"What the hell are you all doing?!"
The commander roared, his voice echoing through the dark, enclosed space.
"You had one job—to stop Viktor from escaping! So why the hell is he here, sleeping inside the Dragon Centipede Golem's stomach?!"
At this moment, the giant centipede golem can be seen lying on the ground with its mouth wide open, standing in the clear opening of the forest.
Going inside its mouth, a group of soldiers dressed in brown and white uniforms can be seen standing in a group with their heads lowered, as their leader's face is flushed red with anger.
"And not just that..." His voice dropped, trembling with restrained fury.
"You all didn't even notice he escaped for hours. Not until he turned into this."
He pointed to the side where Viktor lay bandaged and covered in dried blood, sleeping peacefully.
The soldiers glanced at Viktor and couldn't help but silently complain:
"He looks fine though…"
"You sons of—!!" the commander started again, about to explode—
But then he paused, his head snapping up, sensing a magical signal flared in the distance.
"Isn't that the anti-hiding beacon?" one of the soldiers muttered, confused.
Everyone turned toward the source of the magical energy.
"... Is someone else out there?"
Suddenly, the ground trembled. From deep in the forest, golems began stampeding toward the signal.
"Wait... if all the golems are moving toward that area, then that means—"
The soldiers watched in horror as even the giant Dragon Centipede Golem started to slither in that direction, dragging the entire Monster Control Unit with it.
***
Meanwhile…
William was running.
Magic crackled around his body in chaotic layers of color, pushing his speed beyond human limits.
'What the hell—what the actual hell?! Why was there even a broadcasting beacon?'
His thoughts spiraled as he sprinted across the torn battlefield.
'How am I even going to pass this test now?!'
As William ran, the trees around him started to shake, prompting him to instantly dive into the dirt, burying himself.
Shortly after a heavy thud landed above the ground he had dive into. A four-armed ape golem sniffed the air.
Holding his breath, William didn't dare move.
After a few tense seconds, the golem stomped off in the direction of the beacon signal.
Only after a couple of minutes did William crawl out of the dirt and run again, in the opposite direction of the ap.
Along the way, golems of all shapes stormed past, drawn by the beacon. William constantly had to dodge, hide, dig, or take long detours just to survive.
Eventually, he reached a quiet spot at the bottom of a cliff.
After checking to make sure he was alone, William dug a shallow hole and curled up inside. He gasped for breath, trying to calm his racing heart.
His face was pale—a clear sign of mana exhaustion.
Looking up at the bright blue sky, William sighed.
'How am I even supposed to pass this stupid test?'
'If I hide, the beacon activates. If I fight, I would fail even faster.'
He groaned and rubbed his face, overwhelmed by stress and frustration.
For now, with no mana left, he could only rest. Without it, he was helpless.
Too afraid to sleep, William kept watch from his hiding spot.
The area was silent. No animals. No wind. No tremors. Too silent.
'It's way too calm... This place doesn't want people to just hide.'
William narrowed his eyes, scanning the area. 'That means there's either a super-strong monster nearby… or I'm being ambushed.'
A flicker of light caught his eye.
A cyan laser shot toward his head.
He dove out of the hole just in time.
A blast of magical energy struck the cliffside behind him, cutting off the cliff and creating a large cloud of dust as the cliff fell.
Using the chaos, William tried to flee, but stopped as he felt a massive magical aura behind him.
He turned and looked up.
Standing on top of the freshly sliced-off cliff, a golem shaped like a majestic elk stood, glowing with cyan-aqua light. Its silver-white horns shimmered, and it stared at William like he was nothing.
William's expression darkened.
Beneath its elegant look was an overwhelming magical power.
'I'm screwed,' William thought.
The elk's horns glowed—brilliant white—and fired.
Before he could react, the white beam struck him.
His vision turned pure white.
When William opened his eyes again, he saw a familiar white ceiling.
'Did I fail?' was his first thought.
He sat up in the hospital bed, but something was off.
The bed, floor, and curtains were the same as he remembered, but anything beyond that was a long stretch of white floors and skies in every direction, endless and empty.
'Wait… isn't this the bed? The one I always end up in after Captain Jack beats me up…' William quickly concluded after seeing the familiar layout.
At this moment, a glowing path appeared, leading to a door.
With no other options, William followed it.
However, what met him through the door made his eyes go wide with fear.
It was Captain Jack.
As soon as he saw William, 'Jack' instantly charge at him with his bat raised.
Stunned, William couldn't react as Jack's bat smashed into his face, sending him flying across the floor.
'Why the hell is he here?!' William screamed.
