Chapter 7: Poisoned Traps and First Clear

The glowing mushroom proves to Yun Shi it’s sweet—lethally so.

The mutant bears, buffed by devouring kin, lose as much as they gained after eating the trap’s bait.
And that’s not all.

[Poisoned]: Target’s defense drops 50%, speed drops 50%, skill accuracy drops 50%, health decreases 2% per second.

This debuff is nothing short of deadly.

Yun Shi stays put, not resetting traps, fighting from the rock pile.

The slowed bears struggle to climb, giving him a prime output position.
Two minutes later, both massive bears collapse.

He waits five seconds, ensuring no hidden skills trigger, then approaches.

The bear corpses linger, no boss chest, but they drop more materials than the five smaller mobs combined.

After collecting, Yun Shi resets traps beside the corpses.
The forest above the slope is quiet—no new threats charge out like the last two.

He glances at world chat, where players vent about [Bear Island]:

“Numb. I’m just numb! The new devour mechanic makes me wanna puke!”
“F*ck, white gear against this insane boss? Devs must be high!”
“Help! Is this really a level 15 dungeon? Feels like 25!”
“Hell, all morning, joined multiple teams, can’t even clear the five fake bosses.”
“Fake bosses? Those are bosses! Don’t kill them at once, the last one’s basically a boss!”
“Our team’s better—passed the five and two, but stuck on the bear mom for an hour [crying.jpg].”
“Is it really that bad? Isn’t this a starter dungeon? [shivering.jpg]”
“Trust me, you’ll get it when you try. Not human-friendly! Bet no team gets first clear today!”
“Four hours, I’m done. Quitting!”
“…”

So, after the five mobs and two big bears, the final boss awaits.
A level 15 dungeon with two bosses makes sense, but judging by players cursing the devs, the last boss is a nightmare.

Yun Shi has three honey portions left.
Since the final boss is a bear, sweet traps might still work.

He sets two beside the bear corpses.

From the five mobs and two bears, [Devour] is the core mechanic.
The final boss likely buffs by eating kin too.

Traps set, Yun Shi leaves the rocks, heading to the forest slope.

The forest isn’t large but not small, mostly pines with scattered pinecones.
Stone walls flank both sides, and paddlefruit bushes line the edges, stripped bare with trampled grass—likely where the two bears ate.

No other paths, no bear signs.
Yun Shi ventures deeper.

Closer, he finds another cave, much larger than the entrance.
Faint chewing echoes from within.

The final boss’s lair.

Yun Shi doesn’t rush in.
He places a sweet trap at the cave mouth and covers the area with traps from his second inventory page.
Then he enters.

Inside, the cave is vast but feels cramped with a mountain-sized mutant bear.

[Mutant Bear · Bear Mother]
Level: 15
Health: 10000/10000
Defense: 5000/5000
[Invincible]: Ignores all attacks
[Hunger]: It’s very, very hungry

Invincible?

Yun Shi freezes.

But it’s a game—no dead ends.
The hunger status is likely key.

He edges closer, but the boss ignores him, still eating.
Yun Shi notices it’s devouring uprooted paddlefruit bushes, nearly gone.

That’s not enough for a bear this massive.
The only substantial food left is the two big bear corpses outside.

Eating them might end [Hunger] and [Invincible], but devouring kin would boost its health and defense twice—explaining why no one’s cleared for first kill.

It might not have [Devour], though.

Either way, he’ll test it.

The paddlefruit is almost gone, but Yun Shi won’t risk luring it himself.
The big bears were fast and strong; a hungry boss chasing food would be faster.

Solo, with no heals or potions, reviving wouldn’t restore full health.
Luring is too risky.

Yun Shi opens his inventory, pulling paddlefruit, purple wild vegetables, and mushrooms from the dungeon.
He tosses portions on the ground, retreats, tosses more, and moves again.

The boss finishes, drawn to the new food.
Its massive frame lumbers, eating in two bites, then follows the scent to the next spot.

Yun Shi keeps tossing, noting the bear eats the mushrooms too, but [Invincible] holds—no damage or debuffs yet.

He lures it down the slope to the rock pile.

Outside, Bo He arrives.

“Man, you move fast!” his cousin Jiang Shu grumbles, teeth gritted.

Bo He checks the team size, unhurried.
“You’re not even full. What’s the rush?”

“I’m on it!”
Jiang Shu hit level 15 and rushed to the dungeon, only to get crushed.
He called Bo He for half an hour before he logged on.

Fewer players are trying now, many leaving the dungeon looking battered.
The dungeon’s brutal—starting mobs and big bears demand high damage.
Low output means failure.

Jiang Shu struggles to recruit.
Veterans are scared off, and new players join but leave after seeing the team’s setup.
Minutes pass, still short one member.

Bo He leisurely opens his friend list, spots an online ID, raises a brow, and sends a private message.
To Jiang Shu: “I invited someone. We’ll go when he’s here.”

Yun Shi gets Bo He’s message as the boss reaches the bear corpses and eats.

[MistInTheView]: You there? Doing the dungeon?
[Clouds and Breezes]: In a bit.
[MistInTheView]: Cool, we’ll wait.

Yun Shi doesn’t reply—the boss finishes.

[Mutant Bear · Bear Mother]
Level: 15
Health: 20000/20000
Defense: 10000/10000

That health and defense…
As expected, it has [Devour].
[Hunger] and [Invincible] are gone, but its [Claw Strike] deals 800 damage—one hit kills Yun Shi.

The boss sees him on the rock pile but doesn’t attack immediately.
With [Invincible] gone, the eaten poison mushrooms take effect.

[Poisoned1][Poisoned2]…

From his perch, Yun Shi watches the boss stack 10 poison layers.

[Mutant Bear · Bear Mother]
Level: 15
Health: 2000/20000
Defense: 200/10000
[Weakened]: Target is extremely weak

Yun Shi flashes a faint smile, draws his bow, and aims for the boss’s vitals.

Outside, Jiang Shu sees another teammate leave.
“When’s your guy coming? Another one bailed!”

Bo He: “He said soon.”

Jiang Shu: “How soon is soon?”

A golden message streaks across the server’s sky:

[System: Congratulations to player [Clouds and Breezes] for achieving first clear of [Bear Island]!]
[System: Congratulations to [Clouds and Breezes] for being the first to solo clear [Bear Island]!]

Bo He, mildly surprised, smiles gently at his wide-eyed cousin.
“Told you he’s fast.”

Jiang Shu, incredulous, points at the sky, hand shaking.
“Y-y-you… You invited Clouds and Breezes?”

He and other players outside the dungeon echo in unison:

“F*ck!”

Five-man teams are wiping, and this guy soloed it?
Absolutely insane!