Trace Taylor’s defiance was met by a chill-boned screech from the durable serpentfiend. It loomed over the group of seven, standing as tall as a five-storeyed building, its worm-like body barbed in spindly legs haphazardly strewn all around its coarse sides.

The redhead short speech had drawn the attention of the four strangers. Sam, the man who’d helped her up, wore a dubious look on his face. He scratched his dirty-brown hair like he was trying to scrape the dust off it.

“Honestly, we came here to help,” he said hesitantly, “but I don’t think this is a battle we can win.”

“You can run.” Trace stepped forward as the durable serpentfiend readied to charge. Her eyes flickered. Enough time had passed now, so she raised her gun and pulled the trigger. “I won’t, though. Because I’m not a fucking wuss.”

Last in the Chamber.

A powerful blast echoed as the magical bullet shot out. The bang hit Trace like a wave, washing over her as she stumbled back. The blue streak shone brightly as a shooting star would, filling the vast ocean-sky with its azure light. The attack reached the durable serpentfiend—

And the monster moved.

The skill splashed across the skin of the giant monster, right by the base of one of its limbs. The durable serpentfiend reeled back as a small gash marked its body but was otherwise unhurt.

“Fuck!” Trace lowered her gun. “I missed.”

“Good job, asshole,” a voice said. It was one of the three idiots who rode in on the truck. Nathan, Jackie, or Darius. Trace glared their way, and they all pointed at each other.

Trace rolled her eyes. “Now I have to wait another bloody eight or nine—”

The durable serpentfiend came crashing down. It swept its entire body over the landscape, smashing through a small house, ruining the front yard, before crushing its way to the group of seven. Trace staggered back, and a hand yanked her out of the way just in time.

Sam grabbed her as he sprinted away from the oncoming durable serpentfiend. It sent a wall of dust and debris pillaring up, shrouding the battlefield momentarily. Coughing, the redhead found herself knelt next to the brown-haired man as he stood over her. She looked up in panic.

“Liz!” she called out as the dust settled.

“Over here,” a carefree voice responded. Elizabeth Evergreen stood right by the destruction left behind by the durable serpentfiend, barely avoiding it. She wiped at her brows, whistling. “Woah, that’s a lotta damage. Is this what a real boss monster is supposed to be like?”

“It’s not a boss monster,” Adair returned, dusting himself off behind the sable-tressed woman. “It is merely an evolved form of a serpentfiend. You may even inquire your own AIs.” He clapped his hands together, and crackling electricity danced around him. It sparked out, tickling the side of the giant monster.

Is that true, Ex? Trace asked, frowning as the durable serpentfiend roared once more.

[Affirmative], the AI said. [A durable serpentfiend is not classified as a boss monster. Killing it will not grant additional experience as killing a boss monster would. However, since it is far above your level, you will still be awarded with a bountiful amount of experience.]

The redhead reloaded her pistol as she got back up. With a click, Trace cocked her gun and faced the battlefield. So, its only advantage is its levels. She turned to her allies. And what are our levels, Ex?

Around her, the fighting resumed. Liz darted forward, circling the durable serpentfiend as Adair raised a curtain of flames.

[Swordsmaiden – Lvl 17

Energy Caster – Lvl 16.]

Sam pulled out a bow and arrow and began to loose bolts at the giant monster.

[Rapid Ranger – Lvl 11.]

The remaining three people on the battlefield— Nathan, Darius, and Jackie— emerged from a crater on the ground.

[Beast Tamer – Lvl 15

Geomancer – Lvl 16

Hammer Warrior – Lvl 15.]

Darius must’ve created a quick pitfall to help them escape under the durable serpentfiend’s sweeping attack. Nathan barked an order at his dogs, “Major! Distract it!” and the deformed animals complied. Jackie ran alongside the pack, raising her sledgehammer.

Trace pursed her lips as she watched the group hopelessly attack the durable serpentfiend. They ebbed away at its tough exterior, but its outer skin was too thick. It’d take an hour or more to finally tear through to its fleshier insides, and with each deluging attack by the giant monster being strong enough to wipe out the group in an instant, the redhead understood one simple fact.

“We’re not going to beat it,” Trace said. “Not like this.”

Sam glanced back at her, furrowing his brows. “Did you already change your mind?”

“No.” She grabbed him by the shoulder. “We’re not working together. We’re a bloody mess— and we’ll be nothing more than a bloody mess on the road— if we don’t cooperate.”

He nocked an arrow and paused. Looking over at his three friends, he watched as they avoided the maw of the durable serpentfiend as it chomped on a bit of the pavement. Jackie slammed her hammer at its side, Darius sent a large stone spike into its mouth, and Nathan’s dogs spread out wide around it.

