The moment they left the protective boundaries of the Grove, the shift in atmosphere was palpable. The safety of Virial's domain had been left behind, replaced by the wild, untamed expanse of Titan's Grave. The forest stretched out in every direction, its towering trees thick with twisting roots and shadowed undergrowth.

Rachel took point, her sword drawn as the group formed loosely. They weren't exactly being stealthy, but they were trying to stay alert, scanning the trees for movement. It wasn't enough.

The Fellgrins struck fast.

A sharp hiss was the only warning before the creatures burst from the underbrush, dark leather-like skin blending into the shadows until they were suddenly too close. There were six of them, snarling and screeching as they rushed in, their crude pikes coated in paralytic poison.

Rachel reacted first, swinging her sword wide to force one back. "Hold formation!" she barked, shifting her stance.

Not listening or not hearing her, Nathan took that moment to charge forward, his massive two-handed axe cleaving downward in a brutal swing. The Fellgrin dodged left, narrowly avoiding being split in two, but Diana was already there. She flowed in low, one of her twin knives flashing up to rake across its exposed side. The creature shrieked, blood splattering onto the forest floor.

"Behind you!" Paul shouted.

Rachel twisted just in time to raise her sword, barely deflecting a Fellgrin's pike that had been aimed at her back. The force of the strike jarred her arms, but before the creature could recover, Charles rammed his shield into it, sending it staggering. He didn't hesitate, following through with a downward slash of his sword.

The chaos unfolded in a blur of movement.

Evelyn, George, and Felicity hung back, loosing arrows into the fray. Evelyn's shot landed true, embedding itself deep into a Fellgrin's throat before it could close in on Nathan. George hit another in the shoulder, slowing it down, while Felicity's arrow glanced off a Fellgrin's crude armor, failing to do any real damage.

"Shit," Felicity hissed, already drawing another.

Paul engaged the next attacker, his sabre flicking in quick, precise motions. He dodged a wild swing, countering with a sharp riposte that opened a deep gash in the Fellgrin's arm. The creature hissed, adjusting its grip, but before it could strike again, Charles was there, slamming his shield into its chest with a resounding crack.

Nathan's axe finally connected with its target, the heavy blade sinking into a Fellgrin's torso with enough force to nearly cleave it in half. He had to plant a foot against the body to free the weapon, panting as he turned for the next enemy.

Rachel moved to intercept another attack, but she wasn't fast enough this time. The Fellgrin's pike slashed across her upper arm, and the poison's sting was immediate.

"Damn it," she growled, forcing herself to keep moving. The wound wasn't deep, but the slow burn creeping through her veins was enough to remind her of what was at stake.

Charles, noticing, stepped in to cover her side. "We need to move together!" he called out. "Less scrambling, more coordination!"

Rachel nodded, gritting her teeth. They weren't losing—yet—but they needed to get a grip on the fight before someone got seriously hurt.

The Fellgrins weren't giving them that time.

Two more lunged at once, one aiming for Paul, the other for Evelyn. Rachel barely reacted, her sword flashing out to intercept the pike meant for Paul. Charles rushed forward, taking the hit for Evelyn with his shield, the impact sending a jolt up his arm.

"We can't just keep reacting!" Rachel shouted. "Take control of the fight! Push forward!"

Nathan roared in response, lifting his axe for another devastating strike.

Rachel steadied her breath, shaking off the lingering burn from the Fellgrin's poisoned strike. The first wave faltered, Fellgrins scrambling as they realized their ambush wasn't going as planned. They had numbers, but they lacked coordination. That was something Rachel and her team were beginning to find.

Paul pressed forward, his sabre flashing in quick, controlled arcs, keeping the last remaining Fellgrin in front of him off balance. George and Felicity continued firing arrows, their shots now more calculated, forcing the creatures to adjust rather than charge mindlessly.

Nathan, however, didn't let up. His axe swung in wide, devastating arcs, forcing Fellgrins to dodge rather than strike. Diana followed in his wake, moving fast and low, her twin knives carving shallow but painful wounds across any creature too slow to react. One staggered back, clutching its side—just in time for Charles to slam his shield into it, sending it crashing into a tree. He stepped forward, sword rising for the killing blow, but another Fellgrin lunged at him from behind before he could finish it.

Rachel saw the movement. "Charles, watch out!"

He pivoted just in time, raising his shield, but the impact sent him skidding back. The Fellgrin shrieked as it rushed him again, only to be stopped by Paul, who intercepted with a sharp lunge, his sabre piercing the creature's side. It let out a final, gurgling screech before collapsing.

