Boran stepped through Portal 4-C.
The world twisted for a second, then his boots touched soft ground. Cool wind brushed his face. Grass moved around his ankles. Somewhere ahead, water ran over stones. When Boran opened his eyes, a wide meadow stretched in front of him. Long grass covered most of the ground, small white flowers glowed faintly between the blades, and gray rocks stood here and there across the field.
[MISSION AREA ENTERED: MOONPETAL MEADOW]
[MISSION: HERB GATHERING - PORTAL 4-C]
[OBJECTIVE: Collect 20 Moonpetal Bundles]
[REWARD: 3 Gold, 10 XP]
Boran looked at the reward again. Three gold was not much, but it was still money. He adjusted the wooden shield on his back and started walking into the meadow.
Moonpetals were easy to find. They grew in small clusters between the grass, their white petals closed around a faint blue glow. When Boran focused on them, the System identified them.
[Moonpetal]
[Common alchemical herb. Used in basic healing mixtures. Avoid crushing the stem during collection.]
Gathering Difficulty: Easy
Boran crouched beside the first cluster. "Don't crush the stem," he repeated. He worked carefully, pinching near the base and pulling slowly until the plant came free with its roots intact. The glow stayed inside the petals.
[Moonpetal Bundle obtained]
[PROGRESS: 1/20]
That was simple enough. For a while, the work was just work. Crouch, pull, send to inventory, walk to the next cluster, then do it again.
He had no party. No real money. No good armor. His shield had ten durability when he got it, and it already felt like something he had borrowed from a trash pile. But this was still better than Ashwood Thicket. There were no wolves here. That alone made the air easier to breathe.
At the next patch, something squeaked under the flowers.
Boran stopped. "Oh no."
The dirt burst upward. A small creature shot out from beneath the Moonpetals and landed near his boot. It was barely larger than a cat, round and covered in dusty brown fur. Its front claws were long, clearly made for digging, and two large front teeth stuck out of its mouth. Its eyes were tiny black dots.
[Rootgnawer - Level 1]
[HP: 12/12]
The Rootgnawer charged. Boran raised his shield, and the creature slammed into the wood with a sharp crack. Its claws scraped across the surface. Its teeth dug into the rim.
[Wooden Shield Durability: 9/20]
One hit and one durability gone. Boran stared at the notification for half a second before shoving forward. The Rootgnawer dropped into the grass and rolled once before getting back up.
"Can't block with my shield," he said.
He lowered the shield slightly. He could not let this thing chew through it. If one tiny monster took the shield apart, he would have nothing left for the rest of the mission. His mana bar sat in the corner of his vision, full and waiting.
[Mana: 10/10]
Shield Slam would end this faster, but mana came back too slowly. One point per hour. Spending it on one Level 1 rat would be stupid.
"You're not worth a skill," Boran muttered.
The Rootgnawer charged again. This time Boran stepped aside instead of blocking. The creature passed close enough for its claws to brush his pants, and Boran swung the shield down like a club. The edge struck the Rootgnawer in the side.
[Rootgnawer HP: 10/12]
The creature squeaked and rolled through the grass. "Don't ruin my clothes," Boran said. "They're brand new."
It turned and rushed him again. It was not strong, and that was the annoying part. It was small, fast, and hard to hit. The grass hid most of its body until it was already close. It darted toward his ankle, Boran moved his leg back, and the Rootgnawer bit into his calf anyway.
[HP: 73/75]
Pain shot up his leg. Boran kicked it away before it could hold on.
"Two damage," he said through his teeth.
Seventy-three health was fine. The problem was recovery. One health per hour. If he let every small monster take small pieces out of him, he would be ruined before the day ended.
The Rootgnawer rushed again. Boran stepped left and swung, but the shield missed and hit the ground. The creature turned under his arm and scratched his shin.
[HP: 71/75]
Boran gripped the shield tighter. It felt wrong not to hide behind it. He was a Tank. Blocking was supposed to be the easy part. But every block cost durability, and durability was harder to recover than health.
The Rootgnawer leaped. Boran twisted and let it pass, then caught it with the flat of the shield as it landed.
[Rootgnawer HP: 8/12]
The impact sent it tumbling. Boran followed and swung again, but the Rootgnawer ducked under the shield and snapped at his hand. Boran pulled back just in time.
"No. No fingers."
It went for his boot next. Boran kicked forward. His boot caught the creature in the chest and pushed it back, but no damage notification appeared. The Rootgnawer came again. Boran waited until it jumped, shifted his weight, and struck downward. The shield hit its back.
