Leo's eyes glowed, a mix of excitement and surprise.
"Now you just need to complete a quest, and you'll get your own adventurer card," Elric said.
"Do you have a specific quest in mind for us?" Ryan asked.
Elric paused for a moment, considering. "Actually, I do." He turned and started walking toward the building again, motioning for Ryan and Leo to follow. "It's about a corrupted adventurer."
They entered a large office, and Elric moved behind the sturdy wooden desk, rummaging through a stack of papers. After a moment, he pulled one out and handed it to Ryan.
"He was a B-rank adventurer who became corrupted during a mission. The cause of his corruption is still unknown, but we've already sent two groups of C-rank adventurers one with a B rank after him, and none of them have returned. No one wants to take the quest anymore." He then looked up at Ryan with a knowing smile. "But that shouldn't be a problem for you, right?"
"You do realize this quest is for Victor, don't you?" Ryan asked, raising an eyebrow.
Elric's grin widened. "What's wrong with him earning some extra money?"
Ryan let out a long sigh. "You still haven't changed—you're as tricky as ever."
The old man burst into laughter. "So, will you take it?"
Ryan crossed his arms. "Fine, but on one condition. The guild provides us with a room for as long as we stay here."
Elric extended his hand. "Deal."
He shook it before asking, "Now, what details do you have on this guy?"
Elric leaned back in his chair. "He was a B-rank druid."
The mention of a druid piqued Leo's curiosity. He had read about druids before but had never seen one in person. Druids weren't just another magic path or class—they were like vampires, an independent faction of their own. And now, he had the chance to encounter both a druid and a corrupted.
"His last known location is deep in the forest—but don't worry, it's still before you reach Mount Oromond," Elric said.
"What's wrong with Mount Oromond?" Leo asked.
"For some reason, that mountain is crawling with B-rank and higher monsters," Ryan explained.
Elric nodded firmly. "Never go near that place," he warned before returning to the previous topic. "We also suspect that some of the missing C-rank adventurers have been corrupted as well."
"So we could be dealing with an entire group of corrupted enemies," Ryan mused.
Elric shrugged. "It's possible."
"Did the missing adventurers have any magic items with them?"
"We don't have any information on that, unfortunately."
Ryan stood up. "Alright. We'll prepare and leave as soon as possible." He turned to Leo. "Let's go."
After saying their goodbyes, Leo followed Ryan out and into one of the rooms Elric had told them before leaving his office.
"Gather everything you need and be in the main hall in thirty minutes," Ryan instructed.
Leo sighed. 'I was hoping to take a shower.'
With no time for that, he placed the items he didn't need inside the room and double-checked his gear. He still had some time left, so he sat down and started refilling his depleted mana crystals.
'I'm lucky I learned this method of filling crystals,' he thought with a small smile.
After filling his crystals, Leo stepped into the hall. Almost immediately, he felt the weight of countless eyes on him. Whispered voices reached his ears from every direction, some hushed and curious, others cautious or doubtful. He ignored them and focused on Ryan, who stood in the center of the hall, drawing even more attention than Leo himself.
As Leo approached, Ryan reached into his bag, pulled out a sword, and handed it to him.
"Here. It's a sword with a fire enchantment."
Leo took it, examining the weapon closely. The blade was well-balanced, its edge sharp and sturdy, but aside from that, it looked ordinary—no glowing runes, no intricate engravings. If Ryan hadn't mentioned the enchantment, he wouldn't have guessed it held any magical properties at all.
"It's… a gift?" Leo asked hesitantly, unsure how to respond.
"It's a necessity. And please, don't thank me."
"Okay…"
With that, they left the guild and began making their way toward the forest. The streets were lively, filled with merchants calling out their wares and travelers moving between shops and inns. However, as they passed through the outer district, the bustling energy faded, replaced by the looming presence of the wild.
