10: Hidden dungeon!

After settling Fatty and Old Bai, Lin Yue also prepared a Novice Village guide for the two of them.

Fatty was playing a Warrior, and there were some hidden rewards in the Novice Village that were very suitable for the Warrior class.

“Fatty, you should go for a Pure Health and Attack Speed Build. Go to the Novice Village tavern and buy a Beggar's Chicken to give to the Beggar at the village entrance. He will give you a chain quest. After completing it, you can obtain the Warrior's early-stage divine Skill, Gale Slash. For the attribute points from leveling up, put them all into health first.”

“Old Bai, the Priest you're playing levels up slowly in the early stages. Go to the Bard at the east end of the village first to become his apprentice and learn a few buff Skills. This will speed up your leveling efficiency. Later, I'll have Fatty take you to grind levels.”

“Okay!”

The two nodded. They didn't ask how Lin Yue knew these things and simply agreed; this was trust.

Li Jun wouldn't be coming for a few more days, so Lin Yue also prepared a guide and asked Fatty to give it to him so he could practice at home first.

With everything arranged, the three of them went online separately.

Lin Yue continued walking deeper into the Gloomy Forest. However, he didn't choose to farm monsters to stack his health; instead, he headed for the deepest part of the forest to open the Novice Village Instance.

In the Novice Village, besides the Wild Monsters outside, there was also a Hidden Instance.

The first person to clear the Hidden Instance would receive generous rewards.

In the early stages of the game, all players were busy rushing to level up and could easily overlook such things. In his previous life, it was only half a month after the server opened that it was accidentally opened by a novice player who enjoyed exploring.

The condition for opening the Instance was also very simple: kill a Minotaur guarding the entrance.

“I finally found it.”

Arriving at the deepest part of the Gloomy Forest, he pushed aside some bushes, and a ruin entrance appeared before him. Lin Yue quickly spotted his target.

Minotaur Guard (Common): Rank 10.

health: 1300/1300

Attack: 45

Skill: Great Axe Slam.

A very weak wild monster. Lin Yue didn't even bother using Chain Fireball; he killed the Minotaur with a single Magic Missile.

“Ding! You have killed a Minotaur Guard, Experience +1.”

“Ding! You have discovered the Hidden Instance, Gloomy Ruins. A Server-wide Announcement will be made. Do you wish to hide your name?”

“No.”

“System: Server-wide Announcement. Player White Emperor has discovered the Novice Village Hidden Instance, Gloomy Ruins. He is the first player in the server to open an Instance. Reward: free attribute points +10, silver coins +100. May all players continue their hard work.”

“System: Server-wide Announcement. Player White Emperor has discovered the Novice Village Hidden Instance, Gloomy Ruins. He is the first player in the server to open an Instance. Reward: free attribute points +10, silver coins +100. May all players continue their hard work.”

...As the System announcement rang out, the Hidden Instance—Gloomy Ruins—appeared in all Novice Villages.

For a moment, all players who were leveling up were shocked. There was actually an Instance in the Novice Village?

“Holy crap, White Emperor Boss is awesome! He even found a Hidden Instance.”

“Why farm Wild Monsters then? Go farm the Instance! The rewards must be great.”

“Assassin looking for a party! Need two Warriors and a Healer. Let's aim for a speed run.”

...Lin Yue arrived at the Instance entrance. A transparent, water-like wall slowly vanished, and the Instance selection interface appeared.

The Instance levels in the Land of the Final End were also very simple: Adventure, Brave, King, and Purgatory.

The higher the difficulty, the higher the reward.

“Easy. I'll choose the purgatory level.”

“Ding! You have opened the purgatory level difficulty. This difficulty is extremely high and solo entry is not recommended. Are you sure?”

“Confirm.”

He had cleared the purgatory level Instance in his previous life. It was indeed insane, but Lin Yue now had a Divine-Grade talent. What was there to fear?

