The moment he stepped through the Light Gate, a chill capable of freezing his soul swept over him.
[Frost Plain].
As far as the eye could see, an endless expanse of snow and jagged glaciers stretched into the distance.
The howling wind cut like a knife, whipping up ice crystals with a wail like tormented ghosts.
The air was so cold it seemed frozen solid. Even breathing it in brought a bone-deep pain.
[Extreme Cold environmental damage: lose 5 HP every 3 seconds!]
The notification sounded in Lin Mu's mind.
Yet the damage numbers floating above his head were—
"-1 HP!"
"+99 HP!"
The [Frost Breath Whisper Hood] reduced ice damage by a staggering 91%.
The dungeon's greatest environmental threat had become a joke.
And with the [Rapid Healing Ring] restoring 99 HP per second, that little bit of damage wasn't even worth calling an itch.
Lin Mu surveyed his surroundings.
His terrifying 99-meter perception range spread out at once, like an invisible net.
Before long,
four wolf-shaped silhouettes radiating murderous hostility appeared at the edge of his mental map.
[Ice Field Wolf] (LV.28).
Their coats were snow-white, blending almost perfectly into their surroundings.
They were closing in from all sides at incredible speed.
But before they could get close,
an invisible wave spread out from Lin Mu.
[Fear Aura]!
The four [Ice Field Wolves], which had been bristling with aggression, visibly slowed.
Their charge faltered, too.
The effect lowering all their attributes by 9% had taken hold.
Lin Mu swept his staff.
[Resurrect Skeleton]!
The earth shook with a tremendous rumble.
Ninety [Steel Skeletons], their bodies gleaming with a cold metallic sheen, burst through the frozen ground and lined up in formation, imposing and majestic.
He swept his staff again.
[Resurrect Skeleton Archer]!
Ten frail-looking Novice Skeleton Archers appeared behind the Steel Skeletons, each holding a crude Bone Bow.
Compared to the tall, mighty Steel Guards, they looked so fragile they might break at a touch.
"Awooo!"
The Ice Field Wolves howled and pounced.
"Fire."
Lin Mu gave a simple command.
At his words, the ten Novice Skeleton Archers sprang into action and drew their crude Bone Bows.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."
The Bone Arrows flew through the air in a scattered volley. Their aim was decent enough, but their damage left much to be desired.
"-8 HP!"
"-7 HP!"
Meanwhile, the Steel Skeleton army surged forward.
In an instant, they tore the four weakened Ice Field Wolves to pieces.
"Their attack power and firing speed are both too low."
Lin Mu wasn't satisfied with the Skeleton Archers' first performance.
With a thought, he selected one of them and viewed its detailed description.
[Novice Skeleton Archer]: A Skeleton Archer wielding a Bone Bow and firing Bone Arrows. Its attack speed is low.
Lin Mu's gaze lingered on the words "wielding a Bone Bow."
His talent, [Description Tamperer], activated!
"Change 'wielding a Bone Bow' to 'wielding a Steel Bow'!"
In an instant,
the Bone Bows in the ten Skeleton Archers' hands took on a metallic sheen and grew more durable.
The rules extended in a self-consistent way, strengthening the bowstrings' material as well.
Their range, firing speed, and power all improved slightly.
The next time they encountered monsters, the Skeleton Archers' arrows dealt around 30 damage each.
They could still only serve as support, but some help was better than none.
With ranged units added to the Skeleton Legion, its tactics immediately became more versatile.
The archers drew in monsters, slowed them, and focused their fire.
The Steel Skeletons charged in and surrounded them.
Lin Mu directed his undead army
like an efficient bulldozer, plowing straight across the frozen plain.
Every monster group they encountered—
whether it was a swarm of [Ice Crystal Beasts] or [Frost Pattern Snakes] lurking beneath the snow—
was crushed by their overwhelming numbers and strength, turning into a rapidly growing trove of experience.
Before long, Lin Mu's experience bar was full.
But since he hadn't completed his class advancement,
his level remained stuck at LV.10, and the excess experience could only keep accumulating.
A little over an hour later,
as Lin Mu cleared an area guarded by [Ice Crystal Beasts],
at the edge of his formidable 99-meter perception range,
he suddenly picked up the life signs of a group of non-monsters.
They were human professionals.
The [Frost Plain] was an open dungeon, so running into another party wasn't strange.
What was strange was this party's level.
There were five people in the group.
The lowest level was LV.35, while the highest had even reached LV.38!
At that moment, they were locked in a desperate struggle against a gigantic monster.
Its entire body was made of ice crystals, and it wielded an enormous Frost War Hammer.
It was none other than the final boss of this dungeon—the LV.32 [Frost Lord].
The battle was fierce, and they were in constant danger.
"Damn it, aren't they stealing my quest monster?"
"If they kill it, I'll have to wait until tomorrow for the boss to respawn before I can challenge it again!"
"But this is only a level-thirty resource dungeon. Why is such a high-level party fighting tooth and nail against the boss here?"
A hint of confusion rose in Lin Mu's mind.
They were clearly fighting for their lives, not grinding monsters for experience.
Out of caution and curiosity, he didn't reveal himself right away.
Instead, he directed his skeleton army
to silently circle around from the flank, ready to watch the fight unfold.
He ordered the Skeleton Archers to take the high ground on a nearby Ice Hill.
The Steel Skeletons split into several groups, using the Ice Hill and rocks for cover.
They hid themselves and formed a massive encirclement.
The party and the [Frost Lord] were both within range of their attack.
Just then, the battle took a sudden turn!
The five-person party seemed to have run out of strength.
The female swordswoman leading them was about to pull something from her backpack.
The [Frost Lord], down to its last sliver of health, suddenly roared and entered a berserk state!
"Roar—!"
It raised its Frost War Hammer high and slammed it into the ground!
[Ice Roar]!
A massive blizzard erupted around it!
Some of it even swept across the skeletons' encirclement.
The intense energy fluctuations from the battle alerted the highly tense party to something amiss around them.
The leading female swordswoman's face abruptly changed.
She leveled her longsword and shouted sharply:
"Who's skulking around? Show yourself!"
At that very moment,
Lin Mu raised his staff and swung it rapidly five times!
Four thousand nine hundred and fifty Bone Teeth, gleaming with the cold light of death, surged forward like a torrent, ripping through the air with a shrill whistle.
They shot straight toward the [Frost Lord], which was down to its last sliver of health!
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