The Failed Imitator

When the New Strategy Team landed in Spring Sun City aboard a griffin, it naturally attracted a lot of attention.

Griffins are not easy to keep. Not only are they fierce and prone to attacking people, but they also require special care in terms of food and water. Otherwise, they can easily fall ill.

Strangely, griffins, which can fly at high speeds, should be in good health and shouldn't get sick often. So some people discovered that they were just using "illness" to protest to their keepers and demand better food and living conditions.

This behavior only occurs in domesticated griffins, since wild griffins cannot find savages to raise them.

Even the viscount of Spring Sun City couldn't afford to keep a griffin, let alone most of the people in the city. When Lu Lu Wo and her companions landed, guards naturally rushed over nervously, wanting to ask them something, but they dared not approach because of the beast's imposing presence.

It's easy to guess that they probably wanted to ask Lu Lu Wo how to handle the griffins, in case they hurt someone.

Those who can ride griffins are either rich or noble, and lowly guards must be careful. He had just organized a speech in his mind that should not be offensive, but before he could speak, he saw Lu Lu Wo pull out a red and white ball from her bosom.

She reached out her hand towards the griffin, and the enormous beast transformed into a stream of light and was absorbed into the sphere.

"Wow!" The onlookers exclaimed immediately. What had they just witnessed? Space Magic!

How did such a large griffin fit into a ball the size of a palm?

"That guy Luo Jieer brought out something really interesting." Lu Lu Wo weighed the Poké Ball in her hand, put it into her waist pouch, and with an exaggerated flick of her arm, she raised her head and said coolly, "Let's go, buy some supplies, and then go see what the Verdant Dungeon is all about."

To increase their speed, they didn't bring much luggage, planning to replenish their supplies after arriving in Spring Sun City.

"The captain is attracting too much attention like this," Bei Er Tuo muttered. "He would have been better off landing far away in the forest. Now he's drawing a lot of unnecessary attention."

Mi La said nonchalantly, "You know her personality."

The crowd ignored the onlookers quite naturally; they were used to being surrounded by people. As they moved forward, the crowd automatically made way for them.

"Go report to the Viscount; these people must be extraordinary." After a brief discussion, the guards hurriedly ran off.

Spring Sun City is an unremarkable little town. The only thing worth noting here is probably the vegetables they produce. They are all huge and plentiful, and their taste is also better than ordinary ones—all thanks to the specialties of the Verdant Dungeon.

The vegetables produced here have a certain market share. Whether people are curious or genuinely want to eat them, there are quite a few buyers. Many people are simply curious to see what potatoes and onions that are taller than a person look like.

Although the Spring Sun City can't get rich by farming, at least the local residents live a peaceful and stable life, and can occasionally indulge in some luxuries.

But

"Why is this place different from what I've heard?"

Mi La looked at the empty street. This was supposed to be the main road after entering the city, so there should have been a lot of people coming and going.

But the place was deserted, with only a few passersby making it seem even more desolate, so desolate that it seemed as if tumbleweeds might roll by.

It's not completely deserted yet, but this scattered appearance gives the impression of gradual decline.

"I remember that quite a few caravans had regular stations here," Mi La said, looking around, "But they're all closed."

A sense of desolation pervaded the area, though quite a few people dressed as adventurers were wandering around, apparently drawn by the news of the changes in the Verdant Dungeon.

"It's normal for Spring Sun City to have become like this."

Bei Er Tuo said, "This place relies on huge vegetable farms for a living, and its industries are basically all centered around vegetables. Once it loses its unique advantage, it will soon decline. Think about it, what has recently appeared in the surrounding areas that can replace it?"

"Oh, I see, it's the Zane Dungeon." Mi La immediately understood.

The giant vegetables produced in Spring Sun City are characterized by their "giant size," which perfectly satisfies people's curiosity. After a long period of mundane life, people always want to see something new and exciting.

These giant vegetables are not cheap, and while they taste slightly better than the regular version, the difference is still limited, making them unsuitable as everyday ingredients.

Therefore, after the opening of the more exotic and delicious Gourmet Area in the Zane Dungeon, Spring Sun City rapidly declined at a visible speed. All the caravans that were originally stationed here fled to Bede City, and over time, even the local residents began to leave.

What's the point of a potato bigger than a person? It's not even worth a single hair from Roasted Whole Pig in the Zane Dungeon!

Moreover, the food production and output speed of the Gourmet Area is much faster than that of giant vegetables that still need to be cultivated, and the prices are even more affordable. Maybe in the future, every household will be able to eat food from the Gourmet Area.

With that, what can Spring Sun City use to compete?

