Chapter 42 – The Cursed Forest of Myrren
[KUTO – XP FESTIVAL, FOREST OF MYRREN]
The transition was instantaneous.
One second they were in the temple — stone, torches, controlled darkness.
The next second—
Forest.
Not ordinary. Cursed.
Kuto landed on soft, damp ground that gave slightly under his boots. The smell hit first — rotting earth, decomposing vegetation, something toxic in the air that made his lungs burn at the first breath.
He looked around, processing quickly:
Twisted trees — not growing naturally, but as if they had been forced into impossible shapes, trunks intertwining, branches pointing at angles that defied logic. Black, cracked bark, with green-luminescent sap leaking as if diseased.
Swamps between the trees — water green, not clear, opaque like diluted paint, surface bubbling occasionally, releasing bubbles that popped with a viscous sound.
Sky completely blocked — dense canopy formed by leaves in sickly green tones, not letting a single ray of sunlight pass. Illumination came from the plants themselves — faint bioluminescence pulsing in hypnotic rhythm.
The air was heavy — not just humid, but viscous, each breath requiring conscious effort, lightly burning the throat.
[System flashes]
[LOCATION: CURSED FOREST OF MYRREN]
[OBJECTIVE: ELIMINATE FOREST BOSS]
[WARNING: TOXIC ENVIRONMENT – HP DRAINS SLOWLY]
Kuto checked the HUD:
[HP: 98/100… 97/100… 96/100…]
Passive drain. One point every ten seconds.
Can be sustained for approximately fifteen minutes before becoming critical.
Need to be fast.
---
Jack materialized three meters to the left, landing heavily, axe and sword already in hand — prepared, alert, ready.
Haru appeared hanging from a branch above — rogue's instinctive positioning, always seeking height.
Romeu appeared kneeling, bow already drawn, arrow nocked.
Sônia and Selina materialized together, too close, nearly tripping over each other.
— Where… — Selina began, looking around, voice tense — …where are we?
— Cursed Forest of Myrren — Kuto replied, eyes constantly scanning the environment. — System informed. Boss at the end.
He pointed to the minimap floating on the HUD — showing a path marked in red, winding between trees to a central point approximately two kilometers away.
— The door disappeared — Jack observed, turning around. Where they had entered was now only forest, no visible exit.
— Zeylor said — Romeu reminded, voice bitter. — Complete it or die. No third option.
Heavy silence for three seconds.
Then Kuto started walking:
— Then we complete it.
---
They advanced in tense formation.
Jack in front — broken shield raised, eyes constantly scanning.
Kuto and Haru flanking — one on each side, swords/daggers ready.
Romeu in the rear — bow drawn, covering the back.
Sônia and Selina in the center — mages protected, casting light detection spells.
Each step produced wrong sound — not the crunch of dry leaves, but a wet, viscous sound, like stepping on something alive.
Roots beneath the soil moved slightly — not wind, but intentional movement, as if breathing.
Absolute silence except for their steps — no birds, no insects, no sound of animal life.
Dead forest.
Or worse — forest that killed everything that inhabited it.
They walked five hundred meters.
Then—
CRACK.
Sound of wood breaking.
Everyone froze.
Jack raised a fist — universal signal for stop.
Tense silence. Five seconds. Ten.
Then movement in the trees ahead — branches reorganizing, trunks twisting, roots emerging from the soil.
And golems appeared.
---
Wooden Golems.
Not few. Dozens.
Emerging from between the trees, forming from branches and roots, humanoid bodies three meters tall, faceless, only void where the head should be.
Marching in organized formation — not chaotic horde, but coordinated, like a trained army.
[System identifies]
[WOODEN GOLEM – Level 22]
[HP: 800/800]
[Weakness: FIRE]
— Damn — Jack whispered. — How many?
Kuto counted quickly:
— Forty. Maybe fifty.
Haru disappeared into shadows immediately.
Romeu stepped back three paces, gaining distance to shoot.
Sônia and Selina began channeling — hands glowing, spells forming.
Jack planted feet firmly:
— ATTACK!
---
Haru went first.
Appeared from shadow behind the nearest golem — body flowing like water, two daggers cutting in an "X" where the neck should be.
Wood exploded into fragments.
Golem collapsed.
Haru was already vanishing again — reappearing on a branch five meters above.
Leaped.
Triple rotation in the air — body spinning, daggers cutting three different golems in sequence before landing rolling.
Rogue Level 24.
Specialization: Silent Assassination.
Technique: Dancing Shadow.
Every movement was art — not fight, deadly dance, body never stopping, always flowing from one position to the next.
---
Jack charged.
Axe in right hand. Sword in left.
War cry tearing throat:
— COME!
First golem tried to punch.
Jack blocked with axe — wood against metal, impact echoing.
Then cut with sword — blade slicing torso, splitting golem in half.
Spun — axe crushing second golem's head, wood shattering.
Leapt — three meters vertically — descending with both weapons in a double strike that cratered the ground, sending two golems backward.
Warrior Level 25.
Specialization: Dual Combat.
Technique: Coordinated Fury.
Brute force combined with surgical precision — every strike calculated to deal maximum damage while already positioning for the next attack.
---
Romeu did not stop shooting.
Arrow. Step back. Nock new. Shoot.
But not ordinary arrows.
[FLAMING ARROW ACTIVATED]
First hit golem at center — exploding in flames spreading, consuming dry wood instantly.
Second. Third. Fourth.
Each shot = golem in flames.
Archer Level 23.
Specialization: Elemental Arrows.
Technique: Incendiary Barrage.
Constantly moving — never stationary, maintaining distance while turning golems into burning torches.
---
Kuto entered with everything.
[CLASS: ELEMENTAL ACTIVATED]
Wind under feet — propelling jump of ten meters over group of golems.
