"Keep your guard up, okay?" Emma's voice was quiet but firm, laced with worry as they crossed the invisible barrier of their camp's light.
Tristan nodded, tightening his grip around the enhanced wood with Flame. The mist outside the camp curled like fingers reaching out to drag them away.
Then—strike.
No sooner had they taken two steps into the dark forest than two entities lunged from the shadows. Pure black in color, humanoid in shape, they moved like specters—soundless, cold, and crawling with malice.
Emma was the first to react.
Her reflexes kicked in, and her enhanced flaming Wood. slashed out in a wide arc. The creature closest to her hissed—if that noise could even be called a hiss—before dissipating into vapor the moment the fire made contact.
Tristan, meanwhile, struggled slightly. His attacker was stronger, swiping with a long, clawed hand. He blocked just in time, stumbling back from the force. But one good counter—pierce—and the shadow faded away.
A glowing object dropped at his feet.
Another piece of silk.
Tristan's eyes lit up.
His theory was right.
The entities dropped loot. And not just random things—silk that could be enhanced into dangerous tools or possibly even weapons.
"You got another one?" Emma called over with a grin, her expression calm and proud. "Aren't you the lucky one?"
"Maybe luck…" Tristan replied with a faint smile.
He walked over and casually picked up the silk, keeping it tucked in his belt before secretly initiating the enhancement process. But he didn't use it right away. Unlike firewood, which took mere minutes to enhance, the silk—especially at higher levels—would now require twelve to sixteen hours.
Enhancement took time.
And they didn't have much.
They continued forward, deeper into the forest, but only where the trees grew close together—places where enemies had less room to swarm.
Tristan busied himself collecting dark berries from twisted vines. Their colors were unnatural—shades of midnight blue and purple—but the fire hadn't shown any signs of rejection, and they didn't emit poison warnings.
"I'll enhance these before we eat them, just in case," he muttered, then turned to chopping dead branches for firewood. Every second outside the camp was dangerous.
Emma stood watch beside him, tense and alert.
It wasn't long before they came.
Four more entities emerged, slinking out of the woods like shadows cast by fire. Emma stepped forward to face them.
She held her weapon tight—but something was different.
The enemies moved in coordination. One feinted, another lunged, and the other two circled. Emma blocked one, dodged the second, but her sleeve was torn by the third.
A shallow cut appeared across her arm. She gritted her teeth.
She was struggling.
for lack of strength, lack of experience, Lack of Speed.
Emma had never fought before. Not truly. And now, faced with coordinated attacks from unfeeling shadows, her defenses were cracking.
She tried to strike, but each time she raised her weapon, another entity blocked or diverted her.
I can't protect him like this, she thought bitterly. Not if I can't even handle this.
She clenched her jaw, narrowed her eyes, and forced herself to focus.
Her breathing slowed. Her heart calmed. She stopped reacting and began observing.
The timing of their attacks. The rhythm of their movements. The way one always exposed a gap when the other feinted.
Then, something new happened.
[System Notification]
[Skill Acquired: Calm Heart]
You are the first to obtain this skill.
Effect: Slows perception of motion by 0.5x for 60 seconds.
Cooldown: 25 minutes
Bonus: Due to early acquisition, effects are doubled
Her eyes widened briefly at the blue screen flashing before her.
But her heart remained still.
Good timing, she thought, then activated it.
The world slowed.
She could see everything—the twitch of a shadow's claw before it moved, the faint bend in its knee as it lunged. She dodged, pivoted, struck.
Her flaming Wood that looked like sword danced.
In one fluid motion, she pierced the first entity, turning it to mist. Then the second. The third. The fourth.
They didn't even have time to retreat.
She moved like a blade of wind, eyes sharp and cold. One of the dead entities dropped another piece of silk.
Tristan had barely looked up from the fruits before his jaw fell open.
"W-What was that?" he asked, stunned. "Did you just evolve or something?!"
Emma smiled weakly and puffed out her chest despite the cuts lining her arms. "Hmm~ of course. Your big sister can do anything, remember? I promised to protect you."
Tristan sighed in awe, partly relieved and partly impressed. He chuckled, then quickly gathered all the wood and fruits into his pack. "Let's head back. We've got enough, and it's already getting darker."
They were only out for two hours. But after that, three more entities emerged.
Emma wanted to fight them too, adrenaline still burning in her veins. But Tristan stopped her.
"We can't fight endlessly. They don't stop. We need to save our strength."
She hesitated… then nodded.
They returned to their camp. The fire was flickering dangerously low. Only one log remained—and it was barely the size of a child's arm.
Without wasting a moment, Tristan enhanced seven pieces of wood from his collection, setting them aside for fuel.
The two weapons they'd been using He tossed them into the fire. They were almost burnt out anyway.
As the flames roared back to life, Emma opened her system menu.
"Tristan, I found something in the new interface. There's a system shop."
"Oh?" He looked up, curious.
"I can buy two dull swords with sun symbols on them. They're nearly broken, but they glow. Light-based." She glanced at him. "Think you can enhance them?"
"Should be possible," Tristan said. "Go for it."
Emma nodded and spent 30 points—15 each.
Two battered swords materialized in front of them. Their blades were chipped, and the handles were worn. But faint golden light glimmered along their edges.
Emma tested their weight. "Light, balanced, and definitely better than firewood."
Tristan took them and began the enhancement process. His brow furrowed.
"…These will take four hours," he muttered. "A lot longer."
Emma looked at their supplies. "We have enough fruits and the meat the system gave us. We have time."
Three hours later, the campfire burned hotter than ever.
Tristan enhanced the dark berries—now plump and rich in color. They glowed faintly, emitting a gentle coolness.
Emma was the first to try them. "Sweet," she noted. "And juicy. We can use these as temporary water."
The fruits were now abundant and healthy, transformed by enhancement into a reliable food source. Emma set about cooking the system-provided meat while Tristan crushed the berries to make juice.
One hour passed.
"Finally done!" Emma called, grinning as she presented skewers of sizzling meat. "Eat plenty. You've done great today."
Her voice echoed softly into the dark forest.
Tristan chuckled. "Shouldn't I be the one rewarding you? You killed four entities and gained a skill."
He handed her the last of the finished enhancements two sun-blessed swords, glowing faintly. Three silk bombs. Extra wood. Fresh berries.
Emma smiled warmly, then leaned toward him and whispered, "Then give me a kiss on the forehead… like when we were kids."
Tristan froze, his eye twitching.
"Seriously?" he asked.
She tilted her head, that same smug expression from earlier returning. "It's tradition."
Tristan sighed, a smile tugging at his lips despite himself.
He leaned forward and gently kissed her forehead.
"Happy now, sis?"
Emma grinned like the smug goddess she was. "Very."
Just as they were about too enjoy The Foods The Ground Trembles.