A blade of verdant energy burst through the air, clearing a path through the dense foliage. The forest seemed never-ending, with the trees getting thicker and more ancient the deeper they ventured.
The trio advanced cautiously.
Fallen leaves crunched at Nox's footsteps as he scanned the area. Finding nothing out of the ordinary, he lifted a finger. Seeing his signal, Elysia and Opal slowly followed his lead.
Last night, the two discussed ways to communicate with each other without alerting anyone. Coming from completely different environments, they bickered for hours.
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"And that's why, this would be the best way of communication." The mage nodded to herself.
Elysia suggested that they form a secret language. After all, if they were the only ones who could understand each other, then they could talk as much as they wanted.
Nox stared at her as if she was an idiot. "You realize that the corrupted creatures will move at any sign of voice, even if they don't understand the language."
Deep in thought, she mumbled, "But Maria and I had our own secret language.." Then quickly coughing, pointed at his face.
"How about facial expressions?"
He paused, but dismissed the idea. "I think hand gestures would work the best. It's silent and easy to remember."
The black-haired girl kicked a nearby pebble as she grumbled. "Fine…"
Rolling over on the floor, Elysia made herself comfortable as she quickly fell asleep.
'Guess I'm on night-watch duty again.'
He stood up to survey the surroundings one last time. The morning sun would rise soon, and it was best that he got some sleep. Stretching his limbs, he let out a groan.
Placing flimsy sticks around their campsite, Nox improvised an intruder alarm. During the night, the forest was mostly silent. Any hidden predator would have to step on a branch first if they wanted to get to the group, giving them time to prepare against the attack.
As he carefully dropped the last pieces of wood, he suddenly slipped on something.
Hitting his head on a tree, he winced at the pain. Feeling a sudden fit of anger, he lightly kicked the trunk. The bark of the tree easily caved in, revealing a hidden entrance.
'Hey…'
Removing the broken piece of wood, Nox took a glance inside. Rotten moss covered the interior of the tree, unable to grow. The secret room was extremely well hidden, to the point that not even sunlight or water could get in.
In the center of the tree, was a gaping hole that led straight down into the earth. Touching the small wooden ladder attached to it, it shook and creaked. Nox swiftly withdrew his hand, not wanting to destroy his chances at a hidden mission.
Challenges usually come with a few hidden missions, along with their basic requirements. Though not necessarily for the completion of the Challenge, it's been said that the missions offered a variety of bonus rewards.
Also…
Nox couldn't pass up on a challenge.
Carefully placing the piece of bark back on the entrance, he returned to the campsite. Laying down across from the girl, he extinguished the fire with a wave of energy and closed his eyes.
He fell asleep before he could hear a voice.
[Constellation: Emperor of Noxus rubs his hands together in excitement.]
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"Are you sure you weren't just seeing things? After all, it was pretty late."
The mage stumbled through a thick pile of leaves, almost tripping over a small branch.
"I'm certain." Nox raised an eyebrow at the sight and continued forwards.
Before long, they had reached it.
With trembling hands, he lightly pressed on the bark of an ancient tree. He sighed in relief. The wood caved in just like last night, revealing a ladder downwards.
The two peered down the hole, revealing a pit of never-ending darkness. Elysia took a step back.
"On second thought.. maybe we shouldn't go down." The girl quickly turned to leave, clearly intimidated by the prospect of climbing down.
"I heard that some Challengers have received their familiars from hidden missions.." Nox softly mentioned.
As if her previous demeanor had been a lie, the mage instantly turned around. Coating her body in a layer of wind energy, she jumped down the pit. Nox quickly followed, grasping onto the ladder every few meters to regain balance.
The wooden rungs shifted and swayed, but never broke apart. After a few minutes of free-fall, the duo landed on a soft patch of grass.
[You have discovered a Hidden Mission!]
[Mission Name: Forbidden Jungle]
[Objective: Survive the monster hordes, and slay the master of the jungle.]
Dim lights filled his vision, allowing him to glance at the surroundings. They were in a large underground room. Tangled roots grabbed across the mossy stone walls, burrowing through the cracks. A droplet of water fell from the ceiling, landing on a massive altar that occupied the center of the room.
A cracking noise was heard as runes lit up across the entire dungeon.
Just then, a monster dropped down from the ceiling. It resembled an overgrown rat with razor-sharp teeth. It was instantly impaled by a blade as it let off a screech.
Another rat fell and dropped to the ceiling. Then, another. Soon enough, the dungeon was teeming with monsters.
Quickly getting up, the two Challengers readied themselves as a horde of beasts descended from above.
While the duo was facing the hidden mission, a bush rustled as a blonde-haired man slowly stepped out. He slowly raised his fist as a beam of light burned through an ancient tree.
Another Challenger had found the hidden mission.
"Let's go."
At his signal, a group of Otherworlders emerged from the nearby foliage. One by one, they slowly climbed down.
In the ruined castle, the constellation opened his eyes. He felt a disturbance in the air. A foreign entity had infiltrated his Challenge.
All over the fallen planet, corrupted creatures were waking up. With eyes filled with madness, all of them looked towards the distance. Then, they slowly approached a humungous island.