Lakes, dense fog, and silence—when these elements come together, the place feels like the perfect set for a new Friday the 13th movie.
But the moment the singing of a few green-haired elves echoed through the air, all sense of horror vanished instantly.
Their ethereal voices drifted through the damp air of the lake. If you closed your eyes, you could almost imagine yourself in a lush green forest.
When these elves were serious, they truly embodied the image people had of elegant, beautiful beings of nature in fantasy stories. Any word used to describe "beauty" could easily be applied to them.
In a forest, you'd expect to hear all kinds of animal sounds—parrots, sparrows, even crows cawing loudly.
Crows?
"Caw, caw—ah! Why'd you hit me!?"
The unpleasant cawing abruptly stopped as the cool elf, Kunan, clutched the back of his smoking head, looking wronged.
"Everyone else is singing properly, and you're deliberately ruining it," Melga said, retracting her hand. "Since when are there crows in the Elf Forest?"
"A forest should be more inclusive, right? Next time I'll imitate a snow leopard," Kunan muttered.
"That doesn't belong in the Elf Forest either."
As for why they were singing—it was simply because they were bored.
They had been heading west the entire time—or at least, that was what they believed—so they probably weren't lost.
But along the way, they hadn't encountered much. There were occasional monsters, but both their numbers and strength seemed lower than before.
This wasn't just their imagination.
The lake operated under a kind of dynamic difficulty system. The moment an adventurer entered, the dungeon assigned a number of monsters based on their strength, and those monsters would actively seek them out.
Once those assigned monsters were defeated, the experience shifted from "monsters hunting adventurers" to "adventurers hunting monsters." And in such a vast region, monsters were actually quite scattered, making encounters rare.
The assigned monsters reset roughly every two to three days.
Thinking about it, this system actually benefited adventurers—it guaranteed consistent opportunities for combat.
After defeating the mudfish, the elves had essentially cleared all of their assigned monsters. Naturally, the remaining ones no longer sought them out.
So they sang—to attract monsters.
And why would they want that?
Because Stella had told them that if they ever got lost in the dungeon, they should head toward areas with monsters—since monsters usually guarded something important.
They took that advice seriously.
Their goal was to find the blacksmith Andre, but after walking for so long, they hadn't seen even a trace of him. No clues, either.
Out of boredom, they began discussing what had happened earlier.
"I'm hungry. Got anything to eat?"
"Didn't you buy several shrimp earlier? Don't even think about touching mine."
"Oh, those? I already ate them."
"Wait—you ate them? Those are basically magical items with valuable effects, and you just ate them like that?"
"Food is meant to be eaten, right? And cooked shrimp will go bad if you leave it too long."
"…That makes sense. Guess I'll eat mine too."
Hearing this, Melga quickly stepped in.
"Hey, hey! Did you forget about preservation magic? Don't waste items like that!"
"But preservation magic won't keep them hot. If you don't eat shrimp while it's fresh and steaming, that's the real waste."
Melga paused, fell into thought… then nodded seriously.
"That's true. Food tastes best when it's hot. If only we had some wine."
"Then let's drink after we leave?"
"Sounds good!"
Are you all on a picnic or something?
Wienma was the only one staying fully alert. She wanted to scold her overly relaxed companions, but then realized this carefree attitude was ingrained in most elves—it wasn't something a simple lecture could change.
Only after leaving the Elf Forest and experiencing the outside world would they gradually change, just like she and Stella had.
Melga too… though her drinking habit probably wouldn't.
"What are you writing?"
Wienma suddenly noticed Liznai walking while jotting something down in a notebook, her expression serious.
Just as Liznai was about to answer, Wienma gestured for silence, took the notebook, and began reading.
It recorded everything they had seen along the way.
Was this girl trying to compete with the guide writers?
No—on closer inspection, Liznai's focus was completely different.
The guide team analyzed combat methods, monster behavior, and terrain advantages—practical information.
But Liznai recorded pure environmental observations—from the overall atmosphere of the lake to small shrimp nibbling on aquatic plants. Everything was documented.
As Wienma read, she suddenly asked,
"Are you studying ecology?"
Liznai nodded.
Ecology was something all scholars were interested in. To truly understand an unknown region, studying its ecosystem was essential.
And Liznai specialized in this field.
Despite her small stature, she was highly intelligent—often invited to publish research in magical circles, and somewhat well-known in magical machinery and monster ecology.
Aside from Wienma, she was the richest in the group—a hidden little rich girl.
Her dedication to research impressed even Wienma, who had only a vague interest in the lake's ecology but had never thought to study it in depth.
Liznai had even mapped out a food chain:
Lobsters and crabs fed on aquatic plants and small animals.
They, in turn, were preyed upon by stronger beings like the ruffian and the mudfish.
And the mudfish dragon might itself be prey for the legendary glintstone dragon.
Yes—there were ordinary animals in the lake as well: rolling sheep, tusked boars, deer, and eagles.
They weren't common, but they could occasionally be seen.
