The Death Arena
[Defias Brotherhood (Allies of the Defias Brotherhood)]
[Faction Leader: Dark Rod]
[Monster Faction Level: Level 3 Fortress]
[Monster Faction Territory: Westfall]
[Monster Faction's Main City: The Forgotten Tower]
[Monster faction population: 379/500]
"We are allies with the Defias Brotherhood, practically inseparable, but strictly speaking, we are two separate organizations. That's why I only invited you to join the Defias Brotherhood. Our organization has fewer members; we're only a level 3 faction, while the Defias Brotherhood is a level 4 faction, though most of its members are NPCs."
"Our Defias Brotherhood's main city is the Forgotten Tower, a hidden dungeon that has yet to be discovered by adventurers."
Xiao Yu nodded, indicating his understanding. "Then, what do I need to do?"
"We have many positions to choose from. If you are strong enough, you can enter a dungeon as the gatekeeper boss, or even the final boss. If you are not strong enough, you can only be a quest story boss, or simply become a world boss."
"Different positions pay different amounts. You only get the basic salary for completing story missions and defeating world bosses. You get extra bonuses for entering dungeons. Of course, we'll have to test where you'll be assigned to each position to find out. Come with me."
"Test? How do we test?" Xiao Yu asked curiously.
"Of course, we'll fight the adventurers."
While they were talking, the two had already disembarked and arrived at the Black area. However, instead of heading towards the Deadmines, Rod bypassed a limestone cliff and opened a hidden door in a corner of a cave.
The two hadn't gone far when another blue light screen appeared before them.
"A book within a book?" Xiao Yu was taken aback; this was the first time he had ever seen such a design.
"It's not a dungeon within a dungeon, it's just a subway system. Westfall is too big, and you're likely to encounter adventurers when traveling between different dungeons, so taking the subway is safer. This underground tunnel connects all the dungeons in Westfall."
The two hadn't gone far into the tunnel when they saw a minecart. The tracks beneath the minecart stretched into the darkness ahead, where several goblins were fiddling with something. Upon seeing Black, Rod immediately straightened up.
Goblin ticket seller. "Is there anything I can do for you?"
"Take us to the Death Arena, thank you."
Death Arena? Sounds like a dungeon. Xiao Yu originally thought he would just go outside and find a few adventurers to fight.
The two got on the mine cart and sped off. After more than ten minutes, the mine cart stopped in front of a gate.
Enter the tunnel and pass through the blue replica light curtain.
System notification: You have entered the Death Arena.
Death Arena Dungeon: Entry level 14-21, 5-player normal difficulty dungeon.
After winding their way uphill for a while, before they even reached their destination, a commotion reached Xiao Yu's ears.
Soon the two arrived at a place that resembled a grandstand. Standing on the stands, they looked around and saw a huge circular arena. The sandy ground of the arena was tens of meters in diameter, surrounded by a ring of grandstands, which were already crowded with all sorts of monsters.
There were all sorts of monsters: ogres, gnolls, humans, dwarves, minotaurs, orcs, and wild beasts. Among these monsters were ordinary mobs, rare elites with silver heads, elites with gold heads, and Xiao Yu even saw quite a few boss monsters with dragon-shaped borders.
These monsters all bore the suffixes of the Defias Brotherhood and the Rod Defias Brotherhood, clearly belonging to Dark Rod's forces. Xiao Yu guessed that many of them were merely affiliated with the Defias Brotherhood, but even so, the sheer number of monsters was truly astonishing.
As a goblin, Xiao Yu attracted no attention at all among the horde of monsters.
As Black Rod found a spot near the arena and sat down, he Xiao Yu: "This is one of the most popular dungeons in Westfall. Although there's no mirror version of the dungeon, adventurers come here almost 24/7 to run it. It's incredibly popular. Look, a team is coming in."
Sure enough, the iron bars of the arena slowly opened, and a group of five adventurers in shackles walked in from behind the fence, accompanied by several fully armed ogre guards.
Xiao Yu asked curiously, "Huh? Why are they locked up?"
Black Rod explained, "Oh, this is the dungeon design." As he spoke, he explained the dungeon design of the Death Arena to Xiao Yu.
What's interesting about this dungeon is its entry method. The Death Arena is located in the heart of Westfall, where monsters are most concentrated. It's very difficult for ordinary players to get close to it, and even if they do get to the entrance, they still have to face four level 24 elite ogre guards and a level 25 ogre guard captain BOSS.
Therefore, it is extremely difficult to directly enter the instance. However, there are two ways to enter the instance without fighting. The first way is to register for the gladiator competition with the goblin guide outside the Death Arena. You need to pay a registration fee of 50 gold coins, which you can take back if you can clear the instance. You can also earn a bonus.
The second one is more interesting. In the Westfall, there is a patrol of monsters, a dwarf slave owner leading a team of more than twenty slave hunters.
If you are defeated in battle against this group of monsters, you will be presented with two options: 1. Remain defiant to the death, or 2. Become a slave.
If you choose the second option, you will be taken to the Death Arena to participate in gladiatorial combat.
50 gold coins is not a small amount for novice players, so many players choose to be captured by slave teams to run dungeons.
Black Rod continued, "Of course, the most interesting part of this dungeon isn't just that. The boss is completely randomized. See those monsters in the stands? Anyone can join the fight against adventurers. That means adventurers will face a different boss every time they run this dungeon. So we also use this dungeon to test the strength of newly added bosses."
"That sounds interesting, so you're planning to have me go down and compete against them?"
"How's it going? No problems?"
Xiao Yu nodded. "No problem. So, what number am I?"
"Adventurers need to fight four boss battles to clear this dungeon. Which boss are you planning to fight?"
"I'll go third. Now give me the dungeon boss access," Xiao Yu said. He definitely wouldn't consider going first; he needed to observe the adventurers' tactics and combat strength first. But if he went too late and the adventurers suffered casualties, it wouldn't demonstrate his strength. So, going third was just right.
System notification: You have become the final boss of the Death Arena.
Black Rod said, "You can set up your own dungeon boss system now. This dungeon boss system must be set up before it can appear. It's very simple, you just need to—"
Xiao Yu abruptly interrupted him, "I'll set up the dungeon boss system myself, no need to trouble you."
Black Rod was taken aback. "So you were a dungeon boss before?"
Xiao Yu smiled but did not answer. Instead, he directly opened the dungeon BOSS system.
A voice immediately rang in my ears--
System prompt: Welcome to the Dungeon Boss System. As this is your first time becoming a dungeon boss, you must be very excited. However, in order to better fight against adventurers in the dungeon and better showcase your boss prowess, some necessary settings are essential. Now, please follow my instructions to make the settings.
This was a system tutorial, which Xiao Yu immediately closed. He was extremely familiar with the dungeon boss system.
PS: Regarding the update speed of this book, it is currently updated twice a day, and after it is strongly recommended, it will be updated three times a day. During the first month after it is released, it will strive to update four times a day (not guaranteed).
Additionally, there's a Q&A section in the "Related to the Work" section where I'll answer some of the readers' questions. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment; I check them every day.