[Test of Strength: Hunt and defeat the four elite elemental beasts. These apex predators are hidden throughout the deadly jungle, masters of their regions.]

Nick gave a happy sigh, after cleaving through a fiery boar’s throat, taking the head off its shoulders. “Much better. It’s like the seventh floor with the plant elemental things, but different. This seems valuable for future runs, too.”

Eirwen nodded as she walked over and triggered Loot on the beast by pressing her hand to its chest. “Yes, we get some delicious meat, sturdy hides, and some gems with every beast slain. Lumos is sure to make something great out of them.”

The jungle Sable now stood in was vast and colorful. Despite it being a jungle, there were a lot of rocks and gems mixed in within their view, the twinkling stones embedded in the earth, beasts, or plants matching elemental colors and energies.

Trees stood high with wide canopies, letting in varying amounts of light. Vines and smaller plants grew into dense vegetation, covering almost all that she could see. It seemed that the plants drew up the gems from the stone with their roots somehow, and even the plants and trees carried the elemental essence.

The beasts within the jungle must have been eating the gems as well, their bodies having control of various elements. Some blue gems of frost called to Sable, and there were even some black gems of darkness. However, if they spent a lot of time extracting all of these gems from their surroundings, they’d be here forever. The ones in the beasts seemed much larger and denser anyway, so collecting them with the Loot skill seemed more worth their time.

The moment they appeared in the jungle, beasts began attacking their party. It appeared there were so many that fighting them was inevitable.

Eirwen fired her bow at a distant bird creature, her arrow coated in flame. The bird’s wing exploded, and then she nodded as Luna dashed over and struck the downed bird with her spear. “You might want to make a Soul Servant out of one of these elite enemies too, hubby.”

Nick shook his head. “Nah, it’d be too much a one and done thing, if it died too many times reviving it becomes too challenging. Then, Birdy took more Soul Power than I had thought. If I take another it will weaken my blade by too much. A lot is reserved with Frost Aura.”

Birdy squawked in complaint from atop Jasper’s back, its angry demon face sneering at Nick. It then continued to make whiny bird sounds, its head cocking back and forth.

Nick groaned. “I told you, I can’t make your body just yet. I’m sorry. Like Jasmine, it requires the third stratum. The fastest way to get you your body is for you to aid us in this Ordeal.”

Birdy then huffed, then busied itself with playing with the blue elemental gems they took from an ice snake. Nick had been feeding it a few demon cores to keep up with his promise for food, but the demon creature also took special interest in these gems.

Somehow, it did appear that the strange demon was becoming more bird-like, but it was subtle. It was in the eyes, and some of the hair on its goat-like head was looking a little…feathery.

Eirwen hummed. “I guess we’ll need to find any good Soul Servants outside of the Ordeal, or perhaps in a Trial instead, then.”

Nick shrugged. “Unless I get some kind of trait or bonus, I’m kind of at my limit for now. I’m pretty happy with how strong Jasper and Birdy are anyway. How about you, do you think you’re closer to unlocking that Ancestral Guide class?”

Eirwen sighed. “I think I’m closer, but an Epic class is no joke. I’m still focusing on enhancing my Concept Fragment and my spirit magic for now, but I might need to connect to a strong enough spirit first for the class to unlock. I wanted to switch classes before 15, as the skill will likely be better, and it will only become more challenging to reach the requirements as my level increases.”

Nick sighed. “That’s a downside of living in the middle of nowhere, huh. You couldn’t find a viable spirit in Silverbrook?”

Eirwen shook her head. “Maybe the class isn’t quite right for me. I don’t really have an ancestor that was strong, it appears. I can’t connect to just any spirit. It requires an anchor, and blood or ancestry is the strongest.”

Kaya frowned. “You couldn’t use…my mother, could we?”

