Day of Exploration
A large group of players advanced through the forest, clearing the path of vermin as they went deeper. At the front, leading with a firm stride, was Joe, giving orders with the authority of a general.
"Alright, we"re here," Joe announced, eyeing the cave that loomed ahead. The group immediately began their preparations. Behind him, one of the players carried a large platform assembled from the ten plates Joe had purchased.
"We"ve done this many times, so everyone knows their positions," Joe said as the players nodded, checking that their gear was in perfect condition.
"Then… begin."
Careful not to make noise, the group started to enter the cave. If they made the mistake of causing too much commotion, an entire wave of ants would suddenly come rushing out.
That was the real problem when attacking an ant nest: their numbers. If even one managed to alert the rest, the entire group would be overrun in seconds. That"s why they had to move with precision, instantly eliminating any ant they encountered before it could sound the alarm. And the deeper they went, the harder that became.
They had barely entered when they ran into the first squad: four ants.
Joe raised his hand as a signal. From the rear, several players threw freezing talismans, coating the creatures in frost. The archers fired immediately, followed by a second freezing talisman. At that moment, the melee fightersswordsmen, lancers, and heavy axe wieldersmoved in. A third talisman hit the ants just as abilities struck their weak points. In under a minute, all four were down.
"The player with the highest luck grabs the drop and sends it outside. I Don t want a repeat of last time, when we lost everything after dying. Now we have the platform: We ll fill it with items obtained near the entrance, and store the rest in our inventories. That way, We ll take much more loot back to base," Joe ordered.
The luckiest players ran to the corpses, collecting the loot and handing it to a teammate with the Strong Legs skill, allowing him to move at high speed. He sprinted out, deposited the loot in the chests on the platform, and returned.
In one of the nearby trees, watching over the platform, Dean kept a calm lookout. The ants weren"t the only dangerous beasts in the area.
Suddenly, something caught his attention. He gestured to the other guard to stay put while he went to investigate.
He drew his bow; a black arrow materialized in his hand. When he fired, Dean"s shadow seemed to be pulled along with the arrow, moving at incredible speed to the point of impact. In a blink, he was there, hovering slightly above the ground to get a better view.
He narrowed his eyes, and his body dissolved into shadows, descending quickly. He leapt between treetops with feline agility, his dark silhouette barely visible.
When he reached the point that had drawn his attention, he saw it clearly: smoke. Not from a wild fire, but something deliberate. Moving among the trees was an army of strange creatureslizards with scales glowing like living magma. Each exhale sent out small bursts of flame.
There were hundreds, at least 200 to 250, each standing around two meters tall. Behind them came a massive five-meter lizard, knocking down trees with every step.
"Dormant Flame Lizard"
[Common]
Class: Fire Reptile
HP: 3,000 / 7,000
Description:
A large, warm lizard that sleeps in volcanic areas. Seems harmless, but awakens violently if disturbed.
🔥 Tyrgash, Lord of the Deep Flames – Lv. 50
🏆 Title: Zone Boss
❤️ HP: 10,000 / 5,000,000
⚠️ Status: Loss of Territory
🔻 Debuffs:
• Unstable Core – Defense -40%, Charge Time +30%
• Residual Freeze – HP Recovery -90%, Movement Speed -50%
• Fractured Scales – Elemental Resistance -35%, Constant loss of internal heat
• Thermal Disorientation – Reduced detection ability, erratic attacks
Dean"s eyes widened in surprise. All the enemies were injured, though still far more dangerous than the ants. The zone boss barely moved, visibly weakened.
He pulled out a communication pearl.
"What is it, Dean?" Sig asked immediately.
"Found something strange," he replied.
"You have one of my spiders with you. Take it out and show me," Sig said, a spark of interest appearing on her face, reflected in the pearl.
Dean reached into his inventory and pulled out one of Sig"s puppet spiders. She had made several and given them to members like Joe and Dean so they could transmit images from places beyond the reach of her main puppets.
The small spider, which had appeared lifeless, suddenly lit up and lifted its gaze. Its eyes glowed as it focused on the army of lizards.
"Certainly strange… and interesting," Sig murmured. "Try firing an attack to gauge its defense, then run back to Uncle Joe and let him know. We ll gather all the players on this side. A huge amount of experience just arrived at our doorstep, and I m not letting it slip away."
She smirked before adding, "Oh, and leave my spider thereI want to keep watching."
