The next morning, the forest remained just as still.
Broken was already waiting, perched on one of the upper branches, half-shrouded in fog and shadow. The sound of rustling leaves drew his attention, and soon, he spotted them—Hollow and his guild, erging in a steady formation from between the twisted, towering trunks.
With a smooth motion, Broken leapt down, landing silently on the forest floor. He stood calmly, arms folded, as the large group approached, visibly worn from the long descent.
"How's the trip?" he asked.
"Hah. A complete waste of ti," Hollow grumbled, brushing off his cloak. "But hey, adventure's adventure."
There was a mont of shared silence. It hit Broken then, sohow, without noticing it, they'd grown more familiar with each other. The edge of suspicion wasn't gone, but it was softer now.
Then Hollow nodded. "Co. You'll want to see this. It's sothing my scout team found earlier."
Without delay, they moved deeper into the forest. The trees here were older, stranger—roots twisted like sleeping serpents, and the canopy above blocked out so much light it felt like dusk, even in the morning. The temperature dropped with every step.
Eventually, they stopped.
In silence, they peered between two massive tree trunks.
What Broken saw took his breath for half a second.
A Giant.
A real, living, breathing giant.
It stood hunched, partially hidden between the trees, facing away. Its skin resembled cracked stone, weathered and old, layered with patches of moss. Its clothing was made from stitched leather and enormous slabs of tal—an armor-like outfit shaped for sothing five tis the size of a normal human.
And… wait. The giant is sleeping? Sleeping—while standing?
This giant's long hair flowed all the way down his back, and his body remained eerily still, as if locked in a trance.
Broken checked the giant's stats.
Level 280. Pretty high. But not unmanageable—especially if he was alone.
"He is alone," Hollow said quietly.
And just like that, Broken knew exactly what this Envy Champion was thinking. He wanted to kill the giant… and summon him later as a clone?
Of course. That was exactly it.
Monts later, the entire team dispersed, moving in perfect sync to surround the area and cut off any chance of escape.
"You wait here," Hollow added with a thin smile.
Then it began.
Shots rang out—magic bolts, enchanted chains, projectiles from every direction. The giant's eyes snapped open in shock, his limbs suddenly bound by glowing chains that ca from all angles.
"HUUUMAAAAANS!!"
"YOU DARE DISTURB MY SLUMBER?!"
"I WILL CRUSH YOUR PATHETIC WORLD!"
His roar thundered through the sky, shaking the very ground beneath their feet. But even with his fury unleashed, it was already too late.
Arrows, spells, explosions—dozens of attacks rained down before he could even break free.
The giant staggered.
Then—THUD!!
His knee slamd into the ground with a tremor that echoed across the cliffs.
Seconds later, he collapsed fully—defeated.
ShadowFang Guild had done it.
But as the dust settled and their victory beca clear… Broken couldn't shake the feeling in his gut.
If the other giants found out one of their own had been killed like this…
They wouldn't forgive it.
And this would only be the beginning.
And just like that, things cald down again.
The tension faded, replaced by cheers and grins. The entire guild stood tall, proud of what they had accomplished. And Hollow—well, he finally got exactly what he wanted out of this journey.
"Hahaha! See? That was way too easy," he said with a smug laugh, basking in the applause around him.
"Now then… let's see just how amazing this new giant of mine really is."
He stepped back.
His guildmates cleared a space in front of him, forming a loose circle. Glowing lines appeared on the ground—a summoning formation.
With a brief pulse of light, the clone of the giant erged. Massive, silent, and imposing, the newly summoned figure stood motionless like a statue, awaiting orders.
The crowd of guild mbers erupted into cheers, applause, and over-the-top praise.
"That's our genius Hollow! Even gods would be jealous!"
"You didn't just beat the giant—you collected him like a trophy!"
"I swear Hollow could ta a dragon if he felt like it."
Well… Broken smirked. The way the guild mbers were showering Hollow with praise felt less like admiration—and more like flattery taken to absurd levels.
Too much bootlicking, he thought. And Hollow? He was absolutely loving it.
