Chapter 687: Subterranean Beauty
These Ghost Centaur attackers weren’t the same as the ones outside; they were elites that had up to 16,000HP. Fortunately, they had a max level of 40, so the players were able to sneak past them.
This section was quite difficult with its windy path and monsters everywhere.
If it weren’t for the fact that they were invisible, it would probably take them one to two hours to clear out these monsters.
Moreover, these level 40 monsters had a poor EXP yield and their drops were even worse – they only dropped a common Javelin that the players couldn’t even use right now.
Ten minutes later, Lu Li and the others walked through the maze-like area and reached the outside where the real entrance to the Instance Dungeon was.
In front of them were three shining objects. There was a purple crystal door on the left and a red crystal door to the right with another between them.
A Centaur Prophet was standing there, and when Lu Li and the others arrived, it immediately turned and stared at this group of adventurers who were clearly in Stealth.
Lu Li wasn’t worried at all at the fact that they had been discovered. He casually cancelled his Stealth and politely greeted the Centaur.
"I see that you are foreign adventurers. You’ve come to the right place."
The Centaur sounded like he was taunting them, but it was clear that he had no intention of fighting. He likely just felt as though Lu Li and the others were biting off a bit more than they could chew.
"I had hoped to ask for your help," Lu Li said.
"My help?" the tall Centaur laughed. "Haha, child, are you drunk? Do you not see that I am a Centaur?"
"Sir, I can clearly see compassion in your eyes," Lu Li calmly responded.
It was almost as if someone had pinched his neck – the Centaur Prophet suddenly stopped laughing and stared directly into Lu Li’s eyes. When Lu Li and the others checked his information again, they noticed that his name had changed from Centaur Prophet to Centaur Outcast.
"The other Centaurs looked like they have gone insane," Lu Li added.
"Is that right? Maybe there is such a thing within me. No wonder they thought of me as a traitor," the Centaur said with a wry smile.
His dark gray hair was very long and almost touched the ground; they could tell that this Centaur was clearly very old.
A Centaur’s lifespan was not that long. While they couldn’t be compared to the Draenei, they definitely lived longer than humans. Elderly was the only appropriate term to describe the one before them.
"Is there anything we could work together on?" Lu Li asked.
"Although I have been exiled, I have kept to my faith which is what keeps me going. For the sake of my mission, I have been forced to seek the help of outsiders instead of relying on my Centaur brethren. This is really pitiful," the Centaur answered in frustration and resentment.
"Oh, I see. This is the Centaur who was exiled. I read about him in a Centaur’s biography," Deep Watersong typed into the party channel.
The other players who had found Lu Li’s initial response weird now knew the reason behind it.
It turned out that all the clues could have been found in the biographical books. It would definitely be wise for them to read more in future – education was rewarded in real life and it seemed like it was similarly rewarded in this game.
"But how is this guy alive? He should be a character in the legends." Deep Watersong was mystified.
"He has been dead for a long time and is just a ghost now, but he was very strong during his lifetime and practiced Buddhism prior to his death, which is why he appears so real," Lu Li explained to his party through text while he was talking to the Centaur.
All of this was true, and it had all come from his studies.
Just because someone had undergone rebirth didn’t mean that they knew everything. Lu Li had this knowledge because he had wanted a better future in his previous life.
He had never received formal education, and what he did know was taught to him by his sister. Like most people who had never been to school, he felt that reading was an important thing. As such, he took the chance to read every book that he could collect in the game.
The books in Dawn usually had to do with the game’s expansive lore.
"We’re going in to do what we have to do," Lu Li said firmly to the Centaur. "I even have the approval of Remulos, the brother of his Excellency Zaetar."
This name was clearly authoritative enough as the Centaur Outcast suddenly stopped.
Then, Lu Li and the others received a ’Mark of the Chosen’ which gave them a +20% buff to all Attributes for 6 hours.
This was actually quite a significant difference.
Some other team that had come here would likely have killed the Centaur. It probably had the strength of somewhere between an Elite and a Boss, which would be no problem. However, that meant they would have lost the Mark of the Chosen.
Gainig a +20% bonus on all attributes was quite a significant buff.
"All three doors can be entered, but if you want to find Princess Theradras, you have to help Celebras craft the Celebras staff. He is standing on the other side of these doors," the Centaur Outcast explained.
"Thank you. We will pay attention to that."
Lu Li already knew that and didn’t really need to listen to the NPC’s wordy speech.
The Centaur Outcast nodded before vanishing.
"There are three doors. Which should we pick?"
Everyone was just looking at Lu Li to see what he would say.
"The middle one. Let’s go," Lu Li said without hesitation and was the first to step in the middle door.
Their vision distorted for a while before they found themselves in another place. The first thing they heard was the thunderous roar of a gigantic waterfall . The water looked pure and refreshing, and the entire waterfall looked like a giant cloak.
Everyone was taken aback by the magnificent view.
Hachi Chan had her mouth open and had no idea she was drooling. She then excitedly clutched Lu Li and said, "I found where I want to live – it’s right here. I want to buy this place!"
"You can’t afford it, even if it was being sold," Lu Li said as he shook his head.
This was Maraudon – its sheer size and grandeur made it unlikely that a player could afford it, let alone the fact that this was part of the Centaurs’ ancestral lands.
There was no way that the Centaurs could be considered weak. How could you call a race that had come out on top in a fight against the Tauren for a thousand years weak?
After dispelling Hachi Chan’s unrealistic ideas, Lu Li quickly led the players away. They didn’t bother with the mobs on the way because they yielded low EXP and had bad drops.