Chapter 76: Self-Destruct? Feel Free to Blow Up!
The team continued to advance deeper into the poisonous swamp.
After experiencing the earth-shattering chain explosions just now, the way Lu Qingyan, Lin Wei, and Song Xinlooked at Su Chen had completely changed.
It was the look one gives a freak.
The terrain ahead became even more rugged, and the poisonous miasma filling the air had become so thick it was visible to the naked eye, compressing their field of vision to less than fifty meters.
The surrounding mudflats were no longer just bubbling; they were churning out large patches of dark red venom, and the stench of putrefaction in the air made their eyes sting.
"Wuaah, the monsters ahead are so strange!"
Song Xin suddenly exclaimed, her figure pausing within the shadows.
Everyone looked in the direction she was pointing.
On the marshland ahead, a group of extremely bizarre creatures lay densely packed together.
They were shaped like toads, but on their backs grew strange, dark red pustules that pulsed and swelled, as if they were ready to burst at any moment, emitting a highly dangerous red light.
Song Xin sent out the monster panel and shared it with the whole team.
[Target: Abyss Poison-Explosion Toad (Elite Monster)]
[Level: Level 27]
[Strength: 600]
[Agility: 1000]
[Stamina: 400]
[Spirit: 360]
[Skills: Near-Death Berserk, Venom Self-Destruct]
...
"We've reached the Poison-Explosion Zone."
Lu Qingyan stopped and looked at the stretch of marshland ahead glowing with an eerie red light, her expression becoming solemn.
She thrust her tower shield into the mud, and the Holy Light dispersed some of the surrounding poisonous miasma.
"The military's intelligence mentioned that the monsters here have an extremely disgusting passive mechanism."
Lu Qingyan turned to look at the team. " [Near-Death Berserk] and [Venom Self-Destruct]. Once their HP drops below 10%, their movement speed and attack speed will instantly increase by 200%, and upon death, they will trigger an area-of-effect self-destruct, dealing poison-attribute damage equivalent to 20% of their maximum HP."
Lin Wei shrank her neck in fear, gripping the staff in her hand tightly.
"Then what if a whole group blows up together..."
She didn't dare to continue thinking about it.
"It would be enough to instantly empty everyone's HP bars!"
Song Xin rubbed the goosebumps on her arms. "And the aggro range of these self-destructing monsters is huge. Once you aggro one, all the monsters in the entire area will swarm over like mad dogs. It's impossible to defend against."
They all shook their heads in unison, their faces showing difficulty.
If they were normal Elite Monsters, they could still rely on kiting and slowly whittling down their HP.
But these self-destructing monsters that drag others down with them when they die are simply a nightmare for melee fighters.
Su Chen stood in the back, looking at the red-glowing swamp, and also curled his lip.
Getting a massive boost in movement and attack speed when near death is one thing, but they also self-destruct when they die?
Isn't this just purely disgusting?
Although he could one-shot them, what if this group of disgusting things engaged their second gear and rushed into his face to self-destruct before dying?
That scene... Even with the shield from his Dragon-Language Robe, he wouldn't dare to tank it with his face.
"Let's stick to the previous tactic."
Lu Qingyan gritted her teeth. "I'll use Taunt to gather the monsters. When they surround me, Su Chen, you attack and one-shot them. Song Xin, watch for the right timing to swap me out."
She took a deep breath, raised her shield, and prepared to charge.
"No, it's too dangerous."
Su Chen suddenly spoke up, stopping Lu Qingyan. "Once their movement speed increases by 200%, their sprinting speed will be extremely fast. Song Xin's [Shadow Swap] has a casting delay. At that extreme speed, she might not be able to get you out in time."
He looked at Lu Qingyan: "If there's a single mistake, dozens of monsters will self-destruct at once, and there won't even be ash left of you."
Lu Qingyan was stunned.
She certainly knew the risks involved, but this was the only method she could think of at the moment.
"But... if we don't gather them, they'll charge over in a scattered formation, and we..."
"You guys step back."
Su Chen waved his hand, interrupting her. "Hide far away, get out of this red-glowing area. I'll handle it alone."
"Alone?" Lin Wei widened her eyes.
"Hurry up and retreat."
Su Chen didn't waste any more words; he walked forward a few steps and stood at the edge of the poisonous swamp.
Lu Qingyan hesitated for a moment, but thinking of the earth-shattering damage Su Chen had dealt earlier, she gritted her teeth and led Lin Wei and Song Xin in a quick retreat, pulling back to a safe zone over a hundred meters away.
Su Chen looked at the Poison-Explosion Toads still sleeping ahead and curled his lip.
"Self-destruct, right?"
He didn't even raise his staff; he just recited silently in his heart.
"[Corrosive Snake Guard]."
The next instant.
"Pfft, pfft, pfft—!"
In the mudflats in front of Su Chen.
Suddenly, like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, countless dark green, semi-transparent totem pillars sprouted out densely!
One, ten, one hundred, one thousand...
A full six thousand Corrosive Snake Guards!
They instantly covered the entire hundred-plus meters of swamp in front of Su Chen!
The air in the entire dungeon seemed to solidify at that moment.
Lu Qingyan, who had retreated into the distance, held up her shield and stared at the "forest of Snake Guards" that had suddenly appeared before her, her mind going blank.
What the hell is this?!
Lin Wei even forgot to cast her spells; she stared with her mouth wide open at the dense totems, her trypophobia almost triggering.
Even Song Xin, who was hiding in the shadows, almost missed her footing and fell from the tree.
"Fire."
Su Chen spat out the two words indifferently.
"Swish, swish, swish—!"
At the tips of the six thousand Snake Guards, dark green venomous light lit up simultaneously.
The next second, six thousand venomous rays poured out like a rainstorm!
