The next morning dawned in silence.The air was heavy, the scent of rain blending with the damp fragrance of the forest.Ren Tianyi walked ahead, his wooden staff slung across his back, eyes fixed on the path winding toward the mountains.
Behind him, Draven and Lyra followed quickly, carrying small packs and uneasy expressions.For them, it was the first time leaving the safety of the village.For Ren, it was the first real test.
— "We could still turn back," Lyra murmured, breaking the quiet.Draven smirked.— "Scared of a little mud?"— "Not scared," she retorted. "I just don't want to end up as beast food."
Ren didn't reply.He simply raised a hand and stopped walking.That was all it took—both of them froze.
He knelt, pressing his palm to the ground.Cold seeped into his skin, pulsing faintly—mana.But not the natural kind.
— "Something's nearby," he said quietly.
[Energy detected: unstable][Category: Spirit Beast – Low Rank]
Lyra drew her bow.Draven clenched his fists, fire flickering to life.
Ren didn't step back.— "Don't attack until I say so."
A deep growl rumbled through the woods.Two shapes emerged from the undergrowth—spirit wolves, eyes glowing blue, fangs coated in ethereal light.
Lyra held her breath.Draven tensed.Ren's gaze remained calm, analytical.He studied their movement, their breathing, the angle of the wind.
When the wolves lunged, he spoke.— "Now."
Lyra's arrow cut through the air.Draven's fireball exploded beside it, illuminating the forest path.The attacks collided with the beasts in a burst of flame and light.
One wolf fell instantly.The other darted sideways and lunged at Draven.Ren moved his hand, tracing sigils through the air. A pale-blue circle formed beneath the beast.
[Spell Activated: Minor Arcane Seal]
The wolf froze mid-leap, shackled by glowing chains.Draven twisted and struck—a flaming uppercut like a monk from Baldur's Gate 3, his fist erupting in mana-infused fire.The creature burst into motes of blue smoke.
Silence.Only the echo of breathing.
Ren brushed the dirt from his cloak.— "Good work," he said evenly. "But if you'd attacked before my signal, you'd both be dead."
Draven scowled.— "A warning would've been nice."Ren's eyes narrowed slightly, the faintest of smiles.— "I needed to see if you'd trust me when fear took hold."
Lyra stared at him, startled.That calm voice, the cold logic…He didn't sound like a child.
He sounded like someone who had led before.
⚙️ The Glimmer Beneath the Stone
Hours later, they reached a narrow valley.Rain began to fall softly, drumming against stone and leaves in steady rhythm.
Ren stopped before a moss-covered cliff.— "Here."
Lyra frowned.— "Here? It's just wet rock."
Ren placed his hand against the surface and closed his eyes.Mana vibrated deep within the mountain—dense and ancient.He recognized it instantly from the System's archives.
[Spiritual Ore Detected: Living Iron – Purity 82%]
— "Found it."
Draven grinned.— "So we just smash it and take some, right?"
Ren gave him a sidelong glance.— "Living Iron doesn't yield to brute force. It reacts to the one who tries to touch it."
He pressed his palm firmly against the stone.Blue mana flowed from his fingers, spreading across the rock in glowing lines.The mountain pulsed, like a heartbeat awakening.
Then the ground trembled.Cracks opened in the cliff face, and from within emerged a massive golem, its body made of the same metallic ore, etched with ancient runes.
Lyra's hand tightened around her bow.— "That wasn't in your plan."Ren raised his staff.— "No plan ever survives the first strike."
[Target Detected: Living Iron Guardian – Mid Rank]
Draven moved first, casting Burning Hands, flames roaring from his palms.The golem raised its arm; the fire deflected harmlessly.Lyra loosed an enchanted arrow—Hunter's Mark glowed briefly before shattering on impact.
Ren watched in silence.Every motion, every mana pattern, every rune.Finally, he spoke:
— "Don't aim for the head. The core's below the main rune, center chest."
Draven glanced at him.— "And how do you know that?"Ren didn't answer.
He simply began to draw another sigil—precise, deliberate, deadly.
[Spell Cast: Minor Arcane Seal – Amplified 300%]
The ground cracked, runic chains bursting upward to bind the golem.Lyra's arrow struck the weak point; Draven's Scorching Strike followed, igniting the mark.
The Guardian exploded in a storm of light and molten shards.When the smoke cleared, only rain remained.
Lyra lowered her bow, eyes wide.— "You… planned this, didn't you?"
Ren replied calmly,— "Planning is just seeing what others can't."
He knelt, retrieving a shimmering fragment from the debris.It glowed faintly in his palm, warm to the touch.
[Item Acquired: Living Iron Core (Rare)][Quest 'Forge of the Future': 80% Complete]
Draven exhaled, half-laughing.— "You're terrifying, you know that?"Ren's tone stayed flat.— "Get used to it. We've barely begun."
📜 [Status Window – Immortal Guild]
Leader: Ren Tianyi (Human) – Age: 9 – Class: MageMembers:
Draven Ignis (Half-Dragon) – Age: 10 – Class: Elementalist
Lyra Sylwen (Elf) – Age: 9 – Class: Spirit Archer
Guild Base: Hidden Forest of TianyuConstruction Progress: 7%Active Functions: Potential Observer, Training Log, Group Synergy (Lv.1)Current Quest: Forge of the FutureProgress: 80%Status: Return to the village with the spiritual ore.