Jax's mouth filled with blood almost instantly. In books, vampires always seemed to make drinking blood sound seductive, even appealing. The reality, though, was that it was simply warm, tasting like he'd bitten into a chunk of uncooked meat—which, in a sense, he had.

What surprised Jax more was that his opponent didn’t stop fighting. Jax had acted mostly on impulse, but if someone had torn into his neck after stabbing him, he wasn't sure he'd keep going the way this guy did. After the initial shock of being grabbed and bitten, the man froze for a moment, then resumed stabbing, trying desperately to land a killing blow.

Jax pulled back, arched his body, and suplexed the assassin, slamming him onto the ground. They landed with a thud, chest-to-chest, and Jax felt the blade in his back sink deeper, but he could barely see, his vision blurred with blood splattered across his face. Struggling to hold him down, Jax resorted to headbutting the assassin, feeling the blows weaken his opponent’s resistance.

Gradually, the man's movements slowed until he lay still. A notification blinked in Jax's vision:

New Kill:

* You have killed the creature Human Assassin Level 2 (+2 XP)

* You have killed a new creature (Human) for the first time (+1 XP)

* You have resisted the debuff Poison for the first time (+1 XP)

* Debuff Active: You are affected by Poison and now have a -1 modifier to your Constitution stat.

Though Jax had been sure the assassin was dead, the notification solidified it. It also snapped him out of the haze that had settled over him. Rolling off the body, he attempted to sit up. Pain flared, coursing through his leg like fire, locking up his muscles and refusing to let him stand. Oddly enough, he didn’t feel much from the wounds in his back.

After catching his breath, he wiped the blood from his eyes and tried sitting up again, only to be met with the same searing pain. Rolling onto his side, he reached down, realizing there was still a blade lodged in his leg. Taking a deep breath, he put both hands on the dagger’s handle and, bracing himself, yanked it free with a groan.

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He must have blacked out briefly because when he awoke, he noticed a figure being launched into the air and landing some distance away. Jax glanced over and recognized Gelkrin, motionless on the ground, seemingly unconscious. He tried to call out, but a notification informed him:

You are currently in a dome of silence. The spirits of the air have been stilled and will not carry your voice. Silence will be lifted in 9 minutes and 15 seconds.

A timer appeared at the top right of Jax's vision, ticking down. Clutching the dagger, Jax crawled toward the wagon. He could barely feel the pain from his back now, though every movement sent jolts through his leg. Surveying the scene in front of him, he saw utter chaos: five attackers engaged with the two gong warriors, and above them, three lights flitted in the air. The green light of Nia was locked in a fierce dance against two crimson streaks, struggling to hold them off.

Bodies littered the field near the wagon, with four crushed forms lying around Jerg and Durg. Both gong warriors were pressed against a massive pile of glowing stones, bloody and battered. Jerg was missing an ear, and blood seeped from a gash on his abdomen. Despite their wounds, the two hurled rocks at their opponents, who hesitated, unsure of how to close the distance.

Jax quickly took in the five figures attacking the gong. Closest to Jerg was a Level 3 assassin, a slender man darting around to distract Jerg and lure him into openings. Behind him stood a Level 2 summoner, a woman who seemed to be bolstering her allies. Further away, three others engaged Durg: a Level 4 blood hunter, covered in a protective shell of blood, a Level 2 warrior with a shield, and a Level 5 mage, casting spells that sent rocks hurtling toward Durg—though the rocks seemed to veer away, as if repelled by an unseen barrier.

Jax waited for his moment, then crawled closer to the summoner, who was standing at the edge of the stone light’s glow. Just as she instinctively stepped back to avoid a rock Jerg hurled, Jax leapt forward, grabbing her and plunging the dagger into her neck. She went down with a soft gasp, and the notification rewarded him with another +3 XP.

With the summoner neutralized, Jerg managed to grab the assassin, lifting him by the arm. He used the assassin as a weapon, slamming him repeatedly against the ground. Jerg glanced over at Jax, and though he was outside the ring of light, Jax knew the giant had seen him. Jerg nodded in acknowledgment, then turned back to the remaining opponents.

Gripping the summoner’s lifeless body, Jax withdrew into the shadow of the wagon, steadying himself for what would come next.