The Thorned Basin announced itself long before the system did.
The trees grew closer together, their trunks twisted with thick red vines that pulsed faintly, as if sap glowed beneath the bark. Thorns as long as Riley's fingers sprouted in jagged rows. The air felt heavier, thicker with pollen and something sharp, like the scent right before a storm.
A notification blinked at the edge of his vision:
> NEW SUB-ZONE: THORNED BASIN (MODERATE)
Aria whistled.
"Well. This looks like the kind of place where we absolutely will not die horribly."
Hayes adjusted his shield.
"Feels more dangerous."
"Looks pretty," Sofia murmured.
She wasn't wrong.
Strands of vine hung down like crimson curtains, dripping with tiny white flowers that glowed softly. Patches of moss shone blue-green, and here and there, Riley spotted herbs he recognized from late-game guides.
Except this time, the zone had barely been touched.
No trampled grass trails.
No abandoned campfires.
No random player corpse piles.
They were early.
Good.
Lumi shifted on his shoulder, small claws pricking Riley's collar as he adjusted. Les waddled close beside Sofia's boots, thorns tucked in but ready. Echo padded ahead, nose low, tail alert.
Moggy walked neatly at Hayes' heel.
Tommy kept brushing against Hayley's greaves.
Mossling drifted at Kipp's side like a floating tumbleweed.
Riley brought up the map one more time, confirming their orientation. The Basin spread out like a jagged crescent ahead. If he remembered right, there were a couple of natural funnels where mobs clustered—and one particularly nasty mini-boss that had wiped him, once upon a time.
Not this time.
"Okay," he said. "We stick to the outer ring for now. We're scouting. If we see anything with a skull icon, we back off."
Aria groaned. "You're no fun."
"I'd like all of us to reach the dungeon in one piece," Riley replied.
"He's right," Hayley said calmly. "We've had one big fight already today. No reason to rush a second and blow all our stamina."
Sofia nodded. "I wouldn't mind… not dying."
Kipp raised a shaky hand. "Big fan of the not dying plan."
They walked for a few minutes in relative quiet, boots crunching softly over leaf litter and dried petals. Every now and then, a vine twitched somewhere above, making Kipp flinch.
Aria hummed under her breath, then suddenly said:
"We need more friends."
Hayes frowned. "You mean… players?"
"Spirits," she said. "Look at us. We're cool, but think how cool we'd be if we had more little murder beans like Les."
Les squeaked, rolling slightly into the side of Sofia's boot. She scooped him up and hugged him gently.
"I'm very happy with the new murder bean," she said.
Echo yipped indignantly.
"You're my first murder bean," Sofia assured her. "Les is the backup bean."
Echo narrowed her eyes, then huffed, accepting this.
Riley smiled despite himself.
"We'll want more spirits before the dungeon opens," he said. "We've got three days. Plenty of time for levelling and captures—if we do it smart."
Aria pointed at him with both hands.
"There. See? That's leader talk."
"Stop calling it that," Riley muttered.
Hayley tilted her head.
"How many spirits can we realistically manage?" she asked. "Long-term, I mean."
"Summon limit is two out at once right now," Riley said. "Total slots are six, but that'll increase with higher-level contracts and class progression. Early on, though? Even two each is a lot to coordinate."
Kipp nodded. "And feeding, leveling, gear if we get spirit equipment—these systems always get more complicated over time."
Mossling made a proud little "mmm?"
Aria jogged a step ahead and spun on her heel to face them while walking backwards.
"So," she declared. "If we're going to be dungeon legends, we should decide what we actually want."
Riley squinted at her. "What do you mean?"
She spread her arms.
"I mean, build fantasy time. We're in a forest full of potentially deadly creature friends. What does everyone want next?"
Hayes shrugged. "Anything that can tank with me."
Tommy's tail flicked.
Sofia perked up a little, cheeks still flushed from the earlier fight.
"I… wouldn't mind something that protects," she said. "Echo is fast, and Les is sturdy, but I like having ways to keep people safe too. Maybe… something that can shield others, or… reflect attacks."
