Gara smiled as he walked toward the bound duo, his E Rank aura flaring for all to see. [Blue Cover] almost didn't believe his eyes—it didn't make sense.
[Blue Waves], an SS Ranker, had made sure to destroy all the roots Gara had left behind, and [Blue Cover] himself had caused the Golden Lightning to strike him down.
By all logic, the [Root of All Things] should have died then.
But here he was—alive, stronger, and using the same roots that should've been long gone.
The impossible stood before him, smiling.
Gara wasn't silent as he approached—he chuckled, low and teasing, his tone sharp enough to slice through the tension in the air.
The sound made [Blue Cover] grit his teeth in fury.
The bound assassin instantly summoned blue ribbons to shred the roots restraining him, but Gara didn't even spare him a glance.
His steps carried him past the struggling E Ranker, straight toward his friend.
Leif was still wrapped in the glowing blue ribbons, his body covered in cuts and bruises. But when he saw Gara walking toward him, none of that pain seemed to matter anymore.
His breath hitched, disbelief written across his battered face.
He… He was alive?
It wasn't that Leif had truly believed [Blue Cover]'s words, but deep down, fear had whispered otherwise.
Gara had been struck down by the Golden Lightning—turned to ash before his very eyes—and no word had come since.
Yet now, that same red-haired boy stood before him, smiling softly.
"Did you miss me?" Gara asked, his tone warm and light, as if he'd just returned from a short trip rather than death itself.
Leif stared at him for a moment longer, still trying to process the impossible, before snapping out of it and shouting, "Free me already, then take care of him! We can talk later."
Gara laughed lightly, as if he'd been waiting to hear that, and gave a short nod.
In one hand, a blade of gleaming ice formed; in the other, a sword of polished wood.
Both shimmered under the flickering light as he brought them down in a swift motion, slicing through the blue ribbons that bound Leif.
The bindings shattered into fading light.
But when they turned, [Blue Cover] had already managed to cut himself loose.
He barely had time to move before the earth trembled—and from it, fresh roots erupted, twisting upward like living chains to seize him once again.
Gara smirked, his voice calm but dripping with amusement. "Did you think you could escape so easily? Now, look, I'm not one to brag much…" His aura pulsed right after.
"...But [Root of All Things] was already close to your equal at F Rank. So tell me—what chance do you think you've got against me now that I'm E Rank?"
[Blue Cover] said nothing. His silence was answer enough.
Leif tilted his head back, eyes narrowing as he studied the storm clouds swirling overhead. The sky was turning gold again, threads of lightning crawling through the clouds like veins of molten light.
"It's coming," he said quietly. "Another Golden Lightning strike. Gara—stick to the plan."
Gara gave a small nod, his usual grin returning. "Yeah, yeah… I know. You know, now I sound more like a Story Guard than a Story Guide, don't you agree?"
Leif didn't bother replying.
He simply exhaled, his hands glowing faintly as he began healing the gashes and burns along his body.
Meanwhile, [Blue Cover] stood completely still, bound tight by the living roots that held him fast.
Gara extended his hand, summoning a wide, frost-crusted shield of ice before him. The chill spread across the ground, and with his other hand, he conjured another sword of wood—its edge humming faintly with life energy.
Gara's gaze shifted toward [Blue Cover], who still struggled faintly against the tightening roots. The assassin's crimson eyes burned with hatred, but Gara didn't move in to finish him—not yet.
Leif, meanwhile, paid them no attention.
His focus was locked on the sky, on the deep rumble that grew louder with every heartbeat.
The storm had become alive, golden veins pulsing within the clouds, promising a strike that could tear the mountain apart.
It was almost time.
Gara's fingers tightened around his wooden blade, his aura flaring briefly before he forced it down again.
He couldn't afford to go all out—not yet. His eyes flicked to Leif once more.
'Just a little longer,' he thought.
Only when the lightning descended—only when Leif was struck—would he stop holding back and face [Blue Cover] in earnest.
It seemed the assassin-like enemy had reached the same conclusion—he didn't struggle, didn't even twitch, as if waiting for the perfect opening.
Gara's eyes narrowed.
He knew this pattern too well; [Blue Cover] wasn't the type to waste energy on hopeless resistance.
Gara recalled the data Leif had purchased earlier from the Blue Trade Records—every weakness, every preference, every tactical note on the man before him.
