The forest was cloaked in darkness, heavy with the stench of decay and moisture.
Ryan stood silently before the twisted, nightmarish tree that loomed at the heart of the grove. Behind him, nine Nightmare Imps crouched low, their crimson eyes gleaming as they locked onto the immobile figure of the boss. Beneath the earth, deep guttural rumbles began to rise.
The battle had begun.
Before Ryan could even issue a command, the ground surged upward. Countless black vines burst from the soil, twisting and slithering like venomous serpents. From the base of the massive tree, waves of Thornspawnlings erupted, encircling the clearing in a tightening ring.
"Split up!" Ryan ordered calmly.
Eight of the Nightmare Imps scattered into two teams, flanking left and right to intercept the incoming swarm. The ninth remained by Ryan's side, poised to respond where needed.
The battle ignited in an instant.
The imps dashed between whipping vines and clawed roots, their movements fluid and silent. Their talons flashed, rending through the charging Thornspawnlings. Standing at the rear, Ryan shifted perspective rapidly, toggling between his summoned units, issuing adjustments and corrections with split-second precision.
He never lifted a blade, yet he was the most active combatant on the field.
Ten minutes passed before the swarm thinned. At last, the final Thornspawnlings was torn apart.
Without delay, Ryan directed all nine imps toward the main target — the Corrupted Spirit Tree King.
The imps attacked like a storm. Razor-sharp claws tore at the blackened bark, chunks of armored wood flying in all directions. The tree trembled violently, releasing a deep, ear-splitting groan as its health bar steadily dropped.
At the halfway point — 50%.
The tree's core reacted.
With a sudden shudder, masses of thick vines pulled back from the trunk, exposing a pulsing, blood-red heart-like core in the center of the tree. At the same time, the earth rumbled once more.
Another wave of Thornspawnlings erupted — this time even more numerous, faster, and angrier.
"Damn it..." Ryan muttered under his breath.
He quickly recalled his teams, assigning imps back to defensive positions. They clashed with the reinforcements head-on, buying time as Ryan attempted to delay the boss's self-healing process.
But it wasn't enough.
By the time the final Thornspawnlings was slain, the Tree King had already restored nearly all of its lost health.
Ryan narrowed his eyes.
Meanwhile, in the monitoring room outside the instance...
Principal Hope stared at the screen and exhaled softly. "As expected… soloing this boss is nearly impossible."
"This boss fight was designed specifically to test team coordination," a nearby instructor added. "No way they'd make a instance boss easy. And yet… he made it here alone."
Principal Hope watched the lone figure on the screen, his gaze thoughtful. "But he won't give up. That much is certain."
…
The battle resumed.
But this time, Ryan didn't rush in.
Instead, he held back, letting the imps eliminate the scattered enemies at the edges. In the brief calm, he observed — analyzing the boss's every reaction, its patterns, and its vulnerabilities.
Then he saw it.
The heartcore only became visible when the boss began to heal. Every other moment, it was wrapped tightly in thorned vines, impervious to attack.
"I see…" he whispered.
A new plan formed.
Once more, he deployed the split formation — eight imps drawing the Bramble Sprouts left and right, while the ninth imp, completely hidden, lay in wait at the periphery.
When the Tree King once again began to restore itself, the moment that red core reappeared—
"Now!" Ryan commanded in his mind.
The hidden imp darted from cover, leaping up the trunk with incredible speed. Its claws gleamed as it drove them straight into the throbbing heart.
[Critical Hit! Regeneration Interrupted!]
The Tree King shuddered violently, releasing a warped, inhuman scream.
Scarlet light burst from its core — it had entered its enraged phase.
Vines lashed out wildly in every direction, each whip crack rattling the trees, sending shockwaves across the forest floor. Its attacks doubled in speed, the area becoming a storm of hostile force.
But Ryan didn't retreat.
He guided his imps through the chaos with surgical precision, dodging and baiting, striking and withdrawing. The ninth imp remained locked onto the exposed heartcore, delivering strike after strike.
Every hit denied the boss its recovery.
One minute.
Two minutes.
Three minutes...
Then came the final blow — the ninth imp's claws pierced through the core, shattering it completely in a brilliant flash of crimson light.
[Boss Defeated: The Corrupted Spirit Tree King — EXP +2800]
[Level Up: Lv. 6 Achieved]
[ Cleared. Objective Complete.]
[Preparing to teleport to instance exit...]
The dark forest around Ryan began to dim, its oppressive atmosphere lifting. A warm light encased him, and his body was slowly lifted from the battlefield.
As he rose, Ryan glanced down at the scorched clearing below — at the defeated Tree King, the kneeling imps, and the fading fragments of a shattered red core.
This was his first real victory.