Preparation and execution

-16th day of AC, 16.04.1052-

-Time: About 6:30-

Violet opened her eyes, feeling the sunbeams dance across her face. Slowly moving about, she felt her heart jump as she almost slipped from the tree branch she was sitting on. With quick reflexes, she clenched her legs, grabbing the plant. This, however, didn't stop her movements, and in barely a second she found herself hanging upside down, gazing at the earth below as if it were sky to her.

'I guess I'm awake now.' she thought, sighing softly. The sudden rush of adrenaline cleared her mind of any lingering sleepiness. Violet scanned her surroundings and confirmed that no obstacles were blocking her descent. She let go and positioned her legs against the main stem as she fell. In one swift motion, she identified the nearest target and leaped off the side of the tree. With nimble movements, she grabbed onto a nearby branch and swung herself to the next one. After repeating this sequence a few times, she reached solid ground and looked around to find that she was alone.

She relaxed and massaged her shoulder muscles for a moment.

'Miss Cecilia did teach me how to use branches as swings, but she never said that using that technique so often would lead to this stiffness...' she grimaced a tiny bit, feeling the muscles under her fingers contract slightly. 'I need to take a break from those.'

The old leaves that the trees had shed last year were barely a memory by now. However, in certain spots where several trunks converged closely, small piles of dried-up biomass were still lying about, crunching quietly whenever she set foot in them.

The air was not stale at all, a weak breeze swirling all around her, with stronger currents bending the tops of trees above her head, undisturbed by any obstacles in their way. Although the air was chilly this morning, it wasn't anything Violet couldn't put up with. She stopped in her tracks after a minute or so, locating the place where Travis was sleeping.

The man was sitting by his tree, looking to his side, seemingly at nothing. 'Again, it's like he's reading something...' she had seen him do that so many times by now that she was certain that there was indeed something the man could see that was beyond her senses. Normally, she could shrug it off as trying to confuse her about his motives, but he's done this when on his own, as well. 'Still, he didn't leave. Does this mean he will comply?' she pondered, guiding her steps toward the man slowly.

Travis's yellow eyes seemed to finish reading whatever was to his right, and he looked up front, his orbs meeting hers. As Violet approached closer, he got up from his position, pulling his pack onto his back.

"There you are," he said, shifting on his feet a little. "I was wondering if you'd come back."

"...so..."

"Yeah, let's go," he nodded.

"???" Violet's face contorted slightly in a startled expression as she noticed the man take his steps to his right, going toward the road. Quickly shaking out of her state, she followed in his steps, but not without a little bit of confusion in her mind. 'Does he not want to talk about that? But... he stayed behind?'

...

There was simply no way for her to understand this man. Not now, at least.

...

Meanwhile, Travis was walking through the forest, his current target being the road that they used to get thus far. His breathing was stable, and there was naught a trickle of sweat on his body, but that didn't mean he was calm. Although he didn't show it to Violet right now, there was heavy stress weighing down on his shoulders. His heart was beating like crazy, barely able to be contained in his chest.

This wasn't going to be any normal day he had been through so far. Not with the way the previous one ended. Not with the way this one had a chance to end. After all, there was a good chance both he and the woman would end up in the Penalty Zone that night.

Still, the man only let out a small sigh in response to his stress. There was no guarantee that he'd go through with his plan. There were still things that he wanted to know before he made his decision. That was why, soon after stepping onto the road, he only walked forward. Normally, he'd have broken into a run already, and since Violet had watched him before, she too must've been sure he would've done that.

A few minutes passed. The road, barely even as it was, had multiple small plants sticking out from its stones, which glimmered with the morning's dew. This truly showed just how untraveled this road was; enough to be nearly forgotten. After all, this road did not support carriage travel. It was far cheaper to go for the indirect path through other towns in the east than to construct a proper road here. The fog that used to embolden the two travelers the night was now thinly spread around, its moist embrace serving as the only proof that it was still around.

'Will she say anything?' the man wondered, fixing the straps of his backpack. 'Or should I?'

'Should I start a conversation?' Violet questioned herself, walking right beside the man. 'Given the talk, he must be pretty mad at me still. Not that I can blame him, but... I don't have the time to wait for long. A few days, perhaps.'

'...it seems to be up to me. Now, how do I try to ask her?'

"...Say, Violet?"

"...?" she looked at him for a long moment, an eyebrow slightly raised. "What?"

"You know... I gave it all a bit of thought. And... do you really want to know the truth?"

"...yes."

"There is no item that can actually prove my words to you."

