The third floor was no different than the first two floors as Liam cleared all the mobs at an insane pace and once again started searching for the passageway that led further up.
The dungeon itself was quite huge that it took twenty and thirty men groups about an hour to finish in entirety. But for Liam, it had only barely been a few minutes since he started the run, and he was already on the third floor.
From there, it again took him only a handful of minutes to locate the next passageway. With every discovery, he was becoming more and more excited as he couldn't see the limit of where this was headed.
While inside the tutorial game, though the opportunities were plenty, his time was cut short but now, he had the time. Only the first wave of the apocalypse had been triggered up until now.
He had plenty of time until the real horrors began to show up. The unfortunate part was that he had no way to prepare for this.
This was why he had been fishing for opportunities by grinding the quests from the magic shop. But now, another brand new path had opened up in front of him. He was not going to waste this opportunity.
As Liam broke down the walls for the next passageway, this time instead of chimera beasts, surprisingly, a group of orc soldiers rushed forward.
Each of them was tall and sturdy and was at least Level 45.
Bingo! This was exactly what he was waiting for!
Liam immediately summoned his main battalion, his first string soul minions. The next second, the wyverns, Crawford, Dimitri, the six-winged lion, and the striped white tiger, all showed up ready to battle.
In front of these minions, the dozen orcs could not really put up a fight, and they crumbled and dropped like flies, just like the other beasts.
Finally, the experience points also started to accumulate bit by bit. However, the experience points given by this dungeon were extremely sparse when compared to the tutorial game.
Just seeing the small numbers was extremely painful. Though Liam was thankful for this opportunity to improve his strength, this was a harsh reminder that it was not going to be so easy.
However, after everything he had faced, Liam was not going to be deterred by something so small. If all that was needed for him to get stronger was to fight relentlessly and spend every second of his waking time doing it, he was ready for that.
The fourth floor of the dungeon posed him no threat, as he once again did not even have to lift a finger. He continued pushing forward, relying just on the strength of his minions.
Even the final boss was not an issue. A few more minutes passed by, and Liam quickly found the passageway for the next floor.
Finally, he was on the fifth floor and was going to cross the level 50 threshold in this dungeon. More orcs dashed forward as Luna and the wyverns made quick work of the group.
Unexpectedly, the rest of the floor was also a joke, as there weren't any other surprises. Just the minions alone were able to handle the fight. Liam received some experience points as well.
He didn't mind because he was Level 80 and these beasts were still thirty levels below him and didn't appear to have formed any mana cores.
So they couldn't measure up to Liam's abilities and died just as quickly as the rest. He successfully found the next passageway as well.
"Maybe this one will be challenging." Liam licked his lips and stepped forward, but as soon as he did, he came to a grinding halt. A barrier popped up in front of him without any warning.
It was a translucent blue-colored barrier, akin to a pure mana barrier, but a very strong one that was already repelling him before he could even take a step forward.
He could feel the strong mana waves coming out of the barrier even from a distance.
"Damn it." Liam punched the barrier in front of him in frustration, but that only proved useless as it did not even budge an inch.
He waited there at the same spot for a couple more minutes and tried again. The same message once again popped up.
"I guess I have no choice." Liam turned back and left the dungeon, the same way he had entered. However, he did not return to the base just yet and decided to pay the other dungeon a visit as well.
He wanted to know if this strange thing was only happening in this dungeon or if it could happen in any dungeon on the planet.
It would be extremely amusing if the latter were true because it would mean that the majority of the population had been as blind as bats their entire lives, not knowing what was in their own backyard.
They would have wasted such a precious resource for training and becoming stronger. No wonder that when the subsequent trials of the apocalypse arrived, the entire planet was completely wiped out.
Liam let out a sigh as he dismissed all of his soul friends and hopped on top of Luna. The duo headed to the second dungeon, whose location they knew, and dove right into the green portal.
This one was also a chimera dungeon, with various poisonous chimeras roaming about. There were all sorts of poisonous insects and beasts crawling in the dungeon.
Liam did not waste any time and summoned the big shots right away to take care of the trash.
Meanwhile, he punched the cavern network walls systematically, and not too long after, just like in the other dungeon, a passageway actually opened up!
Ba ha ha ha! Ba ha ha ha!
"So it is really true…"
Ba ha ha ha! Ba ha ha ha!
Liam threw his head back and started laughing maniacally. He looked at the passageway in front of him, the winding steps leading inward, and he just couldn't believe it.
Not just one damn dungeon! But every damned dungeon had multiple floors?
