Seena chuckled. “I feel bad for whoever from their side chooses to join.”

  “Oh, it’s definitely her,” Seeyela said, pointing straight across at the Infested in the dark, snakeskin armor.

  In response, the Infested lifted her hand to give a one-fingered-salute.

  “Yeah, let’s see that confidence in a few minutes,” Seeyela said, matching the Infested glare-for-glare.

  “Snake versus spider, eh?” Gran asked. “I know how that would normally go.”

  “Spiders are way scarier than snakes,” Yanily pointed out.

  “Exactly what I’m going to prove to that one,” Seeyela said. “Oops, looks like times up on the staring con…”

  The words cut off as the party got pulled into another teleportation, and when the sparkles cleared, Yanily was back among them in the stadium seating. In front of them – much like on the second floor – a massive forest filled the space. Unlike the previous one, though, no soldiers in different colors lay sprawled out and bleeding all over the place. And, looking closer, the kind of forest was also quite different.

  While the previous one was filled with thick, straight trees that towered toward the sky, and left plenty of space between their wide trunks, this one was dense. Cluttered. Brimming with life. Vines stretched between trees, lichen growing on both, while animals – from monkeys to snakes and rodents – scurried between it all. A humidity like a physical thing extended even into the seating, carrying a wet smell on it that crawled up Hiral’s nose. It wasn’t bad, exactly, but it was so full he had a hard time ignoring it.

  A HOOT somewhere near the middle of the jungle sent a flock of birds springing from the dense foliage crowning the space, and as they crossed the sky, a pair of large windows appeared. Within each, Seeyela and the snakeskin-Infested appeared, both perched on branches somewhere amongst the trees.

  Another notification window popped up – this one much closer – and Hiral got information on what this trial was.

  Tower of Dynamic Trials – Fourth Floor

  Challenge – Tag, You’re It!

  Hunter and Prey, the relationship balanced on a knife’s edge – sometimes literally. The victor is the one left standing when the chase concludes.

  The Hunter must seek the Prey, where a successful strike will reverse the roles. Points will accrue the longer one is Prey without getting caught.

  Note: Attacks will inflict no damage, but successful hits will pass the role of Hunter on to the Prey.

  Note (2): There is no limit to the number of times the role can be passed within a round.

  Note (3): There will be two rounds, each with one of the competitors beginning as the Hunter.

  Note (4): Winner will be decided by who has the most points after two rounds. If the result is a tie, a third round with a coin-flip Hunter will begin.

  Note (5): All self-buffs are allowed.

  Note (6): No matter what buffs or abilities are used, the Hunter will always know the general direction of the Prey.

  Preparation time – 1 minute, beginning now.

  Hiral quickly read through the notes twice, though his eyes settled on the sixth and final note. There wouldn’t be any real hiding in this challenge, even though the two competitors were likely very good at it. If anything, this seemed more like a test of who could evade the other the best. Seeyela’s teleportation could be an advantage, for however long she could keep her solar energy up. Recent upgrades had certainly reduced the cost of Bamf’ing, but ten minutes was a long time.

  And how long between rounds will they have to recover solar energy? Seeyela will probably have an early round advantage, but the Infested’s nearly unlimited solar energy could be a real problem.

  “Think she’s got it?” Yanily asked, leaning on the balcony in front of him, spear crooked in his elbow.

  “Don’t let her hear you asking that,” Seena pointed out. “Remember when Wule bet against her?”

  Yanily winced. “Point taken. Can we keep this just between us?”

  “If you behave,” Seena said with a chuckle.

  “I think knucklehead’s performance on the last floor earned him a pass on this one,” Gran said.

  “Aw, thanks Gran,” Yanily said, gently elbowing the floating vampire beside him. “You did pretty well yourself.”

  “Age and experience have to count for something,” Gran cackled.

  “Times up,” Hiral said, pointing at a countdown that appeared between the two images of the opponents.

  00:03

  00:02

  00:01

  Begin!

  As soon as the word flashed above the jungle, the Infested launched off from her position, trees and plants blurring beside her as she – the Hunter, apparently – dashed in Seeyela’s direction. And it wasn’t just the trees around her blurring, either, with her body almost fading into the shadowy background. If Hiral didn’t have the screen following her every movement – and knowing it was centered on her – he wouldn’t even know she was there. Only the occasional – very rare – glimpse of a part of her as she passed through a beam of sunlight between the branches even indicated she was still there.

  “Powerful camouflage,” Gran said, her voice half-impressed and half-concerned.

