"To think it's a 1A dungeon."
After reading the dungeon description, Yu Zhun couldn't help but look surprised. Conventional dungeons were divided into three categories based on their death penalties.
The first category allowed players to leave upon death while retaining their phase rewards. These were known as no-loss dungeons, or 1A dungeons.
The second allowed players to leave upon death, but the death penalty would clear all their rewards. These were known as no-injury dungeons, or 2A dungeons.
The third category meant that dying in the dungeon would result in losing the qualification to enter the Divine Revelation World. These were known as true dungeons, or 3A dungeons.
Rumor had it that there was a fourth category above these three. However, the outside world knew very little about this mysterious fourth category. Only players who had reached a certain level of strength were qualified to know of its existence.
In a 1A dungeon, there was no need to worry about death penalties. Players simply had to give it their all and fight to the bitter end. With almost no psychological burden, they were also dubbed "welfare dungeons."
And now, the Nether Trial that Yu Zhun had entered was precisely a welfare dungeon.
"In that case, let's get started."
Yu Zhun looked around, carefully observing his surroundings. It was incredibly dim. Even with his eyesight, he could only barely make out the environment within a five-meter radius. Anything further was shrouded in pitch-black darkness.
Yet, in this pitch-black world, there was an exceptionally clear pillar of golden light that seemed to connect heaven and earth. Although there were no signs or prompts, any fool could tell that it was his destination.
Stomping the ground, Yu Zhun abruptly accelerated, dashing straight toward the distant pillar of light.
Skill [Swift Step], activated!
Under the simultaneous effects of [Swift Step] and the equipment effect [Shadow Blade], Yu Zhun's out-of-combat movement speed increased by 110%. It made him look like a phantom in the dark; his rapid sprinting even caused his silhouette to blur.
The dark surroundings were deadly silent, but Yu Zhun didn't dare to relax his guard for even a split second.
"SWISH!"
The sound of something piercing the wind suddenly rang out. In the next instant, Yu Zhun caught a glimpse of deep blue from the corner of his eye.
Skill [Sword Dance], activated!
His body instantly became nimble, twisting at an impossible angle to narrowly brush past the streak of blue. Only then did he get a clear look—it was a deep blue arrow.
"An archer?" he wondered.
Startled, his body acted almost on instinct under the effects of [Sword Dance], turning around to charge in the direction the arrow had come from. After dodging several more arrows and sprinting forward for over a dozen meters, he finally saw his attacker.
It was a female with a physique similar to a human's, but her skin was green and covered in pitch-black demon patterns. Fangs protruded from her mouth, too large to be concealed by her lips. She was hideous, clad only in garments fashioned from animal hides. She held a bow in her hand, and the quiver on her back was filled with the exact same arrows as before.
The moment she revealed herself, text appeared before Yu Zhun's eyes.
[Demonized Orc Archer (Lv10)]
[Attributes:
HP: 20000
Mana: 500
Physical Attack: 700
Magic Attack: 0
Physical Defense: 100
Magic Defense: 100]
Yu Zhun was speechless.
"Are you fucking sure these stats belong to a Lv10 monster?" he thought.
Aside from having slightly lower HP and a less exaggerated Mana pool, this thing's stats were practically identical to the three major bosses of the Newbie Village! To be this thrilling right from the start... as expected of a dungeon.
However, if the three major bosses posed no threat to Yu Zhun, the opponent before him naturally wouldn't be a match for him either.
"My name is Yu Zhun." Yu Zhun raised his [Dark Blood-Drinking Dagger], stomped the ground, and lunged fiercely at her. "And I'm here to kill you!"
"@#%#..." The Demonized Orc Archer mumbled in a language Yu Zhun couldn't understand. She drew her bow so fast it left afterimages, firing seven or eight arrows in a single breath within that brief window.
At such close range, even Yu Zhun, with [Sword Dance] active, couldn't completely evade them all and had to take an arrow head-on.
However, thanks to his armor's equipment skill [Rock], 50% of his Magic Defense was converted into Physical Defense the moment he was hit. Combined with the [Phantom] effect, which reduced the damage by half, he lost less than ten percent of his HP.
"%#..." Seeing Yu Zhun charging right up to her face, the Demonized Orc Archer's voice became sharp and frantic. She abruptly discarded her longbow and, to Yu Zhun's utter astonishment, drew a dagger from her waist.
"Wait... are you a fucking archer or an assassin?" he thought.
Whatever, it didn't matter.
Empowered by the combat techniques of [Sword Dance], Yu Zhun's body twisted rapidly. He sidestepped the thrust of the Demonized Orc Archer's dagger and ruthlessly plunged his own weapon into her abdomen.
[HP -20000]
Giant red numbers popped up above the Demonized Orc Archer's head. Clutching her wound in indignation, she collapsed heavily onto the ground, the light in her eyes fading fast.
Equipment effect [Bloodthirst], activated.
[HP +2000]
Giant green numbers appeared above Yu Zhun's head, instantly topping off his health bar.
"It'd be great if the excess healing could be converted into a shield," Yu Zhun sighed with a hint of regret before continuing toward the pillar of light.
Along the way, Yu Zhun encountered two more Demonized Orc Archers. The trio of archers didn't pose any real threat to him and promptly met their makers, allowing Yu Zhun to reach the light pillar smoothly.
The base of the light pillar was a golden array. Anyone with a basic understanding of dungeons wouldn't be a stranger to such an array. It was a teleportation array meant to send players to another map.
It seemed the Nether Trial consisted of more than one map.
Stepping into it, lines of text appeared before Yu Zhun's eyes.
[Congratulations on successfully clearing the first floor of the Nether Trial!]
[Current Phase Rewards: EXP +1000, Custom Lv5 Outstanding Level Equipment x1, Equipment Enhancement Stone x10!]
[All phase rewards can be claimed upon leaving.]
[Leave] [Proceed to Next Floor]
"Is this even a choice?" Yu Zhun immediately selected [Proceed to Next Floor].
After a bout of dizziness, he reappeared in a brand-new, pitch-black world. Just like the first floor, there was a pillar of light here, though the surrounding environment differed slightly.
After this run, Yu Zhun basically understood the flow of the Nether Trial dungeon. Kill the monsters standing in his way, reach the teleportation array on each floor, and pass through it to head to the next floor to claim that floor's rewards.
He just didn't know how many floors the Nether Trial had in total.
In the Vice Hall Master's side hall of the Divine Revelation Hall.
Ji Ruoxu brewed a pot of his favorite floral tea and leisurely opened a book to read. Reading while sipping tea was his favorite way to relax. The Vice Hall Master had a multitude of duties, making these brief moments of leisure hard to come by.
"BANG!"
The doors to the side hall were slammed open. Ji Ruoxu's hand jolted, causing the floral tea to slosh out of his cup and soak a patch of the open book.
After a brief silence, Ji Ruoxu smiled, looking up at the intruder. "You had better have a very good reason for not knocking."
"Vice Hall Master, the Nether Trial dungeon has been opened!"
"Hmm... That is a very good reason."