There's a big problem with dreams in this world.

Before Lu Qing could speak, the hunter said:

"The priest and I have found the source of the fog in the town. It is a monster covered in steam holes, sleeping in the forest outside the town."

"So our next step is to deal with that monster, right?" Lu Qing asked.

“That’s right.” The priest nodded and said:

"Once we defeat that monster, the fog over the town will dissipate on its own, and..."

When the priest finished speaking, he glanced at the hunter, patted the hunter on the shoulder, and said:

"Don't act impulsively, do everything according to plan."

"Hmm." The hunter nodded silently and said, "I'm not that stupid."

As Lu Qing listened to their conversation, she remembered what the blacksmith had once told her: this fog was related to Anna's mutation.

If I'm not mistaken, that monster is probably the source of Anna's mutation, and the energy Anna unintentionally absorbed after becoming a ghost is likely also related to this monster.

Because she clearly remembered that, in Anna's memory, that violent power in the air appeared shortly after the fog appeared.

The priest looked at Lu Qing and said earnestly:

"This mission is very dangerous. If you don't want to come, we won't force you."

After a pause, the priest added:

"You must think it through carefully before answering me."

"I've made up my mind, I'm going!" Lu Qing replied firmly.

How could she not go? She had persevered until only the last step remained, how could she give up at this point?

However, the final step might be much more difficult than the previous ones. But Lu Qing believed that this was only her first dream, and the game system shouldn't give her too much difficulty.

Moreover, she has two powerful NPCs by her side, so as long as she can stay calm, clearing the level shouldn't be too difficult.

"In that case, let's go."

After the priest finished speaking, he took the lead and walked ahead, with the hunter following behind him.

Seeing this, Lu Qing quickly followed and walked behind the two.

The group left the church and headed towards the forest outside the town.

"Do we have any battle plans?" Lu Qing asked.

“Yes,” the hunter replied.

“The priest and I have investigated the monster many times in the past few days. It has been wandering in the forest of the town, and its location is never fixed.”

"The only thing that can be confirmed is that it will not leave the forest."

"So the priest and I set a trap in the forest."

"Can I ask what kind of trap it is?" Lu Qing asked.

This question is certainly necessary; a detailed understanding of the battle plan can help reduce the number of mistakes one might make.

The priest answered the hunter's question.

"The deep pit in the wall was coated with the oil and wax of the requiem candle. The top of the pit has been covered by me and the hunter with special materials so that the smell of the oil and wax and the aura of the exorcism will not spread out."

"As soon as that monster falls in, the lightning and fire runes placed in the pit will take effect instantly, and if nothing unexpected happens, they should blow that monster to smithereens."

"Runes?" Lu Qing asked curiously, "What are those?"

“The runes were placed by the magician, and I inscribed them on scrolls stored in the church’s storeroom,” the priest said.

"I see." Without asking what a magician and a scroll were, Lu Qing looked at the priest and said:

"So how do we get that monster to fall into the trap? Won't other animals trigger the trap?"

The hunter shook his head and said:

"No, the covering layer above the pit is actually manual. Generally speaking, unless it's a giant wild boar, even a tiger walking on it wouldn't fall off the trap."

"As for making that monster fall, we need bait..."

Hearing the hunter's words, Lu Qing felt a sense of foreboding. She pointed to herself with her slender finger and said:

Am I the bait?

The priest nodded and said:

"I need to prepare to use divine words near the trap, and the hunter..."

Shaking his head helplessly, the hunter pulled up his left leg of pants, revealing the wooden skin beneath.

"A few years ago, when I was investigating the source of Anna's mutation, I was accidentally cursed by some evil entity. Almost half of my left leg turned into wood. It didn't affect my walking much, but once I started running, I would easily get stuck, especially in the forest."

With a bitter smile, the hunter said, "Originally, I should have been the one to act as the bait, but now I can only hide in the tree and launch an attack with arrows."

"This is the last resort. If the monster is still alive after being hit by runes and divine words, we will have no choice but to fight it head-on."

The priest patted the hunter on the shoulder and comforted him:

"Relax, the chances of it surviving are very small."

After speaking, the priest looked at Lu Qing and said:

"I'll have to leave the decoy work to you."

As he spoke, the priest reached inside his clothes and pulled out a string of gleaming throwing knives.

