Skill Hunter -Kill Monsters, Acquire Skills, Ascend to the Highest Rank!

The monsters were pushing toward the walls when Ike returned. Despite the short time he was gone, Wisp's fire trap was no more, and the fighters had fallen back, relying on the defenses Ike and the Old Guard had set before the wave kicked off. Wisp dashed from place to place, hitting the monsters, then fleeing, Rufus and his men struggled, but held the line with the support of the traps and the Old Guard manning the defenses from the wall.

Ike sprinted ahead, leaving Scar behind. "Wisp. What happened?"

Wisp hopped up on a nearby tree, then shot a thread and followed it to his side. "Those damn fools wouldn't listen when I told them fire weakened the monsters. They insisted that they were fire monsters, so they must be immune to fire."

"These guys really can't open their eyes to see past their preconceptions, huh," Ike commented. Explore more stories with empire

"Yeah, and it's a problem. Now we're struggling, because they sabotaged my webbing trap. You gotta go bust their heads open and tell them not to be idiots," Wisp said.

Scar caught up. "What's going on?"

Ike quickly explained the situation to her. She thought for a moment, then nodded. "How about I cause a problem?"

"Huh?" Ike asked.

She nodded. "Watch and learn. Hey, Rufus!"n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

A sweaty, disheveled Rufus ran over. "What do you want?"

"I heard you sabotaged a perfectly functional trap? What the hell are you thinking? Do you even have eyes? Look! Look before you do something stupid!"

"A perfectly functional—it was empowering them!"

"Oh, yeah? Is that why Ike's castle is in perfect shape, while yours crumbled? Because his trap didn't work?" Scar asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"I…" Rufus trailed off. He frowned. "But they're fire monsters. Everyone knows fire elementals are strengthened by fire."

"Right, fire elementals are. Why are you assuming these things are fire elementals? Look at them! They're cracking, burning from the inside out. Why can't they be wood- or earth-elementals, raked by flames? You don't actually recognize these monsters. You don't know anything about them. So why are you making up bullshit, instead of opening your eyes to see what actually works?" she admonished him.

Ike nodded along. Exactly what I've been saying this whole time! Damn, it's satisfying to hear someone else say the same thing. Even if it doesn't work, I can at least enjoy that.

Rufus' mouth opened and closed. At last, he scowled. "Am I not allowed to make any assumptions?"

"Not when they're this shitty. No, let's just go ahead and say no."

Rufus' scowl turned even darker. He reached for his sword and stepped forward.

Ike jumped between the two. "Okay, okay. Rufus—I don't care what you think is happening. From now on, you check with me before you interrupt anyone else's actions. If you don't think it's going to work, watch, and if it still doesn't seem to be working, that's when you talk to me. Scar—don't be so hard on Rufus. We all have to work together. We're only going to beat this trial if we all pull our weight, together."

"Yes, sir," Scar said, lowering her head in mock obedience. She shot him a wink and a thumbs-up where Rufus couldn't see it.

Rufus' lip twisted, but he nodded, short and sharp, just once. "Right."

"We all want to get out of here alive. Let's keep our eyes on our mutual goal. Once we're out of here, we can fight to our hearts' content. While we're in here, we all fight as one. We don't fight apart, we fight together. Understood?"

"Understood," Scar said.

Rufus grunted reluctantly.

Ike nodded. "Rufus, get back to the walls. Scar's men are still fresh. You and your men rest up, and so will Wisp and I. If all goes well, we'll have three shifts in the battle. Look around the battlements if you want. Don't interrupt the Old Guard or interfere in anything they're doing, but if you see any improvements or know of any additional weapons we can add, come to me and we'll talk about adding them. Don't just jump in. Don't interfere—"

"I understand! I'm not a child!" Rufus snarled.

Ike, Scar, and Wisp all exchanged a glance. Wisp stifled a snicker. Scar barely avoided cracking a grin.

Rufus glared between all three of them, then huffed and stomped off. Scar shook her head at his back. "He didn't particularly support his not-a-child claim there."

"Yeah, he's kind of a spoiled brat," Ike commented.

"Think he's going to turn into our problem child?" Wisp asked.

Ike watched him go for a second. Rufus snapped at one of his men, who bowed and followed him. He grimaced. "I think he already is. Worst case, we kick him out and take on his men, but I'm hoping it doesn't come to it. Rufus is the strongest of the bunch. We'd have to use his remaining few men to pad our two shifts, rather than using him as his own shift."

"His remaining two men. He had a team of five. You… ahem, the old man died to the monsters. One of his underlings is injured. That leaves Rufus and two," Wisp pointed out.

Ike grimaced. "So let's not let it come to that, if we can avoid it."

"Agreed. I'll play the bad guy if you need me to. You need to be the one that binds us all back together, but I'm not afraid to kick a fuss so you can smooth things over," Scar offered.

"Got it. Try not to be too aggressive. I don't want to smooth over everything. It's fine if there's some jagged edges, as long as we're able to cooperate."

Scar grinned. "I'll try."

Ike nodded backwards. "Monsters are getting a bit close to the wall. You ready to go?"

"Yep. Men! Let's get a move on!" Scar leaped into battle, drawing her sword. One of her mages lifted her hands and tossed a fireball at a monster. When it slowed, growing lethargic, she raised her eyebrows and started tossing more fireballs. The other mages dashed out, finishing off the monsters she'd slowed.

For a few seconds, Ike and Wisp watched Scar go. When she and her men took down one of the monsters, they both turned away, satisfied they'd be able to handle to rush for now. . Ike gestured. "Let's go back to the castle and get some rest."

"Yeah, better get back there before Rufus pisses off Relin," Wisp agreed.

Ike shook his head slowly, exhausted. "Here's hoping he can keep himself to himself for long enough to avoid that."

"Hoping is nice, but sometimes it turns into coping," Wisp said.

Ike sighed. "Yeah…" He probably needed everyone. Probably. But if he didn't… well, he might just know who was first on the chopping block. He chased after Rufus, with Wisp at his heel.