Fifteen minutes later, they reached the city's border. Before them stretched a vast, ancient forest, its towering trees forming a thick canopy that blocked much of the sky. A narrow dirt path led forward, quickly vanishing into the dense foliage.
Ryan glanced at Leo. "Stay close." Then, without another word, he stepped onto the path.
The deeper they went, the darker it became. Sunlight struggled to pierce through the tightly woven branches above, casting shifting patterns of shadow on the ground. The air was damp and heavy with the scent of moss and wet earth. Strange sounds echoed in the distance—chittering, rustling, the occasional distant growl.
For an hour, they walked in near silence, their footsteps muffled by the soft forest floor. Eventually, a structure came into view through the thick foliage.
A small, decrepit cottage stood alone in a clearing, its presence unnerving. The wooden walls were weathered and cracked, vines creeping over its surface as if nature itself was trying to reclaim it. The door hung slightly ajar, revealing only pitch-black darkness inside. The atmosphere around it felt… wrong. Tendrils of thick mist swirled unnaturally at its edges, and the shadows of the surrounding trees twisted in odd, unsettling ways.
It was as if the entire area was tainted.
Ryan's voice was low but firm. "Get ready."
Leo nodded and drew his new sword. Despite its unremarkable appearance, the knowledge that it was enchanted with fire made him feel slightly more confident. He activated his crystals, and then triggered Moonlit Gaze.
His vision shifted. The ordinary darkness inside the cottage peeled away, revealing three distinct sources of life within. They moved subtly, their forms unclear, but he was certain they were there. He quickly glanced around the perimeter of the clearing—nothing. No animals, no insects, not even birds perched on the trees. As if every living creature had instinctively abandoned this place.
"There are three creatures inside," Leo reported.
Ryan turned to him, eyebrows raised. "How do you know? Did you use enhanced vision?"
Leo smirked. "Don't worry, I'm a lot more careful after you trapped me." His expression turned serious. "Besides, our opponents are mindless creatures, right?"
Ryan exhaled sharply. "Who told you that?"
Leo hesitated. "They aren't?"
Ryan shook his head. "Most of them are, but higher-level corrupted sometimes retain fragments of their past—especially their darkest desires." He scanned the area before nodding toward the trees. "Set some traps around here."
Leo didn't argue. He reached into his pouch and pulled out Mana Surge Snare traps, carefully placing them in strategic locations—along the edges of the clearing, near the entrance of the cottage, and a few hidden among the undergrowth.
After a few minutes, he returned. "It's ready."
Ryan nodded and raised his hand toward the cottage. Shadows coiled in his palm, twisting and rotating into a dense sphere. Gradually, a second layer of energy formed within—fire. The swirling darkness compressed the flames, condensing them into a volatile core. The longer he held it, the brighter it became, flickering like a barely contained explosion.
Inside the cottage, something stirred. The creatures had noticed them. A faint scraping sound echoed from within, followed by the slow, deliberate creak of wood.
Leo immediately carved a circle into the ground with his sword, activating a Dome spell around them. A second before his barrier took effect, Ryan unleashed his attack.
The sphere of compressed shadows and fire shot forward. The instant it struck the cottage, the entire structure erupted in a violent explosion. A shockwave burst outward, tearing through the clearing. Flames consumed everything within a five-meter radius, reducing the fragile wooden walls to nothing but splintered wreckage. Fortunately, Leo had set his traps at a ten-meter radius. The remaining trees near the blast site caught fire, their branches crackling as embers spread.
Only smoldering ruins remained.
Leo lowered his barrier and exhaled. "You never told me you could control fire."
Ryan didn't take his eyes off the destruction. "I can't. I used my shadow ability to compress the fire from an enchanted item."
Before Leo could respond, something moved within the flames.
Suddenly, two thick branches shot out of the fire, lashing toward them at terrifying speed—only to stop just inches away.
Then, from beneath the scorched earth, something began to rise.
