CHAPTER 636

【 UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN 】

—

“Test?”

The two newbies froze in mild confusion.

Yeye followed Féng’s gaze toward the great hall ahead.

The hall was vast, spanning nearly a thousand square meters and rising dozens of meters high. At its entrance stood an enormous stone gate, at least a meter thick, carved with intricate, ancient patterns and mysterious cuneiform symbols.

Inside, the space was empty except for several colossal statues.

There were four statues in total, each made from a deep, black obsidian. They were humanoid in shape, yet distinctly different from humans—broader, more imposing, and exuding a primal strength.

Every detail was lifelike.

The armor that covered them, along with the shields and swords they held, was carved so meticulously that they almost resembled the famed Terracotta Army from Earth.

However, these figures were far larger, each towering close to twenty meters high. If seen from a distance, their sheer presence could make one feel small and insignificant, evoking an instinctive sense of pressure.

Yeye and Nana glanced at the statues, recalling the adventure and tomb-raiding games they had played in the past flashing through their minds.

They swallowed nervously.

“T-Those statues?” one of them muttered.

In most games, statues placed within Mausoleum served as its guardians…

Féng smiled faintly and gave a slight nod.

Yeye: “…”

Nana: “…”

They’re enormous!

Definitely not something two newbies like them could handle on their own…

“Of course, if you’re unwilling, it’s fine. I won’t force you,” Féng said, noticing their hesitation.

At those words, Nana looked once more at the statues, then recalled how Féng had quietly looked after them along the journey, as well as how others, like the veterans on their party had spoken highly of her.

Nana clenched her teeth.

“I’ll give it a try!”

With that, she gripped her wooden staff tightly and carefully stepped into the hall.

Seeing her move forward, Yeye felt an urge to follow. But as he glanced between the girl and Féng, uncertainty flickered in his eyes.

“You may go together,” Féng’s calm, melodic voice called out again. “It won’t be a problem.”

The boy froze for a moment, then realized what she meant.

She can protect both of us at once…

There was no doubt. Based on what his veteran teammates had said about Féng, and from his own observations, this mysterious big shot would never allow them to die pointlessly.

This was likely her way of offering them a chance—an impromptu lesson, so to speak!

Still, since Nana had already gone ahead, he had hesitated, worried that joining in might make things difficult for Miss Féng.

But if she herself said it was fine, then there was nothing to fear.

With that realization, Yeye nodded gratefully toward the older lady, tightened his grip on his wooden sword, and hurried after Nana.

This is a rare opportunity so I have to seize it!

Thus, the two newbies advanced cautiously, one on the left and the other on the right, stepping carefully into the hall.

As they reached its center, a faint magical pulse swept across their bodies.

In the next instant, the ground trembled slightly, and the massive stone gate behind them began to shudder violently, closing at a rapid pace.

Not good!

Their hearts skipped a beat.

But before the gate could shut completely, a brief chant rang out behind them—clear and swift, spoken in Elvish:

“Freeze.”

It was Féng.

For the first time, she had spoken an incantation aloud.

A second later, the air around them turned frigid as thin traces of frost spread rapidly across the stone gate, forming countless ice crystals until the entire structure had frozen solid into a gleaming wall of ice.

Then, with a low crack, the “ice gate” shattered. The massive door, tens of meters tall and wide, broke apart and collapsed, scattering into glittering shards that covered the floor like crystal snow.

The two newbies could only stare in awe, their mouths agape.

How incredible…

So powerful!

That enormous stone gate, which was several meters thick and weighing countless tons had been effortlessly destroyed just like that by a single spell.

Their shock quickly turned into admiration and longing.

“I wonder when I’ll be able to cast spells like that…” Nana murmured wistfully.

Their spirits lifted. But just then, a faint grinding noise echoed from all around them.

Grrk… Grrk…

They immediately tensed, instinctively standing back-to-back with practiced coordination.

At the same moment, the single eyes of the four statues began to glow a deep crimson.

Then, a deep, ancient voice resounded through the hall—speaking in an unknown tongue, rhythmic yet filled with a commanding wrath.

In the next heartbeat, the four massive statues began to tremble.

And, just as the two newbies had feared…

All of the statues came to life!

The statues creaked as they twisted their heads, their gaze falling upon the two players in the hall. A massive wave of pressure emanated from their bodies, causing the two newbies to turn pale in an instant.

It was a feeling as though a mountain were collapsing upon them. An overwhelming weight that filled them with fear, dread, confusion, and awe.

Immediately, their bodies began to tremble involuntarily, almost beyond their control. It was a natural reaction to the crushing force pressing down upon them.

W-What on earth are these statues?!

Both cursed silently in their minds.

The statues began to move, lifting their swords and shields as they strode toward the trembling newbies.

