Reincarnation of The Strongest Sword God

21-40

Chapter 21 - crouching tiger, hidden dragon

Being said in such a way by Wordless Summer, Lonely Snow did not give any rebuttals. He only lowered his head and left, chasing after Shi Feng.

Waving Slowly squinted his eyes. When he thought about Shi Feng equipped in a body of trash equipment, he could not understand what methods Shi Feng had used to cause Lonely Snow to follow him. Lonely Snow had even given up on the clearing Deathly Forest.

"Boss, let's ignore that foolish Lonely Snow. At worst, we'll start looking for people again. There are plenty of Level 2 players now," Battle To The End said in disdain as he watched Lonely Snow.

Waving Slowly nodded his head. Lonely Snow's leaving did not cause any loss to their party. As for Shi Feng creating a party to dive into the Deathly Forest, not to mention clearing the Dungeon, nobody would go in with a Level 1 player.

In front of the Deathly Forest's entrance, Shi Feng and Blackie continuously shouted to recruit people.

"Open party for Deathly Forest, no rigid requirements, OK as long as you're a veteran gamer. 2 waiting for 4." Shi Feng shouted.

When everyone heard of it, many Level 2 players had run over. It was because Shi Feng's requirements were very low. Many small parties would choose people based on equipment quality; they needed a few pieces of Common Equipment to pass. However, who would have that many pieces of Common Equipment in the early periods of the game?

"Party me, party me! I'm already a Level 2 Cleric."

"Party me! I'm a Level 2 Shield Warrior. I also have a piece of Level 1 Common Plate Armor Armguard."

In just a moment, Shi Feng had invited 4 people.

These 4 people were quite happy originally. There were over ten people currently present, but only they were chosen. However, after they saw the party leader, Shi Feng's level, they left the party in rage one after another.

"Fuck, it's just a noob coming to die in the Deathly Forest at Level 1. If you want to enter the Dungeon, enter it by yourself. I won't accompany you."

"No wonder there are no requirements for the party. Want us to give you a ride? Not a chance."

The 4 people were extremely enraged, and the voices they made were practically roars; every player at the Deathly Forest could hear it.

"Hehe, even a Level 1 player dares boast about entering the Deathly Forest. He just wants to tag along for experience and equipment. Lucky for me I didn't go over."

"There are all sorts of birds in a large forest. Who would be foolish enough to enter the Dungeon with a Level 1 noob? Isn't that just looking to be abused?"

One after another, the Level 2 players laughed at Shi Feng for overestimating himself and for his foolishness.

"Get lost if you don't wish to party up. We're not begging you all to come." Blackie became enraged after listening to them. Shi Feng's techniques had long since convinced him, yet these people were calling Shi Feng a noob. Can a noob kill a Level 2 Rare Elite when he was Level 2? Can a noob kill a Level 5 Chieftain when he was Level 0? These people were just a group of snobs and idiots.

"Crap, my knowledge has been widened. A Level 1 noob party can be awesome. I really want to see how you two gather a full party." The Cleric that just left the party said with a cold smile.

At this moment, Lonely Snow ran over. When he saw Shi Feng, he hurriedly said, "Brother Expert, give me an invite. I want to enter the Deathly Forest together with you guys. I have 2 pieces of Common Plate Armor Equipment on me, Defense is 24."

"Alright." Shi Feng immediately sent an invitation.

Blackie never imagined that Lonely Snow would actually leave his original party and come to them. He suddenly had a good impression of Lonely Snow. Blackie clapped Lonely Snow's shoulders, heartily laughing, "You have good eyes. Don't worry; following Brother Feng definitely won't be a mistake."

"Nonsense, nonsense." Lonely Snow was still slightly worried within his heart. The grinding spot Shi Feng had simply pointed him to had allowed him to rise to Level 2 quickly. However, Shi Feng himself hadn't even reached Level 2, and he was still wearing very poor equipment. Lonely Snow just couldn't understand how it could be so.

The spectating players by the side all became dumbfounded. There was actually someone who would enter the Dungeon with a Level 1 noob. This person had good equipment, at that. The brand new Plate Armor and Boots on Lonely Snow must definitely be Common Equipment and not Trash Equipment.

Although Lonely Snow had joined the party, not a single player had joined them after Shi Feng had recruited for over ten minutes. With just 3 of them alone, it was impossible to enter and clear the Dungeon.

At this moment, Waving Slowly But Surely brought a group of people.

"Hehe, Brother 'Expert' still hasn't partied anybody? We've already invited another 3 strong members. All of them have at least two or three pieces of Level 1 Common Equipment." The Cleric, Endless Summer Night, said to Shi Feng in ridicule.

Waving Slowly only sent a glance towards Shi Feng, then moved his sight towards Lonely Snow, saying, "You won't have a future if you follow him around. Before we enter the Dungeon, you could still consider it over properly. I guarantee that you definitely won't suffer a loss."

Afterward, Waving Slowly shifted his gaze towards Blackie. Previously, all his attention had been on Shi Feng, having ignored Blackie. Now that he took a closer look, Blackie's clothing looked brand new. Blackie was even holding a Blackwood Staff. His equipment should be quite good, and he was also Level 2, so his techniques should be good as well.

"You're not bad as well. Why don't you join our party? You should know that we are an Elite Party. It's not something average players could compare to. If we're together, leveling, grinding, and Dungeon diving will be easy." Waving Slowly looked at Blackie with a smile.

"Get lost. Trying to poach me over just based on your little party?" Blackie scolded as he pointed is Blackwood Staff at Waving Slowly. At the same time, he had selected to display the halo effect of the Bronze Equipment, saying, "It's just two to three pieces of Common Equipment. I have three Bronze Equipment and two Common Equipment."

Waving Slowly and the others were shocked. They never thought Blackie was that powerful. He actually possessed three pieces of Bronze Equipment. During this period of time, a person having two to three pieces of Common Equipment was considered an expert. As for having a piece of Bronze Equipment, that person would definitely be an expert; every Guild would fight over for that person. However, the Blackie before them actually had three pieces of Bronze Equipment.

Waving Slowly's party also became surprised. When they saw the halo effect of the Bronze Equipment, their eyes had nearly popped out of their sockets.

No wonder Shi Feng behaved that boldly. Shi Feng had nothing to fear because he had grabbed an expert's favor.

Meanwhile, Lonely Snow who stood beside Blackie was slackjawed. He looked at Blackie in disbelief. Lonely Snow had originally thought of Shi Feng as a rarely seen expert. He had never imagined that Blackie was the true great expert.

"Fellow brother, if you party up with such a noob and enter the Dungeon, it would also be a burden on you. Not to mention failing to clear the Dungeon, you might even have to die once. How about you come with us. All pieces of mage equipment from the Dungeon are free for you to choose from." Although Waving Slowly was enraged for being given such a slap, if he could rope over Blackie, then the chances for clearing the Dungeon would become a lot greater.

"I agree with your views. Joining a group of noobs such as yourselves really will be a burden to me" Blackie chuckled.

"You......" Waving Slowly's face turned beet red, furiously saying, "Then let's see who clears the Deathly Forest first."

Finishing his piece, Waving Slowly spun around and left. He did not believe that a party with a noob in it could clear the Deathly Forest.

"Humph, he's just a powerful damage dealer entering the Dungeon. Does he really think he could clear it?" Wordless Summer jealously murmured.

"Right. We are all veteran gamers. We are definitely stronger in Dungeon-diving than they are," The Shield Warrior curled his lips.

After Waving Slowly's party left, the number of people applying for Shi Feng's party had also suddenly increased.

Such an effect was mainly caused by the equipment that Blackie wore.

At this period, Bronze Equipment was definitely the proof of an expert. Even if there was a noob as the party leader, an expert with three pieces of Bronze Equipment could be considered as strong as two people. The advantage of having such an expert was definitely greater than an average party.

However, Shi Feng was no longer inviting people at random this time; there was a definite requirement. Such an action had caused the four players who had left Shi Feng's party previously to regret immensely. How could they have acted on impulse? Now, Shi Feng wouldn't give them a chance even if they wished to join.

Just as Shi Feng was fervently recruiting party members...

At the Southwest part of the Deathly Forest Dungeon's entrance, a great disturbance suddenly appeared. Many players had run over, one after another, every one of them having excited expressions.

"It can't be. Meeting in such a place?"Blackie's two eyes stared straight ahead.

Shi Feng was also shocked. They could even meet such an important figure in a small location like Red Leaf Town. It was just unimaginable. Could it be that Red Leaf Town was a place that had crouching tigers and hidden dragons; only, Shi Feng had never discovered it before?

Chapter 22 - recruitment storm

As more players started going there, Shi Feng's area turned leisurely.

"Brother Feng, I'm not seeing things, right? Or am I dreaming right now?" Blackie rubbed his eyes as he asked with uncertainty.

Shi Feng was speechless. With a bitter smile, he looked towards the three-man party that caused this disturbance.

The newcomer was not just anybody; she was Blackie's idol, Goddess Gentle Snow. Gentle Snow's body was covered in a suit of gorgeous silver-colored Plate Armor, revealing her fine and curvaceous body. Adding to her angelic beauty and snow-cold temperament, even women's hearts would be moved by her, as well as a large group of men.

Even Shi Feng couldn't help but admit that Gentle Snow was the most perfect woman he had seen before, be it regarding appearances, body, or temperament. There was not a single female celebrity who could match up to her.

As for the two people on each side of Gentle Snow, Shi Feng was very familiar with them as well. He had seen them before on big news channels. They were all famous experts in God's Domain.

One of them was also an absolute beauty named Zhao Yueru. If Gentle Snow could be said to possess a perfect body and appearance, then Zhao Yueru possessed a devilishly enticing body and appearance. Every one of her movements was like a temptation that could influence a person's heart. Adding on the fiery red robe that she wore, her body radiated a wild-like charm.

Such bewildering charms had caused many men wanting to go over and assault her.

If you really did such a thing, however, then congratulations. You've just earned a one-way ticket directly to hell.

This was because words such as 'big breasts, no brains' and 'as delicate as a flower' were not applicable to Zhao Yueru. In God's domain, she had another nickname of the Flame Witch. The reason why she held this title was that of the mountain of corpses she had piled up using these male players.

There had once been a Guild Leader of a large Guild that had tried assaulting Zhao Yueru. As a result, the Guild that had over a hundred thousand players became no more; Zhao Yueru even hunted their Guild Leader. The incident only came to an end when that Guild Leader was killed back to Level 0. From then on, the title of Flame Witch had been cast on Zhao Yueru.

Compared to the Snow Goddess and Flame Witch, the Priestess by their side could only be considered normal. She was not overly beautiful, her techniques were not bad, and she was also within the top hundred rankings of Star-Moon Kingdom's Priest Leaderboard.

Two absolute beauties plus a great beauty, such a combination had created brilliant scenery in the Deathly Forest. Hundreds of players surrounded them, trying to become acquainted with the three women. Unfortunately, the three beauties did not even look at them.

"Sister Yueru, these people are really scary. How about we return and level up?" The timid Xiao Yue'er whispered.

"Hehe, Yue'er, don't be afraid. With Gentle Snow here, even if you give these hateful, vulgar men ten times the courage, they wouldn't dare come over here," Zhao Yueru said with a smile, proudly sticking out her chest.

Gentle Snow only nodded her head in reply. Regarding these salivating, vulgar men, she did not even place them in her eyes.

"Although the drops from Elite monsters are not bad, the drop rate for skill books is higher at the Deathly Forest. If we don't grind for a few more skill books, we will level up very slowly in the future," Gentle Snow quietly said.

Zhao Yueru nodded her head in agreement. Although the three of them had killed quite many Elite monsters, the number of skill books that dropped was very little. Until now, the three of them had yet to learn even three skills. It was really affecting their strength utilization and grinding efficiency.

"Effective party for Deathly Forest, looking for a healer and MT, 3 waiting for 3." After taking a few looks, Shi Feng continued shouting.

Although Gentle Snow and Zhao Yueru were indeed attractive, Shi Feng was no longer a child. He had seen plenty of beauties, especially after he became Shadow's Captain; many beauties would willingly throw themselves at Shi Feng. As for Gentle Snow and Zhao Yueru, it was good enough to just look at them for pleasure. Such beauties were not something Shi Feng could have thoughts about. His main goal right now was to get down to business.

However, Shi Feng's shouting did not yield any replies. Not a single player had even glanced at him. All of them were staring and salivating at Gentle Snow's group of three. Even Blackie was no exception; his eyes had nearly popped out of their sockets from staring.

Shi Feng sighed, helplessly shaking his head and continued shouting and recruiting people.

"Crap, what is this fool blabbering about? Do you really think anybody would commit suicide together with you in the Dungeon?"

"Quickly scram, you Level 1 noob! Stop distracting me from looking at beauties."

Quite a few players started to express their discontentment. Two high-quality beauties had already shown up, yet instead of trying to get closer to them, Shi Feng was actually making noise here. What would you do if those beauties were scared off?

"That person is interesting. He can actually attract the hostility of so many people. Did he do something immoral before?" Xiao Yue'er revealed a crescent moon-like smile, giggling as she pointed at Shi Feng.

Zhao Yueru aimed her eyes over as well. She felt nothing special from Shi Feng. He was even dressed in tattered clothing. Zhao Yueru felt that Shi Feng was just trying to seek attention from the crowd. She suddenly said in disdain, "He is definitely doing so to grab our attention. Let's not bother with him and quickly party up 3 people to dive the Dungeon."

Regarding the number of men who had tried to attract their attention, there were just too many of them. Zhao Yueru had seen all kinds of methods these men had used before, and Shi Feng's method was not a rare sight at all, but instead outdated.

Gentle Snow did not voice out any opinions, only taking a look at Shi Feng. She felt an odd feeling coming from Shi Feng; this was the spirit of a hidden sword. Gentle Snow was especially concerned about the fire poker hanging around Shi Feng's waist.

"Gentle Snow, what happened to you?" Zhao Yueru curiously looked at Gentle Snow. She did not understand why Gentle Snow would keep staring at the extremely ordinary Shi Feng.

"It's nothing. Maybe it's just my imagination. We should hurry up and recruit some people to dive the Dungeon." Gentle Snow shook her head, no longer looking at the fire poker at Shi Feng's waist.

Originally, Shi Feng's party already had trouble recruiting for people. However, because of Zhao Yueru's single sentence, nobody else had paid attention to Shi Feng's party; even if his party had an expert present.

Shi Feng expressed his helplessness when seeing the hundreds of players queuing up in front of Zhao Yueru. The three women's arrival had really bad timing.

"Brother Feng, why don't we go over there as well," Blackie shamelessly suggested.

"Scram! What do you take me for?" Shi Feng rolled his eyes at Blackie. This fellow was just too shameless, forgetting friendship after finding love. Instead, Lonely Snow was the better one. He was a truly honest man. In the beginning, Lonely Snow had only taken a few glances but stopped after giving out a few praises. He had even helped Shi Feng in recruiting people by his side.

Blackie did not dare to speak again after being scolded by Shi Feng. He could only silently look on in envy at those players in the queue.

Over ten minutes later, Shi Feng still had not recruited a single person. Similarly, Gentle Snow's party had also not recruited a single person. However, in Shi Feng's case, it was because nobody had come to join his party. Whereas for Gentle Snow's party, it was because the players that wanted to join did not match up to their specifications. One party was in heaven, while the other was on earth.

Shi Feng had no more choices. He could not just continue dragging on in such a way; his time was precious. He could only make exceptions in recruiting.

"Efficient party for Deathly Forest, we have an expert leading the party, clear in one try, no limit to levels, looking for healers and damage dealers, 3 waiting for 3."

However, Shi Feng's words had caused many players to send over looks of disdain.

Even if you were trying to attract attention, you should have a lower line!

Currently, there had already been tens of Level 2 players who had died out of the Dungeon. Every one of them had said the Deathly Forest was impossible to clear. On the other hand, Shi Feng said his party had no level limits. Then wasn't he trying to say that he only needed one person to clear the Deathly Forest? Was this possible?

However, Shi Feng lower line had still attracted some player's attention. Within a few moments, a group of Level 1 players had come running over to join.

Chapter 23 - tyrant bear

Tens of Level 1 players came running over. The area in front of Shi Feng's party had also started becoming lively.

"This person is really something. He is so desperate to enter the Dungeon that he would even want Level 1 noobs. Did he not know that there has already been a Level 2 Elite party that had returned after dying?"

"Who cares about him. A noob is a noob after all. We won't be able to understand their thoughts."

The long queue of Level 2 players started laughing one after another at Shi Feng's actions. They all wanted to watch Shi Feng become a joke.

"Those guys are really interesting. Even I don't have much confidence in clearing the Deathly Forest, yet they actually want to clear it with a group of Level 1 players." Zhao Yueru's lips curled up slightly, revealing an exuberant smile as she looked in Shi Feng's direction. Her voice carried a hint of ridicule and disdain.

Gentle Snow also sent a glance towards Shi Feng from a distance. Shi Feng's temperament was both calm and confident. He did not become angry from being laughed at. Every one of his movements was very mature, not much different from the experts in God's Domain she had seen before. However, she did not understand from where Shi Feng's confidence came. Deathly Forest was Red Leaf Town's first Dungeon, and it was also everyone's first time being in touch with a Dungeon in God's Domain; their difficulties were an unknown. Even the Elite parties of Guilds would carefully choose their members before entering the Dungeon. On the other hand, Shi Feng did not care in the slightest, as if just gathering 6 players was good enough.

"Maybe I'm just overthinking things. He's just a Level 1 player, so how could he clear the Deathly Forest." Gentle Snow caressed her elegant hair, her heart no longer thinking about Shi Feng's odd actions. She looked at her hand, at the player information displayed on it, "Level 2 Summoner, Magic Attack 28, HP 150, Defense 8, Movement Speed 4. Fail. Next."

Afterward, another Cursemancer stepped forward. The person tensely sent his own Attributes to the Snow Goddess, Gentle Snow.

On the other side, Shi Feng as well was looking at player data.

Although he did not have a lower line, he did have a bottom line.

The equipment and levels of these Level 1 players were much worse than the Level 2 players that Gentle Snow's party were recruiting. However, they were still players. As long as they did not simply add their 8 Free Attribute Points early on, the chance of clearing the Deathly Forest with a 6-man party was very high.

As for those Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights who solely added Strength or Weapons Job but did not add Agility, all of them were rejected.

"Big brother, please party me. Although I am just a Level 1 Guardian Knight, I have a piece of Level 0 Common Equipment. Also, all 8 of my Attribute Points are still available. I can completely add them based on your requirements. " A youth named Cola pleaded, his eyes filled with expectations.

Shi Feng was slightly surprised. A Guardian Knight that did not add any Attribute Points could actually reach Level 1. It was a masterpiece. It had to be known that Guardian Knights had very low Attack, making the killing of monsters difficult. Normally, they would party up to kill monsters. To increase grinding efficiency, they would add a few points of Strength. Otherwise, leveling up would be too slow.

Guardian Knight Cola?

"Cola...... Cola." When Shi Feng looked at Cola's face, and also his tall and muscular body, he felt that it was somewhat familiar. Suddenly, he entered into deep thought. His memory seemed to have such a person in it.

That's right! It's Tyrant Bear!

Shi Feng managed to remember it; Tyrant Bear's name was Cola. Tyrant Bear was the core MT of the first-rate Guild, [Brilliant Stars]. During the early periods of God's Domain, Tyrant Bear was constantly unsuccessful. He was even kicked out by third-rate Guild, [Heaven's Crown]. After entering Brilliant Stars, Cola suddenly started to shine. He turned from being a normal party's MT into the core elite party's MT in the Guild. He was ranked fifteenth on the Guardian Knight Leaderboard of Star-Moon Kingdom. Cola was known for both being able to attack and defend. Shi Feng had never thought that the Tyrant Bear would run up to him on his own. Cola was such a shy person, as well. It was totally different from the Tyrant Bear of ten years later.

Suddenly, Shi Feng had an idea.

Currently, the Tyrant Bear had yet to join Heaven's Crown, not to mention Brilliant Stars. If Shi Feng could poach Cola over and turn Cola into his own MT, then wouldn't Dungeon-diving in the future be a lot easier?

"Big brother, I guarantee that I will absolutely listen to your commands when inside the Dungeon. Please consider it over," Cola's tone carried hints of begging.

Shi Feng had nearly let loose a laugh. The great Tyrant Bear would actually speak in such whispered tones just for a position in the Dungeon. However, Shi Feng still held it in.

The Level 1 players that had come here all held hopes of getting lucky. The other parties that entered the Deathly Forest with Level 2 players were already no good, not to mention Level 1 players like them. If they could enter once into the Deathly Forest and fortunately obtain one or two pieces of equipment, then it would be of great help to their future development. At that time, entering into a large Guild would become much easier.

"Alright, I can add you in." Shi Feng's face turned grave as he said, "However, you should know that bringing a Level 1 noob like you into the Deathly Forest isn't easy. I can't just carry you through the Deathly Forest, and then after you get equipment, you join some other elite parties. Wouldn't I just be striving for nothing?"

When Shi Feng finished his speech, quite a few Level 1 players had suddenly sent over looks of disdain. Weren't you also a Level 1 noob?

However, Shi Feng did not care about what these people felt. He continued saying, "I wish to form a stable party. Even if we need members, it would be with stability as the priority. If you wish to enter the Dungeon, you need to be prepared for the long term. When I call you for Dungeon-diving, you must come. You cannot reject because you have some other matters. So, what will be your choice?"

When the other players heard Shi Feng saying so, they suddenly turned quiet.

Shi Feng's intentions were very clear. If you wish to enter the party, then you won't be able to join other parties in the future, not to mention joining a Guild.

