protagonist or not - I

At that very moment, the system alert invaded their senses, throwing them into high alert.

With adrenaline surging, their eyes scanned the area, trying to anticipate the enemy's movement.

— Yumi, Empolo-Man, move up! Time to smoke the snake! ordered Lily, a wide smile lighting up her face, her excitement spilling over into pure determination.

They had finally found their opponent, and the sight left them stunned: a treant — a monstrous, towering tree.

It disguised itself as part of the scenery, but up close, the deception crumbled: its bark moved like flesh, and branches twisted into grotesque limbs. At the center of its trunk, a sticky mouth opened in sepulchral silence, and its large, opaque eyes revealed a darkness so deep it swallowed sight and left only horror to the imagination.

— Alright. 2x.

The attackers charged in a coordinated movement, flanking the treant while Carlos held his shield firm, absorbing the creature's brutal strikes.

BOOM!!! BOOM!!! BOOM!!!

The treant's twisted branches slammed against the shield, each impact reverberating through the area and forcing Carlos back.

Victor, agile like a cat, and Robinson, with the ferocity of a cornered rat, were already positioned just five meters from the monster. A single glance between them was all they needed to seal the plan.

They charged together — an explosion of speed against the stunned creature.

But the treant, as if possessing a sixth sense, halted its attack on the shield and spun with surprising speed. Its branches whipped toward Victor's head.

SWISH!!! SWISH!!!

The surprise hit Victor like a blade. Eyes wide, he had no time to think — he poured all his strength into his legs and dropped into a desperate crouch. The twisted wood of the branches whizzed just above his scalp.

Meanwhile, Robinson seized the opening. He lunged in a flash and carved an "X" into the trunk with his claws.

Lily, aware of the impending danger, stepped further back. The treant's ability to spin and strike in all directions signaled a clear need for caution.

— Shaolin, now! she shouted, putting her whole breath into the call.

Carlos pressed the shield to his chest, adrenaline surging through his veins, and charged at high speed. The massive tank armor creaked in protest, but he ignored the sound, focused solely on the fight.

— Hahahaha!

His laughter echoed through the area — a wild, primal war cry. This first battle in the new game was everything he hoped for: savage, thrilling, pure adrenaline.

But the opponent wasn't just a punching bag. As Carlos drew closer, the treant moved with surprising speed for its size, its upper body lunging forward in a ferocious strike.

BONG!! BONG!! BONG!! BONG!!

Victor, keeping his distance, watched the treant with surgical precision. He hadn't thrown a single punch yet, choosing instead to analyze, searching for an opening — a weakness. His eyes scanned every detail of the creature.

Then he saw it — at the base of the treant. The roots, thick and gnarled, still clung to the soil, connecting it to the ground. A subtle smile crossed his lips.

"So that's it…" Victor thought, the realization clicking into place.

With that in mind, he sprinted toward the creature. The ten-meter distance shrank rapidly. His eyes locked on Carlos, still bearing the full brunt of the monster's strikes.

BAM!!! BAM!!!

With a sharp roar, the creature took two violent blows to the back from Victor's fists. A branch, fast as lightning, sliced through the air toward him. Caught off guard, Victor couldn't dodge in time.

Player HP: 80/100

Monster HP: 60/100

The attackers retreated in unison, putting distance between them and the enemy. The tree, once a walking nightmare, wilted — returning to its dormant form.

— Damn it! A ranged class would've handled that easy! Carlos spat, his voice laced with fury, glaring at the rat-man.

Empolo-Man looked at his friend's face, half-hidden beneath his helmet, and let out a shrill, almost demonic laugh.

— Cry more, it's not enough yet, he mocked, in a tone that would make a gravedigger blush.

Carlos clenched his fists, itching to draw his short sword and slash that damn rat-man to bits. The urge to teach him a painful lesson surged through his veins.

— Ladies, not now, Lily interrupted, her voice slicing through the air like a blade.

— We've got work to do. You two can settle your chicken fight later.

She glanced at the treant for a moment, her expression unreadable, then continued:

— With this approach, we won't even scratch that thing. We need something stronger… like a chainsaw. But actually, maybe we *do* have an advantage. I noticed it attacks everything it sees, regardless of what's behind it. That's how Yumi and Empolo-Man managed to land their hits. We can use that.