Each thunderous step echoed through the hall like a death knell, reverberating in Yeye’s and Nana’s ears and striking at their hearts.

Seeing these towering figures drawing closer and closer, one thought surged through their minds:

We can’t fight this…

There’s absolutely no way we can fight this!

The pressure these statues exuded was even greater than that of the Worm King that had annihilated all the veterans of their party earlier.

Just then, Féng’s calm voice rose again—soft but clear, chanting in Elvish:

“Transmute.”

It was another short, elegant incantation.

With her words, silver light bloomed in the hall, cascading down to envelop the four towering statues completely.

In the next moment, to the two newbies’ astonishment—and perhaps slight expectation—the statues began to emit a faint glow. Their enormous forms shrank rapidly, their aura fading with each passing second, until they had transformed into four figures roughly the same size as them.

Moreover, they had turned into wooden dolls.

Indeed, they were no longer stone but wood, clad in wooden armor, each holding a sword and shield.

At the same time, Yeye and Nana felt the suffocating pressure vanish as if it had never existed.

For a moment, they were left disoriented.

It felt as though the terrifying beings before them had been replaced by four animated pieces of wood.

Still wary, Yeye hesitated briefly before cautiously casting an [Appraisal] spell on one of the statues.

A panel of information appeared before him:

【Target Identified: Obsidian Golem (Sealed) : Level: 10 (Sealed) 】

Yeye: “…”

L-Level 10?!

He froze in disbelief.

With just a single incantation, Miss Féng had sealed four monsters that might have been stronger than the Worm King, reducing them to mobs weaker than Iron-rank?

That’s insane…!

Is she really just a Silver-ranker at max level?!

Yeye couldn’t help but glance at the mysterious female big shot again, his eyes filled with renewed shock.

He had watched plenty of ElvKing related videos and knew how difficult it was for Silver-rankers to defeat monsters of equal rank.

Even though they were nominally of the same rank, many Silver monsters held a natural advantage due to their race, in which certain traits such as greater magical power, tougher bodies, or enhanced resilience gave them a clear edge in battle.

In fact, a Silver-ranker, even one with plenty of combat experience, would normally still need to fight hard to bring such a creature down on their own.

Yet Miss Féng’s actions had utterly overturned everything Yeye thought he knew about combat mechanics in Elven Kingdom.

It was practically as if she had served these monsters on a silver platter, making it so that anyone—even novices like them—could defeat them with ease.

In a sense, this was another instant kill!

Based on the data he got from the appraisal, even newcomers like Yeye and Nana, whose barely half a day into the game, would now stand a chance of defeating these wooden constructs that had once been those terrifying statues.

Seeing Yeye’s stunned expression, Féng seemed to understand what he was thinking.

She smiled faintly and explained in her gentle, even tone:

“The spell I used is called ‘Transmutation.’ It can temporarily alter a target’s state while preserving some of its innate attributes.”

“The Obsidian Golems are powerful creatures with exceptional offensive and defensive abilities, which were far beyond the norm for their rank.”

“However, their resistance to magic is almost zero.”

“That is their fatal flaw, their fixed trait. Once you know that weakness, they become easy to handle.”

Miss Féng spoke as though she were explaining something entirely ordinary.

But Yeye and Nana both understood.

This was her way of teaching them, of offering guidance.

It was, in essence, a direct lesson in strategy.

“Zero magic resistance…” Nana repeated softly, gripping her wooden staff more tightly as determination lit her eyes.

“Good. Now that you have nothing to fear,” Féng said with a warm smile, “show me how you fight.”

Encouraged by her words, the two newbies felt their courage return.

They exchanged a quick glance, nodded to each other, and raised their weapons—the wooden sword and staff gleaming faintly under the dim light—as they charged toward the transformed wooden constructs.

༺⟐༻

The sound of youthful shouts and the clash of weapons echoed throughout the tomb as the two newbies engaged the four wooden statues.

It was, in truth, their first genuine battle since entering the game.

Of course, calling it an even match would have been an overstatement.

After all, both of them were merely high school students who had grown up comfortably in the new century. Their only “combat experience” came from a playground scuffle back in elementary school, where the worst injury had been knocking out one of the neighbor boy’s baby teeth.

Even the battle mechanics in the various virtual games they had played beforehand were more akin to two-dimensional simulations—nothing like the raw, physical reality they are now experiencing firsthand.

Because of this, even though the four wooden statues moved rather sluggishly, their combat techniques still appeared more refined and experienced compared to the clumsy swings and uncoordinated dodges of the two novices. The two newbies were not instantly defeated per se, yet they were clearly struggling to keep up.

Nevertheless, that was already enough.

For during the battle, Miss Féng’s calm and steady voice continued to offer them guidance:

“On the right—watch your right side.”