"What? What do you mean?"

"It's as I said. No item can measure my kind of mana."

'Does he mean that he can't or that he WON'T prove his words to me...?'

"But there is one thing I can do to verify my words."

"...yes?"

"But before I do that, I want to let you know: I can't guarantee the safety of either of us. What I will show you is something that cannot be escaped from. We will have to fight, and it won't be easy."

'What does he mean?'

"So, treat this as a warning. If you want proof of my class, be prepared that things will be dire, at least for a while."

"...for a while?"

"Now, now, I think I've said enough," 'Two can play this game.' he thought. A tiny smile tried to make its way onto his face, but he **** himself against grimacing. "All there's left for you is the choice."

'I guess I should've seen this coming... but how dangerous will whatever he will show me be? Will he... attack me?'

"...well, you have time until evening to decide."

'Until evening... no. I don't need that much.' "There's no need. I accept," she said, her double-colored eyes emanating a glint of her determination.

"...I see," 'Huh. Should've expected she'd agree quickly. Either way, now all there's left to do is...' "Then, let us prepare."

"...what do you mean 'prepare'?"

"I'll explain later. For now, we need to hunt. And for that..." he looked forward, noticing some large hills on the way. "...we need to go higher."

-Time: 16:00-

-Roughly 90 km from Silvana-

'Quear Mountain range' was the name given to the chain of mountain tops in the southwestern parts of Silvana. It was a geographical feature that extended for more than 700 km, covering a large amount of terrain and - in the past - acting as a natural border separating Silvana from the Chis Empire in the west and Akni Kingdom in the southwest and south. On a map, it looked quite like a regular, slightly curved stroke that went from far west of Silvana and extended a little below it.

While not many people could tell, this mountain range was rather young; the tips of the mountains were sharp, yet rather low, the highest of them extending no more than 2 kilometers above the sea level. Some tops were covered in a thin layer of snow. The erosion hadn't yet taken its rightful place here, and because of that, most of the paths around were laid out in the solid rock itself (if there even were any paths, to begin with. Most of the surfaces they walked on didn't have an indication of one, and only because Travis knew it'd be like this did he know that they weren't lost). What just a few kilometers ago was a thin layer of soil with some plants had now transformed into a rocky landscape that was just barely covered in something reminiscent of dirt, gravel, and sand. Occasional plants usually consisted of very low grass, and only in valleys between hills were there any signs of bigger foliage.

Due to such changes in the terrain's composure, the types of monsters also differed from the ones before. While in forests and plains below the hierarchy of power was rather vague, here, there were defined borders between hunters and prey.

Most commonly found beasts, rats, were soon being replaced by a type of lizard called 'Verehon Reptile' or simply 'verehon', named after the discoverer of its species. It was a roughly 50 cm long lizard with four legs, each roughly 15 cm in length and capped with large nails, strong enough to furrow the rocks under itself with ease. Its head was rather short for a reptile, and it housed two rows of razor-sharp teeth and a powerful jaw that could easily tear limbs off of its opponents. Their eyes were of deep brown color, with a spiky iris that was sensitive to light (they were mostly nocturnal creatures). The entire animal was covered in small scales of mostly gray and brown colors, allowing it to somewhat blend in with the terrain. They tended to wait and strike when their own prey was in range, and otherwise only lay on the rocks, pretending to be just another obstacle. They were definitely a way to catch an unsuspecting adventurer off-guard.

However, those beasts had similar problems to rats. Most of their stats were spent in Agility and Strength to allow for quick kills, but it also meant their Endurance was proportionally lower. On top of that, they mostly lived on their own instead of in packs. Although such a word combination didn't yet exist in the world of Casali, veherons were 'stealth glass cannons'.

Their small size meant that the most injury they could deal to a human would be an injury to a leg (or a hand if they happened to be high enough). If said human had low Endurance, perhaps the limb could be severed, but that was infrequent.

Regardless, Travis did try his hand at hunting them a few times during the day. The process was... slow, in all honesty. Veherons weren't difficult to take down in themselves. The problem was the fact that their Agility was greater than Travis's, which meant that taking one down was difficult without sustaining at least some injuries. On top of that, they also could swiftly dodge most attacks aimed at them, even if their stamina didn't allow for a lot.

'This really shows the problem of having a sub-par weapon.' he thought. 'This is a part of the reason why I want to finish the quest with Violet. Getting a new weapon is incomparably better than raising my stats. While Strength definitely increases the amount of damage I deal, it's still not enough to reliably take those guys down. The longer I fight one, the more injuries I sustain. Still, it only took 13 of them to level me up to 29. Their levels seem to be around the 30-35 mark already. It's a decent hunting ground for me, I suppose.' He smirked to himself. '10 points into Agility.'