Scrambling to his feet, William stared at the man before him.
But as he looked closer, he relaxed slightly.
'No... It's not him. If it was the real Captain Jack, I wouldn't have even seen the hit coming.'
'And the pressure's different. Not suffocating like before.'
"Who are you?!" William shouted.
No response.
The fake Jack charged again.
He was fast, almost as fast as the real deal, but William could dodge.
Still, the fake's strength and skill were far beyond William's. And worse, his mana was sealed.
He couldn't use magic.
So, a beatdown began.
Minutes passed. William lay broken and bruised on the ground, coughing blood.
"Damn it…" he muttered, punching the ground.
"I'm still way too weak…"
Suddenly, his body was covered in light green, causing his wounds to close and bones to realign.
But as soon as the healing finished, the fake Jack struck again.
Over and over, William was healed and beaten—until he stopped caring about the pain.
One hour? Two? He lost track.
Face-down, lying on the ground, and with hair dyed red, William lay unresponsive on the ground.
The green light appeared again, healing him and prompting the fake Jack to attack.
This time, instead of dodging, he met the bat with his fist.
His arm crushed instantly, as the bat continued its trajectory.
But William didn't flinch.
With a crazed look in his eyes, he headbutted the bat, putting all his body weight into it.
Blood gushed from his forehead. His right arm dangled uselessly. But he grinned.
"Is that it?! The real Jack would've hit harder!" William shouted hysterically
The fake charged again.
William took every hit and kept talking through the pain.
"Captain Jack would've been harder. He'd make me beg before letting me faint."
Little by little, his body moved faster. He launched clumsy counterattacks. They failed—but he kept going.
The green light healed him, and the bat hit him.
Over and over.
Until the once-white floor was painted red with his blood.
But William didn't care.
As long as the healing spell kept working, he'd keep fighting.
He'd never stop.
What seems like an endless cycle of torture... had now become his twisted obsession.
***
Back at the location where William had run away from and where the broadcast signal had been fired…
The area was now swarmed with monsters of all shapes and forms.
Golems of different kinds, each representing a different monster species, filled the scene.
Some stood on guard, eyeing each other cautiously, while others searched the surroundings.
Among them was the Dragon Centipede Golem, towering high above the rest with its upper body raised in the air.
It remained still, silently watching the other golems, standing as one of the many on alert.
Then, the dragon centipede opened its mouth wide, and from within, the Monster Control Unit emerged.
Upon seeing the tense standoff between the golems, one of the members let out a startled yelp.
"Are... are these golems going to fight each other?"
Everyone turned to look at the leader.
"Hah… Fight?" The leader chuckled. "Do you know how much just one of these golems costs? If the higher-ups let them fight, the organization would've gone bankrupt ages ago."
"Huh, I see..." The petite girl and other members looked again at the standoff in fascination.
"Alright, let's move. We still need to get Viktor back to the hospital."
With Viktor slumped over his shoulder, the leader jumped down from the dragon centipede's mouth, landing right in the middle of the golem standoff.
The rest of the team followed, gliding down using magic.
"Wait a second, sir," the petite girl called out. "Aren't you at least going to check who activated the anti-hiding signal?"
"Huh? Why?"
"I mean, aren't you curious who else came here besides Viktor?"
"Not really," the leader replied, walking away disinterested.
Unwilling to give up, the petite girl walked closer and whispered to him,
"Brother, think about it... When we get back, we're going to get scolded for letting Viktor escape and probably forced to babysit old people as punishment."
"Since we're already in trouble, why don't we stay just a bit longer?"
"Or… don't tell me you're looking forward to babysitting seniors?" she teased, her voice like a mischievous devil tempting him.
"Cough— I mean, it's only right that we care for our fellow soldiers," the leader quickly did a 180-degree change, standing tall and righteous.
"As the leader, I command you all to search for the brave soldier who ventured into this desolate place at night!"
"Brother! Let's use the dragon centipede to search for him!"
"Great idea! Everyone, get back on the centipede! We still have one more person to save!"
"Yes!" came the mixed responses—some excited, others indifferent.
***
Back to William—
"Huff… huff… huff…"
William lay on the ground, soaked in blood from head to toe, the earth beneath him stained red. He stared up at the fake Captain Jack standing before him.
No one moved. The two just locked eyes in silence.
William's body glowed green, healing him up once again.
But unlike before, the fake Captain Jack didn't immediately attack. He simply stood there, watching.
Confused, William stayed still, unsure of what to do.
Then, the fake Captain Jack finally spoke, with a deep voice.
"Tell me your name, boy."