Mi La looked at the city with pity in her eyes. It had been perfectly replaced by the Zane Dungeon, and the local lord was probably going crazy.

If Gong Qiying were here, he would probably spread his hands innocently.

When he opened the Gourmet Area, he never imagined it would lead to this tragic state of Spring Sun City. What seemed like an ordinary measure to him had indirectly destroyed the economy of another city in the distance.

Perhaps this is what they call a dimensional reduction attack?

The loss of population naturally means fewer people entering the Verdant Dungeon. If this underground city were sentient, it would be extremely anxious. No wonder an anomaly occurred.

While buying supplies at the shop, they saw several adventurers chatting, and they all looked rather disheveled.

"How did Verdant Dungeon suddenly become such a horrible sight? I've been searching for ages and still haven't found the Tree Sprite. I guess I won't be able to complete today's quest."

"Still considering entrusting it to someone else? It's time to run away. Fewer and fewer people are already getting in, and now it's mutated to be even more dangerous."

"How about going to Sien next door? My brother's making a fortune there by foraging for food."

"Really?"

"Really, this new knife of mine was bought for me by him as a gift, and it wasn't cheap."

"Let's go, let's go check out Sien!"

During the conversation, the Verdant Dungeon lost another "customer," leaving the New Strategy Team speechless for a moment.

"Boss, I have something to ask you. Recently, there have been some strange changes in the Verdant Dungeon. How dangerous is it now?" Bei Er Tuo asked familiarly.

"Heh," the shopkeeper chuckled dismissively, "If the dungeon were replaced with a shop, Cangyin would be dead already."

With fewer and fewer customers, the owner finally found someone to talk to and poured out his grievances.

"I don't know what happened, but they added a bunch of feces inside. It's disgusting. Everyone used to really like the original scenery."

"People go in for the Tree Sprite's sap, but now the Tree Sprite are almost impossible to catch, and there are a bunch of poisonous giant toads instead. Who wants that stuff?"

"The terrain has become a complete mess, and there's a door that can only be opened by cutting three large vines. Isn't this just ridiculous?!"

Thanks to the shop owner's complaints, the New Strategy Team gathered a lot of information.

"It's pretty much the same information the Earl provided." Lu Lu Wo said, standing in front of the portal to the Verdant Dungeon, "It's become more dangerous, more disgusting, and more stingy."

The people in front of the portal were sparse, and they could enter freely without queuing, which made those who were used to queuing to enter the Zane Dungeon feel uncomfortable.

"Let's go and see what kind of stuff this is."

As they passed through the portal and the feeling of weightlessness gradually disappeared, a foul stench filled their noses.

This feeling is all too familiar; it's just like the Farron Keep.

What appeared before everyone was an endless "Swamp," filled with the sap flowing from rotting leaves. Although it looked similar, it didn't feel as visually impactful as the real, sewage-filled Farron Keep.

And

"It doesn't smell."

Lu Lu Wo took a deep breath, a puzzled look on her face, then took another breath. This time she nodded and said seriously, "It really doesn't smell bad."

"It stinks pretty bad, though not as bad as Sion," Bei Er Tuo twitched his nose and complained, "Captain, you've been assimilated by Sion."

Lu Lu Wo remained noncommittal. Looking around, she saw three hills rising abruptly from the Swamp, each covered with enormous vines.

Further away is a valley, the entrance to which is blocked by thick vines.

"Just like the intelligence report, you need to cut three vines to unlock the path into the valley, which is the original scene of Cangyin."

This is essentially the Verdant Dungeon adding an entry-level trial to the original content. Only by passing this alternative "Wolf Blood Trial" can one experience the previous content.

"."

The design is full of flaws.

More than half of the people who enter the Verdant Dungeon are working people. The Tree Sprite are not strong in combat, and ordinary people can easily handle them by forming a team.

Now that the difficulty has been increased and the number of Tree Sprite has decreased, the only way to return to the original map is through a Swamp made of rotten leaves. Isn't this just discouraging people from playing?

Since the difficulty has been increased, shouldn't the rewards be increased as well—unless the city lord here can't come up with better rewards?

Looking at the scene before her, Lu Lu Wo felt a sense of nostalgia, recalling her first time entering the Zane Dungeon.

Normally, they should have endured the stench and lurking monsters to cross the Swamp, and after overcoming numerous hardships to cut through the vines, they would have entered the valley.

But now Lu Lu Wo wants to do something different.

Chains extended from beneath her cloak, binding her companions and lifting them up one by one. The remaining four chains served as her feet, allowing her to move forward without getting wet in the filthy water, like Doctor Octopus.

