The group decided to take a risk. Stronger monsters meant more points, and they wanted to win.
As they climbed a steep, rocky hill, they froze at the sight ahead.
A massive nest lay just beyond the ridge. Inside it: dozens of baby wyverns, chirping softly, squirming together in a pile of broken eggshells and bones.
Kaguro's expression darkened immediately. "This is bad. We need to leave. Now."
Ezren raised an eyebrow, grinning. "How bad could it be? We wait around, maybe the mom shows up. Big fight, big points."
The entire group turned toward him with identical looks of disbelief.
"You don't get it, do you?" Enjin said flatly. "Mother wyverns are top-tier predators. Even adult wyverns run from them. Their scales are almost unbreakable. No attacks would work on them."
"Even all of us together wouldn't stand a chance," Kaguro added, arms crossed.
Ezren's eyes sparkled. "So you're saying… even more points?"
Kaguro looked at Kagetsu, deadpan. "How is he still alive?"
Kagetsu sighed. "We're not dying for a high score. Let's back out, quietly."
The group began to retreat, stepping carefully through the underbrush, each footstep chosen like it was defusing a bomb.
Then, snap.
Ezren stepped on a dry branch.
Every baby wyvern in the nest screeched in panic.
"Oh, great," Kaguro muttered, smacking Ezren lightly upside the head. "You had one job."
A dull orange glow flared from the cave entrance above. Heat and smoke poured out like breath from a dragon's lungs.
Kagetsu's voice was tight. "She's coming. Run."
They bolted.
Feet pounded dirt. Branches whipped past. Behind them, a thunderous roar shattered the trees.
A massive shadow swept overhead as the mother wyvern dove from the sky, wings stretching wide enough to block out the sun. The ground trembled under her roar.
Kagetsu skidded to a stop. "We've got no choice," he said. "We fight."
Ezren stared at him. "Wait, you actually have a plan?"
"Yeah," Kagetsu said, oddly calm. "I do."
He laid it out quickly, sharp, fast, efficient.
When he finished, there was a pause.
Kaguro scratched his chin. "Risky... Can Ezren even do that?"
He looked at Ezren. "Well? you up for it?"
Ezren took a shaky breath, then stood taller. "Let's do it."
Kaguro gave a sharp grin. "Finally, some confidence that doesn't come with a dumb idea."
Without another word, Kagetsu dashed forward, drawing the wyvern's attention. The beast shrieked and gave chase, claws digging up dirt. Kagetsu moved like a blur, his technique Ghost Pulse letting him glide just out of reach, his body flickering like a shadow.
But even he wouldn't last long. The toll was building.
Then, he raised his fist into the air.
The signal.
From the side, Kaguro, Enjin, and Ezren rushed in.
"Focus," Kaguro muttered. "This part's all you, Ezren."
Ezren channeled his mana. A small portal shimmered to life in front of them, unstable, but holding.
Kaguro and Enjin dove through.
Flash.
They were inside the wyvern.
Kaguro landed in a wet splat. "Ugh. It smells like burnt socks and regret in here."
Enjin grunted as he stood, covered in goo. "Talk less. Burn more."
Inside the beast, they unleashed their strongest attacks, flames, light, raw force, all exploding from within.
From the outside, the wyvern let out a deafening, pained roar.
Would it be enough?
Enjin and Kaguro burst out of the Mother Wyvern's rear end, yes, the ass, thanks to Kagetsu's surprisingly brilliant (and slightly disgusting) escape plan. To their shock, and mild disgust, they stumbled across a massive glowing crystal lodged inside the beast.
But their victory lap was cut short by a chorus of screeches. Wyvern hatchlings. Lots of them.
"Oh great," Enjin muttered, narrowing his eyes. "Teenagers."
Some of the wyverns weren't just babies, they were gangly, moody, hormone-fueled teen wyverns, and they did not look happy about the death of Mom.
"Follow me!" Enjin shouted, already leaping into the trees.
"What? Why?!" Kaguro called after him, barely keeping up as they bounced from branch to branch like caffeinated squirrels.
Moments later, they found Kagetsu and Ezren locked in battle with a swarm of screeching baby wyverns, flanked by two much larger, clearly more dangerous mature ones.
Kaguro didn't hesitate. He summoned Asteron, hurling it skyward. Beams of divine light rained down like holy fireworks. The wyverns weren't fried, but at least they flinched. It gave Ezren and Kagetsu just enough space to catch their breath.
But just as things seemed to calm down...
"DOWN!" Enjin roared.
Kaguro hit the dirt instinctively. A dark dagger whizzed over his head, close enough to give him a part in his hair.
"Seriously," Kaguro muttered, half-smirking, "how does this always get worse?"
The forest answered with a hiss and a snap, vines erupted from every direction, snaking toward them like angry serpents.
Enjin leapt into action, joining Kagetsu and Ezren to fend off the wyverns, but not before shouting to Kaguro, "There's another team! They're flanking, go deal with it!"
Kagetsu echoed the call. "Kaguro! Handle the rear! We've got this!"
Without missing a beat, Kaguro gave a nod, re-summoned Asteron, and vanished into the trees.