While they might not have gotten used to the rules of skill that subtly defied the laws of physics, it was much easier for the Players to fight monsters once they familiarized themselves with their skills.
After all, all they could do against monsters without supernatural powers was slash, jump, and roll. Not only was the fight monotonous and boring, it was also very dangerous without the means to attack or evade.
After all, monsters in the real world did not fight as inflexible as the AI in Monster Hunter games … not to mention that even Monster Hunters had things like Hunting Skills …
Having lost the advantage of ambushing from within the miasma, the Skeleton King Spider was instead caught unprepared by the Players' skills. Even if its level was a notch higher than the Players, it still died to the Players' hands.
After all, the Skeleton King Spider's almost instinctive combat experience that it had developed over the years was not only of no help against the Players' endless stream of skills, it was actually a hindrance.
Add to that the fact that the four of them had come from Kennington Village together and had been working together from the start, their combat skills were unquestionably at the level of 'expert' among the current Players. As long as they were careful of the Skeletal King Spider's venomous fangs, they could easily wear it down.
In fact, the battle against the Skeleton King Spider would have ended even faster if the Players did not have to use a torch to dispel the miasma.
Still, it was only after the Players had killed the Skeleton King Spider that the four Players noticed a serious problem as they continued their journey.
While visibility in the miasma was better than expected and they could see a dozen meters ahead, it still felt foggy. Beyond the range of their vision was an abnormal purple, and there was nothing to tell their direction with.
It was almost impossible to find the way by relying on the terrain alone.
Therefore, after walking for some time, the four Players realized that they were logically lost.
In fact, if not for the green blood stains left from their fight against the Skeleton King Spider, they would not have realized that they were lost.
"We can't keep going like this," Gou Dan said somberly, his expression grim. "If we keep going around randomly, we might have to turn back the way we came!"
The others looked grim as well.
To tell the truth, it would have been fine if they were wiped out in the Valley of the Tragic Dead, since they were heroes who sacrificed their lives to explore this place.
But if you walked around in circles for a long time and ended up walking out, it would be a little awkward …
"Even if you say so, there's nothing we can do." Charle leaned on his sword and sighed helplessly. "There's no sun or stars in this godforsaken place. There's not even a single tree. Even the most experienced hunter wouldn't be able to tell the direction in this place."
"Why don't we carve some arrows on the ground?" Eleena suggested.
"It's useless. The ground here is quite soft, and there are undead wandering around from time to time. The traces we left behind will soon disappear." Edward shook his head, "When we fought with the big spider, there were quite a few traces left behind. If it weren't for this pool of blood, none of us would have thought that this was the place where the battle took place!"
"Then what should we do?" Eggface asked listlessly.
"Actually, I've been curious from the start. Why would the God of Games indicate that the exploration of the Valley of the Tragic Dead requires a party of three to six Players?" Edward stroked his chin, a glint flashing in his eyes. "Moreover, I only realized after we entered that a single torch could illuminate all six of us! In other words, the condition of 'one torch per person' is useless apart from being an entrance ticket. "
"The entrance requirement of 'one torch per person' wasn't just something the God of Games made up on purpose to waste our time and energy. After all, he is wise and mighty, and would never play such senseless and vile tricks. If I'm not mistaken, the condition itself has something to do with clearing this dungeon! " Edward shared his conjecture with the other three. "If we follow this train of thought, we would find that some of the low-level revenants wandering in the miasma of death seem to be rather wary of the torch's power, and wouldn't approach it easily. That's why our journey has been so smooth."
"Edward, what are you trying to say?" Charle, who was all brawn was utterly confused, whereas Eleena and Eggface seemed to have thought of something.
"What I mean is," Edward said solemnly as if he had just discovered a shocking secret, "if we stick the torch in the ground, could it be used as a waypoint?"
The torch itself could dispel the miasma and illuminate the area. Even a hundred meters away, one could still see the light in the miasma. Ordinary undead would not take the initiative to attack the torch. Other than ensuring that the torch would not disappear easily, it also had a certain degree of warning function. Once the torch disappeared, it meant that a relatively strong enemy had appeared behind them!
Moreover, the condition to clear the Valley of the Tragic Dead: Outer Perimeter was to reach 1% of the exploration rate. There was no overly strict combat requirement, which was why it was fine as long as they could walk a long enough distance.
"I see. As expected of the smartest Edward!" Charle came to a sudden realization.
"That's right. We wouldn't have thought of that if not for you, Edward." Eggface added.
"Brother Edward, you're amazing!" Eleena cheered quietly for Edward as well.
Edward, on the other hand, scratched the back of his head, a little embarrassed. "It's nothing. It's our god who's amazing, being able to discreetly hide clues and hints like this in the game text and the exploration process."
Meanwhile, far away in his divine kingdom, Xi Wei couldn't help but take a deep breath as he watched.
Damn it, I really didn't think that much …
Setting up a torch for each person was really just a way to delay and restrict the players from entering the dungeon. It was completely meaningless. In fact, Xi Wei had never even considered that the players would get lost in the miasma. After all, he always had a minimap when he played the game.
Now that things had come to this, Xi Wei couldn't just descend in front of them and tell them that they were wrong, that their god didn't think that much.
Thus, Xi Wei could only watch as the four people walked out of Kennington Village. As they continued to explore, they stuck their torches into the ground one after another. Needless to say, the path they took this time was pretty straight.
It was a pity that when the last torch was used and the exploration progress reached 0.95%, the monster hidden in the miasma ambushed them.
Caught off guard, even Eleena, who was the strongest among them, couldn't escape. The four of them died one after another, and so the first exploration party in the Valley of the Tragic Dead was wiped out.
When they revived under the Lifestone three days later, they found Marni bragging to the players who didn't dare to enter the Valley of the Tragic Dead.
"Let me tell you, the spider's venomous fangs were long and sharp, and its eyes were big and round …" When he was talking excitedly, he would even use his hands to gesture. "At that time, my body trembled, and I thought, 'Oh no, I've been ambushed!'
"Then why didn't you go?" Someone jeered.
"I did, but I was instantly killed. What else is there to say!" Marni said regretfully, slapping his thigh.
"Damn you, you really gave it to me for free!" Another player laughed.
"How can you say that we gave it to you for free?!" Marni was stubborn.