Mad Hatter's Guide to Clearing The Game
Chapter 205: Ch203. [Dark Forest] (7) - You’re not a part of it

Chapter 205: Ch203. [Dark Forest] (7) - You’re not a part of it

Sarissa stood with her arms crossed at the perimeter of the Shooting Star camp, her gaze fixed on the black line of trees that marked the forest’s edge. The darkness beyond its mouth swirled with the promise of something unseen, and the air had shifted again.

She didn’t like it.

Even more now that, somehow, she became able to discern the shifting, glowing lights of the words carved into the Stories that composed that forsaken place.

Because it wasn’t a simple Story, comprised of cohesive words that made sense and could be read into. No...

The entire forest dripped with obscene, profane, dark words that she didn’t even know the translation to.

The pressure had been wrong for hours now. Ever since Miles stepped through the forest line and vanished from sight, the weight in the air hadn’t just remained. It felt like it had deepened.

She could feel it in the way her skin prickled, in the low buzz that hummed beneath her ribcage. Something fundamental was stretching, waiting to snap.

And even though she promised to be there to keep all of them safe, Sarissa was not sure if she wanted to stay there and witness whatever that was about to emerge, after it snapped.

"This place gives me the creeps." Jake said from her right, seated on a jagged rock with his legs splayed in a lazy sprawl, trying to appear as tough as possible in front of the famous Sarissa. "Even more after I witnessed it firsthand."

"You’re a brave kid." Sarissa nodded at him. "And strong, to be able to come back from a place like this when it had gotten even more dangerous than it should."

"But I’m scared, you know..." Jake said with a crack in his tone. "Something in this whole mess doesn’t feel right."

"I know." Sarissa replied, eyes scanning the trees. "But whatever happens, I’ll be here to have your backs, don’t forget that."

Cass stood a little bit behind them, flipping a dagger over and over in her hand with practiced ease. Her other hand rested on the hilt of her glaive.

"Forest’s too quiet." She said eventually. "It’s like the world’s holding its breath."

"What if it is?" Jake murmured, staring into the black.

Then, the sound came.

It wasn’t a roar, it wasn’t even a scream.

It was silence breaking.

The camp’s magic wards rippled like a mirror touched by stone. A thrum passed through the glyphs etched around the camp’s perimeter, flickering once, then twice, and then going still.

Sarissa turned, fully alert.

"Everyone up!" She shouted. "Something’s coming!"

The call echoed through the sleeping camp. Players groggily scrambled to their feet, weapons half-drawn, their mana still sluggish from sleep.

Elise slid down from a half-assembled watchtower, her bow already in hand.

"What did you see?" She asked, eyes wide.

"Nothing." Sarissa said. "That’s the problem."

They gathered at the center of the camp, forming defensive rings. Alric and Riven emerged from one of the outer tents, gear half-summoned, expressions hardening at the tension in the air.

And then, the first shape appeared.

From the tree line, an insectile creature emerged.

It was tall, hunched, chitin glinting with streaks of oil-black and luminous green. Long limbs like blades dragged behind it, and its head was a mass of antennae and compound eyes.

More followed, and then even more. But they were not charging.

They were simply watching.

Jake cursed under his breath.

"They’re not attacking..." Elise said, notching an arrow.

"Don’t shoot." Sarissa said. "Not yet. They’re observing, like they’re waiting for something. I saw something like this once, and even though it doesn’t mean anything good to us, it at least buys us time to prepare."

Another wave of figures emerged. Not insects, this time.

[Card Soldiers], rows of them.

They moved into formation around the insect-beasts, encircling the camp slowly, until the entire perimeter was surrounded.

No one attacked, though. No one moved.

The players held their weapons ready, some whispering protective enchantments, others preparing defensive formations. But no signal came, just the standoff.

And then, from the center of the camp, a figure emerged.

At first, no one recognized him, dressed in purple silky robes with a hood covering his face.

He walked with slow, deliberate steps towards the horde of monsters, and then he lowered the hood.

It was Victor.

Sarissa blinked, and Cass stepped forward.

"Master?" Cass called out, her voice laced with confusion. "What the hell is going on?"

Victor smiled, but it wasn’t his smile. Not the reserved, charismatic one she remembered.

This smile was dark, measured, wrought from certainty and seductive killing intent.

"You’ve all done well to survive this long in this god-forsaken game." He said, his voice clear and steady. "But it was never going to last."

A beat of silence fell across the camp.

"What... What are you doing?" Cass said, her glaive half-raised, trembling.

Victor stepped closer, and the [Card Soldiers] behind him mirrored the movement, in perfect sync.

"You never really understood the stakes." Victor said. "This was never about guilds, cities, or survival. It’s about inheritance."

"Inheritance?" Sarissa’s jaw tightened.

"The world is changing." Victor said. "The System was always temporary. A scaffolding. But now, the real foundation begins."

The forest behind him seemed to breathe. Slow, heavy, as if something vast exhaled.

"So, you chose to betray us?" Sarissa asked, her voice sharp as a blade.

"Betray?" Victor laughed. "I was never one of you to begin with. I always belonged to Sakura Guild, with only Shinji above me before. But now... Now we have a greater goal, a greater master. And he’s no longer just watching. He’s arrived."

Jake swallowed hard, his eyes darting to the trees.

"Where’s Miles?" He asked, quieter than before.

"I don’t know." Sarissa answered. "He went into the forest, probably caught in the middle of it."

Victor raised one hand, and the [Card Soldiers] responded in unison, raising their claws in a salute, and the forest pulsed again.

Every insect-beast turned its face skyward, their antennae quivering. The wind did not blow, but the leaves moved. Glyphs shimmered faintly in the bark of trees.

"What now?" Cass whispered.

Victor turned back to the players, his eyes glowing faintly, as if something behind them watched through his skin.

"You’ve all played your part. Now, the next Chapter begins, and I’m not sorry to say that... You’re not a part of it."