Chapter 083: Lost Again

After using up his last four random teleport scrolls, Lin Jia resigned himself to fate and shouted, “Help! I’m lost~~!” Wandering through the labyrinthine maze of Pig Dungeon 4, trying to find his way out would have required a formidable sense of direction and memory. Unfortunately, Lin Jia possessed neither. He was born with a hopeless sense of direction—so bad that he could get lost in a supermarket. If it weren’t for following his two friends, he’d have long since wandered off to America in this pitch-black underground cave. The moment they were separated, Lin Jia managed to lose himself.

Meanwhile, Big Brother and Fourth Brother waited anxiously for Lin Jia, the little mage with monstrous attack power, to arrive—but he was lost. When they heard him wailing for help, nearly coughing up blood onto their monitors, Fourth Brother glared with bloodshot eyes, turned to Lin Jia, who was yelling at them to come rescue him, and growled through gritted teeth, “Shut up! If you keep whining, I’m going to PK you for real!” Knowing he was in the wrong, Lin Jia could only pout and dejectedly run around blindly in the maze.

Utterly despairing of Lin Jia’s unbeatable cluelessness, Big Brother and Fourth Brother could only rely on themselves. Big Brother kept casting Red and Green Poison on the White Boar, luring it towards the areas with more players. Fourth Brother spread the word in yellow text across the whole fourth floor of Pig Dungeon: “Hurry to 121.265!! The big boss is here! Come fight the boss!”

They were at the bottom left corner of the fourth level of the Stone Tomb, just beneath the fifth level. Logically, the White Boar should have spawned in the final chamber as the dungeon’s ultimate guardian, but for some reason, it appeared in this corner of the fourth floor. This monster, a veritable killing machine, mowed down players with ease—most were instantly killed by its attacks, while their attacks barely scratched it. As for warrior players, the so-called tanks, they were nothing but cannon fodder here. Anyone brave enough to stand in the White Boar’s path to shield the mages was a fool.

Taoist players were slightly more useful than warriors. Though their summoned skeletons were smashed with a single blow and their attacks barely breached the boss’s defenses, at least the skeletons could slow the White Boar’s pursuit of the mages. The Taoists’ Red and Green Poison powders were the most effective weapons: first, Red Poison to lower its defense, then Green Poison to inflict a continuous bleed. Even though players’ skill levels weren’t high, poisons that ignored defense and deducted fixed amounts were still terrifying over time. It took a long while, but the White Boar was visibly weakening.

Mages were the primary force against high-level monsters, but since the mage profession had a hard time surviving in this game, their numbers were much lower than the other two classes. Usually looked down upon, in critical moments like this, mages became the most coveted asset. However, without dedicated protection, the fragile mages were as defenseless as chicks—not only did the White Boar’s giant spiked flail mean certain death, even the minor monsters around could easily kill them during spellcasting. If a few Hornet Nests or Black Maggots spawned nearby, a lone mage was as good as dead.

But under the temptation of superb gear that might drop from this ultimate boss, no one wanted to protect the mages. Everyone feared that if the White Boar died, they’d miss out on the loot. A horde of Taoists and warriors circled the White Boar, tense and cautious, unwilling to leave. Seeing this, the mages, already dodging stray monsters and attacking the boss, became even less inclined to help. Even if loot dropped, the mages would never get a share. Who would work for nothing?

Eventually, even when a mage did show up, they’d rather stand aside killing minor monsters, watching the warriors and Taoists dash about in anxious frenzy. When someone was killed by the White Boar, the mages would risk a dash to snatch an item and run.

This led to furious bickering among the classes:

“Damn it! Useless mages! Attack already! The boss is nearly back to full health!”

“Screw you! Even if we fight, we can’t pick up anything. Only an idiot would hit it! You think you’re so tough? Try it yourself!”

“Group up! Let’s party! We’ll split the loot fifty-fifty if we kill it together!”

“Who’d believe you? The moment you grab something, you’ll bolt! Sharing loot? Who do you take us for, two-year-olds?”

Player after player, lured by Fourth Brother’s broadcast, rushed in and died in waves, but the White Boar still swaggered about unbothered, snorting as it moved. Big Brother complained helplessly, “Damn it! Has this thing become sentient? Why is it so hard to kill? Over a hundred people have died and it’s still standing?”

It was easy for him to say, but the server was already lagging due to reaching maximum capacity. With players so divided, all scheming and mistrustful, not even another hundred deaths would kill the White Boar.

Perhaps because of the boss’s presence, or for some other reason, the map, previously cleared of all monsters, suddenly teemed with respawning creatures—and at an alarming rate. Perhaps it was because everyone was focused on the boss and ignoring the minor monsters, but the spawn rate was clearly quicker. Swarms of Hornet Nests and Bats appeared like fortresses and bombers, overwhelming the battered players.

Fourth Brother glanced back gloomily at Lin Jia, still drenched in sweat, racing wildly through the dark corridors, and sighed in despair, “Forget it, let’s just leave! This is a waste of time—we’ll never kill it!”

But Big Brother was stubborn. “Let’s stick it out a bit longer! We’ve been poisoning it for ages; it must be almost dead!” Fourth Brother, resigned, steeled himself and circled the White Boar, ready to snatch any dropped gear. Dozens more had the same idea, while the mages, now on their fifth wave after the first two were killed, unleashed wave after wave of lightning. Everyone endured, waiting for the boss’s demise. The mages, sensing the White Boar was nearly finished, edged closer. Being the main source of damage, they naturally drew the monster’s attention. As they pressed in, the White Boar swung its massive flail with gusto, flattening several mages at once.

Whether driven mad by the White Boar’s fury or sensing its imminent defeat, a few red-named warrior players charged in, surrounding the boss and hacking at it, shouting as they typed, “Go for it! The boss is about to die!”

Caught up in the moment, Fourth Brother’s blood surged—he raised his Horse-Cutting Blade and charged in, each man taking a hit and retreating to heal before jumping back to block the boss. At last—

A mournful roar echoed through the dungeon.

“Damn! It exploded!!!”

“Holy crap! Quick, look! What a huge—”

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[Note from the author: Something came up tonight, so I can’t update. I’ll do my best to continue later tonight. Want to know what dropped? Wahaha! You wicked souls, use your Soulfire Charms on me~!]