The sunlight filtered through the towering canopy above Verdant Hollow, casting shifting patterns of gold and green across the moss-covered ground. Riku stepped lightly, his Shadowsteel Dagger drawn, the blade reflecting no light. Beside him, Kira moved with practiced ease, her posture calm but alert.
They had only ventured a little over a kilometer from their camp, but the atmosphere had changed entirely.
The wind no longer whispered gently—it howled faintly, as though something deep within the Hollow was stirring. Trees leaned inward, gnarled and twisted as if recoiling from an unseen presence. Birds had stopped singing.
> [System Alert: Proximity Warning. Anomalous Energy Signature Detected. 120 meters ahead.]
"Same direction as that strange signal," Riku muttered.
Kira nodded. "Let's find out what's causing it."
They pressed forward, eventually emerging into a clearing shrouded in thin mist. At the center lay an ancient stone pedestal, cracked but still standing. It pulsed faintly with ethereal light, glowing with runes that neither Riku nor Kira could decipher.
The system interface blinked in Riku's vision.
> [Mission Objective Found: Investigate the Relic Pedestal. Warning: Possible Hostile Entity Present.]
"It looks like a shrine," Kira murmured, stepping closer. "But I feel... sick just being near it."
"I do too," Riku said. "Something's wrong."
He reached out to scan the pedestal with the system, but before he could activate anything, the ground beneath them shook. Vines erupted from the soil, lashing out with supernatural speed.
"Watch out!" Riku shouted.
He sliced one of the vines midair, its green ichor spraying as it recoiled. Kira ducked and rolled, drawing a small compact crossbow from her belt and firing a bolt that pinned one vine to a tree.
From behind the pedestal rose a creature unlike anything either of them had seen—a semi-transparent humanoid mass of shifting roots, bark, and glowing fungal tendrils. Its face was a warped mimicry of human features, and its voice was a chorus of whispering agony.
"You... do not belong..."
> [System Identified: Echo Entity - Hollow Guardian. Difficulty: High.] [Reward for Victory: ??? Unknown. XP Bonus: +2500. Possible Relic Unlock.]
"Looks like we've found the Hollow's first boss," Riku growled, crouching into a defensive stance.
The battle erupted quickly. Riku dodged the entity's tendrils as it slammed them down like whips, leaving deep gouges in the earth. He dashed in close, slashing across its bark-like chest, but the creature's form simply reshaped, absorbing the damage.
"It regenerates!" Riku shouted.
"Aim for the core! There's something glowing in its chest!" Kira yelled, firing bolt after bolt. One finally struck true, embedding in the creature's chest and disrupting its flow. It staggered back with a howl.
Riku activated Skill Sync and Shadowstep from the system.
> [Shadowstep Activated. Cooldown: 3 minutes.]
In a blur of speed, he blinked behind the creature and stabbed the glowing core. The creature shrieked, vines convulsing, and a surge of corrupted mana exploded outward, knocking both of them off their feet.
When the dust settled, the entity was gone. In its place was a single glowing gem, resting on the cracked pedestal.
> [Mission Complete. Reward: Verdant Relic Core Acquired. +2500 XP. Bonus: +500 Points.]
[Current Points: 1,750]
[Item Acquired: Verdant Relic Core – Can be fused into territory for a permanent buff: Regeneration Aura (Lesser)]
Kira exhaled. "That was intense. But this... this could really make your kingdom special."
"I agree," Riku said, eyes still scanning for danger. "Let's not waste it."
---
Back at camp, they integrated the Verdant Relic Core into the territory via the system's interface. A wave of soothing energy pulsed through the ground.
> [Territory Enhancement Applied: Passive Regeneration Aura Activated. Minor HP recovery for all allies while within territory.]
The upgrade triggered a system message:
> [Territory Progress: 5%] [Next Unlock at 10%: Defensive Structure Blueprint Pack]
Kira smiled as the mist cleared slightly. "This place is changing. It's... alive now."
Riku nodded. "And we're only getting started."
But even as they celebrated, a shadow passed briefly over the moon above the Hollow. Far beyond, in a city hidden in the folds of the world, cloaked figures gathered in a temple made of obsidian. One of them raised a crystal that shimmered with the same energy as the Verdant Relic Core.
"Another one has awoken," the figure whispered. "The boy is accelerating. We must act soon."
The game had begun.