"Stone Skin!"
A dark yellow glow wrapped around Leon, fitting tightly against his skin and forming a layer of armor impervious to blades and spears.
"That should be a spell that boosts defense!"
Long Xing Qian Li stared unblinkingly at Lord Demon Lord, the flames flickering in her skeletal eye sockets glowing faintly.
It was the instinct of a warrior.
With that layer of defense added, even if she faced the combined assault of five Cave Spiders, she was ninety percent confident she could withstand it head-on!
But that was not all!
The chanting continued, and Leon's Magic Wand continued to wave.
This time, an azure-green light gathered at the tip of the wand, transforming in the darkness into a pair of translucent wings that crashed onto his shoulders like waves breaking against a beach.
"Swift as Wind!"
In an instant, Leon felt as light as a swallow, as though he were standing on a griffin's shoulder.
"I get this one! It should be an agility buff!" Hu Wan stared without blinking, shrewd light flickering in his skeletal eyes, though his mind was utterly baffled.
Why would a mage give himself an agility buff? Clearly, he was not the only one unable to fathom the Demon Lord's intentions. None of the players present understood it either, though they did not dwell on it.
After all, one dazzling aura after another kept appearing, leaving them overwhelmed.
"Mana Amplification!"
"Bone Enhancement!"
"Ice Splash!"
"Bark Armor!"
"Thorn Shield!"
"Wind Barrier!"
"Dust Shadow!"
"Nether Armor!"
"..."
Leon chanted twelve spells in one breath, stacking every buff he could stack.
No joke, his five core attributes were ridiculously overpowered now. He even dared to pick a fight with Ige.
Why Ige?
Because he was the only one who would not fight back, of course.
Though these spells were merely basic operations, the little players from Earth obviously had no idea.
That dazzling display left the surrounding players dumbfounded, thoroughly bluffed.
Hundred Miles swallowed and spoke for the first time since entering the labyrinth.
"Good lord... isn't our Lord Demon Lord way too cautious?"
Unlike his previous carefree demeanor, Long Xing Wan Li wore an intrigued expression as he stroked his chin and seriously studied Lord Demon Lord's "combat style."
"Interesting... Maybe, according to the setting, this is how experts fight in this game world."
As the saying went, plan before acting, act without error. If you did not strike, so be it—but once you did, it was a fatal blow! Brilliant!
Truly brilliant!
Thousand Miles made the same gesture, stroking her chin as she pondered aloud.
"I see... So this is actually the development team demonstrating something for us?"
Hu Wan said, "Brilliant... So that's what it means."
As expected of a major guild.
Compared to these people, he felt like a fake professional player.
Pairs of eyes turned in unison toward One Leaf Knows Autumn, who blanked out involuntarily.
"Why are you all looking at me? It's not like I can cast spells..."
Wan Li laughed heartily.
"I know you can't cast spells. I'm just curious what you think about this."
"What can I think? He and I aren't even in the same league... Anyway, let's keep watching. I'm pretty curious about how the power ceiling of this world fights." One Leaf Knows Autumn said with a helpless laugh.
Now that the buffs were stacked, they were finally going to start grinding monsters, right? Yet just as One Leaf Knows Autumn thought that, he saw Lord Demon Lord somehow pull out a small blue potion bottle and tilt his head back to gulp it down.
There was nothing to complain about there.
He had used up quite a bit of mana just now, so replenishing it was perfectly reasonable.
But what left One Leaf Knows Autumn baffled was that the familiar chant drifted into his ears once more.
Good lord—
Again?! The dazzling auras flashed once more, this time settling over the head of the zombie beside them swinging a greatsword.
That fellow had such little presence that, despite standing there for quite a while, none of the players had even noticed it.
Even the usually composed Hu Wan could not help coughing up blood this time.
"Fuck! It's not over yet?!"
The moment his words fell, that imposing gaze turned toward him.
He quickly shut his mouth, but unfortunately, the esteemed Lord Demon Lord had already fixed his eyes on him.
Just as Hu Wan wondered what this guy wanted, he saw him reach into his robes, pull out a corked test tube, and stuff it into his hand.
"Drink it."
Drink it??? Bro, I'm a skeleton! Hu Wan stared blankly at the potion in his hand and pointed at himself. Seeing Lord Demon Lord nod approvingly, he finally gritted his teeth, pulled out the cork, and forced the contents down into his jaw.
The viscous ointment slid like jelly along his spine all the way to his hips.
As expected, he could not taste a thing.
After all, he did not even have an esophagus. No matter how much he drank, it would all spill out.
Yet although all the potion he drank spilled right back out, the Demon Lord wore a satisfied expression, as though this was exactly the effect he wanted.
"Very good."
That lord nodded approvingly, waved his Magic Wand, and placed the Swift as Wind buff directly on Hu Wan's forehead.
"Go."
"Do not leave my sight. Draw the attention of those Cave Spiders as much as possible."
"Leave the rest to me."
As his words fell, Hu Wan watched Lord Demon Lord extend a hand and gently push him.
Luring monsters? He was indeed good at that.
But he and One Leaf Knows Autumn had already tried it. The spiders here were full and had no interest at all in skeletons like him—
Just as Hu Wan thought that, a hair-raising sensation suddenly crawled across his entire body, followed by a series of chittering sounds from nearby.
He spun around sharply and saw that the Cave Spider which had previously ignored him was, for some reason, acting as though it had taken drugs. Its densely packed red eyes were fixed on him without blinking.
What was going on?!
Before he could think, the Cave Spider suddenly contracted its abdomen.
