By the time Kai and Mira reached the center of Alder Village again, the sun was already dipping low, staining the rooftops in gold. People moved through the streets in their normal end-of-day cycles: the baker's son sweeping flour off the doorstep, the innkeeper lighting lanterns, older villagers chatting about nothing of importance.
None of them sensed the danger creeping in from the forest.
Kai felt it with every breath.
Something in the air was wrong—bending, tightening, glitching at the edges like an invisible warning.
He turned toward Mira. "We can't train in the open. Too many NPCs might notice."
Mira nodded, hugging Flarekit a bit closer. "I know a place. No one goes there after sundown."
She led him behind the general shop, down a narrow alley, and out into a small, abandoned garden plot. The broken fence leaned inward. The soil was half reclaimed by weeds. A single training dummy stood crooked, its straw body sagging with rot.
Kai blinked. "This was…?"
Mira smirked a little. "My older brother set it up years ago. He left for the capital city in-game and never came back to maintain it. NPCs kind of ignore this place now."
He gave a slow, grateful nod. "Perfect."
Sproutail hopped down his shoulder, shaking its leaf-ears like it was shaking off the tension of the day. It padded into the center of the garden, sniffing the air.
Flarekit hopped from Mira's arms and darted around the dummy, tail-flame flickering with renewed energy.
Mira stretched her arms. "So. How do we get stronger in a few hours?"
Kai rubbed the back of his neck. "We don't. Not properly."
She frowned. "Then what do we do?"
"We make the time we have count."
He crouched beside Sproutail. "Today wasn't a normal battle. You reacted on instinct more than skill. That's good—instinct is something you can trust when things get messy."
Sproutail's chest puffed slightly.
"But your stamina is low, and your moves aren't stable yet. So we focus on two things: speed and resilience."
Mira knelt with Flarekit. "Same plan for him?"
"Sort of. Flarekit hits harder, but tires twice as fast. So we focus on precision."
Mira nodded. "Okay. I'm ready."
Kai stood, rolled up his sleeves, and clapped his hands once. "Let's begin."
Training — Kai's Way
Training in the game was boring.
Training here was physical, exhausting, and alive.
Sproutail sprinted tight circles around the garden while Flarekit sent small fire bursts toward the dummy at different angles. Mira's encouragement was steady, soft but firm.
Kai guided from behind, adjusting posture, correcting footwork, calling out patterns:
"Sproutail—don't bounce, slide into the turn."
"Flarekit—aim upward, not outward. Protect Mira's line of sight."
"Sproutail—brace before impact. You lose balance every time."
"Good. Again."
And again.
And again.
Sweat beaded down Mira's forehead as she mirrored some movements beside Flarekit, learning how to direct him with gestures instead of words alone.
Flarekit picked up on it fast. A flick of Mira's hand meant shift right. A lean forward meant fire. A step back meant dodge.
Sproutail watched, attentive but competitive, pushing itself to keep up.
Kai found himself smiling despite the weight of fear in his chest.
They were bonding.
Not because a system told them to.Not because the game labeled them "partners."But because they needed each other.
And because the danger was real.
As the sky darkened to violet, Kai clapped his hands again. "Stop."
Sproutail skidded to a halt, panting. Flarekit collapsed dramatically in the grass.
Mira slumped against the fence. "I'm… actually gonna die."
Kai chuckled softly. "If it makes you feel better, that went better than I expected."
Mira glanced at him. "Really?"
"You two are syncing up fast. Faster than most players I remember."
Mira looked down, cheeks pink. "I'm just…trying to keep everyone safe."
Kai's smile faded, replaced by a small knot of concern.
"Mira. You did great. But there's something you need to understand about tonight."
Her expression shifted. "What?"
"The first wave of corruption doesn't just spawn monsters. It distorts the terrain around the outbreak point. Makes paths disappear. Creates false branches. Twists the environment into loops."
Mira's eyes widened. "So… we could get trapped?"
"Not if we're careful. But the corrupted beasts? They won't be limited by the terrain. They spawn inside the distortion."
Mira ran a hand through her hair, trying to steady herself. "Alright. So what's the plan?"
Kai looked toward the distant forest. The shadows between the trees had grown thicker, darker, pulsing faintly with purple flickers like veins of light in the dark.
"We don't fight deep in the woods," Kai said. "We stay near the border. And we move before the corruption gets too dense."
"And if it spreads faster than in the game?" Mira asked.
He didn't answer immediately.
Because yes—if it spread too fast, they wouldn't be able to contain anything.
"Mira," he said softly, "whatever happens, don't let it corner you. And don't let it touch you. Corruption spreads on contact."
Mira pale. "Wait—what? You never said that."
"In the game it was just a status effect." Kai hesitated. "Here… it might be worse."
Mira held Flarekit tighter. "Okay. No contact. Got it."
Sproutail tugged gently on Kai's sleeve, as if sensing the shift in mood.
He crouched to rub the small creature's head. "You ready?"
Sproutail nodded firmly.
Then—
A small chime sounded.
Mira flinched. "Was that you?"
"No," Kai said slowly. "That was—"
A thin wisp of purple static drifted from the treeline like smoke.
Then another.
Then five.
They floated upward, dissolving harmlessly in the air.
Mira whispered, "Kai… is that—?"
"Yes," Kai said quietly. "The corruption just anchored. The event has started."
Flarekit growled, ears back.
Sproutail bristled.
Mira swallowed hard. "Then… we should move, right? Before more monsters spawn?"
Kai didn't move.
Because something else was happening.
Another chime.
Then—
[Unauthorized activity detected.]
A flat, monotone voice. Not from the sky. Not from any person.
From the system.
Mira's eyes widened. "What was that?"
Kai's heart thudded once, painfully.
[NPC behavior deviation logged.][Guide unit: Kai.][Intervention queued.]
Mira grabbed his arm. "Kai—what does that mean?"
Kai looked toward the forest, then at the village windows glowing with soft lamplight.
"It means," he said tightly, "the system noticed I'm not following my script."
Mira's face drained of color. "But if it 'intervenes'—"
"It resets me."
Sproutail clung to his chest, shaking.
Flarekit barked nervously.
Mira looked horrified. "Kai—we can't let that happen. We can't."
Kai breathed sharply.
The corruption event had started early.
NPCs couldn't acknowledge it.
And now the system wanted to erase the only one who understood what was coming.
"We don't have a choice anymore," Kai said, voice low. "The system is watching me."
Mira bit her lip. "What do we do?"
Kai straightened.
"We move before the reset triggers."
His eyes hardened.
"And we survive midnight."