Everybody knew that entering a Guild was the best method to increase your own strength quickly.

Currently, they did not have the qualifications to join any of those Guilds. So, they were here to try their luck, hoping to obtain one or two pieces of equipment. They might even be able to join those Guilds afterward. So, how would they be able to give up their chances of entering a good Guild just to enter a Dungeon.?

Cola had also never imagined that Shi Feng would give such a demand. However, it was still reasonable. You couldn't just expect other people to bring you up, then leave when you become strong. However, Shi Feng lacked the persuasiveness when he said these words.

At this moment, Blackie stood out and furiously said, "Just looking at you noobs, there is nobody that would want you down in the Dungeon. And you still wish to join a Guild in the future and enjoy their benefits? Are you thinking yourselves as experts, or are you taking us for idiots?"

Cola thought what Blackie, the 'expert,' had said made sense. Even a Level 2 expert with three pieces of Bronze Equipment was in this party, whereas Cola himself was just a novice noob. So, what right did he have to complain?

"Many thanks for Big Brother Expert's pointers. Little brother will definitely strive to fulfill his own role." Cola continuously thanked Blackie.

Blackie felt somewhat uneasy from being thanked and referred to as an expert by Cola. Blackie was just a complete impostor of an expert. However, being called such by someone made Blackie want to become an expert in God's Domain even more.

"Blackie, beautifully done!" Shi Feng stretched out a thumbs-up, quietly praising Blackie.

Shi Feng never imagined Blackie would tame the Tyrant Bear just like that. The Tyrant Bear had also called Blackie a Big Brother with a face full of respect.

Blackie suddenly became confused. He did not understand what he had done that was worth being praised by Shi Feng. However, he was still very happy. At least he had done something for Shi Feng; although he didn't know what he had done exactly.

Over ten minutes later, Shi Feng finally gathered six players. They could start Dungeon-diving now.

Chapter 24 - Hell's Roar 

Although Shi Feng's party was gathered, the observing Level 2 players had started laughing.

They were not laughing because all the players Shi Feng had invited were Level 1. Instead, the Jobs that were in the party were just too exotic. They couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"This noob really is something, and even I am starting to admire him. They're simply a suicide party."

"I really pity that expert for actually bringing along such an exotic player. The expert had even agreed to let him be the party's leader."

The queued up Level 2 players started a debate, and there were quite a few players who were holding their stomachs while laughing loudly.

"He is just playing to the gallery." Zhao Yueru wrinkled her brows slightly. She turned her head away after taking a look at Shi Feng, her heart slightly discomforted. Before, she would be the focus of everyone wherever she went. Today, however, everyone's attention was on an inconspicuous noob like Shi Feng. Although everyone was jeering at him, he was still their focal point.

"Alright Yueru, we should hurry and gather enough people. If we waste any more time, we will be left behind by the frontline players." Although Gentle Snow felt that Shi Feng seemed to be an expert, regarding levels, methods of recruiting people and such, he was just too far from being referred to as an expert. As for the notion of inviting Shi Feng into their Guild, it was no longer present now. Their Ouroboros only accepted experts.

"Got it." Zhao Yueru turned towards the Swordsman in front of her. With a little vengeance, she directly said, "Data's not bad, but too bad we don't want a Swordsman."

The Swordsman suddenly became spiritless. How could he not see what Zhao Yueru meant? Subsequently, he turned his head and glared at the distant Shi Feng, his eyes filled with hatred.

Meanwhile, Shi Feng, who knew nothing about what has happened, was currently activating the Deathly Forest.

System: Please select activation difficulty.

System: Normal, Hard, Hell.

Shi Feng chose Hell without hesitation. Suddenly, the Transfer Passage in front of the Deathly Forest changed. It changed from a silvery-gray color to pitch-black. At the same time, a flickering skull that had its mouth wide opened could vaguely be seen.

Meanwhile, the party members of Shi Feng's party all received a notification.

System: You have chosen Hell Mode of Deathly Forest. Death penalty increased by 100%.

Suddenly, the faces of the members of the party turned deathly white. Death penalty increased by 100%, doesn't that mean if they died within the Dungeon, they would lose 20% of their EXP? One or two hours of effort were required to make up for that EXP.

"Brother Feng, you chose the wrong one. Aren't we going down the Normal Dungeon?" Blackie hurriedly walked over and whispered a reminder.

"Nothing's wrong. It's Hell Mode. What would I be doing here if it isn't to dive Hell Mode?" Shi Feng snapped.

The drop rate for forging designs was extremely low. If it was Normal Mode, then Werewolf Felt's drop rate was only 1%; Hard Mode had 5% and Hell Mode had 30%. Although Normal Mode could be cleared without limit every day, who would have so much time to do so? Meanwhile, Hard Mode could only be cleared 5 times a day, and the probability of the forging design to drop was also not great. As for Hell Mode, it could only be cleared once a day, but it was also the one that had the most hopes of dropping it.

"Feng...... Brother Feng, what are you saying? Hell Mode of the Deathly Forest? Just look at our party. It is problematic to even clear Normal Mode, not to mention Hell Mode," Blackie panicked. Before, he had already seen several Elite parties that had returned after dying. According to what these people had said, the monsters in the Deathly Forest were extremely strong. Their intelligence was extremely high as well. It was impossible to beat them without reaching Level 4 or 5, so they had all left after giving up.

If they dove into a Hell Mode Dungeon now, with noobs like them, that would truly be going down into Hell.

"Relax. If I weren't certain, even I wouldn't do it." Shi Feng clapped Blackie's shoulders, saying confidently with a smile.

"Alright, let's go inside then."

Shi Feng led the party by entering first, followed by Blackie. Lonely Snow had also entered with a dazed head; he was prepared to tread this path to the very end.

As for the remaining three, they hesitated for quite some time.

"We better go in. The expert has already gone inside, so what do we, Level 1 noobs, still have to be reluctant for? Moreover, we're entering the Hell Mode of the Deathly Forest. Even mentioning it would be a glory," Cola encouraged.

The other two felt that it made sense and had also followed into the Dungeon.

Meanwhile, the area in front of Gentle Snow's party was completely silent. All of the Level 2 players were stunned. They were not just shocked, but thunderstruck. A Level 2 Elite party couldn't even clear the Normal Mode, yet a party that mainly consisted of Level 1 players had actually chosen the Hell Mode of the Deathly Forest.

"Snow, did I see wrong? That's Hell Mode, right?" Zhao Yueru asked.

Gentle Snow nodded her head; her beautiful eyes kept staring at the flickering skull. Her expression turned extremely serious.

"That fellow must've abandoned himself to despair, entering Hell Mode after determining that he couldn't clear the Normal Mode. We'll see how they come out dead in a moment." Zhao Yueru laughed.

"We don't have that sort of time. Let's go, we've gathered enough people."

Gentle Snow led the way towards the Deathly Forest Dungeon. She selected Normal Mode for the difficulty of the Dungeon. If there were no problems with Normal Mode, they would enter Hard Mode after.

Within the Dungeon of the Deathly Forest, there was a dark and gloomy forest. From time to time, there would be a chill wind blowing, causing a shiver down one's body.

Aside from Shi Feng himself, every member of his party was tightly packed around the Dungeon's entrance. They did not move even an inch for fear of attracting any monsters that would wipe their party.

"Brother Feng, why do I keep feeling a cold wind blowing by my back?" Blackie asked in worry.

"Blackie, you need to bring out some temperament of an expert, only then will you have the possibility to become one. It is just Hell Mode. Aside from the monsters here having a little bit intelligence, their battle methods being a little bit complicated, and their Attack, Defense, and HP are a little bit higher, there isn't much else. Oh right, there is also a little bit more monsters here." After some thought, Shi Feng felt that he had nothing more to add.

Suddenly, every member of the party sent looks of disdain towards Shi Feng.

When diving a Dungeon, even a small difference in Attack and HP could cause a team wipe. As for Shi Feng, he had just simply explained. Moreover, what did he mean by 'just a little more intelligence?' They had experienced before the battles with monsters in God's Domain. Regarding those monsters with slightly higher intelligence, even with the same Attack and HP, their strength would still be increased by one or two folds.

"Alright, alright, stop minding these little matters. I'll be explaining the strategy for this Dungeon in a moment, so you guys better listen carefully. If you don't follow through, then your lives will become forfeit." Shi Feng waved his hands, ready to start explaining the strategy to conquer the Dungeon.

Suddenly, a strong wind blew from the dark and gloomy forest, causing the trees to sway madly.

"Ao! Ao! Ao!"

After the howling wind came a furious roar that resounded throughout the entire Deathly Forest. Countless birds were scared, flying off into the sky.

Blackie and the others were stunned by such an imposing aura.

They were just youths around the age of 20. They had never experienced any great hardships, not to mention being tempered through life-or-death situations. It was their first time facing such a lung-piercing roar. Compared to hearing the traditional roar of a tiger in the forest, this roar was much more shocking to the human heart.

"This thing is what we should pay attention to." Shi Feng calmly said at this moment.

The largest difference between Hell Mode and Hard Mode was this roar.

Although it did not have a specific name to it, the players in Shi Feng's previous life had dubbed it as "Hell's Roar".

Chapter 25 - night ranger

Shi Feng's words confused the other members.

Wasn't it just a roar? What was there to pay attention to?

When Shi Feng looked at everyone's contemptuous expressions, he couldn't help but gravely say "Listen well you all. Hell's Roar is not as simple as what you think it is. In a moment, follow my demands while advancing. If anyone makes a mistake, don't blame me for immediately kicking you out of the party."

Being lectured by Shi Feng in such a way, the other members all became serious. Nobody wished to leave the party.

"In a moment, Cola and I will walk in front. Lonely Snow, you walk in the middle and protect the Oracle. Blackie, you and the Summoner will walk at the back. Remember, you must not break formation regardless of any activities. Without my command, nobody is allowed to be the first to attack, do you all understand?" Shi Feng explained the basics of formations once to the party.

The reason Shi Feng had allowed the Guardian Knight, Cola, to walk in front was that he let Cola add all of his Free Ability Points into Endurance. His HP now reached 310 points. With this much HP, Cola could resist a little longer, sharing some of Shi Feng's burden.

The Dungeons in God's domain were unlike the Dungeons in other virtual reality games. The degree of freedom within the Dungeon was high, and the Dungeons, themselves, were very large. There were even quite a few player parties who had wandered around in the Dungeon for hours without even meeting a single Boss. Although the Deathly Forest was not as large, it was still possible to become lost within the dark and gloomy forest.

If someone were to become lost...

Shi Feng only wished to say 'hehe'.

The scary part of the Deathly Forest was that players could become lost once they entered the forest. Eventually, the players would mysteriously die one after another. In Shi Feng's previous life, there were countless players who had entered the forest and died over and over again in such a way without even meeting the shadow of a monster. If they had good luck and met a monster, then the result was a party-wipe. Only after many experts of Guilds had done it, did everyone finally understand the dreadfulness of the Deathly Forest. They had acknowledged that it was a terrifying Dungeon that was impossible to clear without reaching Level 5.

When Shadow Guild reached Level 5, they had organized hundreds of players to scout out the paths in the Deathly Forest. They had paid over hundreds of lives to finally have a clear understanding of the Deathly Forest's map.

The entire Deathly Forest had thirty-six paths. However, only three of them led to the first Boss, Willie. These three paths were paved with the lives of many players. Two of these three paths were extremely dangerous. Without sufficient strength, death would be the only result. There was only one path that had very few monsters.

Under Shi Feng's lead, everyone walked into the forest.

The moment they entered the forest, everyone discovered that there were too many pathways through the forest. They did not know which one was the right path. However, Shi Feng had chosen one without hesitation. Everyone else closely followed him while being cautious of their surroundings.

After walking for about five minutes, they met their first monster. Suddenly, everybody started to become tense.

"Don't act on impulse. Listen to my commands." Shi Feng loudly shouted.

In front of them was only a Level 2 Elite monster, a Night Rabbit. However, due to the Dungeon's strengthening, its Attack, Defense, and HP were all greatly increased. Its HP was a whopping 700 points.

"Cola, you lure the monster over. Oracle, pay attention to healing. Everyone else, don't start the attack without my command," Shi Feng quickly gave out orders.

The Guardian Knight, Cola gulped down a mouthful of saliva. He carefully walked towards the Night Rabbit's attack range. Everyone else was nervous to the extreme. Although this was only a Level 2 Elite, they were currently in the Hell Mode of a Dungeon.

However, everyone's nervousness was for naught. The moment the Night Rabbit with a person's height saw Cola, it immediately dashed over.

Cola had very successfully lured the Night Rabbit over. Moreover, he did not panic when he lured it. He retreated while using his shield to block the Night Rabbit's attacks. However, even though every attack landed on the shield, the damage was still terrifying; just a single hit dealt 42 damage. By the time Cola returned to the front of the party, his HP had already dropped by a third.

The Oracle, whose name was Drowsy Sloth, had good awareness. He had given out healing the moment Cola entered his casting range. However, every heal could only add 24 HP to Cola; it was completely not enough to stop Cola's HP from falling.

"Brother Feng, are we still not attacking?" Blackie was slightly nervous. At this moment, Cola's remaining HP did not even reach one-third of its total.

Bringing an Oracle into a Dungeon was just a complete mistake. Amongst the Healer Jobs, Oracles had the weakest healing abilities. However, since Shi Feng had chosen so, Blackie could only acknowledge it. Now that their MT was close to death, it would be unacceptable if they still did not attack.

"Hold on." Shi Feng resolutely said.

Time passed bit by bit. Cola continuously used his shield to block the claw attacks of the Night Rabbit, whereas his HP continuously decreased. Cola only had 20% HP remaining, yet Shi Feng had yet to give out the command to attack.

Just when everyone thought that Shi Feng wanted to give up on Cola, a flying arrow pierced through the forest, shooting directly for the party's Oracle, Drowsy Sloth. Lonely Snow had not reacted at all as Drowsy Sloth was struck directly on his chest. A very great damage of -123 points appeared.

At this moment, Shi Feng shouted, "Sloth, use Life Payment. Use the damage you received to heal Cola. Blackie, hold back the Night Rabbit to let Cola recover. Lonely, come with me. Everyone else attacks the Night Rabbit."

Oracles were indeed the weakest regarding healing. However, Oracles had high HP; they would not be easily one-shotted. Also, Oracles had two skills when they first start out. One was Life Prayer, while the other was Life Payment. Life Payment could turn the damage received by the user into a heal to be used on other players. In the early periods of the game, healers did not possess many skills or equipment. In regards to such a situation, Oracles had a greater advantage over other healers when entering the Deathly Forest. It was the reason why Shi Feng had given up on choosing a Priest over an Oracle.

After finishing his piece, Shi Feng rushed into the forest.

"Do you think I will let you run away?" Shi Feng coldly said as he looked at the dark shadow running through the forest.

Wind Blade!

Shi Feng turned into a phantom, chasing directly forward.

The reason why Shi Feng did not let anyone attack the Night Rabbit was to use Cola as bait. Shi Feng wanted to lure out the dark hand hiding behind the scenes.

Although the Night Rabbit looked terrifying, an Elite party could face up to two or three of them at once without any problems. However, in Shi Feng's previous life, the reason why even a Level 5 Elite party could be party-wiped was that of the dark shadow in front of Shi Feng. This dark shadow used the Night Rabbit as bait, luring players into attacking it. The dark shadow, on the other hand, would ambush the healers from behind. As the Night Rabbit was occupying everyone else, there was no way to save the healer. In the end, everyone died.

Inside the Deathly Forest, if players did not deal with this fellow, the result would be a party-wipe.

With the increased Movement Speed from Wind Blade, Shi Feng quickly caught up to the dark shadow. Shi Feng waved out three sword slashes, sealing the dark shadow's path of advance.

The black shadow knew that it could not escape. It immediately turned around, unsheathing a pair of knives to block Shi Feng's attack.

Dang! Dang! Dang!

With the Abyssal Blade, Shi Feng's Strength was frighteningly high. His attacks caused the dark shadow to take three steps back, and each step it retreated would be followed by the damage that was over -10. In the end, the dark shadow revealed its figure under the moonlight.

[Night Ranger] (Special Elite)

Level 2

HP 1458/1500

Seeing the Night Ranger being repelled, Shi Feng immediately used Abyssal bind without giving him a chance. Nine pitch-black chains appeared to bind the Night Ranger, preventing him from moving for 3 seconds, and his Defense reduced by 100%.

Thundering Flash!

Chop!

Damages of -81, -98, -119, -124 appeared. When the two skills landed, a frightening amount of damage appeared, taking away a quarter of the Night Ranger's HP.

No matter how capable the Night Ranger was, it could not break free from the binding of the nine chains. He could only silently take a beating for 3 whole seconds.

Shi Feng was unrestrained as he sent out sword slash after sword slash, piercing through the vital point on the Night Ranger's chest. By the time the Night Ranger broke free from the bindings, his remaining HP did not exceed 700 points.

"Wretched human!" The Night Ranger was enraged. He brandished his twin blades like a gale, engulfing Shi Feng.

At this moment, Lonely Snow finally caught up. A Charge from him had caused the Night Ranger to enter a fainted state, at the same time breaking the Night Ranger's gale-like blade.

Shi Feng took the chance to slash at the Night Ranger's neck.

Lonely Snow also brandished his large ax at the Night Ranger.

By the time the Night Ranger had awoken, he only had a remnant of his HP left. The Night Ranger abruptly hacked his twin blades towards Lonely Snow, sending him flying backward and dealing 64 damage. The Night Ranger turned his head to stare at Shi Feng, once more brandishing his twin blades and slashing horizontally towards Shi Feng's neck.

Dang! Shi Feng used Parry with his sword. Without giving the Night Ranger any chances to retaliate, Shi Feng lifted up the ranger and tossed him back. Then, Shi Feng followed up with a couple of sword strikes, finishing off the Night Ranger.

Shi Feng conveniently picked up the two items that dropped, then immediately ran towards Cola's location to provide help.

Laying by the side, Lonely Snow became dumbfounded after seeing Shi Feng's agile skills. His heart filled with shock, Lonely Snow had even forgotten to follow Shi Feng to support.

There was such a way even to kill monsters?

Chapter 26 - miraculous technique 

By the time Shi Feng returned to the party, the Elite Night Rabbit only had one-third of its HP remaining.

Everyone had coordinated properly; Cola tanked in the front alone, while the others vigorously dealt damage. However, to control aggro, Blackie did not madly deal damage. Instead, he used Evil Whip to pin down the Night Rabbit, giving Cola some breathing space. Cola's performance was also very good. He steadily tanked the monster, and he also had good control over aggro. Cola was not at the level of a novice, but there was still a long road ahead before he became an expert.

"Cola, don't always try to block with your shield. It isn't a must to block an attack like the other virtual reality games. You can also dodge to avoid an attack. That way, you could reduce the stress on the healer. For everyone else, focus your attacks on the target. Don't just randomly attack, aim your attacks at the wild rabbit's claws or other weak points. That way, you can reduce a lot of burden on the MT." Shi Feng did not directly go up to help Cola, but instead, he taught everyone how to battle against monsters.

If everyone battled while regarding God's Domain as a traditional game, the results would be disastrous. This was because the healing given out was usually far from being able to keep up with the damage received. Some parties would bring an extra healer. However, this would result in the damage being insufficient; the result was still a party-wipe. Players only slowly got used to the combat style in God's Domain several months after the game opened. The players then would no longer be as cute and simple as they were now.

Shi Feng wanted to cultivate everyone to build a foundation for his future Workshop. So naturally, he needed to let these people learn the combat styles of God's Domain earlier.

Everyone thought Shi Feng was also a noob, so they held slight dissatisfaction within their hearts. The expert did not say anything, so why was a noob like him giving out commands? However, Shi Feng's words made sense, so they still consciously did as Shi Feng said.

Cola had also started to change his battle style. He was no longer using his shield to block the attacks rigidly. Instead, he retreated a step back when the wild rabbit launched its attack, taking the chance to avoid it. Although Cola still needed to use his shield to block most of the time, it had still greatly reduced the burden on the healer.

Such a change allowed killing the Night Rabbit to become even easier.

The few Level 1 noobs were also slightly surprised. There was some change in their opinions towards Shi Feng. Shi Feng was not as unbearable as they had imagined him to be.

Shi Feng only smiled at this situation. He did not mind their thoughts at all. Shi Feng only felt that Cola was quite good after seeing his performance.

Although Cola was a first-rate expert ten years later, he currently was still far from that point. If it were an expert MT, they would not retreat, but choose to dodge the attack without even moving. Such a decision was because if the MT moved, the monster would move as well. This situation would cause trouble for long-ranged damage dealers, which would result in the loss of a lot of damage. However, such a technique required a bounty of experience in battle and a body with dexterous reactions. Cola still needed a lot of training.

The Elite Night Rabbit fell within a moment. It dropped a skill book for Berserkers, [Whirlwind Slash]. It also dropped three Coppers.

Everyone could not help but be amazed by the drop rate of Hell Mode. A skill book dropped just after they killed an Elite monster. If they killed over ten Elite monsters, then wouldn't they be able to obtain over ten skill books? It should be known that skill books were extremely rare, and even a Common skill could sell for 1 Silver.

Shi Feng naturally knew of their thoughts. However, not even Hell Mode had that high of a drop rate. It was only three to four times that of Hard Mode. Afterward, Shi Feng passed Whirlwind Slash to the stupefied Lonely Snow; then he passed a Level 1 Bronze Defensive Plate Armor to Cola; the Night Ranger dropped the armor. With these items, the party's strength slightly increased.

Cola's mouth could not close after receiving the Defensive Plate Armor. He hurriedly thanked Shi Feng for it. With this Bronze Plate Armor, not only had Cola's Defense increased by 14 points, but his HP had also become 350 points.