Liz stabbed deep into its tail as Adair unleashed another lightning bolt. The durable serpentfiend recoiled.

“I don’t know,”— Sam released the taut bowstring— “I think we could actually take it down.”

“All you’re doing is annoying it. Maybe even confusing it.” Trace pointed at the durable serpentfiend as it screeched. “You’ve barely hurt it. Trust me, I know.”

“And how do you know that?”

“Vulnerability Vision— it’s a skill I have.” Taking a deep breath, she started past Sam. “It basically lets me see which parts of a creature is vulnerable. And I’m telling you, those wounds it’s sustaining don’t look that vulnerable to me. At least, as they are right now.”

Sam looked dubious, but he shrugged. “Then what should we do?”

“First of all,” she said, turning her gaze to Liz. “We’ll have to lead it out of the town.”

Her bestfriend was the highest-levelled and the one who seemed to be hurting the durable serpentfiend the most.

“Oi, Liz!” Trace shouted, and the Swordsmaiden spun around.

“Yeah?”

“Lead it to me!”

“Got it!”

Liz flipped in the air, slashing the side of the durable serpentfiend with her vytal-lit blade. Her translucent aura of silver dug deep into the giant monster, hurting it more than the cone of fie Adair was unleashing at its back. She flipped off it, facing the Energy Caster.

“Focus your flames at its back. We want to lure it to Trace!”

Adair nodded, raising his arms as sparks rose from the earth like a thousand chittering birds, combusting into a single singing sheet of flames. He didn’t use it to harm the durable serpentfiend, but instead to urge it in Trace’s direction.

The redhead herself made a break for it, heading for the town’s peripheries. Liz trailed behind as the durable serpentfiend followed in tow. Sam leapt out of the way— his friends rushing to his side. One of them, Darius, crossed his arms.

“What are they doing? They’re letting it escape!”

“No—” Sam started, but the other man was already moving.

The Geomancer raised a palm towards the sky as another stone spike was built from the debris around him. He tossed at the durable serpentfiend, drawing its attention. It didn’t so much as glance at him, but it knew where he was. And it whipped around.

Darius’ eyes grew wide as the durable serpentfiend struck its tail down at him. He raised a wall of stone, but it shattered from the hit. He was knocked flying into the air, screaming in excruciating pain before flopping back on the ground.

Jackie dropped her hammer and ran for his limp body. “Darius!”

Trace hesitated for a second when she saw what happened. However, something flickered in her vision. She saw how fragile Darius’ body currently was— she saw the damaged he’d sustained and how easily his bones could break at his current state— and she saw that he was still alive. It was only possible thanks to Vulnerability Vision; the redhead could tell how easily she’d be able to kill him as he was, which meant that he wasn’t dead just yet.

So, she ran.

Her best friend accompanied her, taunting the durable serpentfiend. It was slowed as it scuttled through small buildings and houses. Fortunately, they were empty. Or at least, Trace hoped they were.

The durable serpentfiend gradually caught up to the pair, but by the time it happened, they were way clear of the town. The redhead spun around to face Liz.

“We have to—”

“Sorrycan’ttalkbeingchased—”

Trace blinked as she watched her best friend continue on, running from the durable serpentfiend as it snapped at her heels. It nearly slammed into the redhead with its long and winding body, but she hopped out of the way right as it passed. She felt a brush of wind accompanying the brush with death as it missed her. But there was nor reprieve as she moved to save her best friend.

Liz wasn’t fast enough to escape the giant monster for long. So, Trace acted. She aimed once again. For the same target she previously missed. This time, she took in a deep breath and waited before firing. The durable serpentfiend wove around the trees, chasing after Liz, making it a difficult target to hit. And right the Swordsmaiden made a sharp turn, it also turned, but slower.

At that moment, Trace closed her eyes and yanked out her magazine. She squeezed the trigger, hoping for the best.

Bang!

It worked. Again, Last in the Chamber shot out. But this time, it didn’t miss. It hit its mark. No, she didn’t just shoot at the side of the durable serpentfiend— she hit it where she’d actually be able to inflict some damage: at the base of its crooked limb.

It was the same one she’d shot at earlier, when she was chasing the durable serpentfiend down. It’d already been whittled at, damaged slightly, letting the powerful force of the Last in the Chamber shave it clean off. The leg went flying as its blood spewed out of the wound.

The durable serpentfiend jerked back. It let out a screech in pain before stumbling forward, having lost one of the limbs carrying it. Its terrible maw turned to face Trace as Liz managed to escape into a thicket of trees.

