“Tali, you take the Leviathan, I’ll take Vraga.” Marcus’s growl pulled Edan’s gaze from his approaching classmates.

  “I’ll support where I can,” Sanik added, his eyes flicking between the man and bird in the sky and the massive creature by the docks dripping seawater.

  “I won’t be much use in the daylight,” Reema admitted. “But I’ll do what I can.”

  “Looks like you’ll be getting that trouble after all, Gem.” Lem’s voice was surprisingly calm. “We’ll support the Titan.”

  Gem’s green eyes glowed as she rubbed her hands together.

  Edan looked between them all, each already preparing for the battle to come. For a second, doubt crept into his mind. This was a fight between people and creatures that were far outside of his level. He wouldn’t stand a chance.

  You will one day he told himself.

  So what if he couldn’t help out his parents, or Tali, or even Marcus and the two strangers. Edan would do what he could.

  “I’ll sort out that lot,” Edan said, adding his part to their plan, as he pointed at Lorien and the two men. “They might be pressured into doing this for their Sects. I can at least keep them out of trouble.”

  “No. There is no pressure.” Vraga said with the same cold smile on his face. Edan winced, forgetting how sharp a high-level cultivator's senses could be. “There is no pressure. This comes with no choice.”

  “Here,” Marcus said to Edan, tossing a leather-wrapped bundle as long as his forearm at him.

  Edan caught it on reflex.

  “Tali insisted I butter you up before grilling you.”

  “No cooking my son!” Sanik butted in, though his eyes never waivered from Vraga.

  “That wasn’t what I-nevermind. We will talk when this is over. Consider that payment. Prepare yourself!”

  Edan opened his mouth to respond but froze for a second as Kiba told him something. Frowning, relayed Kiba's words as the primordial had spoken them.

  “Thanks, and it's good to see you’re manes grown back, pup.”

  Edan grabbed the bundle and unfurled it on the table. There were a pair of daggers in leather sheaths. Using [Identify] Edan was too busy checking out his new weapons to see Marcus look at him in shock.

  Metal Fangs of the Bipedal Race (rare)

  A weapon for those with blunt teeth but a vicious bite. Let the hunt end in blood and the fight end in victory.

  Grant Skill: First blood (uncommon) - increased speed if you inflict the first wound.

  The tension broke like a band and everyone surged into action.

  One large tentacle slammed into the wharf and scrapped along the ground as the Leviathan attempted to sweep them up. Tali stepped forward, steam rising around her as her body heat vaporized the salt water that covered her.

  She slammed one foot into the ground, cracking it, and with a heave flipped up a segment of ground to use as a shield. The tentacle slammed into her with a thud like thunder. The ground shook and Tali was forced back.

  “Hold it.” Gem ran forward, her lithe figure blurring. Jumping high she threw out small glass crystals that glittered in the sunlight. They shattered against the tentacle and ground. Ice crept out from the point of contact, freezing them together.

  The Leviathan let out a deep bellow and a shadow fell over the group as another tentacle rose above them.

  Edan sprinted to the side, away from Tali and everyone else. His targets were Lorien, Yaw, and Kumi.

  Sanik grabbed Reema and using [Flutter Step] appeared next to Lem. Grabbing the shorter man by the collar, Sanik vanished again in a trail of light before appearing further down the street.

  Marcus roared and crouched on all fours before springing forward. Rebounding off the wall of one of the stores he scaled the building in two quick movements and launched himself off the roof towards Vraga.

  The bird from earlier streaked through the air and slammed into the guild head. They tumbled briefly through the air before the bird broke off. It skimmed across the ground and rose back into the air, twisting around the falling tentacle.

  Marcus landed on the ground, bits of his white shirt smoking, and looked up in time for the tentacle to crash down on him.

  Vraga’s laughter rang out.

  Edan ignored him. He focused on what he could do.

  Lorien, Kumi, and Yaw had all been placed higher than him in class, and if they had been at the same level, Edan doubted he could have beaten all three of them. One at a time? Probably.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  The ground shook again and Edan stumbled. Ahead of him, Lorien paused to watch his approach. She held her trident out before her, the prongs glinting in the sunlight as they tracked Edan. On either side of her, Yaw and Kumi fanned out, their hollow eyes not wavering from Edan.

  It was only when he heard the growling at his feet that Edan realized the cubs had come with him. Slowing his sprint to a walk, Edan took the time to fasten his new daggers to his waist before holding up his hands, palm out.

  “Guys, listen, I don’t know what you heard or why everyone is coming after my mum and dad, but they broke into the Academy dungeon to save me.” After all of you left me to die. Edan thought to himself. He’d be angry with them after they got this situation sorted out.

  There was an angry screech from the sky and Edan saw the flaming bird dance out of the way as a chair went sailing past it. He felt the ground shake as the Leviathan continued trying to destroy Tali and Lem. Edan took deep breaths, trying to control his heart rate and just focus on the three before him.

  He expected them to say something. Anything. But they just continued to stare with those oddly empty eyes.

  “Can we-fuck!” Edan jerked to the side, swearing, as he narrowly missed getting brained by Kumi’s staff. “What the fuck man!”

  Instinct had Edan going for his punch daggers before realizing he didn’t have them. Those damn monkeys! Instead, he pulled the two new ones from his waist. The leather-wrapped handles felt comforting in his hands.

  A red blur shot past Edan before smashing into the Port Master office hard enough to blast through the wall in an explosion of plaster and dust. Edan hoped Marcus was alright.

