I am the Demon King of the Dungeon!

Ryan was getting really into his story.

"Did you know that diving platform has three levels? The third level is the highest, ten meters! My legs were shaking when I stood on it and looked down. Olivia, she..."

"I wasn't shaking." Oliss sat on the chair next to her, holding a cup of tea in her hand, without looking up.

"You clearly hesitated for at least three seconds!"

"I'm watching the wind direction."

"Where did the wind come from in the lava pool!" Renn turned to the onlookers, lowering his voice but still speaking loudly, "Let me tell you, she completely lost control of her expression when she jumped in, her mouth was so wide open you could fit a ball in it."

The arrow grazed his ear and embedded itself in the wooden pillar behind him.

The guild hall fell silent for a moment.

"Keep making things up." Olis had already raised her bow without anyone noticing.

"...Okay, I made that up." Raine swallowed hard, pulled the arrow from the wooden post, and handed it back with both hands. "But the platform is really fun! You guys definitely have to try it when the guild opens!"

The discussion erupted again.

Arthas walked from the edge of the crowd to sit down next to Renn, whose eyes lit up when he saw him.

"Dick! You've come at the perfect time!" Renn put his arm around Arthas's shoulder and introduced him to the onlookers, "This is my teammate who farmed Heart of Flame with me! You can ask him any questions you have!"

Several adventurers immediately gathered around.

A burly man carrying a greatsword spoke first: "Brother, what kind of fire resistance gear were you wearing when you were fighting the Lesser Balrog? Last time, I burned through the soles of my shoes halfway through, and when I came out, both of my soles were covered in blisters."

Fire resistance equipment?

Arthas thought for a moment, and decided to fight the Balrog. He stood at the door and didn't participate in the battle at all.

I wasn't wearing any.

The burly man's expression froze.

The young mage next to him pushed up his glasses, looking suspicious. "Impossible, right? The Little Fire Demon's Flame Nova is a full-screen skill. You can't withstand it without fire resistance gear. Are you wearing inner armor or trinkets with fire resistance enchantments?"

"No, not at all."

"So how did you carry it?"

Ryan interjected, "We're just watching from the sidelines. If it really comes to a fight, we still need to prepare the necessary equipment."

"However, speaking of fire-resistant equipment..."

He pulled a dark red scale armor from his backpack, spread it on the table, and continued, "Take a look at this lava scale armor. I found it at Old Will's stall in the West End. It has fire resistance and a passive effect that reduces burn damage. Guess how much it cost?"

The burly man leaned closer to examine it: "Thirty gold coins?"

"fifteen."

"What?!"

"Old Will said this is a flawed item. The salamander scales on the left shoulder are sewn backwards. It doesn't affect the defense but it does affect the appearance, so it's being sold at half price." Renn proudly flipped over the scale armor, and indeed there was a small piece of scale facing the opposite direction to the surrounding area, like a wisdom tooth that had grown backwards. "Anyway, it's worn inside and can't be seen, so I'm saving fifteen gold coins."

The monk pulled out his notebook and began frantically taking notes, while the burly man fell into self-doubt, wondering if he had spent too much money.

"What about fire-resistant potions? Which ones do you all use?" another adventurer asked. "I use the 'Flame Protection Potion' from the Oasis Alchemy Workshop. It costs ten gold coins a bottle, and it works alright."

"Too expensive." Renn shook his head and said, "Go to 'Cats and Cauldrons' in the East District. They have a potion called 'Flame Shield,' which has similar effects to fire protection and only costs five gold coins a bottle. The only downside is the side effect—your tongue will turn red after drinking it, and that will last for an hour."

"...What kind of side effect is a red tongue?"

"You'll find out when the time comes." Ryan's expression was unusually serious. "When you get to Fireland and see everyone greeting each other with red tongues, you'll understand."

Arthas leaned back in his chair, watching the group of adventurers in front of him enthusiastically discussing the price, effects, origin, and alternatives of fire equipment. Suddenly, he had a subtle sense of déjà vu. He remembered the forums on Earth, where when a popular game updated a new dungeon, players flocked to it, starting to study equipment combinations and attribute values, and all kinds of guides, reviews, and avoidance posts flooded the internet.

The only difference is that players on Earth argue online, while adventurers here argue face-to-face.

"The broken rocket is useless!" A loud, excited shout suddenly came from the corner.

A red-haired female archer carrying a longbow and holding arrows with charred arrowheads declared, "I shot a whole quiver of arrows at Flame Slimes, all of them Broken Fire Arrows! Not a single slime was killed! The Broken Fire Arrows at the stalls are all a lie; they're just ordinary arrowheads painted red!"

"That's because you didn't shoot in the right spot," another archer retorted. "The core of the Flame Slime is right in the center of its body. You have to wait for it to swell up before shooting at that spot. When it's not swelled up, the core is scattered, so shooting anywhere won't make a difference."

How did you know?

"I shot two quiver of arrows before I found it."

The red-haired female archer paused for a moment, then sat back down in her chair. The other archers also gathered around, exchanging information about the weak points of the Flame Slime and the best time to shoot.

Arthas smiled, picked up the glass of water on the table that had gone cold, and took a sip.

interesting.

That's so interesting.

He had lived in Dark Hemkas for a hundred years, watching adventurers come and go in droves, thinking he knew humans well enough. But sitting among adventurers as an adventurer himself, listening to their discussions, he realized that these were humans he had never seen before.

When faced with a lava pool that could burn the soles of their shoes at any moment, these people are brainstorming ideas for each other, thanking a stranger for equipment advice, and working towards a common goal—to clear the game, farm gear, and have more fun.

"Hey! Hey! Dick?" Ryan waved his hand in front of him. "What are you thinking about?"

Arthas put down his water glass and casually said, "I was wondering when you'd write up a guide to the Fire Paradise."

Ryan's eyes lit up: "Great idea! Why don't we start writing now? I'll write it!"

He grabbed the quill pen from the table, then pulled a crumpled piece of parchment from his backpack, scribbled a few lines in a crooked hand, put the pen down, picked up the parchment, and solemnly cleared his throat.

"Listen up! If your fire resistance isn't high enough, don't go; if you don't have potions, don't go; if the equipment is too expensive, go to Old Will in the West District; don't buy those broken rocket arrows, buying them is just paying an 'IQ tax'; wait until the slime is inflated before fighting it, that's all."

"It's over?" The burly man was taken aback.

"It's over."

"You call this a strategy guide?"

"This is the abridged version." Ryan slammed the parchment on the table. "The rest are just details. You'll understand the details after you go there a few more times. Why bother explaining?"

The guild hall was silent for a moment, then someone laughed out loud—not mocking, but the kind of laugh that says, "What this guy said actually makes a damn good point."

The red-haired female archer put down her arrows, walked over, and copied the "essential strategy guide" into her notebook.

The monk adjusted his glasses and drew a circle next to "Old Will in the West End".

The burly man scratched his head, muttered under his breath, "Don't go if your fire resistance isn't high enough," and walked out of the hall, probably to get more equipment.

Arthas leaned back in his chair, watching the group of people.

Some people are copying guides, some are highlighting key points, and some have already packed their bags and are ready to go out overnight to find new gear.

Without anyone organizing or giving orders, the adventurers in the entire hall were turned into a complete mess by a silver-level, talkative warrior.

That's human nature.