The group moved down the wide avenue toward the fortress. The sky above hung heavy and gray, and the stretched shadows of ancient buildings gave the path a cemetery feel. On either side, endless rows of petrified statues formed a silent corridor. Stone warriors, frozen mid-snarl, towered over them with weapons poised as if ready to strike the next intruder.

Luke led the way, recounting in a low, steady voice how he had survived the last challenge. His words came like a distant narrator, calm on the surface but carrying the weight of memories. Images of the capital flashed through his mind like lightning: nighttime ambushes, the chill of empty alleys, fear pressing just beneath the mask of control.

"So you crossed the city through a sea of patrolling statues, killing everything stealth-style… and then fought a stone angel?" Ronan asked, still trying to piece together everything Luke had revealed.

"In short… something like that," Luke replied, offering no more than necessary.

Ronan watched him from behind, intrigued despite himself. No matter how he tried, he couldn't hide his shock.

"I've got to admit," Mason said, arms crossed as they walked, "I don't think an average person could survive what you went through." He lifted his gaze to Luke. "But the Beast Lord—how did you kill that giant serpent?"

Luke looked at the necklace and saw, inside its pocket dimension, the Familiar Rune glowing.

"That's a secret I'll take to the grave."

He and Franky might not get along very well, but both silently agreed never to talk about how the fight had really ended. Making the enemy get diarrhea mid-battle to land a killing blow didn't exactly sound like a legendary tale to tell.

For a heartbeat the serpent's engraving on the pendant flickered with light, then went dark. The whole group looked at Luke, hoping for a hint.

"The Beast Lord part," Luke said firmly, "like I told you, is a secret. All that matters is it's dead."

They moved on in silence, careful not to brush against the statues. The air itself seemed to press down on them, a weight you could almost feel in your bones.

"Luke," Allison called, breaking the hush. "What are the odds you've already done the conquest challenge for the third fortress without realizing it?"

Everyone stopped for a beat, glancing at one another. Luke looked back at her. "What do you mean?"

"To take each fortress you had to finish an event by killing whoever ruled it," Allison explained, ticking off points on her fingers. "First fortress, Evangeline and the others—new to the system—took down the Midnight Warden and his undead army. Second, we killed a Warden Captain and his garrison. wouldn't be surprised if the challenge of the third one was to kill the Beast Lord and the angel statue that guarded the place while fighting through her army."

Luke frowned. He'd never thought of it that way. The logic felt absurd, yet it clicked. All eyes were on him now, waiting.

"Makes sense," he said at last, voice low as if to himself.

It was like a puzzle piece sliding into place. He remembered every step, every fight, every retreat. Could it be that, without realizing it, he'd already completed the third fortress event?

"Makes sense?" Evangeline echoed, quickening her pace, eyes flashing with sudden realization. "I knew it! Only an idiot would head straight for the hardest spot in the low-level tutorial."

She broke into a run, hair streaming behind her.

"Luke, if you really did this… I don't know whether to hug you or laugh," she called, both amused and nervous.

"Why is she running?" Jack asked, bewildered.

There was no time for an answer. One by one the others broke into a run, swept up in the sudden realization. The thud of boots echoed through the statue-lined corridor like war drums.

If Allison was right, the third mechanism had been within reach all along, hiding in plain sight through every grim day they had spent in this city.

"If this turns out to be true, I can't believe I wasted another week here!" Eleanor shouted, sprinting just behind.

Luke hesitated for a heartbeat, but instinct won. He took off as well, racing past the silent ranks of stone warriors along the same route he had described to the group. They passed the warhorn, the one Luke had explained, the one the angel could have used to wake the sleeping army.

The fortress loomed ahead like a stone giant.

They slowed when the main building came into view. The walls were so high they seemed to scrape the heavy sky, each block etched with the memory of sieges long past. Huge wooden doors with iron fittings stood slightly ajar, unlike the last time Luke had tried to enter. Back then, a magical barrier had demanded the second mechanism's activation. Now the path lay open, silent and unnervingly inviting.

"This is it. Our shot at going home," Evangeline said, stopping at the doors.

Ronan stepped forward, looking over the group with a serious expression. "Swear to me you're not going to trigger that thing inside. I came to help and to make sure you don't get anyone killed doing it.

Allison glanced at him with a faint, dry smile. "Do you think we're insane enough to try? Even if we were, you think we'd survive everything in the way with just us?"

Ronan exhaled hard. "I just needed to hear it."

Luke approached the doorway. Mason's voice was low, cautious. "You're really going in like this?"

"What, you're going to tell me there's a giant snake in there or a four-armed angel?" Luke shot back over his shoulder. "They're all dead already."

Evangeline came to stand beside him. "We know the plan," she murmured, eyes fixed on the dark interior of the fortress.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

From the start they had planned for Luke and Evangeline to enter first. Their skills gave them the edge: shifting bodies, slipping through sealed doors, weaving into places others couldn't. If something powerful was inside, at least they had a chance to get out alive, the rest of the group didn't.

Luke and Evangeline drew in deep breaths and darted through. The air inside was colder, thicker, carrying the scent of wet stone and rusted iron. The fortress felt like a warped reflection of Bastion and the Haven fortress, its hallways almost identical yet dimmed, silent, filled with invisible echoes.

"Any sign of danger, we pull out," Evangeline whispered, her senses stretched to the limit.

"You'd really run from just a Warden?" Luke asked with a raised brow.

She let out a short, nervous laugh, and they pushed on. As the corridors narrowed and the light dwindled, their pace slowed, each step more deliberate.

The hall leading to their target lay ahead. They both drew a deep breath, trading a brief, wordless glance. Find the mechanism door, grab the quest, and get out.

When they reached it, an immense double door towered before them. Luke stepped up and at that instant, a notification flared across his vision.

