Chapter 202: The Enemy is Too Strong, Retreat for Now
Jeremy's actions had indeed yielded some degree of success.
As Jeremy reached the end of the second level of The Misty Garden, he suddenly heard the voice of the instance boss.
"You actually believe that mental attacks could have no effect on you? Well then, by all means, proceed. However, I must caution you that upon entering the next level, you will find yourself in an irretrievable predicament."
Jeremy, of course, paid no heed to the threat directed at him.
After all, numerous individuals had uttered this very sentiment to him before.
With a smile gracing his lips, Jeremy replied, "You are not the first person to convey such words to me. I can unequivocally assure you that those who spoke to me in this manner before have already paid a heavy toll for their arrogance.
You think that by uttering these phrases, you can intimidate me into retreating? That will absolutely not succeed."
Having delivered this retort, Jeremy did not hesitate to kick open the door that separated the second and third levels of The Misty Garden.
Upon forcing the door ajar, Jeremy stepped into a realm shrouded in thick mist.
In this fog-laden expanse, he could see a plethora of bizarre plants flourishing all around him.
However, these peculiar plants did not launch any mental attacks against Jeremy.
Moreover, some of these plants even had the capability to provide Jeremy with additional attribute bonuses.
As Jeremy proceeded with caution, he simultaneously observed the characteristics of the plants surrounding him.
He made the decision to meticulously document all of the distinctive features of these flora.
After all, the mutated plants within The Misty Garden instance were not exclusive to this particular instance.
These mutated plants also appeared in other instances.
Once Jeremy had committed all the characteristics of the mutated plants to memory, he could convey this information to Howard.
At that time, Howard's subordinates would find it significantly easier to eliminate the mutated plants present in other instances.
Thus, Jeremy advanced with dual intentions, and after a quarter of an hour, a colossal tree obstructed his path.
This colossal tree seemed to stretch upwards, almost reaching beyond the confines of the instance itself.
Upon beholding this immense tree, Jeremy became exceedingly vigilant.
He suddenly realized that this gigantic tree bore a striking resemblance to the one he had encountered in the Dark City instance, which possessed formidable dark powers.
Jeremy took a step back and retrieved the Dark Core from his pocket.
Although the Dark Core had lost the majority of its power in the previous battle.
It still had the ability to attract dark energies.
If the massive tree before him could draw the Dark Core towards it, that would indeed signify that this tree possessed substantial dark power.
From this point onward, Jeremy had to exercise even greater caution in his actions.
As soon as he drew out the Dark Core, the colossal tree emitted a series of creaking noises.
Holding the Longsword of the Undying with a firm grip, Jeremy attentively scanned the situation ahead while beginning to retreat slowly.
He was acutely aware that in high-difficulty instances, any unexpected situation demanded utmost vigilance.
This was because such challenging instances rarely harbored safe zones.
After taking two or three steps back, the trunk of the towering tree suddenly let out a deafening crash.
In an instant, a massive hand, entirely composed of various mutated plant bodies, emerged from the trunk. This colossal hand was adorned with an array of peculiar eyes.
At the very center of the giant hand rested a huge gemstone radiating a strange blue light.
When faced with this unexpected development, Jeremy did not dwell on his thoughts for long.
After all, in The Misty Garden instance, he had encountered nothing but foes.
Thus, Jeremy decisively opted to launch an attack without hesitation.
Gripping the Longsword of the Undying, Jeremy, with the aid of the spatial sealing skill, instantly found himself before the colossal hand.
Although Jeremy had not yet received any prompts from The Eye of Omniscience, he was acutely aware that this giant hand must possess a weakness.
The most likely location for that weakness was the enigmatic blue gemstone emanating an otherworldly glow at the very center of the hand.
Without a moment's hesitation, Jeremy raised the Longsword of the Undying and activated its active skill.
The Longsword of the Undying, infused with immense divine power, swung towards the blue gemstone at the center of the giant hand.
At the precise instant the blade made contact with the blue gemstone, it emitted a sharp, resonant sound. Simultaneously, Jeremy felt a violent vibration coursing through his wrist.
"What in the world is this gemstone? Why is the attack from the Longsword of the Undying ineffective against it?"
Jeremy felt a slight twinge of surprise.
In his perspective, although the monsters within The Misty Garden instance were undeniably formidable.
The Longsword of the Undying was inherently leveled to be on par with the bosses of The Misty Garden instance.
This implied that even when attacking the bosses of The Misty Garden instance, the Longsword of the Undying should still be capable of inflicting a certain degree of damage.
