Chapter 20: (CH19)GFH ENCOUNTER
The northern woods were too quiet.
Luis and the others had spent hours pushing through underbrush, clearing out packs of Rustfang Hares and the occasional Shade Stalker, but there was no sign of the Silver-class beast they’d come for.
"This is bull," Rudo grunted, kicking a rock. "We’ve been walking in circles for hours."
"Maybe it saw your face and ran," Jun quipped, spinning a dagger between his fingers.
Rico shook his head. "Or maybe it’s smarter than we thought."
Then Del froze. "There," he said, pointing.
Tucked behind a curtain of moss and roots was a golden pillar—runes coiled across its surface, glowing faintly beneath the grime.
"Pillar of Challenge," Lani muttered, stepping closer. "Golden tier. That’s a bad idea in twenty different ways."
"Yeah, we’re not that stupid," Rico said, already backing up. "Leave it."
But then—gunfire.
Distant, rapid. Too structured for a random fight. Too real.