55... So sleepy. I watched the opening ceremony yesterday and wrote until past 5 AM. Today, I haven't had enough sleep at all...
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Although there is no day or night in the Cave, I kept track of the time. I entered the Cave when the sun was shining brightly at noon, thinking that the fierce midday Sunlight could slightly suppress the gloomy and cold aura in the Den of Evil (definitely watched too many ghost movies). Now, about 10 hours have passed, which means it's almost midnight outside.
In the Den of Evil, there are many secluded corners that Monsters generally don't frequent. They prefer to occupy larger Caves to display their Strength. Therefore, many Adventurers dig small holes in these secluded corners, make a fire, and sleep inside, saving the effort of setting up a Tent. Over the years, these secluded Hideouts providing rest have accumulated quite a bit due to the digging of countless Adventurer Seniors.
Following Akara's words, I fumbled along the walls beneath the Magic Lamps and quickly found an inconspicuous, blurry mark. This was the identification mark Akara told me about. By following these marks, I could find the Hideouts left behind by Adventurer Seniors. As the saying goes, "One generation plants the trees, another enjoys the shade."
Before long, I discovered a Hideout in a small corner. The entrance was very small. A Barbarian would have to go through a lot of trouble to crawl in, but with my relatively thin body, it was extremely easy. After crawling through the entrance, I found that it was a world of its own inside, about the size of a 15-square-meter room. It was very dry and the air was much better than outside. It seems the creator of this Hideout was also someone who enjoyed comfort.
Happily, I set up a Trap at the entrance, lit a bonfire, spread out my fur items on the ground, and by the firelight, took out Dried Meat and Purified Water from my Inventory. I brought this Purified Water from outside; I didn't find any water inside the Den of Evil, and even if there was, thinking about the bones, rotten flesh, and Corpse water all over the ground, I would never dare to drink it.
The container I brought for water wasn't large. I estimated the possibility of returning to the entrance was almost zero, so before the Purified Water ran out, I had to Level Up and gain Training as much as possible. It would be best if I could encounter Corpsefire and gauge my own Strength, then use a Town Portal to return before dying of thirst.
The night passed without incident. When I woke up, I couldn't tell what time it was. There was no concept of day or night in the Cave; it was always gloomy, cold, and dead.
I don't know how long I wandered in the Cave, but I only remember that after waking up for the fourth time, it wasn't long before I finally accumulated enough Experience for this Level.
Hehe, it hasn't even been half a month since I came out, and I've already reached Level 4. This is absolutely unprecedented and will never be surpassed. It's all thanks to the overpowered nature of the Bugged Amulet. What do Adventurers rely on? Skills. An Adventurer without Skills is even worse than a Mercenary. So, the powerful Skill Level provided by the Amulet makes my efficiency in Killing Monsters dozens of times faster than a normal Adventurer. Without the Amulet, I would probably still be worrying about the Experience for Level 2.
At Level 4, I can learn another Skill. I firmly adhere to the supreme theory of survival first and put a point into Shape Shifting. Now my Werewolf Form can finally escape its useless awkwardness.
Shape Shifting: Passive. When Shapeshifting, increases Life and duration.
Current Level 8; Life increased by 55%; Duration increased by 180 seconds.
Learning this Shape Shifting Skill means my Werewolf Form's Life increase reaches 100%, and the duration also increases from 40 seconds to 220 seconds. What a cool and overpowered Skill! Who says Druids are weak? Slap yourself a hundred times.
At the same time, I still put all 5 Attribute Points into Vitality. This way, I have 115 Life. If I add the Werewolf Form, my Life reaches 230 points, which is not much different from a Paladin in their twenties.
With Werewolf Form, my movement Speed has significantly increased. Now, unless I encounter a group of hundreds of Fallen, I really dare to make a move.
After picking up the pace, it wasn't long before I clearly felt the surrounding air becoming increasingly gloomy, dark, damp, and cold, probably because I was going deeper into the Cave. Even as an Adventurer, I couldn't help but shiver frequently. Fortunately, to be cautious, I had bought an extra Fur Coat, which I could now put on.
Uh... looking at my bloated appearance wearing two Fur Coats, plus the Traitor's Hat on my head, I could imagine how infuriating my current look was. I estimate that if I used a Town Portal to go back now, I would be killed by the Soldiers in the Rogue Encampment as a Monster the moment I stepped out of the portal...
When I woke up for the fifth time, I finally paid the price for my carelessness.
After learning Shape Shifting, even though I repeatedly reminded myself not to be careless or get carried away, after easily wiping out the Monsters in various nests, especially yesterday, when I used the advantage of a narrow passage to trap hundreds of Fallen from a Fallen Camp in a narrow path and slowly grind them down, and the Fallen Shamans behind them were also poisoned to death one by one by my Poison Creeper after losing the protection of the Fallen, I still couldn't help but feel a little contempt. Although my ability is still not much on the Dark Continent, in this Den of Evil, except for Corpsefire, I can really walk sideways now.
So, when I was swaggering around in the Cave with this thought, retribution came.
