None of Nil's friends or acquaintances liked the name of his new move or technique. Some, especially Isabella and Shawn, questioned the need to name it. Meanwhile, Bunty thought it hilarious and believed his fans would like the look and sound of Taser Hands. It was a far more dangerous weapon than the Arthurtech shock-and-stun guns used by the Metropolitan Police, and Nil liked it as a non-lethal but effective tool against opponents of the same Realm.

  It helped Nil take out another challenger within seconds of moving on from the first fight. The young man—probably late teens or early twenties—wore Wilson Luduses’ colors. Too much blood covered his face and clothes for Nil to identify him, and he wasn't keen on wasting much time on the task. Even though his opponent appeared injured and in the process of fleeing a battle, he took no chances and wasted little time.

  Unlike the swordsman, the man failed to react to the attack from above. Nil swept the leg and used Taser Hands on a shoulder until his opponent screamed his forfeit. The arena construct teleported him away and awarded Nil with another full token. Within seconds, he discovered that another hunter was waiting for an opening.

  A woman riding a giant bat swooped at Nil, almost making his heart leap out of his chest.. The raging storm and darkness made it impossible to spot her. The duo had no energy signature for Energy Instinct to detect, making them perfect ambush hunters.

  Too many things happened at once for Nil to follow. First, a sonic attack assaulted Nil’s inner ear, ruining his balance and making him nauseous. He tried to activate Absorb but failed. Nil’s body refused to obey his instructions. The summoner and her mount rammed into Nil, throwing him off his feet and into a crumbling wall.

  The force knocked the air out of his lungs and rattled him inside and out. If Nil hadn’t supercharged toughness before attacking his mark, Nil believed his eardrums would’ve burst, and his bones wouldn’t have fared much better. The onslaught continued before he could recover.

  The bat screeched. The stone around Nil vibrated, and the nausea significantly worsened. However, the disorientation eased, and he focused just in time to see the attackers diving again. Absorb still refused to activate, so Nil stuck to Expend and trickled energy through his torso. It recoiled when the bat’s claws wrapped around his arm and midriff. A roar followed, and the sound didn’t have any adverse effects. Blood rained on Nil as the summoner and beast retreated. A swarm of smaller bats appeared from nowhere and assaulted him, but they disintegrated, melting on contact.

  As soon as Nil found a window, he ceased the energy release and expelled Meatball from his core. She flashed red, then silver, launching herself off him and at the attacking duo. The hard, spiky carapace collided with the bar’s head, crunching bone. More blood replaced whatever the rain washed away. The Ironroot Drakeling unfurled her carapace, wrapped a tentacle around the bat, and propelled herself upward. The rest of her appendages wrapped around the woman’s head. Meatball tried to find traction but successfully separated her from the bat. The pair landed noisily in a giant puddle of pooled rainwater. As per instruction, the drakeling didn't stick around after an attack. She sped away, creating distance between herself and all combatants.

  The seconds Meatball bought Nil made a world of difference. The safest route of action would've been to switch to Absorb and come up with a better strategy, but it wasn't the quickest option. On the other hand, sticking to Expend and going on the offensive would not take time. The previous month hadn’t just gone into training his new techniques but also experimenting with them.

  Taser Hands immersed in a puddle did the job. Crimson Lightning traveled along the water, drawing more cries of pain from the woman and bat. It was their turn to be spasming and stunned. Every bit of Nil still hurt, and his head throbbed, but he didn’t have the luxury of catching his breath. He pushed forward, stumbling to his opponent. First, Nil eliminated the rapidly regenerating bat. An Expend blast blew up the half-caved-in head and a chunk of the torso. The creature collapsed into a cloud of dust and arcane lights, which the powerful winds carried away. The woman surrendered and teleported out before Nil could start on her. He didn’t expect her to give up so quickly but appreciated her identifying when victory was out of reach.

  “Godpuncher Nil just gained two-and-a-half points!” The announcer declared. “He’s halfway to victory! With Darkwing Janna’s elimination, the remaining challengers have halved as well! This is where the Hunt slows down. Everyone is more spread out, as are the token holders!”

  Nil retreated into a half-collapsed archway where people would struggle to find him unless they had tracking abilities. He waited a moment to ensure no one had followed him before letting out a soft whistle. Meatball found him within seconds and used Regenerate. An emerald aura burst from her before condensing around NIl. His aches and pains eased. The throbbing of his temples and nausea faded. The few scratches he had suffered from the bats’ claws also half-stitched themselves closed.

  “Communication training was a brilliant time investment, wasn’t it girly?” Nil whispered. He took the moment of respite to scan his surroundings with Energy Instinct, tracking his targets. Only six of the more powerful Cursed Energy signatures remained. “You ready? Should we take the rest out now?”

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Meatball’s excited chirps put a smile on Nil’s face and fired him up. They took off together. Nil had initially kept her in his core for a surprise attack, and that was done. Now, he wanted her in the field providing support, distracting, or tripping up foes. She traveled along the platforms while Nil moved far above her, sliding along vertical surfaces. They passed fights between other challengers or challengers and smaller Cursed Ones. He evaded several dark entities as well.

