Chapter 5 : Chapter 5
Chapter 5: Taiji—Grasp the Sparrow’s Tail! I, Zhao Xuan, Didn’t Lose Face!
【You have entered the Hell-level dungeon: Magical Beast Mountain Range!】
Ye Ze found himself standing at the mouth of a desolate valley. Black mountain ranges surrounded him on all sides, the wind was bitterly cold, and not a trace of life could be seen.
“Magical Beast Mountain Range?”
He recalled that it had been mentioned in First-Year History: Reclaiming Lands Polluted by the Abyss.
The Abyss’s fiendish aura had polluted this mountain range, which had once been rich in wildlife and full of healthy ecosystems. The military had paid a tremendous price to clear it successfully.
And this artificial dungeon at Hell difficulty had perfectly recreated the scene from back then.
With a thought, Ye Ze summoned Kung Fu Panda!
A Taiji formation instantly spread out across the ground.
Then a giant panda over two meters tall appeared at the center of the formation, dressed in a Taoist robe and looking a little silly.
The moment it appeared, it struck the pose of “White Crane Spreads Its Wings.”
“Wooo—!”
The corner of Ye Ze’s mouth twitched. “All right, Panda, I get it. You know kung fu.”
He set off toward the depths of the mountain range with the panda.
With average attributes around 25, the panda was more than twice as strong as a Warrior-class fighter. Combined with its max-level Legendary skills, it gave Ye Ze an overwhelming sense of security.
Its only weakness was that neither of them had any equipment yet.
It was not that he did not want to buy any. It was that the amount of money Ye Ze had simply was not enough for a full set of high-quality gear, and the cost-performance ratio was far too low anyway.
He might as well farm it in the dungeon instead.
Crack—!
The moment they stepped onto the narrow path at the valley entrance, the rocks around them suddenly began to split apart.
Four enormous shadows burst through the stone and charged at them at high speed.
They looked like dark-gray rhinoceroses covered in thick rocky armor.
【Stonearmored Beast (lv.3)】
Type: Common magical beast
Skills: Stone Armor, Charge.
————
Level 3 magical beasts. Four of them!
“The first wave of mobs is already level 3, and each of them has two skills. As expected of Hell difficulty!”
The dungeon adjusted monster levels according to the Class User’s own level.
Ye Ze was only level 1, yet he was already facing a pincer assault from four level 3 magical beasts...
Although the Stonearmored Beasts were massive, their legs were built in a special way that let them run along steep cliffs.
They came crashing toward Ye Ze like enormous rolling boulders.
With that kind of impact, even a fully equipped Shield Guard would be severely injured if hit head-on.
And this was only the Hell-Difficulty Dungeon’s “greeting gift”!
But Ye Ze did not panic in the slightest. He did not even move his legs.
“Kill.”
Kung Fu Panda stepped in front of Ye Ze and assumed a graceful opening stance.
“Huff—”
The panda’s black paws flowed like water, seeming to draw in and redirect at the same time, as an invisible field of force rippled through the air.
【Twenty-Four Forms of Taiji — Grasp the Sparrow’s Tail】
【Enter a blocking state, neutralize the enemy’s frontal attack, and counter by borrowing the opponent’s force.】
Taiji was far from being just a single skill.
Every individual move within it was powerful in its own right.
Almost in an instant, one Stonearmored Beast’s full-force charge was effortlessly diverted by Grasp the Sparrow’s Tail.
Then the panda redirected that force into another one with a backhand motion, unleashing a burst of inner force!
Boom—!
Two Stonearmored Beasts were smashed straight into the mountainside, leaving behind a huge crater, their bodies mangled beyond recognition.
Instant kill!
【You have killed a common magical beast: Stonearmored Beast. Experience +9!】
【You have killed a common magical beast: Stonearmored Beast. Experience +9!】
Just two magical beasts had already yielded 18 experience points!
With the Hell-difficulty bonus stacked on top of killing enemies above his level, the efficiency of gaining experience was absurdly high!
Ye Ze could not help feeling secretly delighted. At this rate, he would level up very soon!
And in the next moment, the panda turned toward the remaining two Stonearmored Beasts.
At their speed, they naturally posed no threat whatsoever to an Epic One-Star panda. Another Grasp the Sparrow’s Tail cleanly took care of both of them.
【You have killed Stonearmored Beast x2...】
【Level: 1 (36/100)】
One-third of the way to the next level. His next golden trait was no longer far off.
Those four Stonearmored Beasts, which would have been enough to throw an entire novice party into a bitter struggle or even wipe them out on the spot, had not even managed to scratch the panda, which finished by smoothly returning to a poised closing stance.
