The map detailed a path leading deep into the southern wildlands—a region known as the Scarred Wastes. Unlike the bustling fortress city of Stormclaw, the Scarred Wastes were a desolate stretch of land filled with ancient ruins, treacherous terrain, and beasts that even the strongest warriors avoided.
Leon knew exactly what lay ahead.
One of the oldest legacies in Devia.
A hidden ruin that, in his past life, had remained undiscovered for years due to its deadly environment and high-level guardian beasts.
He exhaled slowly. "This is going to be dangerous."
Jarek groaned. "Yeah, because everything else so far has been completely safe."
Kaelen chuckled. "Well, at least it won't be boring."
Rhun, however, remained silent. His eyes were locked onto the map, his brows furrowed.
Leon noticed. "Something wrong?"
Rhun hesitated before answering. "The Scarred Wastes are not just dangerous. They are… cursed."
Leon raised an eyebrow. He didn't remember any mention of a curse. "Cursed how?"
Rhun's golden eyes darkened. "It is said that those who enter never return."
Jarek scoffed. "That's what they say about a lot of places."
But Rhun shook his head. "This is different. Even the strongest of our warriors refuse to step foot there."
Leon felt a familiar excitement rise in his chest. This was new information.
Had the game never fully revealed this, or was this something exclusive to the real Devia?
Either way, it only made him more determined to go.
"Then that just means we'll be the first to return," Leon said with a small smirk.
Rhun exhaled heavily. "You are impossible."
Kaelen clapped his hands. "So, when do we leave?"
Leon glanced at the map one last time before rolling it up.
"At dawn."
---
The Road to the Unknown
They departed at first light, their supplies packed and weapons ready. The Scarred Wastes lay several days' journey southeast, a route that would take them through dense jungles, rocky cliffs, and untamed beast territories.
Leon wasn't worried about the journey itself. It was what awaited them at the destination that concerned him.
In his past life, the ruin hidden within the Scarred Wastes had been considered a "Level 500 Forbidden Zone." No player had dared enter it until much later in the game, when top-tier guilds had prepared expeditions. Even then, most failed.
And yet, here he was, heading straight for it before the game even launched.
If he could claim the legacy hidden there first…
His path to power would accelerate beyond anything anyone could predict.
---
Signs of the Past
The first day of travel was uneventful, but by the second, they began noticing the remnants of old battles.
Abandoned camps. Scorched earth. Bones half-buried in the ground.
Kaelen knelt beside one such site, picking up a beastman skull. "Looks old. Maybe decades."
Rhun studied the markings on a nearby boulder. Claw marks. Deep and precise.
"This was no ordinary battle," he muttered. "These are from a Warbeast."
Leon's eyes sharpened. Warbeasts.
Ancient creatures that had roamed the world before even the first empires were formed.
Most had gone extinct… or so people believed.
"If Warbeasts are involved," Jarek said grimly, "then we're walking into something big."
Leon smiled slightly. Good. That means we're on the right track.
But as they continued forward, the air around them began to change.
It was subtle at first—a shift in the wind, a deafening silence where there should have been wildlife.
Then came the whispers.
---
The First Sign of the Curse
It started as a faint sound. Distant. Almost imperceptible.
But as the sun set, it grew louder. Voices.
Kaelen stopped mid-step. "Tell me I'm not the only one hearing that."
Jarek frowned. "Nope. Definitely hearing it."
The voices weren't in any language Leon recognized. They were distorted, broken whispers that seemed to come from everywhere at once.
Rhun's expression hardened. "We should not linger here."
Leon agreed. But just as he was about to order them to move faster—
A shadow moved at the edge of his vision.
He turned sharply, drawing his sword.
Nothing.
But the whispers continued.
And then, the temperature dropped. Drastically.
Kaelen shivered. "This isn't normal."
Leon narrowed his eyes. He had prepared for high-level beasts, traps, and even the ruins' defenses.
But this?
This was something new.
And that meant one thing.
The real challenge was just beginning.
---