Steven felt the shield snapped into place even though he couldn’t see it.

Immediately he glanced around for the small line of portals that peered into the mall.

He found the one for the Old Navy and saw his new shield. It was near Markus and the shadow man. He used Compass Push and drove it at the man’s hip.

It landed, and Markus immediately followed up, driving a punch into the man’s side that sent him reeling.

He swung his quarterstaff at Markus while his shadow stretched past his feet, trying to trip the man up.

Shadow guy snarled. “What the hell, Corrie! I thought you took care of that!“

“What are you-“ Steven didn’t let the woman finish. He dismissed the shields in the hall with them, calling them into the Old Navy.

Shields rained down on the shadow guy as well as Miguel.

“What the fuck is the range on those things! And how are you –“ Corrie cut herself off with a chuckle. It couldn’t hide all her annoyance, but something else was under the sound—an emotion Steven didn’t like.

Excitement.

“You wanna have a proxy fight? I’ll give you a proxy fight.“

The portals in the Old Navy snapped open. Walls, floors, and even a few spots of the ceiling glowed lavender.

It almost felt like the woman had an endless supply, but Steven was betting her Class just heavily rewarded prep work.

If they had just run into them on the street, this whole thing would’ve gone very differently.

A portal next to Lilly opened up, and a hammer spun out, hurdling for her knee.

Steven redirected a nearby shield, shoving it straight down. It met the hammer with a clang, slamming it to the floor.

At the other side of the room where Doris fought with the flame guy, portals, one on the floor and one on the wall, began to glow brighter.

A vile of paint shot out of one portal while a goddamn bola flung out of the other.

Steven had an angle to see the vile in motion before it reached the portal. It was moving at a decent pace before, but the instant it touched the lavender barrier, it sped up, whistling through the air before crashing into Doris’s thigh.

The bottle broke, and Steven strained himself, calling two shields as close to simultaneously as he could get them.

His range felt odd, like they were pockets extending further than others. Some of the portals in the hall must’ve linked to the Old Navy, not including the viewing portal.

Doris was just in reach, and both shields appeared under the paint.

Much of her leg was coated with green, but it didn’t reach her feet, instead splattering against the shields.

Corrie laughed and threw herself into the fight.

~<>~<>~

Markus would admit Carl was a lot tougher than he’d been expecting.

The kid had no formal combat training. His footwork was atrocious, and he had a bad habit of overextending.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

If this had been a simple fistfight, Markus would’ve had him on the ground in three seconds. But it’s been a while since he’d been in a simple fight.

The man’s shadow roiled over his body, concealing his limbs and making his range hard to judge.

Was that punch swinging his way enhanced by the man's shadow? Or was it a faint so that the darkness could try and come at him from another angle?

Seeing someone use a living shadow prepared you for some underhanded tactics, but Markus wasn’t ready for how hard the man could hit.

With the shadow covering his body like a suit of armor, he hit hard. Not as hard as Markus, but hard enough that he didn’t want to take a hit without blocking.

And that was before he considered the quarterstaff.

Fighting someone with a reach advantage that significant sucked.

If Markus had just had his Class Skill, he honestly might have lost by now.

But the old man had a few tricks up his sleeve.

He summoned a glob of Titan Sap over his right shoulder while focusing on the swing coming in on his left.

He batted the punch aside while the staff slapped into the sap, bouncing off like it hit a wall.

Markus pushed forward, getting inside Carl’s guard and throwing a punch into his stomach.

That bit of Titan Sap had drained him to a little over half his Meter, more than enough power to hurt.

Carl’s shadow coiled, its feet separating from his to slam against the ground.

It hit Carl’s chest like a spring, and while Markus’s hit landed, the man was already flying back with the blow.

He chased after him, hoping to capitalize before he regained his feet.

The kid had good instincts, and his Class seemed frighteningly powerful. If he had more combat experience, he’d be a real terror.

Carl rolled to his feet gracelessly, but while he did, his shadow completely detached from him and flung itself at Markus. It twisted like an eel in midair, dodging his attempt to swipe it away, and wrapped itself around his‘s face.

Markus grunted and sped up.

Carl had done this trick already. The shadow could be damn slippery. So instead of wasting his time trying to pull it free, Markus tried to put his foot through the place Carl was.

He heard a gasp and felt the side of his shoe brush something, but he didn’t make solid contact.

He started to grab his face but then thought better of it. He was still fighting like all he could do was hit things.

With a thought, he summoned Titan Sap but didn’t solidify it.

It formed around his head as close to his face as he could without blocking his nose. Then he grabbed it, the Skill squishing around his hand like putty.

With a single tug, he ripped it off.

The shadow might be tricky to grip when it wanted to be, but his Sap wasn’t. The shadow came free, clinging to the Sap, and Markus hurled it to the side.

He turned to Carl in time to catch a jab from the staff.

It stung, but without the shadows boost, that’s all it did.

Carl’s eyes widened as Markus started for him.

The ground next to Markus glowed as a portal opened. Two feet of solid rebar launched at his ankles.

He didn’t even have time to dodge before the metal crashed into him. He cursed and stumbled.

What in the hell!

Carl’s shadow began racing towards him. That stumble head cost Markus nearly a third of his remaining Meter.

He charged toward Carl when another portal opened, and a piece of rope dripping with green paint soared for his knees.

Before he could react, a familiar shield intercepted the rope halfway to him.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw more portals opening, fists, weapons, and random projectiles flying about, trying to strike his friends.

And all across the room, shields rose up to meet them.

Markus started to laugh, then brought his focus back to the matter at hand.

Carl’s shadow had returned to him, and the man looked like he was eager for round two.

Markus shook out his legs, spat to the side, then charged back into the fray.