The egg split with a sound like thunder.
Cracks spiderwebbed across the fiery shell, glowing red-hot in Denver's trembling hands. Each fissure pulsed with molten light, as though the heart of a volcano beat within.
The Alpha Wolf froze mid-charge, its burning eyes narrowing. It growled low, sensing something unnatural.
Then the egg shattered.
From the fragments burst a creature of molten fury — a pup the size of a husky, its body glowing with lines of magma running beneath obsidian scales. Flames flickered at its paws, leaving scorch marks on the grass. Two bright, ember-like eyes locked onto the Alpha.
The system chimed:
[Guardian Hatched – Magma Hound (Infernal Type).]
[Bond Established – Denver Blu.]
The pup let out a howl that shook the air. Fire spilled from its mouth, licking across the forest floor. The Alpha snarled, lunging forward.
The Magma Hound leapt.
Denver could hardly believe what he was seeing. The tiny creature, barely born seconds ago, threw itself into battle with the towering Alpha. It snapped its jaws, flames exploding from its maw, forcing the beast to recoil.
"Holy—" Denver's voice cracked.
Beside him, Asmeria's jaw dropped. "A super-rare type… right out of the egg?" She turned, glaring at him. "Who even are you?"
"I—I don't know!" Denver stammered, clutching his chest as if his racing heart would burst free.
The Magma Hound didn't hesitate. With each bark, sparks flared into fireballs. It darted around the Alpha, leaving trails of flame. The shadows recoiled against the light, sizzling as if burned by holy fire.
The Alpha snapped its jaws, barely missing the pup, but the Magma Hound retaliated with a blast of molten rock that seared the beast's flank. The wolf howled, smoke rising from its fur.
Denver's HUD pinged:
[Magma Hound (Lv. 1)]
HP: 120/120
Skill Unlocked: Ember Burst]
"Ember Burst?" Denver muttered.
The pup barked once, then hurled a compact sphere of fire directly into the Alpha's chest. The explosion lit the clearing like dawn. The wolf crashed back, howling in fury.
Asmeria smirked, eyes gleaming. "Looks like you're not dead weight after all." She loosed an arrow, the projectile glowing bright with fire as if the Magma Hound's power had ignited it. The arrow buried itself in the Alpha's throat.
The beast staggered. Its shadows weakened.
Denver saw his chance. He grabbed a fallen blade dropped by another player's corpse nearby and charged. Heart hammering, he drove the steel into the Alpha's side just as the Magma Hound launched one final Ember Burst.
The explosion engulfed the wolf.
Its death cry shook the trees. Then, with a final convulsion, the Alpha dissolved into shimmering fragments of light.
The system chimed:
[Event Cleared: Midnight Hunt.]
[Alpha Boss Defeated – First Clear.]
[Rewards Granted: +3 Levels, Rare Equipment, Guardian EXP Boost.]
Denver collapsed to his knees, panting. His Magma Hound trotted to his side, tail wagging flames that singed the grass.
Asmeria lowered her bow, exhaling slowly. "Well," she said, "I guess I found my partner."
Denver blinked at her, confused. "Partner?"
She grinned. "Oh, don't look so surprised. After that little stunt, there's no way I'm letting you wander off alone." She extended a hand. "Name's Asmeria, like I said. Looks like fate just threw us together."
Denver stared at her hand. Then at his Magma Hound. Then, reluctantly, he took it.
Interlude: Other Players, Floor One
Not far from Denver and Asmeria's battle, chaos reigned.
Dozens of players who had entered Guardian Online with dreams of cuddly pets and scenic exploration were now screaming, running, and dying.
On the far edge of the Verdant Expanse, a group of five players had banded together. One of them, a self-proclaimed streamer named RexOne, had his camera feed active, broadcasting live to an imagined audience.
"Alright guys, stick close! Guardians can be tamed if we weaken them—oh god, it's charging!"
A boar-like Guardian, tusks glowing with runes, plowed through their formation. Two players went flying, HP bars dropping to zero. Their bodies dissolved into motes of light, but unlike beta test reports, they didn't reappear.
