“NOTICE. SKILL [SPRINT] HAS LEVELED UP. SKILL [STAMINA INCREASE II] ACQUIRED.”

“Save it, Genesis!” Nicholas shouted back at the voice in his head. He was trying to focus on running. Every ounce of energy needed to be spent on his escape attempt while a large shadow loomed overhead. The creature was quickly gaining ground. Nicholas shouted as a strike nearly crushed him. He’d never been more thankful for [Evasion I] in his life.

“If you can shout, you can run!” Robyn responded to her fleeing companion. She was also mid-sprint, so it was hard to hold a conversation. Thankfully, the new skills made the chase slightly easier to continue, but the pursuing beast was relentless. It continuously attacked the group. Luckily, it was only going after the ones with evasive skills. The two unfortunate souls without those skills had to run at the head of the pack. They couldn’t risk their lives in an attempt to gain the same ability.

“What is that thing?” Xander yelled. He couldn’t look back while running to confirm his guess. All he knew was that two minutes ago he saw this monster chasing after Robyn and Nicholas. Everything beyond that was a blur. Xander and Rex panicked. They ran away in a hurry, grabbing only a few of their thrown weapons. Then, Nicholas suggested the group change formation to best suit their skills. That led to now, where the team was still running.

“A griffin! Out of all things in that stupid forest, why’d you make a griffin mad?!” Rex screamed at his partners. The group had gotten into a heap of sticky situations, but those were mostly due to misfortune. This griffin obviously had an issue with the duo it met with, so it was their problem to solve. Why did he have to get involved? Still, it was too late to change anything. The best option was to remain with the group and find the best solution.

“You dare insult my forest?!” Shen roared with anger. Its pace continued to increase. Flying over the terrain meant that the griffin could cross the area much easier than its prey. Shen launched another attack at the two adventurers closest to it. They dodge once again, much to the aggravation of Shen. The guardian wasn’t sure how they could be so elusive, but their luck would eventually run out.

“Now is not the time to be insulting Shen’s home,” Robyn said. The team was already in enough trouble at the moment. There was no need to add to the tension. It would have been better if they could simply talk to Shen, but that was never going to happen. Robyn regretted her previous actions. She should have fought the griffin fairly, not that she’d win in that case.

“How do you know its name?” Xander asked while the chase continued. There was still plenty he wanted to know. For example, why was he being chased at all? Unfortunately, now wasn't the time for asking questions. He’d just have to survive if he wanted to hear the full story. It was a sentiment that Nicholas echoed.

“It’s a really funny story, but all you need to know is that it ends with Wombo Combo. There’s a slime at two o’clock.” Nicholas said. He tilted his head in the direction of a bouncing slime. He’d noticed slimes in perilous situations before. It was almost a miracle that Genesis hadn’t given him some sort of enemy detection skill. Regardless, he had a plan and needed the others to cooperate. Elaborating further would have been impossible thanks to [Pathological Liar], so he just needed to hope they understood the reference.

“A what?!” Robyn asked with a baffled expression. She’d never heard the term before. Was it some new skill that they never disclosed? No, that’d be idiotic, even for them. Hiding skills could only hinder the group. Still, Robyn had no idea what the plan was.

“Just follow our lead!” Rex shouted in frustration. They’d all come from the same world but clearly not the same backgrounds. He’d already known that fact from previous conversations but was still shocked at Robyn’s level of internet culture. Rex immediately understood the reference and thought of the best way to accommodate. He didn’t have time to fully explain the details. Robyn would have to learn on the fly.

Nicholas started the plan by running ahead of the pack. He kicked the slime without slowing his run, sending it to his evasive friend. Rex plucked the slime from the air. His skin burned as his hands sunk into the monster’s body. With more force than was necessary, Rex threw the slime to the ground. It bounced on impact and joyfully sailed into the air once more.

Robyn tried to understand the plan as best as she could. She didn’t know the proper setup for the finale, so her hands smacked the slime away. Xander rushed to the slime’s newest destination. He received the gelatinous creature like he would a volleyball, taking care not to let the slime encase his arms. His body acted as a springboard and launched the back into the air one final time.

Rex immediately took advantage of the setup. [Irresponsible] sent him running to Xander, but that was part of the plan. Xander knelt down before his approaching teammate and cupped his hands together. Rex used his partner as support to fly through the air. All that separated him from Shen was a single, heavily damaged and confused, slime. Rex twisted his body and threw his leg forward with all his might. His knee rammed into the slime, sending it directly into the roaring griffin’s mouth.

Shen fell to the ground, coughing wildly due to the foreign object in its throat. Tears formed within its eyes as it tried to expel the vicious creature. The team of four adventurers stared in shock. Most thought the attack would end with a temporarily blinded griffin. They didn’t plan on Shen opening its mouth. Still, the four refused to wait and watch the angered guardian recover. It was only a matter of time before it ejected the slime. The team ran into the distance, cheering at Genesis’s message.

“ERROR. A [GUARDIAN] HAS BEEN DEFEATED. AS A RESULT, ALL PARTICIPANTS HAVE BEEN AWARDED TWO LEVEL-UPS. VARIOUS NEW SKILLS WILL BE AWARDED BASED ON PLAYERS’ ACTIONS DURING COMBAT.”