Liana turned toward the voice.
In the sky, a white-haired young man hovered, his uniform soaked in blood. His posture looked imposing, his cloak dancing wildly in the wind, as if defying the world below.
"Arrgh—!"
Liana clutched her head. A sharp pain stabbed through her skull, her vision shaking as memories from the past began to spin violently in her mind.
—
Inside a dark room, a young girl jolted awake from her bed. Her breathing was ragged, sweat soaking her forehead. Standing before her was a white-haired young man, looking at her with a complicated expression.
The girl burst into tears the moment she saw Elian.
"Big brother… because of me… because of me, Father died. He tried to protect me from them…"
Liana's chest felt tight. Nausea surged up her throat, as if she were about to vomit, but nothing came out—only a faint burn of stomach acid creeping upward.
The young man immediately pulled her into a tight embrace, gently stroking her hair.
"What really happened? Didn't you say you would erase her memories?"
He wasn't speaking to Liana.
But Liana was already drowning in her trauma. Memories of her father's death slammed into her again and again, making her whole body tremble. All she could do was shiver in his arms.
Then suddenly, those memories began to fade.
Liana lifted her head and looked at her brother, who seemed to be talking to someone she couldn't see.
"Then alter her memories so she won't realize what truly happened."
His voice was serious. Cold.
Liana stared at him—and only then noticed that his chest was damp with her tears.
"Big brother… who are you talking to? And why are you hugging me?" she asked softly, a little embarrassed.
"Don't you remember?" He smiled and flicked her forehead. "You were crying because you had a bad dream."
"Ow—!"
Liana winced, tears spilling out again.
"I-I wasn't crying," she muttered in a small voice.
"You little crybaby. Aren't you crying right now?" He gently rubbed her forehead. "I hope you won't cry anymore."
Slowly, Liana's consciousness faded.
She fell asleep in his arms.
—
Liana returned to the present, clutching her head as the pain from those memories lingered.
Her eyes drifted toward the young man in front of her.
For some reason, a strange feeling wrapped around her heart.
She had always hated him—regardless of how cruel his actions were. The true reason she despised him was a deep, overwhelming hatred that had never really left her heart.
But ever since meeting her, that feeling had disappeared.
Now, every time she looked at him, Liana was filled with emotions she couldn't put into words.
Tears slipped down from the corners of her eyes.
In a hoarse, trembling voice, she whispered,
"Big brother…"
—
When Elian woke from his dream, his body was being dragged away by a massive root.
He was bound and covered in wounds, making it hard for him to break free.
"Damn it… if only I could move while I was dreaming."
Elian cursed.
Not long ago, a root had slammed him into the ground, leaving his body drenched in blood. Fortunately, he had wrapped himself in a protective spell, so his injuries weren't fatal. His wounds had begun to close while he slept—though the broken bones still made it painful to move.
Elian felt the magical power within the roots binding him beginning to weaken.
Without hesitation, he amplified his strength tenfold in a short burst just to break free.
He quickly loosened the roots with both hands and shot up into the sky. Pulling a recovery potion from his storage ring, he drank it in one gulp.
Relying on his perception, Elian flew toward the source of the roots.
After flying for a moment, he saw a colossal root rising into the air. There, he spotted Liana and three others forming a magical barrier to hold back the smaller roots closing in on them.
His gaze shifted to a massive tree.
He opened its status window.
Name: EvergreenGender: -Age: 1,347Sequence: 7Magic Power: ???Personality: -Trait: Guardian of the Forest
Rank: ???
Strength: ???Dexterity: ???Agility: ???Constitution: ???Intelligence: ???Wisdom: ???Charisma: ???
His mind raced as he assessed the situation.
In the game, Evergreen was the easiest monster to defeat—only two special attacks were enough to kill it, but only on Easy or Normal difficulty.
On higher difficulties—especially Chaos—it was a completely different story.
Evergreen had very few attack patterns, but the most annoying part was its ability to generate a shield every two seconds while attacking. Players had to destroy the energy orbs to remove the shield before they could even damage it.
And after seeing its status, Elian realized something immediately—
This thing was Chaos-tier.
A real pain.
But not unbeatable.
Elian glanced at the small roots closing in on the barrier.
"This is bad. Those roots can pierce magical barriers easily."
His eyes hardened.
"If Liana gets eliminated, I won't have any chance left."
Elian boosted his speed and shot toward them.
Almost too late.
The small roots had already wrapped around Liana.
The sight of something like her soul being dragged out shocked Elian. Without hesitation, he fired wind blades downward, slicing the roots apart.
"Yo, crybaby. You should be grateful I made it in time."
His tone was mocking, but his eyes never left the tree ahead.
In an instant, he understood what was really happening and reevaluated the danger level.
In the game, any defeat against a boss monster could result in death. There was no clear reason—it was just how the system worked. When facing a boss, players couldn't escape.
Elian had thought this world would be different.
"If you're planning to die, I suggest you stop right now."
He pointed forward.
"Look over there."
Everyone followed his finger—and froze.
A thick fog had appeared out of nowhere.
"That fog can interfere with soul perception," Elian said calmly, firing wind blades to cut down approaching roots. "If we're not careful, our souls could get trapped and consumed by that tree."
Sena snapped back to her senses and stood up.
"The way you're talking, you seem way too calm," she said. "Do you have a way out of this?"
Elian nodded slightly.
"Follow my instructions."
He pointed at each of them.
"Fire kid, stop the tree's projectile attacks. Sena, support me with every buff you can manage."
His gaze shifted.
"Shield kid, protect Liana."
Finally, his eyes met Liana's.
"And Liana—you already know what you need to do."
Some of them looked confused and glanced at Sena.
"Do as he says," Sena said firmly.
Elian gathered his magic, forming vibrating wind blades around his body. A thin smile curved his lips.
"First step…"
"Remove the source of danger."