Lord Of The Lost

Sophia's arrival immediately drew attention from everyone around her.

William opened his mouth as if to say something, but his body betrayed him. A tremor ran through him, and the light in his eyes began to fade, dimming like a flickering candle about to go out.

He tried to speak, but even lifting a finger was beyond him. His battered body finally gave out, and he collapsed to the ground.

Sophia froze, her expression locking in place.

Before she could react, a soft glow enveloped William, and his form dissolved into a white light, vanishing into the air.

Metatron appeared beside her, his expression calm, almost indifferent. He glanced at the stunned young witch and said flatly, "Don't worry. He's just fainted."

The Forum Master arrived moments later, exhaling in disbelief as he observed the scene. "Wallace must have been holding on by sheer willpower. His injuries alone were critical, but this… this is sudden death. His body reached its absolute limit."

He shook his head in reluctant admiration. "It's impressive, honestly. Most players drop the moment their physical stats hit zero. But him? He didn't collapse until he saw Sophia wake up."

With a final glance at the spot where William had vanished, he added, "Ruthless. Truly ruthless."

---

William felt as though he was sinking, the weight of the sea pressing down on him. His body felt heavy, his mind foggy, but somewhere distant, he could hear faint voices.

"Stay alive…"

The words were muffled, as though they were coming from far away, barely piercing through the depths of water he seemed to be submerged in.

And then, with a gasp, William's eyes flew open.

Pain surged through his body, his limbs were weak, his soul felt shattered, and every inch of him was damaged beyond belief.

He recognized this feeling. The death penalty.

He'd heard stories about it from other players, and though he'd been mentally prepared for it, experiencing it firsthand was far worse than he imagined.

Groaning, William opened his system panel, ready to assess the damage, but something unusual caught his attention.

A notification blinked into view.

[Hint: The Wolf Lord's curse has erupted in your body!]

Before he could process the message, an overwhelming sound echoed in his mind; a deep, guttural wolf's howl that seemed to resonate from inside him.

"ROAR…"

It wasn't just a sound, it was a force, raw and primal, surging through him like a tidal wave.

William ripped off his shirt, his eyes wide with horror as they landed on his chest.

There, etched into his skin, was a ferocious wolf head. But it wasn't just a tattoo. The wolf head 'moved', its snarling visage shifting and writhing as though it were alive.

A searing pain tore through him as his body convulsed. It felt like a pack of wolves was tearing at his flesh from the inside, gnawing at his soul. The agony was unbearable.

"How… how is this possible?" William gasped, his voice hoarse.

His body shook violently, the curse erupting within him like a wild, untamed beast. It clawed at his essence, threatening to erase him entirely, his body, his soul, his very existence.

"AHHHH!!"

In a desperate act, William's latent powers surged to the surface. The Demonic Wolf Path, a power tied to his very being, activated in response. It fought back, resisting the curse with ferocity.

For a fleeting moment, fine wolf-like hairs appeared on his face, only to vanish as quickly as they came, like a shadow of the beast within.

A wave of energy exploded outward from William's body, an invisible force so powerful it made everyone in the building shudder. The hair on their arms and necks stood on end, as if a primal fear had gripped them. But the sensation was fleeting, disappearing as suddenly as it had come, like a whisper carried off by the wind.

The dark energy inside him began to swell, consuming him. It wrapped around his body like a protective cocoon, sealing him in darkness.

William's instincts took over. His body, broken as it was, moved to protect itself. The energy encased him in a massive silken cocoon, hiding the shadow of the demon wolf writhing inside.

Within the cocoon, his body and soul fought for survival. The curse was relentless, but the Demonic Wolf Path countered it with equal intensity, unleashing untapped potential.

Time seemed to stretch into eternity. The cocoon pulsed faintly with energy, a silent testament to the battle waging within. The demon wolf's shadow loomed, locked in a deadly struggle for dominance.

No one could say how long it lasted, but when it ended, the building fell silent, and the cocoon remained, holding the mystery of what would emerge.

William finally managed to conquer the Wolf Lord's curse.

The power of the curse wasn't endless, it began to weaken, retreating like a dying storm. Even with the potent survival traits of the Demon Wolf Path, it had been a battle that pushed him to the brink.

Drenched in cold sweat, William gasped for air, his heart pounding. The ordeal left him shaken.

"What kind of power does a transcendent like the Wolf Lord truly wield?" he muttered, the weight of the encounter still pressing on his mind.

As someone who walked the Demon Wolf Path, known for its unparalleled resilience, William had barely survived. Had it been another type of transcendent, they wouldn't have stood a chance. Most would have been annihilated in moments, unable to endure the curse's relentless assault.

