The trades went about as well as they could've. Considering that each trade cost literal HP, the desire to trade amongst the team dropped abruptly, and only the essentials were swapped between members of the party.

  And, through it all, the System sat on a branch high in the canopy, watching it all take place.

  Ace leaned against a nearby tree as Tara adjusted the Forgeborn Tactical Combat Harness he'd traded her for a few iron chits. His eyes tracked her movements as her fingers navigated the intricate compartments and pockets. The reinforced leather with its nearly invisible steel mesh weave had been worth every bit of the HP he'd sacrificed to make the trade happen. A small price to pay for keeping their healer alive.

  His gaze kept drifting to her waist, and he cleared his throat roughly to snap himself out of it.

  "You sure about this?" Tara asked, fastening the final buckle with a satisfying click. "This thing is way more valuable than those iron chits."

  Ace shrugged, maintaining his carefully neutral expression. "The healer stays alive. That's worth more than any gear."

  Her eyebrow arched. "So, it's purely tactical?"

  He grinned. “You can always give it back. Just costs another round of HP to make the trade."

  She winced.

  He didn’t blame her. After all, the Blood Covenant Exchange wasn’t exactly a fun way to spend an afternoon—that cold, unsettling pull always sent a shockwave down his spine as the ritual extracted its price.

  Worth it, though. The harness would reduce damage from incoming attacks by fifteen percent. For her, that could mean the difference between life and death.

  "Thank you" she said, rolling out her shoulders to test its flexibility. The metal components adjusted seamlessly to her movement.

  Ace nodded once, already turning away before she could catch anything in his eyes that might betray his concern. It was better for her to think this was just business.

  Better for both of them.

  The air beside Ace rippled like heat rising from desert sand, and the shimmer of light hummed in a low frequency that raised the hair on his arms. Reality tore open, and the System popped through the rift.

  “You could’ve just floated down toward me,” he pointed out.

  “True,” the little terror said with a shrug. “But this is more fun.”

  She hovered there as though she were laying on her stomach, with her elbows propped on the empty air beneath her. Her legs kicked back and forth idly as she rested her cheeks in her palms and stared at Ace intently.

  Those eyes, though—they burned with a bloody malice that betrayed her childlike innocence. They practically shook with anticipation and cruelty.

  She enjoyed their suffering.

  "Your face!" She erupted into a fit of giggles that escalated into snorts. "Oh, it's too precious! Did you expect legendary weapons for killing overgrown toddlers with silver helmets?"

  Ace glared at her, his hatred a physical thing that burned brighter than the hollow, thudding memory of his injuries.

  All that silver had hurt.

  ———

  QUEST: CRUCIBLE SUMMONS

  Access now granted to Darkmoor’s Crucible.

  Way to go, tiger.

  ———

  Before he could say anything, blue light erupted from his skin and coiled around his body. It pulsed in rhythmic waves, growing brighter with each beat. The harsh glow cast long shadows across the forest clearing. Ace's breath caught in his throat as power surged through his veins, hot and electric.

  Ace's muscles seized as new strength flooded his system. Tendons tightened. Bones hardened. His senses sharpened to painful clarity. He could hear Tara's breath accelerating from three feet away, could smell the lingering acrid tang of the slaughtered corpses mixed with the copper bite of spilled blood, could feel the slight electrical charge gathering in the air before a distant storm.

  As quickly as it had come, it faded, and he let out a sigh of relief.

  When the System’s laughter slowly died, she composed herself and scooted closer to him. "Congratulations, Sergeant, you've finally reached Level 10 and unlocked Crucible access for your team! Just took a few vampire hunters to get there." She patted his cheek condescendingly. "Not exactly noble hunting, but it's fine, I guess.”

  Level 10.

  Fucking finally.

  “Don’t look so pleased with yourself,” the System chided. “I mean, all that work, and you didn’t even get a title."

  He didn’t care. A title was the least of his worries right now.

  With a flick of his hand, he summoned his stats sheet. He had 18 AP to allocate, and he set to work adjusting his stats. His max HP and SM had also scaled, which he noted with a sigh of relief.

  Now, he would be able to use more of his Skills without risking constant depletion.

  Hell, thanks to his Thornhide Armor, his Vitality was through the roof. He definitely didn’t need to allocate anything there for the moment. The Strength ring had given him a nice little boost, rounding out his other stats, and he decided to dump half his AP into Intelligence to boost his Soul Meter. The other half were split across the last three stats to balance them out a bit more.

  Once he was done, he took a moment to check his decisions before hitting the final [ACCEPT] button.

  ———

  NAME: Logan ”Ace” Blackwell

  LEVEL: 10

  CLASS: Dusk Emperor

  RACE: Vampire (Nightseed)

  TITLES:

  Eclipse Predator

  Void Hunter

  Behemoth Slayer

  Prince of Blood

  STATS:

  Strength: 48

  Vitality: 82

  Dexterity: 48

  Intelligence: 51

  Wisdom: 46

  POWER:

  HP: 1,217/1,737

  SM: 501/1,125

  UNALLOCATED AP: 0

  EXP SOLUTES:

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  Human: 12%

  Vampiric: 69%

  Monster: 19%

  Dragon: 0%

  ———

  Not bad.

