Chapter 27: Dungeon Guardian

Setting aside the fact that a dwarf with a red beard would provide a calling card that was clearly a Taoist talisman, the talisman itself was an item of epic quality.

The words in the message warmed Xiao Yang’s heart. He tucked the talisman away and replied to Red Beard.

【Good!】

Compared to his offline persona in the All-Heavens Trading District, Xiao Yang was noticeably more reserved and aloof online. However, the preposterous bill that popped up from the God’s Game quickly shattered his composure.

【Player, please confirm the message transmission fee. Based on the distance and the differences in plane rules, sending this message requires 18,532 Spirit Coins. Do you choose to send?】

Wait, what?!

Are you kidding me? You have to pay Spirit Coins to send a message? And it costs this much?

Xiao Yang finally understood exactly what Red Beard meant when he said one should always keep extra Spirit Coins on hand, as they were needed for all sorts of unexpected things.

Damn it, this God’s Game is truly a money-grubbing nightmare!

In the end, Xiao Yang gritted his teeth and chose to pay. Watching the message transmit while the numbers vanished from his account made his heart bleed.

"It really is necessary to have a bit more in reserve," Xiao Yang muttered through gritted teeth.

Over the next few days, Xiao Yang did not rashly challenge the Dungeon Guardian. Instead, he began chugging health potions while clearing out the constantly respawning skeletons and skeleton warriors. He wanted to test if there was an upper limit to the attribute boosts provided by the Pot of Greed, and he also planned to max out his health before taking on the Guardian to ensure a safer encounter.

Bottle after bottle, he drank almost incessantly. In just a few days, the glass vials piled up haphazardly in the safe house.

Xiao Yang eventually found the cap: his health reached two hundred points.

【Player health has reached the maximum limit. Please attempt to increase it again after ascending or breaking through level twenty!】

This was the prompt from the God’s Game. It wasn't just the Pot of Greed; even Xiao Yang’s remaining attribute points could no longer be allocated to his health.

Two hundred health points, equivalent to an investment of twenty attribute points. It wasn't unexpected—or rather, it was a pleasant surprise. It proved the Pot of Greed was working exceptionally well, as the restriction wasn't due to the pot failing, but because he himself had reached a limit.

Next came Strength, Defense, and Agility—all three should be able to be pushed to twenty. Of course, not the twenty augmented by gear, but twenty in his base state. As for further improvements, he might have to wait for Red Beard to return from the Abyss and ask his "big brother." He recalled that he would be able to ascend once he reached level ten.

With this in mind, he mapped out his plan: defeat the Dungeon Guardian, farm more materials, buy more potions to max out his attributes, enter the second floor of the Skeleton Dungeon, and take down the fully-formed Elite Corpse Mushroom.

In the end, Xiao Yang still had plenty of health potions left. These wouldn't go to waste after hitting his health cap; instead, they would become a sharp weapon for dealing with the Dungeon Guardian.

Inside the initial safe house, Xiao Yang began stuffing health potions into the mouth of the Pot of Greed. The excess liquid made the pot’s mouth bulge grotesquely, looking as if it had been played to the point of breaking, but its body was honest. It continuously spat out dangerous, unstable clusters of Life Essence, which Xiao Yang dutifully collected.

He shoved nearly all the remaining health potions into the pot, turning them into these "life grenades."

Of course, he didn't forget his own gear. Xiao Yang had now equipped the Black Stone Prison three-piece set.

"Justice’s Consolation" dealt eight points of damage—only two more than his Wilderness Hatchet—but its primary function was to inflict negative status effects. Once an enemy entered the "cowering" state, the Black Stone Prison Warden’s Badge would immediately grant Xiao Yang ten additional points of damage and reduce the enemy’s defense by ten.

This brought Xiao Yang’s damage up to eighteen. Of course, that wasn't the limit. Adding the bonus from the "Black Stone Prison Combat Manual," which, beyond increasing the probability of enemy fear and cowering, converted Strength into damage, he could go further.

Strength did not directly boost damage; it required technique conversion. For every two points of Strength above five, the manual increased damage by one. With thirteen points of Strength, Xiao Yang gained an extra four points of damage. Combined with the double damage from his "Heavy Strike" skill, Xiao Yang’s peak damage could reach forty-four in a perfect state. This was no small number; he could now kill a skeleton warrior in one blow and a prisoner zombie in two.

Even so, Xiao Yang felt uneasy about the Dungeon Guardian, perhaps because the impression it left on him during his first trip into the dungeon was so profound.

But, as they say, he had to cross this hurdle eventually. After all, his home was behind this tunnel; how could he let the Guardian keep blocking his front door?

He hung the life grenades from his belt. He also grabbed the "Screaming Chicken"—not an actual screaming bird, but a futuristic-looking rooster-shaped alarm clock, which he also hung from his belt like a grenade.

Taking a deep breath, Xiao Yang gripped "Justice’s Consolation" in one hand and placed the other on the black iron door of the safe house.

"Alright! Time to settle this!"

Xiao Yang growled, then yanked the iron door open.

At the end of the narrow tunnel, a tall skeleton wielding a giant axe was disturbed by the commotion. It slowly lifted its head, two flickering, ghostly blue flames dancing in its deep, hollow sockets.

Under its gaze, Xiao Yang stepped into the tunnel. As he did, an unexpected change occurred: the door to the safe house slowly slammed shut. Xiao Yang might not be able to retreat back inside.

Xiao Yang noticed this, but he didn't panic. It didn't matter! As long as he killed the guy in front of him, everything would be fine!