Zai Zai saw eight more minions rush out and was instantly stunned.
Dark Spiders weren't strong, but there was no way they could handle so many at once!
"Get back here!"
Xiao Fan's warning came from behind him. Zai Zai finally snapped out of it and hurried back to where he'd been.
"Garfield Without Fat, shoot the minion at the front. Everyone else, get ready to fight!"
Xiao Fan gave his orders quickly.
The minions were about to charge them, so Xiao Fan immediately activated Gift of the Saint.
"Try to stay where you are and attack!"
Xiao Fan warned them. He couldn't guarantee that leaving this area wouldn't attract more minions.
-20 HP
-20 HP
-20 HP
The Dark Spiders didn't deal much damage. With the 80-point shield from Xiao Fan's skill and 15 points of health recovery per second, the group could withstand their attacks while fighting back.
Fighting toe-to-toe was actually pretty satisfying. Even Xiao Fan threw a few punches, though without a weapon, a skill, or any points invested in Strength, he couldn't deal much damage.
The important thing was that he was taking part.
The whole team was now level four. Their level advantage over the level-three minions made their damage a good deal higher than before.
By the time Xiao Fan's skill wore off, they had killed all twelve spiders.
Everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The Dark Spiders had little health and dealt low damage, but in such large numbers, they still put everyone under a lot of pressure.
"Brother Chen, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have ignored your orders and acted on my own."
Zai Zai apologized quietly, keeping his voice low.
The others stayed silent. Zai Zai had indeed been too reckless this time.
If Brother Chen hadn't warned him in time, they might have attracted even more minions.
They also realized that this dungeon was dangerous—far more dangerous than hunting Fierce Beasts outside. One careless mistake could get them killed here.
A thousand Core Power points really weren't easy to earn.
When Xiao Fan didn't reply, Zai Zai didn't dare raise his head.
"Brother Chen, I won't do it again."
After a long while, Xiao Fan finally spoke.
"There won't be a next time."
"Mm-hmm. I'll follow orders from now on." Zai Zai nodded vigorously.
They had only just entered the dungeon. Xiao Fan didn't want this incident to affect what came next, so he decided to put it aside for now.
"We're still too weak!"
Xiao Fan shook his head.
He suddenly realized he was missing a skill that could save his life.
His mana was about to reach 5,000, but he had only 460 health. The slightest mistake could get him killed.
When he first created Halo of the Saint, he had considered changing his mana into health.
But he'd just entered the game, and thought he'd eventually have countless amazing skills that would all require mana to use. So when choosing between health and mana, he'd chosen mana.
Now, reality had hit him hard.
If he wanted a future, he first had to stay alive.
At that thought, Xiao Fan started agonizing over whether his next skill should be an offensive one or a life-saving one.
Forget it. Only kids had to choose.
There was no point worrying about it now.
He'd clear this dungeon first.
"From now on, anyone who disobeys my orders will leave the team when we're done."
Xiao Fan didn't need to raise his voice to command respect.
"Don't worry, Brother Chen. We promise to follow your orders." The others hurried to assure him.
Leave Xiao Fan's team? As if! Even an idiot knew they'd have a better chance of surviving in Cloud Sea with Xiao Fan.
Hadn't they seen how jealous the other new players who'd arrived with them looked now?
"Stay close behind me. If I tell you not to move, don't move."
After reminding them, Xiao Fan started walking forward.
As he went, he sensed for nearby minions. He needed to figure out how far away they could be before he attracted them.
The other four followed quietly behind him, weapons in hand.
With every step, Xiao Fan sensed for minions nearby.
At last, as he took another step, four Dark Spiders came sprinting out of the forest.
"Attack from where you are," Xiao Fan said.
At his words, the four of them gripped their weapons and fixed their eyes on the charging minions.
Now that they knew the Dark Spiders didn't deal much damage, they weren't afraid.
There were only four. They could handle them.
Han the Person, who had put all his points into Strength, could kill one with two skill-enhanced strikes.
"How are you holding up?"
Xiao Fan asked quietly.
In Cloud Sea, players could see the status bars of game creatures, but not one another's. Otherwise, the secret of Xiao Fan's mana would have gotten out long ago.
The other four didn't answer. They only nodded.
"Good. Let me know if your health gets low. I'll use my skill to heal you."
After giving them instructions, Xiao Fan went to draw the next group of minions.
Gradually, Xiao Fan learned exactly how far away he could be before attracting the minions.