  He was starting to get the hang of this.

  Across the clearing, his team knelt by various corpses and waded through their own stats screens. Marcus counted his iron chits while Rachel meticulously documented their discoveries in her sparking analytical screen. Olivia stood apart from the others, tracing patterns in a shallow puddle of blood.

  Good lord, that woman was strange.

  Ace took a settling breath as the final wave of power settled into his frame. The glowing text faded, but something remained—a subtle awareness of shadows he hadn't possessed before.

  “Now I get to tell you all about what lies ahead!” The System's eyes sparkled with malicious delight. "The Crucible is where heroes prove themselves—or die trying." She twisted in mid-air to face the others. "You should all be very proud of your sergeant. He's the last of you to earn the right to enter Darkmoor's most exclusive deathtrap."

  “Bravo,” Rachel said dryly.

  Ace didn’t reply.

  The System circled Ace like a shark assessing wounded prey. Each step she took left no impression on the forest floor, as her bare feet hovered just above the ground. She inched closer and closer, invading his personal space until she finally hovered just inches from his nose. Her breath carried the chilling bite of winter frost despite the forest’s oppressive heat.

  Ace stood at parade rest, his face a carved mask of military discipline. His time in the Marines had taught him how to hide discomfort and maintain composure under interrogation. Now he employed those same skills against this childlike monster as she circled him.

  "Tell us more about the Crucible,” he said, his voice clipped and precise. “What exactly are we walking into?”

  The System twirled, her white dress flaring out as she spun. "It's a special playground of monsters and mayhem!" Her voice lilted with childish excitement that didn't reach her ancient eyes. "Full of tests and trials and treasures for all the good little vampires who reach Level 10."

  "Where is it located?" Ace asked.

  She skipped backward and performed an elaborate curtsy. "Oh, you’ll know it when you see it,” she said, her voice dropping to a dangerous octave. “You really can’t miss it.”

  Rachel scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest. “That’s not even remotely helpful or—”

  "Is it within the Shadow Realm?" Ace interrupted.

  The System's eternal smile faltered, and she leaned backward to put more distance between them. Her fingers twitched at her sides, and her crimson eyes darted briefly toward the deepest shadows at the edge of the clearing. The reaction lasted only a fraction of a second, but Ace noticed it nonetheless.

  Yep.

  It was definitely in the Shadow Realm.

  "Not... exactly," she replied. "Let's just say it exists in the space between spaces." She recovered quickly, resuming her playful demeanor with practiced ease.

  Ace pressed on. "And we’re supposed to get you something called the Evolutionary Keystone?"

  The System's face lit up with renewed enthusiasm. She rushed forward until she stood directly before him, practically vibrating with dark energy that sent the nearby shadows shivering.

  "Exactly!" she exclaimed, raising her arms dramatically above her head. "It’s an ancient crystal of immense power forged in the dying breath of an ancient world. Isn’t that romantic?" She sighed wistfully and clasped her hands together.

  “What does it do?”

  “So many things.” She tapped her finger on her lips and studied him, as though debating what to say next. “It’s could give you so much power, Sergeant.”

  Hmm.

  That sounded like a trap.

  “I can see those gears turning in your head.” The System grinned. “And they should be. Because I’m going to give a choice to whoever finds it. Keep it for themselves, or get a title and power that will give the winner enough strength to take on the Colossus himself.”

  “Why would we keep it, then?”

  Just like the last time he had asked about the Crucible, she leaned in with a devious little smile. “You’ll see.”

  “No more games,” he said flatly. “Tell us what we’re getting into.”

  “Where’s the fun in that?” she asked.

  The System's demeanor shifted subtly. She circled him once more. Her voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper that somehow carried perfectly in the still forest air.

  "Besides, you should be more excited about the title you’ll get when you give it to me instead of keeping it.” Her voice dropped so low that only he could hear her. “It’s unlike any other title you can ever get in this little game of mine, with powers that will make your enemies drool with envy."

  "I don't have enemies," Ace said flatly.

  “Yet,” the System corrected, the single word dripping with menace.

  For a brief moment, her childlike face contorted into something dark and terrible—a glimpse of her true nature breaking through the facade.

  "The title grants a ten percent increase to all stats," she continued, her enthusiasm escalating with each benefit listed. "Enhanced shadow realm connectivity, accelerated Soul Meter regeneration, and"—she paused dramatically—"access to a unique skill that no other vampire possesses."

  Tempting.

  At that, she clasped her hands behind her back and adopted an innocent expression. "Of course, only one team member can claim the prize." Her head tilted as she studied him. "Your team seems... close. I wonder how they'll handle the competition?"

  Ace remained silent.

  Watchful.

  Waiting for the little nightmare to break.

  "That Victor fellow, he's certainly ambitious, isn't he?" The System's voice carried false concern. "I've noticed how he watches you during battles. Always calculating, that one. Where has he gotten off to?"

  “I suspect you know all too well,” Ace countered.

