Chapter 18: Extinction Forest
"A New Map's Quest!"
Zaphro's POV
We finally made it.
Standing before the border of a forest veiled in shadows, I felt a pulse of thrill. The place was swarming with creatures nearly as powerful as full-blown boss monsters.
They called them mini-bosses—monsters just shy of the boss category, and by the looks of it, this forest was riddled with them. Leveling up here? Definitely a challenge.
Extinction Forest: A long-forgotten forest far beyond Cyther Village. Legend claims it's the last refuge of ancient creatures, now corrupted and twisted by time.
"Whoa! New area! That means adventure!" Slicer said, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
"Check that out—I think that's an NPC," Verillion added, pointing toward a figure cloaked in ornate magician armor.
"Honestly, he kinda looks like a player," Ayana commented.
"Should we approach? He might give us a rare quest," Erik suggested.
"Let's put it to a vote," Jin proposed.
"Sounds good," I said. "All in favor of questing?"
Hands went up instantly. The majority had spoken.
"Alright, let's do it!" Slicer declared and walked up to the mysterious figure.
"Hey! Wazzuuup?!" he greeted in his usual chaotic fashion.
"Greetings, friend!" the NPC replied warmly.
"Uh… I… uh… well…" Slicer fumbled. He clearly had no idea what to say. "You guys talk to him. I've never done this before."
"That's what you get for rushing ahead," Shion sighed.
Slicer scratched his head and pulled his mask over his face again.
"Good day, sir," I stepped forward. "We're new to this region. We're hoping you can help us."
"Ah, travelers, then!" the NPC replied. "My name is Calix. I serve as the guardian of this forest. If you seek the legendary weapon of Arcana, then I may be of assistance."
There it was—the start of a new quest!
> Epic Quest Started:
Finding the Lost Arcana's Scepter
Gold Reward: 200,000,000g
Item Reward: Arcana's Scepter
The notification flashed across all our virtual screens. Verillion immediately accepted the quest.
Calix began explaining in detail. According to him, the scepter was deep within the forest, guarded by vicious monsters—some of which were strong enough to terrify even him. His voice trembled as he described them.
There was likely a boss guarding the artifact. If my guess was right, this would be a triple win—boss loot, quest XP, and a legendary item. Three birds with one stone.
After gathering information, we headed deeper into the forest. At the edge of the trees, we encountered our first enemies.
> Level 90 Carnivorous Plant
They looked like giant roses at first glance—until the "petals" revealed rows of razor-sharp teeth. Thick vines coiled like whips, covered in barbed thorns.
"Watch it, everyone. These things look aggressive," I warned the party. I'd returned to my original avatar since my transformation had ended.
"I'll take the first hit. Follow my lead," Verillion said as he cast Wind Deflect and charged forward.
"Screaming Lightning!"
A sharp bolt of electricity crackled from his palm and pierced one of the monsters.
Screaming Lightning: A focused electric spell forming a pointed blade of lightning that pierces a target's body.
"Plant-type monsters are weak to lightning—because of the water in their bodies," Shion explained.
"Exactly," Verillion nodded as his attack shredded half of the monster's HP.
"Blade Eruption!" Slicer followed up. "Hit the roots underground! That's another weak point!"
"You cheat! It's only because you can see underground," Jin teased.
"Whoa, 500k gold per kill!" Aryus chimed in.
"Looks like this is a great farming spot," Erik added.
"Cut the flower from the main body and it dies in one hit!" Slicer advised.
"Hey, that skill's finally useful. Nice one, Slicer!" Ayana grinned. She blinked behind one of the mobs and slashed clean through the stem with her weapon—one hit KO.
"Good job, bro!" I laughed and gave Slicer a high five.
We pushed deeper into the forest, searching for the cave Calix had mentioned—Dark Cave. But with how massive this map was, finding it seemed nearly impossible.
And I couldn't risk sending out my pet to scout—it was still too dangerous. Though our pets had grown significantly from all the XP we'd been racking up, they weren't battle tanks yet. My dragon, Freyla, wasn't exactly "cute" anymore—it had grown horns and sharpened claws. At this rate, they'd reach maturity soon. If that happened, I might finally be able to ride Freyla—and her skills would grow even stronger.
Eventually, we made it past the carnivorous plants—only to face the next challenge: a pack of three-headed dogs.
> Level 95 Kheldar Cerberus (Mini-Boss)
Four of them. All looked vicious and well-armored. We braced ourselves.
"Aim for the head wearing the armor. That's their weak spot," Slicer instructed.
"Be careful—two of the heads are elemental users. One uses fire, the other ice," Shion added, as always, the encyclopedic brain of the group.
Verillion, Jin, Slicer, Aryus, and I charged in first. Jin and I went for the nearest one.
"Shield Assault!" Jin led the charge, slamming into the Cerberus and knocking it back five meters. It took 6% damage and looked stunned.
"Glacial Slash!" I dashed in with an ice-enhanced slash, grazing the creature's left head. Their dodge rate was high—it barely nicked it.
But I was faster.
I slipped behind it and attacked again.
"Glacial Strike!"
This time I hit the armored head directly—its HP dropped by 15%.
"Group them up in one spot!" Erik shouted.
"Got it!" I replied. We herded the Cerberus into one area.
"Step back—I'll use a water spell," Erik called out. We all leapt back.
"Oceanic Wave!"
A massive wave crashed down, drenching the monsters. A slowing effect kicked in.
"Now, Zaphro!" Erik said.
I knew what he was planning. I activated my spell.
"Frost Field!"
The lingering water made it easier to freeze them solid. Perfect.
With the Cerberus immobilized, we all had time to unleash our strongest moves—our SS skills.
We took our positions. And then—
"Sword of Divinity!" – Jin
"Black Dragon Flame!" – Slicer
"Nature's Wrath!" – Ayana
"Rainbow Blast!" – Verillion
"Crimson Apocalypse!" – Erenir
"Violent Storm!" – Erik
"Volcanic Eruption!" – Aryus
"Piercing Wind Slash!" – Shion
"Cold Fire!" – Me
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EOP 101 – Skill Descriptions:
Sword of Divinity: A colossal illusionary blade strikes with divine energy. Long-range, one-hit-kill.
Black Dragon Flame: A dark flame summoned from a cursed blade. Burns all in its path.
Nature's Wrath: An earth-shattering explosion spell. AOE, ground-breaking force.
Rainbow Blast: Ultimate Elementalist magic. Combines four elements into a rainbow-colored detonation. AOE.
Crimson Apocalypse: High-cost Sorcerer skill. Condensed crimson light beams massive damage. One-hit.
Violent Storm: Lightning and wind combine into a shredding cyclone. Devastates all it touches.
Volcanic Eruption: Earth magic summons molten rock and fire from below.
Piercing Wind Slash: A wind-based long-range dual blade skill. Destroys enemies from afar. One-hit.
Cold Fire: A hybrid elemental skill using both fire and ice. Freezes and burns targets simultaneously, bypassing all armor defense.
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One by one, our skills rained down in perfect sync. The frozen Cerberus didn't stand a chance.
And just like that, we turned an extinction zone… into our playground.