How Level Zero Devil Destroys Player Experience

"No, choose normal difficulty this time."

Unexpectedly, the other party rejected his suggestion.

As if he could catch the strange looks from the people around him, mainly from Zhiye and the others, Trigonometric Function couldn't help but cough, "It was just an accident before, but this time we are absolutely sure."

However, with the precedent of failure in the easy difficulty setting, this statement seems to be not convincing at all, which can be seen from the suspicious eyes of Zhiye and the others.

"Don't worry, there won't be any accidents this time."

"That's right, this time we must avenge our previous humiliation."

"You were the one who made the biggest mistake before, right?"

However, the words of others echoed each other, and Zhiye and the others agreed after hesitating for a while.

System: Do you want to enter the dungeon - Black Prison Forest?

Yes.

System: Please select the difficulty of the copy, easy, normal, difficult, nightmare, abyss.

ordinary.

As the choice was made, a white light quickly enveloped everyone, and the entire team instantly disappeared at the entrance of the dungeon, blending in with the white lights of other teams opening the dungeon and not being very noticeable.

When everyone opened their eyes again, they had arrived in a lush forest. Even with rays of sunlight shining through the treetops, they were unable to completely dispel the lingering ominous aura.

Koizumi and the others quickly came to their senses because they had experienced this before. However, Zhiye and the others looked around curiously for a long time until the leader of the team, Trigonometric Function, took command of the team.

"Let's go inside first. Normal should be not much different from simple. I guess there is a mission trigger point ahead."

Everyone had no objection and moved forward in a queue with warriors and paladins in front and damage professions in the back.

Before they advanced far, they encountered the situation described by the trigonometric function. A seven-man guard team was fighting a group of tree monsters in an open space in the forest ahead.

It was obvious that they did not seem to be able to fight against these monsters that had become extremely ferocious because of the strangeness of the forest. Their leather armor covered with scratches and various wounds on their bodies proved that these people were in urgent need of support.

The timely system prompt also confirmed this.

System: The copy mission [Support the Investigation Team] is started.

There is no need for trigonometric reminders in this situation, as everyone knows what to do. The melee charges forward to attract firepower, while the back row directly unleashes their strongest output towards the monster on the opposite side.

Although Zhiye and the others reacted a little slowly, they quickly caught up. As shield warrior paladins, Minotaur and Xinghe Haohan put up their shields and stepped forward to share some of the pressure on the front row.

"Leave the right one to us."

A season of morning said to the trigonometric function.

"Okay." The other party also knew that they had their own tacit understanding and cooperation, so there were not too many restrictions.

There were more than twenty monsters. Although they looked very scary, the team cooperated with the investigation team and easily eliminated these tree monsters that went crazy because of the forest changes.

After all, it's just an appetizer for an eighth-level normal-difficulty dungeon. If you can't even get through this, it would be too damaging to your self-esteem.

On the grass covered with broken vines, the Paladin Captain of the investigation team simply instructed his deputy to treat the wounds of the injured team members, and then walked towards the team.

"Brave adventurers, I am Sean, the captain of the Seventh Investigation Team. Thanks to your help, we were able to survive the attacks of these monsters. Please accept my most sincere gratitude."

"You're welcome, Captain Sean. We've also received an investigation mission, so it's only natural for us to help each other." Trigonometry walked over and started chatting with him using the formal gaming language.

"Are you all here to investigate the changes in the Black Prison Forest?" Sean showed a surprised look.

"Yes, but we know nothing about the current situation. I wonder if Captain Sean has found any clues."

Hearing this, Sean's expression became a little strange, and he seemed a little hesitant. "To be honest, when we were investigating deep in the forest, we unexpectedly discovered a pitch-black tree spirit. The trees and land entangled by its roots had lost their vitality. We believed that its appearance was closely related to the forest mutation, so we fought with it, but unfortunately, we lost, and my team members and I were injured."

"Where is that monster now? We can help defeat it."

"It's very powerful. Don't approach it rashly without full confidence. Young adventurers, you'd better retreat temporarily and wait for the guards to come and deal with it."

No matter how you think about it, it is impossible to retreat like this in this situation.

"No, we cannot predict the possible accidents. The existence of this tree spirit king is a constant threat." Trigonometric Function looked great and righteous. "For the people of Soma Town and the Goddess of Light, we have no reason to retreat."

Although this kind of righteous rhetoric is old-fashioned, it always hits the NPCs the most. It can be clearly seen from the emotion expressed on Sean's resolute face and the change in the address.

"Dear adventurers, your spirit is admirable. Just follow this path to the southwest and you will see the monster. Forgive me for leading my team back to rest and not being able to assist you on my own initiative. But please accept this. I found it at the altar in the dryad's territory. My intuition tells me that this is an important item."

System message: The copy mission "Investigate the Territory of the Lord of the Dryads" is now open.

System message: Obtained the item "Ruined Cross".

Ruined cross

Level requirements: none

Attributes: Defense +30, Strength +10, Toughness +10, HP +150, the carrier's healing effect is increased by 10%.

Limited use: Can only be used in the Black Prison Forest dungeon, will disappear after leaving the dungeon.

