Fire Mage

It was hard to imagine seeing such a sight this deep underground. Looking up, where rock layers should have been, a dusky yellow sky dome stretched overhead. Within their field of view lay a massive, cold, dead city, and the place they had emerged from was a towering spire. A wide stone bridge connected the spire, leading straight to the city's center.

The buildings in the city all shared the same architectural style, constructed from deep black stone. They resembled not so much houses as spire-shaped tombstones, exuding a thick atmosphere of deathly stillness.

This was the realm of twilight and eternity—Amber City.

Li Wen had never seen it with her own eyes, but she had studied it somewhat in the Strategy Group's internal materials.

Amber City was a colossal city not belonging to this era, composed of three parts: the Outer City beyond the spire's boundary, the Inner City within the spire, and finally the center of Amber City—the Amber Temple.

That was the Twilight Witch's only dwelling among mortals. The entire Amber City had been built by the believers around the Amber Temple.

The Outer City was absolutely forbidden ground. It was mostly inhabited by exiled Elders and rebels, who had gone mad chasing the Perfect Amber and were then permanently exiled, forbidden from returning to Amber City. Since only Elders could reach Amber City, those exiled beings were likely still alive even now.

The Inner City was the residence of priests, nobles, and witches. Their sole mission was to serve the avatar of the Twilight Witch dwelling within the temple. The Inner City was certainly less dangerous than the Outer City, because after the Twilight Pillar collapsed, all the Twilight Believers had committed martyrdom, following the Twilight Witch in death.

But that didn't mean the Inner City was safe. According to the Strategy Group's data, at some key locations, Elders still guarded the relics of those believers. The most important of these, the Amber Temple, was guarded by the Daughters of Amber—eternal creations of the Twilight Lineage. Converted to game levels, they were at least level fifty or above.

Fortunately, the Elders would not bother with intruders in Amber City, and the Daughters of Amber remained in a constant Long Slumber, waiting for the witch to awaken them again.

Besides that, that Fire Mage from the Arcane Academy might have already arrived in Amber City ahead of them. He was likely the greatest threat at present.

Just as Li Wen was thinking this, a sudden fog of unknown origin enveloped them. Li Wen frowned slightly, then felt a stir in her heart. She was about to speak to warn the others, but forcibly stopped herself. She quietly retreated back into the tower, patiently waiting for her magic power to slowly recover.

"What thick fog."

The players had just been immersed in the grandeur of the underground city, and now this inexplicable white mist interrupted them—naturally, their mood soured.

"Everyone, be careful. This fog isn't right."

Take said loudly. Following game design logic, when a sudden anomaly occurs upon entering a new map, it either means monsters are coming or a plot event is triggering. Either way, nothing good.

But before everyone could get on guard, the male player walking at the front suddenly felt a wave of warmth surge from within his body. Then he saw his health plummet past zero percent in an instant.

In the other players' eyes, that player was instantly engulfed in flames, turning into a human torch in the blink of an eye.

"Enemy!"

Take reacted first. The others froze for a moment, then quickly moved away from their now-burning teammate.

They had already prepared for battle back outside, so even though they were caught off guard, they weren't completely helpless.

"Eleven o'clock direction, footsteps!"

The female hunter player shouted. Before that, she had already drawn an arrow, nocked it, and fired toward that direction.

She used a recurve bow. In terms of pure power, it certainly couldn't match a high-poundage longbow, but at close range, a hit would still be lethal.

Yet some time had passed since the arrow flew out, and she still hadn't heard any feedback of a hit.

With the white fog present, her role as the only ranged damage dealer was severely weakened. She should have brought a hunting knife with her.

At this moment, Take was exceptionally calm. Their current position was on the wide stone bridge, with almost no cover. The one who had died early was a level 2 Guardian, the only one with a shield. The rest were two level 2 Warriors and one level 1 Hunter—hardly a group that could take more than a hit. With this annoying fog, the best option was to retreat back into the tower and use the building's advantage to hold the door and fight a delaying battle!

But before she could give the order, the white fog suddenly dissipated. Standing before them was a young man in a tattered mage robe, covered in bloodstains. He had striking short red hair, and his pupils were a dazzling gold. What was even more notable were his long, pointed ears, not much different from those of elven-race players.

"I thought the old geezers from the Arcane Academy had sent someone after me so soon, but instead I find a few reckless mercenaries. So you're with that group transporting contraband? Damn it, wasting my precious magic power!"

Take didn't care what he was saying. The guy was looking down on them so much—a mere mage, daring to charge right into their faces. Did he not know how to spell "death"?

She made a hand signal, meaning to stall the enemy as much as possible and create an opportunity for the archer.

Take's real-life friend had taken the mage class, so her understanding of mages definitely surpassed most ordinary players at this stage. Low-level mages were fragile; their life essence wasn't higher than ordinary people's. Scarcity of magic power was their biggest limitation. Every spell required preparation of materials, incantations, and corresponding gestures.

A mage daring to cast a spell right in front of enemies was his biggest weakness!

The hunter player slowly backed away while drawing her bow again, but didn't fire immediately, waiting for an opportunity.

The two warrior players had already charged forward. One wielded a two-handed longsword, the other carried a flail.

The swordsman let out a low shout, and his speed suddenly surged—he had used the warrior class's universal skill, Charge, boosting his speed by an extra 20%.

The Fire Mage didn't even give him a proper look. With a casual wave, the corpse of the player who had turned into a human torch exploded. The flames from the blast were manipulated as if by a living hand, forming a fire serpent that engulfed the charging player.

The hunter's heart tightened. Seizing the moment, she fired an arrow. It pierced through the flames and quickly reached the Fire Mage. But just as it was about to hit, a translucent, pale red film appeared around the mage's body. The arrow turned to ash the instant it passed through the film.

Was this a Magic Shield?

The hunter quickly understood—she hadn't missed earlier. The arrow had simply been blocked by this Magic Shield.

What now? Their only effective damage output was nullified. How were they supposed to fight this boss?