The group pushed deeper into the forest.
The canopy overhead was a suffocating net of interlocking branches and massive, moss-laced leaves.
Shadows clung to the ground like a second skin.
Each step felt oddly burdensome, not just from the terrain, but from the unfamiliar tension permeating the air.
None of them had set foot in a biome like this before.
The forest was dense with silence, and every rustle sounded like a threat.
Then, with a fluid motion, Joyce lifted her hand to the side two fingers wrapped, signaling halt.
"Something," she muttered.
They froze immediately, muscle memory kicking in.
Weapons came up in synchronized silence.
"Seven hundred meters to the left… a noise. Not normal."
"You thinking of checking it out?" Loyd asked, his head turning slightly, eyes narrowing as they flicked to her over his shoulder.
"Why not," Bart said, already adjusting the grip on his mace.
The rest gave small nods, wordless but in agreement.
With a gesture from Loyd, the group veered left, keeping formation as they moved toward the source of the sound Joyce had picked up.
But before long, she raised her hand again, this time abruptly.
Her face tensed.
"Stop. It should be ten meters ahead. But something's… off."
She scanned the surroundings, her pupils dilating slightly as she tried to hone in.
"There's nothing here," she murmured.
"Hell yeah, it's wrong," Kelen added, lowering his stance.
His dagger was already out, slicing lightly through the air as he tested its weight. "No trace. No noise"
Then Loyd's hand clamped down on his sword hilt.
He squinted into the gloom. "No, there's a scent. Something smells… wet."
"Yeah, that," Joyce agreed with a small nod.
"Rot, maybe."
Kelen sniffed once, then frowned deeply. "Something's definitely here."
And then it came.
Boom.
Hiss!
A deafening blast tore through the air. From behind a massive, coiled root, a serpent exploded outward, thick as a grown man's torso, scales glistening like wet iron.
Its maw spread open, fangs glinting in the pale light that filtered through the trees.
Loyd didn't hesitate.
He lunged forward, boots skidding over the uneven earth.
As he leapt, his body twisted twice midair, gathering speed.
A golden sheen lit his blade as it slashed downward with brutal force.
"Cross!" he shouted.
Clang!
His blade crashed down against the serpent's skull, only to be repelled with a shocking jolt.
The impact kicked back with the force of a steel battering ram, blasting up through his arms and sending him flying several meters through the air before he landed, sliding backward on his heels.
"The hell… that skin is ridiculous!" Loyd barked.
"Go for the eyes!"
"Got it!"
"RAAARGH!" Bart roared, charging forward like a human wrecking ball.
The mace in his grip began to shimmer, inflating into a massive, iron-plated beast of a weapon.
Steam hissed from the shaft as it expanded.
Sensing the threat, the snake lashed its body, sliding forward in a violent S-curve.
Bart didn't flinch.
Just as the snake came within striking distance, he took a final stomping step, twisted, and brought the mace down with a roar.
Boom!
The blow landed squarely on the serpent's head.
At the same moment, from beneath Bart's raised arm, a fiery arrow shot out, a streak of light slicing upward.
Thwack!
It pierced clean through the snake's left eye.
The creature's head reared back with a furious screech, coiling in agony.
Leaves spiraled into the air from the force of its thrashing.
Kelen took the opening. He was already on the move, a shadow among shadows.
One light step off a tree root, and he vaulted into the air.
His figure blurred.
Stab!
The dagger plunged clean into the snake's other eye.
He didn't linger; with one smooth motion, he kicked off its thick hide and vanished into the underbrush.
"Beautiful hit!" Loyd called out. "Ilya, end it!"
Ilya was already moving.
She raised her staff high, the crystal tip catching a glint of ambient mana.
Her movements were graceful, calculated, but her eyes were cold and focused.
The snake, half-blinded and wild with rage, thrashed harder.
Its tail whipped through the air and caught Bart clean across the chest.
Crack!
He was sent flying, skidding over the ground before vanishing behind a mound of roots.
But it was enough.
A pale blue fireball bloomed from the tip of Ilya's staff.
It hovered for a half-second, spinning with increasing velocity. Then she shouted:
"Explode!!"
Boom!
The fireball surged forward, a white-hot streak tearing through the air.
The ground beneath it burned in its wake, leaves turning to ash as it screamed toward its mark.
By luck or instinct, the snake's head swung back into line, right into the path of the shot.
