Myriad Worlds Trading Area

A stone flew through the air and slammed into a Prisoner Zombie's head. Its head jerked to the side, but it didn't seem to react.

These Prisoner Zombies really were just as Robert had described: sluggish, fire-fearing old zombies.

Xiao Yang was using this method to draw them out. A group of Prisoner Zombies was clustered together, and even if all his stats doubled, he wouldn't dare charge in headfirst. But if he lured them out one at a time, that was another matter.

Another stone flew out. This time, Xiao Yang threw it with a little more force. With a thud, it caved in part of the Prisoner Zombie's head. Finally, the creature he'd attacked reacted.

It turned around and spotted Xiao Yang skulking around the corner of the distant hallway. With an angry roar, it staggered toward him.

The annoying part was that the Prisoner Zombie didn't charge at Xiao Yang alone. Its furious roar drew the attention of the others nearby.

The Prisoner Zombies all spotted Xiao Yang. Amid a chorus of roars, seven or eight of them charged toward him.

Xiao Yang wasn't an idiot. Of course he ran. With his Agility far beyond theirs, he vanished in an instant, disappearing into the dim hallway behind him.

The Prisoner Zombies didn't pursue him for long. Once he'd shaken them off and disappeared from sight, they roared and began returning to the area where they'd been standing. It seemed there was something in this hallway that kept drawing the zombie prisoners together.

As they made their way back, a sneaky figure suddenly poked his head out.

Xiao Yang doubled back and threw another stone. With a thud, it struck the very same Prisoner Zombie.

The Prisoner Zombies could be drawn into chasing Xiao Yang by their companions, but they were ultimately not very intelligent, and their movement speeds varied.

After a few rounds of this, one of them was soon left alone. The unlucky one was the Prisoner Zombie Xiao Yang had pelted with stones until its head was covered in lumps. After all those back-and-forth chases, this time it had finally lost its companions.

It charged around the corner, roaring as it prepared to teach the guy who'd been provoking it a lesson it would never forget.

Of course, that was just the inner monologue Xiao Yang had made up for it. After spending long enough in this dim, dangerous dungeon, he had to learn to find amusement in hardship, or he might end up going insane one day.

Grinning wickedly, he raised the Wilderness Hatchet high. With the Heavy Strike skill and the Zombie Killer's bonus, he brought the hatchet crashing down, taking away one-eighth, one-ninth, or perhaps even less of the Prisoner Zombie's health.

All right, all right. It wasn't a fatal blow.

But that wasn't a problem. Xiao Yang swung the Wilderness Hatchet fast enough.

As he hacked away, he nimbly dodged the Prisoner Zombie's attacks. He'd killed so many of these things that dodging them was almost instinctive by now. He brought the hatchet down again and again, spraying flesh and blood. In a very short time, he landed six or seven blows.

The final chop was more than the Prisoner Zombie could take. It collapsed heavily to the ground and lay motionless.

The experience was tallied. Xiao Yang stylishly flicked the flesh and blood off his Wilderness Hatchet. If his estimate was right, he should level up now.

Just as expected, the moment the Prisoner Zombie hit the ground, a notification from God Game appeared.

Congratulations, player, you have reached Level 5. Congratulations, player, you are the first player on Plane 33214 to reach Level 5. You have received a New Player Level-Up Gift Pack.

Congratulations, player, you have reached Level 5. The Plane Trading Area has been officially unlocked...!

As the notifications came one after another, Xiao Yang made a conflicted face. It hadn't been easy. He'd thought he really would have to struggle through the Skeleton Dungeon all by himself. So God Game had level-up gift packs, and a trading area, too!

At last, Xiao Yang immediately chose to open the Level 5 New Player Level-Up Gift Pack.

In an instant, a batch of red potions and a large roll of white bandages appeared in front of him.

The red potions were another batch of Minor Healing Potions.

And the large roll of white bandages.

Wound Bandage

Quality: White

Effect: Slowly restores health over half an hour and removes the Bleeding status.

Description: An ordinary wound bandage. Perfectly adequate for minor injuries.

It wasn't anything special, but it would come in handy. Now, in this dim, gloomy underground corridor, Xiao Yang was even more eager for the Plane Trading Area to open.

No matter what, buying food and water was important!

As Xiao Yang sat waiting with an expectant look, God Game seemed to have frozen.

Unlocking Plane Trading Area, unlocking Plane Trading Area, unlocking Plane Trading Area...

It started mechanically repeating the same message, and Xiao Yang grew anxious.

Wait! Don't let anything go wrong! What am I supposed to do if it does? He didn't want to be the world's unluckiest guy, starving to death in a dungeon!

Things changed. It wasn't as bad as he'd feared. There was hope. As Xiao Yang stared wide-eyed, the notifications from God Game began to progress smoothly.

Failed to unlock Plane Trading Area. Permissions unlocked. Myriad Worlds Trading Area opening. Preparing to initiate teleportation. Time will not stop during this teleportation. The departure point and return point will be the same. Please find a safe location as soon as possible before teleporting. This teleportation is free. The Myriad Worlds Trading Area will remain open for one day. Teleportation countdown commencing! 5! 4!...

As the notifications flashed by, Xiao Yang hurried into action. It had caught him off guard, and all he had time to do was pull open a cell nearby that he'd cleared of zombies.

Xiao Yang had barely stepped inside when the teleportation countdown ended. He vanished from the dark dungeon in an instant.

Nearby, the Prisoner Zombies' low growls still echoed through the underground cells. Behind a heavy wooden door, in the spot they'd surrounded, a pale figure sat against the wall, trembling all over.

A low murmur.

"Mom!"

When Xiao Yang opened his eyes again, he found himself in a bright, spacious place, with lots of living people walking around.

That was worth celebrating. Of course, what was even more worth celebrating than Xiao Yang successfully reaching this trading area were the three things that suddenly appeared before him.

At last, he understood where the "Dungeon Delver" part of his rainbow-colored talent came in.

So it wasn't just about delving into dungeons as if they were dungeons!