Traveling through the game world

"What exactly is the Black Nightmare? How could it be so evil and powerful?" Walking on the streets of Huttonmar's old district, Lian Yang looked at the half-ruined, magnificent houses on the side of the street. He was convinced that this was once a medieval city that was even more prosperous than Dark City.

"The Black Nightmare itself is nothing; every world has it. It's just a collection of negative energy in the world. The reason it's rampant here is because it's been maliciously exploited." Hope, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke up.

If anyone truly understands this Dungeon Fighter Online universe, it's undoubtedly Hope. However, Hope clearly has no intention of figuring out who controls Black Nightmare. Of course, Lian Yang doesn't ask either; it's too early for him to discuss such matters at his current level.

Walking along the main street of Hutton Mar's old town, Arthur suddenly asked Lian Yang, "What is the meaning of your adventures?"

Hearing this, Lian Yang suddenly stopped, turned around, pondered for a moment, and said, "At first, my goal was simple: to fight the monsters and improve my strength. To accomplish certain things, and also to prove myself." He pointed to the ruins around him and continued, "But look at these ruins, and the residents struggling to survive in the City of Misfortune. I feel that perhaps I should do something. So, currently, the purpose of my adventure, and the purpose of Baron and Alice, is to find the source of the Black Nightmare and save those ordinary people."

Hearing Lian Yang's words, Arthur stopped talking about it and turned to ask, "I heard that you are a member of the Steel Wolf Knights of the Delos Empire?"

"Yes, because of my master, Barn gave me the title of squad leader of the independent squad of the Steel Knights." Nodding, he said casually, Lian Yang had never hidden anything about his identity from anyone.

In the quiet streets of Huttonmar's old district, Arthur suddenly knelt on one knee and said with a serious expression, "Then, Captain Knight, I request to join your squad."

"Phew, join me. My adventures are always dangerous, and this Arad is just a short stop along the way." Lian Yang asked casually, "Are you sure you want to join my faction?"

Upon hearing Lian Yang mention "power" instead of "knight squad," Arthur's eyes widened in surprise, then he shouted, "I'm willing!"

"Welcome to the Hope Squad. You should feel the difference by now." With a slight smile, he helped Arthur up. To be honest, Lian Yang had been eyeing Arthur, such a genius paladin, for a long time. He hadn't expected Arthur to actually volunteer to join.

Arthur was surprised by what appeared before his eyes and in his mind. He observed it carefully for a long time and stammered, "Captain... Captain... are those all real?"

"Of course, otherwise why do you think we're so powerful?" Lian Yang replied proudly. Although he diligently practiced swordsmanship every day and faced near-death experiences every time he went on adventures, the Hope System was the foundation of Lian Yang's strength.

Although still grieving the loss of his former teammates, Arthur had become quite indifferent to the daily deaths and departures of comrades in the ruins of Huttonmar.

Arthur suddenly wanted to join Lian Yang's team because he realized that Lian Yang was different from everyone else in the City of Misfortune. In terms of strength, he was just outstanding among young people, but in the entire City of Misfortune, only Lian Yang truly and constantly solved problems. The others were just passively defending and vying for power.

In fact, even the Revolutionary Army had subtly contacted him, a paladin as talented as himself, but he had refused them all. In his eyes, they were just a bunch of fools still clinging to their former power. Compared to them, the energetic Lianyang team, though not yet very strong, was undoubtedly very attractive to him.

Alice suddenly teased, "Phew, Lian Yang, it seems you're going to spend money again."

"Huh?" Lian Yang was taken aback for a moment, then laughed and said, "It seems that's how it is. How's your hand cannon?"

"It's alright."

Arthur, who had just finished processing the information in his head, asked with a head full of questions, "What kind of expense?"

"Take a look at my equipment panel." Baron mischievously opened his equipment panel for Arthur to see.

