Chapter 130: Heading to the Cult Leader's Hall to Grind Monsters

I don't know why, but shortly after the leader (Lao Da) moved out of the "human pyramid" formation, Lin Jia, who was standing on the fourth person's (Lao Si) character, suddenly took a step back and was pushed into the entrance hole of Woma Temple Level 3! Under normal circumstances, that spot is impossible to stand on; stepping on it would immediately transport you to Level 2. But after being pushed there, Lin Jia didn't get transported. Instead, it was as if he were standing on the wall!

This strange phenomenon left Lin Jia puzzled. He gently moved his mouse, and as his mage took a slight step, the screen shifted, and he suddenly found himself on Level 2!

So, as long as one stands in that spot without moving, one won't be transported to the second level!

The three brothers took advantage of the time before the monsters respawned to experiment a few times. Once, Lin Jia was pushed off Lao Si and onto the floor of the T-shaped space; another time, Lao Si was pushed out. After several back-and-forth attempts, Lin Jia finally managed to stand on the "wall" again.

With this setup, Lao Si could stand at the entrance to block melee monsters for Lin Jia, while the leader could safely lure monsters. The leader just needed to position his skeleton pet in front of Lao Si to soak up some damage, and occasionally come over to cast healing or invisibility spells.

This allowed Lin Jia to burn monsters with peace of mind. The leader only lured monsters like Woma Warriors and Woma Soldiers; Dark Warriors weren't attracted, so they only needed to watch out for the few Dark Warriors that would spawn directly within the T-shaped space.

Since the lighting was bright, the game screen remained clear, making the leveling process quite relaxed and enjoyable for the three brothers. The only regret was the shortage of potions; their supplies only lasted about 40 to 60 minutes. Once that time passed, they would run out.

Facing the issue of potion supply, Lin Jia had a flash of inspiration. He shouted in the guild channel: "Recruiting several porters! Deliver Super Magic Potions to the entrance of Woma Level 3, buying at 4,000 gold per bundle! Can also trade potions for equipment! High demand! Interested parties, act fast!"

The price of 4,000 gold per bundle might not seem like much—a bundle of Super Magic Potions costs 3,740 gold in the store—meaning a profit of only 260 gold per bundle. But when calculated, it was definitely a profitable deal!

Moreover, it saved them the time of returning to town to sell equipment. If they went back themselves, their limited inventory space meant they would ignore many low-level items. But with this trading method, the leader could pick up everything on the ground, leaving nothing behind! In this way, Lin Jia and his brothers got their potions, and the other players got the equipment and gold they wanted.

The drop rate in the Woma Temple Master's Hall was even more insane than in the Fragrant Stone Grave; almost every three monsters dropped a piece of equipment! The quality of the gear varied, but the quantity satisfied their needs. Since these were high-level monsters, the drops weren't too shabby. Combined with the high drop rate, the gold they picked up was enough to cover the cost of potions, not to mention the store-bought equipment they could sell.

This news was a delight to the high-level players in their old guild who were notoriously broke. Many immediately ran to buy potions and headed to Woma Level 3. Although the trip was a bit troublesome, at least they could earn some gold.

Lin Jia and his friends didn't move from the entrance of Woma Level 3. A large number of players came to deliver potions. Some low-level players even brought one or two bundles. Lin Jia wasn't sure if it was worth it for them to run so far just to earn the profit from two bundles, but they seemed quite happy.

Seeing how they were leveling, some players asked to be carried or to join their party, but Lin Jia and his brothers rejected them all. If they wanted to level up, they could find a corner themselves; the brothers weren't interested in hosting. More people meant more experience split, and they wouldn't be of much help anyway—who would be stupid enough to party with them?

After grinding for half the night, they had gained almost half a level, nearly reaching level 26. Lin Jia’s Fire Wall spell finally reached level 1, becoming even more powerful! With his 26 points of magic, the Fire Wall was quite effective; it only took two or three casts to burn a group of monsters to death. The three brothers started to feel that the number of monsters wasn't enough, as the small entrance to the T-shaped space meant the leader could only lure about a dozen monsters at a time. Sometimes, when the monsters respawned, Lin Jia had to pick off the ranged Dark Warriors one by one with Lightning, which was very slow.

Lin Jia suggested forming a party with another Taoist and setting up a human wall in the corner where they had fought the boss last time. This would provide more space for more Fire Walls and allow them to lure more monsters. The three agreed. The leader ran up to Woma Level 2, where many players who had come to deliver potions were waiting, as they couldn't bear to leave empty-handed.