"Skreeee—!"
Those Poison-Explosion Toads were instantly awakened, letting out ear-piercing shrieks as they lunged over with red eyes.
But before they had even charged a few steps, they were instantly submerged by this terrifying barrage.
"-4432"
"-4468"
"-4396"
"..."
Damage numbers floated up densely, completely obscuring their vision.
The single-attack power of the Snake Guards was (Spirit * 0.8). With Su Chen's current 6926 Spirit attribute, that was roughly 5,500 damage.
Su Chen had swallowed quite a few Abyss Crystals earlier, so the damage he dealt was only around four thousand.
But the sheer quantity made up for it!
With over six thousand Snake Guards focusing fire simultaneously, the scene was comparable to a Gatling gun sweeping the ground!
And.
The next second.
"-119986024"
"-110002950"
"-110000876"
"..."
Suffocating damage numbers exploded within the mob of monsters!
The Poison-Explosion Toads charging at the very front had their HP bars instantly wiped out.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The moment they died.
The Poison-Explosion Toads' [Venom Self-Destruct] mechanism triggered.
The dark red venom exploded crazily, and terrifying shockwaves swept through the surroundings.
The Corrosive Snake Guards on the very front line had their HP instantly wiped out, shattering in large patches.
"Hiss..."
Lin Wei gasped, "The Snake Guards were blown away!"
"It's fine."
Song Xin swallowed her saliva. "Look at the numbers..."
The front row of Snake Guards had indeed been shattered by the dozens.
But Su Chen had summoned a full six thousand!
It didn't even count as a drop in the bucket.
Furthermore, nearly half of the Snake Guards, after being blown away, directly respawned on the spot amidst a strange dark gray energy!
"Feel free to blow up."
Su Chen touched the ring on his hand and yawned leisurely.
His Snake Guards now had a 50% chance to respawn on the spot.
These six thousand Snake Guards, when calculated, were equivalent to nine thousand.
The second round of volley fire.
"Swish, swish, swish, swish—!"
Another several thousand venomous rays.
The second batch of Poison-Explosion Toads that rushed up were one-shot again, and they self-destructed again.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Less than a minute had passed.
The red-glowing swamp ahead went completely quiet.
All the Poison-Explosion Toads had been blown into minced meat and pus.
[Successfully killed Level 27 Abyss Poison-Explosion Toad (Elite Monster), EXP +1800]
[Successfully killed Level 27 Abyss Poison-Explosion Toad (Elite Monster), EXP +1800]
[...]
Su Chen turned his head and looked at the three girls in the distance who had completely petrified.
Lu Qingyan slowly lowered her tower shield, her chest heaving violently.
Lin Wei's mouth was slightly agape, her gaze already somewhat dazed.
Song Xin took a deep breath and couldn't help but ask: "Boss Su, aren't you a mage who deals DOT damage? How can you summon things?"
Su Chen shrugged: "Yeah, I'm just a small mage. It's normal to be able to summon a few things, right?"
"..."
The corners of the girls' mouths twitched.
Over one hundred million DPS.
Casually summoning thousands of summons.
You call this a small mage?!
Chapter 77: The Villain Files a Complaint First, All Parties Enraged
At the entrance of the Abyss Dungeon known as the Poison Swamp Eye, the slowly rotating ink-green spatial rift was growing larger and larger.
The highest level of caution tape had been set up around the perimeter of the rift.
Dozens of fully armed Advanced military professionals stood in wait.
Various detection instruments flashed with red light, emitting a low-frequency hum.
Inside the command tent at the base, the atmosphere was terrifyingly oppressive.
"Report, sir, the vital sign signals of the Third Exploration Team... have all vanished."
A communications soldier took off his headset and reported, pale-faced, to the Major standing in front of the sand table.
The Major was named Lin Hu, a Level 80 Paladin.
Hearing this news, he slammed his fist onto the alloy frame at the edge of the sand table, emitting a dull thud.
"Damn it!"
Lin Hu gritted his teeth, his eyes bloodshot. "This is already the forty-third team to be lost inside! Even a Level 25 elite team equipped with Dark Gold gear couldn't last half an hour. To what extent has the difficulty of this suddenly mutated Abyss Dungeon expanded?"
The adjutant officer standing next to him pushed up his glasses, looking at the data panel in his hand, his voice grave. "According to the sporadic data transmitted back by the detectors, the concentration of miasma inside the dungeon is three times higher than its initial state."
"Moreover, the elite monsters inside have [Dying Frenzy] and [Venom Self-Destruct] skills. This kind of extreme AOE true damage mechanism cannot even be withstood by a main tank who purely stacks health for a few waves."
"What about those students from Sky Dome Academy?"
Lin Hu turned his head and asked, "How long has Lu Qingyan's team been inside?"
"They just went in."
The adjutant said, "The situation is unclear, communication is completely cut off."
Lin Hu took a deep breath, his brows knitting into a tight knot.
Lu Qingyan and her team were key talents nurtured by Sky Dome Academy; if they were lost here, the military would have a hard time explaining it to the school.
But they were, unfortunately, the last hope.
"Continue setting up the defensive devices."
Lin Hu issued the order, "No matter the cost, we must block the monsters here; we cannot let this thing continue to spread to the outer perimeter."
Just at this moment. Hum—!
The spatial rift outside the tent suddenly twisted violently, emitting a piercing tearing sound.
"Someone is coming out!"
The security personnel outside shouted.
Lin Hu and the adjutant immediately rushed out of the tent.
They saw a figure being embarrassingly "spat" out from the ink-green rift, crashing heavily onto the scorched muddy ground.
The person was covered in foul-smelling mud, their originally exquisite armor was corroded into tatters, and their face wore an expression of extreme terror and distortion.
