The deeper Rhys pressed into the desolate forest, the air grew heavier, as though the trees themselves rembered wars too ancient for words. Their bark was scorched in places, their roots blackened, and the ground beneath him bore the faint trace of ash, long since settled but never forgotten.
A low rumble shook through the soil. Heat followed, washing through the silence. When Rhys looked ahead, he saw the clearing—lit not by moonlight, but by a flickering blaze that clung unnaturally to a figure in the center.
It was a knight once, or sothing that wore the armor of one. Now it was engulfed in an eternal fire, its steel warped and molten, its visor hollow save for the inferno burning within. The Flaming Revenant stood still at first, sword resting against the scorched earth.
When it lifted its weapon, flas burst outward in a sudden storm, licking the ruined forest around them.
Rhys stepped forward, Aether Vein singing with mana as he called out softly, "Puddle. Bounce."
The sli quivered, rippling between hues of water and shadow, its aura shifting like a tide ready to crash. Bounce erged beside it, shell gleaming with a faint lunar glow, eyes sharp with quiet resolve. Together, they faced the Revenant.
The knight moved first—its greatsword slashed in an arc, fire roaring outward in a wave that turned soil to glass.
Rhys planted his feet, swept his blade throughthe heat, and called upon water to flood his strike. A torrent burst from his swing, clashing with the wave of fire. Steam exploded into the clearing, swallowing sight and sound alike.
Through the fog, Puddle’s light erupted—five bullets of radiance streaked forward, punching through the Revenant’s chest plate. It staggered, but its fire did not dim. Instead, the flas surged wilder, brighter, as if each wound fed its rage.
Bounce leapt, wings spreading as silver arcs shimred around it. A crescent wave of moonlight carved through the smog, striking the Revenant’s arm. The molten steel hissed as cracks spread along its gauntlet.
"Good. Now—" Rhys whispered, before darting through the steam. His sword blazed with fire and water, elents colliding into scalding vapor. He slashed upward—Steamburst Edge—the strike tore against the Revenant’s torso, ripping molten fragnts free.
The knight bellowed, swinging in retaliation, blade trailing a river of fire. Rhys crossed his sword, mana shield sparking as he was driven back, his boots carving furrows into the earth.
The Revenant pressed harder, firestorm building, until the ground itself fractured beneath their clash.
Then Puddle shifted. Darkness swelled at its core, shadow tendrils bursting upward to bind the Revenant’s legs. The knight roared, fire searing at the restraints, but the shadows held long enough.
Bounce landed beside Rhys, shell shining bright. Its aura expanded outward, cloaking him in a barrier of soft lunar light that cooled the burning air around them.
Rhys’s eyes narrowed. He poured his mana into his blade, calling both fla and tide to et within its edge. The world stilled for a heartbeat—then he lunged.
The Revenant’s chest opened in a searing burst as his strike landed true. Fire erupted around them like the scream of a dying star.
When the blaze thinned, the knight fell to its knees, armor splitting as its eternal fire bled into sparks. Its greatsword clattered onto the blackened ground, vanishing into ash.
What remained of the Revenant crumbled, leaving behind a single ember, faint yet impossibly heavy in the air.
Rhys reached out, hand closing around the relic. It pulsed, warm, alive.
[Drop Acquired: Emberheart Core – A fragnt of eternal fla, said to burn without end.]
[ Limit : one ti use ]
He looked down at Puddle and Bounce. Both were scorched, their bodies marked with the fight, but their eyes burned with the sa determination.
Rhys tightened his grip on the relic, gazing deeper into the desolate forest where more shadows awaited.
"This was just the gatekeeper," he murmured.
"Let’s see what else this place is hiding."
The forest carried Rhys forward in silence, but the silence was not peace—it was the heavy breath before a storm. The Emberheart Core pulsed faintly against his chest, radiating a heat that the surrounding mist quickly swallowed.
The deeper he walked, the more the air turned ashen, damp with the taste of sulfur and rot.
Every step sank into soil littered with shattered steel and blackened bones.
The trees broke apart into a clearing, and in the center lood the ruin of a battlefield—charred banners, split spears, and twisted armor fused into the ground. At its heart, sothing moved.
A shadow rose. Not just a shadow—stone and fire bound together. The Ashstone Colossus towered above the wreckage, easily twenty feet tall, its form carved from volcanic rock veined with molten magma. Every motion cracked its body, spilling streams of lava that hissed as they dripped into the earth. Its head was a jagged crown of obsidian, and in the sockets of its craggy face, magma blazed like eyes.