Arthur stared blankly at Baron's equipment panel, then exclaimed in disbelief, "My God! A full set of... a full set of +10 purple gear? And level 40 at that? How much did that cost?" Then, looking at the attributes of Baron's greatsword, which was flashing with purple light, he was completely stunned: "God... a divine weapon? And it's +13?"

"Yeah, this is standard equipment for our team. After this mission, I'll get you a set too. Aside from the divine artifact, everything else is no problem," Lian Yang said casually, then traded Arthur 100 million gold coins: "Go buy the contracts and stuff, and get plenty of medicine, especially that body-strengthening elixir—that's a real gem."

Arthur was still dumbfounded when he received the 100 million gold coins from Lian Yang: "Is this what they meant by 'spending money'? This is not spending money, this is pure luxury!"

"Relax, relax~ Money is just a number~" Alice waved her hand casually. As someone who had followed Lian Yang since the Silver Village, only things above the level of divine artifacts could catch her eye. With a money-making artifact like Remy's Kiss, money was just a passing cloud.

It has to be said that among the three members of Lianyang's team, Lianyang and Baron are melee controllers and damage dealers, while Alice is a ranged damage dealer and fire support. With their powerful equipment, they don't need someone who can tank damage, but someone like Arthur, who can provide support and healing, is still very necessary. Therefore, everyone is very happy about Arthur joining the team.

Hutton Mar's old town, once the heart of Hutton Mar, is also its most dangerous area. The group, chatting and laughing, seemed oblivious to the strange, unsettling plants around them.

Quietly, a tender green sapling had unknowingly approached Alice from behind. Closer...closer still.

brush……

In the blink of an eye, the little green tree that had quietly approached Alice suddenly bit her without anyone noticing.

"Bang!".

Despite the suddenness of the attack, Alice, sensing the danger instantly, whirled around and unleashed a powerful hand cannon shot. Though short, the large cannon fired a real projectile. The plant that had silently attacked Alice was instantly blasted to pieces.

"Prepare for battle!" Lian Yang shouted, drawing his greatsword and looking at the colorful plants that had suddenly sprung to life around him. He exclaimed in realization, "I was wondering why this place was so quiet. Turns out this is the territory of the Hungry Plants."

"Slow Healing, Guardian Badge, Blessing of Honor!" Although the battle came suddenly, Arthur, who was already used to it, immediately released a set of support skills.

Blessing of Honor is arguably the Paladin's most core and versatile skill, because regardless of your class, receiving the Blessing of Honor buff will significantly boost your combat power, as this support skill increases the Strength and Intelligence attributes of all teammates within a certain range.

Physical professions rely on strength; the higher the strength, the higher the damage. Magical professions rely on intelligence; the higher the intelligence, the stronger the magic.

The increase in the value of the Blessing of Honor is determined by the Paladin's own stamina and spirit. The higher the stamina, the greater the strength bonus the Paladin provides to teammates; conversely, the stronger the spirit, the greater the intelligence bonus provided to teammates.

Slow Heal and Guardian's Emblem are both skills that can improve a Paladin's stamina to some extent, so a skilled Paladin will cast Slow Heal and Guardian's Emblem on himself as soon as possible, and then decisively cast Blessing of Honor on all teammates.

As the battle commenced, Arthur immediately cast Dawn's Blessing and Weapon's Blessing on Alice, who was providing ranged firepower support. Lianyang and Baron took on the roles of damage dealers and tanks in the front lines. Naturally, the stronger Alice's attacks, the more efficient she would be.

Meanwhile, Baron casually killed a monster without even using any skills, and feeling the surge of power throughout his body, he couldn't help but chuckle: "Having a paladin teammate is really comfortable, this is a huge boost!"

"Nonsense! If he weren't powerful, would I have just recruited him into our faction?" Lian Yang shouted at the top of his lungs. It wasn't that he wanted to shout, but the monster next to him was also shouting, so if he spoke softly, he really wouldn't be heard.

Arthur didn't react much to Lian Yang's words; instead, he seemed somewhat smug. In this world, no one will try to recruit someone without strength. Only by demonstrating your value do you have the right to be recruited.