Pride was Eian's mistake, accepting help was the most pragmatic solution, he needed validation, proof that he was on the right path, and the price he paid was the likelihood of lagging behind somewhat.

The blatant truth was: Eian had no idea how strong he was compared to others, he had been injured by a giant lizard of all things, and if he hadn't killed it he could have gotten Susan killed, furthermore if she hadn't been there he would likely be dead from its venom.

He tossed and turned all night chewing on that, he made up his mind, pooling information was obvious, he hadn't learned everything yet and help was right here.

With a group the size of theirs with people who each seemed moderately capable, there were bound to be people with helpful insights for him, at least he hoped so.

While within the dream each of his teammates, Alex, Sarah and yes even Jessica, went down a different path of self-improvement, leaving him with little second-hand opinions.

He left before his mother rose for the day, it was still pre-dawn, Eian was thankful his body functioned optimally on reduced sleep, he went to find the person whom likely knew the most about magic here: Russel, a quick conversation led to questions.

Finding him was easy, he was always obsessing over the map, Ezrael was at the scene hovering over the corner while Aaron along with a woman Eian minimally recognized, he didn't know her name.

"Hey Russ, bro can I talk to you for a minute?" Eian waited by the door as Aaron did a little wave.

"Hm? Of course." He stayed watching over the map for a few long seconds.

"I mean, uh...like it's about a power problem. I, uhhh...need some help. " Eian started.

"Power? Type?" Russel looked at him, finally focusing his full attention on him.

Eian pointed at him forearm "These."

"Ah, Ron you and Marg keep an eye on Ezreal if you would be so kind?" Russel got up, stretching slowly while motioning for Eian to follow.

Some discomfort eased, he had always felt weird asking for help, and thankfully his friend knew him well enough. Russel was quiet and introspective as they ascended to the ceiling where they had a clear view of the pre-dawn stars, only a short walk and thin fence of metal wire separated them from a great drop to the street below.

For his part, Russel rubbed his chin delicately while observing him. "I have taken to teach Ed recently."

Eian blinked, he thought Russel had been too busy to train people, also Eian hadn't had much contact with Ed. "...I just want some advice or an idea of what else I can do."

"Allow me to clarify. E, you and Susan can join us." Russel explained, gave him a patient smile, a small part of Eian wondered how he memorized everyone's names.

He couldn't help but stare. "..."

Russel nodded slightly before continuing. "It'll be educational for both of us, compiling and contrasting information is a vital priority, additionally in a group of four we can tackle larger threats."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea...Ed's uhh..." Eian shook his head.

Russel folded his arms and nodded. "I know he is angry, and you are angry. I understand E. Realize, you dug into this one though. You made the choice to call him. Nothing good has ever come from his crooked employers. Their ilk has a tendency to tie off loose ends." Russel was referring to his call to Edward.

"The hell Russ? I didn't think Ed would bring that crazy bastard!" Eian though Russel was shrugging off how careless Ed had been.

It was true, when the man died back in their apartment Eian didn't know what to do, but the last thing he expected was for Ed to bring that black-suited bastard Jacob, he wasn't Sarah who always knew the next step and that cost Martin his life in the subsequent escape, which he also bulled into. Now that he began to think Eian realized he could have done everything in a much different manner.

"It's irrelevant E. Their view of us ks quite apparent, an obstacle." Russel lifted both hands in a truce, seeming to bear a great burden unto himself.

Eian closed his eyes and took a moment to calm down, returning to his previous train of thought. "Do you know something that can help or not."

"Absolutely E, nevertheless, I need to see you live in action, a demonstration on our respective talents would surely enlighten us both. But you know, Ed..." He left the implication there.

"Fine," Eian sighed, if he had to put up with Ed for a day of learning, he would.

Eian watched as Russel nodded while processing his answer, reflecting on the stark difference between the once under-average-build, far-sighted guy he had been before he left for college.

It felt other-worldly standing here talking about things that were fantasy up till not long ago, it was insane.

When Eian was along, or with complete strangers it was fine, he could just play along, but seeing his friend become something else as well felt surreal.

For once Eian thought on his choices, he was coping with problems right now, but before he didn't know what to do, that landed him here.

"Welcome to the team, E. Well officially." Russel stretched out his hand, looked at him with a smirk playing on his face.

Resisting to roll his eyes, Eian smiled slightly. "Quit being so dramatic."

"In actuality, I have a little surprise prepared for you." Russel's smile became genuine.

"Hmm?" That raised his eyebrows a tinge, he wasn't expecting the sudden change in topic.

