The safe zone hummed with an almost imperceptible energy, like standing inside a bubble of perfect protection. Raven could feel it against his skin, a gentle pressure that whispered you're safe here, nothing can harm you. It was simultaneously comforting and unsettling, a reminder that beyond this invisible boundary, danger waited.
He stood slightly apart from his friends, his tall frame casting a long shadow in the ethereal light filtering through the crystalline trees. At six-foot-two, he'd always been the tallest of their trio, but here in this new world, his height seemed more pronounced somehow. His jet-black hair, which he'd always kept slightly messy, fell across his forehead in a way that made him look older than his seventeen years. His obsidian eyes, dark enough that pupil and iris seemed to merge into one, scanned their surroundings with a mixture of wonder and wariness.
"You know," Ava said, breaking the contemplative silence, "you look different here, Raven. More... intense, I guess?"
Axel glanced over and nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, mate. You've always been decent-looking, but here it's like someone cranked up the contrast or something. Must be the system enhancement."
Raven felt his cheeks warm slightly at the attention. "We all probably look different. The system optimized our bodies during the awakening, remember?"
It was true, Ava's features seemed sharper, more refined, her green eyes practically glowing with inner fire. Axel looked broader, more solid, as if carved from stone rather than flesh. But Raven suspected his own changes went deeper, tied to whatever made his EX rank different from their classes. Another secret to add to the growing pile.
"Right," Ava said, shaking off the moment of distraction. "We should probably check our starter packs. See what we're working with."
The three of them reached into their inventories, a strange sensation, like dipping your hand into cool water that existed in a space just adjacent to reality. Raven felt his fingers close around solid objects, and with a thought, he withdrew them into the physical world.
A sword materialized in his hand, and his heart sank.
It was about as basic as a sword could be. The blade was simple iron, already showing spots of discoloration that suggested it wasn't even good quality iron. The leather-wrapped handle was stiff and uncomfortable, clearly mass-produced without any care for ergonomics. The whole thing felt unbalanced, top-heavy in a way that would make sustained combat exhausting.
‐‐‐
[COMMON IRON SWORD]
Grade: 1
Durability: 15/15
Attack Power: +5
Description: A basic sword provided to new testers. Better than nothing, but not by much. Every legendary warrior's journey begins somewhere, usually with garbage equipment.
‐‐‐
The system's sarcastic description would have been funny if it wasn't so accurate. Raven also withdrew two small vials filled with red liquid that glowed faintly in the forest light.
‐‐‐
[MINOR HEALING POTION]
Grade: 1
Effect: Restores 7% health points
Description: The most basic healing item available. Tastes like cherry-flavored disappointment.
‐‐‐
Grade 1 items. The common of the common. The system equivalent of saying "good luck with that."
"Let me guess," Axel said dryly, examining his own weapon. "You got bottom-tier equipment too?"
Raven looked over to see Axel holding a crude axe that looked like it had been forged by someone who'd seen a picture of an axe once but never actually held one. The blade was dull, the handle was crooked, and the whole thing looked like it might break if you looked at it wrong.
Ava's spear wasn't much better, a wooden shaft with a simple iron point that wobbled slightly when she gave it an experimental thrust.
"Well," Ava said with forced optimism, "at least we all got the same treatment. Fair is fair, I guess."
"Fair would be giving us equipment that matches our ranks," Axel muttered. "I'm an A-rank Mountain King, and they gave me an axe that looks like it was made by a blind apprentice."
Raven said nothing, but he suspected the starter packs were intentionally terrible. A test, perhaps, or motivation to push deeper into the beta realm in search of better gear. The Administrator had mentioned treasures and rewards, this was clearly not them.
"So," Ava said after a moment of collective disappointment, "which way do we go?"
They all looked around at the forest surrounding their safe zone. In every direction, the crystalline trees stretched endlessly, their translucent bark catching and reflecting light in hypnotic patterns. There were no obvious paths, no signs pointing toward civilization or objectives. Just endless, beautiful wilderness that could hide anything.
"North," Ava declared suddenly, her voice gaining confidence as she spoke. "We should head north."
Raven and Axel both turned to stare at her.
"North?" Axel repeated. "And you determined north how, exactly? By the position of the sun in a world that might not even have the same celestial mechanics as Earth?"
