There were twenty players gathered at the search party’s forward base.
Their reasons for braving danger and coming west were all different.
Some had come sincerely to find Ian, others wanted to obtain information about the yet-unrevealed West, and still others had come seeking new opportunities.
But at this moment, all of the players’ goals were aligned.
Clear the quest.
To subjugate the three elite monsters that existed in the West.
And in the process, the players had to choose.
How they would form their parties, and which party would take on which monster.
Countless discussions went back and forth over the course of a day.
From party composition to strategy.
The twenty players finished every bit of preparation to make imagination into reality.
And so the players left the forward base, each setting out to slay the elite monster assigned to them.
The still hot and humid rainforest, Rimbahitam, greeted them.
Among them, the party Ian belonged to was moving to slay Solabloom, located to the south.
As they walked, Ian recalled Kalinia’s words.
‘Solabloom… She said it was a monster that absorbs and emits sunlight.’
After the players accepted the quest, Kalinia shared with them the facts they had discovered about the monsters’ traits.
Solabloom.
An elite monster that absorbs and releases powerful sunlight.
According to Kalinia, its destructive power was the greatest among the four elite monsters.
The solar rays it emitted would turn everything they touched into ash in an instant.
“So weapons like shields will be useless in the strategy against Solabloom.”
If one tried to block it even by mistake, they would simply be burned away by sunlight.
Because of that, players who handled shields, axes, spears, and staves—including Emily—were excluded from the Solabloom strategy.
In other words, this elite monster subjugation party would be made up not of her usual party members, but new ones.
Ian checked once more the information on the people who would be joining her for this Solabloom raid.
‘That pink-haired woman over there was a level 16 swordsman, Veronica.’
Beside her, the short woman with snow-white bobbed hair was Lily, a level 17 martial artist.
The slender woman with black skin was Zola, a level 18 martial artist.
And the woman following at the very back, who had the largest chest in the group and charming, deer-like eyes, was Aya, a level 16 archer.
And then.
“What are you brooding about so hard?”
Her friend, who had somehow come up beside her and draped an arm over her shoulder—Ian’s level 18 just Naira.
Including Ian, a total of six players would be participating in the Solabloom subjugation.
Unintentionally, they were all women.
Ian shrugged.
“I was thinking about how to shake off this annoying arm.”
“Oh my, am I already annoying you? Then what about us? Were you just playing with me last night?”
“We only shared the same tent! And please stop saying things people could misunderstand if they overhear!”
Seeing Ian huffing in agitation, Naira smiled mischievously.
But her smile did not last very long.
Looking at Ian’s outfit, which plainly revealed the lines of her body, Naira let out a sound of admiration.
“Wow… This outfit is pretty bold too. Have you decided to just go all out and seduce people now?”
“Seduce who? I’m just wearing it because I don’t have any other clothes.”
“Well, this is more to my taste, but still. If you showed just a bit of your stomach, it’d be perfect.”
“That’s never happening, so keep dreaming.”
Because of the incident in Rundel, she had become much less sensitive to exposure, but she had not the slightest intention of trying to expose herself on purpose.
To begin with, until two months ago, she had been a man.
Even walking around with her face uncovered like this was practically a miracle from Ian’s perspective.
Besides, she had no time to care about clothes right now.
“So, have you finished organizing your thoughts, leader?”
Ian smiled bitterly.
Because as Naira said, the leader of the Solabloom strategy party was none other than Ian herself.
How had this happened?
Except for special cases like Shaura, in ordinary parties, tank users who wielded shields or axes usually took the role of leader.
Since they faced the enemy at the very front, it was advantageous for grasping the state of battle.
But in Ian’s current party, there was no one who had ever performed the role of leader.
So in the end, they had chosen a leader by vote, and as a result, Ian had been elected party leader by the overwhelming margin of five to one.
Because she had the highest level and was the strongest person there.
But Ian did not like that position.
