"Akane, you climb that tree," Sanji whispered rapidly, pointing to a sturdy oak with low branches. "Get high enough for a clear shot at all four wolves. When I give the signal, focus fire on whichever one I mark."
Akane nodded, slinging her bow over her shoulder and scrambling up the trunk with surprising agility. Her ranger class apparently came with enhanced climbing abilities.
"Yuki, you'll open with your biggest area spell. What do you have that can hit multiple targets?"
"Frost Nova has a fifteen-foot radius, but I'd need to be close. Too risky." Yuki's eyes narrowed in thought. "Wait. I have one I haven't used yet. Ice Storm thirty-foot radius, costs fifty MP, but the cooldown is five minutes."
"That's perfect. I'll draw their attention first, get them to cluster even tighter. When they're grouped, you hit them with Ice Storm. The initial damage should even the odds."
The trapped player—Sanji could see his name tag now, Kenji - Level 3 was desperately parrying attacks from two wolves while the other two circled for openings. His HP was dropping steadily: 78/130, then 71/130 as claws raked his arm.
"Thirty seconds," Yuki said. "He doesn't have thirty seconds."
"Then we start now. Get into position."
Sanji activated his Game Master's Eye fully, analyzing every detail of the battlefield. The four shadow wolves were positioned in a semi-circle around Kenji. The two in front were actively attacking. The two on the flanks were preparing to lunge. If Sanji could get them all to turn toward him...
He picked up a rock and hurled it at the nearest wolf, hitting it square in the head.
-2 HP
The damage was negligible, but it got the creature's attention. Its glowing red eyes locked onto Sanji.
"Hey!" Sanji shouted, banging his sword against his shield. "Over here, you mangy shadows! Come get me!"
All four wolves turned. Their pack mentality kicked in a new threat meant a unified response. They abandoned Kenji and charged toward Sanji as a group.
Perfect.
Sanji turned and ran, not in panic but with purpose, leading them toward the position where Yuki had planted her staff. The wolves were fast, closing the distance with terrifying speed, their Shadow Step ability letting them flicker forward in bursts.
Twenty feet from Yuki's position. Fifteen feet. Ten feet.
"Now!" Sanji dove to the side.
Yuki's staff blazed with brilliant blue light. "Ice Storm!"
The temperature plummeted. The air above the charging wolves crystallized, and then a maelstrom of ice shards erupted from above, a cyclone of frozen death that engulfed all four creatures. Each shard that struck exploded into frost, dealing damage and applying a slowing effect.
-52 HP appeared above each wolf, repeated three times as multiple waves of ice struck them. The wolves howled in pain and fury, their HP bars dropping by more than half. The slow effect reduced their movement speed by forty percent.
From her perch in the tree, Akane opened fire. Her arrows rained down with precision, each one finding a target. -34 HP, -41 HP, -38 HP. Three different wolves, three solid hits.
Sanji was already back on his feet, charging the wolves while they were still reeling from the Ice Storm. He activated his Basic Swordsmanship skill and focused on the wolf with the lowest HP.
His blade flashed in a three-strike combo: slash across the neck, thrust to the chest, overhead chop to the spine. -27 HP, -31 HP, -29 HP.
The first shadow wolf dissolved into smoke.
+45 EXP
Three left.
Kenji, given a moment to breathe and heal, drank a health potion and rejoined the fight. He wasn't skilled his sword work was clumsy and desperate but he was brave. He engaged one of the wolves, parrying its attacks and keeping it occupied.
That left two wolves for Sanji to tank. They recovered from the slow effect and attacked with renewed fury, one from each side. Sanji blocked the left one with his shield while dodging right, trying to avoid the second wolf's bite.
He wasn't quite fast enough. Teeth sank into his calf. -34 HP.
Pain shot up his leg, white-hot and very real. Sanji gritted his teeth and counterattacked, slamming his shield edge into the wolf's snout. -18 HP. It released him, and he followed with a sword thrust. -26 HP.
Yuki was casting Ice Bolts methodically, one every few seconds to manage her MP. Each bolt struck for reduced damage due to the resistance, but she was consistent, wearing them down. -27 HP, -29 HP, -26 HP.
Akane's arrows continued to rain down from above. She'd found a rhythm, firing, nocking, firing, nocking. -36 HP, -33 HP, -37 HP.
The second wolf fell.
+45 EXP
The remaining two wolves realized they were losing. One tried to flee, but Akane's arrow caught it mid-step. -42 HP. It stumbled, and Sanji was on it instantly, his sword finding the gap between shadow and substance. -28 HP. Another strike. -31 HP.
It dissolved.
+45 EXP
Level Up!
Level 6 achieved
The golden light of leveling surrounded Sanji, healing his wounds and restoring his strength. His HP jumped to 180, and all his stats increased. The bite on his leg simply ceased to hurt, the damage erased by the level-up.
The final wolf was still engaged with Kenji, who was barely holding on. His HP was at 45/130, his movements getting sluggish from exhaustion.
"Finish it!" Sanji called.
All four of them attacked simultaneously. Sanji's sword, Yuki's ice magic, Akane's arrows, and Kenji's desperate slash all converging on the last shadow wolf.
It didn't stand a chance.
+45 EXP
The forest fell silent except for heavy breathing. Kenji collapsed to his knees, his sword falling from nerveless fingers. Yuki leaned on her staff, MP depleted to 20/110. Akane climbed down from her tree, quiver nearly empty again.
