This Kind of Thing Is Best Enjoyed by a Small Group

"Xiao Lan, I heard your strength seemed to have increased. Is that true?"

At Si Telan's home, the Morning Wind Squad had gathered together. They had rushed over in a panic after hearing that Si Telan had been troubled by some street thugs.

When they saw that she had not suffered any injuries and was even glowing with health, everyone visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

Si Telan gave them a reassuring smile. She was happy to see everyone so concerned about her.

"I just went and healed that thug before beating him up again. He really was quite strong," Xiu En said. "He should have been about on par with you, but the bystanders said you took him down instantly. What happened?"

"Actually, something incredible happened to me in Zane Dungeon."

Si Telan slowly recounted what had happened to her in the dungeon. Sure enough, everyone wore astonished expressions after hearing it.

Crooked Finger Summoning Potion? Friendly Helpers and hostile Fighters? Hound Step? Bonfires and leveling up at bonfires?

One unheard-of thing after another broadened their horizons.

"What does the Crooked Finger Summoning Potion look like? Was the person who helped you alive?"

"I'm more curious about the bonfire you mentioned."

"Right, right. Killing monsters lets you, uh... what was that term again? 'Level up' through the 'panel'? And what exactly is a panel?"

Just as Si Telan had expected, the bonfire was what interested everyone the most.

To adventurers, strength was everything. Now that something capable of making them stronger so quickly had appeared, everyone naturally paid close attention to it.

"It means you gain souls after killing monsters, then use those souls to level up at the bonfire."

"Souls!?" Mage Ai Li's expression changed. "Using souls to grow stronger is a blasphemous act only necromancers would commit."

"Oh, these souls aren't the kind of souls you're thinking of." Si Telan did not know how to explain it, so she simply said, "Just tell me, are you going to use this bonfire or not?"

"...I will."

"There you go."

She stood up and clapped her hands. "Talking about it is useless. Tomorrow, I'll take you there to see it for yourselves."

The next morning, everyone arrived at the entrance to Zane Dungeon early.

The surface structure of Zane Dungeon was a damaged, collapsed ancient city. It was not very large and had long been overgrown with vines and moss, making one wonder what had happened there in the past, why the ancient city had been destroyed, and where its residents had gone.

But now, with waves upon waves of adventurers arriving, the ancient city was bustling with people. Some merchants had even paid to repair the buildings and opened shops inside. There was more foot traffic here than on the commercial streets of Bede City. Even small vendors with nothing to do with the dungeon had come to set up stalls, drawing in nearby residents as well.

Many idle people liked to gather here and comment on the adventurers entering and leaving the dungeon, so business-minded people had opened taverns nearby, and business was booming.

Bathed in the morning sun, the lost ancient city had once again come alive with vibrant energy.

"Is it just me, or does it feel like even more people have come here?" Ai Li looked around and felt that the crowd really had grown.

"Most of them are Miners," Dan Ya said. "Count Philip sent out twice as many Miners. That is the only reason Bloodstone production has barely remained equal to what it was before the mutation."

"Wouldn't that mean they're losing money?" Xiu En asked.

"No." Si Telan shook her head. "Every few days, a miner brings out a rare Purple Blood Crystal. Just a small piece is enough to cover the Bede Family's investment."

"Oh." Xiu En nodded, though no one knew whether he had truly understood.

The number of Miners had doubled, while the number of adventurers had not increased much compared to before. Zane Dungeon's sharply increased difficulty had discouraged a great many people, but new adventurers who had rushed over after hearing the news filled the gap. As fewer clumsy players remained and more skilled players joined, the number of adventurers would surely continue to rise.

The actual entrance to Zane Dungeon within the ancient city was a portal at the far end of the city. To enter, one had to queue up and also pay attention to the interval between each person's entry.

If they entered within two minutes of one another, they could explore the dungeon together. If they entered more than two minutes apart, they would not meet and would each explore on their own without affecting one another.

