Nobody ever looked up. It was one of the first rules of stealth I'd ever learned, and I lost count of how many times I'd made use of this simple fact.

It was evening and I was perched high in a tree just outside the mongrel army's first outpost. One of my legs dangled freely as I chewed idly on a handful of dried meat I'd looted from a dead aspirant yesterday.

To my right, the trees stretched on with no end in sight. To my left, there was a little wooden outpost. I could see a gangly young man walking the tops of the wall beside a tomte. Both appeared to be chatting as they occasionally stopped and squinted into the distance.

Less than an hour ago, Brynn had returned to his outpost dragging someone by a rope. Not long after, two more scouts had left, shortly followed by another two.

As usual, it was fucking strange. The man was surrounded by "fucking strange."

Grommets, late-night outings by himself, duels with nobility, and now this…

Even if it irked me to no end to admit, I could see the truth plain as day. I couldn't take him in a fair fight. Maybe if we were on the outside and I had all my abilities I would give it a shot, but even then, I wasn't sure I liked my chances. It was why I'd been biding my time until now, but that appeared to be a mistake. The bastard got strong. Fast.

Meanwhile, I was failing to keep pace. The challenge area I'd found had very nearly killed me, and I wasn't about to risk another one any time soon. These outposts were fine for unlocking items, but stragglers kept stealing them from me when I left.

Items I'd unlocked from touching the altar in outposts zapped straight back to my slip space and became locked away when someone else took the outposts from me. It was a pain in the ass, and just another sign this tourney wasn't made to be won solo.

But fuck it. I'd find a way.

I hadn't survived this long by taking bad bets, either. So for now, I was content to wait. With the way he had been acting, I figured it was only a matter of time before the fight wasn't fair. I needed to find him when he seemed low on mana, wounded, tired, or distracted. Annoyingly, none of the above seemed common with him. Despite hardly ever appearing to sleep, there was always an irritating spring in his step as if he was full of energy.

I finished the last of the nuts I'd gathered and shifted my attention to picking dirt from beneath my nails with my knife. I'd lost track of how many days we'd been in here now and I still only had two active skills and a passive. Equipment-wise, I just had three items.

I also knew the passive and extra items could vanish at any moment if the outposts I'd taken on the other side of the ring were taken.

None of that would matter too much if Brynn got himself wounded badly enough. I'd only need to step in his shadow and open his throat. I would've tried it already but I was pretty sure the tricky bastard had some kind of ability to sense me moving through the shadows. Back in Beastden, it had seemed like he knew where I'd appear before I rose up, and that was dangerous.

Failure was an option, though. Sure, the "V" asshole from Coil would be pissed if I slipped out of this tourney without killing Brynn like he wanted. The guy had reeked of danger and power, just like his little female pet. But they could add themselves to the fucking list of people who wanted me dead. What did I care?

I was more than capable of laying low, and they'd probably forget after a time.

Killing Brynn wasn't only about doing the job, though. If that's all it was, I would've given up by now.

But no… I wanted him for myself. And I'd seen enough now to realize he was only going to keep getting stronger. The bastard leveled up like nothing I'd ever seen in my life. It felt like only a few months ago when I was hunting him in The Black Wood and he was a puny little Wood. And then he somehow got himself to Iron in Beastden. And now… now I could feel his power even from a distance. I had a very bad feeling he was well on his way to Silver.

Even as I waited here in the tree, I could feel strange pulses of power. It made no sense. There shouldn't be any way for him to be growing stronger inside the outpost, but something in there was changing. I could feel it.

I gripped my knife and stabbed it hard into the branch I sat on.

Little fucker. I'd be damned if I let him reach Silver before me. Summoning the briarwraith was supposed to be my ticket to Silver, and that shit was months ago. Killing Brynn was the new ticket thanks to Mr. "V".

Kill him, and I'd get the ascension token I needed.

A few more minutes passed, and then there was a tearing sound from below my tree. Orange light flashed, lighting everything around from below for an instant like lightning. I leaned forward to get a look.