It was none other than Chen Feng, who had been voted out of the team by the others.
"Quick! Medics!"
Lin Hu roared.
Several military priests quickly stepped forward.
Several beams of soft white light fell upon Chen Feng, dispelling the lingering toxic miasma on his body.
Chen Feng coughed violently, spitting out mouthfuls of blood.
After seeing the military personnel around him, his eyes finally shifted from terror to ecstasy.
Immediately after, this ecstasy quickly fermented into vicious resentment.
"Sir... Sir, help me!"
Chen Feng grabbed Lin Hu's military boots, sobbing, "Inside... something terrible has happened inside!"
Lin Hu squatted down and asked in a deep voice, "Are you a student from Sky Dome Academy? Where are Lu Qingyan and the others? What exactly is the situation inside?!"
Chen Feng rolled his eyes.
In his mind, the calm face of Su Chen, which had caused him to lose all face, immediately appeared.
He gritted his teeth, raised his voice, and shouted with a tearful tone, "Sir, you must uphold justice for me! That freshman named Su Chen, he... he is a madman!"
"Su Chen? A freshman?"
Lin Hu frowned. "How could a freshman appear in an Abyss Dungeon?"
"He was thick-skinned and insisted on following Senior Sister Lu inside!"
Chen Feng began to frantically throw mud, speaking very quickly. "As soon as he entered the dungeon, he ignored commands and lured monsters randomly! He almost killed our entire team!"
Chen Feng pointed at his own tattered breastplate. "Look! This was caused by the monsters he lured! Not only that, but when facing the first wave of monsters, he intentionally used a large-scale AOE skill to snatch the loot!"
The adjutant was recording quickly on the side, his brows locked tight. "Intentionally using AOE skills to lure monsters?"
"Yes!"
Chen Feng nodded desperately. "He doesn't care about the lives of his teammates at all! If it weren't for my quick reaction, I would already be dead inside!"
Lin Hu's expression turned completely grim.
In Abyss Dungeon exploration, the most taboo things are disobeying commands and infighting.
Examples of entire teams being wiped out because of one person's foolish actions are everywhere.
"Then how are Lu Qingyan and the others doing now?"
Lin Hu asked sharply.
Chen Feng pretended to be heartbroken. "Senior Sister Lu was forced to tank the monsters' attacks to protect that madman. By the time I came out, they had already been surrounded by hundreds or thousands of monsters. That Su Chen... he is a curse!"
Chen Feng was just spouting nonsense.
He painted Su Chen as a greedy, selfish, and short-sighted tumor who disregarded the big picture.
"Absurd!"
Lin Hu punched the armored vehicle next to him, and the armor dented inward by a large chunk again.
"How could Sky Dome Academy recruit such an undisciplined tumor!"
Just as Chen Feng was secretly proud of his acting, a sharp sound of screeching brakes rang out outside the base.
A black SUV with the Sky Dome Academy crest printed on it stopped outside the caution tape.
The car door opened, and a pot-bellied, balding middle-aged man walked in quickly.
He was wearing a stiff suit, with the badge of the Academic Affairs Office director pinned to his chest, his face livid.
"Director Zhao."
Lin Hu recognized the person and nodded.
Zhao Hongtao, a Level 120 Archmage, was known in Sky Dome Academy for being strict and protective of his own.
"Major Lin."
Zhao Hongtao strode up to Chen Feng, looking down at him. "Chen Feng, tell me everything you just said, word for word, one more time!"
When Chen Feng saw Zhao Hongtao, it was like seeing a life-saving straw, and he scrambled over to him.
"Director Zhao! You've finally come! You must uphold justice for me!"
Chen Feng, with snot and tears, repeated the lies he had just told, adding oil and vinegar to them.
He even described Su Chen as a psychologically twisted anti-social element, a running dog of the Abyss, and a spy for the Demon Race.
He directly pinned three labels on him.
"He said that we sophomores are all trash, and that he could solo the dungeon by himself. Senior Sister Lu has a good temper and kept tolerating him, but he took it too far and actually attacked us while we were in the monster swarm!"
Chen Feng said viciously, "Director Zhao, such scum must absolutely not be allowed to remain at Sky Dome Academy!"
After hearing this, Zhao Hongtao trembled with rage, pointing at the rift at the dungeon entrance and cursing loudly.
"This is rebellion! This is simply defying the heavens!"
Zhao Hongtao laughed out of extreme anger. "A first-year freshman, relying on his status as a national top scholar, dares to provoke upperclassmen in an Abyss Dungeon, and even incite infighting to harm teammates?!"
Zhao Hongtao turned to look at Lin Hu, his tone severe. "Major Lin, Lu Qingyan is the chief of our academy's junior year; she absolutely cannot be harmed. As for that Su Chen..."
A flash of ruthlessness crossed his eyes.
"If he dies inside, then so be it; he brought it upon himself. If he dares to come out alive, I, Zhao Hongtao, will expel him from Sky Dome Academy in front of everyone today and send him to court!"
Chen Feng lowered his head, a sinister sneer curling at the corners of his mouth.
Su Chen, oh Su Chen, aren't you very arrogant?
Even if you are lucky enough to survive the dungeon, so what?
Having offended me, the military, and the Academic Affairs Office, I'd like to see how you'll ever recover in this lifetime!
Chapter 78: Poison Swamp, Abyss Guide!
After clearing the disgusting area of Poison Burst Frogs, the team took a short break and continued to push toward the deepest part of the Eye of the Poison Swamp.
The further they went, the dimmer the light became.
The once gray, hazy Poison mist had now turned into thick, almost tangible black fog.
The towering dead trees around them looked like twisted corpses, clawing at the sky.
