Chương 236: Reborn as the Dragon — Chapter 236 - Pioneering Players (3)

Aside from the launch position being a little off, the Spicy Radish packed a serious punch. In future battles, whether against monsters or players from other countries, it would definitely pull its weight. Though a special pair of open-crotch pants was going to be absolutely necessary.

"Captain, Little Jin was... was blasted... blasted to death by you..."

"Dead is dead. You don't need to keep emphasizing the word 'blasted.' It was my fart. I'm well aware." Player A was embarrassed, but he kept his composure.

"His death was worthwhile. At least he helped us test the power of this item. He contributed to the team and realized his own value." Besides, Little Jin was dead weight while he was alive anyway. Player A kept that part to himself. Saying it out loud would not exactly reinforce his image as a wise and capable squad leader. This Spicy Radish had genuinely blown him away. One small item. This dungeon run was already worth it.

And that wasn't even counting the 10 Invasion Points and massive EXP bonus for killing a mutated Blaze Rabbit. Just picture it. You're in the middle of a crisis, both sides completely spent, and you reach into your pocket and pull out a Spicy Radish. You stuff it in your mouth. You turn around and aim your backside at the enemy. Does your enemy have any idea what's about to happen? They do not. Then a jet of fire blasts out. Enemy reduced to ash. Crisis resolved.

"Move out!" Player A was looking forward to the loot ahead. The Blaze Rabbit's original-flavor underpants, however, did not feature in that anticipation. He was considerably more cautious when they reached the large door. The monsters in this dungeon didn't play by the rules. Push that door open and there was definitely a trap waiting. Maybe a boulder would come rumbling down, or a wall of poison arrows would fly straight into their faces. Player A had already seen through all of it.

So he used his spear to shove the door open, keeping himself over a meter back and giving him room to dodge. The door swung open without much resistance. What puzzled Player A was the view beyond. The wide corridor stretched ahead to what should have been a circular hall at the far end. The hall was completely empty. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. What's going on? Where are the monsters? Player A studied the two open doors on either side.

Wide enough to hide a whole mob behind them without any trouble. The monsters were in ambush behind the doors. Obviously. Player A felt he had seen through everything. He flashed a savage grin and typed into the team channel:"They're hiding behind the doors. We smash the doors, jam our swords through, catch them completely off guard!" The Seumida Players felt a collective flash of enlightenment. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

Their admiration for their captain at that moment was like the Han River itself — vast, continuous, and unending. They drew their swords. The mage and priest players moved into position.

"Attack!" Player A roared. No point hiding now. He charged in first, driving his longsword forward. The door wasn't nearly as solid as it looked. The blade punched through, and he felt it sink into something soft and fleshy.

"OW!" A monster shrieked from behind the door. Player A's heart surged. His grin spread wider. He yanked the sword out and drove it in again. And again. After several rounds of this, the wailing from behind the door grew steadily weaker. The others followed his lead. Every thrust drew another scream, each one more pitiful than the last. The more pitiful the screams, the more excited they got. The only strange thing was that no blood came out, no matter how many times they stabbed. Bit odd.

But then again, the Blaze Rabbits earlier hadn't bled either. The players let the thought go. No blood in game data. Made sense. The screaming stopped.

"Boss, they're just letting us stab them? Don't they know how to dodge?"

"And none of them charged out to fight us. Isn't that weird?" One of the Seumida Players raised his hand, uneasy. Player A scoffed.

"What do you know? It's a system mechanic. Didn't you see those Blaze Rabbits earlier disappear into particles of light? The monsters in here operate differently from the ones outside. They follow specific rules." He jabbed a finger at the door.

"Take these ones. They can't leave the door. Their mechanic is to ambush from behind it. So no matter how much we stab, all they can do is sit there and take it."

"This," Player A said, "is called exploiting a bug." He let out a sharp laugh, straightened up, and puffed out his chest.

"As expected of the captain! Incredible!"

"What are we waiting for? Let's go grab the loot!" The Seumida Players' morale hit the ceiling. They poured through the door behind Player A, shouting as they went. The Blaze Rabbits on both sides of the doorway had been waiting patiently. A few of them had even taken sips of water to soothe their throats. They'd gotten a little too into performing those death screams for the humans outside, and it was starting to show. The humans came pouring in. The elite Blaze Rabbit's eyes lit up.

It dropped into a crow-sits-on-airplane, gripped its massive axe with both hands, and swung down. Player A stepped through the door. No Blaze Rabbit corpses anywhere. He knew instantly he'd walked into a trap. But he was a veteran player. Faster. Sharper. Killing intent, directly overhead. Attack from above. He wrenched his head down hard. The elite Blaze Rabbit's iron axe shaved clean across his scalp, and in one pass, his center-parted hair became a perfect bald strip down the middle.

"Ambush! Fall back!" The warning came fast. Not fast enough. Seven unlucky warriors took axes to the skull and dropped dead on the spot. The Blaze Rabbits had gravity working for them on the way down. The damage was far higher than the ones who'd been swinging from behind the door. A clean hit to the head was instant death. A graze on the arm took the whole limb off at the shoulder. The survivors scrambled back into the corridor. The enemy fully materialized near the doorway.

The one at the front stood nine feet tall. Muscle packed every inch of its frame. It held a giant axe nearly two meters long, and its rabbit eyes burned with savage red light. Pectorals like two swollen balloons connected to deltoids that flared out like pauldrons. The sheer pressure rolling off it was on par with Pyramid Head from Resident Evil. [Elite, Extreme, strong — Dragonized Blaze Rabbit] The players hadn't even finished processing the shock.

"ROARRR—" The elite Blaze Rabbit threw its head back and bellowed. The two-meter axe swung up, then came down in a brutal overhead chop. BOOM. Stone bricks exploded across the dungeon floor. Then it dragged the axe forward, moving like a steel tank, and charged straight at the Seumida Players. ➤ Next: Pioneering Players (4)