Seth rushed over, dropping to his knees beside Akhil. "Are you insane?! What kind of strategy is getting eaten?!"

Akhil let out a weak laugh that turned into a cough. "Wasn't... exactly planned."

"You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Seth's hands hovered over Akhil, checking for injuries, though the blood coating made it hard to tell what was damage and what was just mess. "I thought you were dead! I thought—"

"I'm fine," Akhil interrupted gently. "Really. Just... need a minute."

Nibo limped over, one hand pressed to his ribs where the tail strike had hit him. He stared down at the dead Serpent, then at Akhil, then back at the Serpent.

"You killed it from the inside," he said slowly, as if trying to make sense of what he'd witnessed.

"Seemed like the best option at the time."

"You're covered in blood."

"Noticed that, yeah."

"And you look like you went swimming in stomach acid."

"That too."

Nibo was quiet for a moment. Then he started laughing—a deep, booming sound that echoed across the river. "You absolute madman. You actually let it eat you just to kill it from within."

"I said it wasn't planned!"

"But you did it anyway!" Nibo's laughter intensified. "That's the most insane thing I've ever seen, and I've watched you fight Titans!"

Despite his exhaustion, despite the pain, despite being covered head to toe in blood and gore, Akhil found himself smiling.

Seth shook his head in disbelief. "You're both crazy. Completely crazy."

"Maybe," Akhil admitted. He looked at the Serpent's corpse, at the massive wound in its belly where he'd carved his way out. "But we got the core."

And what a core it would be. Level 40. Advanced beast. The kind of material that could forge weapons worthy of fighting Centurions.

Worth every second of breathing toxic air and swimming in blood.

"Can you walk?" Seth asked, offering his hand.

Akhil took it, letting himself be pulled to his feet. His legs were shaky, but they held. "I'll manage. Just need to wash off and—"

He swayed slightly, and both Seth and Nibo moved to steady him.

"Or maybe rest first," Akhil amended. "Rest is good."

"You're going in the river," Seth declared. "I'm not traveling with you smelling like that."

"Fair enough."

As Akhil stumbled toward the water, supported by his friends, he couldn't help but look back at the Serpent one more time.

One core that might be worth twenty regular ones.

Three days to prepare for a tournament designed to kill them.

They were going to need every advantage they could get.

And if that meant occasionally letting himself get eaten by giant monsters?

Well.

He'd survived worse.

Probably.

....

The river water was cold, biting against skin that was still tender from acid burns. Akhil scrubbed methodically, watching red-tinted water flow downstream as he cleaned the Serpent's blood from his body. His clothes were mostly ruined—dissolved in patches, torn in others. He'd need new ones when they got back.

Seth and Nibo waited nearby, giving him space but staying alert. The forest around them had gone quiet after the Serpent's death, but that didn't mean other predators wouldn't be drawn to the scent of blood.

After several minutes, Akhil emerged from the water, wringing out what remained of his shirt. The burns had fully healed now, leaving only faint pink marks that would fade within hours. His ribs no longer ached. The massive influx of blood essence from the Serpent had restored him completely—even left him feeling stronger than before.

"Better?" Seth asked.

"Much." Akhil pulled the tattered shirt back on. It would have to do. "We should head back. We've been out long enough."

"Agreed," Nibo rumbled. The massive warrior had recovered somewhat, though he still moved carefully. The tail strike had done more damage than he'd initially let on. "Sun's getting low anyway. Don't want to be caught out here after dark."

Seth was already moving toward the Serpent's corpse, pulling out a specialized extraction knife the dwarves had provided. "Just need to get the core first. Won't take long."

He worked with practiced efficiency, cutting through the tougher outer scales to reach the creature's chest cavity. Beast cores always formed near the heart—crystallized essence of the creature's life force and power.

When Seth finally pulled it free, all three of them stopped to stare.

The core was massive—easily twice the size of any they'd collected today. It pulsed with inner light, shifting between deep blue and violent purple, with threads of silver running through it like veins. The power radiating from it was palpable, making the air around it feel heavy.

"By the gods," Seth breathed, turning it over in his hands. "This thing is incredible."

