Lian, Hazy, and Lin Ling were being chased by foxes. They had already been played.
They were following a wounded one, thinking it was an easy catch. But the fox had taken the hit on purpose, keeping it away from anything vital, then played weak to draw them in. Once they started chasing, it led them in a set direction—moving just slow enough to keep them hooked, but not slow enough to be caught.
By the time Lian realized, it was too late.
"Abort. Back to camp," he said.
Hazy didn't understand, but Lin Ling did. He turned without hesitation and ran with Lian.
Hazy followed a few meters behind, confused why they were running like they'd seen something. Only after they climbed a tree to rest did Lian explain.
Then she understood.
The three of them sent an SOS and decided to wait it out on the tree.
Then Lian saw movement.
A shape in the bushes. Then another. And another. Six… seven… more slipping into place from the shadows.
And now, it increased to eleven.
They surrounded the tree without a sound.
One fox stepped forward and raised its claws. It was the biggest of the pack.
It struck the trunk.
Each hit tore into the wood, chunks giving way with every swipe like it wouldn't hold for long.
"The tree's going to fall soon," Lian said.
The moment it started to fall, he picked the side with fewer foxes and jumped, hitting the ground.
The moment Lian hit the ground, the larger fox lunged at him.
Its jaws snapped inches from his throat.
He twisted his body to the side narrowly avoiding the claws, raised his hand, and the pyromancy glove flared to life. Flames burst out, catching its face mid-air. The burn peeled through, exposing raw flesh, leaving it twisted and ugly.
It staggered back with a harsh sound.
"Yeah… they're really resistant to ether attacks," he thought, already moving.
They kept running. Direction didn't matter anymore.
An hour passed. The foxes were still on them.
Lian was already exhausted from the run. Unlike Hazy or Lin Ling, his body couldn't keep up—the previous Lian hadn't trained much physically.
He was close to collapsing from exhaustion if things didn't change.
Luckily, not long after, Hazy spotted something in the distance and signaled.
They followed her into the catacombs without thinking.
There wasn't time to think.
The structure was carved into the side of a small mountain, half-hidden by the forest. The entrance sat open like an old shrine, worn down and unnoticed.
Inside, the air turned dry and stale, carrying a faint bitter smell. Narrow stone corridors stretched ahead, walls rough and uneven, marked with faded carvings. Bones were scattered everywhere—some stacked, others dragged across the floor, leaving faint blood stains along the walls and stone.
Passages split without warning. Low arches and tight turns. The whole place felt like a maze built to trap you.
But they didn't have a choice.
It was either this—
or get eaten by the foxes.
They rushed into the catacombs and took the stairs.
Lian glanced back.
The foxes had stopped at the entrance.
All except one.
The same one he had burned.
Hazy let out a short breath. "Yeah… it's got a grudge on you."
Lian moved fast, taking three left turns in a row. Hazy kept checking with her listening rune.
"It's still on us. Likely tracking by scent."
Footsteps echoed through the corridors.
Closer.
Now its not just one anymore—
but five.
Lian's pace started to drop. Exhaustion caught up with him. He slowed, then spoke,
"I've got a plan. You two go ahead. I'll regroup."
Hazy frowned. "Are you serious? You're taking on all five alone?"
Lian shook his head. "No. I'll handle one. You two hold off the other four."
Hazy frowned. "I don't see how that's supposed to work. It makes zero sense."
Lin Ling gave a short nod. "Yeah… I'm trusting you on this."
They moved ahead and took another left turn.
Lian stayed back.
Before they split, he took the listening rune from Hazy.
Then he slipped into invisibility and waited.
The four foxes rushed past, chasing Hazy and Lin Ling.
A few seconds later, the burned fox arrived. It slowed near him, sniffing the air. After a moment, it found nothing and moved on, following the others.
But before it could take the left turn—
flames hit it from nowhere.
Its body caught fire. It twisted, letting out a sharp, broken scream as it rolled across the ground, trying to put it out.
Lian didn't stop. He burned it again. And again.
Until it didn't move.
About twenty meters ahead, Hazy and Ling Ling were still holding off the other four.
Lin Ling kept a water wall up, blocking the worst of their attacks. Hazy moved around it, cutting in when she could, leaving shallow wounds that didn't slow them much.
Lian stayed back, still invisible, drawing in ether from crystals, letting his reserves recover.
Ten minutes passed.
Hazy and Lin Ling were slowing down. Their movements weren't as clean anymore.
Then, without warning, one of the foxes caught fire.
The others foxes froze, looking around, unable to find the source.
Hazy didn't hesitate. She stepped in and drove her blade through its neck while it was still burning, finishing it cleanly.
Another fox lunged at her—
and flames hit it mid-air.
This time it wasn't enough. Only its legs and tail burned slightly, but it kept going.
Then water closed in around it's entire body, wrapping tight, cutting off its breath.
Hazy turned to the next fox, striking fast, but it reacted in time, slipping away with only a shallow cut.
It paused for a moment, staring at the two bodies in front of it—
then turned and ran.
The last one followed right behind it.
--
Lian circled back to his initial spot, dropped the invisibility, and walked toward them.
He didn't say much. Just sat down, pulled out a small dagger, and started cutting into the foxes like a surgeon.
Lin Ling glanced at him. "How did you hit them from that far?"
Lian didn't look up. "Just some basic fire grenades."
Lin Ling and Hazy exchanged a look.
Fire grenades my ass
But they let it go.
Getting out of this place mattered more right now.
A minute later, Lian reached into one of the foxes and pulled out a small sphere from near the heart.
He turned it in his hand. "So this is a soul sphere?"
Lin Ling nodded. "Yeah. Looks like a stone with stars and clouds inside."
Hazy glanced at it. "More like a tennis ball with a night sky on it. First time I'm seeing one too."
Lian handed one to each of them. Three foxes, three spheres.
They could use these to prove the kills and earn extra points.
If they got out of this place alive, that is.
Lian also handed the listening rune back to Hazy.
He had taken it just to be safe. The rune could pick up even the slightest vibrations, like footsteps, enough to expose the fact that he could turn invisible. Even if Hazy couldn't use it properly mid-fight, he didn't want to risk it.
Lian checked his compass. North.
"Then we just head south," he said. "Four right turns, we should be out."
It wasn't anything special. Just something he'd picked up in his previous world while playing video games—basic maze logic. Stick to one side, don't overthink it.
Hazy frowned. "Or we can wait here. Rescue should come."
Lin Ling shook his head. "I don't like this place. Let's move. At least we'll know if we're on track."
They retraced their path. Back the way they came. Three right turns, then climbed down the stairs, then one more right.
Lian slowed, something felt off—these stairs didn't have any bones or blood stains.
Light appeared ahead, cutting through the dim tunnels.
They moved toward it—
and stopped.
They were at the very peak of the mountain.
A dense forest surrounded it on all sides, stretching far out, too deep to be part of any safe zone.
Their bracelets stopped responding. No signal. No way to contact the instructors.
Lian stared ahead, trying to process it.
Lin Ling's breathing grew uneven. "This… this isn't right. Where even are we?"
Hazy looked around, tense. "This isn't supposed to happen. We literally climbed down. We didn't even go that far. How are we at the top of a completely different mountain? This was supposed to be a small hill." She paused. "This might be an illusion."
Lian thought the same. He tied a nearby rock to his rope and lowered it over the edge.
It kept going.
No obstruction. No hidden illusion.
They were really at the peak.
Silence stretched for a few seconds—
then broke as Lian's voice dropped.
"Did we just enter… an undiscovered domain?"