Maria didn't know where to go, so she asked Amanda for a good leveling spot. She didn't want to bother Lizzy because she remembered that her friend was in a meeting with the guild's higher-ups.

"You should probably go to the Black Marshes, the levels of the monsters are around 40-50 so it'll be a good spot for you," Amanda suggested.

"Okay! But Lizzy told me to help some of the newbies grind, is it a safe place for them?"

"Hmm...I guess it wouldn't be safe for them, but you could still go there, just stay in the periphery area. There are a lot of level 30-40 monsters there, just perfect for the rest of your party to grind their levels at."

"Hmmm... if all 10 go against one monster... Okay! I'll go there then!" Maria replied after taking a few glances at the party members' levels.

All the members in her party ranged from level 27-35. It was just perfect for them. With Lilah's debuffs, even the low leveled players could deal some damage to the level 30+ monsters.

She immediately addressed the party and informed them that they'd be going to the Black Marshes Outer Area to grind!

GrimWing was a little concerned, but seeing as Maria was already setting off after she checked her map, the party could only follow after her.

"M-Maria? That's the wrong way!" GrimWing called out to her.

Maria turned back towards GrimWing and ordered him to lead the party to the Black Marshes.

GrimWing's only thought was that their guild leader was totally correct about her, she had no sense of direction at all. Even after checking the map, she still somehow went in the wrong direction.

*******

About an hour later, inside the Black Marshes Outer Area, a party of 12 players was attacking the field boss of the area.

Maria was currently flying around and sending flaming feathers at the monster while occasionally throwing down a large ball of fire on the monster.

"[Inspect]!"

Name: Buraks Frog Prince, Ly Level: 40 Rank: Uncommon Elite Boss HP: 3,205/125,000

"Alright everyone, just one final push! Go go go!" Maria called out and encouraged the party. She looked around to make sure that there was no one else around before she refocused on the battle.

She did not want to have her boss stolen at the last minute. This was why Maria would occasionally bombard the area around her party with feathers just to make sure no thieves were hiding.

10%...5%...3%...2%...1%...

Once the boss died and a large amount of loot began falling out of its corpse, Maria finally put her guard down. Lilah quickly picked up all the loot and she began letting the party members divide it amongst themselves.

She didn't really understand how to distribute loot she just left things to the party to figure things out. GrimWing was also there to monitor the situation so no disputes arose.

Maria herself didn't care much about the items. She already had her split of the money the party earned from the monsters they killed so it was all good for her.

The party continued to grind there until the lowest level member of the party reached level 30. It was pretty fast because Maria did most of the work. The party members would lure in monsters and she would clean them all up with her skills all at the same time.

The only time they actually cooperated in a fight was during the area boss raid. It wasn't a first clear since others had already cleared it before, but just finding a boss was already very fortunate for everyone.

Maria didn't think much about this because she'd always stumble upon a boss unawares. After about another 3 hours, she finally put a stop to the grinding session and called it in for the day.

She herself hadn't gained a level, but many of her skills had grown.

Spell Name: Fire Level: 1 P.EXP: 10/2,000 Rank: D Description: Ignites enemy with fire, dealing 500+(INT x 0.8) M.DMG with a small chance to inflict [Burn] for 6 seconds MP Cost: 200 MP Charges: 2 Cooldown: 10 seconds

If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Skill Name: Magical Affinity P.EXP: 5/1,000 Rank: D Description: Basic affinity with the elements enabling the use of basic fire, water, earth, and wind elemental spells. Provides a 10% increase to all Elemental Resistance Upgradeable: Magic Mastery Requirements: Magic Comprehension S, Magic Deduction S, Magical Affinity S

The notable ones were her [Magical Affinity] and [Fire] spells leveling up in rank. Her [Smite] rose to max level, [Angel's Rage] gained a level, reaching level 8 from level 7 and the same was with her Arc Swing which was now also at level 8.

Every one of her other class skills rose a level or two. Only her magic-related and other non-class skills didn't gain any levels, of course with the exception of [Magical Affinity].

