Rebirth of the Legendary Guardian

by Stayrr

The phoenix is a creature of legends, a wonder of the world, an imagery of life and destruction. This fabled creature signifies the rise of a hero in a virtual world where battles occur for the sake of honor and glory! Zhang Yang was a professional gamer in the first and most fantastic game that revolutionized the world: God’s Miracle. A game where traditional knowledge in RPGs di

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Chapter 1: Together in Death

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

8th of March, year 2039. Night. In a luxury suite on the 19th floor of the Tian Lun Pavilion Grand Hotel.

Even though the desire had died down, but the ambiguous feeling of it still lingered around. Zhang Yang sat in his bed with his top half naked watching the bare and empty pillow on his bed, his heart filled with the inconceivable.

He came to participate… no... perhaps in other words, he came here as a final resort to stop his girlfriend's wedding. Based on only one sole reason… that is, because he was not the groom!

He and Lin Yu met each other through an online game called 'God's Miracle'. Though they first started off as enemies, they eventually got to know each other and ultimately developed feelings towards each other. However, Lin Yu's family's background was worlds apart from his. Her family had reached a point where their assets had surpassed a massive number which was in the billions. So naturally, they would not hand over their only daughter to some unheard-of man such as him!

Even then, Zhang Yang was not a poor and miserable nobody. He had a luxurious home, a few branded cars, and a few hundred thousand in his bank account. In the eyes of regular women, he was what they would deem as a bachelor with exceeding qualifications. Still, as compared to the Lin Family, there still existed a huge gap between them.

With his efforts in vain, the elders of the Lin Family treated him just as coldly. They almost chased him out of the house! The only thing that Lin Yu could do was to shed her tears for him. She could not ever agree to leave this planned marriage for his own. She only resorted to one desperate request and that was to never see her again.

Zhang Yang knew that Lin Yu was a girl who obediently respects her elders. Her mother threatened to take her own life to compel Lin Yu to go along with their wishes. That was enough reason for Lin Yu to accept the hand in marriage between the equally wealthy Liu Family's only son, Liu Wei! In fact, the marriage should have been held 3 or 4 years back. It was only delayed because of Lin Yu's constant struggle. But right now, it was obvious that her struggle had come to an end.

Zhang Yang withdrew quietly from Lin Yu's wedding and went back to his hotel room. His heart fell into the depths of despair as he thought of his beloved who would become someone else's wife. He went to have a dull drink before retiring to his room completely drunk. In the midst of it, he received a call. He could not recall what he said but not long after that, a woman came into his room and laid on his bed.

Zhang Yang was so incredibly drunk that he instantly went into 'action' when the both of them embraced each other. As the situation developed, Zhang Yang sobered up and realized that he recognized the woman who he was entangled with. It was the person who taught him Chinese Studies back in university, Miss Yu Li!

Eventually, Yu Li too recognized Zhang Yang. They ended their 'session' as they were both unimaginably abashed. But as compared to him, Yu Li was more embarassed than he was. She became a hostess but bumped into her old student. This made her feel ashamed, resulting in her bolting out of the room without even bothering to collect her payment.

With the mark left on his chest where Yu Li kissed him, Zhang Yang shook his head as he struggled to get the thoughts of this one night stand out of his mind.

But still, why would Yu Li give up her job as a teacher to sell herself to a hotel to become a hostess? There were many possibilities for her to do so. Perhaps a teacher's salary was insufficient, or perhaps she had bad luck in making acquaintances and was forced by her boyfriend or husband to do this. Or perhaps she needed the financial help to pay for her parent's illness…

Zhang Yang did not have much left in him to think about Yu Li because right now, while he was sober, he was being tortured by the pain in his heart. In his mind, there was only one person he could think of. Lin Yu.

'Bang!'

The sound of the door crashing was heard as two burly men wearing suits and dark sunglasses barged in. Their cold facial expressions and body builds carried a strong killing intent.

Trailing behind them, of average height and size, was a man who walked in wearing a white formal suit and a pair of gold-framed glasses. He had the handsome face of a young man, yet he wore a careless smile on his face like a true gentleman.

"Liu Wei!" Zhang Yang immediately recognized that young man as he gritted his teeth.

One of the burly men grabbed a chair and Liu Wei immediately sat on it. He crossed his legs and said, "You must be wondering why I left my newly wedded wife to come here in the middle of the night."

"Hmph, cut the bullshit!" said Zhang Yang coldly as he stared at his 'rival'. Both he and Lin Yu knew that Liu Wei was adamant in marrying Lin Yu. However, this was not because of his feelings towards her, it was due to the Lin Family's fortune. Both the Lin and Liu Families were heads of the business world. If they were to unite through marriage, then they could rule over a larger market together.

Liu Wei laughed but his facial expression contained no intentions of humor. He said, "Any women that belongs to me should not have any other men in their minds. And even if they do, I'd allow only the memories of a dead man! Do you understand now, Zhang Yang?"

Zhang Yang was astounded. He knew that this man, the only son of the Liu Family, would do something outrageous. But this is a hotel, a public place. It was just beyond imagination!

"There's no need to be surprised! This state of Ji is under my family's influence. Even if I put a hole in the sky, there would be someone to patch it up for me in my stead." Liu Wei continued to speak as he laughed coldly, "That bitch actually delayed the wedding for 4 years because of you! Hmph! After I'm done with you, I shall go back and take really good care of her."

Zhang Yang went into rage, fiercely did a backflip from the bed and onto his feet and shouted, "If you even dare to lay your hand on a strand of her hair, I'll kill you!"

"Haha, not only will I be going to touch a strand of her hair, I will also be going to mess her up, mess her up really badly! That bitch actually slept with you for a number of times, did she not? That bitch actually made me out to be the bad person!" Liu Wei's handsome countenance faded.

"Bastard!" Zhang Yang screamed and leaped towards Liu Wei.

Liu Wei scoffed and commanded the two burly men, "Throw him off the balcony!"

"Roger!" Answered the men instantly and simultaneously as they went into action.

Liu Wei had the highest of confidence in his experienced bodyguards and in a very relaxed manner he said, "A man broken by the lost of the love of his life, jumped off to end his life. How does that sound as the title of tomorrow's newspaper headlines? I do wonder how that bitch would react to this. The face that she would make would certainly be very amusing!"

Even so, Zhang Yang did not show any signs of fear. He lost both his parents when he was very young and had been rebellious ever since. Since then, there was no one who bothered to care about his brawls, and he eventually became some sort of the local's little tyrant. Eventually he toned down after he enrolled in a university. He stopped getting into fights and instead joined a martial art's society and had proper skill showdowns.

He was born with a naturally strong and agile body build. After joining the society for merely two years, he was said to have beaten the 9th National Martial Arts Competition's Champion's instructor. Through the years, he had never stopped his training and this led to his unparalleled strength.

These two men must have had a certain degree of skill to become Liu Wei's bodyguard. But still, in Zhang Yang's eyes, they were still nobodies.

'Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!'

Zhang Yang's fists were as fast as electric, flowing and dancing around. His feet moved like a snake and with a move called 'False Steps Chaos Punch', he beat them both until they had no chance of countering.

Liu Wei was both surprised and enraged. He never knew that Zhang Yang had such formidable skill. Without actually thinking things through, he pulled out a small firearm and fired at Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang was not curious about how a notorious family like the Lius could have gotten hold of a firearm. Instead he was surprised that Liu Wei would actually open fire at a public place! At the moment, his eyes were directed at the black hollow muzzle of Liu Wei's gun, he instinctively waved his arm and hit one of the bodyguards who staggered in front of him, blocking his front.

'Pa!'

As the deafening sound of gunshots faded into the distance, a mark of fresh red blood appeared on the vest of the bodyguard. The man fell onto the ground before he could even let out any cries of pain.

Liu Wei did not stop there, even though he was stunned for a moment, he held his gun back up and aimed at Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang, who was not afraid of getting a beating went to brawl with the other man. He then held the man as a meat shield and rushed towards Liu Wei.

The man saw that Liu Wei was aiming directly at him. Terrified, the man started to sweat as he screamed, "Please Master Liu, don't shoot! Don't shoo- "

'Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!'

Being selfish and reckless, it was impossible for Liu Wei to listen to the cries of his own underlings. He then pulled the trigger repeatedly, letting 6 shots off as he emptied his magazine.

Within the smoke, bullet wounds could be seen on the dead bodyguard's abdomen, chest and head. He had died before death could come to him. Zhang Yang pushed the body aside and rushed forward so quickly that he hit Liu Wei as he reloaded his gun.

In a flash, Zhang Yang emerged from behind the dead man's body. He then powerfully lifted his hammer-like fists and punched Liu Wei's face firmly.

The punch was so powerful that it sent Liu Wei's gold-framed glasses flying off. A stream of blood came oozing out from a brand-new wound that he had just received.

Zhang Yang pulled Liu Wei out from under the man's body and immediately, another punch followed.

"Ah!"

He screamed continuously. Liu Wei was a man born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he had never and could never endure this level of pain. In the end, however, he was still a ruthless man. With eyes carrying ill intent, he glared at Zhang Yang and yelled, "You bastard. You dared to strike me! You're a dead man! Not only will I kill you, I'll mutilate your corpse and feed them to the dogs!"

No matter how well one could control his temper, under the circumstances of being shot for 7 rounds, one might still lose his nerves completely. Zhang Yang's rage was already well beyond comprehension. After listening to Liu Wei's endless taunting, his rage rose by yet another level as he delivered one more punch. With a 'Pa!' sound, Liu Wei's face was covered in his own blood and with 'Wa' sound, he spat out 7 to 8 pieces of his broken teeth.

'Master Liu! Master Liu!' several voices could be heard echoing through the hallway and more burly bodyguards came rushing into the room. Some of them had bulging waists, indicating that they were carrying weapons.

Liu Wei regained his composure and screamed shrilly, "Kill him! Kill him!'

'Qiang! Qiang! Qiang!'

The bodyguards who received the order rushed towards Zhang Yang. Some of them even pulled out their knives.

Zhang Yang's blood was dripping from his waist. Even though he had a meat shield to protect him, he still got shot in his abdomen. In just mere moments, he could feel the energy in him gradually seeping out. His vision blurred and he knew that he could faint at any time.

In a situation like this, staying conscious alone would be difficult, what more taking on those burly men.

Zhang Yang directed his gaze at Liu Wei and murmured, "Am I actually going to be doing the citizens a favor?"

With a burst of laughter, Zhang Yang grabbed onto Liu Wei and dashed towards the balcony. Gaining an unstoppable momentum, the two of them soared into the air before falling down from the 19th floor like two shooting stars.

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Chapter 2: Rebirth

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Hu!" Zhang Yang woke up all of a sudden. His breath was rapid as he could only feel the cold sweat around his body. He opened his eyes and looked around, dropping his jaw when he saw the scene in front of him.

What played out in front of him was a classroom. A room that was capable of fitting hundreds of people. Yet only 30 people occupied this space sparingly. A few of them were reading, chatting, or making a ruckus about who-knows-what. Every one of them were faces that he could doubtlessly recognize. They were all his university coursemates!

Is this… university?

"Why I am here? I should be dead." Zhang Yang's mind was filled with an endless stream of questions of the unknown.

"Zhang Yang, what's going on? Are you not feeling well?" somebody asked.

Zhang Yang turned his head and looked. He saw a sentimental face with a sincere smile. It was a familiar yet strange feeling. He was Li Shang Yuan, his class representative while he was in university. But… he died 3 years ago in a plane accident!

Zhang Yang nodded his head unconsciously, as if he was sleep-talking. "I am fine!" He reached out and pinched himself only to feel the lingering sting of the pain. Zhang Yang bared his teeth and inhaled breath of cold air!

This is definitely not a dream!

That means I am not dead! And it seems that I have traveled a few years back in time! Zhang Yang took out his phone and saw that the date displayed on it was the year 2034, June 16th.

Five years!

God gave him a chance to alter his destiny!

In that moment, Zhang Yang felt anxious yet excited. He did not care how he rewound time by 5 years, he only knew that this was an opportunity for him to stage a comeback! For a 'dead person', nothing could be more precious than this.

This was his final year in university and in just another 7 or 8 days, he would have graduated and obtained a job. If everything followed its proper course, he would work in a software company and live an easy life without any notable achievements to his name.

It was only until 2 years later that he started to play the online game 'God's Miracle' that was introduced by a company colleague. At that time, 'God's Miracle' had been operational for more than 2 years. Initially, there were 4 million players connected simultaneously but the number spiked to billions playing online at any time of the day, only ever increasing for every day that passed! As early as half a year after 'God's Miracle' went online, Dream Technology, the team who developed 'God's Miracle' set up an A-Class and S-Class Professional League, providing a stage for professional players to show off their skills.

Just like any e-Sports scene, the fame of the champions would bring about great advertising effect. Global corporations would then begin to invest in 'God's Miracle', going so far as to sponsor teams to use their name as mascots to their brands. Some might even establish their own teams to participate. The income of a professional player was increasing steadily, no lower than that of a traditional sports celebrity.

Certainly, in the later stages of the game's establishment, 'God's Miracle' itself became highly valued in the industrial line. The amount of virtual transactions could even make global corporations feel envious! With each of these corporations building up their own elite team, they had entered into a commercial war of the virtual world.

Zhang Yang had been athletic since birth. In such a realistic virtual reality game that utilizes brain waves to operate, he could fully unleash his potential which was on par with professional players. He set up his own team and in the second year, he joined a B-Class amateur team. Eventually, one year later, he would then enter an A-Class Professional League!

After entering the A-Class League, Zhang Yang immediately received a substantial sponsorship from a large corporation which also included a considerable monthly income. In the meantime, he befriended Lin Yu whose in-game-name (IGN)1 was Clear Perfume. Through a minor conflict that got them acquainted, they began on bad terms as they occassionally fought each other but somehow ended up as good friends.

It was then that Lin Yu began to get involved with Liu Wei. In order to escape the fate of a pre-arranged marriage, she made a deal with her family. As long as she could build a successful career in 'God's Miracle' and share a portion of the glory and profits from the huge industrial chain, her family would no longer intervene in her marriage affairs. And thus, Zhang Yang and Lin Yu worked hard together to develop and strengthen the Clear Water guild in order to participate in the S-Class League.

Unfortunately, Clear Water was constantly pressured by Myth, a guild led by Liu Wei. Unable to surpass the expectations of their rank, Clear Water's position was indefinitely stuck as a second-rate guild. This inevitably led to stunted growth in terms of generating revenue for development.

Compared to other professional players, Zhang Yang joined the game a little too late as well, causing him to fall behind in terms of equipment and level. Even though he may have superior athletic skills, he was still unable to make up for such a huge gap! Furthermore, he had always been a loner and did not have reliable teammates which consequently led to his inability to break through the A-Class League.

During that time, Liu Wei implemented the Trojan Horse Strategy. He sent a mistress into Clear Water to court Zhang Yang. Zhang Yang and Lin Yu had yet to realize their feelings for each other. Thus, once the hot-blooded Zhang Yang got entangled with the woman, he fell into their trap and almost caused the disbandment of Clear Water.

Fortunately, Zhang Yang still had a conscience as he felt guilty and lost. During the time he felt depressed, Lin Yu fought back against public complaints and fully supported Zhang Yang. Offering him boundless trust and support, they finally realized their feelings for each other and finally got together.

Unfortunately, Lin Yu's business in 'God's Miracle' completely fell through. The elders in the family arranged her marriage with Liu Wei despite her attempts to reject such a proposition. She fought valiantly against the political marriage, but there was nothing that could be done. The only result of her strenuous efforts was that it led to the postponement of her wedding. The events following that caused Zhang Yang to attend the wedding, eventually perishing together with Liu Wei.

'Hu!'

Zhang Yang forced out a breath. Now that he had one chance to do it all over again, he must not allow the same tragedy to repeat itself. If the sole reason the Lin Family would not accept Zhang Yang was because he was powerless, then all of his problems could be solved if he could just obtain status equivalent to the Lin Family. However, to obtain the same status as the Lin Family was not a walk in the park.

Although Zhang Yang had some fortune in his previous life, he was aware that he was not made for the business world. It was an impossible task for him to become a top entrepreneur nor a successful businessman even if he had the knowledge of future development and trends for the following 5 years. Perhaps, after some of the events were recalled in his mind, he might be able to earn hundreds of thousands of dollars. Nevertheless, it would still be incomparable to them.

The field in which he was most familiar and proficient in would be 'Gods Miracle'!

According to the official statistics of 'God's Miracle' in the '5-years game review', One Sword Stroke was the S-Class League player with the highest income of up to 420 million dollars annually!

In the review, it was also mentioned that the entire virtual item microtransactions that transacted through the game platform over the 5 years would total up to a whopping 7.9 trillion dollars!

In reality, Zhang Yang was no prophet but he understood the entire game as a whole. The rise and fall of any materials' price, the strategy for any dungeon, the tactical strategy for the world boss, the pre-requisite conditions to trigger any hidden quest, all of these information was deeply imprinted inside Zhang Yang's brain.

His grand plan was to first set up his own guild to accumulate fame and reputation, preferably making it to the top of the China region, and eventually the top 8 globally. After that, through collecting and monopolizing materials, he could definitely earn a large sum of money. He knew very well that if he was alone, he would be powerless. However, as a guild, it was possible to earn billions of dollars in this godlike game.

Eventually, the Lin Family would start to seek out alternatives to turn over their aging businesses. When the time is ripe, Zhang Yang would not need to do much and they would personally hand over Lin Yu to him to gain a share of the virtual industry's fortune!

As for Zhang Yang, he could achieve his dream of entering the S-Class Professional League to fight for the championship title of the World Team League!

'Ta ta ta'

The clicking sound of the approaching high heels was shrouded by the ringing of the school bell. A beautiful woman walked into the classroom. A formal suit adorned the tall and slender figure. Her complexion spoke volumes of her age, which would be of about 23 to 24 years. She had her long hair tied up into a bun which made her look more or less quite mature.

"Students, you will all begin to tread your first steps into society and a job in less than 10 days. As your teacher, I bid you the best of fortunes in acquiring a splendid job…"

Zhang Yang was immersed in his memories, recalling the sweet smile of Lin Yu when the emotions which he suppressed deep within him suddenly erupted like a volcano! Despite it being in the middle of the class, he stood up and rushed out of the classroom. The students stared at his back with stunned eyes. As for the beautiful teacher, she was trembling with rage.

However, Zhang Yang halted his steps abruptly after exiting the classroom. Presently, he and Lin Yu did not know each other. He could not possibly just rush up to her and announce to her, "Hey, I am your future lover who died and came back in time… come on, let's fall in love again!"

I would definitely be treated as a psycho. Bear with it!

According to 'history', Lin Yu would only join one year after 'God's Miracle' began operations. Right now, the only choice he had was to wait. Zhang Yang sighed. Just when he wanted to turn around to return into the classroom, he saw the pretty teacher wearing a scary face with her hands on her hips, blocking the classroom door with her fearsome look.

"Zhang Yang!" She gritted her teeth as she called Zhang Yang's name. Her two fists relaxed and clenched alternatingly.

It was only then that Zhang Yang noticed her. This pretty teacher was Yu Li, the person who he would have a one night stand with. He was drunk at that time and did not have much of an impression of that night. But right now, he could clearly recall that her body was sexually voluptuous! Hidden underneath the suit were the enticing curves of her bodyline!

By looking at her jade-white neck, his eyes stared instinctively at those well-covered peaks. As a student, Zhang Yang found it difficult to look at his teacher in 'that way'. A fiery sensation came to him, as if the 'fierce battle' between them happened just not too long ago. With that, even if he saw less at the moment, he seemed to be able to see even more clearly!

He smiled with his teeth wide open and said, "Teacher, I want to go to the restroom!"

Yu Li was about to go crazy!

This brat, not only had he rushed out the classroom during class hours without even asking for leave, he even dared to stare at her with those invasive eyes. It made her feel naked and defenseless, as if he could see through her formal attire.

Angry and abashed, Yu Li pointed towards the restroom and said, "Go!"

Zhang Yang nodded and dashed off like the wind. He returned to the classroom after loitering around for a while. He greeted Yu Li and sat in his seat. However, Zhang Yang gazed up only to notice that Yu Li was still angry. Although her expression was solemn, there was a hint of flirtatious flush on her jade-white skin.

Yu Li had always been an attractive woman. She had always been the target of obscenity among the boys. Currently, with such a vulnerable look, it only made all the boys slobber endlessly. Zhang Yang used to be one of those boys who secretly had a crush on Yu Li. But as time went by and more trouble arose, he began to leave behind his days of student romance.

He wondered. "Miss Yu is so beautiful, why would she work as a hostess? What a waste! If there is a chance, I would definitely help her!"

Yu Li announced the end of the class after the two-period class session concluded. Before she left the room, she threw a ferocious look at Zhang Yang.

The students began to make some noise the second the teacher left.

"Zhang Yang, what are you going to do after graduation?" Li Shang Yuan handed an address book to Zhang Yang. People usually jot down contact numbers when they approached graduation in order to keep in touch in the future.

Zhang Yang took the book and wrote his home phone number casually. He said, "Probably a professional gamer!"

"A professional gamer?" A fatty called Zhao Xiao Song squeezed over. His nickname was 'Chubby Pole'. He said, "Can you earn money by playing games?"

"I am not sure about other games, but if it's 'God's Miracle', it is most definitely possible to earn a lot!" A thin and tall person called Zhou Xiang joined the discussion and continued, "I have a relative working at Dream Technology. According to him, the gaming helmet for 'God's Miracle' had sold more than 500 million units!"

"What gaming helmet?" Some people came over and asked casually.

"Tch, don't tell me you have not watched television or even surfed the web? Advertising for 'God's Miracle' covers the entire globe. It's the world's first super virtual reality game in the history. Say goodbye to traditional games. Now you can access the game anywhere and anytime with just a helmet! It's all thanks to Dream Technology that the game can finally operate this year after more than 10 years of beta testing!" One of the fans of the game spoke emotionally.

"If it's really that fun, I will go buy one and try it out later."

"Come, let's do a head count, those who want to play 'God's Miracle' please register. We'll establish a guild and embark on 'God's Miracle' together!"

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Chapter 3: Soul Brothers

Translator:EndlessFantasy Translation

Editor:EndlessFantasy Translation

Seven to eight days later, Zhang Yang went back to his house after receiving his graduation certificate. On his way home, he dropped by and bought himself a gaming helmet. Now that everything has been prepared, all he needed to do left was to wait for 'God's Miracle' to start. According to the internet announcement, the game will start its servers globally on the 10th of this month.

'Dong dong dong!' Someone came knocking.

It was not that Zhang Yang did not have a doorbell, he did. It was just that the contraption had been decades old and as such, had broke down a few years back.

"Who is it?" Zhang Yang went to the door and peeked through the peephole. A sweating fatty was standing at his doorstep, repeatedly fanning himself with a paper fan. Zhang Yang got excited as he saw the familiar guy. He opened the door hastily and smiled as he said, "Long time no see Fatty Han!"

Han was shocked by Zhang Yang's overly-excited reaction. He screamed, "Why are you so excited? It's not like I owed you money. Hey, hey, hey! You're not into homosexual stuff right?!"

Han Guang had been his soul brother before they could even put on their pants. The two of them went to junior school all the way up to high school together. Throughout the years, their relationship developed through their participation in street brawls. Even though Zhang Yang eventually enrolled in university and Han Guang started work, their friendship had never been affected. Zhang Yang knew that in one year's time, Hang Guang would get involved in a street fight and suffer a grievous injury. He would die before he could be sent to the hospital.

At that time, the incident left a scar on Zhang Yang. He could not even smile for half a year.

This time, he would not let any accident befall his soul brother. Zhang Yang swore in his heart as he revealed a calm and cheerful expression. As he calmed himself as if nothing had ever happened, he asked Fatty Han, "Today is not a holiday, what are you doing here?"

Subconsciously, Zhang Yang did not want anyone to know about his predicament. Even if he were to tell people about it, no one would believe him. Secondly, if his secret was exposed, he could be captured and subjected to experiments. In the end, he decided that he'd rather bring his secret to the grave.

Han Guang pursed his lips and said, "Holiday my ass, I quit my job! That bastard manager is a bloody animal. I always knew that he likes to harass the female employees. Yesterday, I caught him molesting a girl in the pantry. Because I couldn't endure it any longer, I ended up beating him. He was so enraged that he had the female employee and I fired!"

Zhang Yang shook his head and said, "That employee, did she blame you for dragging her down with you?"

"Eh, how'd you guess it?" Han Guang exclaimed. "That b*tch must have gotten her brain bashed out. Here I am, being a Samaritan trying to save the day, but all I got in return was nothing but blame. If I had not acted, that sh*tty manager could have…"

Zhang Yang smiled inwardly, of course he could have guessed it. It was Han Guang himself who told him about this incident before. Zhang Yang patted his shoulder and said, "It's a sh*tty world we're living in!"

Han Guang let out a sigh and said, "You are absolutely right, this is a d*mn sh*tty world we're living in!"

After the two of them entered the house, Han Guang went to the fridge and helped himself to a bottle of beer. He then bit off the bottle cap with his teeth. In just two to three gulps, he finished the entire bottle of beer like a cow drinking water. After finishing a bottle, he wiped his mouth and yelled, "Awesome!"

Zhang Yang sat in front of him and asked, "What do you plan to do next? Find a new job?"

"That's why I'm here today!" Han Guang whispered secretly, "Have you ever heard of 'God's Miracle'?"

"The one that is always advertised on the television?" said Zhang Yang snickering.

Han Guang got excited and said, "Yeah, that's the one! I heard this from my cousin who sells the gaming helmets for the game. He said that there are many people who will be playing this game, and through it, you can earn a fortune!"

"Oh, how?" Zhang Yang vaguely recalled that Han Guang used this method to persuade him to join the game, yet he rejected his invitation. Now that he thought about it, if he had taken Han Guang's advice and accepted his invitation to join the game on its release day, he might not have had that resulting wretched ending!

With a face as though he has had everything thought out, Han Guang said, "My cousin said that there is a way. Once you achieve level 20, you will unlock the ability to use the Real-Money Trade (RMT1) System. That service allows you to trade in-game currency for real-world currency. As long as we can farm enough gold, we could be rich."

"Ok, I'm up for it. I had wanted to play the game anyway," said Zhang Yang, happily nodding away. He had many methods and strategies to amass fortune at the tip of his fingers. Even if he taught the fatty a way or two, it would still not affect his ability to earn a lot. Naturally, for a friend, he would not be that stingy about it.

Han Guang was filled with happiness. "With us brothers working together against all obstacles, we would be able to defeat our enemies and become unstoppable! Right, Yang, what if we really did earn a fortune? How are we going to spend it? Are we going to fill a house with a bunch of bikini girls for me to ogle at all day?"

"Scram, you pervert!" Zhang Yang pretended to get incensed.

Han Guang grinned lecherously, revealing his bright white teeth. Ever since he was young, this fatty had always dreamed of establishing the world's greatest harem. This was especially true after he had read the manhua2,'The King of the Harem .

"Right, so…" Zhang Yang pretended to ask casually, "What race and class are you going to pick?"

"Elf Race, Thief!" Han Guang answered without hesitation. He must have had some level of understanding towards the game, otherwise he would not have uttered those words.

Zhang Yang could not recall what class Han Guang had picked in his previous life, but a Thief… Zhang Yang said, "I think you'd better pick another class. Hm… I think a Hunter should suit you well!"

"Why?" asked Han Guang.

"It is because of your big and bulky personality. It doesn't even suit the requirements of a sneaky and agile Thief. In fact, it's not just Thieves but every other type of melee attack classes would not suit you either! I think you'd better choose to be a Hunter… hm, a Beastmaster. With your pet engaging the enemy in front, you could stand your ground and attack. Isn't this much safer?! For Beastmasters, they posses good dungeon raiding ability, decent damage output, and an overpowered skill called Fake Death'. It is an aggro3-clearing skill, a powerful utility skill indeed!" Zhang Yang exclaimed.

Hang Guang nodded while deep in thought. He could not help but agree with Zhang Yang's statement. "I would have never thought that you were so knowledgeable."

Zhang Yang smiled as he tried to search for an excuse. "When I decided to play this game, I did my research on the forums."

"Oh…" The innocent fatty immediately took his words as the truth. "In that case, I'll try the Hunter for a change!"

"When you achieve level 5, buy a few bottles of [Porto Whiskey] and try to hand it over to an NPC called Ol' Drunkard Si Wang."

"Why?"

"I've read about it. That NPC will trigger a hidden class quest for the Hunter job!" Zhang Yang tried giving another excuse.

"Really?" said Han Guang suspiciously.

"Have I ever lied to you?" asked Zhang Yang.

"All the time."

"F*ck, this time it is real. Believe me!" Zhang Yang scratched his head, resisting the urge to smack someone.

He recalled that there was a Hunter above level 100 who encountered a bug when he completed the quest. Besides the Hunter who completed the quest, one of his party members also received the reward. It was Phoenix, a legendary pet.

Not only did the Phoenix have a high damage output, it could also be used as a mount. Imagine riding on the Phoenix, with that trail of blazing fire. What sort of awe would it inspire?! If both of them summoned their Phoenixes in the middle of the main city, how many players would have their jaws drop in wonder?

Unfortunately, the hidden quest had only one drawback. That was, beside the first two players who have received the reward, no other player can ever get their hands on a Phoenix. Non-Hunter classes can only deploy their mounts in the open world. They cannot summon their rides in a dungeon or the battle arena. Because the bug's effect on the game was not as damaging as the developers expected it to be, they decided to allow both the Hunter and his party member to retain their unique pets.

This time, it would be their turn to own this amazing pet! The Hunter and his party member who obtained them in Zhang Yang's past were Korean. Zhang Yang never did like the Koreans, so even if he snatched the unique pets back he would believe in the adage, 'Finders, Keepers'.

"Alright! I'll stake my trust on you once again!" Han Guang finally agreed to his proposal. "Did you buy a gaming helmet?"

"I have already prepared long ago. I'm just waiting for the servers to start!"

"Hey, hey. let's go to the restaurant across the road and have a few drinks! I tell you, there's this new girl there. She looks just like a fairy. I think she has some feelings for me. Whenever I was around, she would send me flirtatious glances!"

"Didn't you say that the last time?"

"You little brat, you dare to question the charms of this daddy! Ah right, what class will you be playing as?"

"You'll know what it is when the time comes!"

"Tch! Why are you putting on airs for? I hope you get strike by lighting!"

A few days passed and the last day of June arrived.

At 8.45am, 'God's Miracle' would begin simultaneously around the world, allowing players to register their accounts and create their characters. At 9am, the server for the world's 8 regions would come online, signifying the integration of this futuristic and titanic digital system with the public's lives.

Zhang Yang put on the helmet and felt a strange and unexplainable electric current travel across the skin of his head. Zhang Yang waited for 3 to 4 minutes before a bright light emerged, ringing a familiar sound.

"Welcome to the world of 'God's Miracle'!"

"Generating game account… please wait a moment!"

"Synchronizing your brainwaves and biometrics to your account. Please note that there is no need to input your password the next time you log in. The system will scan your brainwaves and automatically match you to your game account!"

"Please note that only one character can be created per person! If you wish to create another character, you must delete your current character before you can create a new one! Once you have created a new character, you cannot create a new one within the next 15 days and a new character cannot be deleted within its first 3 days!"

"Account creation successful! Welcome to the continent of Norlanda! Warrior, the Union is in need of your assistance!" the soft voice of a girl echoed in his ears. A familiar scene played in front of him. Countless demons and spectres rained down from the heavens and crawled up from the earth with every intention of attacking the solitary city of humanity mercilessly.

The setting of 'God's Miracle' was that the Humans had joined forces with the Elves, Beastmen, and Dwarves to fight off the invasion of the invading demons and spectres. Zhang Yang had seen this scene countless of times which led him to click on the 'Skip' button to jump to the character creation interface.

"Please pick your race!" said the soft, feminine voice of the system.

"Human!"

"Race selection, Human confirmed!" the soft voice continued. "Please select your class!"

"Warrior!"

"Class selection, Warrior confirmed! Please choose your specialization!"

For every class, there would be a choice of specialization. The specializations available to a Warrior was the Berserker and the Guardian.

"Guardian!" Zhang Yang let out a nostalgic smile.

In his previous life, he picked Guardian as his specialization. Zhang Yang picked the same class because of two reasons, the first being that he actually loved the class very much. The second reason was because he thoroughly understood the class. Every class possessed hidden quests that was related to it. These non-repeatable quests had luxurious rewards. Zhang Yang had finalized his decision because these quests were directly linked to the class and Zhang Yang fully understood the Warrior class.

"Specialization, Guardian confirmed!" the voice continued. "Please enter your character's name!"

"Zhan Yu4!"

"Character name, Zhan Yu confirmed!"

As the system sound paused, the scene changed and a figure that was a mirror image of him appeared. "This is the character created based on your physical characteristics, you can modify and change the facial complexion by using the system's user interface!"

Even though adjustments could not be made for the body, since Zhang Yang had always focused on exercising, in addition to his height of 180cm5, he had no complaints about his character's physical appearance. He thought for a while and did some modifications to his facial features. For better or worse, he only wanted to make it difficult for him to be recognized by others.

After he was done modifying his character, he selected 'Confirm'.

"Character creation complete, please wait patiently for the connection to establish! While waiting, you may check your character's ability guide to ensure a more thorough understanding of your role for a better gaming experience! Good gaming!"

A character interface appeared in front of him. The character that he had just created was wearing a set of worn-out equipment and had a short sword strapped to his waist. As a Guardian, he did not even have a shield. He knew that only when his character has reached level 5 and only after completing the required class quest, would he receive a Steel-grade shield.

Currently, he only had 3 pieces of equipment.

[Worn-out Chest Plate] (White-Wood, Armor)

Defense: 1

Level Requirement: 0

[Worn-out Shin Guard] (White-Wood, Armor)

Defense : 1

Level Requirement: 0

[Beginner's Short Sword] (White-Wood, One-handed Sword)

Weapon Attack: 1-3

Attack Interval: 2 seconds

Level Requirement: 0

Attack Interval determined the frequency or rate of attacks. After performing a normal attack, the period before another attack could be initiated would be the Attack Interval. Dagger weapons would have the shortest interval time, followed by one-handed weapons and ranged weapons. The longest attack interval would be the two-handed weapon type.

Wood-grade equipment were also known as White-tiered equipment. Only the defense attribute of a White-tiered equipment could be enhanced further. As for White-tiered weapons, they would possess extremely mediocre attack stats. The next step-up from White-Wood equipment would be Black-Steel, followed by Green-Copper, Gray-Silver6, Yellow-Gold, Violet-Platinum, Mythical, Ethereal, Holy, Ascended and finally, Celestial, the highest tiered and strongest equipment currently available in the game. Due to such distinction between equipment, the quality of the resultant stats provided by these equipment is also extremely wide. This forced players to continuously grind5 in order to placate their need for improvement.

Zhang Yang's character attributes are as followed,

[Player: Zhan Yu]

Level : 0

HP : 50/50

Rage : 0/100

Defense : 2

Vitality : 0

Strength : 4

Dexterity : 1

Intelligence : 0

Spirit : 0

Luck : 0

Melee Damage : 5-8

Attack Interval : 2 seconds

Ranged Attack : NIL

Vitality, Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence and Spirit are the 5 basic player attributes.

Vitality : Increases a character's Max HP. 10 HP will be added for every point invested.

Strength : Increases a character's physical damage. A certain amount of damage will be added for every 2 points invested.

Dexterity : Increases a character's movement speed and its physical attack's critical rate. Additionally, for Thieves and Hunters, it will increase skill damage.

Intelligence : Increases a character's spell damage, Max MP and its spell's critical rate. 10MP and a certain amount of damage will be added for every point invested.

Spirit : Reduces a character's casting time and increases its MP regeneration speed.

Luck was a special attribute that cannot be increased through equipment bonuses. It could be obtained as a reward for completing certain main quests or high-difficulty hidden quests. This attribute had many uses, such as potentially allowing the player to deal a triple-damage strike, called Lucky Strike.

Every new character would have a total of 5 points that had been automatically assigned to their basic attributes. Since Warriors do not require Intelligence or Spirit, these two attributes would begin with 0 points invested. Strength and Dexterity, on the other hand, would have more points allocated in them.

Rage was only possessed by Warrior classes. While out-of-combat, a Warrior's Rage would be reduced to 0. After entering combat, Rage would constantly accumulate by 1 point every second. Rage could also be increased depending on the damage output of regular attacks and a character's level. Utilizing skills would generally consume Rage and were often called Rage Discharge.

Translator Notes

1 Real-Money Trade (RMT) refers to the practice of exchanging virtual currency, items, accounts or services for real-world cash. A good example of RMT would be the most expensive transaction for a virtual product which was Club Neverdie in Entropia Universe. According to online sources, Club Neverdie transacted for a total of $635,000! Popular RMT services also include power-leveling a client's character to the level cap, or providing a client with a huge amount of in-game currency.

2 Manhua (漫画) actually directly translates to comics. However, due to the recent rise of different styles of comics which can normally be sub-categorized into products of different regions, readers have used manhua (Chinese), manga (Japanese) and manhwa (Korean) to identify them respectively. As such, this translation would be using manhua instead of comics to show that the characters are referring to a Chinese-style comic.

3 Aggro is an internet and gaming lingo frequently used among players who participate in group battles in an online game. Aggro is somewhat similar to the enmity of an NPC towards any specific player. By performing certain actions that may be deemed to be threatening towards NPCs, players would accumulate aggro which would then lead the NPC to focus their attacks on the player with the highest aggro. Tank classes would normally have aggro-building skills to keep an NPC's attacks focused on themselves, while certain classes may have aggro-clearing skills to prevent NPCs from targeting them.

4 Zhan Yu (战御) directly translates to Imperial War. However, as a character's name, Imperial War would be terrible especially since it is the protagonist's name which would appear very frequently. As such, I have decided to retain the Chinese pinyin of the name.

5 Grind or grinding in gaming lingo is the act of continuously and repetitively killing monsters or completing repeatable quests in the hopes of achieving a specific goal such as leveling up or farming certain item drops from the game.

6 Gray-Silver (白银, baiyin) should actually be translated into White-Silver. However, since the author uses the color/material names interchangeably, White-Silver might be confused with White-Wood. One example would be when the author uses White-tiered equipment. Is the author referring to White-Wood rarity, or White-Silver rarity? As such, I have taken the liberty of translating 'White' in White-Silver to 'Gray'. The tiers would then be as follows: White, Black, Green, Gray, Yellow, Violet.

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Chapter 4: The Launching of 'God's Miracle'

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

'Ding!'

With a crisp ding, the notification signaled the official launch of the server. With a flash in his eyes, Zhang Yang had come to an ancient village square.

Within a short period of time, many new players spawned around him. As many more appeared rapidly, the square was filled instantly. Some of the players were forced to squeeze to the side as even more new players spawned.

As this was the first ever virtual reality online game in history, each and every player logged into the game were stunned motionless, appreciating the breathtaking yet vivid surroundings.

"I'm leaving now. This game is so realistic!"

"Damn, don't block me, let me through!"

"What are you shoving around for? Are you rushing to be reincarnated?!"

"Bastard, where do you think you are placing your hands? Do I look like someone you can simply take advantage of?"

"Lady, with that look, even if you let me touch you, I would be too frightened to!"

"And why are your hands still on my breasts?"

"Hehe, it's too crowded, there is no space for my hands!"

"Oh God, you lewd dog and lecherous vixen, I can't stand it! I'd rather go back and jerk off!"

After some time, the players finally regained their senses and their conversations gradually turned chaotic. Veteran gamers or those who had read the introduction had all rushed off to receive quests from NPCs.

Many players began to swarm the outskirts of the village to hunt and kill various kinds of monsters. The horde of players made were like a swarm of locusts, devouring any monster almost as soon as it spawned through simultaneous attacks by 10 or more players from all sides. These sad monsters died miserably, turning into experience points for the players.

About 10 minutes after the initial launch of the servers, the new players' spawning rate finally began to slow down to a stable rate of 1 player per minute. Dream Corporation had predicted that there would be a large number of players logging into the server during launch based on the sales of the gaming helmet. In order to accommodate such a scale, they had created tons of dungeons close to the beginner villages in order to disperse the horde of players. This also served to help prevent a low monster-to-player ratio.

The first thing Zhang Yang did was to leave the spawning point. Because of the second opportunity given to him, he was definitely not going to progress through quests like most players would. He had already outlined his own level-up plans before logging in.

While heading to the village entrance, Zhang Yang opened his Skill List to check his current available skills.

A new Guardian was given two skills, Charge and Force Strike.

[Rush] : Charges toward a target, stunning the target for 2 seconds and gaining 10 Rage. Cooldown time: 30 seconds.

[Force Strike] (Level 1): Performs a powerful strike on the target immediately, dealing 100% of melee damage with a 5% chance to trigger an additional attack. Cost: 30 Rage. Cooldown time: 1 second. Requirement: Melee Weapon.

Skills with levels could be upgraded through allocating Skill Points into it, to a maximum of Level 10. When skills such as Force Strike was maxed, the chances of triggering an additional attack would be increased to 50%! However, Skill Points would only be given every 10 levels. Even if one had reached the game's maximum level of 300, only 30 Skill Points would be accumulated, marking Skill Points as precious and rare. Nevertheless, bonus Skill Points could also be obtained through the completion of some Main Quests and Hidden Quests. Wild Elite Bosses would also have a fixed rate of dropping Skill Points, but the difficulty would then be extremely high.

"Those damn wolves killed another 3 villagers today! Are there any warriors who would help us eliminate these cruel beasts?" asked the snow-bearded village elder while pacing back and forth anxiously. If it were not for the 'Village Elder Hu An' tag above his head and a yellow exclamation mark, no one would have noticed the difference between him and a real person!

A yellow exclamation mark represented an NPC who had a quest to give.

The extremely lifelike virtual reality system was one of the most attractive aspects of the game, yet it was also the most controversial. Due to its true-to-life representation, players had actually begun pornography businesses, which eventually led the game company to add an additional patch specifically for this matter. Which eventually led the game to create a patch specifically for this matter - players were forbidden to remove their undergarments!

The funny thing was, some countries had actually requested Dream Technology to exclude them from this settings. They believed that allowing pornographic exchange in virtual reality would alleviate the severity of this particular issue in real life.

After Dream Technology complied, the rate of prostitution activities and rape cases significantly lowered in those countries. Amazed with the phenomena, additional countries had also sent their requests to remove this patch.

As a result, players with too much free time had even selected the world's 'Top 10 Prostitutes' in the eight servers. Quite obviously, some unfortunate and innocent female players were dragged into it. For example, Thousand Elegance, who ranked third in the China server was the only daughter of the chairman of Tian Nan Pharmaceutical in real life. With such wealth, why would she ever get involved in the sexual business? It was plainly ill-intentioned people slandering her and ignorant masses spreading the news which ultimately ruined her innocence in the end.

Of course, these were out of the topic.

Zhang Yang moved forward and said, "Dear respected village elder, I am willing to serve!"

The village elder was overjoyed and said, "Courageous young lad, your kindness will definitely be thanked with God's blessing!"

'Ding! You have received a quest: Eliminate the Wolves!'

Opening the quest log, Zhang Yang checked its description.

[Eliminate the Wolves] (Difficulty Level: D)

Quest Description: You have accepted the request of the village elder. Go to the west of the village and kill 20 wolves to keep the village safe!

Progress: Wolves killed. (0/20)

There were 5 quest difficulty levels in 'God's Miracle', S, A, B, C, and D in descending order. The difficulty level was determined by 2 factors: first, the level difference between the player and the monster; second, the difficulty of the monster itself. As for Zhang Yang's quest, since the wolves he had to kill were only Level 1, thus the system had determined the difficulty level of the quest to be low and categorized it as Level D.

After receiving the quest, Zhang Yang then ran to the Blacksmith Shop on the outskirts of the village to learn Smithing and Mining from the blacksmith and the miner respectively. A pickaxe immediately appeared in his inventory.

Then, Zhang Yang went to the west of the village and arrived at the Western Wasteland where the wolves gathered.

Some thirty wolves were wandering around the wasteland, occasionally howling into the sky, their howls piercing and frightening.

Zhang Yang withdrew his Beginner Sword and charged towards a targeted wolf. Although his current damage was low, the wolf's HP was also similarly low, allowing him to kill one wolf with 7 or 8 hits.

In just a matter of minutes, 20 wolves had been slain by him.

Zhang Yang's body flashed in a golden light, boosting him to Level 2. All his attributes had increased by 1 point and he obtained 5 additional Attribute Points (AP).

Zhang Yang had simply distributed the extra AP to 4 Strength and 1 Dexterity, and resumed killing wolves only to stop grinding when he had collected 10 pieces of wolf pelt. At the same time, the novice army had neared and proceeded to occupy the Western Wasteland.

Zhang Yang had no intention to remain here. The most undesirable thing during a war of leveling was to have many players but too little mobs. He then decided to leave immediately.

Before leaving, however, he wandered around and was lucky enough to find an Iron Vein. He then took out his pickaxe, and began mining right away.

Ding! You have used Mining on an Iron Vein. You have picked up Iron Ore x3. You have gained 1 experience point in Mining!

Zhang Yang kept the Iron Ore into his inventory, turned, and left the Western Wasteland. He then returned to village elder to complete the quest 'Eliminate the Wolves', obtaining a pair of White-tiered boots and 3000 experience points.

The village elder had still looked troubled, so Zhang Yang continued conversing with him and received a quest called 'Haunted Cemetery'.

[Haunted Cemetery] (Difficulty Level: C)

Quest Description: Strange things have recently occurred in the cemetery located to the west of the village. Strange noises can be heard whenever night falls! Please find out what has happened!

Progress: Find the source of the haunting. (0/1)

Zhang Yang knew that the quest difficulty had increased because he was about to face a Level 4 monster. A monster relatively stronger compared to his level, resulting in the system categorizing it as Level C.

With the Beginner Sword in his hands, he ran all the way to the West Cemetery.

The tombstones were arranged well but the place was empty, as there were no monsters around. That would mean that no other players were around either. The cold and silent atmosphere gave off an eerie feeling.

Zhang Yang found a tomb and went inside. Pressing on faintly glowing iron plate, a rumbling noise sounded and a tunnel that was only half a man's height appeared in front of him.

Bending his body, Zhang Yang proceeded into the tunnel towards an open space.

This was a huge underground catacomb, with a passage extending to places far away. Stone chambers lined both sides of the way and faint goosebumps-inducing growls could be heard.

Zhang Yang took a few steps forward and turned into the first stone chamber on the left. With the weak illumination from a torch fire, he was able to see 7 to 8 shabbily-clothed spectres wandering around inside. He took a slight step forward and had immediately entered the Trigger Range of the closest monster. The spectre let out a low cry and attacked Zhang Yang with his fangs and claws.

[Dead Villager] (Normal)

Level: 4

HP: 200

"-11!"

As Zhang Yang slashed with his sword, a white-colored text flickered above the monster's head. In 'God's Miracle', damage produced by normal attacks would be indicated with white text, while skill-inflicted damage was indicated with yellow text. Additionally, self-damage was indicated with red text, while healing with green text. Finally, critical hits or heals were displayed in magnified text.

A Level 4 mob had HP and Defense much higher than that of a Level 1 wolf. Even though a slash from Zhang Yang had caused 11 HP of damage, it was nothing in comparison to the monster's HP of 200!

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Chapter 5: Rapid Leveling

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Slash!

Zhang Yang bent down and evaded the monster's attack.

If other players witnessed this, they would have yelled, "Impossible!" or something in a similar manner. In traditional gaming, the Evasion Rate was determined by the system. Even if the player could not move an inch, the evasion could still occur when an attack landed on the player.

But in 'God's Miracle', there was no Evasion Rate system. But this did not mean that the player could not evade attacks from monsters or players. The system entrusted this capability to the player, allowing them to make their own decisions.

If the player's reaction was quick enough, the Evasion Rate would also rise proportionately. However, reaction alone did not determine the Evasion Rate of a player. The other factors that contributed to increasing the evasion rate would be Movement Speed, which was subsequently affected by the Dexterity of the player. The higher the Dexterity, the faster the Movement Speed. That was why Zhang Yang's investment in Dexterity had not solely increased his Movement Speed but also his Critical Rate!

Currently, many players were not used to this change while some were even oblivious to it. It was only a month later when a battle recording was uploaded to the forum that the thought of Manual Evasion was gradually made known to these players.

Zhang Yang let out a soft huff. The Beginner Sword in his hands swung every 2 seconds, until his Rage was raised to 30. This led to Zhang Yang activating his Force Strike. Half a minute later, the specter transformed into a pillar of light, signaling its defeat.

'Ding! You have killed undead villagers. 200 EXP gained'

'Ding! You have obtained 5 Copper pieces! You've obtained Linen x2!'

He did not obtain a quest item, but it did not matter as he still had to collect more Linen anyway. And up until now, there were no other players that stole his kills! The worst kind of situation for those who aimed to boost their levels was a bad monster to player ratio. This place seemed a little too hellish but for Zhang Yang, it was a heavenly spot.

After he collected the loot, he continued luring monsters one-by-one to kill them. In a place where monsters were concentrated, Zhang Yang did not use the skill Charge as it would easily engage more than two monsters. Based on his capabilities, Zhang Yang could easily evade the simultaneous attacks from seventeen monsters at once. But because he did not possess any Area of Effect (AoE) attacks, he did not want to waste his efforts to do it.

Even though grinding Level 4 monsters was slow, the experience points given was high. In 10 minutes or so, he hit Level 3. After he invested his AP in the same manner as before, allocating 4 to Strength and 1 to Dexterity, he pulled out his sword and continued on slashing.

'Ding! You have obtained Mysterious Black Box'

[Mysterious Black Box] (Quest Item)

Description: A complicated magic is engraved on this box. It carries an ancient and evil aura. Perhaps it is wise to bring it back to Village Elder Hu An to inspect!

Even with his quest completed, he did not want to leave the leveling ground. Now that other players have yet to discover this place, he quickened his pace and continued grinding.

There were a total of twelve chambers and each chamber had seven to eight monsters inside. He cleared each and every one of them. Alone, his killing speed could not keep up with the monster's spawn rate. Usually, after clearing the 3rd chamber, the 1st chamber would spawn new monsters. Zhang Yang trained and trained and only after he reached Level 4 did a second player finally arrive. Following closely, a third player arrived and no sooner, the fourth.

When he reached Level 5, the field had more than twenty players. The monster spawn rate could not keep up with this many players. Zhang Yang was satisfied. He looked around and noticed that the highest leveled player among them was 3. He had gained an enormous leading advantage.

Zhang Yang consolidated the Linen his inventory as he headed back to the village. 20 pieces a stack and he had 19 stacks and a half which could easily be sold for 18 Silver Coins.

In 'God's Miracle' 1 Gold Coin was worth 100 Silver Coins and 1 Silver Coin was worth 100 Copper Coins, similar to other traditional games.

Zhang Yang gained 3000 EXP and a pair of White-tiered gloves after he had surrendered the Mysterious Black Box to Village Elder Hu An. Normally, the Beginner Village quests would not award any good items. Of course, there were exceptions!

Zhang Yang arrived at a Tailor Shop and found Apprentice Tailor Annie. She had an exclamation mark on her head, indicating an available quest.

"Young adventurer! I need a lot of Linen to help increase my Tailoring skill. If it is not too much trouble, could you help me collect some Linen?" Annie looked shyly at Zhang Yang, as if she was embarrassed to ask him for his help. This super realistic feature made the Non-Player Characters (NPC) look as though they possessed a conscience. This was also one of the features that made 'God's Miracle' the greatest game in history.

'Ding! Annie has a quest for you: A Generous Gift. Will you accept it?'

Zhang Yang smiled weakly and selected 'Accept'. He then took out a stack of Linen and turned it over.

"Ah! Thank you so much! You're such a kind person! With these Linen, I will definitely improve my craft and become an official Master Tailor!" Annie replied excitedly.

'Ding! You have completed the quest: A Generous Gift. Gained 5000 EXP!'

"Young adventurer, to thank you for your generosity, I'm willing to sew you a cape! I am only able craft a Rough Wolf Pelt Cape, but it can boost your abilities!" Annie continued as an exclamation mark appeared on her head.

'Ding! Annie has a quest for you: Annie's Gratitude. Will you accept it?'

[Annie's Thanks] (Difficulty Level: D)

Quest Description: Your kindness and generosity moved Annie. She has decided to use her ability to make you a Wolf Pelt Cape. But you must gather 10 Wolf Pelts and 40 Linen as material. You can't make porridge without rice, right?

Progress: Wolf Pelt 10/10Linen 40/40

This was the reason why Zhang Yang first completed the quest 'Clear the Wolves', to hunt for the 10 Wolf Pelts! As for the catacombs, his aim was not only to gather Linen but also to grind levels.

Annie's quests required the player to be Level 5 before it was available. If it was not Zhang Yang but a regular player, they would have sold their Wolf Pelt to an NPC. Even if they kept them, they would not have accumulated that much!

When they had achieved Level 5 and was given this quest, they would have to return to the previous location to kill more wolves. Furthermore, based on the ridiculous number of new players, it would be an impossible task. This was in addition to the fact that Linen was only dropped by humanoid-type monsters, and the spectres were the only humanoid monsters around the village…

Zhang Yang had suffered before, previously he had wasted so much time running up and down to complete this quest. Luckily, that was when the servers had been running for 2 years. The entire Beginner Village was bare and no one was there to compete with him.

'Ding! You have completed the quest: Annie's Thanks. Gained 5000 EXP!'

'Ding! You have obtained Wolf Pelt Cape!'

A flashing black, shiny cape appeared in his inventory as he completed the quest. This was the reward for completing a quest, and also the first Black-Steel equipment any player could get from a quest!

[Wolf Pelt Cape] (Black-Steel, Cape)

Vitality: 2

Strength: 1

Dexterity: 1

Level Requirement: 5

Note: This cape was obviously made by an apprentice tailor. It is an uncommon, ragged and patchy cape! Is this cape even reliable at all?"

Usually, there was yellow text attached to an equipment which included lore for immersion. As for the lore on this cape, the developers must have be trolling to include such a funny description!

Zhang Yang looked at Annie again. This time, a blue-colored exclamation mark appeared on the shy girl's head! In the game, a blue exclamation mark indicated a repeatable quest.

'Young adventurer! I need a lot of Linen to help increase my Tailoring skill. If it is not too much trouble, could you help me collect some Linen?

Zhang Yang turned over stacks of Linen, one stack a time.

'Ding! You have completed the quest: A Generous Gift. (Repeatable) Gained 5000 EXP!'

'Ding! You have completed the quest: A Generous Gift. (Repeatable) Gained 5000 EXP!'

'Ding! You have…'

With the system notifications appearing repeatedly, Zhang Yang achieved Level 6 when he turned over his twelfth stack of Linen. The exclamation mark on Annie's head finally disappeared.

This repeatable quest was only available for players at Level 5.

In less than half a minute, Zhang Yang leveled up. As of now, the other players should probably be struggling at Level 2 or 3. Even if luck was on their side, they could only be at Level 4. Well, since there were too many people, they were all competing with each other which led to everyone not being able to obtain sufficient monster kills.

Without stopping, Zhang Yang left the Tailor Shop and headed to the village hall. There, he found Warrior Class Instructor Farion.

"Ahh, this is sad. As a Guardian, you don't even have a shield? You embarass me!" The instructor who looked like he was in his 30s said in contempt, almost spitting on the ground to emphasize his statement.

Well, it could not be helped. No matter what class a player was at Level 5, they would face this kind of embarrassing moment. For example, if a Berserker came up to him, the man would have said something like, "Ahh, this is sad. As a Berserker, you are actually holding on to a tattered weapon like that. Do you want to be a woodcutter instead?"

And this was the time when the player will receive their first Class Quest and the reward would be a class-specific Black-Steel weapon!

"In the name of the God of War and beyond, you must be tested. Only then would I consider instructing you!" Instructor Farion's face showed disdain, as he passed Zhang Yang a piece of paper. "Greenhorn, you are not to return to me unless you have completed the task listed on the paper!"

'Ding! You have accepted the quest: A Warrior's Trial.'

[A Warrior's Trial] (Difficulty Level: C)

Quest Description: Fulfill Farion's demands! Greenhorn, you must become a true warrior!

Progress: Iron Ore 3/200

What came next would highly depend on luck! Iron Ores could be mined or bought from other players and the difficulty of this quest was due to the time required to complete it.

This kind of setting would have definitely irked anyone. As beginners, they did not want to have to waste too much time just to complete this. In the near future, the game developers would adjust the completion condition to only 20 Iron Ores.

But Zhang Yang did not have much time to idle, waiting for the adjustments to be implemented. With that much time, he could have possibly leveled up to Level 10 or even 20.

Additionally, there was a chance to trigger the Warrior class' hidden quest.

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Chapter 6: Black Panther King

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

While completing the quest of collecting 200 Iron Ores, the hidden quest could be triggered if there were more than 10 Refined Iron Ores in the inventory!

Refined Iron Ores were rarely found in Iron Veins, and the chances of harvesting it was very low. The probability was so low that when luck was bad, a single piece of Refined Iron Ore could not even be obtained after mining 1000 pieces of Iron Ores.

Naturally, that was not the case with Refined Iron Veins but they were rare and there would always be tough monsters protecting them.

With such low probability, this Warrior class' hidden quest was never triggered by any player until the third year since the game's launch. There was a mining fanatic who did nothing but mining whenever he logged on to the game. He had even stayed at the Beginner Village for half a year!

Coincidentally, this man had chosen Warrior as his class!

And so, this player who had 100 Refined Iron Ores in his inventory had successfully triggered the hidden quest. He then stumbled on his way, finally completing the quest to score an 'Average' and obtained 1 Skill Point as well as a Horizontal Sweep Skill Book.

Just the reward of a single Skill Point was enough to make people jealous, but when he had posted the skill description of Horizontal Sweep on the forum, all the Warrior players were close to tears.

[Horizontal Sweep: Attacks all nearby enemies, 100% melee damage to every target. Cost: 20 Rage. Cooldown time: 10 seconds. Requirement: Melee Weapon.

Such a powerful skill with AoE damage had fallen into the hands of a player who only mined every day – what a tragedy it was!

Soon, however, players realized that even with an 'Average' score, one had been rewarded so handsomely. What if 'Excellent' or even 'Perfect' scores were achieved? How attractive would the reward be? Unfortunately, hidden quests have one drawback, that there would never be a second quest of the same kind once it was completed.

There were 4 types of quest score – Bad, Average, Excellent and Perfect. Only quests with S-difficulty, however, had this quest scoring system.

Zhang Yang first went to the Alchemist Shop and sold all the junk items in his inventory. The amount of money he possessed consequently increased to 23 Silver Coins. Scrolling through the item tab of the Alchemist Shop, he found a Beginner Healing Potion commonly known as Red Pot and the Experimental Poison that was Beginner Village exclusive and could only be bought once per player.

[Beginner Healing Potion] (White, Consumable)

Use: Instantly restore 100 HP.

[Experimental Poison] (White, Consumable)

Use: Apply it on a weapon, lasts 60 minutes. Attacks have 30% chance to poison a target, causing 3 HP damage each second for 15 seconds. Can be stacked up to 5 times.

A Red Bottle cost 1 Silver Coin each while the Experimental Poison was more expensive, each costing 10 Silver Coins. Zhang Yang splurged and bought 10 Beginner Healing Potions and 1 Experimental Poison in one go. He then left the Beginner Village and moved towards the mountain region north of the village.

He remembered that there was a Refined Iron Vein spawn point somewhere in a corner of the mountains which refreshed every hour. Each harvesting could result up to 2 or 3 Refined Iron Ores. That was the only Refined Iron Vein spawn point in the entire Beginner Village and it so happened to also be the lair of the Black Panther King!

This was indeed the so called high risk high reward!

The journey was long. Zhang Yang spent more than half an hour to reach a valley surrounded by oddly-shaped rocks.

In the deepest pit of the valley, a mine vein glimmering with a bright silver glow had grabbed Zhang Yang's attention. That was exactly the only Refined Iron Vein spawn point that would be refreshed in the entire Beginner Village. Lying next to it, though, was a 2-men-tall and 6-men-long giant black panther!

This was the strongest boss in the Beginner Village – the Black Panther King!

[Black Panther King] (Black-Steel Boss)

Level: 15

HP: 45000

That frightening HP!

Zhang Yang took out the Experimental Poison and smeared it on the Beginner Sword. The rusty iron immediately shone with an emerald glow.

Poisons were supposed to be a unique attribute only available to players with the Thief class but the game producers had wanted to let other players experience the charm of Poison and so had placed a limited amount of Experimental Poison in Beginner Village. As each player could only purchase one bottle, it would not affect the balance of the game.

This had become the key factor for Zhang Yang to slay the boss!

Zhang Yang adjusted himself before charging directly towards the Black Panther King.

Stunned (from Charge)!

Zhang Yang swung his sword and slashed the Black Panther King.

"-6!"

Due to the great level gap and extremely high defense of the boss-level monster, even when Zhang Yang had 36-38 points of basic damage, he had only inflicted a pathetic 6-point damage on the boss. Moreover, with the low damage output, only 3 Rage Points were obtained. Even with the addition of 10 Rage Points from the Charge attack, he was still far from casting a Force Strike!

Besides, Force Strike could not inflict much damage. The only way to kill this high level and high defense boss was to rely on the power of Poison.

After 2 seconds, the Black Panther King recovered from the momentary stun and waved its claws towards Zhang Yang, enraged.

Zhang Yang calmly dodged and evaded the monster's attack. At the same time, he made another swing of his sword and landed it on the Black Panther King's body.

"-8!"

"Ding! Your attack has caused Black Panther King to be affected by Experimental Poison (1 stack), losing 3 HP every second!"

Poisons were categorized as magic damage and the damage could only be reduced by magic resistance!

Zhang Yang showed a hint of joy. Although the effect of the poison was not too strong, as long as he could inflict another stack within 15 seconds from the first stack, he could slowly accumulate a total of 5 stacks and gain the full effect of the Poison!

The Black Panther King got more furious as its strike missed while in turn, was damaged numerous times by its enemy. It clawed fiercely towards Zhang Yang again.

