Sword Art Online: Moonlight Swordman.

[You received: Mint Leaf x4][Quest: Collect Mint Leaf – 20/20][Quest Completed.]

Ren let out a sigh, then slowly crawled out from the thick bushes, dry leaves rustling beneath him.It had taken nearly twenty minutes just to gather the required number of leaves, not dangerous, but surprisingly taxing on one's patience.

This was the third gathering quest he had completed that morning. Before this were mushroom picking and forest fruit harvesting, tasks that sounded easy but were anything but simple within a misty forest filled with constant surprises.

Each quest typically yielded about 200 Cor and between 125 to 130 EXP. Not much, but enough to accumulate steadily, and more importantly, to keep Ren's journey moving forward.

He stretched his shoulders, gently rotating his torso to loosen his joints.

Today, Ren had decided to spend almost the entire day wandering around the northern region of the Floating Mist Forest.

If he wanted to complete a few more quests and hunt monsters, he needed to head even farther out, beyond where most players usually roamed.

[8:12 AM]

"Still early..." Ren muttered, glancing at the floating system clock at the edge of his vision. His hand instinctively tightened around the hilt of his sword.A long day lay ahead, and he was fully prepared.

Ren opened his quest interface.

All the gathering quests for the day had been marked as completed, mint leaves, forest fruits, mushrooms hidden under decaying trees... trivial tasks, but they helped Ren reawaken the rhythm of action and gradually ease back into the pace of life on the third floor.

However, that wasn't the main reason Ren had ventured deep into the northern sector of the Floating Mist Forest.

He scrolled the list slightly. In the active quests section, three titles remained unchecked, and these were the true objectives of today's expedition.

[Defeat 20 Land Spiders][Defeat 15 Roaring Wolves][Collect Treant Sapling Resin – 0/5]

Ren didn't expect to complete all three in a single day. He knew full well how difficult they could be.

Land Spiders usually operated in groups, and their venomous spit caused paralysis when it landed.

Roaring Wolves were fierce, agile, and especially troublesome when encountered in pairs or packs.

As for Treant Saplings...

They were quiet creatures, scattered throughout the forest, only appearing in areas with high humidity and low light.

The only resource that could be harvested from them was their living resin, a rare material used to increase the flexibility and durability of leather armor.

But they had to be taken down precisely, just one overly strong strike could destroy the resin completely... or more accurately, prevent it from dropping at all if the kill was not clean.

Ren took a deep breath. The scent of damp earth, moss, and tree sap filled his nose, cool and sharp. He placed a hand on his sword's hilt.

"At the very least, I should get started," he thought to himself.

The sky above was still bright, but the shadows beneath the trees were steadily deepening.

It didn't take long for Ren to follow the quest markers in search of the spiders.

He began to slow down as the grass underfoot darkened, shifting from vibrant green to a duller tone, almost gray-brown.

He immediately realized he had stepped into a different area, where everything seemed to fall silent, as if the forest were holding its breath, waiting for something.

Ahead, tall clumps of grass reached knee-height, swaying ever so slightly in the breeze.

Bushes grew thick and tangled like webs. Ren had to crouch low to slip through without making a sound.

The air here turned heavy and moist. The mist that normally floated at canopy level now sank low, clinging to the ground. Each step on the bed of decaying leaves left a soft depression, It felt as if the earth itself was... alive.

Ren opened his map interface and quickly skimmed the quest details.

"Looks like I've found the right place..." he murmured, eyes never leaving the forest ahead.

The mist here was denser, shrouding everything in a cold white veil. Trees grew in tight clusters, their trunks piercing one another like spears, forming countless blind spots.

A perfect place for something to lurk.

Ren instinctively gripped the hilt of his sword tighter, lowering his stance, every sense sharpened to its limit.

"Just stay careful..." he whispered, voice nearly blending with his breathing. He had never fought spider-type creatures before, not the kind of monster you could handle with experience alone. You needed intuition.

Real-time reaction.

Land Spider.

Predators of the underbrush, hidden between shadows and shrubs.

They didn't charge in like wolves, they waited.

They watched for movement. Detected motion. Then shot out strands of sticky silk like oil, slowing prey down before delivering a sudden venomous bite.

Some higher-tier specimens could even paralyze their targets temporarily with their sting.

Ren crouched lower, activating [Stealth]. A faint vapor, like a breath, merged with the surrounding fog around his body.

Every motion was perfectly controlled, from the bend of his knees to the soft press of his soles against the ground.

Not a sound. Not a rustled leaf.

His heartbeat slowed. As if syncing with the forest's quiet breath.