Rachel swung her blade up just in time to parry another wild strike, then drove her weapon straight into the Fellgrin's chest. It stiffened before falling limp, joining the rest of its pack on the bloodied forest floor.

For a moment, there was silence. The team exhaled, bodies still tensed, waiting for another attack. The Fellgrins were dead.

Then, the underbrush rustled.

Rachel turned, her grip tightening around her sword as another pack of Fellgrins burst into the clearing.

Nathan reacted instantly, throwing his head back and roaring his challenge to the new arrivals. His voice echoed through the trees, a primal sound that sent shivers down Rachel's spine.

The Fellgrins paused, momentarily taken aback, but Rachel realized something else—they weren't the only ones who heard it.

More rustling. More movement.

Her stomach sank. "Nathan, shut up!" she hissed, stepping closer.

Nathan blinked, mid-swing. "What?"

"You're calling them to us! Every damn Fellgrin in the area is gonna hear you and come running!"

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His face twisted in realization as two more figures emerged from the shadows, screeching as they lunged.

"Shit," Nathan muttered, stepping back into a defensive stance.

Rachel didn't have time to chew him out. The second wave was already upon them.

Evelyn and the twins released a volley of arrows, taking down two Fellgrins before they could reach them. Charles braced himself, shield up, intercepting a leaping creature mid-air and throwing it to the side.

Diana ducked and rolled behind an attacker, slashing its Achilles tendon before driving her knife up into its back. Paul danced between two Fellgrins, his sabre slicing through their defenses with controlled precision, but they were coming faster now, pushing the group back toward the trees.

Rachel locked herself in a brutal exchange, her sword clashing against a Fellgrin's pike. The thing was relentless, jabbing and slashing without rhythm, forcing her to react rather than attack. Frustration flared, and she finally stepped in, knocking its weapon aside and driving her sword straight through its gut.

A sharp yell broke through the fight.

Rachel turned just in time to see Charles slip. His foot caught on a root, and he lost his balance. The Fellgrin he had been fighting took the opportunity, its jagged weapon carving across his side in a deep, brutal slash.

Charles let out a strangled gasp as he hit the ground, blood already spreading across his clothes.

Rachel's breath caught.

"Charles is down!" Paul shouted.

Rachel barely had time to process the sight of Charles hitting the ground before instinct took over.

"Clear them out! Now!" she barked, her voice cutting through the chaos.

Nathan didn't need to be told twice. With a furious roar—this one much shorter and more controlled—he swung his axe in a vast, devastating arc. The nearest Fellgrin barely had time to react before it was cleaved in half.

The twins moved precisely, drawing back their bows and loosing arrows into the remaining Fellgrins. One arrow caught a creature mid-leap, sending it sprawling into the dirt. Another Fellgrin lunged at Paul, its pike aimed for his chest, but he twisted aside, his sabre flashing in a brutal counterstrike that opened its throat.

Diana stayed close to Nathan, using his large frame as cover. The moment a Fellgrin stumbled from avoiding his strikes, she darted in like a shadow, her twin knives carving into its exposed flesh. The creature shrieked, but she was already moving on, ducking low and kicking another Fellgrin's leg out from under it before finishing it with a precise stab to the neck.

Rachel forced herself to ignore the battle raging around her. She dropped to her knees beside Charles, her hands immediately pressing down on the wound. Blood was pouring from his side, soaking through his clothes at an alarming rate.

"Hold on, Charles," she muttered, voice tight with focus.

Evelyn was already there, cradling her husband's head in her lap, her face pale but determined. "Rachel, please—"

"I'm working on it!" Rachel snapped, shifting her grip as she pressed harder to slow the bleeding.

Paul and Nathan were the first to push the Fellgrins back far enough to clear a path.

"Get him out of the open!" Paul called.

"Cover us!" Rachel shouted.

Nathan and Paul took point, weapons ready, while the twins and Diana flanked the sides. Evelyn refused to leave Charles, her trembling hands brushing his hair as she whispered reassurances.

Rachel gritted her teeth and hooked her arms under Charles' shoulders, dragging him back toward a cluster of thick trees with large roots. The moss there would provide some cushion, but more importantly, it gave them a defensible position.

"Hold the perimeter!" she ordered as soon as they reached cover.

Nathan planted his feet at the front; his axe gripped tight, and his breaths were heavy but controlled. Paul stood just beside him, sabre raised, his usual measured stance replaced with something colder, more precise.

The twins positioned themselves just behind, bows drawn, scanning for lingering threats.

Diana crouched low, knives at the ready, watching the shadows.

Rachel pressed her hands against the wound again, blood still leaking between her fingers—too much blood.

