Ch18 Rank 1 Beast

The monster lunged.

For half a heartbeat, nobody moved.

Ryan had known fear before.

He'd felt it during the Aptitude Test, lying inside a machine that might decide his future before he was old enough to drive. He'd felt it beneath Captain Unkud's aura when the Zorvak's presence had crushed recruits to the floor. He'd felt it during Awakening as Esoteric Energy tore through his body and people screamed themselves to death around him.

This was different.

This fear had teeth.

It crossed thirty paces of forest with horrifying speed.

Ryan's body locked.

Every primitive instinct buried beneath millions of years of human evolution screamed the same command.

Run.

Then he saw Jessica beside him.

Raven.

Ben.

Dezzy.

His squad.

His people.

And the fear changed.

It didn't disappear.

Ryan was terrified.

But something hotter rose beneath it.

Defiance.

They weren't dying here.

Not like prey.

"Jessica!"

His voice cracked on the first syllable.

He didn't care.

"Deadshot! Biggest shot you can make!"

Jessica stared at him.

"What?"

"Everything you've got!"

The predator slowed.

Instead of attacking immediately, it began circling.

That was somehow worse.

Its crimson eyes moved between them.

Studying.

Choosing.

Ryan's thoughts raced.

They couldn't outrun it.

Normal particle rounds probably wouldn't penetrate deeply enough.

Raven could move it.

Dezzy could hurt it if she got close.

Ben—

Ryan didn't know what Ben could do against something like this.

But Jessica?

Deadshot could reinforce projectiles.

Her normal shots already hit far harder than standard particle rounds.

If she poured everything into one—

Maybe.

"Charge the shot!" Ryan shouted. "Don't fire until you have a kill angle!"

Jessica's hands trembled.

Ryan saw it.

So did she.

She swallowed.

Then nodded.

"Okay."

She stepped backward.

Raised the pistol.

Closed her eyes for a fraction of a second.

X Energy moved.

Ryan felt the change before he saw it.

Blue light gathered along the sidearm's conduits.

Not fired.

Held.

Compressed.

The weapon began to hum.

The predator's eyes shifted toward her.

Ryan immediately understood.

It could sense the threat.

"Everyone else!"

His sword came free.

"We keep it off Jessica!"

Raven raised both hands.

Dezzy drew her sword.

Ben gripped his axe.

Ryan glanced toward the stream interface.

Three viewers.

Three people were about to watch them die if this went wrong.

A ridiculous thought entered his head.

At least fix the title.

He issued the command mentally.

[ BROADCAST TITLE UPDATED ]

RANK 0 SQUAD VS RANK 1 BEAST

A comment appeared almost immediately.

[ CURRENT VIEWERS: 4 ]

Void_Surfer99: rank 1? real or clickbait?

Ryan almost laughed.

Then the beast vanished.

"UP!"

Jessica shouted.

The predator launched into the canopy.

Raven fired.

Her particle round tore through leaves.

Missed.

Ben fired twice.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Blue bolts struck branches.

The creature was already somewhere else.

Ryan's eyes raced through the trees.

Nothing.

Nothing—

"LEFT!"

Dezzy saw it.

The beast dropped.

Straight toward them.

"Scatter!"

Ryan threw himself sideways.

Ben didn't.

Whether he reacted too slowly or deliberately stayed in the creature's path, Ryan couldn't tell.

The predator descended directly toward him.

One pale claw swept down.

"BEN!"

Ben's eyes widened.

His hand came up.

Space distorted.

Pop.

Eight feet of dead centipede-serpent appeared between him and the predator.

The claw hit.

The stored carcass exploded.

Chitin shattered.

Dead flesh tore apart.

Blue fluid sprayed through the clearing.

The impact drove through the corpse anyway.

Ben was launched backward.

He hit the ground hard enough to bounce.

"BEN!"

But his axe had already been moving.

The blade completed its arc as the predator came down.

Steel struck its foreleg.

The reinforced alloy bit.

Not deeply.

But enough.

The predator shrieked.

It recoiled.

Ben lay motionless.

Ryan's stomach dropped.

"No—"

Ben coughed.

Rolled.

Sucked in a ragged breath.

"Still..."

Another cough.

"...here."

Ryan nearly collapsed from relief.

The stream exploded.

[ CURRENT VIEWERS: 19 ]

Then—

[ CURRENT VIEWERS: 31 ]

Comments began appearing faster.

