Tobin POV

  Tobin was absolutely pissed off.

  Theodore wasn't even doing what Tobin thought he'd been planning. He'd assumed Theodore would distract the other team while they attacked the Beast King. That would've made sense. It would've been tactical. But no, Theodore had blown past the other team entirely and was engaging the Beast King himself.

  Alone.

  A Rank 2 attacking a Beast King alone.

  Tobin wanted to scream. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. Why couldn't Theodore just follow orders?

  The man in front of him—Seth, he remembered—was already moving, hands glowing with a spell ready to be cast. Rank 4, definitely. Tobin could feel it in the density of his mana, the way it pressed against his own like a physical weight. Strong, probably stronger than him if he was being honest.

  He couldn't worry about that now though. He had to stop this guy from reaching Theodore. Two of the enemy team were frozen solid in Tessia's ice. The third was on his knees, blood streaming from his nose, probably still dealing with the backlash from his barrier shattering. Three out of commission. Only two threats remaining.

  Seth and that woman who was sprinting toward Theodore.

  Hells, she was fast. She'd catch Theodore in seconds at that speed, and Tobin wasn't sure Theodore would survive that encounter. Sure, he'd beaten a Rank 4 before, but Tobin still couldn't quite believe that was anything more than catching her off guard. This woman knew he was coming. She'd be ready. She'd cut him down and they'd lose their point-carrier and this whole disaster would be Theodore's fault for not listening.

  Tobin charged forward, lightning crackling between his fingers.

  Seth's first spell came at him like a whip of pure force. Tobin dodged left, felt it tear through the space where his head had been, and then retaliated with a lightning bolt that Seth deflected with casual ease.

  This was bad.

  Behind him, he heard Bran roar as he charged the frozen opponents. Wren would be doing the same, probably already had his knife out. They needed to thin the numbers fast before those two unfroze.

  Another spell from Seth, this one a wave of fire that forced Tobin to throw up a hasty barrier. The heat washed over him even through the defense. His barrier cracked, started to crumble. He reinforced it with more mana, buying himself seconds to think.

  Theodore was an idiot. An absolute, complete idiot. What was he thinking? Did he think he was invincible just because he'd gotten lucky once?

  In this situation, he couldn't help but curse Theodore, it was all his fault after all.

  At least Tessia had some sense. He caught a glimpse of her moving toward Theodore. Someone needed to save their suicidal point-carrier from himself. If anyone could reach him in time, it would be her.

  Seth pressed the attack, and Tobin found himself giving ground. He was being pushed back, and he knew it, and there wasn't much he could do about it. The skill gap was real. He was holding his own, but barely.

  Tobin threw everything he had at Seth. A barrage of spells without any strategy, just overwhelming force meant to buy time. Seth weathered it like it was nothing, deflecting and dodging with insulting ease.

  This was all Theodore's fault. If he'd just listened, if he'd just stayed back like they'd agreed, none of this would be happening. They could've engaged as a team, taken advantage of the Beast King's wounds, claimed the kill properly. Instead, they were scattered, fighting on two fronts, probably about to lose everything because Theodore couldn't follow simple instructions.

  Goddamnit!

  Seth's counterattack caught him in the shoulder. Pain flared, spinning him around. He managed to stay on his feet, and to keep his defenses up, but he was hurt now, and far slower. Seth smiled, recognizing the advantage.

  Behind Seth, one of the frozen enemies shattered free. Of course. Because this situation wasn't bad enough already. Now they'd have another fighter to deal with, and Tobin was already struggling with just one.

  He wanted to check on Theodore, see if the woman had reached him yet, but taking his eyes off Seth would be suicide. He had to trust his team. Tessia would save their point-carrier from his own stupidity.

  ***

  Theodore POV

  Theodore landed another plasma lance directly into the Beast King's exposed flank, right where the crystalline armor had already cracked from the other team's efforts. The beast roared, lightning crackling wildly from its form, but Theodore had already trapped its legs with mana reinforced earth that hardened like concrete around its limbs.

  He'd fought worse. Seraphina had thrown him against creatures that made this Beast King look like a particularly angry house cat.

  Another plasma lance, and this one carved through the beast's shoulder, sending chunks of that pretty crystalline armor flying. The Beast King tried to counter with a massive lightning strike, but Theodore had already moved, using compressed air to launch himself sideways. The lightning scorched the ground where he'd been standing.

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  He retaliated with a pressurized water blade that cut deep into the beast's throat. Blood sprayed. The Beast King staggered, tried to roar, but only managed a wet gurgle.

  Theodore almost felt bad for it. Almost. The thing was already on death's door when he'd arrived. The other team had done all the hard work, worn it down, made it bleed. He was just finishing what they'd started.

  He formed a ball of doom and drove it straight through the Beast King's skull. The beast's eyes went wide, then dim. It swayed for a moment, massive form trembling, then began to dissolve into particles of light.

