The Old Hunter stood motionless.
Its towering silhouette blocked the pale moonlight pouring into the cave, reducing the entrance to little more than a frame of darkness surrounding an even darker monster.
Nothing moved.
Nothing dared to.
The Lynxario that had been circling the helpless baby Phanphis only moments earlier now stood frozen in place.
Their ears were pinned flat.
Their tails hung low.
Every instinct they possessed screamed the same warning.
Run.
The Old Hunter slowly lowered its head.
Its crimson eyes settled upon the nearest Lynxario.
For several heartbeats...
Neither predator moved.
Then—
The cave exploded into motion.
The Old Hunter vanished.
Ramos didn't even see it move.
One moment the gigantic creature stood several meters away.
The next...
A thunderous impact echoed throughout the cave.
BOOM!
One of the larger Lynxario was sent crashing across the stone floor before slamming against the cave wall with enough force to shake loose dust from the ceiling.
The remaining beastmen immediately scattered.
Sharp cries echoed throughout the cavern as they attempted to flee in every direction.
Too slow.
The Old Hunter appeared between two of them.
Its massive arms swept outward in a blur.
The two Lynxario were knocked sprawling across the ground before they could even raise their crude weapons.
Another tried to leap toward the cave entrance.
The creature simply stepped into its path.
A single swing sent the beastman tumbling across the stone floor where it lay completely still.
Ramos could no longer process what he was seeing.
This wasn't a battle.
It wasn't even a hunt.
It was extermination.
The monster moved with terrifying precision.
Every motion was economical.
Every strike carried absolute confidence.
It never wasted movement.
Never hesitated.
The remaining Lynxario attempted to surround it from different directions.
For the first time, the Old Hunter let out another roar.
The sound rolled through the cave like thunder.
The beastmen instantly lost their nerve.
Several abandoned their weapons entirely and fled toward the forest outside.
None escaped.
Within moments...
Silence returned.
Only the frightened cries of the tiny Phanphis remained.
The little moss-covered creature trembled so violently that its tiny legs nearly gave out beneath it.
It stared at the giant monster standing only a few meters away.
Ramos felt his own knees weakening.
His breathing became erratic.
"...N-No..."
His voice trembled.
"It's going to kill the little one..."
Without thinking...
His body leaned forward.
His hand instinctively reached toward the edge of the stone platform.
He had to do something.
Anything.
Even throwing another rock...
Even shouting...
Anything—
A hand suddenly clamped firmly over his mouth.
His eyes widened.
Cold steel rested gently against the side of his neck.
A whisper entered his ear.
"So much as breathe too loudly..."
"...and I'll knock you unconscious myself."
Ramos froze.
His heart nearly stopped.
He slowly turned his head.
Silver eyes met crimson ones.
Sayanaki.
She was fully awake.
There wasn't the slightest trace of sleep left in her expression.
Her gaze never left the cave below.
Her dagger remained pressed lightly against Ramos' neck.
"Remember what Lady Rio said."
Her voice remained almost inaudible.
"Do."
"Not."
"Let."
"It."
"Know."
"We."
"Are."
"Here."
Ramos wanted to answer.
He couldn't.
He simply nodded repeatedly.
Only then did Sayanaki slowly remove her hand from his mouth.
She didn't lower her dagger.
Not yet.
Her attention remained fixed entirely on the Old Hunter.
The foul odor hanging inside the cave had become even stronger.
It filled every breath Ramos took.
The Old Hunter slowly approached the trembling Phanphis.
The tiny creature lowered itself against the ground.
It didn't even try to run anymore.
Ramos clenched both fists.
His nails dug painfully into his palms.
"Please..."
"...don't..."
A soft cry suddenly echoed from outside.
"Meeeeeh..."
Both Ramos and Sayanaki looked toward the cave entrance.
Another Phanphis emerged from the darkness.
Larger.
Older.
Its moss-covered antlers shimmered beneath the moonlight.
The mother.
She cautiously stepped inside.
Her frightened eyes never left her child.
She called again.
Softly.
Almost pleading.
The baby immediately answered.
For the first time since entering the cave...
The Old Hunter stopped moving.
Its massive head slowly turned toward the two creatures.
The mother Phanphis trembled.
Yet she continued walking.
One careful step after another.
She positioned herself between the gigantic predator and her child.
Ramos forgot to breathe.
The cave became deathly silent.
Even the insects outside had stopped singing.
Several agonizing seconds passed.
Then...
The OldHunter slowly lifted its head.
Without another roar...
Without another attack...
It turned away.
Its enormous footsteps echoed throughout the cave as it walked toward the entrance.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
Relief almost escaped Ramos.
Then...
The creature stopped.
Halfway through leaving the cave.
Its head slowly rotated.
Not toward the Phanphis.
Not toward the cave entrance.
Toward the stone platform.
Toward them.
Its glowing crimson eyes locked directly onto Ramos.
Time froze.
Ramos felt every drop of blood drain from his face.
"It..."
"...it sees us..."
He couldn't even whisper anymore.
Beside him...
Sayanaki tightened her grip around her dagger.
Her posture lowered.