[Processing... finished.]

[Notice: Agility stat has reached 100 points. All conditions have been fulfilled. Skill 'Sprint' has been awarded.]

'???'

Travis suddenly stopped in his treks, looking at the notification. For a brief moment, he felt his heart halt, and read through its contents quickly. '...A skill appeared because of my stats increasing...?' without much thinking, he opened the skill tree and, sure enough, the notification didn't lie. There was a new skill gleaming in its own orb. However, bringing back his memories, Travis could only frown.

'This thing wasn't even visible last time...' he thought, putting a hand on his chin. 'I didn't know something like this could happen...'

However, he reminded himself of the words that he read when he received Rulebreaker's Piece. 'There sure are many things I don't know, but... that feels like something that should've been said out loud. RALS, what's the meaning of this skill just appearing after my stats increased?'

[Processing...

Certain skills have special conditions to be learned. These may be level, stats, or knowing a specific skill. Skills of this kind are called 'hidden', and they are automatically granted when their conditions are met. Skills that are awarded through this method are typically closely tied to their requirements. However, to balance out their acquisition, you are not able to see what those skills are, what they do, or what prerequisites they have until you earn them.

You may treat them as pseudo-random gifts, especially since their acquisition does not require any skill points.]

'...huh.' he thought whilst breathing out a sigh. 'So, I'm **** to guess what skills will allow me to get a new one. Still, the part about them being free of charge is neat.'

While he was thinking, Travis's eyes were eyeing lines of words in front of him before going down to the rocky surface under his boots. In doing so, he failed to notice a small veheron that slowly was making its way to his side. As a few extra seconds passed, the reptile bent its legs, preparing itself to lunge at him. However, as it did so, a knife penetrated its skull, causing the reptile to flail around a bit and only manage to hit Travis gently with its tail.

"!!!" the Apostle quickly jumped to his side, unsheathing his two daggers and preparing to defend himself. What he noticed instead, however, was Violet who had quickly jabbed the attacker a couple of times, killing it, and was hiding her stilettos. As she turned her head a little, only her green eye was visible to Travis.

"You seem distracted," she said, her eye glancing over him a little before she kicked the lizard's corpse away. "Did something happen?"

"Oh... uh, no, I'm alright," 'Dammit, I got lost in thoughts.'

"..."

"Well, should we resume?"

Violet nodded. Without waiting for a second longer, the man quickly started walking forward again, up another stony hill.

As they reached the hill's top, a strong breeze of chilly air traveled around them, giving them both chills. They weren't even that high up yet and yet, it was already starting to get cold.

-15 minutes later-

From the top, Travis took a glance at the surrounding terrain. Behind the two of them, the ground was gradually going down, descending into the lowlands slowly. In front of them, however, the terrain only lowered itself a little before giving way to much higher hills, and then mountains. Even though the distance to the latter was definitely more than 15 km, they were already perfectly visible. In the air, a few griffons were soaring, seeking out their prey. Below them, some large birds flew here and there quickly, seeingly fleeing from and avoiding the aforementioned beasts.

Watching all this scenery, Travis took a deep breath. It was, simply speaking, spectacular. Sights like those were definitely a thing to remember.

Still, as he noticed how Violet took a stand next to him, he shook himself out of his state. It was probably better for him to not get distracted anymore. Therefore, he turned to her.

"Violet?"

"...?" She looked at him, a questioning look on her face.

"How about we find a place to camp?"

"...if you say so," she responded, her gaze returning to the landscape before them. "But isn't it a little early yet?"

"It does seem that way, but... we're not going to travel today anymore."

'I thought he wanted to get to Lodiz in 2 days... I suppose his plans changed because of our talk. But... I thought he'd show me some proof of his class by now. Does he not want to? What is he waiting for?'

The two of them started making their way down the hill, trying to find a suitable place to spend the night. Soon, they found a bit of terrain that housed a small forest, whose trees seemed to be rather young, not a sign of great age on their bark.

'I thought she'd rain down questions by now, but she seems rather calm. She barely even asked a thing since our talk in the morning.' Travis thought, looking at the woman who was sitting by a tree, her gaze focused on the campfire between them, her lips shut tight. It was difficult to say that she wasn't interested, he knew it. Then... why? 'Is she suppressing her urge to ask because she thinks I may change my mind?' That was the conclusion he reached after some thought.

