Upon entering the forest, nothing seemed particularly out of the ordinary.
Sunlight filtered through the thick canopy in scattered rays, painting soft gold onto the forest floor. The air was humid but fresh, filled with the chirping of insects and the occasional rustle of small creatures darting through the underbrush. Rabbits hopped through the ferns and over twisting roots, their fur dappled in sunlight. A few paused to sniff the air before vanishing into burrows.
Wildflowers bloomed in vivid patches, their petals dancing in the breeze. Despite the Glades' reputation, the Golden Zone was… peaceful.
Even beautiful.
Still, Tagatha didn't let her guard down.
She knew better than to be charmed by a quiet entrance. The Glades could lull even experienced adventurers into a false sense of security.
And she wasn't here for sightseeing.
There was a vast stretch of forest between the bridge and the border of the second layer. As long as she stayed well within that boundary, she would remain relatively safe.
Alright, she thought, eyes narrowing as she stepped carefully over a tangle of roots, first mission: locate a low-level demon beast.
She paused behind a tree and crouched slightly, scanning the area.
This'll be a little tricky, she admitted silently. The smaller ones aren't designed to kill things larger than themselves... unless they're in a pack.
She reached into her pack and pulled out several alchemy crystals, selecting specific elements before slipping them into the pouches on her belt. A few utility potions followed—one for body enhancement, one for healing, and a third for stamina—all strapped securely to her hips for easy access.
In combat, digging through a bag was asking to die.
Everything needed to be ready before the first blow.
With every step, the trees grew taller, the shadows deeper, and the sounds around her more alive. She moved with carefully, boots hovering just an inch above the ground to avoid rustling leaves and snapping twigs.
In one hand, she held her map; in the other, she jotted notes down in a slim notebook tucked against a leather-bound clipboard. The bark of certain trees here looked different—etched with lines like veins, pulsing faintly with residual spiritual energy. She took note.
A cluster of low-hanging fruit caught her attention round, with speckled silver skins and leafy purple stems.
Cymon fruits, she noted mentally, pausing to examine them.
"I heard these were edible," she murmured to herself, scribbling down on the pad. "Sour base… numbing effect if not ripened properly. Can dull pain in a pinch."
She took one and slipped it into her pack. It might come in handy. She looked back at her map, retracing the distance she'd already traveled.
Still within the Golden Zone. Good.
The next safe point—the Eye—was far off, near the edge of the Second Layer. She wasn't going that deep.
As Tagatha ventured deeper into the forest, the grass shimmered with dew from the prior night's mist. The air was thick with humidity. Her gaze fell on claw marks carved into the trees, deep, wide. She crouched down to inspect them, running her fingers along the rough edges.
Spirit beast territory, she concluded. Demon beasts didn't mark trees. They had no sense of territory, no concept of civilization. They weren't builders or dominators, only predators. Spirit beasts, on the other hand, marked ground they claimed.
That gave her some reassurance.
Spirit beasts only attacked when provoked. As long as she respected their space, she'd be fine.
She stood and sniffed the air lightly—an old habit she picked up while studying with beast handlers. The scent was loamy, heavy with moisture and bark. Swamp-adjacent woodland. Low threat, at least on the surface.
Then.. A howl.
What the hell was that?!
Her head whipped around, scanning for the source. Nothing moved, no rustling, no shifting shadows, no eyes in the brush. But something was there.
She quickly pulled two small vials from her belt—one a shimmering orange, the other pale blue. She popped the corks and downed them both: a performance-enhancement potion and a stamina booster If they're low-ranked, they won't engage unless in packs. Or unless they're planning an ambush...
Her eyes narrowed, she didn't like this. She was only about twenty feet from the bridge, and already things were turning sideways.
Then she felt it.
The ground beneath her trembled. Faintly at first—barely perceptible—but then the nearby rocks and pebbles began to jump, shaking against the moss-covered soil. She drew her rapier with a soft shhhhhnk.
