One... two... three...
Wayne didn't stop for a second. He carved a total of nine times. Including the "Lao-Shan Lung Carapace" he had hacked off its back earlier, he obtained ten pieces of material—and that wasn't even counting the three bonus materials awarded for completing the mission. It was a massive haul.
Rainier, who had been in a daze, didn't run over until most of the time had passed, managing to carve only four times...
For important bosses in significant missions like this, the number of carves was usually maxed out at nine. This was the game developer's reward for the player's time and effort spent clearing the challenge.
After all, their battle had lasted exactly 29 minutes and 11 seconds, only moments away from the 30-minute time limit—the point at which the wall's durability would have been entirely depleted.
Back at the Gathering Hall, Wayne organized his storage box, took off his goggles, and rubbed the corners of his eyes, announcing he needed a break.
While in-game combat didn't consume physical stamina, maintaining high-intensity focus under extreme pressure for a long period caused significant mental fatigue.
The quartet, still buzzing with excitement, sat back at their stations and returned to their games, eager to catch up to Wayne's progress.
"Excuse me, are you... the boss?"
Just as Wayne was about to close his eyes and decompress from the battle, a timid yet refreshing voice—like a spring breeze—reached his ears.
There were only two women in the room. Since it wasn't Tess' high-pitched loli voice, he knew exactly who was speaking to him.
He slowly opened his eyes. As expected, it was Amy Marlin.
"Yeah, that's me. Is there something I can help you with?" Wayne nodded.
For the first time, the two of them saw each other's faces clearly from the front.
Wayne looked at Amy: blue eyes, a small cherry-like mouth, and deep grey hair. Her slender face was slightly pale, a sign of someone who spent too much time indoors away from the sun. She wore a silk under-tunic topped with a mage's robe. Wayne noticed the capital letters "DT" embroidered on the hem.
While recovering at Stormwind Keep, he had heard the maids gossiping about "Duncan's Textiles," the most famous tailor shop in Stormwind. Located in the Mage District, its prices were exorbitant. Because they sold cloth armor with magical enhancements and provided training for magical tailoring, it was the primary destination for spellcasters. They specifically branded their finished garments to distinguish themselves from "The Canal Tailor" by the trade district canal, which didn't sell magical items.
Although her clothes were plain in color and her hair and accessories seemed somewhat neglected—even a bit casual—none of this could hide her natural beauty. In fact, the lack of gaudy adornment only added a touch of pristine freshness to her.
A line of poetry from his previous life came to Wayne's mind: "As elusive as a light cloud obscuring the moon, as ethereal as drifting snow whirling in the wind."
The Westbrook Garrison quartet called her the number one beauty of the Stormwind Mage District; in Wayne's opinion, that was no exaggeration.
Amy also looked at Wayne, but her thoughts were in a different place.
Coarse hemp clothes and artisan trousers—the typical seasonal attire for commoners or even the poor. His hair was clearly uncombed after waking up, with some strands sticking up and others flattened by the "helmet" connected to his eyes. His eyes were bloodshot, showing he hadn't slept well last night—or perhaps hadn't slept at all.
Amy's first thought was that Wayne had pulled an all-nighter in the net cafe, and combined with the half-hour battle just now, he looked utterly exhausted.
That said, beneath the sloppy and casual appearance was a very handsome face. However, Amy's attention wasn't on his looks.
She had met many famous mages, both living and in portraits.
Nielas Aran, the former court mage of Stormwind who died sixty years ago and a hero of Stormwind Keep, had messy hair as well.
Rhonin, the Archmage of the Kirin Tor currently helping rebuild Dalaran, had met her father, Marlin, when he visited Stormwind. Covered in the dust of travel, he had stepped directly into the cleanest place in the city—the Magical Library.
Archmage Kale, an old friend of her father, was a man in his middle age who was already balding. Amy's deepest childhood memory of him was the two small tufts of hair on either side of his bald head swaying in the wind...
Jaina Proudmoore, perhaps one of the Archmages closest to Amy in age and heir to the Kingdom of Kul Tiras, was said to have led her people across the ocean to establish a new nation on another continent. Amy had seen her many times. At first, Jaina had been like other women, mindful of her dress and appearance. But after a romantic setback, she reportedly poured all her heart into state affairs, becoming decisive and unconcerned with trivialities. Her signature braid over her left shoulder rarely appeared anymore, replaced by long hair left to hang loosely behind her.
It seemed that being unkempt, sloppy, casual in dress, and even having messy hair had become the standard style for top-tier mages. Even Amy's father, Old Marlin, often put his coat on backward because he was lost in deep thought over magical problems.
Although Zaldimar had later denied his earlier claim that Wayne used a large number of offensive spells against the Gnolls—claiming it was too dark and he was too nervous—Amy's observations throughout the afternoon and her direct look at him now only deepened her suspicions.
The goggles in this room and the worlds created within them were a hundred times more miraculous than any story she had read in ancient texts, official or folk. It was presented vividly and intuitively before her eyes.
Because Amy, being a mage, had followed Tess' recommendation and entered the Harry Potter world first, she didn't yet know that players in Monster Hunter could revive immediately. Consequently, the shock of the Lao-Shan Lung battle felt as legendary to her as the tales of Archimonde destroying Dalaran with one hand four years ago.
While the latter battle was far more intense, Amy had only heard of it; the earth-shattering impact of the behemoth before her striking the wall was something she had witnessed with her own eyes.
Worse yet, Wayne had actually killed such an incredible dragon... and indeed, as Zaldimar's revised story went, he hadn't used a single shred of magic.
Was this ordinary-looking young man truly a hidden super-expert?
Despite the complex and intense internal drama, after two seconds of eye contact, both awkwardly averted their gaze.
Amy, who rarely dealt with anyone outside the Mage District—let alone men—had prepared her words before speaking. With a slight blush, she said, "I... I don't know how to continue over there. Can you help me?"
Wayne was taken aback. He thought, How can you get stuck while watching a movie? There was no buffering here, and no censorship. He quit Monster Hunter, put on his goggles, synced his progress with Amy's, and entered Hogwarts with her.