[Rootgnawer HP: 6/12]
The creature shrieked. Boran smiled for half a second, then it rushed under the shield and bit his wrist.
[HP: 69/75]
"Ah!"
He shook his arm hard. The Rootgnawer held on for a moment, then flew off and landed near the Moonpetals. It stood up again. Boran stepped back, and his heel touched the loose dark soil where the creature had come from.
He glanced down, then moved around the patch instead of away from it. "Come on then."
The Rootgnawer jumped. Boran shifted at the last moment. The creature landed on the loose dirt, and its front claws sank in for a second. That was enough. Boran swung the shield into its side.
[Rootgnawer HP: 4/12]
He swung again before it could turn.
[Rootgnawer HP: 2/12]
The Rootgnawer shrieked and threw itself at him. Boran leaned back. The teeth snapped past his chest, and he brought the shield down with both hands. The rim hit the creature and drove it into the dirt.
[Rootgnawer HP: 0/12]
[ROOTGNAWER DEFEATED]
[+5 XP]
[No loot available]
Boran stood over it, breathing hard. He checked his shield, then his health.
[Wooden Shield Durability: 9/20]
[HP: 69/75]
"Almost no danger," he muttered.
He turned back toward the Moonpetals. After that, he gathered slower. If the soil looked too dark, he poked it first with the edge of his shield. If the grass moved, he waited. If he heard even the smallest squeak, he stepped back. He was not getting ambushed by another dirt rat.
[Moonpetal Bundle obtained]
[PROGRESS: 8/20]
Boran sent the bundle to his inventory and moved on. The next cluster grew close to one of the gray rocks. The rock was covered in a thin layer of pale, glassy moss. Beside it grew several narrow yellow stems with swollen tips. They were not Moonpetals, but the System reacted when Boran looked at them.
[Sparkstem Reed]
[Uncommon alchemical reed. Hollow stems contain a warm yellow sap that reacts violently when exposed to sudden heat or certain mineral surfaces.]
Effects: Unstable combustion, flash ignition, rapid pressure release
Stability: Low
Handling Note: Do not crush, scrape, or store near reactive minerals.
Boran stared at the yellow stems. "Reactive," he said. "That's never a good word."
He looked at the glassy moss next.
[Glasscap Lichen]
[Mineral-rich lichen. Brittle surface may generate friction heat when scraped.]
[Handling Note: Keep away from volatile organic substances.]
Boran looked from the yellow plant to the glassy moss, then back to the yellow plant. "Volatile organic substances," he said. "You mean this thing, don't you?"
He crouched beside the Sparkstem Reed and reached for one stem. He moved carefully, trying not to crush it. The plant came loose easier than he expected, but then the swollen tip cracked. Thick yellow sap leaked onto his fingers.
"Great."
He wiped his hand against the nearest rock without thinking. The sap smeared across the Glasscap Lichen. The lichen sparked, and a sharp pop snapped through the air.
Boran jerked backward as a small flash burst from the rock. Heat brushed his fingers. A black mark appeared where the sap had touched the lichen, and Boran landed on his backside in the grass.
"What the hell?"
[Reaction observed]
[Sparkstem sap exposed to friction-heated mineral surface]
[Result: Sudden combustion]
Boran stared at the black mark. "So the grass explodes," he said.
He checked his fingers. They were red, but not badly burned. It had been a small reaction, more like a firecracker than a real explosion. Still, it had been enough to make his heart jump.
Boran carefully gathered the nearby Sparkstem Reeds and some Glasscap Lichen. He kept them far away from each other in his inventory.
[Sparkstem Reed x4 obtained]
[Glasscap Lichen x3 obtained]
He stared at the notifications. "I don't know if this is useful," he said. "But I'm taking it."
After that, Boran started collecting them too. Not a few. All of them. If he saw Moonpetals, he gathered Moonpetals. If Sparkstem Reeds grew beside a rock, he gathered those. If Glasscap Lichen covered the stone, he scraped it loose carefully.
He had no idea how much the Greenleaf Exchange would pay for them. Maybe nothing. Maybe enough for food. Maybe enough for repairs. That was enough reason.
The meadow stayed calm. The wind moved through the grass. The Moonpetals glowed faintly where they hid between the blades. Boran found more Sparkstem Reeds near another rock, and beside them, more Glasscap Lichen. He frowned. "Why are you always next to each other?"
The plants did not answer. He gathered them anyway.
