“I assume you have some kind of plan,” Morgan said, watching him pull his tek armor back on. Before he could answer, she asked, “What is it?”

“I already told you,” he said. His tone was short, not out of annoyance, but because he could feel his blood pressure spiking. The thought of what he was about to do was making his heart thump more quickly, and even a simple thing like talking was proving difficult.

“You told them what your plan is,” she retorted. “But I know you. You have something else in mind.”

Adjusting the neckline of his suit, he gave her a scrutinizing look. “You think I lie to everyone that’s not a close ally, don’t you?”

She gave a small shrug and didn’t reply at first. But when he continued to stare at her expectantly, she reluctantly said, “Well, you are a…”

“A what?” He asked bluntly, locking his sidearm in place. “A sociopath?”

She looked a little awkward but didn’t disagree. He knew that’s what she was getting at. People with his condition were known to be manipulators. “I am, but I find lying to be a waste of time. It pisses me off when others lie to me, so I offer them the same courtesy.”

She looked doubtful but didn’t contradict him. He took that as the end of the discussion. “Link.”

The armor constricted flawlessly around his body until there was no loose fabric, and the helmet formed around his face. He blinked as bright light flooded his vision, and then his eyes adjusted to see the full display of information on the HUD. He spent a few seconds inspecting himself from head to toe, almost as if he expected to see some kind of damage. But of course, Nicholas’ work was flawless, and everything was perfect.

“Wish me luck,” he said, his voice slightly muffled by the tight-fitting helmet. Before she could reply, he activated the magnetic flight and shot high into the air, taking a sharp turn east to where the unexplored parts of the mountain lay. Keeping himself to a moderate pace, he soon lost sight of Haven and was surrounded by wild scenery once more. He kept low, only just barely skimming the treetops. Armed only with his pistol and the tranq rifle that Max had given him, he wanted to avoid fighting at all costs.

The eastern side of the Menoran Mountains was hardly ever explored, either by Menorans or players. There was very little advantage in going this far, after all. It was a breeding ground for strong monsters but without sufficient reward, and there wasn’t even enough room for a full platoon to maneuver. The foot of the mountains left only a couple dozen feet of rocky beach before you hit the ocean, which was known to crash against the mountains in stormy weather. And it was almost always stormy.

He touched down on the nearest peak to him to get a better look at the other side. He was so used to flying by now that he managed to land completely silently, and he was confident that nothing in the area was aware of his presence. Not that he could see anything else, of course. Jel-Kenna had told him that monsters would be lying low around this time of the day, with the worst of the Monster Winds having passed. That would make it easier to cure whatever monster he chose.

“Wait,” he said quietly to himself. “Why am I hunting a wild monster?”

It was strange that the thought hadn’t occurred to him before then. Max had been quite clear that a monster had to be born with the immunity to the Monster Winds, else they’d have to constantly be supplied with Monster’s Bane. They probably didn’t want to give him a companion that took so long to produce, he thought. Not that he could blame them. If he possessed something that had taken months and months of research and effort, he wouldn’t part with it easily either.

But maybe the monster didn’t actually have to be born with immunity, he thought. Maybe the yellow liquid worked like a vaccine, in that its effects were permanent, as long as the monster was Legendary-Class or higher. That made sense, he thought. But it also made things much more difficult.

The sound of a distant roar rippled across the landscape before him, snagging his attention at once. Peering around for the source, he thought he could see some trees on the mountainside swaying more violently than their neighbors. It had to be a dragon roar, he was sure. Then, as if to confirm his theory, he saw a burst of red fire shooting into the sky. It was bright enough to illuminate the night sky, and he raised one hand to protect his eyes. Even when it had faded, the shape of the flames was still burned into his memory. It lingered as he blinked, a constant dark patch on his vision.

He took off from the peak of the mountain and flew closer to the dragon, pulling the tranq rifle off of his back as he went. He got just close enough, hovering some five or six hundred feet off the ground, to see what was going on below him. Through the weapon’s scope, he could see two large shapes wrestling with each other, locked in combat. One of the creatures was the dragon, a bright-green monster with massive wings. Easily twice the size of the other creature.

He had to really squint to see the other creature, but even then he couldn’t make out any details. Some kind of metallic hide, which made him think Tek. Whatever it was, it was clearly holding its own with the dragon. Another flash of fire gave him a better look, and he saw wings visible. Maybe another dragon, just younger. But then, he thought, why couldn’t he see any breath attacks or some kind of elemental output? Even tek dragons could breathe fire, or lightning, or had some kind of attack that covered their body in an element.

