Inside the dungeon was a botanical garden of sorts.
Yang Cheng and his classmates ventured forward without hesitation. Why was that? Because they were using the mapping application!
With the reestablishment of modern technology, electronic devices were gaining popularity once more.
The well-off students nowadays had mobile phones with interesting and helpful functionalities installed in them. Applications that could aid adventures on their explorations were a certified hit on the download charts.
Yang Cheng shuddered to think if he had to draw a dungeon map on his own.
"We're getting close to another intersection."
Carl Baxter said. He was the one in-charge of mapping. He was the owner of the high-end phone anyway.
"Incoming!"
Jet Song warned. He was the one in-charge of detecting hostile forces. A small dimensional gate emerged above his right hand. A bow then materialized from it which he gripped tightly.
He was now aiming the weapon behind them. He reported,
"Ten hamster-type monsters rushing at our rear! Well, nine."
An arrow flew out of the bow. It swiftly traveled towards one of the incoming monsters.
Swoosh!
The arrow hit the hamster which was around 30 centimeters tall right in the forehead. It fell down the concrete floor the next instant. The Scout student readied his bow once more.
"Hah! Show-off!"
Carl spat out. He readied his stance and channeled the energy within his soul. He then declared,
"[Bubble Shuffle]!"
A bubble then emerged from each of his arms, his elbows, and shoulders. The bubble was around 10 centimeters in diameter and had a glossy sheen onto it. Six bubbles floated above this short curly-haired classmate. Six additional bubbles further emerged from the same spots.
"Take this!"
Carl roared as his preparations were complete. Eight monsters were now in front of him. A bubble floated towards a hamster.
Pam!
The bubble popped upon contact. The bursting sound had startled the targeted monster. And the worst was yet to come.
Bam!
A punch landed on the same monster. It was hit on the exact place where the bubble had previously landed. The other bubbles had found their respective targets as well.
Pam! Bam! Pam! Bam!
A barrage of strong punches had followed through the popping bubbles. Each hit landed had definitely caused serious damage to the monsters.
Carl belonged to the Warrior Class. They were people who have chosen to develop their Strength parameter. This particular parameter improves the physical-based attacks of an individual. They are no doubt the hardest hitters among the six Main Classes.
Yang Cheng understood what was happening. [Bubble Shuffle] was a skill that enables the user of produce bubbles that could be manipulated at will.
Once a bubble lands on a target, the user would be able to deliver a hit on the same spot. It was similar to an automatic guiding system that enabled the user to strike an opponent whenever a bubble pops.
Carl might have not said it, but he had surely activated [Fist of Fury] as well. This skill increases the punching damage of the user. Coupled with his already high Strength, the Warrior student was definitely dealing tremendous amounts of damage!
"Hah! Over already?"
Carl cracked his neck as he looked around. The corpses of monsters were now lying around him.
"Not yet!"
Jet quickly shot an arrow. It went pass the curly-haired classmate and flew straight to a plant-type monster behind him.
Carl turned around and saw five other plant monsters were waiting for ambush. He grinned upon noticing them. He clenched his fists and roared,
"Alright! Come get some!"
Carl and Jet fought the remaining monsters. They might bicker with each other from time to time. But they were still able to defeat all the enemies with their great coordination.
Carl called out when the skirmish was over.
"Cheng, hurry up and pick the loot."
Indeed, Yang Cheng was the one in-charge of cleaning up. Why was his fate like this? Well, it's because he was not yet strong enough to help.
He does have strong burst damage but the problem here was his sustainability. He might be able to deal enough damage if he used his four-fold skill combination.
But how difficult could it be? Continuously casting skills, even the basic ones, required lots of focus. And then you also have to get the specific timing right. In short these tasks were easier said than done.
That was why even though it may take a longer time, casting a single Tier 2 skill was still less of a hassle compared to using a multiple-fold combination. Most of the time, if people were given a chance, they would still prefer to use the more convenient higher realm skills than the lower ones.
And thus people nowadays had set their priority on upgrading their skills as soon as possible. This also applied to Yang Cheng.
He was not some kind of cheating bastard that could cast multiple skills in an instant after all.
"Hey, Cheng! Are you listening?"
"Ah! Yes, sorry. I spaced out a little bit."
Carl called out again when his classmate did not respond. Yang Cheng was startled by this and answered quickly.