When the leader mentioned forming a party, six or seven players were excited and clamored to join. The leader picked one Warrior and one Taoist. The Warrior and Lao Si, along with the leader and the two Taoists' skeletons, formed the human wall, while the new Taoist was responsible for luring monsters. The leader handled looting and healing. The remaining three or four lower-level Taoists were not selected, but the leader gave them a job: they would help transport equipment back to town to sell and deliver potions whenever needed.

Every time the leader gave these players a batch of equipment, he would name a price. After they paid him, they could take the gear back to town and make a profit on the resale! Earning 300,000 to 400,000 gold in a night was possible. This lucrative gig made the two players who joined the party feel a bit regretful, until the leader promised them 300,000 gold each as a service fee, provided they didn't pick up any gold or items from the ground!

That was a good deal! Although they couldn't loot, they still got the 300,000 gold fee and the experience points.

After the plan was set, the group of five began clearing monsters toward the interior. Because there were fewer people this time, it was much more dangerous than before. It took the five of them over half an hour of fighting and running to reach the corner and form the human wall.

Once the wall was formed and Lin Jia was safe, things became easy. A roaring sea of fire swept across half the hall. Looking at the rapidly scrolling red experience notifications in the chat box, Lin Jia was thrilled—his experience was shooting up like a rocket! At this rate, they might even hit level 27 by morning!

Although a Woma monster's 280 experience points were split among five people, leaving them with only about 100 each, the sheer volume of monsters made up for it. Each burn session netted them 6,000 to 7,000 experience points, and it only took seven or eight minutes to lure and burn a batch. That meant each person could get 50,000 to 60,000 experience per hour. Since hitting level 27 required 700,000 experience, they could level up in about 12 or 13 hours of burning.

During their grinding, several groups of players came by looking to fight the boss for the Guild Horn. Unfortunately, their coordination was poor. Two teams were wiped out. Another team, which was larger and better organized, saw Lin Jia and his group burning monsters and cleverly lured the hall's monsters toward them. While their intentions might not have been pure, Lin Jia and his group were focused on leveling and weren't interested in the boss.

The boss seemed to have a partial ability to detect invisibility; if players got too close, the boss would attack them regardless of whether they were invisible or had just been revealed. It was too dangerous for Lin Jia's small group, so they gave up on the boss. Eventually, the Taoists from that other team used poison to lure the boss into a corner far away from Lin Jia's group. They didn't know if the boss had been killed, but if it had, the "Guangmang" server might see its second guild by tomorrow.

They weren't fighting the boss, but they wouldn't let any Woma Guardians slip by. Shortly after they started, the Taoist in their party might have wandered too far and lured a Woma Guardian over!

After Lin Jia finished burning the monsters in front of him, he began casting Lightning on the poor creature wandering outside the human wall. After struggling and screaming under Lin Jia's level 3 Lightning, the monster dropped a massive amount of loot. This time, it dropped a level 26 Mage skill book, "Hell Fire," and a Platinum Ring for Taoists, with 0-4 Taoist power!

Holding the Platinum Ring, the leader hesitated for a long time but ultimately chose to keep wearing her pair of Gold Rings and the Demon-Slaying Ring. In this location, a ring with magic resistance, attack power, and 1-3 Taoist power was far more useful than a single 0-4 ring.

Because Lin Jia's Fire Wall had leveled up, its power was more than double that of a level 0 wall, significantly increasing their speed. The respawn rate of the monsters in the hall was perfectly balanced with their burning speed. Every time they cleared their corner, the hall would respawn, filling the empty space.

At this moment, perhaps because the leader and the Taoist had lured more monsters than usual, Lin Jia finished burning the monsters in his half of the hall, but there was a brief pause before the next respawn. The leader and the Taoist had to run to the opposite corner to lure more. Lin Jia took the opportunity to organize his inventory, placing the potion bundles on the left and keeping the item grid open, dragging it to the bottom right corner of the screen so it wouldn't obstruct his view, leaving only two columns of inventory visible. This way, he could double-click to unpack the bundles without cluttering his screen.

Lin Jia cleared the six shortcut slots in the chat box. As soon as he unpacked a bundle, the six potions would appear directly in the shortcuts, allowing him to use the hotkeys to drink them easily. These little tricks were things they had slowly discovered while playing, and they were both practical and convenient!

After waiting a while, Lin Jia saw that the monsters had respawned, but the leader and the Taoist hadn't returned with more. He turned his head and asked the leader, "What are you doing? They've respawned!"

The leader gritted her teeth and said, "The Boss!"