At the sight of this, Xiao Sha warily moved to the side to block the way. Its branches swayed slightly, as if observing its surroundings.
Perched atop Xiao Sha, Xiao Xi stretched out its vines and attacked the two Skeleton Guards at the front.
"Snap." The moment its vine wrapped around a skeleton's leg, Ji Xinghe swung her sword. A level-one monster only had 100 HP, and a single normal attack was enough to take it down.
[Experience Points +0.1]
But she still stuck to their strategy. They would have to clear more stages later, so they could use this chance to get better at working together...
The ancient voice rang out again.
[You killed a Skeleton Guard. Skeleton Guards remaining: 9]
Ji Xinghe paid it no mind, her longsword flashing as she struck again and again.
With the two pets working together, they finished off all ten monsters in no time.
[Stage cleared. Time: 00:00:39] [Current ranking: 1] [Player 001, return to the island or continue the challenge? Choosing to continue will grant a limited-time Dungeon reward.]
There was no doubt about it. Ji Xinghe chose, "Continue the challenge!"
[Player chose to continue the challenge and received a limited-time Dungeon reward: Defense +5 (until the Dungeon ends)] [Stage Two: Slimes. Quantity: 30.] [Countdown: 00:01:00]
The limited-time Defense bonus had been added to her stats, where she could see it clearly.
The Dungeon gave her a minute to rest. Ji Xinghe hurriedly crouched down and used Drain on the ten monsters to absorb their attributes.
[Drain talent succeeded. Strength +0.1] [Drain talent failed. No attributes absorbed this time.]
With ten Skeleton Guards and twenty chances to use Drain, she had gained a total of Strength +1, Constitution +0.3, and Agility +0.1.
After praising Xiao Xi and Xiao Sha, she held the Star Feather Sword and waited for the second stage to begin.
A minute later, the strange voice rang out again.
Ji Xinghe looked up at the swirling gate overhead. One green Slime after another jumped out of the deep, shadowy opening.
They were also level-one monsters, so she used the same strategy as before.
But this time, Xiao Xi slipped up a little. Slimes were too slippery, and its vines couldn't hold them securely.
Ji Xinghe glanced at the mass of green, snot-like creatures. "Xiao Xi, when that happens, just stretch your vines out in front of them and trip them."
Xiao Xi acknowledged her, then suddenly lowered its vines. The Slimes at the front tripped, setting off a chain reaction...
"Plap! Plap!" Like dumplings dropping into a pot, they fell one after another.
Perhaps they were too slippery to get back up. Under the Dungeon's rules, they slowly slid and crawled toward Ji Xinghe.
Ji Xinghe suppressed the smile at the corner of her mouth and thrust her sword into the Slimes.
The sound of squelching filled the air.
Soon, she had taken down the last Slime, and only the hem of her skirt was a little dirty.
She pursed her lips. With so many monsters, she had gained only three Experience Points.
[Stage cleared. Time: 00:00:36] [Current ranking: 1] [Player 001, return to the island or continue the challenge? Choosing to continue will grant a limited-time Dungeon reward.]
"Continue the challenge!"
[Player chose to continue the challenge and received a limited-time Dungeon reward: Tang Dao (until the Dungeon ends)] [Stage Three: Zombies. Quantity: 50.] [Countdown: 00:03:00]
Ji Xinghe took the Tang Dao out of her backpack.
[Tang Dao: Attack +10]
At the sight of this, she wordlessly put it back in her backpack. This reward wasn't even as good as her own equipment.
She used Drain again.
Three minutes later.
A crowd of Zombies with rotting flesh hanging from their bodies jumped down from the vortex.
"Grrr—roar!" The shambling Zombies howled at her.
Their voices were hoarse and grating, and the stench of rotting blood made her feel sick.
This time, Xiao Xi and Xiao Sha acted on their own without needing Ji Xinghe's instructions.
A minute later, the fight was over. Only stinking scraps of rotting flesh littered the ground.
[Stage cleared. Time: 00:00:59] [Current ranking: 1] [Dungeon announcement: Player 001 scored three consecutive kills and received the limited-time skill "Love's Embrace." The remaining players, keep up the good work!] [Player 001, return to the island or continue the challenge? Choosing to continue will grant a limited-time Dungeon reward.]
Ji Xinghe froze for a moment. She knew about three consecutive kills: the first player to clear three stages in a row would get one. But... Love's... Embrace?
"Love's Embrace: Crowd-control skill" "Consumes 5 Spirit. Cast it on a target, and the target will be forcibly teleported to your side, make a finger heart at you, and hug you. Skill duration: 1.5 seconds. Cooldown: 120 seconds."
"This... is ridiculous... but useful."
Only when the system countdown sounded in her ear did she remember to click, "Continue the challenge!"
[Player chose to continue the challenge and received a limited-time Dungeon reward: Critical Hit Rate +5% (until the Dungeon ends)] [Stage Four: Abyss Guard. Quantity: 1. Common Skeleton Guards. Quantity: 10.] [Countdown: 00:10:00]
The Stage Four boss fight was here.
Ji Xinghe used Drain first, then sat on the ground to rest and prepare for battle.
In her previous life, she hadn't made it to this stage, so she didn't know what to expect. The avatars of the players who had chosen to enter the Dungeon back then had all turned gray.
To be safe, Ji Xinghe came up with a few strategies.
"When the monsters appear, Xiao Xi, use your vines to bind the Skeleton Guards while I attack with my crossbow."
"Xiao Sha, keep your eyes on the boss. Report to me immediately if anything unusual happens."
"We'll take out the little ones first, then focus our fire on the boss."
The two pets obediently nodded. Ji Xinghe glanced at the limited-time skill on her stats panel and thought that, if things really came down to it, letting a monster hug her wasn't... completely out of the question.
But she had to watch the timing. If she couldn't take the target down within 1.5 seconds, she'd be in danger.
The ten-minute rest period ended.
Before you continue