The idea was grounded. All they had to do now was to work towards it.

"Everyone has a stake in the fight," Aria added. "Not just watching from the sidelines, but actively preparing. Actually doing something."

"It's brilliant," the dwarven king said, genuine approval in his voice. "We can set up multiple forges. Work in shifts. My best crafters can focus on the most powerful weapons for your strike team, while the others handle standard equipment for the masses."

"We'll need to organize hunting parties," Ryan said, his tactical mind already planning. "Coordinate the core gathering. Make sure everyone knows what to bring and where to bring it."

"And we'll need guards at the forges," J added. "In case anyone gets desperate enough to try stealing."

The energy in the room had completely transformed. Minutes ago, they'd been paralyzed by fear and uncertainty. Now, they had a plan. A real, actionable plan.

Seth stood in the doorway, looking between all of them with increasing confusion.

"Wait," he said slowly. "Can someone... can someone please explain what the fuck y'all are talking about?"

He gestured vaguely at the room, at the intense expressions, at the sudden explosion of tactical planning.

"I was asleep for like... I don't even know how long. Last thing I remember, there was something about Titans? And then I passed out because healing everyone took everything out of me. Now I wake up and everyone's talking about cores and weapons and forges and quests and—" He paused, swaying slightly. "Seriously, what did I miss?"

The room fell silent for a beat.

Then, despite everything—despite the looming tournament, despite the threat of Jeren, despite the very real possibility they might all die in three days—someone laughed.

It was Aria, a short burst of genuine amusement that seemed to surprise even her.

Then Ryan chuckled. Then Nyla allowed herself a small smile. Then others joined in, the tension breaking for just a moment.

Seth stood there, still completely confused, looking increasingly concerned about his friends' mental states.

"Why are you all laughing?" he asked, which only made it worse. "What's so funny? What happened? Someone please just—"

"Sit down, Seth," Akhil said, still fighting off a grin. "We have a lot to catch you up on."

Seth looked at the nearest chair, then back at Akhil, then at the room full of barely-restrained laughter and battle-hardened warriors trying not to lose it.

"I feel like I'm going to regret asking," he muttered, but he sat down anyway.

And as the others began to explain—about Jeren, about the tournament, about the plan—Seth's expression slowly transformed from confusion to horror to determination.

By the end, he wasn't confused anymore.

"Among us, we should have three groups that'll head out to hunt... At least before the adventurers join in"

Everyone nodded in approval.

They all were.

Three days.

They had three days to arm an army, gather intelligence, and prepare for the fight of their lives.

It wasn't enough time.

But it was all they had.

And they'd make it count.

-------

Deep in the forest.

The corrupted wolves moved as a pack, their eyes gleaming with unnatural red light. Twenty of them, maybe more, circling through the skeletal remains of a dead forest. Their growls echoed off blackened tree trunks, filling the air with menace.

Nyla stood perfectly still, frost already forming in the air around her. "Aria, Ryan—flanks. James, center with me. We funnel them."

The wolves charged.

Ice erupted from the ground in jagged spears, creating barriers that forced the pack into narrow corridors. The wolves snarled, trying to find openings, but Nyla's control was absolute. She directed the flow of battle like a conductor leading an orchestra.

"NOW!" she called.

Aria burst from the left, her blade singing as it cut through the first wolf's neck. She didn't stop moving—couldn't stop. Her speed was her advantage. She wove between two more wolves, her sword flashing twice. Both creatures fell, cores already beginning to form in their dissipating bodies.

Ryan came from the right, his good arm blazing with crimson energy. His broken arm was still in its sling, but he'd learned to fight one-handed. A wolf leaped at him, jaws wide. Ryan's fist connected with its skull mid-air, the impact accompanied by an explosion of red light. The wolf's head simply ceased to exist.

"Four down!" Aria shouted, ducking under snapping jaws. "Sixteen to go!"

James's chains sang through the air, wrapping around three wolves simultaneously. He pulled hard, yanking them off their feet and slamming them together with bone-crushing force. Before they could recover, his sickles flashed, opening throats with surgical precision.

But the wolves were learning. Adapting. Five broke through Nyla's ice barriers, targeting her directly—the one controlling the battlefield.

