Chapter 19: The New Adventurer and the Hidden Map—A Pause in the Journey

Page 1/3

One must admit, this is a very healthy mindset. Who could resist challenging enemies that might drop equipment? However, it’s clear that, just like the dungeon guardian, these two foes are beyond Xiao Yang’s current capability to face. He must proceed cautiously, with a steady hand, yes, a steady hand indeed. After all, they each have a full thousand health points! That’s even more daunting than the dungeon guardian—it makes one’s teeth ache just thinking about it! This is a fully realized elite boss!

Although Xiao Yang had resolved to be cautious, he couldn’t help but sneak back shortly afterward to glance at that corpse mushroom. He spotted the mushroom’s tip peeking out from beneath the broken slabs, confirming that this elite boss hadn’t vanished completely. Only then did he carefully return to the prison guard’s resting room.

Now, he no longer considered selling the Shovel of Freedom. While it wasn’t entirely reliable, it might have some other clever uses. Xiao Yang planned to explore deeper into this hidden map. On the other side of the guard’s resting room, a half-open door led to the unknown.

After reaching level five, leveling up became much more difficult. Even after clearing all the prisoner zombies in this corridor, the experience bar had only moved about a third. The next level still seemed far away.

Xiao Yang had decided to keep the Blackstone Prison’s three-piece set for himself, but he could currently only use the prison guard’s badge. The other two pieces required a strength level of five, and he was at three, with just a single attribute point left.

Still, that was close enough. He could rely on the Greed’s Jar, and in four days, he would be able to visit the Multiverse Trading Zone again to buy some potions.

He wasn’t sure if his spirit coins would suffice, considering that in recent days, only one item was worth selling.

“Poverty!” Xiao Yang sighed with a face full of melancholy.

Of course, if other players knew he was troubled because all the best gear he found was for his own use, they might pool their resources to place a bounty on him. There’s no need for further explanation—this was just too much of a humblebrag!

Those poor souls were either scrambling for monsters in dungeons where everything was stripped clean, or running desperately back and forth on terrifying battlegrounds that made their legs tremble.

Such hardship! All for the sake of assembling a set of gear, and most of the time, the loot was far from satisfactory. Barely managing to piece together a usable set was already a blessing.

And here was Xiao Yang, a man unaware of his fortune, enjoying an entire dungeon alone, reluctant to sell his excellent equipment, quietly lamenting his poverty.

Such a fellow deserved a sky lantern tribute!

With that, Xiao Yang pushed open the half-closed door. A dazzling white light flashed before him, and he found himself in a somewhat familiar place—the sloping ramp he had entered when he first found the hidden map.

Page 2/3

But something was different. The end of that ramp, where the wall had been broken open by the skeletal sphere, was now perfectly intact.

At the same time, a fragmented statue appeared before him. Grasping it, Xiao Yang recognized it as one-quarter of the statue he had seen in the shrines flanking the rolling skeletal sphere corridor—the piece in his hand was the quarter representing a foot.

It seemed that he had fully explored the hidden area of the first level of the Skeleton Dungeon.

Of course, he could still return there. The quarter statue fragment in his hand seemed to be a key to that hidden zone, though it appeared he could only enter or exit the area once per day.

There was an inexplicable feeling of having just arrived but being forcibly paused—a tangled sensation with no remedy.

Since he was back, it was time to change goals.

On the first level of the Skeleton Dungeon, only two directions remained unexplored: one was the hidden area, and naturally, the other had to be the final boss of that floor.

With only a few days left before heading to the Multiverse Trading Zone, the plan was clear: kill, farm materials. And you know what? Those skeletal femurs sold far better than zombie entrails.

Farm more, exchange for more spirit coins, then buy more strength and health potions.

If the Skeleton Dungeon’s first-floor boss proved too difficult, he would hold off on challenging it. Instead, he could purchase specialized fire enchantment potions and oil flasks in the Trading Zone before trying again.

But all of this required money.

One must admit, no matter what game you play, you can’t escape the grind for money. Always so short on funds.

“Truly, one cannot escape a busy fate!” Xiao Yang sighed.

Even in the God Game, he was destined to be a busy workhorse. Thinking about what he had to do next, he found himself strangely coining a new phrase: Skeleton Gold Farming Server.

Well, well, how fitting!

……

Another heavy blow struck the skull of the skeleton warrior. Not many days had passed, but the skeleton warrior who once gave Xiao Yang such a hard time was no longer a threat.

Now, Xiao Yang’s stats were:

[Player: Screaming Emperor
ID: 1
Affiliation: Dimension 33214
Race: Ordinary Human
Level: 5
Experience: 380/600
Health: 25
Strength: 3
Defense: 8
Agility: 11
Talent: Dungeon Forerunner
Companion: Skeleton Thief
Skill: Heavy Strike (Level 1)
Items: Greed’s Jar, Little Bone’s Badge, Justice’s Consolation, Blackstone Prison Armory Code, Blackstone Prison Guard Badge, Wilderness Short Axe, Dark-Repelling Lantern, Adventurer’s Bracers, Adventurer’s Boots, Leather Chestplate, Leather Cap, Leather Pants, Shovel of Yearning Freedom, Screaming Chicken, Courageous Wine
Evaluation: A novice adventurer.]

He was no longer the unlucky fool running wildly through the dark dungeon. Even the God Game’s evaluation of him had changed—from a noob to a novice adventurer.

It felt like a lifetime ago. Now, when fighting the skeleton warrior, he didn’t even need Robert’s joint strike technique; he could just hit hard and not fear these skeleton warriors at all.

Of course, there was still some regret.

After defeating the skeleton warrior and smashing his skull, it was time for the loot phase. Xiao Yang grinned with an indescribable sense of accomplishment as he reached toward the skeleton.

He pulled out a gray femur—a poor-quality one—and paused briefly.

What? Bro? Does leveling up reduce drop rates?

Of course not—because next, Little Bone pulled out a scroll of the Heavy Strike skill right before Xiao Yang’s eyes.

At that moment, Xiao Yang’s expression changed.

Probably not for any other reason than just his simple bad luck!