Hell’s First Clear

Even with Lin Shenyue’s healing output drastically increased, a grim seriousness still pervaded the group. The first boss alone had wiped their party once, and despite Lin Shenyue acquiring better equipment, they knew the boss would undoubtedly possess numerous instant-kill abilities.

Ye Jue offered no excessive commands. While Lin Shenyue’s formidable healing had eased their pressure slightly this time, the boss also wielded two terrifying new skills. Without a clear understanding of these abilities, a party wipe remained highly probable.

Ye Jue gazed at the grand hall before them, drawing a deep breath.

“Yue’er,” he said, “if the situation turns dire, disengage from combat. Try your best not to die.”

Lin Shenyue bit her red lip, eventually nodding with a visible struggle. The agony of death had truly instilled a deep fear within her.

Though the other three did not fully grasp why Ye Jue issued such an order—it implied a sense of defeat before the battle even began, placing immense psychological pressure on them—Ye Jue offered no explanation. He simply instructed everyone to prepare for the fight, then dashed forward with a swift, resolute pace.

Seizing the moment while the boss was still rambling, Ye Jue moved closer to the throne. Having gained experience from Abyssal difficulty, they found themselves fighting with surprising ease, even with the boss’s higher level in Hell mode. Lin Shenyue’s significantly increased healing contributed greatly, and before the boss unleashed its special skills, the party’s immediate pressure had considerably lessened.

When the boss’s health dropped to 90%, its aggro immediately became chaotic, charging straight for Divine Wind. Fortunately, Divine Wind was an archer, possessing remarkable speed. After a grueling thirty seconds of kiting the boss, he finally endured through that phase.

At 80% health, the boss summoned five skeleton monsters, one of which wielded a staff. This phase proved challenging for Ye Jue, as the staff-wielding skeleton was a support type, constantly casting various debuffs. Even with only four smaller skeletons, they nearly overwhelmed Ye Jue. Thankfully, Lin Shenyue’s increased healing, combined with Ye Jue consuming a mutated instant-recovery potion, prevented him from being cut down.

Though Fissure found tanking the boss difficult, Lin Shenyue’s timely healing spells kept them alive. They ultimately held their ground.

When the boss reached 75% health, it unleashed another Undead Charge. Having learned from the previous attempt, everyone scattered to evade. However, the density of the undead in Hell difficulty was immense; even Lin Shenyue found herself forced to endure a direct hit. In that instant, Lin Shenyue felt as if her body had been struck by a galloping horse, her breathing growing labored.

Had she not grit her teeth and evaded the subsequent attacks, the sheer pain might have caused her to lose control, stumbling directly into the tide of undead, unable to escape.

After successfully evading, the others sensed that something was clearly amiss with Lin Shenyue. Ye Jue, especially, looked at her with profound concern. Lin Shenyue took a deep breath, her expression slightly weak as she declared, “I’m fine.”

There was no time for comfort. They hastily prepared to face the boss’s next assault.

At 70% health, perhaps having just used a major skill, the boss only unleashed a few minor abilities. Both Fissure and Ye Jue lost a considerable amount of health, yet they managed to withstand the assault.

When the boss’s health fell to 60%, its aggro became chaotic once more, targeting Fissure this time. Under the boss’s relentless assault, Fissure nearly perished. During aggro confusion, the boss’s attack tempo accelerated, and Fissure, being slower, couldn’t kite it effectively, thus coming perilously close to death.

At 50% health, the boss finally planted its feet, resummoned its warhorse, and launched another Undead Charge. To prevent herself from becoming disoriented if struck, Lin Shenyue had to accelerate her calculations once more. After successfully dodging the skill, her face was noticeably pale. One hit had already left Lin Shenyue feeling mentally hazy, and this latest exertion had only intensified her sense of exhaustion.

Fortunately, the boss didn’t unleash any major skills immediately afterward. Lin Shenyue seized the opportunity to recover her mental energy.

At 25% health, the boss held back its major skills. Having cleared this dungeon multiple times, Lin Shenyue understood that the boss was likely saving a powerful ultimate attack for its final moments. The entire party grew solemn.

For a while, the boss refrained from using any significant skills. The expressions on everyone’s faces finally hardened with seriousness.

When the boss’s health plummeted to 10%, it mounted its warhorse and charged out.

“You ants, you deserve to die!” it roared furiously at the party.

[Ding! The boss has gone berserk! Attack power increased by 100%, and its rank has temporarily risen to Silver-tier BOSS.]

Ye Jue’s expression completely changed. Boss ranks had their own tiers; typically, beginner village bosses were the lowest Bronze-tier, with average attributes. However, a Silver-tier boss possessed double the attributes of a Bronze-tier, making its damage truly terrifying. This also came with a significant increase in defense. Moreover, the boss had gone berserk, effectively quadrupling its damage output.

