Akhil calmly watched the girl.

Her body seemed to shrivel, and the last vestiges of life left her, but the core in her chest still shone with a bright, inner light.

Letting out a deep breath, Akhil slowly reached out, his fingers brushing the cold skin, and extracted the core.

{Ding!}

{<Vivo Lex Core>}

{Level 100 beast core!}

Akhil could feel the raw, burning energy contained within the object. It was even stronger than the core from the wolf beast he had killed earlier.

With the core secured, he stole a glance around the cavern. The entire space was a chaotic mess, ravaged by the death throes of the beast titan. Weak, shattered roots littered the floor like broken twigs.

Akhil walked deliberately toward Samxon and Hale.

The two groggily opened their eyes, looking weak and completely exhausted.

"What happened?" Hale asked, her voice raspy as consciousness slowly returned. Every muscle ached, and her head felt heavy.

She raised her gaze to meet Akhil's.

"I killed the beast," Akhil said, his tone flat, almost hollow. "Take your friend. I'm leaving."

"You killed the beast alone? How did you...?"

The last thing she remembered was the mouth-like root seizing him. She had genuinely thought it was the end for them. But then, she had recovered her senses and received the system notification with rewards for assisting in the defeat of the boss! He had definitely killed it, but Hale had no idea how he had managed to pull it off, or what had transpired after the beast grabbed them.

"Since the second scenario has ended, we'll be starting the next one soon. The Orcs won't deal with the problems alone this time. For us to succeed, we'll need your cooperation. Perhaps we can talk about that later."

Akhil didn't acknowledge her questions. He simply turned and walked slowly out of the cavern, leaving Hale in stunned silence.

'Is it just me... or is something different about him now? What the hell happened?'

Hale looked around, taking in the splintered roots all over the ground. Her gaze soon snagged on the young girl lying lifelessly on the rock floor, her skin a shocking, pale white. A flash of chilling understanding crossed Hale's eyes upon seeing the dead body.

Hale let out a quiet sigh and pushed herself up.

"Hey! How long do you plan to stay there?" She shouted at Samxon, who was still struggling to recover.

"Get yourself together. Let's leave here." She limped toward him, every muscle sore from exhaustion.

"What happened?" Samxon mumbled, looking around in slight confusion.

"He killed the beast. The second scenario has ended..." she said, shaking her head. A mix of grief and anger sparked in her eyes.

"Damn that bastard! I wanted to take the kill for myself!" Samxon grumbled.

Hale shifted her gaze to Samxon, her expression hardening. "Perhaps it would've been better if you did. I'm not sure he liked the outcome of things, but this should've been an eye-opener for him... This world has changed a lot... and whether he likes it or not, he'll have to change too..."

She looked back toward the exit Akhil had used.

'Let's just hope the change is a good one,' she thought, before turning toward the cavern exit. "If you're going to stay here and complain all day, I'm leaving. I have important things to do. You should be glad you're still alive." She scoffed, making her way out.

"Hey! Wait for me! I can't move on my own!" Samxon shouted.

"Well, that's good. Maybe a few beasts will have an easy meal."

"Bitch!"

---

Meanwhile, Akhil moved with a focused intensity through the foggy mountain forest. The raw, brutal memories of the cavern events were still vivid in his mind.

He gritted his teeth, the sound barely audible over his breathing, and smashed his hand into a nearby tree. The trunk cracked sharply, snapping under the force.

"I'll find a way to end this reckless game. No matter what," Akhil vowed, clenching his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white. His crimson eyes burned with cold determination.

The quiet forest stood as the only witness to the promise he had just made.

After taking a few more minutes to force his anger and pain down, Akhil walked out of the dark woods, heading back toward the Orc camp.

As he reached the edge of the forest, he could see the settlement nearby. The Orcs were already busy gathering the dead bodies of the beasts.

For a brief moment, a wave of profound relief washed over him.

