Traveling through the game world, starting out as a third-rate villain

When we entered the Boss monster's lair, a stench of decay hit us.

The huge tree-like creature, its twisted body tangled in rotten branches and sickening leaves, stood in the center of the hall, its empty eyes staring at us fiercely.

'Rotten Treeman.'

An intermediate 4th level monster can handle every one of us here alone without any effort.

However, despite its strong individual strength, we are confident that we can defeat this Boss monster because we have the advantage in numbers. No matter how strong one person is, it is always difficult to deal with multiple people, and there will always be many variables in the battle.

So what is the most troublesome boss monster?

There are several forest monsters around the Decayed Treeman, which further enhances the threat we face. This will distract the attacks that should be focused on the boss, making it more difficult to defeat the boss.

Because of this, Anya wasted no time and her instructions were clear and precise.

"Morse, Ethan, Emily, take care of the weaker monsters. Hold off the forest monsters, Fred, buff the team." She said as she raised her shield and spear. The three of us nodded and quickly took our positions, ready to deal with the approaching forest monsters.

Faye, Harry, and Anya walked towards the Deadwood Elf to fight. Faye raised her greatsword, her physical enhancement skills reaching their peak. Harry wielded both blades, surrounded by flames, ready to attack. Anya focused all her attention on the Boss, her shield raised high to protect herself.

"roar!"

The Decaying Tree Man sensed our threat and let out a creepy roar, sending chills down everyone's spine and making everyone feel a sense of fear.

The battle officially begins, and the Boss applies the [Fear] status effect to each of us.

"Fred, purify," Anya immediately instructed Fred, rushing towards the monster that was about to attack.

"Understood." Fred responded and began to cast purification magic.

The boss monster raises its huge twisted limbs and lets out a deafening roar, releasing a shower of corrupted branches that contain dark natural magic.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

"I'll do it!"

Anya shouted as she raised her shield, activating her skills.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The branch hit her shield. This was the beginning of the attack.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Anya, Faye, and Harry worked in sync with their years of combat experience. Anya's shield blocked the dark magic attacks of the rotten tree man, Faye's greatsword cut through the corrupted branches, and Harry's flaming double blades slashed into the monster's bark-like skin.

"Morse! Watch out!"

Whoosh! Bang! Snap!

Elsewhere, the forest monsters attacked from both sides, their agility and strength making them more threatening than before.

"These monsters have become stronger. It seems that this is the effect of the Corrupted Treeman."

This monster is difficult to deal with not only because of its own strength, but also because it can enhance the monsters it creates.

'Forest monster.'

Ethan, Emily, and I fought bravely.

The coordination and fighting rapport between the two of them became better and better with every clash. Emily's swordplay was precise, and Ethan's spear attacks were deadly.

And my dagger skills are also constantly improving. After all, the forest monsters are more flexible than before.

Despite Ethan's greater talent in combat, Emily still did her best to perform her duties, however, the effects of the mist and Fred's skills began to take a toll on their bodies and showed.

'It's about time.'

The constant sounds and vibrations of battle reached my senses, and Fred should have felt it as well.

whoosh!

Because of these noises, no one noticed that the thin needle strengthened by green mana was approaching Fred.

"Ethan, cover me," Emily yelled, trying to put some distance between herself and the forest monster.

However, Ethan's reaction was not right. He felt heavy and could not move as quickly as usual. "Something is wrong, my body won't listen to me," he said with obvious frustration.

Just then, I saw Ethan's attention immediately turn to Fred.

'He noticed.'

"You did this, didn't you?" he muttered to himself, seemingly piecing all the clues together, and the scene before him seemed to be reproduced in the game.

"What are you doing!" With a loud roar, he immediately attracted everyone's attention.

"What's wrong, Ethan?" Emily also turned to look at Ethan.

"This guy betrayed us." Ethan pointed out clearly, his eyes locked directly on Fred.

"What?"

“Tsk.”

Fred smacked his lips, but soon his annoyance turned into a sneer.

"It seems you really are from the Hartley family? I was planning to offer your head to the Boss, but now it seems I can save it for later."

With a malicious smile, Fred began to chant a spell, which was undoubtedly a dark magic skill.

The skill he used was [Wave].

That skill is not only effective against humans, but also against monsters. More importantly, it is more effective against monsters because monsters are more easily controlled by instinct.

"roar!"

