"Were you… following me?"
Orson was taken aback, genuinely surprised. Although *Infinite Dimensions* had highly intelligent NPCs, player interactions with them in the early stages were usually basic and functional. For example, interacting with a blacksmith simply allowed options like "buy" or "sell," and only certain side quests activated NPC intelligence.
Yet here was Hazel, who had somehow managed to follow him from the newbie village and even mimicked his actions by eating a poisonous mushroom. That was unexpected.
"Uh-huh." Hazel nodded innocently, looking adorably clueless.
"Why? Any particular reason?" Orson's curiosity was piqued.
"Well, I've never met an adventurer as ordinary and… weak as you," she replied, her cheeks flushing a little as she spoke. "I figured you'd run into trouble, so…"
She glanced over Orson's beginner's gear with a look of pity that was anything but subtle.
Three black lines appeared on Orson's forehead. What kind of reasoning was that?
If anyone was in danger here, it was him nearly getting crushed by this clueless girl.
A prompt appeared: **"Hazel's Quest Sequence, Part II: Help Hazel retrieve her lost gear and escort her back to Pondenor after completing the elite dungeon."**
"Hazel thinks you're too weak and has decided to teach you magic. Do you accept?"𝓍|
Orson's face twitched. A ditzy girl had just declared him weak, but free magic was free magic, so he accepted it without hesitation. Who cares if she thought he was weak?
Two magic books appeared in front of him.
Curious, Orson picked one up to examine it and couldn't help but feel he'd hit the jackpot.
**C-Rank Fire Magic: Blood Detonation**
Effect: After injuring a target, expend 100 MP to detonate their blood, dealing at least 250+ spell power in damage. Cooldown: 8 seconds.
The higher the rank, the more powerful the spell. Magic skill ranks ranged from E (lowest) to S (highest), with the rare forbidden curses only obtainable through special quests.
In his previous life, The King Family had poured its entire fortune into turning ShatteredCrown into a super mage with three forbidden curses, each capable of leveling a city. If it weren't for his tragic and untimely death, The King Family might have rivaled Dragon's Kiss Guild, even in hardcore mode.
Right now, even D-rank spellbooks started at 50 gold coins on the Empire Auction House, while C-rank spells sold for 200+ gold, often with no sellers at all.
**Blood Detonation** was undoubtedly a high-damage spell, delivering strong burst damage and scaling with the player's attack power. With an 8-second cooldown, it was practically a top-tier C-rank spell.
Orson was tempted but opened the second magic book out of curiosity.
**D-Rank Fire Magic: Sacred Sun Shield**
Created by one of Pondenor's three Grand Mages, Flamebound.
Effect: Expends 400 MP to create a magical shield, up to nine layers of shields in total.
Each shield absorbs 700 physical or magical damage and consumes 100 MP per minute when active.
After reading the spell's description, Orson barely blinked before choosing the D-rank **Sacred Sun Shield** without hesitation.
Excited, Orson's hands were practically trembling. The spell was useless for a typical mage due to its insane mana cost—just casting a single shield would drain a Level 10 mage, let alone maintaining it over time.
Except Orson wasn't a typical mage.
With his massive 14,400 MP pool, this spell was practically tailor-made for him!
Consuming 3,600 MP could instantly generate nine shields capable of absorbing a whopping 6,300 points of damage.
With that kind of protection, who could touch him?
Rogues? Even a mob of them would be pointless!
"You're right; I really am small and weak. Good call." Orson grinned, giving Hazel a mischievous peck on her porcelain cheek. "You're the best, Hazel!"
Hazel stared at him, her cheeks flushing pink. "Oh… I am?"
Orson laughed, his grin downright mischievous under the moonlight. "Don't worry. I'll come back to rescue you."
Following the marked path, he scaled the cellar walls and climbed out with ease.
A few campfires flickered nearby, where a group of beast tribe soldiers feasted on some unidentified beast meat, completely unaware of the maniac creeping toward them.
