"Ah... my head hurts so much..."
"I want to kill! I want to kill! No, Iām being influenced by an evil force! Stay away from me!"
"Priest, quickly cast the Divine Skill!"
...
As Wang Zhifan pondered the issue of the Demon King, he noticed that many NPCs around him suddenly became abnormal. Some showed painful expressions, others became extremely agitated, and even the cowboy hat gunman became quite unusual, starting to retch and vomit blood.
Fortunately, there was a Priest in the team who quickly used the Divine Skill to suppress most of the peopleās conditions. He then suggested that everyone immediately return to the surface to seek more thorough treatment.
"Who has the Teleportation Scroll? Use the Teleportation Scroll now! We canāt delay too long!"
Someone shouted, but the NPCs looked at each other, some quickly rummaging through their pockets or backpacks to find that there was no Teleportation Scroll.
After a few seconds, a young Mage pointed out the whereabouts of the item:
"I remember the Scroll was with the Master! But now the Master is dead, and all the things on him, including the Scroll, were destroyed..."
The person was correct; earlier, everyoneās focus was on the old Mage who was killed in an instant by what seemed to be the Demon Kingās power, leaving only a bit of residue. Now, there was no convenient way for them to return to the surface.
The Priest listened, his face slightly somber, then decisively suggested:
"Everyone, letās quickly head back to the surface the way we came! My Divine Skill can still maintain for a while! As long as weāre fast, everyone can still be saved!"
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone looked somewhat resolute. No one knew if they could traverse the first two layers of the underground dungeon in their current state to get back, but to save their own lives, no one hesitated for a moment, turning to head back the way they came.
Wang Zhifan was the only one among them whose expression was different because he didnāt feel any discomfort earlier; his state was still at its peak. For a moment, he stood still, watching these people, who the Priest had just suppressed, hurriedly leave.
"Brother, come back with us. Having one more person means more strength, and I think you also need to join the local resistance forces. This is a great opportunity."
The cowboy hat gunman player lagged behind the others, suggesting to Wang Zhifan with a pale face and little blood color.
Earlier, he noticed that Wang Zhifan showed no negative reaction and maintained his combat power, so he wanted to recruit him to escort the team.
"Sure, I had that plan anyway. Letās catch up with those ahead."
Wang Zhifan agreed without much hesitation and immediately followed the cowboy hat gunman.
The gunman player didnāt waste words upon seeing this and quickened his pace to the front. He was rather weak, and speaking more would waste energy.
What he didnāt know was that Wang Zhifan, following behind, suddenly split into two, with one continuing to follow him and the other slowly retreating, disappearing into the endless darkness.
"Iāll let my duplicate follow you. I still need to continue exploring the dungeon."
It turned out this was Wang Zhifanās plan. While he hoped to connect with the local anti-Demon King forces, he didnāt want to interrupt his exploration.
"Come to think of it, that guy is careless, letting someone like me, who is clearly in better condition, follow behind himāarenāt he afraid Iāll slash him on the way?"
Wang Zhifan felt like complaining. From his previous contact with the gunman player, he realized he wasnāt a typical player personality and seemed a bit too pacifist.
"And theyāre all influenced by the so-called evil force; could it be the negative energy brought by the Demon King? And because Iām wearing the Darkness-avoiding Cloak, I didnāt feel anything... But I feel that even without the cloak, I wouldnāt have been affected..."
The scene earlier was a bit sudden for Wang Zhifan. He suddenly noticed these NPCs exhibiting group symptoms, initially thinking they were poisoned, only to later understand from the Priestās words that it was an influence from the Demon Kingās power.
While pondering this, he turned and walked into the depths of the third layer of the dungeon, inquiring about more detailed information from a certain presence as he walked.
"Little Flying Elephant, you must have sensed the scene when the Demon King struck. Has it already left the seal and entered the dungeon?"
This was the primary concern for Wang Zhifan right now. If he wanted to quickly finish this quest, he must find the Demon King and figure out a way to eliminate it.
As he spoke, a small white form appeared beside him, the Little Flying Elephant that had been hidden in his Space Ring.
"Adventurer, the power that appeared earlier belonged to the Demon King, but from what I know, the fact that it didnāt kill everyone indicates it wasnāt really present. It likely used a power projection method to act, suggesting that itās not yet free from the seal. But the seal is very loose, allowing it to respond to the outside world somewhat..."
The Little Flying Elephant analyzed and concluded that the Demon King hadnāt left the seal yet but was very close to doing so.
"Itās not in the dungeon? No wonder I couldnāt trace its whereabouts earlier... So I donāt need to spend much time here; I need to quickly join the local forces and see if theyāve collected any other runes to locate it..."
Wang Zhifan thought over the Little Flying Elephantās words and soon found himself holding a black, extraordinarily heavy greatsword, the Sinful Greatsword he acquired from the tower. Now, with no one around, he was ready to make good use of this weapon and let it grow.