Moon crossed the final few steps toward the glowing blue ring, the shimmer on the ground fading slightly as he entered.
A soft chime rang in his ears.
[Entered: Quest Area]
That was it. No dramatic cutscene. No fanfare. Just a simple notification—clinical and quiet, like the calm before a storm.
The area itself didn't look particularly special. The terrain had barely changed. The same sparse woods surrounded him, thin tree trunks scattered like toothpicks jammed into the dirt, their leaves sparse and dry. Patches of mist clung low to the earth, curling around gnarled roots and half-buried stones. The air was unnervingly still.
Moon tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword, a simple thing with a dull sheen and a leather-wrapped handle. He wasn't sure what he expected, but the silence stretched too long—
Grrrr…
The low, guttural sound came from his right.
He turned sharply—just in time.
A blur of fur and fangs launched from the mist, its eyes glowing faintly yellow, muscles rippling beneath a mottled grey hide. The Direwolf was massive—larger than any dog, its head the size of a small boulder. Long claws tore up soil and moss as it lunged at him, jaws wide with dripping teeth.
Moon's instincts screamed, but his body fumbled. He stumbled back awkwardly, barely avoiding the beast's snapping jaws. One paw slashed through the air, brushing the edge of his shoulder as he hit the ground, skidding backwards on his palms.
"That thing's fast…!"
He scrambled upright, dirt smearing his hands. The Direwolf landed heavily on all fours in front of him, lips pulled back in a silent snarl. Its fur was patchy in places, revealing pale, scarred skin beneath—as if it had fought and survived too many battles to count.
Moon's chest heaved, his fingers clenched tightly around the sword.
Then something strange happened.
A soft pulse of light glimmered at the edge of his vision. His eyes darted toward it—and there they were.
Strings.
Faint, silvery threads, like strands of moonlight, stretched across the air, connecting him to the Direwolf. A dozen or so danced between them, but only three gleamed brighter, pulsing faintly—almost as if they were... alive.
[Class Trait Activated: Weakspot]
The words appeared at the corner of his vision, then faded.
His breath caught. The strings… they weren't random. They formed a path, pointing behind the Direwolf, leading in a winding motion, like footwork carved into light.
"What… is this?"
He didn't know how, but his mind seemed to understand them. As if the knowledge wasn't taught, but awakened.
His consciousness brushed one of the glowing threads—and suddenly, his body felt drawn to it.
He stepped forward.
His knees bent instinctively as the Direwolf lunged again. But this time, Moon was ready. He sidestepped the beast's gaping maw, the air brushing cold against his cheek as the jaws snapped shut just inches from his face.
He pivoted.
One string tugged him forward, like a whisper in his muscle memory.
Before he had time to think, his hand moved. The sword rose high and drove deep into the Direwolf's back, slipping between ribs with a sickening crunch.
Thud!
The beast collapsed with a sharp yelp, legs twitching violently. A second later, a dark red mist burst upward—not blood, but particles, like the monster was made of glass and smoke. Moon stepped back instinctively as the body dissolved, the game's particle system cleaning up the corpse in moments.
[You killed a Monster: Direwolf (Lv. 1)]
[+1 Quest Kill]
[Direwolves defeated: 1/5]
[EXP Gained: 12]
Moon stood still, panting lightly, sword trembling in his grasp.
He blinked.
"What just happened?"
He looked down at his hands. No blood. No pain. Just the dull vibration in his arms from the force of the strike. And those threads…
They were gone now.
He opened his mouth, then closed it.
There were no words.
It was not an accident.
Those were precise, controlled movements. Like a choreography he never learned but had always known.
"Is that… Weakspot?" he muttered aloud, glancing around. But of course, no answer came.
He wiped his palms on his trousers and tried to steady his breath.
"I didn't even think… my body just moved."
It felt like something else had taken over — but not entirely. More like something awakened deep inside of him. The threads didn't control him. They showed him the way forward, and he chose to follow.
He glanced at his status screen again, flipping it open with a thought.
[ Weakspot: ] You can see your opponents' weak spots. Striking those areas will deal Lethal Damage.
The description didn't do the trait justice. It was more than simply seeing the opponent's weak spot. It was like a roadmap leading him directly toward it.
Moon felt a slow grin creeping across his face.
He'd heard from Lucas about stories of players unlocking powerful traits that let them dodge better, strike harder, or even recover faster. But this? This was beyond anything he mentioned.
It felt almost unfair… in a good way.
He looked toward the trees, narrowing his eyes as the mist began to shift again. Another growl echoed faintly in the distance—another Direwolf, no doubt.
The quest required five.
But now, Moon wasn't scared.
He rolled his shoulders and settled into a low stance, readying himself for the next battle.
Then, he took a step forward, toward the source of the sound.
The hunt had begun.