Worldwide Awakening: My Soul Kinds Are Lost

This old man is so stingy, always holding back on everything, Wang Linchi thought as he glanced at his status bar, noticing an additional status effect from Bamboo Wine.

[Bamboo Wine: Fixed Damage +100, Health Recovery +1% per second, Mana Recovery +1% per second, Skill Cooldown -10%, lasts until the end of the dungeon]

Wang Linchi suspected the Bamboo Hermit might have other items. However, he couldn't obtain them due to insufficient goodwill or unmet conditions, unless he killed the hermit. But he wouldn't do that. The reason was simple: if the Abyss Level dungeons were truly real, then killing the Bamboo Hermit now would only make subsequent attempts significantly harder should this one fail. After all, in these dungeons, death was permanent.

He had checked the forums again earlier, and traces indicated that some players had previously encountered the Mei, Lan, and Ju Hermits. Wang Linchi suspected that the deaths of these three hermits might be related to some reckless actions by players, which would explain the Bamboo Hermit's current mix of generosity and stinginess towards him. The generosity was evident: the Bamboo Hermit was willing to give him items even without completed tasks, implying the bamboo itself wasn't particularly valuable to the hermit. The stinginess, however, stemmed not from a fear of his investment in Wang Linchi going to waste, but rather from a fear that Wang Linchi might cause trouble.

Can players even be called players if they don't cause trouble?

But then again, with strategies available, why do players still fail… Damn, my brain isn't working, Wang Linchi mused. If everything in the Abyss Level dungeons is real, and NPCs have intelligence, then the enemies must be intelligent too. Not only are they intelligent, but they also have their own factions and strengths. It's virtually impossible for individual players to win. Unless players formed a guild, allowing large numbers to enter and overwhelm enemies with sheer numbers, their chances were slim. Simply forming a party was limited to five people, offering almost no hope of victory.

Wang Linchi soon realized that the enemies had inherent advantages. Players were left with nothing but the opportunity to try again. Naturally, they wouldn't win in the initial stages. As for guilds, one needed a Guild Token to establish one. These tokens could potentially drop from level-thirty bosses or be exchanged during certain events.

Lost in thought, Wang Linchi soon arrived at the Ju Hermit's residence. It was supposed to be the Chrysanthemum House, but it had been demolished. In its place, several Black Wind Stronghold outlaws were constructing five crudely built wooden huts.

The Black Wind Stronghold probably lacks the ability to destroy the four plant types cultivated by the Four Hermits, Wang Linchi speculated. Otherwise, they wouldn't go to such trouble, not only stationing guards but also leaving themselves vulnerable. He observed from afar. It seemed unlikely he could sneak in; he would have to fight his way through.

Before that, however, Wang Linchi needed to observe the number of enemies. Although he had the Task Item Bamboo·Gentleman, and the Saint Master had indeed received its buff, it only increased damage. His Defense wouldn't hold up; if surrounded, he would die. This time, he lacked the advantage of the Bamboo Hermit and the Bamboo House. He wouldn't win as easily. The previous battle was more about kill-stealing than direct combat. After all, the Bamboo Hermit's strength was evident to all.

"You go, I'll cover you," Wang Linchi instructed the Saint Master after quickly determining that the other outlaws were resting, with only three on duty. One was a Senior Subordinate, and the other two were naturally Junior Subordinates. As for the Subordinate Leader, he was considered a mini-boss; there was no way such a figure would be standing guard at an entrance.

The Saint Master would eliminate the Senior Subordinate, while Wang Linchi would deal with the two Junior Subordinates. As for the others, he would wait to see the effect of the Ju item. If it worked well, he would kill the remaining outlaws. If not, he would, of course, escape. Does he have to confront them head-on? It wouldn't be too late to fight once he had collected all the items.

With the buff from Bamboo·Gentleman, the Saint Master's damage was directly enhanced. True Damage wasn't very effective against Wang Linchi, as his damage type was Fixed Damage. However, the Saint Master was different. With a single strike—ignoring Defense, doubling final damage, and guaranteeing a critical hit—the Senior Subordinate was instantly killed.

The remaining two Junior Subordinates tried to shout, but the green and red accompanying snakes immediately took action, instantly killing one of them. The other was briefly controlled by Wang Linchi's Fanciful and Fickle skill, followed by a strike from Literary Warfare. He didn't die, of course, as Wang Linchi's damage couldn't reach 1,000 in a single hit. However, this successfully delayed his attempt to call for help before the Saint Master reached out and crushed his head.

