Xicheng Branch, underground estate.
Through a gloomy passage, the heavy iron door creaked open. Light poured out from within the portal, flooding over Bai Pu like a tide.
Bai Pu felt a sensation similar to teleportation in the Spirit Realm, though this time no quest appeared.
The scene before him froze.
In the dark underworld, one could see stone spikes hanging low from above, with unknown vines entwined among them. On the ground, there were some peculiar large fungi.
The underground world's plants were quite different from surface plants. They didn't need sunlight but instead emitted a faint glow, preventing this underground world from being pitch black.
Apart from the plants' faint glow, there were some piles of white bones with flickering pale phosphorescent flames. Occasionally, one or two solitary "people" could be seen moving, their supposed eyes glowing with deep Soul Fire...
This is the White Bone Cave, a world of mausoleums, a paradise for skeletons.
Bai Pu glanced at the green sphere floating above him, with a small camera facing him recording.
This is a "Spiritual Camera," capable of transmitting signals using Spiritual Particles, a groundbreaking invention. From now on, ordinary people have a more convenient and rapid means to understand the world of the Awakened.
Some Awakened would live stream their adventures in relatively easy Wilderness Areas or Boundary Lands to increase their popularity in the real world, commonly referred to as "hunting" and "exploring secret realms." The Spiritual Cameras played a significant role in this.
This Spiritual Camera was brought in by Qilin, saying that it was required by the organization to record the time spent on each floor of the White Bone Cave.
Qilin and Black Tiger were currently in the tactical research room, along with the Genius Camp Instructor Qiu Shijie from the Divine Strategy Army, observing the footage transmitted by the Spiritual Camera on a large screen.
Bai Pu didn't mind his Professional Skills being known by others, as he planned to boost his fame in the real world someday. Exposure was unavoidable, and being scrutinized with a magnifying glass was normal, especially by the Superstar Alliance.
However, it was also necessary to discreetly keep a few tricks up one's sleeve for self-protection.
With the [Iron Spike Shoulder Guard] donned and the [Gleaming Bone Hammer] in hand, Bai Pu strode forward. The occasional sound of bones cracking underfoot echoed far in the serene cave, even resonating back.
"Shaa..."
A chilling, raspy undead shriek sounded, accompanied by the grating noise of skeletal friction. Two skeletons rose from the bone piles, brandishing rusted swords, and charged at Bai Pu.
"I wonder if their attack counts as Sharp Damage or Blunt Damage..." Bai Pu observed the rusted, broken swords and slightly shook his head but still activated [Scaly Skin] and stepped forward to meet them.
Chop, swish!
The attacks of the two skeletons landed one after the other on Bai Pu.
…
Tactical Research Room.
Black Tiger couldn't help but shake his head upon seeing this: "Too amateurish; the rotten bone skeletons are weak template monsters, with Combat Specialization only at Basic Level. Even facing two at once, deflecting should be easy."
"I heard Bai Pu didn't undergo systematic combat training before. He dropped out of junior high, and Sister Ling is trying to get him into a school. Maybe his foundation is weak." Qilin said.
"But, I'm more curious, how did he obtain an Enhanced Elite Profession? Could it be like the rumors say, he stole a valuable Spirit Realm Wonder to acquire that Enhanced Elite Template?" Black Tiger murmured.
Instructor Qiu didn't speak, staying focused on the screen. Seeing their conversation veer off course, he lightly chided, "Stop guessing. Can't you tell Bai Pu deliberately didn't dodge? He's merely testing the damage the rotten bone skeletons can inflict on him!"
[The rotten bone skeleton's slash inflicted 2 points of Sharp Damage on you.]
[The rotten bone skeleton's slash inflicted 1 point of Sharp Damage on you.]
Bai Pu felt reassured.
Raising his bone hammer to attack, he found he needed three or four swings to smash one rotten bone skeleton to pieces. Calculated, each rotten bone skeleton had a Life Value of about thirty to forty points.
