Joe, shadow stepping through the smoke, skidded into the arena’s wall as he dodged the beast. The wolf pricked his ears back, unfazed as Joe nailed him between the eyes with a lava stone.

  “Oh, come on.” Joe groaned. Of course it all made sense. Taz’s race was earth aligned, and if her race was dwarf, then that earth affinity would strengthen her summons. “It’s an earth-aligned wolf!”

  TJ’s body twisted as he relaunched his combo orb. “I can drop my orbs to pound that beast.”

  “No. Get Otto’s orb, it’s cursing Dawn’s with a debuff.” Rose stepped forward, spinning her staff with deadly grace. “I’ll slow it down. My Necrosis orb timed out.” Water shot from her staff, slickening the ground beneath the beast. The wolf skidded, its claws scrambling to stay upright against the wet earth. Rose flicked her wrist, and bloodthorn vines shot out, wrapping around the wolf’s legs and yanking them out from underneath.

  The creature hit the ground with a heavy thud, but one of Rose’s bloodthorns snapped, leaving her holding a broken vine.

  “Otto cursed my orb–it’s attacking itself.” TJ growled. “Just let me at it!”

  Joe shook his head. “No. If we retaliate, we’ll get pulled into a physical brawl and lose the match. You’ve got a barrier—neuter this thing!”

  “It’ll take time to set up! That thing will tear you apart in the meantime—”

  “Just do it. I’ll handle him.” Joe pulled out his butterfly knife, twirling it with a quick flick of his wrist. TJ hesitated but nodded, tossing his little kobold totems to the ground like a bucket of plastic soldiers.

  The wolf’s glowing eyes tracked the knife in Joe’s hand. With a snarl, the beast lunged. Joe threw the blade—it pinged off the wolf’s rocky hide, as expected.

  “Just perfect.” Joe backed up, defenseless.

  Rose and Dawn raised their weapons, but Joe waved them off, gesturing toward Andras and his crew. “Focus! They’re setting up their next move!”

  Sure enough, Andras had two orbs floating around him again—Huff-a-Puff and Zephyr—while Otto and Fedelma were readying their own attacks.

  But Joe could be distracting too.

  His pack of seaweed crinkled as he opened it. The wolf's ears bent forward as he took a bite, watching TJ and Dawn launch another set of orbs.

  The wolf loomed closer, its hot breath blasting through his clothes. The beast’s rocky hide was cracked from the earlier hits, but it seemed more pissed than weakened. Joe’s back hit something solid—a boulder.

  Nowhere to go.

  He tossed the package to the side, a fullness of pressure against his arms made him hesitate. There’d be no way he could outrun this beast.

  The wolf growled, lowering itself into a crouch, ready to pounce.

  Joe glanced at the ground, eyes locking on a broken bloodthorn. He grabbed it, holding it up like some kind of half-assed weapon. “Fetch!” He hurled it straight at the wolf’s face.

  The wolf’s head jerked to the side when the thorn bounced off its snout.

  Joe activated Quick Wit.

  The wolf snapped back, snarling as it lunged. Joe barely ducked in time, the beast’s claws tearing into the dirt where he’d been standing a second ago. His heart pounded as he twisted, ducking and diving, each movement barely keeping him out of the wolf's monstrous reach.

  A notification blinked in his vision, but he shoved it aside.

  Suddenly, a sharp tug from behind spun the wolf around. Dawn, hands glowing bright with flame, had grabbed its tail in a two-handed hold, scorching the fur. The beast hesitated, torn between its prey and the new burning threat. Its ears flicked back, and its growl deepened.

  Joe didn’t waste the chance. He dove to the side, rolling out from under the creature as it stalked toward Dawn.

  “Barrier’s almost up!” TJ’s totem array pulsed green.

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  Rose seized the moment. She spun her staff again, and a rush of water blasted the wolf, sending it tumbling past Dawn. The beast skidded to a stop, shaking off the water and lunged again—only to slam headfirst into TJ’s barrier.

  Joe stood, breathless, and checked his notifications.

  [Level gained! You have reached Quantum Resonance Level 21, Silver Rank Ascender.]

  [Quick Wit Level 4! You have received an ability: Glitch Flick - Boosts dexterity and precision, enabling swift object manipulation.]

  [Sailor Man Temporary Buff +10 Strength.]

  Silver Rank, Finally! He flexed his arms and grinned. “Thanks for the level up, Andras.”

  The wolf snarled, snapping its jaws in frustration, but TJ’s barrier held firm. Joe couldn’t help but shoot a look at Taz, who was now struggling to regain control of her summon.

  Dawn’s hands burst into flames, her eyes blazing hot. She launched a wave of scorching fire toward the wolf. It hit the beast full force, engulfing it in flames. When the smoke cleared, the wolf lay sputtering in black heap.

