This is a Beta Test?! - A Literally Broken System

With Maruki taking the front, we cautiously moved forward, passing the abandoned village that we once observed before we found ourselves back in front of the white Wanderwood-ridden forest. Behind me, I could hear Shizu muttering to herself, Guidance doing her best to somehow interpret whatever it was that the princess was saying. All the while, the rest of us had our [Manifests] drawn. Even Shen had her wrench gripped tightly in both hands as she anxiously trailed behind me.

pαпᵈα-noνɐ1·сoМ "Is everything alright back there?" I called out, turning around just as we stopped short of entering the forest.

"I-I'm fine," Shizu stuttered, her response coming out more as a breath than a statement. "The... my eyes keep trying to turn itself on..."

"I'm trying my best to keep her stable," Guidance chimed in. "I don't know why, but something within that forest keeps interacting with her specifically."

"Any ideas as to what?"

"Not really sure," the dev replied with a sigh. "At the very least, we can conclude that it's the work of whatever is in there. Maybe it's the monster in there. Maybe it's one of the heirlooms. We can't really know for certain."

I raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you the one that designed all this stuff?"

Guidance frowned at me in response. "Just because I did doesn't mean that I remember everything," she growled at me, much to my small annoyance. "And the Withermoons are just as much of a mystery to me as it is to the player. I never fleshed them out, only giving them a vague backstory that can service the lore of the game."

"So even Lady Guidance doesn't know that much," Shade sighed. "At the very least, we have something that we can work off on. Any hints on the monster that might be waiting for us in there?"

The dev furrowed her brows in deep thought. "If I recall, it should be some kind of monstrosity that should never see the light of day. An Eldritch being that should've really never left the Grand Abyss."

I gulped. "So we're looking at some kind of end game boss then?"

"Pretty much," Guidance replied. "Recalling bits and pieces of the quest, the Withermoon manor should hold the key as to how to defeat it."

I took in a deep breath as I gazed right into the forest. Great, so we were supposed to somehow defeat this thing while also having to explore what was obviously a very dangerous environment possibly full of other unknown horrors never before seen by even someone well-traveled like Shade. This was going to be fun...

"Right, so we just have to find this manor and defeat a literal myth," Shade sighed, his nervousness seeping through despite his bravado. "In retrospect, I should start getting used to myths and mysticisms being proven to be true."

"Not all of them are true, I'm sure," Guidance sighed. "Besides, we won't be dying here anyway."

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As if sensing our presence, the shriek that came to us sounded more challenging, demeaning. It honestly felt like whatever was in there was goading us into finding it. And I didn't know why, but a part of me really wanted to bash its head in.

"It... It calls..."

Shizu?

Before I could even turn around, a blur of black and green rushed right past me, the princess sprinting forward without so much as a word to where she was going.

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"Shizu?!"

Our collective calls fell on deaf ears as we stood dumbfounded in front of the forest Shizu had disappeared into. We couldn't even see where she went, the darkness among the trees obscuring us from even taking a peek at what lies ahead.

"We have to get the princess!" Maruki shouted, his voice exuding a hint of panic that I'd never heard from the man before. "Shade?!"

"I know!" he quickly replied, his rose seemingly transforming into some kind of thorned whip as he looked eager to dive in. "But we can't go in there without a plan!"

"S-Shizu?! Where is she going?!" Shen fearfully asked, her eyes already welling up as she looked up at me.

"Moriya!"

And just like that, Guidance added to the chorus of people all looking to me for direction. The objective was clear, and there was no other choice other than to move forward. With Shizu surging ahead, there was no telling what would happen now.

"Guidance, we're in an instance, so should all be level synced, right?"

"Right."

I frowned as I looked up at everyone's levels. Apart from Guidance, all of us were sporting a level with an average of twenty-five across Shen, Shade, Maruki, and myself. Guidance was around level 99 still, which could only mean that Shizu would also still be 80...

Which, thinking about how Guidance still had her max level, was still woefully underleveled for what might be out there.

"Damn..." I whispered to myself. "Fine then. With you being at max level, you're going to have to be at the front, Guidance.

"W-What?! I can't-"

"You'll at least survive a hit, as the rest of us can't," I insisted, making the rest of them flinch at my course words. "If anything, you might be the strongest member of our party right now."

"But I'm not built to take damage!" Guidance reasoned. "I can't tank to save my life! Even Maruki could probably take a few hits before I could even try and survive!"

I raised an eyebrow at that. "Even if he's over fifty levels below what we might encounter here?"

"Yes," Guidance replied. "While levels are important, the only things they add are more [HP], [Moves], and [MP] to work with. It should be possible to deal damage and survive even with your current [Manifests]."

My eyes widened at that. If that was the case, then we should still be able to hold our own against high-level enemies. Sure, a single hit would mean death, but at least we wouldn't be defenseless. Then again, "Wouldn't there be some kind of defense stat that might just render our attacks useless?"

"[Manifests] ignore that," Guidance insisted. "I coded it in that only conventional weapons would take defense into account. We'll all be fine!"

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