Despite wanting to murder Marco, I went to check on our wounded, Alya, first.

  She was lying down exactly the same as before, but now her shirt had been cut open by Mary to get access to the wounds, and her teeth were clenched so hard I thought they might crack. Golden light pulsed softly as Mary worked, slow and steady now, with no panic in her movements anymore. Alya’s eyes flicked up when she saw me approach.

  “How did it happen?” I asked, crouching besides her. “I looked at you, and you were doing fine.”

  She snorted, then hissed as Mary pressed a hand down. “That stupid gorg sword,” she said through clenched teeth. “It broke while I was blocking a strike, and the monster didn’t waste time to fillet me like a salmon. I’m good now. Anyway, thanks for the assist. It got mad at you instead, though. Are you fine? I saw it when it attacked you; I thought you were gone for a second.”

  “Yeah, just a scratch,” I told her with a smile. “I have to thank Quinn for the advice on my skill selection; I managed to close the wound by draining a couple of wendigo.”

  She looked at me in puzzlement, but before saying anything else, Quinn said. “Eldir, their name I mean…”

  “Eldir,” I repeated. “Anyway, I have to thank you for helping me choose that skill, Quinn; it proved its worth already.”

  The kid looked bashful for a moment but proud. “Don’t sweat it; you can ask me any time.”

  Marcus walked a few steps away, then sat heavily, his long club resting on the side. Blood seeped through torn cloth at his shoulder and thigh, but he was alert, eyes sharp. When I met his gaze, he gave a small nod.

  My curse clawed at me, nearly making me wince. I needed to go and help him, bandage him or something. As I started approaching, he raised a hand.

  “Nothing vital,” he said. “Burn like hell, but I’ll live.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked. “I won’t want you to bleed out before Mary manages to look at you; I couldn’t possibly live without your jokes anymore.”

  A corner of his mouth twitched in something resembling amusement. Oh damn, I didn’t think the guy was really a dry humour enthusiast; good to know.

  Mary finished with Alya and got up, clearly exhausted but relieved, and then she made for starting to heal Marcus. Alya tested her movement, winced, then pushed herself to her feet with a growl.

  “Next time,” she muttered, “I’m cutting the bastard down before the monster has the chance.”

  I followed her gaze.

  Marco stood a short distance away, arms folded tight across his chest, jaw set, eyes darting everywhere except at us. He looked smaller now. Not physically. Something else, like a balloon deflating slowly.

  I straightened and walked towards him.

  Every step felt heavy, not from fatigue but from the weight pressing behind my eyes. The kind that came when the curse stirred, I won’t listen to it though; the man had to be addressed.

  Marco noticed me when I was only a few paces away.

  “What?” he snapped. “Are you going to lecture me now?”

  I didn’t answer immediately. I stopped in front of him and looked him over. There was a lingering tremor in his hands and a wild look clinging to his eyes.

  I spoke anyway.

  “You nearly killed us.”

  The words landed flat. Calm. No heat.

  Marco scoffed. “That’s bullshit. I killed one of them. That thing was huge. You all saw it.”

  “I saw it,” Quinn said from behind me, voice sharp. “I saw that you didn’t kill it, and I also witnessed the entire forest wake up because of your actions.”

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Marco turned on him. “I didn’t know it would scream like that.”

  “You didn’t know?” Alya cut in. She took a step forward despite Mary’s glare. “It’s not that you didn’t know that; you didn’t also know that your spell was loud enough to wake up the dead, and you didn’t know that it wasn’t strong enough to kill one outright! You don’t know shit about anything; you didn’t even think at all!”

  Marco bristle d. “Easy for you to say. You like charging in. I’m a mage. I do damage from a distance.”

  “Damage,” Marcus repeated quietly. “You drew a pack.”

  Marco spun towards him. “And we survived, didn’t we?”

  “Barely,” Melissa said. Her voice was small but steady. “I ran out of mana holding one back because there were too many. That’s not supposed to happen.”

  Rhea stood silent, hands clenched in her robes, eyes fixed on the ground. She didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to.

  Marco looked around, searching for support, for someone to agree with him. No one did.

  His voice rose. “So what, I’m just supposed to sit back and let him do everything?” He jabbed a finger in my direction. “He gets to use monsters as training dummies, and what am I supposed to do?” Wait my turn in line like a good boy?”

