“For fuck’s sake. If this one’s the same, I’m out of ideas.”

  The harpy collapsed, slain by my attack. I waited impatiently as its body dissolved into light, my eyes glued to the ground where the drops should have appeared.

  “Damn it. I really thought my luck had improved.”

  I scraped at the dirt in frustration, but once again, all I found were Mana Stones. No Soul Fragment. Not even a single monster part. Unable to rein in my anger, I hurled the stones as far as I could before I regretted it.

  It had been days since I killed the Golden Harpy, yet my fortune hadn’t changed at all.

  This shouldn’t have been happening. With the massive Luck bonus from the Golden Harpy, I should have been swimming in loot by now. At first, I thought it was just coincidence. Maybe the world was simply toying with me.

  But deep down, I already knew the answer.

  The face of the Druid Shaman flashed through my mind.

  Was I really cursed?

  I let out a long, frustrated sigh and dropped flat onto the ground, staring up at the sky.

  Above me, the heavens were still choked with mist. Pale sunlight struggled to break through, while the wind carried the distant cries of harpies circling overhead, as if mocking me.

  That was when I decided.

  I gave up on hunting the Harpy’s Soul Fragment.

  With the little time I had left, I needed to shift my focus to something far more important: finding Ooborosk’s Nest.

  Somewhere near the summit of Redridge Mountain, its entrance lay hidden, shifting unpredictably with every Tower reset. Within dwelled Ooborosk, the ancient serpent and apex predator of Redridge Mountain. Deadly and overwhelmingly powerful, a single mistake in combat would mean certain death.

  However, I wasn’t there to fight it.

  Ooborosk was far beyond my league, and its drops weren’t particularly useful to me anyway.

  I was here for the egg.

  For those who knew the hidden mechanics, there was a secret. If you visited Ooborosk’s Nest on the twentieth day or later, an egg would be left behind in the lair.

  That egg was my real target.

  I checked my Lunaris. It was just past noon.

  Perfect timing.

  Another crucial secret about Ooborosk’s Nest lay in its feeding pattern. Every day, precisely at two in the afternoon, the monster left its lair to hunt. For a short window of time, the nest was left completely unguarded.

  That was my opportunity, the perfect moment to slip in, steal the egg, and escape before the beast returned.

  Now or never.

  Without hesitation, I pushed myself up and continued forward. It took about an hour to reach the summit area. Once there, I moved in a wide circle around the peak, carefully navigating the uneven terrain.

  It didn’t take long before I spotted it.

  A narrow fissure in the rock face, almost imperceptible at first glance. If I hadn’t known exactly what to look for, I would have walked right past it.

  I crouched down and ran my fingers along the stone, feeling the faint pulse of energy beneath the surface.

  “I should still have plenty of time,” I murmured as I checked my Lunaris again.

  The display showed it was just past two.

  Wasting no time, I squeezed into the passage, cold rock scraping against my skin as I pushed forward. The air grew damp as I descended, heavy with the stench of moss and stagnant water. Bioluminescent fungi clung to the tunnel walls, their faint glow casting eerie, wavering shadows across the uneven ground. Each step echoed softly, only to be swallowed by the cave’s oppressive silence.

  Then, up ahead, the tunnel widened into a vast underground chamber.

  The ceiling stretched high above me, vanishing into darkness. Jagged stalactites hung ominously overhead, their glistening tips like rows of fangs. The cavern floor was uneven, littered with massive shed scales, the unmistakable remnants of Ooborosk’s molting.

  At the very center of the chamber, nestled within a bed of crushed bones and dried leaves, lay a single egg. Its smooth surface gleaming faintly under the dim light.

  There it is.

  My pulse quickened.

  I had come all this way for this moment.

  Now, all I had to do… was take it and get out alive.

  ***

  I had barely taken a few steps toward the egg when something massive slithered out of the darkness at the far end of the cavern.

  My mind froze. Completely blank.

  My body locked up, refusing to obey.

  A deep, guttural hiss rolled through the chamber as Ooborosk emerged, a colossal serpent whose obsidian-black scales swallowed the dim light. It crawled to the center of the cavern and coiled tightly around its egg, shielding it with its enormous body.

  Its slit amber eyes fixed on me, overflowing with primal, murderous intent. The razor-sharp stinger at the end of its tail lifted slowly, deliberately, venom dripping from its tip like liquid death.

  This thing wasn’t supposed to be here.

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  "Damn reality patch," I muttered, frustration bubbling beneath my breath.

  So the snake didn’t behave like it did in the game after all.

  Ooborosk was a natural enemy of druids.

  Its thick scales resisted magic far too well. Its reflexes were terrifyingly fast, making it nearly impossible to dodge at close range. And worst of all, its venom attacks could cripple even hardened warriors, let alone a race infamous for having weak defenses.

  A normal druid wouldn’t stand a chance.

  But I wasn’t a normal druid.

  With Agility and Vitality far beyond what most druids possessed, I still had a chance. A slim one, but a chance nonetheless.

  Still, this fight was going to be brutal.

  Refusing to become prey, I fired Wind Cutter immediately.

  Ooborosk didn’t dodge.

  The blades of compressed air slammed into its scales with a piercing screech, dispersing harmlessly across its body.

  As expected.

  In its first phase, it refused to abandon its egg. It fought defensively, using its tail to spray venom from a distance while keeping those massive fangs in reserve.