Eirwen gave her a sad smile. “That’d be lovely, wouldn’t it? But I’m afraid not. Only those with stronger spirits or those that anchored themselves to the land without rejoining the essence of Orion can be called upon. As you rise in stratum, your weight on the world increases, and thus the longer your spirit lingers.”

Nick said, “Damn, that sucks, but it makes sense. Maybe like how you can help me connect to someone, I can help you?”

“Maybe, but either way, not all is lost. As my soul power increases and I get better at the magic, I can reach further. We’ll give it a try again when we get home, and we’ve pushed our skills higher. Working with the spirits here is giving me good experience. I’ll keep trying at it, despite these elemental domains. Maybe if I’m good enough with it, a third stratum person from the central kingdoms might respond.”

Sable listened to their talking while she watched their surroundings. The entire party had their own paths to power, the only two with the same class even were Rebecca and Irene. Though with those two, the former was much more interested in fighting with her staff than the latter was.

Now that Luna had formed her fragment, that only left Fang and herself. Sable was working hard, but her minor enlightenment was just not overly helpful. The odd, formless beast of darkness, cold, and hunger she saw in the vision just didn’t feel right to her at all. Its power was…scary, if anything, its maw of endless teeth crunching their bones….

Kaya was cleaning her axe, having killed another beast that charged into their clearing. “There a Safe Zone here, Winny? And how far off are we from these elites?”

“I’ll do my best to check. I can feel a lot of elemental essence in this place, far more than the standard jungle.”

Her eyes shifted through several colors as she cast her spells, murmuring to herself. “The good news is that there’s a Safe Zone in what appears to be the center of the jungle. The bad news is the elementals will not aid me with finding these beasts, beyond giving me a vague area. Each of these creatures is connected to the jungle, and they control a domain of sorts. They’re roughly in the four cardinal regions of the jungle, and we’d have found the domain of wind here soon if we continued this way.” She pointed off into the distance. “We’re actually not that far off from the Safe Zone. We appeared near the center of the jungle.”

Kaya twirled her axe. “Domain of wind, huh? What other ones are there, and how far away are these places?”

“I think it’ll take a few days to circle this jungle, at a minimum. There appears to be fire, water, wind, and earth.”

Nick thought for a moment. “Alright. We’ll head to the wind domain as a party and take it on. Depending on how things go, we’ll either split up to take on the others to cover more ground, or continue as we are. Sable, scout ahead for us, but just focus on tracking anything dangerous. We’ll be fighting constantly in this jungle, no matter what we do, it appears.”

Sable flashed him a smile. “Got it, Boss.”

Covering herself in shadows, she moved on ahead. With her ears and sense of smell, she could tell that numerous beasts lied in wait or blundered through the forest, picking fights with whatever enemy they ran into. But she ignored many of these as the party moved through the jungle, only rooting out those that waited in ambush.

Sable could hear the party fighting as she skated through the shadows, wearing them like a cloak. She used Camouflage, which was a lot like using your aura to lightly alter the light around oneself to be a little more difficult to see.

Since she was covered in shadows and moved through them and her skin was already dark, this was very efficient, her aura hiding her from the numerous beasts of all different types.

She had learned Sneak at one point thanks to a skill crystal gained in the Ordeal, but it was an essence ability. It blocked and replaced the light and essence surrounding her to make her appear invisible and difficult to sense, and was far pricier in essence to use as a result.

It was also for very little gain, so she had only used it in conjunction with her Soul Sense to sneak around the more vigilant enemies. In all, it was not all that great of an ability. Those that gained a high proficiency with their magical senses would be able to detect someone using Sneak, and it was only using careful manipulation of aura that one like her could avoid being detected–something that could be accomplished with Camouflage, anyway.

The elemental beasts could not detect Sable with just Camouflage as she moved from shadow to shadow, so she continued ahead of the party until they reached the domain of wind.

It was easy to spot. The jungle shifted from having more colors than a rainbow, to having far more green gems of the winds. The creatures matched this, but it was more than just having a lot more green gems around.