With pronounced emphasis Russel dug around his pants-pockets, emptying them out, before checking his shirt pocket.

Then without much ceremony, he chucked a small trinket at him, mouthing 'catch' before tossing it at him like a coin to a beggar.

Upon inspection Eian realized it was an uncut murky stone of some sort, similar to olive jade, roughly an uneven square with the edges rounded off, metal bands were wrapped around the stone with a loop and thin cord holding it.

It reminded Eian of those crazy people who used stones to purge negative energies, or whatever, though now... maybe?

"The hell's this bro?" Eian asked as Russel eyed him with a speculative glance.

"It belongs to you, finders rights. A small fortune in a small package, likely worth its weight in gold, lucky you." Russel's smile grew. "It works as a spare well. You know what those are right?"

Remembering, Eian inspected the raw stone with renewed focus. "Like...the ones in the dream? Those that gave you extra spirit energy, that right?"

"Ah, so you are aware...indeed, functionally they act as a weak battery for spiritual energy. A reserve for difficult situations." Russel was nodding, Eian could see he was a bit disappointed at not showing off.

Eian inspected it, remembering the ring they had gotten in the dream, he remembered using the ring at least once.

"How- no wait, where'd you even get this?" Eian imagined their uses while trying to figure out what Russel meant by finders rights.

"Any thoughts?" A single amused chuckle came after, for a moment it reminded Eian of a much simpler time.

Eian shook his head, dispelling his nostalgia, but also as a statement that he had no idea where such wells came from, the one in the dream was found on a crushed skeleton.

His friend, however, nodded as though he knew this already. "Remember that bull-boar monster you brought back? We found a cavity within its chest. Lodged inside was that."

He took some time, staring surprised straight at his face. "Don't fuck around. Really?" Looking for any indication of a lie, when he got none he wondered if all monsters had them.

"My word on it, E. Struck gold there." Russel's expression remained genuine.

Linking himself to the item was as easy as he recalled, he sent a tiny sliver of his spirit and a few minutes the well was linked.

"Hey so..." Eian began questioning him on the nature of such wells.

A few questions more and Eian learned, that not all monsters had these stones, no pun intended, not even the giant snake-thing Eian brought back, though they did a search.

His friend expressed more than a little bit of frustration on that regard, these power sources had the potential to be the greatest breakthrough in the science of magic, but the scarcity made them unviable.

As Eian asked his final question the roles reversed and then in return asked Eian a few on-point questions regarding his power progression.

Everything from his fighting style to his techniques to the levels of each of his tatts, Eian felt it was a bit invasive, but it didn't stay the same always so in a year or two it wouldn't matter.

"Excellent E, direct your effort into Mind option as a follow-up," Russel interjected as he finishing asking Eian for a detailed report on his powers and his progress.

"Why?" Eian asked, he was eager to do Body or Spirit next, there was something uniquely tantalizing of achieving his first ten.

"Largely as a precaution. A firm defense to PSI is beneficial. Trust me. I have an idea in 'mind'." Russel patted temple, trying to be witty.

Eian gave it some thought, wondering if he even had enough time, they were to do the rescue soon, at least he hoped it was soon.

"Actually, I'll feel a lot safer taking bullets if I get Spirit or Body up to ten also. Maybe both" Eian reasoned.

Russel shook his head. "I understand, but my plan will maximize your beneficial gains."

"Right and what's that?" Eian waited for him to explain, Russel tried being evasive, but Eian wanted to know everything about the decision if he was going to veer from his mentors allocated path.

They went back and forth in a friendly argument, but Eian wouldn't budge, increments were difficult, and finally despite Russel playing hardball, Eian managed to have him gave in, though with some reluctance.

"The plan is to have you bind an armor piece," Russel answered, at last, a touch of disappointment crossed his face briefly.

"Bind? You mean like with this?" Eian showed Russel the olive-stone.

"Similar, but in actuality, binding an item with Internal and Psyonic energies connects the object as a pseudo-extension of yourself," Russel explained.

"Right...that doesn't sound better than just wearing it." Eian shrugged not seeing the point, he was using so many big words it was a bit difficult to follow.

To that, Russel smiled "The traits are the gold highlights here. The connection between you bolsters the utility of the object."

"Bro, explain."Eian crossed his arms, waiting for more, that was not specific nor at all helpful.

Instead of actually sighing Russ bowed his head in disappointment and said it instead, "Sigh... E. In 'theory', an item enchanted to be 'fire-resistant', this is 'in theory' you understand? We lack resources and understanding to create 'those' items. Binding such an item will still provide you with some benefit, but your specific case should be inverted, some of your physical resistance will improve the armor. In addition, due to the connection between you, you can bypass normal restrictions and empower the object with your Qi. So long as you hold it."

