The air inside the island was filled with moisture.
Every breath carried a strong smell of fish.
The humidity was extreme, making one feel as if soaked in water.
It was thoroughly uncomfortable.
"Such an awful place, smelly and fishy."
Isla Ning covered her nose; she strongly disliked the smell here.
In the center of the island was a mountain, very conspicuous.
The Mermaid's Tear Dungeon was atop that mountain.
From afar, one could see a huge waterfall cascading down the mountainside.
At the mountain peak, the entrance to the Mermaid's Tear Dungeon swirled constantly like an undersea vortex.
Peach looked towards the mountain, determining the direction.
The space inside the island was larger than imagined.
After passing through the water curtain, everyone was scattered.
The originally dense crowd was now nowhere to be seen.
"We need to move fast.
Our target is the Mermaid's Tear Dungeon."
"Avoid attacking monsters if possible."
Peach said gravely.
She took the lead, running forward.
The others immediately followed.
Ponds were everywhere, and many monsters could be seen in them.
These monsters were half-human, half-fish, covered in scales.
They weren't as pretty and cute as the mermaids in stories.
Their exposed sharp teeth were very sharp, glinting coldly in the sunlight.
There was no doubt their teeth could bite through steel.
Narrow paths formed between the ponds.
The team moved in a single file, swiftly navigating these channels.
Splash!
Amidst the water sound, a Mermaid monster suddenly shot out from a pond, charging straight at them.
Peach reacted extremely quickly, immediately activating a skill.
Provoke!
The Knight's signature skill.
The Mermaid monster seemed to feel greatly insulted.
It abruptly turned and charged towards Peach, its eyes glowing red, seemingly having lost its mind.
Morintis's Detection Skill simultaneously landed on the Mermaid.
[Mermaid Soldier]
[Level: 19]
[Strength: 300]
[Agility: 150]
[Spirit: 200]
[Constitution: 320]
[Skills: None]
Looking at the attributes, they met the standard for a Level 19 monster.
Not particularly strong, and without skills.
Such a wild monster couldn't stop them.
Charge!
Without waiting for the Mermaid monster to reach her, Peach raised her shield and met it head-on.
Using the Charge skill, she instantly crossed over ten meters and slammed into the Mermaid monster.
With a thud, the Mermaid monster was sent flying several meters and landed on the ground.
At that moment, a fireball flew out, accurately hitting the Mermaid monster.
With a boom, the Mermaid monster was instantly engulfed in flames.
But it didn't die immediately.
It struggled and charged towards Peach again.
A shadow flickered behind it; Isla Ning had somehow appeared beside it.
Her dagger, glowing faintly, stabbed out.
Fatal Strike!
The skill activated, the dagger precisely piercing the Mermaid monster's back.
Scales shattered.
The Mermaid monster fell to the ground with a scream.
Then, an ice arrow shot out and struck the Mermaid monster.
The Mermaid monster was completely frozen, ceasing all movement.
[Killed Level 19 Mermaid Soldier. Experience +1500.]
[Peach obtained Fish Scale 1.]
Morintis received the prompt; the Mermaid monster was dead.
Due to the 6-person party, the experience gained wasn't high.
Peach was the party leader, so all dropped items went to her.
This was a trial, not for leveling, so Morintis didn't mind.
After quickly dealing with the Mermaid monster, the party continued to advance.
They encountered several more waves of monsters along the way.
The closer they got to the mountain, the more numerous the monsters became.
Their levels also gradually increased.
Later, Level 21 monsters appeared, requiring more effort to eliminate.
After killing a Level 21 monster, Peach looked towards the mountain.
"At our current speed, it will take at least 3 more hours to reach the center of the island."
"Going up the mountain will also take time."
"We're too slow."
"From now on, when we encounter monsters, Jade, you handle crowd control.
Avoid fighting if possible."
"We'll speed up and head for the dungeon."
Peach decided to ignore the monsters and increase the party's advancing speed.
Jade nodded.
"Okay."
The party sped up their advance.
When they encountered monsters again, Jade directly used skills for control.
Wind Bind!
With the skill, Wind elements gently stirred, shackling the monster like bonds.
Duration: one minute.
After one minute, they would be long gone.
This way, the party's propulsion speed greatly increased.
Just twenty minutes later, they could see the mountain foot.
Just as Peach had judged, they were behind.
Other teams had already reached the mountain foot, leading them significantly.
The waterfall cascaded from the mountaintop.
