James did not move, because not far ahead of him appeared a group of spiders, blocking the path completely, leaving no room to maneuver.
James glanced at his own health value, which had now recovered to full, then allocated the 5 attribute points gained from leveling up to Strength, bringing his Attack Power to 52.
With the eye of a veteran, James surveyed the surrounding environment and found there was truly no 'safe zone'. He carefully retraced the path he had come, but made no discoveries. It was clear he had to force his way through, find some terrain to take cover in inside, otherwise there would be no solution.
In solo-player Nightmare mode dungeons, the reason it was called death mode was because you had to accumulate experience through numerous deaths to uncover a viable approach, going through various attempts to find a viable method, because one thing had to be realized:
If you were discovered by any monster in the dungeon, no matter how far the player ran, no matter how far the distance between player and monster, it would still find the player, as long as the player did not leave the dungeon. The monster would keep 'smelling' the player's scent and follow without ever losing aggro, unless the player found a place to 'hide'.
If the player went offline midway, when they came back online, they would find themselves at the dungeon entrance, having left the dungeon.
So there absolutely had to be a hiding spot, it was just a matter of whether the player could find the key point.
This dungeon could be considered the easiest, with all the monsters being Level-5, 1-star elites. Since this dungeon appeared in the newbie area quests, its difficulty could not be too high. There were no forks in the path here, so that hiding place should be easy to find, at least for a reincarnator like James.
James took a deep breath, having thought it through clearly. Next was a test of his insight and observation.
James bent down in a ready stance, his stamina gauge at 100%.
In an instant, he moved!
James's tall figure suddenly charged forward, rapidly rushing towards that pile of elite monsters.
Getting closer, closer, almost in contact!
When James entered within 10 meters, the first [ White Sack Spider ] noticed the intruder, while its companions behind it, having received the warning, also noticed James despite him not yet entering their perception range.
Immediately, dense screeching sounds rang out as they howled and charged at James.
When the two sides were only 3 meters apart, just about to enter the [ White Sack Spider ]'s attack range, James suddenly leapt, carried by immense momentum as he flew up into the air.
The [ White Sack Spiders ] all looked up at the enemy above.
Then, James landed in the midst of the spider swarm!
Instantly, the surrounding [ White Sack Spiders ] unleashed attacks on James.
His health plummeted sharply, but James did not linger, immediately continuing to run forward after his feet hit the ground. Thanks to that leap, James was now in the rear position, and with his speed, some of the [ White Sack Spiders ] attacks missed.
In an instant, James burst out from the monster pile, covered in bloody wounds. The pain was transmitted, this game made things very realistic, even conveying the pain, though not intensely, just an uncomfortable feeling like being bitten by mosquitoes.
James's expression was unchanged as he quickly surveyed left and right after bursting out, finding no path to continue deeper. Behind him, a large group of [ White Sack Spiders ] gave chase, unwilling to give up such delicious prey.
It seemed the elite monsters were concentrated in that area, as James saw no elite ahead. Soon, he spotted the nest up ahead, a huge terrifying figure guarding it - he knew that was the final boss of the dungeon.
Ahead was a dead end, and behind was even more so. This stretch surely had to have a hiding spot then.
James's mind worked meticulously, and soon he locked onto a location.
This area was slightly more open, and James noticed a stone pillar protruding 3 meters from the ground with water stains seeping out. The other terrain features were straightforward, nothing abnormal.
This was it!
James swiftly ran towards the stone pillar, then leapt again.
His body slammed onto the pillar, hands gripping tightly onto the top edge as he pulled himself up. James found that at the top of the pillar was a well - the pillar was hollow inside, filled with water, the top a circular opening just big enough for a person to enter.
Without hesitation, James jumped right into the stone pillar.
By now, the surrounding [ White Sack Spiders ] had gathered around the pillar James was in, some immediately scurrying up. Soon they appeared atop the pillar as well.
But upon seeing James had disappeared, the [ White Sack Spider ]'s aggro immediately reset, quickly relaying this information to their grounded companions. Receiving the message, the spiders surrounding the pillar slowly dispersed back to their previous locations.
The spiders above also began climbing back down, scattering away.
After being submerged for 10 seconds, James started losing health:
[ -10 ]
[ -10 ]
[ -10 ]
He lost 10 health every 2 seconds. James vaguely saw through the water that there were no more spiders above, so he immediately surfaced from the pillar's water.
Taking a look around, he saw the [ White Sack Spiders ] heading back along the path he came. His gaze then fell on one spider.
He noticed this [ White Sack Spider ] had fallen behind, the distance from its companions quite substantial. Checking his own health, he felt he could withstand two more attacks from a [ White Sack Spider ].
That was enough for James.
He immediately jumped down to chase after the straggler, luring it back to the stone pillar, then taking it out using his previous hit-and-run tactics.
Counting, there were nine elite spiders left ahead.
James decided to recover his health and stamina first, so he sat down.
After ten minutes, James was back at full, and rose again.
James decided to clear out those nine spiders first. One had to know, during the newbie period, encountering even a single elite monster was an incredible rarity - players in the open world didn't care whether to attack or not, they were dead regardless. Better to get first aggro then deal with it.
Following his previous tactics, he would lure the nine spiders over, jump into the stone well, then as soon as he lost aggro, immediately climb back out, at which point there would be one straggling [ White Sack Spider ] left for him to chase down and kill.
