The thick purple mist shifted slowly like a living creature that had just awakened from a long slumber. It pulsed gently, as if possessing its own heartbeat, seeping into every crevice of the ancient stone ruins scattered across the dungeon floor. The thick black smoke from the giant monster’s corpse that had exploded moments ago still drifted lazily, mixing with the mist and creating a second layer that was even more damp, sticky, and acrid. The fishy stench of dark blood stung the nose, blended with sharp ozone like after a lightning strike, and the smell of scorched wet earth. Every breath felt like swallowing thin needles bitter, heavy, and leaving a cold metallic taste on the tongue along with an irritating tickle in the throat and lungs.

Hssssssss...

The mist whispered softly from all directions, the sound of shifting wind carrying unspoken secrets of darkness. Sometimes it sounded like faint laughter, other times like the groans of a dying creature. The air felt heavy, pressing down on the chest, as if the entire dungeon wanted to strangle anyone who dared venture deeper.

Sylvia, Stacia, and Alicia continued their journey with fast, efficient, and purposeful movements. They were no longer merely surviving; they were active predators on the hunt. Every time the black silhouette of a shadow monster emerged from the mist, the three moved without the slightest hesitation. Sylvia’s slender rapier, gleaming with a faint blue light, slashed with lethal precision, severing the dark veins in the monsters’ necks and chests until black smoke gushed out like a fountain. Stacia’s daggers spun like an invisible miniature storm, cutting tendons, joints, and vital points with the precision of a surgeon who had skinned corpses for decades. Alicia’s spells flowed endlessly from her simple wooden staff burning Fire Arrows, slicing Wind Blades, and piercing Ice Spears all complementing each other in deadly harmony.

They fought while continuously advancing, clearing area after area with extraordinary speed. Their movements were perfectly coordinated, like killing machines honed over hundreds of years of battles across countless worlds. Sweat poured down their bodies. Sylvia’s tight black tank top clung perfectly to her firm athletic curves, her black cropped jacket becoming more torn in several places and stained with thick black monster fluid. Stacia breathed heavier than usual, her gray jacket sticking to her slender skin marked with faint scars, her short hair wet and plastered to her forehead. Alicia, with her long disheveled silver hair, remained focused; her white-silver tank top was drenched, accentuating her voluptuous and vital figure, her cold aura growing even stronger amid the darkness.

In the increasingly thick mist, they unintentionally passed several hunter groups in dire trouble. A small team of five was surrounded by six high-level shadow monsters. Two of them were already severely injured, fresh blood flowing heavily from deep claw wounds on their chests and thighs. Their healer knelt on the muddy ground, hands trembling violently as she tried to heal with holy spells whose light was beginning to fade. Their tank, a large man, shouted desperately while swinging a heavily dented shield.

"Hold on! Don’t retreat! But... damn it, there are too many! We won’t last much longer!"

Sylvia passed in front of them like a shadow in the wind. Her rapier moved elegantly in one beautiful yet deadly circular motion. SCHLAAAKKK! SCHLAAAKKK! Two monsters were sliced into thick black smoke in the blink of an eye. Stacia followed at high speed, her dual daggers stabbing and twisting into the vital points of two other monsters, making them explode into mist before they could even roar. Alicia merely waved her wooden staff once. A wave of Wind Blades shot forward, slicing the remaining two monsters into scattered pieces of darkness like dry leaves.

It was all over in less than ten seconds.

The hunters who had just been saved could only stare in shock, breathing raggedly, eyes wide with a mixture of deep admiration and relief. A wounded female archer with an injury on her shoulder shouted weakly with a trembling voice, "Thank you... wait! Who are you?! Which guild are you from?!"

But the three had already vanished back into the purple mist without saying a word. They had no time to stop, receive thanks, or explain their identities. Their goal was clear: clear this area as much as possible, open the path to deeper zones, and gather as much dark essence as possible to strengthen the ancient runes that were beginning to glow in the ruins. Being heroes for others was not their priority.

"They... were like ghosts," one of the hunters muttered as he sat limply on the ground, his hands still shaking. "But thanks to them... we’re still alive. Thank you, whoever you are..."

Elsewhere, about three hundred meters to the north, a fairly strong party was fighting against a tougher group of monsters. The party named Silver Blade consisted of four girls and one man. The man, Leon, a burly swordsman in light silver armor, wielded a large two-handed sword. He acted as the tank in front, shouting with exaggerated enthusiasm that sounded almost forced.

"Protect the healer! I’ll hold the front! We can definitely do this! Silver Blade will never lose in a dump like this! Come on, show them our power!"

The four girls behind him a nimble brown-haired archer, two mages (one fire, one wind), and one healer supported with coordinated long-range attacks. They were indeed quite strong for Rank A standards, but the alpha monster they faced this time was a real threat. Its body was twice as large as normal monsters, with sharp curved horns like scythes, ferocious slashing claws, and an oppressive dark aura. Leon’s armor was dented on the chest and shoulders, blood flowing from a deep gash on his arm.