User_889: DID THAT HUMAN JUST SPAWN A CORPSE

Vortex_4: spatial storage talent

Kael_9: HE USED THE STORED BODY AS ARMOR

Void_Surfer99: okay not clickbait

Ryan ignored them.

The predator turned.

Blood ran down its wounded foreleg.

Its crimson eyes locked onto Jessica.

The hum from her sidearm had become a high, trembling whine.

Too obvious.

The beast knew.

"Ryan!" Jessica shouted.

It charged.

Ryan was already moving.

His barrier hovered between them.

The predator struck.

Its claw slammed into translucent blue.

BOOM.

Ryan expected the barrier to crack.

It didn't.

The creature recoiled.

Ryan blinked.

No damage.

Not even a mark.

The beast attacked again.

Ryan shifted the barrier.

Mental Energy drained.

The second claw hit.

BOOM.

Still nothing.

Ryan's eyes widened.

The creature was Rank One.

Strong enough to flatten a human cadet beneath its body.

Strong enough that one direct claw strike might kill any of them.

And Ryan's barrier—

It isn't breaking.

He didn't have time to process that.

The predator changed tactics.

It darted around the barrier.

Ryan moved it.

Mental Energy fell again.

[ MENTAL ENERGY: 7 / 9 ]

The beast feinted left.

Ryan reacted.

It reversed.

Fast.

Too fast.

Ryan dragged the barrier back across.

[ MENTAL ENERGY: 6 / 9 ]

Claws scraped against blue light.

The creature twisted.

Its tail swept low.

Ryan angled the barrier.

The tail struck.

Blocked.

[ MENTAL ENERGY: 5 / 9 ]

Ryan's head began to ache.

"Come on!"

The beast circled.

It wasn't stupid.

That frightened him almost as much as its strength.

It had realized the barrier couldn't be broken easily.

So it was trying to make Ryan move it.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Bleed his control dry.

Ryan's eyes widened.

It understands.

The beast lunged right.

Ryan shifted.

Feint.

Left.

Ryan corrected.

[ MENTAL ENERGY: 4 / 9 ]

Pain stabbed behind his eyes.

Raven fired.

The shot hit the predator's shoulder.

It barely reacted.

Dezzy charged.

Her muscles tightened beneath her uniform as Body Control activated.

She slashed.

The predator twisted away.

Her sword carved a shallow line through its flank.

Not enough.

The creature backhanded her.

Ryan moved the barrier.

Too slow.

The edge of the blow caught Dezzy.

She flew.

"DEZZY!"

She hit the ground and rolled.

Ryan's heart stopped.

Dezzy planted one hand.

Pushed herself up.

"I'm functional!"

Blood ran from her mouth.

Functional.

Good enough.

The predator turned toward Jessica again.

Ryan saw the pistol.

The glow had become blinding.

Jessica's entire arm trembled.

Sweat ran down her face.

"Almost!" she shouted.

Ryan looked at his Mental Energy.

Four.

He needed more time.

"Raven!"

"I know!"

Raven thrust both palms forward.

X Energy erupted.

The kinetic blast struck the predator broadside.

It skidded several feet.

Not thrown.

Not like the Rank-Zero creatures.

But moved.

That was enough.

Ryan stepped in.

Barrier forward.

He drove it directly into the predator's face.

The beast snarled.

Ryan pushed mentally.

The barrier moved.

Slowly.

Like forcing a wall through deep mud.

The predator's claws dug into the earth.

Ryan kept pushing.

[ MENTAL ENERGY: 3 / 9 ]

His vision pulsed.

The creature shoved back.

Ryan wasn't physically holding the barrier.

It didn't matter.

His brain felt like it was being crushed between two hands.

"Ryan!"

Jessica.

Not ready.

Still not ready.

The beast twisted around the barrier.

Ryan moved it again.

[ MENTAL ENERGY: 2 / 9 ]

Pain exploded through his skull.

His knees buckled.

The barrier stopped.

The predator came around it.

Ryan saw the claws.

Saw the split-open face.

Saw rows of teeth.

Then Ben appeared.

"HEY!"

The beast turned.

Ben threw his axe.

Ryan had no idea whether that was intentional or panic.

The weapon spun through the air.

The predator jerked aside.

The axe missed its head.

But that wasn't the point.

Ben had made it look away.

Ryan used the opening.

He commanded the barrier forward.

[ MENTAL ENERGY: 1 / 9 ]

The translucent wall slammed sideways into the creature's muzzle.

Its head snapped around.

"NOW!"

Jessica opened her eyes.

Deadshot ignited.

For one instant, everything about her changed.

The trembling stopped.

