The higher Frank climbed, the harder it was for him to breathe. But his suffering would soon end. When he saw the finely stripped tree trunks panning out in a circle he knew he had finally reached his destination. Typically, many people didn’t get this far. They tend to give up halfway. Others are defeated by natural selection as it pummels them into submission through the insanely thin atmosphere. With little to no oxygen reaching their lungs, they would simply pass out and tumble back down from where they came. That’s if they even managed to get that far before monsters gobbled them up.

And if neither weak will nor faints got them, the cold definitely would. He was wearing three layers of coats and somehow the freezing temperature of the high mountains found its way into his skin and threatened to seize his organs. But with a persistence level of 541, Frank was above average compared to most players.

In this nest of stripped wood was his motivation for coming so far up the mountain. It was his motivation for spending a week navigating the rocky terrain just so he could get to the peak. The same motivation pushed him to team up with players even though he much preferred to do these jobs on his own. But as much as he hated to admit it, sometimes getting a team together made the job a lot easier.

They fell in line around him. Each man in the party stared at the giant nest trying to predict what would happen next. Perhaps they were calculating their next moves in their head. Strategically visualizing the skills and abilities they would need to employ so they could make it out alive. So they could make it out with the prize they came all this way for. Would be a shame if they left without it. The thought came to Frank but it wasn’t alluring enough.

As if they were finished planning, everyone now swiped through their inventory as they put together their best gear.

He saw coats appear and disappear a few seconds later. Not enough defense stats perhaps. Or maybe too heavy. Both are critical factors in any fight. They examined swords and swung them left and right only to switch them out for another and run it through the same examination process. Frank was the only one not rifling through his items and gear.

He had already put together everything he needed over their week-long journey of getting to this point. He didn’t wait until the last minute to put together a proper battle outfit that would ensure his win. Because he knew that the minute he stepped an inch into the nest he wouldn’t have the time to fix any mistake. Such last-minute adjustments tend to hurt more than they helped. Experience taught him that. He would’ve advised them about that error, but after today it wouldn’t even be useful.

The clicking and shifting stopped for a few moments but some were still looking over their chosen wears. The only one who wasn’t double-checking his gear was Alexander. Instead, he was studying everyone closely. Inspecting their gear himself and making silent suggestions. Frank picked up that part when he noticed that if Alexander’s glance lasted more than ten seconds, whoever he was looking at would change the apparel his eyes were on. This one, Frank was sure, had potential.

“All set?” Alexander asked. The knight was heavily outfitted.

Everyone on his team nodded and then he turned to Frank to get his answer.

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“Just waiting on you guys, Alex,” Frank replied.

“It’s Alexander.”

Of course. His Gamertag was Alexander The Golden but he allowed everyone to call him Alexander. Apparently, calling him Alex would be going too far.

“Sure.” Frank felt at his daggers as he turned to the nest. “Remember to keep it distracted for at least a minute. And no matter what you do, don’t look away from it.”

Alexander nodded. “Let’s go then.”

Swords flew free from their sheath and boots stomped onto the rocky earth. Alexander led the charge but Frank was the last man in. The moment he entered the space, the atmosphere changed. The air didn’t suddenly lose its chill. It was the opposite. It got a lot colder. Another factor to wear them down of course. The change, he detected instantly, was the eerie feeling that lingered around them. He even felt like something was watching him. No doubt the beast was inbound.

Its loud shriek alerted them as it dove down, but looking up to track its movement was the last thing they were able to do. The shriek didn’t just warn them of the monster’s arrival, it stunned them. The notification flashed yellow on Frank’s indicator. So when the monster crashed into the earth and made one swipe with its wing, no one was able to dodge.

The single move sent everyone flying. Frank was again the last on his feet as he analyzed the huge white hawk. The moment it shifted to attack the first man in its way, Frank sprinted off to the right. As he made a wide arc parallel to the nest, he could hear the others invoking their skills and suffering blows. He knew he had to put a lot of distance between them and himself.

The commotion then broke. Frank didn’t hear the bird’s screech or the players’ invocations. It was when a large shadow came over him that he realized the monster had snuck up on him. That shouldn’t have happened.

Before Frank could theorize how the bird became aware of his presence, it flapped its wings to send a huge gust of wind. The current somehow flowed upwards so that Frank was floating up to the bird as it descended. It swiped its claw but Frank thrust his dagger into the attacking limb. The monster shrieked in pain. But instead of flying away, it became fiercer. Its second claw came faster and in a flurry. Frank was able to stave off the first two attacks with his daggers but the next three were direct hits. Frank crashed into the earth, and as his body bounced, the hawk came in for a critical blow.

It pecked at him, but Frank flipped counterclockwise and drove his dagger into the hawk’s eye. The pain was enough to stun the hawk for a few seconds before it retreated to the sky. Frank used those few seconds to his advantage. He released the dagger from his left hand and then plucked a handful of feathers from the bird’s neck. He’d be lying if he said he needed to do that but he took some pleasure in the bird’s additional wails. That’s not to say the feathers were useless, but he could’ve gotten them from the middle of the nest itself.

“Alexander!” Frank yelled before he hit the ground.

As Frank got to his feet he saw arrows sailing skyward. He knew Alexander had gotten the message. Just as Frank calculated, the hawk would return to finish the job. Frank used the distraction to activate Sneak with a near-breathless whisper. Now that he was sure he was invisible, he ran for the giant eggs. Something crunched underfoot as he stepped off. He looked down and noticed scattered twigs on the rocky terrain. This, Frank soon summed, was the reason the bird noticed him even while he was using Sneak.

Though the ability was able to mask sounds as well, it had limitations. It would only mask the sound of his footsteps and minor obstacles such as twigs. The commotion before had veiled the noise of them breaking from his ears but not the hawk’s. A single twig wouldn’t do much harm but several of them in quick succession was a factor the Sneak couldn’t account for at this level. This revelation aided Frank in avoiding another attack as he stepped in between the twigs.

In a short amount of time, he was walking between the huge eggs, and Sneak wore off. At this point, the hawk would be coming soon since this part of the nest was special. Frank walked to the middle of the five eggs. A large pink worm surfaced from beneath the patch of straws. Any other player would kill the worm for meat or ignore it outright. Frank instead reached into his pack for the fresh hawk feathers and offered them to the worm.

At first, the pink creature was hesitant. It inspected Frank’s hand before swallowing the limb whole. Despite this, Frank calmly watched the worm’s mouth work for a second and then slide off his arm. It chewed, swallowed, and — now content — slithered into a perfect circle. Its body glowed pink, then yellow, and finally white as the light filled the circle. Frank stood upright and then jumped through.