Chapter 43 – The Queen of the Forest
[KUTO – XP FESTIVAL, NYRAETH CLEARING ]
The group remained motionless.
Not by choice — but by pure calculation.
Before them, a dark spectacle unfolded under the sickly green light that pulsed from the cursed forest itself.
Selina and Sônia were completely trapped — roots wrapping their bodies from head to toe, tightening, pulsing like living veins slowly draining magical energy. The faces of the two showed distress, eyes silently begging for help.
The air was heavy — not only humid, but impregnated with the smell of mold, poison, and decay. The ground, covered in green mud, glowed faintly, as if breathing, pulsing with life of its own.
The surrounding trees seemed to watch — not a metaphor, literally leaning slightly, branches pointing in their direction.
And in the center, Nyraeth — the Queen of the Forest — observed everything with an icy smile, her phosphorescent green eyes emanating a power that made the air vibrate.
---
Jack gripped the haft of his axe.
Metallic sound echoed in the silence — enough to break the tension.
— I have an idea, everyone. — His deep voice carried courage and restrained desperation in equal measure.
Everyone looked, attentive.
— Due to this absurd number of enemies... — he pointed to dozens of Mycelium Servants and Root Guardians surrounding the clearing — ...we will have to divide roles.
He took a deep breath:
— Kuto and I will go straight to the middle. We destroy everything that moves. Create chaos.
He looked at Haru:
— You go unnoticed and free Sônia and Selina. Use illusions if necessary.
Then at Romeu:
— Support from a distance. Precise arrows. Do not hesitate. If anything approaches Haru, eliminate it.
Romeu nodded firmly:
— Understood.
Kuto adjusted his swords, quickly checking his HUD:
[HP: 87/100] — continuous environmental drain.
[MANA: 95/110] — sufficient.
[STAMINA: GOOD]
— Ready? — Jack asked, eyes never leaving Nyraeth.
Everyone nodded.
Three-second pause.
Then —
Chaos.
---
Jack advanced first.
A living wall in motion — massive body crossing distance in seconds.
Axe swinging in a wide arc — the first Mycelium Servant crushed, fungoid body exploding in bright green spores.
Short sword followed — cutting two enemies in a straight line, black sap spraying.
CLANG CLANG CLANG.
Metallic sounds of impacts echoed, followed by snaps of cracking wood.
Jack spun his body — circular motion using full momentum — axe sweeping three Guardians simultaneously.
— COME! — a roar tore from his throat, eyes blazing. — None of you are worthy of slowing me down!
He leapt — five meters vertically — descending knee-first.
CRASH.
Crater at his landing — shockwave sending nearby enemies flying backward.
Level 25 Warrior.
Specialization: Impact Combat.
Brute strength that made the ground tremble with every strike.
---
Kuto followed — speed impossible to track.
[CLASS: ROGUE ACTIVATED]
He jumped between trunks and roots — body flowing, performing flips, cartwheels, never touching the ground for more than half a second.
Swords sliced the air — each movement leaving a flaming trail.
He spun midair — horizontal cut slicing through three Servants in sequence, flames consuming the fungoid bodies instantly.
[CLASS: ELEMENTAL ACTIVATED]
Wind under his feet — propelling a ten-meter jump.
At the apex, hands moved:
— Flame Burst!
Not a fireball — a concentrated jet of flames that swept the area in a ninety-degree arc.
Eight enemies turned into living torches.
He landed sliding — snow and green mud vaporizing under his boots.
[CLASS: WARRIOR ACTIVATED]
Posture changed — speed exchanged for strength.
Swords spun — block, cut, thrust, all in a fluid sequence.
Root Guardian attempted to crush him with a colossal arm.
Kuto blocked — both swords crossed, muscles screaming.
Then pushed — blades cutting through reinforced wood as if it were paper.
Adaptable Class Level 26.
Three specializations alternating in real combat.
Absolute versatility.
Jack glanced briefly, smiling as he crushed another enemy:
— Show them, kid!