As for the damage inflicted by the rotten bone skeletons, it was akin to mosquito bites; the occasional hit fell short even of Bai Pu's own Life Value recovery speed.
What Bai Pu didn't know was that it took him nearly a minute to kill two rotten bone skeletons. This performance, observed by Qilin and Black Tiger in the tactical research room, only made them look down on him more.
After the first battle, Bai Pu already grasped the attack power, Life Value, and other information of the rotten bone skeletons.
"Time to act."
Bai Pu whispered, glanced back at the hovering Spiritual Camera, grinned, and chose to turn off the live broadcast.
Inside the tactical research room, the screen went black, automatically switching to a map view of the first floor of the White Bone Cave. Only a green dot remained, flashing at the entrance of the first level.
"Hey, why did he turn off the screen?" Qilin exclaimed.
Instructor Qiu, sitting back in his chair, wasn't worried. He waved his hand, saying, "The entrance test never required the screen to remain on; it's only necessary to record the time. Bai Pu simply turned off the live broadcast without disabling the positioning function, showing he knows his limits. With the positioning, we can know where Bai Pu is and see how far he can go."
Qilin and Black Tiger exchanged glances, feeling that this new guy, Bai Pu, was bold and not easily deceived.
…
Within the White Bone Cave, the scene suddenly changed!
Without the live broadcast, Bai Pu seemed like a different person, joyfully sprinting across the first layer of the cave! In his hands, he held a femur, striking them together, and the crisp sound of bones clashing resonated clearly.
Clusters of Soul Fire ignited, awakening the previously dormant skeletal monsters!
The mindless monsters picked up their rusted weapons and rushed towards Bai Pu.
Soon, a large group of skeletons was trailing behind Bai Pu.
He only stopped when reaching the end of the first layer cave.
Looking at the swarming rotten bone skeletons, Bai Pu smiled joyfully, like a farmer gazing at a bountiful field of wheat.
He lowered into a crouch, assuming a stance.
The rotten bone skeletons' blades mostly carved shallow red marks on Bai Pu's body, causing one or two points of damage.
Only a few skeleton soldiers with higher attack power, equivalent to a Level 1 standard template, could inflict three or four points of damage.
Despite the multitude of skeletal monsters hacking at Bai Pu, their powerful blows unbalanced his stance, but Bai Pu's [Heavy Armor Mastery] Passive trait made it harder to be knocked down or repelled!
Bai Pu gritted his teeth and withstood, standing firm like a steel nail embedded into the ground.
Though it seemed a crowd of skeletons surrounded Bai Pu,
in reality, Bai Pu alone was encircling them!
On the Iron Spike Shoulder Guard, the Flesh inscriptions illuminated inch by inch, as if burning.
The skeletal monsters besieging Bai Pu were having strands of blood-red energy absorbed onto Bai Pu's surface, transforming into a Blood Shield.
Professional Skill: Flesh Armor!
A continuously replenished Flesh Shield, dealing 1 to 3 points of group Magic Damage per second for 120 seconds…
Offense and defense combined, a truly perfect skill.
If there's a flaw, it's that intelligent opponents would find ways to escape the skill's range.
However, the mindless skeletal monsters were perfectly countered by Flesh Armor!
Within dozens of seconds, the inner ring of skeletal monsters fell one after another. With each one downed, a new one filled the gap.
When Bai Pu's Flesh Armor duration ended, there were no standing skeleton monsters left. Bai Pu's Life Value remained at full.
Only a pile of shattered bones was left, alongside three glowing Virtual Treasure Chests!
[Congratulations to the newcomer (Bai Pu), you have successfully cleared the first floor of the White Bone Cave. Next, you can choose to exit the instance or challenge the second floor of the White Bone Cave.]
[If you do not enter the second floor within 60 minutes, you will automatically exit the instance.]