Chapter 103: The Second Boss

Chapter 103: Chapter 103: The Second Boss

Seraphina Sinclair took it all in.

She had been wondering where the fragrance her Sunflower smelled was coming from. None of the items looked like they could possibly attract the Sunflower’s attention, but now everything was clear.

’So this is what it wants to eat...’

’You can’t spoil a child, but you can’t just keep them hanging, can you?’

’I’ll get the sunshine out tomorrow... and see if I can catch this Little Light Ball.’

Seraphina Sinclair took a deep breath, resolving not to move tomorrow.

She glanced at the Little Light Ball. It bounced obliviously, then beamed a smile at Seraphina Sinclair.

It was enough to make Seraphina Sinclair feel a pang of guilt.

’This thing is an NPC, after all. Can I really feed it to the Sunflower?’

Either way, she had to try.

Seraphina Sinclair looked away from it and silently took out her materials, beginning to draw today’s runes.

After drawing a few, she took a deep breath. Ever since she had become capable of drawing E-level runes, she felt a sense of complacency when drawing these F-level ones.

’E-level runes are so powerful, while F-level ones are such trash...’

Seraphina Sinclair quickly shook her head.

’This wasn’t how I was when I first got this ability!’

’One can’t forget their roots!’

Besides... Seraphina Sinclair opened her private messages to check.

Most of the F-level runes she made now were used for trading; she actually used very few for herself.

Everyone who wanted to buy runes had already gotten them. There were no new private messages, but the group chat was lively.

Seraphina Sinclair clicked it open and saw that a BOSS had appeared on a different path.

This path didn’t have a first-killer like Seraphina Sinclair. For them, encountering it basically meant they had one foot in the grave.

By the time Seraphina Sinclair opened the group chat, two people had already died.

The 30-person group had become 28. Those two probably died without even knowing they had run into a BOSS.

The others in the group had deduced this, scaring the remaining few who had chosen the Rust Corridor so badly that they dared not move.

Someone had also tagged Seraphina Sinclair in the group chat.

"@Blacktiger Ford, big shot! Boohoohoo, next time you choose a path, please tell us in advance, okay? Sob! This is deadly! It’s terrifying."

"Seriously... @Blacktiger Ford, can you tell us which path you’re choosing next time? We’ll follow you..."

"Only now do I realize... just how badass our big shot was back then."

Seraphina Sinclair felt nothing reading these messages. What gave her pause was the sudden appearance of a third death in the group.

That in itself wasn’t remarkable. But before he died, he managed to send out some information about the monster.

The monster’s appearance, its Insight page, and his last words: "I already moved. Only saw the group chat after and realized a BOSS had appeared. I know there’s no way I can kill it. The only thing I can do is send this information out. I hope someone can kill it later. That would be revenge enough for me."

The group chat instantly fell silent.

After he sent his last words, his profile picture immediately greyed out.

Seraphina Sinclair sucked in a sharp breath and clicked on the image to view the monster’s Insight information.

[Rusted Mourner (E-level)]

[Description: A massive creation twisted together from countless pieces of scrap metal and a core of resentment. Its body is crudely pieced together from rust-spotted steel plates, broken gears, and warped pipes. A dark red, rusty slime constantly oozes from its joints, emitting a pungent odor mixed with blood and metal. It moves slowly, but its strikes are immensely powerful and carry a strong corrosive effect that can easily disintegrate equipment durability. An ominous, dark red light glimmers at its core—the convergence of countless un-rested souls.]

[Weakness: ???]

Sigh...

For a rare moment, Seraphina Sinclair’s mood soured. A life had been traded for this useless information.

The three question marks after "Weakness" seemed like the BOSS was mocking their powerlessness.

A message finally appeared in the group again: "So what do we do now?"

"...Right now, the probability of running into the BOSS if you move is almost one hundred percent. Anyone who hasn’t moved yet, just stay put. Today is already the fourth day. Our progress is a bit faster than the others, so the dead things are farther away from us. It shouldn’t matter if we don’t move for a few days. Let’s just collect sunshine and wait for the next path selection, right?"

"That plan..."

Seraphina Sinclair thought for a moment and agreed that this was the only viable plan. But ultimately, it was their problem, and had little to do with her.

This whole ordeal was just another reminder of how cruel the Black Mist World was.

It did, however, have some use for Seraphina Sinclair. Her restless mood immediately calmed down.

So what if they were F-level runes? She would just draw more. Besides, even three simple cobblers can match an Einstein. When a critical moment came, three Fire Drawing Runes might just save her life.

Seraphina Sinclair calmed her mind and spirit. Her brushstrokes were like a soaring dragon, and once she was focused, she lost all sense of time.

When she stood up again to take a break, she found that the sky was already growing dark.

Feeling a little uneasy, Seraphina Sinclair went to the window and glanced outside. She only relaxed when she saw the Little Light Ball was still there.

She had originally thought the Little Light Ball would emit a bright light at night, but she was surprised to find its glow was extremely subdued, almost to the point of being nonexistent.

’Is this the system’s way of preventing survivors from discovering it?’

The Little Light Ball had no idea what this clever human was thinking. Meeting Seraphina Sinclair’s gaze, it formed a smiling expression, which once again made Seraphina, who was planning to catch it and feed it to her Sunflower, feel a pang of guilt.

After a hard day’s work, she deserved a good dinner.

Seraphina Sinclair tore open a meal ticket. Before she could even see what food had been delivered, another private message popped up.

Ever since she started doing business, Seraphina Sinclair had turned off private message notifications from strangers. This meant the message must be from an acquaintance.

There was no need to delay this kind of message. Seraphina Sinclair immediately opened the private message window.

[SlackingToday]: Big shot! Can we buy a dozen or so of your Fire Drawing Runes? We’re willing to pay with Expansion Crystals.

Expansion Crystals?

’The item for upgrading the cabin?!’

Seraphina Sinclair was instantly energized. She asked, "What are the specific numbers?"

[SlackingToday]: We need fifteen runes, twenty would be even better. We can give you... uh, how about this: for fifteen runes, we can give you eighteen Expansion Crystals. But if you can provide twenty runes, we’re willing to give you thirty Expansion Crystals!

From their offer, it was obvious they were trying to get a few extra runes.

’But even for a team, they shouldn’t need that many runes, right?’

But that wasn’t for Seraphina Sinclair to worry about.

After a moment’s thought, Seraphina Sinclair chose the larger offer. With those thirty Expansion Crystals, she could upgrade her cabin!

After this upgrade, it would be a tier-up!