I almost fell out of the damn tree when I saw a man standing there. A man who was looking straight up and smiling.

"Hello, 'Rake'." he said, bald head shining in the moonlight. He had a hooked nose and bent posture that reminded me of a bird of prey. "I'm Senior Game Manager Valric, and I have a proposition for you."

Game manager? I leaned my back against the base of the tree, leg still dangling. "Speak it, then."

"This coin…" the old man produced a golden coin that glowed with faint light. "If it's in your possession, you'll bypass all the magical fields we've set in place here. Your slip space will be unrestricted. Your core stone will be fully unlocked again."

"Price?" I asked.

"A life."

"Whose?"

"Brynn Stygos. Are you familiar with him?"

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A slow smile spread on my face. "Rings a bell."

"We give this to you. You kill him. And then you will walk to the boundary of the tournament grounds to the south where we'll be waiting to extract you. Interested?"

"Not really. Sounds like I do your dirty work and lose a shot at winning the grand prize. What's in it for me when this is all over?" I asked. Of course, my fucking heart was beating out of my chest at the idea. I wanted that damn coin. Bad. But there was no reason to waste an opportunity to barter. And I'd do the job for nothing. Hell, I'd pay them to do it. But they didn't need to know that.

"There will be additional payment. It will be waiting for you when you head south."

"Alright," I said. Of course, I had no plans to head south. I'd use the coin and its power to win this tournament.

The old man flicked the coin up and I snatched it out of the air.

The moment it touched my palm, a wave of energy prickled across my skin. I closed my eyes, smiling. Sure enough, I could feel my slip space expanding. I could feel the magical abilities at my fingertips. It was all there. I was fully unlocked.

"And Rake?" the man said. "We need this to be done quickly. No more than a day from now."

I had no plans to wait and let that asshole get even stronger, so I pursed my lips and shrugged. "With all haste," I said sarcastically. "Now if you don't mind, you're giving away my hiding spot to anyone who cares to look, and there's a certain asshole who has been tracking me for days. So fuck off, Senior Game Manager."

The man scowled up at me. The same tearing sound came, and on the other side of the portal, I saw a mage in robes concentrating on the spell. Valric turned his back on me and walked through the portal and then it snapped shut behind him, leaving a multi-colored afterimage in my eyes.

I knew Brynn was inside the outpost, so I supposed all I needed to do was wait for him to head out alone again the way he liked. When he did, I'd jump him. No more hesitating. No more waiting. With all my abilities, I thought the element of surprise would be enough.

First, though, I needed to take a shit.

I jumped off the tree and landed easily, my Light Fall passive ability making me feel as though I weighed only a few pounds. I had missed that one. Embarrassingly, I'd forgotten it wasn't active anymore and nearly broken my fucking leg the first day of the tournament.

I'd taken two steps when I heard a voice behind me.

"Quite the light show," it said.

The left side of my lips curved upward. That voice… I recognized it.

"Cassian," I said softly, head half-turned. "Come to apologize for betraying me in Beastden, have you?"

"I've come to put you down like the dog you are."

"So is that how it goes?" I asked, pocketing the coin Valric had given me. "You're Helmet's secret guard dog? I've been watching, you know. I've seen you quietly taking down patrols that get too close. I saw you fighting the monsters that were coming this way two nights ago. And I know you've been tracking me. You're protecting him. But why?"

When he didn't answer, I turned to face him. Cassian's dark tousled hair partly covered his eyes and he held a long sword that seemed to absorb all light. Fancy weapon, sure, but I didn't plan to let him use it.

"Not talkative tonight?" I asked mockingly. "That's a shame. I really did enjoy our conversations."

He would be weak like I was just moments ago. Corestone crippled. Equipment barely available to him. I wouldn't be surprised if that sword was the only thing he had. It certainly looked like it.

He was only wearing the black uniform of nobility and I couldn't see anything else on him. Not even a ring or necklace.

If he was expecting a fair fight, I was happy to disappoint.

He took a step toward me, and that was when I struck.

