Guide to [Abandoned Watchtower (Normal)]
Su Ran did not rush to attack. He watched calmly, looking for the best opportunity.
When a sentinel staggered after being struck by the shield warrior, its back completely exposed, a violet light flashed at his fingertip...
"Energy Missile!"
The trained missile flew swiftly and steadily, striking it squarely in the back of the heart!
Arcane energy exploded inside the undead body. Though it lacked the suppressive effect of light or fire, the pure energy impact still made its soul flame flicker violently, and its movements faltered.
The Bladedancer seized the chance and beheaded it with one stroke.
The battle proceeded in an orderly fashion. Su Ran demonstrated solid combat skills: he never drew aggro, timed his spells precisely, and chose his targets clearly.
He prioritized enemies who were under control effects or had major openings, or harassed targets that threatened the healer and the rogue from a distance.
His [Light Spell] worked wonders against two [Wailing Ghosts]. The intense light made them shriek in pain and reveal themselves, allowing physical attacks to finish them off quickly.
[Lesser Healing Spell] also landed just in time when the Bladedancer missed a block and suffered a gash on his arm, stabilizing the injury.
There was no need to use the [Tiger Might Headband] on his forehead for the moment. Ordinary combat was not enough to warrant using this crowd-control trump card with its long cooldown.
The priest Xiaoya's healing and dispelling of the minor negative energy erosion were also timely and effective, keeping the front line going.
The party's coordination grew smoother. The rogue detected several simple tripwire and pressure traps and successfully disarmed or marked them;
the heavily armored warrior stood as steady as steel, holding the bulk of the enemy's attention; the Bladedancer dealt fierce damage; and Su Ran and Xiaoya provided steady, reliable support from the rear.
They cleared the outer corridor, fought their way into the first-floor hall of the watchtower, and dealt with a small undead group occupying it, including a Lv.4 [Undead Sentinel Captain]. At last, they reached the decaying wooden stairs leading to the second floor.
According to the guide, defeating the guardian monsters on the second floor would trigger the completion settlement and make a treasure chest appear.
The second floor was more cramped, occupied by several swift [Shadow Soulstealers], annoying spirits capable of short-range teleportation whose attacks carried a weak mental drain, as well as the last two enhanced sentinels.
The battle reached a fever pitch. The Shadow Soulstealers' teleportation harassment caused the party considerable trouble, especially Su Ran and Xiaoya in the rear.
Su Ran had to increase the frequency of his [Energy Missile] casts, firing predictively and suppressing them. His mana consumption rose sharply.
At the crucial moment, Iron Shield gave a shout, and a ring of earth-yellow light blossomed from his shield—[Taunting Roar]—forcibly drawing the aggro of every physical attack unit.
The Bladedancer activated a skill that briefly increased his attack speed and attacked with everything he had. Xiaoya focused most of her healing efforts on the shield warrior.
Su Ran gritted his teeth and poured every last bit of his remaining mana into those annoying Shadow Soulstealers!
With his mental power focused to the utmost, his missiles flew almost in a continuous line, forcing them to dodge constantly and leaving them no chance to harass the rear.
When the last Shadow Soulstealer was driven into a corner by Su Ran's successive missiles and the rogue seized the chance to finish it off with a backstab from a poisoned dagger,
the two remaining enhanced sentinels also crashed to the ground under the combined assault of the shield warrior and the Bladedancer.
The battle was over.
The entire second floor of the watchtower was a mess, but all five party members were still standing, and no one had suffered a serious injury requiring urgent treatment.
The shield warrior panted heavily, several deep dents now marking the face of his shield. The Bladedancer leaned on his blade, sweat pouring down like rain.
The rogue leaned against the wall, breathing slightly hard. Priest Xiaoya was somewhat pale as well, having expended a considerable amount of mana.
Su Ran, meanwhile, felt waves of emptiness inside him.