However, this blue gemstone was clearly an unusually abnormal entity.
In a flash of realization, Jeremy suddenly understood that the blue gemstone before him might very well be an awakening gemstone!
In that fleeting moment of contemplating such a possibility, Jeremy clenched the Longsword of the Undying and swung it down towards the palm beneath the blue gemstone.
"If the blue gemstone truly is an awakening gemstone, then I must decisively sever the palm that lies beneath it." he thought resolutely.
Jeremy's speed of action was astonishingly swift.
Moreover, the palm beneath the blue gemstone was utterly incapable of withstanding the onslaught of the Undying Longsword.
In no time at all, Jeremy succeeded in extracting the blue gemstone from the palm.
As Jeremy's hand made contact with the blue gemstone, his vision was enveloped by a radiant blue light.
An overwhelming surge of divine power and an abundance of knowledge, akin to countless stars, flooded into Jeremy's mind.
Though Jeremy exerted every ounce of his will to harness this divine power and discern the nature of the knowledge now interwoven within his consciousness.
His efforts proved futile and ultimately in vain.
Because such divine powers and vast reservoirs of knowledge could only be harnessed once he had completed the awakening.
The moment Jeremy touched the awakening gemstone, the instance boss of The Misty Garden emerged directly from the depths of the instance, drawing near to Jeremy.
In the third layer of The Misty Garden, where Jeremy was located, all the mutated plants underwent dramatic transformations due to the arrival of the instance boss.
These mutated plants began to grow at an astonishingly frenzied pace.
The numerous sprouts and tendrils produced by the mutated flora nearly consumed the entirety of the third layer of The Misty Garden instance.
Although Jeremy was momentarily incapacitated by the overwhelming impact of divine power and a deluge of knowledge, rendering him unable to perceive the changes occurring in his surroundings,
he suddenly heard the prompt from The Eye of Omniscience.
[Note: Your situation is extremely perilous, you must exit the instance as swiftly as possible!]
Upon hearing the warning from The Eye of Omniscience, Jeremy did not take it to heart.
He believed that the advice given by The Eye of Omniscience was entirely unacceptable.
"I have just discovered the awakening gemstone. I do not even know how to carry the awakening gemstone out with me. If I leave the instance now, won't all my previous efforts be rendered futile?!"
Jeremy muttered to himself within the confines of his mind.
However, he did not completely dismiss the warning from The Eye of Omniscience.
He was acutely aware that the prompt from The Eye of Omniscience must hold some merit.
Thus, Jeremy concentrated all his mental faculties and managed to extricate himself from the influence of the awakening gemstone.
It was at that moment that he suddenly realized the instance boss of The Misty Garden was now standing directly before him.
The instance boss of The Misty Garden was a colossal creature resembling a massive mantis, upon which various mutated plants had taken root.
The Misty Garden instance boss fixed its blood-red, enormous eyes intently upon Jeremy.
Upon merely making eye contact with the creature, Jeremy felt his thoughts suddenly become exceedingly sluggish.
"I once told you! You are destined to perish within this instance!"
A distorted, horrific voice echoed into Jeremy's ears.
Although the instance boss of The Misty Garden had yet to take any action, Jeremy abruptly realized that, in his current state, defeating this formidable opponent was utterly impossible.
Thus, Jeremy decided to prioritize retreat for the time being.
After all, he had spent less than a day on this mission, even if this attempt ended in failure, he still had another six days to devise alternative strategies.
If he stubbornly engaged in a climactic battle against the powerful instance boss of The Misty Garden, all while suffering from the significant negative effects of the awakening gemstone, he would almost certainly be obliterated.
Having swiftly reached a decision within his mind, Jeremy activated his spatial sealing skill with remarkable speed.
Although, from Jeremy's perspective, his movements appeared exceedingly rapid, the erosion of his cognitive faculties by the Misty Garden instance boss hindered his actual speed significantly.
Thus, in reality, Jeremy's speed of action was not as swift as it appeared.
Jeremy had just employed the spatial sealing skill, summoning an unknown space that was uniquely his own.
Before Jeremy could utilize the unknown space for a spatial leap to escape the instance, the instance boss of The Misty Garden raised its scythe-like claw and brought it crashing down towards Jeremy's head.
Feeling a sense of tension, Jeremy carefully observed the creature's every movement, and just as the scythe-like claw was about to make contact with his body,
Jeremy's spatial leap finally reached its completion.