Chapter 5 – Flames & Monsters.

The morning sun filtered through the branches and leaves of the western forest of Algora, casting soft beams onto the forest floor. The Silver Star team moved quietly through the dense foliage, venturing deeper into the woods.

At the front walked Rein, an A-rank warrior, his great sword slung across his back but always within his reach. Flanking him were Silvyi, a composed A-rank mage with affinities for water and wind, and Lysa, an A-rank mage who commanded fire and earth. Close behind, Elin, a B-rank light mage and the team's healer, walked alongside Faren, a B-rank dark mage keeping a sharp eye on their surroundings.

"Something's not right with the forest," Rein muttered, slowing his steps and scanning the path ahead.

Lysa dropped to one knee beside a blackened clearing, pressing her palm against the scorched earth. "Still warm," she said grimly. "Whatever caused this... it's definitely a high-ranking monster."

Faren glanced around uneasily. "And there's no sign of any other monsters or animals. The forest feels... empty."

Just as the words left his mouth, the ground trembled—soft at first, then heavier. Leaves shook. Branches creaked.

Then came the blast of searing heat.

A fire serpent, as thick as two tree trunks and longer than a pair of wagons, slithered out from behind a rocky ridge. Its molten-red scales pulsed with heat, radiating with such intensity that the air around it gets distorted.

Elin gasped. "That's—an elemental serpent. A fire variant!"

"They shouldn't be in this area!!," Silvyi said, eyes narrowing.

The beast lunged.

Rein charged first, slamming his great sword against the serpent's side. Sparks flew, but the beast's scales resisted. It snapped at him, tail lashing—Rein barely rolled away.

The serpent reared up and spewed a wave of flame. Lysa raised an earth wall just in time. "Don't use fire spells," she warned. "It'll absorb them."

Rein jumped high into the air, using a thick branch to vault even higher. With his momentum amplified, he brought his great sword down in a powerful arc, cleaving through the serpent's tail. The blade sliced through the molten scales with a hiss, severing a chunk in a burst of searing red blood.

The serpent let out a deafening, enraged scream Its eyes locked onto Rein, mouth glowing bright with internal flame.

"Fire breath incoming!" Lysa shouted.

Before it could unleash the fire breath, Silvyi hurled a high-pressure water ball at its head. The spell hissed and steamed on impact, disrupting the breath long enough for Rein to roll away safely—but the damage was minimal.

Silvyi's brow furrowed. "That barely did anything…"

Her eyes widened with realization. "I need to go bigger." she signals Faren..

Faren pulled out a shimmering flask from his pouch and handed it to Silvyi. "Here. Mana boost potion. I'll distract it."

he stepped in beside her, twin daggers drawn. Faren dashed low and fast, illusions swirling from his form like shadowed clones. They zipped around the serpent, drawing its focus.

Then, Faren himself leapt from the tree towards the serpent's head and drove one of his daggers deep into its left eye.

The monster screamed, head whipping violently.

"Got its attention!" Faren shouted, rolling away just in time as the serpent smashed down where he had stood.

"Keep it busy!" Silvyi called, her magic swirling around her. A tunnel of condensed wind began to form in the air, spiraling tightly.

Lysa raised twin stone pillars from the earth, binding the creature's lower half. "It's restrained. But not for long!"

Water surged into the spiral, slowly shaping into a glowing orb at the center.

"Cover her!" Rein ordered.

The serpent thrashed, breaking free of one of the stone pillars. It lunged again, but Rein intercepted with a sideways slash, carving a deep wound into its side. Lysa reinforced a pillar, driving it into the serpent's midsection. 

The serpent thrashed violently, and the force sent Rein stumbling back. Elin darted to Rein, her hands glowing as she healed a scorched burn on his shoulder.

The swirling tunnel stabilized, and the gleaming orb at its center compressed into a powerful ball of churning water.

Silvyi thrust both hands forward. "WATER CANNON—FIRE!"

The spell shot through the tunnel of wind, a piercing cannonball of compressed water propelled at impossible speed. It struck the serpent's head with a thunderous boom.

BOOM.

The impact cracked the air. A geyser of steam erupted from the blast, shaking the surrounding trees. Several of them splintered and fell as the serpent's head was violently flung back—its skull crushed. Its body twitched… then stilled.

It collapsed, lifeless.

Rein exhaled slowly and lowered his blade. "Everyone alright?"

"All injuries handled," Elin reported, nodding to the others.

Silvyi staggered slightly, sweat dripping down her brow. "That spell nearly emptied my mana reserves,"

Faren gave her a big smile. "That was awesome."

Lysa stood near the beast's body. "We need to report this. This isn't normal."

"No time to rest" Rein said, already approaching the corpse. "Alright, let's start harvesting."

Working swiftly, they cracked open the serpent's chest. Nestled inside, a glowing orange mana stone pulsed faintly—radiating fire energy.

Lysa carefully retrieved it. "This is great, it will fetch good money."

They gathered scales, and fangs, storing each in Lysa's enchanted pouch. The air still shimmered with heat as they stepped back from the harvested remains.

Rein wiped his blade clean and looked toward the dimming sky.

"Dawn's close," he muttered. "We'll have to camp nearby."

Silvyi, still tired nodded in agreement. " Hmm, I need a bit more time before I can walk all the way back anyway."

Faren reached into his satchel and pulled out a palm-sized artifact—a compass-like device. A small crystal hovered at its center, pulsing gently.

He fills the artifact with mana. The crystal floats and points towards the east flickered green. "We are still quite further away from the city gate."

With that done, they set up camp. Lysa gathered firewood and kindled a fire. Rein and Faren pitched the tent, checking the perimeter with practiced efficiency. Elin pulled out packed rations and shared them around.

Silvyi sat with her back against a tree. "I'd like to soak in a hot bath."

"You nearly did," Faren joked, biting into a strip of dried meat. "That cannon spell."

They laughed, the tension from the earlier battle slowly dissolving into the crackle of fire and the comfort of shared food.

"I wonder how something like that serpent got here," Elin said softly, gazing at the canopy above. "It felt… wrong."

Suddenly, a low, guttural growl echoed from the trees beyond.

The party froze.

"That wasn't a wolf," Lysa whispered, already rising to her feet.

Weapons were drawn. They followed the sound, creeping through the underbrush.

Then they saw it.

A figure stepped into view between two trees. Humanoid in shape, but clearly not human. It was tall—almost twice the height of a man—with bulging, twisted limbs. Its arms were malformed, clumped together like melting flesh, and its head was tilted unnaturally. Its legs were thick and overgrown, like an ogre's, but it's posture twitched and shifted like a puppet yanked by invisible strings.

Silvyi whispered, "What… is that?"

Elin took a step back. "That thing… that's not in any bestiary I've studied."

Then, without warning, the creature turned its head—no, its entire torso twisted—toward them. Glowing, unfocused eyes locked on their location.

In a blur, it vanished.

"Where—!?" Faren's voice cut short as he scanned the darkness. No movement. No sound. Nothing.

Rein said slowly, sword raised. "It disappeared."

"No footsteps. No mana trail," Lysa added, eyes wide. "That was no normal monster."

Rein looked at the others. "We're leaving. Now."

They rushed back to camp, packed in record time, barely speaking. The artifact glowed, guiding them with a soft green light through the forest. They moved swiftly, weapons drawn. None of them looked back.