The three woke up early the next morning and continued their trek north. The sun was still mostly concealed by the mountains, but that only made their goal for the day stand out clearer.

Ahead of them, they could see a gap between two of the mountains, a smaller valley breaking away from the one they were currently in. The entrance to this valley seemed to be entirely within Mountain Goat territory, so the three were curious about what they would find.

"Do the goats live in there or something?" Yang asked.

"We are seeing a lot of younger ones around here," Zed noted. "The kids might stay in here to avoid the threat of the Drones."

"If this is some kind of safe zone for them, do you think they'll let us in?" Alexx asked.

"Only one way to find out."

As they approached the gap, the ground slowly shifted beneath them and the imperceptible incline was becoming steeper with every step they took. The valley entrance wasn't so high that there would be snow, but the temperature was dropping in spite of the rising sun as they climbed higher and higher.

Alexx turned around and was awe-struck by the view. The tallest trees were far below them now, and he could see all across the entire valley from up here. Numerous clearings dotted the sea of trees that covered the bottom of the valley like grass, a vast stretch of lush green leaves split in half by the shimmering blue of the river. Dozens of miles away there was a clearing larger than any other, trails of smoke coming from its center as he realized that was the village they called home. Despite taking up a larger area than anything else by several orders of magnitude, it still seemed so small compared to the rest of the woods and the surrounding mountains.

In the far, far, distance Alexx saw the end of the valley. The ridges of the mountain tops slowly descended over what seemed to be hundreds of miles, sinking lower until he couldn't distinguish them from the ground. The river turned and bent as it went further through the valley, growing larger as a few other waterways fed into it. Eventually, the river stopped, disappearing into an endless expanse of water that reached the horizon and beyond.

"Is that the ocean?" he asked, pausing.

The others turned, briefly stunned as they took in the sight.

"It might be," Yang said after a moment. "It could also be a sea of some kind, it'll be a long time before we can say for sure."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

Alexx and Yang turned to continue walking, but Zed kept staring toward the end of the river, squinting as he tried to make something out.

"Zed?" Alexx quirked an eyebrow, curious. "Do you see something?"

"Yeah." A grin slowly spread across Zed's face. "I see smoke trails."

"Smoke? Why would there be..." Yang's voice trailed off as she realized the implications.

"Another village?" Alexx asked, voicing what they were all thinking.

"I'm not sure. I can't make out anything on the ground, even the smoke is hard to make out against the water, but I'm certain there are players at the end of the river."

This was different from the discovery of the Mountain Goats, which only suggested that there were other players nearby. There was tangible proof that another group was within a few days journey of the village.

"Do...do you guys think we should turn back then?" Alexx asked. "I mean, this is a pretty big deal. Maybe we should let everyone know as soon as possible?"

Yang and Zed exchanged a look, considering the idea.

"...I say we keep going," Yang said.

"Agreed."

As valuable as this information was, there was no reason to rush. Perhaps if they had discovered those players a few days ago it would have mattered, but their journey was almost at its end. The three of them had already planned to return after they checked out the mountain gap; returning a day earlier wouldn't change much. Furthermore, they would still need to check out the mountain gap at some point; turning back now would mean having to make the five-day trip out here all over again. They may as well take a look inside before they return home.

They continued onward, and within an hour they had reached the gap. More goats than ever were moving around them, entering and leaving the fifty-foot-wide gap constantly. The walls on either side of the passage were made of jagged rock mostly worn down from decades, if not centuries, of erosion but with a few strange patches where the stone looked like it had been recently broken away. The ground was covered with a strange black and gray gravel that seemed to be a different kind of rock from the surrounding mountains. They hadn't thought much of it at first, but now it was so plentiful that there was no dirt or grass to be seen.

The three players were surrounded on all sides by woolly fur and massive horns, the small herds moving where ever they pleased with no discernable pattern or organization. Thankfully the goats gave them a few feet of breathing room, but that didn't make navigating the chaos any easier.

"Maybe we should turn back?" Alexx asked.

"I don't think that'll be any easier at this point," Zed said, sidestepping a large goat that paid them no mind as it stomped past.

"I think we're almost halfway through," Yang said. She stumbled as an adolescent Mountain Goat knocked its horns against her. "Watch it asshole!" She was wearing her armor and was unharmed, but the force nearly knocked her over.

"I don't think they can understand you," Zed said jokingly.

"Can you not?" Yang rolled her eyes. "I can't believe we have to deal with traffic in a world without cars."

"I think there's a clear spot up ahead!" Alexx said, rushing forward.

"Hey, wait!"

Desperate for a chance to stand still for a moment, Yang and Zed tried to follow but were cut off by a passing goat. Having lost sight of their friend they pressed on, forcing their way past one beast after another.

Eventually, they came to the clearing Alexx had noticed, and saw him standing a few feet ahead of them.

"Can you be more careful?" asked Yang. "We nearly lost you back there."

Alexx said nothing, staring forward as he showed no signs of having heard her.

Concerned, Yang and Zed turned to look at the rest of the clearing and...

"Oh shit," Yang said absently.

"Yeah," Alexx and Zed agreed.

Mountain Goats, as their name implied, were very large. Even without the context of real goats being closer to dog-sized, the in-game beasts were about the size of horses on average. They could also be even larger, as demonstrated by the giant goat Bates had provoked, which stood around nine feet tall.