[Moonpetal Bundle obtained]
[PROGRESS: 10/20]
[Sparkstem Reed x4 obtained]
[Glasscap Lichen x3 obtained]
The work became faster after that. He had learned how to pull the Moonpetals without crushing the stems. He had learned how to take Sparkstem without breaking the tips. He had learned to scrape Glasscap Lichen slowly, from the side, without pressing too hard. His Gathering skill probably helped. So did fear. Fear made him careful.
He moved through the meadow and collected everything useful. Nothing else attacked him.
"Everyone else is probably level two already," he muttered, pulling another Moonpetal free. "Maybe level three. Probably eating good food too."
[Moonpetal Bundle obtained]
[PROGRESS: 14/20]
He stood and looked across the field. He was still behind everyone else. Probably far behind. He had come here to become strong, to earn money, to send something back home one day. Right now, he was collecting flowers for three gold.
He crouched beside the next cluster, but his hand slowed. He remembered the Gate, the dream, the colors on his fingers, and the idea of power. Real power. The kind that made people look at him differently. Then he looked at the wooden shield on his arm.
His jaw tightened. He pulled the Moonpetal too hard, and the stem bent. Boran stopped immediately. "Don't break the flower, idiot," he said.
He took a breath and gathered it properly.
[Moonpetal Bundle obtained]
[PROGRESS: 15/20]
He kept moving. More Moonpetals. More Sparkstem. More Glasscap. A lot of both. The inventory numbers went up, and Boran did not know exact market prices, but each notification made him feel a little less helpless.
"Sell everything," Boran said. "Eat. Sleep. Maybe repair something. Maybe buy shoes."
The final Moonpetal cluster grew near a low stone ridge at the edge of the meadow. White flowers covered the base of the rock. Sparkstem Reeds grew thick nearby, more than he had seen anywhere else. Glasscap Lichen covered the lower face of the stone.
Boran stopped. That many reactive plants in one place felt wrong. Quietly wrong. Like the dungeon had put oil beside fire and waited.
"I should leave," Boran said.
He did not leave. He gathered the Moonpetals first. Carefully. One bundle, then another, then the last.
[Moonpetal Bundle obtained]
[PROGRESS: 20/20]
[MISSION OBJECTIVE COMPLETE]
[Return to the Endless Tavern Mission Board to claim reward]
Boran let out a long breath. "Finally."
He looked at the Sparkstem Reeds, then at the Glasscap Lichen, then at the exit marker. He should leave. Instead, he gathered them.
[Sparkstem Reed x12 obtained]
[Glasscap Lichen x8 obtained]
"Now I'm leaving."
[Exit Portal Available]
Boran followed the exit marker across the meadow. He was maybe halfway back when purple light flickered at the edge of his vision. He stopped.
"No."
The exit marker dimmed.
"No, no, no. The mission is complete."
[BETA CONTENT DETECTED]
[Hidden Area Condition Met]
Boran stared at the message, and his stomach tightened.
The ground beneath him trembled. A thin purple line ran across the grass from the stone ridge to where he stood. It looked like a crack in glass. Then it widened. The soil sank. The grass folded inward. The stone ridge split with a grinding sound.
Boran took a step back. Then the ground under his feet gave way.
"Ah, come on!"
He fell. The meadow disappeared above him as dirt and grass rushed past. Boran hit a sloped wall, rolled, struck his shoulder against a root, and dropped into darkness. He landed hard on packed soil.
[HP: 63/75]
Boran coughed and pushed himself up. The opening was four or five meters above him. Too steep to climb quickly. Dirt still fell from the edges.
Then he heard the squeaking.
Dozens of tiny black eyes opened in the dark around him. Along the walls. Inside holes. Behind stones. Under roots. Blue labels appeared so fast they overlapped.
[Rootgnawer - Level 1]
[Rootgnawer - Level 1]
[Rootgnawer - Level 1]
More appeared. More. The whole pit was full of them.
[Optional Hidden Area Entered: Rootgnawer Burrow]
[Warning: Unregistered beta content may not match listed mission difficulty]
"Optional?" Boran said.
The Rootgnawers moved. Claws scraped dirt. Teeth clicked. Small bodies pushed through tunnels and over each other. Boran backed away. The burrow was a wide pit, but the walls curved inward in places. The center was open. The sides were full of holes.
If he stayed in the center, they could come from every direction. He needed a wall.
Boran saw a corner where two packed-earth walls met under a thick root. He ran for it. The first Rootgnawer reached him before he got there and launched itself at his leg. Boran kicked it aside. Another came from the left, and he hit it with the shield.
[Rootgnawer HP: 10/12]
Another bit his ankle.
