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The statue had no mouth, yet the ugly expression on its face betrayed exactly how it felt.

**Thud!**
**Thud!**

It pounded the arena floor twice, glaring furiously at Praxis. The arena itself was built remarkably well. Even after dozens of battles, it remained completely intact.

The tension between the two grew thicker by the second, threatening to erupt into combat at any moment. After all, the countdown had started the instant the Greataxe Master stepped onto the stage.

Even so, Zane wasn’t particularly optimistic about this guy’s chances. It wasn’t because of how arrogantly he had acted at the city gates. It was simply based on the status panel…

Assuming Karlo’s strength was comparable to the Frostcrystal Giant, roughly the level of a Level 35 Unique Boss, then the stone statue that had defeated him shouldn’t have been much weaker. Even if the brown bear hadn’t been at full strength, it still wouldn’t have changed much.

As for this Praxis, at best he could only be considered a Unique elite monster. There was still quite a gap between an elite and a boss. The only thing worth being wary of was whatever hidden skills he possessed.

“Grrraaahhh!!” The statue let out a horrifying shriek first. Its terrifying face opened and closed as though it were spewing something invisible from within.

“It’s the Curse Wave!” someone with sharp eyes exclaimed.

A curse? When the Brown Bear Captain had been knocked off the arena earlier, he really had been afflicted with a debuff.

Praxis stood proudly where he was and casually swung the greataxe forward! To everyone watching, it looked like he had simply slashed at empty air. There were no visible sword waves or energy blasts, and the statue appeared completely unharmed.

“What the heck is he swinging at? Performing a dance?”
“He acted so cool getting on stage, and this is all he’s got?”

The spectators showed absolutely no mercy with their comments.

“No, look more carefully. He wasn’t hit by the curse.” A man’s voice suddenly interrupted.

After hearing that, everyone looked again in surprise. “You’re right! Then… did he actually cut the Curse Wave apart!? Is something like that even possible?”

“Heh… who knows?” the man replied with a helpless smile.

Everyone immediately shifted their attention back to the arena.

**Clang! Clang-clang!!**

Before anyone realized it, the Greataxe Master had already closed the distance. Bringing his axe down with the force of a mountain-splitting strike, he cleaved straight through the stone statue from head to toe!!

**Boom!!**

Chunks of shattered stone exploded in every direction. The once imposing colossus was blown apart into rubble in a single exchange!! Who would have believed such a thing if they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes? Yet that was exactly what had happened.

Just then, a faint breeze drifted in from the west, wrapping around the scattered stones and gently gathering them onto an empty patch of ground. The broken rocks began humming softly as they trembled, slowly piecing themselves back together.

Praxis glanced toward the direction the wind had come from before turning to face the audience below the stage. “Next.”

***

“Alright, they’re going to be busy fighting here for a while. If I’m just going to be bored, let’s go check somewhere else first.” Windblossom walked back over.
“What’s wrong with you guys? Why do your faces look so awful?”
“…We’re just questioning our understanding of life a little. It’s nothing.”

An ordinary elite monster had just one-shotted a boss. What kind of world was this?

“Huh?”
“It’s nothing. Let’s go.”
“…Alright. Then you guys lead the way.”
“…” Zane suddenly froze.
“Don’t tell me you have no idea where the person is.” Windblossom suddenly had a bad feeling.
“As expected of you.” Zane nodded.
“…”

***

In the end, they returned to the place where they had logged out the previous day. As for why… Zane had forgotten to bring the rabbitfolk with him and had no idea whether she was safe.

Fortunately, it wasn’t very far away. After walking for about three minutes, they arrived back at the original location.

“Zzz~~ Zzz~~”

Lulu was curled up in the corner against the wall, breathing softly in her sleep. A faint trail of drool still lingered at the corner of her mouth. She looked like she was sleeping soundly. Maybe it really had been better to just leave her alone.

“Lulu, wake up.”
“Mmm… let me… sleep a little longer…”
“How strange… Why is that Ghost Lantern Zombie drooling while staring at you…?”
“AHHHHH!! Don’t eat me!”

The red rabbit, who had been nodding off moments ago, instantly shot upright the moment she heard those familiar words. Her eyes widened in terror as she leaped to her feet.

Panicking, she threw herself into Starry’s arms, tears welling in her eyes.

“Big Sis Starry, save me…”

“There, there. He’s just teasing you. There isn’t any Ghost Lantern…” She stopped mid-sentence. A zombie with lifeless, hollow eyes was hopping toward them one step at a time.

Lulu trembled as she turned her head. The moment she saw it, her expression went blank, and she fainted once again, going limp in Starry’s arms.

“…Can I chop him down?”

“You’d better not. Although combat isn’t forbidden in Noctilune City, most of the monsters living here have their own backgrounds and connections. Attacking one recklessly could easily bring even bigger trouble.”

“Alright.” Zane dismissed the Mana Blade.

The zombie continued hopping forward as if no one else existed. Just as it was about to enter the alley, a lone leaf drifted down from above and landed squarely on its forehead. It looked just like a talisman. And, in fact, it stopped moving.

Gazing over the high wall and settling on the tavern above. There, a woman leaned against the railing. Her silky black hair cascaded over her right shoulder like a waterfall. With a faint smile curling her lips, she looked down at the three of them and said in a carefree tone, “Would you like to come upstairs for a chat?”

…

“She’s the NPC who helped us enter the city at the gates yesterday,” Zane said through the party chat. “What do you think? Should we go?”

“…” Windblossom remained silent for a moment before making up her mind. “Let’s go. Having a lead is much better than wandering around asking random people.”

Passing by the motionless zombie, Starry carried the rabbitfolk and followed behind the other two.

On the right side of the alley stood a general store with a wooden sign overhead that read: Curio Tavern. It was obvious that the second floor was where the woman had been standing just now.

Despite it being broad daylight outside, the shop’s interior was remarkably dim. They could only vaguely make out the rows of cabinets lining both sides.

The moment all three of them stepped across the threshold… The swaying front door slowly shut on its own. At the same time, three candles ignited with ghostly flames, making the atmosphere eerily unsettling.

Illuminated by the faint candlelight, the woman’s figure seemed almost unreal. Folding her arms across her chest, she slowly spoke. “Now that you’ve come in… Tell me your purpose. …You human adventurers pretending to be monsters.”

‘What?! She had already seen through our disguise?!’

Windblossom’s expression changed drastically as she instinctively reached for a Guardian Scroll. However, the woman was even faster. In the blink of an eye, she had already seized Windblossom’s arm.

‘When did she move?!’

The two system notifications rang out one after another. But Zane had no time to read them. Their situation had become extremely dangerous. This was no longer the time to keep hiding.

In an instant, the transformation into a Wishkeeper was complete.

“Invoke: Vines!” The blonde girl let out a sharp cry as countless vines burst forth, dancing through the air.

Starry immediately summoned Starmew while drawing her weapon. With a powerful swing of her right arm, she unleashed the force stored within it.

Naturally, Windblossom wasn’t about to sit there and wait for death. Golden radiance erupted from the arm being restrained as Twilight energy soared skyward. Startled, the woman instinctively released her grip.

The Autumn Moon Sword struck from one side while the mass of vines attacked from the other.

‘Let’s see how you dodge that!’