This isn't right, she thought, eyes darting. There shouldn't be anything that size in the Golden Zone. I studied the bestiary. Nothing even close to the size of a wolf is supposed to exist here. Something this big—this fast—it shouldn't have made it out of the second layer.
Or so she believed.
A massive black blur tore through the trees with terrifying speed.
A deep snarl split the air as a colossal maw, lined with jagged teeth each the size of a machete—lunged from the treeline. Tagatha froze for a half-second, her body paralyzed by shock.
But her training, her instinct, years of drilling in the estate's training grounds kicked in.
Her body moved. She leapt back just as the beast slammed into the ground where she'd stood a heartbeat ago, the earth cracking beneath its impact.
Holy crap! I almost died—I almost freaking died! her mind screamed as she landed in a crouch, rapier raised, heart hammering against her ribs. Her arms trembled. Her legs shook. This wasn't practice anymore. This wasn't a dummy in the courtyard.
The dust cleared and from the haze emerged the beast.
A Serie.
A wolf-like demon beast covered in slick, black fur. Jagged white stripes ran across its shoulders and down its spine like war paint. It was huge—easily the size of a bear, its bulk thick with muscle, its glowing red eyes locked on her with pure hatred.
Each breath it took steamed from its flaring nostrils. Saliva dripped from between its fangs as it lowered its head and growled. The ground vibrated beneath its padded steps.
Tagatha's stomach twisted.
A Serie was never supposed to appear this close to the city. This one must've slipped through from the second layer. She slapped her cheek, the sting grounding her as her legs threatened to lock.
Get it together. Breathe. Calm down. You read about this before.Earth and water affinity. You're okay. You're good.
She barely finished the thought before the Serie lunged. Faster than she expected.
But the body-enhancing potion kicked in, Tagatha dashed to the side, narrowly avoiding the beast's charge. Her feet skimmed the ground as she moved left, trying to veer off its trajectory, but the Serie locked on and twisted sharply, accelerating toward her.
"Damn it—!"
She reached into her pocket, pulling out a green crystal. She threw it with precision, and it shattered at the creature's feet.
A sudden blast of wind erupted, slamming into the Serie's abdomen and lifting the massive beast into the air. It yelped in shock as it was thrown skyward, flipping before crashing down into the underbrush with a dull thud. It wouldn't be down long but it gave her a precious few seconds.
She gasped for breath.
Okay. Think. That thing's body is too solid—my rapier won't pierce the hide. Fur's too dense. I need to aim for the eyes… Avoid the mouth. Avoid the claws. Those fangs are tougher than steel. Use the crystals. Keep your distance. Trap it. Control the field.
Her trembling started to still.
The fear hadn't gone.
But it was manageable now.
Tagatha dashed backward, pushing her body toward one of the sturdier trees at the edge of the clearing. Without hesitation, she activated the enchantments embedded in her boots, propelling herself upward along the bark in swift bursts of momentum until she reached the upper branches. She perched herself atop the sturdiest one she could find, balancing her weight carefully as her eyes remained fixed on the treeline below. The beast didn't give her much breathing room; the moment it recovered from the earlier impact, it let out a guttural snarl and darted toward her once more, its glowing red eyes locked onto hers.
She didn't know exactly what spell it would use. Serie's were unpredictable that way but she knew their magic tier typically hovered between phase five and four, rarely beyond that. They didn't have the capacity for advanced casting like evolved spirit beasts or magic-wielding monsters. Still, she'd have to see it to identify which spell the creature had learned.
Then she felt it.
The spiritual energy around her began to condense, warping the air, making it heavy and moist. Water pulled from the atmosphere shimmered into existence, compressing into hundreds of needle-thin points of liquid, deadly and unnaturally sharp. Tagatha's eyes widened. She recognized it immediately. A phase four water spell: Aqua Volley, a rapid-fire barrage of piercing water lances meant to impale soft tissue through armor and bone alike.
Without thinking, she reached into her side pouch and hurled a red elemental crystal downward. It shattered in a small explosion of flame, the resulting blast vaporizing the needles in a thick wave of steam. For a brief moment, she thought she was safe until, through the boiling haze, the Serie burst forward, leaping straight through the fire like a demon possessed.