[HP: 61/75]
Boran gritted his teeth and kept moving. He reached the corner and put his back to the wall.
Rootgnawers poured out of the tunnels.
"Okay," he said, breathing hard. "Think. Think fast."
They hit him before he could. Teeth snapped at his legs. Claws scratched his pants. One leaped toward his stomach and hit the shield instead. Boran raised the shield fully and let it take the pressure.
Crack.
[Wooden Shield Durability: 8/20]
Another slammed into it.
[Wooden Shield Durability: 7/20]
Boran shoved forward, but more replaced them immediately. "Come on, come on..."
He needed a plan. Running was impossible. Climbing was impossible. Fighting them one by one was impossible. A Rootgnawer hit the shield from below.
[Wooden Shield Durability: 6/20]
Another landed on the front of the shield and bit the rim.
[Wooden Shield Durability: 5/20]
"Stop."
Boran slammed the shield sideways and threw three of them off. Five durability. That was all. He could not stand there.
Then he saw his inventory list. Sparkstem Reed. Glasscap Lichen. A lot of both. The first reaction had only been a pop because it was just a smear of sap on a small patch of lichen. He had collected dozens now.
Maybe enough to turn the whole pit into a bomb.
Boran swallowed. "This is a terrible idea."
A Rootgnawer climbed over the shield and snapped at his face. Boran jerked his head back and punched it away with the shield's edge. He did not have time for a better plan.
He lowered the shield. "Fortify."
Energy surged through his body. His muscles tightened. His skin felt heavier. His stance became solid, like the ground was holding him in place.
[Fortify activated]
[Physical Defense +5 for 15 seconds]
[Mana: 5/10]
The Rootgnawers hit him. Teeth bit his legs. Claws scraped his arms. One jumped at his shoulder and bounced off.
[HP: 61/75]
No damage.
Boran stared for half a second. "Okay."
Another bit his calf.
[HP: 61/75]
Still nothing. That gave him a chance.
He pushed off the wall and started moving toward the center of the pit. The Rootgnawers swarmed him, small bodies hitting his legs and waist. One jumped toward his face. Boran caught it with his forearm and shoved it away. Another landed on his chest. He grabbed it by the back and threw it into the dirt.
Still nothing.
But his clothes tore. Boran clenched his jaw and kept moving. Every step crushed dirt under his boots. Rootgnawers bounced off his legs, snapped at his pants, clawed at his arms. He ignored them.
"Move," he said, shoving one aside. "Move. Move. I don't have time."
He reached the center of the pit and opened his inventory. Sparkstem Reeds poured into his hands first. He did not take one bundle. He took stack after stack. Yellow stems materialized and fell into the dirt around him.
[Sparkstem Reed x30 removed from inventory]
The Rootgnawers went wild. They bit the stems, crushed them, and dragged them through the dirt. Yellow sap spilled across the ground. Boran pulled out Glasscap next, and pale brittle pieces fell over the sap like broken shells.
[Glasscap Lichen x30 removed from inventory]
The first spark flashed almost immediately.
That was enough.
The Rootgnawers did the rest. They scrambled over the plants. Claws scraped lichen against stone and dirt. Teeth crushed Sparkstem stems open. Sap spread. Glasscap cracked. Sparks jumped from one patch to another.
Pop. Pop. Pop.
Tiny flashes burst between their feet.
Boran turned and ran back toward the corner. The Rootgnawers followed, still biting at him, but Fortify held.
[HP: 61/75]
One jumped at his face. He shoved it away with his palm. Another grabbed his sleeve, and he tore free without stopping. Behind him, the center of the pit glowed brighter. More pops went off, and then a low hiss started under the ground.
Boran reached the corner and spun around.
[Fortify ended]
His jaw tightened. The reaction in the center turned from scattered sparks into a crawling web of yellow-white light. It moved over the sap, through the lichen, under the bodies of the Rootgnawers still swarming the plants.
Boran looked at the shield.
[Wooden Shield Durability: 5/20]
Five durability would not be enough. He did not know whether the explosion counted as physical damage. Fortify only helped with physical defense. He needed something else.
Defensive Stance was made for this.
He raised the shield in front of his body with both hands and pressed his back harder against the packed-earth wall. "Don't break before I do," he muttered.
Then he planted his feet. "Defensive Stance."
His body locked. The world seemed to press down around him. His legs stopped shaking. His breathing slowed. He could not move now. He did not need to move.
[Defensive Stance activated]
[Incoming damage reduced by 10]
[Movement restricted]
[Mana: 4.5/10]
The center flashed white.