  "NOOOO!"

  The scream came from right behind him. The fast woman from the other team had finally arrived, her sword descending toward his head. Theodore sidestepped casually, watching her blade whistle through empty air.

  The Beast King finished disappearing, and with it, all those lovely points transferred to his team.

  The woman's face went through about seventeen different emotions in the span of two seconds. Shock, disbelief, rage, more rage, even more rage, and then she settled on pure, incandescent fury.

  "You... you STOLE it!" She screamed, attacking again with wild, uncoordinated swings.

  Theodore dodged with minimal effort. She was fast, sure, but angry people were predictable.

  "Stole?" Theodore put on his best confused face. "I'm pretty sure I killed it. That's not stealing, that's just winning."

  "We did all the work!"

  Another swing, another easy dodge.

  "And I appreciate that." Theodore grinned. "Made my job much easier. Very considerate of you."

  She screamed wordlessly and tried to kick him. He stepped back just enough that her foot missed by inches.

  "You know, you should really work on your anger management," Theodore said thoughtfully. "This kind of emotional response can't be healthy."

  "SHUT UP!"

  "I'm just saying, there are probably better ways to handle disappointment."

  She lunged at him with both hands on her sword, putting everything into one massive overhead strike. Theodore simply stepped to the side and watched her stumble past.

  "Like meditation!" He continued cheerfully. "I've been doing a lot of that lately. Very calming. You should try it."

  "I'LL KILL YOU!"

  "That seems counterproductive to the whole meditation thing."

  She spun around, face red with rage, and charged again. This time Theodore didn't even move until the last second, just shifted his weight slightly to avoid her blade.

  "Or maybe yoga? Does that even exist here? Anyway, I hear that's good for stress."

  The woman made a sound that wasn't quite human. It was somewhere between a shriek and a growl. She abandoned all pretense of swordsmanship and just started swinging wildly, trying to hit him through sheer volume of attacks.

  Theodore danced backward, keeping just out of range. He was having entirely too much fun with this.

  "Though honestly, you might want to start with something simpler. Deep breathing exercises maybe?"

  "STOP. TALKING!"

  "But then how would I give you all this helpful advice?"

  She lunged, overextending badly in her fury. Theodore could have punished the opening easily, but where was the fun in that? Instead, he just stepped around her again.

  "You're really not very good at this when you're angry. Have you considered that might be why you lost the Beast King? Too much emotion, not enough thinking?"

  That did it. She completely lost any semblance of control, charging at him with a primal scream that probably scared some birds in nearby trees.

  Ice suddenly erupted from the ground, encasing the woman mid-charge. She froze—literally—with her sword raised and her mouth open in that scream.

  Theodore turned to see Tessia standing there, hand still raised from casting the spell. She stared at him, not amused in the slightest.

  He shrugged. "What, I said I'd fight the Beast King. And I got the points, didn't I?"

  ***

  Seth POV

  Seth watched the Beast King dissolve into particles of light and something inside him just... crumbled.

  Another team had claimed the kill.

  His kill, his victory.

  All the hard work, and Theodore Lockheart had swooped in at the last second and taken everything. Like Seth was just keeping it warm for him.

  "No..." The word escaped him involuntarily.

  Tobin burst out laughing, the bastard.

  "Oh, that's beautiful!" Tobin called out, genuine delight in his voice. "How does it feel, watching someone else take your prize?"

  Seth knew he was trying to rile him up, but regardless, his stomach twisted with a feeling he'd never experienced before. It was visceral, primitive, humiliating and ugly, like watching someone else eat the meal you'd spent hours cooking while you stood there with an empty plate.

  Except worse, so much worse.

  It was utterly crushing.

  "Shut up!" Seth snarled, throwing a desperate spell at Tobin. This was supposed to be his moment.

  Tobin dodged easily. "What's wrong? I thought you were supposed to be lucky?"

  "You planned this," Seth accused.

  "Actually, no," Tobin admitted cheerfully. "Theodore just jumped. But seeing your face right now? Totally worth the heart attack he gave me."

  Rosa's screams of pure fury echoed Seth's own internal howling. Adding insult to injury, not only had he stolen their kill, he was making them look like fools in the process.

  "Your teammate's about to be frozen solid too. Want to watch?" Tobin added helpfully.

  His hands shook. Seth had never felt this particularly unique blend of rage and helplessness before.

  "I'll kill you all," Seth said.

  "Sure you will. Right after you respawn outside. Hey, at least you got to participate! That's something, right?"

  The opponent mage's spell caught him in the chest while he stood there, paralyzed by this new and horrible emotion. The pain barely registered compared to what was happening inside him.

  He'd been right there. RIGHT THERE. One more minute, maybe less, and the Beast King would have been theirs. Instead, he got to watch someone else take what he'd earned.

  The elimination came almost as a relief.