Ava grinned, unbothered by his skepticism. "It's always north in the movies, isn't it? 'Head north,' 'find true north,' 'the north remembers', that last one's from a show, but you get the idea. North is where the adventure happens."
"That's the most ridiculous logic I've ever heard," Raven said, but he found himself smiling despite everything. This was so perfectly Ava, making important decisions based on fantasy tropes and movie clichés.
"You got a better idea?" she challenged, raising an eyebrow.
Neither of them did, so north it was. Ava confidently pointed in a direction she declared to be north, based on absolutely nothing but intuition, and they began walking.
The transition out of the safe zone was subtle but unmistakable. One moment, Raven felt that gentle protective pressure against his skin. The next, it was gone, replaced by a sudden awareness of vulnerability that made every nerve ending feel exposed.
‐‐‐
[WARNING: YOU HAVE LEFT THE SAFE ZONE]
[DEATH IS NOW ENABLED]
[COMBAT RESTRICTIONS LIFTED]
[STAY ALERT: MONSTERS CAN SPAWN AT ANY TIME]
‐‐‐
The notification appeared in blood-red text, impossible to ignore or dismiss quickly. Raven felt his grip tighten on his sword's handle, the terrible balance suddenly feeling less important than the fact that it was a weapon, the only thing standing between him and whatever might want to kill him in this new world.
"Well," Axel said quietly, his jovial demeanor fading into something more serious, "that's comforting."
They walked in tense silence for several minutes, every rustling leaf and distant sound making them jump. The forest around them remained beautiful but had taken on a more ominous quality. Those crystalline trees could hide anything. That gorgeous, glowing underbrush could conceal predators. Even the gentle music of the wind through the branches now sounded like it might be masking approaching footsteps.
But gradually, as nothing immediately tried to kill them, Raven found himself noticing something else. Something that had nothing to do with external threats and everything to do with internal changes.
He felt strong.
Not just healthy or energetic, but genuinely powerful in a way he'd never experienced before. The sword in his hand, despite its poor quality, felt light as a feather. When he'd taken his first few steps outside the safe zone, he'd nearly stumbled because his legs had pushed off with far more force than intended, carrying him forward in what was almost a leap.
"Anyone else feel weird?" Ava asked, apparently experiencing something similar. "Like I could just... run forever? Or fight a hundred people?"
"It's the system enhancement," Axel explained, though his own voice carried a note of wonder. "Our base attributes. Even at level one, we're already superhuman by Earth standards. I feel like I could punch through one of these trees."
"Could you though?" Ava asked with genuine curiosity.
Axel considered this, then walked up to one of the massive crystalline trunks. He drew back his fist, hesitated, then threw a tentative punch at the tree.
The impact made a sound like a bell being struck. The tree didn't so much as quiver, but Axel yelped and pulled back his hand, shaking it with a pained expression.
"Okay, so not through the tree," he admitted sheepishly. "But that should have broken my hand, and it barely hurt. So that's something."
Raven found his attention drawn to his own sword. He'd never held a real weapon before, nothing beyond kitchen knives and that one time he'd tried to learn kendo at a free community class before they'd canceled it due to lack of funding. He had absolutely no idea how to properly use a sword.
And yet.
He gave it an experimental swing. The motion felt... right. Natural. As if his body understood something his mind didn't. The sword cut through the air with a satisfying whoosh, and he could feel the power behind it, the potential force he could generate.
I could do damage with this, he realized with a mixture of excitement and apprehension. Real damage.
He looked at one of the smaller crystalline trees, maybe eight inches in diameter, and felt an inexplicable certainty bloom in his chest. If he swung at that tree with real force, with real intent, it would fall. He didn't know how he knew this, but the knowledge was absolute. The sword would bite through the strange bark, would cleave through the wood, would drop the tree in a single strike.
Was this his Sword Mastery ability? Even at F rank, was it already giving him this intuitive understanding?
"Raven, you okay?" Ava's voice pulled him from his thoughts. "You've got this intense look on your face. Kind of scary, actually."
"Yeah," he said quickly, lowering the sword. "Just... adjusting to how different everything feels."
They continued deeper into the forest, each of them experimenting with their new bodies and abilities in small ways. Ava discovered she could run faster than any Olympic sprinter without breaking a sweat. Axel found he could grip a tree branch that would have required two hands before and crush it to splinters with one. And Raven kept having to consciously hold back his movements, afraid that if he truly let loose, he might hurt himself or his friends with his enhanced strength.
