The morning mist had not yet fully dissipated as the silhouette of the Arden Forest emerged from the damp air.
Distant, vast mountains loomed vaguely through the clouds, with the occasional silhouette of a bird flitting between the peaks.
Fluorescent silver-blue vines coiled around the branches of towering ancient trees, interspersed with fungi of various sizes. Thick leaves dripped with falling dew. In a forest clearing stood a small oak hut built in the style of a witch’s cottage.
As the morning light filtered into the room, a white-haired girl wearing a small witch hat held an alchemy book in one hand, carefully examining its contents. With her other hand, she used a stirring rod to mix an unidentified liquid in a large alchemy cauldron. The liquid bubbled and hissed, releasing small pockets of gas.
On the dining table, a wooden plate held freshly baked cookies. Next to them, a single slice of apple pie peeked out from under a cloth, its bright red, tempting filling visible, while the rest remained covered.
Outside the house, a slightly taller white-haired girl clad in light leather armor was swinging a sword relentlessly, drenched in sweat as if she had been practicing for a long time.
The girl took a sudden stride, blinking forward to a nearby practice dummy. “**[Double Slash]!**” Two clear white flashes of light streaked through the air, and the wooden stake was instantly split into four pieces.
Sophia was becoming increasingly proficient with her combination of long and short swords. Under Elliris’s magical guidance, she could even enchant her weapons.
The sisters had lived in the Arden Forest for nearly half a month since their last strategy meeting, and both had reached Level 18.
As the brains of the operation, Elliris had to balance her magical studies with alchemical research. Fortunately, they had Sophia, their “housekeeper cook,” or Elliris wouldn’t have had much time to worry about daily life.
‘Morning dew, a blue light life mana stone, small gargoyle stones, a branch from the Jungle Treant King… this Jungle Treant King is basically a mini-boss!’
Elliris muttered to herself. Since her previous staff had broken, she was preparing to craft a new one, and the aforementioned items were the necessary materials.
Recently, her light and healing magic had improved significantly. Additionally, she had learned a mid-tier fire spell, **[Flame Burst Bomb]**. After all, the initial low-tier Fireball was truly inadequate for serious use.
She had found the recipe for a Life Staff in her alchemy book. Its restoration buff was a perfect fit for a Priest. By using magic to charge the staff to 100%, the next magical attack would grant a healing effect equal to 30% of the damage dealt. ‘The lifesteal value is just like the Bloodthirster’s effect, get it?’
However, there was a problem. The Jungle Treant King held a vital material needed to craft the Life Staff. It seemed defeating it was unavoidable.
Elliris pondered for a moment before a sudden realization struck her. ‘Oh, right! I checked the data logs during the beta test. There’s a high chance the Jungle Treant King drops a piece of equipment suitable for Sophia!’
“Sophia, Sophia! Let’s go find some excitement after lunch. This might be our first boss raid in this other world!” Elliris shouted happily as she pushed the door open.
“Ah! Yes, yes! This lady’s blade has long been thirsty!” Sophia’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
***
Deep in the forest that afternoon, the witch sisters headed toward the Jungle Treant King’s hiding place. Along the way, they killed several slimes and goblins. After each battle, Elliris scavenged the monsters for usable alchemical materials while Sophia stood guard as a sentry.
If you don’t loot the bags and gather materials along the way, can you even call it a role-playing game? Although their current reality was much bloodier than a virtual game, they were ultimately driven by the necessity of survival.
**[System Notification: The cave ahead is the Jungle Treant King’s den. Proceed?]**
Elliris pressed the “YES” button on the screen before her without hesitation. Following a flash of white light, the party entered the cave.
The sisters looked around, and once their eyes adjusted to the darkness, they could clearly sense the powerful aura of a monster deep within.
The cave was more winding and convoluted than expected. The path underfoot was slick with moss, making the uneven, rocky trail treacherous. It felt as though one might slip at any moment if they weren’t careful.
Midway through, they encountered a zone where the temperature rose sharply. It turned out to be a shallow magma region within the mountain. The magma didn’t flood the ground, and while the air was very dry, there was a large clearing. Above a massive chunk of igneous rock sat a stable platform—it felt like a scenic spot for a tourist.
