Chapter 34: Proof

Chapter 34: Chapter 34: Proof

The deeper they went into the Forgotten Valley, the less it felt like a valley.

No birds. No bugs. Even the wind had given up. The giant trees on the slope were twisted and pale, their branches locked together overhead like a wooden roof. A few thin shafts of light made it through, flashing patches on the ground but gone the second later.

Allan stayed near the middle of the group, eyes constantly checking the trees and the people around him.

They had left the Mimic behind along with the blood. One of the A-rankers was missing an arm. Another could barely walk, but they had survived. That was better than not being alive. Yes, they defeated it, he defeated it, but it didn’t feel like winning.

He again realized that yes, the patterns matched the game, but real life was real life. The Mimic had been Level 84, but it didn’t stagnate with the same moves. It weirdly adapted. Every time they changed tactics, it changed too.

Allan had seen monsters in Yggdrasil before. Those always needed special dungeon rules. They didn’t just invent tricks because a party walked into their turf.

This world was doing something the game never had. Maybe the game had always hidden it, but he shut that thought as that second option bothered him more.

"Stop."

Lira’s voice was quiet. Only the people closest to her heard it.

Allan and Diva froze. "What happened, another Mimic?" they asked.

Lira didn’t turn to them; she kept staring, her eyes partially dark as she gazed into the trees.

Allan followed her eyes. Nothing but trunks, roots and shadows. "What did you sense, another monster?"

Lira’s fingers slowly clenched the sleeve of her dress. "It’s..."

"Is it that human again?"

She hesitated. "No. I don’t know. Just be careful."

That answer put Allan on alert. Lira’s mana sense had gotten sharp lately. She picked up things even his Appraisal sometimes missed, whatever was waking up inside her. He wasn’t calling it safe, as he was more afraid of what the witch she would turn out to be than some S-rank monster or some strange hooded guy.

Eventually, they reached a monument. Another anomaly Allan wasn’t aware of.

It stood in a clearing. At first Allan thought it was a weird rock formation. A black stone pillar rose twenty meters high, covered in names. Hundreds. Maybe thousands. Some were carved clearly enough to read after centuries. Others were almost gone under moss and pale vines.

Diva stepped into the clearing and looked up. "What is this? The guild has no information on monuments or any structure in the valley."

Allan didn’t answer. He was staring at the bottom. The words were old. The language wasn’t. It was the language the System used. The same one players used. The same one he used.

He stepped closer. Names of adventurers. Kings. Mages. Whole parties. Some with dates. Some with causes of death. He ignored most of them. His eyes locked on one name that had no business being here.

It was the same as what he saw before.

His own, but the extra word was also there.

SEVENTH GOD

Under it three words:

PLAYER DECEASED MAYBE LOST

Allan didn’t move for seconds as sweat beads started to pour out from his forehead.

Diva noticed first. "Allan, what happened? You look unwell?"

He didn’t answer. He couldn’t answer. There was no mistake now. The title. It belonged to him. Nobody in this world should know that name. Nobody except a player. The nonsense the dragon muttered was indeed true.

He reached out and touched the letters.

Diva looked towards them. "Okay, I’m calling it. We go back. One of us is already injured, and Allan is feeling sick. Nothing is going according to plan."

"We are already here. We can’t just cancel the mission," one of the mages said. "We are A-rank adventurers. Our name, our title, they will mean nothing if we go back."

"Sheena, you arrogant—" Diva muttered.

"Shush." Allan said, pointing up.

A soft scrape came from above and everyone looked up.

A man stood on top of the monument. Dark robes covering most of him. A narrow white strip across one side, bright against the black. Face hidden under a hood.

Allan activated Appraisal. Nothing. He tried again. Again, nothing. The System didn’t even register a target. That had only happened before with Kael. Even Kael had shown up as "threat beyond ability." This guy showed up as if he didn’t exist at all.

The figure looked down at Allan and only Allan. Then he smiled. Allan’s hand moved toward his weapon as the man slowly raised one finger.

Then he spoke.

"One does exist. The prophecy was right. A player would rise once more."

Allan froze. The figure stepped backward. Everyone expected some kind of magic flash or a teleportation circle, but no, there was no mana burst. He just stepped into the shadow behind him and was gone.

Diva rushed forward and checked the top of the monument, then looked down. "Where did he go?"

"Let’s see," the man’s voice echoed from all around. "If you are really one of the gods."

Then suddenly, Appraisal kicked in.

[Forgotten Wolf]

[Level: 72]

[Environmental Adaptation: Active]

Three more. Then five. Then ten.

Diva drew her weapons. "Looks like the Valley doesn’t want us hanging around."

Allan gave the monument one last look. The glowing words had faded. He still didn’t know who carved his name or who the robed man was. But he knew this had become more than a mission.

"Everyone move," Allan said. "Wolves incoming!"

The wolves charged from the bushes. Diva was already gone, into the pack before he could stop her. Blades flashed. One wolf dropped in one single slash. Another lunged from behind, and she twisted aside, but the creature changed direction mid-air. Surprised, she barely blocked as the hit drove her back.

Allan watched. He could end the whole pack in seconds. He didn’t. Not yet. Because the way that monster moved had caught his attention. It was adapting in real time.

But the monster wasn’t alone. Even Diva was adapting fast as well.

Her blade slammed into the wolf’s skull and bounced. She cursed and rolled as claws tore up the dirt where her head had been. "That ain’t no normal wolf behavior!"

Allan stood a few meters away. "I noticed. We are in the valley. Expect the unexpected."

"You could have mentioned it! You were friends with valley people."

"You and me, we both know I don’t know that guy."

She glared. "You’re unbelievable."

Allan didn’t say much. He had nothing in his defense. The hooded guy was literally looking at him and pointing at him.

Another wolf lunged again. This time she didn’t back up like usual. She stepped in. Claws came down, right at her, ready to scratch her bare white skin, but she rotated at the last second, let them pass over her shoulder, then drove a blade into the soft joint under its foreleg. The wolf screamed, twisted in agony and collapsed for good.

She yanked the blade free and looked at him. "Why the sudden silence?"

Allan kept his silence as the veins on her forehead started to twitch.

"Let’s see how long your silence lasts after I deal with these, and you’re gonna spit out whatever you’re hiding."

Another wolf came from the side, and Diva was now a whole new being, more aggressive. She ducked under its jaws, struck once. Blocked. Changed angles. Blocked again. The creature was starting to predict her, but she was much wilder than the world itself.

Allan saw it immediately. That expression. The one he remembered from the boss fight he’d run dozens of times. The woman who eventually became one of the scariest combatants in Yggdrasil.

She suddenly rushed forward and deliberately left her left side open. The wolf took the bait. Claws aimed for her ribs. She twisted once more. Blade under the jaw, ripping apart its neck, blood spurting everywhere.

And she stood there, breathing hard.

Allan’s eyes narrowed. She had learned its pattern in seconds. The game had turned that ability into a boss mechanic. Now he was watching the real thing.

His Investment interface appeared.

[Investment Opportunity Detected]

[Target: Diva]

[Current Potential: S-Rank Combatant]

He stared at the System as a smile came. He finally knew romance wasn’t the way with Diva. No, he was going the wrong path. But he knew now. The way to conquer Diva was rage. Utter rage.