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]

I woke up with pain all over my body, my back ached, my hands were sore, my body felt almost empty and my head felt like it had been hit by reality over and over again. 

Technically that wasn't far from the truth, I sat down slowly our hiding area this time was in a narrow rock crevice quite hidden by roots and wild bushes. 

It wasn't comfortable but compared to almost being killed by the Winged Executioner yesterday my comfort standards had dropped drastically, a small fire was burning in front of Nara who was sitting cleaning her dagger again. 

I'm starting to think he has a very healthy emotional relationship with guns.

“Morning,” I said hoarsely.

Nara glanced at me.

“You sleep like a corpse.”

I nodded.

“Professional experience.”

He ignored the joke rudely, I saw the status.

Name: Lock

Class:

World Tree Trunk Fragment

Level 18

Weapon:

World Thorn Sword

Condition:

Fatigue,

mild Mana depletion

Skill:

World Root Devour

Ember Slash

Root Snare

Nature Assimilation

Root Domain

Corrupted Burst

Corruption Resistance

Beast Vitality

Still alive, still intact, mostly pretty good.

Quest appears automatically.

Quest:

Survive 7 days in the Forbidden Forest

Progress:

Day 6/7

Time remaining:

18:42:11

Reward pending.

The last day finally, I stared at the countdown like a thirsty person watching a slightly emotional drink advertisement.

“I’m almost free,” I muttered.

Nara looked at me.

“Don't speak too fast.”

The universe seemed to have a hobby of punishing my optimism, I stood up slowly and stretched.

“Plans for today?”

Nara put her dagger back in.

"Endure."

Simple, elegant, traumatic we left the hideout after a simple breakfast of some wild fruit and water, a survival menu. 

The forest felt quieter today, unlike the usual sounds of monsters, roars, movement or at least an air of threat. 

Now? Almost nothing, I frowned.

“It's too quiet.”

Nara nodded.

“Monsters stay away.”

“From what?”

He didn't answer right away, which was a very bad omen. A few minutes later, I got my answer. We arrived at a small cliff overlooking the lower forest area, where the monsters were gathered. 

Dozens? No, hundreds. 

Various types of monsters moved in one direction like migrating or fleeing, I stared at the scene.

“Oh.”

I don't like oh like this.

“They're running away from something,” I said.

Nara nodded.

“Yes.”

“Executioner?” I asked.

“No,” he replied.

Worse was incredible, I stared at him.

“How could there be a worse answer than the Executioner?”

Nara pointed into the distance, I followed her finger and saw on the horizon the silhouette of a giant black tree. 

No, not a tree, but something resembling a walking tree with roots like enormous legs, much larger than a normal monster. I could feel its aura of corruption even from here.

A notification appears.

Regional threat detected.

Corrupted Colossus

Threat level: Disaster

Recommendation:

Avoid contact.

Thank you for the very sensible suggestion system. The problem is that the giant monster is moving towards us, of course I'm watching the countdown.

17:58:03

It's still too long. Why does one day feel like a century? I rubbed my face.

"Okay."

“I have a question.”

Nara looked at me.

“Was my life always like this?”

“I guess.” A painfully honest answer.

We move immediately. 

The goal is simple: get as far away from the Colossus as possible. 

Execution? Probably a bummer. 

We jumped from rock to rock, heading deeper into the hilly area, but the ground shook again. The monster was moving too fast for something the size of a building to move, I looked back. 

A very bad decision Colossus was getting closer now its shape was clearer its huge body like a combination of tree trunk, rotting flesh, and black roots, dozens of red eyes glowing on its main trunk.

“Why do the appearance of monsters in this world always attack mental health?” I muttered.

Nara stopped suddenly I almost hit her.

"What?"

Before us was a deep, wide ravine, impassable by normal traffic. The map's design was incredibly hostile, and I could see no paths left or right.

Countdown:

16:41:29

The Colossus was getting closer, Nara stared at the abyss while thinking quickly then at me.

"Can you build a bridge?"

I blinked.

"With what?"

He saw my sword. 

Oh yes the power of plants, I breathed.

“No pressure.”

I advanced to the edge of the cliff raising the World Thorn Sword mana flowed out, Root Domain activated to its maximum all the roots in the area responded. 

A large root emerged from the side of the ravine, extending to connect the two sides, forming a crude, inelegant, but functional root bridge. I nearly fainted after the brutal mana drain.

“Go!” I said.

We immediately ran across the bridge, and halfway there, the Colossus arrived. The monster swung its giant root at us, and I turned around, feeling very cinematic and uncomfortable. 

The roots hit the side of the bridge cliff, it shook violently then cracked, we ran faster almost there

CRAAACK!

The back of the bridge broke, and I jumped off Nara as well. We landed hard on the other side, and the next second the entire bridge collapsed into the abyss. 

The Colossus stopped on the other side an angry roar echoed, the monster was too large to cross directly. 

Thank God for everything, I lay on the ground laughing tiredly back to life, of course.

Countdown appears.

15:57:12

Still fifteen hours, I wanted to protest formally then Nara sat beside me.

“We have to keep moving,” he said.

I covered my face with my hands.

“Can we at least pretend to take a five minute break?”

Nara thought.

“Two minutes.”

Negotiations were successful, I smiled a little. 