Every muscle in her body coiled like a drawn bowstring.
She knew.
The monster knew.
It had known the entire time.
Several endless heartbeats passed as neither side moved.
Then...
Without warning...
The Old Hunter looked away.
It continued walking.
Its footsteps gradually disappeared into the endless darkness beyond the cave.
The terrible smell slowly faded with it.
Only after several minutes of complete silence did Sayanaki finally lower her dagger.
She let out a slow breath.
"...We survived."
Ramos remained rooted where he stood.
His legs refused to move.
"...It..."
"...it spared us..."
Sayanaki stared toward the cave entrance, her expression unusually serious.
"No."
She quietly shook her head.
"It wasn't mercy."
Her crimson eyes narrowed.
"It simply decided..."
"...we weren't worth hunting tonight."
Neither of them spoke again.
Below them, the mother Phanphis gently nudged her frightened child.
Together, the two creatures quietly disappeared into the moonlit forest.
Only then did the cave finally become silent once more.
Before dawn, the cave had become quiet once more.
The oppressive silence that had blanketed the forest for what felt like an eternity slowly began to lift.
The foul, skunk-like odor lingering in the air gradually faded until nothing remained except the cool scent of damp stone and moss drifting in from outside.
Only then did Ramos finally allow himself to breathe.
His legs gave out beneath him.
He collapsed onto the cold stone, both hands planted on the ground as he struggled to steady his breathing.
"...It's..."
"...gone..."
Every muscle in his body trembled uncontrollably.
His heart still pounded against his ribs as though trying to escape his chest.
Across from him, Sayanaki quietly returned to the flat boulder overlooking the cave entrance.
Without a word, she sat down exactly where she had been before.
She rested one knee against her chest while laying her dagger across her lap.
To anyone else, she appeared perfectly calm.
Only the faint rise and fall of her shoulders betrayed that even she had been holding her breath during the encounter.
Neither of them spoke.
The silence itself felt sacred.
Then—
Footsteps.
Ramos immediately stiffened.
His head snapped toward the sound.
Two familiar figures emerged from the darkness behind him.
Rio.
Ryota.
"...L-Lady Rio?"
"...Ryota?"
His eyes widened.
"You were awake?"
Ryota scratched the back of his head with an awkward smile.
"We've been awake for a while."
"We heard you leave the tent."
Rio folded her arms.
"I figured something had happened when you didn't come back."
Ramos stared at them in disbelief.
"You..."
"You were here the whole time?"
Rio nodded.
"We stayed out of sight."
"There wasn't any reason to reveal ourselves."
Ryota looked toward the cave entrance where the Old Hunter had disappeared.
His expression remained unusually serious.
"...That..."
"...was the Old Hunter."
Rio quietly nodded.
"Yes."
Ryota let out a slow breath.
"It was my first time seeing it."
"I knew it was dangerous..."
"...but actually seeing it..."
He shook his head.
"It didn't even feel like a monster."
"It felt..."
"...different."
Rio understood exactly what he meant.
In her old life she had seen sketches, reports and photographs taken by players who somehow survived encounters.
She looked toward the dark forest beyond the cave.
But... This was her first time seeing it with her own eyes.
Even after fifteen years...
Even after reaching the highest levels Evermount had to offer...
The creature's presence was overwhelming.
No amount of preparation could fully describe the pressure of standing within its hunting grounds.
Ryota broke the silence.
"...Then why didn't it attack us?"
Ramos immediately looked toward Rio.
That question had been tormenting him ever since the creature had walked away.
Rio remained silent for several moments before answering.
"Because..."
"It had no reason to."
Everyone looked at her.
Rio slowly walked toward the edge of the stone platform overlooking the cave floor.
"The Lynxario weren't simply hunting."
"They were tormenting a helpless baby Phanphis."
"They had turned its fear into a game."
She lowered her gaze.
"The Old Hunter intervened."
Ryota frowned.
"...Intervened?"
Rio nodded.
"There is one thing I never told all of you."
Her expression became solemn.
"The player community misunderstood the Old Hunter for years."
"They believed it attacked everything."
"They believed it existed only to kill."
She slowly shook her head.
"That isn't entirely true."
"In countless reports from my previous life, one pattern appeared again and again."
"It always hunted those who disrupted the balance of the forest."
"Those who slaughtered without reason."
"Those who ignored the rules of the wilderness."
She looked at Ramos.
"If you had thrown that rock..."
"If any of us had jumped down to interfere..."
"The Old Hunter could have interpreted that as us forcing our own will onto the natural order."
"It wasn't our place."
"We would have become part of the disturbance."
Ramos swallowed hard.
"So..."
"...that's why you warned us not to help."
Rio nodded.
"Nature in Floor Three has its own laws."
"They're cruel."
"They're unfair."
"But they exist."
She looked toward the forest where the darkness was beginning to give way to the first faint hints of dawn.
"The Old Hunter doesn't care whether someone is a player, an NPC, or a beast."
"It judges actions."
"And if it decides you've crossed a line..."
She exhaled quietly.
"...running won't save you."
The group fell silent once more.
No one questioned her.
