Chapter: The Calm of the Hunter
The woods trembled with whispers. Far off in the forest, the wind carried panic like smoke—newbie Travelers hiding beneath trees, clutching weapons they barely knew how to use, eyes darting for shadows that weren't supposed to move. The name "Silent Stalker" buzzed through the system feeds like a curse.
But none of that reached Luke Astoria.
Not in the way fear touches ordinary men.
He walked with confident strides, his brown vest gently brushing the low branches, the red and blue bead necklace over his neck bouncing softly with each step. The silver longsword Beastender stayed sheathed across his back—calm, but always ready.
The Seven Dwarves followed behind, loaded with packs, scrolls, maps, gadgets, and mismatched expressions of excitement and wariness.
"Are you sure you don't want to check that ping?" Marnick asked, frowning at his glowing device. "Fifty-seven Travelers gone in just one day, that ain't normal."
"Probably hiding in bushes, too scared to fart," Thornton muttered.
Luke's system gave a familiar chime.
> [⚠️ ALERT: Silent Stalker Detected in Region — Elimination Count: High]
[Recommended Action for Blue Rank and Below: Avoid Contact]
[Rank Disparity: YOU are Green Rank+, Silent Stalker is Blue Rank — Threat Minimal.]
Luke didn't even break his pace.
He glanced at the notification, blinked once, and dismissed it with a flick of his finger.
"No threat," he said casually.
"Wha—you saw that, right?" Rindle asked, nearly tripping over a root. "That was a blue-ranked killer ghost rogue and you're just gonna keep walking?!"
"He's a stalker," Luke replied, eyes focused ahead. "That means he picks his targets carefully. He'll avoid me."
"And if he doesn't?" piped up one of the twins.
Luke gave a small shrug, brushing a hand along a nearby branch.
"Then I kill him."
The dwarves fell silent at that—half in awe, half in disbelief. Only Luke could say something like that with the same tone someone might use for I'll grab lunch.
Around them, the forest pressed in, thick and uncertain. But Luke's presence kept the mists parted, the tension low, and the path forward firm.
Where others flinched at shadows, Luke commanded them to move.
He wasn't just a monster hunter.
He was a walking message to anything lurking in the dark:
Not you. Not today.
And so the party continued—unshaken, while panic swept through the Traveler network like wildfire.
The Silent Stalker may have been terror in the mist to others.
But to Luke Astoria?
Just another name in a long, soon-to-be-forgotten list.
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Chapter: The Thread That Wasn't There
The forest was quiet when Luke noticed it—a single red ruby, wedged unnaturally in the bark of an old, knotted tree. It shimmered faintly, no dust on it, no signs of age. Too clean. Too perfect.
"Hold on," Luke said.
But Marnick was already walking up. "Just a ruby, right? We've seen tons of—"
He reached out, plucked it from the bark—
And everything snapped.
In a split second, invisible threads wrapped around Luke's legs, his arms, his waist. The Seven Dwarves all gasped as they were yanked and suspended, mid-step, caught in an intricate latticework of nonexistent silk—not visible, not magical… but real.
Luke struggled, gritting his teeth.
"...These threads—what are they?"
He flexed his legs, summoned his strength. Normally, this would be nothing. He'd broken chains, barriers, even bone-woven restraints—but these…
He couldn't.
There was no resistance. Nothing to push against. Nothing to sever.
They were threads that weren't there.
Yet they were. He could feel the pull. The tightening. The air itself choking his motion.
The forest dimmed further as a presence approached.
Out from the shifting mist and crooked trees stepped a boy, no older than sixteen. Pale-skinned, with wavy black hair that fell over a white headband, his expression unreadable. He wore a loose white shirt with black sleeves, long black pants, and etched across his chest was a darkness sigil—the curling mark of void-aligned classes.
In his hand, he carried a plain iron sword.
Nothing glowing. Nothing fancy.
Just cold iron and colder intent.
