The battle was turning into a grind, and that was a problem.

The Razorwing Mantis was regenerating faster than they could damage it, and Reidar's mana pool, while vast, wasn't infinite. The Vorathid Sky-Hunters were dying in droves. Their bodies were slowly piling up, littering the forest floor, and every time Reidar summoned replacements, the Mantis adapted to their attack patterns a little faster.

"This thing is nasty!" Lena said, showing all her frustration. She dodged a swipe that sheared the bark off a tree next to her head. "The damn thing's predicting the angles! It knows where we'll be before we get there!"

Reidar saw it too. The Mantis wasn't just reacting anymore; it was anticipating their every move with frightening precision. It had learned their patterns, somehow, in that little time it had since the start of the battle. It knew where the Sky-Hunters would position themselves before they even got there, predicting their flight paths and attack angles with uncanny accuracy. It knew Jake favored attacking from his right side, and it had already started compensating for that tendency in its defensive maneuvers.

"This approach isn't working," Reidar said. "We're wearing it down too slowly. We need something that can break through its defenses in a single devastating attack—not a hundred small cuts."

He checked his mana. He had enough, but what Reidar had in mind was going to be expensive. He had been saving this skill for situations where he was in much more trouble, and this battle didn't start like that.

Reidar needed to build his skill proficiencies, and summoning this powerful creature would limit those opportunities, but the Mantis had become enough of a threat to justify the cost.

He raised the Void-Caller's Baton.

[Summon: Mana-Forged Dreadmaw]

Right there, Reidar spent 12,500 mana points, which vanished from his reserves in a single second.

Then, the upkeep kicked in: 250 mana per second. It was a hemorrhage, but at least he had a way to keep up with the mana cost through his perks.

The result was worth it, though.

The air in the center of the clearing distorted, and a massive shape forced its way into reality, displacing the atmosphere with a thunderous thrum.

The Mana-Forged Dreadmaw materialized.

It was half the size of the monster Reidar had killed weeks ago, but that still meant it stood nearly as tall as the Mantis.

Six thick legs slammed into the earth, cracking the ground beneath it, and a massive siege tail swept back and forth, clearing the underbrush.

The Mantis froze. Its eyes locked onto the new threat. For the first time since the fight started, the monster looked hesitant.

"Kill it," Reidar said.

The Dreadmaw roared and charged. It didn't have the agility of the Mantis, but it had mass and far too many points into its S.H.I.E.L.D. attribute to simply not be quick, and it slammed into the insect like a train.

The Mantis tried to block with its scythes, but the Dreadmaw's Mandibles clamped down on the creature's forearms.

There was a crunch as the mana creature's jaws applied thousands of pounds of pressure.

The Mantis shrieked and thrashed, trying to free itself and fly away, but the Dreadmaw was too heavy.

The summon twisted its head, flipping the Mantis onto its side. Then it raised its massive tail.

[Siege Tail]

The tail came down like a pile driver. It smashed into the Mantis's thorax, cracking the chitinous armor that had deflected Jake's dagger earlier.

"It's working!" Jake said. "The armor's cracking!"

The Mantis realized it couldn't win, and, by some stroke of luck, it freed itself. But it was heavily injured at that point.

It jumped in the air and activated its camouflaging skill. Its armor's color started shifting wildly as it tried to blend into the background.

It turned to run. "Stop it!" Reidar said. The upkeep on the Dreadmaw was draining him fast. If the fight dragged on, he would run dry. "Don't let it run! If it gets away, we'll have to do this all over again!"

"I got it," Lena said.

She pointed her daggers at the shimmering air where the Mantis was fading thanks to its camouflage skill.

"Stick to it."

The five Shadow Operatives lunged and grabbed the beast.

They latched onto the Mantis's legs and wings, preventing it from flying away and showing the others where the beast was.

The Mantis thrashed, trying to shake the shadows off the summons, losing precious seconds.

"Jake! The leg!"

Jake was already there. He slid under the creature's guard, targeting the most injured leg and slashing, driving his dagger into the joint and twisting.

The leg was severed, and the Mantis collapsed on one side, screeching.

"Finish it."

The Mana-Forged Dreadmaw didn't hesitate. It curled into a ball, activating [Rolling Charge]. It became a spinning wheel of destruction, and it rolled over the Mantis.

[VULNERABLE! Your Summon: Mana-Forged Dreadmaw's Rolling Charge slams into the Razorwing Mantis for 12,840 Bludgeoning Damage.]

There was a crunching sound that signaled the Mantis had been flattened.

Reidar canceled the summons. The Dreadmaw dissolved into mist, and the mana drain stopped. He gasped, sucking in air as his reserves began to regenerate.

The forest fell silent. The pile of mashed insect meat twitching in the dirt was the only thing moving.

Then, the blue window appeared.

[Level 362 Razorwing Mantis defeated.] [You have gained 1,556,600 C.L.A.S.P. Points.] [You have earned 918.394 Survival Points.]

[QUEST COMPLETE: Apex Predator Approaching]

[Quest Reward: 2,000,000 C.L.A.S.P. Points, 750,000 Survival Points]

The energy hit them a second later.

[LEVEL UP.]

[LEVEL UP.]

Jake and Lena both glowed with the golden light of a level increase. Jake slumped against a tree, sliding down until he hit the dirt.

"That…" Jake panted. "That was a lot of points."

Reidar checked his interface. Even he leveled up twice, while the others did a little more than just twice.

However, what Reidar was thrilled about was something else.

[Skill Proficiency Reached 100%: Mark of Frailty y]

[Skill Proficiency Reached 100%: Bastion of Will]

[Skill Proficiency Reached 100%: Font of Life]

[Skill Proficiency Reached 100%: Universal Panacea]

Reidar received notifications for the new skills that would replace those at 100% proficiency, but he quickly dismissed them.

He would need to study the new skills he got thoroughly, and doing it in the middle of a battlefield wasn't exactly the best. He would deal with the evolutions later. Right now, he had to loot the monster.

[Loot gained: « Stride of the Void-Walker » (Legendary), « Ring of the Unseen Hunter » (Legendary), « Band of the Mana Tide » (Legendary).]

The first was a pair of boots.

"Speed boots," Reidar said, tossing them into his inventory.

He picked up the second item. A ring with a gemstone that looked like a trapped shadow.

He tossed it to Lena. "This is for you."

Lena caught it, inspecting it with a worn smile. The last item was a ring made of simple silver.

Reidar handed it to Jake.

"Let's move," Reidar said. "We aren't safe here."

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