‘I want to run away.’
To her, the word leader was like a brand that would never be erased for the rest of her life.
Even now, it felt as though someone were pressing down hard on her shoulders.
Then Naira’s voice reached her.
“Are you all right?”
“…Yeah. It’s nothing.”
At her worried gaze, Ian forced a smile.
But Naira could see Ian’s hand trembling.
Her complexion was bad, and her eyes were fixed not ahead, but on the ground.
‘Did something happen?’
She was curious, but Naira could not bring herself to ask.
The Ian before her now looked unlike usual—fragile, like glass that would shatter if tapped.
All she could do was walk carefully beside Ian.
In the meantime, the party arrived at the place where Solabloom was.
“That’s the dungeon we have to clear…”
Other than Alraune, the other elite monsters each had a dungeon where they stayed.
The dungeon where Solabloom was located was the Garden of the Sun.
As if the rainforest they had been walking through just a moment ago had been a dream, the sight of warm sunlight pouring down and flowers blooming in riotous profusion stole everyone’s gaze.
However, the players could not easily approach that beautiful scene.
Just as one might call a pretty mushroom poisonous, all the flowers there were man-eating flowers that devoured people.
That was why everyone gathered there looked to Ian.
Under the pouring gazes, Ian closed her eyes for a moment.
To hide her trembling hands, she clenched her fists tightly.
“Fuuuu…”
At last, Ian let out a deep breath.
With difficulty, she lifted her eyelids that felt as though they were weighing her down and spoke.
“Everyone, let’s move out.”
Toward the Garden of the Sun.
***
The moment they stepped into the dungeon, countless man-eating flowers welcomed the players.
Ian charged at the flowers alone and shouted.
“I’ll block all the attacks. Please take them down one by one starting from the left!”
So that the monsters would focus only on her, her body spun in a wide arc.
“Top Blade.”
A blue blade whirled fiercely.
The flowers’ fluids splattered in every direction.
But that attack’s purpose was only to draw their attention. It did not lead to fatal wounds.
The attacks of the monsters that had not fallen rained down on Ian.
At the sight of her reckless, headlong charge, the party members were flustered.
The one who snapped those players back to their senses was Naira.
“Did you forget her orders? Hurry up and attack from the left!”
Her arrow pierced a flower.
At the same time, the party members who came to their senses began raising their weapons one by one and pouring out their skills.
Considering how flustered they had been, the hunt itself went smoothly thanks to Ian properly drawing aggro at the front.
Naira and Aya’s arrows pierced the enemy, Lily and Zola’s fists battered the stems, and Veronica’s sword split the petals.
Before long, even the last monster fell, and Ian’s party had taken down the pack without a single person being injured.
While everyone paused to catch their breath, Naira approached Ian.
“Aren’t you pushing yourself too hard?”
“I’m fine. All I have to do is block. I always do this much.”
“Still, it’s too dangerous.”
The Ian she knew was a warrior who brought down enemies through a proper exchange of offense and defense.
But right now, she was the very peak of recklessness—enough to make even Emily click her tongue.
At Naira’s suspicious gaze, Ian let out a dry laugh.
“It’s fine. I’m level 20. Really, it’s easy.”
“Really?”
“Look. I’m not hurt at all.”
Just as she said, she had only gotten a bit dirty from the fluids; there were no wounds.
Moreover, it was also true that thanks to her recklessness, they had brought the enemies down easily.
“Fine. But be careful.”
For now, Naira decided to keep an eye on Ian.
Hoping that the worries she had now would end as nothing more than needless concern.
After defeating two more groups of monsters like that, a wide clearing appeared before them.
And then.
“That’s…”
At the center of the clearing was a Venus flytrap as huge as a three-story building.
[Lv 18. Garden Flytrap]
—Crrrack…
The gatekeeper guarding the garden let a sticky liquid stretch out in long strands as it opened its leaves toward the players.
