“Fanya? What are you doing here?” Winnie stared in astonishment at the red-haired girl skillfully wielding her sword, repelling the fish-headed monsters before him.
She shifted her stance fluidly, her long crimson hair, gradually fading to gold at the tips, swaying like a flickering flame. Clearly, since their last duel, Fanya had put tremendous effort into improving herself.
It wasn't just her strength, her progress in swordsmanship, combat tactics, and awareness had grown immensely, creating a vast gap between now and their previous fight.
No wonder she seemed more composed now. The stronger one becomes, the more they realize their own weakness, growing humble and cautious.
Growth means continuously realizing how immature your past self truly was. These days, it wasn't just him who'd grown. Everyone was evolving, not only in strength, but in character as well. Both were essential.
As for whether someone had remained stagnant all along, Winnie believed, of course there was.
“This is exactly what I wanted to ask you,” Fanya replied, swinging her refined knight's blade. Several orbs of light zipped past, merely grazing the fish-headed monsters' bodies, instantly scorching and cooking their slippery scales. Soon, Winnie caught the scent of grilled seafood.
That magic was [Holy Essence Extinction].
Winnie remembered this light-element spell required at least the rank of peak tier Artisan to learn. It was powerful and dealt extra damage against demonic beings. Still, most people didn't learn it until reaching the Warlock realm.
But what is important is why was Fanya here?
Weren't only the people playing the game supposed to have entered this strange world?
Or perhaps...
“Hey, Fanya, how did you get into this world? Did you also see that eerie dark cube?” Winnie asked.
“A cube? You saw that sinister thing too?” Fanya fenced off the approaching fish-headed monsters while conversing with Winnie.
“If you mean a dark, bizarre cube, then yes,” Winnie said, leaning on his [Frost Fang], careful not to obstruct her attacks.
“Where did you see it?” Winnie had assumed only those playing the game saw the cube and got pulled into this bizarre world. But now it seemed things weren't so simple?
“Me? I remember I was in my room, bored, so I washed up and went to bed. In my dream, I vaguely saw the strange dark cube you're talking about,” Fanya recalled.
“Then... were you transported here too?”
“Now's not the time to talk about this, Winnie.” Fanya blocked a fish-headed monster lunging at her, its gaping maw and sharp teeth clashing against her blade.
Winnie realized he was focusing on the wrong thing. Gritting his teeth, he thrust his spear straight through the monster's abdomen, impaling and hurling it away.
Their actions seemed to enrage the remaining fish-headed creatures. An indescribable, shrill screech echoed, and movement surged from all directions.
Winnie knew these scaled monsters were calling for reinforcements again.
“How long have you been slaughtering fish here?” Winnie instinctively turned, raising his spear with both hands to guard Fanya's back.
Fanya did the same, quickly forming several magic sigils and chanting. A few healing light orbs flew into Winnie's body. Instantly, he felt as if spring breezes caressed him, as if revitalizing springs poured over his head, quickly lifting his fatigue.
“Thanks,” Winnie said.
“You looked terrible earlier. Did you fight something fierce?” Fanya asked, back-to-back with Winnie. “Something capable of pushing you into a desperate battle, does it possess Warlock-level strength too?”
“Far beyond that,” Winnie recalls. “The fact I survived at all was already the greatest of luck.”
Winnie didn't know what that monster lurking beneath the sea surface truly was. Fortunately, it hadn't intended to kill him, or perhaps, in its eyes, he was simply too insignificant, no different from a mayfly. He wasn't even worth targeting. With just a few unconscious movements, it nearly ended his life.
After entering the Warlock realm, most people enter a special phase, the stage of overinflated confidence. The younger they were, the more severe it became. They'd start believing they were invincible, unmatched by anyone.
This state continued only until a stronger opponent knocked them back to reality. Especially when a Beginner Warlock got utterly crushed by an Intermediate one, it made the newly ascended Warlock realize just how ridiculous their arrogance and pride had been. Just one higher rank, and they were completely dominated.
And when people finally understood they weren't special, that they still had to follow the rules dictated by cultivation levels, they slowly awakened.
“That's unlucky. What exactly did you encounter?” After a moment of silence, Fanya asked.
“I met something terrifying. But unlucky? Not really. I survived, didn't I? Encountering such a thing was enlightening. It kept me grounded, so I wouldn't get carried away like others after reaching the Warlock realm,” Winnie joked half-seriously.
As he spoke, he swept his spear horizontally, launching a crescent arc of ice. The spear's icy summons gleamed frost, freezing a line of scaled monsters in place.
[Frost Moon Slash]
Now that he was in the Warlock realm, his mana capacity was greatly different from before. Even after expending vast amounts of magic, he still had reserves left.
Hearing him, Fanya remained silent. With a single slash of her sword, she smashed a leaping scaled monster into pieces.
[Charged Light Strike]
“What's wrong?”
“Nothing. I just feel that you've changed a lot recently,” Fanya said, sheathing her sword.
“Same here,” Winnie replied. “You've even learned [Holy Essence Extinction]. Clearly, you've been working hard.”
“You seem quite knowledgeable about light-element magic,” Fanya raised an eyebrow.
Winnie stayed silent.
Of course he was. After all, he possessed the [Holy Envoy] soul armament, and his [Holy Envoy] was the primal origin version.
As they continued cutting down more and more enemies, the pile of fish corpses grew ever higher. Yet the surrounding scaled monsters showed no signs of thinning, instead, they kept coming in denser waves. The bodies stacked up like small hills, but still more monsters flooded in.
Soon, both fighters began showing signs of exhaustion.