That, on the other hand, was something he could very much picture as being useful, but he still wasn't sure they had enough time, once he completed his next upgrade he would be at twenty-three total.

For now, he was stuck at Body:9, Mind: 4 and Spirit: 9. A grand total of twenty-two.

"What 'theory'?" Eian frowned, he wondered where he could find such an item.

"From what I have gathered, a specific item can impart a trait to your body, however, our meager available skills cannot create those items of even low quality. As Ed would put it, we got TLI, too little info." Russel explained in his fancy speech.

"School's only made you worse." Eian was regretting his decision a bit, Russel was really beginning to give him a headache.

Russel ignored his comment and continued, "....Amanda likely has your armor prepared by now. Testing it out now would be ideal, for adjustments later." , as he finished Russel motioned him to follow.

******

When he got to the forges he was surprised by the changes, last he saw this place had been a turned over garbage heap.

It still was, but now people bustled in and out, but instead of trash there was none, but the discarded metal parts from than before were larger and simply piled in a heap by the door.

Where Amanda was here alone last time, now there were no less than eight people, and it was still early in the morning, the sun had yet to rise.

As for Amanda, the woman wearing clothing from head to toe was missing, instead, there was another woman giving orders to the other lackeys.

"Am! Eian's plate if you would be so kind." Russel spoke to a woman Eian did not immediately recognize.

Eian watched Amanda working face first into a blazing furnace, for some reason she was showing her face now, her overcoat replaced with a black tank top, although her legs were still covered in thick garments, while those insufferable boots covered her feet.

She was nothing special, not pretty nor beautiful, she had a pointy nose with brown hair, bags under her eyes, other than that her skin was pale as though it had never seen the light of day.

Overall, she looked like she would fit in a crowd easily, her features somewhat reminded him of a certain type of persecuted people from before, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

As soon as Russel spoke her tired eyes drifted lethargically to rest on them, then sighing she walked towards another woman.

"Kristal, get the one for Elisa's son, please," Amanda commanded.

The attention shocked them both, he had completely forgotten her, he felt a bit weird as the redhead's attention came fully upon him.

She stared at him for a while before nodding at Amanda, "Sure thing Am." Kristal disappeared past some shelves, giving Eian a quick smile as she hurried off.

Eian watched Kristal go with a bit of curiosity, noting mentally the workshop was where she had snuck off to. He barely had time for his mother these days, thus people like Ezrael and Kristal sort of were put at the back of his mind and forgotten.

"So, the crazy bastard himself shows himself at last." Amanda walked forward towards him, looking tired every step of the way.

Russel got between him and Amanda. "E has been occupied Am. Spare him kindly."

"Aha, busy much? or just too busy to show up for a quick size up? We had to roughly estimate it, an estimate second hand from your mom, you better fit, got it?" Amanda said huffing irritably after a quick compliment from Russel.

That caught Eian's attention, as he hadn't been informed. "How long have you been making this?"

"Only since you first asked for it. Bruce needed his first, but Russel's was a close second." Amanda clarified with a sharp glare in Russel's direction.

"You have one? Why aren't you wearing it?" Eian looked at Russel questioning him.

Russel snorted, "Logically? Outside is at a hundred degrees, in addition to the complications sprouting up here? No time to leave E, I have not had use for it, yet."

Kristal took that time to arrive hefting a large unwieldy breastplate with some strain before Eian could go one of the other workers helped her to bring it.

She smiled lightly, but face quickly changed to something more serious, "Hurry up and stop fighting with Miss El. Family infighting is terrible." Kristal chided him lightly, she quickly got back to doing something or the other.

Eian narrowed his eyes at her as she went back to her business, his problems were none of her concern, she best butt out of it, while he appreciated the fact his mother had a friend, but she was a complete stranger to him still.

Perhaps sensing the fouling on his mood Russel spoke. "Don it E." Gesturing wildly at the armor.

Watching the armor Eian was not enthused, it wasn't pretty since the coloration was a wild splatter of metallic sheens, an unpredictable pattern of blacks, greys, and silver.

It had shoulder plates interlocking loosely and tied to the rest of the armor plate, those seemed mostly even, though Eian kept feeling something was off about them, in his opinion, it may hinder him from fully lifting his hands above his head.

A neck extension protected the lower jaw and the back of the neck, favoring the sawed-off upper-half of a bucket which was then welded unto the plate armor.

There were small plates sloping downwards away from the groin and buttocks area, like a tiny mini-skirt, which seemed would provide some protection there, while allowing his legs freedom.