The forest grew denser as they traveled, the light filtering through the canopy taking on a greenish tint that made everything look slightly unreal. Strange plants grew in the underbrush, some recognizable as normal Earth vegetation, others completely alien. They gave everything a wide berth, remembering countless video games where the beautiful glowing mushroom turned out to be deadly poison.
Then they heard it.
A cry, high-pitched and desperate, echoing through the trees. It sounded... childlike.
The three friends stopped dead, exchanging startled glances. For a moment, nobody spoke, as if verbalizing what they'd heard might make it more real, more demanding of a response.
"Was that, " Axel began.
"A kid," Ava finished, her face already showing the beginning of determination Raven knew all too well. "That was definitely a kid."
"What would a child be doing out here?" Raven asked, but even as he spoke, possible answers filled his mind. Maybe other people had entered the beta realm, families, even. Maybe there were indigenous populations here. Maybe it was a trap, a monster mimicking human sounds.
The cry came again, closer now, and more desperate. It was the sound of someone who had been crying for a long time, whose voice was raw and breaking.
Without discussion, they moved toward the sound. Raven noticed they'd automatically fallen into a formation, himself in front with his sword, Ava to his right with her spear, Axel bringing up the rear with his axe. They'd never trained for this, never even discussed tactics, but survival instinct and years of friendship created an unspoken understanding.
They found them in a small clearing about fifty yards from where they'd been walking.
Two children. Or rather, one teenager and one child.
The girl was their age, seventeen, maybe eighteen, and she was in bad shape. She lay on the ground, unconscious or possibly worse, her body twisted at an angle that suggested she'd fallen or been thrown. Her clothing was torn, revealing deep gashes across her shoulder and side that leaked blood onto the crystalline grass. Her face was pale, lips tinged with blue, breathing so shallow it was barely visible.
The boy was much younger, five or six years old at most, and he was the source of the crying. He knelt beside the girl, his small hands pressed against her wounds in a futile attempt to stop the bleeding. Tears streamed down his dirt-smudged face, and he was saying something over and over in a hiccuping voice.
"Nona, please wake up. Please, Nona. Don't leave me. Please don't die."
The scene hit Raven like a physical blow. This was real. Whatever else the beta realm was, game, test, alternate dimension, real children were here and real people were dying. The disconnect he'd been maintaining, the slight sense of unreality that had cushioned him since arriving, shattered completely.
"Oh god," Ava breathed, already moving forward.
But Raven's hand shot out, grabbing her arm. "Wait."
"Wait?" She stared at him incredulously. "Raven, that girl is dying!"
"I know," he said, his mind racing through implications at lightning speed. "But think about it. We left the safe zone a while ago. That means whatever did this could still be nearby. We need to understand what we're dealing with before we…"
He didn't get to finish his thought because Axel had already pushed past them both, his face set in grim determination. "Screw that. We can't just leave them."
And just like that, the decision was made. Sometimes, Raven reflected as he followed his friends into the clearing, being the cautious one meant being overruled by people with bigger hearts and smaller self-preservation instincts.
The moment they entered the clearing, the little boy looked up, his tear-streaked face transforming with desperate hope. "Please! Help her! My sister, she's dying, please!"
Raven's tactical mind noted several things in rapid succession: the girl's wounds were severe but relatively clean, suggesting claws or teeth rather than a blade. The blood was fresh, meaning the attack had happened recently, within the last fifteen minutes, probably. The way the grass was disturbed in a wide arc suggested something large had been here, had circled them, had left.
But those observations were background noise compared to the immediate reality of a dying teenager and her terrified brother.
"We need to stabilize her," Ava said, dropping to her knees beside the unconscious girl. "Does anyone know first aid?"
"Some," Axel said, already pulling off his shirt to use as bandaging. "But this is way beyond first aid. She needs a hospital, surgery, I don't even know…"
"The healing potions," Raven interrupted, his hand already reaching into his inventory. "We each got two. Grade 1, but better than nothing."
He withdrew one of the small red vials, but immediately faced a problem. The girl was completely unconscious, her breathing growing shallower by the second. How was he supposed to get her to drink it?
"She can't swallow like this," Ava said, voicing his thoughts. "If we just pour it in, she might choke or it might not work."
