The oppressive atmosphere made Xue Xia feel like she was suffocating. The sight of the terrifying monsters pacing behind the large iron gate made her slender legs go weak. Under the scrutiny of a detection spell, the attributes of the enhanced elite monsters were laid bare. In both attributes and appearance, these creatures were worlds apart from those in the normal difficulty dungeon.
Xue Xia, terrified, turned to Lin, "This is nightmare difficulty, isn't it? Did you choose the wrong setting?" Lin, unfazed, replied, "I didn't choose wrong."
"Not wrong…" Xue Xia couldn't believe they were about to tackle a nightmare difficulty dungeon just by themselves. Just glimpsing the monsters' horrifying attributes sent shivers down her spine.
"Have you lost your mind? We're going to die," Xue Xia exclaimed. Lin didn't respond to her panic or address her current state of mind. "Just follow me when I run."
"Run? Run what?" Xue Xia was momentarily lost. The sight of that horrifying enhanced elite monster already had it out for her, sparking a fear of death inside.
If it weren't for the fear of being ridiculed by Lin, she'd be running out of the dungeon right now. But then, an army of skeleton warriors appeared in the room. Lin summoned more skeleton warriors as he released the ones he already had, quickly filling half the room with 80 of these skeletal soldiers.
Xue Xia watched in horror as Lin then opened the dungeon gate. The skeleton warriors charged into the mine like a legion unleashed, familiarizing Lin with the routine. The enhanced elite monster that had locked its gaze on them was now chasing after the skeleton warriors, disappearing from sight in moments.
"Follow me," Lin started to run. Xue Xia was stunned; this was an unheard-of way to tackle a dungeon. "Hurry, you're not scared, are you?" Lin's voice echoed from the tunnel.
Stomping her foot, Xue Xia muttered, "I'm not scared! I won't lose to you." A surge of defiance rose within her as she quickly caught up to Lin.
An unprecedented sight unfolded in the dungeon: skeleton warriors led the charge, followed by a swarm of enhanced elite monsters, with Lin and Xue Xia bringing up the rear. "What exactly are you planning to do?" Xue Xia asked as they ran.
"Just grinding the dungeon," Lin replied nonchalantly, leaving Xue Xia speechless.
They raced through the long mine tunnels and soon faced the wolf king boss of the nightmare level, a creature far more intimidating than its normal difficulty counterpart. Xue Xia didn't need to use her detection spell to know it was formidable.
Yet, as the skeleton warriors approached it, they kept running, not engaging in combat. "Why aren't they attacking?" Xue Xia was amazed at the skeletons' endurance but puzzled by their tactics.
"Almost there," Lin commanded, as the horde of monsters finally caught up. A few skeletons suddenly activated their skills, instantly killing an elite monster and tossing its body into the air.
Lin raised his hand in sync. "Boom!" The corpse exploded mid-air, causing a colossal roar that startled Xue Xia. Her experience points skyrocketed, with alerts flooding in. In mere moments, her experience had surged by 30%.
Xue Xia was dumbfounded. Was this even grinding? What kind of strategy was this? "Boom! Boom! Boom!" More explosions followed, and the terrifying wolf king that had seemed insurmountable whimpered and fell.
"Dead. Just like that?" She remembered how, in the normal difficulty dungeon, it took careful planning and over twenty minutes of struggle to barely defeat the wolf king. And here, in Lin's presence, it was effortlessly vanquished.
Feeling numb, Xue Xia realized this wasn't just any dungeon run; it was a nightmare difficulty dungeon made to look like a walk in the park by Lin. "Are you always solo grinding nightmare dungeons?" She finally managed to ask.
"Yes," Lin's calm reply confirmed her wildest thoughts. "Since level 10?" "Correct."
Getting the affirmative from Lin, Xue Xia understood why he was leveling up so quickly. While she was leaving the newbie dungeon, Lin was probably already solo grinding here in nightmare mode.
If not for the dungeon cooldown, Lin might even be level 20 by now. The efficiency was astonishing. From entering the dungeon to facing the final boss, it had been no more than ten minutes, a stark contrast to the hour-plus it took her team to reach the same point in normal difficulty.
Then, as they faced the massive goblin king, Lin's army of skeletons, followed by a horde of ferocious beasts, charged. After several earth-shattering booms, everything went silent. Lin was aglow with the light of leveling up.