Nyla didn't panic. She never panicked.

The temperature plummeted. The charging wolves' movements slowed as ice formed on their fur, their joints stiffening. Nyla raised her hand, and a wall of frozen air solidified in front of her. The wolves crashed into it, and she clenched her fist.

The wall shattered, sending razor-sharp ice fragments into the wolves like a shotgun blast. They fell in a heap, cores beginning to manifest.

"Twelve left!" Ryan called, spinning to catch another wolf with a devastating uppercut that sent it flying into a dead tree. The tree cracked, fell, and crushed two more wolves beneath it.

Aria was already moving, her blade finding gaps in fur and flesh with practiced efficiency. Each strike was precise, economical, designed to kill in one blow. She'd learned long ago not to waste movement when fighting monsters.

James's chains created a perimeter, keeping the remaining wolves from escaping. "They're trying to run!"

"Don't let them!" Nyla commanded. More ice erupted, creating a frozen cage around the battlefield. "We need every core!"

The wolves realized they were trapped. In their desperation, they became more dangerous—attacking with suicidal aggression, sacrificing themselves to create openings for their packmates.

One managed to sink its teeth into Ryan's leg. He roared in pain and fury, grabbing the wolf by its skull and channeling every bit of energy he could muster. The creature's head erupted in red light, and its body went limp.

"Ryan!" Aria called, worried.

"I'm fine!" he shouted back, though blood was soaking through his pants. "Keep fighting!"

The last few wolves fell quickly after that. Nyla froze three solid, and James shattered them with his chains. Aria danced between the final two, her blade finding hearts with lethal accuracy.

Then silence. Just heavy breathing and the soft glow of twenty beast cores scattered across the frozen ground.

"Collect them," Nyla ordered, already moving to check Ryan's leg. "And somebody bandage this idiot before he bleeds out."

---

Southern Caverns - Akhil's Group

The cave system echoed with the skittering of countless legs. Stone spiders—massive arachnids with bodies the size of horses and legs sharp enough to pierce steel. They covered the walls, the ceiling, moving with horrifying coordination.

"I hate spiders," Seth muttered, his hands already glowing with healing energy in preparation. "I really, really hate spiders."

"Noted," Akhil replied, his eyes scanning the horde. There had to be at least thirty of them. "J, Nibo—you take the left cluster. Seth stays center. I'll handle the right."

"Handle?" J asked, hefting his new spear—hastily forged but functional. "There's at least fifteen on the right."

"Then I better move fast," Akhil said, and activated his ability.

Blood mist erupted around him as he moved, his speed becoming nearly impossible to track. The first spider didn't even register his presence before his blade opened its abdomen. Green ichor sprayed, and Akhil was already moving to the next.

J charged the left side, his spear blazing with golden flames despite his injured arm being bound tight. The fire kept the spiders at bay, their instincts screaming at them to avoid the heat. But J didn't give them a choice—he thrust forward, the spear's tip punching through a spider's head with a satisfying crunch.

Nibo was right behind him, his war axe singing. Where J was precision, Nibo was overwhelming force. His axe cleaved through a spider's leg, then its body, then continued through to hit the one behind it. Two kills in one swing.

"Stay together!" Seth called from the center, already preparing healing spells. "Don't let them separate you!"

But the spiders were smarter than the wolves. They used the terrain, dropping from the ceiling, emerging from hidden crevices. One landed directly on Nibo's back, its mandibles seeking his neck.

J's spear flashed, skewering the spider before it could bite. "Watch your back!"

"Watching yours too!" Nibo grunted, his axe taking another spider's head off.

Akhil was a whirlwind on the right side. Blood enhancement pushed his physical abilities beyond normal limits, letting him match the spiders' speed. He ducked under legs sharp as spears, rolled beneath lunging bodies, his blade finding weak points in their chitinous armor.

But there were so many.

A spider's leg caught him across the shoulder, drawing blood. Another nearly took his head off before he dropped flat. He could feel his blood essence depleting with each enhancement, each burst of speed.

'Can't use too much,' he thought, remembering the Blood Monarch. 'Can't lose consciousness. Not here. Not now.'

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