We were now in the middle of a jungle with a flower-lined path leading to the Fairy King's castle.
And then came the system ping, projecting across the dungeon:
[WORLD RANK PLAYER DETECTED]:
[PLAYER 21]: [ADAM WHITE] — (LEVEL 81) — [WORLD RANK 10]
[PLAYER 61]: [LEON LEONARDS] — (LEVEL 83) — [WORLD RANK 8]
[PLAYER 10]: [CLAIRE PASTEL] — (LEVEL 85) — [WORLD RANK 9]
The crowd erupted behind me. Players gasped, screamed, and jumped like they'd just witnessed a miracle.
"IT'S THE LEGENDARY TRIO!"
"No way! They're here?! We're gonna win this for sure!"
"LET'S GOOOO!!!"
They sounded so sure. But the moment my boots sank into the dirt, the jungle twisted. And so did my gut.
"What the…" I muttered as the sunflowers near me suddenly withered before my eyes.
What should've been a beautiful, flower-lined path to the Fairy King's castle morphed into something monstrous. The trees lost their color. The sky went sickly green, like bruised fruit left too long in the sun. Vines as thick as cathedral pillars choked the canopy, winding around bone-white columns cracked with age. The air was sweet—rotten sweet. It clung to my tongue like syrup that had soured in the sun, thick and wrong.
A green fly crawled across my cheek. "Ew!" I said, slapping it away.
Beside me, Claire Pastel shimmered into view like someone had dropped a drag queen into a horror movie. She was petite, with a fair complexion and bright blue eyes. Her pink robe changed into a pink silk dress with lace, and she wore dangling gold earrings that jingled like wind chimes in a graveyard. Her golden curls bounced as she turned, and her smile was pure sin wrapped in sugar. Her class was Love Caster, a unique rarity class.
"Damn it, I thought that detonator would teleport me to a treasure chest room…" I muttered, rubbing the back of my neck.
Claire sighed dramatically, flicking her pink orb. "What did you expect?" she said, raising a brow. "Leon told you not to press it. Now we're in a dungeon we haven't prepared for." She leaned closer with a teasing smile. "Try your best not to die, I guess."
My mouth opened—then shut again. I couldn't respond due to shame.
She rolled her eyes and brushed past me, heels clicking against the dirt.
Adam followed Claire, side-eyeing me.
Adam was a tall, muscular man with a tan complexion and topaz-colored eyes. He wore silver-plated armor etched with faintly glowing holy symbols, and his white ponytail swayed as he moved. He stepped forward slowly and deliberately, every step silent despite the soft, wet earth. His class was Sentinel, a level two class upgrade of the Healer class.
"Weapons up, everyone," he said, his deep voice cutting through the noise. He planted his spear into the ground with a quiet thud. "Or you'll die."
Behind Adam, Leon Leonards appeared like a shadow torn from reality.
Leon was a tall, imposing, mysterious man. He wore a helmet and armor of blackened steel, darker than black, and a cape of black fog that trailed behind like smoke from a dying fire. He carried a sword with a black hilt, and an obsidian shield with a living eye that stared unblinking into the jungle. His class was Death Knight, a unique rarity class.
My eyes widened out of admiration as I stared at him.
"W-Woah..." I whispered, barely audible. "He has such aura…"
Then came another system ping, projecting across the dungeon:
[PLAYER DETECTED]: [SHEN BEIFONG] — (LEVEL 78) — [WORLD RANK CANDIDATE]
Shen stepped through the mist.
Shen was a tall and lean Chinese woman with a fair complexion with purple, ponytailed hair. Her eyes were hidden behind a black blindfold. She wore white, lightweight armor that clung only to her chest and waist, leaving much of her lean body bare, complemented by gleaming gauntlets and greaves. A katana scabbard rested at her side, its hilt pure white with three glowing purple diamonds. Her class was Sovereign of Storms, a unique rarity class.
"Seems like a cool weapon... I wonder what the blade looks like," I thought.
People whispered like they were in church.
