“Clothes, my clothes…”
After resting for a while, Alice returned to the spot where the slime had ambushed her, draped in Eldon’s coat.
She managed to recover her dropped equipment and undergarments.
The scene was a mess. Slime mucus was everywhere—so were the girl’s clothes.
“The seniors at the Academy were right. The monsters in the Mist are disgusting. They can’t even be compared to monsters in other dungeons. I want to go back…”
Alice’s excitement for adventure and her dignity as a top Mage from the Academy had been completely crushed by the Tier 2 slimes.
She had been humiliated by a slime in front of her peers! It would have been one thing if that damned slime had just eaten her, but it had even used two tentacles to keep tickling her.
It had even blocked her mouth so she couldn’t make a sound, making it impossible to even scream for help!
It was so painful… so painful! How could she face anyone after this?
And it wasn’t over. Her clothes were almost entirely dissolved by the end. Eldon hadn’t even looked at her yet, and yet…
“As an adventurer, you have to experience these kinds of things. It’s fine,” Truth comforted Alice slightly.
She wanted her to keep moving; otherwise, finding more test subjects would be a waste of time.
“Then, have you ever experienced it, Senior Zhendi? Being… by a slime…” Alice desperately needed some empathy right now.
“Of course. I once got beaten down by a Tier 1 slime.”
Truth remembered when she first started the game.
She had left her character AFK in the wild to grind experience, only to wake up the next day and realize she hadn’t been standing in a Safe Zone.
A Tier 1 slime had spent the entire night bumping into her until she died.
‘Huh? So Senior has had that kind of experience…’ Alice was slightly shocked, but her state of mind finally balanced out. It turned out being solo-killed by a slime was a very common occurrence.
Anderson was also shocked. ‘This person could be beaten down by a slime? No wonder she became a Priest. She doesn’t know how to fight at all…’
Among low-rank adventurers, being told “you can’t even beat a slime” was a grave insult.
However, starting today, that probably wouldn’t be the case anymore, because the slimes in the Mist were indeed quite strong.
After another period of recovery, the four of them passed the Fog Gate Plaza, which was still under construction.
Truth bought Alice a new set of black Mage robes from a street stall before they continued deeper into the Mist.
Although the Fog Gate Plaza wasn’t ready yet, Tia had pre-allocated a free-trade zone for vendors and adventurers.
Since this was the junction of two main entrances, the Fog Gate Plaza area was now even livelier than before it was covered by the Mist.
“The foundation there is being dug so deep. Miss Zhendi, may I ask what the people from the Church are building here?” Anderson asked Truth tentatively.
As the Saintess’s sister, she must know something, right?
‘Give me some intel so I can sell it for a profit on the Black Market.’
“I don’t know. It’s all facilities related to adventurers anyway. If you want to know specifics, you can ask the High Priest over there,” Truth said, pointing to Tia in the distance.
The latter hadn’t noticed them and was currently talking to several nobles.
‘The Dean?’ Anderson glanced at Tia and decided against it.
Except for matters involving the Saintess, a person like him should try to have as little contact with the Church as possible.
Stepping on the springy Mist-Dispelling Mushrooms, the four of them headed north.
They crossed the wide Fog Gate Plaza and entered the Mist once more.
This time, a navigation UI appeared before their eyes, marking three official locations:
[Deya Underground Labyrinth Entrance (Recommended Level: LV. 10 to LV. 20)]
[Newbie Dungeon Area (Required Level: LV. 20 and below)]
[Mist Arena (No Level Restriction)]
“Are we going straight to the Newbie Dungeon Area?” Alice asked.
This was her first time seeing the Mist’s UI system, and she found it quite miraculous.
“No. First, we follow the bonfires forward to the free exploration area to hunt slimes. Alice, don’t forget that your Insurance of Life is gone. You must hunt ten monsters of the same tier or five giant slimes of the same tier to reactivate it.”
“Also, we need a Party Card. That item only drops from grinding monsters. So, we’re going straight,” Truth said softly.
“Oh, oh! I almost forgot! You’re right, I need to reactivate my Insurance of Life first. Speaking of which, slimes of the same tier… they shouldn’t be very strong, right?” Alice nodded thoughtfully.
At the same time, she thought that Senior Zhendi’s appearance was truly a contrast inside and out.
‘Even though she’s so small, she’s a Tier 2 senior. Even though she looks so cold and unapproachable, she treated everyone for free after the battle failed. She didn’t even use any recovery potions afterward, saying we could just keep them for ourselves. And now she’s specifically reminding me to replenish my Insurance of Life…’
‘She’s just too kind-hearted! No wonder she chose to adventure with a bunch of Tier 1s like us despite being Tier 2…’ Truth’s image instantly grew much taller in Alice’s heart.
Anderson, however, had a small question. He leaned down and whispered into Truth’s ear, “Miss Zhendi, doesn’t that panel say the level requirement for the Newbie Dungeon Area caps at Level 20? I seem to have exceeded Level 20…”
“About that, don’t worry. There’s a bug in the Mist Dungeon right now. As long as you roll in when you enter the dungeon, the dungeon won’t detect that your level has exceeded the limit.”