[Blue Cover] excelled in ambushes and attrition, not in direct combat.
He thrived in the dark, where his ribbons could strike unseen and his enemies would never realize they were already trapped.
Leif had fallen for that once.
Gara wasn't going to let it happen again.
Soon enough, a deafening crack split the air. The clouds above twisted violently, parting as if torn open by some unseen force.
From within that storm, the blinding glow of the Golden Lightning began to gather—its light swallowing the sky itself.
The earth trembled beneath their feet.
The air hummed and burned with raw energy.
Then—THUD—a pillar of golden brilliance descended, its roar shaking the mountain to its core.
Leif looked up, breath caught in his throat.
Even though he had prepared for this moment—knew he could survive it, probably—the fear refused to leave him.
His heart pounded so hard it hurt.
This wasn't a test.
This was the Golden Lightning—and it showed no mercy.
He drew in a deep breath, steadying his racing heart, and closed his eyes.
The storm above roared like a living beast—then, in the final instant before impact, a faint shimmer appeared above him.
A blue cover—the same kind that had deflected the strike last time—flared to life once more, twisting to redirect the Golden Lightning toward Gara.
But before it could complete its arc, the ground erupted.
Dozens of roots burst forth, tearing the cover apart in a single violent motion.
Shreds of blue light scattered like dying fireflies.
Then came the impact.
BOOM!
The world turned white.
The sound was beyond thunder—it was the sound of the clouds breaking open.
The Golden Lightning struck Leif head-on, its radiance swallowing everything.
For a moment, there was nothing but blinding gold and smoke.
Then, as the haze began to clear, a lone figure stood amidst the destruction.
His skin charred black, smoke rising from every inch of his frame, the ground beneath him melted from the heat.
Leif was still standing.
He had triggered both his Inherited Story, [Lightning Dance], and his Original Story, [Masked Threat], at the very last second—channeling their power to absorb the unbearable force.
His eyes remained closed.
His breath came shallow and broken.
His body trembled, on the verge of collapse.
But he was alive.
Gara exhaled a long breath of relief, tension leaving his shoulders as he glanced toward Leif—still standing, still breathing.
Then his blue eyes narrowed, shifting back to the figure ahead.
[Blue Cover] was muttering curses under his breath, faint blue light flickering around his frame. Tiny ribbons of energy began to slip between the gaps in the roots holding him down, shimmering like slivers of moonlight.
With a sharp pulse, they tightened—snapping the bindings apart.
The assassin didn't waste a heartbeat.
He flicked his hand, and a blue ribbon shot into the distance like a spear of light, reaching toward the horizon.
But before it could travel far—
Shing!
Gara's wooden sword sliced through the air, splitting the ribbon cleanly in half. The blue light disintegrated into sparks before fading entirely.
A smile tugged at the corner of Gara's lips. "Did you really think," he said, his tone calm but mocking, "I'd let you run away that easily?"
[Blue Cover] didn't waste time with words.
His hand flicked, and in an instant a wall of shimmering blue light erupted between them, splitting the air with a sharp hum.
Gara's view was cut off completely, the assassin using the cover to move.
Without hesitation, [Blue Cover] turned and thrust his hand toward the horizon. A blue ribbon streaked away like a comet, cutting through the storm-filled air—his escape.
But before it could go far—
Crack!
The sound of shattering light filled the air as Gara's wooden sword cleaved the wall cleanly in two, blue shards scattering like glass in a storm.
Gara stepped through the wreckage, calm but relentless, and swung his sword once more.
[Blue Cover] spun around and coated his arm in layers of glowing ribbons, his defense flaring to life. But from beneath the ground, a thorned root erupted—severing the ribbon that had been speeding toward the horizon.
Then, with a blinding flash—
Clash!
Wood met woven light.
Sparks burst between them as their weapons connected.
Both fighters' E Rank auras exploded, shaking the mountaintop, the storm above echoing their fury.
Two Original Stories ignited in full force—
[Blue Cover] vs [Root of All Things].
Gara's lips curved into a faint smile.
He could feel it — the new surge of power coursing through his veins. He'd barely ascended to E Rank half an hour ago, yet already his Story's presence felt immense.
After all, [Root of All Things] wasn't just a name — it carried meaning.
The beginning, the foundation, the origin itself.
Compared to that, [Blue Cover] felt small, defensive, limited.
Gara's confidence burned brighter with each passing second, his aura cracking the ground beneath his feet.