Dodge!

Zhang Yang performed like a professional player, evading attacks by constantly moving and changing his position. He did not waste any chances to attack, slashing continuously as more damage was inflicted on the boss.

"Ding! Your attack has caused Black Panther King to be affected by Experimental Poison (2 stack), losing 6 HP every second!"

"Ding! Your attack…"

In no time at all, the Experimental Poison's effect had stacked up to 5 times, causing the Black Panther King to lose 15 HP with each passing second. Although this was ridiculously slow compared to its long HP bar, the boss would eventually die from the poison after 50 minutes if Zhang Yang maintained his game.

Zhang Yang dared not be careless! His feeble HP could not afford even a light hit from the boss. It would have been a confirmed kill if he got hit even once.

1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes… 45 minutes!

The HP of the Black Panther King decreased to around 10% and suddenly the creature flashed a blood-red glow. Its originally huge size now grew even larger gaining faster Attack Speed and higher frequency of attacks!

This was what players commonly identified as Berserk – a state where only strong monsters would enter whenever they were near death.

Zhang Yang's nerves were high-strung, fully unleashing his athleticism to dodge the Black Panther King's attacks again and again. At this moment, a character's Movement Speed would obviously be unable to keep up with his reflexes. Only by distributing more Attributes Points on Dexterity would it be possible for him to utilize his advantage to his best ability.

From this point-of-view, Zhang Yang would be more suited to play as a Thief!

Of course, towards the latter part of the game, along with the improvement of equipment quality, the character attributes would become less important and could eventually be ignored. A good equipment would be the better way to properly enhance one's capability.

"-15!"

"-15!"

"-6!"

Dodge!

"-15!"

"-15!"

"-7!"

The damage numbers kept appearing above the Black Panther King's head, Zhang Yang finally managed to drained its HP. As the last "-15" damage from the Experimental Poison flashed, a moan was heard from the Black Panther King as it fell on the ground, died and turned into a white light.

Finally, it was over. Zhang Yang let out a sigh of relief. He felt exhausted after nearly an hour of fighting in this intense battle.

"Ding! You have killed the Black Panther King. Gained 90,000 Experience Points (Double Reward for Exceed Level Kill)!"

"Ding! Congratulations! You are the first player to kill a Black-Steel boss. Your glorious achievement will be recorded in history! Do you wish to announce your name so that the world can praise your might?"

Zhang Yang was surprised. Due to the fact that he had joined the game later than anyone else previously, he had missed all the first kill chances thus never encountering an event like this.

His immediate reaction was naturally picking "Yes". Spreading his name across the server and be admired by all, was this not the sole intention of every online gamer?

Moreover, it would ease his process in creating his guild, attracting more players to join him.

Then another thought came to his mind. He had nothing right now. Besides Fatty Han whom he was still not able to contact, he was completely alone! What if within this period a strong guild had their eyes on him? He was powerless to reject had they sent an invitation. Once he had refused their recruitment, endless harassment and ganking1 would await him!

This needed no doubt! Zhang Yang remembered that there was a tanker called Endless Starlight previously, whose skills were fairly average. Although he was in a small guild, his dungeon achievements were qualified enough to challenge other large guilds! At first, some of those guilds sent their invitations to Endless Starlight in requests of a guild transfer. Endless Starlight had liked his guild so much that he had rejected all the invitations.

As a result, 3 big guilds had joined in alliance to attack Endless Starlight and his guild. Within 10 days, hi guild members could not continue any longer and had chosen to quit the guild, thus leading to the disbandment of the small guild. Endless Starlight was extremely depressed and had opted to delete his account and protested in the official forum.

The officials had replied that they do not encourage private fights in 'God's Miracle', thus setting level drops and red titles as penalties. Those with the desire to PK, please go to the arena; those who had the wish to kill their enemies, please go to the battlefield; these would definitely not result in the dropping of levels nor equipment. You would have to pay the price for the grudges you had created.

Regardless of reasons, the officials would not partake in the personal grudges amongst players.

Zhang Yang was not only 'playing' the game, he had wanted to use the game to make money, to accumulate enough fortune to fight the Liu Clan and compare to the Lin Clan. He knew the trend of the game, knew when and what material would be valuable, though this item manipulation would require him to be among the leading player's level.

For example, the hottest sale item among Level 20 players – the Beginner Anti-Dark Medicine. Its formula could only be obtained from a Gray-Silver rarity chest.

In order to get the formula, one must possess the capability of getting the Gray-Silver rarity chest! In addition, the formula must be obtained as early as possible. Otherwise, when the timing had passed and everyone had the formula to make the medicine, they would no longer be in demand.

For now, Zhang Yang needed an unhindered environment until he could set up a guild and possess the power to say "no".

Eventually, Zhang Yang chose "Reject"!

Immediately, red text that specifically belong to the server announcement began popping up in the world channel.

"Server Announcement: Player (Name Hidden) has successfully killed the Black Panther King, Level 15 Black-Steel Boss (China Server). This achievement will be recorded in the Hall of Fame! Please celebrate and cheer for him!"

"Server Announcement: Player (Name Hidden) has successfully killed the Black Panther King, Level 15 Black-Steel Boss (China Server), obtaining 10 Gold Coins from the System Rewards!"

"Server Announcement: Player (Name Hidden) has successfully killed the Black Panther King, Level 15 Black-Steel Boss (China Server). 500 Reputation Points across all races in the league are awarded!"

A series of red messages filled the screen, the effect was absolutely amazing!

"Ding! You've received an extra reward: Luck 1!"

A Luck Attribute reward! Zhang Yang felt quite surprised. Luck was an attribute that could not be upgraded through any equipment, yet remained very important. This attribute could affect a monster's drop rate as well as the success rate of upgrading equipment and rune weapons, and of course, the proc2 rate of Lucky Strike.

Looking at the 5 server announcements showing repetitively on the screen, even Zhang Yang had felt a little smug. He then averted his gaze from the announcement and looked towards the drops from the Black Panther King.

On the other side, the sudden server announcements had caused an uproar among players in the China region.

"What the f*ck? I've been killing monsters for so long only to reach Level 5 and someone had actually killed a Level 15 boss?"

"Is this for real, a solo fight?"

"F*cking server, I got distracted reading the server announcement and got myself killed by a monster!"

"F*ck, it must be a hack. How could anyone perform a solo attack on a Black-Steel grade boss!"

"F*cking GM, come out and face God!"

"Give it up, there is no GM in "God's Miracle", the only thing monitoring the server is a super computer. Fair and justified!"

"Fair my ass!"

"Justified my ass!"

"No more asses, speed leveling is more important!"

"How do we level when there are more players than monsters. As a Spellcaster, I haven't even casted any spells. I've been hitting them with my wand the whole time!"

"The one above, let's shake hands. I'm a Cleric and I don't even dare cast spells. With a two-second delay, there would be no chance to even kill a monster!"

Soon after, someone posted on the forum saying he had deliberately searched for the Black Panther King and discovered that its HP was a shocking 45000. Only one hit to this person who was a Level 5 player had already inflicted around 230 points of damage. How could anyone initiate a solo fight? He then directed his complaint to the game company questioning them of the existence of hacks or bugs.

Almost immediately, the company replied to the post, "No hack could be used in 'God's Miracle', while the case of bugs could never be completely fixed. Based on the playback data of the game, however, the first player to have killed the Black Panther King did not take advantage of any bug."

No sooner, the forum had livened up. People were wondering and discussing how the player had killed the Black Panther King!

Translator Notes

1 Ganking is a word commonly used in online games and was derived from the phrase 'ganging up on'. It can be used as a verb or a noun depending on context and sentence. E.g. Let's gank that idiot. (Verb) / That was a good gank. (Noun)

2 Proc is actually an acronym for a computer programming term, which had became popular through gaming culture. It stands for Programmed Random OCcurrence (the capitalized letters highlighting where proc came from) and is usually used as a replacement for 'activation'. E.g. "What is the proc rate (activation rate) for your Double Attack?" / "My Legendary Wand of the Almighty Garden has a whopping 99% proc rate to conjure garden shrubs around myself! How amazing is that?"

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Chapter 7: Crimson Rage

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

With just one touch, the Black Panther King's loot entered Zhang Yang's inventory.

[Black Panther King's Shin Guard] (Black-Steel, Heavy Armor)

Defense: 3

Vitality: 7

Strength: 2

Dexterity: 1

Level Requirement: 10

[Black Panther King's Chest Plate] (Black-Steel, Heavy Armor)

Defense: 3

Vitality: 6

Strength: 3

Dexterity: 1

Level Requirement: 10

[Black Panther King's Armguard] (Black-Steel, Leather Armor)

Defense: 2

Vitality: 3

Dexterity: 2

Level Requirement: 10

Warrior and Knight classes wore heavy armor, Hunter and Thief classes wore leather armor while Spellcaster and Cleric classes wore cloth armor.

Of the 3 equipment Zhang Yang had looted, he could only use 2 of them. It was not too bad but he had to reach Level 10 before he was able to use them.

In 'God's Miracle', helmets, chest plates, and shin guards were the equipment that would add the most Attribute Points. Gloves, boots, necklaces, capes, and rings added comparatively lower Attribute Points but necklaces and rings would usually have a special effect attribute.

A weapon would only increase physical or magical damage and would not possess any attributes, though some high-grade weapon would have special effects.

The next item loot was not an equipment but a bloody severed head of the panther.

[Bloody Skull] (Black-Steel, Special Item)

Description: This is the skull of the Black Panther King! Take it back and present it to Village Elder Hu An, he will definitely reward you for your contribution!

Bound.

A bound item would be an item that players cannot trade or give away, which meant that the rewards could only be claimed by Zhang Yang.

The corpse of the Black Panther King disappeared instantaneously as soon as Zhang Yang had finished collecting all his battle loots. He then proceeded to mine the Refined Iron Vein.

"Ding! You have used Mining on the Refined Iron Vein. You have obtained Refined Iron Ore x2. Your Mining skill has increased by 2 points!"

Zhang Yang grinned as he picked up the two shiny Refined Iron Ores. Due to the ore's rarity, it had become a form of currency in the game. The ores were glowing with a silver gleam, the beautiful lustrous glow was a feast for the eyes!

He kept his pickaxe and left the valley, beginning to wander around in search of more Iron Ore to mine. The respawn rate of the Refined Iron Ore was 1 hour, so he recorded his time before he left. When the time arrived, he would return to mine again.

On the other hand, the respawn time of the Black Panther King was 24 hours. Zhang Yang would have had acquired enough Refined Iron Ores to even wait for the boss to respawn.

Zhang Yang would gladly be looking forward to battle more respawned bosses as he would not only acquire equipment but also EXP! One boss alone had given him enough EXP to fill up 80% of his experience bar. With just two kills, he could have leveled up. How easy!

Zhang Yang made a few rounds in the mountain for about 4 hours and had already mined the Refined Iron Vein for 5 times, obtaining 11 Refined Iron Ores. Without dilly-dallying, he was grinding and searching for ores. By then, he had reached Level 7 but only had 126 Iron Ores, still quite a distance from reaching 200.

Zhang Yang cussed the developers of the game as he resumed his search of Iron Veins. Checking his mini-map that showed a blinking point not too far from where he was, he rejuvenated and rushed over with the pickaxe in his hand – Upon the acquisition of the Mining skill, spawning points of Iron Veins around would automatically be indicated on the mini-map.

"Tang! Tang! Tang!"

Zhang Yang swung his pickaxe and began mining the Iron Vein.

A piece of pale silver metal came into view as he lifted the pickaxe. "Eh, looks like my luck is finally here. I've finally gotten an Immature Refined Iron Ore!" Zhang Yang exclaimed with mixed feelings. After mining 126 Iron Ores, this was the first time he had actually encountered an Immature Refined Iron Ore, leading him to question his luck.

At this very moment though, he would rather trade his precious Refined Iron Ores for Iron Ore. With the fierce competition to get to the highest level, he could not afford to waste too much time in completing just one quest. Just 10 Refined Iron Ores were enough!

Putting away the ores and his pickaxe, he turned, wanting to leave the place before hearing a clear female voice.

"Hold up mate!"

Zhang Yang was astonished and turned around. Two exceptionally beautiful girls appeared from behind a large boulder.

Both of them did not look any older than 20. The girl on the left wore a dark red leather armor. Perhaps the developers of this game had a domination fetish for the leather armor which was extremely short and tight. The deep V-cut design was so low that almost more than half of both her round voluptuous mounds were exposed.

As she walked, the resulting bounce was definitely a scene that could cause massive nosebleed within seconds should the man not possess sufficient willpower. Her lower half was covered in a leather skirt, tightly wrapping her firm, shapely buttocks. Her legs were long and fair, hips swaying with each step she took.

The other girl wore a plain long dress in white. The dress was very loose and so it had completely hid her figure.

"Me?" Zhang Yang asked pointing at his nose.

The hot girl cladded in leather armor asked with a pout, "Is there anyone else here besides you?" Her voice was coy and sweet as honey, sugary enough to disarm anyone.

Zhang Yang might have looked like he was in his 20s but he had gone through reincarnation, experiencing life and death, and thus had became calm and collected, unfazed by much. After he was done admiring the girl cladded in leather armor, he averted his gaze to the girl dressed in white and asked, "What is it?"

Just like him, both of the girls had their character information hidden so Zhang Yang did not know how to address them.

"I'm White Orchid, a Cleric from the Crimson Rage Guild," the girl introduced herself. "She is Thorny Rose, Crimson Rage's Thief!"

Crimson Rage? Zhang Yang had some impression of this guild. That was because this was the only guild in 'God's Miracle' to have an all-girls team! Their guild master, Thousand Seeker Snow, ranked 4th in the 'Top 10 List of Godly Magicians' in the China region. Crimson Team that was under her lead was also an S -Class professional clan league team.

"Oh!" Zhang Yang casually acknowledged and said, "Well, nice to meet you. See you then!"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Thorny Rose was a little upset seeing that Zhang Yang wanted to leave. In her eyes, men were animals who think with the lower part of their body. She had never encountered a man who had not flocked to her like bees around a honey pot. Even if she chased them away with a broom, there would still be people who would not leave, what more a man who initiated his leave.

Zhang Yang would be the first time Thorny Rose had met a man who brushed her off.

She ran up and held on to Zhang Yang. "We have some business to do with you!"

"What of it?" Zhang Yang knew he did not have much to do with anyone from Crimson Rage.

"We want to buy the Refined Iron Ores that you have just mined!" Thorny Rose huffed.

These two sure had sharp eyes! Not only that, they, too, possessed a knack for business!

Even though 'God's Miracle' had countless players, those who actually did material gathering were of a scarce number. Supplies for materials such as herbs and ores would never keep up with the players' demands! Now that this profession had yet to become popular, prices of all these materials were extremely high. Especially the rare materials, the price would still remain stable even as the game made progress, never once decreasing!

So far, most of the players only cared about leveling up, not yet realizing the value of these precious materials. Later on, hell would break loose simply over the right to own a spawn point of rare metal veins or herbs.

Yet now, these female players from Crimson Rage had actually begun collecting rare materials. Zhang Yang was quite impressed with their awareness ahead of time.

"Not selling!" Zhang Yang shook his head, denying their offer. The Refined Iron Ores would only cost a few Copper Coins if sold right now, not even close to 1% of its true value.

Thorny Rose could not help but be surprised that her offer was denied directly by Zhang Yang. She had thought that this man was playing hard to get in order to attract her attention but she was now completely certain that this man had no interest in her.

Since when did I lose my charm? Thorny Rose's competitive desire to overturn this situation came ablaze. "We can offer you a high price. How about 10 Silver Coins?"

Just as Zhang Yang wanted to reject her offer, he suddenly thought of something and said, "I will not sell them. But if you can trade them with Iron Ores, I might consider!"

White Orchid then replied, "How many Iron Ores do you plan to trade for one Refined Iron Ore?"

Since Zhang Yang was still lacking 72 ores, he said, "Hm. Let's make it 72 pieces!"

"72 pieces?" The girls looked at each other, pleasantly delighted. They knew the low rate of mining a Refined Iron Ore, mining over 200 to 300 Iron Ores only to come across one Refined Iron Ore. If luck was lacking, the rate could be even lower! It was an absolute worthy steal to trade 72 pieces of Iron Ores for one Refined Iron Ore.

"Is it not enough? How about an extra one?" Zhang Yang took out two Refined Iron Ores from his inventory and with a sincere smile on his face, "2 Refined Iron Ores for 72 pieces of Iron Ores, how about that?"

This man… was a complete idiot!

White Orchid and Thorny Rose shared a look. Without hesitation, they took out 72 pieces of Iron Ores and entered the trading interface to place them there. Once Zhang Yang had placed two of his Refined Iron Ores, White Orchid immediately pressed 'Confirm' to complete the transaction.

With a "Ding", the system notified them that their transaction was completed. The three of them looked at each other, smiling thinking that they had caught a good deal and bade each other farewell.

"Hehehe. And here I thought that stinking man is somewhat different. He was just a little more guarded. For a moment there, I thought I've lost my appeal!" Thorny Rose exclaimed with relief patting her pendulous chest after they had walked some distance.

On the other hand, White Orchid replied thoughtfully, "I still think that the man was… how do I put it, he should have been a little more cunning!"

"Hmph, these two pieces of Refined Iron Ores are not fake anyway!" Thorny Rose was nonchalant. "The shield blueprint Ying Ying managed to get her hands on requires 5 of these Refined Iron Ores to be able to craft a Black-Steel grade shield. Our guild will definitely be the first to make it and gain a huge advantage in the first dungeon war.

White Orchid thought about it and had to agree. No matter how hard she could think, these two pieces of Refined Iron Ores were definitely worth more than those Iron Ores!

"Di! Di! Di!" the game messenger rang.

White Orchid quickly answered the call and heard the voice of a woman speaking, "Sister Orchid, Sister Rose, the Guild Master has just ordered everyone to bring all the Iron Ores to the Village Hall!"

Thorny Rose and White Orchid exchanged a look and felt ominous.

"Xiao Qing, what does the Guild Master want the Iron Ores for?" White Orchid asked.

The person on the other end of the line had answered immediately, "The Warrior class quest requires 200 pieces of Iron Ores. Mei Mei is waiting for you!"

"Oh – No!" Both White Orchid and Thorny Rose cried at the same time.

"Ah that evil man, he actually dared to scam me! Don't ever let me see him again. See if I will entice him with all my might and then send him off flying with a kick. If I didn't make him cry and broken-hearted for at least a few years, I shall not be named Jiang!" Thorny Rose spat spitefully, hating Zhang Yang with a burning passion. The thing was, she was actually more annoyed that her usually alluring charm did not work at all this time!

After a while of seething with anger, she began to feel thankful that she was not the only one deceived and said, "Sister Orchid, I'm all boobs and no brain. What's your excuse?"

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Chapter 8: Gathering Materials

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Zhang Yang jogged all the way back to Beginner Village and found Warrior Class Instructor Farion. Panting for breath, he could not help but miss the teleport reagent that could only be bought after Level 10 in the Capital.

"Greenhorn, I've got to admit that I've underestimated you!" Farion was still wearing a smug face as he received the Iron Ores delivered by Zhang Yang. "But you're still just a greenhorn! Here! Take your shield and get out!"

Farion threw over a shield gleaming with black luster to Zhang Yang.

"Ding! You have completed the Class Quest: A Warrior's Test. Gained 5,000 Experience Points!"

[Thick Iron Shield] (Black-Steel, Shield)

Defense: 10

Vitality: 5

Level Requirement: 5

"Wait!" Farion's smug expression had suddenly changed into a surprised one. "You actually have Refined Iron Ores?"

"That's right, honorable great master!" Zhang Yang took out 10 Refined Iron Ores from his inventory and handed them to Farion, knowing full well that he had successfully triggered the hidden quest.

"What beautiful luster, it reminds me of the diamonds in Dofus Mountain!" Farion reveled, his gaze towards the Refined Iron Ores in his hands as indulgent as a lover's.

Only after a short moment did Farion say, "I was once a blacksmith before I became a great warrior! Greenhorn, these Refined Iron Ores made my hands tingle. If you agree, I would like to use them to make an indestructible blade!"

"As you wish, honorable great master!" Zhang Yang immediately nodded and agreed.

"Very well!" Farion was delighted and said, "However, just these Refined Iron Ores are insufficient, you will also need to collect another 3 types of materials!"

"Ding! Farion has a quest for you: Materials to Craft a Blade (I). Will you accept it?"

"Accept!" Zhang Yang checked the quest log immediately after he had accepted the quest.

[Material to Craft a Blade (I)] (Difficulty Level: C)

Quest Description: Farion needs the Incisors of the Ivory Fanged Boar as crafting material for the blade. It is said that these monsters appear in the Watermelon Farm south of the village.

Progress: Collect Incisors of Ivory Fanged Boar 0/10

Ivory Fanged Boar. That would be a Level 10 monster, would it not? Zhang Yang did not leave immediately. Instead, he talked to Farion again and learned Level 5 Warrior skills: Block and Shield Bash.

[Block] (Level 1): Raise your shield, blocking one frontal attack from the enemy for 1 second. After a successful block, it will cause 100% damage to the enemy, generating a huge amount of aggro. Builds some Rage. Cooldown time: 10 seconds. Requirement: Shield.

[Shield Bash: Bash the target with your shield, dealing 200% damage and generating a huge amount of aggro. Can only be casted after a successful Block. Cost: 10 Rage Points. Requirement: Shield.

Block would definitely be a Guardian's most divine skill! When the cooldown time reduces to 1 second after leveling it up to Level 10, be it the immunity to offense or the burst damage that would come right after with a Shield Bash, its might would be utterly terrifying!

After equipping himself with the Thick Iron Shield, Zhang Yang went to Village Elder Hu An and handed him the Black Panther King's skull.

"Ahh! Is this – is this the skull of the Black Panther King? This damned beast which had killed so many of our villagers!" Elder Hu An was absolutely delighted, looking at Zhang Yang with elation, "Praise the Lord, you are indeed a brave and kind young man, all of the villagers will be so very grateful to you!"

"Ding! You have completed the quest: Removing the Villagers' Threat. Gained 10,000 Experience Points!"

"Ding! Your Human Race Reputation has increased by 200 points!"

200 Reputation Points! Zhang Yang pursed his lips. Reputation had been a confounded system in the game. Each race had their corresponding reputation divided into 7 levels in ascending order – Hostile, Unfriendly, Neutral, Friendly, Respect, Admire, and Worship. If a player's reputation level in a specific race is lower than Neutral, he would induce attacks from that specific race whenever he entered their territory; if the reputation level had reached Friendly or higher, the player would be able to purchase items corresponding to their reputation level. Basically, the higher the reputation of a person towards that specific faction, the better the quality of items one would be able to purchase!

Zhang Yang arrived at the south of the village. There were wild boars everywhere gnawing watermelons in the 3 existing watermelon farms. To the side was a farmhouse and a white bearded man pacing around anxiously.

"Elder one, is there anything I can do for you?" Zhang Yang ran forward to strike a conversation as soon as he saw the yellow exclamation mark above the NPC's head.

"Look at those damn wild boars trashing my watermelon farms! Kill them all and I will reward you!" the old man bellowed.

[Kill the Boars] (Difficulty Level: C)

Quest Description: Kill those damn Ivory Fanged Boars!

Progress: Kill Ivory Fanged Boar 0/10

[Ivory Fanged Boar] (Normal)

Level: 10

HP: 500

There were another 4 or 5 player parties in the watermelon farms. As the Ivory Fanged Boar's level was slightly higher, most of the Level 5 players could not go solo when fighting the monsters and thus formed parties. Even so, the huge level gap had still made killing a single boar difficult for a team of 5.

These people showed no intention of leaving even with their slow pace. To them, at least this place still had monsters and was far better than places where a freshly spawned monster would instantly be stabbed by more than 10 swords simultaneously.

A few of them had started laughing when they saw Zhang Yang coming alone.

"Fool, are you seriously grinding here alone? A donkey must have kicked your brains out!"

"Haha, I wonder how many donkey kicks does it take to make one so stupid."

"Let's just wait and see how he's gonna get his ass kicked by the wild boars!"

Of course, there were kind hearted players too.

"Buddy, the monsters around here are all Level 10. You can't do it."

"Our team's Spellcaster is about to leave. There is a slot in our party, how about joining us?"

Most of them seemed to have overlooked the shield on Zhang Yang's back. It would have been a reward received only after one had completed the Level 5's Class Quest! While there were an incredible number of players who had already reached Level 5 currently, the number of players who had cleared the Class Quest could only be counted with less than one hand!

Zhang Yang smiled and rejected their party invitations. He gripped his Beginner Sword and moved towards the closest wild boar. He then activated the skill Charge when he was in its effective range.

Stunned!

"-30!"

Streams of blood gushed out as Zhang Yang swung his weapon and slashed the boar.

"Hu! Hu! Hu!" the Ivory Fanged Boar recovered and roared angrily. It stabbed towards Zhang Yang with both its sharp fangs.

Zhang Yang activated the skill Block.

"-27!" Successful block and counterattack!

"-64!" Shield Bash!

"-31!" Another normal attack!

"-29!" Rage increased to 30 points, Force Strike!

Dodge!

Block entered into cooldown. Zhang Yang easily evaded the attack of the wild boar with just a swift move – a Level 15 Black Panther King could not even come into contact with Zhang Yang, let alone a common Level 10 monster!

In just 4 to 5 seconds, Zhang Yang had delivered 181 damage points, decreasing one third of the boar's HP. All of the players could only stare at him wide-eyed on the sideline as if they had seen a ghost. Those damage numbers were unbelievable! Was this dude really a Guardian?

Guardians actually had pretty good nuking1 power. The keypoint was the skill Block! The timing for using Block would then be the key factor during the early stages to tell the difference between an outstanding Guardian and a regular Guardian!

Characters would gain an additional effect after activating Block, allowing the player to block another attack for the following 1 second! Since the follow-up effect only lasted for one second, if the skill was activated too early and the attack had yet to come, the effect would have had disappeared by then! And if the activation was too late...

Block would have been invalid, thus the devastating Shield Bash that followed could not have been activated.

Of course, when Block had reached Level 10, these restrictions would have been nulled so one could easily keep spamming2 the button.

Zhang Yang had been changing his position with ease until Block's cooldown time had been fulfilled. He then activated another chain-skill. The Ivory Fanged Boar wailed and died with a white flash, granting Zhang Yang 500 EXP. His hands reached out and with luck, he had gotten an Incisor!

"F*ck, this guy is mighty!"

"Yeah, he killed it so quickly and did not even suffer from a single drop of HP!"

"I just finally realized that you can evade a monster's attack by moving around!"

"Eh, I thought it's a given that a character depends on Evasion, Parry and Block to gain attack immunity?"

"Bro, this is a virtual reality game, not a traditional online game. Gotta learn more!"

The surrounding players were having a heated conversation. Luckily, Zhang Yang had chosen to hide his name, otherwise he would have gotten famous here. Still, there were nosy players who had used the in-game recorder to record how Zhang Yang had fought the monster and posted it to the forum titling the post, 'Unexpected Godly Player, Unscathed Killing', raising a public commotion.

Everyone was but a beginner at this current stage of the game. How could they not be impressed when they saw Zhang Yang's advanced skills that was at least 5 years ahead of the current game's standard? Within a short period, countless players had turned Zhang Yang into their idol worshipping him.

Zhang Yang killed the wild boars consecutively. Although his killing speed was considerably slow compared to a 5-men party, he was killing without suffering from damages, and thus, there was no need for him to rest, increasing his efficiency.

About 7 or 8 minutes later, he had already slain 10 wild boars but had only collected 7 Incisors, requiring him to continue grinding.

Another 5 minutes had passed before Zhang Yang finally succeeded in collecting 10 Incisors. He first submitted the quest 'Kill the Boars' and rushed back to meet Farion. Behind him, the players had long been dumbfounded, their own fights long forgotten as they only cared about observing Zhang Yang's fight.

"Well done. You can now start searching for the second material!" Farion granted Zhang Yang 5,000 EXP and continued instructing.

"Ding! Farion has a quest for you: Material to Craft a Blade (II). Will you accept it?"

A new entry was added to the quest log after Zhang Yang had accepted the quest.

[Material to Craft a Blade (II)] (Difficulty Level: C)

Quest Description: There is a pack of Fire Elementals wandering in the Scorched Valley. Upon death, the Fire Elementals condense into potent Refined Fire Essences! It was said that the Scorched Valley is at the end of the road towards the west of the village.

Progress: Collect Refined Fire Essence 0/3

Towards the opposite direction!

Zhang Yang sighed and followed the quest instructions, going west from Beginner Village. After about half an hour, he finally arrived at the valley, ground burnt and fuming soot. Flaming red elemental monsters wandering around his destination.

[Fire Elemental] (Normal)

Level: 10

HP: 500

This place was too far from Beginner Village and no quest would have led anyone here, so there were no one around besides Zhang Yang.

Let the killing begin!

Translator Notes

1 Nuke (Nuking) is a term used by gamers to describe a massive amount of damage. Nuking an enemy would generally mean killing it in one go, usually to prevent them from reacting, whether by healing, fleeing or retaliating. E.g. "I was nuked and died on the spot! I didn't even know who did it!"

2 Spam (Spamming) is a term used by gamers to describe repeated casting of a spell or usage of an item. It is somewhat similar to, but is not an abuse of the system to perform a specific task. Players could be dealing good damage by spamming their highest damage dealing skill, or spamming potions to heal while tanking a high damage-dealing enemy. E.g. "Stop spamming potions and fight me like a real man!"

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Chapter 9: A Handsome Reward

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

This second quest had only asked for 3 Refined Fire Essences but that did not mean that this quest was easy to complete.

In fact, Zhang Yang had only managed to farm his first Refined Fire Essence after 20 minutes!

Farming the second Refined Fire Essence was rather quick, as it only took the following 5 minutes. The third one though, took him a whole hour.

"What luck!" Zhang Yang examined his hands as he walked back to the village.

He checked his EXP gauge and realized it had already reached 73%, not far from advancing to the next level. After all, he had been going beyond his level and grinding on Level 10 monsters. The EXP obtained were noticeably much more.

Returning to Farion to submit the quest, the man had rewarded him a handsome amount of 5,000 EXP and said, "Young warrior, you've completed the task I entrusted you with, again and again, leaving me an impression that you do have slight talent! Alright, this is the last material needed – The Frost Giant's Soul! Different Frost Giants would have different power in their souls and of course, different strength levels. You may select the difficulty to challenge according to your own capability and courage!"

"Ding! You may choose one of the following difficulty levels to complete for this quest. The higher the difficulty level, the better the reward! Please choose: Extremely Difficult, Hard, Average, Easy!"

"Extremely Difficult!" Zhang Yang decided without hesitation. Obviously, the chance of obtaining 'Perfect' score would only be available in this level of difficulty.

"Haha, a bold selection! I hope that you're as what you've chosen to face, greenhorn!" Farion passed Zhang Yang a sparkling crystal-like rock. "Take this Frost Stone and place it in the center of the magic circle in the basement. The circle will be activated automatically and it will summon the Frost Giant!"

"Ding! You have accepted the quest: Materials to Craft a Blade (III)!"

"Ding! You have obtained the item, Frost Stone!"

[Materials to Craft a Blade (III)] (Difficulty Level: S)

Quest Description: To obtain the last material, you must use the Frost Stone to summon the Frost Giant, defeat it, collect its soul and pass it to Farion. This quest must be completed alone. The quest will fail automatically once a second player gains aggro from the Frost Giant.

Progress: Collect Frost Giant's Soul 0/1

S-Level quest, it looked like the time to obtain the ultimate reward had finally arrived!

The basement was situated underneath the Village Hall. Zhang Yang spent 5 to 6 minutes to reach the base walking through a winding path. He had wondered about the purpose of this basement previously when he first played the game. He had finally gotten his answer now.

The basement was lit with torches all around and was very spacious. Right in the center was an intricately drawn magic circle. Zhang Yang took out the Frost Stone from his inventory and mounted it to the empty hollow within the circle.

"Hong!"

Endless white light emanated from the ground, dazzling and captivating! A low voice then echoed in the basement.

"Who…Who summons Malatog! Malatog was slumbering. Whoever awakes Malatog must receive a frosty punishment!"

"Hong!"

A giant with a height of 6 to 7 men appeared in the middle of the magic circle. Its entire body was a sky-blue color and it exuded penetrating chilliness, dropping the basement's temperature by several degrees within seconds!

"You – a mere mortal, dares to disturb Malatog's sweet dream! Malatog will crush you!" The blue giant immediately noticed Zhang Yang and threw its fist towards him.

[Malatog] (Elite)

Level : 10

HP : 5000

Zhang Yang stepped back and used Charge on it. In an instant, a starry effect appeared above Malatog's head indicating it had been stunned.

"-18!"

He swung his sword only to inflict a pitiful 18-point damage! Such strong defense!

It was a shame that the effects of the Experimental Poison had long since disappeared and as the poison could only be bought once per player, Zhang Yang would have to rely on himself to slowly defeat it.

"Despicable ant, you've angered Malatog!" Malatog lifted his fist and threw it at Zhang Yang again in rage.

"Block!"

"-17!"

"Such a thick-skinned creature!" Zhang Yang murmured, raising his shield as he activated Shield Bash.

"-54!"

Malatog let out a cry of pain and anger after receiving the blow. It then raised its big foot and took a step forward, wanting to stomp on Zhang Yang.

"-19!"

"-19!"

Although the resulting damage from one normal attack followed by a Force Strike was not much at all, it had instead made Malatog even angrier.

Battling someone as agile as Zhang Yang, it would seem like Malatog was playing a game of Whack-a-Mole. Even though he had the advantage with his outstanding strength, he could hardly land a hit on Zhang Yang but instead kept receiving damage.

"90%! 80%! 70%! 60% 50%!"

"Puny mortal! Taste the Frost God's rage!" Malatog suddenly crouched and slammed the ground with both his fists. Immediately, countless spear-like ice spikes pierced up through the ground.

Zhang Yang had never encountered such a monster, so naturally he would not have known what kind of attacks it would use. Even though he was already cautious the moment it spoke, because he would never have known what to expect, how was he supposed to figure out his strategy to counter?!

In an instance, Zhang Yang had maximized his athletic skill to the best he could, skillfully dodging each icicle with grace.

"Ding! You have been attacked by an icicle. You have lost 30 HP!"

"Ding! You have been attacked by an icicle. You have lost 30 HP!"

"Ding…"

The system notification had rang 5 times consecutively in his ears. Even though Zhang Yang had pushed his speed to the limit, he was still unable to be at his best due to the character's own agility constraint. As a result of it, he had received damage from 5 icicles and had his HP reduced tremendously.

And this was Zhang Yang. If it had been someone else, they would have been completely annihilated by this monster's special skill.

Zhang Yang only had a total HP of 190 and it had been instantly reduced to 40. He tapped a bottle of Beginner Healing Potion. A "100" green text floated across his head and his HP bar instantly went up again.

The Red Pot had a 30-second cooldown time, so it was fortunate that the move by Malatog did not appear frequently, otherwise the cooldown period would have been too long.

"Malatog will smash your bones to smithereens!" the Frost Giant stood up again and everything returned to how it was.

"40%! 30%! 20%! 10%!"

Zhang Yang began to feel anxious. There would be a chance for a monster to turn 'berserk' when its HP had fallen to 10%. Once they had entered the state, their attack activation rate would drastically increase, and that would be the most dangerous part of a battle. Even if Zhang Yang was highly skilled, he would not have been able to withstand 3 to 4 continuous waves of a boss' special attack.

Luckily, it did not turn red!

Zhang Yang let out a sigh of relief and thought to himself. This quest could only be completed by a single player. The monster's skill was already capable of killing a player instantly, if it had entered Berserk state, how would it be possible to clear?

"3%! 2%! 1%!"

"Despicable mortal! Malatog will return! Malatog will…!" As the last drop of HP vanished, Malatog was finally defeated. Its gigantic body fell with a thundering thud.

"Hu!" Zhang Yang exhaled a puff of air. He finally completed it!

The magic circle reactivated and the Frost Giant's corpse began to shrink until it finally became a small blue marble the size of a regular fist.

"So this is the Frost Giant's Soul?" Zhang Yang picked up the marble as he scanned the entire room. "F*cking hell! How come there aren't any drops when I've just killed a freaking boss!"

Zhang Yang returned from the basement annoyed and handed over the marble to Farion.

"Young man, you've proven your strength and ability. I have to admit, you would be an amazing Warrior in the future!" Farion waved his hand invitingly and said, "Come with me. Now that all the materials have been gathered, I will craft you an indestructible blade!"

"Ding! You've completed the quest : Materials to Craft a Blade (III). Gained 10,000EXP!"

Still, he had yet to receive the ultimate reward. Zhang Yang patiently followed Farion to the village's Blacksmith Shop.

Farion and the owner greeted each other and he took out all sorts of materials. "Dang! Dang! Dang!" Farion lifted the metal hammer and began to smith.

Fortunately since this was a game, everything progressed very quickly. Within half a minute, a shiny sharp sword had appeared in Farion's hands.

"Take this, young warrior. Let it be your most loyal companion and drink up your enemies' blood!" Furion tossed the sword to Zhang Yang and retrieved a red-colored book, "This is filled with skills I've learned in battles. Now, I shall give it to you!"

"Ding! You have obtained the item Refined Iron Sword!"

"Ding! You have obtained the skill book 'Horizontal Sweep'!"

"Ding! You have completed the Hidden Class Quest: Farion's Request. Quest Score: Perfect! Gained 20,000 EXP!"

"Ding! You have obtained the reward: 1 SP!"

"Ding! Congratulations on achieving Level 8. All attributes 1 and obtained 5 free AP!"

"Ding! Congratulations! You are the first player to complete a hidden quest and to obtain a 'Perfect' score. This achievement will be recorded in the Hall of Fame! Do you wish to announce your name so that the world can praise your mightiness?"

Announcing it again? Zhang Yang gave it some thought but eventually still decided on "Reject".

In an instant, the neglected quiet world channel was once again filled with the server announcement's red text!

"Server announcement: Player (Name Hidden) is the first to have successfully completed a hidden quest and obtained a 'Perfect' score (China Server). This achievement will be recorded in the Hall of Fame! Please celebrate and cheer for him!"

"Server announcement: Player (Name Hidden) is the first to have successfully completed a hidden quest and obtained a 'Perfect' score (China Server), obtaining 10 Gold Coins from the System Rewards!"

"Server announcement: Player (Name Hidden) is the first to have successfully completed a hidden quest and obtained a 'Perfect' score (China Server). 500 Reputation Points across all races in the league are awarded!"

"Ding! You've received an extra reward: Luck 1!"

Within a day, the server had flashed red twice, causing commotion among the players in the entire China region once again.

"That is just crazy! He actually completed a hidden quest?"

"God! He even got a 'Perfect' score! I saw a statement on the official website saying the difficulty setting in achieving a 'Perfect' score could only be completed by one in a million!"

"I wonder what the rewards are."

"Fucking shit server, why have I not encountered a hidden quest?"

"Face problem!"

"Character problem!"

"Wash your hands after taking a dump!"

"Eh, just throwing it out there. Which hand do you use to wipe your ass after taking a shit?"

"Left hand!"

"Right hand!"

"Right hand!"

"I use toilet paper! You guys have a weird fetish!"

Just like that, the conversation took a rather interesting yet different turn very quickly.

Zhang Yang opened his inventory to check the rewards from this quest.

[Refined Iron Sword] (Black-Steel, One-Handed Sword)

Weapon Attack: 16 – 24

Attack Interval: 2 seconds

Level Requirement: 10

-- At present, most players were still grinding tirelessly to obtain rewarded weapons from completing the Level 5 Class Quest while Zhang Yang had already obtained a Level 10 Black –Steel rarity weapon! If word got out, those players who had been grinding relentlessly would definitely be devastated!

[Horizontal Sweep] (Skill Book)

Use: Grants the skill "Horizontal Sweep"

Bound.

Zhang Yang was a little furious. He had obviously gotten a 'Perfect' score yet his reward was similar to those of 'Average' score? This was ridiculous! Zhang Yang tapped the skill book against his body and a new skill appeared in his skill window after giving out a bright light.

[Horizontal Sweep: Attacks all nearby enemies, dealing 200% melee damage to every target. Cost: 20 Rage. Cooldown time: 10 seconds. Requirement: Melee Weapon.

200% melee damage?!

Zhang Yang's eyes glinted. He clearly remembered the Horizontal Sweep which the mining fanatic had gotten could only deal 100% melee damage!

Oh perfect! Now this reward would have been the right match for 'Perfect' score!

Hooray!

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Chapter 10: Rogue Clan

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Zhang Yang had 2 upgradable skills now but the performance of a maximized Force Strike skill was low with only a 50% chance of triggering an additional attack. Without much hesitation, he added a valuable Skill Point on the divine Block skill.

[Block] (Level 2): Raise your shield, blocking one frontal attack from the enemy for 1 second. After a successful block, it will cause 100% damage to the enemy, generating a huge amount of aggro. Builds some Rage. Cooldown time: 9 seconds. Requirement: Shield.

The reduction in cooldown time of the skill Block had not only increased the attack immunity but more importantly, had also increased the usage frequency of Shield Bash. This was of utmost importance to Zhang Yang.

All the substantial quests in Beginner Village had already been completed. The next objective would be to level up to Level 10 and then proceed onwards to the Capital!

Zhang Yang had no other option now but to solely depend on grinding through monster killing. He had come to the Scorched Valley where there were the fewest players, intending to grind here until he reached Level 10. With Horizontal Sweep, his current grinding ability had risen to a whole different level, making it harder for other players to catch up!

Before entering the valley, Zhang Yang was surprised to see that there were now more than 10 players at the mouth of the valley. All of them did not hide their names and shared the same name tags of 'So-and-So, Rogue Clan' above their heads, most of them appearing to be Level 5 – 6 players.

"Rogue Clan!" Zhang Yang could not help but grit his teeth.

Rogue Clan was a guild. There were Guild Master Rogue Bunny, Vice Guild Master Bunny Bro Two, and following their seniority ranks, it would be Bunny Bro Three and Bunny Bro Four… In short they were all bunny brothers! This guild was very popular in Zhang Yang's previous life but it was not because their guild was strong, it was because everyone in this guild was a hooligan!

Guild Master Rogue Bunny was said to be a gangster too in real life. The people in his guild were originally his gang members and were regularly involved in organized crime such as cheating, abducting and bullying. This rogue guild had never changed its objective even upon entering the game. As long as it was beneficial to them, they were willing to do anything, making up whatever scoundrels tricks they could think of along the way!

When the guild Clear Water was going against Liu Wei's guild, Myth, Liu Wei had hired Rogue Clan to bash members of Clear Water. Those rogues had spammed deliberate messages of insults and slanders in the Capital every day, using words which were extremely derogatory and vile that would even disgust one to nausea!

Rogue Bunny had even personally led dozens of men and stationed themselves at the entrance of the Clear Water Guild. Whenever a female player came out, they would take off their pants, slap their asses and talk dirty, an absolute demonstration of the absence of their ethics!

The frustrating part was that the Clear Water Guild was not powerful enough, and thus could only set up their base in the Capital's zone instead of freely picking their own base outside. This was primarily because PK among players was restricted in the Capital.

Unable to do anything, Zhang Yang and the others could only watch these scoundrels behave the way they were! During that time, the situation had caused hundreds of female players to not go online for days, indirectly affecting the morale of male players.

Zhang Yang had hated these guys for a while now. Just as he wanted to draw his sword and PK, he aborted this idea reluctantly.

--Beginner Village was also protected by the system; players were unable to engage one another in a PK.

"Rogue Clan is camping this field. Other players leave the field immediately or we will kill you back to Level 0!" a player with the name Bunny Bro Nine spoke arrogantly when he saw Zhang Yang walking towards them.

Ah the arrogance! With just a few Level 5 or 6 players, they had wanted to take over the entire field!

"Boss, there is really a boss inside! I think it's called Firebender Barr, a Black-Steel Boss! But there is a player fighting it now!" a Thief player appeared suddenly from Sneak mode and said excitedly.

"Boss is indeed Boss, knowing there is a boss inside even before entering, awesome!" one of his subordinate pandered.

"Haha!" Rogue Bunny laughed, all conceited and superior, "Let us have this boss killed and have the system issue an announcement! By then, the Rogue Clan will be renowned across the world. We can then recruit thousands of brothers and become rich!"

"As expected of Boss, brilliant, valiant and prophetic! You made us all sell our things to buy these gaming helmets and play the game as a group. No one but Boss would have been so bold!" another man sang his praise.

"However, Boss, I've heard that the server only makes announcements for being the first to kill a Black-Steel Boss…" one of his men stated.

"Nonsense! You dare doubt Boss' words, was your head kicked by a donkey?" Bunny Bro Eight lectured him immediately.

Rogue Bunny threw out a kick and sent that player who objected flying, "If you were so smart, you wouldn't need me as your boss now, would you?"

"That's right, Boss is brilliant!"

"Peerless, handsome Boss!"

"Almighty Boss!"

Rogue Bunny shifted his gaze and saw Zhang Yang watching their little show by the side. He then angrily said, "You there, fool, why are you still here? Do you want to be killed back to Level 0?"

These people did not seem to know that the Beginner Village had PK restrictions. An idea came to Zhang Yang's mind and he grinned, "Kill me back to Level 0? Hehe, come and try, I am insusceptible to damage!"

"Haha, insusceptible to damage, in your dreams!" Bunny Bro Four raised his sword to slash towards Zhang Yang's head.

Zhang Yang did not move nor evade but welcomed the sword with a smile!

"Sha!"

The Beginner Sword cut right through Zhang Yang's head but it had seemed to be cutting through a shadow. Zhang Yang was completely unaffected.

-- With the protection of 'System God', every player was the same.

Bunny Bro Four was incredulous, he waved his sword a few more times but it was the same, the system had nullified the attack.

Rogue Bunny and his gang gasped in shock, their eyes staring wide as saucers.

"Boss! He really is insusceptible to damage!" Bunny Bro Five shouted.

Rogue Bunny immediately replaced his overbearing and arrogant expression with a smile and said, "Friend, I… I am Rogue Bunny, Guild Master of Rogue Clan. Brother, let's be friends!"

"Get out of my way! I'm gonna go f*ck the boss!" Zhang Yang said with an intentional rough tone.

"Wait, brother, wait!" Rogue Bunny stopped Zhang Yang at once, his face wearing a smile of flattery, "Don't be so spiteful!"

Zhang Yang sneered and said, "You want in on my indestructible body?"

"Brother, how did you get this indestructible body? Is there any secret?" Rogue Bunny asked in earnest.

Zhang Yang looked as though he was so very contented. He seemed like he wanted to share it with them, yet had to hold himself back, all while looking at Rogue Bunny and smiling.

Rogue Bunny was restless, "Brother, bro, our acquaintance is fate. Don't be so selfish!"

Zhang Yang put up a mysterious front, carefully peeking around. Rogue Bunny and his followers came nearer and surrounded him, wearing the same expression.

"Actually this secret is very simple. All you need to do is to chant the spell!" Zhang Yang exposed his 'secret'.

"What spell?" more than 10 people asked simultaneously.

"Wee-Aar-Ol-Stew-Pee!" Zhang Yang lowered his voice and said.

"Really?"

"If you don't believe it, try it out!" Zhang Yang shrugged.

Rogue Bunny randomly pointed at one of his men and said, "Come, chop me!"

That man eagerly picked up his weapon and wanted to swing it—

"Wait!" Rogue Bunny quickly shouted, "I haven't chanted the spell!"

He adjusted his expression and chanted loudly: "Wee-Aar-Ol-Stew-Pee!"

"Come on!"

"Here I come!"

That man, too, roared before he gave a chop with his sword.

Null!

Rogue Bunny was delighted, he immediately laughed out loud and said, "It really worked! Haha, indestructible body!"

"Boss, now that we have this secret, we can kill any boss we want and wipe out anyone we wish?"

Rogue Bunny waved his arm mightily and said, "Let's go, follow me and let's kill the boss!"

"Wait!" Zhang Yang quickly said, "The duration of the spell is very short, so you have to keep chanting. It may also not work if your voice is not loud enough!"

"OK, we got it! You can fuck off!" Rogue Bunny resumed his wretched character, burning the bridge after he had crossed the river. He laughed maniacally and led his men towards the valley.

More than 10 players rampaged without a care and gained the aggro of 7 to 8 Fire Elementals shortly.

These people were fearless. Each of them loudly chanted "Wee-Aar-Ol-Stew-Pee" and started to fight the monsters.

Players of Level 5-6 versus Level 10 monsters. As a result…

Complete annihilation!

Some ten minutes later, these people resurrected and came back running.

"Boss, why is it not working?" Bunny Bro Eight complained.

Rogue Bunny thought about it and said, "Maybe we didn't chant loud enough? Let's try it again!"

"Wee-Aar-Ol-Stew-Pee!"

"Go!"

Again, all of them got completely wiped out.

Another 10 minutes later, the Rogue Clan members ran back after resurrecting.

"Boss, I think we have been fooled! Doesn't the spell sound like 'we are all stupid'?" a man voiced his suspicion.

"F*ck you! You are the stupid one!" Rogue Bunny was mad, "Chant it louder, go!"

"We are all stupid!"

They went on in batches.

Zhang Yang watched them for a while in a hidden spot at the mouth of the valley, laughing until his belly ached. He waved his Beginner Sword and began his grinding journey.

The first time he had came here to collect Refined Fire Essences, he was alone. So before he could even enter one-tenth of the valley, monsters had already spawned behind him. Therefore he did not have to continue moving inwards.

Recalling that the members of Rogue Clan had said that there was a boss in the valley, Zhang Yang got excited and made his way in as he grinded.

As he reached the middle of the valley, Zhang Yang came across a sacrificial altar that took up a lot of space. Complicated magic circles were engraved in the middle of the altar, with white rays flowing out of it.

In the center of the sacrificial altar, a crimson-colored Fire Elemental was fighting an elf girl cladded in a snow-white sorcerer's robe. The other Fire Elementals were far away from the altar.

The Fire Elemental currently engaged in the battle was significantly bigger than the other ordinary Fire Elementals. Its color was also much deeper. Each attack delivered by the Fire Elemental carried a dazzling fire glow. That elf girl was obviously in a disadvantageous position. She kept dodging but was still cornered and attacked. Her HP bar reaching an alarming level!

[Firebender Barr] (Black-Steel Boss)

Level: 10

HP: 2286/5000

[Calina] (Normal)

Level: 10

HP: 537/2000

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Chapter 11: Main Story Quest

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Rogue Clan, those bloody idiots!

Zhang Yang could not help but curse. This was not some PvE fight, it was obviously two NPCs fighting against each other.

"Young warrior, please help me!" The elf girl Calina cried for help when she had noticed Zhang Yang's presence.

"Thou shan't believe this devil, mortal!" Firebender Barr commanded with a low voice. "Leave! I command thee!"

Zhang Yang unsheathed his Beginner Sword and used Charge towards his target – Firebender Barr!

The reason was as plain as daylight: Calina's name was green, belonging to the 'Friendly' category that could not be attacked. On the other hand, Firebender Barr had a red name, a confirmed monster! There were no choices in this matter!

Stunned!

After stunning Barr, Zhang Yang swung his sword and began a series of attack against it.

Firebender Barr recovered from the stun and furiously roared, "Foolish mortal! Thou shall pay for thy actions!" Barr made a fierce turn and gave up his attack on Calina, instead starting his attack on Zhang Yang.

He must have triggered a quest in the game's storyline. Otherwise Barr would not have simply changed his course from Calina who had dealt more damage, to him who had only just begun attacking . This obviously did not match the aggro value!

Zhang Yang knew it was the system's settings that had allowed only attacks towards Barr and so, there was no other way around!

While evading and counterattacking, he thought to himself, "Calina, this name seems very familiar. Where have I heard of it?"

This elf NPC must have a back story. It is impossible for an average Level 10 NPC to possess 2,000 HP and manage to deal almost 3,000 damage against a boss while only losing less than 1,500 HP herself. Her attacks must have been stronger than the boss!

Even as Zhang Yang pondered, his actions showed no signs of slowing down as he continued to deal damage to Firebender Barr.

"Mortal! That's enough! Stand down now and I shall forgive thy insolence!"

Combined attacks from Zhang Yang and Calina had managed to bring down Barr's HP to a mere 10%.

"There is no other way, the plot requires your death and there's nothing I can do about it!" Zhang Yang murmured as he continued dishing out attacks.

"Damn you, mortal! Curse you! You've released a demon. The blood of the innocent will be in your hands!" Barr cried as it turned into a lump of ash amidst the white light. Yet, its voice echoed in the air, "Calina, the God of the Fire shall incinerate your soul!"

"Hahaha!" Calina let out a pleased and relieved laughter, "It's been 3,000 years! 3,000 years! I, Calina, am finally free from this damned seal!"

Clumps of black fog emerged from all corners as Calina absorbed them into her body. The once delicate face of a young girl morphed into a ferocious one filled with evil aura.

"Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!"

The sound of snapping chains rang around him, yet Zhang Yang did not see anything but the slowly widening grin on Calina's face. Her eyes that had radiated with white rays gradually darkened and sank into an abyss.

"Hong!"

With a loud and devastating explosion, the entire sacrificial altar came crashing down. As the dust settled, Calina emerged completely different. A pair of black, bat-like wings stemmed from her back. Each wing had the length of 5 men, flapping to allow her to glide freely in the air!

"Si!"

The white sorcerer's robe that she had been wearing began to tear itself apart, replacing itself with a half-cupped chest plate, exposing most of her breasts. Her lower half was an unbelievably short metallic skirt. Hanging on her back was a Dragon's Bone Longbow taller than her!

The bright and lively elf girl had morphed into a devilish and sexy fallen angel in an instant!

These game designers… such fetish!

Witnessing Calina's current appearance, Zhang Yang remembered a name. He then checked the name above her head and noticed that it had changed as well.

[Demon Lord, Calina the Fallen Wind Ranger] (God Class Boss)

Level: ???

HP: ???

A God Class Boss! The highest-ranked monster in the game!

It was her!

The background setting of 'God's Miracle' was the invasion of demons and spectres with each race uniting to protect their homeland! The highest-ranked demons were the Demon Lords. There was a total of 9 generals and Calina was ranked 7th on the list!

According to the official introduction page, Calina was originally an elf hero, bearing the name 'Wind Ranger'. In one of her battles, she was betrayed by an allied force and became filled with wrath, the Wind Ranger was lured into the dark force by the Demon King, thus falling from grace and turning into a Demon Lord.

After she had turned into a Demon Lord, she had went up against her previous brethren and war comrades, killing them mercilessly. She was eventually sealed away by the God of Fire.

Zhang Yang could only laugh. Amidst his bemusement, he had actually released a God Class Boss! This damned game company, they actually placed such a powerful boss in the Beginner Village! Were they not scared that this would escalate into a bloody mess?

With the ability of a God Class Boss, if it had unleashed just one special skill, the entire Beginner Village could have been completely annihilated!

"Puny mortal, you've helped me escape. Should I just kill you to thank you?" Calina flapped her wings, gliding in the air as she looked at Zhang Yang like she was looking at an ant.

"Or perhaps I should just let you suffer in regret and misery your whole life, that may be a better reward! Farewell, mortal! Enjoy your last moments in life for I, Calina, shall completely destroy this world!" Calina seemed to be thinking about something as she flapped her wings promptly and flew high into the sky, disappearing in an instant.

Hu, for the sake of the storyline, he had actually spent half a day and ended up empty-handed. Zhang Yang let out a sigh of disappointment.

"Ah, you imbecile! What have you done?!" a small, red-bearded dwarf who had sprung up out of nowhere grabbed Zhang Yang by his collar and bellowed, spraying his spittle everywhere.

[Traveler Aran Pillar] (Normal)

Level: 1

HP: 100

Green name NPC, a Friendly!

Although Zhang Yang would very much like to have this NPC slashed, it could only remain as a passing thought. He pushed the dwarf aside and did not utter a single word. This was obviously part of the plot progression but he had no interest in arguing with a system-controlled NPC.

Aran furiously pushed Zhang Yang aside and said, "Human! Absolute imbecile of a human! Did you know that you have just released a demon? One that could have brought extermination to the whole world at that!"

"She was already sealed, how did she manage to escape?"

"Ignorant mortal! Calina, she was once an elf hero, a Wind Ranger! Her bow and arrows could shoot down the stars in the night sky! An existence that rivaled God! Even the God of Fire could not kill her and could only seal her up! But her power proved to be stronger. Even with her physical body sealed, she had managed to manifest herself into an indestructible spiritual form to engage in a never-ending battle against the Fire Elementals who guarded the seal, attempting to destroy the seal to gain her freedom!" Aran sighed.

As expected from a God Class Boss, a mere thought would have already had such prowess!

"You, human! You have to fix this!" said the dwarf. "You must make haste to White Jade Castle and report this matter to Grand Magus Anthony Faylon to allow them to prepare for the impending disaster!"

"Ding! Aran Pillar has a quest for you: Disastrous News. Will you accept it? This is a Main Story Quest. Complete the quest to receive a handsome reward!"

Main Story Quest!

In comparison to a Hidden Quest, triggering a Main Story Quest was much easier. However, it was exactly because the trigger was easier that the completion difficulty was extremely high! Initially, you may be required to just run around a little and kill a few monsters but the last step or even last few steps would always require you to fight a super boss. It would be a near impossible task even with tens of thousands of players engaged!

Zhang Yang was psyched. Even though he had managed to accidentally trigger a few Hidden Quests in his previous life but because he had joined the game a little too late, he had naturally never encountered a single Main Story Quest! Yet this main quest right now, if he was eventually required to overthrow Calina, he would have to find tens of thousands players above Level 200 to join him, otherwise it would just be sending them straight to their deaths!

To achieve Level 200… it would take at least 5 years! Zhang Yang had only managed to get to Level 179 after grinding for 3 years in his previous character!

"Accept!" Zhang Yang accepted the quest. Since he did not know how long he would take before arriving at the last plot step, he might as well take it easy.

After announcing the quest, Aran promptly left the place. Zhang Yang wondered how a Level 1 NPC could roam around the field filled with Level 10 monsters so freely. Zhang Yang continued on and grinded. After half an hour, he bathed in a golden light and reached Level 9. Checking the time, he noticed that it was already past 9 PM. Zhang Yang gave it some thought and decided to reach Level 10 before disconnecting to rest.

The altar did not respawn after it was destroyed. Instead, many Fire Elementals had appeared. Main Story Quests were exclusively singular, and so, the situation where he had helped Calina escape her seal would not reoccur to other players.

Zhang Yang spent another 4 hours grinding and had finally achieved Level 10. Then, he opened his inventory and changed into the 3 Black-Steel equipment that had long sat there unused. His HP and Weapon Attack increased by a certain degree.

[Player: Zhan Yu]

Level: 10

HP: 350

Defense: 16

Strength: 60

Melee Damage: 76 – 84

Attack Interval: 2 seconds

For a tank, this amount of HP was under expectations but his Weapon Attack was absolutely wonderful, capable of generating massive aggro!

He then invested his SP gained from achieving Level 10 into the skill Block and the skill's cooldown time had reduced to 8 seconds.

Zhang Yang went to the Beginner Village's teleportation portal and was beamed to White Jade Castle as a white light. He then disconnected.

Taking off the gaming helmet, Zhang Yang made himself some supper and took a bath after finishing his meal. He then went to bed and fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, Zhang Yang woke up at around 6 AM and worked out for an hour. He took a shower and went outside to grab some youtiao1 from a local breakfast stall. He got back home and ate it with milk.

After his breakfast, Zhang Yang was preparing to enter the game when he heard his phone ring.

"Hello–"

"Little Yang! You're indeed amazing!" Zhang Yang could only get a hello out before his words were drowned by the caller. "I followed your instructions and picked the Hunter class! First, I killed the wolves, collected 10 pelts and later moved to the catacombs to kill some monsters. Once I reached Level 5, I handed over the coats. Haha. I burnt the midnight oil and got to Level 10!"

"Who are you?"

"Damn, you can't even recognize your fatty bro's voice?" Han Guang scolded jokingly. "I even took the Hunter's Hidden Job Quest but I can't even complete 'Extremely Difficult' and 'Hard', so I only took the 'Average' difficulty level and got an 'Average' score, obtaining a Skill Book called Precise Shot. Haha, this skill is totally off the charts! Still, some guy had actually gotten a 'Perfect' score! I felt so jealous after seeing the server announcement! I really don't know how he did it!"

Zhang Yang smiled a little as he listened to Han Guang's excited tone, "Alright, you should have reached the Capital by now right? Let us both go and raid a dungeon later!"

"Ugh. I've been playing the whole night. I can't take it anymore, I'm going to sleep for a few hours! Little Yang, I'll join you later in the afternoon. Wait for me! Ah right, my IGN is called 'Slim and Handsome', don't forget to add me into your Friend List."

Han Guang hung up before Zhang Yang could even reply.

"Slim and Handsome?" Zhang Yang recalled Han Guang's size that could compare to that of two average men standing side-by-side and felt a shiver run down his spine.

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Chapter 12: Ranking

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Before he had disconnected yesterday, Zhang Yang's rank among China region's players might not have been first but he had definitely been in the top 10! After one night though, mad level grinders had taken advantage of the fact that there were less players in the middle of the night and grinded up their levels.

Zhang Yang left the teleportation portal and reached the home of warriors. Along his way, he had spotted more than tens of Level 10 players.

Upon entering the Capital, a new feature was added to the game interface: Ranking.

There were a lot of rankings such as Player Level Ranking, Hall of Fame Ranking, First Hardcore Mode Dungeon Raid Ranking, Fastest Hardcore Mode Dungeon Raid Level Clearance Ranking and so on.

The rankings were based on regions.

'God's Miracle' had divided its global players into 8 regions: China, Japan South Korea, India, Europe, Africa, South America, North America, and Australia region. The Australian server had included a few other Asian countries such as Indonesia, Singapore and so on.

Each region had one server and each server had only one ranking. The servers of these 8 regions shared data so cross-regional wars could be implemented, resulting in an integrated gaming environment.

Currently, most of the rankings were empty. The rankings that had grabbed more attention would be the Player Level Ranking and Hall of Fame Ranking.