[ Warning: You have entered the core area of the Abyss Dungeon — The Quagmire of Despair! ]
[ Warning: Healing and shield effects reduced by 50%. ]
Accompanied by the glaring red System warning, the scene ahead completely cut off their path.
There was no path left.
Appearing before them was an endless black swamp.
The surface of the swamp was not calm; it was like boiling asphalt, constantly bubbling with huge, dark purple gas bubbles.
The moment the bubbles burst, they would spew out thick, visible Poison smoke.
In the very center of the swamp, a full hundred meters away from the shore, a humanoid creature draped in a gray-black cloak sat cross-legged.
"Is that... the final Boss?"
Lu Qingyan's palms were slick with sweat as she gripped her tower shield.
Song Xin crouched at the edge of the swamp, her brows furrowed tightly.
She pulled a straw doll from her backpack and threw it hard toward the black swamp ahead.
Hiss—!
The straw doll didn't even fall into the quagmire; it had barely passed through the layer of Poison gas half a meter above the swamp before it melted into a puddle of pus at a visible rate.
It dripped into the swamp without even causing a splash.
"Good heavens..." Song Xin gasped and took two steps back, "What kind of monster is this swamp?"
Lu Qingyan refused to believe it.
She turned to look at the edge of the area where they had just killed the Poison Burst Frogs, where a lone frog was still wandering.
Lu Qingyan rushed over in a few steps.
"Bang—!" A muffled sound.
The poor Poison Burst Frog was knocked unconscious before it could react.
Lu Qingyan picked it up with one hand and threw it with all her might directly toward the black swamp ahead.
"Croak—?!"
The next second, damage numbers popped up.
"-1000"
The Poison Burst Frog let out a shrill scream in mid-air, its fur instantly corroded.
But the worst was yet to come.
"-1000"
"-1000"
"..."
The damage numbers jumped extremely fast, appearing five times in a single second.
The Poison Burst Frog struggled in the swamp for a few seconds before melting into a pool of blood, not even leaving any bone fragments behind.
"Five thousand damage... per second?"
Lu Qingyan instinctively gripped her tower shield tighter.
As the main tank of the team, she was extremely sensitive to HP and resistance.
What was the concept of 5000 points of environmental damage?
A normal Level 20 warrior, fully equipped with Silver-Levelgear, would have a total HP of seven or eight thousand at most.
In this area, there was no need for any monster to attack; as long as the tip of one's toe touched the swamp, the HP bar would be completely wiped out in a few seconds!
Lin Wei covered her mouth, "So disgusting..."
"It's not just disgusting."
Lu Qingyan's face turned pale as she stared fixedly at the swamp, "The continuous HP loss is one thing, but this swamp also slows you down!"
"The Poison Burst Frog has high movement speed, but even struggling frantically, it couldn't get out. Once we enter, we'll be trapped, and I'm afraid it will be very difficult to get out!"
She frowned tightly.
Losing one thousand HP per second... Lin Wei couldn't possibly keep the HP bars up.
Even she wouldn't last long.
"We can't fight this."
Song Xin shook her head and spread her hands, "That distance is at least one hundred and fifty meters. Even if Senior Sister Lu uses her charge skill, in that slowing environment of the quagmire, it would take at least three minutes to run across."
"Three minutes..."
She gave a bitter smile, "We can't even last a few seconds."
Lin Wei raised her staff, attempting to recast a shield on everyone.
A layer of soft Holy Light enveloped the four of them.
However, the shield was incredibly thin, much dimmer than the previous ones.
"It's no use..." Lin Wei sighed, "My shield and healing effects have been reduced by 50%, and the shield's HP is less than one thousand."
A dead end. A complete and utter dead end.
Song Xin asked, "Senior Sister Lu, what does the military intelligence say?"
"The military intelligence didn't mention this swamp; they probably didn't pass through the Poison Burst Frog area."
Lu Qingyan shook her head helplessly.
"Then let's retreat."
Song Xin sighed, "Although Boss Su has high damage and can one-shot monsters, he's a mage, a squishy one. If he walks in there, he'd probably be gone in a second."
"...Sigh."
Lu Qingyan bit her lip, her face full of reluctance.
They had finally reached the final stage, only to be choked by this cursed environmental mechanic.
Could it be? Was all their previous effort really going to be in vain?
Meanwhile, Su Chen silently watched the black swamp before him.
This swamp... it was so strong.
If only he could have this skill, to generate a swamp that would inflict Poison on any enemy that entered it.
At that point, it would be over one hundred million damage per second!
Unfortunately, there were no ifs.
He sighed, looked at the rolling Poison gas ahead, and then at the Boss on the circular platform in the distance.
This was a desperate situation for others, but for him... it was not unsolvable.
"Wait here, don't get too close."
Su Chen said casually, tapping his toes on the ground.
"Junior Brother Su, don't be impulsive."
Lu Qingyan quickly stopped Su Chen.
"It's fine, I'm not stupid."
Su Chen smiled, "I've observed it. This Poison swamp ahead has a ground-contact trigger. As long as your feet touch this black sludge, you lose HP. So, I plan to... fly across."
"Fly?"
Lin Wei was stunned for a moment, "Junior Brother Su Chen, you have a flight skill?"
"Yes."
Su Chen nodded, "I have a piece of equipment that happens to have a flight prefix."
"..."
The girls' mouths hung slightly open.
In this world, flight skills were extremely rare, usually only mastered by Wind-element mages after their third advancement, or requiring extremely rare equipment.
Su Chen... a student who had just finished the college entrance exam, where did he get so much top-tier equipment?
"But, Junior Brother Su Chen, you're a mage, your HP bar is so thin. If you accidentally fall halfway..."
Lin Wei didn't dare to continue.
In her mind, she had already envisioned the terrifying scene of Su Chen turning into a falling wreck in mid-air, crashing, and then being melted into a pool of blood.
