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Bursting out of the narrow pass did not mean they had successfully escaped.

**Whoosh—**

A wave of scorching heat erupted from behind them. Drenched in sweat, Zane instantly shifted back into his Swiftshadow Wolf form.

“Damnable intruders! Don’t think you can escape!!!” Zedana’s heavy voice thundered from behind them like a rolling explosion.

‘What the hell! Aren’t you going to deal with your underlings? They’re already in complete chaos back there!’

Seeing the enemy fleeing farther and farther away, the boss’ fury reached its peak. Elemental power gathered its his hand, and in the blink of an eye, the energy of Blazing Incineration was hurled forward!

“Watch out!” Treka cried anxiously. Without hesitation, she stepped behind Zane, flipped her longbow upright, and pressed it forcefully against the ground.

“Prismatic Shield!” Several dazzling white beams burst outward from the bow’s frame, weaving together into a pristine shield of light.

**Creak—Crack—**

The blazing flames slammed into the prismatic shield. Fire seeped through the cracks and struck the Light Elf squarely in the chest.

…

The explosive impact damage had already been reduced to a very minor level, but the Burn effect still hurt terribly.

Using the recoil from the blast, Treka retreated backward along with the force.

“Are you alright!?” Zane asked urgently.
“I’m fine, just a small injury,” the elf replied with a dismissive wave of her hand, signaling that it was nothing worth worrying about.
“…You’re serious? The fire is still burning!” Zane stared in disbelief as Treka’s HP continued dropping above her head.

It had already fallen to 96%. Her total health bar was roughly around 300,000. It was thick, yes, but NPCs were not like players. Once they died, it was game over for good.

“It’s fine, ugh…”

95%

“He can’t harm me…” *Pfft*—she suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, and the Light Elf’s HP plunged to 92%!

‘Just how brutal is this Blazing Incineration?!’

Yet Treka seemed to be waiting for something. A relieved expression appeared on her face as she gently placed her delicate hand over the wound.

White radiance flickered brilliantly. The warm glow soothed the air, dispersing some of the oppressive heat as the burning duration finally came to an end.

A single heal of thirty thousand instantly restored her HP to full. Zane’s mouth hung open wide enough to fit an egg. Staring at the small mound on Treka’s chest, he muttered blankly, “This… doesn’t match the settings.”

“What’s wrong with you?”

“N–Nothing. By the way, if you can heal, why didn’t you use it earlier?” Zane asked while continuing to run, speaking through Starry’s body.

“This big fellow’s flames are rather special. Ordinary dispels cannot remove them. I had to wait until the fire subsided naturally. Besides, Holy Infusion consumes a great deal of energy. It’s better to use it when it can achieve the greatest effect.”

…Saving MP before casting, huh? That was a very common tactic among players, but for a native-born NPC, it was almost unimaginable. Who could possibly endure the agony of burning flames like that? In certain aspects, this elf was remarkably stubborn. Zane could not decide whether that was a virtue or a flaw.

They continued running for nearly another five minutes. The boss’ voice could no longer be heard, and even the oppressive heat in the air had noticeably faded.

“Phew… did we escape?”

Treka did not answer immediately. She closed her eyes, carefully sensing the fluctuations of elemental energy in the air. Then she opened her bright, crystal-clear eyes. “Yes. He isn’t chasing us anymore.”

Hearing that, Zane finally let out a breath of relief. Fighting in that environment had been unbearably miserable, like being stuffed inside an alchemy furnace.

Suddenly, a red stone near his feet began trembling unnaturally.

‘What’s this?’ Zane reverted to his original form and picked up the stone.

A mana medium? Looks like a pretty decent material. If he collected a lot of these and sold them later, he might make a fortune. And this short-range teleportation… could it produce an effect similar to Blink?

Treka glanced around the surroundings, her brows knitting together. “I have a bad feeling about this.” Then her eyes fell on the ruby crystal in Zane’s hand. The calm expression on her delicate face shattered instantly. “Throw it away! Quickly!”

‘Huh? Don’t tell me this stone can actually become a spirit?’

In the very next moment, a grotesque face formed entirely of flames emerged from within the crystal! The fiery visage spoke in a low, rumbling voice. “I told you… you cannot escape.”

‘Holy crap! The stone really turned into a spirit!’ Zane was thoroughly startled and hurled the stone into the air. Roaring flames crawled out from within it, taking shape once more as Zedana!

***

After clearing away the Spirit Trees along the path, Starry rode her white wolf forward at an unhurried pace.

Suddenly, she stopped.
“Come out.”
Starry turned and looked toward a cluster of grass.

Less than three seconds after she spoke, a faint rustling sound came from within the grass. A gray-black figure stepped out. “Adventurer, how did you discover me?”

The veins on Starry’s forehead twitched as she struggled to suppress the urge to complain. “I’ve been chopping trees the entire way here, and the only patch of grass that kept following me the whole time was you. You really thought you were hiding well, didn’t you?!”

The Dark Elf froze for a moment, then clapped his hands lightly. “I see. That was my oversight. The adventurers who have appeared recently are truly surprising… perhaps the arrival of otherworldly adventurers will overturn the current situation.”

“….” Starry pressed a hand to her forehead. “So… who exactly are you?”

‘Legendary rank!?’ Both the level and description were question marks, which meant this person’s level far surpassed her own. The name Kesius sounded somewhat familiar as well. She felt as though she had heard it somewhere before, yet she simply could not recall where.

“Just someone passing by this place by coincidence.” After being beaten badly by goblins in the Crimson Plains, his temperament had restrained itself quite a bit. Otherwise, he would hardly be chatting casually with a player right now.

“….” Even after being exposed, this guy still had the nerve to claim he was just passing by. Starry had no idea how to respond to that. “Adventurer, have you seen a blonde elf around here? Her eyes are deep crimson.”

“You could say I’ve seen her. What do you want with her?” Starry raised an eyebrow and asked in return.
“I have some… important matters to discuss with her. Could you lead me to her?”

Extremely suspicious. A simple guiding quest had actually been rated S-Rank. Although Starry herself did not play games very often, she had learned quite a bit about them from Zane.

“Sorry, I’m looking for her myself.”

“Is that so…” The Dark Elf shook his head with a trace of regret. Then he suddenly licked his lips excitedly. “Your combat talent is exceptionally high. You were practically born for battle! If not for…”

He frowned slightly, then took out a gray card from his robe. A faint aura of darkness clung to its surface.

“This is for you.”

After a brief pause, Kesius continued, “If you ever gain the resolve to devote yourself to darkness, come find me in Noctilune City.” With that, he turned and walked away into the distance.

?

Starry was left completely baffled. What kind of bizarre move was that? And where exactly was Noctilune City? She had never even heard of it before. It probably was not a human city… could it be that he was inviting her to defect to the Dark Faction?