"This better work."
The light came first, white and yellow, too bright to look at. Then the sound hit.
BOOM.
The whole burrow shook. The pressure slammed into the raised shield and shattered it.
[Wooden Shield Durability: 0/20]
The rest of the blast hit Boran. Defensive Stance held him in place as heat and dirt washed over him. His back crushed against the packed-earth wall. His arms burned. His ears rang. For one second, everything was orange.
[HP: 10/75]
The explosion rolled through the pit and ripped through the tunnels. Rootgnawers vanished in the blast. The ones near the center disappeared first. The ones on the walls were thrown down. The ones near Boran hit the ground and stopped moving.
Then the sound cut out.
For a few seconds, Boran heard nothing. Only ringing. Smoke filled the burrow. Dirt rained from above. Small fires burned in patches across the center. Boran was still standing. Barely.
Then the notifications began.
[ROOTGNAWER DEFEATED]
[+5 XP]
[No loot available]
[ROOTGNAWER DEFEATED]
[+5 XP]
[No loot available]
[ROOTGNAWER DEFEATED]
[+5 XP]
[No loot available]
More appeared. And more. They stacked until he could not read them.
Boran dropped to one knee. Pain came back all at once. His arms shook. His back hurt. His legs burned. His ears rang. His shield was gone, shattered by the blast. He looked at his health.
[HP: 10/75]
Ten.
"Alive," he whispered.
The notifications were still coming.
[+500 XP]
A new notification appeared after the others.
[LEVEL UP]
[Level 2 reached]
[Current XP: 205/2000 toward Level 3]
Boran stared at it through the smoke. Level two. He should have felt excited, and he did, a little. Then his ribs hurt when he breathed, and the feeling became smaller.
He looked at the ruined pit, the smoke, and the broken shield pieces near his feet. He was alive. That had to be enough for now.
He sat down.
Another notification appeared.
[BETA CONTENT CLEAR REWARD]
[Solo Clear Confirmed]
[Improvised Environmental Kill Confirmed]
Boran blinked. "Reward?"
The word made him sit up a little straighter.
[Title Acquired: Burrow Breaker]
Boran read it twice. "Burrow Breaker," he said quietly.
The System opened the title description.
[Burrow Breaker]
[Earned by clearing the hidden Rootgnawer Burrow beta content alone.]
[Effect: When attacked by three or more enemies at once, incoming damage is reduced by 1.]
[Description: You survived the swarm. Now the swarm has to try harder.]
Boran looked around the destroyed burrow. He hoped he would not have to test that effect soon.
Another orange notification appeared.
[Item Acquired: Burrowguard Shield]
Boran looked down at the broken pieces of his wooden shield, then opened his inventory. A shield icon had appeared inside it. The icon was darker than the old shield. He selected it.
The shield materialized in front of him and dropped into his hands. His arms dipped.
"Heavy."
It was wider than the wooden shield and much uglier. The front was dark brown and gray, made from packed stone and hardened earth. Thick roots wrapped around the edges and crossed over the surface like rough bands. Some of the roots were blackened. The shield looked less like something a smith made and more like something dug out of the wall.
Boran turned it once. The back had two leather straps and a simple grip. At least those looked usable.
"What rarity is this?"
[Burrowguard Shield]
Type: Shield
Quality: Common
Durability: 40/40
Physical Defense Bonus: +5
Special Effect: While the user's back is against a wall or solid surface, incoming damage is reduced by 5.
Description: A heavy shield made from packed burrowstone and tangled root fiber. Ugly, rough, and hard to break.
Boran read it, then read it again. "Common," he said.
He slid his arm through the straps. The shield settled heavily against him, and his shoulder dropped under the weight. It was heavy, but usable. When he raised it in front of himself, it covered more of his body than the wooden one had. It was wider and thicker. Harder to move quickly, but when he planted it in front of him, it felt solid. Actually solid.
[Burrowguard Shield equipped]
[Physical Defense increased: 0 → 5]
The explosion had opened the hole above him wider. One side of the pit had partially collapsed, forming a rough slope up toward the meadow. It looked awful, but it was a way out.
Boran forced himself to stand. It took three tries. Boran looked at the slope. Then he started climbing.
After several minutes, he pulled himself over the edge and rolled onto the grass. The sky above him was too bright. The meadow was quiet again. Wind moved through the grass like nothing had happened.
Boran lay there for a moment, breathing.
Then the exit portal appeared in front of him.
Boran lifted his head and stared at it.
He forced himself to stand, took one unsteady step, then another.
Then he entered the portal and left.