"How do I get to the second floor of the Bone Dungeon?" Lin Yuan asked.
"There's a maze behind the main dungeon, and the entrance to the second floor is at the end of the maze," Xu Xia said.
"So, I have to go through the maze to get to the second floor? And there's a puzzle game, what a headache!" Lin Yuan scratched the back of his head.
"Well, the guide lists five possible routes through the maze, and each time you enter the Abyss, the maze is different, so you have to try them one by one."
Although Xu Xia had never entered the Abyss, as a native of Wancheng, he was extremely familiar with the Bone Dungeon; after all, it was the Abyss on his doorstep.
"What a waste of time," Gu Chen shook his head. "I want to try another method."
"What method?"
"I saw in a guide that there's a stone statue at the entrance to the maze. If you put the Dwarf King Ring on the statue's finger, we can reach the second floor directly."
"Indeed, the statue that obtains the Dwarf King Ring will be temporarily revived, but only after defeating the statue will the entrance to the second floor of the dungeon appear!" Xu Xia said quickly.
After defeating the Beast Corpse Chieftain, two rare items dropped. One was the Dwarven King Ring, boasting impressive attributes and effects.
The other was Mithril Armor, Warrior class equipment. Gu Chen planned to list it on the Professional Platform after his release.
[Dwarven King Ring]
[Quality: Rare]
[Level: LV.16]
[Attributes: Strength +30, Agility +30, Constitution +30, Spirit +30]
[Effect: Increases damage dealt to Dwarven units by 100%].
The aliens in the Bone Dungeon are primarily crafted from Dwarven corpses and Orcs. This means that wearing the Dwarven King Ring doubles the attack power of all nearby aliens.
The +30 to all attributes and the double damage increase are truly unprecedented. Therefore, nearly 99% of professionals would rather explore the maze over and over again than surrender the ring.
However, for Gu Chen, aiming for the record-breaking reward, he couldn't afford to quibble over such trivial matters.
It was just a Dwarven King Ring. Its 30-point all-around stat boost was insignificant to him, and the doubled damage against Dwarves wasn't something he couldn't part with.
After all, the Corpse Golem had advanced to a Legendary summoned beast, and the benefits it offered were certainly far greater than a mere Dwarven King Ring could match.
"The difficulty of the Bone Dungeon increases dramatically with each level you advance. The Dwarven King Ring, with its doubled damage bonus, is a crucial tool for clearing the later stages," Xu Xia advised.
"Furthermore, the Dwarven King Ring awakens a Level 20 stone statue, incredibly powerful and capable of dealing terrifying damage!"
"A paladin with 60,000 HP was instantly killed by a single skill from it. No one could withstand such devastating damage."
Without further ado, Gu Chen demonstrated his conviction with action. He headed straight for the stone wall behind the main dungeon.
A square hole cut into the wall marked the entrance to the maze. Next to it stood a stone statue of the Dwarven King, clad in armor and wearing a crown, a massive stone hammer slung at his waist.
Without a second thought, Gu Chen placed the Dwarf King Ring on the statue's finger. A flash of light shone from the statue, and its limbs began to move, as if it had come to life.
Then, the Dwarf King statue roared, wielding a massive hammer.
"Challenger, are you the one who wants to challenge me?" The Dwarf King stared at Gu Chen with its wide, copper-bell-like eyes.
Seeing this, Xu Xia's face suddenly showed a look of fear.
[Alien: Dwarf King Statue]
[Level: LV.20]
[Health: 85,200]
[Attributes: Strength 310, Agility 177, Constitution 192, Spirit 170]
[Skill: Hammer Impact]
A level 20 common alien with 85,000 HP.
He's got it!
Gu Chen said nothing. With a thought, two black rays of light erupted from the Skeleton Golem and instantly landed on the Dwarf King statue.
The statue wasn't a living being, so [Black Death Plague] was immediately ineffective.
However, under the effects of [Extreme Exhaustion], the Dwarf King's statue's attributes suddenly halved, and its damage taken increased by 100%.
The Dwarf King statue sensed its own negative state, and anger erupted on its rugged face. The massive stone hammer in its hand shone with a golden glow.
[Warhammer Impact]
The massive golden stone hammer slammed down on Gu Chen.
Watching the rapid-fire attack, Gu Chen made no attempt to dodge.
Xu Xia, observing the battle from the sidelines, gasped in shock.
At that moment, Gu Chen's figure instantly vanished, replaced by the Nightmare Lord, who appeared before the Dwarf King statue.
Boom!
The golden hammer crashed down, and a surge of black mist enveloped the Nightmare Lord. As a form of energy, physical attacks dealt minimal damage to it.
Immediately, the black mist spread, and ten dark shadows instantly entwined the Dwarf King. In a flash, the thick black mist enveloped the Dwarf King statue.
[Disillusionment Instant Kill]
The Nightmare Lord unleashed his skill, dealing ten times the damage, and then adding the 1x damage bonus from [Exhaustion], instantly inflicting 20 times the damage. A heavy wail echoed through the dungeon. The Dwarf King statue
showed
no visible damage, but its 85,000 HP was instantly depleted.
The next second, the light faded from its surface, and it returned to its previous position.
[Duel Victory]
[Defeat the Dwarf King Statue LV.20, +5678 EXP]
The statue turned, its stone hammer emitting a burst of golden light, and slammed into the nearby wall.
The wall shattered, revealing a massive opening. Within, a series of deep stone steps led down.
The Dwarf statue sheathed its hammer and returned to its original position. The Dwarf King's ring vanished from its hand.
Gu Chen smiled as he gazed at the stone steps leading to the second floor of the dungeon, but Xu Xia, standing beside him, was still dazed.
"A duel with the Dwarf King statue, and that's it?"
Legend has it that the Dwarf King statue, said to have crushed a 60,000 HP Paladin with a single blow
, was instantly slain by a single blow from the Nightmare Lord? Xu Xia felt like he was dreaming, but then he thought of Gu Chen leading the others into the first floor of the main prison, the three summoned beasts clattering and killing, and the powerful slaughter of the Beast Corpse Chieftain amidst the frenzy of corpses.
"I never thought a summoner could be so powerful! No wonder he's so confident, challenging the Nightmare Abyss right out of the gate."
Xu Xia looked at Gu Chen with a complicated expression. Although he wasn't a professional, he had a genuine sense of Gu Chen's power.
This power completely overturned his previous understanding of professionals.
"Shocked? We've only just started!"
Lin Yuan stepped forward and patted Xu Xia on the shoulder. "Let's go to the second floor of the dungeon. The real battle is still to come."
A large number of vampire descendants poured into the cave entrance, stepped onto the stone steps, and advanced towards the darkness below.
Gu Chen looked at the time. It had been exactly one hour since he entered the abyss.
At this rate, the record-breaking reward was definitely a sure thing.
With a wave of his hand, the three summoned beasts followed behind him. Gu Chen led Lin Yuan and the others to the second floor of the dungeon.