I keep climbing up, until we were at the end of the canopy formed by the trees.

Preston keeps staring at the griever's movements. "We just need an opening, but the griever isn't giving in!" He says, frustrated.

Suddenly, the griever loses its balance and falls. I gaze at Lucas. The circles around his eyes form once more.

"Now!!" Lucas shouts. Preston excitedly gets off from my grip and falls, as the void glove activates. He shouts, "Max power!" and pulls the bazooka's trigger. The recoil pushes him back, launching a dozen nukes at once. They explode upon hitting the griever, covering the whole field with smoke. I immediately catch Preston before he crashes.

Suddenly, something moves through the smoke. "The griever's still alive!" Ashley shouts, astonished.

"But that's insane! It should have died with that blow!" Preston says, shooked.

Plan B! I immediately throw Preston at Zach and disable my spell. As soon as I start to fall, I equip my sniper rifle and aim for the griever. The griever was at its critical health. If I don't finish it now, it might as well annihilate the whole team. Still falling, I pull the trigger.

A metal click is heard, followed by the bullet blasting away from the rifle. It strikes the griever's head, throwing it off the ground. The griever's health drops to zero, and then it vanishes in thin air.

I keep staring at it while falling. I finally made it! Then, I look down to realize I was gonna break my neck in a few more seconds. I immediately cast the spell, "Galwaf arnat I roi grym y camau arnofio I mi (I call upon thee to give the power of floating steps)". I crash midair on an invisible floor.

I get back up as I rub my, now broken nose. I climb down, onto the ground. A sign appears on top saying, "Quest cleared! Location- The Dark Woods unlocked. 2 gold coins, 5000 exp awarded " Everyone immediately gather, surrounding me.

"Nuke you were so awesome and quick!" Preston shouts.

"You've displayed great instincts, kid!" Zach says.

"Nuke, you've made our team proud!" Matthew congratulates me.

Suddenly, someone whispers in my mind, "You were great, hero!" I turn around, confused. But, who said that?

"Hey guys! I'm going to the other end!" Shu says as he sprints forward, to the other side of the woods. We follow him. A huge gate appears, just like the one we've seen in the beginning. A guard, holding a spear, stands infront of it.

He blocks the entrance, as we step forward. "Congratulations on your victory over the dark woods! But the road just gets tougher as you go ahead. Are you up for the task?"

"Yes!" Ashley says out loud.

"Okay then, you may pass" the guard says, as he smashes the blunt end of the spear on the ground. The gate opens.

"So who's ready?" Ashley says, excitedly.

I look at her, stunned. "Wait, what?! But we've just made it through!"

Zach steps ahead, swinging his arm. "Well, you guys have stolen all my kills. So, I guess I'm ready to go for another round!"

Audrey joins them. "Yeah, me too. I have barely gone in action. So, I guess I'd go too."

"If Audrey's going, I'm going too" Jovi says as he steps ahead.

"What? You're her bodyguard or something?" Shu smugs.

"There's no way you can win a battle without me!" Preston says as he joins too.

"You would just slow us down, brat" Zach says, glaring at him.

"Stop talking about yourself" Preston grunts.

Carl and his team steps forward as Carl says, "We're ready too"

Then, Ashley looks at Lucas as she says, "Lu, you don't have to come with us. You've exhausted yourself, so please take rest."

"Okay" Lucas replies.

Ashley, now faces the gate and says, "If anyone's not confident about this one, they can leave. I wouldn't want you to get into trouble so better choose wisely."

"Not in a million years" Preston says, grinning.

The guard looks at them and says, "I suppose you're ready now. The city that stands before you, is called 'Nova'. Clear all the quests to unlock the whole city."

"Okay then, let's do it!" Audrey says, as they walk past the gate. Then, they dissappear into another world, a world filled with another mystery.

Sarah looks at Lucas as she asks, "Lucas, Are you fine with them leaving you like that?"

"Yup, afterall in this condition, I would just drag them down." Lucas replies.

