After Jeff's initial scheme to get an increase in income failed miserably, the trio proceeded to tread through the forest.
Normally, this forest was something Jeff was overly familiar with, knowing just where and when to avoid the monsters.
The only thing he couldn't predict was the Raburles, who had unpredictable movement and appeared whenever they wanted to.
"Just what is going on?" Jeff uttered in dismay as he slain another monster that had attacked them. This was the fifth time they were targeted by a monster.
'I'm walking on the designated path to encounter the least number of monsters, so why am I this unlucky?' Jeff was dumbfounded by the situation.
As he believed the path to be something wrong, he attempted to take a second detour that he marked as an emergency. Yet even after changing paths, more monsters would appear out of nowhere, their ferocious nearing its peak.
And during all these monster encounters, Carmen would have her combat experience increase.
"How is this possible?" Jeff exclaimed in fury, swinging his battle axe and killing another monster. Blood scattered around, and before he noticed, Jeff's clothes were dyed red from the blood.
However, he didn't care about his appearance.
What bothered him the most was that Carmen was gaining combat experience with him being on the front, bearing all the pressure to assist her— FREE OF CHARGE!
'Heh, keep working hard, Jeff. There's more to come.' Meanwhile, the true culprit, Xu Feng, watched in amusement in the safe backline.
Being a Cleric had its perks. You are always going to be protected and remain in the backline, with no one expecting you to confront the monsters head-on.
As for Carmen, she knew the true culprit was Xu Feng, but remained silent. It would be a lie if she wasn't enjoying this moment to increase her familiarity with using Elemental Command.
Time slowly passed by, and a haggard Jeff was finally relieved once they exited the forest that surrounded Riverwood Town.
"W-We're finally out…" Jeff muttered, feeling weary and nearly slumping to the ground occasionally.
Never once had he needed to fight against so many monsters while trying to pass through the forest.
If it wasn't for his expertise and swift reaction, there were numerous times that he would have fallen in battle.
However, unlike the haggard Jeff, Carmen herself was lively and filled with joy as she chatted happily with Xu Feng.
"The forest is really a good learning experience, Feng." Carmen smiled sweetly. "I can feel my connection with the Elementalist improving and I rarely whiff my spells now."
"That's good," Xu Feng nodded. "With your current combat experience, you can pose some difficulty to the Ironhide Behemoth."
Despite saying so, Xu Feng was a bit disappointed that his lure ended rather quickly.
Although he could use another lure, Jeff would definitely become suspicious if there were more monsters coming after them from the forest now that they had exited the zone.
Thus, he could only refrain from continuing.
After all, Jeff was still the main tank and damage dealer against the upcoming Ironhide Behemoth. There was a limit to how much Xu Feng could extort him.
'A pity, but we can always redo it once we're returning.' Xu Feng thought to himself, feeling that he should increase the lure effect by two times the original dosage.
That way, he could have Carmen improve better with a free slave like Jeff to assist her.
"You've rested enough yet?" Xu Feng inquired after allowing Jeff to rest for around 5 minutes.
The sky was already noon, so the time was ticking down before nighttime arrived. By that time, the difficulty would increase tremendously, especially when they are venturing to the danger zone area, Brightstone Ravine.
Other players were still unfamiliar with the Brightstone Ravine, but not for Xu Feng. The Brightstone Ravine was an area that is recommended to players around levels 15-25.
Aside from the terrain, the monsters were also many times more difficult.
Take the Inferno Tyrant that Xu Feng had battled back in the Scorched Caverns.
If it wasn't a Hell Mode difficulty, but an Easy Mode difficulty, the Inferno Tyrant would be considered a regular monster in the Brightstone Ravine, albeit in terms of attributes. After all, the Inferno Tyrant's skills were a pain in the butt to deal against.
If the regular monster in the Brightstone Ravine could use a skill like Incinerate, then the players might as well throw down the white flag and surrender.
"Yeah, I'm ready now," Jeff said after recovering his stamina.
His recovery was not something Carmen and Xu Feng could have at the moment, given their pathetic level.
Shortly after, the trio arrived just outside the danger zone, Brighstone Ravine.
"Woah, the atmosphere is really different." Carmen widened her eyes in surprise at the scenery in front of her.
The Brightstone Ravine featured a rugged, uneven landscape dominated by sharp, jagged rocks and steep cliffs. Narrow pathways wound through the ravine, offering little room for maneuvering and posing constant danger of falling.
Aside from the terrible terrain, there was also a thick, oppressive fog perpetually cloaking the ravine, limiting visibility and creating an eerie ambiance.
The air was dense with the metallic scent of iron, and the distant sound of rumbling echoed through the chasm like the growl of a hidden beast.
"Why is it called a danger zone though?" Carmen questioned, turning her head to Xu Feng, clearly confused by the term.
"It's a danger zone because you didn't know about the hostile environment effect yet." Xu Feng calmly answered. "As soon as we step foot within the Brightstone Ravine, we will receive a system prompt warning us of the hostile environment and its effect."
"Hostile environment?" Clearly baffled, Carmen had never heard of such terminology before.
"It's like a status ailment that usually some monsters would inflict on players, but the hostile environment is an area-of-effect type, affecting every player that is exposed to it." Xu Feng explained.
"I see… this game is really evil to create such an environment."