I barely read the notification. The Primal Rock Lurker hurled a boulder at us, scattering our party.

I snuck behind a tree with the help of [Stealth] and sought cover from the gravel that tumbled around me.

Somewhere off to my right, Nicola screamed. “Are you out of your mind, Paz? Why didn’t you warn us about this?”

“I wanted it to be a surprise,” Paz said, punctuated by boisterous laughter. “You should have seen the look on your face!”

A second thrown boulder drowned out Nicola’s reply. The Primal Rock Lurker moved with purpose now. Its green eyes focused on the fleeing duo of Nicola and Paz, even as it gathered more stones to form fingers on its arms.

Each footstep fell with the force of a mini earthquake, threatening to open chasms in the ground. Pebbles materialized out of thin air on its palm.

Bullets?

“Incoming!” I warned, unwilling to take chances.

The Primal Rock Lurker fired the pebbles.

I ducked behind a rock just in time to avoid the onslaught, but the impacts of the volley caused enough vibrations to subtly lower my health.

An entire tree fell beneath the fusillade. Hopefully, my teammates had heeded the warning. Considering how fast the monster’s accuracy was improving, it was only a matter of time before all three of us were peppered to mulch.

“Damien,” Nicola said, looking around for me. “We need to leave!”

Leave?

I glanced back at the hulking monster. At level 26, it stood five levels weaker than the Dread Monkey that had decimated the Wood Elves. However, Rock Lurkers had some of the best defense stats in all of Dreadwood, making this creature a more difficult foe when compared to its primate cousin.

Retreating provided the best chance for survival. But, how did that help us against Byron? If we fled from a level 26 monster, how could we hope to handle a ranker of roughly equal strength?

“Stand your ground,” I said, joining my teammates behind the rock they had chosen for cover. “We can take it.”

Nicola sputtered.

Paz uttered a whoop.

“It’s slow,” I said. “That means we have a high chance of successfully making a run for it if things take a turn for the worst.”

“Are you seriously trying to communicate,” Nicola screamed, “over all this noise?”

Ugh.

“Paz, take point," I said, switching gears. "Try to distract it! Nicola and I will chip away at its health.” The monster kept advancing with the force of a landslide. “Let’s see if we’re ready for dungeon diving.”

“This is madness,” Nicola said, pausing to drink a blue potion. “We’re too unprepared.”

But, Paz was already walking toward the Primal Rock Lurker. “Oi, rock face! You big, ugly wanker. Give me your attention!”

That’s not what I meant by a distraction, Paz.

“How’s your Eros meter looking, Nicola?” I asked. “Did you succeed yesterday?”

“Yes,” she said and gripped her staff. “Any spell I use right now is going to deal a whole lot of hurt.”

“Then, use your biggest. I’ll go help Paz!”

Paz, for his part, did a good job dodging around the monster. The Primal Rock Lurker wasn’t as slow as I’d first thought, but its speed was still below average compared to its Dread Monkey cousin. Paz would hold his own as long as he had the stamina . . . which had already been lowered in the fight with the normal Rock Lurkers.

I could attack the monster from behind, but I doubted my strikes would do enough damage to hurt it.

Change of plans, then. If there was anything in my arsenal that my teammates could benefit from, it had to be the [Map]. I activated the mini-screen and surveyed the battlefield, zooming out in search of any feature that could help.

A magic sigil went off beneath the monster. Large tentacles bloomed in a floral pattern, denting its HP by about twenty percent.

Nice one, Nicola!

Paz charged the enraged monster. A fiery aura surrounded his fists as he activated his [Overpower] skill. From what he’d told me, the skill upped his Strength by +5 for a limited time . . . which mattered little as his thrown punch failed to do reasonable harm.

However, seeing as the monster was already occupied grappling with Nicola’s tentacles, Paz could wail on it as much as he wanted.

And, wail he did.

The monster flailed in irritation as Paz's attacks became too numerous to bear, damaging its HP by a noticeable amount.

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A second volley of pebbles forced Paz away and out of the monster's range lest he should lose his single chance at resurrection. The tentacles disintegrated into petals a short moment later.

The Primal Rock Lurker stomped its foot—

All three of us crashed to the ground from the earthquake that robbed us of a portion of our health.

Paz was first to recover, what with the physical resistance provided by Greater Strength. He charged at the Primal Rock Lurker, [Overpower] burning on his fists.

His attack connected, but the monster retaliated with a swipe of its arm, reducing Paz to a spray of blood.

I backed away from the brutal display, even as Nicola started preparing another [Bloom of Crimson Desire].

“I need more time!” she said.

Oh, crap. Our point man had just been obliterated, which meant the role of dodge tank fell to me.

While I deliberated on the cons of approaching the monster, the Primal Rock Lurker used another skill. The phantom image of a shield flickered over its form as it drew its arms around its torso.

I didn’t need a notification to understand what it had done. The bastard had just upped its Defense!

“Get to cover!” I said to Nicola in the same breath that I activated [Decoy].

A second Damien materialized out of thin air—and, holy fuck! Was that what I looked like? He darted between the Rock Lurker’s legs with lightning-quick movements, causing the monster to turn and launch a boulder after him.

