Frank woke up the next morning to the sound of bustling streets outside his inn room. He stretched, rolling his shoulders, but the soreness he expected never came. That was odd. He had carried the ridiculously oversized bag all the way to the inn last night, yet he felt completely fine.
"Must be the adrenaline," he muttered to himself as he got dressed.
At the Black Water Guild, the team was already gathered. Tayla greeted him with a smirk. "Sleep well, rookie?"
"Like a corpse. Wait, bad choice of words."
The others chuckled, and Frank took a seat. Raymond was at the reception desk, picking a quest from the board. "C-rank mission: Moon Crawler extermination in the outskirts of Golden Clove."
Frank's brows rose. "Moon Crawlers? What are those, oversized glow-in-the-dark centipedes?"
Kaido snorted. "You wish. Those things move like ghosts and attack in packs. You're lucky this is just a cleanup job and not a full-on infestation."
As they prepared to leave, Frank was handed the team's supply bag—again. He took one look at the sheer size and weight and groaned. "I swear, this thing is getting heavier. Did you guys add bricks to mess with me?"
Tayla leaned on his shoulder with a smirk. "Nope. We just believe in your potential."
Frank sighed. "I hate that you make that sound like a compliment."
The journey to Golden Clove was mostly uneventful, but along the way, Frank noticed something strange. He hadn't felt even a hint of exhaustion despite walking for hours. Normally, even trained adventurers showed signs of fatigue, but he wasn't even breathing heavily.
Tayla noticed too. "Hey, rookie, you're not tired at all, are you?"
Frank paused, flexing his fingers. "Huh... no? That's weird, right?"
Raymond narrowed his eyes. "Interesting."
Frank felt a chill down his spine. At that moment, something deep within him tingled—like an unseen force shifting inside his body. It wasn't painful, but it was unsettling. Before he could dwell on it, they arrived at Golden Clove.
Golden Clove was a sprawling town with cobblestone streets lined with lanterns, glowing softly in the approaching dusk. Despite being a rural village, the technological influences were evident—floating drone-like orbs hovered over buildings, monitoring activities, while sleek metallic structures stood alongside more traditional stonework. Frank took in the strange mix of old-world fantasy and sci-fi advancements with mild awe.
The village chief, an elderly man with a heavy brow, welcomed them into his home. After some formalities, he explained the situation. "We've had multiple sightings of Moon Crawlers during the daytime—something that shouldn't happen. Their behavior is changing. Worse, my son and a group of adventurers set out three days ago and never returned."
Joel frowned. "That's not good."
Frank leaned back in his chair. "Yeah, I've played enough horror games to know this is bad news."
The team made their preparations and set out that night. The village outskirts were eerie under the moonlight, the trees swaying in the wind. Frank stuck close to the group, keeping an eye out for any movement.
As they walked deeper into the forest, Frank couldn't help but compare it to Earth. The trees were massive, with bioluminescent veins running along the bark, glowing faintly blue. Strange floating spores drifted lazily in the air, giving the place an otherworldly vibe. "Okay, so this is definitely different from the woods I'm used to."
Kaido clicked his tongue. "You're way too relaxed for someone on their first extermination quest."
"What can I say? I have a talent for ignoring the imminent possibility of death."
Then, in a split second, the world around them twisted.
A sensation like being sucked through a tube overtook Frank, and before he knew it, he was alone. The dark forest stretched around him, eerily silent.
"Oh, fantastic. Space warping. Just what I needed," he grumbled.
Meanwhile, the others were scattered in different areas, each encountering something unexpected. Tayla and Kaido found themselves facing multiple Moon Crawlers at once, their unexpected aggression forcing them into battle immediately. Raymond and Joel were similarly engaged elsewhere, dealing with the creatures in numbers far beyond what they had anticipated.
Frank, however, had a different kind of encounter. He heard footsteps—two sets, approaching cautiously. Readying himself for a fight, he spun around, only to find two disheveled men emerging from the underbrush. One looked slightly older than him, the other visibly worn from days of survival.
The younger man locked eyes with him, his expression shifting from shock to determination. "You... you're not from around here, are you?"
Frank raised a brow. "What gave it away? My clean clothes or my overwhelming aura of confusion?"
The young man let out a breath. "I'm the son of the village chief. We've been trapped here for days. And if you're here too... that means something far worse is going on."
Frank groaned. "Oh, great. Because things weren't already weird enough."
The older man, who had been silent up until now, let out a weary chuckle. "You don't even know the half of it."
Frank eyed them both. "So, let me guess—you're not just stuck here because you got lost, right?"
The village chief's son, who introduced himself as Elias, shook his head. "No. Something in this forest is messing with time and space. We've tried retracing our steps, marking trees, even using a magic compass. Nothing works."
Frank exhaled, rubbing his temples. "Of course. Why wouldn't this be a simple monster hunt? That would be too easy."
A sudden chittering sound echoed through the trees, cutting their conversation short. Elias stiffened. "They're here."
Glowing, elongated eyes emerged from the darkness, dozens of them. The Moon Crawlers slithered forward, their sharp legs clicking against the forest floor.
Frank clenched his fists. "Right. Time to see if I die instantly or actually get a chance to fight.