"…"
Stunned by the sudden question, William didn't answer at first. After several seconds of silence, he finally spoke.
"You don't know? I figured you would, since you created all this."
"I prefer to hear it from the person himself."
"…William. I'm William."
"I see." The fake replied, and after another couple of seconds of silence, the fake Captain Jack's aura suddenly surged.
Without warning, he swung his bat with full force. William raised both arms instinctively to block, only to feel them shatter from the impact.
A swift kick to the gut followed, launching him through the air like a ragdoll.
As William flew through the air, still processing the pain in his arms, the fake Captain Jack vanished from his spot—
—and reappeared midair beside him.
The bat was already mid-swing, smashing William back down into the ground.
The hit was brutal. Painful. But not enough to make him faint.
Instead, a long-buried memory surged up, overlapping the figure of the fake Captain Jack.
A fear that had once been sealed away erupted from within William's entire body—instinctual, uncontrollable.
The fear wiped away what little rational thought he had left.
Just like the real Captain Jack, the fake gave him no time to breathe.
He grabbed William by the leg and began spinning him like a weapon.
The centrifugal force was so strong that William's head swelled and turned red.
Then the fake let go, flinging William into the air.
As William flew helplessly, the fake stood below, as red flames and crimson aura started gushing out of his body.
Then he vanished.
In a blink, he reappeared next to William midair, his arm glowing violet and clenched into a devastating fist, pulled back and ready to strike.
William stared at the incoming punch, paralyzed by the violent aura. He couldn't even form a thought.
But just as the punch was about to land, the white world William was trapped in faded rapidly.
Causing the red fist to phase through him and swiftly dissolve into light particles.
Everything disappeared in an instant, and William felt something pull his consciousness away, dragging him into darkness.
***
"Hey kid! You still alive?"
From the depths of unconsciousness, William heard voices.
"Hey, is this kid alright? Could the illusion magic have fried his brain?"
"Don't talk nonsense. He's probably just in a deep sleep. Get a bucket of cold water or something."
Before they could get the water ready, William suddenly sat up, shouting—
"AAAHHH—!"
Everyone went silent, staring at him.
He stared back, eyes full of fear.
"What the hell was that?!" the girl shouted. "You scared the crap out of me!"
"Heh, must've been one hell of a nightmare," the leader said casually.
William finally regained some sense. "Who are you guys? What are you doing here?"
"We're the Monster Control Unit," the leader answered. "We came to retrieve that escaped patient over there."
He pointed to Viktor, now asleep and bandaged up.
But William looked over he only saw the massive head of the dragon centipede poking out of the earth.
"WHAT THE HELL?!"
Panicked, he bolted—only to be stopped by the leader's voice.
"Relax. He's friendly. For now, at least."
William calmed down. "Can you… control those monsters?"
"Partially. We can tell them where to go, but we can't make them fight."
"Then did you save me from the elk golem?"
"Yeah, kind of. When it saw the dragon centipede, it ran away."
'So that's what it's called, William thought.'
"Thank you for helping me." He bowed slightly. "But… why are you still here? Shouldn't you be taking him back?" William pointed at Viktor.
The leader hesitated. "We were about to, but after detecting the anti-hiding signal, we decided to check the area out. Out of good faith, of course."
Proud of his improvised lie, the leader lifted his chin.
"The anti-hiding signal—is that the magic wave that calls all the monsters?"
"Yeah. You didn't know?"
"No, I was just thrown into this place without being told anything."
"What? Why?"
"Well, you see—" William scratched his head, unsure how to explain.
***
"Sniffle… sniffle…"
The petite girl suddenly burst into tears.
"Waaahh—I didn't know you were going through so much to save your loved one—huuuu…"
"No, that's not—" William tried to correct her, but was ignored.
"Brother, we have to help him!"
"Huh? No way."
"What?! How can you be so heartless?! He's risking everything for love!"
"This is a test set by a general. If you value your job, don't meddle in other people's business."
"But—!"
"No buts. We will not interfere with his test!" the leader snapped firmly.
Knowing she couldn't win, the girl crossed her arms, pouting in frustration.
Seeing the growing misunderstanding, but unsure how to cut in, William could only stand awkwardly.
"At least give him some advice," the girl finally suggested.
"Fine," the leader agreed.
***
A couple of hours later—
Crouched on a tree branch, William watched the four-armed ape golems from a distance.
'I hope this works,' he prayed silently.
It had been four hours since the Monster Control Unit left. The sun had already begun to rise.
He recalled the advice he'd been given:
"If you haven't figured it out, this is a survival training ground for soldiers.
