TSA Chapter 88

At that moment, a section of the cave wall suddenly collapsed, revealing a narrow passage barely wide enough for a single person to pass through. Clearly, this was the path to the next stage.

“Does everyone still have stamina potions? If you do, drink one now,” Night Owl reminded. The entrance was pitch black, making it impossible to see what lay ahead. Given that the first few stages had been mostly underwater, the stamina drain had been immense. The tunnel was likely another waterway, and he didn’t want anyone running out of stamina mid-swim and drowning before they even reached the BOSS.

“I only have one bottle left… I really hope we don’t have to keep swimming,” someone sighed as they took out their last stamina potion and drank it.

“No worries, I still have over a dozen bottles. That should be enough,” Ran Qi said with a smile.

In his past life, he had cleared the Sea Abyss Dungeon countless times and knew all its tricks by heart. He had come prepared with plenty of stamina potions. While full-dive games had their differences from traditional ones, this amount was definitely sufficient.

“Bai Ran, we really owe you for this one.” The group expressed their gratitude. None of them had expected this dungeon to require so much stamina, and they hadn’t prepared any potions. If Bai Ran hadn’t brought enough for everyone, they wouldn’t have lasted this long.

“You guys are too polite. It’s not like you didn’t pay me, and besides, I made these potions to sell anyway,” Ran Qi waved his hands dismissively.

After replenishing their stamina, they all entered the narrow passage. There could be lurking monsters inside, so as the main tank, Four Seasons naturally took the lead.

At first, the passage was tight and cramped, but it gradually widened. However, the amount of stagnant water also increased. The walls on either side were covered in thick, slippery green moss, and the floor was slimy underfoot. If not for the strong scent of seawater, Ran Qi might have thought he had accidentally wandered into a sewer.

They walked for a long time, and the further they went, the deeper the water became. It started at their calves, then slowly rose past their knees, making movement increasingly difficult.

“How long is this tunnel? At this rate, it’d be better if it were deep enough for us to swim across. At least then I could drink a speed potion or something,” Gu Le grumbled.

“No kidding. And it’s so dark—it’s making me nervous,” Soul Chaser muttered. He wasn’t fond of eerie environments like this, especially after the Children’s Day event dungeon had left him with lingering trauma. Now, he was on high alert, expecting something to jump out at any moment.

“Hurry up, and try to walk along the edges. Don’t stand in the deep water,” Night Owl advised. The waterway was shaped like a curved trench, shallower on the sides and deeper in the middle. If they stuck to the edges, they could avoid being fully submerged.

The pitch-black water tunnel gave him an uneasy feeling. Given that this Abyss Dungeon was heavily water-themed, he suspected that something might be lurking beneath the surface, waiting to ambush them.

Sure enough, just as he had predicted, after they had walked a bit further, someone suddenly spoke up. “Something is floating in the water up ahead.”

“What is it?”

Everyone craned their necks to look, but the lighting in the tunnel was too dim. Even holding up a night pearl didn’t help much—they could only vaguely make out a dark mass drifting on the water’s surface.

“I can’t see clearly. Should I go check it out?” Four Seasons suggested.

Just then, the black mass suddenly moved. In an instant, it shot out of the water like a massive dark curtain unfurling. A gaping maw opened wide and lunged straight for Smoke, the closest person to it.

At that moment, everyone got a clear look at the abyssal creature’s enormous mouth—filled with rows of razor-sharp teeth.

“Smoke!”

Four Seasons immediately sprinted toward her, but he wasn’t fast enough to outrun the monster. The beast’s enormous jaws were about to snap shut around Smoke—however, she wasn’t one to just stand there and get eaten. She quickly cast the Water Dragon Spell, knocking the monster’s mouth sideways and buying herself a chance to escape.

Four Seasons arrived just in time, yanking Smoke behind him and raising his shield to block the creature’s bite.

The monster’s fangs sank into the Crab Shell Shield, producing an ear-piercing screech like metal grinding against metal. The impact left two deep bite marks on the shield.

If he had still been using his old, regular shield instead of the Crab Shell Shield, it likely would have been shattered.

Having failed its attack, the creature swiftly retreated into the water, sending up a massive splash.

But that brief moment was enough for everyone to get a clear look at the creature. “It’s a crocodile! Everyone, be careful and watch your footing!”

Crocodiles were incredibly fast in water and had terrifying bite force—one misstep, and someone could easily get injured.

The group carefully scanned the water, and all the mages summoned fireballs to illuminate the surroundings.

Soon, they spotted the crocodile. “There it is!”

Everyone locked onto its position and unleashed a barrage of skills.

The crocodiles in the waterway weren’t BOSS-level monsters, just regular mobs. Under the team’s full assault, they were quickly taken down.

“Don’t let your guard down. There’s definitely more than one crocodile here,” Night Owl warned.

Not that he needed to remind them—everyone in the team was experienced with dungeons and knew that mobs usually appeared in groups. There was no way just one crocodile would be lurking in such a long waterway.

As they continued forward, they encountered and eliminated several more crocodiles before finally arriving at a much larger circular chamber.

This area seemed to be a junction of underground waterways. Aside from the one they had just passed through, several other tunnels extended into unknown directions.

And a larger space often meant a BOSS encounter. As soon as they entered the chamber, a massive crocodile, several times the size of the ones they had fought before, slowly surfaced. Its enormous mouth, lined with long, razor-sharp teeth, gaped open, and its cold-blooded, yellow-green slit pupils gleamed with a bloodthirsty light—just looking at it sent shivers down their spines.

This BOSS was just as difficult as it looked. Its armor-like scales reduced incoming damage by 50%, making it incredibly hard to break through its defenses. Its claws and fangs could easily deal devastating damage to players. But the most terrifying part was its tail—when it swept across the battlefield, it was like a massive steel plate smashing down, sending players flying like ragdolls. For squishy classes, getting hit was practically the same as being run over by a truck, leaving them barely clinging to life.

“Everyone, stay alert! Keep your distance while attacking! Don’t stand behind it!”

After suffering a few blows, the team gradually adapted to the fight. All ranged players maintained the maximum possible distance while dealing damage, but melee players had it rough. They had to constantly move while attacking to avoid the BOSS’s strikes.

However, the giant crocodile’s defense was absurdly high. Even after ten minutes of continuous attacks, they had only managed to chip its health down to 75%. At that moment, the crocodile suddenly lifted its head and let out a deafening roar. A red aura spread across its body, and from the surrounding waterways, over a dozen more crocodiles emerged, converging from all directions.

Summoning minions was a common BOSS mechanic, but they had already seen how strong these crocodiles were on their way here. One or two were manageable, but in large numbers, only the tank classes could withstand their attacks—everyone else was in serious danger.

“Gu Le! Try to hold as many of them as you can! Jiangnan, go assist him!” Night Owl commanded immediately.

Four Seasons was occupied tanking the BOSS, so the responsibility of handling the mobs fell on the off-tank, Gu Le. Since Windstorm Jiangnan was a berserker, he had higher defense than most other classes, making him the best candidate to assist.

However, Gu Le and Windstorm Jiangnan were just two players, while the enemy numbered over a dozen crocodiles. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t hold all of them back, and several broke through their defenses.

“Move! Get out of the way!” Unlike the heavily armored warriors, other classes couldn’t afford to take a direct hit from the crocodiles. Realizing the danger, they scattered in all directions to avoid getting bitten.

But instead of attacking the players, the crocodiles rushed straight toward the BOSS—where they were promptly swallowed whole.

Yes, swallowed.

And then, before their very eyes, the BOSS’s HP rapidly filled back up.