Chapter16-Dungeon Boss

"Helena, shall we form a temporary team?"

Before Helena could even respond, John had already sent out the invite to team up.

Staring at the pop-up team invitation, Helena was momentarily taken aback.

"You want to team up with us?"

"Of course. As you can see, I'm not much of a fighter, and Lily is a Priest. We lack sufficient offensive capabilities, so teaming up with you guys is the best option.

Of course, don't get me wrong, I'm not looking to cooperate with the Pioneer Squad, just extending a personal invitation to you and Exiled Immortal."

As he spoke, John pulled out the key from his backpack and, with a smirk, added, "You must be interested in the first-clear rewards as well, right?"

"Absolutely! For this dungeon, we have..."

Exiled Immortal started to say something, his gaze drifting towards Lily and unable to move away. After a brief, unintentional exchange of looks, Exiled Immortal's face turned red with embarrassment, and he guiltily looked away.

"Damn, that's just too cute!"

As a gaming addict, Exiled Immortal had played countless games before diving into [Apocalypse] and even set numerous world-speedrunning records—a true prodigy.

Of course, even a prodigy has his moments, just like now.

Even with the sultry beauty Helena right beside him, Exiled Immortal paid her no heed.

Compared to sultry and sexy, Exiled Immortal clearly preferred the cute type, like Lily.

Of course, neither John nor Helena noticed Exiled Immortal's little crush, as they seriously discussed the feasibility of forming a temporary team.

Helena, as a [Hunter], boasts impressive attack power, while Exiled Immortal's [Archer] class can perfectly complement the current lack of offensive capabilities in John and Lily's team.

As a [Priest], Lily also provides healing and enhancement buffs, further boosting their combat effectiveness.

As for John, with the blessing of [Hermes Dice], his combat prowess is not to be underestimated.

Moreover, John had already secretly prepared a number of potent poisons!

"So, it's decided then, happily."

"Good, let's prepare for ten minutes, then meet at the entrance to the underground city in ten minutes."

"Exiled Immortal, let's go back and get ready, Exiled Immortal?"

"Uh? Oh! Yes, need to prepare."

Exiled Immortal tore his gaze away, sheepishly touched his nose, and reluctantly followed Helena as they turned to leave.

It was then that Lily poked John's shoulder, puzzled. "Johnny, you're so powerful, you could clear the dungeon on your own, right? Why invite Helena?"

"Um... it's a secret for now, I'll tell you later."

...

Ten minutes later, at the entrance to the underground city!

John and Lily were already there waiting. Lily had changed into a newly bought Priest's long dress, with a clover pendant conspicuously displayed at her chest.

John, on the other hand, was still in a dark gray robe, his face hidden under a hood, giving off a rather sinister vibe from a distance.

Before long, Helena and Exiled Immortal arrived as promised. Helena was clad in fiery red armor, and Exiled Immortal wore an elf outfit, with a water-blue longbow slung across his back.

"You've quickly gathered a set of exquisite-tier equipment; it's quite enviable."

"What's with the dark getup? You're actually quite handsome, why hide your face?"

"I'm afraid someone might see me and want to harm me."

"Pfft... you really are narcissistic."

Helena covered her mouth and giggled softly. After accepting the team invitation, she spoke in a serious tone, "Inside the underground city, Exiled Immortal is more familiar, so he'll lead the way. Once we enter the dungeon, aside from the first-clear reward, we'll distribute the loot as needed."

"I have no objections."

"Me neither."

Exiled Immortal shrugged, indifferent.

You see, just his [Elven Archer's Hunting Garb] and [Elven Guardian Longbow] alone are worth thousands of silver coins. He wouldn't care for ordinary dungeon item drops; he's only interested in the first-clear rewards.

"Then let's set off. For our first cooperation, I hope we can achieve great success."

"Before we depart, take these."

John then pulled out several bottles of basic HP potions and poison antidote potions from his backpack, handing them to Helena and Exiled Immortal. After a moment's thought, he also handed a bottle of poison to Exiled Immortal.