Lu Qingyan also advised in a deep voice, "Lin Wei is right. Although your output is invincible, a mage's Physique is a fatal weakness. This environmental mechanic is specifically designed to counter squishy units. You cannot take this risk."
Song Xin nodded along, "Yeah, Boss Su, as long as the green hills remain, there's no worry about firewood. This world... not every Abyss Dungeon can be cleared. Let's just go out and help the military defend the city; there's no need to throw our lives away here."
Looking at these three girls who were acting as if they were facing a great enemy, earnestly trying to dissuade him, Su Chen sighed.
He scratched his face, "Um, my HP bar is actually... a little bit thicker than you imagine."
"A little bit thicker?"
Lu Qingyan was stunned.
You're a squishy mage; even if you maxed out your Physique stats, how thick could it get? One thousand? Two thousand? Wouldn't you still be melted in minutes!
Su Chen didn't explain, but directly activated the stealth effect of his robe.
The next second.
Boom!
An extremely majestic black-purple magical fluctuation erupted from the robe Su Chen was wearing!
The Dragon language runes on the robe seemed to come alive, flowing across the fabric like swimming Dragons, emitting a heart-palpitating pressure.
[Skill Activated: Dragon Bone Phantom Flight]
[Effect: Enter flight state, Movement Speed +200%, Duration 60 minutes, can be actively canceled early, Cost: 2000 Mana.]
Whoosh!
A pair of semi-transparent, purple-black Dragon wings, several meters wide, suddenly spread from behind Su Chen!
A gust of wind swept out, directly blowing away a large patch of the Poison mist within a ten-meter radius.
But what shocked the three girls was not this cool flight skill.
Because the moment the Dragon wings spread, a layer of purple-black shield, so thick it felt suffocating, appeared on Su Chen's body.
[Dragon Language · Bone Shelter (Passive): Automatically generates a shield value equal to Spirit * 10. This shield is always present. After breaking, it regenerates after 60 seconds.]
[Shield Value: 69120 / 69120]
Silence. A dead, suffocating silence.
At the edge of the Poison swamp, only the gurgling sound of bubbles bursting remained.
Lu Qingyan's eyes were fixed on that shield value; her eyeballs were almost popping out.
Her hand, gripping the tower shield, began to tremble violently.
Sixty-nine thousand shield value?!
Lu Qingyan felt her head buzzing.
She turned her head to look at her own panel, which she was so proud of.
As a main tank specializing in Physique, even when she pulled out all the stops and used her ultimate, her total HP plus shield value barely broke ten thousand.
And this guy in front of her, who kept claiming to be a mage.
He just casually had an automatically triggered shield on him that was sixty-nine thousand?!
Song Xin directly let out a curse.
"What the f*ck?!"
She pointed at the value above Su Chen's head, her fingers cramping.
"Boss Su... you... are you cheating?"
"No, you're a mage, it's fine that your damage is high enough to one-shot everything, but how the hell is your Physique so tanky?!"
"This shield of yours... is this a value that a carbon-based lifeform can even reach?!"
Lin Wei also opened her mouth wide.
She looked at the few hundred points of shield she had just managed to heal with all her might, then looked at the blindingly bright sixty-nine thousand shield on Su Chen.
The clown is actually me.
She muttered to herself.
"A sixty-nine thousand shield..."
"Even if I reach the third advancement and reach level 60, I might not be able to get this thick..."
"You call this 'a little bit thicker'?"
"..."
The three girls were all doubting their lives.
A sixty-nine thousand shield... not to mention ordinary people, even if you let the top student of Sky Dome Academy, Chen Feng, attack it, he would have to hack at it for half a day!
Moreover, this shield regenerates in thirty seconds, which means if you can't break his shield within 30 seconds, you will never be able to deal damage to him.
"Hey, what's with those looks."
Su Chen rolled his eyes, "I'm very normal, okay?"
"..."
The girls didn't reply.
Their gazes didn't even change; they were still looking at him as if he were a pervert.
Su Chen curled his lips: "Fine, I'll go solve the Boss. You guys find a place to hide."
As soon as he finished speaking, his purple-black Dragon wings flapped violently.
The wind howled.
Su Chen soared into the air, transforming into a streak of black-purple light, charging straight toward the dead, silent black swamp ahead.
"Hiss, hiss, hiss—!"
As soon as Su Chen entered the airspace above the Poisonswamp, the black quagmire below boiled instantly, like sharks that had smelled blood.
Countless streaks of black swamp mud shot up into the sky like tentacles, frantically coiling toward Su Chen's body.
The girls were shocked.
This swamp... could actually actively attack people?
"Boss Su, retreat quickly!"
Song Xin's eyelids jumped: "I knew this swamp wasn't simple!"
Su Chen couldn't even be bothered to look.
Bang!
A thick, corrupted tentacle slammed hard against the shield.
[Notification: You are under attack by environmental Poison.]
"-1000"
"-1000"
...
Damage numbers jumped frantically on Su Chen's shield.
The black Poison frantically corroded that layer of purple-black Dragon language shield, emitting a teeth-grinding dissolving sound.
"Is this what it feels like to be poisoned? It's so disgusting."
Su Chen watched his shield value slowly decrease and complained.
No wonder those people he afflicted with Poison all broke down.
Watching their own HP bars slowly tick down bit by bit while they were helpless was simply like being cuckolded. It was truly torture.
However, Su Chen was completely unbothered.
The Dragon language shield was as stable as Mount Tai.
Let alone breaking, not even a single crack appeared.
With nearly seventy thousand shield value, losing one thousand HP per second was simply scraping the skin.
In flight state, Su Chen's movement speed was increased by 200%.
