This assassin is upright

Chapter 323 Death Burial Pit
Although they had just completed the second job advancement trial, the five people present had done some prior research on the dungeons after the second job advancement. Even if they couldn't understand every single one, they had memorized the typical ones.

【Death Burial Pit】 is a typical example of a second job advancement dungeon.

Among second-tier players, its name is almost universally known.

After all… the content of this instance is just like its name, with a mortality rate of over 50%, enough to strike fear into the hearts of many.

"Hey, hey, hey, this is exciting right from the start?" Lu Wen clicked his tongue, then a strange excitement appeared in his eyes. "I love it!"

Helmod and Udir didn't speak, but their eyes were also filled with excitement.

"In that case, let's set off."

Yu Zhun smiled and casually clicked on the matchmaking option.

Lines of text appeared before their eyes.

Welcome to the permanent instance: Death Burial Pit (4A)

The rules for dungeons are as follows:

[1. All rewards within the dungeon are settled instantly]

2. Death in the instance also results in death in the real world.

[3. Cross-server matchmaking successful. All players will immediately enter the dungeon. Current match count: 17/20]

4. No player can leave the dungeon before it is cleared.

Death is sometimes just the beginning of despair!

As the dungeon introduction appeared, the number of players in the matchmaking system quickly reached its limit, and in the next instant, Yu Zhun and his four companions disappeared from the matchmaking space.

After a dizzying spin, they found themselves in a gray and black world.

As soon as their feet touched solid ground again, a strong stench of decay mixed with a nauseating smell of blood instantly swept over them.

"Ugh!" Lu Wen couldn't help but gag, and hurriedly took out a set of odor-blocking nasal plugs from his backpack to cover his mouth and nose.

"I'd heard that the environment for exploring this place was terrible, but I never imagined it would be this bad."

Muttering to himself, Lu Wen subconsciously stomped his foot, and the next moment a "crack" sound came from under his foot, and the whole thing suddenly tilted to the side.

Once he regained his footing, he looked down in astonishment and realized that he was not standing on the ground, but on a pile of bones that was probably very thick. These bones had been worn down over the long years and bore the tooth marks of unknown creatures, which made him feel terrified.

"On the bright side, at least this time we weren't randomly teleported to different locations," Yu Zhu said, covering his mouth and nose.

"Be careful, everyone." Yu Zhun held his breath, his expression slightly hardening. "There's a big difference between second-tier dungeons and dungeons below the second tier."

"In order to meet the difficulty of the second-tier strong players, the worlds used to be transformed into second-tier dungeons are mostly former god-level areas."

"A small portion of them were not converted from servers, but existed naturally from the moment the world of divine revelation appeared."

“The Death Burial Pit is one of them.”

Strictly speaking, Yu Zhun's choice of this instance as the first instance for them to conquer was also based on this consideration.

Where did that naturally existing copy that appeared in the world of divine revelation come from?

Are they from some world that Yu Zhun and others have never known, a world even older than the First God Zone, or were they designed by God 1 himself?

Both the former and the latter are worth exploring by Yu Zhun.

“Indeed,” Helmod nodded in agreement. “We in the Fourth Divine District have also conducted some research and discussions on this instance.”

"There are even some very unusual speculations."

Helmod paused slightly as he said this.

"For example, this place is very likely the soul field of players who die in the Divine Revelation World. Whether they die in the dungeon or in the Divine Revelation World, they will eventually appear here and become one of the countless skeletons."

"That sounds a bit creepy." Lu Wen glanced at the pile of broken bones beneath his feet, which seemed to be incredibly thick, and couldn't help but gasp. His expression changed, and he began to gag repeatedly.

"What should we do next?" Udyr asked in a deep voice.

Although she had heard of the "Death Burial Pit," she was currently the only second-class player in her world and had absolutely no experience in navigating it.

Therefore, Udyr intends to take this opportunity to learn from others.

This way, when other players in her world want to conquer this dungeon in the future, they won't be completely clueless.

"The storyline of the [Death Burial Pit] instance is divided into four parts," Yu Zhun said with a smile, having already made considerable preparations.

"The first part is the endless graveyard where we are now. It is said that countless skeletons are buried beneath the graveyard, and the thickness is immeasurable. However, some of these skeletons are not dead."