“Did you see that?” the redhead shouted, waving her hands in the air.

Adair, Sam, and Nathan looked her way. She pointed at the fallen leg of the durable serpentfiend, continuing.

“Aim for its legs!” She inserted the magazine back into her pistol, firing at another of the barbed legs. “They’re one of its weakest body parts so they break off easily. That’s not enough to kill it, but we’ll be able to slow it down.”

The durable serpentfiend charged at her. But Liz leapt out of the trees, slicing off a weakened leg with her Obsidian Longsword. She kicked off the giant monster, turning to the others.

“You heard her. Well, what are you waiting for?” A powerful aura gathered around her weapon as she moved to strike the durable serpentfiend once more. “C’mon!”

The others were apprehensive— maybe even dubious— but they couldn’t bring themselves to stay back as Liz jumped into the fray alone. They moved, joining her. Not directly, of course. Only from a distance.

Nathan used his dogs. He turned to the leader of his pack. “Major,” he said, bending over and scratching the back of its ear. “I need ya to do me a favour and nibble on that thing’s legs, alright?”

The lead dog, Major, growled in response and bounded for the durable serpentfiend. The pack passed Adair as he sent out streaks of flames from his fingertips. They joined Liz as she crawled on the thrashing monster’s back, cutting away at its legs.

Trace unloaded at a leg that her best friend proceeded to shear off before taking a step back. She reloaded her pistol as she turned to Sam. “Aren’t you going to help?”

“I am.” Nodding, he reached into his quiver. “We’re trying to restrict its movements, right?”

“Yeah. You’ve got a skill that can tear off a leg?”

“Nope. My class isn’t really good for causing damage.”

The redhead cocked a brow. “Then how’re you going to do slow it down?”

Sam grinned. “Did you think I was just an archer?” He pulled out an arrow that blinked with a red light at its tip. “I’m also a level 14 Magitechnician. I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve.”

He loosed the arrow, and it soared through the sky. It landed on the tail of durable serpentfiend before exploding into a web of sticky paste.

“An extract of magically-enhanced superglue. Pretty impressive stuff, right?”

The giant monster’s wild movements seemed to unwillingly relax. It tried to whip its tail around, but it looked more like it was dragging a heavy burden with it as it turned. Even still, it managed to knock Liz away into a tree.

“Oof!” She landed with a grunt, rolling backwards over the splinters. “Avoiding its attacks is hard. Can I get a little help, please?” she shouted as she rushed back into the battle.

“We need someone else to back up Liz and the dogs,” Trace said, gritting her teeth. She glanced over towards the town, spotting Jackie helping a limping Darius up. “Oi, we need your help! Grab your maul and get your arse over here!”

“But he’s dyin’!” Jackie protested.

“He’ll be fine!” Trace yelled as she fired more Mystic Bullets at the durable serpentfiend. “But he may not be if this bloody monster kills us all!”

“Urgh, fine.” Laying Darius against a wall, Jackie grabbed her sledgehammer and ran in to join the fighting. She slammed her weapon at the same leg Trace was shooting at, breaking it off with a loud crack. “Are ye happy now?”

“Just keep doing that!”

Liz, Jackie, and the dogs engaged it up close, while Adair was in medium-range, using his flames and lighting to divert its attention. Trace shouted orders from the back, firing at the durable serpentfiend alongside Sam. He loosed a few explosive arrows which drew its ire more than once.

The durable serpentfiend targetted the two of them, and the exhausted redhead found herself stumbling away without her pistol a few times. However, a simple Recall Weapon brought her pistol back to her before she continued her assault of Mystic Bullets and the occasional Last in the Chambers.

The attacks continued from all sides as the durable serpentfiend’s movements grew slower and slower. Most of its legs were gone, and it was noticeably more sluggish. Literally. It didn’t have any limbs to push it as it crawled, so it was moving like a worm would, using mostly its undulating body. It realised what was going on. And it began to panic.

It tried to escape— to flee from the group of six. It turned tails and stumbled-scuttled-slithered away as Trace’s brows snapped together.

“Don’t let it get close to the town!”

Adair sliced a thin line of flames between the monster and the town. The light was enough to send the confused durable serpentfiend back in the direction of the group of six. It only had two legs now, each one on either sides of its bodies.

Trace raised her pistol as she ran out of ammo, while Liz dashed forward with a glowing blade. They both shouted.

“Take this!”

They struck at the two separate legs at the same time, breaking them. Liz with her vytal-coated blade, and Trace with her aether-created bullet. The barbed limbs shattered with a crack, flying and landing together with the collapsing durable serpentfiend.