[Hall of Fame Ranking] (China Region)

1. Player (Name Hidden) was the first to kill a Level 15 Black-Steel Boss, the Black Panther King, in the field (Continent Calendar 9287, August 23rd).

2. Player (Name Hidden) was the first to complete the Hidden Quest with a 'Perfect' score (Continent Calendar 9287, August 23rd).

Zhang Yang then swiped out the Player Level Ranking and checked the current levels of the expert grinders.

[Player Level Ranking] (China Region)

1. Powerful Priest, Troll, Cryomancer, Level 11

2. Humble Gentleman, Human, Cryomancer, Level 11

3. Hunt the World, Troll, Sniper, Level 11

4. Slender Waist, Elf, Pyromancer, Level 10

5. Overlord Orders Chicken, Orc, Berserker, Level 10

6. Floating Fireball, Human, Pyromancer, Level 10

7. Frost Night, Elf, Assassin, Level 10

8. Sky Shaman, Dwarf, Guardian, Level 10

9. Don't Hit My Face, Dwarf, Defender, Level 10

10. King of Assassin, Orc, Bandit, Level 10

As expected of Spellcasters, the master grinders in traditional games. There were already 4 of them among the top 10 Player Level Ranking! Of course, professions picked in the early stages of the game did not matter as much. The key to leveling fast was the duration spent online or having a strong support at your back. For example, a guild could have all its members deal damage to a monster until its last drop of HP then reserving the last hit for its designated player!

According to the settings of 'God's Miracle', player under non-party mode who made the last hit on the monster would gain 50% EXP. Therefore, if the guild had been willing to sacrifice the interest of a portion of its players, it could easily boost the level of one or more players. Rich players could also hire others to push their levels faster.

If a guild could cultivate a high-level player who could enter the rankings, it would be advantageous to the guild's image, achieving effective advertisement.

Zhang Yang sighed, his level was a little behind! However, it was not compulsory for him to be the top 1 in Player Level Ranking, as long as he had remained in the list. What was more important to him was the progress of the Fastest Hardcore Mode Dungeon Raid Level Clearance Ranking!

To assess the strength of a guild in 'God's Miracle', the most important standard was the guild's speed in hardcore dungeon raids. After all, there were only a few bosses in the field, and their respawning period took several days up to a whole month! The competition was fierce since there were limited bosses but numerous players. The equipment loot would never have been sufficient to go around!

A dungeon would be different. As long as players were capable, they had equal chances to defeat bosses and acquire better equipment! The chances of obtaining stronger equipment would drastically increase if a player had joined a speedy dungeon raiding guild. To most players, their decision on which guild to join would have been obvious.

Zhang Yang's plans were: first, to use his familiarity of the game's future trend to hoard materials and sell them to earn a fortune! Second, to strive to be the first to clear most of the hardcore mode dungeon raids, boosting his reputation to form a super guild. Third, to look for outstanding teammates and establish his own team to dominate the S-Class League, achieving his previous life's goal!

Currently though, he did not possess much capital and thus was unable to hoard much materials to profiteer of market monopolization. That was why he had now set his eyes on dungeon clearing, the Hardcore Mode of Bangar Crypt.

Bangar Crypt was the game's first dungeon with a Level 10 – 15 range recommendation, allowing a maximum of 10 players. All dungeons in 'God's Miracle' had consisted of 3 modes: Normal, Difficult and Hardcore.

Normal Mode was fairly simple. A little grinding in the raid would have cleared the level. Obviously, the drops would be of average quality, a grade lower than those in Difficult Mode. However, it would allow common players to enjoy the excitement of fighting the boss, making it the main choice of casual players.

Difficult Mode lived up to its name of being very difficult. Even for teams in which players were already familiar with one another and had great teamwork, they would still have a hard time grinding before they were able to clear the dungeon! Going into Difficult Mode with temporarily formed party could very well equate to seeking your own death.

Hardcore Mode was even more vicious, where a minor mistake could lead the whole team to an instant death. However, the rewards were equally great. Dropped equipment were of the highest grade, Hidden Bosses that could only be found in this mode, too, had chances of dropping various Profession Recipes.

These 3 modes were not connected, that would mean that there was no need to clear Normal Mode or Difficult Mode before accessing Hardcore Mode. As long as the pre-requisite quest for the dungeon raid was completed, players could freely choose between the dungeon's modes.

The first party to clear the Hardcore Mode Dungeon Raid would enter the First Hardcore Mode Dungeon Raid Ranking and have the news announced to the world through the server. It would have been a glorious feat. Regardless of it being an individual player or an entire guild, this announcement would still be a great declaration of valor and fame.

Fastest Hardcore Mode Dungeon Raid Ranking would then be unlocked. Record breaking players would be listed in the ranking and the server would issue a global announcement as well. There was a rule in Speed Raiding Ranking though, that if the level of any particular player in the clearing team had exceeded the dungeon level's upper limit, the result would not be taken into account. Otherwise, it would have been meaningless to have several Level 100 players breaking the record of a Level 10 dungeon.

First Clear and Fastest Hardcore Mode Dungeon Raid would have been the core competition for all guilds in the future, bearing utmost importance!

Zhang Yang had his eyes set on the Hidden Boss of the Hardcore Mode Bangar Crypt – Momoermo. There was a chance for this boss to drop the Metal Caster's Shield Recipe. The shield would be of Green-Copper rarity, the best-one-to-date for both Guardians and Defenders before Level 20!

He wanted to earn his first pot of gold using this recipe to accumulate even more wealth. He could then snowball his wealth into greater proportions!

Zhang Yang found a female NPC with the name tag, 'Ani, Warrior Instructor' at the warrior settlement. Blonde hair, blue eyes, large breasts and voluptuous hips. She was wearing a sparkling gold armor designed so sexily that it had only barely covered her chest and buttocks, revealing her alluring snow white skin.

Although all of them knew well enough that this character was an NPC, many male players had still stared lustfully at her, drooling.

Zhang Yang, too, felt that it was much more pleasing to the eye looking at this pretty lady in front of him as compared to the sharp-tongued, middle-aged Farion. He started a conversation with the NPC and learned the Level 10 Guardian skills Shield Oath and Provoke.

[Shield Oath (Passive): Increases Defense by using a Shield, reducing all damage by 20%. 1 Rage increase each second while in combat. All aggro points generated by your attacks increase by 20%. Requirement: Shield.

[Provoke: Provokes a target and forces it to attack you, lasts for 2 seconds. Cooldown time: 10 seconds.

Recalling the main quest in his quest log, Zhang Yang decided to first complete the quest and see what would follow. Zhang Yang asked an NPC guard about the whereabouts of Grand Magus Anthony Faylon and went to the Magician Tower in the center of the capital.

"Warrior, you do not belong here!" 2 NPCs with sorcerer's robes had blocked Zhang Yang's way.

Zhang Yang said, "I have an important message for Master Anthony Faylon!"

"Is that so?" the 2 NPCs hesitated before one of them said, "Alright, Master Faylon is at the top of the Magician Tower!"

He guessed that these 2 NPCs would not have let him pass if he did not have the main quest in his quest log. Zhang Yang thought about it while he entered the Magician Tower. He went along the staircase and soon reached the top of the tower – the ninth floor.

An old man with chest-length beard was deeply engrossed in looking at a crystal ball, his back hunched and faced Zhang Yang. Speaking before Zhang Yang could even open his mouth, "Young man, I have already known the purpose of your visit!"

[The Grand Magus Anthony Faylon] (God Class Boss)

Level: ???

Hp: ???

In 'God's Miracle', every capital was safeguarded by a God Class Boss. This white bearded old man would be the strongest person in White Jade Castle. In his previous life, Zhang Yang had witnessed how the old man had unleashed a formidable skill during the Demon Siege War and wiped out millions of demons, a scene that was both terrifying and impressive!

Unfortunately, this powerful grand magus would be assassinated by a demon's assassin as part of the storyline. As he was a God Class Boss, he would never respawn after his death.

"Master Faylon, what should we do now?" Zhang Yang simply replied to keep the plot going in order to unlock the follow-up quest.

"Aih—" Faylon sighed and turned around. His face filled with despair and sympathy. "Calina was once a great hero, but… she was betrayed by the people she had sworn to protect with her life. Her soul had been suffering from the torment of betrayal, I can feel it!"

He paused before saying, "Perhaps, there is still some hope to free her soul!"

Zhang Yang's eyes lit up. As long as he was not required to kill the God Class Boss Calina, the main quest should be much easier to complete!

"Young man, I need you to collect 3 items! After you've collected them, I shall be able to create a relic capable of purifying the dark force casted by the Demon King and revive Calina's soul!" Faylon spoke in a deep voice, "This mission is very difficult. Are you willing to take on this responsibility?"

Did he even have an option? Zhang Yang nodded his head and replied immediately, "Yes master, I am willing!"

"Ding! You have accepted the quest: The Crafting Materials of a Relic! This is a Main Story Quest. Complete the quest to receive a luxurious reward!"

[The Crafting Materials of a Relic] (Difficulty: S)

Quest Description: Faylon needs you to collect 3 materials to create a powerful relic in order to purify the dark force affecting Calina! These 3 materials are the Heart of the Black Dragon, the Horn of the Mythical Unicorn, and the Book of the Damned from the spectre race.

Progress: Collect the Heart of the Black Dragon 0/1, the Horn of the Mythical Unicorn 0/1, and the Book of the Damned 0/1.

Shit, I might as well fight Calina directly! Zhang Yang cursed when he saw the materials he was required to collect.

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Chapter 13: Entering the Dungeon

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The Black Dragon and the Mystical Unicorn were both Level 150 Field Bosses and also the strongest among monsters of their own level tier. While killing them would be hard, it would still be easier then actually trying to fight Calina.

What got Zhang Yang mad was the Book of the Damned!

Book of the Damned was the spectre race's totem, hidden well within the Evil Spirit Tower that resided in the sacred land of the spectres. Not only was it heavily guarded by a strong defense force, in the tower also sat the strongest among the 7 Witch Kings in the spectre realm 'Witch King of the Undead', a God Class Boss above Level 200, Madevitch. To acquire the Book of the Damned under his nose…

Still, he would consider all these to be fine. All he had to do was to acquire the Book of the Damned, and not defeat Madevitch, Witch King of the Undead.

Now though, as there was absolutely no way for him to proceed with this quest, he could only set it aside for now.

Zhang Yang first accepted the quest 'Traces of the Gnomes', the pre-requisite quest to enter the Bangar Crypt dungeon. The quest was simple, to eliminate 20 gnomes. After completing the mission, he met up with Sorr the Army Captain. This middle-aged man was shocked and could not believe that there had been gnomes around the White Jade Castle!

This NPC then gave out a subsequent quest, 'Find Their Lair'. Zhang Yang followed the quest instructions and arrived at the entrance of the Bangar Crypt dungeon. Upon completion and submission of the quest, he then received Sorr's final quest called 'The Raid' and obtained the permission to enter Bangar Crypt dungeon.

[The Raid] (Difficulty Level: A)

Quest Description: You have found the lair of the gnomes. Find their leader, Dadaerda. Initiate the raid and slay these horrid creatures!

Progress: Kill Dadaerda 0/1

This quest did not set any required specific difficulty level to kill Dadaerda, so even if the boss was killed in Hardcore Mode, the end reward of the quest would have been the same as those in Normal Mode.

Zhang Yang returned to the dungeon entrance once again and saw a 9-man party waiting outside the dungeon. As they saw Zhang Yang walk towards them with a shield on his back, one of the players had immediately private messaged him, "Bangar Crypt Normal Mode! We have a main tank! We're in need of another off-tank, would you join us?"

Only Guardians and Defenders could wield a shield in the game, so the player could easily identify Zhang Yang's class even with his profile hidden.

Difficult Mode and Hardcore Mode could only be attempted once a day but Normal Mode did not have any limit to its entry. Zhang Yang had to keep his dungeon entry until Fatty Han came online to go with him, so he could only do Normal Mode with this party now. He thought about it and replied, "Invite me!"

"Ding! Player Floral Shorts invites you to join his party. Will you accept his invitation?"

"Accept!" Zhang Yang tapped 'Confirm'.

"Ding! You have joined the party. Party leader: Floral Shorts. Distribution mode: Roll the Dice."

Distribution mode referred to the distribution method when items of white grade and above dropped. Roll the Dice mode was the most common party choice where the item would automatically go to the player who had rolled the highest number.

Besides Roll the Dice, there were also Leader's Distribution (party leader would decide who would receive the loot) and Individual Loot (finders, keepers).

Zhang Yang noticed that of the 9 players, Floral Shorts and 3 others belonged to the guild Pride, while another 2 were in different guilds themselves while the remaining three were guild-less like Zhang Yang.

"F*ck, this off-tank has only 350 HP. He is useless! Floral, kick him out!" A Spellcaster by the name of Prideful Precepts scorned when he saw Zhang Yang's HP value.

"Ding! You have been expelled from the party!" Zhang Yang received a notification as soon as he was expelled.

Zhang Yang could not help but become surprised. Members of this Pride Guild were so domineering, expelling someone without a second thought! Rage simmered in him but he shook his head at once. Why be petty and degrade himself to the same level as those imbecile players?

Just as he was about to leave, Zhang Yang's sight was glued to a player who had not hid his name, "Hundred Shots, Male Dwarf, Beast Hunter, Level 10".

It was him!

Zhang Yang vividly remembered that this Beast Hunter had been an impressive character in his previous life, and was ranked first in the top 10 Beast Hunter list! Just by looking at his skills, he may not be the best. However, his luck was extremely good that he had managed to get a Baby Red Dragon as his pet!

Dragons, as one of the most powerful monsters in 'God's Miracle', even if it was downgraded to a player's pet and lost its devastating killing skill, was still remarkably strong! With the help of his pet dragon, Hundred Shots had managed to squeeze into the top ten ranking and eventually took the first spot. Players dubbed him as 'The Dragon Hunter', and even players who had gotten phoenixes as pets were considered inferior to him!

As for how Hundred Shots got his hands on the pet dragon, he had always been secretive about it and had never revealed anything. Thereafter, Beast Hunters had kept attempting to figure out the method to obtain such a pet but had never managed to even come up with a clue. The Dragon Hunter, it had always been just him!

Yet now, this future hotshot was still a long way from his fame. By his side stood a pet pig that kept wiggling its butt. His current expression was without the confident flair after he had gotten famous, looking just like any other common player.

Never had Zhang Yang thought that he would meet this future hotshot on the second day of his game. He was stirred. If he could get Hundred Shots to join him, he would be taking a large step forward towards his dream of conquering the S-Class League.

Furthermore, Hundred Shots was still a common player now, this would be the best time to get close to him!

"Hey, we're still lacking one member. Take it as a favor. We'll bring you in as a good deed!" Floral Shorts suddenly sent him a private message. Along with it, an invitation to join his party.

Zhang Yang's first reaction was to reject the invitation, but as he saw that Hundred Shots was also in the party, he changed his mind immediately and chose 'Accept'.

Returning to the party, Zhang Yang took his time and looked through the party's structure: A Defender (Main Tank), a Sacred Knight (Healer), 2 Hunters (DPS), 2 Thieves (DPS), 2 Mages (DPS), and 1 Priest (Healer).

The main tank Defender's HP was very high, totaling a whopping 700 HP. However, with 3 gaming years' worth of eyesight, Zhang Yang could easily tell with a glance that only the shield worn by this Pride guild player, Kindling Chest Hair, was of Black-Steel rarity. The rest of his equipment were only of White-Wood rarity!

Since White-Wood rarity equipment, other than its armor, would not add any Attribute bonus, this Defender's HP would have had been completely increased by his given AP. This had also meant that the 50 AP gained on his way to Level 10 were all invested in Vitality. In addition to the Attribute increase when he leveled up plus the default 50 HP at Level 1, it would total up to 650 HP.

Lastly, with 5 points of Vitality bonus from the Black-Steel rarity shield, they would all add up to exactly 700 HP maxed.

This kind of Vitality investment was also known as the Bull's Blood investment. Since the beginner equipment was weak, the AP gained during leveling up would be the main support of increasing a tank's Attributes. However, starting from Green-Copper rarity and above, the bonus Attribute provided would be enough to match the AP; from Gray-Silver rarity and beyond, the bonus Attributes would exceed the character's own AP, thus equipment would become more crucial as the game progressed.

Nevertheless, as a tank, one had to be able to defend attacks in addition to withstanding a monster's aggro. Otherwise, the boss would have wiped out all the other players, so even with such high HP, how would one compare to the boss?

This tank's weapon was a White grade one-handed hammer bought at Level 10, possibly having 7 – 13 Weapon Attack Range, but since he had added all of his AP with the Bull's Blood method, his maximum would have only reached 15 Strength and melee damage of around 22 – 28 points.

A regular Level 10 monster would have 10 defense points, while an Elite would have 15, and a Boss would have 20. If he could only inflict 7 – 13 damage on an Elite, it would have meant that he could only ditch out 2 – 8 damage to a Boss. It would be close to impossible to pull any aggro at all!

In comparison, Zhang Yang's sword alone would have already dealt 16 – 24 damage. Adding 60 points on Strength attribute meant that his melee damage could reach a terrifying 76 – 84 points!

"Hey useless Guardian, just watch and learn later. We're doing you a favor here. Don't mess up and cause us all to die!" blabbered Prideful Precepts.

"Pay no heed to them. These guys have a stinky mouth. It's not worth to pick a fight with them!" Zhang Yang received a private message, looking at the sender: Hundred Shots.

Zhang Yang smiled, he was just thinking of approaching him and quickly sent a reply, "Mm, I'm just going to treat it as them farting!"

"Haha, you're absolutely right! They're just a bunch of stinky kiddos!" Hundred Shots instantly replied.

"Alright, now that we're all gathered, let's go into the dungeon. Time waits for no man!" Floral Shorts announced in the party channel. "Speed! Haste!"

All 10 players entered the dungeon one by one. A sudden change flashed and they had arrived at a scarcely lit underground cave. Just some distance away stood 6 green and oddly-shaped gnomes. They had no eyes on their face but their ears were exceptionally large.

[Gnome Soldier] (Elite)

Level: 10

HP: 5000

"Hairy, go!" said Floral Shorts in the party channel. "Guardian, be prepared. If someone OTs, be sure to handle it! Priest! Sacred Knight! You two focus on healing the tank!"

OT1 referred to the moment when someone had caused an aggro value that exceeded the monster's current target, typically the tank, causing the monster to switch its attacking target.

Even though both Guardians and Defenders were considered as tank, these two classes had totally different attacking styles.

Defenders would have more AoE attacking skills, making them suitable for fields where there were many smaller monsters. His spell-immunity skill was better too, giving him an advantage when faced with a magic-type boss. On the other hand, Guardians had a stronger single-target aggro pulling ability, suitable for dealing with single physical-type bosses.

Carrying a shield on his left hand and a war hammer on his right, Kindling Chest Hair walked a few steps forward and furiously threw his shield out.

That was not showing off at all but actually activating the Defender's skill called Shield Toss. A skill that would attack 3 targets at once, causing 100% physical damage to each one.

Translator Notes

1 OT stands for off-tank or off-tanking. It is often used interchangeably as a noun or a verb. OT also has multiple meanings depending on the context of the sentence. For instance, as a noun: We need an OT to tank the boss. This sentence means that two tanks are needed, the first being the Main Tank (MT) and the second being the Off-tank or (OT). The other meaning for OT could be used when someone 'pulls' the aggro of a monster off the tank. In this case, you could say that the player has 'OT-ed' and it could also mean that the situation has turned dire, as DPSers and healers should usually not be receiving any attention from the boss at all in an optimized dungeon run.

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Chapter 14: Who is the Noob?

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"-1!"

"-1!"

"-1!"

3 pathetic damage figures floated across the 3 Gnome Soldiers' heads. 6 monsters roared at the same time and charged towards Kindling Chest Hair.

Kindling Chest Hair remained rooted and activated the skill Devotion. A white light flashed beneath his feet while a magic circle with a radius of 2 meters appeared. The moment those Gnome Soldiers entered the circle, "-1" and "-2" damage texts flashed above their heads with each passing second.

[Devotion: Deals 100% Holy damage to all targets within 10 seconds. Holy damage is categorized as magic damage and is unaffected by Defense.

Shield Toss and Devotion were both very powerful skills. Unfortunately, they would require a significantly higher Strength value to properly deal decent damage. Since Kindling Chest Hair used a pure tank build, he had completely ruined these 2 skills.

"Alright, everyone start attacking! No one is allowed to slack! I will put out the damage statistics when we're done! No equipment for the lowest damage dealt!" said Flowery Pants in the party channel as he dashed forward wielding two swords – a Bandit.

Zhang Yang was an off tank, meaning he was to hold aggro onto monsters and avoid competing with the main tank's enmity. He had waited until Kindling Chest Hair took on all 6 Gnome Soldiers before rushing forward to take one on.

"-62!"

With just one normal attack from Zhang Yang, the monster had immediately turned its head and thrusted the spear raised in its hand towards Zhang Yang.

Yup, definitely OT! Luckily he was also a tank!

Kindling Chest Hair was furious and scolded, "Noob, don't use Provoke to pull monsters, do you even know how to play?" He was too self-confident, thinking he had already established a lot of aggro. He thought that the monster had turned around only because Zhang Yang had used Provoke.

"That's right! If you use Provoke too many times, the monster will become immune to it! You f*cking noob!" Prideful Precepts followed.

These two idiots were hopeless but there was no need to explain his actions as only the truth would prevail!

The damage dealing team had begun their attack, as fireballs and frost arrows filled the space. All Gnome Soldiers except the one Zhang Yang was luring had ignored Kindling Chest Hair and had made their way towards the attacking team.

Floral Shorts showed no responsibility as a party leader, abandoning everything after yelling attack, and had only swung both his swords, relishing in the joy of stabbing the monsters' back. Everyone was attacking their own monster with no intention to draw their attacks together to kill one monster at a time; Kindling Chest Hair's enmity grabbing skills was too low, causing 5 monsters to go after the OT at the same time!

"F*ck, the f*ck is our Defender doing? Pull them properly!" A mage who was in the middle of casting a fireball stopped his action and shouted in bewilderment.

Kindling Chest Hair was terrible at holding aggro though his skills in refuting was not bad at all, arguing back immediately, "F*ck! You OT the monster and dared to complain? Noob! Get the f*ck out!"

"You're the noob! If I'm the only one who OT-ed the monster, then it would be fine! But now 5 monsters OT-ed simultaneously! Only you can achieve this sort of wonderful work!" the mage shot back.

Zhang Yang used Charge and managed to keep up with the monsters that had lost control. He swung his sword and activated Horizontal Sweep, yellow damage text floated across the heads of those 5 monsters at once.

"-137!"

"-148!"

"-145!"

"-298!"

"-139!"

There was an unexpected Critical Strike!

One monster was stunned from Charge while the remaining four monsters turned back and attacked Zhang Yang.

"Block!"

Zhang Yang raised his shield, successfully blocking 4 monsters' attacks at the same time!

According to Block's skill description, each use could only block one attack. However, Zhang Yang had wittingly adjusted his position, causing the setup of 4 simultaneous attacks from the monsters. Since the attack gap was too short, the system had considered them as one attack, allowing Block to successfully ward off all incoming attacks!

It was unsure if this was considered a bug. The gaming company had long since realized about this but had not removed or patched it. They instead claimed that this particular moment was difficult to master, and so if someone could pull it off they should consider it as a bonus from the system!

"-45!"

"-45!"

"-45!"

"-45!"

Block reflected the damage, as 4 yellow damage text flashed accordingly.

Zhang Yang raised his shield, aimed towards the stunned monster and bashed it.

"-105!" Shield Bash!

At this point, the stunned monster had recovered and the monster Zhang Yang had been pulling initially had also charged forward. Remaining calm, Zhang Yang evaded all 6 monsters' attacks with a side step, while gathering all the monsters onto a mound through his strategic movement.

Dodged!

Dodged!

Dodged again!

Zhang Yang's HP remained untouched since the beginning, easing through the monsters' bombarding attacks.

"Expert!" The other five party members who were not from Pride cried in astonishment

"Oh my God, such high damage, is he really a tank?"

"No wonder his HP is low. All his AP were added to Strength!"

"He could only allocate AP in such a way because he was so skillful. Can't you see that he hasn't received any damage?"

Jealousy stemmed froms the fear of comparison!

Kindling Chest Hair could not hold it in any longer. Holding his war hammer, he ran up to Zhang Yang and used Justice Defense, pulling 3 monsters to himself.

[Justice Defense] was a Defender's provoking skill. Each activation could only provoke 3 monsters, forcing them to attack the caster for 2 seconds. This would be why a tanking Defender was much more suitable to pull monsters in a group.

Kindling Chest Hair unleased all of his high enmity skills on those 3 monsters, earnestly hoping to pull aggro, but after 2 seconds, the monsters had returned to attack Zhang Yang immediately, completely ignoring Kindling Chest Hair!

Kindling Chest Hair was both embarrassed and angry. He casted Justice Defense once again, right after the 10 seconds cooldown time, only to receive the same result.

"Defender! Stop pulling! Each time the monster attacks you, your HP drops rapidly. You're putting a load on the healers!"

Prideful Babysitter, a Priest from Pride, and the guildless Sacred Knight Ocean Despair were unhappy but it was the latter who complained. Prideful Babysitter had not voiced out due to being in the same guild as Kindling Chest Hair.

Kindling Chest Hair was infuriated, mentally blocking off the complaints. Justice Defense was activated once again after 10 seconds, annoying Ocean Despair to the point of being speechless.

Zhang Yang marked one of the Gnome Soldiers and said, "Focus and kill the marked monster!"

Everyone was cooperative, changing their target and switching to attack the one Zhang Yang had marked. Unfortunately, Floral Shorts and Prideful Precepts had ignored his words and continued to deal damage to their own targeted monster.

"Pa! Pa!"

Half a minute later, 2 Gnome Soldiers had fallen under the focus fire.

Kindling Chest Hair's face turned sour. As he activated Justice Defense for the fourth time, none of the monsters were affected. – If Provoke was used against a monster for too many times in a short period, the monsters would develop an immunity against it.

"Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!"

One by one, the monsters fell and soon after the last was killed, everyone was withdrawn from Combat Mode.

Zhang Yang frowned as he checked the damage statistics.

[Damage Statistics]

1. Zhan Yu, 12354 damage, 41%

2. Hundred Shots, 4509 damage, 15%

3. Snowy Death, 3313 damage, 11%

4. Defiant Monk, 3051 damage, 10%

5. Flame Emperor, 2422 damage, 8%

6. Prideful Precepts, 2102 damage, 7%

7. Floral Shorts, 1893 damage, 6%

8. Kindling Chest Hair, 1287 damage, 4%

It was astonishing that Zhang Yang had ranked first in dealing damage. Horizontal Sweep's AoE was devastating! The counter attack damage after Block was also substantial – of course, only a professional player like him could have utilized this skill to also deal AoE damage.

"Very good. No one died. Hairy, you've done well!" Floral Shorts blatantly lied, singing praises of Kindling Chest Hair.

Flame Emperor chuckled unamused and posted the damage statistics in the party channel.

There was a moment of silence.

"F*ck! What is this shit! A Guardian is the top DPS? What a joke! There must be a problem with the system!" Prideful Precepts jumped to his feet and said. How embarrassing, those Pride members, other than the Priest, the other three were the lowest in the damage statistics!

"Go on! Go on!" Floral Shorts diverted the topic and urged everyone to move forward. Kindling Chest Hair had a grave look and periodically stared at Zhang Yang, his eyes filled with hostility.

The second wave had much fewer monsters. There were only 2, guarding the corner of a passageway.

"Noob Warrior! Keep your eyes on me! I'll teach you how to properly pull a monster!" Kindling Chest Hair had thought that while he might be unable to pull 6 monsters, but since there were only 2 now, it should not be a problem!

Prideful Precepts chimed in, "Noob, just stand there and don't move!"

Zhang Yang lightly smiled and as they had wished, stood still and watched Kindling Chest Hair rush towards the 2 monsters while wielding his war hammer.

[Executioner Gnome] (Elite)

Level: 12

HP: 6000

In 'God's Miracle', monsters which guarded entrances were known as 'Gate Gods', their most notable characteristic being their extraordinary attack power! Killing tanks within seconds was a common feat.

Prideful Precepts and his gang did not know about this but Zhang Yang understood this piece of information thoroughly. Since Kindling Chest Hair had wanted to send himself straight to death, why should he stop him?

"Such a pity though, that being killed by monsters would not reduce their levels but would only damage their equipment durability or inflict a very small chance of dropping their equipment. If only it could be the same as PK where death would cost a drop in player's level!" Zhang Yang thought regrettably.

Kindling Chest Hair walked a few steps forward and casted Shield Toss on the Executioner Gnome.

After being attacked, both 'Gate Gods' furiously dashed towards Kindling Chest Hair. This time, everyone had learned from their experience and did not engage, as they had the knowledge that a certain someone's aggro holding could not be trusted.

"-105!"

"-97!"

Both monsters stabbed Kindling Chest Hair with their spears, delivering a significantly high damage, removing a third of Kindling Chest Hair's HP immediately.

Kindling Chest Hair was startled. Before he could even react, two more damage texts floated over his head.

"-99!"

"-102!"

"Ding! Executioner Gnome uses Immolation Assault!"

"Ding! Executioner Gnome uses Immolation Assault!"

"-200!"

"-200!"

"Ding! Player Kindling Chest Hair has died!"

Instant kill! F*ck yeah!

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Chapter 15: The Black Claw

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Kindling Chest Hair died a little too fast, and that was even before other players had even entered combat! After killing Kindling Chest Hair, the two monsters quickly headed back to their original positions, surprising Zhang Yang who was waiting to intercept the aggro.

"Shit! What's going on with you healers? Why didn't you guys heal me?" yelled Kindling Chest Hair angrily.

Ocean Despair did not want to debate with this idiot anymore, and so, his own guild mate Prideful Babysitter replied, "You died too fast, I couldn't react in time!"

Truthfully, Kindling Chest Hair was not killed within seconds. There was still a short moment of time for them to heal. It was just that they had never met this kind of monster so no one had the awareness for danger. A slight distraction and they would not be in time anymore.

Kindling Chest Hair kept quiet for a moment then said, "Revive me!"

Prideful Babysitter said, "Can't do it!"

"Sacred Knight?" Kindling Chest Hair asked as he turned to Ocean Despair.

"Nope!"

"Fuck! How can you be a babysitter when you don't even have a reviving skill?!" Kindling Chest Hair scolded again. He released his corpse and returned from the spawning point to where he died.

Ocean Despair was being ridiculed again, his expression turning even more sour.

[Resurrection] could be used to revive a fallen player who died out of combat, saving him the time and effort to return from the starting or spawning point. It was a useful and practical skill that could be learned by both Priests and Defenders. However, this skill could not be obtained from a class instructor and could only be attained from skill books found in monster's loot.

Resurrection's drop rate had always been low. Even 5 years after the game server had been launched, the Resurrection skill book was still in high demand and could be sold at the exorbitant price of several thousand Gold Coins. As of now, the people who possessed this skill would most likely be the main healers of large guilds.

Before the game had launched, the officials had wanted to help the players understand each profession clearer and had released introductions of skills attainable by each profession in their website including the functions and effects of skills, as well as the method of attaining said skills. However, the officials had kept quiet regarding skills attainable through hidden quests, allowing the players to figure out a way themselves.

Floral Shorts thought for a little while and said, "When the Defender comes back, the two tanks will each pull one monster. Healers stay alert. These two monsters seem fierce!"

Zhang Yang's attention was not on this dungeon anymore. He had taken the chance to have a casual conversation in private messages with Hundred Shots. Even though Zhang Yang had already known about this guy's future accomplishments, he would not pick his teammate solely based on skills. A player's moral character would be of greater importance!

7 to 8 minutes later, Kindling Chest Hair had revived and stood once again amongst the party members.

"Hairy, recover your condition!" Floral Shorts said as he marked the two monsters with different symbols. "Defender, you're to handle the monster marked with a star. Guardian, yours is the one with a sun mark. Go!"

Kindling Chest Hair consumed a piece of cake and had his HP and MP fully recovered. He then took out his war hammer and shield, going straight for the monsters.

"Shield Toss!"

Zhang Yang, too, used Charge and dashed towards the monster with a sun mark. With a swing of his sword, a damage text with the figure "-62" emerged above the monster's head.

The 'sun monster' had recovered quickly and stabbed towards Zhang Yang with its spear.

"Block!"

"-42!" Block reflected damage.

"-102!" Shield Bash!

"-140!" Horizontal Sweep!

The aggro value was established in an instant.

The other teammates had unanimously picked Zhang Yang's target as their attack target. Swords slashed and spells flew all at once.

Kindling Chest Hair was furious because even his own guildmates, Floral Shorts and Prideful Precepts did not dare to attack the monster he had pulled. How embarrassing!

"Ding! Executioner Gnome uses Immolation Assault!"

Zhang Yang reacted swiftly and slid back, leaving the monster's melee attack range and caused Immolation Assault to hit nothing but air.

On the other side of the battle, Kindling Chest Hair was suffering major damage, causing Prideful Babysitter to spam cast his healing skills while reminding Kindling Chest Hair to use his own health recovery potion. Ocean Despair had long since given up on him.

After about 40 seconds, the 'sun monster' let out a wail, collapsing in its own pool of blood. The party turned and attacked the 'star monster' Kindling Chest Hair was pulling.

After 10 seconds or so, the monster let out an enraged cry and ignored Kindling Chest Hair, charging towards Hundred Shots!

"He's been pulling aggro for over a minute and still managed to get OT. It's really a wonder of wonders!" Flame Emperor was more than shocked.

Charge!

Zhang Yang quickly chased after the 'star monster'. He was not competing for aggro with Kindling Chest Hair, so he naturally had full Rage as he did not use any Rage consuming skills. Zhang Yang used Horizontal Sweep followed by a normal attack and then continued with 3 Force Strike, causing a large amount of damage and aggro.

Once the 'star monster' recovered, Zhang Yang used Provoke and forced the monster to attack him for 2 seconds.

"Block!"

"-42!"

"Shield Bash!"

"-102!"

Hundred Shots' performance was commendable. He had stopped attacking and had waited for Zhang Yang to hold the monster's aggro. After the 2 seconds ended, the 'star monster' was still attacking Zhang Yang, confirming its complete aggro lock on Zhang Yang.

Kindling Chest Hair kept his mouth shut. With this situation in hand, however shameless he was, remaining silent would be his best course of action. If he had quibbled, he would only be setting himself up as a joke – not like he was not one already.

In due course, the 'star monster' had died.

The party progressed and after clearing 5 waves of monsters, they had finally encountered the first boss. It was a black colossal hound the size of a public bus, its fur a shining black. The boss was currently sleeping on the floor, snoring thunderously loud and drooling all over.

[Black Claw, Guardian Beast of the Crypt Entrance] (Black-Metal Boss)

Level: 12

HP: 36000

There was only a lone boss in this overly large cave and no minions around.

"What's the plan?" Snowy Death asked in the party channel while staring at the fearsome monstrous beast.

"Easy! Tanks pull, damage dealers attack and healers heal! It's simple!" Prideful Precepts said with ease.

Zhang Yang shook his head and said, "This boss has two skills the first being Death Stare. It's a skill that causes the player with the highest aggro to receive extra damage. The target will receive an extra 100% damage when attacked and this skill can be stacked indefinitely. In this case, theoretically, this boss requires 2 tanks. When one tank has accumulated high stacks of Death Stare, the other tank takes over. When the debuff ends, the first tank will replace the second tank once again! Of course, if the DPSers are strong enough, we could still do this with only one tank, killing the boss in the shortest amount of time."

The players looked at each other, neither of them trusting Kindling Chest Hair to hold aggro. To believe that he could do it would be would be more unlikely than to believe that all prostitutes are virgins! The only way to do it was to go all out on dealing damage and to kill it forcefully.

"The second skill is Venom Spit. It will target players at random and cause around 200 basic damage in Normal Mode. The cast rate is very high so there will be substantial healing pressure." Zhang Yang continued.

Prideful Precepts gave a skeptic look and asked, "How did you know? You're not making this up just for the sake of bragging, are you?"

Zhang Yang had cleared this dungeon numerous times in his previous life, how could he not know?! Zhang Yang smiled and said, "There are a lot of dungeon information on the official forum, I saw it in passing."

Everyone believed him without a doubt.

"Hairy, which of you two would be the main tank?" Floral Shorts still had faith in Kindling Chest Hair.

"Of course it would be me! He won't survive a hit from the boss with that petty HP!" Kindling Chest Hair had yet to realize the difference in ability between him and Zhang Yang. He had a big hat but no cattle.

Ocean Despair could not help but chuckle.

Kindling Chest Hair had been displeased with him for a while, and yelled, "What are you laughing for? Was I wrong?"

Ocean Despair remained silent but posted the 'Heal Received Statistics' in the channel.

[Heal Received Statistics]

1.Kindling Chest Hair, 57632, 92%

2.Snowy Death, 1579, 3%

3.Flowery Pants, 1553, 3%

4.Zhan Yu, 1422, 2 %

"Is this for real?" Everyone looked at the list and was beyond surprised.

What did it mean?

Zhang Yang had not only locked a monster's aggro, his attack evasion was on another level!

He did have less HP compared to Kindling Chest Hair but based solely on his skills, monsters' attacks could barely graze him! If so, why does it matter whether he had high or low HP in the first place?

The pitiful Kindling Chest Hair was still unable to grasp the overall picture and had laughed egoistically after looking at the statistics, "Now you guys know my pain! I've pulled so many monsters, of course they would attack me!"

Ocean Despair smirked, "Pain your ass! Healing you is the real pain!"

Kindling Chest Hair was livid. Just as he had wanted to refute Ocean Despair's comment, he was flooded by blames from the rest of the party, criticizing his weak ability in locking aggro, as whoever was supposed to deal damage to his monster would definitely OT. Feeling overwhelmed, he wanted to find the other 3 Pride guildmates as support but saw them intentionally turn their heads away, pretending to miss the conversation.

"Alright, alright. The two of you go together. Whoever holds the aggro will tank it!" Floral Shorts finally decided, an attempt to help Kindling Chest Hair but everybody had known that this was just for show. Let's not compare Kindling Chest Hair's aggro to Zhang Yang. Perhaps, even healers' could build higher aggro than him!

"Go!"

Zhang Yang unsheathed his Refined Iron Sword and dashed towards Black Claw. Not wanting to be outshone, Kindling Chest Hair also rushed towards the boss.

"Charge!"

"Shield Toss!"

Zhang Yang dashed towards the boss like a train, arriving right in front of Black Claw almost immediately. He swung his sword and slashed the boss.

"-52!"

The damage was reduced by roughly 20 points due to the boss' high defense.

At this time, Kindling Chest Hair had also arrived and smashed his war hammer furiously.

"-1!"

Tragedy. He could not break its defense and had only caused 1 point of damage.

At the same time, Kindling Chest Hair activated Devotion. A glowing golden light appeared beneath his feet and another "-1" damage text appeared above the boss's head.

2 seconds later, the boss had recovered from the stun and clawed at Zhang Yang.

"Block!"

"-36!"

"Shield Bash!"

"-96!"

"Horizontal Sweep!"

"-136!"

"Start the attack!" Zhang Yang announced in the party channel.

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Chapter 16: Barbarians and Their Barbaric Ways

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Justice Defense!"

Realizing that he could not beat Zhang Yang, Kindling Chest Hair had immediately provoked the boss to temporarily pull Black Claw's aggro over.

"Ding! You are affected by Death Stare (Stack 1). All damage received increased by 100%, lasts for 12 seconds!"

Kindling Chest Hair really had the worst luck. Just as he provoked the boss, Black Claw had activated Death Stare. His body flashed in a crimson glow and a debuff appeared above his avatar.

This skill could not be dodged or blocked.

The provoke effect had worn off after 2 seconds and Black Claw returned to attack Zhang Yang.

"Fire up the DPS1!" Zhang Yang said in the party channel. He was not worried about being instantly killed under the stacking effect of Death Stare but more so that the longer they took to kill the boss, the more Black Claw would cast Venom Spit, ultimately wrecking the party when the healers became overwhelmed.

Of course, in this Normal Mode he could easily solo kill the boss alone!

After a while, Black Claw turned around and took aim at Prideful Precepts, spitting black spittle on him.

"F*ck, is that how you pull the monster, noob warrior! How could you let the boss attack me?" Prideful Precepts rebuked and then hollered at the same time, "Heal me!" He had a total of 300HP but 200 was gone instantly.

"You're the f*cking noob! That's the boss' Venom Spit. Zhan Yu had explained it very clearly just now, it randomly targets a player! What are you barking at?" Defiant Monk could not hold his anger anymore and finally exploded.

Grunting, Prideful Precepts remained displeased and begrudged but did not fight back.

10 seconds later, Kindling Chest Hair initiated another provoke and temporarily pulled Black Claw's aggro over again.

"Ding! You are affected by Death Stare (Stack 2). All damage received increased by 200%, lasts for 12 seconds!"

Poor thing, he had just drew the boss over and was immediately stacked with another Death Stare.

Zhang Yang exclaimed internally, who said this guy was a noob, he's been provoking precisely when the boss casts Death Stare! Such a genius!

After beating up Kindling Chest Hair, Black Claw turned again and Zhang Yang took over the aggro.

After some time, Black Claw stopped his actions and aimed at Snowy Death, casting Venom Spit and dealing 200 HP of damage to him.

Kindling Chest Hair casted the third provoke on the boss after Justice Defense's cooldown had completed.

"Ding! You are affected by Death Stare (Stack 3). All damage received increased b 300%, lasts for 12 seconds!"

Black Claw's Death Stare was casted every 10 seconds, coincidentally the same as the cooldown time of Justice Defense. This was the reason Kindling Chest Hair had been the receiver of Death Stare each time he had provoked the boss.

"-528!"

Black Claw's normal attack damage was already around 150 points usually and since Kindling Chest Hair had 3 stacks of Death Stare on him, his basic damage had reached an approximate 600 points! Deducting the Defender's passive 15% damage reduction and character defense, the damage had still amounted to 500 plus points!

Reduced to almost nothing from a total of 700 HP in an instant, Kindling Chest Hair panicked and screamed, "Heal me!"

"76!"

"73!"

"100!"

Three green numbers floated across Kindling Chest Hair's head. They were the healing done by Prideful Babysitter, Ocean Despair, and his own ingested bottle of red pot respectively, raising his HP to 421 points. Although Ocean Despair had hated Kindling Chest Hair, he had still dutifully healed him at such a critical moment.

"-509!"

Black Claw made another blow in an instant and the hit landed on Kindling Chest Hair.

"Ding! Player Kindling Chest Hair has died!"

Black Claw turned and continued attacking Zhang Yang.

Unable to contain it anymore, Flame Emperor laughed and said in the party channel, "It seems that the Defender does have some contribution! He'd endured three times of Death Stare for Zhan Yu! Your death was not in vain!"

"Yeah, a hero!"

"You can rest in peace!"

Players that were not from Pride were talking merrily in the party channel, their words causing Kindling Chest Hair to fume with anger. His intention was not even to help Zhang Yang, he merely wanted to throw a tantrum. Who would have known that he would be triple stacked with Death Stare which allowed him to be instantly killed by the boss!

He had dug his own grave, provoking the boss continuously to have Black Claw become immune to the effects. Zhang Yang could not have saved him even if he wanted to! Of course, Zhang Yang had no interest in saving such a foolish and arrogant guy even without the provoke immunity. He was not that kind!

"Speed up the DPS1!" Zhang Yang said in the party channel.

"OK!" the crowd replied. Zhang Yang won their respect with his capabilities.

Without Kindling Chest Hair 'snagging' Death Stare, Zhang Yang had quickly gotten stacked with many levels of the Death Stare debuff. Death would be an absolute certainty had the boss even touched him lightly. However, Zhang Yang had maneuvered himself with such agility, moving and dodging, not giving Black Claw a single opening to land a strike!

While Venom Spit had caused a certain degree of burden to the healers, because they did not need to heal their tank, a lot of MP was conserved and they had more than enough to heal the other players. The party had not lost any more members.

"80%! 70%!"

Under the constant attacks the party, the boss' HP had decreased steadily. Nearly 3 minutes later, Black Claw's HP was left with a mere 10%.

"Ding! Party Leader Floral Shorts has changed Group Looting Parameters to Master Loot!" A system notification popped up suddenly to indicate the change of distribution method.

"Floral Shorts! What are you doing?" Defiant Monk quickly questioned.

"I'm afraid that people will mess up the loot, so I'll split it myself!" Floral Shorts said in a self-righteous tone.

Everyone kept mum and continued attacking the boss.

"Ding! The party you are in has killed Black Claw! Obtained 3,650 EXP (50 points Party Bonus)!"

Black Claw fell to the ground and dropped 3 to 4 equipment and a heap of gold coins.

"Let's see what the drops are!" Equipment was every player's main motivation to enter dungeons. When the boss had died, everyone had automatically surrounded the loot. However, due to the Master Loot Mode, they could only look at the equipment dropped but were unable to pick them up.

[Black Claw] (Black-Steel, Fist Gloves)

Weapon Attack: 7 – 13

Attack Interval: 1.9 seconds

Level Requirement: 5

[Heavy Chest Plate] (Black-Steel, Heavy Armor)

Defense: 2

Vitality: 3

Strength: 1

Level Requirement: 5

[Black Leather Boots] (Black-Steel, Cloth Armor)

Defense: 1

Vitality: 2

Intelligence: 1

Level Requirement: 5

According to the dungeon setting, equipment dropped from Hardcore Mode would be one grade higher than Difficult Mode; and equipment dropped from Difficult Mode would be another grade higher than Normal Mode. Since Bangar Crypt was the lowest level dungeon in the game, only Hardcore Mode would drop Green-Copper equipment. If it had been according to the setting, the equipment dropped in Normal mode should only be White-tiered!

However, the game company had taken into consideration that if the first dungeon had only dropped White-tiered equipment, it would have discouraged the players! Compromising, they decided that Normal Mode would also drop Black-Steel equipment but its level requirement was reduced to Level 5 while Difficult Mode and Hardcore Mode continued dropping Level 10 Black-Steel and Green-Copper equipment respectively.

"Ding! Player Floral Shorts has obtained Black Claw!"

"Ding! Player Kindling Chest Hair has obtained Heavy Chest Plate!"

"Ding! Player Prideful Precepts has obtained Black Leather Boots!"

"Ding! You have been distributed with 96 copper coins!"

A series of system notifications rang. Party leader Floral Shorts had distributed all the equipment in a flash while simultaneously obtaining the gold coins and distributing them to each party member through the system.

This had caused a wave of disapproval among the party members.

"What the f*ck? How can you distribute the equipment without asking!"

"F*ck, barbarians hijacking equipment!"

"What did you think we were? Your workers?"

Floral Shorts snorted and said, "I am the party leader, of course I have the priority for equipment! Hairy is the main tanker, if it wasn't for him tanking the boss' Death Stare, we wouldn't have beaten the boss, and he died twice. Is it wrong to prioritize him in equipment distribution? As for Precepts… he dealt the highest DPS among those who wore robes!"

"F*ck you! You can't even command as a leader and had zero contribution to the party! How dare you put yourself as priority?"

"The Defender is a complete joke! There's no difference to our party with or without him around! Zhan Yu got stacked with 13 stacks of Death Stare and he was alright. What difference would 3 stacks make?"

"Look at the damage statistics yourself! If you're not blind, Precepts was much worse than Flame Emperor!"

Prideful Magus replied immediately, "The damage statistics is not even accurate. How is it possible that our Guardian ranks first every single time? I've been attacking all the time, I might as well commit suicide if my attack is lower than a tank!"

The rest of the players got even more enraged listening to his self-righteous argument.

"Let's go on, let's go on. It's just a few equipment, everyone can get them after a few more rounds!" Prideful Babysitter pacified the party.

"Change the party leader or we'll quit!" Hundred Shots said.

"Yeah, change the leader!" the others followed.

"Ding! Player Floral Shorts has made player Prideful Precepts the Party Leader!"

Is this showcasing the lowest level of one's IQ?

"F*ck! You are all shameless!" Defiant Monk was rendered speechless by these Pride members' scoundrel ways.

"Either change the leader to Zhan Yu or disband!" Hundred Shots said while the others agreed immediately.

The four Pride members were at a loss.

"Ding! Player Prideful Precepts has made player Zhan Yu the Party Leader!"

Zhang Yang had encountered plenty of barbarians in his previous life but those who could compete with the Pride members were indeed few! These men should have joined the Rogue Clan! He smiled lightly and changed the Group Looting Parameters to Roll-the-Dice Mode and said "Let's continue!"

He did not care for the loot from Normal Mode, there would be more good stuff waiting in Difficult Mode and Hardcore Mode!

He had wanted to kick the four Prideful players out but had quickly changed his mind. Expelling them was not the best way to punish them. The best way to release his anger was letting them know that this party had the ability to clear Difficult and even Hardcore Mode so these selfish, greedy guys should have tried to snitch better equipment, then kick the others out at that time to drive them mad with jealousy and regret!

Translator Notes

1 DPS in this case refers to the original term of the term DPS which means damage per second. In most cases, DPS, like many other gaming terminology, can be used interchangeably. DPS could also mean a type of class or role that focuses on dealing as much damage as possible. E.g. "We need another 3 DPSers to fill our party! PM for invite plez"

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Chapter 17: The Second Boss

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The players continued along their way. After killing five waves of minions, they reached the second boss.

A 3-man tall, green-skinned gnome was sitting in front of a large metal door napping, a sharp spear in its arms. The atmosphere was completely silent, as no other minions were around.

[Babarerba the Sleepyhead] (Black-Steel Boss)

Level: 13

HP: 39,000

"How do we fight it?" the party's sight had settled on Zhang Yang. Unknowingly, he had become the party's core.

Zhang Yang recalled and said, "This boss has only 2 skills: first, Curse of Water and Fire, it will cast a water curse on a random melee player who is not holding the most aggro and cast a fire curse on a random ranged player. These two cursed players will keep losing HP but once both of them are together, the curse will be removed."

"In that case, we can all fight in melee range distance. This way, there is no need to move everywhere, no?" Hundred Shots had thought of an idea.

Zhang Yang laughed, "If everyone did melee attacks, the boss will only cast the water curse. Two players will then keep losing HP and there'll be no way to dispel it!"

"Oh!" the crowd nodded uniformly.

Zhang Yang began distributing responsibilities, "Later when we start the fight, ranged players stand together, remember to stand at least 10 meters away from the boss, that'd be around this line. I will position the boss later, ranged attackers do not cross this line or else the boss will consider it as melee range distance. Melee players attack from the left side, whoever gets cursed should run to the center. Respond as quickly as possible, otherwise it'll be a burden to the healers. After the curse is removed, return immediately to your original positions!"

"Understood!"

Zhang Yang continued, "The boss' second skill is to summon a puppet to aid him in battle at every 25% HP loss. The puppet's HP is low, and should be around 3,000 HP in Normal Mode but its damage is sky-high! That is why we must nuke it the moment the puppet is summoned! You guys don't have to worry about aggro, I'll be the first to pull it!"

Everyone instinctively looked at Kindling Chest Hair. Usually the main tank would pull the boss' aggro while the off-tank would pull the minions'. Things would then work out flawlessly. Obviously, Kindling Chest Hair was completely undependable. If he were to pull minions, those minions could end up flying everywhere!

Kindling Chest Hair was annoyed to the point of rage by the team's stare, "What are you looking at?!"

"Pay attention. Even when the puppet is summoned, the boss will still cast Curse of Water and Fire, so always remember to run to the center to dispel the curse!" Zhang Yang reminded.

"Understood!" the crowd nodded again.

"Alright! Start the fight!" Zhang Yang waved his sword and did a Charge towards the boss.

"-78!" Normal attack.

"-138!" Horizontal Sweep.

Babarerba recovered quickly and with a deafening shriek, it had thrusted towards Zhang Yang with its spear.

"Block!"

"-34!" Block reflected damage.

"-99!" Shield Bash.

"-55!" Normal attack.

"Attack now!" Zhang Yang commanded in the party channel.

The crowd moved onwards, melee fighters stood together, ranged fighters gathered on their end as well.

In just a matter of time, Babarerba had casted Curse of Water and Fire.

"Ding! Player Snowy Death has been affected by Curse of Water, losing 70 HP per second. Effect will remain until player's death!"

"Ding! Player Hundred Shots has been affected by Curse of Fire, losing 70 HP per second. Effect will remain until player's death!"

Without waiting for Zhang Yang's reminder, these two players had come out of their formation and headed towards each other. They got together quickly and split up instantly, returning to their positions and resumed their attack on the boss. The healers had also healed them, quickly restoring their HP.

"Well done! That's it!" Zhang Yang complimented as encouragement.

About 15 seconds later, Babarerba casted yet another Curse of Water and Fire, its targets this time were Floral Shorts and Ocean Despair.

Ocean Despair had quickly gone to the center but Floral Shorts remained attacking the boss.

"Floral Shorts, quickly head to the center!" Zhang Yang frowned as he yelled.

"Run faster noob Knight, I'm still attacking here!" said Floral Shorts without a care.

"Bloody idiot!" Ocean Despair ran towards Floral Shorts in an instant. The moment the two of them were near each other, the spell was removed. Since Floral Shorts did not cooperate fully, they had taken a bit more time, causing them to lose over 200 HP. That was two-thirds worth of their HP value!

Ocean Despair then ran back to his position and self-casted 3 times of Holy Light. Only then did he manage to recover his lost HP, his expression vicious.

Babarerba's HP had been lowered to the 75% mark soon after.

"Damned intruders, all of you must die!" Babarerba raised its spear and began to chant a spell, "Come forth demon from the depth of the abyss, bring evil with you into this realm!"

"Ding! Babarerba has summoned Demon Puppet Tasair!"

A hexagram magic circle appeared underneath Babarerba's feet. As a dim light flickered, a red demon only half a man's height had appeared by its side, the demon's long tail extended from its hip. It had sharp teeth, and deep green-colored eyes.

[Tasair, Babarerba's Demon Puppet] (Elite)

Level: 13

HP: 3,000

This was a minor demon, also known as an 'imp', the lowest ranked among the demons.

"Tasair needs a sacrifice!" The demon shrieked and set its sight on Prideful Babysitter, leaping towards him.

"Charge!"

Zhang Yang dashed towards Tasair and landed a slash on it with his sword.

"-62!" Normal attack.

"-142!" Horizontal Sweep.

"Target the imp! Nuke it!"

Tasair recovered from the stun and leaped towards Zhang Yang to attack him.

"Block!"

"-39!" Block reflected damage.

"-98!" Shield Bash.

Zhang Yang lured Tasair towards Babarerba and when both the monsters were together, he crouched, evading both their attacks, and returned to his original position.

Tasair's HP was very low and it was immediately killed under the crowd's combined attacks. After that, the party refocused their attacks on Babarerba.

It did not take long for Babarerba's HP to hit the 50% mark.

"Intruders! Your attacks have hurt Babarerba! Babarerba is angry now!" Babarerba raised its spear again and began his chant, "Come forth demon from the depth of the abyss, bring evil with you into this realm!"

A hexagram magic circle appeared once again underneath Babarerba's feet. This time, a blue fat demon appeared by his side. It had no legs, but there was a black malicious cloud floating under it. There were faces with only eyes on both the front and back of the demon.

[Gluttony, Babarerba's Demon Puppet] (Elite)

Level: 13

HP: 3,000

This floating demon, due to its blue-colored body and fat shape, was also called "Blue Fatty" by the players. This demon was one rank higher than the previous one but both monsters' attacks and HP were similar here in the Normal Mode dungeon raid, only differing in their appearance.

"Anbaratumargutton!" Gluttony let out a weird low noise and floated towards Snowy Death.

"Provoke!"

Zhang Yang immediately took over and did a blow, "-59" damage text floating from the top of Gluttony's head.

"Block!"

"-39!" Block reflected damage.

"-98!" Shield Bash.

"Ding! Player Kindling Chest Hair has been affected by Curse of Water, losing 70 HP per second. Effect will remain until player's death!"

"Ding! Player Prideful Precepts has been affected by Curse of Fire, losing 70 HP per second. Effect will remain until player's death!"

Babarerba had taken the chance to cast Curse of Water and Fire during the chaos.

"Move quickly!" Zhang Yang frowned as he reminded them.

Kindling Chest Hair went on clashing with the boss like he had not heard a thing…

Prideful Precepts remained unmoving, shooting Frost Arrows...

"F*ck me, you two better start moving now. Your fucking HP is dropping too fast, I can't keep up!" Ocean Despair shouted angrily.

"Bullshit, I'm attacking! Healing is supposed to be you healers' job! Why else do we need you to raid the dungeon with huh?!" Prideful Precepts answered arrogantly.

"Fine! Fine! Do it your way. I'm not going to heal anymore!" Ocean Despair stopped his actions.

Prideful Babysitter was desperately healing but even if he were to heal one-to-one, he would not be able to keep going. What else could he do when there were two? He then said, "Precepts, Hairy, you two better get going now, I really can't keep this up anymore!"

Only then did the two of them stop what they were doing unwillingly, looked around and then ran towards each other.

After a few steps, Prideful Precepts' HP had dropped to rock-bottom, Prideful Babysitter was nearly done casting his healing spell but Prideful Magus had then died from Curse of Fire.

"Ding! Player Prideful Magus has died!"

"Sh*tty noob Knight! F*ck you!" Prideful Magus cussed, "How the f*ck are you a healer? What the f*ck were you doing not healing?"

"If I ever f*cking heal you dogs with even another single drop of HP, I really am a shitty noob Knight!" Ocean Despair scolded back.

Without Curse of Fire, Kindling Chest Hair could not dispel the Curse of Water. He was barely alive from his vast vitality, as he shouted, "Shut the f*ck up and start healing me!"

Ocean Despair did absolutely nothing, determined to turn against everyone in Pride.

Prideful Babysitter had been healing Kindling Chest Hair constantly but how could he heal in time, especially when he was alone? Kindling Chest Hair's HP loss was much faster than his healing speed. Within seconds, Kindling Chest Hair died as well.

"Ding! Player Kindling Chest Hair has died!"

"You f*cking noob Knight! F*ck your entire family!" Kindling Chest Hair too cussed.

"Ding! Player Prideful Magus was expelled from the party!"

"Ding! Player Kindling Chest Hair was expelled from the party!"

Zhang Yang smiled faintly as two notifications rang out, "Too noisy, it's disturbing the fight!"

Floral Shorts had wanted to rebuke but he held back and said, "OK, just add them back when the battle is over."

Gluttony was killed promptly, and the battle's rhythm returned to its normal pace.

Countering Curse of Water and Fire was actually not difficult, they were in Normal Mode after all. With the absence of both of Pride's barbarians, the party's efficiency had significantly increased with each player running towards each other almost instantly once they were cursed. The pace lasted until well after Babarerba summoned its third demon, as they finished killing the boss rather quickly.

"Ding! The party you are in has killed Babarerba! Obtained 4,924 EXP (50 points Party Bonus)!"

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Chapter 18: Nuked?

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Ding! Player Prideful Precepts has joined the party!"

"Ding! Player Kindling Chest Hair has joined the party!

After the battle, Floral Shorts had been urging Zhang Yang to re-invite the other two players into the party or they would have lost the chance to bid for an equipment once somebody had touched the boss' corpse.

Zhang Yang gave a slight smile and sent the party invitation to the two of them. Before they could even start arguing, Zhang Yang preemptively said, "All of you Pride members, no one speak from now on! I will kick anyone who can't keep their mouth shut. If all four of you can't keep your mouth shut, I'll kick all four out! We don't even need that many players in Normal Mode!"

Stunned by Zhang Yang's authoritative assertion, even though the four Pride players held a grudging look, no one dared make a noise. If these words were to come from Zhang Yang had they first started the dungeon raid, they would have treated it as a passing joke. After experiencing 2 boss battles though, they knew that Zhang Yang was a pro player, someone much more skillful than them!

Other party members smiled, their anger subsiding. They began to think even more highly of Zhang Yang.

"Touch the corpse!" Zhang Yang said casually.

Although Floral Shorts had stayed silent, his reaction was incredibly fast, rushing to the boss' side and with a touch, 3 equipment and a Roll-the-Dice window had appeared in front of everyone.

In Roll-the-Dice Mode, for items higher than White tier dropped by the boss, each player in the party could roll should they desire it. The system would then randomly generate a number between 1 – 100; the player who had the highest roll would obtain the item they had rolled for. Of course, if there was no need for the item, one could pass.

[Bloodstained Hat] (Black-Steel, Cloth Armor)

Armor: 1

Vitality: 3

Intelligence: 1

Level Requirement: 5

Zhang Yang had chosen to pass and the others were quick in making a choice. A total of 5 players rolled for the equipment.

Prideful Precepts, 36 points.

Flame Emperor, 87 points.

Prideful Babysitter, 76 points.

Floral Shorts, 27 points.

Kindling Chest Hair, 92 points.

"Ding! Player Kindling Chest Hair has obtained Bloodstained Hat!"

The party boiled with anger again.

"Why the hell did you roll for a cloth armor when you're not even cloth classed, motherf*cker! Where did this barbaric Pride Guild come from? All barbarians!"

Those from Pride kept mum, be it due to having qualms about Zhang Yang's warning or their arrogance which was keeping them from arguing. What was clear though, was that they were determined to be barbarous to the end. It did not matter whether the other two equipment fit them, they had chosen to roll for them anyway.

Zhang Yang sent a private message to the other party members one by one saying, "Level 5 Black-Steel equipment are not much better than White-Wood rarity ones. Let them "Need"1 roll! Let us clear the Difficult and Hardcore Modes later and show them what real loot is. Make them jealous, that's the best payback!"

The players were thrilled. This would mean that Zhang Yang had intended on leading them to raid both Difficult and Hardcore Modes! After battling two bosses with him, they already had no doubts regarding Zhang Yang's capabilities. Perhaps Hardcore Mode could be a problem, Difficult Mode though, there would be a big chance that they could clear it!

Receiving such a promise, the party calmed down. To be honest, Level 5 Black-Steel equipment would have been insignificant to Level 10 players. It would have been discarded after a few levels of use. The players from Pride had humiliated themselves for temporary benefits and had also lost their chance to raid the Difficult and Hardcore Modes with Zhang Yang. It was obvious whether they had benefited or suffered a loss.