The other creature broke free of the dragon at last and turned to run in the other direction. It let out a roar of triumph and gave chase at once, clearly intent on the kill. But Jerik could tell at once that it was a feint. Less than a yard away from impact, the other creature whipped back around and darted under the dragon. There was another roar, this time of pain and fear, and the dragon hit the ground with an awful booming thud. The strange creature was on it in a flash, dealing a finishing blow.

Jerik tried to make out its details again, but it was too dark. Whatever it was, it was jet-black for the most part. But then he heard a screech as the dragon finally went limp, and a flash of light went through its body, flashing from head to tail. Long wings, a sleek, lithe lion’s body, and a long tail ending in a busy tip. He knew immediately what kind of creature it was. A griffon. A Tek Griffon! He made no noise as his jaw dropped open in surprise, but it seemed to sense his presence anyway.

Jerik shot back at once as the griffon turned to look at him, letting out another screech of challenge. There was no chance in hell he was fighting that thing, he decided. The stronger companion the better, sure, but he wasn’t that reckless. He shot back towards the peak he’d used as a vantage point, then back down the other side of the slope, moving as fast as he could. He knew he’d unleashed a sonic boom even if he couldn’t hear it because he’d never flown so fast. He reached the foot of the mountain in seconds and slowed just enough to hit the earth in a long slide.

The faint sound of wings flapping caught his ear, and he glanced behind him, feeling his heart stop in terror. The griffon had caught up with him already! Did that mean it could fly faster than sound as well? He dove behind a tree as it lunged at him, gripping the tranq rifle tightly. Its talons shredded through the tree as if it were made of paper, cutting it in one stroke. He cursed and ran back once again. It followed him easily, even jumping off of trees to catch up.

He finally turned, raising the rifle loaded with a Monster’s Bane dart, but had no chance to fire before it attacked. Its three-inch claws were already swiping, and he only just avoided being struck by ducking low. He rolled under it as it continued to swipe. For a second, he was deafened by the sound of its wings directly over him, and dust filled his vision as it whirled in place to track his progress.

He lifted the rifle again, aiming directly at its head, but those claws flashed down again, catching the rifle and cutting off the barrel. The force of that swipe knocked the weapon from his hand, leaving him unarmed. He no longer thought of trying to cure it. He had to either kill it or escape. Both options seemed impossible just then as its front feet hit the ground, and lunged, beak open to bite him. He ducked it again, stepping to the side.

The griffon was so fast that it was everywhere he looked, its black wings flared and buffeting the air around him. It was like a thunderstorm was taking place right next to him. The wind it disturbed was powerful enough to push him, though thankfully, it saved his life quite a few times, letting him avoid those nasty claws with inches to spare.

He barely had time to think as he continued to duck and sidestep its attacks, sure that any second it would catch him. Raid-Class armor or no, he’d be shredded. Fighting the dragon would have been a near-impossible attack, not to mention going against something that had killed it with such ease. Jerik was knocked sideways by a burst of wind from another wing, then jumped back to avoid the claws again. Just then, he saw something metallic on the ground beside a tree. His rifle! It would still have a round loaded, even if it couldn’t shoot it.

He shifted his body to the left as if he meant to go that way, then darted right immediately. The feint worked, and it went lumbering past him. Running faster than he’d ever done before, he bolted for the rifle, diving onto the ground to snatch it up and rolling to his feet. By instinct, he held it up and ready as if he could shoot, aiming directly at the griffon, who had just turned to stare at him. Strangely, it didn’t move right away.

It was growling fiercely, frustrated that this prey had avoided it for so long. It had never encountered something as nimble as it was. The logical part of its brain felt grudging respect that Jerik couldn’t sense, but the primal side demanded that he be killed. It arched its back like a big cat and spread its wings in a terrifying display of power. Light flashed along its body in lines like circuitry, then down its wings. The tips of each feather glowed bright purple with the light, casting a dim light around their surroundings.

“Oh shit,” he muttered, knowing what it was going to do at once, almost as if he could read its mind. He switched his grip on the rifle just in time. It leaped forward in one smooth, powerful action, its beak open wide to bite him. But instead of flesh, the beak clamped down the middle of what was left of the tranq rifle, right over where the dart of Monster’s Bane was loaded. Jerik heard the unmistakable sound of shattering glass as the beak sheared through the rifle, leaving him holding two useless halves of what had just been a weapon.

Seconds from gouging him and ending his life, the griffon recoiled back, letting out a growl of frustration. Jerik was paralyzed by shock mere feet in front of it, but it didn’t seem to notice him. With a jolt, he realized that it had swallowed the Monster’s Bane compound. It was being cured! Suddenly, the feeling returned to his body, and he rolled to his hands and knees, pushing off the ground while it was distracted, pelting into the sky to get away.