It wriggled on the ground without legs like a worm. It didn’t even try to fight back anymore. It just tried to crawl away as it was incessantly attacked from all sides. The group of six didn’t let up, focusing their skills and magic on one single point on its body.

At some point, Darius returned to the battlefield, helping them tear through the skin and innards of the durable serpentfiend. It crawled forward slowly as they kept up with it, until eventually—

[You have defeated a Durable Serpentfiend – Lvl 32!

(F+) Magically Enhanced Accuracy has reached level 7!

(F+) Magically Enhanced Accuracy has reached level 8!

(F+) Magically Enhanced Accuracy has reached level 9!

(F+) Magically Enhanced Accuracy has reached level 10!

(F+) Magically Enhanced Accuracy has reached level 11!

(F+) Magically Enhanced Accuracy has reached level 12!

(F+) Magically Enhanced Accuracy has reached level 13!

(E-) Quick Fire has reached level 5!

(E-) Quick Fire has reached level 6!

(E-) Quick Fire has reached level 7!

(E-) Quick Fire has reached level 8!

(E-) Quick Fire has reached level 9!

(E) Recall Weapon level 6!

(E) Recall Weapon level 7!

(E) Recall Weapon level 8!

(E+) Vulnerability Vision has reached level 6!

(E+) Vulnerability Vision has reached level 7!

(E+) Vulnerability Vision has reached level 8!

(E+) Vulnerability Vision has reached level 9!

(E+) Vulnerability Vision has reached level 10!

(E+) Last in the Chamber has reached level 6!

(E+) Last in the Chamber has reached level 7!

(E+) Last in the Chamber has reached level 8!

(E+) Last in the Chamber has reached level 9!

(D-) Mystic Bullets has reached level 5!

(D-) Mystic Bullets has reached level 6!

(D-) Mystic Bullets has reached level 7!

(D-) Mystic Bullets has reached level 8!

Adept Spellshot has reached level 15!

Adept Spellshot has reached level 16!

Adept Spellshot has reached level 17!

Adept Spellshot has reached level 18!]

“That’s a lot of levels.” Sighing, Trace leant against a fallen tree as her sweat wetted its broken bark.

[Affirmative. These are all the levels you’ve gained since leaving on this journey to exterminate the serpentfiends.]

“Didn’t I ask you to chill with the notifications a while back?”

[I was not aware that you meant for that to be a permanent change, Trace Taylor,] Ex said. [Also, I thought it would be funnier since I knew it’d annoy you.]

“Well, please… just piss off. I’m too tired for this.”

The redhead peeled herself off her own sticky stain and turned to Sam and his friends. They were tending to Darius’ wounds, talking amongst themselves. She approached them, smiling, only for a hand to grab her from behind.

“Ms Trace Taylor,” Adair said, shaking his head. “Don’t…”

She gave him a confused look. “I was just going to thank them.”

“I—” he started, but Sam cut him off.

“It’s no problem at all!” Sauntering up to Trace, Sam smirked. “So, your name’s Trace Taylor, huh? Pretty cool. I love the alliteration.”

Trace blinked. “O-oh, thanks? It’s just what my parents named me.”

“They sound like awesome people. I’d love to meet them one day.”

She pressed her lips into a thin line, suppressing a retort. They’re really not, she mentally said. The redhead shook away the thought and nodded gratefully at him. “You saved my life. Seriously, thank you.”

“It’s no problem at all. That’s just what we do.” Sam waved a hand off. Then he tilted his head back. “Or actually, that’s what our group does.”

“Your group?”

“Your friend over there knows what we’re talking about.” He gestured past Trace.

Liz cocked her head, pointing at herself. “Wait, I do?”

“No, not you,” he snorted. “Him.”

Adair stood off to the side, warily staring at Sam and his group. Sam spread his arms wide.

“Come on, Adair the Great. Don’t be a stranger. Introduce us.”

Jackie raised a fist. “Yeah! Don’t pretend we ain’tcha friends.”

Trace turned to Adair, narrowing her eyes. “What are they talking about? Who are they, Adair?”

He hesitated. But her gaze bore into him, and he let out a tired breath. Shutting his eyes, he spoke slowly.

“Samuel Diaz, Jacqueline Wright, Darius Fernandez, and Nathan Johnson. These four individuals are former allies of mine,” Adair said, his eyes snapping from one to another as they faced him. He paused as he turned to Trace.

She crossed her arms. “And?”

“And…”

Adair sighed.

“Current members of the Precursors of Peace.”