Chapter 277: Chapter 277: Architectural Blueprints (The Elder So Handsome That Even The Donkey Cried – Additional Part 1/4)
Translator: 549690339
“This looks like a temple, doesn’t it? Why is it so dilapidated?” Dumb Beauty asked, looking at Li Yao walking through the corridor, noting the carvings and patterns on either side.
“Yes, this is indeed an ancient submerged temple, but it has been taken over by monsters,” Li Yao said, frowning as he noticed the passageway turning into a pure stone corridor.
Click, click, click…
Most of the monsters in the temple were Satyrs, with a small number of evil Orcs. What bothered Li Yao was that after walking for at least half an hour, he still hadn’t reached the end.
The Skeletons surrounding Li Yao had already been replenished to their maximum number.
“This seems to be a labyrinth,” Sister Li suggested.
“It must be, but why don’t I feel like I’m going around in circles?” Li Yao was puzzled. Although he had been here for quite a while, he didn’t feel like he was going in circles. Yet, in reality, he was indeed doing so – he saw the remains of a monster he had killed ten minutes ago.
This was only because his Skeleton count had hit its limit of a hundred, leaving him unable to summon any more by using the Death Black Arrow.
“Looks like your passive skill isn’t always an advantage, huh? You’ve played yourself.” The Guardian Angel teased, delighting in Li Yao’s misfortune.
Everyone laughed while Li Yao was left speechless. He then discovered a phantasmal wall that held a hidden door within it.
Upon entering the door, he was greeted by the same corridor and the same monsters appearing again.
“System: You have crossed through a phantasmal door, and have recognized this place as a labyrinth. Disciples of the Moon God, you will need eyes that can see through falsehoods. Struggle on, for this is the last obstacle on the path to the Temple of the Moon God, where you may worship the Moon God.”
“System: This place has been in silence for ten thousand years, the brilliance of the Moon God no longer exists, and the sacred place has been tainted by evil followers. Adventurers, whether you are a believer of the Moon God or not, please pick up your weapons and cleanse the labyrinth of its filth and evil.”
“System: Random task triggered, Eradicate Evil.”
Eradicate Evil
Task Description: The Moon God Temple has been occupied by evil followers. The labyrinth, originally intended to test believers’ conviction, has become filled with filth and malice.
Completion Requirements: Purge 258/4000 evil, find the Labyrinth Control Core.
Completion Rewards: Title: Hero of Justice, experience increased by 15%.
Hero of Justice: Can show traces of dark life entities within a hundred meters on the mini-map. Damage dealt to dark life entities increased by 10%.
Description: A unique title, only obtainable within the Moon Labyrinth.
“Damn, why do you always stumble upon the good stuff?” Guardian Angel complained. “When I was exploring a mission space with my wife, I only got a title that increased my healing by 3%. It’s weak compared to yours.”
“Just try exploring areas that nobody else has, and you’ll get lots of random tasks,” Li Yao suggested. This was the truth. Untouched maps had more opportunities, of course, but it also depended on good luck.
“The title is not that important, we could still get it with some good luck. But the experience reward, why is it that the tasks I receive give so little experience, most of them only give 5% at most?” Da Vinci also chimed in.
“Like I said before, hunt for sub-quest clues, explore, beat bosses in these sub-maps, only then can you level up twice a day like the guild master,” Sister Li concluded.
“Hey, couldn’t you brainstorm and give me some ideas instead of envying me? Even after I’ve explained, who among you can do this task on your own?” Li Yao asked helplessly.
Only then did it dawn upon the group. Watching as Li Yao moved freely, they realize it was due to his passive effect and exceptional personal strength. They weren’t capable of performing such a task, let alone the common players.
“I know how to deal with labyrinths without getting lost. You see…” Sister Li began explaining some key points to Li Yao.
Li Yao listened earnestly. In his past life, he knew this section of the game didn’t originally include a labyrinth. They must have taken an alternate path this time.
“There’s a hiccup – all the doors here are illusory and blend in with the walls, making it difficult to distinguish the passageways. You will still get lost easily. Moreover, if you miss some passageways, you’ll not be able to completely clear out the monsters in the labyrinth, inevitably leading to a failure in completing the task,” Sister Li stated the main challenge.
“You don’t need to worry about that, it would not cause me trouble. I was just careless before,” Li Yao said as he released a Sonar Arrow at the far end of the tunnel. Immediately, he could see up the corridor for a great distance in his mind’s eye.
In the scene, waves emanated from the arrow, making the walls seem transparent, and revealing red-tinted outlines behind them.
Without waiting for their questions, Li Yao shared the Arrow Mystery · Sound with everybody.
“You’re such a freak.”
Everyone was left speechless, they never imagined that this could also work.
This was also the reason why Li Yao chose Sonar Arrow over Flare. Despite being harder to learn, once mastered, it was far more practical compared with the Flare.
Clearing out minor monsters wasn’t a challenge for Li Yao. Now that he had found the correct method to navigate the labyrinth, everything was a matter of time.
Clearing four thousand monsters took Li Yao nearly five hours of game time, and it was close to midnight. During this time, he had taken breaks offline to eat and rest.
It wasn’t that Li Yao was slow, it was just that the labyrinth was too convoluted. He would have been too bored had it not been for some of the senior players who kept him company and chatted with him.
The experience from killing four thousand elites only made Li Yao level up by 8%. This was the mechanism set by the ancient gods who recommended diversified levelling. Fighting monsters was the least efficient way level up, unless one came upon a location that was beneficial for grinding. Unfortunately, the players didn’t understand this mechanism because of their limited knowledge of the ancient gods’ principles.
At last, after killing off several Silver Elites guarding the control device, Li Yao reached his destination.
Then, amidst the criticism of the group, Li Yao discarded the Blue Equipment dropped by the Silver Elites. Keep in mind that these were all level fifteen Blue Equipment pieces, with attributes equivalent to Purple Equipment that lacked one stamina attribute.
But, Li Yao’s inventory was just too full to hold anything else.
With the disappearance of human intervention, a phantom door appeared before Li Yao. Without a moment of hesitation, he stepped through.
“System: Task Eradicate Evil completed. In addition to the fixed rewards, you have been given an outstanding performance reward: an architectural blueprint.”
Architectural blueprint?
Li Yao was stunned, then immediately delighted.
A blueprint isn’t of any use to a regular player, but for a guild, it’s crucial.
Apart from the town hall and city walls, which can be upgraded under certain conditions, other functional buildings need architectural blueprints for construction.
To get a certain functional building, one can either purchase it from the faction’s supply officer for a hefty price, complete complex tasks, or find blueprints dropped in the wild.
Especially if the drop is a unique building with special functionalities in the wilderness, it’s extremely precious. It’s the very definition of ‘worth its weight in gold,’ an understatement when describing the rarity of these blueprints…
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