Emily’s gaze locked onto the last jaguar. The beast thrashed and snarled, its powerful limbs struggling against the ice that bound its hind legs. Its eyes burned with a ferocious, primal rage, a desperate hunger for revenge that set every muscle trembling with barely contained violence. With a deafening, earth-shaking roar, the jaguar finally broke free from its icy prison. Shards of ice shrapnel exploded in all directions. In the blink of an eye, the jaguar’s furious gaze found Emily. The jungle seemed to hold its breath.

  Its muscles coiled, each movement an unspoken promise of deadly speed. The beast was a storm of rage and raw power, ready to release. Emily remained unmoved, her stillness a striking contrast to the chaos unfolding before her. She knelt low, her eyes never leaving the jaguar, the taut string of her bow humming with the power of the red energy arrow she held, her most powerful shot yet. The air around her crackled with electricity.

  The jaguar sprang forward, a blur of speed, claws bared and teeth gleaming in the dim light. Its roar reverberated through the ground beneath Emily’s feet, but she didn't flinch. The world around her seemed to slow, each heartbeat in time with the jaguar’s charge. Her eyes stayed locked on the creature as the distance between them closed with terrifying speed.

  When the creature was 30 feet out, it lunged. Emily seemed as calm as ever. Just when Quinn and Dexter thought she was going to release the arrow. She didn’t. But she didn’t move either. She was going to let it attack her. And right when its claws were a hair’s breath away from her face, its body froze mid-air, suspended as if caught in some invisible web. The momentum that had propelled it forward evaporated in an instant. Time itself seemed to stretch, then snap, and the jaguar’s limbs hung, frozen, unable to move. It was no longer the lethal predator it had been—just a lifeless, suspended form, caught in a stasis of helplessness.

  Confusion flickered in the jaguar’s eyes, then terror. Its claws twitched uselessly, its body writhing helplessly in the air. The jungle stood still, watching as the beast struggled against its unseen restraints. For a heartbeat, the predator was reduced to nothing more than a plaything caught in an invisible web.

  Dexter slapped his forehead, realization dawning with an almost amused shock. “I completely forgot about her telekinesis,” he muttered, a half-laugh escaping him. “She could’ve ended this before we even started.”

  Emily smirked, barely sparing him a glance. She released the tension in her bow, watching the energy arrow vanish. The jaguar remained suspended, dangling like a puppet. “And rob you boys of your fun?” she teased. “Please.”

  The jaguar struggled violently within Emily's telekinetic grasp, its confusion and terror mounting, but no matter how it thrashed, it couldn’t break free from the invisible force holding it captive. Emily’s eyes flicked toward Dexter, her voice light but dripping with sarcasm. “Dexter, darling, be a dear and fetch me a cage, would you?”

  Dexter bowed in obedience, and said, “As you wish.”

  “Princess Bride?” Quinn asked.

  “You know it,” Dexter said, smirking.

  Dexter tapped his bracers, and the nanobots responded immediately. A silver stream of metallic particles shot out, swirling around the suspended jaguar. The particles solidified into thick, gleaming bars, their energy pulsing softly as the cage formed. In mere seconds, the jaguar was locked inside a cage of shimmering metal, the bars glinting faintly with mana, its energy humming with an undeniable power. The creature let out a final, frustrated snarl, but it was pointless. It was trapped.

  Emily lowered her hand, releasing the jaguar. The cage dropped to the ground with a quiet thud, settling with finality that seemed to reverberate through the clearing. The jaguar continued to seethe, its eyes flashing with fury, but no matter how much it strained, it couldn’t break free from the confines of its prison.

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  “Thanks, sweetie,” Emily said, her voice sweet but laced with mock affection, as she dusted her hands off theatrically.

  “Can she get any more amazing?” Quinn murmured under his breath, his gaze fixed on Emily.

  “You do realize I can hear you, right? Stop telling me and just tell HER already,” he teased, but his words were laced with an amused exasperation.

  Ignoring Dexter’s jab, Quinn wiped the sweat from his brow, his body finally relaxing after the intensity of the fight. “We did it,” he said, the strain of the battle lifting from his shoulders, replaced by a quiet sense of pride.

  Emily’s bow disappeared into a shimmering light, and her attention shifted to Quinn. She walked over to him and put her finger through the rip in his suit. “How’s your shoulder?” she asked. “That looked like it hurt.”

  “Good thing I’m the world’s best Biomancer,” he said flirtingly.

  “Dude, you're the only Biomancer in this universe,” Dexter scoffed. Then he tried to move the attention to himself. “I’m still the best programmer in the galaxy. I have a mug that says so.” he said smugly.

