......


    Shin and the others were able to reach quite deep into the map after spending a little over half a day of exploration.


    During their adventures, they encountered quite a lot of Elite Monsters, particularly boar-type monsters, along the way.


    After battling a lot of monsters during their journey, the group was able to adjust themselves to the new environment and managed to familiarize themselves with the attack patterns of the monsters that they had encountered.


    Even though some of these boar-type monsters showed some signs of improving in the heat of the battle due to their high AI and battle instincts, the group was still able to increase their efficiency in the battle.


    Not only was their hunting time shortened by a large margin, but they had also grown stronger after improving and polishing their fighting styles on this continent.


    Regardless, the group was still quite unsatisfied with the speed they were advancing. They still felt that they were going a little too slow than their ideal pace, especially so when they encountered a group of boars of regular-rank led by a Special Elite Boar.


    The group of boars was quite small as it was only composed of three common-rank monsters and one special elite one. But they struggled so hard that they were almost pushed into a corner.


    Dealing with the three regular monsters of this continent was not a problem since the monster trio and Lorraine could handle one of them by themselves. But that was their current limit as handling more would be quite a problem even for them.


    Then there was the Special Elite Monster, which was a cut above the Elite Rank Boars that they had encountered up until now.


    Even for someone like Arthur, holding his ground against such a monster was quite hard, especially when it had a series of unpredictable attack patterns.


    In terms of stats alone, then Elite Rank boars and Special Elite ones were not that much different from one another. The only difference that they had was the latter did not follow the regular logic of its species.


    The Special Elite Boars did not have a standard attacking pattern, but their movements were still a little restricted by their kind.


    However, there were also times when the Special Elite Boar that they had encountered defied the laws of nature and attacked differently from its species just like when it leaped into the air and dived down to the group when it was fighting them.


    As Shin, Leonard, and Lorraine were dealing with the regular boars, Arthur was left to deal with the Special Elite boar while Samael and Huahua were providing some assistance from a safe distance.


    After also almost lost his life during that battle due to a little mistake that Huahua had made due to the intensity of the battle. She almost crumbled due to the pressure, making her panic and commit some mistakes.


    Fortunately, Samael was quite experienced and able to make up for it by using some of his trump cards.


    Arthur was able to respond to the situation as well and he used a dual Elemental Possession during that time of crisis.


    The group was able to survive that predicament after the other three experts were able to deal with the regular boars that they were fighting and joined Arthur.


    If they were not careful, they would be attacked by the horde of boars while busily fighting another.


    This would likely happen even if they used the safest route that Arthur had provided them.


    "Moreover, the situation in that cave can be more problematic than what we are experiencing here outside. After all, there is a high possibility that there is a dungeon within that cave," added Leonard as he leaned on the tree behind him.


    "What do you think?" asked Shin as he turned to Arthur.


    This was Arthur''s quest, after all, so they had to consult him on what he wanted to do.


    Arthur also understood their situation and fell silent. He was starting to consider what to do next when he glanced at the digital clock at the corner of his eyes. "We still have a lot of time before we log out. How about we continue a little further to understand the situation a little more?"


    "Then we can ask the others if they are done with their respective business before asking for some assistance from them. There is a scheduled team training tomorrow anyway so that we can discuss it after that."


    Shin nodded as he agreed. "Alright, let''s do that."


    After that, they chatted a little before they opened their respective virtual screens to skim through the most recent topics in the online forums as they rested.


    "Oh~! It seems like the situation at the Dark Cloud Kingdom is getting worse. More and more Demonic Monsters are appearing in that place as the members of the Demonic Churches are increasing their activities in that region," commented Leonard as he read the hottest topic that he had seen.


    "The Big Guilds are also investing more into the Faction War as the rewards are also increasingly becoming alluring," nodded Arthur as he happened to be reading the same topic.


    "But I think it is better to put more people at exploring the Awakened Continent," said Leonard as he could not help but recall all the benefits that they had gotten since they came here.


    "They will struggle very much once they realize that the real battlefield will be this place. Adjusting in this environment will take a while, so those that are going to be late will be at a great disadvantage in the future," he added.


    Arthur nodded once again. "Moreover, we are currently experiencing the pioneering rights as the first adventurers to arrive. They are treated quite well due to our special privileges."


    "Those people, on the other hand, will be having a hard time adjusting once we reach the Awakened Continent without any backing. They will most likely be locked in the regular training facilities for quite a while, further delaying their progress."


    Shin was reading the other topics when he suddenly received a message from Shiella. He then raised his brows when he read through the contents of the message.


    After that, he turned to the two and relayed the message. "It seems like you guys have jinxed it. Big Sis said that she will be coming to the second continent a little earlier along with a selected few people from her Trading Firm and the guild that we are secretly nurturing."


    He then paused for a moment as he took another look at the end of the message before continuing. "And it seems like quite a lot of powerhouse guilds have partnered up to do a special quest that gives them special recommendation letters from the Mysterious Instructors."


    "It looks like the first big batch of players will be flooding the Awakened Continent sooner than we have expected."


    ......No?v(el)B\\jnn