News of the explosion on the second floor quickly spread to the first floor.
By the time the adventurers camping at the Crystalian's respawn point heard about it, they had already defeated the boss once again.
That's right—the efficiency was that fast.
As the organizer, Luluwo discovered something during these two battles that left her unsure whether to feel pleased or frustrated:
It seemed like the Crystalian had become their "captive."
Of course, this didn't mean they had literally captured it—but that they had mastered its mechanics… or in other words, figured out how to beat it.
If they followed the traditional approach, using a small party of fewer than ten people, then a boss like the Crystalian—who excelled at fleeing, altering the battlefield, and attacking from range—was an absolute nightmare.
But new areas bring new strategies.
Once the number of players increased—and especially after they could sustain the Bubble Shield—combined with Luluwo's improved command from experience in the previous fight…
Something incredible happened.
The second battle took only half the time of the first!
Even though the adventurers still fought in a chaotic, chicken-scramble fashion, everyone had already learned from those who participated earlier. They now had countermeasures in mind, didn't panic as easily, and could follow commands more effectively.
The Crystalian's two deadliest mechanics:
Scattering Crystal → countered by Bubble Shield
Crystal Release → couldn't be activated quickly enough
When adventurers spread evenly across the battlefield, the once vast arena suddenly didn't feel so large anymore.
No matter where the boss teleported, there were always adventurers within fifty meters.
So what could the adventurers do?
Only one thing—kill.
Mastering the boss made Luluwo happy.
But it also made her miserable.
Because just two days ago, she had published a strategy guide describing the Crystalian as a world-class terrifying enemy—hyping it to the heavens and telling people to wait for her solution.
And now?
Before the guide had even sold much, she had to admit:
"Just learn Bubble Shield and stack people—you'll win."
Wasn't that basically slapping herself in the face?!
In truth, Wade never made the Crystalian that strong to begin with.
If you looked closely, all its damage came from ranged attacks.
As for its own attack power?
Basically cut in half—everything was poured into speed instead.
After all, it was only meant to be a gatekeeper boss.
But for Luluwo, the real shock came next.
After the second fight, she didn't receive any reward.
Everyone else had dice appear before them—but she didn't.
"What the hell? Does this mean I can't get rewards anymore, or is there some kind of cooldown?"
She quickly formed a hypothesis, but the more she thought about it, the stranger it felt.
Surely it wouldn't just deny her rewards completely… aside from souls?
"Just check your student ID," a familiar voice said.
She looked up—it was Darrick.
Right—Darrick had decided that since they were already here, the Farron Guard would stay and keep fighting, using the boss as a training exercise by chasing it with giant wolves.
"What's there to check on my student ID?"
Luluwo pulled it out—
—and froze.
"Ah!"
Everyone nearby turned toward her, asking what happened.
"The stars on my student ID… they got brighter!"
She suddenly understood.
Everyone knew that the student ID obtained from the Sorting Hat was filled with stars.
Each star represented a magic granted by your assigned mentor.
The more you mastered the magic → the brighter the star
A fully filled star → complete mastery, even outside the dungeon
Luluwo's magic was Blood Servant—a spell that reanimates corpses to fight, growing stronger as she does.
Her mentor was Harkon, a Vampire Lord.
But since she wasn't a necromancer and didn't like using corpses—and only had bat lineage, not true vampirism—she hadn't focused much on it.
As a result, her stars were mostly dim.
But now—
After defeating the Crystalian a second time—
Her first star had filled by one-tenth.
That was equivalent to nearly a week of staying in the dungeon!
"Defeating bosses speeds up learning?" she asked.
Darrick shook his head.
"There are probably limits. The dungeon wouldn't let you master a spell in one day—we know how it operates."
"True," Luluwo laughed. "Whenever the dungeon gives rewards, there's always a catch. Stingy guy."
Darrick shrugged and smiled.
"But we can't refuse it, can we?"
Luluwo nodded.
Even if it only brightened once every few days, it was still worth it.
It even encouraged people with urgent business to stay and farm bosses.
"Now I'm curious—what's your magic?" she suddenly asked.
Darrick hesitated, looking awkward.
"…Basic Attack Magic."
"…What?"
"It's literally called that," he sighed. "My mentor is Frieren. I don't know why the name is so plain."
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
Luluwo burst into laughter.
The Skyrim Group and Farron Guard stayed to fight the boss again, testing whether the star would continue increasing.
Some adventurers left.
Others, hearing about the second floor, went up to watch the spectacle—
Yes, watch. Not fight.
Because Miriam was currently being chased all over the place by a fully enraged Wienma.
Miriam's signature spell, "Miriam's Vanishing," which had always worked flawlessly, now seemed barely sufficient under Wienma's relentless pursuit.
Luckily, Miriam relied on her familiarity with the terrain to survive.
As for Wienma?
She was truly furious.
She had stacked multiple buffs on herself:
Berserk
Demon Frenzy
Brutal Rage
High-tier Physical Enhancement
Flow Vision
…and was chasing Miriam like a madwoman.
No one else could interfere in that battle.
So what did the others do?
They watched.
Even the adventurers who had died earlier came back to spectate.
Whenever Wienma nearly caught Miriam—or Miriam barely escaped—cheers erupted.
"Wait… are we watching a race or something?"
Stella had a question mark practically floating over her head.
She couldn't understand this relaxed atmosphere at all.
They had just been blown up by Miriam—so why were they cheering for her now?
…Probably because they were used to dying.
The stronger the enemy, the more people liked them.
Even the Farron Undead Legion had become celebrities.
But Stella couldn't take it anymore.
Just as she considered dragging Wienma back—
She saw something even more absurd.
"Hey bro, wanna bet? Who do you think will win? Miriam has better odds right now."
Melga was walking around with a tray, taking bets.
There were already piles of coins on it.
Some adventurers were actually betting!
And a few elves had even pulled out snacks and beer—selling them like vendors.
Stella's entire body trembled like a magnitude 50 earthquake.
What the hell is going on?!
Who came up with betting?!
And where did those snacks even come from?!
She suddenly covered her face.
I need to dye my hair… maybe change my appearance…
I don't want to look like an elf anymore…
…I've become the straight person in a comedy routine.
For the next two days, she stopped exploring Raya Lucaria entirely.
Instead, she stayed in a random intact house near the academy entrance town.
Why not leave?
Simple:
She didn't want to lose her souls or magic progress.
Life here wasn't so bad anyway:
Hungry? Buy jerky from Kale
Bored? Help Andre sweep the floor
Craving seafood? Get boiled shrimp from the rogue
At night, she listened to other adventurers share stories.
Honestly, it was pretty comfortable.
Where you lived didn't matter—adventurers were free.
Freer than anyone.
But on the third day, she heard something interesting from newly arrived adventurers:
An elf named Kuripa had found a purple item in the gourmet zone—
A kitchen knife called [Eternal Spirit Knife], said to have mysterious powers.
Kuripa?
Wasn't that the foodie elf who ran off halfway?
Lucky old man.
Just as she was thinking that, someone added:
"They say Kuripa led the food faction and started a fight with the Chef's Association—and now they're holding a cooking competition!"
"…What?"
Confusion once again spread across Stella's face.