Finally, they reached a large space in the depths. Fortunately, the ground here was relatively flat. However, the witch sisters quickly came to a halt.
Within a massive underground chamber, the magical monster woven from branches and vines stood not far away. Elliris immediately activated **[Appraisal Eye]**.
[Status Window]
Name: Jungle Treant King
Level: 25
HP: 2860/2860
MP: 620/620
Monster Characteristics: Powerful natural healing; can use plant vines to control enemies; certain chance to trigger a wide-range sweep attack. High resistance to nature magic, medium resistance to physical attacks.
Weakness: Main root system; weak to drought; extremely low resistance to fire magic.
The self-healing ability was a headache. For the two sisters, they would have to rapidly deplete the boss’s HP without giving it a chance to hunker down and recover.
As for the control abilities and the wide-range sweep, they hadn’t seen them in action yet. They would have to judge after the combat began.
“I’m going in!” Before Elliris could even react, Sophia charged forward.
“Dolt! Don’t get too far away from me!” Elliris hurried after her. “Muscle-brain, is your only plan to just rush it?!”
The air was thick with the scent of decaying ancient plants, a smell that wound around Elliris’s nerves like invisible threads.
Sophia instantly reached the feet of the Treant King, her longsword enchanted with the lightning spell [Paralyzing Shock].
[Flash Slash]! [Double Slash]!
The rapid, enchanted strikes drew several streaks of white light. Amidst the faint crackle of electricity in the air, she slashed fearlessly at the Treant King’s main roots.
“Wooo!”
The Treant King let out a wail, but its body wasn’t significantly hindered by the paralysis of the **[Paralyzing Shock]**. Immediately, a mass of vines extended, triggering a wide-range sweep attack.
“Sophia! Run!” Elliris screamed, her face pale with panic.
[Mana Shield]! [Intense Light]!
[Intense Light] detonated behind Sophia, causing many of the vines targeting her to veer off course. [Mana Shield] consumed Elliris’s own MP to block a portion of the damage for herself or an ally.
“Ugh—!”
Sophia was sent flying dozens of feet, slamming heavily against the rock wall of the cave.
An indescribable pain surged through her body. A sweet taste filled Sophia’s mouth as she spat out a large amount of blood. Beneath her damaged leather armor, it was clear her torso had suffered severe internal injuries, and her limbs were covered in various scrapes and bruises.
Elliris ran to Sophia’s side, overcome with worry. “**[Appraisal Eye]**! You big idiot! This is a boss!” Tears began to well in the corners of her eyes.
[Sophia HP: 135/762]
[Elliris MP: 330/971]
[Jungle Treant King HP: 2256/2860]
That wide-range sweep must have been the boss’s finishing move. Without Elliris’s **[Mana Shield]**, Sophia might have been killed instantly. It had been triggered forcefully after Sophia attacked the root weakness.
Elliris drank an alchemical mana potion from her bag while casting healing magic on Sophia.
[Intermediate Heal] x2, [Basic Flash Heal]!
A soft glow enveloped her, and the wounds and bruises began to fade. Sophia’s critical condition was stabilized.
[Sophia HP: 665/762]
“Cough, cough… thank you, Ellie.” Sophia’s cheeks were wet with her own tears, clearly a result of the agonizing pain from her injuries.
“Idiot! You scared me to death… for the rest of the fight, you must follow my lead. If we want to survive in this world, we can’t afford to be reckless.”
The previous **[Intense Light]** seemed to have worked. A Treant King that lived in a dim cave year-round couldn’t handle such brightness. Even though the sisters were within the boss’s attack range, it didn’t immediately follow up with another strike.
With fire and light magic working together, she couldn’t let Sophia continue to risk her life in close-quarters combat.
“Sophia, I’ll take the lead on the offensive. You handle the feints.”
Elliris downed two more mana potions and dove back into the fray.
[Elliris MP: 930/971]
“There’s no time to hesitate. Now is the best time to defeat it!”
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