The Bronze Chest lay quietly in the dark recess of the mine's corner, most of its body shrouded in darkness, making it nearly impossible to spot without careful observation.
Jiang Yan could find it at a glance because there was an exclamation mark above the Bronze Chest, like a firefly in the night, hard to miss!
But...
Jiang Yan stared at the exclamation mark on the Bronze Chest, and a line of text appeared: A chest containing Bronze Equipment, requires a key of Bronze Grade or higher to open!
"Buddy, are you messing with me?!"
Jiang Yan had spent over half an hour getting here, only to be told that a key was needed to open the chest?!
Screw you!
Unable to hold back, Jiang Yan kicked the chest.
The chest didn't budge.
Fine, you win!
Jiang Yan thought for a moment and immediately opened the game forum, searching for information on the Bronze Chest and Bronze Grade Key.
Yet, among more than ten million posts, not a single one mentioned the Bronze Chest!
"Could it be that the Bronze Chest is too well-hidden, and Huaguo's Closed Beta Players haven't discovered it, or they have but kept it secret?" Jiang Yan pondered, thinking the latter was more likely.
Closing the forum, Jiang Yan was troubled by the Bronze Chest. Where could he find the Bronze Key?
After hesitating for over ten seconds, Jiang Yan decisively turned and left.
He couldn't waste time on a single Bronze Chest when the entire forest was waiting for him, the mage gear in Left 2 Mine awaited his discovery, and the Bronze Boss Mutant Tiger King in the Western Forest awaited his defeat!
Jiang Yan retraced his steps, and after exiting the Right 3 Mine, he immediately entered the Left 2 Mine.
The environment in Left 2 Mine was almost identical to that of Right 3 Mine, only the paths diverged slightly.
And along the way, there wasn't a single Poison Rat or Bat in sight, but rather, players mining everywhere.
Jiang Yan, holding a Bronze Staff, wearing the Magic Leather Armor, and draped in a Tiger Cloak, attracted the attention of many mining players as he passed.
"Buddy, where did you get your gear?"
"Buddy, want to team up? I can help you lure monsters!"
"Big brother, I'm a Priest, I can heal you, and I'll give you all the ores I mine. Will you help me level up?"
The countless voices trying to strike up a conversation overwhelmed Jiang Yan, prompting him to quicken his pace, heading straight for the site of the mine accident according to the hidden information at the fork.
Most players, seeing Jiang Yan run off, were disappointed but said nothing more, continuing to mine. However, some players, driven by greed, couldn't resist following him, and their numbers quickly grew to seventy or eighty!
Initially, they followed stealthily, but seeing their numbers swell, their confidence soared, and they brazenly rushed toward Jiang Yan.
"Buddy, let me borrow your gear for a bit!"
"Hey, can you spare a couple of silver coins?"
"Buddy, is your gear Bronze? It looks nice, how about selling it to me cheap?" This chapter was copied from novelping.com without permission.
Their shouts were arrogant, their eyes filled with greed, as if they wanted to devour Jiang Yan whole!
Jiang Yan sneered, merely quickening his pace.
The chase continued for over half an hour, and after turning through more than twenty bends, the mine ahead suddenly opened up into a vast, enclosed space.
This space was about the size of a football field, littered with massive boulders from a collapse, dimly lit by torches that only faintly illuminated the area.
"This is it." Jiang Yan entered, cautiously scanning his surroundings, yet he saw no sign of any Skeletons.
But the mine's hidden information couldn't be wrong!
Jiang Yan leaned against the wall, slowly advancing.
At this moment, the seventy or eighty players chasing him arrived, and upon seeing the vast enclosed space, they were overjoyed!
"Could this be where that guy farmed monsters for mage gear?"
"I knew it, why is this the only mine without monsters out of the nine? Turns out they're all hiding here!"
"Damn, there are no monsters here."
"They probably haven't respawned yet! Just wait."
"Should we clear that guy out first?"
