Cromus didn’t have time to think. His arms were pinned by the webbing—no Raging Boar, no time for a spell.

  All he knew was that Loose Tooth had a four-eyed, four-eared, fanged nightmare dropping on him.

  His body moved before he could process it.

  Did he have time? Could he reach him?

  If he hit Loose Tooth—yes.

  If he hit the creature—it would still land its attack.

  He chose.

  His shoulder slammed into Loose Tooth, knocking him aside.

  Then—impact.

  The creature slammed into Cromus’s back, driving him into the dirt. Claws tore through his armor—pain exploded across his body as his health bar plummeted.

  He roared in pain.

  A loud boom erupted above him—followed by a screech and a sudden sting of needles piercing his left shoulder down to his thigh.

  The weight vanished.

  The creature had jumped away.

  Cromus pushed himself up, shaking off the haze. The savage attack had loosened the webbing. He ripped his arms free, but strands still clung to his body.

  “Cromus! That was a Slynx—dangerous but frail!” Loose Tooth shouted, running up as Cromus got to his feet.

  Cromus glanced at his health bar—120 out of 200.

  “One hit did that much?”

  A red warning flashed in his vision.

  Bleed Effect (5 Stacks).

  His health ticked down—100.

  His eyes widened. "No joke."

  His palm glowed as he cast Heal. Mana dropped by 50. Health restored: 150.

  “That’ll have to do for now.”

  His other hand ignited with golden energy as he cast Animal Affinity. Mana dropped by another 50. The outline of a Bearded Vulture Bear talon flickered over his arm.

  He reached for Raging Boar with his other.

  “Well, good news,” he muttered, taking a defensive stance.

  “It’s lost its best advantage. Glass cannon builds usually suck after the first strike.”

  Loose Tooth’s face tensed at that statement, but he still loaded a seed into his sling.

  "I've heard of one killing entire war parties," he muttered.

  That made Cromus hesitate.

  “Wait. War parties?”

  But then he remembered—goblin war parties didn’t usually have many classed warriors.

  Still… it made him second-guess his confidence.

  Keeping his eyes locked on the tree line, he reassured Loose Tooth, "It’ll be alright, Loose. We got this."

  Loose Tooth looked up at him, seeing the confidence in his face.

  It was infectious.

  “YEAH!” He gripped his loaded sling, ready to fight.

  Then—silence.

  Nothing.

  Then—a screech.

  It was louder than before.

  A wave crashed over Cromus and Loose Tooth.

  Loose Tooth locked up instantly. Completely frozen.

  Cromus’s vision blurred, his body stiffening—but he forced himself through it, shaking off the effect.

  He growled. “WHAT IS WITH ALL THE MONSTERS IN THIS DAMN FOREST HAVING A STUNNING ROAR?!”

  As Cromus yelled his defiance, a strand of webbing shot toward him, sticking to his hand on Raging Boar, fastening it to the weapon.

  He chuckled. "Thanks. Now I don’t have to worry about being disarmed," he said in the direction the web came from.

  Another strand hit—this time from behind, landing on the same hand.

  Cromus didn’t bother with another quip. He just turned, eyes scanning the trees, searching for movement—something, anything to react to.

  Time ticked by.

  "Maybe it doesn’t realize I stopped the bleeding when I healed?"

  Another web. Same spot.

  Cromus was about to taunt the thing again when something clicked.

  His arm felt heavier.

  "Wait… so it’s trying to weigh me down?"

  His grip tightened around Raging Boar as he tested the weight.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Meanwhile, Loose Tooth still wasn’t moving.

  A small noise escaped him, snapping Cromus’s attention back.

  He nudged the goblin with his free arm, shaking him free from the freezing screech—but knocked him straight to the ground.

  Loose Tooth groaned, picking himself up slowly.

  "Thanks," he mumbled, still shaken.

  At that moment, Cromus finally saw it.

  Two strands of webbing shot toward Loose Tooth’s back—fast, precise, straight from the trees. His body moved before he could think, talons slashing through the air. He cut through some, sending the rest crashing to the ground before they could reach their target.

  For a split second, he thought he had won.

  Then fire lanced up his right leg.

  His knee buckled beneath him, and he hit the ground hard, barely catching himself. A sharp, searing pain radiated from his calf, and when he looked back, he saw it—the damn thing had sliced his cafe open before retreating again.

  A red warning flashed in his vision. Bleed (3 Stacks).

  "You little shit!" Cromus snarled, forcing himself to push past the pain. His health bar ticked dangerously close to another drop, and he didn’t hesitate. Green light flared around his palm as he cast Heal. Mana drained from his reserves as the spell sealed the wound just in time—before the bleed could tick.

  His breath came fast and ragged, but his grip on Raging Boar tightened. He wasn’t about to let this damn thing toy with them any longer.

  Loose Tooth watched Cromus react—protecting him again.

  Cromus had taken hit after hit for his sake, shielding him without hesitation. It wasn’t fair.

  He was tired of this.

  Cromus shouldn’t be the one taking all the damage. He had already done more than enough. It was time to change things.

  As Cromus pushed himself up, Loose Tooth stepped closer. “I’m sorry… but can we be a bit reckless?”

  Cromus raised an eyebrow, but before he could speak, Loose Tooth took his silence as a yes.

  He spun, slinging a seed into the trees. Before it even landed, he was already loading another. The second seed flew just as the first exploded, shaking the branches. Another followed. Then another.

  BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

  Explosions rocked the treetops, tearing through the leaves, scattering smoke and debris.

  Cromus smirked. His eyes tracked ahead of the blasts, scanning for movement—waiting for the Slynx to slip up.

