The alarm went off at 5:00 AM.
Riri silenced it before the second chime, her body already awake. Samael stirred beside her, arm tightening around her waist for a moment before releasing.
"B-Rank," he said, voice rough with sleep.
"Eight hours."
"We're ready."
Through the Bond she felt his certainty. No hesitation, no second-guessing. Just the absolute confidence of someone who'd already run every scenario and calculated acceptable risk.
They rose together. The pre-mission routine had become automatic. Riri pulled on the Shadow-Weave set in practiced sequence while Samael dressed in dark tactical gear. Desert Viper's Fang went to her hip—she'd tested it yesterday and the poison stacking worked better than Crimson Fang's bleed for sustained combat.
Consumables check. Health Potions: full. Mana Potions: full. Stamina Elixirs: ten count, distributed between both inventories.
Loki waited by the door, his new Alpha's Aegis gleaming dark silver. Kirin stretched his wings, testing the Drake Scale Armor's mobility. Vesper materialized on Riri's shoulder. Vermillion descended from the ceiling.
All four companions at full HP, gear upgraded, ready for deployment.
Samael moved to the kitchen and pulled two protein bars from the cabinet. Not a real breakfast, but food that would sustain them through eight hours without weighing them down.
They ate standing up. Efficient. Practical.
"Formation stays the same," Samael said between bites. "You coordinate companions and handle support. I manage elimination and threat assessment."
"Environmental hazards?"
"Unknown until deployment. B-Rank means multiple stacking mechanics. Corruption auras, poisoned terrain, ambient damage over time." His gaze found hers. "Stay within twenty meters of me. That's the outer edge of my kinetic barrier range."
"Understood."
"If something separates us, retreat to last known position and hold. Don't push forward alone."
"I won't."
His jaw tightened. Through the Bond she felt his territorial instinct sharpening. The specific fear of someone who'd spent yesterday watching other Players exist too close to her and was now facing eight hours in a death zone where threats were real.
"Promise," he said.
"I promise."
He pulled her against his chest, arms wrapping around her waist, chin resting on top of her head. The embrace lasted longer than necessary. When he released her, his breathing had steadied.
"Let's go."
The Mission Gate Zone was quieter than it had been two days ago. E-Rank crowds had thinned—first clears were done, survivors were resting, casualties were being mourned by whoever cared enough.
The B-Rank section held three Gates, each in isolated containment plazas. Only a handful of Players waited, most in parties of six or more. Solo attempts at this rank were statistically suicidal.
Except for Bonded pairs with combined Combat Power over forty thousand.
Samael and Riri stopped at the first B-Rank Gate. The containment barrier pulsed with suppressed energy, script running along its surface in complex patterns.
[BLIGHTED WASTELAND - RANK B]
[Objective: Survive 8 Hours]
[Estimated Duration: 8 hours (fixed)]
[Minimum Players: 2 | Maximum Players: 12]
[Warning: Environmental corruption increases over time]
[Warning: Elite enemies patrol in packs]
[Warning: No safe zones within mission area]
Eight hours. No extraction point until the timer expired. No shelter, no rest, just sustained survival against escalating threats.
Riri pulled up the confirmation interface.
[BLIGHTED WASTELAND - RANK B]
[Confirm Entry? Y/N]
She glanced at Samael. He was already reading the mission parameters, calculating optimal resource management for eight-hour deployment.
"We'll need to ration Stamina Elixirs," he said. "Corruption damage will force regular Mana Potion usage for barrier maintenance. Health Potions are backup only—Vermillion handles HP coverage."
"Kirin's flight time is limited. Five hours maximum before exhaustion forces him to ground."
"Then he provides aerial support for the first half, switches to ground assault for the second." Samael's attention shifted to Loki. "Wolf can maintain combat effectiveness for the full duration if we manage his HP properly."
Through the Bond she felt his mind working. Variable analysis, threat modeling, contingency planning for scenarios they couldn't predict until deployment.
"Ready?" he asked.
"Ready."
They pressed YES simultaneously.
The containment barrier dropped. The Gate activated, portal energy surging from dormant to active in three seconds. Sickly green light spilled across the plaza, carrying the smell of rot.
Samael walked into it without hesitation.
Riri followed, companions falling in around her.
The light swallowed them.
The world reformed into desolation.
Cracked earth stretched in all directions, gray and lifeless. The sky was the color of old bruises, no sun visible but light coming from everywhere and nowhere. The air tasted wrong—chemical and organic decay mixing into something that made her throat want to close.
[BLIGHTED WASTELAND - RANK B]
[Survival Timer: 08:00:00]
[Environmental Corruption: Stage 1 - Minor DoT]
[Warning: Corruption increases at 2-hour intervals]
The timer started counting down immediately.
Riri pulled up her interface. Her HP bar showed full, but a small debuff icon appeared in the corner.
[Blight Corruption - Stage 1]
[Effect: -10 HP per minute]
[Effect increases with corruption stage advancement]
Ten HP per minute. Six hundred HP per hour. Over eight hours that was forty-eight hundred damage if she did nothing to mitigate it.
Her current HP pool: 1,084.
The math didn't work.
"Barrier up," Samael said. Kinetic energy pulsed outward from his position, creating a translucent dome that extended twenty meters in all directions. The corruption debuff immediately changed.
[Blight Corruption - Stage 1 - REDUCED]
[Effect: -3 HP per minute while within barrier]
Three HP per minute. Manageable. Vermillion's passive HP drain could offset that easily.
"Barrier costs fifteen MP per minute," Samael said. "At current Wisdom, my natural regen covers twelve. I'll need Mana Potions every four hours."
"Understood."
Movement flickered at the edge of her vision.
Riri spun, Desert Viper's Fang appearing in her hand. Fifty meters away, something shambled through the wasteland's haze.
[Blighted Ghoul - Level 24 - Elite]
[HP: 3,400/3,400]
Level 24. Elite classification. HP pool over three thousand.
Five more shapes materialized behind the first.
[Blighted Ghoul Pack Detected - 6 enemies]
"First contact," Riri said.
"I see them." Samael moved forward, kinetic energy gathering around his hands. "Standard elimination pattern. Kirin provides opening strike, I compress the pack, you and Loki clean up survivors."
Kirin lifted into the air, electricity crackling along his scales. The drake had been waiting for this—three days of rest had left him eager for combat.
Lightning struck.