Many years later, facing the King of Slimes, Mailun would recall that distant afternoon when he and his band of troublemakers violated the Mist’s regulations and were sent into the Punishment Level.
Inside the Punishment Level, after taking down yet another Slime—he’d lost count of which one it was—a filthy and haggard Mailun sat on the ground.
He shared the last piece of his bread ration with his companions, then glanced at the progress bar before him, which was just a sliver away from being full.
“Just… one more!”
Wolfing down the bread, Mailun picked up his battle-scarred longsword and took heavy steps toward a Giant Slime not far away. His teammates gritted their teeth and followed.
They didn’t know how many days they had been here, nor how many Slimes they had killed.
They only knew they had all reached Second Rank and were now true Slime Killers.
With a splat, another Giant Slime burst apart. The progress bar before Mailun and the others finally filled completely.
Simultaneously, a prompt appeared before them:
[Punishment has ended. We hope you will abide by the Mist’s regulations in the future. Otherwise, there are even more ‘fun’ things waiting for you. Now, go back.]
BOOM!
The ground beneath Mailun and the others shook violently, then began to slowly rise.
Accompanied by a faint light, the long-unseen Mist began to appear beneath their feet…
The top of the Punishment Level opened, and Mailun’s group was slowly lifted to the surface, arriving at the center of the Dungeon area.
“We’re finally… out!”
Mailun’s voice trembled slightly as he finally breathed fresh air.
He and his three teammates ignored the curious gazes of the surrounding Adventurers and simply flopped onto the ground, sprawling out and roaring at the sky.
“AAAAAHHHH!!!”
‘So it really was a Punishment Level? This Mist is seriously messed up!’
“Eh? Why did you come out from underground? And you don’t have the Life Insurance effect on you… Could it be, you successfully cleared a Dungeon?!”
A passing Adventurer excitedly asked Mailun. Hearing the words “cleared a Dungeon,” others quickly gathered around, including Vieno, who was just about to enter the Abandoned Cellar.
‘It’s just the next Dungeon. Why are these four little Humans so disheveled? They look like they just came back from hell. Could it be this Mist really has some merit?’
So, Vieno took out a Gold Coin and stepped forward, asking curiously, “Did you really clear it? Can you give a hint about the Dungeon’s difficulty? I can offer a reward.”
“Cleared?”
Mailun was stunned for a moment. He exchanged glances with his teammates, seeming to communicate something wordlessly.
After a good while, he finally replied to Vieno and the others, “Yeah, we cleared it. So what? It was just a bit harder than a regular Dungeon, that’s all. And put your coin away. Who do you think you’re looking down on? I’m not short on money!”
Admitting they were trapped in a Punishment Level fighting a horde of Slimes was too embarrassing.
To save face, Mailun and his teammates chose the most attention-grabbing answer.
“What about two Gold Coins?”
“No.”
“Three?”
“Still no.”
“Then five?”
“I said I’m not short on money! Can’t you understand plain speech?!” Mailun was getting angry. ‘Does she have to dig to the bottom and find out we didn’t clear a Dungeon but were just fighting Slimes the whole time?’
“Fine, forget it. I’ll go see for myself.” Vieno didn’t want to waste time on Mailun. Seeing was believing.
But just as Vieno, alone, was about to step into the entrance of the Abandoned Cellar, Mailun was greatly alarmed and hurriedly asked, “Wait, you’re going into the Dungeon alone?”
‘What’s her deal? She dares to solo a Dungeon?!’
“Yes, why?” Vieno turned back and asked, nonchalantly.
“No, I mean, who gave you the courage?”
“Relax, I’m plenty strong. This Dungeon is for you First and Second Rank newbies, right? My Rank is far above yours, so no need to worry.”
“So you’re above the Mist’s level limit?!” Mailun was even more shocked, recalling some unpleasant memories.
“What now? What’s with that look on your face?” Vieno was utterly confused.
“I can only tell you that entering the Mist’s Dungeons has level restrictions. If you enter a Dungeon exceeding the level limit… something bad might happen…”
Despite not liking this hooded woman who hid her face, Mailun kindly reminded her, fearing she might come out of a Punishment Level and expose his lie.
Unfortunately, Vieno didn’t care in the slightest.
“Relax, I told you, I’m plenty strong.”
‘I’m a Nine-Rank Contract Master! I refuse to believe this newbie Mist Dungeon can punish me!’
Without any psychological burden, Vieno swaggered into the Dungeon in front of everyone. At the same time, she thought, ‘If I make a big commotion later, maybe the Hidden One will notice me?’
“Huh? Did that hooded woman just cut in line? Wasn’t our squad next to enter the Abandoned Cellar? Wait, how did she remove the restriction at the Dungeon entrance?”
Finally, a team of Adventurers noticed Vieno seemed to have some real skill. She could actually break the Mist’s restriction?
‘Heh. Foolish low-rank Humans. My realm is a level you’ll never reach in this lifetime.’
Vieno smirked smugly and walked toward a strange bonfire ahead, intending to study if it had any special functions.
However, in the very next second, a thin, crimson line flashed before Vieno’s eyes! It made her freeze in place, her pupils contracting.
“Huh?”
For some reason, a sense of unease washed over her, making cold sweat break out all over her body. Immediately after, a stinging pain appeared on her right cheek…
Squeak!
From Vieno’s collar, Xiao Cai, about the size of an apple, poked its head out warily, looking at Vieno’s right cheek as if it had detected something abnormal.
Prompted by Xiao Cai, Vieno finally discovered that a suddenly appearing blood-red thread had grazed her cheek, leaving a slender, five-centimeter-long cut.
The blood-red thread was fixed on her face, with no beginning or end, extremely bizarre.
‘What is this? Why didn’t I notice it immediately?!’
As a Nine-Rank, everything in this low-rank Dungeon should be completely within her perception. But this thread…
Swish! Swish! Sssst!
Before she could figure out the situation, three more blood-red threads instantly shot toward Vieno.
Fortunately, Vieno was prepared this time. With a flash of colorful wings, she rapidly retreated out of the Abandoned Cellar entrance.
Meanwhile, the Adventurers outside the entrance only saw a brilliant rainbow streak fly out from the Dungeon entrance, leaving them all dumbfounded.
“Holy crap, that’s some cool special effects!”…
In the distance, due to putting a bit too much force into her retreat, Vieno ended up plunging into the Mist’s free exploration zone. Under the influence of the Mist’s properties, she quickly realized she had lost her sense of direction… and her sense of security.
‘Something’s wrong. Very wrong. There’s something hidden in the Mist that poses a significant threat to me. And I’m actually being affected by the Mist!’
Logically, a newbie Dungeon like this shouldn’t be able to affect a Nine-Rank like her. But now…
“Get ready, Xiao Cai. We’re going to take off vertically into the air and try to break free from the Mist’s influence.”
Vieno looked up at the foggy sky, where she could vaguely make out the outline of the moon.
But just as she was about to flap her massive, colorful wings, a hoarse voice echoed through the surrounding Mist.
“This is not a place you can come and go as you please!”…
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