The sound of rustling leaves and creaking branches came from along the treeline at the far end of the forest field. Broken trees and torn-up earth lay around Adam, and the crystallised shards of the exploded Blood Golem were still embedded everywhere.

  Safe to say that the Fiendbarb effect doesn’t wear off quickly. That probably means it’s lethal no matter what, since it should lead to gangrene as it would disrupt circulation.

  Of course, that side-effect won’t really matter, since it might take days to fully set in and these Stages are no more than half an hour at most in duration.

  The rustling came closer. Adam pushed his speculations out of his mind. He clenched his jaw and fists. The ogre had been pretty bad, so he had no idea what could top that.

  It sounds like there are quite a lot of enemies. Unless this thing is enormous…

  Liquid red snouts poked out through the dense treeline, three in total.

  Then the creatures all hopped out at once. They were wolves made of blood, each with a baseball-sized stone in their heads. Violet ethereal collars and leashes were bound around their necks.

  Adam immediately attacked, driving his Fiendbarb into the rightmost one and pulling it free as he ran towards the next.

  When the first one exploded in a shower of crystals, his spear went through the second. Only then did the last one start to move. But it was too late, Adam would not give it the chance to strike.

  He took shelter behind a tree as the third blood wolf blew up. Fortunately, the size and danger of the crystallised shrapnel was proportional to body size, so it wasn’t as dangerous as the golem.

  The trees rustled again, and two more blood wolves popped out, standing closer than before. Between them emerged a man. He wore a battered and stained grey travel cloak over his dark-blue shirt and black pants. His feet were bare, as though he’d lost his shoes somewhere. Most interestingly, the violet leashes of the wolves led directly to an object in his hand.

  That’s gotta be the boss!

  But… he’s just a human?

  The hood of the man’s cloak covered his head, so Adam couldn’t tell what he looked like. His right hand was covered in black swirling tattoos, just like the businesswoman Adam had seen in the Tavern. In his left was a shrivelled black worm with a purple string tied around its middle like a belt.

  Adam surged forward, striking the wolf on the summoner’s right side, before disengaging.

  The man raised his tattooed hand. Blood flew out from under his fingernails, creating a red mirror-like shield between himself and the exploding wolf. As the crystallised shrapnel struck the shield, it was absorbed. Then his own spell exploded too, peppering him with dozens of tiny shards.

  The Fiendbarb effect is contagious! Adam realised.

  The summoner cried out in pain.

  “Give me the girl!” he demanded.

  “Over my dead body!” Adam yelled back.

  “You have no idea what she will unearth! In my care, the world will not have to suffer!”

  He raised the strange worm idol and the remaining blood wolf leapt towards Adam. At the same time, he started chanting indecipherable words and the worm glowed violet.

  He’s gotta be summoning something!

  Adam was forced to protect his head with the small shield as the wolf’s claws swiped for his face.

  Chiiing!

  He stumbled back a step from the impact and tried to respond with a spear thrust, but the wolf kept close to him.

  Chiiing!

  He blocked again, stumbling as his foot slipped on a root.

  Adam waited for the third swipe and then swung out the shield to meet it.

  Chiiing!

  He successfully parried the beast, disorienting it just long enough to drive his spear into its body.

  The crunch and crackle of internal crystallisation erupted from inside the blood wolf. Adam charged the summoner, whose violet-glowing spell was still underway.

  Pop!

  The wolf exploded behind him, shooting blood crystals everywhere. One flew right over Adam’s shoulder, missing him by a finger’s breadth.

  “I am doing this for the good of all!” the summoner insisted. Then he squeezed the worm idol and the violet glow flew off to the side where it took a familiar shape.

  Shit! That’s a Slothling Imp!

  Adam didn’t veer off to attack the new summon but instead pushed the summoner. He stabbed his spear towards the middle of his body.

  With an aggressive swipe, the summoner brought forth two large blood claws from his right hand. Adam caught them on his shield and the impact pushed his aim off course. He quickly shifted his stance and swung the spear such that it ran along the man’s shoulder. The sound of crackling and the way that his arm fell limp, dropping the worm idol, made it clear that the shallow cut from the Fiendbarb had still done serious damage.

  The summoner raised his right hand and caught Adam’s next stab with a pane of blood. It exploded like the first, but, thanks to nothing but dumb luck, none of the fragments struck Adam.

  A cackle caught his attention, and he knew that the imp had fully manifested.