More importantly, now that her [Magical Affinity] had risen in rank, she could now learn more spells of different elements. The [Earth Shock] and [Terra Lance] spell books that she had tucked away inside her [Book Keeping] inventory was finally going to find a place on her skill list.

She immediately took the 2 books out when the party had arrived back at Zerzura City. She found a quiet spot in the guild building and began reading through them.

Spell: [Earth Shock] learned!

Spell Name: Earth Shock Level: 1 P. EXP: 0/1,000 Rank: C Description: Channel mana into the ground causing minor quakes for the next 5 seconds in a 10-meter area around the caster dealing 100 DMG per second and inflicting [Slow] Cooldown: 60 seconds MP Cost: 200 MP/second

Spell: [Terra Lance] learned!

Spell Name: Terra Lance Level: 1 P. EXP: 0/1,000 Rank: C Description: Forms lances of earth to strike the enemy. Each lance deals 200+(INT x 0.5) M.DMG. Can create 2 lances at once Cooldown: 15 seconds MP Cost: 500 MP/second

Maria was very satisfied with her new skills and the gains she got through today's gaming session. So much happened and she was finally free from her stupid quests.

She called it a day and immediately logged out.

********

A couple of days later in the real world, Maria and her brother, Gerald, were out shopping together.

"So Mary, after a month of playing Unitale, how're you doing? Still enjoying the game?" Gerald asked.

"Hm? Yeah, it's alright. I get to play with Liz and the rest so it's fun. Oh, I also joined their guild so I have more friends to play with now! Everyone in the guild is so nice~"

"A guild huh... the Fallen Angels, right?"

"Yup, that's the one~"

"Phew, you guys are topping the charts for most boss kills during this event. The difference in score between you guys in first place and second place is almost over 20 bosses. What the hell do you guys do every day?"

"I dunno...I just keep stumbling upon those annoying things and I call the guild to come to help me kill them. Honestly, they're so annoying! Popping out from nowhere like that and destroying my leisure hunting session!" Maria pouted in dissatisfaction when she remembered about the event bosses.

She didn't want to think about it so she quickly chose a set of clothing from the store they were currently in and immediately went to try it out. This was the 4th or 5th clothing store the two had visited already and Gerald was already beginning to regret bringing his sister out to go shopping.

He was just worried that Maria was holing herself up in the game too much for the last half month or so and decided that she needed a change of pace. She'd go to school, come home and do her homework before immediately jumping into the game for the rest of the day until dinner time.

It wasn't good for her health so Gerald decided to bring her out. Father was too busy with the company while Mikael was busy with his university studies. So it fell to him to take their very spoiled sister out.

Now he was regretting it because he had to carry a shit ton of bags. It was a good thing that their butler had come along to share his burden.

"D-David... Remind me next time to bring Maria out to an amusement park instead..."

"Y-yes, Second Young Master...the Young Miss... She's—oh no... There's more..."

"Ah, crap..."

Maria came out of the changing stall and immediately pulled out her credit card. It was one that her father gave to her which she rarely used. Today, father Corinthos was going to have a real shock to see that his daughter had used up a couple of thousand dollars in one shopping spree.

As for why Maria was doing this, it was more or less for stress relief. Ever since the updates and the first-ever global event for Unitale began, she and her guild had been running around the game in search of event bosses from sun up to sundown, in-game of course.

Now that she could take a break from all that grinding and searching, she did whatever she wanted. Most importantly, she did what she had never done before, waste her father's money.

"Ufufufu~ this is kinda fun!" Maria hummed as she skipped away. Behind her, Gerald and David were pulling carts filled with shopping bags, all full of clothing and other stuff that Maria bought today.

"Never again are we going to a shopping mall."

"Yes, Young Master...should I inform the First Young Master and the Master about this?"

"NO! They have to suffer as well! Next time, when it's their turn, I pray they make the same mistake as us two!"

"R-right..." David could only lament in his heart at his misfortune. 'Next time' would include him as well so he would most likely experience this 'hell' one or two more times.