Comprehensive network wizard, magic emperor.

Chapter 256 Restricted Book Zone

Lin Bo checked the dungeon rewards and found that a new purple-quality item had been added to the loot, but the white and blue-quality drops were not added to the rewards. It seemed that the overlap between the difficulty upgrade rewards and the frozen rewards had been canceled out.

Fortunately, the acquisition of Disaster Coins and experience points is not discounted, and the combination of the two becomes very considerable, equivalent to challenging an extra dungeon.

There are still six trapped players in the dungeon. They can push the difficulty up to Hell difficulty and maybe even trigger affixes.

As profits accumulate, they inevitably reach an astonishing level.

This kind of opportunity is rare and hard to come by.

Lin Bo was lost in thought when the half-giant paladin strode over, stopped in front of him, raised his hand and tapped his tattered breastplate, producing a dry, thumping sound, as a sign of respect.

“Friend, thank you very much for your help. [Rending Gate - Azgan] is at your service.”

The mage returned the greeting with a hand to his chest. Just then, the dungeon countdown ended, time and space began to tremble again, and the historical era shifted forward once more.

[Network notification: An abnormal fluctuation in spacetime has occurred; the dungeon difficulty has been adjusted to: Extremely Difficult]

Your completion rewards have been frozen.

The air rippled like water, and everything seemed to sway like oil paint on a canvas. After a while, the tremors subsided, the vanished doors of the film studio reappeared, the dust in the scenes thinned out, and all the furnishings and objects became brighter.

“A tough battle is ahead,” the paladin said solemnly. “Our friends are still in dire straits, awaiting rescue. However, I am in very poor health at the moment, and I implore you all to give me some time to rest.”

The wandering swordsman raised his hand, gesturing, "Let our mage heal you. His medical skills are superb."

"Excuse me." The half-giant bowed to Lin Bo.

The paladin's injuries had been healed by his own sworn holy power, but this was only a means of emergency response on the battlefield.

Lin Bo pressed his pulse point and felt his body structure. Most of the minor injuries had healed, but the broken bones had not been pieced back together, some lacerations had only been forcibly stopped, and the broken muscles had healed in a misaligned manner, which would lead to the accumulation of hidden injuries.

The healing principle of the Holy Power is to stimulate the body's vitality and make cells grow rapidly. However, if it is not combined with physical correction, even if the misaligned bones and muscles heal, deformities will remain.

[Cracked Gate] was covered in wounds, and the intense pain must have been constantly tugging at his nerves. Lin Bo secretly admired the man's courage and recited the true names of his bones, flesh, and neurons in a low voice.

By strengthening the nervous system with the aid of the "Gu Zhi Yu Shu" technique, the pulse potential can be suppressed, achieving a powerful anesthetic effect. This is a surgical experience that Lin Bo has summarized from his daily medical practice.

"Hmm, I feel much better now." The paladin's brow relaxed. "You are truly a divine healer."

In a short while, Lin Bo repaired his tattered and injured body, and then took out two bottles of Coral Vitality Soup for the patient to drink. The paladin stood up again, and everything he did was as he pleased.

He thanked them again and said with shame, "Judging from my injuries, I know that you all must have gone to great lengths to subdue me. I have really caused you all trouble."

Lin Bo waved his hand, smiling without saying a word.

The ranger and the elf exchanged a glance, their lips curving slightly, barely managing to suppress their smiles.

"It's actually not bad," [Frost Stew Pot] reassured the paladin. "The mage brother subdued you all by himself. And it's thanks to [Crack Gate] that you weren't killed on the spot. So don't blame yourself."

"Huh?" The half-giant looked bewildered.

The orc rogue came over and patted him on the shoulder. "Although I didn't see how the mage beat you up, I believe he has the ability. This guy is incredibly strong."

[Liezha] laughed heartily, "It's better that no trouble was caused."

He ran to a corner, took off his tattered armor, and put on a spare set, still a set of tin cans, but the equipment quality and attributes were slightly inferior. Then he picked up the totem pole, and that was it—he was back in battle stance.

The group returned to the corridor together. The corridor, which had been damaged and desolate by the monk's dragon language incantation, was restored to its former state. The hanging candlesticks, paintings, vases, potted plants, and benches were all back in their original places.

The environment remained somewhat dim, with the yellowish-white light from the wall-mounted lamps providing illumination for dusk. They walked a short distance forward and noticed that the armored door to the eastern restricted area had quietly opened a crack, allowing passage. On the highest difficulty setting, this dangerous zone was now open to players.