  Adam hopped back a step, pivoted and then threw his spear right at the imp. It struck its fuzzy body and imbedded itself, then the Fiendbarb triggered.

  Before the summoner could try anything else, Adam smashed the parry shield into his face. The impact produced a loud crunch, and he cried out in pain as he fell onto his back.

  Adam looked down at him, finally seeing the face under the hood. It was nothing but a man, although his eyes were sunken, his cheeks hollow, and his skin deathly pale.

  Why is it always humans? Are we really the baddies even in worlds full of real monsters?

  Adam raised the Green Slime Glove and fired the corrosive acid.

  The summoner screamed and cried out for mercy.

  The sizzle and smell of burnt skin and hair filled Adam’s nostrils. He looked away, seeing the nearby imp that lay on its back with his spear sticking out of it.

  The cries stopped a moment later.

  Adam let out a deep sigh.

  I can’t tell if I have become stronger or if I got lucky.

  The Fiendbarb had been an amazing choice for this Stage.

  Still… It’s awful to know that I just killed another human and don’t feel anything…

  [Well done! You cleared the Wave within 80 seconds.]

  “What was this guy called?” Adam asked, pointing to the skeletal remains of the dead summoner.

  [This was the fearsome Blood Mage known as Ezral.]

  Adam looked down at the shrivelled worm he’d dropped. He stooped to pick it up, but it turned to ashes in his hand.

  Damn, I thought for sure that’d be another Secret Relic.

  < < Wave Five Complete > >

  < < Stage Complete > >

  < Tallying Score >

  I never got to see what the necklace did.

  Then he realised something.

  Wait… I never got hit even once!

  < < Score > >

  < 185 Seconds Completion Time >

  < 500 Point Flawless Bonus added >

  < 300 Point Speedrun Bonus added >

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  < 0 Damage Received >

  < 2075 Points Awarded >

  Adam blinked.

  Holy shit, I got both achievements!

  That’s like twice the Points I got from the last Stage!

  He looked around.

  I could search for more Secrets, but it doesn’t look like there’s anything here and I don’t have enough time to search every tree. I’m still pretty sure I was supposed to be able to grab the weird idol he was using.

  The tesseract floated back towards the carriage and Adam followed behind it at a leisurely pace. Next to where it stopped was a chest with a curled worm as its symbol.

  The door to the vehicle opened and Belamouranthe hopped out.

  “Adam, will we continue to mine home now?”

  He nodded. “We will.”

  Shitbox unfolded into the reward podium between them, and he looked through the options.

  < < Upgrades Available > >

  < Spear Speed (Rare) — Increases spear attack speed by 35% >

  < Shield Parry (Uncommon) — Successful parry disorients for 1 second >

  < Movement (Uncommon) — Increases movement speed by 10% >

  I think I’ll grab disorient again. It’s such a powerful effect and parrying has saved my ass a few times already.

  < < Upgrade Selected > >

  < Shield Parry (Uncommon) >

  The podium folded back up into the cube shape, as his spear started to glow golden. Then it was sucked into the tesseract.

  [Your Hoplite Weapon Type has reached Level 12.]

  [At Level 12, your Weapon Type can be evolved in one of two possible directions based on your previous evolution.]

  The cube changed into a pyramid shape and dropped to the ground, showing two holograms of the weapons he could evolve into. The one on the left looked like a halberd with an axe and spike at the end. It would be a powerful weapon, but he liked the spear and shield combo a lot.

  The other option was a shield and spear again, but the shield was bigger, and the spear-tip was a narrower and slightly-longer leaf-shape.

  < < Select an Evolution > >

  < Halberdier — Trade parrying capability for a cutting axe >

  < Spear Dancer — Gain increased damage in accordance with how fast you’re moving >

  Hmm… The Spear Dancer seems pretty good. I want to keep the shield, so Halberdier is out of the question.

  Adam didn’t feel the need to ask Shitbox any questions about the choice. He reached out and touched the Spear Dancer.

  < < Evolution Selected > >

  < Hoplite => Spear Dancer >

  The bronze shield appeared on his left forearm and was now about 80 centimetres in diameter. The shaft of the spear was the same lacquered caramel-brown wood as before.

  A pyramid gem appeared in the air in front of him and he reached out to grab it.

  < < Mastery Shard Obtained > >

  Now I can get Second Sheath as well. Not sure I’ll have much use for it, but I’d like to try it.

