A slight ping sounded in my HUD as we crossed the threshold into Sungei Buloh proper. The jungle closed in immediately, thick and humid. Damp leaves squished underfoot, and the scent of wet earth mixed with something sharper, almost metallic, drifting on the still night air. The canopy above swallowed the weak moonlight, leaving shifting patterns of shadow as branches swayed in the breeze.

  I motioned for Siva to wait and moved ahead, each step deliberate. My Urban Ranger skills sharpened my awareness, my footfalls quieter than his. Somewhere in the distance, a splash echoed across the wetlands, sending ripples through the underbrush. My HUD flickered:

  [Noise Level +1: Detection risk: low.]

  Ahead, a raptor tower, normally used for birdwatching loomed over the thicket, its wooden stairs weathered and splintered. I climbed carefully, testing each step before committing my weight. The wood groaned once, then fell silent as my stealth ability engaged.

  From the top, the jungle unfurled beneath me like a living carpet, layers of green and shadow interwoven with vines and fallen trunks. I crouched low, letting my eyes sweep the clearing below. My pulse thumped in my ears, the sweat on my palms made the bow grip slick.

  Ahead, I could see a vast clearing, wide and unnaturally empty, bathed in dim silvery light filtering through the treetops. Beyond it, the river unfurled like a dark ribbon, glinting faintly where the light caught its surface. The distance between the trees and the water made the clearing feel exposed, like a stage waiting for its audience.

  And there it was. a giant saltwater crocodile, wading out of the river and into the clearing, settling in as if it owned the place. My heart stopped.

  This thing was absurd, easily thirty feet from snout to tail, walking low on powerful legs. So far, we’d faced monkeys, squirrels, and mutated boars, with the boars the only ones even remotely intimidating. But this… this was another league entirely.

  My HUD pinged, a description hovering over the mob:

  [Boss Info: Lockjaw — Level 15 — Hostile]

  [Abilities: Acidic Saliva, Massive Bite, Tail Slam]

  I nocked an arrow, drew, and fired through the narrow observation slits, then crouched again, barely daring to breathe. Nothing happened. Slowly, I raised my head to check it again. My arrow had done nothing. Not a twitch. Not a mark.

  I spent a few tense minutes observing the creature, studying its posture, waiting to see if I could notice anything else. I did not.

  Regret and fear gnawed at me, and I was about to return to Siva when I noticed something else from my elevated view. Movement in the jungle further south from the clearing. Glints of armor and the faint shimmer of blades catching the moonlight. Other survivors.

  I returned to Siva, whispering what I’d seen. His face went pale. He just stared at me, eyes wide, lips tight, the expression that said: You’ve killed us. I couldn’t blame him. But retreat wasn’t an option. We had to approach the other group first.

  “Holy… hell,” Siva muttered behind me as we walked, voice tight. “We can’t fight that thing.”

  “No,” I said, my voice low but firm. “But maybe, if we can convince this other group to work with us, we have a chance. They’re trapped here just like us. Might as well work together while we still can.”

  We advanced cautiously, keeping low, stepping over roots and fallen branches. The survivors froze the instant they spotted us, weapons raised, eyes wide with fear.

  “Who’s there?” a burly man called out, stepping forward. His chest plate was dented, and he was trembling.

  “I’m Chris. This is Siva. We’re friendlies, okay?” I said, hands raised, keeping my tone calm but authoritative.

  The silence hung heavy. The man finally stepped forward, armor clinking softly with each movement. He was Chinese, portly and in his 30s, wearing plate armor that had seen better days, dents and scratches marking its surface. A longsword hung in his grip, though his posture was more tense than threatening.

  “There are only two of you?” he asked, voice tight.

  I nodded.

  He sagged, lowering his weapon slightly, and turned his back to signal someone. One by one, the rest of his party emerged from the woods, silent and wary. There were twelve in total, eight men and four women. Most bore bladed weapons, heavy armor, shields, and gauntlets. Each face told the same story. They bore haunted eyes, tight jaws and exhaustion etched into their features.

  The man who first stepped forward, turned back to us. “I’m Andy. I was hoping a bigger party would come by. But with only two of you…” He let the thought trail off, then turned again, shoulders slumping.

  I took in the rest of the group more closely. Some of them had lighter blades and staffs, hinting at support or hybrid roles. Their eyes flicked constantly toward the clearing.

  Andy spoke again, voice quieter, almost a rasp. “We were twenty-five when we first came. Twenty-five strong. Thought we could take the… thing.” He gestured vaguely toward the clearing, hand trembling. “Half of us didn’t even make it past the first fight. Two days ago. Since then… we’ve been hiding, rationing, hoping a bigger group might come along so we could try again.”

  I felt my chest tighten. Two days in the jungle, exposed to whatever that creature was, watching friends die… I could almost smell the fear still clinging to them. Siva shifted uneasily behind me, leaves rustling beneath his feet.

