Chapter 4: Chapter4-A Hidden Dungeon--Choosing Hell Difficulty!

The scene left all five onlookers completely dumbfounded.

The two examiners exchanged stunned glances, their faces filled with shock.

As for the three rookies, their eyes had widened to the limit, disbelief written all over their faces.

John, however, remained completely expressionless as he crouched down beside the Earth Drake’s corpse.

Although 400 EXP was not much, and was still a long way from the 20,000 EXP needed for him to level up, it was already far more efficient than killing ordinary monsters, which only granted a dozen or so EXP each.

However, the greatest gain from this encounter was undoubtedly the Earth Drake’s corpse itself.

[Corpse of a Lv. 10 Elite Earth Drake detected. Would you like to devour it and convert it into attribute points?]

"Convert it."

John silently issued the command in his mind.

In the next moment, the Earth Drake’s corpse beneath his hand transformed into countless specks of white light, rapidly merging into his body.

[Congratulations, host. You have obtained 20 attribute points!]

"Not bad."

The corner of John’s mouth lifted slightly as he slowly rose to his feet.

Twenty attribute points were equivalent to the total number of points ordinary players would obtain by the time they reached Level 10.

His ability to "absorb corpses" once again left the five people who witnessed it utterly stunned.

What kind of class was this?

He could actually devour corpses?

At this moment, Overlord_Casual, one of the two examiners, was the first to recover from his shock.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward and said, "Friend, I’m Overlord_Casual of Overlord Guild. May I ask whether you would be interested in joining—" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"No."

Before he could even finish speaking, John rejected him without the slightest hesitation.

These two examiners had most likely been newly recruited by Overlord Guild and did not recognize him.

As far as John was concerned, the fact that he had not attacked members of that guild on sight was already an act of mercy.

After being rejected so bluntly in public, Overlord_Casual’s expression stiffened.

His eyelids twitched, and he gritted his teeth as though he wanted to say something, only to be stopped by Overlord_Freewill beside him.

Overlord_Freewill gave him a subtle shake of the head.

Then, turning toward John, Overlord_Freewill nodded and said, "Since you have no intention of joining us, we naturally cannot force you.

"Whether one chooses to fight alone or join a guild is entirely a matter of personal freedom. Overlord Guild respects either decision."

Hearing this, John sneered inwardly.

Personal freedom?

What grand and righteous words.

Even after being rejected, they still had to preserve their dignity by acting magnanimous.

How hypocritical.

At this moment, Overlord_Freewill continued, "Although you are unwilling to join, your performance just now was truly admirable.

"Why don’t we add each other as friends? It would make exchanging information more convenient.

"Besides, our guild has recently developed many game strategies. They might be helpful to you."

John immediately refused once more.

"No need."

The moment those words left his mouth, even Overlord_Freewill was stunned.

He had never met anyone so completely unreceptive to both persuasion and goodwill.

The atmosphere instantly became awkward.

However, John did not care in the slightest what these people thought.

His attention had already shifted to the ground beneath his feet.

The impact from his attack just now had smashed open the earth, revealing a corner of a stone door.

Judging from the markings carved into the door, John was certain that this was the entrance to the Catacombs mentioned by the blacksmith.

"So the entrance was buried underground."

John immediately began clearing away the loose soil and gravel, preparing to open the door.

Overlord_Casual, standing to the side, was already growing furious.

His eyes turned cold as he whispered, "Overlord_Freewill, this guy has no idea what’s good for him. How about we teach him a lesson?"

Overlord_Freewill shook his head slightly, wariness flashing through his eyes.

"No need. Didn’t you notice that he directly absorbed the Earth Drake’s corpse just now?

"This man is probably an expert possessing an undead-type talent. People like that are the most troublesome to provoke."

Just then, after clearing away the debris, John finally found the keyhole.

Under the puzzled gazes of everyone present, he took out the ancient key and inserted it into the lock.

Click!

In the next moment, a notification rang out across the skies above Starter Village.