Suddenly, a huge figure appeared from around the corner ahead. Before I could react to what was happening, my loyal Poison Creeper had already rushed forward faster than me and tangled with the dark figure. Unexpectedly, the dark figure ignored the Poison Creeper's entanglement and, despite its body being bitten green by the Poison Creeper, pounced towards me.
Under the dim light, I finally saw what the huge figure was. It was a Monster that looked like an enlarged gorilla. Its body was taller and sturdier than Doug's. Solid muscles bulged like sharply defined stones. A name flashed in my mind instantly: Giant Beast.
—This is a Monster often encountered inside the Den of Evil in the Game.
—Being powerful, they generally disdain living in groups. Usually, there is only one, or a pair together, living deep within the Den of Evil. They often feed on the Corpses of Fallen and Rogues, and are extremely fierce and brutal. When encountering it, you must be cautious. It's best to avoid it if possible. If you can't avoid it, let a Melee Adventurer entangle it first. Its Weakness is relatively weak Magic Resist. This is information I got from Akara.
Damn it, there were already such obvious hints, but I still forgot about the most powerful Monster in this Den of Evil. As expected, showing off attracts lightning strikes! This is the consequence of being conceited. I was extremely annoyed, ashamed of my ignorance. However, it's not too late; consider it a lesson.
With a "bang," the Giant Beast clasped its hands together and delivered a massive hammer blow from above, just like I dealt with the smaller Fallen when I transformed into a Werewolf a few days ago. Truly, the wheel of fortune turns!
The violent blow knocked me off balance, and the Attack I was preparing in a hurry was interrupted. Fortunately, the Poison Creeper, which had rushed from behind, turned back and bit the Giant Beast again.
The Giant Beast finally couldn't stand the Poison Creeper's persistent entanglement and put down me, its main target, and began struggling with the Poison Creeper.
However, the Giant Beast is still a Mob. Compared to the Poison Creeper, which can stably defeat an Elite Level Monster one-on-one, there is still a considerable gap. After about 6 seconds (actually, the Poison Creeper had already bitten it once before and poisoned away a lot of its Life), the Giant Beast let out a mournful cry and fell down.
Good fellow, I started to assess my losses. The Giant Beast's blow just now took away a full 15 points of my Life, and the Poison Creeper was hit twice by it, losing 20 points of Life.
Although it was a sneak Attack, and I didn't use Werewolf Form, the fact that it could cause us so much Damage is enough to show that its Strength is already close to that of an Elite Level Fallen Shaman.
I don't know if it was to compensate me for the fright I suffered, but when I was cleaning up the battlefield, this Giant Beast actually dropped a piece of Equipment for me.
Leather Gloves: Defense 3, Durability 12-12.
Adding the 6 points bonus from my Level, plus the 2 points from the Sash and 4 points from the Damaged Hat, my current Defense is 15 points. Now, the Fallen's Blades can only cause me 2-4 points of Damage. If I add a piece of Armor, it will basically cause less than one point of Damage.
Although my Defense increased by another 3 points, from then on, I never dared to be careless again. Every time I reached a corner, I would first send the Poison Creeper to scout ahead. And I must say, I really avoided several Giant Beast sneak Attacks by doing this. It seems these Wild Beasts are really not good guys! Perhaps thanks to looking like gorillas, their Intelligence has also increased. They even know how to ambush in corners. Fortunately, they are not gregarious, otherwise, my little life would have been lost here!
As the saying goes, "He who walks by the river often is bound to get his shoes wet." Even though I was so careful, after going deeper into the Cave, I was still ambushed, a sneak Attack that even the Poison Creeper couldn't foil.
This was a Monster I had never seen in the Game, called Cave Spider. As the name suggests, they live on the ceiling of the Cave, so the Poison Creeper on the ground couldn't do anything to them.
I don't know about you, but when you are walking with utmost caution, concentrating on scouting the situation ahead, and an enemy suddenly ambushes you from an unexpected place, knocking you to the ground, and when you finally recover from the shock of this unexpected Attack, you find a spider the size of a millstone, with fuzzy green fur all over its body resting on your chest, and two huge fangs and a row of sharp teeth dripping with milky white saliva pointing at your eyes, what would you feel? Anyway, I was terrified at the time. I lay there motionless, completely stunned, letting that disgusting thing chew on me randomly. Fortunately, my loyal Poison Creeper arrived in time and quickly finished off this terrifying big spider, otherwise, I would have truly turned into a vengeful spirit inexplicably like that.
So, for several days in a row, I had nightmares. I dreamed of suddenly being knocked down, of being suspended motionless in the center of a huge web, of that green fur and yellowed fangs.
I admit, I'm afraid of spiders. You can mock me for being weak and timid, I don't blame you, really, because no one can truly imagine how terrifying that unknown, sudden horror is. It's like some people enjoy watching ghost movies but would absolutely not want to be the protagonist in them.
Since then, I have completely entrusted the ground Defense to the Poison Creeper, and my eyes have never left the Cave ceiling. Over time, I feel like my neck has been stretched by a few inches.
(end of chapter)