When Truth blurted out, “You never said that,” Karen was left completely speechless, unable to come up with any rebuttal.
She just felt as though the folds of her cerebral cortex had been instantly smoothed and stretched, bringing an immediate sense of relaxation.
It was like wandering in the Divine Domain of the Goddess of Life, swimming through the azure waters of Tidegate, or feeling like a lively butterfly sipping the first drop of nectar after the rain, carrying a few dogs, sitting on the grassland, gazing at the horizon, her whole being melting into a tranquil pool, flowing away slowly and gradually finding peace…
After a long while, Karen finally responded to Truth, her expression calm, her tone softened:
“You son of a…”
“Hiss!”
The Lin Emerald Spider also responded to both Karen and Truth at the same time.
Two streams of venom with a paralyzing effect shot out from its fangs.
Karen hurriedly raised her sword to block, but she was already too late—before she could lift her Heavy Sword, the venom was right before her eyes!
[Activating skill: Lens Shield]
“Buzz!” Just as Karen was about to be struck by the venom, a transparent shield instantly covered her body, blocking the venom!
“What is this?!”
Where did this shield come from—did Ariel cast it?
It was then that Karen remembered she had a Priest teammate, and it was only natural for her to receive a shield. Still, there was a problem…
How long could a Tier 1 Priest’s shield last against a Tier 2 attack skill?
Staring at the venom just inches from her, corroding the shield and making it steam, Karen instinctively took two steps back, and the next moment, the sound of the shield shattering rang out!
“Crack!”
Truth’s Tier 1 shield managed a record of 0.6 seconds against the Tier 2 Lin Emerald Spider’s attack!
“It actually lasted this long? I thought it would only hold for, like, 0.4 seconds at best.”
Truth mused, not panicking, while continuing to wave her training staff.
Just like in the academy—if the shield wasn’t strong enough, she’d just keep stacking more.
Anyway, she had plenty of mana. As long as she didn’t encounter a piercing skill or an overwhelming difference in strength, she could keep dragging things out.
“Crack!” “Crack!” “Crack!”…
The sound of shields shattering rang out one after another, until finally all the venom in front of Karen was completely neutralized.
“Huh?”
They actually blocked a Tier 2 attack? What kind of busted skill is this? Isn’t this a little overpowered?!
“Go on, big sister with the Heavy Sword!”
Truth immediately pointed at the Lin Emerald Spider, signaling Karen to hurry up and take action, while she herself retreated to the edge to observe, occasionally tossing a shield to prevent Karen from suffering a fatal blow.
Now, Karen could finally go toe-to-toe with the Lin Emerald Spider.
With Truth’s protection, she was able to fight more boldly, and gradually, by relying on the Magic Knight’s superior stamina and enchanting the Runic Greatsword with Fire Element, Karen began to steadily suppress the Lin Emerald Spider.
In fact, Truth could have let Karen steamroll the Lin Emerald Spider from start to finish—she still hadn’t used Mist Healing Art or Enhanced Senses…
But if she did, Karen wouldn’t get injured enough for her to heal—then what would she have to do?
From the time they’d entered until now, Karen had been having a blast; she’d probably break through to Tier 3 within two weeks, and with Truth backing her up, there was no real risk to her life—an absolute win.
?
But what about herself? Was she just doing charity, earning nothing at all? She had to get something out of this, right?
Truth’s real motivation was to leech some of the Dungeon clear experience and rake in the massive EXP bonus from healing a Tier 2 Magic Knight, so as long as Karen’s injuries stayed within her healing capabilities, all was good. Hehehe…
About five minutes later, the Lin Emerald Spider was finally exhausted, its attacks slowing down.
Karen seized the opportunity—the Runes on her Heavy Sword flashed in sequence, the tip angled twenty-five degrees upward, aiming at the spider’s mouthparts:
“Bite Through Flame!”
The Runic Greatsword transformed into flaming fangs, piercing directly through the Lin Emerald Spider’s head.
The spider’s eight legs thrashed madly in its death throes, but at that moment, because the Heavy Sword had run it through at such close range, its fangs were now able to reach Karen’s body directly!
Without hesitation, the Lin Emerald Spider summoned the last of its strength, thrusting its giant fangs toward her…
“Crack!” “Crack!” “Crack!”
Breaking through Truth’s three layers of shields and Karen’s armor, Karen could feel the Venom from the Lin Emerald Spider’s fangs spreading from her shoulder to her whole body, gradually robbing her of control:
“Cough!”
She quickly shoved the spider away and finished it off with a final blow.
Only when the spider lay motionless on its back, legs in the air, did Karen brace herself on her Heavy Sword, gasping for breath.
But now wasn’t the time to relax—the Lin Emerald Spider’s Venom worked fast.
It’d been more than ten seconds, so it was probably about to spread through her whole body.
She had to drink the Antidote Potion immediately!
But just as she reached into her pouch for the Antidote Potion, the paralysis and her nearly depleted body caused her to freeze up and collapse to the ground, the potion falling right in front of her.
“Ugh…”
Up until the moment she closed her eyes, Karen could only see a blurry figure in front of her—it seemed like Miss Ariel?
The figure crouched down beside her, tilting her head as if studying her closely…
……
She didn’t know how much time had passed.
The uneven warmth and the occasional crackling of the campfire gradually brought Karen’s consciousness back.
When she opened her eyes again, the sunset dusk was shining over the entire Lin Emerald Spider’s territory.
Had she really been unconscious all afternoon?
In front of her was a somewhat crude campfire, with Anderson and Kovado tending the flames.
Her Runic Greatsword was safe and sound, placed to the side, which brought Karen a little comfort.
Wait, the Venom in my body!
Though her head was still fuzzy, Karen immediately sat up and began checking herself, startling Anderson and Kovado, though they didn’t say much.
“Huh, what’s this Grey Mist?”
Karen realized she no longer felt any numbness.
Instead, all her wounds were covered in a hazy grey mist tinged with green, feeling cool to the touch, almost as if it was suppressing the pain…
Was this some kind of Healing Spell? Anyway, the Lin Emerald Spider’s Venom must have been cured by now…
Karen looked around and soon spotted an empty bottle casually discarded nearby—a mid-grade Antidote Potion.
Not far off, the Lin Emerald Spider’s corpse still lay where it had fallen, though it seemed someone had already stripped it.
“It was me and Kovado. We took all the valuable Material from the big spider—it’s all here.”
Anderson, noticing Karen’s confusion, promptly showed her the Lin Emerald Spider’s loot.
For most adventurers, the Material from magical creatures was their main source of income—absolutely vital. Still, Karen’s primary concern right now was her health:
“Did you guys feed me the Antidote Potion?”
Karen was worried about the aftereffects of not taking the Antidote in time—this could be fatal for her future adventures.
“Uh… no, neither of us did.”
Anderson and Kovado shook their heads in unison.
“I’m not asking who did it—I just want to know if anyone gave it to me! Never mind, was it Miss Ariel who gave me the Antidote Potion?”
“Uh… no.”
Anderson and Kovado shook their heads again.
“What?! None of you three? Then who could it be? Don’t tell me you all just watched me struggle and left me to crawl over and drink it myself—if so, I’ll have to teach you a lesson, you ungrateful wolves!”
“No, no! We’re definitely not ungrateful wolves!”
Kovado panicked at being scolded by the Tier 2 expert and blurted out the truth:
“It was Miss Ariel who poured the antidote over you!”
“Oh, oh, I see… wait, what?!”