Blake’s boots sank into the dark mud. Dirty water leaked through the leather as he straightened from his fall and examined his surroundings. The air was hot and humid, and he was surrounded by tall grass with water beneath the reeds. After a hundred feet, the horizon disappeared in steam. The sun beat down on his bare head.

I hate swamps.

He almost reflexively summoned his companion, but stopped himself before the skill could activate.

No, I made a promise. Besides, I don’t need him anyway. This will just take a bit longer, is all.

Instead, he began to trudge through the bog with his transparent map open and his eyes alert. Without a scout, he would need to remain vigilant at all times.

Thirty miserable minutes later, he spied his first opponent. Blake quickly noted the wind direction and deviated from his path.

The Ursa was a dark shadow in the horizon’s haze. Rather than head directly toward his quarry, Blake crouched low and circled around the dangerous enemy. He was careful to remain downwind. He needed to ensure it was the only Ursa in the area.

Once he completed his orbit, he cautiously approached the large monster. Blake stalked it from its rear, eager to reach striking range without it becoming aware of him.

When he was twenty feet away, his carefully placed boot sank into the mud with a loud squelch. The Ursa immediately turned to identify the sound. When it saw him, it roared and began to charge him.

I guess we’re doing this here, then.

There was no cover, nor any ambush, where he could lay in wait. This would be a fight where he held no advantage.

I’ve got this.

Blake planted his feet in the mud and readied his spear while he waited unwaveringly for the monster to meet him. The Ursa thundered through the slippery mire and continued to gain speed, yet Blake remained steadfast.

When it was just a few feet away, it leapt toward him with its claws extended and its jaw open wide. The talons glowed brightly with chi, enhanced by an ability.

He immediately pivoted to the side. As he did so, he thrust his spear forward. The spear failed to pierce through the thick hide, but aided him in his escape from its attack.

The Ursa hit the wet ground and slid through the mud, unable to find purchase. Before it could recover, Blake rushed the disabled enemy and impaled the monster from behind. This time the spear hit true. It roared and flailed its limbs in a vain effort to reach him. Yet, no matter how sharp its chi enhanced claws were, they found no purchase in the unyielding muck.

Blake threw his weight behind his weapon, to further increase its internal damage. When the metal tip became lodged in bone, he released his grip and unsheathed his longsword. Before he could launch a new attack, the Ursa assailed him with one of its own.

He bounded out of reach of the deadly claws as the beast released its fury. Blake continued to evade its swipes and lunges until its endurance began to flag.

Now!

His blade arced toward the monster’s exposed shoulder and bit deep into the flesh. The tendons severed, and it stumbled to the side. He withdrew his sword and again cut into the crippled Ursa. With its movement restricted, it was child's play for him to finish the dangerous beast.

After it collapsed to the ground, Blake planted his hands on his knees to catch his breath. The battle was more dangerous than it would have been with the aid of his companion as a scout or bait, but he proved he did not need to rely on tricks to defeat his foes.

Although, this muck makes everything waay harder than it needs to be.

When his breath was recovered, he sheathed his sword, retrieved his spear, and set off through the thick swamp to find his next victim.

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

I miss my scout.

Blake slogged through the swamp for hours as he sought out his foes. His next three battles proved to be as dangerous as his first, yet he prevailed. The Ursa were enhanced by their chi, able to heal, shield themselves from harm, and the last was the most deadly, able to increase its speed.

In the most recent case, he was forced to evade its swift attacks until it ran out of chi. He used the slippery environment to his advantage, and danced just out of reach.

However, it had been two hours since his last battle, and he had yet to find the final Ursa. His map was completely revealed, which meant that it moved its position to an area he had already searched.

He withdrew his last protein bar from his storage and ate as he trudged through the mire.

Even though he backtracked through his search grid for twenty minutes, and he had no idea how long it would take to fully explore the scenario boundary once again. His snacks were depleted and his stomach almost entirely empty, which put him on a timer.

Finally!

In the distance, he saw a dark shadow through the fog. Eager to finish the scenario, he raced forward, spear in hand. The Ursa heard his splashes and whirled to investigate. Blake expected it to roar and charge him, as the others had.

That presumption almost led to his death.

Instead, the creature teleported directly in front of him with its arms wide and claws extended. Only Blake’s quick reaction saved him from certain death. He leaned backward and thrust out with his spear on instinct at the motion. His back landed on the muddy ground, and he slid forward as his weapon pierced into the Ursa’s chest.

He did not hesitate and immediately rolled to the side, away from the dangerous monster. He shot to his feet behind the beast and unsheathed his sword, ready to press the attack.

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Oh.

His attack did far more damage than he expected.

The Ursa lay on the ground, already dead, with a spear impaled through its heart.

Blake sighed in relief.

You have successfully completed the Combat Scenario. Would you like to choose your reward now?

Yes.

Four options presented themselves to him. The first was a gambeson, which would increase his Magic Stamina by two. However, unlike his current plated jerkin, it did not self repair and provided far less protection.

Pass.

The second option was a new longsword. It did not have the self-sharpening feature of his current weapon, but would allow him to channel chi through it to enhance its sharpness. With energy added to his strikes, his blade would pierce through the heavy hide of the Ursa with ease. Unfortunately, he did not currently have access to any form of magic.

Maybe?

While he did not have chi now, he hoped to gain his class within a week. He could choose the impressive weapon now and save it for when he leveled up.

Let’s see what’s next.

The third reward was a ring which would increase his resistance to heat by twenty-five percent, and the fourth was a new pair of boots, almost identical to his current set.

Useless.