Fanya swung and swung, until she realized her sword could no longer cut through the monsters.
Her blade wasn't enchanted, not even a [Magic Artifact], just a high-quality [Refined]-level knight's sword.
This sword had accompanied her for a long time. She held deep affection for it. It was the finest weapon she'd ever wielded. Yet now, it had reached its limits, unable to pierce the monsters' scales.
Prolonged combat accelerates mental fatigue, reduces focus and increases errors.
Fanya was no exception. She failed to notice a scaled monster attacking from the right. By the time she reacted, she could only block its sharp teeth with her forearm guard.
Now her arm was pinned, leaving her with just one hand to wield her sword. The other monsters wouldn't miss the perfect opportunity their comrade had created.
At that moment, three ice chains shot forward, exactly binding three monsters attempting to attack. The sudden drop in temperature froze their bodies, locking them together.
Fanya glanced back, realizing Winnie had interfered. With one hand, he fought off the charging monsters using his spear, while the other released [Icy Chain] to rescue her.
Had he been actively watching over her side even while fighting others?
After a brief hesitation, Fanya kicked the monster away and used [Charged Light Strike] to finish it off.
She glanced at Winnie beside her, he showed no sign of defense-penetration issues. That crystalline fang spear of his carved through the scaled monster swarm effortlessly, unstoppable and unbreakable. The monsters were like fish on a chopping block meeting a sharp kitchen knife, sliced open in an instant.
Only now did Fanya recall her elders' words: just how much a weapon could enhance one's power, and how a weapon failing to keep pace with cultivation advancement would become a burden.
Now she truly understood. Without magic, fighting swarms of scaled monsters would become extremely difficult, ordinary slashes simply couldn't harm them anymore.
To kill enemies, she'd have to rely on magic, drastically reducing her efficiency. On top of that, it placed a heavy strain on her mana reserves.
“Your sword's not good enough anymore.” As Fanya's pressure surged, Winnie quickly noticed the problem. “It can't keep up with your strength.”
“Next time, get a new one.” Saying this, Winnie turned and cleaved apart the monsters surrounding Fanya.
He'd taken things too much for granted. After all, right at the start in the novice village, he'd obtained the high-grade [Magic Artifact] [Frost Fang], so he'd never suffered weapon anxiety. His weapon-based combat power had always been maximized.
But others weren't the same. Take their classmates, most still used refined weapons. As for ordinary civilian students? Some probably still use plain iron weapons.
“Just focus on your role,” Winnie said, summoning [Armour Fortress], taking on the pressure that should've been Fanya's share.
The scaled monsters opened their jaws and bit down on Winnie's [Armour Fortress], only to find it impervious. No matter how hard they tried, their sharp teeth couldn't pierce it. When they pushed harder, a 'crack' sounded, their own teeth broke.
“Weak,” Winnie scoffed, swinging his arm and sweeping his spear around, flinging away all surrounding monsters.
Fanya now understood what Winnie meant by 'focusing on her role.' After all, [Holy Envoy] was mainly supportive. She'd chosen the Holy Knight path, so she'd learned a few healing spells, focusing mostly on offensive magic.
“Winnie, we can't kill them all,” Fanya said. “And the monsters attacking us seem to be growing stronger.”
“Of course I know,” Winnie replied, eyeing the endless waves of fish swarming towards them, his expression tightening.
“You guard the rear and support me. We need to cut our way out!” With that, Winnie jumped high.
[Annihilation Stomp]
"Boom! Boom! Boom!" Winnie crashed back to the ground. His [Excellent]-rank earth-element power exploded outward, turning the surrounding scaled monsters into flying fragments.
“Follow me! We're breaking through here!”
Hearing this, Fanya followed Winnie.
It had to be said, in this low-magic era where most couldn't use spells, [Armour Fortress] was a true tank.
The scaled monsters can only attack with teeth and claws, all useless against [Armour Fortress]. Swords and blades couldn't damage this heavy armor. Plus, Winnie's synchronization rate with [Armour Fortress] was a perfect 100%, meaning it grew stronger as Winnie advanced. After multiple major upgrades, [Armour Fortress] stood unbreakable against physical attacks.
Winnie carved a bloody path forward, while Fanya guarded the rear. But the vast majority of pressure was drawn onto Winnie. Occasionally, she'd cast [Intermediate Healing Light] to restore Winnie's condition, or block any monsters slipping through.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The two fought their way forward, cutting a trail through the fish swarm. Then, suddenly, earth-shaking roars loudly, spreading like shockwaves.
“Winnie.” Realizing where the sound came from, Fanya looked up, and instantly her pupils shrank.
“What is it?” Winnie turned as well. When he saw that colossal figure towering as if touching the sky, he momentarily forgot to fight back.
Pale gray, wrinkled shark skin. Deep, pupil-less dark eyes. Sharp fangs protruding from its lips. Upward-curving horns. A massive dorsal fin on its back. Every breath seemed capable of triggering tsunamis and mountain collapses.
“What... is that?” Winnie gasped.
That figure, shark-like yet unlike any shark, stood like a pillar holding up the heavens.
Fortunately, the creature hadn't noticed them. Otherwise, they'd have no chance of survival.
That's what Winnie thought.
They had to leave before it noticed them, otherwise, they were finished!
But what could they do now?
Winnie gazed at his [Frost Fang]. Of course, there was only one answer.
“Hey, Fanya, hold on tight to me!”
“?!” Fanya clearly had no idea what Winnie was planning.
“No, not just hold on. Wrap your arms around me. No time to explain!”
Fanya knew now wasn't the time to hesitate. She did as told, wrapping her arms tightly around Winnie's waist.