What the hell were they up to in his last lifetime? How could they not have discovered something so simple?
Perhaps if they had discovered this sooner, they wouldn't have suffered so much! So all that misery and suffering was only because of their foolishness?!
Liam slapped his forehead with this palm as he looked at that passageway. Just the sight of it made him so angry.
However, there was no point in dwelling on the past. Now that he knew about these things, there was much better planning that needed to be done.
These dungeons were more than enough to prepare for the end times.
If armies were what was required to stand firm against the terror that was about to be unleashed then he would create these armies.
If it was still not possible to rally others to stand together and survive the end times, then he would create an army of his own against whatever was coming!
Liam rushed in, followed by his minions, and started clearing the rest of the dungeon as well. Just like in the one before, he cleared until the fifth level on this dungeon too when the same message flashed in front of him again.
He dismissed his minions and stepped out of the dungeon. He now needed to wait for a day to see what happened next but Liam was optimistic.
These dungeons were definitely more complex than what he knew. And if the dungeons were like this, then there were probably also other things that he didn't know of yet.
For all he knew, the answer to becoming stronger and coming out on top of this apocalypse was already available to him. He just had not figured it out yet.
Liam gazed at the dungeon portal for a few minutes and then the duo made a move.
Now that he had settled the two dungeons, all he could do for the next 24 hours was wait.
So he went around with Luna farming some more elite bosses and closed down some portals before returning to the base later that same night.
As soon as he stepped back into the hotel, Mei Mei, Shen Yue, and Ning Xi immediately rushed forward to greet him. It looked like they were eagerly waiting for him to learn more about the dungeons.
However, Liam shook his head. "I will explain everything. Give me some time." He was not 100% sure yet what the update meant so he did not want to endanger anyone's life.
"Also, ask the group to keep this information confidential."
Liam then had some dinner with the group and he received more updates about what was happening in the base.
It looked like the number of people flocking to their base and requesting to join the guild was still increasing.
"Most of these people are players from the tutorial game. They don't seem to be particularly talented." Rey explained.
"Oh? Did you guys conduct some sort of test?" Liam took a bite of the roasted wolf meat and asked.
Yes, bro. I came up with the idea." Rey grinned. "Everyone was doing sparring practice anyway. So we did some recruitment tests for those claiming to be players."
"I mean we are still putting them in the third string after all our combat guild members and the non-combat guild members. We are being careful."
"Hmph."Alex sneered. "They are just fair weather jackals. They want to join us now seeing how our guild managed to come out on top. Otherwise, why would they line up outside our gates? Hmph."
"You are not wrong." Liam chuckled. "They just want to be on the side which is stronger. Tomorrow if another guild has a stronger base, they would probably leave us and join that one. But…"
He paused and added, a pensive look in his eyes. "We need the manpower. Don't forget that our guild is very spread out at the moment. We don't even know how many people survived and how many didn't. So let's give these people a second chance."
"As long as they stay within the lines and do their part without creating any disturbances, let them be. But the moment they start something, kick them to the curb. There will be no third chance."
Everyone agreed. These conditions might be a bit harsh, but someone's careless mistake could cost a lot of people their lives. So they needed to be strict.
"Ok. I will be leaving now." Liam did not sit around and talk for a long time, as he had a big list of things he needed to accomplish in these 24 hours. More importantly, he needed to pay attention to the details.
"Bro, are you going to meet that fairy?" Rey chimed in with excitement.
Immediately, several eyes in the group turned to look at Liam. Shen Yue and Mei Mei, both looked a little startled. Alex rolled her eyes.
Some other women, including Ning Xi, looked at him questioningly.
Only Shin Shoo had a bitter smile as he looked at Rey and shook his head. Bro, you just casually tossed a bomb.
Liam, on the other hand, was too preoccupied to notice this ripple effect. "Yes, I am on my way to that shop. There is a lot I need to ask that woman about. In private." He answered in a matter of fact manner.
In private? By now everyone had seen the fairy Rey was talking about, so they couldn't help but stare at this remark.
Rey was the only one who smiled and gave a thumbs up. "Good luck, bro. Conduct a thorough investigation. He He He."
To everyone's surprise, Liam further added fuel to this fire. "Yes, I plan to." He made a suspicious comment and left.
Hearing this, Alex dropped her spoon in shock, and even Shen Yue looked a little startled. What the hell was going on here? They looked dumbfounded, but Liam and Luna had already disappeared.
The fox took off and directly landed in front of the magic shop, their next stop. Liam hopped down and walked into the inconspicuous shop that opened up into a grand store.
