novelODS Chapter 91 A Rising Star
Chapter 91 A Rising Star
Just as the army was preparing to launch this taunting, naked charge, a few players in the back row who wanted to tinker with alchemy sub-professions squeezed in.
"Wait! Just taking off your clothes isn't enough; we haven't even used the mechanism yet!"
A newbie pulled out several glass jars from his bag, filled with green slime he had collected while fighting monsters along the way, as well as several pieces of rotting, mutated animal flesh that had already started to rot.
He grabbed a handful of foul-smelling slime with his bare hands and smeared it directly on Da Niu's face, then casually smeared it on his bare chest as well.
Da Niu rolled his eyes, overwhelmed by the pungent, sour smell: "Damn it, you poisoned me!"
"Those are zombie mushrooms down there! They're undead!" the newbie declared confidently, his eyes gleaming with self-assurance. "Smear these stinking materials on yourself, and they'll definitely mask the smell of the living! With a bit of luck, you might even be able to bypass the boss's aggro bug and kill him without taking any damage!"
This kind of folk remedy, which has no scientific basis and relies entirely on the players' imagination, sounds like utter nonsense in normal times.
But at this critical juncture where people will stop at nothing to get the first kill, it's possible to persuade teammates.
"That makes sense! Give me some!"
"Not enough slime! Let's rub it against this piece of rotten flesh!"
A few minutes later.
A dozen or so shirtless newbies, covered in foul-smelling slime and unidentified corrosive substances, held various broken wooden sticks and rusty iron swords. They sniffed each other's nauseating odors and revealed satisfied smiles.
"The first kill package is mine!"
"Bullshit, I'll acknowledge you as my father if you can get the first kill."
This group of players, who disregarded life and death and whose minds were filled only with exploiting the system and maximizing their profits, rushed towards the abyss with howls as they trudged along the slippery steps.
At the forefront of the breakwater, Lynn had just confirmed the time when the passage was blocked by falling rocks and was preparing to have Night Owl and Little Snail quickly treat the wounds.
Shortly after, a series of rapid footsteps came from deep within the sewage pipe.
The commotion didn't resemble a well-organized military formation; it sounded more like a dozen starving wild boars running rampant through the mud. Accompanying it was a stench so strong that even the putrid smell of the sewers couldn't mask it.
Lynn immediately went on guard, and the little snail and the night owl also immediately stood back to back in a defensive posture, thinking that the zombie mushroom or the cyclops was flanking them from behind.
However, the moment the dim light of the torches illuminated the corner of the stairs, Lynn and his two trusted lieutenants fell into a long silence.
In the dim light of the torches, Lynn watched the group of players charging out like mad dogs, the stench of slime mixed with the smell of rotting flesh fermenting in the air.
Suffocating.
Night Cat loosened his grip on the dagger, and even took a half step back, not out of fear, but simply out of physical discomfort.
"Kill it!"
"First kill!"
More than a dozen shirtless players waded through the slippery puddles and charged toward the BOSS, who was stuck by falling rocks.
Although the Zombie Mushroom King had half its head dented by the minecart chassis and its massive body was stuck in the ruins, unable to move, it remained the overlord of the anthill. Its enormous umbrella-shaped canopy trembled violently, and a dense cloud of spore poison poured out like fireworks.
The moment the players at the very front came into contact with the poisonous fog, their skin began to fester, and the pain was felt directly on their nerves.
However, they didn't care at all.
As the front row fell, those in the back simply stepped on the rusty iron swords their comrades had dropped and continued charging forward. They could always respawn at the new respawn point; they could always come back the day after tomorrow.
However, these players were still novices, and their meager strength points meant that the iron sword could not cause any effective damage when it struck the fungal shell.
Da Niu wiped the mud off his face and roared, "It's all armored outside! Screw that! Destroy it from the inside! We're naked anyway, so it's no loss if we die. Let's line up and jump into its mouth! Let's burst its stomach!"
This outrageous tactical instruction received a resounding response from everyone.
The art style has completely changed.
Players lined up like dumplings being dropped into a pot, jumping into the Mushroom King's gaping maw.
