Colt sped through the field, dodging numerous attacks from the army of core beasts. Compared to the mind-numbing speed of the beasts yesterday, the dial had been turned down a notch. Maybe they were weaker, but it could also be due to his reflexes sharpening after his core awakening.

These guys aren't that tough! I can kill them!

He smashed his fist into the face of one of the beasts, sending its head flying off. The visceral crunch of the blow reverberated through his own arm, solidifying the contact. With no time to spend in his captivated trance, he proceeded to behead the rest of the crowd.

"Easy work-" He was blasted across the field as some large force crashed into him.

I must've forgotten one...

He turned around, only to be greeted by a headless monster. In a matter of seconds, the muscle fibers hanging from its neck began to reconnect, restoring its lost head.

"What? You can regenerate?" He clenched his fists and went in for another punch, only to be stopped by another regenerated beast. "They all heal?" His head cocked forward as another beast punched him from behind.

He soon found himself on the end of an onslaught from the wretched beasts, forcing him to guard against the heavy blows.

These bastards! They're tougher than the other ones I killed!

In the midst of the endless stream of attacks, Colt managed to behead another beast, leaving an opening for himself to escape.

"I guess simple attacks won't do...I'll need to use core energy..." He closed his eyes and clenched both of his fists, "Shit-I don't know how!"

His head snapped to the right from another thunderous kick from the swarm of beasts. He jumped out of the way and shot up the staircase to an abandoned house.

That dark stuff that was around my fist yesterday was core energy! I need to remember what I did!

This task wouldn't be as simple as he hoped due to the fact that the core beasts had no end in sight. He grabbed onto the banister and leapt over all of the beasts, landing at the bottom of the stairs.

They're definitely not smart...and not too fast. I can stall until I figure it out...

Memories of that life changing moment flashed through his head. Everything now seemed hazy, almost like a dream. It had to be real. He had already evolved past the idea of this being some dream. He was staring the same creatures in the eyes as he did yesterday.

Confusion, shock, bliss, anger, fear...all of those emotions were present.

Now...put that into your fist...

He lunged towards the mob of beasts, channeling every last ounce of emotion into his fists. Soon, his right hand erupted into a burst of dark aura, exactly as it did before.

"There it is!" He blew a hole through one of the core beasts, sending a wave of fear through the entire crowd.

This momentary hesitation left open an opportunity for him to keep his momentum going. He smashed another hole into another beast's chest.

And another.

And another.

And another.

"This shit is dope!"

As he continued to blitz through the crowd, fewer and fewer beasts were rising again.

I knew it...There's a limit to how much they can regenerate before it stops completely! I'll just tough it out until then!

In the process of Colt wearing down the defenses of his foes, he managed to channel core energy into both of his hands.

With his newfound abilities, the rest of the fight was mere child's play.

"Wow..." Jax leapt from the roof and landed next to Colt, "You actually know how to fight, huh?"

"Of course I do." said Colt, "It comes with the territory of having a smart mouth. You have to back it up a lot."

"Okay. You get a C."

"C? What the hell? I tore the house down with those guys!"

"It was cool to watch, but very inefficient. For starters, some core beasts have the ability to use their core energy to heal."

"I know that! And I wore them down by using-"

"Let me finish." interjected Jax, "Your strategy worked against these things, but when you're up against even tougher opponents, that's just suicide. Every core beast has a core, just like we do. However, we can destroy their cores, killing them instantly, no matter how strong they are."

"What the hell? I didn't know that!"

"That's alright for now...You're still a noob." He shot Colt a smug smirk, making his blood boil. "That leads into my second point. Core energy is extremely vital to combat in this world. Without it, you're as good as dead."

"How?"

"Core energy is like a barrier that protects your body from major harm. You can use it for offense, like you just did, and defense. If you run out of core energy by just loosely channeling it, you'll just be exposed to all sorts of attacks."

A bead of sweat rolled down Colt's face as he chuckled, "I feel like I should be writing this down..."

"Don't worry about it, it isn't as hard as you're making it out to be. Just make sure that you use your core energy in a smart manner."

"Got it. Anything else?"

"Well..." He readjusted his glasses before scanning the area, "Nope. Nothing else. I guess I'll bump your score up to a B, this was your first time fighting with core energy."

Colt slumped over and groaned, "I guess I'll take it for now...It's better than a C."

A powerful feeling coursed through Colt's veins as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. For the first time in a while, he felt the satisfaction of hard work. He always did his best to avoid working hard for anything, but he was excited to put in work for this subject: Core energy.

"Let's head home then, that'll be enough for today." said Jax.

"Really? I'm still ready to keep going!"

"No. It's important that you let these instructions simmer in your head before you move on!"

Colt pouted, "Nerd."

"What did you say?"

"I called you a nerd-"

They both fell to the ground as a large cloud of smoke engulfed the entire field. The earth beneath them trembled as something came crashing down into the dirt, lifting several chunks into the air.

