“There’s sixteen of them,” Wyatt said, looking at the dots moving toward them on Regan’s overlay. He still couldn’t smell them, which meant the range of Regan’s skill was greater than their sense of smell. If anything, that only made the skill more useful. “Everyone without skills stay back.” He looked at the people standing by him. Conveniently, it was most of the ones with skills.

But before he could relay his plan, the first monster appeared in the clearing.

As soon as it did, he could tell something was different.

It was the first time he’d entered battle since getting Analyzer, and he could feel it there, ready and waiting to be used, but in a different way than before.

It had more than one permutation.

He knew this somehow, even though he couldn’t see a message for it yet. It was like the other changes: smelling monsters, sensing loot, hungering for orbs.

Now he had another sense, this one of a kind he couldn’t place, which let him know a new bit of information about his skill: Its second permutation was passive.

[Analyzer] permutation discovered

[Analyzer] has reached D-Grade

Please choose integration type

D-Grade by discovering something again.

He wondered what an integration type was, but didn’t have time to explore it now, no matter how much he wanted to immediately dig into it.

It would just be a distraction.

So he put it out of his mind completely and activated Analyzer’s new permutation, making a note to test after this fight was done if the new permutation worked outside of battle.

If he survived, that was.

Which wasn’t at all guaranteed.

A reticle appeared in his vision, locking onto the quinametzin. It stayed in place even if he closed his eyes or looked away. It was a little like having 360-degree vision for the target.

That’s handy.

He could feel it drawing on his Energy though. But even with putting Energy into his rune shield and titan skin, he could keep it up for a while.

Not a true passive then, more like an active passive.

One of his next points was going to Immune System in hopes it would increase his Energy regeneration.

For now, he focused on the fight before him.

The giant was humanoid, but clearly not human, the features too rough, too primal, the mouth too large. It had a gray beard and hair surrounding its face that reminded Wyatt of an ape.

Its eyes glowed with a fierce green light, peering out from beneath a heavy brow, studying the group as it stood still as stone.

Adorned in minimal garb that wasn’t so different from that which Chekotae wore, its heavily muscled body was on full display. Its skin had a rocky texture, crisscrossed with tattoos and scars.

Those fierce eyes locked onto Patrick, taking a lunging step forward and roaring.

Wyatt felt it in his chest. Like a rumble of thunder rolling across the clearing.

He was unmoved, and hit it with a Torpor, which it did not like, turning its attention away from Patrick and roaring at Wyatt.

So he hit it again.

Each time he used Debuffer, he felt a jolt of something entering him. Devour was gaining him quintessence.

He pushed down on his excitement lest it distract him. The giant was now coming in his direction, albeit very slowly.

Judging by how hard the level 7 mummy had hit, this wasn’t going to be easy. Wyatt had gained a level since then, but only one.

And it wasn’t the only monster they were facing. The other dots hadn’t been more giants, but ratapua that had appeared with it.

Even without looking at the messages for them, thanks to the new passive effect of his Analyzer skill, Wyatt could tell from scent alone they were all between level 1 and level 4.

But he wasn’t the same man fighting a group of giant crocodiles with only a basic understanding of his one skill.

Now he had more, and weapons. Real weapons.

Well, a shield that could be used as one, anyway, armor that could morph into them, and a horde of balls that he was excited to test out but which he wished he’d charged more of.

And he wasn’t the only one with more experience. The ratapua were mostly staying back, but the few that dashed in to attack were quickly dispatched by the group.

Carlos even took one out with his crossbow. It seemed his hitting Emma earlier hadn’t just been luck.

“How’s the sacellum?” Wyatt called to Kevin.

When the man didn’t respond, he snapped, “Kevin!”

That got his attention.

“The sacellum. The shrine. How long—”

“A few minutes. Last time it—”

But Wyatt had already tuned him out. It wouldn’t protect them, and Wyatt wouldn’t be leveling up before this fight was done.

He ran through the abilities they all had and let his mind formulate a plan. He didn’t consciously guide it, that would just send him spiraling down possible paths unable to decide on the optimal one.

Instead he let his subconscious work, thinking only of the skills the group had at their disposal.

“Lena, defend Camila. Tyler, use Warrior and put all the points from it into Nervous System and defend the others from the ratapua.” He used another Torpor permutation as the first stack dropped off. The giant was enraged at its debuffed speed, but didn’t appear to have a way to counter it.

But Wyatt wasn’t going to get cocky again.

Never underestimate the enemy.

“Emma, I’m going to attack the giant. If it looks like it’s about to hit me, use Willbreaker.”

