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]

Trees fell one by one the sound of breaking wood echoed like giant dominoes.

ALL.

ALL.

ALL.

The ground shook every few seconds, as something was approaching, something very large. I stood, gripping the World Thorn Sword even tighter, my body still exhausted from running out of the collapsed dungeon and still not fully recovered. 

The enemy's timing was either absolutely terrible or perfectly consistent with my life. The fog ahead began to shift, the trees parted, and finally, the creature appeared. 

I automatically tensed. Its shape resembled a deer, if a deer were experiencing an evolutionary nightmare. Its body was nearly five meters tall, its antlers branched like dead tree roots. Its skin was greenish-black, its eyes glowed red, living roots sprouted from its legs and back, and its aura of corruption was so thick that the air felt heavy.

A notification appears.

Guardian Beast — Cervaros

Level: 22

Status: Corrupted

Threat: Extreme

I stared at the number.

"Twenty two?"

I'm level 16, and the difference isn't funny at all. Nara also seems more serious than usual, which is a really bad sign. 

Cervaros lifted his head to take a breath of air then his eyes locked on me specifically me, I pointed at myself.

"Why is it always me?"

Cervaros roared, a low, distorted roar that moved the surrounding roots. Oh, and he was also a plant-themed, large, natural boss fight. 

Cervaros attacked without warning, no warm-up, the monster immediately shot forward for its size, its speed was strange, I barely had time to avoid its horns sweeping the area where I was standing.

BOOM!

The ground exploded, I rolled to the side, and dust flew up covering the area. Nara came in from the left, slashing the monster's hind leg with her dagger.

CLANG!

The sparks that came out didn't penetrate the natural armor too hard.

“Good,” I said. 

“Even this deer's legs have plot armor.”

Nara didn't respond to focus mode. Cervaros swung his tail, a large root sweeping the area. Nara jumped back and I advanced. 

Root Domain activated, the surrounding roots responding to my call, holding Cervaros's front legs for a split second, stopping the monster. Good enough, I jumped, the World Thorn Sword blazing. Ember Slash, I slashed at its neck.

SHRAK!

The incoming attack caused a small amount of black blood to flow out, Cervaros roared angrily. The damage had been confirmed, and I landed with a faint smile.

“Very much.”

“It can still be hurt.” Important information,

The monster stepped on the hard ground black roots burst from under the attack area, I jumped back but was a little too late one of the roots whipped my thigh.

BUK!

I was thrown, it hurt so bad.

“UGH!”

I rolled on the ground almost losing my grip on the sword, Nara appeared in front of me blocking the next root attack.

"Wake up." he said shortly.

I stood up grimacing.

“I'm doing it.”

Cervaros attacks again, this time his mouth opening, dark mana gathering. Oh no, a projectile attack.

“Get down!” Nara shouted.

We both jumped to the side, the next second a burst of black energy hit the center area.

BOOOOM!

The ground melted, I stared at the crater.

"No."

To avoid getting hit by the attack, I activated Minor Mana Sense. Focusing on analyzing the flow of mana, I saw the strongest corruption energy pattern gathered in the center of his chest. "Core? Most likely," I shouted.

“Nara!”

“Her chest!”

He immediately understood good cooperation, Cervaros attacked me again on purpose, I attracted perfect attention.

“Yeah, yeah, I don't like my face either.”

I ran in a circle, the monster chasing me, while Nara disappeared from view in stealth mode. Cervaros slammed into the ground, his roots chasing me, and I dodged as best I could, my mana dwindling. 

Too bad, I need bait now, Cervaros jumped his giant body down towards me, I stopped suddenly raising my hand.

Root Domain — Full Release

All the roots in the surrounding area rose up, dozens of roots wrapped around Cervaros' legs holding his body in the air for a split second.

“Now!” I shouted.

Nara appeared from above, I don't even know how long she's been there, she's kind of scary. She jumped from the tree branch, her two daggers blazing, stabbing straight into Cervaros' chest.

CRACK.

The sound of breaking. 

Good, the monster's cracked core roared loudly, but it wasn't dead yet. Damn, I ran forward, the last of my mana gathered, the World Thorn Sword vibrated, and the new skill activated automatically.

World Root Devour activated.

Compatible corrupted target detected.

Oh? Interesting, I stabbed straight into the crack in the sword core, Cervaros froze, his roar stopped, the roots on his body shook wildly, then the greenish black energy began to be sucked into my sword, I widened my eyes.