After picking up the Abyss Crystals, Wang Linchi led the Saint Master without hesitation towards the ruined Chrysanthemum House.

All I need to do is pick a chrysanthemum flower, Wang Linchi recalled the Bamboo Hermit's instructions. However, looking around, he realized that while he wanted to pick one, where were they?

Thanks to his sharp eyesight, he spotted one buried under the rubble. He quickly began digging and found more chrysanthemums beneath the ruins, miraculously surviving, a testament to their incredible vitality. Without hesitation, Wang Linchi plucked one.

[Chrysanthemum·Hermit Beyond Worlds]

[Type: Task Item]

[Stored in the item bar, grants immunity to True Damage caused by Demonized-type enemies. When facing Demonized-type enemies: final Defense +100%, critical resistance +100%]

Seeing this, Wang Linchi couldn't help but rejoice. Absolutely brilliant! The immunity to True Damage was one thing, but the increases to final Defense and critical resistance were crucial. With 100% critical resistance, enemy critical hits would be ineffective against him. Final Defense, like final attack, was a high-priority attribute. This meant all contributing numerical values were added up and then doubled; any temporary or provisional increases were included in this calculation before the doubling.

However, their actions—digging through the rubble—inevitably made some noise. As a result, it woke up the snoozing Subordinate Leaders.

Seeing them, Wang Linchi couldn't help but smile. With Chrysanthemum·Hermit Beyond Worlds, his Defense had significantly improved. His Health hadn't increased, but he no longer feared being surrounded and attacked.

"Just another bug! Today, I will..." Before the awakened Subordinate Leader could finish his threat, he saw the Saint Master's form swell, returning to its original, larger stature. This caught the enemy off guard. Previously, a smaller size was convenient for maneuvering, but in this open area, being larger was better, providing not only an intimidating presence but also a greater combat range.

The Subordinate Leader swallowed hard but ultimately steeled himself and charged forward.

BANG!

With a simple sweep, the Saint Master sent the Subordinate Leader flying. However, being a Subordinate Leader with elite status, he didn't die, though he lost a third of his Health.

The remaining Senior and Junior Subordinates fell one after another under the coordinated attacks of the swift green and red snakes. The Junior Subordinates each fell in a single strike from one of the snakes, while the Senior Subordinates required two. The subordinates' attacks landed on the Saint Master and the green and red snakes, dealing some damage, but it was almost negligible.

Crucially, the Saint Master and the snakes also shared the effects of the Bamboo Wine Wang Linchi was using. With a 1% per second Health recovery from the wine, their own regenerative abilities, and sufficient Defense, they were not only durable but could also deal damage while rapidly healing.

The battle lasted only about five minutes, leaving behind nothing but a field of corpses. After the Saint Master and the green and red snakes collected the Abyss Crystals, they handed them to Wang Linchi.

Meanwhile, Wang Linchi was searching the area for any leftover items, hoping for something similar to the Bamboo Wine to further enhance his stats. The Saint Master could indeed kill a Subordinate Leader single-handedly now. However, that was just an Elite Monster; three actual bosses still lay ahead. Besides, the Black Wind Stronghold had over a thousand outlaws in total. The Saint Master could handle ten enemies, but not a thousand. No matter how high its Defense, it could still be overwhelmed by sheer numbers. Therefore, it was crucial to find anything that could provide an advantage. Given his luck, he was likely to find something.

After searching for nearly half an hour, he finally found something familiar.

Chrysanthemum Wine? Wang Linchi had found a wine jar in the rubble, identical to the one the Bamboo Hermit had. He used it immediately. That's right, use it, not drink it. It can be activated directly from the item bar; no need to actually consume it.

[Chrysanthemum Wine: Damage Reduction +100 (Attacks dealing less than 100 damage are nullified), Health Recovery +1% per second, Mana Recovery +1% per second, Skill Cooldown -10%, lasts until the end of the dungeon]

Just as I thought, another complementary enhancement BUFF, Wang Linchi mused. With this, attacks dealing less than 100 damage would be nullified. If he could stack enough Defense, the Junior Subordinates' attacks could essentially be ignored. But stacking Defense wouldn't be easy. The remaining Mei and Lan items, along with their respective wines, probably wouldn't increase Defense. He estimated they would likely boost other attributes, such as Health and Mana.