In just a few seconds, Su Chen had crossed the distance of one hundred and fifty meters and was hovering steadily above the pitch-black scorched earth.
His shield value was still more than half full.
In the center of this scorched earth was a dark green sarcoma as huge as a heart.
The surface of the sarcoma was covered with thick blood vessels, pulsating rhythmically. With every pulse, it would spew out thick Abyss miasma in all directions.
And below this sarcoma, a figure sat cross-legged. No, to be precise, that was a humanoid creature.
It had no eyes. Its face had only a mouth that split to its ears, and two deep, black-hole-like hollows.
[Abyss Guide · Moros (Dark Gold Level)]
[Level: 30]
[Grade: Dark Gold Level]
[Strength: 1500]
[Agility: 1200]
[Physique: 3000]
[Spirit: 4500]
[Skills: Abyss Barrier, Swamp Domain,????]
[Abyss Barrier: All physical and magical damage received is reduced by 90%.]
[Swamp Domain: Generates a Poison swamp within a 500-meter radius, enemy units continuously lose HP.]
[????: Unknown Skill]
...
Su Chen hovered in mid-air, looking at the Boss panel that popped up in his field of vision, and slightly raised his eyebrows.
Good grief.
This panel, this mechanic, it was simply leaving no way for people to survive.
A Level 30 Dark Gold Boss, not to mention the shockingly high attributes, the dual resistance damage reduction was actually as high as 90%.
Moreover, Professionals had to fight him while soaking in a Poison swamp.
If it were a normal team, even a Level 50 elite team would have a hard time.
Just as Su Chen was examining Moros, the humanoid creature that had been hanging its head low slowly raised its head.
Those two pitch-black eye sockets "stared" at Su Chenacross the air.
"You... have the... scent of the Abyss... on you..."
Chapter 79: The BOSS's Hidden Skill, Abyss Curse!
An extremely deep and hoarse voice exploded directly in Su Chen's mind.
Su Chen was slightly taken aback.
"It can talk?"
A trace of surprise flashed through his mind.
Aside from the Rift Demon Shadow he encountered in the Abyss Dungeon earlier, and Zhi Bai, this was the third BOSS he had met that possessed intelligence and could communicate.
"So what?"
Su Chen asked casually.
The aura of the Abyss... of course he had it on him.
Not to mention swallowing so many Abyss Crystals, he was also wearing three pieces of Abyss equipment.
Moros slowly stood up, the gray-black cloak on his body fluttering slightly in the windless environment.
The boiling purple-black poisonous gas around it seemed to solidify at its feet.
"Physical form is merely a quagmire for the trapped soul..."
Moros's voice carried an emptiness that spanned epochs, "You build towers called 'Order' in the sand, yet you vainly attempt to resist the coming of the tsunami. This Universeis a long and painful disintegration..."
It raised its grayish-white arm, pointing toward the thick poisonous clouds in the sky.
Following its movement, Su Chen saw the surrounding space begin to undergo a strange distortion.
"All things are born from the singularity and will eventually return to the dead silence of the abyss. So-called 'life' is merely a brief and pathetic spasm before death."
"We... the remnants of entropy, have listened to the whispers of the end and embraced absolute zero."
"The Abyss is not a butcher's knife of destruction, but a cradle that accepts all fanaticism and fatigue..."
Moros's voice became increasingly high-pitched.
Su Chen, suspended in mid-air, fell silent.
He looked at the Abyss Guide below, who had his arms spread wide as if embracing the truth, and paused for a full three seconds.
Then, he raised his hand and picked his ear.
"No, buddy, what kind of scripture are you mumbling over there?"
Su Chen looked down at Moros, his tone full of impatience, "You said a whole bunch of inexplicable nonsense... In short, you're just finding an excuse for you Abyss dwellers to destroy the world, right?"
Moros's voice cut off abruptly, staring fixedly at the human in mid-air.
In those pitch-black eye sockets, bone-chilling killing intent erupted.
"Ignorant... insect... how dare you blaspheme the truth..."
Hum—!
Moros suddenly raised a finger and pointed!
A thick, gray-black beam of energy instantly tore through the air, shooting toward Su Chen in mid-air!
Boom!
A violent explosion burst into a huge black halo in mid-air.
The smoke cleared.
Su Chen was still hovering in the same position, not even the frequency of his wings flapping had changed.
The only difference was... this Su Chen seemed not very bright.
His expression was strange, his eyes were one big and one small, and even the robe on his body exuded a cheap, textured quality.
It was the fake body created by Su Chen activating the [shadow dancer ring].
The real Su Chen had already silently appeared behind the side of the BOSS.
He suddenly pointed the burst staff at Moros below.
"I can't be bothered to waste time with you."
Swoosh—!
A basic attack hit the BOSS.
Immediately after.
"Myriad Poison Explosion!"
Su Chen just gently made a grasping motion.
Pfft!
A muffled sound that set one's teeth on edge.
The toxins inside Moros were instantly detonated.
"-2,399,997,520!"
A terrifying number as high as two billion exploded above Moros's head!
That long health bar was emptied in an instant.
"Urgh..."
Moros's body froze in place, its arm, which was preparing to release the next ultimate move, stopped in mid-air.
A dark green luster began to expand rapidly on its body, revealing a blinding toxic light.
"Oh?"
Now it was Su Chen's turn to be surprised.
It didn't die?
A sudden change occurred.
Moros did not immediately turn into pus like other monsters.
It stared fixedly at Su Chen in mid-air, its body crumbling bit by bit, turning into black ash.
"The power... on your body... is an anomaly... that ignores the Law..."
Moros's voice echoed in Su Chen's mind.
This time, it carried a trace of disbelief.
"But... you cannot change anything... The Abyss... has already noticed you..."
