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“What? You got swallowed by that beetle? Didn’t you say it doesn’t kill players?”

“How would I know?” FaintTrace rolled his eyes helplessly. “That bug was insanely fast, I didn’t even have a chance to react!”

“…”

After a brief silence, the guild master of Heaven’s Accord spoke up. “Forget it. Don’t chase anymore. Have everyone else return too. I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

Seeing the resolve in his eyes, FaintTrace nodded. He opened his chat window and called out, “Shadowless, take your team back. The guild master said to call off the chase.”

***

Due to a special event being triggered in the Grayridge Plains, not a single Gray Wolf could be seen across the entire map. Thousands of players stood around blankly, waiting for respawns that would never come.

Almost every major guild had sent people to investigate. Hidden quests weren’t unusual, but something this outrageous? That was a first!

***

Ten elite Gray Wolves, each carrying a player on their back, were heading southwest. Taking a shortcut should save a lot of time, though none of them knew what kind of wild monsters awaited along the way.

Some of the girls were visibly frightened at first, but after getting used to the ride, curiosity soon took over as they glanced around excitedly.

By now, the Gray Wolves’ HP bars had turned yellow in their view. Taking advantage of this, Dukeette and Seraphine began healing the injured wolves one after another.

Of course, when it came to efficiency, Dukeette was nowhere near the level of Seraphine, the Lightbringer. A single Healing Chain from her restored most of the half-dead wolves to full HP!

“I feel power surging through my body!” one Gray Wolf howled joyfully.

Watching that absurd healing output, Dukeette turned green with envy. “Damn it! You told me not to take the trial, but then you did it yourself! Bad daughter!”

Wanderer shook his head. “You wouldn’t have passed the trial anyway.”

“…You know why you still don’t have a girlfriend?”
He raised a brow, intrigued. “Why?”
“You actually dare to ask!?”

Before the teasing could continue, a sudden alert interrupted them.

‘Blackcrystal Lava Lake? If I remember correctly, this is the very place the thief band had been plundering earlier.’

Morthar slowed its pace, occasionally taking deliberate turns, as if instinctively avoiding something.

Suddenly, a painful shriek came from the back of the pack. One of the Gray Wolves lost its footing and plunged into the molten lava.

The surge of damage instantly melted it alive!

No way…

“Slow down, everyone! Be careful!” Zane shouted.

Morthar reduced speed as well, leading them forward cautiously. It seemed to possess a natural sensitivity to the rising temperature. Even so, a few wolves still stepped on fragile ground, collapsing into the lava and perishing.

This place was far too dangerous.

‘Tch… shortcuts aren’t worth it after all.’

In the end, the real issue was their sheer numbers. The terrain here was already unstable, and with hundreds of wolves treading it together, collapses were inevitable. Worse still, the scorching heat waves had begun to burn several wolves’ bodies.

Thankfully, with two healers on hand, they were able to save a few. However, before they could breathe a sigh of relief, new trouble began to stir. They felt the violent tremors from the surface, and soon more than a dozen Lava Spiders crawled out from a hidden cave.

‘Dammit! Starmew’s not here, and I can’t recklessly transform in front of the Gray Wolves.’

If those spiders threw out their Flaming Webs, escaping in this environment would be nearly impossible!

“Hiss—!”

Just as he feared, the moment they made eye contact, fiery webs shot toward them.

Suddenly, a crystalline arrow of ice whistled past Zane, scattering frosty mist that completely extinguished the incoming webs before slamming into one of the Lava Spiders.

The Icefeather Arrow dealt counter-type damage, and a thin layer of frost began to spread over the spider’s molten body.

Nangong smirked. “Ha! Looks like I’m finally dealing four-digit damage too!”

But the other enemies wouldn’t just sit and wait for death, they all began to spin their webs again.

If those webs landed, it’d spell disaster! Epic-rank monsters completely overpowered Rare-tier beasts, and the Gray Wolves stood no chance of surviving such a clash.

**Whoosh—whoosh—!**

In the molten air, countless streams of scorching wind gathered above Zane’s claws, merging into a powerful swirl of heat and force.

A fiery claw mark slashed through the air, burning with intense energy. It tore apart every single web, and the shockwave sent several spiders tumbling straight into the magma below.

…

Within seconds, the spiders were boiled alive. Though they lived near magma, that didn’t mean they could actually swim in it.

“Our Chief is mighty!”

“Hahaha! I knew I didn’t misjudge you, child!” the former Wolf Alpha roared in laughter.

With the spiders’ webs on cooldown, Shiu spread out Pyrestorm and Thundercloud across the battlefield. Due to the environment, Pyrestorm’s damage had dropped significantly, but it still worked well for finishing off enemies when combined with the others.

‘Wait a second, since I am now the Gray Wolf Alpha, can I issue an escort quest to my party?’ Watching them clear the mobs, Zane suddenly had an idea.

Endless Sea was in the middle of slashing the mobs when the quest prompt popped up, startling him.

“Bro, what the heck are you doing?”
“Zanny, you… what’s this about?”
“Ah, it works! Good! Everyone, go ahead and accept the quest,” Zane said with a nod.
Nangong pouted. “An F-rank quest? That’s all we get?”

“Ahem, any higher and I’d have to pay you out of my own pocket. F-rank is fine… think of it as free experience!”
“Tch, cheapskate.”
“You tch one more time and I’ll have the wolves toss you into the lava.”
“Wait, no! I’m sorry, Boss Zanny!”

***

Starry and the Snowfeather Goblins passed through a secret tunnel built underground by the gnomes. However, this place clearly wasn’t designed for humans, Starry had to keep her head lowered the entire way just to move forward, which was extremely inconvenient.

After capturing one of the gnomes, she easily got it to talk once its life was threatened. The terrified creature spilled everything it knew without hesitation.

Of course, there was still a chance it was lying, so she remained cautious.

Surprisingly, the entire process went smoothly. Along the way, they avoided all sorts of traps. Every now and then, Starmew’s frosty breath brushed against the gnome’s back, ensuring it wouldn’t dare to speak a single false word.

The so-called Rock Maze was said to have been formed after a battle between two human powerhouses at their peak. No one knew exactly what level they were, but during their fierce clash, the power they unleashed carved countless craters across the land. Though decades had passed and grass and trees now covered much of the terrain, those massive holes still remained.

The Rock Maze Gnomes were actually outcasts from their original tribe, fallen gnomes who had once harbored grand ambitions, only to be betrayed and left penniless. With no other choice, they sought a new path.

In the end, these wanderers settled in the Rock Maze, and after years of development—and by extorting and robbing any travelers who passed through—they had grown into quite a formidable community.