BOOM!
The fireball struck like a hammer from the sky. The serpent's head ruptured with a grotesque pop.
A wave of heat pulsed outward as charred flesh and scorched scale scattered into the undergrowth.
The body thrashed once, twice, then fell with a wet thud.
It twitched.
And went still.
Dead.
The group lingered for a beat, eyes locked on the fallen serpent to confirm it wasn't just playing dead.
Once it was clear the massive thing was truly lifeless, its twitching ceased, the body slackened into the earth, Joyce broke into motion.
She jogged off toward the direction Bart had been launched.
A few seconds later, she returned, half-supporting and half-dragging the groaning man back to the group.
"Damn… that was way too close," Bart grunted, clutching at his ribs as he leaned back against a thick root.
"Good thing I had that pendant. Without it, I'd be eating through a straw by now."
He winced, probing his chest with cautious fingers, testing for broken bones or caved-in ribs.
Joyce didn't even look at him. She was already digging into her side pouch, her tone curt. "You're lucky this time. If that thing had been tier 3, you'd be splattered across half the forest by now."
She pulled out a crimson vial, the liquid inside glowing faintly in the dim light.
Before Bart could utter a word, she shoved the bottle's spout between his lips and tilted it up, forcing the elixir down his throat.
"Ugh! Cough! Joyce!"
"Be gentler, he's choking," Ilya said with a small laugh, arms crossed as she watched from the side.
Loyd just sighed at the commotion, turning his gaze toward the carcass. Kelen was already there, crouched beside it, quietly inspecting.
Loyd walked over, sheathing his blade in one smooth motion, arms folding as he came to a stop behind Kelen. "Find anything?"
"A lot," Kelen replied without turning, his fingers pointing just beneath the belly scales. "There's a loot drop. Looks like copper coin."
"Seriously? That's extremely rare." Loyd stepped in closer.
Next to the snake's corpse, a glimmering pile had formed, loot, cleanly separated as if placed by invisible hands.
Kelen nudged it aside with his dagger and reached in, scooping up a handful of copper coins.
He whistled low.
"Seventy copper. Hey, hey! If we take down a dozen more of these, we might just make a killing."
"As if that's gonna be easy," Loyd said dryly. But even so, a faint grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Still… if this keeps up, we might not have to worry about money for a while."
The group settled down for a short rest, taking a quick inventory of what they'd earned.
The mood was rising, quiet satisfaction dancing behind every glance they exchanged.
Unspoken between them, but it was obvious: We came to the right place.
After all, the odds of a monster dropping even a single copper coin were almost impossible even in the inner region.
It wasn't unheard of but totally not as much as the loot just now.
Yet here they were.
Then came the real surprise.
As Loyd brought out his blade and made to carve into the serpent's remains, the body vanished in a blink, gone like smoke.
What was left behind was even stranger.
A murky, black gland hovered where the body had been, oily and pulsing faintly.
It looked sticky, almost acidic, like it would eat through anything it touched.
Kelen crouched down again, fingers poking the gland with the tip of a leather-wrapped tool.
"Well, this is unexpected," he muttered. "Body disappears. This thing gets left behind."
"And a weird looting system too," he added after a pause.
"Yeah, this ain't how it normally goes," Bart chimed in, still rubbing his ribs, brows furrowed beneath his messy hair.
"But, hey, it's a weird dungeon. Makes sense the rules are weird too. Hahaha!"
Joyce gave a short nod, her expression thoughtful.
She tested her bowstring with a few casual pulls, checking its tension, then slid it across her back, letting it settle beside her quiver.
"I wonder how those tier 3 experts are doing deeper in the forest?"
"I hope they are safe and sound"
Ilya snorted lightly. "Nah, you're just dying to know what kind of loot they're getting."
Joyce didn't deny it.
Instead, her face turned serious, eyes narrowing slightly.
"Yes. I am curious," she muttered. Her voice dropped a notch, almost conspiratorial. "What if…"
She leaned forward a bit, speaking softly, "What if there's even a chance something here drops silver coins? Wouldn't that be something?"
Loyd chuckled under his breath, glancing out past the twisted tree roots and thick trunks. "Now you're just dreaming."
"Maybe," Joyce admitted with a smirk.
"But," Loyd added, resting his hand on the hilt of his sword, "let's find out. We'll take down a few more and see what else drops."