Xiao Chen had already led the Gale Squad through the level three dungeon.
The level three hard dungeon had level 30 monsters, which could originally be farmed until level 35.
However, Xiao Chen had no interest in the level three dungeon anymore; his target was the level four dungeon.
The difficulty had already increased sharply from level two to level three dungeons.
From level three to level four, the difficulty rose even more significantly.
Xiao Chen wasn't confident in soloing the level three hard dungeon, let alone the level four one.
The level three dungeon was a five-person squad dungeon, while the level four dungeon required a ten-person team.
"Wang Zhen, you guys have a solid foundation now, so tackling the level three hard dungeon on your own shouldn't be a problem.
I'm planning to tackle the level four dungeon, so I won't be farming with you for now."
It's not that the level three dungeon was bad, but the level four dungeon was more suitable for Xiao Chen.
If everything went smoothly, he would farm the level four normal and hard dungeons until level 45, or even higher.
"Captain, we're planning to continue farming outside the city until each of us has a full set of bronze gear.
The level three hard dungeon is still dangerous for us."
"Yeah, we're already very satisfied to have cleared the level three dungeon this early."
"The level four dungeon is even more difficult; we'll be grateful if we can enter it after reaching level 40.
Reaching level 30 has already exceeded our goal, so we need to proceed steadily from here."
"Alright, be careful and make sure to stay alive."
"Don't worry, we'll proceed cautiously on the outskirts; there won't be any danger."
***
At the dungeon's teleportation point, Xiao Chen waved goodbye to the group.
He had seen many people off here before, and he hoped Wang Zhen and the others would have better luck.
In truth, Xiao Chen was also taking a bit of a risk tackling the level four dungeon now.
The first three levels of dungeons each had nine maps, but the level four dungeon only had one map.
The reason Xiao Chen was so eager to farm this dungeon was that it dropped items needed for Xiao Qiang's upgrade.
Additionally, the number of small monsters in the level four dungeon was considerable, making it ideal for increasing kill counts.
Before finding a team, Xiao Chen first thoroughly understood the characteristics of the level four dungeon.
[Map Name: Necromancer Gorge. BOSS: Necromancer Mage, Skill: Necromancer Catastrophe.]
[Necromancer Catastrophe: Summons ten waves of undead creatures, with each wave's attributes increasing by ten percent.]
At first glance, the skill didn't seem too difficult, but considering the attributes of those small monsters, anyone would find this dungeon terrifyingly difficult.
[First Wave Skeleton: HP 26,000, Attack: 900, Defense: 250]
[Second Wave Skeleton Archer: HP 28,600, Attack: 990, Defense: 275]
***
[Tenth Wave Undead Knight: HP 52,000, Attack: 1,800, Defense: 500]
These were the small monsters, not the BOSS.
Each wave summoned 100 creatures, totaling 1,000 after ten waves.
The later monsters had more HP than a BOSS.
Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original.
With Xiao Chen's attack power just over 3,000, it would take twenty hits to kill the later monsters.
Normally, no one would want to bring a level 30 player to farm a level four dungeon.
Xiao Chen had no choice but to ask for help from the guild's big shots.
Farming a level four dungeon was a matter of life and death.
Naturally, Xiao Chen couldn't lie and directly posted his basic attributes and other information in the guild channel.
Xiao Chen didn't expect that shortly after posting, he received a response.
"Xu Qing invites you to join the team."
Seeing this name, Xiao Chen was taken aback: "Is it her?"
Back then, Xiao Chen had led a team through 32 runs of the level one dungeon, with Xu Qing and Sun Jian among them.
Xiao Chen still remembered that Xu Qing and Sun Jian were a couple.
The connections he had built up back then were now coming in handy!
[Xu Qing: Priest, Level 42!]
Without a second thought, Xiao Chen accepted the invitation.
Xu Qing sent a private message:"Brother Xiao, experience is calculated based on team contribution.
Your output will be lower, so you'll receive less experience."
What a considerate girl, not only willing to help him but also giving him a heads-up.
"Don't worry, the amount of experience doesn't matter; this distribution method is fair."
After level 30, leveling up would slow down significantly.
However, fighting level 35 monsters now could yield a lot of extra experience.
"Then there's no problem.
Prepare a few bottles of healing potions; I'm afraid there will be too many monsters to heal you all."
Compared to archers, Xiao Chen's HP wasn't considered low.
"Okay."
"Since it's a guild team, BOSS equipment is handed over to the guild at 90% of market price.
If you need anything, you can bid for it directly."
"No problem."
Xiao Chen was also afraid of dying, so he bought whatever was needed.
The entry fee for the level four dungeon was high, requiring one gold coin per person.
