Skill books were a good thing. They were even more valuable than equipment; equipment could still be sold when no longer needed, but once a skill book was used, it was gone.
Xiao Liang quickly ran to the Orc Warrior's side, picked up the boss's drops one by one, then returned to Lu Yang and said somewhat dejectedly, "Boss, it only dropped two skill books. One is Shield Wall, and the other is Goblin Guardian. Everything else was just a pile of instant Heal Potions."
"What?" Lu Yang hurriedly looked at the skill books. When he saw that they really were Shield Wall and Goblin Guardian, he said excitedly, "Brother, your luck is incredible."
"What's so great about it? It didn't even drop any equipment," Xiao Liang said foolishly.
Lu Yang said, "Silly brother, you couldn't trade this Shield Wall for even ten level-10 gold-grade pieces of equipment."
"Ah, it's that valuable?" Xiao Liang asked in surprise.
"Of course." Lu Yang was genuinely excited today.
Shield Wall: Reduced all damage taken by 40% for 8 seconds. Cooldown: 4 minutes.
This skill was a god-tier ability for defensive warriors. Even when warriors reached level 200 in the future, they would still have to use this skill, which could be learned at level 0, during boss fights in group battles. It reduced a monster's damage by 40%, allowing them to withstand even an enraged boss's attacks head-on.
Only a defensive warrior with Shield Wall could be considered qualified. Once players learned about Shield Wall in the later stages, random groups running dungeons would not even invite defensive warriors without it. As a result, this level-0 skill book was later driven up to fifty gold coins per copy.
Yet Shield Wall's drop rate was extremely low. Second World had only a limited number of places where skill books could drop, and many dungeons did not produce them at all. They could only be obtained in a few specific locations or from killing top-tier outdoor bosses. As a result, many defensive warrior players had already reached level 50 and learned advanced skills without ever obtaining Shield Wall.
"Learn it quickly. With this skill, I'll dare to take you into all kinds of high-difficulty dungeons. When the time comes, you can pick whatever gold-grade equipment you want," Lu Yang said.
"Okay." Xiao Liang hurriedly learned the skill book. A burst of golden light rose, and Xiao Liang learned Shield Wall.
"Boss, what does the other skill book, Goblin Guardian, do?" Xiao Liang asked curiously.
"It's a priest skill. It can increase earth-element defense for everyone in the party. It's also a god-tier early-game skill. You can't use this book, so I'll hold onto it for now." Lu Yang placed the skill book in his backpack.
"Okay."
Lu Yang looked around at the monsters. There were still one or two hundred Orcs in the cave hall, all gathered on the right side of the hall.
"Brother, I need to go out and do a quest. Stay here and farm monsters by yourself. Just use the method I taught you: lure them with a bow, then poison them to death," Lu Yang said.
The bow had dropped earlier from the hunter under Black Blood whom Lu Yang had killed. It was only an ordinary bronze item.
"Boss, I can help you," Xiao Liang said confidently, nearly level 6.
Lu Yang said, "If you want to help me, level up quickly. You'll level faster here alone without me sharing your experience. Once you reach level 10 sooner, you'll be able to help me."
"Okay, got it." With a goal in mind, Xiao Liang was brimming with motivation.
Only after watching Xiao Liang lure monsters twice without any problems did Lu Yang finally relax. He then fought his way out of the cave alone along the original route.
When he returned to the Orc Hills, the sky outside had already darkened. Under cover of night, Lu Yang ran toward the western side of the map.
There was a forest on the western side of the Orc Hills, inhabited by a group of trolls. Lu Yang's quest was to kill the leader of the forest trolls, Shaman Priest Wokins.
However, trolls were not so easy to kill. As the hardest monsters to kill on a level-15 map, they not only possessed bodies as strong as Orcs, but also speed as agile as werewolves. Their health regeneration was also the fastest among level-15 monsters.
Even killing an ordinary troll would be extremely difficult for Lu Yang, but fortunately, he had his own method.
Upon reaching the edge of Troll Forest, Lu Yang began to slow down. In the nighttime forest, it was even harder to spot the trolls.
Like Orcs, trolls had green skin and protruding fangs at the corners of their mouths. However, trolls were exceptionally muscular, with sharply defined eight-pack abs and tall, lean bodies. Their hair and beards were both red, and they wielded spears.
The reason Lu Yang dared to enter Troll Forest alone at level 7 was because the trolls here only attacked by throwing spears. Every troll was a ranged monster. As long as Lu Yang dodged properly in this Troll Forest, he could kill trolls without losing a single drop of health.
But that was during the day. At night, Lu Yang could not even tell where the trolls were hiding, much less see the direction their spears were thrown from. So he stayed where he was and waited until dawn.
While bored, Lu Yang initiated a voice chat with Lan Yu. At that moment, she was staring blankly at the first boss in the dungeon. She pressed the accept button and asked.
"What is it?"
"How's your dungeon run going?" Lu Yang asked.
"We've wiped three times," Lan Yu said gloomily.
Lu Yang could not hold it in and burst out laughing.
Lan Yu immediately became even more upset and said with a hint of anger, "You're still laughing."
Lu Yang quickly said, "Ah, sorry, sorry. I couldn't help it. Did you die when the boss had 30% health left?"
"How did you know?" Lan Yu asked in surprise.
Of course I knew. This dungeon boss was every new player's nightmare. In my previous life, who knew how many Elite Players from major guilds had failed because they didn't know how to fight the first boss. They thought they could clear it by changing their strategy once it reached 30% health, only to keep wiping all night.
"Stop trying to figure out another way. There is no other way to clear this stage. You can only rely on the warrior's equipment to withstand it. If their defense is below 71, you have absolutely no chance," Lu Yang said.
Second World's damage calculations were extremely complicated. They could not be explained clearly in just a sentence or two; they involved a whole series of factors, including basic defense penetration, attack, defense, and final damage. For new players like Lan Yu and the others, the only thing Lu Yang could make clear was that they could not beat it with less than 71 defense.
"Okay. I'll go try to persuade Sister Yuwei and tell them what you said. I hope they'll listen," Lan Yu said.
The little girl even sighed at the end. Lu Yang could already imagine what she looked like at that moment.
"Go on," Lu Yang said.
Before you continue