’I didn’t expect it to be like this.’ Azel’s jaw clenched as he crouched behind the shrubs, staring at the monstrosity in the distance.
He had expected a swarm, maybe twenty or thirty Dreadhorns buzzing together in a tight formation, nasty but manageable with enough planning.
But this hive was a nightmare.
The sheer number of wings rattling the air, the endless figures spilling in and out of the pulsating nest like ants, the oozing resin dripping off the giant tree — it was overwhelming.
’Fuck me.’
His hand curled into a fist.
Was he going to give up? No. He couldn’t.
He had already accepted that the trial wasn’t a fair test; it was a crucible designed to kill.
But if the System set a challenge, there had to be a way forward.
’System,’ he thought, his mind sharp, ’do I get several rewards if I manage to kill more than 20 Rank 3’s?’
The response was immediate.
[Additional rewards will be distributed according to your performance in the trials.]
He let out a slow breath. So it was true. His gamble wasn’t meaningless.
There was incentive in this madness.
Azel motioned silently with his hand, and Medusa and Veyra followed him.
They slipped away from the hive’s sightlines, trekking deeper until they found a small clearing hidden by the thick canopy of twisted trees.
It was quiet, insulated from the constant drone.
The moment they arrived, Veyra dropped to her knees, sweat dripping from her brow.
She ripped open a potion and chugged it like her life depended on it.
Her chest rose and fell, her knuckles white against the bottle.
’Goddess, we’re going to die,’ she thought grimly, her eyes flicking toward Azel.
He and Medusa leaned against separate trees, both silent.
Azel’s gaze was unfocused, staring into the blank air as if lost in some other world.
Veyra bit her lip.
If she was going to die here, in this cursed winter forest, she at least wanted to know what it was like — to be held, to be touched, to be fucked senseless by Azel.
Just once.
Just like she imagined Edna had been, wrapped in the young man’s arms with that infuriating confidence of his.
Before she could stew too long in her shameful thoughts, Azel stirred.
"We’re not going to die."
His voice was calm.
A small smile tugged at the edge of his lips, the kind that made it hard to tell whether he was reassuring them or reassuring himself.
But his eyes carried the truth.
He believed it.
He had been spinning through the Fate wheel for the first time in a while using all of his fate tickets for this and well... not only did he get a lot of Paper bombs, but he got a good item too.
[Item Name: Ghost’s Cloak]
[Item Rank: A]
[A cloak woven from shadow, drawn from the emptiness between worlds. When worn, it renders the user invisible to monsters, cloaking them from all but those of superior strength. Even the keenest senses falter before its veil.]
The moment the description flashed across his interface, Azel’s lips had curved into a grin.
It was perfect.
With the cloak, he could slip through the monsters unnoticed.
Of course, he wasn’t naive — there would be a queen or king of the hive, something stronger than the rest.
Against that one, he wouldn’t be truly invisible.
But for now, it gave him an opening.
An advantage.
And that was enough.
"I’ll be going," he said at last, pushing off the tree trunk.
Both Medusa and Veyra stiffened.
"What do you mean?" Medusa’s voice was sharp, betraying the worry in her eyes.
"I’m going to explode the hive."
Their jaws dropped at his bluntness.
"How?" Medusa asked quickly, stepping closer. "You saw how many there are. Even you can’t—"
"Bombs," Azel cut in.
His tone was final, brooking no doubt. "I bought a lot of paper bombs before I left the Empire. And now, I’ve got more. I’ll use them to bring the whole damned thing down."
The buzzing in the distance carried faintly through the trees, a reminder of the countless monsters waiting for them.
His words made Medusa’s gut twist.
"You can’t go alone."
"Wait, let us e with you," Veyra added, pushing herself up from the ground.
She looked pale, but there was fire in her eyes.
Azel turned, his cloak still folded in his hands.
He raised one arm, palm outward, leaving no room for argument.
"No. The venom is too dangerous. There are too many of them. If you e with me, you’ll just be targets. I can’t heal you if something happens."
"But—" Medusa began.
"If I’m not back in a few hours," Azel interrupted, his tone firm, "then you can e after me. But until then, you two wait. Don’t draw attention to yourselves. Don’t move unless you hear the explosion. Got it?"
Silence hung heavy in the clearing.
Finally, Medusa’s shoulders slumped. "O... okay."
Her expression deflated, the fierce light in her eyes dimming.
Veyra, too, lowered her head, gripping her sickle in frustration.
Neither liked it, but neither could fight the iron certainty in his words.
Azel exhaled softly. He understood.
They wanted to help.
They hated being sidelined. But if they died because he let them follow him, that was on him.
And he couldn’t carry that weight.
He pulled the cloak over his shoulders as he left the clearing.
The fabric settled around his armor, flowing like liquid shadow.
When he raised the hood over his head, his body seemed to blur, edges fading into the gloom.
The Ghost’s Cloak swallowed him whole.
Before heading toward, he glanced at his interface again, scanning through the shop.
Paper bombs were good but they weren’t enough.
He needed something nastier.
Something that burned wildly.
Then he saw it.
[Item Name: Fire Resin Vials]
[Item Rank: B ]
[Resin collected from the Flamepines of the Southern Reaches. Highly flammable, clinging to surfaces like oil. Once ignited, it cannot be doused by water. Entire trees have been reduced to cinders by a single shattered vial.]
Azel’s grin returned.
’Aha. These will be nice.’
He bought them in bulk, filling his storage ring with vials that shimmered faintly, glowing orange like molten sap.
Paper bombs to detonate them, fire resin to spread the blaze.
He didn’t just want to kill the monsters.
He wanted to burn their hive to ash.
’It’s time,’ he thought, stepping into the darkness, ’to mit arson.’
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