Hell-Level Dungeon: The Challenge Begins

“Iron Blood Plume, the four of us have already cleared hard-level dungeons. I assume you haven’t.”

“To put it simply, the most crucial aspect is to avoid drawing aggro. As your guild’s chief mage, I trust you’ll manage this flawlessly.”

“For all other matters, simply follow my commands.”

Ye Jue addressed Iron Blood Plume shortly after they stepped into the dungeon.

Iron Blood Plume nodded, then hesitated before speaking. “Our guild challenged a hard dungeon yesterday. After barely making it through, we attempted an Abyss-level dungeon, but the monsters utterly annihilated us.”

“Are the monster stats in Hell-level dungeons also double that of Abyss-level dungeons?” they inquired.

Ye Jue chuckled, shaking his head. “That’s impossible. Hell-level dungeons simply add one extra skill to each monster beyond the Abyss difficulty.”

“This significantly tests a player’s real-time adaptability,” he explained.

He then glanced at Lin Shenyue. Catching his gaze, Lin Shenyue felt a slight annoyance, sensing he was underestimating her.

‘While adaptability combines reaction and calculation, reaction speed plays a considerable role,’ she mused. ‘There’s nothing I can do about my slower reactions.’

Sensing Lin Shenyue’s displeasure, Ye Jue awkwardly turned his head away. After a brief adjustment, he spoke with renewed seriousness.

“Next, I’ll be distributing some instant health and mana potions. These potions are limited, so please use them judiciously, but don’t hesitate to use them in critical moments.”

He then privately messaged Lin Shenyue, instructing her to distribute 20 health potions to everyone. Additionally, he provided 20 mana potions each to Iron Blood Plume and Divine Wind, who served as the primary damage dealers.

Upon seeing the instant recovery potions for the first time, Iron Blood Plume immediately recognized their immense commercial potential.

They asked with a hint of surprise, “Which alchemist crafted these?”

Ye Jue let out a light laugh. “What, are you thinking of recruiting them into your guild?”

“Of course,” Iron Blood Plume replied without hesitation.

Upon noticing the slightly playful looks from the others, they couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed. “Why are you all looking at me like that?”

To spare them further embarrassment from the other three’s teasing, Lin Shenyue spoke directly. “I crafted these myself. Furthermore, I won’t be joining your guild.”

Iron Blood Plume sounded a little unwilling to give up. “Are you truly not coming? We could offer you incredibly generous treatment.”

Lin Shenyue smiled, shaking her head. “I don’t need those special benefits. I simply wish to enjoy myself while playing.”

Fissure interjected, “You’re trying to poach someone right in front of Peerless Karma Fire. Be careful, he might retaliate later.”

Lin Shenyue’s expression soured slightly. “He and I are just ordinary friends. Could you please stop constantly associating me with him?”

Fissure promptly closed their mouth.

‘It seems Brother Karma Fire hasn’t won her over yet,’ they thought to themselves.

Ye Jue spoke up. “Alright, let’s put this topic aside for now. We need to focus all our energy on tackling this Hell-level dungeon.”

Lin Shenyue nodded, silently tightening her grip on her staff. She then positioned herself at the very rear of the party.

Upon encountering the first group of Hell-level trash mobs, their party immediately faced considerable trouble.

While the monsters’ attack power remained consistent, the melee Skeleton Warriors now possessed an additional ‘Armor Break’ skill.

Whenever Ye Jue and Fissure were afflicted with Armor Break, if a ranged Archer coincidentally unleashed a triple shot, it would instantly deplete half of Ye Jue’s health.

Fortunately, their party’s equipment had significantly improved after running the Abyss-level dungeon three times. Otherwise, they might have truly wiped on the very first wave of monsters.

After successfully dealing with two waves of trash mobs, not without a few scares, they arrived before the Fallen Human.

This time, the Fallen Human could not only summon small skeletons but also cast a debilitating negative magic: ‘Dark Entanglement’.

This skill halved all beneficial effects received by the target and reduced healing by 50%.

Had Ye Jue not reacted swiftly to escape the main attack range, he would likely have been instantly killed, with Lin Shenyue’s healing proving insufficient.

After a difficult battle, they finally vanquished the Fallen Human.

The dropped equipment was not particularly impressive, consisting only of a single Iron-grade pair of pants.