Continuous high-intensity casting, especially his final burst to suppress the Shadow Soulstealers, had nearly exhausted his mana and mental power.
A faint throbbing pain came in waves from his head, a sign of severe mana overexertion.
Fortunately, he had the support of the [Mind-Calming Jade Pendant] and [Mana Ring]. Otherwise, he might not have been able to stand steadily now.
"Nicely done!"
Iron Shield looked around at his teammates, a heartfelt smile appearing on his tired face. "A no-damage clear! We worked well together!"
The others also breathed sighs of relief, looking relaxed and a little pleased with themselves. A no-damage clear of a normal-difficulty dungeon was quite an achievement for a pickup group.
Just then, a familiar pillar of milky-white light descended.
[Battle settlement in progress...] [Scene: Abandoned Watchtower (Normal)] [Contribution assessment: 20%] [Experience reward: 32 points] [Settlement complete.]
The 32 experience points were credited to him. Su Ran glanced at his experience bar: [Experience: 170/300]. He still had quite a way to go before Lv.4.
At the same time, five silver treasure chests appeared before them, the reward for clearing the watchtower.
As the captain, Iron Shield oversaw a simple distribution.
Since they had cleared the dungeon without taking damage and everyone had worked together well, the distribution went smoothly. Based on their approximate contributions and class needs, they quickly determined how much of the dropped [Bone Powder] and [Wraith Dust] each person would receive.
Su Ran received the chest that belonged to him.
As usual, he did not open it on the spot, merely putting it into his Personal Space.
"Everyone, it was a pleasure working with you," Iron Shield told the others. "Let's party up again if we get the chance."
The others nodded in acknowledgment as well. After exchanging temporary contact information, they went their separate ways.
Su Ran dragged his weary body away from the dungeon entrance area.
Back at his rented room, he first meditated to recover some mana and ease the discomfort of overexertion. Then he took out the treasure chest from the [Abandoned Watchtower] and placed it on the table.
A successful pickup-group run, a no-damage clear, 32 experience points, and a treasure chest waiting to be opened.
He wondered what his identity as a Mage and his combat style this time, which had leaned toward precise control and firepower suppression, would bring to the second opening.
Su Ran opened his personal terminal, pulled up the guide to the [Abandoned Watchtower (Normal)] that he had saved earlier, and quickly found the section on treasure chest drops.
[Abandoned Watchtower (Normal) silver treasure chest drop-rate analysis (compiled player community data)] Common (white) equipment (60%) [Rusted iron longsword/battleaxe]: attack +2–4. [Tattered leather armor/chainmail fragments]: physical defense +1–2. [Worn bracers/greaves]: a tiny amount of attributes or no attributes. [Glimmering broken insignia]: slightly improves perception of undead and ghostly creatures, or provides slight resistance to negative mental effects. Fine (green) equipment 8% [Tempered longsword (fine)]: attack +3–5, slight bonus damage against undead. [Reinforced tower shield (fine)]: physical defense +3, block value +10. Block effectiveness against undead attacks +1. [Shadow cloak (fine)]: agility +1, or slightly improves concealment in dim environments. [Tranquility pendant (fine)]: spirit +1, or slightly improves resistance to low-level mental effects such as fear and confusion. [Arcane focus bracers (fine)]: spirit +1, slightly improves arcane energy affinity, slightly reduces the mana cost of casting arcane spells. Improves spell model stability. Consumables probability: 24% Minor healing potion: restores 20 health over 30 seconds. Lesser evil-warding potion: can remove or resist negative statuses such as [Minor Frostbite] and [Weakness] caused by low-level undead. Special items probability: 1% Energy Channeling Insights: contains fragments describing techniques for channeling a type of basic energy, such as arcane or positive energy, which may offer slight inspiration to magic classes. Unknown metal fragment: seems to be related to some mechanical device or ancient object in the watchtower. Its use is unknown; it may be connected to a higher-difficulty dungeon or special crafting.