The HP of the Swamp Crocodile King, which had been struck by the giant fireball, was falling rapidly.
**[Swamp Crocodile King HP: 1936/4350 (Status Effects: Burned / Armor Break: 30% Shredded)]**
**[Eleonora MP: 593/1260]**
**[INFERNO NOVA]** was currently the strongest attack Iris could use. The cost of such impressive damage was a single consumption of 500 MP.
The situation in battle changed in the blink of an eye, leaving her no time to overthink. She immediately took out a mana potion to recover her status, as her stored mana was directly linked to the survival of both sisters.
The Crocodile King no longer let out its previous terrifying low whimpers; its cries were now incredibly sharp, sounding like a howl of despair.
Its eyes glowed with a strange blood-red light as its four feet paddled violently. Its previous slow movements vanished, and it began sliding forward through the swamp, currently as unstoppable as a charging iron cavalry.
In an instant, the Crocodile King lunged, shrouded in mud, opening its bloody maw to bite down on the witch sisters.
**[FATAL MAW]**!
Due to her low Agility, Iris was unable to react in time.
“Iris! Look out!”
Sophia rushed in front of Eleonora without another word, picking her up and quickly dashing to the side of the Crocodile King.
An unimaginable biting force snapped a giant swamp tree behind them, turning it into a pile of debris in an instant. If they had not dodged in time, the consequences would have been unthinkable.
“What a terrifying attack…” Iris said, her hands and feet trembling uncontrollably as she looked at the crushed tree.
“Tsk! Can’t this annoying lizard just behave? It’s not like we’re here to steal anything!” Sophia grumbled.
‘Actually, we did hit it pretty hard. Judging by how angry Mr. Crocodile is… haha…’
‘Wait? Stealing? Were the little animals we’re looking for supposed to be food for the crocodile? But those animals seemed to have some kind of pressure that kept the Crocodile King away.’
The swamp was shrouded in thick fog, and because Iris was too far away, she naturally had no way of telling that An belonged to the Dragon Race.
She felt that something was wrong. Because its previous attack had missed, the Crocodile King seemed to be plotting something. The blood-red light in the beast’s eyes intensified, showing an unprecedented fighting spirit. This was a clear sign that the boss was about to use its trump card.
[SUBMERGE IN MIRE]! [CALL OF THE KIN]!
The Swamp Crocodile King let out a piercing, short howl — *Uuu — hrr* — as if calling for its companions. Then, like a loach, it dove into the swamp. The sisters watched as it disappeared into the thick fog.
Iris hurriedly released **[APPRAISAL EYE]** to quickly analyze the situation.
**[Submerge in Mire: This skill does not cause immediate damage. The Crocodile King is currently untargetable by Land Creatures. It is continuously recovering HP and preparing for a powerful follow-up attack.]**
While the Swamp Crocodile King was recovering its health, the second skill activated. From the surrounding swamp area, nearly fifty crocodiles, both large and small, surrounded the sisters.
This was bad!
“Sophia, we have to run! Now!” Iris said in a panic.
“Right!”
In this sudden boss encounter, the Swamp Crocodile King held every advantage of time and place. They were already at a disadvantage in terms of information, and combined with the many unknown factors of the swamp terrain, the only logical choice was to retreat.
They had at least forced out the boss’s trump cards. They could go back, plan carefully, and raise their levels further to be more secure.
They would leave just like that! It wasn’t far from the entrance of the Swamp Shallows, and they could definitely make it out before the crocodile pack surrounded them.
***
But was that really the case? The two sisters had already reached the entrance of the deeper swamp.
**[WARNING! WARNING! SYSTEM HAS DETECTED UNITS: ELEONORA OMNIA AND SOPHIA OMNIA. ON SEPTEMBER 20, YEAR 263 OF THE NEW CALENDAR, IN THE CAVE OF THE JUNGLE TREANT KING, THE UNITS ILLEGALLY EXPLOITED GAME MECHANICS BY DEFEATING THE JUNGLE TREANT KING ACROSS REGIONS. AS PUNISHMENT, THE UNITS ARE UNABLE TO LEAVE THE CURRENT DUNGEON WHILE IN COMBAT STATUS.]**
“Wh… at…” Iris was so shocked by the system prompt that she was speechless.
