Chapter Nineteen: The First-Level Boss

“My god, after passing the first checkpoint of twenty soldiers, I’m already almost level 28. If we take down the next one, at the very least—” Luo Feng checked his experience bar and couldn’t help but break into a joyful grin. At that, Ye Yu interjected, “If our calculations are correct, slaying the next one will not only get us to level 28, but we’ll also have between 4,000 and 5,000 experience points.”

“That much?” Qu Zheng exclaimed, clearly surprised by the result.

“Third Brother, are you sure?” Huang Hong asked doubtfully. “After all, it’s just a basic-level opponent. Should it really give so much experience to all six of us? The twenty soldiers were great, but I don’t know if a basic-level monster can surprise us with its experience payout. If there’s any change, it’s probably in the equipment drops.”

“The experience boost comes from the level difference,” Ye Yu explained with a nod. “There’s a multiplier for defeating higher-level enemies. This basic-level one isn’t level 30, so the experience it gives will naturally surpass the combined bonus from the twenty soldiers. Hitting level 28 with over 4,000 experience is a given.”

This kind of reward system was different from other games. While in God’s Desolation, the experience gain from grinding was notoriously stingy, the game made up for it through other means, sometimes even more generously.

The six of them delved deeper into the underground chamber of the mine. After passing the first checkpoint of twenty soldiers and opening the ancient bronze doors, they advanced cautiously. Not far ahead, they spotted a knight clad in bronze armor, dragging a massive blade behind him, mounted on a skeletal horse that wandered with eerie slowness.

“There are three ahead,” Ye Yu continued, “a basic, an intermediate, and finally the dungeon boss. The first, the Guardian Knight, is level 35. If we attack head-on, we’ll be wiped out—no doubt about it.”

“Any ideas?” Luo Wei asked.

Ye Yu nodded, signaling the others to wait. He advanced alone. As he drew near, the Guardian Knight’s head snapped toward him, eyes blazing with fire and seething with killing intent. With a sharp tug of the reins and a kick, the skeletal horse charged, the massive blade sweeping in a deadly arc, slashing jagged scars into the stone walls.

The knight’s blade came whistling toward Ye Yu’s neck, the air itself sliced by its edge. With a flash of cold determination in his eyes, Ye Yu stamped his left foot and leapt back several meters, narrowly dodging the blade’s energy. The sword followed, but Ye Yu’s left hand skimmed his zither’s strings, unleashing a dazzling burst of purple light. The music, sharp as a blade, clashed with the greatsword, causing a violent explosion that sent Ye Yu skidding backward.

The Guardian Knight, thrown from his skeletal steed by the blast, landed heavily on the ground. Gripping his sword with both hands, he swung it upward toward Ye Yu, the blade’s arc gleaming with lethal intent.

Ye Yu narrowed his eyes, stowed his zither, and lunged forward, dodging the knight’s strike with ease. The dungeon’s mechanics were punishing, but not so harsh as to make such attacks undodgeable.

Maintaining a delicate balance of distance, Ye Yu continued to evade the knight’s non-targeted attacks, his movements graceful and precise. But then, something happened that made everyone hold their breath.

The Guardian Knight’s swings grew faster. When one strike missed, the blade landed behind Ye Yu, then, without warning, stopped and suddenly swept sideways toward Ye Yu’s back—a surprise attack that seemed impossible to avoid.

Ye Yu’s head turned slightly, his eyes narrowing.

A hum filled the air.

For a moment, the world seemed to freeze. But looking closely, everything was still moving, just slower. Ye Yu observed as the knight’s sword crept toward him at a snail’s pace.

“Hyper Time Mode.”

In God’s Desolation, this ability slowed the flow of time in the world without affecting the player, serving as a special safeguard available only in dungeons. It allowed players to evade lethal damage, but only lasted one minute with a twenty-minute cooldown—usable just once per run.

With time slowed, Ye Yu kicked the knight’s armor, slipping easily out of harm’s way. The wind from the blade’s arc was so strong it sent his clothes fluttering.

The knight recovered, his flaming eyes turning crimson with rage. He stomped the ground and leapt, bringing his sword down in a deadly arc aimed at Ye Yu’s head.

Ye Yu’s lips curled into a sly smile. He stepped back, his slender fingers gliding across the zither strings. Purple light shot forth, forming an invisible chain that wrapped around the knight.

Bound in the chain’s grip, the knight could not move. With a flick of his toe, Ye Yu launched himself into the air, his zither floating beside him. He struck the strings twice more, sending two beams of purple light straight at the knight’s chest and head.

“Snow and Moon Cross, Plum Shadows Dance.”

Boom! Boom!

With the force of his music, Ye Yu blasted the Guardian Knight to the ground. He stowed his zither, purple light shimmering around his hands, and pressed his palms to the knight’s chest, slamming him into the stone floor. Under the lingering effect of the binding chord, the knight struggled and howled but could not break free.

As Hyper Time Mode ended, the world snapped back to normal speed.

“Now! Spearman, Assassin—your turn!”

At Ye Yu’s call, Huang Hong and Qu Zheng exchanged a grin. “Gladly,” they replied in unison.

In God’s Desolation, basic monsters were like slow-witted brutes, unable to handle classes with sealing and binding abilities. These monsters could only resist about fifty such skills before succumbing, and with a healer, a support, and an all-rounder in the party, their struggle was negligible.

The knight’s blows could have killed anyone instantly—if not dodged, they meant certain death. But with this formation, Ye Yu’s team could handle far more than a basic-level opponent, especially with a player adept at calculating every move.

Bang!

With a sudden burst of strength, the Guardian Knight broke free from the binding chord and swung his sword straight at Qu Zheng.

“Not good!” Huang Hong called out, but the knight’s attack was too swift for anyone to intervene.

Qu Zheng prepared to activate Hyper Time Mode, but Ye Yu’s shout snapped him to his senses.

“Shadow Flash! Now, Little Seven!”

Ye Yu’s words reminded Qu Zheng of his trump card—a life-saving evasive skill.

In an instant, Qu Zheng’s figure flickered like a phantom, dodging the blow by barely a centimeter. The near miss sent a chill down his spine; the sensation of walking on a razor’s edge was all too real. Had he been a moment slower, he would have fallen then and there.

A flash of vengeance shone in Qu Zheng’s eyes as he roared, “You dare attack me? I’ll knock your teeth out!”

He sprang up, daggers glinting in both hands, blades flashing like crescent moons as he struck.

Whistle— Slash!

The sound of wind was followed by a spray of blood.

Qu Zheng appeared behind the Guardian Knight, spinning his daggers before sheathing them with a stylish flourish. He turned back with a cocky grin. “Well? Not bad, right?”

The knight’s sword crashed to the ground, his hands clutching a deep wound at his neck. He sank to his knees and collapsed, as pieces of equipment floated up and hovered around his fallen body.