"You stubborn... anomaly..."
Moros suddenly reached forward with its only remaining hand.
Its body shattered at this moment.
[Successfully killed Level 35 Dark Gold Level BOSS Abyss Guide · Moros, gained 5,000,000 EXP!]
[System Prompt: Target has triggered the hidden passive skill [Abyss Curse]!]
Amidst the falling ashes.
A drop of black liquid, exuding an extremely ominous aura, as if crossing the spatial Law, instantly flew toward the center of Su Chen's forehead!
[You have been afflicted with a special high-level curse: Abyss Curse!]
[Curse Effect: Upon entering any dungeon, monsters within a hundred-meter radius have a chance to undergo Abyssal transformation (All Attributes +100%, EXP +100%). This status cannot be dispelled. Duration: Permanent.]
The System's harsh red warning flashed frantically before Su Chen's eyes.
Su Chen hovered in mid-air, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"An anomaly that ignores the Law... Could it be that he realized I came through Transmigration?"
He was somewhat surprised in his heart.
It had been over ten years since he arrived in this world, and this was the first time his Transmigration had been discovered.
But it was only a tiny bit of surprise.
In this world of universal class advancement where experts are as common as clouds, he wouldn't be surprised by anything that happened.
Su Chen didn't dwell on it further and instead touched the center of his forehead.
There were no wounds there, but in the Debuff section of the System panel, a black skull icon had indeed appeared.
"So that third unviewable skill was a death-rattle curse?"
Su Chen muttered to himself.
Monster all attributes doubled?
If this were any other normal professional, seeing this effect would probably make them cry on the spot, right?
In Su Chen's mind, the miserable state of those normal professionals encountering this BUFF immediately surfaced.
In this world with strict Level hierarchy, fighting monsters above one's Level is already extremely difficult.
For an ordinary monster of the same Level, a normal team would need a frontline tank to absorb damage, a healer to restore health, and damage dealers to chip away at its health for a long time before they could kill it.
What if the monster's all attributes doubled?
Then a normal team would be at risk of casualties.
In other words, once afflicted with this curse, basically no one would dare to team up with you for the rest of your life.
Who would want a ticking time bomb that makes monsters undergo Abyssal transformation the moment they enter a dungeon?
However.
Su Chen looked at the last attribute, and the corners of his mouth curled up wildly; he almost couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Attributes increased by double?
Can they withstand my true damage?
What he could kill in one hit before, now... is still a one-hit kill, at most the health bar is a bit longer, which looks more satisfying.
The most critical thing is... EXP +100%!
How is this a curse? It's clearly a BUFF for grinding EXP.
Please, give me more curses like this!
Su Chen let out a long sigh of relief. With Moros's death, the surrounding pitch-black swamp had completely disappeared.
His gaze fell on the place where Moros had turned into ash.
There.
Several bundles of loot emitting different colored lights were floating quietly in mid-air.
Chapter 80: Ethereal Leggings, and the Shocked Trio
Su Chen landed, dispelled the fake body created by the [shadow dancer ring], and reached out to pick up all the loot.
[Notification: Obtained [Abyssal Ethereal Leggings (Dark Gold Level)].]
[Notification: Obtained [abyss gaze crystal (Dark Gold Level)] * 2.]
[Notification: Obtained [Guide Lantern (Dark Gold Level)].]
[Notification: Obtained Abyss Muck (Rare materials) * 14!]
[Notification: Obtained Gold Coins * 51306.]
...
Su Chen's eyes lit up, and he immediately opened the equipment panel.
[Abyssal Ethereal Leggings (Dark Gold Level)]
[Quality: Dark Gold Level]
[Usage Requirement: Level 25]
[Mental Strength + 200]
[Agility + 150]
[Stamina - 40]
[Additional Stat 1: Movement Speed + 15%]
[Additional Stat 2: Ethereal (Active): After activation, the user enters an 'Ethereal' state. In the Ethereal state, the user is immune to all physical damage and can pass through non-magical physical obstacles (such as walls, ground, trees, etc.), but magic damage taken will be doubled. Duration: Up to 120 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes.]
[Additional Stat 3: Activates after [Abyssal Erosion(0/2)].]
[Additional Stat 4: Activates after [Abyssal Erosion(0/4)].]
...
Looking at the stats of this equipment, Su Chen gasped.
The stat bonuses were already very high: 200 points of Mental Strength and 150 points of Agility.
It also added an extra 15% movement speed.
But it was mostly because of this attached skill.
"Immune to physical damage? And can walk through walls?"
A myriad of extremely disgusting tactics flashed through Su Chen's mind instantly.
This was practically an Underworld skill tailor-made for him!
When encountering a melee physical-type BOSS, he would just hang a layer of Poison on it first.
Then activate Ethereal and dive into a wall, or directly escape underground.
It couldn't hit Su Chen, and Su Chen couldn't be bothered to hit it either.
He would just hide in cover and watch it take true damage from the Poison second by second, slowly being poisoned to death.
"So disgusting, but I like it."
Su Chen looked at the leggings, a smile he couldn't suppress curling at the corners of his mouth.
He put the leggings into his backpack and continued to check the next item.
It was a lantern with an ancient design, emitting a faint purple-black luster.
Inside the lantern's glass cover, there was no burning flame, but a mass of Abyssal black mist that seemed to be constantly squirming.
[Abyss Guide Lantern (Special Item)]
[Quality: Unknown]
[Effect: After use, it will randomly open a portal to the Abyss plane. Portal duration: 24 hours.]
[Note: The Abyss is gazing at you; are you prepared to gaze back?]
...
Su Chen's movements froze abruptly.
"A portal to the Abyss plane?!"
He looked at the lantern in his hand in shock.
In this world, the Abyss is an absolute taboo.