[Hard Leather Chest Plate] (Black-Steel, Leather Armor)

Armor: 2

Vitality: 2

Dexterity: 2

Level Requirement: 5

The rest of the party had fought back mercilessly in dealing with the Pride players' shameless act. All the players besides Zhang Yang had joined the roll, Ocean Despair ended up obtaining the equipment. He then passed the equipment to the leather armor classed player, Defiant Monk, who had the second highest roll. Defiant Monk was utterly grateful.

[Hard Leather Gloves] (Black-Steel, Leather Armor)

Armor: 2

Vitality: 1

Dexterity: 1

Level Requirement: 10

This equipment, however, had fallen to one of the Pride members. The four of them had looked as contented as winning a 500 million dollar grand prize. The others had already adjusted their emotions and had treated them as a joke. Only scornful smiles appeared at the corners of their lips, none of them saying anything.

The Pride Quad thought they had put a halt to the other party members' momentum, feeling all the more pleased with themselves.

"Let's move forward!" Zhang Yang said calmly after the equipment distribution.

Bangar Crypt had a total of 3 bosses and another 7 waves of minions along their way to the last boss. The party had spent 20 minutes clearing the minions and had finally reached the ultimate boss after passing through a long tunnel.

[Gnome Leader Dadarerda] (Black-Steel Boss)

Level: 14

HP: 42,000

Dadarerda was a 5-meter tall giant gnome sitting on a plain throne. By his side, 2 guards in duty were guarding seriously.

[Royal Guard] (Elite)

Level: 13

HP: 6,500

Zhang Yang set his mind straight and began to explain the strategy, "This boss' battle is divided into 2 parts. First, eliminate the 2 guards. I will grab ahold of their aggro when we begin. Target the 'star-marked' one first and then the 'sun-marked' next. Then we follow-up with the boss."

"The boss has two skills. He will randomly place fire pits on the ground for the first skill. I think it should be about 10 to 15 pits. You have to pay attention and avoid the pits, because each step will cost you 100 points of damage."

"The boss will spin and spew a cone-shaped flame for his second skill, and 300 HP will be taken once you're burned! However, there's a 2 seconds casting delay that can't be interrupted but can be used as an indication of attack. The boss does not spin very fast, so as long as you follow its rotation, you'd be able to avoid the flame. What you need to pay attention though is that you'll have to also focus on the fire pits as you evade the spewed flame. Keep your eyes on both dangers!"

Zhang Yang paused and asked, "Is everyone clear? If you don't understand, ask me now. I can repeat the strategy again."

Everyone remained quiet.

"Very well, we shall start now!" Zhang Yang wielded his sword and ran forward. When he was within the casting range, Zhang Yang used Charge and stunned Dadarerda, slashing it at the same time. "-52" damage text then floated across the boss' head.

When the battle began, the gate to the passageway would be closed automatically and would not open again unless the battle had ended.

Both the royal guards immediately shrieked in their strange voice and charged towards Zhang Yang.

"Block!"

"-32!" Block reflected damage.

"-92!" Zhang Yang used Shield Bash on the 'star-marked' monster.

"-136!"

"-142!"

"-129!"

Zhang Yang immediately chained Horizontal Sweep with his previous attack, causing yellow damage numbers to drift across all three monsters' heads.

Without further instruction from Zhang Yang, the party had initiated their attack on the 'star-marked' monster at once.

"Ding! Dadarerda used Lava Pit. Lasts for 60 seconds!"

10 fire rings with 1 meter diameter each then appeared randomly on the battlefield. Some had appeared right beneath the players' feet while some had appeared randomly across the battlefield.

"Beware of your steps!" Zhang Yang reminded.

Evading 10 pits was fairly easy. Everyone resumed attacking the 'star-marked' monster, killing it in just a short amount of time.

"Ding! The party you are in has killed a Royal Guard! Obtained 700 EXP (50 points Party Bonus)!"

"Next target! Continue!" Zhang Yang commanded.

"Ding! Dadarerda used Lava Pit. Lasts for 60 seconds!"

Another 10 fire pits appeared on the field and everyone started becoming busy evading the pits.

Suddenly, Dadarerda stopped attacking and raised its hands. A progress bar appeared on its head as it began chanting in a weird language.

"Get ready! The boss is going to spit fire! Be on your feet!" Zhang Yang turned and moved away from the boss' front, pulling the 'sun-marked' monster with him.

"Ding! Dadarerda used Flamethrower!"

Dadarerda opened his mouth and a flame more than 30 meters long was spat. He then slowly twirled and began his rotating attack.

"Take note of where you're stepping!" Zhang Yang pulled the 'sun-marked' monster's aggro while moving along with the boss, hiding by his side the whole time.

Even with Zhang Yang's reminder, a few players had forgotten about the Lava Pit beneath their feet as they evaded Flamethrower, causing damage text to float from their heads one by one.

"Ding! Player Floral Shorts has died!"

"Ding! Player Prideful Magus has died!"

"Ding! Player Prideful Babysitter has died!"

"Ding! Player Flame Emperor has died!"

Good job, 4 members had died in an instant! On the other hand, if it were not for Kindling Chest Hair's 700 HP accommodating his damage from Lava Pit, he would have turned into a corpse already.

"Continue the attack!" Zhang Yang did not want to criticize anyone. After all, since this had been everyone's virgin battle against this boss, progressing in any way was inevitable. Furthermore, the boss would cast Lava Pit every 10 seconds. Since the fire pits would last for 60 seconds, it meant that there would have been a total of 60 fire pits on the field later on, making things even more chaotic.

And this was only in Normal Mode. The fire pits in Difficult Mode would have lasted for 90 seconds with an extra 30 pits while Hardcore Mode's would last for 120 seconds, covering almost the entire field with fire pits.

"Ding! Dadarerda used Lava Pit. Lasts for 60 seconds!"

30 seconds later, there were 30 pits on the field. Fortunately, Flamethrower's activation rate was less frequent.

"Ding! The party you are in has killed Royal Guard! Obtained 700 EXP (50 points Party Bonus)!"

'Sun monster' kept it up for a while but had eventually succumbed to the party's nuke.

"Hurry up and attack the boss!" Zhang Yang hollered softly.

"Ding! Dadarerda used Lava Pit. Lasts for 60 seconds!"

Almost simultaneously, Dadarerda stopped his attack and a progress bar appeared on its head once again.

"Ding! Babarerba used Flamethrower!"

With 40 fire pits on the ground, all hell broke loose.

"Ding! Player Snowy Death has died!"

"Ding! Player Defiant Monk has died!"

"Ding! Player Kindling Chest Hair has died!"

"Ding! Player Hundred Shots has died!"

"Ding! Player Ocean Despair has died!"

Amidst the raging flame, Zhang Yang became the sole survivor in his party!

Translator Note

1 In Roll-the-Dice Mode, the options a player is given is normally either Need, Greed, or Pass. Players who rolled Need will be given the highest priority, and so if you rolled a '1' when you chose Need, it did not matter if someone rolled '100' as Greed. You would still be the final winner of the item. In most cases, the game's system would prevent a player from rolling Need if the item could not be used by the player's character. However, this does not seem to be the case for 'God's Miracle'.

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Chapter 19: Solo Kill

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Zhan Yu, give it up!" Hundred Shots advised when he saw Dadarerda's HP had only dropped by 9%. "Let's do it one more time. We've all experienced it now, surely we'll last longer!"

Zhang Yang gave a slight smile and said, "Let me try!"

"Try your ass! Do you think you're God, that you can solo kill a boss?" Prideful Precepts scolded. "I'll kowtow to you thrice and call you grandfather every single time I see you if you could solo kill it!"

"Hmph! I'm not that blessed to be your grandfather, I don't want to die of being infuriated by you!" Zhang Yang avoided the boss' attacks agilely while delivering substantial damage to it. Technically, his damaging power was the highest in the team anyway. If he were to do it alone, it would only prolong the battle duration by 2 to 3 times more.

"Noob tank! Don't waste any more of our time okay?" Floral Shorts joined in. "Each minute you take to fight it while 9 of us lay here is equivalent to 9 minutes wasted. You can't possibly compensate us for the time lost!"

"Hey! Don't assume you represent all of us!" yelled Snowy Death. "I have full confidence in our Guardian. I don't mind laying here for a while! If you're afraid of wasting time, you can always resurrect yourself immediately!"

"I also have no problems laying here for a little while more!" Hundred Shots, too, had expressed his support for Zhang Yang.

"Bunch of motherf*ckers!" Kindling Chest Hair could only cuss lowly.

Even though the Pride Quad kept throwing insults, none of them had released their bodies! In 'God's Miracle', if you had released your body before a dungeon raid ended, you would not be able to resurrect to rejoin the dungeon as well and you would also be forgoing your ability to participate in the roll for battle loot.

Whatever had been going on in their minds, even though the Pride Quad had no faith in Zhang Yang's ability to solo kill the boss, none of them had released their bodies, fearing the possibility of an upset! That said, even if they had released their bodies, they could not reenter the dungeon, so they might as well lay back and watch!

"Ding! Dadarerda used Lava Pit. Lasts for 60 seconds!"

"Ding! Dadarerda used Lava Pit. Lasts for 60 seconds!"

Finally, the field had achieved the maximum number of fire pits. With 60 Lava Pit on the field, it was a sight to behold! The field was fully enveloped in bright, fiery light! The pits had covered almost half of the entire landscape in such a huge cave!

"Ding! Dadarerba used Flamethrower!"

Dadarerda began to spit fire again.

After Lava Pit had reached its maximum number of uses in the field, Flamethrower became the biggest threat, forcing the player to move around. The current field filled with lava pits would have been the worst scenario for the players!

Only one-third of Zhang Yang's athleticism was required to cope with the current situation. This was just a joke for him. If this situation had required his full capabilities, how could he aim to clear Difficult and Hardcore Mode later on?

Dadarerba's HP dropped consistently, decreasing from 91% to 66% after 3 minutes!

Zhang Yang's HP had remained a solid 100%, moving at a comfortable pace in his evasion of the boss' attacks. He then swung his sword, chopping away at the boss' HP.

"Pro! A real pro!" Everyone stared in disbelief.

Though they had already known of Zhang Yang's exceptional skills, nobody had any idea how high his standard was! With the scene in front of them then, they clearly understood a pro's realm!

Solo kill a boss!

This dude could totally solo kill a boss!

No! Not only this boss, he could completely raid this entire Normal Mode Bangar Crypt dungeon on his own! The only difference would be that a party would take approximately 1 hour while he would have taken 3 hours!

Was this dude even human?

Flame Emperor immediately searched for a name on his Friend List and sent a private message and said, "Guild Leader, I have something to tell you!"

A reply came back soon after, "Is it important? I'm in the middle of Difficult Mode Bangar Crypt party raid!"

Flame Emperor turned on the recorder and filmed Zhang Yang fighting the boss. He then sent the recording over and said, "Leader, this is of utmost importance! You must see the video I'd just sent you!"

"Haha, you little rascal. You wouldn't be sending me another porno right?" The other side replied instantly, either he had killed the boss or they were completely wiped out.

"Guild Leader…" Flame Emperor expressed his innocence.

"Eh?" The player on the other end turned on his voice chat, his surprised tone could clearly be heard, "Hey! Quiet for a second, I'm talking to Flame here!" He paused for a moment and asked, "Flame, what's the man's IGN?"

"Zhan Yu!" Flame Emperor turned off the party channel and began voice chatting with his leader.

"Extraordinary! He never got hit once. There are so many pits on the ground yet never once did he step on them! Pro, an absolute pro! Even if this was only Normal Mode, it's still very impressive! When we did it previously, we actually got wiped out twice by this third boss and had only managed to clear it on the third try!" The person on the other end of the line kept quiet for a while and said, "This player, he's not in a guild?"

"Yeah. Otherwise I wouldn't have called you!" Flame Emperor replied.

"Try to approach him later, ask him if he's interested to join our Lost Paradise, I'll loosen the conditions a little! Hmm, give him an Officer position and a spot in our guild's first explorers team!"

"Okay, I got it! Oh right! Leader, he told us that he'll clear Difficult Mode with us later. Would you like to join us?" said Flame Emperor.

"Hmm… I've yet to clear the first boss here so I haven't used any of my entrance counts. Basically, I could still join you guys! Right, isn't your party full already?"

"There are 4 shitty Pride members here, we'll kick them out after clearing Normal Mode!"

"That's good, reserve 4 spots for us from Zhan Yu. I'll bring Sky and the rest to join you guys! Hold up about recruiting him, let me talk to him personally when I've come over!"

"Sure!" Flame Emperor agreed simply.

On the other side, Dadarerda's HP had dropped to 21% yet Zhang Yang still had his HP untouched! At this point, no one had any doubts, Zhang Yang could totally solo kill the boss!

"15%!"

"10%!"

"7%!"

"4%!"

"3%!"

"2%!"

"1%!"

"Ding! The party you are in has killed Dadarerda! Obtained 42,050 EXP (50 points Party Bonus)!"

Zhang Yang had obtained all the EXP since dead characters could not be awarded with any EXP. This had exponentially increased his EXP bar so much that one could visually witness the surge.

"He did it! He really did it!" The other 9 players mumbled to themselves as if they were dreaming.

"Go resurrect yourselves! I'll wait for you guys to loot the corpse!" Zhang Yang said grinning.

Prideful Precepts though, had interpreted Zhang Yang's intention with a crooked point of view and said, "Loot now! We'll resurrect after equipment distribution. We can just revive at the entrance, no need to run all the way here!"

If drops were looted amidst resurrection, players outside of the dungeon would not be able to roll for the loot.

Zhang Yang smiled and crouched to touch the corpse.

[Heavy Hammer] (Black-Steel, One-handed Hammer)

Magic Attack: 8 – 12

Level Requirement: 5

[Lord's Hat] (Black-Steel, Leather Armor)

Defense: 2

Vitality: 3

Dexterity: 1

Level Requirement: 5

[Linen Pants] (Black-Steel, Cloth Armor)

Defense: 1

Vitality: 2

Intelligence: 1

Spirit: 1

Level Requirement: 5

The party began rolling and Ocean Despair had managed to get the Heavy Hammer, while Snowy Death had obtained Lord's Hat, and finally Flame Emperor had gotten Linen Pants. None of the Pride Quad had obtained anything!

This obviously made everyone happy, smiles etched on their faces except the Pride members whose expressions were awful. They then released their bodies and resurrected themselves at the spawn point.

"Hm, we shall challenge Difficult Mode after reviving. If anyone has anything else to do, you can leave!" said Zhang Yang casually. He actually had not much care for Difficult Mode's equipment but this party's current equipment was too basic. It would be extremely tough for them in Hardcore Mode if they did not loot some proper equipment from Difficult Mode.

The Pride Quad's eyes lighted up thinking about Level 10 Black-Steel equipment dropped in Difficult Mode! In comparison, Normal Mode's drops had been complete trash!

The party was quiet, no one had any indication of leaving.

"Pride members, you guys can leave yourselves!" Zhang Yang said.

"Why do we have to leave?" Kindling Chest Hair immediately shouted. Zhang Yang was obviously a pro player. As long as they followed him around, they would definitely have access to good equipment!

"No reason, I just don't like your faces!" Zhang Yang kicked them all out without further ado.

"F*ck! Add us back now or else I'll kill you every time I see you! I'll make sure to kill you back to Level 0!" Prideful Precepts had sent Zhang Yang a private message instantly.

"Bro, we've done you a favor by taking you in back then. You can't just kick us out like that right?" Floral Shorts tried to guilt trip Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang did not waste any effort talking to them, immediately blacklisting the Pride Quad. From now on, he would not be receiving any more private messages from them.

He opened the Character Search Window and tried searching for "Slim and Handsome" to see if Fatty Han had connected. Coincidentally, the result had shown that his character was online. Zhang Yang hurriedly sent a private message saying, "Fatty Shit, I'm Zhang Yang!" Attached along with the message was a friend request.

Instantly, the request was approved and Fatty Han sent back a reply, "Oh, I've just slept for about 2 hours and you've already reached Level 10?"

Zhang Yang scoffed and said, "Enough chit chat, go complete the pre-requisite quest for Bangar Crypt dungeon quickly! Big brother here will bring you to raid Difficult Mode!"

"Little Yang, you'd better not forget that you were born 2 months later than your Fatty Big Bro!" Fatty Han refuted and said, "Alright! I'll go do the quest now!"

"Pro, now that we're short of 4 players, I have some guild members who would like to join, let me invite them over, is that alright?" Flame Emperor asked in a private message to Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang thought for a while and said, "I have a friend joining, he's doing the pre-requisite quest now so you can only invite 3 players!"

"Sure!" Flame Emperor gladly replied.

Zhang Yang passed over the Party Leader position to Flame Emperor and without much delay, he had added 3 players into the party.

"Ding! Player Crimson Fire has joined the party!"

"Ding! Player Phantom Day has joined the party!"

"Ding! Player Silky Snow has joined the party!"

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Chapter 20: Difficult Mode

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Flame Emperor had returned the leader position to Zhang Yang right after he had finished adding members with his invitations.

"Hi everyone!" Crimson Fire greeted with a smile as soon as he had entered party.

Zhang Yang was still exiting the dungeon when he said, "Those releasing their bodies would resurrect themselves at the entrance. Right, Crimson Fire, where are you guys? How soon can you be here?"

"We're in a dungeon raid now. After we leave the original party, we'll be sent to the entrance automatically, much faster than all of you!" said Crimson Fire with a smile.

Zhang Yang nodded and sent a message to Fatty Han, "Hurry up or you'll miss the first boss!"

"F*ck, your fatty bro is on his way, wait for me!" Fatty Han replied immediately.

Zhang Yang smiled, of course he would have waited for Fatty Han before starting the boss fight. He as a human being would always have a little selfishness.

Very soon, the dead characters had resurrected at the dungeon entrance while Zhang Yang had also exited the dungeon, and all 9 of them gathered.

"Wow, we even have a beautiful lady!" Among the 9 players, 8 were male and Silky Snow was the only female player. This was a norm in any game, where the male player population would always be much higher than that of the female player population. 'God's Miracle' had only attracted a large number of female players after a few months due to its realistic game interface.

Silky Snow had selected elf as her race, wearing a milky white long dress and a golden floral headpiece. She had a slender body, waist slim and long legs with round perky breasts. Her almond-shaped face oozed a mature seductive aura, and while it was not peerless, she was outstanding and would definitely make heads turn.

Silky Snow, Female Elf, Priest, Lost Paradise, Level 10.

Crimson Fire, Male Dwarf, Bandit, Lost Paradise, Level 10.

Phantom Day, Male Orc, Berserker, Lost Paradise, Level 10.

These 3 people had the 'Lost Paradise' guild tag above their heads just like Flame Emperor. Before this, it was the Pride Quad; and now, it was the Lost Paradise Quad. Once bitten, twice shy; the other 4 party members inspected the Lost Paradise members with a cautious gaze.

Zhang Yang set the dungeon difficulty to Difficult Mode and said, "Let's go!" His eyes scanned around and saw that the Pride Quad had revived, looking at him and the party with eyes filled with vengeance.

"Ding! You have entered Bangar Crypt (Difficult Mode)!"

"Why are we still short of one player?" Phantom Day asked frowning.

"He's still doing the pre-requisite quest. He will arrive soon though. It's fine, we can go ahead!" Zhang Yang replied. The number of monsters had remained the same in Difficult Mode but their HP and attack damage would have increased exponentially.

[Gnome Soldier] (Elite)

Level: 10

HP: 7,500

Their HP had increased by 50% compared to Normal Mode!

Zhang Yang marked one of the monsters and said, "Focus your attack on the marked monster later. We'll take them out one by one!"

Phantom Day had once again voiced his opinion, "Can you hold so many monsters just by yourself? Should we get a Defender first then swap your friend in after we've got to the first boss?"

Zhang Yang smiled and said, "It's fine, I should be able to hold it!"

Phantom Day kept quiet after that. They had known before they came that this trip was to observe Zhang Yang's capabilities and then decide what conditions to offer him in recruiting him to the guild's first explorers team. That way why even if Phantom Day had not believed that Zhang Yang could pull 6 monsters, he remained quiet.

Zhang Yang moved forward wielding his sword. Before he could start the fight, his body suddenly flashed with a white light and a translucent shield appeared!

"Ding! Player Silky Snow has casted Holy Shield on you! 80 damage points will be absorbed. Lasts for 30 seconds!"

Holy Shield was a skill exclusive to Priests. It was very practical but it could only be obtained from skill books looted from monsters' drops. Seeing that Silky Snow was able to attain this skill, it would seem that Lost Paradise should have some capable players in their guild!

Zhang Yang had thought about it as he picked a monster and did a Charge.

"-64!"

11 Rage was generated from the normal attack and 10 more Rage had come from Charge, raising Zhang Yang's Rage to 21 at once.

"-146!"

"-152!"

"-304!"

"-149!"

"-144!"

"-153!"

6 damage texts popped up at the same time from using Horizontal Sweep, one of them had even been a critical strike, a pleasing sight to those watching.

"F*ck you, what devastating damage!" Phantom Day yelled. While he was slashing monsters, he asked, "Zhan Yu, what skill of yours is that? How could it be so powerful?"

Zhang Yang continued pulling aggro while posting the skill Horizontal Sweep.

"What the f*ck, how could such a godly skill exist?! 200% melee attack damage and it's even an AOE! This is wicked! Big brother Zhan Yu, where did you get this skill book from?" Phantom Day had admired the power of Horizontal Sweep so much that he had even addressed him as big brother.

Zhang Yang smiled and said, "I coincidentally completed a Hidden Quest. This was the reward!"

After hearing that, disappointment greeted Phantom Day.

If the skill book was dropped by a monster, there would be a chance to obtain it no matter how rare it was! A Hidden Quest's rewards though, could only be unique! There could only be one in existence!

Zhang Yang used Block and reflected a significant amount of damage to all monsters. 8 seconds later, Horizontal Sweep's cooldown time had ended so he gave the monsters another blow, bringing about another 6 horrifying damage texts. He then said, "Berserkers can learn Tornado Cleave at Level 20, it's also an AoE attack!"

[Tornado Cleave: Waves the weapon in your hands like a tornado. Causes 80% melee damage to surrounding targets. Cost: 20 Rage. Cooldown time: 10 Seconds. Requirement: Melee Weapon.

It seemed like a power-shrunk version of Horizontal Sweep but a Berserker could wield two one-handed weapons or a two-handed weapon. Its 80% melee damage would not have been any worse than a Guardian's Horizontal Sweep, of course, provided that both of their equipment were on the same level.

Phantom Day sighed and said, "But I'll have to wait till Level 20! And the damage is much lower than Horizontal Sweep!"

Before Level 20, no other class would have any AoE skills other than the Defender. Even Zhang Yang had only obtained one because of a Hidden Quest!

While the two of them were talking, the Gnome Soldiers fell one by one. Although these monsters' HP and attack were a lot higher than those in Normal Mode, it was still useless if they could not even land a hit! A higher HP had only meant that they took a longer time to kill them!

Few minutes later and 6 monsters had fallen.

"Zhan Yu, would you like to join our Lost Paradise?" Crimson Fire sent an invitation to Zhan Yu and said, "Our guild is sponsored by 'Dragon Century Corporation'. Every core member will have a fixed salary! If you join us, I can offer you an officer position and a spot in our first explorers team. The monthly salary will not be any lower than 10 thousand!"

A typical white-collar would have a salary of around 10 thousand each month. What Crimson Fire had offered was indeed not bad!

If it had been in his previous life, Zhang Yang who had just entered the game would have succumbed to this temptation and agreed immediately. However, a mere 10 thousand could not strike his interest any longer! Zhang Yang smiled and said, "Currently, I do not have any intentions to join any guild!"

"What a pity!" Crimson Fire said regretfully. He then turned his head and gave a look to Silky Snow.

The vixen subtly nodded her head and began to chat with Zhang Yang.

The beauty trap?

Zhang Yang shook his head with indifference. In his previous life, he would probably have been blinded by beauty. He was currently living a second life though, and that made Zhang Yang much more resiliently firm and steady. He regarded Silky Snow's advances with impartiality while leading the party forward.

"Little Yang, add me into the party, I've completed the pre-requisite quest!" A message had finally come from Fatty Han after the party had cleared their second last wave of minions.

Zhang Yang immediately sent a party invitation and an elf hunter called 'Slim and Handsome' appeared in the party list.

"Hurry up and come over or I'll start the boss without you!" Zhang Yang said in the party channel.

"Don't! Wait for me!" Fatty Han cried.

Some 7 or 8 minutes later, a jumbo-sized elf came running from the back, by his side was a black wolf.

According to the official introduction, elves were all tall and slim but 'Slim and Handsome' had completely destroyed the image of the noble and elegant elves. His bucket-shaped waist was already frightening to look at.

"I'm not late right?" Fatty Han scanned the party and his eyes shone when he saw Silky Snow. He ran over to her in his glorious jiggling ass and said, "Hi beautiful! I'm Slim and Handsome, the greatest hunter in the future, the one and only!"

Zhang Yang took the King Panther's Armlet he had obtained from slaying the Black Panther King and handed it to Fatty Han. Fatty Han took it naturally without faking courtesy. Giving him a smile, he equipped himself with the armlet.

Zhang Yang said, "Alright, it's the boss battle soon. Quiet down, I'll explain the strategy!"

"The boss still only has 2 skills. Death Stare's effect remains unchanged but Venom Spit's damage has increased by 50%, and every hit could deal 300 damage. Those who have less than 300 HP would definitely be killed within seconds! Silky Snow, please make sure you cast Holy Shield on everyone who has less than 300 HP in order to prevent member reduction!"

In the party, a total of 4 people had less than 300 HP – Crimson Fire, Phantom Day, Fatty Han and Hundred Shots. It would seem like they have distributed their AP on damage instead of their HP.

Of course, Fatty Han's AP distribution was completely influenced by Zhang Yang. It would be meaningless if he had high HP since he would have a pet in the frontlines after Level 5 anyway.

"Is one tank really enough?" Crimson Fire expressed his worry and said, "The party I've led before had been wiped out for 7 or 8 times by this boss. It was all because the tank had accumulated too many stacks of Death Stare and was then killed instantly by the boss!"

"There's no need to worry, our pro brother here had accumulated over 10 stacks of Death Stare in Normal Mode but the boss couldn't even touch him!" Snowy Death praised earnestly, he had long since became a fan of Zhang Yang.

Crimson Fire still had his doubts but said, "Let's try it out then!" He had kept another sentence unsaid, "The boss' attack speed in Difficult Mode is much faster than in Normal Mode! Even if Zhang Yang could evade its attack in Normal Mode, that did not mean that he could do the same in Difficult Mode!"

"Let's start!" Zhang Yang took a deep breath and went to the boss wielding his sword.

"Charge!"

"-57!"

"-141!"

Zhang Yang chained Horizontal Sweep after a normal attack, causing a huge amount of damage in a short time.

"Begin the attack!"

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Chapter 21: A Piece of Cake

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Once Zhang Yang gave his order to attack, everyone started to deal damage with all their might.

'Ding! You are affected by Death Stare (Stack 1). All damage received increased by 100%, lasts for 12 seconds!'

Not long after their attacks begun, Zhang Yang had received a debuff effect enveloping his entire body with a dark gas. Zhang Yang did not mind it but Crimson Fire was panicking internally, thinking, "The boss already has a high attack. Adding this stack of debuff means Zhang Yang would be instantly killed in just one strike!"

However, it was proven that his worries were irrelevant! Zhang Yang was dodging and attacking repeatedly without any sign of panic as he moved around agilely under the boss' brutal attacks. The scene would have led people to believe that he was just having a stroll in his garden!

Oh come on, this is a Hard Mode boss! Crimson Fire shouted in his heart. His own guild had formed a so-called elite dungeon explorers team1 but they were wiped2 several times facing this first boss. If it had not been to witness Zhang Yang's capabilities and to recruit him, he would have remained at the first boss, repeating the round endlessly.

How could he just dodge the boss' attacks that easily? Crimson Fire could not comprehend it, as he had observed that Zhang Yang had not spent much effort at all – a slide to the right, a dodge to the left, how relaxed! How was it that the two tanks from his guild became ruthlessly crushed by the boss even though they had given their all?

"As expected of brother expert!" said Snowy Death with a look of extreme pride on his face, as if he was the one fighting the boss now instead of Zhang Yang.

As Crimson Fire unrelentingly attacked the boss, his gaze towards Zhang Yang became filled with a burning passion and his desire to recruit Zhang Yang into his guild grew stronger!

The ease Zhang Yang had in dodging the boss' attacks was, in fact, built upon his 5 years of experience of metagaming! Based on his instincts, each time the monster had made slight jerk, Zhang Yang would have been noted of where the next attack would come from and could dodge correspondingly in advance. This was all experience and metagame knowledge!

Suddenly, Black Claw stopped its attacks and turned. With a 'ptui', a black spit shot towards Defiant Monk.

A red damage text with '-300' then floated across Defiant Monk's head immediately. Luckily his own HP was high enough to withstand the attack. After deducting the 300 points of damage, he was still left with a mere 40 HP. With several heals from both Ocean Despair and Silky Snow, the party returned to its original attacking momentum.

To be honest, this boss' key difficulty lay with the tank!

Due to Death Stare, the party would usually have two tanks. These two tanks would need to coordinate the aggro to prevent the tank's death from over stacking Death Stare on one of them. Once one of the two tanks died, the other tank would surely end up with the same fate – unless the party was strong enough to have killed the boss before any tank had fallen.

However, Zhang Yang was an exception! Having 5 years of superior metagaming experience, dodging the boss' fierce attacks was a piece of cake – effortless! He had speculated that even if it were a boss from Hardcore Mode, he could also still perform a 90% and above dodge rate!

Now that he had solved the issue of the tank's death, this boss would definitely be a piece of cake!

90%, 80%, 70%, ...10%!

Black Claw's HP ran low and hit rock-bottom in an instance. With one last Shield Bash from Zhang Yang, Black Claw let out a loud growl and fell, popping equipment and gold coins on the ground.

"It's over?" Crimson Fire thought he was dreaming. This boss that had taken his guild several hours to defeat was so easily killed by a pub party in just one try?

How conflicted he was! On one hand, he had wanted Zhang Yang to kill the boss to prove his worth in being recruited; and on the other hand, he did not want the battle to end so soon, as it would only prove that his guild's elite dungeon explorers team was just a lousy piece of…

"How was it? I told you brother expert is the greatest!" Both being Bandits, Snowy Death had instinctively felt closer to Crimson Fire, patting his shoulder with a pride-filled face. Crimson Fire could not help but curse internally at him boasting about Zhang Yang's achievement like it was his.

"Litte Yang, I'm the 'Lucky Hand', let me touch the corpse!" said Fatty Han as he went over immediately to loot the corpse.

According to an official statement by 'God's Miracle', loots from monsters were determined by players who did the last strike. However, most of the players were still superstitious, choosing to believe that loots would depend on the luck of players who touched the corpse, thus the birth and existence of the terms Lucky Hand and Unlucky Hand.

Fatty Han touched the corpse and a Roll-the-Dice window for the 3 equipment immediately appeared in front of everyone.

[Black Claw Rage Fist] (Black-Steel, Fist Gloves)

Weapon Attack: 15 – 23

Attack Interval: 1.9 seconds

Level Requirement: 10

Both were fist gloves but compared to the pair in Normal Mode, this pair's Weapon Attack was obviously higher!

Both Bandits had chosen to roll while the rest of the party passed. Even though both Zhang Yang and Phantom Day could also equip themselves with fist gloves, one had already owned a Level 10 Black-Steel weapon while the other preferred two-handed weapons, so none of them rolled along with the Bandits. In the end, Snowy Death had rolled 87 and won over Crimson Fire's 82, obtaining the fist gloves.

Snowy Death happily changed into his newly obtained weapon while flaunting it to Crimson Fire. The players who were not from Lost Paradise had somewhat felt that they were much closer to Zhang Yang, subconsciously ostracizing those from said guild as they felt that Lost Paradise players seemed to have joined for convenience.

[Dog-faced Helm] (Black-Steel, Heavy Armor)

Defense: 3

Vitality: 6

Strength: 3

Dexterity: 1

Level Requirement: 10

Both Knight and Warrior classes could wear heavy armor but Ocean Despair was a healer and the helm had physical attack attributes so he voluntarily passed.

Zhang Yang, 47 points.

Phantom Day, 33 points.

"Ugh! Unlucky hands!" Phantom Day shook his head in disappointment.

Zhang Yang put on the helm and his entire face was promptly hidden behind a dog head. At a glance, he looked like an actual standing dog!

Everyone burst into laughter once they saw him.

"Little Yang! Wow! You're so handsome right now!" Fatty Han guffawed.

Fortunately the game had the option to hide the helm and Zhang Yang checked the option immediately. Only then did the dog face disappear but the party was still holding in their snickers, the corners of their mouths twitching whenever they looked at Zhang Yang's face.

[Shiny Heavy Boots] (Black-Steel, Heavy Armor)

Defense: 3

Vitality: 5

Intelligence: 4

Spirit: 1

Level Requirement: 10

This was obviously a Sacred Knight's equipment, so everyone passed to allow Ocean Despair to obtain it without any hesitation.

'Ding! You have received 1 silver coin and 30 copper coins in distribution!'

After distributing the equipment, the money was collected. This boss was a stingy one, only dropping 13 silver coins.

The currency control in 'God's Miracle' was fairly strict. Currency inflation was never a problem even in the later stages of the game.

"Let's take a look at the damage statistics!" said Phantom Day excitedly. For a lot of players, raiding dungeons provided them with two pleasures in life: first, getting equipment; second, comparing damage!

When everyone checked the statistics, they were dumbfounded.

[Damage Statistics]

1.Zhan Yu, Total Damage 11,345, 21%

2.Slim and Handsome, Total Damage 8,647, 16%

3.Phantom Day, Total Damage 7,566, 14%

4.Crimson Fire, Total Damage 7,027, 13%

5.Hundred Shots, Total Damage 5,401, 10%

6.Snowy Death, Total Damage 4,863, 9%

7.Defiant Monk, Total Damage 4,861, 9%

8.Flame Emperor, Total Damage 4,328, 8%

"Zhan Yu! Are you actually a Guardian or a Berserker?" Phantom Day exclaimed. He was so confident that he would place first in dealing damage but he had never guessed that not only could he not place first, he was not even ranked second!

Fatty Han immediately agreed with him, "Yeah! That's right! I should've been at the top of the list!"

This fat f*ck had completed a Hidden Class Quest and had obtained Precise Shot. Even though it was only an 'Average' score reward skill, he still possessed an additional skill and extra AP compared to his peers. With everyone's mediocre equipment, the advantage of having a skill would have been magnified.

Crimson Fire's eyes burned with passion, he was even more eager to recruit such a talent now! His glinting pair of eyes was as like that of a sex-deprived widower, scaring Snowy Death who had caught a glimpse and had immediately created some distance from him, thinking that the man might have a different orientation in some aspects!

"Let us continue then!" Zhang Yang swung his sword, leading the team forward.

He had established an absolute authority, no one had any objection. After around 10 minutes of killing minions with utmost ease, the party had reached the second boss.

Compared to Normal Mode, this boss had much higher HP and damage, Curse of Water and Fire dealt more damage and summoned demon puppets were also more powerful. However, Zhang Yang's party had also swapped in 3 Lost Paradise elites, boosting their battle power significantly.

Therefore, Zhang Yang did not care to explain much since the boss' skills were the same. They only had to follow the same strategy as the one in Normal Mode.

With an attack command, Zhang Yang led the party and bashed the boss. Within just 4 to 5 minutes, the second boss wailed upon its death and had equipment scattered all over the ground.

Upon looting the corpse, there were only 1 leather armor and 2 cloth armor with no heavy armor in sight, annoying Phantom Day to the extent of him calling Fatty Han 'Unlucky Hands' and declaring that he was not allowed to loot the corpse the next time.

The party chatted merrily. After they had distributed the equipment, they moved on and had killed the last boss after clearing waves of minions.

Ever since defeating the first boss Black Claw, no one had any more doubts in clearing Hard Mode! Zhang Yang was ridiculously strong. Everyone had felt that he only had to bring along a healer… no, there was probably no need for a healer, just him alone could have cleared the entire Hard Mode!

Their challenge now laid within Hardcore Mode!

Translator Note

1 A team formed to explore an uncleared dungeon to discover and understand the mechanics of the run. This will aid the top team of a guild in clearing the dungeon with record time.

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Chapter 22: Hardcore Mode

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Brother expert, are we still doing Hardcore Mode?" Snowy Death gazed hopefully at Zhang Yang, he was afraid that the latter might say no. It was not just him, the rest of the party was also staring at Zhang Yang with puppy eyes.

Zhang Yang had proven himself to be capable of challenging, perhaps even clearing Hardcore Mode! As for gamers like them, there was no better glory than having the server announcements spam their names.

Just imagining the rows of red text from the server announcement hovering was enough to fill one with mind-numbing excitement!

Zhang Yang laughed and said, "Of course!"

Hearing his promise, the rest of the party all had delighted smiles.

"But I need to say something first!" Zhang Yang claimed, "I will need a Smithing recipe that would only be dropped by Hardcore Mode's hidden boss, Momorermo. If anyone has any objection, speak up now so it won't be awkward later!"

"Brother expert, I'm fine with it even if you want to claim all the equipment that dropped, let alone a recipe!" Snowy Death said excitedly.

A red text server announcement! That would have been much more enticing than any equipment!

"No problem!" the crowd replied.

"Alright, let's go to Hardcore Mode!" Zhang Yang adjusted the dungeon difficulty and said, "Let's go!"

One by one, all ten of them stepped through the dungeon entrance of Bangar Crypt for the third time.

'Ding! You have entered Bangar Crypt (Hardcore Mode)!'

"Tsk tsk tsk, Hardcore Mode. Just the announcement alone fills one with gusto!" Defiant Monk laughed as he said, "Are we the first party to challenge Bangar Crypt in Hardcore Mode?"

"It must be so!" Ocean Despair, too, boasted uncharacteristically.

"Brother Zhan Yu, how confident are you in clearing Hardcore Mode?" Laced with Crimson Fire's casual tone of asking was his immense anticipation. As a guildmaster, he was more desperate than anyone else to be announced as the first to clear Hardcore Mode. It would be of tremendous help in spreading the name of his guild!

At first, Crimson Fire had only wanted to observe Zhang Yang's capabilities personally to decide what conditions to offer in recruiting him to his guild. However, Zhang Yang's performance in Hard Mode had already amazed him. If he could also clear Hardcore Mode, this would be an unexpected surprise for Crimson Fire!

"Bangar Crypt is the game's first dungeon, so even if it's Hardcore Mode, it's not impossibly difficult. As long as we play according to tactics, chances of clearing the dungeon is still very high!" Zhang Yang remained reserved in his speech.

Crimson Fire, though, was delightfully surprised, "Both Sky High and The Dominators are clearing Hardcore Mode's first boss, I've heard that they have been wiped for over ten times. Can we really surpass them?"

Sky High and The Dominators were both long standing guilds in games in the China region. Their distinguished existence had been undeniable in past online games, boasting impressive dungeon records! Since 'God's Miracle' was launched, the guilds had also sent their main members into the game. Although Lost Paradise was also a sponsored semi-professional guild, they would only be a lightweight contender in comparison to Sky High and The Dominators.

Zhang Yang smiled and said, "We should be okay!"

"I believe in brother expert!" Snowy Death had immediately expressed his trust in Zhang Yang, his faith solid as a rock.

Zhang Yang straightened up his sword and said, "Well, get ready to fight! Fully utilize your potions if you can, the monsters in Hardcore Mode are very fierce and we'll need to maximize our DPS!" He stepped forward and used Charge towards the 6 monsters that were standing at the entrance. '-70', a normal attack landed on one of the monsters.

His Rage rose to 21 points and Zhang Yang used Horizontal Sweep.

"-144!"

"-159!"

"-143!"

"-900!"

"-153!"

"-148!"

"D*mn!" Phantom Day could not help but cussed as he witnessed a huge "-900" damage text appeared above the monster's head. It was not just him, the rest were as bewildered!

Zhang Yang was surprised too. The reason behind such devastating damage was a complete coincidental superimposition of a Critical Strike with a Lucky Strike, resulting in a total increase of 600%!

Lucky Strike dealt 3 times more than a regular attack, its trigger rate determined by the Luck attribute.

Due to the monster's high defense, classes like Thieves and Hunters who rely on the Dexterity attribute could only deal mediocre damage because a normal attack was a mere 10 or so damage. They could only deal greater damage by casting skills but even then, it would only be 30-50 points of damage at the most. Witnessing such a ridiculously high damage of 900, not a single soul was spared from being dumbfounded.

"Zhan Yu, now I'm actually glad that you're not a Berserker! If you had used a two-handed weapon with Horizontal Sweep just now, that damage would have reached 1,500!" Phantom Day patted his chest in relief, he had long since given up the idea of comparing damage output with Zhang Yang!

Zhang Yang laughed and said, "Amp up the DPS! The faster we clear this, the quicker we get to wrap things up!"

Zhang Yang had kept something unsaid, which would be the implementation of an 'Inheritance Patch' in the future. Once it was released, each class would have an opportunity to obtain an 'Inheritance'. For example, a Warrior would have the Spirit Swordsman, Barbarian, God of War and so on for Inheritance; a Spirit Swordsman would have a 30% damage increase when sword-typed weapons were used in attacks.

The most powerful of all was the God of War Inheritance, it would be a unique inheritance where only one person in the whole world could obtain! One of God of War Inheritance's effects was to grant a Guardian or a Berserker the ability to equip two-handed weapons, dual wield one-handed weapons, or a shield in off-hand slot!

This meant that as long as Zhang Yang obtained the God of War Inheritance, he could still use two-handed weapons or dual wield one-handed weapons simultaneously! However, the patch would only be launched when players have reached Level 100. That would be at least a year later!

Everyone was motivated when they had witnessed Zhang Yang's damage power. There was no one who did not deal their damage to the best of their ability. They knew that they could never be on the same level as this madman but they did not want to lose to everyone else at the very least!

With this setup, waves after waves of minions were wiped and very soon, the party had arrived at the first boss, Black Claw.

This was the third time seeing that familiar dog face!

[Black Claw, Guarding Beast of Crypt Entrance] (Green-Copper Boss)

Level: 12

HP: 72,000

Compared to Normal Mode, the HP was doubled while the rarity had risen from Black-Steel to Green-Copper!

"F*ck this, that's over 70,000 HP! It's crazy!" Fatty Han wiped his saliva and looked at his poor little white pig's pitiful 300 HP. He could not help but cry. "Little Yang, can I make this boss my pet?"

"What do you think?" Zhang Yang rolled his eyes at Fatty and said, "This boss still isn't difficult, it just has higher attack, Venom Spit can now cause over 400 damage. Let's just hope that it targets our healers less frequently!"

Zhang Yang's HP had reached 410 points from obtaining the 'dog head'. Other than him, only Flame Emperor and Snowy Death had above 400 HP. That would mean once the rest of the party members were in contact with Venom Spit, they would be wiped.

Zhang Yang pondered and said, "Silky, by all means, make sure everyone with 320 HP and above has Holy Shield. Give up on those with lower HP!"

Since Holy Shield could absorb 80 points of damage, those with 320 HP and above could still barely survive after receiving Venom Spit with the shield. However, those with less than 320 HP would die from an attack even with Holy Shield. Using Holy Shield on them would only be a waste of MP.

"Let's go!" Zhang Yang walked a few steps forward and used Charge towards Black Claw.

'-57!'

A sword slashed and the white damage text floated above the boss' head.

Black Claw had recovered quickly and let out a fierce growl, swinging its claws to attack Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang hurriedly evaded while swinging the sword in his hand, using another normal attack.

'-60!'

As his Rage rose to 29, Zhang Yang used Horizontal Sweep.

'-145!'

Zhang Yang held back from using Block because the boss' attack speed in Hardcore Mode was incredibly fast. Even Zhang Yang could not ensure a 100% evasion rate, so he would only activate Block when he could not evade the attack in time to keep himself from harm's way.

'Ding! You are affected by Death Stare (Stack 1). All damage received increased by 100%. Lasts for 12 seconds!'

Very soon, Zhang Yang was stacked with a number of Death Stares.

The others had already started their attacks on the boss as soon as Zhang Yang had pulled the boss.

"Ding! You are affected by Death Stare (Stack 2). All damage received increased by 200%. Lasts for 12 seconds!"

20 seconds later, Zhang Yang was targeted with the second stack of Death Stare! Black Claw's melee attacks was around 200 in Hardcore Mode and so, along with the debuff, Zhang Yang would have suffered from a 600 points damage which would instantly kill him in just a single attack even with the 20% damage reduction passive skill.

"Easy?! How could this boss have such rapid attack speed!" Phantom Day exclaimed. In his opinion, he was amazing if he could have dodged just one out of a hundred of the boss' attacks. But it seemed like the faster the boss attacked, the quicker Zhang Yang's reflexes became, almost as if the limit for his upgrade in technique and skill was the sky!

Truthfully, Zhang Yang was far from unleashing his full potential but with the limitation of equipment and insufficient Dexterity, he could only perform to this level!

Excluding Zhang Yang, the rest of the party members were extremely anxious that he would be wiped out by the boss at any given moment. Their tension was similar to that of tightrope walking, where a slight carelessness would spell doom!

To err is to be human. Zhang Yang was not a robot, and he eventually made a small mistake. He was just half a step slower!

A fatal half step!

Watching the unavoidable massive claw heading inevitably towards Zhang Yang led the party to feel disappointed. However, they had actually let out a sigh of relief in their subconscious minds – To err is to be human, otherwise they would have been God!

'Ding! You have blocked Black Claw's attack!'

'-39!' Block reflected damage.

'-204!' Shield Bash succeeded in dealing a Critical Strike.

Under disbelieving gazes, Zhang Yang had displayed an absolute counter. The Block that he had been saving all this time had ultimately become l, resolutely unraveling the devastating strike!

"Is that even possible?" Crimson Fire was stunned! He was certain that the 2 tanks in his guild would not have enough time to activate Block in the event that they failed to dodge an attack!

After a while of madly attacking Zhang Yang, Black Claw turned his head and spat black venom targeting Hundred Shots.

'Ding! Player Hundred Shots has died!'

Hundred Shots was instantly killed with a devastating 400 damage.

"Carry on the attack! Or else we'll all die!" Zhang Yang shouted. He brandished his sword and continued to attack the beast.

90%, 80%... Black Claw's HP was slowly reducing.

'Ding! Player Phantom Day has died!'

70%!

'Ding! Player Ocean Despair has died!'

10%!

'Ding! Player Crimson Fire has died!'

When Black Claw's HP was at its final 10%, Zhang Yang's party was also at its final 3 players, him, Fatty Han and Silky Snow!

"Come on!" The 7 players who had fallen cheered.

8%, 7%, 6%, 5%!

'Ding! Player Slim and Handsome has died!'

"Go all out, Silky, forget shielding and healing, let's attack together!" Zhang Yang shouted. If he was the sole survivor, the boss' Venom Spit would definitely target him too. He was sure he could dodge this in Normal or even Hard Mode but the boss' skill activation speed was too fast in Hardcore Mode. Furthermore, the distance between the two of them was too short, and it would be impossible to dodge!

Silky Snow complied and immediately began casting Holy Ray.

4%, 3%!

'Ding! Player Silky Snow has died!'

"Come on!"

"Kill it!"

"Pro, you can do it!"

Fatty Han and the others got excited, shouting as loud as they could. None of them was willing to let all that they had done end in vain at 1%.

2%!

1%!

Suddenly, Black Claw's attacks paused and the black venom was spat!

"F*ck!" Everyone cried in their hearts.

Zhang Yang remained calm and continued slashing with the sword in his hand, dealing another 2 attacks.

'-62!' Normal Attack.

'-840!' Horizontal Sweep, Critical Strike on top of Lucky Strike!

'Ding! Player Zhan Yu has died!'

'Ding! The party you are in has killed Black Claw!'

The two system notifications rang. Zhang Yang and Black Claw fell at the same time!

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Chapter 23: Close Call

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Is it over?"

"It's over!"

Everyone went from hesitance to surprise and then to cheering with glee. If it was not for their characters being dead, they would all be hugging each other in celebration.

Especially for Crimson Fire. maybe normal players like Snowy Death could not fully grasp the actual difficulty of Hardcore Mode but he had full comprehension! Even super guilds like Sky High and The Dominators had died repeatedly in their attempts at the first boss. Under Zhang Yang's lead though, they had actually cleared the first boss with just one try. If it was said to be sheer luck, Crimson Fire would disagree!

This man, Zhan Yu, he was certainly impressive!

"Revive and run back! We will distribute the loot!" Zhang Yang was the first to release his body and return to the start of the dungeon in his soul form.

Ever since his rebirth, this would be his first time experiencing the soul form. Looking at the monochrome surrounding, Zhang Yang felt a surge of dizziness and ran to resurrect himself at the dungeon entrance disarrayed. Within a flash, the colors returned and only then did he regain his train of thoughts.

The rest of the party had revived one by one and all ten of them stood before Black Claw's massive corpse soon after. The crowd was still excited as ever. They would have believed they were in a dream if not for the corpse that laid in front of them! Fatty Han had even tried to hug Silky Snow but she had pushed Phantom Day into his embrace instead.

"Pro bro, loot the corpse!" Everyone turned their gaze to Zhang Yang. Before this, they could never have seen themselves defeating a Hardcore Mode boss! They were all grateful to Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang patted Fatty Han's shoulder and said, "Fat f*ck, go loot the corpse!"

Fatty Han let out a joyful laugh and touched the corpse with his plump hand.

[Fang] (Green-Copper, Dagger)

Weapon Attack: 24 – 32

Attack Interval: 1.4 seconds

Level Requirement: 10

Green-Copper equipment! This was by far the highest grade of equipment!

Both Thief and Warrior classes could use daggers but only a Thief specialized in Assassination could bring out the full potential of a dagger! The party had two Thieves but both of them were Bandits, that had only meant that no one in the party was suitable for this weapon.

"Warriors, Thieves, just roll for it if you want!" Zhang Yang nodded his head.

Being courteous, after Zhang Yang had passed, Phantom Day followed suit. Only Crimson Fire and Snowy Death rolled for the weapon.

This time round, Crimson Fire had rolled a 98, winning over Snowy Death.

"Such a pity. If only it were a one-handed sword, axe, or even hammer, it would have been the best!" Crimson Fire sighed disappointedly as he equipped the dagger to his offhand slot.

"It's still not bad! Even though offhand weapon does not affect skill damage, just looking at DPS, this dagger's DPS has reached 20, much better than Black-Steel equipment!" said Snowy Death enviously. To every profession in the game, weapons played the major role in dealing the most damage!

"Fatty Bro! Continue looting!" said Defiant Monk. Fatty Han was a social butterfly, he could bullshit and banter, and had been the best of friends with the party members.

Fatty Han looted with his fat hand again and another equipment popped out.

[Shiny Chest Plate] (Green-Copper, Leather Armor)

Defense: 4

Vitality: 10

Strength: 3

Dexterity: 7

Level Requirement: 10

"Great item!" Fatty Han was gleeful, "I do have 'Red Hand'!"

The 3 Hunters and Snowy Death had rolled. Crimson Fire had consciously passed since he had already obtained a weapon. In the end, Hundred Shots had gotten the equipment with 85 points.

"Sigh, I do have 'Red Hand' but why is my roll so unlucky?" Fatty Han shook in head for show and looted the corpse again for the last equipment.

[Refined Metal Gauntlet] (Green-Copper, Heavy Armor)

Defense: 6

Vitality: 6

Strength: 3

Dexterity: 1

Level Requirement: 10

As all the players saw that the equipment was of use to Zhang Yang, they had passed without a sound from Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang did not feigned courtesy as well, with a "thanks" he equipped the gauntlet at once, increasing his HP to 470 and attack damage from 82 to 90!

"Ding! You have received 5 silver coins and 20 copper coins after distribution!"

After collecting all the loots, the corpse began to disappear. The system was obviously very stingy as it had only awarded 52 silver coins even after defeating a Hardcore Mode boss.

"Next target, the second boss!"

The party went on their way to the second boss Babarerba in high spirits.

This first dungeon was indeed easy!

Zhang Yang could not help but think after clearing the last wave of minions. Minions from the second dungeon Marzerway's Lair and onwards would have been much tougher to handle. They would either have tricky skills or they would know Sneak, lurking in the shadows until players were within their aggro affective range then jumping out to ambush!

Of course, the trickiest would still be the bosses. The bosses in Bangar Crypt were so much easier compared to the upcoming dungeons. This Hardcore Mode could only be considered as a trial version!

[Babarerba the Sleepyhead] (Black-Steel Boss)

Level: 13

HP: 78000

"Little Yang! Same old tactic?" asked Fatty Han quietly, fearing that he might wake the boss up.

"Same old!" Zhang Yang nodded. He then frowned and said, "But those cursed with Curse of Water and Fire will lose 140 damage per second. So not only do you need to react faster, move to position and take a red pot at once, healers must also be quick on healing!"

140 damage per second was enough to wipe out most of the party members under 3 to 4 seconds.

Zhang Yang took a second to think and said, "Let's change the strategy up a bit for this round. Don't bother to attack the summoned puppets, focus your attacks on the boss solely. I'll hold onto the puppets' aggro! The healers won't be able to handle this massive amount of healing so we can't afford to drag this on. Kill the boss quickly!"

"Understood!" the crowd nodded.

"Alright, once I start attacking the boss, all of you attack instantly, go all out!" Zhang Yang took a deep breath and walked towards Babarerba's aggro range.

Babarerba woke up at once. It took its spear and dashed towards Zhang Yang yelling, "Foul mortal, you've awoken Babarerba! Babaerba will kill you!"

Zhang Yang stunned Babarerba with a Charge.

"-60!" Normal attack.

"-152!" Horizontal Sweep.

At the same time, the entire party launched their attacks.

Babarerba had recovered quickly and thrusted its spear towards Zhang Yang.

"Block!"

"-40!" Block reflected damage.

"-106!" Shield Bash.

This time, Zhang Yang did not hold back on using Block. Firstly, the boss did not have any debuffing skills, even if he had accidentally been attacked, he would not be instantly killed. Secondly, this boss' DPS was too strong, Zhang Yang had to maximize his own attack power!

Babarerba was enraged, its eyes grew crimson and casted its skill.

"Ding! Player Phantom Day has been affected by Curse of Water, losing 140 HP per second. Effect will remain until player's death!"

"Ding! Player Defiant Monk has been affected by Curse of Fire, losing 140 HP per second. Effect will remain until player's death!"

"Don't be adamant on attacking, run now!" Zhang Yang commanded lowly.

Phantom Day and Defiant Monk were team players, both of them ran towards each other promptly while the two healers did their work, doing everything they could to make sure the two cursed players survived.

Within 2 seconds, the curse was dispelled as the two of them quickly got together.

"Good job! Return to your position and attack!" Zhang Yang commanded while evading the boss' attacks. "Healers drink your blue pots if you need to, don't try to save on those!"

After 15 seconds, Babarerba had casted Curse of Fire and Water again. Thankfully the party had already formed a certain degree of tacit understanding after grinding together in Hard Mode. Adding Zhang Yang's authoritative stance, once he had prompted, they ran to position without hesitating; plus the hard work from the healers, there was no sign of losing players.

Slowly and steadily, Babarerba's HP had dropped to 75%!

"You despicable vermin! Babarerba is angry!" It then stabbed its spear into the ground and raised both its arms chanting a spell, "Come forth demon from the depth of the abyss, bring evil with you into this realm!"

A hexagram magic circle appeared beneath Babarerba's feet and a red imp appeared by his side. This was the second time the party had met Tasair.

[Tasair, Babarerba's Demon Puppet] (Elite)

Level: 13

HP: 6000

Without further delay, Zhang Yang used Provoke before Tasair could do anything.

"!#$#$% (demonic language)!" Tasair shrieked and waved its claw towards Zhang Yang.

"Block!"

"-46!"

"-40!" Two Block reflected damage text appeared together.

"-160!"

"-150!" Horizontal Sweep.

Zhang Yang jerked his hand, his sturdy shield bashed Babarerba's face, "Ignore the imp! Focus on the boss!"

"-106!" Shield Bash.

Pained by Zhang Yang's continuous attacks, Babarerba picked up the spear stabbed into the ground and thrusted it towards Zhang Yang. At the same time, it casted Curse of Fire and Water.

Both cursed ones moved instantly, dispelling the curse just as their HP bars were almost emptied.

"Zhan Yu, I only have half MP left!" said Silky Snow.

"I only have slightly more than half too!" Ocean Despair echoed.

"I got it!" Zhang Yang frowned. Hardcore Mode had required players to have decent equipment before raiding! According to the official guide: spend two days to raid Hard Mode then Hardcore Mode. A strong team may defeat the first boss then spend another two days raiding and collecting equipment before trying out the second boss. The final boss had always been the hardest. Without 4 to 5 days of dungeon exploring, it would be undefeatable!

If it had not been for Zhang Yang, this party would never have been able to clear Hard Mode, their basic equipment was pathetic as evident in raiding Hardcore Mode: insufficient DPS and healing ability!

Zhang Yang had left this issue in the hands of god now since he would not be able to do anything about it.

Since the party did not have to change their attack target, it was as if dealing damage on a wooden dummy, reducing the boss' HP to 50% quickly!

"Foolish mortals, I will crush your bones to make my goblet!" Babarerba had so many programmed lines. He threw his spear aside once again and started to summon the second puppet.

A hexagram magic circle appeared and another imp joined the battle.

[Gluttony, Babarerba's Demon Puppet] (Elite)

Level: 13

HP: 6000

Zhang Yang was ready with his Horizontal Sweep. After casting Provoke, he had quickly chained Horizontal Sweep.

The floating creature turned immediately and waved its plump limbs towards Zhang Yang.

"Hey Fatty! Looks like this guy is much fatter than you!" Zhang Yang joked, an attempt to humor the current stressful atmosphere.

"Oh f*ck off!"

Fatty Han puffed angrily and said, "I'm fatter than it!"

In his opinion, being fat was a sign of strength. He would never take second to anyone or anything!

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Chapter 24: Jubilant March

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The importance of a good leader to a team could be seen from Zhang Yang's pub1 party!

Under Zhang Yang's timely reminder, those afflicted with Curse of Water and Fire had instantly moved positions to dispel the curse. They had not lost anyone as of yet! If it had been another party, they would have been disoriented by the chaotic situation, and would have repeatedly wiped out for several times now!

"Despicable mortals! Babarerba has underestimated you, Babarerba will be serious now!" As its HP fell to 25%, Babarerba began its third summon, "Come forth demon from the depth of the abyss…"

The hexagram magic circle flashed again, and a sensual woman appeared beside Babarerba. It had two long horns on the top of its head and a long tail behind its back. It's hand was holding a whip, and its legs were a pair of hoofs!

Its outfit was exceptionally skimpy, its upper body was only covered by a small leopard-skinned bra, revealing most of its skin while its lower body was cladded in a lace mini skirt. Truly a seductive feast for one's eyes.

[Alice, Babarerba's Demon Puppet] (Elite)

Level: 13

HP: 6,000

Succubus, a demon ranked higher than the imp and floating demon but considering the fact that it was brought in as a summoned puppet in this dungeon, it did not have any specific skill set.

"Slap!" Alice struck with its whip, its hips swaying as she posed lewdly, "Mm… My dear master, you've summoned Alice, do you wish to do something naughty?"

"F*ck me, is this for real?" Fatty Han wiped his saliva, "Little Yang, can I get her as a pet? Just seeing her beside me every day will definitely boost my mood a hundred fold!"

Zhang Yang laughed and said, "Change your class to Priest or Spellcaster and you might have a chance to get the Summoner Inheritance when the Inheritance Patch is launched. You'd then be able to summon a variety of demons, including this succubus!"

Fatty Han looked longingly at Alice with heart-shaped eyes and finally said unwillingly, "Fine! I'll remain a Hunter, a class with a confirmed future!"

"Zhan Yu, my blue pot is out!" said Silky Snow.

Ocean Despair followed, "I can probably heal another 2 more times!"

Truthfully, it had been lucky that the 2 of them had held up till now! In a dungeon raid, a tank would usually receive most of the healing. However, since Zhang Yang had an exceptionally high damage evasion capability, he basically had not drained any of the healers' MP. That was why these two could manage to hold on till now! Otherwise, if they were to heal another tank with their current equipment configuration, they would have depleted their MP much earlier.

"Healers ran out of blue pots. Everyone get ready with your own red pots, don't be stingy on those! Move even faster if you're cursed with Curse of Water and Fire, don't wait for my reminder!" said Zhang Yang in the party channel.

"Roger!"

The players attacked with all their might since the healers had completely exhausted their blue pots. The boss would never stop casting Curse of Water and Fire just because they had no more blue pots. If the fight dragged on, they would all be annihilated!

22%, 19%, 16%!

'Ding! Player Snowy Death has died!'

'Ding! Player Defiant Monk has died!'

The boss had casted Curse of Water and Fire again. Since Snowy Death and Defiant Monk only had 200 HP left and their red pots were still on cooldown, they died from the curse after taking just 2 steps despite reacting in time.

"Keep up with the attacks!" Zhang Yang's sword slashed. He was evading 4 monsters' attacks while dealing significant damage at the same time, "Silky, Ocean! Come to the melee range!"

Silky Snow and Ocean Despair were confused yet they did not hesitate and immediately ran to the boss' side. They had nothing to do anyway, so they took out their weapons and began attacking the boss, dealing a stream of '-1' attacks.

14%, 11%, 9%!

'Ding! Player Silky Snow has died!'

'Ding! Player Flame Emperor has died!'

"Phantom Day and Crimson Fire are the main DPS. And they're the only two players at melee position. If no one came to fill the space up, they will definitely be nuked!" Zhang Yang casually explained.

"Damn, Little Yang, how could you be so sly! You sacrificed our lovely Silky just like that?" Fatty Han complained in Silky Snow's stead while checking out her body lying on the floor, cussing in his heart that her skirt could have been lifted higher so he could peek more clearly.