The army didn't spend billions building this place just so people could hide.
That's why the anti-hiding signal triggers every 5 hours of inactivity—to flush you out.
So the plan is simple: engage the golems, run, hide, and repeat."
To ensure escape, lure two different golem species into chasing you.
When they hit each other, their programming stuns them temporarily—use that moment to get away."
Jumping off the tree, William directly dives into the ground, where he reaches a small opening, revealing small underground tunnels branching out into different directions.
William had spent the past four hours digging these tunnels.
The Dragon Centipede hadn't detected him because it had been ordered to go back deep underground—a parting gift from the Monster Control Unit.
There was no chance of a surprise encounter.
Before initiating his plan, William recalls the advice once again:
"There is an exploit you can use.
You see, the golem had a program where if 2 alpha golems, were to hit each other, not only the 2 be stunned but also all the surrounding golems would freeze.
So all you need to do is to lure the 2 alpha golems into one place, have them accidentally hit each other, and take the opportunity when their program is stunned to escape.
Simple, right?"
"…" (⊙_⊙)
"Alright, let's do this."
Psyching himself up, William's palm glowed orange. He fired a fireball down one of the long, narrow tunnels.
Moments later, a small earthquake followed. As William's web of tunnels began to collapse into one another, creating a small earthquake
By the time all of this had happened, William had already sprinted in the opposite direction, heading into a tunnel that ran directly beneath the 4-armed ape territory.
The tiny quake was only the beginning. A much larger one followed, causing the entire earth to shift as if something massive was moving its way through.
"It's coming…" William muttered, his voice tight.
Buried beneath layers of soil, he dug frantically upward into the ape territory, his back soaked in sweat.
The trembling ground grew stronger the closer he got to the surface.
Just as he was about to surface, the dragon centipede caught up to him.
With its giant pincers, it clamped onto William with crushing force as both of them burst out of the ground.
The good news: William's protective charm had recharged in time, shielding him from the blow.
The bad news: he was trapped between the pincers, and cracks had already started forming in the barrier.
But instead of panicking, William was scanning the crowd of four-armed apes for something—someone.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted it: an extra-large ape golem, completely white.
Without hesitation, he launched a fireball at it.
The white ape raised an arm and casually swatted the fireball aside. It exploded harmlessly in the distance.
But that was enough. The white ape was taunted.
It stood up, clenched its fist, and leapt toward William with terrifying speed.
The dragon centipede, sensing that another golem had agroed onto William, released its grip on William and backed away.
Predicting this, William did something reckless—he fired another fireball at the centipede.
Successfully enraged, the beast snapped at him with its pincers, striking again.
'Oh god, please let this work,' William prayed, curling into a ball, trying to make himself as small as possible.
The white golem's punch tore through his shield like glass. But just before it could land the final blow—
CLANG!
A pincer intercepted the punch mid-air, and the white golem's fist slammed into the centipede instead.
Everything happened in a blink. William barely had time to register it before he crashed back into the dirt below.
THUD.
He groaned and pushed himself up, dazed, trying to assess the situation.
All around him, the ape golems were frozen.
Then, a memory surfaced in his mind:
"Remember, the freeze will only last for 5 minutes at most. And you'd better hide right after, because when they unfreeze, they'll be hunting you down."
William didn't waste a second.
He took off running, weaving through the ape territory. Then, he suddenly stopped and began digging into the ground. It was the best way to cover his trail.
He'd already mapped out a hiding place in advance. With single-minded focus, he dug toward it, ignoring the mana cost.
Five minutes later, he reached his destination—a large boulder, half-buried underground.
The hard stone would hide him from the centipede's senses, and the enclosed space would hide his scent from the apes.
It was the perfect counter to both enemies.
Inside the cramped darkness of the boulder, William curled up into a ball, hugging his knees. His breathing was ragged from mana exhaustion.
He couldn't even see his own hands.
So he waited. Silent. Hoping. Praying.
Time passed. No sounds. No movement.
His mind started to wander.
Memories from the past few hours rushed in like a flood.
'I'm so tired…'
'When is this going to end?'
'Is it even worth it…?'
One thought after another pulled him deeper.
He saw flashes of his brutal training. The torture from Captain Jack. The courtroom. The moment he was banished.
"Ah… I caused all this myself, didn't I?"
Suddenly, something dripped onto his arm.
"Huh?"
He touched it.
Wet.
Realization hit.
"Ah… am I… crying?"
The thought pulled him back into the present. Only then did he notice—his whole body was trembling.
With nothing left to do, William hugged his knees tighter, buried his face, and waited for the time to pass.