  The chest next to him popped open, spreading golden light. There was a potion, a fuzzy black vest, and an alabaster-white bracer with two black talons.

  < < Relics Available > >

  < Small Healing Potion (Common) — Drink to restore 40% Health. Disappears after use >

  < Slothling Fur Coat (Rare) — Increases Player Defence by 25%. Breaks after 5 hits | Increases Movement Speed by 10% >

  < Slothling Claw Bracer (Uncommon) — Can be used to perform an armour-rending slash. Breaks after 2 uses >

  The coat isn’t bad, especially considering that my new Weapon Type gains increased damage based on speed, but there’s gotta be something better.

  Good thing I bought that Reroll Die.

  “I’ll use my Reroll,” Adam said.

  [Understood.]

  The chest closed and popped open a second later. This time it was a round stone, a pair of white boots with fur at the top and two talons, and lastly a red liquid ring.

  < < Relics Available > >

  < Blood Elemental Core (Common) — The hardened soul of a Blood Elemental >

  < Slothling Spring Boots (Rare) — Charge a powerful and quick leap, accelerating Player to 3x Movement Speed. 60-second cooldown >

  < Blood Fist Ring (Rare) — Charge a powerful punch that shoots a blood spike through the target on impact. 45-second cooldown >

  Now we’re talking!

  I’m pretty sure the ring will combo with the Fiendbarb, which should be super powerful. But I’m using a shield and a spear, so punching will be a bit difficult. The Slime Glove is already kind of bothersome to use.

  Thanks to Spear Dancer, the boots are dual purpose, since the 3x speed buff will significantly increase my damage, while also being useful for evading or catching someone running away.

  Since I have a lot of Points, I’ll look through Lucca’s stall to see if there are other blood elemental Relics.

  Adam reached out and picked the boots.

  < < Relic Selected > >

  < Slothling Spring Boots (Rare) >

  His shoes were replaced by white boots with two black talons and fuzzy black fur just above his ankles. They were pretty ugly but fit him perfectly.

  No sooner had the boots manifested on his feet than Shitbox released a magical pulse that transformed the surroundings into darkness.

  < < Now Entering > >

  < Interim Island >

  Buildings appeared around Adam, and he realised that they’d changed yet again, looking less like clay sculptures than before. It was clear that with every Stage, the island was becoming more-and-more coherent. Given that Shitbox had said people were consumed by the All-Seeing system to fuel the Trials, it was impossible not to draw a connection between the improvements to the island and the number of deaths.

  He looked around, but didn’t see Luvicidix anywhere. He still wondered how the moth would know that he was looking for her.

  Depending on how much I spend in the Market, I should have a decent amount to invest into one of her upgrades. The one to get additional choices for Stage rewards would be pretty good, since I’d need less Rerolls.

  Adam decided to visit the Tavern first to check on his friends.

  “Show me Willow Martin.”

  [This Player is not currently seated in the Tavern.]

  That means she’s still alive. Thank God.

  “Show me Lenard Schulz.”

  [Understood.]

  A moment later Lenard appeared opposite him.

  “You’re okay,” he said, relieved.

  Adam nodded. “How did it go for you?”

  “It was…” he started. “I need to get a good Relic from the Market, otherwise I’m screwed.”

  “Was it that bad?”

  The German looked embarrassed. “I should have listened to Willow’s advice. The crossbow was not a good choice.”

  “Not even against the ogre?”

  “You mean the fourth Wave’s mini boss?”

  “Yeah.”

  “That was the only Wave that was okay, actually. The crossbow was weak against the blood elementals and especially those fast demons. I had to use my unevolved sword and shield a lot. I almost died twice… But! I did kill the boss in one shot.”

  “I’m surprised that the elementals were giving you that much trouble,” Adam remarked.

  “It’s because they have the ability to harden and create shields. I think the Bounty Hunter Weapon Type is best at fighting humans and big slow creatures.”

  Guess that’s good to keep in mind if I pick a ranged weapon.

  “How about you?” Lenard finally asked.

  “The Fiendbarb Relic I got was really amazing,” Adam said. “It’s a hard counter to the blood elementals. I got both achievements for the Stage.”

  “Wow,” Lenard said. “Anyway, I’m going to ask around for good Relics. Talk to you tonight.”

  “See you later.”

