Two weeks passed.
We were still stuck in the middle of this damn forest — no town, no path, just endless trees and monsters.
I had reached Level 28.
My stats were rising faster than before, but I didn't even know the others' levels anymore.
From the start, we all leveled differently — maybe because of the monsters we fought, or the hidden stats the system never showed us.
Every day was just the same routine: hunt, train, survive.
We'd travel about twenty kilometers from camp, me, Riku, his twin Sota, Minji, Marco, and Hyun Woo, slaying anything that got too close.
Still, we couldn't figure out how the experience system really worked — did we share XP equally, or was it split? No one knew.
That day, after another exhausting hunt, we returned to camp. The firewood pile was low, the tents half torn, but at least it was home — for now.
As we settled down, someone approached us from the shadows between the trees.
He looked cautious but confident, his clothes a mix of leather armor and scavenged metal plates.
"Hey," he said, raising his hand peacefully. "Name's Samuel. I'm from Canada."
We exchanged quick glances — none of us recognized him.
He continued, "We're from a group called Freedom. Fifteen people, total. We've been setting up north of here."
He paused for a moment, then said, "We found an Ogre about fifty-five kilometers north — Level 40. It's too strong for just us. We're looking for help."
The fire crackled between us, casting light on Samuel's worn face.
A Level 40 Ogre… that was nearly double our strength.
Even with Hyun Woo's S-rank healing and my A+ manual, one wrong move could mean death.
I looked at Marco, who was already grinning like an idiot.
"Finally, something big," he said.
But I wasn't smiling.
Big meant danger, and in this world… danger usually meant death.
At first, we didn't answer Samuel.
Everyone just stared — quiet, tense.
Something about his timing felt off.
Hyun Woo was the first to speak. "A Level 40 Ogre… and fifteen people? Sounds risky."
His eyes narrowed, scanning Samuel like he could read his thoughts.
We'd been through enough to know — not everyone in this world had good intentions.
I stayed silent, hand on the hilt of my sword.
Well, if you could call it a sword.
It was just an old, chipped D-rank blade I'd taken from a goblin corpse.
Better than nothing, but against a monster that could crush trees with one swing… it felt like holding a stick.
Hyun woo whispered beside me, "Feels like an ambush."
He was right. Fifteen people on their side, and only six of us — that was already a bad start.
But then again… a Level 40 Ogre meant massive XP.
We couldn't ignore that.
Samuel must've noticed our hesitation.
"We're not the only ones joining," he said. "The Crow group will be there too."
The moment he said that, Hyun Woo's face changed.
The Crow group — those were the four Koreans who had left us, following Ha Joon after that argument two weeks ago.
If they were going, this wasn't going to be simple.
Samuel continued, "We'll head out by 7 A.M. tomorrow. Meet at the center, the place where we all got summoned."
Then he turned and disappeared back into the trees, leaving only silence and the sound of fire cracking behind him.
I looked at Hyun Woo.
He didn't say anything, just kept staring into the flames, lost in thought.
I sighed. "So what do you think?"
Marco smirked, tossing a small rock into the fire.
"I think we go. Poor as hell, weak swords or not — it's a Level 40 boss. If we kill it, we level up for sure."
I couldn't argue.
Maybe this was our chance to finally move forward — or maybe it was just another trap waiting to swallow us.
Either way, tomorrow… we'd find out.