In all, not anything resembling a normal uniform breastplate from a movie, in most places, it looked as if an amateur repeatedly molded the piece with both hands.

It was worth a mention that, save for the attached shoulders, the whole thing was: one-big-stiff-solid piece, the comparison made him chuckle, but Eian wasn't sure how restrictive it would be, it was far larger than what he would have expected and likely spacious inside.

"It looks a bit uhhh....it looks like it'll just hang off me loosely." Eian looked at the giant piece of armor, trying to not say how ridiculous he felt he would look.

Amanda snorted and muttered something about ingratitude.

"E, never wore a tux? Appearances are deceiving." Russel looked at Eian smiling slightly.

Amanda kept muttering angrily until she raised her voice higher to be heard. "You have to wear padding under it, you uurgg..., without padding it'll chaff you."

He almost took a step back from sheer surprise at her tone, "Oh. Right sorry." Eian took a second look at the armor, perhaps with padding, it would fit.

He was a bit concerned by the lack of head protection, however, and while Eian felt uncomfortable asking possibly-offensive questions to an irritable Amanda over her work, in the end, it was he who was going to wear it and fight in it.

"What about my head?" Eian tapped the neck-protection, making sure to try to stay neutral, a bullet through his brain, like poor Martin, sounded like a tragic way to go.

Clearly, she was annoyed at his many questions, Amanda sighed. "We have an attachable one, the problem is visibility, if we welded it on, you would only be able to see forward."

"Right. Can I see it?" Eian wanted to see the helmet, plus he wasn't sure why they didn't just make the helmet separate.

"Sure thing, we made that thicker than the rest of the whole thing, same thing for the shoulders." Amanda gave a quick order for the helmet to a nameless worker.

Again, he wondered why they didn't just make a regular helmet, instead, integrating the bottom part unto the breastplate.

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"Why this?" Eian pointed at the neck and jaw protection, he still thought it favored the upper portion of a bucket.

At his question Amanda narrowed her eyes with a pout, clearly taking offense, instead of answering she looked to Russel exasperated.

"E, you can only bind one solid piece. The upper half of the helmet won't be bound, nor the shoulder plates. She had to make them thicker to compensate." Russel explained looking a bit embarrassed, Eian was a bit cross, he could have simply explained it earlier.

Now Eian sort of felt like a jerk, not that he felt it was his fault since he knew nothing about this whole process, Russel literally just dumped the whole thing on him out of nowhere.

"We're trying to figure out if we can make the different interlocking plates be bound as a single piece, but so far testing with neither Bruce nor Russ are producing leads," Amanda explained further.

"That innovation would permit us to bind a whole interlocking set of armor, nevertheless, it seems unlikely." Russel shook his head sadly.

Eian looked at the armor as the worker came with a more conventional helmet, it fit into the bucket-like neck-portion of the armor with room to spare, fitting like a small bowl fitting into a much larger one.

"Moment of truth. Padding time." Amanda clapped once and rubbed her hands, a hint of an amused smile popping out.

If Eian could groan, sigh and shake his head in defeat, he would, he was sure he would look ridiculous. Why couldn't he get the armor suit he wore in the dream?

******

He was right, Eian hated the armor, and the padding, and the absurd belts and buckles which made it remain rigidly in place, thankfully the armor fit.

The absolute worst part was how it made him look, and feel as he walked past a crowd of confused people, it felt like going to prom night in a clown costume.

Though that was an exaggeration, while the armor itself had been uneven Amanda and Russel draped a white cloth over it, covering some imperfections and preserving some of his dignity.

Russel had congratulated him, to which Eian was sorely tempted to knock a few teeth loose, he was mollified when his friend chose to join him in humiliation by donning his own armor, while Amanda had smiled and demanded gratitude.

They were heading outside to the transport, their preparations completed, and the start of their training would commence.

"Iron man? or that tin-man from wizard of oz?" Susan smiled at him.

"Shut up." Eian was testy, his voice bouncing weirdly inside the tin can of his helmet.

"Wooo, someone's touchy." Susan's voice was playful, and he could almost imagine her wagging her finger at him painfully.

The armor was heavy, but not so much so that he would be incapable of running, the worst part was the heat and the neverending need to drink more water.

Luckily for him, even with the padding the armor was easily removed with a bit of help, putting it back on was another matter altogether, but it seemed Amanda, or more likely someone else, had enough sense to facilitate the ability to toss it off in a fit of rage.

For the first five minutes Eian kept fighting the urge to throw the damn thing off, instead, he suffered through it, but he did remove the helmet since he was guzzling copious amounts of water.