He looked to the attendant on his right and immediately asked for the main boss. "Can I talk to your manager?"
"Ha Ha. I am right here. Why are you looking for me so eagerly, Mr. Liam?" A melodious voice floated across the hall.
Liam turned to see the familiar face, painted with a flirtatious smile that was enough to charm any man into a spell. He smirked. "Thanks for the tip. I did find something better to do with my time."
He could see his words have an immediate effect on the creature as she looked slightly stunned. The few others in the shop also turned to look at them, listening keenly to their conversation.
Seeing this, the fairy became more flustered.
Liam was satisfied with this outcome. "Shall we go inside and talk?"
The fairy's sweet smile returned. Nevertheless, she nodded. She lead the way as the two of them returned to the manager's private room.
"What is this tip you are talking about, Mr. Liam? If you say things like that, then I might get in trouble." Tilia sat back in her chair and laughed awkwardly.
Liam sat down opposite her and smiled. "I am talking about the dungeons, Miss Tilia. I will soon be bringing you some good things back from the dungeons."
The fairy narrowed her eyes as a strange glint flashed within them. "You are really astute, Mr. Liam. I don't think there are that many people who are capable of figuring out this hidden secret in just a matter of days."
"Who said that it was me?" Liam smiled. "Unfortunately, I cannot take credit for this, but I am going to take advantage of it."
"Tee Hee. Such humility and honesty in someone so young are very admirable." The fairy coquettishly giggled and stood up from her chair to walk over to Liam.
She gently leaned on the table right next to him, so close that only her scent filled the space between them. "You are a man of many admirable qualities, Mr. Liam."
"Heh. Is that so?" Liam's mouth twitched. The woman's fragrance tickled his nose and made his hands itchy to reach forward and grab her by her slender waist. Something was different today.
Seemingly amused by his reaction, the fairy inched even closer, stopping only a hair away from him. "Yes, Mr. Liam. You are very impressive."
Liam immediately pulled back. He did not know what this person was capable of, so he had to be careful not to fall into some trap.
As for her intentions, he was already aware of them. She was once again trying to manipulate him, but he decided to give her an opportunity to be more direct.
"In that case, how about you reward me with something? You, Miss Tilia, are very knowledgeable about the things currently happening in my world. How about you share with me some of your insights?"
The fairy paused. She stared at Liam with her complete undivided attention, and something twinkled within the depth of her eyes. She let out a deep, raspy breath and, unexpectedly, started leaning forward.
She inched closer to Liam, holding her gaze, and covered the distance between them. She was once again so close to him that he could feel her cool breath mixed with her scent on his face.
To Liam's surprise, she then parted her lips and came further closer. Her cherry red lips glistened with an enchanting charm as she placed her mouth right on top of Liam's!
A soft, wet, flower petal-like sensation assaulted him. However, it was only for a brief moment. Just as he was about to react, the fairy quickly pulled back, her lips merely brushing past his.
"I am sorry, Mr Liam. As a store manager, I have to remain neutral towards all my customers, and I am afraid I am not allowed to participate in the events of your world."
She gave a charming wink and then stood up to walk back to her chair behind the desk, putting a distance between herself and him.
Liam's gaze turned cold. This was something he had already expected, but he had still hoped that he would be able to forge some sort of relationship with this fairy.
Instead, the other party only seemed to be interested in teasing him. If anything, she made that clear today.
Or perhaps his strength was just not enough to tempt her into forming any sort of relationship. Either way, this path was not going to get him too far at the moment.
Liam decided to leave this for later, maybe after he reached Level 100.
"Of course. I understand, Miss Tilia. I wouldn't want to force you to do anything that you are not comfortable with." He flashed a smile and stood up. "I will be taking my leave then. I have quite a few quests to hand over."
As if nothing had happened, Liam casually walked out of the manager's room and went over to the quest board section.
The fairy's eyes trailed behind him with an odd glint, but then she closed her eyes and remained silent as if she were contemplating something deeply.
Back inside the shop, Liam opened his quest interface and started submitting the few quests that he could. Even though the quests this time involved gathering materials from elite beasts, specifically portal bosses, the quest submission was still a merciless grind.
Liam did not observe any change in the quality or quantity of quest content, even after spending quite a bit of time on this. But that was fine. He was also prepared for this.
Given how dungeons are now so much more valuable, he had already made plans to search the entire country for the rest of the dungeons.
These were the most important resources at the moment. The two locations that he was most familiar with were not nearly enough. They needed to find more dungeon portals and take control of those territories as well.
