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**Swish!**

With a casual slash of Starry’s sword, a Brown Bear was instantly killed.

The experience bar barely budged. A level 28 Epic monster could no longer satisfy someone above level 30.

Zane did not bring Morthar along. In a forest like this, it simply could not stretch its limbs properly. Of course, bringing it over was not impossible. It could just flatten all the trees or dig tunnels underground. But that would probably doom this entire map before long, so it was better to be cautious for now.

After equipping the Necklace of Compassion and the Bloodstained Ring¹, Starry’s HP had climbed to 8,630. As long as they did not run into something utterly outrageous, getting instantly killed was basically off the table.

Incidentally, among today’s official update notes, there was an inconspicuous yet extremely important change.

When Strength exceeded an opponent’s, physical attacks would gain a percentage-based armor-breaking effect, with the exact value determined by the difference in Strength between both sides.

Intelligence worked the same way.

In other words, the full-defense builds that stacked Dexterity and Wisdom alone could no longer maintain their former dominance.

Plenty of players had previously dismissed Strength and Intelligence as useless and abandoned those stats entirely. Now the developers had turned around and stabbed them in the back.

Fortunately, only a week had passed, so it was still possible to readjust stat allocation.

Resetting stats was also an option, but those potions were rumored to require a level 7 Alchemist to synthesize. Unless one switched to a hidden class and obtained a free reset chance, most players could only make do.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Zane looked toward the fog-shrouded forest ahead.

‘Something feels off. Should I really let Morthar flatten this forest after all?’

It was only wishful thinking. Morthar only looked terrifying. In reality, its HP was still under 20,000, and if it got instantly killed, who knew what consequences might follow.

***

Three minutes later, as they ventured deeper, Brown Bears were nowhere to be seen.

‘Did those creatures only linger around the outer edges?’

Another five minutes passed. Still not a single monster in sight, and these trees… they somehow felt very familiar.

He glanced at the map. The directional markers on it were completely scrambled.

‘Am I lost?’ Zane snorted and smiled confidently. ‘At times like this, it’s best to leave a mark. If we see the mark again later, it means we are simply going in circles.’

But what kind of mark should it be? What if monsters came along and wiped it away? That was entirely possible. So Zane immediately shapeshifted into his Wishkeeper form, raising his small hand as he invoked Blazing Fire.

Yes, setting fire to the mountains. Straight to prison, no parole.

At the same moment, the towering tree in front of them suddenly erupted with a string of terrifying damage numbers.

…

In less than four seconds, the massive tree was burned to death, turning into experience, coins, and a heap of ash. The experience bar visibly ticked upward a bit.

‘A Unique-tier monster?’ With that thought, Zane raised an eyebrow and looked toward the surrounding trees.

That was when things got serious. Under Zane’s gaze, the trees seemed to glimpse their own fate. In an instant, branches and vines filled the sky as they lashed out toward the two of them!

‘Holy crap! How are we supposed to maneuver around this? If we get bound, it’s game over!’

Without hesitation, he flicked his blue Mana Blade and activated Blink! Countless miss indicators popped up at his original location.

Starry did not dodge or retreat. She swung the Autumn Moon Sword in a wide arc to execute Blade Dance! No damage numbers appeared, but every branch that came close was cleanly severed without exception.

Only then did Zane get the chance to inspect the monster’s attributes.

‘This stat spread… is seriously skewed! It’s an absolute nightmare for physical teams!’

After the entangling attempt failed, they fell completely still.

‘Did they finally settle down?’ Just as that thought crossed his mind, the ground suddenly bulged, forming one small mound after another. ‘What the hell?!’

Zane scrambled sideways in a panic, but to his shock, the earthen mounds followed right along with him! ‘Damn it!’

In the very next second, the mound was thrust high into the air by sharp, dark-brown roots, revealing half-meter-long lethal spikes. And it was not just one. Moving mounds were everywhere.

An inexplicable sense of faint sorrow welled up, and Zane instinctively clamped his legs together.

Luckily, he was a girl right now. Wait… didn’t that make it even worse?!

In a flash of white light, a Swiftshadow Wolf leapt out. At the same time, its lightning-fast form darted to Starry’s side and slammed straight into the fog.

***

That Spirit Tree was without question the most difficult monster since the server opened, bar none. Even thinking about it now sent a chill down his spine.

After seeing through the spirit tree’s disguise, the sensation of wandering in circles seemed to vanish. The scenery around them kept changing. Although it was hard to see clearly, there were no obvious repetitions.

Moreover, Starry could feel an increasingly dense aura of light-element energy. There was no mistake. They were almost there.

**Tap.**

‘Is there… something on my shoulder?’

His left hand reached toward the sensed direction, and a pale purple butterfly fluttered its wings, drifting into view.

‘A butterfly?’

Zane froze, then checked the message—

The scene abruptly shifted. The thick fog had already dissipated, replaced by a natural vista filled with birdsong and floral fragrance. Blooming flowers and lush green grass carpeted the ground, while bees occasionally paused atop blossoms, busy at work.

‘Gasp!’

Almost the very moment the warning appeared—

**Whoosh!**

An arrow tore through the air, carrying chaotic airflow as it streaked toward Starry with unstoppable momentum!

‘That pressure… It’s Meteor Arrow!’

**Thud!**

The arrow struck squarely in the head, triggering weak point damage. The immense impact blasted Starry backward through the air!

***

“So it really is you…” Beneath blood-red pupils, bewitching light flickered, forming a stark contrast with the slender, jade-clear figure.

A white wolf lay quietly on the ground, while the girl sat motionless, seemingly asleep. Tiny butterflies covered both the girl and the wolf. At a glance, there were easily over a hundred of them. Anyone with trypophobia would probably faint on the spot.

“Well now… I never expected this. I hadn’t even gone looking for you, and you came knocking on my door instead?”

“Hehehe… hehehahahaha!” The once-alluring figure now looked more like a deranged woman under this scene.

Suddenly, the butterflies stirred of their own accord.

**Rustle rustle rustle—**

In the blink of an eye, every butterfly took flight, leaving the girl and the white wolf behind.

“How is that possible…” the voice murmured in disbelief.

“So sleepy… ha~” Starry stretched lazily, looking exhausted.²　

“How can this be! What did you do?!”

Rubbing her eyes, Starry replied drowsily, “What did I do…? What are you even talking about?”

As her eyes fully opened, her vision grew clearer. Once she recognized the figure before her, Starry lifted a hand in greeting. “Is that you, Treka? What a coincidence. Long time no see~”