Queueing was one of the most disgusting things a person had no choice but to experience in life, even more disgusting than the poison pools and Swamp of Zane Dungeon.

After a long and tedious wait in line, the Morning Wind Squad finally got their wish and entered the dungeon.

Si Telan was already thoroughly familiar with the route through the upper area. She led everyone through the Swamp Area in a speedrun, and when they reached Plague Village, she took the Greatshield off her back.

Xiu En's mouth twitched. "I've wanted to ask why you were carrying that Greatshield for a while, but don't tell me... you plan to use it here?"

"Why not?"

Si Telan shrugged, raised her Greatshield and spear, and walked alone at the front. As she fought the monsters, she did not forget to turn back and say:

"Want to give it a try? I guarantee you'll fall in love with them."

Xiu En hesitated before refusing.

There was even less need to mention Dan Ya and Ai Li. Both of them were weaker still.

However, people's thoughts could change.

After watching several of Si Telan's battles, Xiu En suddenly said:

"How about... letting me try it?"

Si Telan recalled something Gong Qiying had once said, then smiled. "Want to learn? I'll teach you."

A moment later.

"Shield Poke is so fun!"

Not long afterward, the adventurers defeated the Giant Curse Frog and lit the bonfire. With Si Telan, a seasoned veteran who had cleared the area once before, leading them the whole way, no one died, though they did suffer some injuries.

Still, there was no avoiding the scares.

The disgusting traps, each more malicious than the last, drained just as much Spirit Power from them as losing one or two people would have!

And Shield Poke was not all-powerful. When they encountered problems it could not solve, they still had to obediently switch back to the weapons they had used before.

The moment they sat down by the bonfire, the other three began shouting in surprise. They finally understood what this so-called panel actually looked like.

The last time Si Telan came here, Gong Qiying had basically made her fight monsters the entire time, which was how she had accumulated several thousand souls.

But this time, with more people present, everyone had killed monsters, so the souls were naturally divided among them. Dan Ya and Ai Li each had several hundred, while Xiu En had over two thousand.

Dan Ya said, "I need more than four hundred souls to level up once."

"Huh? I only need two hundred," Ai Li said in surprise.

"..." Xiu En fell silent for a moment. "I need over a thousand for one level."

Everyone's initial stats on the panel were 1, but so far, it seemed that different people required different amounts of souls to level up.

Perhaps the stronger a person was, the more souls they needed to level up!

This time, the Giant Curse Frog had also dropped an item: the Giant Curse Frog's Soul. But there was only one.

After some discussion, everyone decided to give it to Xiu En, because he had contributed the most during the battle.

Si Telan discovered that she could no longer use the Giant Curse Frog's Soul to enhance her physique at the bonfire. She could only crush it into souls for leveling up. It seemed special effects had limits for each person as well.

"Strength... I can feel strength surging into me."

Xiu En put all his souls into strength and immediately started excitedly going, "Oooh, oooh!" Add a golden glow effect and he could become a Super Saiyan.

Dan Ya added one point of agility, while Ai Li added one point of intelligence. A single level was not an especially obvious improvement, but the growth in their strength still delighted both of them.

"With this thing, even becoming a Gold-Rank Adventurer won't be a problem!" Ai Li's eyes were full of longing for the future.

"That's hard to say. Once other people find out about this place, they might level up even faster than us," Si Telan said.

Dan Ya seemed thoughtful and looked up to ask, "Other than you, has anyone else discovered this place?"

"I don't know. I haven't heard of anyone clearing this floor yet. Why?"

"I think..."

Dan Ya stared intently at the bonfire and slowly said:

"This kind of thing is best enjoyed by a small group."

I got turned into a sieve by the Repeating Crossbow Ratfolk of Shamen Village. It brought back painful memories of Ringed City.

And who taught Yin Hu these Fast and Slow Blades? Even the Omen wasn't this absurd. Damn!