Aside from Shi Feng and Blackie, everyone else on the scene was filled with envy. Bronze Equipment was the identification of an expert. Outside the Dungeon, it was impossible to obtain a piece of Bronze Equipment, even if you begged for it. And this piece of equipment was obtained by Shi Feng, alone. Yet, Shi Feng gave it to Cola without hesitation. Everyone's opinion towards Shi Feng changed quite a bit. They felt such a party leader was not bad at all. Shi Feng was unlike the other party leaders who would prioritize themselves when equipment dropped. As for Bronze Equipment, forget giving it away to a temporary party member; they would definitely keep it for themselves.

Afterward, everyone followed Shi Feng as they advanced.

Although the dark and gloomy forest was scary, everyone was no longer as nervous as they were before going through a stimulating fight.

From time to time, one or two patrolling Elite Night Rabbits would appear in front of them, and they would also respond to it quickly. When there were two Night Rabbits, Cola would tank one of them, while Shi Feng and Lonely Snow would rush over and kill the other. As for the ranged players, they would prioritize attacking the Night Rabbit in front of Shi Feng.

The Night Rabbit's 700 HP would be gone quickly under the fierce bombardment.

Afterward, the party supported Cola and finished off the other Night Rabbit. Within moments, two Night Rabbits were no more. With this process, a skill book, [Restore], meant for healers also dropped. The skill had a 2 second cast time. When learned by Oracles, the skill could instantly restore 37 HP. It was far better than Life Prayer. It did not share the same Cooldown as Life Prayer, so the two could be used in coordination to negate the damage caused by the Elite Night Rabbits completely.

Drowsy Sloth continuously thanked Shi Feng and the other party members for letting him learn the skill book. Restore was an extremely important skill for conquering Dungeons. If it were to be sold outside, it could go for at least 2 or 3 Silver coins.

"Don't mind it. Skill books are meant to be used. Let's continue onward." Shi Feng smiled as he answered.

Aside from AoE attack skill books, healer-class skill books were the most expensive and rare. However, the Deathly Forest was a Dungeon meant to let players build up their foundation in God's Domain. In Hell Mode, the drop rate for basic healing skills was very high. In Shi Feng's previous life, he had obtained four healing skill books just after entering Hell Mode of the Deathly Forest once. It was not considered valuable.

After more than an hour, Shi Feng's party arrived at a flat grassland. They had finally met the first Boss of the Dungeon.

[Willie] (Chieftain-rank)

Level 3

HP 6000

Willie was a ferocious Night Rabbit. Its height was as tall as two people, and sharp steel claws decorated its paws. These claws loved creating a feast of fresh blood, and those caught by it would be ripped to shreds, turned into a river of blood. It was unknown how many players had died a gruesome death under these claws.

A short distance away from Willie, there were seven Elite Night Rabbits on guard. These seven rabbits were very close to each other. As long as one of them was attacked, the other wild rabbits would rush over as well. There was also a great possibility of attracting the Boss.

Even if it were Shi Feng, he would not be able to face off against seven Night Rabbits, not to mention including a Boss.

However, if they did not finish off the seven Night Rabbits, there was no way for them to attack the Boss.

"Brother Feng, what should we do now? This place has too many Night Rabbits. The game isn't giving us any chances." Blackie was very anxious. Although the Boss was in front of them, the System had dealt them such a hand. This difficulty was just too great. No wonder it was a Hell Mode dungeon. It was impossible to pass through without absolute strength.

The System's setting also angered everyone. Who could fend off seven Elite Night Rabbits? Even a Level 5 Guardian Knight would not be able to do it.

"You all wait for me behind that rock. Cola, get ready to receive the monster. Everyone else is not allowed to attack without my command," Shi Feng pointed towards a large rock nearby; Shi Feng naturally knew that there were seven Elite Night Rabbits here.

Everyone abided by Shi Feng's command without question. All the monsters they had killed on the way here relied on Shi Feng's commands for success. They killed quite a lot of Night Rabbits, and everyone had obtained one or two pieces of Bronze Equipment. Blackie even had five pieces of Bronze Equipment. Their party's strength has definitely surpassed the other elite parties. The credit for such an achievement belonged to Shi Feng's commands.

As for Shi Feng, he had run to a location that was 40 yards away from the seven Night Rabbits. He quietly hid within the bushes, observing the Night Rabbits' every movement.

Everyone understood that Shi Feng was trying to lure monsters. However, the seven Night Rabbits were too close to each other. Shi Feng was a Swordsman. He did not possess any long-ranged attacking capabilities, so how could he lure monsters?

Time passed bit by bit. Everyone was extremely anxious. If Shi Feng accidentally failed, then it would be a party-wipe. However, Shi Feng was calm. He moved not an inch as he watched the faraway Night Rabbits.

At this moment, a cool breeze blew past. A dead leaf on the trees was sent flying over.

Seeing the dead leaf hovering down towards the Night Rabbit, Shi Feng picked up a small stone beside him. Gently, he tossed the stone over.

The direction the stone flew to was towards the Night Rabbit closest to the Boss.

"We're finished."

Everyone understood what kind of outcome this would be. It would definitely be a combination of one Boss and seven Night Rabbits rushing towards them, turning them into blood sacrifices.

The moment the stone was about to hit the Night Rabbit, the dead leaf just happened to have blocked between the stone and the Night Rabbit.

The stone struck the dead leaf, smashing it onto the Night Rabbit.

The Night Rabbit abruptly turned to look at its surroundings, only discovering a leaf. However, how could a leaf hitting it be so painful? Subsequently, the Night Rabbit left its unit to observe the surroundings. It looked around aimlessly, not knowing what it was trying to find. It had unknowingly moved over 20 yards away from its unit, and it was still moving further and further away.

"Too godly!" Lonely Snow could not help but exclaim; his eyes had nearly popped out of their sockets.

Everyone else had dumbly nodded as well.

What kind of accurate judgment and aim was required to hit the dead leaf while hitting the Night Rabbit, and thereby confusing the Night Rabbit's hatred, causing it to look for its target blindly?

Even calling it as an ultimate skill was not excessive.

Was Shi Feng really a noob? He couldn't be some gaming god here to make a fool of them, right?

"Summoner, the rest is up to you." Shi Feng walked to the rock's location. He looked at the Summoner, clapping the person's shoulders as he spoke, smiling.

Chapter 27 - shi Feng's improved party

Hearing Shi Feng's comment, the Summoner, Gluttonous Mouse suddenly panicked. He did not understand what Shi Feng wanted him to do. If he had performed badly and was kicked from the party as a result, he would regret it until he died.

It was hard to find a good party during this time, not to mention a party with an expert leading it. It was impossible to join such a party, even if you begged!

"Relax, I won't let you do anything dangerous. You just have to summon out a Flame Sprite and follow my instructions. You don't have to do anything else," Shi Feng said with a smile, trying ease the nerves of Gluttonous Mouse a little.

Currently, Summoners were not strong; mainly due to the incapability of their skills. A Summoner's method of attack mainly relied on their summoned creatures, whereas their normal attack was the low-damage Magic Bullet. However, a Summoner with awesome skills could become a one-man army. It was especially true for Summoners who could call out powerful elemental creatures. They could kill Elite monsters as if they were just playing around.

"Party leader, rest assured, I'll definitely do it." Gluttonous Mouse loudly said, his tone filled with respect. He was like a student who had met his teacher.

"Everyone else, distance yourselves from that rock, twenty yards away from it would be the best. Pay attention not to lure the other monsters." Sh Feng turned around and said to the other party members.

"Yes, party leader!"

The other party members loudly replied. Their current attitudes were completely different from before.

Shi Feng was slightly shocked by everyone's performance. Why was each and every one of them so obedient all of a sudden?

However, Shi Feng did not know that the single stone he threw just now had completely shocked every one of them.

They were filled with admiration towards Shi Feng's stone-throwing technique. Such skill and accuracy were definitely not something a normal person could do; professional players might not even be able to do so.

Worshipping the strong was a common sight within a game. These Level 1 noobs were no exception.

At this moment, the gaze everyone used to look at Shi Feng was completely different. Before, they merely felt that Shi Feng was a good commander. Now, however, Shi Feng was a strong person they worshipped. They had faintly grown a sense of reverence for Shi Feng.

Standing to the side, Blackie clapped Lonely Snow's shoulders, proudly saying, "How is it? Following Brother Feng isn't bad, right?"

Lonely Snow silently nodded his head, rejoicing for the decision he made to follow after Shi Feng. Shi Feng was definitely a Beta Tester expert. Without sufficient experience and practice, such techniques were impossible to accomplish. Only a Beta Tester could possibly do it.

"Hahaha! What do you plan to do in the future?" Blackie suddenly asked. He started to hatch ideas towards Lonely Snow. Blackie wanted to poach Lonely Snow for their Workshop, even though the Workshop was still non-existent. There was a 100% chance for Cola to join them, but Lonely Snow still did not have any plans to move in such a direction.

"The future?" Lonely Snow had never considered it before. He was but an average player. He did not have any big ambitions, only wanting to earn some cash from playing games. He said honestly, "I have never considered it before."

"I see that your techniques are quite good. Why don't you join us for now?" Blackie nonchalantly asked.

"Really?" Lonely Snow had anxiety about his future after Blackie's question. He did not know where he wanted to go. If he could party with an expert, then it could not get any better.

"Of course. However, we still need to look at your future performance. We don't just simply accept people," Blackie proudly said, pretending to be an expert.

"Thank you, Brother Black." Lonely Snow happily responded. He never imagined his luck would be so great as to be noticed by an expert.

Seeing Lonely Snow agree, Blackie released a sigh of relief. Currently, Blackie was just a fox pretending to be a tiger. He couldn't help out Shi Feng much in God's Domain, but he could still help out in regards to administration.

There wasn't even a shadow of their Workshop as of this moment. There was also the debt of 16,000 Credits. The Workshop's members consisted of only Shi Feng and himself. It was definitely the poorest Workshop in history. If this was found out by the others, they would definitely turn around and leave. Now, Blackie could only fake being an expert to lure people to join their Workshop.

At this moment, Shi Feng was currently explaining the contents of the operation to the Summoner. The operation was to let Gluttonous Mouse lure the remaining six Night Rabbits by controlling his Flame Sprite. Because the Night Rabbit that was closest to the Boss was no more, luring the other Night Rabbits would not attract the Boss. They could lure the monsters with ease.

The Flame Sprite was extremely weak. Its HP was only a pitiful 15 points, and it would die in a single hit. However, its Movement Speed was extremely quick. Adding to its very small size, trying to hit it would be a difficult task.

"Start the operation. Mouse, remember to maintain a distance of 4 yards or above while circling around the rock," Shi Feng reminded once more.

Gluttonous Mouse nodded his head. Carefully, he controlled the Flame Sprite to lure the six Night Rabbits. When the sprite entered the 35-yard distance, the nearest Elite Night Rabbit discovered the Flame Sprite. Suddenly, it turned its body around and rushed towards the Flame Sprite. The other Night Rabbits also came rushing along.

Seeing the Night Rabbits taking the bait, Gluttonous Mouse immediately controlled the Flame Sprite and ran. The six Night Rabbits were in hot pursuit, but their speed could no match for the Flame Sprite. In a moment, the Flame Sprite had arrived beneath the large rock. It had lured the six Night Rabbits over and started circling around the large rock.

On the other side, Cola had already aggroed the Night Rabbit that had left its unit. Cola interchanged between blocking and using his new skill, [Divine Strike]. With the effects of two pieces of Bronze Equipment, a single hit from Divine Strike had caused 26 damage. It was a lot higher compared to the 11 or 12 damage caused by a normal strike. Also, Divine Strike had the added effect of increasing Hatred. It became a lot easier to hold aggro.

The Night Rabbit was killed off within a short moment. It dropped 5 Coppers.

After this Night Rabbit was handled, only the six Night Rabbits that kept on circling around the large rock remained.

"I'll lure the Night Rabbits. Cola, pay attention to pull the monster." Shi Feng picked up another small stone, throwing it at the Night Rabbit that ran at the rear.

The Night Rabbit rubbed its cranium after being struck on it. The rabbit turned around, discovering Shi Feng that had thrown the stone. The Night Rabbit suddenly became enraged. It madly hopped towards Shi Feng with its powerful legs. As for the other Night Rabbits, they were still excitedly chasing after the Flame Sprite, failing to notice the disappearance of one of their companions.

"Receive it!" Seeing the Night Rabbit was only 20 yards away from the party, Shi Feng commanded.

Cola rushed ahead, sending a Divine Strike towards the Night Rabbit's head.

The Night Rabbit's target immediately changed, extending its claws towards Cola's cranium. However, Cola had reacted quickly by dodging his body sideways. After avoiding the attack, Cola continued by using [Punishment]. The skill had once more strengthened the Night Rabbit's Hatred to Cola.

"Everyone, focus fire."

Shi Feng inwardly applauded after seeing Cola's performance. He had never imagined Cola's ability to learn would be this great. He had already found out about the Night Rabbit's attack patterns after going through slightly more than ten battles. No wonder he was the core MT of a first-rate Guild, ten years later. His potential was limitless.

The Night Rabbit in front of Cola had fallen within 20 seconds. It had even dropped a skill book for Swordsman, [Double Chop].

Shi Feng immediately learned it without reservations.

[Double Chop] (Action-type)

Requires: Sword

Level 1

Proficiency 0/300

Rapidly deals damage twice. Every slash of the sword deals 120% +15 damage, also increasing Bleeding effect by 20%. Duration of 10 seconds.

Stacks up to a maximum of 5 times.

Cooldown: 8 seconds

This skill book had greatly increased Shi Feng's explosive power. As for the problem of getting used to the skill, it was non-existent for Shi Feng. After playing for ten years as a Swordsman, the skills belonging to the Job were deeply ingrained into Shi Feng's bones. As long as Shi Feng got ahold of these skills, he would be able to utilize them to their greatest potential.

Shi Feng had also lured the remaining five Night Rabbits over, one after another. The party had killed the rabbits one by one, and following the death of the final Night Rabbit, a golden glow appeared around Shi Feng's body; he had risen to Level 2.

At the same time, the five Night Rabbits had contributed to the party a piece of Bronze Plate Armor for Guardian Knights. The equipment increased Cola's HP to 390 points and his Defense to 56. It had also increased Cola's ability to resist against the Night Rabbit Chieftain, Willie.

Chapter 28 - the horror of hell mode

With the Elites that were on guard all dead, only the Boss, Willie, remained on the open field. At this moment, Willie was laying on the ground, sleeping. It would scratch its back from time to time, completely unaware of its missing henchmen.

"Everyone, recover for now. I'll explain the method to raid Willie in a moment." Shi Feng wanted everyone to ease up first. It would not be easy to face off against Willie. The fight would require a high degree of concentration because a single mistake would cause everyone to be buried together.

Hearing Shi Feng's command, everyone sat down to recuperate. They ate and drank to recover to their best state.

Shi Feng's finger waved and shook as he called up his Attribute Panel.

He had recently reached Level 2. Because of the Abyssal Blade, the Free Attribute Points he obtained exceeded other players by 2 points. The choices he could make with his points were slightly more than the average player.

In the initial period, it was sufficient for the Agility of a Swordsman to reach 20 points. However, Shi Feng increased his to 30 points. There would be a fixed increase in the body's flexibility when Agility reached 30 points. Subsequently, Shi Feng added the remaining points into Strength, making it easier for him to contend with the Boss.

Shi Feng had on him three pieces of Bronze Equipment, a Mysterious-Iron Ring, and a Magic Weapon. Shi Feng Attributes had basically reached his own requirements.

Character: Ye Feng (Human)

Affiliated Kingdom: Star-Moon

Title: Might Of A Thousand

Job: Swordsman

Level: 2

HP: 520/520

Attack Power: 88

Defense Power: 39

Attack Speed: 15

Movement Speed: 13

Attributes: Strength 32, Agility 30, Endurance 24, Intelligence 13, Vitality 13.

With such Attributes, Shi Feng had more confidence dealing with Willie.

Seeing everyone recovered, Shi Feng started explaining, "Willie has two skills. One of them is Killing Feast. When used, Willie will ignore Hatred and randomly attack the nearest players. Blackie and Lonely, you two have to pay attention to your positioning. The other skill is Death Claws. Cola, you have to distance yourself from the Boss before this skill is used. Lonely Snow, pay attention to interrupt the Boss. I'll remind you when the time comes. Another point to take note of, Willie is very smart, so don't keep on using the same attack pattern. Alright, that's it. If we're ready, then start the battle, Cola."

"Brother Feng, is there nothing else we have to pay attention to?" Blackie walked up to Shi Feng's side, whispering.

This place was the Hell Mode of the Deathly Forest. Not everyone was an expert, as well. However, Shi Feng's explanation was so simple that it made them feel conquering this Boss was very easy. However, there were so many Elite parties which had died inside Normal Mode, so how could Hell Mode be so simple?

"Party leader, are there no details we need to pay attention to?"

Everyone was very worried. They all held anticipation in their gazes as they looked towards Shi Feng, hoping that he would speak more about the finer details. They were noobs, so there were a lot of things they did not understand. In regards to an expert like Shi Feng, the things he felt were common knowledge, were definitely not common to noobs like them.

Elites could not be compared to a Boss. The other Elite parties must have definitely died at the hands of the Boss. Although their equipment was better than an Elite party's, they were still Level 1 noobs. They clearly knew their own worth.

"You guys worry too much. Relax. When the time comes, I'll tell you what you should do and when you should do it, so don't worry about it. Cola, start the fight and remember to dodge more often. A single healer will not be able to match up to the Boss' damage," Shi Feng smiled. He felt his party members were quite interesting. They were much more serious about the details than he had thought. In his previous life, Shi Feng had entered Hell Mode Dungeons countless times as the Captain of Shadow. There was also no lack of hundred-men Dungeons amongst those times. So, how could he not know how to guide a few noobs to beat a small Boss?

Cola had no choice but to go at it hard.

Willie abruptly leaped up the moment Cola entered its detection range. Its mouth salivated when it saw Cola, and its two pairs of steel claws intertwined to produce sparks. Cola had clearly stimulated Willie's heart of massacre. It lifted its steel claws and hastily dashed towards Cola.

"Start casting heals. All damage dealers prepare to attack Willie's limbs." Shi Feng commanded when he saw Willie's menacing appearance.

Just when Shi Feng finished speaking, Willie had arrived before of Cola. Before Cola could react, its sharp claws had fallen from the sky, slashing at Cola's neck.

Peng! Cola instinctively used his shield to block the steel claws, forming three brilliant streaks of sparks. There were also three claw marks left on the shield. Due to the immense rushing force, Cola was forced to retreat five or six steps as he stabilized his body. Above his head, a damage of -103 appeared.

Before Cola could even attack, Willie once again waved out its steel. This time, Cola was sent flying with his shield, and a damage of -105 points appeared. Only at this moment did the heal land on Cola, recovering 43 HP for him. It was a truly insignificant amount when compared to the damage Cola received.

Everyone was shocked. The Movement Speed and damage of the Boss was too horrifying. If Cola did not possess two pieces of Bronze Equipment, or if he did not block the attacks with his shield, he would have simply died from these two strikes.

"Lonely Snow, use Charge on Willie! Blackie, use Evil Whip!" Shi Feng had long since expected such a situation. He quickly instructed Blackie to use a binding skill.

Lonely Snow reacted by using a Charge to block Willie's next attack and saved Cola's life.

However, Lonely Snow's attack had only caused -11 damage to Willie. He became dumbfounded by it. He had added most of his Attribute Points into Strength, and he even had two pieces of Bronze Equipment on him. Yet, he had dealt such a small amount of damage. It should be known that the Boss in front of him had 6000 HP.

Blackie also finished chanting from the side, sending out his Evil Whip.

Five streaks of pitch-black thorns suddenly constricted Willie's legs.

Shi Feng took the chance to circle around to Willie's rear. With the Abyssal Blade in hand, he used Double Chop on Willie's neck, causing -66 and -67 damage. His attack also caused a Bleeding effect, causing Willie to lose 8 HP every second, lasting for 10 seconds.

The high damage immediately caused Willie to switch its Hatred to Shi Feng. However, Shi Feng did not give it any chance. With his 30 Agility, Shi Feng easily dodged away from the steel claws, appearing 5 yards away from Willie.

"Ao! Ao! Ao!" Willie furiously bellowed as it rushed at Shi Feng.

"Ranged players start attacking. Cola, come over and hold Willie after you're done recovering." Shi Feng systematically retreated while he dodged Willie's claws.

However, the others watching Shi Feng were shocked to their souls. This was because Willie's claws would graze by Shi Feng's cranium every time it attacked, blowing his hair into a dance.

Although everyone was shocked, they never stopped attacking. Magic attacks were sent out one after another, whereas Lonely Snow used Whirlwind Slash at Willie's rear. However, not one of those damages had exceeded -20 points.

Willie's HP slowly decreased. When it was occasionally struck by Shi Feng, its HP would drop by a segment.

Willie's HP had fallen to 90% within a moment. Willie became enraged as it started a mad dance with its claws. It used Death Claws, greatly increasing its Attack Speed.

Shi Feng was nearly hit by it. Fortunately, however, he had used the Abyssal Blade to block the attack, only receiving -130 damage from it.

At this moment, the Cola rushed up with his full HP. He used a Divine Strike on Willie's head, followed by a Punishment. Willie's Hatred only switched to Cola after a series of attacks.

The switching of Hatred had also interrupted Willie's Death Claws, returning Willie to its normal state.