  “And what’s Seeyela doing?” Yanily asked. “Did she miss the start?”

  Looking from the Infested’s screen to his party member’s, Hiral saw what Yanily was talking about. Seeyela hadn’t even moved. Instead, she stood calmly on the same branch where she’s appeared, her daggers in hand, and her cloak pulling around her like it was caught in a strong breeze.

  Except, that cloak – one literally made of somehow-living blood – never moved in the breeze. It didn’t move anywhere it didn’t want to. So, why was it moving now?

  It’s pointing toward where the Infested is coming from. It can sense her somehow?

  Another fifteen seconds was all it took for the madly sprinting Infested to arrive at Seeyela’s location – How big is this jungle? – and a glint of metal was the only announcement of her arrival. On the screen hanging above the forest, Hiral got his first good look at the weapons over her shoulders as the Infested drew them mid-jump. Hand-sickles was the best way he could describe them, though not quite the same as what a farmer would use.

  A hilt with a spiked bell-guard, then a foot of steel before the blade curved into the C-shaped crescent sickle at the end. Even from the produced image, Hiral could see the razor-sharp edge running the inside of that hook, but that wasn’t all the danger. While the ‘inside’ of the blade was dangerously sharp, the outside of it lay viciously serrated. Even a graze with the weapon would tear at flesh and muscle to leave ugly wounds.

  And both of those weapons were scissoring in at Seeyela’s neck with the Infested’s A-Rank speed. Even with the promise from the trial’s rules of no attacks being able to inflict actual damage, Hiral tensed as the Infested emerged like a shadow of death from between two thick branches. His eyes widened even further when he didn’t feel the familiar burst of solar energy from the Malice of Greed – Seeyela’s latest advanced class – that would signal her Bamf.

  Did she really not notice her Hunter right there?

  “Sis…?” Seena asked at the same time Seeyela’s daggers flashed up to meet the incoming attacks. Serrated steel met magically-enhanced spider fangs, sparks flying as the weapons clashed, and foliage on either side of the woman parted like it had been cut.

  Braced – weapon to weapon and eye to eye – the pair stood locked in a contest of strength on the single branch. The Infested still had the Hunter status, meaning despite the damage done to the nearby trees, a hit hadn’t been scored.

  “You’re making a mistake,” Seeyela said to the Infested, even though it likely couldn’t understand her with the magic of the Cradle interfering with communication. “This trial may have given me the title, but I will never be prey.”

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  An unintelligible snarl was all she got in reply, the dark tentacles blending with the snakeskin armor flexing, before the Infested pushed with its overwhelming strength. Apparently fine with losing out on a contest of pure might, Seeyela smoothly disengaged her weapons, but she didn’t retreat.

  No, the Prey attacked.

  Fangs a blur of glowing green energy, Seeyela stepped in at the same time the Infested did, their weapons meeting in a flurry between them. Clangs and schings reverberated through the jungle as the pair balanced on the lone branch, meeting each other blow for blow.

  Back and forth the two pushed and gave, feet confidently finding precarious balance even as their sortie increased in ferocity. A low sweeping kick from the Infested had Seeyela cartwheeling up and over, daggers flashing for her opponent’s head, only to be met by crossed sickles perfectly placed to block the blows. The instant her feet landed back on the knobby wood of the branch, Seeyela lashed out with a spinning kick of her own, this one aimed for the back of the Infested’s head.

  A forward roll along the branch defying logic saved the Infested from having her skull caved in, and she rose in a spinning flourish, just in time for her weapons to block Seeyela’s renewed assault. Faster and faster the two pushed, jockeying for position and advantage as they traded positions with acrobatic finesse over and over.

  “What’s she doing?” Romin asked. “Shouldn’t she be running? She can’t hurt the Infested.”

  “She’s measuring it,” Hiral said in understanding. “With the other trials, there hasn’t been a really good opportunity to see what these Infested are capable of. To see how strong they are. She’s taking this chance to get a feel for it.”

  “She might just be showing off,” Seena said flatly, though her eyes were glued to the battle. Just like everybody else’s.

  Hiral chuckled. “Knowing her, that’s possible too.”

  “Neither of them is using any abilities yet,” Yanily said, likewise focused on the duel. “It’s skill versus skill at the moment.”

  “And the Infested’s natural strength,” Hiral pointed out. “Its physical stats have to be higher than Seeyela’s, and it doesn’t seem to be falling into the trap from the Chord of the Primal Moon. It’s got the advantage there.”

  “It’s starting to show,” Gran said, the fight ever-so-slightly shifting in the Infested’s favor.

