Chapter 247 - 170: Lion Serpent and Divine Hall
With Luo Ge’s direct incentives, the players’ enthusiasm for exploration noticeably increased.
Of course, the various vicious traps and dense monster populations within the Divine Hall Ruins were still very much a reality, creating considerable difficulty for the players.
However, the players’ greatest strength lay in their ability to communicate, learn from their experiences, and develop new strategies.
As a result, the players developed one precautionary measure and counter-strategy after another.
Items like Pathfinding Stones, Disguised Leaves, and Giant Sound Dolls were put to use by a great many players, allowing them to bypass one trap after another.
And even though some players weren’t the brightest, they knew how to copy someone else’s homework!
Following the guides posted by the pros was a surefire bet.
Of course, this didn’t apply to the players who left messages like "Treasure ahead" in front of traps.
The happiest among them all were the Mage players.
"Hahahaha, I told you we should play as Mages!"
"Want to learn Thief Illusion Body? Want to experience the thrill of having someone else scout the path ahead? Quick, become a Mage!"
"Geez, this Divine Hall isn’t even that hard. I suggest the devs buff it. Give us something really nasty, okay?"
"Hehe, Thief Illusion Body is so useful. Oh? Why aren’t our tall, mighty Knights using it? Is it because you don’t like to?"
"Our Madman build’s Living Corpses are really useful, too!"
"A psycho from the Madman build escaped. Where’s the warden? Come get your patient, thanks."
"Candlekeeper, I can’t tell them apart! I really can’t tell them apart!"
"..."
The Thief Illusion Body was a form of Magic that came from the Burton Mage. Its greatest function was creating an Illusion Body that could automatically scout the path.
This was practically a cheat code against traps, exposing every danger ahead down to the last detail.
This also meant that, surprisingly, Mage players were the ones having the easiest time in the entire Divine Hall Ruins.
Although the Madman Stream players, often called ’the Madmen’, also wanted to show off, their small numbers meant their voices were drowned out.
Heh. Someone had even joked in a forum post that Thief Illusion Body was completely useless, and now they were getting their faces slapped.
This finally gave the often-beleaguered Mage players a chance to feel proud.
However, while the other players were envious, they refused to show any weakness with their words.
"Oh, Mages are so powerful? Then you must have saved up a lot of Wax Oil, right? Send me 50 and let me see how strong you are."
"I haven’t heard a Mage joke in three minutes. Someone tell one, thanks."
"As everyone knows, many Mages often share a single raft. Can I ask why? Is it because you’re all so united?"
"Dear Spirit Candle devs, I’m a Mage player. Can you please add public boats to the game?"
"You might still be able to learn Magic even if your character is ugly, but you definitely can’t learn Magic if you don’t have Wax Oil."
"Firewood Thief: We usually don’t kill Mage players, because they’re not worth looting."
"I can kill a Gulard grunt on Exile Island and at least he’ll drop some Wax Oil for me."
"Keep talking!"
"..."
The world chat channel devolved into utter chaos. Witty remarks from all sorts of characters emerged one after another, and the whole spectacle just got more and more entertaining.
But the Prison Players’ exploration continued.
As the poster boy for the Madman players, Forgotten Dao had been pushing forward with intense focus. He’d even put away his Blood Tongue to avoid having one of his ’episodes’ at a critical moment and disrupting his exploration.
And since he had a Living Corpse to scout the path, his progress was naturally quite fast.
𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂
He had reached the end of the corridor beneath the altar. This seemed to be the lowest level of the Divine Hall Ruins, and in this room was a Molten Slag Ash Tier gatekeeping mini-boss, the Lion-Snake Guard.
[You have slain the Lion-Snake Guard]
[Acquired: Wax Oil x59]
[Acquired: Lion Snake’s Fang]
[Acquired: Lion Snake Tail Hammer (Excellence)]
As the corpse collapsed with a crash, Forgotten Dao finally had time to get a clear look at it.
It was a bizarre, massive venomous snake with a mane growing from its neck and a giant, keratinous hammer for a tail. It was also draped in strange pieces of cloth and leather. A ring of Chain Armor protected the weak spot on its neck, and it even wore a helmet made of unknown minerals!
With such lavish equipment, it really looked the part of a "Guard."
"Phew... hehe... Finally wore this thing down."
After letting out a sigh of relief, Forgotten Dao let out another involuntary, strange laugh. He quickly deactivated his Blood Robe Priest state and tossed the Blood Tongue back into his inventory.
By now, the entire room and its walls were covered in viscous blood and countless marks from heavy hammer blows. Even as the blood began to dissipate and the walls started to reform, the lingering effects wouldn’t fade away completely for a while.
It was a testament to how fierce the battle had been.
After dealing with the mini-boss, Forgotten Dao turned his attention to the heavy iron door ahead, his brow furrowing slightly.
’No key. How am I supposed to open this?’
Puzzled, Forgotten Dao took out the item he had just looted. One look at it and he understood.
[Lion Snake’s Fang]
[Type: Special Item]
[Effect: Used to open a door.]
[Explanation: What would a snake use to open a door?]
’...That actually makes sense.’
The Lion Snake’s Fang did indeed fit the horizontal switch protruding from the iron door, a mechanism clearly designed for a snake to operate.
But as the saying goes: once bitten, twice shy. He had seen more than his fair share of snakes on the way here.
So, Forgotten Dao cautiously sent out his cannon-fodder Living Corpse to scout ahead.
Thankfully, there were no nasty surprises this time. All was quiet.
Only then did Forgotten Dao cautiously approach and open the door.