MMORPG: REBORN MARK ADVENTURE IN ONLINE GAME

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The five of them moved cautiously through the cave, their torchlights barely piercing the dense mist curling along the ground. The air was thick, carrying the damp, musty scent of decay. Every few steps, the cavern walls trembled slightly, as if the earth itself was uneasy.

Raven's instincts screamed at him—something was wrong.

Then it happened.

A flicker of movement, too fast to register. Mist Low moved in a blur, his Trickster abilities activating in an instant. With an exaggerated bow and a smirk, he grabbed Liz and Ana by their waists.

"Ladies, I believe it's time for a tactical retreat."

Before they could react, he vanished into the mist, leaving behind only a playful chuckle.

"A trap!" Daniel snapped, his voice sharper than an arrow.

The moment Mist Low disappeared, the cave shifted. The ground cracked beneath them, revealing deep chasms pulsing with an eerie, crimson glow. The mist thickened unnaturally, wrapping around Daniel like invisible chains. His bow slipped from his grasp, his breathing grew ragged.

"Poison—?" Daniel's words faltered as his vision blurred. His knees buckled.

Raven moved, but a violent force erupted from the depths of the cave. A monstrous presence, ancient and hungry, began to stir. The oppressive aura pressed down on him like a physical weight, making his movements sluggish.

A low, guttural growl echoed through the cavern—The Slumbering One was awakening.

The Awakening of the Slumbering One

A deep, resonant thrum vibrated through the cavern, rattling loose stones from the jagged ceiling. The very air felt heavier, as if gravity itself was bending under an overwhelming force.

Raven clenched his fists, his instincts screaming at him to move—to run.

Daniel collapsed onto one knee, his breath ragged, struggling against the unseen force wrapping around him. His fingers twitched, trying to grab an arrow, but his body refused to listen. Poison? No… something worse. His thoughts blurred as a creeping lethargy clawed at his mind.

From the depths of the cave, something stirred.

The ground beneath Raven cracked, glowing veins of pulsating crimson stretching outward like a spiderweb. The mist around them shifted, not dispersing but rather… recoiling, as if it, too, feared what was about to emerge.

A guttural snarl rumbled through the chamber.

Then, a sound like stone grinding against stone—the deafening groan of something massive rising from an age-old slumber.

BOOM.

A monstrous, clawed limb slammed against the cavern wall, sending a tremor through the entire space. Dust and debris cascaded from above, filling the air with suffocating grit. Raven barely managed to sidestep a falling stalactite, the sharp rock impaling the ground where he had stood just a second before.

Then he saw it.

From the glowing fissures, it emerged.

The Slumbering One.

A colossal, serpentine creature with overlapping, obsidian-like scales that shimmered with a strange, otherworldly sheen. Its body was partially embedded in the cave wall, as if it had become one with the stone over centuries of dormancy. Long, jagged spikes protruded from its spine, and its enormous, reptilian head bore six glowing eyes, burning like molten gold.

Raven's breath hitched.

This wasn't a normal monster. This was something ancient. Something that should have never woken up.

Its mouth parted, revealing rows of serrated fangs coated in thick, dark saliva that dripped onto the cavern floor—each drop sizzling as it melted through the stone.

"Daniel, get up—" Raven's voice was cut off by a sudden, earth-shaking roar that blasted outward like a shockwave.

The force hit him like a solid wall, sending him skidding backward, his boots scraping against the rocky ground. Daniel, still on his knees, was flung back violently, crashing into a rock formation with a sharp grunt.

Raven gritted his teeth, gripping the hilt of his dagger as his mind raced. There's no way we can fight this.

Then, from the swirling mist, a familiar laugh echoed.

Mist Low.

Still holding Ana and Liz, he reappeared just at the cave's exit, smirking. "Raven, my dear rival, I'd love to stay and watch you get eaten, but alas, I have a prior engagement." He shot a wink at the girls before his grin widened.

"Good luck surviving this."

And just like that, he vanished once again.

Raven cursed under his breath. Liz and Ana were safe… but Daniel was down, and he was trapped with a primordial nightmare that had just set its sights on him.

The Slumbering One growled, its golden eyes locking onto Raven.

Then, in one terrifying motion, it lunged.

The Rescue of Raven and Daniel

The cavern quaked violently as the massive serpent-like creature lunged, its colossal jaws snapping shut just inches from Raven's face. His heart skipped a beat, but in that split second, he twisted, barely managing to roll out of the way. The ground beneath him cracked open with the force of the creature's strike, sending rocks and debris flying in every direction.

Daniel, still struggling to rise, managed to get one hand on his bow, but the weight of the poison and the overpowering presence of the monster left him weak, vulnerable. His arm trembled, unable to nock an arrow, and his breaths were shallow, labored.

The Slumbering One's golden eyes glinted with malice as it turned toward Daniel. It lunged again, faster this time, its maw opening wide to crush him in a single bite.

Raven's eyes widened. He was too far away to reach Daniel in time. No—

CRASH.

Before the beast's jaws could close around Daniel, a blur of motion appeared between them. The air shifted as a ripple of arcane energy surrounded the two men, and Mist Low emerged, his form flickering into existence with a mocking smile.

"Ah, ah, ah, my dear friends," he drawled, raising a hand as a wave of illusory light surrounded him.

The beast's jaws snapped shut, missing Daniel by mere inches. The air crackled with tension as Mist Low's trickster magic flowed from his fingertips. An illusion of a thousand shadows surrounded the Slumbering One, confusing its senses and making it lash out wildly.

The creature roared in fury, its immense bulk thrashing against the illusions. But it couldn't land a single hit, its confusion growing as the shadows flickered and danced around it.

"Careful, Raven," Mist Low chuckled, his voice thick with amusement. "You might not want to die just yet. I have big plans for both of you."

With a snap of his fingers, Mist Low conjured a burst of illusionary mist, clouding the area around them. In a blink, Raven and Daniel found themselves teleported several meters back, just as the Slumbering One's fangs snapped at where they had stood.

Raven gasped for air, his mind still reeling from the sheer proximity of death. The Slumbering One howled in frustration, its fury palpable as it slithered and twisted in the cave, trying to track them.

"Always so dramatic." Mist Low's voice came from beside them, his figure materializing from the shadows once again. "You're welcome, by the way." He flicked his hand dismissively as if the whole thing had been some elaborate game.

Raven glared at him, heart still racing. "What's your angle, Mist Low? Why save us?"

Mist Low smirked. "Angle? Oh, dear Raven, I save you for the same reason I do everything else—entertainment." His grin widened as he glanced at the beast still thrashing in the distance. "But… for now, I think we have bigger problems. It would be such a waste for the both of you to die just when things are getting interesting."

Daniel's breathing steadied, but his eyes burned with frustration. "So now what?"

Mist Low gave him a knowing look. "Now? We wait. You're not ready for that monster, but I'm certainly curious to see how you handle it… if you survive the next round, of course." He then raised a hand, as if summoning the chaos itself. "Time for some more fun."

And with that, the world around them shifted again, the mist twisting into forms too unreal to comprehend. The fight for survival had only just begun.