Author's Preface
By the time the team gathered at the gate, Blue already knew what the problem was. It hadn’t taken one failed run, or even two. It had taken three full days of training for it to finally settle into something he could understand. The issue wasn’t his strength or his speed. If anything, those were the very things working against him. He didn’t fit the rhythm. That much had become painfully obvious.
A few days earlier, Eve had called for another reset, her voice as steady and unchanging as ever. Blue had moved first that time, too quickly, as it turned out. He had cut past the formation, stepped into the opening before it had even fully formed, and eliminated the target cleanly in a single motion. Efficient. Exactly the way he had been trained to fight. And completely wrong.
Eve’s vines had snapped upward a second too late, wrapping around empty air where the target had already fallen. Samantha’s flames never found anything to burn. Cynthia lowered her hands without casting. Darrien hadn’t even bothered to move. Chris had just stood there, watching. “You’re early,” he said. Blue frowned slightly. “I ended it.” Chris shook his head, not irritated, just… firm. “Yeah, I know you did. That’s not really the issue, though. We’re not trying to see who can finish it first, we’re trying to move together.” The next run hadn’t gone any better. Blue forced himself to wait that time, holding back instead of stepping forward. He watched the formation unfold, tracked their movement, tried to time his entry more carefully. But he overcorrected. By the time he moved, the opportunity was already gone. Eve had locked the target down. Samantha forced it into position. Chris held the line. And when Blue finally stepped in. Darrien was already there, a dagger resting lightly against his throat.
“…You’re late this time,” Darrien said, not mocking him, just stating it. Blue let out a breath, more frustrated than anything. Cynthia stepped up beside him afterward, offering him a small smile. “Don’t stress it too much,” she said. “We’ve all been working together for years. It took time to get like this. You’ll get there, just keep at it.”
Blue nodded, but the frustration didn’t go away. In Murim, combat had always followed a kind of flow. Even in chaos, there had been rhythm, something you could feel, something you could adjust to. You reacted to your opponent, to the movement in front of you, and everything else fell into place. This wasn’t like that. This was structured. Layered. Built on timing that had nothing to do with instinct and everything to do with coordination. He wasn’t reacting to enemies anymore. He was reacting to his own team.
Now, standing in front of the gate, that realization sat firmly in place. Eve didn’t waste time. “Formation.” No one questioned it. They stepped through together. The environment shifted instantly, the forest closing in around them as the gate sealed behind them. The air was thick, damp, carrying the scent of earth and rot. Movement came from the left. “Left,” Eve called. The team moved as one.
Chris stepped forward, shield already in place, absorbing the initial impact as the first creatures broke from the undergrowth. Samantha’s flames followed immediately, burning one's whi were caught and forcing the rest where the team wanted them. Eve’s vines snapped upward, locking down their movement before they could scatter, and Cynthia reinforced from behind, stabilizing the flow of the fight. Darrien appeared where he was needed. He ended it. Blue stepped in right on time. His blade moved once, clean and controlled, dropping the last creature without disrupting the formation. For the first time since training had started, it felt right.
They pushed deeper into the gate, encountering more resistance as they moved, but nothing that truly threatened them. Everything stayed controlled. Almost routine. Then Blue saw the next group. They were partially hidden ahead, clustered just beyond the tree line. He registered them instantly, distance, numbers, positioning. And before he could stop himself, he moved. He broke formation. The gap closed in seconds. His blade cut through them cleanly, each strike landing exactly where it needed to. The fight ended before it had even had the chance to begin. By the time the others reached him, there was nothing left.
Blue turned back toward them, letting out a small breath. “That should-” He stopped. The forest had gone quiet. Too quiet. From deeper within the trees, something shifted. Pairs of green eyes flickered into view. Then more. Dozens of them, watching. Waiting. “Blue, get back here... now.” Eve’s voice wasn’t loud, but there was no missing it. Blue didn’t argue. He stepped back, returning to formation.
Chris didn’t look at him. “…You can’t do that,” he said quietly. “Not even in low class gate like this.” The creatures didn’t rush them all at once. They circled instead, testing the edges of their formation, looking for something to exploit. But this time, the team didn’t give them anything. They moved the way they had trained. Chris held the line. Eve controlled the space. Samantha used her AOE spells to inflict maximum damage and funnel the rest. Cynthia stabilized. Darrien struck where it mattered. Blue stayed with them. Matched their timing. Didn’t step out of line again. The fight ended cleanly. No injuries. No chaos. Just another cleared gate.
When they stepped back into the real world, the shift in atmosphere was immediate. Chris walked to his truck without saying anything. He lifted his shield and tossed it into the back, and the vehicle dropped a few inches under the weight, the impact echoed heavier than it should have. Blue watched it for a moment, a small smile forming despite everything. It hadn’t been perfect. But it hadn’t been bad either. He walked over. “Hey… is something wrong?”
Chris looked at him for a second before answering. “Yeah… there is,” he said, not harsh, just direct. “Look, we’ve got a system... a way we operate. What you did back there? That breaks it.” He glanced back toward the gate, then back at Blue. “That was a B-rank, so nothing really punished it. But if that had been A-rank… or something worse, that kind of move doesn’t just mess up the flow, it puts people in bad positions.”
Blue didn’t interrupt. Chris let out a breath, running a hand briefly through his hair. “I’m not saying you’re wrong for going after it,” he continued. “Honestly, you handled it fine. That’s not the problem.” He shook his head slightly. “The problem is you’re still fighting like you’re on your own... You’re not. Not anymore. And if you keep jumping ahead like that, trying to end things before the formation even sets, you’re working against us, not with us.”
The edge in his voice eased just a little. “I’m glad you’re here, Blue. I mean that. You’ve got more than enough ability to be here. But if you want to stay here, you’ve got to trust how we do things. Trust Eve. Trust the team.” He shrugged slightly. “…It makes everything easier.”
Chris turned and got into his truck. The engine started a moment later, and then he was gone. The others had already left. Blue stood there for a while, the quiet settling in around him as he stared back at the gate. At where he had stepped out of line. At what it had caused. He’s right. A slow breath left him. “…I’m not fighting with them. " The words sat heavier than he expected. But they felt right. He glanced down at his hands for a moment, then back toward the road. “…Thanks, Chris.” Blue made his way to the guild van, as the rear door slid open the driver looked back. "Home or the guild?"
"Home, please." Blue hopped in and shut the door. "I really need to buy a car." Blue thought to himself as the van pulled away and Blue continued to ponder over the gate and the conversation with Chris.