Its attributes were quite suitable for an Archer, and Divine Wind’s current pants were rather subpar. Upon equipping the new pants, both his defense and speed saw a slight increase.

After clearing the final wave of trash mobs before the boss, Lin Shenyue noticed a distinct solemnity settle upon Ye Jue’s expression.

“In my previous life, the Hell difficulty was only barely cleared after some players reached level ten,” Ye Jue began.

“It’s important to remember that at level ten, a third skill becomes available. Although the boss also gains three levels in Hell difficulty, there’s no level suppression against a level ten player.”

“But now…” He trailed off, surveying the party’s levels.

Lin Shenyue and he were both Level 7, but the others were only Level 6. This meant they would experience some minor level suppression against the boss.

“Within five levels of suppression, there’s only a chance for attacks to miss. However, if the level difference is five or more, damage dealt to the boss is reduced by 30%. At ten levels, it’s an 80% reduction. At fifteen levels, only a forced ‘-1’ damage can be inflicted on the boss.”

“Currently, all our levels are suppressed, meaning every attack against the boss has a chance to miss. Moreover, the Hell-level boss possesses two additional skills.”

“These skills are also random, and even if they weren’t, I only have vague recollections of a few of them,” Ye Jue explained, his voice grave.

As Lin Shenyue watched Ye Jue lost in thought, she began her own calculations.

After some careful consideration, she spoke up. “I believe there’s a very high probability that the Fallen Kaira will inherit the Dark Entanglement skill. We need to prepare for this in advance.”

Ye Jue pondered for a moment, faintly recalling the strategy guide mentioning that when the boss used Dark Entanglement, tanks needed to switch promptly, or they wouldn’t withstand the boss’s damage.

He nodded decisively. “Fissure, pay close attention. If the boss uses that skill, I’ll immediately drop aggro, and you’ll step in to tank temporarily.”

Fissure nodded, signaling their understanding.

Lin Shenyue also nodded, acknowledging the increased healing pressure she would face.

Should Ye Jue be afflicted by a debuff, Fissure would need to take over. However, Fissure’s dual defenses were considerably lower than Ye Jue’s, who benefited from a shield.

This meant Lin Shenyue could not afford to waste even a single second of healing.

“Prepare yourselves,” Ye Jue announced, his voice stern.

****

The party entered the grand hall, immediately triggering the boss encounter.

This time, Ye Jue had learned his lesson. He charged forward rapidly while the boss was still speaking.

By the time the boss finished its monologue, he was already closing in.

Upon seeing Ye Jue, the boss immediately unleashed a magic arrow, depleting 170 of his health.

However, Ye Jue now boasted a robust 600 health, capable of withstanding four such attacks, so he remained unperturbed.

He raised his shield, blocking the second attack, which still cost him another 150 health. By then, he was close to the boss.

After chugging a medium health potion, he landed two consecutive attacks, dealing around 70 damage, before expertly blocking the boss’s next assault.

“Attack!” he commanded, striking the boss immediately afterward to solidify his aggro. At the very instant Ye Jue’s attack landed, Lin Shenyue’s healing spell arrived.

Iron Blood Plume observed their synchronized teamwork with a hint of surprise. Such seamless coordination typically only developed after extensive practice.

Yet, from what they had just witnessed, while the two certainly had a good rapport, it didn’t seem to be on *that* level yet.

They shook off their momentary distraction, quickly launching an Arcane Missile followed by an Arcane Magic Arrow.

Lin Shenyue kept her eyes fixed on the boss. Once the front line stabilized, she let out a quiet sigh of relief.

While she could rely on her unspoken understanding with Ye Jue for healing, errors were always possible. In such critical moments, it was best to avoid any mistakes and instead make calculated predictions.

When the boss’s health dropped to 90%, it began preparing to unleash its first skill.

Typically, a boss’s initial ability involved summoning Skeleton Soldiers. True to form, the boss unexpectedly summoned four of them.

Ye Jue’s expression shifted, and he shouted, “Switch aggro!”

Ye Jue maintained excellent control over his aggro, always keeping it slightly above Fissure’s, but never by too much.

Fissure, understanding the command, knew they couldn’t possibly withstand the damage from four small skeletons alone. They quickly stepped forward, accelerating their attacks.

Meanwhile, Ye Jue ceased his assault, actively working to lower the boss’s aggro towards him.

As the trash mobs emerged, Ye Jue successfully secured second aggro and charged towards the four small Skeleton monsters.