  TJ leapt, his machete slicing through its weakened hide. The summoned wolf puffed into a cloud of ash.

  Dawn smirked, her flames still dancing on her fingers. “Looks like you really screwed the pooch there, Taz.”

  With increased strength, Joe launched Aqua Shot at Andras’ Huff-a-Puff. Even with Andras’ boost from his flute, the force of Aqua Shot was unmatched. For every attack there was a counter attack. Taz’s two earth orbs crashed into Aqua Shot as though Andras had merely baited him.

  Every sound around Joe muffled into one ringing sensation. His vision blurred, and he no longer heard the announcer tallying their scores. A quick check of his stats confirmed his suspicion. His mana had dropped dangerously low between using Quick Wit and driving his orbs’ attacks. He popped a pellet from his tin, refocusing on the others as he waited for his mana to regen. With as much MadOrbz action between every ascender, the final tally could go either way.

  “I’m going to ice Otto’s balls.” Rose launched an orb over Joe’s head, cold white drops splashed onto his face, the liquid landed on his tongue.

  “Sweet cream?” He shuddered, uncertain whether he should be grossed out or not as the orb trailed the soft serve cream behind it.

  “Vanilla ice.” Rose flashed a grin. She cut the air with her staff, her orb swirling around Otto’s Cursed Breath orb faster than a cotton candy machine. Cursed Breath turned blue and dropped like baseball sized hail, shattering to the ground.

  Otto looked drained, pale faced with sweat drenched hair, from navigating his Prime tier MadOrbz, but Johnny’s orb had a mana boost effect on the summoners within a five meter range.

  Within the area of effect, Dawn received enough mana to summon her last orb. “Saved the best for last. TJ get ready to throw down!”

  The Get Out of Jail orb slammed into one of the windows of TJ’s decagon, phasing in and out with his Knucklegrinder before it disappeared. TJ’s hands clasped around the orb as he locked his gaze onto Fedelma’s orb, black metal extruding from its ashy surface. Winding his arm, TJ threw the orb and Knucklegrinder slammed into Hot Ash, its fire poker splitting in two.

  Sweat dripped down their faces. Minutes seemed like hours in the battlebox. Once they’d put the wolf out of play, their MadOrbz moves synced with Dawn and TJ as their primary damage dealers. With Otto and Johnny’s orbs taken out by Rose, Joe made Andras choke on smoke pellets, making him wish he’d never brought out that flute. He was certain he’d heard the Lich laugh.

  The bard heaved, waving Johnny away from him.

  [Time’s Up! Final Tally Rally Tally: 10 for Andras Alliance. 12 for Titan Slayers. Battlebox Challenge is awarded to the Titan Slayers. Prize pool is split. All faction members receive 117 years. Mana Bonus: 100.]

  TJ slapped a hand on Joe’s back. “I liked the way you used Clod Zinger. He uses too much mana for me, go ahead and keep that MadOrbz.”

  “Thanks.” Like a breath of fresh air, Joe’s mana regenerated to his max capacity. He glanced at Andras’ faction, drenched in sweat they chugged potion bottles instead of puffing eternity sticks. Joe shook his head as he was about to call him out, but Johnny’s paled face as he dropped to his knees stopped him.

  “My time…” Johnny patted his pockets, his orange hoodie fading to red. “Puh, please, loan me some.”

  Andras leaned toward him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “If I do it for you, then everybody would expect it, and I can’t have that.”

  “No, no…I’ve got—” Johnny couldn’t finish before his hoodie changed from red to the dull gray.

  Dawn gasped.

  “Why didn’t you help him?” Joe rushed toward Andras. “He’s a member of your faction. Even with a loss, you had plenty of time to spare.”

  Andras turned away.

  Joe rushed toward Johnny and grabbed his paw. He activated a trade window to send time credits.

  [Access Denied.]

  A GORED notification blinked above Johnny’s head. Joe called to Dawn, “We can bring him back using ECHOs.”

  Dawn nodded. She placed her hands on Johnny’s shoulders to get his full attention. “Repeat after me, Trade System ECHOs Open.”

  “Trade System ECHOs Open.” Johnny blinked, permanent fear scarring his paled expression.

  [Voice Command Not Recognized.]

  “We’ve got the time to cover penalties.” Joe swallowed hard as he shared a quick glance at Dawn.

  “Try again!”

  “Trade System ECHOs Open.” Johnny’s lip quivered. “It’ll never work for a ratfolk like me.”

  “Nerus, for the love of all rats, help him.” Dawn dropped to her knees.

  Joe leaned back, almost surprised at how polite she was, but maybe it was for Johnny’s sake.

  Any hope that Joe had for poor Johnny, died when her face turned grim.

  Dawn shook her head. “Nerus is unable to intervene when an ascender is bankrupt morally or otherwise. And before you ask, no I can’t tell you why.”

  give it a try!