  She grinned. “Maybe.”

  The sergeant hadn’t exactly enjoyed the former merc’s company thus far, but it was better than not knowing where the man had gone.

  “What have you been telling him?” Ace asked pointedly. “You’ve been whispering to him—”

  “—just like I whisper to you,” she said in his ear.

  Ace didn’t reply.

  She sighed theatrically. "Victor is one threat, but the others... well, survival changes people, doesn't it? Makes them do things they never thought themselves capable of."

  "My team is solid," Ace replied, his tone leaving no room for debate.

  "Of course, of course," she said with a knowing smile. "I'm just saying that prizes like this... well, they have a way of revealing someone’s true nature."

  She snapped her fingers, and a notification appeared in Ace's vision alerting him to a map she had just added to his inventory.

  The Crucible Path.

  "First to reach the crystal claims the title and powers," the System explained with childlike glee. "The others will receive significantly less valuable rewards. Still useful, of course, but..." she shrugged, the gesture exaggerated. "Nothing compared to the main prize."

  Her explanation carried the unmistakable tone of someone setting up pieces on a chessboard, excited for the potential chaos to come.

  With that, she simply vanished. No fade-out, no goodbye—just there one moment and gone the next, leaving behind only a lingering giggle that echoed from multiple directions within the clearing.

  Ace sighed with exhaustion and sat at the base of a nearby tree. One hand rested on his propped knee as he debated what to do. If Victor had already received the map, he could be well on his way to the Crucible.

  With a wave of his hand, he accessed his inventory and opened the map. A glowing screen appeared before him, the blue light illuminating his face as he studied the route ahead of them. It floated above his palms—a construct of shadow and light that unfolded itself as though it had a mind of its own. The map expanded, revealing topography in three dimensions—mountains rising and valleys deepening as they grew from the cracked paper itself. Landmarks appeared as glowing points, and the path to the Crucible manifested as a crimson thread winding through treacherous terrain.

  "That's not creepy at all," Marcus muttered, peering over Ace's shoulder.

  Rachel leaned in. "Fascinating. The cartography appears to be semi-sentient." She reached out a tentative finger, and the map shifted, zooming in where she touched. "It's responding to intention rather than physical contact."

  Olivia observed from a respectful distance—just watching. Waiting. Observing.

  Seeing more than Ace figured the others realized.

  The map pulsed, sections brightening and fading in a steady glow that reminded Ace of a heartbeat. Mountains rotated to display hidden passes and danger zones glowed with ominous red light. Ace's military training engaged automatically—identifying choke points along their path, as well as which terrain might offer cover and which would be the most dangerous.

  Their path would take them through the Gloomvale woods, all the way to the edge of the forest and through the Barren Highlands. The path ended at the edge of the Ironweep Mining District.

  "That’s going to be a long walk," he muttered. "And that’s not even taking into account all the things that will try to kill us along the way."

  Without warning, the corpses of the fallen Forgeborn flashed with light. Seconds later, the cadavers greyed and cracked like ancient pottery. Light—pure and white—seeped through these fissures, growing brighter until it hurt to look directly at them. Then the bodies simply... dissolved. They collapsed into streams of luminescent dust that spiraled upward, disappearing into the canopy and the night sky beyond.

  “What the hell?” Marcus asked.

  Before anyone could respond, the System’s haunting giggle echoed through the forest.

  "Sounds like the System was hungry," Tara whispered, watching the spectacle with a mixture of horror and fascination. "Remember—she said she feeds on the dead."

  Rachel’s eyes widened in fear as the last of the bodies dissolved into the air. "I wonder if—"

  "—if we'll end up the same way?" Marcus finished for her, uncharacteristically solemn. "Probably."

  Silence fell over the group as the last motes of light vanished, leaving behind only scorched earth where the bodies had lain moments before. Not even blood remained to mark their passing.

  They simply… weren’t… anymore.

  Like they never existed in the first place.

  Ace folded the map with a flick of his hand, and it compacted itself into a small cube of shadow before disappearing in a puff of smoke. The implications of what they'd just witnessed hung heavy in the air—a visceral reminder of the System’s raw power.

  “Why didn’t she do that before?” Marcus asked, gesturing to the empty woodland floor. “In the arena? And when we killed the Carnage Fiend?”

  “Maybe she did,” Tara said quietly. “We just weren’t around to witness it.”

  A chilling thought.

  "We should move," Ace said, his voice cutting through the oppressive tension weighing on the air. "Find somewhere safe to rest. Tomorrow, we set out for the Crucible."

  No one argued. They gathered their gear in silence, each lost in thought. Ace was the same, his mind drifting as his eyes faded in and out of focus. He could only imagine what she did with all that power she stole from the dead. It made her a formidable threat, and unfortunately for him, he was on her radar.

  Delightful.

  Ace’s expression hardened with resolve as he made his decision. The System wanted conflict, wanted to turn them against each other. He wouldn't play her game—not the way she expected.

  But they absolutely would get to that Crucible entrance before Victor did. Considering what a man like Victor would do with unfettered power, they simply didn’t have a choice.

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