Ye Bai stood inside a cavern, with a dead end behind her and only one path leading deeper into the cave. The walls were dotted with fluorescent ores that illuminated the dark surroundings.
Looking at this all-too-familiar scene, she felt a sense of relief.
Compared to the countless players across the galaxy, the only advantage Ye Bai currently held was her deep understanding of the game.
As an essential dungeon tied to the game's core elements, this dungeon wasn't structurally complex—just fight your way through the cave to the BOSS. However, that didn't mean it was easy. The strength of the monsters in the dungeon scaled with the player's level, especially the BOSS, whose health and damage output were far beyond what players of the same level could handle.
Moreover, in the normal difficulty, the monsters were at the same level as the player. In hard mode, they were 5 levels higher, in elite mode 10 levels higher, and in nightmare mode, a staggering 20 levels higher!
Ye Bai, at level 0, had entered the dungeon directly. Not only was she pressed for time, but also because the BOSS in nightmare mode was exactly level 20. Monsters and players above level 20 underwent a significant transformation in power, making it a true "nightmare" for unclassed players.
"Ding, ding, ding…"
Instead of charging into the cave immediately, Ye Bai took out her wooden sword and began tapping at the glowing ores on the walls, mining them.
One of the core mechanics of "Boundless Realms" was that "every scene is destructible." Not only could you mine ores, but if a player had enough stamina, they could even dig through the cave walls—though, by design, all dungeons were isolated "dimensional spaces" separate from the main world. Digging to the edge of the dungeon would expose you to spatial turbulence, which would instantly kill any player below level 100. Moreover, monsters killed this way wouldn't drop any experience or loot.
Ye Bai had previously used her wooden sword to chop down trees, and now she was using it to mine. However, using a weapon instead of a proper tool would double the durability loss and reduce the quality of the resources obtained.
To prevent players from being forced to abandon a dungeon due to their weapons breaking, dungeons, as "dimensional spaces," didn't consume the durability of weapons or tools—except for consumable items. This was one of the rules Ye Bai planned to exploit to clear the dungeon.
Of course, for balance reasons, the resources you could gather in dungeons were rarely valuable.
"Clang!"
With a loud clatter, a piece of fluorescent ore fell to the ground, which Ye Bai promptly picked up and stored in her inventory.
**[Fluorescent Stone Fragment]**
Attribute: Ore Fragment
Grade: Crude
Resources obtained through brute force with a weapon were always in a damaged state, and their quality would automatically drop by one grade until it reached the lowest possible level—crude.
If she had used a pickaxe, she could have obtained a complete ore and potentially mined a higher-quality one.
But for Ye Bai at this moment, this was enough.
She mined all the fluorescent stones around her, plunging the area into darkness, and only then did she begin to move forward, collecting every piece of fluorescent stone she encountered along the way.
As she ventured deeper, the number of fluorescent stones gradually decreased. After rounding a corner, the passage widened, and by the light of the last fluorescent stone, she could see a dark, expansive cavern ahead. There were no fluorescent stones here, making the environment unclear and exuding a dangerous aura.
Ye Bai didn't mine the last fluorescent stone nearby. Instead, she slowed her pace and inched closer to the cavern. When she took her fourth step, two red dots lit up in the darkness.
As if a switch had been flipped, more pairs of red dots lit up one after another. Eight pairs of red eyes silently stared at Ye Bai, unblinking.
Yes, there were eight **[Cave Bats]**.
Ye Bai took a step back, and the eight pairs of red eyes disappeared one by one, like candles being blown out.
Six meters was the aggro range of the Cave Bats. In this nightmare-level dungeon, with a 20-level difference, these "normal monsters" could deal 50 damage per hit to Ye Bai, who had no armor. Moreover, they had group aggro—if one bat was provoked, all seven others would join the attack.
If she had taken one more step forward, Ye Bai, with only 100 HP, would have been dead after two bites.
However, no dungeon was unsolvable. If it were truly unsolvable, it would be a failure on the part of the developers. As one of the creators, Ye Bai naturally knew the "official" optimal strategy.
Ye Bai opened her inventory, where she had collected 13 Fluorescent Stone Fragments.
**[Would you like to spend 4 'Fluorescent Stone Fragments' to synthesize?]**
**[Yes]**
The synthesis of basic ores could be done directly in the inventory, consuming one stamina point each time. Soon, Ye Bai's inventory contained 3 complete Fluorescent Stones and 1 Fluorescent Stone Fragment.
**[Fluorescent Stone]**
Attribute: Luminous Ore Material
Grade: Crude
Ye Bai put away her shield and gripped her wooden sword with her right hand, once again approaching the cavern… seven meters, six meters, and the pairs of red eyes in the cave lit up again.
The more critical the moment, the calmer Ye Bai's mind became.
She took the final step.