Exactly. As long as Anderson rolled into the dungeon, Truth would agree to open a back door for him.
“Really?”
“I’m not even human if I’m lying to you.”
……
After unsheathing their weapons and preparing their emergency items, the four-person party began to carefully venture deeper into the fog.
Eldon walked at the very front, Alice was second, Truth was third, and Anderson brought up the rear.
The four of them didn’t chat along the way. Except for Truth, the other three were on edge, fearing another monster ambush.
Soon, the first monster appeared before them—a Tier 1 giant slime.
A Tier 1 giant slime had no elemental attacks or tentacles. Its only method of attack was a collision. It was practically a moving target.
“Lucky. We ran into a slime so quickly.” Anderson rubbed his hands together, planning to show off some exquisite kiting archery.
However, in the next second, Eldon at the front let out a roar and charged directly at the slime.
“Aaaaah!”
Squelch!
Accompanied by the sound of the blade cutting through the air, a terrifying wound was immediately carved across the front of the Tier 1 slime.
Then came Eldon’s second strike, third strike, fourth strike…
‘That wretched slime, how dare it treat Alice like that!’
Eldon had been holding his breath. Ever since he witnessed Alice being bullied by the slime while he could only watch helplessly from a distance, he felt he was incompetent.
‘If I can’t even protect the woman I love, then what future is there to talk about!’ He was terrified that Alice was disappointed in him, so now he had to prove himself!
He would prove himself using a Tier 1 slime.
“Damned slime, take this!” Alice also rushed to follow up with damage, firing two Magic Missiles into the slime’s wound.
At the same time, Anderson continuously fired bolts from his crossbow.
Only Truth was slacking off, watching the three of them vent their anger on the slime.
“Wow, such heavy resentment.”
In less than one minute, under the full power of the three, the slime’s health bar was instantly emptied and it exploded.
Then, a notification flashed before Alice’s eyes:
[Successfully killed “Slime – Tier 1.” Settlement quantity doubled. 8 monsters remaining until Insurance of Life is reactivated]
“Good, let’s keep going!”
Eldon wiped the mucus off his blade and then pointed forward with the tip of his sword.
He looked quite a bit like a leader. Alice and Anderson also strode forward, regaining a bit of confidence.
‘I didn’t expect it to be so easy. It seems like the same-tier mobs in the Mist are just average…’
The four of them continued for dozens of paces and soon encountered the next monster.
It was a large, entirely red lizard, clinging to the trunk of an old tree as if it were sleeping.
“Shh, don’t make a sound. I’ll take it by surprise!”
Eldon signaled for everyone to wait. Then, holding his sword with both hands, he slowly approached the large red lizard alone.
As long as he could behead it with a single sneak attack, he could kill it instantly!
However, in order to let Alice get an assist or the final blow, Eldon needed to control his strength.
After quietly arriving in front of the red lizard, he took a deep breath and raised his sword over his head with both hands…
‘Come on!’ Alice silently cheered for Eldon.
Anderson also held his crossbow ready to provide support at any moment, not having any worries about what was about to happen.
Could a three-person ambush on a single Tier 1 lizard monster really fail?
Truth gave a slight smile and stepped back behind the others. Immediately, an anomaly occurred…
Just as Eldon was about to swing his blade, two eerie vertical pupils suddenly snapped open on the left and right sides of the red lizard, staring straight at Eldon. Eldon’s movements froze in fright.
“What?!”
Thud!
A dull sound of impact rang out. Eldon couldn’t see what had attacked him.
He only knew his head had been slammed hard by something rigid, leaving him momentarily dazed.
He fell backward onto the ground, his longsword clattering loudly as it hit the floor.
“Eldon!” Alice screamed in terror. Then, she quickly saw the culprit that had attacked Eldon.
The red monster in front of them wasn’t actually a lizard but a Mist Chameleon.
Furthermore, there wasn’t just one chameleon on this old tree; there were three.
They had a clear division of labor: one was responsible for using a conspicuous color to attract adventurers, while the other two blended into the tree trunk, waiting for adventurers to take the bait.
Just now, Eldon had been knocked unconscious by the thick tail of the chameleon on the left.
Its tail was usually rolled into a ball and was very inconspicuous, but once an enemy approached, the curled tail would spring open at extreme speed.
It was almost impossible to dodge unless one was specifically paying attention…
“Quick, Alice, get back! Zhendi as well! I’ll lure the three monsters. You guys find an opening to counterattack or take Eldon to safety!”
Anderson reacted immediately, firing three bolts in succession to firmly draw the aggro of the three large Mist Chameleons. He then began to attempt a kiting strategy.
‘If the frontliner falls in the first exchange, it’s going to be tough for the remaining three backliners…’
In order to protect the fragile Mage and the fragile Priest, Anderson had no choice but to try kiting three monsters on his own.
‘Even though I’m not good at fighting, I’m quite experienced in running away…’