The flytrap’s body tilted at high speed.
Ian stamped her foot and shouted.
“Everyone, dodge!”
As expected of those fighting on the front line, the players moved swiftly.
Among them, the one running at the very front was Ian again.
Blue light gathered in her sword.
“Sword Rush!”
Her charge, stretching out like a single streaking meteor, struck the flytrap’s stem.
It was not severed, but the flytrap sprayed fluid and writhed in pain.
To shake Ian off, its enormous leaves spun fiercely.
Ian had no choice but to widen the distance.
And the other melee dealers also could not approach rashly.
At that moment, the arrows of Naira and Aya, who had been drawing their bowstrings from a distance and waiting for an opening, sniped the flytrap.
Basic archery skill, Third Form.
Straight-line piercing technique.
“Pierce Shot!”
Two arrows spinning like drills collided with the rotating flytrap.
—Thud!
The impact stopped its rotation, and the flytrap’s body swayed greatly.
Seizing that chance, Ian shouted to those waiting.
“Lily, Zola, the stem. Veronica, attack the leaves!”
“Roger!”
A whirling feast of blue and purple struck the flytrap.
During the process, its leaves aimed at the players here and there, but Ian slipped into the openings and protected them from the flytrap.
The continued joint attacks from close and long range carved many wounds into the flytrap.
In the end, the flytrap reached its limit, and its body turned bright red.
“It’s Phase Two! Put some distance between you for now!”
At Ian’s instruction, everyone except her retreated to near Naira and Aya.
And at that moment, the flytrap, which had kept its leaves closed for a short while, opened them wide again.
Sunlight covered the flytrap.
With the immense amount of light as its foundation, the flytrap’s body began to grow larger and larger, and every wound they had worked so hard to inflict healed.
Not only the party members, but even Ian was flustered.
“Wh-what the hell is with this thing?”
She had thought it was a bit easy.
After all, the only thing it could move while rooted in the ground was its leaves.
But faced with the flytrap that had not only fully recovered, but had now grown to the height of a four-story building, Ian grew tense.
The fully grown flytrap’s open leaves surged toward Ian.
After avoiding the leaves, Ian thought to herself.
‘Its speed itself isn’t much different from before.’
In other words, if they pressed it the same way as before, they could drive it to the brink of death.
But the problem was that they did not know how many more times the flytrap would recover.
If it grew even more from here, it might fill the entire clearing.
‘We have to completely cut through the stem before its next growth starts. And the person who can make that possible is…’
Having made up her mind, Ian gave her instructions.
“Naira and Aya, keep harassing it from range. Lily and Zola, focus strictly on hit-and-run. Just think of it as shaving down its health. Veronica, stand by!”
“Okay!”
Questions naturally arose, but instead of asking them, the party members carried out Ian’s orders.
They continued drawing bowstrings, swinging fists, and pulling back, shaving down the flytrap’s health.
Under the repeated attacks, the flytrap’s body staggered greatly once more.
And in that brief opening.
Ian’s eyes flashed.
“Veronica, now! Attack the stem!”
“Th-this? A-all right!”
Veronica was flustered, but as Ian instructed, she swung her strongest attack toward the flytrap’s thick stem.
“Haaap! Double Accel!”
Two slashes struck the stem.
Her sword strike cut away one-third of the flytrap’s stem.
But at that moment, the flytrap spread its leaves wide once more.
“N-no way, is that thing healing again?!”
Everyone watching was horrified, and just as sunlight was about to shine on the flytrap again—
A blue wind brushed past Veronica’s side.
“Slash!”
Ian.
Her sword was drawn into the wound Veronica had made.
—Slice!
And Ian’s sword cut through the remaining two-thirds.
The sunlight poured down belatedly, but it could not restore the severed stem.
—Boom!
With a rough cloud of dust, the flytrap’s enormous body collapsed.
It was the end of the gatekeeper guarding the garden.