"This is......."

Lu Qing's breath hitched, because in her vision, this series of throwing knives were all game props!

Or perhaps these throwing knives are a single, continuous unit?

The priest looked at the throwing knife in his hand and said seriously:

“You have a great talent for throwing. I believe you can master this weapon. It’s not difficult to use, but it’s difficult to know how to use it. I will teach you how to use this weapon for half a day.”

"You don't need to be able to use it flexibly. As long as you can use it to block the monster's pursuit when you are acting as bait, your survival rate will be greatly improved."

Sensing the seriousness in the priest's words, Lu Qing looked at the props in his hand, swallowed hard, and said:

"I will work hard."

Nodding, the priest placed the throwing knife into Lu Qing's hand and walked ahead, saying:

"Let's go, I'll show you around first."

"Ah."

Walking behind the priest and the hunter, Lu Qing took the opportunity to glance at the attributes of the throwing knife in her hand.

【Item Name: Ripper's Throwing Knife】

P.S.: What are you waiting for? Click to add to your favorites! You won't regret it, and a little recommendation would make it perfect!

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Chapter Twenty-Three: Outdoor Hiking in the Forest

【Item Name: Ripper's Throwing Knife】

[Item Quality: Blue]

[Synopsis: No one knows who forged this series of throwing knives, or rather, who the forger was doesn't matter at all; all that's known is a legend about a Ripper.]

He possessed a string of silver-white throwing knives, but few truly died from the knife attacks themselves. Instead, they perished from wounds instigated by inexplicable lacerations, the intricately hidden threads severing every enemy who, having dodged the knives, became complacent.

[It wasn't until ten years ago that a young priest discovered the criminal's method and secretly assembled a large number of law enforcement officers to bring the criminal to justice. Since then, this mysterious weapon has never been seen again.]

[Skills: Pollution, Slicing, Bloodthirst, Legend of the Ripper.]

[Contamination: This is a weapon contaminated by an unknown entity, capable of inflicting special damage on any living being.]

[Cutting: This weapon possesses extremely sharp threads and daggers, capable of easily cutting through hard objects.]

[Blood Drinking: Throwing knives and threads, once stained with blood, will absorb that blood, temporarily increasing their sharpness.]

[The Legend of the Ripper: The infamous Ripper used this weapon to kill countless enemies, and everyone who was harmed by it trembled with fear at the hands of its wielder!]

[Note: I will bring immense fear!]

Blue, the most powerful item Lu Qing has ever seen.

"Didn't the internet say that the more different the difficulty of an item is from the dream, the harder it is to obtain?" Lu Qing wondered.

"Wait, what if I die while being used as bait? Then I won't get this item!" Lu Qing suddenly thought.

The greater the difference between the item's level and the dream's level, the more difficult it will be to obtain the item.

And later, she'll be using this item to face off against the final boss of this dungeon.

If she dies while being used as bait, then not only will we lose this blue item, but we probably won't be able to obtain her mithril dagger, flesh crystal, or anything else.

If the dream fails, you will have to accept the punishment for failing the dream.

Thinking about this, Lu Qing instantly felt nervous.

This is a blue prop; who knows how much risk it takes to use it as bait!

"How do I use this weapon?" Lu Qing asked the priest somewhat anxiously.

Judging from the description of the item, the person who killed the previous user of this weapon was probably the priest in front of her.

Since the priest was able to kill that guy, he should also know how to use this weapon.

"Don't rush, let me show you around the forest first, so you can escape easily. As for how to use this weapon, I'll tell you later," the priest said after hearing Lu Qing's words.

Lu Qing suddenly remembered a newbie post on the game forum, a post specifically for game players who wanted to become Dream Masters.

As mentioned above, the difficulty of the dream world is not constant; the game's difficulty will increase after the player completes the secondary objectives.

To obtain items with better attributes, you need to continuously complete secondary objectives and increase the difficulty of the dream.

However, this also carries a great risk, as one might die from an increased difficulty level in the dream, resulting in the dream not being completed and all the gains being wasted.

"I've been reading so many posts that I completely forgot about this," Lu Qing thought with some annoyance.

She hasn't even completed a single dream yet, and her physical attributes haven't been enhanced at all; she's just an ordinary person.

Increasing the difficulty of the dream is really not friendly to her.