Epic Difficulty

Xia Yuwei and the others curiously looked at Fierce Wine Clear Wind. They had no idea who this man was or how he could speak to Lu Yang like that.

"May I ask who you are?" Zhang Zibo asked on Xia Yuwei's behalf.

"I'm a friend of Lu Yang's," Fierce Wine Clear Wind said.

That answer was as good as saying nothing, but it also made it clear that Fierce Wine Clear Wind did not want to reveal his identity.

Zhang Zibo wanted to ask more, but Lu Yang did not give him the chance.

"Everyone, check your equipment one last time. If there are no problems, follow me," Lu Yang said.

"Do I need to bring anything else?" Fierce Wine Clear Wind asked.

"You don't. Your defense is already over 100. With you and Black Armor here, clearing this dungeon shouldn't be a problem," Lu Yang said.

"Of course it won't be a problem. I had no trouble clearing it when my defense was only 80, let alone now that it's over 100." Fierce Wine Clear Wind was brimming with confidence.

Lu Yang merely smiled and said nothing. He waved to everyone and said, "Let's go."

Xia Yuwei, Zhang Zibo, and the others nodded and followed Lu Yang out of St. Gall City. After walking for around twenty minutes, the group arrived at a dense woodland. This was the level 3 wild monster area, the Gnoll Camp.

At the very center of the camp stood a tall mountain. Within a Rocky Cave on the side of the mountain lay the most famous twenty-man dungeon map of all—Death Cave.

At that moment, hundreds of players had gathered at the entrance of Death Cave. Most were in groups of twenty, all here to run the dungeon.

"There weren't many people here yesterday. I didn't expect so many players to show up today."

"Of course. After three days, plenty of top players must have reached level 3. If they want equipment, running dungeons is their only option."

Although most bosses in normal-mode Death Cave only dropped basic gear, and the dungeon itself was extremely difficult, players who could not obtain equipment in the wild had no choice but to come here and try their luck after leveling up made fighting monsters without gear increasingly difficult.

At present, eight level 3 dungeons had opened around St. Gall City. According to the guides online, Death Cave was the easiest to clear and had the lowest requirements. Still, with four bosses in a dungeon and each boss dropping only one piece of equipment, while a team had twenty people, the difficulty of getting gear was obvious.

"Mage with 25 spell damage, looking for a group."

"Archer with 29 damage, skilled and obedient to commands. Any team need me?"

Seeing Lu Yang's group approach, many independent players came forward to ask.

"Boss, take me in."

"Brother, does your team still need people?"

Fierce Wine Clear Wind stepped forward to deal with them. "Sorry, the team is full. Please move along."

The surrounding players could only leave in disappointment.

"Wait here. I'll open the dungeon," Lu Yang said.

He walked to a glowing, man-sized cylindrical pillar beside the entrance to Death Cave and reached out to touch it.

System Notification: You have discovered a strange cave in this forest. It radiates the aura of death, and strange sounds are often heard from within. Do you wish to enter and investigate?

Lu Yang: "Yes."

System Notification: You have chosen to enter the Death Cave dungeon. Please select a difficulty: Normal, Hard, Expert, Epic.

Lu Yang: "Epic."

System Notification: Confirm Epic difficulty?

"Yes."

Lu Yang selected Epic difficulty once more and led Xia Yuwei and the others into the dungeon. A flash of white light passed before them, and Lu Yang appeared inside a dark cave. The flickering torchlight along the walls filled everyone's hearts with fear.

System Notification: You have entered Death Cave. Dungeon difficulty: Epic!

Xia Yuwei and the others saw the notification as well, and they stared at one another in shock.

"How is it Epic?"

"Captain Lu Yang, did you select the wrong one? Why is it Epic difficulty?"

"Yeah, we can't even clear Normal difficulty." Xia Yuwei's players became anxious.

Xia Yuwei looked at Lu Yang, only to find his expression perfectly calm. How could an expert like Lu Yang make such a low-level mistake? Could he have deliberately chosen Epic difficulty? But what gave him the confidence to do so?

