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On the other side, Zane struggled to his feet while controlling Starry’s body.

A player? Or a monster? There was no sign of the enemy at all.

‘No, this is far too passive! Since the arrows came flying from straight ahead…’

The Swiftshadow Wolf condensed into a streak of lightning and shot forward, while Starry chugged two potions in succession, restoring 1,000 HP first. If her health dropped any lower, she would have been killed outright!

With the massive boost to movement speed, Zane quickly rushed into the forest ahead.

Unlike the Spirit Tree he had seen earlier, the trees here were nothing more than ordinary plane trees. There was no strange mist either, everything looked perfectly normal.

**Swish!**

The wolf’s keen ears caught that faint sound. The white wolf spun around instantly and slammed into the trees ahead with a resounding crash!

Zane’s Strength had already exceeded 200, and Swiftshadow Wolf possessed a three-star Strength growth. Under that crushing impact, fallen leaves exploded into the air, scattering everywhere.

Between the drifting leaves, a faint flash of gold flickered past.

He swept the leaves aside, but there was no one there at all. Not only that, a violent gale surged up from behind. Something was coming!

**Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh!**

There was no time to turn back. Borrowing Starry’s perspective, he narrowed his eyes and took a quick look.

‘Oh my God!’

A storm formed from condensed light elements, carrying terrifying pressure, tore through the air, grass, and even tiny insects as it barreled straight toward the white wolf! The attack grew faster and faster, and at the same time, a faint suction force interfered with his attempt to escape.

He could not outrun it. Zane reached that conclusion instantly. In a situation like this, the correct choice would normally be to switch forms and blink away. But… even showing off in front of a real expert had its limits!

The Swiftshadow Wolf was a powerhouse crowned with the title of a legendary wind-born wolf!

Calm and unhurried, Zane turned around.

“Awooo—!” With that warcry, his physical attack power surged by 25%. That was not all. Pride radiated from those pitch-black eyes as he raised a wolf’s paw high.

Violent wind elements rapidly formed a turbulent domain, surging upward from below and crashing into the white storm head-on.

The sensation of the elements colliding was anything but pleasant. Massive shockwaves tore through the surroundings without pause, as wind blades and light arrows slammed into each other in violent succession.

His HP plummeted nonstop. Even with over ten thousand health, he could not withstand this kind of punishment for long!

However, the opponent was not faring any better.

Starry switched into Windchaser Boots. Under the boost of Windchaser and Thousand Flash Steps, she rapidly closed in on the rear of the white storm.

A graceful figure emerged, long golden hair cascading down and flung high by the wind, while her slender, pointed ears trembled incessantly. She looked… strangely familiar.

At last, after five seconds of deadlock, the twin storms dissipated, leaving behind only utter devastation. It was as if a category-12 typhoon had swept through the area. Every nearby tree had snapped without exception, and the ground was carved with terrifying scars from wind blades.

**Drip.**

Only then did Zane clearly see what the enemy looked like.

Her snow-white skin was covered in shocking wounds, blood dripping down from time to time. Like Elna, she was blonde and blue-eyed, but the aura she gave off was completely different. The woman before him leaned more toward a mature, commanding type.

Despite being riddled with injuries, her expression remained unchanged, filled with unyielding resolve.

The next instant, white light flared. All the wounds on her body vanished, her health bar snapping back to full. If not for her clothes being torn to shreds, Zane would have thought the injuries just now were an illusion.

“Treka…?” Zane asked in confusion as he reverted to his original form.

Starry’s motion of preparing to unleash Frenzied Blade also came to a halt.

The elf across from them parted her lips slightly, exclaiming in surprise, “It’s you!?”

***

Although they had clashed once in the Beginner Village, there was not the slightest trace of battle intent or abnormal aura coming from Treka now. Of course, it was also possible that she was simply hiding it well. If Starry had not warned him back then, Zane would have been completely set up by this woman.

“She has already started moving…” Treka seemed to sigh as she shook her head.
“Moving?” Starry stepped closer.
“You were caught as well?!”
“Nani?”

“…” The Light Elf hesitated, clearly unsure where to begin. Only after a long pause did she finally speak. “Here’s what happened…”

A month ago, perhaps with another week added on. An elven prodigy, the Dark Elf Kesius, had been imprisoned in the Nature’s Cage for researching forbidden powers.

The Empress’ intention was for him to reflect on his actions. After all, Kesius had pioneered an entirely new system of magic usage, one that could greatly improve the elves’ disadvantaged position. Such a talent should not be buried because of a single stain.

However, on the very night of his imprisonment, every elf guarding the prison was drained of blood, reduced to horrifying dried corpses.

The Dark Elf himself vanished without a trace.

Enraged, the Empress dispatched a team of top-tier elites to hunt down Kesius, with Treka among them. There was no need to question the squad’s strength. They found the Dark Elf the very next day and inflicted severe injuries on him.

But that had been Kesius’ intention all along. He had already allied himself with the Dark Faction, luring the pursuers deeper in. With enemies striking from both front and rear, the squad was instantly wiped out, most of them dead or gravely wounded.

As the only Light Elf in the team, Treka suffered the least damage, yet she was still subdued with ease.

No kidding. When all the main damage dealers were dead, what could the healer do? Even healers had their limits. Was she supposed to swing a cross at the enemy instead?

At the time, Kesius signaled the others not to interfere and personally bit into Treka’s neck.

“What exquisite flavor—!” Kesius immersed himself in his own ecstasy.

That moment gave Treka her chance. She activated a Cross-Realm Stone, passed through the long-sealed Beginner Village barrier, and hid herself in a nearby cave.

A blood bat followed her there. It cornered her right at the cave entrance.

Under normal circumstances, Treka could have easily killed the blood bat. However, after being drained by Kesius, corrupt thoughts began to fester within her. Merely resisting them already left her overwhelmed, forcing her to rely on releasing an aura of light to keep the blood bat at bay.

What followed were the series of events after she encountered Zane.

By then, the corrupt influence had already taken the upper hand, and during the battle with Starry, she had changed completely. However, the Autumn Moon Sword wounded her, allowing Treka’s true consciousness to resurface somewhat.

If it continued, things would only get worse, so she decisively fled. After that, she used magic to interfere with the teleportation circle, deviating from the designated five cities, crossing the Crimson Plains, and entering Spiritwood.

At this point, Treka suddenly stopped speaking.

“Go on. Why did you stop?” Zane asked in surprise.

“…”

The Light Elf’s lips twitched, unsure what to say.

That was hardly surprising. Starry had summoned a Frostfang Tiger, while Zane pulled out two huge watermelons from his bag. They were fruits bought from a general store, capable of slightly reducing hunger.

In Dreamscape, if a character remained active for long periods, their hunger would keep rising. Once it reached a certain threshold, they would enter a weakened state, reducing all attributes by 50%.

Leaning against the Frostfang Tiger, watermelon in hand, they chomped away, feeling absurdly refreshed.

Frustration clouded Treka’s face. She drew her emerald-green longbow and began to speak. “Meteor Ar—”