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The creature before them had dark green skin and long, pointed ears. Its deep crimson pupils gleamed with endless greed and desire. It wore a set of crude rags for clothing, with a few lumps of iron hanging loosely over its shoulders.

Its stats were abysmally low, but… that explosion just now had enough power to blow a goblin nearly to death in one hit. That must have been its “Magic Landmine” skill.

No one knew how many traps they had buried around here. With Starry’s current stats, even a single blast could leave her on the brink of death.

“It’s the gnomes!” Kanrel said grimly, his expression dark. It was clear his kind had a long-standing grudge against this race. Though goblins and these creatures looked somewhat alike, they were entirely different species.

One of the gnomes sneered, “Foolish goblins, you actually dare step into Rock Maze and deliver yourselves to death?”

“Cursed gnomes—!” Yalu’s hands surged with frost, and in the next moment, he nearly unleashed his attack.

“Hmph! Go ahead and try it if you dare!”

Yalu hesitated for a second, then a bolt of lightning exploded right in the midst of the Snowfeather Goblins!

…

Those at the center of the blast took the brunt of the damage; the farther away they were, the weaker the impact became. Even Starry herself received over a hundred points of damage from the explosion.

A burst of blinding light flared among the crowd. Starry had already noticed it while checking their attributes earlier and had covered her eyes in advance. When she reopened them, the goblins were clutching their eyes and howling in pain. Meanwhile, the short-statured gnomes advanced, gripping their tools with murderous intent.

The leading Rock Maze Gnome’s head was severed cleanly, its body freezing over before shattering into icy fragments. Instant kill!

“There’s a human with them!?”
“Kill her, now!!”

Seeing one of them preparing to throw something, Starry reacted first. She swung her Autumn Moon Sword and triggered Frenzied Blade! The violent sword aura tore the gnome’s body to pieces before it could even scream, leaving not a trace of resistance.

“Who dares move next?” Starry raised her sword and shouted coldly.

“…” The gnomes exchanged uneasy glances, then, as if they had come to a silent agreement—turned tail and fled.

They came swiftly, and scattered just as fast. Witnessing Starry’s overwhelming power, not a single one dared risk their life to test her strength again.

Yet her heart remained heavy. A petty, vengeful race like that would never let the matter rest. And to make things worse, trouble had already begun brewing on the other side.

***

Morthar charged forward at full speed, knocking aside every passerby that stood in its path. Although Zane had entered a PvP Status, since he had not actually killed anyone, the penalty was relatively minor. Thanks to his efforts, over a hundred Gray Wolves had successfully followed behind him in a wild chase.

Three minutes later, more than two hundred wolves were running at his heels. Those that remained behind were either dead, or on their way to dying.

Just as he was about to head west, he found his path blocked by a solid wall of players. At the front stood none other than Cloudsworn.

“Haha! Didn’t expect to run into such a commotion right after arriving!” the Brotherhood’s guild master laughed heartily. “This boss is ours!”

To normal players, Level 25 Gray Wolves and Beetles were already considered bosses, and this particular Beetle was even an Epic-grade monster, the reward was guaranteed to be impressive!

‘Tch, these guys…’

They had completely blocked off the road ahead. And worse, once the disturbance at Grayridge Plains spread, every player in Wynwater City would know about it. By then, the Gray Wolves would be completely wiped out!

Zane’s head throbbed. ‘What kind of ridiculous quest is this? They didn’t even give a single hint before starting it! Ugh, fine then, time for the old-fashioned method: tunnel digging.’

Before everyone’s astonished eyes, Morthar suddenly dove underground. Moments later, countless Gray Wolves poured into the tunnel after him!

…

Digging underground was far slower than running on the surface, so the number of wolves kept dropping continuously. By the time the count fell to around a hundred and fifty, Morthar had tunneled past the Brotherhood’s position and emerged from a patch of thick grass.

Only about one-third of the wolves remained.

“Holy crap, it dug all the way over there!”
“After them, quick!”

Once they reached the surface, the distance between them widened rapidly, the Gray Wolves were still much faster than ordinary players.

A few players activated their equipment’s special abilities, but even then, they couldn’t keep up for long and were soon left far behind. At this stage of the game, mounts didn’t yet exist. Some players could use certain special pets as makeshift transport, but those didn’t provide the same attribute boosts that true mounts would.

Even so, one shadowy figure continued to give chase. FaintTrace, the same assassin who had ambushed him before.

Though the man was still in stealth, Zane’s higher level allowed him to see through the concealment at close range.

‘Well then…’ A sly grin spread across Zane’s face. There was one skill he hadn’t tested yet.

FaintTrace kept pace with the wolves in rhythm. He clearly had stacked several equipment with speed-enhancing effects; otherwise, he would never have been able to keep up.

Suddenly, the beetle in front stopped, spun around, and charged straight back at him! Its pitch-black maw gaped wide like a bottomless abyss, exuding an overwhelming sense of dread.

“Crap, they noticed me!”

FaintTrace hastily activated his skill, but Morthar lunged forward and swallowed him whole before he could even finish his move. Nothing else happened.

“Wha—!?”

He tried to retreat, but their movement speed gap was too great. Caught off guard, he was devoured in an instant.

Damage and recovery numbers floated over Morthar’s body:

…

Honestly, that digestion rate could rival the Bioraptor from before. After just four seconds, the poor assassin had been completely digested, losing a level in the process.

Zane glanced behind him. For now, the coast was clear.

“Zane, where are you now?” Shiu’s voice suddenly came through the party channel.
“Heading toward Saintbloom Village. I’m bringing the wolf pack to that old settlement we visited last time.”
“What on earth happened?”
“In short, the Wolf Alpha wanted to move to a new home. I accepted the quest using my Gray Wolf identity, and this is where it led.”

“…And that beetle?”
“Remember the second-place reward from the Forgotten Tower this morning?”
Shiu paused for a moment. “The Sacred Scarab!?”
“Exactly, that one.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me…” Shiu groaned. “That thing’s stats this morning were nothing like what you’re describing.”

“It’s a long story. I’ll explain later. For now, just get over here. I still need to shake them off first. After that, we might have a bigger problem, and I’ll need your help!”
“Got it! We’ve already crossed the Grayridge Plains.”

***

Meanwhile, the Goblins finally recovered from the lingering flash effects.

“I never thought there’d be gnomes in this area…” Yalu muttered nervously.

If not for Starry’s quick thinking, they would have been completely outwitted by those gnomes—or worse, captured and forced into slavery.