Yuzhai Yuan glanced at the attributes of the equipment, and then looked at the sturdy body of the bull head beside him, "Turtle, with this added health and attributes, I can go to the front and take the beatings."

"Then I'll let you know in the team channel that I want to switch positions with you." Xinghe Haohan, who was beaten every day in the front row, was naturally very happy to see someone wanting to replace him.

"You two stop making trouble, but what happened to them last time? With this cross and the easy difficulty, it doesn't make sense that they would be wiped out."

Zhiye was a little concerned about another aspect.

"You'll know if you ask." White Rabbit Candy pulled a pretty girl in the team next to him and said, "Xiaoquan, how did you fail last time?"

"Well..." The girl called Koizumi looked at the captain on the other side and explained in a low voice.

Through Koizumi's explanation, Zhiye and the others roughly understood the situation. They simply underestimated the simple difficulty of the Black Prison Forest dungeon. As a result, they pushed all the way to the boss and found that they could not defeat him and were wiped out. Only then did they realize that they needed to complete the side quests in the dungeon to weaken the boss's strength.

"There are also side quests?" Zhiye had never thought that a simple dungeon would have so many requirements, but he was also a little curious, "What kind of quests are they?"

White Rabbit Candy and others nearby also cast their eyes over, and they all looked very curious.

Just when Xiaoquan was a little troubled about how to explain to Zhiye and the others, a violent cough suddenly sounded not far away, which made her eyes light up immediately, "That's it, you will know it later."

Chapter 86 Mysterious Strategy Post

This sudden abnormality not only attracted the attention of Koizumi, but also the attention of Sean, the captain of the investigation team in the distance, and Trigonometric Function and Yiji Chen, who were chatting with him to learn about the situation of the Tree Demon King. Naturally, they also heard the violent coughing.

Sean's face changed and he quickly looked at the grass next to him.

A young man there was coughing painfully, and his originally handsome face was now covered with terrifying black veins, making him look extremely scary.

The other members of the investigation team ignored their own wounds and surrounded the young man with worried looks on their faces. Obviously, the one who was more anxious than them was the young priest who was in charge of the rescue work at the front of the team. His hands holding the cross were trembling as he kept using healing magic on the young man.

However, the holy light that used to be able to dispel all evil now seemed very weak and did not play much of a role.

"What happened? Why did Vika become like this?"

Sean walked over quickly.

"Captain... Captain, please save Vika, he is in so much pain, I... I don't know what to do..."

Hearing Sean's voice, the young pastor seemed to have found his backbone and looked over expectantly.

"Calm down, Rosa, don't interrupt the healing spell. We will find a way." Although Sean was also very worried about his teammates, he did not show any panic on his face. He reached out and put his hand on Rosa's shoulder to comfort her.

At this moment, a mature-looking warrior in the team suddenly lowered his voice and said, "Captain, remember that Vika was attacked by the twisted flower demon when he was covering our retreat? I suspect he was poisoned by the twisted flower demon."

"you sure?"

"I've seen symptoms of people being infected with this toxin before, so it should be correct."

Sean pounded his fist and punched the tree hard, "Damn it."

Different from the two, the team members around them all showed joy when they heard the words. A female mage in the team said, "I remember that the antidote for the twisted flower demon's toxin can be made from the roots of corrosive vines. There just happens to be such a plant in the Black Prison Forest. The other materials are very common and we can also..."

But before she could finish, she was interrupted by Sean, "The corrosive vines in the Black Prison Forest are almost extinct because of the mutation. How can they be found so easily?"

"No, there is another place..." Another young soldier in the team thought of something.

"Yes, there are definitely corrosive vines there." Others were also reminded.

Sean's expression suddenly changed. "You are crazy. You know the danger of Shadow Swamp. I won't joke with your lives."

"But we have to save Vika no matter what, Captain!"

"Captain, take me there. I'm almost recovered."

"We won't abandon our companions. Count me in."

The team members' request made Sean's eyes flicker with struggle, and he was obviously in a state of uncertainty.

Trigonometric Function, who saw everything, knew that his chance had finally come. After accepting the mission to investigate the territory of the Lord of the Dryads, he had been chatting with the other party. On the surface, he was trying to understand the intelligence of the Lord of the Dryads, but in fact he was just waiting for the opportunity to receive this mission.

"Captain Sean, why don't you let us find the corrosive vines?"

"No, respected adventurers, you don't have to do so much. The Dryad King is already very dangerous to you, and I can't let you fall into more danger." Sean's eyes flashed, but he soon gritted his teeth and shook his head. His inner faith would not allow him to do such a thing. "What's more, the town of Soma is still in danger. We can't delay you. We will solve it ourselves."

"A person's life is also a life. The Goddess of Light will not abandon any of her believers." Trigonometric Function naturally knew how to convince the other party. "Besides, your team members are already injured. If they encounter a powerful monster in this state, there is a high probability that they will encounter an accident. Do you want your companions to fall into danger because of your decision?"

Finally, Trigonometric Function gave the other party another dose of confidence, "Don't worry, our adventurers' ability to survive is stronger than you think. It's the best choice to leave it to us."