"I'm happy that I could at least be of use till the end!" Silky Snow sent a smiley face in the party channel.

Fatty Han teased immediately, "Lovely Silky! I've been in love with you all along! You've better not have a change of heart and fall for Little Yang! Let Fatty Bro tell you, that guy could go 3 months without showering even once. You can smell his foul odor even from 3 kilometers away!"

Silky Snow smiled bashfully and ignored Fatty Han.

7%, 6%, 4%!

'Ding! Player Crimson Fire has died!'

'Ding! Player Hundred Shots has died!'

"Come on, almost there!" the fallen players cried, thinking if it would be a close call just like the battle against Black Claw.

Zhang Yang thought and said, "Ocean, you move to the ranged position!" 3 of them were in melee position right now while Fatty Han was the only one in a ranged position. If there was no adjustment, Fatty Han would definitely die! Fatty Han was currently the second highest DPS output and Zhang Yang needed him to survive until the end. He could only depend on luck now to see who the boss would target!

3%! 2%!

'Ding! Player Phantom Day has died!'

'Ding! Player Ocean Despair has died!'

"Yeah!" Everyone cheered when the boss had targeted Ocean Despair instead of Fatty Han, making Ocean Despair feel miserable. "It's not like I had offended any of you. Do you guys have to be so happy about this?"

1%!

0%!

With the last drop of HP drained, Babarerba fell with a shriek.

'Ding! The party you are in has killed Babarerba! Obtained 39,050 EXP (50 points Party Bonus)!'

"We did it! We did it again!" the party applauded endlessly. Before this, who would have thought that a pub party like theirs could take out 2 bosses in a row as though it was a piece of cake!

"Wow, so much EXP!" Fatty Han exclaimed.

Zhang Yang brandished his sword to continue dealing damage to the 3 remaining demons and said indifferently, "If you had died, I would have gained more EXP!" He paused and said, "Everyone don't release your bodies yet, there should be an achievement!"

Fatty Han ordered his pet to attack while drawing his bow and asked, "Little Yang, what achievement?"

"Some superficial shit, it's just to show off what you have accomplished without actually rewarding anything!" Zhang Yang replied casually.

Even though all 3 demon puppets had 6,000 HP each, they still did not last long under the combined attacks of Zhang Yang and Fatty Han. Quickly, they died one by one.

'Ding! You have obtained the achievement, I Can 1V4!'

"What is this stuff?" Fatty Han said.

Zhang Yang explained, "This Achievement System is usually available in Hardcore Mode dungeons and it's usually used to encourage a more difficult killing method. For example, we've completely ignored the summoned puppets and only targeted the boss. The system has identified this as a harder method and rewarded us with this achievement title!"

Only then did everyone understand. However, what they knew better was the fact that they could not have gotten their hands on this achievement if it were not for Zhang Yang's capabilities! Why couldn't their equipment be better to allow them to kill the boss normally?

"Revive yourselves!"

8 of them released their bodies. While running back they asked, "Zhan Yu, are there any other achievements outside of the dungeons?"

"There are, and many more so. You probably couldn't obtain all of them even after playing for 10 years!" Zhang Yang organized his thoughts and said, "For example, if you get killed by the same person for 100 times, you'll get an achievement called 'I Hate You'! If you get killed 1,000 times by the same person, you'll get 'I Hate You to the Core'!"

When everyone had returned from resurrection, Zhang Yang told Fatty Han, "Go loot the corpse!"

Fatty Han had been waiting impatiently, this was the moment he had been waiting for after such a long battle with the boss!

"Behold! Fatty Bro's big Lucky Hand!" Fatty Han extended his fat hand towards the boss' corpse.

"Brother Han, wash that hand first!" Snowy Death shouted.

[Lightning Spear] (Green-Copper, Two-handed Spear)

Weapon Attack: 85 – 113

Attack Interval: 3.8 seconds

DPS: 26

Level Requirement: 10

"G-good stuff!" Phantom Day began to drool, his eyes radiating desire.

Aside from him, the rest of the party had automatically passed. The equipment went straight into Phantom Day's inventory.

"Thank you everyone, thank you!" Phantom Day equipped the spear at once, bowing in appreciation to everyone, "Especially Big Bro Zhan Yu!"

Fatty Han got angry and said, "Phantom Day, I was the one who'd looted the corpse! Why didn't you thank me?"

"Thank you Fatty Bro!" Phantom Day was slaphappy with euphoria, quickly bowing to Fatty and causing everyone to laugh.

[Heavy Boots] (Green-Copper, Heavy Armor)

Defense: 6

Vitality: 5

Strength: 4

Dexterity: 1

Level Requirement: 10

'Sha', the moment the Roll-the-Dice window appeared, 9 of them passed, giving Zhang Yang an unconditional win on the equipment dropped.

"Thank you everyone!" Zhang Yang courteously thanked the party and equipped the boots. His character's attributes increased immediately.

HP: 520, Strength: 70, Armor: 31, Attack Damage: 86 – 94.

[Babarerba's Secretly Stashed Succubus Mini Skirt] (Green-Copper, Cloth Armor)

Armor: 2

Vitality: 10

Intelligent: 7

Spirit: 3

Level Requirement: 10

Once this equipment came up, everyone was dumbfounded. All of them had clearly remembered it to be the same mini skirt the succubus had been wearing just now. If a female player were to wear it… that would definitely cause nosebleeds!

"Damn, that boss was too depraved! Despicable!" Fatty Han claimed, full of righteousness. Despite saying that, his eyes went back and forth between the skirt and Silky Snow, not bothering to hide his own lustful intentions!

"Together. we request this equipment to be given to Silky babe!" Snowy Death yelled.

Only 2 players were able to equip cloth armor – Silky Snow and Flame Emperor. As long as Flame Emperor passed, the equipment would belong to Silky Snow.

Flame Emperor laughed and unhesitatingly chose to pass. Since they were both from the same guild, it would belong to the same stash no matter who had it. Moreover, he was a male character. Wearing a skirt would be too much for the eyes to take in. He would have never dared to wear something like that, unless it were Celestial equipment.

Silky Snow's face flushed with embarrassment.

Translator Note

1 Pub party is a gaming community lingo for public party. These are parties formed by recruiting players in public, and their efficiency can be quite inconsistent, since more experienced players would normally choose to venture into dungeons or quests with pre-made parties with their guild members or own social circles. For achievement-related objectives like First Clear and Speedruns, players would generally choose to avoid pub parties due to their unreliability.

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Chapter 25: The Undefeatable Boss

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Lovely Silky, you must put on the skirt to increase the party's morale!" said Fatty Han righteously even though he was drooling.

"Yeah! Yeah!" A bunch of wolves started to cheer.

Zhang Yang shook his head and said, "Even if she does put it on, you guys won't have a chance to see it. Can't you guys see that she is wearing a dress?"

The animals were disappointed when they heard it.

Fatty Han straightened his collars and said, "Well then, Fatty Bro must continue to work harder, I'll definitely loot a cloth armor top from the next boss!"

"Alright, settle down. Let's move on to the last boss!" Zhang Yang swung his sword around.

"Zhan Yu! Now that I have a new weapon, my damage output will definitely not lose to you!" Phantom Day said confidently.

Weapons played a major role in increasing damage output. Phantom Day was using a Level 5 Black-Steel two-handed sword obtained from a Class Quest. Now that he had swapped it with a Level 10 Green-Copper two-handed spear, his attack power had increased significantly, as did his confidence!

Zhang Yang smiled a little and said, "Okay! Let's fight for it!"

The party went forward and cleared the minions, finally arriving at the final boss after going through a small passageway.

Before engaging, Phantom Day checked the damage statistics and felt down once again. Even though his damage output had surpassed Fatty Han, he was still immensely behind Zhang Yang, their difference a total landslide.

If it compared damage done on single targets, Phantom Day would catch up and quite possibly even surpass Zhang Yang after equipping himself with the new weapon. However, facing waves of minions which led to there being multiple targets, Phantom Day who was without any AoE1 skills would still lose to Zhang Yang because of his Horizontal Sweep.

"I've never thought that we could actually come this far!" Crimson Fire exclaimed as they stood together facing the final boss. To think that 2 hours ago, he was still dying repeatedly at Hard Mode's first boss yet now here he stood before the final boss of Hardcore Mode.

The passion to recruit Zhang Yang burned even stronger. Of course, he also wanted Fatty Han whose damage output was incredibly high. The best case scenario would be recruiting them both. Crimson Fire sent a private message to Silky Snow saying, "How are you doing? Do you think you could get a hold on Zhan Yu?"

"That guy seems like he won't buy anything I try!" Silky Snow replied quickly.

Crimson Fire replied, "I believe in you! You're our Lost Paradise's ultimate babe! As long as you put in more effort, even the strongest of steel will melt into cotton fluff."

"Sigh, I'll need to be a honeypot again!"

"It's not so bad. This is just a game anyway, you don't even have to do the real deed! Give him a little bait to entice him, isn't that the best trick up your sleeve?"

"Hmph, let me put out my disclaimer first. I'm all for baiting Zhan Yu, he's hot anyway. But that fatty is an eyesore, don't even try to ask me to do anything!" said Silky Snow.

"Sure. Do your best, you must bring Zhan Yu into our guild! You've also seen what he can do! If he joined us, our Lost Paradise will surely be among the strongest guilds in 'God's Miracle'! And when that happens, our sponsorship will increase by at least 10 folds!" Crimson Fire was worried that Silky Snow would not give her best so he had quickly explained the stakes involved.

"I got it! He's sure to fall for me with just a flick of my fingers!" said Silky Snow confidently.

"The final boss is a problematic one!" Zhang Yang stopped at the entrance of the boss' field and hesitated. "This boss has two skills. There's one that spews fire which causes around 500 damage. Most players would be killed with just one strike! The other skill with the fire pits has its duration increased to 120 seconds. After 2 minutes into the battle, there will literally be no spots to stand on. The damage by the pits are around 200 points, you'll die quickly if you remain in there!"

Dadarerda in Hardcore Mode had been dubbed one of the most frustrating bosses ever by players in his previous life! Due to the many fire pits in addition to the boss' flame spits, there would technically be nowhere to evade it. Death was certain, be it from Flamethrower or Lava Pit!

The First Kill of this boss had only been achieved by a party which had depended on their level and equipment when its players had achieved an average of Level 30. That was how overwhelming the two skills were!

However, somebody had discovered later on that there was a terrain bug in Hardcore Mode boss' field. The boss would not cast fire pits on that specific spot. With this, there was finally a possibility to defeat this boss provided one had reached a certain level of skill.

Once the bug tactic was leaked, the boss became much easier to kill. The developers did not issue any penalty nor attempt to fix the terrain bug. Instead, they had recognized this tactic as a battle strategy. With regards to this issue, the developers had explained: When the boss was designed, they had 'slightly' underestimated the effect of Lava Pit, causing the boss to be overly strong. Since there were players who had discovered the bug tactic, even if it had violated the game's original intention, they would have to let bygone be bygones.

Zhang Yang knew very well that without the bug, the party's level and equipment would have never been enough to nuke the boss within 2 minutes! If they had not been able to do that, then they could only be burnt to their deaths by the fire pits!

However, he could not think of an acceptable reason to reveal the method! "I read it on the internet!" seemed to be quite acceptable but how could it be possible to have found every single detail online!

He then decided to have the party to first try it out normally before revealing the bug tactic.

The party had killed two bosses in a row, thus all of them were bearing much confidence and were eager to take on this boss. They did not perceive the boss to be as difficult as they had thought of before.

Zhang Yang shook his head, thinking of how he would be nuked for once.

"Same old plan, kill the star-marked first followed by the sun-marked!" Said Zhang Yang as he tagged the two monsters with the marks and dashed over with his sword.

Charge!

'-71!' Normal attack.

'-167!'

'146!' Horizontal Sweep.

Dadarerda and its two guards rushed towards Zhang Yang growling. Within a short while, the field was filled with sounds of sword clashing.

Everyone had nailed their teamwork, attacking the star-marked monster without waiting for Zhang Yang's instructions.

'Ding! Dadarerda used Lava Pit. Lasts for 120 seconds!'

Dadarerda spread its arms. With a flash of red light, 10 blazing pits appeared and spread all over the field.

The party swiftly moved, avoiding the pits and continuing their attacks on the star-marked target.

'Ding! The party you are in has killed a Royal Guard! Obtained 650 EXP (50 points Party Bonus)!'

The star-marked monster was nuked by the party in an instant.

Dadarerda growled and a progress bar appeared on its head.

'Ding! Dadarerda has used Flamethrower!'

"Prepare to evade!" said Zhang Yang as he pulled the sun-marked monster around Dadarerda.

When the boss' Flamethrower had ended, the sun-marked monster only had less than 25% HP remaining – the team's damage power had indeed increased after Phantom Day had equipped a new weapon.

'Ding! Dadarerda used Lava Pit. Lasts for 120 seconds!'

'Ding! The party you are in has killed a Royal Guard! Obtained 650 EXP (50 points Party Bonus)!'

The party then focused their attacks on the boss once both guards had been defeated. With the boss' high HP of 84,000 though, their progress to bring it down was extremely slow.

'Ding! Dadarerda used Lava Pit. Lasts for 120 seconds!'

'Ding! Dadarerda used Lava Pit. Lasts for 120 seconds!'

In just 1 minute, the entire field had a total of 60 Lava Pits. When the boss had casted Flamethrower again, the entire party was a mess but since they had experience from both Normal and Hard Mode, they had somewhat managed to endure the chaos.

By the time the number of Lava Pits had reached 80, the number of surviving players started to drop and when the number of Lava Pits reached 100, everyone had died except for Zhang Yang! Eventually, there were 120 Lava Pits and the field was a sea of fire for as far as the eyes could see; nowhere was safe.

Everyone's skyrocketed confidence had plummeted back to their original state. How would one evade a sea of fire?

If there were no boss, Zhang Yang might still be able to find his way out of the Lava Pits. However, he had to dodge the boss' attacks and evade the Lava Pits beneath his steps simultaneously. Even Zhang Yang could not pull off such a feat!

Of course Zhang Yang had not intended to solo kill the Hardcore Mode boss, what he had wanted to do was to 'reasonably' stumble upon the terrain bug!

He led the boss to move around with him and withdrew to a crack that could fit exactly one person! He stood at the crack and continued attacking the boss.

Even though he was not damaged by Lava Pit, he could not evade properly as he was stuck in the crack and he died after receiving numerous attacks from the boss.

The party, with their blind faith on Zhang Yang, had expected to witness another great counterattack of his solo fight with the boss. Seeing that he had actually failed and died, they were at a loss.

Zhang Yang released his body as he laughed, "Did you guys really think that I could defeat the boss alone?"

Everyone was embarrassed.

Reviving themselves, the party gathered again at the boss' field.

"Zhan Yu, how about we call it a day?" Even though Crimson Fire, too, had wanted to defeat the boss, as a guildmaster his judgement of a situation would certainly be better than everyone else! This boss was obviously still out of their league!

"I agree. Look at the sea of fire, there's literally no place for us to hide! The developers must not have wanted anyone to clear this boss!" said Phantom Day as he nodded in agreement.

The others still had their faith in Zhang Yang but after Phantom Day's analysis, they could not help but agree.

"Brother expert, it's already amazing that we could even set foot on this stage! Clearing one less boss only means fewer equipment. We'll defeat it together after getting stronger!" said Snowy Death.

The few of them had only wanted to raid Normal Mode at the beginning. After tagging along with Zhang Yang, they had actually managed to conquer Hard Mode and even cleared 2 bosses in Hardcore Mode! What more was there for them to ask for!

Zhang Yang laughed and said, "When I was pulling the boss around the place just now, I've found a place where there isn't any fire pits. I think we can make our stand there and fight back!"

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Chapter 26: Hardcore Mode, First Clear!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The crowd's eyes radiated simultaneously after having heard what Zhang Yang said!

Although they mentioned that they were willing to give up their intent of clearing the dungeon, but if there was a slight possibility of clearing it, each and every one of them would naturally tag along given the chance! As long as they could defeat this boss, they would obtain the 'First Clear' server announcement for Bangar Crypt. Having the entire server channel flooded with red messages about you, wouldn't that be the greatest glory any player could ever receive?

Zhang Yang said, "Look over there, can you see a crack in the wall? After I initiate the battle, I need all of you to continue with the original strategy and clear the 2 minions. All ranged characters including the healers will then hide inside the crack while I defend the frontlines! I tried it just now and found out that the position where the crack is would not have any Lava Pits and the boss' Flamethrower would only hit me alone. Healers, just focus your healing on me!"

"How about us?" Phantom Day, Crimson Fire and Snowy Death awkwardly said.

"As for you all… Every man for himself!" Zhang Yang said casually.

"Big brother, that's cold-blooded!" Snowy Death complained deliberately.

"Zhan Yu, you are despicable! You do realize my weapon attack is better, how could you just ditch me aside. Wuu wuu wuu, Silky Snow, please allow me to enter and be mine!" Phantom Day cried out.

Zhang Yang did some calculations. He found out that the base damage of Flamethrower is 500 and with the Guardian passive skill deducting 20% receiving damage, he would only receive 400 damage from the skill. Currently his HP was 520 points, and as long as the healers did their job to ensure his HP was always in its best condition, this boss would be as good as being in the bag.

"Let's give it a try!" Zhang Yang unsheathed his sword and marked 2 Royal Guards with the star and sun icons.

"Here I go!" Zhang Yang stepped forward.

Charge!

When Horizontal Sweep was activated and Zhang Yang managed to establish the aggro, he cried out, signaling the initiative to attack like a war horn.

After a brief moment, the two minions were defeated.

"Good job! Now, ranged attackers and healers! Quickly enter the hole!" Zhang Yang shouted.

"Hehe. Quickly enter the hole! I like that very much!" Fatty Han smiled depravedly while the other male players joined in to let out a perverted giggle.

The comment was treated as a mere passing joke and the team quickly headed into the crack one by one.

Zhang Yang relocated his character to the front of crack and shielded the players behind him. Fatty Han laughed and said, "To the 3 guys out there, may God bless you!"

"Healers! Keep your heals focused only on me. The people inside will take no damage and you can ignore the other 3 outside! My HP will be dropping very quickly because I can only use Block to gain attack immunity. Healers, pay attention to the timing and drink blue pots. We will be wiped if your blue pots ran out before the boss dies!" Zhang Yang paused for a while and said, "Silky, do not cast Holy Shield and only use it when I tell you to!"

"Ok!" Silky Snow promised.

"Alright. Ranged attackers, deal as much damage as you can! As for the 3 players outside, try to contribute a little before you die by dishing out as much damage as you possibly can!" Zhang Yang twirled his sword and slashed the boss. Because Zhang Yang needed to remain in front of the crack, he could not evade much due to the limited space, fully utilizing the only defensive skill he had, Block. Even though he had 31 points of Defense, it was not enough to withstand the boss' 200 Attack, so he had to absorb them all, resulting in his health dropping like a waterfall.

It was fortunate that the healers listened to his instructions and did not heal the others, only focusing on restoring Zhang Yang's depleting HP. There was nothing to fear if the healers did not heal excessively.

'Ding! Dadarerda had used Lava Pit, lasts for 120 seconds!'

Fortunately, there was only one pit on the boss' left side, while the rest spawned far from the melee attackers. As long as the melee attackers remained vigilant, they would not be damaged.

"Silky! Shield now!" Zhang Yang commanded instantly when he noticed the boss pause his attacks while a progress bar appeared over its head.

Immediately, Silky Snow waved her tiny hands and a semi-transparent barrier covered Zhang Yang. Holy Shield was an instantaneous spell and there was no delay in casting!

'Hong!' Dadarerda opened its mouth wide and spat out a trail of flame.

'-320!' A huge, red text floated over Zhang Yang's head indicating that he received damage. His initial HP of 389 immediately dropped to 69 HP. Flamethrower's base damage was 500 points. The damage reduced to 320 points. 20% was deducted by Zhang Yang's passive skill and 80 damage was absorbed by Holy Shield.

With Zhang Yang acting as the barrier in the front, the rest of the party was safe and sound. However, things were completely different for the other 3 outside.

The boss was leaning against the wall and since the game did not have a function that allowed one to phase through the walls, the 3 of them were pushed against the wall. With nowhere else to run, they had to receive the brunt of the boss's attack head on.

'Ding! Player Snowy Death had died!'

'Ding! Player Crimson Fire had died!'

'Ding! Player Phantom Day had died!'

"Wuu wuu wuu, how miserable!" Phantom Day cried in the party, "Silky Snow, please soothe me!"

Silky Snow merely replied with a smiling emoticon in the party channel.

Zhang Yang smiled wryly. This 'flirtatious' exchanges between Phantom Day and Silky Snow probably had a hidden motives. It was as though they were intentionally attempting to invoke Zhang Yang's feelings of superiority so that he would try and wrestle for Silky Snow's attention. Zhang Yang pondered about this while his hands showed no sign of slowing down. His sword waved relentlessly and the boss' HP was plummeting!

Due to the terrain bug, the initially impossible boss fight had become extremely simple. Although the room was filled with Lava Pit, no one got hurt in the crack. Fatty Han and the others only needed to mindlessly attack, attack and only attack!

80%, 70%... the boss HP fell swiftly.

Zhang Yang checked the MP of Ocean Despair and Silky Snow, and his heart calmed. It should be enough to hold on until the boss was defeated.

60%, 50%… 10%, there was hope!

"Brother Zhan Yu, let's make a deal. After the boss is defeated, is it possible to use the name 'Lost Paradise' for the party name in the announcement? Of course, it wouldn't be for naught. We will transfer 100 thousand to your account as payment, how about it?" Crimson Fire sent a private message to Zhang Yang.

Using 100 thousand dollars to buy a server announcement sounded ridiculous. But if Zhang Yang agreed, Crimson Fire would be the one profiting.

At that time, 'God's Miracle' had over 4 million online users, and out of that, 2 million users were solely based in China. That was no small amount. A server announcement would be a great advertisement for Lost Paradise. Just think of how many members they would be able to recruit after such an advertisement?

Additionally, the guild was a sponsored one. There would definitely be a reward waiting for them if they could get themselves a server announcement, and the amount would definitely exceed 1 million!

Who else but Crimson Fire could have thought of such a profitable trade?

Zhang Yang thought and said, "I don't want money. I want ten thousand gold pieces!"

Currently, there was no exchange service between gold pieces and real life currency. However, there were private in-game currency traders! As the players' level were still relatively low and the in-game currency generation is even lower, one gold piece was valued at 10 to 13 dollars. Which means 10 thousand gold pieces would be worth about 100,000 dollars.

Crimson Fire did not hesitate and replied, "Deal! But currently the gold piece production is very low. I would need several days to collect 10 thousand gold pieces!"

"Okay, deal!" Zhang Yang accepted and assigned the party leader to Crimson Fire. The battle was near its climax and the crowd heard the system notifications but did not respond.

Even though Zhang Yang agreed to the deal, he did have a few considerations to think off before he could accept it. First, the dungeon's first completion was not all that fair. Second, he wanted to lay low and not attract too much attention. Third, he needed to collect a large amount of gold pieces to start stockpiling for his future plans!

Crimson Fire was surprised at Zhang Yang's instant reaction. He said, "You were quick at passing the leader to me. Aren't you afraid of me cheating you?"

"Keh keh, I can trust you!" Zhang Yang only said things that others would like to hear. In fact, he believed that a smart person like Crimson Fire would not want to make an enemy out of him for just 10 thousand gold pieces.

5%, 4%, 3%, 2%, 1%!

Hundred Shots fired his last attack and Dadarerda let out its last loud growl before falling.

'Ding! You and your party have killed Dadarerda! Obtained 12,050 EXP (50 points Party Bonus)!'

'Ding! Congratulations, you have obtained the First Clear of the Bangar Crypt (Hardcore Mode)!'

'Ding! As a party leader, please name your party to be enlisted in the List of Hardcore Dungeon First Clear!'

An input box appeared in Crimson Fire's interface. Naturally, he did not hesitate to key in 'Lost Paradise'. Immediately, red notifications began to flood the server's chat channel.

"Server Announcement: The party 'Lost Paradise' has successfully conquered the Bangar Crypt (Hardcore Mode), obtaining the First Clear server announcement (China Server)! Their names will be eternally etched in the Hardcore Mode First Clear Achievement Board!"

"Server Announcement: Player Crimson Fire (Party Leader) has obtained the reward for being the first to clear (China Server) Bangar Crypt (Hardcore Mode)! Obtained system reward of 10 gold pieces, 1 Skill Point, and all races' reputation points increased by 500 points!

"Server Announcement: Player Zhan Yu (Party Member) has obtained the reward for being the first to clear (China Server) Bangar Crypt (Hardcore Mode)! Obtained system reward of 10 gold pieces, 1 Skill Point, and all races' reputation points increased by 500 points!

"Server announcement…"

A huge uproar was triggered when the server's chat channel was filled with the announcements.

"Seriously? I haven't even passed Normal Mode and now someone even claimed the First Clear for Hardcore Mode?"

"I haven't even left the beginner village!"

"Where did these strong players come from? This is only the second day and the First Clear of Hardcore Mode had already been taken!"

"Lost Paradise. Anyone heard of them before?"

"Haha, Lost Paradise is our guild! Our guild has experience in management and posseses proper reward and punishment regulation. All of you had just witnessed the strength of our guild, and right now we are still recruiting players! A Level 1 guild can only hold 10 thousand players. Slots were limited so it's on a first-come-first-serve basis. Please do not miss this opportunity!"

"Request for babysitting!"

"Request for carrying!"

"Request for hugging!"

Under Crimson Fire's management, his guild members traveled all over the place since the server announcement, taking advantage of this moment to scour everywhere in hopes of recruiting more skilled players.

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Chapter 27: Analyze

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

'Ding! You and your party have killed Black Claw. Obtained 24,050 EXP (50 points Party Bonus)!'

"Wah, its finally over!" Screams of joy filled the air, Sky Shaman smiled proudly as he saw 9 of his party members celebrating after defeating the first boss. Sky Shaman then switched to the guild channel and announced, "Hardcore Mode. First boss, Black Claw. Defeated!"

"Oh yeah!" the guild channel was filled with cheering.

"As expected of the master! The official China's number 1 tank! It hasn't even been a day and you have already conquered the first boss of Hardcore Mode!"

"Haha. Our guild Sky High is really the strongest!"

"Those guys from The Dominators must be crying by now!"

"Guildmaster bro, bring me along when you enter Hard Mode please! I'm still wearing a lot of White-Wood equipment!"

Everyone in the guild was discussing and chatting passionately, and Sky Shaman could not help but smile proudly. He asked casually, "How are The Dominators doing over that side?"

"Their elite team was wiped not longer than 5 minutes ago according to their members. They are still stuck at the first boss!" said a Hunter with a longbow hanging on his back. A tag on his head stating, 'World Pursuer, Sky High'.

"Very well, we're one step ahead of them!" Sky Shaman let out a smile. "However, we mustn't let our guard down just yet! The Dominators has always been our archrival, which means they are strong! We must never stop improving ourselves! We must get the second and last boss to obtain the global announcement for our First Clear achievement and let everyone know that our guild, Sky High, is the strongest in every single game there is!"

"We will get the First Clear server announcement for the China server! But we will not stop there! We must also get the World's Top 8 server announcement too!"

"We are the strongest!"

"Hurrah!"

4 of the team members were touched by Sky Shaman's speech, their faces flushed with excitement!

"Server Announcement: The party 'Lost Paradise' has successfully conquered the Bangar Crypt (Hardcore Mode), obtaining the First Clear server announcement (China Server)! Their names will be eternally etched in the Hardcore Mode First Clear Achievement Board!"

"Server Announcement: Player Crimson Fire (Party Leader) has obtained the reward for being the first to clear (China Server) Bangar Crypt (Hardcore Mode)! Obtained system reward of 10 gold pieces, 1 Skill Point, and all races' reputation points increased by 500 points!

"Server Announcement: Player Zhan Yu (Party Member) has obtained the reward for being the first to clear (China Server) Bangar Crypt (Hardcore Mode)! Obtained system reward of 10 gold pieces, 1 Skill Point, and all races' reputation points increased by 500 points!

"Server announcement……."

The server announcement channel began to flood with announcements.

"What!? Impossible!" Sky Shaman's faced changed instantly. His legs went limp, almost to the point where he could fall down at any time.

In his face! Right in his red, shameful face!

At that moment, the entire guild channel turned dead silent.

Once the Achievement Board was open, Lost Paradise's party name could be clearly seen.

[Hardcore Mode First Clear Achievement] (China Server)

1. Bangar Crypt

First Clear Party: Lost Paradise.

Party Leader: Crimson Fire, Bandit, Lost Paradise.

Party Members: Zhan Yu, Guardian, No Affiliation.

Ocean Despair, Sacred Knight, No Affiliation.

Phantom Day, Berserker, Lost Paradise.

Defiant Monk, Sniper, Lone Desert Smoke

Hundred Shots, Beastmaster, No Affiliation.

Slim and Handsome, Beastmaster, No Affiliation.

Snowy Death, Bandit, No Affiliation.

Flame Emperor, Pyromancer, Lost Paradise.

Silky Snow, Priest, Lost Paradise.

"Guildmaster…" The 9 party member's face turned bitter as they looked at Sky Shaman. The First Clear achievement for Hardcore Mode had been claimed and therefore all of them lost their will to continue.

As a guildmaster of a top-tier guild, Sky Shaman had a natural ability to judge and analyze a situation calmly. He began his analysis and said, "This party has 4 members from Lost Paradise. Even their party name is Lost Paradise. However, they have 5 non-affiliated members and a Hunter that belongs to another guild. If I guessed it right, this should be a pub party!"

"Pub party? Master, can pubs even raid Hardcore Mode?" asked the party members. If party that was comprised mostly of pubs could successfully conquer the Hardcore Mode, then what were the top-tier guilds' elite teams doing?"

"Look at the composition of the party. There is only one tank!" Sky Shaman narrowed his sight, revealing a surprised and disbelieving expression.

"It's real! There is only one Guardian. The other Warriors are of the Berserker and Sacred Knight specializations!"

Sky Shaman took a deep breath and exhaled. He was a Guardian himself. He knew the boss' difficulty in the Hardcore Mode better than anyone else. Even the most recent Black Claw that they had just defeated could only be done because he and the other tank had been cooperating in other games, forming an unspoken bond between them. Only then were they able to solve the issue of the Death Stare stacking that would normally cause entire parties to fail.

But that party only had one Guardian. How did he endure the Death Stare throughout the battle and survived?

"If I'm not wrong, the secret to their success lies in that party's tank! Pursuer, try your best to obtain information on each member of this party, especially the Guardian, Zhan Yu!" Sky Shaman's expression cleared and said, "Disband the party. We have lost Bangar Crypt, but in the next dungeon, we will fight to regain our honor! In these coming days, I want all of you to keep to a strict training schedule! Even if you were able to, you are not to allow your names to be listed in the Level Ranking Board. I'm giving all of you 7 days. After 7 days, all of you must reach Level 20. We will be the first guild to claim Marzerway's Lair!"

Somewhere else - The Dominators' raiding team.

"Boss, our brother in Sky High said that their elite team has defeated the first boss!" said Circular Piglet hurriedly. It was not a strange thing, as both Sky High and The Dominators were rivals. They had always been at each other's throats in almost any other MMOs. They had always been fighting endlessly to be China's best guild. And now, their skirmishes had also brought them to 'God's Miracle".

Humble Gentleman was calm. He said, "Don't be so agitated. Being one step ahead doesn't assure a guaranteed victory. It's still going to be a battle to determine who would have the last laugh!"

"Hey, hey!" Circular Piglet shyly scratched his head, "It is still not a good feeling to lose to them!"

"If you don't feel good losing to them, then get your sh*t together, you stupid swine! If it wasn't because of your careless mistake, we wouldn't have been completed wiped in the last fight now, would we?" lectured Humbly Gentleman as he laughed.

"Aw, come on boss. Don't remind me of my past mistakes. I'd already apologized for that a hundred times. I thought there was an earthquake, and that's why I disconnected!" explained Circular Piglet.

"And? Was it really an earthquake?"

"No… it was my pet cat. It jumped on top of my head!"

"You stupid little pig. Remember! You're our tank. You're the wall that protects us! Before you are allowed to fall, you must always prevent the boss from attacking us at all costs! Understood?!"

"Understood!"

"Hm. If there really was an earthquake, you better stay strong. Do not worry about a tiny earthquake. If push comes to shove, I'll personally dig you out from your house!"

Everyone was laughing at Humble Gentleman's joke. The atmosphere lightened up and no one felt depressed for losing the fight.

"Server Announcement: The party 'Lost Paradise' has successfully conquered the Bangar Crypt (Hardcore Mode), obtaining the First Clear server announcement (China Server)! Their names will be eternally etched in the Hardcore Mode First Clear Achievement Board!"

"Server announcement…"

The atmosphere turned silent!

"F*ck, who are these people? They actually managed to conquer Hardcore Mode!?"

"Is it Sky High?"

"No. These people do not belong to Sky High's elite team. Just look at the Achievement Board… Holy cow! Lost Paradise? From which hole did this low-tier guild dig out of?"

"Since when was a low-tier guild this strong?"

The Dominators guild channel was suddenly bursting with talks and discussion.

"Boss…" Circular Piglet showed a bitter face. As if they had lost something that they did not even know, the members shared the same bitter expression. They were full of desire, trying to get their hands on the First Clear server announcement. But just when they were about to start their battle, the announcement was taken away from them. What else could they feel? To make matters worse, they lost to an unknown, low-tier guild!

Shame! Such a huge shame!

Humble Gentleman took a deep breath, laughing as he said, "Well, at least it wasn't anyone from Sky High right? Think about it from their perspective. They thought they had the upper hand against us. Who knew they were only scooping water with a straw basket! They're surely feeling much more despair!"

Circular Piglet and the rest of them laughed, some of them sounded forced but at least it was better than the worst case scenario.

"Do a little background check on those people. Especially that warrior called Zhan Yu. To be able to endure Hardcore Mode bosses is no easy feat. He must be a pro among pros! Heh. To think that a person like this remains unaffiliated with any guild! Zhang Lan, go and make contact with him! Get him into our guild! Oh yeah, try and get the rest of the unaffiliated players from that party to join us as well. If they could survive that mode, they would naturally prove to be quite extraordinary themselves."

Similar reactions and conversations occurred simultaneously amongst the top-tier guilds throughout the entire China server.

Meanwhile, Zhang Yang and the rest of the party were indulging in their own version of excitement.

'Ding! You have obtained the title, Crypt Slaughterer!'

The titles themselves were useless, as they do not possess any addition to the Attributes nor provide any special effects. However, to have a rare title hanging over your head could attract quite some attention. The Crypt Slaughterer title could only be obtained by players who obtained the First Clear achievement. Naturally, it is extremely rare!

Zhang Yang turned off and disabled the friend request and stranger private messaging function to avoid being disturbed endlessly. After the excitement wore off, he would turn it back on again.

"We really did it!" If the ever-calm Crimson Fire was filled with excitement, the others were already bursting from it.

Zhang Yang ran over to the back of Dadarerda's throne. He took out the pickaxe and started mining a glowing golden vein.

'Ding! You have used Mining on Plain Copper Vein. You have obtained Plain Copper Ore x3, Moonstone x2. Your Mining skill has increased by 2 points!"

This Plain Copper Vein will only spawn here in Hardcore Mode, after the death of Dadarerda!

Zhang Yang eyes glowed. Plain Copper Ore itself was already a rare vein and the Moonstone was part of the possible loot from mining the Plain Copper Vein. This is a rarity among rarities. Truly priceless!

"Wah Zhan Yu bro. You're too mean. You could have at least left me one of those veins to mine! At least I could increase my Mining skills!" said Phantom Days as he walked over, laughing as he spoke. Fortunately, he did not see the items Zhang Yang had excavated, otherwise there would be a hard time for Zhang Yang to talk his way out.

Zhang Yang laughed and shifted his attention to Fatty Han. "Fatty, time to loot the corpse and get our equipment!"

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Read MMORPG: Rebirth of the Legendary Guardian - Chapter 28: Hidden Boss online free - Novel Full

Chapter 28: Hidden Boss

Translator: Zenobys Editor: TheRealSeal

The fickle-minded Fatty Han had only felt excited for a short moment when the server announcements flashed. He wiggled happily towards the corpse when Zhang Yang told him to loot it, ignoring the announcements, because his mind was already distracted by the thought of looting a cloth armor top just so he could witness the glorious sight of Silky Snow wearing the miniskirt!

[Heavy Crossbow] (Green-Copper, Ranged Weapon)

Weapon Attack: 42 – 54

Attack Interval: 2.4 seconds

DPS: 20

Level Requirement: 10

Ranged weapon. That would be a Hunter's weapon! Fatty Han's eyes shone, "I won't be giving in this time. I'll roll 100 points and grab this!"

Zhang Yang laughed and said, "Alright, Hunters roll for the weapon!"

All 3 Hunters wanted the weapon seeing it would be the first Green-Copper ranged weapon in the server at this stage of the game. It was definitely going to be an attention grabber if they could get their hands on it and show it off in the city.

Hundred Shots, 98 points.

Defiant Monk, 99 points.

"F*ck you all!" Fatty Han prayed to all things divine at once before he pressed the roll button. "Abracadabra!"

Slim and Handsome, 100 points!

"Ah, haha!" Fatty Han was surprised at first before letting his laughter follow. The item had automatically entered his inventory.

"D*mn, Fatty, I'm going to report you for using hacks!" Defiant Monk cried.

"Haha, you should've known who I am!" Fatty Han flipped his hair in sass and continued to loot the corpse.

[Light Coat] (Green-Copper, Cloth Armor)

Defense: 2

Vitality: 8

Intelligent: 8

Spirit: 4

Level Requirement: 10

"It really came out!" Snowy Death was shocked.

"Flame-using magus, if you dare to roll, I'll definitely wreck your ass!" Fatty Han said murderously to Flame Emperor.

As perverted as Fatty Han looked, he was like Zhang Yang. They grew up getting involved in fights and had a dangerous aura. Flame Emperor jumped and had actually selected to pass obediently. None would ever find out if it was because Flame Emperor was being pressured into it or because he had also wanted to see Silky Snow in the miniskirt.

Although Silky Snow had only rolled 15 points, the coat had naturally gone to her since there was no competition.

"Hurry up and change into it!" a group of lusty wolves cheered.

Silky Snow twisted and turned, reluctant to put on the coat.

Zhang Yang then added oil to the fire and said, "There's still a Hidden Boss, so it's best to power up however you can!"

Since Zhang Yang had already said so, Silky Snow could only change from the long dress she was wearing into the light coat. The sexy miniskirt was then unveiled to the crowd, showcasing her slender milky legs and just barely, her pink undergarments!

"Hallelujah!" Fatty Han wiped his saliva and looted the last piece of equipment distractedly.

[Lord's Shin Guard] (Green-Copper, Heavy Armor)

Defense: 6

Vitality: 10

Strength: 7

Dexterity: 3

Level Requirement: 10

Phantom Day and Ocean Despair had both chosen to pass and the equipment went straight into Zhang Yang's inventory.

'Ding! You have received 9 silver coins after distribution!'

Dadarerda's corpse then disappeared and the coins on the ground were looted too.

"Brother expert, where is this Hidden Boss?" Snowy Death looked around.

Zhang Yang pointed to a corner of the room and said, "After Dadarerda has been defeated, an extra door will appear in the field and there will be a passageway that leads to the Hidden Boss!"

"Zhan Yu, how do you even know about this?" Crimson Fire asked suddenly, "Don't tell me that you've gotten it from the internet, I won't believe it!"

"Yeah, me too!" the others expressed their doubts as well.

Zhang Yang smiled and said, "Actually… I'm the Terminator and I've traveled 5 years back in time!"

"Boo!" the crowd jeered.

"Alright, alright. I've participated in the game's beta version!" Zhang Yang shrugged.

"Hmm!" The crowd bought it.

"Brother expert, what is the Hidden Boss' loot? Gray-Silver equipment?" Snowy Death asked.

"It's nothing that exaggerated. Gray-Silver equipment is only available in Level 20 dungeons!" Zhang Yang shook his head and said, "Have you guys realized? Have the bosses dropped any necklaces or rings before?"

"No!"

"Exactly, necklaces and rings are only available as loot from Hidden Boss in Hardcore Mode other than being rewards from certain quests!" Zhang Yang explained.

"Wow, in that case we must go for it!" Defiant Monk said excitedly.

Zhang Yang had given life to too many miracles. Their doubts on their abilities to defeat the boss had long since vanished!

"Let's go!" Zhang Yang waved his sword and walked to a corner of the room. Pressing on a protruding stone after feeling about, a stone door appeared and opened in front of them with a thud.

"Use the skill point awarded by the system just now as it's better to strengthen yourselves even if it is just a little!" Zhang Yang then assigned the new skill point to Block, reducing its cooldown time to 7 seconds.

The others nodded and agreed.

Behind the stone door was a long passageway extending all the way down with both its sides lighted with torches.

Fortunately, there were no minions around. The passageway took them about a minute to traverse before they finally arrived at the entrance of a large stone chamber.

"Don't go inside just yet!" Zhang Yang stopped at the entrance and said, "Let me explain the strategy!"

In the middle of the stone chamber laid a gigantic gnome. Different from other green-skinned gnomes, its whole body was in crimson red, leaking out a murderous aura. Its feet were shackled with a heavy chain with the other end locked into the walls.

[Demonized Momorermo] (Green-Copper Elite)

Level: 15

HP: 90000

"D*mn, its level is higher than the final boss!" Flame Emperor exclaimed in a hushed voice.

"Hidden Bosses have always been the hardest to defeat in dungeons!" Zhang Yang said. Of course, the badly designed Dadarerda was not included.

"This boss has 3 skills. The first is a DoT1 aura effect. As long as you're within 30 meters of it, your HP will be drop continuously. It's a magic effect! If I'm not mistaken, I think it is a Shadow element DoT which can reduce your HP by 30 for every 3 seconds! Priests, please remember to cast and maintain Regeneration on everyone."

"The second skill is demonization. The boss will randomly pick a player to demonize. The demonized player would then be controlled to attack everyone else. Regardless of whether you are melee or ranged now, you would automatically use melee attacks once demonized. A demonized character has 3,000 HP and each attack can deal 1,000 damage! The advantage is that a demonized character's speed is extremely slow!"

"It's very easy to dispel this effect. All you have to do is to deplete the demonized player's HP and the control would return to the player, while restoring the player's HP to its original state! However, demonization has one more negative effect – the player could still receive damage from party members for as long as 10 seconds after demonization vanishes. So once the effect is gone, you need to stop attacking immediately or else you might kill your own members! Dispelling demonization must be done quickly as once there are two or more demonized players, we'll be as good as wiped."

Zhang Yang paused to give them some time to digest the load of information and continued, "As for the third skill, every time the boss loses 25% HP, it will cast a special skill. I've forgotten the skill name but it's an AoE skill and the range is 200 meters, it also does 1,000 attack damage!"

"1,000 damage AoE, shouldn't we just give up then?" Crimson Fire frowned and asked.

"Not really. During the battle, the Energy Crystal will randomly spawn around the field. A barrier will appear after shattering it, granting immunity to all attacks! The crystal has 1,000 HP and its barrier lasts for 10 seconds." Zhang Yang had intended to explain further but after seeing everyone's confused faces, he sighed and said, "Just do according to what I say. Attack what I tell you to, and move where I tell you to!"

"Roger!"

"Little Yang, you should've just said that earlier, it's much simpler!" Fatty Han said mercilessly.

Zhang Yang thought for a moment and said, "Fatty, you'll be responsible for breaking the Energy Crystal. It's a crystal pillar half the height of a man. It's very easy to spot but the location is not fixed so once it has spawned, you must remember its location. When I give you the signal to attack, ignore everything else and put in all your effort to break the crystal, got it?"

"You can count on me!" Fatty Han patted his chest in earnest.

"Alright, after we start, ranged classes including healers should stand 5 meters away from each other. If a ranged character is demonized then everyone should get away from him, while the other ranged characters should deplete his HP immediately! Melees just focus your attacks on the boss. If you get demonized, I'll pull the boss away, while ranged characters concentrate on depleting the demonized melee character's HP!"

Zhang Yang raised his sword and said, "Let's give it a go!"

He moved a few steps forward and a red damage text "-24" immediately popped up above his head. At the same time, the system notification rang.

'Ding! You are affected by Dark Halo. Lose 30 HP every 3 seconds (Shadow DoT) until you leave the aura's area of effect!'

He had a passive skill with 20% damage reduction.

"Ogagaga! Here comes some little bugs to kill Momorermo's boredom!" Once Zhang Yang entered the boss' aggro range, Momorermo immediately jumped to its feet, grabbing the chain shackling itself and actually twisted the arm-thick chain off with sheer brute force!

"Momorermo is going to drink all your blood!" The ugly red-skinned gnome dashed forward and stretched its long arms, waving it towards Zhang Yang. Its hands were like the sharp claws of a beast, shining viciously.

Zhang Yang used Charge and stunned the boss. He then raised his sword and slashed its head, spraying blood everywhere.

"Begin the attack!"

Upon Zhang Yang's signal began the final battle.

Translator Note:

1 DoT stands for Damage over Time which refers to an effect that causes smaller amounts of damage over a period of time. This damage is usually calculated per 'tick', which happens at regular intervals depending on the effect of the skill or item. The total damage dealt could be calculated as such, [Duration of Effect (s) / Interval for Each Tick (s)] x [Damage Per Tick].

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Chapter 29: All Clear

Translator: Zenobys Editor: TheRealSeal

"Ranged classes including healers, be aware of your surroundings! Make sure that there's at least 5 meters of distance between each other!" Zhang Yang commanded as he pulled aggro, "The 3 melee attackers! Snowy Death, you stand on boss' left and Phantom Day on its right. Crimson Fire, you'll attack from behind it! F*ck, Snowy Death, can't you differentiate left from right? Go to the other side!"

"Alright! All out, ramp up the DPS! The aura effect might seem to cause only a little DoT but every 3 seconds drains away 30 HP per character which would lead to 300 HP in total. Healers might not be able to handle that much healing once it's dragged on!" said Zhang Yang.

The party nodded in agreement. Everyone performed at their best and attacked the boss with all their might.

All 6 bosses from Hard and Hardcore Mode had given Zhang Yang and the party a total of 18 equipment, which was about 2 equipment per player on average. Compared to when they had first started the dungeon raid, it was a huge improvement! Especially those who had obtained new weapons, their damage dealing capabilities had increased by leaps and bounds.

With both Phantom Day and Fatty Han already in possession of strong damaging power, their attack power had risen to a whole new level after swapping in new weapons, enough to allow them to be on par with Zhang Yang!

"Zhan Yu, check out the stats, I've already caught up to you!" said Phantom Day delightedly.

It was true. According to the damage statistics, Zhang Yang, Phantom Day and Fatty Han were in a rat race for the top 3 places in the list. With their miniscule difference in damage output, any first strike would have allowed that player to place first.

Zhang Yang laughed, "Aren't you a little shameless to be competing damage output with a Guardian?"

"F*ck! Are you really a Guardian?" Phantom Day bemoaned.

'Ding! Demonized Momorermo has demonized player Defiant Monk!'

During the intense fight, the boss had suddenly turned its head around as he directed a blood-red mist towards Defiant Monk! The mist flew at such an incredible speed that Defiant Monk was not able to react in time. His entire body suddenly shone with a crimson glow, expanding to at least double of his original size while his HP increased to 3,000 points!

"Ranged players including healers, quickly get away from Defiant Monk and nuke his HP!" commanded Zhang Yang.

Hundred Shots and the rest of the ranged players switched their targets immediately and fired towards Defiant Monk.

Being controlled by the boss, Defiant Monk had lost control over his own character and could only watch helplessly as his character proceeded slowly towards Silky Snow who was the closest to him.

'-52!'

'-47!'

A chain of damage figures landed on Defiant Monk and his HP was briskly reduced to 0. His body then returned to its normal size and his HP rewound to its original value.

"Stop! Resume attacking the boss!" Zhang Yang multitasked while maintaining his watch on the situation with Defiant Monk all along.

Still, Hundred Shots and the rest of the ranged attackers were a little slow in reacting, allowing their fireballs and arrows free rein and damaging half of Defiant Monk's 300 HP!

"You beasts! Couldn't you guys be a little gentler?" Defiant Monk hurriedly consumed a red pot to reduce the healer's load.

Another 10 seconds or so had passed.

'Ding! Demonized Momorermo has demonized player Phantom Day!'

Zhang Yang swiftly took off and pulled the boss away. "Ranged, attack Phantom Day. Melees, don't even try. You'd be wiped out instantly!"

"Shitty boss, why the hell would you pick me?! Did I ever offend you?" Phantom Day was pissed, as his damage output was a close tie against Zhang Yang's and Fatty Han's but now that he was demonized, he could only watch as his name plummeted down the damage statistics.

"My fellow comrades, fire upon me!" Phantom Day shouted, "Kill me! Hurry!"

With their initial experience, the ranged attackers became quicker in halting their attacks after depleting Phantom Day's HP. It was fortunate that they did it in time as he would have been killed by his own teammates with his measly HP that was less than 300.

"Fatty, have you seen the crystal yet?" Zhang Yang asked Fatty Han just as he saw the boss' HP drop to 80%.

"Mm, I saw it!" Fatty Han replied just as quickly.

"Okay, don't hit it yet! Wait for a little longer!" Zhang Yang said as his eye locked onto the boss' HP bar.

79%, 78%, 77%...

"Fatty! Unleash your attacks upon the crystal!"

"Alright!" Fatty Han changed his target immediately, firing his arrows toward the crystal that was half a person in height.

76%!

'Crack!'

The crystal broke and a blue, translucent, hemispheric light shield about 3 meters long in diameter appeared in its place.

75%!

"Momorermo is going to show you the real demon!" Momorermo had suddenly stopped attacking to chant something in an odd language, a progress bar appearing on its head.

"Everyone stop and follow me!" Zhang Yang turned and dashed towards the light shield. "This boss' skill has a 3-second cast time! Make haste, everyone!"

The party members had formed some sort of spontaneous reaction to Zhang Yang's order and had ran with him into the light shield.

"Flame Emperor! Snowy Death! The both of you are too slow! Hurry up and run!" As he got into the shield, Zhang Yang turned and saw both Flame Emperor and Snowy Death being left behind. Even with Zhang Yang leading the party, each player's response speed still varied.

'Ding! Momorermo has casted Shadow Blast!'

A dark light with Momorermo as its core blasted out, its range reaching more than 200 meters!

'Ding! Player Flame Emperor has died!'

'Ding! Player Snowy Death has died!'

Two enormous '-1,000' damage text appeared on their heads as both Flame Emperor and Snowy Death succumbed to the blast.

"Get out of this shield and go back to your original positions! Continue the attack!" Zhang Yang rushed out of the shield and used Charge on the boss, stunning it.

The shield then faded after a few seconds.

Everyone spread back out to their positions and resumed the original attacking momentum but the loss of two members had greatly reduced their attacking power. Luckily the two who died were not the main damage outputs so the impact was not as disastrous. Since two of the players died, the healers also had a lighter load in healing the remaining team members.

"Hundred Shots, be my slave!" Demonized Momorermo let out a deafening growl and flung a blood-red mist towards Hundred Shots.

'Ding! Demonized Momorermo has demonized player Hundred Shots!'

"Ranged attackers, fire towards Hundred Shots!" Zhang Yang instantly commanded.

Under Zhang Yang's instructions, the battle progressed smoothly.

'Ding! Demonized Momorermo has demonized player Slim and Handsome!'

Less than a minute later, the boss had turned and threw the mist towards Fatty Han.

"Melees stop what you're doing! Ranged, nuke Fatty Han back to our side!" Zhang Yang commanded swiftly. The boss had 53% HP currently. If they had dropped it to 50%, Shadow Blast would be triggered and with the demonized players still on the field, it would have been extremely chaotic, resulting in more deaths!

Once Fatty Han was released from demonization, Zhang Yang said quickly, "Fatty, quickly break the crystal!"

"Got it!" Fatty Han hurriedly fired at the crystal.

52%!

51%!

'Crack!' With the crystal broken, the blue, translucent shield reappeared.

50%!

"Haha, Momorermo will show you the real demon once more!" Momorermo stopped its attacks and began casting Shadow Blast.

"Sprint your way to the shield! Don't insist on attacking! Only living players can deal damage!" said Zhang Yang as he sprinted towards the light shield.

'Ding! Momorermo has used Shadow Blast!'

A wave of dark light pulsated through the entire field.

"Carry on the attack!" Zhang Yang dashed towards the boss and brandished his sword, dealing significant damage.

"Silky! Ocean! How's your MP?" Zhang Yang's main concern was still the healers' healing endurance due to Dark Halo's existence which would drop everyone's HP to their deaths once the healers ran out of MP.

"I still have 40% MP but my blue pot cooldown is almost done!" said Ocean Despair.

"I only have 30%. I just consumed one MP pot!" Silky Snow had also hurriedly replied.

Silky Snow had expended her MP much faster than Ocean Despair as she had to make sure everyone had Regeneration on them.

[Regeneration: Restores target's HP to the equivalent of 200% Magic Attack every 3 seconds over 15 seconds.

The boss still had 50% HP, this would be a little difficult!

"Keep up the effort! We can do this!" said Zhang Yang.

40%, 35%, 30%… the boss' HP continuously dropped.

"Stand strong! Just one more Shadow Blast and there'll be hope for us to clear this!" Zhang Yang encouraged the entire party. "Fatty! You can break the crystal now!"

"Roger that!" Fatty Han immediately drew his bow to shoot the crystal. After a chain of attacks, the crystal shattered and the blue, translucent light shield appeared once again.

'Ding! Momorermo has used Shadow Blast!'

"Zhan Yu! My blue pots are out!" declared Silky Snow.

"I can do a few more!" Ocean Despair reported.

"Mm, got it!" Zhang Yang used Charge on the boss and said, "Fatty! When the next crystal spawns, break it right away!"

"Okay!"

22%, 19%, 16%…

Without Silky Snow's Regeneration, the entire team's HP began to drop significantly, leading Ocean Despair to frantically spam Holy Light. His MP bar that did not have much to begin with flashed in alert.

"Little Yang! The crystal has spawned!" Fatty Han yelled and immediately fired.

Zhang Yang scanned the area and located the crystal's location, hastily making his way towards it while pulling the boss. "Everyone gather at the shield!"

"What about the boss' random demonization?"

"The shield makes us immune to it, no fear!"

'Crack!' Again, the crystal broke and the hemisphere appeared.

Zhang Yang withdrew himself to the very border of the shield and had the boss blocked outside of it. This way, he was immune to damage yet it allowed him to continue dealing damage to the boss.

"Ocean! Silky! How long till you can consume another blue pot?"

"24 seconds."

"14 seconds."

"Alright, after you consume the blue pots, focus your healings only on Fatty, Phantom Day and me. Ignore the rest of the team!" [Beginner Mana Potion] could only restore 100 MP, forcing Zhang Yang to make sacrifices.

15%, 14%, 13%, 12%. Just as quickly as it appeared, the shield vanished and everyone began to lose 30 HP every 3 seconds once again.

"Ocean Despair, become my slave!" With the boss' demonization, Ocean Despair's body expanded and he became the boss' underling.

"Don't mind him! Focus on the boss! Just half a minute more and we're through!"

Zhang Yang dragged Momorermo away from Ocean Despair.

"What a waste! If only he could consume one more blue pot to heal us for a little longer before being demonized!" Fatty Han murmured.

11%, 10%, 9%, 8%!

Silky Snow kept her eyes on the blue pot's cooldown time. Once the time was up, she quickly consumed one and her MP went up by 100 points.

Immediately, she casted Regeneration on Zhang Yang, Fatty Han, and Phantom Day, expending her MP. A '-30' red damage text floated across her head, depleting her last drop of HP and killing her.

'Ding! Player Silky Snow has died!'

7%!

'Ding! Player Crimson Fire has died!'

6%!

'Ding! Player Hundred Shots has died!'

'Ding! Player Defiant Monk has died!'

5%!

4%!

3%!

'Ding! Player Phantom Day has died!'

2%!

'Ding! Player Slim and Handsome has died!'

Momorermo still had 1,747 HP left but Zhang Yang only had 124!

"You can do it!" everyone cheered.

Just in the nick of time, a crystal spawned!

Zhang Yang was thrilled, using Charge towards it and slashed his sword repeatedly against it.

Even though the crystal pillar had 1,000 HP but since it had 0 defense value, its HP had dropped rapidly.

The boss came up to him!

"Block!"

Zhang Yang swiftly activated Shield Bash on the pillar, depleting its remaining HP. He jumped right into the shield as soon as it had appeared, stopping his HP from dropping further at a worrying 4 points remaining. He then immediately turned and attacked the boss!

1%!

0%!

With a loud, enraged growl, the red-skinned monster had finally fallen.

'Ding! The party you are in has killed Demonized Momorermo. Obtained 45,050 EXP (50 points Party Bonus)!'

"We did it!" everyone shouted in celebration.

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Chapter 30: Jumbo Loot

Translator: Zenobys Editor: TheRealSeal

Ocean Despair had immediately recovered after the boss had been defeated.

"Brother expert, you're my idol from now on! You do not know how much I admire you!" Snowy Death shouted in the party channel.

Zhang Yang said, "Don't release your bodies yet. I'll be looting the corpse so that all of you can revive at the dungeon entrance after that to save time!"

"Okay!" the crowd agreed.

"Holy Spirits Abracadabra, please give me the shield recipe!" Zhang Yang rubbed his hands together and went towards the boss' corpse.

[Resurrection] (Skill Book)

Use: You will learn Resurrection.

Class Requirement: Sacred Knight, Priest.

"Wow brother, you have the Lucky Hand!" Phantom Day yelled.

"Have a talk with the Sacred Knight, we must get our hands on this skill book!" Crimson Fire quickly sent a private message to Silky Snow. Resurrection would be extremely useful in dungeon raids, greatly reducing the time consumed to revive oneself and therefore boosting the efficiency of dungeon raids!

"Okay!" Silky Snow replied and sent a private message to Ocean Despair, "Ocean, can you let me have this Resurrection skill book first? I can pay you. How about 100 gold coins?"

After a while, Ocean Despair replied, "I want to learn this skill too, let's roll together and see our luck!"

Silky Snow was in the middle of persuading Ocean Despair when Zhang Yang said, "Both healers roll for it!"

Silky Snow thought about it and decided to roll first. If her roll was higher then she could save herself the trouble of persuading a hard headed person. Even if she had rolled a lower number, it was still not too late to strike a deal with Ocean Despair.

The rest of the party had passed, leaving both healers to roll.

Silky Snow, 86 points.

Ocean Despair, 91 points.

The skill book immediately went into Ocean Despair's inventory. Without hesitation, he immediately patted the skill book on his body and gained the Resurrection skill. Silky Snow had still wanted to private message him, but who could have guessed that Ocean Despair had acted so quickly?

"Ocean, you can use your new skill to save them now. I'll continue to loot the corpse!" Zhang Yang laughed and said.

With a hum from Ocean Despair, he began chanting to resurrect the party members.

[Smithing Recipe: Earthen Round Shield] (Smithing Recipe)

Use: You will learn to smith Earthen Round Shield.

Requirement: Beginner Smithing Skill.

"That's it!" Zhang Yang's eyes radiated and said, "Everyone, I won't be courteous now!"

They had a deal previously, that if a smithing recipe dropped, it would be given to Zhang Yang. The entire party had passed on rolling and Zhang Yang patted the recipe on his body at once. A golden light flashed, adding Earthen Round Shield to the initially empty smithing list.

[Earthen Round Shield] (Green-Copper, Shield)

Defense: 40

Vitality: 20

Level Requirement: 10

Holy cow! The shield alone had provided 200 HP and 40 defense points. Even if the boss had high attack, it could reduce an ample amount of physical damage, significantly boosting one's survivability! Furthermore, most players only had White-Wood equipment now and they were definitely going to be unable to break past this 40 points of defense!

"Big bro Zhan Yu, post the shield description, let us witness its power too!" Phantom Day could not help but ask when he saw Zhang Yang's foolish grin.

Zhang Yang smiled and posted the shield's description to the party channel.

"Wow, such high defense! I object! Objection! High dexterity and low strength classes like us Thieves would definitely be unable to break your defense with just normal attacks!" Snowy Death was shocked.

"Brother Zhan Yu, please smith a few more for us if you have enough materials. Our guild will buy them from you!" Crimson Fire sent a private message to Zhang Yang. He could imagine that with tanks equipping this shield, their survivability would definitely be raised to another level!

"Okay!" His main purpose in obtaining this recipe was to sell the shields for money anyway, so Zhang Yang had agreed readily, "500 gold coins each!"

"Damn, you have no mercy!"

"Haha, your guild is so wealthy that a mere 500 gold coins is nothing for you!"

Crimson Fire hesitated a while before saying, "Okay, I'll book one for now. Mail it to me via cash on delivery when you're done!"

"Okay, pleased to be working with you, big boss!" Zhang Yang laughed. The primary materials to smith this shield were [Iron Bar] and [Rare Copper Bar]. [Iron Bar] could made from [Iron Ore] which was worthless, while [Plain Copper Bar] came from [Plain Copper Ore] where a spawn point was available at the third boss. Each time Hardcore Mode Bangar Crypt was cleared, he could collect 2 to 4 Plain Copper Ores. Basically, he was doing a zero capital business!

"Little Yang, hurry up and loot the corpse, I can't wait any longer!" Fatty Han expressed his impatience.

Zhang Yang laughed and extended his arm to loot again.

[Shiny Silver Pendant] (Green-Copper, Necklace)

Physical: 3

Intelligent: 2

Equipped Effect: Target receives an additional buff of Magic Shield each time a healing spell is casted. Shield disappears after absorbing 20 points damage or after 30 seconds. Shield effect cannot be stacked.

Level Requirement: 10

"Wow! Even though the attributes are nothing much, there's a special effect!" Phantom Day exclaimed.

"All necklaces and rings have special effects. That's why the drop rates are so low!" Zhang Yang nodded and said, "Healers, roll for it!"

