Flint had been walking non-stop for two days, and he was tired. His only goal was to keep moving until he reached the mountain pass. He'd seen no sign of any living thing since leaving the temple, and it was starting to bother him.

Ever since he'd received his foundation card from the high priest, he'd been on the run, convinced that he was being pursued by the temple guards. But so far, they hadn't shown their faces, and he was beginning to think they never would.

There was something out in this forest, something that was scaring away blight fiends and animals. The guards were probably too scared to come this way, even to avenge their master.

The high priest was dead.

In the end, Flint had ended his life out of mercy. The fire had ravaged the priest's body, and the zorin's screams had turned into unintelligible gurgles.

It was then that Flint had received his spell cards, and the priest had begged for the boy to end his life. With a single blow to the head, Flint had sent the man to his Maker.

Afterward, Flint had searched the temple, taking everything he could use before setting out after Bastion and Eliaria.

It was strange, even though he'd killed a man, he felt nothing, no remorse or guilt, just numbness. Shit, his whole village had been wiped out and by the hands of his best friend, but instead of sorrow or anger he felt relief. It was like all his life he had been expecting something bad to happen and now that it had happened, he was finally free.

Free to do what, he wondered.

He stopped and leaned against a tree to catch his breath, and then held out his hand and used his foundation card.

A small shimmering portal suspended in the air before him. It emitted a soft, ethereal glow, accompanied by a gentle, high-pitched hum.

[4%]

Flint blinked away the message, the first time he'd cast [Arcane Vault] it had said [3%], whatever it meant it was ominous as hell.

Flint reached into the portal, retrieved a water skin and the map he'd found at the temple.

"Where are you, Bastion?" he said to himself, tracing the route to the Galefang Peak with his finger.

He downed the last of his water and hoped it would give him enough energy to continue. He tossed the empty water skin and the map back into the portal, and it closed with a soft pop.

He then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and turned away from the dark forest and started to walk again. His gaze fixed on the mountain, knowing it would take another hour of hard work to get there. But that would be okay. He could face anything as long as he was free.

***

"Run!"

The words were barely out of my mouth when the blight bear released a guttural roar and charged at Eliaria and I. Its sickly limbs propelled it forward with unnatural speed, its claws extended.

Eliaria jumped to the side, and I rolled underneath it.

As I moved, I slashed my dagger along the beast's side. My blade bit deep, cutting through muscle and bone, but the bear hardly noticed. It came to a skidding halt, its eyes focused on Eliaria.

She screamed and backed away, but her foot caught on a tree root, and she fell over backwards.

"No!"

The bear pounced.

Eliaria raised her hands up defensively, and I rushed to her aid.

I fired [Toxic Barrage] the spell hitting the blight bear in the side, knocking it off course. It hit the ground with a loud thud, and Eliaria quickly got to her feet.

The beast let out an angry roar and scrambled back to its feet. It turned its attention back to me, and we faced each other across the clearing.

It was enraged.

The once-mighty bear was now a twisted, blight-infected mass of decay and suffering, fur matted and discolored, and eyes burning blue with madness. The blight had grown it into a giant, making it the size of a wagon, and the power coursing through its veins had made its body as hard as rock.

Bones and skulls of those that had fallen victim to its claws and teeth crunched under our feet as we circled. But none of these were the reason for its reputation as one of the most feared and respected monsters on the genesis floor.

Its blight-fueled fury, the way it would fight until its last breath, and its unwavering devotion to its territory were all attributes the beast shared with the legendary warrior bears that roamed the mountains.

"Eliaria, are you okay?"

"Y-yes, I think so."

"Run. I will distract it, and you go and hide."

"I'm not leaving you."

The bear lunged forwards, and the ground shook as it came for me, snarling and spitting, its blight-fueled hunger driving it onward.

I stood my ground and at the last moment, [Toxic Barrage] erupted from my fingertips and slammed into the bear's gaping maw, searing its face.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

I danced to the side, narrowly avoiding the bear's claws.

My heart pounding in my ears, thankfully I'd put all those points into [stamina] or I would have collapsed from exhaustion.

"Shit, shit, shit."

The bear spun around. Blood dripped from its snout, the flesh beneath torn and broken. It roared again, blood and poison spraying out of its mouth and painting the sand and bones below it red.

Eliaria screamed behind me, and I saw the blight bear change direction and lunge towards her, its movements a blur as it closed the distance between them in seconds.

I cursed myself for losing focus.

With [Toxic barrage] still on cooldown, I threw my dagger as hard as I could.

My blade whistled through the air and buried itself deep into the side of the bear's head. The beast crashed into the ground, the momentum of its charge sending it sliding across the clearing, its bulk scattering bones and skulls everywhere.

Eliaria let out a relieved gasp and stumbled backward, her feet kicking up dust and debris.

"It's not dead yet!" I yelled, rushing to her side and shielding her with my body.

The bear was still moving, trying to rise.

All I had left was [Sky Shield] and [Rootbound Bison], I'd unequipped [Pilgrim's Rest] as the space affinity card was lowering my [power] without adding any utility.

