Our Dharma Masters are like this.

Chapter 6 Challenge
The biggest difference between monsters and ordinary wild beasts is whether they possess magical power within their bodies.

Monsters are influenced by unnatural factors, resulting in all sorts of bizarre forms and developing many strange and unique abilities that are difficult to fathom.

Moreover, some special abilities can almost cause a "first-time kill" effect, making them extremely difficult to deal with.

If an adventurer's party encounters a monster without sufficient information, the mortality rate is alarmingly high.

For this reason, the Adventurers' Guild spent a lot of money to compile a special "Adventurers' Guild General Monster Encyclopedia".

It records all the monsters the team encountered, listing their appearance, habits, special abilities, and core weaknesses.

The encyclopedia also utilizes state-of-the-art rune transcription technology, so when an Adventurers' Guild updates an entry, the encyclopedia entries in other branches will automatically be updated in sync.

In addition, the Adventurers' Guild has introduced a reward system.

When someone provides information about a new monster, the association will reward them based on the threat level, with a minimum of three gold coins.

However, this reward mechanism has also given rise to some strange and fraudulent activities aimed at obtaining bonuses.

For example, some teams confidently claimed to have discovered new monsters such as "harpoon goblins," "straw hat goblins," and "goblins wearing necklaces," which gave the association staff a real headache.

Based on the threat level of the monsters, the Adventurers' Guild has specifically established seven tiers at the tactical level: [Easy], [Difficult], [Challenging], [Cruel], [Bloody], and [Disaster].

Above the disaster lies the Nightmare-level monster, which ranks at the pinnacle of power on the continent of Candia.

However, there's no need to record such things; encountering one is no different from being dead anyway.

The Mist Demon's rating is [Challenge].

This means it has the ability to easily kill adventurers, and mishandling it can easily lead to casualties. A detailed plan must be developed to target its weaknesses.

The deep roar continued, and the surrounding fog grew even thicker.

They hadn't anticipated this dangerous situation. The group had only planned to take on some simple tasks to earn extra money, but they suddenly encountered a monster with a [Challenge] rating.

The bundles they were carrying fell to the ground.

"Should we run..." Gray whispered.

Upon hearing this, Zellir couldn't help but feel a little nervous, and he subconsciously looked around at his surroundings.

Thick fog everywhere made it impossible to discern directions.

Moreover, he was completely unfamiliar with the terrain, so if he tried to escape, his chances of survival would be extremely low.

"Why are you running? Prepare to engage the enemy!"

Marcus, shield in his left hand and knife in his right, frowned as he quickly devised a plan.

"I'll hold the line, Gray, you support me. Vales, act as you see fit. Zellir, only you in the squad can break through the Mist Demon's energy barrier. While we're engaged in combat, find the right opportunity to unleash your magic!"

“I understand…” Zellier nodded slowly.

The thick fog and the unknown monsters made his palms sweat uncontrollably; the pressure was much greater than last night.

With such a heavy responsibility on his shoulders, it's hard for Zellier not to be nervous.

If they don't handle it well, the team will only face total annihilation.

I wonder how strong that energy barrier that isolates physical attacks is... What if we can't break it?
Zell suddenly felt somewhat glad that he had chosen to increase his mental attribute.

At least it can make the fireball spell a bit more powerful, right?

The squad's formation began to change.

Marcus was in the lead, with Gray behind him on his right, Vales behind him on his left, and Zellier in the center.

Visibility has now dropped to about five or six meters, and the stench of blood lingers.

In the early morning of the Graywood Forest, a deadly battle is about to unfold!

Marcus moved slowly, and the three behind him maintained a tight formation without losing their composure.

It's like a game of eagle catching chicks.

According to the monster encyclopedia, the Mist Demon's power is terrifying; only Marcus with a shield has a chance of contending with it. If the Mist Demon were to break into the formation from another direction, it would undoubtedly result in a bloody massacre.

Marcus keenly noticed the sudden surge of fog to his right front.

"alert!!!"

The Fog Demon finally appeared.

The thick fog was torn apart, and the huge, twisted monster was clearly exposed to everyone. The stench of blood suddenly intensified several times, making people nauseous.

Upon witnessing the true form of the Mist Demon, Zelier felt as if his breath had stopped.

That's something that only appears in the works of horror novelists.

The Mist Demon's main body is at least 2.5 meters tall, like a giant beast that has been skinned, and the expression on its face... is it smiling?
Blood kept seeping and dripping, and the gray-black muscle fibers twisted and knotted haphazardly, with bulging veins, like a swarm of snakes.

The back of the Mist Demon was haphazardly adorned with many wolf heads, their eye sockets hollow, yet still bearing the狰狞 expression of a dying howl.

Of course, the most bizarre thing is the blurry halo covering the surface of the Mist Demon. The energy barrier ripples like water, making its overall outline appear somewhat distorted.

The terrifying scene violently impacted Zell's mind, and for a moment he found it difficult to control his actions.

"Zelier! Don't just stand there!"

Marcus roared, pulling him out of his daze, and was the first to rush forward.

Awakened from his stunned state by Marcus's roar, Zellier shook his head vigorously.

We absolutely cannot afford to mess things up at this crucial moment!

He took a deep breath to calm himself and began to gather magic.

The magic power in his mind was mobilized and operated according to Zelier's will!

Marcus's round shield slammed into the stench of the wind.

"clang!"

Marcus was knocked back several steps by the Mist Demon's immense force, and his shield arm trembled uncontrollably.

The mist demon roared and charged forward once more.

Its left hand had mutated into three giant claws, and its pale armor was covered with dried bloodstains.

It's another head-on clash!

Marcus ducked awkwardly, raising his round shield as he did so.

"Bah!"

The claw strike nearly tore the outermost layer of the round shield completely apart!

Wood chips flew everywhere, and even parts of the sheet metal covering the edges were torn off.

Fortunately, the blacksmith was skilled and did not cut corners, otherwise Marcus would have had to take the damage with his own body.

"Go to hell!"

Another figure suddenly appeared beside him. Gray seized the moment when the Mist Demon's attack was still in motion, and lunged forward, aiming straight for the opponent's waist!
But a strange scene happened.

When the blade touched the energy barrier on the surface of the Mist Demon, it was as if it had been poked into cotton; it couldn't exert any force and simply stood still.

Gray's eyes twitched violently; he realized danger was approaching.

The mist demon didn't even turn its head; it simply flicked its arm.

A thick arm covered in carapace slammed into Gray's chest!
"Crack!"

Gray's expression froze, and his hardened breastplate dented.

He spat out a mouthful of blood mist and was instantly sent flying backward, rolling several times on the ground before coming to a stop.

(End of this chapter)