A tree's shadow stretched long behind him. I reached out to it, letting myself flow through the void and into the darkness. I felt the familiar tug on my insides, spun myself in that empty space so I'd be facing him when I rose, and then I gripped my daggers.

But his back wasn't to me when I rose from his shadow.

He was mid-swing, black sword already arcing toward my neck at incredible speeds.

I didn't risk parrying with my daggers. I'd seen void weapons like that before and knew it would probably cut straight through anything short of Legendary.

Instead, I ducked back into the shadow, let the blade pass above me, and then jumped free, rolling sideways and diving head-first into another shadow.

I flew out a few feet to the side, flipped, and landed on my feet.

"Fast," I said. "I'll give you that."

He wasn't interested in small-talk, it seemed. Cassian swung the sword in an upward arc and a wave of void as thin as a hair flew silently toward me. I sidestepped, looked to my right, and saw it cut through tree after tree, branches falling in its wake with blackened edges.

Damn. Was that an ability, or was it an item?

I supposed it didn't matter.

I snarled and rushed straight for him, daggers raised like I was about to jump in and try to stab him overhand. I waited until he swung for me and then vanished into another shadow at the last possible moment.

And again, the fucking bastard was swinging for me before I'd even halfway risen from the shadow.

I was ready this time, though, and I planted my foot and launched myself to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack.

Even without his abilities and items, the kid was good. Better than I'd realized.

I fell into a battle rhythm, daggers flashing and body reacting faster than my mind could work. I rolled, ducked, dodged, and slashed. And he was fast. The fucker was very fast.

He only ever slipped and moved as much as necessary. No wasted movement. No flourishes. No talking.

He was vicious, and I could feel the gap in our power. Lucky for me, he was crippled by the tournament protections and I wasn't.

I unleashed the shadows, letting them sprout from my back as extra arms as I fed mana into my daggers, charging them with corruption that would awaken his blood if I landed a single strike.

I bared my teeth, pushing my body to its limit and moving faster than I'd ever moved. I just needed to draw blood one fucking time.

He twisted, swirled, and swung, making me jump to avoid having my legs cut off at the knees.

I stabbed for him mid-air, and this time, he had nowhere to go. But at the last second, his sword ballooned into a ball of darkness and he vanished, leaving me to stab empty air.

I whirled and saw him thrusting at me from behind.

Fucker.

I fell into a shadow, appeared several feet back, and decided it was time to end this. If I couldn't use his blood, I'd just use my own. Using the tip of my dagger, I drew a long, burning cut across my forearm. The blood was charged with shadow, each drop turning into a familiar that fed on my rage and intentions.

All I had to do was look at the dark-haired youth and my familiars got the message loud and clear.

Cassian watched me impassively, sword held to one side as he slowly approached.

The shadow leeches landed in the undergrowth and began slithering toward him. This, at least, got his attention. He'd seen me in Beastden and knew what this meant. His surprise also made it clear he hadn't expected me to have a second active ability. He also hadn't realized I could use my own blood.

Too bad for him.

"Surprise," I said, waving goodbye.

He tried to strike at them, but it was no use. Some were as small as insects, and nearly impossible to see as they wove through fallen leaves and tangled roots.

They began leaping at him, drawing more blood that I reached into and tainted.

More and more leeches fell from him as I sat down and started picking more dirt from beneath my nails with the tip of my knife. I hadn't finished earlier, and this tournament was a dirty place, after all.

Cassian struggled valiantly, but it was only a minute before his own blood betrayed him. Hundreds of shadow leeches struck up at him, overwhelming him until finally blue flared bright and he was yanked upward toward the distant, dark shape of an airship.

The leeches jumped after him, angry for their prey to be taken. But I dismissed them with a thought, watching the pile of squirming shadows turn back to blood that sank into the undergrowth.

I brushed off my pants as I stood, yawned, and then headed deeper into the trees to find a good place to shit. Brynn should be leaving the outpost soon, and I didn't want to fight him on a full stomach.

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