---

[You have fully unlocked the survival traits of the Demon Wolf Path.]

[Your level has increased to 14.]

---

William opened his system panel:

[ID: Breeze Blowing Over the Hills]

[Level: 14]

[Constitution: 4 (21)]

[Spirit: 5 (16.5)]

[Energy: 2 (16.3)]

But even with his progress, a wave of exhaustion swept over him. His body felt drained, as if hollowed out from the inside.

Reaching into his inventory, William downed his remaining [Energy Potion] in one gulp. The bitter liquid hit his tongue, but he didn't stop. He followed it with a third of his [Mysterious Awakening Medicine], a gold-tier potion that packed a serious punch.

The effects kicked in quickly, washing away the empty feeling. His strength began to return, albeit slowly. He took a deep breath, letting the calm settle over him as he leaned back to rest.

---

Finally, William turned to his computer and opened the forums, curious about the world beyond his personal battle.

And what he found was chaos.

The forums were 'exploding'.

Post after post lit up his screen, the titles filled with rage, despair, and disbelief.

"Sequence game, are you serious?!"

"Fight the boss with WHAT?!"

"This is insane, we're all doomed!"

William scrolled briefly, taking in the collective frustration of the players. It was obvious; everyone had just endured the horrors of the Black Forest during the full moon event, and not all had come out unscathed.

The terror of the Black Forest had left its mark on everyone. Some players were outright panicking, while others sank into hopelessness.

Even though the King's Guard had fought valiantly, showing overwhelming strength during the battle, the cracks in their effort were showing.

The forums buzzed with grim predictions.

Iris, who had played a key role in suppressing the curse, was gone. Her death meant the royal family had lost one of its strongest pillars.

Reports from border towns painted a bleak picture: the King's Guard had two months 'at best' to hold the situation together. They were stretched too thin, and their strength was waning.

Meanwhile, the Black Forest was still growing, its malevolence far from its peak.

A decade ago, the King's Guard had successfully strangled a serpent-like threat in the forest.

But ten years later, that serpent had transformed into a python, vast and unrelenting. It had wrapped itself around the entire Black Forest, becoming an even greater force of destruction.

This time, the Guard could no longer contain the beast.

And when their defenses finally collapsed, there would be no stopping the disaster.

William sat back, his mind heavy with the weight of it all. The Black Forest wasn't just a regional crisis, it was a ticking time bomb for the entire empire.

"When the tower crumbles," William muttered under his breath, "the dragon that's been trapped will rise to the heavens."

And the players? They were standing on the edge of that collapse.

They had seen the changes in the Black Forest with their own eyes. The massive, gaping rift left no room for doubt; things were spiraling out of control.

Players were losing their minds.

The forums exploded with posts at a near-constant refresh rate. The discussions were relentless, with everyone chiming in, their collective panic and energy feeding into a chaotic frenzy.

But beneath all the noise, one burning question united them:

How are we supposed to play this game?

There didn't seem to be any hope.

The conclusions reached by joint player deductions were grim. Two months, that's how long they estimated Helka and the King's Guard could hold off the encroaching Black Forest. After that, the border town would fall in the blink of an eye, consumed by the spreading corruption.

And if the main storyline failed, the consequences would be catastrophic.

Every single player would be sacrificed.

The players' simulations painted an apocalyptic picture:

The corruption would spread, tendrils of devastation worming their way outward, unstoppable, like massive earthworms tunneling through the land. Eventually, the Earthbreaker; a harbinger of destruction; would reach Snowstorm Fortress.

If Snowstorm Fortress fell, the entire eastern region of the Magic Kingdom would be defenseless. There would be no force left to halt the Earthwound's expansion.

Even the king knew this. The royal guards stationed in the Black Forest were his best troops. Yet his decision to leave them there, effectively abandoning them, revealed a harsh truth, there would be no reinforcements.

If the king had the means to send another army, he would have done so ten years ago during the first Black Forest rebellion. Instead, the imperial army had been ordered into a symbolic defeat, sacrificing them for a temporary peace.

Desperate players started brainstorming wild ideas.

"If only we could steal nuclear warheads from Earth," one post read. "Drop a few dozen into the Black Forest and obliterate the boss."

The idea was met with frustration. Players knew it was impossible, Earth's materials couldn't be transferred into the game. The real world was of no use here.

Players were left to fend for themselves in the magical world, bound by its strange rules. Earth's technology was incompatible, and even fundamental physics operated differently in the game.

Developing weapons or tools that could help required a new technological framework, an entirely separate 'magic technology tree'. But that was a process that would take years, far longer than the two months they had left.

The grim reality was inescapable.

"This boss is impossible to beat!"