Russel declared it a success and asked him to take it with him on the hunting trip to acclimate himself to it, so far he was hating every second.

Susan was teasing him since she saw him this morning, her wide-eyed expression soon shifted as she almost burst out laughing, Eian could see she was still tempted as she was giggling in his direction from time to time.

Feeling oddly constricted Eian walked alongside three others: Russel, Susan, and weirdly Edward, Eian felt awkward with Ed, he had been evading any contact.

Surprisingly Edward remained mostly the same over the last week, though some of his fat had vanished, he had to be working on things other than Body enhancements, Russel assured him he had grown.

Susan also had put muscles in her thighs and her arms were lean, mostly she was a healer and sometimes Eian wondered why Russel wanted her to go Body and Spirit.

He still wondered how Russel bloody talked him into this, with the 'apparent logic' they all had to learn from each other and a few gifts.

Another rather unwelcome surprise was that Edward was carrying around a loaded handgun, a regular 9mm Glock by the looks of it, he also wore a hunting jacket and a hefty fire-ax slung on his shoulder.

Eian pointed at the gun, it didn't make sense: a gun would either scare everything or make something really big come their way.

Edward looked at him with a dead-panned frown, he shook his head at him, choosing rather ignore him than speak, Eian was fine with that.

"Enough of that." Russel clapped the door side meatily with one hand, gathering their attention.

A spell enveloped them as they entered the vehicle, completely sealing their lips shut, so much so, that they could discernably catch the sound of apartments.

"So...what are we doing today again?" Susan asked, she was in the driver's seat and starting the engine.

Russel was flipping through his ledger. "Training. To the forest, if you would. I have multiple objectives on the agenda." His voice was distracted.

Driving off everyone was silent save for the sound off Russel's flipping pages and his nonsensical self-rambling.

"Awwwk~ward." Susan mentioned, Eian shook his head and looked out the window.

"Bitter rivals, just waiting till the other dies, to spit on their grave." Russel intoned with sarcasm.

"Com'n ma nigga, lay off." Ed sighed, turning to look out the window, but opposite direction.

"Hmm, simply refrain from conflict, both of you, kindly." Russel added, otherwise nonpulsed at what others may regard 'racist' remark, but friends had a longstanding free pass.

Eian found it unfair Russel included him into his statement, he hadn't done anything!

"I ain't done nothin', chill," Edward mumbled.

"Nothing is also part of THE problem, conflicts should be resolved, however, this is unfortunate timing." Russel shot back.

"Fuck off dude, we're chill IF, we get 'em back." Edward closed the topic.

"Fine." Russel sighed, once more flipping pages, pulling a pen and scribbling notes.

Russel had previously told Eian they would begin in three days, everyone was on edge, and he realized Ed was mumbling to himself in silent decibels constantly.

"So. How comes all of us are going out today?" Susan aimed her question at Russel.

"You want the list? I need to know each of our strengths. I also aim to provide us a good learning opportunity." Russel said.

susan pointed at Eian."Him? What about me and the other guy?" Susan finished by pointing at herself and Ed.

"You're the medic. Although Ed is far behind Eian and I, in physical strength, he is capable of proper support." Russel added, confusing Eian as he watched Ed was still skinny.

Edward sputtered at the statement, interrupting his mid-mutter, then his muttering began again, ignoring them all.

"Oh? So, you're stronger than Eian?" Susan briefly looked at both men at the back through the rear mirror.

Russel temporarily stopped scribbling, after a brief thought he explained. "Strenght, as you put it, is a complex equation to accurately take into account. Eian and I both have similar attribute totals, but we focus on very different fighting styles. Eian fights defensively and up close, while I prefer an explosive offense from a small distance."

"You're no fun." Susan giggled playfully, Eian wondered if she was taking this seriously enough.

"I prefer to not look a fool." Russel nodded, as though he were serious, but the hint of a smile was crossed his otherwise tired features.

A few minutes later, with nothing in between but small talk, Ed's muted mutterings, and the occasional rampaging animal, they were at the forest line, the road ahead was littered with cracks, and the grass was waist high.

"Attention. Susan, Ed, E, if I tell you to cover your ears, oblige me if you would all be so kind." Russel explained as he closed the door while exiting the vehicle.

Their reactions were each different, Susan remained silent and paid attention, while Eian asked 'why', Ed complained about a 'last time' with a curse.

"I have a sonic attack E, disorients enemies, especially if they have good ears," Russel explained.

That was weird, interesting, but weird. "How's it work?" Eian asked.

"You'll see, I want to teach you, now let's hunt some game." Russel started to leave the vehicle.