“Stay composed during combat. Don’t panic.”

“That triple slash isn’t meant to be used like that. Hold your ground, build momentum first, then strike. Don’t rush it.”

“Don’t swing your staff like a club. If you must use it that way, reinforce it with your freezing spell first.”

“Mind your footing. Don’t fall into your opponent’s rhythm.”

“Yes, that’s it. Keep fighting like that.”

Féng’s instructions were detailed, precise, and always struck at the heart of the issue. They carried an uncanny sense of foresight as though she could predict the flow of the fight before it happened.

Following her direction, the two newcomers gradually adjusted their movements, finding their rhythm and becoming increasingly agile.

This mysterious player clearly possessed deep combat knowledge and a keen eye as every piece of advice she gave them proved immensely valuable.

At the same time, she would also occasionally cast recovery and support buffs on them both, maintaining their stamina and focus throughout the fight.

Thus, Yeye and Nana’s combat techniques grew sharper with every exchange.

As time passed, their coordination became smoother and more natural.

Little by little, they were no longer being completely overwhelmed and began to launch counterattacks.

Their strikes became more confident, their teamwork more fluid, and their morale soared.

Finally, after luring one of the wooden statues into overextending itself, they executed a perfectly timed, swift combination attack that brought it crashing down.

With a cracking sound, the wooden statue shattered apart, then dissolved into a burst of light, leaving behind a heap of black stone fragments.

“Excellent,” came Miss Féng’s approving voice from behind them.

Hearing praise from such a seasoned veteran, Yeye and Nana’s faces lit up with joy.

They took a brief moment to catch their breath, then, driven by renewed determination, charged at the remaining wooden statues once more.

༺⟐༻

Half an hour later.

The sounds of combat had faded completely.

Only the heavy sound of breathing echoed through the ruins.

It belonged to the two exhausted newbies, who lay sprawled on the ground, drenched in sweat and nearly unable to move.

But their faces shone with exhilaration.

The four wooden statues had vanished, replaced by piles of scattered black stone fragments.

Yeye and Nana had won.

They exchanged glances, bright smiles breaking across their faces.

At that moment, Miss Féng’s gentle voice sounded again:

“Very good. You both possess strong potential in combat and you work remarkably well together as partners.”

Her tone was soft and full of quiet satisfaction.

Then her gaze shifted toward Nana.

Meeting the young girl’s eyes, she continued, “A close-combat mage is also a viable path. You have impressive melee instincts—consider developing along that route, focusing on explosive close-range spellcasting. I hope you continue to grow along this path.”

Féng then turned her attention to Yeye, meeting the boy’s hopeful gaze.

“You have sharp perception and a natural sense for teamwork,” she said softly. “I recommend the path of a battle tank. If you ever have the chance, try taking on the role of a part-time priest—becoming a paladin. That combination would make you and your partner an ideal team.”

After speaking, Miss Féng smiled faintly.

“I hope that one day, I’ll see your usernames on the leaderboard.”

Hearing her advice, the two newbies were overcome with excitement.

They quickly took mental note of every word, nodding repeatedly.

“Thank you! Thank you for your guidance, Teacher Féng!” they said in unison.

Féng simply gave a serene smile.

“You’re welcome.”

She glanced at the black stone fragments scattered across the hall and continued, “These four statues were Silver-rank golems. By destroying their magic cores, you should have gained a large amount of experience.”

“With this, both of you should have enough to advance to Intermediate Iron-rank.”

“Those fragments are precious obsidian. Consider them my parting gift to you two. If you want, you can also share them with the rest of your party.”

“This is where our paths diverge. From here on, even Silver-ranked players must tread carefully. It’s no longer a place suitable for you to follow.”

Her words left the two newbies momentarily stunned.

Then, somewhat nervously, they asked,

“Teacher… are you leaving?”

Féng nodded slightly.

“A meeting at some point must also come to an end,” she said quietly.

After a brief pause, she looked back toward the passage they had entered from and smiled faintly.

“Besides,” she added, “your teammates are already on their way.”

“Keep working hard. I hope you both grow quickly.”

“If fate allows it, then perhaps we shall meet again.”

With that, and under the admiring gaze of the two newbies, Féng’s figure disappeared into the depths of the Mausoleum.

Not long after her departure, a familiar voice echoed through the hall—the distinct tone of their party leader’s booming, middle-aged voice:

“Yeye! Nana! We’re—huff—back!”

FacetheWind sounded out of breath, as though he had sprinted the entire way.

Seconds later, several more familiar figures appeared behind him.

But when the veterans caught sight of the two newbies collapsed in the hall—and the vast piles of glittering obsidian surrounding them—their eager smiles froze in disbelief.

“W-What the—?! Where did you two get all these obsidian?!”

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