After all, China is a vast country. There was no way that these were the only two dungeons in the vicinity.
Liam finished up the quest board business and then proceeded to walk out of the store. Several people waved at him and respectfully greeted him as he passed by.
Currently, the various customers littering the magic shop were all mostly Crimson Abyss guild members or wannabe guild members.
"If I want to expand the territory, then I might have to recruit more people." Liam made a mental note as he walked out. He returned to the hotel right after that, as he still had the rest of the day to burn.
And while he was waiting, there was something else that needed his attention. "It should happen anytime now," Liam murmured to himself as he went back to his room and looked outside the window.
Just so that he did not miss out on anything, he also unleashed his soul minion army to patrol the city. To see the seven hundred plus undead minions walking around the living was a terrifying sight.
Everyone would have started panicking and attacking these weird things or shitting their pants and locking their doors, except by now, news had already spread mostly through word of mouth.
Thanks to the popularity of 'Evolution Online', there was at least one person on the street who knew about the video game and the famous S-Rank guild Crimson Abyss.
Because of this, the line outside the hotel was getting longer every day, and everyone naturally assumed that these minions belonged to the guild in some way or another.
Moreover, the soul minions seemed harmless, as they did not pay any attention to anyone. They simply walked about minding their own business, so it was easier to get used to their presence.
There were also some who still dared to attack the undead, but most of them had by now leveled up a few times, thanks to the beast wave. These few attacks were insignificant in comparison to the beasts, which could flee much faster than the Level 0 humans.
This went on for some time until the long night ended, and a new day began. As the first rays of sunlight hit the city, Liam finally received the signal that he was waiting for. pan(da-n0vel.c)om
"Let's go, Luna." He immediately summoned the fox, and the duo took off from the hotel, reaching their destination in just a few seconds.
Luna landed in front of a poorly constructed apartment building in what looked like a very congested area with several low-cost buildings squished together in the same neighborhood.
"So we start off in the slum area, huh?" Liam sighed with a chuckle.
This sort of thing was to be expected, as people who are already weak, malnourished, or sick from some ailment were the first to fall.
Their bodies were unable to withstand the new energy that they were not accustomed to, and therefore they have a higher chance of not being able to successfully adapt to mana.
This was precisely why Liam was here.
Mana zombies! The next threat that the apocalypse posed.
It was time these creatures started showing up one by one, and it looked like the first one was already here.
Rawwrrr! A loud, enraged sound echoed from within the small apartment as everyone poked their heads out from their small windows and small balconies in confusion and worry.
What was happening? Are there more beasts once again coming out?
Suddenly they found themselves looking for the creepy undead that had been patrolling their street just a couple of minutes ago.
However, to their dismay, neither the creepy undead nor the person to whom the creepy undead belonged was anywhere to be seen.
Liam did not plan on intervening just yet. He simply stood on the side and continued to observe the situation from the outside.
This meant that there could potentially be some casualties, as he did not exactly have X-ray eyes and couldn't prevent any mishaps from happening inside the apartment without being present there.
However, he still decided to do this because this was a very sensitive issue.
If Liam intervened and saved the people from the apartment building, then there were two ways things could play out.
He would either be praised to the high heavens and called a savior or be cursed and condemned to hell.
Most often, the affected person's family would reject their situation as reality and instead place the blame for their death squarely on the shoulders of the savior, claiming that this was an injustice committed by him.
He would be branded as a power-hungry psychopath out to mutilate everyone by the same people who begged him for help.
Liam had seen a lot of this happen in his last lifetime, and he wanted to avoid this sticky situation at all costs. So he took his time before going in.
Meanwhile, a thin young man who appeared to be in his late 20s or early 30s suddenly clutched his head and began yelling or, more accurately, roaring loudly in agony inside the small apartment.
Everyone in the surrounding houses could clearly hear this guttural shout.
But it did not stop there. The young man screamed in pain for a few seconds, after which he lifted his head up and looked at his wife near him with reddened eyes.
Something within him had cracked.
The woman could sense it. The person in front of her was her husband, but at the same time, he was no longer the same person whom she knew and was familiar with. Her gut instincts said so.
He was staring at her like a rabid animal was staring at her. She only felt fear, not even concern. It was just a human instinct.
"Arrrggghhh!" The woman screamed and banged open the door. She started madly shouting and running away.
The few people who had opened their doors to take a look at what was going on immediately became alert upon seeing this. Everyone quickly started closing their doors back up again and silently hid inside.