Within the territory of the Thornflower Sprite, the Adventurers were constantly clashing with minor Monsters, causing the Mist’s energy to shoot up at a rapid pace— much to Truth’s delight.
As expected, throwing in a horde of small Monsters was the right move.
If the Adventurers wanted to fight the BOSS, they first had to deal with the little ones.
By the time they finished off these small fry, Truth would have already made back her investment!
What’s more, Truth also discovered something else: Adventurers seemed to have an unusual obsession with Treasure Chests…
Most of them were around level fourteen or fifteen, so defeating a First Order Monster wasn’t a problem.
That’s why everyone was acting on their own, all hoping to snatch up the Treasure Chest.
But soon, they realized that BOSS fights in the Mist Dungeon were a bit different from those in other Dungeons.
Right now, the Adventurer closest to the Treasure Chest was a Ranger. He crawled through half-meter-high bushes, sneaking up to hide beneath a tree.
But just as he reached the base of the tree, the trunk began to shake violently. Three Mist Wolves suddenly dropped from above, pouncing on the stunned Ranger before he could react.
Why… would there be wolves hiding in the tree? And three of them at that?!
The Mist Wolves viciously tore at every part of his body:
“Ahhh! Help, help me!”
But no one paid him any attention.
After all, one less competitor was a good thing.
The other Adventurers kept dodging the Thornflower Sprites’ ranged attacks while closing in on the Treasure Chest in the center.
As long as they got the loot from the Treasure Chest, they could make a run for it!
But some Monsters really were hidden in the most infernal spots— a slightly taller patch of grass and a Monster would launch a sneak attack, making their pace alternately fast and slow.
Truth felt deeply apologetic about this. A
fter all, the Mist couldn’t drastically alter the terrain just yet. She promised herself that, in the future, she’d create a Dungeon design on par with the “Hero’s Graveyard.”
Meanwhile, Reg was busy helping the Enforcers carve a path out.
Each of his swings would severely injure several Small Thornflower Sprites at once.
However, a Second Order Fugitive in the distance kept luring Monsters toward them, trying to overwhelm them with sheer numbers.
At that moment, Reg noticed something— why did this guy seem so hostile toward him?
Looking closer, Reg realized he’d actually seen this fugitive before. Back in the tavern, Truth had even made him collect money from this guy…
The fugitive’s name was Adams. Forced to leave Deya City for arson, he’d planned to bribe the border guards with his accomplices and escape today.
But his escape funds had been stolen at the tavern!
Even a few silver coins— wasn’t that just too much?
Adams had no choice but to try sneaking through the border inside the Mist, but then the Mist suddenly changed, trapping them all inside.
After teaming up with a few Adventurers who’d also been trapped, they became the second group to discover the “BOSS” Thornflower Sprite.
As luck would have it, they then ran right into Chief Koster’s Enforcer squad.
That made it easy for them to be recognized… Exchanging glances with his companion, Adams and the other didn’t hesitate to backstab Koster, venting all the resentment from their time in the dungeon.
Even someone with Third Rank physical strength couldn’t withstand cold weapons. And then, right in front of him, was the guy who’d stolen his escape funds!
Adams kept clapping, luring another Soundseeker over. As it approached Reg, Adams immediately activated the magic device on his arm— the “Stealth Bracer.”
In no time, the Soundseeker lost all aggro toward him and charged straight at Reg.
In an instant, Reg and the four Enforcers were locked in a bitter struggle, drawing the attention of the vast majority of the Monsters.
If Reg hadn’t been holding the front line, those four Enforcers would have been long gone.
Off in the distance, Suna was also getting anxious.
She clutched her Magic Staff with both hands, desperately holding back the Stump Spider in front of her, refusing to let it approach the “Forbidden Zone” beneath her waist.
Her emotions were gradually becoming agitated.
Why did every slightly stronger senior always have some weird fetish?!
I’m talking about you, Gadelia!
She never expected that Gadelia would be just like that pervert attached to Truth— both of them loved watching her in embarrassing situations…
What’s so enjoyable about that, anyway?!
The reason Gadelia didn’t come to help her must be because she knew Suna wasn’t wearing any panties, and wanted to take the chance to enjoy the sight of her skirt being lifted by Monsters!
How excessive! You’re all birds of a feather!
There were so many people around, too. Even though none of them had noticed her, what if someone caught a glimpse out of the corner of their eye?
At that point, they’d definitely start saying things like, “I never thought that pure-looking Mage would be into such wild stuff in private.” Then she’d never be able to stay in Deya City!
She absolutely could not let that happen. Otherwise, how could she ever face Truth again?!