Seeing Willie change targets, Shi Feng waved out a Thundering Flash. Three streaks of thunder passed through Willie's body, dealing -92, -116, -137 damage. At the same time, giving Willie a damage amplification effect, it allowed others to deal 20% more damage to it. The fight with Willie became much easier.

Blackie was sending out Dark Arrows without stopping, each dealing over -50 damage. Whereas the others only managed to deal over -20 damage to Willie.

Being given a painful beating, Willie was just about to turn around and attack Shi Feng when Cola used both Divine Strike and Punishment once more. Willie's Hatred was quickly pulled back to Cola.

When Willie turned back to Cola, Shi Feng used a Chop on it.

In such a way, Shi Feng and Cola took turns aggroing Willie, causing it unable to attack any players.

Willie's HP continuously dropped until it was 30%. Willie entered a berserk state, its body increasing by several sizes.

"Melee players stay away from the Boss! Blackie, use Evil Whip! Healer, heal me!" Shi Feng loudly shouted. In its current state, Willie was definitely going to use its big move, Killing Feast.

Lonely Snow and Cola immediately distanced themselves from the Boss after hearing Shi Feng's command, letting Shi Feng tank the Boss by himself.

When the two of them had run out of the 10-yard range, Willie disappeared.

No one understood what happened.

When Willie reappeared, it had already arrived at Shi Feng's back, and its steel claws abruptly descended. Shi Feng had long since been ready for this. He used his sword to block the incoming claws. However, just after blocking this attack, Willie once again disappeared and again appeared behind Shi Feng.

Within two short seconds, Willie had attacked Shi Feng's back seven times. Fortunately, Shi Feng's Agility had reached 30 points. It was barely enough to match up to Willie's speed. However, every attack Shi Feng blocked would still take away a significant amount of HP from him. The heals he received also continuously recovered his HP.

-96, -97, +46, -96, -97, +48, +32, -96, -97, +46......

If Shi Feng did not possess 520 HP and blocked every claw that came at him, Shi Feng would have died from Willie's Killing Feast with 100% certainty.

At this moment, Shi Feng's remaining HP did not reach 100 points.

"Get rid of it!" Shi Feng loudly shouted.

After using his big move, Willie would enter a Weakened state. It was the perfect chance to kill it.

Everyone continuously greeted Willie with their attacks, finally shaving off Willie's remaining 30% HP. It dropped four items.

Just as everyone was about to let loose their breaths, Shi Feng took a look at everyone's current status. The healer, Drowsy Sloth's remaining MP did not reach 20%, and the other mages' MP did not reach 10%. Shi Feng hurriedly said, "Everyone, sit down and recover immediately!"

Everyone was confused. Didn't the Boss just die? Why must they be in such a hurry? However, everyone still listened to Shi Feng's command to sit down and recover.

Before they had even sat down and recuperated with food and drinks for five seconds, a violent roar entered everyone's ears. The roar had shaken the entire Deathly Forest, and following it, a black shadow leaped out from within the forest.

The black shadow was a gigantic Werewolf. The Werewolf looked at Willie's corpse, then looked towards Shi Feng and the others. It's pitch-black eyes suddenly turned crimson red. Just when it wanted to release a roar, Shi Feng dashed towards it with Wind Blade. Immediately, Shi Feng used Abyssal Bind. Nine chains appeared and bound the Werewolf and its mouth, preventing it from making a sound.

At this moment, everyone finally saw the Werewolf's statistics. It had a whopping two bars of HP.

[Werewolf Felt] (Lord-rank)

Level 3

HP 12000/12000

"Crap, why is there a Lord Boss?" Blackie cursed.

They had barely rested just after killing a Boss, and now there was a Lord in front of them. Lords were a rank higher than Chieftains. The game was literally trying to kill them.

"Everyone remember, absolutely do not let Werewolf Felt let out another roar." Shi Feng continuously reminded everyone.

However, the others were clearly frightened. Not because of Werewolf Felt's body and HP, but because of that pair of horrifying crimson eyes. They gave off an intimidating feeling to everyone that made it hard to move.

Chapter 29 - extraordinary state

In front of the Dungeon of the Deathly Forest, the numbers of Level 2 players gathering were increasing. There was also an endless stream of players diving down into the Dungeon.

Because there were a lot of Level 2 players, there was quite an amount of players who had set up stalls, peddling to the side.

"Good quality Level 0 Common Equipment, don't miss it when you pass by. You can only go down the Dungeon with good equipment. Equipment is limited, hurry over and buy."

"Small HP Potions instantly heals 90 HP once. A must-have tool for a battle that is worthy of you."

God's Domain had been open for over ten hours now. The players here were all Level 2 players. After over ten hours of battling, they had gathered quite a few items. Many Level 2 players had intended to sell the items which they had no use for, switching them for something they could use. Such a situation had caused business to flourish at the Deathly Forest.

Although the number of players in front of the Deathly Forest continued to increase, the number of parties entering the Dungeon kept on decreasing. Only those parties that were unaware would enter the Deathly Forest.

However, after those players had been properly nurtured by the Deathly Forest, they suddenly discovered their previous beliefs to be very naive. Hence, they obediently stood in front of the Dungeon. They talked about life with other parties while watching new parties enter the Dungeon with a smile. They had also investigated reports of the Deathly Forest together with the experienced parties, mutually improving their strategies to conquer the Dungeon.

Following wave after wave of players entering and dying out of the Dungeon, the Deathly Forest had finally become the sore point of every player in Red Leaf Town.

Every player who entered the Deathly Forest only had one impression of the Dungeon.

It was extremely horrifying!

Currently, in the Resurrection Graveyard of the Deathly Forest, six streaks of white light flashed into existence. Following which, six figures revealed themselves from within.

"There is just no way to clear this Dungeon. Snow, I think we would be better off grinding monsters or doing Quests." Just after reviving, Zhao Yueru stamped her delicate feet, her chest heaving up and down. The cuteness of her enraged, yet delicate appearance instantly attracted the attention of a crowd of male players.

Gentle Snow shook her head, saying in contemplation, "Our gains inside the Deathly Forest are relatively good, so we can't just easily give up. But the forest inside the Deathly Forest is too large. Adding in the great number of small paths, we would easily become lost without a map. However, I believe that amongst the numerous pathways, there must be a few that lead to the Boss' location. The other paths are only there as a trap to confuse us. That is why we are always being ambushed by the Night Rabbits. The more we fight, the more Night Rabbits will come. For now, let's investigate for some information and see if we can complete a map for the Deathly Forest."

Everyone felt that Gentle Snow's speculation made sense, especially about the part where they attacked the Night Rabbits. Occasionally, a chilling arrow aimed at the Cleric, Xiao Yue'er, would appear from within the forest. If it wasn't for Xiao Yue'er's skill at dodging, they would have long since party-wiped.

Also, the deeper they went into the forest, the more numerous the Night Rabbits became. In the end, the Night Rabbits became too overwhelming in numbers. They were unable to shoulder all of the rabbits, which resulted in their return through death. If they could find the correct path, they might have already cleared the Dungeon by now.

Zhao Yueru could only nod her head in agreement. The party's leader was, in fact, Gentle Snow, and Gentle Snow's speculations were always very accurate. Zhao Yueru could not help but believe in her.

Going with the suggestion, Gentle Snow and Zhao Yueru nonchalantly shouted a few times, stating that they wanted to trade information about the Deathly Forest.

It couldn't be denied, the striking effect created by two great beauties calling out. Suddenly, the atmosphere in the Deathly Forest started to boil as players rushed over, one after another. Every one of them wanted to be the first in position.

Too many of the male players, this was a great chance for them to talk to a Goddess. Who knew, if the Goddess had looked upon them they might be able to live a 'blessed' life in the future.

Meanwhile, inside the Hell Mode of the Deathly Forest. The sky within the Dungeon had already darkened. Thousands of birds soared to the skies, leaving the forest in a deadly silence.

Werewolf Felt was not any common monster. It was a very famous werewolf. In the past, it massacred countless in Red Leaf Town, nearly turning Red Leaf Town into a town of death. In a fit of rage, the Star-Moon Kingdom had sent out its army to surround Felt. In the end, after being heavily wounded by the Great Swordmaster, Hilton, Felt had escaped into the Deathly Forest to treat its wounds. It was the reason why the Dungeon of the Deathly Forest existed.

In Hell Mode, Felt had three absolute skills. The first one was [Death Stare]. Enemies who Felt stared at would have their Attack Speed and Movement Speed greatly reduced. If one had a weak willpower, they might not even be able to move.

Presently, only Shi Feng had 30 points in Agility. After he had activated the three Hidden Basic Skills he possessed, he gained a certain amount of resistance towards the Death Stare. As for the other people, their reactions would become very sluggish.

That was why Shi Feng remained the one to keep Werewolf Felt in check, whereas Drowsy Sloth continuously healed Shi Feng. However, Drowsy Sloth's casting speed had slowed by half. As for the melee players, they were no help whatsoever. However, it was not because they did not want to help, but it was because they had no way of helping at all. Werewolf Felt's Attack Speed was just too fast. It was to the degree where they couldn't react to its attacks. It was as if they were facing off against an expert that came straight out from a Wuxia novel; normal people had no chance to interfere whatsoever.

They would only be creating more trouble if they had rushed up to the battle. So, it was still better to just watch from the side.

Currently, only the ranged mages dealt damage. However, the damage caused was just too low. Even Blackie's Dark Arrows were only dealing -24 damage each.

"Lonely, interrupt the roar!" Seeing Felt abruptly inhaling, Shi Feng immediately shouted.

Lonely Snow had long since prepared for this moment. Immediately, he went forward and used Charge, causing Felt to enter a 1 second Fainted state. Then, he quickly retreated.

Shi Feng took the chance to use Thundering Flash, Double Chop, and Chop. One attack after another landed on Felt's chest. Before Felt could even regain its breath, it had spat out a mouthful of blood. Shi Feng had caused a terrifying -500 damage to it.

Within an instant, Felt's HP had fallen to 78%.

Everyone watching became dumbfounded. Regarding Shi Feng's powerful actions, they only had one word to say: Amazing! They were even more impressed by Shi Feng's eyesight. He had actually discovered such a weakness on Felt's body. Now, everyone was further reassured that Shi Feng was not as simple as he seemed.

However, Shi Feng did not display any great excitement. Although they had interrupted Hell's Roar and avoided a party-wipe, this would create a reverse effect.

After spitting out a mouthful of blood, Werewolf Felt's condition became much more pleasant. It spun its head around and immediately slashed its sharp claws at Shi Feng. The slashing speed of Felt's claws was even a notch quicker than before, filling the sky with the afterimages of its claws.

However, Shi Feng was not a weakling either. Strength, Agility, and Endurance, Shi Feng activated the Hidden Basic Skills of all three of these Attributes. With these skills activated, it meant that Shi Feng's constitution was no longer that of an average player, but an extraordinary one. Shi Feng's greatest asset in coming into the Deathly Forest was this Extraordinary State which he could activate at any given moment. With it, he could do things that normal players couldn't.

Under a sky filled with after images of claws, Shi Feng could still remain safe and sound. It was as if Shi Feng was dancing under the afterimages. Occasionally, Shi Feng used his sword to fend off the attacks which he could not avoid. This was the power of being under an extraordinary condition. His five senses became extremely sensitive, and his brain's processing abilities became exceptionally focused. Shi Feng could utilize his body to its greatest potential. If it was an average player, however, they would be unable to carry out such feats. It was both mentally and physically taxing to the extraordinary condition. If Shi Feng had not become accustomed to it before, he would only be able to maintain such a state for a few seconds.

Claws and sword intertwined, creating countless dazzling sparks.

Both sides had their HP continuously falling. Fortunately, Shi Feng was able to survive the exchange with Drowsy Sloth's timely heals.

Afterward, under Shi Feng's command, Lonely Snow would occasionally interrupt the Hell's Roar, while Cola would hold back Felt whenever Shi Feng was in danger, and Blackie would use Evil Whip to contain Felt's movements. In such a way, Werewolf Felt's HP continuously decreased, 70%... 60%... 30%...

"Everyone stand in a straight line facing the Boss! Quickly!" Shi Feng hurriedly shouted when he saw Werewolf Felt's HP nearing 30%.

Werewolf Felt would become the most frightening when its HP decreased to 30%. During this time, it was impossible to interrupt the Hell's Roar. They could only take it head on.

No one had any hesitation; they knew that the Boss was about to go berserk. They immediately took action, forming a straight line against Werewolf Felt, while also maintaining a 30-yard distance away from it.

The moment Werewolf Felt's HP reached 30%, its fur started changing colors. Within a moment, its fur had become snow white, and two streams of blood leaked from its eyes. Its chest also started to quickly expand, as if it was a swelled-up frog.

Shi Feng immediately activated Gravity Liberation, quickly arriving in front of everyone else.

"Cola, use Protection Blessing on me!" Shi Feng loudly shouted.

Protection Blessing was able to reduce the damage taken by a party member by 50% for a duration of 6 seconds. It was a lifesaving skill with a 5-minute Cooldown, and right now was the perfect moment to use it.

[Protection Blessing] of Guardian Knights and [Shield Wall] of Shield Warriors. These two skills had a high drop rate inside the Hell Mode of the Deathly Forest. Before, the reason why Shi Feng had wasted time on clearing out some unnecessary Night Rabbits was all to obtain this skill, Protection Blessing.

Chapter 30 - Crimson Blade

Cola had long since been ready for this moment. The instant Shi Feng let out the command, his mouth began chanting divine texts. Streaks of golden divine texts rushed at Shi Feng.

Protection Blessing!

Suddenly, Shi Feng was surrounded by countless golden divine texts, giving off a dazzling golden glow.

At the same time, Drowsy Sloth, at the rear of the line, continuously cast Recover and Life Prayer, pulling Shi Feng's HP back up to full and returning him to his best condition.

"Prepare for a battering attack. Absolutely do not leave from my back." Seeing Werewolf Felt's line of sight shifting towards them, Shi Feng held the Abyssal Blade across his chest as he commanded.

Hearing Shi Feng's words, everyone started to tense up.

Their hearts were not courageous, to begin with. Now, their hearts started to madly beat. They were being covered in a cold sweat even before Werewolf Felt used its skill.

Suddenly, Werewolf Felt moved. Its expanded chest started moving upwards, moving past its throat and to its mouth.

Hou!Within an instant, everyone aside from Shi Feng felt their hearts stop beating. It was as if the world had turned gray and silent. The soaring birds in the sky had also turned motionless.

Everyone could clearly see the multitude of gray-colored waves being emitted from Werewolf Felt's body. Streak after streak, it continuously expanded.

The dark gray ripples quickly arrived in front of everyone. However, they could not move even a muscle. It was not because they did not wish to move, but because their bodies could not keep up with the speed of their thoughts.

Everyone could feel that time was moving by at an exceptionally slow pace. However, everyone understood that although the movement of time appeared slow, in reality, it was moving at the pinnacle of speed. Just like absolute experts crossing swords; the moment the exchange happened, time would move exceptionally slowly.

At this moment, only Shi Feng slightly moved.

Phantom Kill!

The instant the dark gray ripples arrived in front of Shi Feng, his doppelganger had blocked in front of him. At the same time, the doppelganger used Parry.

Subsequently, the gray ripples made contact with the doppelganger. However, they were blocked by the doppelganger's Parry, whereas the doppelganger himself retreated a step back. He only stabilized his body after colliding with Shi Feng.

Just after the doppelganger stabilized himself, another wave of ripples came smashing.

The ripples passed through the doppelganger's body this time, causing his HP to instantly decrease by 300 points. Behind him, Shi Feng had also received -30 damage, while the others behind Shi Feng received -20 damage.

However, the ripples did not stop with just one wave. When the third wave of ripples passed through the doppelganger, his body had instantly disintegrated. A damage of -100 points also appeared above Shi Feng's head. Subsequently, wave after wave of dark gray ripples followed.-100, -100, -100, -100, ......

Shi Feng's HP fell time and time again until only 90 points remained. When the final wave of ripples was about to get rid of Shi Feng, he used Parry.

Hong! Shi Feng retreated a big step backward. However, he did not receive any damage. The people behind him were also unharmed. However, their HP after going through several waves of attacks did not exceed 50%.At this moment, Drowsy Sloth's Recover had only landed on Shi Feng's body, pulling Shi Feng's HP back to 140. Following which he used Life Payment, recovering 130 HP for Shi Feng. Within a moment, Shi Feng's HP had returned to over 50%.

"This roar really is powerful. I even thought we were finished," Blackie wiped off the cold sweat from his forehead. If Shi Feng had not blocked in front of them, they would all be goners by now. When he thought back to how Shi Feng nearly died, Blackie's heart started beating rapidly, reaching 180 beats per minute.

If Shi Feng died, then they would die as well; there was nobody else in the party who could pin down Werewolf Felt for a long period of time.

At this moment, everyone looked at Shi Feng as if they were looking at a monster. Never would they have imagined that Shi Feng would ingeniously use his doppelganger to block two of those onslaughts. He had also used Parry on the final attack. The way Shi Feng had calculated both damage and HP was absolutely brilliant. Such a technique definitely belonged to the realm of gods."Stop daydreaming, all of you! Quickly attack the Boss; it's in a Weakened state right now!" Shi Feng only shrugged his shoulders at his party's reaction. Such a technique could be done by many experts in a few more years.

However, Shi Feng had yet to relax. The thing he had to pay attention to the most right now was the Boss. Only he knew how hard it was to deal with Werewolf Felt.

Wind Blade!

With Gravity Liberation activated, Shi Feng instantly arrived in front of Felt. He tightly gripped the Abyssal Blade, continuously sending attacks towards Felt's chest.

Thundering Flash!

Double Chop!

Chop!

Damage that exceeded -100 appeared above Werewolf Felt's head, one after another. The other party members were also able to deal damage of over -20 with each attack. Very quickly, they had reduced Werewolf Felt's HP down to 15%.

When they saw that Felt was about to die, everyone revealed smiles of excitement.

"Don't be careless. Blackie, use your Evil Whip. Lonely Snow, prepare to interrupt with Charge." Shi Feng commanded as he dodged Werewolf Felt's attack.

Being told what to do in such a way, everyone's hearts suddenly constricted.

A Death Stare and a Hell's Roar was already unimaginably terrifying. If it was any other party here, they would have long since revived back at the graveyard.

Could Werewolf Felt actually have another powerful skill? How horrifying was this Hell Mode?!

Shi Feng constantly paid attention to Werewolf Felt's HP. Just when Felt's HP fell down to 10%, its third big move finally came.

Death Berserk!

This move would increase Werewolf Felt's Attack Speed by 100%, its Movement Speed by 40%, and its Attack Power by 100% until it died. It was precisely this move that had caused countless Elite parties to curse out in madness.

After activating Death Berserk, Werewolf Felt's fur started turning red; in a moment, it had become blood-red in color. Adding in its crimson red eyes and sharp fangs, Felt looked remarkably like a Blood Fiend. Its terrifying appearance had caused everyone to inadvertently retreat a step backward. They could clearly feel the air of danger given off by Felt.

Shi Feng used another Double Chop, stacking the Bleeding effect to five layers. Afterward, he spun around and ran.After activating Death Berserk, there was no one under Level 5 who was able to block Felt. That included Shi Feng, even if he had a Magic Weapon. The only method was to kite[1] it and slowly grinding Felt to death.

The moment Shi Feng had escaped the 10-yard distance, Felt's thick thighs suddenly doubled in size. One of its legs abruptly stomped the ground, sending it flying like an arrow, rushing towards Shi Feng.

Shi Feng was about to arrive at the location of the large rock, but behind him, Felt's speed was just too fast. He definitely could not make it. Shi Feng abruptly made a 90-degrees sharp turn.

Hong!

Without making any turns, Werewolf Felt smashed straight into the large rock blocking its path, turning it into rubble. Fragmented rocks the size of a person's head were sent flying more than 10 yards away. Seeing such horrifying strength, even a fierce man such as Cola had his heart trembling.

If he were struck by those claws, then he would definitely become meat paste......

At this moment, Shi Feng had already distanced himself over 20 yards from Felt. Meanwhile, the attacks from the mages never stopped. They continuously ground away Felt's HP.

Shi Feng's plan to kite Felt was a success. Every time Werewolf Felt was about to catch up, Lonely Snow would Charge at it. He then followed it up with a Bone Crusher, greatly reducing Felt's speed. Afterward, he pulled away from Felt once more. When Lonely Snow's skills were on Cooldown, Blackie would use Evil Whip to constrict Felt once more. The skills of the two of them had a quick Cooldown. With Shi Feng's occasional Abyssal Bind, they had formed a perfect cycle to toy with Werewolf Felt without pause.

7%... 6%... 5%... 3%...

Finally, when Felt only had 1% HP remaining, Shi Feng abruptly turned around.

Wind Blade! Thundering Flash! Chop! Double Chop!

Shi Feng's single sword slashed at Werewolf Felt's chest, taking away its final 1% HP.

System: Your party is the first to clear a Hell Mode Dungeon. Rewards increased by 100%; loot increased by 100%.

System: Cleared Hell Mode of Deathly Forest. Rewarding 8000 EXP.

At this moment, Werewolf Felt exploded, dropping out over 10 items. And amongst them, there was one that made Shi Feng's eyes shine.

Crimson Blade!

It was a sword that had the color of fresh blood. It gave off a dull red glow, and there was also faint drops of red liquid dripping off the edges of the blade. The entire sword revealed a dense killing aura.

Shi Feng never imagined that the item with an abysmal drop rate would actually appear in front of him.

* * *

TL Notes:

[1] kite: A term in video gaming and elsewhere to describe when a ranged fighter skirmishes with a hand-to-hand fighter by running and shooting. This can have 2 purposes: a) to damage the enemy while staying outside of hand-to-hand range, or b) to make the enemy follow you so you can lead them to a specific location

Chapter 31 - hell's book

Shi Feng walked over without hesitation. He quickly picked up the one-handed sword filled with killing intent.

