Chapter 10: Opening the Dungeon — Twisted Jungle! - My Basic Attacks Permanently Increase HP

He logged back in.

This time, Lin Tianhao didn't head to the Level 10 monster area. Instead, he made his way toward the steep cliff face behind the novice village.

Within the novice village, beyond the regular monsters, there was a hidden dungeon.

The rewards for clearing it first were exceptionally generous.

He walked over briskly.

There were no monsters here, and with nothing but sheer cliffs, no player would ever think to come this way.

In his previous life, it had taken a full week before someone stumbled upon this dungeon by accident.

The condition to unlock it was simple enough.

All you had to do was kill a single treant lurking here.

Nearby, there were plenty of large trees.

And among those trees, one of them was a treant in disguise.

At a glance, if you weren't paying attention, you'd never notice it at all.

"Found you."

Disguised Treant (Normal): Level 10.

HP: 2,100 / 2,100.

Attack: 32.

Skill: Disguise.

An incredibly weak monster. Lin Tianhao raised his bow and attacked.

He didn't even bother targeting its weak point — three arrows was all it took to bring the Disguised Treant down.

"Ding — You have slain the Disguised Treant. EXP +43."

"Ding — You have slain the novice village's hidden monster. The novice village hidden dungeon [Twisted Jungle] is about to open."

"Ding — You are the first player to open a dungeon. A server-wide announcement is about to be made. Do you wish to hide your name?"

"No."

"Server Announcement: Congratulations to player Snow Emperor for successfully opening the novice village hidden dungeon [Twisted Jungle], becoming the first player on the entire server to open a dungeon! Special rewards: Free Attribute Points +10, Gold Coins +10, Iron-Grade Equipment ×1. Keep up the great work, everyone!"

As the server-wide announcement rang out, the Twisted Jungle dungeon appeared in every novice village across the server.

Lin Tianhao allocated all ten free attribute points into attack speed.

He then turned his attention to the Iron-Grade weapon he'd been rewarded.

Jungle Longbow: Iron Grade.

Equip Requirements: None. Class: Archer.

Effect 1: Attack +65.

Effect 2: HP +500.

Effect 3: Lifesteal +2%.

Durability: 100.

Lin Tianhao pressed a hand to his forehead. Another utterly useless weapon.

Attack speed. Attack speed. Attack speed!!!

Was it really so hard to get a single piece of gear that boosted attack speed?

What a tragic existence!

While Lin Tianhao was checking the stats, the rest of the player base erupted.

Players who had already left the novice village were especially regretful.

"Fuck, there's a dungeon in the novice village?! If I'd known sooner, there's no way I would've left!"

"Heh, good thing I leveled up slow — I can still go run the dungeon."

"First clear should have massive rewards. Anyone want to party up? Dream Chaser Club is recruiting strong tanks."

By now, Lin Tianhao had already arrived at the dungeon entrance.

Ragnarok's dungeon difficulties were divided into four tiers: Easy, Hard, Nightmare, and Hell.

For the Level 10 Twisted Jungle, the higher the difficulty of the first clear, the greater the rewards.

"You're the one — Hell difficulty."

"Ding — Warning: Hell difficulty dungeons are not recommended for solo entry. Are you sure?"

"Confirmed!"

Hell difficulty was undeniably brutal — but did Lin Tianhao care?

Fortune favors the bold!

His current stats weren't really suited for solo-clearing a Hell difficulty dungeon.

But Lin Tianhao still had the top-tier skills he'd honed in his previous life.

The moment he stepped inside, he spotted a massive swarm of Twisted Treants ahead.

Twisted Treant (Elite): Level 10.

HP: 8,500.

Attack: 129.

Skills: Rejuvenation, Vine Spin, Thorn Bind.

They were the same Elite-grade Twisted Treants, but their stats were noticeably higher than the ones he'd been grinding outside.

"Whoosh!"

Critical hit!

-1,812.

At the same time, Lightning Leap crackled outward, dealing damage to the surrounding Twisted Treants.

-362!

The damage numbers were impressive. With every arrow Lin Tianhao fired landing as a critical hit, each treant only needed five shots to go down.

And since Lightning Leap had been upgraded to two stars, the chain lightning it triggered dealt more damage, covered a wider range, and could jump to more targets.

"Ding — You have slain an Elite Twisted Treant. EXP +351."

Killing above his level, on top of being inside a dungeon — the experience gain was quite substantial.

Lin Tianhao used the extended range granted by Basic Attack Amplification to keep a safe distance from the Twisted Treants at all times, ensuring none of them could reach him.

In particular, the Thorn Bind skill was the one he feared most — if it landed, the crowd-control effect would be devastating.

"Ding — You have reached Level 8. Free Attribute Points +5."

He leveled up. As always, every point went straight into attack speed.

With that, the dungeon's first room was cleared.

Passing through the glowing gate ahead, Lin Tianhao entered the second room.

The moment he stepped in, dozens of Twisted Treants began advancing toward him.

And that wasn't all — Lin Tianhao spotted ten Treant Commanders among them.

Treant Commander (Elite): Level 10.

HP: 35,280.

Attack: 412.

Skills: Thorn Bind, Rejuvenation, Vine Spin, Frenzied Lashing.

One extra skill, and stats that dwarfed even the Elite Twisted Treants by a wide margin.

Whoosh!

Lin Tianhao kept up his straightforward, no-frills assault.

He constantly kited the treants, weaving in and out.

He did everything he could to stay outside the range of their Thorn Bind.

In that regard, he truly had Basic Attack Amplification to thank.

It was precisely because of that skill that his basic attack range was extended far enough to give him the room he needed to kite.

However, movement speed remained his critical weakness.

Three Treant Commanders simultaneously unleashed Thorn Bind on Lin Tianhao.

-823.

-821.

-823.

Massive damage numbers appeared one after another, and Lin Tianhao was rooted in place.

He knew this was bad — and sure enough, his fears were confirmed.

The attacks that followed came in a relentless torrent.

-123.

-421.

-423.

Damage numbers kept popping up. Before he could break free from the crowd control, another Thorn Bind was already incoming.

In just two seconds, Lin Tianhao had lost over thirteen thousand HP.

The one saving grace was that Twisted Treants weren't particularly intelligent — they simply used whatever skill was available the moment it came off cooldown.

On top of that, the treants further back weren't close enough to reach him.

Otherwise, with the chain crowd control they could have chained together, Lin Tianhao would have been locked down and killed outright.

"No crowd-control break skill — that really hurts."

"And my movement speed is way too low."

Lin Tianhao muttered to himself, and the instant the crowd control ended, he immediately repositioned to create distance.

At the same time, a single arrow flew out and interrupted a Treant Commander that was mid-cast.

"Phew..."

He let out a long breath. That had been a close call.

One wrong move and he could have died right there.

Dropping a level would have been the least of his worries — if someone else snatched the dungeon's first clear from him, he'd regret it for the rest of his life.

Whoosh!

Lin Tianhao's focus sharpened to a razor's edge. Before, his priority had been dealing damage — but now, he had to dodge skills while moving.

He also had to interrupt the Treant Commanders' casts, which meant keeping eyes on everything happening around him at once.