There was a sort of oppression occurring, where her shadow and frost suddenly felt weaker. She had difficulty controlling her frost shadows, and was forced to compensate by expending additional mana for her aura and essence to control the shadows. Using her Heartseeker or other abilities with different elements would be a challenge.

There was also a tenseness in the air, and it almost felt like she was being watched. The constant battling of the beasts faded away as she got deeper into the domain. She stalked carefully before picking up several beasts with their soul sense, and her findings were surprising.

These beasts appeared to be more in harmony with one another, though she did eventually spot some fighting. It was definitely a jungle of predators.

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Returning to her party, she shared her findings.

Nick looked over to Eirwen, “So you really can’t pinpoint the elite, Winny? What about sensing some kind of den, like a high density area?”

Eirwen shook her head. “The elemental essence is under its control. Most likely, it already knows we are here, besides.”

Nick sighed. “So it might be hunting us instead, huh. Let’s continue through with Sable leading ahead, but we’ll have Kaya not far behind you, between us.”

“Worried about me, Boss? And here I thought you trusted my skills by now.” Sable pouted, teasing Nick.

Nick chuckled. “Of course I trust in your hunting capability, but they have the home field advantage. I value my huntress highly.”

Smiling, Sable stalked through the forest, Kaya following close behind. She was only able to follow thanks to their Soul Sense, and Sable wondered if she could defeat the skill with enough work. Nick had run into the wendigos which blended with the earth and death magic, but their state of unlife may have had a larger role to play in this than any sort of talent with essence or aura.

Still, Sable tried playing with her aura for a while as she creeped through the jungle. She passed dozens of beasts, and their party a ways back were forced to face several of them. These were stronger than the beasts in the other section of the jungle, but they were not difficult for their full party.

They continued on for hours. Eventually, it became too quiet, no beasts seen for far too long in this dense jungle. She had reached the edge of a small clearing just next to a large tree, and realized why this was as she looked up.

Large birds had gathered in the boughs of the trees above, a wide assortment of flying beasts. It appeared they were waiting in ambush, dozens of powerful birds watching the direction of her party, ready to attack. She began backtracking, and did her best to try to signal Kaya.

But it was too late. Several elemental birds–hawks and owls, must have spotted Kaya somehow, and they swooped down at her. Sable spotted that Kaya had seen this, however, so Sable waited in the shadows, climbing a tree instead, leaping over to come closer to Kaya, and where their party should emerge once the fighting began.

Something Sable had been doing must have improved her stealth, as despite being closer to the clearing, Kaya was detected first.

Kaya was ready for her foes, her axes held firmly with her claws and tails, so Sable did her best to try to spot this elite monster. The ambush was not yet complete, as only a few of the flying beasts had moved–and she had little doubt Kaya would have difficulty at this level. Sable could feel and see many of the flying creatures just lying in wait, the wind essence swirling into a storm.

The birds swooped down with speed, the wind enhancing their dive. When they neared, Kaya roared, dropping her Camouflage as she leaped toward her assailants with a spin, and activated her Convergance Skill. Blades of essence flew out and cut into several birds as she spun, and Axe met a large talon from a green hawk covered in winds much like the windswept wraiths they faced, and Kaya’s tail then lashed out to strike the hawk’s wing.

With a screech, the bird began falling to the ground, but the other injured birds kept in the air. They flapped their wings as they slowed, sending blades of wind at Kaya instead. They prepared their talons, managing their inertia as they positioned themselves to continue their attack despite their injuries.

Kaya had this in hand, her feral essence ready to match their attacks. Continuing to monitor the trees, Sable waited for the elite to show. She knew this creature was some kind of hunter, lying in wait to deal a devastating blow. These birds were all predators, and each of the elites was supposed to be at the apex.

Hearing the fighting, Nick’s party rushed into the clearing. And that was when all hell broke loose. Half or more of the birds leaped from the boughs, swooping down with angered screeches.