It took the shape of the forest's own nightmare, rising from the earth in a writhing mass of roots and splintered bark. Its twisted trunk expanded, jagged edges forming a gaping maw lined with needle-like thorns, each one dripping with fresh sap that resembled blood. Red, glowing eyes dotted the upper branches like malevolent lanterns, scanning the gloom for prey.
Limbs and roots lashed in every direction, tearing free of the soil with sickening cracks, as if the creature were shrugging off the weight of the underworld. Its emergence twisted the clearing into a battlefield of tangled branches and pulsing, unnatural growths. The air thickened with the stench of rot and magic, suffocating in its intensity.
Where once there might have been a druid, now stood a towering abomination. Its grotesque form bulged and contorted, resembling some ravenous monster rearing onto its haunches.
It was a creature unlike anything Leo had ever seen.
Beside it, another creature clawed its way out of the ground. This one bore a grotesque resemblance to a human, but its form was horribly twisted. A mass of excess flesh bulged on its back, rising higher than its head, giving it the appearance of a hunched monster. The difference, however, was far worse—embedded in its back were two additional faces, their mouths frozen in eternal agony, along with several extra hands and even a malformed leg. It was a grotesque fusion of the missing C-rank adventurers, their bodies merged into a single, writhing abomination.
Leo grimaced. "That's disgusting."
Ryan's expression hardened. "Can you handle it?" His voice carried an edge of urgency. "I need to focus on that tree monster."
Leo activated the enchantment on his sword, and flames roared to life along the blade. "No problem."
Without hesitation, he sprinted toward a different angle, hurling a fireball at the smaller abomination mid-run. The creature remained motionless—until the flames struck it.
Then, all its mouths opened at once, unleashing a deafening, ear-piercing scream that reverberated through the forest. The monstrous tree reacted instantly. A thick, gnarled branch shot toward Leo, but just before it could reach him, it halted suddenly, as if something had forced it to stop.
Leo didn't have time to question it. He refocused on his own opponent, locking eyes with the fused horror. Without hesitation, it lunged at him, its speed far greater than its grotesque form suggested.
At the same time, Ryan strode toward the monstrous tree, a confident smile stretching across his face. "You're really unlucky," he said, his tone almost mocking. "I'm the worst opponent for you."
The tree responded immediately, lashing out with several thick branches. But before they could reach him, they froze mid-air, suspended as if caught in invisible strings. That was the last thing Leo saw before vanishing into the trees, the abomination still chasing after him.
The creature tore through the undergrowth, smashing aside anything in its way. Leo pushed forward a few more steps before whirling around. The monster was still charging straight at him, its many eyes fixed on him with murderous intent.
"One more step…" Leo muttered under his breath.
The creature lunged forward—right onto a trap. The ground beneath its massive foot exploded, sending up a burst of magical energy. Though the blast didn't do much damage, it was enough to slow the creature down.
Leo seized the opportunity. He dashed forward and swung his sword, its enchanted flames illuminating the dark forest as he activated Moonlit Gaze. His blade found its mark, slicing deep into one of the grotesque hands protruding from the mass of flesh on its back.
A piercing scream erupted from all of the creature's mouths at once. It lashed out in retaliation, throwing a massive fist at Leo. Anticipating the attack, he braced himself, raising his shield just in time to block the blow. The impact was staggering, forcing him back several steps, but he stayed on his feet.
Not giving it a chance to recover, Leo conjured two fireballs and hurled them at the abomination. The flames struck its body, searing into its twisted flesh. He quickly raised his shield again, using it to absorb the impact without exposing himself.
As the dust and smoke cleared, the creature's injuries became visible. One of its arms was completely missing, charred remains still smoldering where the fire had burned through. Its body bore fresh burn marks, flesh bubbling and peeling from the heat.
But it didn't flinch. It didn't retreat.
Instead, it stared at Leo with pure rage. No fear. No pain. Only hunger and hatred.
Leo smirked, gripping his sword tighter. "This is going to be a tough fight."