— Exactly! And one more thing — it doesn't move like normal treants. Probably level 2 or 4 at most, Yumi added, removing his boxing gloves.

It was true — they all knew it. This type usually moved freely, but obviously, the devs wouldn't let a monster like that roam the starter area unchecked.

— Looks like it's unique around here. Might be a rare type that only appears in certain zones, Carlos pondered.

— Hmm... finding something like this right off the bat would be too easy, don't you think? Either we got lucky... or something's off, Robinson replied.

They all nodded, but the subject didn't interest them much. After all, they weren't the protagonists of this game.

— Rat-men usually focus on evasion and mobility — not raw strength unless they have a subclass or special skills. Robinson could use his 10 extra points to max out his damage, if he wants, said Carlos.

Carlos surprised everyone by bringing it up — and it turned out to be a valuable point. Robinson, in response, opened his status window to share it with the party via Shaolin:

Player Name: Empolo-Man

Race: Rat-Man

Level: 1 (0/100)

Class: Rat-Man

Subclass: Unavailable

HP: 100

Stamina: 12

Mana: 0

Strength: 14

Agility: 19

Dexterity: 17

Intelligence: 10

Vitality: 12

Extra points: 10

After analyzing the stats, everyone agreed they were solid for a level 1 character — especially with the 10 bonus points ready for use.

— My Vitality and Agility are kinda low, which is expected for a rat-man, he commented, closing the status window.

— I'll focus on those two until I get some skills.

Victor, Carlos, and Lily could've given him some advice — but chose instead to save it for future laughs at his expense.

Vitality: 12 → 17

Agility: 19 → 24

Extra points: 0

With the points distributed, Robinson and the rest were ready for round two.

∆∆∆∆

The second round was approaching, and Robinson, with his freshly assigned stats, took position.

— You really think ten measly points are gonna make a difference against that thing? Lily mocked, a smirk tugging at her lips.

Carlos brought a hand to his face in exasperation.

— Just stay quiet for now, please, Victor replied, tightening his boxing gloves.

The mage, with a smug look, simply watched — ready for the show.

In tight formation, the three attackers approached the tree, which remained silent and still.

Victor and Robinson crept behind it, maintaining a safe distance to avoid alerting the treant.

— Hey, ugly mama's boy! Carlos shouted, provoking the monster.

CREAK-CREAK!!!

The branches groaned in response, as if offended by what it had just heard.

— Looks like we've got a pest problem... Time for some heavy pruning.

BOOM!!!

The tank barely had time to mock the enemy before being smashed by a high-speed branch. With a wide grin, Carlos pressed forward — each step bringing more intense blows, leaves flying in every direction.

Behind the monstrous tree, the two attackers watched and analyzed.

— You go first. I'll follow right after. I wanna see how fast you are with those five points in Agility, said Victor, eyes locked on the treant.

— Got it, replied the rat-man with a slight nod.

Without hesitation, Robinson dashed toward the enemy, closing the ten-meter gap fast. As he entered striking distance, a branch came down hard from the left — ready to flatten him.

SWISH!! SWISH!!

But he suddenly stopped and leaned back in a nimble move. The branch sliced through the air, narrowly missing him — though he still felt the rush of air against his skin.

In that same instant, Victor dashed past Robinson and charged the enemy. The distance quickly closed, and Victor had his target in sight.

Before he could land a hit, however, Robinson struck first — two clean blows. Victor followed immediately after. With their double strike done, they both backed off.

"Those five points in Agility really make a difference between us..." Victor thought, watching Carlos take another blow from the monster.

"Even so, if it weren't for the creature's blind spot, even Empolo-Man would've taken some damage."

Monster HP: 38/100

The tank was doing his job — soaking up the enemy's vicious blows. But he wasn't advancing anymore — not from lack of will, but because the hits were getting harder to endure.

A sudden idea came to him. Maybe it was time to use his short sword.

With his shield in one hand, he drew the blade with the other.

BOOM!!! BOOM!!!

The hits, once just hard, now became crushing. His defense faltered.

By splitting his focus between sword and shield, his resistance dropped by half.

The weight of that decision hit him hard — each blow now hammering home the brutal consequences of his choice.