Beams of light, spears and feathers of frost, icy blade waves and arrows with glimmering stardust were shot into the air to meet the swarm of giant birds, but there was still no hint of Sable’s quarry.

Nick’s Frost Aura was present around him, but the oppressive domain of the elite beast of wind had weakened it, shrinking it to the original ten yard area around him. It wouldn’t slow down the ambush of the birds at all.

Moving from tree to tree, Sable watched and waited. Her senses were pushed to the maximum, sniffing with her nose for any change in smell and her ears twitching at every sound. She ignored the birds screeching, blades meeting flesh and talon, the flapping of wings, and waited patiently for her moment.

Just like the beast from her vision. Despite its immense hunger, it waited until the perfect moment. The moment when two other equally terrifying beasts fought, their shadows overlapping as they tore at each other’s flesh and broke bone. It then slayed and feasted on the two weakened creatures, freezing the bodies so that it could consume them at its leisure.

Throughout the vision, she could feel the monster’s desire. Its patience despite its great hunger, its ruthlessness as it went for the kill.

Sable and this formless creature didn’t have a lot in common, the only real value she noticed was how she felt and witnessed the beast using the iceshadow essence. Unlike this solitary creature, Sable was a part of a pack.

She couldn’t simply wait until both parties were wounded, and deal the finishing blow. It was important to her to aid her Alpha, or her other pack mates. Countering an ambush fit what the monster could do, so she would try to match it, to feel the essence and make it hers.

Nick joined the fighting, his blade covered in white light as he leaped high into the air with Double Jump. His Aura pushed out further, slowing the numerous bird creatures. A reptilian bird snapped at him with its long beak, but he whipped his arm and lengthened his blade, slashing deeply into its flesh, cleaving off its wing and sending it tumbling to the ground.

It was in that instant that Sable sensed the change in the air. A stream of wind was built, a vortex of air drawing all the elemental essence in the area. And she knew the predator’s target.

Her Alpha.

She could feel it, and she knew she needed to be fast. Skating through the shadows with a thin blade of iceshadow on her feet, she moved through under the branches with haste. With Jasmine, Rebecca and Irene’s beams of light striking the birds, plenty of shadows were being cast in the area for her to travel fast.

The downed reptilian bird was larger than their utility vehicle. It lashed out with its large claw at Nick, its body billowing with wind essence. Nick’s body became white as he donned his Cloak of Twilight, meeting its blow and casting more shadows into the surroundings.

It was then she spotted the elite beast. It was a large bird of prey like a hawk, with green feathers and gems throughout its body. The monster was huge, nearly the size of the lava elemental they had faced.

Despite its size, it was diving down so fast that she was sure the blow would be devastating, even if Nick managed to prepare his shield and brace. Having no time, she used her shadows to tap him on the shoulder and point with a knife of shadow from it, warning him of the incoming threat.

With new urgency, she stirred her essence, willing herself to become one with the shadows, desiring to move faster and stop this attack on Nick. Her devotion core thrummed in her chest, her heart beating with fervor.

Sable arrived within her Alpha’s Aura quickly. Hunting this elite, covered with the shadows of a nearby enemy cast by his brilliant white light of heroism and within his Frost Aura, something within her stirred–a strong feeling of purpose, mixed with the thrill of the hunt.

With the speed the enemy was approaching in its aerial ambush, the timing of her attack would need to be perfect. Taking a breath, her body melded with the shadows and frost surrounding her as she crouched and held her spear at the ready.

She found herself merging with the shadows and frost, the three of them melding more and more as one, which was shocking. While she could easily hide within a shadow, her body would not really sink inside like it was now. This was at the level of the strange mist creature they faced.

There was no time to delve into the feeling, but it was like something within her had clicked. Willing the iceshadow into her spear and merging it with essence and mana of her own, she prepared her attack–she could feel something, a weight of her will entering it. It felt like this was what she needed to do.

