“No matter what, you will forever be friends of our village.”
The middle-aged man paused, then continued. “But you don’t look like locals. Without a familiar guide, no one could find us here. You must have a purpose. May I ask how I can help?”
Though NPC dialogue, it indirectly proved his keen observation.
Doran nodded. “Yes, we’re investigating the Black Prison Forest mutation. We found clues in the woods and need to speak with someone. Do you know a Meril?”
“You’re looking for Lady Meril? I’ll take you to her right away.” The man looked surprised but quickly recovered, leading the way as a temporary guide.
The team followed. Along the path, he recounted the recent monster invasions.
“Ever since the forest mutated, these creatures have kept trying to overrun us. There was fighting on the eastern side too.”
“Huh? You’re not worried about not helping there?” Mushui couldn’t help asking.
“Lady Meril is there—no need to worry. In fact, our line is the weakest defense. She planned to clear the east first, then rush here. But thanks to you, we held.”
When he said “Meril,” his tone brimmed with reverence.
They soon reached a three-story wooden house—clearly distinct from the village’s other homes. From both the building and his tone, Meril’s status here was extraordinary.
Doran knocked. The door opened quickly, revealing a middle-aged woman.
Before Seaside Yoyo and the others could widen their eyes, the woman spoke first. “Ah, you must be the adventurers who repelled the monsters. Please come in. Lady Meril is at the chapel tending the wounded but heard the news and is on her way back. Just wait a moment.”
She ushered them inside, bringing tea and fruit while they looked around.
“So she’s a neighbor helping clean.” Seaside Yoyo sighed in relief.
“Yeah, nearly scared me to death.”
The other girls patted their chests.
“Now we just wait for her.”
While waiting, Doran and Red Coral shared their first-clear experience here.
“We gave the letter to Meril, and she led us to the true mastermind. But that boss was insanely strong—we tried dozens of times and couldn’t even drop it below 50%. So we suspected we missed something mid-run.”
Saying this, they both glanced at the tall figure in the team.
Everyone remembered Hill’s strategy-team identity and turned expectant eyes her way.
Facing the stares, Hill—knowing this moment would come—explained as I’d instructed. “We tried many methods before finding the key.”
“What is it?”
Everyone pressed eagerly.
“The Secret Rune Cross.”
“The cross?”
“Wait—the purified one?”
“But we already used it to weaken the Fallen Treant Lord!”
“Two days ago, while testing Hard-mode values, we cleared without weakening the boss. Afterward, the cross remained in the inventory. Re-entering the dungeon, it was still there—just all attributes disabled.”
“Further tests confirmed: only the purified Secret Rune Cross persists.”
Hill stated calmly. Despite lecturing me earlier about lying being bad, her face showed no blush.
“It works like that?”
“That’s gotta be a bug!”
At her words, everyone looked shocked—even Doran, Red Coral, Nightwish, and Autumn Waters froze. Then realization hit; they all turned to the petite figure in the team.
I stuck out my tongue and pulled the Hard-mode Secret Rune Cross from my bag. “I really didn’t know how to use it last time—not because I listened to Big Sis Hill and kept a backup or anything.”
Like hell anyone believes that.
A few in the team had built immunity to a certain little one (Teacher)’s innocent smile, inwardly grumbling.
But they said nothing—last clear was under her lead, and this actually helped them.
The rest didn’t mind; they were thrilled not to rerun Hard for the item, praising my cleverness.
“Actually, Big Sis Hill’s team thought it was a bug at first. But after reporting to the Epoch mainbrain, we got ‘no issues.’ Someone immediately realized—it’s an intended mechanic.”
I took over from Hill. “No way they’d design it for no reason. Plus Alpha’s words earlier—”
“Alpha’s words?”
“‘Do not let those who should be brave warriors lose their will to fight.’ Ring any bells?”
I blinked.
Autumn Waters caught on. “Don’t let what should be beautiful be covered in dust?”
The first was Alpha’s line at Treant Territory; the second in Shadow Swamp path. Both cryptic, but linking them hinted at something.
“Exactly~ That clue pointed to the cross.” I smiled. “So Big Sis Hill’s team tested it—turns out you can hand it to Meril in the letter to upgrade her weapon.”
Everyone’s faces lit with understanding.
“So that’s it.”
“Honestly, normal people wouldn’t think of this—way too hard.”
“Miss Hill and your team are amazing.”
Even Doran nodded in admiration. She’d never seen such a dungeon-clear method—genuinely impressed by the strategy team.
But Red Coral suddenly realized something. “Wait—if that’s it, why hasn’t anyone cleared Nightmare-and-above yet?”
“Simple.” I shrugged. “Even with that, the boss is still unbeatable.”
The unsuspecting group froze, incredulous.
“No way—we did all that and still can’t?”
“How strong is this boss…?”
“So we ran more tests and found the real reason.” Hill cut in calmly.
This is a true expert—unfazed by any difficulty.
Everyone thought, staring at her cool, expressionless face, curiosity surging. What method was hidden this deep?
Just as they were about to press, the front door slammed open.
Everyone instinctively looked—a tall, handsome man stood there.
His gaze swept the room. Not unfriendly, but wary.
“I heard from the villagers. Thank you for your help, adventurers. But why are you here?”
“That’s her brother. Meril arrives later,” Doran explained in team chat, ready to take over and dismiss him.
But a figure was faster.
“We were sent by Mr. Alpha to find Meril.” Hill spoke coolly.
“Lord Alpha? Meril?”
The man repeated instinctively.
Hill didn’t explain—just handed him the letter.
Meril’s brother knows Alpha too?
Is the key handing the letter to the brother first to lower his guard—so he joins the fight later?
Including Doran, everyone stared at the tall, handsome man—his powerful build and battle-hardened calm face sparking hope.
“Sorry, adventurers. I shouldn’t have doubted you.”
He skimmed the letter, exhaled deeply, his hand trembling slightly.
Success!
Seeing the quest trigger icon, everyone buzzed with excitement—Abyss first-clear was within reach.
But before joy set in, the man continued.
“I wrote this letter. I am the Meril you’re looking for.”
I am Meril. I am Meril. I am Meril.
The spacious living room fell dead silent.
Something in everyone’s minds shattered into fragments.
Sunlight from the window hit it—melting into a puddle, dousing all excitement and hope.
A breeze blew, freezing it into a sculpture of silence.
Even Evin froze, blurting what everyone thought: “The designer of this dungeon has to be a pervert…”
“Gah—!”
The next second, the quiet was broken by a small-animal-like yelp of pain.