"She's a candidate?!"
"Everyone said that she solo'd a mini-dungeon boss by herself."
"She looks so cool…"
Shen stepped up beside me, silent, the weight of her presence heavier than iron.
Then she nodded at me, and I nodded back.
A silent pact was formed.
An ancient tablet of rough stone, covered in moss, rose from the ground in front of us.
Strange markings glowed faintly across its surface, forming words that read:
[EXTERMINATE ALL THE PESTS IN THE JUNGLE TO ENTER THE FAIRY KING'S CASTLE]
And then after the tablet crumbled to pieces, the jungle suddenly shook.
A tree moved—or no... something slithered.
The first monster suddenly broke through the underbrush.
It was a towering creature, ten feet tall, built of warped bark and pulsing muscle. Its chest split open to reveal a glowing red core that looked like a meat heart dipped in oil. Vines were rooted into its limbs and dragged behind it like rotting tendons. It had no eyes, only a mouth that was hollow and jagged. Its breath smelled of blood-soaked moss, and when it groaned, it sounded like a forest dying.
A system window appeared above the monster's head:
[JUNGLE DEVOURER] — (LEVEL 65)
[HP]: [130/130]
"L-LEVEL SIXTY-FIVE?!" an archer screamed, stumbling backward. "WE'RE FUCKED!"
Then it roared and charged at us.
More followed. Dozens.
Players spread like wildfire across the jungle, screaming in panic.
'WE SHOULDN'T HAVE GONE HERE!!!"
"RUN!!!"
But other players were clutching their weapons. They weren't cowards.
"CHARGEEE!!!" a bulky warrior covered in platinum armor yelled, swinging his massive axe as he charged toward the enemy, mindlessly.
"I'LL KILL IT FROM BEHIND!" an assassin in a black cloak shouted, slipping through shadows with deadly intent.
But seconds later, their screams were drowned out by the sound of bones crunching.
A Jungle Devourer lunged from the underbrush, jaws snapping around a male mage's head. The male mage's eyes went wide, then blank, as he was crushed, shattering into fragments.
"Someone help!" a female healer in cyan robes cried, casting a skill, but it fizzled before the monster tore through her defenses, ripping her body apart, and shattering her into fragments.
Nearby, a male mage in white robes activated a skill: Fireball. The fireballs erupted into a brilliant sphere, setting vines ablaze and burning back some monsters. But the monsters were relentless. One root-like claw slashed through his midsection, and she crumpled with a cry.
"H-HELP!!!" a male archer screamed, launching arrows that barely hurt an approaching Jungle Devourer.
As I ran to help him, Claire launched a massive pink beam of energy toward the Jungle Devourer.
"What a bunch of crybabies," she said, fixing her hair to the side.
Suddenly, another player, a lanky archer, was caught in a tangled mass of vines sprouting from the ground. He struggled, panicked.
"Somebody! Help me!" he yelled as the vines squeezed tighter until his armor cracked. Then his throat was crushed in silence, shattering him into fragments.
I looked at the ground, the sound of players' screams entering my ears.
"It's all my fault... I killed them..." I muttered. "Damn it..."
"Gather around me!" Adam shouted, slamming his lance into the ground.
He activated a skill: Banner of Empowerment. A golden banner unfurled into the sky, bathing us in warm light. A shield shimmered into place, thin but strong. I felt it in my bones.
Claire's heels clicked against the blood-slick earth as she stepped forward elegantly. Her orb shimmered like a living gemstone.
"Alright, bugs and boys, it's showtime!" she shouted, activating a skill: Love Bomb. A radiant heart shot into the air, hovered, and detonated like a bomb. The shockwave washed over the Jungle Devourers. Their roars twisted into soft groans. Their eyes glowed pink as a debuff appeared above their head: Charmed.
Leon stepped forward, slashing through the charmed Jungle Devourers.
Claire twirled a curl and winked at Leon.
"Thanks, baby!" she shouted.
"I'm not your baby..." Leon muttered.
