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“Is… is that so…?” Treka’s pretty face flushed red, as if something had suddenly come to mind.

“That’s more or less what it means.” Zane waved his hand dismissively. “No need to overthink it. Let’s just pick a direction and move.”

“Mm.” She nodded.

…

Thinking about it, more than a week had already passed since the day they left the Beginner Village. Which meant Treka had been trapped inside this illusionary realm for nearly an entire week.

During that time, she had discovered a hidden challenge site and proceeded to attempt it over seventy times. In that regard, she possessed a surprisingly strong sense of perseverance… though it might also be said that she simply had rather thick nerves.

No wonder the Wind Guardian Spirit’s attributes were so outrageously high.

Of course, the dense forest itself was also partly to blame. The thick vegetation made navigation incredibly difficult. They moved roughly in the northwest direction, the same direction where the crimson line had appeared earlier. Yet even after walking for a full hour, there was still no sign of the end.

Would the developers really trap players here forever? Hard to say. After all, they had even designed something as insane as a city siege event with only one hour of preparation time. Compared to that, this wouldn’t be surprising at all.

Besides, there was another issue. Since he was currently inside an illusion, the real body on the other side should have already been killed by low-level monsters or perhaps instantly eliminated by Treka herself… so why was he still stuck here?

It made no sense.

**Rustle, rustle.**

Just as he was pondering this, an unusual sound came from up ahead.

“Should we go check it out?” Zane asked.

The Light Elf did not answer. Instead, she dashed forward with light, nimble steps, her movements so soft that her footsteps were almost inaudible.

Zane hurried after her. Following the source of the sound, they passed through the thick forest— and suddenly emerged into open ground. The view ahead opened into a vast, endless plain. In the middle of it, two floating fireballs were colliding violently.

The one on the left burned a deep purplish-red, while the one on the right glowed like a candle flame.

‘What are those things?’

A level 35 Unique monster? This illusionary realm was really hiding more than it seemed. The two Fire Spirits clearly did not belong to the same side. They slammed into each other again and again, the clashing elements erupting in dazzling bursts of sparks.

However, the purple flame was obviously stronger. After only a few exchanges, it had already battered the other fire spirit down to half health. They paid no attention to the newcomers and continued their fierce battle.

“So, what do you think?” Zane turned to Treka. If she was a Light Elf, perhaps she could communicate with elemental beings.

Unexpectedly, she shook her head awkwardly. “I… I’m not very good at that sort of thing.”

‘…You must have skipped those classes, didn’t you?’

Watching as one of the flames’ HP dropped lower and lower, Zane made up his mind. He would approach first and see what happened. Just to be safe, Zane transformed into the Wishkeeper form. With 16,000 HP and over 400 magic defense, he shouldn’t be instantly killed.

Still, better to add a shield as well. Starry gently raised a hand. A stream of icy currents manifested and began circling around the blonde-haired girl’s body. With 80% damage reduction, things should be secure now.

Zane advanced slowly and cautiously. The two flames had been fighting fiercely, but the moment they sensed the chilling aura, both of them suddenly stopped attacking and turned to look at Zane in unison.

‘Hm? Go on fighting each other. Why are you staring at me?’

In the next instant, a torrent of blazing fire rushed straight toward him.

***

Walking through the Spiritwood, he casually wiped out several grizzly bears along the way, leaving the ground smeared with blood.

“…” Kesius had never imagined that he would end up falling into the hands of a group of goblins.

That’s right. The Dark Elf was none other than Kesius, the prodigy of the Elven race and the very culprit who had turned Treka into what she was now. Ever since Treka had slipped away from him last time within the Dark Faction’s territory, he had been subjected to endless ridicule and cold mockery.

It was hardly surprising. He had believed he had everything firmly under control, yet she still managed to escape. The humiliation was unbearable, and it also meant that his future prospects within the faction were bound to suffer.

For that reason, from every possible angle, he had to capture Treka and restore his dignity. Besides… he was deeply curious about what she had ultimately become.

Unfortunately, the Beginner Village was protected by a natural barrier that outsiders simply could not enter. It wasn’t until a week ago that he suddenly sensed the movement of the Light Elf.

The discovery thrilled him. He immediately dropped everything he was doing and hurried to the Crimson Plains. Sadly, the sensing ability could only reveal a vague location. Therefore, the fastest and most convenient method was to interrogate the goblins and force them to reveal her whereabouts.

And then… And then he had been beaten into a panicked retreat by the goblins. He had even wasted a life-saving scroll. If word of that ever got out… it was hard to imagine the consequences. Perhaps even the lowest undead would dare to climb onto his head and mock him.

Yet misfortune and fortune often walked hand in hand. The forest he had fled into in panic unexpectedly carried a familiar aura of light. It was her. No doubt about it.

“Heh heh…”

**Crack!**

With a single strike, he split the giant spirit tree blocking his path into two. Kesius broke into a smug grin.

***

“And that’s what happened… I got instantly killed by that NPC…” Lulu said, her voice full of grievance.

“A special storyline event, huh…” Duskwraith rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on. It was already too late to go there now. Just the round trip alone would take three or four hours.

“Did you tell them?”
“Not yet.”
“Forget it. I’ll contact him myself.”

Although he didn’t have Starry on his friend list, he did have Emberveil added. That man seemed closely tied to Stardust’s actions, yet they didn’t appear to be a couple.

How should he describe it…? More like a master and servant who shared a tacit understanding. Still, the man’s appearance was completely unfamiliar to him. He had never heard of him as some young master from a major family.

But now wasn’t the time to think about such things. He opened his friend list.

“Emberveil, are you there? I’ve got something urgent.”

There was no response. But the avatar icon was lit up. Could he have fallen asleep? With that thought, Duskwraith sent a voice call request.

“…” Still no answer. What on earth was going on?

Suddenly, a voice call request came through. Finally awake? But when he answered, it was Whisperwind’s voice.

“Boss, we found the location of a Frostcrystal Vein!”

“What!?” Duskwraith’s jaw nearly dropped in shock.

Frostcrystals were a rare ore required for forging professions. And once a blacksmith reached level three, they could begin crafting Epic-tier equipment. Of course, the blueprints had to be obtained separately.

So what was the difference between equipment crafted by players and equipment dropped by monsters? The biggest difference was quantity. As long as you had the blueprint, and enough materials, high-tier equipment could be mass-produced.

As it happened, earlier that morning a member of their guild had looted a blueprint for Epic-tier boots. Duskwraith had paid a hefty price to purchase it and handed it to the guild’s senior blacksmith.

Although the price of Epic-tier gear had already dropped significantly after yesterday’s siege battle, it was still far from something ordinary players could casually afford. With this advantage, Nether Dawn becoming a top-tier guild was practically inevitable!

He had already begun fantasizing about the guild’s brilliant future.

“Boss? Are you listening?”

“Ah, yes! I’m here! Where are you right now? I’ll come over immediately!” The matter of the Crimson Plains had already been completely thrown out of his mind.