The sounds of battle echoed through the forest, leading them like a beacon. There was no mystery to it. There was no confusion. Colt followed Nate’s lead and put the group behind them on their way to a fight with no backup.

  “So, why us alone?” Colt asked, thinking he knew most of the answer, but with Nate, there was probably more to it.

  “I want to level. I want to grow stronger. Seeing you scale that tree yesterday lit a fire for me—if you could take down Cerberus, then why shouldn’t I be pushing just as hard, I trained hard in the army, and now that my life is on the line again, I’ll train just as hard now. That’s why. Selfishness. There’s trouble with New Nashville. Anyone can see that. I felt relief when you found another difficult dungeon to go into and gave a fine justification to go with it. I need to make sure I’m in a good position to handle myself is the most efficient way to secure my safety.”

  “It isn’t because you’re worried we’ll die?”

  “We’re going to fight and kill this thing,” Nate’s jaw tightened, and the knuckles around his hammer went white.

  Colt saw it then, the way his skin formed tighter around him, his eyes locked in and concentrated. Right now, he was infusing his Edict into his body…

  It also felt like it had more weight than before.

  Colt ran an inspect on his friend.

  ———

  Name: Nate | Race: Basic Human

  Icon: None | Class: Soldier (II) [Uncommon]

  Level: 39

  This is a basic human who hasn’t found a distinct path to tread yet has taken steps down the route of a Soldier. This multifaceted beginner class allows versatility in weapon selection and cultivation. His history with the military has provided a fine foundation on which to reforge himself in this new world.

  Noteworthy Skills:

  Steel Skin [Rare] - Level 4

  Hammer Proficiency [Common] - Level 17

  Stealth [Uncommon] - Level 12

  Meditation [Uncommon] - Level 10

  Edicts:

  Forge (Lesser)

  ———

  “Whoa.” Colt admired the skills—but mostly he admired the fact that Nate had advanced his Edict already. Things certainly hadn’t been this way when they entered the dungeon—that Stealth skill was there, sure, and it was frustrating that as much as Nate had tried to pass it along, none of them had picked it up yet.

  And that Steel Skin was new. Interesting.

  “Lesser Edict already?”

  “Last night, when I saw you climb up the tree, I couldn’t sleep. I kept thinking. There had to be more. I didn’t want to get dragged along through a dungeon again, not growing. So I focused. I meditated. The levels I gained with our fights earlier in the day went straight into Soul. There is no rest in a world like this.”

  Nate kept creeping ahead, his steps effortless as he moved, his head low as they traversed the forest to the roaring and screeching of a fight ahead. There was a steel to his face as he worked.

  “Forge is a fine Edict. With it, I’ve been able to enhance my body.”

  Colt ran his senses over him—and sure enough, he felt an odd sense to Nate. The remnants of his Edict, alterations to his skin? If he guessed, it would be that. It was the same kind of sensation he felt when he left cuts in a wall. It held a hint of the Edict that forever left its mark.

  “It’s letting you forge your body in a literal way.” Colt summarized.

  “Yes. It is. And now that I’m reasonably sure I can take hits from something higher level, I need to see it in live combat.”

  It made sense.

  In fact, Nate's pushing so hard revved Colt up, too; he gripped the knife in his hand, a sudden thrill running through him. The roars drew closer. They entered the wall of kicked-up dust—the earth shaking as yet another massive tree smashed into the ground not far away. After another two minutes of walking, Colt finally got a look at their enemy.

  The snakes had been massive, about the size of a bus, and three times as long.

  Here, in the middle of a clearing forged by war and light by the sky above like a massive spotlight, was a monster too hard to conceptualize at first. It was, in all rights, a Tyrannosaurus Rex, from the gigantic oversized jaw, colossal reptilian tail, and tiny ineffectual arm by comparison. A creature you’d see in a movie or a history documentary, knowing from the safety of your couch that it was long dead, and you’d never run the risk in your life of ever running across such a terrifying and horrible monster, except for your nightmares.

  Only, this wasn’t just an ordinary Tyrannosaurus Rex.

  No, this thing was at least thrice as big—five times as deadly—it had teeth the size of a car; its roar could shatter a normal human’s eardrums, and a tail that could collapse a skyscraper. And right now, it was pissed and enraged—fending off four different bird monsters as they flew and pecked at it.

  It must've been at least ten when the fight began - their mangled corpses littered the clearing, painting a grim tale of the battle's start.

  Colt’s mouth opened wide.

  One of the birds swooped in, its feathers glowing as it tried to rake one of the dino’s eyes out; yet the dinosaur snapped its head back, dodging the hit, then, in a movement almost too fast to track, its head had bit down on the bird—killing it instantly as those mighty teeth crunched the pesky flying toy. A shower of blood rained down on the earth below, watering the dark vegetation with gore.

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  Another bird flew by—the dino charged it. The bird’s speed doubled as it rose up, narrowly avoiding being crunched under its teeth. Yet the monster didn’t have time to stop such massive momentum and slammed into a tree. The poor tree cracked, ripped, and, with another world-shattering tumble, crashed into the nearby trees.

  Colt stared, transfixed. The strength here was on a different level. This creature was an apex monster and most definitely a monster deserving the name boss.

  Nate stared, eyes hard.

  “Second doubts? We can return to the others.”

  “No. We’re going to kill this thing together. As long as you think we can do it. You’re the muscle.”

  Colt frowned, then inspected it.

  ———

  Tyrannous X - Level 60

  Description: A gigantic version of what you humans call a Tyrannosaurs Rex. Like all things in the Primeval Park, it was a creation of Csaba to wage war. Only this beautiful guy was meant to be the mount from which he would ride down from heaven and conquer the worlds of chaos. Great concept in theory. Except this particular Dino has an unsatisfiable hankering for meat, and frankly was just too much effort for the prince to maintain and feed. So, after giving it a good spin, he let it retire to his forest, from which it has had the run of the place.

