Chapter 48: Boss Appears
Blood splattered through the air, heading straight for Ying Tian and Lin Bai.
With intelligence equal to that of a sharp seven or eight-year-old child, Ying Tian reacted immediately. Its long dragon body twisted, and the still air around it stirred violently as it unleashed a gust of wind. This wasn't some ability from the system, just its natural wind-breathing technique to blow the blood away.
Neither Ying Tian nor Lin Bai liked filth, especially from jackals. That blood wasn't worthy of staining its scales.
Lin Bai's expression remained unchanged. To him, these jackals were perfect live targets. Outside in the real world, there were no opponents this convenient. Guns ruled the battlefield, and nothing improved your aim better than real combat. A dungeon like this was ideal for sharpening marksmanship.
But working with Ying Tian was still new. Although their contract allowed them to sense each other's emotions vaguely, true coordination required time. Without telepathy, he couldn't expect to shoot smoothly from Ying Tian's back in the middle of battle.
In under five minutes, every jackal lay dead. Their corpses quickly faded into the ground, leaving only experience points behind.
Lin Bai had grown used to it. In most dungeons, monsters' remains would be absorbed back into the environment after death, unless under rare circumstances.
"Any loot drop?"
Xiao Wu popped out from behind a nearby rock. Her bright pink eyes practically sparkled as she scanned the area for fallen items.
"Let's check."
Lin Bai opened his career panel, flipping through the kill records. After a glance, he shook his head. "Just a dozen gold coins. Looks like this Jackal Tribe's poor. Oh, wait — got lucky. A rare pendant dropped."
His gaze followed a faint green glow on the ground. That light meant equipment. His mood lifted. In this world, equipment came in six grades: white, green, blue, purple, gold, and color. Even green-tier items were valuable in Notting City, ranking among the top three commonly found.
"Where? Let me see the stats!"
Xiao Wu's enthusiasm for dungeon gear was no secret. Equipment raised strength without long training, and a good piece could seriously boost your combat effectiveness.
"Hold on, let me check it first."
Only the attacker could pick up equipment for a brief window after it dropped, so Xiao Wu could only stare longingly at the pendant.
Lin Bai hopped off Ying Tian's back, walked over, and picked it up.
It was a necklace strung with sharp yellowed wolf fangs, a few still stained with blood.
[Blooded Wolf Fang Necklace]
[Quality: Green-Excellent]
[Requirements: Physical profession, minimum Level 10]
+4 Strength
+4 Agility
+1% Physical Lifesteal
Lin Bai raised an eyebrow. Not bad at all. This single item added eight attribute points — equal to what Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing earned by leveling up twice.
Both women were rare-class professions, and they typically gained four attribute points per level, two fewer than Lin Bai's original profession before his advancement. Regular professions earned even less — one to three points depending on personal talent.
"Done reading? Show me already."
Xiao Wu tugged at his arm, bouncing with impatience. Unfortunately, she couldn't view his panel.
"Here, check it out. A little treasure. All three of us can use it — two hybrid fighters and a close-combat specialist."
Lin Bai passed the necklace to her. Xiao Wu snatched it, her eyes lighting up when she saw the stats.
"Wow! That's a lot of points. But… won't the blood rub off on you?"
She raised a fair question.
Lin Bai shrugged and patted her scorpion tail lightly. "It's just a name. This is dungeon-forged equipment. Even if it looks stained, there's no actual blood."
Then he turned to Zhu Zhuqing. "Xiao Wu's always charging head-on and gets injured more often. This has a lifesteal property — it'll help her stay standing."
Zhu Zhuqing nodded. "No problem."
Her own strength was speed, but her defense was paper-thin. She wouldn't get much out of a physical lifesteal effect since one solid hit could take her down.
"For me? Heh, thanks, Zhuqing. I'll make it up to you when we find something good."
Xiao Wu grinned. Though she'd complained about the blood, she didn't actually mind. Dungeon equipment drops were rare. Any find was worth having.
While the three of them sorted their loot, Tang San and Yu Xiaogang had also finished dealing with a nest of vampires in the distance. Among the debris, Tang San spotted a black robe radiating a faint white light. He checked its stats and equipped it.
At that moment, a cold mechanical voice echoed through the entire dungeon.
[The three-month novice period has ended. The dungeon will now enable the Boss Function. A random boss of appropriate difficulty will spawn on each floor. Defeating the boss grants high-quality equipment, generous experience points, and a chance to drop random professional skill books. There's also a small chance to obtain a rare boss-exclusive skill book usable by certain professions.]
[Five-Floor Dungeon Boss spawned… Level 25 Ice and Fire Demonic Wolf.]
[The boss will gradually increase in level, up to a maximum of Level 35. Adventurers are advised to defeat it promptly. No new boss will appear on this floor until the current one is slain.]
Lin Bai exhaled quietly. The dungeon was feeling more and more like a game, complete with boss announcements.
He turned to his companions. "So, you two wanna check it out? A level 25 boss is probably one of the strongest things on this floor. The loot's bound to be good."
Xiao Wu didn't hesitate. "Of course! No way I'm letting others snatch the good stuff. Even if we don't get gear, the EXP alone's worth it."
"Xiao Wu's right. Everyone understands that. We need to find the boss first — the sooner we kill it, the better."
Zhu Zhuqing had taken note of the word "strategy" in the dungeon's announcement. That suggested this Ice and Fire Demonic Wolf wasn't something ordinary adventurers could handle alone. It might even take a large group to bring it down.
But when she glanced at Lin Bai, her worry eased. She didn't believe anything on this floor could be his match.
Lin Bai wasn't aware of how much faith she'd placed in him.
"No time to waste," he said. "I'll have Xiaotian scout ahead. This floor isn't that big. With its speed, it can cover the area quickly."
He gave Ying Tian a pat. "Go find that Ice and Fire Demonic Wolf."
"Hm!"
Ying Tian let out a crisp sound, then shot off into the distance, the wind howling in its wake.
Lin Bai didn't feel the least bit concerned for it. Even though Tang Hao had returned briefly when the dungeon first appeared, he'd left after confirming Tang San was safe. Right now, no one in Notting City could threaten Ying Tian.
"Let's head in the opposite direction," Lin Bai said to the two women. "I'm curious if the dungeon gives out first-kill bonuses."
Zhu Zhuqing and Xiao Wu exchanged a glance. Once again, Lin Bai was saying things they didn't fully understand.
The three of them moved out, heading away from Ying Tian's direction. Along the way, they didn't see a single adventurer. The shallow dungeon floors didn't seem connected to other dungeons, and there weren't many soul masters in Notting City to begin with. As a result, few adventurers had reached the fifth floor so far.
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