Perks Only Available to the Genuine

Lin Yun, holding his shield, advanced as economically as possible, like a brisk walk, trying to maintain stability. Thanks to the Lantern Staff in his hand, he could see the path ahead reasonably well even in the darkness. However, sounds of chaos were rapidly approaching from afar, indicating that those players were likely unable to bear it and were attempting to flee.

"It's about time," Lin Yun said in a slightly low voice. "Prepare for battle. If anyone rushes over, make way for them. Otherwise, we'll easily collide." Lin Yun considered the possibility of a stampede. Even though it might break their formation, it was the only way.

After all, Lin Yun had minored in psychology. He knew very well that in a state of panic and flight, most people, unless they were exceptionally kind, would choose to attack Lin Yun and his group if they blocked their path, even if Lin Yun's group was there to help.

It wasn't that Lin Yun was too cynical. It was mainly because, compared to the Goblins chasing them, Lin Yun's group didn't seem like a significant threat. After all, they were all humans, looking alike, unlike the Goblins. Especially those players disguised as adventurers. While they might initially attack so-called beginner monsters with a playful attitude, they would soon discover the horror once they started fighting. And realizing this was a life-threatening game, they would easily collapse, resorting to the simple tactic of avoiding the strong and bullying the weak.

Therefore, Lin Yun had to be fully prepared. Even if a rushing player didn't pose a significant threat, unnecessarily expending stamina in such a situation was ill-advised.

That was why Lin Yun said what he did.

"Sigh... Yes." Although the young warrior was impetuous and even considered shield-bearers like Lin Yun cowards, amidst the faint sounds of panicked screams echoing from the cave, his face showed some apprehension, but he resolutely followed Lin Yun's instructions. His footsteps began to shift slightly, ready to clear the path in the middle at any moment.

And almost simultaneously, Lin Yun began to make his true preparations. He took a deep breath, as if brewing something or praying, and then a faint blue protective shield appeared around him.

Shield spell, a mage's signature spell. As for why Lin Yun, a Priest, was using a mage's spell, well, it was because Lin Yun was a follower of the All-Seeing Eye. Ah, no, it was Silent.

According to the game's mechanics, it increased AC by 4. Lin Yun's current AC was 18. Normally, a regular person's AC was 10. Wearing scale mail would bring it directly to 14 AC. Scale mail wasn't a full suit of armor and allowed for more flexible movement, also providing a +2 Dexterity modifier, allowing Lin Yun to have sufficient defense while also having some evasion. But unfortunately... Lin Yun's Dexterity was only 8. Far from being enhanced, it was a good thing he wasn't penalized.

Then, adding the 2 AC from the heavy wooden shield and the 4 AC from the Shield spell, it should be 20 AC. Well, it should actually be 18 AC, because in terms of defense, same types of bonuses, other than dodge and environmental bonuses, cannot stack.

The 2 AC from the heavy wooden shield was a shield bonus, and the 4 AC from the Shield spell was also a shield bonus. Because of this, it was effectively only 18 AC. The shield was, in a way, nullified. However, this was what Lin Yun intended for normal situations and to use as a holy symbol, so it didn't matter.

Lin Yun estimated that his current AC was likely the absolute highest in this small team. Of course, for the Thief, it was hard to judge without knowing his Dexterity modifier, but it was unlikely to be a divine 20. That represented the peak of mortals. As long as it wasn't a divine 20, he would have at most a +4 dodge bonus. However, it was clear he didn't have a +4, because he was wearing something called hide-and-scale armor. As a leatherworker, Silent could immediately tell that the guy was wearing hide-and-scale armor. With the base defense of hide-and-scale armor being 13 AC, but due to the added weight from some scale elements, it only allowed a +3 Dexterity modifier, resulting in 16 AC.

However, it had to be said that this seemingly impetuous guy was quite capable, having found such a relatively well-defensive light armor as hide-and-scale among such a pile of items. It was essentially a stripped-down version of scale mail, with iron scales added only to vital areas to increase defense. But overall, it was still quite convenient.

As for the best light armor, it would be a chain shirt, which was a stripped-down version of chain mail. Chain mail also had another name: mail... which was the stripped-down version the little priest was currently wearing.

However, a chain shirt cost 100 gold coins...

According to the combat rules, an attack first checks for proficiency. If proficient, it's usually Strength modifier + proficiency bonus. For those like Lin Yun, who were still at a relatively low level, it was basically a +2 proficiency bonus. It was like the difference between a recruit and a veteran; even with the same weapon, a veteran would naturally be more skilled than a recruit.

Of course, some attacks weren't calculated solely by Strength. For example, Dexterity represented explosive power and reaction speed. Thus, some lighter weapons, such as daggers or scimitars, could use the Dexterity modifier for attacks. However, ultimately, Strength was what truly mattered.

But overall, for creatures like Goblins, a hit bonus of around +4 would be the maximum.

With Lin Yun's current AC, only a roll of 14 or higher could hit him, meaning there was a 70% chance of not being able to damage Lin Yun, which was already quite high.

"What spell is that? Shield spell?" the brawler asked the female Magician curiously, looking at the shield-like object that suddenly appeared around Lin Yun.

