Ace tasted blood in the air, coming from somewhere upwind.

  He had only been dead for a day, and yet the vampire in him was already changing the way he processed the world around him—and its focus was eternally on blood.

  They had traveled down a small trail along the cliff face and meandered into the forest below, namely to get reprieve from the brutal sun as it baked the air above the canopy. His newly heightened senses cataloged the environment with military precision. Humidity clung to his skin. Faint vibrations rumbled through the soil from his team’s footsteps. The soft breeze through the leaves overhead kicked up the distinct hint of decay and rot. Shafts of morning light cut through the canopy overhead, creating patches of crimson sunbeams amid the dead leaves coating the forest floor. Sweat beaded on Ace’s forehead—much to his surprise, given that he was, you know, undead—as the overbearing heat penetrated even the shade.

  “What the hell are we even doing?” Rachel asked. “We have no direction, no maps, no idea of where we should go. We can’t just wander aimlessly through the woods. We need a plan.”

  “Finally, something we agree on,” Marcus said, his voice cutting through the dense forest air. "Preferably one that doesn't end with us all dead—again."

  Victor snorted. "The plan is simple. We kill things, we get stronger, we evolve, and we get strong enough to enter the Crucible. What's complicated about that?"

  "Everything." Tara sat on a nearby log and ran the back of her hand across her forehead to clear the sweat from her brow. "We don't know what's out here, how dangerous it is, or where we should go for shelter. And in case you haven't noticed, we're not exactly equipped for whatever this place throws at us. That little girl dropped us in the middle of everything with no direction and no idea of what’s waiting for us between here and a death maze we know nothing about."

  Fair point.

  As the others bickered, Ace scanned the small clearing in which they stood. His newfound senses were adjusting, now, to the flurry of sensations carried by the breeze. He could detect more than just blood, now, and everything sharpened to an almost overwhelming degree. Movement in the underbrush preceded a small black squirrel that darted up a tree trunk from the forest floor. The distant rush of running water crashing into a lake. The steady scuff of his companions’ boots across the grass—each one distinct, like a beacon he could easily pick out of a crowd.

  If only he’d had these abilities in active combat, his job would’ve been so much easier.

  "Look." Victor stepped forward, his shoulders squared. "There's only one way to survive this. We need to establish a chain of command.”

  "Chain of command?" Rachel laughed bitterly. "We died yesterday. I think traditional hierarchies went out the window when that happened."

  “I know where this is going,” Tara muttered under her breath. “And Victor, I don't remember enlisting in your personal army."

  Ace chuckled.

  She had fire. He could respect that.

  “Chain of command?” Marcus scoffed. “You and Ace are the only ones with military experience. The rest of us are civilians. Hell, I was a fucking vlogger. I don’t know shit about what a chain of command even means.”

  “It means you shut your mouth when I tell you to,” Victor snapped.

  Huh.

  Ace leaned against a nearby tree with his arms crossed over his chest as he surveyed the others: Olivia, quiet and reserved on the edge of the group; Marcus in the middle of their small band of misfits, his nose inches from Victor’s as their conversation got heated; Tara, still sitting on her log, shaking her head as she mumbled to herself.

  And Rachel, frowning as she glared at everyone, unable to hide even a sliver of her resentment.

  “Look, damn it.” Victor's brows furrowed. "This is exactly why we need structure. Look at you all—bickering like children instead of focusing on survival."

  “You want to survive?” Tara gestured at the special ops soldier trying to wrangle everyone in. “Then we group up as a party. Share EXP. That’ll be at least an ounce of protection against whatever we’re going to face out here.”

  Marcus sputtered and held his head, as though the very idea hurt his brain. “What are you even talking about? The System didn’t say anything about… what was it? Parties?”

  “Like, with balloons?” Rachel asked.

  In unison, Ace and Tara groaned.

  “We have stats,” Tara said flatly. “EXP. Levels. There’s got to be some kind of party mechanic. That’s how these things work.”

