The passageway leading underground was much older than the previous ruins, the stone walls were filled with fine cracks, tree roots penetrated almost the entire surface as if this place was slowly being swallowed alive by something. 

The faint green light emanating from the roots provided enough light to walk and the perfect setting for bad life decisions.

I walked behind Nara not out of politeness but because she was clearly more experienced in dealing with deadly traps.

“How long has this place been around?” I asked quietly.

Nara nodded.

“Much older than the surrounding kingdoms.”

“How old?”

"No one knows."

"That's a very helpful answer," I sighed. My Minor Mana Sense was working hard, and the deeper we went, the stronger the sensation, like a slow, steady pulse, like a heartbeat. I paused for a moment as Nara turned around.

"What is it?"

I touched the rooted wall.

“This place... is alive.”

Nara didn't look surprised.

“Yes.”

Excuse me? That's information that should have been discussed first, but I decided not to dwell on it. Some facts in this world are better understood before the brain decides to stop. 

The hallway finally ended before us, a large stone door covered in roots, strange carvings covering its surface—circles, branches, eyes—a bit unsettling. As I approached, the Thorny Branch in my hand began to vibrate more violently than before.

A notification appears.

Class resonance increasing.

Compatible source nearby.

Evolution chance detected.

My heart beat faster Nara saw my expression.

“Another reaction?”

I nodded.

“Getting stronger.”

Nara looked at the door.

“Then you open it.”

“Why do I feel like this is a bad idea?”

“Because that's how it is.”

Honesty remains consistent, I approached the door while raising the Thorny Branch, as soon as the tip touched the surface of the root the entire door shook.

KRRAAAK.

The roots began to move, slowly opening a path. Okay, a little creepy. The door opened and the room beyond made me pause for breath for a moment. 

The room was enormous, almost like a giant underground hall. The high ceiling was lined with glowing roots, and in the center of the room was the core. 

A dark green crystal the size of a grown man floated in the air and connected to large roots throughout the room the energy from it was incredibly dense, ancient, unstable.

Notifications appear automatically.

Target identified:

World Tree Fragment

Status: Corrupted

I read the writing slowly. Fragments? So my class is really related to this. Nara took a few steps in, her gaze focused and serious.

“Finally,” he muttered.

I looked at him.

“You know about this?”

Nara was silent for a few seconds then nodded slightly.

"Part."

“Explanation?” I asked.

I guess after a few near-death experiences, I deserve some knowledge. Nara stared at the crystal.

“There used to be a real World Tree.”

“The center of mana and the balance of the world.”

Classic fantasy infrastructure he continued.

“But something destroyed it.”

“The fragments are scattered.”

“Some are missing.”

“Some are sealed.”

His gaze hardened.

“And some... are corrupted.”

I saw the crystal in front. It makes sense, the aesthetic is very damaged.

“And my class?” I asked.

Nara glanced at me.

“I think your class is one of the fragments.”

I was speechless, well that wasn't a small piece of information at all.

“You mean I brought the World Tree shard?”

"Less is more." he said calmly.

That was more or less a very important detail to reveal casually, I stared at the Thorny Branch my weapon was pulsing again faster, stronger, as if calling or being called.

A new notification appears.

Evolution available.

Condition:

Absorb corrupted fragment.

Warning:

High risk.

Unknown mutation possible.

I stared at the writing for a long, long time and then chuckled.

“Of course there are warnings.”

It can never be just a normal upgrade there is always the possibility of horror, Nara approaches.

“What are the options?”

I showed him the notification, he read it and his expression didn't change, it was still calm to the point of being annoying.

“If it works?”

"Evolution."

"What if it fails?"

I pointed to the writing.

“Unknown mutation.”

Nara thought for a moment. Then she said,

“That sounds bad.”

“Sharp analysis.”

We stood silently, staring at the fragment. This was clearly its true purpose, I could feel it. My class was hungry, there was a strong instinctive urge to absorb, to take, to grow very strong. 

It was a little disturbing, like a faint voice in my head saying, "Take it, absorb it, complete it." I gritted my teeth, trying to hold back the urge. Okay, a little creepy.

“Cancer.”

Nara's voice cut through my thoughts, I turned to see her expression was more serious than usual.

“If you do this, there may be no turning back.”

