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The Crimson Plains lay several kilometers southwest of Wynwater City.

Over the past week, players had gradually grasped a pattern, the farther one ventured from human settlements, the stronger and rarer the monsters became. Therefore, those seeking high-grade materials or faster leveling had no choice but to push deeper into the wilds.

That said, the price of death was steep: one entire level lost each time. Encounters with elite monsters often ended before players could even fight back, sending them straight back to Wynwater City. Most preferred to grind experience in crowded, safer zones. Only the top-ranking players dared to act as the vanguard of exploration.

But now, at the border between the Rock Maze and the Crimson Plains, a massive number of players had gathered. Two factions had crossed paths there.

The Brotherhood arrived first. Cloudsworn, their guild master, had witnessed the entire series of events from the afternoon before.

The chaotic escape of the Gray Wolves had been unbelievable. That burrowing beetle, in particular, was downright ridiculous, it dug a tunnel and vanished underground right before their eyes. Ever since, both guild members and outsiders had been talking about it nonstop, nearly driving him mad.

Tempted by the lure of hidden quests and potential Easter eggs, he had led his brothers through countless perils, even crossing the Blackcrystal Lava Lake. Though few monsters lurked there, each Lava Spider they encountered had the potential to wipe out a member or two.

In the end, following faint traces and webs along the way, only half their force remained by the time they reached the Crimson Plains.

To cross three entire maps purely by foot was truly a feat worthy of song. If they didn’t earn something substantial out of this, Cloudsworn’s patience would collapse entirely. However… When he turned to see the hundred-plus players trailing behind, his face flushed red.

“Damn it, those b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲s̲! All they do is tail us like leeches!”

Sure enough, the group behind them belonged to Rainflower.

The Grayridge Plains incident had become the talk of Wynwater City! Aside from Heaven’s Accord, nearly every major and minor guild, over twenty in total, had dispatched members to investigate.

Even so, the Brotherhood still made it there first. And why was that? Because last night, LastBlade, one of the Brotherhood’s rare assassin experts, had managed to follow the Gray Wolves’ trail by relying on his movement-speed-stacked equipment.

Of course, he only managed to watch their backs from afar. Still, he succeeded in charting a safe route.

“Haha! Those idiots from the Brotherhood think being first will give them an advantage, but look at us, we hardly lost anyone and still made it here!” laughed Rainflower’s Spark.

“Hmph, they’re nothing but a bunch of reckless fools,” Drake said coldly.
“Our guild leader is wise as always!” another member flattered.
“Don’t underestimate them,” reminded FleetingDream. “Cloudsworn isn’t just a commander, his combat skills are top-tier.”
“What about you?” Spark sneered. “You strutted around yesterday like some hotshot, and what happened? You lost to that rank-30 player Endless Sea! Pathetic!”

“Spark!” Drake barked angrily before softening his tone toward FleetingDream. “Bro, victory and defeat are normal in battle. Losing once is no shame. As long as you keep working hard, I’m sure our teamwork will only get better. Rainflower will always have your back.”

“…” FleetingDream’s face darkened, but he couldn’t refute it. A loss was a loss. He hadn’t expected Endless Sea to have a charge skill, or that his combat instincts had improved so much since their last fight.

Drake smiled pleasantly. After all, they had signed a contract. To recruit this wandering expert, the guild had paid a hefty deposit. But if FleetingDream failed to deliver notable results within a month, not only would he forfeit his payment, he’d be forced to serve Rainflower as one of their own.

Rainflower aside, other guilds like Nether Dawn and Drunken Fairytale were also heading toward the Crimson Plains. Along with them came countless smaller guilds and curious solo players eager to watch the spectacle unfold.

***

“Boss, I checked yesterday. Just up ahead there was a cluster of white Goblins, Epic-grade monsters at level 25, and those Gray Wolves that ran off ended up here as well,” LastBlade reported. “Also, I spotted several people from the ranking leaderboard!”

“Leaderboard?” Cloudsworn was surprised. “Don’t tell me… Windblossom?!”

“No, I didn’t see her, just the others. Everyone besides Fairytale Forest and Windblossom was there! A few unfamiliar faces too.”

“So they really are a group. I knew it was strange that the rankings suddenly shuffled; looks like they did something big! Alright, we’re moving in. We didn’t come all this way for nothing!”

“Yeah—!!”

***

“Chief! A large number of adventurers are approaching!” Kanrel sprinted back into camp.

“What!?” Yalu sprang to his feet. “I’ll go take a look.”

***

The western edge of the Crimson Plains bordered the Spiritwood. Here, players could gather abundant timber and other resources, and grind on level-28 Brown Bears.

“Stay quiet,” Endless Sea whispered. “I’ll start with Taunt. YoyoPink, take over once I’m done.”

“Mhm.” YoyoPink nodded.

“Alright—go!” As his words fell, DumbCitrus nervously cast Battle Hymn and Inspiring Chant. By the way, at level 20 Bards learned a new skill, Leaping Melody. It was a ranged, flying single-target attack/heal that depended on who it hit.

The scaling was on the low side, just 100 + Magic Attack × 0.5, and it had a long 10-second cooldown. A bit of a lukewarm skill, but it at least improved the Bard’s usual “buff then AFK” problem by adding modest damage or spot-healing.

Shiu opened with Pyrestorm and Thundercloud. Both had generous ranges, perfect for tagging the Brown Bear from a distance.

As expected, spell damage hurt. Since those two were damage-over-time, adding a follow-up Flameburst and Mana Surge was enough to shave the bear down to half HP.

With Blink, a mage running Pyrestorm and Thundercloud could kite these bears down without taking a hit, though the mana cost would be brutal. Without mana-regen gear, you’d go out of mana in a few casts.

At half HP, the Brown Bear flushed crimson, it had entered Berserk state!

That Berserk effect was a familiar sight, they’d first encountered it on the wild boar that blocked progression at the Beginner Village’s gate. It had nearly scared Endless Sea to death.

Even in its Berserk state, the stun still took effect despite its increased stats. If they hadn’t controlled it, a single Earth Pound would have stunned the entire team, and things would’ve gone south fast.

One second later, the control broke. After entering Berserk, its resistance to control effects had risen sharply.

With Shiu’s heavy damage, plus YoyoPink’s Lordsey and her Electrobunny, the Brown Bear collapsed before it could really show its fangs. They hadn’t taken a single point of damage to defeat it.

DumbCitrus’ damage was negligible.

Meanwhile, the other team used a completely different approach. Nangong opened with Frostfeather Arrow and Guardbreak Arrow, and Snowy took the tank role. With Armor Break applied, their physical DPS didn’t look bad at all, and they didn’t have to worry about mana consumption. Seraphine and Dukeette alternated heals to save on potions.

Looking closely, a Lava Spider was also clawing away at the Brown Bear, though at its current level, it wasn’t strong enough to influence the battle.

Zane handed the Staff of Prayer to Seraphine, since Dukeette already wielded a stronger staff, the Windwhisper Staff they’d acquired in the Forgotten Tower.

Despite its intimidating appearance, both Wanderer and Nangong gave the spider a try in the end. Unfortunately, the taming success rate was only 30%. Wanderer managed to succeed, while Nangong could only mutter enviously under his breath.

With an Epic-grade pet at his side, Wanderer’s future battles would become far easier, stealth around to the rear, pin with Flaming Web, then go to town with backstabs. Delicious.

Both sides diligently gathered resources. For collection quests like this, the more you gathered, the higher the task rating, and the better the rewards.

However… neither side had the faintest clue about the Crimson Plains’ current situation.