Chapter 10: Dungeon! Dungeon!
Dungeons, commonly known as "private rooms," allow players and their friends to experience, explore, adventure, or complete missions in these unique private underground areas.
At the same time, players can also invite others to join specific dungeon zones. This helps resolve issues that commonly occur in many games, such as camping, poaching, monopolizing boss equipment, and so on.
Monsters in the dungeons are usually more powerful, so players must team up to enter. However, the greater the danger, the greater the reward!
Most dungeon areas are linked to some elite missions. Before entering a dungeon, players try to accept as many related missions as possible.
They also make sure to have enough potions, food, and gear, and will clear out enough backpack space before entering.
Because without enough backpack space, players may be forced to destroy some existing items to pick up the rare equipment dropped in the dungeon.
Lastly, before entering a challenging dungeon area, players ensure they have enough time, as most elite missions take longer to complete than regular ones.
The most important point is that all dungeons start at Lv1. Normally, beginners like Leon, who is Lv0, wouldn't be able to enter a dungeon.
But this time was an exception. Sun City High School, having just occupied a new map, opened a five-player dungeon trip for all students.
Of course, for the students, the dungeon being available was one thing, but whether they could survive going in and coming out was another. Most students didn't have the strength for it, and they sold their dungeon entry spots for high prices. Some students who had some money hired mercenaries to help them, though they wouldn't gain much experience, they could claim all the loot inside.
Leon was naturally one of those who hired a mercenary, but he didn't spend any money. The Sunshine Squad provided the service for free.
Although it was a free service, the Sunshine Squad was still professional. According to them, every mission needed to have a guaranteed completion rate so they could eventually join the higher-level Sky Road Mercenary Group.
The players leading Leon through the dungeon this time were some of the more elite members. The captain was a hunter. Compared to a pure archer, his shooting ability was a bit weaker, but his pet and trap skills were quite strong. Combined with his excellent survival skills, he was the ideal leader.
The next three members didn't follow the traditional warrior-mage-healer setup. The tank was a feral druid, proficient in both bear form tanking and lion form attacking. The support was a shaman, and the DPS was a thief.
From this combination, it was clear that although they might not be strong in magic, they excelled in survival skills in the wild.
The reason for this setup was because the five-player dungeon Leon was going to was called the Land of Desolation Coast.
The entire dungeon required at least three days to complete, with a total of three small bosses, one large boss, and one hidden boss. Two-thirds of the dungeon was set in the wild. Without survival skills, you wouldn't even know how you died.
Additionally, this dungeon had already been cleared hundreds of times, and most of the strategies had been shared. These four members had experience taking others through the dungeon and knew what to do and what not to do inside.
As soon as Leon arrived at the agreed meeting place, the hunter captain introduced himself: "Hello, my game ID is YR-63775546-229. As for names, they don't matter before Lv4. You can just call me Captain or Hunter."
Hearing this, Leon gave his game ID and politely said, "Hello Captain. I'm not the type to act recklessly. If you have any instructions, feel free to give them. I will listen carefully."
The hunter smiled and said, "I've been through this dungeon three times and led others through it once. The dungeon isn't difficult. If we don't aim for the hidden boss, we can finish in three days. Even with the hidden boss, it will only take three and a half days. However, for your safety, there are a few things I need to mention. First, I will decide the route for the team. No matter what skills you have, you are not allowed to leave my side or the druid's side. In this dungeon, only the two of us can guarantee to block the first strike for you in case of danger.
Also, have you accepted your missions? If not, I have a mission list from last time that you can share. There are five missions in this dungeon. Two of them have prerequisites, but you don't need to worry about those. Completing the prerequisites takes at least three days, and we can't wait for you. But I can share the other three missions with you.
'The One-Eyed Cyclops' is a mission to kill a mid-boss. 'Stolen Goods' involves finding lost items, and 'Fishman Flowers in the Water' is about collecting herbs. Go ahead and accept them.
Speaking of herbs, I should mention that if you see any herb or ore spots, don't rush in. In the dungeon, these spots are often guarded by tougher elites. Do you have any herbalism or mining skills? If you do, following the dungeon rules, you can take everything. If not, we'll mine or gather for you, but we'll take half.
And one more thing, unless we encounter a fishing spot or camp at night, no fishing is allowed in the dungeon.
Lastly, our service includes basic supply meals and combat meals. If you want other food or potions, you'll have to bring them yourself.
That's about it. If there are no questions, we'll prepare to set off."
At this moment, Leon suddenly said, "Captain, I have a personal mission that also takes place in this dungeon. Could you take a look?"
As Leon spoke, he handed over his mission list.
Curious, the hunter took the list and frowned. Leon's mission was 'Cain's Memory.'
It recorded how Cain had once discovered something while searching for food on the Land of Desolation Coast. From the sky, Cain saw several sneaky individuals performing a sacrificial ritual with corpses on a cliff by the sea.
From the flames of the ritual, a massive three-headed sea beast emerged from the depths, devouring the sacrificial corpses. The remaining bones were tossed into the sea below the cliff.
Cain had intended to swoop down for some of the leftover meat but, upon descending, discovered that the corpses had piled into a mountain at the base of the cliff. This bone mountain was pressing down on a nearly hundred-meter-long, ancient sea beast resembling a bipedal crocodile.
It was unclear how long the sea beast had been dead, its body stiffened like iron, almost blending with the cliff's rocks from a distance. Yet it still exuded the presence of a behemoth. When Cain flew down, he even felt as though he might be devoured.
But upon seeing the sea beast, Leon felt a sudden urge. He believed he had found the path he needed to follow, and that this long-dead sea beast would be the key to his growth.
That night, Leon had a dream. In the dream, the person he had seen earlier not only demonstrated their martial arts but also a different combat technique. It was a technique where the person stood between the head and neck of an eastern dragon, wielding a long-handled weapon in battle.
When the weapon was swung, the heavens trembled, thunder roared, seas of blood rose, mountains of bones formed, dark winds howled, and wails filled the land. The technique's power was immense.
Leon also noticed that the key to this technique was the dragon beneath the person's feet. Many of the attacks were initiated by the dragon, with the person coordinating in tandem.