The Crimson Blade was one of the rarest drops within the Hell Mode of the Deathly Forest. It was also the best sword for a Swordsman below Level 6.

[Crimson Blade] (Secret-Silver Rank, One-Handed Sword)

Level 3

Equipment Requirement: Strength 12

Attack Power +21

Strength +5, Agility +6, Endurance +3

Durability 30/30

Its Attack Power alone could rival a Level 5 Two-Handed Bronze Axe. With the six extra points in Agility, it could increase the Attack Speed of a Swordsman by quite a lot. The Crimson Blade was definitely a precious weapon for Swordsmen.

Unfortunately, Shi Feng could not equip it yet. His experience was currently at 69% of Level 2. There was still quite an amount before he could reach Level 3. Moreover, he wouldn't be able to equip it even if he had reached Level 3. This was because Swordsmen would only activate the Dual-Wielding Talent after they reached Level 5. At that time, Shi Feng would be able to wield two one-handed swords.

By the time Shi Feng was Level 5, he would be able to wield the Abyssal Blade on his main-arm, and the Crimson Blade on his sub-arm. His Attack Power would be invincible amongst Level 5 players. Shi Feng felt great just thinking about such a future.

"Brother Feng, hurry up and pick up the equipment! I'm dying of anxiety here!" Blackie urged.

"That's right, party leader! You can't just enjoy it by yourself! At least let us have a look at what equipment dropped!"

The loot on the ground had nearly blinded everyone's eyes. The anxiety burning in their hearts had even caused them to forget their joy of reaching Level 2. They all wished to take a look at the drops of the two Hell Mode Bosses. As for rushing over to snatch the loot, there was nobody present who would do such a thing. Even if the items on the ground were valuable, they still wouldn't do it.

If they had done such a thing, although they could feel great for the moment, they would instead regret their actions for the rest of their lives. This was because Shi Feng was the true treasure here. Even if Shi Feng wanted all of the equipment, there would not be a single person who would refuse him. After all, the only reason they could make it to this point was all because of Shi Feng. That was why everyone was just standing by the side, obediently watching instead of rushing up to fight for the loot.

"Alright, alright. No need to rush." Shi Feng smiled. He quickly began to collect the items on the ground. Shi Feng was very satisfied with everyone's performance.

They were unlike the players Shi Feng would occasionally party up with in his previous life. When the Boss died, those players would rush up in unison to snatch the equipment. They immediately disappeared once they took all the equipment, leaving Shi Feng enraged and speechless.

The reason Shi Feng did not set the party so that only the leader could pick drops was to test everyone's intentions. It was better to discover those treacherous people early on. Now that nobody had rushed up to snatch the items, Shi Feng could be more at ease with them.

In a short moment, Shi Feng had collected all the loot on the ground. There were a total of 19 pieces of equipment and 5 Silver Coins. Such a harvest could rival the assets of a large Guild in its entirety.

Arranging his bag, Shi Feng's lips curled up into a smile. He found a Forging Design.

[Garrison Armor Forging Design]

Able to create a piece of Level 3 Bronze-ranked Chest Armor after learning the design.

Materials Required: 20 Copper Ores, 5 Bronze Ores, 5 Magic Essences

This piece of equipment was a good item. As long as a party's MT equipped it, diving into the Normal Mode of the Deathly Forest would become much easier. Not only did it have high Defense and Strength, it also increased maximum HP by 200 points. It was an extremely important piece of equipment for any MT.

In Shi Feng's previous life, when this equipment was released, every Guild madly fought over it. They also ignored all costs to enter the Deathly Forest in order to obtain this Forging Design.

When Blackie saw Shi Feng's excited smile, his heart became even more anxious.

It was needless to say for the other people, if a person's sight could kill, Shi Feng probably would have died over hundreds or thousands of times by now.

"The items are not bad. Here, you guys have a look." Shi Feng did not waste any more time. He immediately displayed the Attributes of all the equipment.

There were a total of 15 pieces of equipment. Amongst them, there was only a single Secret-Silver Equipment, which was the Crimson Blade. There were also 5 pieces of Mysterious-Iron Equipment and 9 pieces of Bronze Equipment. The Bronze Equipment dropped by the Bosses of Hell Mode were all of the highest quality. The Bronze Equipment dropped by Elites were far from comparable.

Amongst all the equipment, after the Crimson Blade, the most valuable items were the pieces of Mysterious-Iron Equipment. Out of the three Modes of the Deathly Forest, only Hell Mode dropped Mysterious-Iron Equipment, whereas Normal and Difficult only dropped Bronze Equipment.

Blackie's luck had always been good. Amongst the five pieces of Mysterious-Iron Equipment, there were two pieces of the Dark Color Set meant for Cursemancers. The Dark Color Set was definitely the Set Equipment for Cursemancers below Level 5. There were a total of five pieces in the Dark Color Set; head, chest, legs, shoes, armguards. This time around, the parts that dropped were the chest and shoes. These two items had placed a wide smile on Blackie's face.

"Brother Feng, I really love coming down to Hell! Let's come here once every day. That way, I can complete the Dark Color Set, and if anyone dares look down upon us at that time, I'll blast him to pieces!" Blackie showed off the Dark Color Set in his hands.

After wearing the Dark Color Set, Blackie felt himself becoming closer to an expert. His Magic Attack was increased to 66; a single Level 3 Dark Arrow could take away more than half the HP of a Level 1 Shield Warrior. If he could complete the Dark Color Set, then a single Dark Arrow could one-shot a Shield Warrior.

He put on the suit of ash-gray fur robes, coupled with glistening pitch-black boots; everyone could tell they were pieces of a set with just a glance.

The others drooled when they saw the black luster of the Dark Color Set. Their hearts were filled with hatred and envy for Blackie.

They had never imagined entering Hell would be such a great experience. They truly hoped they could enter Hell a few more times in the future.

The remaining three pieces of Mysterious-Iron Equipment were the set pieces for Guardian Knight, Shield Warrior, and Elementalist. Amongst those present, only Cola was a Guardian Knight. Thus, Shi Feng gave the piece of equipment to Cola and stored the others.

As for the remaining Bronze Equipment, Cola received a shield and Lonely Snow received a greatsword. Both pieces of Level 2 equipment had the best Attributes possible on them. Drowsy Sloth and Gluttonous Mouse also received a piece of Bronze Equipment each.

Quite a few pieces of Shi Feng's equipment were also replaced. Amongst the Bronze Equipment, there were three pieces that belonged to Swordsman. The two pieces of equipment that remained were stored away by Shi Feng.

When everyone had changed their equipment, it was as if the entire party had a makeover. Every piece of their equipment was incomparably brilliant. Just a glance was enough to tell that they didn't just have Common Equipment. The entire party had also risen to Level 2. Blackie's experience was even at 98% of Level 2, just a tad bit short of Level 3.

The other four items were a Forging Design, a Potion Recipe, a rare skill for Cursemancers, and a notebook.

The rare skill for Cursemancers overjoyed Blackie. It was an AOE skill called [Hell Flame].

[Hell Flame]

Deals 150% Flame Damage to an 8 x 8 yard area. Duration of 5 seconds.

Cooldown: 36 seconds.

It was a godly skill for grinding monsters during the early periods of the game.

"What is this thing for?" Shi Feng looked at the old notebook in his hand. He could not recall the Hell Mode of the Deathly Forest dropping such an item.

Taking a look inside, Shi Feng discovered words which he could not understand. However, Shi Feng knew these words belonged to the Ancient Language of the Elves.

Within God's Domain, any items which had a relationship with the Elven language were definitely not common items. Just like the Ring Of Gravity, there was a string of Elvish words carved onto it. They had allowed the ring to possess unimaginable powers.

"It seems I have to make a trip to the library."

Shi Feng felt this notebook was not as simple as it seemed. In his previous life, he entered the Hell Mode of the Deathly Forest tens of times. However, he had never seen such an item drop before. There was no such news from the other teams in the Guild as well. The likelihood of the notebook dropping only on the First Kill was high. If Shi Feng wanted to make heads with the situation, he had to translate its contents at the library.

"Brother Feng, what are we going to do afterward? Grinding mobs?" Blackie was eager to try out the new skill he learned.

"That's fine as well. We'll grind and do Quests in Dark Moon Valley. The monsters there drop quite a lot of ore" Shi Feng said after some thought.

With the Forging Design in hand, all that was left was to obtain the materials. However, Shi Feng needed a lot of materials. Now that Blackie had Hell Flame, it should be a lot quicker to kill Kobolds and Gnomes. Furthermore, Shi Feng knew of a few good locations where it would be suitable to use Hell Flame.

Shi Feng turned to look at the others, saying, "Will you guys follow us or do Quests on your own?"

"Big Brother Feng, how could you leave me out of grinding mobs? I've already planned to follow Big Brother Feng in the future." Cola smiled like a fool as he gently caressed his new shield.

"Big Brother Feng, can we join as well?"

Drowsy Sloth and Gluttonous Mouse were both high-schoolers. Currently, they had their heads lowered in embarrassment. However, they did not wish to give up such a chance. Shi Feng was a great expert. They would reap endless benefits if they could learn a thing or two by staying by his side.

Shi Feng said, smiling, "Of course you are all welcome to join."

Suddenly, the two of them revealed excited expressions, both their hands clenched up in excitement.

"Since nobody is opposed to it, then we will go grind in Dark Moon Valley."

After finishing his piece, Shi Feng called out the System Panel. He selected the Dungeon's Party Teleportation, parting with the Deathly Forest.

Chapter 32 - stunning invitation

There was a sea of players in front of the Deathly Forest. Currently, they were all gathered around the Dungeon's entrance.

Such a situation was due to the actions of the large Guilds of Red Leaf Town. The Elite teams of these large Guilds had all arrived at the Deathly Forest. They were all prepared to challenge the Dungeon. These teams were much stronger than the loosely made Elite parties. Common Equipment covered their entire bodies. There were even pieces of Bronze Equipment in the mix.

"That's Heaven's Crown's core MT, Immovable Mountain. Never have I imagined that even he would come to this place. Someone will surely clear the Deathly Forest this time."

"Hmph, Heaven's Crown is just a third-rate Guild. Look over there; even the Sub-Leader of Assassin's Alliance, Stabbing Heart, is here. Also, the Guardian Knight named War Soul by his side is the top five Knight of the Assassin's Alliance. He is even stronger than the Immovable Mountain."

The players in the surrounding area started a discussion amongst themselves. They held optimistic views towards these large Guilds at clearing the Deathly Forest. It was to be expected, as there were over ten Guilds currently present, both large and small. Amongst these Guilds, the most well-known Guild would be the second-rate Guild, Assassin's Alliance. Following them would be the third-rate Guild, Heaven's Crown. The others were just some unknown Guilds, but they still would not be looked down on. This was because a Workshop stood behind every Guild. These Workshops hired experts. Average players could not compare to them.

Each large Guild wanted to build its reputation in Red Leaf Town. Conquering the first Dungeon in Red Leaf Town was the perfect way to do so. Hence, all of the large Guilds made ample preparations for the Dungeon. They spent large sums of their assets to buy equipment and medicine. They also bought a lot of information on the Deathly Forest. So, they were extremely confident about conquering the Dungeon.

"Boss Waving, these Guild teams have gorgeous equipment! They will definitely clear the Deathly Forest this time," Wordless Summer Night commented with a pained expression.

Waving Slowly But Surely crossed his arms in front of his chest. He nodded slightly, saying in a helpless tone, "The Deathly Forest is too difficult. We party-wiped before we even met the Boss. In the end, parties like ours only became scouts for the Guilds."

"What's there to brag about being a Guild's expert? Boss, it's not our skills that are lacking. The Dungeon is just too horrifying. It has too high of an equipment quality requirement," the Shield Warrior, Battle To The End said in disdain. He held contempt for the Guild experts deep in his heart, and he was sure only their equipment prevented them from clearing the Dungeon.

"That's right, Boss. If our party had such equipment, we would have long since cleared the Deathly Forest" Wordless Summer Night confidently said.

Speaking of Dungeons, Wordless Summer thought of Shi Feng's party. He giggled as he said, "It's not like we didn't have any gain. We've killed two Night Rabbits and even got a skill book for Berserkers. Compared to that party led by Captain Noob, we're much stronger. They still haven't shown themselves. I guess they've already fled from embarrassment. It sure is a pity for Lonely Snow. If he followed the Boss, then he would have been given this skill book. If he found out about it, he would regret not following us into the Dungeon."

"That's right. Lonely Snow doesn't know how to appreciate the kindness given to him. Now, he will definitely regret not following the Boss," Battle To The End laughingly said.

"Lonely Snow's skills are still quite good. I don't know how that noob managed to gain the favor of that expert called Blackie. However, no matter how great that expert's techniques are, with dead weight pulling him back they would still party-wipe. He is probably too ashamed to show himself right now. If he had gone with us, we might have cleared the Deathly Forest by now," Waving Slowly was silently pleased with Blackie's end.

"Boss, the Guilds are going to enter now," Wordless Summer said.

However, just as the Guilds were about to enter the Deathly Forest, the Dungeon's teleportation gate suddenly changed color. It instantly turned from a silvery-gray to a pitch-black color. There was also an indistinct skull that was roaring.

The many members of the Guilds couldn't help but retreat a few steps back.

"What is this situation?"

Such a question appeared within everyone's hearts. However, they quickly received their answer.

Six figures suddenly appeared in front of the Dungeon's entrance. Each and every one of them was clothed in glorious garments. Just by standing there, the six of them caused others to feel a faint pressure, especially the Cursemancer with the black-colored staff. The dark-gray colored equipment on the Cursemancer was clearly a set. A single glance was enough to tell they were not common goods. The materials it was made of were much better than Bronze Equipment.

"Eh? Why are there so many people?" Shi Feng took a look at his surroundings, discovering these people were the Elite teams of large Guilds. He was slightly confused as to why all these people were blocking the Dungeon's entrance.

Shi Feng's party members also started to panic. The pressure from being watched by so many people was no weaker than facing off against a Boss monster.

"Boss Waving, look. Isn't that the noob?" Wordless Summer pointed towards Shi Feng.

Waving Slowly knitted his brows. Shi Feng was not the only person he spotted; there was also Lonely Snow. He curiously asked, "How could they be here? Didn't they run away long ago?"

"In my view, I think they did not even enter the forest of the Dungeon. They knew they could not clear the Dungeon, but they were also afraid of embarrassing themselves. So, they stayed in there until now." Battle To The End laughed, "But now they just happen to get caught after leaving the Dungeon. Just look at how ugly Lonely Snow's expression is."

"Hahaha! As expected of a noob, he doesn't even have the courage to enter the Dungeon."

Waving Slowly But Surely felt Wordless Summer Night's words made sense. If not, how could Shi Feng's party have returned safely? Waving Slowly and the other party members experienced the horrendous-ness of the Deathly Forest. After entering the forest of the Dungeon, there were only two possible results: either they cleared the Dungeon, or they party-wiped. There was no possibility of a third option. Now that Shi Feng's party had returned safely, there was only one possibility; they never entered the forest. It was impossible that they cleared the Deathly Forest.

During the time Waving Slowly and company started laughing at Shi Feng's party, the players surrounding Shi Feng had already laughed themselves into madness. Such a scene confused Waving Slowly and party. Why were these people laughing at Shi Feng's party? Were they actually famous?

What Waving Slowly's party did not know was that Shi Feng's party had already become famous throughout the entire Deathly Forest. Shi Feng's party mainly consisted of Level 1 noobs, yet they entered the Hell Mode of the Dungeon. There was no action more foolish than this. It would be hard for others not to notice such an action.

As they say, "Bad news has wings."

"Hahaha, that exotic player is back! I actually admired him for entering the Hell Mode of the Deathly Forest, but he was just a coward."

"I can't take it anymore; my stomach hurts too much from laughing."

The players surrounding Shi Feng's party understood their actions. They had foolishly entered the Hell Mode of the Dungeon, so they could not enter deep into the Dungeon. Instead, they stayed around the Dungeon's entrance and looked for a time to leave the Dungeon in secret. Unfortunately, even God would not help them. They coincidentally left just to be seen by the many Guilds.

"Brother Feng, what's wrong with these people?"Blackie looked at the laughing players laying on the ground. Scratching his head, he asked with an odd tone, "Did their brains go bad? Why are they holding their stomachs and laughing on the ground?"

"Who knows? Maybe their brains had a cramp. It seems we shouldn't play God's Domain too long, especially for the first time." Shi Feng did not think their appearance had any relation to the actions of these people. "We better leave. This is just giving me the creeps."

The other members of the party nodded in agreement. The players in the Deathly Forest were truly strange.

"Big brother, please hold on for a moment."

Just as Shi Feng's party was about to leave the Dungeon's entrance, a ringing voice entered everyone's ears. Taking a look at the voice's origin, a beautiful and pure maiden dressed in a pure-white mage's robe was seen walking towards Shi Feng's party.

Shi Feng recognized this person. She was Star-Moon Kingdom's top-hundred Cleric, Xiao Yue'er.

Xiao Yue'er walked to Shi Feng with an embarrassed look, a blush appearing on her tender-white cheeks. She whispered, "Nice to meet you. I am Xiao Yue'er of Ouroboros. We met before entering the Dungeon. Our party's leader wishes to have a chat with you about the Deathly Forest's Dungeon. I wonder...... if you would be interested in sharing?"

Chapter 33 - Changing from Arrogance to Humility 1

Xiao Yue'er's appearance shocked everyone present.

Every player present knew who Xiao Yue'er was. After all, she was the Goddess' party mate. Coupled with Xiao Yue'er's beauty and purity, she was firmly implanted in everyone's memories.

However, why would such a pure maiden invite a noob? Furthermore, what was harder to imagine was...... the person who invited the noob was not Xiao Yue'er, but the Goddess, Gentle Snow.

Who was Gentle Snow?

She was the publicly acknowledged Snow Goddess in the virtual gaming world. There were countless 'Mr. Perfect's who wanted to approach her. There was even a trust fund baby who had offered ten million Credits just to have a meal with Gentle Snow; however, that person did not even receive a word from her.

Scram!That trust fund baby was naturally enraged. Thus, he sought to get revenge and turn Gentle Snow into his possession. Yet, a few days later, this trust fund baby was dumbfounded. His father, a self-made wealthy man, suddenly became a poor pauper. All of his father's properties had, within a night, become someone else's possession. When the trust fund baby's father found the cause, he nearly beat his son to death. From then onwards, everyone finally knew the dreadfulness of Gentle Snow. However, Gentle Snow's fans had further increased in number after this incident. Gentle Snow was like a true Goddess from the legends, divine and inviolable.

Such a Goddess had actively invited such a noob. How could it not shock people?

Currently, everyone was no longer in the mood for laughter. There was only envy and displeasure. What virtue and ability did a noob have to be invited to chat with the Goddess?

"Damn, this noob must have some dog-shit luck! Why him?! I'm so handsome, yet the Goddess won't even speak a word to me."

"I, Jade Windtree, am an expert in God's Domain, but why won't the Goddess come have a chat with me? Could it be that I am too handsome? Or does the Goddess prefer a wilder type?"

"The Goddess must want to understand the situation inside the Hell Mode Dungeon. That's why she looked for him. I never imagined even noobs would have such benefits. If I had known earlier, I would have also entered Hell Mode once."

Everyone started their own discussions. They glared at Shi Feng, having thoughts of disdain and envy towards him. They could not help but want to kill him right that instant.

"Boss Waving Slowly, I didn't hear wrong, right? That noob actually received an invite from the Goddess. I must have heard wrong" Wordless Summer Night pinched his thick cheeks, saying with a foolish expression.

"It should be right. However, the Goddess must have something she wishes to ask. He was only lucky; that's all," The prideful Waving Slowly deemed Shi Feng being able to chat with the Goddess was all just due to his luck.Battle To The End nodded his head to the side, agreeing to Waving Slowly But Surely's opinion.

Gentle Snow was an existence they had looked up to. They were people of completely different worlds. Not to mention having a chat with her, they had already felt incredibly lucky just by being in the Deathly Forest with Gentle Snow.

Just when everyone thought Shi Feng would smugly agree to the invitation, Shi Feng had instead given a contradictory answer.

"Not interested. I'm in a rush for time," Shi Feng turned around and left immediately after responding. He did not care about Xiao Yue'er in front of him at all, and he cared even less about Gentle Snow's invitation.

Now that the Forging Design was in his hands, he only lacked ore. The quicker the Garrison Armor made its appearance, the greater Shi Feng's income would be. If he missed out on this great chance, he would lose a large sum of Coins.

Blackie had been extremely excited when he thought he would be able to get close to the Goddess. Shi Feng's answer, however, nearly drove him to madness. There must be a mispositioned nerve inside Shi Feng's brain to reject the invitation.

It was not just Blackie who was dumbfounded; even Xiao Yue'er was shocked motionless. It was the first time she met a man who actually rejected Sister Snow's invitation. Many men begged for such an invitation, yet all of them remained empty-handed. Could this man be a fool?

"Let's go. What are you daydreaming about?" He turned and asked his motionless party members when Shi Feng discovered nobody following him.

"Brother Feng, that's an invitation from the Snow Goddess. Won't you think about it some more?" Blackie requested. His mind was bordering insanity right now. At the same time, his heart continually prayed for Shi Feng to agree quickly. Such a great chance would be impossible to come by in the future.

"I've already said I don't have the time," Shi Feng responded with a smile. Shi Feng became speechless when he looked at Blackie's prayerful eyes. No matter what, Blackie's reverence for the Snow Goddess would not change one little bit.

