The average Foundation of their group reached 66 Units. That was neither high nor low given that the requirements to enter the Tower of Nature was an average Foundation above 50 and that no Player was allowed to have a Foundation in the three digits.

Entering the first floor of the Tower of Nature was an exciting event for rookies. The inside of the dungeon was several times bigger than it looked on the outside. Spatial distortion and various other unique magical mechanisms made this possible.

David and the others looked around the first floor, their eyes shimmering.

The first floor was covered in vines and a vast field of verdant grass. The tower’s pillars of support resembled thick tree trunks covered with thick vines coiling around them to further reinforce the pillars.

“Sabertooth Hounds in front of us!” Melanie exclaimed all of a sudden, her daggers unsheathed in an instant.

Everyone got into position the moment Melanie’s call rang out. David stepped in front of the group, his double-headed War Axe ready to strike down. He changed his stance subtly, the corner of his eyes locked onto the incoming threat.

“Their Foundation is at 66. No issue there.”

The monster’s Foundation was the same as the average Foundation of their group, just like it was supposed to be. Good. The information they’d received was correct.

Melanie sighed in relief.

The Sabertooth Hounds looked like large wild dogs. They were skinny, but quite tall with a shoulder height of 80 centimeters, had large dark eyes, and their ribs pressing tightly against their gray skin. However, the most pronounced trait of their appearance was the two sabertooth fangs that jut from their maw.

Sabertooth Hounds were swift and dexterous. They weren’t highly durable monsters but that was usually not a problem for this kind of monster. Their razor-sharp fangs combined with their swiftness were enough to hunt their enemies before anyone could retaliate.

There were a total of 15 Sabertooth Hounds, three for every Player to hunt. Ordinary Players had a hard time defeating monsters with a similar high Foundation. However, that wasn’t supposed to be a problem for the Berserker and the rest. Their equipment was quite alright, and Zayn was sure that their Cards weren’t too bad either.

But then again, he had no idea how skilled Melanie and her group were at this point of the game.

‘Let’s see.’

**

“What a disaster…” Zayn grumbled, rubbing his forehead.

Not even three minutes passed since they encountered the Sabertooth Hounds, but Zayn felt like he should quit the dungeon raid and search for another team.

Sabertooth Hounds were not weak, but they weren’t major threats to decent Players. Yet, the Players around him messed up in every possible way.

Blake wasted too much energy and time to conjure a single Fireball. She knew how to use the Fireball Card, but her accuracy was not great either. She threw the Fireball at two Sabertooth Hounds that charged at Melanie and almost struck Melanie instead. If Melanie hadn’t noticed the Fireball, she would have been burned alive and flung into the charge of the two Sabertooth Hounds.

Melanie was forced to slow down, destroying her accumulated momentum in an instant. Following that, her rhythm was disrupted and she was having a much harder time against the two Sabertooth Hounds than necessary.

Natalia wasn’t doing much better than Blake. The Healer used her Healing Cards the moment the battle began, casting a healing light on David. David was constantly being healed, even when he was not injured.

Natalia continued to use her Healing Card on David while casting it a second time whenever someone seemed to be in danger. Her healing light coated Melanie even though she hadn’t been injured. However, Natalie predicted that her cousin would sustain an injury soon, therefore, casting a healing light on her.

“Natalia, please don’t drain your energy too much. It is not necessary to heal every minor injury. Keep your stronger Healing Cards and energy for emergencies,” Zayn advised Natalia, but she merely clicked her tongue before ignoring him.

Blake seemed to have heard what Zayn said and responded by throwing around her Spell Cards like candies. Her energy was used up rapidly, whereas the Sabertooth Hounds evaded the majority of attacks with nimble movements.

‘Their Energy Foundation is quite high but it won’t work like that.’

Zayn groaned internally, his eyes flicking to David and Melanie. The two melee fighters were doing a better job than Natalia and Blake. Their movements were too big and they used their Cards too often as well, but their timing and accuracy were a little bit better.

‘Are they going to be useful in the Nightmare run?’

Zayn frowned deeply, but he recalled quickly that Forgotten Lands had been launched for a few days, not a few months. Everyone was still new to the game mechanics, the hyper-realism, the Heart Deck, the existence of Cards, and much more.

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‘I shouldn’t expect everyone to have a decade of combat experience with the Heart Deck and a superhuman Foundation.’

The corner of Zayn’s lip twitched and he cursed himself a little. He might be in a rush, but that didn’t mean he should forget that everyone else considered Forgotten Lands as a mere game. Zayn was the only one who knew that the next six months were a speedrun against time…against the Primordial Pantheon.

As various thoughts and doubts surfaced in Zayn’s mind, a group of three Sabertooth Hounds breached through David’s defenses. They could have struck the Berserker from the back but headed toward Natalia and Blake instead. The Sorceress Fireball and Natalia’s healing light made it near-impossible to attack and injure David and Melanie. Thus, the Sabertooth Hounds changed their targets.

David roared. He turned around and plunged the double-headed War Axe to stop the Sabertooth Hounds. But it was already too late. He was too slow and couldn’t stop the three Saberooth Hounds. The moment of distraction was enough for the other Sabertooth Hounds to pounce on David and plunge their sabertooth fangs deep into his arms.