The tone was different, not cold, not sarcastic, but honest. Concern? Character development detected, I looked at the crystal again and chuckled,

“I think the way back was lost since I was thrown into the forest.”

A fair assessment, I took one step forward, two steps closer to the fragment. The mana in the room began to swirl, the roots trembled, the Thorny Branch glowed brighter.

Notifications are flashing.

Absorption started?

Not yet, my hand was only a few centimeters from the crystal. My heart was beating fast, the air felt heavy. Nara stepped back a little, I took a breath.

“If I turn into a strange monster”

“Don’t worry,” said Nara.

"I will kill you."

I turned to him.

“…very supportive.”

"Thank You."

My usual expressionless expression was blank, and I smiled faintly. Well, let's see if this is the biggest upgrade of my life or the worst decision yet. Likely both. I placed my hand on the crystal, and the world instantly changed.

BOOOOM!

A dark green light exploded filling the entire room, excruciating pain shot through my body as if every bone was being broken at once, I screamed,

“AAAAARGH!”

The wild mana entering my body was not just mana but something much older, greater and stranger.

Notifications appear in succession.

Corrupted Fragment detected.

Forced synchronization initiated.

Compatibility test in progress.

Oh, that sounds terrible, very terrible. My body began to lose control. The Thorny Branches cracked and deformed, black roots sprouted from the floor and wrapped around my body. 

Pain level: unacceptable, I almost lost consciousness.

The last notification appears.

Evolution beginning.

Please survive.

…This system is very helpful emotionally my vision is starting to darken Nara's voice sounds faint.

“Cancer!”

Then everything went black.

[END CHAPTER 12]

It was dark, there was no sound, no light, no feeling, just emptiness. I floated in the darkness without form, without direction, without a body, but I could feel a strange and calming feeling. 

Am I dying again? If so, I'm starting to feel like my life's death system is getting too repetitive. I try to move, but I can't. I try to speak, but there's no sound. Then something appears, a small, faint green light floating in the distance. 

One dot like a firefly, I stared at it and the dot started to slowly get closer and closer, getting bigger until finally I realized it wasn't a light but a leaf. 

A dark green leaf floated in front of me and then a voice came not through my ears but directly in my head or maybe within my being.

“Fragment.”

I froze. Okay, voices in the void are never convincing.

“Who?” I asked.

Or think it's hard to distinguish here, the voice is back.

“What's left.”  Samar.

Of course.

“Can you be more specific?”

Silence then the light around me changed, the darkness began to crack I saw something that was a fragment of a giant tree that was very big, so big that its branches felt like they were supporting the sky, its roots penetrated the land, its leaves were like stars. 

Beautiful, ancient, terrifying, I knew without explanation that it was the real World Tree. Then the image changed to a red sky, a fire, and a large black shadow. Something attacked the tree; I couldn't make out its shape clearly, only a silhouette and fear. A very primal fear.

Trees cracked, branches snapped, roots uprooted, the whole world seemed to be screaming. Fragments flew and scattered, one of them heading towards the darkness, towards me. 

The vision stopped, I was back in the void my heart was beating faster or I was just imagining having a heart.

“So my class…” I muttered.

The voice answered.

"Fragment."

“From the World Tree?”

“Yes.”

Well confirmed cool and a bit worrying, I stared at the leaf.

"And now?"

There was silence for a few seconds. Then:

"Grow."

Simple but straight to the point very structured in tree code, I sighed.

“Everyone in this world likes to talk like a riddle, right?”

There was no answer the leaf slowly approached touching my forehead and suddenly PAIN, I screamed.

“AAAAARGH!”

Consciousness hit me like a truck again, all the pain that had disappeared came rushing back to my bones, muscles, nerves, and mana. 

Everything burned as I opened my eyes, my body suddenly arched in pain, and I was back in the Core Room. Stone floors, roots, green light, and the most illicit pain.

“Cancer!” 

Nara's voice was faint, I could barely focus my body was covered in greenish black roots wrapping around my arms, chest, neck as if my body was being rewritten. 

The thorny branch in my hand cracked, broke, lengthened, the wood hardened, thorns grew and then its shape changed completely.

Notifications appear in succession.

Evolution successful.

Class upgraded.

Weapon evolved.

Thorny Branch → World Thorn Sword

Skill evolved.