As her emotions grew more intense, Suna’s resolve was instantly ignited.
She gritted her teeth, and, without realizing it, the magic power inside her began to surge and boil:
“I’ve had enough of you adults! Whatever you want to see, I’ll make sure you don’t get to see it!”
Suna shot a fierce glare at Gadelia on the sidelines, leaving the latter at a complete loss:
“Eh?”
At that moment, Truth, who was admiring Suna’s skirt from a god’s-eye view, noticed a faint trace of Elemental Power emerging from Suna:
“Uh, some of Suna’s internal magic power is actually starting to transform into Elemental Power. Looks like it’s Fire Element, too— not bad at all.”
When a Mage reached Second-Tier or Third-Tier, they’d unlock Elemental Power.
Most Battle Mages could only ever master one element in their lifetime.
Being able to control two or even three elements was incredibly rare.
But Suna, just by shouting something Truth couldn’t understand at First Rank, had already activated Elemental Power ahead of time.
What was that about “I’ve had enough of you adults”? Was that some kind of spell?
Elves really did have amazing magical talent.
Flames erupted from Suna’s Magic Staff, scaring the fire-fearing Stump Spider into trying to flee.
But just as it turned, Suna drove the tip of her Magic Staff deep into its abdomen.
Flames raced from the staff, quickly engulfing the Stump Spider’s entire body. The Monster screeched for several seconds before falling silent.
One shot? That’s a lot of damage. Truth immediately checked Suna’s Pet panel and found she’d already reached level nineteen!
How many Monsters did she slaughter along the way? Leveling up this fast— no wonder she could one-shot a First Order little spider.
Almost level twenty already. Time to prepare a little evolution for her.
Since things were already like this, Truth decided to let Suna clear out all the nearby small Monsters and reach Second-Tier.
Except for the Thornflower Sprite, of course— that one was a bit too valuable. Truth planned to recycle the Sprite soon…
“Reg, hang in there! I’m coming to help you now!”
Without any help from Gadelia, Suna resolved her predicament by herself and even mastered the Fire Element ahead of time.
At this moment, her Magic Staff kept spewing scorching flames, mowing down swathes of Small Thornflower Sprites that feared fire.
With no more Small Thornflower Sprites in the way, Reg was finally able to lead the Enforcers in sweeping through the Soundseekers and other Monsters, successfully escaping to the entrance to join up with Chief Koster.
All Adams could do was glare helplessly from afar.
Everyone was exhausted. Reg’s sword was chipped and bent, and Suna, having converted too much magic power into Elemental Power, was nearly drained and unable to fight much longer.
[Pet “Suna” has advanced to Second-Tier]
Just then, the “BOSS” Thornflower Sprite behind them began to fade, and right in front of everyone, vanished on the spot. The other small Monsters also scattered and fled.
“The BOSS disappeared. What’s going on?”
Reg asked, panting. He and Suna had cleared out nearly eighty percent of the small Monsters to save the Enforcers.
“Maybe there’s a time limit for defeating the BOSS. If you go over the limit, it counts as a Challenge Failure.”
Suna recalled a Dungeon setting she’d read about in an ancient book.
Oh right, I could totally add a time limit for the challenge!
Truth, who had been eavesdropping intently, gave Suna a thumbs-up and immediately popped up a little notification for everyone:
[Timeout, Challenge Failure]
Truth felt this was a great design. Set a ten-minute challenge timer, then dynamically adjust the number of small Monsters based on how many Adventurers there were.
That way, they’d finish clearing the small Monsters at around nine minutes, leaving no time to fight the Thornflower Sprite.
That way, Adventurers would only be able to fight the small Monsters, saving Truth a huge expense— absolutely perfect!
Of course, a small reward was still necessary.
After thinking it over, she decided to simply provide the coordinates to the Mist Exit for those who failed the challenge, creating a positive feedback loop.
If you wanted to get out of the Mist, you had to at least try the Thornflower Sprite’s “near-miss” challenge!
Very soon, a fixed marker appeared before everyone’s eyes:
[Mist Exit, distance 2.1km]
Hmph, you should be grateful for my immense mercy! I’ve so kindly given you all a way to leave! Truth nodded in satisfaction, but soon noticed that the group didn’t seem to react much.
What’s going on? I already marked the exit for you!
That’s when Truth realized: after the BOSS and Monsters disappeared, everyone’s gaze was fixed on the Treasure Chest she’d casually placed at the very beginning.
“Ah, right.”
Truth remembered that what was inside the Treasure Chest… wasn’t exactly anything good…