Her breathing stopped.

Her eyes locked onto the predator.

The barrel aligned.

Ryan saw the creature recognize the danger.

Its legs compressed.

It moved.

Jessica fired.

The forest turned blue.

The sound wasn't a gunshot.

It was an explosion.

The particle round crossed the clearing as a blazing lance.

The predator twisted.

Too fast.

The shot missed its skull.

But not its body.

Energy struck the wounded shoulder.

The blast punched through.

Fur vanished.

Muscle vaporized.

Bone shattered.

A smoking crater erupted through the upper torso.

The creature spun through the air and crashed into the ground.

Jessica staggered backward.

Her sidearm smoked.

Her arm dropped.

[ CURRENT VIEWERS: 58 ]

The chat raced.

Vortex_4: WHAT WAS THAT SHOT

Kael_9: projectile amplification talent

GamerX: THE BARRIER DIDN'T BREAK

Void_Surfer99: did anyone else notice that??

Ryan noticed.

He absolutely noticed.

But later.

The predator screamed.

Still alive.

Of course it was still alive.

"Kill it!"

Ryan ran.

His Mental Energy was nearly gone.

X Energy remained.

His barrier was still standing behind him.

But moving it again risked dropping him unconscious.

So Ryan stopped relying on it.

Sword.

The predator tried to rise.

One front leg barely worked.

Its shoulder was gone.

Dark blood poured across the ground.

Ryan closed.

The creature lashed out.

Claw.

Fast.

Ryan ducked.

Air moved over his hair.

Too close.

He slid.

Mud soaked his legs.

The creature's belly passed above him.

Ryan swung.

The Varkan-alloy blade bit into softer tissue.

Deep.

He dragged it across the underside.

Hot blood poured over him.

The creature shrieked.

Ryan rolled away.

"NOW!"

Raven attacked.

Push.

The kinetic wave struck the wounded predator.

This time it moved.

It slammed backward into a tree.

Ben retrieved his axe and charged.

Dezzy came from the other side.

Body Control surged through her limbs.

Ben buried the axe into the creature's wounded leg.

Dezzy's sword entered beneath the jaw.

The predator thrashed.

Raven pushed again.

Pinned it against the trunk.

Jessica raised her pistol.

Her arm shook violently.

"No shot!" Ryan yelled. "Save it!"

She lowered the weapon.

Ryan ran forward.

The creature's four-part mouth opened.

Teeth snapped inches from Dezzy.

Ben wrenched his axe free.

Struck again.

Ryan came from the side.

Sword in both hands.

He drove the blade into the wound Jessica had created.

The predator convulsed.

Ryan pushed deeper.

Ben struck the neck.

Dezzy twisted her sword.

Raven's Push held the creature against the tree.

Then—

Nothing.

The enormous body sagged.

Its claws loosened.

The split jaws slowly closed.

Dark blood ran down the trunk.

Nobody moved.

Ryan remained gripping the sword.

Waiting.

One second.

Five.

Ten.

The beast didn't move.

"Is it dead?" Ben whispered.

Dezzy stared.

"Wait."

Twenty seconds.

Thirty.

Skynet finally responded.

[ TARGET BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY: TERMINATED ]

Ryan let go of the sword.

His legs gave out.

He sat heavily in the dirt.

Nobody laughed.

Nobody celebrated.

For several seconds, the only sounds in the clearing were ragged breathing and the faint crackle of scorched vegetation.

Jessica dropped onto both knees.

Her sidearm slipped from her fingers.

Ryan immediately looked over.

"Jessica?"

"I'm okay."

She wasn't.

Her face was pale.

Her arm shook uncontrollably.

Ryan crawled toward her.

"How much X Energy?"

"Zero."

"All of it?"

She nodded.

"All."

Ryan exhaled.

Ben sat beside his axe.

"I'm pretty sure that thing rearranged my organs."

Dezzy wiped blood from her mouth.

"You remain ambulatory."

"Thank you, doctor."

"I am not a doctor."

"Clearly."

Raven leaned against a tree.

Her breathing was almost as bad as Jessica's.

"We need to leave."

Ryan nodded.

Immediately.

Whatever that predator had been, the fight had made enough noise to announce their location to half the forest.

Then he remembered.

The stream.

Ryan looked toward the drone.

It hovered above them.

Red recording light active.

His interface was covered in comments.

[ CURRENT VIEWERS: 78 ]

Ryan stared.

Seventy-eight.

Not three.

Seventy-eight.

The chat moved faster than he could comfortably read.