  What’s that saying your planet has? The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Well, more like the bigger they are the more you have to hit them before they die. Ha. Good luck.

  Noteworthy Skills:

  Terrifying Roar [Rare] - Level 16

  Primal Savagery [Rare] - Level 20

  Shattering Whip [Uncommon] - Level 12

  Edicts:

  Dread (Lesser)

  ———

  Colt took in the information and calculated their chances as he watched it face off against the birds—another one of the monsters flew in and clipped the boss, leaving a line of blood as its wing tore through the flesh and did its damage.

  It was a massive boss, and it towered over the battlefield. A titan of death and destruction, armed with scales the size of shields and teeth that murdered thousands of monsters.

  But then, it was five levels less than Cerberus. It didn’t have the spells, and it had fewer Edicts. And dread wasn’t an unfamiliar Edict. He’d run across it before with Jack and felt reasonably confident he could cut through its influence on himself with his greater Edict. And it was in the middle of fighting a bunch of other monsters. Winning. But still it’d be taxed.

  “We stand a good shot. Do we have a plan?”

  Nate looked around—as it cracked a tail into the nearby tree as it tried to take one of the birds out of the sky. A hail of wooden chips flew from the impact as yet another part of the forest was sacrificed to this battle between creatures.

  “Let them fight as much as they want. When the battle ends, we swoop in and defeat the main threat,” Nate said, his eyes honed in. His skin was almost reflective as the light from this clearing hit it—whatever that Edict was, Colt could feel its impact

  A battle like this wasn’t a war. As the big reptile tore through the birds and ruined the forest around it, there could be no grand strategy to defeat it.

  Sometimes, things in life have to be done hard and straightforwardly. Colt was excited to try his knife on such a massive foe—the weapon, a little bigger than a hand, would be the thing to take such an incredible primal beast down.

  They bided their time.

  That wasn’t to say that Colt simply stood on the sidelines; no, his eyes were keen. Picking apart the movements of the monster, envisioning how that behemoth would react in battle against himself.

  He paid close attention to the speed of its tail. The way its roar infused with dread. And as they observed, they worked those into the plan, bringing awareness to the threats.

  As the two groups locked into battle, the monsters waged war upon one another, blood, spit, and viscera flew everywhere.

  But the victor was clear from the start. Inevitable like the jaws of death.

  One by one, the dinosaur tore his opponents in half. His teeth, sharper than a sword, would catch them and ruin their bodies with one snap of those powerful jaws. Listening closely, Colt could even hear the bones shatter beneath that mighty bite.

  Soon, there were no birds left polluting the sky.

  The monster let out one massive roar of victory, and the sound shook the ground, sending vibrations through Colt’s chest as leaves rained down from above—its very aura radiating out as it signaled its complete and utter dominance.

  Nate gave the signal, and Colt snuck along the underbrush to the left, the dark vegetation doing a good job of hiding him.

  Ten seconds.

  Twenty seconds.

  Thirty.

  Nate strode onto center stage and pounded a fist on his chest. The tiny, insignificant act clanged loud enough to claim the monster's attention. And if it didn’t, the soldier followed up his challenge by lobbing a rock right at the dino’s head.

  The massive beast towered over him. Nate had its full attention.

  It roared—Nate roared back.

  Then, it twisted, its tail snapping forward in a split-second, catching Nate right in the chest with a hard smack and wave of dust and debris.

  Colt’s breath caught, sure that he’d just witnessed the complete and utter annihilation of his friend. His heart pounded, and an anger started to swell in his chest.

  Dead.

  This beast was dead.

  His grip went white on his knife.

  The dust cleared—and Nate was standing about ten feet back with his chest smashed and blood running from his mouth—yet the guy had the dino by the tail. He’d survived the point-blank shot from a monster about twenty levels over him—and of all things, the guy was smiling.

  The boss looked confused.

  Colt’s jaw dropped. Then he picked it up. And then charged outward, knowing the monster’s attention was fully on his friend—his knife was coated with as thick of an Edict of cut that he could muster, wrapped tight around the blade, and concentrated on a fine point.

  Each step propelled him forward like a rocket, he felt the momentum and shifting tides in the air as the boss became less confused.

  It let out a wild roar, suffused with the raw and overwhelming power of Dread. It was like a wave, crashing down on the human with all the force in the world as it protested such a pathetic and tiny man being able to withstand its hit.

  The power of the Edict crept into him for the barest of a second, almost drawing him to a stop, commanding him to give in to death.

  Colt extended the Edict wrapped around his blade, slicing through the influence of dread on himself. It gave him awareness even as he moved.

  He saw the killing intent in the monster’s eyes.

  And knew what was going to happen. They’d both observed in the fight with the birds just how fast it could snap its jaws down. With Nate fighting against the Edict, he would be easy prey. One bite. And the fight was over.

  The world slowed as Colt called upon movement. He saw the dino’s jaw go down. Saw it unhinge its massive jowls in slow motion; to an outside eye, the move would only be seconds. To him, it was an inevitable guillotine of Nate’s death.

  Colt reached the leg in those seconds, let out a scream even as his heart raced out of his chest, and then cut; a thick wave of his Edict smashing into the dinosaur leg before him, propelled not only by the will of his Greater Edict but enhanced by the force of his movement.

  Even as the dino’s jaw snapped down, his invisible blade severed its leg out from under it—Colt let movement fade as the monster collapsed on the ground.

  Its jaw snapped empty air as it found it could no longer stand and missed the mark completely. Nate was alive. And together, they would decimate this horrid lizard.