Chapter 2187: Survival Instance
The moment the words fell, the entire space began to twist and distort. Xu Huo felt a sharp dizziness, as if his body was being torn apart and reassembled. When his vision cleared again, he found himself standing in a vast, desolate wilderness.
The sky was a sickly yellow, and the ground was cracked and barren, with no sign of life anywhere. In the distance, a massive black tower stood upright, its surface covered in strange, pulsating runes.
[Instance Notification: Welcome to the Survival Instance. Rule: Survive for 72 hours. Reward: One random Super Item. Penalty for failure: Death.]
Xu Huo's expression turned serious. A survival instance with a death penalty—this was no ordinary challenge. He quickly scanned his surroundings, but there was no cover or shelter in sight. The black tower in the distance seemed to be the only notable landmark.
He took a step forward, but suddenly the ground beneath him trembled. Cracks spread rapidly, and from the fissures, strange, twisted creatures began to crawl out. They had humanoid shapes but were covered in black scales, with blood-red eyes and sharp claws that gleamed with a metallic sheen.
"Instance monsters," Xu Huo muttered, immediately activating his Spatial Super Evolution. A Space Barrier formed around him, but the creatures didn't attack directly. Instead, they stopped a few meters away, forming a circle and staring at him with their eerie red eyes.
They seemed to be waiting for something.
Xu Huo frowned. He tried to move, but the creatures moved with him, maintaining the circle. It was as if they were herding him toward a specific direction—the black tower.
"Are they forcing me to go there?" he thought. He had no choice but to follow the path they were creating. As he walked, the creatures followed silently, their claws scraping against the ground, creating an unsettling sound.
After about ten minutes of walking, he finally reached the base of the black tower. The tower's entrance was a massive stone door, covered in the same pulsating runes. As he approached, the door slowly opened, revealing a dark, spiraling staircase leading downward.
The creatures behind him stopped at the entrance, as if they were not allowed to enter. Xu Huo took a deep breath and stepped inside.
The moment he entered, the stone door slammed shut behind him, plunging the space into complete darkness. But then, torches on the walls lit up one by one, illuminating a long corridor. At the end of the corridor, there was a room.
Xu Huo walked cautiously, his senses on high alert. When he reached the room, he found it empty except for a stone table in the center. On the table lay a single item—a small, black crystal.
[Item: Life Core. Effect: When held, it increases the holder's vitality recovery rate by 50%.]
A useful item, but it seemed too easy. Xu Huo didn't immediately pick it up. Instead, he scanned the room for any traps or hidden dangers. The walls were smooth, with no visible mechanisms. The floor was solid stone. Everything seemed normal.
But his instincts told him otherwise.
He extended his hand, but instead of grabbing the crystal, he used his Space Power to levitate it. The crystal floated into the air, and as it left the table, the room began to shake violently. The floor beneath the table collapsed, revealing a deep pit filled with sharp spikes.
"Sure enough," Xu Huo said coldly. He put the crystal into his inventory and turned to leave, but the corridor behind him had changed. The walls had shifted, creating a maze of passages.
"Interesting. The instance adapts to the player's actions."
He chose a passage at random and walked forward. The maze was filled with traps—falling blades, poison gas, collapsing floors—but with his Spatial Perception, he could detect them all in advance and avoid them easily.
After about half an hour, he finally found the exit. It led to a large hall, where a group of players were already gathered. There were about twenty of them, all looking wary and exhausted.
When Xu Huo entered, they all turned to look at him.
"Another one," a burly man said, his voice rough. "Are you a new player?"
Xu Huo nodded. "What's the situation here?"
The burly man snorted. "This is the first floor of the tower. There are ten floors in total. To survive, you have to reach the top. But each floor has a boss, and the bosses get stronger as you go up. We've been stuck here for two days."
"Two days?" Xu Huo raised an eyebrow. "How many have died?"
"Half," a female player said, her voice trembling. "We started with forty people. Now there are only twenty left. And the boss on this floor... it's too strong. We can't beat it."
Xu Huo looked around. The players were all at various levels of exhaustion and injury. Some were sitting against the walls, others were tending to wounds. The atmosphere was grim.
"What's the boss?" he asked.
"A giant stone golem," the burly man replied. "It has extremely high defense and can regenerate. We've tried attacking it multiple times, but we can't even break its skin."
Xu Huo thought for a moment. "Take me to see it."
The burly man hesitated, then nodded. "Follow me."
They led Xu Huo through another corridor to a massive stone door. Beyond the door was a huge arena, and in the center stood a giant golem, at least ten meters tall, its body made of dark, solid rock. Its eyes glowed with a faint red light.
As soon as Xu Huo stepped into the arena, the golem activated. It let out a deafening roar and charged at him, its massive fists swinging.
Xu Huo didn't dodge. Instead, he raised his hand, and a Space Ray Blade formed in his palm. With a single slash, he cut through the golem's arm, sending it crashing to the ground.
The players behind him gasped in shock.
The golem roared in pain, but before it could react, Xu Huo had already appeared in front of it. Another slash, and the golem's head was severed. Its body crumbled into a pile of rubble.
[Instance Notification: Floor 1 Boss defeated. Proceed to Floor 2.]
The stone door at the far end of the arena opened, revealing a staircase leading upward.
Xu Huo turned to the stunned players. "Let's go. We don't have much time."
The burly man swallowed hard. "Who... who are you?"
"Just a player," Xu Huo replied calmly. "Now move."