And then....

A dry hiss echoed from behind a hollow, rotting tree trunk.

Not loud. But drawn out.

Ren immediately leaned sideways, pressing himself against a low bush nearby, his eyes darting through the gaps in the thick foliage.

It was there.

A spider the size of a hunting hound, its body covered in a matte black fur that shimmered faintly under the dappled light.

Faint crimson stripes curled around its bulbous abdomen, like glowing threads beneath smoldering coal.

Eight long, slender legs, each joint bent like a fishhook. Every step it took made almost no sound, yet the air seemed to tremble ever so slightly.

Short, curved fangs gleamed with a dull metallic sheen. In a single blink, Ren could see venom dripping from their tips onto the layer of rotting leaves below.

[Land Spider – Lv.9]

He tightened his grip on Windslash. His fingers brushed the scabbard out of habit. His eyes never left the target as he swept his gaze across the surroundings.

He had to make sure this one was alone, not a lure.

No other movement detected.

Only the wind whispering through the treetops, and the faint clicking from the spider's shifting legs.

Ren lowered himself a bit more. Slightly tilted his body.

'Within range…'

Then...

Ren burst from hiding like a gust sweeping through the grass.

[Stap] was activated in the very first instant of his movement, the blade glowing with a faint silver streak.

The sharp thrust drove straight into the spider's belly, where the chitin wasn't thick enough to protect.

[CRITICAL – 162]

The spider let out a dry, grating screech, like metal scraping stone. Its whole body recoiled reflexively, all eight legs clawing at the damp ground to steady itself.

Ren gave it no chance. He dashed forward like a shadow, his blade slicing diagonally across its bristled back.

[–87]

The spider shuddered. A thick glob of webbing shot from its abdomen, laced with pale gray fluid, the numbing agent noted in the bestiary.

Ren twisted away, skidding past a protruding root, then rolled low. Right as the spider flipped its belly upward to fire a second volley.

A flash of light.

"Stap!" The blade glinted with cold steel-blue as it drove straight into the newly exposed weak spot.

[CRITICAL!]

A bright red number flared on the interface, and pixelated blood exploded like scattered ruby dust.

The spider's blade-like legs lifted again, but Ren had already stepped back, dropped his stance, and narrowly avoided the piercing strike, like a harpoon thrust from the shadows.

The creature thrashed wildly, all eight legs flailing forward in a frenzy, desperate to close the gap.Its heavy chitin slammed against the forest floor with the force of stone hammers.

Ren slid one step to the left, his foot gliding over the soft ground.

He twisted his hips, carrying through a sweeping horizontal slash.

Windslash tore through one of its front leg joints, followed by a harsh crack.

He stepped back. At that moment, one of its scythe-like legs slashed past his left shoulder.A faint red streak flickered on the interface.

Ren gritted his teeth.

The Bleed effect didn't trigger, but the hit had thrown off his balance.

The spider lunged, seizing the opportunity, its two front legs spread wide to clamp down on its prey.

Ren didn't dodge.

He stood still for half a second. One breath. One pause.

The moment those legs closed in...

Ren spun.

The blade drew a sharp, cold arc through the air.

A pale flash of tempered steel etched across the space like the faint scratch of a lingering ghost.

The sound of metal cracking echoed from the spider's joint. It staggered.

And then Ren drove the sword into its already-split belly, a cold, clean thrust, straight and deep to the core.

The spider convulsed violently, legs twitching, before slowly collapsing. A soft cloud of pale red pixel dust rose like mist from its vanishing corpse.

[You defeated Land Spider Lv.9][You received 57 EXP][You received 65 Cor][You obtained material: Spider Leg (common) x1, Venom Silk (common) x1][Quest: Defeat Land Spider – 1/20]

Ren exhaled softly.

His body was still unscathed.

A good start.

He bent down to gather the loot, rolling his shoulders loose.

His gaze swept across the distant tree shadows.

One down... only one. And he had nineteen more to go.

But then, Ren's brow furrowed slightly at a faint sound.

[Stealth] activated in a blink. His form seemed to dissolve into the mist, blending with the scattered rays filtering through the canopy.

...

From behind, a low hissing sound began to rise.

Then another.

And more.

Ren glanced quickly over his shoulder, they were coming.

Spider legs thin as pincers crept over the moss-covered ground. Not one... but three, four, maybe even five.

Shadowy forms, shrouded in mist, closing the gap slowly. Forming a curved arc. Like a serrated trap closing shut, inch by inch.

An incomplete circle. There was still a gap on the left.