The forest offered no welcome.
Ancient trees towered over the expedition force, their massive trunks blotting out much of the sunlight that should have reached the forest floor. The deeper the raid party traveled, the darker the woodland became. Thick roots twisted across the ground like sleeping serpents, while tangled branches formed a natural canopy overhead.
Most unsettling of all was the silence.
No birds sang.
No insects buzzed.
No wind stirred the leaves.
It felt as though the entire forest was watching them.
"Stay sharp."
Kiraya's voice cut through the oppressive stillness as the combined forces of Eternity Lions and Burning Pride advanced deeper into the woods.
The atmosphere immediately grew more tense.
Sumi already had her daggers drawn. Her eyes continuously scanned the trees around them, never remaining in one place for long.
"I hate places like this," she muttered.
Her grip tightened around her weapons.
"It feels like something's staring at us."
"It is."
Fayzan answered without hesitation.
Small sparks of heat flickered around his clenched fists.
"Just don't assume it's only one thing."
Behind the frontline, Hinabi raised a hand.
"Backline, tighten formation."
Her tone remained calm but carried enough authority to make every player respond instantly.
"Mages, prepare your spells."
She glanced toward the archers.
"Hold your fire until targets are confirmed."
Magumo snorted.
"You're all acting like this is some kind of horror story."
He glanced at the surrounding trees.
"They're just trees."
Nobody responded.
Instead, Ayame spoke quietly.
"No."
Her staff trembled slightly in her hands.
"They're not."
A sudden cracking sound echoed through the forest.
It was small.
Subtle.
Barely noticeable.
But it was enough.
Kiraya's head snapped toward the sound.
"Contact!"
Unfortunately, the warning came too late.
The forest moved.
Roots exploded upward from beneath the ground.
Branches twisted violently.
The trees themselves began to shift.
Massive trunks split apart as bark cracked and splintered. Ancient wood groaned under impossible strain as enormous figures tore themselves free from the earth.
Treants.
Dozens of them.
Their hollow eyes glowed with eerie light as they towered over the players.
Then they attacked.
"Move!"
Kiraya charged first.
A massive branch descended toward her like a battering ram.
BANG!
Her shield met the attack head-on.
The impact shook the ground beneath her feet.
"Tch!"
Digging her boots into the soil, she forced the branch backward.
"Frontline, engage!"
Fayzan moved immediately.
Flames erupted around him as he activated his skill.
"[Warrior Skill: Blazing Dash]"
A trail of fire followed his charge.
Moments later, his fist slammed directly into a treant's exposed core.
BOOM!
The creature's wooden body exploded outward as flames consumed the exposed interior.
"They're weak to fire!"
Hinabi's eyes gleamed.
"Good."
A smile spread across her face.
"Because that's my specialty."
Her hand ignited.
"[Mage Skill: Infernal Bloom]"
A massive wave of fire surged across the battlefield.
Several treants were engulfed instantly.
The monsters let out horrific screeches as flames crawled across their bodies. Branches whipped wildly through the air while burning leaves scattered in every direction.
Yet the creatures refused to die easily.
Roots burst from the earth.
Vines erupted beneath players' feet.
The entire battlefield shifted.
"They're controlling the terrain!"
Ayame desperately raised her staff.
Healing magic spread across the frontline.
"I can't keep up if they maintain this pressure!"
"Then don't let them!"
Magumo charged forward.
His sword flashed.
A thick vine attempting to wrap around a player was sliced apart instantly.
"Cut the roots before they spread!"
Sumi vanished.
One moment she stood beside the formation.
The next, she appeared behind a treant.
Her daggers flashed repeatedly.
Slash.
Slash.
Slash.
Wood splintered apart.
"I found the core!"
She drove one blade deep into the creature.
"Take it down!"
The archers responded immediately.
A rain of arrows struck the exposed weak point.
The treant collapsed.
Unfortunately, more continued emerging from the forest.
From the sides.
From behind.
From every direction.
"We're getting surrounded!"
"Not happening!"
Kiraya slammed her shield into the ground.
"[Shield Skill: Lionheart Guard]"
A powerful shockwave erupted outward.
Several treants staggered backward as the force blasted through the battlefield.
"Push forward!"
Hinabi moved beside her.