**[Elite Centaur Archer: Level 13]**
**Attack Power:** 120
**Skill:** Leaping Shot
Elite monsters had significantly higher health and attack power than ordinary ones. Any non-elite player under Level 20 would struggle to even take on a single monster in the *Desolate Riverbed* dungeon.
*Fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh…*
Three fireballs arced through the night sky as Orson opened fire from 100 meters away.
The four centaur elites were flattened, and three seconds of burning damage barely finished them off.
**"You have killed an Elite Centaur. EXP +300."**
**"You have killed…"**
Orson's eyes lit up—the experience gained from elites was over three times that of regular monsters, well worth the dungeon's increased difficulty.
A deep warhorn sounded as ten massive centaurs retaliated, firing a rain of arrows in his direction.
Remaining calm, Orson summoned fiery shields with his beginner staff, two red shields floating before and above him. The arrows pinged harmlessly off them, failing to do any damage.
"This is incredible! The dream of becoming a human artillery cannon is within reach!" Orson laughed, launching rapid fireballs that incinerated the charging centaurs.
A thunderous impact struck from behind—a surprise attack from a group of enraged minotaur warriors, each boasting 5,000 HP and armed with massive totem poles.
As the massive creatures thundered across the field, kicking up dust, Orson didn't even turn around. The six-point star symbol lit up, generating a shield behind him. Four shields encased him completely, blocking every blow without losing a single point of health. Only the damage numbers above him indicated his shield was taking hits.
The flames of his fire magic surrounded the elites, their agonized cries echoing through the night as hooves and giant axes hammered his shields.
When one shield finally cracked, Orson casually added another.
**Sacred Sun Shield** was perfect for his lazy playstyle.
After a full day of monster hunting, he was done dodging; why waste effort when his 14,400 MP could handle it? Timing his **Blazing Burn** cooldowns, he chipped away at the minotaurs' health with basic attacks and passive skills.
By the time he reached the far end of the beast camp, the ground was littered with dropped equipment and silver coins.
One great thing about elite dungeons was the increased drop rate. While the monsters were tough, they provided far more loot.
Especially from elite minotaur warriors—ten of them had already dropped one blue item, which was pure profit for Orson.
**[Minotaur Leg Guards]**
The *Desolate Riverbed* was basically a warrior's gear paradise, with almost all loot being warrior-class armor. Since *Infinite Dimensions* had so many warrior players, Level 10 blue gear was in high demand, fetching over 5,000 per piece.
These pieces were no mere standard gear, either; while they didn't carry set bonuses like hero equipment, they often had valuable bonus stats, making them the best-value armor for any warrior.
Orson kited the monsters around, killing them from the herb garden to the literature pavilion, finally leading them to the boss area.
Two hundred elites later, he settled down beside a hidden altar to **Meditate** and restore his MP.
"Even with over 10,000 MP, it's still not enough. Running shields drains it dry in less than 30 minutes." Orson sighed, his thirst for higher MP seemingly unquenchable.
If other mages heard his complaints, they'd probably be tempted to kill him.
"Strange… none of Hazel's lost gear has dropped." Orson frowned, glancing at the altar. "Could it all be on the boss?"
Nearby, a desiccated minotaur shaman chanted in a low voice, waving its arms around the altar.
Suddenly, a sinister blue light shot into the sky, and a portal opened, as if the fabric of space itself had been torn.
**[Minotaur Lich: Level 15]**
**HP:** 80,000/80,000
**Attack Power:** ???
**"This boss is a lord-tier enemy. You may not be able to handle it. Would you like to summon allies?"**
Orson shook his head. Defeating the minotaur lich would be difficult, but with knowledge of its skills and attack patterns, and the **Sacred Sun Shield** protecting him, it was within his reach.
Besides, he'd be missing out on the real prize of the *Desolate Riverbed* dungeon—the hidden boss