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Zane left the Class Guidance Halls together with Windblossom, and the two headed toward the city gates.

“Starry… you really never stop surprising me…” Windblossom remarked with a sigh.

“It’s just luck, just luck.” Starry waved her hand dismissively.

At that moment, all of her attention was completely focused on the new skill she had just learned.

Eight hits at 35% damage each… That added up to a total multiplier of 280%. And once the Armor Break effect took hold, even at the minimum 25% reduction, it would still amplify the damage of the returning second spin.

That meant the actual damage output would be far higher than a simple 560% multiplier. With Starry’s attack power, if every hit connected, even a Unique boss probably wouldn’t be able to withstand many casts of it.

Of course, all of that assumed every strike landed. In actual combat, against the strength and mobility of a Unique boss, landing the full sequence was extremely difficult unless the target was bound or happened to be a massive-sized boss.

Even so, this was currently the highest-multiplier skill in Starry’s arsenal, surpassing even the combined damage of Triple Frenzy Slash. Even if it were used solely for its Armor Break effect, it was still an outstanding skill.

Its only flaw was the disarmed state during the skill’s duration. She would have to pay close attention to when she chose to use it.

…

Speaking of which, the skill-learning milestones in Dreamscape were Level 10, 20, 35, 50, 75, and 100. As for anything beyond that, the developers had yet to release any information.

Starry was currently only Level 32, still below the next skill-learning threshold. Yet she had somehow learned a new skill anyway through her own efforts as a swordsmanship master.

‘Feels great to have a cheat.’

Before they realized it, they had already passed by the General’s Residence. The entire estate was shrouded in darkness. Not a single lamp inside was lit. Only a drowsy guard stood at the entrance beneath a large lantern that flickered between bright and dim.

Had everyone inside gone to sleep? The silence was unnaturally profound.

Still, they had more important matters to attend to. There was no time to visit Elna, and showing up at her door in the middle of the night would not have been appropriate anyway.

Compared to the quiet estate, the commotion behind them felt especially grating.

“Starry, I think these people might be following you guys?” Windblossom stopped walking.

“…”

Following her? The problem was that she didn’t recognize any of them. Turning around, she saw at least five players trailing them from roughly twenty yards away, maintaining a steady pace without getting any closer.

The moment Starry looked back, they immediately pretended to be admiring the scenery, kicking pebbles around and fiddling with patches of grass.

That was way too fake!

From a distance, she could vaguely make out several IDs among the group: FlowerNotFlower, OneObsession, NiceName… They all looked unfamiliar. Definitely not members of the Rainflower Guild.

“Should we split up first?” Zane asked.

“No need.” Windblossom shook her head. “If they’re deliberately tailing us, it’s better to deal with the problem near the city gate. Otherwise, they might interfere with the mission later.”

“Good point.” Zane nodded.

…

As they neared the city gates, the number of people trailing them continued to grow.

This was not looking good… With that many opponents, if they failed to create distance immediately, they would undoubtedly be drowned beneath an endless barrage of crowd-control skills.

‘Should we take a detour? At the very least, everything within the city gates is still a safe zone.’

While Zane was considering his options, a communication request suddenly came through. It was a message from Shiu.

“Zane, there’s something I forgot to tell you.”
“What is it?”
“Do you know the guild Cloud Edge?”
“Yeah. I’ve been seeing a lot of news about them these past couple of days. I heard they were the ones who discovered the Frostcrystal Mine as well. They’re also a massive guild on par with Judgement Guild.”

“That’s right… Yesterday, we had a bit of a conflict with them.”
“A conflict? What happened?”
“It’s a long story… Anyway, if you run into them, it’s best to avoid them. I’m worried they might attack you outright.”

After all, the names of everyone in the dungeon record-clearing party were displayed plainly for all to see.

“…” Looking at the enemies that had already surrounded them from every direction, Zane replied expressionlessly, “Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind in my next life.”

“…?”

…

The moment they stepped outside the city gates, the ambushers waiting on both sides swiftly closed in, sealing off every escape route and surrounding the trio completely. Not only that, but the players behind them immediately moved forward as well, preventing them from retreating back into the safe zone.

A player with the ID “TribalChief” slowly stepped out from the crowd.

“What exactly are you people trying to do?”

“What are we doing?” He sneered. “Playing dumb won’t help you. Ever since you maliciously caused Leafyleaf to lose levels, this matter was never going to end peacefully.”

“Leafyleaf? Who’s that?” Zane asked blankly.

“I’ve never heard of them either.” Windblossom shook her head before suddenly realizing something. “Wait… are you talking about that Starlight Sorcerer?”

“As expected of the famous Windblossom. You even know about something like that.” TribalChief looked genuinely impressed.

“…” Brother, that flattery was painfully awkward.

“Our Cloud Edge Guild has no intention of making an enemy of an expert like you.” As he spoke, the crowd ahead slowly parted, opening a narrow path. “As long as those two…”

“Do you really think this handful of people is enough to take down the two of them?” Windblossom interrupted, answering with a question of her own.

“Leader…”
“Quiet. I’m discussing important business.”
“Why wouldn’t it be enough?” TribalChief laughed. “I brought thirty people. Even if each of them throws out just one skill, it’d be enough to kill them.”
“What if you add me into the equation?” Windblossom asked calmly.
“…You’re sure you want to make an enemy of Cloud Edge?”
“So what if I do?”

“…Then there’s nothing left to discuss. Brothers, atta…” TribalChief suddenly froze. “Wait… where are Starry and Emberveil?”
“They walked through the opening you left earlier and left right in front of everyone,” someone beside him whispered.

“The hell?! And you just watched them leave?”
“Well… didn’t you tell us not to attack yet?”
“Then why the hell didn’t you remind me?!”
“…Leader, someone did remind you earlier.”
“…”
“…”

The corner of Windblossom’s mouth twitched. “Looks like there’s nothing left for me to do here either.” Then she casually jogged away.

“What are you idiots standing around for?! Get after them!”

…

“I’ve got to say… you two really know how to run fast! I was still over there arguing with them!” Windblossom complained after catching up with the fleeing pair.

“Ah… once they opened a path, we just sort of walked through without thinking about it,” Zane replied as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

“Try caring about your teammate’s feelings for once!” Windblossom grumbled bitterly. Then, bang, she walked straight into Zane, who had suddenly stopped. “What are you doing?!”

A large MISS slowly floated up ahead. Only then did Windblossom look forward. A woman holding a staff stepped out from behind a tree.

“Missed, huh… then let’s try this instead.”

**Whoosh!**

With a gentle wave of her staff, a vast sea of flames spread across the ground. Unlike an ordinary Pyrestorm, the area covered by this skill was twice as large as that of a normal player. In the blink of an eye, the flames engulfed all three of them.

Their HP bars dropped simultaneously by a sizable chunk. The enemy’s magic damage was absurdly high!