Zhan Long

Chapter 134 - Entering the Cave

“According to the quest, the [Cave of Despair] is about 50 meters ahead……”

Faced with the endless open ocean, I despaired. “There is only ocean water in front of us, where is the cave?”

Little Wolf replied, “Maybe the cave is underneath the ocean water and the tide covered it?”

Darling Duck smiled, “It looks like that’s the only logical reason.”

Old K carried his axe, “Could we dive underwater and look for the cave entrance?”

“Sure!”

I nodded, “Inside the game, players have about 3 minutes worth of air. Factoring in our levels, even if we stay underwater for 10 minutes, it shouldn’t be a problem. Use the time to look for the cave entrance and enter it once it’s located. Follow me, I’ll scout ahead!”

“Okay……”

I drew the Frost Rain Sword but I didn’t summon Baby Bobo. He was an flying insect and thus there was a possibility that he would drown to death, which wouldn’t be good.

With a “splash,” I jumped into the ocean. Instantly, the ocean water soaked through my clothes. I squinted my eyes and looked underwater. Besides some algae, there were only a few crustaceans. This shouldn’t be too dangerous.

While I was slowly swimming, Little Wolf asked me through party chat, “Brother Xiao Yao, any problems?”

“You guys can come down!”

“Alright!”

Behind me, continuous splashes sounded while our party of 5 was now in the ocean. Fox lifted his gun and surveyed the surroundings. Suddenly, he pointed towards his right, “Boss, take a look. Isn’t that the entrance to the [Cave of Despair]?”

I looked in the direction that his finger was pointing to. Suddenly, I saw it. Where the ocean met the mountain, there appeared to be a black tunnel through which water flowed through and a string of bubbles could be seen.

“That’s great. If there are bubbles then that means there is supply of air and thus the inside of the cave is not completely filled with ocean water. Let’s go!”

Holding my sword, I swam toward it. I moved at a very slow speed because of the resistance given by the surrounding ocean water. Just as we got near the cave entrance, Little Wolf whispered in an alarmed tone, “Brother Xiao Yao, be careful, there is a monster!”

Sure enough, a big fish about 1 meter long dashed out from inside the cave. A row of sharp teeth bit into my shoulder with tremendous strength. Fresh blood started to spread into the ocean water-

274!

Such a ruthless attack!

I glanced at it: [Deep Water Piranha], Lv 51, Elite Monster!

Old K lifted his battle axe: “Uhhh, what level is the monster? I can’t see the level……”

Darling Duck nodded, “I can’t see it either.”

I swung the Frost Rain Sword to dish out a combo and answered offhandedly, “Level 51 Elite Monster, be careful. The levels of the monsters inside the cave will exceed your levels by far. No wonder this is an S-Rank quest!”

I struck at the Piranha with a [Fierce Ice Blade] and with a “puchi” sound, the Deep Water Piranha’s belly was penetrated through-displaying a damage number of “1104”.

Behind me, Old K swung his battle axe and when his [Flame Axe] skill landed on the back of the Piranha, the fish scales shone from the light of the flames, and showed a damage number that was less than expected.

151!

“The f**k……” Old K opened his mouth in shock. “What kind defense is that? I even have over 1300+ attack; such a big disparity compared to Boss Xiao Yao……”

Little Wolf’s eyebrows furrowed, “Old K, be careful and don’t get one shotted. Let Brother Xiao Yao be the main attacker for this quest. We should stay in the back. There is a difference of 10 levels; our stats are being suppressed and your attack has been reduced by more than 20%, so how could you break its defense?”

“Sure!” Old K swam toward the back with his battle axe.

Fox aimed his gun, and a “plop” emanated out. Nothing left the barrel-a misfire………

“Nothing I can do; the gunpowder is wet. There is no way to use guns underwater!”

I couldn’t help but laugh, “This is normal. Your gun is not a modern waterproof gun.”

Saying that, my blade made a “keng” sound as it impaled the fish. As the fish died, it dropped 11 silver and a Pardon Card. Elite monsters are so generous; it actually dropped a Pardon Card.

I grabbed all the loot and looked inside the cave. I said, “We must hurry, the time for underwater breathing is about to run out. Let’s quickly find the [Cave of Despair]!”

Darling Duck answered, “Boss, it is very dark inside the cave. If you take out your Purple Tier equipment, there will be some light. Otherwise, we will be fighting the monsters in the dark……”

“Sure!”

“Swoosh,” light burst out. The light came from the Frost Rain Sword in my hand and the Fire Beacon Helmet on my head. Gold Tier items can’t compare to Purple Tier items’ luster. . . Holding the Frost Rain Sword, I swam into the cave. Suddenly a message appeared: You have entered a dangerous zone, [Cave of Despair]!

But we weren’t in the actual [Cave of Despair] yet, the entrance to the cave was quite a way ahead and the oxygen that we saw came from there. In addition, there were some Deep Water Piranha monsters ahead that had to be killed by us. Old K’s attack damage wasn’t enough so I couldn’t count on him. Little Wolf’s [Bleed] + [Gouge] are of some help. Besides, it doesn’t really matter; I could easily take care of the Lv 51 Elite Monsters by myself!