Although this method was time-consuming, it was currently the fastest way to gain experience. James did not find it troublesome at all, happily watching the experience accumulate - far faster than open world leveling, where aside from leaders, all the level 5 elites were just regular mobs.
After eliminating them all, James officially headed towards the boss' location.
It was a nest, with a spider larger than a lioness, its body purple-brown with patterns on its back, silently crouched there.
What surprised James was that behind this spider boss was a radiant treasure chest placed on a stone platform.
[ White Sack Spider Leader
-Level 5
-1-star elite
-Type: Boss-level ]
Just as James took that first step into the cavern, his foot landing on the webbing below, the silently lurking spider boss awoke. Yet it did not move, quietly waiting, eyes cracking open a sliver as it sensed prey had taken the bait.
What the [ White Sack Spider Leader ] did not expect was for the prey to stop moving as well.
James halted when he stepped onto the web, immediately noticing the movement speed reduction effect - realizing this was likely a trap.
James remained at the cave entrance, an unspoken standoff forming between the two.
James knew that for a regular player, even if they noticed the abnormality here, with the spider boss still unmoving, they would assume they had to enter to 'trigger' the proper start. They would never imagine that once the player got very close, this cunning, gigantic spider boss would immediately attack, by which point it would be too late.
Now it was a matter of who had more patience.
James was familiar with some of the game's rules, so he clearly had more patience.
But after 5 minutes had passed, even James began to harbor a sliver of doubt, at which point the cunning spider lost its patience.
The spider boss immediately locked onto James, rising up abruptly! James was fully alert, knowing he could not afford the slightest carelessness.
The [ White Sack Spider Leader ] swiftly advanced, its eight legs moving like machines, its speed on par with James's sprinting.
James turned and ran.
The nest area was completely webbed over, slowing movement - definitely not a good place for a solo fight. If he had recklessly entered earlier, he would likely be in a very passive position now.
Once out of the nest, James felt much lighter, the terrifying figure behind him also emerging to relentlessly give chase.
James came back to the half-pillar again - this would be the battleground.
James paused slightly, allowing the spider boss to catch up before unleashing a ferocious pincer attack on the leader.
Using the pillar for cover, James continued evading while seizing opportunities for counterattacks.
[ -17 ]
That was James's first hit. The spider boss had high health and defense, not easy to deal with.
But who was James? A reincarnator with vast experience from his previous life, having cultivated himself into an exceptional hunter - one of patience.
Aware of the situation's severity, James remained utterly focused, knowing he could not afford the slightest lapse, as any mistake against such a boss could prove fatal.
He had to control the rhythm of battle, progressing in a cycle, not rushing recklessly.
Whenever the spider boss attacked three times, James would seize the opening to slash it with his sword, dealing minor damage. But following this method, the spider boss's health gradually depleted.
Relying on his agile frame, stamina bonuses, terrain cover, James avoided every single one of the spider boss's attacks.
Just as the spider boss's health fell to half, it used a skill!
Not aimed at James, but spraying a wave of green venom skyward.
The venom rained down in dense droplets, unavoidable. James's body was inevitably exposed to some of the venom.
[ -15 ]
[ -15 ]
[ -15 ]
A poison effect appeared, draining 15 health every 3 seconds for 30 seconds.
After 30 seconds, James would lose 150 health. Fortunately, James had been putting points into strength, which not only increased attack but maximum health.
James remained unflustered, his form steady, thinking clear as he thrust out another sword strike.
After spitting venom, the spider boss continued its assault on James.
At this point, the spider boss's combat pattern changed. After a series of normal attacks, it would suddenly spit small green orbs at James.
The green orbs moved swiftly. When James evaded, they would slam into the rock walls, forming a sticky liquid.
If hit, not only would there be direct damage, but also a venom debuff effect.
Whenever the spider boss used this skill, James would typically use the pillar as a pivot point, whirling around to the other side and emerging to strike with his sword.
Slowly, the spider boss's health fell to less than one-tenth remaining. Sensing its life in danger, it finally awoke to how vexing this battle pattern was, though its low intelligence prevented it from realizing sooner.
The spider boss sprayed upwards again, but this time not venom - a large amount of spider silk instead.
The silk carried a movement speed reduction effect. If entangled, mobility would be severely hampered.
James swiftly fled the area. This played right into the spider boss's ploy, successfully luring the irritating prey out from its cover.
Seeing James retreating, the spider boss ceased spitting silk to immediately give chase, while also firing a green orb at him.
James evaded it in time, realizing it had come down to kill or be killed.
James had always harbored a touch of madness, now amplified to utter fearlessness as he checked his health, which had recovered decently. The spider boss had not used the venom rain skill again since the first time, so James's health would very slowly continue rising during the coming battle.
Going to slug it out? Bring it on!
James let out a low roar, pushing off the ground to rapidly close the distance!
The spider boss's massive pincers came at James, but he leapt up, controlling his frame as his sword hand gripped the hilt tightly, plunging the point down towards the spider boss's head. James's feet landed squarely on its back.
The spider boss screeched, bucking its body to fling James off, its left third leg sweeping at him with its curved spike!
[ -89 ]
James's health immediately dropped to half remaining.
But James did not panic, instead laughing, as if some profound essence within had been awakened.
He, James, did not actually favor agile combat styles. He preferred the wild, brutal clash of forces!
It was kill or be killed, not just brutal but ever more brutal!
James roared with laughter, overcome with frenzy as he engaged in a primal, masculine brawl with no evasion.
[ -21! ]
[ -83! ]
[ -23! ]
[ -81! ]
Die!!!