The commander roared, his voice echoing through the dark, enclosed space.
"You had one job—to stop Viktor from escaping! So why the hell is he here, sleeping inside the Dragon Centipede Golem's stomach?!"
At this moment, the giant centipede golem can be seen lying on the ground with its mouth wide open, standing in the clear opening of the forest.
Going inside its mouth, a group of soldiers dressed in brown and white uniforms can be seen standing in a group with their heads lowered, as their leader's face is flushed red with anger.
"And not just that..." His voice dropped, trembling with restrained fury.
"You all didn't even notice he escaped for hours. Not until he turned into this."
He pointed to the side where Viktor lay bandaged and covered in dried blood, sleeping peacefully.
The soldiers glanced at Viktor and couldn't help but silently complain:
"He looks fine though…"
"You sons of—!!" the commander started again, about to explode—
But then he paused, his head snapping up, sensing a magical signal flared in the distance.
"Isn't that the anti-hiding beacon?" one of the soldiers muttered, confused.
Everyone turned toward the source of the magical energy.
"... Is someone else out there?"
Suddenly, the ground trembled. From deep in the forest, golems began stampeding toward the signal.
"Wait... if all the golems are moving toward that area, then that means—"
The soldiers watched in horror as even the giant Dragon Centipede Golem started to slither in that direction, dragging the entire Monster Control Unit with it.
***
Meanwhile…
William was running.
Magic crackled around his body in chaotic layers of color, pushing his speed beyond human limits.
'What the hell—what the actual hell?! Why was there even a broadcasting beacon?'
His thoughts spiraled as he sprinted across the torn battlefield.
'How am I even going to pass this test now?!'
As William ran, the trees around him started to shake, prompting him to instantly dive into the dirt, burying himself.
Shortly after a heavy thud landed above the ground he had dive into. A four-armed ape golem sniffed the air.
Holding his breath, William didn't dare move.
After a few tense seconds, the golem stomped off in the direction of the beacon signal.
Only after a couple of minutes did William crawl out of the dirt and run again, in the opposite direction of the ap.
Along the way, golems of all shapes stormed past, drawn by the beacon. William constantly had to dodge, hide, dig, or take long detours just to survive.
Eventually, he reached a quiet spot at the bottom of a cliff.
After checking to make sure he was alone, William dug a shallow hole and curled up inside. He gasped for breath, trying to calm his racing heart.
His face was pale—a clear sign of mana exhaustion.
Looking up at the bright blue sky, William sighed.
'How am I even supposed to pass this stupid test?'
'If I hide, the beacon activates. If I fight, I would fail even faster.'
He groaned and rubbed his face, overwhelmed by stress and frustration.
For now, with no mana left, he could only rest. Without it, he was helpless.
Too afraid to sleep, William kept watch from his hiding spot.
The area was silent. No animals. No wind. No tremors. Too silent.
'It's way too calm... This place doesn't want people to just hide.'
William narrowed his eyes, scanning the area. 'That means there's either a super-strong monster nearby… or I'm being ambushed.'
A flicker of light caught his eye.
A cyan laser shot toward his head.
He dove out of the hole just in time.
A blast of magical energy struck the cliffside behind him, cutting off the cliff and creating a large cloud of dust as the cliff fell.
Using the chaos, William tried to flee, but stopped as he felt a massive magical aura behind him.
He turned and looked up.
Standing on top of the freshly sliced-off cliff, a golem shaped like a majestic elk stood, glowing with cyan-aqua light. Its silver-white horns shimmered, and it stared at William like he was nothing.
William's expression darkened.
Beneath its elegant look was an overwhelming magical power.
'I'm screwed,' William thought.
The elk's horns glowed—brilliant white—and fired.
Before he could react, the white beam struck him.
His vision turned pure white.
When William opened his eyes again, he saw a familiar white ceiling.
'Did I fail?' was his first thought.
He sat up in the hospital bed, but something was off.
The bed, floor, and curtains were the same as he remembered, but anything beyond that was a long stretch of white floors and skies in every direction, endless and empty.
'Wait… isn't this the bed? The one I always end up in after Captain Jack beats me up…' William quickly concluded after seeing the familiar layout.
At this moment, a glowing path appeared, leading to a door.
With no other options, William followed it.
However, what met him through the door made his eyes go wide with fear.
It was Captain Jack.
As soon as he saw William, 'Jack' instantly charge at him with his bat raised.
Stunned, William couldn't react as Jack's bat smashed into his face, sending him flying across the floor.
'Why the hell is he here?!' William screamed.
