Chapter 114: Reward

She let it go.

The arrow crossed two hundred meters and did not slow down for any of it. It went through the gap Logan had made, through the seam, and into the knot underneath.

Death Star found a fatal point and multiplied.

```

[ Critical strike. Fatal point struck. ]

[ Damage dealt: 214,600. ]

```

The Skyrend Tempest Wyrm did not roar. It just stopped.

It came down on the rock shelf in stages. First the head, then the shoulder, then the rest of it. The impact threw black sand forty meters into the air.

```

[ Skyrend Tempest Wyrm has been slain. ]

[ Killing blow: Ruby Starviel. ]

[ Furious Dragon’s Rampage: Challenge complete. ]

```

Alice stood there with her bow still up and her mouth slightly open.

"I got it," she said.

Then, much louder, "I GOT IT!"

Logan was flat on his back thirty meters away, and he started laughing so hard it hurt his ribs.

---

The reward panel opened over the corpse.

```

[ Challenge Reward: Furious Dragon’s Rampage ]

[ Skyrend Dragon Corpse ]

> Mythic-grade materials of the body.

[ Stormheart of the Skyrend ]

> Rank: Mythic

> May be consumed by a single allied unit. Players cannot benefit from this.

> Permanently grants sustained flight talent and the Storm attribute. Existing Storm-attribute skills gain significantly increased effect.

```

Alice read the second one twice, then looked at Logan, then looked at Sonic.

Sonic was busy pretending he had not read it at all, which was the least convincing thing Logan had ever seen him do.

"Sonic," Alice said.

"I did not say anything."

"Sonic."

"I am a Storm-attribute unit who cannot actually fly," Sonic said, very quickly. "I hover. There is a difference. I have been very professional about it."

Logan pushed himself up onto his elbows.

"Take it when we get back," he said. "It is Alice’s call, but I already know what she is going to say."

"It is his," Alice confirmed. "He got hit by a wing for me."

Sonic did not have a response to that, which was a first.

---

Logan got to his feet and started collecting the corpse, and that was when he remembered they were not alone.

Rakhan Vurel had come down out of the sky. He was standing on the shelf about fifty meters away with his lance held loose at his side.

Idresh Kaan stood beside him. The Pale Thunder Behemoth was on the ground now, bleeding from the shoulder, and the Skyhoof Tempest Courser stood next to it with its head down.

Both Oniniads were looking at the dead dragon. Then both of them looked at Logan.

’Here it comes.’ He felt his grip settle on Grimlord’s Blade without deciding to move his hand. ’They spent everything on that thing and walked away with nothing.’

Alice noticed a half second later and quietly put an arrow back on the string.

"That was mine," Rakhan said.

"It was not." Logan kept his voice level. "You had it. Then you did not."

"Because you cut something out of me." Rakhan took two steps forward. "I felt it leave. Every meter I have run since this fight started, and it was just gone. What was that?"

Logan considered lying.

’He is going to figure it out eventually. Everybody does.’ He decided the truth cost him nothing here. ’And if he knows, he spends the rest of this match wondering when I will do it again.’

"Sword Intent," he said.

Rakhan’s expression did something complicated.

Idresh spoke for the first time since the fight began. His voice was much quieter than his hammer had suggested.

"A Special-rank Talent," he said. "On a human, in a Floor Four match."

"Yes."

"Brother." Idresh did not take his eyes off Logan. "We should leave."

"We should not." Rakhan’s grip tightened on his lance. "There are two of them and a unit. There are two of us and two Mythic mounts."

"There are two of us with nothing stacked and no ship and a Behemoth that cannot fly straight." Idresh finally looked at him. "And an archer who just did two hundred thousand damage in one shot. Do the arithmetic."

Rakhan did the arithmetic.

Logan watched him do it, and watched him arrive at the same answer his brother had, and watched him refuse to like it.

"Next time," Rakhan said, "I will be moving before you see me."

"Next time," Logan said, "I will already know what to cut."

The Oniniads mounted up. The Courser climbed first, and the Behemoth followed it slowly, listing to one side, and they went out over the water toward the horizon.

Nobody shot at anybody.

Logan and Alice agreed that it was not wise to go for a desperate, bloody battle here to eliminate them, and also risk losing or dying. Maybe getting ambushed by a third party while they battled here.

The opponent didn’t look that concerned, meaning they had artifacts or something that could keep them safe. Alice and Logan also had one, but it was better saved for a better and more deadly battle.

Anyway, they had their advantage--the army of Mythics, for the eventual utter domination of this match.

---

Alice let out a long breath once they were gone.

"That could have gone badly."

"It could have." Logan finally let go of his blade. "He wanted it to."

"His brother is the smart one."

"His brother is the scary one." Logan looked out at the two shapes shrinking against the grey sky. "Rakhan swings when he is angry. Idresh counted our numbers, checked our condition, and made a decision in about four seconds."

He filed both of them away carefully.

’Dual Mythic, both of them. Stacking talents, both of them. And they are somewhere in this match with a grudge now.’

Then he turned around and looked at the dragon, and the mood improved considerably.

It took all three of them the better part of an effort to get the corpse into storage. It did not fit in one ring. It did not fit in three.

"Vulkarn," Alice said, hauling on a wing. "Kroth. Maren. Draventh."

"Every single one of them." Logan was grinning again. "They are going to fight over this."

Sonic hovered above the head, which was still bigger than he was.

"Boss." He sounded oddly serious. "Four dogs left."

"I know."

"One Grace Fruit left in the whole match, too."

"I know that as well." Logan crushed a seed pod between his fingers, and the courtyard of Aegis Isle folded into place around them. "Let us go home and get ready. Somebody out there is looking for the same fruit we are."