Trial Nest: Land of Buried Bones

As Su Mu walked past the group of dungeon raiders who were shouting, several auras of Appraisal landed on him.

Level 10?

A burly man wearing half-body iron armor and carrying a large shield raised an eyebrow.

He was forming a team, and three people were already standing around him, clearly waiting for the last spot. He scanned the area again with his Appraisal, and his expression became somewhat strange.

"Hey bro, wanna team up? We're one short, just need a support." The burly man called out to Su Mu, then shook his head first, "Uh... level 10? Never mind, never mind."

A female dungeon runner with a short staff glanced at Su Mu's level and whispered to the burly man, "Stop shouting. A level 10 guy coming here is definitely a newbie. Taking him to a normal dungeon will only increase the number of monsters, it's not worth it."

The burly man nodded and looked away.

Su Mu didn't pay any attention and continued walking towards the entrance.

But his rank was far too low.

The lowest level in this area is level 15.

Most of them were between level 16 and 18, with a few level 20 captains at the highest level, who were explaining the dungeon mechanics to the newbies.

Su Mu, a level 10 player, was mixed in like a rabbit that had wandered into a pack of wolves.

The aura of Appraisal wafted in from all directions.

Level 10? Seriously?

"He's heading towards the entrance, could he be going in?"

Su Mu was oblivious to the discussions. He had already reached the entrance and brought up the control panel.

[Trial Nest: Land of Buried Bones]

[Difficulty Options: Normal/Hard/Nightmare/Hell]

[Currently available challenge: Normal]

Wild nests are different from trial dungeons.

The "easy" option is no longer available in the outdoor dungeons; that was a trial specifically designed for students.

Su Mu did not hesitate.

Ordinary.

Confirm.

The grayish-white vortex spun faster, and a suction force surged from its center. His figure was sucked into it and disappeared.

The chatter outside the entrance suddenly stopped.

"They're inside. They're really inside."

"One person? Level 10? Land of Buried Bones?"

"What the hell is he thinking?"

"Maybe they really do have some trump card up their sleeve?" the hooded young man said slowly. "Let's wait and see."

"What trump card... I just examined it closely. His core card is F-rank. The theme is Journey to the West, something I've never heard of before, a special type."

There was a moment of silence. Then it exploded.

"An F-rank core card, level 10, soloing a level 15 dungeon? Does he think he's living too long?"

"The Land of Buried Bones are known for their monster numbers. A normal dungeon has ten waves, each wave nearly twice as many monsters as a comparable lair. Even a level 15 S-rank dungeon master would have to be extremely careful soloing a normal dungeon. And he, with an F-rank core card, level 10, is trying to solo it?"

"That's not soloing, that's suicide."

"Not necessarily."

Someone chimed in, "It's a special type of theme, what if there's something special about it? And look at how he dared to go in, he can't be completely without any tricks up his sleeve, right? This world is never short of geniuses. Some people's themes are weak in the early stages but strong in the later stages. Maybe his special level has some special mechanism."

"Special dungeons need core cards even more support."

Someone immediately retorted, "No matter how unique your theme is, the core card is only F-rank, and its basic attributes are what they are. A special dungeon also means there's no precedent to follow, and you have to figure everything out yourself. A level 10 newbie soloing a level 15 dungeon on their first time entering a wild nest, what's the difference between that and jumping off a cliff blindfolded?"

"Indeed. Moreover, the Land of Buried Bones have a very unique mechanism; the monsters accumulate in waves. If your damage output isn't enough, and you haven't cleared the first few waves, the later ones will already be surging up. In the end, dozens of monsters will surround you and attack you; even the strongest cards can't withstand that."

A group of people gathered near the entrance, their voices rising and falling in discussion.

Most people thought Su Mu was going to his death, but some had reservations.

"Don't forget, while special themes are unprecedented, they also mean there's no upper limit." A young dungeon master wearing a hood leaned against the railing and said lazily, "Journey to the West, I haven't heard of it, but judging from the name, it's related to mythology. The upper limit for mythological themes is never low. Moreover, his Soul Power fluctuations are very strong. I just scanned it with Advanced Appraisal, and his Soul Power concentration is higher than that of an average level 18 dungeon master."

"What's the use of high Soul Power? High Soul Power only means more resources, not necessarily better combat ability. No matter how high your Soul Power is, if your core card is only F-rank, your damage output is limited. Monsters won't be immune to your attacks just because you have high Soul Power."

"We'll just have to wait and see," the hooded young man shrugged. "I'll just wait here. If he can hold out for ten waves, I'll be impressed."

At this moment, Su Mu was standing in the Dungeon Space of the Land of Buried Bones.

The greyish-white sky pressed down overhead, like a huge, endless slab of stone.

Countless shattered tombstones lay askew in the ground, stretching from our feet to the horizon.

The ground was covered with broken bones and bone powder, and every step made a crunching sound.

A cloying, rotten smell filled the air, as if something had been decaying for hundreds of years and fermenting into something else.

About three hundred meters ahead of him, countless figures were swaying in the grayish-white mist.

The Appraisal swept over it.

[Name: Buried Bones Skeleton Soldier]

[Rank: D]

[Level: 15]

[Blood: 9200/9200]

[Attack: 520]

[Defense: 310]

[Agility: 145]

[Combat Index: 4200]

[Skills: Bone Blade Slash, Undead Shell (Immune to poison and bleeding, takes 50% extra damage from Holy Light)]

Level 15.

It was five levels higher than the Goblin Skirmisher outside, and its attributes and combat stats were more than double.

And the quantity...

Su Mu glanced at it briefly, his pupils contracting slightly.

Seventy or eighty.

The first wave consisted of seventy or eighty skeleton soldiers, densely packed among the tombstones. Their gray-white skeletons were faintly visible in the mist, like a writhing forest of bones growing from the ground.

This is a nest in the wild.

Unlike the Trial Nest, which gives you time to catch your breath in waves, there are now dungeons with either extremely large numbers of monsters, powerful monsters, or even both. The Land of Buried Bones are one such example.

This is a typical "quantity-based" nest, where the number of monsters in a single wave is several times that of a trial instance, and the monsters are intelligent and will cooperate.

Su Mu had read a lot of information about nest battles, and he had a deep feeling about it...

In this world, dungeons are more like dungeon crawlers "playing" monsters, while the lair itself is more like a player. It constantly adjusts its strategy based on your reactions, using numbers, coordination, terrain, and mechanics to defeat you.

Just as Su Mu thought of this, the horde of skeletons moved.