But arrogance… came with a price.
A sharp pulse of blue energy flared, and before he could brace himself, his wooden sword splintered with a sharp crack.
The backlash from [Blue Cover]'s aura hit him like a tidal wave, forcing him backward across the scorched stone.
Gara skidded to a stop several steps later, boots scraping against the lightning-burned rock. His breath hitched, but he didn't fall.
He wiped a trace of blood from his lip and exhaled slowly, steadying himself — the brief smile still ghosting on his face.
Though Gara's Story Name carried far more weight than [Blue Cover]'s, raw meaning alone couldn't make up for experience.
He had just stepped into E Rank — still adapting to the flow of his strengthened Story — while [Blue Cover] had long since learned to wield his power with precision.
The clash of their auras still echoed faintly through the mountain's summit, the air buzzing with the remnants of their collision.
Then, cutting through the crackle of blue lightning, came a low, almost amused voice.
[Blue Cover] finally spoke.
Gara couldn't see his face beneath the shrouding hood, but he didn't need to — he could feel the smirk hidden behind the layers of cloth.
"Arrogance doesn't suit you, [Root of All Things]," [Blue Cover] said, his tone laced with venomous amusement.
"You thought Rank alone made you my equal? How quickly that confidence of yours turned into regret."
Then, without another word, [Blue Cover] snapped his fingers, and a massive blue wall burst from the ground, cutting the two of them apart once more.
Almost immediately, glowing ribbons of azure light slithered from beneath the earth, darting toward Gara like hungry snakes ready to bind their prey.
From captor to captive — the tables were turning fast.
"Tsk." Gara clicked his tongue, frustration flashing across his face.
He raised his Ice Shield just in time, the crystalline barrier forming between him and the oncoming ribbons.
They struck hard, their sharp edges biting into the surface, cracks spiderwebbing across the shield under the relentless pressure.
Not wasting a second, Gara spun around and summoned another wooden sword in his right hand.
With a sharp exhale, he swung — slash! — the blue wall split clean in half.
But before he could even move through the opening, another identical wall shimmered into existence behind it, solid and untouched.
Gara's eyes narrowed.
"Figures," he muttered. "He's stalling me."
Gara didn't hesitate. He swung the wooden sword in a clean arc, slicing through the glowing ribbons that had begun to coil around his feet.
The Ice Shield shattered beside him with a sharp, crystalline crack, fragments scattering like glass under the weight of the attack.
He pressed forward, slashing through the second wall of blue energy with one fluid motion.
The barrier split apart, light fading into mist — and behind it, there was nothing.
No trace. No sound.
No [Blue Cover].
Gara's breath steadied, but a cold realization sank in.
The assassin was gone. Vanished into the chaos.
And that… was bad.
Because if there was one kind of battle [Blue Cover] excelled at — it was this one.
The kind where his prey couldn't see where death was coming from next.
First, Gara moved fast — faster than thought. Ice surged from his hands, forming a transparent dome that sealed around Leif's motionless form.
The air crackled as the structure solidified, protecting him from every side.
Without pausing, Gara conjured a broad wooden shield that gleamed with veins of green light, the roots pulsing faintly in tune with his heartbeat.
He turned, scanning the storm of blue energy that surrounded the mountaintop.
For a moment, all was still—then—
Whip!
A blue ribbon shot from behind. Gara reacted instantly, pivoting on one foot as his shield snapped backward with a sharp clang, deflecting the strike.
Unlike Leif, who relied on [Masked Threat]'s speed and stealth but lacked real defense, Gara's [Root of All Things] gave him the perfect counterbalance — the power to create protection, whether through wood, ice, or even full domes like the one now guarding his friend.
And yet—his defenses began to fail.
The blue ribbons sliced through his wooden shield like blades through paper, splinters bursting outward as the shield shattered.
Behind him, the ice wall he'd erected to guard the flanks fractured under the same relentless pressure—crack, crack, CRASH!—until it collapsed entirely in a spray of frozen shards.
"Tsk…" Gara hissed under his breath, immediately raising both arms.
From the earth beneath his feet, thick wooden walls surged upward in overlapping layers, forming a protective barricade that groaned and shuddered with each impact.
While the walls held firm—barely—Gara crouched low, placing his palm flat against the rocky ground.
"Let's see where you're hiding…" he muttered.
A tiny root slithered from his hand and vanished into the earth.
