[Location: Dungeon Zone C - The Cursed Crypts]
[Time: 02:00 PM]
[Mission: Reach Level 10 in 24 Hours]
The Cursed Crypts were a maze of underground catacombs filled with thousands of Skeleton Warriors. It was a recommended zone for Level 5 parties.
Ryan brought a team of Level 1 noobs.
"Are you crazy?" Violet adjusted her glasses, looking at the ominous entrance made of skulls. "We are Level 1. A Skeleton Archer can one-shot us."
Ryan set up his phone on a tripod.
[Stream Started: "Teaching Noobs How to Break the Game"]
"Relax, Vi," Ryan said, checking his Soul Shatterer gun. "We aren't going to fight them fair. Fighting fair is for losers and dead people."
He looked at his team.
"Listen to the strategy. This is called the 'Train Strategy'."
Step 1: The Lure.
"Grog," Ryan pointed to the dark corridor. "Run inside. Scream insults about their mothers. Get every single skeleton to chase you. Do NOT fight. Just run back here."
Grog blinked. "Skeleton... mothers?"
"Yes. Tell them they have weak bones. Go!"
Grog took a deep breath and charged into the darkness.
"HEY BONEHEADS! YOUR MOM DRINKS MILK FROM A STRAW!"
Rattle... Rattle...
The sound of thousands of bones clicking together echoed from the deep.
"RAAAAAH!"
Step 2: The Sleeper.
Ryan turned to Jin, who was standing there nervously holding a wooden sword.
"Jin, are you tired?"
"No," Jin shook his head. "I'm terrified! I can't sleep!"
"Here, let me help," Ryan said kindly.
He raised his hand and... CHOP!
He karate-chopped Jin on the back of the neck.
"Oof."
Jin's eyes rolled back. He collapsed.
But before he hit the ground, he did a backflip and landed on his feet. His eyes were closed. He was snoring.
Zzzzz...
"Perfect," Ryan nodded. "The Sleeping God is online."
Step 3: The Jinx.
Ryan looked at Felix, the boy with bad luck.
"Felix, go stand in the middle of that trap room."
"But... the spikes..." Felix trembled.
"Trust me," Ryan shoved him. "Just stand there and try not to die."
Felix stumbled into the center of the hallway.
Click. He stepped on a pressure plate.
"RUN! HERE THEY COME!" Grog shouted, sprinting back towards them.
Behind Grog was a tidal wave of white. Hundreds of Skeleton Warriors, Archers, and Mages were chasing him. It looked like a bone tsunami.
"Stations!" Ryan shouted.
The Skeletons flooded into the hallway where Felix was standing.
The lead Skeleton raised its sword to decapitate Felix.
Creak.
Suddenly, a rusty chain above the Skeleton snapped (bad luck).
A massive chandelier fell from the ceiling.
CRASH!
It crushed the lead Skeleton and ten others behind him.
The other skeletons tried to charge.
Slip.
One slipped on a puddle of slime. He fell forward, stabbing the skeleton in front of him.
Domino Effect.
Like bowling pins, 50 skeletons tripped over each other because of Felix's [Aura of Misfortune].
"Violet! Acid Rain! Now!" Ryan commanded.
Violet threw five vials of glowing green liquid into the pile of tangled skeletons.
HISS!
The acid melted the bones instantly.
[System: Critical Hit! Critical Hit!]
Then, the sleeping Jin moved.
He drew his sword. His movement was fluid, like water.
Slash.
He dashed through the remaining skeletons. He didn't think. He didn't hesitate. He just cut. Every strike hit a neck joint.
Zzzz... Die... Zzzz...
"And for the finale!"
Ryan stepped forward with his Desert Eagle.
"Bob! Annabelle! Clean up crew!"
The Shadow Butcher rose from the floor, swinging his massive axe.
Annabelle (the doll) leaped from skeleton to skeleton, stabbing their eye sockets.
Ryan fired explosive spirit bullets into the dense crowd.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
It was a grinder.
The skeletons ran into Felix's bad luck, got melted by Violet's poison, sliced by sleeping Jin, and blasted by Ryan.
[System Notification: Exp Gained +50]
[Exp Gained +50]
[Exp Gained +50]
It rained experience points.
Gold levels of light flashed around the team.
[Ding! Grog Level Up: 1 -> 2]
[Ding! Violet Level Up: 1 -> 3]
[Ding! Ryan Level Up: 4 -> 5]
User_ProGamer: "WTF is this strategy?! The skeletons can't even stand up!"
User_RichKid: "That unlucky kid is a walking bug! The game engine is breaking around him!"
User_Slayer69: "This isn't hunting. This is industrial farming."
Ryan reloaded his gun.
"Again!" Ryan shouted. "Grog, go deeper! Find the Boss!"
[Time: 06:00 PM]
[Hours Passed: 4]
The Crypt was empty.
Literally empty.
Ryan and his squad had killed every single monster on Floor 1, 2, and 3.
They sat around a campfire made of broken skeleton ribs.
Jin woke up, rubbing his neck. "Ow... why does my neck hurt? And why am I Level 8?"
"You fought bravely in your dreams," Ryan handed him a water bottle.
Team Status Report:
Ryan: Level 6 (Points: 12,000)Grog: Level 7 (Unlock Skill: Demon Skin)Jin: Level 8 (Unlock Skill: Flash Step)Violet: Level 6 (Unlock Skill: Toxic Cloud)Felix: Level 5 (Unlock Skill: Jinx Area Expansion)
"We are ready," Ryan declared.
Suddenly, the ground shook violently.
The wall at the end of the crypt crumbled.
A massive, 10-foot tall skeleton stepped out. It wore golden armor and held a cursed black sword.
[System Warning: Hidden Boss Spawned.]
[Enemy: The Skeleton General (Level 15).]
The team froze. A Level 15 Boss? They were barely Level 7.
"Boss," Grog stood up, his legs shaking. "He looks... tough."
Ryan stood up. He looked at the General.
He didn't raise his gun.
He raised his hand.
"Wait," Ryan said.
He activated [Shadow Extraction].
But not on the General.
He cast it on the pile of 500 dead skeletons they had just killed.
"Arise."
The shadows on the floor began to bubble.
One by one, shadow hands reached out.
Fifty... One Hundred... Two Hundred Shadow Soldiers rose up. They were small, weak skeletons, but they were many.
The Skeleton General paused. He looked at his own army, now standing behind Ryan, glowing with purple shadow energy.
Ryan smirked.
"You have a sword, General. But I..."
Ryan pointed forward.
"...I have a mob."
"Get him, boys."
The army of 200 Shadow Skeletons charged at their former master.
It looked like a colony of ants eating a beetle.
User_RichKid: "NECROMANCER KING RYAN! [Gift: Castle x5]"