After obtaining the first key, the group left the cave.

Marlon suggested that they divide themselves into two teams in order to cover ground faster and obtain the last two keys required to unlock the boss tomb.

He picked Caleb and Clarissa to go with him.

Then he summoned one clone unit and sent six clones with the other group led by Sandra, while the remaining four joined his own group.

After going over their strategy one more time, the two groups went their separate ways.

Marlon led his group forward in an awkward silence.

Clarissa and Caleb were from different parties. Except for today, they had never crossed paths before, which only added to the silence that hung over the group as they moved.

Marlon, on the other hand, was either curious about the whereabouts of the remaining keys and what sort of boss awaited them, or focused on the steady streams of notifications pouring in from the clones he had sent with the other group into the danger zones.

As a result, he momentarily forgot about the two teammates walking beside him.

"How difficult do you think it would be for us to find the remaining keys?"

After letting out a small cough to draw their attention, Caleb finally asked.

What followed was silence, as neither of them responded right away.

At that moment, Caleb's face turned red with embarrassment, and he could only wish that the ground would open up and swallow him whole.

"It won't be that difficult if we only have to face something like the guardian I defeated earlier," Marlon finally responded.

Caleb let out a quiet sigh of relief upon hearing the reply.

"So how long do you think it would take?" he asked.

"For that, I have no idea. It could be a few hours if we are lucky, or a few days if we are not. If we had not summoned the courage to enter that cave earlier, we would still be fighting wave after wave of monsters, hoping for clues about the boss's whereabouts to drop."

Marlon paused briefly before continuing.

"Regardless, with two teams searching at the same time, we have a better chance of finding them."

Caleb and Clarissa nodded their heads in agreement. Marlon's analysis was indeed correct.

Only a few minutes after their discussion ended, they were suddenly attacked by a group of wild horned rabbits.

Small compared to their power level, the horned rabbits were extremely fast, and their horns were razor sharp.

They even possessed the ability to cast small scale wind attributed attacks, which made them especially tricky to deal with.

They came in numbers exceeding one thousand, shooting out from different directions, including from the tops of nearby trees and from burrows beneath the ground.

The group entered combat immediately.

Caleb slashed them down with his swords, while Marlon and his clones smashed them to death with overwhelming force.

[ You've slain x3 Steel Horned Rabbit, EXP +17,000 ]

[ Clone 21 has slain x2 Steel Horned Rabbit... ]

[ Level up ]

[ Level 96 ----> Level 97 ]

Marlon stole a glance at his current level, and a faint smirk crept onto his lips.

"Just three more levels remaining before I enter C-rank," he muttered to himself.

Since the amount of EXP required to level up increased each time, he suspected that he might reach C-rank by the end of this raid.

With those thoughts in mind, he focused entirely on slaughtering more horned rabbits until the final one was killed.

The entire fight lasted for more than an hour, and by the end of it, Caleb was visibly worn out.

As a result, Marlon suggested that they take a short break to recuperate before moving on.

While they rested, Marlon scanned the surrounding environment for any clues that might lead them forward, but unfortunately, he found nothing of value.

===

Sandra led her team forward.

Kelvin and Joshua were already acquainted with one another before the raid, and both of them had even joined Sandra on a mission before. As a result, the vibe between them was far less awkward.

They talked among themselves as they moved, occasionally cracking jokes to ease the tension that lingered in the forest as they strolled deeper into the woods.

"The last wave was wild as fuck," Joshua commented.

"For real, dude. If it weren't for Sandra stepping in to assist once in a while, I could've lost more than just my bow," Kelvin replied.

Both of them walked toward the back of the group. The six clones Marlon had sent with them marched in the middle, while Sandra led from the front.

Although she was on decent terms with them, Sandra remained reserved and did not bother joining their conversation unless it was necessary for the mission.

At the front of the group, her sharp eyes constantly scanned their surroundings.

'We almost missed the cave with the first key. The second one will be even more nerve wracking to find. I need to stay alert,'

She thought as her beautiful emerald eyes moved from one area to another, squinting several times as she paid attention to even the smallest details.

"I heard something,"

she said suddenly, forcing the group to halt at once.

Kelvin and Joshua stopped talking and listened carefully.

Kelvin possessed the best hearing among them, an innate ability tied to his archer talent, so he quickly identified the sound.

"It's water flowing. Judging by how strong it sounds, it should be a spring, and it's coming from that direction," he said, pointing ahead.

Sandra followed his gesture and nodded. She had suspected the same thing.

"The cave held the first key. The spring might lead us to another one," she concluded.

The group quickened their pace and moved in that direction.

After nearly ten minutes of walking, they finally arrived at the spring.

The spring was beautiful.

It was surrounded by gardens of pink and purple petaled flowers, creating a stunning view that felt oddly peaceful.

The water itself was crystal clear as it flowed gently down smooth black rocks, giving off a sense of natural elegance.

At a glance, it did not seem like a place that held any danger.

But Sandra and her group thought otherwise.

"For a bizarre forest like this, this spring is far too beautiful to be ordinary," Sandra said.

The others nodded almost simultaneously, all sharing the same uneasy feeling.

"Step aside. Let me try something."

Kelvin stepped forward. He spotted a tall rock boulder nearby and climbed onto it without hesitation, gaining a clear view of the spring below.

He drew out a new bow and pulled back its string. Flames gathered instantly, forming dozens of blazing arrows along the bowstring. Without wasting a second, Kelvin released them all at once, sending the flame arrows flying in different directions straight into the spring.

At first, nothing happened, aside from the sharp sizzling sound as the flames were quenched by the water.

Then, without warning, the perfectly clear spring turned jet black, and thick, misty matter began to rise into the air, releasing a foul and suffocating stench.

Kelvin leapt down from the boulder and rushed back toward his teammates, who immediately raised their guards.

With her spear clenched tightly in her hand, Sandra stared at the phenomenon unfolding before them.

Joshua frowned deeply as aether wrapped around his hands, his body ready to unleash his skill at any moment.

The clones, just like their owner, remained eerily calm as they observed the scene.

The transformation lasted for nearly two minutes before shadowy figures began rising from the darkened water.

Wolves and other grotesque four legged creatures emerged, numbering in the dozens.

Aside from their glowing red eyes, their bodies were pitch black, and the oppressive presence they emitted screamed danger, sending chills down their spines.

Before Sandra, Kelvin, and Joshua could fully recover from the shock and attack, the six clones charged forward and blasted toward the shadowy creatures.

The creatures did not allow the clones to approach easily, sprinting forward to meet them head on.

Recovering from their momentary hesitation, the three hunters joined the battle.

As Sandra closed the distance, a trace of doubt surfaced in her mind. She remembered how her attacks had phased straight through the guardian in the cave without dealing any damage.

Considering the similar nature of these creatures, she feared the outcome would be the same.

Even so, she attacked without hesitation.

Just as she suspected, her spear passed straight through the creature, and in response, it struck back violently, sending her flying several meters away. Her body slammed into a nearby rock, shattering it on impact.

Joshua summoned several rock spikes and launched them forward, but his attacks were useless. He was struck moments later and knocked unconscious.

Kelvin's blazing arrows managed to deal minor damage to the creatures, but even he was quickly overwhelmed and knocked out cold.

Even Marlon's clones failed to gain the upper hand again st the shadowy monsters.bbejdb

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