Chapter 4

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Past the curtain of light, Chu Ge could hazily see the interior of a cave.

“Whoa! What the…what in the world is happening?!” Chu Ge stood up anxiously, unable to believe what he just saw. At the same time, he took down the Frostmourne hanging on the wall.

The Frostmourne was a purchase Chu Ge made online, a large sword that was the merchandise of a game. At the time, he spent about $600 odd for it. It was made wholly of steel and weighed around seven to eight-jin. Although it was not sharpened, it wasn’t too bad for a hacking tool. He held the Frostmourne two both hands, then felt a little more assured.

After vibrating for a short while, the curtain of light soon became stable. There were no other strange signs, and it floated in the center of his living room quietly. It was a rather odd sight to behold. The image within the curtain of light had also sharpened and became clear in his line of vision.

The background looked to be like a quarry. It was dark, and the dim light of a candle could be seen in the distance.

Was this the legendary Teleportation Gate? The portal that led to an unknown and mysterious world?

He took a good long look, then felt that it wasn’t the case. Turning around to look at the computer, He had a sudden epiphany. The curtain of light that appeared was obviously related to the Multi-universe Instance Dungeon System that was installed in the CPU that his uncle had sent to him. Could this be the entrance to the purported Instance Dungeon?

That’s it! When that thought came to him, he was suddenly reminded that the curtain of light looked similar to the Instance Dungeon entrances in the games he had played before.

He looked towards the computer monitor screen quickly. Lo and behold, new information had appeared in the information box below.

“System: Instance Dungeon creation completed. Current Instance Dungeon: Abandoned Quarry.”

“Instance Dungeon Name: Abandoned Quarry”

“Instance Dungeon Level: Noob Level”

“Instance Dungeon Difficulty: Easy”

“Instance Dungeon Introduction: The Abandoned Quarry was once a military-owned mine that was controlled by the Orek Kingdom. It served as a mine to provide the Kingdom, and the Kingdom’s military, with superior ores. However, after the Kingdom’s defeat in the Battle of the Wastelands, the Orek Kingdom lost its control over the Wasteland area. Hence, the mine was abandoned and left to wither away through the ravages of time.

However, recently, a group of Kobolds had taken over the Abandoned Quarry and started to mine for ore non-stop. They seem to be planning something. Today, as a Trespasser, you have chanced upon the Abandoned Quarry and entered the place by accident.”

“Instance Dungeon Monster: ???? (You may unlock the relevant information by spending DKP.)”

“Instance Dungeon Boss: ???? (You may unlock the relevant information by spending DKP.)”　

“Instance Dungeon Map: ???? (You may unlock the relevant information by spending DKP.)”

“Recruit Teammates: ???? (You may unlock the relevant information by spending DKP.)”

It seemed that besides knowing the name of the Instance Dungeon and that there was a group of Kobolds in the quarry, as well as the fact that the level was set to Noob with the difficulty set to Easy, any additional information was going to cost him DKP to obtain.

What were Kobolds, Chu Ge was naturally familiar with them. If he remembered correctly, they were fragile and small monsters. Usually, they would spawn in areas where most of the game’s newcomers would appear. If he were to be fighting against an orc or ogre, he might not dare to head into battle. But, if he were up against the Kobolds, he wasn’t afraid. Besides, the Instance Dungeon was set to on Easy difficulty.

However, how should he start the Instance Dungeon? It couldn’t be that he had to enter the Instance Dungeon personally to fight the monsters, or was that the case?

All the evidence pointed to this conclusion. But Chu Ge still felt that it was a little hard to believe. He walked towards the curtain of light nervously and stopped in front of it. He peeked into the curtain, hoping to have an idea of what to expect, but he could not see anything. He wanted to try touching the curtain of light with the Frostmourne on his hands to test the quality of the curtain of light. But, unexpectedly, the moment the Frostmourne touched the curtain of light, he was blinded by the sudden burst of light. In the next moment, he found himself standing in a completely unknown place.

He stood within a dark and dim quarry cave. And the curtain of light was shining behind him. Through the curtain of light, he was able to see the furnishings of his living room.

