Lu Fang was currently exactly level 13.
He just met the entry requirement.
Without hesitation, he raised his hand and tapped the difficulty selection.
[Hell difficulty]
Hum.
The screen trembled faintly.
[Selected: Frost Cavern · Hell difficulty] [Applying for entry...] [Application failed.] [Notice: Dungeons of Hard difficulty or higher require manual confirmation by Class Center staff.]
Lu Fang raised an eyebrow slightly.
Just then, a staff member in a Class Center uniform hurried in through the door.
He was a young man in his twenties, with a name badge that read "Dungeon administrator: Liu Cheng."
Liu Cheng took one look inside and almost thought he was seeing things.
One person.
Frost Cavern.
Hell difficulty.
This was practically the textbook recipe for suicide.
Liu Cheng hurried over to Lu Fang. Judging by his age, he was probably a student who had only recently awakened. Liu Cheng asked sternly,
"Student, did you select the wrong option?"
Lu Fang glanced at him.
"No."
Liu Cheng froze for a moment.
"Are you sure you want to enter Frost Cavern on Hell difficulty?"
"Yes."
Liu Cheng's expression immediately darkened.
"This is reckless!"
"Frost Cavern may only be a low-tier dungeon, but Hell difficulty isn't meant for newcomers to solo."
"This dungeon recommends a party of four, with at least one defensive class and one healing class. Ideally, the remaining two should be fire damage dealers."
"You're not running a dungeon. You're looking to die."
Lu Fang did not get angry.
He knew full well that the man was following procedure.
And he really was trying to stop a newcomer from throwing his life away.
But Lu Fang did not have time to explain too much here.
Lu Fang took out his phone and called Ji Xiuneng directly.
The call connected quickly.
Ji Xiuneng's slightly weary voice came from the other end.
"Xiao Fang?"
"Uncle Ji, I'm at the Class Center."
Lu Fang kept it brief.
"I want to enter Frost Cavern on Hell difficulty, but the staff won't let me in. Please confirm it with him for me."
There was a second of silence on the other end.
Then Ji Xiuneng's voice came through.
"Give the phone to the staff member."
Lu Fang handed his phone to Liu Cheng.
Liu Cheng took it with a frown.
"Hello, I'm Liu Cheng, a dungeon administrator at the Jiang City Class Center. May I ask who you-"
The next second.
Liu Cheng's back snapped straight.
It was as though an electric shock had run through him.
"C-Captain Ji?!"
Ji Xiuneng, captain of the Jiang City Guard Team?
He was a true big shot!
Liu Cheng's expression went from stern to shocked, then from shocked to bewildered, before finally turning to complete reverence.
"Yes."
"Understood."
"I confirm."
The call ended.
Liu Cheng returned the phone to Lu Fang with both hands.
When he looked at Lu Fang again, his gaze had completely changed.
Before, he had seen Lu Fang as a newcomer who had no idea how vast the world was.
Now, he looked at Lu Fang as though he were some monster concealing his identity.
He could call Ji Xiuneng directly.
And Ji Xiuneng had actually personally confirmed his entry into a Hell-difficulty dungeon.
"S-Student Lu, your confirmation has gone through."
"You may enter Frost Cavern on Hell difficulty."
Liu Cheng tapped the administrator screen.
Hum!
An ice-blue portal slowly opened.
[Frost Cavern · Hell difficulty] [Entrant: Lu Fang] [Entry level: 13] [Number of participants: 1]
Seeing that final line, "Number of participants: 1," Liu Cheng still could not help his eyelid twitching.
He gritted his teeth and reminded him,
"Student Lu, if you encounter danger inside the dungeon, you can use an emergency escape scroll."
"Although escaping on Hell difficulty has a three-second delay, you-"
"No need."
Lu Fang walked toward the portal.
"I'll be out soon."
As his words fell.
His figure vanished into the ice-blue light, disappearing in an instant.
Liu Cheng stood there, unable to collect himself for a long time.
Suddenly, the communicator on his wrist vibrated.
It was a message from Ji Xiuneng.
"From now on, monitor Lu Fang's situation in real time."
"Report any changes to me immediately."
Frost Cavern.
A bone-chilling wind struck him in the face.
As soon as Lu Fang landed, a faint cracking sound came from beneath his feet.
It was the sound of ice breaking underfoot.
All around him stretched an enormous underground ice cavern.
Sharp, blade-like icicles covered the cavern walls, thick frost coated the ground, and pale blue icy mist drifted through the air.
[Notice: You have entered Frost Cavern · Hell difficulty] [Environmental effect: Extreme Cold Domain] [All entrants have their movement speed reduced by 30%, attack speed reduced by 20%, and stamina consumption rate increased by 50%.]
The cold rule notifications appeared before his eyes.
Lu Fang gave them a casual glance.
Then showed little reaction.
A 30% slow?
That's it?
With a thought, Lu Fang willed them forth.
"Money Ghosts."
Hum!
Ten dark-gold figures appeared at once.
The towering Money Ghosts stood in the icy mist, the copper coin markings on their faces giving off a cold, eerie glow.
The next second, a dense chorus of snarls came from the icy mist ahead.
Frost Wolves with snow-white bodies and blue-glowing eyes charged out from deep within the ice cavern.
[Frost Wolf] [Level: 12] [HP: 3,500] [Skills: Ice Claw, Cold Bite]
To ordinary newcomers, these Frost Wolves would undoubtedly be a nightmare.
They were fast, their attacks inflicted slows, and they came in enormous numbers.
If an ordinary party of four entered and got surrounded, they could very well lose members in an instant.
Yet Lu Fang merely lifted his eyes.
"Clear them out."
Boom!
The ten Money Ghosts charged out instantly.
The ice shattered.
Dark-gold afterimages swept through the cavern.
A Frost Wolf had barely leaped into the air before a Money Ghost smashed its head apart with a punch.
Another Frost Wolf tried to ambush one from the side, only for the Money Ghost to reach back, seize it by the neck, and smash it into the ice wall like tossing out trash.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
A string of dull, explosive impacts echoed through the cavern.
Those Frost Wolves, so difficult for ordinary class holders to handle, were as fragile as clumps of snow before the Money Ghosts.
[Frost Wolf killed. EXP +150] [Frost Wolf killed. EXP +150] [Frost Wolf killed. EXP +150]
System notifications refreshed furiously.
Lu Fang could not even be bothered to look.
He simply walked forward.
No.
More precisely, he was running through the map.
The Money Ghosts cleared the way ahead.
The moment a monster appeared, it was instantly killed.
The moment a trap triggered, the Money Ghosts powered straight through it.
The so-called Hell-difficulty monster density, the so-called ice-environment slow, the so-called nightmare dungeon for newcomers-none of them posed any obstacle to Lu Fang.
The first section, the ice wolf area, took three minutes.
The second section, the ice spider nest, took five minutes.
The third section, the Frost Armor Bear passage, took six minutes.
He swept through everything along the way.
He crushed everything along the way.
Lu Fang's experience bar was also climbing at a furious pace.
[Level up!] [Current level: 14] [All attributes increased!]
[Level up!] [Current level: 15]