The plaza trembled as the dungeon gate yawned open, molten light bleeding from its jagged seams. The obsidian walls cracked, glowing with runes that twisted and pulsed like living veins.
Every player froze. No one dared move.
Then, as though pulled by unseen threads, the gate's glow collapsed inward.
A voice echoed across the plaza—mechanical yet laced with something disturbingly human:
[Tutorial Completed: Survivors may now advance.]
[Dungeon Pathway Unlocked – Floor One]
The molten light surged outward in a wave, washing over every survivor. Denver shielded his eyes, clutching the egg tight. When the brilliance faded, the ruined plaza was gone.
He staggered, blinking against the sudden brightness.
And what he saw nearly stole his breath.
The world stretched into a vast meadow under a pale-blue sky. Golden grass swayed in the wind, dotted with wildflowers that shimmered faintly with magic. Towering trees with silver bark reached skyward, their leaves glittering like emerald glass. In the distance, waterfalls cascaded from jagged cliffs, their spray catching rainbows in the sunlight.
It was beautiful.
It was dangerous.
Guardians roamed freely across the biome. A flock of small bird-like creatures with crystal wings darted overhead, chirping harmoniously. Near a brook, bulbous frogs with luminous eyes croaked, their tongues snapping at dragonfly-like insects that glowed like lanterns. Further off, Denver spotted a herd of stag Guardians, their antlers entwined with ivy that pulsed faintly with light.
The meadow looked like paradise, but the air thrummed with unseen energy, a reminder that beauty here meant nothing without strength.
System prompts flickered before Denver's eyes:
[Welcome to Floor One – Verdant Expanse.]
[Objective: Reach Floor Gate at the heart of the biome.]
[Condition: Minimum Player Level 10 required to unlock Floor Gate.]
Denver's stomach sank. Level ten. He glanced at his HUD.
[Level 3]
He was nowhere near ready.
All around him, players materialized across the meadow, blinking in awe or panic. Some immediately shouted commands, rallying into groups. Others sprinted recklessly toward Guardians, trying to tame or attack them.
Chaos erupted within minutes.
A pair of armored Vanguards charged a crystal-winged bird. It shrieked, scattering light shards in every direction. The shards sliced through their armor like glass knives, sending them screaming. A lone mage attempted to tame a frog Guardian, only for its tongue to lash out and drag him into the brook.
Denver exhaled shakily. "This isn't a starter zone… it's a slaughterhouse."
"Focus." He gripped the Guardian Egg tighter. "Luck got me this far. It better keep working."
Beside him, Lumin pulsed softly, wings scattering faint motes of light. Unlike the flashy Guardians around them, Lumin looked fragile—barely capable of survival.
But Denver had already seen the truth: underestimating Lumin was a mistake.
A flicker caught his eye. A system prompt blinked across his HUD.
[Guardian Egg: Rare Variant – Magma Hound]
Status: Incubation]
Progress: 8% (Hatch Condition: Player reaches Level 10)]
Denver froze.
The Magma Hound. The boss that had nearly killed them all.
And now… it was inside his egg.
His throat went dry. "Level 10 or bust, then."
He scanned the meadow. Fighting head-on was suicide. The flashy players would keep rushing monsters, and most of them would die trying. But Luck was different. Luck was finding paths where none should exist.
"Alright," he muttered. "Let's test it."
He picked a direction at random—the far side of the meadow, toward the silver-barked forest. Other players sprinted elsewhere, ignoring the quiet corners in favor of spectacle. Denver's gut told him to do the opposite.
He and Lumin slipped into the trees.
The forest was quieter, but not empty. Shadows moved between trunks, faint glimmers of light betraying hidden Guardians. Denver crouched low, watching.
A squirrel-like Guardian scuttled along a branch. Its fur shimmered with starlight, tiny sparks trailing behind it. When it saw him, it chittered and darted away, vanishing into the leaves.
His HUD flickered.
[Luck Triggered: Hidden Encounter – Starlit Spriggan (Lv. 2 Guardian).]
Denver blinked. That easy?
The Spriggan peeked from the leaves, tilting its head. Unlike the feral monsters in the plaza, this one didn't attack. Instead, it leapt down, landing softly before him. Its eyes glowed faintly, curious.
"Wait," Denver whispered. "Are you… tameable?"
Lumin pulsed once, wings shimmering. The Spriggan chirped in response, then scampered closer.
The system chimed:
[Guardian Affinity Detected.]
[Would you like to attempt a bond?]
Denver's jaw dropped. "Already?"
His finger hovered over Yes.
But then he stopped.
His egg pulsed, warm against his chest. The Magma Hound.
Could he even manage two Guardians? What if taming another interfered with Lumin—or delayed the hatching of the egg?
The Spriggan chirped again, head tilted expectantly.
Denver clenched his fist. "Not yet."
The system flashed red:
[Bond Refused – Guardian Affinity Lost.]
The Spriggan's glow dimmed. It chittered once, disappointed, before darting back into the trees and vanishing.
Denver swallowed hard. Regret gnawed at him, but he forced himself forward. He couldn't afford distractions. His path was already set.
Hours passed as he navigated deeper into the biome. He avoided large groups, skirting the edges of danger.
He scavenged berries that restored minor health, tripped over glowing mushrooms that pulsed with stamina boosts, and found a half-broken spear abandoned by a dead player.
Every step, Luck intervened.
A falling branch startled a wolf Guardian before it could ambush him. A stray arrow fired by another player struck a charging beast that had cornered him. Even when he stumbled into a nest of insect Guardians, Lumin's glow revealed a hollow log where he could crawl to safety.
It wasn't clean. It wasn't glamorous. But it worked.
And slowly—painfully—his level crept upward.
[Level 5 reached.]
[Level 6 reached.]
Each time, his egg pulsed brighter.
By nightfall, the meadow glowed with strange bioluminescence. Firefly-like Guardians drifted between the trees, while predators prowled in the dark. The air was thick with the scent of magic, almost tangible.
Denver collapsed against a tree, exhausted. Lumin settled beside him, wings flickering faintly. His HUD hovered at Level 7—still three short of his goal.
The egg pulsed in his arms. Nearly 70% incubated.
Denver closed his eyes, breathing deeply.
But the peace didn't last.
The ground trembled. Leaves shook loose from the canopy.
Lumin darted upward, alarmed.
From the shadows of the forest, glowing eyes appeared. One pair. Then three. Then dozens.
A pack of wolf Guardians slinked from the undergrowth, their fur bristling with shadow, fangs glowing faintly with magic.
The system chimed:
[Event Triggered: Midnight Hunt – Wolf Pack Alpha Emerges.]
[Difficulty: High | Recommended Level: 12+]
Denver's blood ran cold.
Level 12? He wasn't even 8.
The wolves circled, growling low, their eyes fixed on the glowing egg in his arms.
Lumin pulsed desperately, scattering light motes, but the wolves didn't flinch. They wanted blood.
Denver staggered to his feet, chest heaving, spear trembling in his grip.
"Of course," he muttered bitterly. "Luck doesn't mean easy. It means impossible."
The Alpha stepped forward, larger than the others, its fur streaked with silver light. Its growl reverberated through the forest, shaking his bones.
Denver tightened his grip on the egg. His only chance was to survive long enough for it to hatch.
The Alpha lunged.
And Denver screamed, thrusting his spear forward—