"Charles, stay with me," she ordered, her voice firm. "Don't you dare close your damn eyes."

Evelyn's grip on him tightened, her breath shaky. "You're okay. Just stay with us."

Rachel didn't look up. They needed to stop the bleeding. Now.

Rachel's hands were slick with blood, pressing against Charles' wound with all the force she could manage, but it wasn't enough. The bleeding wouldn't stop. His breaths were growing shallow, and Evelyn was spiraling, her hands trembling as she whispered his name over and over.

Rachel gritted her teeth, think, damn it!

Virial's words echoed in her mind.

"The System gives you what you are strong enough to take from it. You can bend it to your will if you want something bad enough. The key is all in Willpower and using your mana appropriately."

Rachel's eyes snapped to Evelyn. The woman wasn't listening, wasn't doing anything, just frozen in fear, clutching Charles' face like she could hold his life in place through sheer force of will.

No. That wouldn't do.

Rachel let go of the wound for a fraction of a second—long enough to slap Evelyn across the face.

The sharp crack rang out.

Evelyn gasped, her head snapping to the side, eyes wide with shock.

"Heal him!" Rachel snarled. "Use your mana. Force it into his body!"

Evelyn blinked at her, stunned, breath hitching.

"You have to heal him, Evelyn!" Rachel pressed. "You think the System's just going to hand it to you?! Take it! Make it work!"

"I—" Evelyn's voice cracked. "I don't know how—"

"Figure it out," Rachel snapped. "Because if you don't, he's going to die."

Evelyn let out a strangled sob, but her hands moved. She pressed them against Charles' chest, her fingers tightening as she sucked in a shuddering breath. She had felt her mana before, but never like this—never with this kind of pressure.

She fought against the panic, pushing everything out of her mind except what mattered: keeping Charles alive.

She tried to remember Virial's lessons—how mana flowed, how it responded. But none of it seemed helpful now. It was all too slow, too abstract.

She couldn't afford to think.

Evelyn pushed.

Her hands tingled, warmth sparking beneath her palms, but it wasn't enough. She gritted her teeth and pushed harder, forcing her mana to flow into her husband's failing body.

She cursed the System. She prayed. She demanded. She willed it to work.

And then—

The warmth beneath her palms flared.

A pale glow seeped from her hands, weak and flickering at first but growing stronger, spreading across Charles' wound like light spilling through cracks in the stone.

Rachel held her breath, watching as the bleeding slowed.

Evelyn let out a choked sob, but she didn't stop. She pushed, the warmth intensifying, wrapping around Charles like a cocoon. His body jerked slightly, his breath catching—

And then, for the first time in minutes, he inhaled deeply.

The wound wasn't gone, but the bleeding had stopped. His skin, once deathly pale, had regained a hint of color.

Evelyn sagged forward, still pressing her hands against him, her whole body shaking.

Rachel exhaled, tension slowly easing from her shoulders.

It had worked. She had done it.

They had just taken something from the System—and it had listened.

Nathan ran a hand through his sweat-matted hair, his expression caught somewhere between awe and disbelief. "What did you do? All we could see was a light."

Charles was breathing easier now, his face no longer twisted in pain. Evelyn had cast the skill several times, watching his health climb until the display finally read 100%.

She swallowed, still trying to steady herself. Her hands tingled, the remnants of the energy still lingering in her fingertips. "I… I got a healing skill," she murmured. Her voice was quiet, almost disbelieving.

Rachel sat back on her heels, exhaling slowly. "Figures it'd be you."

Evelyn pulled up her screen, her eyes scanning the details.

New Skill: Healing Touch (Common)

Description: A basic restorative ability allows users to mend wounds through direct contact, channeling their mana into the injured to accelerate natural healing.

Effects:

Restorative Pulse

: Heals 20 health points upon activation.

Sustained Recovery

: Enhances natural healing for up to 30 seconds after use, helping to reduce minor wounds and bruising.

Cooldown: 5 minutes

Evelyn blinked at the screen, rereading it twice before finally lowering her hand. "It's… simple, but it works."

Nathan let out a low whistle, shaking his head. "I don't know what's crazier—that you just got a healing skill or had to break the System to make it happen nearly."

Paul rubbed his jaw, glancing at Rachel. "You were right. It's not just about what the System gives us. We can take what we need. Such a strange notion, though that it would be designed to be taken advantage of."

Evelyn nodded slowly, still absorbing what had happened. "I don't think it was just me. I think it was… everything: the desperation, the intent, the push. The System didn't just give me this. I forced it to happen."

Rachel looked at her hands, flexing her fingers. "Then we need to figure out how to do it again."

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