Chapter Ten: Dungeons! Dungeons

An instance, commonly known as a "private dungeon," offers players and their friends a unique space to experience, explore, adventure, or complete quests. Players can also invite others to join these exclusive dungeon zones, which solves many common problems in games such as camping, poaching, or monopolizing boss equipment.

Monsters in instances are typically more powerful, so players must form teams to enter. However, the greater the danger, the greater the rewards! Most instance zones are tied to elite quests, so players will usually accept as many related tasks as possible before venturing inside. They also ensure they have enough potions, food, and equipment, and clear sufficient space in their backpacks beforehand. Without enough inventory slots, they might be forced to destroy existing items to pick up rare drops within the dungeon.

Before entering a challenging instance, players always make sure they have enough uninterrupted time, since elite quests generally take much longer than regular ones. Most importantly, all instances begin at level 1. Normally, newcomers like Liu Zong, who is still level 0, would not be allowed entry.

This time, however, was an exception. The newly occupied map at Yang City No. 3 High School opened a five-player instance for all students. Of course, making an instance available is one matter; actually fighting one's way through and returning alive is quite another. Most students lacked the strength and instead sold their entry slots at high prices, while others who had some money hired mercenaries to carry them through—though they would gain little experience, all the loot inside would be theirs.

Liu Zong, too, was among those carried by mercenaries, but he didn't pay a cent; the Sunshine Squad provided their services free of charge. Despite being a complimentary service, the Sunshine Squad took their duties seriously. By their philosophy, every mission must be completed successfully so they could qualify for the next tier—the Skyroad Mercenary Guild.

The players escorting Liu Zong through the instance were all elite members. The leader was a hunter: not as strong as a pure archer in marksmanship, but exceptional with pets and traps, and possessing outstanding wilderness survival skills—an ideal choice for captain. The rest of the team deviated from the traditional tank-mage-healer lineup: the tank was a feral druid, equally adept at tanking in bear form or attacking as a lion; the support was a shaman, and the main attacker was a rogue.

This composition clearly favored survival in the wild over magical prowess—a necessity because the five-player instance Liu Zong was about to enter was called Desolate Coast. The entire dungeon required at least three days to complete and featured five bosses: three minor, one major, and one hidden. Two-thirds of the journey was outdoors; without survival skills, one could die without ever knowing why.

The instance had already been cleared hundreds of times, and most strategies were well-known. These four had experience leading others through it and knew exactly what should and should not be done.

When Liu Zong arrived at the agreed meeting point, the hunter captain introduced himself, "Hello, my game number is YR-63775546-229. As names are meaningless before level 4, you can just call me Captain or Hunter."

Liu Zong reported his own game number and politely replied, "Hello, Captain. I'm not the troublesome type—just tell me what to do, and I'll follow orders."

The hunter smiled. "I've cleared this instance three times and carried others through it once. It's really not that difficult—if we skip the hidden boss, we’ll finish in three days; even with the hidden boss, it’s only three and a half. For your safety, there are a few rules. First, I decide the team's route. No matter your abilities, do not stray from me or the druid; only the two of us can shield you from the first strike of any danger.

Have you picked up all your quests? If not, I have last run’s quest list here—you can share it. There are five quests in this instance, two of which are prerequisite chains; don’t worry about those, as each requires at least three days to complete and we can’t wait. But we can share the other three: 'The Hundred-Eyed Cyclops'—killing a mid-boss; 'The Stolen Goods'—a lost item retrieval; and 'The Aquatic Murloc Flower'—an herb-collecting task. Accept these first.

On the topic of herbs, don’t get impulsive when you see mining nodes or herbs inside: such spots are usually guarded by stronger elites. Do you have herbalism or mining skills? If you do, under the rule that all instance drops belong to you, you can take everything. If not, we’ll harvest them but keep half.

Also, unless we find a fishing spot or are camping overnight, absolutely no fishing inside the instance. Our service covers standard supply meals and combat rations. If you want other food or potions, bring your own.

That about covers it—if there are no questions, let’s get ready."

At that moment, Liu Zong suddenly spoke up, "Captain, I have a personal quest inside this instance. Could you take a look at it for me?" As he spoke, Liu Zong handed over his quest list.

The hunter glanced at it and immediately frowned. The quest Liu Zong presented was "Cain's Memories." It recorded how, while searching for food on the Desolate Coast, Cain once spotted a group of furtive figures performing a sacrificial ritual with corpses atop a seaside cliff. In the firelight, a massive three-headed sea beast emerged from the depths, devoured the sacrificial remains, and tossed the bones into the sea below.

Cain had intended to scavenge the leftovers, but upon descending, he discovered the bones had piled into a mountain beneath the cliff, pinning down a bizarre, nearly hundred-meter-long sea creature reminiscent of a bipedal crocodile. No one knew how many years this creature had been dead; its body had grown stiff as iron and seemed almost fused with the cliffside rock, yet it still exuded a formidable presence. As Cain descended, he felt as if he were about to be swallowed whole.

Yet seeing this sea beast awakened something in Liu Zong—a sense that he had found his path forward. This ancient beast would become the first key to his growth.

That night, Liu Zong dreamed of a figure who, for the first time, displayed martial skills beyond mere fist techniques: a warrior standing between the head and neck of an eastern dragon, wielding a long-handled weapon in battle. With each swing, the world itself seemed to turn over—thunder roared, blood seas erupted from the earth, white bones piled high, ghostly winds howled, and cries of despair echoed everywhere. The power of this martial art was unmistakable.

It was also clear to Liu Zong that the key to this technique lay in the dragon beneath the warrior's feet. Many attacks were triggered by the dragon, with the warrior coordinating each strike.