  While Seeyela seemed more than a match for the skill of her opponent, she couldn’t quite keep up with the attribute advantage it held. Though neither of them seemed willing to reveal any of their skills yet, the Infested was swing-by-swing gaining momentum. It wasn’t fast, and it certainly wasn’t overwhelming, but Seeyela was the one getting pushed more often than she was pushing.

  Literally.

  With her back closing on the trunk of the tree, she was running out of room to maneuver, and the Infested was making the most of the advantage. Every time Seeyela looked to flip, slide, or otherwise trade positions with the Infested, a wall of hooked and serrated steel barred her path. Her glowing green daggers went from coming within an inch of striking home, to not even being able to throw an offensive lunge. Still, the progressive domination of the Infested had taken almost three minutes off the timer, allowing Seeyela to rack up a noticeable lead in the round.

  “If she gets made into the Hunter,” Gran asked. “Is she going to be able to get past that kind of defense?”

  “She hasn’t shown any of her cards yet,” Seena said. “And, as it just me, or is the Infested frustrated as hell by that?”

  With the snakeskin helm covering most of the Infested’s face, there was no real way to see the expression there. But, as Hiral watched the continued duel – Seeyela leaping off the current branch to land on the other – there was a definite body-language twitch from the monster chasing her. It was not happy it couldn’t quite catch her with its physical power alone.

  Much like when they’d fought the Infested in The Buried City, it expected to be able to just roll right over Seeyela. It expected she wouldn’t be able to match it blow for blow like she had. It expected to outright crush her.

  Too bad for it, Seeyela did not get crushed. Yes, she was losing ground, but her every movement was perfectly placed to extend the fight. To protect her lead. And to simply piss off the Infested by proving she was not really Prey.

  As if the Infested realized – accepted – it would take too long to win this way, solar energy flooded off it as it leapt from the branch after its target. Wood cracked from the force of the leap while black energy coated the two weapons swinging down in a brutal, double, overhead chop.

  Eight, red eyes narrowed at the sudden change in tactics at the same time crescents of something arced in their direction. And, where Hiral expected an Insatiable portal to open up to swallow those crescents, there was no pulse of solar energy from Seeyela in counter. Nothing.

  Instead, she once again railed against the label of ‘prey’ by charging into the attack. Green energy flared around her Fangs, each meeting one of the crescent attacks with a keening whine that set the nearby trees vibrating and cracking. In the split second of contact, Seeyela got pushed back by the sheer power of the assault, her feet skinning the bark off the top of the branch where she fought to hold her position, and her elbows bent under the force.

  Behind the flying assault, the Infested closed the distance, blades flashing out to the side in preparation of sweeping them in at Seeyela’s unprotected sides. With her daggers up to block the ranged attacks, there was no way she would be able to parry what came next. In its eyes, it had won.

  It was at that point, the Infested learned something everybody else in the party deeply understood – Don’t underestimate Seeyela.

  To Hiral’s ears, a pure note shattered the keening from the contact of crescents and Fangs, the Chord of the Primal Moon breaking through the crack in the Infested’s attention. Green, toxic energy flashed as the Fangs of the Lady corroded the attacks pressed against them, Seeyela’s arms flexing and slashing down and out to throw the attacks past her. In the same motion, her two weapons found the perfect position to parry the attacks coming her way, even as she stepped forward.

  One foot confidently braced on the bare tree branch, Seeyela’s other foot snapped up and forward in a straight kick to slam squarely into the exposed chest of the Infested charging at her. A woof of air blasted from the Infested’s lungs as they compressed, arms and legs jerking forward and twitching from the momentum, before it shot away in the opposite direction.

  A crash a second later – as well as a falling tree – signalled where the Infested ‘landed’, at the same time Seeyela’s foot daintily dropped back to the branch, and she tisked.

  “Ah well,” Seeyela said, her voice carrying to the party through the magic of the window displaying the fight.

  “What’s wrong?” Romin asked. “She should be celebrating that. It was amazing.”

  “Look at the labels on the windows,” Hiral said, pointing to the two windows floating above the jungle. The two windows that had had their labels reversed. ‘Hunter’ glowed above Seeyela’s portrait, while ‘Prey’ flashed above the Infested dragging itself out of the broken trunk of a distant tree.

  “How did that happen?” Romin asked.

  As if in answer to the Bonder’s question, a third window appeared between the two, this one with the label of ‘Instant replay’ above it – whatever that meant. On the window, the kicking-clash between the pair repeated, though this time, it showed a close-up of the Infested’s right-hand-weapon as the kick landed. A flick of its wrist at the last second pulled the curved tip of its weapon up and over Seeyela’s dagger to just barely scratch the woman’s arm as it dragged back.

