The room transformed from a treasure chamber…
Into a puzzle.
The glittering piles of gold and artifacts no longer felt like rewards.
They felt like distractions.
A test of greed.
A trap for the impatient.
Jax stepped forward slowly, eyes scanning everything with intent.
"Alright," he said calmly.
"We're not grabbing loot."
He pointed toward the wall of carved symbols.
"We're solving this."
Pixelle hovered nervously near Nyxian's shoulder.
"…What happens if we get it wrong?"
Jax smirked, not even looking back.
"We don't."
The first piece was simple.
Iron.
Jax walked to a pedestal, lifted the ingot, and carried it to the wall.
He didn't hesitate.
Didn't second guess.
The moment he placed it into the correct slot—
CLICK
The entire chamber shifted.
Stone ground against stone.
A hidden panel opened along the far wall.
Inside—
A weapon.
Not just any weapon.
A blade radiating dense, compressed mana, humming with power far beyond anything in the main chamber.
Bunny's eyes widened.
"Oh… okay."
Nyxian let out a delighted laugh.
"Oh, I LIKE this game."
From that point on—
They moved like a machine.
Jax didn't slow down.
Didn't pause.
Didn't need to.
"Iron. Copper. Silver. Gold."
He called them out like commands.
Llandra and Zee moved with surgical precision, retrieving materials and placing them in his hands before he even finished speaking.
Nyxian handled anything unstable—liquids, volatile compounds, glowing magical containers that pulsed with energy.
Bunny carried massive elements—dense ores, reinforced ingots, materials that would have taken entire teams to move.
Pixelle followed.
Watching.
Learning.
Trying to understand something far beyond her world.
Each placement—
CLICK
Unlocked something new.
A chamber.
A weapon.
An artifact.
Armor.
Rare materials.
Magical enhancements.
And it didn't stop.
Every correct move—
Raised the stakes.
The rewards grew stronger.
Rarer.
More absurd.
By the time they reached the middle rows of the structure—
The air itself began to feel heavier with power.
Zee's voice dropped, almost reverent.
"…These are beyond S-Rank items…"
Llandra nodded slowly.
"…We're accessing something no one else has ever reached…"
Pixelle hovered in stunned silence.
"You're solving something no one else even understands…"
Jax didn't look up.
"Yeah."
Another placement.
CLICK
Another chamber opened.
More treasure spilled into view.
"But that's the advantage of being from another world."
Time passed.
Minutes.
An hour.
Then more.
And still—
They continued.
Because Jax didn't stop.
He remembered everything.
Every element.
Every grouping.
Every pattern.
Every position.
Even the obscure ones.
Even the ones that didn't belong naturally.
Because this wasn't just science.
This was knowledge weaponized.
And in this world—
That made it overpowered.
By the later stages, even the Vixens began to feel it.
The weight of what they were doing.
They weren't just solving a puzzle.
They were unlocking something that had been hidden from everyone else.
Every other raid group.
Every other kingdom.
Every other adventurer who had ever stepped into a World Tree.
Pixelle whispered softly—
"…We're cheating…"
Nyxian grinned.
"No."
She glanced at Jax.
"We're winning."
Finally—
Only one remained.
Jax stood still for a moment.
Then reached out.
"…Oganesson."
Zee blinked.
"…That's not even—"
"—naturally occurring. I know."
Jax smirked slightly.
"But this is a magic tree."
He placed it.
Silence.
Then—
The entire chamber trembled.
Not like before.
Not like shifting walls.
Not like unlocking doors.
This felt…
Final.
Every hidden chamber opened at once.
Every reward revealed itself fully.
The entire room bathed in radiant light.
And then—
A final wall shifted.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
As if something ancient…
Had been waiting for this exact moment.
A hidden chamber.
Sealed.
Until now.
Inside—
There was only one item.
A small sphere.
Floating.
Glowing.
Alive.
It pulsed gently.
Like a heartbeat.
Like it was aware.
Pixelle's voice dropped to a whisper.
"…No way…"
Zee stepped forward slowly.
Her voice was quiet.
"…That's…"
Llandra finished.
"…A World Seed."
Jax looked at it.
Then at them.
"…Okay."
"…Explain."
Zee took a breath.
"A World Seed… is not just an item."
"It is the foundation of a civilization."
Llandra stepped forward beside her.
"If planted… it creates a World Tree."
Pixelle nodded quickly.
"And not just any tree—one connected to the ley lines of the entire continent."
Zee continued.
"It produces mana at a scale that can sustain entire nations."
"It generates rare resources continuously."
"Magical fruits. Living materials. Weapon-grade organic constructs."
"It stabilizes territory."
"Enhances life."
"Accelerates growth."
Llandra's voice hardened.
"Kingdoms have gone to war over rumors of one."
Pixelle looked directly at Jax.
"If you plant this…"
"…you don't just build a city."
"You build a power."
She hesitated.
Then added quietly—
"And another Raid."
The room went still.
Zee looked at her.
"…What?"
Llandra's expression darkened slightly.
"…She's right."
"If a World Tree fully matures…"
"…it can eventually generate another Seed."
Jax blinked.
"…So it multiplies?"
"Potentially," Llandra answered.
"Given enough time."
Jax exhaled slowly.
"…That's… insane."
His mind was already working.
Connecting dots.
Scaling possibilities.
"It's like an endless loop…"
No wonder.
No wonder powerful nations destroyed these.
Controlled them.
Monopolized them.
This wasn't just power.
This was exponential power.
Silence filled the chamber.
Jax looked at the floating seed.
Then at the Vixens.
Then back at the seed.
"…So…"
He smirked.
"This is kind of a big deal?"
Nyxian laughed.
"Oh, you have NO idea."
Bunny grinned.
"So… we taking it?"
Jax stepped forward.
No hesitation.
No doubt.
"…Yeah."
He reached out.
And grabbed it.
SYSTEM: World Seed Acquired.
A pulse of energy rippled outward.
Not just through the chamber—
But beyond it.
Beyond the tree.
Beyond the raid.
Something had changed.
Jax turned back to the group.
"We're done."
Bunny stretched.
"Four days."
Zee looked at her system.
"…Just under."
Llandra shook her head slightly.
"No one has ever cleared a World Tree this fast."
Pixelle hovered quietly.
Still processing everything.
Meanwhile—
Elsewhere inside the raid—
Other groups struggled.
Some had already quit.
Forced out through extraction points.
Injured.
Exhausted.
Defeated.
Unlike normal raids—
There were no partial rewards here.
No crystals to claim mid-way.
No consolation prizes.
This was all or nothing.
You either finished—
Or you walked away with nothing.
The Crimson Vanguard pressed forward.
Still alive.
Still fighting.
Still believing they were among the fastest to ever take on such a challenge.
They had supplies for a month.
They had discipline.
Experience.
Strength.
But they were stalled.
Progress slowed.
Measured.
Painful.
They had no idea—
That somewhere ahead of them…
The race had already been decided.
And Jax…
Held the prize in his hand.