[You are not worthy enough to take on the "Flower" challenge.]

[Step away.]

Karl stared at the panel with a blank expression, the cold words floating in front of him without any hesitation or mercy.

He didn't react at first.

He just stood there, letting the silence settle in the air, as if the game itself was waiting to see what he would do.

After a moment, he jumped down from Moonless' back, landing quietly on the soft ground.

He stepped forward until he stood right in front of the massive vine gate and its three strange locks.

The gate towered over him like a living wall, the vines shifting ever so slightly, as if watching him.

Each lock was made of woven vines, all marked with a different pattern.

Karl reached out but didn't touch the gate.

It was impossible to pass through it, and he knew that.

Only after unlocking all three locks could anyone step forward.

The system made that clear.

Ding!

[Find the three keys to become "worthy"][The "Key of the Guardian", "Key of the Maze", and "Key of the Witch"]

Karl's eyes moved across the locks again.

Now that he looked more carefully, he noticed the symbols carved into the vines.

Each one connected to a different lock, showing exactly where each key had to go.

But even after seeing that, Karl couldn't help but scratch his chin.

'I'm sure these keys are in the [Blooming Lands], just gotta find them.'

That made sense.

It would be strange for the keys to be hidden anywhere else.

But the fact that nobody had ever done it before made everything feel more complicated than he expected.

He couldn't remember any moment in this region where he had found a key that never got used, or any kind of hidden item that hinted at such a quest.

He also couldn't get past this gate in his past life.

He never saw what was behind it.

But now that the system confirmed the existence of a "challenge," that meant there was definitely something beyond the gate.

And that alone was enough to push him forward.

Karl stepped back, taking a few steps away from the gate.

He was eager to find these keys.

He needed them.

'Maybe the [Floral King] knows, but I still can't actually ask him.'

Moonless approached the vine gate and lowered her body, preparing to attack it, but Karl shook his head.

Even if she tried, it wouldn't work.

No attack could force the gate open.

The rules of the game were absolute.

If the system said no, then it was no.

But Karl still wanted to try something, not to break the gate but to see what would happen.

He lifted his staff, pointing it directly at the giant vine wall.

Fire Meteor!

Aura gathered at the tip of his staff before the massive meteor formed above him.

He fired it straight at the vine gate without hesitation.

The burning mass rushed forward, crackling with blazing energy.

But right as the meteor was about to collide—

BOOM!

The ground erupted.

A massive explosion of dirt, roots, and shattered stone burst upward.

Something enormous surged from underground, right between the meteor and the gate.

Bam!

A huge shield slammed upward, blocking the meteor with ease.

The impact made the ground shake, but when the fire cleared, the creature holding the shield hadn't taken a single point of damage.

"What?"

Karl stared, stunned. Once the dust finally settled, he saw the monster clearly.

---

[Floral Guardian (Level 50)]

[Rank: ???]

[HP: ???]

---

"What the hell?"

The monster was huge. At least two meters tall, but the size wasn't the shocking part.

Its entire body was a mix of vines and rocks, twisting and crawling like living worms beneath hardened armor.

A single, massive yellow eye stared out from the center of its face, unblinking and cold.

Its legs were buried deep into the earth, connected directly to the ground as if feeding from it.

Its arms were made of thick vines, one holding a gigantic shield made of hardened plant fiber and stone.

That was the arm that had blocked Karl's Fire Meteor.

And its left arm…

"Huh…"

Its left arm wasn't an arm at all.

It was a massive carnivorous plant, pink and huge, with long fangs lining a dripping maw.

Drool slid down from it, almost sizzling when it touched the ground.

Karl stared at the creature for another moment.

'It fully blocked my attack, I don't want to approach it.'

Even Moonless took multiple steps back, fur bristling.

She looked ready to charge, but even she sensed the difference in strength.

This thing wasn't just a monster, it was a guardian, perfectly designed to protect the gate that led to the [Flower] challenge.

And it was far, far too strong. Karl turned around.

It was clear he would leave this monster for later.

It couldn't move from its spot, and he wasn't planning on getting himself killed just to experiment.

He took one step away before stopping.

'Wait a minute…'

Slowly, he turned back toward the creature, eyes slightly widening.

'One of the key's name was the [Key of the Guardian].'

He stared at the [Floral Guardian] more carefully. And then he saw it.

In the middle of the monster's chest, where the vines twisted and overlapped, something was sticking out slightly.

A faint glow shone beneath the layers of vines.

He couldn't see exactly what it was from this distance, but he knew.

'That's the key.'

He knew it instinctively. That glow wasn't random. It was deliberate.

Meaning that to advance further, he would have to kill this thing eventually. There was no avoiding it.

Karl let out a slow breath, nodded to himself, and finally turned away.

Fwish!

He climbed onto Moonless' back again and pointed forward.

"Let's go to the [Major Zone]."

Moonless glanced back at the guardian, the giant yellow eye still staring at them, but she obeyed.

Fwish! Sprint!

The two rushed away.

Karl wasn't stupid enough to try fighting monsters twice his level. Even he had limits.

And thankfully, the [Floral Guardian] was rooted to the ground.

It wasn't chasing anyone. It truly behaved like a guardian, exactly where it belonged, blocking the gate.

'That leaves the [Key of the Maze], which will be in the [Flower Labyrinth], and the [Key of the Witch].'

He had never heard of any sort of witch in the [Blooming Lands], so that part was a mystery.

He would have to explore, search, and see what he could find.

And if nothing worked, once he became strong enough, he would directly approach the [Floral King] and ask.

Even if that meant fighting him.

As Karl moved farther away from the massive crimson flower, the air slowly returned to normal.

The heavy energy faded, the chilling aura disappeared, and the atmosphere loosened up.

'I guess there was indeed something.'

Soon, monsters reappeared around him, and later he crossed paths with other players.

After around fifteen minutes of sprinting at full speed, he reached [Floral City] again.

Back to the start of the region, but now he actually had a goal.

He knew what he needed to do. Players in the area reacted instantly.

"What the hell is that thing?"

"Oh my god, it's cute!"

"You think that thing's cute?"

They pointed at Moonless, shocked.

Most if not all had never seen her, let alone knew she was the boss of the [Fifth Floor].

The amount of players who had faced her was extremely small.

Karl ignored the noise.

He rode Moonless straight through the city and toward the massive walls of the [Flower Labyrinth].

The towering hedge walls grew larger as he approached until he finally reached the entrance.

Dozens of players crowded the area.

Many were talking loudly, but they instantly froze and pulled out weapons when Moonless charged forward.

Unfortunately, Karl couldn't bring Moonless inside.

"I guess you can rest," Karl said as he jumped off her back.

He patted her head as she lowered it to his level.

"Heal from that injury, and I'll summon you later."

Hooooowl!

Moonless howled, making players flinch, before Karl unsummoned her.

He turned toward the entrance of the labyrinth.

Ding!

[You are about to enter a very dangerous level 25-50 zone: "Flower Labyrinth"]

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