“Whoa.”

Cervaros struggled unexpectedly, but the process was already underway. The mana corruption flowing through my body was painful once again—of course, everything always hurts. The monster slowly weakened, its massive body beginning to crack and then collapse.

BOOOOM.

Dust rose into the silent air, I still held the sword stuck in the last of the energy absorbed.

Notifications appear in succession.

Guardian Beast defeated.

Corrupted essence absorbed.

Level 17 reached.

Level 18 reached.

New trait acquired:

Beast Vitality

New skill:

Corrupted Burst

I pulled out my sword, breathing heavily, my body trembling, but somehow still alive. Nara landed lightly beside me, looking at Cervaros's now motionless body.

“It worked,” he said.

I let out a short laugh.

“Yes.”

“A little overdramatic, but it works.”

Nara looked at me then at my sword, her expression changing to a faint trace of worry.

“The energy of corruption earlier,” he said quietly.

“You absorbed it all?”

I looked at my hand, and a thin black root line appeared on my wrist and then disappeared. Hmm, a bit of a bad omen.

“I think so,” I replied.

Nara didn't look like she could understand, I opened the status.

Name: Lock

Class:

World Tree Trunk Fragment

Level: 18

Condition:

Stable (?)

I stared at the question mark.

…

Your system is not helpful at all, I close the status then the quest notification appears.

Quest progress updated.

Day 5/7

Reward condition nearly complete.

The fifth day is only two days away, almost here, I took a deep breath.

“Maybe we can finally get out of this place alive.”

A sentence I shouldn't have said because the next second the ground shook again, not because of a monster, not from below but from the sky. 

Nara and I both looked up and saw something descending from the clouds, a large, winged, humanoid silhouette with a very terrifying aura.

A notification appears.

Emergency event triggered.

Executor descending

I stared at the screen then the sky, then my life and came to one conclusion: I was simply not allowed to rest.

[END CHAPTER 15]

The sky above the Forbidden Forest was torn apart by wildly moving clouds, the wind swirled into a massive vortex, and a silhouette slowly descended in the air—a winged humanoid wearing silvery-white armor with gold details on its shoulders and chest. The aura emanating from it was so heavy that my breath hitched, every instinct in my body screaming one thing:  run, immediately , now.

A notification appears.

Target identified:

Executioner Seraphiel

Affiliation: White Council

Level: unreadable

Threat: Disaster

I read the last word twice, disaster. Oh good, now the system is even starting to use new vocabulary to scare me, I looked at Nara.

“Do we have diplomatic options?”

Nara looked up at the sky.

“No.” The quickest answer in history.

Seraphiel landed slowly a few meters in front of us his feet touching the ground without a sound, large white wings folded behind his back, his face handsome too handsome. 

The handsome type that usually comes with an overconfidence in one's own greatness and a high casualty count, his eyes are a pale gold, cold and devoid of emotion. 

He looked at Cervaros's dead body, then his gaze shifted to me, a look that sent a chill down my spine. Another confession of tired popularity.

“So this is the container,” he said.

His voice was calm too calm, I raised an eyebrow.

“Can you stop calling me like an object?”

Seraphiel ignored me the rude trend continued, she raised one hand a golden magic circle appeared in the air the mana around immediately vibrated, Nara and I reflexively stepped back.

“Hand over the fragment,” he said.

I held the World Thorn Sword tighter.

"No."

Simple, classic, reliable. Seraphiel stared at me for a few seconds as if giving me a last chance, then let out a thin sigh.

“It's a shame.”

The next second he disappeared, my eyes widened quickly my instincts screamed, I raised my sword reflexively.

CLAY!

The impact hit my entire body as Seraphiel appeared right in front of me. The lightsaber in her hand pressed against my weapon, sending me flying dozens of meters, hitting a tree trunk.

BUK!

“UGHH—!”

My lungs felt empty, sore, and aching. The difference in power was absurd, I barely even saw her move. Seraphiel was gone again. Oh no! I rolled away quickly, the lightsaber hitting my spot.

BOOM.

The ground split open completely senseless, Nara thrust his dagger in from Seraphiel's blind spot blocking casually with just two fingers.

THING.

He blocked the knife attack with his fingers, which should have been illegal. Seraphiel pushed Nara away, sending a small shockwave flying. Nara was thrown backward, landing with difficulty, even he had difficulty. 