**The Third Fortress Quest**

Congratulations, brave explorer of this world. You have reached this weak and desolate place. You survived the perils of the Wild Zone, claimed your own Safe Zone by taking the first fortress for yourself and uncovered the threat of the Three Lords yet you did not falter.

This fortress was once watched over by a massive serpent and guarded by a Stone Angel, both of which you have successfully defeated. It was once the main base of the King's forces before they withdrew to the castle to prepare for the final battle.

However, it seems three soldiers have remained behind to protect the third mechanism at all costs.

Objective: Eliminate the three Warden Captains stationed in the fortress. Progress: 0/3.

***

Luke and Evangeline came back to the group, their eyes carrying the confirmation everyone had been waiting for. The moment they crossed back over the fortress threshold, the tension rippled through the rest of the team like a cold draft.

"There are still three of those things?" Mason asked, his tone slow and deliberate, as if he needed to hear it again to believe it.

Jack, Eleanor, and Ronan didn't know much about the enemy, only what had been told to them in the account of the second fortress invasion.

"So that's it," Ronan muttered, running a hand through his hair. "We head back to the second Safe Zone, pick a team of the strongest volunteers, then come back here prepared. What do you think, Eleanor?"

She pressed her lips together, weighing it.

But Luke kept his eyes on the fortress. "Go back, lose days just to return here later?" His voice held a hard edge. "You can go if you want. I'm finishing this challenge."

Jack's eyes went wide.

"Just three, right?" Allison asked. "No one supporting them?"

That was exactly Luke's thinking. Level-seventy monsters, yes, but only three of them, no Warden army. He and Charlie were far stronger than before. If they had taken down the Stone Angel as a two-man strike, they could plan around these three as well.

"But why three monsters like that?" Evangeline narrowed her eyes. "It doesn't add up."

"One for each fortress?" Eleanor suggested.

"Or maybe it's a hint," Allison murmured, almost to herself.

Everyone turned toward her.

"It's the tutorial's way of warning us," she said, voice low but certain. "Showing we'll face more Warden Captains at the final event. It's prepping us to understand the threat level and the numbers we'll be dealing with."

Mason nodded slowly. "That… actually makes sense."

Jack glanced at each face, trying to gauge if they were truly ready to risk this much. "You really want to take on three of them with just us?"

"And you think the final event will be easy?" Mason shot back.

Jack shook his head. "At least then we'll have an army, a real siege plan, long-range attacks. Don't forget, I'm a healer, not a fighter. I'm nowhere near as efficient as you in combat, and I don't have a weapon like yours."

Something heavy flew toward Jack before he could finish. He caught it on instinct. It was a massive axe, its weight vibrating up his arms.

"Got this when I killed a minotaur," Luke said. "With strength infusion and your lumberjack skills, you're a warrior now. Congrats, you're as useful as the rest of us. Just don't break my axe."

He clapped Jack on the shoulder, transferring the item through the system.

[An item has been removed from your inventory]

"If you drop it midfight, you can pull it back through the system," Luke added.

Jack blinked, stunned. "T-thanks."

Ronan, who had been quiet, finally spoke. "So we're really doing this?"

"Come on, Bartholomew's enforcer," Evangeline teased, giving his shoulder a playful smack. "You thought you'd kill the Beast Lord on this mission. Three tin soldiers should be nothing."

He nodded, still grave. "I just thought we were here to study the Beast Lord and reach the third mechanism. But you're right, fighting a giant snake would've been harder."

Eleanor stepped forward. "Good. I've got experience running teams to eliminate high-value targets. How do we want to do this? I'm guessing we'll have to split up."

Silence fell for a moment, each of them conjuring a mental picture of what lay ahead. Slowly, strategies began to surface, voices trading ideas in a measured rhythm, each detail sketching the shape of the coming battle.

***

Allison's gaze locked on Luke. "So that's it? You're sure? No room for regrets after this."

"It's a good split," Luke said, steady and unflinching.

Everyone turned toward him.

"That was me hinting at you," Allison added. "You've fought one of these things before, but it was only one, and only after we'd cracked its armor with our trap. You're really planning to go in with just the two of you?"

"We make a good team," Luke answered, and Charlie raised a thumb in silent agreement.

They drew a collective breath, then sprinted into the third fortress, each of them already owning their assigned roles. The teams split up with one frontline fighter to engage the Warden Captain directly and the others providing support.

Team One was Ronan, Evangeline, and Jack. The plan was brutal but clear. Ronan was their tank, wielding a blacksmith's epic profession skill that turned his skin to living iron. It made him monstrously powerful, especially combined with his mastery of stamina, but at a cost, his health bled away every second, the iron skin eating at him like a curse. He'd burn through mana and life alike in berserker mode.

His job was to lock horns with the Warden Captain, while Evangeline focused on pure damage, using her epic-class skill to bind the monster with shadow hands so Ronan could strike. Jack would heal him during the onslaught, not enough to keep the berserker state forever, but enough to buy the precious extra minutes they needed to bring the monster down.

Team Two was Allison, Mason, and Eleanor. Their tactics echoed the second fortress. Allison would slash deep with her katana, piercing armor and freezing joints, while Mason unleashed his lineage trump card, combining his profession's epic skill with fireball magic to create something like a fireball machine gun. Eleanor stayed at range, bow in hand, sniping weak points and lining up a killing shot through the Warden's helm.

Team Three was Luke and Charlie. Their strategy was stripped to the bone: Charlie tanked, Luke dealt the damage. Only two of them, yes, but Luke knew that if it came down to it he could take on all three Wardens himself. His drive to get back to Earth was that fierce.

And they weren't completely alone. There was, after all, one more member who would emerge in the battle… the spectral orc Morvat.

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