BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM

The battle turned when the thaid caught Martha, sending her flying across the battlefield.

Momentarily distracted, Benedict gave the monster an opening to attack again. Rick intercepted it, sacrificing himself to protect the others, but was now lying on the ground.

Yet they regrouped for another attack. Essence Flow kept their mana and stamina flowing, allowing them to keep up with the fight and some of them to heal themselves. But without Rick, they needed to be careful.

In the east, Amber's corrosive fog was preventing the weaker thaids from reaching the others, but the stronger monsters pushed through.

The fog ate through fur and scales, leaving flesh exposed and raw, but the thaids' massive mana pools allowed them to cross it. Not all of them, of course, actually, most got killed, but those that crossed it fought with doubled violence.

Erik couldn't see Amber, Mira, and Emily, but the spread of corrosive fog meant they were alive. Emily likely slowed time around them, creating a protective bubble where Amber could keep her power up and make more of the fog, and Mira could fire mana arrows to help them.

The sheer number of thaids breaking through suggested tens of thousands had attacked, not dozens, forcing the three women to focus on killing the beasts that reached their position, or they would die.

"Shit," Erik said, dodging another spectral chain from Vania.

<This isn't working,> Erik told the biological computer. <I need to end this fight with Vania to help the others, but she's too fast. I can't land a proper hit.>

The hydra heads struggled to track her movements. His attacks hit empty air most of the time, devastating the landscape but missing their target. Trees shattered, earth erupted, and fire spread, but Vania remained unscathed.

She launched herself at him again; her clawed hands aimed for his throat. Erik heated the surrounding area while increasing the moisture, creating a massive burst of steam. He used the cover to avoid her grip once more.

The battle altered the forest into an unrecognizable wasteland. The area no longer looked like a forest. It looked like a meteor impact site, barren and desolate.

When the air cleared, Erik and Vania stared at each other across the ravaged landscape. Neither had gained an advantage.

Vania's mutations made her far more resilient than Erik anticipated, and all those powers, despite not being powered by Essence Flow, were hard to counter, especially considering she wasn't using them as much as Erik was using his, simply because she didn't need them.

Vania's mind turned feral, but that didn't mean she understood no more when to use and when to avoid using mana.

She had too much experience fighting, and even thaids were able to do that simple thing, so Vania turned particularly deadly. No longer able to use proper tactics, which would have for sure killed Erik, but enough to at least recognize what to avoid and what not.

Howls and roars echoed through what remained of the trees. As the battle progressed, it drew more thaids, and they were coming from progressively farther distances, attracted by the enormous mana amounts released, the destruction, but most importantly, the smell of blood.

Erik realized the fight had reached a turning point. He needed to kill Vania before the battle below spiraled out of control.

She had incredible strength, but there were thaids arriving that could kill them both easily.

"This is getting ridiculous," Erik said.

[What's wrong? Are you getting tired of missing?]

<This is not helping,> Erik said. He paused. <Regardless, calcky, got any bright ideas to get out of this mess?>

[I see your stress levels are making you resort to name-calling. Would you prefer I pretend to malfunction and leave you to figure this out alone?]

<I'd prefer some actual help instead of some shitty jokes…>

He needed to defeat Vania to help his clones and friends, but she gave him no opportunity. She moved too fast for even the hydra heads to track, leaving his attacks hitting empty air and further devastating the surroundings.

[You want me to do what exactly? I remind you that my suggestions have been less than optimal recently...] The computer sounded almost sheepish.

<Just tell me. We don't have time for self-doubt or stupid jokes…>

[Fine. But you won't like it. Remember when you tried to catch that thaid when we were going to Etrium the first time and ended up face-first in the mud?]

<Is this really the time for such anecdotes? I don't see how that story about the rabbit relates to—>

[The point is, sometimes the best way to catch something fast is to make it come to you. Instead of chasing her, make her chase you. She's feral now, right? Use that. Make her angry. Make her reckless,] the system said, interrupting him.

<It still makes little sense unless—> Erik understood at that point. He paused. <Anyway, that's... actually not a terrible idea, especially considering she has been trying to do that for quite some time.>

[You need to create a trap, Erik… otherwise you won't be able to kill her… ]

<Anyway, there is a problem. If I let her get too close, she'll tear me apart. Even with my regeneration, I won't survive long enough to do anything meaningful.>

[You might be able to trap her before she reaches you. Besides, there is something we might do to increase our odds.]

<You are not going to suggest that, right?>

[Yes. Just pump dexterity up!]

For quite some time, most of the time, actually, Erik pumped his energy attribute up. There was no other way for him to get on par with others, and actually, it was also the best survival strategy since what truly separated creatures was their brain crystal powers.

If these had more juice to power them up, then the difference would only exacerbate. Telling him, for the first time in his life, to pump dexterity up, instead of energy was as weird as it was unsettling. Though, if even the system didn't see a way out of that situation without increasing dexterity, then there was not much to do.

Erik had 80 attribute points available, while he had 657 dexterity points. He would get around 730 strength points, but would that be enough to fight against Vania? She would still be significantly stronger and faster than him, and he would still pull a very dangerous move.