The bells did not stop ringing.
Once.
Twice.
Thrice.
Again.
Again.
Again.
By sunset, the entire village had gathered near the northern road.
Nobody knew exactly what they were waiting for.
That was the problem.
The monsters had appeared.
They hadn’t attacked.
They hadn’t crossed the fields.
They had simply stood at the edge of the forest.
Watching.
Arix stood behind his father, trying to see between the adults.
The Adventurer’s Guild had sent nearly every available adventurer.
Kael stood near the front with his sword drawn.
Mira held her staff in both hands.
Renn had his bow ready.
Lena was helping move the younger children toward the center of the village.
Arix noticed something.
Nobody was joking anymore.
Not even Renn.
That scared him more than the monsters.
“Everyone stay behind the guards!” The village captain shouted.
The guards formed a defensive line.
Twenty men and women stood shoulder to shoulder.
Most had spears.
A few carried swords.
They looked nervous.
Arix understood why.
Across the field, the forest was dark.
Too dark.
The sun hadn’t completely disappeared yet, but the trees seemed to absorb the remaining light.
Then something moved.
A goblin stepped out.
Everyone raised their weapons.
The goblin stopped.
It looked around.
Its hands were shaking.
Another appeared.
Then another.
Five.
Ten.
Twenty.
Arix expected them to attack.
They didn’t.
Instead, the goblins looked back toward the forest.
Fear spread across their faces.
One of them screamed.
Then ran.
The others followed.
The guards lowered their weapons slightly.
“What are they running from?” Nobody answered.
Then the trees moved.
Something large stepped between them.
An orc.
It was nearly twice the height of a human.
Its muscular body was covered in rough armor made from leather and bone.
It carried a massive axe.
Arix’s eyes widened.
“Orc…” The orc stepped forward.
Then stopped.
It looked toward the village.
Its eyes were clear.
Not black.
Not glowing.
Just terrified.
It suddenly turned around.
And ran.
The guards stared.
Renn lowered his bow.
“That’s new.” Kael’s expression hardened.
“Something is seriously wrong.” Arix tugged at his father’s sleeve.
“Why are they scared?” “I don’t know.” “Shouldn’t we help them?” His father looked at the monsters.
Then toward the forest.
“We don’t know what they’re running from.” Arix frowned.
“Neither do they.” His father didn’t answer.
Arix looked again.
The monsters weren’t attacking the village.
They were escaping something.
And whatever that something was— It was still inside the forest.
Then— BOOM!
The ground shook.
A roar erupted from the forest.
The creatures that had been fleeing suddenly scattered in every direction.
More monsters poured from the trees.
Goblin after goblin.
Kobolds.
Orcs.
Dire boars.
Lizardmen.
Horned beasts.
Giant spiders.
And creatures nobody in the village had ever seen before.
The wave surged toward the village.
The captain’s face turned pale.
“FORMATION!” The guards raised their weapons.
The Adventurers Guild members moved forward.
Kael tightened his grip.
“There are too many.” Mira looked toward the forest.
Her expression became serious.
“This isn’t just a monster migration.” Renn glanced at her.
“Then what is it?” Mira didn’t answer.
The first goblin crossed the field.
Kael moved.
WHOOSH!
Seventy meters.
One second.
His sword flashed.
SLASH!
The goblin dropped instantly.
Kael landed.
His eyes widened.
What…?!
He looked at the distance behind him.
That should have taken three or four seconds.
He hadn’t activated a movement skill.
He hadn’t consciously pushed his body.
He had simply— moved.
Another goblin charged.
Kael stepped forward.
CLANG!
Its weapon shattered.
His sword continued through.
SLASH!
The goblin fell.
Three more rushed him.
Kael’s body moved almost on its own.
One.
Two.
Three.
He destroyed them before they could surround him.
But there was no time to question it.
An orc suddenly appeared behind him.
Its massive wooden bat was already raised.
Kael turned.
Too late.
THWIP!
THWIP!
THWIP!
Three arrows pierced the orc.
It staggered.
Kael immediately finished it.
He looked toward Renn.
Renn was staring at his bow.
“I only fired once.” Kael looked at the orc.
Three arrows.
Three separate hits.
Renn slowly pulled another arrow.
A monster charged him.
THWIP!
The arrow struck it and sent it crashing into several others.
Renn’s eyes narrowed.
“…I’m getting stronger.” At the same time— Mira raised her staff.
Flames gathered around her.
She frowned.
The flames kept growing.
“Wait.” The fire expanded.
Her eyes widened.
“I didn’t put that much mana into this.” She released it.
BOOOOOOM!
An enormous fireball exploded across the battlefield.
A huge area—nearly one hundred meters—was engulfed in flames.
Monsters were thrown backward.
Mira stared at the destruction.
“That was supposed to be smaller.” Nearby, Lena rushed between injured adventurers.
“Heal!” Golden light flashed.
Another.
“Heal!” Another.
Then her aura expanded.
A wave of golden energy spread through the battlefield.
Kael felt his body strengthen.
Renn’s movements became faster.
Mira’s flames intensified.
Lena blinked.
“I…
buffed everyone?” A kobold ran through the edge of her aura.
Golden light touched it.
The kobold suddenly became stronger.
It roared.
Lena’s face went blank.
“…I buffed the monsters too.” Renn looked at her.
“Lena.” “I KNOW!” Despite the chaos, the situation was becoming worse.
Because something else had begun appearing.
Dark strands seeped through the battlefield.
Thin.
Almost like smoke.
Kael felt one brush against his arm.
He immediately pulled away.
His expression changed.
“This isn’t mana.” Mira’s eyes narrowed.
She looked at the black energy.
