The air was damp and rotting, and the sky was stained with blood.
Across the battlefield, littered with the remnants of war, broken weapons and shattered armor lay scattered on the ground, alongside the rotting carcasses of Fierce Beasts of all sizes.
At that moment, a figure materialized out of nowhere onto the battlefield.
Qin Chen clutched his slightly dizzy forehead, taking a long moment to regain his bearings.
He had not expected entering this Calamity-grade dungeon to feel quite like riding a roller coaster.
Raising his head, he took in the surrounding environment, only to discover that he had been dropped straight into an ancient battlefield ruin.
"What is this?"
Qin Chen’s expression turned grim. His gaze swept across the blood-red sky, and then fell upon the scattered remains, severed limbs, and broken weapons that filled his vision, casting a desolate gloom over the entire landscape.
A profound sense of sorrow and tragic desolation sank deep into his heart.
This Calamity-grade dungeon had been constructed based on historical events that had truly occurred.
It was also his first time experiencing firsthand the brutal cruelty of the war against the Fierce Beasts.
So this was what the confrontation between humanity and the Fierce Beasts was truly like.
Qin Chen fell silent, his mood turning inexplicably heavy.
"Crack, crack, crack—"
Just then, the debris piled up on the ground directly in front of him suddenly began to emit strange noises.
The remains slowly dragged themselves up from the ground, and two eerie, emerald-green lights flared within their empty eye sockets, locking onto him with an unyielding glare.
It seemed Qin Chen’s arrival had disturbed their eternal slumber.
[Undead Remains (Lv.3)] (Tainted by Abyss Qi)
Type: Common-grade Undead
Skills: Bone Hardening, Slash and Stab
(The presence of an unfamiliar human has disturbed the undead from their slumber; a heavy price must be paid. Only the offering of fresh blood can appease their burning wrath.)
Three undead figures stood in place, their bodies enveloped in an icy aura, the weapons in their hands gleaming with a chilling, cold light.
Within their hollow eye sockets, those emerald-green flames fixed their gaze upon the puny figure before them, just like living eyes.
"Bang—!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Qin Chen cast a Fireball directly at the undead skeleton standing right in the center.
The fireball collided with the bone frame, scattering a shower of sparks.
[Damage dealt: -2]
"Well, I suppose the Mage class really is absolute trash in the early game."
Qin Chen muttered, feeling rather helpless.
A single fireball had only managed to deal 2 points of damage, yet it consumed a massive amount of his mana pool.
With his current mana reserves, he could cast fewer than seven fireballs in total.
How was he supposed to fight with this garbage?
Mages were completely useless!
Qin Chen's attack seemed to enrage the skeletons. The one that had been struck by the fireball hoisted its broadsword and charged straight at him.
It moved at an incredible speed, closing the distance to him in the span of a single breath.
Qin Chen had no time to dodge at all.
"Screech—!"
The undead skeleton’s broadsword carved through the air like a gust of wind, slashing directly across Qin Chen’s body.
[Damage dealt: -1]
Qin Chen readied himself to leap backward in panic, but suddenly froze, a blank look washing over his face.
"Why is the damage from the undead remains so low?"
He suddenly remembered his staggering 50 points of Vitality, which directly shattered the attribute limits of the current dungeon and rivaled the defensive level of a 10th-level Shield Guard player.
On top of that, the undead were only level 3.
So... that was why they only dealt 1 point of damage to him.
Makes complete sense, right?
In an instant, Qin Chen's confidence surged.
What was there to be afraid of? He was just going to beat them down directly.
The terrifying, ferocious undead skeletons instantly transformed into adorable little experience piñatas in his eyes.
Qin Chen decided against using any more skills, opting instead to grip his Intern Staff and engage the three undead skeletons in a true man-to-man brawl—one against three.
He raised the Intern Staff in his hand and smashed it fiercely down onto the skeleton.
[Damage dealt: -1]
Ah, the damage wasn't bad at all—at least it was better than the fireball, and it didn't consume any mana.
Qin Chen was thoroughly satisfied.
Meanwhile, the counterattacks from the three undead skeletons landed solidly against his body.
[Damage dealt: -1]
[Damage dealt: -1]
[Damage dealt: -1]
It didn't matter. A mere three points of damage was nothing; Qin Chen didn't care in the least.
And so, the style of combat on the battlefield ruins took an abruptly bizarre turn.
A Mage was engaged in a brutal, hand-to-hand brawl with several undead skeletons, using nothing but a staff, trading blows back and forth in a mutual exchange of agony.
Finally, after a few minutes of relentless, hardworking effort by Qin Chen, the health bars of the three undead skeletons were completely depleted. They let out a mournful wail, collapsed to the ground, and crumbled into piles of bone dust.
Notifications popped up on Qin Chen's status interface.
[Successfully killed Undead Remains x1]
......
[Successfully killed Undead Remains x3]
......
[Experience points gained +10]
[Experience points gained +10]
[Experience points gained +10]
The experience bar on his interface instantly shot up by a large margin.
[Level 1 Experience: 30/50]
Watching his experience surge upward so rapidly, a hint of joy crept across Qin Chen's face.
The difficulty rewards for a Calamity-grade dungeon were surprisingly high.
A single mob yielded a full 10 experience points.
He only needed to kill two more mobs to instantly level up to Level 2.
Who knew what kind of golden talent he might draw by then?
A faint ripple of anticipation stirred deep within Qin Chen's heart.
The [Invincible Flesh] talent he had drawn at Level 1 was already this ridiculously powerful.
Wouldn't the golden talent drawn at Level 2 be even stronger?
Calming the excitement surging in his chest, Qin Chen walked over to the pile of ash left behind by the fallen undead and picked up a white skill book lying on the ground.
Every time a mob was killed, there was a certain probability of dropping equipment, props, or similar items.
He hadn't expected his luck to be this good; defeating these three mobs had actually dropped a skill book.
[Blood Recovery (Common): Allows the caster to restore a small amount of health to a teammate. Restricted to Priest-class characters.]
Not bad at all. A recovery skill book for Priests—he could sell it for a decent price once he got out of here.
Without any hesitation, Qin Chen pocketed the skill book and continued pressing deeper into the battlefield.
"Crack, crack, crack—!"
Almost immediately, several more undead skeleton mobs emerged from the shadows.
Without a shred of fear, Qin Chen raised his Intern Staff and charged forward.
"Eat old Sun's staff!"
......
Less than a few minutes later, the undead skeletons let out another round of mournful wails and reluctantly turned into piles of bone ash.
[Successfully killed Undead Remains x1]
[Successfully killed Undead Remains x2]
......
[Experience points gained +10]
[Experience points gained +10]
A blinding ray of experience light instantly poured into Qin Chen's body.
A level-up notification rang out crisply across his status panel.
[Ding! Your level has increased to: Level 2]
[Attribute points increased: Strength +5, Vitality +5, Intelligence +5, Energy +5, Speed +5]
[You have obtained 5 additional free attribute points.]
......
Current Level: [Level 2 Experience: 0/80]
[Talent Triggered: You have obtained one chance to draw a golden talent.]
A sharp gleam flashed through Qin Chen's eyes.
It was finally time!
......