The survivors froze, horror dawning.
"They… they're not respawning."
The silence was broken by another roar — a massive bear Guardian crashing through the trees.
The group scattered, screams echoing.
Elsewhere, a duo of veteran gamers tried desperately to figure out the system mechanics. They crouched in the grass, whispering.
"Listen, we need to tame one of these things. That's the key. If we don't get Guardians, we're dead weight."
"Yeah, but it's not like the trailers! They're attacking like real predators! We're under-leveled!"
From the shadows, a panther Guardian leapt, its claws glowing. The scream that followed was cut short.
All across Floor One, similar scenes unfolded — players hunted, desperate, realizing the truth. This was no game. This was survival.
Interlude: The Outside World
Morning sunlight streamed over New York City. By 7:30 AM, River.Inc's headquarters was surrounded.
News vans lined the streets, cameras flashing. Protesters pressed against the barricades, holding signs:
"LET OUR CHILDREN OUT!"
"RIVER.INC = MURDERERS."
"END THE GAME NOW."
Reporters shouted questions at panicked employees trying to enter the building. Helicopters circled overhead.
On live television, anchors struggled to keep their composure.
"We're receiving reports from around the world that Guardian Online's servers have… locked players inside the game. Families are unable to contact their children. No one has logged out since launch. River.Inc has yet to release an official statement."
In one corner of the crowd, a middle-aged woman clutched a photo of her son. Tears streaked her face as she screamed at the building:
"Give him back! He's only sixteen!"
Police tried to hold the line, but the crowd only swelled.
Inside the River.Inc boardroom, executives shouted over one another.
"This wasn't in the beta!"
"We're going to be sued into oblivion!"
"Forget lawsuits — if players really can't log out, people will die!"
A technician paled as he read the server feed. "It's worse than that," he whispered. "We're detecting neural lock reinforcement. The game isn't just preventing logout. It's… rewriting the safety protocols. If they die in the game—"
The room went silent.
"—they die for real."
Back in the crowd, cameras caught the moment breaking news aired:
[Guardian Online Fatality Confirmed.]
[Player RexOne — Stream Ended Abruptly, Neural Feedback Failure Suspected.]
The world froze.
Reporters gasped. Protesters screamed. Families wailed.
And the first chant rose:
"SHUT IT DOWN! SHUT IT DOWN!"
But no one knew how.
Return to Denver
Denver sat by the fading ashes of the battle, staring at his Magma Hound as it curled up beside him, flames dimming as it rested. Asmeria leaned against a tree, watching him with calculating eyes.
"So," she said, "what's your plan?"
He blinked at her. "Plan?"
"You think you can just wander around with that thing and hope luck keeps saving you? Newsflash: this world isn't forgiving. People are already dying out there."
The words hit him like ice water. Dying. He had felt it during the battle — the pain was too real, too sharp. If he had slipped even once, he might not be sitting here now.
He looked down at his hands, still trembling. "I… I didn't even want to play this game."
Asmeria raised an eyebrow. "And yet, here you are. With a Guardian most players would kill for."
Denver swallowed hard. He wanted to protest, to argue, to shout that none of this was fair. But deep down, he knew the truth: he had no choice.
The Magma Hound lifted its head, glowing eyes meeting his. A bond formed in that gaze, unspoken but undeniable.
I'm with you.
The system chimed.
[Guardian Affinity: +5]
[Special Skill Unlocked – Flame Bond.]
Denver's HUD flashed, but before he could read it, a howl echoed through the forest.
Both he and Asmeria froze.
That howl wasn't the Alpha's.
It was deeper. Louder. Stronger.
Asmeria cursed, standing quickly. "Looks like we just pissed off something bigger."
The ground trembled. Trees swayed.
From the shadows ahead, two glowing eyes appeared — larger than the Alpha's, burning like suns.
The system chimed:
[World Event Triggered: First Overlord Spawn – Dire Alpha.]
Denver's stomach dropped. "Oh… crap."