Gara closed his eyes, focusing.
Through that living thread, he could feel the mountain's heartbeat—the crackle of lightning above, the trembling stones below—and somewhere within that vast pulse, the faint distortion of movement.
[Blue Cover] had to be close. An E Ranker's reach was limited, and that meant his hiding place couldn't be far.
Soon enough, his focus shattered—along with the wooden walls.
The blue ribbons tore through his defenses in a violent storm, splinters scattering in every direction as the walls collapsed under the onslaught.
The moment they fell, the ribbons surged forward like venomous vipers, darting straight for his arms and legs.
Gara's reaction was instant. "Not this time."
He slammed his palms together, and thick ice walls erupted in front of him, halting the advance of several ribbons mid-flight.
The others twisted around the edges, forcing him to channel power into his legs and leap backward with explosive force, landing several paces away just as the ground he'd stood on moments earlier was shredded to bits.
He didn't waste the breath he caught—his gaze shot toward Leif's ice dome.
Just as he feared, dozens of blue ribbons were thrashing against it, hammering the icy surface with enough pressure to crack the outer layer.
The protective dome trembled under each hit, but unlike the wooden walls, it held.
"Good," Gara muttered under his breath, relief flickering in his chest. "That one can take a beating."
He hadn't made a dome for himself—doing so would've cut off his sight of Leif. And he hadn't hidden with him either; that would've only drawn the attacks closer to the blonde-haired young man.
Gara exhaled sharply, cold mist leaving his lips. This was turning into a tricky battle.
'Should I have used it from the start?' he wondered, clenching his fists as another ribbon cracked against the ice.
His trump card—the Geru.
If he'd drawn it, he could've ended this much faster. But no—he had wanted to test himself.
Because he was finally an E Ranker.
He'd wanted to see what his new strength could do, to measure how far he'd come without relying on his special sword.
But now, as the relentless blue light flared around him, he was forced to face the truth—[Blue Cover] wasn't just another opponent.
He was an experienced E Ranker.
And Gara had only just stepped into the Rank.
Still, he hadn't lost yet—and he didn't plan to.
Sure, [Root of All Things] might fall short of [Blue Cover] in raw power, but that didn't mean he was outmatched.
Gara's Story gave him versatility, a dozen ways to fight where others had one.
Unlike [Blue Cover], who relied solely on those cursed blue ribbons, Gara's arsenal stretched further.
Wood and Ice—two completely different natures, two lessons carved into him through blood and Fragments.
He had learned the ways of the forest from the [Southern Forests], where trees whispered secrets to those who listened.
And the art of frost from [Ice Ninja], where silence and precision meant survival.
Both served him now, roots and frost intertwining under his command, the marks of a Player who'd earned every inch of his strength.
In the next second, the red-haired young man acted.
A snowball formed in his palm—dense, cold, and pulsing with Story Energy. He hurled it into the horizon, and it exploded midair with a sharp crack, releasing a wave of freezing mist that spread like wildfire.
The cold fog rolled over the battlefield, veiling the top of the mountain in a thick, blue haze.
Before the mist could settle, Gara raised his hand again and conjured a ring of wooden walls around himself, their surfaces groaning as they braced against the air's biting chill.
Blue ribbons sliced through the fog, slamming into the barriers with a hiss—but his cover held.
He didn't stop there. Another snowball. Then another. And another. Each one burst in a different direction, weaving the fog thicker until visibility vanished completely.
Soon enough, the entire mountaintop was swallowed in shimmering blue mist. The air turned still, cold enough to sting the lungs.
The ribbons lashed wildly through the haze—but they struck nothing.
Gara's form had vanished.
He let out a quiet chuckle, careful not to let the sound carry through the mist. The last thing he needed was to give away his position.
He focused instead—eyes narrowing, breath steady—as he reconnected with the small root he'd planted earlier.
Through it, he felt the vibrations beneath the ground, tracing faint tremors, searching for movement… for life.
But the reprieve didn't last.
The blue mist began to thin, swirling violently as a sudden gust tore through the mountaintop. The fog dissipated in moments, revealing flashes of movement in the distance—a ripple of blue fabric waving like a flag in the storm.
"Found you," Gara muttered, his tone sharp but restrained. Yet before he could make a move, several blue ribbons whipped through the air, cutting straight toward him.
