The drool-worthy, coppery smell emanated from a large area of blood-soaked grass. My stomach rumbled as I lurched closer, but forced myself to stop. I tightened my fingers around my knife, urging myself to think before acting.

  Beetles chopped into the carcasses of several enormous creatures. Cries came from two of the creatures that weren’t even dead yet, as the bugs tore into their living flesh.

  [Manden, Level 70, Prey, Unknown.]

  [Harvesting Beetle, Level 80, Prey, Dusty.]

  A red-hot wave of energy washed over me as one of the Manden cried again. I rippled across the battlefield, cutting into the beetle, trying to tear its leg off.

  The beetles surrounded me, but I jumped back over one of them as my knife flashed through the air. Two of its legs thudded to the ground as they tried to capture me. With a snap, my knife lengthened into a spear as I stabbed into the back of the injured beetle.

  The others joined in.

  It didn’t take long.

  I didn’t even get a notification about the kills, which I expected.

  Kabi took care of the Manden that was still struggling, while I eased the suffering of the other.

  Quickly and quietly.

  Again, my stomach rumbled, and I swallowed hard as I knelt down to harvest the massive amount of meat on the beast I’d just killed. I quietly got to work. My sharp blade sliced easily into the carcass, cutting meat off the massive creature and storing it in my inventory. Several pieces made it into my mouth, settling my stomach. Eventually, I made it to the heart and couldn’t resist.

  [You have devoured a level 80, Manden, and gained the skill Clan Knowledge. Clan Knowledge: Knowledge from others of your species can be passed down within the clan's collective memory. This allows you to adapt to changes in your environment.]

  What?

  These had been sentient creatures that passed down knowledge through the generations.

  I opened my mouth to speak, but the words dried up before I could.

  The Manden didn’t deserve to be eaten alive, watching their clan be torn apart like this.

  That wave of hot energy blazed through me again, but I pushed it down. We’d take care of the beetles, and the Forgers.

  Then again, here I was having eaten one of the Manden’s hearts.

  I shook my head, arguing with myself that we didn’t torture them first. Eat or be eaten.

  I focused on the new skill, but I didn’t want it to take up my last skill slot. Instead, I tried to get a feel for the skills I already had that it could merge into.

  [Would you like to merge Clan Knowledge into Perceptive Awareness?]

  I accepted the merge.

  [You have merged Clan Knowledge into Perceptive Awareness. Perceptive Awareness - III: Your augmented senses grant you an awareness. All five senses have been expanded, and a sixth added: Aura awareness. You can tap into a collective reservoir of knowledge, particularly from your clan. You can quickly analyze creatures, objects, or crystals not only to glean basic information about their nature and composition, but also to uncover their skills and underlying properties with far greater ease and accuracy.]

  Suddenly, pain stabbed through my head, and I trembled for a moment as my brain felt heavy. I snapped my eyes shut and breathed heavily as information pulsed through my head at an alarming rate. Slowly, I steadied my breath. In and out.

  I blinked a few times as I swallowed. Something felt different, but I couldn’t pinpoint it. Instead, I started harvesting the meat again. Eyes drilled into me from a few different directions, and I glanced up.

  Leana smiled and nodded, while Kabi didn’t notice.

  Danlino's eyes were wide, and he quickly glanced away before he looked at me again, like he couldn’t help it. “What are you?”

  “The person who wants to keep you around,” I said carefully.

  He swallowed and stepped away from me, his eyes going to the surrounding hills.

  Tiny insects buzzed around the carcasses, but none of them came near me. It felt like it took forever to pack as much as we each could away in our inventory. I took the most.

  Dengu tore into one carcass, eating their fill after we were done. I took bites here and there of scraps as I harvested until I’d stuffed myself.

  Finally, I stood and used my water crystal to clean off. I offered it to the others as well, since each of us had blood on our hands.

  During the entire time, Strange had kept on tracking the beetle that scurried away from this area. At one point, I think he waited several minutes before catching up to it, so he didn’t get bored. I didn’t worry about us catching up.

  Then off we went.

  The hills felt different around me as we darted along. Like my mental map had expanded, yet not in a growing-larger way. More like I’d traveled these hills before, and knew my way around.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Something warned me about the direction we were headed, but I pushed that feeling away.

  I wasn’t prey.

  Like I figured, we caught up to Strange before we arrived at wherever the beetle headed.

  Strange padded directly to me, then vanished into the shadows at my feet with a sigh.

  All I got was the feeling it was too boring. Thus began the longest stretch of getting nowhere I’d experienced since the ship. At least then, I’d been in cold sleep.

  Finally, we all just sat down in the depression of a hill and waited until the beetle got to the edges of my senses, before we caught up to it again, then repeated. Eventually, that new warning feeling about the area we approached grew even more intense.

  I put everything into searching our surroundings.

  Finally, I figured out what felt wrong. This place used to have bushes and small trees dotting the landscape. Now, nothing. Just dusty grass.

  I paused as a Forger pinged on my radar, even farther away than before.

  [An OFFENDER has been detected in your area with a bounty. You have been given a temporary boost to stats and abilities.]

  [Dezmlia, The Breaker, Level 115, Prey, Unknown, OFFENDER.]

  Energy rushed through me at the notification, reminding me of when I was lower leveled and adding stats. The notification itself surprised me, since I didn’t get one back at the city, even with three Forgers there. Over time, I’d figure out the limitations of my abilities.

  “Alright, I think we found them.” I held up a hand to the others. “Level 115, title the Breaker, though I don’t know what that means.”

  The suns were much closer to the horizon, and shadows filled in each of the depressions near the hills.