With a single strike, the boss instantly obliterated over 300 of Ye Jue’s health. This damage was already reduced by 40% due to Ye Jue’s personal block and shield block. Even so, Ye Jue’s health plummeted to roughly half.

Ye Jue knew he couldn’t possibly withstand the boss’s damage.

“Yue’er, cast all your skills on the boss; don’t worry about me,” he ordered directly. After tanking the boss for such an extended period, even if Lin Shenyue unleashed a burst of high damage now, the boss’s aggro wouldn’t shift.

Lin Shenyue hesitated for a moment. She opted not to heal Ye Jue, instead casting her skills directly onto the boss. Immediately, terrifying damage numbers – “-500,” “-150,” “-150” – erupted above the boss’s head. Even then, the boss still possessed nearly 800 health. Its defense had increased drastically, allowing Ye Jue and his companions to inflict only about 20 damage per hit.

The very next blow from the boss inflicted approximately 500 damage on Ye Jue. Had he not consumed a mutated instant-recovery potion, he would undoubtedly have died instantly.

“Full damage output! Abandon defense!” Ye Jue shouted.

Then, he fell to the boss’s subsequent attack.

After killing Ye Jue, the boss’s aggro locked onto Fissure, who was second on the threat list. Fissure had been dealing melee damage throughout the fight and had also tanked the boss for a period. However, the third target would inevitably be one of the squishy backline members.

After two swift strikes dispatched Fissure, the boss targeted Iron Blood Plume. As a mage, Iron Blood Plume’s damage against this physical boss was higher than Divine Wind’s. Furthermore, mages were often described as “mobile artillery.”

Lin Shenyue could only watch silently as the boss pursued Iron Blood Plume, hammered them to death with a single blow, and then turned its attention to Divine Wind. By now, Lin Shenyue’s healing spell was on cooldown. She unleashed her other skills directly onto the boss. The boss’s health plummeted rapidly towards zero. Just as the boss was about to kill Divine Wind, its health finally reached zero.

With the boss defeated, Ye Jue and the others revived. Seeing the boss fall, everyone rejoiced.

Ye Jue chuckled. “So, Iron Blood, are you still planning to buy out the announcement this time?”

Iron Blood Plume immediately brightened with excitement. “Are you really going to sell the announcement?” they asked.

However, after Iron Blood Plume finished speaking, Ye Jue laughed. “Of course… not selling it,” he declared. “This time, let’s use it to promote our future team.” With that, he entered the team name “Reverse Fate.” As for their personal names, everyone except Iron Blood Plume chose to remain hidden.

[System Announcement: The Z-Country team “Reverse Fate” has successfully achieved the first clear of the Hell-difficulty dungeon “Dark Caverns”! Team members “**,” “**,” “**,” “**,” and “Iron Blood Plume” have been awarded 100 Reputation Points and 3 gold coins!]

[System Announcement: The Z-Country team “Reverse Fate” has successfully achieved the first clear of the Hell-difficulty dungeon “Dark Caverns”! Team members “**,” “**,” “**,” “**,” and “Iron Blood Plume” have been awarded 100 Reputation Points and 3 gold coins!]

[System Announcement: The Z-Country team “Reverse Fate” has successfully achieved the first clear of the Hell-difficulty dungeon “Dark Caverns”! Team members “**,” “**,” “**,” “**,” and “Iron Blood Plume” have been awarded 100 Reputation Points and 3 gold coins!]

After the announcement played three times, the world chat exploded once more.

Naturally, the party members inside the dungeon, waiting to distribute loot, paid no attention to the world channel. This time, Lin Shenyue was entrusted with opening the rewards.

As the final boss of the dungeon, the rewards were exceptionally generous. First, there were 70 silver coins. Then, it dropped two Silver-tier pieces of equipment, five Bronze-tier pieces, and ten Iron-tier pieces. Finally, a warrior skill book, “Charge,” was revealed.

As a core warrior skill, Ye Jue naturally claimed it. Fissure didn’t mind, understanding that as the off-tank, items suitable for the main tank naturally took priority for Ye Jue. As compensation, however, Fissure received a dropped Silver-tier plate armor chest piece. Another item, a Silver-tier dagger, was promptly purchased by Iron Blood Plume, who declared they would give it to Empty Night. The remaining five Bronze-tier items were also distributed among the party. By now, Iron-tier equipment was barely worth a glance to them.

After the loot distribution was complete, Ye Jue suggested they return to the village for supplies and rest. They would attempt the dungeon a second time in thirty minutes.

Once everyone dispersed, only Ye Jue and Lin Shenyue remained.