Currently, Gentle Snow and Zhao Yueru walked over. Clad in a silvery-white plate armor, Gentle Snow was undoubtedly the focus of the entire Deathly Forest. Everyone's eyes were glued to her perfectly curved body, their mouths drooling.

Nobody had imagined Gentle Snow would personally make an appearance.

Everyone's envy and hatred for Shi Feng grew even more.

"You can be at ease. I will not waste too much of your time. This piece of Bronze Equipment can be your compensation," Gentle Snow carefully watched Shi Feng. She discovered Shi Feng was indeed different from other people. Although Shi Feng had a typical appearance, his body gave off a calm and steady feeling. There was also a faint murderous aura radiating from his body. Such temperament could only be honed after experiencing countless life-or-death battles.

"Snow?" Zhao Yueru was shocked. She never thought Gentle Snow would think so highly of Shi Feng. Her beautiful eyes unwillingly turned towards Shi Feng. Her brows slightly creased, and she said in a contemptible tone, "I don't think this fellow is worth a piece of Bronze Equipment; a piece of Gray Equipment at best."

They had already been respectful by inviting Shi Feng over for a chat. However, not only did Shi Feng not appreciate their kindness, he even rejected them immediately. If someone else received such an invite, they would have long since come running over to fawn over them. It was the first time Zhao Yueru met such an unattractive man who took such an action. She firmly believed Shi Feng had some scheme in his mind and there was nothing good about him.

"No need for the Bronze Equipment. I have those things, myself," Shi Feng waved his hand, saying in an uncaring tone. He never tried to flatter the witch, to begin with, but he never imagined she would speak of him in such a way. However, he was not a poor ghost; he did not need any charity.Zhao Yueru's beautiful eyes measured up Shi Feng. She couldn't help but let loose a faint laughter, playfully saying, "Such an unyielding spirit. You clearly want it, yet you're refusing to admit it. Snow, this fellow is really insincere!"

"Yueru," Gentle Snow impatiently sent Zhao Yueru a glance, hinting her not to overdo it. To begin with, they were the ones who took the initiative to send the invite. It would not be proper to look down on others now.

Zhao Yueru pouted. She shot a glance towards Shi Feng, puffing out her prideful twin peaks as she helplessly turned her head away. She did not think a poor fellow like Shi Feng would have anything they wanted.

"Sorry, please receive this piece of equipment as an apology,"Gentle Snow took out a Level 0 Bronze Belt meant for a Swordsmen and traded it to Shi Feng. She wanted to put an end to this matter.

Shi Feng did not reject the offer after seeing Gentle Snow's sincerity. If he rejected it, it would only show how petty of a man he was. At the same time, he would cause Gentle Snow to think he did not wish to reconcile. He couldn't just keep on refusing the kindness of others. Besides, he was indeed missing a Bronze Belt. "Hehe, and here I thought you had some great ability. In the end, you still need it," Zhao Yueru said in disdain. She inwardly felt unfortunate to lose a piece of Bronze Equipment.

They obtained this piece of equipment after killing a Rare Elite with much difficulty. It was an absolute waste now that their efforts were benefiting Shi Feng.

Shi Feng slightly wrinkled his brows. Not even a man would be able to stand being mocked and ridiculed in such a way, not to mention a reincarnated person like Shi Feng.

"Since Miss Snow gave me a piece of Bronze Equipment, it is only proper for me to reciprocate in kind. Let this item be the return gift."

Chapter 34 - changing from arrogance to humility 2

Gentle Snow's eyes flashed when Shi Feng also wanted to gift her something. She felt astonished and thought Shi Feng was an interesting person. Shi Feng conducted himself properly, and he was not as hard to get along with as she had imagined.

"You? Gifting Snow a present? Do you think Snow would even want it?" Zhao Yueru could not help but turn her head around. Her fresh red lips curled into a seductive smile, and her eyes held a sneer within them. She was silently laughing at Shi Feng's overestimation of himself. What kind of item has Gentle Snow not seen before? Even luxury cars worth over ten million could not catch her attention, not to mention an item within a game.

Currently, Shi Feng took out a piece of paper from his bag. This drawing was one of the drops from the Boss. Shi Feng nonchalantly passed the item over to Gentle Snow.

When Zhao Yueru saw Shi Feng take out a piece of scrap paper and give it as a present to Gentle Snow, she could not help but coldly say, "Are you trying to make a fool of us?"

"No?" Shi Feng said in a serious tone.

"Snow gave you a piece of Bronze Equipment, yet what about you? You took out a piece of scrap paper to trick her. Do you think a piece of scrap paper could compare to a piece of Bronze Equipment? If you're not playing us for fools, then what are you trying to do?" hearing Shi Feng's answer, Zhao Yueru was further enraged.Behind Shi Feng, Blackie and the others were each covered in a cold sweat.

Even if you did not wish to chat with the Goddess, you still should not make a fool of her! Wasn't this just courting death?!

They clearly obtained a good amount of equipment inside the Dungeon, and just simply giving one of those pieces would easily solve the problem. If Shi Feng's actions angered the Goddess, even if the Goddess herself did not take action, the players surrounding them would surely kill them off for her.

Seeing a mishap about to occur, Blackie thought of giving away the Bronze Staff he held. However, Gentle Snow gladly received the scrap paper Shi Feng gave her.Suddenly, Blackie and everyone else's mouths formed a '0h' shape.

The Goddess accepted it? What kind of situation was this?

"Thank you for your present; I like it very much. Now, can we go somewhere with fewer people to have our chat?" Gentle Snow smiled in appreciation.

Shi Feng also smiled and nodded in agreement. Looking at Gentle Snow's faint smile was like watching a dazzling sun that warmed a person's heart. It would be hard to forget such a smile, even after a lifetime.

"Snow, you're going to forgive his rude actions just like that?" Zhao Yueru asked in a puzzled tone.

"It's alright, Yueru. I like this item very much," Gentle Snow turned around after commenting, letting Shi Feng lead the way.

Zhao Yueru was stunned. She just could not understand what kind of drug Shi Feng had given Gentle Snow. Was a piece of scrap paper enough?Just what was this piece of scrap paper?

"Snow, just what did that fellow give you?" Zhao Yueru whispered. Just by seeing the fire poker on Shi Feng's waist, she could tell Shi Feng would not be able to give anything valuable. However, Gentle Snow still happily received it. Such a result puzzled Zhao Yueru significantly.

"A Potion Recipe for the Basic Strength Potion. When consumed, it will increase a player's Strength by 6 points for half an hour," Gentle Snow calmly replied."What?" Zhao Yueru leaped up in shock. "How could he have such a precious recipe?"

Potionmaking was very hard to learn. The recipes needed were famed for being rare drops, even the current Ouroboros only had a few normal recipes, not to mention rare recipes. A recipe that was capable of increasing the Strength of a player by 6 points was unheard of until now.

If the current Level 2 players could have an extra 6 points in Strength, that would equate to an additional 12 Attack Power. Such a potion would have a significant effect when they dove into a Dungeon. Regarding Guilds who frequently conquered Dungeons, the value of this recipe far surpassed that of tens of pieces of Bronze Equipment. As long as the Basic Strength Potion were for sale, the supply would never be able to meet the demand. Yet, Shi Feng gifted such a recipe away.

Did Shi Feng not know the value of this recipe? However, Zhao Yueru shook her head, denying this assumption. Before, she had seen the confident expression on Shi Feng's face. He knew the immense value it had towards their guild.

Currently, Zhao Yueru turned her head once more towards Shi Feng. A tinge of red appeared on her cheeks when she thought back to what she said before. She felt humiliated. She actually called a rare recipe a scrap paper. When she thought of Shi Feng's smile, he was definitely laughing at her lack of knowledge. He was such a hateful bastard!"Now you finally know. I've already said he wasn't simple," Gentle Snow smiled at Zhao Yueru.Even after Gentle Snow and Shi Feng left the scene, the surrounding players had yet to recover themselves.

What kind of situation was this?

A noob actually received the attention of the Goddess. Was this person really a noob?

"Boss Waving Slowly, that noob left with the Goddess." Wordless Summer Night was very upset. After watching the Goddess being very courteous with Shi Feng, even an idiot could tell Shi Feng was not that simple.

"Don't mind it. I've heard from others that the noob entered the Hell Mode of the Deathly Forest. The Snow Goddess must've intentionally invited him to learn about the difficulty of Hell Mode," Waving Slowly did not believe that he would misjudge a person. Shi Feng was definitely a noob. He must have just been incredibly fortunate. Before, he managed to gain the favor of an expert. Now, he also somehow managed to obtain the favor of the Goddess.In a rock pit over 200 yards south of the Deathly Forest, Gentle Snow and Shi Feng sat facing each other. Surrounding them was a beautiful scenery and gurgling streams. As for the others, they stood to the sides. None of them tried to eavesdrop on the conversation between Shi Feng and Gentle Snow. They comfortably sat down and started chatting amongst themselves.

"I wonder what business Miss Snow has for me?"

"The Deathly Forest." Gentle Snow openly said, "I want the strategy for the Deathly Forest. State your price."

"Hehe, I'm afraid Miss Snow is overthinking things. How could I have the strategy to the Deathly Forest? I've only entered the Dungeon once," Shi Feng would not admit to possessing the strategy. It would bring about the suspicion of others. After all, God's Domain was a game constructed by the Main God System. Even Beta Testers would not know a detailed strategy for the Dungeon. It was still possible to trick amateurs such as Blackie, but it was impossible to trick Gentle Snow. Troubles would arise if Shi Feng were to generously share his strategy.

Gentle Snow smiled sweetly; her eyes swept once across Shi Feng's party members before calmly saying, "If I'm not mistaken, the equipment your party members are wearing all came from the Hell Mode of the Deathly Forest. Although your party has one or two players with proper techniques, everyone knows you had invited three Level 1 noobs as temporary members. Such a party was able to enter Hell Mode, and even came out with quite a lot of equipment. Do you think I would believe you if you said you did not have any information?""Let's not twist our words around. I know you're a Beta Tester, and not just any Beta Tester. You must have done detailed research on the Deathly Forest. Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to clear the Dungeon at all. This Basic Strength Potion Recipe is the best evidence as to why I would say you've cleared it. You can rest assured however that I will not reveal your secret." Gentle Snow fixated her gaze on Shi Feng as if she saw through Shi Feng's entire being.

"Alright, what you say is correct." Shi Feng shrugged his shoulders, silently letting loose a breath. He never thought Gentle Snow would fill up the questionable gaps. It would not be any better for Shi Feng if Gentle Snow thought in such a way.

"State your price then," Gentle Snow was all smiles with Shi Feng. It was as though she was saying, "Did you think I could not control a person like you? This lady knows everything."

Chapter 35 - changing from arrogance to humility 3

Seeing Gentle Snow smile with confidence, Shi Feng was already snickering in silence.

Sheep's wool comes from a sheep. If you wished to earn money, it was natural to obtain it from a wealthy person. A first-rate Guild like Ouroboros was unquestionably an appropriate target.According to Shi Feng's knowledge the Guild, Ouroboros, had already conquered over ten virtual reality games. However, the appearance of God's Domain had shaken the virtual gaming world. It was dubbed as mankind's second world. It caused the collapse of many other virtual reality games. Afterward, countless companies started madly investing in God's Domain, nurturing their Guild, growing their influence, and building their place in the virtual financial world. Naturally, Ouroboros also invested in God's Domain. They, too, wanted to share a bite of the countless assets.

Also, Ouroboros was not just wealthy; it also had a great background. The number of experts working under Ouroboros exceeded over a thousand. These thousand men were famed as the God-Slaying Army in God's Domain. The existence of these thousand experts allowed Ouroboros to establish a large virtual Empire. They unified over eighty Cities in God's Domain that each had a population of over a million players. Ouroboros was a true tyrant in God's Domain.

During Ouroboros' peak, it was the equivalent to the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. As for Shadow, it had only established ten Cities that did not have populations exceeding a million players. In such a way, Ouroboros had become a peerless tyrant in the real world. Their position was truly unimaginable.It should be known that Star-Moon Kingdom was a relatively large kingdom, even amongst the hundreds present in God's Domain. It was at the upper middle-ranks. One could clearly see Ouroboros' prowess when compared to it.

How could Shi Feng not wish to work with such a powerful Guild? It was just the risk of working with Gentle Snow was too high. Because of her particular identity, the information she could get a hold of was just too great. Shi Feng could not help but be cautious of her. It was why he intentionally revealed some hints, especially with the recipe for the Basic Strength Potion. He wanted to see Gentle Snow's reaction. If she behaved in a bad way, Shi Feng would naturally act ignorant and push all responsibility away.

However, the present situation was undoubtedly the one Shi Feng looked forward to the most.

"Since you've already explained... My asking price isn't high. Twenty Silver Coins." Shi Feng calmly stated.

To a small Guild of current times, 20 Silver Coins would already be their entire fortune. Even a hundred-man money-farming group would need two to three days to collect such an amount.

Zhao Yueru sucked in a cold breath, nearly jumping up when she heard Shi Feng casually ask for 20 Silver Coins. She stared at Shi Feng, furiously saying, "Why don't you just rob someone? That would be a faster way."

"I would do it if I could get that much money," Shi Feng said with a smile. "You should know there is a lot of skill books, weapons, and equipment for players inside the Deathly Forest. They can quickly increase the strength of players. If you could conquer the Deathly Forest a step earlier, the benefits it would bring towards future developments go without saying."

"You...... Can't you make it a little cheaper? Twenty Silvers? Even we, Ouroboros, can't simply take out that much money," Zhao Yueru thoroughly disliked Shi Feng now. However, when she thought about the importance of the Deathly Forest, she still used a softer tone to speak to Shi Feng.

"Sorry, but no negotiations. If you don't agree to it, then I can only consider working with some other Guild," Shi Feng remained firm with his decision. He had been very sincere in dealing with Gentle Snow. If it was still not possible, he could only consider the Assassin's Alliance. The Assassin's Alliance was wealthy and imposing. Before, they spent over 20 Silvers to buy Shi Feng's Level 5 Bronze Shield.

"I understand. Twenty Silvers then. However, we need some time to collect the money. After all, our Ouroboros' area of influence isn't in White River City, but at the capital, Star-Moon City. There are only a few Ouroboros members close to White River City. Give me a day's time, take these 7 Silvers as a deposit. I will compensate you with 15 Silvers a day later." Gentle Snow had never imagined Shi Feng's appetite would be so great. Twenty Silvers was still a lot to her. However, the importance of clearing the Deathly Forest was too great. They had to grasp it as soon as possible. At the same time, Gentle Snow knew that Silver Coins were precious during the early periods of the game. Hence, she had given a little more to Shi Feng as interest.

"Alright. Here is the map of the Deathly Forest, and also the things you need to pay attention to when fighting against the Boss."

Shi Feng also knew what Gentle Snow had said was true. Wanting to gather 20 Silver Coins would not be easy. Ouroboros did not have as great of influence in White River City as the Assassin's Alliance did. Shi Feng sent mail to Gentle Snow containing detailed introductions to the Deathly Forest. With Gentle Snow's abilities, they should be able to clear Normal Mode easily.

Gentle Snow looked at the strategy she received for the Deathly Forest; her heart slightly shook only after a slight glance.

She never imagined the Deathly Forest would be so horrifying. Just the number of paths available already numbered thirty-six. Thirty-three of them were dead ends. There was even a Night Ranger who moved based on opportunity. There was also a detailed description of the Boss and when it would cast its skills. She definitely got more than 20 Silver's worth of information. If she sent others to explore the paths bit by bit, the cost would exceed 20 Silvers.

Suddenly, another change occurred to Gentle Snow's perception of Shi Feng. She felt Shi Feng was not as simple as he seemed to be. He was certainly an expert. Only an expert could have such a profound understanding of the Dungeon. However, Gentle Snow had no recollection of an expert Swordsman like Shi Feng.

"In three days Ouroboros is planning to enter the first Level 5, twenty-man Dungeon, the Dark Moon Graveyard. I wonder if you will be interested in joining?" Gentle Snow' beautiful eyes looked towards Shi Feng as she invited him to the Team Dungeon. She already acknowledged Shi Feng's strength. If Shi Feng was with them, entering the Team Dungeon, they might have an easier time in it.

From a side, Blackie looked at Shi Feng with dumbstruck eyes. His admiration for Shi Feng had already reached the level of worship. He never imagined Shi Feng would be so awesome as to conquer the Snow Goddess in a few moves. The Goddess even wished to invite him to raid a Dungeon. How great of an honor was this? There were countless men who dreamt of raiding a Dungeon with the Snow Goddess.

However, Zhao Yueru became irritated after hearing Gentle Snow invite him. Shi Feng was but a Beta Tester. At most, he had experienced God's Domain a few more days than they did and had a deeper understanding of the Deathly Forest. However, the twenty-man Team Dungeon had only opened after the game's official release. It did not exist during the Beta Test, so there was no way for Shi Feng to know anything about it. Also, Shi Feng wasn't some powerful expert; what point would there be in inviting him? He would just be wasting a slot in the Dungeon.

Shi Feng entered a thought. There were a lot of good items that dropped from a twenty-man Dungeon. It had been particularly true for the Dark Moon Graveyard which dropped a lot of worthwhile equipment for Swordsman. The Attributes of the equipment from that Dungeon were also much better than the ones obtained from Wild Bosses. However, Shi Feng was not able to organize a twenty-man party, so it wouldn't be a disadvantage to join Gentle Snow for a round.

"Alright, but leave a few spots for me. Also, all Swordsman equipment and Forging Designs must belong to me," Shi Feng answered with a nod.

"Can't you be a little more humble?" Zhao Yueru looked at Shi Feng, pouting. She felt Shi Feng was going too overboard. If Gentle Snow had asked anyone else, they would have readily agreed, even going as far as to forgo getting any equipment. Shi Feng, however, even wanted priority over equipment. He was not courteous with them at all.

Gentle Snow did not imagine Shi Feng was truly different from the other people. He did not play around with his words. However, it was interesting that he would say whatever he wanted. Following which, Gentle Snow looked towards the party members behind Shi Feng. Although they were noobs, their equipment was all of good quality. They could barely manage in the twenty-man Dungeon. Thus, Gentle Snow said, "Fine. Let's add each other as friends then. We'll be in touch when the time comes.""Alright. You can just contact me a few hours before raiding the Dungeon. I'll arrive on time." Shi Feng accepted Gentle Snow's friend request.Subsequently, Shi Feng and his party members left the small rock pit, heading towards Dark Moon Valley.

When the group passed through the Deathly Forest's Dungeon, Stabbing Heart of the Assassin's Alliance abruptly called out to Shi Feng."Brother Ye Feng, I nearly failed to recognize you. I never imagined you actually knew a big shot like the Snow Goddess. You must not forget a brother like me in the future!" Stabbing Heart jokingly said as he walked towards Shi Feng.

"Nonsense. I just happen to meet with Miss Snow by chance," Shi Feng replied with a smile.

"Brother Ye Feng, you are too humble. Based on your strength, you are absolutely worthy of becoming friends with the Snow Goddess. After all, both of you are experts of the same level," Stabbing Heart thought Shi Feng was very humble. It was no wonder he was such a great expert. The way he conducted himself was different than ordinary people. Stabbing Heart wanted to befriend Shi Feng even more now. "Our Assassin's Alliance is preparing to enter the Dungeon. I wonder if Brother Ye Feng would be interested in joining us? Of course, you can pick any of the equipment that you want."

"You are too courteous, Brother Stabbing Heart. However, I still have some things to attend to. I will definitely join if there is another chance in the future," Shi Feng politely rejected the offer.

Stabbing Heart spoke in a loud voice. Surrounding players clearly heard his words.

At first, everyone thought of Shi Feng as just a noob. His being called upon by the Snow Goddess was just due to luck. Even now, Stabbing Heart of the Assassin's Alliance wished to befriend Shi Feng. Just what sort of situation was this?

The Assassin's Alliance was a large Guild that was famous throughout White River City. As the Sub-Leader of the Guild's Elite group, Stabbing Heart would not need to interact with normal players at all. However, he tried to befriend Shi Feng. Shi Feng had actually rejected him. Shi Feng was just too domineering.

If someone were to call Shi Feng a noob, nobody would believe them. There was something strange about the situation.

Everyone guessed that Shi Feng must be a hidden expert that normal players did not know of. Otherwise, why would big shots try to meet Shi Feng one after the other?

"Boss Waving, that Stabbing Heart actually tried to befriend that noob. I'm not dreaming, right?" Wordless Summer Night was shocked. Was this Shi Feng really the noob they met before?

Waving Slowly But Surely was currently upset in his heart. Initially, his heart still held hope that Shi Feng was just a noob. Now, however, that hope was utterly destroyed by Stabbing Heart. Shi Feng was not a noob. He was definitely an expert, just like Lonely Snow had said. Shi Feng might even be greater than Lonely Snow had described him to be. If Lonely Snow followed Shi Feng, then his future would certainly be filled with boundless prospects. On the other hand, they had chased Shi Feng away...... They had missed a great chance for them to befriend an expert.

"Boss, why don't we go over and apologize? An expert is a magnanimous person. Who knows, he might even forgive us. At that time, we, too, could gain the favor of an expert," Battle To The End suggested.

Wordless Summer Night nodded his head in complete agreement.

Just as Shi Feng's party was about to leave the Deathly Forest, Waving Slowly But Surely and the others came running over.

"Big Brother Expert, we've had some misunderstandings before, so we're here to apologize to you. We hope you can forgive our ignorance. Here's a Silver Coin to show our sincerity. We hope Big Brother Expert can take us under your wing," Waving Slowly was all smiles as he apologized. The arrogance he had before was completely gone now.

