Chapter 74: Promoted Twice
As the parchment drew near, the already fragile seal gave a crisp snap.
Crack!
Then, like glass, it shattered in an instant.
Only then did Song Qi finally see the true form of the entrance to the dungeon.
It was a mouth of a cave nestled at the foot of a cliff.
To be more precise, it was a pit spread flat upon the ground.
The surface of the pit was covered by a peculiar, transparent film, shimmering like a soap bubble.
Beneath, he could vaguely make out an endless abyss of darkness.
Song Qi reached out and tested it with his hand.
A faint suction tried to pull him in.
"It is accessible. This really is an intermediate-level dungeon," he confirmed.
Yet Song Qi didn’t rush to jump in. Instead, he took out several healing scrolls and cast them on Lü Bu and Ying Zheng.
After enduring the siege of several level-70 advanced professionals, both had accumulated considerable injuries. Though they showed no outward signs of it, it was prudent to heal them, just in case. After all, they would soon face boss-level monsters above level 60.
Song Qi then waited a while longer, pulling out some pre-prepared biscuits and jerky to eat. He handed out portions to Ying Zheng and Lü Bu, letting them try a taste as well.
Only when their skill cooldowns had fully reset did Song Qi summon them back, then leaped together into the dungeon entrance.
...
Thud!
Song Qi landed on one knee, barely steadying himself.
With prior experience, he no longer landed on his backside.
“So, as always, the first step is... to observe the surroundings.”
Song Qi looked around, taking in the scene.
He stood between two palaces, both decayed and ruined.
To the left was a lavish palace.
The lawns lay desolate, overrun with weeds.
Everywhere his gaze fell, he saw remnants of collapsed walls and ruined structures, all overgrown with moss and other plants.
Then, monsters came into view.
Most of these creatures’ bodies had rotted away, leaving only bones; a few retained shreds of flesh.
They wore matching, regimented armor, wielded spears, had bows slung across their backs, and longbows at their waists, endlessly patrolling the area.
Their movements—whether walking or turning—were smooth and fluid. If not for their appearance, one could hardly tell them from living men.
Monster: Ancient Royal Guard
Level: 55
Strength: 1684
Constitution: 1617
Agility: 1010
Spirit: 899
Skills: [Spear Mastery] [Archery] [Alertness]
Description: Once the royal guards who protected the king of an ancient nation. After being corrupted by the power of the Abyss, they became monsters who indiscriminately attack all intruders.
Song Qi turned to look at the right side.
The palace on this side was much more austere.
The monsters here, though still bearing the marks of decay, wore swords at their waists.
Their gender was indistinguishable from their appearances, but Song Qi discerned from their armor and clothing that these had once been women.
He opened their information, and indeed...
Monster: Ancient Sword-Maiden
Level: 52
Strength: 700
Constitution: 713
Agility: 1600
Spirit: 1525
Skills: [Lightfoot] [Swordsmanship] [Alertness]
Description: Once the queen’s sword-maidens in the ancient kingdom, now corrupted by abyssal power into monsters who attack all without distinction.
The two types of monsters diligently guarded their own domains, with no overlap.
Seeing their stats, Song Qi couldn’t help but whistle in awe.
“Goodness, all over level fifty, with base stats breaking 1600?”
“No wonder they’re monsters in a special dungeon—their strength is truly insane.”
“Lucky I waited for my cooldowns before entering.”
With stats like these, even intermediate professionals would struggle to take down a single minion, let alone clear the dungeon.
Not to mention the bosses yet to come.
Even Lü Bu and Ying Zheng, without activating skills, would have a tough time relying on base stats alone.
“And it looks like this is a dual-boss dungeon?”
Song Qi noticed the descriptions for the two monster types.
Both the royal guards and the sword-maidens seemed to be guarding their respective masters—the king and queen.
From his experience,
The final bosses of this dungeon would likely be the ancient king and queen.
But what puzzled him was—
Why were the king and queen not together?
Why were they on opposite sides?
Didn’t they share a chamber? They were king and queen, after all—not likely to be cuckolded, right?
Or perhaps, there was another story hidden here?
After some idle speculation, Song Qi moved to the center.
“Observation complete. Situation is under control.”
Snap!
With a crisp snap of his fingers, Lü Bu and Ying Zheng appeared once more.
Song Qi pointed.
“Ying Zheng, take care of the monsters on the right. Lü Bu, you handle the ones on the left. Quick and clean—don’t get bogged down.”
“These monsters have high stats, all primary attributes above 1500. Don’t hold back on your skills.”
“Understood!” they replied in unison.
They bowed and moved off to their respective sides.
Seeing this, Song Qi pulled out a [Triple Experience Card] and crushed it lightly.
Monsters above level fifty would yield a wealth of experience—he couldn’t let it go to waste.
He looked toward the right...
Crash!
Four terracotta warriors rose from the ground. With a gentle wave, Ying Zheng unleashed a domain centered on himself.
Most of the sword-maidens inside the palace were instantly enveloped.
They whipped their heads toward him, eyes brimming with malice!
Shrill, piercing cries rang out in succession; countless sword-maidens, awakened and enraged, charged at Ying Zheng with twisted, rotten faces!
Ying Zheng only smiled, drew his sword, and pointed to the sky.
The attributes of the four terracotta warriors surged from 1000 to 3000!
The gap in stats between the two sides reversed in an instant.
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! ...
Each thrust of the spears struck true, shattering the monsters’ skulls.
The four warriors formed an impenetrable line. The sword-maidens threw themselves at them like moths to a flame, only to be sent flying back even faster.
Experience notifications began popping up rapidly on Song Qi’s interface.
[EXP +180,000]
[EXP +180,000]
[EXP +180,000]
...
In moments, white light descended above Song Qi’s head.
The six hundred thousand experience he needed was almost instantly filled!
“What the—?!”
“I leveled up already?”
“I’ve only killed three monsters, right?”
“Wait, each one is worth 180,000 experience?”
“So the base experience per monster is 60,000?”
“As expected of level-50 monsters.”
Delight surged through Song Qi.
He’d known level-50 monsters gave massive experience, but he hadn’t expected it to be this much!
“So if I just kill a few dozen of these, I’ll level up again?”
“Sure enough, fighting above your level is the true path.”
A rough calculation left Song Qi’s heart pounding with excitement.
“But... a hundred thousand experience is high for me. For level-50 professionals, it isn’t much.”
“They’d need to kill thousands, even tens of thousands, of monsters at their own level to reach the next.”
“It’s true—grinding like that leads nowhere.”
“If you want to get rich quick, you have to take some risks.”