“So, beating cheeks is your best option.”

Steven coughed, nearly choking on his coffee.

He waved the others off as they gave him worried looks.

“What?”

“Beat cheeks, kick-ass, pound some faces. Fight. I’m talking about fighting, don’t know why you're being so weird about it.”

Steven scowled. “Thanks, but I know that fighting will give experience.”

“Well, it bears repeating. Since it is by far the fastest method of gaining levels, but I know you don’t want to fight humans, so I’ll let you in on a little secret…well, it’s technically not a secret since I’ll tell anyone who asks, but I digress.”

Buford started licking the spilled coffee.

“You can’t leave a Scenario from inside without clearing it, but you can enter some from outside.”

Steven blinked. “Oh!” He didn’t realize he’d said that out loud until Margie and Micheal gave him a look. “Talking to the System, I’ll fill you in when I’m done.”

They nodded and went back to their conversation.

“So we can just waltz into a Scenario and start killing monsters?”

“Some Scenarios, keyword SOME. But yeah, if it’s a Scenario you can enter, you can walk in. Of course, once you’re in, you need to clear it to leave. But if you're willing to do that, then you can farm experience.”

“Though entering a Scenario will decrease your chance of getting Skills and Augments from the monsters unless the Scenario is rated as hard or above.”

“Anyway, I need to go hatch some devious schemes. System out!”

Steven smiled. It wasn’t perfect, but they could get stronger without hurting people. Hell, they’d be helping people trapped in Scenarios.

Steven wasn’t going to thank the System, but he was grateful. It was an odd feeling since this was all the System’s doing. But it could have made this far bloodier. He’d count his blessings.

He told the others what the System had said.

Margie hummed. “So…once we scout out the remaining Beasts, we need to find some Scenarios.”

Micheal nodded. “As crazy as throwing ourselves into danger sounds, we can’t wait around forever. That bear is on our doorstep, and the next group like the Red Hand might be stronger than us.”

His grip tightened on the armrest and his eyes grew hard. “The world isn’t going to stand still. Neither can we.”

~<>~<>~

The Seward Highway stretched from Anchorage, along the Turnagain Arm, and all the way to Seward—which was about a two-hour drive.

At least, it was supposed to.

Now the road stretched a little past Girdwood before slamming into the dome.

Potter’s Marsh sat at the edge of what most people considered the city limits, even if the actual municipality went further.

It was tucked into the base of the mountains on the left, with expensive homes overlooking it as you climbed the hills. To its right was the highway, and then the water only about twenty feet past that, depending on the tides.

It was beautiful, and without the dome, you could see across the Arm to more snowy mountains looming above. And further to the right of that was Fire Island and then even more mountains.

Now the blue and green wall blocked the mountains while leaving most of the bay alone.

So, they could see the freezing mist drift by as they pulled to a stop outside of Potter’s Marsh.

The marsh had two boardwalks stretching along it, allowing people to see the moose, eagles, and even beavers that often hung around. Now, the marsh looked like something out of Antarctica. Massive icebergs drifted through the previously shallow waters. And huge shapes moved beneath the sheets of ice.

A particularly massive one shoved an iceberg bigger than a house aside like it weighed nothing.

Steven squinted and was able to make out the black-and-white markings of an orca. An orca that had to be the size of a school bus.

They watched for a beat before Margie threw the truck in reverse. “Nope.” She shook her head. “Fuck that.”

“Agreed,” Steven and Micheal said in unison.

~<>~<>~

The last stop was Valley of The Moon Park. It was a decent size with a large pavilion on one side, an open field, and a large playground shaped like a rocket ship on the other.

Steven could remember coming here when he was little. He’d thought the rocket ship was the coolest thing he’d ever seen.

Now the park was a wall of snow. The piled ice and snow was taller than the truck and shifted and moved almost like water. “What animal is supposed to be here again?” He asked.

Margie didn’t look at him, keeping her eyes on the park. “A moose.”

They were outside the Beast's territory, but Steven still felt a knot of anxiety forming in his gut.

No one spoke, which only added to the eerie sense of silence that hung over the park. The wind didn’t blow, and the city's noise didn’t reach them.

It was just them, the darkening sky, and the cold.

Steven took a deep breath. Hoarfrost had gathered on the trees overhead, coating the spruce in hundreds of white scales.

As Steven watched, the white turned to a cold blue.

He swallowed. That color was familiar…

The snow bank parted as a massive form pushed through.

The moose was at least nine feet tall at the shoulder, and its crown of antlers glittered with frost as it stroud up to the edge of the snow bank.

It stopped, either unwilling or unable to go further.

The moose stared at them with icy blue ice as it huffed, the motion sending streams of blue mist swirling about its head.

Steven didn’t look away.

“Bullwinkle. You grew.”

The moose’s eyes narrowed, and the mist swirled faster.

“Uh, Steven?” Micheal stared at him. “You know the moose?”

He nodded without taking his eyes off the asshole in front of him.

“This is the moose that tried to kill me.”

Micheal blinked. “Damn. Looks like it remembers you too.” He laughed.

Everyone, including the dogs, stared at him.

“I just- of course, Steven has beef with the fucking boss!” He cackled, the sound equal parts amused and annoyed.

He waved off the moose as if it were an annoying fly. “Let’s go find a Scenario.”

He met Steven’s eyes. “'Cause I have a feeling that when the Beasts are allowed to leave, Bullwinkle here is going hunting.”