  “Second best,” Quinn retorted, continuing the ‘who’s better’ decade-long debate.

  “Hey boys, can we focus for a minute. Do you realize what we just did? We are an actual, honest to goodness, badass team.”

  “Darn tootin’,” Dexter agreed.

  They looked at their handiwork. The jaguars now lay restrained, their menacing presence neutralized, but their glowing eyes still burned with the fury.

  Quinn gave a small nod, his eyes shifting to the direction of the village. “We need to make sure there isn’t anything else out there,” he replied

  A few of Dexter’s drones whirred back toward him, their metallic hum piercing the stillness of the clearing. They circled him like dutiful sentries, their presence offering a brief, almost comforting sense of control. “I’ve been monitoring. Area’s clear,” he said, confidence lacing his tone as his hand waved over his bracers. “I’ve got the drones scanning for any other threats. Shouldn’t be long before we know if there’s anything else lurking.”

  The jungle seemed to exhale with its balance temporarily restored. The vibrant greens and browns of the forest appeared less ominous now, but the stillness held an unspoken reminder: danger could be hiding just out of sight, waiting for the right moment to strike.

  As they surveyed the aftermath, Sim’s voice resonated in their minds. “Well done. Excellent teamwork. And kudos for capturing all three specimens. I’ll take it from here.”

  Before they could react, the jaguars vanished in a pulse of light, leaving the clearing eerily empty behind them.

  “Check your mana reserves,” Sim added. “You’ve all expended considerable energy during the battle.”

  Without hesitation, each of them mentally opened their system interfaces. Translucent screens flickered to life before their eyes, displaying graphs and numbers that tracked their mana and physical states. The readings were revealing.

  Emily’s mana reserves were nearly halfway depleted, the use of her mana arrows and telekinetic feats taking its toll. Quinn wasn’t faring much better; his gauge reflected the strain of maintaining his Biomancy and wielding the Mana Blade. Dexter’s levels, however, were critically low—his drones and transformations had drained him more than he expected.

  “We’re running low,” Emily noted, her gaze fixed on the data flashing before her. “At least it’s regenerating, though.”

  “Yes,” Sim replied. “Your mana regenerates naturally, at a steady pace. The more you use, the stronger your mana channels become, and the faster it will regenerate over time. Meditation can also accelerate the process. But—”

  “Wait, what? Mine’s already full!” Dexter interrupted, his voice filled with surprise. “I have ascended! No one can challenge the might of my mana regeneration!” He put his fists on his hips dramatically, striking the pose of an emperor before his loyal subjects.

  Sim's response was a soft sigh, tinged with exasperation. “I was getting to that. Since the system is still under development, I’ll be manually replenishing your mana when necessary.”

  “Unlimited mana?” Dexter grinned, rubbing his hands together as though preparing for some nefarious plan. “Looks like we’ve just unlocked a cheat code.”

  Sim’s tone shifted, playful but pointed. “Don’t get too cozy. I’m doing you a favor, so you’d better stay in my good graces.”

  Dexter immediately dropped into an exaggerated bow, arms outstretched with over-the-top flair. “Anything for you, my queen,” he declared, voice dripping with mock reverence.

  A sharp ping resonated in his mind. His eyes narrowed as he focused, data flashing across his interface. “Wait, I’ve got something,” he said. “Northwest of here. The temperature drops ten degrees, and... something’s messing with my compass. Electromagnetic interference, maybe. It’s throwing everything off.”

  Quinn gave a casual shrug, fingers tightening around the hilt of his Mana Blade. “Alright, let’s move,” he said, his voice firm, slipping easily back into ‘business mode.’

  Emily gave a short nod, her cloak shimmering as it settled around her shoulders. Her gaze shifted ahead, already calculating their next move. Dexter’s fingers flew over his bracers, summoning the drones into formation. Their steady hum was a familiar comfort, like a second heartbeat to him.

  “Hey, Dex,” Quinn asked, curiosity edging his tone, “Why do you always wave your hand over your bracers? I thought you could just think it, and they’d do their thing.”

  Dexter gave him a knowing look, mischievous glint in his eye. “If you only knew what I see on my system interface, my friend. Tecnomancy isn’t just a power; it’s an art form. You can’t question the artist’s techniques. Just bask in the brilliance.”

  “Now I have so many questions,” Quinn muttered, shaking his head.

  Emily came up beside Quinn, whispering just loud enough for Dexter to hear, “Did you do something to make his head bigger? It looks a little bigger.”

  Dexter scoffed in mock hurt, drawing a laugh from both of them. Quinn and Emily smiled as they started off, moving deeper into the jungle.