...

Despite their travels together, Violet remained an extremely quiet person. She didn't complain or question Travis's actions, but she also didn't engage in conversation. Unlike Leaf, who enjoyed talking when bored, Violet was the complete opposite. When she did speak, it was difficult to gauge her emotions as her voice remained monotone with little variation.

'She's fit for 'Rogue' class, I suppose. I was completely different when I was training to be one.' Travis thought, leaning his tree on his tree, watching the woman on the other side of the campfire. 'Well, I guess it's about time I shed some light onto things. We have to be prepared.'

"Violet?"

"...hmm?" she focused on him again.

"I know you must have questions about why I didn't show you the proof of my class earlier. I'd like to adress that now."

"...alright," 'He'll show it now...?'

"Truth be told, the proof I'm talking about is something I don't control. I only know when it will appear. Then, I can show it to you. However, I want to once again say this: it can't be escaped once you see it. And it will be dangerous. You must be absolutely cer--"

"I am certain," 'Your bluffs won't work on me.' - This was what she seemed to be saying, her brows frowning just a little bit.

"...I see. Then, I'd like to advise you to rest well, now. The proof will show itself at midnight."

"...midnight?"

"Yes. I'll explain everything when you see it. You'll understand," 'At least I hope you will. Otherwise, the quest will fail, and I won't be able to stop her.' "We still have a few hours. You may want to nap, even. This night, neither of us will be sleeping."

Violet barely reacted to his words.

"Either way," he said, slowly getting up from his position. "I'll return in a few minutes," And then, he stepped between the trees, carrying his pack with him.

The black-haired woman took a look around herself. The trees had an aged appearance, signified by the multitude of cracks in their bark. Their branches were solid and thick, with blankets of leaves on their ends. The slow wind was causing them to flutter in the wind, filling the air with their humming noise.

Then, her eyes focused on the man's back, still visible from her position, barely 50 or so meters of distance between them. Normally, she'd get up by now and start following him, but something told her that she didn't need to. She wasn't sure why, but the man seemed... sincere since this morning. Not only that, but she found herself more willing to believe his words than she did when she eavesdropped on him speaking with Leaf. Perhaps it was because of the man's reactions, which seemed to solidify her beliefs. She wasn't sure.

...

Not that it mattered to her.

-Meanwhile-

*Ting*

[A new message is added to the message log.]

A notification sprung forth as Travis opened the Rulebreaker's Piece. A snippet of paper has come out, which the man welcomed with a relieved sigh. Another day without an item, which meant that his backpack would be that much lighter. Without even looking at the paper, Travis quickly opened the message log and concentrated on the newest addition.

[16. Stat distribution may be annoying, so here's a cheat sheet]

[There are a few things to look at when distributing stats. Let me explain.

Firstly, you can divide the stats into 4 groups: Physical, Mental, Main, and Auxiliary. Each group has exactly 3 stats.

Strength is Physical and Main

Agility is Physical and Main

Endurance is Physical and Auxiliary

Intelligence is Mental and Main

Wisdom is Mental and Auxiliary

Sense is Mental and Auxiliary

These come in pairs. Strength with Endurance, Agility with Sense, and Intelligence with Wisdom. Now, you may wonder, why divide them like this?

‘Main’ stats are those that directly correspond to your capability. They are responsible for your movement and magical ability, and nothing more. They are your main building blocks, no matter what class you have.

‘Auxiliary’ stats serve as a limitation on how high their 'Main' stat can go before their effects become too much for you to bear. Let me show you an example.

Agility increases your overall speed. All is fine and well, but if Sense is low, you may start experiencing a phenomenon: you will begin missing your own movements. You become too fast for yourself to register.

The same happens with the other 'Main' stats.

Luckily, it only works one way. Having too high of an Auxiliary stat will not be harmful. You can have 1000 Endurance and 100 Strength, and not a thing will be out of the ordinary (other than you being a golem in terms of HP).

Explore and experiment with different ratios of the stats to find out what suits you. Perhaps one day you may find a golden ratio for them.]

'Now this is useful. Although the entire division of stats into groups is a little confusing, I think I get the main gist of it. I can't focus on a single stat too much, that's what I'm getting. Wisdom, Endurance, and Sense allow for infinite increases without backlash, but they won't improve my overall ability as much as the other three. It'll be definitely good to keep this piece of advice in mind.'

Every stat was useful in its own way. What this entry was saying was simple: a balance must be maintained.