Second World's beginner dungeons had four difficulty levels. From Normal to Epic, each level increased NPC difficulty by 30%. In other words, an Epic dungeon was 2.2 times harder than a Normal dungeon.

"Everyone, quiet down. I didn't choose wrong," Lu Yang said. "It's only Epic difficulty. I have my ways of leading you through it."

"Who do you think you are? Even Xiong Ba and Old Twilight don't dare challenge this dungeon. What makes you think you can lead us through it? Do you think being first on the Level Rankings makes you invincible?" Zheng Yuan asked mockingly.

"Is he your friend?" Fierce Wine Clear Wind could not help asking after seeing Zheng Yuan provoke Lu Yang again and again.

"Of course not," Lu Yang said.

"If someone in our team dared question the captain like that, the captain would have kicked him out long ago. He wouldn't be allowed to spout so much nonsense. You really are patient," Fierce Wine Clear Wind said.

Fierce Wine Clear Wind was no fool. The fact that Lu Yang had become first on the Level Rankings and obtained so much top-tier equipment on the first day already proved that he was extraordinary. Since Lu Yang dared choose Epic difficulty, he had to be confident of clearing it.

He had not expected an ordinary dungeon run to bring such an important gain.

"Who the hell are you? What does this have to do with you? Where did you crawl out from to act tough in front of me?" Zheng Yuan snapped, pointing at Fierce Wine Clear Wind with a vicious expression.

Fierce Wine Clear Wind said calmly, "I am the vice president of the Purple-Gold Dynasty guild, Fierce Wine Clear Wind, Old Twilight's number one defense warrior. Is there a problem?"

"You're the Purple-Gold Dynasty's vice president..." Zheng Yuan was stunned.

Zhang Zibo was stunned.

Xia Yuwei was even more stunned.

The Purple-Gold Dynasty was a super guild officially reported to have reached sixty thousand members. As vice president of such a massive guild, second only to the guild leader and above sixty thousand people, he could crush Xia Yuwei's Frost Ice Studio of barely over twenty members with a single word.

Xia Yuwei hurried over to Fierce Wine Clear Wind and said, "I'm sorry. I never expected you to be the Purple-Gold Dynasty's vice president. My subordinate doesn't know better. Please don't take offense."

Fierce Wine Clear Wind smiled. "It's fine. I came today under President Old Twilight's orders to serve as Lu Yang's muscle. President Old Twilight also said that he fully supports Lu Yang throughout this dungeon run. If you don't want to fight, I can immediately call the Purple-Gold Dynasty's elite team to replace you."

Xia Yuwei, Lan Yu, and the others stared at Lu Yang in amazement. They had never imagined that Old Twilight's relationship with Lu Yang was this good.

"Thank you," Lu Yang said to Fierce Wine Clear Wind.

Xia Yuwei thought Lu Yang truly intended to replace them. Lu Yang had opened the dungeon and was the team captain. If he wanted to replace them, Xia Yuwei and the others had no room to resist.

Xia Yuwei hurriedly said, "Lu Yang, don't worry. I guarantee Zheng Yuan won't do it again. We're willing to run the Epic dungeon with you."

The worst equipment dropped by an Epic dungeon was Bronze, while the best was Silver. Lu Yang only wanted mage equipment, while all other equipment would go to Xia Yuwei's group. How could Xia Yuwei possibly give up her spot?

"Fine. Then we'll continue, but I hope this is the last time," Lu Yang said.

He believed Xia Yuwei was not stupid. Since he had supported her so much, she should understand.

Xia Yuwei felt somewhat embarrassed, but she knew she deserved it. She had always looked down on Lu Yang. Suppressing her temper, she nodded, turned to Zheng Yuan, and said, "This is the last time, Zheng Yuan. If you dare say one more word, I guarantee there will no longer be a place for you in this team."

Zheng Yuan was unwilling to accept it, but he knew he could not speak again. He lowered his head and remained silent.

Zhang Zibo tried to smooth things over. "Expert, let's begin. I guarantee we'll follow all your commands."

Lu Yang still had a good impression of Zhang Zibo. "All right. Everyone, follow me. There are no monsters along the first stretch of the road."