"What the hell!?" she gasped, startled.
She jumped from the branch, but she wasn't quick enough. The beast's full weight clipped her midair, slamming into her like a battering ram. The impact felt like being struck by a carriage at full speed. Her body flew through the air and crashed into another tree, snapping through a thick limb before she hit the ground hard. Her training instincts kicked in just enough for her to roll upon impact, distributing the force but the pain still pulsed through every nerve.
She groaned, quickly scrambling back to her feet, boots lifting her slightly off the ground once more. The moment the Serie landed with a heavy thud in front of her, she didn't hesitate. She thrust her rapier straight for its eye, aiming to blind it during its recovery frames. But to her shock, the beast jerked its head just enough for the blade to pierce into the dense fur lining its cheek instead.
You've got to be kidding me! she thought in disbelief. It knew what I was aiming for?!?
She kicked off the ground, leaping away just in time to avoid its jaws snapping shut where her torso had been moments before. The Serie launched after her without pause, its movements accelerating unnaturally with every stride.
This wasn't right.
It was too fast and too smart. This wasn't just a standard D-rank demon beast. It couldn't be.
She pulled out two more red crystals from her pouch and hurled them into its path. They exploded in another fiery wave, engulfing the creature in flame. But once again, the beast defied her expectations, charging straight through the blaze with no hesitation. Its body had changed, she could see it now. A dense, earthen layer coated its muscles, absorbing the fire entirely.
It had activated Rock Body, a basic phase four earth defensive spell—and paired it with Water Convergence to move faster through the terrain. It wasn't just strong.
It was smart.
"Shit, shit, shit!" she hissed, eyes wide with panic.
Desperate, she invoked a trick she'd honed through repetition, manipulating the elemental signatures in her own spiritual energy. She channeled wind and water signature through her body, weaving the elements into her muscles to enhance her speed and fluidity. It wasn't true elemental manifestation, not convergence but it was enough. A temporary boost. A mimicry of what real manifestation of the element the users of said element could do.
The Serie lunged again, maw wide. At the last possible second, Tagatha placed a hand against its nose, using it as leverage to vault herself into the air. She flipped above it, boots flaring, and drove her rapier downward toward its eye in rapid succession. Her aim was true but the hardened rock shell around the beast's face prevented the strikes from penetrating, the blade clinking uselessly against its stone-plated skull.
The Serie whipped around with unnatural speed and clamped down on her arm.
The pain exploded in her nerves as she screamed, her rapier flying from her grasp as the beast threw her like a ragdoll. She slammed into the trees again, crashing through the underbrush and snapping limbs before collapsing to the forest floor. She rolled coughing up blood, every breath scraping against her ribs.
Her right arm was a mess—bitten, bruised, and partially numb. She looked around, barely able to see straight, and spotted her rapier several feet away.
Her body wanted to give out.
"I can't beat this thing…" she thought as she dragged herself to her knees, teeth clenched. "There's no way…"
But her hands still moved.
She grabbed a potion from her belt, popped the cork with her teeth, and chugged it. A wave of warm energy pulsed through her veins as the healing properties began repairing the torn tissue in her arm. The blood flow slowed. Her hand flexed again, clumsy, but responsive, so it'll have to do.
The Serie, meanwhile, stepped forward, its growl low and guttural as it opened its mouth once more, spiritual energy gathering at its jaws.
She grabbed two crystals, a blue and an orange and readied a red one in her off hand. Her instincts screamed at her but she didn't know why.
She got the answer…
The water formed into a rotating cone, sharpening like a drill as it spun faster and faster. Then, with a sudden boom, it launched forward, tearing through the air with a shockwave.
She threw the red crystals, timing it to vaporize the projectile like before but this time, the result was different. The flames melted the water, yes, but the beast added earth at the last second, fusing it with the water spell which created a dense, steaming mass of hardened mud. The attack didn't disappear.
It became stone.