'They survived,' he thought, a small, genuine smile finally touching his lips.

"Sir Nexus!" A sharp, feminine voice chirped from the side, catching his attention.

It was a female Orc, pausing in her task of carrying a dead beast back to the settlement after spotting him.

Akhil managed a wry smile as he acknowledged her. "Uh... What's up?" he asked.

"Took you long enough."

He suddenly heard another voice—a much more familiar one. He turned his gaze to see Aria walking purposefully toward him.

"Looks like you guys did a good job holding the line while I was gone," he noted.

"Who should we thank for that?" Aria shot back, a smug grin playing on her lips.

"I'm glad I could help," Akhil replied sheepishly, running a hand through his hair.

"Glad to help? You saved us the stress of worrying about another beast horde hitting us!" Aria countered, her expression softening slightly.

"There's no way we'll end it just like that; we're paying back the favor."

"Honestly, I'm just glad everyone is safe. You don't need to worry about it."

"Hmph. Like I'd listen to you," she scoffed.

Akhil smiled wryly to himself. 'Aren't I supposed to be some kind of leader?'

"Akhil! We're glad you made it!"

Akhil shifted his gaze. Ryan, the gigantic Orc, walked up to him with a broad, welcoming smile. The large Orc gave him a soft, but powerful, pat on the shoulder.

"I'm glad I could make it, too,"

"Well, it's a very good thing. Now, we can finally host the festival... in your name!" Ryan beamed.

"Yeah we can— Wait! What?!" Akhil jolted back in surprise. "What do you mean by that?"

"You've done so much for the Orcs, we decided to hold a festival tonight in your honor, to thank you for everything. It was all Aria's idea," Ryan explained, his smile unwavering.

"That's not important! No, you d—" Akhil's protest was abruptly cut short by a burst of commanding energy from Aria that made everyone nearby pause.

Aria's gaze locked onto his, challenging him. "You don't have a say in any of this, Akhil. The festival is holding."

Akhil swallowed hard, the fight draining out of him. "Yes, ma'am."

A loud, booming laugh burst through the settlement.

"You bully everyone at this point," Ryan chuckled, patting Akhil on the shoulder again.

"Now we have your consent! The festival will hold!"

Akhil's face drooped. "Sure, just do whatever you want," he said tiredly. He simply didn't have the strength to argue with Aria right now.

-----

While Akhil and the others were celebrating their victory at the Orc settlement, a separate group—a grim gang of about a dozen people—stood amidst a large forest clearing, their weapons stained dark red with blood.

The ground was littered with a fresh, gruesome pile of dead beasts, their blood painting the earth crimson.

At the head of the group stood a young woman, her bright blue eyes narrowed in sharp focus. With a swift, final movement, she slashed through a beast.

Splat!

A spray of fresh blood followed her blade as the creature was cut cleanly in half. She stood panting, the exertion heavy in her chest.

From her side, a young man walked up to her.

"I'm sure you saw the notification as well?" the man said calmly, his gaze fixed on her.

The girl slowly straightened her posture, glancing at him. A smirk began to curl on her face.

"The Southern Coast is already taking the lead. But I'm hardly surprised."

The man gave her a quizzical look. "What do you mean?"

"Player Nexus. That's a very familiar name," the lady said, her smile broadening.

"The Southern Coast was fortunate to acquire a player like him."

"You... you know him?"

She didn't reply immediately. Instead, she spun around so quickly her long braids whipped over her shoulder. She walked calmly toward a large, resting beast—her mount. With a light leap from the ground, she landed expertly on its back.

She gently brushed back the lock of hair that had fallen across her eyes.

"You could say that. But shouldn't we be worried about our own problems at the moment?" she countered.

The young man turned back to look at the pile of dead beasts they had fought. "Yes, we have to finish our scenario as well," he said quietly before walking toward his own mount.

"The third scenario is going to be truly fun," the girl declared, her gaze narrowing with anticipation as she began to ride away.

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