The roar came like a nightmare ripping through reality.
A guttural bellow tore through the silence of the archive, slamming into the ancient stone walls with such force that dust rained down from the ceiling. The hanging lantern above swung wildly, throwing jagged, dancing shadows across the room.
Elder Thorne—so calm, so composed just moments before—stood frozen. His face drained of all color, his breath came in short, shuddering gasps. Even the assassins at his side—figures cloaked in shadow and menace—had gone pale. Their daggers slipped from numb fingers, clattering to the floor. They stumbled backward like frightened animals cornered by something far, far bigger than them.
Then Lyra's voice came—just a whisper, but it cut through the terror like a knife.
"It's here."
Rein's heart pounded like war drums in his chest. His grip tightened around the Warden's Fang, but the dagger felt like a twig in his hand—useless against the thing he could feel drawing closer. The System's voice chimed in his mind, clinical and uncaring.
> [System Alert: Level ?? | Threat Level: Extreme]
No numbers. No estimates. Just a giant red flag screaming you're not ready.
> [Quest Active – Survive the Beast's Wrath]
Objective: Protect the clan. Discover the beast's weakness.
Another roar shattered the air, closer now. The ground trembled beneath their feet. Rein's skull felt like it might split under the sheer force of the sound. Cracks spidered along the stone walls. The air stank—of rot, of blood, of something ancient and angry.
He forced his voice past the lump in his throat. "We can't stay here. It'll bury us alive."
Emri gave a tight nod, her blade still out from their standoff with Thorne. Her usual confidence had vanished. "Too small. We're caged in here—if it gets in, we're dead."
Lyra didn't wait. She grabbed Thorne by the arm, her grip surprisingly firm despite the tremor in her hand.
"Call them off, Elder. This isn't about your power anymore."
Thorne yanked his arm free, his eyes wild, voice shaking with fury and fear. "You think I wanted this?! This… this thing is beyond us all!" He pushed past his guards, shouting as he ran. "To the square—RUN, you fools!"
The cloaked assassins broke instantly, their composure shattering like glass. Footsteps thundered up the stairs, weapons abandoned, honor forgotten.
Rein met eyes with Lyra and Emri. No words were needed. The three of them turned and sprinted after the others, the weight of survival pressing on every breath.
The village square was already a storm of panic.
People spilled from their homes in a flood of chaos. Mothers clung to their crying children. Some men wielded farming tools—pitchforks, rusty blades, broken furniture—whatever they could grab in their desperation. Their faces were pale, their eyes wide with horror.
The clan's warriors formed a trembling line, their spears and bows held tightly, but it was all too clear—they were scared. Shaking. Bracing themselves for something they knew they couldn't beat.
Torches flickered violently in the wind. Light danced over the terrified crowd, casting ghostly shadows. A little girl tripped and screamed, only to be snatched up by her father, who ran without looking back. An old woman stood muttering prayers to the gods, refusing to move until someone dragged her away.
And then the trees at the edge of the village split apart like paper.
The beast stepped into the light.
No—not a beast. A monster pulled straight from a nightmare. A hulking, misshapen titan, twice the height of a man, covered in tangled, blood-matted black fur. Mud and gore clung to its body, its muscles rippling beneath skin marred with glowing scars. Horns curled from its head like twisted branches, sharp and splintered. Its eyes—two blazing pits of corrupted green mana—burned with a hatred that felt… personal.
Its claws scraped long gouges in the ground with each slow step. The earth shook. Trees behind it lay in ruins. When it growled, the sound made Rein's bones rattle.
> [Analyze Activated – Corrupted Forest Guardian – Level 25]
HP: 5000/5000 | Status: Enraged]
Rein's lungs locked up. Level 25. He was Level 6.
The System didn't care.
> [Tactical Suggestion – Avoid direct confrontation. Use agility to survive.]
Lyra drew her bow, hands steady even as her voice cracked. "We can't let it reach the houses. We lead it to the training grounds—open space."
Emri was already moving, sprinting into position with a cold focus in her eyes. "Less damage there. Come on!"
Suddenly, a voice cut through the mayhem—sharp, commanding.
"Lyra! Rein! Over here!" Arlen appeared from the smoke and fire, silver hair catching the torchlight. He was calm, his bow already drawn. "To me!"
Then he turned to the villagers, shouting orders like a general.
"Warriors, fall back to the training grounds—hold the line! Civilians, get inside! Now!"
The fighters moved, unsure but obeying, stumbling into formation. Rein joined Lyra and Emri, his dagger slick with sweat. His stats blinked in his mind—AGI: 12. That was all he had. Speed. He'd have to make it enough.
Arlen's voice rang out again. "Archers! Spread out! Aim for the eyes, the joints—FIRE!"
His shot flew, striking the beast in the shoulder. It snarled and barely flinched. Then it charged, a wall of death barreling forward.
They met it with everything they had.
Arrows rained like angry hornets, some sticking into its flesh, some breaking on impact. The beast didn't slow. Spearmen lunged at its legs, but it swatted them aside like toys.
One clawed swipe caught a spearman mid-attack. The man barely had time to scream before his body was hurled into a cart, which exploded into splinters. Blood sprayed. Silence fell.
> [System: Damage Dealt – Minimal. Beast's hide resists piercing attacks.]
The line cracked.