He drew a group and killed it, then another. When their condition worsened, he drew three groups at once and activated his skill.
The whole point was to avoid wasting even a single resource.
The team grew more and more skilled at killing minions, and their pace kept getting faster.
After killing who knew how many waves of minions, Xiao Fan frowned.
Wind Snow Traveler had told him there were a lot of minions in the dungeon. At the time, he hadn't thought much of it.
How many could there be?
Now he finally understood what "a lot" meant.
They couldn't kill them all. There were just too many.
Fortunately, Gift of the Saint restored their condition. Without that, sheer exhaustion would have worn them down.
"Brother Chen, what's wrong?" Han the Person asked, leaning toward him with concern when he saw Xiao Fan stop.
"Nothing. Let's keep going," Xiao Fan replied gravely.
At last, after killing several more waves of minions, they saw the dungeon's first Boss.
The dim cave was almost entirely filled by the spider's grotesque body. Its pair of red eyes glowed like light bulbs.
Big. Really big!
Name: Dark Spider (Boss) Level: 5 HP: 700/700
It was the first level-five Boss the team had encountered, and everyone's expression turned grave.
According to Wind Snow Traveler, the Boss couldn't move. If they went beyond its attack range, its health would instantly refill.
In other words, they couldn't let it reset.
The spider's main form of attack was its eight legs. It also spewed webs while attacking, and any player who touched one would get stuck and lose the ability to move.
Fortunately, none of its attacks were aimed. And its inability to move also limited its actions.
As long as they were careful not to get stepped on or caught in the webs, the fight would be easy enough.
Xiao Fan explained the things they needed to watch out for.
After listening, Han the Person's face turned as long as a fiddle.
Garfield Without Garfield and Swift as Wind had both invested points in Agility, making them faster and more nimble.
Zai Zai wielded a spear, which gave him a longer reach. Besides, he had invested points in Stamina, so he could take a couple of hits without trouble.
Han the Person was the only one who was both fragile and not very nimble, despite having the highest damage. He also had to get in close to attack.
He was afraid he wouldn't be able to dodge in time.
Xiao Fan had considered that too, so he told Han the Person to raise his Agility to 12.
After reaching level four, each of them had kept some Core Power points in reserve. Han the Person bought the stat without hesitation.
"Be careful. I'll warn you too, and if you're in danger, I'll activate my skill."
Hearing Xiao Fan say that put them at ease.
No one knew better than they did how good Xiao Fan was at giving orders. Now they fought by working together exactly as he'd instructed.
"Let's start."
As the four entered the Boss's attack range, the Dark Spider's huge body stirred.
One of its grotesque, long legs rose high, then came crashing down.
"Zai Zai, dodge left!" Xiao Fan called out at once.
Zai Zai immediately stopped attacking and ran to the left. The next second, the Dark Spider's leg slammed down where he'd been standing.
Throughout the fight, Xiao Fan kept his eyes on the Dark Spider's movements.
At last, when the Boss's health fell to fifty percent, Xiao Fan saw its abdomen twitch twice.
He immediately realized that it was about to shoot webs.
"Careful! The Boss is about to shoot webs!"
As soon as he spoke, Xiao Fan activated Gift of the Saint.
Sure enough, the next second, the Boss spewed countless webs from its abdomen.
The other four had already stopped attacking. Seeing the white webs flying toward them, they hurriedly dodged under the skill's speed boost.
After shooting its webs once, the Boss returned to its regular attacks.
Han the Person and the others breathed a sigh of relief and resumed attacking.
When the Boss had only a single point of health left, it started shooting webs again.
Han the Person and the others were ready to call it a day. Hearing Xiao Fan's warning, they hurriedly dodged.
This time, the Dark Spider Boss shot webs three times in a row. Without the skill's speed boost, they wouldn't have been able to dodge them.
After the webs were gone, Garfield Without Fat shot an arrow that emptied the Dark Spider Boss's last point of health.
Its eight long legs drooped limply, and the light faded from its huge red eyes. The Dark Spider Boss finally fell still.
"Don't let your guard down until the Boss is dead."
"Understood."
Han the Person and the other three were drenched in cold sweat. If Xiao Fan hadn't warned them in time, they might all have gotten caught in the webs.
"Let's go."
After the team cleared several more waves of minions, they finally entered the territory of the second Boss.
Instead of the gloom they'd expected, they found themselves facing a flower field so brilliant it seemed eerie.
