shoot darts. It’ll just be extra weight. And if I die, I don’t want to lose it.”

She nodded her understanding and took the rifle from him, making it disappear with a quick flick of her wrist. Jerik turned to Nick, who was already checking his armor. He’d seen the young man do that before, and knew that he was running a quick diagnostic to assess the damage. “Can we repair the suits quickly?”

“Of course,” Nick said. “I saved enough materials, just in case. But your armor’s battery capacity was damaged. I’ll need to find a new component for that.”

“Check with Jel-Kenna for that. In the meantime, I’m going to stash my points.”

It didn’t take him long to find what he was looking for. Every settlement, no matter how large or small, had a terminal that could access the point bank. He deposited all but fifty thousand of his points, which he’d need for miscellaneous expenses before he set out to find this Raid-Class monster. It wouldn’t be hard to find one in the parts of the mountain he hadn’t yet explored, he was sure. The only question was which kind he’d pursue. For the sake of a quick resolution, he decided he’d go after the first one he saw that he liked. Maybe a dragon like Max, he thought.

He reunited with Nick about an hour later, at which point he’d removed his tek armor. He handed it over just as Nick finished repairing his own, along with a new battery module that Jel-Kenna had given him. Only fair, seeing as how it was her men that had damaged it, he thought. Nick told him the repair would take about an hour, so he went off to find some food. The exciting events of the day had drained him more than the escape from that rush of monsters at the start of the raid zone.

Finally settling in the second-largest building of Haven that served as a combined tavern and inn, he scarfed down a basic meal alone, watching the villagers as they ate and drank in a jovial fashion. A well-connected community, he noted mentally. He thought back to Morgan’s decision, should he die. He thought it was possible to take out Haven with the force he had, but it would be a difficult fight, harder than any other the Smoke Brigade had attempted.

But first, he reminded himself, he’d have to give his full effort to this “ritual”.