The ground groaned as the giant shifted its weight, raising one boulder-like arm. Heat rolled across the clearing, turning the mist to steam.
Then it roared. A sound like an erupting mountain.
The fight began instantly.
The Colossus slamd its fist down, and the earth exploded. Shockwaves tore through the battlefield, hurling dirt and broken spears into the air. Rhys dashed sideways, his Mana Shield flashing as shards of molten rock grazed his body. He didn’t hesitate—Aether Vein humd with magic, and he swung in a blazing arc.
→ Steamburst Edge.
Fire and water interwove, the blade splitting the air with a scalding vapor slash that tore across the giant’s chest. Stone cracked, magma hissed—but the Colossus barely staggered, molten blood spilling only to harden into fresh armor.
It answered by raising both arms high.
"Move!" Rhys barked.
The Colossus brought its fists down. The ground ruptured, lava fountains erupting outward in a deadly ring. Bounce’s shell lit with a silver glow—Moonlit Barrier shimred outward, the blast wave crashing harmlessly against its do.
Puddle followed instantly, rippling upward and spraying forth a pressurized torrent.
→ Water Jet.
The lava stream hissed to steam, giving Rhys a clear path. He dashed forward, boots pounding across the shaking earth, blade raised high.
→ Arc Surge Slash.
A lightning-quick strike flared from his sword, slicing across the Colossus’s leg. Rock shattered, molten cracks spreading down its limb. The beast roared in fury, slamming its foot down to crush him.
Chains of shadow erupted before it connected.
→ Abyssal Grasp.
Puddle’s tendrils lashed out, binding the Colossus’s arm for a heartbeat. Not long—but enough. Rhys vaulted upward, sword blazing.
He drove Aether Vein deep into the Colossus’s shoulder. Fire exploded from the wound as molten blood sprayed. The giant staggered, bellowing as Bounce leapt onto its back, unleashing a crescent of radiant power.
→ Lunar Wave.
The arc carved through its magma veins, searing stone and splitting its armor.
The Colossus lurched, but it did not fall. Instead, its entire body ignited—lava spilling like rivers down its form. Its chest split, revealing a blazing core. With a guttural roar, it hurled a volcanic burst upward. teors of molten rock rained down, shattering the battlefield in waves of fire.
Rhys clenched his teeth, bracing.
→ Mana Shield.
The barrier flared, absorbing the impact of falling fire while Puddle surged forward, glowing faintly.
→ Gleaming Halo.
A radiant aura spread outward, knitting Rhys’s burns, restoring his strength. He exhaled, eyes narrowing, and poured everything into his blade.
This had to end now.
Mana surged into Aether Vein, the runes blazing. He leapt, twisting in midair—
→ Whirlwind Slash.
The spinning arc tore across the Colossus’s core, cleaving through stone and fla. Puddle followed with Light Bullets that pierced cracks in its chest, while Bounce slamd its shell down with crushing force.
The core split.
The Colossus froze, firelight dimming. Then its body collapsed in a thunderous crash, magma bleeding into the earth, solidifying into jagged glass. The battlefield fell still once more.
From the ruin of its chest, a shard of obsidian pulsed with molten light.
[Drop Acquired: Molten Core Fragnt – Rare Crafting Material.]
[Drop Acquired: Skill To – Stonebreaker Slash (Rare Sword Art).]
"Phew... this place really is packed with bosses. No wonder the forums called it the ’Boss Forest,’"
Rhys muttered, wiping the soot from his cheek.
He glanced at his companions—Puddle wobbled with a soft kuyuu, glowing faintly with pride, while Bounce shook off the lingering ash with a determined pyuu.
"Let’s keep going. At this pace, we might actually reach the peak of Rank 1 here," Rhys said with a small grin.
Both familiars nodded cutely, their forms pulsing with readiness.
The group pressed on. The deeper they went, the darker the forest beca. The canopy overhead blocked even the moonlight, and the air grew heavy, laced with the scent of iron and decay. Broken statues and old altars stood among the trees, remnants of battles fought long before Rhys’s ti.
It wasn’t long before the silence shattered.
From beneath the earth ca a tremor—then an explosion of dirt and bone. A creature rose from the ground: a skeletal knight clad in corroded armor, its fra towering twice Rhys’s height. Jagged bone wings stretched out, clattering like broken swords, and a massive blackened greatsword burned with ghostly green fire in its grip.
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