Project GB is an official initiative by Re:Library.

The noisy crowd packed tightly around the arena until there was barely any room left. On the stage, two Skeleton Warriors stood opposite one another, one on the left and one on the right, continuously clashing with their massive bone blades.

Though their movements were slow, every strike carried tremendous force. Each collision chipped away another piece of their already fragile blades.

In the end, the makeshift bone weapons shattered into fragments, forcing the two skeletons to resort to hand-to-hand combat.

One slapped. The other punched. The only sounds that echoed across the arena were the crisp rattles of colliding bones, making the fight feel like a turn-based battle.

As long as their Soul Flames remained unextinguished, skeletons could regenerate endlessly. At this rate, those two could probably keep fighting until the end of time. The countdown had already dropped to only three minutes remaining.

The spectators below were filled with complaints. It had been entertaining at first, but after watching for so long… many of them were itching to rush onto the stage and chop both skeletons apart themselves.

Unfortunately, neither contestant had broken any rules, so everyone could only watch helplessly. At last, the timer reached zero. Time had run out, and neither side had managed to defeat the required five opponents.

The two little skeletons stopped fighting, then blankly hopped off the arena one after the other.

“Damn it! Brothers, beat the crap out of them! They wasted our time!” That single shout immediately resonated with the crowd as countless people surged forward and gave the pair a merciless beating.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Zane and his two companions made their way closer to the arena. The platform was completely empty. After an hour of attrition, there were obviously still plenty of contestants at full strength. No one wanted to be the first to step onto the stage.

“Hmph. What a bunch of cowards!” An unusually grating voice reached everyone’s ears. Looking up, they saw a Flower Sprite.

Her petals were predominantly purple, mixed with shades of pink and vibrant colors, making her look brilliantly vivid and extremely poisonous. Her arms and legs were all twisted vines covered in sharp thorns, with faint green light flashing intermittently across them, sending chills down one’s spine.

At the center of her blossom grew a set of grotesquely arranged facial features. One could barely tell it was supposed to be a face. She let out a shrill giggle, grabbed the railing with her vines, and effortlessly vaulted onto the arena in just a few movements.

“Even the Bewitching Flower is here…” Someone with broad knowledge recognized her immediately.

“…” The moment everyone heard that name, the lively atmosphere instantly died. Hardly anyone even felt like discussing it anymore.

‘What’s going on? How is she called the Bewitching Flower with that appearance?’

An Epic Boss? To be honest, this was the first time Zane had ever seen a monster whose entire skill set consisted solely of crowd control abilities. That worked in their favor. As long as he activated Unchained Will, fighting it would practically be a massacre.

Still, everyone else’s reaction was rather strange. They all looked like wilted eggplants after a frost, completely devoid of spirit.

“Heeheehee… Is nobody brave enough to come up? I’m so heartbroken…” the Bewitching Flower Maiden said while pretending to look aggrieved.

“…”

‘Uh… A flower with crooked, misshapen facial features trying to act cute? That would be straight out of a horror movie, especially at night. Meh, forget it.’ Zane shook the thought from his mind and controlled Starry to leap onto the arena.

Not bad. Not only was there passive experience gain, but defeating monsters still awarded 30% of their normal experience. In that case, couldn’t they simply survive until the fifty-ninth minute, intentionally lose, then repeat the process to farm experience endlessly?

Suddenly, he felt as though something had been added to Starry’s body.

‘…You call this skill a Blessing? Seriously?’ In any case, that completely shattered Zane’s plans of farming experience. Increasing his own item drop rate with every defeat… Who in their right mind could afford to stack something like that?

“A Red Rabbit? Now that’s a rare sight…”
“Such a beautiful young lady. What a shame.”
“Yeah… I wonder who gave her the courage to step up there.”
“Uncle, what exactly are you all pitying?”
“Who’re you calling ‘Uncle’?! I’m only 276 years old! I’m in the prime of my life, alright?!”
“…Got it, Uncle.” Zane nodded.

Too tired to argue further, the man let out a sigh. “Bewitching Flowers are highly poisonous, hallucinogenic plants. Normally, they don’t use those abilities on others… except… Women blessed with extraordinary beauty.

“These flowers are incredibly jealous. The more they covet something they can never possess, the more determined they become to destroy it. This one has already taken on a humanoid form. I can’t even imagine what it’s capable of now. As for us old fellows, we’d rather not court that kind of disaster.”

While they were talking, the Bewitching Flower Maiden’s face twisted together like a wrung towel, her expression contorting in agony. “A mere Red Rabbit… A mere Red Rabbit!”

“Starry! Go all out right from the start! I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Windblossom said anxiously over the party chat.

Although the Flower Sprite was only an Epic Boss, it was still hopelessly outmatched against Starry, who was equipped with several pieces of Unique equipment. Even so, there was something unnervingly strange about this flower.

Perhaps it wasn’t as simple as it seemed. Just like that Greataxe Master before, something unexpected might happen.

Starry didn’t reply. Zane fixed his full attention on the enemy before him. The instant the signal to begin the battle was given, a blur shot forward and slammed into the Bewitching Flower Maiden.

The damage was respectable. Her defenses hadn’t reduced it by much. A ring of tiny stars immediately appeared above the Flower Sprite’s head.

‘Good. She’s stunned.’

Starry followed up with a normal attack, Blade Dance, then another normal attack! The opening combo instantly shaved off nearly a quarter of the boss’ HP.

The stun icon gradually faded, on the verge of disappearing. Plant-type monsters really did have impressive stun resistance. However, just before the stars vanished completely, an icy blue sword aura crashed down, erupting with countless shards of frost around the Bewitching Flower Maiden’s roots.

The frost clinging to its body disappeared in less than a second. The freeze effect had failed.

“Why… why?! How can a mere Red Rabbit possess such beauty?!” the Flower Sprite shrieked. Her piercing voice was so high-pitched that it made everyone’s skin crawl. Wearing a twisted grin, she hissed, “Then I’ll destroy you with my own hands!”

“Enough talk!” Starry’s expression turned icy as she raised the Autumn Moon Sword high, her imposing aura flaring. Triple Frenzy Slash!

The very first strike landed as a critical hit, reducing the Flower Sprite’s HP to just over half!

The three slashes came in rapid succession. Combined with their heavy hit stun, they normally allowed all three attacks to connect without fail. Yet between the first and second strikes, the Bewitching Flower Maiden seized a tiny opening. Her blossom quivered violently, and before the blade could reach her, countless clouds of powder burst outward.

At such close range, Starry was caught completely off guard. An overwhelming wave of drowsiness washed over her. Her grip on the sword nearly slipped, and Triple Frenzy Slash was interrupted on the spot!

She barely managed to force her eyes open, resisting the crushing urge to sleep and activated Unchained Will!

The unconstrained surge of will instantly swept away every trace of discomfort. When she focused again, countless poisonous ivies had already spread across the ground before her, writhing like ferocious serpents as they lunged straight at her.