  “And there are only twelve of you left?” I asked softly.

  Andy’s jaw tightened. “Yes. We’ve… made do. Barely. No one’s in any shape to fight it head-on again. That’s why we’ve been hiding.”

  I nodded. Twelve survivors, cornered, broken, stuck in this… battle arena. We had to figure out a way to take it down.

  I gestured lightly, lowering my voice. “Listen… we’re not here to fight it alone. But maybe, together, we can find a way.”

  Their eyes flicked between Siva and me, searching for... something.

  Andy exhaled slowly, rasping through the humid air. “Alright… do you have explosives or something? A grenade would really help right now.”

  I gave a grim smile. “No. Not yet. Tell me what happened the first time you… lost your friends.”

  He ran a hand through his sweat-matted hair and took a deep breath. “We attacked from all sides, thinking sheer numbers would win. Blades, axes, bows… it didn’t matter. Nothing pierced its hide. The healers did what they could, keeping people alive longer, but…” His voice faltered. “…the speed, the ferocity… it just overwhelmed us.”

  Stolen novel; please report.

  Andy’s gaze drifted toward the clearing, shadowed by trees. “It’d whip its tail like a battering ram. Threw people into the undergrowth, snapping ribs, breaking arms. And then, its bite…” He shuddered. “It’s acid. It melts armor and flesh. Half our party didn’t even scream before it was done. Some of them… some of them were just... gone.”

  The other members gave faint nods, confirming Andy’s story.

  A low rustle came from the leaves behind us. Siva’s hand brushed his katana, ready. I kept mine on my bow, ears straining, but it was only the jungle settling.

  I swallowed, pushing down the rising dread. Twelve survivors, twelve lives hanging by a thread, and a creature the size of a bus waiting in the clearing.

  I continued carefully, scanning their expressions. “We need every detail. Its attacks, its pattern—anything you noticed.”

  Andy’s shoulders slumped, but he nodded, recounting every brutal swing, every moment their party tried to coordinate, every life lost in flashes that made my stomach churn.

  I studied Andy while he spoke. His hands shook slightly even as he adjusted his gauntlets, a subtle tremor betraying the adrenaline still coursing through him. The way he kept glancing toward the clearing, told me everything I needed to know. He was terrified, and he had every right to be.

  I noticed the others too, the way a young woman clutched her staff like it could shield her from the impossible, the man with the dented helm checking behind them, expecting an ambush. They weren’t just scared; they were broken, nerves stretched taut after surviving two days in a living nightmare.

  I surveyed the jungle, bow still ready, and let my mind work through the data. Their attacks hadn’t worked. Healers barely keeping them alive. Hide virtually impervious. Tail capable of leveling a section of jungle. Bite… acid. Any frontal approach was suicide.

  “Andy,” I said carefully, keeping my voice low, “when it attacks, does it follow you if you retreat, or does it only strike what’s closest?”

  He frowned, recalling. “Mostly whoever’s in front. If someone dodges out of range, it swings at the next target, but yeah, it follows if you run.”

  “Were you able to hurt it at all? Think, Andy,” I pressed.

  One of the ladies replied instead. “Our friend, Lee… he managed to cut its belly when it reared up once. He dove right in and stabbed it. It screamed like you wouldn’t believe. We thought we’d won, but then it lashed out. The tail... Lee didn’t make it.” She swallowed hard. “That’s the only time we actually hurt it.”

  That was it. The idea clicked.

  I drew a quick map in the dirt with a stick, marking the clearing, the river, and where we were. “We’ll use that,” I said. “We dig a shallow pit in the forest. Not to trap it, just deep enough for most of you to hide in. One or two of us will act as bait, draw it over the pit. When it’s directly above, everyone strikes from underneath. Target the softer parts, underbelly, joints, anything that actually bleeds. We need to strike fast and hard. Get in as many strikes as we can while it’s above us.”

  A ripple of murmurs went through the group. Some faces lit with hope, most with disbelief.

  Andy’s eyes, wide with fear before, sharpened with focus. “You think that would do it? We could kill it that way?” He asked apprehensively.

  I nodded. “We’ll need coordination and speed. We only have one chance at this.”

  Andy and his group moved off to discuss the plan. I could hear both assenting and dissenting voices. I let them have their space.

  I crouched and pressed my hand against the dirt, imagining the pit, imagining the plan. My pulse spiked. Siva crouched and exhaled slowly beside me. “You know this is stupid, right? People might die.”

  I nodded. I knew he was right. This wasn’t going to be clean. It wasn’t going to be fair. But unless we wanted to wait and hope a bigger party comes across us before our food runs out, or before the boss decides to go scavenging for human flesh, this was the best we could do.

  “We’ll do it,” Andy said finally, approaching us.

  I nodded. “Let’s go then.”

  We moved cautiously through the undergrowth until we found a suitable clearing.

