Something Fresh

Hearing him, Li Miao could not help but laugh.

"All right, then as your godfather, I can only wish you good luck."

Li Miao patted him on the shoulder. After saying that, he exchanged a glance with Yuanfang, then leaped into the ocean vortex.

Watching the two enter the Nearshore Cave one after the other, Landfall hesitated.

But when he turned and saw the other players continuously arriving behind him, he gritted his teeth.

"This dungeon can't be that hard. I'm playing a mage!"

With that thought, Landfall took a deep breath, then ruthlessly jumped into the vortex.

The veteran players who arrived afterward also entered one after another, beginning their exploration of the first dungeon...

Bang!

"Glug glug... ptooey, ptooey! Holy shit..."

After passing through the Gray Fog, Landfall's landing posture was clearly anything but graceful. He sprawled face-first into a pool of water and was forced to swallow a mouthful of ancient stagnant water.

After cursing, he hurriedly climbed back up.

"It's so dark..."

The surroundings of the cave were pitch-black, and the pool beneath his feet was icy cold. In the silent environment, the sound of dripping water made his back feel chilled.

He looked around. Sure enough, there was no one else, and the pressure in Landfall's heart immediately surged.

[You have entered: Nearshore Cave]

[You may consume 3 wax oil to light the "Illumination Candle"]

"Lighting costs wax oil too... That's so damn shady..."

Seeing the prompt, Landfall could not help but complain, but he obediently chose to hand over the wax oil.

Before long, he discovered that his character had lit up, emitting a faint, gentle Flame that illuminated the surrounding area.

This was a little feature Rogue had specifically added, since the Nearshore Cave really was a bit too dark.

With the Illumination Candle, although it was still cold all around, the soft glow made him relax slightly.

"Making the map this dark, the developers must be seriously twisted..."

Landfall muttered.

When he saw the Milestone Spirit Candle behind him, his eyes lit up. He hurried over and touched the Flame.

[Milestone candle flame touched. Respawn location updated.]

"Good. Now it's time for this mage to shine!"

With the Illumination Candle and the Milestone Spirit Candle, Landfall regained his confidence. Gripping the wooden staff in his hand, he began searching for a way forward.

Then he saw the rather obvious—and only—path.

Without giving it much thought, Landfall carried his wooden staff and swaggered over.

Glug glug...

The bubbling of the pool overlapped with the splashing sounds of his movement. Though it sounded somewhat strange, Landfall did not notice.

After learning how to use the wooden staff, he had defeated quite a few monsters with relative ease, and had died far fewer times than the average player.

But naturally, that also meant he lacked a certain kind of "experience"...

"I wonder what monsters are in this Nearshore Cave. Don't tell me it's more fish-head monsters. Give me something fresh..."

Landfall was still muttering excitedly.

But he soon got his wish.

Bang!

"Roar—"

The pool suddenly exploded, and an enormous monster appeared in an instant, letting out a terrifying howl as a foul stench burst toward him.

It was a nuclear-level blow to his unprepared eyes, ears, and nose!

"Ah! Aahhh!!!"

The sudden scene scared Landfall out of his wits, as though the blood throughout his body had frozen.

In his extreme terror and panic, he actually instinctively began wildly swinging the wooden staff in his hand at the monster before him.

"Rrgh..."

But attacks of that level did virtually no damage to the monster. As its slimy lower abdomen violently contracted, a stream of dark green viscous fluid reeking of rot spewed out.

With a splash, Landfall was drenched from head to toe.

In an instant, the burning pain across his entire body made Landfall scream.

Even though the pain sensation had been weakened by more than half, the sensory stimulation remained extremely intense.

The next moment, the monster extended its body and swallowed Landfall whole from head to tail.

"Gulp..."

After its belly churned for a moment, the monster seemed to burp, then spat out a pile of Wax Ash.

[Dead]

"..."

In his wandering spirit state, Landfall stared blankly at the monster retracting back into the pool.

[Howling Sea Anemone]

[Rank: Cinder]

[Level: 6]

[Talent: None]

[Skills: Rotten Stomach Fluid, Rapid Digestion]

[Description: A sea anemone monster that loves to howl. As long as you are not affected by its howl, you have already won half the battle.]

[You have killed a Howling Sea Anemone]

[Obtained: Wax Oil ×5]

[Obtained: Maggot Bait ×1]

[Maggot Bait]

[Type: Item]

[Effect: Emits a strong fishy stench and can be used to attract prey.]

[Description: Plump maggots from the belly of a Howling Sea Anemone. They carry a strong fishy stench, and some special Marine Organisms may like this smell.]

"Fuck, that scared the hell out of me... Good thing I was mentally prepared."

Li Miao cursed as he picked up the drops.

After dying so many times, he had naturally become experienced. From the moment he entered the cave, he had kept his guard fully up.

So although the Howling Sea Anemone had given him a scare, it was nowhere near enough to make him wipe here.

After waiting to kill the Howling Sea Anemone several more times and confirming that it had no valuable drops, Li Miao was somewhat speechless.

"Though the wax oil it gives is pretty decent, only Brother Yu would probably like this thing."

After delivering that sharp critique, Li Miao continued forward.

He remained extremely vigilant, Candlelight Saber in hand and body slightly hunched.

Before long, two paths appeared ahead. One was relatively spacious, while the other looked like a side passage.

Without hesitation, Li Miao headed down the side passage. When exploring maps, he was used to clearing the secondary paths before the main one, so he could thoroughly map out every small route.

After only a few steps, Li Miao heard movement.

It seemed like some humanoid creatures were shuffling about.

Li Miao narrowed his eyes. After thinking for a moment, he pulled out a stone he had brought with him and grinned.

The stone was inconspicuous, but it was very useful at times.

Clang, clang...

The stone was thrown out, making quite a bit of noise.

The humanoid creatures paused, then all approached the source of the sound in unison.

With the faint light from the Illumination Candle, Li Miao also saw the monsters' full appearance and information.

They were a group of skeletons holding rusty short swords, dressed in tattered clothes, with scraps of rotten flesh still hanging from their bones.

Worth mentioning was that wisps of white airflow seemed to swirl around their skeletons. He had no idea what they were for...

[Cave Living Bone]

[Rank: Cinder]

[Level: 3]

[Talent: None]

[Skills: None]

[Description: Living bones within the cave. They look terrifying but are actually good for nothing, just as they were in life. Otherwise, they would not have been buried here...]

Li Miao was somewhat surprised by the sight.

Still, he cautiously tested them. He made some noise to lure over one Living Bone, then cut it down with a single strike.

It was extremely easy.

"Huh?"

Li Miao found it a little strange, then became bolder.

Before long, he had cleared out the entire group of Living Bones.

They did not give much wax oil either—one drop each.

"Is this monster supposed to be a joke?"

Li Miao was puzzled, but did not think too much about it. He shrugged and continued onward.

Before leaving, he still took his little stone with him.

New book setting sail—please bookmark, vote, and send monthly tickets!