Flames intensified around her hands.
"Burn a path!"
Together, steel and fire surged through the forest.
Kiraya shattered defensive lines while Hinabi reduced entire clusters of treants to burning ruins.
Fayzan's blazing strikes destroyed cores one after another.
Sumi dismantled monsters from the shadows.
Magumo cut apart roots and vines before they could overwhelm the formation.
Ayame desperately kept everyone alive.
Little by little, the tide shifted.
The treants began to fall.
Their massive bodies collapsed one after another, consumed by flames before crumbling into blackened ash.
Eventually, the forest grew still once more.
The pressure eased.
Silence returned.
Sumi wiped sweat from her forehead.
"Is that all of them?"
"For now."
Fayzan scanned the surrounding area.
Then he pointed ahead.
"We're close."
Everyone followed his gaze.
Beyond the charred remains of the battlefield stood an enormous stone structure.
Ancient.
Weathered.
Massive.
At its center stood a towering doorway covered in faded carvings and symbols.
Kiraya stepped forward.
Her eyes narrowed.
"That's it."
A heavy silence settled over the raid force.
"The boss room."
Nobody spoke.
Everyone could feel it.
The pressure beyond that door.
The presence waiting on the other side.
Hinabi folded her arms.
"So this is where it starts."
Magumo smirked.
"About time."
Elias finally spoke.
"Five minutes."
Everyone turned toward him.
"Rest. Recover."
His gaze shifted toward the entrance.
"Then we go in."
Nobody argued.
Because beyond that door, mistakes would be fatal.
Meanwhile, the Town of Beginnings remained completely unaware of the battle taking place beyond the forest.
The atmosphere there couldn't have been more different.
Players filled the streets.
Merchants shouted from their stalls.
Groups gathered around shops and taverns.
Laughter and conversation echoed through the town square.
Life continued normally.
Rio and Ryota walked calmly through the crowd.
Indra remained asleep atop Ryota's head, completely oblivious to everything happening around him.
"Still out cold."
Ryota glanced upward.
Rio looked at the dragon.
"He used a lot of energy."
Her voice softened slightly.
"Let him rest."
They continued down the busy street.
After a while, Ryota glanced toward her.
"So what now?"
"We resupply."
Rio answered immediately.
"Potions."
She counted on her fingers.
"Equipment."
"Ammunition."
"Everything."
Ryota blinked.
"That serious?"
Rio nodded.
"Yes."
Her eyes sharpened.
"Because right now, they're already inside."
"They?"
"Eternity Lions."
A pause.
"Burning Pride."
Ryota's eyebrows rose.
"They're raiding the dungeon already?"
"Mm."
Rio continued walking.
"If we're late—"
She stopped speaking.
She didn't need to finish.
Ryota understood immediately.
"They're in trouble."
Rio slowed slightly.
Her expression became thoughtful.
Calculating.
Then a faint smile appeared.
"I don't know why."
She looked toward the horizon.
"But I have a bad feeling."
The smile vanished.
"For now, let's focus on resupplying."
Ryota grinned.
"Sounds good to me."
Neither of them realized how correct her instincts were.
Inside the dungeon, the massive stone doors slowly opened.
A deep grinding noise echoed throughout the chamber.
It sounded less like a door opening and more like something ancient waking from a long sleep.
"Move."
Kiraya entered first.
Shield raised.
Sword ready.
Behind her followed the combined forces of Eternity Lions and Burning Pride.
One hundred twenty-nine players.
Elite fighters.
Scouts.
Healers.
Mages.
Archers.
The strongest forces currently available on Floor One.
The moment the final player crossed the threshold, the doors slammed shut behind them.
BOOM!
The sound echoed throughout the chamber.
The entrance sealed completely.
No escape.
No retreat.
Sumi grimaced.
"That's not ominous at all."
Nobody laughed.
Because the room itself was enough to steal their attention.
The chamber was enormous.
A vast circular arena covered in ancient patterns.
Fractured lines spread across the stone floor like cracks in broken glass.
At the far end of the arena stood two figures.
Waiting.
Silent.
Motionless.
Fayzan stared.
"There are two of them?"
Disbelief filled his voice.
The first figure was a towering warrior clad in jagged black armor.
