The ragtag group of creatures charging Ndiogou, Sirius, and Phatagin slowed their approach as the circle around Charlemagne's Party grew smaller. Those who had taken to the air circled cautiously as well…the fliers naturally required more space for aerial maneuvers. This made sense: not only did the attackers lack information about the trio's capabilities, they also didn't trust each other. It didn't take an expert in psychology to catch the suspicious glances as the groups grew closer in proximity. It was a situation that Phatagin was happy to exploit, and he suddenly uncurled and pointed to the left of the closest group.

  "Look out!" he yelled.

  A furry biped with what appeared to be cactus arms whirled around and glared at a very buff-looking humanoid with six legs that resembled a cross between a beetle and a gorilla that was wielding a strange triangular shield and a weapon that appeared similar to a bill. The beetle-primate hybrid took no chances, lunging forward with a surprising burst of speed. Its polearm took the biped straight through the chest, causing a thick, clear liquid to spray everywhere. The six-legged creature pulled its weapon out, allowing its victim to crash to the ground. The two remaining members of the slain creature's team roared in anger and attempted to retaliate, changing direction almost instantly, but it was too late. They disappeared in a burst of sparks.

  The sudden eruption of violence, rather than making the different groups more suspicious of each other, seemed to galvanize the remaining competitors. They emitted a variety of angry noises and charged forward. The rolling rock creature quickly pulled ahead of the pack, its massive bulk scraping along with a grinding noise as it rumbled forward with a burst of acceleration.

  Get the rock! Sirius ordered.

  A throwing axe with a head made of a silvery metal and an ivory-colored handle materialized in Ndiogou’s hand. He threw. The axe streaked forward and impacted the rock creature with a clang, striking true. It bounced off without doing any damage before reappearing in the human’s hand a moment later.

  Do something! Ndiogou yelled.

  I did! I told you to deal with it! Sirius barked back.

  Phatagin’s sigh was so loud that the Party members could hear it over the din of the onrushing crowd.

  Commence preparations to dodge, he advised. But first, we must relocate ourselves to a more suitable position. You must break through their lines; I’ll be taking a different approach.

  The Party didn’t have any more time to waste in discussion – the first opponents were almost upon them. An assortment of projectiles came in a disorganized volley, but the pangolin quickly absorbed their momentum, spending large amounts of the inertia stored in his Momentum Core to take off like a shot. A few of the more agile fliers dove toward him, but Phatagin was far nimbler than he appeared. His speed, direction, and elevation could easily be adjusted on the fly, allowing him to play three-dimensional chess while his opponents were stuck with checkers. Flying directly away from the sentient rock, he quickly outdistanced both the flying creatures and those on the ground that turned to chase after him. A few moments later, he was hovering by the edge of the platform.

  You must make your way to me! He cried to the others.

  Sirius and Ndiogou turned and sprinted off, the explosive acceleration of the canine outperforming that of the two-legged human. But Ndiogou was no slouch, the throwing axe that had done no damage against the rock creature reappeared in his hand, and he threw without slowing down. The opponent closest to Sirius, who reminded the human of a clam with crab legs, dropped to the ground as the axe bit through its shell and into its nervous system.

  Thanks! The canine barked as she juked to the right and leaped, her fangs scoring a deep mark in the hide of a six-legged bovine. She used the bulky creature as a springboard, bouncing off its side and bowling over a thin humanoid that looked as if it were made of living rope. Sirius’s fangs made quick work of this one, or so it seemed, but suddenly one of the ropy arms uncoiled and attempted to ensnare the snarling canine. Not having any more time to engage, she leapt free and continued to run toward Phatagin, dodging a few flying creatures that attempted to take advantage of her distraction to swoop in.

  Ndiogou’s breakthrough took both more time and effort, since he could not rely on the rapid acceleration and raw speed that Sirius boasted. But he was more than capable of moving quickly, and his returning throwing axe deterred any opponents that ventured too close. Although his aim was excellent, he threw to maim rather than attempting more difficult kill shots, choosing targets that appeared to have the necessary speed to catch up to him rather than those that seemed the strongest. The fliers, having seen his skill with his throwing axe, did not harass him.

  The human skidded to a stop at the edge of the platform, joining Sirius and Phatagin. Although the Blind Hunter could not exactly see the ledge, his mystical senses extended for quite some distance, allowing him to sense what was beyond the ledge itself. To a sighted observer, the platform was hanging in a starry void that went on indefinitely. But Ndiogou’s Extra Sensory Perception told him a different story: there was some sort of energy field that formed an impermeable wall not far from the edge of the platform. The same was true in all directions, actually, preventing a flying opponent from just departing the battle space.

  Ok, we’re here, now what? The human demanded.

  Patience, my good friend. Trust me, the pangolin responded.

  Our backs are to this ledge, and neither of us can fly, Sirius griped. If we are pushed back, we’re going to fall off the edge.

  Stolen story; please report.

  In that case, we should endeavor to avoid being pushed back, Phatagin noted. But that assertion cuts both ways.

  Oh, I get it! Ndiogou answered as he crouched low to avoid a random projectile that had been shot from one of the flying creatures. He tracked the projectile’s path as it made its way beyond the platform before disappearing into thin air not far from the edge. Despite the tension, the human grinned. It was a shame they weren’t fighting a single larger beast, such as the wave 10 octopus boss, where his Class’ Special Abilities would shine. But this particular maneuver was clever, and, if they pulled it off, would allow them to advance to the next round of the competition. The Blind Hunter couldn’t wait to find out what came next. Hopefully, whatever it was, Charlemagne would be able to join them again.