However, if they could clear the high-level dungeon, it would be a guaranteed profit.
If they couldn't clear it, then it would be a complete wipeout.
He couldn't use level 35 equipment yet.
The ten-person team configuration included two tanks, two healers, and the remaining six were typically DPS.
The ten-person team was quickly assembled, and aside from Xiao Chen, the lowest level among the others was 36.
"Brother, are you a C-rank archer, starting level four dungeons at level 30?"
"Yeah, this is no joke; you might die in there.
Do you want to level up a bit first?"
"Brother, I'm just being straightforward.
If you lack experience and aren't good at positioning, you should leave the team."
Being told off by so many people made Xiao Chen feel quite embarrassed.
At this point, Xu Qing came to his rescue:
"Don't worry, his output is sufficient.
Plus, he has extensive dungeon experience, so there won't be any problems."
Xiao Chen indeed had extensive experience, but it was all from low-level dungeons. Was it really the same?
"If Sister Qing says so, then we're relieved."
"Yeah, we trust Sister Qing."
"Sister Qing wouldn't randomly assemble a team; let's focus on the fight."
Originally, Xiao Chen planned to save up his money.
Now, he changed his mind; he needed to enhance his strength a bit before entering the dungeon.
Not for anything else, but to avoid making things difficult for Xu Qing.
Even if his output was the lowest, it shouldn't be too far behind.
"Let's upgrade the level 20 equipment to level 30, replace all the gear."
Selling the old equipment, the ordinary gear only required an additional five gold coins.
The necklace and two rings were more expensive, totaling 60 gold coins.
After spending 110 gold on a few pieces of equipment, he still had 80 gold coins left.
"Total Attributes +90, Attack +206, Defense +32, It seems the increase isn't very noticeable."
Anyway, the equipment wouldn't depreciate; he had already bought it.
The ten-person team was divided into two squads, with Xiao Chen and Xu Qing in the same squad.
The tank was a level 40 knight with 28,000 HP, quite formidable.
The other two were DPS, one being a level 39 fire mage, whose fire attacks had a restraining effect on undead creatures, clearly the main DPS.
The other was also a summoner, already level 40, with two summoned beasts.
One was an elemental water spirit, and the other was a giant wolf.
"I'm the captain, Wang Xu; everyone, follow my lead."
The speaker was the tank, a burly man.
"The first few waves of monsters aren't that strong, so be mindful of potion and mana usage.
The second wave of archers has a long range, 30 meters, so make sure to avoid the large-scale arrow rain, or you'll be killed instantly.
The third wave will have a combination of ranged and tank monsters; I'll try to disrupt their formation and gather them for clearing."
Xiao Chen listened to Wang Xu list five or six key points, none of which seemed too difficult.
The challenge lay in the monsters being strong and hard to kill.
The skeleton archers had a range of 30 meters, but Xiao Chen could hit targets from 50 meters away.
As for mana management, he didn't need to worry about it; he hadn't used mana at all.
"Alright, once everyone's ready, let's enter the dungeon."
***
Necromancer Gorge was indeed a gorge, several hundred meters wide and over a thousand meters long.
In such a vast area, ten people had to deal with so many small monsters, making it incredibly challenging.
If they weren't careful, everyone could be surrounded.
As soon as they entered the dungeon, Xiao Chen saw hordes of skeletons charging in their direction.
Xiao Chen immediately summoned Xiao Qiang and jumped onto his shoulder.
Standing high not only provided a better view but also allowed for longer shots.
"Wow, you have a summoning skill? Did you buy a public skill book?"
The other summoner in the squad, named Sun Xing, was surprised to see Xiao Chen's summoned beast.
Even a few others cast envious glances, probably mistaking Xiao Chen for some second-generation wealthy kid.
Who else could afford a public skill book?
"Uh, it was a gift from someone!"
"Come on, who would believe that?"
"Xiao Chen, right? You're not being honest."
Forget it; this was indeed hard to believe.
"Stop chatting and focus on blocking those monsters, leaving enough space to retreat.
Otherwise, when there are too many monsters, we'll have nowhere to go!"
The two tanks charged to the front, with Wang Xu raising his shield to hold back a group of undead skeletons.
[You've received a battle intent boost, Attack +600.]
This attack boost was quite something, directly increasing Xiao Chen's attack power to 4,000.
Right, Xu Qing's class talent seemed quite high too.
[Xu Qing has cast Rejuvenation on you, healing 200 HP per second for 10 seconds.]
"You don't need to heal me; just focus on the others."
Xiao Chen was arguably the most relaxed among them, not even needing to dodge skills.
The reason was simple: his attack range exceeded 50 meters.