High risk, high reward. If he really couldn't beat it, he could just exit.

Entering the ruins' entrance, a massive underground karst cave appeared before him. Before he could take many steps, a large number of Minotaurs appeared.

Minotaur Commander (elite): Rank 10.

health: 12000/12000

Attack: 200

Skills: Brute Force Charge, Barbarian Blood Shield, Great Axe Slam.

High health and high damage. Their attributes were more than triple that of an elite Shadow Cat Demon, and they were very densely packed. A rough glance showed dozens of Minotaur Commanders at the entrance. It truly lived up to the Purgatory difficulty.

The Embrace of Nether Fire emitted a green glow.

“Chain Fireball!”

Critical Hit!

-2333!

-1118

At the same time, Beginner Spell Combo triggered, and two identical fireballs arrived one after another.

-1166X2

Burning Effect!

-207

-222

...With just one Skill, he dealt a massive amount of damage exceeding 6,000 health points, plus the continuous damage from the Burning Effect. Basically, three Chain Fireballs could kill a Minotaur Commander.

“Ding! You have killed an elite-level Minotaur Commander, Experience +1.”

It was a pity he was already at the level cap for the Novice Village and could only forcibly receive one point of experience; otherwise, the experience from this Instance would have been very high.

“Roar!”

One by one, the Minotaur Commanders were unwillingly charred. In less than ten minutes, Lin Yue cleared the first floor.

Just a hundred Minotaur Commanders, no big deal.

Entering the second-floor entrance.

Minotaur Lord (elite): Rank 10

health: 51200

Attack: 680

Skills: Lords Roar (Stun), Savage Bull Stomp (float), Frenzied Charge, Bull Shield, Brute Force Strike.

The Skills had changed, including special Skills like float and stun. Their attributes were also more than four times those of the Minotaur Commanders, but there were only 20 of them.

Lin Yue didn't panic at all. Relying on his positioning and kiting techniques, he continued to greet them with Chain Fireballs, creating a roasted beef feast.

However, the terrain on the second floor wasn't as open as the first. The Minotaur Lords were 4 meters tall, and it was easy to accidentally pull two or even three at once.

Lin Yue's movement speed was a weakness. Without the bonus from a set of equipment, no matter how much Skill he had, it was difficult to execute.

He could still handle two Minotaur Lords, but with three together, it was easy for him to fall within their attack range.

“Roar!”

Lords Roar!

The massive bull mouth emitted a violent shockwave, and a dizzying sound wave spread towards Lin Yue.

Oh no! The moment he was hit by the Skill, his body lost control, and he was stuck in a stunned and stiffened state.

Following that was a storm of attacks.

Frenzied Charge!

-621

-623

-619

Brute Force Strike!

-666

-666

The three Minotaur Lords each released their Skills, catching Lin Yue off guard. In just a few seconds, 10,000 health points were stripped away by the consecutive attacks.

“I should have brought a Healer; at least they could dispel the stun.”

Lin Yue was secretly alarmed. If his health hadn't been thick enough, this wave would have been enough to instant-kill him.

Fortunately, there was a certain interval after the Minotaur Lords released their Skills; otherwise, he might have been crowd-controlled to death.

“Chain Fireball!”

With a wave of his staff, the green light of the Embrace of Nether Fire bloomed. Behind the fireballs, a wisp of green flame was also released.

-3118 (Critical Hit)

Dark Fire!

-688

-688

The Burning Effect and magic resist reduction were triggered.

One Minotaur Lord, already heavily damaged, was directly roasted into charcoal.

Lin Yue immediately breathed a sigh of relief; the pressure had lessened considerably.

Now he only needed to face two at the same time, so he wouldn't fall into the predicament of being surrounded.

Looking at the remaining two Minotaur Lords, Lin Yue's concentration was highly focused. He wouldn't make the same mistake again; he had already figured out the attack frequency of the Minotaur Commanders...