And this time— she recognized it.
Her face became pale.
“…Dark essence.” Kael looked at her.
“You know what that is?” Mira didn’t answer immediately.
She watched the energy crawl across the ground.
Then she spoke quietly.
“I’ve seen it before.” Renn lowered his bow.
“Where?” “During the Empire’s invasions.” Silence.
Mira continued.
“Different countries.
Different battlefields.” She tightened her grip around her staff.
“Every time the Empire conquered another region, traces of this energy were found afterward.” Kael’s expression hardened.
“Are you saying the Empire created it?” “No.” Mira shook her head.
“I don’t know if they created it.” She looked toward the northern forest.
“But wherever they went…
this energy followed.” Renn frowned.
“And now it’s here.” Mira nodded.
“That’s what worries me.” The dark essence continued spreading.
It seeped through the monsters.
Their movements became more violent.
Their eyes changed.
The battlefield descended into chaos.
But the creatures weren’t truly attacking because they wanted to.
They were being driven forward.
Something was behind them.
Something deeper in the forest.
Something they were desperately trying to escape.
Later that night The Adventurer’s Guild had become the command center.
Maps covered the tables.
Lanterns illuminated the room.
Kael stood over the largest map.
“We’ve confirmed monster movement from three separate areas.” Lena pointed at the markings.
“Goblins, kobolds, orcs, beasts…
all of them?” “Yes.” Renn crossed his arms.
“And they’re all coming from the northern forest.” Mira placed several blackened leaves onto the table.
“These were found near the battlefield.” Kael looked down.
“The same energy?” Mira nodded.
“Dark essence.” The village captain frowned.
“And the Empire?” Mira looked at him.
“I can’t say they’re responsible.” She paused.
“But I’ve seen the same traces in countries after the Empire’s invasions.” Kael stared at the map.
“So something in that forest is producing it?” Mira shook her head.
“No.” Everyone looked at her.
Mira’s gaze shifted toward the northern forest.
“I don’t think it’s being produced there.” “Then?” “It feels like something is leaking.” The room became silent.
“From where?” Mira didn’t answer.
She simply looked toward the northern forest.
Outside, Arix couldn’t sleep.
His parents had gone to bed.
He hadn’t.
He sat beside the window.
The village was dark.
Only a few lanterns remained lit.
Arix stared toward the forest.
He remembered the monsters.
The strange dark essence.
And something else.
A feeling he couldn’t explain.
He eventually climbed into bed.
His eyes slowly closed.
Deep within the northern forest— a figure walked through the darkness.
He was tall.
Silent.
His presence alone seemed to make the surrounding forest still.
His fur was blackish-white, pale in some places and dark in others, almost resembling strands of white hair.
His eyes were crimson.
But around the red was a faint blackish tint, making his gaze look unnatural in the darkness.
He continued walking.
Dark essence flowed through the forest.
It touched his body.
Then crawled across him.
Trying to erode him.
Trying to consume him.
But it couldn’t.
The figure simply continued walking.
The essence recoiled.
Not because it was defeated.
Because— it did not want to consume him.
He finally reached an ancient wall.
It stood between enormous trees.
Older than the village.
Older than the Empire.
Its surface was covered with countless cracks.
Behind it— something was sealed.
The figure placed one hand against the wall.
Dark energy gathered around him.
The cracks trembled.
Then stopped widening.
He had sealed this place.
He was the one who had contained the dark energy in the northern part of the forest.
And for a long time, he had been limiting the crack.
But now— something had changed.
The pressure from the other side was increasing.
The figure stared at the fracture.
He knew what was happening.
He also knew who could have caused it.
Then— he sensed a familiar presence.
His eyes narrowed.
A faint smile appeared.
“Oh, so it is you…” He paused.
“Hmm…
seems you have gotten strong.” His gaze shifted toward the distant village.
Through the trees.
Through the darkness.
Until it stopped at a single house.
Arix’s house.
The figure watched silently.
That night— Arix dreamed.
He stood inside an endless dark void.
There was no ground.
No sky.
No sound.
Only darkness.
Arix looked around.
“Where am I?” Nothing answered.
Then— two red eyes opened.
Arix froze.
They stared directly at him.
The darkness around him seemed to tremble.
Something was there.
Something beyond his understanding.
Then— a strange energy appeared.
It was dark.
But it wasn’t the same dark essence Mira had seen.
This was different.
Far denser.
Far stronger.
And within it— a deep red hue.
The energy surged toward Arix.
He raised his arms instinctively.
But it didn’t attack.
It wrapped around him.
Protecting him.
The dark corruption approaching through the void was pushed away.
Arix stared at the strange dark-red energy surrounding his body.
The two red eyes remained fixed upon him.
Watching.
Waiting.
Arix didn’t understand.
But somehow— he wasn’t afraid.
The darkness swallowed everything.
The last thing Arix saw— were those two red eyes.
Then— he woke.
Morning sunlight filled his room.
Arix sat upright.
His heart was racing.
He stared at his hands.
“What…
was that?” Outside, the village was beginning to wake.
But something had changed.
The birds weren’t singing.
The river sounded quieter.
And somewhere far away— the ancient wall gave another sound.
Crack.
The fracture widened.
Still sealed.
Still not an opening.
But the stone surrounding it was beginning to fail.
And deep within the forest— something was waiting.
Not for the village.
Not for the monsters.
For something much farther away.
Something that had not yet arrived.
The morning bell rang.
Once.
Twice.
Thrice.
Then stopped.
For the first time since the bells had begun ringing— there was no fourth sound.
The village captain looked toward the northern forest.
He had a terrible feeling.
Something was coming.
And this time— the monsters weren’t the danger.
They were the warning.