One Jungle Devourer jumped at Claire.
"Not today," Claire said, pointing her palm at them. She activated a skill: Pure Love. A massive pink beam shot from her palm, slamming into the jumping Jungle Devourer's chest, launching it backward into a tree. Then, it exploded into pink petals.
More Jungle Devourers charged behind her.
Claire spun as her orb started spinning around her, pulsing slowly as she activated a skill: Love Orbs. Six massive orbs surrounded her and launched, one by one, at the monsters. Each orb sent a Jungle Devourer flying, pink sparks erupting as they hit. One Jungle Devourer hit the ground so hard its bark cracked and its core burst like rotten fruit.
Leon stepped forward and activated a skill: Soul Cleave. Black crescent waves of energy slashed outward from his sword, slicing through the jungle air. Each wave struck five Jungle Devourers. They shuddered violently, their movements freezing mid-step as the Paralysis debuff took hold.
Then, Shen moved to finish the paralyzed monsters.
But she didn't walk. She vanished.
She activated a skill: Storm Call. Blue X mark lit across five jungle devourers. And as she unsheathed her katana, five bolts of violet lightning cracked from the sky, illuminating the jungle with searing arcs of purple light, killing the five jungle devourers instantly.
"She didn't even move!" a female healer shouted in awe.
Shen vanished again as she activated a skill: Thunder Step. Her afterimages flickered like ghosts. The monsters near her convulsed, stunned by the electric aura she left behind. Then, she raised her hand and activated a skill: Primal Water.
Claire blinked rapidly in surprise as massive jets of water came from the ground, slamming four Jungle Devourers into ancient trees, cracking trunks, and sending splinters flying with a deafening crash. "Water AND lightning?" she said. "She's a walking weather disaster!"
Players shouted in admiration.
"SHE'S INSANE!"
"YOU'RE AMAZING, SHEN!"
"W-WOW!!!"
Claire rolled her eyes and said, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. We get it. Now, can I get some stage time?"
"Claire, behind you!" I shouted as dozens of Jungle Devourers lunged at her.
Without looking, she flicked her wrist, activating a skill: Heart Attack. Dozens of heart-shaped projectiles shot backward, homing in on the Jungle Devourers sneaking up behind her. They struck with soft poom-poom-poom sounds, that embedded into the Jungle Devourers' body—and then after a second or two... their body exploded.
"Back off, creeps! This is designer armor!" Claire shouted, her eyes flashing with anger.
Then a pack of Jungle Devourers circled toward Claire. Five of them. Fast.
"Ugh. So persistent," she said, tossing her orb upward. Her orb hovered above her, spinning faster, the pink light radiating from it growing brighter with each passing second, then she activated its skill: Valentine Vortex.
The orb twisted into a swirling pink vortex, sucking the pack of Jungle Devourers toward its center like a vacuum. Their bodies flailed, limbs bending and twisting uncontrollably as they were drawn inward, caught in the vortex's unyielding spin.
Claire stepped back and snapped her fingers. "Bam!" she said as the vortex imploded, erupting into a glittering nova of pink energy that shot outward in all directions.
All five monsters lay on the ground twitching, their forms smoldering, pink burns marking their bark like scars.
"So that's the power of a world-rank player..." I muttered, looking completely spaced out.
Shen stepped in front of me, cutting through my daze.
"Focus," she said.
I blinked once and gave a small, stiff nod.
"Copy Skill," I said, my voice barely audible. "Thunder step."
"Did he just say my skill?" she thought. "Or was I hearing things?"
A system window appeared in front of me:
[New Skill Detected]: [Copy Skill?]
[Y/N]
"Oh…" I thought. "I can… do it?"
Before I could think twice, I tapped yes.
My body surged forward in a flash of violet sparks. Lightning arced along my arms and legs as my speed multiplied. I became a storm myself, darting past enemies, crackling with purple current. Their howls of pain sounded distant like screams underwater, stunned by the static that rolled off my skin.
Shen moved to a halt beside me, her expression unreadable behind the blindfold.