"Tank healer," Aria said, impressed. "Respect."
Echo puffed out her chest, as if to say: I can protect plenty.
Les squeaked and did a tiny, determined stomp in the leaf litter.
Hayes looked thoughtful.
"I could do with something that draws attention," he said. "Something big. Or something loud. I can't always be everywhere at once. If a spirit could pin things in place while I move, that would be a godsend."
Riley remembered a certain stone cub further along the Basin, and let himself smile a fraction.
"Those exist," he said. "Just not in the starter fields."
Hayley stroked her chin.
"I like flanking," she said. "Mobility. Tommy's quick, but he can't fly. Something that can scout from above—keep eyes on the battlefield. A bird spirit, maybe. Or something that glides."
Tommy stared at her, as if offended.
"You'll always be my main partner," she told him. "I just want someone to cover what you can't."
Tommy blinked slowly and allowed this.
Kipp chewed his lip.
"I want…" He hesitated. "Honestly? I want something small and helpful. Like Mossling. Maybe something that helps with gathering, or crafting. Spirit hands. Or… I don't know. A sentient herb."
Aria gasped. "Plant friend."
"I already have a plant friend," Kipp said, patting Mossling. "But, you know. A second one wouldn't hurt."
Mossling wiggled happily.
Riley realized they were all looking at him now.
"What about you?" Aria asked. "You got Lumi. You got the Mythic bow. What's next on your broken wishlist?"
He thought of the rare spirits he remembered. Names, shapes, abilities. Ones locked behind complex quest chains or obscure spawn conditions. Ones that had warped whole chunks of the meta around them.
He thought of one in particular.
A spirit that shouldn't appear this early.
One that, in his old timeline, had been captured by a top guild leader with more resources than sense.
He couldn't say that.
"I'm not picky," he lied mildly. "Something that fits Lumi, mostly. Utility. Support. Maybe something that works well with light."
Lumi chirped and nuzzled his cheek, glow pulsing softly.
Sofia's eyes softened.
"Whatever it ends up being," she said, "it'll probably be perfect for you."
Aria squinted at him.
"You're hiding something," she said. "I can feel it in my bones."
"You're imagining things."
"I KNOW when you're lying."
"You thought Gobbles was a rock."
"…She was a suspicious-looking rock."
They stepped past a curtain of thorns as he said it, and the environment shifted almost imperceptibly.
The ground dipped.
Vines thickened around the trunks, red twisting around brown like veins.
The air cooled.
Riley's interface pinged softly:
> WARNING: MOB DIFFICULTY INCREASING
RECOMMENDED LEVEL: 7+
"Stay tight," he said. "This is where the real zone starts."
A distant roar rolled through the trees. Not as sharp as the Blossom Wolf—deeper, more drawn-out. Like something heavy dragging itself free from roots.
Kipp paled. "We can… still stick to scouting, right?"
Riley nodded.
"We will. But scouting includes seeing what lives here."
Aria cracked her knuckles.
"And punching it," she added.
"Sometimes punching it," he allowed.
They rounded a bend, branches brushing their shoulders, and found themselves staring at a cluster of thick, thorn-covered vines draped between two trees like an organic curtain.
Beyond it, Riley could just make out a patch of deeper shadow and the faint glow of scattered plants.
His memory ticked over.
He knew this layout.
He'd seen this curtain before.
An area boss, players had called it. Not a dungeon, not a raid, but a territorial mini-boss that respawned slowly and hit like a truck.
The Vineback Strider.
Riley's hand tightened on his bow.
"We might actually get that 'see something big' wish," he said softly. "Everyone ready?"
Aria's grin sharpened.
Hayes lifted his shield.
Sofia held Echo close and squeezed Les once for luck.
Hayley rolled her shoulders; Tommy and Moggy adjusted their stances.
Kipp took a deep breath and straightened.
"Let's see it," he said quietly.
Riley smiled.
"Alright then," he said.
And together, they stepped through the thorns.