Things had happened so fast. One moment, the giant bone dragon was focused on eliminating Cole and his team, but the next, its attention snapped toward the distant figure of Zich.

Already, he was moving before the thought could fully form.

Boot slamming against the ground, he pushed off the rock without looking back, his heart pounding as if it might burst out of his chest.

ROOOOAR!

A deafening roar followed behind him, yet he refused to turn. The scorching breath of the creature pressed closer with every second.

’Run! Just run!’

No plan came to mind. No direction mattered. Even the soul orb he had been feeling proud of moments ago no longer held value. His body acted on instinct alone, legs driving him forward as fast as they could.

"What is that idiot doing here?"

The sight of Zich caught Cole off guard. The same promising player who had drawn the Association’s attention was now running straight into disaster.

There was no time to question it. Letting someone like Zich die meaninglessly was not an option.

By the time the dragon shifted targets, Cole had already broken from the front line, years of combat instinct moving him before his thoughts could catch up.

A level 60 undead boss did not change targets mid-fight without reason. They were not intelligent in the usual sense, but they reacted to certain triggers.

Treasures.

Planting his spear into the ground, Cole pivoted sharply and cut across the dragon’s path at an angle.

"Left team, fall back and regroup!" he barked. "Ranged, switch focus. Harass its rear legs. Slow it down!"

The Association members reacted instantly, scattering and reforming without hesitation.

Driving his spear forward, Cole struck the dragon’s front leg as it thundered past, carving a shallow groove into the cracked bone. The creature barely reacted, but its stride faltered for a split second.

"Hey!" he shouted toward the fleeing figure. "You! What are you carrying?"

Zich glanced back briefly. "What?"

"Undead bosses don’t break formation for nothing!" Cole’s voice cut through the chaos. "They are drawn to specific things. Are you carrying any high-tier treasure?"

With another strike, he bought a few seconds. "What is in your backpack?"

’Treasures...’

Zich’s legs kept moving, but his thoughts stalled.

Inside his bag were four soul shards, including one from a dungeon boss.

"Damn it, that makes sense now!"

At that exact moment, a roar tore through the air as a ball of blue flame shot forward.

Boom!

Despite his stats being higher than most players, they meant nothing in front of a dragon. The explosion caught him in its range and sent him flying like a ragdoll.

Off to the side, Helen saw him get thrown and finally moved.

She stepped forward but Jayden’s hand shot out and caught her wrist.

"Don’t."

Helen turned sharply, trying to pull free. "Let go. He’s going to die if someone doesn’t—"

"And if you go, what then?" Jayden cut in, tightening his grip just enough. His eyes stayed on the battlefield. "You think I’ll stand here and watch you run into a level 60 undead boss?"

"He needs help!" Helen snapped. "You can see that!"

A slow breath left Jayden as his expression hardened. "That’s not your call."

"What does that even mean?"

"It means," he said, finally looking at her, "your safety comes first. If anything happens to you, the Association President won’t just be upset. He’ll come down here himself and make it everyone’s problem."

She hesitated, but only for a moment. "I don’t care about that right now. Zich—" 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"—is not your responsibility," Jayden interrupted again, his tone calm but firm. "He chose this. We are not risking your life for someone we just met."

Her jaw tightened. "So we just watch him die?"

Jayden stayed silent for a second, his gaze returning to the battlefield where the bone dragon tore through the terrain.

Helen looked ready to argue more, but her fingers slowly curled into her palm. Frustration showed clearly on her face as she was forced to stay put.

...

Meanwhile...

Pushing himself off the ground, Zich steadied his breathing as a thought flashed through his mind.

’If I can exit the mountain, doesn’t that—’

The idea cut off midway as he spoke.

"Exit Mountain!"

At once, a system panel appeared in front of him.

[Ding! Unable to exit the Ascension Mountain.]

[Condition for exit: Disengage from combat or eliminate the source of engagement.]

A bitter smile formed.

The system had already closed that option.

Slowly, he turned.

In the distance, the bone dragon loomed, massive and burning. Cole’s team surrounded its legs and flanks, trying to slow it down as blue flames lit the gaps between its ribs. Empty eye sockets remained locked onto him without hesitation.

Cole drove his spear into the dragon’s shoulder joint and shouted, "You can’t run! There’s no use running!"

"I know that now!" Zich shouted back.

"Then stop running in the wrong direction and do something useful!"

His jaw tightened.

Do something useful.

His gaze moved between the dragon and Cole’s team. They were holding the line, but barely. One support player was already on her knees, another’s arm hung at an unnatural angle.

Even experienced fighters were being overwhelmed.

Attention shifted toward the dragon’s chest, the burning core between its ribs, the weak point the team had been trying to reach.

They couldn’t get close enough.

Cole was right. Running wouldn’t solve anything.

Letting out a slow breath, Zich rolled his neck and began walking back toward the battlefield.

As he drew closer, his voice came out cold.

"Silverback, Blood Leech, Slimy... come forth!"

...

Guys, it’s a new month! Don’t forget to vote with your Power Stones, gifts, comments and Golden Tickets, and make sure to leave a review.

There’s also a new bonus Chapter goal:

100 Power Stones → 1 bonus Chapter

50 Golden Tickets → 2 bonus Chapters

1 Castle → 3 bonus Chapters

Let’s do this! These goals will run for the rest of the month.