Mist Hidden Noble

Through a series of seemingly miraculous maneuvers, the professor and his group successfully diverted the Great Warrior Pot's hatred towards the elves.

As the Great Warrior Pot chased after Si Telan and the others into the branch area on the right, Tu Erqi couldn't help but smile.

I am truly despicable right now!

I didn't expect the first monster I encountered after entering this place to be so troublesome; the challenges to come are sure to be just as difficult.

They made thorough preparations before going in, using at least seven group buff spells. Seth also took out several ring-like magical items and distributed them to everyone, which extended the duration of the buff spells on their bodies.

Tu Erqi covered everyone with a thick layer of Magic Shield, making them look just like turtle shells.

However, the monsters they encountered next made them feel unsafe even when hiding behind the turtle shell.

Large numbers of mages and soldiers appeared in droves on the only road. Individually, they were not particularly strong, but when they combined, they would form a terrifying force.

Luo Jieer was stunned as he watched the enemy almost block the road.

He suddenly remembered that he had been drinking with Delu from the Strategy Team just two days ago. While drinking, Dru said that they had gone through many hardships to finally clear the left side and meet the boss monster.

Looking at the horde of monsters and recalling Delu's words, Luo Jieer couldn't help but ask a question.

"How on earth did your Strategy Team even get through?!"

In an instant, magical effects flew everywhere. Tu Erqi used her enlarged Magic Shield to forcefully hold back the monsters in front of her and stop them from advancing. The rest of them desperately unleashed various large-scale offensive spells. The Glintstone Pebble were thrown around like Broom Star in He De Si' hands.

Faced with a large number of enemies, they dared not engage in close combat, so Seth conjured a tornado while Luo Jieer threw fireballs.

Unfortunately, the only offensive spell he could use in large quantities and quickly was fireball. This thing would also cause some splash damage after exploding, so it could barely be considered area-of-effect damage.

The good news is that once the battle actually started, it was discovered that the individual monsters were much weaker than those outside, and even among the same monsters, the strength of those inside the academy was lower.

This is probably to accommodate adventurers; monsters are appearing in large groups, and if a single monster is too strong, it's impossible to fight them.

Even so, the battle was still fraught with danger, because the most crucial Magic Shield was broken, and monsters poured in.

"How did it break?" Tu Erqi was shocked; she had been doing everything she could to maintain the shield.

"[Fainted and collapsed to the ground!]"

Just then, a spell suddenly came from the group of monsters, and a stream of light instantly struck Tu Erqi, causing her to fall into extreme dizziness.

Before anyone else could react, she was swept away by the surging tide of monsters.

She's probably dead, no, she must be dead. To maintain the shield, she stood at the very front of everyone, and the distance between her and the monster was only one layer of the shield.

At such a close distance, others simply don't have time to react and rescue the person.

Fortunately, adventurers who die in the academy will be resurrected at the main gate, without having to travel from the Academy Gate Town to get here.

When Tu Erqi was resurrected and rushed back to reunite with everyone, she found that the monster had been cleansed. Everyone was busy treating their wounds, and she quickly cast Healing Magic.

Putting aside that abnormally Great Warrior Pot, this is only the first wave of enemies they have encountered. How will they fight if there are so many more in the future?

The value of Leon and his team is still rising!

"Is that the only way?"

Tu Erqi gritted her teeth, opened her backpack, revealing a large amount of magic replenishment potions.

[Mass Invisibility Spell], [Mass Silence Spell], [Mass Aura Concealment].

These three types of magic consume a terrifying amount of the body's magic reserves. Even for her, she has to drink a potion to replenish her body after using them three or four times. The key is that these spells have a short duration, with each use lasting less than ten minutes. They need to be used frequently, and the invisibility effect will disappear once an attack is launched.

The only advantage is that the combination of these three spells can make a person almost perfectly invisible—provided that the enemy does not have the same high level of awareness of their surroundings as the Sword Saint Gapar.

A series of magical flashes appeared, and they, already in a state of "perfect invisibility," slowly emerged from their hiding place.

Several mages were standing on the road ahead. Luo Jieer took a deep breath and nervously walked past them, and sure enough, he was not noticed.

Great, this method works!

He was so excited he wanted to throw a punch. Only professors could pull off such an extravagant tactic; anyone else would be unable to withstand the financial drain of a large number of high-quality magic replenishment potions.

To ensure safety, they precisely timed the process, recasting the invisibility spell every eight minutes to ensure it wouldn't suddenly fail.

These eight minutes were their "safe" time, during which they observed their surroundings as they traveled.

Strangely, the monsters encountered along the way were always in small groups of two or three, and the large number of monsters from before did not reappear. What is going on? Is it possible that there is only a grand welcoming ceremony at the beginning?

This question was answered when their invisibility magic wore off prematurely.

Perhaps there was a mistake when casting the spell, because this time the invisibility spell was automatically canceled after only six minutes, and the monster in front of Luo Jieer discovered him.

Thankfully, only three monsters discovered us; I can handle them all by myself.

