Major online gaming families and large guilds had gathered nearly all the top experts. Without a doubt, they were the main force behind the first clears of various instances and bosses. In the early stages of the game, to prevent their plans from clashing and benefiting others, they would usually communicate beforehand and divide up the "benefits" in the game.
Ye Luo was a smart man as well. With just a slight reminder from Yan Hua Yi Leng, he understood.
Though they were thinking about these things, neither of them slowed down. They continued killing monsters at high intensity.
Another seven or eight minutes passed, and another system notification rang out:
System Notification (China): Congratulations to the team of Hongxing Erguotou, Yi Bei Wuliangye, Jian Nan Chun, Nü Er Hong, Green Plum Brewed Wine, and God of Wine Dukang for achieving the first clear of the Demon Ant Calamity (Six-Player Hard) Instance Mission. Each team member has been specially rewarded with one General Skill Book, 1 Skill Point, and 100 Reputation.
"Hongxing Erguotou and the others completed the mission too, and it was the hard six-player instance." Yan Hua Yi Leng pondered. "Three members of the Fine Wine Family are on the level rankings, and their equipment is decent too. It is no surprise that they could secure the first clear of a hard instance. It seems we need to speed up."
"Hehe, these people are rather interesting. Their IDs are all named after our country's fine liquor." Ye Luo smiled, then looked at Yan Hua Yi Leng. "Yan Hua, do you know them?"
"Yes, they are all from the Fine Wine Family. Almost all the members of their guild have IDs related to alcohol." Yan Hua Yi Leng spoke as she attacked the Queen Ant. Seeing Ye Luo's curiosity about them, she explained, "The Fine Wine Family members are all quite decent, and they have a good relationship with our Misty Pavilion. You could say we are allies."
As if recalling something, she added, "The Fine Wine Family has several experts who are listed on the Celebrity Ranking. I can introduce you to them when there is an opportunity. Exchanging pointers with them should benefit you."
Ye Luo nodded. He became even more curious about these people, but he also knew that dealing with the Queen Ant before them was the most important thing. He planned to ask about the Fine Wine Family in detail later.
Several more system notifications followed, all announcing teams that had completed Instance Missions. There were simple instances as well as hard ones. What reassured Ye Luo somewhat was that all of them were six-player instances. No one had yet completed a two-player instance.
It made sense. The difficulty of completing an Instance Mission with two people versus six people was vastly different. With more people, coordination became much easier, especially when facing the final boss.
During this time, the Queen Ant used Queen Ant's Roar twice. The first time, Ye Luo and Yan Hua Yi Leng had not been prepared. The piercing screech cost them nearly 200 Health each, and worst of all, they were stunned for one second.
Ye Luo had been closest to the Queen Ant at the time. While he was stunned, the Queen Ant showed no mercy. After attacking with its enormous mandibles, it used Mandible Slash as well. Fortunately, both of them had kept their Health above 300. Even more fortunately, when the Queen Ant used Mandible Slash on Ye Luo, the 10% dodge chance from his King's Cloak triggered. He escaped with just 100 Health left.
Although Yan Hua Yi Leng did not have much Health left either, she remained calm. A Frozen Arrow encased the Queen Ant in ice, and she seized the chance to swallow a mutated Major Blood Recovery Pill. Her Health began recovering at a rapid rate.
Ye Luo did not hesitate either. He swallowed a mutated Major Blood Recovery Pill, causing his Health to surge. He stopped fleeing and unleashed a combination of Slash, normal attacks, and Combo Strike, instantly dealing 1,500 damage to the Queen Ant.
The Queen Ant was frozen for three seconds. During that time, it posed no threat whatsoever to Ye Luo and Yan Hua Yi Leng, so naturally they would not waste such a perfect opportunity and attacked with all their might.
Three seconds later, the Queen Ant broke free from the ice, but Ye Luo and Yan Hua Yi Leng had already recovered above 280 Health. Yan Hua Yi Leng in particular had recovered to 350 Health and could withstand several attacks from the Queen Ant head-on.
Seeing this, Yan Hua Yi Leng took the offensive while Ye Luo attacked as he recovered. Before long, his Health had risen above 300 as well.
For the next three minutes, the Queen Ant could not use Queen Ant's Roar. As a result, Yan Hua Yi Leng and Ye Luo were in no real danger. Taking turns leading the assault, they kept their Health above 300 at all times. Even if the Queen Ant landed a Critical Strike, their lives would not be in danger.
Now that they knew the signs preceding the Queen Ant's skill activation, dealing with it became much easier. Yan Hua Yi Leng's computer-like mind would not make mistakes, and she successfully used Frozen Arrow to interrupt its skill. The battle became even safer.
Finally, after nearly ten minutes, the Queen Ant's Health was depleted. It collapsed and died in extreme resentment, while the massive experience reward raised Ye Luo and Yan Hua Yi Leng to Level 14. Neither of them cared about that, however. They were focused on the system notification.
Unlike other missions, Instance Missions were automatically submitted once players completed them, saving them quite a bit of trouble.
Ding~!
System Notification (China): Congratulations to the team of Yan Hua Yi Leng and Ye Luo Zhi Qiu for achieving the first clear of the Demon Ant Calamity (Two-Player Hard) Instance Mission. Each member has been specially rewarded with one General Skill Book, 1 Skill Point, and 100 Reputation.