"Forget about clearing him out for now. Brothers, do you remember the way back?"
"Damn, with all these twists and turns, who could remember?"
"No worries, we'll just block the entrance from now on. As soon as he comes in, we'll follow him!"
"Right, hahaha, brothers, it's finally our turn to strike it rich!!"
Their loud voices echoed in the enclosed space, as if awakening a sleeping demon. Accompanied by the grating sound of bones clashing, hundreds of Skeletons swiftly crawled out from the ground!
"Monsters are here... Damn, they're Skeletons?!"
"Level 6 Skeletons, I'm only level 2, how am I supposed to fight level 6?"
"We have numbers... Damn, why are there so many Skeletons here!!"
"Brothers, run!!"
The seventy or eighty players fled for their lives, but unfortunately, these Skeletons were not ordinary ones!
Skeleton Mage: Level 7
HP: 900
Skills: Dark Fireball (a mutated version of Fireball, capable of causing significant explosive damage), Ring of Repulsion (can forcibly push away nearby targets)
Indeed, the Skeletons here were all mage-type with ranged attacks. No matter how fast the players ran, they couldn't outrun the Skeleton Mages' Dark Fireballs!
Boom boom boom...
In an instant, hundreds of Dark Fireballs engulfed them, and amidst their anguished screams, they were wiped out in moments, disappearing into seventy or eighty beams of white light!!
"Roar!"
"Ha!!" This story is hosted at g.com.
The Skeleton Mages roared in defiance, then wandered aimlessly within the enclosed mine.
Jiang Yan hid behind a boulder, feeling fortunate that he had hidden immediately upon entering; otherwise, those fireballs would have rained down on him.
After waiting a few minutes, Jiang Yan cautiously peeked out from behind the boulder to observe the Skeleton Mages.
By now, the Skeleton Mages had scattered in small groups, and the nearest one was already within his attack range.
Although the Skeleton Mages were higher level than the Skeleton Warriors, their HP was lower. Jiang Yan's current critical damage was 1,140, enough to take down a Skeleton Mage in one hit!
Without further hesitation, Jiang Yan began chanting Lightning Bolt.
One second later, a brilliant bolt of lightning pierced the dim space, striking the Skeleton Mage's head with a boom.
-1,140!!
[Ding~ Congratulations to the player for killing a Skeleton Mage above your level, experience +150]
The massive crimson critical damage instantly killed the Skeleton Mage, dropping a piece of equipment emitting white light.
"Equipment dropped!!" Jiang Yan was overjoyed at the sight of the white light but restrained himself from rushing out!
Because the recent Lightning Bolt had already attracted the attention of nearby Skeleton Mages, they clattered toward him.
"One, two, three, four..." Jiang Yan counted, a total of five.
Time to go all out!
Jiang Yan waited for the cooldown to end, then hid behind the boulder again to chant Lightning Bolt.
Boom!
-1,140
[Ding~ Congratulations to the player for killing a Skeleton Mage above your level, experience +150]
Under the massive crimson critical damage, another Skeleton Mage was instantly killed, this time dropping only two silver coins!
"Roar!!"
At this moment, the remaining four Skeleton Mages locked onto Jiang Yan's position, waving their bone staffs to hurl four Dark Fireballs at him!
These fireballs were the size of basketballs, entirely black, like the fires of Hell, and when they hit the boulder in front of Jiang Yan, they caused a violent explosion!
Amidst the flying debris, the boulder in front of Jiang Yan was on the verge of shattering, and his skill cooldown ended!
"Lightning Bolt!"
Boom!
-1,140!!
[Ding~ Congratulations to the player for killing a Skeleton Mage above your level, experience +150]
The massive crimson critical damage once again took down a Skeleton Mage. Jiang Yan didn't have time to see what it dropped, quickly retreating to change positions.
In the next instant, three Dark Fireballs landed where he had just been, reducing the remaining boulder to dust!