"Make way! It's my turn to be eaten!"
"I chopped twice, this stomach acid is so fucking disgusting, anyone want to take over?!"
This was a death-defying meat grinder. The corrosive liquid inside the Zombie Mushroom King was incredibly potent; anyone who jumped in would be melted within minutes.
Amidst a group of muscular men rushing to their deaths in a frenzy, a slightly slender figure stood out.
His ID is Yu Wen.
In order to catch up with this land reclamation, he deliberately rolled around in the mud, making himself all dirty, and blended into this all-melee team.
Unlike the other players who were shouting and yelling, he remained silent throughout, staring at the howling behemoth in front of him, his eyes burning with pure, greedy fighting spirit.
It was his turn.
Yu Wen, holding a sharp-edged steel pipe upside down, used his legs to propel himself directly into that dark, foul-smelling throat.
A stench hit me.
The viscous corrosive liquid immediately enveloped my entire body, and the excruciating pain of my skin being broken down by the strong acid tore my brain apart along the pain nerves.
Vision begins to turn blood red, a sign that vital signs are about to fail and consciousness is being forcibly extracted.
He was just one step away from logging off and waiting for the resurrection cooldown, just like everyone else.
However, Yu Wen gritted her teeth and held on tightly.
His physical body in reality had already exhausted him enough. In this new world with real tactile sensations, he didn't want to die; he wanted to fight this battle standing up.
That unwavering survival instinct, coupled with a fanatical focus on combat, triggered the deepest magical laws of MapleStory as they teetered on the brink of death.
Just as the strong acid was about to corrode his internal organs, a layer of pale blue light suddenly appeared on his skin.
It was as if an elf appeared above his head, pouring a layer of armor onto his skin like liquid.
Pure spiritual power formed an indestructible barrier—the magic shield.
With the body of a novice, learn the first job advancement skill!
The deadly corrosive liquid struck the blue light, emitting a piercing hiss, but could not advance any further. The destruction of the body was forcibly stopped, and as the mental energy was rapidly drained, a sharp, throbbing pain, as if pierced by countless steel needles, surged through the brain.
Using the mind to bear the pain instead of the body is a mage's trump card, but also the most painful torment.
Despite the oppressive feeling that nearly made him faint, Yu Wen struggled to climb through the leader's constantly writhing esophagus. The blue shield flickered under the acid, and his consciousness grew increasingly blurred.
At the edge of the field of vision was a long string of mutated sporangia that were writhing wildly and secreting toxins.
found it.
Yu Wen knelt on one knee on the soft tissue covered in mucus, gripped the rusty broken steel pipe with both hands, and with all the strength he had left, shoved it hard into the most vulnerable joint of the sporangium.
Then, he poured the last bit of his nearly depleted magic power into that disgusting cavity through the cold metal tube.
On the breakwater, the players who were queuing up to jump off the cliff stopped in their tracks.
The zombie mushroom king, stuck in the pile of rocks, let out a mournful cry. Its massive, armored vehicle-like body burst open from the inside, like an overinflated balloon.
The stench of blood, mixed with bits of flesh and fungus, rained down and splashed into the stagnant water in the sewers.
"Holy crap! It passed!"
"Who did it? Who landed the final blow?"
Everyone assumed that the unlucky group who had jumped in earlier must have been melted and logged off.
However, as the dust gradually dissipated, Lynn squinted, his gaze piercing through the dim light, fixing on the very center of the mangled remains.
There was a person standing there.
To be precise, he was kneeling on one knee in the ruins.
Yu Wen gasped for breath, his face ashen from exhaustion, his body covered in sticky blood. Yet, a faint blue aura stubbornly flickered on his skin, dispelling the surrounding deathly aura.
He did not fall, nor did he go offline due to death.
The entire breakwater was completely silent.
The players in the front row looked at the emaciated figure who should have been melted by stomach acid but miraculously survived, and the mockery on their faces disappeared.
Lynn stared at the swaying figure, his heart filled with astonishment.
Yu Wen lifted his heavy eyelids, and his chapped lips moved with difficulty.
"I did it."