Three days had passed since the Necromancer Lord fight. Three days of intensive grinding in the Kurai Wasteland, pushing their limits against waves of undead monsters. By the end of the third day, they'd all reached level fourteen, their coordination reaching near-perfect synchronization through the Party Link.
But the wasteland was taking its toll. The environmental curse weighed heavily on them, draining not just their stats but their spirits. Even Takeshi, usually stoic and resilient, was showing signs of fatigue moving slower, making uncharacteristic mistakes.
"We need to leave," Yuki said during their morning planning session. "Another day here and we'll start making fatal errors."
Sanji agreed. His Game Master's Eye had been showing him subtle changes in his party members' conditions mental exhaustion accumulating despite physical rest, the curse embedding itself deeper with each passing hour.
"We've made good progress," he said. "Level fourteen, excellent loot, and combat experience against high-level enemies. Time to return to civilization, resupply, and plan our next move."
"The World Tree?" Akane asked, hope and fear mixed in her voice.
"Eventually. But first, we need to understand the political situation. Three days is a long time. The guild war might have escalated."
They packed their gear and began the journey back toward Hajimari Village. The transition from cursed wasteland to normal forest was immediate and stark like stepping from a morgue into a garden. The oppressive atmosphere lifted, colors became vibrant again, and birdsong replaced the constant whispers of the dead.
"I never thought I'd be happy to see normal trees," Mei said, actually smiling.
They were still two miles from the village when Sanji's Game Master's Eye picked up movement ahead. Players a large group, moving with purpose. He signaled for his party to take cover behind a cluster of boulders.
Through the trees, approximately thirty players marched in formation. They wore mixed guild insignias red armbands for Crimson Fangs, black bands for Iron Brotherhood, and gold bands for Red Talons. The Three Fang Coalition, moving together.
"They're mobilizing," Yuki whispered. "That's not a hunting party. That's a military unit."
Sanji focused his enhanced perception, trying to glean more information. The group's levels ranged from eight to twelve, with a few thirteen. Leading them was someone new a woman with silver armor and a massive warhammer. Her name tag read: Kazumi - Level 14 - Iron Brotherhood Commander.
Level fourteen. Same as them. But she had thirty soldiers at her command.
"...World Tree entrance confirmed..." Sanji caught fragments of conversation as they passed. "...need to secure it before independents can access..."
"...Ryoga wants the first ten floors cleared by week's end..."
"...eliminate any resistance..."
The coalition force continued past their hiding spot, heading northeast the direction of the World Tree.
Once they were safely distant, Sanji's party emerged from cover.
"They found it," Takeshi said grimly. "The World Tree entrance."
"And they're moving to control it," Yuki added. "If they establish a perimeter, we'll never get inside."
Sanji pulled out his World Tree Access Token and the map fragment from the Necromancer Lord. Through his Game Master's Eye, he examined both items, looking for any information that might help.
The map fragment showed a quarter of what seemed to be a massive structure a tower that ascended beyond the visible map area. And in ancient script that his enhanced perception translated, there was a note:
*"Four entrances, four fragments. The main gate requires guild strength. But those who possess the fragments may enter through the Hidden Path, where few dare to tread."*
"There's another way in," Sanji said, excitement building. "A hidden entrance that requires the map fragments instead of brute force."
"How many fragments do we need?" Akane asked.
"All four. I have one. Which means three more are out there, probably guarded by bosses like the Necromancer Lord."
"We don't have time to hunt three more boss monsters," Yuki said. "Not if the coalition is moving now."
She was right. It was a race they couldn't win through conventional means.
"Then we need information," Sanji decided. "We return to the village, contact Hana and the Free Blades, find out what they know about the fragments and the World Tree."
They continued toward Hajimari Village, but as they approached, Sanji noticed something wrong. Smoke rose from beyond the walls. Not the normal cooking fires, but thick black smoke the kind that came from burning buildings.
"Something's happened," he said, breaking into a run.
They reached the village gates to find chaos. Players were running, shouting, carrying wounded. The gates themselves were damaged, scorch marks suggesting magical combat. NPC guards lay dead or injured, which shouldn't have been possible inside a safe zone.
Unless the safe zone had been disabled.
Sanji grabbed a passing player, a level-seven warrior covered in soot. "What happened?"
"Guild war," the player gasped. "Three Fang Coalition attacked the Free Blades headquarters. They found a way to temporarily disable the safe zone protection. It was a massacre."
Sanji's blood ran cold. "Hana? What happened to Hana?"
"Captured. They took her and anyone who resisted. Killed the rest." The player pulled free and kept running.
Yuki's face had gone pale. Through the Party Link, Sanji felt her shock mixing with his own. The Free Blades had been their allies, their connection to the resistance against guild tyranny.
"We need to find survivors," Sanji said. "Learn what we can."
They made their way through the damaged streets. Several buildings had been burned. Bodies both NPC and player lay in the square, slowly dissolving into light particles. The death toll was substantial.
