I traversed the land.
Then the system chimed.
Level Up!
Level 23
Level 23?
I frowned slightly.
I guess the Vireloch Lord really was high level.
I exhaled and pushed the thought aside, continuing forward.
I'll look at it tomorrow.
Night fell as I traveled toward the purple pulse marked on my map.
By now, the routine came naturally.
I climbed a tall tree and settled at its summit, resting against the trunk as the forest stretched out beneath me—endless and dark.
From up here, I noticed something strange.
A patch of land in the distance looked… different.
Even in the darkness, it stood apart.
Darker. Heavier. Wrong.
Below, faint white lights drifted through the night.
Monraks.
They traversed the land without approaching me. None came close.
I took that as a sign that everything back home was still stable.
The thought gave me brief peace.
I slept.
I woke to the radiating warmth of the sun.
As usual.
I glanced back toward the area that had caught my attention the night before.
My eyes hadn't deceived me.
In daylight, it was clearer.
That land was darker. Colder.
And it carried a familiar feeling.
The same one I'd felt around the Virelochs.
I must be heading in the right direction.
Before jumping down, I checked my stats.
HP: 65 / 65
MP: 38 / 38
Attack: Lv. 9
Defense: Lv. 8
Speed: Lv. 9
Vitality: Lv. 7
Perception: Lv. 7
Resolve: Lv. 8
I nodded once, satisfied, and climbed down.
Then I continued toward the purple glow on the map.
As I moved deeper, something felt off.
I stopped and activated Pulse Tremor.
…Nothing.
For a moment, my mind jumped to the worst.
Is it not working?
No.
It was working.
The vibrations were just… scarce.
So light they barely registered.
Almost nothing alive out here.
The absence pressed against me, unsettling—like the forest had already been emptied and forgotten.
I moved on.
The land ahead grew worse.
Trees withered as if drained from the inside.
The bodies of monsters lay scattered—so dried and decayed I couldn't even recognize what they once were.
The trees thinned.
The grass darkened.
And the breeze grew cold against my skin.
Then—
Voices.
I reacted instantly, climbing a nearby tree and pressing myself flat against the bark.
"What is this place?" a low-toned voice asked.
"I'm sure this is the direction to the dungeon, but this isn't on the map," another replied.
"I knew it!" a feminine voice snapped. "I told you idiots that guy was a scammer."
She sighed sharply.
"Now we're lost in some monster-infested place."
…Humans.
Verren did say they entered dungeons.
I stayed still and watched.
One of the men knelt and grabbed a handful of dark soil, rubbing it between his fingers.
"Something's not right here," he muttered.
Another scoffed. "It's just dirt. Stop obsessing over everything."
The man shook his head.
"I think we should turn back."
"Turn back?" the other snapped. "We've been traveling for three days straight, and now you want to turn back because the dirt looks funny?"
He laughed harshly.
"Didn't realize you were such a scaredy cat."
"Both of you shut up!" the woman shouted.
They both turned toward her.
"Wherever we're heading," she said firmly, "it's the wrong way. Give me the map."
She snatched it from one of them.
"Hey—" he protested, but she ignored him.
She examined the map closely, muttering under her breath.
Then she froze.
"What?" one of them asked.
"This map isn't wrong," the woman said.
"What?" the man asked.
"Everything we've passed so far matches."
"Then where's the dungeon?"
She paused, eyes scanning the dead trees, the black grass.
"I think…" Her voice dropped. "I think this is the dungeon."
They stared at her.
She pointed ahead.
"Do you see that hill?"
They followed her finger.
"It's right here on the map."
She swallowed.
"The dungeon is in front of us."
Then, quieter—
"I don't know why this darkened area wasn't mentioned."
The hesitant man shifted uneasily.
"Didn't Master Renvek warn us about this?" he asked. "About dungeons that don't match their records."
The woman stiffened.
"He said those were advanced zones," the man continued. "Places where the land changes first. Where the dungeon isn't… contained."
"That was a lecture," the other man snapped. "Half of what he says is meant to scare first-years."
"Still," the hesitant man said, voice tight, "he told us not to approach anything unclassified without an escort. I'm only level seventeen. She's eighteen."
His gaze flicked to the other man.
"You're the only one at twenty."
The man scoffed, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Relax," he said. "You're just nervous. That's all."
He gave a thin smile, the kind that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"I'll handle anything that comes up. That's what being level twenty is for, right?"
No one answered.
"Good," he said quickly—too quickly. "Let's keep going and get there before nightfall."
The hesitant man opened his mouth again.
"I just think we should—"
"I don't," the other snapped, already turning away. "If you're that desperate to head back, go find your way home yourself."
He didn't slow.
Didn't look back.
The woman brushed past the hesitant man, shoving his shoulder.
"Hurry up," she whispered.
The last man hesitated—
Then followed.
I glanced at my map.
They were right.
The dungeon was ahead.
I followed at a distance.
Carefully.
I know what humans are like.
As they walked, the hesitant man spoke again.
"Did you hear the rumors about the region near the Valmere Kingdom?"
The woman didn't slow. "No. What happened?"
I focused.
"Some survivors from a scouting party said the Monster Lord there was killed."
She scoffed. "Monster Lords die all the time. That's not news."
"I wasn't done," the hesitant man snapped.
She rolled her eyes.
"Apparently," he continued, "it was a mimic. Killed the Monster Lord. Took over the territory. Even killed humans."
They both stopped.
"…What?" the other man muttered.
"Yeah right," the woman said, laughing too quickly. "Like I'd believe that."
The level-twenty man let out a short laugh of his own.
"A mimic?" he said, laughing. "That's ridiculous. Next you'll tell me it's about to become one of the Ten Lords."
The hesitant man didn't laugh.
So the rumor's spreading.
The Ten Lords?
What is that—
"Seriously," the woman added, forcing a smile that didn't reach her eyes, "you're telling me a mimic is that strong? And intelligent?"
"You're lying," she said flatly.
"I'm serious," the man insisted. "That's what the report said."
Then—
A sound.
Not a voice.
Not wind.
Something deeper.
All three froze.
"What was that?" the woman whispered.
One of the men raised a hand, signaling silence.
I activated Pulse Tremor again.
The land above was still.
No shifting brush. No movement on the surface.
Too quiet.
Then I felt it.
A heavy vibration rolling through the ground—deep, deliberate, moving toward us from ahead.
Whatever it was—
It wasn't coming from the surface.