Everyone on Shi Feng's team had arrived, but the Level 2 players watching them couldn't help laughing.
It wasn't because all the players Shi Feng had recruited were Level 1. It was because of how bizarre their class lineup was. They couldn't help laughing.
"This newbie's hilarious. I almost admire him. He's put together a team that's practically begging to die."
"I almost feel sorry for that expert. He's actually going along with this oddball and even letting him lead the team."
The Level 2 players in line started gossiping, and quite a few clutched their stomachs as they laughed.
"What a show-off." Zhao Yueru furrowed her Moon Brow and glanced at Shi Feng before turning away, feeling a little annoyed. In the past, she'd been the center of attention wherever she went. Today, though, everyone was paying attention to Shi Feng, an inconspicuous newbie. Sure, they were laughing at him, but he was still the center of attention.
"Alright, Yueru. Let's hurry up and finish recruiting. If we waste any more time, we'll fall behind the top players." Although Bai Qingxue felt that Shi Feng seemed like an expert, his level and his choice of teammates were far from what people expected of one. She'd already given up on inviting him to join their guild. The Snake of the Void only recruited experts.
"Got it." Zhao Yueru turned to the Swordsman in front of her and said bluntly, almost as if taking revenge, "Your stats aren't bad, but we don't need a Swordsman."
The Swordsman's expression immediately fell. He could tell what Zhao Yueru was doing, and he turned to glare at Shi Feng in the distance, his eyes full of hatred.
Meanwhile, Shi Feng, completely unaware of what was happening, was opening Dead Silence Forest.
System: Select a difficulty.
System: Normal, Hard, Hell.
Without hesitation, Shi Feng chose Hell. The Teleportation Passage before Dead Silence Forest changed from silver-gray to pitch-black, and a skull appeared within it, flickering in and out of view with its jaws wide open.
At the same time, the members of Shi Feng's team all received a message.
System: Hell-Grade Dead Silence Forest selected. The penalty for death has increased by 100%.
The color drained from the team members' faces. A 100% increase to the death penalty meant that dying in the instance would cost them 20% of their EXP. It would take an hour or two of hard work to earn that much back.
"Brother Feng, you chose the wrong one. Weren't we going into the Normal instance?" Heizi hurried over and whispered a reminder.
"I didn't choose wrong. I picked Hell. Why else would I come here if we weren't doing Hell?" Shi Feng replied irritably.
The drop rate for the forging blueprint was extremely low. Werewolf Ferrot had only a 1% drop rate on Normal and 5% on Hard. Only Hell gave them a 30% chance. They could run Normal as many times as they wanted each day, but who had that kind of time? Hard was limited to five runs per day, and even then the odds weren't great. Hell was limited to once a day, but gave them the best chance.
"Bro... Brother Feng, what are you talking about? Hell-Grade Dead Silence Forest? Just look at our team. We'd have trouble even clearing Normal, let alone Hell." Heizi panicked. He'd already seen several elite teams wiped out. According to them, the monsters in Dead Silence Forest were incredibly powerful and highly intelligent. You needed to be at least Level 4 or 5 to fight them, so they'd all given up and left.
Sending a bunch of newbies like them into a Hell-Grade instance really was a trip to hell.
"Relax. I wouldn't do this if I weren't sure we could handle it." Shi Feng smiled and patted Heizi's shoulder, brimming with confidence.
"Alright, let's go in."
Shi Feng entered first. Heizi followed, and Lonely As Snow stumbled in after them, ready to see it through to the bitter end.
The remaining three hesitated for a long time.
"We should go in too. Even the expert's gone in. What do we Level 1 newbies have to lose? Besides, we're going into Hell-Grade Dead Silence Forest. That's something to be proud of." Kele said.
The other two thought he made sense and followed him inside.
Silence fell over the area in front of Bai Qingxue's team. All the Level 2 players froze—not from shock, but disbelief. Even Level 2 elite teams couldn't clear Normal, yet a team made up mostly of Level 1 players had actually entered Hell-Grade Dead Silence Forest.
"Qingxue, I'm not seeing things, am I? That was Hell difficulty, right?" Zhao Yueru asked.
Bai Qingxue nodded, her beautiful eyes fixed on the flickering skull as her expression turned extremely grave.
"That guy must've given up. He figures he can't clear Normal Dead Silence Forest, so he might as well do Hell. Let's see how they die in there." Zhao Yueru laughed.
"We don't have time for that. We've got our team. Let's go too."
Bai Qingxue headed for the Dead Silence Forest instance first and set the difficulty to Normal. If they had no trouble with Normal, they could try Dead Silence Forest on Hard later.
The instance was a dim forest. A cold wind blew through now and then, making them shiver. Thick black clouds hung low in the sky, and lightning flashed and thunder rumbled within them, as if the world were ending.
Everyone on Shi Feng's team, except for Shi Feng, huddled close to the instance entrance and didn't dare take a step. They were afraid of drawing out some small monster that would wipe them all out.
"Brother Feng, why does my back keep feeling cold?" Heizi said nervously.
"Heizi, you need to act like an expert if you want any chance of becoming one. It's only Hell difficulty. The monsters are just a little smarter, their fighting styles a little more complicated, and their attack, defense, and health a little higher. Oh, and there are more monsters too. Other than that, there's nothing much to it." Shi Feng thought for a moment and decided there was nothing else to add.
Everyone on the team shot him a disdainful look.
Even a small difference in attack, defense, or health could wipe out a team in an instance, yet Shi Feng had just brushed it aside. And what did he mean, "a little smarter"? They'd fought monsters in God's Domain before. Even a slight increase in intelligence could double or triple a monster's strength if its attack, defense, and health stayed the same.
"Alright, alright. Don't worry about the little things. Now I'm going to explain how to clear this instance. Listen carefully. If you don't follow the strategy, you could die." Shi Feng waved his hand and prepared to explain the instance strategy.
Suddenly, a powerful gust swept through the dim forest, making the trees thrash violently.
"ROOOAR!"
Another roar rang out after the wind, echoing throughout Dead Silence Forest. Countless birds and beasts fled into the sky in terror.
Heizi and the others were completely shaken by its sheer force.
They were only around twenty years old. They'd never been through great hardships, let alone faced life-and-death trials. This was their first time hearing such a heart-wrenching roar. It was even more awe-inspiring than the legendary roar of a tiger in the mountains.
"This is what we need to watch out for." Shi Feng spoke calmly.
That roar was the biggest difference between Hell and Hard.
Although it had no official name, players from his previous life had dubbed it "Hell Roar."