Scrambling to his feet, William stared at the man before him.
But as he looked closer, he relaxed slightly.
'No... It's not him. If it was the real Captain Jack, I wouldn't have even seen the hit coming.'
'And the pressure's different. Not suffocating like before.'
"Who are you?!" William shouted.
No response.
The fake Jack charged again.
He was fast, almost as fast as the real deal, but William could dodge.
Still, the fake's strength and skill were far beyond William's. And worse, his mana was sealed.
He couldn't use magic.
So, a beatdown began.
Minutes passed. William lay broken and bruised on the ground, coughing blood.
"Damn it…" he muttered, punching the ground.
"I'm still way too weak…"
Suddenly, his body was covered in light green, causing his wounds to close and bones to realign.
But as soon as the healing finished, the fake Jack struck again.
Over and over, William was healed and beaten—until he stopped caring about the pain.
One hour? Two? He lost track.
Face-down, lying on the ground, and with hair dyed red, William lay unresponsive on the ground.
The green light appeared again, healing him and prompting the fake Jack to attack.
This time, instead of dodging, he met the bat with his fist.
His arm crushed instantly, as the bat continued its trajectory.
But William didn't flinch.
With a crazed look in his eyes, he headbutted the bat, putting all his body weight into it.
Blood gushed from his forehead. His right arm dangled uselessly. But he grinned.
"Is that it?! The real Jack would've hit harder!" William shouted hysterically
The fake charged again.
William took every hit and kept talking through the pain.
"Captain Jack would've been harder. He'd make me beg before letting me faint."
Little by little, his body moved faster. He launched clumsy counterattacks. They failed—but he kept going.
The green light healed him, and the bat hit him.
Over and over.
Until the once-white floor was painted red with his blood.
But William didn't care.
As long as the healing spell kept working, he'd keep fighting.
He'd never stop.
What seems like an endless cycle of torture... had now become his twisted obsession.
***
Back at the location where William had run away from and where the broadcast signal had been fired…
The area was now swarmed with monsters of all shapes and forms.
Golems of different kinds, each representing a different monster species, filled the scene.
Some stood on guard, eyeing each other cautiously, while others searched the surroundings.
Among them was the Dragon Centipede Golem, towering high above the rest with its upper body raised in the air.
It remained still, silently watching the other golems, standing as one of the many on alert.
Then, the dragon centipede opened its mouth wide, and from within, the Monster Control Unit emerged.
Upon seeing the tense standoff between the golems, one of the members let out a startled yelp.
"Are... are these golems going to fight each other?"
Everyone turned to look at the leader.
"Hah… Fight?" The leader chuckled. "Do you know how much just one of these golems costs? If the higher-ups let them fight, the organization would've gone bankrupt ages ago."
"Huh, I see..." The petite girl and other members looked again at the standoff in fascination.
"Alright, let's move. We still need to get Viktor back to the hospital."
With Viktor slumped over his shoulder, the leader jumped down from the dragon centipede's mouth, landing right in the middle of the golem standoff.
The rest of the team followed, gliding down using magic.
"Wait a second, sir," the petite girl called out. "Aren't you at least going to check who activated the anti-hiding signal?"
"Huh? Why?"
"I mean, aren't you curious who else came here besides Viktor?"
"Not really," the leader replied, walking away disinterested.
Unwilling to give up, the petite girl walked closer and whispered to him,
"Brother, think about it... When we get back, we're going to get scolded for letting Viktor escape and probably forced to babysit old people as punishment."
"Since we're already in trouble, why don't we stay just a bit longer?"
"Or… don't tell me you're looking forward to babysitting seniors?" she teased, her voice like a mischievous devil tempting him.
"Cough— I mean, it's only right that we care for our fellow soldiers," the leader quickly did a 180-degree change, standing tall and righteous.
"As the leader, I command you all to search for the brave soldier who ventured into this desolate place at night!"
"Brother! Let's use the dragon centipede to search for him!"
"Great idea! Everyone, get back on the centipede! We still have one more person to save!"
"Yes!" came the mixed responses—some excited, others indifferent.
***
Back to William—
"Huff… huff… huff…"
William lay on the ground, soaked in blood from head to toe, the earth beneath him stained red. He stared up at the fake Captain Jack standing before him.
No one moved. The two just locked eyes in silence.
William's body glowed green, healing him up once again.
But unlike before, the fake Captain Jack didn't immediately attack. He simply stood there, watching.
Confused, William stayed still, unsure of what to do.
Then, the fake Captain Jack finally spoke, with a deep voice.
"Tell me your name, boy."
