Goreth didn't waste time with dialogue. He roared, and the jungle itself responded. Vines erupted from the ground, thick as pythons, whipping toward Alvian and his team.

"Nature Magic," Alvian noted. "Annoying."

Valeria stepped forward, her shield glowing. "Titan's Bulwark!"

She slammed her shield down, creating a golden dome that deflected the vines. The thorns scraped harmlessly against the energy barrier.

"He's using the environment," Valeria shouted. "As long as we're in the jungle, he has infinite ammo!"

"Then we change the environment," Alvian said.

He stepped out of the dome. A vine lashed out at him. He didn't dodge. He sliced it with [Voidpiercer]. The dagger's [Reality Sever] passive didn't just cut the plant; it killed the mana animating it. The vine turned grey and crumbled to dust.

Goreth charged. He moved with terrifying speed for his size. He raised his massive claw arm.

"MAUL!"

Alvian activated [Shadow Step]. He vanished an instant before the claw slammed into the ground, creating a crater ten feet deep. He reappeared in the air above Goreth's head.

"Heavy Impact."

He drove the [Lance of the Void Winter] down.

"CLANG!"

The lance hit Goreth's bark armor. It chipped the wood, but didn't pierce deep. The Druid's defense was immense.

[-2,500!]

"Wood is strong against impact," Alvian analyzed mid-air. "But weak against temperature."

Goreth swiped at him with his vine arm. Alvian grabbed the vines with his free hand.

"Mistake," Goreth growled. The thorns elongated, trying to pierce Alvian's gauntlet.

"[Frost Descent +2]: Conductive Freeze."

Alvian didn't let go. He pumped his mana into the vines. The cold traveled down the plant matter instantly, flash-freezing the water inside the cells. The vines turned white, then brittle. The freeze traveled up Goreth's arm, reaching his shoulder.

"ARGH!" Goreth screamed, shattering his own frozen arm to stop the spread.

"He amputated himself," Seraphina whispered from the shadows. She took the opportunity. As Goreth reeled, she appeared behind his knee, her daggers glowing with dark energy.

"Hamstring!"

She slashed the tendons behind his leg. Goreth stumbled, falling to one knee.

"Now, Valeria!" Alvian shouted.

Valeria charged. She didn't use a defensive skill. She poured everything into offense.

"TITAN'S EXECUTION!"

She leaped, bringing her claymore down in a vertical chop aimed at Goreth's neck. The blade bit deep into the bark-skin. Golden light exploded, burning the corrupted wood.

[-15,000! Critical!]

Goreth roared in fury. His body began to glow red. The ground beneath him bubbled.

"I... AM... THE... LAND!"

Roots shot up, wrapping around his body, forming a cocoon. His health bar began to regenerate rapidly.

"He's healing!" Valeria cried, backing away as the heat from the regeneration scorched the air.

"He's drawing mana from the earth," Alvian realized. "The Tablet within me... it can feel it. He's siphoning the ley line."

Alvian landed. He sheathed his weapons. He placed both hands on the ground.

"You think you own the land, Druid?" Alvian's eyes glowed with the golden light of the Earth Core. "I carry its heart."

"System. Activate [Tablet of the Earth Core] Resonance. Invert Flow."

[Warning! Mana Clash Imminent.]

"Do it."

Alvian pulled. He didn't pull physically. He pulled on the mana. He hijacked the connection Goreth had established with the earth. Instead of mana flowing into the Beast King, Alvian ripped it away.

"NO! MY POWER!" Goreth shrieked from inside the cocoon. The roots turned brown and withered. The red light faded.

Alvian channeled the stolen earth mana into his hand. It formed a massive, dense sphere of gravity and stone.

"Here. Have it back."

He threw the sphere at the cocoon.

"Gravity Collapse."

"BOOM!"

The sphere hit the cocoon and imploded. The wooden shell shattered. Goreth was revealed, shriveled and weakened, his mana connection severed.

Alvian walked toward him. He drew the [Lance of the Void Winter].

"The jungle is closed," Alvian said.

He thrust the lance through Goreth's heart.

[You have slain The Beast King!]

[Quest Complete: The Last Warlord.]

[Experience Gained: 500,000!]

[Level Up!]

[Level 45.]

Goreth's body dissolved into ash and loot. Alvian picked up a glowing green orb—the [Heart of the Wild].

"One Warlord down," Alvian repeated his earlier words. "None to go."

----

The death of the Beast King sent a ripple through the Chaos Zone. The aggressive flora wilted slightly, the mutated beasts retreated into the deep shadows, and the oppressive, heavy atmosphere lifted. The road to the valley was open.

Two days later, a convoy of wagons stretched for miles across the plains. Kincaid's mercenaries guarded the flanks, while Valeria's Vanguard knights led the vanguard. Thousands of refugees from the valley, along with survivors gathered from the surrounding wildlands, marched toward the crater of the Academy.

Alvian stood on the ramparts of what used to be the main gate of Overlords Academy. The crater had been fortified. Walls of fused stone and metal, raised by earth magic, encircled the crash site.

"It's a lot of people," Seraphina said, standing beside him. She was looking at a datapad, scrolling through logistics. "Five thousand students. Three thousand refugees from the valley. Two thousand from Kincaid's territory. We have ten thousand mouths to feed."

"We have the valley for food," Alvian said. "We have Kincaid's aquifer for water. And we have the Academy's mana reactor for power."

"It's not a school anymore," Valeria joined them, looking out at the sea of tents being erected in the crater basin. "It's a city."

"It's a Sanctum," Alvian corrected.

He turned to the group assembled behind him. Kincaid, looking uncomfortable in clean clothes but respectful. A representative from the refugees, an old farmer. And... Lysander.

The former Arcanist Vice-Head sat in a wheelchair, his body still recovering from the corruption and Alvian's beatdown. He looked pale, humbled, and terrified.

"Lysander," Alvian said. The noble flinched.

"You know the Academy's defense systems better than anyone," Alvian stated. "The automated turrets, the barrier generators, the mana grid."

"I... yes," Lysander stammered. "But the codes... the Vice-Headmaster changed them."

"I have the master key," Alvian tossed him the [Syndicate Master Keycard] he had looted. "I want the defenses online by tomorrow. You are the new Head of Defense."

Lysander stared at the keycard, then at Alvian. Tears welled in his eyes. "You... you're trusting me? After what I did?"

"I don't trust you," Alvian said cold. "I trust your fear. You know what's out there. You know what the Syndicate did to you. If you want to live, you make this place impregnable."

Lysander nodded slowly, his grip on the card tightening. "I will. I swear it."

"Kincaid," Alvian turned to the Warlord. "You handle logistics. Supply lines. Rationing. If anyone steals, you handle it. If anyone starves, I handle you."

Kincaid grinned, a flash of gold teeth. "Loud and clear, Boss. I run a tight ship."

"Valeria, you're in charge of the Vanguard and the internal police force. Keep the peace. Integrate the refugees with the students."

"Understood," Valeria saluted.

"Seraphina, you're Intelligence. I want eyes on every border. If a rabbit sneezes within ten miles, I want to know."

"You got it," Seraphina winked.

Alvian looked out at his new kingdom. It was a patchwork of survivors, criminals, and students, held together by fear and necessity. But it was strong.

[System Notification: Faction Established.]

[Name: The Void Sanctum.]

[Leader: Alvian.]

[Population: 10,240.]

[Status: Rising Power.]

"The tutorial is officially over," Alvian announced to his council. "Welcome to the mid-game."

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