  Please strike the rock creature on its left side with all your might! The pangolin urged, his urgent request bringing the human back to the present.

  Trusting that his ally knew what he was doing, Ndiogou once again summoned and threw his new axe. The rolling rock veered a bit in order to take the hit at a better angle.

  Perfect, Phatagin added with pleasure as he hovered in midair between Sirius and Ndiogou. When I give the word, each of you dodge to your respective sides. I’ll handle the rock.

  That stone looks high quality, Sirius mused. I like the way it sparkles.

  This is not the time, canine, the pangolin snapped. Prepare yourself!

  The heavy stone continued to gain speed as it rolled forward, accumulating a ridiculous amount of kinetic energy without any sort of visible means of locomotion. When it was only a few dozen paces away, it suddenly launched itself into the air, covering the remaining distance with a speed that belied its mass. Even though Ndiogou was prepared to dodge, he was still almost too slow. But he made it, just barely. The now flying stone scraped a nice chunk of skin off his arm as it whooshed by, but left the human otherwise unscathed. That was not going to be the case for Phatagin, however, who was directly in the path of the ridiculously large self-propelled projectile.

  Phatagin! Sirius cried as she turned and watched the scene with horror as the rock slammed into the pangolin and sent him flying. But to the canine’s surprise, Phatagin did not fly out of bounds. The impact blew him directly upwards. He slammed into one of the flying creatures that had ventured too close to the fight, shredding through the massive bat like body with ease and emerging covered in whatever the creature used for blood all over his scales. The massive rock appeared to slow for a moment following the collision before rapidly accelerating again, flying straight out of bounds and disappearing. The remaining team members of the flying creature and the rock disappeared, further clearing out the field.

  Phatagin gave us an opening, human, let’s make it count! Sirius barked as she lunged forward, her sudden offensive catching a being that looked like a reptile with shaggy fur by surprise. The canine hampered her opponent’s movements, allowing Ndiogou to put it down with a well-placed throw from his axe.

  Sirius turned to face a new threat, but suddenly she yelped as a huge needle penetrated her skin, appearing as if by magic. Three more needles joined it, sending jolts of pain through her body along with something that felt even more insidious.

  Poison! She cried as she sought cover from the attack, but found none. She took four more quills before she was able to put another contestant between her and the sniper.

  Ndiogou, help, she cried.

  Phatagin, help! Ndiogou yelled, pulling out his spear and moving out in front of Sirius to cover her.

  I am afraid I am very close to expiring, the pangolin wheezed, his pain evident even through the Party chat. It is all that I can do to stay away from these pesky flight-capable beings. One of them smells very badly, which is not helping the situation.

  I don’t care what you smell, Sirius barked. I’m poisoned here.

  I got you, Ndiogou sent back, projecting a confidence that he did not feel. Sirius was going to complain, but then the human caught two barbs meant for her with his leg. He grimaced but stayed on his feet, then switched his spear into his offhand so he could throw his axe at the strange spiky being that was launching its needles at them. The weapon struck true, eliciting a squeal from the competitor but not finishing it off.

  While the human was distracted, two identical humanoids ran up, twirling long, curved swords in their small but dexterous hands. Without wasting a single moment, they flowed into a joint attack, moving with a grace that would have put a professional ballerina to shame. Blood flew from a multitude of cuts as Ndiogou’s spear skills proved inadequate to defend himself from a two-on-one blitz. With a roar, he attempted to press through the flashing swords in order to score a hit, but his injured leg suddenly buckled.

  The duo capitalized on his slip, scoring several deep cuts across his legs before attempting to finish the job. The human’s strength was fading fast as his lifeblood poured out freely, and his attempts to stab out from the ground with his spear were easily evaded. With a savage grin, the bolder of the pair slapped the human’s weapon aside with one of its blades and, with its other blade, went straight for Ndiogou’s jugular.

  That was its first and last mistake.

  The human’s throwing axe caught it between the neck and shoulder, disabling the sword arm before it could slice through his throat. The other being dropped its swords and held both of its thin, six-fingered hands to its neck, failing to staunch the flow of blood from the deep wound.

  The other opponent flew into a rage at seeing its team mate harmed. It flung itself onto Ndiogou, accepting a glancing wound from the human’s spear in exchange for a chance to decapitate him. The twin swords formed a lethal cross as they homed in on the human’s exposed throat from both sides. An alien scream full of hate filled Ndiogou’s ears. Despite knowing that he was not going to really die, a strange dread filled the human’s chest. At the very least, this was going to hurt.

  The scream suddenly cut out as a flash of fur and fangs slammed into Ndiogou’s opponent. Sirius had mustered the energy for a final leap, her fangs sinking into the enemy’s already injured shoulder, while her thick hide took the blows meant for the human’s squishy neck. She fell heavily next to the enemy, both of them too stunned to follow through.

  The tension in Ndiogou’s chest lightened, but only a bit. If something didn’t change quickly, the next wave of opponents would mop him and Sirius up with little effort.

  Phatagin, how many groups are left? The human asked. We need to finish this!

  There appears to be approximately five remaining! The pangolin yelled back.

  Five is the magic number, remember, Ndiogou called. Can you do anything to take a group out?

  It will cost me my life, but possibly, Phatagin admitted.

  Stop being so dramatic, Sirius barked, attempting to struggle to her feet but failing.

  If I must, the pangolin complained, before dropping like a stone straight toward the heavily injured creature that Ndiogou had disabled.

  He never made it.