The red moon loomed above like a watchful eye, casting a soft, eerie glow that clung to the jagged silhouettes of the forest.
The trees stood tall and menacing, their sharp, crooked branches stabbing upward like a thousand wooden spears, their shadows tangled across the earth like a net spun by some ancient beast.
A small figure stood at the forest's edge, his breathing still uneven, his cheeks streaked with the faint sheen of tears that had yet to dry.
Luis, no more than seven, had the kind of fragile presence that made the night feel even colder. His black hair clung to his forehead, and his brown eyes shimmered with fear barely held back. His tunic, plain and loose, fluttered slightly in the breeze, as if it too was afraid of what lay ahead.
He sniffled one last time and took a shaky step forward, voice trembling but filled with urgency.
"My sister, Elena, was taken by the Shadow Owl in that direction."
The group turned their eyes as one, drawn to the path Luis had pointed out. There, the forest grew wilder. The trees, already dark and gnarled, leaned together as if whispering secrets no one wanted to hear.
Red light pooled across the forest floor like a thin layer of blood, casting the undergrowth in a feverish glow. The air itself looked tainted—touched by crimson, heavy and still.
Luis had pointed toward the deeper part of the forest—a place where the red moon painted everything in a haunting hue, and even the shadows bled with color. It was a place where light didn't just fade.
It drowned.
•••••
Quest Name: Wings in the Crimson Shade
Quest Description:
A tear-streaked boy named Luis pleads for aid at the edge of the Red Forest. His little sister, Elena, was snatched by a Shadow Owl—an elusive and malevolent creature said to nest deep within the forest's blood-colored groves on Floor 2. Time is short, and the forest is growing darker. Venture into the heart of the woods, face what lurks beneath the crimson canopy, and bring Elena safely back.
Quest Requirement:
Escort Elena back to the exit gate of Floor 2 after locating and rescuing her.
Rewards:
• Experience Points
• 2 Gold Coins
•••••
Luis stood still, his voice soft—barely louder than the wind weaving through the blood-colored leaves.
"Please... you're the only ones who can help. My sister and our mother—they're all I have left."
His voice wavered, like it had been carried too far on too little strength. A quiet kind of desperation clung to his words, the sort that came from waiting too long for someone to care.
His eyes, wide and dark beneath the red moon's light, clung to a fragile sliver of hope that hadn't yet snapped.
The forest behind him said nothing, but its silence pressed closer. Shadows stretched long and narrow, like they, too, were listening.
[Heads up. This isn't a one-and-done quest. It's a chain quest—meaning once we say yes to sad boy over there, we're signing up for a whole drama series. Side quests, emotional detours, probably a tragic monologue or two. It's gonna be messy, but worth it.]
Noah exhaled slowly, the sound too quiet to disturb the moment.
"Alright, kid. We'll see this through."
Luis didn't speak. He just looked up, and in the red-tinted quiet, something small but real lit up behind his eyes. Not joy. Not yet. But hope, faint and flickering—like a candle that hadn't gone out, even in all that dark.
Noah turned toward the path ahead, the one Luis had pointed to—where the trees grew thicker and the light bled red through the twisted branches. That part of the forest looked quieter than the rest, not because there was peace, but because even sound seemed afraid to linger there.
"Lead the way, big guy. Looks like we're in for a long one."
"You can count on me, my friend."
Their steps soon found rhythm, the group moving as one through the dim corridor of thorns and tangled roots.
But after just a few paces, Noah slowed. His eyes narrowed slightly, drawn by the soft shuffle of smaller footsteps behind them.
Luis was following.
"Whoa, hold up. Where do you think you're going, little shadow-chaser? This is a rescue run, not a school trip. Let the players handle the hard part."
"I want to come. I just want to see her safe with my own eyes. That's all. I promise—I won't slow anyone down."
The boy's voice didn't rise, didn't plead. It simply held steady, the way a candle might flicker but refuse to go out.
His steps weren't brave, but they were certain, and in that certainty was something harder to shake off than fear.
Noah crossed his arms, expression unreadable, though his tone hovered somewhere between dry honesty and reluctant restraint.
"I mean… not trying to crush your tiny spirit here, but you kind of already are a burden."
June raised a hand slowly, as if casting judgment required dramatic timing.
"Wow. I thought you were just emotionally bankrupt, but no—turns out you're morally bankrupt as well. Splendid job, you're nothing if not consistent."
Noah didn't flinch. If anything, he looked like someone stating facts no one wanted to hear.
"And I'm the bad guy now? Look, we can't pull off a rescue while hauling around an NPC. I've played enough RPGs to know where this is headed—tragic cutscene, emotional music, and at least one person dying for the drama. Spoiler alert: it'll be the one with the least plot armor. Best case? We toss him up front and hope the enemy wastes their critical hit on him. They don't die anyway."
