“Roar!”
The Ironmane Brown Bear charged at Aynis in fury, each step causing the ground to tremble slightly, determined to crush the human who had injured its eyes into a pulp.
“Waaah!”
Aynis’s scream was no less desperate than the bear’s roar.
Her face turned pale, her calves trembling so much she couldn’t summon even an ounce of strength, collapsing to the ground. “Sister… Shali, help me!”
Swish!
A flash of cold light.
Shali lunged forward, using her momentum to concentrate all her strength into her right arm. The longsword pierced deep into the exposed rear of the Ironmane Brown Bear.
The blade plunged into its body, striking a heavy blow to its vulnerable internal organs.
Secret Art: Millennium Kill!
“Roar!” The Ironmane Brown Bear howled in agony as it rolled onto its side, convulsing and emitting pitiful cries.
Shali withdrew her longsword, her mouth twitching slightly as she saw the grimy state of the blade.
This battered sword is no good anymore!
Seizing the opportunity while the Ironmane Brown Bear lay helpless on the ground, she stepped on its head and thrust the longsword through its eye socket, piercing into its brain.
Done~
Aynis, shaken but alive, wiped the cold sweat from her brow and looked at the bear’s gruesome death with a strange expression. “Shali, that move of yours…”
“I didn’t want to do it either, but this guy’s fur is so tough all over,” Shali said, glancing at the several tiny chips along the blade’s edge.
The Ironmane Brown Bear’s belly was already the sparsest area of its fur.
Yet this longsword bought for just five copper coins still couldn’t break through its defenses.
I could only aim for its vital points.
How could anyone blame me?
“You did well.” Shali reached out her hand to Aynis.
Even though she was scared stiff and barely able to stand, she still managed to maintain her blessing magic.
Otherwise, Shali wouldn’t have been able to finish off the Ironmane Brown Bear so quickly.
Besides, Aynis’s blessing magic was far more powerful than Shali’s destruction magic.
She really had a talent for it.
“I told you I’m pretty awesome.” Aynis chuckled.
Grabbing Shali’s hand to steady herself, she still hadn’t fully recovered from the shock.
Her calf suddenly gave out, and she toppled forward onto Shali.
Her face landed right against Shali’s chest.
Mmm… so soft…
Smelling nice…
Opening her eyes, she saw through the worn cloth collar…
“Waaah!”
Aynis snapped her head back as if electrocuted, letting go of Shali’s hand and stepping back.
Her cheeks flushed with two bright patches of red, eyes darting nervously. “Sh-Shali, I didn’t mean it.”
“Ahem… it’s fine.” Shali tugged at her collar, muttering to herself, Just call it even.
There was no way she could make a fuss over something so silly.
There was still work to be done.
Shali knelt down and carefully cut open the Ironmane Brown Bear’s chest with her longsword.
After considerable effort, she finally dug out a brown crystal core from its heart.
Wiping the sweat from her brow, Shali admired the crystal core in the sunlight.
Five silver coins, secured!
Dinner’s on me tonight!
“Sh-Shali! Come here quickly!”
Aynis waved and shouted from inside the hollow tree nest.
“What did you find?” Shali packed away the crystal core and pulled aside the thorny vines blocking the tree hollow.
Before she even finished speaking, she knew the answer.
Mist!
The hollow was much larger inside than it appeared from the outside—more like a small cave filled with faint mist and the stench left by monsters.
At the deepest part of the hollow, atop a pile of branches, lay a cluster of deep blue transparent flowers.
Dewdrops still clung to the petals, freshly picked.
Isn’t this the Mistrain Flower we’ve been searching for?
“There are twenty in total!”
Aynis cupped the Mistrain Flowers and counted twice. “Didn’t expect such a bonus—this mission can definitely be completed now!”
“Use magic to preserve them first, so they don’t wilt on the way.” Shali reminded her.
Her excitement was no less than Aynis’s.
The reward for the Mistrain Flower quest, plus the monster’s crystal core…
After the Adventurer’s Guild’s cut and Aynis’s 30% share, Shali would still net nearly 1,200 copper coins!
That’s about a month’s wages for a worker in Stainheim!
Being an adventurer really does pay off!
“Got it.” Aynis used water element magic to encase the Mistrain Flowers.
That way, the flowers could remain in perfect condition.
“Let’s return to Stainheim to settle the quest first.” Shali knew well that “money in hand is real money.”
She didn’t want to encounter any more surprises after all this hard work.
For some reason, she felt an inexplicable unease staying in this hollow.
Better to leave first.
“Shali, why do you think the Ironmane Brown Bear collected so many Mistrain Flowers?” Aynis still had questions.
“Mistrain Flowers are rich in magical power, naturally attracting omnivorous monsters like the Ironmane Brown Bear.” Shali frowned slightly.
But the bear wouldn’t be foolish enough to hoard such a delicate plant prone to wilting.
Unless…
Shali’s face darkened suddenly. “Damn it! Get out of here, now!”
“Huh?”
Before Aynis could ask, Shali grabbed her wrist and dashed out of the hollow.
The vines half-blocking the entrance seemed to come alive, wildly growing and twisting.
Sunlight at the entrance was fading visibly by the second.
It’s a trap!
The Ironmane Brown Bear wasn’t returning to its den.
It had been lured here by the scent of the Mistrain Flowers to a carefully laid trap.
And they had intercepted it!
Shali cursed silently.
She had focused all her attention on the bear and completely missed such an obvious trap.
What kind of riverbank has a tree hollow this big?
Even if she had reacted sooner, it would have been too late.
The vines at the entrance thickened beyond the size of an arm, twisting like countless pythons coiling over one another, layering over the opening and extinguishing the last sliver of light.
Bang!
Shali’s fist slammed heavily against the vines but left only a small dent.
Silence fell over the dark hollow.
Until Aynis began chanting magic, creating a glowing light source before her that drove away the darkness.
Her voice trembled uncontrollably. “Shali, what’s going on here?”
“A mid-level monster, Dark Hollow Tree Demon.” Shali clicked her tongue.
The Dark Hollow Tree Demon often inhabits dark forest environments, using its tentacle-like vines to strangle and devour prey.
It disguises itself as an ordinary tree, setting traps to lure large prey into its body, then digests them with gastric acid.
Just like now!
Falling into the Dark Hollow Tree Demon’s trap was like being a mosquito trapped inside a pitcher plant—helplessly watching as you dissolve.
“M-Mid-level monster!”
Aynis’s hand trembled, causing the light source to flicker dangerously, almost collapsing.
She had only expected to face a few slimes when gathering Mistrain Flowers.
First forest wolves, then the Ironmane Brown Bear, and now a mid-level monster appeared?!
There was no way two rookie adventurers like them could handle this!
Even a team of only low-level adventurers would face total annihilation!
“Why would a mid-level monster be in a place like this… We’re going to be its lunch!”
Aynis clung tightly to Shali’s clothes, tears threatening to spill.
“To be precise, we’re already inside the Dark Hollow Tree Demon’s stomach—it’s already our lunch.” Shali gestured to the thick, sticky fluid coating the cave walls.
This was the danger of the Dark Hollow Tree Demon.
“Eek!”
Aynis immediately recoiled from the cave wall and pressed herself against Shali. “Sh-Shali, you definitely have a way to get us out, right?”
“No, even I have no solution in this situation.”
“Ah?!”