A small smile formed on his face unbeknownst to him. He wasn't exactly sure why, but his spirits were somewhat lifted now. Maybe it had to do with the usefulness of the advice, or with the fact that he really felt stronger... it wasn't like it truly mattered.

He shook out of his state quickly, however. Taking a swiping look around the multitude of trees around him, he brought back the memories of Penalty Zone. Yes, he shouldn't lose sight of his target. Right now, he needed to prepare. And for that, he needed to analyze his skills.

'RALS, open skill tree, show me skill <Sprint>.' Travis sent a command to the system.

[Processing...]

[Sprint lvl. 1

Increase acceleration by 14%, max movement speed by 8%, and reduce stamina consumption by 5%.

You can consume 20 MP to instantaneously reach sprinting speed.

Cost: 1 MP/second]

**[Acquisition condition: Agility of 100 or higher. A total of 100 km or higher of distance ran since the class change.]**

'Just the increase in speed is good, but it also decreases my stamina consumption while active. It may only be active for 4 minutes at most, but it's amazing for the degree of difficulty that it took to get it.' given the fact that he had to run nearly every day anyway, this skill was no different from free gain to him.

'I know I did have this skill as Rogue before, but... I never knew there was an option for burst speed. I wonder... is it because of my class, or because Cecilia didn't teach me that? Actually, does she even know about this option...?' he wondered for a moment before dismissing the thought. '<Sprint> isn't rare. I think just about every class can get it. I'm pretty sure its abilities are known. Then... she deliberately didn't teach me about it...? Oh well. It doesn't matter anymore. Still... let's try it.'

Glancing in every direction, the man assessed his surroundings with a discerning eye, ensuring that everything was in place. The sun's rays filtered through the meager tree cover, painting an enchanting and varied pattern on the earth beneath his feet. Although he could discern the monsters in the distance, they were too distant to be a cause for alarm. As he carefully took a step and bent his knees, the ground beneath his feet shifted slightly, reminding him that he was walking on uneven, somewhat soft terrain. Inhaling deeply, he exhaled slowly, calming his nerves. This was only a test, after all. No need to go overboard.

'<Sprint>.'

Travis wasn't sure what he expected. From the way the skill was described, he fully anticipated some mana to launch him uncontrollably forward, in a manner that would require the best of his reflexes to avoid crashing into the first obstacle on the way. Meanwhile, what had actually happened was far more reminiscent of... something he had control of.

In the first moment, mana formed in his body, and then traveled down to his legs. And yet, as it released, he felt his body's instinctual response. Skill or not, his body was automatically adjusting itself to the sudden acceleration, as if it'd done this a million times in its lifespan. However, a question surfaced in his mind for a fleeting moment. It was an instinctual feeling that prompted him to either: take control and shape the movement's direction and power, or to come to a stop.

A tiny smile entered Travis's face as he went on. Within seconds, he rushed forth, speeding between the trees swiftly. A single-digit-percent increase in movement speed wasn't huge, but it was definitely noticeable. Moreover, the amount of acceleration he gained thanks to this skill was enormous in comparison. With that, it suddenly became far easier to make sharp turns than before.

And on top of all that...

'<Sprint>.' he commanded and shot from one tree to another. Making a rapid turn, he unsheathed his dagger and located his prey.

'<Sprint>.' another burst of speed made him lunge at the nearest monster, a large boar. Without thinking much, he stabbed it twice and circled it before the beast managed to realize what was happening. As it started turning around, he switched the dagger to his left hand.

'<Sprint>.' once again, he shot forward, and with a quick swipe, he dug into the monster's flesh, marking a long cut along the beast's side. The wild pig let out a squeal, which Travis responded to by striking again.

'<Sprint>.' he used the skill nearly instinctively when the beast charged at him quickly, dodging it fluidly. Noticing how he was running at a tree, he stepped around it and, utilizing the fact that his reflexes were heightened from the adrenaline, aimed his other hand. 'Triple <Mana Bolt>.'

The wisps of mana shot from his hand and immediately ruptured the skin on the boar's back, exposing some of its muscles underneath.

A squeal of pain was everything the animal emanated as it turned around, intending to run away. It seemed that this duel was already in the man's pocket. But he didn't even think of letting the boar escape. '<Sprint>.' He commanded the mana inside his body, and he was already next to the animal, aiming a strong downward strike at its skull.

...

He gasped lightly. Huffs escaped his mouth for a long moment as he looked at the monster's corpse, and then at his hands. '...wow.' was his only initial thought. 'I know I've used <Sprint> as Rogue, but... its burst option seems just so natural to use.'