Kuto responded with a rare, genuine confident smile — spinning swords before diving back into the chaos.
---
Meanwhile, Haru moved silently.
Almost invisible — passing over the heads of golems with calculated jumps, stepping on their shoulders, disappearing before they noticed.
He used shadows created by Kuto's flames to camouflage — appearing at one point, vanishing, reappearing three meters ahead.
A root tried to reach him.
He ducked — rolled — used a Servant's body as a platform — jumped again.
Short daggers gleamed in green reflections, ready.
Few meters from the Queen.
Almost there.
He leapt — body spinning like a human arrow, daggers aimed at the roots binding Selina and Sônia.
But before reaching them —
A colossal arm made of thorns emerged sideways.
Coming directly at him.
---
Romeu saw.
Reacted instantly:
— Do not even think about it!
[ICE ARROW ACTIVATED]
Shot.
Arrow cut through the air — leaving a trail of frozen vapor — hitting the thorny arm.
CRACK.
Frozen instantly — thorns turning into ice crystals.
Haru landed on his knees beside the prisoners.
Started cutting roots — daggers working quickly.
But a new vine appeared from behind.
WHACK.
Hit him with brutal force — throwing Haru through the air.
Body flew — smashing through several Servants on the way, knocking them down like dominoes — until he rolled to a stop beside Romeu.
— Shit! — Romeu raised his bow quickly.
Five ice arrows — fired in sequence — embedding into the ground around them.
CRACK CRACK CRACK.
Ice spread — creating a frozen wall that temporarily isolated them from the rest.
---
In the center, Kuto and Jack continued devastating.
Kuto, sweating, paused for a second.
Looked at Nyraeth. At the prisoners. At the remaining enemies.
He needed to be fast.
Direct.
Without hesitation.
He joined the swords — blades parallel.
[ELEMENTAL FUSION: FIRE + WIND]
Flames exploded from the blades — not normal, but fed by wind, spinning, intensifying.
He leapt — wind propelling his body fifteen meters high.
From above, he observed the Queen.
And dived.
Roots came — dozens of them, attempting to intercept.
He cut each one — a single fluid motion, swords leaving golden trails in the air.
When he got close enough —
He concentrated all remaining energy into the blades.
Flames grew — taking the shape of a flaming bird that screamed as it was released.
— ASCENDING PHOENIX!
He launched both swords.
---
WHOOOM.
Impact was devastating.
Flash illuminated the entire forest — like a second sun rising.
Nyraeth screamed — not human sound, but vegetal, trees around echoing her agony.
Part of her face burned — bark-like skin carbonizing, flowers wilting instantly.
Furious, she raised dozens of roots and vine whips.
Threw everything at Kuto.
He dodged — one, two, three.
Fourth one hit.
WHACK.
Thrown violently — flying through the air, hitting a tree, falling and rolling until stopping beside Haru and Romeu.
— KUTO! — Jack roared.
Kuto stood with difficulty, spitting blood:
— Jack! — hoarse voice. — Her weak point is fire! That is why she captured Selina and Sônia! They have powerful fire mana!
Jack, while destroying more enemies:
— Then let us free them NOW!
---
Nyraeth, part of her face deformed by burns, spoke for the first time — voice echoing through the forest, multiple voices overlapping:
— How dare you, mortals?
She stepped — ground shaking.
— First, you destroy my forest... — roots emerging around — ...and now you dare to disfigure my body?
Eyes glowed red:
— You will pay with your own souls!
CRACK CRACK CRACK.
Sound of breaking wood — like continuous thunder.
Romeu checked his HUD:
— Kuto... — voice tense. — Dozens of new signals approaching!
— Shit! — Kuto forced himself to stand. — More Guardians! We have little time!
Nyraeth, surrounded by a whirlwind of leaves and roots, regenerated — face returning to normal slowly.
— Do you think I will fall so easily?
She raised her arms:
— Spore Mist!
---
Green mist began to spread.