She looked at me. "You copied me..."
I nodded, panting.
"But how?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.
"I'll answer your questions later," I said, staring at the approaching Jungle Devourers. "Let's kill these monsters first."
She tilted her head again. "You're not normal."
"I get that a lot," I replied with a shrug.
I pointed at the Jungle Devourers. "Now, can we kill those guys?"
She gave a short nod.
We pushed forward again, fighting side by side.
Shen was a blur of destruction, her movements flowing like wind and crashing like thunder. She summoned another set of blue X marks across a swarm of monsters and unsheathed her blade in a smooth arc. Her blade was living thunder itself. Then, in a blink, she vanished, then reappeared behind them, her sword crackling with energy as a line of monsters collapsed, split open, and burned with electric heat.
The stench of ozone filled the air. My skin tingled just standing near her.
At the end of the battle, there were eleven deaths out of the three hundred and ten players after the clearing.
And then… a breath. Too still.
"I think we're clear," I said, smiling faintly.
From a distance, Shen turned toward me, trying to say something, but she staggered. Her body hunched slightly, blood seeping from under her arm. Her health points were already down to fifteen percent. She fumbled with a healing potion at her belt, her hands trembling as she pulled it out.
Then, a sudden snap cracked through the clearing as Shen was in the middle of unscrewing the cap with her trembling fingers.
The ground suddenly split open behind her.
A level seventy giant Venus flytrap burst upward, its petals lined with saw-like teeth. And before Shen could drink the healing potion, it closed around her in one violent, final slam.
A wet crunch echoed.
Claire reacted, activating a skill: Pure Love. A massive pink energy beam shot forth from her palm, shredding the monster into bits.
But it was too late. Way too late.
"No—NO!" I screamed as I sprinted toward her.
Shen's body was still on the ground. She didn't shatter into fragments, but her body was filled with large bite marks.
"I-I'll save you, Shen!" I stuttered, kneeling beside her. "Hang on…"
I shut my eyes, focusing my memory on the female healer I saw earlier. I reached deep. And then, I saw her, helping an injured archer, casting a healing skill: Greater Healing.
A system window appeared in front of me:
[New Skill Detected]: [Copy Skill?]
[Y/N]
I tapped yes, fast and immediate.
[Skill Copied]: [Greater Healing]
The magic surged through my arms. I pushed it toward her and activated the skill.
A system window appeared in front of me:
[CANNOT HEAL A DEAD PLAYER!]
My eyes widened. The skill animation fizzled. My hand went cold.
Shen Beifong's body shattered into fragments.
Claire stood beside me. Her orb dimmed. Her dress was stained and tattered. "Stand up," she whispered, quieter than ever, her hand lifting slightly as if to steady me. "Let's finish this."
I couldn't speak or move a muscle. The emptiness I felt was the same as when I lost Lars. Oddly, it hit just as hard, even though Shen and I weren't that close.
Adam wiped sap from his blade, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. "Not bad," he said, eyes scanning me with a mixture of surprise and appraisal. "Didn't think a random would keep up."
I scraped sap off my dagger—it had stuck like glue. "I'm not just any random person," I said, gripping the hilt tighter as I forced myself upright.
Claire gave a soft laugh, brushing ash and spores from her dress, letting her shoulders relax for the first time since the battle began. "Ya hear that, Adam?" she said, leaning forward slightly, eyes bright and sharp. "Don't underestimate the kid!"
Leon said nothing. His shield blinked. Once. Twice. Watching the gate.
Claire frowned, tilting her head as she muttered in her head, "How is this kid able to use another class skill? That's impossible…"
A system window appeared in front of us:
[ALL PESTS EXTERMINATED]
[DUNGEON BOSS ROOM IS NOW OPEN!]
The moss-covered stone gate groaned open, grinding like bones in a crypt.
"I just have to accept things as they are," I thought, my fists tightening at my sides. "I won't waste my time mourning. I'll use it to get stronger, so I can protect the people who matter to me."
Then we entered.