Chapter 31

In fact, these spiders weren't really formidable monsters; they were barely stronger than the weakest Fallen Ones and Hardened Rats. However, in this eerie cave, the psychological impact they caused was far greater than their actual strength. I believe most newbies have experienced this kind of baptism. If it weren't for the Venom Flower Vine, I might have already been killed by these trash spiders. Through this comparison, I realized that my mindset was still far from that of a true class changer. I needed a lot more training. At least, I've never heard of any class changer being killed because they were scared stiff by the spiders on the cave ceiling.

When I completed my eleventh rest, the clean water in my inventory was almost gone. It seemed I could only stay here for about two more days. In fact, I had already planned to leave. Since I leveled up to level 4, the experience points from Fallen Ones had dropped from 5 to 3. With the bonus from my amulet, that was a total loss of 8 points, which was a significant hit. It seemed I needed to start considering going to the Cold Plains. I wonder if Akara would let me go? Even if I went secretly, I doubt I could hide it from her. After all, she is the master of the entire Rogue Encampment. A little inquiry would reveal everything.

If she found out how quickly my strength had improved, would she be suspicious? My head started to hurt again. I felt that no matter how I tried to hide it, there would always be a flaw. Just the speed of my level-ups was the biggest flaw.

Today seemed particularly quiet. I didn't encounter a single monster on my way. I walked for over three hours and didn't see a single monster.

This was too abnormal. Generally, the deeper you go, the denser the monsters should be. What's going on? Could it be...?

I quickly followed the adventurer's marks and found a hiding spot. I didn't really expect much, as there were so many hiding spots, and they might not have stayed here.

But it turned out to be a lucky coincidence. As soon as I entered, I saw a pile of still warm ashes in the center of the cave, which stood out prominently.

Sure enough, there were other adventurers nearby, I thought to myself.

Don't be surprised that I haven't met them earlier. The Evil Cave has so many forks, and they might have come from other paths.

What should I do?

Out of curiosity, I decided to follow their tracks and see what was happening. Since they were in the Evil Cave, their levels shouldn't be very high. Maybe I could make a friend. Besides, I hadn't seen how class changers of the same level fought. It would be good to observe and learn.

So, I followed the empty, clearly monster-cleared caves. Sure enough, before long, I heard a faint sound of footsteps and fighting, which was particularly jarring in the quiet cave.

As I got closer, the sounds of battle became clearer. In the end, I judged that the battlefield was no more than 100 meters away from my position.

This was a circular cave. Inside, there were two winding forks. No matter which path you took, you would eventually return to a larger cave. This was some experience I had gained from observing the cave's terrain over the past few days. The larger cave usually housed a larger group of monsters. It seemed the fighting was happening there.

I didn't know if there was a way to proceed further in the cave. Perhaps continuing forward would lead to a crossroads, or perhaps this cave was already the end of a fork.

Following the footsteps, I sneaked forward. It wasn't that I had any ulterior motives; I just thought it wouldn't be appropriate to rush in while they were fighting.

Along the way, the number of corpses lying on the ground made me a bit nervous. Just from what I could see, there were at least twenty, and even a few large beasts. They weren't group-living monsters, so there must be a big boss inside.

From the terrifying corpses, it was clear that a very powerful team must have killed them all at once. If they were newbies, it must have been a team of at least ten people, and they must have been well-coordinated.

I slowly approached the battle area, sticking to the central circular pillar. When I cautiously peeked out, what I saw surprised me.

In this spacious cave, dozens of corpses were scattered densely. The ones standing in the middle were not the group of newbies I had imagined, but only three people. From their appearance, they seemed to be a Druid, an Assassin, and a Paladin. They were facing a large, blue-skinned corpse, which was much larger than the ordinary ones.

Seeing this, I couldn't help but take a deep breath. These were not the newbies I had imagined. The Druid was commanding a wolf to fight, the Paladin was using heavy strikes, sacrifices, and attacks in quick succession, and the Assassin was incredibly fast, striking at the perfect moment, often right after the corpse attacked. After a hit, she wouldn't stay to claim credit but would immediately retreat. About every 2-3 attacks, her claws would glow, and the force from her claws would make the large corpse retreat several steps. If I wasn't mistaken, this was the Assassin's signature skill, the Dragon Claw, which required 2-3 hits to charge and then released all the energy in one final strike.

The Dragon Claw, the Druid's Ghost Wolf summon, and the Paladin's attacks were all skills that could only be learned at level 12 or higher. From their complete equipment, especially the Paladin's blue leather armor, it was clear that this was a high-level elite team. In terms of level and equipment, they were far superior to the combination of Lar and his two companions.

Their opponent, the large corpse, also surprised me. If I wasn't mistaken, this large corpse was the ultimate boss of the Evil Cave, the lowest-level boss monster in the entire Dark Continent—Corpse Fire.

What surprised me even more was that Corpse Fire, under the attack of three elite class changers, was still standing. Its movement and attack speed were even faster than the Fallen Ones, known for their agility in the lower levels. This boss-level monster, which completely compensated for the weaknesses of the corpses, was clearly very powerful. Even the Paladin in blue leather armor dared not take many hits, and the Assassin couldn't be touched at all. The Druid, who hadn't transformed into a werewolf, might have already used the transformation and was in cooldown, or she might have been conserving mana. Her werewolf transformation and shapeshifting skills might not have been very high, making them less useful.

Do you think everyone can be like me? The difference between high-level and low-level skills is significant. For example, a level 12 Druid has much higher attributes and equipment than me. Even if she hadn't learned many other skills, her werewolf transformation and shapeshifting were already at level 5. If she fought me in a werewolf form, I would probably win more often than lose, unless her equipment was incredibly good. Of course, experience and skill were also very important.

However, not transforming into a werewolf didn't mean she was useless. She would occasionally summon a wolf, a crow, or a Venom Flower Vine to either slow down Corpse Fire or assist the Paladin in attacking. She would also drink light mana potions continuously. I was confused and even maliciously wondered why she was drinking so many potions, as if she was addicted to them.

Actually, Akara and Lar had forgotten to tell me that drinking the same type of potion in succession would increase the recovery speed, but not the amount. In this world of Dark Continent, where potion drop rates were very low, such behavior was extremely wasteful. No one would be so extravagant unless it was a critical moment.

However, this was almost common knowledge for residents of the Dark Continent. They didn't know that I was still unaware of this.

Corpse Fire's special skill, the Ghost Strike, was even more terrifying. The Paladin, with his rich experience, could always dodge the Ghost Strike's attack range when the premonition appeared. If he couldn't dodge in time, the Druid's summoned creatures—whether a ghost wolf, a crow, or a Venom Flower Vine—would take the hit, and they would all be killed in one strike.

I was stunned. I never thought Corpse Fire would be so powerful. I had planned to try my luck, but it would be suicide. I definitely wouldn't be a match for it until I reached level 12 and learned the second-stage skills.

This team worked very well together. The Assassin was agile and quick, and Corpse Fire couldn't even touch a hair on her. The Paladin was steady and methodical, using each skill with great proficiency and clearly understanding Corpse Fire's attack patterns. The Druid was calm and composed, and she seemed to have a telepathic connection with the Paladin. Whenever the Paladin retreated, the summoned creatures would immediately fill the gap under her control.

This was definitely a well-coordinated team, and it wasn't their first time dealing with Corpse Fire. According to the internet, this was clearly a professional treasure-hunting team, here to farm Corpse Fire in the Evil Cave.