Nightmare??
The murmurs gradually subsided.
Su Mu stood in the Dungeon Space of the Goblin Camp, the gray-green sky pressing down on his head, and the damp mud and scattered animal hide tents beneath his feet.
In the distance, a dark green crack was slowly opening, and the first wave of goblins emerged from it.
Level 10 normal monster.
Su Mu glanced at the panel, too lazy to even use his Appraisal.
The White Bone Spirit had already moved. With a flick of her bone whip, grayish-white flames spread out like a tide, covering the entire crack exit.
The goblins had barely stepped out of the crevice when they were engulfed by the fire, their bones shattered, and they didn't even have time to scream.
First wave, all wiped out. Three seconds.
The second, third, and fourth waves followed one after another.
As soon as each wave of monsters appeared, the White Bone Spirit's bone whip swept across, and flames filled the entire area.
The bones of a level 10 goblin were as brittle as dry twigs in the grayish-white flames, falling apart in large pieces.
The fifth wave introduced elite goblins with higher health, but they still couldn't withstand more than two lashes from the White Bone Spirit's bone whip. Little Drill Wind didn't even need to intervene.
Up to the tenth wave.
A goblin lord, over three meters tall, emerged from the depths of the rift. He was clad in iron armor and wielded a giant axe.
With a thought, Su Mu Little Drill Wind flying out from Lion Camel Ridge as a streak of dark blue light, slashing at the lord's neck. The lord's massive body stiffened for a moment, then a second blade pierced through his jaw and skull.
The boss fell to the ground in less than ten seconds.
All ten waves were cleared. Su Mu glanced at the time; from entering the dungeon to clearing it, it had taken a little over two minutes.
He had a sudden thought and exited the instance.
A dark green light curtain ejected him. Several pairs of eyes fell on him from the crowd outside the entrance.
"Huh? That person went in? And then came out again?"
"Only a few minutes? Two minutes or less?"
"Normal Lair, right? One person went in alone and came out in two minutes... Did they just take a look around?"
"They probably overdid it by showing off, went in, realized they couldn't win, and were too embarrassed to stay too long, so they quickly ran out."
"I've seen plenty of people like this. They all think they're something special when they come in, but once they're inside, they get surrounded and beaten up by goblins, and then they slink out of the house with their tails between their legs."
"That's normal. While Normal Lair aren't particularly difficult, soloing them is completely different from trial dungeons. The monster density in wild nests is several times higher than in trial dungeons; without preparation, you're just feeding."
The murmurs rose and fell, the tone tinged with the superiority of those who had been there before.
Su Mu did not listen.
He stood in front of the light screen, brought up the panel, and selected the difficult mode. The dark green light screen turned deep green, and a suction force surged in, swallowing him up.
"Into it again? Hard Lair?"
"This guy's really stubborn. He can get out of Normal Lair in two minutes, why is he going for a difficult one?"
"I guess they weren't satisfied with the Normal Lair and want to try out the Hard Lair. They'll see what brutality really means when they come out."
Just then, several figures emerged from the depths of the lair on the other side of the crowd.
The leader was a tall boy wearing a dark gray combat uniform.
He was followed by three teammates, all of whom looked exhausted.
Wang Hao.
He had just emerged from the Hard Lair and wasn't in great shape, but there was a hint of smugness on his face.
He glanced at the crowd outside the entrance, and was about to say a few polite words to his teammates when his gaze suddenly froze.
Su Mu's figure was disappearing into the deep green light curtain.
Wang Hao was stunned for a moment.
He recognized that figure all too well.
He frowned and asked the person next to him, "Who was that who just went in?"
A tall, thin dungeon runner nearby recognized him and quickly replied, "Brother Wang, that guy went into Normal Lair and came out in two minutes. Now he's gone into Hard Lair."
Wang Hao's eyes narrowed sharply.
Two minutes after leaving Normal Lair? Now they're in Hard Lair?
His mind raced for a moment, then a mocking smile curled at the corner of his lips.
"You guys don't know who that person is, do you?" Wang Hao raised his voice so everyone around could hear, "That guy's name is Su Mu, from Rongcheng No. 1 High School. He awakened an F-level core card, a broken rock."
There was a moment of silence.
"F-tier core card? Stone?"
"Yes, Rank F. And it's a special theme, with no prior experience or mature builds. I've been inside that dungeon; it's just a few mountains and a rock, not even a decent trap."
Wang Hao said confidently, "He went into the Normal Lair just now and came out in two minutes. You think he's cleared it? He just went in, realized he couldn't beat it, and quickly retreated. Going into the Hard Lair now is just reckless."
Those around them suddenly realized what was happening.
"So that's how it is. Thinking you could solo a wild lair with an F-rank core card was definitely overestimating your abilities."
"He came out after two minutes. I thought he had actually finished the game. Turns out he just ran out."
"This person probably doesn't realize the difference between wild nests and trial dungeons."
The murmurs resumed, but this time they carried a sense of knowing "I knew it," and even a hint of schadenfreude.
Su Mu naturally did not hear these discussions.
He stood in the Hard Lair, where the gray-green sky was darker and the fog thicker than in Normal Lair.
The first wave of monsters poured out of the rift; they were level twelve and numbered 50% more than in Normal Lair.
The White Bone Spirit raised her bone whip once more.
A level 12 Goblin Warrior is no different from a level 10 goblin warrior to the White Bone Spirit.
The bone whip swept across, spreading gray-white flames across the ground, and swarms of goblins were torn apart in the inferno. Little Drill Wind occasionally darted out, clearing out elite monsters that flanked from the sides, one kill at a time.
The fifth wave, the tenth wave, and the fifteenth wave.
Only the bosses in waves ten and fifteen caught Su Mu's attention. The elite overlord in wave ten withstood three blows from Little Drill Wind, and the lord in wave fifteen withstood five blows. But that was all.
All fifteen waves were cleared in a total of five minutes.
Su Mu exited the instance.
The crowd outside was still there. Wang Hao was still there. The chatter was still going on.
"They're out again? Has it been less than five minutes?"
"Hard Lair appears in five minutes? Does he think this is a trial?"
"I told you, this guy's just stubborn. He ran out of Normal Lair in two minutes and Hard Lair in five minutes. I guess he went in for a quick look, realized he couldn't beat the monsters, and ran away even faster than from Normal Lair."
Wang Hao stood at the front of the crowd, his sneer deepening. Just as he was about to add a few more words, Su Mu had already walked to the light screen again.
Nightmare.
The deep green light curtain turned dark purple, and a suction force several times stronger than before surged out. Su Mu's figure was engulfed by the dark purple light.
There was a moment of complete silence outside the entrance.
Then it exploded.
"Nightmare???"
"He went into the Nightmare Lair? A level F core card, just finished clearing the Hard Lair and went straight into Nightmare?"
"Is this guy crazy? The monsters in Nightmare Lair start at level 15 or higher, and he's only around level 10..."
"Stop talking, just wait and see. He'll probably throw up in less than a minute."
I bet two minutes.
I'll bet one and a half minutes.
Wang Hao didn't speak, but he didn't leave either. He leaned against a wooden post, arms crossed, his gaze fixed on the dark purple light screen, a cold smile playing on his lips.