Chapter 43: Mutation, Ambush

This was, of course, beyond doubt.

Not greedy for money?

What kind of good person who isn’t greedy hands over dozens of Magic Crystals a day?

Who earns enough in two days of commissions to surpass several months’ total income of a mercenary team?

What do you do with so much money?

Eat?

Spend over a hundred gold coins a month on food?

Don’t make your Brother Liang laugh.

“But don’t be in a hurry, everyone, things aren’t finished yet.”

Anna looked toward the entrance of the Mithril Mine.

She didn’t know why that guy refused to come out, but it didn’t matter anymore.

Such an unstable element must be dealt with; letting it linger here was definitely not acceptable.

From the intel obtained so far, these mutated monsters generally lacked reason; even the least aggressive Slime, after mutation, turned into a reckless brute who only knew the thrill of fighting.

Not to mention other monsters that were already violent by nature.

While the situation was still under control, the source needed to be dealt with quickly to prevent further escalation.

So, after the mages took out Spiritual Powder to recover the Spirituality consumed in the previous battle, Anna once again brought out the Magicite, repeating the previous process.

Pure, high-concentration magic power once more spread from the Magicite.

People around her stepped back, opening up a wide space.

Such high-concentration magic power might be attractive to monsters, but for humans, it was the opposite.

Human bodies have a low tolerance for magic power and can’t store much of it internally; prolonged direct contact with high concentrations would cause severe damage. Otherwise, mages wouldn’t use Spirituality to drive Magic.

But as a divine official, Anna could use divine arts to effectively resist the erosion of high-concentration magic, so she had no such concerns.

As time passed, the magic power from the Magicite grew, drifting toward the mine under Anna’s guidance.

The surrounding adventurers remained on high alert.

Yet, in the mages’ perception, the magic reaction inside the mine showed no response, remaining motionless, ignoring the thick magic power at the entrance.

It was as if something else inside the mine was attracting it.

Or perhaps it was afraid of something.

Time ticked by. The dense magic power here had already started drawing in monsters from farther away, with all sorts of Slimes jumping from the ground or trees, rushing toward Anna’s position in excitement.

Like kittens drawn by the scent of catnip.

Then, cold-faced Judge Isaac, guarding Anna, swiftly dispatched every one of them.

In such circumstances, letting these small creatures interfere with their real work was out of the question.

Yet, several more minutes passed, and although the monster in the mine occasionally stirred, it still showed no sign of coming out.

Krexia could even feel its hungry gaze toward Anna.

Anna frowned.

What was going on?

By rights, no monster should be able to resist this level of magic power—the monsters rushing in to die were proof enough.

But now, the magic in this Magicite was almost depleted, and still, it didn’t intend to come out?

Anna glanced at Isaac.

Isaac understood instantly and moved toward the mine, preparing to drag it out himself.

Today’s mission was heavy; they couldn’t waste any more time.

Just as Isaac was about to enter the mine, suddenly, a blood-red Magic Circle appeared in the center of the mining area without warning.

The surge of magic power startled everyone.

“!”

“What is that?!”

Isaac reacted first.

Despite wearing armor that looked heavy enough to crush someone, once he moved at full power, his terrifying speed was almost invisible to the eye.

In a flash, he dashed to Anna’s side, pulling her away from the abnormal Magic Circle.

The next moment, dark red mist rapidly filled the area, visibility plummeting.

Krexia, who had been slacking off, was jolted alert by the sudden change.

This magic wave was unfamiliar—she had never sensed anything like it.

Yet, it was also easy to recognize.

The attacker made no attempt to conceal themselves. This blood-red Magic Circle—across the entire continent, only one race could use such a thing.

Blood Clan.

The Blood Mist spread quickly, swallowing everyone’s figures and reducing visibility to less than a meter. Even soul perception was cut off.

The mages around were in even worse shape, unable to use Spirituality to manipulate magic. The magic for detection and exploration failed one after another without magic power to sustain them.

“Enemy attack! It’s the Blood Clan!”

“Vampires!”

Krexia tried to manipulate her magic.

Spirituality couldn’t perceive anything, including magic, in the surroundings, but the magic within her body was unaffected.

The situation wasn’t entirely hopeless.

She looked around. The adventurers were in a panic. Anna and Isaac, the two main forces, were out of sight, and no one was paying attention to her.

Good.

She took out ten Magic Crystals from the Storage Ring and swallowed them in one gulp. Instantly, her internal magic surged.

The body Coutia had crafted for her seemed capable of storing a very high amount of magic power; even after consuming so many Magic Crystals, her exterior showed no abnormality.

With magic power in reserve, the next step was—

Escape.

Fight?

Confront head-on?

What a joke—that was a Blood Clan bold enough to attack the White Sanctuary!

Who was she to fight such a thing?

Thinking back, the one who had spied on her earlier was probably this very attacker.

It seemed they had targeted this team from the start.

With the enemy’s motives unclear, running away was the safest option.

“Ah!”

Suddenly, a scream rang out.

Krexia looked beside her to see two mages nearby clutching their chests in agony, collapsing to the ground.

A basketball-sized hole had been opened in their chests, yet strangely, no blood flowed out.

Their bodies shriveled at a visible rate, turning to mummified corpses within seconds.

As if all blood and moisture had been drained.

The surrounding mist thickened with their deaths.

“Damn it…”

Witnessing this bizarre scene, Krexia couldn’t help but feel a surge of fear.

She had to run. She had to get out of here!

This place was no longer safe!

Resolved, Krexia stopped hesitating and quickly assessed her direction—

Damn, she couldn’t determine her bearings—the mist was too thick!

No matter. She’d run in the direction she remembered led toward the city.

(1/2)