The chanting outside the Temple entrance intensified, the sound echoing off the stone and rock, signaling the approach of a larger force. Leo wiped sweat and blood from his brow, his hands slick around the grip of the Pry Axe.
"Reyes is too heavy to carry far, Leo!" Lara shouted, her voice strained as she knelt beside the still-weakened survivor. She had her small climbing axe ready, her eyes darting between the exits.
"We're not carrying him; we're dragging him!" Leo countered, his mind running on pure, tactical calculation. His Stamina (9) was screaming at him, but his Mind (6) was focused on the next sequence of moves. "Grab the fire embers and the Recurve Bow. There's a winch point on that old pillar!"
He spotted the rusted mechanism—a coil of thick, ancient rope attached to a broken stone spindle—exactly where it should be according to his meta-knowledge.
"The rope is too old, it'll snap!" Lara protested, but she was already moving, stripping a fresh section of hemp rope from their supplies and securing it to Reyes's belt, then running the line back to the winch.
Leo ignored her protests about the rope's integrity. He knew the winch was a mandatory progression step. He threw a chunk of rock at the mechanism, jarring the wheel loose. "We don't need it to hold forever, just long enough! Tie the hemp to the axle, and brace yourself!"
He grabbed the Pry Axe and turned back to the entrance. The Solarii were breaking through the barricade.
"I'm buying you ten seconds!" he roared, then charged the narrow opening, fueled by the brutal confidence of his Strength (9).
The next wave of Solarii were even more crazed, their eyes wild. Leo met the first one—a heavy, muscular man—axe-to-axe. He blocked the Solarii's swing with the handle of the Pry Axe, the impact rattling his bones, but his Stamina (9) absorbed the shock. He sidestepped, executing a fluid movement that only his high Dexterity (8) allowed.
Target Stunned! Melee Finisher Activated!
Leo whirled the Pry Axe, driving the heavy spike into the cultist's side with devastating force. The man crumpled.
The second cultist tried to flank him. Leo didn't bother dodging. He delivered a brutal, unadulterated Strength punch to the cultist's exposed jaw, stunning him long enough for Lara to haul the winch.
"PULL!" Leo yelled over the combat noise.
Lara was straining, her face red with effort, but the mechanism groaned to life, slowly winching Reyes and the supplies—including the crucial Recurve Bow—up a broken set of stone stairs leading to the upper sanctuary level.
Leo delivered the finishing blow to the stunned cultist, then pivoted. The third cultist of the wave was charging, a club raised high.
Leo didn't engage. His part of the objective was complete.
Retreat.
He turned and bolted, sprinting toward the ascending rope, leaping and grabbing the line just as the cultist's club slammed into the pillar where he had been standing a moment before.
He scrambled up the rope, using his brute Strength (9) to haul himself onto the upper sanctuary floor. He landed beside a panting Lara, grabbing the Recurve Bow instantly.
The sound of the Solarii below was deafening—curses, shouts, and the frantic hacking of axes against the stone barrier.
[Host: Leo]
[Enemy Defeated: Solarii Thug (Melee)] - +100 EXP
[Enemy Defeated: Solarii Berserker (Melee)] - +100 EXP
[Sub-Mission: Temple Defense (Phase 1) Complete!]
Defeat 5 Melee Solarii (5/5)
[Reward: 400 EXP Gained!]
[Host Level Up! Level 4 Reached!]
[New Attribute Points Available: 3]
[Schematic Unlock: Fire Arrows!]
Description: Allows the Host to craft fire-tipped arrows by combining arrow shafts with cloth and oil/fat.
The sheer volume of notifications and rewards was exhilarating. Leo was Level 4, his character exponentially stronger than he was three hours ago. But the enemies were right below them.
"The winch is down! They can't follow without climbing," Lara gasped, pushing a heavy stone bench in front of the stairwell opening. "We have maybe two minutes before they find another way up."
"Fire arrows," Leo muttered, his gaze fixed on the new schematic. "We need fire arrows, and we need to use this altitude."
He quickly located the essentials in their meager supplies: the Animal Fat from the game they killed earlier, some scraps of cloth from the canvas Reyes was resting on, and his Zippo lighter.
Leo worked with frantic precision, Lara standing guard at the opening with the Pry Axe. He quickly wrapped the cloth around the arrowheads, dabbed the fabric liberally with the rendered animal fat, and prepared the first two arrows.
He nocked the first Fire Arrow into the Recurve Bow.
"They're coming up the outside ledges! Three of them!" Lara shouted, pointing to a crumbling opening high above a massive drop.
Leo didn't hesitate. He took aim at the center of the three Solarii climbing the precarious, mossy cliff face.
He drew the bow, activated the Zippo with his thumb, and ignited the arrow tip with a quick flick of his wrist.
The arrow left the bow with a savage hiss, propelled by the enhanced power of his Strength (9) and the perfect release from his Steady Hand skill.
The Fire Arrow struck the central cultist in the chest. The fat-soaked cloth flared instantly. The shock of the flame on the damp moss and the sudden, intense heat caused the man to lose his grip. He screamed, his body enveloped in flame, before plummeting hundreds of feet to the rocks below.
The other two Solarii, terrified by the sudden, fiery death of their comrade, hesitated.
Leo nocked the second Fire Arrow, igniting the tip, and fired at the nearest remaining climber. It struck the stone just beside him, igniting a patch of dry vine.
The cultist panicked, tried to move, and slipped, joining his comrade in the fall. The third cultist, seeing the destruction, immediately scrambled backward down the cliff face.
A terrible, echoing silence fell over the temple ruins. The threat was eliminated, at least for the moment.
[Host: Leo]
[Environmental Kill: Solarii Climber (Fire Arrow)] - +150 EXP
[Environmental Kill: Solarii Climber (Chain Reaction)] - +150 EXP
[Total EXP Gained: 300]
Leo leaned his head back against the cold stone, the bow lowering slowly in his hands. He was exhausted, exhilarated, and terrified. He had killed six people in the last hour, but they were the keys to his survival, his progression.
Lara looked at the precipice, then at the smoking bow in Leo's hands. She hadn't seen the System notifications, but she had seen the results—the impossible strength, the perfect timing, and the terrifying effectiveness of his tactical thinking.
"You're not a scout, Leo," she said, her voice quiet but firm, turning to face him. "You're fighting them like you know their patrol routes. Like you know how this island works."
Leo met her gaze, his expression solemn. He knew he couldn't hide the truth forever, but he could spin it.
"Lara, I don't know why I'm here, or why I know these things. But I do. It's like... I've lived this before, but only in my head. I know the traps, I know the weapons, and I know where we need to go to survive."
He looked at Reyes, still barely conscious. "You have to trust me. The path to rescue is through the storms, through the Solarii, and through the Sun Queen's tomb. We have to follow the steps, or we die."
He gestured to the System interface, which was waiting patiently for his input.
[New Attribute Points Available: 3]
"I just gained the power to get us one step closer to rescue," Leo stated. "But I can only do it if we stick to the script. Are you with me?"
The fierce, determined young woman looked at the man who had just saved her life with impossible skill. She saw the truth of his desperation, and the lethal practicality of his actions. She saw their only chance.
"Tell me where to go, Leo," she said, gripping her own axe. "And tell me what to look for next."
Chapter End.