He was starving, and cranky because of it. Some part of him wanted to choose the ring just because it would take the least amount of time to assemble. Even rehydrated meals sounded good to him at this point. However, he needed to push down his impatience and choose the best reward.

Once again, none of the rewards were an improvement over the gear he already wore. He had only seen a single bear cast a fireball, and his current ring increased his Physical Power by two. If he were going to replace the jewelry, he would have done it with one of the many rings he stored at the fire tower.

Such a stupid system.

Since all equipment resized itself, he could slip at least thirty rings over his fingers, two to four per digit. They would restrict the movement of his extremities, but would otherwise fit.

However, the Architect only allowed you to receive the bonuses from a single ring, earring, and necklace, regardless of how many you equipped. Blake did not understand the reasoning behind the arbitrary system and could only shake his head once again at the strangeness of the Collective.

He was about to select the sword when a possibility occurred to him.

What about the Manders?

In his mind, he had been focused entirely on the Ursa as he currently resided in the fire tower, and the goblin portal was unavailable to him. However, there was a third scenario relatively nearby.

The Mander portal was located twenty-five miles to the south of Pinetop, near Diamond Creek campground. With vehicles still operational, it was only a thirty-minute drive. Even better, with their new wealth, they could easily afford to hire a taxi to pick him up and drop him off.

However, distance and inconvenience was not the only reason he had avoided the scenario. Manders almost exclusively lived underground in lava tubes. The glow from molten rock provided plenty of light to navigate, but the heat was unbearable.

To make matters worse, they fought in packs of two or three and almost all wielded mana-based fire spells. In the confined environment, it was impossible to avoid the flames. They would cook him alive.

Blake and his combat group had fought against them before, but they had been prepared. Montgomery used his upgraded mana ability, Flame Shield, to cast a heat protection shield around all of them, and Blake himself was able to increase the toughness of his skin. When combined with regeneration, they were able to complete the miserable scenario, albeit uncomfortably.

He contemplated the ring presented before him.

Will this be enough?

With his Magic Resistance over fifteen and his Physical Resistance at almost thirteen, he would be almost impervious to their attacks. If he added the ring to the equation, his body would be almost immune.

Especially if I change out my necklace.

Currently, he received two Physical Power from the jewelry around his neck. However, back at the fire tower, he had a collection of necklaces. One of them was a thick collar which increased his Physical Resistance by two. It was not as useful against the Ursa, but against the Manders, it could be key.

Best of all, no more scouting for hours.

Unlike the Ursa who roamed large tracts of land, the Manders remained relatively stationary within the caves. While the tunnels could potentially extend for miles, he estimated he would be able to explore the entire scenario within an hour.

I choose the ring.

The jewelry was small, and only took fifteen minutes to assemble. After he collected the reward, he trudged through the dense swamp to the portal and traveled back to Earth.

When he entered his tower, it was extremely dark. The sun had already set while he was on the Ursa planet, and he quickly turned on an LED lantern. Once he could see, he immediately stuffed his face with snack bars and wished for more selection in his food supply.

With hunger temporarily abated, he removed his armor, cleaned himself, and switched into a new set of clothes. After he felt human again, Blake perused his selection of food and chose two meals that sounded tasty. While he waited for the food to heat, he contacted his parents with holo-chat.

They answered almost immediately.

“I was hoping you’d call,” his mother said with a smile.

They were in their pajamas, under the covers of the bed. When he saw the alarm clock next to the bed showed it was 11:03, he said, “Sorry for calling you guys so late. I just finished the scenario and got back. I hope I didn’t wake you.”

Peter snorted. “It’s not like we have to get up early to go to work.”

Donna gave him a sharp look. “We DO have work tomorrow, remember?”

“Yeah, but that’s not till noon,” he replied.

His mother turned back to Blake and said, “We talked with Jordan, and he arranged a meet with three of his friends. We’re going to meet up at our restaurant for an interview. It’s closed for business, but we still have to pay rent, so we might as well use it.”

Blake nodded.

“Do you want to watch the interview through holo-chat?” his mother asked.

“Sure,” he agreed. “How’s Jordan’s progress on the workshop?”

Blake’s food was finally warm, so he opened the first package and tore into it.

“Well, we spent hours at Builder Depot buying materials. After that, he dropped us off near the trail, and then we headed home.”

His father spoke up. “Believe it or not, the cop was still there.”

Blake laughed with a mouth full of food.

Donna smiled and said, “I contacted Jordan about an hour ago. He said he spent the rest of the evening unloading the flatbed we rented. By the time he was finished, he was starving, so he left to get something to eat and then headed home. Jordan said he’ll get there just after sunrise to start work.”

Blake swallowed. “Good to know. He seems like a good guy.”

“Yeah,” Peter agreed. “I hope his friends are too.”

“Are you going to help him work tomorrow morning?” his mother asked.

He shook his head. “No. I’m actually going to head south to try out a new scenario. I was hoping one of you could hire someone to pick me up and drop me off.”

“Sure, I can just use the Ryde app. How far away is it?” Peter asked.

“About twenty-five miles or so. It’s just north of Whiteriver near a campground.”

“How hard is it to get someone late at night?” Blake asked. “I don’t know when I’ll be done.”

His father smiled. “You offer enough money, and they’ll jump at the chance. It sure is nice not having to worry about cash anymore.”

“True,” Donna agreed. “But, we have other worries.”

Blake nodded. “Can you have them show up at the trailhead at seven? I want to get an early start.”

“Not a problem,” His father assured him. “Need anything else?”

His mouth was stuffed once again, so he shook his head to answer.

“Okay, then we’ll let you finish your food and get some sleep.”

“Good night,” said Donna.

“Night,” he mumbled.