Even when facing the ranged skeleton archers, he had a buffer distance of over 20 meters, which was more than enough.
"Fireball!"
"Little Wolf, attack!"
"Shield Bash."
These people were clearly not new to this dungeon, skillfully coordinating their attacks.
"Xiao Qiang, summon skeletons, spread them out, and draw fire when needed."
Xiao Chen also began drawing his bow to shoot.
The small monsters' defense wasn't low.
"-3468"
"Critical Hit, -3915"
A series of numbers popped up, roughly as expected.
[Experience +24 (+6)]
[Experience +26 (+7)]
Occasionally, some experience points would pop up, which made Xiao Chen very satisfied.
The rate of improvement was actually better than farming outside the city.
[You've received Copper Coins +30]
[Kill Count +1, Experience +30]
The first wave of monsters posed no pressure, and Xiao Chen's output was indeed at the bottom.
He had done his best; there was nothing more he could do.
However, when the second wave of archers appeared, the situation changed.
Before long, his output surpassed the second-to-last person.
He couldn't help it; his output environment was too good, not needing to dodge skills like the others.
With his contribution increasing, even his experience points went up by a couple of points.
"Not bad, not bad."
Xiao Chen was naturally very pleased; Quadruple Shot combined with stable output wasn't bad at all.
[Ding, you've received Copper Coins +30, Undying Crystal Core +1]
Hearing this notification, Xiao Chen quickly opened his backpack.
The Undying Crystal Core was exactly what he urgently needed.
He hadn't expected the small monsters to drop such items.
"Well, these are level 35 monsters after all."
[Undying Crystal Core, Grade: Normal, can be fused with undead creatures.]
An Undying Crystal Core was worth about two gold coins, quite valuable.
Xiao Chen immediately fused it with Xiao Qiang.
"Undead Skeleton HP +100, Attack +5, Defense +2"
Seeing this improvement, Xiao Chen was overjoyed.
From now on, every time he obtained an Undying Crystal Core, he would fuse it, and eventually, he could cultivate Xiao Qiang.
Clearly, the drop rate for these cores wasn't high; who knew if he could get one per run.
The level 35 monsters had a lot of HP, and by the fifth wave, it was getting tough.
The fifth wave wasn't cleared yet when the sixth wave arrived.
"Prepare to cast Flame Sea, and get the next area attack skill ready.
Don't let too many monsters accumulate, or we won't be able to handle it later."
The mage's area attacks were terrifying, with a sea of flames instantly halving the HP of dozens of small monsters.
"Use a mana potion and cast another skill; we can clear the sixth wave directly.
The seventh wave consists of skeleton mages that will summon small skeletons.
We'll hold the small skeletons, and once the skeleton mages are killed, the small skeletons will disappear.
The eighth wave is still skeletons, with two aura-boosting elite monsters; focus fire to take them out first."
Xiao Chen was speechless; there were even elite monsters.
This dungeon might not be soloable even at level 50.
"The ninth and tenth waves of monsters will appear together; be very mindful of your HP and kite them."
The last 200 undead monsters surged from several directions.
This was the hardest wave, with each small monster having a lot of HP and coming in such large numbers.
"Xiao Qiang, you guys go too!"
Xiao Qiang would likely be killed in two hits, but any contribution was better than none.
He himself jumped to the ground, shooting madly at the monster horde.
The monsters were too numerous and strong, forcing all the adventurers to retreat while fighting.
Xiao Chen remained a stable, stationary DPS.
"Sun Xing, have your elemental water spirit lure away a wave of monsters and then self-destruct.
Everyone, ignore mana usage and give it your all!
I'm activating Group Protection; if you get hit, just hold on as best as you can."
[You've received Group Protection, Defense +100.]
Several people were already being hit by monsters, and their HP was dropping rapidly.
Fortunately, the two healers were very capable, managing to keep everyone alive.
This dungeon was indeed dangerous; a group of level 30-somethings wouldn't stand a chance.
Originally, Xiao Chen had thought about bringing the Gale Squad to farm a few times, but their setup wouldn't work at all.
The monsters were too numerous, and Xiao Chen was being chased by several small monsters.
However, his speed was fast, his movements agile, and his output remained unaffected.
"Xiao Chen, where the hell are you running to? You've already moved beyond the defensive range."
"Bring those monsters over here; I'll help you divert their aggro.
Damn, you pulled six monsters at once; you're done for, you're gonna die."
"Damn, how are you so fast?
You can dodge like that?"
Not only did he dodge, but he also slowly whittled down and killed several monsters.
The last two waves of monsters were overwhelming; everyone was injured, except for Xiao Chen, who was completely unscathed.
Not even his clothes were dirtied.
Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan