The Great Thief

Although there was chance that he had to fight them, Lu Li decided to communicate with them politely first.

In fact, even if he didn’t trade with the tribute, there was still a certain chance that he could get the Dark Iron Ore Smelting Skill Book from the body of this sword-wielding ghost, but Lu Li didn’t want to take that risk. He had almost collected all the materials for his Felstriker, and if it was delayed because he couldn’t smelt, then that would be a great loss.

“What have you brought” Greed seemed to be a primary vice of the Dwarves, and it didn’t end when they died.

“20 gold ingots, 10 silver ingots and two rubies, but I am not sure if this is enough.”

This was the standard price that anyone who wanted to learn Dark Iron Ore smelting had to pay.

“Alright, you seem to be an understanding child, but…”

Unexpectedly, this ghost Paladin actually had more to say. His empty eyes were facing Lu Li and his mouth seemed to be forming smile as he continued, “If you can give me twice this amount, I can teach you even finer smelting skills.”

Of course, this was all just part of the act, but Lu Li didn’t hesitate and immediately began taking out more items. In the end, he was missing a ruby, but he took out a better gem which satisfied the Dwarf.

The System then prompted him to learn the skill of Smelting Dark Iron Ore. After the regular skill description, there was a paragraph of text which read that there was a certain probability that a player could obtain double Dark Iron ingot from each smelt. Any ordinary person who saw this would probably have been fooled by it, but Lu Li wasn’t.

This was a bit like harvesting gems. If you were specialized enough, you could get a double harvest.

However, the probably wasn’t so high that it would be considered an overpowered effect. Even so, it was still definitely worth a bit more than the price he had just paid.

Perhaps it was because this was the first time that this ghost had granted this skill. It had been trapped in its tomb for too long, so it was being nice.

Regardless, he would put it to rest soon enough

Lu Li ushered everyone in and made sure that no one was left outside. Once the fight began, the door would be shut tightly and there would be no way in.

With this many people pouring it, it became obvious that they weren’t here for simple business.

Azure Sea Breeze was responsible for walking up and provoking the ghost. The Paladin Ghost that had just granted Lu Li his benefits then became very angry and immediately began the fight.

“Perhaps your journey shall end today.”

This line was quite ordinary. It wasn’t particularly aggressive, but it was normally too late by the time they heard it.

Many teams in the Blackrock Abyss were unable to take on the all of the Seven Bosses together. Part of the reason was because once they got wiped, the Instance Dungeon would come to an end and they would need to wait until next week when it refreshed.

However, Lu Li had no intention of waiting, so he reminded everyone right from the beginning, “Don’t go all out – there are still six more Bosses after this. Remember to conserve your strength.”

“Relax. As long as the Seven don’t gang up on me, I should have no problems,” Azure Sea Breeze nodded.

“I will make sure that everyone has enough mana,” Jade Flower Lover said.

The Paladin Boss wasn’t too strong, but just as Lu Li had said, there was no time for rest as the second Mage ghost soon left his coffin and approached the players.

The second battle was a little more difficult because the area of effect skills of the Mage Ghost were quite strong and it was important to escape his Flame Storm. Although standing in the Flame Storm wouldn’t kill you, it placed significant pressure on the Healers. As such, Lu Li asked everyone to try to be self-sustaining in this battle.

They also couldn’t become too anxious in this place. If they did, it would be easier for things to go wrong.

The third was a Thief Dwarf who used extraordinarily sharp attacks and the occasional Blade Flurry. By this time, the Magic Professions had almost used up half of their Mana and began to use their various means of regenerating it. Lu Li and the other players had also occasionally needed to take their potions to restore their HP.

The fourth was a Shadow Priest. This was the easiest of them all, but posed a problem because it could use Mana Burn.

This skill was quite useless for players in an Instance Dungeon as you would probably be killed before you could finish burning a Boss’ mana.

In PVP, it was definitely quite important for Priests. Many skilled Priests would balance between burning their opponent’s mana and healing their teammates. Without mana, the other team could be rendered completely useless.

Now, in the hands of a monster, everyone could witness the potency of this skill.

Fortunately, there were two Thieves. Lu Li and Water Fairy took turns to interrupt the mana burn skills of the Priest Ghost. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to fight the next Bosses.

The fifth Boss was a Warlock, and they could play as usual for that. The sixth Boss was a combination between a Priest and a Warlock. It could heal itself, but that didn’t really matter as it couldn’t outlast the damage being dealt.

The seventh, Doom’rel, was the one that posed the most deadly threat to the players.

Doom’rel had the most HP, highest Attack and most powerful skills. It was the most like a Boss among the Seven.

Ordinarily, such a Magic Boss wouldn’t be too big of an issue. An all-star team like this wouldn’t have any problems with it. However, after fighting six smaller Bosses, the situation was completely different.

The magic Professions had fought six fights consecutively without the chance to regenerate.

The reason why most teams got wiped in this Instance Dungeon was quite similar across the board. It was because they just couldn’t sustain themselves.

The countermeasures that Lu Li had adopted were relatively simple. The damage output players would drink more potions in the earlier stages and the Main Tank would use more of his damage reduction skills at first. They also tried to save as many mana-regenerating skills and ultimate skills as possible.

Doom’rel especially liked using Shadow Bolt Rain, which dealt damage to all the players at once. This meant that the healers had to use their group healing, which costed a lot of Mana. However, with three healers, this wasn’t an issue.

“Sea Breaker, pull the smaller mobs,” Lu Li instructed.

When an ordinary Warlock summoned a pet, there would only be one. However, Doom’rel could summon three Voidwalkers which were all very powerful. If they were all hitting someone with low Armor, they could kill that player within two rounds of attacks.

For example, Unforgettable Maple was currently already lying on the ground. Lu Li sighed with regret as his Mana had not been completely used up before he died.

“Dammit, Breezy has been exiled. Sea Breaker, cast your damage reduction skills and tank the Boss. Healers make sure our tank is stays alive.”

As luck would have it, Doom’rel’s randomly-selected Exile targeted the Main tank before they could kill the three Voidwalkers.