The fog clung low over the marsh, rolling between twisted reeds and skeletal trees like something alive. Ethan's boots squelched in the mud with every step, the weight of the stagnant air making him sweat despite the cool breeze drifting over the water. His team trailed behind, their silhouettes wavering in the haze like ghosts.
They had been following the shadowy figure for hours now—too long for comfort. Whoever it was, they knew the marsh well. Every time Ethan thought they were getting close enough to catch up, the figure melted deeper into the fog, their pace steady, never hurried, as though they were certain the group would keep chasing.
"Something's wrong," Sarah murmured. Her bow was drawn, an arrow nocked but angled toward the muck. Her fox-like ears twitched in constant motion, straining for the sound of something besides their own footsteps. "We've been walking in circles. I swear we passed that dead oak an hour ago."
"You're imagining it," Cole grunted from the front, the brawler's bulk cutting a path through tangled roots and knee-deep muck. He didn't even look back. "I'd know if we were walking in circles."
"No," Mira, the mage, said quietly. She had her staff clutched in both hands, knuckles pale. "Sarah's right. The moss on that oak… it's the same pattern. We've been led back here."
Ethan's stomach sank. "You think it's deliberate?"
"It feels like bait," Lucas, the knight, said grimly. His armor was already streaked with mud from the deeper pools they had waded through. "And we've taken it."
The shadowy figure appeared again through the mist, closer now—close enough for Ethan to make out the long, dark coat, the hood pulled low over their face. For a second, their head turned just enough to reveal the faint curve of a smile.
Then they slipped sideways into the reeds.
Cole swore. "I'm done playing games." He surged forward, splashing into a deeper channel of water.
"Wait—" Ethan started, but it was already too late.
The ground shifted beneath them.
It wasn't just mud—something alive moved under the surface. A sudden hiss rose from the mist, followed by the wet slap of heavy limbs breaking the surface.
Dark creatures.
They came out of the mire in jerking, unnatural bursts. The first was long and thin, its torso twisting like rope, with too many elbows along its arms. Another dragged itself forward on six legs ending in jagged claws, its head a slick, eyeless lump. The smell of rot hit them like a wall.
"They're surrounding us!" Sarah yelled, loosing her first arrow. It sank into one of the thin creature's joints, but the thing didn't even slow.
Ethan's system flared to life in his head.
[Kill Detected: Dark Spawn]
EXP Amplification Roll…
Result: 2x EXP
Two times. In the middle of a trap.
"Of course," Ethan muttered, tightening his grip on his sword. "You couldn't give me a decent boost for once?"
Randomness ensures growth, Host.
"Growth my ass."
The first creature lunged, and Ethan moved to meet it. His blade bit into the wet flesh, but the resistance was strange—like cutting through soaked rope. The thing shrieked, flailing, and splashed backward into the water.
Cole roared and slammed his fists into the eyeless lump of a head on another, breaking it open like an overripe fruit. Black ichor sprayed across the brawler's face, but before he could step back, two more creatures burst from the water behind him.
"We're getting boxed in!" Lucas barked, moving to cover Cole's flank. His shield rang under the force of the blows, the sound muted by the thick fog.
From somewhere deeper in the marsh came a noise that made Ethan's skin crawl—a heavy, dragging sound, as if something massive was shifting through the muck toward them.
"We need to move!" Mira shouted. Her staff flared, sending a shock of fire rolling across the water. Steam exploded upward, masking them even more.
But the figure in the long coat was still there. Standing perfectly still, just at the edge of the mist. Watching.
Ethan felt it then—that same sensation from his first day in this world, when he had woken in that strange room. Something unseen brushed against his mind. Not words, not even thoughts—just… intent. Amusement.
Like someone was watching a game.
Another Dark lunged for him, and Ethan moved without thinking. His sword flashed, the impact jolting up his arm. The thing went down with a wet thud, twitching, and his system pinged again.
[Kill Detected: Dark Spawn]
EXP Amplification Roll…
Result: 50x EXP
Ethan froze for half a heartbeat.
Boost available. Claim now?
"Yes!" The word was a growl.
Strength surged through him instantly, his muscles feeling lighter, faster, as if every movement had been oiled and honed. He tore into the next creature with a speed that made it stagger backward, black ichor spraying.
"Ethan—left!" Sarah's warning came just as something erupted from the water behind him.
He spun, barely ducking the swipe of a massive claw. This one was different—its bulk was twice the size of the others, with a thick, plated back and a head shaped like a crocodile's but studded with barnacle-like growths.
The dragging sound. It had arrived.
Cole hit it from the side, both fists smashing into its armor. The thing barely reacted, whipping its tail around to send the brawler flying into the mud.
Lucas charged next, shield up, but the creature just waded forward through the blow, its claw coming down like an axe. Lucas caught it on his shield, but the force drove him to one knee.
"Eyes!" Ethan yelled, moving in. "Go for the—"
He never finished. The figure in the long coat moved for the first time, stepping into the fight. They didn't attack. Instead, they knelt and pressed a hand into the water.
A ripple spread outward.
Every Dark froze.
Then, as if pulled by invisible strings, they withdrew—slipping back into the fog, sinking beneath the surface, until the marsh was still again.
The figure rose, their face still hidden. They looked straight at Ethan, and though the mist swallowed the details, he knew they were smiling again.
Then they were gone.
Ethan's breath came fast, his sword still raised. "What the hell just happened?"
No one answered. They were all too busy staring at the empty water, the silence heavier than the fog around them.