Chapter 8: You Must Be a Demon

The Iron Wall skill book sold swiftly at the auction house for 60 coppers. 

While waiting for her companion, Nightwish didn’t idle. 

After deducting the transaction tax, she used her remaining coins to snag a few items from the exchange: a rogue’s Blink Step, an essential early-game survival skill, and a handful of white-tier gear to replace the newbie set she’d been wearing since day one.

As she finished, a familiar voice chirped behind her.

“I’m here, Night!” Mumu, an elemental mage, jogged over, her steps light and eager.

“Over here,” Nightwish called, turning to greet her—only to freeze when she spotted the weapon cradled in Mumu’s arms. 

“You splurged again?”

It was none other than the bronze staff Nightwish had seen at the town square, the one boosting ice damage by 10%. 

Mumu must’ve passed by and snagged it at a premium.

“I had plenty of pocket money left!” Mumu pouted.

“You’re not worried about getting scammed?” 

Nightwish reached out, pinching Mumu’s soft cheek. 

Epoch hadn’t yet opened its currency-to-real-money exchange, so Mumu had likely bought it through shady black-market dealers—hardly a safe bet.

Seeing Munu’s pitiful expression, Nightwish sighed and let go. 

“Fine, whatever. It’ll boost our leveling speed, so we can catch up to Big Sis Yoyo faster.”

Mumu rubbed her reddened cheek, then perked up. 

“Oh, right! Where are you taking me?”

“A grinding spot that’ll get us to Yoyo’s level in no time.”

As they headed toward the forest ruins, Nightwish recounted her earlier encounter.

“Whoever designed those monsters is out to ruin society,” Mumu grumbled, sticking out her tongue. 

“Are we sure we can handle grinding there?”

“Together, we can take on five or six without issue.”

They arrived at the ruins, where a swarm of Dark Bats fluttered about. 

Mumu’s eyes sparkled. 

“Night, look at all that EXP!”

No wonder she was thrilled. 

At the Wanderer Camp, snagging three mobs at once was a stroke of luck. 

A pristine grinding spot like this, untouched by others, was a dream for any player.

Well, almost untouched. 

Nightwish’s sharp eyes caught movement in the distance—the same paladin from before, back with his team. 

This time, he cautiously pulled only six bats, clearly scarred from his earlier wipe. 

He noticed Nightwish and Mumu but made no move, both sides tacitly agreeing to focus on leveling.

Nightwish wasn’t worried about him ratting out the coordinates to his guild. 

The ruins were vast—plenty of bats to go around, even if a guild claimed the area. 

If they got greedy, she’d share the spot publicly. 

They wouldn’t dare push it that far.

“Night, Night, hurry and pull! I can’t wait to test this staff!” Mumu urged.

“No respect for your elders,” Nightwish teased, rapping Mumu’s head before slipping into Stealth.

Silently, she crept toward a Dark Bat. 

Wiser from her last attempt, she avoided the smaller ones. But as her Backstab landed, a sinking feeling hit her.

-27

Another defense-heavy type?

Had she been wrong all along? Was size just a trick, with defense randomly assigned?

Her mind raced as she pivoted, targeting a smaller bat nearby. 

Shadow Assault carried her out of harm’s way from four incoming bats, and she followed with a Gouge.

-63

“Mumu, focus the small one first!” she barked over the team channel.

“But didn’t you say the small ones have high defense?” Mumu blinked, confused.

“Just do it!”

Mumu flinched, hastily launching an Ice Spike at the smaller bat Nightwish targeted.

-68

The bat’s health plummeted, and Nightwish finished it with a quick strike.

“Ignore the one on the left—take out the others first.”

Using Blink Step to dodge, Nightwish stepped back into Stealth, outlining their strategy. 

The bats, losing their target, shifted aggro to Mumu, who had wisely retreated a dozen yards.

Before the bats could close in, Nightwish struck again from Stealth, syncing with Mumu to down another bat. 

Her health bar bottomed out under the bats’ assault, but she stayed calm, burning Shadow Assault’s cooldown to trade Backstab and Gouge for another kill.

“Skills, now!”

“Almost ready!”

Mumu’s chant finished, and a chilling aura formed beneath the remaining two bats. 

Sharp ice pillars erupted, shattering in a burst of frost.

Ice Shatter, the only AOE spell for ice mages before level 5, was Nightwish’s trump card. 

Her calculations ensured it would finish the job. 

To be safe, Mumu had targeted one bat, setting a 2.5-yard radius to catch both.

But the next moment, both froze in disbelief.

By sheer chance, the second bat stood just outside the spell’s range—by a hair’s breadth—surviving unscathed.

Nightwish reacted instantly, lunging at the last bat.

-29

-15

Damage numbers flashed above their heads. 

Thankfully, this bat was a defensive type, letting Nightwish cling to a sliver of health. Mumu’s follow-up Ice Spike finished it off.

The battle over, Mumu wiped sweat from her brow, panting. 

“Whoever designed these monsters is an actual demon!”

…

“Achoo!”

I sneezed, puzzled. “Am I catching a cold?”