Chapter 42: Master of Ragebaiting

Summer was just about to take a step toward the pulsing black portal when she felt someone calling her name. She paused on the cracked earth and turned her small head to look back toward the outer edge of the dried riverbed.

Standing behind the invisible spatial barrier were several familiar faces. She saw the strange woman standing next to Jacob, the old man who had tried to scam her with cheap supplies earlier, and the annoying female soldier whom she had saved from the peak Feral zombie days ago.

They were all staring down into the crater with wide, shocked eyes.

Salma was frantically waving her hands back and forth in the air, shouting at the top of her lungs for Summer to step back and stay away from the portal.

However, in Summer’s mind, she suddenly recalled the words of the Professor. He had told her before that this strange woman also loved sweet candies very much.

Summer immediately became anxious in her heart, deeply fearing that she would have to share her hard-earned dungeon candies with this woman too.

She knew that if the woman asked for them, Summer could not bring herself to reject her because of her strange feelings toward this woman.

Without a second thought, she promptly turned her head, acting entirely as if she had not seen them at all. Summer inwardly praised herself for her quick presence of mind as she turned her full attention back toward the portal, completely oblivious to the chaotic reactions of the people outside the barrier.

Standing right behind Salma, Derreck tried his absolute best to keep a straight face. However, his thick lips trembled slightly as he stared at the utterly dumbfounded expression on his young miss’s face.

"Did that rebellious girl just ignore me?" Salma muttered softly under her breath, unable to believe what had just happened right before her eyes. She felt completely helpless as she stared at her little daughter’s stubborn back.

She swore inwardly to teach the young lady a thorough lesson the moment this stupid spatial barrier finally disappeared.

However, as she watched Summer staring intently at the swirling black void, a terrible sense of ominous foreboding suddenly washed over her mind.

"Don’t tell me..." Salma began, but she did not get a single chance to finish her sentence.

Summer pushed off her small boots and jumped straight into the center of the dark tear in reality, instantly disappearing from the vicinity.

The massive golden screen floating high up in the gray sky flickered violently, changing its glowing text in a single second.

[Challenge Ongoing: 1 / 1|100]

The moment those glowing words appeared, Salma’s heart felt as though it had completely dropped dead inside her chest. She stumbled backward into Derreck’s heavy arm, her face devoid of any color as she stared blankly at the empty air.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the spatial rift, Summer landed softly inside a dark underground tunnel. The air here was damp, cold, and heavy with the strong smell of stale earth and decaying flesh.

Up ahead, the single stone tunnel divided cleanly into three separate passageways that continued off in different directions.

’Which path should I take?’ Summer asked inwardly, looking between the three pitch-black openings.

[Every single path will be equally dangerous for you,] the system replied in her head, its tone sounding calm and dry.

’Oh,’ Summer noted simply.

Without giving it much thought, she chose the left passageway simply because it was on her left side and she was close to this side.

She walked quietly down the narrow stone corridor for a few meters until the path once again divided into three identical tunnels. Summer did not hesitate for even a second and chose the left opening once more.

She walked another few meters down the dark shaft, only to find the exact same three-way split waiting for her again. Summer repeated this exact same process ten times in a row, finally stopping in her tracks as the path continued to split endlessly into three identical tunnels.

She would be a complete idiot if she did not realize something was wrong with this situation by now.

’System?’ Summer called out in her mind, her eyebrows knitting together in deep frustration.

[Do not ask me for the answer. This is your training,] the system stated flatly, refusing to give her a simple waypoint marker.

’But you promised me that you would always guide me,’ Summer reminded it, her small brow furrowing even more.

[If I am always helping you through every obstacle, you will become entirely dependent on me for everything,] the system argued back.

’What is the problem with that?’ Summer asked directly, her flat voice showing genuine confusion.

[What if I am not there to help you in the future?] the system asked her carefully.

Summer fell completely silent for a long moment, staring down at her small, gloved hands in the dim light of the stone cavern.

’Will you leave me all alone in the future?’ Summer asked in a very low voice, sounding almost as if she were about to burst into tears.

[Dummy girl, of course not,] the system quickly corrected her, its voice softening significantly. [You are the absolute foundation of my very existence. I cannot possibly exist without you.]

The sad and pitiful expression on Summer’s face vanished instantly, replaced by a triumphant, smug smirk as she folded her small arms over her chest.

’Then why shouldn’t I be completely dependent on you? You will always be right there with me anyway,’ Summer noted smugly.

The system was rendered entirely speechless by her sudden attitude shift. It seemed this daring little girl was rapidly mastering the fine art of ragebaiting her own guide system. The system was genuinely worried that she would become an absolute Ragebaiter Queen in the near future, and as her personal guide, it would be her very first test rat for all her psychological tricks.

’Enough of the drama. Tell me what is actually going on here,’ Summer said, quickly returning to a serious tone. Though to the system, she appeared to be the epitome of cuteness.

[Well, to put it simply, you are currently standing inside the personal domain of an Elite zombie,] the system revealed with a tired sigh.

’Hm?’ Summer tilted her head slightly, her ruby eyes glowing softly in the dark tunnel.

[It is high time for you to understand far more about what a domain truly is,] the system explained, taking on an educational tone. [A domain is not merely a stat buff or a small aura that a powerful monster projects outward around its physical body, like the heavy gravity field you fought against earlier.]

’It is not?’ Summer asked inwardly, taking a few steps forward into the quiet cavern.

[No. When an Elite zombie reaches a higher level of power, its domain becomes a fully realized spatial zone,] the system continued. [It bends the local environment, warps physical reality, and creates endless realities to completely trap anyone who steps inside it.]

Summer looked around at the damp stone walls surrounding her, tapping her Swift Strider Boot against the hard rock floor.

’So these endless three-way tunnels are just a fake trick?’ Summer asked, putting the pieces together in her head.

[Precisely. The monster is using its domain to loop your movement in an endless circle,] the system confirmed. [It wants to drain your physical energy and exhaust your mind before it delivers a lethal surprise attack from the dark shadows. As per my calculations, this zombie is a master of illusions!]

Summer let out a tiny sigh, feeling slightly disappointed that the dungeon was playing mind games with her instead of handing out candies immediately.

’How do I break this domain then?’ Summer asked, her hands curling into tight fists inside her Iron Brawler Gauntlets.

[A domain is held together by the caster’s core mana,] the system instructed clearly. [You do not need to solve its labyrinth. You simply need to unleash an attack that is strong enough to shatter the spatial structure of the illusion itself.]

A wide, sweet smile spread across Summer’s pale face as she listened to the simple solution. Physical destruction was her absolute favorite method for solving problems.

She gathered her dark undead mana into her small boots, preparing to launch a full-power strike directly into the stone wall beside her.