Then, Hollow turned to him with a wide grin.
"So, I'm not surprised you're strong, my friend. But surely, we Divine Champions… we're on a whole different level. You saw it yourself—just how incredible my new summon is."
Broken paused.
Then, with a straight face and dramatic tone, he echoed the guild's earlier praise, mimicking their style perfectly.
"Truly astonishing, Hollow. If I weren't standing here, I'd swear you rewrote the rules of the world just now. I an… who else could bend a giant to their will while smiling? You're not just a Champion. You're practically a divine script error."
The guild mbers burst into laughter, and a few even clapped.
Hollow, of course, took it at face value.
"Haha! See? Even you admit it!" he bead, unsummoning the giant with a simple gesture.
Then Hollow walked over and gave Broken a firm pat on the shoulder.
"Keep working at it. Who knows—maybe one day the Sin Gods will smile upon you too and toss you a shiny toy like this. Hahaha!"
Just how many summons does this guy actually have?
The journey continued.
Their footsteps echoed across the forest floor. Until it suddenly stopped.
Because in front of them now stood sothing far larger than they had expected.
A serpent.
Not just large. Monstrous.
Its body coiled around ruined towers like a god of old, each scale the size of a shield, its fangs longer than a full-grown man. The mont it sensed them, its head snapped forward with a bone-rattling hiss that shook the earth.
Broken narrowed his eyes. "You've got to be kidding."
Without hesitation, Hollow raised his hand. "Let's make this interesting."
A magic circle ignited beneath his feet.
With a crack of light, the giant from before erged once more. The giant let out a thunderous roar and charged at the serpent.
And then, chaos.
The serpent struck, but Hollow didn't even flinch. With smooth gestures, he directed his summon like a war conductor.
And then, without warning, he unsummoned the giant mid-combat.
The others froze. Even Broken raised an eyebrow.
But Hollow? He stepped forward himself.
In a blur of black mist and energy, he single-handedly took down the serpent.
Dodging venom strikes. Deflecting attacks. Landing devastating blows. Until finally—he stood on the serpent's unmoving head, brushing dust off his shoulder.
He turned back to the others, grinning.
"See? I don't even need the summon. But I can have as many as I want from this place. Pretty cool, right?"
The guild roared in approval. More flattery. More awe.
But Broken… He just stared, arms crossed, silent.
"Multiple summons like this… and he doesn't even need them? Is he collecting an army?"
Because if this kept up, Hollow wouldn't just be a Champion.
He'd be a one-man raid boss.
And this reminds that so far Broken had only been watching while this guy collects an army from this wild area.
During the journey, Broken kept in touch with the rest of his guild.
Through private ssages, he received an update from SexyGrill. Her team was currently exploring a different region of the continent, separate from where Broken and the others were.
That was good.
It ant they were covering more ground—doubling their chances of finding clues, especially the one that mattered most right now.
Ivana. If she was truly sowhere in this place… then why? What was she doing in a land like this?
Broken couldn't shake that question from his mind.
The forest path twisted on, slowing their pace. Massive roots cut through the earth like jagged scars, and the canopy above blocked nearly all sunlight. Occasionally, the party stopped to log out and rest, carefully syncing their schedules to log back in at the sa ti.
Not easy—especially when they ca from different countries and ti zones.
But even so, they pressed forward, maintaining cohesion.
And along the way… they fought.
Several monsters attacked them during the trek, and none of them were normal.
Everything here was massive.
Serpents with heads the size of wagons. Wild boars taller than trees. Even the insects they spotted along the way seed to move like armored machines.
It wasn't that the players had shrunk…
It was the world around them that had grown.
Each encounter tested their reflexes, coordination, and stamina. Most of the monsters were over level 250, which ant even a mont of carelessness could cost them their lives.
Yet, what disturbed Broken more than the combat… was the atmosphere.
The deeper they went, the more he felt it.
A pressure. A presence.
Sothing was watching them from within the trees.
And in that mont…
A single notification blinked across his vision.
[WARNING: Territory Breach Detected - World Event Triggered]
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