The steel chestplate protected him well, but it was not a Ranked Armament. The sabertooth fangs penetrated the steel and pierced into David’s shoulders.

David kept his eyes on the three Sabertooth Hounds that charged at Natalia and Blake, but he was forced to divert his focus back to the monsters around him. Melanie appeared next to him, trying to help, but her eyes traveled back to her cousin who was unguarded against the Sabertooth Hounds.

Natalia and Blake were just about to scream for help when they saw a familiar face appear in front of them.

They had no idea how he appeared in front of them, but Zayn arrived at some point. He held the Shanyt Axe firmly in one hand and sighed deeply.

Zayn used Blink to appear next to one of the Sabertooth Hounds. The Shanyt Axe cleaved down, the Sharpness Enchantment triggered, and cut deep into the Sabertooth Hounds' neck.

Zayn didn’t pay attention to the Sabertooth Hounds’ whimpering as he Blinked in front of another target. His leg shot forward with deadly precision. Zayn executed a high kick against the Sabertooth Hound’s temple, breaking its momentum in an instant. A white line flashed through the air and blood spurted through the vicinity.

A moment later, a Sabertooth Hound’s head landed on the ground with a loud thud.

Zayn was nowhere to be seen for a moment. All one could see was a root shot out of the ground. The root shot through Natalia’s legs and pierced into the skull of the last Sabertooth Hound. The Sabertooth Hound had pounced at Natalia, ready to tear her apart, only to be struck in the head mid-air.

Sabertooth Hound has been slain.

Sabertooth Hound has been slain.

Sabertooth Hound has been slain. +1 Soul Essences

Zayn reappeared in front of Natalia and Blake. He landed lightly on the root that had pierced the Sabertooth Hound. His graceful movement following the bloody massacre he’d caused with ease made a tremendous impact on the two women. They stared blankly at Zayn and began to shudder when Zayn’s head flicked back, his eyes ice-cold and razor-sharp.

“Stop wasting your energy!!”

Natalia swallowed hard. Her throat was parched and swollen all of a sudden as if her body was telling her to keep her mouth shut and stop spouting nonsense.

Zayn glanced toward Melanie and David, who were still struggling against the remaining eight Sabertooth Hounds. He blinked closer to them, kicked the ground to propel his body closer to the two Players, and used Root Strike. A vine shoots out from the trunk next to them. The vine coiled around a Sabertooth Hound’s neck, restraining its movement for a quarter of a second. That was enough for Zayn to move next to the monster and slice deep into its neck.

He blinked to the other side of the battlefield in the next second and used Aegis Natura to manifest an Aegis in front of Melanie, blocking the path of three Sabertooth Hounds simultaneously. A second use of Aegis Natura blocked the monsters’ path to the left, leaving them no other choice but to move back or to their right. Zayn used Root Strike twice, roots bursting out of the ground underneath the Sabertooth Hounds, piercing two of them, turning them into living skewers. A third root coiled around the hint legs of the other Sabertooth Hound, slowing it momentarily.

‘Rapid speed is useless if you cannot utilize it.’

The corner of Zayn’s lip curled upward. The Sabertooth Hounds had high Agility and Dexterity Foundations but their other Foundations were rather weak. They didn’t perceive Zayn’s presence when he appeared next to them through Blink nor could they easily perceive the roots he controlled. Once their perception picked up Zayn or his roots, it was already too late.

Sabertooth Hound has been slain. +1 Common Card Shard

Sabertooth Hound has been slain.

Sabertooth Hound has been slain.

Dealing with the remaining Sabertooth Hounds didn’t take long. Once the Sabertooth Hounds' numerical advantage lost its magic, it was only a matter of minutes before the remaining Hounds died.

However, even that was too long for Zayn. He killed six Sabertooth Hounds in half a minute, without breaking into a sweat, yet the other spent close to five minutes killing nine Sabertooth Hounds. Blake killed two, David split up five hounds, and Melanie eliminated the rest.

They breathed heavily and retrieved a batch of potions. Natalia was about to cast healing light on David when she recalled Zayn’s terrifying gaze. She glanced over to Zayn and sighed in relief when he didn’t pay any attention to her.

Zayn walked past David as Natalia used healing light on him. He glanced at the Berserker and ignored him, his steps leading him to the flight of stairs that lead up to the second floor.

“Wait for us!” David growled, but Zayn ignored the oversized baboon.

“You guys are too slow. This is a waste of time.” He mumbled mostly to himself.

Melanie and her team seemed incompatible for the Nightmare run. He was most disappointed in Melanie. It was fine that she wasn’t an expert yet, or that she made some rookie mistakes. However, what he couldn’t stand was that Melanie remained silent and that she didn’t say anything to David.

He could clearly tell that Melanie had something to say and that she forced herself to adapt to David’s combat style rather than pursuing what she deemed right. Melanie was either too shy to say anything, or she didn’t want to start a conflict in her group.

But was she really the same indomitable person he knew if she fled from a head-on confrontation?

Zayn didn’t know anymore.

He was fuming in anger, but not at Melanie. Zayn was angry at himself.