  Victor rolled his eyes. "Great, now we're taking gameplay advice from the medic."

  The argument escalated, voices overlapping into a cacophony of conflicting opinions. Ace's enhanced hearing amplified every word, every accusation, every frustrated sigh until it became an overwhelming assault on his senses. A dull ache pulsed in his temple, and he drove one thumb into it to alleviate the pain as he tried to think amidst the noise.

  One thing was for sure—if everyone didn’t shut up soon, they were going to attract something with sharper teeth than anything they had seen in the arena.

  “Shut it!” Ace's voice cut through the chaos like a blade.

  The group fell silent, all eyes turning to him.

  In the sudden quiet, Ace took a settling breath, even though he probably didn't technically need air anymore.

  Old habits.

  "We're getting nowhere,” he said firmly, taking a moment to look every single one of them in the eye. “I figure you all can smell the blood in the air, and as far as I can tell, it's getting stronger. I'd rather not meet whatever spilled that blood while we're busy shouting at each other."

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  Silence hung heavy in the air. Even Victor seemed momentarily subdued.

  "Tara." Ace shifted his attention to her, "You mentioned party mechanics. How does that work?"

  Tara straightened, clearly relieved to focus on something practical. "If we join together as a party, we can share EXP. Any kill one of us makes contributes to everyone's progress. We'd all level up together, and our abilities would complement each other."

  "That's... actually not a bad idea," Rachel admitted.

  “Oh, yeah,” Marcus agreed. “Yeah, I’m in.”

  Victor scoffed. "Idiots. It's a terrible idea. Party mechanics will slow down individual progression. We'd level faster on our own. It’s basic math. One kill divided by six people means each person gets only a fraction of the experience. Ace and I are going to be babysitting the lot of you."

  The man’s intense glare shifted toward Ace, but the sergeant didn’t reply.

  Clearly, Victor was not a team player.

  "Six people can kill more efficiently than one," Ace countered. "And we'd all stay alive longer working together. Dead people don't level up at all."

  "Exactly," Tara added. "Not to mention we each have different Skills now." She glanced uncomfortably at her hands, which had taken on a faint bluish tinge since her transformation. "If we coordinate, we can be much more effective."

  Victor crossed his arms. "Look, this isn’t a game. This is life and death. There’s no coming back to life here, no extra chances, nothing. You want to survive? Try listening to the person who’s lived this already.”

  “I didn’t realize you’d survived in a magical death-world with a twelve-year-old ringleader,” Ace said flatly. “That’s useful experience.”

  With a subtle tilt of his head, Victor glared at Ace with unfettered hatred. It was raw and visceral, the sort of rage fueled by disgust and disdain, but it only lasted for a moment before the former spec ops soldier shrugged and turned his back on the lot of them.

  “Fine,” the man snapped. “You want to hold hands and sing campfire songs, be my guest. But don't come crying when I'm ten levels above you all."

  Huh.

  Arrogant prick.

  "What happens when you run into something you can't handle alone?" Ace asked. "Because trust me, there's always going to be something bigger and meaner out there."

  The forest grew eerily silent around them, as if to emphasize his point. The ancient pines loomed overhead, their branches stretching like grasping fingers across the canopy. The air itself felt heavy, charged with lingering magic—a cloying sweetness that reminded Ace of decay beneath candy coating.

  Somewhere in the distance, a creature howled—a sound that wavered between animal and an unsettling human scream. The temperature dropped several degrees, and frost stretched across the edges of fallen leaves surrounding their boots. Their breath fogged in the sudden cold.

  It was in moments like this that Ace felt the full weight of what he had become—something no longer human, attuned to a world of predators and prey, where even the forest itself seemed to hold its breath in anticipation of violence.

  “You worry about yourselves,” Victor snapped. “I can hold my own.”

  “Suit yourself,” Ace said with a bored shrug.

