"Hey Hole Puncher?" I began.

'Yes Andrew?'

"I know you said you can't reduce the quantity of the downsides' output, can you focus the energy into a specific location?"

'Yes and no, recoil is practically impossible and generally meaningless to do anyway as it will just make things break if I were to try to focus it. Heat may be possible, but I'm also not certain as I've not done so before.'

I was looking at the metal tubes and Hole Puncher, thinking about the best method and configuration to apply them.

I realized that I can't exactly weld the tubes to the body or anything even slightly useful like that.

I don't even have tape.

"Brackets or rope? Can I add tubes to the insides? If I open up Hole Puncher, will she die?" I thought aloud.

'I am unlikely to die, discomfort or pain is assured however.'

"Not on the inside then..."

'I will defer to whatever decision you make, I trust you implicitly.'

I picked up Hole Puncher and gave her a hug. "Damn it, you'll bring a tear to my eye with stuff like that."

'Yay.' Hole Puncher replied, monotone as ever.

"Why are you hugging your crossbow?" Hund asked from behind me.

I turned to look at him. "One, her name is Hole Puncher, two because she's proving to be the runner up for best girl."

'I didn't realize I was in the running, that says a lot about you Andrew.'

"Oh shut up Hole Puncher, you know what I mean."

'Do we actually know what you mean?' Shreddy asked with a salacious tone.

"You're not helping Shreddy!"

'As the most senior amongst the glorious weapons of Andrew, I The Great Stabbinsky, declare that you absolutely would consider Hole Puncher for a relationship if she was humanoid.'

I began to argue... but then I realized that he was right. "Shut up you guys!"

Hund looked at me in confusion and concern.

"They can choose who they want to talk to, it's good to know they're only picking on me though."

Hund nodded slowly. "Right... anyway, what are you doing right now?"

"I'm trying to figure out how to upgrade Hole Puncher with a cooling system right now. Why, is anything up?"

Hund looked away from me sheepishly. "No... not really... it was stupid for me to come here..." He turned to leave.

I grabbed him by the shoulder. "Oh no, you're not getting off that easy, I'm curious now."

He struggled against my grip in a very out-of-character desperation. "L-Let me go!"

He was definitely much stronger than the average Fifska because he became a Nemesis, but he was also flustered, which made him easier to handle.

"Oh you've done it now! You should just tell me before I have to use enhanced interrogation techniques to extract the information from you." I said, grinning evilly.

Hund gulped. "'Enhanced interrogation?'"

"Oh yes."

You see, of the many times I've been with Sydui, I've learned a few things about Fifska physiology. One such thing is that they are extremely ticklish on the nape of their necks.

Hund was laughing uncontrollably in seconds.

"How long can you hold out Hund?"

"I concede! Please stop!"

I put him down to let him explain.

"Fine, the reason I came was to ask for your opinion as to how to attract a female."

I chuckled. "Wow, you're right, you did make a mistake coming here."

Hund narrowed his eyes at me. "Well, you forced me to tell you... so are you going to help or not?"

I thought about it for a minute. "Who is it?"

"Ayula... you likely don't know her very well."

That name sounded vaguely familiar. "Which one is she?"

"She's Rahyu's sister... the one you gave [Photon Gaze]."

Oh yeah... I remember hearing Rahyu mention her when he accepted it. "Right... so where's the hiccup?"

"What the hell is a 'hiccup'?"

"What's the issue you're facing?" I rephrased.

"She just seems so... unapproachable..." Hund confided.

I smiled warmly. "Okay, I can help with that."

About thirty seconds later, I saw Rahyu and his sister Ayula talking in a group with some others.

I walked straight up to them and pulled Hund in front of me. "Hello everyone, what is your general opinion of Hund here?"

The conversation suddenly ended and everyone stared at us.

I watched Ayula's body language carefully, even I felt something die inside of Hund.

From my very completely thorough and not at all crappy analysis, I think she'd rate him somewhere in the ballpark of five to seven out of ten.

That's all I need!

"I was wondering if anyone here wanted to go with Hund and I to try to gain Nemesis status."

Everyone looked up at me as I smiled.

I could feel the awkward energy change to honest contemplation.

"I'll go! I haven't been able to use [Photon Gaze] since I got it!" Rahyu offered.

"That's one! Do a hear a second?"

"I'll go too. Someone has to make sure that their idiot brother doesn't jump off of a cliff." Ayula added, her voice smooth and even.

I can see the appeal, not that I'm looking for a harem at the moment.

Several others also volunteered and we got a whole group together, set to go in an hour or two.

After everyone dispersed, Hund quietly whispered at me. "What was that Andrew?!"

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Oh calm yourself, I was just seeing if phase two was worth the effort."

He narrowed his eyes at me once again. "Phase two?"

"Yep, phase two is having you spend some time with Ayula whether you like it or not."

"What?!" He exclaimed.

"Yeah, make sure to learn as much about her as possible without seeming desperate or creepy."

"How do I do that?"