  Tali stabbed at his neck, the extra reach of her weapon meaning she barely had to move. Edan skipped back and then ducked as Yaw strafed past, his straight sword flashing out. Edan turned the duck into a roll as Kumi tried to hit him with the staff again.

  Hopping to his feet, Edan glanced between the three of them, any lasting hope he had of talking to them gone. Using [Identify] Edan grit his teeth and set his feet. He couldn’t afford to play around. They were each level 31.

  “Let’s see if I can take you three on.”

  Kumi came in from Edan’s right, his staff aimed low. Yaw circled from the left, his blade held out to the side. Lorien kept Edan’s attention on her as she lunged forward. Her grip slid down the shaft of her weapon giving her a few more inches of reach. She aimed for Edan’s chest. Stepping forward and to his left, Edan twisted, the prongs of the trident sliding along his back even as his dagger came up and blocked the sword blow from Yaw.

  The strength behind yaw’s attack made Edan’s arm go numb but he kept his grip on his dagger and completed the turn almost face to face with Lorien. There was something about seeing her usually so expressive eyes dull and lifeless that made the hairs on Edan’s neck stand up.

  Edan stomped out, connecting with the inside of her leading foot. Lorien staggered. Edan was forced back as Kumi’s staff whirled towards his head. He’d lost sight of Yaw! Diving forward blinding, Edan tackled Lorien. He heard Yaw’s blade whistle through the space he had just been.

  Edan hadn’t grown much since he’d birthed his system, but his strength stat was now his second-highest stat and it showed. Lorien gasped as the breath was knocked from her. It was the first sound any of them had made, Edan realized, as he crashed to the ground.

  Scrambling off of Lorien, Edan headbutted her hard enough to see stars himself. Rolling across the ground Edan heard the clang of metal on stone as Yaw narrowly missed skewering him. Kumi didn’t miss.

  Edan coughed as the solid tip of Kumi’s staff connected with his stomach hard enough that he actually slid backward across the ground.

  At least it gave me space Edan thought as he struggled to his feet.

  The Port Master’s building groaned as the ground shook again before the damaged wall caved inward. With a long drawn out rumble the rest of the building collapsed, the roof slanting inward and onto Marcus, Edan guessed.

  “Is that the best you can do?” Vraga said from the sky.

  Edan took a second to glance over at the rest of his party.

  The Leviathan had pulled more of its body out of the water at some point. Edan counted no more than five tentacles lashing out at Tali. The Titan had lost her robe and wore nothing more than pants and chest straps, her impressively muscular physique on full display. Her skin had turned black as the markings Edan had only caught glimpses of covered her from head to toe.

  The ground around the Titan was smashed to rubble, and the buildings were little more than piles of firewood.

  Tali grabbed a tentacle, her feet sinking into the ground as she anchored herself. Gem used the Titan’s shoulders as a springboard and launched herself up and over Tali. Landing on the Laviathans appendage she threw out more crystals. Job done, Gem jumped off. Another tentacle was already whipping towards her and Edan shouted a warning, but it was too late.

  A thin strand of darkness that stretched from Tali’s shadow to the shadow in Gem’s shirt sleeve pulled the orange-haired woman out of the way at the last second.

  Gem hit the ground running. She sprinted along the length of a tentacle, her hands a blur as she tossed out more crystals.

  "Now!" She yelled.

  Sanik appeared next to her, his rapier flashing out. Its tip connected with one of the crystals nestled against the tentacle. There was a spark. Sanik and Gem vanished in a trail of light. The struck crystal exploded, setting off a chain reaction down the length Gem had just run.

  Dust and rubble and chunks of Leviathan flesh flew through the air, black clumpy blood raining down on the group.

  Unable to spare them any more time, Edan turned back in time to clumsily block Yaw’s slash. Edan didn’t think. He activated [Charge], covering the short distance between him and Yaw in an instant. All of his forward momentum transferred to the dagger in his left hand. Edan barely had to adjust his aim. The blade slid home, slicing through leather armor, cloth, skin, muscle, and organs, as Edan stabbed Yaw in the side, just below his rib cage.

  Edan froze. He hadn’t expected it. Hadn’t wanted it. Edan hadn’t meant to stab Yaw. He knew him. Edan let go of his dagger and stumbled back, looking down at his hand. He expected to see blood covering his fingers but they were clean.

  Yaw pulled the blade from his side and let it fall to the ground with a clatter. Then there was blood. It seeped from the wound and ran down Yaw’s hip, darkening his armor.

  Pain streaked across Edan’s back and stars swam in his vision as Kumi’s staff slammed across his back and head. Stumbling forward blindly, Edan tucked and rolled, the movement not helping his sudden dizziness.

  There was a howl from the Port Master’s ruined building and bits of rubble flew outward. Lorien froze midstep, her trident pulled back as she aimed to throw it at Edan. Kumi was likewise locked in place next to Yaw.

  Marcus stood in the middle of the collapsed building, his white shirt little more than blood-stained rags that hung from his broad frame in tatters. His mane of red hair was covered in plaster and wood splinters. Edan shook his head, trying to help his Constitution clear the webs away.

  Hair, thick and red like his mane, began to sprout from Marcu’s shoulders and run down his hands in a wave. When he reached up to tear the remains of his shirt away, Edan noticed that the Guild Head’s hands now ended in claws.

  Marcus threw his head back and howled again as the bones in his face shifted, his teeth sharpening and thickening into fangs.