  Then, he saw it.

  A strand of webbing, thin but unmistakable, shot out just ahead of the last explosion.

  "THERE!" Cromus roared, moving to intercept.

  Loose Tooth was already spinning another throw, but this time, he didn’t aim where the Slynx was.

  He aimed where it was going.

  The seed flew.

  BOOM!

  A screech of pain ripped through the air. The trees shook as the Slynx reeled from the explosion.

  Cromus bolted forward.

  As Cromus closed in, he finally saw the Slynx in full. Its body blended into the surroundings, its natural camouflage enhanced by an unnatural gleam, as if some active ability was further concealing it. Now that he was closer, he could see just how wrong this creature was.

  It had the body of a lynx, but its face was something else entirely. Four eyes—two where they should be, the other two angled just above them. Four ears, with a second set lower on its skull, twitching to catch even the slightest sound.

  Then it moved, and Cromus swung.

  Raging Boar slammed down, cutting deep into its flank as the Slynx tried to leap away. Its mouth gaped open, and what he saw made his stomach twist.

  The lower jaw split apart vertically, one half dropping left, the other right. The upper jaw mirrored the motion, splitting in the opposite directions. Its tongue was even worse—a hollow tube, wide at the tip, ending in a gaping hole.

  A chill ran down Cromus’s spine, but he had no time to recoil before webbing shot out from the opening in its tongue.

  The sticky strands latched onto his sword arm, locking it to his side.

  “Damn it!” he growled, struggling against the webbing.

  But the Slynx was slower now, wounded. It was enough.

  Cromus threw himself forward, slamming into the creature and pinning it beneath his weight. The Slynx shrieked, its legs kicking violently, trying to buck him off. Then, with a sickening pop, four black spider-like legs burst from its back, digging into the ground, twisting, clawing for leverage to free itself.

  “Oh no, I am not letting you go again!” Cromus snarled, struggling to hold it down with one arm trapped by webbing. The Slynx thrashed, its limbs fighting to slip free.

  Loose Tooth ran up but froze. He saw them locked in a brutal struggle, but he didn’t know how to help.

  "LOOSE!" Cromus roared. His taloned hand clamped onto one of the creature’s split jaws, prying it open. The other jaws followed suit, all four sections gaping unnaturally wide.

  "RIGHT HERE!"

  Loose Tooth hesitated, his fingers gripping a seed, heart pounding. Then he met Cromus’s eyes. The fear melted away.

  He swung his sling, the seed flying straight into the Slynx’s gaping maw.

  Cromus slammed its jaws shut.

  A muffled explosion rocked the creature from within. Its body convulsed, jerking and spasming violently beneath him.

  Cromus didn’t hesitate. He drove his talons into its throat, tearing through flesh and muscle, making sure it stayed down for good.

  Then, finally, the Slynx stopped moving.

  Loose Tooth stood there, wide-eyed, chest rising and falling rapidly. “Is it dead?” he asked, voice quiet, unsure.

  Cromus let out a heavy breath. “Yeah.”

  A notification flashed across his vision.

  CONGRATULATIONS YOU HAVE SLAIN SLYNX LEVEL 8!!!

  Cromus let out a deep sigh, joining Loose Tooth in a moment of relief. He didn’t move at first, just laying there on top of the Slynx, his body aching but victorious. As he caught his breath, he pulled up his character sheet.

  His EXP bar was still grayed out, but the number had jumped from 1,490 to 3,090.

  “Sixteen hundred experience in one fight.”

  It made sense—the Slynx was level 8, and even though Loose Tooth had helped, he didn’t have a class yet, meaning he likely hadn’t received any EXP.

  Cromus rolled onto his back—and instantly regretted it.

  Sharp pain stabbed from his shoulder down to his thigh.

  "OOOOOOOOO-WWW!" he yelled, bolting upright.

  Loose Tooth jumped, eyes darting around. “WHAT? WHAT?!”

  Cromus held up a hand. "Sorry! I was just... reminded of a mishap earlier."

  Loose Tooth gave him a skeptical look. “Mishap?”

  "Yeah..." Cromus exhaled, shaking his head. "Earlier, I got hit by one of your bombs. I've got thorns in my back. Mind helping me out?" He turned, motioning over his shoulder.

  Loose Tooth squinted at the damage, then smirked. “Oh. Yeah. That was my fault.”

  Without hesitation, he moved in, starting to pluck the thorns out.

  Cromus chuckled, forcing himself to stay still despite the sharp stings. "I wouldn’t say it’s your fault. You were trying to help in the way you knew how. It was a tricky fight, and your weapon is new. Mistakes are bound to happen."

  Loose Tooth didn’t reply, just kept working, carefully pulling out each thorn.

  Cromus took a deep breath. “Now was the time.”

  “Loose, I mainly wanted to bring you out here to talk,” he said, glancing over his shoulder. “I wanted to explain why you haven’t gotten a class from me yet. It’s not that I don’t want to give you one, it’s just...” He hesitated, searching for the right words. “This thing that Sais and I call the system... it decides what we can and can’t do, and it doesn’t always explain why.

  "I wanted to give you a class. I just don’t know why it won’t let me. Maybe there’s a limit to how many I can give out, maybe it’s about trust, maybe it’s something else entirely. I’m not sure.”

  Loose Tooth paused, pulling out the last thorn.

  Then, without hesitation, he met Cromus’s gaze.

  "Maybe I didn’t fully trust you yet," he admitted. "But now, Cromus... I promise to follow you as long as I can be useful to you."

  Cromus opened his mouth to respond—but stopped.

  A notification flashed across his vision.

  A wide grin split his face.