Rhys nodded slightly. "Not bad drops for a first-floor boss."

"Exactly," Sophia said, her tone bright. "It's one of the reasons people still farm this floor even after clearing it."

The group waded deeper into the marsh, the sound of water squelching beneath their boots. Pale vines hung from the crooked trees, trailing into the mist like ghostly fingers. Moonbounce moved silently behind them, the faint glow from his runes reflecting in the shallow pools.

As they advanced, the faint hum of mana grew stronger—a quiet, vibrating tension in the air that Rhys recognized immediately. The ambient mana was condensing unnaturally, being pulled toward one point ahead.

We're close.

"Hold," he murmured.

Aria stopped instantly. "You sense it?"

Rhys nodded, his eyes narrowing as his mana perception flared. "There's a pressure spike about thirty meters ahead—low to the ground. It's hiding."

Sophia summoned a floating orb of blue light that hovered near her shoulder, scanning the area. For a moment, it returned nothing but static mist—then flickered violently.

Caria's eyes widened. "It's jamming detection again."

"Typical for the Jade Sniper," Aria muttered, shifting her stance. "It manipulates water density to bend light—almost perfect camouflage."

Rhys smiled faintly. "Almost."

He lifted a hand, mana swirling as he activated Eye of the Ancients. The air around him dimmed to a washed-out gray as streams of faint light began to thread through the water, tracing unseen lines of mana flow. Among them—there it was. A pulse. Quick, sharp, like a heartbeat buried beneath the algae.

As his ranks go up, more options add to his skills and Eyes of the Ancients just got this useful sub skill, that allows him to see flow of mana.

"Got you," he whispered.

Before anyone else could react, he flicked his fingers. Magic Missile.

Five streaks of blue energy shot from his palm, slamming into the pond with precision.

The still surface exploded—water bursting upward like shattered glass as a glimmering jade shell darted from the depths.

The Jade Sniper Shrimp emerged, its translucent body gleaming with refracted light. Its forelimbs folded into long cannon-like appendages, each one lined with glowing runes. The creature let out a shrill, mechanical hiss as its central eye flared bright green.

Then it fired.

A spear of compressed water tore through the air, striking a tree trunk behind Rhys and splitting it clean in half.

Sophia gasped. "Damm, how did you find it so fast!?"

"Stay low!" Aria ordered, forming a swirling water barrier in front of the group. The next shot slammed into it, scattering droplets everywhere—but the barrier held, if only barely.

Rhys exhaled slowly. "Moonbounce."

The turtle rumbled, lowering his body slightly. Light flared around him as a luminous sigil bloomed across his shell. [Light Shield] activated, casting a radiant dome over the party just as another sniper round hit. The projectile shattered against the shield in a brilliant flash, spraying harmless mist around them.

Caria peeked out from behind the dome. "It's retreating deeper into the pond!"

"Not for long."

Rhys raised his sword—Aether Vein—and whispered a command. Mana gathered at its edge, rippling with liquid light. "Water Blade."

He slashed forward. The air screamed as the wave of pressurized mana cleaved through the mist, splitting the pond open for a brief instant. The shrimp darted aside, but the backlash still clipped one of its cannons, leaving a glowing crack across its shell.

It retaliated instantly, releasing a burst of jade mist that filled the air and cloaked its form once more.

"Smoke cover," Sophia muttered. "We can't get a fix on it."

Aria frowned. "Unless we force it out."

"Allow me," Rhys said. His eyes glowed faintly blue as he called out, "Puddle—assist."

From his shadow, small globules of water emerged, swirling together into Puddle's miniature form. The slime quivered once, then split into three copies that darted across the marsh like living bullets.

Each one landed in a separate pool, pulsing with faint blue light before releasing waves of mana outward. Aqua Veil: Resonance.

The surface shimmered, and the faint distortion of the shrimp's outline appeared mid-shift—caught between cloaking phases.

"Now!" Aria shouted.

Sophia unleashed a torrent of spiraling water spears. Caria fired a pair of enchanted bolts that burst into light upon impact.

Rhys followed through, dashing forward with Swift Cut, vanishing and reappearing in front of the shrimp in an instant. His blade glowed with a pale azure arc. "Whirlwind Slash!"

The strike hit dead center.

The boss screeched, its shell fracturing under the combined assault. A moment later, Moonbounce fired one of his shoulder cannons—Light Burst Cannon—which struck the shrimp's eye in a blinding explosion.

Silence fell as the creature's body dissolved into glowing fragments, scattering like fireflies over the misty pond.

A small chest floated to the surface, gleaming faint green.