No one argued.
After what they had witnessed that night...
None of them doubted her words.
Somewhere far beyond the cave, the jungle slowly began to awaken.
The first birds called into the morning air.
For the first time since sunset...
Floor Three no longer felt like a place ruled by darkness.
But none of them would ever forget what they had seen waiting for them when night returned.
Before the first rays of sunlight reached the forest floor, the camp atop the rocky platform had already begun to stir.
Mist drifted lazily through the cave entrance as the cold morning air replaced the oppressive darkness that had ruled the jungle only hours earlier.
The atmosphere felt completely different.
Birds chirped somewhere beyond the trees.
The distant roar of prehistoric creatures echoed through the mountains.
For the first time since sunset...
Floor Three no longer felt haunted.
It simply felt alive.
Ramos stretched his sore back while crawling out of his tent.
"...Morning already..."
His eyes instinctively wandered toward the cave entrance.
The events from the previous night replayed vividly inside his mind.
The crimson eyes.
The unbearable stench.
The impossible silence.
He instinctively shivered.
"I... really survived..."
Silla emerged shortly afterward, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"Morning."
"Morning..."
Ramos answered absentmindedly.
Kiraya and Hinabi were already dismantling one of the tents with practiced efficiency.
The two women worked almost silently together, folding the canvas before securing it inside Ramos' oversized backpack.
Sayanaki had, unsurprisingly, already packed everything.
Her sleeping bag had vanished.
Her pillow had disappeared.
She sat quietly atop the same boulder as before, lazily twirling a dagger between her fingers while keeping one eye on the surrounding forest.
She looked as though nothing extraordinary had happened the previous night.
Rio emerged from her tent a few moments later.
She inhaled deeply.
"...Good."
"The weather's clear."
Ryota stepped out behind her while stretching both arms over his head.
"No rain."
"No fog."
"Looks like today's going to be easier."
Rio smiled.
"For once."
She looked toward the others.
"Finish packing."
"We'll leave as soon as everyone's ready."
Everyone acknowledged her with a nod before continuing their work.
Meanwhile...
Rio carefully climbed down from the twenty-two-foot rock platform they had used as a campsite.
Ryota followed behind.
"What are you looking for?"
Rio didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she crouched near the cave entrance.
The soft earth surrounding the area still preserved countless impressions left during the night.
Most belonged to the Lynxario.
Smaller.
Lighter.
Numerous.
But mixed among them...
Were enormous footprints unlike anything else.
Ryota slowly walked beside her.
"...Those are..."
Rio nodded quietly.
"The Old Hunter."
The footprints were gigantic.
Each one sank deeply into the ground despite the rocky terrain, demonstrating an incredible amount of weight.
Rio reached into her inventory.
A small rectangular crystal appeared in her hand.
She activated it.
A faint blue light flashed.
Click.
The crystal captured an image of the footprint.
Ryota blinked.
"...You're documenting them?"
Rio nodded.
"I want a record."
She took another photograph from a different angle.
Then another.
Only after collecting several images did she finally stand.
Ryota watched her curiously.
"...You look bothered."
Rio remained silent for several moments.
"...This..."
She looked back at the footprints.
"...isn't the one I remember."
Ryota frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Rio folded her arms.
"In my previous life..."
"The reports."
"The expedition journals."
"The surviving photographs..."
"They all described something different."
She paused.
"The Old Hunter responsible for the Floor Three incidents years later..."
"...had a long white stripe running from the back of its neck all the way down its spine."
Ryota immediately looked up.
"But..."
"The one last night..."
Rio slowly nodded.
"...Didn't."
The realization settled heavily between them.
She looked once more at the enormous tracks disappearing into the jungle.
"If my memories are correct..."
"...then the creature we encountered shouldn't exist."
Ryota's expression became serious.
"You think..."
"...there's more than one?"
Rio slowly exhaled.
"I don't know."
"And that's what worries me."
She knelt once more, carefully examining the depth of one footprint.
"There are only two possibilities."
She held up a finger.
"Either there more mysteries about the Old Hunter we didn't know about..."
She raised a second.
"...or there was never only one to begin with."
Neither possibility was comforting.
Ryota stared toward the dense jungle beyond the cave entrance.
The towering trees swayed gently in the morning breeze.
Everything looked peaceful.
Yet somewhere beyond those trees...
Something had walked these forests long before players ever arrived.
Something that even Rio's fifteen years of knowledge could no longer fully explain.
"...I don't like that answer," Ryota admitted.
Rio gave a quiet, wry smile.
"Neither do I."
"For the first time since returning to the past..."
She looked toward the endless wilderness stretching before them.
"...I've found something that my previous life can't fully explain."
Behind them, Kiraya called out from atop the rock platform.
"Rio!"
"We're packed!"
Hinabi leaned over the edge.
"Ready whenever you are!"
Rio slipped the recording crystal back into her inventory before giving the footprints one final glance.
"Let's go."
She turned away from the mysterious tracks.
But deep in her mind...
A single thought refused to disappear.
If that wasn't the Old Hunter I remembered...
...then what mysteries wandering these forests?