After killing 7 Deep Water Piranhas, we finally arrived at the entrance of the zone. As we continued to swim forward, there appeared to be a light shining from the top of the cave. I held onto my sword and quickly swam upwards; the bar indicating my air supply was close to being depleted. If we didn’t get some fresh air, then we would die. It would be extremely embarrassing to die like this.

“Huff……”

I got a sudden chill as I broke through the surface of the water. My forehead was covered in ocean water. The map showed that this place really was the [Cave of Despair]. Swimming ashore, I shook the ocean water off my body before turning to extend my hand to grab Darling Duck’s arm to help her get ashore. Taking a quick glance, I saw that she was soaked entirely. The way her sopping wet clothes clung to her still-developing body had a certain allure.

“Oh……”

Darling Duck took a look at herself and her face instantly turned red. She stood there, with her staff, feeling at a loss.

I pursed my lips and said, “Okay, Old K and Little Wolf stop staring and let’s go further into the cave. The quest just started, and the Deep Water Piranhas were just the beginning.”

Little Wolf nodded, “Sure. Even though we aren’t really helping out, the experience is still great. These Elite Monsters are fantastic……”

“Haha, of course! The reason why I could reach Lv 45 so fast is because I was killing Elite Monsters. Otherwise, how could I level so fast? Let’s go!”

……

I marched to the front of our group. The map for [Cave of Despair] was huge. In the distance, the path branched out into 7 different directions. No one knew which path would lead us to the [Shrine of Despair] and there was nothing we could do but search each path one by one.

Our footsteps echoed in the cave but we had not traveled for long when a monster appeared in front of us. It was a hunchbacked, humanoid monster with a shield and sword in its hands and it looked a lot like a standing seal with really buff arms. On top of its head was a helmet decorated with chicken feathers. It let out a muffled roar—

【Ocean Wolf Clan Warrior】(Elite Monster)

Level: 54

Attack: 800-1200

Defense: 700

Health: 5900

Abilities:【Combo】【Ice Blade】【Deep Ocean Mark】

Introduction: Ocean Wolf Clan is a wolf clan that has always lived in the deep ocean. They have gills to breath underwater and lungs to breath on land. These amphibious creatures have high intelligence and have started to equip themselves. Because the ocean wasn’t enough to satisfy them, they are now expanding outwards relentlessly. In Destiny, the Ocean Wolf Clan is wanted in all the empires located on the continents. You could get a lot of experience if you cash in their jewelry at a major city.

……

“Careful……” With a smile, I continued “No one come any closer. Don’t aggro the monster. This Lv 54 Elite Monster’s attack is very high and it has a Lv 6 [Combo]. You guys will not be able to handle it, so let me go alone. Fox, shoot at it from afar and Darling Duck, remember to keep healing me……”

As they nodded their heads, I had already rushed out. I attacked with Frost Rain Sword, and the Ocean Wolf Clan Warrior’s neck was pierced by my [Fierce Ice Blade] which resulted in a large damage number—

1074!

I followed it up with a Lv 5 [Combo]! 3 golden hexagrams flew out, signalling 3 attacks. This was the difference between a Lv 5 and a Lv 6 [Combo]. A Lv 6 [Combo] has 4 attacks, and every attack was stronger than the Lv 5 counterpart. Thus, the advantage of skill levels was obvious.

I hadn’t finished attacking when the Ocean Wolf Clan Warrior counter-attacked with his long sword. At the same time, golden hexagrams appeared: “Pa, pa, pa,” the blows landed on my chest——

317!

332!

628!

297!

There was actually a critical hit; I quickly waved my hand and cast [Heal]. Some distance away, Darling Duck buffed me with Lv 5 [Encourage], increasing my attack by 5%. With a [Strength of A Thousand Men], the fight was over!

“Ow, oww.” With a pitiful cry, the Lv 54 Elite Monster died. He dropped 14 silver and a blood red token. Picking it up, I started to laugh-

【Ocean Wolf Clan Token】: This item can be exchanged in any major city for a large amount of experience!

……

“Swoosh!”

I threw the token into the air and Wolf caught it in his hands, stunned, “Brother Xiao Yao, What is this?”

“It’s an item that can be exchanged for experience. I don’t need it. You 4 take it all; they will drop again. There are plenty of Ocean Wolf Clan monsters. I estimate we will get quite a few while struggling to finish the quest. Let’s try to get all of you guys to Lv 40!”

“Okay!” Little Wolf, Old K and the rest were quite excited. Darling Duck smiled sweetly. It seemed like she had already blended in with the group.

We continued to push forward. Elite Monsters’ drop rates were not high but at least Pardon Cards dropped, which I deemed extremely valuable. Having many Pardon Cards is a good thing for PK battle maniacs like me.

Pardon Cards were especially valuable for those who have been hunted year round. Upon login, they would use one, allowing them to PK whenever and keep their non-red name status. In Ba Huang City’s marketplace, the cost of a Pardon Card is around 20 gold. That’s 180 RMB, which is quite expensive and thus I am reluctant to buy them, so I farm them from monsters. This way I am more willing to use them.

……

“Pa cha!”

The seventeenth Ocean Wolf Warrior dropped a piece of equipment: a pair of sparkling leather bracers when it was slain.

【Wolf Clan Bracers】(Silver Tier)

Type: Leather Gear

Defense: 65

Agility: +27

Endurance: +19

Required Level: 45

……

Done by Zdog and t3chnically!