"Phew, we finally did it." Ye Luo let out a long breath, a smile curling across his lips. "It really was the first clear. We did not fail our mission..."
Before he could finish, another system notification rang out, but this one was a personal notification:
System Notification: Dear Ye Luo Zhi Qiu, you and your team completed the Demon Ant Calamity instance in 25 minutes and 16 seconds. System rating: SS. You have received double experience, for a total of 500,000 experience points, and one Medal of Courage.
"Eh, an SS rating. Not bad." Ye Luo gave a soft exclamation, then looked at Yan Hua Yi Leng. "Yan Hua, it looks like I got a medal. What about you?"
"I received a Special Equipment item." Yan Hua Yi Leng answered calmly. The veil over her face then changed, becoming an icy blue veil flecked with tiny snowflakes. Clearly, that veil was the Special Equipment she had received.
Ye Luo then saw the veil's attributes from the item information Yan Hua Yi Leng sent him:
Charm of Flying Snow (Special Equipment * Mask - Bronze) Strength: +20 Agility: +20 Vitality: +20 Intelligence: +20 Additional Effect: After equipping, the player's attacks deal an additional 20 points of ice damage. Additional Effect: Bound to player Yan Hua Yi Leng. Cannot be dropped or traded. Equipment Durability: Can recover automatically Required Level: 0
Each of the four basic attributes increased by 20 points. Those attributes alone made it far better than a Level 10 Bronze item, not to mention its additional effect. The added ice damage was especially suitable for Yan Hua Yi Leng.
"Tsk, tsk, what powerful equipment. It is similar to the Flying Snow Robe, though unfortunately it is not a spirit artifact. Still, with it, Yan Hua, your strength will rise by leaps and bounds. At the very least, your Health has increased by 200 points. You will not need to fight monsters so nervously anymore." Ye Luo praised it profusely. Then, recalling something, he asked in confusion, "Didn't you wear a veil before too? Was that not a special mask?"
"No." Yan Hua Yi Leng replied indifferently. Seeing Ye Luo's confusion, she explained, "That was one of my Celebrity Ranking privileges. I was allowed to wear a veil during the full-body scan. Do not be surprised. Players on the Celebrity Ranking have many privileges. For example, I can wear a veil like this, and our IDs are exclusive, so others cannot register them, among other things."
"Players on the Celebrity Ranking have privileges like that? That is rather interesting." Ye Luo muttered to himself. Then he thought of something and became faintly excited. "Yan Hua, we were rewarded with a General Skill Book too. They should be the same, right? Hurry and see what skill it is. Maybe it is really powerful."
Under Ye Luo's eager gaze, Yan Hua Yi Leng took out a Skill Book, and its description appeared:
Critical Strike (Passive Skill * Cannot Be Upgraded) Skill Description: A rare general skill. After learning it, the player can focus their will and deliver a powerful blow, gaining a 10% chance to inflict double critical damage on the target.
Like Accuracy, it was a passive skill that could not be upgraded, but this skill was rare.
"Tsk, tsk, a 10% increase to Critical Hit Rate. What a good skill." Ye Luo was quite excited. "With this, our damage will greatly increase. If we challenged this instance again now, we could finish several minutes faster."
"Yes, this skill is very valuable, especially in the later stages of the game." Yan Hua Yi Leng said calmly. "Once our attack increases, critical hits will be quite terrifying. This is far more valuable than a piece of equipment."
As she spoke, Yan Hua Yi Leng tapped a finger, and a flash of white light appeared. The Skill Book vanished, indicating that she had already learned it.
With a thought, Ye Luo found the same Skill Book in his inventory and clicked to learn it. His combat class Skill Slot now contained four skills.
"It is a pity this skill cannot be upgraded. Otherwise, I would definitely put all 4 Skill Points into it." Ye Luo muttered to himself, then gave a bitter smile. "It seems both of my skills cannot be upgraded. Skill Points are practically useless to me."
"You will gain more and more skills in the future, including more passive skills. By then, you may complain that you do not have enough Skill Points." Yan Hua Yi Leng said calmly. Then, remembering something, she looked at Ye Luo. "Didn't you say you received a medal? Let me see its attributes. It should be quite good, right?"
Only then did Ye Luo remember. He hurriedly searched for it and found a palm-sized medal in his inventory space. After seeing its attributes, he could not hide the smile on his face:
Medal of Courage (Special Item * Medal - Bronze) Strength: +20 Agility: +20 Vitality: +20 Intelligence: +20 Additional Effect: After equipping, damage dealt to targets is increased by an additional 10%. Attached Skill: Brave and Fearless Additional Effect: Bound to Ye Luo Zhi Qiu. Cannot be dropped or traded. Equipment Durability: Can recover automatically Required Level: None Brave and Fearless: The user possesses a Heart of the Brave. After activating the skill, attack power increases by 20% for 30 seconds. Consumes 100 Mana. Cooldown: 5 minutes.
The medal's four basic attribute bonuses were the same as Yan Hua Yi Leng's veil, all granting 20 points. However, its additional effect increased damage. It might not compare to 20 points of ice damage in the early stages, but it would surpass it once Ye Luo's attack increased. What delighted Ye Luo even more was that the medal possessed an Active Skill.
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