She cut the connection.
Dean dropped the puppet spider and, without hesitation, drew his bow again. He aimed directly at the zone boss, charging his most powerful attack.
When he released it, the arrow instantly expanded, transforming into a dark spear that tore through the air like lightning. Tyrgash seemed to notice the threat, but reacted too slowly. Even so, a red, flame-wreathed shield surged to cover him.
The spear slammed into the barrier, and above the boss"s head, a -1 appeared, showing the pitiful damage Dean had managed to inflict.
At that moment, the surrounding lizards turned toward him. Their jaws opened in unison, and a rain of fire and magma balls fell in his direction.
Dean turned, fired another black arrow, and vanished into shadows in an instant, disappearing from the area.
…
Sig reacted quickly, alerting all nearby players as she ran toward Lua"s house to report in case the situation got out of control.
When she opened the door, she froze. Inside was someone she hadn"t seen when she d left earlier. The resemblance to Lua was undeniable, though this woman had a more mature appearance. A pair of smaller, broken horns of a different color adorned her head.
"Hello," Silvia greeted with a calm and gentle smile.
"Hello," Sig replied, then quickly shook her head. "Sorry to bother you, Lua, but there"s a boss named… Tyra… something… Tragh"
"Tyrgash, Lord of the Deep Flames," Silvia said calmly.
"Yeah, that one. He seems injured and he"s near the ant cave. We want to take advantage and kill him. I came to warn you in case we cause chaos like last time with the ants."
"Another territory boss?" Lua interjected, frowning.
"Has another boss lost its territory besides Tyrgash?" Silvia asked, her expression turning more serious.
"Yes. A giant snake. Lua beat it with a pum, pam… and whoosh," Liora said, waving her hands enthusiastically to mimic the scene.
"The Swamp Serpent," Silvia murmured, bringing a hand to her chin.
"I also remember the draconic lion," Loli added, referring to the first boss they had seen.
"Sulon, the Lion King," Silvia said, eyes widening. "Those are the bosses of the territories closest to the village. they ve held their domains for over 250 years. Wait… you said ant cave? I Don t recall there being ants near here."
"There"s a cave with what looks like a queen that"s made her nest. It"s near a mine full of minerals… there were even lots of mana stones," Lua explained.
"The Empress," Silvia said immediately, standing up. "That makes four of the five bosses of the nearby territories. The demon attack began fifty years before our village was attacked by humans. It forced the most powerful demonic beasts to move to the forest"s edge on the continent"s side. That"s when these five bosses took control. Compared to other thousand-year-old beasts, they were still young, which is why they didn t attack the human demigods when they entered their territoryallowing them to reach us."
She paused briefly, her gaze hardening.
"The fact that four out of five have been defeated or driven out can only mean one thing: the beasts are returning to their territories."
"Is that… really bad?" Loli asked cautiously.
"Over 300 years ago, the village was under constant attack. Beasts poured out of the forest endlessly to destroy us. We adopted a passive defensive formation, never venturing into the forest. These creatures were extremely violent. Everything changed when the demons tried to force their way in, pushing all the beasts toward their territory. The battle concentrated near the Demonic Empire. One of our most powerful mages, capable of controlling elementals, was able to observe it… and thanks to that, the attacks on our side lessened."
"Aunt Vin," Lua said softly.
"Thanks to that forced truce, the village began to recover little by little. But when the humans arrived… they sent three demigods and an army. That marked our downfall. If we hadn"t been so worn down from defending against the beasts, the spirits might have gathered enough power to resist. But our strongest members barely reached the level of Ascended or Supreme," Silvia concluded, with a trace of sadness.
"Ascended? Demigods?" Loli frowned, confused.
Silvia glanced at Lua. "You didn t tell them about the power levels?"
"I Don t even remember them myself," Lua replied plainly.
Silvia sighed, then looked at the girls.
"There are eight levels. The first are Commons: civilians without power, or spirits without form. Some are born directly as Apprentices, with their first form. Then come Apprentice, Expert, Master, Sacred or High Master, Ascended or Supreme, and finally Demigod."
She assessed the three with her eyes.
"From what I see, you twoLoli and Lioraare Apprentices close to reaching Master rank. As for the little one… She s above you both, though still not a Master, due to her special race."
Even Lua and SIA exchanged a mental look of surpriseneither of them had known that information about the players" own levels.