The armor looked shattered and repeatedly reforged.
Crimson light pulsed from the countless cracks covering its surface.
Its enormous shield looked capable of hiding an entire person behind it.
Dark mist leaked continuously from beneath the armor.
Every step it took felt impossibly heavy.
Like regret given form.
Like despair dragging itself forward.
The Dark Knight.
Beside him stood another figure.
The complete opposite.
Graceful.
Elegant.
Beautiful.
A woman clad in immaculate white armor decorated with gold filigree.
Her expression remained calm and emotionless.
Pure white light glowed from her eyes.
Behind her floated a fractured halo.
Chains of light drifted through the air from her back, moving with supernatural elegance.
The White Knight.
Magumo stared.
"You've got to be kidding me."
The system confirmed everyone's fears.
[Boss Encounter Initiated]
Dark Knight — Harbinger of Fractured Hearts
White Knight — Warden of Unbroken Vows
Silence filled the arena.
Then Kiraya reacted instantly.
"Formation!"
Her voice echoed across the battlefield.
"Frontline forward! Healers to the rear!"
Hinabi's hands ignited.
"We split their attention!"
Elias stepped forward.
Calm.
Focused.
"No panic."
His voice remained steady.
"We fight smart."
Then the bosses moved.
The Dark Knight advanced first.
Heavy.
Deliberate.
The White Knight glided forward almost weightlessly.
The battle began instantly.
"Contact!"
Kiraya charged.
Shield first.
CLANG!
Her shield collided directly with the Dark Knight's.
The impact cracked the stone beneath her feet.
Her eyes widened.
"What the hell?!"
Behind her, Fayzan surged forward.
Flames erupted around him.
"Move!"
His attack landed directly against the Dark Knight.
The boss didn't move.
Not even an inch.
Then the White Knight raised her hand.
Chains of light shot across the battlefield.
Fast.
Precise.
Merciless.
Players were struck immediately.
One.
Two.
Ten.
Dozens.
Ayame gasped.
Her body locked in place.
"Linked damage!"
Hinabi clicked her tongue.
"Stay close!"
Too late.
The chains tightened.
Every movement became painful.
Every action was punished.
"We're tethered!"
"Break it!"
"I can't!"
The White Knight slowly floated upward.
Her fractured halo glowed.
Then she activated a skill.
Boss Skill: Radiant Cascade.
Waves of light exploded across the arena.
Layer after layer.
Faster and faster.
Covering nearly every inch of the battlefield.
"Dodge!"
But many players couldn't move properly due to the chains.
Light slammed into them repeatedly.
HP bars plummeted.
Pain spread throughout the arena.
Then the Dark Knight raised his shield.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
Fayzan's eyes widened.
"Everyone move!"
Too late.
Boss Skill: Abyssal Bastion Crash.
The shield struck the ground.
BOOM!
Darkness erupted outward like a tidal wave.
Players caught in the attack were thrown through the air.
Others were rooted in place.
Stunned.
Unable to move.
"I can't move!"
"I'm stunned!"
"No!"
Then Radiant Cascade struck again.
And again.
And again.
The immobilized players could do nothing.
Light crashed into helpless bodies.
HP bars shattered.
One after another.
Players disappeared.
The arena became a storm of darkness and light.
When the attacks finally ended, silence returned.
The battlefield looked completely different.
Out of one hundred twenty-nine players—
Only twenty-five remained standing.
Elias.
Kiraya.
Hinabi.
Fayzan.
Sumi.
Ayame.
Magumo.
And eighteen others.
The strongest survivors.
Sumi stared across the arena.
Her voice trembled.
"What the hell was that?"
Fayzan clenched his fists.
"It was a combo attack."
Hinabi slowly exhaled.
"They're synchronized."
Elias stepped forward.
His expression remained calm despite the devastation surrounding them.
"We adapt."
His gaze never left the bosses.
"Or we die."
Kiraya raised her shield once more.
Her voice remained steady.
"No one else dies here."
The White Knight slowly descended.
The chains around her shifted.
The Dark Knight took another step forward.
Heavy.
Relentless.
The arena waited.
Because this battle was no longer about strength.
It was about understanding the bosses' mechanics before they wiped out the remaining survivors.
And they had already learned the price of getting it wrong.