"Whoosh…"
Instantly, the sound of flapping wings filled the air as the red dots surged forward. Eight level 20 Cave Bats rushed at Ye Bai.
1, 2… Counting the bats' flight speed in her mind, Ye Bai swung her sword at the darkness at just the right moment.
**'-5'**
The first Cave Bat at the front took a hit from Ye Bai's sword, its momentum halted as it briefly froze. However, this damage was negligible compared to its 200 HP; it would take 40 hits to kill it. Meanwhile, the other bats that hadn't been attacked also closed in.
In the next moment, Ye Bai's left hand, now free, held a glowing, complete Fluorescent Stone.
In reality, retrieving items from a bag required movement, but in the game, the inventory functioned like a spatial ring from a novel, allowing instant retrieval and storage.
The complete Fluorescent Stone was brighter than the ones embedded in the walls. As soon as it appeared, it lit up the surrounding area like a small light bulb.
"Squeak—!"
The bats let out sharp cries, and those that hadn't yet attacked Ye Bai flapped their wings and retreated. Only the bat that had been hit was a step slower.
Cave Bats had the **[Photophobia]** trait, which took priority over all their actions. Observant players could easily notice this trait, as the bats only inhabited areas without fluorescent light.
Ordinary players could use this to their advantage by throwing Fluorescent Stones to light up the path and scare away the bats. However, Ye Bai wasn't about to "skip class" like that—the experience from level 20 monsters was too valuable.
In the moment the first bat hesitated, she swung her sword again.
**'-5'**
At the same time, she stored the Fluorescent Stone back in her inventory, plunging the area into darkness once more.
"Whoosh…"
The bat that had been hit immediately flapped its wings and bared its fangs at Ye Bai, who had struck it twice. The bats that had been scared away also noticed their companion being attacked and turned back.
Then, Ye Bai took out the Fluorescent Stone again.
"Squeak—!"
Swing, store the Fluorescent Stone.
**'-5'**
Swing, take out the Fluorescent Stone.
**'-5'**
Swing…
The space alternated between light and darkness, accompanied by the pained cries of the leading bat and the flapping wings of the others, creating a rhythmic pattern.
Through this series of actions, none of the bats managed to touch Ye Bai, yet they continuously took **'-5'** damage from her.
Apart from the annoying light effects, there was even a certain elegance to the rhythm.
If the bats had thoughts, they might be thinking:
—Dare to hit me/my brother? I'll bite you to death!
—Ah! There's light!
—Dare to hit me/my brother? I'll bite you to death!
—Ah! There's light!
Only level 20 bats could be bullied like this. Above level 20, Cave Bats would evolve into Vampire Bats, losing their Photophobia trait and gaining lifesteal on their attacks.
But for now, they were just slightly tougher and stronger simple monsters.
With the fall of the last bat, this battle of attrition—or rather, this "torture"—finally came to an end.
Next, of course, was the exciting part: looting the spoils.
Killing monsters above your level grants a hidden drop rate bonus. Ye Bai, who was killing monsters 20 levels higher, could increase the drop rate of items with a base rate below 10% by four times!
Obtained [Shredded Meat] x4
Obtained [Bat Wings] x3
Obtained [Bat Teeth] x1
Obtained [Unidentified Blueprint] x1
When Ye Bai saw the last item, her eyes lit up. Blueprints have a low drop rate, and practical blueprints are highly sought after by lord players. As a producer, she didn’t need to identify it to know what this blueprint was.
There’s only one type of blueprint that Cave Bats drop: the [Night Cloak Blueprint], which has a default drop rate of 1%!
Even with Ye Bai’s fourfold drop rate bonus, hitting the 4% probability was a stroke of good luck.
The Night Cloak is a Tier 2 product of the ‘Tailor Shop’ building, and it’s a particularly rare one at that. Whether sold to players or NPCs, it’s always in high demand. Most importantly, the materials required to craft it aren’t too rare, with the hardest-to-obtain material being the Bat Wings that just dropped.
The drop rate for Bat Wings is 40%. Before Ye Bai reaches the BOSS, she’ll encounter three more waves of Cave Bats, which will provide another batch of materials. It’s like she’s already secured the economic backbone of her territory in the early game.
The Bat Teeth are also a valuable material. They can be used in the ‘Blacksmith Shop’ to enhance weapons, granting them a ‘Life Steal’ effect. The normal drop rate is only 5%, but with the level difference bonus, it’s increased to 20%. Getting these is definitely worth it.
As for the Shredded Meat, it’s a common food item that’s easy to obtain. In Ye Bai’s eyes, it’s the kind of thing you toss out if your backpack gets full.
Of course, aside from all the loot, Ye Bai also gained enough experience to level up to Level 4 in one go.
Indeed, killing monsters above your level is the ultimate romance for players!
Picking up a piece of glowstone for light, Ye Bai continued deeper into the cave, already looking forward to the loot that would drop after defeating the BOSS…
