Chapter 5: Main Area

The courtyard stank of blood and smoke.

Six beast corpses lay scattered across the stone—limbs twisted, dark fur matted with drying gore. The cold air did little to mask the copper tang that lingered after the fight.

Jett leaned against the outer wall, hand resting loosely on the hilt of his sheathed sword. His breath had finally steadied, but the adrenaline still lingered—faint tremors in his fingers, an edge in his focus that wouldn't dull.

That had been real combat.

Fast. Brutal. Unforgiving.

He looked at his system screen, mentally sorting through the aftermath.

[Status Update – Floor One]Experience Gained: +500Skill Proficiency: Windpiercer – ModerateLoot Gained: Beast Fang x4, Ridge Hide x3, Raw Meat x2

No level up. No flashy new skill. No titles. Just a few crafting materials and an uptick in his proficiency bar.

And honestly? That felt right.

This world wasn't about luck. Not for him.

It was about work.

Emily knelt near one of the corpses, carefully slicing a fang from the beast's jaw with a basic dagger.

"These are from a Ridgebeast," she said quietly. "That's what the Mage Spire's bestiary called them."

"Tier one monsters?" Lyra asked from the watchtower stairs. She was seated, legs stretched out, cleaning her bowstring with a cloth she'd taken from the outpost's barracks.

Emily nodded. "Yeah. Group predators. Low intelligence. But high perception and coordination."

"Smart enough to surround a fortified location," Jett added.

"Which means they're not the biggest threat on this floor," Lyra said, glancing out toward the forest. "Just the first."

After disposing of the corpses—burning what they could in the outpost's firepit and burying the rest—they regrouped in the mess hall.

Jett tossed the loot onto the table, the Ridge Hide making a dull thud as it landed. "Anyone want to try making anything with this?"

"Not yet," Lyra said. "We don't know what the crafting limitations are. Could waste it."

Emily was already flipping through her system screen. "There's a 'Refinement' option under Inventory," she said. "If we get artisan help—or reach the Floor's main area—maybe we can turn this into actual gear."

That made Jett pause. "Floor's main area?"

Emily looked up. "Every floor is supposed to have one. A city or stronghold maintained by the Tower's natural inhabitants. The safe zone. It's not visible on the map until you find it."

"And we're currently in...?"

Jett opened his map. The outpost they stood in was marked as 1-A, but the rest of the floor was still fogged.

"We'll have to explore," he said. "Scout forward and hope we find the main zone before something stronger finds us."

Lyra leaned back in her chair. "Wonderful. So we're blind, exposed, and surrounded by snowwolves that want to eat us."

"Basically."

She smirked. "Sounds like fun."

That night, Jett took first watch.

The barracks were dark and quiet. Emily had claimed the bunk closest to the window and was already asleep, her staff propped carefully beside her. Lyra had passed out on top of the covers, still in her armor, bow beneath her hand.

Jett stood on the outpost wall, staring at the woods beyond.

They hadn't gained much, not in the flashy sense most players back in the tutorial town would expect. No new abilities. No passive bonuses. No titles.

But he'd felt something change during the fight.

His movements had flowed more naturally. His blade had followed his will without resistance. That wasn't a reward—it was understanding. The system hadn't gifted it to him. He'd earned it. Strike by strike. Form by form.

[Skill Proficiency Update – Windpiercer]Progress: 42% → 56%

Every movement mattered.

He adjusted his grip on the sword hilt and quietly moved through the first form—slow, controlled, no wasted motion.

Windpiercer was more than a skill. It was a language. And he was learning it word by word.

The next morning, they packed light and departed the outpost, leaving the burned remains of the Ridgebeasts behind.

Their goal: uncover the main area of Floor One.

The forest grew denser as they pushed forward—paths narrowing, terrain rising and falling with hidden valleys and steep inclines. They avoided large clearings. When they found animal tracks, they took detours.

It was slow work.

But it was also progress.

Along the way, Emily began using small mana pulses to test the magical density of the environment. "The main area should give off a signature," she explained. "Natural mana anchors. I'll know when we're close."

Lyra practiced trick shots as they walked—ricochet arrows, snap shots from odd angles. Jett trained his awareness, using trees as imaginary enemies, flowing from one Windpiercer form into the next with increasing speed.

They didn't talk much, but the silence was no longer awkward.

They were becoming a unit.

By midday, they reached a ridge that overlooked a wide, snow-dappled basin.

At the center stood a towering stone wall, with banners fluttering from watchtowers carved into the cliffside. A river curved past the front gate, and small figures moved within—patrolling, loading carts, tending fires.

[SYSTEM UPDATE – Main Area Discovered]Floor One: "Brackenridge Hold" unlocked.All support systems (crafting, restocking, mission boards) now accessible.Fast Travel from Floor Gate activated.

They stood in silence, gazing down at the stronghold.

Jett smiled.

It wasn't a reward. It wasn't a skill.

But it was something earned.

And that made it real.