A young archer dropped his bow and started crawling backward, sobbing uncontrollably. "It's not stopping!" Another turned to run—and that was all it took. The beast's eyes found him.
Its jaws opened, revealing rows of jagged teeth.
Then it snapped.
A single bite, and the man was gone. Blood painted the earth.
The formation collapsed.
Rein's stomach turned, bile rising in his throat. We're dying. He darted left, circling wide. The beast was massive—every move it made was like watching a mountain shift. Lyra and Emri split to the right, keeping pace with practiced coordination.
Lyra let loose a Volley Strike—three arrows flew, two hitting true, one breaking on the beast's flank. Emri followed up, her arrow glancing off a horn and earning a bone-rattling roar.
"Keep it mad!" Emri shouted, her voice raw. "Away from the village!"
"We need a weakness!" Lyra's voice was tight, her hand trembling as she drew another arrow.
Rein dove behind a training dummy just as the beast's tail swung by, smashing a post to splinters. His lungs screamed for air. The System's voice chimed again, merciful this time.
> [Analyze Upgrade: Weak Point Detection – Activated.]
Target: Corrupted Forest Guardian. Scanning…]
A shimmering overlay appeared over the monster's body—faint pulses at the joints and underbelly. But one spot burned brighter than the rest.
A jagged scar on its chest, leaking mana like blood.
There it was.
The key to survival.
The scar.
Rein's eyes locked onto the glowing fissure in the beast's chest. It pulsed with corrupted mana, wild and unstable—like a festering wound barely stitched shut. The System's overlay blinked red, a clear signal.
> [Confirmed: Critical Weak Point Identified – Chest Scar]
Effect: Target receives x3 damage if struck precisely.]
He didn't have time to shout. Didn't need to. Lyra and Emri were veterans—they'd see it too. Or they'd follow his lead.
Rein took a breath, adrenaline slicing through the fog in his mind. His AGI stat wasn't impressive by System standards, but it was enough. It had to be.
He darted forward, boots pounding the earth, weaving between the debris-strewn field. The beast's massive claw slammed down inches from his path, the shockwave sending him skidding. Dust choked the air, but he didn't stop—couldn't.
From his flank, Lyra loosed another arrow, this one aimed for the beast's eye. It missed by a hair, but it did the job—it turned. Snarled. Exposed its chest.
Now!
Rein launched himself at full speed, dagger low, his body a blur. Every muscle screamed, but he pushed harder, legs burning with the effort. The beast raised a claw to swat him down—but Emri's arrow struck its elbow, staggering the swing. An opening—brief, but real.
Rein leapt.
The world slowed.
The scar loomed before him, seeping mana like steam from cracked stone. He drove the Warden's Fang forward, channeling every ounce of will into the strike. Steel met flesh—then deeper. The blade sank into the wound with a wet crack, and the beast howled, a monstrous scream that shattered the air like glass.
> [Critical Hit – 1765 Damage Dealt!]
[Beast Staggered. Status: Stunned – 3 seconds.]
The impact flung Rein back like a ragdoll. He hit the ground hard, pain lancing up his spine, vision swimming—but he was alive. Gasping. His dagger was gone, still buried in the scar, but the beast—
—it was reeling.
The monstrous guardian stumbled, its massive limbs buckling. Arrows peppered its flank, each strike now landing with more precision. The fighters who hadn't run were rallying, emboldened by the sudden shift. One by one, they surged forward, attacking with renewed desperation.
Arlen's voice rang out. "NOW! Focus the scar! Bring it down!"
And they did.
Lyra's next shot hit the mark, followed by Emri's, the two of them moving like twin shadows across the battlefield. A pair of spearmen—young, bloodied, shaking—stabbed forward with all they had, their weapons striking true.
The beast shrieked, a final, soul-rattling cry that echoed through the trees.
Then, with a thunderous crash, it fell.
The ground trembled with the force of its collapse. Dust billowed into the air, and for a long moment, no one moved. The silence was deafening, pierced only by the crackle of torches and the ragged breathing of survivors.
Rein lay on his back, staring up at the stars barely visible through the smoke. His body ached, every limb heavy—but the System's message rang clear in his mind:
> [Quest Complete – Survive the Beast's Wrath]
+5600 EXP | +1 Skill Upgrade Token | +Title: Beastpiercer]
Rein's world tilted, pain a living thing gnawing at his body. He tried to move, to speak, but his limbs were lead, his tongue thick. Lyra's face loomed above, streaked with dirt and tears, her voice a distant echo. "Rein! Stay with me!"
He managed a weak rasp. "We… did it…" Darkness swallowed him, cold and absolute.
Voices pierced the void—frantic, overlapping. Hands seized him, rough and trembling, lifting him from the dirt. Pain flared with every jolt, his ribs grinding, blood warm against his skin. He caught fragments: "Medic house—hurry!" and "He's fading—move!" The clan's survivors bore him through the wreckage, their steps uneven, their breaths ragged with exhaustion and fear.
He was laid on a cot, the sharp tang of herbs cutting through the haze. Lyra's voice hovered near, breaking with desperation. "Don't you die, Rein—not after this."
But the darkness tightened its grip, and the chapter closed on a knife's edge—victory clawed from the jaws of ruin, yet Rein's fate teetered, uncertain and fragile.