Apex_Chaser: THEY ACTUALLY KILLED IT

Void_Surfer99: GG HUMAN

Kael_9: spatial guy's carcass block was insane

Nebula_Drifter: that belly slide 🔥

GamerX: someone clip the barrier sequence

Vortex_4: HOW DID THE SHIELD TAKE ZERO DAMAGE???

StarGazer_X: sniper girl almost deleted that thing

IronJaw: they're all unranked???

Ryan read that one twice.

Then another notification appeared.

[ NEW SUBSCRIBER ]

Ryan froze.

Subscribers: 1

Another.

Subscribers: 2

Then three.

Five.

Seven.

Ryan's exhaustion briefly disappeared.

"Guys."

Nobody responded.

"Guys."

Jessica looked over.

"What?"

Ryan pointed uselessly toward an interface only he could see.

"I got subscribers."

Ben stared at him.

"We almost died."

"I know."

"And that's what you're thinking about?"

"No."

Ryan paused.

"Not entirely."

Jessica started laughing.

Not a normal laugh.

An exhausted, slightly hysterical laugh born from being alive when she very nearly hadn't been.

Ryan started laughing too.

Then Raven.

Even Ben cracked.

Dezzy lasted longest.

Eventually, the corner of her mouth moved.

Ryan wiped blood from his face.

His hands were still shaking.

The stream chat continued.

Seventy-eight people.

Tiny.

Compared with Darkstar.

Tiny compared with the billions watching the Guild's largest creators.

But they were real.

Seventy-eight strangers had watched five human cadets stand against something that should have killed them.

Ryan looked toward the corpse.

Then toward his barrier.

It still hovered in the clearing.

Perfect.

Smooth.

Translucent blue.

Not one crack.

Not one mark.

Ryan's smile slowly faded.

He stood.

Walked toward it.

Touched the surface.

Cold.

Solid.

Exactly as it had been before the fight.

A Rank-One predator had hammered it with enough force to kill him instantly.

The barrier hadn't cared.

Ryan remembered the name.

Absolute Energy Barrier.

For the first time, the word Absolute didn't feel like dramatic system terminology.

It felt like a warning.

"Ryan?"

Jessica had noticed his expression.

He looked at her.

Then at the barrier.

"We need to test something later."

"What?"

Ryan released the fixed barrier.

Blue particles scattered into the air.

"Later."

Ben stood with a groan.

"Can later happen inside the giant walls?"

"Definitely."

Ryan looked toward the dead predator.

First, however, they had something else to do.

"Skynet."

[ AWAITING QUERY. ]

"Analyze the corpse."

A blue scan passed over the creature.

This time, perhaps because it was dead and no longer moving, the analysis lasted several seconds.

Then text appeared.

[ PARTIAL SPECIES MATCH FOUND ]

[ LOCAL DESIGNATION: UMBRAL RAVAGER ]

[ DEVELOPMENTAL STAGE: JUVENILE ]

Ryan's face went blank.

"Juvenile?"

Ben looked over.

"What?"

Ryan shared the result.

Everyone stared.

Jessica spoke first.

"That was a baby?"

"No," Ben said immediately.

"I reject that information."

More text appeared.

[ ESTIMATED ESOTERIC CLASSIFICATION: RANK ONE ]

[ CORE/Nucleus FORMATION PROBABILITY: HIGH ]

That got everyone's attention.

Raven pushed away from the tree.

"Crystal."

Ryan looked at the corpse.

Rank One.

Yesterday they'd spent six hours hunting fifteen Rank-Zero beasts for five crystals.

This creature—

"Harvest it fast."

Nobody needed convincing.

Ryan ended the stream.

[ END BROADCAST? ]

He confirmed.

[ BROADCAST ENDED ]

Peak Viewers: 78

Subscribers Gained: 11

Total Subscribers: 11 / 10,000

Ryan stared at the number.

Eleven.

He needed 9,989 more.

Still ridiculous.

But yesterday he'd had zero.

Today, eleven people had chosen to come back.

Ryan looked at his battered, exhausted squad.

Then at the corpse of the Rank-One predator lying beneath the alien trees.

His first real stream had lasted less than an hour.

He'd nearly died.

Ben had used a corpse as armor.

Jessica had fired a shot powerful enough to tear through a Rank-One beast.

Raven and Dezzy had fought at point-blank range.

And Ryan had discovered that something capable of killing him with one strike apparently couldn't scratch his barrier.

Eleven subscribers suddenly felt pretty good.

He drew his knife.

"Let's see what Rank One is worth."