I woke up, as though from a nightmare.

The sky stretched high and vast above. Sunlight pierced my eyes. The world still swirled around me, as though I had been falling. My head hurt.

I sat up. I was next to the vending machine, back in our base.

[SOPHIA]

[HP: 89 / 680]

It looked like I had been saved by my Death Ward. I felt for the one-use item in my belt pouch, where I stored it, and found nothing. It had pulled my back from the brink of death, and was destroyed in my stead as it was designed to be. I remember vividly now, myself burning, and simultaneously drowning, inside the red fog.

I had to heal up and get back out to face that again. This time, things would be even harder. The cat would've had time to farm up, perhaps even hit level 4. I needed to be careful. Without a Death Ward, the next time I died, it'd be for real.

Once the healing aura from the vending machine healed me back over 650, I set out once again to the middle tower. It was after I exited the gate of the base that I heard an announcement broadcasted across the arena.

「Red team has slain an enemy.」

Red team. That was the opponents. I knew they just killed me, once, but certainly the announcement wouldn't be this delayed. Did they kill someone else too? Reens? Mr. Atlas? I checked my shared team notebook. Nothing had been written from the others.

Hang in there, everyone. We had to endure. At least until the teamfights. That was our goal all along.

I reported my own death in the team notebook and marched to the outer middle tower. The detritus of my fallen golems was littered about. The red enemy golems and the mice chipped away at the tower, which had been fractured and corroded. It wouldn't be long before it fell.

The cat was there, near its own tower, its eyes glinting and narrowed like crescents. Its HP was back to full, likely because it had recalled to its base after killing me. As I feared, it had reached level 4.

"Try attacking me again," the cat purred. "Let's see how that goes."

I wanted to. I wanted to blast it with everything I had, but I knew I couldn't. Saving the tower was my priority. I stood back at a distance, away from the enemy golem and mice, and helped my tower to kill them off. In the meantime, I scanned my surroundings to make sure no mice snuck around to me.

The cat sneered, baring its sharp teeth. "Atlas must be fuming mad at you. He was holding his ground, against Anastasia no less! The Headmaster Ascendant! But how could he have known that my mice would make it to him? Melt his skin off?"

It was as I feared. The death announcement wasn't for mine. It was for Mr. Atlas.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

I gritted my teeth and fired a Vortex Shield, wiping out the last of the enemy forces under my tower. The next wave of my golems arrived to re-stabilize the clash of forces.

"Did you at least think to warn him?" the cat asked with a tilt of its head. "Tell him to watch out, after you left me unchecked?"

"Shut up," I muttered.

"It's funny how people that care about you keep dying," the cat said. It winked at me. "Haven't you realized, their common factor is you?"

I wished I could burn it with the heat of my glare.

I did not see the halberd blade that plunged into my flank. Not until I felt the pain, not until the blood sprayed out.

I recognized the one holding the weapon by her wooden mask and dark red coat. Anastasia, the previous Headmaster of Combat.

Why was she here?!

I knew. It was Atlas was no longer there to keep her occupied.

I gritted my teeth and fired a retaliatory shot in response. She ducked under it.

I had used all my spells on the enemy golems and mice. There was no way I could win this with just my basic attacks.

I fled, running as fast as I could back towards the protection of the inner tower. Anastasia pursued me with a flurry of slashes and stabs. I attempted to bash aside her attacks with the metal of my gun. But it was no good. Her halberd tip darted about twice, thrice as fast, outmaneuvering my every movement, ripping away at me.

When I finally reached the inner tower, I had dropped to 115 HP. And there was not a single scratch on her. An utterly one-sided exchange. I retreated farther, fearing that she'd throw her weapon, until I found refuge behind the shadow of the inner tower. There, I channeled my Ring of Recall to return to base. I had no other choice but to heal up once more.

When I appeared next to the vending machine, I was alone.

The situation was bad. Killing off the enemy forces in lane had leveled me up to 4, but by the time I got back out the enemies would likely be level 5. At level 6, they'd get their Ultimate abilities. If we wanted to fight them, it had to be before then.

An announcement sounded across the sky.

「Red team has destroyed a middle tower.」

Blast. I was hoping that wouldn't happen. But it was inevitable.

A blue light flashed behind me. It was Mr. Atlas, wounded and panting.

"Did you see Anastasia?" he asked me, his words weighed down by fatigue.

"I…I saw her at the middle tower," I managed to reply. I glanced into my notebook. Mr. Atlas had told us Anastasia was missing! I had been so distracted by the cat, I hadn't even bothered to read. A sickening chill clamped upon my body. Our chances of making it out alive were crumbling. Because of me.

"Sophia, are they still there?"

"I don't know," I said.

"Use your metal scanner."

Right. I had that. I did as Mr. Atlas ordered, and saw Anastasia's halberd floating there, in her grasp.

"Anastasia's there," I reported, my voice trembling. "Getting closer to inner mid tower. I can't see the cat. My metal detector can't sense it."

Mr. Atlas jotted something down in his notebook. "I'm calling Reens to come," he declared. "We'll fight Anastasia together. And the cat, if it's there."

"What if Reens' opponent follows?" I asked, trying to steel my nerves.

"So be it," Atlas said. "We'll fight them on our terms, on our ground."

"Can we force a fight now?" I asked. "I– I think we're behind on leveling…"

Atlas furrowed his brows. I could tell that he saw a slim chance at reclaiming this match, and he wouldn't let it go.

"So be it," he said.