Raven's mind raced through possibilities. The potion needed to be ingested, the description had been clear about that. But ingestion didn't necessarily mean swallowing, did it? It meant getting the liquid into her digestive system through her mouth.
Before he could overthink it, before he could talk himself out of it, Raven made a decision.
He pulled the cork from the vial and downed the entire contents in one gulp. The taste was exactly as advertised, cherry-flavored disappointment, with an underlying medicinal bitterness that made him want to spit it out. But he held the liquid in his mouth, feeling it tingle against his tongue and cheeks.
Then he leaned over the unconscious girl, placed his hand behind her head to tilt it back, and pressed his lips to hers.
"Raven, what are you…" Ava gasped.
He ignored her, using his tongue to part the girl's lips, letting the potion flow from his mouth into hers. He could feel the magic activating, could sense the liquid being absorbed into her system even before it reached her stomach. He held the position for several seconds, making sure every drop had transferred, then pulled back.
"Mouth-to-mouth administration," he said quickly, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, his face burning. "I didn't know if it would work, but she was running out of time."
For a long moment, nothing happened. The girl remained pale and still, her wounds continuing to seep blood. The little boy's crying had quieted to terrified whimpers as he watched with desperate hope.
Then, slowly, the wounds began to glow.
It started as just a faint shimmer along the edges of the gashes, barely visible in the forest light. But the glow intensified, spreading across her injuries like liquid light. The torn flesh began to knit together, not healing completely but closing enough to stop the bleeding. The deepest wounds sealed into angry red lines, while the smaller cuts faded to pale scars.
The girl's color began to return. Her breathing, which had been barely perceptible, deepened and steadied. She was still unconscious, still badly injured, but no longer on death's door.
"Holy shit," Axel breathed. "It actually worked."
Raven let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. The potion was Grade 1, the lowest possible quality, but it had been enough. Barely, but enough.
The little boy had stopped crying entirely, now staring at his sister with such pure relief and joy that it was almost painful to witness. "Nona," he whispered, reaching out to touch her face with trembling fingers. "You're okay. You're going to be okay."
Ava turned to the boy, her voice gentle despite the urgency of their situation. "Sweetie, what's your name? Can you tell us what happened?"
The boy looked up at her, his eyes still red from crying but calmer now. "I'm Finn. That's my sister, Nona. She's seventeen. We came here two days ago, after the awakening. We were trying to find food when... when..."
His voice trailed off, and fresh tears began streaming down his face.
"It's okay," Ava said softly. "Take your time."
"An armored bear," Finn finally managed. "It came out of nowhere. Nona told me to run, but I couldn't leave her. I hid behind a tree and watched it... it just swiped her and she went flying and there was so much blood..."
The three friends exchanged grim looks. A bear. Of course it would be something large and dangerous.
"Where is it now?" Raven asked, already gripping his sword tighter.
"It left," Finn said. "After it hurt Nona, it just... sniffed around, looked at me, then walked away. Into those trees." He pointed toward the northern edge of the clearing.
Raven felt cold dread settling in his stomach. The bear had left, but bears were territorial creatures even back on Earth. They marked their territory, returned to it regularly, and defended it viciously. If this clearing was part of its territory, and given what had happened, it almost certainly was, then it would come back.
And according to the Administrator's rules, once they were in combat with a monster, escape was impossible. They couldn't run from a fight. They had to win or die.
"We need to move," Raven said urgently. "Get the girl somewhere safer, somewhere we can defend if…"
"If we wanted to grow stronger," Axel interrupted, and there was something different in his voice. Something harder. "The Administrator said forming parties was important. That experience points would be shared equally among party members."
Raven and Ava both turned to look at him.
"Are you seriously suggesting…" Ava began.
"I'm suggesting we face reality," Axel cut her off. "That bear is territorial. It's going to come back. We can't outrun it because the system won't let us escape mid-combat. We're going to have to fight it whether we want to or not. So we might as well do it as a proper party, with actual coordination and strategy."
He was right, and Raven hated that he was right. They were already in danger. Running would just mean fighting without preparation.
"Okay," Raven said slowly. "So we form a party. But we need a leader for that, right? Someone to make the final calls?"
"You," Axel said immediately.
Raven blinked. "What?"
"You should be the leader," Axel continued, and to Raven's shock, Ava was nodding along. "You're the one who thinks tactically. You're the one who stopped Ava from rushing in without checking for danger. You're the one who figured out how to save that girl's life."