In high school textbooks, the records about the Abyss were only a few sparse sentences.
Without exception, they all emphasized its extreme danger, indescribable horror, and absolute tendency for destruction.
The books never taught what was actually inside the Abyss.
And now, he was actually holding a key that could open the gate to the Abyss at any time.
This thing… it feels like Pandora's Box.
Su Chen didn't hesitate at all and threw the lantern into the deepest part of his backpack.
Looking at the description, the location of the portal is completely random.
If it happened to open right in the face of some Level 200 Mythical BOSS, wouldn't that be suicide?
Keeping it as a trump card to save his life or as a trap to screw others over would be decent.
Finally, there were two crystals emitting a rich dark gold glow.
[Notification: Obtained [abyss gaze crystal (Dark Gold Level)] * 2.]
Without looking at the stat panel, Su Chen already knew the effect of this item.
Permanently increases Mental Strength by 200 points and reduces physical/magic damage taken by 2%.
He swallowed the two crystals with practiced ease.
[Notification: Successfully used [abyss gaze crystal(Dark Gold Level)], Mental Strength + 200, but physical/magic damage dealt and healing effects are permanently reduced by 2%]
[Notification: Successfully used [abyss gaze crystal(Dark Gold Level)]...]
Mental Strength surged by another 400 points.
After counting all the loot, Su Chen clapped his hands.
At this moment.
With Moros's complete death, the nauseating swamp and the poisonous clouds in the sky had completely dissipated.
Although the environment of the Abyss Dungeon was still gloomy, the oppressive feeling of suffocation in the air had completely vanished.
From behind, a burst of hurried footsteps approached.
"Junior Su!"
Lu Qingyan's gaze was fixed firmly on Su Chen's forehead.
There, a very faint black skull mark was slowly fading into his skin.
"What is that mark?"
Her voice carried undisguised anxiety.
Lin Wei and Song Xin followed closely behind.
Lin Wei hadn't even caught her breath when the staff in her hand already lit up with blinding white Holy Light.
That was the light of Purify.
"Boss Su, we saw it just now at the edge of the swamp."
Song Xin's brows were tightly knit. "Before that BOSS died, a drop of black liquid flew into your forehead, right?"
Lin Wei waved her staff, and two consecutive pure white halos landed on Su Chen.
[Notification: Affected by 'Purify', currently no abnormal status to dispel.]
[Notification: Affected by 'Dispel', unable to dispel high-order rule-based effects.]
Two System notifications flickered at the corner of Su Chen's vision.
Su Chen sighed inwardly.
These women were quite observant.
He had originally planned to just muddle through and make a fortune in silence.
But looking at this situation, if he didn't give a reasonable explanation, Lin Wei would probably burn through her mana bar, and Lu Qingyan might even drag him directly to the Priest Academy at Sky Dome Academy.
"Alright, alright, stop wasting your effort."
Su Chen sighed helplessly, raised his hand to press down on the staff Lin Wei was still waving, and suppressed that blinding Holy Light.
"It's nothing; it's just a passive skill that triggers when that guy dies. It's a forced lock-on; I couldn't dodge it."
"What kind of skill is it? Continuous HP drain? Or stat reduction?"
Lin Wei asked urgently, "After we get out, I'll contact my mentor immediately. She is a Level 6 Priest; she will definitely be able to dispel it…"
"No need."
Su Chen shook his head and swiped his finger lightly in mid-air.
"See for yourselves."
He directly set the skull icon on the System panel, which was emitting ominous black mist, to [Visible to party members].
Swish.
A semi-transparent light screen popped up between the four of them.
The dungeon suddenly went quiet.
"This…"
Lin Wei's voice turned hoarse. "Monster probability of Abyssal mutation, all stats… doubled?!"
"And it is… permanent, unable to be dispelled."
Song Xin muttered to herself.
As top students of Sky Dome Academy, they knew all too well what these stats meant.
In a dungeon, even if monsters only had their stats increased by ten percent, it would be enough to wipe out a fully equipped party.
All stats doubled?
With this curse, it meant that whenever Su Chen stepped into a dungeon, he would turn his surroundings into Hell.
No guild, no party, would dare to accept him.
Lu Qingyan's hands trembled slightly.
An extremely intense feeling of guilt surged into her heart.
If she could have been a little stronger.
If she could have stepped up to tank the BOSS's aggro.
If…
All of this, in Lu Qingyan's eyes, was due to her own dereliction of duty as a captain.
Song Xin looked at Su Chen and let out a long sigh.
"Boss Su, the price you paid is too high."
Su Chen slowly raised his head.
He looked at the guilty expressions of the three people in front of him.
This atmosphere… if I laugh out loud now, wouldn't it be a bit impolite?
Su Chen used great effort to suppress the corners of his mouth that wanted to curl upward.
"Senior Sister, don't make that face."
Su Chen didn't look at them, but cast his gaze toward the clearance portal not far away.
"It's just a small curse. If the Abyss wants to gaze at me, then let it gaze to its heart's content."
He turned around, with his back to the three of them.
His deep black robe rustled slightly in the cold wind, leaving them with an inscrutable and slightly lonely silhouette.
"In this world, someone always has to bear those unreasonable things and carry the burden forward."
Su Chen tilted his head slightly, his voice deep.
"Since it has chosen me, then I will accept it."
"At worst, I'll just walk the road ahead alone."
After saying this.
Su Chen didn't linger at all, took a step, and walked straight toward the portal.
As for the loot, he naturally accepted it himself without hesitation.
Anyway, they didn't contribute much effort.
And behind him.
Lu Qingyan and the others were all stunned.
A sense of admiration welled up spontaneously.
To be struck by such a heavy curse and still be so calm.
Su Chen, what kind of person are you exactly?