I’d be da*ned! It really needed me to head into the Instance Dungeon personally!

Chu Ge’s emotions were mixed. He felt nervous, yet excited, and there was even a hint of euphoric joy. The adventure that he yearned so badly for, and the life of thrill and excitement, was really here! However, he wondered, if he died inside the Instance Dungeon, did that mean he was really dead?

When that sudden thought came to him, it caused his previous firm determination to go on the adventure wane.

That was probably the reason why his uncle asked him to choose the Noob level Instance Dungeon difficulty for his first foray. Looking at the dark and dim quarry in front of him, for a moment, Chu Ge hesitated to step forward.

“Curses! You’ve been screaming day and night that you’re bored out of your mind. Weren’t you waiting for this very moment?” Chu Ge scolded, telling himself, “Besides, your mission isn’t to slay a dragon. It’s only Kobolds! What’s there to be afraid of?” Thinking that way, he summoned his courage and put his foot forward, making his way deeper into the quarry.

Although the quarry was dark, it was not completely devoid of light. On the surrounding walls, there were torches stuck into the walls intermittently. With the dim light from the torches, Chu Ge walked into the quarry. After walking a short distance, he could vaguely hear the clanking sounds of constant hammering.

Rounding a corner, a sea of lights suddenly appeared. He saw many human-shaped organisms, all about one meter tall, waving a mini-sized pickaxe around. They were digging at the ores on two sides of the cave. It was the Kobolds! They looked similar to the Kobolds he had encountered in his other games.

The Kobolds had a cowardly appearance. They had the head shape of a canine, and their skins were wrinkled and flabby, peppered with strands of thin, loose fur. They were hunch-backed and looked very thin and small, each carrying a pickaxe in one hand. Their attire was so dirty that it was hard to tell what color they or their skin or their clothes. Some of the Kobolds worked in the nude, carrying a basket to store the ore harvested. On the head of every Kobold, there was a candle stuck at the top for use as a light.

Above the Kobolds’ heads, there was also a floating red title: Kobold Miner. Below the floating title, there was also a red HP bar. It was as if he had really trespassed and traveled into a game world.

For a moment, Chu Ge stood in his spot, stumped. The organisms that only appeared in a game was actually standing in front of him, alive. It was so surreal and fantastic that he did not know what to do for a second. At the same time, it made him feel that the scene in front of him was not real. At that moment, he did not know what his next move should be.

Until a sharp-pitched scream interrupted Chu Ge’s daze, “You will not take away my candle!” The Kobold nearest to him seemed to have noticed his presence and pounced his way over to Chu Ge. The two Kobolds near the one who shouted heard their companion’s scream, and also started running over in a pounce.

“Crap!” Chu Ge was jolted out of his stupor. His unconscious thought was to turn around and escape. But there were about ten or 20 Kobolds in the area in front of him. Although the Kobolds looked very weak if they ganged up on him… No, wait! He had noticed something strange when he turned around. The rest of the Kobolds did not seem to notice his presence. They were still busy with their chores. The ones that pounced over were only the ones nearest to him.

Because the Kobolds only towered to around one meter, and they were thin and small, Chu Ge did not feel pressurized when he looked at the monsters.

Oh, right! He was in an Instance Dungeon. The monsters within an Instance Dungeon would have a radar range. As long as he kept out of the radar range, the monsters would not start attacking. Even if the humanoid organisms could call for their companions, they would only be able to call the companions closest to them.

In an instant, Chu Ge analyzed the critical point of the whole situation. However, he still turned around and made his escape. Only when he was confident that only the three Kobolds had chased after him, did he do a turnabout. With the Frostmourne in his hands, he made a swift chopping motion.

The Kobold that led the trio in front raised the pickaxe in its hands bravely and ferociously. However, it was not even a meter tall, and the pickaxe in its hands was not even half a meter long. On the other hand, the Frostmourne in Chu Ge’s hands was over a meter long. In addition to the length of his arms, his attacking distance was double to triple that of the Kobolds.

With a loud thump, the Kobold received a slam on its skull. With a shrieking, painful cry, it was hacked to death.