Then, we leave the now silent and pleasant woods, and go back to Classender town.

Upon reaching, we find a huge crowd, eagerly waiting for us.

The crowd quiets as we pass through them. We couldn't utter a word, not cause of the victory we've achieved, but the guilt of what we have lost. Annalyzing the situation, I'm sure they would have realized it as well.

Suddenly, someone stops me. It was a square jawed man with black hair , and was slightly taller than me. He looks at me worriedly and asks, "Where are the others?"

I take a deep breath, and calmly answer, "Some of them still must be in the dark woods, while the others have head out for the next city. But, few of them..." I stop. I couldn't say it out. The very thought of it, started to make me remember those, whom we couldn't save.

Matthew backs me up as he says, "As you can see, we're tired right now. So, we would love to share our story in the great hall, at supper."

After that, we walk away. First thing we do, was get back home. Shu jumps on the couch, as though he had never been on one before. Lucas stands by the door, with his gaze fixed over the interiors of the house

"Hey Lucas! Why don't you come in?" Sarah says, with a smile.

"Oh yeah, sorry" Lucas replies, as he steps in and sits on the couch beside Shu.

We all sit down, and remain silent. The pleasant atmosphere was way different from the battle in the woods. Everything was so quiet and calm, it felt a bit awkward. Shu dozes off, lying down on the couch. Sarah sips her coffee, like usual. Amber walks to the kitchen, and comes back with a handful of snacks she had prepared before the quest. I pick up a cookie from the snacks pile, and munch on it.

Matthew keeps talking with Lucas, about his team and different games. He kept shifting the topic, when it always ended with Ashley. It seemed so cringy that at some point, amber burst out laughing. Anderson kept checking the money we had left, and the amount we received during the quest. Shu was still sleeping.

Time passes by, and the clock strikes 19:00pm. Amber screams in Shu's ears to wake him up. Shu scowls as he wakes up. After that, we get freshened up and head out to the great hall.

Upon reaching, we find a huge crowd gathered there. There were also the teams who returned after us. The view was the same as the one we've seen after we had cleared the town. Everyone gazes at us as we enter, and the whole crowd falls silent.

Suddenly, they jump at us cheerfully and throw us in the air.

"Congratulations for clearing the quest!" Everyone shout.

I immediately dodge their friendly tackles, and immediately run away to the dining area. I dive in at the food on the table, and savor the delicious chicken and tarts, and all the other tasty food before the others could get it first. A few minutes later, the others join in too. Shu wolfs on all the food there is.

"Shu, You're gonna choke yourself!" Amber shouts.

Shu takes a big jug of water, and gulps it down. "Whoa! It's been ages since I've ever feast my eyes on such great food!"

"It's been just two days, silly" Amber says, chuckling.

After dinner, everyone surrounds us, to listen to our story. Matthew briefly explains everything that had happened to us in the woods. Shu and I fill the bits and pieces that he had missed, and also the Easter egg that we had found. The crowd's expressions kept changing as we kept narrating.

After that, we just went home and crashed onto our beds. I drown in darkness once more as I close my eyes. Suddenly, an illusionary pair of hands grab me. I could feel something warm flowing through my body. Then, I felt a sudden pull, throwing me back to the surface. I open my eyes to find something astonishing. I look around, not seeing the room I was in, but a huge futuristic city, surrounded by buildings.

I turn around, to find.. Ashley??!!

She looks at me and says, "Ashlee, why are you gaping like that in middle of nowhere. We can't stay here for long! Let's go!"

Ashlee? Why is she addressing me like that. I look at my arms now. Wait, what??!! Who's arms are these??

I try moving them. They looked like a girl's arm. I try speaking out, "Ashley?"

"Yea?" She glances at me. But, why did I just give out a feminine voice. What's even happening?! This all felt so weird. Is this some kind of a quest? Or a bug in the system? I kept staring at Ashley. And why is she with me, and also she looked completely worn out. And above all, where am I?!