Next morning, inside the Abyss.

Axel stretched after a short rest, preparing to continue his scouting. But something caught his eye—movement. A dozen figures were converging along the opposite side of the lake.

"Leander… Lucy… and Laziel too?"

He cursed under his breath. Too late to slip away now. They'd seen him.

Leander waved. "Axel! Over here!"

Axel approached reluctantly. Leander stood at the center of the group, now nearly twenty strong.

"Everyone," Leander began, his voice steady and clear. "We've all been circling this place. I think it's obvious now—the central island likely has something special. Maybe rare spiritual plants. Since we're all here, I propose we go in together and storm the place."

Axel finally understood.

This wasn't a coincidence. This group had been pulled together by Leander—and by Lucy, especially. The girl had spent the entire night working the area, convincing people to join up.

Now, they had a small army.

Axel's fists clenched at his sides.

Twenty people. All heading to the island I need to reach alone.

Shit.

......

"Enough talk. Let's just go in already."

A man from the Havoc Division stepped forward impatiently, eyeing the others with thinly veiled disdain. "With this many people, what the hell are we scared of? A few mutant beasts in the water?"

Another voice followed: "If there's nothing worthwhile on that island, I'm not wasting my time—we've got better places to be."

Leander tried one last time to settle them down. "Just stay alert, all of you. I—" But one glance at the growing momentum told him it was pointless. He sighed quietly.

"Screw it. Let's move."

Several noble-born guys surged ahead, eager to show off. Axel inhaled deeply, steadying himself. It wasn't the best timing—but he didn't have a choice. If he waited too long, the opportunity would vanish.

And then—he felt it. A flicker of killing intent brushed his spine like ice water.

He turned his head just in time to see Varek—smiling. A slow, crooked grin curved across his lips.

"So it's like that, huh."

Axel didn't break stride. He pushed forward with the others, keeping his pace steady.

Up ahead, the battle had already started. Splashes erupted, screams rang out, and blades slashed at darting shadows beneath the surface.

Not far from him, Torren noticed Varek's intent and stepped closer. "Varek, you're not seriously killing him, are you?"

Varek's eyes gleamed with something close to amusement. "What else would I be doing?"

Torren opened his mouth to argue but stopped. He looked away, and said nothing more. He didn't have time to worry about such things.

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"Shit! There's too many of them!"

"This bastard won't die!"

The fight had turned into a chaotic brawl. Dozens of Level 4 Awakeners were doing their best to keep the mutants at bay, but the beasts weren't making it easy. They were smarter than expected—and pissed off.

Even so, Leander felt a measure of relief. No one had died—yet. The sheer number of awakened combatants was holding the line.

And Varek? He was a monster. Smooth, clean attacks. No wasted movement. But Varek wasn't focused on the beasts.

His eyes tracked Axel, who was being chased by a massive mutant alligator, at least ten meters long. Axel looked panicked—off-balance, running.

Then—

"SNAP!"

The creature's tail slammed into Axel's back with a bone-cracking *thud*. He was flung through the air like a rag doll, spinning out over the water.

A stunned silence followed.

"That's it?" someone muttered.

"He went down that easy?"

Varek raised an eyebrow. Even he was surprised.

But Axel's trajectory—he wasn't falling into the lake. He was flying over it. Right toward the island.

"Perfect."

Axel hit the ground hard and rolled, coughing. He spat blood—fake, of course—and wiped his mouth, grinning as he bolted into the thick foliage.

They bought the whole act.

"Thanks for the lift, big guy."

The island wasn't huge—maybe the size of two football fields—but it was covered in dense, wild vegetation. Axel knew exactly where the Heavenly Spirit Fruit Tree was.

And now, with the others still fighting off the beasts in the lake, he had a narrow window.

A race against time.

For a split second, Axel didn't hesitate—he activated his Cloud Chasing Boots, and his body shot forward like a bolt of lightning, blurring through the jungle terrain.

A few mutant beasts turned their heads, sensing movement, but before they could let out a warning roar, a shadow streaked past—too fast for their eyes to catch. They froze in place, confused.

Thirty seconds later, Axel skidded to a halt deep within the island's core.

Before him stood an ancient tree, massive and gnarled, its roots spreading out like a tangled web. The air around it was unnaturally still. Not even a single blade of grass grew within dozens of meters from its base.

Axel's eyes lit up.

"Heavenly Spirit Fruit."

There it was—growing from the twisted branches, only a handful of small, radiant fruits. Most were still green, unripe.

"Isaac said to pick one... but didn't say whether it had to be ripe or not."

Without wasting a second, Axel leapt up the tree and began moving through the branches with practiced ease. His eyes swept from fruit to fruit like a hawk searching for prey.

But then—he froze.

The moss covering the branches was mostly untouched—except for one section. Right there, faint but clear: footprints.

And just a few meters ahead, the branches... were moving. Swaying. There was no wind.

Someone else was up here.

Axel's blood ran cold.

A spike of killing intent pierced the air.

Axel cursed silently. If he'd made a move for the fruit a moment earlier, it would've been over. Whoever was hiding in this tree was ready to kill.

"Holy Light Organization? Or another player?"

Axel's instincts screamed at him. He was about to use a coded signal—but the killing intent suddenly dropped.

He blinked. Why?

Then he heard it—footsteps. Lots of them. A whole group approaching fast from the jungle.

"Damn. They're already here."

Axel didn't have time to think. He scurried higher into the branches, found a thick patch of leafy cover about twenty meters up, and tucked himself in, heart pounding like a war drum.

One second later, the first wave arrived.

Through gaps in the leaves, Axel spotted them: the noble-born awakeners who'd pushed ahead during the charge.

"Yo, what's this tree?"

"There's fruit on it. Probably a spirit plant or something rare. We should grab it before the others get here."

They were joking and jostling, but one guy—the leader, suddenly snapped his head up.

"Idiots. This is the Heavenly Spirit Fruit Tree."

That silenced everyone.

He clicked his tongue. "Can't believe this dump only had one of these."

"Shit, really?" another said. "Guess we got lucky."

The leader muttered, annoyed. "Fucking great. No reward from HQ for it, just a 'do it if you find it' kind of thing."

The group kept chatting, cursing the lack of incentive, milling around the tree like it owed them something. More figures arrived every minute—at least a dozen. Axel stayed frozen in the canopy, muscles tense, listening.

Then someone said what he feared most.

"Only one tree? Fine. Let's chop it down."

"What a waste. Thought we'd find something better."

More mutters. More movement. And the sound of blades being drawn.

"If they really start chopping it down, there's no way I'll stay hidden."

Axel's gaze darted around. He was wedged at the junction of several thick branches, a ring of wood and foliage forming a natural shield around him.

"There!"

His heart jumped—just inches from him, tucked close to the bark, was a Heavenly Spirit Fruit glowing with a vivid crimson hue.

Unlike normal fruits that grew on twigs or thin stems, this one was almost embedded in the trunk. Most of the fruit he'd seen on the upper branches had been green and immature. But this one—this one was ripe.

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