  I felt something cold slide through my chest.

  I stepped closer.

  “No,” I said evenly. “You’re supposed to work with the team.”

  He opened his mouth again, but I raised a hand to signal that I was not threatening; I was simply being final.

  “You didn’t act to protect the group. You didn’t act to advance our position. You acted to be seen like a child in search of attention.”

  That hit.

  Marco’s face flushed. “That’s not true.”

  “It is,” I said. “You didn’t warn anyone. You didn’t coordinate. You didn’t ask. You just got a new big and shiny spell, and you wanted to use it.”

  He laughed harshly. “So what if I did? This whole place runs on achievements. You told us that.”

  “Yes,” I agreed. “And I also told you that staying alive comes first.”

  Silence stretched.

  I let it.

  Then I spoke again, slower now, every word deliberate.

  “You are not a solo player here. You are part of a group. That means what you're doing is not just yours. It is a responsibility. When you act, everyone pays for it.”

  Marco clenched his fists. “I got stronger. Isn’t that what you wanted?”

  “I want us alive first,” I said. “I want us moving forward. I want us capable of facing what’s ahead without bleeding out in the dirt because one of us acted without thinking.”

  Alya crossed her arms. “I don’t trust him to not do it again.”

  Marco’s eyes flicked to her, hatred simmering there, but he didn’t reply.

  I softened my tone then. Not because he deserved it, but because this was the last chance.

  “You’re an adult,” I said. “Act like one. I warn you, this is not going to happen again, because if it does, I’ll end you myself.”

  That did it.

  His jaw trembled. For a moment I thought he might explode. Instead, his shoulders sagged, just slightly.

  No one contradicted me.

  Not Quinn. Not Alya. Not even Melissa, who looked like she wanted to disappear into her robes.

  Marco swallowed.

  “…Fine,” he said finally. The words looked like they tasted bitter. “I get it.”

  I held his gaze a second longer, searching for defiance, for resentment strong enough to turn dangerous.

  What I found was something uglier.

  Ambition, wounded but alive.

  “Good.”

  I turned away then, the conversation over.

  And as I walked back towards the others, the curse inside me settled to a low hum; it wasn’t pleased with my dealing with Marco, but I wouldn’t offer support to someone like him, not even to make my curse settle down.

  Behind me, the forest was quiet again.

  I activated Arcane Sense for good measure, and I felt a kind of presence not far from me; it was one of the eldir, the one I sent away with a blast, bones broken, probably its lungs pierced by its ribs. It was dying but wasn’t dead.

  “There is still one alive, half dead but alive; if someone needs a couple more levels, just strike it down.” I said.

  Marcus waved me off while Quinn replied, “I’m capped.”

  Capped? I had to check my notifications soon. Melissa and Rhea shook their heads; they were still trying to get their achievement, so it wasn’t good for them to take that kill, and they knew it.

  Alya shook her head, so I turned to Mary; she shrugged. “If it’s ok with everyone, I’ll take it; more levels will come in handy to keep you standing.”

  Everyone agreed; the only one who looked like he had something to say was Marco, but there was no way in hell that I would reward him after the stunt he pulled.

  Mary approached the monster, and with a thrust of her spear, she pierced its heart. She was good; she avoided the ribs to get a clean strike from an angle. Surgical. I felt even happier to have her in the team.

  Now that everything was sorted, we’ll have to rest and recuperate for a bit. Everyone was low on mana and half exhausted, so I asked Quinn to find a nice covered spot for us to spend one or two hours licking our wounds. He returned after ten minutes with a location not far away and perfect for our needs. So as soon as Mary finished healing Marcus, we followed the kid.

  In just fifteen minutes we arrived at a depression in the forest. Bushes and trees covered the small clearing pretty well; there was not really much space, but for resting it was perfect. Quinn was right. I set down my bedroll for not sitting on the damp ground.

  “Ok, we rest a couple of hours top, until everyone is back to health and our mana replenishes. Then we continue.”

  I sat down, the others doing the same. There was a clear distance between the group and Marco, but nothing that could be addressed now. The guy was already not well liked; his stunt will be harder to mend, if it is possible. Not my concern right now.

  No, right now I had notifications to look after; let’s see what the system had in store for me…

  20 chapters ahead!