The next second, more than twenty of the same type of monsters appeared out of thin air, centered around the three monsters.

Luo Jieer's smile froze on his face, and then he turned and ran.

They finally understood why they had only seen scattered monsters on the road—those guys were "scouts"! Once an adventurer was spotted by a scout, the main force would follow closely behind!

This was a clever trick devised by Gong Qiying.

If a large number of monsters are allowed to exist in the academy, even if their strength is actively weakened, the Spirit Power required to summon them will be a huge expense.

So he simply set up a rule that the dungeon would only summon a large number of monsters after the "scouts" discovered the adventurers. These monsters would be recycled into Spirit Power after fighting the adventurers, which would greatly reduce the Spirit Power consumption. Only the Spirit Power required for the monsters to move during that time would be needed.

The entire magic academy applied this rule, which could be considered a way to reduce costs and increase efficiency.

Having finally shaken off the monster's pursuit, the professor and his group were about to use invisibility magic again when—

"Woo"

Suddenly, the sound of a flute came from somewhere.

The flute's melody was melodious and ethereal, beautiful yet tinged with sorrow, inexplicably giving listeners a chilling feeling, as if the music were flowing from hell.

A light mist appeared before them without their noticing, and they suddenly realized that the scene before them had changed.

The magnificent magic academy suddenly changed; the sound of flowing water appeared all around, and the light suddenly dimmed.

The dilapidated wooden houses were faintly visible in the thick fog, and the luxurious carpet underfoot had turned into slippery soil covered with slick moss.

Suddenly they were transported from a magic academy to a dilapidated village shrouded in thick fog?

"Transfer magic?" Seth's eyes gleamed with curiosity, but after taking a few steps forward, he suddenly realized something was amiss.

The thick fog obscured his vision, making visibility extremely low. With each step he took, the scene before him changed, sometimes returning to the magic academy, sometimes arriving at a dilapidated village. The constantly shifting scenery made him feel dizzy involuntarily.

Seth realized that they were still in the academy, but had been affected by Illusion Magic or something similar.

He cast a spell to dispel the illusion, but found it had no effect; the scenery in his field of vision was constantly changing, and the mournful sound of a flute still drifted nearby.

"Go find the source of the flute music," he said. "It must be the cause of the hallucination."

If you listen carefully, you can hear where the flute music is coming from. It doesn't seem to be far away, but the road ahead feels incredibly long.

When the scene before them is a misty village, a small, humanoid monster with red glowing eyes will appear, wielding broken farm tools and yelling as it attacks them.

If you take a step forward or backward, the scene in front of you will return to the academy, and the humanoid monster will disappear, as if it were really an illusion.

However, if you advance further and see the village, the monsters that disappeared earlier will reappear before you, their scythes and hoes imbued with the power of tetanus, mercilessly attacking your body.

One second the monster screams and pounces at you, the next it vanishes into thin air, and the next second it shoves its terrifying face right in your face. You try to fight back, but the monster disappears again.

Next, they could appear in any direction beside you, or perhaps right behind you.

The monsters in the academy are not idle either; they will still react to adventurers and summon dozens of their own kind.

The smoke obscuring your vision, the elusive monsters—all these elements combine to plunge you into an inescapable illusion. You never know what you'll see with the next step. The frequent scene changes are dizzying, bizarre, and make it impossible to see anything clearly.

In just a few moments, the professor and his group felt like they were going to vomit.

The days dragged on endlessly, truly dragged on endlessly. While the monster army in front could be countered by increasing the number of adventurers, this illusion of mist could not be broken no matter how many people were added, unless the source of the flute music was found.

No wonder Si Telan didn't want to come here; the experience was just too torturous.

Tu Erqi and her group struggled forward, enduring dizziness and hallucinations. She was still able to maintain her invisibility magic, but her complexion was growing increasingly pale.

Closer, the flute music is getting closer; the flute music that was previously elusive and hard to discern is now very close to them.

The monsters in the mist grew increasingly ferocious, relentlessly blocking their path.

Normally, with both the Mist Monsters and the Academy Monsters blocking the way, adventurers would have a hard time finding this place. However, the invisibility magic that Tu Erqi managed to maintain successfully allowed them to bypass the Academy Monsters.

The sound of a flute was just ahead, and in a daze, it seemed as if a pavilion appeared in the mist, with a tall, thin figure playing the flute.

The group exchanged glances and, without prior arrangement, stood still. As long as they didn't move, the scene wouldn't change.

[Fatal Strike], [Jump Enhancement], [Mid Rank Arm Strength Enhancement], [Fortress Physique].

Spells were cast upon Seth, who was preparing to carry out a decapitation strike. They dared not rashly use magic on the enemy playing the flute, after all—

That guy looks terrifyingly strong.

Anyone who dares to play a musical instrument during a battle is definitely a strong person!

To fight against such a powerful opponent, one must be prepared to die.

Seth took a deep breath, his expression resolute. He summoned a gust of wind and leaped into the air, launching a silent attack on the enemy.

The flute music of [Mist Hidden Noble] stopped for a moment.