Actually, these spiders weren't much of a threat. They weren't much stronger than the most useless Fallen and Hardened Skin Rats. However, in this gloomy cave, the psychological damage they inflicted was far greater than their actual capability. I believe most Adventurers have undergone this kind of baptism. If it weren't for Poison Creeper, I might have been taken down by these trash spiders. Through this comparison, I realized that my mind was still far from that of a true Adventurer and required a lot more training. At least, I'd never heard any rumors of an Adventurer being scared silly by a cave spider and getting killed.
When I finished my eleventh rest, the purified water in my inventory space was almost gone. It seemed I only had enough to stay here for about 2 more days at most. Actually, I had already planned to leave this place. Since reaching level 4, the experience gained from Fallen had dropped from 5 points to 3 points. Coupled with the bonus from my charm, that was a total loss of 8 points. This was a huge loss. It seemed I had to start considering trying my luck in the Cold Plains. I wonder if Akara would let me go? Even if I went secretly, I definitely couldn't hide it from her eyes. After all, she was the master of the entire Rogue Encampment. If she just asked around, my true form would be revealed.
If she found out that my strength was increasing so quickly, would she become suspicious? My head started to ache again. I felt that no matter how I concealed it, there would eventually be a flaw. My leveling speed alone was the biggest flaw.
Today seemed particularly quiet. I didn't even encounter a single monster along the way. I walked for a full 3 hours without seeing the shadow of a single monster.
This phenomenon was too abnormal. Generally speaking, the deeper you went, the denser the monsters should be. What was going on? Could it be...?
I quickly followed the Adventurers' markers and found a Hideout. I hadn't held out much hope, as there were so many Hideouts, and they wouldn't necessarily stop here.
But it was truly like a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse. As soon as I entered, I saw a bonfire that still had residual heat, looking particularly conspicuous in the center of the cave.
'As expected, there are other Adventurers nearby,' I thought to myself.
Don't be surprised that I hadn't encountered them earlier. The Den of Evil has so many branching paths. They might have come from a different path.
What should I do?
Out of curiosity, I decided to follow their tracks and take a look. I figured since they were operating in the Den of Evil, their level shouldn't be very high. Maybe I could even make some friends. Besides, I hadn't seen how Adventurers of a similar level fought. Observing and learning would be good too.
So, I proceeded along the empty passages, which had clearly been cleared of monsters. As expected, before long, I heard faint footsteps and sounds of fighting. In this quiet cave, they were particularly jarring.
As I gradually approached, the sounds of fighting became more and more distinct. Eventually, I could even judge that the battlefield was definitely no more than 100 meters from my location.
This was a circular cave. Entering from inside, there would be two winding paths, and no matter which path you took, you would eventually return to one spot—a larger cave. This was some experience I had gained from observing the terrain of the cave these past few days. As for the large cave at the end, it usually housed a relatively large group of monsters. It seemed the sounds of fighting must be coming from there.
Whether there was a path forward beyond that cave, I didn't know. Perhaps continuing forward would lead to a crossroad, or perhaps this cave was the end of a path.
Following the sound of footsteps, I crept forward. It wasn't because I had any malicious intentions; I just felt it wasn't appropriate to rush forward while they were fighting.
Along the way, the number of Rotting Corpses occasionally lying on the ground made me a little startled. From what I could see now, there were at least twenty, and even several Brutes. You should know that they weren't gregarious monsters! Could there be a big boss inside?
Moreover, judging from these terrifying corpses, it wasn't a very powerful team. It would be impossible to kill so many Rotting Corpses in one go. So, if they were people, then this was at least a medium-sized party of over 10 people with good coordination.
Sticking close to the central circular stone pillar, I slowly approached the combat area. Carefully peering out, the scene that met my eyes greatly surprised me.
In this spacious cave, dozens of Rotting Corpses lay densely packed. Standing in the center were not the dozen or even dozens of Adventurers I had imagined forming a party. There were only 3 people in the entire area. Judging by their appearance and attire, they should be a Druid, an Assassin, and a Paladin, respectively. And they were facing a large rotting corpse that was entirely green and several sizes larger than a regular Rotting Corpse.
