Their journey toward Bandung continued.
This time, in a much tighter formation.
They were no longer two groups moving in the same direction by coincidence.
After the battle with the gargoyles, the six of them agreed to move as one party until they reached Neo Bandung.
Arlan walked in front.
To his left, Bara moved steadily.
The large shield on his arm reflected the pale morning light.
Each step from the guardian landed like a dull impact on the cracked asphalt.
Behind them, Maya walked beside Vila.
Maya's white staff gave off a soft green glow every time it touched the ground.
Vila's staff shimmered with faint silver light, like fragments drifting through the air.
At the back, Desta and Raka covered the rear.
Desta walked casually with his greatsword resting on his shoulder.
Raka made almost no sound at all.
The assassin moved like a shadow blending into the fog.
The fog.
Since entering the Cipularang mountains, it had grown thicker.
It hung low, swallowing the sunlight little by little.
The highway no longer felt like a road.
It felt like a corridor into something unknown.
Abandoned cars stood along the road like metal corpses.
Some were already covered in glowing wild plants.
Others had started to change.
But there was no life.
No birds.
No insects.
Only their footsteps.
Bara broke the silence.
"I don't like this place."
He glanced around.
"Feels like we're walking through something that's been dead for a long time."
Desta let out a small chuckle.
"If it was really dead, we wouldn't have been greeted by level forty monsters earlier."
Arlan kept looking forward.
But he understood what Bara meant.
Something about this place was off.
Not just the fog.
His instincts kept warning him.
This area wasn't stable.
Maya suddenly stopped.
Her staff touched the ground lightly.
Small green particles appeared, then faded.
"Arlan."
He glanced back.
"What is it?"
"The mana here… changed again."
Vila nodded.
"I feel it too."
The Holy Magician raised her hand slightly.
Small magic symbols formed in the air, then dissolved.
"The fluctuation isn't normal," she said.
"It feels like the system is strengthening something."
Desta frowned.
"You think this is from the zone upgrade?"
Arlan answered first.
"Partially."
He pointed toward the fog-covered mountain slope.
"When the system raised Jakarta's zone level, high-level monsters started appearing in areas that used to be safe."
Bara snorted.
"So now the highway turned into a gathering place for elite monsters."
Raka spoke quietly from the back.
"Not just that."
Everyone turned.
He pointed toward the fog ahead.
"Listen."
Silence.
Then…
A low growl echoed from behind a wrecked car.
Arlan drew his sword.
Bara raised his shield.
Shadows began to move within the fog.
A hyena stepped out.
But it was different.
Larger than the ones before.
Muscles twisted beneath cracked dark skin like steel cables.
Its red eyes glowed faintly.
Four more emerged behind it.
Desta let out a low whistle.
"That thing looks worse than the ones earlier."
Arlan narrowed his eyes.
Something was off.
They were faster.
More aggressive.
And the pressure they gave off was heavier.
The system displayed the information.
Ironfang Hyena – Level 41
Status: Mutated
Bara raised his shield higher.
"Level forty-one."
A grin spread across his face.
"Now it's getting interesting."
The first hyena attacked without warning.
It leapt forward at shocking speed.
But Bara was ready.
His shield slammed into it.
A heavy impact cracked the asphalt beneath them.
"Now!"
"Skill Infusion Fire."
Arlan's voice cut through the air.
Flames wrapped around his blade, mana igniting along the edge.
Flash Step.
His body vanished.
He appeared beside the hyena.
One clean strike.
The monster split apart before it could react.
The rest of the pack rushed in.
Desta laughed.
His greatsword spun like a war hammer, smashing one hyena and sending it flying.
Raka disappeared.
A second later, he appeared behind another.
His dagger pierced straight through its throat.
"Backstab," he muttered.
Vila raised her staff.
A white magic circle formed.
Light fell like rain across the battlefield.
"Radiant Bind."
The remaining hyenas slowed.
Their movements restrained by the light.
Maya moved at the same time.
A healing circle formed beneath Bara and Desta.
Warm energy flowed through their bodies.
Arlan stepped forward.
"Spiral Nova."
His blade cut through the air.
A wide arc of energy burst outward.
The last hyena shattered into particles of light.
Silence.
Then the system responded.
[PLAYER STATUS]
ID: AzureBound
Level Up 35 → 36
[PLAYER STATUS]
ID: IronWall
Level Up 37 → 38
[PLAYER STATUS]
ID: Maya
Level Up 35 → 36
[PLAYER STATUS]
ID: Desta
Level Up 37 → 38
[PLAYER STATUS]
ID: Raka
Level Up 37 → 38
[PLAYER STATUS]
ID: Vila
Level Up 36 → 37
They all glanced at their status screens.
A small smile formed across each of their faces.
Then the fog swallowed the silence again.
Desta exhaled.
"Level forty-one monsters on a highway…"
He shook his head.
"A few days ago, this place only had level twenty monsters."
Vila looked toward the mountains.
"The mana inside that fog is strange."
Maya nodded.
"It feels like the fog is strengthening the monsters."
Raka pointed ahead.
The fog there was much thicker.
Like an unmoving sea of clouds.
Through a brief opening…
Something stood in the distance.
A towering silhouette.
Then the fog closed again.
Desta stared in that direction.
"That's…"
He paused.
"…the path to Neo Bandung."
Bara grinned.
"Good."
He tapped his shield.
"Means we're going the right way."
But Arlan didn't feel relieved.
He kept staring at the fog.
The closer they got to Bandung…
the more unstable this place felt.
Like the system was trying to adjust something.
Something unfinished.
The fog moved slowly.
Swallowing light.
Swallowing sound.
And beyond it…
Neo Bandung waited.
But before they could reach it…
The Cipularang mountains still held something they didn't understand.