"Start a conversation, ask her some stuff about her, offer some things about yourself- you know, the works. As long as you show genuine interest in getting to know her, you should at least be able to begin a friendship." I replied.

"Uh... huh..."

"Trust me, it'll be great!"

Hund nodded along, clearly unsure, but unwilling to argue further.

A while later, everyone who had agreed earlier gathered together, plus Polyu because I wanted her to try and slay a Nemesis, and Sydui because duh.

"It has come to my attention that we are repeatedly attacked by multiple Nemeses at once, which is obviously very bad. So in an attempt to alleviate confusion about the power structure when this happens, I'm going to subdivide us into teams beforehand."

There was a general agreement with that decision.

I continued. "The first team will be lead by me with Sydui as my sub-commander, which is to say, if I go down she's the next one in line, her orders are also valid as long as they don't contradict mine." I read out a number of other names that were placed in our group. "The second team will be lead by Hund with Ayula as his sub-commander."

Everyone was confused by this assignment, except for Hund, who looked like he wanted to strangle me.

I tried not to smile at him.

"Rahyu and Polyu will also be on the second team as well. I want you two to make sure to become Nemeses if you can, but not to push your luck too far if you can't manage it. On that note, make sure to ask for help if you need it, I can't afford to lose any of you okay?"

Everyone nodded somberly.

"Alright, we're going to start as soon as we leave the gate, make sure to double-check everything before we go."

Everyone set about their tasks making sure everything was in order one final time.

I told the guardsman on duty to sound the leaving bell.

I had started the practice so that each squad leader would know exactly when they were on deck, or when a large number of people were leaving, that way we wouldn't be caught with our pants down if it came down to it.

I checked over my bolts and recounted them, as well as looking over Hole Puncher. "Sorry the upgrade didn't go through at the moment, we'll just have to come back around to it."

'I'll do what you ask of me for as long as you need me to do it.'

I nodded. "Thanks Hole Puncher."

'You are welcome.'

----------------------------------------

The Voracious Stalker

It had taken a significant amount of time for Andrew to come out of the walls.

I had been waiting for him for over a day and was starting to think that he suspected me of having [Second Chance].

Luckily, it didn't seem like he was any more defensive than last time.

I had decided that I would simply watch him as he went about his business, looking for weaknesses and strengths as he acted in his natural state.

I was very curious to see what he was going out which such a large cadre for... and with two Nemeses this time.

[Sydui The Night Ripper, Nemesis First Stage]

Danger Level: Moderate Threat

[Hund The Toxic Decapitator, Nemesis First Stage]

Danger Level: Low Threat

I'm not exactly worried about the second one, but then again, that has turned and bitten me before.

I suppose it would best to wait and see.

The lot of them dithered around for a long time, clearly looking for something while trying to hide from it... hunting just like I do.

But what were they looking for? It clearly wasn't the animals around them, they were passing them by... if not that, then what?

It was not long until I found my answer.

They were hunting Nemeses!

At first I thought it was because they wanted the items that dropped out of a Nemesis when killed, but their method struck me as odd if only that was their goal.

They had a few individuals who they let get the most hits, almost entirely spending their time taking turns distracting the Nemesis as those few did their best to attack from a distance.

Then, all at once I understood.

[Polyu The Careful Hunter, Nemesis First Stage]

Danger Level: Moderate Threat

They all congratulated the female.

I stood in shock and looked back at Andrew.

He clearly planned this.

It was no wonder I was defeated... that I was shamed by him.

From now on, I have to consider every one of his actions as a deliberate attempt to do something, not only that, but to do something two steps ahead of me.

If I overestimate him, so be it, but I will not be caught out by his attempts to trick me into simple patterns with his foolish exterior.

I swear here and now! Andrew, the next time we fight I will be victorious!

----------------------------------------

Andrew

"How's it going with Ayula?" I ask Hund, keeping my voice at a whisper.

Hund looked flustered once again. "I'm not really sure what to talk about. It feels like whenever I try to start a conversation, she absorbs it."

I looked at Hund with confusion. "How do you mean?"

"Let me give you an example: I said that I thought the weather was nice, and she replied with 'Indeed.'"

I leaned my head back. "Ahhhhhhh, that'd do it. So, you've got to ask her a question then."

"I tried that too, but she gave me a vague wishy-washy answer... I'm not sure what to do."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "I see... what'd you ask about?"

"I asked her about our battlefield rotations."

"That's certainly impersonal."

"Well, nothing else felt natural to discuss."

I rubbed my chin. "Yeah, that's fair... I feel like there's more going on here than meets the eye... stay here for a second."

"What? Why?"

"Shut up and stay here Hund."

He looked at me with worry as I jogged up ahead a bit to meet Ayula.

"Hey there Ayula."

She gave a start and turned to look at me. "Oh, I wasn't aware you knew my name... what can I do for you?"

"Yeah, you're Rahyu's sister, I think he mentioned you during his acceptance of [Photon Gaze]."