"Level 40 advanced beast," Akhil confirmed, though he didn't need to. They could all feel it.

Seth looked up at him, excitement and curiosity mixing in his expression. "So what are you going to make with it? This could forge something legendary. A sword? A spear? Maybe armor?"

Akhil opened his mouth to answer, then paused.

It was a good question. What weapon did he want?

He'd never really thought about it before. Throughout his time in the game, he'd relied almost exclusively on his blood manipulation abilities. When he needed a weapon, he created one—blades formed from crystallized blood, spears, even shields on occasion. They were effective, adaptable, perfect for any situation.

But they were temporary. Fragile. The moment his blood essence depleted, they dissolved into nothing.

A real weapon, forged from a core this powerful, would be permanent. Reliable. Something he could count on when his abilities failed or when he needed to conserve essence.

But what weapon?

His fighting style was versatile—adapted to whatever the situation required. He moved fast, struck quickly, preferred precision over raw power. But he also fought monsters that required heavy strikes, opponents that needed to be overpowered rather than outmaneuvered.

A sword seemed obvious. Classic. Reliable. But was it really what he needed?

A spear offered reach, kept enemies at distance. J used one effectively.

Dual daggers would complement his speed, let him dart in and out.

A war axe like Nibo's could deliver devastating blows.

Chains like James used provided versatility and control.

'Too many options,' Akhil thought, frowning. 'And choosing wrong means wasting this core on something I'll regret.'

Using a proper weapon would let him conserve blood essence—save it for critical moments instead of constantly maintaining conjured blades. That alone made getting something worthwhile. But only if he chose correctly.

What if he picked a sword and then found himself in situations where he needed reach? What if he chose a spear and needed something more versatile? What if—

"Akhil?" Seth's voice broke through his spiraling thoughts. "You okay?"

Akhil realized he'd been standing there, staring at the core, for longer than he'd intended. He shook his head, clearing his mind.

"I haven't decided yet," he admitted. "What weapon I want, I mean."

Seth raised an eyebrow. "Really? I figured you'd have thought about this already."

"I've been a bit busy," Akhil said dryly. "With fighting Titans and trying not to die."

"Fair point." Seth carefully wrapped the core in cloth, protecting it. "But you're going to need to decide eventually. The dwarves will want to know what to forge."

"I know." Akhil glanced at the setting sun, then back at his companions. "But I don't want to rush it. A weapon is... it's personal. Important. I need to think about what actually suits me, not just grab whatever seems cool in the moment."

Nibo grunted his approval. "Smart. A warrior and his weapon should fit together. Like pieces of the same whole. Rush that choice, and you'll regret it in battle."

"Exactly." Akhil started walking, heading back toward the direction of the settlement. "I'll decide when we get back. When I can actually see the options, talk to the smiths, figure out what makes sense."

Seth and Nibo fell into step beside him, the massive Serpent core secured safely in Seth's pack along with the dozens of other cores they'd collected.

"Seventy-three regular cores," Seth said, mentally tallying their haul. "Plus this monster. Today was productive."

"Very," Akhil agreed. "Probably more than most other hunting parties got."

"Definitely more than most," Nibo added with a hint of pride. "Especially once the smiths see what that Serpent core can do."

They walked in comfortable silence for a while, the forest sounds gradually returning as they moved away from the site of battle. Birds called from the trees. Small animals rustled in underbrush. The world slowly returning to normal.

"You really scared me back there," Seth said suddenly. "When it swallowed you."

Akhil glanced at him. "Sorry. Wasn't exactly my plan."

"I know. But still." Seth's hands clenched slightly. "For a second, I thought... I thought we'd lost you. Like we lost the others to the Blood Monarch."

"But you didn't," Akhil said firmly. "I came back. I'll always come back."

"You can't promise that," Seth countered quietly. "None of us can. Not in this place."

He was right, of course. The game had proven time and again that no one was safe, that death could come at any moment from any direction. Promising to always survive was naive at best, arrogant at worst.

But Akhil met Seth's eyes anyway. "Maybe not. But I can promise I'll fight like hell to make it true."

Seth held his gaze for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Good enough."

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