Caria bent down to pick it up, grinning. "Jade Core and… oh! Sniper Pearl! Nice drop."

Sophia laughed softly. "Guess we're your good luck charm."

Rhys sheathed his blade, his expression calm. "Or maybe the shrimp just knew who it shouldn't mess with."

Moonbounce made a deep, rumbling sound, which earned him a small smirk from Rhys. "Yeah, I meant you too."

Aria watched him for a moment, her expression curious. "You fight differently than most swordsmen. It's… precise. Like you've already seen how the fight ends before it starts."

Rhys looked back at her, eyes unreadable. "Maybe I have."

Her lips curved into a faint smile. "Mysterious and skilled. You're just full of surprises, aren't you?"

He didn't answer, simply turning toward the mist ahead. "One down. Twelve to go."

Sophia slung her staff over her shoulder. "Then let's head toward the next one. The Crimson Fang Lizard should be spawning near the sunken ruins by now."

Rhys nodded, tightening his grip on his sword. "Then let's not waste time."

As they set off again, Moonbounce floated silently behind, light reflecting off his shell like shifting constellations—while, unseen beneath the mist, something else stirred deeper in the wetlands, watching.

Rhys raised his sword—the Ruinous Darkness Blade—and whispered a command. Mana gathered along its edge, rippling like liquid shadow laced with faint blue veins of light.

"Water Blade."

He slashed forward. The air screamed as a crescent of pressurized mana tore through the mist, splitting the pond open for a brief instant. The shrimp darted aside, but the backlash still clipped one of its cannons, leaving a glowing crack across its jade shell.

It retaliated immediately, releasing a burst of dense green mist that flooded the air and cloaked its body once again.

"Smoke cover," Sophia muttered, scanning the fog. "We can't get a fix on it."

Aria frowned. "Then we force it out."

"Allow me," Rhys said.

"Allow me," Rhys said, stepping forward as his sword hummed faintly with mana. His eyes glowed a muted blue. "Water Blade."

The slash tore through the air, a shimmering arc that split the mist and scattered droplets like glass. The pond rippled violently—but the Jade Sniper Shrimp was already gone, vanishing into the jade mist that cloaked its form once more.

"Smoke cover," Sophia muttered, her tone steady. "Don't try to track it by sight—you'll miss."

"Right," Aria said, already moving. "Rhys, hold your ground. Caria—bait it out."

"On it." Caria raised her crossbow and fired two luminous bolts into the mist. They hit nothing—but a half-second later, the water behind her rippled unnaturally.

"There!" Aria called.

She pressed a hand against the surface and murmured an incantation. "Tidebreaker Surge."

A pulse of mana rippled outward, shaking the pond. For a brief instant, the distortion flickered—the shrimp's translucent form caught mid-shift.

"Now!" Aria shouted.

Sophia stepped in, her staff tracing quick sigils in the air. Dozens of spiraling water spears formed and launched in unison, converging on the revealed outline. Caria's next volley struck true, detonating with flashes of azure light.

Rhys moved the instant the shrimp recoiled. Swift Cut—his body blurred, appearing directly before the creature. His blade gleamed with cold, dark light.

"Whirlwind Slash!"

The impact cracked the shrimp's shell with a shriek that echoed through the marsh.

Before it could recover, Moonbounce fired—his Light Burst Cannon flaring with divine radiance. The beam hit dead-on, burning through the mist in a single blinding arc. The shrimp convulsed once, then shattered, dissolving into glowing fragments that floated like drifting stars across the surface.

Silence followed, broken only by the soft hiss of fading steam.

A small chest bobbed to the surface, faintly green and gleaming.

Caria waded forward, retrieving it with practiced ease. "Jade Core and… Sniper Pearl," she said with a satisfied grin. "Right on cue."

Sophia smiled faintly. "Told you. This floor's routine by now."

Rhys sheathed the Ruinous Darkness Blade, his voice even. "You've done this before."

"Dozens of times," Aria said, brushing water from her arm. "The trick is not strength—it's timing. Once you learn the rhythm, it's predictable."

He nodded slowly, glancing around the tranquil pond where the mist was beginning to settle. "Efficient," he said. "No wasted movement."

Sophia tilted her head with a smirk. "We could say the same about you."

Aria gave him a small, approving nod. "You adapted quickly. Most people flail against this thing their first few tries."

Rhys smiled faintly. "I learn fast."

Her gaze lingered on him a moment longer, something thoughtful in her expression. "So it seems."

The mist thickened again as they regrouped, moving toward the next path. Moonbounce floated silently behind, his shell casting quiet silver reflections across the marsh.

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