In the inner zone, a predator with razor-sharp claws lay hidden on a branch, waiting. It watched two prey—one man and one woman—slowly moving beneath its tree. Its muscles tensed. The moment was almost—
Sssss…
A strange crackling sound, like pixels rubbing against the air. The man raised a hand to chest height without even looking. Shards of greenish light, like fragments of corrupted reality, appeared around his palm.
The monster didn't have time to understand.
The man made a sharp motion—a careless throw upward, straight toward its hiding place.
BOOM!
A giant hammer materialized in a flash and slammed into it head-on, blasting it off its perch. The creature crashed heavily onto the ground in front of the two walkers.
Against all expectations, they didn't spare it a glance. They simply kept walking, as if it had never existed. The man extended his hand behind him.
The monster, stunned, lifted its eyes toward the hammer that should have fallen from the sky…
Nothing.
Only a rain of pixelated fragments that faded into nothingness.
It turned its head, growling in pain, toward the figures moving away—
And saw the same man casually make that same throwing gesture again, backward, toward it.
Sssss—CLACK!
The head of the hammer began to reconstruct itself out of the void, formed from greenish shards converging at the speed of thought. In half a second, the weapon was whole again—and already flying toward it.
CRUNCH!
The second impact was even more violent, pinning it against a tree trunk. A final groan escaped its maw.
Then its body was swallowed by a voracious vortex of green light and vanished completely, while the hammer once again evaporated into pixels.
[DING! LV. 6 MONSTER ELIMINATED | +600 EXP]
---
NAME: REMEDY
LEVEL: 9 ➔ 10
[HEALTH: 65% | ENERGY: 45%]
EXP: 8% ➔ 0 ➔ 17.5% (720 ➔ 0 ➔ 1,750 / 10,000)
PR: 429,000 ➔ 605,000
> > > ACTION ZONE: 9m ➔ 10m (The Zone increases with Level)
---
NAME: SERENE
LEVEL: 8 ➔ 9
[HEALTH: 90% | ENERGY: 100%]
TEAM POINTS: 47,900 ➔ 65,500
---
He then checked his interface.
---
— We've been walking in the inner zone for a while now, Remedy began, breaking the forest's silence. Where did all the monsters go? And the other teams? Why is it so… empty?
They stopped beneath a large tree with twisted roots.
— There are probably fewer monsters here than in the outer zone, Serene replied in her monotone voice.
Remedy nodded. — And as for the teams… it looks like there aren't many left in the running. We're getting close to the end.
He sat heavily against the trunk and gestured to Serene. — Come. Let's rest a bit. Then we head straight for the center.
Serene sat down beside him, their shoulders almost touching. — You want to fight the Boss?
— Yes. If we take too long, someone else might do it before us. And I don't want to miss that.
— Alright, Serene replied simply.
She slightly tilted her head and rested it against his shoulder, closing her eyes. — Wake me when it's time.
— Got it, he murmured.
Then he turned his attention to his mental interface.
Hey, System! I've got a ton of PR. I want to create a new concept.
[DING! HOST REMINDER]
[TO CREATE A CONCEPT, THE HOST REQUIRES PR AND THE CONCEPT'S "ESSENCE."]
Essence? What do you mean?
[A CONCEPT'S ESSENCE IS ITS CORE—ITS FUNDAMENTAL IDENTITY: WHAT IT IS.]
[WITHOUT ESSENCE, A CREATED CONCEPT WILL HAVE NO IDENTITY AND NO PRECISE FUNCTION.]
And how do I obtain one?
[THE HOST MUST DISCOVER IT ON THEIR OWN.]
…Alright. I'll deal with that later.
For now, I want to upgrade [Weight of a Feather] before going any further.
[DING! DO YOU WISH TO INCREASE THE LEVEL OF THE CONCEPT "WEIGHT_OF_A_FEATHER"?]
The Boss is level 11, right?
Perfect. Take it straight to level 11.