At what used to be the Free Blades' meeting place a large tavern near the north gate they found Kenji kneeling among the rubble, his face streaked with tears.
"Kenji," Sanji approached carefully. "What happened?"
Kenji looked up, his eyes hollow. "They knew. Somehow, the coalition knew exactly when Hana would be meeting with all the Free Blades leaders. They used a rare item a Safe Zone Disabler. Cost them a fortune, but it worked. For ten minutes, this area became a PvP zone."
"Ten minutes was all they needed," Takeshi said quietly.
"They killed fifteen people. Captured eight, including Hana. The rest scattered." Kenji's hands clenched into fists. "It was Ryoga himself who led the attack. He said this was a lesson that resistance would be crushed, and that all players would submit to coalition rule or die."
"Where did they take the prisoners?" Sanji asked.
"Crimson Fang stronghold, three miles east. They've converted an old fortress into their base. It's heavily guarded at least fifty players stationed there."
Fifty players. Even if Sanji's party was incredibly skilled, assaulting a fortress with fifty defenders was suicide.
"We can't save them," Yuki said, reading Sanji's expression. "I know what you're thinking, but we can't. Five people against fifty? We'd die, and then the coalition wins completely."
"So we just abandon them?" Akane protested. "Hana helped us. She trusted us."
"I'm not saying we abandon them," Yuki said. "I'm saying we need to be smart. We can't win through force. We need leverage."
"The World Tree," Sanji realized. "If we can reach it first, clear the early floors, and claim major rewards before the coalition can organize their raid... that gives us power. Resources. Maybe even enough strength to negotiate for hostages."
It was cold calculation, but Yuki nodded. "Exactly. We help them best by becoming strong enough to matter."
Kenji looked between them. "You're still going to the World Tree? Even after this?"
"Especially after this," Sanji said. "We need one piece of information though. Do you know anything about World Tree map fragments? Rare items, probably dropped by powerful bosses?"
Kenji thought for a moment. "There was something... one of the Free Blades mentioned finding a strange map piece after defeating a field boss in the southern marshes. A creature called the Bog Titan. But that player was captured today. The fragment is probably in coalition hands now."
That was bad news. One fragment was already lost to the enemy.
"What about the other two?" Sanji pressed.
"No idea. Hana might have known, but..." Kenji trailed off.
They were running out of options. Two unknown fragments, one probably in coalition possession, and an increasingly hostile environment.
"Sanji," a new voice called out.
They turned to see Koji approaching, wounded but alive. The warrior had a nasty gash across his chest, and his HP was at 45/310.
"Mei, heal him," Sanji said.
As Mei worked, Koji explained. "I was at the meeting when they attacked. Barely escaped. Most didn't." He grimaced as the healing magic closed his wound. "But I overheard something important. Ryoga is planning to raid the World Tree in four days. He's gathering all coalition members he expects to field a hundred players for the assault."
"A hundred players," Takeshi breathed. "That's an army."
"The coalition's full strength," Koji confirmed. "They're betting everything on this. Control the World Tree, control the best leveling content in the game. From there, they can enforce their rule permanently."
Four days. That was their window.
"We need to move now," Sanji decided. "Not in four days. Now. Today."
"We don't have all the fragments," Yuki pointed out.
"We have one. And the access token. My Game Master's Eye can find hidden paths. Maybe we can bypass the main entrance even without all fragments."
"That's a huge maybe," Koji said. "But I'm in. The coalition killed my friends. I'll do whatever it takes to stop them."
"I'm coming too," Kenji said. "I may only be level nine, but I can contribute."
Sanji looked at his core party through the Party Link. He felt their determination, their readiness. They'd trained for this. They'd grown stronger for this.
"Alright," he said. "We gather supplies, rest for two hours, then we move on the World Tree. No large raid, no waiting for reinforcements. Just us, hitting fast before the coalition expects it."
"It's suicide," Yuki said. But she was smiling. "I'm in."
"Me too," Akane said.
"Obviously," Takeshi added.
"I'm scared," Mei admitted. "But I'm in too."
They spent the next two hours in frantic preparation. They bought every potion the NPC merchants had left. They repaired equipment. They studied what little information existed about the World Tree mostly legends and rumors, but every bit helped.
As the sun began setting, casting Hajimari Village in orange light, they gathered at the north gate one final time.
Seven players total: Sanji, Yuki, Akane, Takeshi, Mei, Koji, and Kenji. All level nine or higher. All equipped with rare or better gear. All bonded by shared purpose.
Behind them, the village burned. Players who'd lost everything in the coalition attack watched them leave with hollow eyes, some with hope, others with pity for the dead walking.
Ahead of them, the World Tree awaited a legendary challenge that no player had successfully cleared. A hundred floors of monsters, puzzles, and boss fights. And at the top, supposedly, the truth about Alkhali World.
"No turning back after this," Sanji said.
"Wouldn't dream of it," Yuki replied.
They walked into the twilight, seven players against an impossible challenge, racing against an army, fighting for freedom and answers in a world that offered only death and servitude.
To be continued...