Well, the morning had started earlier than Liam expected. He stood there with the girls, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes, when Sylvia spotted them from across the courtyard and waved enthusiastically.
"Hey! You guys are really early today," she called out, yawning wide as she walked over. Her hair was a bit ssy, like she had just rolled out of bed herself.
Director Elena stood right beside her and gave Sylvia a sharp poke in the ribs with her elbow. "Be serious for once," Elena muttered under her breath, her voice low but firm. "This is an important mont."
Sylvia’s eyes snapped open fully at the poke. She straightened up quickly. "Right, right. Sorry about that."
Without wasting another second, she reached into her coat and pulled out a folded map and a small leather pouch. She tossed both items straight at Liam. He caught them easily, the map crinkling slightly in his grip and the pouch feeling surprisingly light for its size.
"This map will lead you straight to the Dark Mountain in the succubus realm," Sylvia explained, pointing at the items in his hands. "And that pouch is a spatial storage bag. I’ve packed so useful items inside to help you on the way. Food, basic supplies, that sort of thing."
She paused for a mont, then added, "Oh, and I even put in three scrolls for you. Each one carries one of my peak-level attacks. They’re really powerful, but the materials to make them are super rare, so I could only craft three. Use them wisely, okay?"
Liam nodded, feeling the weight of responsibility settle on his shoulders. He tucked the map and pouch safely under his coat, making sure they wouldn’t fall out while they moved. The scrolls sounded like a serious safety net, and he appreciated it more than he could say right now.
Sylvia looked over at Liam and then at the girls standing close by. "So, did everyone prepare everything you need? Weapons, clothes, all that?"
Beatrix, Pyra, Crya, and Olivia all stepped a little closer to Liam, forming a tight group. One by one, they nodded.
"Yes," they answered almost together.
Sylvia’s face broke into a warm smile. "Good. In that case..." She raised her hand and snapped her fingers sharply.
There was a bright flash and a soft whoosh of air. The world around Liam spun for a split second, and then everything went dark.
When Liam opened his eyes again, he was lying on his back in complete darkness. A sweet, familiar strawberry scent filled his nose. He blinked a few tis, confused, trying to figure out what was going on. Then he heard a soft moan right above him.
"Olivia...?" he muttered.
He shifted carefully and realized soone was sitting directly on top of him. It took a mont for his eyes to adjust, but sure enough, Olivia was straddling his waist, looking just as dazed as he felt. Her face was flushed, and she quickly scrambled off him with an embarrassed little sound.
Liam sat up, brushing dirt and leaves from his clothes. He glanced around and spotted the others nearby. Beatrix was sprawled on her side, Pyra had landed half against a tree root, and Crya was face-down in a pile of soft moss, mumbling complaints as she pushed herself up. All of them looked tossed around like ragdolls from the teleport.
Liam got to his feet and looked toward the horizon. Through the thinning trees, he could just make out the faint outline of tall city walls in the distance. They had definitely arrived sowhere new.
Beatrix ca over to his side, brushing leaves out of her hair. "Liam, check the map. We need to figure out exactly where we are."
"Right," he said, pulling the map from under his coat. He unfolded it carefully and motioned for the girls to gather around him. "Co closer so you can see."
They huddled in, shoulders touching. Liam pointed at a section of the map with his finger. "Okay, looks like we’re right here, inside this forest called the Whispering Woods. And over here on the outer edge is the Dark Mountain. We’re currently on the outside of the forest, so we’ll need to go through it to reach the mountain."
The girls nodded, studying the lines and markings.
Olivia leaned in a bit more. "Can I have the pouch? Maybe there’s a lamp or sothing useful in there. It’s still pretty dark under these trees."
Liam handed her the pouch without hesitation. "Good idea. Here, take a look."
He watched as she opened it and reached inside. One by one, she pulled out small, compact lanterns and passed them around. Liam took his and felt the cool tal in his palm. He gave each girl one, then lit his own with a quick spark of mana. A soft, steady glow lit up their faces.
"Alright," he said, looking at the group. "Follow . Stay close."