Colt and Jax jumped away from the source of the sudden tremor and regained their composure.

"Shit...I didn't think there were any A-Rankers out here!" Jax pulled off his glasses and dusted them off.

"A-Rankers? Core beasts have ranks?" asked Colt.

"Yeah. The weakest rank is C, with the highest being S. I had you fight some C-Rankers today. It's easy to tell the rank by the amount of core energy they possess."

Colt clutched at his chest as he gazed into the smoke, "N-Now that you mention it...It's getting harder to breathe..."

A large, bipedal beast emerged as the smoke finally cleared. It had a large horn on the front of its head, with indistinct tribal paintings lining up its torso. With a very bukly physique, it casted an encompassing shadow over the young men as it stepped forward. It's arms were the size of trees, along with its stocky legs.

"Damn...That's a big-"

Jax managed to slap Colt in the back of his head before he could finish his sentence. "Come on Colt, I guess you're getting that extra lesson after all. It's going to be in Core Powers."

"Osu!"

The large beast swung its large arm, sending a powerful gust of wind their way. Jax clenched both of his fists, shooting core energy throughout both of his arms. Crimson scales appeared on his arms, akin to the skin of a dragon.

"What the hell?"

Jax rushed towards the beast and leapt above it, "Try to keep up, Colt!" He clasped his hands together and smashed them into its large skull, not eliciting a reaction in the slightest.

"A little more then." Jax landed behind the beast and cloaked his fist in light blue core energy, caving in its spine with a monstrous right hook.

This monster is weak...Either that, or Jax is strong as hell!

Colt charged towards the large beast, only to get swatted away like a flea.

Jax was swatted away just as easily, barreling through an abandoned supermarket. "This bastard...it's not so good on defense, but its offense is insane!"

Colt recovered first and shrouded his entire body in core energy, "Bring it on, you fat bastard!"

The beast directed its attention towards Colt and lunged his way with its large horn.

Colt came to a screeching halt as its speed overwhelmed him.

Instead of being pierced by the sharp tool of destruction, his brain shook from the recoil of Jax's body smashing into his as he used his armored skin as a shield.

"Don't freeze up in battle, Colt!"

"Osu!" Colt shot behind the large beast and firmly planted his feet.

Jax landed a good shot right here...I bet we'll kill it if we keep striking here!

Before he could even swing, the wound on the beast's back had already healed.

Shit!

Colt decided to follow through with the attack anyways, caving its lower back in again.

Jax leapt into the air and kicked the beast in its mouth, sending its large teeth down its own throat.

"Keep at it Jax, we're winning!" shouted Colt.

"Don't let your guard down!" replied Jax.

The beast furiously spun itself in a circle, smashing its gargantuan arms into both of their bodies.

Colt was smashed into the pavement like a ragdoll, while Jax was sent flying into another building.

Blood leaked from Colt's mouth as he pulled himself off of the ground. The numbing sensation coursed through his veins, reminding him that he just took a heavy hit. Unlike any pain he had experienced before, he was nearly brought to his knees. "Okay...that one hurt..." He stumbled forward, only to get smashed back into the ground.

Jax leapt from the building and aimed both of his arms at the large beast. "We need to find its core..." He started shooting scales from his body like bullets, penetrating the beast's flesh.

Those dragon scales must be Jax's core power...Pretty cool...I want a core power too...

Colt jumped back up and let out a monstrous roar.

I bet my core energy is the only thing keeping my body together right now...this guy ain't no joke...

He looked around the destroyed battlefield, desperately searching for a way to tilt this one-sided battle into their favor.

A boulder?

Jax jumped onto the roof of a building to avoid a blast that shot from the beast's mouth. "Damn goliath!" He continued to fire back with his scales, to no avail.

The large beast rushed towards him with astonishing agility.

"Hey! Fatass!"

With that insult, the beast's eyes were now on Colt.

"Come get me!"

The beast growled and shot another blast towards Colt.

Diving out of his line of fire, Colt ran down the street, leading the large beast in tow. "Come on, big guy!"

"What is he doing?" Jax started running after them both, leaping from roof to roof.

Colt came to a stop and turned around to face the behemoth, "I'm right here!"

The beast made an attempt to bomb rush Colt but stepped straight through the unstable concrete of the streets. It barreled down into a black abyss, smashing off of the walls of the ditch repeatedly, finally reaching the bottom with a thunderous boom.

"There we go!" Colt threw his arms up in celebration as Jax finally caught up to him.

"I see..." Jax smirked as he caught his breath, "You took advantage of the flimsy construction of this place."

"Yeah. You're smarter than you look."

Jax flipped him off before looking down into the hole, "Let's not count our chickens just yet. It can heal, so it may very well still be alive."

"Really...I thought there was a limit on how much core energy it has to heal, right? I'm sure that did way too much damage to heal-"

The large beast leapt from the ditch, landing right in front of the two young men. Its body was in pristine condition, as if they never even began fighting.

Colt threw his arms down and let out a sigh of exasperation, "What the fuck? How?"

