"You think we should run?"

  I asked, my hands trembling slightly under the pressure. The domineering aura rolled off the kinged monster in suffocating waves, pressing down on my chest like invisible weight. Every kinged enemy had it—this overwhelming presence that screamed Stat fed.

  "Run?"

  Lavapup ughed, already back on her feet, fmes licking higher along her hair as if feeding off her excitement.

  "Nah. Since when do we run from a fight?" she said, grinning wildly. "Do you know how much XP you get from killing a kinged Bone Ape? No way in hell I'm running from that thing."

  She said it like it was the most obvious choice in the world.

  Still, she gnced back at me—waiting. Not charging in yet. Giving me the call.

  I stared at the monster. Then at her.

  And then I grinned.

  "Fuck... you're right," I sighed, a short ugh slipping out despite myself. "What's a twelve-level gap on a kinged monster anyway?"

  Wind began to coil around us, spiraling tighter and tighter, concentrating behind her like a loaded spring.

  "Go in, tiger," I said, raising my wand. "I've got your back. As always."

  "Gust!"

  The spell detonated behind her.

  Lavapup shot forward like a missile, her sprint turning into a blur as the sudden speed boost hurled her straight at the Bone Ape. At the same time, the monster roared and charged, its massive body tearing through trees as if they were twigs, bark and splinters exploding in its wake.

  They leapt at each other.

  Fist met fist in midair.

  My heart smmed against my ribs as I hurriedly began weaving my next spell.

  "You're fine—don't panic!" I shouted, even as the ape's bone-cd arm swung toward her side, heavy enough to shatter her outright if it connected.

  "Ice Shield!"

  A thin, circur pte of ice formed instantly beneath Lavapup's feet.

  "Now—jump!"

  I didn't even get to finish.

  She pushed off without hesitation, unching herself higher as the massive fist smashed straight through the ice pte, shattering it into thousands of glittering shards that exploded outward like frozen rain.

  At the same time, a fireball I had cast right after crashed into one of its legs, burning the light-brown fur into smoldering bck.

  "Eat this, bone face!"

  Lavapup shouted, twisting midair as her heel drove straight into the ape's jaw, dislocating it with terrifying force.

  Sparks burst through the air as a chunk of its cheek armor shattered and flew off.

  "Great hit—now get out of there!"

  I shouted, already moving closer, my mind racing ahead as I pictured the next spell forming beneath her.

  "Ice Shield!"

  The spell snapped into pce, and without missing a beat, the brown-haired girl used it to unch herself away from the oversized beast, nding cleanly on a branch above as the fmes around her hair began to subside.

  "We hit the two-minute mark!" she called out, wiping sweat from her forehead. "Still need a bit for my mana to recharge!"

  "Got it," I replied, already repositioning as the ape locked onto me. "I'll kite it for now—but drink a mana potion. I don't know how long I can keep it busy before it rips my head off!"

  The monster let out a screech and charged.

  I bolted through the trees, branches snapping as the massive goril thundered after me, bone armor grinding together with every step.

  "Frost Field!"

  A wide circle around me froze over instantly, ice racing across the ground and crawling up the roots and lower trunks of the trees. Even the smallest leaves crystallized mid-motion.

  I slid across the ice with practiced ease.

  The ape didn't.

  It stumbled, crashed down, dragged itself back up—only to slip again, roaring in frustration.

  Using the opening, I leapt upward as wind gathered beneath my feet.

  "Float!"

  My body lifted, hovering just above the battlefield. Float wasn't much on its own, but without it, what came next would blow back in my face.

  "Ionic Meadow!"

  Tiny sparks formed around me, spreading outward before slowly drifting down like falling stars.

  The first spark touched the frozen ground.

  And detonated.

  Electric current surged across the ice in an instant, chaining violently through everything standing on it.

  The beast screamed, its body convulsing as it twitched uncontrolbly, trapped by the frozen terrain beneath its feet.

  "That should stun-lock him for a bit..."

  I muttered, drifting backward on Float, carefully pulling myself out of the danger zone.

  "Hey! How long until you can go again? I'm running out of mana too!"

  I shouted over to Lavapup, my eyes flicking to the blue bar as it dipped below half.

  "I'm back at sixty mana!" she yelled back. "Give me one more minute and I'm back in the game!"

  A minute.

  That was rough—but I had to make it work somehow. If I failed here, I'd get force-logged and never touch this game again.

  "...Alright," I sighed. "Then there's only one option left."

  I forced myself to focus, imagining the spell taking shape despite the pressure squeezing my chest.

  "Here goes nothing... Thunder Bdes!"

  Two rge crescents of compressed lightning formed beside me, their edges screaming as they consumed a massive portion of my remaining mana. The moment they stabilized, they shot forward.

  They sliced clean through bone armor and tore straight into the ape's chest before crumbling into sparks.

  Two deep, smoking gashes split its body open.

  "Great—that did some damage!"

  I backed away, breath ragged, gncing up just in time to see Lavapup ignite again.

  "Soulfire!"

  The instant those words left her mouth, a weight dropped from my shoulders. I stopped running entirely, turning to face the charging beast.

  It clenched its massive fist.

  Then—

  A human fireball smmed into it.

  The impact sent the ape crashing straight through four entire trees, trunks exploding apart as it disappeared in a cloud of splintered wood.

  "Boom! Eat Soulfire, baby!"

  Lavapup shouted, already dashing forward for another strike.

  I smiled, lifting my wand again, forcing my focus back into pce.

  "Inferno!"

  A swirling vortex of fmes erupted beneath the knocked-down ape, bsting it upward just as Lavapup leapt into the air, her burning fist shifting from red to an intense blue.

  "Spirit Strike!"

  Her punch buried itself into the goril's side.

  The sound was wet.

  The beast vomited blood midair, its body convulsing violently.

  "Icicle Impale!"

  I roared, forming a massive cone of pure ice above the airborne monster. I swung my wand downward, hard, forcing the spell to follow the motion.

  The icicle descended like a falling star.

  It pierced straight through the ape's chest.

  A harrowing shriek tore from its throat as it smmed into the muddy ground, the tip of the icicle driving even deeper on impact.

  Lavapup didn't hesitate.

  She dropped down after it, pnting her foot against the frozen spike and kicking it deeper with everything she had.

  Cracks spread through the ice.

  For a moment—I thought that was it.

  Then the ap

  e grabbed the icicle.

  With sheer, monstrous strength, it ripped the spell out of its own chest, flesh and ice tearing free together, and hurled the massive cone straight at me.