Sanji's heart was pounding, adrenaline still flooding his system. That had been close. If any part of the plan had failed if Yuki's Ice Storm had missed, if the wolves hadn't clustered properly, if Akane's shots had been off-target they could have easily lost someone.
But they'd succeeded. Four shadow wolves down, and everyone alive.
"Thank you," Kenji gasped, looking up at them with tears of relief. "Thank you so much. I thought... I thought I was dead."
"What were you doing out here alone?" Yuki asked, her tone sharp with disapproval. "A level three has no business in the Deep Forest zone."
"I know, I know," Kenji said miserably. "I was with a group, but we got separated when we were running from a forest troll. I've been trying to find my way back to the village for an hour, but I kept getting turned around. Then those wolves found me..."
Sanji helped him to his feet. "You're okay now. We'll escort you back to the village."
"I don't have anything to pay you with," Kenji said. "I used all my potions, and I don't have much coin..."
"We're not asking for payment," Sanji said. "Just... be more careful next time. And don't venture into high-level zones until you're ready."
Kenji nodded vigorously. "I won't. I promise. I've learned my lesson."
As they began the trek back toward the village, Akane fell into step beside Sanji. "You keep doing this," she said quietly. "Saving people. Risking yourself for strangers."
"Is that a problem?"
"No. It's just... most people aren't like that. Most people are looking out for themselves right now. You're different."
Sanji didn't know how to respond to that. Was he different? He'd always thought of himself as fairly ordinary just a gamer who happened to have decent strategic thinking. But maybe in a world where survival was paramount, compassion did make him unusual.
"I can't just watch people die," he finally said. "Not if I can help them."
"Even if helping them puts you at risk?"
"Especially then. Because if we all just look out for ourselves, we're no better than the monsters we're fighting."
Yuki, walking ahead with Kenji, glanced back at them. She didn't say anything, but something in her expression had shifted. Maybe approval. Maybe concern. Possibly both.
They were halfway back to the village when Sanji's Game Master's Eye suddenly blazed with warning. He stopped abruptly, holding up his hand.
"What is it?" Yuki asked.
Sanji scanned the forest, his enhanced perception picking up something wrong. There through the trees, perhaps a hundred feet away. Movement. But not monsters.
Players.
Five of them, moving in formation. And they were following someone else, a solo player who seemed unaware of being tracked.
"Ambush," Sanji said quietly. "Players hunting another player."
The group watched as the scene unfolded. The five-person party closed in on their target, a lone ranger who was focused on fighting a shadow wolf. The ranger finished the wolf, her back turned as she collected loot.
That's when the five players struck.
The mage in their group cast a spell not at a monster, but at the ranger. A bolt of fire struck her in the back. -67 HP appeared above her. She spun around, shock and betrayal on her face as she recognized they were players.
"Wait! What are you"
The warrior charged, his sword swinging. The ranger tried to defend herself, but it was five against one. She lasted perhaps fifteen seconds before her HP hit zero.
Her avatar flickered, glitched, and then dissolved into light particles.
Permanent death.
The five players immediately began looting the items that had dropped her equipment, her coins, everything she'd earned.
"They killed her," Akane whispered, horrified. "Players killed another player."
Kenji looked like he might be sick. "They murdered her. For loot."
Yuki's face was hard as stone. "I told you this would happen. When survival is at stake, some people show their true nature. And it's ugly."
Sanji felt cold rage building in his chest. He'd known intellectually that player-killing would happen. The anonymous figure had warned them that death was permanent, but hadn't forbidden PvP. Some players would inevitably turn predator.
But seeing it happen, watching someone be murdered by other humans for profit it was different. It was visceral and wrong.
"We should go," Yuki said. "Before they notice us. Those are five level-fives or sixes, organized and willing to kill. We can't fight them."
She was right. They were exhausted, low on resources, and Kenji was nearly helpless. Engaging that group would be suicide.
But as they carefully retreated, staying hidden in the underbrush, Sanji memorized their faces. The warrior who'd landed the killing blow had a distinctive red bandana. The mage wore dark robes with gold trim. The healer had blonde hair in a ponytail.
He would remember them.
"This changes things," Sanji said once they were safely distant. "It's not just monsters we need to watch for. Other players are just as dangerous. Maybe more, because they're intelligent."
"The village is a safe zone," Yuki reminded him. "PvP is disabled there. But out here, in the wilderness, there are no rules. No protections."
They reached the village as the sun began to set. Kenji thanked them profusely one final time before heading off to rest. The three of them stood at the village entrance, looking back toward the forest.
"We need to get stronger," Sanji said. "A lot stronger. Strong enough that we don't have to run from player-killers. Strong enough to fight back if necessary."
"Agreed," Yuki said. "But we also need to be smart. Avoid unnecessary fights. Build alliances with trustworthy people. Because this world is getting more dangerous by the day."
Akane looked at both of them. "What about the people who can't defend themselves? The lower-level players who'll be targeted by groups like that?"
"We can't save everyone," Yuki said bluntly.
But Sanji was thinking. His Game Master's Eye, his growing levels, his combat experience he was becoming powerful. And power meant responsibility.
"We'll save who we can," he said. "When we can. Without getting ourselves killed. That's the best we can do."
As they headed into the village to rest and resupply, Sanji couldn't shake the image of that ranger dissolving into light, murdered by people who should have been allies.
The game had changed.
Now they were fighting on two fronts: against the monsters of Alkhali World, and against the darkness in human nature itself.
To be continued...