The giant bird’s own shadow overlapped the one she now stood in, and she launched her spear into its path, aiming for its throat.

Like a beam of shadow, her spear blasted toward the elite faster than she could track, the spearhead looking a lot like the formless beast from her vision–a terrifying maw with countless teeth opening, ready to chomp down on the enemy.

At the last moment, the strange hawk noticed the attack and shifted its head and thus its throat, the iceshadow bite grasping its shoulder instead. The weight of her attack still shoved the bird to the side as it screeched in agony, the bird crashing to the ground beside and far behind Nick, missing its ambush.

Frost began to spread from the wound as the formless beast wrapped around the green hawk in hunger, and Nick’s chains quickly wrapped around the enemy as it screeched. It struggled at its bindings, its bones already bruised and broken from its terrible tumble into the ground at such high speeds.

Nick had drawn his shield at her warning and was ready to try to deal with the ambush, but was still shocked by the result as he dashed over to the creature to finish it off. With it frozen and bound, it only took a few swings of his Soul Blade.

With the elemental elite defeated, the oppressive domain relented. Some of the birds then began to flee, but many stayed around to fight to the death. Kaya roared in triumph, her axes shredding the remaining birds.

The party spent some time cleaning up the large number of birds. Sable, Jeffrey, Luna, Jasmine and Eirwen all used their Loot skill on the much larger creatures, netting them tons of resources to bring back to Frosthaven.

Nick looked over the giant bird and whistled. “Damn, that’s a big ole bird. Good job taking it down, Sable. That was all you.”

Fang beamed. “Yeah, that was awesome! It tried to attack Boss, but you were ready with that…whatever. It’s fat bird ass just broke when it just slammed into the ground!”

Sable chuckled, her tail wagging. “It really did. But I only managed it because I’ve made my fragment.”

Fang bounced in place, clapping. “Wooo! Way to go, Sable! Er…” Her ears went flat on her head. “I’m happy for you, but it seems I’m last. I really need to get my special skill too!”

Eirwen hugged Fang from the side, and patted her ears. “Do not worry, Fang. As long as you keep holding your Alpha highly in your heart, your devotion core will help make it happen. For many, it takes months or years to find their fragment, even with things like Enlightenment granted by the Ordeal.”

Sable laughed. “There’s not much else in that heart or head of hers. But I’m sure she’ll figure it out eventually.”

Luna said, “Yes, I do think you’ll have it soon, Fang. Didn’t you also have something special happen when I used mine for the first time, with the howl? In the next battles, let’s try to focus on this. We’ll both work hard on our fragments.”

“Okay! Thanks, Luna!” She perked up, her smile returning and her tail wagging rapidly.

Nick chuckled, and he kicked the large corpse. “What the hell was this thing, anyway? Just a hawk that ate a lot of these gems?”

Irene shook her head. “It’s a Roc, a rare race of hawk with a powerful bloodline. That was a juvenile.”

“A juvenile? Damn. That really was an elite.”

Nick looked over their party, evaluating. “That went well, but it’s clear these predators are dangerous–even with our huntress watching over us. Since they have control over their brethren, I think we should take our time heading to each elite, and rest at the Safe Zone before the final one. We’ve made great time in the Ordeal so far, and well ahead of our schedule. Taking an extra day or so shouldn’t be a big issue.”

Rebecca nodded. “It seems these floors have been quicker than you expected. Perhaps it will be the second half of the floors on this stratum that are more time-consuming.”

They rested and ate for a bit to recover from the battle and their trek in the hostile jungle. Eventually, Nick called them to resume their travel.

Nick smiled at Sable. “Alright, my huntress. Go ahead and lead us out of here and into the next section.”

Sable leaped into action, leading the party through the wild jungle. One elemental elite was down and there was three more to go, but she was confident their party would be ready for the next ones.