Dense. Toxic. Fast.
— COVER YOUR MOUTHS! — Romeu shouted, covering his nose with cloth.
Too late.
Smoke entered lungs — burning, leaving dizzy.
[SYSTEM: POISON DETECTED]
[HP DRAIN: 3 POINTS/SECOND]
[TIME UNTIL UNCONSCIOUSNESS: 90 SECONDS]
Jack staggered — hit laterally by a Guardian, thrown against the group.
Kuto coughed violently, barely maintaining balance.
— Omna... — called his virtual assistant trembling. — How much time until we pass out?
[Approximately ninety seconds, Kuto.]
— That is enough time...
He smiled — panting, determined:
— Everyone... cover me. I will free the girls!
Jack raised his axe — even trembling, even poisoned:
— Go, kid... we'll handle the rest.
---
With an already heavy body, Kuto ran.
Jack and Haru accompanied him — triangular formation.
Romeu fired arrows — covering the advance.
They crossed a forest taken over by enemies.
Haru, even weakened, cut roots, evaded attacks.
Jack opened the way by force — each strike felling groups.
Nyraeth launched vine whips.
Jack blocked — impact shaking the ground — retaliated with double cut.
Sparks scattered.
But then —
Haru, fighting beside him, vanished into mist.
Not his real body.
Illusory Clone.
Nyraeth realized too late.
The "Kuto" she focused on attacking was Haru disguised — skill Mimicry.
The real Kuto was already beside the prisoners.
— NO! — Nyraeth screamed, launching a giant root.
Romeu saw — final fire arrow.
Fired.
WHOOOM.
Arrow exploded against root — opening a path.
Kuto, with last strength, executed double strike:
— FREE THEM!
Flaming blades sliced the roots.
Selina and Sônia fell — freed.
Kuto collapsed:
— They are... free...
---
Selina fell to her knees, panting:
— Sônia... can you make them float?
— I-I do not know... maybe...
— YES OR NO?!
— YES!
With effort, Sônia channeled magic:
— Multiple Levitation!
Bodies of Kuto, Jack, Haru, Romeu began to float — rising slowly along with them.
Ten meters. Twenty. Fifty. Seventy.
On the ground, Nyraeth and her army of Guardians were closing in from all directions.
---
Selina, at seventy meters high, closed her eyes.
Raised her staff.
Mana began to condense — not around her, but above, in the sky.
Colossal fire sphere forming — growing, spinning, pulsating.
Meteor.
Nyraeth looked up — desperate — launched dozens of roots.
Selina opened her eyes — incandescent:
— FLAMING METEOR!
---
The sky split in light.
Fireball fell — insane speed — burning the air, leaving a plasma trail.
Nyraeth's roots vaporized before touching it.
She screamed — sound swallowed by —
BOOOOM.
---
Impact devastated everything.
Eight thousand square meters turned to ash instantly.
Forest trembled. Air vibrated. Ground melted.
Nyraeth, Guardians, Servants — all obliterated.
---
Floating above, Selina and Sônia watched in silence.
HUDs flashed:
[BOSS ELIMINATED: NYRAETH – QUEEN OF THE FOREST]
[LEVEL UP: 26 → 28]
[NEW SKILLS UNLOCKED]
[XP FESTIVAL: FIRST STAGE COMPLETED]
Selina took a deep breath — tired smile:
— It is over...
Everyone began to glow — white light surrounding bodies.
And in an instant —
They vanished.
---
[NOBLE CLASS DUNGEON – BOSS ROOM]
Opened eyes.
They were back.
The room where Thegg had massacred them.
But something was different.
Six meters ahead —
Thegg.
Standing. Watching. Smiling arrogantly.
Waiting for the next confrontation.
---
[DAYS REMAINING: 155]
[XP FESTIVAL: COMPLETED]
[GROUP: LEVEL 28 (ALL)]
[NEXT: THEGG – ROUND 2]
[CHANCE OF VICTORY: ???]