  “We shouldn’t be out after dark.” Kabi bounced on his toes, glancing into the distance.

  “I bet it's at the barrow,” said Danlino with a pale look as his hands trembled. “It's that way, and the nearest place for us to hide. We normally are inside by now.”

  I resisted rolling my eyes, but then again, if that Flora Maw found us, I wasn’t completely sure that the others would be okay.

  “Well, we don’t have a choice then… Strange,” I said as a plan formed.

  He appeared at my feet, snapping at the air.

  “Go check it out, but stay hidden.”

  He took off, vanishing into the darkness without a trace. The dust within the grass didn’t even flicker.

  Dengu padded closer to me. “I circle the long way around, we meet in the middle?”

  “I’ll join him,” added Lenna. “I’ll find some high ground. Send a message with the crystal.”

  I gave them a thumbs up, which she returned. Dan stared at the sign with wide eyes.

  “That leaves us,” I said to Kavi and Dan. “We are the front force.”

  “I don’t fight that well,” mumbled Dan. “But I can put temporary runes on your hands, for increased accuracy.”

  The rune on my chest confirmed his intentions, and I held out the hand without the clarity rune.

  Dan caught sight of it anyway.

  “Where did you get that done?” He motioned to hold it closer. “That’s master level work…”

  Kavi chuckled. “You really need to go into the labyrinth.”

  Dan jerked back, snorting. “That’s a myth.”

  “How do you think we got here?” I asked with a frown.

  Kavi hadn’t been kidding around about the awe of the place.

  That shut Dan up as he quickly traced lines in a deep blue color using something that smelled weird. It slightly stung, but when he infused it with magic, the notification confirmed it.

  [You have a temporary accuracy rune.]

  A countdown appeared in my vision, and I mentally closed it just as Strange drew my attention.

  Turning inward, I saw that he’d found the barrow, and the Forger paced outside along with several beetles. Including the one we’d been following.

  “One Forger, seven Beetles,” I said before grabbing my communication crystal. I relayed the info to Lenna before putting it away. “We got this.”

  Dan moved to Kabi next, giving him the same rune he’d given me, before stepping back.

  “I’ll stay out of the way…” he mumbled, looking even more pale after my news.

  I nodded, then slowly started heading in the direction Strange had gone.

  Strange stuck to the shadows, watching the Forger.

  I split my attention between his eyes and mine, and it took more concentration than I liked. Yet, bit by bit, it got easier.

  The shadows covered me as I caught sight of the area.

  The massive Forger stood as tall as Kabi, with muscles everywhere. Her orange skin rippled with veins. She paced back and forth before kicking a beetle up in the air. She stared at the now much smaller blood trail it left behind it.

  The other beetles shivered off to one side.

  “This is how that monster finds its prey.” She shook her head before pulling a large axe out of nowhere and slicing two of the beetle's legs off. She spat on it. “You can distract that thing tonight.”

  A stone sat off to one side, crooked, leaving a gaping tunnel in the hill behind the Forger.

  If she retreated to the tunnel, it’d be a much harder fight.

  I sent a confirmation through the communication crystal, then darted forward, focusing on stealth.

  At the same time, Strange traveled in as much shadow as possible into the tunnel leading to the barrow. I cut off seeing through his eyes and concentrated on my goal.

  Kabi raced after me, but drew the attention of Dezmlia. Her axe hammered at him, but the four swords he held caught the massive axe head.

  His arms trembled, but held.

  That’s when my knife cut into the back of the Forger’s thigh as I raced by. Taking a direct hit from her would be bad, so I just decided I wouldn’t let her hit me.

  She twitched at the wound, yanking back from Kabi. That let his two longer arms stab forward, which she blocked, twisting the axe in front of her.

  Three arrows slammed into her back, causing her to jerk closer to Kabi, while the fourth missed.

  That’s when the beetles leaped into action.

  Two darted off in the direction of the arrows, while two more slowly chased after Kabi. The remaining two wandered near where I vanished into the shadows near the rock.

  Dengu leaped into the area from the hill above, landing with a crunch on one beetle while glowing lines slashed at the other.

  A whistle came from Dezmlia, as her blood pooled on the ground.

  Suddenly, more beetles appeared on my radar from within the tunnel.

  “More beetles!” I called, as I darted away from Dengu’s fight, spitting on my blade.

  A kick from the Forger took Kabi right in the chest and sent him stumbling back.

  I used the distraction to stab at her from a few feet away. My knife lengthened, cutting deeply into the back of her right ankle.

  She growled and twisted in my direction, struggling with her footing when another round of arrows slammed into her side. A deep growl came from her chest as she suddenly glowed a bright orange color, shrinking.

  I dodged even farther back as the hair rose on the back of my neck.

  The light vanished and her axe lay on the ground, while she suddenly darted around, much faster. The wounds and arrows were gone.

  Kabi danced after her with his blades, barely keeping up.

  I joined the fight, moving as quickly as I could, stabbing at her feet. Yet, she kept track of my location, not giving me a good opening.

  Four more beetles staggered out of the tunnel opening, moving even slower than the others. Dengu tore into them, his two previous targets already down.

  Two finally got close enough for me to slice at their legs, incapacitating them before I darted after the ones chasing Kabi. Once they were off his back, he sped up.

  Dengu pounced in my direction, and I rejoined the fight with the Forger. This time, my strike at her right foot landed, cutting in deep. Her blade sliced into my arm in return as I tried to dodge.

  I ignored the pain, feeling something at the edge of my radar creeping ever so slowly closer.

  Then, our moment came.