"Right. Which way?" Eian followed him out gazing into the dense forest which was previously a conservational wildlife reserve.

Russel clapped him lightly on the back, "Locate movement with that Earth-sense, then relay me the details."

"Right..." Eian got to work, he was a bit surprised Russel wasn't showing his supposed 'Farsight'.

He scanned the mountain, it was covered in green overgrown vegetation, and several areas instantly caught his attention, he relayed that to Russel.

"Details and direction, if you would," Russel asked politely.

Eian pointed and gave a rough estimate, Russel closed his eyes grew silent and Eian waited.

"Hmm...that direction. Wow, wild pigs." Russel whistled in appreciation.

"You can see them?" Susan asked with a touch of skepticism, Eian mirrored that somewhat.

"Far-Sight. Keep up." Russel waved them forward.

They ran a short mile, despite Russel and himself wearing armor, Ed and Susan were the worst off, but neither was breathing overly heavy.

Eian caught sight of the boars speeding at them with thunderous steps and squeals, tusks forward and menacing, the boars thick and bulky, their speed unnatural.

The swine squealed in rage, or perhaps howl, Eian didn't know the difference, so he prepared himself

"Ears!" Russel's warning reach Eian late.

His head rung and Eian fell to the floor, staggering around to regain balance, his ears were shot, after the confusion passed he figured he must not have covered them properly.

The charging pigs were affected drastically more, their charging formation disintegrated into anarchy, and their bodies colling into each other, and soon all were thrashing on the ground, their squeals annoying.

Edward was already rushing forward and chopping in with a hefty fire-ax, Russel urged them forward, the hunt was easy, well placed stabs upon disoriented opponents.

The only pig to reoriented itself had too little time to do any harm, they descended unto it like an angry mob, with nothing but a beaten mess left behind.

"Huh, easier than usual," Susan remarked, she had managed to get the warning in time.

"Yeah, how'd you do it?" Eian found it useful to learn, if weird, but still annoyed at his previously ringing ears.

"It's a reinforced battle cry. Enhance your shouts with Chi. When attempting, well, reinforcing your ears does help, or it can knock you off your loop." Russel explained.

Experimenting did not wait till the next battle, when he did, unfortunately, his first try left him disoriented.

"Unfortunate, the vehicle is too distant. So much food, yet too little time." Russel looked at the cadavers.

Eian and Russel could track wild animals in perfect sync, with Russel's added intel they were ready for everything.

The weirdest thing Eian saw was a crimson colored fox, it sat and stared at them from a distance when they got closer, it lit on fire and ran faster then they could reliably catch, leaving a smoldering trail in its wake.

Then a small pack of savage wolf-coyotes appeared and they were busy, next they managed to locate a host of charging constrictor snakes, and even the occasional stray badger or hawk, most were larger than average, or brightly lit.

"Why is everything so big?" Susan grumbled as they finished spearing a bird, it had flown down from above and attempted to spear Russel in the chest, the impact rang his chestplate.

Eian and Edward found her turn of phrase amusing, while Russel was blabbering about bruising.

When Russel calmed down he took a wild guess. "My opinion is animals natural instinct to associate size with hunting capacity. If you are smaller in comparison: you are prey. If you are equal: you classify under competition, and if you are larger: then you are considered a predator. That is all I can assume."

He kept explaining his theory, but it didn't hold a lot of weight in Eian's opinion, plenty of weird monsters were around.

Snakes with extra heads, an invisible bobcat which ambushed them out of nowhere, and Eian felt shudders each time he saw marble-sized insects converging on dead animals, he always dreaded ant bites, and those things had to pack a nasty bite.

Edward kept swearing a trio of squirrels was following them from treetops, they toggled in and out of vision fashionably eerie, until Russel used farsight, they appeared from thin air and fled.

They found a burrow of bloodthirsty hares with ninja-jumping skills, they were sturdy for their small frames, jumping at them like rabies-infested vermin.

"Fuck those things." Ed spat at the floor.

"You sound like him when he's frustrated." Susan pointed at Eian, to which Edward shook his head irritably.

Russel interjected. "Ed's become more buster, both have an anger problem."

"Two of you have it out for me or somethin'? Lay off." Edward kicked the hare and went silent.

Eian shook his head, Russel often liked the sound of his own voice, though he had to admit he was good at explaining things.

"Anger?" Susan looked at Eian, likely remembering Eian's outburst at her, which had been completely justified given her attitude.

"He mellowed out a bit, his facade may deceive you, but back in middle grade..." Russel began a whole story, Eian sighed he hated that one.

