As they walked through the forest, David and Lisa noticed blood stains on the ground—still fresh. In this world, blood marks only appear when a player is severely injured, and they fade within an hour.
"This just happened," Lisa said, narrowing her eyes.
They followed the trail and soon found one of their guild members—Alice, slumped against a tree. She was bleeding heavily, her HP bar nearly empty.
"Alice!" Lisa ran over and quickly fed her healing berries.
"What happened? Where are the others?" Lisa asked urgently.
Alice looked up, tears welling in her eyes. "We were on a mission. After we finished it, we were ambushed… They came from behind—unknown players. Strong ones. Even Steven couldn't stop them."
She gritted her teeth. "They've been spying on us for some time. They knew everything. They left me here and… they took Zack and Steven. They're holding them hostage in their hideout. They're asking for a ransom—or they'll torture them."
Her voice broke. "I couldn't protect my friends… I'm such a loser…" she sobbed.
Lisa clenched her fists, biting her lip in anger. David stepped in, voice calm but firm. "We'll get them back. But first, let's go back and plan."
Back at the guild hideout, as they were entering, David spotted a shadow moving in the bushes.
Without hesitation, he threw a dagger at it.
A man bolted out, barely dodging it. "We're watching you!" he shouted as he ran. "Get the ransom, or we'll keep torturing your friends!"
David gritted his teeth, rage flashing in his eyes—but there was nothing they could do yet.
Lisa turned to Alice. "Do you know where they were taken?"
Alice nodded. "I managed to attach a tracking crystal to Zack's armor. We can trace them. But…"
She hesitated.
"But we can't fight them head-on," Lisa finished.
"Even Steven and Zack couldn't win," Alice whispered. "It'd be suicide with just us."
Lisa and Alice began to strategize, but David suddenly spoke up, his eyes lighting up.
"…I might have an idea."
Meanwhile, deep in the forest…
"You better give us your guild's hideout password," one of Maxim's minions growled, slamming his foot into Steven's face.
Steven cried out in pain, restrained tightly by ropes.
"Or we'll start torturing your friend Zack too," the man continued. "Do you really want to watch that?"
"No—please!" Steven begged, struggling. "Just let us go! We have bigger problems right now!"
"Then give us the password," the minion snarled, slicing open Steven's shirt. Another thug placed the blade tip on his shoulder and pressed hard.
Steven gasped, his face twisting in agony.
"Give. Us. The. Password!" the man barked again.
Steven whimpered. The blade's wielder struck him twice across the head—blood pouring out. His vision blurred. Breathing shallow. Then came another stab—Steven collapsed, unconscious.
From his chair, Zack watched, horrified.
"Stop! Please stop! Just give them the password, Steven!" he cried. "We worked so hard for that hideout… but this isn't worth dying over!"
Maxim stepped forward, smirking. "That's the beauty of this VR world. You feel real pain. You'll break eventually."
He kicked Zack to the ground. "Besides, we already sent ransom demands to your friends. If we don't get the password, we'll still make a profit."
Suddenly, their small hideout trembled.
A deep, unnatural vibration shook the air.
"What the hell?" Maxim muttered.
Then, a voice echoed outside.
"Hey, assholes… how's it going?"
They turned toward the voice—and froze.
A tall man stepped into view. Lean, powerful, built like a predator. Dark brown hair. Light brown eyes. Blue clothes with white stripes.
The Hunter.
The infamous killer of dozens—many of them Maxim's former allies.
Maxim's smirk faltered. "Well, well… To what do we owe the pleasure?"
The Hunter pointed his blade at them. "You dared to commit violence in my territory. Let them go. Now."
Maxim crossed his arms. "I don't think so."
His men drew their weapons and charged.
"You think you can kill all of us in five seconds?" Maxim sneered.
The Hunter smiled faintly. "You've clearly never met a real Hunter."
He raised his fist—and the ground began to glow, shifting between green and purple.
"What the—?!" Maxim's men froze.
The earth trembled violently beneath their feet. Then—BOOM.
A blinding flash.
An earsplitting roar.
And then—pitch black.