It was a weird feeling, this—wielding the technique. Summoning the [Decoy] felt like being connected to a distant limb, one that didn’t require fine control. The [Decoy] responded quickly to the first order thrown at it, but subsequent commands met sluggish resistance.

Nevertheless, it served its purpose, diverting the Rock Lurker’s attention away from Nicola and me.

I consulted my [Map] once more and frowned at a feature I’d earlier noticed: A rock ledge that marked the eastern border of the swamp.

The Primal Rock Lurker destroyed the [Decoy], an action I didn’t see but felt by way of a haptic buzz to the brain. I stepped in without a second thought, flaring [Fear Aura].

The monster turned fast enough to disorient itself—

That’s it. Chase after me.

—and bellowed a challenge.

I led it through the wettest part of the swamp to the rock ledge from earlier, hoping the soft earth would serve to slow it down.

It seemed to be working too . . . until the monster raised its arms and lowered them for another earthquake.

I fell face-first into the mud and noted with dismay that I’d lost another chunk of health. Nicola came in clutch at that moment, casting another [Bloom of Crimson Desire]. The spell didn’t do as much damage as earlier, thanks to the Primal Rock Lurker’s defense skill . . .

But, my target was now in sight.

Jagged protrusions marked the area where the swamp extended in a shelf and ended in a sizable drop into a stream.

Just one more push.

“Again, Nicola!” I said.

“I’m out of MP,” she called, panting from somewhere behind me. “I’m useless now!”

Without even thinking, I slid The Ring of the Mana Conduit off my finger and punted it in her direction. Nicola could pull off two uses of her most damaging ability with less than 60 MP. My ring had 50 MP saved up.

The Primal Rock Lurker freed itself from the cage of tentacles faster than the last time.

“Not over yet!” Paz screamed, appearing out of nowhere.

The [Overpower] skill glowed on his fist in combination with a frightening new aura.

Paz’s eyes glowed red as he moved, leaving twin trails of energy behind him like the taillights of a speeding motorbike. An artificial wind whipped up around him, the only other visible phenomena of his aura. His hair stood on end as a result, fanning out around his head.

You are within range of an allied [Draconic Aura]!

Your attacks now deal 50% more damage.

Your speed and defenses have also risen by 50%.

Paz was going all out if he had decided to activate his VP-draining aura. It was also the perfect counter to the Primal Rock Lurker’s defense skill, and it showed in how Paz’s attacks dealt more damage to HP.

The Primal Rock Lurker didn’t take kindly to the assault. It gathered stone bullets again, preparing to fire.

“Paz, fall back!” I warned and created a [Decoy] to take his place.

He did as I asked, and none too soon.

The Primal Rock Lurker spun like a top, spraying bullets around the swamp. One pebble whizzed past my head with such force that the wind of its passing dented my health.

My [Decoy] vanished in an instant, downed by a hail of bullets. But, it bought Paz the window he needed to roll through the swamp and into rock cover.

Paz glanced at me with slitted eyes, a question in his gaze. We’d been fighting all morning, and our resources were bound to be scraping the bottom of the barrel. We needed to do something to end this.

I needed to do something to end this.

“Hey! Big oaf,” I said, jumping and waving my arms to catch the Primal Rock Lurker’s attention.

It wasn't my proudest insult, but I'd since learned that I sucked at talking shit.

The rock ledge extended behind me like a middle finger aimed at the forest. The water of the stream gurgled about ten meters below.

Take the bait, you asshole.

The Primal Rock Lurker did. It honed in on me and threw a boulder in my direction. I sprang out of reach.

The maneuver put me at the edge of the rock shelf, one step away from falling into the drink. But, I left a final [Decoy] in my place and hung by my arms on the jagged protrusions.

An ear-splitting shriek signaled the activation of Nicola’s third mega spell. It caught the monster just as it charged my [Decoy] and sent it toppling over the ledge.

The monster’s arm rammed against the rock face as it fell, coming close to shattering my back. Painful vibrations traveled from the rock and up into my skull, taking a toll on my grip.

A second crash followed as the Rock Lurker landed in the stream. Water rose in tandem, drenching me from head to toe.

I spat out stream water and managed to keep from falling, though it was with some effort that I pulled myself back over the ledge.

The small drop had harmed the Rock Lurker less than I'd expected, but it came with the added benefit of leaving it flat on its side.

All our efforts had left it just under thirty percent HP. But, victory loomed close enough to be tasted. The monster thrashed about in an attempt to rise, creating a hazard for anyone who dared to jump down with it.

I dared, regardless.

Paz grinned at me, communicating his intent to follow. So, we lowered ourselves over the ledge, prepared to end things on a high.

A large spear of light careened out of the sky and struck the Rock Lurker.

More spears of light rained down on the stream, alongside a massive javelin forged out of pure wind.

The thunderous impacts sent me fleeing for cover, but it was the [System] message that followed that chilled me.

Hurray! You have participated in the killing of Primal Rock Lurker. An appropriate amount of XP has been allocated, per your contribution.