The cone of stone slammed into her stomach before she could dodge, lifting her off the ground and sending her crashing through several trees in a violent arc. She finally hit the ground with a sickening crack, coughing violently as she curled inward, the air knocked entirely from her lungs.
Everything hurts.
Her stomach throbbed with pain. Her vision blurred. Her limbs screamed from the abuse.
What…? Tagatha's thoughts spun in dizzy disbelief as she stared at the hulking form approaching her through the broken trees. No beast this low-ranked should be this smart—should be able to adapt. They're supposed to be mindless killing machines, driven by instinct and bloodlust… and yet this one adapted like it had done it a thousand times before. Like it had been trained.
She coughed violently, her body folding inward as she pushed herself up just enough to sit. Her hand went to her abdomen, where a wet, clinging warmth greeted her palm. Blood. Too much. She pulled her hand away and saw crimson covering her fingers, staining her combat gear, her skin, everything. Panic began to claw at the edges of her mind.
Her trembling hands moved to her belt, searching, fumbling, desperate. Her fingers grasped at empty straps where vials should've been, gone. All of them.
She reached behind her, eyes widening in horror when she found nothing but air.
Her bag was gone.
I must've dropped it during the last hit... I didn't even notice...
The weight of the realization hit harder than the beast's charge.
Frantically, she reached into her pocket and pulled out what little she had left—a trembling handful of crystals, cool and sharp in her palm. Four. Only four remained.
Damn it... I'm gonna die…
The words echoed through her head repeatedly.
I'm gonna die, aren't I?
Her body froze as the beast prowled forward, blood matting its black and white fur, steam curling from its muzzle. Her vision blurred. Her limbs felt heavy, the blood loss robbing her of strength faster than she could fight it. She could barely feel the ground beneath her anymore, only the sharp edges of the crystals digging into her palm, as if they might hold the answers she'd been searching for all this time.
"I… I don't want to die," she whispered, her voice breaking under its own weight, cracking like glass.
Dad was right.
Her mind spiraled.
I should've quit. I should've listened. I should've stayed home. If I had… I wouldn't be here, bleeding out on the ground, prey to a beast I had no business challenging. What was I thinking? That I could prove something? That I could survive a test meant for people stronger than me? Braver than me? More prepared?
Her chest tightened.
I just wanted to be more than what I was born as... Is that so wrong?
Visions flashed through her mind, her mother brushing the hair from her eyes, Lynthia dragging her into town for sweets, her father standing silent in the forge with molten light reflecting off his face. All those moments, all those memories… they passed in front of her eyes like a book coming to its final chapter.
She looked down at the wound in her stomach. The blood still poured from the ragged gash, soaking into the moss beneath her like it was feeding the forest itself. Her breath trembled. Her fingers curled weakly around the crystals. Dad was right, she told herself again, I should've just given up. I'm not meant for this.
The beast stood over her now, breath hot, teeth bared. Its mouth opened slowly, maw stretching, steam rising from its wet gums. It would bite down soon and end it.
But something in her snapped.
Even now, even here, bloodied and beaten and utterly outmatched she couldn't bring herself to accept it.
She clenched her jaw, lips trembling, tears streaming down her cheeks. The fear was there. The regret. But so was the fight.
"Go to hell!" she screamed with everything she had left as she slammed her fist upward into the beast's maw.
Her forearm disappeared between its jaws.
Pain—blinding, soul-wrenching pain—tore through her as the Serie bit down, its teeth slicing through flesh and bone, severing her arm clean off up to the elbow. Her scream didn't even make it out. It collapsed inside her, crushed under the magnitude of the agony.
Tears flooded her eyes as her vision doubled.
But through the haze, she saw the crystals still clutched in her mangled, bleeding hand—now wedged deep inside the beast's gullet.
"Eat shit," she groaned, through clenched teeth.
Wind surged outward. A burst of earth exploded into jagged shards. Water condensed and ruptured. All three elements ignited within the beast's body, shredding it from the inside. The explosion tore through its abdomen, flinging blood and pieces of burning muscle and guts into the air. The creature staggered once, eyes going wide in stunned horror, before it collapsed with a wet, thunderous thud, unmoving.
