No Drinking Potions

"Just my luck. A dignified Silver Rank adventurer party nearly died in a 'Normal' rated dungeon. It'd be humiliating if word got out."

Si Telan complained as she skillfully cut off the Minotaur's horns with an enchanted dagger and stuffed them into her spatial backpack.

As a noble pure-blooded elf, she had spent fifty years traveling the world. Her extraordinary archery had earned her Silver Rank adventurer status, and her strength was nothing to scoff at—she could take on twenty Fei Lis at once without a problem.

Her party was called Morning Breeze. Besides herself, it had another Silver Rank adventurer and two Bronze Rank adventurers on the verge of advancing. Their commission completion rate was over eighty percent.

Yet they had nearly been wiped out in Zane Dungeon.

One of their Bronze Rank companions had been dragged into the Swamp by Skeleton Monsters and Rotten Wild Dogs. By the time they pulled him back out, he was afflicted with the two negative buffs, "Deadly Poison" and "Decay."

They had prepared the appropriate antidotes, but...

The companion responsible for carrying the potions had opened an utterly ordinary-looking chest earlier, only for—

Triggered a teleportation trap!!!

They still had not been able to find him.

Si Telan was an Upper Ranger, while the other Silver Rank companion was an Upper Sword Shield Warrior. Neither of them knew healing magic.

All they could do was watch their companion die from the poison.

The Sword and Shield Warrior was a hot-blooded brute. Seeing two companions die such miserable deaths, he immediately went berserk and hacked his way from the upper level to the middle level, killing anything in his path!

But rage had cost him his awareness. As he passed a cliff, a massive iron ball suddenly shot out from around a corner and knocked him over the edge. Both of them jumped.

The two met a fortunate end.

"Who would've thought there'd be an iron ball hidden there?!"

Si Telan kicked the door open with a bang, revealing the stairs leading to the lower level—the mining area.

But she did not enter immediately. Instead, she threw in a rock first to test the way ahead and make sure there were no enemies waiting behind the door to ambush her!

It was not that she was naturally cautious. This damned Zane Dungeon had forced her to become cautious!

She had encountered more traps along the way than she had in the past ten years.

As for monsters, there were ones disguised as corpses, ones hiding beneath the Swamp, ones hanging from the ceiling, ones lurking around corners, and ones clinging to the side of the Suspension Bridge.

"This place is as treacherous as a 'Hard' rated dungeon. If the monsters were any stronger, it could definitely be rated Hard."

Though the traps were devious, Si Telan had discovered a major flaw in this dungeon—the monsters were too weak.

Skeleton Monsters, Goblins, Rotten Wild Dogs, Blood Mosquitoes... They were all low-tier even among low-tier monsters. Two or three sturdy farmers could kill one if they worked up the courage. Only the Minotaurs were somewhat decent, but they were merely slightly stronger low-tier monsters.

There was not a single true Elite Monster. The traps might catch people off guard, but if she remained cautious, most of them would be useless.

"Once we find the way out, let's head back right away. Nothing has gone right since we entered this place."

Come to think of it, they had not entered Zane Dungeon for any particular purpose. They had merely come as tourists, wanting to see what the legendary easiest dungeon looked like.

But once they got inside, well, damn. This was not the easiest dungeon—it was the most treacherous one.

She could tell at a glance that this place had undergone a mutation. A mutation referred to major changes in a dungeon's layout, monster types, and so on.

According to the books, dungeon mutations had been frequent a thousand years ago. They changed every day, making exploration incredibly difficult.

But nowadays, a dungeon might not change even once in decades. As a result, quite a few dungeons had already had guides written for them.

Zane Dungeon was the first dungeon to mutate in the past thirty years.

"If we can make a guide for this place, we'll definitely make a fortune." Si Telan felt that she had discovered a business opportunity. "We'll rest for a few days, then come back. We'll be the first to make a guide for it!"