Devour Root → World Root Devour

New skill acquired:

Root Domain

Corruption Resistance

Level increased. 13 → 16

I almost laughed. 

"Hah, hah..."

The roots slowly pulled away from my body the pain subsided little by little I fell to my knees, Breathing heavily, body covered in cold sweat but I could feel the difference very clearly much stronger. 

The mana in my body feels denser and more stable. Minor Mana Sense has grown drastically. I can even feel the entire room. Every root, every energy flow, every vibration. So many but amazing. 

I stared at the new weapon in my hand and for a few seconds I was completely speechless. It was no longer a branch. It now resembled a thin sword with a dark ebony texture, long and elegant, with small spikes running down the sides of the blade, with green veins glowing faintly on the surface. It looked so cool, and I smiled broadly.

“Now we talk.”

Ultimately, the aesthetic upgrade was important. Nara stood a few meters away from me, her gaze sharp and wary. Fair enough, I might have just turned into something questionable.

“Are you still conscious?” he asked.

I looked at him thinking about the answer.

“About... eighty percent.”

Nara let out a small sigh I guess that was her version of relief from high praise, I opened the status.

Name: Lock

Class:

World Tree Trunk Fragment

Level: 16

Weapon:

World Thorn Sword

Skill:

World Root Devour

Ember Slash

Root Snare

Nature Assimilation

Root Domain

Corruption Resistance

Oh the class name also changed, it's very interesting, so I'm the one who evolved not only the weapon but the Class as well, dopamine progression was activated, I read the new skill.

Root Domain

Creates an area of ​​root influence within a specific radius.

Users can detect, control, and strengthen roots within the domain.

This is very useful. Area control and detection of potential battlefield domination, I love it.

Second skill:

Corruption Resistance

Increases resistance to corruption, poison, decay, and mental influence.

Okay the system basically says:

“You'll need this.”

It wasn't calming, so I stood up slowly, my body feeling light, strong, and much stronger than before. Very addictive and dangerous, I stared at the fragment in the center of the room. 

The crystal was now much dimmer, some of its energy absorbed but not yet destroyed. Very interesting, Nara approached and said

"Succeed?"

I nodded.

“I guess so.”

“Pages?”

I picked up a new weapon.

“If this fails, my standards are very high.”

Nara saw my sword for the first time, her expression actually changing slightly in surprise. Nice, open feat: impressing a girl with a straight face, rare, but before we could talk further, the whole room shook once, twice, dust began to fall from the ceiling, I frowned.

“Oh.”

“This is usually a bad sign.”

A notification appears.

Warning.

Instability detected.

Core collapse imminent.

Time remaining:

05:00

I looked at the timer then looked at Nara, she had already turned her body towards the door, practically as usual.

"Run." he said.

Good advice, we immediately ran out of the room. The timer ticked to 5:00, and for the first time since entering this place, I began to think that maybe grabbing power-ups while triggering dungeon collapses was too consistent a tradition.

[END CHAPTER 13]

04:52

The timer in front of me kept ticking away, the red numbers feeling like a personal insult. We ran as fast as we could down the hallway. The ground shook violently, dust fell from the ceiling, and cracks began to appear in the extremely unstable walls. 

Nara and I ran without saying much because when the entire dungeon was deciding to collapse deep conversation wasn't a priority.

04:31

A loud cracking sound was heard behind him.

KRRAAAK!

I glanced around, seeing the poor condition of the passageway, which was starting to collapse, with large rocks falling and blocking part of the path. Okay, my motivation to run increased dramatically.

“Faster!” Nara shouted.

“I was considering a leisurely walk actually!” I replied.

I still had to maintain mental priority over sarcasm. I could feel the changes in my body after the evolution. All my sensors had increased. I could feel the vibrations before a rock fell, the roots in the wall, the flow of mana, and even the air pressure. This was very useful. A large rock fell from above, and I reflexively raised my hand.

Root Domain!

Roots coming out of the wall push the rock aside.

DUAK!

The rock hit the floor next to me, I blinked. Oh that's cool, so cool, I'm starting to like this skill emotionally, Nara glanced at me while still running.

"Good."

Short praise detected rare event of open achievement again.

03:48

We arrived at a narrow intersection, the problem was that the path we had been on had now partially collapsed and the exit was blocked by large rocks, I stopped suddenly.