That motion meant it was going to spit silk!
After the previous series of battles, he had already become familiar with the habits of these Cave Spiders.
Thus, the instant he saw that familiar windup, his body moved almost on instinct. He dashed forward, lowered himself, and dodged the flying wad of spider spit.
"So fast!!" Thousand Miles watched the smooth maneuver in surprise, her eyes nearly unable to keep up with his movements.
It was not just her—
Including Hu Wan himself, all five players present wore surprised expressions.
"So light!"
Glancing at the buff called "Swift as Wind" in his status window, Hu Wan looked toward the spider beside him, and the fighting spirit in his heart gradually began to boil.
At this speed—
He was one hundred percent confident he could kite this whole pack of spiders until they shit themselves! Yet just as that thought crossed his mind, countless scarlet gazes began to emerge indistinctly from the darkness.
Those gazes were filled with longing... or rather, hunger.
The moment he met those eyes, Hu Wan felt as though his heart had stopped.
Even though he did not have a heart.
Whoosh—! A piercing sound tore past him as a bone-white spear pierced the spider that had just spat silk at him, nailing it viciously to the wall.
Hu Wan jolted awake.
At that very moment, he heard the Demon Lord roar.
"Don't just stand there! Run! Now!"
"Fuck—"
Facing the surging "spider tide," Hu Wan did not even have time to curse again. He could only grit his teeth and charge ahead.
Whoosh! Whoosh! The sounds of things cutting through the air passed close by him!
Some were wads of spider spit fired by the spiders, while others were Bone Spears launched by Lord Demon Lord's Magic Wand.
Though Hu Wan initially ran for his life, darting wildly around pillars, he quickly found the trick to it.
Just as Brother One Leaf had said, these spiders had terrible close-range vision!
Putting distance between himself and them would actually be more dangerous. It was better to keep moving while staying five to ten steps away!
Cave Spiders were not united with one another. Used to living alone, they had suddenly been crowded together and were now chasing the same prey, so they began fighting among themselves as well.
And there was also the NPC—Lord Demon Lord!
The Bone Spears that lord fired seemed disorderly, but they were actually carving out a path for him.
Putting all those clues together, he had successfully found the optimal solution for clearing this stage—
Run toward where there were more spiders! Follow the trajectory of the Bone Spears!
Keep five to ten steps away from the nearest spider! He could do this!!!
"Ahhh! I'll fight you all to the death!!!"
With a creaking roar, Hu Wan regained his confidence and stopped hesitating. The fighting spirit that had been extinguished by his plunging SAN value ignited once more! His footwork grew increasingly steady!
More and more spiders gathered in the hall, like a rolling mudslide through the labyrinth! The players' scalps tingled at the sight as they silently prayed for Hu Wan.
Only those who had faced it could understand what it felt like to be targeted by bugs several times larger than oneself.
And if the number of those bugs was multiplied by n, even the strongest-minded person would probably crack.
Thinking that if Brother Hu Wan could not hold on, they would be the next ones thrown in, everyone suddenly regretted accepting this quest.
"That guy... is strong." Thousand Miles sighed in heartfelt admiration.
"Indeed. His awareness and execution are both top-notch, and he can adapt on the fly. That kind of talent can't be taught." Wan Li nodded and gave an impartial assessment, then sighed regretfully. "Too bad this brother already has a guild. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to recruit him."
Hundred Miles said nothing, merely staring intently at the rhythm of Hu Wan's kiting, trying to copy the technique.
One Leaf Knows Autumn did the same, staring without blinking at his good friend's back while rubbing his chin with his index finger in thought.
After a long while.
He suddenly spoke.
"I see..."
Hearing his quiet mutter, Wan Li immediately turned to him and asked with a smile.
"Did you notice something?"
One Leaf Knows Autumn nodded.
"It's pheromones."
Wan Li froze for a moment.
"Phe... pheromones?"
"The thing Hu Wan drank! More precisely... it should be an aphrodisiac!"
Watching that dark sea of spiders, excitement blazed in One Leaf Knows Autumn's skeletal eyes.
"When people are well-fed and warm, lust arises... How did I not think of that?!"
Wan Li: "...?"
Thousand Miles: "..."
Hundred Miles: "!"
Meanwhile, Leon used Bone Spears to cover the player's movements through the sea of spiders. Once he saw that the timing was nearly right, he threw out one final Bone Spear and smoothly changed his chant.
Seeing that Bone Spear stick into the ground not far away, Hu Wan initially thought Lord Demon Lord had missed, only to hear his good friend shout urgently.
"The rhythm of the chant changed! Get to that Bone Spear, now!"
There was no time to hesitate.
Hu Wan did not doubt Brother One Leaf's judgment in the slightest. He took a running start and lunged forward.
Almost the instant he grabbed hold of that Bone Spear, a storm-like howl robbed him of his hearing.
For one brief moment, he felt as though an attack aircraft had strafed directly over his head.
"Falling Stone Rain!"
The howling stone pellets poured down like rain, indiscriminately covering every inch of space around him! Spiderwebs were torn apart with ease, and dark red blood splattered everywhere! Wherever the stone pellets passed, the ground was littered with upturned spiders and pulverized limbs! Even the "frontal armor" the players considered indestructible was like paper before that overwhelming power, shredded apart without resistance!
Excited flames flickered in One Leaf Knows Autumn's eyes. Watching Lord Demon Lord's figure, he clenched his fists tightly, unable to restrain himself.
That was the power he craved! In the blink of an eye, hundreds of Cave Spiders had turned to dust and vanished into ashes!
Before you continue