The monsters lurking beneath the Swamp were bewildered. These monsters were all related to plants and were not very strong; they couldn't even hit the New Strategy Team suspended in the air.

The chains killed any monsters that dared to show their faces like a meat grinder. Lu Lu Wo didn't even need to get close to the vines; she could just have Ai Si Ai Mu burn them with fire magic from a distance.

It's clear that the Verdant Dungeon uses relatively sturdy vines, but unfortunately, they're no match for Silver Rank adventurers.

Within minutes, all three vines were destroyed, and the path to the valley was opened.

During this time, Lu Lu Wo encountered many traps that felt very familiar.

"Do you think those giant toads are imitating the Curse Frog?"

Lu Lu Wo pointed to a spot where several giant toads with flowers on their backs guarded a White Light Spot.

"Probably," Bei Er Tuo said. "I wonder if these toads can spew that black mist like the Curse Frog. Hey, Captain, what are you doing!"

"Why don't you go and try it yourself?" Lu Lu Wo chuckled mischievously as she led him to the giant toad. Sure enough, the monsters opened their mouths and spat out pale green slime.

Bei Er Tuo let out a scream, purely out of disgust.

As for Curse of Death? How could these giant toads possibly have that ability? The mucus they spew out is at most slightly poisonous, and Lu Lu Wo already knew that.

She casually killed one, then opened the Hunting Handbook, but there was no updated information about the giant toad.

"Will it only show the monster descriptions from the Zane Dungeon?" She was slightly bored, casually crushed the remaining giant toad, and then used water magic to give Bei Er Tuo a bath.

The latter stared at her with a resentful look.

After walking for a while, Lu Lu Wo suddenly pulled a wriggling "person" out of the Swamp. Upon closer inspection, it turned out that the thing was made of plants.

"Uh, is this imitating Sion's Skeleton Monster?"

Lu Lu Wo remembered that Sion's Skeleton Monster could be resurrected after being disassembled, so she disassembled the vegetative person as well.

There was no resurrection; the monster is truly dead.

"Boring."

After walking for a while, a huge sphere made of plants fell from the sky and rolled rapidly toward them.

The shadow cast by the giant iron ball instantly appeared in everyone's mind; everyone who entered Saien had been greeted by the iron ball.

However, Cangyin's ball wasn't an iron ball, but a plant ball, therefore...

"[Raging Flames]!"

Aisi and Aimu unleashed a combined fire magic attack, causing the plant ball to explode instantly.

Complete the game without taking damage.

"I feel like I'm exploring a low-budget version of the Zane Dungeon," Mi La couldn't help but say.

Lu Lu Wo yawned and said, "It's not even a low-end version, just a clumsy imitation."

For the New Strategy Team, whose members were all Silver Rank, this dungeon was far too easy, so easy it was boring.

However, for those living nearby, the anomaly in the Verdant Dungeon is a real problem; even a low-end version of the Sion-style trap can cause mass deaths of ordinary people.

There are also some innovative features, such as tree fruits that explode with blinding flashes and Man-Eating Flower plants that disguise themselves as harmless plants. Lu Lu Wo suffered a loss on their first encounter with them.

Well, there is some innovation, but the variety is too limited; it's all plants.

If adventurers are on guard and stay away from strange plants, most of these traps will be rendered useless.

This is probably a problem that many dungeons encounter; the limited variety of available monsters and building systems leads to this outcome.

In contrast, the Sion that constantly produces all sorts of monster-inspired buildings is an anomaly, a huge anomaly!

"The boss said a powerful monster will appear in the valley." Lu Lu Wo pouted. "Let's all make some preparations."

Based on her recent experience, she didn't think any powerful monsters would appear here.

"Pat-pat-pat".

The sound of treading water came from not far away, and the enemy's body sounded very heavy.

Everyone stared intently at the valley, and when the enemy finally emerged from the shadows and appeared in the sunlight, everyone was stunned.

Because of that thing.

It has a tall, humanoid body, wears armor made of vines and painted bronze, and holds a Greatshield and Greatsword. Its most distinctive feature is its helmet, which looks like an axe.

This is a monster made of plants, and each part of it seems to have its own consciousness, walking in a crooked and unsteady manner.

This thing is definitely a fusion monster cobbled together by the local lord using different monsters! And, and—

"Don't tell me this thing is a copy of the Crucible Knight."

Everyone's expressions were strange, because the person in the vegetative state in front of them had a resemblance to the Crucible Knight!

It has the same charm as an evil god figurine.

I got caught playing Angel Xiaoxiao at work by my boss, and I'm only just now finishing typing this. I'm so guilty.