  “She got a hit in at the end there,” Yanily said. “After Seeyela’s kick landed. That must be all it takes to pass the Hunter status along.”

  “And now Seeyela has to try to get past its defenses again,” Gran said. “It won’t let its guard down again so easily. Not after that display.”

  As the ‘instant replay’ window showed the hit one more time – in case anybody had missed it the first time – the wreckage of the tree where the Infested had hit got flung away. Stalking out with energy practically oozing off it, the Infested slashed out, trees on either side beginning to fall in a line as the shadows on either side of it converged to wrap around it and completely obscure its position.

  “If Seeyela can even find it,” Romin said. “And more than six minutes left in the round. That’s enough to win the first one.”

  “Hiding, eh?” Seeyela said, one hand on her hip, her toe tapping on the branch. “Was hoping you’d show me something a bit more than that. Well, let’s see if we can’t get you to come out of your shell. Ready?”

  Before Hiral could ask who Seeyela was talking to, Little Shadow’s Cloak flowed up beside her to create a small face. A nod from this new head, then a hand came up to point.

  “Got it,” Seeyela said. A pulse of solar energy, a flash of purple flame, and the woman’s viewing window showed her stepping out of her Bamf on a distant branch.

  “Damn,” Hiral said, then chuckled as he pointed at the label over her window. The one that had changed from ‘Hunter’ back to ‘Prey’ just like that. Seeyela hadn’t just Bamf’d past her target, she’d used Scything Bamf.

  “She doesn’t need to get past the Infested’s defenses,” Seena said. “Oh, that is going to piss it right off.”

  Once again, the third window appeared above the jungle, ‘Instant Replay’ flashing within it. In slow motion – because there would be no other way to see it – the window closed in on the hidden arm of the Infested. As if a mirror to where it had struck Seeyela, a flickering scar of purple flame appeared across the shadows.

  “Scything Bamf does slashing damage to anything she teleports into or past,” Hiral reminded Romin and Wallop – a confused look on the Rune-o’s face. “For the trial, that’s all she needs.”

  “RAAAAAAH!” the Infested roared, spinning in place to sweep its weapons across in a horizontal arc. More black crescents of energy shot out from the motion in Seeyela’s direction – the power of the Hunter giving the Infested her direction – before a flurry of swings launched a dozen more blades.

  Trees, branches, foliage, and everything else parted before the swarm of attacks.

  Everything… except Seeyela, who simply step-Bamf’d away to appear at another distant branch.

  “Going to need to do better than that if you want to catch me,” Seeyela said. “Playtime is over.”

  And, for the next sixteen minutes – the rest of the first round and the entirety of the second, minus the one second it took Seeyela to Scything Bamf it a second time – the Infested didn’t do any better. Despite how it tried, or how many new abilities it displayed, Seeyela led it on a merry chase across the entirety of the jungle. All without using anything other than Bamf to stay ahead of it.

  In a fight to the death, the tactic would’ve never worked against the Infested. But, this wasn’t a fight to the death.

  This was Seeyela proving a point.

  She and her party weren’t something the Infested were going to walk all over.

  Finally, with the timer ticking down to zero to signal the end of the second round, the jungle was left as little more than kindling. Only three distant trees were somehow left standing, and the Infested stood seething amid the destruction. Shoulders heaving, and fingers wrapping the hilts of its weapons so tightly it was a miracle they didn’t break, the thing clearly wasn’t happy with the result of the trial. It even looked like it was about to throw itself at Seeyela once more in vain before the wall separating the two sides appeared again.

  “Yeah, you stay on that side,” Seeyela said, calmly stowing her daggers in their sheaths. Outwardly calmly, with her solar energy sitting at two percent in the Party Interface. Smart use of her abilities had kept her ahead of her opponent – barely. Good thing barely was enough.

  Tower of Dynamic Trials – Fourth Floor

  Challenge – Tag, You’re It!

  Victory!

  Note: Reward will be announced on the twelfth floor prior to commencement of the death match.

  Wanna Support Rune Seeker? Check out the Ebook and Audio Here! Thanks for your support:

  Amazon:

  Audible:

  If you wanna chat about the book? Come to discord!

  If you're already on that discord? Go to "Get Roles" and you can get Rune Seeker updates, if you want :)

  Note my patreon does not have Rune Seeker chapters. I don't want people to patron and then just see Fool!