[Region-wide Announcement: Player "Outlander" has activated the Starter Village Hidden Dungeon, "Catacombs"! Coordinates: (288, 1892). All players may proceed there to challenge it!]

Upon hearing the announcement, the three rookies and the two examiners, Overlord_Freewill and Overlord_Casual, were all frozen in place.

There was actually a dungeon in Starter Village?!

Dungeons could be repeatedly farmed, making them incredibly valuable resources for new players trying to level up. It could be said that, during the early stages of the game, they were the most important source of rapid progression.

Furthermore, anyone familiar with games knew that the first player to clear a dungeon would receive extremely generous rewards!

The game had already been open for a month, and the major guilds had thoroughly explored the areas surrounding Starter Village.

Yet they had not found the slightest trace of any dungeon.

In the end, everyone had concluded that dungeons could only be found after reaching the main city.

No one had expected Starter Village itself to contain a Hidden Dungeon!

In an instant, the game channel erupted into chaos.

Players began rushing madly toward the announced coordinates.

The major guilds issued assembly orders even faster, preparing to compete for the dungeon’s first-clear reward.

...

"Quick, contact the guild higher-ups!"

"Tell everyone to gather here immediately!"

Overlord_Freewill and Overlord_Casual began contacting Overlord Guild’s senior members on the spot.

They wished they could charge into the dungeon and start fighting right this very instant!

Watching their discreet actions, John remained completely indifferent.

Having been reborn, he understood better than anyone just how difficult it was to obtain the first-clear reward for this dungeon.

John walked directly to the entrance of the dungeon, and a difficulty selection interface appeared before his eyes.

[Please Select Dungeon Difficulty.]

[Normal]: Recommended Level: 10

[Hard]: Recommended Level: 15

[Nightmare]: Recommended Level: 20

[Hell]: Recommended Level: 30

...

Without the slightest hesitation, John selected Hell Difficulty.

Only by clearing Hell Difficulty could he obtain the first-clear reward.

[You have selected Hell Difficulty.]

[Current Party Size Detected: 1/12.]

[This dungeon is extremely difficult. Entering with a party is strongly recommended!]

The corner of John’s mouth curved upward.

Form a party?

Impossible!

In the next instant, his figure was engulfed by white light and transported into the dungeon.

[Dungeon Loading...]

As the dungeon loaded, memories concerning this dungeon surfaced in John’s mind.

"During the early stages of Starter Village, the first-clear reward for every dungeon is extraordinary. Whoever obtains the first clear will gain a massive advantage in their development pace over everyone else."

His gaze flickered thoughtfully.

In his previous life, he remembered a player making a forum post about this place.

After clearing the Catacombs dungeon, that player had opened an A-rank skill book as a reward.

Relying on that single A-rank skill, the player had been recruited by a major guild and had soared to success overnight.

By now, the entrance was probably already packed with members from all the major guilds.

At this moment, the blue light in front of John gradually faded away, and another notification sounded.

[Dungeon Loading Complete!]

An air mixed with the stench of mold surged into his nose.

John looked around and discovered that he was standing inside a stone chamber roughly twenty square meters in size.

Directly in front of him was a deep, gloomy passageway. Along both sides of the corridor, ghostly blue torches burned at intervals of several dozen meters.

Illuminated by the eerie blue flames, the entire space appeared sinister and terrifying.

John’s gaze landed on those torches.

They appeared completely ordinary at first glance, but in reality, every single torch represented a reanimated corpse.

The strategy guides from his previous life had explained this point very clearly.

Furthermore, once someone entered this passageway, it was extremely easy for them to lose their sense of direction.

The paths inside were twisted and intricate. Ordinary players entering for the first time could become completely disoriented simply from wandering around.

In his previous life, many players had become trapped inside this dungeon while attempting to clear it, unable to find either the correct route or the way out.

But to John, this was no difficulty at all.

He had read that strategy post countless times in his previous life and remembered the correct route with absolute clarity!

Drawing Soulrender, John stepped into the passageway.

Sure enough, the moment he passed the first ghostly blue torch—

The stone wall suddenly split open, and from within the darkness, a hideous zombie surged out.