Once they jumped through the portal the world around them changed.

They were transported into a large open area in the center of a huge, but ordinary-looking library.

‘That is a little bit underwhelming.’

He didn’t expect the Grandmagus’ library to look like a…perfectly normal library. A bunch of levitating books, a handful of Grimoires and some other valuable – and extremely expensive – goods were the least he expected to find. Unfortunately, there was none of that.

“This is where you wanted to go? A motherlicking library?” David groaned, shaking his head in disbelief.

“Information is very valuable in Forgotten Lands. The more the merrier!” Melanie intercepted. She was happy about the Hidden Library and gave Zayn a thumbs-up, “Very good job, Leader!”

‘Leader?’

The corner of his lip curled upward, but his expression turned serious in an instant. The library center tremored violently and a semi-transparent dome manifested around the five Players. The library center was huge, almost 25 meters in diameter, but that seemingly overwhelming large space would feel tiny in a few seconds.

Zayn retrieved a few objects from the spatial ring and threw them toward the others. They stared at him and then at the objects, their eyes widening in surprise.

“You…” David mumbled, “If you have too much money to waste, just transfer it to me. I can give you my bank details later.”

Zayn smiled lightly but ignored David’s comment. His senses picked up something.

Energies underneath the library center. Weeds spurted from the grounds and large roots shot through the cobbled floor. Zayn and the others avoided the roots with nimble movements but they were equally surprised at the sudden change in scenery.

The cobblestone was being pulverized as they moved around and specks of dirt emerged on the surface. In less than a minute, the library center was covered in highly nutritious soil, grass, trees, and a wide variety of bushes. The humongous roots didn’t focus on the Players. They didn’t attack.

Instead, the roots intertwined in the center of the dome, intertwined and…formed the Hidden Boss.

Zayn didn’t know a lot about the Hidden Boss, but he broke into a vibrant smile at the sight that unfolded in front of him. The Hidden Boss was a Greater Dryad.

‘The Grandmagus’ experiment didn’t fail…the Tainted Dryad needed time to evolve…to blossom... amazing!’

Zayn was amazed. He didn’t expect the Tower of Nature to hide something like this. Existential evolution wasn’t uncommon for monsters but for a Tainted Dryad – a failed experiment – to evolve into a Greater Dryad. That was quite the feat.

The Grandmagus would be overjoyed. His experiment turned an ordinary Lesser Dryad into a being that brings nothing but chaos and destruction. Yet, exactly that being, the Tainted Dryad, which drained her enemies’ life and acquired an instinctive drive to kill, regained her prowess as a Dryad. A Greater Dryad.

Zayn would have felt a little bit sad about killing the Greater Dryad if it were not for two factors.

First, Forgotten Lands was currently still a game. The Greater Dryad wouldn’t die in reality. Zayn was not about to destroy the ecosystem just because he killed the Greater Dryad in the game. If he were to encounter a Greater Dryad in reality, he would give his utmost to help mankind and please her in every possible way.

Fortunately, Forgotten Lands was not a reality. Not yet.

The second reason Zayn didn’t feel bad about what he was going to do was quite simple; The Greater Dryad didn’t lose her instinctive drive to kill. She merely regained her power to control nature at her will. Dozens of waist-thick roots revolved around her like tentacles, blocking potential threats from harming the Greater Dryad.

The Greater Dryad, however, didn’t intend to use the roots to defend against any attacks. No. The roots existed to kill.

They burst forth and arrived in front of Natalia and Blake in an instant. David dived in front of the two women, slashed one of the roots, and blocked the other root. The impact was heavy, much harder than David expected. He was pushed back and almost forced to his knees.

All of a sudden, roots burst forth from the ground as well. The roots coiled around his legs and tightened up. He severed one of the roots and regained a foothold, but the other root continued to coil around his leg until it reached his waist. Zayn appeared next to David and cut the root after using Root Strike to loosen the root around David’s leg.

‘Root Strike still works. Good.’

Zayn was a bit worried that Root Strike wouldn’t work against the Greater Dryad. The Greater Dryad’s control of nature was simply too powerful. However, he could gain momentary control of the roots in his immediate surroundings fairly well.

‘Having a Card Set at Level 58 is certainly helpful.’ Zayn thought, his expression turning more serious as more roots shot out of the ground.

“We won’t survive long in this confined space. Root Strike and my other Cards won’t be that useful. Use the grenades, scrolls, and potions!” Zayn ordered.

Yes. Zayn had been purchasing various things to defeat the Hidden Boss.

Zayn grasped a dozen tiny glacial-blue marbles tightly in his hands and channeled some energy into them. Meanwhile, Blake and the others held onto a handful of leather parchments, potions, and vials. The leather parchments were set on fire by Blaze and the glass vials were hurled through the air. Only two glass vials managed to hit the Greater Dryad. The others were either shattered by a bunch of roots, or they missed the target by a hair’s breadth.

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But that was fine. Everything was going according to Zayn’s plan. The fact that they were facing a Greater Dryad was much better than anything Zayn could have been hoping for. He expected much worse.

“Go for it,” Zayn murmured as he used Blink three times to appear near the Greater Dryad. In the next instance, he threw the Glacia Grenade at the Hidden Boss.

He used Blink to move away as far as possible and watched the Glacia Grenades explode.

Glacia Grenade

Tier-1 - Uncommon

A compact and deadly instrument of warfare. Fits snugly between two fingers. Encased in a polished metal-like exterior, it looks dangerously similar to marbles. But do not let its appearance fool you. The Glacia Grenade transforms from an inert object to a harbinger of destruction upon triggering. It becomes a vessel of explosive elemental power, designed to release deadly freezing mist capable of freezing ordinary lava lakes.