"No means of perception can detect their existence in advance, because before they are actually attacked, they are no different from the bones of the dead."

"As we traverse the endless graveyard, these undying skeletons will attack in every possible way."

“And we must cross here to eventually reach that place.” As he spoke, Yu Zhun pointed with his dagger at the rising full moon ahead.

Unlike the moon they usually saw, that moon had a deathly white color, like white bones, and cast a chilling white light directly below it, making it look terrifying.

“That’s the second part of the Death Burial Pit, the Moon of the Dead,” Yu Zhun said slowly. “Where the Moon of the Dead shines, countless souls, invisible to the naked eye, will emerge.”

"They cannot cause any real harm to the player, nor can they be attacked by the player, but they will continuously 'drain' the player's power."

"Inhaling?" Udyr looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"Simply put, in areas shrouded by the Moon of the Dead, players' attribute caps will continuously decrease, and this decrease cannot be recovered or dispelled through purification," Yu Zhun said, shrugging.

"Therefore, in order to avoid this negative impact, we must rush through the area shrouded by the Moon of the Dead as quickly as possible."

"But we have no choice but to stay in it."

“Because there lies a key item for our strategy.” Yu Zhun’s eyes flickered slightly. “The Heart of Death.”

"【Heart of Death】is an essential item for perfectly conquering 【Death Burial Pit】."

“We only have one prop, but we have twenty teams.” Udyr quickly realized the most important problem.

"Yes." Yu Zhun nodded.

"We need to compete with other players for the [Heart of Death] in the area covered by the Moon of the Dead. This process is bound to take time, and other players will try their best to delay our stay. The end result is that everyone will be greatly weakened."

"Although it's a simple design, it's really effective," Yu Zhun concluded.

Ever since he helped Yora design the dungeon, he now unconsciously considers things from the designer's perspective when tackling dungeons.

However, this is not a bad thing.

Sometimes, it's easier to understand a problem by looking at it from a different perspective.

"Looks like we need to hurry." Udyr took a step towards the Moon of the Dead. "The rest we'll do as we go..."

Before he could finish speaking, Udyr's pupils contracted slightly, and in the next instant, he vanished from his spot like the wind.

"Kacha kacha——"

With a series of strange sounds, a giant claw made of countless pieces of withered bones slashed fiercely towards the spot where she had just been standing. "Whoosh whoosh whoosh—"

Amidst the piercing sound of wind being torn apart, dozens or even hundreds of arrows instantly enveloped the giant claw. Under Udyr's all-out attack, the newly appeared skeletons instantly turned into dust and vanished without a trace.

"These are living remains?" Udir landed lightly back to his original position from mid-air, his eyes showing a hint of solemnity.

She was just a hair's breadth away from being hit by that sudden attack.

The opponent's speed was terrifying, and their attack came without any warning.

Udyr had previously imagined her opponents to be complete skeletons based on descriptions, but now it seems they are far more indescribable than she thought.

“That’s right.” Yu Zhun nodded, tightening his grip on the dagger. “You’re right about one thing: we do need to hurry.”

"However, everyone should cheer up."

"This endless graveyard is not to be trifled with."

As he spoke, Yu Zhun swiftly swung his knife, instantly severing a sharp bone splinter that had emerged from the ground.

The five of them went through thick and thin together. Even after their second transformation and gaining new powers, they quickly got to know each other again and returned to their original tacit understanding.

As they approached the Moon of the Dead, Yu Zhun continued his explanation.

"After leaving the Moon of the Dead, the next area is the Tower of Spirits, which is also the most terrifying area of ​​the [Death Burial Pit]."

"Because there, you'll not be facing monsters from the instance, but rather players who have already died."

"A player?!" Udyr's pupils contracted slightly. He casually drew his bow, engulfing a sea of ​​bones, then turned to look at Yu Zhun. "Are you sure?"

“Yu Zhun is right,” Helmod agreed. “Remember what I said earlier about the Fourth Divine District’s speculation about this instance?”

“The main reason for this speculation is the Tower of Spirit Transformation.” Helmod’s expression became more serious. “The dead players who appear in the Tower of Spirit Transformation can be found in reality.”

"Previously, the strategy guides unanimously believed that these dead players all died while trying to conquer the [Death Burial Pit]."