A huge flower bloomed in the center, its nearly transparent petals a ghostly blue. They glowed faintly, making the Boss's cave look like a dream.
The enormous flower quivered slightly, and its information appeared.
Name: Forget-Me-Not Orchid (Boss) Level: 5 HP: 720/720
"It's so pretty!" Garfield Without Fat said, looking entranced.
"I've never seen such a beautiful place," Zai Zai marveled, eyes wide.
"I wish I could stay here forever," Swift as Wind said with his eyes closed, looking blissful.
Xiao Fan was examining the Boss when Swift as Wind's words suddenly caught his attention. He immediately sensed something was wrong.
He turned around and saw that his four teammates had all relaxed, showing none of the wariness one should have when facing a Boss.
"Something's wrong. This Boss can mesmerize players."
When they first entered the cave, Xiao Fan had noticed a floral fragrance in the air that made them feel relaxed.
At the time, he hadn't thought much of it. The cave was full of flowers, so a floral scent was only natural. Wind Snow Traveler hadn't told him the second Boss had a hallucinatory effect either.
Thinking about it now, he realized that when Wind Snow Traveler and the others had entered this dungeon, they'd already been level ten. The level-five Boss's mental illusion wouldn't have affected them.
"My high mental stat must be why I'm unaffected."
Xiao Fan's Mentality was now 19, far higher than that of a level-four player, so the Boss's illusion hadn't affected him.
"Looks like I can't rely completely on Wind Snow Traveler's advice."
Entering the dungeon at level four was a completely different experience from entering it at level ten.
"Snap out of it!" Xiao Fan's voice suddenly grew louder.
But Han the Person and the other three didn't react. They remained immersed in the floral fragrance.
Xiao Fan's expression darkened. The illusion was even more powerful than he'd expected.
"Looks like the next fight is going to be tough."
With no other choice, Xiao Fan activated Gift of the Saint.
The skill's effect removed their negative status, and Han the Person and the other three immediately came to their senses.
"What happened?"
Swift as Wind looked bewildered. After entering the cave, he'd caught the scent of a flower that made him feel incredibly relaxed. Then he'd become completely absorbed in it, and then... well, nothing after that.
"Ah, Brother Chen, are we going in?"
Once Zai Zai came to, he saw Xiao Fan activate a skill and immediately prepared to attack.
Xiao Fan's expression was grim as he explained, "The BOSS is giving off a floral scent with hallucinogenic effects. You were all under its spell just now. I called out to you, but you didn't respond, so I had to use a skill to wake you up."
"What?"
The four of them were stunned.
The BOSS could actually bewitch players?
What kind of move was that?!
Before entering the secret realm, the four of them had only encountered Fierce Beasts. Though those beasts were different levels, their attacks were all straightforward and brutal.
They'd already been shocked that the first BOSS could spit silk. But now the second BOSS could bewitch them without their even noticing. It was terrifying!
Cold sweat broke out across their backs as they looked at the enormous flower at the center of the cave. It didn't have a monstrous appearance, yet it brought an even more unnerving sense of oppression. Their expressions grew serious despite themselves, and they gripped their weapons tightly.
"Brother Chen, what do we do now?"
Garfield Without Fat's face had turned red from holding his breath. Ever since Xiao Fan told him the floral scent was hallucinogenic, he'd been holding his breath, afraid to inhale.
They could dodge ordinary attacks, but there was no way to avoid a mental attack.
Xiao Fan's skill could clear the effect, but skills had cooldowns, didn't they?
In this situation, Xiao Fan really didn't have a better solution.
In the end, their level was simply too low, and they had too few skills!
Finally, Garfield Without Fat offered up his jacket. They each tore off a piece of cloth to use as a mask, which could block some of the floral scent.
At Xiao Fan's suggestion, they also bought attribute points and raised their Spirit to 10.
"We have to take this BOSS down fast."
The five of them cautiously made their way toward the center.
The Forget-Me-Not Orchid BOSS didn't attack just because they came within range. It would only retaliate if a player attacked it.
"Zai Zai, start the fight."
As soon as Xiao Fan finished speaking, Zai Zai hurried forward and thrust his spear at the flower's stem.
-15HP
A number floated above the Forget-Me-Not Orchid BOSS.
The group's eyes lit up.
Under the level suppression, dealing this much damage meant the BOSS's own traits left its physical and magical defenses relatively low.
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