"Tch." He clicked his tongue and immediately summoned another set of wooden walls. They sprang up before him in a tight ring, taking the brunt of the assault.
Splinters flew as the ribbons carved at them, but he was already moving—his gaze snapping toward Leif.
The ice dome protecting the blonde-haired young man was cracking apart, its once-solid surface now riddled with fractures.
Gara's expression hardened.
He dashed forward, leaping over a broken section of ground, landing beside the dome just as a ribbon sliced past where he'd stood a second earlier.
In one smooth motion, he conjured a wooden sword and slashed, severing the nearest ribbons midair.
Without hesitation, he pressed a palm against the dome's trembling surface.
Cold energy surged from his hand, spreading across the fractures as fresh layers of ice formed, mending the cracks like veins of frozen glass.
"Hold a little longer," he whispered, reinforcing the barrier one last time.
Then, without looking back, he raised another line of wooden walls behind him—their roots twisting upward just in time to block another volley of blue ribbons closing in from the rear.
Though Gara's variety gave him an edge, his body was starting to feel the toll.
Every clash, every counter, every summoned wall or blade—it all built up in his muscles like molten lead. His breathing came a bit heavier now, each exhale frosting the air.
He still had plenty of Cores left; that wasn't the issue. His reserves of power were fine—it was his body that was faltering, his stamina lagging behind the rhythm of battle.
"Tch… not yet," he muttered, reaching into his Storage Space with a quick motion. His fingers closed around a small vial.
Without hesitation, he popped the seal and downed the Energy Potion in one go.
The rush hit instantly.
Heat surged through his limbs, and the haze of fatigue faded, replaced by sharp clarity.
He rolled his shoulders, flexed his fingers, feeling strength return to them like fire reigniting in embers.
But he knew the cost.
"That's it… can't use another one," he murmured to himself, gripping his wooden sword tightly. Any more, and the backlash would cripple him rather than help.
He estimated he had maybe fifteen, twenty minutes left in him before his body gave out completely. After that, he'd be done—no fighting, no moving, nothing but recovery for at least half an hour.
He glanced toward the dome where Leif rested.
The ice still held, though faint cracks webbed its surface. "Just a few more minutes," Gara muttered.
If Leif could get back on his feet soon, they'd have a real shot at turning this around.
But even with that thought, frustration tightened in his chest.
He wanted to win this on his own—prove that his E Rank wasn't just a number, that he could stand toe-to-toe with an experienced fighter like [Blue Cover].
Yet so far… things weren't going his way.
His grip on the wooden sword tightened, knuckles whitening. "Come on, Gara," he whispered. "You didn't level up just to lose your first fight."
Though Gara had tracked [Blue Cover] through the roots planted in the ground, he suspected the assassin had already shifted positions.
The earlier tremors he sensed weren't random—they were movement.
[Blue Cover] was constantly relocating, aware that Gara could trace him through the roots.
The wooden walls around him cracked apart, and Gara twisted his body aside just in time to evade another blue ribbon slicing through the air.
His wooden sword flashed, cutting the ribbon cleanly in two.
He moved forward, surrounding himself with another ring of wooden walls before conjuring clusters of snowballs. His plan was simple—block [Blue Cover]'s vision again.
But it failed before it even began.
Several giant Blue Covers appeared in every direction, their forms translucent and rippling, each blowing strong gusts of wind that scattered the mist from Gara's snowballs.
He clicked his tongue in frustration and raised his hand instead, forming a compact shard of ice and firing it like a bullet toward the spot he had sensed earlier.
The shot vanished into the distance without a sound, and no reaction followed.
Just as he suspected—[Blue Cover] had already moved again.
What now?
He raised another wooden wall, the surface splintering as it caught the incoming blue ribbon. Behind the cover, Gara exhaled sharply, thinking.
Even if he managed to pinpoint [Blue Cover]'s location, he'd have to strike faster than the man could vanish again—and that margin was razor thin.
It frustrated him.
At this rate, he couldn't win without Leif's help, and that thought burned more than any wound.
—End of Chapter.
-------
Just say it already:
Leif: Say what exactly?
Gara: That I bragged too much last chapter and got destroyed in this one.
Leif: Well, I thought you had some cool moves, but... Yeah, I said so.
Gara: Tsk, whatever. Wake up already sleeping prince and help me deal with this guy.
Leif: Fine fine, I'll come save the princess like... Hey, don't go, I was just joking.
Gara left the chat.