Eian was beginning to think they were in it together, they wandered the forest searching for more prey as Russel regaled Susan of a time Eian gave a bully a black-eye in middle-school.

Edward didn't keep quiet this time. "Smacked 'im on his ass for bein' racist. Story's so old man."

"Over there." Eian pointed, eager to escape Russel's cliche storytelling.

Russel stopped, frowned, focused, then ensued with a brief nod, "A white-tail herd, excellent."

Then to his surprise, after epically slaying two white-tailed deer Eian unceremoniously got the option for a level up, his Mind was quickly upgraded to five, he was ready to bind his armor.

"Tonight E, Qi binding's a bit tricky." Russel patted his back, Eian disliked how often he kept doing that.

"I wanted to get my Body to ten..." Eian looked at hit tattoo's: Body stable at nine, Mind at glowing at four, and spirit at stable nine.

"We won't sleep tonight if we can help it E, but this could be the difference between you living and dying." Russel pointed out.

"And me?" Edward perked up.

"I'll help you tomorrow," At Russel's words Edward grunted his disapproval.

Susan took this lull to point at the deer. "Jerky sounds good, are we taking these back?"

"Regrettably no, let's focus on food at a later date. We have enough rationed out for two days." Russel gave his head a slow shake.

******

Carcass's attracted predators, Edward noted this when Eian sensed movement in a location they had previously visited, Russel even described the beast to them, which made Ed's imagination run all the wilder.

Dusk was in, no way that would be helping his fraying nerves, there was something uniquely terrifying being in a dark place with potential monsters surrounding you, especially since he lacked supernatural abilities of detection like Eian and Russel.

While the monstrosity that was a beast did still resemble its original counterpart if you could ignore the uncharacteristic a long mane trailing its spine like a blonde mohawk, as well as the four uncharacteristic elongated-fangs for teeth.

Russel keeping the beast in focus as they went towards it, their target was snacking on the dead deer they had left behind not too long ago, the sound of tearing flesh vivid, but the animal quickly sensed them in the air, halting its feeding, Ed lost track as soon as Russel shouted a warning.

The darkness prevented Ed from seeing clearly, everything was dulled, but the speed was not an issue, only the darkness, the dark blur caused Ed to swear as he heard the tearing wind, Ed nimbly retreated backward just as a large dark figure got between him and the charging animal in an instant.

The collision sounded as heavy fleshy smack, that of flesh impacting and splattering on pavement, the blurred monster growled in pain, Ed's mind releasing his fire-ax while quickly drawing out his firearm.

Now Ed watched the atypical mountain lion mesmerized as the caveman inside him fed him spikes of adrenaline, he was trying to line a shot, but it faded into the background around them, weaving with the confidence of an apex predator.

Another blur later, and his first shot missed, or at least he assumed it did, Susan screamed this time, but Ed caught the sound of the wind.

"Ed, STOP! Ammo is worth gold!" Russel shouted through the air, Ed compromised by keeping his finger on the trigger, while aiming, and not shooting the distorted monster.

Ed deduced Eian was inside the gigantic suit of stone-like armor, either that or he was basically screwed as bullets wouldn't penetrate all that stone.

The two fighters were suddenly deep into a grapple on the floor, then Ed caught Russel slashing the air with his blade, his attack was visibly a distortive line in the darkness, Ed didn't catch sight if it hit.

Russel ceased assistance, as Eian gained the advantage easily killing the injured beast, crushing it with fists like boulders, it died in crushed pulp, but the meaty crunch sent shivers into his spine, the sound unnatural.

As he saw the monster Ed envied them, Russel and Eian both had amazing powers while he was stuck far-far behind, life blowed, especially since he likely wouldn't help much in saving the girls.

"We campin' Russ?" Edward stared into the darkened sky.

The night was already upon them, and he wasn't sure how long Russel intended to say.

"Idiot. Here? In the middle of a forest?" Susan turned and shook her head at him.

"Hey, just sayin'. I got al' night. 'D kill for some wings though." Ed patted his belly.

"We aren't sleeping if we can help it Ed. Eian wants to get ten in Body, and I agree the idea holds merit." Russel added.

"That won't be today dude, not at this rate," Eian added unhelpfully.

"'Bout that. E hogged the last kill too." Ed pointed at the dead lion, but he also meant the previous encounter.

Russel looked between him, and Eian. "He killed it, fair and square."

"I know, but I could use a few too. Can we go back to deer-hunting? Fuck, the snakes were better than this fucker," Ed pointed at the saber-toothed mountain lion.