They continued forward, passed through a spiral staircase, killed a Wraith that attacked from behind, avoided a boulder falling from the ceiling, and slew a disguised Treasure Chest Monster. At last, they reached an open mine filled with blood-red crystals.

Si Telan suddenly stopped.

Sharp crimson crystal clusters illuminated the entire mine in red. It looked cool, but it was nothing compared to the "person" standing before her.

He was an enormous knight clad head to toe in bronze armor. His axe-shaped helmet exuded majesty, while the Greatsword and Greatshield in his hands clearly bore the marks of countless battles.

The armor's patterns were intricate and mysterious, their meaning impossible to discern.

He currently had his back to Si Telan, but she could tell from his stance alone that he was strong!

Aura Perception!

Si Telan's left eye glimmered faintly, and she immediately sensed the Aura soaring from him.

He's strong. Stronger than Bige and me combined!

"Um, hello?"

After some thought, Si Telan decided to greet him first.

She could not see what was beneath his armor, and his presence did not feel like that of a monster. What if he was an ally?

The Crucible Knight slowly turned around. Just as Si Telan was about to say something, he suddenly charged at her!

"So he's not an ally after all?!"

Si Telan cursed, lightly pushed off the ground, and leaped high into the air. Drawing her bow and nocking an arrow, she fired nearly ten arrows in an instant.

The Crucible Knight raised his sturdy shield and blocked every one of them.

Unharmed!

"No, using a shield is way too unfair!"

In the City Lord's room, Gong Qiying rested his chin on his interlocked hands and stared unblinkingly at the battle displayed on the Crystal Ball.

"Shield Poke is the real invincible move. Too bad I can't change the Crucible Knight's equipment."

He was gathering combat data.

The C Rank Crucible Knight was the highest-ranked unit he could currently use. Other units of the same rank included Black Knights, Silver Knights, and more.

So far, F Rank monsters required only single-digit amounts of Spirit Power, E Rank required double digits, and D Rank required triple digits, though no more than five hundred. As for C Rank... some required three digits, while others required four, and the gap was quite large. There were many he could not afford to summon.

After inheriting Godwyn's memories, Gong Qiying had also gained the ability to assess other people's strength. If his analysis was correct, Si Telan possessed at least one Upper Rank profession and one Mid Rank profession.

Everyone could possess multiple professions. From lowest to highest, profession ranks were Lower Rank, Mid Rank, Upper Rank, King Rank, Saint Rank, and Legendary.

The adventurer ranks of Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and so on, merely depended on the contribution points earned by completing commissions.

Si Telan's strength placed her among the backbone of adventurers, so Gong Qiying wanted to see just how far the Crucible Knight could push her.

After barely ten minutes of fierce fighting, Si Telan was already showing signs of exhaustion.

Ordinary arrows were ineffective against the Crucible Knight's armor and Greatshield. Only by enchanting her arrows with "magic power" and then firing them with powerful "Weapon Skills" could she pierce the weaker parts of his armor.

But doing so greatly increased her physical exertion.

The gaps in the Crucible Knight's armor had been shot full of arrows, making him look like a hedgehog, yet his movements remained swift and ferocious, showing no signs of weakening.

Si Telan retreated to avoid the Crucible Knight's ground-shaking strike, only for a jutting shard of stone to cut her arm. She was about to counterattack, but—

Golden light flashed, and a pair of dazzling golden wings suddenly sprouted from the Crucible Knight's back!?

Danger!

The two words sprang into her mind. She instinctively rolled to the side, and in the next instant, the Crucible Knight dived down!

"Ah!"

Even though she had dodged as quickly as possible, the sharp wings still tore a bloody gash along Si Telan's waist.

"Healing Potion, Healing Potion... Good thing I brought some!"

The Crucible Knight's dive had opened up distance between them, giving her the perfect chance to drink a potion!

Si Telan hurriedly pulled out the wooden stopper and poured the red Healing Potion into her mouth. Then, she glanced over without thinking.

The Crucible Knight charged at her like a madman, his eyes red as though he had been provoked!

I just want to drink a potion. Is that really necessary?!

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