Does the red ean they’re to for me to fight?

  Behind the Tentacles, an army of Blobs was amassing. Their names and levels hovered in a chaotic mess, a sea of letters and hat made Finn’s head spin.

  "They’re still ing after us?" Yukha groaned.

  "We o run!" he said, turning to Finn. "Out of the trees! We ’t see them properly here, and I ’t protect you against those numbers! Follow me!"

  Before Finn could argue, a translut barrier shimmered ien front of them, defleg a barrage of tentacle strikes and acidic globs.

  "Is this your doing?" Finn asked, marveling at the barrier’s smooth, watery surface.

  "Yes, it’s made of water. It’ll block their attacks for now. Now run!" Yukha shouted.

  And run they did. Yukha led the way, clutg a scroll in one hand.

  "Is that a map?" Finn yelled over the sound of their pounding footsteps.

  "Yes!" Yukha replied without looking back.

  Finn risked a gnce behind them. The Blobs were falling behind, their sluggish movements making them easy to outpace.

  But the Tentacles were aory. No longer zily floating, they had morphed their mushroom heads into spinning, drill-like shapes, their tentacles propelling them through the air with terrifying speed.

  Finn faced fain, dodging rocks, roots, and anything else that might trip him up. His breath came in ragged gasps, and his legs burned with exhaustion.

  Gng back a sed time, his heart sank. More Tentacles had joihe chase, their red names glowing like ominous warnings.

  Where the hell are they all ing from?

  "We’re almost out of the trees!" Yukha yelled, his voice carrying a faint note of relief.

  Finn forced himself to keep going, but his stamina was nearing its limit. Mana wasn’t the issue—yet—but his body was screaming for him to stop.

  "Are you okay, Finn?" Yukha asked, notig his slowing pace.

  Finn oo breathless to speak. No use wasting energy on words.

  Finally, sunlight broke through the trees, and the dense forest gave way to open space. Finn stumbled into the clearing, gulping down the fresh air like it was a lifeline.

  He turned back, relieved to see the monsters gging in the distance. Without the trees, Yukha would have a better ce of fending them off.

  But his relief was short-lived.

  Instead of an open field ahead, a vast ke stretched out before them, its surface shimmering uhe sunlight. It was beautiful, serene even, but utterly inve given the circumstances.

  Finn groaned, his throat dry and his body drenched i. A part of him loo dive into the cool water, but the army of monsters behind them made that fantasy impossible.

  "Are... you... kidding... me?" Finn whispered hoarsely, every word a struggle.

  "So, what’s the pn now?" he asked, gng at Yukha. "Do we fight them here?"

  "No," Yukha said firmly. "We keep running."

  "Across the ke?" Finn sputtered. "I’m already running on fumes. The moment I hit the water, I’ll sink like a rock!"

  "Unless you’ve got some kind of flying skill to carry us both over, I don’t see how—"

  "I don't have a flying skill. Remember, I am not a wind specialist," Yukha said. "But I have another pn."

  "Well, hurry it up before they catch up to us!" Finn urged, gng nervously at the approag horde.

  Yukha strode to the edge of the ke, his gaze fixed on the far shore.

  "We will run across this ke," he said.

  "What?" Finn blurted, his exhaustion momentarily fotten.

  Yukha tossed a fsk in Finn's dire. "Drink this first."

  Finn caught it mid-air, uncapping it. "What's this?"

  "It's water infused with one of my skills. Drink it—it will help you recover your stamina," Yukha expined.

  Without hesitation, Finn took a swig. The liquid was cold, almost unnaturally so, and carried a faint sweethat spread through his body like a refreshing breeze. Within seds, the ache in his legs vanished, his lungs no longer burned, and the fatigue weighing him dowed away.

  "This is... incredible," Finn said, staring at the fsk in awe.

  "It's useful, though I rarely anymore," Yukha admitted. "Now let's go before they reach us!"

  Yukha darted toward the ke. To any bystander, it might’ve looked insane, but Finn had learo trust his friend.

  When Yukha’s feet reached the ke’s edge, the water before him froze instantly, f a wide, solid path of ice.

  "Follow me!" Yukha shouted.

  Finn didn’t hesitate. Sprinting after Yukha, he marveled at the ice path. It was slightly slippery beh his sneakers, f him to adopt an awkward running stance, but he adjusted quickly.

  Would’ve been easier with ice skates… not that I’ve ever used any.

  Ahead of him, Yukha seemed ued by the icy surface, running effortlessly.

  Does he have spikes built into his boots or something?

  A gnce behind them wiped away his amusement. The monsters were still pursuing, uerred by the ke. Worse, some of them were beginning to unch attacks—spheres of water and sharp, spear-like shapes hurtling toward them.

  A chilling realization hit Finn. "We're on water… their territory!" he shouted." Something’s ing at us!"

  Yukha skidded to a sudden halt, spinning around to face Finn.

  Finn tried to stop as well but lost his footing on the slick ice. Arms filing, he nearly crashed to the water before Yukha caught him just in time.

  "Why did you lead us here? Aren’t they corrupted water elementals? Isn’t this their territory? We’re surrounded by water!" Finn excimed, panig his voice.

  Yukha chuckled, a deep, rumbling sound. Though his expression remained calm, his eyes carried a sharp seriousness.

  "It seems you’ve fotten something, Finn," Yukha said. "Water is also my territory."

  With a swift movement of his arms, the water around them froze into jagged patches.