"…"
Stunned by the sudden question, William didn't answer at first. After several seconds of silence, he finally spoke.
"You don't know? I figured you would, since you created all this."
"I prefer to hear it from the person himself."
"…William. I'm William."
"I see." The fake replied, and after another couple of seconds of silence, the fake Captain Jack's aura suddenly surged.
Without warning, he swung his bat with full force. William raised both arms instinctively to block, only to feel them shatter from the impact.
A swift kick to the gut followed, launching him through the air like a ragdoll.
As William flew through the air, still processing the pain in his arms, the fake Captain Jack vanished from his spot—
—and reappeared midair beside him.
The bat was already mid-swing, smashing William back down into the ground.
The hit was brutal. Painful. But not enough to make him faint.
Instead, a long-buried memory surged up, overlapping the figure of the fake Captain Jack.
A fear that had once been sealed away erupted from within William's entire body—instinctual, uncontrollable.
The fear wiped away what little rational thought he had left.
Just like the real Captain Jack, the fake gave him no time to breathe.
He grabbed William by the leg and began spinning him like a weapon.
The centrifugal force was so strong that William's head swelled and turned red.
Then the fake let go, flinging William into the air.
As William flew helplessly, the fake stood below, as red flames and crimson aura started gushing out of his body.
Then he vanished.
In a blink, he reappeared next to William midair, his arm glowing violet and clenched into a devastating fist, pulled back and ready to strike.
William stared at the incoming punch, paralyzed by the violent aura. He couldn't even form a thought.
But just as the punch was about to land, the white world William was trapped in faded rapidly.
Causing the red fist to phase through him and swiftly dissolve into light particles.
Everything disappeared in an instant, and William felt something pull his consciousness away, dragging him into darkness.
***
"Hey kid! You still alive?"
From the depths of unconsciousness, William heard voices.
"Hey, is this kid alright? Could the illusion magic have fried his brain?"
"Don't talk nonsense. He's probably just in a deep sleep. Get a bucket of cold water or something."
Before they could get the water ready, William suddenly sat up, shouting—
"AAAHHH—!"
Everyone went silent, staring at him.
He stared back, eyes full of fear.
"What the hell was that?!" the girl shouted. "You scared the crap out of me!"
"Heh, must've been one hell of a nightmare," the leader said casually.
William finally regained some sense. "Who are you guys? What are you doing here?"
"We're the Monster Control Unit," the leader answered. "We came to retrieve that escaped patient over there."
He pointed to Viktor, now asleep and bandaged up.
But William looked over he only saw the massive head of the dragon centipede poking out of the earth.
"WHAT THE HELL?!"
Panicked, he bolted—only to be stopped by the leader's voice.
"Relax. He's friendly. For now, at least."
William calmed down. "Can you… control those monsters?"
"Partially. We can tell them where to go, but we can't make them fight."
"Then did you save me from the elk golem?"
"Yeah, kind of. When it saw the dragon centipede, it ran away."
'So that's what it's called, William thought.'
"Thank you for helping me." He bowed slightly. "But… why are you still here? Shouldn't you be taking him back?" William pointed at Viktor.
The leader hesitated. "We were about to, but after detecting the anti-hiding signal, we decided to check the area out. Out of good faith, of course."
Proud of his improvised lie, the leader lifted his chin.
"The anti-hiding signal—is that the magic wave that calls all the monsters?"
"Yeah. You didn't know?"
"No, I was just thrown into this place without being told anything."
"What? Why?"
"Well, you see—" William scratched his head, unsure how to explain.
***
"Sniffle… sniffle…"
The petite girl suddenly burst into tears.
"Waaahh—I didn't know you were going through so much to save your loved one—huuuu…"
"No, that's not—" William tried to correct her, but was ignored.
"Brother, we have to help him!"
"Huh? No way."
"What?! How can you be so heartless?! He's risking everything for love!"
"This is a test set by a general. If you value your job, don't meddle in other people's business."
"But—!"
"No buts. We will not interfere with his test!" the leader snapped firmly.
Knowing she couldn't win, the girl crossed her arms, pouting in frustration.
Seeing the growing misunderstanding, but unsure how to cut in, William could only stand awkwardly.
"At least give him some advice," the girl finally suggested.
"Fine," the leader agreed.
***
A couple of hours later—
Crouched on a tree branch, William watched the four-armed ape golems from a distance.
'I hope this works,' he prayed silently.
It had been four hours since the Monster Control Unit left. The sun had already begun to rise.
He recalled the advice he'd been given:
"If you haven't figured it out, this is a survival training ground for soldiers.