  As soon as Lenard disappeared, Charlie arrived with a cup of espresso and two chocolate mochi donuts. Belamouranthe was already fast asleep, having devoured a boar meat casserole moments prior.

  “Thanks,” he said.

  “Of course, Adam,” Charlie replied. “Let me know if there is anything else you need.”

  “I’m good for now.”

  He wanted to try prompting the Tavern using just his thoughts again, since it seemed much quicker and apparently didn’t require Shitbox’s input. But first he ate both donuts and washed them down with the coffee. It tasted even better than he remembered.

  Show me all the Players who got the Flawless and Speedrun achievements for Stage Three.

  The tables populated with five Players besides him. He recognised three. The blonde businesswoman with the tattoos; the sleeping alcoholic in the winter coat who had the tome weapon; and Mori Toshio, the man who told Adam how to get the special weapon from Stage One. Like the first time they’d met, the Japanese man was grilling meat skewers on a one-time-use grill.

  Near Mori was a dark-skinned and black-haired short man, who was shirtless but had an elaborate necklace with colourful feathers. At the far end of the Tavern sat a ghostly-pale woman who was nothing but skin and bones, with wiry light-brown hair and thin eyebrows. She looked like she was suffering from a serious illness.

  I wonder what weapons those two have.

  While he watched the short man, who might’ve been Native American, the guy lifted his weapon up to show it to whoever he was talking to. It was the short bow of the Trickster type, but it looked odd. It took him a second to realise that it had a similar appearance to his Fiendbarb.

  So, that’s how it looks on a bow. Strange that the weapon itself changes, when it’s the arrows that should be adorned with the Relic.

  The sickly woman was slowly eating a soup of some kind with a spoon, each of her movements meticulous and slow. She wore a slim beige-coloured blouse with a turtleneck.

  “Shitbox, I’d like to only ask my following question to that woman with the soup.”

  [If you focus your attention on a specific Player, your query will only reach them.]

  Good to know.

  “Hey, what weapon did you use to beat the Stage and get both achievements? I’ll tell you what I used in exchange?”

  She looked up from her soup, carefully placing the spoon next to the bowl. Then she winked out and appeared directly opposite him. The rest of the holograms vanished.

  “You go first,” she said.

  Adam explained his Weapon Type and the Fiendbarb, showing her his spear and shield.

  “That sounds like a cheap way to win.”

  He frowned at the remark. “What did you use?”

  “I suppose I can’t leave before I tell you.”

  She looked him straight in the eyes and grinned.

  “I know who you are Adam Fischer. We will meet in Stage Six!” she cackled.

  What the fuck…

  “What are you talking about?”

  “The Prophet told me all about you! You will die by my hands!” she yelled. Then she pulled out two curved daggers and tried to leap across the table.

  She was unable to get up from her seat, since she hadn’t actually repaid her end of the bargain.

  Belamouranthe continued sleeping, ignorant to the crazy woman.

  “Who is the Prophet?” he asked, while eyeing her cautiously.

  The woman cackled, clearly out of her mind.

  “Shitbox, get me out of here.”

  [The bargain has not been completed. Since you have paid your half, you may disengage from the trade. In doing so, the other Player will be released from their obligation.]

  “Just get me out of here!”

  [Bargain cancelled.]

  The hologram of the psycho winked out and disappeared. In the last moment before she vanished, she leaped across the table to try and get to him.

  Holy fuck, what the hell was that??

  [Another Player is trying to communicate with you. Do you wish to talk to them?]

  Adam jumped in his seat at the sudden announcement.

  “Is it the same person?”

  [No.]

  “Who is it?”

  [Player Ilya Sokolov.]

  Adam couldn’t help but frown. Ilya had acted strange last time he saw him.

  He clenched his jaw, preparing himself. “I’ll talk to him.”

  The Russian guy appeared on the other side of the table. There was a croissant on a plate in front of him.

  “Adam,” he said, as a way of greeting.

  “What the hell was that thing yesterday? How could you see me?”

  “The person I was talking to said that you would be watching me,” he replied. He seemed to be telling the truth, but the answer made no sense to Adam.

  “Who were you talking to?”

  “Another of the flawless speedrun Players for Stage Two. She is very knowledgeable.”

  The lady in the business suit? No, it can’t be her. She left before Ilya noticed me.

  “How did you beat Stage Three?” Ilya asked. He seemed insistent. When he realised Adam was apprehensive, he added, “I can tell you about Stage Four in exchange.”