Ocean Despair and Silky Snow helped themselves and rolled, Ocean Despair winning the roll at the end.

[Shadow Collar] (Green-Copper, Necklace)

Vitality: 3

Strength: 1

Dexterity: 1

Equipped Effect: Each attack on the target will inflict 1 stack of Shadow Wrath. When 3 stacks of Shadow Wrath are achieved, 20 points shadow damage will be inflicted onto the target.

Level Requirement: 10

"All physical attack classes can roll for it. Let's roll together, no need to give it up to anyone. Let's see our luck!" Zhang Yang said laughing as he rolled first.

Those who had initially wanted to give up their rolls changed their decisions and tried their luck after hearing what Zhang Yang had said. Even if they could not get it, it was still for the fun of it.

As a result, Zhang Yang overshadowed everyone with a mere 76-point roll.

"Haha, what sh*tty luck you guys have!" Zhang Yang shook his head and equipped the necklace.

[Archer's Ring] (Green-Copper, Ring)

Vitality: 2

Dexterity: 3

Equipped Effect: Ranged attacks have a fixed rate of activating Wind's Blessing effect. Effect increases attack speed by10% for 10 seconds. This effect cannot be stacked.

Level Requirement: 10

"Hunters, roll for it!" Zhang Yang selected to pass.

"Oh yeah!" Defiant Monk was very lucky to have rolled 100 points, instantly winning Hundred Shots and Fatty Han.

[Amber Ring] (Green-Copper, Ring)

Vitality: 3

Strength: 1

Equipped Effect: Each successful dodge of attack have a fixed rate of increasing 20 points Strength for 10 seconds. This effect cannot be stacked.

Level Requirement: 10

"D*mn, why is the trigger condition by dodging and not attacking?" Phantom Day was angry. This effect would be useful in PK or solo grinding but for dungeon raids, he would have no chances of evading attacks as a damage dealer!

"Fine if you don't want it!" Zhang Yang laughed as he said.

"Who says I don't want it! Come on, let's roll!" Phantom Day said quickly and tapped the roll button.

Zhang Yang was aware that he had gotten more than enough and decided to pass. The result was Crimson Fire winning the roll.

"D*mn, guildmaster, you a thief class need dexterity, not strength! Don't snatch it from me!" Phantom Day cried.

"F*ck, more nonsense and I'll throw you out!" Crimson Fire laughed as he said. Phantom Day immediately went speechless.

Zhang Yang looted again but there were only gold coins left. However, they had hauled 4 equipment, a skill book, and a recipe, it could already be considered as a jumbo loot!

"Ding! You have received 10 silver coins after distribution!"

After every item was distributed, Momorermo's corpse too had disappeared.

"Alright, all done. Everyone can now go back to the capital and complete the quest. There should still be a Black-Steel equipment reward!" Zhang Yang took a Teleportation Reagent from his inventory and asked Fatty Han, "Fatty, you have Teleportation Reagent?

"Teleportation Reagent? What is that?" Fatty Han returned Zhang Yang a lost sheep expression.

Zhang Yang shook his head and traded a Teleportation Reagent over and said, "This will teleport you to the nearest friendly town, saves you the journey!"

"There's such a thing?" Fatty Han quickly confirmed the trade, "Little Yang, don't be so stingy, give me a few more!"

"F*ck, this thing costs 1 gold coin each! It's expensive!" Despite his complaint, Zhang Yang had still traded a few more reagents with Fatty Han. He still had 20 plus gold coins anyway and Crimson Fire had still owed him 10 thousand more!

"Brother Zhan Yu, why not reserve your dungeon entry tomorrow for our guild? I'll hire you, what do you think of 1000 gold coins per Hardcore Mode raid? And if the equipment looted are of use to you, you'll have the highest priority!" Crimson Fire sent a private message to Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang pondered, leading dungeon raids would undoubtedly be a good way to earn a fortune. Not only could he get equipment, he could also earn lots of gold coins! It would only be for now though. When he had finally established his own guild, he would not need to work for others anymore!

"Okay, tomorrow morning at 9 am. We'll gather at the dungeon entrance!" Zhang Yang quickly sent back a private message, "But I want to reserve an attacker spot for Fatty!"

"Deal! See you tomorrow!" Crimson Fire agreed readily.

"Big brother, please approve as friend!" said Snowy Death as he sent a friend request.

Snowy Death had acted as a prompt for the rest of the party and they too had sent friend requests to Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang smiled and approved each friend request. Ripping Teleportation Reagent, a magic circle glowing with a white light appeared under his feet. With that, he quit the party and said, "Goodbye everyone, see you!"

"Big brother, bye!"

"See you!"

Since Teleportation Reagent was overly expensive, the others were not willing to spend it. Other than Fatty Han who had also torn one of the reagents, the rest of the party members went by foot.

10 seconds later, the magic circle was formed completely and a white light enveloped Zhang Yang. With a flash, the white light dissipated and Zhang Yang had appeared in the portal of White Jade Castle.

Another white light flashed and Fatty Han too had appeared next to Zhang Yang.

"Little Yang, since when did you become so powerful?" Fatty Han had been Zhang Yang's buddy but his outstanding performance made him felt like Zhang Yang was a complete stranger.

"Since when was I not outstanding?" Zhang Yang laughed.

"F*ck!" Fatty Han booed but did not ask further. Regardless of what had happened, Zhang Yang would always be his brother and that was enough for him!

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Chapter 31: Pride Quad

Translator: Zenobys Editor: TheRealSeal

"Let's go, it's time to complete the quest!" Zhang Yang dragged Fatty Han in search of Army Captain Soren and completed 'The Raid' quest, obtaining a Black-Steel ring.

[Soren's Appreciation Ring] (Black-Steel, Ring)

Vitality: 2

Strength: 3

Equipped Effect: Each attack triggers a fixed rate in healing your HP. Recovery rate will be 1% of the damage.

Level Requirement: 10

This would be the first equipment in the game that possessed the Life Steal effect. It's too bad that the recovery rate was too low, and so was the trigger rate! It could not be helped since this was a General Quest's reward; a ring as a reward was considered satisfactory and it's always better than receiving nothing at all!

Hong!

A flash of golden radiance illuminated the area and Zhang Yang had risen to Level 11 with the 10,000 EXP reward from his quest.

He had thought that he would enter the Player Level Ranking but after he checked the board, he found out that those who were still Level 10 that morning had all reached Level 11. He was not in the ranking but thankfully the player who had ranked first was still Level 11.

"Fatty, I'm going to make the shield. Go level up yourself!" said Zhang Yang.

Fatty Han yawned and said, "I've only slept for 3 to 4 hours. I'm feeling sleepy again so I guess I'm going to get some sleep first!"

Zhang Yang peeked at the system clock and said, "F*ck! It's going to be 6 pm! What sleep? Go have your dinner and come back online to play for a while more. Rest well at night and don't burn the midnight oil anymore! You're playing for such a long time everyday anyway, why would you stay up late?"

"Hmm, makes sense. Well then, I shall go kill some mobs now that I've just gotten these new weapons! Eh? Hold up! Someone just private messaged me!" He paused for a brief second and his face had immediately morphed into a perverted one. "Little Yang, a pretty babe wants to chat with me, so I'm not gonna bullshit with you anymore!"

Zhang Yang smiled and left for the Auction House.

To make an [Earthen Round Shield, he would need 100 [Iron Bar]s and 1 [Plain Copper Bar]. Zhang Yang did not have any [Iron Bar] in his inventory so he had to buy them from the Auction House.

The Auction House was where players trade, buy or sell items in the game. Every city would have them but different cities would not share the goods. Simply said, items put on auction in White Jade Castle's Auction House could only be bought from the house itself, and players from other cities would have to travel all the way here if they wanted that particular item.

Once Zhang Yang entered Auction House, he loaded the search window and keyed in the keywords "Iron Ore, Iron Bar". Tapping the search button, a whole page of results appeared.

Since the game was still in its early stage, all sorts of prices were set. Zhang Yang did a simple price comparison and auctioned for 15 stacks of [Iron Bar]s that had costed 50 silver coins for each stack, buying a total of 300 bars.

He then went to the mailbox and collected the [Iron Bar]s that were sent by the Auction House. After that, he went to the Smithery and placed 100 [Iron Bar]s and 1 [Plain Copper Bar] onto the cast. He then opened the crafting window and selected the [Earthen Round Shield] and tapped 'Craft'. His character then moved on its own and picked up a hammer, a progress bar appearing below his avatar.

After 30 seconds.

'Ding! You have crafted [Earthen Round Shield]. Your Crafting Skill has increased by 1 point!'

In 'God's Miracle', crafting level could be categorized into Beginner, Amateur, Advanced, Professional, Specialist, Master and Grandmaster. Each level up required 1000 crafting points. NPCs would not teach players to craft any items and all of the items could only be learnt through recipes found by players.

The lower ranked recipes were easier to obtain but once a player had reached the Professional level and beyond, it would be extremely hard to obtain even one recipe that corresponded to the level. Furthermore, going from Professional to Specialist would require a player to craft items from Professional-ranked recipes. Nothing could be done if there was no recipe of that rank.

That was why even after 5 years in the game in his previous life, far too few players had managed to become a Grandmaster of Crafting.

Zhang Yang stroked the shield lovingly and swapped the old shield to equip it, raising his attributes by heaps.

[Player: Zhan Yu]

Level: 11

HP: 790

Defense: 64

Strength: 86

Dexterity: 32

Luck: 2

Melee Damage: 102 – 110

Attack Interval: 2 seconds

64 Defense! Zhang Yang laughed. With such a high Defense value, not many players would be able to penetrate his defense at the moment! His 790 HP could allow him to stand still and it would still take half a day for someone to kill him!

He then proceeded to utilize all his materials and crafted two more shields. After that, he went to the mailbox and mailed one of the shields to Crimson Fire via cash-on-delivery. He then put the other shield up with a minimum bid of 400 gold coins and without a buyout price for a day on the Auction House anonymously.

It was about 6.30 pm when he had wanted to log off and have his dinner but he was interrupted by a private message notification sound.

"Buddy, I have a lot more [Iron Ore]s here. If you would like to buy more of them, you can contact me directly and I can give you a lower price!"

Zhang Yang checked and saw that the message was sent by someone named 'Professional Miner'. He immediately recalled that it was the person whom he had bought the [Iron Plate]s from in the Auction House. Auction Houses would usually charge a 10% service fee, so most players would want to establish direct transactions with regular customers to cut their cost.

Realizing that he would need a large amount of [Iron Plate]s to craft shields, he would indeed need a stable supplier. Zhang Yang then replied the message saying, "Eh, I would require 10 to 20 stacks of [Iron Plate]s daily. Can you guarantee the constant supply?"

"Haha, My name is Professional Miner. 10 to 20? If you want several times more than that amount, I could also dig them up for you!" Professional Miner replied smugly.

"Very well. What's the price?"

"It depends on how many you want."

"Um, let's make it 100 stacks for now!" Zhang Yang simply gave a number. That amount would allow him to produce only 20 shields anyway so it was not that much.

"Sheesh! What's with that amount!" Professional Miner drew in a shaky breath.

"Haha, you said you could do it!" Zhang Yang laughed as he replied.

"Hehe, 100 stacks are too much. I only have 30 stacks for now!"

"Okay, 30 stacks it is! Name your price!"

"Um, how about 48 silver coins per stack?"

Professional Miner had auctioned a stack for 50 silver coins in the Auction House and the 10% service fee would have cost him 5 silver coins. Therefore, the price offered now was cheaper by 2 silver coins which Zhang Yang thought was acceptable.

Zhang Yang replied instantly, "Very well, mail them to me via COD. I'll be logging off to have dinner now!"

"OK, let's be friends. It's easier to keep in touch!"

Zhang Yang easily accepted the friend request and logged off.

Taking off his gaming helmet, Zhang Yang let out a long breath. After laying down for such a long period of time, his body felt rather stiff. He stretched in his room for a bit before heading to the kitchen to prepare his dinner. He logged back in after having a simple meal.

The email notification indicated that he had new mails so Zhang Yang went to the mailbox and retrieved them. The first one was about the [Iron Ore]s from Professional Miner. 14 gold coins were deducted after Zhang Yang selected 'Accept' as the transaction was via COD. 30 stacks of [Iron Ore]s were then added into his inventory. The second mail contained 500 gold coins that the system had sent over after Crimson Fire retrieved the shield.

Zhang Yang sent a message to Fatty Han, asking him to complete a quest together but Fatty Han rejected him saying that he wanted to chat with the pretty girl and did not have time for him.

"Hoes before bros, what a douche!" Zhang Yang shook his head, he had wanted to bring Fatty Han along for a special quest but since that fatty could not be counted upon, Zhang Yang would just ignore him.

Going out of the city and heading eastward, he was blocked by 4 players who prevented him from walking further.

Floral Shorts, Prideful Precepts, Prideful Babysitter and Kindling Chest Hair – the Pride Quad.

"F*ck you, noob Warrior! I've said it before. If you didn't add us back into the party, I'll kill you back to Level 0!" Prideful Precepts glared at Zhang Yang, gritting his teeth.

Oh, how infuriated they were after Zhang Yang had kicked them out of the party! They then discussed and decided that they would not let this matter rest and must make Zhang Yang pay for his arrogance! Therefore, they had waited at the dungeon entrance to gang up and beat Zhang Yang up once he came out.

However, what had greeted them after waiting for so long was the red-text laden server announcement!

They had felt angrier after seeing that! If Zhang Yang had not kicked them out from the party, they would have been part of the glorious feat! These 4 players had not even reflected on the reason of their expulsion but had piled all their fury and blamed it on Zhang Yang. This had further steeled their will to 'punish' Zhang Yang.

After Snowy Death and the rest of the party had exited the dungeon, they had waited for another period of time yet Zhang Yang was nowhere to be found. Prideful Precepts then realized that Zhang Yang must have used a Teleportation Reagent! They then rushed hurriedly back to the city and with such coincidence, stumbled upon Zhang Yang in their journey!

Zhang Yang smirked, "With just you bunch of useless douches?"

"Useless your ass! Why are we still talking shit with him?! Wreck the guy!" Kindling Chest Hair held his hammer tightly with his eyes locked on Zhang Yang.

"Yes, roll him over! If he's not killed back to Level 0 today, I can't stomach this insult!" Floral Shorts said as he used Stealth, disappearing from their sight.

Prideful Precepts had started to cast a Fireball while Kindling Chest Hair had wielded his hammer and rushed towards Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang waited patiently with his arms crossed, sneering.

"Noob Warrior! Just die!" said Kindling Chest Hair as he dashed over, swinging his shield and tossing it towards Zhang Yang.

"Shield Toss!"

'Pah!' A damage text floated above Zhang Yang's head, '-1!'.

'Ding! You are under attack by Floral Shorts and his party. You have 10 minutes to counterattack!'

After the system notification rang in his ears, Zhang Yang's gaze turned cold, revealing his lethal aura.

According to the game's rules, whenever a fight occurred between players, the first to attack would be identified as the challenger by the system and marked with a red name tag. The other party would then be given 10 minutes to counterattack unrestrictedly. A red-tagged player would drop 2 levels if they were killed regardless of whether the deed was done by players, monsters, or even NPCs!

Zhang Yang had not initiated the attack solely because he had wanted the system to identify them as red-tagged challengers!

At the same time, Floral Shorts had emerged from his stealth mode and appeared behind Zhang Yang, slashing him with two swords.

'-1!'

'-1!'

Unable to penetrate Zhang Yang's 64 points of Defense, Floral Shorts could only cause a pitiful 1 damage.

"Shit! How is this noob Warrior's skin so thick!" Floral Shorts asked surprised.

'Dang!' Kindling Chest Hair's hammer landed on Zhang Yang yet he too could only deal a pathetic '-1' damage.

'-36!'

Prideful Precepts' fireball had also landed on Zhang Yang and had finally dealt damage that was not too shabby.

Defense could only reduce physical damage, it would be ineffective against magical damage.

Zhang Yang scoffed and used Charge towards Prideful Precepts, stunning and slashing him with his sword, causing a devastating '-103' damage that was one-fourth of his HP in an instance.

"F*ck me! How is his damage so high?!" screamed Prideful Precepts. "Babysitter, heal me!"

At this time, both Floral Shorts and Kindling Chest Hair had come back, raising their weapons to attack Zhang Yang.

"Block!"

'-70!'

'-82!'

Block reflected damage text floated across Kindling Chest Hair and Floral Shorts' heads simultaneously.

'-204!'

'-210!'

'-209!'

'-190!'

'-20!'

The Horizontal Sweep had caused high damage on the Pride Quad and triggered the necklace's Shadow Rage, reflecting on Zhang Yang's current target, Prideful Precepts.

"What the hell, this guy isn't human at all!"

"Babysitter, heal me!"

"F*ck off, me first!"

'-166!'

Zhang Yang flicked his wrist and bashed his shield on Prideful Precepts. Shield Bash dealing incredible damage, sent Prideful Precepts whose HP was not even 100 points, straight to resurrection spawn point. He did not even give Prideful Babysitter any opportunity to heal him.

'Ding! You have killed Prideful Precepts!'

'-99!'

Zhang Yang swung his sword and slashed Prideful Babysitter, simultaneously activating Force Strike and dealing '-101' damage.

'Ding! You have killed Prideful Babysitter!'

In an instant, only Floral Shorts and Kindling Chest Hair with their 146 HP and 428 HP were left!

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Chapter 32: Spawn Camping

Translator: Zenobys Editor: TheRealSeal

'-1!'

'-1!'

'-1!'

Floral Shorts and Kindling Chest Hair had used all their brute strength in attacking Zhang Yang but were unable to penetrate his defense, their faces paling in shock.

'God's Miracle' was designed really well. Even a player's inner feelings could be expressed so realistically! Zhang Yang applauded internally and then dealt a horizontal blow towards Kindling Chest Hair.

"-92!"

"Damn, this guy must be using hacks! How can a f*cking Guardian deal such high damage?!" cried Floral Shorts. He had thought that they could take Zhang Yang easily by outnumbering him 4 to 1 but unexpectedly the situation was reversed. How could they not feel embarrassed?

"Fucking GM1 and shitty game. Why didn't they do anything about the hacks? What the f*ck, f*ck you and your ancestors!" Kindling Chest Hair cussed immediately.

Zhang Yang raised the shield immediately after Block's cooldown completed.

'-70!'

'-80!'

2 Block reflected damage texts popped up while Zhang Yang conveniently activated Shield Bash.

'-156!'

Kindling Chest Hair huffed in pain and exclaimed, "Floral, let's withdraw quickly!"

"Trying to run?" sneered Zhang Yang as he drew his sword again and launched another Horizontal Sweep.

'-202!'

'-20!'

'-208!'

'2!' Life Steal from the ring was triggered.

Floral Shorts and Kindling Chest Hair did not even manage to turn around before they both fell and died. Kindling Chest Hair had actually dropped an equipment. It was the [Heavy Chest Plate] he had obtained from their Normal Mode Bangar Crypt run together.

'Ding, you have killed Floral Shorts!'

'Ding, you have killed Kindling Chest Hair!'

Zhang Yang picked up the equipment and stored it in his inventory without a second thought. Although he did not need it, it could be sold for a few gold coins if he auctioned it at the Auction House. He was in need of money so every penny counts!

Some 10 minutes later, Floral Shorts and his friends had revived themselves by returning their 'spirits' to their bodies.

'Sha!'

Suddenly, a shadow sprang out from the bushes by the road and charged towards Prideful Precepts, causing rotating stars which symbolized the 'Stun' status effect to immediately appear on his head.

"Crap! That noob Guardian is spawn camping!" Floral Shorts yelled in surprise.

'-106!'

Zhang Yang waved his sword and a huge damage text floated across Prideful Precepts' head. How could Prideful Percepts who had just revived with only 20% HP withstand such a blow? Thus, a white light flashed and he was sent to sign his attendance at the graveyard once again!

When his Rage rose to 25 points, Zhang Yang wielded his sword and used Horizontal Sweep!

'-198!'

'-205!'

'-208!'

'-20!'

Kindling Chest Hair and the 2 others who stood close to each other were then sent off to meet the Resurrection Goddess in a stream of white light.

"F*ck! F*ck!" cried Prideful Precepts in his spirit form as he appeared at the graveyard. Not long after, he received notice of Floral Shorts and the others' deaths. All of them were dropped to Level 6 from dying twice under red-tagged names.

"That guy… could he still be camping our bodies?" said Prideful Babysitter with a tone of fear in his voice.

"Let's run back to our bodies but not resurrect ourselves yet. We'll wait!" said Floral Shorts.

The 4 of them returned to their bodies and waited patiently.

One hour later.

"He should be gone by now right?" said Floral Shorts with uncertainty in his voice.

"Yeah. It's been so long now. He shouldn't have such patience!" said Prideful Precepts, "I'll count to 3 and let's resurrect together!"

"1!"

"2!"

"3!"

A gust of wind blew by and all 4 souls were still there standing.

"F*ck, why didn't you guys resurrect?" scolded Prideful Precepts.

"Damn, why didn't you resurrect?" Floral Shorts argued back as well.

"Stop, stop, stop! Stop quarrelling, we're all a family! Let's do this again, whoever doesn't resurrect this time is a noob bastard. His son will be born without an asshole and his daughter cursed to forever remain flat-chested!" said Prideful Babysitter.

"1!"

"2!"

"3!"

4 of them resurrected together.

'Sha!' A flash of sword went by and four bodies laid dead on the floor.

"I… Crap…" Prideful Precepts was filled with tears.

The other 3 looked at each other speechlessly. They had wanted to kill Zhang Yang back to Level 0 initially but looking at their own pathetic states now, they have already dropped to Level 4! If they were killed another two more times then all of them would really end up hitting Level 0!

"… Let's resurrect here!" Floral Shorts finally said after a long time.

Resurrecting directly at the graveyard would incur additional penalties: dropping 1 level and decreasing all attributes for 80% for an hour!

Zhang Yang leisurely laid by the bush and played with a stalk of grass, glancing at the 4 bodies by the road occasionally. Suddenly, all 4 bodies turned transparent and eventually disappeared.

"Hehe, they've resurrected directly at the graveyard huh?!" Zhang Yang patted his butt and stood up. The nearest graveyard was in the Capital and it was prohibited for players to fight there, so there was no chance for him to kill the Pride Quad back to Level 0!

Zhang Yang had been an absolute dictator since he was young! The title 'Li'l Overlord of Octagonal Alley' was not bullshit, it was in fact a title he had earned through sweat and blood! The despicable Pride Quad had dared ambush him and even threatened to kill him back to Level 0. Naturally, he had needed to remind them to engrave this lesson into their hearts!

Checking the time, he realized he had actually wasted 2 hours on the Pride Quad! Zhang Yang thought about it and chose to log off immediately. The place he had intended to travel to was not nearby and he would have to go to bed by the time he arrived and killed only a few mobs. In addition, he had a dungeon raid at 9am tomorrow. Running back and forth would be such a pain!

Theoretically, a player could only get a mount at Level 40 and a flying mount at Level 100. How Zhang Yang missed the days in his previous life where he could roam the world on his Stormhawk!

Just as Zhang Yang had logged off, he recalled that he had forgotten to inform Fatty Han about the next morning's dungeon raid. Inevitably, he had to log back on to send the fatty a private message, telling him to wait at the dungeon entrance at 9 am the next morning.

Fatty Han seemed like he was still chatting with a certain pretty girl and had only acknowledged the message after some time before completely ignoring Zhang Yang once again.

Logging off and laying on his bed, Zhang Yang took out his diary and scribbled what he could remember from the game's trend in his previous life.

According to his memory, the final boss Marzerway in the Level 20 dungeon, Marzerway's Lair, was a magic-type monster. Its Shadow Ball had been extraordinary! Currently, nobody possessed much magic-resistant equipment and could only achieve high magic resistance with the aid of potions!

There was an Alchemy recipe that could produce a potion called [Beginner Anti-Shadow Potion]. Upon consumption, it would increase a player's Shadow resistance by 100 for 1 minute. This would be an absolutely necessity to clear Marzerway's Lair!

Zhang Yang's next stage of his get-rich-quick scheme would be to sell this potion, it would definitely rake in massive profit!

After he receive Crimson Fire's gold coins tomorrow, Zhang Yang plans on hoarding [Brassica Weed] and [Ginkgo Flower, the two main ingredients in crafting [Beginner Anti-Shadow Potion].

Zhang Yang strategized for a while and went to bed.

The next day, Zhang Yang woke up at around 6 in the morning and spent an hour exercising. After having his breakfast as well as a short break, it was already around 8.30 am.

He put on his game helmet and logged on!

'Ding! Player Crimson Fire invites you to join his party. Will you accept his invitation?'

The moment Zhang Yang went online, he received a party invitation. He accepted it since they had made an agreement the previous day.

'Ding! You have joined a party! Party leader: Crimson Fire, Group Looting Parameters: Master Loot!'

He checked the party list and well, there were already 10 players. It was just lacking him.

He already knew half of the party members: Crimson Fire, Phantom Day, Silky Snow, and Fatty Han; the other 5 were unfamiliar faces but he guessed that they would probably be the elites of Lost Paradise!

Royal Pardon, Dwarf, Beastmaster, Level 10.

Love Lonely, Human, Pyromancer, Level 10.

Absolute Defense, Human, Defender, Level 11.

Favorite Orange, Elf, Cryomancer, Level 10.

Little Demon, Human, Sacred Knight, Level 10.

Immediately, Phantom Day and the others had greeted Zhang Yang enthusiastically.

"So early?" Zhang Yang asked in the party channel as he laughed.

"Yeah, you're the last one. Hurry over! We can begin once everyone's here!" replied Crimson Fire.

"OK, I'm coming!" Zhang Yang had logged off midway yesterday so it would only take him roughly 10 minutes to walk over to Bangar Crypt.

"Hmph, how stuck-up! 9 of us have waited for such a long time for you!" Absolute Defense suddenly said.

Zhang Yang was surprised and thought to himself, "It's already said that the dungeon raid starts at 9 am. I looked at the time before coming and it wouldn't have passed 9 am when I reach the dungeon anyway. What a temper this bro has!"

"F*ck, don't play if you don't want to wait! F*cker, who do you think you are!" Fatty Han had a far shorter temper than Zhang Yang, turning angry immediately when he heard people complaining about his brother.

Crimson Fire hurriedly pacified them and said, "Absolute, stop your nonsense!"

10 minutes later, Zhang Yang arrived at the dungeon entrance.

Differing from yesterday's deserted state, the valley was filled with people as most players had reached Level 10 and wanted to try raiding the dungeon. Lone players were searching for pub parties while parties were finding players they lacked. All sorts of messages flooded the open channel as though it was a market.

Among the crowd, tanks and healers were undoubtedly scarce. Although Zhang Yang had hidden his profile information, people could still recognize him as a tank because of the shield he was carrying on his back. He had received no less than 30 private messages asking him to join their parties.

"Let's enter the dungeon!" commanded Crimson Fire.

'Ding! You have entered Bangar Crypt (Hardcore Mode)!'

All 10 players appeared at the entrance one by one. Zhang Yang glanced at Fatty Han and was surprised. "Why are you in a guild?"

As coy as Fatty Han was, he would never hide his profile information. "Slim and Handsome, Crypt Slaughterer, Level 10." "Blazing City" were the two rows of text above his head.

"Hehe. Yesterday I met this pretty chick who really fancies Fatty! So I've decided to temporarily join her guild and give her an opportunity to further understand her idol!" Fatty Han said shamelessly. "Oh yeah, why don't you join in as well? I'll be bolder if you're with me!"

Zhang Yang frowned and said, "We'll talk about it later!"

Translator Note:

1 GM stands for gamemaster, game moderator or game manager. This is sort of the admin/go-to person hired by an MMO developer to cater to the masses of people playing an online game. GMs generally help ensure the stability of the server and usually have various kinds of jobs as long as they are related to the game server.

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Chapter 33: A Small Obstacle

Translator: Zenobys Editor: TheRealSeal

"Brother Zhan Yu, I've gathered all the elites in the guild here, do you think we have a shot at the Fastest Hardcore Clearance Ranking?" Crimson Fire sent a private message to Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang could not help but laugh, "Aren't you being a little greedy? Just 1 thousand gold coins and you want me to help you get on the ranking?"

Crimson Fire smiled awkwardly, "If we really did get on the ranking, I'll add on another ten thousand gold coins!"

How could a mere ten thousand gold coins be compared to a server announcement spam?!

Zhang Yang shook his head and said, "You have no idea how it works to be on the speed ranking, right?"

"Eh? Isn't it just breaking the previous record?" Crimson Fire replied earnestly.

"It's divided into two conditions. First, like you've said, if the ranking already has records, you would only have to break the previous ones. Second, if the ranking is empty, like it currently is, then you would have to fulfill two conditions in order to be ranked."

Zhang Yang continued, "The first condition is to beat the record time taken by the first clearance, and the second is to beat the system's own alloted time!"

"What? There's a system alloted time?" Crimson Fire really did not know.

"Of course! Otherwise you could spend the whole day for your first clearance then beat the record by improving just one minute each time, and that would have let you spam your name all over the ranking! You must know, each record breaker of Fastest Hardcore Clearance Ranking will be rewarded with items like Runes, Gems and so on. Do you think that the system would really be this easy and nice?"

"Oh!" Crimson Fire finally understood.

"That's why the system has to set such a high bar. You need to fulfill these conditions before the system recognizes your result to qualify you for the ranking! As for Bangar Crypt, the speed limit set to be ranked is 30 minutes!"

"Sh*t! That fast?" Even if Crimson Fire bore the title of guildmaster, he still could not help but cursed.

Zhang Yang laughed, "That's the case, so it'd be better to just raid for the equipment. When everyone has reached Level 15 and has mostly Green-Copper equipment on, you might be able to consider trying to do a speedrun1!"

With Zhang Yang's explanation, Crimson Fire abandoned his idea, giving up on his hope to rank on the Fastest Hardcore Clearance Ranking anytime soon.

"Guildmaster, can we start now?" Absolute Defense said smugly, taking off the shield from his back and the hammer from his waist, his gaze on Zhang Yang filled with hostility.

Zhang Yang was puzzled. When did he ever offend this man?! However, he was not the kind of man to be afraid of rocking the boat. He did not have to endure this so he had immediately rolled his eyes back at Absolute Defense.

Absolute Defense felt so wronged!

He was Lost Paradise's MT (main tank), there was not a single person in the guild who had not politely addressed him "Brother Absolute"! No one could match his monster pulling skills nor his reaction rate! He had received many poaching attempts with high salaries from large guilds when he was still in other games to sway him to switch guilds. If it had not been for him liking Silky Snow, he would have left this tiny Lost Paradise!

However, he felt that he had been humiliated yesterday!

Their guildmaster had actually abandoned him to join a pub party for a dungeon raid, saying things about discovering a powerful tank and wanting to check him out!

What was that? Lost Paradise already had him, the universe's strongest tank, so why would they need another tank?

Furthermore, what happened in the end had angered him even more! Not only had the pub party cleared Hard Mode, they had also managed to take down Hardcore Mode!

Absolute Defense was furious! How could he not be involved in such a valiant event! He would never acknowledge that his standard was lower than that pub tank's. He felt that luck was merely on his side and that was all!

Last night, Crimson Fire gave him a shield and had insisted that he raided Hardcore Mode the next day together with the party.

Absolute Defense was completely dumbfounded once he had inspected the shield. It was a Green-Copper equipment! The best shield in the game so far! He did not have to put much thought into it to know that the shield must have been obtained from Hardcore Mode Bangar Crypt!

Why did that pub party's Guardian, this Zhan Yu guy, not claim the shield? As a tank, shields would have been the most valuable defense equipment. He could not have let this go!

The only reason he could think of was that Zhan Yu must have been an additional supporting cast in the party and not worthy of the shield. That would explain why the guildmaster had held on to the shield and gave it to him!

The more Absolute Defense thought of it, the more sense it made for him. When Crimson Fire had said to raid Hardcore Mode together with Zhan Yu, he had personally decided to properly humiliate that lucky bastard! To think that the brat had managed to tag along with his guildmaster and obtain the first clearance of Hardcore Mode which even he did not get!

Absolute Defense equipped and unequipped his [Earthen Round Shield] repeatedly to try and provoke Zhang Yang as if he was saying, "Look here, this shield belongs to me! Who do you think you are huh? Take a look, take a good look and be envious!"

Zhang Yang could not comprehend one bit. Why on earth was this guy showing off the shield he had crafted? What could it mean? Hmm, he definitely had a loose screw! Never mind, no use wasting time on a dimwit!

"I'm going now, keep those heals on me Silky!" Absolute Defense dashed towards the mobs with flair, not forgetting to give another despising look at Zhang Yang before he left.

"Your guild's tank, this one. Is his brain still working properly?" Zhang Yang could not help but send a private message to Crimson Fire.

Still, Absolute Defense must be of a certain level to be Lost Paradise's MT. Defenders were a natural at pulling groups of mobs and those 6 monsters had completely locked onto Absolute Defense's aggro with no signs of swaying to other targets. Even then, Absolute Defense was no Zhang Yang. He had fully depended on his defense and skills to absorb the damage. Hardcore Mode monsters were expected to be ferocious and Absolute Defense's HP shot up and down like a rollercoaster ride, putting a load on the healers.

Zhang Yang stood by one side and watched. They were only minions. There was no need to put up such a big fight.

Elites were indeed elites, the monster killing rate was completely incomparable to the pub party yesterday. The minions were quickly killed without Zhang Yang moving an inch. However, the healers had completely drained their MP and had to rest and consume some food to recover their MP.

"Zhan Yu, can you complete a quest together with me later?" Silky Snow had quickly refilled her MP and skipped over to Zhang Yang to ask him sweetly.

"Silky, what quest is it? I can go with you!" Absolute Defense jumped to his feet immediately. His feelings for Silky Snow was not something recent.

Zhang Yang shrugged, trying to indicate that since there was someone for you, we should not waste more time. Although there was such a saying "you are only young once", Zhang Yang had experienced the uncertainties of life and was now fully determined to strengthen his own capabilities in order to be Lin Yu's dependable rock. There was simply no time for flings!

Silky Snow felt agitated, turning to glare at Absolute Defense.

Absolute Defense had no idea of her hidden agenda and had gotten angrier instead, "Not only is that little rascal a bastard, he dares to flirt with my girl! Unforgivable!"

With totally no intention to, Zhang Yang had leapt from being a bastard to someone's love rival.

"Moving on!" Crimson Fire led the party forward without realizing the conflict that had occurred between Zhang Yang and Absolute Defense.

The Gatekeeper.

"Zhan Yu, you and Absolute Defense take one each!" Even though Crimson Fire knew perfectly well that Zhang Yang alone could tank the entire Hardcore Mode but since he had already brought along his guild's tank, it would be a humiliation to Lost Paradise if he had just sat aside.

"Hmph. Guildmaster, I can do this alone!" Absolute Defense was utterly confident ever since he had equipped the shield, and mere mortals would not be able to stop his panache.

Zhang Yang only gestured for Absolute Defense to welcome him to give the fight a try.

Absolute Defense scoffed again and went ahead with his hammer.

"Pa! Pa! Pa!" After a moment of chaos, Crimson Fire hurriedly asked for help, "Zhan Yu! Go quick! Absolute is gonna fall! Hurry, healers increase the healing speed!"

Fatty Han laughed watching the scene.

Zhang Yang unsheathed his sword and used Charge, stunning one of the monsters and began dealing damage. After the monster had recovered, Zhang Yang used Provoke and had stabilized the aggro once the 2-second provoke effect wore off.

When Absolute Defense had noticed the same shield on Zhang Yang's left hand, he was befuddled. How could he have one too?

To save time, Zhang Yang refrained from quibbling with Absolute Defense and cleared all the minions along the way so they had arrived at the entrance of the first boss quickly. Having witnessed Zhang Yang's capabilities and his astounding ability to pull aggro, it had made Absolute Defense felt like a total extra.

When Black Claw had been defeated, he was even more surprised! Stacking over 10 stacks of Death Stare, Zhang Yang was not hit even once by the boss. His manipulation of movement and timing had opened Absolute Defense's eyes, he had not known that a tank could actually reach this level! From then on, he was completely listless, attacking monsters without making a sound.

Since the party was stronger than yesterday's and Zhang Yang's equipment had a major upgrade, the party had not been wiped even after defeating the hidden boss, though some deaths were inevitable.

According to the deal made, Zhang Yang would be prioritized for any equipment that would be of use to him. Zhang Yang had then accepted 4 Green-Copper equipment without hesitation.

[Lord's Helm] (Green-Copper, Heavy Armor)

Defense: 6

Vitality: 12

Strength: 6

Dexterity: 2

Level Requirement: 10

[Bloodied Cape] (Green-Copper, Cape)

Vitality: 3

Strength: 2

Level Requirement: 10

[Warrior's Chest Plate] (Green-Copper, Heavy Armor)

Defense: 6

Vitality: 12

Strength: 8

Level Requirement: 10

[Amber Ring] (Green-Copper, Ring)

Vitality: 3

Strength: 2

Equipped Effect: Each successful evasion has a fixed rate of increasing 20 points Strength for 10 seconds. Effect cannot be stacked.

Level Requirement: 10

"47 minutes!" Crimson Fire had timed their progress. "Zhan Yu, do you think we could get the time down to within 30 minutes if we upgrade our equipment and master our battle strategy a little better?"

"Mm, there's hope for it." said Zhang Yang as he equipped his new gears.

"Hehe. We'll continue to raid Hard Mode and not take any more of a professional's time!" said Crimson Fire. With equipment obtained from Hardcore Mode, it would be a humiliation to not pass Hard Mode.

"Okay. Bye bye then!" Both Zhang Yang and Fatty Han quit the party.

Translator Notes:

1 Speedrun is a style/strategy for running a dungeon/instance/raid in games where the highest priority of every member should be the completion of the run in the shortest duration possible. This strategy generally forgoes item loots, experience, hidden bosses, etc and the party composition would generally try to include as many DPS-ers as possible. Common tactics used in speedruns include a full DPS party, or kiting many monsters together for AoE classes to nuke at once.

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Chapter 34: Physician's Friend

Translator: Zenobys Editor: TheRealSeal

"Fatty, let's go, there's this special quest I want you to do with me!" said Zhang Yang to Fatty Han after leaving the dungeon.

"What's the reward?"

"Increase the effect of using Bandage by 100%!"

"Psh, pointless!" Fatty Han said impatiently, "Fatty here is a Hunter. My baby will block attacks for me, I need no bandages! Little Yang, the pretty babe came to chat with me again. You're on your own, I'm not following you!"

"D*mn!" Zhang Yang made a disdainful gesture.

Since Fatty Han had refused to join him, Zhang Yang could only go on his own. After Zhang Yang left the dungeon, he made his way out of the valley and proceeded eastward. He went through several forests and finally arrived at a small village.

He went ahead to meet the Village Elder and accepted the quest "Missing Livestock". Zhang Yang then left the village and arrived at a huge lake. The monsters here were all Level 15 and above while players were generally around Level 10 so they were either raiding Bangar Crypt or grinding on Level 11 or 12 Wild Boars at the Wild Boar Mountain. The site had remained empty with no players present aside from him.

Under the shade of an obscure big tree, Zhang Yang found an old man wearing a white medical coat, his eyebrows and beard were snow-white. He had "Deckard the Head Physician" in a tag above his head.

"Old man, why are you here?" Zhang Yang started a conversation with the NPC.

"Adventurer, I'm the physician of White Jade Castle! I'm currently developing an antidote and need a large amount of [Python Gall]. Can you collect some for me?" said Deckard.

"Ding! Deckard the Head Physician has a quest for you: Collect [Python Gall]. Will you accept it?"

Of course he would!

"Adventurer, those pythons are venomous. It is very dangerous, you must be cautious!" Deckard voiced his concern.

Zhang Yang remembered very clearly that this NPC would send a follow-up quest with an ultimate reward of the title "Physician's Friend". When First Aid was used, the Bandage healing effect would increase by 100%!

First Aid was categorized as a supportive skill that has no relation with class skills. Any player could learn it from the First Aid Trainer when they had achieved Level 20. First Aid would allow a player to create a variety of bandages, different kinds healing different amounts of HP. This was an alternative recovery skill aside from potions for non-healer professions.

In order to trigger the follow-up quest, 2 conditions were to be fulfilled: first, the player must not have learnt First Aid in the Capital. Second, the player must repeatedly complete the prerequisite quest "Collect Python Gall". According to a player who had completed the quest in Zhang Yang's previous life, he had to complete this repetitive prerequisite quest for 99 times!

After the follow-up quest had been completed, Deckard would return to the Capital one day later, which theoretically meant that there was a possibility that all players could obtain the reward.

Of course, Zhang Yang had not only come for the reward alone! A Gray-Silver chest would randomly spawn around this lake and there was a very small chance that the chest would contain the [Recipe: Beginner Anti-Shadow Potion]. This was his main purpose!

[Collect Python Gall] (Difficulty: C)

Quest Description: Deckard the Head Physician needs your help to collect 20 [Python Gall]s to develop an antidote. Those monsters should be in the Tranquil Lake.

Progress: Collect [Python Gall] 0/20

[Missing Livestock] (Difficulty: C)

Quest Description: Those pythons in Tranquil Lake were dreadful. They have eaten a lot of the livestock in the village. Go, kill them!

Progress: Kill Gold Venomous Python 0/40

These 2 quests could be done at the same time coincidentally!

"Take this. This should aid you in your quest!" Deckard handed over a bottle of potion to Zhang Yang.

"Ding! You have obtained item [Diving Potion]!"

[Diving Potion] (Consumable)

Use: Allows you to breathe underwater for 1 hour.

Level Requirement: 10

Zhang Yang consumed the potion and a buff icon appeared on his head, enabling him to breathe underwater.

"Toong!" He dived into the lake.

A dark golden flash sparked on Zhang Yang's left and a "-14" damage text floated across his head at the same time.

Zhang Yang dived in the water, gaining an underwater vision of the lake.

A 2-meter long golden-lined snake as thick as an arm had stretched its mouth wide and glided towards Zhang Yang.

If it had been on land, Zhang Yang was sure he could dodge this attack. However, his movements were restricted while underwater, so how could he have kept up with the python's agility?!

'Ding! You are affected by Gold Python Venom (Stack 1). Reduces 10 HP every 3 seconds. Lasts for 15 seconds!'

Zhang Yang's face turned dark as a debuff icon appeared on his avatar.

[Gold Venomous Python] (Normal)

Level: 15

HP: 750

Zhang Yang's defense was high so the physical damage received was very minimal. However, the python's venom was magic damage so it would be troublesome if he stacked too much of them!

Zhang Yang grabbed his sword and began attacking these monsters as fast as he could.

His damage output had already been high since the beginning and with the 4 new Green-Copper equipment that he had gotten today, his HP increased to 950 points while his attack damage had reached 115 – 123. Truly remarkable!

Only 3 – 4 strikes were enough to kill the python. Zhang Yang stretched his hand and easily looted the gall and with luck, 2 [Venomous Python Fangs]. They were White-tiered 'Etc'1 items that were to be sold for money.

The lake was full of Gold Venomous Pythons. Zhang Yang had no idea where the chest could have spawned so he could only make rounds to explore the whole lake.

An hour later, he had collected 23 [Python Gall]s while the quest "Missing Livestock" had long since been completed. He had already killed over 100 pythons!

Since the [Diving Potion]'s buff had worn off, Zhang Yang could only go back to Deckard to complete the quest.

"Brave adventurer, citizens of White Jade Castle will never forget your good deed!" Deckard praised Zhang Yang generously but did not reward him with any actual item. "Adventurer, are you willing to help me again?"

Could he not 'willingly' accept it? Zhang Yang sighed and accepted the same quest once again.

He went back to where he had come out from the lake and jumped in again, hunting for [Python Gall]s while searching for the chest.

Zhang Yang had already forgotten how many times he had completed the quest and how many times he had taken the [Diving Potion] for he had been killing pythons to the point of sickening monotony when his eyes suddenly gleamed as he spotted a silver chest on a rock at the bottom of the lake!

He had finally found it! This f*cking lake was ridiculously huge! He had swam for so long only to have searched two-thirds of the place.

However, there were 4 pythons guarding the chest but they were all normal mobs, not bosses or even elites.

Zhang Yang took aim at one of the pythons and launched Charge, dashing towards it.

"-105!"

The other 3 venomous pythons immediately swam over in attempt to attack Zhang Yang with their bloodied fangs.

"Block!"

"-84!"

"-84!"

"-84!" Block reflected damage.

"-183!" Shield Bash!

"-224!"

"-215!"

"-231!"

"-222!"

"-20!"

Horizontal Sweep had caused 4 damage texts and had simultaneously triggered the necklace's Shadow Wrath.

2 seconds later, all 4 pythons charged towards Zhang Yang again.

'Ding! You are affected by Gold Python Venom (Stack 1). Reduces 10 HP every 3 seconds. Lasts for 15 seconds!'

'Ding! You are affected by Gold Python Venom (Stack 2). Reduces 20 HP every 3 seconds. Lasts for 15 seconds!'

'Ding! You are affected by Gold Python Venom (Stack 3). Reduces 30 HP every 3 seconds. Lasts for 15 seconds!'

'Ding! You are affected by Gold Python Venom (Stack 4). Reduces 40 HP every 3 seconds. Lasts for 15 seconds!'

These pythons were truly cumbersome!

Zhang Yang focused his attacks on a python and killed one instantly, the second following.

Zhang Yang had already stacked 5 stacks of Gold Python Venom by the time he had cleared all 4 pythons. His HP had reduced to 358 points when the python's venom effect had disappeared. That was more than half of his HP!

Monsters with DoT effects are not something you could just ignore! Zhang Yang sighed as he opened the chest.

DoT, Damage over Time, a continuous damage effect over a fixed duration such as the python's venom as described above and Curse of Water and Fire by the second boss in Bangar Crypt.

10%, 20%, 30%, … 100%!

'Tsst'. The chest opened.

Zhang Yang looted and –

[Undine's Lungs: Special Item. Allows you to breathe underwater without equipment. A must-have for leisure travel and killing people!

Meh, even though it had taken a slot in the inventory, at least he would not have to find Deckard after every one hour.

[Treasure Map Piece (2)] (Gray-Silver)

Use: Put together all 3 pieces of the treasure map and obtain a [Complete Treasure Map].

A [Treasure Map Piece]!

Zhang Yang's eyes glinted. There were numerous treasure spots in 'God's Miracle' but it could only be dug when a [Complete Treasure Map] had been obtained. Naturally, different grades of treasure maps would lead to corresponding treasure spots!

What a pity, there was only one piece, another 2 more to go!

Again!

[Recipe: Silk Belt] (Leather Work Recipe)

Use: You learn how to craft [Silk Belt].

Requirement: Beginner Leather Work

"Ding! You have obtained 50 silver coins!"

The chest became transparent and eventually disappeared.

"No more?" Zhang Yang sighed, the obtained recipe was not the one he had wanted!

Continue grinding!

Zhang Yang began to grind non-stop. With [Undine's Lungs, he did not need to leave the lake for air so he grinded until all 40 slots of his inventory were filled. He then got out from the water and completed the quest for [Python Gall]s.

At the end of the day, Zhang Yang logged out at 12 am. He had completed "Collect Python Gall" quest for a total of 14 times. It was still a long way to go compared to the 99 times the player had mentioned! However, Zhang Yang had gained a level but he was still not enlisted on the Player Level Ranking. He wondered if those ranked lunatics had ever logged off to actually sleep!

Fortunately, he was still motivated because the [Beginner Anti-Shadow Potion] recipe had still not been found. Otherwise, he would definitely lose his patience grinding on those crappy snake again and again!

Gray-Silver Chests would only be spawned once every 3 days, and that meant that he could only spiritlessly grind mobs tomorrow.

Translator Notes:

1 Etc/Misc. – A category which stands of etcetera or miscellaneous loot. These are loot that have no other purpose in the game (not for crafting/quests/equipment) and can only be sold off to NPCs for a small amount of money.

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Chapter 35: Final Quest

Translator: Zenobys Editor: TheRealSeal

A new day had arrived. Zhang Yang went online at 8.30 am and did a Hardcore Mode Bangar Crypt run with Crimson Fire and his party as per yesterday's arrangement and went straight to Tranquil Lake after that to resume his endless farming of [Python Gall]s.

It was around 3 pm when Zhang Yang's body flashed a golden ray after he killed yet another Gold Venomous Python.

'Ding! Congratulations! You have achieved Level 13. All attributes 1. Obtained 5 SP!'

'Ding! Your level has fulfilled the conditions to enter the Player Level Ranking. Would you like to be enlisted in the ranking?'

Zhang Yang had not expected that there was an additional option other than the usual level up system notification.

"I can be enlisted?" Zhang Yang was stumped, he did not realize that he had been gaining experience so quickly as he had been focused on killing the pythons! Then again, it was expected. Zhang Yang's high attack power was undeniable and nothing else was on his mind as he had been grinding the whole day, thus his level had risen so quickly!

He checked the Player Level Ranking and saw that all top 9 places were Level 13 while the tenth spot was a Level 12. If he had selected to be enlisted, he would then replace Folk Stories, a Templar.

In his previous life, Zhang Yang had entered the game 2 years too late, consequently he had never gotten the chance to be enlisted on the Player Level Ranking. That was why he did not know he had a choice in being enlisted on the ranking.

He contemplated and eventually selected 'Reject'. Right now, it would be better for him to stay out of the limelight while he accumulated his wealth!

After Level 10, Zhang Yang had changed his way of assigning his AP, investing all of them into Vitality. Before this, he had been completely equipped with White-Wood equipment which had then required him to assign his AP to increase his attack and maintain aggro. Now that he had Green-Copper gear, his damage output had significantly increased which subsequently required him to invest into his HP instead as monsters and bosses in Level 20 dungeons were all ferocious beasts. Furthermore, some of the bosses were magic-based and their skills would have been unavoidable with evasion or Block! If he had not invested in his Vitality, he would be in a tight spot!

Since he had gained a level, his farming speed had also increased. Just in a single day, he had submitted [Python Gall]s for the Repeatable Quest 15 times.

On the third day, Zhang Yang made it to Level 14 and completed the [Python Gall] quest 14 times.

On the fourth day, just as he entered the dungeon, Zhang Yang had heard Crimson Fire say, "Zhan Yu, you've gotta slow down your leveling speed. We still want to break the dungeon speed record. If you zoom your way to Level 16 then our results won't qualify!"

Zhang Yang took a glance, noticing that everyone in the party was either Level 12 or 13. In comparison, his leveling speed was indeed a little fast.

"Right now, leveling is the most important aspect of the game. Don't put all your efforts into dungeon raids!" said Zhang Yang. He had suffered enough in his previous life for leveling slower than everyone else. Moreover, the reward for obtaining the Hardcore Mode's first clearance was SP while rewards for Hardcore Mode's fastest clearance ranking were only runes and gems. The difference between these two rewards was too much!

However valuable runes and gems were, there were just as many ways to obtain them. Zhang Yang did not value them as much! If he had delayed his leveling for these gems and missed the following first dungeon clearance, that would be his biggest loss!

"Ahh! Please don't!" Crimson Fire tried to persuade him. Although Absolute Defense's equipment had been beefed up in the past two days and had the capabilities to tank Hardcore Mode now, ultimately he was still thousands of miles away from Zhang Yang's survivability, offense, and aggro control! Plus, they key to speed clearing Hardcore Mode was time and a tank's capabilities would directly affect the efficiency in clearing the dungeon. It was only understandable that Crimson Fire did not want to let such a strong player like Zhang Yang off his grasp as he hurriedly turned to Silky Snow and signaled her to persuade him as well.

Silky Snow laughed depreciatingly. For the past few days, even though she had become closer to Zhang Yang, their relationship was not any different from the others, what difference could she make in persuading him?

Crimson Fire persuaded Zhang Yang once more but seeing that he had steeled his desire to maintain his current leveling speed, he could only give up. As a guildmaster, it was naturally his duty to prioritize the advertising effect of the red server announcement spam! As of now, Lost Paradise was the only guild that has cleared Hardcore Mode Bangar Crypt. He had to maintain this status quo and take it a step further by ranking in the Fastest Hardcore Clearance Ranking!

Now that Zhang Yang could not be depended upon anymore, Crimson Fire had to find another solution!

After clearing the current Hardcore Mode, Crimson Fire had stopped asking Zhang Yang to reserve his dungeon entrance count for the next day but had assigned Absolute Defense to be the main tank, training the teamwork of the new party.

Even though Zhang Yang felt that losing the 1,000 gold coins of income each day was a pity, he did however earn 4,000 gold coins in the past 4 days and with the 10,000 gold coins that Crimson Fire had owed him earlier, he almost had enough funds to initiate his plans!

Returning to Tranquil Lake, he resumed his endless farming of [Python Gall]s. Once again, he had managed to unlock another chest but he had only obtained another [Treasure Map Piece] with no [Beginner Anti-Shadow Potion] recipe in sight. He would have to wait for another three days.

From the fifth day onwards, there were an increasing number of players present for the quest. While there were still not that many players around, Zhang Yang's crisis awareness had still rang. He was not afraid that they would take up all the monsters, but it was them stumbling upon the Gray-Silver Chest and looting it that he was afraid of!

Moreover, this chest would spawn at random places. The only thing quelling his worries was the fact that there would always be 4 Gold Venomous Pythons guarding the chest when it had spawned so random players could never take on the monsters alone!

It was lucky that the poison effect of these pythons was utterly annoying and underwater maneuverability was tough, so most players would just leave the place once they had completed the quest unlike Zhang Yang who had already made the lake his second home!

The fifth day had passed and Zhang Yang had reached Level 16. He had submitted [Python Gall]s for the 73rd time. Since Fatty Han's equipment had 'graduated' because of the Hardcore Mode runs, Zhang Yang did not raid dungeons anymore and had instead spent his entire day farming at Tranquil Lake.

On the sixth day, Zhang Yang reached Level 17 and submitted [Python Gall]s for the 88th time.

The seventh day. Around 2pm.

Zhang Yang brought the last 20 [Python Gall]s to Deckard and completed the 99th 'Collect [Python Gall]' quest. As of now, he had reached Level 18 and if he wanted to, he could have been in the top 3 of the Player Level Ranking! Of course, that was excluding the fact that there could be others like him who did not wish to be ranked.

"Young adventurer, your bravery impresses me, your persistence awes me!" Deckard was finally moved, looking at Zhang Yang with admiration, "Your kindness is akin to Buddha's! Oh, bless you young adventurer. you must lend me your aid for one last time!"

Finally!

Zhang Yang cleared his throat and said, "I will do my best!"

'Ding! You have accepted the quest: The Last Python Gall!'

[The Last Python Gall] (Quest Difficulty: S)

Quest Description: Deckard wants you to head over to the Python King's Nest, west of Tranquil Lake. Slay the Golden Venomous Python King and obtain its python gall! Adventurer, please be cautious! Golden Venomous Python King is extremely strong, it would be better if you could bring your companions!

Progress: Obtained [Golden Venomous Python King's Python Gall] 0/1

Quest Reward: Specialist First Aid, Title "Physician's Friend"

[Physician's Friend: Increases Bandage healing effect by 100%!

Awesome, the quest had directly rewarded Specialist First Aid skill! Zhang Yang was delighted. To increase First Aid's skill level, he must continuously make bandages, from [Beginner Linen Bandage] to [Coarse Cloth Bandage, [Cotton Bandage] and [Silk Bandage]… Each level would require at least 1000 of its respective bandages and above to level up!

This quest had rewarded Zhang Yang with Specialist First Aid, saving him the trouble of going through Beginner, Amateur, Advanced and Professional – a total of 4 levels and time to make more than 4,000 bandages!

Since the reward had been revealed, the quest score would be irrelevant! Regardless of an 'Average' or 'Perfect' score, the final reward would remain the same.

Exactly what level would this Golden Venomous Python King be?!

Zhang Yang went to his Friend List and was about to invite Fatty Han to slay this boss together when to his surprise, found that the guy was not online!

"Oh well, let's try it once. If I fail, then I'll find someone for help!" Zhang Yang thought and headed west.

A few players were killing pythons by the bank. When Zhang Yang traveled passed them, they did not pay him any attention.

The west of Tranquil Lake was a thick bush. At first glance, it did not look anything like a King's Nest.

Zhang Yang dived into the water to examine the bush closer. After 10 minutes or so, he finally found a hidden cave.

Was this the Python King's Nest? It looked nothing like one!

Zhang Yang went into the cave and slowly swam inwards. The cave was very narrow and after several meters deep, it was completely dark. Even with his eyes wide open, he could not see anything and all he could do was follow his gut feeling and continued swimming forward.

After a while, Zhang Yang could obviously tell that the water level was decreasing from his head to his chest, then to his stomach and knees. Finally he had stepped on land. Since it was a game, once his character left the water, his clothes and equipment dried immediately.

Turning around the corner, a wide swathe of plains greeted his eyes. Zhang Yang found himself exiting a hollow trunk of a huge fallen old tree!

He checked the mini-map and found that he was still in Tranquil Lake but this place clearly did not resemble anything like the lake. How did the game developers design this place?

Not far away, a huge python was coiling its body. Its girth was thick as a bucket but its length could not be determined since it was coiled. A rough guess would estimate the length of the python to be at least 10 meters long! Resting peacefully beside the python was a Gray-Silver Chest.

"The chest!" Zhang Yang's eyes glinted. No wonder he could not find the chest after a whole day today. It seems like it had spawned hidden in such a secluded place!

Highlighting the python, the huge beast's information window hovered in front of Zhang Yang.

[Golden Venomous Python King] (Green-Copper Boss)

Level: 20

HP: 60,000

Zhang Yang was filled with anticipation. He knew that he would get a handsome reward if he could beat this boss. However, high returns meant high risks! Even though this boss' HP was not as dreadful as a Hardcore Mode's boss, he did have a party of 10 players in Hardcore Mode!

"Let's just try it first!" Zhang Yang decided and unsheathed his sword, using Charge on the boss.

"-110!"

Such strong defense! Zhang Yang was surprised. His current attack power could have dealt 143 – 151 damage but he had only managed to deal around 100 damage on the boss. It was evident that the boss had a strong defense – probably 40 points or so!

The higher a monster's level, the shorter it would take to recover from being stunned. The Python King had recovered in no more than 1 second and shot towards Zhang Yang with a hiss.

"Block!"

'-58!' Block reflect damage.

'-156!' Shield Bash.

The Python King did not manage to land any of its attacks so it had quickly whipped its tail about in an attempt to coil Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang hurriedly withdrew, evading the attack while simultaneously brandishing his sword to counterattack.

'-103!'

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Chapter 36: Golden Venomous Python King

Translator: Zenobys Editor: TheRealSeal

A monster's most dangerous aspect was not knowing what skill it possessed! Not knowing its skills had naturally meant that there was no was of formulating a counter strategy. Only through constant deaths could a player reveal the monster's skills one by one!

This was why Zhang Yang who was familiar with almost all future dungeon bosses' skills and tactics had a significant competitive edge! Even if he was not skilled, just his thorough understanding of the bosses' skills would be enough to bring him fame in the server. All the guilds would have wanted to recruit him!

Right now though, Zhang Yang could only cautiously stare at the Python King, staying alert of any moves it might make. He had never faced this boss before, so he had to wait patiently for the boss' moves in order to counterattack.

This was the most passive strategy ever but he had no alternatives for now.

97%, 94%, 90%, Python King's HP went down slowly. This Green-Copper monster seemed to have no other special skills, as it kept attacking with its predictable fangs and tails.

'Ding! Gold Venomous Python King has used Strangle!'

Just as he thought about how monotonous the fight was, the Python King glided towards Zhang Yang at lightning speed and coiled around him with its golden body.

Although Zhang Yang had been alert, the skill had no activation sign so he could not have prepared for it. He had been careless to have used Block which was now in cooldown, so even though he had quickly withdrew, Zhang Yang had still lost to the boss' speed and was strangled by the huge snake.

'-184!'

Immediately, a red damage text appeared on his head.

Referring to the battle record: Golden Venomous Python King's Strangle has dealt 184 points of physical damage. 116 HP was reduced.

Zhang Yang had 20% of damage reduction passive skill and up to 70 points of defense, thus the 300-point damage was reduced to 184 points! He quickly used a red pot and a '100' floated across.

88%, 86%, 84%, the boss' HP continued to decline.

'Ding! Golden Venomous Python King has used Venom Spit!'

Subconsciously, Zhang Yang used Block immediately and raised his shield.

'Ding! You are affected by Venom Spit. Reduces 50 HP every 3 seconds. Lasts for 15 seconds!'

He had used Block for nothing! Only then had Zhang Yang realized that the boss' Venom Spit was of magical-property damage instead of a physical one. The debuff status icon appeared on his avatar at once.

Crap! DoT again! His high defense had been totally useless!

'Ding! Golden Venomous Python King has used Strangle!'

"D*mn!" Zhang Yang cursed out loud. His Block earlier had been wasted so the effect had disappeared right after 1 second. He had nothing else to block this skill with now!

'-184!'

Another red damage text glided across Zhang Yang's head while Venom Spit's DoT recurred with '-40', reducing his HP to 712 points!

This was the disadvantage of knowing nothing regarding the boss' skills! Otherwise, Zhang Yang would at most have been damaged by Venom Spit and could have definitely used Block against Strangle! Indeed, ignorance is the ultimate enemy of mankind!

82%, 80%, 78%, Zhang Yang calmed down and continued to hack away intensely.

20 seconds later, the Python King stretched its mouth wide and spat a dark green venom towards Zhang Yang once again!

'Ding! You are affected by Venom Spit. Reduces 50 HP every 3 seconds. Lasts for 15 seconds!'

Zhang Yang bemoaned inwardly, he could nullify Strangle with Block but he could do nothing against Venom Spit, a magical attack. Although he had 20% damage reduction from his passive, it still dealt significant damage!

Sigh, if he had brought along a healer, obliterating this boss would have been a piece of cake!

He was left with 452 HP yet the boss still had 75% of its HP. It seemed impossible to clear.

He had wanted to give up quickly and get a rematch after finding a healer but Zhang Yang guessed that there might still be skills the boss had yet to cast, so he decided to continue the fight.

'Ding! Golden Venomous Python King has used Strangle!'