Wordless Summer Night and Battle To The End were also sincerely apologizing without stop. They wished to grind monsters with Shi Feng.

"If you guys don't have anything else to say, then please leave. I still have matters to attend to, so I don't have any time to waste with you," Shi Feng spun around to leave after replying. He did not mind one little bit in regards to Waving Slowly and the others' previous behavior. However, wanting him to carry[1] them? Not a chance.

As for Lonely Snow, he only shook his head in regards to Waving Slowly and the others' actions. If they had known that their actions would lead to such results today, maybe they wouldn't have acted so in the beginning.

Watching Lonely Snow leave with Shi Feng, Wordless Summer curled his lips into a frown, saying in a sour tone, "Bah! What's there to be amazed about?! In the future, I, too, will become an expert!"

However, only Waving Slowly knew Lonely Snow would become successful in the future. He was already in a different world than them.

* * *

TL Notes:

[1] carry: a gaming term used to refer to a player who largely contributed to the team's victory.

Chapter 36 - hazard gnome

After leaving the Deathly Forest, Shi Feng's party rushed towards Dark Moon Valley without rest.

At the current stage of the game, many players had already risen to Level 2. Aside from raiding the Dungeon at the Deathly Forest, they would stay in Brook Hills to kill Level 2 Cheetah Cubs. Only a few experts would go to the Level 4 area, Dark Moon Valley, to level up. However, along with the increase in player levels, it wouldn't be long before Dark Moon Valley would become occupied.

After spending over half an hour returning to Dark Moon Valley, the scene they met with was the same as what Shi Feng expected.

A few Elite parties who were uninterested in the Dungeon were currently killing Level 4 Kobolds that were wandering around the outer parts of the valley. These Elite parties were quite skilled. They lured two or three monsters each time, with the Shield warrior tanking in front and preventing the Kobolds from closing in on their mage and healer. The healer was continuously healing from behind, barely maintaining the Shield Warrior's HP.

Although it was taxing to grind in such a way, the gains from the fight were equally good. The three Kobolds had dropped 2 Coppers and some stone materials.

In God's Domain, only monsters Level 3 and above would drop skill books and Bronze Equipment. Although the chance was only ten thousand to one, it was still enough to cause players to go on wild goose chases. Currently, Bronze Equipment was very valuable; even more so were skill books. With these enticements here, there would be many experts who would come forth, even if there was some danger involved.

After taking a few glances, Shi Feng turned and left towards the inner parts of the Dark Moon Valley.

The other party members who were new to the Dark Moon Valley were very nervous. It was especially true when they saw the Level 4 monsters scattered throughout the entire area. Their breaths became slightly hurried. However, Blackie was extremely calm when he saw these Level 4 Kobolds. After all, he had previously killed hundreds of them. He did not seem panicked, unlike the other party members. He simply followed Shi Feng, entering the deeper regions of the valley.

As for the Elite parties, they could not help but be shocked when they saw Shi Feng's party enter deep into the valley. They had never imagined the newcomer party would have such courage.

There were very few players currently present in Dark Moon Valley. It had yet to be completely developed, so there were a lot of Kobolds in the middle of the valley. The deeper one headed towards the center, the greater the number of Kobolds. There would even be groups that consisted of ten or more Kobolds. Grinding monsters there was just too dangerous. The lowest number of Kobolds they had to face was at least four or five. It was not worth risking an unwarranted death.

Unfortunately, these people did not know Shi Feng was more insane than they previously thought.

Shi Feng did not just enter the deeper regions of the valley. Instead, he went towards the core of the Dark Moon Valley. There was a good location to grind monsters there. Not only was there a large number of monsters, but their respawn rate was quick as well. Most importantly, the drop rate there for ore was high.

Regarding understanding, Shi Feng was like the local god of the area when it came to the Dark Moon Valley. Be it the location of the monsters, the number of monsters available, or their respawn time, Shi Feng had spent countless hours researching in his previous life. His goal at that time was to increase the grinding speed of his party, all to improve his position within Shadow.

Life was truly fascinating. Shi Feng's sacrifice towards Shadow in his previous life had currently turned around to help himself instead. It could increase his own party's level more quickly, while at the same time guaranteeing him a steady supply of ore.

Moving along the path of broken rocks, groups of four or five Level 4 Kobolds would occasionally appear. However, it was just a small matter with the equipment of Shi Feng's party.

Looking at the party's Guardian Knight, Cola, be it with HP or Defense, he could easily tank four Kobolds at the same time. The healer, Drowsy Sloth, could maintain Cola's HP above 80% without wasting much effort. If Cola had let a monster past, then Lonely Snow would go up and push it back. As for the others, they would fervently deal damage. A simple sword strike from Shi Feng could already deal over a hundred damage, whereas Blackie's Dark Arrows could each deal 88 damage. The fight could not get any easier than this.

Within moments, the five Kobolds were all dealt with. Compared to the Elite party outside, Shi Feng's party was stronger by several folds.

Shi Feng simply picked up the stone materials and ore that dropped, then continuing deeper into the Dark Moon Valley.

After spending over an hour moving forward, Shi Feng's party had finally arrived in front of a mountain. The massive mountain was hundreds of meters in height. Kobolds no longer filled the area surrounding the mountain; Wandering Gnomes had replaced them. These Wandering Gnomes each held a small shovel in their hands, using it to dig into the rock wall of the mountain. There were also quite a few Gnome Overseers that inspected the surrounding areas with a whip in hand.

"Brother Feng, the monsters here are just too numerous. Are we really going to grind here?"

Blackie's heart shook slightly when he took a look around. He discovered hundreds of Wandering Gnomes around the vast mountain. There was even a few Level 5 Gnome Overseers. Compared to the groups of over ten Kobolds outside, this place was a literal battlefield.

Cola also gulped down a mouthful of saliva, worriedly saying, "Party leader, I'm not trying to boast, but tanking six or seven of them is my limit. I really can't manage this many monsters."

It wasn't just Blackie or Cola. The others, as well, were apprehensive. Wandering Gnomes occupied the entire mountain, and these Gnomes were very close to each other. As long as they made a mistake while luring, then they would have to face-off against hundreds of Level 4 monsters. Such a large number of monsters was much scarier than the Lord-rank Felt.

"I know you guys can't fend all of them off. However, who ever said about letting any of you tank hundreds of Gnomes?" Shi Feng rolled his eyes at his party members. He was extremely clear regarding the party's standards. Facing off against ten Gnomes at the same time was nearly their limit, so how could they deal with hundreds at the same time?

Even a Level 10 player would be finished when met with hundreds if Level 4 monsters.

However, wasn't there a good saying that stated: "if you can't outfight them, outrun them"?

Shi Feng's Agility had reached 30 points. Including the Bronze Shoes he had, his Movement Speed had exceeded the Wandering Gnomes by at least 4 points. He could easily kite the Gnomes and let Blackie use the AOE skill, Hell Flame. The efficiency of grinding in such a way was several times greater than that of killing individually.

Following which, Shi Feng told everyone about his plan. He needed Blackie to get the timing right, maximizing the effect of Hell Flame. As for the others, they were responsible for taking out the Gnomes with low HP.

When Shi Feng had chosen his position, he grabbed a handful of stones and rushed towards the nearby Gnome Overseer.

Just as Shi Feng approached the 20-yard distance, the Overseer had started yelling loudly. Its screams attracted the attention of many of the surrounding Wandering Gnomes. Shi Feng waited first for a moment, avoiding the whip of the Gnome Overseer and allowing the Wandering Gnomes to continuously gather.

When about 30 Gnomes had gathered, Shi Feng turned around and ran in the opposite direction. Afterward, he threw a small stone that struck another Gnome Overseer. The Overseer who was struck loudly bellowed, bringing along over twenty of its brethren and rushing at Shi Feng.

Within moments, Shi Feng had lured over sixty monsters. However, Shi Feng was not yet satisfied. He started circling the mountain as he lured monsters, and within five minutes, there were hundreds of Wandering Gnomes and more than ten Gnome Overseers chasing behind him with all their might.

Unfortunately for them, Shi Feng's equipment was just too good. His speed was 30% greater when compared to the Gnomes. Including Shi Feng's extraordinary techniques and control over his body, he was able to toy with the Gnomes whichever way he wanted.

"Blackie, get ready to cast," Shi Feng reminded.

"Alright." Blackie was extremely excited. This was his first time using AOE magic, so he did not know what kind of effects it would have.

Subsequently, Blackie's fingers started gesturing in midair. Brilliant magical seals started appearing, forming into a dazzling magic circle that gave off a peerless aura.

As Blackie spat out the last syllable, the land shook. Jade green flames rushed to the sky, devouring the entire Gnome army. A field of damages over a hundred had appeared. Within five seconds, every Gnome chasing after Shi Feng received over two hundred damage, their remaining HP less than half.

However, the target of these Gnomes had also changed. They no longer went after Shi Feng, but Blackie instead.

Shi Feng abruptly stopped. He pulled out the Abyssal Blade and rushed forward.

Thundering Flash!

Not only did the Level 4 Thundering Flash have a low Cooldown, but its attack range also increased to 15 by 3 yards. It had nearly covered the entire Gnome army.

Three streaks of thunder flew past the Gnome army, creating three damages of over 120 points to every Gnome. The attack had completely devoured the remaining HP of the Gnomes. As for the low HP ones that remained, they were quickly held back by Cola. Lonely Snow then rushed forward and used a Whirlwind Slash, thoroughly ending the remaining Gnomes.

The hundreds of Gnomes had been wiped out, leaving behind a floor covered with items.

Meanwhile, everyone's experience madly rose. EXP of over ten points appeared one after the other, dazzling everyone's eyes.

Hua! Blackie had risen to Level 3.

"This is too awesome!" Blackie roared in exhilaration.

"This is only the beginning. They will still respawn in a moment." Shi Feng laughed, "Let's quickly pick up the drops."

Suddenly, everyone started busying themselves. Even with six people retrieving the drops, the loot of hundreds of Gnomes still required them to spend a lot of time doing so.

However, moments after they started collecting, a Gnome that piloted a gigantic robot suddenly appeared. The Gnome's face was crimson red. It immediately rushed towards Shi Feng's party with unparalleled rage.

"Not good! It's the Hazard Gnome! Everyone spread out!" Shi Feng shouted the moment he laid eyes on the gigantic robot.

Chapter 37 - rocket boots

The moment everyone saw the giant robot piloted by a midget Gnome, they instinctively knew he was something very dangerous. After hearing Shi Feng's reminder, they ignored the loot on the ground and immediately ran towards the forest without a shred of hesitation.

Naturally, Shi Feng would not stay behind either.

The Hazard Gnome was a very dangerous monster. It was especially true when he first made his appearance. He was even stronger than Werewolf Felt with its Death Berserk activated.

[Hazard Gnome] (Special Elite)

Level 5

HP 1600/1600

There was a very small chance for the Hazard Gnome to appear after clearing out the Wandering Gnomes and Gnome Overseers. However, his appearance also signified the start of a player's nightmare.

There was a saying in God's Domain that warns people not to look down on Gnomes just because they were midgets. If they were enraged, they could easily extinguish your life at any given moment.

In his previous life, Shi Feng met the Hazard Gnome once before. At that time, he was with an Elite party who was grinding for ore. After killing the Gnomes, the Hazard Gnome appeared. They did not imagine they would meet a Special Elite, so they had all excitedly rushed at him. However, the situation ended up in a tragedy for the twenty-man party.

The Hazard Gnome's 1600 HP must not be taken lightly. His Defense was an abnormality, capable of reducing 80% of the damage he received. A Level 4 Berserker using an ax could only take 2 HP from the Gnome. On the other hand, the Hazard Gnome's attacks were even more powerful. Everyone would get a free trip back to the city after he fired a burst of bullets.

Although Shi Feng's party had tried their best to run away, the Hazard Gnome's hatred for their evil deeds was clearly implacable. The rockets on the robot's back suddenly ignited. The steel machine that was over three meters tall rushed at high speed towards Shi Feng's party.

While being chased, Blackie attacked with his Dark Arrow as he ran.

Although the arrow had struck the Hazard Gnome, it had only caused a meager -4 damage.

Blackie's eyes widened when he saw the damage. He said in a dumbstruck manner, "Disgusting! If the robot wasn't protecting this Gnome, I could one-shot him anytime!"

"Don't mind it for now and focus on running. Pay attention to dodging the bullets. As long as we are 1200 yards away from the mountain, the Hazard Gnome will return." Shi Feng never thought, just after a lecture from him, Blackie's skill would improve to the degree of being able to hit his target while moving. However, fighting head-on with the Hazard Gnome would be very foolish.

Blackie understood Shi Feng's intentions. He turned around and started chanting Evil Whip, binding the pursuing Hazard Gnome with five thorns and greatly reducing the Gnome's speed. With this, everyone managed to gain quite a distance from the Gnome.

When the Hazard Gnome broke free from the five thorns, high damages of -23, -24, -23, -23, -24 suddenly appeared on his head. His HP had turned to 1479 within an instant.

The damage caused by the Evil Whip was just ridiculous.

Blackie was shocked. Before, his Level 3 Dark Arrow had only dealt -4 damage. On the other hand, the Evil Whip had caused over a hundred damage total. The difference between them was just too great. Did the Hazard Gnome have that kind of fetish?

Shi Feng saw hope when the Hazard Gnome's HP suddenly fell by a portion. The Hazard Gnome did not have any immunity towards plant-based attacks. Shi Feng immediately commanded, "Everybody stop running. Cola, get the Hazard Gnome's Hatred and let his back face toward the group. The others attack and mind your positions. As long as the Hazard Gnome lifts up his gun, immediately dodge the muzzle. Blackie, attack immediately after Evil Whip's CD finishes. We have a chance to get rid of him."

Whether they would live or die before they ran out of the 1200-yard mark was an uncertainty. So, why not fight it out? Who knows, they might even be able to get rid of this Hazard Gnome.

In Shi Feng's previous life, there were no players who killed the Hazard Gnome before. If they were to kill him now, something good might drop.

Currently, the Hazard Gnome's Hatred was targeted towards Blackie. However, Lonely Snow was a step ahead of the Gnome, using Charge on him. He used a Whirlwind Slash on the Gnome, causing 3 points of damage.

Although the damage was low, the momentary Fainted state it caused gave Cola a chance to use Divine Strike, followed by Punishment. The two attacks caused -3, -2 damage and the additional Hatred they attracted had the Hazard Gnome locked onto Cola.

The Hazard Gnome extended the electric saw on the robot's right arm, violently slashing at Cola. Cola blocked the attack with his shield; his body retreated three steps backward and a damage of -147 appearing above his head. Cola was shocked. When the next attack from the electric saw came, he hurriedly dodged and rolled to the side, avoiding the attack completely. Drowsy Sloth immediately healed Cola twice, returning close to a hundred HP to Cola.

"Such fierce damage," Lonely Snow was shocked as well. He no longer dared to stay, turning around and running more than ten yards away from the Gnome. He would definitely die, even if he were only struck once by the electric saw.

On the other hand, Shi Feng was not afraid of him. He immediately arrived at the Hazard Gnome's back, using out a series of skills: Thundering Flash, Double Chop, and Chop. The occasional critical hit would also cause -16 damage. Compared to the others, Shi Feng's damage was already very high.

However, the Hazard Gnome only gave a look of contempt towards Shi Feng's attacks. He continued using his electric saw to attack Cola.

A series of fierce attacks had forced Cola to constantly retreat backward; his HP was continuously falling as well. Behind, Drowsy Sloth's healing could not keep up with the damage Cola was receiving. He could only watch as Cola inched closer to death.

At the most crucial moment, Shi Feng used Abyssal Bind. Nine pitch-black chains bound the Hazard Gnome, giving Cola a breather.

Within the three seconds[1], the Hazard Gnome had only lost 7% of his HP after being barraged by everyone's attacks. The total damage the party dealt was not even the equivalent of a single Evil Whip from Blackie.

When the three seconds had ended, the Hazard Gnome regained his freedom. The green-skinned Gnome revealed a mocking smile on his face, his tiny hands moving around and manipulating buttons. The robot's arm holding the electric saw made a roundabout slash, creating a beautiful arc. Shi Feng's entire person was sent flying. He smashed into a tree and lost 286 HP.

Cola rushed up in a hurry, his HP having recovered by more than half. He used Divine Strike and Punishment once again, trying to pull back the Hazard Gnome's Hatred.

However, the Hazard Gnome had actually ignored Cola. Instead, he lifted the gun in his left hand, aimed it and fired a burst of bullets at Shi Feng.

A barrage of densely packed bullets flew towards Shi Feng. However, Shi Feng had yet to land after being sent flying, so it was impossible to dodge the bullets.

Phantom Kill!

Shi Feng's doppelganger instantly appeared before him. The doppelganger waved his blade, continuously blocking the bullets. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had already activated Gravity Liberation. He jumped up to a treetop, avoiding the attack range of the Hazard Gnome. However, his doppelganger had already been killed.After finishing a cartridge of bullets, the Hazard Gnome started changing magazines. Afterward, he continued to rush at Shi Feng. Everyone else could only continue attacking, shaving away the Hazard Gnome's HP bit by bit.

However, Shi Feng was not easy to hit after he activated Gravity Liberation. Shi Feng also used the trees for protection. He was barely dodging the flying bullets as he continued kiting the Gnome.

As for Blackie, he would immediately use Evil Whip as soon as it was ready.

The Hazard Gnome's HP continuously fell, 64%... 50%... 30%... 20%... 10%.

When only 10% of the Hazard Gnome's HP remained, the Gnome suddenly jumped out of the metallic machine. He wore a pair of Rocket Boots and started to escape."It can't be... Monsters can actually escape?" Blackie watched as the Hazard Gnome ran, with extreme speed, to a location without people.

The others were also shocked. They never imagined the Gnome would have such a high intelligence. He ran the moment he knew he could not win the fight.

"We can't let him escape! We will have fought for nothing otherwise!" Cola immediately chased after the Gnome. He had been bullied by the Hazard Gnome just a moment ago, so his heart was currently filled with anger. How could he let the Hazard Gnome escape after having taken advantage of them?

"You want to escape? Not a chance!" Shi Feng chased after him with Wind Blade.

However, the Hazard Gnome was unperturbed. He sent Shi Feng a mocking expression before pressing a button on his waist. The Rocket Boots spewed out large amounts of flames, ready to fly away.

* * *

TL Notes:

[1] Within three seconds: The effective duration of Abyssal Bind.

Chapter 38 - twin snake ring

The Hazard Gnome's shameless Rocket Boots shocked everyone.

They had never seen a monster that was so good at escaping before. Its human-like expressions and actions were completely different from NPCs. The Hazard Gnome was like a person pretending to be an NPC.

Two streaks of crimson flame flared, slowly lifting the Hazard Gnome into the air.

Unwillingness filled everyone's hearts. However, they could no longer stop it, but only watch the Hazard Gnome flee with their own eyes. The mages in the party were over 40 yards away from the Hazard Gnome. Lonely Snow as well was over 30 yards apart from it. It was not within the range of Charge. Also, the Faint effect of Charge would become ineffective because the target was floating in midair. Only the Movement Speed increase would take effect.

Currently, only Shi Feng was close to the Hazard Gnome. He was only 15 yards away from it. However, Shi Feng did not have any range attacks. Even if he chased after it, the Hazard Gnome would raise over 20 yards from the ground by the time he arrived. In the end, Shi Feng would only watch the Hazard Gnome escape.

Nine Dragons Slash!

Shi Feng knew he could not catch up. He waved the Abyssal Blade, shrouded in black mist, in his hand. Within an instant, nine streaks of black mist shot towards the Hazard Gnome. Shi Feng was not willing to allow such a smart Hazard Gnome leave.

Initially, Shi Feng only thought of the Hazard Gnome as an average Special Elite. He had never imagined the Gnome to be so much like a player.

Throughout his ten years of playing God's Domain, Shi Feng rarely saw such intelligent Gnomes. The Main God System wouldn't simply bestow a small monster with high intelligence. Such bestowals usually had a deeper meaning behind them. For example, those human Heroes or legendary beings were all great characters. Their existences caused people to shudder.

Although the intelligence of this Hazard Gnome did not reach the level of those Heroes or legendary beings, he was still much smarter than a Boss monster. There might even be unimaginable gains by killing it.

Currently, the Hazard Gnome's displayed information changed. He suddenly became Arcus Maddox.

[Arcus Maddox] (Lord-rank)

Level 5

HP 600/600

Shi Feng felt a sense of familiarity when he saw this name. It seems that he had heard of it before, yet he could not recall anything about it.

However, the Gnome only had 600 HP. Shi Feng was confident he could kill the Gnome with the Nine Dragons Slash.

Just when the nine sword shadows were about to pierce Arcus Maddox, the Gnome took out a few steel balls from his small bag. He threw the balls at the phantoms of the Abyssal Blade.

Brilliant sparks flared up the moment the two attacks came into contact.

Hong... Hong... Hong...

A series of explosions forced the phantoms of the Abyssal Blade back. Just when the phantoms were prepared to attack Arcus Maddox once more, he immediately flew over 30 yards away. Meanwhile, the nine phantoms of the Abyssal Blade could only attack targets within 30 yards of its reach

Shi Feng could only watch helplessly as Arcus Maddox escaped.

"Crap. How could there be such a monster? His escaping ability is just a Bug[1]!" Blackie stared at the fleeing Arcus Maddox as he cursed.

Cola was grinding his teeth in hatred as well, sending a few punches towards a nearby tree.

The other party members felt displeasure also.

Everyone fought long and hard against this Elite monster. However, just when they were about to reap the rewards of their efforts, their prize grew wings and flew away. Was there anything more depressing?

