Ryu deposited the snake on the ground gently, making sure it was well out of the expedition’s way. It was easy to forget that normal animals existed, but Ryu always did his best to not harm the natural wildlife. It was almost like two separate worlds that existed on top of one another. In one, mundane wildlife from the Old World populated the Rings, maintaining a functional ecosystem. In the other, Qi-infused beasts like the Swamp Drakes maintained their own food chain. The two worlds co-existed but didn’t interact at the same time. His father had said it was all because of Qi. Monsters wanted it. Mundane creatures didn’t have it. Simple as that. Since he was much more powerful than even the strongest mundane creature, it just felt wrong to harm them, which was why he moved the small snake out of the way of the expedition.

Ryu had taken on the role of scout for the expedition, his familiarity with the swamp giving him an excuse to get away from the group for a day. He still came back every night, of course. Bonny, after all, had suggested he do so. Several times.

A smile slipped onto his face at the thought. He felt they were a strange pairing, but it somehow worked. She was outgoing and mischievous. He was… subdued. They struck a strange balance, one he was happy with.

The expedition had its share of problems, however. Such disputes were expected amongst such a large- and vain- group. It was annoying, nonetheless. Leveling was an inherently selfish hobby. One’s resources had to be devoted to one’s self to reach greatness, and the Climbers were already individualistic by nature. Combine the two together, and the results were… well, they were assholes. Prideful and incredibly strong assholes. Which wasn’t to say Ryu was a peach. He knew he wasn’t. It was just that he had the decency to keep his unpleasantness to himself, a skill his comrades had seemingly failed to master. Or even try to learn.

Lucius was the worst of them all. The “leader” of the expedition seemed more interested in fanning the flames of dispute than doing any real managing. The thought made Ryu clench the grip of his bow tighter. Only the integrity of the expedition held Ryu back from pinning the man between the eyes, and even that was a close thing. He sighed, avoiding a sinkhole with a leap. He planted a small red flag in front of it, one of the many he’d been given to use as a sign. The sooner this whole thing was over, the better. He’d only come because his other options were even less appealing. A crying shame, that.

Ryu’s ears picked up the sound of running feet. A man, he thought. He nocked an arrow, letting his senses absorb the information around him. He drew.

“Monsters! There’s a bloody swarm on my tail,” the man cried, stumbling out from behind a bush. His cloak was in tatters, and he clutched a bloody wound on his shoulder.

Ryu released the tension in his bow. “How far back?” He needed information, not hysteria.

“Maybe half a day back by this point. Moving slow,” the man said through gritted teeth. Ryu frowned. If it was that close, he’d have heard it.

“Tell them back at camp,” Ryu said. “And I hope for the both of us you’re not lying, eh?”

Ryu walked past the scout with a flat expression. Swarms weren’t exactly rare in the history of the expeditions. It was only natural that such a large grouping of Qi would provoke an even larger gathering of those who wanted to take that Qi. It wasn’t that simple, however. Monsters were sources of Qi, too, and when a large number of the beasts grouped together, they would prey on one another. Not in a mindless, savage way, either. No, the monsters were intelligent on the Fifth. In swarms, they fought only to increase strength, creating a deadly hierarchy of the most dangerous monsters. The monsters in a swarm would be the Climber’s equals in strength and more plentiful on top of that. If it was truly that close, that would be… troubling.

He passed another scout hurrying back on his way through the swamp. Lucius had done that much right, at least. Ryu knew there were half a dozen scouts out this direction alone. He found the swarm in two hours. It was moving slow like the scout had said, but it was still close. Too close. He wasn’t sure the expedition would be able to erect any defenses, and it was more likely they’d have to fight a retreat. To somewhere.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

The swarm was also big. It contained at least five hundred monsters, outnumbering the expedition heavily. He saw mud elementals, leshies, swamp drakes, and lurkers in the front. In the back, larger- and more dangerous- figures lurked. Those would be the swarm Alphas, the monsters who had reached the top of the internal hierarchy.

“Another body in the forest,” he muttered darkly. This time, it was more than a reminder of his past; it was a prediction. Come morning, the expedition would just be another group of corpses in this damn swamp. He hurried back to camp in an ill mood.