"Block!"

'-58!' Block reflected damage.

Red pot's cooldown had completed and Zhang Yang used it at once, causing a '100' text to pop up.

71%, 67%, 56%...

The boss' defense was high but Zhang Yang's attack damage was equally substantial. He had brutally slashed the boss' HP down to 40% but his own HP was also at a sad 92 points. He could only withstand 2 more DoT effect.

'-40!'

Zhang Yang's HP went down to 52 points.

3 seconds later, another '-40' floated across his head and he was left with only 12 HP.

Another DoT was bound to appear when a white light had suddenly flashed by Zhang Yang. A green '154' text that had never looked any cuter floated across his head at the same time.

Someone had healed him!

Zhang Yang turned and saw a lady dressed in white standing by the trunk's entrance. She was incredibly tall and slender, her especially thin waist highlighted her voluptuous hip with such allure and her pert breasts heavily blessed, being astoundingly ample!

Character's physique was not modifiable in the game, which meant that this woman would have the same well-proportioned body in real life!

Unfortunately, while the lady had a figure that at least 90% of the female population would be jealous of, her face was ordinary. She was not ugly but she had quite a distance to go to call her a beauty! However, her pair of eyes were very beautiful. They were magnetic and faintly enticing.

"Thank you!" said Zhang Yang quickly. He had a good impression of this lady with a fantastic body but a plain face – if it had been someone greedy, they could have opened the chest while he was battling the boss!

This lady did not hide her profile. 'Little Snow, Level 13', and 'Lone Desert Smoke' were the two rows that hovered above her head. Judging from her appearance, she would be around her twenties! The face could be modified though, so Zhang Yang could not be sure if what he had seen was her real face.

Little Snow smiled and casted another healing spell on Zhang Yang and said, "You're welcome. I was just passing by! Oh right, where is this? I'm completely lost. I got confused and walked for so long and then I arrived here!"

The game had a mini map that marked the player's location. It would be really hard to even 'get lost' even if you wanted to! Now that she had actually lost her way into this place, that sounded even more ludicrous! Zhang Yang remembered how the cave's entrance was properly concealed and had he not accepted the quest which sent him here in search of the Python King's Nest, he would have given up long ago!

Terrible sense of direction!

Zhang Yang concluded in his head as he sent a party invitation to her. In 'God's Miracle', as long as a player has dealt damage to the monster, they would be eligible to obtain its loot. For Sacred Knights and Priests though, they could not get any equipment nor experience just by healing, so they must be in a party with attackers!

Zhang Yang had intended to ask Ocean Despair for help but since Little Snow had helped him and left a good impression, he had decided to share the loot with her!

The equipment Little Snow was wearing were not bad. Everything was basically Level 10 Black-Steel equipment. Although Python King was a Level 20 boss, Zhang Yang's attack nullification ability was incredible. It would be more than enough as long as she healed the HP lost from Venom Spit.

"Wow, you're already at Level 18!" Little Snow hesitated before accepting the party invitation. She was surprised when she noticed Zhang Yang's level, "Why isn't your name on the Player Level Ranking?"

"Enlistment is optional!" explained Zhang Yang.

"Oh!" Little Snow nodded and her eyes shone, "Ah, you are that Zhan Yu! Are you interested to join our guild? Defiant Monk kept praising you!"

"Defiant Monk?"

"Eh? You didn't know Defiant Monk was in our guild?"

Zhang Yang only knew that Defiant Monk joined a guild but he did not remember clearly which guild it was! He laughed and said, "I see, we're kinda fated then!"

Little Snow's eyes were beguiling, the corners of her mouth raised into a faint smile. She might have looked ordinary but her beautiful eyes made up for everything, outshining her flaws, "Brat, trying to flirt with me?"

"Brat?" Zhang Yang smiled depreciatingly. Although he was only 22 years old currently, adding the 5 years of his previous life, his mental age was close to a 30-year-old uncle!

Elder sister who was terrible at directions!

Zhang Yang quietly amended his evaluation of Little Snow in his heart.

With the addition of Little Snow, Python King was no longer a threat to Zhang Yang. Even as it used both its skills interchangeably, its death was still imminent!

5%, 4%, 3%, 2%, 1%!

As the last drop of the Python King's HP vanished, it too had fallen to its death.

'Ding! The party you are in has killed Golden Venomous Python King! Obtained 30,050 EXP (50 points Party Bonus)!'

"Eh? This monster is a boss?" Little Snow was very surprised.

"If it's not, do we need such a long time to kill it?" Zhang Yang replied stoically. He had thought that killing this boss would induce a system reward, this could have been the first Green-Copper boss in the field! After waiting for some time though, Zhang Yang dropped his head in disappointment as there was no reaction from the system.

"Eh? It's not strange since a tank's attacking damage is low, isn't it?" Little Snow was indignant.

This girl, did she not see the boss' HP? Did she not see the damage he had dealt?

Zhang Yang sighed and asked, "Where have you been looking all this while?"

"The tank's HP bar of course!" Little Snow had a despising look, "If you die, how am I, a Priest, supposed to survive?"

Made sense.

Zhang Yang shook his head and said, "OK, let's loot and share the equipment!"

He looted and the first equipment came out.

[Python King's Hood] (Green-Copper, Cloth Armor)

Defense: 2

Vitality: 18

Intelligent: 9

Spirit: 3

Level Requirement: 20

"This one's for you!" Zhang Yang passed easily.

Little Snow darted her eyes and said, "Hey, are you really trying to flirt with me?"

"Haha", Zhang Yang laughed dryly, "Can you please not be so narcissistic. I already have someone I like!"

"Hm. I know that. That person you mentioned must be me!" Little Snow said with an "I know it all" expression.

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Chapter 37: Great Lucky Hands

Translator: Zenobys Editor: TheRealSeal

A narcissistic elder sister who was terrible at directions!

Zhang Yang ignored her as he proceeded to loot the corpse.

[Aphelia's Staff] (Green-Copper, Staff)

Magic Attack: 168 – 191

Level Requirement: 20

Note: "This staff still carries the stench of Python King's innards! Poor Aphelia! May your soul rest in peace among the gods!"

"Again! Yours!" Zhang Yang sighed heavily. It was not that he wanted the equipment but more so because he did not want Little Snow saying that he wanted to court her!

Nevertheless, Little Snow giggled happily, carrying an 'I knew it' expression.

Hmph, drama queen!

Another loot! Zhang Yang did not believe that it would only drop Priest's equipment!

[Boots of Agility] (Green-Copper, Cloth Armor)

Defense: 2

Vitality: 10

Intelligence: 6

Spirit: 4

Level Requirement: 20

F*ck my life! Zhang Yang felt speechless.

Again, again!

[Resurrection] (Skill Book)

Use: You will learn Resurrection.

Class: Priest, Knight.

Zhang Yang shed a manly tear. All 4 items were for Priests!

Little Snow's eyes had turned into crescents from smiling, mumbling, "Indeed, kindness is always rewarded!"

Zhang Yang looted the corpse again. He had finally gotten something that was not for Priests!

[Golden Venomous Python King's Gall: Quest Item!

'Ding! You have obtained 15 silver coins!'

With the last item looted, the boss' corpse disappeared instantly.

"There's still the chest!" Zhang Yang rubbed his palms and rushed towards the Gray-Silver Chest.

"Wow! A treasure chest!" Little Snow's eyes radiated with interest. "Let me open it! Let me!"

Since they were in the same party, it did not matter who had opened the chest. Zhang Yang moved aside.

Little Snow threw herself on the chest and rested her cheek on the lid of the chest as her hands caressed the chest. Her indulgent expression scaring Zhang Yang.

A fortune-loving and narcissistic elder sister who was terrible at directions!

After some time, Little Snow had finally opened the chest with great reluctance under Zhang Yang's urge. The unwillingness written on her face was as if Zhang Yang had murdered her father.

10%, 20%… 100%! The chest opened and Little Snow stuffed her hand inside.

[Silver-Scaled Sword] (Gray-Silver, One-handed Sword)

Weapon Attack: 197 – 219

Attack Interval: 2.6 seconds

DPS: 80

Equipped Effect: Increases Critical Strike's rate by 1%.

Level Requirement: 20

Jackpot! This [Silver-Scaled Sword] would really put his current [Refined Iron Sword]'s 16 – 24 Weapon Attack to shame! Since Yellow-Gold equipment could only be obtained from Level 50 bosses, he could use this sword until he had reached that level!

Zhang Yang looked at Little Snow and thought to himself, "Is this yin and yang1 – they're complementing each other as he had looted her equipment while she looted his?"

"Wow! Such a pretty sword!" Little Snow picked up the [Silver-Scaled Sword]. Before rolling, anyone who was eligible to roll for the loot could pick up the equipment but was unable to equip it nor store it in their inventory.

It was obvious that men and women had completely different perspectives. What Zhang Yang had cared about was [Silver-Scaled Sword]'s supreme functionality while Little Snow had only cared about its appearance.

Zhang Yang rolled 42 points while Little Snow passed without hesitation. The strongest one-handed sword at the current stage of the game then went into Zhang Yang's inventory.

It was a shame that he had 2 more levels to go before he could equip it.

[Recipe: Beginner Anti-Shadow Potion] (Alchemy Recipe)

Use: You will learn to craft Beginner Anti-Shadow Potion.

Requirement: Beginner Alchemy Skill

Seriously… it came out! This thing's drop rate was not even one in ten thousand. In his previous life, even when the game had reached its mid-late stage, players who could craft this potion only numbered a handful!

[Silver-Scaled Sword, Alchemy Recipe… these were extremely rare drops yet she had looted them both in one instance, what great Lucky Hands! Zhang Yang's own 2 points of Luck was crap in comparison to her.

"Little Snow, this is something that I need, can you give it to me?" This was a matter concerning his fortune, so Zhang Yang had to quickly speak up.

"I will consider it if you call me 'elder sister'!" Little Snow was more than delighted.

The lady did look like she was older but Zhang Yang's mental age was almost 30 years old, so it was extremely hard for him to utter the words 'elder sister'!

"Eh? You won't say it? Well then, I'm going to roll now!" teased Little Snow.

"Little Snow, you're more like Mischievous Snow!" Zhang Yang sighed.

"Hahaha! That's why it's fun! Hey, are you saying it or not?"

"Elder sis – ter" Zhang Yang said gritting his teeth. He added another word under his breath, "Witch!"

"Good boy! Come, let big sis here give you a candy!" Little Snow grinned, her eyes forming crescents.

After Zhang Yang kept the recipe, he thought to himself, "Wait till I make a huge fortune with this recipe and make you cry your heart out!"

Little Snow looted once more and the last item popped out.

[Treasure Map Piece (1)] (Gray-Silver)

Use: Put together all 3 [Treasure Map Piece]s and obtain a [Complete Treasure Map].

Zhang Yang checked his inventory. Right now, he had piece (1) and piece (3). This piece would be a recurring one so he unhesitatingly passed. He was extremely contented with the [Silver-Scaled Sword] and the recipe.

After Little Snow obtained the map piece, the chest dissipated slowly.

"Come, let's get out of here!" said Zhang Yang as he went into the empty tree trunk. Little Snow hurriedly followed behind.

As he moved forward, Zhang Yang had suddenly realized that the little blinking dot that had represented Little Snow on the mini-map had disappeared.

Zhang Yang quickly asked in the party channel, "Little Snow, where are you?"

"I… I don't know!" Little Snow replied, "It's dark everywhere!"

This woman could get lost even when she was following him. She was really something!

"Stay there, I'm coming!" Zhang Yang could only say feebly.

"OK. But hurry, it's so dark here and the water is so cold. It doesn't feel nice at all!" complained Little Snow.

"Alright! Alright! I'm coming now!"

The blinking dot had finally reappeared in his mini-map after some few hundred meters of swimming. Zhang Yang swam over to her and said, "Follow me closely!"

She replied, "I can't even see you, how am I supposed to follow?"

"Can't you read the map?" Zhang Yang might have thought too highly of her.

"Nope, I can't understand it. Gives me a headache!" Little Snow replied.

This was how a directionally-challenged idiot came about.

Zhang Yang sighed and extended his hand, "Then grab on to my hand!"

"OK!"

Holding on to the idiot's hand, Zhang Yang led Little Snow out of the water. After 20 minutes of swimming, they finally saw daylight, both of them emerging from the bushes.

"My hands are soft, aren't they?" Little Snow asked out of the blue.

"Hm, they're alright!" Zhang Yang casually replied.

"How long do you plan on holding them?" Little Snow's tone was laced with a feeling of the calm before a storm.

Zhang Yang looked. Oh, he had forgotten to let go after holding her hands for so long.

"Hehe, my bad! My bad!" Zhang Yang let her hands go and took a step back to express his innocence.

Little Snow looked at him haughtily and said, "Rascal, be careful next time! I'm not someone you can easily take advantage of!"

Speaking of arguing, Zhang Yang was not afraid of her. Before he had confirmed his relationship with Lin Yu, he still had his fair share of dating women. He just wanted to avoid causing trouble as he would rather not have any affairs with the opposite sex. With a light smile, Zhang Yang said, "I'll be on my way to complete a quest. See you next time!"

Zhang Yang left the party and headed towards Deckard. He lifted and waved his left hand to bid farewell.

"Tch! Rascal!" Little Snow murmured and opened the voice messenger.

"Hello! Cousin, are you calling me to pick you up cause you're lost again?" A crisp voice of a young girl came through, "How many times would this be? Come on cousin, stop making a fool out of yourself! You're a Cambridge graduate, how can you have less sense of direction than me, a high schooler?"

"Hmph! I majored in Business Administration and not Tourism or Geology or even Archeology. Can't I get lost?"

"Cous, you've gotten lost too many a time, don't you think? Fine, fine, fine! I'm done arguing with you. Where are you? I'll come and pick you up!" The girl on the other side of the line gave in.

"Who asked you to pick me up? I'm not lost!"

"Eh? Then why did you call me? I was in the middle of grinding!"

"I met that Zhan Yu just now! Hm, he's strong indeed! Stronger than you!"

"Waaaa, I'm a Berserker. Why would you compare me to him!"

"Nothing. I'm just comparing!" Little Snow stretched lazily and said, "He's indeed someone worth recruiting!"

"Well then, go pull him in! Hehe, you have big boobs. Didn't they say that guys like big boobs? He's sure to be enticed by you!" the girl on the other side of the line laughed.

"You little brat, your boobs are as flat as a sunny side up!"

"Han Ying Xue, I'm warning you! No comments about my breasts!"

"Tch! Sunny-side-up!"

"Hmph! Milk cow!"

Returning to Deckard, Zhang Yang passed the [Golden Venomous Python King's Gall] over and the head physician's eyes were wide open, "This is really the Python King's Gall! I can feel it! This soft sac contains such poisonous venom! It's shocking! Adventurer, I thank you from the bottom of my heart!"

'Ding! You have completed the quest: The Last Python Gall. Obtained 10,000 EXP!'

'Ding! You have learned the skill First Aid!'

'Ding! Your skill First Aid has leveled up to Specialist!'

'Ding! You have obtained the title: Physician's Friend!'

A chain of notification rang at his ears, sounding absolutely melodious!

He opened the First Aid window and saw that he had already learnt 5 types of bandages: [Linen Bandage, [Coarse Cloth Bandage, [Cotton Bandage, [Silk Bandage, and [Magic-Woven Bandage]. However, [Cotton Cloth] could only be found from looting humanoid monsters. As of now, he could only farm for [Coarse Cloth].

[Coarse Cloth Bandage: Recovers 500 HP over 10 seconds, channeling needed. Any damage or movement will cancel channeling duration.

Cooldown: 1 minute.

With the title Physician's Friend, First Aid effect would be doubled, healing 1,000 HP over 10 seconds. That would almost completely refill Zhang Yang's HP.

Zhang Yang took out a Teleportation Reagent and tore it. A magic circle formed under his feet and he arrived at White Jade Castle 10 seconds later.

Translator Notes:

1 yīnyáng – Chinese philosophical theory where two seemingly opposite forces may complement each other. Everything is interconnected and interdependent. Yin refers to dark while yang refers to bright. Women are generally filled with yin while men are filled with yang.

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Chapter 38: Earthen Round Shield's Hot Sales

Translator: Zenobys Editor: TheRealSeal

Ever since Zhang Yang started the 'Physician's Friend' quest, he had not returned to the city!

When he finally did, the first thing he did was to store all his junk items into his storage before checking his mailbox. A few days ago, the mail assistant informed him of new mails, but he could not retrieve any as he was away.

The mails came from the auction house, informing him of his sale of the [Earthen Round Shield] which had transacted for 870 gold pieces. He received his payment after having 87 gold pieces deducted as tax.

Zhang Yang had a look at his inventory and realized that he currently had 15,300 gold pieces. If this game had a Personal Wealth Ranking Board, he'd definitely be on the list!

With the intention to learn the Alchemy skill, Zhang Yang decided to forget Mining and proceeded to the Alchemy Shop. To gain a fortune from Mining would mean to invest quite a lot of time that Zhang Yang did not have. The only reason for him to learn Mining was for the class quest in Beginner Village.

Shortly after, he took out the [Beginner Anti-Shadow Potion] recipe and patted it on his chest. A gold light shone and his Alchemy list now had something added to it.

Zhang Yang went to the auction house, opened the shopping window and searched for the keywords [Brassica Weed] and [Gingko Flower]. As soon as he confirmed his search, rows and rows of the items were listed out. Normally, a stack would usually cost 20 silver pieces. However, there were sellers that attempted to scam others by placing only one herb and selling it at the same price, deceiving careless players into buying them in a bid to earn more.

Zhang Yang selected all the available [Brassica Weed] and [Gingko Flower] with a price of no higher than 30 silver pieces to purchase. What was once in abundance at the auction house was wiped clean and now, there remained only a few units of herbs being offered up for sale by other players.

While the others were still in the midst of purchasing the same ingredients, they did not realize that a huge supply of them had disappeared, leading some to turn furious.

"What?! Where are all the [Gingko Flower]? I just saw over 100 stacks a few moments ago, and now there are only 7 units left?! Motherf*cker! Which son of a b*tch is trying to sell 1 unit for 20 silver! I clicked it twice!"

"[Brassica Weed] is gone too. What the hell? How am I supposed to raise my Alchemy level like this?!"

"Which bastard is so rich to buy all those herbs in an instant?!"

[Brassica Weed] was one of the materials used to create the [Beginner Healing Potion] while [Gingko Flower] was used to make the [Beginner Mana Potion]. The drop rate for these two recipes was rather high and players would usually rely on them to raise their Alchemy level. It was expected that players would be distraught when Zhang Yang cleaned all the shelves.

He headed back to his mailbox right after that to retrieve all the purchased [Brassica Weed] and [Gingko Flower]. However, having insufficient inventory space to collect them all at once, he had to place most of the herbs temporarily into the bank. When a character was created, they were given a free bank column from the system that had 100 slots. Players would then need to pay if they require more space. Additionally. the more slots you bought, the higher the price would be, increasing the price by 10 times for each subsequent purchase.

Zhang Yang had bought 3 bank columns which gave him more than enough space to store his purchases from the mailbox. He felt the pinch of spending 1,100 gold pieces for them though.

Once that was settled, he went back to the Alchemy Shop to buy a large amount of [Empty Bottle] to create the [Beginner Anti-Shadow Potion] with his newly learned Alchemy.

'Ding! You have created [Beginner Anti-Shadow Potion] x1. Your Alchemy Mastery has increased by 1 point.'

'Ding! You have created [Beginner Anti-Shadow Potion] x1. Your Alchemy Mastery has increased by 1 point.'

'Ding! You have created [Beginner Anti-Shadow Potion] x2. Your Alchemy Mastery has increased by 1 point.'

Wow. 2 bottles? Zhang Yang smiled and felt that this must be the advantage from his Luck attribute! The Luck attribute provided a certain chance to have 2 end products whenever a player crafted something. The higher the Luck attribute, the higher the chance! Despite that, the chances would still be very slim even if a player had 100 Luck.

After exhausting all of his materials in his inventory, Zhang Yang immediately ran to the bank to exchange his crafted potions for more materials and began crafting more. With the ridiculous settings in the system, it took 2 seconds to create a bottle of potion. Zhang Yang bought 370 stacks of materials which could be converted into 7,400 bottles of potions…

It took 4 hours of potion crafting to use up every material he had, but thanks to that, his Alchemy skill had surpassed Amateur level and with that, the [Beginner Anti-Shadow Potion] icon turned grey. This meant that he could no longer obtain any experience points from crafting it to further increase his Alchemy mastery. As he looked at the neatly arranged potions in his bank, Zhang Yang felt a strong sense of accomplishment.

Currently, a bottle of [Beginner Anti-Shadow Potion] costs only 5 silver pieces, but once players proceeded to the next dungeon, Marzerway's Lair, , those potions would begin to fetch 1 gold piece for each bottle. That's a guaranteed bestseller right there! Naturally, the prices for [Brassica Weed] and [Gingko Flower] would be raised as well, reducing the profit margin.

Zhang Yang opened his Friend List and noticed that Fatty Han had just logged in! He sent him a private message, "Hey Fatty, quickly stock up on any [Brassica Weed] and [Gingko Flower] you can find! Prices will be increasing over the next few days! If the price doesn't exceed 2 gold pieces, buy them all!"

"Damn, Little Yang, for real?" Fatty replied hastily.

"Fatty, this is a golden opportunity right here in front of you! It's up to you to grab that chance!"

"Little Yang, I only have 16 gold pieces, I can't get much with what I have!"

"Alright, I'll mail 1,000 gold pieces to you later! You owe me for this!"

"Haha! That's good, brother!"

Fatty Han did not express much appreciation through words. Their friendship need not be that courteous, for what mattered more was the deed and the thought of it!

After Zhang Yang transferred 1,000 gold pieces to Fatty Han, he withdrew 6 units of [Plain Copper Plate] and 30 stacks of [Iron Plate] to craft 6 [Earthen Round Shield] at the blacksmith. He was surprised by the results of his first auction of the shields. There were rich people everywhere!

He placed 1 [Earthen Round Shield] for auction with a minimum bid of 400 gold pieces and a maximum buyout price of 1,000 gold pieces for 24 hours while omitting his name. This was the best way to get the best price out of a rare item; selling them one by one. The higher the supply, the lower the price, making it worthless if the stock increased.

After that, Zhang Yang went ahead to look for any strange and special crafting recipes up for auction. Within a few days, what was once a desolate place had now turned into a lively auction house and the number of items for sale had definitely multiplied! Over at the Crafting Recipes tab, there were hundreds of recipes on sale. Most of them being [Beginner Whetstone] recipes and a few other random equipment recipes.

Quoting the official '5-year game review', after the launch of the server, the number of players that joined shot up from 4 million to 10 million in merely 10 days. 3 months later, the developers announced a heaven-defying target game population of 1 billion and 'God's Miracle' continued to steadily grow over time. 2 years later, the game reached its unbelievable goal of 1 billion players. The more high-leveled players therewere, the better the auctioned merchandise that could be found.

[Beginner Whetstone] was the most economical product to use when raising Smithing mastery. The only material needed to craft it was a piece of [Iron Plate]. [Beginner Whetstone] was considered as consumable goods and was generally used to polish weapons, increasing its attack damage by 10 for an hour.

Having his Smithing skill at an Amateur level, Zhang Yang could not depend on the [Earthen Round Shield] to raise his mastery. He immediately purchased the [Beginner Whetstone] recipe from the auction house, withdrew it from his mailbox and opened his Friend list to send a message to the Mining Specialist.

"Hello there, old friend. How many units of the [Iron Plate] do you still have?"

After a while, he received a reply, "Yo! I haven't heard much from you these days, and here I thought you did not need these anymore! I've got plenty of [Iron Plate]. How many do you want?"

"Alright. Give me 100 stacks!"

Raising his Smithing skill to Amateur level would require him to use about 50 stacks of [Iron Plate, but Zhang Yang only had 7 [Plain Copper Plate] that could be used with merely 35 [Iron Plate].

"Whoa!" the Mining Specialist replied in shock, "I'd say, 'Please don't scare the crap out of me every time!' 100 stacks is too many. I only have 50 stacks including the ones in my bank."

"50 stacks then. Deal. Send it to me whenever you're ready! Mail transaction as usual!"

"Sure thing, boss! Thank you for your patronage!"

Zhang Yang patted the recipe and learned how to craft [Beginner Whetstone]. The mail would require 30 minutes before arriving and it would be meaningless to just wait, but he had been grinding monsters like a mad man for these past few days and he could not muster any desire to kill monsters within this short period of time.

'Ding!'

A notification came from the mail assistant. Zhang Yang received a new mail. He was surprised for a moment. He thought that the mail system had changed after he was 'reborn'. The mail could arrive so soon?

He checked his mailbox and found that it was not from the Mining Specialist but a notice from the auction house. His [Earthen Round Shield] had been sold for the maximum buyout price by a player with a strange name, Windward Three Feet Pee.

I'm rich!

Without wasting anymore time, Zhang Yang ran to the bank, took out a second shield and auctioned it again in the same manner.

'Ding!'

In less than 2 minutes, Zhang Yang was notified again. The shield was once again sold to Windward Three Feet Pee.

Zhang Yang placed yet another shield for auction and the same buyer bought it once again.

Listed. Sold! Listed. Sold!

After 10 minutes, 5 of Zhang Yang's shields were sold out and Windward Three Feet Pee had been the one to grab them all. He thought of raising the price for the last few units, but 1,000 gold pieces was already rather plenty so he decided not to do it.

In the initial stages of the game, gold pieces devaluated very quickly. According to the current market ratio of 1:9, 1,000 gold pieces was worth nearly 10,000 bucks! Money really made a difference!

But it mattered not. At the current stage of the game, [Earthen Round Shield] was the best shield available. Aside from Lost Paradise, no other guilds have defeated Dadarerda. [Plain Copper Ore] was also one of the deciding factors in setting the rareness of the shield!

Windward Three Feet Pee should be someone from a big guild, as it could explain how he was able to buy all 6 shields from Zhang Yang.

Gray-Silver grade shields only dropped in Level 20 Hardcore Mode dungeons. According to the game developers, each big guild would need at least 4 to 5 days to explore and complete Marzerway's Lair when players reached a suitable level.

Marzerway's Lair was much more difficult as compared to Bangar Crypt. During the exploring period in the beginning stages, players would be stuck for a day in Normal Mode due to a lack of understanding of the boss' skills. They are then stuck for another 2 to 3 days in Hard Mode and even longer in the Hardcore Mode. It would take up to 10 days just to obtain a Gray-Silver shield.

Furthermore, there would always be a few parties from the big guilds who were able to clear Hardcore Mode with their corresponding levels. Normal players would only return when they have reached higher levels! With that assumption in mind, the demand for [Earthen Round Shield] would last longer but the selling price would drop over time.

It seemed that the Hardcore Mode of Bangar Crypt was still worth raiding!

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Chapter 39: Invitation

Translator: Zenobys Editor: TheRealSeal

After half an hour, Zhang Yang received his [Iron Plate] stacks and stored it in his inventory after paying Mining Specialist. Just as he was about to craft a [Beginner Whetstone] at the Blacksmith…

'Beep!'

He received a private message. "Brother Zhan Yu, we're in the middle of a boss battle. Could you lend us a hand? It's a Level 25 Gray-Silver boss and we can't take him down no matter how many times we try!"

It was a message from Defiant Monk. Ever since their First Clear Hardcore Dungeon achievement, they have not traveled together. However, they have kept in touch with each other by sending greetings whenever someone logged in or off on a daily basis, thus maintaining a close relationship. Even though Zhang Yang wanted to recruit Hundred Shots as soon as he could, he feared that doing so would affect his future in becoming a Dragon Hunter. If he really did miss out on the Red Baby Dragon, it would be a total disaster!

Zhang Yang questioned back, "That Level 25 Gray-Silver boss… what's his name?"

"Martyr Unduin!"

"Crap!" Zhang Yang blurted out. This boss is on a whole new level! Martyr Unduin is the World Boss at around Level 30, and if you wanted to try and fight him, you would better bring a whole lot of Level 20 players with you!

"How many players do you have there now?"

"We've got more than 30 players here!" Defiant Monk replied with pride.

Letting loose a sigh, Zhang Yang said, "Here's my advice: Give it up and go home."

But Defiant Monk was relentless, and continued trying to persuade Zhang Yang. "Zhan Yu! This is a Level 25 Gray-Silver boss! If we take him down, we'll definitely have an achievement to it with a server announcement!"

It's an attractive reward, alright. But you would still need to have the capability to challenge him! As he was about to decline the offer, he remembered something from the past. In his previous life, there was a player that posted in a forum claiming to have defeated Martyr Unduin alone. As soon as he published it, other players just mocked him for it as he was only Level 28. They just kept mocking him until he posted a video of him single-handedly killing the boss and the forum could only accept and quieten down.

Martyr Undiun was a Spellcaster class monster, and his only skill was the Fireball! As soon as the battle began, he would begin to cast it, and being a World Boss, his Fireball was not only a single one but ten separate balls! Each ball dealt at least 1,000 damage and can be casted every 3 seconds. Truly, he was a monster capable of wiping out entire parties. However, he needed to channel Fireball every time before using it, and the Hunter made good use of the topographic layout of the area to his advantage. As soon as Unduin began channelling, the Hunter hid behind a huge rock out of the boss' line of sight. In 'God's Miracle', if a target left the line of sight, any attack would have been rendered ineffective, causing the boss to cancel the spell channelling.

When that happened, the Hunter would reemerge and resume attacking. With him in sight, the boss would once again begin to channel his spell but before he could complete the three-second cast time, the Hunter would slide behind the rock once more. This strategy was truly straightforward and the execution was fairly simple; the only difficult part was that the boss' HP was ridiculously high. Since attacking continuously was impossible, the Hunter spent an entire day just to slay the boss!

Once his strategy got out to public, people started to realize that it was not so difficult to fight this boss. The developers reacted quickly to this by removing that huge rock. When Zhang Yang entered the game, that rock was already gone. He only stumbled on this tactic while leisurely browsing through the forums. If that rock was what he imagined, then even a melee character could properly utilize the advantage!

After thoroughly thinking through, Zhang Yang replied to Defiant Monk, "Ok then, send me the location. I'm heading over now!"

"87145, 24103. We'll be waiting for you! Someone else will add you into the party! Don't reject it!" And as soon as he said that, a party invitation came through.

'Ding! Player Drizzler has sent you a party invitation. Will you accept it?'

Zhang Yang selected 'Accept' and was added in.

'Ding! You have joined the party. Party Leader: Drizzler. Item Distribution: Party Leader Distribution'

With him in the party, there were a total of 34 players. The game only allowed a maximum of 50 in one party. Zhang Yang scanned through the player names and recognized one player; Little Snow.

"Scrawny rascal!" Little Snow sent what looked like a tooth bearing and paws clawingemoticon, which was one of the available ones in-game. Zhang Yang merely ignored her and continued on. Defiant Monk began introducing Zhang Yang to the team with words of praise. "Guys, this is Zhan Yu; the Guardian that gave us that clear in the Hardcore Mode run. He's super pro!" Zhang Yang initially planned on laying low but with an introduction like that, he could only respond, "Hi, everyone!"

"Nice to meet you, Zhan Yu!"

"Whoa, Level 18! That's awesome!"

"Why isn't his name in the Level Ranking Board?"

"Must be a bug in the system!"

Everyone began chatting, and the channel got rowdy.

Zhang Yang opened the map to track the location given by Defiant Monk and according to it, he would be heading into the deep parts of the Plains Cloud Mountain! If memory served him well, all the monsters in that area were above Level 20!

Puzzled, he asked Defiant Monk, "How did you even find this boss in such a desolated area?"

To which, he hastily replied, "We've an idiot here who has a terrible sense of direction. She got lost and wandered into the Plains Cloud Mountain and found him!" It had to be Little Snow! Zhang Yang clearly recalled that woman's sense of direction almost immediately.

Drizzler, the party leader sent a message in the party channel, "Everyone, recover your HP, we're fighting him once again!"

"That's our guild master!" Defiant Monk introduced. Soon, the battle began once more, and Drizzler began giving orders.

"Big Lin, start the fight! Healers, watch yourselves! Attackers, move forward behind me!"

Zhang Yang didn't have to think any further, as he already predicted the entire party would be wiped out. Half a minute later, all the names on the list aside from Zhang Yang had gone dark, which signified that they had died, and complaints began to fill the chat.

"Master, this monster is too strong! We're not capable of fighting it!"

"Yeah! With all the Fireball flying around, anywhere around us is a kill zone! Even the healers can't heal us in time!"

"This Level 25 boss is completely out of our league!"

But Drizzler felt discontented, "And should we just give up?"

The others began to realize that they were underpowered. "We have no choice. We need to get above Level 20, find equipment from the next dungeon, and raise our HP to at least 1,500 to even have some hope!"

Defiant Monk had banked his confidence on someone else instead. "Hold on for a little longer! Zhan Yu hasn't arrived yet, and with him here there should be a way!"

"Tch! The problem isn't the tanker, it's the boss' multi-target skill! We don't need a tanker against a skill like that!"

"Master, let's wait for Zhan Yu and try again!"

Zhang Yang's performance in the Bangar Crypt really made an impression on Defiant Monk to the point where he blindly trusts Zhang Yang to handle any problem in front of him no matter the difficulty. As Drizzler had not decided on anything yet, she went along with Defiant Monk's suggestion, "Okay then, we'll wait for him to arrive and then we'll give it one more try!"

Suddenly, someone in the party exclaimed, "Aw, nuts! My wife is about to have a baby! I'd better send her to the hospital now. Sorry guys, I'll be leaving!"

And after that, more people voiced out as well.

"Whoops, it's almost time to go to work. I'd better prepare dinner for my wife first! Bye guys, I'm logging off too. Take it slow!"

"F*ck, my next door neighbours are barking at each other like dogs. I'd better go over there and give them a piece of my mind or they're not stopping at al!"

"Sorry, I'm going to be busy in a while. Got to give my boy some milk!"

In only a matter of seconds, more than 10 players gave ridiculous excuses to leave the party and logged off. Out of the 34 players before this, there were only 15 left.

"Well, that's it then. Dismissed!" Drizzler unwillingly announced to disband the party as many of them gave excuses just to leave. With that, the only ones left in the party were Drizzler, Little Snow and Zhang Yang. Even Defiant Monk left the party and he sent a message to Zhang Yang not long after saying, "Zhan Yu, sorry man! Your entire journey is wasted!"

"Not a problem!" Zhang Yang replied, as he continued on towards the Plains Cloud Mountain. Little Snow saw his name was still in the party list, and inquired, "Eh? Scrawny rascal! Why are you still in the party?"

"I want to give it a shot!"

"A shot at what? Trying to court me?"

"Han Yin Xue! Could you please stop toying with others?!" Drizzler couldn't ignore any more of Little Snow's behaviour and interjected with a sense of justice in her.

"Hehe… are you jealous, perhaps? Since you're still underage, you can't really be in a relationship." Feeling enraged from that comment, Drizzler threatened her, "Han Yin Xue! I swear I will go up those stairs and punch you in your boobs! I'm going to bust those humungous bubbles!"

"Haha! Miss Sunny Side Up! You really are jealous of me!" Little Snow could not contain her laughter anymore.

Zhang Yang could only remain silent. These two women are wild!

During the battle of words between the two, Zhang Yang reached the Plains Cloud Mountain and ran straight towards the boss' location. Being Level 18, he caused the monsters that were Level 20 and above to turn aggressive, so he had to slay his way through.

Drizzler kept on threatening Little Snow while she was still playing around.

"… Han Yin Xue! I'm cutting ties with you! If you ever get lost again, don't even think about calling to me for help!"

"Let's see… You've been cutting ties with me since you were younger. Hmm… this would be the 1,892nd time you did that. Or was it the 1,893rd?"

After passing through a bush, Zhang Yang reached the location, and he spotted two female characters at a distance. One was just casually looking at her fingernails with her arms stretched out, while the other had both arms on her hips looking quite fierce. That should be Little Snow and Drizzler. As soon as they saw him approaching, they stopped quarrelling and Little Snow asked him, "Are you really sure about trying this out?"

Drizzler was a female Human Warrior, Level 13. From the looks of it, she was about the age of either 17 or 18 years old. Her body was still underdeveloped; she was completely flat-chested and didn't really have much of a behind as well. However, she did have beautiful complexion and given time, her body would mature into someone truly seductive… if her face changed as well.

"Hmm… I'm sure about giving it a go!" Zhang Yang casually responded while closely observing the huge round object. It was about 5 meters in width and 3 meters in height, and it looked more like a chopped tree trunk.

There is a chance! Zhang Yang could not help but let out an excited smile.

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Chapter 40: Attack on the Gray-Silver Boss

Translator: Zenobys Editor: TheRealSeal

Looking at Zhang Yang, Little Snow felt a chill run down her spine. "Yo, look at the way you smile! You're such a pervert! Drizzler, take a look at the 'bad uncle'!" Just a second ago, they were in a heated argument, but now they were the best of friends.

Drizzler hurried to Litte Snow and hid behind her, looking at Zhang Yang and said, "Cousin, here's your glorious mission. Sacrifice your dignity and use your sex appeal to lure this uncle into our guild!"

Little Snow didn't take that suggestion too kindly. "Stinking little brat! What do you take me for, someone you can just buy and sell?!"

"The two of you stay here. I'm going to try and take on this boss myself. Even if things get out of hand, don't try to enter this fight!" Zhang Yang was not in the mood to pay attention to them. While applying a whetstone on his weapon, he fixated his eyes on the boss; a man dressed in white robe, kneeling in front of the altar and on his left side, there was a purple wand.

[Martyr Unduin] (Gray-Silver)

Level: 25

HP: 300,000

300,000 HP! That is insane!

"Hey, hey, hey, are you really going to take this boss on? Alone?" Little Snow cried out as she saw Zhang Yang wielding his sword and rushing towards the boss. She remembered the first time she met him, and he did the same thing in the past as well. It seemed that the word "death" is not in his vocabulary!

There was a level gap of 7 levels between Zhang Yang and the boss, but he still stepped forward into the aggro range. Immediately, Unduin stood up, picked up his wand and said, "Intruder! You have tarnished the sacred altar. I must now use your blood to purify this boundless sin!"

In all honesty, the boss did have a handsome face on him. His untrimmed beard carried a sense of maturity in life that made a three-decade aged man look wiser than he should be. One could say he had the potential to seduce plenty of lonely housewives!

'Ding! Martyr Unduin has begun casting Fireball!'

Charge!

As soon as his Charge was in range, Zhang Yang dashed in to strike, but he soon discovered that the boss was immune to stun. Unfazed, the boss glaringly looked at him while continuously chanting the spell. But Zhang Yang only used Charge to quickly reach the boss' side, and without staggering, he ran towards the huge rock to his right.

'60%! 70%! 80%! 90%!'

Just when Unduin's chanting was almost complete, Zhang Yang managed to hide behind the rock, out of the boss' vision. Unduin chided angrily and cancelled the magic symbol on his hand and moved to where Zhang Yang was. When he was within line of sight, the boss began chanting once more.

'60%!'

Zhang Yang struck the boss, but his normal attacks could not even exceed 100 damage! His attack damage was supposed to be 153-161 points after applying the whetstone, but he suspected that the boss' defense might be around 100 points! Having such low damage, the generated Rage will be equally low. After 10 points from Charge, he only had 16 Rage. After two seconds, Zhang Yang swung again to deal 53 damage and quickly moved back behind the rock and out of the boss' vision with just two steps.

Unduin bellowed fiercely as his nearly completed Fireball was interrupted once again. He moved a few steps again to regain sight on his target and began casting once more.

'61%!'

Zhang Yang casted Horizontal Sweep and there was finally some significant damage.

'-222!'

After another two seconds, Zhang Yang swung his sword again to deal 57 damage and while paying attention to the timing, withdrew behind the rock and out of the boss' vision for the third time. Unduin kept roaring, but due to how he was designed, he did not execute any form of melee attack and could only chase Zhang Yang to chant the spell that could never be completed.

"What… Is this really happening?" Drizzler was left with her jaw dropped, feeling dumbfounded.

"Now that's a real professional!" nodded Little Snow.

"Cousin, it all depends on you now! Come on, pull him into our guild!"

"Hey, hey! I'm your one and only beloved cousin! Are you really going to sell me out like that?"

"Aww, you are my dear cousin! Now, please help me! You have that charm in you! I believe with just a lift of your finger, you'd definitely charm that weird uncle!"

"Damn! Maybe he prefers flat chests more?"

"Han Yin Xue! I'm warning you! Don't you ever mention about my chest!"

"Haha! Sunny side-up!"

"You two! Come and join the fight!" Zhang Yang was not aware that they were bickering again as it was through private messaging. On his own, his attack speed was slow, but with the two of them, it would be an added advantage to have more damage dealt. The two girls stopped their squabble and ran to his aid. They emulated Zhang Yang's hit and run tactics.

"Just attack! You don't have to hide, I will take care of the aggro! Don't worry about the Fireball. It will never be executed!" The two understood his orders and started attacking the boss from behind and began to do some damage.

Drizzler was a Berserker and carried a two-handed weapon. Her basic attack damage was relatively high at about 190 points, but the attack interval was at 3.8 seconds between each strike. It was clear that high basic damage dealers could overwhelm monsters with high defense. The Berserker's passive skill increased 10% of all attack damage, which allowed her to damage the boss with 100 points per strike, and a single hit was more than what Zhang Yang could deal. As for Little Snow, she was much weaker due to the 10 levels of gap between the boss and her. Thus, along with the boss' basic magic immunity, she was rendered completely useless.

Although the progress was slow, the boss' health was constantly dropping. After half an hour, the boss' HP was left with 130,000 points; 57% remaining.

Drizzler began to cry out in fatigue, "Oh my god, how much longer is this going to take? I'm exhausted!" After doing some calculation, Zhang Yang said, "With this speed, it would take another 40 minutes to kill this boss!" Drizzler pouted her lips, "Wow! If I had known earlier how draggy this would be, I wouldn't have dismissed the party!"

Little Snow interjected, "Stupid girl, less people means bigger share!" As soon as she heard that, Drizzler's eyes sparkled and even Zhang Yang could see her eyes were radiating with shiny gold pieces!

Most players would have preferred fewer party members to get more equipment drops, but these two wanted money more than anything else!

"A Gray-Silver grade boss… he should be dropping quite the amount of gold pieces, no?" As soon as Little Snow said that, Drizzler's fighting spirit and desire exponentially rose.

"Cousin, let's do this! F*ck this boss up!"

"Okay! Let's go!"

Their desire and lust for gold drove their fighting spirits to greater heights!

Martyr Unduin was really strong. The Fireball skill could release 10 projections upon casting, carrying the destructive power of 1,000 damage each. Players considered this to be an unbreakable monster, but the existence of that particular stone has become Unduin's Achilles Heel! Unduin has been absolutely oppressed!

Another half an hour later, Unduin has only 10% HP left.

9%, 8%, 7%...

Ten minutes later…

"Vile invaders, the gods will punish you!" And with his last words delivered, the World Boss finally cried out in humiliation and fell.

'Ding! You and your party members have killed Martyr Unduin! Obtained 100,500 EXP (50 points party bonus)!'

'Ding! Congratulations! You are the first party to kill a Gray-Silver boss. Your glorious achievement will be recorded in history! As the party leader, please name your party to be enlisted into history and the world can praise you for your might!'

Drizzler was surprised, and an input box appeared on her interface that came with the notification sound.

"Zhan Yu, we can enter the ranking board! But, what should we name our party as?"

Drizzler was being polite, knowing that Zhang Yang was the main reason they managed to defeat this boss. She and Little Snow contributed almost nothing to it!

Zhang Yang laughed, "Just key in your guild name!" After all, they discovered the boss and with Defiant Monk in the guild, it was also a sign of respect.

"Thank you very much!" Drizzler was grateful and immediately keyed in her guild name. This was the best opportunity to spread their name as the server announcement has the best publicity effect.

'Server Announcement: Party Lone Desert Smoke has successfully killed the Martyr Unduin, Level 25 Gray-Silver Boss (China Server). This achievement will be recorded in the Hall of Fame! Please celebrate and cheer for them!"

'Server Announcement: Player Drizzler (Party Leader) has successfully killed the Martyr Unduin, Level 25 Gray-Silver Boss (China Server). Obtained 10 Gold Coins, Luck attribute 1, and 500 Reputation points across all races in the league are awarded!'

'Server Announcement: Player Zhan Yu (Party Member) has successfully killed the Martyr Unduin, Level 25 Gray-Silver Boss (China Server). Obtained 10 Gold Coins, Luck attribute 1, and 500 Reputation Points across all races in the league are awarded!'

'Server Announcement: Player Little Snow (Party Member) has successfully killed the Martyr Unduin, Level 25 Gray-Silver Boss (China Server). Obtained 10 Gold Coins, Luck attribute 1, and 500 Reputation Points across all races in the league are awarded!'

The entire Chinese server began to get lively. At this point in time, most players were still happily raiding the Bangar Crypt in Easy Mode, and only 10% of the players could raid in Hard Mode, while the elites from the big guilds would take on the Hardcore Mode. Out of the blue, came a server announcement bearing news of the first kill on a Gray-Silver boss. How could anyone be calm? On top of that, the boss was killed by a party of three! What on earth was happening?! The server was filled with chatter, causing a large number of parties to be killed in the dungeon!

Now, the ones that regretted the most were probably the Lone Desert Smoke players that left the party earlier! Had they known that there was such a possibility, they would have certainly stayed on to obtain the server announcement as well! It would be exhilarating!

"It's money! Money, money, money!"

Completely disregarding the equipment, Drizzler happily hugged the heap of money dropped by the boss. Zhang Yang could never comprehend their love for money! The other players would already be weeping as there were Gray-Silver equipment lying all over the ground… there was even a skill book!

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Chapter 41: A Handsome Reward

Translator: Zenobys Editor: TheRealSeal

'Beep!'

One by one, messages flooded his Friend list.

Defiant Monk: "You're a pro! You really did kill the boss! Haha! I knew you could do it!"

Snowy Death: "Pro, bro! Taking on the boss without inviting a bro? Come on, bro!"

Hundred Shot: "Congratulations!"

Fatty Han: "F*ck you, man. How could you have hoes before bros? There are two babes right there, and you can't even let me have one?"

Crimson Fire and Silky Snow sent their regards too, he knew there was envy and jealousy hidden in their words.

Zhang Yang could not tolerate those two anymore, "Alright, alright! You're all grown-ups now. Stop acting like children! I'm opening the corpse!" They were so intoxicated with money that their eyes glowed into a weird symbol of money.

'Ding! You have obtained 40 silver pieces after distribution!"

Such a stingy Gray-Silver boss, only giving 1 gold and 20 silver.

Drizzler openly replied to him, "Zhan Yu, you should get all the equipment since technically, you killed the boss."

Zhang Yang pondered and then said, "You do know that any one of these equipment can easily be sold for at least 1,000 gold. How can you let this chance slip by when the two of you are so intoxicated with such little amount of silver?"

"Hmph! I'm not a miser!" Drizzler then threw a look of disgust onto Zhang Yang. "You know, as the saying goes, 'For what you earn, pray that it's clean'! You can't accept a fortune that is not by your effort!" Zhang Yang grinned, and replied, "I prefer the saying, 'A horse without wild grass would be thin; man without a fortune is poor."

"Ugh! What a waste of time!" Then the girls stepped aside.

Zhang Yang thought for a while and said, "Since we fought the boss together, everybody should get a share. How about this? I will help myself with whatever I like, and the rest of the loot will be shared between both of you!"

"Sounds good!" The girls agreed, as it was still the battle loot from a Gray-Silver boss!

[Martyr Ring] (Gray-Silver, Ring)

Vitality: 10

Strength: 10

Equip effect: Increase Critical Strike chance by 1%

Level requirement: 20

The girls gave up their roll at the same time and the equipment went to Zhang Yang. At least he was lucky once. He continued to open the corpse.

[Spellcaster's Circlet] (Gray-Silver, Cloth Armor)

Defense: 4

Vitality: 48

Intelligence: 24

Spirit: 8

Note: This once belonged to the great Spellcaster Unduin, signifying intelligence and strength!

Zhang Yang was the first to reject the roll, leaving Little Snow happily smiling.

[Carved Boots] (Gray-Silver, Leather Armor)

Defense: 8

Vitality: 15

Strength: 5

Dexterity: 20

Level requirement: 20

Since all three of them could not equip this, they rolled together and was obtained by Drizzler with 78 points.

[Holy Prayers] (Skill book)

Use: You will learn Holy Prayers.

Class requirement: Priest, Knight.

"Quickly, use it! What does it really do?" asked Drizzler curiously.

Little Snow obtained the skill book after Zhang Yang and Drizzler gave up their roll. She then patted the book on her chest and posted the skill description after learning it.

[Holy Prayers] (Level 1): Heals target's HP for 100% of the current magic attack. The nearest surrounding players will receive healing for 25% of the current magic attack. Up to 4 players maximum.

MP Cost: 50.

Cast time: 1.5 seconds.

Cooldown time: 10 seconds

It was not clear what would happen after levelling up the skill, whether it was increased healing capacity, shorter casting time, or even reduced cooldown time. It did not matter as this skill was meant for mass healing which greatly reduced the difficulty of raiding dungeon bosses that used multi-target skills.

Under the boss remained the last item, a skill book with a red cover.

[Eagle Eye] (Skill book)

Use: You will learn Eagle Eye

Class requirement: Warrior, Knight, Hunter, Thief.

Drizzler was once again curious. "Eh? This skill is so versatile; it can be learned by so many different classes. What skill is this, exactly?" Zhang Yang, on the other hand, got excited and said, "Please, let me have this one!" Drizzler curled her lips to his response, "Tch! What are you getting so excited about? I've already said that all the loot belongs to you!" She then gave up her roll. Little Snow had the intention to tease Zhang Yang again but as she also agreed to let him have all the items, she gave up her roll as well.

Once Zhang Yang had gotten hold of the skill book, he quickly patted it against his chest and with a flash of light, a new skill appeared on his skill window.

Seeing Zhang Yang giggling like a madman, Drizzler could not resist and asked. "Post it out! I want to see it too!" Zhang Yang laughed too and posted the newly gained skill description to the party channel.

[Eagle Eye] (Passive) (Level 1): You now have the ability to thoroughly search the enemy's weak points. All attacks will now ignore 50% enemy defense.

"Tch, and here I thought it was some godly skill. The warrior's Level 20 Cripple Defense skill also has a 50% armor reduction!" and Drizzler curled her lips again.

"Uh huh. First. Cripple Defense can only cause 10% armor reduction upon each stack and you can only have 50% armor reduction after 5 stacks! By then, I would have attacked a number of times already! Plus, if you were to fight against a group of monsters then you'll have to apply 5 stacks of Cripple Defense on each monster. How long would that take?" Zhang Yang giggled uncontrollably. "Second. Eagle Eye effect can be stacked with Cripple Defense!"

Both girls were surprised.

Zhang Yang loved this skill in his previous life. Sadly, Eagle Eye's skill book drop rate is too low, and there were not more than 100 players who had this skill in the entire China server. Zhang Yang never managed to pick up this skill book before and he had never seen this skill book being sold in the auction house. The maximum level for this skill was 10, and the ignore defense value would increase to 95%. This was especially efficient when it was used against high defense bosses or in PK against Knights or Guardians.

If Zhang Yang had possessed Eagle Eye during the boss fight just now, he would have immediately ignored 50% of the defense and his attack would increase by 50. That was almost double his attack power!

Later on, he opened another 7 to 8 other equipment but none of those suited him. He was lucky enough to roll these three equipment: two leather armor and one heavy armor for a support Knight. The leather armors were for Fatty Han and the heavy armor was for Ocean Despair. But Zhang Yang decided to sell it off in the auction house because he knew that Ocean Despair would reject his offer out of courtesy.

"Alright, everything has been distributed. Let's return to the city!" Zhang Yang took out a [Teleportation Scroll] and tore it apart nonchalantly. Before the magic circle formed completely, Zhang Yang asked, "Oh, right. Have you guys tried Bangar Crypt in Hardore mode?"

While tearing their [Teleportation Scroll] as well, Drizzler replied, "The first boss is too tough. We had two tanks but they could not maintain the aggro. One fell after the other, and we could never conquer it!"

"Why'd you ask? Are you willing to take us there?" asked Little Snow. After a white pillar of light flashed, Zhang Yang emerged out of the teleportation waypoint in the White Jade Castle. Following closely were Drizzler and Little Snow in the same white light.

"I just want a mineral that appears at the third boss. You guys can have everything else. How about that?" said Zhang Yang, smiling. Right now, [Earthern Round Shield] is selling extremely well. If the Plain Copper Vein could produce two to four [Plain Copper Ore, he could earn up to two to four gold pieces!

Even though the two girls were a little crazy whenever it comes to money, but their way of conduct was truly to be respected; which was why Zhang Yang would only involve people he thought was worthwhile in a mutual beneficial act.

"Sure, sure, sure! I'll form a party now!" Drizzler was happily cheering, but she stopped after a while, turned around and looked at Zhang Yang with suspicion in her eyes, "Hey… you're not actually trying to get my cousin and me, right?" Little Snow nodded in agreement and said, "Drizzler, there's always something hiding behind a good will."

"No, I'm not!" Zhang Yang shook his head. "Very well then!" Drizzler bought into his words and went on jumping happily. "Innocent little idiot!" Little Snow withdrew with defeat.

After checking the system clock, Zhang Yang suggested to them, "It's almost 7pm. How about we all take our dinner and meet back here in an hour?"

Drizzler then turned to Little Snow, "Hurm, now that you've mentioned it, I am kind of hungry! Cousin, where shall we eat later?"

"… How about at the Arc de Triomphe? That place has some good beef steaks!"

"Okay! Let's go! Let's go!"

And with that, the two girls logged off faster than Zhang Yang could, and their characters instantly disappeared right in front of him. He thought it was a little amusing, chuckled, and then logged off himself.

Zhang Yang suddenly thought, "These two girls must be from a rich family," There was also a Western restaurant called Arc de Triomphe in the city where he was living in and it really was famous for its beef steak. In his previous life, he went there and ate several times while he was rich. It truly was delicious, and it could be a chance that they were all actually living in the same city!

After a brief thought, Zhang Yang ran downstairs and bought two packets of 5 dollar boxed rice. It had to be two as he always had a big appetite and would not be contented with just one. After dinner and some rest, Zhang Yang came back online. He first spent some time at the Smithing shop and raised his Smithing level. When it was almost an hour past, he already made more than 900 pieces of [Beginner Whetstone] and obtained Amateur Smithing level.

'Ding! Player Drizzler has invited you to join her party. Would you accept the invitation?'

8pm sharp. These two girls were really punctual. Zhang Yang accepted the invitation and with him, there were 10 other players, including Defiant Monk. After greeting each other in the party, they headed to the dungeon entrance and as soon as everyone gathered, the fight began.

What really surprised Zhang Yang were the girls; they both had strong gaming abilities! Drizzler was just a little girl wielding a two-handed sword, but she held it fiercely and with great strength. Her knowledge in using her skill rotations was quite formidable as with proper rotation, her total damage was high enough that she would come in second place in terms of damage output as compared to Zhang Yang.

Little Snow had good crowd control. Whoever had their HP dropped low, she would be there to instantly cast a [Regeneration] spell and would consider whether to continue casting a healing spell. Her MP management was incredible as she had never wasted a single drop of MP! Whenever a fight ended, she could control and manage her MP to be more or less half, while the other healer completely drained his MP to zero. Little Snow was leading in total healing by 62%!

If these two persons were willing to be trained and studied a little, they could be professional players in the future! Though it might not be possible to guarantee a victory in the S-class Professional League, they could still completely conquer the A-class with ease. It is weird. How have I not seen their names before?!

Lost Paradise was not really a big guild but at least they were a semi-professional one sponsored by a business company. That was why all the elites in the guild were fluent in the game basics. However, Lone Desert Smoke was way beneath them. Even though Drizzler chose the players with the best equipment to join the party, their attacking power was still far from that of Lost Paradise.

The good thing was that Zhang Yang was already level 18. All his equipment were almost Green-Copper, pressuring the boss' own attack. Along with Drizzler's capability and Little Snow's healing control, they managed to overcome obstacles and defeated the dungeon's third boss Dadarerda.

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Chapter 42: The Brother Dragon of the Massage Parlor

Translator: Zenobys Editor: TheRealSeal

A Plain Copper Mine spawned, but Zhang Yang could not harvest it as he had discarded that skill; someone else harvested and gave it to him. As promised earlier from both parties, Zhang Yang could have all three [Plain Copper Ore]. Lone Desert Smoke members had no objections regarding this as the only reason they were there was to look for better equipment.

While Zhang Yang led the party into the secret chamber of Momorermo, a private message appeared from Fatty Han. "Little Yang, lend me a hand in Hard Mode!" Surprised, Zhang Yang replied, "What the f*ck are you doing in Hard mode?! Hurry up and raise your level, and I'll bring you in to get the "First Clear" achievement of the Level 20 dungeon!"

Fatty Han continued pleading, "Please? I'm carrying a lovely girl to farm for some equipment! These two noob tanks can't even get past the first boss. We got wiped out three times! I've already made a promise to her, so please come and help me!"

"Damn, you sleazy pervert! Okay, but I'm still in the middle of a dungeon run and I'm fighting the last boss. Add me into the party after I'm done!"

"As expected, my brother. I will wait for you!"

Zhang Yang shook his head, and then began to explain the boss strategy to his party members. They started the fight and was wiped out twice, but they eventually cleared it. Zhang Yang was in a hurry, and as soon as the boss was defeated, he went straight out from the dungeon without checking the loot. He left Drizzler's party when he reached the dungeon entrance and sent a private message to Fatty Han, "Ok, party me!" After a while, a party invitation was sent from a stranger.

'Ding! Player Dragon Swordsman invited you to join his party. Will you accept his invitation?'

Zhang Yang accepted and joined the party of 10. He re-entered the dungeon and saw nine others waiting for him at the dungeon entrance. "Wiped out again?" Zhang Yang asked. "Yeah, all noob sh*t!" scolded Fatty Han. Dragon Swordsman chipped in, "Haha… Now that the professional is here, we can surely clear this dungeon now. Let's go!"

Zhang Yang scanned the team and saw two lovely ladies standing beside Fatty Han, and they seemed to be in their twenties. One was rather slim while the other was fairly plump, but she had an impressive bosom. Their tag read 'Floating Flower' and 'Round Swallow', and both were Level 12 from the same guild called 'Blazing City'. Floating Flower was an Elf Priest and Round Swallow was a Human Sacred Knight. I guess these are the two being babysat. From the looks of it, the other party members were like a group of birds flocking together. Aside from Dragon Swordsman and another spellcaster called 'Little Tyrant Zhou Tong', the four other members were young girls. All of them had an acceptable level of beauty, and there were no "dinosaur" cases here; although none of them could compare to the all-female guild that is Crimson Rage. At the current stage of the game, the number of male players overpowered the number of female players, but the male and female ratio in this party was very strange.

"Fatty, which is your girl? The Priest or the Sacred Knight?" asked Zhang Yang. "Sacred Knight!" Fatty was shy and bashfully said, "and also the Priest!"

"F*ck. You sick pervert!" scolded Zhang Yang. "How does it feel to have two targets?"

"Aww, come on. I'm still pure! I won't be doing those kind of disgusting acts!" Fatty Han's face was filled with righteousness. "I'm just enjoying the buns and a little lip service on the side! Little Yang, this high quality virtual reality is truly impressive. The sensation of soft flesh is completely the same as reality!"

"In the end, you're just a sick pervert!" Zhang Yang scorned. Chatting while walking, they soon reached Black Claw, the first boss. "Let's go!" Zhang Yang bluntly said as he wielded his sword and rushed forward. With his current equipment and skills, he was almost able to go solo in Hard Mode. Brandishing his sword, he was able to beat the Black Claw to a pulp and defeated the first boss.

In the team damage statistics, Zhang Yang dealt 48% in total, and with Fatty Han, they dealt 78% together. The two of them were enough to kill to boss! This party's damage output was terrible and the healing was all over the place. The two healers had the equipment but they did not have the power to use it.

Dragon Swordsman started a private chat with Zhang Yang shortly after, "Zhan Yu! It's an honor to finally meet you!"

"Haha… You are welcome!" replied Zhang Yang.

"Please, join our guild! Name your price!"

It seemed like Dragon Swordsman could be someone rich and powerful. Zhang Yang only smiled and said, "Thank you, but I currently have no plans to join any guilds." Dragon Swordsman suddenly changed the topic. "This Slim guy is your friend, I presume?" Zhang Yang was confused. After realizing that he meant Fatty Han, he said, "Yes!"

"Your friend is in our guild. There's no point in playing alone! Join us and play together! You know, the more the merrier! Our guild, Blazing City, has plenty of lovely ladies, and most of them would be happy to let off some steam. Uh huh, you know it!" Dragon Swordsman was trying to bait him in. Zhang Yang glanced back at the two girls that were slobbering all over Fatty Han, and finally understood what Dragon Swordsman really meant by "letting off some steam". What was the difference between them and common hostesses?

Zhang Yang was right! In reality, Dragon Swordsman was the owner of a massage parlor. He was commonly known there as 'Brother Dragon', and has been running that parlor for several years. He really made a living for himself! He was recently assigned to be Vice Deputy President of Public Security Bureau in Chang Cheng, resulting in a conflict of his business. With no one to run his parlor, how could he go on?

The Deputy Chief had some problems with his reputation which directly affected his business. He could not proceed with his business since and had to shut it down. However, Brother Dragon was a smart man! He recalled that his nephew mentioned a newly released online game, and the biggest selling point was the high quality virtual reality! He researched 'God's Miracle' and bought two gaming helmets to try it out. After entering the game, he conducted many tests on the best girl in his parlor. He tried to knead, pinch, touch and nip her sensitive parts, and he also ordered her to strip down. Brother Dragon felt excitement that was beyond compare! He had the epiphany. Times have changed and technology has advanced. His future now lies in the internet!

Without hesitation, he spent a large sum of money and bought game helmets for every female employee working under his business. He brought the parlor's 'waitresses' and security boys together and entered 'God's Miracle'. Brother Dragon took the first step in this game of chess and wanted to establish a brand new massage parlor in the game itself!

