Aron dropped to his knees. His chest was heaving. His hands were trembling from the pressure on his sword.

Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. Lana had collapsed to one side, holding her arm. Neve was leaning against a half-burnt tree, gasping for breath.

And between them, Ragzar stood. Motionless.

But only for a few seconds… like a cat toying with its prey—it was playing.

And now, it was done playing. From its perspective, playing with these lowly creatures had gotten boring.

Its breath came out like a hot storm from its wounded, burning mouth. It was time to end this joke and return to its winter sleep.

Aron looked down at the ground.

His dry lips trembled.

"Damn it… I didn't want to use this so soon…" he muttered.

He opened the system inventory and pulled out an item—a glowing green heart.

[Unique Item Activated: "Golden Heart of the Wild"]

[Rank: A]

[Type: Magical Item – Consumable]

[Effect: Activates a surge of mana from the forest spirits; requires mana for full awakening.]

[Usage Conditions: Usable only in forest areas.]

"I wanted to use this on the third or fourth floor, but Lana's right, getting my stats halved and being banned from the Tower for a year isn't something I want to risk." Aron exhaled.

It had been a gift from his older brother to celebrate finally entering the Tower—an A-rank item! Its value was beyond words.

He'd planned to save it for higher floors, but fate had other plans—it would be used here, on the very first floor.

"Lana! Neve! Get over here! Now!" He held the item up with shaking hands and shouted.

Lana looked at him, unsure. "What? What are you trying to do?"

"I need your manas! Just put your hands on the item! Until it lights up!"

"But we're out of mana!"

"Stop talking nonsense. No matter how little, I'm sure you still have some left!"

Lana and Neve ran toward him. They placed their hands on the item.

Immediately, the heart began absorbing their mana. All three of them felt their energy being drained.

A moment later—a tremor…

Then, an explosion of light.

[ Alert: "Mana disturbance detected in area."]

[Identifying A-rank Item – "Golden Heart of the Wild"]

[Temporary Climate Change: Compressed Destruction Field Activated]

[Monster "Ragzar" vitality is decreasing…]

Suddenly, the sky cracked.

The trees began to glow.

Their veins lit up like golden roots in the heart of the forest.

A surge of energy flowed from the sky to the ground, then into the monster.

The earth beneath Ragzar shook.

Its molten skin began to steam.

Aron, gasping, grinned. "Got you… finally got you, you bastard…"

"It's working! It's actually working!" Lana shouted.

"Look! It's breaking apart! We're actually winning!" Neve said, thrilled.

Ragzar roared—a deep, painful growl. No longer playful. Even so, its roar shook the forest.

Ragzar's vitality was slowly dropping. The aura around its body was fading and weakening.

[Warning: Users' mana levels have reached zero.]

[Status: Total Exhaustion – Unable to use skills or move with mana.]

Aron fell to his knees. Neve slumped against a tree, exhausted. Lana was out of breath.

Steam covered everything.

No one could see a thing.

The sounds slowly died down.

"Is it over?... Did we do it?" Aron asked weakly, voice trembling. He didn't have the strength to fight anymore.

"After that attack… there's no way it survived… right?" Lana asked, uncertain.

"No… no way… even a B-rank monster would die from that… it has to…" Neve replied, though his voice lacked confidence.

Aron said nothing and stared at the scattered smoke in the air. Even if the monster was still alive, this would be their defeat.

Their mana was gone. They couldn't fight anymore.

And then—the smoke cleared.

Ragzar stood there. Half of its body burnt, one arm crumbling,

but with eyes glowing with pure rage.

It growled—and the whole forest shook.

Breath caught in their throats. Hearts pounding out of control.

All three—Aron, Neve, and Lana—collapsed to the ground. Mana? Gone. Strength? Drained. Hope? Dead.

They could literally feel hope itself leaving their bodies.

Ragzar looked down at them with murderous intent. Blood dripped from their ears, noses, even their eyes.

As if their bodies were giving up before the final blow even came.

"It's over… damn it…" Lana muttered, covering her ears, voice shaking.

"No… no… I can't… If we lose here… I… I just found that damn elf…" and suddenly, anger and despair overwhelmed Aron.

he had finally found a royal elf. If he lost here, he'd lose even that elf, There would be no chance to drain iher blood.

And just then—a soft whistle cut through the air.

A gentle, calm whistle…

All three lifted their heads in disbelief.

And they saw him.

A boy, standing above them… smiling, eyes glowing.

His white hair danced in the cold wind. His lips slightly puckered, whistling a careless tune.

Daniel.

"H-How…?" Lana's eyes widened.

"This is impossible… You… you were unconscious… we saw you…" Neve whispered in disbelief.

But most of all, Aron was shocked.

All color drained from his face.

"No… no… this can't be… how are you awake? With that poison, you shouldn't even be conscious without the antidote I have!"

He glanced at Lunaryl, still unconscious…

So what the hell was going on?

Daniel, still smiling, stepped forward.

He looked at their faces, then gently placed a hand on their shoulders.

The softness of his touch contrasted sharply with the shaking of their bones.

"You did good, guys. You held out really well until now."

"From here on, I'll take care of it." His smile deepened.

He turned.

And picked up Aron's sword from the ground. Unfortunately, without access to the Awakened Association's store, he hadn't been able to buy a weapon—at least now he had one.

Aron tried to speak. But his voice caught in his throat.

Daniel glanced at the sword.

Smiled.

"Vorak, watch over these three. Nobody can kills them except me."