  I marked a spot where the ground was soft enough to dig. “Here,” I said to Andy. “This is where we make the pit. Shallow, just enough to hide in. We don’t want it too deep that you cannot stab upwards to hit it.”

  I told the group that I was going to scout ahead a bit, just to be sure there were no other mobs around us. I crouched behind a fallen tree trunk when Siva quietly sidled up next to me.

  “I’m guessing we are the bait?” he asked.

  I turned to him and gave what I hoped was an encouraging smile. “Yes. Look at them,” I replied quietly. “They’re too nervous. I’m afraid they will just run off without sticking to the plan if we make them the bait.”

  Siva nodded quietly. We discussed our own plan as I continued scanning the forest.

  We returned to the dig site, expecting to chip in and start digging when, to our surprise, the pit was already done.

  “I have a spell that helps in making deep holes,” said one of the male members of the party. “My class is Grave Digger. It’s a necromancy class. But it takes a lot of Mana, and I had to use up most of the team’s Mana potions for this.”

  "Shawn here did not fully read the description at class selection and thought that class would get him an in with the older ladies," said a lady carrying a staff on her back, crossing her arms and sneering at him.

  I just stared open mouthed at Shawn, the good-looking Chinese man in his twenties. He just shrugged and gave me a sheepish grin. Siva started giggling beside me.

  This is good. I thought. We needed to break the tension. These people were wound up real tight.

  I also made a mental note to really study my abilities and skills if we survived this. I’d been going headlong without leaning into the game aspects, and I needed to spend more time studying what I could really do. And I needed to talk to Siva more about his class too.

  That will have to wait though. First, we need to survive this, I thought as I looked at the ready pit.

  We moved cautiously through the undergrowth, approaching Lockjaw, the boss mob. Andy’s melee fighters were in position, huddled in the pit, weapons ready, hidden under a thin layer of foliage. The healers hid nearby, ready to cast healing magic at a moment’s notice.

  I scanned the clearing one last time. Moonlight glinted off Lockjaw’s wet hide as it lounged at the river’s edge, massive and still, yet somehow aware.

  “You ready?” I whispered.

  Siva’s hand tightened on his katana. I could sense the fear coming off him. He nodded.

  We stepped into the clearing. Lockjaw’s head lifted slowly, eyes black and unblinking, locking onto us. The earth trembled under its weight. Tail lashed through the mud with a thunderous crack. I shot two arrows at its snout, ping! Ping!, deflecting harmlessly off its thick hide.

  It charged.

  “Run!” I yelled. Siva stumbled but recovered, sprinting beside me.

  The ground shook with each of Lockjaw’s colossal steps. Mud flew in chunks. Branches snapped.

  “Go! GO! GO!” I screamed. Heart hammering, lungs burning, the pit ahead looming closer with every second.

  We reached it and ran along the perimeter, careful not to fall in. I turned just in time to see Lockjaw rear up, roaring in pain as swords and staves slashed into its underbelly from the pit. The plan worked. It had run right above the pit. It raised itself onto its hind legs, trying to avoid the blades attacking from underneath.

  My HUD flashed. I could now see a health bar above Lockjaw. And it was quickly decreasing, moving into the red.

  I shot three arrows at once, each striking deep into the exposed underbelly, already bleeding from countless slashes. Guts and blood spilled out from the deep cuts into the pit. Siva circled behind the creature as planned, and ran up the massive tail and up to its head. Two swift strikes, and he had blinded both of Lockjaw’s eyes. The creature roared, thrashing wildly, rolling over, and Siva sailed off its head into the bushes. No time to check on him.

  “IT’S BLINDED! NOW! NOW! NOW!” I shouted.

  Andy’s party surged from the pit, weapons dripping with crocodile blood. The beast flailed blindly, tail smashing into trees and sending fighters flying. I advanced, bow singing as I rained arrows into joints, neck, and its open mouth as it roared.

  Shawn, the Grave Digger, cast the same spell he did for creating the pit, opening a hole beneath one of Lockjaw’s rear legs. The giant croc toppled sideways, exposing its soft belly again. We attacked relentlessly, dodging snapping jaws and flailing tail. Its health bar is now deep in the red.

  From the corner of my eye, Siva exploded out of the underbrush.

  He vaulted into the air in a deadly arc, katana gleaming in the moonlight. Time seemed to slow as he swung, blade slicing across the creature’s exposed throat, almost severing its massive head.

  Lockjaw let out a final, ear-shattering roar, then went still, collapsing into the floor with a thunderous crash.

  The jungle fell silent.

  We froze, hearts pounding, taking it all in. The jungle itself seemed to exhale. And then, cheers erupted. Siva turned to me, blood-soaked and grinning. Tears ran down the faces of the other survivors as Andy’s healers moved among the injured.

  We did it. All of us. We survived.

  Then my HUD pinged.

  [Boss 1/5 of Northern Sector vanquished]

  [Defeat all 5 to leave the Northern Sector]

  There’s… there’s a way out…