Until now, system prompts had always given her positive influences and feedback.
This was the first time she felt this voice was incredibly cold and heartless.
Iris’s previous rationality was crushed by this warning. Beside her, Sophia stood with her mouth open, unable to make a sound.
What should they do? What could they do now? Continue the fight and defeat the Crocodile King? But with such a massive number of minions, even getting close to the king had become a pipe dream.
As the desperate reality sank in, the witch sisters were completely surrounded by the crocodile pack.
Countless inverted triangular eyes stared intently at the two prey before them. Their breathing was suppressed to the point that the crocodiles made no sound at all; only the sisters’ own ragged breathing could be heard.
“Move, Iris! If we do nothing, there’s no hope!” Sophia’s shout snapped Iris out of her chaotic thoughts.
**[CHALLENGING SHOUT]**!
Sophia decisively used a small-range taunt skill, causing all the crocodiles in front of her to view her as their primary target.
How she wished for a miracle to happen.
‘At least… let Iris escape…’
[COMBAT SWEEP], [DOUBLE SLASH], and [TRIPLE SLASH]!
Sophia unleashed all her sword skills without reservation. Her blade was enchanted with the lightning spell [PARALYZING SHOCK]. The air vibrated under the surging current, and countless bolts of electricity extended between the light and the sword. Jumping sparks exploded upon contact with the crocodiles.
About half an hour later, dozens of small and medium-sized crocodiles had been slain, but the large crocodiles still watched greedily from a distance, waiting for their turn.
Sophia gasped for breath, soaked in sweat. Her mental strength and mana were reaching their limits.
Iris provided constant support with small-range fire magic, healing, and enhancement spells, but her mana potions were gone. She only had 2 Health potions and 1 Spirit potion left.
However, the Swamp Crocodile King had already recovered a large amount of health. It had no sense of honor and did not care about Sophia’s exhausted state. In a fatal opening, it suddenly launched a sneak attack.
[LURKING TERROR]!
“Sophia! Behind you!! [MANA MAGIC SHIELD]!!”
The Crocodile King, which had been submerged for a long time, finally appeared. Carrying the momentum of its long ambush, it launched a devastating rolling impact followed by a horizontal sweep of its tree-trunk-sized tail.
[DEATH ROLL]… Iris hadn’t expected the Swamp Crocodile King’s finishing move to be a surprise attack.
Sophia’s body flew out like a withered leaf fluttering in the autumn wind, crashing heavily into the muddy mire before she lost consciousness.
Blood spilled from the corner of her mouth. Her hair was disheveled, obscuring her expression.
“No! Sophia!!! Ah… AHHHHHH!!!!” The white-haired witch screamed in horror, trying to run toward her sister.
However, before she could take more than a few steps, the Swamp Crocodile King’s kin slowly surrounded her.
[Sophia HP: 39/1140 (Status Effects: Bleeding / Unconscious / Weakened. If Bleeding is not removed, HP will reach 0 in 5 minutes.)]
[Eleonora MP: 23/1260]
The [MANA MAGIC SHIELD] had saved Sophia’s life, but Iris no longer had the mana to cast any more spells.
In an MMORPG, a mage without mana was more useless than a commoner.
Tears filled Iris’s reddened eyes and fell uncontrollably. Large, crystalline drops rolled down her pale cheeks.
She sat blankly on the ground, her body trembling with helplessness. Tears soaked her clothes as anger and despair intertwined, breaking her final psychological defense.
A sudden encounter with a boss, a lack of information, and her failure to prepare enough alchemical potions… the situation they were in today was all her fault.
The Crocodile King, holding every advantage, launched its fatal ambush as its massive tribe swarmed in, signaling how this battle would end.
Even a pack of wolves on the plains would cooperate to take down an enemy several times stronger than themselves.
The crocodiles that lived in the depths of the swamp, sensing their leader’s life was threatened, naturally swarmed like royal guards to strike down the invaders.
***
‘So that’s how it is…’
‘I, Iris, in the end, cannot do anything.’