Astana Region, Deep Mist Outpost.
This was a jungle in the western part of the Gruin Region, bordering the deep and mysterious Star Seclusion Valley.
It was enveloped year-round in thick fog.
Once inside, one would easily lose all sense of direction.
According to records in books, long ago, a mage used powerful spells to build a mysterious tall tower deep within this jungle.
That person’s name was Lobranch—a legendary arcane mage who left heavy ink marks in dozens of epics.
In Epoch, powerful mages were mostly a bunch of old monsters, immersed in all sorts of magical research, delusionally seeking the mysteries of its origins.
Their philosophy seemed, to some extent, similar to modern mathematicians—mysterious and profound.
Similarly, though Lobranch had deep attainments in the arcane, this did not prevent him from researching other fields as well.
Yet such a legendary mage vanished without a trace after the Light-Dark War erupted hundreds of years ago.
No one knew where he went.
All his research, equipment, and spellbooks were left in that mage tower.
Over those hundreds of years, many thieves visited, taking away a lot of treasures and research materials.
However, due to the traps and illusions within the mage tower, many items were still left behind.
“I say, Ah Mo, is there really a mage tower in here? Don’t tell me it’s just hearsay that got casually recorded to pad word count or something.” Slowly walking through the jungle, Fantasy Melody looked at the thick fog around her and couldn’t help complaining to the person beside her.
This feeling of invisibility was really unpleasant.
Even in the Shadow Swamp of Black Prison Forest, she hadn’t felt this uncomfortable.
Beside her, Zhenmo shook his head. “That’s officially recorded in the Astana Observations. If even this counts as hearsay, then nothing can be trusted.”
This was also why the president of Starry Myth had him lead a team here.
It started when a guild member who loved researching game lore and background found this information in the library.
The legacy of a powerful and mysterious mage—just this point alone was very attractive.
Plus, the monsters in Deep Mist Outpost were only around levels 10-20, which they could fully handle.
Even if they didn’t find the mage tower, they could level up here along the way.
Though that’s what he said, Fantasy Melody couldn’t help inwardly grumbling. “In such thick fog, just being able to see monsters would already be pretty good.”
Yet just as she thought this, a sharp sound suddenly rang out beside her.
At the same time, a strong gust of wind assaulted toward her.
“Situation! Warriors defend left side, cleric cast Illumination!”
In this sudden circumstance, Zhenmo reacted first.
After quickly chanting a short spell, an air cyclone instantly repelled the attacker, giving Fantasy Melody enough time to escape before rapidly issuing orders to the team.
As the light from Illumination burst in the air, everyone in the team finally saw what monster had ambushed them.
Slender bodies, sharp claws, and ugly faces like monkeys.
Their gray fur allowed them to perfectly hide in the fog.
Inferior Dwarf Demon: Level 16, HP 800/800.
The duration of Illumination in thick fog was extremely short.
Fortunately, there were only a dozen or so ambushing monsters.
With good coordination and solid equipment strength, they resolved these dwarf demons without danger, though with some surprise.
Though it was resolved relatively easily, Zhenmo couldn’t help frowning.
To be safe, he had specially assigned thieves to stay vigilant around the team.
Yet even so, they still hadn’t detected the monsters’ approach.
One could imagine how greatly this fog affected vision and perception.
For now, one or two small monsters were easy to handle.
But if they encountered troublesome ones, the safety of the team’s backline probably couldn’t be fully guaranteed.
As if confirming Zhenmo’s thoughts, the team hadn’t walked far in the fog when several angry roars sounded.
In the fog ahead, several massive figures faintly appeared.
And through the revealed light of Illumination, the true forms of these monsters made them slightly startled.
Names similar to before, but with different colors mixed in.
Venomous Dwarf Demon [Elite]: Level 16, HP 2000/2000.
“Damn, three elites?”
Zhenmo’s pupils contracted slightly as he quickly had the frontline in the team hold them off.
Though these were all elite members of the guild and quickly reacted, using thick shields to step forward and block the monsters’ positions, they were still a step late.
One Venomous Dwarf Demon broke through the front defense, charging toward the backline.
“Bad.”
Zhenmo inwardly cursed.
From the earlier situation, these monsters were high-attack types.
If it reached the backline, it would obviously cause massive disruption.
He immediately raised his staff and cast Explosive Cyclone, trying to stall for a moment.
But the elite monster’s high tenacity played its role at this time.
The Venomous Dwarf Demon’s figure only paused briefly before once again aiming its sharp claws at a cleric in Starry Myth’s backline.
If the cleric fell, dealing with this group of monsters would undoubtedly become very troublesome.
Fantasy Melody hurriedly stepped forward to pull aggro, but unfortunately, her position was too far to be effective.
At this critical moment, a shadow suddenly darted out from the side, halting that Venomous Dwarf Demon’s figure.
Then, a black magic orb that followed pulled its aggro over.
There are others?
Everyone’s gazes subconsciously turned toward the fog not far away, where a figure faintly appeared.
“Careful.” Fantasy Melody froze for a moment before quickly reminding, while also drawing her bowstring and instantly aiming at the monster.
However, the damage from the sharp arrow couldn’t pull back the aggro, instead enraging it further.
Provoked by the pain at its wound, the Venomous Dwarf Demon moved swiftly.
In almost an instant, it reached the figure in the fog and raised its sharp claws.
An elite monster’s attack power—in one strike, it could take half the health of a squishy class.
Moreover, dwarf demons were very agile—getting close was simply a nightmare for mages.
The others in the team reacted and wanted to help, but in a short time, they had no way to control something at that distance.
Just as everyone felt worry for that person, a suddenly emerging black flame perfectly repelled the Venomous Dwarf Demon.
Not only that, it knocked it back onto a black mark that had been placed unbeknownst when behind it.
BOOM—it exploded violently.