These had likely been deliberately added to enrich the ecosystem—and perhaps even to provide additional food sources for adventurers.
An unusual form of "feeding," perhaps.
In Liznai's notes, ghosts coexisted with monsters. Without their spectral horses, they rode lobsters or crabs, feeding them dried fruit and even rescuing baby shrimp in danger.
Miranda flowers disguised themselves as ordinary plants, paralyzing prey with poison.
Lobsters and crabs even fought territorial battles, sometimes challenging mudfish dragons in groups.
The elves had seen many lobster corpses earlier—clear evidence of such conflicts.
Plant ecology was equally fascinating, but time was too limited for deeper study.
Once organized, her research would earn her a considerable sum. Her savings would grow even more.
Maybe she could even use money to make Stella kneel and sing submission someday.
"Don't push yourself too hard," Wienma said, returning the notebook, a hint of concern in her voice. "Earning money is good, but don't exhaust yourself."
Liznai was about to nod when Wienma added:
"The cult that kidnapped you back then… money alone won't help you find them."
"…Mm." Liznai responded lightly, as if she hadn't really taken it to heart.
But then she wrote something and showed it to Wienma:
[The higher the reward I offer, the greater the hope]
Wienma's expression shifted slightly. She sighed, but said nothing more.
"Snort, snort—"
"Hey! A wild boar just ran past—catch it!"
The other elves immediately erupted into chaos as a boar with plants growing on its back dashed by.
Have you ever run with everything you have for your life?
Right now, that mushroom boar certainly was.
Watching Melga eagerly chase after it, Wienma sighed, too lazy to intervene.
The boar was incredibly fast. Soon, both it and Melga disappeared into the fog.
Not good.
In horror stories, running alone into low-visibility areas is practically a death flag.
"Go after Melga and tell her not to—"
"Waaah!"
Before Wienma could finish, Melga's scream rang out.
See? Something happened.
The elves immediately snapped into action—some prepared magic, others readied weapons. Wienma took the lead.
She cast levitation and wind spells, accelerating forward while launching colorful signal flares to guide Melga.
"Whoosh—!"
They hadn't gone far when a barrage of arrows suddenly shot toward them. Thankfully, the mages had already raised a barrier.
The arrows struck, cracking the shield—it looked exactly like the erratic attacks of puppet soldiers.
But that didn't explain Melga's scream.
"Boom!"
A high-pressure water blast shattered the barrier, injuring Kunan.
Wienma quickly conjured a flexible plant wall to block the attack.
Water cannon? Why was a giant lobster here?
Before she could think further, a massive roar followed, sending shockwaves that knocked people off balance.
What kind of monster was that?
"Melga, where are you!?" Kunan shouted.
"Over here! Hurry—this ugly thing has too many arms!"
They rushed forward, and Melga's figure emerged through the fog—locked in a desperate battle with a massive shadow.
At first glance, it looked like a giant crab.
But when they saw it clearly, they froze.
The creature had the head of a delicate young boy—fragile and pitiful—attached to a massive, mountain-like body.
And worse—it had countless arms grafted onto it.
All kinds of arms were crudely attached, swaying grotesquely as it moved. It was far more disturbing than any slime or tentacle monster.
Each arm held a repeating crossbow.
It also wielded a spear and shield, while other arms carried a lobster head and a bear head—responsible for the water cannon and the roar.
What kind of nightmare abomination was this!?
[Grafted Scion]
A wandering elite created by Wade—comparable to the forest region's top-tier monsters. A true "world police"-level threat.
Just looking at it made some elves vomit.
Rotting flesh, pus, wriggling maggots falling like rain—it even carried psychological horror effects.
Melga couldn't break through its shield with her staff, while the crossbows constantly disrupted her.
"So disgusting… I don't want to fight it," some elves groaned.
"Stop talking—attack!" Kunan shouted.
He charged first, drawing its fire while others unleashed their abilities.
Arrows scattered their formation, while the creature countered with roars and spear strikes in relentless cycles.
Wienma began chanting, summoning a whirlpool beneath it—
But the creature spun violently, breaking free and charging toward them.
"Use barriers!" someone shouted.
But the barriers shattered instantly.
In a split second, Wienma lifted everyone into the air with water magic, then pulled them out of the battlefield using vines.
The creature was briefly restrained—but soon broke free and gave chase.
Wienma tried to slow it with magic, but stronger spells required time, and instant ones weren't enough.
It was getting closer.
Too close.
"Tch."
She frowned. Looks like she had no choice but to fight.
Something beneath her dress stirred—about to emerge—
"Boom!"
A loud impact rang out, followed by the creature's pained scream.
A third party had entered the battle.
Wienma immediately sensed a powerful presence—a tall, well-built human figure.
An adventurer?
The creature staggered, a deep footprint carved into its side—it had been kicked down.
Heavy footsteps approached.
A shirtless, muscular man with a graying beard stepped forward.
"Have you seen my hammer?"
He asked—
while casually taking a boxing stance.
Blacksmith Andre has entered the battlefield!