Steven blocked a flying yellow stone that exploded into a stinging cloud before spinning to block a sword strike aimed at Micheal.

The current group they were fighting was made up of a man hurling multi-colored stones, another who could make the stones spin and twist in unpredictable patterns, and a tall, pale man in a trench coat with an honest to god sword.

Steven had no fucking clue where the guy had found a katana; maybe some weeb store with props? Either way, he was putting it to use.

A crystalline edge had formed around the blade, and the man could summon more crystals to run above the snow. That gave him good mobility, and each swing threatened to shatter Steven’s shields.

Micheal kicked the man in the shin before trying to drive an elbow at his chin.

The guy took a swing at Micheal, but he was well within his reach, making the attempt slow and awkward.

Steven called a shield in front of the man’s sword hand.

Accurately blocking someone’s wrist was a lot harder than Steven had thought it’d be—but when someone was moving in a predictable line and not particularly fast? Much easier.

Micheal’s elbow connected, and the man stumbled. Before he could recover, Steven slammed a sound-trapped shield into his face.

It went off, and Steven dismissed and repeated that three more times before the man vanished.

He felt a small wave of energy flow out of him. He took a deep breath. He wasn’t tapped yet, and even without his upgraded energy Trait, he would be fine. But Steven had called a lot of shields today, and it wasn’t over yet.

He turned his attention to the others. Clark was tying up the rock guy. The middle-aged man wasn’t a fantastic fighter, but he wasn’t bad either, and his opponent only seemed to have ranged Skills.

Micheal’s teammate was in an…interesting fight.

The short, dark-skinned man he was fighting kept spinning around the old man.

Every few seconds, his feet would flash with grey light, and the snow would make a spiral that carried him out of his opponent’s reach.

And the few times he managed to touch the old man, Micheal’s teammate staggered and stumbled, almost as if drunk.

Even in the middle of a fight, Steven really wanted to know what the man’s Class was. Did all his Skills revolve around spirals? If so, how was he making his opponent stagger like that?

Steven shelved his curiosity and quickly called three shields around the man.

He waited for him to use a spiral to dodge a punch; it had at least a five-second cooldown, then used Compass Push on all three shields at once.

The guy managed to dodge two shields, but the third caught him in the side and sent him reeling.

That was all the opening Michael’s teammate needed.

Steven turned to Clark in time to stop his opponent from hurling a green rock at his feet.

Where is getting those? Does he imbue rocks or summon them out of thin air?

The man pulled another rock from his pocket—probably imbuing normal rocks then— and crushed it.

It exploded in a yellow mist, and the man instantly sped up.

A moment later, Steven called and pushed shields, Micheal hurled a chunk of ice, Clark rushed him, and Micheal’s teammate came barreling in from the side.

The man was fast, but not fast enough. He vanished in a flash of light.

They caught their breath and searched for the next group.

About a quarter of the people fighting had been eliminated, and a decent number of them had been ranged groups. Steven’s team wasn’t the only one targeting them.

He judged the number of people left and went with his gut. “We should head for the pillar!” He shouted over the roar of fire and exploding earth.

Clark frowned but nodded. “Alright. If you think we can hold it.

“If they send another barrage like before, we just abandon the pillar and try again!” Micheal yelled.

They all nodded and rushed for the pillar. “I’m Markus!” Micheal’s teammate yelled.

He gave the man some side-eye.

He shrugged without slowing down. “Introducing yourself is polite.”

Steven stared at the crazy old man as a fireball sailed over their heads.

He laughed. “I’m Steven!”

Clark joined in on the slightly mad laughter as they booked it for the pillar. “Clark!”

“Micheal!”

“Now we’re all acquainted!” Markus laughed.

Some people took potshots as they ran, but Steven blocked them without slowing.

As soon as they reached the pillar, words flooded Steven's mind.

But unlike a regular System prompt, there was no delay. It wasn’t like he was reading or hearing someone talk. The information was dumped straight into his mind with no confusion. One moment, nothing, the next, it was like information he’d already known.

Hold. That. Pillar!

“Your mission is simple. Stand in the big pillar for five minutes. You do that. You leave and get a reward. You get forced out of the pillar without being eliminated, and your timer resets.”

“Additionally, you may assign one member of your group to be a brawler who may leave the pillar to fight, so long as they remain within thirty feet of its border.”

“Have fun!”

Almost as soon as they reached the pillar, several groups started targeting them.

Steven blocked a spinning fireball that almost broke his shield, then deflected a spray of grey balls that screamed as they flew.

“I’ll be the brawler,” grunted Markus.

Steven wasn’t about to disagree. The man had been a beast so far.

Steven took a deep breath, the winter air stinging his nose as his heart pounded in his ears. Almost every eye in the clearing turned to them.

Some didn’t stop fighting, but others called truces and turned toward the group foolish enough to try and claim the pillar.

Skills kindled to life around them, and Steven felt their intentions like a physical weight.

Another deep breath.

He relaxed as his Skills throbbed.

His task couldn’t be simpler. Protect them.