After completing the design of the Hell Path, Bei Li took an Initial Soul from the Divine Artifact Space. After implanting the settings for the Instance Dungeon Facilitator into the Initial Soul, she left the underworld with Lu Wu.
After checking the forums and seeing that Players were all speculating about what the instance dungeon would be like, Lu Wu thought for a moment and posted a message on the homepage.
Game maintenance complete. Instance Dungeon unlocked: Hell Path. NPC added: Instance Dungeon Facilitator Hell Path (Instance Dungeon): The Hell Path contains eighteen levels of areas for leveling up and training. Each area has several boss-level monsters and countless powerful creatures. For details, consult the Instance Dungeon Facilitator. Group instance requirement: A participating party must have at least ten members.
Seeing this announcement, Players who had long been unable to contain themselves began logging in one after another and rushing toward the instance dungeon teleportation point.
"Wow, a large-scale instance dungeon? You need at least a ten-person party to enter? Isn't that a bit demanding?"
"So sad. Lone wolf player passing by, looking for a party to take me in!"
"Assassin party recruiting! Assassins, come join us and farm class-change materials together~"
"There's even a time limit. You get teleported out after just one hour. The clumsy players refuse to accept this!"
After learning the details of the Hell Path from the Instance Dungeon Facilitator beside the teleportation point, many Players could not wait to enter and experience it for themselves.
At this moment, Bei Li had also created a mage character for herself and blended in among the Players.
Bei Li had never been to the Hell Path before and was extremely curious about it, so she planned to go take a look with them.
Naturally, Lu Wu did not stop her. It was merely a condensed body, so there was no danger involved.
To ensure a stable first clear, many teams were recruiting members, the more the better. Bei Li took the opportunity to slip into one such team.
By coincidence, this team belonged to Ye Xue'er's Association of the Guardian Angels.
The requirement for joining the first-clear expedition was to join the guild. After Bei Li submitted an application and was accepted, she joined the large guild and, by another coincidence, was assigned to Ye Xue'er's party.
As the leader, Ye Xue'er glanced at the party list. After confirming that they had thirty members, she shouted in the guild voice channel, "Move out!"
She then reached out and touched the passage at the instance dungeon teleportation point, and a panel appeared.
Instance Dungeon Selection: 1. Hell Path
There was only one option. Ye Xue'er tapped it again, and the entire party immediately felt a sensation of weightlessness.
In fact, according to Bei Li's settings, this group teleportation first sent all the Players into the Divine Artifact Space. Their senses were blocked during this period, after which the divine artifact directly delivered them into the instance dungeon teleportation passage.
This setting was meant to make things easier for the Players. After all, having them jump into the passage one by one would have been inconvenient and slow.
As for the teleportation itself, it was set to be random. Where they appeared depended entirely on luck.
When their bodies regained sensation, the party discovered that their surroundings had changed dramatically.
The ground around them was dry and cracked, with red magma flowing through the fissures. Even after everyone had lowered their sensory settings, they could still feel waves of scorching heat rushing at them.
Eighteen Levels of Hell · Level One
The words displaying their current environment slowly faded from the Players' vision.
"What a realistic hellish environment. This is awesome!"
The Players were amazed by the Hell Path's environment. Some curious Players even reached their hands into the cracks in the ground to touch the magma. Their arms were immediately seared with pain, and damage numbers popped up over their heads.
"Alright, stop touching things randomly. Stick together and move forward. According to the Instance Dungeon Facilitator, this place has plenty of precious materials and treasures. Search carefully, and don't miss anything."
After surveying the area, Ye Xue'er spoke in the guild voice channel.
The party then began advancing forward.
After walking for nearly ten minutes, they came upon a waterfall formed from magma.
Ye Xue'er had originally intended to go around the waterfall and continue onward, but a sharp-eyed Player suddenly noticed what seemed to be a cave on the left side of the waterfall and mentioned it in the guild voice channel.
They had come for treasure in the first place, and Ye Xue'er was curious as well. With a wave of her hand, the group began approaching the waterfall.
The closer they got, the more intense the heat became. Aside from the physically powerful berserkers, the mage classes saw a -1 appear over their heads every five seconds.
Fortunately, they had already reached the cave entrance. Otherwise, they truly would not have dared to continue forward.
Ye Xue'er walked up to the entrance and poked her head inside. Unable to see the end of it, she gestured behind her and took the lead into the cave. The others followed in one after another.
The cave was close to the magma waterfall, yet once they entered, they realized they could not feel even the slightest warmth.
The deeper they went, the more a bone-piercing chill swept over them.
As their vision grew dimmer, Ye Xue'er signaled everyone to take out the torches they had bought from the store, and their surroundings immediately brightened again.
Under the flickering torchlight, the cave looked even more sinister and terrifying. The realistic scenery made some of the more timid Players hunch their shoulders.
They continued onward, but when they reached a bend at the end of the cave passage, everyone suddenly stopped.
A gust of cold wind blew from around the bend, waves of chill invading their bodies and giving them the illusion that monsters were lurking just beyond the corner.
Taking a deep breath, Ye Xue'er stepped to the front. She was actually terrified too, but as the leader, her pride mattered more than her life.
After turning the corner, their view suddenly opened up, revealing a spacious clearing. As they appeared, several flames rose from the rock walls around the clearing, brightly illuminating the area.
When everyone clearly saw the scene in the clearing, every Player in the party shuddered.
Before them was actually a burial chamber. Dozens of coffins, at the very least, were neatly arranged throughout the space, sending a tremendous shock through Ye Xue'er and the others.
Ye Xue'er kept reassuring herself that everything before her was fake. It was all fake.
After taking a deep breath, Ye Xue'er led the way toward the coffins.
When they reached the center of the clearing, Ye Xue'er was about to inspect the area closely when a loud bang erupted beside her. Her face turned pale with fright, and she nearly screamed.
She turned around and saw that it was her brother, Ye Chen. He was currently raising his greatsword and smashing a Stone Coffin.
"Brother, what are you doing?!" Ye Xue'er snapped.
"I have a feeling there's definitely an inheritance inside. At worst, there'll be some kind of treasure." Ye Chen turned around and answered with complete seriousness. As he spoke, he prepared to swing his greatsword down again.
Ye Xue'er froze. On second thought, what Ye Chen said seemed to make some sense. After all, treasures were always hidden in secluded places.
Seeing that Ye Xue'er did not stop him, several Players convinced by Ye Chen's reasoning also picked up their staffs, greatswords, and daggers and began smashing the Stone Coffins, hoping to break out a hidden class.
After a symphony of bangs, the Players panted heavily as they stared at the completely undamaged Stone Coffins, looking thoroughly frustrated.
"This is infuriating! Couldn't they install a switch? Are they even letting people play? The game experience is terrible!" Ye Chen complained.
Hearing that, every Player present twitched at the corner of their mouths, thinking, What kind of family puts switches on their ancestors' coffins?
"If I die, I'll install a switch on my coffin. Press it once to open it, press it again to close it. Easy and convenient," Ye Chen continued with a wistful sigh.
Everyone: "..."
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