[Instance: Gloomy Forest (Normal)] [Recommended Level: 10-12] [Player Limit: 2-5]
As soon as they entered the instance, the light grew dimmer. Twisted, withered trees surrounded them, and the air was thick with the scent of rotting leaves.
"Um... Great God, how should we fight?"
Bing Xin clutched her staff nervously. Although Ye Yi was a high level, this was an instance; the monsters inside were all elites, with three times the health of those outside.
Ye Yi didn't start the fight immediately. Instead, he pulled dozens of blue potions from his backpack and stuffed them all into Bing Xin's hands.
"Take these."
Bing Xin checked the attributes and her eyes widened: "Intermediate Magic Spring Water? These cost 50 silver coins a bottle! There are so many..."
"If that's not enough, there's more."
Ye Yi cut off her exclamation and pointed to a group of "Corrupted Treants" ahead.
"Listen closely, I'll only teach this once. In this game, a Priest's 'Holy Light Strike' (initial attack skill) has a hidden coefficient that deals 1.5 times damage to dark creatures. And your full-intelligence build will double that damage again."
"So, in this instance, you aren't a healer; you are a turret."
"A... a turret?" Bing Xin was stunned.
"Use 'Heal' on me, even if my health is full. Use overhealing to build aggro and lure the monsters over."
Ye Yi drew the heaven-swallowing demon sword from his back and unwrapped the tattered cloth covering it. The black blade emitted a chilling, heart-stopping gleam in the darkness.
"Then, smash them hard with Holy Light Strike."
"Begin."
Although Bing Xin hadn't fully grasped it yet, she was a person of strong execution. She immediately cast Heal on Ye Yi.
"+150!" (Critical Hit)
Green numbers floated above Ye Yi's head. The healing output of a full-intelligence build was truly terrifying; one cast was equal to three casts from an ordinary Priest.
The three Corrupted Treants in the distance immediately had their attention drawn. They let out dull roars and charged over with heavy steps.
"They're coming!" Bing Xin panicked slightly.
Ye Yi, however, advanced instead of retreating.
"Blink!"
With a flash of blue light, he jumped straight into the middle of the monsters.
"Demon Sword Whirlwind!" (Basic Attack Cleave)
The heaven-swallowing demon sword swept out, leaving a trail of black afterimages.
"-210!" "-205!" "-220!"
Three terrifying damage numbers floated up. With Ye Yi's current attack power, fighting these level 12 mobs was simply a dimensional strike.
The treants angrily swung their branches, whipping at Ye Yi.
"-30!" "-25!"
The damage dealt to Ye Yi was negligible.
"Don't just stand there! DPS!" Ye Yi shouted.
Bing Xin snapped out of it, raised her staff, and cast "Holy Light Strike" at one of the treants.
A golden beam of light descended from the sky.
"Boom!" "-450!" (Holy Damage + Intelligence Bonus + Critical Hit)
Bing Xin stared at the massive golden number, completely dumbfounded.
This damage... it was twice as high as Ye Yi's basic attack?!
"This is the advantage of a full-intelligence Priest." Ye Yi parried the monsters' attacks with ease while calmly explaining, "Your mana can only support your burst damage for one minute, so we must end the battle within that minute."
"Continue! Don't stop!"
Encouraged, Bing Xin's gaze changed. It was the release of long-suppressed emotions, and the fervor of a genius finally being recognized.
She began to unleash her skills frantically. Holy Light Strike, Smite, and even striking with her staff (which carried Light-attribute damage).
A wave of monsters that would normally take a five-person team several minutes to grind down was reduced to a pile of withered wood in just 20 seconds under their bombardment.
"Huff... huff..."
Bing Xin panted, looking at her mana bar which was now empty, but the feeling... was amazing!
"Drink a potion, continue."
Ye Yi didn't give her time to rest. Like a precision machine, he led Bing Xin through the instance, sweeping everything in their path.
The coordination between the two gradually turned from awkward to tacit.
Bing Xin realized that Ye Yi was simply a monster. Not only was his damage high, but his movement was ridiculously flamboyant. Even when pulling over a dozen monsters, his health bar never dropped below 50%.
What was even scarier was that he seemed to always predict the monsters' skills and call out instructions in advance.
"To the left, step back."
"Use Holy Light Strike on the one with red eyes."
"Heal me, now."
Under Ye Yi's command, Bing Xin felt as if she wasn't playing a game, but solving a math problem that already had an answer. Every step was precise and error-free, and every skill was used at the perfect moment.
Half an hour later, the two stood before the corpse of the final boss, the "Corrupted Treant King."
[System Prompt: Congratulations on clearing "Gloomy Forest", time taken: 32 minutes and 15 seconds.]
[Broken the fastest instance clear record!]
"We... we won?" Bing Xin stared at the clear time, unable to believe it. That team outside probably hadn't even cleared the first boss yet, right?
"This is the data stream." Ye Yi put away his demon sword and turned to look at Bing Xin. At this moment, the young girl's face was radiating a glow of confidence she had never possessed before.
"Your path is correct; it is those mediocre people who are wrong."
Ye Yi picked up a staff glowing with blue light from the boss's loot—[Staff of Nature's Breath] (Blue Rare, Intelligence +15, Healing Effect +10%).
He tossed it casually to Bing Xin.
"Take it. This is your share."
Bing Xin scrambled to catch the staff, her face flushed with excitement: "This... this is too valuable! I was just casting skills in the back..."
"You are my teammate." Ye Yi cut her off.
"In this team, there is no such thing as too valuable, only whether it is needed or not. The higher your intelligence, the safer I am."
He paused, and through his goggles, he looked at her earnestly.
"Bing Xin, this is just the beginning. In the future, the enemies we face will be ten thousand times stronger than this piece of rotting wood."
"Are you willing to join me and rewrite the data of this world?"
Bing Xin looked at the man before her. Although she couldn't see his face clearly, at this moment, he seemed to be glowing in her eyes.
She gripped the new staff tightly and nodded heavily.
"I am willing! Captain!"
Ye Yi smiled. The legendary "Violent Priest" from his past life had finally returned.
"Let's go, let's leave the instance." Ye Yi turned and walked toward the portal.
"Let's go see what expression that guy named Iron Shield has now."
"And... our next target is Azure Dragon City."