–

Despite looking harmless like tiny marbles, Glacia Grenades were terrifying weapons. Their price was horrendous, especially in the Beginner Villages. Zayn had to pay a disgusting surcharge to purchase a dozen Glacia Grenades. But it was worth it.

The mass of a dozen Glacia Grenades unleashed their tremendous prowess upon the Greater Dryad. Her roots were frozen on the spot as the freezing mist was released explosively. The freezing mist covered the dome’s center in an instant and it continued to spread outward.

The Greater Dryad’s body creaked and broke down as she fought valiantly against the eerily cold that affected her roots and the environment around her drastically. She barely managed to protect her core. In a desperate moment, the Greater Dryad released a shrill scream. A green hue spread through the surroundings, bringing the roots and everything else around her back to life. The freezing mist began to melt down, but the damage had already been done.

The Greater Dryad lost momentarily control of her root network, she sustained heavy injuries from using brute strength to escape the freezing mist’s confinement, and she used up a considerable amount of her power to resurrect the nature around her and remove the freezing mist.

Zayn smiled brightly at the damage inflicted on the Greater Dryad. It was a shame that she didn’t die right away given that he’d just used a dozen Tier-1 grenades to inflict severe damage to the Hidden Boss of a Beginner Dungen, but he was prepared for that scenario.

“Blake!”

Blake stepped forward, still holding the burning leather parchment.

Scroll of Inferno

Tier-1 - Uncommon.

Allows a Pyromancer to conjure an Inferno. The extent of the inferno’s control might depend on the Pyromancer’s capabilities.

Blake was not a Pyromancer but she was on a good way to become one. She struggled to control the inferno that manifested from the Scroll of Inferno, but it was a good thing that the inferno didn’t need Blake to inflict severe damage on the Greater Dryad.

The freezing mist had barely been removed with the Greater Dryad’s tireless efforts when the inferno impacted. A scream far more terrifying than before reverberated through the library center.

The Greater Dryad was set on fire, and the inferno expanded, burning down the poor and defenseless Hidden Boss.

However, the Greater Dryad’s suffering was not yet over.

The effect of the Yerevan Liquid came to full display.

Yerevan Liquid

Tier-0 - Rare

Grants youthful skin if applied correctly.

You don’t stop aging.

Remark – Store the liquid safely. Sudden changes in the liquid’s temperature will result in a drastic reaction.

The liquid will transform into a bone-corroding toxin in the worst case. No lifeform can handle this toxin lightly. Be careful!

The last remark was something that wouldn’t affect ordinary customers of the Yerevan Liquid. The liquid would have to be frozen solid and heated up until it boiled to trigger specific reactions.

However, that was exactly what Zayn and the others had done.

They froze the Greater Dryad, including the Yerevan liquid that spread across her face and chest, only to set her ablaze – alongside the Yerevan liquid.

The Greater Dryad’s scream turned even worse if that was even possible at this point. Even Zayn felt a little bit of pity with the congregation of data, the Hidden Boss of the Tower of Nature.

However, the Greater Dryad had yet to stop retaliating. Natalia and Blake had been certain that the fight was over, but the Greater Dryad didn’t share that sentiment.

A pair of roots shot out of the ground next to them and pierced the chests and hearts of the oblivious women. Natalia and Blake stared at the roots in utter disbelief. They had been pitying the Greater Dryad a moment ago, only to be killed on the spot.

Melanie responded a little bit faster. She retrieved a few more potions, which had been given by Zayn, and threw them at the Greater Dryad.

However, Melanie wasn’t fast enough to avoid half a dozen roots that pierced out of the ground. She managed to evade a few, but a single root managed to pierce her calf. The following seconds were the most terrifying in Melanie’s life. She stumbled and collapsed to the ground where dozens of roots pierced through her mercilessly.

David was a little bit slower to react, but he knew what he had to do. He jumped in front of a few roots that threatened to pierce Zayn’s back. He miscalculated the root’s speed and force and his neck was penetrated.

‘Berserk?’ Zayn wondered, his eyes narrowing.

‘No. This is more than merely going berserk. Is that a Blessing?’

Zayn evaded the incoming roots with Blink and by competing against the Greater Dryad to gain control of the roots in his immediate surroundings.

It didn’t work well, but it was enough to witness as the Greater Dryad grew weaker by the second. Her face was half-corroded just like her chest. She was still on fire and would continue burning for a while.

However, Zayn didn’t have that much time. He knew that his energy reserves wouldn’t last him long anymore.

He waited only until he found the edges of a glimmering gemstone before he threw himself into the fierce inferno. His clothes were set on fire and his skin burned like crazy, but using Blink thrice was enough to emerge in front of the Greater Dryad.

She screamed aloud upon seeing him, but it was already too late.

Zayn used Draining Touch and Double Impact on the Shanyt Axe. His body was overflowing as a burst of power surged through him as he sacrificed the majority of his lifeforce to unleash Lifeforce Conversion.

A moment later, the Shanyt Axe slashed through the inferno and the Greater Dryad’s chest right before impacting heavily, crushing the Greater Dryad’s incomplete, damaged monster core at once.

Frenzy Greater Dryad(Incomplete) - (Hidden Boss) has been slain.

+82 Soul Essences +11 Common Cards, +6 Uncommon Card, +15 Rare Card Shards, 3 Epic Card Shards, +2 Ranked Armaments