He stepped forward into the forest, the girls falling in behind him. The mont they crossed the treeline, the air felt heavier. The trees here were tall and twisted, their bark dark and hollow-looking, like they had been dead for years but still stood upright. Branches reached out like skeletal fingers, and the ground was covered in thick, damp moss that muffled their footsteps.
They walked for what felt like a long ti. The lanterns cast moving shadows that danced between the trunks. No one spoke much at first. The silence pressed in around them.
Crya broke it after a while, rubbing her arms. "Shit... I’m getting goosebumps just being in a place like this. It feels wrong."
Liam glanced back at her. "Yeah, I feel it too. But we need to keep our voices low. Who knows what kind of monsters are hiding in here. Better not attract anything we don’t have to."
The others nodded quietly, and they continued on.
Not long after, a rustling sound ca from a thick bush just ahead. Everyone tensed imdiately. Liam raised his hand, signaling them to stop. Weapons ca out—swords half-drawn, magic gathering at fingertips. Hearts beat faster as they waited.
Then a small figure pushed its way out of the leaves.
It was a dog. Or at least, sothing shaped like a dog.
Liam’s eyes widened. The creature was made entirely of bones—skeleton bones held together by so faint, eerie magic. Its empty eye sockets glowed with tiny pinpricks of light, and its tail, nothing but vertebrae, wagged slowly.
Pyra tilted her head, her expression softening right away. "Aw, poor puppy..." She reached into her own pocket and pulled out a small piece of dried at, crouching down to offer it.
Crya let out a light laugh beside her. "Pyra, I don’t think this dog can eat normal food."
Liam stared at the skeletal dog, his mind racing. Why would sothing this weak be wandering around in a dangerous forest like this? He quickly checked its level with his ability. Level 15. That was barely a threat to any of them. Sothing about it felt off. This place was supposed to be full of stronger monsters, right? A low-level skeleton dog just didn’t fit.
Before he could think much more, the dog turned and trotted back the way it had co, disappearing into the underbrush.
Liam reacted on instinct. He started to lunge after it, but stopped himself after only a few steps. No. Rushing in blind wasn’t smart. He needed to think clearly.
He looked down at the ground where the dog had run. Clear footprints—paw prints made of pressed dirt and broken twigs—stood out even in the dim light.
"I can follow these prints back to wherever it ca from," he said quietly, more to himself than the others. "That might be the smarter move until we understand what’s going on."
He turned to the girls. "Change of plan. We’re going to follow the dog’s path instead of heading straight for the mountain right now."
Olivia stepped closer, watching him carefully. "Did you feel sothing special about that dog, Liam?"
He nodded slowly. "Yeah... it just doesn’t add up. A level 15 skeleton in a place like this? Sothing’s not normal."
Beatrix pulled the map out again and studied it for a mont. "The path the dog ran is heading northeast. The Dark Mountain is more directly north from here. It’s a bit of a detour, but... I don’t see any obvious reason it would waste too much ti. Could be worth checking."
Liam thought about it for a second, then agreed. "Alright. Since that’s the case, let’s follow the footprints. Stay alert."
The group set off again, this ti tracing the faint trail left by the skeletal dog. The prints were easy enough to follow—small indentations in the soft earth, snapped twigs, and occasional patches of disturbed moss. They moved carefully, lanterns held low so they wouldn’t miss anything.
Liam’s thoughts kept turning over the strange dog. It hadn’t attacked them. It hadn’t even seed aggressive. It just... appeared, then left. Was it leading them sowhere on purpose? Or was it running from sothing? He didn’t know yet, but his gut told him checking it out was better than ignoring it.
They walked deeper into the woods, the trees growing even thicker around them. The air slled damp and earthy, with that faint undertone of sothing old and forgotten. Every now and then a branch creaked overhead, making soone flinch.
After so ti, the footprints led them toward a break in the trees. Light filtered in from ahead—brighter than the heavy shade they had been walking through.
Liam slowed down as they approached the edge of the forest clearing. He pushed aside a low branch and looked out.
His eyes widened at the scene in front of him.
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