"Good."

“There's always a part like this.”

Nara immediately checked the right side looking for a gap but there was none, the rock was too big and the time was too short, the timer kept running.

03:31

I stared at the wall thinking quickly Mana Sense activated there was something behind the left side of the empty space, I pointed.

“Over there.”

Nara immediately understood.

“Can it be destroyed?”

I looked at the World Thorn Sword in my hand, a small smile appearing.

“I think this is a good time for a skill test.”

I raised my mana flowing sword, the sword glowed dark green then I slashed.

Ember Slash.

Fire and root energy unite. 

BOOM! 

The wall cracked, dust flew, a large crack appeared but it wasn't enough, I slashed again. 

BOOM! 

The shattered wall opened up a new, narrow passageway leading upwards. Good, Nara went in first, and we continued running.

02:54

The new passageway was narrower, rising and winding like an old-fashioned emergency escape route or perhaps a very uncomfortable escape route. 

The ground shook more and more violently until a crack opened in the dark floor behind me, the bottom of which was invisible. No, I jumped over the cracked part, Nara was already far ahead. How could she be so fast? It wasn't fair.

“Do you secretly have a teleport skill?” I shouted.

"No." he answered without looking back.

“What a pity.”

We continued to breathe as my body weight became stronger now, but running while being chased by the ruins of a dungeon was still not the ideal training for improving abilities.

01:47

Finally, light appeared ahead, coming out, beautiful, so beautiful. Our motivation for life was restored, and we ran faster. A few more meters before the ceiling collapsed, a large rock falling right in front of Nara.

DUAAR!

Closing the path, I stopped. Damn, Nara took a step back.

Timer: 01:29

I stared at the closed path, no time to turn around, no way. Okay, the brute force way is how, I advanced, raising my sword, Root Domain activated, roots from all over the wall gathered on the blade, Mana flowed wildly, the sword trembled, Nara slightly retreated very cleverly, I took a breath.

“Hopefully this works.”

Then slash horizontally.

WORLD ROOT SLASH

A new skill appeared spontaneously at an interesting time, a dark green slash shot out.

BOOOOOOM!

The large rock shattered into pieces, opening the passageway, I blinked.

…

Okay that's a lot stronger than expected, I like it of course.

“RUN!” shouted Nara.

Oh well admiring our own strength later on we ran out, the sun hitting our eyes as we jumped out of the rubble door the next second,

BOOOOOOOOM!

The entire back area collapsed, the ground collapsing, and the rubble partially sinking. Dust and roots flew into the air, and the shockwave hit us on our backs. 

Nara and I were thrown to the ground rolling dramatically as per the silent tradition only the sound of falling dust and our breaths, I lay on the ground staring at the sky in wonder to be alive again. 

The timer disappeared and the Quest was safely completed. I laughed a little, then a little louder, a little hysterical, a little justified. Nara sat beside me, still calm. How could that be?

“Why are you laughing?” he asked.

I looked up at the sky.

“Because my life in the last fourteen chapters has been very tiring.”

Nara was silent then said,

"Makes sense."

A high level of empathy was detected, and I slowly sat down, gazing at the ruins, now nearly level with the ground. The dungeon was gone, the earth's core had collapsed, and the White Council must be furious. Oops, I opened the quest.

Quest:

Survive 7 days in the Forbidden Forest

Progress:

Day 4/7

The fourth day is still three days away, I sighed.

“Somehow it feels like I've been living here for months.”

Nara stood up and dusted off her clothes.

“We're not done yet.”

Of course not. Why did I even hope? I got up.

“What else?”

Nara looked north, her expression more serious.

“The collapse of the core will attract surrounding monsters.”

“And maybe something worse.”

I squinted.

“Worse than fanatical organizations and collapsed dungeons?”

Nara looked at me.

“Yes.”

Oh, it was incredible, as if summoned by something, a loud roar echoed from a distance. The ground shook, I recognized the sound. A rock gorilla? Not bigger, just heavier.

A notification appears.

Boss Monster approaching.

Target:

Unknown

Threat:

Extreme

I looked at the screen then looked at Nara then at the voice, I took a deep breath.

"Okay."

“I think today still has bonus content.”

In the distance the trees were starting to fall one by one something was coming and its size was definitely not good news.

[END CHAPTER 14]