[DING! -66,000 PR. "WEIGHT_OF_A_FEATHER" HAS BEEN UPGRADED TO LEVEL 11.]
[THE CONCEPT CAN NOW BE INJECTED (TEMPORARY: ENERGY / PERMANENT: PR) INTO TARGETS OF LEVEL 11 AND BELOW.]
A satisfied smile crossed Remedy's face. He checked his updated interface.
---
{ PLAYER INTERFACE — SDR ACTIVE }
NAME: REMEDY
LEVEL: 10
STATUS: HOST
ROLE: CREATOR – INJECTOR – BINDER
ZONE: 10 m
HEALTH: 65% (650/1,000)
ENERGY: 45% (450/1,000)
EXPERIENCE: 17.5% (1,750 / 10,000)
REALITY POINTS (PR): 605,000 ➔ 539,000
— Resource used to create Virus-Concepts and increase their levels.
---
ACTIVE VIRUS-CONCEPTS:
• [Weight of a Feather] — Level 11 (0 / 11,000)
TALENTS:
• ??? (SEALED)
— Unlock conditions not met.
}
He let out a slow breath.
Good. Now I'm ready for the Boss.
His gaze turned toward the horizon, where the trees seemed to close in, forming a darker, more menacing passage. The Heart of the Dungeon was waiting.
---
A short while later, Remedy and Serene prepared to cross the boundary into the Heart of the Dungeon.
Suddenly, an urgent holographic notification imposed itself into their field of vision.
It was an academy announcement, broadcast to all remaining students. It displayed the current point rankings and… a real-time location map, revealing each player's position as a glowing dot.
> > > PROVISIONAL RANKING <<<
1. Team REMEDY — 65,500 pts
2. Team JETT — 40,500 pts
3. NEVE (Solo) — 40,400 pts
4. …
— It's a bit too calm… the academy must have decided to intensify the competition, Remedy remarked while scanning the map, a faint smile on his lips.
Serene, impassive, raised a finger toward the mental map. — Players are approaching. From multiple directions.
— Yeah, you're right, there are—
Remedy stopped mid-sentence, his smile freezing.
— Wait… why is everyone heading straight for us? — Is it because we're in first place? Have we become everyone's prey?
— What do we do? Serene asked with her impassive logic. Do we wait and fight them here?
Remedy looked at her. Haa… you really aren't afraid of anything.
He exhaled. Well… it's not that I'm afraid…
The memory of the wolf leader's surprise, when it had grown overconfident, crossed his mind. …But let's avoid bad surprises.
— No. We'll lure them toward the boundary between the inner zone and the Heart, he declared, a strategic gleam in his eyes. — That way, some will be discouraged just by feeling the Boss's pressure and turn back. We'll reduce the numbers. — And if some persist… just draw the Boss's attention to them. We'll wait for the right moment and steal the Boss kill. — In short, we'll use them as bait and shields.
— And if they all leave? Serene asked as they resumed their run toward the center, the map still overlaid in her mind.
— They won't all leave, Remedy replied, his gaze fixed on three dots pursuing them with particular persistence. Especially Jett's team. I'm sure he won't give up.
— Also… Neve is third, solo? How did she manage that? he muttered as a final thought.
He didn't know why, but a very bad feeling had just taken root.
---
Meanwhile, somewhere in the inner zone.
Neve sat motionless. Her ice sword was planted before her in ground frozen white, surrounded by translucent blocks of ice that imprisoned, like trophies, the frozen bodies of her opponents. Behind her, her ice clone—perfect reflection of her cold eyes—stood guard.
She rose. A visible, icy breath escaped her lips.
One step.
Then two.
Her eyes settled on the mental map, on the two glowing dots racing toward the Heart.
— We'll pursue them as well, she announced.
The words fell cold and sharp, like the blade of her sword.
Her clone began walking behind her, their steps perfectly synchronized in the crunch of artificial snow.
The hunt had begun.
Chapter 11 — End.