“Oh? It actually dropped this much?”
Ye Ze looked toward the place where the four Stonearmored Beasts had died.
Dungeon monsters were formed from crystal stone energy. Once killed, their corpses vanished immediately, leaving behind whatever loot they were supposed to drop...
Four crystal stones, one skill book, and one piece of equipment.
The market price of a crystal stone never fell below ten thousand, so he had already made at least forty thousand.
【Rockfall Spell (Common): Earth-element skill book. Usable by mage-type classes.】
【Giant Rock Armor (Common): HP +50, Physical Defense +5, Agility -2. Equipment Requirement: Level 1.】
The drop rate for Common-grade monsters was normally only around five percent.
Looks like Hell difficulty had significantly increased the drop rate.
He could keep the skill book and sell it later.
As for the Giant Rock Armor, Ye Ze put it on directly.
Although it reduced agility, survivability was the most important thing for a Summoner!
And if he really needed to run for his life, he could always take it off again...
Ye Ze continued onward with the panda, following the path leading away from the valley entrance.
According to the textbooks, Magical Beast Mountain Range was divided into three sections: the foothills connected to the valley entrance, the mountainside where stronger monsters roamed, and the secluded valley where the boss was located.
Level 3 common magical beasts should have been spread all across the foothills.
But now a problem arose: Perhaps because the commotion from killing the Stonearmored Beasts had been too loud, the low-level magical beasts had sensed the danger.
They had hidden themselves!
They were deliberately showing weakness, intending to let Ye Ze pass into the territory of higher-level magical beasts.
But Ye Ze was in no hurry.
Because the higher the dungeon difficulty, the smarter the monsters became.
At Hell difficulty, they were already no different from real magical beasts in the outside world. They were extremely cunning.
There had once been a negative case recorded in the history textbooks: A soft-hearted female mage had spared a magical rabbit during a reclamation campaign because it looked cute.
As a result, the rabbit found an opportunity to ambush the priest from behind; the party fell into chaos, and in the end, not a single one of them survived.
So when facing magical beasts and fiends, there could be no softness, and no room for wishful thinking.
“Search the mountain!”
At Ye Ze’s command, the panda’s fighting spirit surged, its gaze sweeping across the entire foothill.
“Search carefully for me! Don’t let a single one get away!”
...
Outside the dungeon entrance, even though no one could see what was happening inside, a large crowd still lingered.
Everyone wanted to know who would fail first in this high-stakes wager.
“I bet Ye Ze is about to come out. He probably could not even get past the first mob!”
“Obviously. And he even went in solo? Even the big shots from the regular division could not clear it in a party!”
“Young Master Zhao should be able to hold out a few more rounds, at least...”
“Ten minutes have passed. If Ye Ze can last ten minutes, I already think he is amazing!”
Another twenty minutes passed on the wager timer.
Whether it was Zhao Xuan or Ye Ze, the fact that either of them had lasted this long had already exceeded everyone’s expectations.
Then, all of a sudden, the dungeon entrance flashed!
A weak figure collapsed onto the ground.
The crowd immediately rushed over in excitement.
“Who is it?!”
“Did Ye Ze come out?”
“Lasting thirty minutes is already pretty impressive!”
“Holy crap? Young Master Zhao!!!”
Zhao Xuan lay there on the ground.
Looking at the excited crowd around him, he felt a secret thrill of satisfaction.
“I lasted thirty minutes in Hell difficulty. I didn’t disgrace the Zhao family!”
But the truth was that in the very first wave, when he faced the Stonearmored Beasts, his Windchaser Wolf had been heavily injured almost immediately while protecting him.
After that, he had done nothing but run madly and hide everywhere.
Until just now, when the magical beasts finally picked up his scent, and he failed completely.
“The process may have been humiliating, but as long as I win, it’s fine!”
“Only victory can prove anything!!”
The crowd grew noisier and noisier, a chaotic mix of shock, doubt, and disbelief.
The corners of Zhao Xuan’s mouth lifted. His eyes were half-closed as he basked in the feeling of being the center of attention.
He failed to notice that the secretary beside him looked flustered.
Zhao Xuan casually asked, “When did Ye Ze come out?”
“Ten minutes? Five?”
The secretary pressed her lips together and answered in an almost inaudible voice, “Ye Ze... he still hasn’t come out...”
In the next instant, Zhao Xuan shot upright. His half-lidded eyes flew wide open, round as copper bells!
His voice jumped up eight octaves:
“What—?!”