  Recordings of past Hunts from several universes showed that it was generally the strongest and meanest specimens carried the tokens. Most sources claimed that such creatures always had multiple, powerful hearts. Nil hoped that was the same as robust energy signatures. In his experience, that was usually the case.

  The first powerful Cursed One Nil encountered was also humanoid. At first, he thought Energy Instinct was on the fritz. Several dead, smaller, dark entities littered the floor. A handful of human limbs littered the ground among them. The only living entity I saw was an ordinary human figure in monk robes. She floated a meter above the ground, cross-legged. The strange woman appeared to meditate, and orange wrappings covered most exposed skin. If not for the three powerful energy signatures pulsing within, Nil would’ve mistaken the figure for another challenger.

  The head rose, and a pair of soft, glowing pink eyes focused on Nil. A low hood cast a shadow over the face. Then something shifted, and a similarly colored line appeared in the darkness. It curled upward, and a dull ache blossomed at the back of Nil’s skull. He immediately supercharged psychic fortitude and infused it with additional energy.

  As soon as Nil took a step into the room, a powerful force wave burst from the floating Cursed One. It launched limbs and all kinds of debris at him. Another step brought fuschia spikes of raw psychic energy. Energy Instinct highlighted them bright pink. Nil gladly took any force blasts that came at him, relying on Absorb to restore everything he had burned while traveling, but he dodged the rest. It was likely that reinforced psychic fortitude wasn’t enough to resist the direct attacks aimed at his mind.

  Crescent blades of concentrated force energy replaced the blasts. Absorb ensured none of the projectiles inflicted damage. When Brutal Batteries stores got too high, the supply to Toggled Supercharging increased.

  Nil’s swift, unrelenting approach wiped the grin from the floating Cursed One’s face. The creature roared, and a wall of luminous pink spikes shot at him. They filled the room from wall to wall, limiting his room to dodge. He had no choice but to erect a silver barrier. It didn’t completely stop the spikes. Some slid off, while others successfully penetrated the wedge. Nil had no choice but to abandon the attempt and dodge. Order hadn’t stopped the projectiles but slowed them enough for the rest of the wall to pass.

  Panic flooded the luminous eyes, and the Cursed One screamed. Despite supercharged psychic fortitude with infused energy, he heard infinite voices echo the cry. It felt like someone had sunk hot needles into the back of his eyes. The discomfort continued even after the Cursed One quietened, and an iciness filled the insides of his skull. A Mind Magic signature rapidly blossomed around the floating entity.

  Something big is coming.

  Speed joined psychic fortitude and Expend added to the speed explosion. Nil shot at the Cursed One. He replaced speed with toughness and called forth Anti-Friction Lattice. Force blades flew at Nil. He dodged them with hand blasts, glad the Mind Magic attack hadn’t come yet. A Chaos knuckle-dagger manifested in Nil’s just as he shot past his opponent.

  The swelling Mind Magic faded. When Nil turned around, half the Cursed One’s head lay on the ground. Orange slag poured from the wound. Two hearts remained. Nil spun around, dispelling the energy weapon. A Source Sphere hovered over his left hand. It took a moment longer to form than the knuckle-dagger. He drove the violent orb of crimson energy into the monster’s torso, simultaneously destroying the hearts in its chest and stomach.

  Toggled Supercharging has progressed to Bronze 2!

  “Godpuncher Nil has gained one token. His score has increased to six.” Much to his surprise, the announcer continued. “What’s this? His spirit companion just eliminated another challenger. Godpuncher Nil’s score is now seven-point-five. The number of remaining challengers has halved again.”

  More energy signatures flared just outside the domed structure where they had just fought. The Cursed One’s scream had joined three others. They felt human, and two of them were close together. Nil had suspected that there was a choice of his competitors temporarily teaming up. Such a tactic didn’t feel beyond Wilson Luduses’ possible strategies.

  Run or stay and fight?

  Meatball returned to Nil, chirping happily as he tried to make up his mind. She leaped into his arms, happily vibrating.

  “Yes, girl,” Nil whispered. “I’m proud of you.”

  Three powerful Cursed Energy signatures, but none were close. Meanwhile, if his opponents had high scores and took each other out, victory could just as easily propel them to the top position and win them the Hunt.

  An Expend-powered leap combined with supercharged strength carried Nil toward the domed ceiling. He simultaneously threw Meatball. She unfurled and grabbed a crack. Once at the apex of his jump, Nil released an Expend blast through his feet and flew further. The drakeling’s tentacles wrapped around his outstretched hand, and he used her help to find his hand and footholds. He switched to Absorb and ceased supercharging. Nil hoped it was enough to erase his presence and hide from the other challengers’ tracking abilities. He grinned as a cheesy quip came to mind.

  And the hunters become the hunted.