Sean closed his eyes and was silent for a moment, and was finally persuaded.

"I understand. You should keep walking along the path leading to the territory of the Dryad Lord. When you see the purple camphor tree, go northwest and you will see a black swamp filled with fog. That is the Shadow Swamp."

"The corrosive vines are deep in the Shadow Swamp. I have a few fog lamps that can be used to dispel the fog." Sean said as he prepared his team. "Time is running out. I will take my team to find other ingredients for the antidote. We will meet at the end of the Shadow Swamp. Rosa, you and Machika take Vika back to the town first."

System message: The copy side quest [Searching for Corroded Vines] is now open.

"Understood. Leave the Shadow Swamp to us."

"Be careful and thank you very much for your help!"

"You're welcome. Everything is for the Goddess of Light."

Just when they were about to set off, Sean suddenly remembered something and added solemnly, "By the way, although I have never been there, I have heard some rumors about it. You must be careful when using magic in the Shadow Swamp."

Although Trigonometric Function was a little confused, he didn't think much about it. After responding, he led the team in the direction indicated by the other party.

"Sure enough, there is this side quest. I should be able to complete it this time." Trigonometric Function looked at the words displayed in the task bar and felt a little relieved.

Just by catching a glimpse of Yiji Zhichen's signature action of pushing up his glasses from the corner of his eye, Trigonometric Function knew that he couldn't escape, so he raised his hands in surrender with a wry smile, "Okay, okay, what do you want to ask?"

"You are quite self-aware." Yiji Zhichen, "I just want to know why you seem to be very familiar with the process of this dungeon even though you have only played it once before."

Just like the previous conversation with Sean, after receiving the mission, he did not choose to set off immediately but waited until the side quest started. Although it seemed nothing, Yi Ji Zhi Chen obviously noticed something was wrong.

Everything progressed so naturally, there was no sense of exploration like that of a new dungeon, with one step at a time.

"We just wanted to give it a try, but we didn't expect that everything written in that post would be... oh no, or at least it's all true so far."

"Post?" Yiji Zhichen noticed the key in the other party's words.

Trigonometric functions did not hide their thoughts. He opened the forum interface in the game, clicked on a post he had recently collected and displayed it in front of Yiji Zhichen, while explaining.

"This dungeon was opened early this morning. We are the second batch. I was wondering if I could find some strategies on the forum, even some tips. I didn't expect to find such a strategy post."

『Irresponsible Strategy Group』Olwyn Empire Strategy - Black Prison Forest Dungeon Basic Strategy (Progress: Normal)

When Yiji Zhichen saw the first few words in the post title, his eyelids couldn't help but twitch. If it weren't for the special instructions in Trigonometric Functions, he would definitely treat this post as a prank by some player.

Noticing the look on Yiji Zhichen's face, Trigonometric Function could understand. "I also thought this guide was unreliable at first, but later when I was frustrated with failing on the easy difficulty, I thought of this guide again and thought it would be good to take a look, so I opened it and found that the descriptions in the first few points of the guide were almost the same as in the dungeon, and it didn't seem to be written randomly."

"It could also be a tricky guide written by an old-timer." Yijizhichen glanced through the post and found that the previous guide was not much different from their experience. It even mentioned how to complete the side quests and what rewards would be given after completion.

However, Yijizhichen has played many online games and knows that there are some guides that deliberately describe the game in a very realistic way to deceive newbies who have just started playing. They can advance normally according to the guide at the beginning, but when they encounter a critical point, they will suddenly give you a wrong step, leading to the whole team being wiped out.

"You should be able to rest assured about this. Take a look at the comments below."

Upon hearing this, Yiji Zhichen scrolled to the bottom and discovered that this post, which had only a few thousand views, actually had dozens of comments. Most of the comments were very normal, and there was none of the disgusting comments in the comments section of those previous deceptive strategy posts.

"This thread owner also posted a guide for Soma Town before, which included some clues to hidden tasks and treasure chest locations. Some people dug out the same ones described in the guide post, so he shouldn't be the kind of guy who cheats people for fun."

"It looks like a specialized studio." He was a little confused at first, but after seeing the setting that could be viewed after paying 30 credit points, Yiji Zhichen thought for a while and understood the reason why the poster shared the strategy. "He probably wants to use this dungeon to increase the reputation of the studio and pave the way for future development."

"That makes sense." Trigonometric Function nodded and agreed, "But this studio's strategy is also good news for ordinary players."

Most guilds have special teams for exploring new places. Large guilds with strong capital even have positions for dungeon analysis, numerical calculation, etc. In comparison, ordinary players can only rely on themselves to slowly explore when exploring new places. The emergence of this strategy post has obviously narrowed the gap between the two. Coupled with the reasonable fees, it can be said to be very conscientious.

If these two people knew someone's true thoughts, I wonder if they would still be able to praise him/her like this.

……

"Huff."

"I always feel like someone is praising me behind my back?" I sneezed for no apparent reason and looked around, but then I changed my mind and thought, "But why did I sneeze?"

"..."