Sitting on the floor of his house, Draven scribbled notes in his diary while scrolling through his phone with rapt attention.
Despite the excitement of his new ability, Draven didn't rush into the Plane. Instead, he spent hours researching the Green House Plane, combing through threads and the Rank 1 section of the Elites Forum.
It was during this deep dive that he confirmed the existence of other Rank 1 Planes, but he focused solely on the Green House Plane.
The information was fragmented—reports of monsters and their abilities, speculations about the gear they might drop, descriptions of locations, dangerous zones, unconfirmed rumors, and more. To most, it would've seemed like a jumble of scraps, but Draven was different. He had pieced together a map of the Blue Plane from similar scraps—though that effort had included videos, visual displays, and even physical sight of the Blue Plane.
While he couldn't create a detailed map this time, he compiled notes that could save his life and time from searching wild for targets.
He worked tirelessly until evening, only stopping to charge his phone. By nightfall, he decided to sleep, ignoring the gnawing hunger in his stomach as he prepared for the next day.
Draven woke earlier than usual, just a few minutes past 3 AM.
"This is my last clean shirt…" he muttered before dressing in casual clothes.
The streets were empty as he made his way to the Council Association, avoiding the usual bunch of local thugs who were likely busy with their night activities—robbery.
"Good morning, Miss Grace," Draven greeted the receptionist.
"Draven?" she replied, startled, before offering a professional smile and adjusting her glasses. "You know my name?"
"Heard someone call you," he said with a shrug. "I need to go to the Plane."
"Hardworking, I see. Well, you don't need to tell me every time you go to the Plane. Just follow the instructions I gave you. There's a room over there to change and store your belongings, and the shelves are marked for your gear."
Draven nodded, followed her directions, and returned clad in his brown armor.
"Good luck. And be careful—it's still dark out there," she added.
Draven nodded again and left.
Entering the Plane, he quickly made his way out of the dimly lit, sparsely populated Haven, heading in the direction opposite the forest. The Plane wasn't entirely dark, like the early hours of the morning, which made him wonder: 'Does the Plane share the same sun as Earth?'
With his bow drawn and an arrow nocked, Draven walked cautiously, his Soul Eyes active. Even in the darkness, he could still see the white flames of living beings, which served as his reconnaissance.
'First target—the black worm that guy mentioned seeing around the green hill range. He said it only comes out at night and disappears the moment it notices anything. Not sure if it's true, but it's along the way, so I'll check it out.'
After thirty minutes of silent, quick trekking, Draven reached the moss-covered hill, its surface glowing faintly with a dull green light.
He stopped abruptly and studied the moss carefully, relaxing only when he confirmed there were no white flames within it—the memory of the Vineguard still haunted him.
Draven scanned the area with his Soul Eyes, searching for the worm, but found nothing except the damp plain.
"Well, I didn't have high expectations anyway," he muttered, turning to leave. But then he paused.
He closed his eyes briefly, weighing his options. 'Do I search for it, or leave? The person said it's slow, making it a perfect target. But it's just a rumor…'
His eyes snapped open. 'A quick search won't hurt.'
Draven approached the hill cautiously. When he reached the base, the dim glow of the moss reflected on his face. He unsummoned his bow, placed the arrow between his teeth—in case something pops up—and began scaling the hill quietly. The moss made the surface slippery, but fortunately, the slope wasn't too steep.
At the top, Draven crouched and activated Soul Eyes, scanning the surroundings. At first, he saw nothing—until he looked behind the hill.
In the distance, obscured by darkness, he spotted a faint white dot.
Draven lay flat on the ground, summoned his bow, and nocked the arrow. Steadying his breath, he activated [Stasis]. His pores constricted, his heartbeat slowed, and a strange cold enveloped him.
He remained perfectly still, watching the white dot move leisurely toward the hill. As it drew closer, the dot grew into a dense white flame.
Draven bided his time, refusing to shoot or move and risk breaking his cover. The writer had claimed the worm vanished instantly if it noticed anything amiss.
When the worm reached an ideal range, Draven took aim. But just as he was about to release the arrow, he spotted multiple white dots in the distance, approaching from the same direction as the worm.
'Do I kill the worm and escape? Can I take it down in one shot? Will I be able to outrun whatever's coming?' Draven hesitated.
After a moment, he decided to wait and observe. He could always hunt the worm another day now he knows it is real. He lowered his bow.
The worm had a sleek, segmented obsidian body, roughly 8 to 10 meters long. When it reached the base of the hill, Draven watched it burrow into the side.
He shifted his focus to the approaching group, pressing his body tightly against the hilltop and reactivating [Stasis] to minimize his presence.
A few minutes later, the group came into view—not monsters, as he'd expected, but ten humans. They were led by someone in silver armor.
Three of them were unmasked—two boys and a girl—while the rest wore helmets.
Draven squinted. 'That armor… Jude.'
When they reached the spot where the worm had burrowed, Jude whispered something to the group before disappearing into the hill when his body touched it. The others followed.
'Why are ten Elites hunting one worm? How would they split the rewards? That worm is Second Order and I'm sure from the density of the white flame. And… how did they just disappear?' Draven wondered, unable to see much from his vantage point.
He waited for about ten minutes before climbing down.
At the base of the hill, where they all disappeared, Draven discovered a crevice hidden beneath thick moss.
'Should I go in or not?' he hesitated, but then a gleam lit up his electric blue eyes. There is no way ten Elites would come early in the morning for one worm, except there is a feast for everybody.'
A lopsided smirk tugged at his lips.
'And I'm going to dig in too. At the very least, I'll farm some Soul Vitalis.'
With that, Draven slipped into the dark crevice.