Too bad, I stood there panting, thinking quickly. There was no way to win head-on, no way. I needed tricks, not bullshit. 

Requiring protagonist privileges, I activated Root Domain full of roots all over the area moving, dozens of roots attacked Seraphiel from various directions, she stood still only the light sword spinning.

SWISH.

All roots are cut in one motion.

…

It was emotionally devastating, Seraphiel looked at me.

“Interesting toy.”

I was a little offended; it wasn't a toy, it was a skill derived from trauma. He slowly approached, very confident. His aura pressed down on the surrounding area, and I gritted my teeth.

Notifications appear small.

Warning.

Mental pressure detected.

Corruption Resistance active.

Good at least something helps, I raised my mana sword flowing new skill Corrupted Burst never tried before. 

Ideal testing time? No. 

Do I have a choice? Also no. 

I activated a skill, a greenish-black energy enveloping the World Thorn Sword. A corruption aura exploded out. Seraphiel paused for the first time, her expression slightly amused. Good, I dashed forward and slashed. Seraphiel blocked with her lightsaber.

CLANG!

The energy wave exploded Corruption and light clashed for a split second he was pushed back half a step.

HALF A STEP.

I almost cried with emotion, small progress but still progress, Seraphiel looked at my sword.

“The fragment is growing faster than predicted.”

Okay that sounds important in the context of the story, Nara shouted.

“Straight, focus!”

Okay, no celebration, Seraphiel attacked again, I blocked it, the impact was even heavier, my body almost collapsed. Damn, Corrupted Burst increased power but consumed a brutal amount of mana, I couldn't sustain it for long, I needed an exit strategy. 

Now I glance at the quest

Day 5/7

No help, thank you system. Suddenly Nara appeared beside me and whispered quickly.

“There is a way out.”

I looked at him.

“Why only now?”

"Because I just saw an opportunity."

In that case, okay.

“What's the plan?”

Nara pointed at Cervaros's dead body. I followed his finger. The monster's core was cracked, but it wasn't completely destroyed. There was still some corruption energy left. Oh, I'm starting to understand. It's dangerous, but I like it.

“Blow it up?” I whispered.

Nara nodded, a fine piece of destructive improvisation. Seraphiel attacked again, and I held back as best I could as our swords collided.

CLANG.

CLANG.

CLANG.

Every impact made my hands numb, I almost lost my grip. The difference was ridiculous, I needed a few more seconds just a few.

“Nara!” I shouted.

He was already moving towards the core of Cervaros. Seraphiel realized he was about to give chase, so I forced Root Domain out completely, all the remaining roots wrapped around his legs for half a second, enough.

“Go away,” I muttered.

Nara stabbed her dagger into the remaining unstable mana core, and the corruption reacted immediately. Oh, that looks explosive, I shouted:

"Run!"

We both ran away, Seraphiel cut the roots and turned around, too late.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

A giant corruption explosion shook the entire area, a greenish black wave swept through the forest, the ground was lifted, trees were uprooted, an aura of chaos exploded everywhere. 

Nara and I were thrown by the shockwave, my body rolled over several times, my vision was spinning, dust filled the air, my ears were ringing. 

I coughed hard, trying to get up, trying to stay alive. It was impossible. I looked towards the explosion, the area covered in black smoke, but nothing was visible. 

Seraphiel? Unknown. 

Dead? No way. 

Disturbed? Sure. 

Nara pulled my arm.

“Now!” he said firmly.

There was no argument we immediately fled deeper into the forest because it seemed my life now was: fighting cosmic forces and then escaping with a thin timing. 

After several minutes of non-stop running, we finally stopped in a rocky area far from the explosion site. Breathing heavily, my body completely exhausted, I sat down, still trembling.

"That…"

I catch my breath.

“It was a very unpleasant experience.”

Nara leaned against the rock, panting slightly as well, the first time I'd seen her truly tired. It was nice to know she was human too.

"We managed to escape," he said.

I chuckled.

“Our standards for success are very low.”

Nara almost looked like she wanted to smile, almost. The quest appeared again.

Quest progress updated.

Day 6/7

One more day, just one more day, I looked up at the night sky that was starting to descend, my body tired, my mana almost gone. 

The enemy of the elite organization, the executor is probably still alive but somehow I smile because I am still alive, still growing, still moving forward and that is enough for now.

[END CHAPTER 16]