The camp was bustling when he arrived. And not in a good way. If a well-ordered camp bustled like a bee hive, the camp Ryu watched bustled like a pack of snarling, diseased dogs. Or something like that. He wasn’t the best at analogies. Frontline fighters argued over tactics, support Classes struggled to place their equipment, and the ranged fighters were scattered and without direction. Ryu ignored them, however. His eyes were on the large command tent that dominated the camp.

“We need to meet them in the open. They hold all the advantages in this hellhole,” a woman in tanned hides demanded.

“What foolishness is that?” a man with a long beard said. “They’re monsters. We should have the building Classes construct a palisade.”

“A palisade? In this mud?” another man said.

Ryu watched the argument from just inside the tent flap. He met Lucius’s eyes. The man shrugged helplessly with a smile. Ryu left the tent.

“Ryu, where are you?” a voice said in Ryu’s head. That’d be Horace.

“In the camp. Can you broadcast a message for me?”

“To everyone?” Horace asked incredulously.

Ryu sighed. He wasn’t happy about it either. He explained his plan- or rather, his vague idea of a plan- to the Psychic.

Horace laughed. “You sly bastard. I’ll try,” he said.

Some time later, Horace’s voice spoke into his mind once more. Only this time, it wasn’t just Ryu. “All members of the expedition, please listen for orders from Lucius and the command tent. Hydromancers, please drain the water from the surrounding area. Builders….” On and on, Horace assigned duties to the various Class archetypes. Whether they would listen was a different story. That was the problem with expeditions like these. There was no strict chain of command, which allowed the individualistic Classers to do as they pleased. Ryu only hoped they would follow the orders on Lucius’s name, even if it was a lie.

Ryu was no strategist. He wasn’t even sure if he was a tactician. He was usually solo, and his plans- if he had any at all- came in the moment. Sure, he was always aware of the layout of the land, the high ground, and everything else he’d remembered from the books of famous generals. That didn’t make him an expert, however. He was not sure there even were experts in such a thing. Fighting monsters was a bit different than fighting humans. A man could be predicted. A monster was another story entirely. They ranged from simple, mindless beasts to more intelligent than the average man, and until he met it in battle, there was no telling what to expect.

It wasn’t as if he wanted to lead the group, either. Far from it, in fact. But he’d heard the “deliberations” within the command tent and knew some sort of order needed to be imposed. His plan could be considered a loose outline, the mere skeletons of a decent battle strategy against the swarm. It was really just preparing the ground for the attack, and even that was generous. The rest would have to lie in Lucius’s hands, scary as that was. Horace’s telepathy was a one-way channel. It could not facilitate or communicate a complete back and forth. This was as much as they could do.

“Ryu,” Bonny called, and he twisted around to see the redhead stroll up to his side. “I did not realize my brother was so… tight with Lucius and the other leaders of this expedition. Strange that he would be giving their orders.”

“Yes, well… That Skill of his is sure convenient,” Ryu said, sucking on his gums. He hadn’t considered himself much of a man for lying, yet here he was proving himself wrong on back to back occasions.

“Mhm. Well, I would hope they’re not being irresponsible. On account of our lives being on the line and all. Hope they’re not lying, you know,” she said conspiratorially.

“Well, Horace and I might’ve-”

“I know,” Bonny interrupted with a smile. “He told me already. Good idea, by the way.”

Ryu grunted. They walked through the camp, and he was glad to see that order had returned. Somewhat. His comrades still bustled about, but their steps held at least some purpose. Whether they were responding to Horace’s orders or not was a separate question, however.

He clenched and unclenched his hands repeatedly. For all their differences while alive, every human died the same, and Ryu knew that before too long, he would be looking at familiar rows of corpses wrapped up in uniform white sheets. The only question was how many.

It was a common misconception that swarms were short affairs. Monsters- like any rational creature- would not commit themselves to an attack they did not believe would succeed. That meant waiting. Once the swarm showed up, minutes would become silent, tense periods that tested one’s sanity, hours would become unbearably long, and days? Well, a day spent waiting for one’s potential death was enough to make any man question his reason for being there.

Ryu was no stranger to this phenomenon. Ignoring Bonny’s complaints, he strode into their tent and promptly fell asleep. Let others fret their time away. It was not fighting Ryu worried about, after all. It was stopping.