  In an instant, the frozeions rose, twisting into spinning shards like drills. They unched forward, intercepting the ining balls of water mid-air. The projectiles collided in bursts of icy mist, shattering into tiny fragments that scattered into the wind.

  Yukha’s arms moved with calcuted precision, each gesture summoning another wave of ieet the monsters’ relentless attacks. Every strike was , effit, and unyielding.

  But he wasn’t finished.

  Thick, razor-sharp ice shards surged upward from the ke, their sheer numbers overwhelming the enemies’ onsught. The remaining shards sliced through the air, hurtling toward the corrupted elementals. Shards struck with devastating accuracy, disiing the creatures into wisps of mist.

  "Finn! Your turn!" Yukha shouted. "Launch your fire ahead! There are too many of them to miss, even if you ’t see clearly!"

  Fiated for only a moment before summoning a massive fme. He focused his mana, iing it into the fireball as it swelled rger and rger above him.

  Sweat dripped down his face, a mixture of exertion and the intense heat radiating from his creation. His mana ticked down steadily, but he pushed himself further.

  More… just a little more.

  The fireball grew to an even rger size, its searing glow lighting up the ice below. When his mana dwio just ten, Finn hurled the bzing sphere toward the barrage of monsters ahead, guided by the fshes of Yukha’s icy explosions.

  The fireball moved slowly, like dragging a boulder through water. Each sed felt like ay as Finn straio propel it forward.

  Does it get harder to trol the rger it is?

  Finally, the fireball collided with its targets, triggering a massive explosion. Fire, ice, and water merged into a chaotic flurry, shaking the ice path beh them. The sheer force sent shockwaves rippling through the ke.

  "That should do it," Yukha said, his tone unbothered. "Now, let’s move. We o reach the other side of the ke."

  They sprinted across the ice more, Finn gng back every so often. But the thick mist of id steam obscured his view, making it impossible to tell if any enemies remained.

  "They’ll probably retreat after that," Yukha said.

  "They retreat when they’re in danger?" Finn asked, breathless.

  "Yes," Yukha replied with a small shrug. "Surprisingly."

  As soon as they reached solid ground, Finn colpsed, his body pletely drained. Both his mana and stamina had almost hit their limits.

  Gasping for air, he stared upward at the sky—or what looked like the sky. The expanse above was a brilliant blue, speckled with drifting white patches resembling clouds. Yet, there was no sun in sight.

  Where’s the light ing from? he wondered, squinting as he tried to pinpoint its source.

  Sitting up, Finn grabbed the fsk still hanging from his ned drais tents. He scooped more water from the ke, drinking deeply to quench his thirst. Though it wasn’t as refreshing as Yukha’s infused water, it was enough.

  "That was insane," Finn said, still catg his breath. "I didn’t think you could do that."

  "Stand up, Finn," Yukha said, walking over and a hand to help him up. "We o move. This ke is giving me a bad feeling. We’ll find another pce to rest along the way."

  Finn, though still exhausted, nodded and forced himself to his feet. He trusted Yukha’s instincts.

  The water from the ke and the infused fsk had helped alleviate some of his fatigue, but it wasn’t enough for a full recovery. His body ached, and his mana reserves were nearly depleted.

  Ahead of them, a dense forest loomed, its thick trunks and undergrowth blog any view of what y beyond.

  "We’re not going into another forest, are we?" Finn asked, his voice tinged with .

  "No, not until we uand what’s going on," Yukha replied.

  A saterialized in Yukha’s hand, and he began studying it.

  "Is that the map you used earlier?" Finn asked.

  "Yes," Yukha said without looking up. "You should get ooo. If we get separated, you’ll ."

  Taking Yukha’s advice, Finn opehe shop interface. To his surprise, the "Maps" category romily dispyed on the front page.

  Curious, he tapped on it, and a list of scroll-like is appeared. However, most of them were darkeheir names and descriptions hidden. Only oion at the top left was avaible:

  Map [First Realm]

  Description: A map of the Tower of Assion's First Realm.

  Cost: 20 VP

  The price was cheap, as expected. Maps were essential starter items, often free in the games Finn had pyed. If this world were more traditional, like a fantasy town from a novel, merts might have charged exorbitant prices to scam beginners.

  Finn noted his current bance of Valor Points:

  VP: 512

  The battle earlier had been more rewarding than he’d realized. Without hesitation, he purchased the map. A moment ter, it appeared in his iory, and he clicked on it to materialize it in his hands.

  The scroll looked like aged part, simir to the Transfer Scroll he’d used before. But instead of ink, the surface dispyed a vibrant, colored image that seemed oddly digital. It was jarring—an a-looking scroll with what felt like a smartphone app embedded into it.

  Ioved across the map, animated as if alive.

  One i, a rge white circle with a tria its edge, blinked. Finn turo test its accuracy, and the triangle shifted, indig his dire. Another smaller white circle ahead of him represented Yukha.

  The map was surprisingly iive. Finn discovered he could pinch to zoom in and out to explore other areas. However, most of the map was obscured by fog, revealing only the pces they’d been: the other side of the ke, the water behind them, and a small portion of the area ahead.

  Yukha, represented by the smaller white dot, began moving. He followed the outskirts of the forest, avoiding its depths while staying parallel to its curved edge. The path led them away from the ke without venturing into the derees.

  Finn tucked the map bato his iory, finding it easier to follow the real Yukha. Staying alert to his surroundings, he sed for any movement in his peripheral vision.

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