"However, after multiple investigations and confirmations, it has been found that a large portion of those who died in the Fourth Divine Zone did not die in this instance."

“But even after they died, they still appeared here, retaining all their abilities from when they were alive, becoming obstacles for the conquerors.” Yu Zhun shook his head.

"The terrifying thing about the Tower of Spirit Transformation is that the number of players inside is almost endless, and the players who appear each time are completely random, with no repetition."

"That's why even the most experienced raiding teams wouldn't dare claim they have a 100% foolproof way to conquer the Death Pit."

“Endless dead players…” Udyr’s expression turned serious. “So, the only solution is to fight your way to the top?”

“It’s not about fighting your way to the top,” Yu Zhun shook his head. “It’s about fighting your way to the very bottom.”

"The Tower of Spirit Transformation is an inverted tower."

“Its lowest level is the final part of the [Death Burial Pit].” A trace of solemnity flashed in Yu Zhun’s eyes. “The Kingdom of Death.”

The Land of Death…

Udir's heart sank.

Just hearing the name was enough for her to imagine how terrifying it was.

“The Kingdom of Death is a real kingdom,” Yu Zhun said in a deep voice. “Although it is located underground, it is just like the prosperous kingdoms we have in mind, bright and prosperous.”

“There are countless residents there, and from their appearance, you can’t tell that they have been dead for many years. They all look like living people.”

"There really is such a place?" Udyr couldn't help but look at the gloomy sky and the chaotic corpses of demons.

She truly couldn't imagine that such a gloomy and terrifying place could possibly contain a kingdom like the one Yu Zhun described.

“It’s all just appearances,” Helmod interjected. “The Kingdom of Death may seem out of place in the other parts of the Death Burial Pit, but they are all places that correspond to death.”

There's a saying: things will turn into their opposites when they reach their extremes.

"The Kingdom of Death is like this; it is a kingdom that truly belongs to the dead, and the dead within it all possess the characteristic of immortality."

"In other words, we can't kill anyone there."

"But they can harm us."

“The only thing we can rely on is the Heart of Death.” Helmod paused slightly. “With the Heart of Death, our living presence can be concealed, thus avoiding hostility.”

"Besides that, it's also an item for summoning the final boss's complete form. Without it, our strategy can only stop at the boss's initial form." Helmod shook his head.

“In that case, the problem returns to the Moon of the Dead.” Udyr looked thoughtfully at the moonlight that was drawing ever closer.

"Who cares about all that!" Lu Wen wielded his twin swords and frantically hacked at the surrounding skeletons. Whether they were alive or not, they were all cleanly and decisively reduced to ashes by him. "Just do it!"

"Bones? Damn it!"

"Players? Let's do it!"

"Dead player? Let's do it!"

"Living dead? Let's do it!"

“That’s right!” Yu Zhu held up the pastor’s book and clung to Yu Zhun like a sloth, “Just do it!”

Upon hearing Lu Wen and Yu Zhu's words, Udir chuckled, and his previously solemn expression softened somewhat.

“You’re right.” Udyr pushed off with his feet and soared into the sky, creating a gust of wind that swept around them.

In the next instant, countless arrows rained down from the sky, instantly clearing away the corpses that were rushing towards them.

Upon landing again, Udyr's eyes blazed with fierce fighting spirit. "No matter what lies ahead, anything that stands in my way will turn to dust!"

The group of five shot off like arrows, rushing toward the Moon of the Dead at top speed.

5,000 meters... 2,000 meters... 1,000 meters...

The gray-white area shrouded by the Moon of the Dead was getting closer and closer to Yu Zhun and the others. At the same time, Yu Zhun and the others also saw another team not far away, rushing towards the Moon of the Dead just like them.

No communication or negotiation was required.

The moment they spotted each other, they simultaneously turned and charged at one another.

Fighting in the Moon of the Dead means constantly being drained of the power of unseen spirits, gradually weakening you.

Therefore, holding the battle outside of the Moon of the Dead is clearly a good choice.

However, the moment the two sides actually clashed, the other team regretted their choice.

[King of Assassins] Skill [Silent Shackles] activated!

The moment the gray field enveloped the entire arena, the five members of the other team who were preparing to make a move were caught off guard by the high-frequency, continuous silence and immobilization.

The next instant, they all bared their sharp fangs.

The slaughter begins now!

(End of this chapter)