The army didn't spend billions building this place just so people could hide.
That's why the anti-hiding signal triggers every 5 hours of inactivity—to flush you out.
So the plan is simple: engage the golems, run, hide, and repeat."
To ensure escape, lure two different golem species into chasing you.
When they hit each other, their programming stuns them temporarily—use that moment to get away."
Jumping off the tree, William directly dives into the ground, where he reaches a small opening, revealing small underground tunnels branching out into different directions.
William had spent the past four hours digging these tunnels.
The Dragon Centipede hadn't detected him because it had been ordered to go back deep underground—a parting gift from the Monster Control Unit.
There was no chance of a surprise encounter.
Before initiating his plan, William recalls the advice once again:
"There is an exploit you can use.
You see, the golem had a program where if 2 alpha golems, were to hit each other, not only the 2 be stunned but also all the surrounding golems would freeze.
So all you need to do is to lure the 2 alpha golems into one place, have them accidentally hit each other, and take the opportunity when their program is stunned to escape.
Simple, right?"
"…" (⊙_⊙)
"Alright, let's do this."
Psyching himself up, William's palm glowed orange. He fired a fireball down one of the long, narrow tunnels.
Moments later, a small earthquake followed. As William's web of tunnels began to collapse into one another, creating a small earthquake
By the time all of this had happened, William had already sprinted in the opposite direction, heading into a tunnel that ran directly beneath the 4-armed ape territory.
The tiny quake was only the beginning. A much larger one followed, causing the entire earth to shift as if something massive was moving its way through.
"It's coming…" William muttered, his voice tight.
Buried beneath layers of soil, he dug frantically upward into the ape territory, his back soaked in sweat.
The trembling ground grew stronger the closer he got to the surface.
Just as he was about to surface, the dragon centipede caught up to him.
With its giant pincers, it clamped onto William with crushing force as both of them burst out of the ground.
The good news: William's protective charm had recharged in time, shielding him from the blow.
The bad news: he was trapped between the pincers, and cracks had already started forming in the barrier.
But instead of panicking, William was scanning the crowd of four-armed apes for something—someone.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted it: an extra-large ape golem, completely white.
Without hesitation, he launched a fireball at it.
The white ape raised an arm and casually swatted the fireball aside. It exploded harmlessly in the distance.
But that was enough. The white ape was taunted.
It stood up, clenched its fist, and leapt toward William with terrifying speed.
The dragon centipede, sensing that another golem had agroed onto William, released its grip on William and backed away.
Predicting this, William did something reckless—he fired another fireball at the centipede.
Successfully enraged, the beast snapped at him with its pincers, striking again.
'Oh god, please let this work,' William prayed, curling into a ball, trying to make himself as small as possible.
The white golem's punch tore through his shield like glass. But just before it could land the final blow—
CLANG!
A pincer intercepted the punch mid-air, and the white golem's fist slammed into the centipede instead.
Everything happened in a blink. William barely had time to register it before he crashed back into the dirt below.
THUD.
He groaned and pushed himself up, dazed, trying to assess the situation.
All around him, the ape golems were frozen.
Then, a memory surfaced in his mind:
"Remember, the freeze will only last for 5 minutes at most. And you'd better hide right after, because when they unfreeze, they'll be hunting you down."
William didn't waste a second.
He took off running, weaving through the ape territory. Then, he suddenly stopped and began digging into the ground. It was the best way to cover his trail.
He'd already mapped out a hiding place in advance. With single-minded focus, he dug toward it, ignoring the mana cost.
Five minutes later, he reached his destination—a large boulder, half-buried underground.
The hard stone would hide him from the centipede's senses, and the enclosed space would hide his scent from the apes.
It was the perfect counter to both enemies.
Inside the cramped darkness of the boulder, William curled up into a ball, hugging his knees. His breathing was ragged from mana exhaustion.
He couldn't even see his own hands.
So he waited. Silent. Hoping. Praying.
Time passed. No sounds. No movement.
His mind started to wander.
Memories from the past few hours rushed in like a flood.
'I'm so tired…'
'When is this going to end?'
'Is it even worth it…?'
One thought after another pulled him deeper.
He saw flashes of his brutal training. The torture from Captain Jack. The courtroom. The moment he was banished.
"Ah… I caused all this myself, didn't I?"
Suddenly, something dripped onto his arm.
"Huh?"
He touched it.
Wet.
Realization hit.
"Ah… am I… crying?"
The thought pulled him back into the present. Only then did he notice—his whole body was trembling.
With nothing left to do, William hugged his knees tighter, buried his face, and waited for the time to pass.