Outside the gates of the City of Glory was a scene completely different from the inside.
If the city represented civilization and Order, then the area outside the city was a hotbed for adventure and Chaos.
The players' shouts for sales, calls for groups, and bargaining voices rose and fell, interweaving with the roars of monsters coming from the distant wilderness, forming a symphony full of primal energy.
Lin Mo walked through the bustling crowd, heading straight toward a huge rift valley located to the east of the city.
That was the location of the Valley of the Dead.
Before even getting close, a chilling aura, mixed with the smell of Decay and death, rushed forward, sending shivers down one's spine.
The entrance to the canyon was like a massive, pitch-black, bottomless wound leading straight to hell.
The surrounding land was barren, displaying an eerie, desolate grey color.
At this moment, a large number of players were gathered in front of the entrance to this ominous place.
They were gathered in small groups, clearly delineated, and were obviously teams preparing to challenge this Level 15 Dungeon.
"Need a strong Tank! Level 12 or above Shield Warrior! Gear requirement is full Bronze set, join up immediately if you meet it!"
"Four waiting for one, need a high-damage Mage, Spell Damage 80+ required, must know positioning and not be clumsy!"
"Professional Healer team seeking a stable damage-dealing Hunter big brother to carry us! Little sister promises to cheer you on (shout 666)!"
Lin Mo's arrival did not cause much of a stir.
Although his ID was known to everyone in the City of Glory, he had already used the system's built-in "Hide Name" function to change the ID above his head into a mundane string of "Player XXXX" to avoid unnecessary trouble.
He scanned the area and found that the team compositions here were quite standard—Warrior, Mage, Priest, Archer, Assassin—the classic five-person setup.
For him, an oddity with "None" written in his class panel, fitting in was clearly not going to be easy.
He walked up to a team that looked well-geared; the leader was a Warrior holding a tower shield.
"Hello, is your team still short on people?" Lin Mo asked.
The Warrior captain scrutinized him from head to toe, and when he saw the word "None" in his class panel, his brow immediately furrowed: "Brother, you... haven't chosen a class yet?"
"I haven't found a suitable mentor yet," Lin Mo answered truthfully.
"Then forget it." The Warrior captain shook his head without hesitation. "The Valley of the Dead is no joke. The undead monsters inside hit hard and carry curses. Without a proper class, going in is just suicide. We don't want to waste time."
Lin Mo nodded, offered no argument, and turned to walk toward the next team.
The results were exactly the same.
"No class? Are you kidding me, buddy? Go get a job class quickly, don't waste everyone's time here."
"Poison Class talent? The one that deals damage over time? The damage is too slow; it's useless against the Boss. We need burst damage!"
"Your level is quite high... but you offended the Mad Dragon Guild. We don't want trouble, sorry."
After asking seven or eight teams in a row, Lin Mo was turned away for various reasons.
This outcome was within his expectations.
The strength of the Endless Poison Source lay in its infinitely stacking growth potential and its strategic value in breaking defense through Corrosion.
But in the perception of ordinary players, "Poison" was synonymous with weak, slow damage. In Dungeon clearing, which emphasizes burst damage and quick kills, it was naturally highly discriminated against.
Furthermore, given his current status as "Public Enemy Number One of the Mad Dragon Guild," anyone who teamed up with him had to weigh the risk of incurring wrath.
Just as Lin Mo's patience was about to run out and he was considering whether to use some "special" methods to sneak into the Dungeon, a somewhat arrogant voice suddenly rang out behind him.
"Hey! You, the one without a class! Yes, you!"
Lin Mo turned around and saw a five-person team walking toward him.
Leading them was a burly Berserker, carrying a giant, door-sized axe on his shoulder. His ID was "Overlord Tiger," and above his head was an arrogant Guild prefix—the Ba Tian Guild.
Another one of the three major Guilds.
Lin Mo's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Can I help you?" he asked indifferently.
Overlord Tiger walked up to him, scrutinizing him from head to toe, and grinned: "I see your level isn't low; he must be quite the grinder. How about it? Interested in running the Valley of the Dead with us?"
The teammates behind him, however, showed obvious reluctance on their faces.
"Brother Tiger, he doesn't even have a class. Why team up with him?" a sharp-featured Rogue whispered.
"That's right, Captain." The only female player in the team, a plain-looking Priestess, echoed, "His Poison talent might be okay for trash mobs, but it's definitely useless against the Boss."
