The forest shimmered and shifted, beautiful one moment then decayed the next. It seemed that this really was a stage, a real-life illusion. And it was one we’d walked right into.

  Kojo decapitated one of the infected while I charged up zap. The bear was roaring, fire whipping around as its tentacles flared. It made the ground shake as it came down on all fours, the groans in the forest replaced by sickening, high pitched laughter.

  My chest tightened, zap pushed to the limit. I aimed my staff, ready to fire. As soon as the bear charged me, a bolt of electrical magic blew right through its front left leg.

  My earlier attempt at firing the mana infused spell had taught me a few things. One was the spell’s amazing ability to pierce objects, but also that bigger enemies weren’t dispatched so easily. That advanced infected had a giant hole blown through his chest and he still came right at me. But all that meant was that sometimes, if the enemy was strong enough, I had to focus on disabling them instead of going straight for the kill.

  The bear landed hard against the muck covered dirt. With one leg completely severed, the best it could do was crawl helplessly forward. I wanted to zap it full force in the face, but the other monsters were closing in.

  Kojo and I backed toward the creek. The clear water from earlier had turned to a shit brown river, and it somehow smelled worse than it looked. But even worse was the ground. What had been a grass dense bank had devolved into a muddy ruin. I nearly slipped twice as we made for the shallow portion, and even Kojo was struggling to keep himself upright.

  A lob of acid sped from the darkness above, the spell just missing Kojo’s back by an inch. But more were coming, each splash sizzling against the wet ground. Then one of them landed, the edge grazing Kojo’s arm. Even though it hardly made contact, his skin melted, the muscle beneath showing through as the acid continued to eat away. But he didn’t even flinch. He just gritted his teeth and jumped over the disgusting water.

  I glanced over my shoulder. There had to be nearly twenty of the infected now, two of the advanced forms coming through the forest behind them. And in the trees I spotted several buzzing shapes, glowing green wands in their hands.

  They were probably watching us the whole time. I ducked, a glob of acid flying overhead. They waited until we were separated, then attacked. Riu was probably under attack as well, but he was fast enough to escape.

  We weren’t so lucky.

  I raised my staff in the air, mana exploding through my veins as I cast downpour. It only took a single second for the spell to materialize.

  Within a moment, I realized its name wasn’t exactly accurate. Because the amount of water that started smashing down all around me was more like a waterfall than simple rain. After only a few seconds, the ground was completely soaked, my boots sucking into the mud. I couldn’t see the fairies anymore, but they probably couldn’t see me either. They might keep shooting anyway, but they had limited mana. If they didn’t pick their shots, they would just waste it. That’s what I was hoping for at least.

  A crossbow bolt zipped over my shoulder, nailing one of the infected in the chest. It didn’t kill it, but the monster slipped, then fell in a heap. It took another with it as it went down, more following. They were already slow and clumsy, and between the rain and mud, they were tumbling over themselves and each other.

  One of the advanced forms came rushing in, sprinting like it was trying to win gold in the Olympics. But even it couldn’t stay grounded, especially when moving that fast. It hit the dirt and slid, coming to rest just a few feet from me. One if its tentacles snapped out and tore a chunk off my robe, and I backed away.

  The creek was behind me, the murky water quickly rising. I bent at the knee and focused all the strength I had on my good leg, then jumped. When I landed, I slipped and nearly tumbled. If Kojo hadn’t grabbed me by the arm, I’d have been swallowed by the toilet water at my back.

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  He pulled me away from the bank, then shot again. While he was reaching for a fresh bolt, I turned, widened my stance, and concentrated mana into my staff.

  I wasn’t sure if zap actually made electricity, or that this would work even if it did. But it was worth a try. Things here operated on a sort of video game logic. Electricity with water was bad enough back on Earth, but here, maybe it would be even worse.

  “Brace me,” I said, channeling more and more mana into zap. Earlier I thought I’d charged the spell to the fullest, but there existed nothing that couldn’t be pushed further.

  He looked confused, but then he saw what I was doing. He put his back to mine, his feet digging into the mud.

  The air crackled, water reduced to steam as a ball of energy pulsed around the tip of my staff. Last time I charged it up this much the spell had pushed me back, but I was pouring everything I could into the attack this time. The monsters were forced to walk through the shallower portion of the water. It was the only way for them to cross without being stuck or washed away. But that also meant they were lined up for me.

  My chest felt so tight I thought it might rip open, but I had to hold it. One of the advanced forms was pushing past the rest, his bulk a dark shadow at the back of the horde. Keep charging, I told myself, the veins in my arms bulging. Then pressure started to build behind my eyes, everything growing fuzzy.

  “Get ready,” I said, then I fired.

  It was like I’d shot a cannon.

  White light flashed as an arc of magical electricity exploded forward. It hit the first infected and reduced the top half of their body to ash. But it didn’t stop there. It ripped through the crowd, destroying everything in its path, the sound of a thunder bolt roaring through the trees. It even kept going past the advanced form, the attack so powerful the monster was torn completely in half.

  Notice: Zap has gained a level!

  Notice: Zap has gained a level!

  Notice: Zap has gained a level!

  Notice: You have gained a level!

  Kojo did his best, but the force of the attack was too much. We both fell into the mud, but if he hadn’t been there, I might have gone flying.

  My entire body hurt, all of my joints sore like someone had taken a hammer to them. My chest and head were the worst. There was also a wetness building in my throat, and I coughed, blood on the ground.

  I blinked, tried to pull myself up, but everything was too heavy. I’d killed most of them, but a few were making it across, the bodies of their comrades slowing them down. They’d be here soon.

  Kojo pulled me up, then looped his arms under my shoulders. He pulled me back, then I leaned against a tree. One of his arms was missing a chunk from the acid, but he showed no signs of being in pain.

  “Thanks,” I mumbled, everything blurry.

  He walked back to where we’d been and scooped up the fire sword. One of the infected had made it across, and he ignited the blade and started hacking it to pieces. But the water was getting deeper, and downpour wouldn’t stop for a while. If we held here for a bit longer, I wasn’t sure if any of them could cross.

  The fairies had no such problems.

  One of them buzzed down from above. The rain seemed to be causing her issues, but not enough for her to be grounded. She raised her wand and the infected Kojo was butchering flashed green, then the wounds on its body started mending.

  I blasted her with zap, her body falling limp into the brown creek. But then I coughed again. Felt like I was somehow drowning, like someone had emptied a lake into my lungs.

  Even with the healing the fairy provided, Kojo had no trouble finishing his opponent. He was breathing heavily as the next one reached him. His sword cut the monster’s arm off, but its root clawed hand raked down his chest. If he hadn’t been wearing a leather vest, it probably would have torn right through him.

  Something big was moving toward the water. I realized then that if the fairies could heal the little ones, what was to stop them from healing the bear?

  “Kojo,” I called, voice nearly lost behind the heavy rain. “Give me the potion.” With how much I always seemed to be getting hurt, I probably should have been the one to hold onto it.

  He cut his opponent down, then popped open his inventory. An acid glob hit him in the back before he could get the potion out.

  The fairy that cast the acid spell had come up from behind us. She was right above me, maybe didn’t even notice I was there. Hitting her with a spell under normal circumstances would be easy, but I figured one more spell might make my heart explode.

  Instead, I grabbed my staff at the very bottom and whacked her ass out of the air.

  She hit the ground with a splat, mud coating her wings. She tried flying away but couldn’t quite get up. I tried slamming my staff overhead to smash her, but I missed and then stumbled, thrown off balance.

  I landed right on top of her, and we both sank into the muck.