As Luna stood in front of Astrid to block the mini bosses, one of them went past her.

"These things are level 38!" Amelie was horrified when she checked the mini bosses' levels. "It will take us forever to beat them!" She spammed her most powerful fire spells. "Ugh. I hate the long cooldown."

As Astrid fought the second mini boss, she noticed her health draining faster than normal. She realized she had been poisoned. "Lyria, can you cure me from poison?"

Lyria was already in distress from her lack of magic stones. "I'm so sorry, Astrid! I invested my skill points on heal and buffs, so I didn't learn Cure."

There was no way Lyria could catch up with the strong poison and continuous damage Astrid was receiving. Astrid knew this well.

Astrid spoke, "Lyria, focus on healing Luna. I'll lead this mini boss away from you and respawn in town. I'll hurry back here and resupply you with potions and magic stones."

"Astrid, no! Don't sacrifice yourself and your hard earned experience points!" Luna protested.

"It's our best chance of completing the dungeon. Besides, the death penalty isn't that bad. Do your best to stay alive!"

The others nodded.

Astrid ran as far as she could go until her health hit zero. The moment that happened, she was immediately teleported back to the square of the first town, Lamont. She found herself lying flat on the ground. Her body ached a bit but she was relieved to be in a safe area.

As she slowly got up, she noticed someone standing by the fountain feeding the birds with breadcrumbs. It was a sleepy-looking boy with disheveled white hair covering his right eye. Judging by his armor, he appeared to be a high-level mage. Probably around level 100.

As a bird landed on his hand, he smiled. Astrid found herself mesmerized by the scene that she forgot to move away from the respawn area. In an instant, her other party members spawned right above her. They fell and landed on her back, flattening her on the ground.

"Thanks for the cushion, Astrid!" Luna said with a laugh.

"That mini boss was so strong!" Amelie sobbed.

Lyria sighed. "Looks like we need to level up."

Astrid struggled to speak. "Hey, can you all get off me? I can't breathe properly."

"Oh! Sorry!" Luna said and rolled off her like a log.

"We'd better move before other players respawn above us," Lyria said as she moved away. The rest followed.

Astrid glanced at the fountain. The mage she saw earlier was gone.

Luna stood in front of the bulletin board in the town square where announcements are posted. "Hey ladies, check out this poster."

"What's that?" Lyria moved beside her.