He walked straight up to Luke—still restrained mid-air—and leaned in slightly, not with arrogance, but with indifference. Without saying a word, he plucked the ruby from Marnick's frozen hand.
His fingers barely closed around it before the gem shimmered and faded from view—absorbed into something.
> [SYSTEM NOTICE: Ruby retrieved by Registered Player — Silent Stalker]
[Ruby retrieval success rate: 100%. Players retrieved: 0]
The Silent Stalker turned to leave.
"Wait." Luke's voice came low, steady, but irritated. His muscles tensed again, testing the unbreakable bonds.
The rogue paused.
"What's the deal with these rubies?" Luke asked, eyes narrowing. "Why take them? Why not just kill everyone? Why leave?"
The teenager turned slightly, just enough to cast a shadowed glance over his shoulder.
His eyes were pale gray. Emotionless. As if he barely existed in the same reality as the rest of them.
His voice was quiet.
"It's… a requirement."
And then—he was gone.
The threads dissolved instantly. Luke and the dwarves dropped to the forest floor with staggered grunts and coughing gasps.
But the silence lingered.
The kind of silence left behind when something ancient brushed too close.
Luke stood up slowly, brushing moss from his vest, his jaw clenched.
"A requirement?" he muttered. "For what?"
Marnick stared at his empty hand. "We're not dealing with a rogue. We're dealing with a rule we don't understand."
Thornton grumbled, rubbing his arm. "That kid's no blue-rank. Not really."
Luke looked into the trees, where the Stalker had vanished without trace.
"He's something else. Something trained. And if it's a requirement…"
He narrowed his eyes.
"…Then he's working for someone."
------
Chapter: The Ruby in the Dark
The woods gave way to stone.
Roots thinned. Moss faded. The air thickened into damp silence as Oliver and Fern stepped into the entrance of a forgotten cavern, carved more by time than intention. The air was cold, still, unnervingly hollow—like stepping into a mouth that never spoke.
Oliver raised his torch. Shadows danced across the jagged walls. Fern followed behind, calm but alert, her staff pulsing softly with green light.
They didn't expect to find anything in here. But then—they saw it.
Sitting perfectly still atop a stone pedestal at the heart of the cavern was a ruby.
Not hidden. Not guarded.
Just there.
Perfectly clean. Perfectly centered. Perfectly placed.
Oliver blinked. "That's…"
"Too easy," Fern said, narrowing her eyes.
Oliver approached cautiously, his system already pinging with subtle warnings—though none concrete.
And then he saw it.
A note, old parchment, weighted beneath the gem.
Scrawled in messy ink:
> "TAKE THE RUBY IMMEDIATELY. NOW."
He stared at the words.
His stomach twisted.
"…That's a trap," he muttered.
Fern stepped forward, arms crossed, expression unchanged. "It's also bait. Forced urgency. Someone wants us to take it—without thinking."
Oliver looked closer. There were no tripwires. No magic glyphs. No mechanical traps. Nothing obvious. But everything about it screamed wrong.
He opened the Systematic Guide.
> [Unregistered Ruby Detected]
[Risk Level: Unknown]
[Note: This ruby may be linked to the Silent Stalker's pattern of movement and player elimination.]
[Warning: Proceeding without analysis may trigger consequences.]
Oliver took a slow step back.
"Fern… I think this is how he marks people."
She tilted her head. "Could be. Or worse—it could be how he opens gates."
Oliver frowned. "Gates?"
Fern stepped closer, kneeling beside the stone and placing her hand gently near the ruby—never touching it.
She closed her eyes.
"…This isn't just an object," she whispered. "It's been fed. Energy. Dark Vita. It's humming—faint, layered. Not natural."
Oliver swallowed hard. "So if someone takes it—"
"They become part of a process. A... condition," she said. "Or a contract."
He looked down at the note again.
> TAKE THE RUBY IMMEDIATELY. NOW.
It didn't sound like a warning.
It sounded like a command.
And somewhere, beyond the cavern's mouth, the forest waited.
And somewhere deeper, the Silent Stalker might already know they were here.