The absolute behemoth in front of them was over ten feet tall laying down. It sat in the center of the clearing, surrounded by dirt, gravel, and pieces of Iron Ants, unmoving as it simply observed everything around it. Its massive horns had numerous chips, cracks, and breaks that appeared to have refilled over the course of years, making them look more jagged than the rock walls around them. Its thick brown fur was choppy but smooth, looking disheveled but not like it was tired, more like it had just finished an intense battle and was ready to go again.

Zed used [ANALYSE] and nearly felt his soul leave his body from what it revealed.

[NAME]: The Guardian Elder

[SPECIES]: Mountain Goat

[LEVEL]: 72

[STATUS]

{HP}: 6375/6375

{SP}: 6375/6375

{MP}: 50/50

[END]: 170(+85)

[STR]: 140(+70)

[AGI]: 102(+51)

[DEX]: 54

[PER]: 83

[INT]: 5

[SPT]:5

[SKILLS]

[AGILE] Lv.10

[HARDENED SKULL] Lv.10

[MIGHTY] Lv.10

[SKULL BASH] Lv.10

[TENACIOUS] Lv.10

[UNYELDING] Lv.10

(Passive) The Unique Skill of The Guardian Elder. Reduce all damage received from all sources by 5%. The Guardian Elder is immune to all physical debuffs. The Guardian Elder does not need food, drink, or sleep and does not experience physical exhaustion.

[DESCRIPTION]

A Mountain Goat that has earned its name by dedicating itself to the defense of its home and kin. Its Unique Skill [UNYEILDING] has made it immune to the ravages of time and the weakness of the flesh, allowing it to endure countless years and even more countless battles. So long as this beast lives, the Mountain Goat species will flourish. [EXPAND]

"I...I don't think we can fight that." Alexx took a step back.

"Maybe we don't have to?" Yang said. "Most goats are pretty passive."

"It's named though," Zed equipped his spear, and The Guardian Elder turned its head slightly. "It doesn't seem hostile, but its description makes me think it'll try to stop us from entering."

"What do its stats look like?" Yang asked.

"It's level 72, a Tank with over 6000 HP and 210 STR." Zed's shoulders sagged. "Also, it's immune to debuffs, and it's faster than me."

Yang's eyes widened. "Fuck that. We are not fighting this thing."

"So we're heading back?" Alexx asked, already edging backward.

"But we came all this way!" Zed complained in a loud whisper.

"You two shut up for a moment." Yang unequipped her armor. "We're going to walk around the edge of the clearing. If that thing so much as stands up, we run. And Zed put your weapon away."

"But-"

"Just do it!" she said forcefully.

Zed said nothing and put his spear back in the inventory.

Yang returned her attention to The Guardian Elder, who continued to face forward even as they could feel its eyes follow them as they began walking around the edge of the clearing.

Yang tried to keep her eyes ahead, thinking that prolonged eye contact might provoke the beast, but the pressure it gave off was too intimidating and she instinctively wanted to watch it for the slightest sign of danger.

Alexx and Zed had an easier time ignoring it, instead getting a better look at the clearing they were walking through. Even though the rest of the passageway was trampled flat and dead from the movements of the goats, the area around The Guardian Elder was rough and cratered with small patches of grass still trying to grow amidst the destruction. Most of the damage was clearly from the behemoth's [SKULL BASH], but many marks were simple hoof prints leaving trails of small pits in the dirt as if the beast's size and strength were so great that even the act of walking was deadly.

Numerous pieces of Iron Ant carapace littered the area as well, further demonstrating the power of The Guardian Elder. Very little of it was recognizable, either pressed so deep into the dirt that could barely be seen or flattened so heavily from the beast's attacks that it was impossible to tell where one part ended and another began.

What little remains could be identified only intimidated the two hunters further. Several Iron Ant Soldier Blades could be seen sticking out from the ground, Zed stepped on a blade that had been twisted and bent, and Alexx could see a piece of a leg that was as thick as his thigh.

The two of them had heard about how the system confirmed the existence of two more Iron Ant subspecies, but seeing the remains here and in such number was terrifying.

'How did it even take out the Soldiers?' Zed couldn't help but wonder. 'I get that it's fast enough to react to their attacks, but it's too big to strike at the bodies without also getting hit by the blades. Does it just tank the hits? That doesn't seem-'

Zed's thoughts were interrupted as his foot caught on something, a bent Soldier Blade, tripping him. He normally would have been able to catch himself, but Alexx had been following only a step behind him and also stumbled right into Zed, the brawler's immense strength knocking his friend to the ground.

It had been a long time since Zed had taken such a hard and unexpected landing before, and he grunted in pain as the wind was knocked out of him. Pushing himself onto his knees, he tried to get his lungs to breathe properly as he looked up. Suddenly, the pain in his chest disappeared as he simply stopped breathing.

The Guardian Elder was now staring directly at the three of them. It didn't seem aggressive, but having something that powerful, powerful enough that they knew it could kill them all in a matter of seconds, giving them such undivided attention was making their survival instincts scream for them to run.

A few seconds passed, and the tension between the hunters and The Guardian Elder was so great that it seemed silent in spite of the rumbling hooves around them.

"Hey, Beskyd! See anything interesting?"

Suddenly, a voice broke through the monotonous rumbling. The three hunters turned towards the source, and even The Guardian Elder turned its head a little further to look behind it.

Entering the clearing from the east side, a player wearing the grey starter clothing was sitting atop an adolescent Mountian Goat.