"I'm afraid I don't remember, so I'll have to take your word for it."

I shrugged. "It makes no difference to me, I came to ask you why you're not working with the team commander... for example, why you're not anywhere near him right now."

She looked at the ground in front of us, a stern expression plastered to her face. "We have nothing to discuss."

Bullcrap.

"Oh? Not even battlefield logistics?"

She snapped her head to look at me, and her tone took a slight anger. "Did he say something to you?"

"I overheard you two talking about it."

"Then why didn't you ask about it then?" She fired back.

"I figured you two could work it out, since you're grown-ass adults... but neither of you quite acting the part right now so I wanted to find out why."

She looked at me angrily, but then deflated. "Fine, it's because I'm useless..."

"Useless? How so?"

"He's a Nemesis and the leader of First Squad, what am I going to add?"

Yeah this is exactly what I needed, deep-seeded emotional drama.

I feel like I'm back in highschool.

"So what you're saying is that you want to become a Nemesis?"

Her usual self then returned and her voice smoothed back out. "Oh, I don't think I can."

"I'll tell you what, I'll loan you Shreddy to help give you an edge. How's that sound?"

"Really?"

I placed Shreddy in her hands. "Yes really."

"How does it..." Shreddy suddenly became a liquid and splashed onto the ground. "Oh dear!"

"You should talk to Hund about it, Shreddy's the one he used too."

She looked up at me with apprehension. "Can't you teach me?"

"I have other stuff to do, and honestly I don't think I could explain it very well anyway."

She looked down and then back up. "Okay, I'll do it."

Ayula walked over to Hund and struck up a conversation.

When did I become a matchmaker?

It was a little bit of looking before we found our next Nemesis, I suppose that part of the forest had started to clear a little bit... not that I'm complaining by any stretch of the imagination.

It looked like it was acting strangely... even for a Nemesis that is.

[The Infernal Denial, Nemesis First Stage]

Danger Level: Certain Death

It looked like a flaming horse, but it was covered in a gross inky stuff that bubbled on its skin.

"Ayula and Rahyu, be ready on my mark." I whispered.

They both nodded.

I aimed Hole Puncher and fired at a hind-leg, hoping to limit its speed.

"Mark!"

The Denial screamed in pain as its back-left leg was blown off.

Then, something I didn't expect happened.

A bunch of metalcorns also covered in the inky grossness came in as backup.

"All current Nemeses, make sure to take down as many metalcorns as you can, I'll try to limit The Denial's movements as Ayula and Rahyu fight it!"

Everyone set to task as soon as I gave the order.

Sydui immediately popped [Berserk] and started firing [Nightfires] at the crowd.

I had forgotten to ask what Hund and Juohen received as their first [Skills] upon becoming Nemeses... or Polyu for that matter.

My bad I suppose.

In either case, Hund was firing some sort of poison-y looking needles out of his hands, which likely weren't going to help a whole lot against metalcorns, but he had to try I suppose.

Polyu also seemed to get better at aiming her crossbow by a lot very suddenly, leading shots that should have been impossible to predict.

Rahyu's [Photon Gaze] proved to be a bad matchup for The Denial, so it was down to Ayula... and she was losing badly.

It was clear that she wasn't really cut out for this.

It was then that I heard a quiet voice that seemed to cut through the sounds, it said nothing but nonsense as far as I could tell... but its intelligibility was familiar in a strange way.

Suddenly, three metalcorns charged at Ayula at once, completely ignoring the Fifskae they were engaged with at the time.

One of them was killed almost immediately by Sydui as it tried to run away from her.

I took down the second one with an unpowered Hole Puncher shot.

But the third one continued to charge.

Hund stepped into the way and fired a couple needles at the metalcorn to no effect.

He looked at his hand for a moment, and then took out his pole hammer.

The metalcorn charged, horn lowered to gouge out as much flesh as it could from its target.

Hund put the full force of his body into a swing, aiming for its head.

The sound of crumpling metal resounded through the air as the metalcorn was knocked off its feet and tumbled end over end into Hund.

I stifled a laugh as I remembered the first time I fought a metalcorn.

Though, in Hund's case, I doubt it will be getting up ever again.

"Are you okay Ayula?" Hund asked as he got the metalcorn off of himself.

She nodded. "Yeah."

I finally got a clear shot on The Denial again, allowing me to blow off another leg and sending it to the ground sideways.

[Nemesis Created Nearby]

I looked over at Rahyu, who had just set to clobbering the thing with a pole hammer of his own now that it was on the ground.

He looked proud of himself, but exceptionally tired as well.

Everyone started to congratulate Rahyu, but I interrupted the fun.

"Eyes up everyone! There's a champion controlling the inky metalcorns!"

A tisk came from a nearby treetop as a four-armed lemur lowered itself into sight.

[Tutu The Tamer, plus two other titles]

Danger Level: Probable Death

It chittered some sort of command and three more Nemeses stepped out, along with a score of metalcorns.

I hate my life.