One monster couldn't be split fairly in Ed's opinion, at least with multiple opponents Ed had a chance at getting kills, with one big monster Russel or Eian were likely to get the kill.

"Hm, but perhaps bigger beasts are better. At our stage improvement borders tedious labor." Russel was staring in Eian's direction.

Edward threw up his arms on the brink of exasperation. "Fuck. Look, I'm all for Eian gettin' more buff, but why bring me if I'm not gonna get nothin' outta this" If they started hunting big monsters he wasn't going to get any kills.

So far, that had not been the case, but was annoying, between Russel and Eian's dynamic duo, Ed wasn't getting much in the way of kills, and that was an utter waste of his day.

Eian was getting most of the kills with his ability to summon gigantic armor and crush things to death, while Russel could chop them from afar with distortive slashes of energy.

The chick, Susan, wasn't getting much either, but Ed didn't think she would be doing much fighting against Richard's men, she'd likely stay behind and heal any person to survive an injury.

In the few mounting hours, Ed had only gotten one point, one, while Eian had also gotten one, the difference between them was staggering.

Thus it stood to reason Eian was getting an almost unfair amount of kills, the point of the teams was to share, not so? At least to an agreeably fair ratio. The fact Russel was letting it slide was irritating, the mosquitos the size of roaches were also unsettling and adding to growing list of complaints, Ed might as well have gone with another team.

"The hell? Not everything's about you." Eian's voice sounded weird, then his shell of rock collapsed to reveal him standing puffed up inside a metal suit.

Anger mounting Ed snapped, "'S not 'bout you either."

"The hell's your problem?" Eian folded his arms, watching him with a stare.

That was it. "My problem? My problem? MY FUCKING problem is THEY could be FUCKING DEAD by now dipshit! Instead, we're here wanking off like fuckin' monkeys! Look at you, ya fucking dressed like you're gonna fight, yea? Five-hundred-fuckin'-years-ago." Ed realized he was shouting by the end, and his breath was uneven.

Eian took a step back, face stunned momentarily, and while the other two remained silently stunned, Eian didn't, not for long.

"ME?! YOU got me into this shit Ed! How the hell, was I supposed to know what would happen!" Eian shouted back.

Ed growled clenched both his fists to resist the animalistic, and irrational urge to threaten him with his weapon. The though spooked him momentarily, and left Ed was once more wondering: what Eian thought would happen? Richard's men were killers, Jacob was a prime example, it's obvious they would retaliate if Eian killed their men. If he had escaped without murdering them it would not have come to this! He and Russel could have come up with something else!

"ENOUGH! We are in a BLOODY forest, SHUT IT." Russel interjected himself between them, pushing them apart.

The chick, Susan, seemed frozen in time with wide-eyes, but Russel's intervention broke the moment and Ed felt some angry drain away, feeling completely embarrassed, that in turn brought back some anger.

"We will take to powering you heavily tomorrow." Russel reasoned, looking at Ed as heat rose to his cheeks.

"Can't we just fuckin' split man? All my tatts 're low." Ed argued mostly out of reflex, he hated how reasonable Russel was being, he wanted to rage and yell at Eian, he could almost imagine Russ being condescending.

Still, Ed did hate having to split kills so many ways, when it was just two it was a lot faster for him to grow, points in Mind had boosted his dexterity and perception, which had improved his aim vastly, he could shoot a handgun at slightly over a hundred yards, of course, his speed at lining up shot at that range was still a bit of shit, but accuracy was there.

"Too dangerous Ed." Russel shook his head at him.

The last smoldering of fire went out, Ed sighed. "Fine, let's grab some fuckin' food. My belly's growlin'."

Trekking through the forest in search of kills he didn't speak, neither did Eian, while Russel tried to bring up some conversation, it ultimately fell dead as only Susan responded and timidly.

Ed looked up at the stars, hoping against all odds that the girls were still unhurt, he didn't believe it fully, but if they were alive and unmaimed, at least there was some hope.

He prayed all day, he was never religious, but way-way back, before life truly became shit, and his asshole father actually had a stable job, he remembered his mom taking him to church, and strangely he could recall the prayers of the Lord with more clarity than ever before.

In the face of great adversity, after his mother passed, Ed hadn't seen much point in prayer as it seemed God often abandoned you when needed him most, where was God when Ed had to drop out and well..... put food on the table, but now he'd rather throw himself at His feet for a chance to save them.

Finishing yet another of his silent prayers Ed looked around as Russel described the next targeted goliath beast, "Fuck." Anxiety was going to kill him, Ed spit on the earth and began a new prayed as he followed Russel as he led them through dense forest.

He was likely not going to get this kill either.