Chapter 23: The Most Challenging Quest

"Crimson Blood Nest?"

Prince Hao was momentarily stunned.

"Why did you suddenly raise the difficulty so much?"

There were sixteen dungeons in the beginner’s area, each varying in difficulty. Among them, the Crimson Blood Nest was widely acknowledged as the most challenging. If Corpse Tide was daunting because of its sheer numbers, then Crimson Blood Nest was terrifying for its quality.

The monsters within this dungeon were mostly humanoid, and even the regular mobs possessed impressive intelligence, capable of adapting to situations as they unfolded. They could even set traps and devise schemes against professionals. Even more daunting, the monsters’ attributes were high across the board, with the boss capable of utterly crushing low-level professionals in terms of stats.

Every year, countless professionals, brimming with confidence, met their ends inside the Crimson Blood Nest—more than in all the other dungeons combined. For this reason, it was jokingly called... the first high-intelligence dungeon for professionals.

But now, the three of them, mere novices who had only just switched classes, were actually about to challenge this dungeon? Were they courting death?

"Your summoned spirit is indeed powerful, but... the monsters in Crimson Blood Nest are nothing like zombies," Gongsun Wuyue shook her head. "Among the three of us, the only real combatant is Song Qi—more accurately, only his summoned spirit. With our current strength, this dungeon is simply too much."

"My suggestion is to pick a dungeon with slightly lower difficulty."

Song Qi waved it off. "Don’t worry, I’m confident."

Prince Hao and Gongsun Wuyue didn’t know Lu Bu’s stats, but how could he not? Base attributes of 99 points. Each level up granted 50 more. Now, at level eleven, Lu Bu’s panel had become:

Summoned Spirit: Divine Lu Bu

Level: 11

Quality: Mythic

Strength: 599

Constitution: 599

Agility: 599

Spirit: 599

Equipment: [Divine Sky Piercer Halberd (Sealed)], [Divine Red Hare (Sealed)]

Status: [Sealed: Restricted by the summoner’s power, Lu Bu has not unleashed his full strength. Until fully unsealed, his level will rise in sync with the summoner.]

Talents: [Peerless], [Reckless], [Desperate Strike], [Divine Might]

Level eleven, with all stats over five hundred, nearly six hundred!

What did this mean? Even advanced professionals above level sixty, with no equipment, would lag far behind Lu Bu. With such overwhelming stats, Lu Bu could dominate any low-level dungeon.

High intelligence? Traps and cunning? Adaptability?

Useless! Completely useless! In the face of absolute numbers, all monsters and fiends were mere paper tigers. As long as they entered the dungeon, Lu Bu could show those humanoid monsters just what it meant to be a stats monster.

Seeing Song Qi’s determination, the other two were torn. They weren’t sure whether Song Qi truly had faith or was simply reckless.

Prince Hao gritted his teeth. "Fine! I’ll trust you this once, Brother Song."

Song Qi nodded, turning to Gongsun Wuyue. "What about you?"

"There's really no helping it," she sighed helplessly, then pulled two fist-sized white stones from her backpack and handed them over. "Take these—they’re emergency escape devices. If you’re in danger or can’t complete the dungeon, just crush them, and you’ll be instantly teleported out."

"If we clear the dungeon, just count it as compensation for future boosting in regular dungeons. If we fail, consider it a week’s worth of boosting in Corpse Tide."

This time it was Song Qi’s turn to be surprised. Devices like these were luxury items worth five hundred thousand credits on the market! Almost no one would use them in low-level dungeons—not even a rich kid like Prince Hao would be willing to part with such treasures.

"Your master gave these to you?" Prince Hao asked in shock.

"No, I bought them myself."

"You’re that well-off?" Prince Hao was clearly skeptical. As the school’s know-it-all, he’d never heard anything about her being wealthy; in fact, rumors of her impoverished home life were far more common.

Gongsun Wuyue smiled and pointed to herself. "Let me reintroduce myself: my surname is Gongsun, as in Gongsun Zhao, principal of Second High."

Damn! So she was a little heiress after all!

Song Qi and Prince Hao were both taken aback. No wonder the vice principal of Second High had shamelessly fought to take her as a disciple—there was more to it after all.

Song Qi weighed the stone in his hand. Though he probably wouldn’t need it, he tucked it into his backpack, planning to bring it home for his sister.

"Alright, since we all have this device, you two can rest easy now."

"Shall I start?"

"Ready anytime!"

"No problem."

Beep.

Song Qi found the dungeon selection and pressed confirm without hesitation.

Whoosh!

The three of them vanished from their original spot.

...

A shadowy ancient castle. A crescent moon hung high in the sky, occasionally crossed by swooping bats. The castle perched on the edge of a cliff, surrounded by sea on three sides, with only a narrow path for access.

Waves crashed endlessly against the rocks, the din washing away the silence. A guard, clad in armor with a deathly pale face, paced around the castle. The entire cliff was suffused with a sinister, eerie atmosphere.

At that moment, Song Qi and his companions materialized at the foot of the path.

The three of them looked up, taking in their surroundings.

"Crimson Blood Nest. Recommended level: twenty," Gongsun Wuyue recited. "Twenty to twenty-five monsters, only one boss. The boss is the castle’s master, named William—a vampire baron. He has three skills..."

"He can heal himself and inflict an Infection status with Bite. He can temporarily boost all his attributes with Crimson Frenzy. And he can evade or escape using Bat Transformation."

"The other monsters in the castle are his blood thralls and only have the Bite skill. As long as you don’t get bitten, you’ll be fine."

"But be careful: when the boss detects intruders, he’ll scream and summon all the mobs back. So if we’re not confident, it’s best to quietly clear out the smaller rooms one by one before facing the boss."

Gongsun Wuyue relayed all the dungeon information in one breath.

"If I remember correctly, the guide says there’s a side path along the cliff leading to the castle’s side kitchen entrance. My suggestion is that we use Lu Bu’s high stats to break in through the side door, take out the monsters in each small room one by one, and finally work together to defeat the boss."

"That’s our best chance at clearing the dungeon."

Prince Hao was dumbfounded. Was there really so much strategy involved in dungeon runs?

"What do you think, Brother Song?"

"Let’s check out the situation first," Song Qi replied, stepping forward to observe the guard at the castle gate.

Monster: Blood Thrall (Guard)

Level: 20

Strength: 43

Constitution: 50

Agility: 21

Spirit: 15

Skill: [Bite]

Assessment: A blood thrall created by Baron William, possessing formidable body and strength, but exceptionally weak in spirit.