It was noon when ten spatial rifts with energy flowing through them appeared at the Mystic Realm entrance.

“Wow, there are ten spatial rifts. Is this the same thing as the team Mystic Realm competition where each rift contains differing missions and difficulties?” Alan patted his chest to calm his agitated heart.

“That’s highly likely. We drew the eight rift in the professional competition, corresponding to the most difficult mission. Can we conquer it this time?” Baylon recalled his previous experience and thought the number eight brought them good fortune.

“It’s the same no matter what we choose. All we need to do is conquer the Mystic realm by killing the Mystic Realm Boss.”

“Since spatial rift number eight was of great help to us last time, we should choose it again. What do you think?” Choosing one out of ten depended on luck, but Moss only thought about the time. They needed to make full use of their advantage since they could enter the Mystic Realm before anyone else.

“Agreed!” Mill, Bass, and Baylon exclaimed in unison.

When The Guardians finished recording their pieces of information and entered the eight spatial rift, a mechanical voice sounded in their ears, “Welcome to the Arabesque Mystic Realm.”

“There are three stages to this Mystic Realm. Participants can only enter the corresponding spatial rift after choosing their mission number.”

“Congratulations, Guardians. You have chosen lucky number eight. You now have a chance to obtain a mystery gift! The Mystic Realm Boss is on the third floor. The first person to claim the boss’s life will obtain ownership of the Mystic Realm.”

“You can also check the mission panel at any time to understand your teammates’ situation at any time during the mission. I wish you all good luck in your endavors!”

A huge panel appeared in mid-air when the voice ended, displaying the first stage of the mission.

“Tier 1 mission: Kill 200 Terror Monitor Lizards and 50 Brutal Brown Bears. Time: 8 hours.”

“Failure does not affect the right to compete for the Mystic Realm ownership, but it will affect the final results. Points will be calculated in the completion ratio.”

“Participants will receive the mystery gift after completing the mission. Participants can receive a tier-2 quest if you complete or give up on a mission.”

Baylon revealed a solemn expression as he said, “I was delighted when I heard about the mystery gift, but after seeing such a terrifying mission, I understand that there’s no free lunch for us.” After that, he fell into deep thought.

“Yeah, this mission is a challenge!” Alan patted his head. “It’s like they want us to lose ourselves thinking about the mystery gift and forget about the final goal—to conquer the Mystic Realm Boss.”

“Indeed, what Alan said makes sense. We came here to conquer the Mystic Realm and gain ownership. If we don’t conquer it and claim the mystery gift, we will lose control of this Mystic Realm,” Mill thoughtfully analyzed as she watched Moss’s reaction. However, Mill was disappointed when she didn’t get the reaction she wanted.

Moss nodded and said, “Is there another possibility?”

He noticed his teammates casting puzzled gazes toward him, so he continued, “The mystery gift has a bonus for the later stages. Otherwise, this tier-1 mission wouldn’t be much more complex than a two-star Mystic Realm’s tier-1 mission.”

“I recalled us only needing to kill two level 7 Red Flame White Tigers, ten level 7 Terror monitor lizards, and fifty level 8 Explosive Wolves in that two-star Mystic Realm tier-1 mission.”

“According to what I know from the books, the lizards in the three-star realm are at least level 7. However, each is equivalent to a level 10.5 Explosive Wolf.”

“What about the Brutal Brown Bears?” Alan asked nervously.

“The bears here are at least level 8, equivalent to a level 7.5 white tiger and a level 15 wolf. In that case, our current mission is at least twenty times more challenging than the tier-1 mission we gotin the two-star Mystic Realm.”

“Holy sh*t! Twenty times?!” Alan smacked his forehead and nearly fainted.

“Typically, a three-star realm is eight times harder than a two-star realm! I think the twenty times sudden increase is strange. Also, the voice mentioned the mystery gift, meaning there will undoubtedly be a reward. Although I don’t know the reward, I think it might affect conquering this realm.”

“Conquering this realm is up to us, but whether or not the mystery gift will have an effect is unknown. We will likely still complete the mission based on conquering this realm,” Moss stroked his chin as he said thoughtfully.

Mill widened her eyes and asked in surprise, “Do you mean it’s equivalent to conquering a realm that is more advanced than the initial three-star realm?”

“I have a feeling there’s such a possibility.” Although that was the case, Moss was determined.

“Then how do we complete the mission? Will there be as many tier-2 missions as tier-1 missions?” Bass frowned and asked with a pale expression.

“Let’s not talk about how to complete it for now. The number is truly terrifying if it’s the same as a tier-2 mission,” Moss said.

Mill turned to Moss again. “But there’s another problem. How will we kill such a large number of Magical Beasts in eight hours?”

“We can try it first since the solution is always more complicated. We’ll waste eight hours if we can’t complete the tier-1 mission. But if we do, the mission’s second stage will have more beats.”

“We can give up when the time comes. What do you guys think?” Moss maintained his determined expression as he sought his teammates’ opinions.

“I’ll follow your lead, Captain Moss!” Alan was the first to express his opinion.

“Me too! Let’s try it. It doesn’t matter if we can or cannot complete this mission because we still have to do it. We can give up if it doesn’t work.” Baylon also expressed his opinion.

“All right.” Bass’s expression was gentle, but he was more determined than before.

“Let’s Go!” Mill pumped her fist and shouted!

…

Four hours passed, and The Guardians had sweat on their foreheads.

“We’ve only killed sixty Terror Monitor Lizards and sixteen Brutal Brown Bears, Captain Moss,” Baylon said, panting while looking at Moss checking the mission panel.

“If this continues, we can only kill 120 lizards. Also, this is the first stage’s results, where we have the most stamina and resources,” Mill reminded while wiping the sweat off her forehead.

Meanwhile, Alan threw another five to six paralyzing potions as he hid behind Moss and panted heavily. Then he said, “W-We have to think of another way, Moss. If we can’t complete this mission after spending so much time and effort, we might as well give up and get a tier-2 mission!”

“Moss, there are already ten other teams here, including us. The Thunderbolt Squad is in first. They have just completed their tier-1 mission and are now entering their tier-2 mission,” Bass said hurriedly.

Moss had thought of this problem after the first hour but couldn’t think of a better solution.

However, he had accidentally discovered a relatively large shoal during the fight. After some thought, Moss came up with a more effective solution to complete their mission.

A bright light glinted in Moss’s eyes as he shouted, “I have a plan!”

Mill and the others quickly jumped to Moss when they heard that.

Moss told everyone the plan succinctly. Then everyone discussed their strategy and devised the final battle plan while fighting off the surrounding beasts.

The Guardians overflowed with determination at that moment, sweeping away their fatigue, helplessness, and anxiety.