Silence returned to the forest.
Broken branches hung like skeletal arms overhead. Smoke curled upward from the ruined corpse.
And Tagatha... remained.
She lay there, covered in blood, her own and the beast's, barely able to move, the pain of her missing arm roaring through her system like fire.
But she lived.
She stared up at the trees, her remaining hand clutching the soil beneath her.
"Would… you look at that, Dad…" she murmured through ragged breaths, a faint smile curling on her lips as blood dripped from her chin. "I did it..."
Tagatha lay slumped against the base of a tree, her body trembling uncontrollably. Her breathing came in short, ragged gasps. The pain in her arm had faded into numbness, not from healing, but from shock and blood loss. She could barely feel her fingers anymore. Her vision blurred at the edges, the world spinning in and out of focus as her eyes fixated on the twitching corpse just a few meters away.
Then movement.
The beast's massive body trembled, twitched… and slowly began to rise.
Tagatha's blood ran cold.
The wound she'd torn into its belly was gone. The holes, the burns, the ruptured muscle began mending with sickening speed. Steam hissed from the creature's mouth as faint traces of golden light shimmered over its body, knitting flesh and sealing gashes.
Her eyes widened in disbelief.
You're joking...
She watched, helpless, as it rose to its full height again, its blood-soaked fangs gleaming in the faint light that filtered through the canopy.
It can use… Light Signature? No... no, it can't… this thing can't be a D-rank… It can't even be a C… this isn't fair…
Tears streamed down her cheeks as she stared at the beast in horror, her body slipping further into unconsciousness. Her one remaining hand slid limply to her side, fingers twitching uselessly in the blood-soaked leaves.
Why is it always like this? Why is it that no matter how hard I train, how much I fight, I can't win… not even once… not even when it matters.
She closed her eyes, hot tears mixing with dirt and blood.
"I'm… sorry…" she whispered, her voice hoarse and broken. "Dad… Mom… L-Lyn…"
Her body sagged further against the tree.
Across from her, the beast's eyes glowed as it raised its head. Its mouth parted as its spiritual energy flaring once more. She recognized it. The same spell. The rotating cone. Aimed to pierce her from afar this time, without repeating the mistake of closing distance.
She couldn't move. She couldn't scream. All she could do was accept it.
Shadows bled from the treetops. Not cast by light but born from it, moving like liquid ink across the forest floor, rising, converging. The light around the beast's spell dimmed unnaturally, like the world itself had stopped the attack, slowly breaking it apart and disrupting the spell completely.
And then a thunderous boom cracked through the Glades as something slammed into the earth like a meteor. The forest shook. Leaves flew in every direction. A crater formed beneath the beast's feet from the sheer force of whatever had landed.
A shriek, not from pain, but panic tore from the Serie's throat.
Then came a flash of silver, a blur of motion so fast it tore the wind apart.
A foot crashed down on the Serie's skull, crushing it completely with a single, devastating stomp. Blood and bone and brains exploded into the earth as the beast's body collapsed under the pressure, this time not healing. Not moving. Not twitching.
Dead.
Tagatha's eyes fluttered open as the sound of her heartbeat filled her ears like drums in an empty hall. She squinted into the haze, her blood-matted bangs clinging to her brow as she looked toward the figures now standing over the corpse.
Two of them.
She couldn't see their faces, the trees and shadows obscured their features but the light caught their eyes. One pair shimmered gold, fierce and sharp like a lion's. The other, silver, cold and distant like the moon. Beneath each set of eyes were faint markings, diamond-shaped sigils that glowed softly. The silver-eyed figure had crescent-shaped emblems arcing above the eyes.
What… are they?Spirit beasts? No… people?.
They looked at her. She coughed, the taste of blood thick on her tongue. Her body was barely holding together, consciousness already slipping away, but she forced out one final, desperate breath.
"Please… h-help me…" Was all she could mutter.
Then everything faded as the blood loss along with the pain all finally took over and she blacked out.