Chapter 13: Steel in Numbers
The battlefield was fire and thunder.
Kael's boots slammed against stone as he weaved between ogres and collapsing structures. He moved like water through chaos — cut, roll, step, draw. Every swing of Kureha felt more precise than the last.
> [Ogre Kill: 1 / Required Minimum Met] [EXP +130] [EXP: 220 / 1200] [Sync: 24.0% → 24.6%]
He panted through gritted teeth, ducking behind the remnants of a shattered outpost wall. His body trembled, not from fear — but from sheer demand. The Ronin class was surgical, not built for mass warfare. His cuts had to count.
A massive halberd slammed down beside him.
Sparks flew. An ogre's head followed.
Darius Vale, scorched armor soaked in blood and ichor, grinned like a lunatic. "You're still alive? Hells, you Ronin types might just be crazier than me."
Kael didn't answer. Just nodded once. Then pushed off the wall.
Together, they cut forward — Kael slipping through the ogres' exposed flanks, Darius smashing through them like a war engine.
Where one carved open wounds, the other crushed the bone.
> [Ogre Kill Count: 5]
> [Kill Feed Updated – Players Remaining: 94] [Global Total: 234 / 1000]
Then the horn blew.
And everything shifted.
---
A shockwave rippled across the battlefield. The system sky cracked with white light.
A woman in crimson-and-black armor descended from a rooftop with a spear of light in hand. She landed mid-squad, impaling one ogre clean through the throat before pivoting into a sweep that sent three more collapsing in her wake.
The kill feed ticked violently.
> [Player: Reya Vance – Spear Valkyrie – Rank #9,010] Kills This Cycle: +6
Darius whistled. "That's some entrance."
Kael's eyes narrowed. The woman stood tall, barely out of breath. Her armor was scratched, but her stance was unshaken — spear spinning once before resting on her shoulder.
She turned toward them.
"You two don't look like idiots. That means you're useful."
Kael blinked. "Not the greeting I expected."
She ignored him. "I need flank cover and someone who doesn't scream at the sight of blood. You in?"
Darius grunted, adjusting his grip. "I like her."
Kael nodded. "Yeah. We're in."
---
They fought as a trio now — a contrast of styles, but it worked.
Kael was the scalpel. Darius, the hammer. Reya, the blade from above.
Reya called shots with brutal efficiency. "Sweep left, second ogre's limping. Watch his swing—duck, not block!" Her control of the battlefield was surgical, more tactician than berserker.
Together, they brought down ogres in groups. Each kill felt earned — hard-fought and exacted.
> [Ogre Kill Count: 15 / Global: 402 / 1000] [Kael EXP: 520 / 1200] [Sync: 26.2%]
Between battles, they rested inside the remnants of a supply station.
Reya patched a gouge on Darius's side while Kael tended to his blade. There was quiet between them, but not silence.
"We need to push harder," Reya said, glancing at the countdown.
> [Cycle Time Remaining: 02:11:35]
"Global total's too low. We don't all make it if that number doesn't hit."
Kael looked at her. "So we push until we drop?"
She didn't smile. "We push until someone doesn't."
Darius tossed his canteen at Kael. "That's her way of saying she likes you."
Kael drank in silence.
---
By dusk, their team had carved through over thirty kills together.
But the battlefield was shifting again. The ogres were growing more organized. Packs started forming. Some now bore scars glowing faint red — hints of system buffs or mutations.
The system hadn't just summoned monsters.
It was learning.
> [New Variant Detected – Ogre Warlord – Tier B] Level: 18 Buff: Area Frenzy – Boosts all ogres nearby Danger Rating: RED++
The trio spotted one during their next run — the creature towered two meters taller than the rest, bark-skin layered over its torso, tusks like daggers.
Kael froze in place.
But Reya didn't hesitate.
"That thing's worth fifty if we drop it."
Darius grinned wide. "Say no more."
Kael exhaled. Tightened his grip on Kureha.
They moved.
---
📊 Kael Draven – Status (End of Chapter 13)
> Level: 9
Class: Ronin (Unique)
EXP: 520 / 1200
CP: 122
Reputation: 2
Mental Clarity: 7
Ash Memory: 9%
World Rank: #8,912
Skills & Techniques:
Draw Cut Lv. 1 (Sync: 26.2%)
Iaido Step Lv. 1
Reflex Trace Lv. 1
Phantom Draw Lv. 1
Perks:
Edge Memory
Keen Edge
Swarmbane
Nest-Culler (Title Perk)
Allies:
Darius Vale – Juggernaut (Rank #6,201)
Reya Vance – Spear Valkyrie (Rank #9,010)
Quest:
> The Thousand Trial
Global Kill Total: 402 / 1000
Team Kill Count: 33
Time Remaining: 41:12:00
---
Status: Three Blades. One Mission.
The Trial Has Only Just Begun.