The curly-haired classmate raised and eyebrow. He said,
"Seriously? Or are you just tired on picking up corpses? Let me tell you again, what you did in the entrance was just a fluke. A lucky guess that turned out to be correct."
"That's right! If you just told me that the key was skill combination then even I could have done it. That way, we never would have gotten the attention of that many participants."
Jet chimed in. He was also upset when numerous participants had almost caught them back at the open field.
They had barely escaped that onslaught of students. Fortunately, the dungeon would send every participant who enters it to a random location.
Although students that belong to the same team will be transported together. Teammates on this regard would refer to the students who the acknowledged participant brought with him/her.
In short, even if the other students had almost followed right next to them, there was no chance that their pursuers would appear at the same place.
They had known about this ruling thanks to the 'pointers' Carl received from the senior students he met before.
"No it's not that. Really, I was just spacing out a little."
Yang Cheng denied their allegations. His mind was indeed wandering around for a while now.
Unfortunately, Carl was not impressed by this excuse.
"Why? Because you're bored?"
"Haha…"
Yang Cheng smiled wryly as he scratched his head. The guess of his classmate was actually spot on.
Jet opened a small dimensional gate. This time, he stored his bow inside. He had explained before that he was training his utility skill now so that it would gain a quicker effect activation someday.
That was why he kept on storing his weapon away after a skirmish. He then joined the conversation. He commented,
"Cheng, you do understand why we are benching you, right? You have already tested your fire and electricity. None of those were effective against the monsters."
Yang Cheng felt dispirited upon hearing this. He did join the fight when they first encountered the monsters. All the creatures here had an elemental affinity that belonged to the plant variety.
This had rendered his electricity ineffective against them. But what was more depressing was that his fire attacks were useless too.
The moisture content of the creatures were able to resist his element. They could easily dampen any fire ball he threw.
On his defense, the fire attacks Yang Cheng currently had were still at Tier 1. He was yet to upgrade them to the next realm.
If he did, then burning those monsters were no longer a problem. But there was no way that he could accomplish that for now.
He was not some kind of blessed individual that could gain a breakthrough while inside a dungeon anyway.
Although he could use the violent combination of his elements, that was not something he could sustain continously. Which brings him back to the same thoughts that had him spacing out for a while.
Jet seemed to have noticed that the shoulders of his classmate had dropped. He sighed,
"You should have just focused in a single element. Cultivating dual elements at lower Tiers is like spreading your resources too thin."
"But this is the path that I have chosen. I have decided to give my all in developing these skills."
"Then stop spacing out and pick up those loot already. How can we give you a share if you don't gather enough resources?"
Carl stated when he saw the determination in the eyes of his classmate.
Thinking about it now, the two could have just abandoned Yang Cheng when they saw that his attacks were ineffective. Who would want a Mage that could not even deal a decent damage in their team anyway?
Still, his two classmates let him stay. They were already generous enough to share their loot to him when all that he would be doing was picking up corpses.
"Alright."
Yang Cheng nodded and began doing his part. Carl had given him a storage pouch that could carry lots of items without getting heavier.
This kind of adventuring tool was also in demand in this transmigrated world. Alas, they do cost a ton of money.
Fortunately, his short curly-haired classmate had come prepared.
The team of three continued on their exploration. They had been venturing inside the dungeon for more than two hours now. Yang Cheng took out his phone to check the precise time.
It was 11:40 in the morning.
Their team had reached another intersection with a fountain in the middle. They began to get excited.
Choosing which of the three paths in front of them was not the cause of this. They could just use the mapping app for such trivialities.
What got them excited was the possibility that the fountain had. Because some of these structures actually had resources in them!
Yang Cheng gulped in anticipation. They were able to secure two treasures so far. This will be the third if lady luck permits it. Which would imply that this one would be his share!
Jet walked forward cautiously. He was a Scout after all. His detection skills was the best among the three of them.
In addition, his Agility would also be the highest. This would mean that he could react easily in case the fountain had traps.
"All clear!"
Jet reported after checking the situation. Yang Cheng sighed in relief upon hearing this. He also saw that Carl did the same.
They were about to approach their classmate when,
"A treasure!"
Jet exclaimed. Yang Cheng was surprised. He rushed forward immediately. He saw that Carl running as well.
However,
"No! That's mine!"
A feminine voice cried out from the other side of the fountain.