<h4>Chapter 89: Dk''s Revenge (Part 6)</h4>


    "ra, could you exin to me what a Safe Zone is, please?" Ashley asked.


    "You don''t know? You''re level 41!"


    "The User ount I''m using is level 41, yes, but I do not know much about The Novus."


    "Oh, right. I forgot for a moment you''re Isabe. Sorry, New Sis! Well, to put it simply, a Safe Zone is a ce or a city the Developers choose to protect. The destruction of Unus Town would''ve been prevented if it was considered ''Safe''."


    "So it actually acts as a shield," Ashley said.


    "Yes! If it weren''t for that, rogue and anarchist Users would destroy every capital city in the Novus if they could. And trust me, some have tried."


    "And what is the difference between the two kinds of Safe Zones Amelia mentioned?"


    "That''d be better exined once we get inside," ra said while looking at Amelia getting lost inside the darkened forest. Once the Unicorn and Wolf mount passed through the invisible dome, they disappeared without their masters''mand. "Yep. This happened," ra nodded while ncing at Ashley, who was waiting for an exnation. "Safe Cities allow you to freely ride your mount, but the System represses your strength and mana power so you don''t destroy the buildings or kill indiscriminately. And then there are Safe Dungeons..."


    "ALAN, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!" Amelia could be heard shouting from afar. Her location was then shown once she incinerated everything in a 150 wide radius.


    "And we''re in one... There may be restrictions, but you can use 100% of your power here."


    "You are as knowledgeable as Amelia," Ashley said, nodding. "I''m d to have your support."


    A voice echoed inside ra''s head: ++"Look at you! You haven''t even been able to unlock your Unique Talent yet!"++


    ra frowned for a second before grinning. "T-thanks, sweetie! But don''t say things like that while making such a straight face! You''re embarrassing me!" ra snapped her fingers, and her drone camera materialized out of her inventory. "You know what I''m thinking? This may be an excellent opportunity to--"


    "No cameras!" Amelia shouted, stomping towards them. "n is not around, and it may damage his public image if people know we''re rescuing him."


    "B-but of course, Co-Leader! We don''t want to screw up the opportunity Miss Cosmica has given us, right?"


    For a moment, Amelia''s eyes shone as brightly as liquidva.


    **I-I didn''t know this woman could be this terrifying!** ra thought, stepping back and putting away the drone. **And... what did I say for her to be so mad?!**


    "Intruders..." a faint voice said from a distance. "I must get rid of the intruders. They have trespassed Count Dk''snds... I..."


    "Dragonbreath." Amelia scorched everything in a straight line in front of her, and for a second, ra distinguished the silhouette of arge man before getting dusted.


    "That must have been another NU," Ashley said. "It was level 12."


    "Good eyes, Ash. You said the main boss is level 15, right?" Amelia asked her, before ncing at ra. "Even you could beat it..." She snickered.


    "S-sure! Leave it to me!"


    "But, can you really fight? What can you do?"


    **This is the first time since I met her that she''s looking down on me.** ra could hear Fabio''s previous words: ++"I think Miss Amelia is just worried."++


    **I hope it''s just that...**


    "I used to be a pyromancer..." ra started saying, unable to look her in the eye. "Yes, I know, very original, huh? But recently, I''ve tried learning Shadow spells."


    "A Witch, then."


    "An apprentice one..."


    "That''ll do for now," Amelia said, turning around to lead the way, and the group followed. "So let''s make things clear first. If you want to be one of us, you''ll have to do your part too. You can''t be just a ''camerawoman'', you heard me? If you''ll apany n everywhere he goes, I want you to support him. I mean it."


    "Yes, of course, bestie! Count on me."


    "We don''t need a mediocre pyromancer, so keep focusing on Shadow magic. That may actually be useful to him. Witches don''t necessarily need to be active inbat at all times, so you could record while casting a spell or two once in a while. Understood?"


    The voice inside ra''s head got louder: ++"Seriously! If Pyromancy is not your thing, learn something else!"++


    "Yes, Co-Leader..." ra replied, looking down, which did not go unnoticed by Ashley.