The female Magician squinted slightly and whispered, "Yes, that's the Shield spell. It's just a bit different from ours. Well, Mr. Silent is a follower of the All-Seeing Eye, so it's not strange that he can use Shield."

In the world of Dungeons & Dragons, all spellcasters have a limited number of spell casts, generally called spell slots. Lin Yun, although only level 1, possessed 3 cantrips and the ability to cast 3 level 1 spells.

However, to be precise, it should be 2 normal level 1 spell slots and 1 special spell slot called a domain spell slot.

Priests have gods they believe in, and based on their god's portfolio, these portfolios cover multiple domains. Priests can choose two of these domains as their abilities. Lin Yun chose the All-Seeing Eye, whose domains were Destruction, Knowledge, Magic, Protection, and Rune, totaling 5 domains.

As someone who wanted to protect his own life, Lin Yun naturally chose Protection. And to learn mage spells in the future, he chose Magic.

However, domains are divided into many sub-domains. Within the Protection domain, there was a sub-domain called Defense. Lin Yun chose this domain and acquired the Shield spell, which a Priest normally wouldn't be able to learn.

The Shield spell, as mentioned before, increases AC by 4 and can defend against theoretically unavoidable Magic Missiles. Since it only lasts for 1 minute per caster level, Lin Yun only cast it now to avoid wasting time.

"Stop chatting and be ready at all times." Lin Yun, with a passive perception of 13, could easily hear their conversation. Passive perception is different from active perception. Passive perception is like suddenly hearing a mosquito without doing anything. Active perception, well, usually when it's called "Perception," it means you are actively listening to something.

In Dungeons & Dragons, this is usually a setting for when a Thief is sneaking and you don't actively try to perceive them, but because the Thief's stealth is so poor, you passively perceive them.

Here, it just became keen hearing.

"Sigh, yes." The seemingly lively Female Fighter instantly became serious.

Just then, "There... fire, it's humans, it's humans." In the distance, where even the light of the Lantern Staff couldn't reach, several figures were rapidly approaching. Goblins have darkvision, so they don't need torches in this underground cave, making it an excellent place for ambushes.

Because of this, they saw the light from Lin Yun's Lantern Staff and immediately knew they were humans.

Although, if it were Lin Yun, he might even think these were Goblins who had gotten smarter. If Lin Yun remembered correctly, there were indeed cunning Goblins later on who used such lights to lure adventurers, making them think they had encountered companions.

In this world, Goblins seem to be like creatures with maxed-out learning abilities. While clumsy, they aren't idiots. They design ambushes and use human habits to surprise humans, which is quite remarkable.

Soon, the approaching figures were close. Indeed, it was the group who had wanted to join the party earlier but were rejected by the Thief and then formed their own group to venture in.

However, the dice were rolling.

"D20+2+3=15, success."

Lin Yun looked at the group, noticing they didn't seem to have much blood on them. His brow furrowed slightly behind his helmet. Had these guys thought the Goblins were easy to deal with at first, fought them forcefully, found them too difficult, and even suffered casualties, and then fled?

Otherwise, it was hard to imagine so many people running out.

Because... most of the Goblins' weapons were poisoned. Theoretically, once hit, they would be poisoned, slowly weaken, and collapse. Let alone run out.

Yet, these guys were running out, alive and kicking, and in such numbers. Lin Yun had originally thought that if only one person ran out, it would be enough... It really wasn't reliable to let a group of actual players into such a stimulating place so suddenly.

After all, most players were ultimately ordinary people who might have never fought a real fight in their lives, unlike Lin Yun, who was often involved in brawls. If his parents hadn't had some influence, he might have ended up in juvenile detention. He later cultivated his mind and became obsessed with games, venting his aggression only in the game, and eventually became a board game shop owner.

But, oh well, he should have used Silent's skills in that small town to earn some money first, then slowly buy equipment and strengthen himself before leveling up. But forget it, he was already here.

Seeing the players about to reach him, Lin Yun shifted slightly to the side, holding his shield towards them. After all, sometimes, as the saying goes, when you encounter a bear, you don't need to be faster than the bear; you just need to be faster than the person next to you.

Who knew if these brainless players would suddenly have a surge of malice and betray Lin Yun, just to escape.

As expected, the players rushed past Lin Yun. One of them, holding a longsword, actually swung it towards Lin Yun's feet. But unfortunately, Lin Yun had already prepared. He slammed the Lantern Staff into the ground, blocking the incoming sword. With a pull, he used the staff like a spear, thrusting the flaming end towards the attacker.

Similar to the Goblins, Lin Yun's Strength was +2, and his proficiency bonus was +2, making it +4. The dice began to roll.

"D20+2+2=19, hit."

Lin Yun's Lantern Staff struck the guy's arm directly, eliciting a scream from the scoundrel who had tried to trick him.

The dice of fate rolled once more.

"D6+2+1=6."

The Lantern Staff's damage was a D6, a six-sided die, the kind used in games. Judging by the result, it seemed a 3 was rolled. Adding Lin Yun's 2 points of Strength damage and 1 point of damage from splashing lantern oil, the total came to 6.

Lin Yun truly hadn't expected his very first damage output in this live-action Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game to be against a player. He could only marvel at how wondrous this world truly was.