From the moment Aperria charged out to the moment she was slammed into the ground like Yamcha.
Less than five seconds had passed.
Just as Glock Bloodthroat's Petrifying Ray was about to fire.
A Flame Jet, neither too fast nor too slow, cut into the battle from a tricky angle and struck the ogre directly in the eyes.
The brief blindness interrupted the ogre's casting. Seizing the opportunity, Aperria abandoned her sword, scaled the ogre's shoulder, and climbed onto its head.
She gripped the ogre's foul-smelling ears and poured every last bit of the holy flame within her into its head.
"Roar!!!" The ogre howled in agony and smashed at its own head with all its strength.
But Aperria did not make a sound. She endured fists powerful enough to crush iron plates, looking as though she intended to perish together with it.
10,000, 7,000, 3,000, 500... Nearby, Three Stages of Fighting Spirit kept refreshing the ogre's health, waiting for it to reach his execution threshold.
The next moment, a dagger thrust out from the ogre's shadow and ended the terrifying monster's life.
The Shadowkin named He Who Seeks His Own Demise emerged from the shadows and casually stuffed the club dropped by Glock Bloodthroat into his inventory space.
Three Stages of Fighting Spirit instantly exploded in rage and cursed at He Who Seeks His Own Demise for stealing his kill.
"Aminos!!!"
The Shadowkin glanced back at the Fire Elemental and cursed back, "You idiot, watch your mouth."
"Aminos, so what if I curse you? You worthless bastard stole my kill and still think you're in the right?"
"Is this monster your dad or your mom? Does it have your name written on it?"
"You fucking..."
Dragging her exhausted body, Aperria picked up the Holy Sword from the ground and returned alone to sit before the campfire.
She could no longer be bothered with these Chosen Ones spouting obscenities.
After all, although the two were cursing each other more viciously by the moment, it would not escalate into PK.
It was not as though no one had PKed before, but losing 20 Sin Value for every slash had calmed down all the hotheaded players.
Once Sin Value fell to -100, there was a high chance their accounts would be banned!
Moreover, reviving in this game had a hidden cooldown. The player Aperria had burned to death was not revived by the Creator God's avatar until the second day in the game.
As wave after wave of monsters were eliminated, the sky gradually brightened.
Chosen Ones continuously woke from their sleep, but even after the agreed departure time of seven, five of the thirty-two Chosen Ones still had not awakened.
This was within Aperria's expectations.
The Lord had said that the times at which these Chosen Ones arrived in this world were unstable.
If they encountered a large-scale "logoff" by Chosen Ones along the way, they were to leave two knights behind to protect them. If too few Chosen Ones had "logged off," the Chosen Ones were to figure out how to catch up on their own.
The knights absolutely were not to carry the Chosen Ones. Of course, if a Chosen One who would not wake up could find another Chosen One to carry them, then she would not need to interfere.
The five Chosen Ones who had fallen behind already accounted for nearly fifteen percent of the party.
After thinking it over, Aperria decided to leave two people behind to guard them.
But at that moment, the Beast-Ear Race Magical Girl, who had not spoken a word the entire journey, suddenly said,
"Two are missing. They were taken."
Aperria sprang to her feet. Forcing herself onward, she raised the Holy Sword high and gathered the surrounding light once more.
The dawn light in the forest flowed toward her Holy Sword all at once.
Like flowing water, the light changed direction when it struck solid objects. Yet in one particular direction, the stream of light encountered an obstruction.
The knights beside Aperria immediately hurled golden javelins toward it. Before reaching the ground, the javelins turned into countless fine drops of light, blanketing the entire area that had blocked the light's path.
However, the rain of light unleashed by Gold Rank powerhouses was swallowed whole by an arcing barrier, as though it were nothing but harmless pebbles.
Then, ripples of magic power came from behind the barrier.
Most of those present, including Aperria and the knights, were instantly pressed to the ground by the suddenly intensified gravity.
Only Aer charged forward against the force and shattered the curved barrier with a single punch.
But behind the barrier, all that remained was the fading aftermath of transfer magic.
"Someone got taken?"
"Why do I never run into hidden events like this?"
"The ones who got taken don't seem to be online. Does anyone know them? Hurry and call them."
Their companions had been taken right before their eyes, yet these Chosen Ones did not show a shred of anger.
Even though the members of the Knight Order had been told by the Lord that these Chosen Ones could revive, they still felt a strange discomfort toward these chaotic Otherworlders.
Aer silently returned to the campfire and said to Aperria,
"Two Legendary Ranks. Can't catch them."
"Then we leave quickly." Aperria sheathed her sword. "Every second we delay adds another thread of risk. Before any other Chosen Ones are taken, we march at full speed."
Misty Forest, inside a cave somewhere.
After the aftermath of the transfer magic dissipated, the Blue Pheasant Beastman holding a staff finally sighed in relief and said to his companion beside him,
"Two people can be traded for two hundred million Alliance Coins. They only have one Legendary Rank fighter, so they can't stop us. How about we grab a few more?"
"Forget it this time." The woman completely covered in fitted armor said, "I have a bad feeling about this. Let's quit while we're ahead."
An unhappy expression appeared on the Blue Pheasant Beastman's birdlike face. Before he could object, the woman, his longtime partner, took the initiative to explain.
"This commission is all wrong. We couldn't find any useful information beforehand, and it went too smoothly. That means whatever is behind this is already beyond our level."
"We're like sharks caught in a whirlpool. Once we've taken a bite of meat, we need to leave. We absolutely can't get dragged in too deep."
"Fine, I'll listen to you." The Blue Pheasant Beastman nodded his bird head, tucked the two stolen targets beneath his wings, and prepared to cast transfer magic again.
Their gains this time were not limited to the two hundred million Alliance Coins commission reward.
By following this strange party all the way, they had also discovered a route that could safely reach the Misty Forest.
It could be said that they had gained a great deal.
However, the Blue Pheasant Beastman suddenly froze as he raised his staff, an incredulous expression appearing on his birdlike face.
The woman beside him gave him a puzzled glance, then immediately pushed her armor to full power.
Without a thought for her well-coordinated partner or the targets worth two hundred million, the fitted armor carried her out of the cave and sent her flying into the distance.
"Futile struggle."
The woman crossed the horizon in an instant after shooting out of the cave, only to discover in horror the next moment that she had been transferred back inside. Even with her fitted armor at full power, she remained suspended in midair within the cave.
"We only accepted a job from the Black Market to capture people. We don't know anything!" the woman cried in panic.
"Oh, so you're innocent. Then I'll let you go."
That teasing remark, coming from nowhere, sent chills from the heads to the soles of the feet of the two Legendary Rank mercenaries.
Throughout the Thirteen City Alliance, both of them were well-known figures, honored guests whom major factions tried desperately to recruit.
Yet now, they were about to vanish without a sound inside this nameless cave.