After listening to Cedric’s explanation, Elaine remained silent for a moment. Then, she spoke softly, “The one from the prophecy?”
She nodded slowly. “I understand that this could be good news. But we must be certain that the one you speak of is truly the one foretold, Cecilia. I mean, as we know, the situation now is very different compared to several years ago-before the arrival of the players.”
Morel then spoke up firmly, “The person you are referring to must be incredibly strong. Therefore, they must first be tested with a very tough challenge.”
“Morel?” Elaine said softly. “I understand this is something we need to do, but I don’t want you to proceed in a way that could provoke unnecessary anger from the one we are talking about.”
Morel declared confidently, “I will handle it myself and determine just how strong they are! And don’t worry, I will do it in the best way possible.”
Elaine’s voice was gentle but cautious, “We must be careful not to reveal that we are behind this challenge. If they find out where we live, we could be in danger.”
Morel nodded. “My Lady,” he said, “if your concerns are valid, and this is truly the only way to free us from the curse that has plagued our tribe for centuries, I will ensure everything goes as planned without any complications.”
With that, Morel began walking away, leaving the room.
After the communication portal was cut off, Cedric muttered softly, glancing at Cecilia, who looked pale and anxious.
“Why is your face so pale, Cecilia?”
“Cedric, does this mean Sir Morel will give a challenge that could potentially kill them?” Cecilia asked, her voice trembling.
“Cecilia, you don’t need to worry. I’m sure Sir Morel will do the right thing.”
“But Cedric, we have to save them,” Cecilia insisted. “The one named Broken might be
strong, but what if the humans with him can’t survive? If something happens to them, it will all be my fault.”
“What can we do, Cecilia? This has already been set into motion.”
“Cedric, we must warn them.”
“No, Cecilia. You heard what Sir Morel said, didn’t you? We cannot expose ourselves to them. We have to prioritize the safety of everyone in our tribe.”
“Cedric… I’m scared,” Cecilia said, her voice full of concern and fear.
***
It was the second day of the expedition, and Broken and the others had settled into their usual routine. They had set up camp, taking turns keeping watch through the night. However, this time Broken and Toberry were nowhere to be seen, as it was their turn to log out.
They were enjoying dinner and much-needed rest after a long day of exploring the forest and battling monsters. Their stamina had been heavily depleted, and they truly needed the break. But suddenly, something seemed off that night.
Maylock’s eyes widened in alarm as he heard the thunderous sound of multiple hooves galloping toward them from different directions.
“Damn! What is that?” he exclaimed.
“Monsters attacking,” Yann replied, equally alarmed. “In large numbers.”
“Monsters to hunt?” Anna said in a cheery voice, seemingly oblivious to the danger.
“No, Anna! This is serious!” Yann stressed.
Starfall turned to Maylock. “Maylock… Do you mean there are more monsters than we usually deal with? Are we even capable of handling them?”
Maylock clenched his jaw. “Wait here,” he ordered, quickly climbing up a tree and reaching the top in no time.
From his vantage point, he could see hordes of monsters approaching from all directions. Each of their steps made the ground quake, and the nearby trees groaned under the immense pressure before ultimately collapsing.
“This many monster attacks?! It can’t be the work of just a player,” he muttered, frustration evident in his voice. “Whoever is behind this must wield immense power here. It can only be the faeries! Damn it!”
The monsters came in a wide variety of forms: some had wings, others walked on two legs, and some had multiple heads. Their sheer diversity and numbers made the situation look even more dire.
After scanning the area for a few more moments, Maylock jumped back down, urgency etched across his face.
“This is bad. I think we need to run immediately.”
“Run?” Starfall questioned.
Livelywood then added, “If it’s just monsters, shouldn’t we be able to handle them?”
The ground trembled beneath their feet as the reverberating roars of the monsters drew closer. The sound of trees crashing to the ground echoed from afar, filling the group with a growing sense of dread.
“Damn! Damn!” Maylock cursed repeatedly, realizing the urgency of the situation. “Everyone, prepare yourselves!” he commanded.
Only Livelywood, Starfall, and Maylock remained in the game, along with the NPCS- including Ivana and the three knights with them-while Toberry and Broken had already logged out.
Seeing Maylock, who was usually calm, now visibly tense and urgent, made it clear that whatever was happening was anything but ordinary. They needed to do everything they could to survive and protect each other, despite everyone being in a state of limited stamina.
“Yann, find us the best path to escape,” Maylock ordered.
Yann nodded and immediately began searching for the optimal route for them to flee. Without hesitation, the group quickly followed wherever Yann led them.
“Yann, you must find us a suitable place to make our stand. A cave would be perfect-it will allow us to limit the number of monsters we have to fight at any given time,” Maylock spoke
clearly, his tone commanding.
Maylock had noted that the monsters were at least Level 180, and he knew that if they fought without the proper strategy, the Knights or even Ivana might be put in serious danger. And that was something Maylock would never allow to happen!
None of the NPCs they had brought along could afford to be injured-absolutely not! Especially not to the extent of losing their lives.
He knew Ivana was strong enough to hold her own, or at the very least, to force an escape if needed. However, it was different for Karl and Anna; they were far more vulnerable due to their slower movement compared to Yann, the agile archer.
“Damn! Don’t we always run into these unforeseen massive events whenever we go on
expeditions with Broken?”
“This is truly dire-this is not a natural occurrence. It’s clearly an attack. Someone has sent these monsters to trap us, kill us… or maybe… test us?”
Test us? The thought lingered in Maylock’s mind.
They ran frantically as the monsters rapidly closed in on them. It was midnight, and the moonlight seemed to bear witness to the horror that had suddenly descended upon the land. Among the three of them, none could log out to inform Broken, as they were all needed to survive and protect each other. Given the circumstances, Maylock made the decision to contact Elincia, asking her to relay a message to Freya.
“I can only hope that Broken won’t be surrounded by a massive number of monsters when he
logs back in.”
Since both Broken and Toberry would log in at the same spot, a place that might already be
overrun by monsters if they came to join them. This thought made the situation even more
complicated.
“But for now, we have to do everything we can to protect ourselves!” Maylock declared, his
frustration palpable.
“That’s the cave!” Yann shouted, pointing in a direction ahead of them.