"Is this... HP potion? Two thousand silver coins, and you bought so many? You're a hidden tycoon!"

It was surprising, indeed. In these early stages of pioneering, the price of basic HP potions at two thousand silver coins each was enough to deter most people.

Compared to that, the church's nuns were obviously a better choice, requiring only a bit of time wasted, which was better than spending two thousand silver coins.

Even Helena herself had only bought one bottle to keep on hand, but John, on the other hand, had spent tens of thousands of silver coins in one go.

"It's free, just take it easy. Also, that poison bottle is moderately potent. Applying it to arrows might have a special effect."

"Thanks."

"John, I've been meaning to ask you, are you the one who snagged the first breakthrough level reward?"

"What first breakthrough level reward?"

...

Inside the underground city, everything matched John's memory. The monster levels in the underground city weren't too exaggerated, with common den-dwelling goblins, slimes, and mechanical puppets filling the space.

However, with Exiled Immortal's presence, the journey was considerably easier.

Watching the arrows floating around Exiled Immortal, even John had to admire his exaggerated talent.

Using the talent [Windwhisper] to control the arrows and fend off nearby monsters was no easy feat. It required a mastery of the talent as if it were an extension of one's own limbs, while also remaining vigilant of the surroundings. The prodigy lived up to his reputation.

Although the wind-manipulated arrows weren't particularly powerful, they were more than sufficient to clear these minor foes.

Along the way, John continuously scanned the surroundings. They even found a treasure chest, which, after being forcibly opened, yielded some silver coins. Although with the boost from [Kiss of LUCK], the moment the silver coins entered his backpack they multiplied significantly, it didn't bring any substantial improvement.

Finally, after about half an hour of deeper penetration, a thick golden gate blocked their path.

Seeing the scratches and dents on the golden gate, John curled his lips into a smile, "You guys didn't think about breaking through the gate with brute force, did you?"

"Am I that stupid? Qing tried that, not only did he fail to break the gate, but he also ruined an exquisite-tier weapon. I told him that approach wouldn't work."

Exiled Immortal scoffed, stepped forward, and knocked on the golden gate, then turned to look at John.

"Take out the key and open the gate."

"It would be my honor."

John stepped forward and inserted the key into the only slit in the golden gate. The dull sounds of gears turning echoed in the narrow room, causing Lily to frown and dutifully plug her ears.

With a crisp 'click', John cautiously reached out his hand, and indeed, the golden gate loosened. The four of them pushed the gate open together, and a dialogue box flashed before each of their eyes.

"Dungeon BOSS: The Stonehide Basilisk of the underground city is now active. Please prepare for combat, dungeon participants."

Just as expected.

The BOSS, which John remembered well, a Basilisk about four meters tall and nearly ten meters long, slowly crawled out from the shadows. Each time its massive claws hit the ground, the earth trembled.

From the corners of its mouth dripped a viscous liquid emitting a fetid, rotting smell. Its vertical pupils stared directly at the group of four, as if sizing up its meal for the evening.

"A level 25 dungeon BOSS?"

The BOSS's information unfolded before them, causing even Helena to gasp in surprise.

Even she, currently at level 19 with about 2100 HP, found the sight daunting.

The BOSS's HP, however, was a terrifying five-digit number!

"Don't just stand there, move!"

Exiled Immortal shouted, pushing Lily aside gently and leaping to the side himself. The next moment, the spot where they had just stood was instantly covered with poison, even corroding the hard bluestone pavement and emitting a grating, acidic sound.

"That was close... Big sis, don't zone out. We've worked too hard to screw up here!"

"John, Lily, back off! Exiled Immortal, I'll hold the BOSS, you deal the damage!"

"Already on it!"

Exiled Immortal clenched his teeth, his longbow fully drawn. With the sound of the air tearing, the arrow shot towards the Stonehide Basilisk's face like a streak of light!