THE ISLAND — BEFORE RAID
The platform floated in endless darkness.
No horizon.
No sun.
Just an empty void.
Five glowing screens appeared in front of Levi.
──────────────────────────
PARTY 1 — RAID TEAM
Assigned by: Lord
• Levi — Class: Swordsman — Weapon: Iron Sword
• Aiden — Class: Berserker — Weapon: Great Axe
• Freya — Class: Ranger — Weapon: Bow + Dagger
• Noah — Class: Marksman — Weapon: Crossbow
• Yuki — Class: Healer — Weapon: Staff
──────────────────────────
Yuki's hands shook around her staff.
"Are… we really ready for this?"
Levi didn't answer in reassurance.
He answered in truth.
"Readiness doesn't matter. Surviving does."
A bell-tone echoed.
DONG.
A portal spiraled open.
[ Portal Ready — Floor 2 Accessible ]
Aiden cracked his knuckles.
"Time to grind."
One by one, they stepped inside.
The portal sealed behind them.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
FLOOR 2 — FOREST OF THE ROTTEN
Fog.
Rot.
Silence.
The trees were twisted, black, and dead.
Every breath was damp and cold.
A system window appeared only to Levi.
──────────────────────────
[ MISSION — FLOOR 2 ]
Objective:
• Kill 10 Goblins
• Kill 10 Zombies
──────────────────────────
Levi closed it and didn't say the numbers out loud.
"Freya. Tree. Vision."
No hesitation — she climbed the nearest tree.
Eyes sharp.
Bow ready.
After a few seconds, she whispered down:
"Goblins in the east… around ten.
Zombies in the west."
Aiden grinned.
"Perfect. I crush goblins first."
Yuki's voice trembled.
"W… why not just avoid both sides?"
Levi shook his head.
"We can't. Mission won't complete unless every monster is dead."
They didn't understand how he knew that.
But they believed him anyway.
Levi lifted his sword.
"Formation. Aiden front. Freya high ground. Noah mid-range. Yuki rear support. I fill gaps."
Everyone tensed.
They waited.
Fog shifted.
Goblins emerged from the east — rapid, screeching, armed with bone knives.
From the west, zombies lurched into view — slow but relentless.
They were surrounded from both sides.
Yuki choked on her breath.
"We're… stuck between them…"
Levi replied without turning.
"Then we cut our way out."
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
THE FIRST COLLAPSE
Freya fired the first arrow — clean headshot.
Noah followed with a crossbow bolt.
Aiden charged with a roar, axe cleaving a goblin's shoulder.
For a moment, it looked manageable.
Then the undead groaning grew louder.
Zombies sped up, breaking into a full sprint.
Noah's crossbow shook.
"H-hey, why are they running—"
A system window flashed in front of Levi.
Visible only to LORD & Levi:
──────────────────────────
[ Fear Detected — Hero: Noah ]
Accuracy reduced by 25 percent
──────────────────────────
Levi grit his teeth.
Fear was already damaging them.
"Hold formation!" he shouted.
Aiden kept swinging like a wild animal, ignoring spacing.
Freya tried to maintain range, but goblins kept flanking.
Yuki's breathing grew rapid.
"Mend… mend…"
Her voice cracked.
A goblin leaped at her.
"Yuki move!" Levi yelled—
But her body froze.
Another system window appeared:
──────────────────────────
[ FEAR: PARALYSIS ]
Movement speed: 0 percent
Reaction: Disabled
──────────────────────────
Only Levi and LORD could see this.
Levi dashed—
Too late.
A zombie grabbed Yuki's arm and bit deep.
"AAAAAAHHH!"
Aiden turned back.
"YUKI!"
Freya fired desperately, arrows shaking.
Yuki cried, tears streaking through dirt and blood.
"Levi… help me…"
Levi reached her, cutting down two undead—
But a goblin stabbed her side.
She collapsed.
Her hand reached toward him.
"I… don't want to die…"
And she shattered into light.
──────────────────────────
[ HERO DELETED ]
Remaining Members: 4
──────────────────────────
Silence.
No cheers.
No victory music.
Just horror.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
FULL PANIC
Formation shattered instantly.
Aiden lost control.
"I'LL KILL ALL OF THEM!"
He charged into the goblins alone.
Noah backed away, hyperventilating.
"We have to retreat! We can't win!"
Freya snapped her bowstring from firing too fast.
"M-my weapon—!"
System flashed again:
──────────────────────────
[ Random Fear Effect Triggered — HERO PANIC ]
ATK efficiency: –30 percent
Defense coordination: –40 percent
──────────────────────────
Zombies closed in.
Goblins surrounded.
They were collapsing.
Aiden took a blade to the thigh and fell.
Noah screamed as a zombie bit into his shoulder.
Levi grabbed Freya and pushed her behind him.
"Stay. Behind. Me."
And then—
He moved.
Cut.
Step.
Parry.
Blood sprayed across leaves.
He took hits.
He bled.
He didn't stop.
Freya fired broken-accuracy arrows.
Noah stabbed with bolts instead of shooting them.
Aiden kept swinging despite the wound.
They were falling apart, but they fought.
The final goblin fell.
──────────────────────────
[ MISSION COMPLETE ]
All monsters defeated
──────────────────────────
Flash of light.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
THE ISLAND — AFTER RAID
Wounds vanished instantly.
Health bars restored.
But…
Yuki did not reappear.
A grave silence settled over the platform.
Aiden clenched his fists.
Noah dropped to his knees and sobbed.
Freya whispered, voice shaking:
"Why didn't the portal save her too…?"
Levi didn't answer.
A new system alert appeared above him.
Visible only to LORD & Levi:
──────────────────────────
HERO DEFEAT CONFIRMED
Revival: Not available outside Sanctuary
──────────────────────────
Somewhere in a bedroom on Earth…
The LORD — a normal school girl — stared at the alert on her monitor.
Her mouse slipped from her hand.
"I… I killed her…"
Her voice cracked.
"They're just… AI… right…?"
No answer.
Back on the island—
Levi stared at the empty space where Yuki once stood.
He whispered to himself.
"This world isn't a game."
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
END OF CHAPTER 4