The spirits wandering in the forbidden book area are even more dangerous. They attach themselves to dangerous books that record magical knowledge, transforming into ghosts carrying scriptures and able to cast spells by reciting incantations from the books, making them extremely dangerous.

In addition, the forbidden book area is like a maze, full of traps, and a single careless move can lead to serious injury or even death, enough to give players the ultimate torture.

The paladin took on the responsibility of leading the way, carrying the totem pole and charging ahead. Lin Bo followed behind him, with the elves, halflings, and rangers bringing up the rear. The orc rogues had already quietly entered stealth mode.

With a creak, the heavy door to the restricted book area was forced open, leading to a security checkpoint where a dozen armed constructs roamed. Upon seeing the player appear, they immediately raised their bolt-action rifles, aimed, and fired.

The paladin made no attempt to dodge. The bullets struck his armor, only scraping off a few sparks. He stepped forward, swung the totem pole horizontally and vertically, and anything that touched it shattered like an ice sculpture bombarded by a cannonball.

The teammates standing behind the half-giant were bathed in the aura emanating from him, and a thin, light membrane of light appeared on their bodies, deflecting the ricochets flying through the tunnel. They made their way through the hail of bullets unscathed.

After passing through the security checkpoint, you officially enter the restricted book area. The layout here is similar to the first floor, with towering wooden bookshelves that are like walls, almost reaching the ceiling. The aisles between the bookshelves can only accommodate two adults walking side by side, which compresses the formation of the group.

The space was cramped and stuffy, filled with the bitter stench of dust, mold, and malevolent magical substances.

The player's light swept across the shelves on both sides. The densely packed scrolls and classics stood silent as stone, except for the text and patterns on some of the spines and covers, which were quietly shifting. The letters and symbols flickered like eyes, watching the intruders in this place.

Lin Bo formed the Heaven and Earth Seal with his hands, then flipped it into the Sword Finger Seal. His body floated off the ground, reaching the top of the dome to overlook the surroundings and observe the labyrinth structure.

On the screen of the Mage's Appearance, the Crown of Stars has marked all the passages with white lines, then marked every dead end in red, and marked the only passable route in green.

Simply follow the marked route to clear out the enemy units along the way.

The guide doesn't include a map of the Forbidden Book Zone because its layout changes with each instance refresh. Besides enemies along the way, a special unit that can guide players is the soul of a deceased explorer.

In the background story, a group of explorers arrived on a sky island in search of treasure. They were the ones who opened the gate to the forbidden book area, and most of them were lost there forever. A few explorers who escaped left behind a treasure map leading to the sky island, attracting generations of adventurers from the surface world to come in hot air balloons, airplanes, and other means.

The player also plays the role of an explorer.

Lin Bo returned to the group and pointed out the way to the front-row paladins. He would pat them on the left shoulder if they needed to turn left, and knock on the totem pole if they needed to turn right.

Not far ahead, around the corner, a ghostly green will-o'-the-wisp flickered to life.

A patrol of spirits, draped in black veils and carrying scriptures, passed by. The spirit carrying a candle led the way, its body hunched and its indistinct face looking around. Upon seeing the players, it immediately let out a hoarse howl.

"Enter the enemy!"

The air was filled with the muttering of incantations from living beings, and beams of yellow-green disease-causing rays burst forth from their fingertips. The charging paladin took them all indiscriminately, his bronze face instantly turning as green as a raw tomato, blood streaming from his eyes and nose. He swung his totem pole, and blinding holy light burst forth.

With a rustling sound like fabric shaking, the two living beings died instantly, and several other scroll-wielding ghosts nearby were also burned by the bursting holy light, their bodies melting away in large quantities.

Before the remaining spirits could chant incantations again, their forms were ripped apart by two roaring rings of fire. The raging magical flames expanded and devoured them, incinerating them all into wisps of smoke.

The paladin, who was preparing for a fierce battle, paused. The rogue, who had already swung his hammer in preparation for a sneak attack, also stopped in his tracks, his giant hammer surrounded by a faint white light, like a huge light bulb floating in the air.

The three people in the back row of the group remained calm and composed; they were already used to it.

The ring of whale fire hovered behind the mage's head, its flames receding as it silently rotated.

The books on the shelf spontaneously combusted from the intense heat, flames leaping up. The next second, a deafening roar erupted from behind the bookshelf, and a pair of massive axes smashed the burning shelf to pieces. A low-profile figure burst forth from the flames, ramming into the paladin and sending him flying.

"Waaaaah!!" A loud and rugged dwarven war cry exploded, its power deafening.

(End of this chapter)