In the air, hands moved:
— COLOSSAL FIREBALL!
Massive sphere of flames formed between palms — spinning, growing, distorting air with heat.
Launched.
Explosion devastated twenty-meter area — fifteen golems turning into ash instantly.
Kuto landed already running.
[CLASS: WARRIOR ACTIVATED]
Two swords materializing — abnormal speed, body moving in sequence of cuts, spins, acrobatic jumps.
Every approaching golem destroyed before completing attack.
[CLASS: ROGUE ACTIVATED]
Vanished into blur — speed tripled, appearing behind, beside, above golems, never where expected.
Adaptable Class Level 26.
Only one capable of alternating three specializations in combat.
Absolute versatility.
---
Sônia channeled dark magic.
Black flames — unnatural, carrying corrosive property.
Launched in wide arc — covering group of ten golems.
Where it touched, wood did not just burn — melted, turning into viscous substance dripping smoke.
Nearby trees were charred — cut by residual heat.
Elemental Mage Level 24.
Specialization: Black Fire.
Technique: Corrosive Incineration.
---
Selina was furious.
Arcane magic exploding from hands uncontrollably — blue spheres shooting in all directions.
One passed centimeters from Romeu.
— CALM DOWN, SELINA! — he shouted. — WE ARE NOT YOUR ENEMIES!
She stopped.
Floated — body rising three meters from the ground, staff glowing intensely.
— I know. — Voice controlled but carrying pure rage. — But step aside. I know you are not my enemies.
Pause:
— Then get out of the way.
The group retreated instinctively — creating fifty-meter space.
Selina raised staff above her head with both hands.
Magic converged — not a small sphere, but miniature SUN forming, growing, pulsing with energy visibly making the air vibrate.
[ARCANE MAGIC: TOTAL OBLITERATION]
— DISAPPEAR!
Launched.
---
The explosion was apocalyptic.
Not metaphor.
Literal.
Wave of pure arcane energy devastated two hundred meters in all directions — trees turning to dust, roots evaporating, golems disintegrating before they could even scream.
Ground melted — stone turning to glass, then to dust.
When it dissipated—
Crater.
Only crater smoking where forest had been.
Selina descended slowly, body trembling, sweat covering face.
[MANA: 15/120]
Romeu ran to her:
— Try to control yourself! You will burn all your mana!
She looked at him — eyes still burning:
— That is why the virtual shop exists. — Voice cold, calculated. — We buy potions, recover mana, continue fighting.
Pause, looking at forest ahead:
— Let's finish this forest boss quickly… — voice lowering, dangerous — ...and face the real enemy. Thegg.
---
But before they could react—
Roots exploded from the ground.
Not random attack. Coordinated.
They trapped Selina and Sônia's ankles — wrapping, tightening, pulling.
— WHAT?! — Selina screamed, trying to cast but without enough mana.
Sônia screamed — pure terror.
The roots dragged — fast, brutal, pulling both into the dense forest.
Selina's staff fell — hitting the ground, rolling.
— SELINA! SÔNIA! — Jack roared, running.
Kuto was already moving — [ROGUE CLASS] — maximum speed.
But trees reacted.
Branches moved — not wind, intentionally — intertwining, forming living barrier blocking the path.
Kuto tried to pass.
Branch struck — knocking him back.
— DAMN! — Jack tried cutting with axe.
Wood regenerated — growing faster than they could destroy.
Kuto stepped back three paces.
Hands moved:
— FIREBALL!
Smaller than before — conserving mana — but enough.
Explosion destroyed part of the barrier.
— LET'S GO! — he shouted, crossing residual flames.
Group followed.
---
They reached clearing.
And froze.
Creatures awaited them.
Mycelian Servants — fungus-like beings, body covered in glowing spores, three meters tall, long arms ending in claws.
[MYCELIAN SERVANT – Level 25]
[ABILITY: POISON + HEAL ALLIES]
Twenty of them. Positioned in semicircle.
Behind, Root Guardians — massive wooden golems, four meters, natural shield of reinforced bark.
[ROOT GUARDIAN – Level 25]
[ABILITY: SUPREME DEFENSE]
Ten of them.
And at the center of the clearing—
Her.
---
Natural/Toxic Boss of the Forest of Myrren.
Not a monster.
Woman.
Or something that was a woman.
Three meters tall — light-green skin, bark-like texture, veins glowing green-luminescent. Hair was not hair — vines flowing like liquid, poisonous flowers sprouting among them in shades of purple and red.
Face disturbingly beautiful — eyes completely green without pupils, full lips in leaf tone, expression of malicious satisfaction.
Dressed only in strategically positioned flowers and leaves — more seductive than should be possible for a plant creature.
[NYRAETH – LADY OF THE FOREST]
[NATURAL/TOXIC BOSS – Level 30]
[HP: 8000/8000]
And at her feet—
Selina and Sônia tied.
Roots covering their bodies completely — head to toe, tightening, slightly crushing.
Unable to move. Unable to cast.
Only captives.
Nyraeth smiled — revealing perfectly white, small, sharp teeth:
— Welcome… — voice melodious, hypnotic — …to my forest.
Jack, Romeu, Haru, and Kuto remained motionless.
Fury mixed with helplessness.
Calculating. Processing. Planning.
How to attack without killing the two?
How to save them without dying in the process?
Nyraeth tilted head slightly — curious movement, almost childlike:
— Will you fight? — Smiled wider. — Or will you beg me to return them?
Pause.
— Both are delicious to me.
---
[BATTLE: NYRAETH – LADY OF THE FOREST]
[HOSTAGES: SELINA & SÔNIA]
[COMBAT GROUP: KUTO, JACK, HARU, ROMEU]
[NEXT CHAPTER: The Queen of the Forest]