Even in the midst of all the confusion, he could see a clear vision of his prosperous future. His first step was to raise his guild's reputation and recruit as many members as he could. Having high popularity meant being able to promote all the lovely girls under his business. The ladies that went through face adjustment features during character selection will look as bedazzling as if they undergone plastic surgery in Korea. He was certain they would be able to seduce those perverted men!

If the business grew bigger, he would be able to make a deal with others to expand the business. Brother Dragon had the utmost confidence that he could build the largest red light district in history! However, the first step was always the hardest; how could he raise his guild's popularity? Just as he was frowning to the point his brows were knitted closely, he saw the server announcement; the same announcement that belonged to Zhang Yang when he cleared Bangar Crypt! Brother Dragon had another inspiration!

He then sent his trump cards to lure in 10 party members. Unfortunately, Zhang Yang was out of reach as he turned off his private messaging and friend request service. The four Lost Paradise members could not be tempted and as for the remaining 5 players, Fatty Han, having the weakest resolve was easily seduced.

Brother Dragon went through the dungeon several times before, and he knew the importance of a good tank in a party, and was desperate in trying to recruit Zhang Yang in. Even though contacting him had failed, he found out that Fatty Han was actually Zhang Yang's good friend in reality. That was why he always betted on Fatty Han and used him as bait to draw Zhang Yang to his side!

Unable to hold back his feelings, Zhang Yang sent Fatty Han a private message, "Fatty, don't tell me you're actually serious with these two girls?"

Fatty Han replied. "Tch! Look at them go at me! It's the same as the salon girls from 'Happy Street'. I just want to enjoy their service for a little while!"

Zhang Yang finally understood, that Fatty Han knew what he wanted.

"Fatty, I'm going to start our own guild very soon. Stop slacking and pay attention to those players that might have some skills or personality. We could recruit them next time!"

"Ok, I got it!" Fatty Han then paused and said, "Those two seductive ladies are flirting with me again, and they want me to pull you into the guild! How about this? Join this guild temporarily and give me some respect! Hehe… Little Yang, the members of this guild are all really pretty! Plus, they all like to have 'fun'!"

"You go ahead! Don't drag me into you own fantasy!" The party proceeded on. With Zhang Yang's passive Eagle Eye, his attack power rose to another level. It did not take long for Zhang Yang to defeat the second and third boss; Hard Mode was fairly easy for him. Brother Dragon wanted to proceed with the Hardcore Mode, but Zhang Yang left the party, claiming that he only had limited dungeon entries. Brother Dragon wanted to insist more but even he knew when to stop persuading. It did not matter much since he had Fatty Han in his grasp, and one day he could use Fatty to bring Zhang Yang into his guild. There will always be a chance!

Zhang Yang returned to the capital and the first thing he did was to buy all the [Brassica Weed] and [Gingko Flower] from the auction house and turned them all into Anti-Shadow Potion. It was about 11pm or so when he was done. He decided it was time to log out. Laying in his bed, Zhang Yang hopped onto his train of thoughts. Right now, he needed to set up his own dungeon party. He cannot depend on wild or random parties to raid a dungeon.

Marzerway's Lair was a Level 20 dungeon, split into three sections. The 'Front Wing' and 'Middle Wing' were 5-men dungeons. The equipment drop from the three difficulties were Level 10 Black-Steel grade, Level 20 Black-Steel grade and Level 20 Green-Copper grade respectively. The main section, 'Marzerway's Lair', was a 20-men dungeon with only one boss, Marzerway. The equipment drops from the three difficulties were Level 20 Black-Steel grade, Level 20 Green-Copper grade and Level 20 Gray-Silver grade respectively.

In other words, there were three Hardcore Mode "First Clear" achievements obtainable from this dungeon! That also meant three extra skill points to gain! Currently, he decided to keep Fatty Han and Hundred Shot in the party. For the 5-man dungeon, he needed a healer and an attacker. Zhang Yang only knew a few healers, namely Ocean Despair, Silky Snow, and Little Snow.

Although Ocean Despair was a big fan of Zhang Yang, his skills and spatial awareness were not up to his expectations and he could not leave Ocean Despair to handle healing alone! Silky Snow was good, but she was in Lost Paradise and would definitely not follow him! As for Little Snow, she might become a potential A-level Professional League player with some honing. It would definitely have been a great help if he could recruit her! Drizzler was also already good to go as she was… truly a wonderful piece of jade.

Was it possible to get them on his side? Zhang Yang started to ponder on this matter.

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Chapter 43: Sacred Training Ground

Translator: Zenobys Editor: TheRealSeal

After waking up from a good night's sleep, Zhang Yang logged into the game filled with energy and spirit. Opening his Friend List, he saw Fatty Han online and realized that he was only Level 15! So painfully low! Hundred Shots was online too, and he was only a level lower than Fatty Han!

Looking through the Level Ranking Board, Floating Fire Ball was at Level 19, while the other three were Level 18, except for Clear Color who was Level 17. Hundred Shots and Fatty Han's levels were just too low!

Zhang Yang suddenly had an idea; I know an excellent place for a quick level up! He sent the party invitations to them, and Fatty Han accepted it immediately.

Even Hundred Shots accepted it. He has been maintaining good ties with Zhang Yang by chatting him up for the past few days.

"Guys, I found an amazing place to grind!" exclaimed Zhang Yang through the party channel. "Go, go, go!" Fatty Han shouted excitedly.

"Hold up! I need to invite two more players!" and Zhang Yang sent a message to Little Snow, "I found a great place to train, want to join? All I need is a healer and an attacker." After some time, Little Snow finally replied, "Scrawny rascal, what are you planning to do with me?"

"Tch! Yes or no. I could always find someone else!" Even Zhang Yang knew how to act tough.

"Yes! Of course I want to! Hang on, I'll call Drizzler!" And she logged off immediately. Soon, she re-logged in and sent a private message, "Send a party invitation to Drizzler and me!" and they were added into the party too.

Fatty Han was thrilled to see them. "Whoa! Pretty ladies!" Hundred Shots could only chuckle at him. "You haven't even seen their faces, how could you call them pretty just because they are ladies?" Fatty Han decided to play the devil's advocate against Hundred Shots,

"Ladies, this guy dared to say you're not pretty! Should I just punch him in the face?"

Drizzler giggled and said, "Punch him! I'm definitely a pretty lady, and soon to be a pretty queen, charming thousands around me!"

Little Snow couldn't help but to rain on her parade, "Little brat. What're you bragging about when you just woke up? You haven't even brushed your teeth!"

"Han Yin Xue! How dare you say that out loud! I was sound asleep until you came in and made a mess! Hmph! Hmph!"

Fatty Han tried to keep the conversation going, but he was just spouting nonsense, "Eh? Pretty Snow is also a Han. What a coincidence, my surname is Han too! This is destiny, truly destiny!"

"Everyone, gather at the North of the city. We'll follow my lead once everyone is here!" Zhang Yang could not resist adding another sentence, "Drizzler, please keep that directional idiot on the right track!"

"Who is the idiot?!" Little Snow retorted.

"Whomever that responded is the idiot!" Zhang Yang laughed as he replied. "Now, hurry up and stop wasting time! We have to get to Level 20 today!" Drizzler seemed doubtful about this and strongly protested against the idea.

"Level 20? Zhan Yu, have you lost your mind? At my current Level, I need at least 1,000,000 Experience Points and even if I spend my whole day grinding, I can only gain one level. My couusin and I are only at Level 13, and I don't think you can even make it to Level 20 either!"

"Haha! That's the reason why I called you here; to grind at the Holy Training Ground!"

"Oh? Is there really such a place?" Drizzler began doubting her own thoughts as Zhang Yang spoke with such confidence. To think this man actually defeated the once undefeatable boss Martyr Unduin… He definitely has some secret up his sleeve! "Let's go for it!"

After finally meeting up, they embarked on their journey through the sky-blue lakes and peaceful plains, before finally entering the Spider's Forest. It was dark and dim, filled with all kinds of spiders roaming everywhere, leaving cob webs hung with animal carcasses as the forest's decoration. There were little globs that were white spiders' eggs rest beneath the tree, and they were absolutely disgusting.

"Eww…" Little Snow and Drizzler both frowned at the sight of it. Fatty Han stepped forward in front of them and said, "Don't worry ladies, for this Fatty will protect you!"

"Follow me!" Zhang Yang continued to lead the way, guiding the other four into the deeper parts of the forest. They slain a number of minions along the way and soon reached a cave entrance.

"Enter!"

Not being fond of darkness in the cave, Little Snow and Drizzler forced themselves to press on as they were already here and it would a waste to turn back! The girls stuck closely behind Zhang Yang while Fatty Han and Hundred Shots guarded their rear. As they proceeded on route while killing more small spiders, they finally arrived at the deepest part of the cave. It had a massive space and two gigantic spiders as tall as two-storey buildings sat on their webs, taking up almost half of the area. All eight of their legs were thicker than an elephant's and the hair covering them looked more like daggers.

[Broodmother] (Green-Copper Boss)

Level: 20

HP: 60,000

Little Snow whispered, "Hey, do you actually think we could level up to 20 after killing these monsters?" Zhang Yang laughed loudly. "Of course not!"

In the game, speaking loudly would not provoke or attract a monster's attention, unless you were in the monster's aggro range.

"Little Yang, where is this so called training ground that you spoke of?" Fatty Han looked somewhat confused despite having faith in Zhang Yang. "We're here!" Zhang Yang spoke nonchalantly.

The other four players began expressing confusion. This is a Level 20 boss, and even though it is a Green-Copper boss, the divided experience points earned after killing it would be low! The only way to gain even one level from this was if the boss had unlimited respawn and we killed it 40 to 50 times!

The unpredictable Zhang Yang then pointed to the two rocks to their left and said, "I'll give the signal to hide later. Fatty, Hundred, and Little Snow; you three must stand in the middle of the rocks while Drizzler and I defend the front."

"Why?" Drizzler asked.

"You'll know soon enough! Get ready, I'm starting the fight!" Zhang Yang then wielded his sword and used Charge.

'-133!' Normal attack.

Broodmother quickly recovered from the stun effect that lasted for a second and then moved one of its long legs to thrust it towards Zhang Yang.

'Block!'

'-78!' Block reflected damage.

'-178!' Shield Bash!

Zhang Yang shouted "Start the attack!" after he made sure he kept the aggro on him. Little Snow and the others still had no clue to what Zhang Yang was thinking, but they played along and began to strike.

95%, 83%, 71% … the boss' HP kept dropping at a tremendous rate.

Within two minutes, Broodmother was left with only 15% HP. "Stop! It's time to hide!" Zhang Yang ordered loudly. Having left a professional impression on the team, Little Snow and the others followed the plan even if they still had some doubts in him. They stood between the rocks once more, having to lean on the side as it was too small for three of them.

14%, 12%, 11%, 10%!

Broodmother gave a piercing shriek, ignoring Zhang Yang and climbed the web to its eggs. With a swing of its feet, 4 smaller spiders jumped out and tackled Zhang Yang.

'Ding! Broodmother hatched Baby Spiders!'

With the system notification sound, Zhang Yang withdrew to the rocks with Drizzler. With each taking one side, they stood their ground and defended Little Snow and their team. The Baby Spiders did not stop hatching from the eggs and swarmed at them.

[Hatched Baby Spider] (Normal)

Level: 15

HP: 300

"Kill the smaller ones!" Zhang Yang yelled as he swung his sword, using Horizontal Sweep that caused numerous damage texts to pop out, ranging from 286 to 302. Some of the Baby Spiders were killed, while the rest had only a sliver of health left. His Shadow Rage necklace was frantically activating, popping out "-20" constantly.

'Ding! You and the party members around have killed Hatched Baby Spider. Obtained 110 Experience Points (50 points party bonus)!'

'Ding! You and the party members around have killed Hatched Baby Spider. Obtained 110 Experience Points (50 points party bonus)!'

'Ding! You and the party members around have killed Hatched Baby Spider. Obtained 110 Experience Points (50 points party bonus)!'

'Ding…'

Little Snow and the others were both surprised and happy. "Do you understand now?" Zhang Yang asked while he smiled at them. Fatty then asked, "These Baby Spiders… do they spawn unlimitedly?"

"Yeah, as long as you don't kill the boss, they'll keep on spawning!" and thus the secret was revealed. According to the boss mechanics, having lesser than 10% HP prompted it to continuously summon minions to fight. The proper way to fight was to battle until it was dead, but a player's wisdom knew no limits. Someone immediately thought of a way to abuse this mechanic to level up fast! As long as there were two high defense class players blocking the rocks with healers to sustain them, they could grind indefinitely without a problem!

However, as soon as the method was revealed to the public, the game developers immediately modified the boss' mechanics to only summon ten Baby Spiders instead, demolishing the unlimited spawn method. Since Zhang Yang played the game a little later, he was not able to personally experience this method of levelling. He only heard it from others as they joked about 'God's Miracle'.

Aside from Little Snow, Zhang Yang and the rest of the party were attacking furiously. The two melee fighters were blocking any incoming attack while the range attackers fired from behind. Little Snow did her job to heal Zhang Yang and Drizzler. As they were blocking a stone each with half of their body, only 10 Baby Spiders could attack at once. Most of the aggro were held by Zhang Yang and having 70 points of defense, they only struck him with a measly 4 points of damage each. It was a breeze! Safe, fast, and with unlimited monster spawning, this was the smoothest way to level up!

Zhang Yang's devastating Attack Power truly allowed him to perform at his best here! As there is a high monster count, Block reflect damage could be considered a multi-target damage skill. Each damage could bring three to four '120 and above' damage text. Horizontal Sweep, on the other hand, was much more overwhelming. With high basic attack damage, it could accumulate up to 5,000 damage in a single use against 10 monsters!

Drizzler did not have any multi-target skills, so her total damage output was far from Zhang Yang's; from 30%, it jumped to 74%.

Fatty Han began to feel the excitement, "This is awesome! Look at my EXP bar go!" Even Hundred Shots expressed his gratefulness, "Zhan Yu, you're amazing! You could even discover such an amazing way to level up!"

Two of them gained a level first. Even though it was slow for Zhang Yang to level up, it only took him 20 minutes longer to reach level 19! After an hour, Little Snow and Drizzler levelled up to 14.

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Chapter 44: Rapid Leveling

Translator: Zenobys Editor: TheRealSeal

A traditional, boring, and never changing style of battle would definitely put someone to sleep. Therefore, having a rapid levelling style would incite an unbelievable fervor into someone even like Little Snow as if she could morph into a dragon and slay the monsters in one swift fire attack! After an hour or so, everyone but Zhang Yang gained a level.

It was almost lunch time, but no one in the team talked about logging out for a meal knowing that a loophole like this could be removed by the game developers at any time! With that thought in mind, they were on a frenzy not to waste this golden opportunity.

"Hey guys, how about we log off once everyone is at Level 20?" Zhang Yang asked. While furiously killing more spiders, Drizzler replied, "Well, I'll take this as a chance for me to skip a meal. I'm not going to stop here just yet!" Little Snow tried to provoke her even more.

"Little brat! You're already so paper-thin, your chest would just sink right to your back! If you lose any more weight, I'm afraid that you might never get past puberty!"

"Han Yin Xue, just you wait! While you're asleep tonight, I'm going to put Little Daisy on your bed!"

Little Snow's face turned slight pale out of fear. Feeling dazed, she said, "Then I'll bring a cat home tomorrow!"

Zhang Yang was curious, "Um, is Little Daisy a mouse?"

"Guinea pig! Oh, Little Daisy is so cute and cuddly!" Drizzler began to describe her pet.

"Ew, disgusting!" Little Snow frowned upon her description.

Another hour passed again and everyone gained another level; even Zhang Yang reached Level 20 and gained a skill point. He immediately invested it in Block to reduce the cooldown time to a mere 6 seconds! He also swapped his current sword and ring for the new [Silver-Scaled Sword] and [Martyr Ring] and raised his attacks to a whole new level!

[Player: Zhan Yu]

Level: 20

HP: 1,600

Defense: 70

Strength: 106

Dexterity: 39

Luck: 3

Melee damage: 345-367 (Damage formula: [Silver-Scaled Sword] highest and lowest damage 148 (Strength value)/ 2 (Every 2 points of Strength will increase 1 point of DPS) x 2.6 (Weapon Attack Speed)

Attack interval: 2.6 seconds

Now he was strong enough to kill the spiders in one hit as compared to his previous damage output which took him 3 strikes. Using Horizontal Sweep, he could now deal a whopping 700 damage! With Zhang Yang's increased damage power, Little Snow and the others gained experience a little faster than before but Zhang Yang's own gaining speed was slower than a snail!

Zhang Yang's current level surpassed the current Rank 1 in the Level Ranking Board, which was Floating Fire Ball. Fatty Han on the other hand replaced Abradon at Rank 10 with Level 17 at 76% Experience Points. Being the show-off that he was, he definitely was not planning to stay in the shadows. Another hour later and Hundred Shots got enlisted on the board at last place. Once Fatty Han reached Level 18 with 57% Experience Points, he immediately ranked up to the top 3, causing quite a scene for the other players!

It has always been a rat race when it came to the Level Ranking Board. It was not a strange sight to see someone ranked fourth drop to fifth or sixth all of a sudden. However, Slim and Handsome here was too much to handle, as he only took an hour to climb up from the lowest rank to the third! It was truly a shocking yet spectacular phenomenon!

And the ranking war kept on going!

After another hour, Little Snow and Drizzler were also enlisted in the board, ranking at ninth and tenth place!

"Aww yeah! That's freaking awesome! This Fatty here is ranked second!" Fatty Han smiled from ear to ear, until his eyes became a slit. Floating Fire Ball had now been pushed down behind Fatty Han. Little Snow and Drizzler shared the same excitement as well, with their faces flushed red with the color of pride.

"Tonight, we dine like kings!" Drizzler cried out.

"Get yourself some more Papaya Milk drink!" Zhang Yang jokingly said.

"Huh? Why?" Drizzler's eyes were wide open, as if she was completely oblivious about it.

"Um…" Zhang Yang was stunned. He did not want to taint the still innocent young girl.

"Don't mind him. He's a scrawny rascal! What good advice could he actually give?!" Little Snow stared furiously at Zhang Yang. Her eyes brows was raised and lower seductively, exquisitely, but it was a pity that she did it behind his back so he could not see anything.

"Oh!" Drizzle spoke as if she understood.

With the level ranking race still going on strong, everyone fought tirelessly. Rays of golden light flashed between them. The China server Level Ranking Board was ever-changing and never constant.

"Wow, take a look at those 4 new players ranked in the board! How did they do it?"

"That Slim and Handsome player was only Level 17 in the beginning but my god, is he ranked at first place already? Holy crap! That's three levels in four hours! It's beyond logical! It took me one whole day to gain a level!"

"Argh, they must be using some kind of hacking program!"

"Nonsense. You've been told many times now that 'God's Miracle' doesn't have any hacking programs!"

"It that Little Snow and Drizzler? The same players that got the achievement board for killing the Grey-Silver boss yesterday?"

"You're right! And those guys, Slim and Handsome, and Hundred Shots were in the party that achieved the Bangar Crypt First Clear Hardcore Mode Achievement!"

"They're all monsters!"

"Hey, doesn't it feel like they're taking one step back and two steps forward?"

"Carry me!"

The server channel once again began to be filled with players chatting about.

When it was almost 5pm, a flash of golden light shone around Drizzler's body as she levelled up once more. With that, everyone in Zhang Yang's party had achieved Level 20!

In the current team, Zhang Yang was Level 22, Fatty Hand and Hundred Shots were Level 21, and Little Snow and Drizzler were Level 20! Since Zhang Yang decided to be out of the ranking board, Fatty Hand and the rest claimed the first, second, third and fourth rank in the Level Ranking Board. The original leveling king, Floating Fire Ball, has been pushed down to the fifth rank!

Zhang Yang used Horizontal Sweep to kill his way out of the monster swarm and used Charge to rush towards the Broodmother's front to swing his sword and deal a huge amount of damage on it. The boss was unable to move nor retaliate as it was busy spawning its minions. With Zhang Yang's impressive firepower, the boss' HP dropped from 10% to 3% before Little Snow and the others reached his side. The boss was then defeated with only a few hits.

'Ding! You and the party members around have killed Broodmother. Obtaining 6,050 Experience Points (50 points party bonus)!'

"Come on, reward! Reward!" Drizzler cried as she went ahead to loot the money dropped from the boss.

'Ding! You have obtained 5 silver after distribution!'

"Tch! Stingy ass!" Drizzler scorned as she counted her money.

[Spider's Long Spear] (Green-Copper, Two-Handed Spear)

Weapon attack: 172 – 192

Attack interval: 3.5 seconds

DPS: 52

Level requirement: 20

"Little brat, this one belongs to you!" Zhang Yang giggled towards Drizzler. She curled her lips as she spotted the spear in the shape of the Broodmother's leg. "Yuck! Gross!"

"Holy crap, it's really ugly!" Little Snow nodded in agreement.

Most common male players would inspect the equipment specifications, but female players paid more attention to the appearance.

"Just take it!" Zhang Yang gave up his roll and opened the corpse for the second equipment.

[Broodmother's Leather Chest Plate] (Green-Copper, Leather Armor)

Defense: 4

Vitality: 23

Strength: 5

Dexterity: 12

Level requirement: 20

"Fatty, Hundred Shots, take the roll!" Zhang Yang spoke in the party channel as he gave up his roll for the equipment.

"Hundred Shots, you take it! My current equipment is much better than yours!" Fatty Han was smart enough to let him claim the equipment as he knew that Zhang Yang wanted to get Hundred Shots to join his side.

"Haha! Don't mind if I do!" Hundred Shots cleared Hardcore Mode only once, so his current equipment was all over the place, being much inferior to Fatty Han's. He really needed a change of equipment to prevent himself from becoming the team's weakest link.

The boss was quite the scrooge, dropping only two equipment and a few random Etc. items that could be sold.

"Guys, tonight, we'll take down the Bangar Crypt Hardcore Mode and tomorrow we'll raid the Marzerway's Lair and claim two of the five-man dungeon first clear achievement. Is everyone okay with that?" Zhang Yang inquired the team, to which they responded, "Agreed!"

"Alright, let's take a break!" and Zhang Yang tore a [Teleportation Scroll].

"Ugh, I'm starving!"

Hundred Shots sent a private message to Zhang Yang to properly express his gratitude, "Thanks, Zhan Yu! Someday I'll surely return the favor!" He was just a regular player that enjoyed a casual gameplay to release stress. He never thought that he could actually be enlisted in the Level Ranking Board. After all, it is a game, and you can never run far from competition, otherwise there would not have been so many different achievement boards! Who would not want to get first place? Imagine putting on a Celestial-tier equipment and claiming every single dungeon first clear achievement and be famous for it.

Zhang Yang and Hundred Shots were complete strangers, but after sharing a moment of friendship in the Bangar Crypt dungeon, the trip down to the Hardcore Mode, and now getting himself listed in the ranking board, there were no words to express his level of appreciation.

This player is now in my grasp! Zhang Yang laughed to himself. To think that someday you could be the Dragon Hunter; it would be the greatest help you could offer. Even if it was just a speculation, if you just believed in the team to fight in the professional league, you would not be disappointed nor regret it!

Back in the city, Zhang Yang received mail that contained 50 stacks of [Iron Plate] from Mining Specialist. After paying the fees, Zhang Yang went to the bank to withdraw the remaining 10 piece of [Plain Copper Ore] and began smithing 10 shields at the Smithing Shop.

After putting up a shield for sale with the same setting and price, he began to hoard all the [Brassica Weed] and [Gingko Flower] once again from the auction house. Because of the same actions performed yesterday, the price of the two ingredients raised from 20 silver a stack to 25. There were some that were placed at 40 silver a stack. Zhang Yang did not care much about it and bought all with a reasonable price.

For this round, he collected over 300 stacks of herbs and only paid 100 gold pieces for it! "Materials sure are cheap now. Until Marzerway's Lair gets popular…" Zhang Yang shook his head. He then went to the Alchemist Shop and bought empty potion bottles and made some potions.

He managed to use all the material to craft the potions at 6:30pm. Zhang Yang then logged out in a hurry, bought his meal and scarfed it down like a glutton.

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Chapter 45: Fatty's Death

Translator: Zenobys Editor: TheRealSeal

Floating Fire Ball's real name was Lu Ming. He was someone you could say was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. But unlike other rich boys, he does not like cars, parties, or even girls. His attention was for online games! He would definitely play games that were popular then and did not hesitate to spend some money in-game. With his own decent gaming ability, he would unquestionably raise some kind of uproar in whatever game he played!

When 'God's Miracle' was launched, Lu Ming entered the game and established the guild called 'Pride'. Since Lu Ming was famous in the gaming world, he could naturally gather up a large group of underlings, but most of them were only in it for the money.

Lu Ming's greatest hobby was to show off his level! If he wanted to get an equipment, he could just throw some money into the game and buy them off the auction house! That was why in most games that he played, he chose the best character for leveling which was Spellcaster or the infamous high attack and low defense "Blaze Wizard"! Undeniably, he made the right choice as he entered the Level Ranking Board just on the second day of launching and made it to the top on the fourth day and managed to keep it that way.

When he was grinding in the Spectre Crypt before, he had Pride to clear the ground outside, making sure no one could enter to disturb his leveling progress!

"Pah! Pah! Pah!" Every time Lu Ming casted a Fire Ball, a monster would fall and die! If it was not his attack power that was at a point of delivering a one-hit KO, his followers would have preemptively dealt some damage to allow him to take the killing blow. In a non-party situation, the player that dealt the last hit claimed 50% of the shared experience point. That was why Lu Ming was ultimately ranked first in the Level Ranking Board and planted firmly at the top.

Finally after an uncountable number of fallen monsters on the ground, Lu Ming reached Level 20 with a flash of golden light around him! Awesome! Heh heh, truly awesome indeed! He already reached Level 20 when everyone else were still at Level 13 to 15. It was such a thrill to be leaving them behind! Lu Ming opened the ranking board to enjoy the feeling of having a huge gap between his place and the second.

Eh? Level 21? Is this a miracle, or a system error? After fighting so many monsters, he thought his eyes deceived him to not be able to differentiate 20 from 21. He rubbed his eyes and checked the list again.

[Level Ranking Board] (China Server)

Slim and Handsome, Elf, Beastmaster, Level 21

Lu Ming almost puked blood! He was no longer the first! Where did this Level 21 bastard come out from to kick me down to the second place?!

Hundred Shots, Elf, Beastmaster, Level 21

Miracle! Ridiculous! Absurd! How could another Level 21 Hunter get on the Ranking board? Could a hunter be that much more effective at leveling? Crap, I'm now at third place!

Little Snow, Human, Priest, Level 20

Lu Ming was bewildered.

Drizzler, Human, Berserker, Level 20

Floating Fire Ball, Human, Pyromancer, Level 20

What. What?! WHAT!? Did everybody take some power pills or Viagra? How could they push me down to the fifth position? His expression changed, turning sour and bitter. He went to the party channel and said, "Slim and Handsome, Hundred Shots, Little Snow, and Drizzler. Can anyone tell me about these guys?"

"Bro, you didn't know? Slim and Handsome and Hundred Shots were in the team that got the first clear achievement in the Bangar Crypt whereas Little Snow and Drizzler got the first kill for the Grey-Silver Boss yesterday and went up in the Board of Achievements! They're all strong players! We never knew they could be so good at leveling as well!"

Lu Ming's expression turned for the worst. After some time, he said, "Piggy Head, I need you to find out where these players are at. If they're based in White Jade City, bring some people along and kill them! Motherf*ckers don't know who they're messing with! They don't know what death is!"

Feeling prideful, Piggy Lover responded, "Yes, Fire bro!"

After a short break, Zhang Yang re-logged.

'Ding! You have reached Level 20. The currency exchange service is now available for you! Do you wish to bind your National Debit Service with your game account?'

"Yes!" Zhang Yang reacted quickly.

'Ding! Syncing your brainwave with the Banking details. Please hold!'

'Ding! Matching National Debit Service found. Account: 3205XXXXXXXXXXX. Please check if all details are correct, then select 'Accept' to continue!'

"Continue!"

'Ding! Your account is now bound with the National Debit Service. You can now use this currency exchange service to trade in-game currency to real-life currency and vice versa! This service is available at Banks in any main cities. Please check with the Bank notice for the accurate exchange rate!'

Zhang Yang arrived at the Bank and checked, and so far the current exchange rate from in-game to real-life currency is 1:8. Obviously, the inflation rate of the in-game currency will rise. Without giving much thought, Zhang Yang kept 1,000 gold to buy herbs and exchanged the rest of his gold to dollars. Before this, he had more than 20,000 gold pieces, and now after exchanging it, he became 'poor' in the game, but in reality his bank deposit rose to 160,000 in just a few days!

Zhang Yang felt grateful. If he had not been reborn, he would not have obtained the [Earthen Round Shield] recipe, but discarding old equipment was fast especially when the Marzerway's Lair started to gain more attention. After the Grey-Silver piece of shield spawned, the [Earthen Round Shield] would be extremely hard to sell even at 10 gold.

That is why knowledge is power! And his knowledge was about the future, which made it even more valuable! As long as he could just pile up more herbs and materials to craft the [Beginner Anti-Shadow Potion, his chance to gain more fortune would come when the crowd started to reach Level 20 and began raiding Marzerway's Lair!

Zhang Yang thought about it as he arrived to the Warrior's Home and decided to learn new Level 20 skills from the instructor. After paying 20 gold pieces, his skill windows had two new skills.

[Cripple Defense: Destroys target defense value by 10%. Cause 50% melee damage to the target. The maximum stacked effect is 5. Lasts for 30 seconds. This skill will generate a large amount of aggro.

Rage cost: 10

Cooldown time: 1 second

Requirement: Melee weapon.

[Thunder Strike: Borrows the power of thunder to deliver a powerful strike onto the ground, dealing 100% physical damage to all surrounding enemies. Inflicted targets will have 50% speed reduction for 5 seconds. This skill will generate a large amount of aggro.

Rage cost: 20

Cooldown time: 8 seconds

[Cripple Defense] was a general skill that all warriors had, but [Thunder Strike] was a skill only Guardians could learn. The same went for the skill [Tornado Cleave, which was also an AoE skill that was only available for Berserker class.

After some time, Hundred Shots, Little Snow, and Drizzler logged in. Zhang Yang first let Drizzler invite Hundred Shots and then only the rest of the Lone Desert Smoke members to raid the Bangar Crypt Hardcore Mode. Since Drizzler and Little Snow now have known that Hundred Shots will be one of the five-man party for the raid the next day, he had priority over the equipment distribution. The Lone Desert Smoke members did not say anything at all but their expressions could tell that they were not happy.

Players tend to be greedy from time to time. Yesterday after feeling contented in being able to break pass the Hardcore Mode, they thought the equipment in today's haul should have belonged to them. They would obviously not want to willingly surrender the equipment to any random person. Because of that, the atmosphere started to get colder and colder. Conversations became lesser and only got lively during equipment rolling.

Before Zhang Yang could begin the fight with the final boss, Fatty Han talked over the voice chat in an effort to contact Zhang Yang.

"Little Yang, I'm being ambushed! Come and fight with me!"

"What happened? Did you finally get stung by the bees when you've been messing with too many flowers?" Zhang Yang laughed.

"No! A bunch of nobody from 'Pride' attacked me out of nowhere for no reason! Crap, I'm about to die… F*ck! I really died!" Fatty Han growled angrily.

The guild 'Pride'? Those people again? Zhang Yang felt rage and said, "You wait there and don't revive just yet. I'm coming now!"

"Okay, but you better hurry! I will not rest until I get my revenge. I'll kill them all!" Fatty Han's killing intent was getting stronger.

Zhang Yang switched to his party channel to inform them, "I'm sorry. Urgent matter, I have to leave now! You guys could wait or you could swap a tank and continue the dungeon!" After sending the message, he immediately left the party, tore a piece of [Teleportation Scroll] and sent a party invitation to Fatty Han.

"Zhan Yu, what happened?" Drizzler sent a private message to him.

"My friend, the fat one, got killed by someone. I'm going over to kill them!"

Drizzler suddenly got excited and said "Wow! A fight! Count me in!"

Zhang Yang thought that if they were to be a team in the future, they would need to have each other's back, so he sent a party invitation to Drizzler too.

"And my cousin sister!" Drizzler wanted to include Little Snow as well.

Hundred Shots sent a private message at the same time and after knowing what happened, he demanded to be invited into the party as well. And so the afternoon party was together once more!

"Fatty, where are you?"

"Eastern side, once you exit the city. Jade Dragon River, Position 12464, 39743."

"How many of them are there?"

"About 10 and more. Shit, I dropped a level! These bastards!" Fatty Han gritted his teeth. He was now Level 20 with 0% Experience Points, instantly dropping him from first to the fifth rank on the board.

"Okay, wait by the body. We'll be arriving soon enough!"

Zhang Yang hastened his pace. To be honest, he did not even consider the 10 players to be a threat to him. With his skills and the equipment he has obtained so far, he could be killing a hundred men with ease! Very soon, Zhang Yang arrived at the point. By the huge river side, there were more than 10 players surrounding a body, spitting and stepping on it. Some were murmuring something but he was too far away to hear it.

These people did not hide their personal profile information and had the 'Pride' guild tag on their heads, every one of them being at Level 13 to 15.

Zhang Yang scanned and recognized a few people! Floral Pants, Prideful Precepts and the rest of the four-man party. Kindling Chest Hair was not there because they were killed back to level 3, as they were only level 13 then.

Zhang Yang unsheathed his Silver-Scaled Sword, with eyes that radiated a powerful killing intent.

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Chapter 46: Ridiculous Reasons

Translator: Zenobys Editor: TheRealSeal

Fatty Han began cursing furiously in the party channel, "Little Yang! Those bastards dropped my level only because their boss didn't like me to be higher than him! F*ck. They even sent me a private message, warning me to stay in the city and never leave, or else they will kill me every time I try to do so!"

Zhang Yang inquired more, "Who is their boss?"

"Some guy named Floating Fire Ball. The Guild Master of Pride. He was the guy at first place in the Level Ranking Board and they were mad with the fact that we snatched their position away! They're also planning to kill the other four players that are above him!"

Drizzler responded with a chest full of justice, "How could he be so arrogant? Is the first rank only for him? Who died and made him king of the game?!"

Floating Fire Ball? Zhang Yang took some time to think. He could not bring himself to remember that name in his previous life. Even in all guilds, Pride was not famous at all! Perhaps when he entered the game previously, Pride had already collapsed and disbanded.

"These bunch of players… what nerve!" Hundred Shots had always been well-mannered, but even he was getting angry now. "Hmm, 'nuff said. Let's wreck these guys first!" Zhang Yang exclaimed as he stared coldly at the still parading Pride members. They had a total of 13 players, 4 of them were Silk Armored. They could be Spellcasters or even Priests, but that he would not know.

The most obvious strategy would be to start from the Silk Armored and progress from there. Being a high defense tank, he would not need to be afraid of physical attacks. Zhang Yang used Charge and dashed into the fight, stunning a Silk Armored player called Death Law, and with a swing of his sword, he caused a "-402" damage text to float across his head, effectively reducing his HP down to only 228!

"Holy crap! Someone is attacking me!" cried Death Law as he hurriedly used a red potion and immediately casted a Frost Arrow.

"He must be one of the hunter's comrade. Let's kill them all!" The rest of the players saw Zhang Yang's entry and raised their battle cry to charge towards him. They all thought the same thing that Zhang Yang's brain might have been kicked out by a donkey to charge into a fight like this knowing that he was outnumbered!

Prideful Precepts, Prideful Babysitter, and Floral Pants faces turned pale as they saw Zhang Yang's face. The recollection of the painful memory when they were killed down to Level 3 reemerged.

Being mentally traumatized by him, Floral Shots advised the rest in the channel, "Piggy bro, this warrior is crazy strong! I think he's using some kind of hacking program! We have to withdraw for now!"

Prideful Piggy yelled back, "Hack my ass. You need to be a genius to be able to hack in this game! Now, get your sorry ass back out there and kill him! We'll stand guard!"

"-1!"

"-5!"

"-9!"

The others tried their best, but as hard as they could hit, they could never reach a double digit damage number!

"Shit!" The 'monumental' damage that was being dealt left everyone wide-eyed!

"Fatty! It's your turn now! Use Barrage!" Zhang Yang yelled in the party as he casted Horizontal Sweep.

"-683!"

"-727!"

"-689!"

"-1452!"

10 brutal damage texts appeared! Two critical strikes! With just a single stroke, there were only two players left standing with 50 HP remaining! These guys were just around Level 13 to 15 with Level 5 Black-Steel equipment obtained from Normal Mode in Bangar Crypt Dungeon. Even if they did use all their AP on Vitality, they could only cough up 1,000 HP. There was no way they could survive Zhang Yang's godly skill!

It all happened so suddenly that not only the members of Pride were surprised, but also Zhang Yang's party as well! They almost forgot to hold back their attack!

"Little Yang! Don't kill them off yet! Leave some for this Fatty to kill!" Fatty Han revived himself and in the next split second, he drew his bow and used Barrage, dealing enough damage to kill off the two remaining players. Barrage was an AoE skill a hunter could learn at Level 20.

[Barrage: Fires arrows randomly into a targeted area. Causes 200% ranged damage to all enemies in the area for 10 seconds. This skill requires channeling. This skill will be cancelled instantly if the player receives any movement-impairing damage.

Cost: 100 Focus

Within a few moments, the 13 Pride members were down to three ranged attackers.

"-175!"

Hundred Shots regained his senses and drew his bow to strike at the enemies while commanding his pet to attack at the same time. Drizzler was a good battle comrade, too. After the shocking scene, she excitedly used Charge to attack them. Little Snow was quick to chant a healing spell on Fatty Han.

"392!"

Her equipment were already up to standard and now her magic damage has increased to 300 points after she obtained the Level 20 Green-Copper magic staff. After the two-second healing chant delay, she had already recovered more than half of Fatty Han's HP.

"Cutie Snow! Fatty loves you!" Fatty Han threw a flying kiss towards her and returned to attack the remaining 3 enemies.

Although the last three were above Level 20 with Green-Copper tier equipment, their strong attack power was still no match to Zhang Yang's; normal players would consider them as god killers, but facing the current overwhelming odds, they had been outmatched.

"Pui!" Fatty Han spat furiously. "These bastards surely got what they deserved! I slogged my way to reach Level 21 and yet here I am, brought back down by a bunch of nobodies!" Hundred Shots jokingly interjected him, "Hey Slim, the one who did all the work was Zhan Yu, though. You just closed your eyes and shot blindly the whole time, no?"

"Should we guard the bodies?" Little Snow asked. Although not as battle-crazed, she did express an edgy feeling.

"Of course!" Fatty Han firmly answered. "I want these bunch of dumb little bunnies to remember this lesson: Never anger this Fatty!"

At the revive point, Lone Wild Cat's face had dread written all over it. His eyes expressed so much fear that he was imagined getting killed off by Zhang Yang. "Piggy bro, should we call for backup?"

"Useless piece of shit!" Prideful Piggy Lover slapped him across his face, but being in the soul state, the slap only went through their hollow figures. "We were called to kill that whole bunch, but we got killed instead. How could you still consider asking for help! Go ahead if you're not ashamed to do so, because I am!"

"Piggy bro! That Zhan Yu guy is really strong! Back in the days, Hairy bro and the three of us were killed down to Level 3 from Level 10!" Prideful Precept was really scared of Zhang Yang. How could he ever try to raise his sword against him again?

"Curse you! You're useless! You motherf*cker! So what if you died a few times? Follow me! Everyone spread out and ignore the noob tank and strike the other four! We'll take him on last. His strong AoE attack is nothing if we attack individually. What can he do then?!" After Prideful Piggy Lover's bashing, the group of souls came to their bodies. Everyone could see that Zhang Yang and the other four were happily chit-chatting to themselves, but they could not hear anything while being in the ghostly state and everything they saw was in monochrome.

"On the count of three, everyone revive themselves and hit them with everything you've got!"

"Understood!" Everyone nodded, but Floral Pants and his own gang glanced at each other.

"1!"

"2!"

"3!"

10 figures formed from where the bodies lay, except for Floral Pants, Prideful Precepts, and Prideful Babysitter.

"Kill 'em all!"

As they say, experience is the greatest teacher. Floral Pants and the other two made the right choice! In only two minutes, Prideful Piggy Lover and the rest were strewn across the floor again!

"Flowery! What the f*ck are you three doing! Why didn't you guys revive?!" Prideful Piggy Lover furiously yelled at them as he returned to the revive point.

"My hands were shaking. I couldn't press the revive button!"

"Me too!"

"Hm. Hm."

"Shake your own ass! That's what you've been doing! This game is controlled by brain waves, not by a mouse! You're all scaredy-cats! If you three joined us just now, we could have won!"

The three of them exchanged looks, thinking to themselves. If you guys are already beaten like street dogs, what's the use of three additional players? It would've just meant three extra deaths. Though they knew these words would hurt someone, they decided to remain silent, not wanting to say more.

After venting out his frustration, Prideful Piggy Lover calmed down. He was not stupid. He knew that they could not stand a chance against Zhang Yang after having the team wiped out twice. He hurriedly opened voice messenger and contacted Floating Fire Ball.

"Fire bro! It's me! Piggy Head!"

"Hm. How's the job going?"

To earn back his rightful place, Lu Min gathered many high level members to help him with his leveling. Because he reached Level 20, he managed to learn the Spellcaster's AoE skill called Rain of Fire which increased his killing rate tremendously.

"That guy you asked us to kill, the rank one Hunter. We killed him, yeah… but he called for backup and those people were also in the Level Ranking Board! They killed us all! Fire bro, we all dropped 4 levels; we can't fight anymore!"

"How many players are there?"

"… 5 players!"

"You useless trash! You have more than 10 people there!"

"Fire bro, please send more people over, and I'll surely be able to kill them off by then!"

"Tch! The higher leveled players in the guild are helping me with my leveling. If I send more people over, would you reimburse me for the slower leveling rate? With so many people aiming for the top rank, how could I do anything that would slow my down?!" Lu Ming rejected helping him without hesitation. If he wanted to take the top position, he could not depend solely on killing those who were ahead of him, but at least compete to get ahead of them!

Even if all of the guild were to chip in, could they kill all those players over and over again? That was why he needed to retain his current progress! That was the righteous way.

"What now, Fire bro?" Even though Prideful Piggy Lover spoke with modesty and respect, deep down there was cursing and yelling.

"Let's see… Dominating Blades and his party joined 'God's Miracle'. I'll have them take care of these people!"

"Fire bro, weren't those professionals playing another game called 'Dragon Age'?"

"Bullshit. Look at how the hype of 'God's Miracle' got within the past few days! To think that these guys would ever let this chance slip away! This is good. These guys would do anything for a good pay. Alright then, it's settled. You guys better get going and grind those levels up! We will claim the first clear achievement for the next dungeon!

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Chapter 47: Sword and Fire Mercenary

Translator: Zenobys Editor: TheRealSeal

Zhang Yang and the party guarded the bodies for a while but when they saw the bodies turned translucent and began disappearing, they knew that they chose to revive in the city. "Let's go. Time to head back!" Zhang Yang sheathed his sword. Fatty Han nodded in agreement. Although still not satisfied, but killing them with the Red tagged penalty and dropping their level by 4 with an additional 1 after being revived in the city, he was contented.

Zhang Yang and the others aside from Fatty joined back the Lone Desert Smoke and continued the Bangar Crypt Hardcore Mode. Fatty Hand went to find girls from the Massage Parlor to discuss 'life'.

30 minutes later, Zhang Yang finished the dungeon and came back to the city and retrieved his mail. His [Earthen Round Shield] was sold but not with 1,000 gold pieces, but 650 gold pieces instead. No one else bid for a higher price, the auction time was up, and the transaction was compete! Zhang Yang was surprised. He never would have thought that such a valuable shield could have a drop in price! He thought about it, and went to the auction house to search for [Earthen Round Shield, and the result showed someone else selling the same item but with an initial bidding of 500 but the wanted bid was 700 gold pieces. The seller did not even hide his name; Floating Up.

It was him!?

Bewildered, Zhang Yang immediately recalled everything he knew about this person. In his previous life, there was an extremely strong mercenary group called 'Sword and Fire Mercenary'. The group had only 10 members in it, but their strength was undeniably strong. They alone claimed half of China server's five-man and ten-man Hardcore Mode First Clear Dungeon achievement!

As long as you were willing to pay the price, their mercenaries would get the job done for you. It could be from getting a First Clear dungeon achievement for a client's guild to even naming the party after the client's own name. They also accepted other jobs aside from dungeon related requests, like assassinating or providing bodyguards for a certain target. Now, with the strength of the mercenary's group, it was not known how many players had perished by their hands. Someone did ask them before about establishing a guild, but they responded that making a guild would require 30 members but they only had 10.

This "Trash" mercenary lasted for another half year until the starting of A-class and S-class Professional Leagues. The party began having internal conflicts about which sponsor title should they put. In the end, the group disbanded. Six of the greediest men took on the job of carrying the title of Japan's company "Team Toyota" and participated in the S-class Professional League. Although the remaining four men tried to recruit more, the players lacked quality and skill, causing them to be stuck in the A-class league.

This man, Floating Up, was one of the mercenary that was split and stuck in the A-class league. He was a Guardian and Zhang Yang has dealt with him before. Even he had to admit that the guy had skills that were on par with him!

However, to be able to craft and sell [Earthen Round Shield, they had to be able to clear the Hardcore More and defeat the hidden boss to get the recipe, but in his previous life, the first clear achievement was claimed only after a month… and Zhang Yang suddenly understood.

Before, most of the elite parties could not get past through the third boss due to the bug-like boss' skill! But this time, he "invented" a terrain bug method a little too early and since Lost Paradise and Lone Desert Smoke discovered it as well, there was a high possibility that the method was leaked out! Because of that, the once impossible and invincible boss was now just a piece of trash; anyone could defeat it!

The game progress changed now because of him and the butterfly effect just kept spiraling down! Zhang Yang sighed and took out another shield and made the starting and ending price 500 and 700 gold pieces respectively. "Come on, man. Work with me, not against me! There's fortune for everyone here. Don't do something that will only cause problems for the both of us!" Zhang Yang said in his heart.

'Server announcement: The party Fire and Sword Mercenary has set a new dungeon time record for the Bangar Crypt Dungeon Hardcore Mode. Their achievements will be recorded in the Hardcore Time Attack Achievement Board (China Server). Please celebrate for them!'

'Server announcement: Player Dominating Blades (Party Leader) successfully broke the Bangar Crypt Hardcore Mode time record. Obtaining 10 gold pieces, 1x Level 1 Rune, and all race 250 Reputation Points from the system reward!'

'Server announcement: Player 44 Bandits (Party Member) successfully…'

The server channel was filled with red texts in an instant.

"What the… Where did these people come from? They actually broke the record!"

"Fire and Sword Mercenary… I think they were in the game called 'Dragon Age'!"

"That's awesome!"

The local channel was abuzz.

Zhang Yang was a little surprised with this, but what came after was a rather humorous feeling. Crimson Fire always wanted to get that speed record, but his dream was now shattered into oblivion! Even though Lost Paradise core members could be considered as professional players, but comparing with "Trash Mercenary", Lost Paradise was nothing.

Tch! The upcoming was to get the first clear achievement will be extremely brutal!

Zhang Yang opened Hardcore Mode Speed Record and checked their time record.

27 minutes and 30 seconds!

That was rather good! Zhang Yang vaguely remembered in his previous life, that the record was replaced several times but finally came to a halt at 24 minutes and 17 seconds. There were no faster time record that replaced it. The record had always been hard to defeat as the dungeon level limit was 15, and with that kind of strength, it was hard to product any decent results!

Take Marzerway's Lair for example; the entry requirement was Level 20 and the level limit was Level 29. There was a 10 level gap to allow players to have sufficient time to try the trials and defeat the speed record. After Level 100, the leveling duration could be 10 days to half a month, and it provided enough time for players.

'Beep.' A private message arrived.

"Zhan Yu! Argh… I'm so screwed this time!" Crimson Fire cried with a tone of despair in his voice.

"Cheer up, man. There will be more chances in the future!" Zhang Yang consoled him. In all honesty, Zhang Yang was not really close with Crimson Fire, and he did not like to meddle with someone who was quite emotional. He preferred to mix with people like Phantom Days.

Crimson Fire smiled bitterly. Even with the numerous amount of dungeons in the game, he knew his own capabilities as well as Lost Paradise's. They were not consistent enough to claim the first clear achievement of Bangar Crypt alone; and that was with Zhang Yang aiding them!

"Zhan Yu! I want to make a deal with you!"

"Now we're talking. Is it the shield? 1,000 gold a piece! Thank you for your patronage!"

Crimson Fire hurriedly rectified, "No, no! That's not it! I want to reserve a dungeon run! I want the first clear achievement for Marzerway's Lair!"

Having thought about it, Zhang Yang said, "Sorry, but the five-man dungeon run has already been decided!"

Crimson Fire would not give up and tried negotiating, "Aw, come on, Zhan Yu. We've been doing this since back in the days! Give me a chance! At least one slot for me! I'll pay you 10,000 gold for it, how about that?"

Zhang Yang's current goal was to create a concrete and stable team, not just to raid dungeons but to compete in future tournaments! He already had the right amount of gold and no longer needed to work for others now!

Zhang Yang laughed as he said, "I can't do it! I've already made a deal! Plus, we're doing the nest tomorrow! Do you have anyone on your side that's Level 20 already?" Crimson Fire bit his tongue. To get the speed record, each of the guild's elite were not willing to get their level any higher than 15. They were all at the same level. How could he manage to get a Level 20 member in just one night?!

"Zhan Yu, don't go rushing into things! Look at the board, there aren't many Level 20 players now! For your dungeon run, let it slide for a few days. I'll even chip in another 10,000 gold! How's that?" Crimson Fire became agitated. But Zhang Yang was firm on his decision to decline.

"Sorry, Guild Master Crimson Fire. I've made my word."

Crimson Fire was silent for a moment. "Alright then. If that's the case, we'll double our efforts and level up. Perhaps we'll call you up for the Level 30 dungeons."

Zhang Yang laughed, "Haha, that's a deal in the future. Until then!"

After his conversation, Zhang Yang went to the auction house and swept up all the [Brassica Weed] and [Gingko Flower] again. Ever since Zhang Yang began clearing them, players increased the selling price for the two herbs, and thrown many Alchemy users into disarray. Not everyone could be as rich as Zhang Yang.

After using all the ingredients in hand to craft, Zhang Yang accumulated as many as 300 stacks of [Beginner Anti-Shadow Potion, taking up about 60% of his bank storage. If he did this for another day or two, his storage would definitely be full. Once he was done, it was 11pm and Zhang Yang logged off and called it a day.

The next day, Zhang Yang woke up at 6 in the morning and conducted his daily routine. He put on his jersey and went jogging after a round of boxing. He ran from his prefecture, all the way past the garden, across the market area, and arrived at an alley entrance. There, he stopped. He stopped not because he needed a breather, but what he saw at the entrance of the alley, was a 50-year old man, laid on the floor. His hands were on his head, covering it as if he was badly injured. There was a large crowd surrounding him but nobody took action.

Just as Zhang Yang wanted to walk up front, he was held back by another man, who was about 60-years old. "Hey kid, mind your own business! That man right there is a huge scammer. Anyone going to help him will only get themselves in trouble. Who knows how many hundreds or thousands of dollars he scammed away."

It was no longer a mystery as to why youngsters these days were called cold-hearted, disrespectful and lacked morality! It was all over the internet; the news of people trying to earnestly help others but was only cruelly and cunningly scammed. Because of them, those who really needed help were casted aside and left to die on their own. Once the perpetrator successfully latched on, they would go in for the kill and scam their way for money. If they had failed in their attempt, they could easily get away with just a few words like "Sorry, wrong guy!" or "Sorry, I've recognized the wrong person."

Zhang Yang merely shook his head and went ahead.

The old man grabbed Zhang Yang's arm again, "Hey kid, Didn't I tell you to mind your own business?"

"It's not like I have a choice, old man. I have to take this road to go back home!" said Zhang Yang, with a smile on his face.

"If that's the case, you'd better be careful there. That old swindler is rotten to his core!"

"I understand, Thank you very much, mister!"

However, something inevitable happened. Zhang Yang walked around the old man lying down there and before he could even get a step past, he felt like his calf was being grabbed on tightly. He turned around. Who else could have held his legs, if not for the old scammer?

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Chapter 48: The Old Scammer

Translator: Zenobys Editor: TheRealSeal

'He hit me! He hit me!" the man screamed at the top of his lungs as soon as he got hold on to Zhang Yang. Zhang Yang could only sigh. This old scammer is really shameless. There was only a meter between Zhang Yang and the old man, and yet he could roll over that distance to grab Zhang Yang's calf.

Zhang Yang did not hold back. "Old man, are you really going to go that far?" Someone as cunning and sly as this old man did not deserve to be treated with an elder's respect. The old scammer kept repeating the same thing.

"He hit me! He hit me!"

The crowd reacted the same way as Zhang Yang; having no remorse and began scolding him.

"There are so many eye witnesses here. Do you really think that you could wrong someone like this?" Zhang Yang let out a little anger in him. How many innocent people has this man tricked?

The old scammer finally opened his mouth to reply. "Hm hm. So what?" His face was like a cunning snake; 2 shiny golden front tooth could be seen as soon as he opened his mouth. "I'll surely get you! Who do you think the judge would listen to? The crowd, or the victim?"

This guy has the guts to actually do it!

Zhang Yang's rage boiled immensely. He was famous because of his fighting skills from young, and he further refined it when he entered university. He would never have thought that this merciless brawl would be forgotten in a mere four years.

"Dad! What happened?"

"This son of a b*tch actually knocked me down!"

Two 30-year old skinny men came out from the crowd, knelt on each side of the old man, and put up a façade of a son respecting his father.

"You bastard! Was it you who knocked my father down?!" The two men then stood up quickly and stared at Zhang Yang with a sense of hostility. Zhang Yang did nothing but laughed coldly. "You guys sure have a keen eyesight. You quickly came to the conclusion that the man was knocked down when you saw him lying on the floor. Why didn't you say that he was beaten down? Or perhaps he slipped and fell on his own?"

The two of them wavered a little until one of them shouted, "You little brat! You dare talk back when you were the one who knocked down my father! You'd better reimburse the medical fees or we will sue you for attempted murder! That will be at least 8 to 10 years in prison life for you!"

Among the bystanders, someone voiced out their unfairness, "You bunch of rotten family have been playing this game for god knows how long! Everyday you'd be conning someone off their hard work! You'd better prepare to face punishment in the afterlife!"

"Shut the f*ck up! Do you want to get stabbed?!" and then the scrawny man drew out a blade, gleaming with its sharpened edges. The crowd was frightened with its presence and took a step back in silence.

"Haha!" the man felt contented with the crowd's fear. He then waved the blade playfully in front of Zhang Yang and said, "Kid, give me 100,000 and we'll close an eye on you!"

"I'm about to go home and play some games. You… you're in my way!" Zhang Yang's expression turned solemn and mean.

"What? Games?" the man with the blade laughed. He patted on his partner's shoulder and said, "Bro, this boy is frightened silly! He thinks we're playing a game with him!" The other man laughed too.

The old man who was still on the floor cried out, "Hurry up and pay! I'd be lying all day here!"

"You heard the man! Pay up!"

"Hmph. Eat my fist!" Zhang Yang threw a straight punch, landing clean onto the man's face. His strength had always been powerful. That punch has been honed to perfection for 4 years in university; it was definitely not just for show! The man with the blade flew a good three meters away and landed on the floor with a loud thud, oozing fresh blood from his nose and mouth. He was knocked out for good.

The other man was left standing in rage and fear. There was a hint of fright in his voice as he tried to threaten Zhang Yang, "You… you date! My uncle is… is… a c-cop! He'll c-catch you a-and put you in j-jail!"

Zhang Yang only laughed. With a chain of punches, he dominated the fight and knocked him out as well. He then looked down at the old man he had been dragging along for a few steps and smiled, "How long do you plan to hug my leg?"

The old man was shocked! Back then, he could just con anyone with his two sons stepping out to frighten the victim, yet today, he picked the short stick!

"Hmm, sorry. I've mistaken you for someone else?"

Zhang Yang laughed. "Mistaken?"

"Yes! I-I've mistaken!" said the old man as he withdrew backwards. Zhang Yang advanced forward to him, and grabbed the old man up. "Dear elderly man, just because you're old, doesn't mean you can throw your respect for others away. I want you to carve this lesson well in your memory. Don't ever do this kind of scamming business anymore!" Rather than letting him go, Zhang Yang threw a punch at the old man.

"Buah!" he was thrown backwards, and blood spat out along with his two golden teeth.

"Ah! My golden teeth!" The old man hurriedly crawled over to pick it up.

And then, a round of applause roared from the crowd. Zhang Yang looked around and saw many bystanders were clapping away, while some were cheering "Good punch!" All the commotion caused the 3 conmen to sneak away like rats in an alley. Everyone cheered for him. Zhang Yang's actions and punches managed to capture the hearts of the crowd!

"What's all this ruckus! What's going on here?"

A clear and crisp voice could be heard. Among the crowd, a woman in police uniform walked out. She looked like in her early twenties and was very tall, maybe about 170cm. The uniform she wore brought out a strong sense of valiant; not to mention she was quite beautiful! She looked exactly like the ones you would see on screen, carrying a cold aura around her, signifying her nobility. Truly admirable!

Under her appearance lies the devilish body of a woman! With voluptuous curves at her front and back, along with those incomparable long legs, she brought out a beauty that people would think a waste if she was not a fashion model!

If Zhou Su city had a policewoman beauty pageant, this woman could be in the ranks! There was a chance that she could even top every other women in all of China!

Zhang Yang's eyes gazed at where her breasts were. He could not help it; who asked her to allocate all her excess fat there! With that perky shape and size, one could not resist looking at here!

"Ah! Police!" The old man cried out loudly as if he met his own father. "He beat me! He beat me!"

The policewoman listened and averted her gaze and looked at Zhang Yang coldly.

"Excuse me, miss, you can't blame this young man here. All of this is the father and sons' fault!" The crowd began to talk, explaining what sort of crime they had done. The policewoman became furious as she listened to the explanation. Her once beautiful eyebrows narrowed and frowned. She clenched both her fair fists.

"Police…" the old man continued his wails but before he could finish, the policewoman roundhouse kicked him off. The golden teeth that he picked up dropped again.

The crowd was surprised for a moment and applauded. At a day and time like this, having a policewoman who was on the right side of justice like her was very rare!

Zhang Yang felt it was funny and laughed it off, and he turned around to leave the scene.

"Halt!" the policewoman rushed towards and grabbed him. Her expression was cold.

"Eh?" Zhang Yang raised an eyebrow, not understanding her action.

The policewoman asserted her view on the matter with a sense of justice and fairness, "What they did was wrong, but what you did was wrong as well! Fighting in broad daylight!"

"Are you serious?!" Zhang Yang tried to refute. "That guy was holding a knife! He was about to stab me with it! What I did was self-defense, not fighting!"

"That's true!" The crowd pleaded on Zhang Yang's behalf as well. After all, bad guys did not deserve the public's pity.

The cold policewoman took her time to think, and the said, "I'll give you a chance. If you could defeat me, I'll let you go! Otherwise, you'll follow me back to the police station and confess your crime!"

"You're not joking, are you?" Even if Zhang Yang was the king of street fights, he would never cross fists with the police, what more a policewoman.

"I never joke!" the policewoman replied coldly.

Zhang Yang replied in a serious manner, "Well then, I'm sorry if I hurt you!"

"Hmph! I will not hold back!" The policewoman went into her fighting stance. She kept her legs wide apart, firmly on the ground. Her hands moved around, gesturing a sort of movement that her left hand represents Ying and her right hand represents Yang, emitting a strong killing intent.

Zhang Yang could not help but be cautious; this policewoman cannot be underestimated! He too, got into his battle stance and said, "Come at me!"

A police and a civilian having a duel, and the police was a beauty at least. A scene like this was not something to be seen every day! The crowd spread out across the scene, withdrawing and forming a large circle, giving fighting space to the two of them.

The young men had their eyes fixed onto the woman's chest. If they were to bounce about, they would be bleeding by the nose at any moment!

The cool policewoman ignored the crowd, focusing intensely on Zhang Yang. She suddenly struck forward but only grazed past Zhang Yang's left ear. "Such speed!" Zhang Yang thought. If he had not moved a little more, he would have taken a beating.

Before the strike, Zhang Yang was looking down at her. He would never have thought that this woman's ability was anything but weak! With that attack, Zhang Yang started to lose the upper hand in this fight!

Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!

Once the opponent had the upper hand, she wasted no time and unleashed a series of combo punches! As fast as lightning, Zhang Yang did not have any gap to counter the attacks!

Fast! Accurate! Powerful!

"Huargh!" The woman used her last attack, with both her hands enveloping Zhang Yang's waist. She wanted to do a suplex! If the fight continued on like this, Zhang Yang would definitely faint!

His heart tightened, he had to rush back home to bring Little Snow and the team to rain Marzerway's Lair later on! How could he kick the bucket here!

His arms reached out far, trying to grab hold onto anything he could get as long as he would not be thrown over! The policewoman intended to use her back power to flip Zhang Yang over but she never thought that he would reach out and grab her busty chest!

Tong!

A loud, crashing sound was heard, and the two of them fell down! Zhang Yang on top, while the woman was underneath him.

"Ehh…" The crowd wondered. The fight was on the policewoman's side, and after a few trading of punches, the woman's legs went weak and was pinned down by Zhang Yang. The sensation that was in his hand was as soft as cotton; full of elasticity! A heavenly sensation in his hand! Zhang Yang squeezed with a little coincidence, and a low, soft lingering voice was instantly heard. One could not help but feel a little hard!

"Let go!" Her voice now filled with rage. She was gritting her teeth while speaking.

Zhang Yang was being held on by the policewoman. He looked up and could not look down at his body. Once he realized the situation he was in, he immediately knew… Both of his hands were holding on to those mountains!

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