There was only one path up the mountain, and it wasn't wide.
Both the waterfall and the path were crowded with numerous Mermaid monsters.
Especially at the mountain foot, where the waterfall washes down, creating dense ponds.
The ponds connected, forming a winding path.
This area was teeming with Mermaid monsters, making it difficult to avoid.
Some teams had already reached the mountain foot and were clearing the monsters there, preparing to ascend.
Peach gritted her teeth.
"If we charge straight through, is there a chance?"
Jade shook her head.
"There are too many.
I can't control them all."
"Moreover, these monsters are Level 22, higher level than me.
My skills have a chance of failing."
If the monster level was higher than Jade's, her skills had a failure chance.
It had failed several times already on the way, but there was only one monster then, so they just eliminated it if control failed.
But here, there were too many monsters.
Dense as a military camp.
Peach frowned.
If they cleared their way through, it would take at least an hour, putting them completely behind.
But if they charged straight through, without Jade's control, it would be hard to pass.
They might even get surrounded by Mermaid monsters, putting the party in danger.
For a moment, Peach was in a dilemma.
Morintis looked at the path ahead; he had already found the shortest route.
"I'll handle it."
Morintis suddenly spoke.
Ethan instinctively sneered, "You?
What can a Level 17 guy do?"
Morintis hadn't acted the entire journey, just followed behind.
Aside from Isla Ning, no one knew his capabilities.
Isla Ning snorted.
"Shut your stinky mouth, Ethan."
Peach glared at Ethan, signaling him to be quiet.
Then she asked Morintis, "What's your plan?"
Morintis said, "Use the Skeleton Warriors to lure the Mermaid monsters away."
Peach's eyes lit up, finally remembering Morintis's class was Necromancer.
Although she didn't understand what the Necromancer class entailed or its skills,
the fact that he had summons was true.
Using summons to lure away the Mermaid monsters wasn't a bad method.
This also made Peach notice that the teams already at the mountain foot also had Summoners among them.
They were probably also using summons to lure monsters away.
Peach said, "It's up to you."
"Everyone else, get ready.
We charge through when the monsters are lured away."
With a thought from Morintis, a Skeleton Warrior ran over with its characteristic clattering sound.
"So fast!"
Peach's eyes widened sharply.
The Skeleton Warrior's speed far exceeded her expectations.
In the blink of an eye, it had covered dozens of meters and appeared before a group of Mermaid monsters.
The Mermaid monsters let out sharp cries and immediately charged towards the Skeleton Warrior.
The Skeleton Warrior ignored them, turned, and ran.
It ran to another pond, pulling out all the Mermaid monsters there.
Then it ran to other ponds.
In moments, the Skeleton Warrior had over a dozen Mermaid monsters chasing it.
The Skeleton Warrior led a pack of monsters, running farther and farther away.
The path ahead was cleared.
Peach shouted in a low voice, "Go!"
The party swiftly advanced.
The Skeleton Warrior ran ahead, clearing the way, leading away monsters along the route.
The party's advance was very smooth.
In just a few minutes, they had charged to the mountain foot.
By now, the number of monsters chasing the Skeleton Warrior had reached over a hundred.
Under Morintis's control, the Skeleton Warrior ran farther away.
Suddenly, the Skeleton Warrior disappeared.
Morintis had recalled it to the summoning space.
The Mermaid monsters instantly lost their target, each filled with confusion.
Peach let out a long sigh of relief.
"Well done."
Isla Ning giggled.
"Really amazing."
Daniel and Jade also looked appreciatively at Morintis; they owed their success to him this time.
Ethan said coldly, "Why didn't you do this earlier?
We could have been on the mountain by now."
Morintis turned his head and looked at him as if he were an idiot.
Wasn't this guy a Mage?
Mages should have sharp minds.
Why did this guy seem a bit foolish?
Isla Ning snorted coldly.
"Ethan, shut your stinky mouth.
Stop talking nonsense.
Do it yourself if you have the skill."
Morintis looked at him with a cold gaze.
"Last time."
Ethan looked full of disdain.
"It's just relying on summons..."
Peach cut off Ethan's words.
"Enough. Be quiet."
Ethan had repeatedly targeted Morintis.
Morintis rarely spoke; Ethan always started the trouble.
Anyone could see who had the problem.
A scream suddenly came from the mountaintop.
Everyone looked up and saw a large number of Mermaid monsters charging down from the mountain.
The teams that had previously gone up the mountain were rapidly retreating downhill.