"It's an A-Ranker, Colt...It's never going to be that easy..." Jax slowly removed his jacket and threw it aside.

"Why are you stripping?" asked Colt as he took a step back.

"Shut up...It's clear that we're not ready to face A-Rankers yet. I'd say my peak is at a B, and yours may be as well." He shook his head before covering his entire body in scales, "Look...I'm about to fire off this technique, but I need you to run first."

"What? No! I'm not gonna let you sacrifice yourself!"

"It's not a sacrificial technique...There's just a chance that I'll do some insane damage to you by mistake. If the attack doesn't kill it, which I'm positive it will, I'll be right behind you."

"So we're retreating...I guess we can't win them all...Fine. But you better not be lying to me Jax!"

"I'm not!"

A shadow cast over both of the young men, snatching their complete attention. A black blur flashed past them both, and in a split second, the beast's horn was cut from its head.

Colt's mouth hung agape in shock as Jax removed all of the scales from his body and relaxed.

A young woman stood in front of them both, with blond hair tied into two pigtails that reached halfway down her back. She turned around, overwhelming them both with her searing hot gaze. Her scarlet red eyes matched the blood that shot from the large, cowering beast in front of her. She wore a black tank-top, with some white jeans.

The most striking feature of her wasn't even part of her own body. It was the abnormally large axe she brandished in her right hand.

"Jax! Why didn't you tell me that you were going core beast hunting?" asked the young woman.

"You idiot! I'm not playing a game here! We're being attacked!" shouted Jax.

"Oh..." She looked at Colt and smiled, "You must be the new guy that moved in. Give me a sec."

She turned back to face the large beast with a malicious smile on her face. "You're gonna be my prey for today!"

The beast let out an enraged howl as it healed its horn.

"Oh. You're a healer? Boring!" She swung her axe with one arm. The force of the swing was so powerful that the wind from it managed to cut its horn back off. "And stay off..."

"What the-" Colt looked at Jax, who was just staring as if he wasn't surprised.

"Fight back!" The girl disappeared from their sight, reappearing behind the beast.

The ground trembled as Its arms came crashing down, like two large trees that had just been cut down by a lumberjack. Its horrified squeals drowned out all other sounds in the field. Tears streamed down the beast's face as it thrashed about.

The girl had already found her way high up in the sky, falling down above the beast. "Die!"

The beast managed to lock its eyes on the girl, just as Colt and Jax managed to locate her.

It opened its large mouth, shooting out another large blast.

The girl's expression twisted with an overwhelming sense of bloodlust as she brought her axe down with both arms, easily tearing through the blast. The force of her downswing was so powerful that it went through and smashed the core beast into a stain on the pavement. Its organs flew everywhere as the girl's axe smashed through the street, creating another large ditch. Compared to the tremors of their prior battle, her swing had them all trumped.

"No! He died too fast!" She threw her axe down and shouted out to the heavens. Her tan skin was now covered in the remains of the unstoppable beast.

"Bro..." It took everything within Colt to find any words to say, and even those words couldn't quite capture how he felt about what he had just seen. He and Jax had pulled out all the stops, even settling for a final gambit to win, but this girl just showed up and annihilated the beast.

"Kay kay!" Her sadistic grimace faded back into a childish smile as she ran towards them both, "You're Colt, right?"

"Y-Yeah."

"I'm Hisa! It's a pleasure to meet ya!"

"Same here."

"I live at Dakota's apartment complex too! I heard that you were special...I can't wait to fight you! Let's fight right now!"

"I think I'm good."

Jax karate chopped Hisa on top of her head, "Pipe down you psychotic moron! We're both tired! No one's fighting anymore!"

"Aw..." She bit Jax's finger, making him scream out, "You're mean Jax! You invited Colt out here to fight him all by yourself!"

"No I didn't! You're the only one obsessed with violence..." snapped Jax.

"What? Never mind...Let's play tag!"

Colt looked at Jax, with his eyes just conveying the emotions of pure exhaustion. He had that same feeling dwelling over his sore body too.

Jax paused for a moment before putting his glasses back on, "Fine. We'll play tag. I'm it, and the safe zone is the apartment complex-"

Hisa had already taken off.

"Thank God..." Jax started walking in the direction of the complex as he let out a sigh of relief. "I'm sorry that you had to meet her like this..."

"It's cool. She actually seems pretty cool. And that axe swing was badass!"

"She's definitely strong. Stronger than me...She just loves fighting a little too much..."

"I can see that...How come I've never seen her until now? I feel like I would've noticed her yesterday with that kind of personality."

"She was out in the forest looking for some weird village or something."

"Oh..." He threw his arms behind his back and started smiling, "Jax, that dragon scale power was dope too! How did you do that?"

"It'll be a part of one of our future lessons..."

Colt pumped his fists and threw his arms in the air, "Yes!"

They both dragged their beaten bodies back home, where the hyperactive Hisa awaited them, still believing in their abrupt game of tag.