Fiona said nothing. Her eyes simply moved with the rhythm of their voices, flicking from one speaker to the next like she was watching a game of catch where the ball was a live grenade.
June's gaze sharpened, her voice calm, but every word edged with quiet heat.
"Why do you treat them like they're not even real? Like they don't matter at all?"
"Because they're not. They're lines of code with fancy dialogue trees."
"Oh… right. So, just because someone isn't complete by your standards, they don't count anymore? That's rich. By that logic, anyone born with missing pieces—be it a limb, a memory, or a voice—should be thrown out like broken furniture."
Noah blinked once, his brows drawing together in visible confusion.
"I… genuinely don't know how we got from quest NPCs to… that."
Aiko raised her hand slowly, as though the motion carried weight she wasn't used to holding. Her voice was soft, barely audible, like each word had to pass through layers of hesitation before reaching the air.
"I… I'll stay close to him. If I can't fight like the rest of you… then maybe I can still do something useful. Even if it's just a little."
"You're far too sweet, Aika."
"It's… Aiko, June-san. But… if you forget, that's okay. You can call me anything. I don't mind."
Noah let out a quiet shrug, unbothered and unmoved.
"It's your call. Just don't say I didn't warn you. I'm not heartless—I'm just realistic."
"It is decided then. Little Luis, you are coming with us," Dimitri said.
The group moved forward in measured silence, their steps weaving through roots and low branches, with Luis carefully placed at the center like something fragile they couldn't afford to break.
The trees around them grew denser, their twisted limbs closing in like a cage of thorns, and the red moon above filtered down in thin slashes, staining the path in eerie streaks of light.
They passed beneath arching boughs and shadow-drenched groves, each step muffled by layers of fallen leaves and moss.
It didn't take long.
From somewhere beyond the tangled underbrush, the silence broke. Sharp rustling surged through the woods—too fast, too purposeful to be the wind. It was movement. Surrounding them.
Noah's flintlocks were in his hands before the sound had finished echoing. Robocrab perched on his shoulder gave a sharp, jittery twitch, its glowing eye pulsing red as its claws flexed, ready to respond.
"Get ready."
With a flick of her wrist, a wooden wand spiraled into June's hand, its grain shimmering faintly in the red-tinted gloom.
A ripple of magic answered from nearby, and a steel quarterstaff formed in Fiona's grasp, humming faintly as it locked into her fingers like it had always belonged there.
From the depths of the red forest, the sound grew louder—a rhythm of grinding limbs and scraping earth. The shadows twisted, and from the darkness between the trees emerged six hulking figures.
They were ants, but grotesquely oversized, each one easily the height of a grown man's chest. Their bodies were armored in a dull, rust-colored sheen, the plates clanking with each unnatural step as if their joints no longer knew softness.
Their movements were jerky, like something was pulling invisible strings. Their black, glassy eyes stared forward without focus or awareness, void of thought, emotion, or instinct. The kind of gaze that didn't see—it only targeted.
Their mandibles twitched in slow, rhythmic clicks, slicing at the air as if already carving the shape of their next victim. Crawling across their backs, sprouting from their thoraxes and heads, were clusters of pale purple mushrooms—soft, spongy things that pulsed faintly in the red light. They clung like tumors, feeding off what little life remained in their hosts.
Parasites.
[Tier 1: Zombie Ant — Level 2]
•••••
Quest Name: Spores of Mercy
Quest Description:
In the shadowed depths of the Red Forest, a grim sight halts your steps—six grotesque Zombie Ants, their exoskeletons split with fungal growths writhing like parasitic roots. These once-proud forest dwellers now shuffle in agony, their minds devoured by the vile mushrooms blooming from within. Put an end to their torment. Grant them peace where none remains.
Quest Requirement:
Slay all six Zombie Ants infested by parasitic mushrooms.
Rewards:
• Experience Points
•••••
The six Zombie Ants moved without a sound, scattering like shards of red glass across the forest floor. Their legs cut grooves into the dirt as they fanned out with mechanical precision, surrounding the group in a slow, tightening circle.
The rustle of their bodies brushing against low-hanging branches blended with the unnatural clanking of their shells, a rhythm that built tension in the air like a drumbeat before a storm.
Their eyeless stares never wavered. There was no hunger. No hesitation. Only stillness, like blades waiting to fall.
"What's the catch with these ants, Eve?"
[Bad news buffet. These things don't die unless you burn them to ash. And they hit harder than they look. Think of it like fighting two monsters wearing the same exoskeleton. Twice the trouble, half the mercy.]