"But Ava's always been our leader," Raven protested. "She's the one who…"
"Who charges in first and asks questions later," Ava interrupted with a rueful smile. "Axel's right, Raven. I'm good at motivation and keeping spirits up, but you're better at keeping us alive. Especially now, when staying alive is kind of critical."
Raven looked between his two best friends, saw the trust in their eyes, and felt the weight of responsibility settle on his shoulders like a physical thing. They were putting their lives in his hands, trusting his judgment, expecting him to get them through this.
If they only knew the truth about his rank, would they still trust him? Or would they expect him to single-handedly solve every problem, carry every burden?
But he couldn't tell them. Not now, not when they needed to work as a team rather than relying on one person's advantages.
"Alright," he said finally. "I'll do it. But we make decisions together whenever we can. I'm not a dictator."
"Wouldn't dream of suggesting otherwise," Axel grinned, some of his usual humor returning.
Raven took a deep breath and spoke the command word: "Party."
A new interface bloomed in front of him, different from anything he'd seen before.
‐‐‐
[PARTY CREATION INTERFACE]
[SELECT PARTY MEMBERS]
[WARNING: PARTY SIZE LIMIT: 6 MEMBERS]
[SELECT PARTY LEADER (DEFAULT: SELF)]
‐‐‐
Raven mentally selected Ava and Axel, their names appearing as glowing options in his mind. The moment he confirmed his choices, notifications appeared in front of all three of them.
‐‐‐
[AVARICE HAS INVITED YOU TO JOIN A PARTY]
[ACCEPT? YES/NO]
‐‐‐
Both Ava and Axel reached out and selected "Yes" without hesitation.
‐‐‐
[PARTY FORMED SUCCESSFULLY]
[CONGRATULATIONS! YOU ARE ONE OF THE FIRST 100,000 PARTY LEADERS IN THE BETA REALM]
[EARLY ACHIEVEMENT REWARD: GRADE 1 SKILL BOOK]
[PARTY BONUS REWARD: GRADE 2 MAGIC CRYSTAL]
‐‐‐
New notifications cascaded in front of them, golden and shimmering.
‐‐‐
[NEW ITEM ACQUIRED: SKILL BOOK - BASIC MEDITATION]
[PARTY REWARD: MAGIC CRYSTAL (GRADE 2)]
[DESCRIPTION: Can be absorbed]
‐‐‐
"Holy crap," Ava breathed. "A Grade 2 item already?"
"Early bird gets the worm," Axel said with satisfaction. "See? Good things happen when we take initiative."
Raven was examining the skill book description when Finn suddenly screamed.
"IT'S COMING BACK!"
They spun around just in time to see the underbrush explode outward. The creature that emerged was nightmare fuel made flesh.
The armored bear was massive, easily four meters from nose to tail, standing two and a half meters tall at the shoulder. Its fur was dark brown, almost black, but it was the armor that truly made it monstrous. Thick plates of what looked like natural bone or chitin covered its shoulders, back, and skull, forming a protective shell that would turn aside most weapons. The armor had a metallic sheen, catching the light as the beast moved.
Its eyes were the worst part, glowing crimson red, filled with intelligence and malice that went far beyond animal cunning. Those eyes locked onto their group, and Raven saw recognition there. The bear knew they were the same species as the ones it had already defeated. It knew they were weak.
And it was hungry.
Drool dripped from jaws that could easily crush a human skull, pattering onto the crystalline grass as the bear took one ponderous step forward, then another, moving with the confidence of an apex predator that had never known defeat.
The system helpfully provided information, appearing in front of all three party members simultaneously.
‐‐‐
[MONSTER BESTIARY UPDATED]
ARMORED BEAR
Level: Rank 1 (Mid)
Grade: Common
HP: 120/120
‐‐‐
The bear roared, and the sound was nothing like the bears Raven had heard in zoo videos or nature documentaries. This was deeper, more visceral, a sound that vibrated in his chest cavity and made his bones ache. It was the roar of something that had killed before and would kill again.
Finn screamed and scrambled backward. Ava raised her spear with shaking hands. Axel gripped his axe so hard his knuckles went white.
And Raven, standing at the front with his terrible common-grade sword and absolutely no real combat experience, realized with crystal clarity that their adventure was about to become very, very real.
The bear charged.
Their first real battle had begun.