Arion stepped into the Forest of Shadows and immediately felt the shift in the air. It wasn't just colder—it was heavier, as if the forest itself was a living entity watching his every move with disdain. The twisted trees looked like the limbs of giant skeletal remains, and the shadows danced in unnatural ways.
"Well, this is terrifying," Arion muttered, checking that his "False Bravado Aura" was still active. Its faint glow was the only thing giving him a childlike sense of safety—like clutching a blanket in the dark. "Why did I take this quest again? Oh right, because I'm arrogant and stupid."
He had no idea how to track a beast. All he could do was walk forward in an exaggerated crouch, eyes darting around, flinching at every rustle of leaves.
Ding~
[Detected: Shadow Squirrel (Level 1)]
Arion stifled a scream and dove behind a tree, heart pounding in his throat. "A squirrel?! I almost died of fear because of a squirrel!"
This pitiful routine lasted for an hour. Every innocent woodland creature triggered a miniature panic attack. He cursed himself, the guild, and the system that had dumped him into this nightmare. "Aren't I the protagonist? Where's my godlike power? Or is my gift just excessive sweating when seeing rabbits?"
Suddenly, he heard a sound that couldn't be ignored. This wasn't leaves—it was a brutal thud, followed by a piercing roar. It sounded like two giants tearing each other apart nearby.
Arion froze. "Nope. Not my business. Whatever that is, not my problem." His first and wisest instinct was to turn around and sprint back to town. But just as he prepared to flee, a system window flashed.
[High energy waves detected: 'Serrated Fang Flower' nearby, 200 meters ahead]
"Damn you!" Arion screamed inside his head. "Why does it have to be in the direction of certain death?"
After an agonizing internal debate between survival instinct and greed (and fear of returning empty-handed), he made a terrible decision. "I'll just take a quick look. A very quick look. From far away."
He belly-crawled forward like a terrified snake, using every shrub and rock for cover. His heartbeat was so loud he feared the beast would hear it. The closer he got, the louder and more vicious the fighting became.
Finally, he reached a small ridge overlooking a clearing. He peeked over and immediately regretted every life choice he'd ever made.
There wasn't just one monster. There were three.
They were massive, semi-transparent beasts, looking like crystalline blobs with a sinister inner glow. They moved with violent force, and each had a glowing flower with sharp, glass-like petals sprouting from its head—a Serrated Fang Flower.
Ding~
[Target Info: Fang Warrior Beast (Green)]
Level: 22
[Target Info: Fang Guardian Beast (Yellow)]
Level: 24
[Target Info: Fang Alpha Beast (Yellow)]
Level: 25
"Three... over level twenty..." Arion nearly fainted. "Why didn't anyone mention they live in a happy family that loves murdering each other?!"
The two weaker beasts were attacking the massive alpha in a brutal territorial fight. Their roars mixed with the sound of shattering crystal.
Arion hid behind a rock, trembling from head to toe, watching the nightmare unfold. "Impossible. I can't do this. I'll just go back and say the beast wasn't there."
But then, the universe decided to mock him with absurd luck.
In the chaos, the alpha slammed the level 22 beast so hard it crashed right into Arion's hiding spot. The dazed monster landed just meters away, its precious flower practically begging to be plucked. The other two were too busy tearing each other apart to notice.
Arion froze. He saw the chance—a reckless, suicidal chance. "Now or never!" his brain screamed. "Die rich or die trying!"
Fueled by pure adrenaline, he lunged from cover, sprinted the short distance, and with trembling hands yanked the flower from the stunned monster's head. Then he scrambled back behind his rock, heart hammering.
Meanwhile, the alpha struck the level 24 beast with a devastating blow, knocking it down and leaving its flower exposed.
But the alpha was badly wounded too. After finishing its rival, it turned to finish the first victim—only to stagger, its wounds deeper than they looked. The mighty beast collapsed temporarily, its massive head falling close to the second defeated creature.
Arion watched from cover. Two more flowers. He didn't think. He just moved.
He shot forward like a bullet, snatched the second flower, and then, in a moment of insane bravery, dashed to the dazed alpha and plucked the third flower straight from its head!
Now he stood alone in the clearing, holding three glowing blossoms, surrounded by monsters that were either beaten or too shocked to react.
Did he strike a heroic pose? Deliver a cool line? No.
He turned and ran.
He ran like his life depended on it—because it did. He didn't care about noise or stealth. He just ran, adrenaline pounding in his ears. Behind him, the monsters stirred, roaring in fury and confusion at their missing "crowns," but the cowardly thief had already vanished.
Miles later, Arion finally collapsed under a tree, gasping for air, clutching the three flowers to his chest.
He looked at them, glowing in the forest's darkness. He'd survived. Not with one—but three.
"I... I did it," he wheezed, laughing hysterically. "I didn't even draw my sword. Didn't scratch a single one. I just hid like a rat and stole them like a thief while they killed each other. I'm... I'm the saddest hero in this world's history. And the luckiest."
Then, as he basked in his survival, the horrible truth hit him.
How am I going to explain this at the guild?
Three flowers. From a quest that required one. From monsters he shouldn't have even been able to approach. No one would believe he was just lucky. They'd assume... they'd assume he killed them all.
He stared at the three blossoms in his shaking hands. His expression shifted from triumph to pure horror.
"Ahhh... What have I done to myself now?"