    "God, what is this?! The floor is super sticky!" Amelia suddenly cried, looking down at her feet.


    She opened her right palm, and from every one of her fingertips, created a small orb of fire. The five red glowing dots sprouted insect-like wings and flew above every one of her Guild partners'' heads.


    **They look like fireflies,** ra thought, and once she had hers close, it illuminated the surrounding trees and bushes covered in white spiderwebs. "Whoah! Even the ground is covered in this shit!"


    "I''m detecting a great number of nearby presences..." Ashley said, closing her eyes.


    "That many?" ra said, looking around her. "Can you tell if they''re small? Because, although I''m not scared of spiders, I don''t want them to be huge either."


    "I cannot tell their size..."


    "Nope, I won''t ruin this outfit," Amelia said aloud, and with quick fingers tapped on her User Interface. Her ck-sleeved minidress got swapped for skinny jeans, a red leather jacket, heeled boots, and finger-cut gloves. "Ashley, dear, I got a little disoriented. Could you remind me in which direction the mansion is?" she asked, while ra stared at the red gem encrusted in those gloves.


    **I bet those are more expensive than my camera and mountbined.**


    "That way," Ashley pointed with her index finger, and Amelia warmly smiled at her.


    "Thanks! I knew I could count on you." Amelia reached out both hands, and with her fingers formed what looked like a monster''s maw. "Major Fire Crafting, Dragonbreath." The spell that usually looked like a methrower was now like a beam of incandescent fire, traveling through the forest in a straight trajectory, forming a road. "Let''s go, guys!" Amelia said, beaming.


    "Was that the spell you are always casting?" Ashley asked. "Why did it perform differently?"


    "Because this time I cast it correctly," Amelia winked at her. "What were you saying about spiders again?" she asked before the sound of wooden sticks getting crushed got to them. "Ashley? How many...?"


    "Twenty-three," Ashley replied as she pulled out her silver-tier bow. "All of them are level 9."


    "We can do this. We have a Max-Leveler with us," ra said, preparing her magic staff.


    Anastasia equipped her sword and shield, Be pulled out the fully repaired shotgun n gifted a week ago, and Fabio put on his iron knuckles.


    "These fireflies won''t cut it anymore," Amelia said, forming a ball of fire in her hand, and throwing it upwards. "relight."


    The spell got brighter until turning into a white orb, illuminating the entire area. ra then could see that the silhouette in front of her was an arachnid monster, which jumped over her. "H-help!"


    The upper part of its body, although monstrous, looked human, and its round lower body resembled a tarant. A dangerous, venomous scorpion-like tail tried to pierce her chest, but Fabio punched its human ribs, making it retreat.


    "Are you okay, ma''am?"


    "Is that damn NU again, looking for revenge! Professor Spike!"


    "Spiegel," Ashley corrected, standing near a second dead monster with an arrow on his forehead. "Curious. This one also looks like Spiegel..."


    "Wait..." ra squinted, watching Anastasia thrusting her sword into a third one''s chest. "THEY ALL ARE!"


    "What?! You said one was an arachnid, two were demon maids, and the boss was a vampire," Amelia said after scorching one. "All of these can''t be the same ''named'' boss! They must be this Spiegel guy''s minions."


    "N-no! Look at their names!" ra cried, pointing at the one being eliminated by Be. "They all say ''Professor Spiegel''!"


    "Mister n is currently training inside my master''s manor," one of them said in a soft, polite voice. "So I must ask you to pleasee back at another ti--"


    Amelia shortened the distance in a second and ced her open palm on his human torso. "Make me," she said, smiling, and the monster got incinerated inside a pir of fire which suddenly turned ck and metallic, before splitting into five pieces. "Hellhounds!" she cast, creating skinny-looking, fire-engulfed dogs. "Get rid of the rest!" she ordered, and the beasts pounced over the closest enemies. "Guys?" Amelia addressed her team. "I have the feeling that this mess will take us the whole night."