Seeing this scene, I couldn't help but gasp. These were completely different from the people I had imagined. Look at that Druid; she was actually commanding a wolf in combat. And the Paladin was continuously casting Bash, Sacrifice, and Charge. The remaining Assassin was terrifyingly fast and timed her attacks very accurately. She would often strike the moment after the Rotting Corpse attacked, and after one hit, she wouldn't get greedy but immediately retreat. Then, after roughly every 2-3 attacks on average, a radiant aura would flash on her dual claws, and the strength carried by her claws would even make that large rotting corpse recoil a few steps. If I wasn't mistaken, this was clearly the Assassin's signature Martial Arts skill—Dragon Claw. The first 2-3 hits were likely Charge Up, and the final hit was precisely Dragon Claw, which could release all the built-up energy in one go.
Whether it was the Assassin's Dragon Claw, the Druid's Summon Dire Wolf, or the Paladin's Charge, they were all skills that could only be learned at level 12 or higher. Furthermore, looking at their complete set of equipment, the blue leather armor on the Paladin was emitting a blue glow, indicating magic quality. This was clearly a high-level elite team. Just based on level and equipment, they were much stronger than Lars's group, not just by a little bit.
And their opponent, that large rotting corpse, also surprised me. If I wasn't mistaken, this large rotting corpse was the ultimate boss in the Den of Evil and the lowest level boss grade monster in the entire Dark Continent—Corpsefire.
What surprised me was that Corpsefire stood firm under the siege of the three elite Adventurers. Its movement and attack speed were even slightly faster than the Fallen, which were known for their dexterity among low-level monsters. The power of this boss grade monster, which completely compensated for all the Rotting Corpse's weaknesses, was imaginable. Even the Paladin wearing blue leather armor didn't dare to take many hits from it. As for the Assassin, she couldn't even be touched by it. And the Druid behind them hadn't used Werewolf Transformation. Perhaps she had already used it and it was on cooldown, or perhaps she hadn't transformed to conserve mana. Besides, her Werewolf Form and Shape Shifting levels might not be very high, making them redundant to use.
Did you think everyone could be like me? There's a huge difference between high-level skills and low-level skills. Take her, for example. A Druid in her teens (level 10+), her attributes and equipment in all aspects were quite a bit higher than mine. Even if she hadn't learned many other skills, and her Werewolf Form and Shape Shifting had both reached level 5, if she were to duel me purely in melee combat after Werewolf Transformation, I would win more often than not, unless her equipment was truly heaven-defying. Of course, experience and skill were also very important.
However, not using Werewolf Transformation didn't mean she was useless. I saw her occasionally summoning a wolf, a raven, or a Poison Creeper in front of the Paladin, either to hold back Corpsefire's steps or assist the Paladin's attack. She was constantly drinking Light Mana Potions from her hand. Watching her, I was completely confused and even maliciously speculated why she was drinking potions so desperately. Was she addicted to potions?
Actually, Akara and Lars both forgot to tell me that continuously drinking potions of the same type would stack a certain amount of recovery rate, but not the potency. In this Diablo World where the potion drop rate was very low, this action was undoubtedly very wasteful. No one would be willing to be so extravagant unless it was a crucial moment.
However, this point was almost common sense knowledge; every resident of the Dark Continent knew it. How could they know that I didn't even know this?
Corpsefire's unique skill, Ghostly Strike, was terrifying. The Paladin was very experienced. When the signs of Corpsefire casting Ghostly Strike appeared, he could always dodge its attack range in time. And for those who couldn't dodge in time and took the hit for him, it was naturally the things the Druid summoned. Whether it was a Spirit Wolf, a Raven, or a Poison Creeper, under Corpsefire's Ghostly Strike, they were all instantly killed.
Damn it, my eyes were wide. I didn't expect Corpsefire to be so powerful. I had actually planned to try my luck here. That was simply courting death. Until I reached level 12 and learned the second tier skills, I was definitely not its opponent.
This party had excellent coordination. The Assassin was skilled and agile; Corpsefire didn't even have a chance to touch a single hair on him. The Paladin fought steadily; the interval and effect of every skill he cast were very familiar to him, and he clearly understood Corpsefire's attack very well. The Druid was calm and steady, as if she had a telepathic connection with the Paladin. Once the Paladin retreated, the summoned monsters, under her control, would immediately move up to fill the gap.
This was definitely a party that had been working together for a long time, and it was unlikely to be their first time dealing with Corpsefire. According to the Gamer, this was clearly a professional Treasure Hunting Team, here to farm Corpsefire in the Den of Evil.
(end of chapter)