[I WANT THE RECORD TO BE CLEAR THAT I DISAGREE WITH THIS PLAN OF ACTION, DR. MAYHEW.]

“It’ll be fine. Probably. More than likely.”

The truth was, Kyle didn’t completely know what to expect. The equilibrium he achieved in his body was tenuous. He understood that he wouldn’t be able to afford to take much damage before it was thrown off entirely. At the same time, he relished the challenge, the opportunity to push himself again. At some point during his scramble to survive on Earth, he’d grown to embrace the adversity. How could he just turn away from an opportunity to test his limits like this?

The river of mana flowing through Kyle’s body pulsed in rhythm with his heartbeat as he navigated the craggy ground toward the center of the birds’ territory. Natural stone spires and arches dotted the landscape, punctuated only by the occasional low brush or shrub. Kyle had to admit, it was the perfect territory for the avian creatures. Their powerful legs would allow them to make use of the spires to attack from above, and if they were able to exhibit the same pack tactics they had when attacking the caravan, they’d be difficult to pin down in conventional combat.

C.H.A.D.D.’s map showed the signature of most of the birds, including the D Grades, clustered around the egg. Kyle wasn’t sure what they were doing with it, but breathed a sigh of relief as he both saw and felt the now-familiar mana signature. Not wasting any time, Kyle put on a burst of speed, flowing across the last stretch of rocky ground like the wind itself.

While most of the birds were closer to the egg, others still maintained the perimeter. Unfortunately for them, they didn’t have the means necessary to detect mana across a wide spectrum, nor the ability to see through the labyrinthine landscape they called home. Using the map as a guide, Kyle easily swept past the perimeter as he closed on his target.

The birds stood around the egg in a loose circle, postures almost seeming confused as Kyle saw them. Heads were tilting back and forth as the creatures took shuffling steps toward then away from the egg, as if they knew they wanted it, but weren’t sure what to do next. Suddenly, the head of one of the birds, likely one of the D Grades, snapped up and its yellow eyes fixed on the rapidly-approaching Kyle. It gave off a low croak of warning, but it came too late.

Tendrils of mana connected to several of the unsuspecting birds, and a quick push of Willpower saw them collapse to the ground, dead. Long, black feathers fell to the ground like snow as the circle of avians scrambled to get out of Kyle’s range, a cacophony of screeches and croaks echoing through the canyon. Kyle scooped up the egg, which was the size of a large watermelon, and then nearly dropped it as he had to duck to avoid a set of talons angling directly towards his face from a bird that jumped down at him from one of the rocky spires. It bounded away behind another pillar of stone, and Kyle felt the subtle flow of mana in the area change.

Mesmerizing patterns appeared across the bodies of the large birds as the D Grades activated their buffs. The energy flowing through each of the birds was more powerful than Kyle felt before, which is when he realized his miscalculation. When they had attacked before, each of the D Grades was leading their own flock. Now, in response to his invasion of their territory, they were each stacking the boosting skills on top of each other.

Kyle knew from experience that their decision was a double-edged sword. Ultimately, they were using D Grade boosting skills on E Grade bodies. While Ignition was qualitatively more powerful, their layered approach would likely create even higher levels of strain. The birds were put on a timer, but Kyle knew that he couldn’t afford to get sloppy.

Holding the egg tight against his chest with his left arm, Kyle drew his baton with his right and took a brief, stabilizing breath. C.H.A.D.D.’s map was in the corner of his vision, highlighting the relative position of the creatures, and with Auric Perception he could feel the flow of mana through them. A brief flash of orange light appeared in his vision as a warning, and Kyle’s body seemed to move on its own as Covert Dexterity helped him avoid another attack from above. He sidestepped a beak that was snapping towards his shoulder, retaliating with a twist of PARASITIC RESONANCE as another bird bounded over the lifeless body of its comrade, aiming directly for his face.

The beak was met with a baton, and Kyle was again impressed by the quality of the boosts as he barely redirected the attack. He felt the wind from the passing strike as he stole a quick glance at C.H.A.D.D.’s map. He saw on the projected image more beasts closing in – one from his right flank and more from behind. He dodged to his left, dropping the one he’d stunned with his baton with another surge of PARASITIC RESONANCE, draining some of its mana as it fell. Tendrils reached towards his new pursuers as well, barely missing as they aborted their attack and ran behind the stone spires.

Another bird came in low, on track to take him out at the knees while yet another jumped directly towards his chest, talons extended. Kyle knew that even if he killed both birds, their momentum would still likely take him to the ground, which was the absolute last place he wanted to be. A barrier of energy erupted to life around him as STORM SHELTER activated, courtesy of Instinctive Intelligence. The birds smashed ineffectually against the skill, bouncing away with angry croaks.

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

All around him, Kyle could hear the cacophonous cries of the creatures as their croaks echoed through the stony land. Between his initial surprise attack and the quick exchanges he’d had, Kyle already killed six of the birds, significantly weaking the flock. Still, there were the three D Grades remaining. While Kyle felt confident in his ability to survive the scenario, he wasn’t sure how durable the egg was. The whole exercise would be a waste of time if he ended up breaking the delivery, after all.