The bear slowly rose and let out a deep growl, its gaze fixed on me. Its wounds were already healing, its regeneration was so fast that there wasn't even time for the poison to spread.

"I have an idea," I said.

"Whatever you're going to do, make it fast," Eliaria said, her eyes darting between me and the bear.

I pointed to a high rock ledge about fifteen meters above us. "You see that ledge up there?"

Eliaria glanced up and shook her head. "I can't reach that high."

"I'll cast [Sky Shield]. You can use it as a stepping stone to reach the top."

"Are you sure?"

"No, but we have to try," I said.

I ran towards the bear, trying to keep its attention on me, and shouted. "Come and get me!"

"What are you doing?" Eliaria screamed.

"Just be ready!" I shouted back.

The bear was only a few meters away, its claws digging into the earth as it raced towards me.

"Bastion!"

I threw myself forwards and rolled underneath the bear's legs. It was so close that I could smell the rot and decay coming from its body, but I managed to roll out the other side.

"Now!"

I cast the spell.

The magic took hold, and the air above Eliaria shimmered as a platform appeared. As I straightened myself, I saw Eliaria scrambling up the rocks and reaching for the shield.

The bear had turned back after her.

Eliaria screamed as it snatched at her leg as she was hauling herself up onto the shield.

"Hey! Over here!" I shouted, tossing stone after stone at the blighted creature, but it ignored me, focused entirely on its new prey.

The bear grabbed hold of the shield, using its momentum to pull itself up. Any moment now it would reach Eliaria.

"Get back," she screamed.

I had no choice, I had to release the shield spell before the bear caught up to her.

"Jump!" I yelled.

Eliaria didn't hesitate. She leapt from the shield, and as she did it vanished from beneath her feet. The bear fell and Eliaria caught hold of the ledge with her fingertips. Her legs dangled over the edge.

I was already running towards her.

I jumped onto a rock and used it to leap onto a larger one. As I ran I popped an [Etherix] feeling vigor filling my body. I jumped with the full boost of [Etherix] pumping through my veins. My back arched as I flew through the air like a missile.

Eliaria was hanging by her fingertips. Her eyes were wild with fear.

My hand closed around her wrist, and my momentum hauled her and me up onto the ledge.

We collapsed into a heap, and we both lay there breathing heavily, trying to calm ourselves down.

"I thought I was going to die," she said, her hair sweat soaked and hanging in front of her face, obscuring her features.

The blight bear roared again, and we both looked down.

The creature was pacing back and forth, snarling and growling, its eyes glowing with a sickly blue light.

I looked around, realizing we were stuck on the side of the mountain with nowhere to go.

"Now what?" Eliaria asked.

***

When Flint arrived at the base of the mountain, he saw the strangest sight. Bastion and Eliaria sitting on a rock, eating bread and drinking wine. Below them a colossal bear, covered in blood, paced back and forth.

"What the hell are you two doing up there?"

"Hey, Flint. Watch out for the bear," Bastion called down.

Flint looked at the bear.

"Why's it just standing there?"

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the bear charged.

Flint swore and reached out his hand, casting [Arcane Vault], he absorbed a boulder into the portal and then closed the portal and turned to face the bear.

Bastion was already moving, he leapt from the ledge, sprinting at a beyond human speed.

But he wouldn't make it in time, the bear, while slower than him, was already too close.

"Move!" Bastion shouted.

Flint counted down his cooldown on [Arcane Vault] waiting and silently praying.

The bear lunged at him.

"Got ya," he said.

The portal opened, and the boulder appeared in midair between him and the bear. He raised his hand and fired [Rift Bolt] directly at the boulder.

The boulder cracked as dark energy enveloped it, an instant later, it teleported, appearing in front of the bear and moving at incredible speed.

The boulder hit the bear, hammering the dagger protruding from its head straight into its brain. The boulder carried the massive beast back and the bear was sent crashing to the ground.

"Holy shit," Bastion gasped, skidding to a halt as the bear's body came to a stop a few meters in front of him.

"That was awesome!" Eliaria shouted.

"Yeah," Flint agreed.

He'd been practicing the combination all night, with only two spell cards to work with, he had to be creative if he was going to survive.

"Are you okay?" Bastion asked, as he stared down at the dead bear.

"Yeah," Flint said, shaking his head. "Guess what, though?"

"What?"

"I just reached Obsidian-1," Flint said, looking up at his friend and laughing.

Bastion grinned and slapped him on the shoulder. "Well, shit, look who's catching up."

"Was that the high priest's spell card?" Eliaria asked.

Bastion and Flint exchanged looks, and Flint shrugged noncommittally.

"I think in the end, he just wanted to make amends for all his past sins.," Flint said, "Giving me his foundation card was his last act of redemption."

Eliaria smiled sadly.

"We should probably keep moving," Bastion said, trying to change the subject. "It will be dark soon."

"Yeah," Flint agreed, glancing up at the peak. "You have any more of that wine left? I'm going to need it if you expect me to climb a mountain."

***