Bab 26: Skeleton Plains
Editor: Atlas Studios
Liu Ming was shocked by Flying Tiger King's resolute answer. In fact, Liu Ming even wondered if he had given Flying Tiger King a way out too easily. However, Liu Ming dismissed that thought a moment after it popped up in his mind.
On top of taking away 50% of the Boss Monster's drops, he also wanted the priority to choose three of the best pieces of equipment. That was already a huge request.
Others would probably not only have a falling out with Liu Ming, but they would also call off the entire deal.
Liu Ming was rather surprised by the fact that Flying Tiger King had agreed to his conditions without hesitation.
Liu Ming could only guess that the hidden dungeon mentioned by Flying Tiger King was related to an important quest, which was why he readily agreed to Liu Ming's harsh conditions.
...
Liu Ming soon arrived in the wilderness with Flying Tiger King and his company.
As soon as they stepped into the wilderness, everyone—including Liu Ming—saw a message pop up in the corner of their eyes.
[System Prompt: Adventurer has been put under the Dead Man's Curse.]
Dead Man's Curse: When put under the curse, no Restoration Potions can be used. If the player dies while affected by the curse, the death penalty will double. There is no way to dispel this curse. It will automatically disappear once the player leaves Bone Burial Wilderness.
After reading the detailed information on Dead Man's Curse, Liu Ming immediately understood why Flying Tiger King and the others had sought external aid. Not being able to use any Restoration Potions was tantamount to increasing the difficulty to Hell level.
Ordinary players would face some difficulty when fighting monsters and leveling-up without any Health Point Restoration Potions and Magic Point Restoration Potions, much less clear a dungeon and fight Boss-level monsters.
Liu Ming was the only one who managed to play without taking any potions, solely relying on his equipment and a few impressive Skills. However, Liu Ming was the only one who was well aware of that. He thought about it and reckoned that Flying Tiger King had probably looked for Liu Ming purely because he had obtained a Hell-level dungeon's first clear. Hence, Flying Tiger King wanted to try his luck.
At this moment, Flying Tiger King said to Liu Ming, "Big Shot Floating Cloud, the hidden dungeon's first difficulty is this everlasting curse. The combination of the Dead Man's Curse and an almost constant stream of skeletal monsters can send us back to the revival point within just a few minutes."
After hearing Flying Tiger King's words, Liu Ming nodded gently to show that he had understood the situation. After a while, Liu Ming spoke again. "Later, I'll hold off those skeletal monsters while the four of you look around for anything unusual in the vicinity. Tell me the details when you come back."
Wild monsters' respawn times were usually rather long, let alone dungeon monsters—where the monster quality was the focus, not the quantity.
If monsters were to respawn continuously, causing Flying Tiger King and the rest to be flooded by them instantly, it clearly would not be in line with the game's regular pattern.
Liu Ming reckoned that there was only one reason for this to happen—the theme of the hidden dungeon's first stage was not about fighting monsters but destroying something.
After hearing Liu Ming's words, Flying Tiger King suddenly had an epiphany, and he nodded profusely. "Big Shot Floating Cloud, I get what you mean now. When the time comes, we'll hurry up and find the hidden mechanism as soon as possible."
...
Liu Ming and company walked as they talked. Soon, they passed through the empty wilderness and arrived at a plain that was covered in skeletons.
The moment Liu Ming and company stepped into the plain, the white skeletons got up from the ground.
The blue Ghostly Flames in some of the skeletons' eye sockets flickered a few times after they saw Liu Ming and the rest. After this, the skeletons began charging towards the players with their weapons that were made of bones.
Skeleton Soldier: Level 10
Health Points: 1,600/1,600
Introduction: They have been dead for many years and have long lost the memories of their previous lives. Some of them are only left with resentment against the living.
Skeleton Spear Tosser
Health Points: 1,600/1,600
...
There were a total of five different types of Skeleton Soldiers that surrounded them.
Apart from their weapons and names, the Skeleton Soldiers had the same HP, and even their introductions were similar.
These Skeletons were clearly just appetizers. Hence, Liu Ming yelled at Flying Tiger King and the rest. "Leave these soldiers to me. Hurry up and find the strange signs."
Liu Ming then activated Holy Protection and Holy Blessing, both of which were important Skills. He then charged towards the sea of skeletons and began slashing at their bones, stab after stab.
-1,721
-1,728
...
With Holy Blessing's damage enhancement toward Dark Creatures, Liu Ming was able to deal terrifying damage to the Skeletons, even with ordinary attacks.
The extremely high damage values made Flying Tiger King and the rest feel a little dumbfounded.
Damn it! Is this sort of damage something players at this stage can deal!?
However, Flying Tiger King soon snapped back to his senses. They still had a mission to carry out.
"What are you waiting for? Big Shot Floating Cloud has already helped us hold back most of the skeletons. We should quickly find the reason for the awakening of these skeletons and come back to report to Big Shot Floating Cloud."
As soon as Flying Tiger King finished speaking, the group of players immediately recovered from their shock and scurried off in all directions.
While Flying Tiger King and the other players searched for the reason behind the change, Liu Ming had already begun his massacre.
As soon as Liu Ming used his group attack Skills, the Skeleton Soldiers were instantly shredded into pieces and turned into drops on the ground. However, just as Liu Ming had guessed, the Skeleton Soldiers would not decrease in number unless they found the source.
A few minutes passed, and Liu Ming had killed a few hundred Skeleton Soldiers. However, they increased in number instead. They were, however, unable to do any decent damage to Liu Ming. They also gave good EXP. Hence, Liu Ming even had intentions of earning some EXP here.
...
At the edge of Skeleton Plains, three players from the Ferocious Tigers Guild looked at the faint, black Magic Array in front of them before turning to look at their companions.
Afterward, one of the players—whose username was 'Flame Tiger'—said, "This should be the source. Let's quickly go back and tell Boss that we have found the source."
Flame Tiger then immediately turned around in a bid to return along the same path. However, he was stopped by the other two players before he even took a step.
Upon seeing that, Flame Tiger spoke with annoyance. "Cut it out. We still have to go back and report the situation to Boss."
At this moment, a player—whose username was 'Black Tiger'—said, "It's just a trivial matter. Don't you think it'd be redundant to tell Boss about it?"
"There isn't a single guard at the Magic Array. The three of us can totally dismantle it."
-- Hadiah diterima