[DR. MAYHEW, ANOTHER PRESENCE IS APPROACHING.]

C.H.A.D.D.’s voice snapped Kyle out of his thoughts, and as he focused on Auric Perception he felt it, too. There was a mana signature that was distinct from the birds, though it carried with it some similarities. At the same time, the birds also began to calm down, though Kyle could still see the telltale markings that their boosting skills were active. That left Kyle with a choice. He could deactivate the skill and try to make a break for it, or stay to see how things played out.

He was curious. Incredibly curious. At the same time, the job was to deliver the damn egg. With a sigh, Kyle allowed the barrier of STORM SHELTER to dissipate as he bolted towards the perimeter of the birds’ territory. His action seemed to take them by surprise, and the avian beasts croaked in alarm as they took up the pursuit.

Four of the creatures were between Kyle and his destination, and closed in to cut off his path of escape. PARASITIC RESONANCE was already reaching out, and in just a moment Kyle was leaping over four bodies as he continued his path out of their territory. With each step he took, the frantic croaking and chirping of the birds faded. Despite the power provided by their boosted state, the ebon pterix were simply too slow to catch up.

Still, Kyle knew that he wasn’t out of the woods. Even when sealed away, the egg gave off an aura that attracted beasts. Without the protective containment, that aura had been magnified. It would only be a matter of time before something else would try to interfere with his delivery.

[PRESENCES DIRECTLY AHEAD, DR. MAYHEW. THEY APPEAR TO BE REPTILIAN IN NATURE.]

Kyle simply nodded, power continuing to flow through him as he vaulted over the lumbering crocodilian beasts.

[YOU’RE NOT GOING TO FIGHT THEM?]

“There’s no reason to that I can see. They’re easy enough to avoid.”

[WHAT IF THEY’RE GUARDING A NATURAL TREASURE? MAYBE YOU COULD MAKE ARMOR OUT OF THEIR SCALES?] the drone offered, a hint of hope in the robotic voice.

Kyle sighed. “You’re just getting bored of running.”

[QUITE, DR. MAYHEW.]

~~~

The viewing room was silent as the proctors watched the events unfolding before them. When the senior proctors had been arguing, they were primarily focused on their interpretations of the integrity and spirit of the Practicum. Both thought that Kyle’s decision was doomed to fail. Now both stood with expressions of disbelief on their faces.

“It doesn’t make any sense at all. Everything is just… dying.”

“Ultimately, he’s just killed some E Grades.”

“Yes, but how? His Assessment records show that he has a variant on a D Grade Healer class, with broken fundamentals. There’s no indication of skills or abilities that would allow him to do something like this.”

Suierrillax simply listened to the exchange as she watched the recording. In the broader context of her observations, she knew that Mayhew had some unusual skills. This was, in her view, the first time that they got to see them on full display. The boosting skill was of the greatest interest to her, though the Death Field, as they’d come to call it, was garnering the most attention from her peers.

She reflected on the previous engagements with the ebon pterix, and she realized a miscalculation she’d made. Just a couple of days ago, she was convinced he’d be a top-tier supportive member to a group, best able to showcase his skills and abilities to elevate other, powerful party members. Now, after watching his performance when facing opponents like these alone, she reconsidered. While Kyle Mayhew would still be a valuable member supporting a team, she now believed he could showcase his true value the best when working alone.

They watched as he continued to put distance between himself and the ebon pterix nest, and Suierrillax felt some tension melting away. There were some other factors at play, and he’d shown great judgment not staying longer than necessary. While the others still focused on Mayhew, she flipped her view back to the birds’ stony territory, where a man could be seen, kneeling over the body of one of the dead pterix.

He was human, like Mayhew, but entirely bald, scars crossing the top of his head. He wore thick leather armor, and his face was twisted in an expression of rage as he moved between the bodies. Suierrillax had no doubt that the man was D Grade, and likely well into it from the aura he was giving off. She commended Kyle’s wisdom for not staying to meet him after killing members of his flock. The man looked up then, and yelled to the sky.

“You bastards leaked the transport details to us for your little ‘test,’ and now the lizards have their egg and I’ve lost a third of my birds. There was no good faith here. You owe us a name, and you’ll pay up.”

The image distorted a bit, as a small tear in space itself seemed to open up in front of the man. He stepped through with no hesitation, and was gone. Spatial manipulation… Suierrillax thought, stunned. To meaningfully tap into concepts around space was incredibly challenging, particularly without the aid of designated technology.

One thing was certain, she doubted it was the work of the man who had been standing there. Suierrillax’s train of thought was interrupted as she felt multiple wisps of C Grade energy, setting the whole room on edge. Whatever this man said provoked a response, and she couldn’t help but wonder what kind of storm Mayhew kicked up.