"Shut up!" Overlord Tiger glared, radiating a silent authority. "Since when do you get to question what I say?
Our Hunter bailed on us at the last minute. Where are we going to find another powerful Level 15 damage dealer now?
This guy is the highest level in the entire server. Even if his talent is trash, his base attributes are right there. How low can his damage possibly be?"
After being yelled at, the team members immediately became silent, not daring to say anything more.
Only then did Overlord Tiger look back at Lin Mo, raising his chin: "So, kid? Run with us, and I guarantee you an easy clear.
But let's be clear upfront: when gear drops, the Tank and Healer have priority, then me, and finally you damage dealers. Any objections?"
These words were incredibly overbearing, typical of the style used by elite teams from major Guilds.
If it were anyone else, they might have angrily left due to this unequal distribution method.
But Lin Mo simply nodded calmly.
"No objections."
His goal for coming here was singular—nether grass.
As for the gear, with his current perspective, there was really nothing in a Dungeon of this level that would catch his eye.
"Very good! That's straightforward!" Overlord Tiger patted his shoulder contentedly and immediately sent a team invitation. "My name is Overlord Tiger, the elite team leader of the Ba Tian Guild.
If you ever run into trouble in the City of Glory, just drop my name, and it will sort things out!"
Lin Mo clicked Accept. In the team channel, the information of the other members immediately popped up.
[Leader: Overlord Tiger (Level 15 Berserker)]
[Member: Blade (Level 14 Rogue)]
[Member: Ba Tian 'Fire Mage' (Level 14 Fire Mage)]
[Member: Little Hands Icy Cold (Level 14 Priest)]
[Member: Lin Mo (Level 15 None)]
The female Priest named Little Hands Icy Cold was clearly the one who had voiced the objection earlier.
Seeing Lin Mo join the group, she reluctantly cast a [Prayer of Fortitude] buff on him, muttering under her breath: "Seriously, bringing along a useless burden without a class. How are we supposed to clear this Dungeon..."
Although her voice was soft, it clearly reached Lin Mo's ears.
Lin Mo ignored her, quietly checking his skills and potions.
He knew that any verbal defense at this moment would be pointless.
The only way to earn respect was to use strength to thoroughly and brutally slap the faces of all those who doubted him!
"Alright! Everyone, enter the Dungeon!"
Following Overlord Tiger's command, the five-person team officially stepped into the Valley of the Dead, which was shrouded in the aura of death...
[System Notification: You have entered the Five-Person Dungeon—Valley of the Dead (Normal Difficulty)]
As soon as they entered the Dungeon, a bone-chilling cold invaded them.
The scene before them was a narrow and winding gorge.
Steep, barren cliffs lined both sides.
Greyish-white mist swirled through the canyon like ghosts, making visibility extremely poor.
The air was filled with a sickening stench of putrefaction, and the ground beneath their feet was muddy and treacherous.
"Stick close! Fire Mage, keep the illumination spell up!"
Overlord Tiger, true to his status as an elite team leader, immediately displayed professional command abilities. "Knife, scout ahead! Little Hand, watch the entire team's health! Lin Mo... just follow behind me and deal some casual damage; don't aggro any extra monsters!"
His tactical arrangement clearly indicated that he did not regard Lin Mo as an effective combatant.
Lin Mo made no comment, simply following silently at the back of the team.
"Shh... shh..."
A grating, teeth-on-edge scraping sound came from the mist ahead.
"We have contact!" The Rogue Knife's voice held a hint of tension. "Patrolling Skeleton Soldiers! Three of them!"
As soon as he spoke, three tall Skeleton Soldiers, their eye sockets burning with ghostly blue soul fire, emerged from the mist.
They held rusty longswords in one hand and tattered wooden shields in the other, advancing with stiff steps toward the group.
"I'll initiate the fight!"
Overlord Tiger roared, activating the Warrior skill Charge, slamming into the foremost Skeleton Soldier like a heavy tank!
[-75!]
A decent damage number floated up.
"Fire Mage! Damage!"
The Fire Mage in the team immediately began chanting, and a fist-sized fireball whistled out, accurately striking the skull of another Skeleton Soldier.
[-92!]
The Mage's burst damage truly lived up to its reputation.
However, these Level 15 undead monsters had extremely high health and decent defense.
After two rounds of attacks, they had only managed to chip away less than a tenth of their health.
"Clang!"
A skele...