014 The Dark Desert!

Many game assassins were already keeping close watch on Chen Feng. He had grown used to it. Compared with the national district, stepping into the vast world map was only to invite greater danger. What had happened had already happened; all Chen Feng could do now was face it. Even if a lone ability assassin stood before him, he would still have to carve a path through with blood.

At daybreak, Yin, the hidden profession of the human class, a necromancer, reached level thirty. Chen Feng gave him two Demon Eyes, equipment items. One could say that only after reaching level thirty did Yin’s true power begin to show itself. After Yin came out of the Trial Tower, he was already capable of matching Chen Feng blow for blow.

The Giant Strength Man’s Right Arm was given to Martial Madman, so that when necessary he could wield Ashbringer one-handed and carry a shield in the off hand, greatly improving his survivability. Martial Madman and Yin were both late-blooming hidden professions; at low levels, their might could not be fully displayed. Only when they had higher levels and proper equipment would they be qualified to fight opponents who stood at the summit of the game.

Equipment above epic grade could only be found by their own efforts. Chen Feng could merely provide them with some silverflash gear, slightly improving their strength. Everyone had their own growth, and Chen Feng did not wish his interference to cut too deeply into that.

Yin and Martial Madman were both formidable hidden-class specialists, while Monk was an oddity. His strength fluctuated greatly; sometimes it erupted with terrifying force, and at other times he was pitifully weak. Chen Feng could not help Monk much, because he himself knew very little about the monk profession. As for Data Emperor, Chen Feng was even less able to help. Data Emperor played the game by the numbers, and as he himself said, so long as there were enough data, there was no battle that could not be won.

Chen Feng gathered with Monk and the others by the pool in front of the world-map teleportation array, and handed out some intermediate instant recovery potions. “My task now is to slay the Demon Ring Envoy, so I can’t grind levels or do quests with you. If any of you receive a large-scale quest, we can try it together. But before that, be careful on your own. The world map is dangerous. One careless mistake, and you may become someone else’s stepping-stone. Gao Ru Yun Tian is a perfect example.”

“Cripple Feng, do you think this old monk is as useless as that Martial Madman brat? Someone like me, a top expert in the gaming world, has only ever killed others. I’ve never been killed by anyone.” Monk did not believe in the world map’s danger at all. In his eyes, if Chen Feng could obtain the Fourth Treasure, then he ought to be able to do so as well.

“From what I’ve gathered, more than half the players who entered the world map have died and logged off. A large part of the reason is that monster levels fluctuate too wildly, there are too many tribal patrols, the levels are high, and then there’s player-versus-player conflict.” Data Emperor roamed the forums of many nations, and his information was extensive. “In the early stage, the world map will belong to thieves and hunters. Once you go in, you have to be careful. If you run into a paladin, you should flee as well. Fighting him gains you nothing, and if he can’t win, he can just use his invincible hearthstone.”

“Troop-type creatures aren’t popular yet, but every guild has people training them and farming troop-type items. My guess is that around level forty will be the age of troop-type creatures. By then, troop creatures will be needed to occupy strongholds, so from now on we should start stockpiling troops and training some special units to serve as troop heroes.” Data Emperor had already begun to foresee what was coming next. After level thirty, the troop system would open, but the current troop units were far too weak to mention. On top of that, troop item drops were far too rare, making it extremely difficult to strengthen them right now.

Recruiting troops was troublesome; training them was even more so. Unless one had Chen Feng’s Bat Rune item, which allowed him to spend gold each day to recruit troops. Monk did not like wasting time, Martial Madman certainly would not waste time, and Yin did not yet need troop creatures.

“Go, go! This old monk is heading to the world map to show his might!” Monk grew a little impatient and teleported into the world map on his own. The others followed him in.

Chen Feng was being watched by many people. He would not travel in the same group as Monk and the others, nor would he enter with them. Before entering the world map, Chen Feng remained hidden and waited off to the side. There should be thieves watching him nearby, and there were likely watchers in all thirty-two zones of the world map as well.

Counter-surveillance was the most basic skill of an ability assassin. Chen Feng was already thoroughly familiar with it. Now that he had been thrust into the spotlight, every move he made had to be cautious and deliberate. Any mistake could invite a reversal of fortune.

Relatively speaking, Chen Feng’s shapeshifter form had stronger survivability, but if he was facing an encirclement, his warrior form was still better. At the very least, Chen Feng could cooperate with the Ghost Rhinoceros to instantly kill someone.

After waiting ten minutes, Chen Feng entered Zone 29 of the world map. He was not here to grind levels; at present, he did not even dare to casually look for a place to grind. He had come to Zone 29 to enter a challenge tower. This tower stood in the middle of the desert on the western side of Zone 29. Once inside, if one could pass the trial, rewards would be granted. The earlier one cleared it, the more items one could choose from. Each player could enter the challenge tower only once per month.

The Dark Desert was a special map, and spatial teleport flags could not reach it. It was impossible for Chen Feng to use his shapeshifter form to go there and then switch to his warrior form. His shapeshifter form was not weak, but Chen Feng knew it could handle a trial or two at most; it absolutely could not reach the highest floor. He wanted to know exactly what reward awaited at the top.

