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Xu Yuan smoothly collected the first kills for quite a few monsters.
[Lava Immunity: Immune to fire, lava, and magma block damage.]
[Throw Strike: Throws the target into the air upon attack.]
[Wither Lv1: Causes a wither effect with each attack (health turns black, and loss is less noticeable), dealing 5% damage per second.]
[Upgrade costs 20,000 kill points.]
[Explosive Fireball Lv1: Launches a fireball that explodes upon contact, power of 1. Destroys blocks with hardness less than 1 and ignites a 3x3 block area.]
[Upgrade costs 20,000 kill points.]
[Fireball Burst Lv1: Fires three fireballs with 50% accuracy and a 30-range attack distance.]
[Upgrade costs 20,000 kill points.]
[Swarm Attack Lv1: Sets Piglins and Piglin Brutes within a 15x15 range against a designated target.]
[Upgrade costs 20,000 kill points.]
Xu Yuan liked the Nether monster skills so far.
Naturally, the two fireball skills came from Ghasts and Blazes. And he had to admit—both were incredibly useful. Now he had two long-range attack skills, letting him keep his distance. The Ghast's explosive fireball gave him wide-range damage, like having a remote missile launcher. Meanwhile, the Blaze's fireball burst acted like a machine gun, rapidly shooting fireballs with improvements to accuracy and range upon leveling up.
With these, Xu Yuan no longer had to rely solely on close-range explosions.
Then there was the wither effect, which wasn't bad either. It gradually drained health in a way that was hard to detect. As he leveled it, the health drain rate would increase as well. The "Swarm Attack" skill, as you'd expect, came from the Piglins, though it wasn't particularly useful since Xu Yuan could control monsters directly.
Creatures like the Zombified Piglins and Magma Cubes didn't yield any special skills. Zombified Piglins lacked unique abilities, and the Magma Cubes weren't much different from regular Slimes—just another split skill, which Xu Yuan already had. So, the system ignored it.
Even though he'd gained quite a bit, Xu Yuan still felt a bit let down.
His main goal in coming to the Nether was to gain a flying skill. He'd hoped defeating a Ghast would unlock one, but it looked like that wasn't going to happen. The Ghast's ability to fly seemed to be instinctual, not a skill he could obtain. That left Xu Yuan pinning his hopes on the Wither or the Ender Dragon—both boss monsters. It didn't seem too much to ask, right?
With that thought, Xu Yuan began planning his next steps. "First, I'll get the Wither's first kill..."
To summon the Wither, he needed three Wither Skeleton heads placed on soul sand. Wither Skeleton head drop rates were only 2.5%—which, let's be honest, was pretty depressing.
In Xu Yuan's experience, that 2.5% was a joke. He'd played long enough, even without using a farm, to kill thousands of Wither Skeletons, and for him, the decimal point could practically be moved back a place.
When it came to collecting Wither Skeleton heads, Xu Yuan was an absolute master of bad luck.
He'd usually build a Wither Skeleton farm to handle this, but now he only needed three heads to get the first kill. No point in going through all the trouble. He just needed to hunt down a few on his own. Considering he could one-shot Wither Skeletons now and teleport around, his farming rate was pretty high. Even if his luck was awful, a couple of hours should do the trick.
With that in mind, Xu Yuan set off to gather the Wither Skeleton heads.
———
Yun Fei, after researching for half a day, finally managed to activate the obsidian portal.
"So, all it takes is fire to activate it?"
The moment he set fire to the portal frame, it flared to life. The space within the frame twisted, glowing with an eerie purple light.
Yun Li was instantly excited.
"It's working!"
Seeing the portal light up, Yun Li took a moment to survey the gathered players. After recognizing everyone, he felt more at ease.
"Alright, everyone here is a guild veteran and part of the elite squad, so you all know the rules, right?"
Yun Li was cautious by nature. This portal was a major discovery for their guild, one that could give them an edge over other guilds. To stay ahead, everyone had to keep this a secret. He'd set this rule long ago, and everyone in the elite squad knew the drill.
"Don't worry, boss. We understand!"
"We're all on the same page here. Won't let a word slip."
"We're all guild veterans; we know what to do."
Everyone who made it into the elite squad was trustworthy, experienced in the guild's ways. Yun Li didn't really need to remind them, but it never hurt to be thorough.
"Good. Let's go in and check it out."
With that, the players followed Yun Li through the portal, disappearing one by one into the glowing frame.
The members of Yun Teng Guild found themselves in a dizzying whirl, hit by an intense wave of heat.
When they opened their eyes, the sight left them speechless.
"What the heck?! Where are we?!"
"Why's it all red and creepy..."
"So hot and stuffy! This place is awful!"
They quickly checked the map and realized their location.
"The Nether? So this is...a whole other world?"
"Whoa, this game has a place like this?!"
"Geez...the monsters here must be insane! What if we can't make it back?"
It was their first time in the Nether, and the unfamiliar terrain and monsters made them anxious. Yun Li assessed their surroundings, then issued a command.
"Alright, everyone, get ready to explore. I bet this place has some rare loot!"
After all, it was a new map, accessible only through a portal, so the resources here should be better than those in the overworld. Since they were already here, Yun Li was determined to make the most of it.
Once they were fully equipped, the players cautiously started exploring.
Though they were unfamiliar with the Nether, the elite squad was strong enough to hold their own. As they made their way forward, they encountered several unknown monsters. But as soon as they got a handle on their skills, the team quickly adapted.
They continued progressing carefully.
About an hour in, a massive structure appeared before them. As they got closer, the building's name popped up on their screens.
"Nether Fortress?!"
"Whoa, this place looks serious!"
"Could this be a boss lair or something?!"
"Look! Down that hallway—there's a chest!"
"Yeah, but that creepy black skeleton next to it looks rough…"
"Boss, should we go for it?"
The elite squad members couldn't take their eyes off the fortress looming over a lava lake. They hadn't even gone inside, but it radiated danger. And yet, seeing the chest down the hallway, they couldn't resist.
It was only the second chest they'd seen in the game so far—the first was by the Nether portal, loaded with goodies. They weren't about to let this one go.
Yun Li thought it over, then made a decision.
"Alright, let's check it out."
He wasn't too confident himself, but at least he had the elite squad with him. Their skills were reliable enough, and even if things got rough, they should be able to escape.
Following Yun Li's order, the group entered the Nether Fortress.
Once on the outer hallway, they worked together to take down the Wither Skeleton guarding the chest.
The instant it fell, Yun Li noticed it dropped something unusual.
He hurried over to collect the item.
[Wither Skeleton Skull]
"What's this?"
Seeing the drop, Yun Li was taken aback.
He wasn't sure exactly what it was, but it looked important. The text on its description was highlighted differently, standing out from other loot.
"Looks like we found something good!"
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