Alix meets his stare head-on, calm and steady. There's no heat in his voice—only cool certainty.
"I'll fight the next Tier 4 we find," he says simply.
Solven raises an eyebrow. "Just you?"
"Yes," Alix says.
Velira studies him for a second longer, then nods slowly. "Alright. Next one's yours."
Gresren crosses his arms, muttering under his breath, "Better be worth the wait."
----
It doesn't take long.
Barely twenty minutes into their quiet advance through the forest, Solven halts, crouching by a broken root. He raises a hand—signal. The group comes to a stop behind a fallen log, every movement trained and silent.
"There," Solven murmurs, pointing just ahead through a narrow break in the trees.
Everyone follows his finger.
A lone beast prowls just beyond the treeline. Sleek, sinewy, with glossy black fur striped in red. Its long tail flicks like a whip behind it, claws carving deep trenches into the bark as it stalks between the trees. Its eyes glow amber—feral and focused.