The challenge tower had no level restriction. Any level could enter. Under normal circumstances, the higher the level, the better, because the increase in equipment attributes would outweigh the rise in difficulty. However, Chen Feng’s current gear was already quite excellent: three gold defensive pieces, one legendary one-handed sword, and one epic one-handed sword.

Chen Feng wanted to know whether he could turn into a blood dragon after entering the Trial Tower. If he could, he felt the challenge would become much easier. With two weapons of terrifying damage, plus the blood dragon’s absurd defense and lifesteal, there would be no problem at all. It was only a test; he knew that once inside, he probably could not transform into a blood dragon.

If he could not use the blood dragon state, Chen Feng could not wield the Blood Dragon Axe and would have to use the Arcanite Axe instead. He felt he absolutely needed to find a powerful two-handed axe. If it were a gold-tier weapon, it did not even seem as good as the Brotherhood Sword. One hand with a two-handed sword, one hand with a one-handed sword—it was not impossible, but it would affect the balance and rhythm of both hands, and the result would be even worse.

Zone 29 was a stronghold of the dwarf race. Hidden within a barren mountain, one could never tell from the outside that a massive main city was concealed within it. This mountain stronghold of the dwarves was dozens of times larger than the stronghold in Zone 12.

When Chen Feng teleported in, he saw more than twenty players forming parties. By now, there were already several hundred players in the world map, scattered across the thirty-two zones, with roughly a hundred in each zone.

“Dark Desert adventure team, looking for explorers and a powerful tank!”

“Level 35 Desert Chieftain dungeon, need a strong tank. Gear must be at least silverflash level 30 or above. Need one more for a full team...”

“Endless Wasteland leveling party, English speakers join. Starting when we have enough...”

The more than twenty players dispersed in different directions. Some headed to the Dark Desert, some went to newly released dungeons to race for first clear, and some were leveling. There were too few players entering at present, and some could only communicate through text translation because of language barriers. As a result, many parties required players to understand English, making command and coordination easier. Relying on text translation alone wasted too much time.

Outlets?

What surprised Chen Feng a little was that the one shouting for people to go on an adventure in the Dark Desert was actually Outlets. That fellow was a holder of a demon ring, yet he dared to be so brazen. Was he not afraid someone would blow him up and take the ring? Hidden in stealth, Chen Feng had no intention of joining Outlets’ party. He felt it was far too dangerous to travel with that man.

He would not be going to the Dark Desert for no reason, would he?

Chen Feng felt that this dwarf paladin surely had a purpose wherever he went. Could he have obtained a map to another treasure site and intended to go search for it? Chen Feng began to consider whether he should follow Outlets’ party and see what exactly he was up to. After some thought, he still left. He felt it would be better to mind his own business.

After carefully leaving the barren-mountain stronghold, Chen Feng summoned the twin-headed wyvern. Wearing the shrink ring, he leaped onto its back and flew toward the Dark Desert. The twin-headed wyvern was only a special flying creature, and each flight consumed stamina. After becoming a dwarf, Chen Feng weighed less, so the wyvern’s stamina was depleted more slowly. He had called the wyvern out at first simply to shake off those who were tailing him.

As he neared the Dark Desert, Chen Feng recalled the twin-headed wyvern, fed it food and water, and let it rest in spatial storage to recover its stamina. Entering the Dark Desert still had to rely on himself. The twin-headed wyvern could only be used in special circumstances.

The Dark Desert was a cursed stretch of sandland. Above it, dark clouds smothered the sky, and no sunlight could be seen. The sand there was not golden but black. Hidden in the black sand was poison; if one walked in it for too long, the feet would swell, movement would become difficult, and a continuous damage-over-time state would be inflicted. Entering the Dark Desert required either antidotes for sand poison or a healer to cleanse everyone’s status effects every ten minutes, otherwise it would be a great hassle.

The super mecha man!

Entering the Dark Desert alone was dangerous. Chen Feng was not especially worried, but having a super mecha man would be convenient. In the desert, the super mecha man could move rapidly, and even against some desert creatures, it could kill them alone. Its mobility was far better than Chen Feng’s.

Not long after Chen Feng entered the Dark Desert, Outlets sent him a friend request. Chen Feng knew this fellow must have received the news that he had come to Zone 29.

“Raven, you went to the Dark Desert? Why not team up with us?” After Chen Feng confirmed the friend request, the dwarf paladin immediately sent a call.

“What are you doing in the Dark Desert? Don’t tell me you came here for adventure!” Chen Feng very much wanted to know what exactly the dwarf paladin had come here to do. If it involved treasure, Chen Feng might be willing to take the risk; if it was just some ordinary quest, then he had no interest. It was not even worth as much as the reward from the challenge tower.

“A friend of mine shared an epic quest with me to lift the curse of the Dark Desert. Do you want to come?” The dwarf paladin seemed eager to pull Chen Feng in and directly sent over a party invitation.

Lift the curse of the Dark Desert? An epic quest?