“Huh? Something’s coming.”

As they looked where Hazen pointed, a monster with two heads, each resembling a man and a woman, was approaching, leading a small wolf-like creature.

“I didn’t know something like this was in here.”

Everyone fell silent at the sight of the unfamiliar monster. The atmosphere had been fairly relaxed until then, but suddenly tension began to fill the air.

It seemed they would have to fight to understand the difficulty level of these creatures. Luella urged the hesitant Tien.

“Tien, cast buffs on everyone. Replenish mana with potions when it gets low.”

Seeing Tien start the incantation, Luella turned her gaze to Kite.

“We can’t let those monsters see us. You have skills to divert enemy attention, right?”

“I do, but I rarely use them.”

“Use those skills intermittently as you attack. The monsters should never come towards me or Tien. And Hazen.”

“Yes!”

“Summon a sturdy creature to protect Raphael and Mitchel so they can attack freely.”

“You’re not attacking?”

“No, you must attack. A strong attack will easily draw their attention.”

After distributing stamina and energy recovery potions, Luella continued.

“We will start following Kite’s attack signal. Are you ready?”

Everyone nodded with serious faces.

“First safety, then more safety. Let’s not suffer any major injuries that could risk our lives. Alright, let’s go!”

Kite looked at his companions one last time, then charged at the monster.

Screeech.

The idly wandering monster only noticed the charging Kite at the last moment and screamed. Its level seemed lower than Kite’s since it hadn’t noticed him until he was close.

As the monster raised its claws, Kite blocked it with his shield and swung his sword.

Clang.

Staggered by a magical sword strike, the monster lifted its hand and began chanting, turning the ground red.

“Ah, it’s hot! What is this?”

Hazen, who was supporting Kite, cried out and retreated.

“The ground is heating up. Don’t stand on it or you’ll lose health.”

At Kite’s command based on the party window, the surroundings quickly became chaotic.

Despite the confusion, Luella shouted at Raphael, who was calmly chanting an area-of-effect spell.

“Raphael! The ground, the ground! You’re losing HP. Come out now. Isn’t it hot?”

Luella sprayed health potions instead of casting a low-level heal, shouting at him.

“Where to? It’s not that hot.”

“Look down, it’s red. See how it’s a different color? If you check the party window, your health is slowly depleting. So get out of there.”

Realizing she was basically playing the game with beginners, even if they were level 80, Luella looked at Tien, who was diligently following her.

“Cast a buff to speed up Raphael’s casting time when he uses an area attack.”

“Yes!”

The health bars of the team members were in good condition, except for Kite’s.

“Kite, are you badly hurt?”

“I blocked with the shield, so no major injuries, but it does hurt.”

“I’ll level up quickly to make pain relief potions. Hang in there a bit longer.”

Never had she felt a potion so necessary that she hadn’t even learned how to make in the game. Luella shouted again.

“Hazen, the wolf has clung to Mitchel. Send your summon over there.”

The enemy’s health was now down to about two-thirds. They had been fighting for over 10 minutes now, so despite the level difference, this was no weak monster.

“Just a little more, more!”

Only 10% of the enemy’s health remained.

“5% left.”
Hoping to boost morale, Luella frequently called out the monster’s health status, when she suddenly had a question.

“Is everyone keeping track of the enemy’s health bar? If you click on the target above the screen, a status window will appear.”

“I am.”

Kite’s response was immediately followed by puzzled voices from around the room.

“Huh? Really? I had to minimize it because it was blocking my view.”

Hazen was frantically waving his hand in the air.

“Wow, it’s true. When it said only 5% health remained, I wondered what that meant. The screen even kindly displays how much life is left.”

Lapellian also seemed to have just noticed this, as he stood there staring into the air with a look of wonder.

“Save the sightseeing for later. Don’t stop attacking. Does anyone have any special moves? Use them now.”

Though a newbie healer who had kept her distance and mostly engaged in verbal warfare, Luella appeared to be a pretty decent leader. While she was encouraging her teammates, the monster let out a strange noise and collapsed.

At the same time, Luella gained 15 levels all at once, leveling up eight times. It must have been a powerful monster.

“Are you hurt?”

Her concern for Kite, who was at the forefront of the battle, outweighed her joy of leveling up. Kite looked tired but was not making a fuss.

“A bit painful.”

Luella enthusiastically sprayed a health potion on him while speaking in a deep voice, trying to sound cool.

“How was it, facing it? Was it difficult or hard?”

It was their first official raid, so she was curious. Being a tank is demanding, and judging him by his remaining health or stamina seemed unfair.

“There’s a lot to pay attention to, but it’s manageable. With a few more tries, I think I can comfortably give orders.”

At his answer, Luella unknowingly nodded her head.

“True. Being a tank is a tough job.”

While she was patting his shoulder sympathetically, Hazen suddenly yelled.

“Something strange happened!”

When Luella quickly opened her screen, all she saw were newly acquired skills and alchemy recipes.

“What happened?”

At Luella’s question, Michel answered.

“Pictures have appeared in the empty slots.”

“In the center bottom?”

“Yes.”

“Try clicking it.”

Upon Luella’s suggestion, Michel moved his fingers in the air, and a blue light circled his bow. He looked incredibly surprised.

“I can cast magic without chanting?”

Both Kite and Michel used swords, shields, and bows, but they also infused their weapons with magic to enhance their defense and attack power.

While their mana pool and versatility are limited compared to primary mana classes, they do use magic, which explained their surprise.

Everyone started waving their arms in the air, testing it out.

“It’s real. This is so convenient.”

“Do you have something like this, Luella?”

At Tien’s question, Luella smiled leisurely.

“Of course. I’ve had it for a while.”

As she proudly watched her team’s amazed reactions, a thought crossed her mind.

If things keep improving like this, won’t their system windows soon be no different from mine?

Initially, she wasn’t fond of this idea, but now she thought monopolizing wasn’t necessarily good. It wasn’t the time to be selfish, considering lives were at stake. They all had to become stronger to defeat Duke Kuron, not just in this world but across dimensions.

“Ouch!”

While everyone was busy testing their skills, an arrow flew and stuck into Tien’s arm.

“Tien, are you okay?”

As everyone looked at Tien in surprise, another arrow flew towards Luella.

Thanks to Kite quickly blocking it with his shield, she wasn’t hurt, but the rain of arrows didn’t stop. Finally, her teammates gripped their weapons and shouted.

“It’s an attack.”

“Who is it?”
“Stop!”

At Kite’s command, his comrades immediately ceased their actions.

“It seems we need to get out of here. Taking on an unknown enemy in unfamiliar territory is reckless.”

Kite looked at Luella.

“You can use that Return skill to go back immediately, right?”

“Yes, it’s possible right away. Everyone come here. I’ll use it as soon as we secure some range.”

While team members gathered around Luella, arrows flew from all directions. It seemed there were more attackers than before.

While Kite and Hazen blocked the arrows with shields and summoned creatures, Luella quickly clicked on the Return skill.