  He kicked off the tree behind him and gestured for the others to huddle closer. They joined him as Victor prowled the edge of the clearing, his gaze shifting between them and the vast forest beyond.

  "How do we actually form a party?" Rachel asked, looking at Tara.

  In answer, Tara merely shrugged.

  “Great,” Rachel said dryly. “You’re a lot of help.”

  Instead of rising to the bait, Tara glanced around the empty air above them. “System?”

  “Tsk,” the little girl’s voice echoed through the forest. “I can’t even leave you all for a few minutes without you needing something, can I?”

  Ace scratched at the stubble on his jaw to keep from saying something he might regret. He had wanted to figure this out without her, given her penchant for messing with them. The sergeant braced himself for whatever bullshit she was about to put them through.

  The System popped into existence overhead. She twirled a shiny red lollipop between her fingers and floated in the air behind them. She tilted her head, those bouncing curls of her swishing with the movement, and she smiled with those razor-sharp teeth.

  “What is it?” she asked them. “What do you want?”

  Everyone shrank back just a little. Only Ace held his ground, and he met the little girl’s eye.

  “Party mechanics,” he said flatly.

  He still wasn’t quite sure what it entailed, but what the System didn’t know would ultimately benefit him.

  Probably.

  "Oh goodie!" The System tossed her lollipop into the woodland and clapped her hands together in childlike delight. "I was wondering when you'd figure this out! Most don't, you know. They just keep killing each other instead. Much messier, but very entertaining!"

  Ace felt a chill run down his spine despite the oppressive heat. He cast a sidelong glare at Victor, who met his eye with the same intense expression.

  "So how does this work?" Marcus asked.

  The System darted closer to him, until they were nose-to-nose, and he flinched in surprise.

  She didn’t seem to notice.

  "It's simple, really!” she explained. “You tap a little button, share experience, and you all grow stronger together." She stopped suddenly, her expression turning serious for just a moment. "But keep in mind that if you kill a party member, you only get half the EXP."

  With that cryptic warning hanging in the air, a translucent blue interface appeared before each of them.

  ———

  PARTY FORMATION REQUEST

  PARTY LEADER: Ace

  PARTY MEMBERS: Victor, Tara, Rachel, Olivia, Marcus

  ACCEPT?

  ———

  “Remove me,” Victor ordered.

  The System’s smile widened to an impossible degree, and his name flickered before fading from the prompt completely.

  "Why is he automatically the leader?" Rachel demanded, pointing at Ace.

  The System giggled. "Because he's my favorite. Aren’t you, Sergeant?”

  In answer, he let out a slow exhale of annoyance and glanced at the forest around them.

  Rachel’s mouth opened, then closed without a word.

  One by one, they pressed the glowing blue 'ACCEPT' button. Ace reached for it last, and his finger hovered over the button for only a moment before he ultimately accepted.

  As the last confirmation came through, Ace felt a strange rush of awareness—suddenly, he could sense not just his own status, but a faint impression of the others' conditions as well. It hit him like a static shock, then spread through his body in waves. The hairs on his arms stood on end as invisible tendrils of energy reached out from his core, connecting to each party member with gossamer threads of awareness.

  His senses bloomed outward. Suddenly, he wasn't just aware of his own undead body but could feel the distinct resonance of four other vampires—their essences as unique as fingerprints. Rachel's aura pulsed with excitement. Tara's presence was unnervingly still, her undead blood circulating with methodical precision that betrayed the iron discipline beneath her casual stance. Olivia's aura flickered like a flame in the wind, her anxiety manifesting as ripples despite her attempts to hide it. Marcus's presence pressed against Ace's senses with the weight of a predator, his stolen vitality circulating with a powerful, deliberate rhythm that reminded Ace of war drums before battle.

  Each of them were different than they appeared, and his connection to them through their newly formed party gave him insights he otherwise never would’ve had.

  It made him wonder what they now saw in him.

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