The sky was starting to turn orange. The final day wasn't over yet, it was still so long, and for some reason, I had a bad feeling. It wasn't about the Colossus, it wasn't about the monsters, but about what awaited me after this quest was over. 

Because I know one thing: once I leave the Forbidden Forest… the real trouble may just begin.

[END CHAPTER 17]

Two minutes of rest turned into about thirty seconds, because of course my life was unfamiliar with the concept of healthy recovery. 

The ground shook again. The Colossus on the other side of the chasm still hadn't given up. The monster slammed against the cliff repeatedly, trying to find another way out. A true hater, I stood there with a deep sigh.

"Okay."

“It seems the universe is rejecting the balance of life.”

Nara had already started, which was no surprise. We continued along the narrow, rocky path, the area was higher, cooler, a thick fog was beginning to descend, and the trees were becoming sparser. 

The good thing is there are fewer places for monsters to hide. The bad thing? There are also fewer places for us to hide. 

The quest countdown continues.

Time remaining:

08:13:44

Finally a single digit of motivation increased slightly, I stared at that number like an investor looks at a green or hopeful graph. 

We kept moving until night fell and the sky was completely dark, the faint stars were visible through the mist for the first time in days, the atmosphere felt... calm, truly calm, no monsters, no cult followers, no dungeons collapsing, it was refreshing. 

I sat on a large rock, my completely exhausted body was slowly recovering thanks to Nature Assimilation, Nara was sitting not far from me, strangely quiet but not bad, I glanced at him.

“Are you always like this?”

Nara turned around slightly.

"Like what?"

"Quiet type."

He thought for a moment.

“Yes.”

That makes sense, I nodded then asked,

"Why enter the Forbidden Forest?"

Nara was silent longer this time, I thought she wouldn't answer but finally she spoke.

“Looking for something.”

Cryptic? Of course. I smiled slightly.

“Everyone in this world is allergic to complete answers.”

Nara stared at the small fire in front.

"If you know too much, you usually die faster."

Hmm, fair, very fair, I looked up at the sky. Maybe he was right—since coming into this world, the more I learned, the bigger my problems became. The development and consequences were balanced.

The countdown continues.

03:22:18

As we got closer I started to feel a little emotional, seven whole days felt like seven years. I closed my eyes for a moment then

notification appears.

Quest nearly complete.

Prepare for reward synchronization.

Oh? Interesting, I sat up straight. 

Reward synchronization, I open the quest details.

Quest:

Survive 7 days in the Forbidden Forest

Reward:

Blessing upgrade

Random skill

Hidden title

I read the gift twice. Okay, it was worth it, the trauma was partially repaid, I smiled.

“Maybe all this suffering is worth it.”

Nara looked at me like I had just said something incredibly naive, a natural reaction. Time passed very slowly, each minute felt like an eternity, but eventually

final notification appears.

Quest completed.

Survive 7 days in Forbidden Forest.

Reward distribution starting.

YES. FINALLY.

I almost stood up and applauded. A green light appeared in my body. It was warm, not painful, a rare experience. Thank you very much.

Notifications appear in succession.

Blessing upgraded.

New blessing:

Blessing of the Withered World Tree

New skill acquired:

Predator Sense

Title obtained:

The Forsaken Survivor

Effect:

Fear resistance +

Survival instinct +

Level bonus:

+1

Current level: 19

I read it all with a big smile.

"Good."

"Very good."

Finally reward without evolution nearing the death of character development, I read the new blessing.

Blessing of the Withered World Tree:

Increases compatibility with fragments, nature energy, corruption resistance, and adaptive growth.

Sounds broken, I agree.

New skills:

Predator Sense:

Detects killing intent and hidden dangers around.

Oh, that's very useful, especially for someone with an above-average level of betrayal. I'm very satisfied. Nara noticed the notification on my face.

“Got something good?”

I nodded.

“Premium trauma package.”

Nara tilted her head, I sighed.

“That means yes.”

He nodded slightly, the conversation successful, but after the gift was finished, the ground beneath us began to glow, and I froze. Oh no, please no, not again. A large magic circle appeared around my feet.

New notification.

Exit protocol activated.

Returning participant to spawn region.

I blinked, waiting. Teleporting out? Automatically? I looked at Nara, she was also looking at the circle, her expression slightly changed for the first time, looking... unprepared.

“So this is an automatic goodbye?” I asked.

Nara was silent for a few seconds then nodded, I guess yes. The light grew brighter, meaning the teleport would activate. I stared at her.

“I don't even know your real goal yet.”

Nara looked back at me, her gaze calm as usual but this time a little softer.

"Live longer," he said.

“That would help.”

I chuckled.

“Advice that really suits your brand.”

The corners of Nara's lips lifted slightly, almost into a smile. The light grew stronger, and my body began to feel lighter. I raised one hand.

“See you, Nara.”

He nodded.

"See you later, Raka."

The next second light engulfed my vision the world changed, teleport activated and when my consciousness returned I was no longer in the Forbidden Forest but in a large, crowded and noisy stone hall filled with people. 

Humans, Armor, Mages, Knights, and all those very familiar faces. Yes, those were my classmates, and I froze them too. 

Silence suddenly filled the hall, their gazes fixed on me at my tattered clothes, the black sword in my hand the aura now far different and the level above my head.

19

I saw their expressions of shock, disbelief, a little fear, good, a small smile appeared on my face, finally we meet again.

[END CHAPTER 18]