Sylvia, Stacia, and Alicia observed the battle from behind tall stone ruins that provided perfect cover. They stopped for a moment to catch their breath, sitting against the cold, moss-covered stone wall. Their human bodies tired quickly even though their evolved souls worked hard to recover muscles, bones, and stamina. Sweat flowed down their necks, chests, and backs, making their clothes increasingly sticky and uncomfortable in the stifling damp air.

"No need to help," Sylvia said coldly, her voice low and flat like ice. "They can still handle it themselves. Besides, I don’t like interfering unless necessary. We have our own objectives."

Stacia smirked slightly, her sharp eyes gleaming. "Look at how that guy is shouting. Like he wants to be the epic hero in a fairy tale. When in reality, he’s just acting tough in front of his girls."

Alicia simply shrugged lightly, her silver eyes remaining vigilant to any movement in the surrounding mist. "If they die, that’s their problem. We’ll continue after a short rest."

Not long after, following an intense battle full of screams, spell explosions, and spraying blood, the Silver Blade party finally defeated the alpha monster. Leon, with a face full of sweat, chest heaving heavily, and a wide arrogant smile, wiped his sword with his arm while laughing loudly.

"Hah! See that! I told you we could do it! I’m the best tank here!"

It was then that his eyes caught a faint movement behind the ruins. He approached with confident steps, followed by his four curious party members. His eyes widened immediately upon seeing three beautiful girls calmly resting. His gaze first locked onto Alicia’s long silver hair, perfect curvaceous body, and a captivating mysterious aura then shifted to Sylvia with her strong athletic build and cold gaze, and Stacia with her agile, indifferent yet alluring demeanor.

"Wow... so there are other teams here," he said loudly and confidently as he approached. His smile grew even wider, full of overbearing self-assurance that bordered on disgusting. "Hey there, beautiful ladies. You three are alone? It’s very dangerous in a place like this, you know. I’m Leon, leader of the Silver Blade party. Also Rank A, just like you seem to be. You all look very tired. How about joining us? I’ll protect you completely. With faces and bodies like yours... you’d be much better off in the back, under the protection of a strong man like me. Don’t worry, I know how to treat women."

His tone was full of arrogance, as if he was one hundred percent certain that the three girls would immediately blush, admire him, and agree to follow his lead. The four girls behind him smiled cynically, as if they were already used to their leader’s habit of "picking up" beautiful girls with this arrogant attitude in almost every dungeon they entered.

Sylvia slightly furrowed her brows, feeling a rare irritation rise in her cold heart. Stacia rolled her eyes obviously, her lips curling in disgust. Alicia, the least patient among them, immediately stood up with smooth yet unmistakably threatening movements.

Without saying a single word, Alicia stepped forward. PUK!

Her right fist, light but filled with controlled power, landed squarely on Leon’s face. The punch sounded loud and clear, sending the man flying backward and landing on his butt with a heavily bleeding nose and stars spinning in his eyes.

"What?! You dare?!"

The four girls in the party immediately became furious and attacked together. The archer fired a rapid barrage of arrows, the two mages launched Fireball and Wind Cutter, while the healer tried to support with healing buffs. But Alicia simply stood in place, releasing about 10% of her true original power. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

She waved her wooden staff once.

A heavy wave of debuffs instantly piled onto the five of them like a collapsing mountain. Slow, Weakness, Pain Amplification, Fatigue, Vertigo, Curse of Darkness, Blindness, Muscle Cramp, and various other curses overlapped perfectly, creating a torturous hellish effect.

The four girls and Leon immediately collapsed to the ground like puppets whose strings had been cut. Their bodies felt extremely heavy, every movement like wading through boiling thick mud, muscles feeling as if stabbed by thousands of hot needles, heads spinning violently, vision blurred, and normal pain amplified tenfold into pure agony. Even breathing felt painful.

Alicia spoke in a cold but clear voice, without excessive emotion, "This will disappear in 10 minutes. Hold on and pray that no monsters find you here. If you’re smart, use that time to rethink your attitude in dungeons. Fake heroes like you will only die in vain."

Sylvia and Stacia stood behind her with expressionless faces, as if the incident was nothing more than a meaningless minor disturbance. The three of them then turned around and left without another word, disappearing into the thick purple mist like ghosts who had never existed.

Leon tried to shout with a hoarse, rage-filled voice, "You... How dare you...! I’ll remember your faces...! I’ll get revenge!" But his voice was weak, swallowed by the mist, and followed by the roars of monsters beginning to approach from afar, as if drawn by the scent of weakness.

The three continued their monster hunt without looking back. The earlier incident was truly just a small disturbance. They returned to slaughtering waves of shadows with high efficiency. The ancient runes in the ruins glowed brighter one by one, and their levels continued to rise slowly but steadily.

Deep in Sylvia’s heart, there was a slight sense of satisfaction. This world was indeed full of fake heroes who were only good at talking.