Travis wiped his dagger's surface on the boar's fur twice. Then, he sheathed the weapon and started walking back to the place where he and Violet would wait until midnight. 'I'm impressed. This boar's level seems to be around 20, maybe slightly lower, given the forest around, but still, it didn't take much time at all to kill.' he nodded to himself. However, as he summoned his status, he frowned. 'But it did consume a ton of MP. I have less than 50 left. It's definitely a good idea to level it up as soon as possible, especially since it won't show easily. I wonder how good will the actual increase be at max level?'

The smile on his face, borne out of the usage of the skill, didn't wane as he started walking back to the campfire, which was no further away than 150 meters. He wasn't sure why, but his mood was heightened after using the skill so many times. Was it because it was new (or rather, old, but regained)? Or was it because he finally felt prepared? He didn't know, and he didn't care.

'I'll try to get a little rest.'

Knowing what to expect, he knew how to prepare.

...

Well, that was at least what he thought.

...

-Roughly 5 minutes before midnight-

Violet looked at the man illuminated by the moon's light. His eyes seemed to be focused on something in front of him, but nothing that she could see. His expression bore a bit of concern and stiffness to it, almost like he wasn't entirely sure of his doing's righteousness.

"...ready?" noticing her staring, he turned to her and asked.

"...I suppose," she answered, looking over her equipment. After being prompted by the man, she took some spare clothes from her storage ring and changed into them. She was now wearing a long, black tunic and gray, almost skin-tight leggings, and her hair was tied in a low ponytail.

No more than ten minutes before this moment, the man had explained what was going to happen at midnight, at least somewhat vaguely.

'Penalty Zone... I wonder. Dense forest, strong monsters, Penalty Quest... it sounds... absurd, under normal circumstances. And yet... I find myself wanting to believe it's true.' it was, unmistakenly, something that the man had spoken about himself. He spent a good while speaking about every minute detail of that place, his exposition so rich that Violet could almost see the place with the eyes of her imagination.

[00:02:10]

The man, meanwhile, looked back at the quest timer ticking down. Normally, it'd be too late to do any of the exercises, but the man had prepared properly. 2 out of 3 required conditions, namely run and monsters struck down, were fulfilled already, and the final one - push-ups - was only 1 away from being done. This was his own precaution, just in case Violet decided, for whatever reason, to try and get away before they got transported.

'<Sprint> really is good, and even easy to level up. It's already level 2. I suppose having had it in the past makes at least a little bit of a difference, but it's still a simple skill.' the second level granted him an additional 2% acceleration and movement speed but did not change the costs. Still, any increase in power was good.

...

Time sure passed quickly. The timer was already in the seconds. And before long... a slight turbulence shook the earth around them.

[You failed to fulfill your daily quest. You are penalized. Penalty severity: high]

He grabbed Violet's shoulder gently. The woman flinched momentarily at the touch, being on alarm from the sudden quake around them.

[You are being sent to Penalty Zone. 'Penalty Quest' will begin shortly.]

As they stood together, a void suddenly opened beneath them.

"It's beginning. Don't worry, this won't hurt," the man reassured Violet. Despite standing on what felt like nothingness, they both remained supported and grounded. Violet's eyes widened with a mix of fear and surprise, but she stayed close to the man.

[You are entering Penalty Zone.]

Within a split second, they disappeared from the forest, being transported to the place that had once tried to (and almost did) kill Travis. However...

...why...

...was it...

...so... empty?

As the void washed from beneath their feet, the two travelers gazed out, finding themselves surrounded by expansive and unbroken plains that seemed to stretch beyond the horizon. They stood in a small clearing, no larger than 5 meters across. The landscape around was characterized by a complete absence of any kind of elevation or vegetation higher than hip-tall grass. Everything seemed to be stale, almost frozen, even. Sunbeams were raining down from between the clouds above them both, showering the plains in a spectacle of light on a scale not yet seen.

For a long while, there was not a single sound to be heard, no indication of water or any living creatures present. As they stood in a spot, they noticed that the ground beneath their feet was somewhat soft and yielded slightly to their weight.

...WHAT?

'What's the meaning of this?' Travis asked RALS, taking a step forward. As if on cue, a small bag appeared in front of him, beige in color and affixed with a thick tie on its top. As the man grabbed it out of the air, a notification sprung forth.

[Checking the number of participants... 2 found. Scanning... Adjusting the difficulty...]

[You have received a new quest!]

[Quest name: The sacrifice]

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