He looked at Patrick. “While I’m distracting it, do your thing. The rest of you, stay back and kill the ratapua if they get close. Camila, heal me if I get hit. Jasmine… if any of those items will help us, now’s the time to use them.”

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With that, he walked forward to meet the giant before it could reach them.

He hit it with a stack of Devitalize then pulled out his balls.

⦗Skill Balls, Level 10 (Growth)⦘

He grinned at the giant. Let’s see how an item above your level affects you.

He wasn’t sure how to use the item, so let instinct guide him.

The ball split into three in his hand, two glowing blackish red—the same color as his Debuffer skill—and floating above his palm, the other staying dormant.

He looked at the giant quinametzin and directed one of the balls at it.

He didn’t even have to throw it.

It shot through the air and slammed into the giant, bursting in a flash of black-veined red light before dropping to the ground.

The slowed giant stumbled and began projectile vomiting.

No way. Is it using the item’s level to calculate the stacking requirements? That’s way better than I was hoping for.

I really wish I’d put a Devitalize in it now.

Still, he was ecstatic with the item’s effect.

Smiling, he stowed the two remaining balls away on his belt—they automatically merged into a single ball as he did—then charged, slamming into the puking giant with his shield.

They collided together like two immovable forces, and Wyatt’s entire body vibrated painfully.

Before he could regain control, the monster swung a fist larger than his own head at him. It lit up in a dim glow as Emma’s Willbreaker threw off the punch, but only slightly.

The fist slammed into Wyatt’s shield, which reduced its impact, but still rocked him.

Even without a direct hit, his titan skin immediately dropped several points down to eighty-five percent cohesion and something tore inside his shoulder.

Then gold-green light appeared around him as Camila healed him and the pain that had only just begun vanished.

Unfortunately it didn’t do anything for the vomit he was now covered in.

The giant was massive, and was ejecting a commensurate amount.

It was also less hindered by Disgorge than other monsters had been, still able to fight through it despite it being a level 10 effect.

Wyatt used another stack of Devitalize—to no obvious effect—and managed to dodge the giant’s next attack.

Patrick was behind the monster, beating on it with spiked fists and drawing blood but not its attention.

When Wyatt’s gaze fell on Patrick, a readout appeared, showing that he was getting stronger as blood soaked into him thanks to his Bloodbath skill. It didn’t show Wyatt actual stats, but a simple percent increase, which was at 11%.

He noticed there was information for the giant as well, like a health bar. No actual number, and not a bar, but a circle that was fading out at the edges as the damage piled up. There were also icons for Emma’s Willbreaker skill and his debuffs. It even showed a number next to the one for his debuffs, showing how many stacks there were currently on the giant.

Analyzer was turning out more useful than he’d hoped for, especially now that it had reached D-Grade and gained a second permutation.

Another blow, another dodge. Wyatt grabbed the skill ball from his belt and sent the last charged one flying at the monster.

The vomiting didn’t quite double, but it did increase, sending the giant to its knees.

It was still taller than any of them.

Still, it fought through both this and Emma’s continued use of Willbreaker.

Wyatt dodged a giant fist and the vomit-stream and lengthened his arm with his titan skin, stabbing his blade-hand into the giant’s side.

Or tried to. The attack simply slid off the stony skin.

He stumbled and was caught by a glancing blow that even diminished was powerful enough to send him flying away.

Wyatt ran energy into his mantle and quickly slowed, drifting to the ground.

This isn’t working. It’s far too powerful. I need to build up Devitalize on it.

Instead of turning to fight Patrick, the quinametzin got to its feet and stalked toward Wyatt, a stream of vomit preceding it.

I must have really pissed it off.

Aggroed it…

He got an idea that he wasn’t sure would work.

Maybe I could…

He waited, letting his Energy recover.

Tyler had joined the fight, moving fast thanks to his increased Nervous System and using a ratapua quill to stab the monster’s back like a sewing machine while Patrick punched the monster with spiked fists, drenching him in blood.

Weirdly, none hit Tyler.

Patrick’s Bloodbath skill must be directing it.

Despite these attacks, the giant kept coming for Wyatt.

For a few more seconds, anyway.

Then it turned to Tyler and Patrick, causing both to throw themselves out of the way of the vomit it was still producing.

Wyatt hit it with another Devitalize followed by Torpor.

It turned back and made its slow way toward him.

Wyatt smiled. His plan might work.

It’s not that smart, or it’s so enraged that it can only focus on me. If I can keep out of its reach, keep hitting it with debuffs while Patrick and Tyler beat on it, maybe we can wear it down.

Judging by its health circle, it’s at around 95% health.

