Chapter 115: Dungeon Rules

Emerging from the Mage Tower, Chu Cheng received a message from Fang Xi:

“Apologies. The captain initially agreed to take you to the Plague Lands dungeon but later instructed Wang Bo to escort you to the Dark Temple instead, deliberately discouraging you. That was my mistake.”

“It’s nothing. Teaming up has to be mutual; no need for you to apologize, senior.”

He didn’t take it to heart. He was familiar with Fang Xi but not her teammates, so their reluctance was understandable. Shrugging, he summoned his flying carpet and headed toward the adjacent teleportation platform.

Since the semester had begun, he decided to test the waters by entering a university-level dungeon to see how it differed from those at the middle school stage, and to level up a bit.

He was currently level 27, just three levels shy of 30.

Reaching level 30 would allow him to advance his class. Regular class members could promote to elite class, gaining an additional specialty.

Heroes, on the other hand, besides gaining a new specialty, could also select a new heroic skill, significantly boosting their strength.

It was worth noting that elite class promotion didn’t alter attributes; they remained the same as those of regular class members.

Only the transcendence promotion adjusted attributes—for example, one point of Constitution would increase health and stamina by 20, and one point of Agility would add 2 to speed. This aligned closely with his current Immortal Hero template.

In other words, possessing an Immortal-level hero template was akin to experiencing the attribute adjustments of transcendence ahead of time, giving him a substantial advantage over other classes.

This also meant that when Chu Cheng eventually transcended, his template would advance once more, elevating him to Legendary status.

By then...

As he entered the teleportation platform’s range, a luminous screen appeared before his eyes, densely packed with dungeon names. These were all private dungeons controlled by the Tower of Stars, accessible regardless of faction.

Dungeon tiers were divided into beginner, intermediate, advanced, top-tier, and super dungeons.

Indeed, the university dungeons were categorized differently than those at middle school.

Instead of size, the classification was based on power levels within the dungeon. The stronger the dungeon’s forces, the higher its rank, though larger dungeons generally housed stronger enemies.

According to the freshman handbook, every novice was allocated 100 dungeon points annually in the Tower of Stars. Entering a dungeon would consume points based on its tier.

Typically, beginner dungeons cost 1 point, intermediate 5, advanced 20, and top-tier 100 points.

Once depleted, no further dungeon entries could be made that year until the points were replenished the following year.

Moreover, university dungeons didn’t require completing the entire dungeon run. Players could enter immediately after a reset, midway through, or later during the cycle, offering great flexibility. However, points were still deducted upon entry.

Weighing his current strength, Chu Cheng opted to enter an intermediate dungeon first.

After filtering, most dungeon names vanished from the screen.

Hovering over a dungeon revealed its basic details.

Plague Lands (Intermediate Dungeon): A land ravaged by undead plagues, challenge level 15-35, specialties: soul shards, soul essences, mithril ore, necromantic essences.

Fortress of Fear (Intermediate Dungeon): A fortress occupied by demon minions, challenge level 20-40, specialties: fear essences, soul shards.

Burning Wasteland (Intermediate Dungeon): The battleground of humans and orcs, challenge level 15-40, specialties: mithril ore, ash stones, fire essences, sungrass.

Tide of War (Intermediate Dungeon): A world of pure warfare, challenge level 20-45, specialty: flesh essences.

Dark Temple (Advanced Dungeon): A temple controlled by dark minions, challenge level 30-55, specialties: shadow shards, shadow essences, demon heart cores, fel gems (epic).

Cursed Lands.

Compared to the simplistic dungeon descriptions at his middle school, the Tower of Stars provided far more detailed data and richer resources.

Middle school dungeons consumed little source energy, yielding limited rewards and scarce internal resources.

During his numerous dungeon runs at Fifth Middle School, aside from common monsters, he had never encountered anything of true value.

Minerals essential for various professions, rare magical materials, advanced herbs—all were absent.

For instance, he had never seen mithril or adamantine used for forging high-grade equipment.

Thus, during the middle school phase, pursuing such crafts was practically unattainable.

University dungeons, however, were an entirely different realm.

First, there was no storyline within Tower of Stars’ dungeons. While time flowed and the dungeons reset periodically, there was no narrative element.

Correspondingly, middle school dungeons invested heavily in realm-originated energy within their storylines, whereas here, the energy converted into random resources scattered throughout the domain.

This meant that every dungeon reset spawned abundant resources for players to harvest.

Additionally, the primary way to earn attribute and skill points in university dungeons was by defeating bosses or performing special actions.

To acquire equipment and items, besides slaying bosses, players could craft them, purchase from indigenous dungeon inhabitants, or discover hidden chests. Some dungeons even contained secret ruins and underground labyrinths.

Occasionally, opportunities from before the dungeon became private would also reappear.

Moreover, the reputation system remained intact. Worship reputation still allowed for valuable exchanges.

However, dungeon reputation here was no longer permanent. If one earned worship reputation during a cycle, it would reset to zero upon the next reset, requiring fresh accumulation.

Considering it was his first time entering a university dungeon, Chu Cheng refrained from random selection and aimed for a profitable choice.

Plague Lands, a popular intermediate dungeon, produced soul shards, soul essences, mithril ore, and necromantic essences.

It teemed with countless undead; stronger undead dropped soul shards or necromantic essences upon defeat, while bosses might drop complete soul essences or even higher-grade soul gems.

These materials were essential for enchantments: soul shards sold for 3 silver each, soul essences 20 silver, necromantic essences 10 silver, and mithril ore 2 gold per unit.

Though drop rates were low, persistent farming yielded considerable returns.

Fortunately, Chu Cheng’s talents were ideal for mass farming, making this an excellent trial.

With this in mind, he tapped the dungeon name, prompting a notification:

“Plague Lands (Intermediate Dungeon): A land ravaged by undead plagues, challenge level 15-35, specialties: soul shards, soul essences, mithril ore, necromantic essences.”

“Dungeon progress: Day 68/365.”

“Perfectly in the early phase!”

This dungeon reset yearly and was currently on day 68—just over two months in. It would remain open for another ten months before closing for the next cycle.

“That’s the one.”

He registered, deducting five dungeon points, and received a mark allowing direct teleportation to the dungeon’s entrance.

Holding the mark, he joined the queue before the portal. Fellow disciples stood alongside, ranging from freshmen to veterans, mostly grouped in threes or fives. Solo entrants like him were rare.

Each use of the portal unleashed a surge of energy that exploded outward like a tidal wave.

The massive teleportation platform beneath was a grand energy-absorbing array. Whenever energy burst forth, the array would glow, siphoning excess energy and converting it into portal power, cycling continuously.

The queue gradually shortened. After about fifteen minutes, it was finally Chu Cheng’s turn.