"Brother Feng, let's continue chasing it." Blackie discovered that the Gnome's Movement Speed was not fast. Also, there should be a limited amount of fuel powering that pair of boots. Who knows; the Gnome might land just after awhile.

"Forget it. Let's continue grinding Gnomes." Shi Feng shook his head. If they could chase the Gnome, Shi Feng would have long since chased after it. However, the Gnome's Rocket Boots were just too powerful. It was titled as one of God's Domain's godly escape tools. Currently, the boots had just been activated. Its speed would abruptly increase in a moment, and the Gnome would disappear in the blink of an eye. It would be an impossible task if they wished to find the Gnome.

As expected, the flames gushing out from the Rocket Boots greatly increased after a moment. Xiu! Arcus Maddox disappeared from the air, unable to be seen anymore.

"Best not let us meet again. You can dream of escaping the next time." Blackie said in an unfortunate tone as he looked towards the spot where Arcus Maddox had disappeared.

In his heart, Shi Feng felt that it was a pity to let the Gnome go. However, it would no longer be dangerous when they grinded on Wandering Gnomes from now on. After this experience, the Hazard Gnome most likely would not show himself ever again.

"Let's go, continue grinding on the Wandering Gnomes." Shi Feng turned around and said to his party.

"Brother Feng, you're still the best! How could I not think of it? If we killed all of this bastard's kinsmen, we'll see if he doesn't show up again." Blackie laughingly said.

Shi Feng was speechless. He turned around and left, no longer paying any attention to the fantasizing Blackie.

Suddenly, Shi Feng stopped his feet in shock.

"Damn, our luck really is too poor! I never thought that Arcus Maddox would actually appear here, and he was also a Level 5 Hazard Gnome!" Shi Feng tightly clenched his fists, his brows wrinkled. It was the first time he became so enraged.

When everyone looked at Shi Feng's wrathful expression, they could faintly feel the surroundings become chilly. They could not help but retreat a step; their foreheads covered in a cold sweat. Before, they felt Shi Feng was a calm and easygoing person. Never would they have imagined Shi Feng would become so terrifying after becoming angry.

The forest around them no longer seemed lively but more like a frozen hell, silent, cold, and dark.

"Brother Feng...... are you alright?" Blackie carefully asked. He was shocked. Shi Feng was completely different from when he was mad or arguing with others. It was the first time Blackie saw Shi Feng enraged to such a degree.

"Oh, it's nothing." Shi Feng reacted, replying with a smile. He stored back the dense killing intent into his heart. Such killing intent was slowly honed throughout the years Shi Feng had played God's Domain. Compared to the Tyrant Bear Cola of ten years in the future, there was nothing special about Shi Feng's killing intent. However, at present, it was considered unbearable for Blackie and the others.

Shi Feng finally recalled the name of Arcus Maddox.

Arcus Maddox was a famous Grandmaster Engineer within God's Domain. Three years after Arcus Maddox shocked the nation by creating the sky fortress, 'Twin Snake Ring,' he had gone on to establish the Gnome Empire. With it, the new update 'Emergence of the New World' also activated. At that time, countless Super-Guilds started expeditions towards the fortress, 'Twin Snake Ring.' However, all of them were annihilated, and Arcus Maddox was the cause of such a result.

On the other hand, Shi Feng was completely unaware of a great character had appeared right before his eyes. He also lost the chance to kill Arcus Maddox, so how could Shi Feng not be enraged?

"Party leader, there's a box here. Did it drop from Arcus Maddox during the explosions?" Gluttonous Mouse, who had been silent all this while, asked as he picked up a small metallic box from the grass.

Shi Feng received the box and took a look at it. He discovered the words Arcus Maddox carved onto the metallic box. Shortly after Shi Feng opened the box, he said suddenly with a laugh, "Great! Good job, Mouse! With this, we didn't fight for nothing after all."

When the group saw Shi Feng in a happy mood, they knew the item must be very precious, as common items were nothing in Shi Feng's eyes.

As to wanting the item for themselves, none of them ever had such thoughts. They had long since made Shi Feng their idol, and being able to aid their idol naturally made them happy.

"Let's do it this way. You guys stay here to grind and level up. I still have something that needs to be done. Notify me when you have all reached Level 4." Shi Feng kept the metallic box and hastily made the arrangements. Nobody could help him with the following matter. Only Shi Feng was able to proceed.

Everyone felt reluctant when they heard Shi Feng's command. However, hearing Shi Feng have plans for them after they reached Level 4, their anticipation grew as they abided Shi Feng's arrangements.

Subsequently, Shi Feng left the deeper regions of the Dark Moon Valley.

The party had Blackie's AOE skill. Killing seven or eight Gnomes at a time was no problem at all, and their leveling speed was at least two or three times faster than the other parties.

On the other hand, what Shi Feng needed to do was to utilize this metallic box, and to forward the first step of his plans in God's Domain.

* * *

TL Notes:

[1] Bug: A fault in the game that causes unexpected results when an action is carried out within the game.

Chapter 39 - philosopher's stone

After leaving the Dark Moon Valley, Shi Feng rushed towards Scarlet Lake. He had also activated Gravity Liberation to save more time.

The players on their way to the Dark Moon Valley saw Shi Feng speeding past them like a gale of win. His speed was shockingly fast, and his figure was just a blur.

"Who is that person? Which Assassin is he? His speed is so fast!"

"No, look at his waist. That's a sword hanging there, not a dagger. He should be a Swordsman."

"Crap. Are the current Swordsmen that OP? The widely spread rumor on the forums stated that a mysterious Swordsman killed the Mayor of Red Leaf Town. There was also a powerful Swordsman at the Deathly Forest that received an invitation from the Snow Goddess. I would have played as a Swordsman if I had known about this earlier!"

"Say, do you think they're the same person?"

"Definitely not. I saw the Swordsman that killed the Mayor. That male Swordsman was as big as a black bear. His arms alone were thicker than our thighs. He had forcefully killed that Level 15 Mayor."

The players passing by started a discussion as they watched Shi Feng depart. They were inwardly speechless towards the Swordsman Job. They should have played as Swordsmen if there was such a powerful Job. However, it was too late now.Shi Feng might have laughed it off if he had known their thoughts. There was no strongest Job in God's Domain, only the strongest player.

Shi Feng ran for over two hours through the vast plains. He activated Gravity Liberation over tens of times, escaping the pursuit of high-leveled monsters. He passed through the Level 6 map, Wolfman's Ruins, and the Level 8 map, Oro Fort, before arriving in the Level 10 area, Scarlet Lake.

Scarlet Lake was the playground of Level 10 Water Elementals and Little Fishmen. Watching from a high location, Shi Feng could see groups of Little Fishmen patrolling. The closer it was to the Scarlet Lake, the more there were of Little Fishmen. The central region of the Scarlet Lake was the nest of the Little Fishmen, whereas annoying Water Elementals filled the water of the lake.

Due to the densely packed and large number of monsters in the Scarlet Lake, the Little Fishmen's curse skill was extremely horrendous. It could absorb a player's Attributes and turned it into their own. The longer they fought, the stronger they would become. They were extremely hard to kill. Including the fact that there were no Quests here, there were rarely any players who would willingly come here to level up.

However, Shi Feng had to enter into the deeper regions of the Scarlet Lake.

The metal box dropped by Arcus Maddox was extremely precious. If Arcus Maddox were to know it fell into Shi Feng's hands, he would most likely bleed out in rage. There was a treasure map inside the box, and the treasure it hid was located at Scarlet Lake.

Shi Feng had played God's Domain for over ten years now. He had done extensive research regarding the history of God's Domain.

He truly did not think Arcus Maddox would have this treasure map. It was the record of a heaven-shaking secret.

Nine hundred years ago, Alchemy Master Molotov had created an item with all his effort. Wars were waged between the large countries in God's Domain for this item. There were over ten heroic figures that fought over it. However, this item became lost in the end, its whereabouts unknown. It had become an unsolved mystery in God's Domain.

Meanwhile, the treasure map in Shi Feng's hands, by chance, recorded the location of this item.This item was the Philosopher's Stone.

It was a sacred item for Alchemy. If Alchemists could obtain the Philosopher's Stone, then they would have the ability to transform stone into gold, amassing immense wealth. They would even be able to revive the dead, breaking the alchemy law of equivalent exchange.

Who would have thought such a sacred item would be placed in such an unremarkable location as Scarlet Lake.

However, the Scarlet Lake was still a dangerous place for Shi Feng. After all was said, there was still a gap of 8 Levels between Shi Feng and the monsters here. With the suppression due to levels, Shi Feng was not an opponent for the Level 10 monsters, not to mention the Attribute-stealing Little Fishmen.

However, Shi Feng could not help but take the risk. The earlier he obtained the Philosopher's Stone; the earlier his heart could be at ease. If he waited until he was Level 7 or 8, someone else might claim the item. He wouldn't even be able to feel regret when that time came.

Shi Feng took out the metal box from his bag, carefully taking out the treasure map within it. He started researching it in detail.

The marking on the treasure map was very clear. The treasure was located directly below the Little Fishmen's nest. However, how would Shi Feng be able to circle around all these Little Fishmen? The problem with the Water Elementals also needed to be solved. Although Water Elementals had low HP, they had a 60% immunity to physical attacks. They also had a Movement Speed reduction skill, so they were a headache for melee players.

After observing for half an hour, Shi Feng discovered that the Little Fishmen were not always on patrol. They would eventually take a break. Also, these Little Fishmen were only active by the lake's shores. They hardly ever entered the water, because once they entered it, their Movement Speed would sharply reduce by 60%. Shi Feng could use this short rest period to rush into the lake, and once he was in it, the Little Fishmen would not be able to chase after him.

As for the Water Elementals under the water, Shi Feng could use the doppelganger of Phantom Kill to lure them away. Then, he could swim to the cavern below the Little Fishmen's nest.

If Shi Feng did not operate through his plan properly, he would definitely die. If he died, his losses would not be minor. It was not the experience loss that was a problem, however. With his advantage as a reincarnated person, Shi Feng could quickly recuperate the experience he lost. Only, he would be sent back to the town after dying once, and the time he would waste by returning here was just too much.

"Ten more seconds." Shi Feng watched the patrolling Little Fishmen, his heart estimating the time for him to sprint out.

Time passed second after second. A group of patrolling Fishmen watched their surroundings. After discovering nothing out of the ordinary, they entered a small wooden hut by the lake to rest, emptying the land by the lake.

With all his might, Shi Feng dashed towards the shore.

When Shi Feng was about 30 yards away from the lake, another group of patrolling Fishmen discovered Shi Feng. They immediately sounded out an alarm, their hands wielding short swords as they rushed toward Shi Feng.

When faced with four Level 10 Little Fishman, as powerful as Shi Feng was, he was not their match. Shi Feng's only hope was to jump into the water.

However, the Little Fishmen were very quick, taking only a short moment to catch up to Shi Feng. They waved their short swords, slashing them at Shi Feng's back.

Shi Feng knew he could not outrun the Fishmen. He turned around and used Abyssal Bind on one of them, then continued by using Parry to block another one of his attackers. As a result, Shi Feng stopped the other Little Fishmen from moving forward.

Using the power behind the Fishman's attack, Shi Feng managed to pull away a distance of over three yards. He activated Gravity Liberation and then jumped onto the lake.

However, the other Little Fishmen were quick to catch up, jumping into the lake after Shi Feng as well.

Plop.

Four Little Fishmen fell into the water. Shi Feng however, was madly running above the lake's surface.

[Walking On Water] was a skill that could only be activated after Agility reached 80 points. However, Shi Feng had the Ring Of Gravity. As a result, his body had reached a state of near-weightlessness after activating Gravity Liberation. Including his Agility that was over 30 points, he, too, could move on the water's surface. His speed would not be reduced by the water.

In a few moments, Shi Feng had shaken off the unyielding Little Fishmen. He ran to a location not far from the Little Fishmen's nest, diving into the water.

Just after entering the water, Shi Feng discovered a cavern that was surrounded by a lot of Water Elementals. The Water Elementals were encircling around the cavern as if they were protecting something.

[Water Elemental] (Common monster)

Level 10

HP 750/750

Shi Feng used Phantom Kill. His doppelganger swam over, luring the Water Elementals.

Just as Shi Feng planned, a group of Water Elementals had discovered the doppelganger. One after another, they chased after the doppelganger. Meanwhile, the doppelganger swam upwards. Although the Water Elementals had high Movement Speed under water, it was an entirely different story when they were above ground. They were the opposite of the Little Fishmen, becoming extremely slow once they reached the shore.

With the Water Elementals lured away by his doppelganger, Shi Feng took the chance to quickly swim towards the cavern.

Before Shi Feng even reached the cavern, the system notified him of the death of his doppelganger. The doppelganger had only earned Shi Feng over 20 seconds.

After killing the doppelganger, the Water Elementals discovered an intruder near the cavern. They all hurriedly swam back to the cavern entrance.

After discovering Shi Feng, the speed of these Water Elementals increased by a fold as they sped towards Shi Feng.

Chapter 40 - sun temple

Above the scarlet colored lake, the speeding Water Elementals created waves of water that struck at the Little Fishmen's nest.Waves that were as tall as a person enveloped the entire nest, destroying many of the small wooden huts on it.The hundreds of Little Fishmen inside the nest entered a frenzy. They screamed and bellowed, each of them holding weapons as they jumped into the water and swam towards the cavern below the nest.

"Dual layered protection?" Shi Feng took a look behind him, shocked.

As if hundreds of Water Elementals were not enough, now there were also hundreds of Little Fishmen following behind. With this amount, even two or three Elite groups of players would not amount to anything.

Shi Feng had no choice but to increase his speed and rush into the cave. There was still a thread of hope for survival.

However, Shi Feng's speed underwater was very slow. It was incomparable to the Druids who had their Seal Transformation, where their Movement Speed was increased by 50% when moving underwater. Instead, Shi Feng's Movement Speed was reduced by 50%.

Soon, Shi Feng was just 50 yards away from the cavern's entrance. However, the enraged Water Elementals approached Shi Feng as if they were flying, their distance between Shi Feng shortening quickly.

42 yards... 28 yards... 20 yards... 10 yards...

Just when Shi Feng was only 5 yards away from the cavern entrance, the Water Elementals had caught up with Shi Feng. They waved their gigantic icy fists towards Shi Feng's head.

The attacks from Water Elementals carried a Freezing effect that reduced Movement Speed. As long as they hit Shi Feng, the Water Elementals would cling to him till death.

Shi Feng hurriedly spun around and used Parry, blocking the fist of the first Water Elemental. Using the Water Elemental's immense strength, Shi Feng's body retreated backward by quite a distance. However, the remaining Water Elementals also rushed at him.

"It seems I'll be going back to town." Shi Feng looked at the hundreds of Water Elementals in front of him, feeling powerless.

Just when Shi Feng was about to give up, he had floated into the cavern. Inside, he saw a human-shaped ghost roaming about. It was roughly thirty yards away from Shi Feng.

Shi Feng gave caution to the wind. If he had to die, then he would die trying. At the very least, he could obtain a little more information for future preparations. Hence, Shi Feng used Wind Blade, his speed increasing by a large leap. Like a gale, Shi Feng swept through the water and rushed to the shore of the cavern, escaping the clutches of the Water Elementals just in the nick of time. The moment the Water Elementals left the water, their speed was sharply reduced. They could not catch up to Shi Feng's mad dash at all.

After leaving the water, Shi Feng quickly rushed towards the human-shaped ghost. The moment the Abyssal Blade was about to slash across the ghost's neck, Shi Feng suddenly discovered the half-transparent ghost did not actively attack him.

Shi Feng abruptly turned the tip of his sword away, the blade sliding past the ghost's side. It did not attract the ghost's Hatred.

"Close one," Shi Feng felt cold sweat down his back when he looked at the ghost's information.

[Brave One, Floyd]. (High Lord)

Level 25

HP 360,000/360,000

If Shi Feng had attacked this Brave One and attracted his Hatred, even if he had a hundred lives, he would still end up dead.

Within God's Domain, Brave Ones were only second to Heroes regarding strength. Their position within a kingdom was even higher than that of a Marquis and was second only to a Duke. Even if such a great character had died and turned into a ghost, he was still a monster of the Great Lord rank. He was a tyrant amongst monsters.

Without a hundred-men group of Elite players, it was impossible to kill off this ghost.

Could he be the guardian of this place? Shi Feng looked at the Brave One, Floyd, silently guessing in his heart.

There were usually guards posted around places with treasure. As for the Little Fishmen and Water Elementals outside, they could be considered, at most, as guard dogs. They were unfit to guard an important treasure.

Shi Feng did not dare to stay any longer. After all, there was still a large group of monsters chasing after him. He hurriedly ran towards the inner regions of the cavern.

The cavern was very large. There was a flight of stairs that led straight into the depths of the cavern and following it down ought to lead Shi Feng to the Philosopher's Stone.

When Shi Feng was right before the stairs, a sea of Water Elementals and Little Fishmen had rushed at him. It was as if they had an undying grudge against him.

"You lower lifeforms dare to sully this divine place? Prepare to receive divine punishment!" Floyd's gaze suddenly erupted in rage, pulling out a dark golden greatsword from his back. The sword gave out a surge of evil that made it seem as if it were the master of the world.

When Floyd raised the greatsword, the surrounding air started becoming heavy.Following which, Floyd gave out a loud bellow as his arms swung the greatsword with all their might. A strong wind, followed by a sword flash swept through all the Water Elementals and Little Fishmen. Each and every one of the monsters turned into ash, and the cavern's entrance instantly transformed into a pile of rubble.

"Strong!" Shi Feng exclaimed in shock.He had sorely underestimated the strength of a Brave One. Floyd's single sword could easily wipe out a hundred-men group of Level 30 Elite players. A three hundred-men group might be needed to even have a fighting chance.

It was unexpected that the Water Elementals and Little Fishmen did not even have the right to become guard dogs. They were all annihilated in an instant.

Shi Feng wiped away the cold sweat on his forehead. Luckily, he was a human and not a lower lifeform. Otherwise, his outcome would be similar to those Water Elementals and Little Fishmen.

"This place is truly vicious. I guess I can only go downward now." Shi Feng looked at the collapsed entrance. Not even an earthworm could find a way through the debris.

The stairs that led down were spiral-shaped. The rocky walls surrounding it were also enchanted with a kind of light-based magic, brightening the entire stairwell. However, this stairwell was extremely long. Fortunately, there were no dangers here. After walking for an entire half an hour, Shi Feng finally arrived at the end of the stairwell, at the beginning of a wide and spacious hall.

The hall was about the size of an entire football field, and it looked similar to a shrine of sorts. Made out of gold and jade, the two sides of the hall were carved with an abundance of illustrations and texts. There was also an altar at the deepest part of the shrine; above the altar was a treasure chest made of pure gold. On each side of the treasure chest, there were two statues made of gold, both of them holding a greatsword in their hands.

System: Player has discovered the Sun Temple.

"Sun Temple?" It was the first time Shi Feng had heard this name. In his previous life, there was no information on the Sun Temple. It might have been because no player had activated it before, so there was no information about it on the official website. However, looking at the situation, it should be very dangerous.

However, Shi Feng couldn't care less about it as he walked towards the golden altar. His target was the Philosopher's Stone, and the golden chest before his eyes should be holding the item.The moment Shi Feng stepped onto the altar, he clearly felt a chill permeating his body. The chilliness came from the two gigantic golden statues. Shi Feng did not know what sort of consequences there would be if he continued onwards to retrieve the Philosopher's Stone.

However, he no longer had any choice. The cavern's entrance had already been sealed off, so he could only decide after grabbing the Philosopher's Stone.

Shi Feng slowly opened the golden treasure chest. Golden rays of light leaked out from the chest, illuminating the entire temple. Subsequently, the golden rays started to fade, revealing three items inside the chest. Shi Feng pocketed the items with zero hesitation.

"Crap, how could the Philosopher's Stone end up in such a state?" Shi Feng looked at the thumb-sized blood-red stone, feeling extremely disappointed.

[Philosopher's Stone] (Damaged)

Epic-rank Special Item (Dropped after death)

A sacred item for Alchemy, the Philosopher's Stone can be used to turn stone into gold, revive the dead, and has many more unfathomable uses. However, the Philosopher's Stone was damaged and broken into five pieces by the Sword Emperor, Schneider. Nevertheless, the Philosopher's Stone possesses immense strength. As long as the five pieces are gathered, it will be able to recover all of its strength.

Active Effect: Due to being damaged, the Philosopher's Stone possesses less than a tenth of its original strength. It is only possible to use it for Alchemy Conversion and Elemental Refinement.

Although the effects were greatly reduced, Shi Feng was still satisfied with it. These two abilities would enable Shi Feng to accomplish a lot.

As for the remaining two items, one of them was the [Golden Greatsword], a Level 10 Fine-Gold Weapon. The other item was an [Instantaneous Movement] Magic Scroll.

"A great treasure indeed." Shi Feng looked at the Golden Greatsword in his hands with extreme excitement. Aside from Magic Weapons, it was the best item a Level 10 player could have. If a Level 10 player were to equip this greatsword, they could definitely become invincible amongst players of the same Level.

At this moment the two statues by the side shook. Their eyes released a red glow, locking their sights on Shi Feng.

Shi Feng used the Instantaneous Movement Magic Scroll without hesitation. Golden-colored magical seals suddenly wrapped around Shi Feng. The spell on the Magic Scroll had a cast time of three seconds, and it was capable of sending the player to a selected location.This Magic Scroll was extremely precious. Although there were only a few copies of it in the entire God's Domain, dying in this place was a much greater loss to Shi Feng.

Just as Shi Feng was about to be slashed by the golden statues, he vanished from the temple.