  [Rejuvenation cast]

  Warm energy flowed through my body, knitting wounds and pushing back the creeping venom in my veins. Like my Wind Cutter, the true danger of Ooborosk’s venom wasn’t the initial hit but the stacking effect.

  Each hit made me slower.

  Each hit dulled my senses.

  Each hit dragged me closer to death.

  I dove behind a nearby stalagmite, narrowly avoiding another venomous shot that splashed against stone where I’d stood moments earlier.

  [Wind Cutter cast – effect stacked. Damage increased]

  The air shimmered as blades of wind tore into Ooborosk’s body. The edges dug deeper this time, chipping at its scales, but still not enough to break through completely.

  We exchanged attacks again and again, a deadly rhythm of venom and wind, until the moment I had been waiting for finally arrived.

  [Wind Cutter: Max Stacks Reached]

  [Hidden Effect Unlocked — Tornado Slash]

  A violent cyclone erupted around Ooborosk, shredding its massive body like an invisible saw. The cavern roared as the serpent writhed in pain.

  Still… it wasn’t enough.

  “Shit,” I hissed. “If only I still had Flameburst Flask…”

  Fire was Ooborosk’s one true weakness. A single burst could have scorched straight through its defenses. But I had already used my last flask against the Golden Harpy.

  [Windstride cast]

  My body moved on instinct alone as I barely escaped another venomous shot, the attack grazing past me close enough to sting.

  Enraged, Ooborosk slammed its tail into the ground again and again. No longer content with defending, it finally began to slither away from its egg.

  That was the opening I needed.

  I retreated quickly, ducking behind another stalagmite as I rummaged through my pouch. A small shard of antler rested in my palm, glowing with a bright silver light as I poured Mana into it.

  The shard trembled violently.

  Crack.

  A sharp, echoing sound rang through the cavern.

  [Moonveil Antlers Shard used]

  The shard shattered into fragments, releasing a blinding flash of silver light. Both Ooborosk and I instinctively shielded our eyes.

  From the fading light emerged a massive stag coated in silver, its antlers grand and awe-inspiring. Unlike the Moonveil Stag I had once faced, this one was different. Its body was slightly translucent, raw Mana radiating powerfully from within.

  A Spirit Beast.

  It needed no instructions.

  With a thunderous charge, the Moonveil Stag lowered its antlers and rushed Ooborosk.

  The serpent reacted instantly, coiling like a compressed spring before launching itself forward, jaws wide open.

  They collided with terrifying force.

  The battle that followed was savage. Massive bodies tore into one another, wounds forming in seconds. The cavern shook violently, and I scrambled farther back, using the chaos to heal while staying clear of the impact.

  Moments later, the ground trembled hard enough to send stalactites crashing down from the ceiling.

  The Moonveil Stag drove its antlers deep into Ooborosk’s body, hurling the serpent backward and forcing it to retreat.

  Not eager to die beneath falling rock, I searched frantically for safer cover as stone shattered around me.

  My summon clearly dominated the fight, but Ooborosk refused to fall.

  SPLAT!!

  A thick glob of green venom exploded across the stag’s body.

  The Spirit Beast leapt back in pain before charging again. This time, Ooborosk twisted aside and coiled its massive body around the stag instead.

  I fired Wind Cutter after Wind Cutter, doing everything I could to support the Moonveil Stag, weaving in Rejuvenation whenever I could.

  Its movements slowed. Its strength visibly waned.

  The venom had finally reached its peak.

  And now, the battle was entering its most dangerous phase.

  The summon vanished, dissolving into drifting motes of light, and another Tornado Slash carved straight through Ooborosk’s body.

  Without the Moonveil Stag standing between us, I was forced to face the serpent head-on.

  My body was battered, bruised, barely holding together. But Ooborosk wasn’t much better. The accumulated damage from the stag’s assault and two full Tornado Slashes had taken a brutal toll on its massive frame.

  In the end, it came down to one thing.

  Who wanted to live more.

  I scrambled over broken stone as Ooborosk chased me down. I threw myself forward, rolling hard before crashing behind a pile of rubble.

  I sucked in a breath, already preparing to cast Rejuvenation, but the serpent struck first.

  With the last of its strength, Ooborosk slammed into the rocks, obliterating my cover in a single, devastating blow.

  Stone exploded outward. Through the falling debris, its jaws opened wide, fangs gleaming as they descended with absolute certainty.

  So this is how it ends…

  CRUNCH!

  Ooborosk’s fangs sank deep into my abdomen.

  Agony exploded through my body. Something tore inside me. Warm blood poured freely as my vision blurred and my legs nearly gave out.

  But I refused to let go.

  “Not… yet,” I rasped.

  With everything I had left, I swung my weapon again and again, smashing it into Ooborosk’s skull with wild, desperate fury.

  BAM.

  BAM.

  BAM.

  The serpent convulsed violently, its massive body thrashing as cracks spread across its dark scales.

  And then…

  Its form flickered.

  The monstrous body shattered into countless particles of fading light, scattering silently through the cavern.

  [WARNING: Your HP has fallen below 3%]

  Cold flooded my limbs. My breath came shallow, ragged.

  I have to do something.

  [WARNING: Your HP has fallen below 2%]

  I could barely breathe. My stomach burned, my limbs felt heavy.

  [WARNING: Your HP has fallen below 1%]

  I tried to move. Failed.

  My body collapsed onto the stone floor.

  And then…

  Darkness.

  MILESTONES

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