I just need to manage my Energy so I don’t run out.

I really wish I had charged the rest of those balls.

He reduced the Energy running into his titan skin, keeping only the belt with his items formed, the rest of the armor retracting to the diamond on his chest. The goal was to stay far away and not get hit. He didn’t need armor.

He kept the shield though.

Just in case.

Too bad I can’t use its runes.

Or can I?

He thought he’d used it once back in the pyramid on one of the mummies, but the monster had exploded on impact so he hadn’t been sure.

Now he tried to target the giant and activate one of the runes, but thanks to his new Analyzer battle mode permutation could tell it wouldn’t work from this distance.

He needed to make contact.

So he ran at the giant, shield-first, then activated the rune of alacrity the moment he collided with it.

In an instant, all his Energy was drained, and something else surged in to take its place.

It almost felt like using Devour, but somehow different too.

This time, whether due to his increased level, Analyzer’s permutation, or just being more familiar with the shield, he could tell that it had worked.

The giant swung at him, but it was in slow motion.

Wyatt easily stepped to the side and bashed it with his shield.

The monster stumbled backward, but also in slow motion.

Alacrity must have stolen its speed. This isn’t from Torpor.

Wyatt looked around.

Everything crawled at a snail's pace.

Tyler’s face was a disgusted enraged grimace as his hand slowly went to his face to wipe the giant’s vomit away, which was frozen mid-drip.

Patrick had one arm raised, ready to bring down a spiked fist onto the giant’s back, his chest covered in vomit that dripped like thick syrup.

Jasmine was using her two rapiers, droplets of blood hanging in the air around her blades like suspended jewels, her hair floating about her head as though underwater. A ratapua quill was just about to miss her face as it drifted lazily through the air.

Several full ratapua were also in the air, haphazardly drifting in Lena’s direction. Lena, in her snake form, appeared to be using its skill to suck them toward her.

He took it all in easily, time feeling as though it barely moved.

I stole its speed. That must be what it means by consumption.

I’m like Quicksilver.

He smiled.

That’s awesome.

But no idea how long this is going to last.

So I should stop standing around and wasting it.

The quinametzin was in the middle of swinging its massive fist at Wyatt’s head with the force of a wrecking ball.

In Wyatt's accelerated perception, it moved as if through a dense, invisible syrup.

He easily sidestepped the quinametzin’s attack, observing its eyes begin to track him.

So I’m not a complete blur to it.

The world snapped back into place with an abrupt wrench and his shield suddenly weighed too much to hold now that no Energy was running into it.

Before the shield could even pull him to the ground, the giant kicked him away, slamming the shield into his body.

Wyatt soared through the air, the shield flying off his arm and nearly dislocating his shoulder.

He tried running Energy into his mantle, but it only lasted an instant before he was completely drained, his titan skin belt disappearing and dropping his items to the ground.

He joined them a moment later, hitting hard but quickly forcing himself to get to his feet.

But the giant was now on its knees, breathing hard and glaring at Wyatt as Patrick and Tyler laid into it.

Wyatt was out of Energy, even the reticle from Analyzer was gone.

Now what?

The giant’s health was—

Its gaze suddenly flicked away from Wyatt.

“Move!” he shouted, but it was too late, even with Tyler’s increased speed.

It twisted and threw a fist behind it, slamming into Tyler and sending him rocketing into a tree at the edge of the clearing.

He didn’t get up, even as Camila’s healing light washed over him.

Patrick had avoided getting hit, but now the giant got to its feet and came for him.

He tried running, but with Torpor gone, it was faster.

A massive fist slammed down onto Patrick’s head, sending him to the ground, where he stayed.

Then the giant turned to face Wyatt.

I just need to let my—

The monster roared, glowing with gray light, and this time Wyatt was knocked off his feet and dazed by the sound which slammed into him like a physical force.

When reason returned, the giant was nearly upon him.

He got up, realized enough Energy had regenerated that Analyzer’s new semi-passive permutation was back.

It drew his attention to the items he’d dropped, popping up little title cards for each of them.

One in particular caught his eye.

⦗Empty Orb (Bonded), Level 1⦘

It wouldn’t work. It couldn’t. He’d never upgraded it to a capture orb. Even if it did what he thought it might, the level gap was too great.

But what other options were there?

He ran, dodging around the monster to avoid a wild swing, then threw himself to the ground to dodge the follow-up punch.

The orb was right in front of him.

He swiped it up, popped to his feet, and turned to find the giant already there raising its fist.

Wyatt ran the last of his meager Energy into the orb, feeling it activate. Then he hurled it at the monster.