The swordsman reached Ren first.
Ren thrust at his chest, but the swordsman knocked the spearhead aside with his gauntlet and cut across Ren’s ribs.
-21 HP
Ren stepped back before the second swing.
The guardian was already moving around his right side, cutting off the easiest escape. The archer moved left. The woman with the staff stayed farther back, mumbling something.
Four against one.
Worse, they knew what they were doing.
Of course they do. Nobody incompetent ever volunteered to ruin my day.
Ren retreated between the briars.
The swordsman followed.
"Stop running."
"I’ll consider it."
An arrow snapped past Ren’s cheek.
He stopped considering it.
The guardian pushed through the narrow path and forced Ren farther north.
Ren jabbed at the swordsman’s thigh.
The spearpoint slipped past his guard.
Keen Bite F activated.
-34 HP
The swordsman cursed and pulled back.
Ren turned and ran.
Behind him, the staff user finished her incantation and shouted one word.
Roots burst from the ground around Ren’s ankle.
Right. They have a caster too. Very balanced.
He ripped his foot free before they closed completely, but the delay was enough.
Another arrow struck his upper arm. He was beginning to dislike archers on principle.
-13 HP
HP: 91/125
Ren ducked behind a tree.
A sword hit the trunk where his neck had been.
He drove the butt of the spear into the swordsman’s stomach, shoved him back into the guardian and bolted away.
I can’t win. That’s fine. I only need ten seconds.
The creek was ahead.
Ren jumped down the muddy bank and splashed through the shallow water.
"Left!"
The archer had seen him.
Ren crossed to the other side, climbed the bank and pushed through a wall of black briars. Thorns caught his sleeve. He tore free and kept going.
The creek turned sharply around a mass of old roots. Ren followed it.
Once he was past the bend, the four players couldn’t see him anymore.
He took five steps uphill, then crouched behind a fallen trunk.
Voices passed below.
"Where’d he go?"
"Upstream."
"I saw him cross."
"Then move."
Their footsteps followed the creek.
Ren opened his Vault.
Equipped
Keen Bite F
Stored
Burrow F
Lunge F
Thick Hide F
He selected Burrow.
Replace Keen Bite F with Burrow F?
Swapping requires a 10-second channel.
Swapping cannot be completed under direct combat pressure.
[YES] / [NO]
Ren selected [YES].
The bar began filling.
One second.
"Check the bank!"
Three.
Ren stayed still.
Five.
Footsteps splashed through the creek.
Seven.
A branch snapped nearby.
Nine.
The bar completed.
Burrow F equipped.
Ren activated it.
MP: 45/50
The soil softened beneath his boots, and he dropped underground.
That solved the arrow problem. The sword problem could wait until he was above ground again.
Ren pushed away from the creek. Burrow was slower than running, but speed mattered less when nobody could put an arrow through the ground.
He moved farther uphill, then surfaced between two bushes.
No voices or arrows.
Much better.
Ren climbed out and wiped mud from his face. He took out his last Basic Healing Potion and drank it while moving.
Basic Healing Potion consumed.
Recovering 30 HP over 10 seconds.
By the time the effect ended:
HP: 121/125
Having another potion afterward would’ve been nice. Not dying was nicer.
The four players had tried to remove him from Pantheon for twenty-four Earth hours. He could return the favor later. Going back now would mean playing their game.
More importantly, they knew where Briarheart Hollow was. That made them useful.
Ren waited another few seconds, then headed north after them. Not directly. He stayed above the creek and followed from the trees.
The quartet had continued north, and their footprints were easy to find in the mud.
Good.
He kept Burrow equipped. Keen Bite would help if they caught him. Burrow had just made sure they didn’t.
For now, that was better.
The tracks continued north. Ren found the next carcass before he found the players.
A large animal lay beside the creek with six short legs folded beneath it. Two broad antlers spread from its skull. Red-veined thorns covered its neck.
The system reacted immediately.
Crown Feed Confirmed: 2/2
Ren looked at the mud around the corpse.
Four sets of boot prints.
"They’re efficient."
Annoying, but efficient.
The tracks continued north. The quartet had not bothered harvesting anything.
Ren understood why.
A two-Gold bounty was moving through the same forest, and the hidden quest had already hinted it could become something better than Rare. Nobody wanted to stop for meat.
Neither did Ren.
He continued north until the creek narrowed. Black briars grew thicker along both banks until they covered parts of the water completely.
Then the trees opened.
A shallow hollow sat between three low ridges. Large black briars covered the slopes, thick enough to form walls in places. Red leaves grew along their upper branches.
At the center stood a dead tree split down the middle. Its roots surrounded a dark depression large enough for Redjaw.
Then he saw the four players already inside.
"Of course."
The guardian stood near the split tree. The archer searched the briars. The swordsman had already healed the wound Ren had put in his thigh.
The staff user knelt near a patch of red leaves.
Ren stayed behind the trees.
They had tried to kill him twenty minutes ago. He doubted the forest had improved their personalities.
The archer moved beneath the dead tree.
"Here."
The others joined her.
Ren shifted until he could see past one of the trunks.
A shallow depression sat beneath the roots. Black thorns lined the bottom.
No blood. No Redjaw.
Not yet.
A notification appeared.
The Briar Crown - Stage II Complete
You confirmed Redjaw’s evolution hunt and located Briarheart Hollow.
Rewards
+650 XP
+3 Silver
Aldern Hunters Reputation +30
Ren smiled as his XP rose.
Level 4 - 694/1,500 XP
"That’s better."
The next stage didn’t appear.
"Less better."
He waited...
Nothing.
Inside the Hollow, the four players had noticed too. The swordsman opened his menu. Closed it. Opened it again.
"That’s it?"
"Stage ended," the archer said.
"Where’s the next one?"
The guardian looked around.
"Maybe we need to wait for Redjaw?"
The staff user stood.
"Or there’s another trigger."
Ren looked back at the empty nest.
Redjaw was still hunting. The quest had sent them here before him, so something was still missing.
Movement on the opposite ridge caught Ren’s attention.
Two players came down through the briars. A short woman with a curved sword walked first. A taller man followed with a longbow across his back. Neither looked surprised to find the Hollow.
The woman stopped when she saw the four players.
The guardian turned.
Nobody spoke.
Then the archer looked at the woman’s hand. She was carrying a red-veined thorn.
She raised her bow.
The woman drew her sword and her companion reached for an arrow.
Ren stayed behind his tree.
Four players below.
Two on the ridge.
Ren alone.
Seven hidden-quest players.
Three groups.
Apparently everyone had reached the same conclusion about sharing.
The guardian moved first. He charged uphill.
The curved-sword woman moved to meet him.
The longbow player fired. His arrow struck the guardian’s shield and stopped him for half a step.
Before the guardian could recover, the woman went around the shield instead of trying to break through it and continued straight for the archer.
The archer jumped back.
The swordsman moved to intercept.
Another arrow forced him aside.
Ren’s eyebrows rose.
The duo was good. Not higher level. Just good.
The group of four had numbers. The other two had timing.
Ren grinned as he looked toward the empty Hollow.
It’d be rude to waste the opportunity.
He slipped inside while they were busy with each other.