After feeling threatened, the Decaying Treeman suddenly went into a state of madness and rampage.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Its corrupted branches lashed wildly, striking down both the forest monster and members of our party.

I tried my best to dodge the attacks, however, due to my physical limitations, I found myself unable to withstand the monster's fierce attacks.

Whoosh! Bang!

"Well!"

A huge branch hit me hard, and the huge force knocked me back, followed by dizziness and almost unable to move.

I could feel pain everywhere in my body, at least three ribs were probably broken, and it was difficult to breathe.

"No!" Anya's cry of pain was drowned out by the noise of battle. I felt myself flying out of control into the air, away from the chaos of the battlefield.

"Morse!" I heard Ethan's voice and looked at his astonished eyes.

In the midst of this chaos, Fred seized his opportunity. With his unprecedented speed and stealth, he quickly grabbed the precious fragment of the dungeon and then disappeared into the thick fog.

I could only watch as Fred walked away with a smug grin on his face as I plummeted toward the foggy ground, dizzy and hurt.

Yet, unknown to him, a tiny green thread had connected me to him.

......

As Morse disappeared into the thick fog, Ethan's heart was filled with anger and despair.

He tried desperately to catch up with his fallen comrades, but their critical situation was like a heavy mountain pressing down on him, making it difficult for him to breathe.

Ethan and the other team members watched Morse fly away and Fred left, while they were busy dealing with the attacks of the Boss who had entered a violent state.

“Roar, whoosh!”

The ground shook with every roar of the Decaying Treeman as it attacked.

"I must save him."

clang!

Ethan shouted as he parried the monster's attacks, trying to move in the direction Morse flew off.

"don't want!"

Just then, Harry blocked him. She stood before him, holding two blades.

"Ethan, I know you're sad, but we can't be separated now."

whoosh!

She said as she dodged another branch that protruded from the ground.

"I have to save him." Ethan said with determination, trying to push away Harry who was standing in front of him and try to save Morse.

Harry stood firm, his double blades flashing with flames. "Ethan, I understand how you feel, but if you rush over alone now, you will only put yourself in danger. We can't disperse our forces now."

roar!

The decayed tree man roared again, and the ground shook violently. The forest monsters surrounded them from all directions, their malicious eyes fixed on the team, and their movements were fast and coordinated.

Ethan clenched his fists tightly, feeling frustrated. "But he's injured! He was left there alone!"

Harry looked at Ethan, her eyes full of concern. "I know, but if you leave now, we'll be surrounded like Morse, surrounded on all sides. We have to trust him to take care of himself. Anya and the others are calling for backup, we have to trust the team and regroup."

Ethan gritted his teeth, struggling to make a choice between his instinct to save Morse and the severity of the current situation.

"Why... him?"

He still remembered how Morse had his back to him at that time.

“That person no longer exists.”

The emotions he expressed when he spoke were full of helplessness and loneliness.

And now, he is about to make the same choice as everyone else.

Leave the weak behind.

This decision weighed heavily on his shoulders, and he felt a sense of powerlessness that could not be expressed in words. He knew that abandoning Morse was a tactically correct choice, but it was difficult for him to accept this fact.

He clenched his fists tightly, his nails dug deep into his palms, blood oozing from the wounds. He looked at the spear in his hand and remembered what his father had said.

"When you realize you can't save everyone, that's when you become a true hunter."

"Why? I want to save everyone. I want to be a hero."

"Hero? You can be one if you want."

"So......"

"But, Ethan. One day, you will understand that no one can remain a hero forever unless you have enough strength to support your beliefs."

"So, this is what father meant by these words...?"

Ethan then understood the true meaning of what his father had said to him, especially when he expressed his desire to be a hero.

Unlike others, his father never opposed his desire to be a hero. He never laughed at him or said it was a stupid dream.

And his father only emphasized the importance of strength, and Ethan only now truly understood it.

'Because I am still too weak.'

It was because I was too weak that I couldn't save him on my own. If I were stronger, if I had done better...

"If I were stronger..."

With a heavy heart, Ethan reluctantly nodded. "Okay, we'll regroup. But once this mess is over, we have to find him."

Harry gripped the double blades tightly and nodded seriously. "Yes, we will get through this together."

They turned their heads together and refocused their eyes on the chaotic battlefield. The violent rampage of the corrupted tree people showed no sign of slowing down.

In this way, Ethan took the first step towards becoming the protagonist.