Later, Su Luo learned that since Chu Qingqiu grew up in the Military Compound, where there were practically no girls around, and combined with her naturally cold personality, she never encountered the petty scheming typical among girls in everyday life.
Su Luo suddenly realized that, except for herself, everyone else around seemed to be living a novel-like life.
The time in military training flew by, and when it was time to leave, everyone felt a little reluctant.
The Military Instructor gathered them in a circle and shared some interesting stories from his dungeon experiences.
“In the dungeon, you must be attentive. Remember, if something feels off, it definitely is. Don’t hold onto wishful thinking or think you’re just overthinking. Dig deeper—it might save your life.”
Su Luo felt these words came straight from the heart.
She had indeed experienced firsthand how important it was to be bold yet meticulous during dungeon runs.
Unfortunately, most people present probably wouldn’t take it to heart.
After all, habits were long ingrained and not easily changed by a single sentence.
Fourteen days felt neither long nor short.
Soon, the military training ended, and Su Luo officially started school.
As expected, on the day before the semester began, all players were set to enter the assessment dungeon for the month.
At nine o’clock, Su Luo waited on her dorm bed for a moment, then clicked [Enter Dungeon] on time together with Yun Feibai.
The first thing to pop up was the status panel:
[HP: 25 (+6)]
[Strength: 7]
[Speed: 12 (+2)]
[Spirit: 14 (+6)]
[Stamina: 10]
[Charisma: 12]
[Points: 191]
[Talent Skill: Divine Redemption (Legendary): Teleports one fully healed person to any location the skill owner has passed. Usable once per dungeon.]
[Skill One — Healing Magic Bullet: Restores (reduces) an ally’s (enemy’s) HP equal to Spirit × 100% (CD: 5 seconds).]
After a moment of dizziness, Su Luo looked up and found herself surrounded by lava!
She was standing on a narrow path amidst the molten rock.
Startled by the scene, Su Luo instinctively took a step back, only to bump into a broad chest behind her.
A muffled grunt sounded, and when she turned, it was Yun Feibai.
He had also been carefully observing the surroundings and, after being bumped, looked down at her with concern.
“What’s wrong?”
Feeling a little embarrassed to admit she was scared, Su Luo thought for a moment and said, “I think if someone falls into the lava here, it won’t end well.”
Yun Feibai nodded, “Also, this dungeon probably favors fire-type players.”
They opened the system to check the current mission.
[Dungeon: This is a lava dungeon for the assessment. Fire-type players get +1 attack, water-type players get -1 attack.]
[If a player falls into the lava, their HP will decrease continuously at -5 per second. After leaving the lava, a fire poison effect lasts for ten seconds, draining 1 HP per second.]
[Tasks:]
[1. Kill all monsters (mandatory)]Â Â
[2. Personally kill ten normal monsters (mandatory)]
[Reward: +1 HP]
[3. Heal for a total of 500 HP (mandatory)]
[Reward: +2 HP]
[4. Personally kill three elite monsters (optional)]Â
[Reward: +3 HP]Â Â
[5. Personally kill the dungeon boss (optional)]Â Â
[Reward: +5 HP]Â Â
[PS: The game starts in five minutes. Players should familiarize themselves with the map quickly.]
The tasks were the same as before, but the number of monsters required had increased.
Su Luo had seen on the forum that the number of small monsters in the first task equaled the initial task’s number × 12 + 10, which was the total number here.
Elite monsters numbered ten times the task requirement.
In other words, this dungeon contained 130 small monsters and 30 elite monsters—a considerable increase from the initial assessment dungeon.
Su Luo sincerely missed the earlier dungeon.
The difficulty wasn’t just about the increased quantity.
When veteran players said the newbie assessment dungeon was simple, Su Luo had her doubts.
But seeing this dungeon’s map, she had to admit the initial assessment dungeon had toned down the difficulty by several levels.
What kind of hellish scenario was this map?
She knew that dying in an assessment dungeon meant actual death.
Falling into lava meant losing 5 HP per second.
Most players in the second assessment dungeon only had around 20 HP.
That meant they could only survive four seconds in lava before dying.
Even if they managed to get out, the ongoing fire poison would drain another 10 HP, making survival nearly impossible without a priest.
For newbies, falling into lava was almost a guaranteed death sentence.
Even Su Luo herself only had 31 HP, and with small monsters swarming, death was an imminent threat.
Healing in time seemed unlikely.
She felt the game was practically designed not to let them survive easily.
Su Luo and Yun Feibai exchanged a helpless glance, both acutely aware of this dungeon’s brutal difficulty.
Calmly, they began exploring the map.
The dungeon wasn’t large but the terrain was complicated.
There were flat paths, small hills, and islands amidst the lava.
Su Luo noticed that if a player fell into lava, a fast reaction could get them onto dry land within three seconds—but only if they were very familiar with the map and knew the closest landing points.
Because the map was small, they soon spotted others from a distance.
Unsurprisingly, these two were also team players.
Most players quickly teamed up upon entering the land to improve survival chances.
Whether these two were newbies or veterans, Su Luo wasn’t sure.
Due to time constraints, Su Luo and Yun Feibai didn’t plan to chat.
However, the two strangers, eager for company, hurried over and quickly latched onto them.
“Hi, I’m Little Fairy, and this is my companion, Xing Xing Bu Kong. Are you two team players too?”
The speaker was the girl, whose face was covered with many pockmarks and was not conventionally attractive.
Surprisingly, her voice was very pleasant.
‘Such a gentle voice!’ Su Luo thought, imagining that if Little Fairy wanted to, she could easily become a voice actor and make a living without needing to change her voice.
She would surely gain a large fanbase.
Despite Little Fairy’s uninvited approach irritating her somewhat, Su Luo was willing to be tolerant because of that voice.
“Yeah, we’re teammates. I’m Lost, and he’s Ji Hei,” Su Luo replied briefly, not wanting to waste time.
Although the map wasn’t large, the complex terrain and the need to react swiftly after falling into lava heavily tested memory.
Judging by Little Fairy and Xing Xing Bu Kong approaching them before Su Luo and Yun Feibai moved closer, it was clear these two had low emotional intelligence.
Sure enough, Little Fairy missed Su Luo’s subtle hint and excitedly started chatting.
“This dungeon looks so hard! Way harder than my first assessment dungeon,” Little Fairy complained.
Then she looked at Su Luo with hopeful eyes and cautiously said, “You guys must be veterans, right? Could you maybe carry us through?”
Though phrased as a question, the tone was more of a statement.
Su Luo finally understood their intention—they wanted veteran players to carry them through the dungeon just like the first time, explaining their warmth and their persistent closeness.
Though their tone made Su Luo uncomfortable, she calmly replied, “We’re new players too; we can’t carry you.”
Little Fairy’s expression turned suspicious.
Frowning, she said with some dissatisfaction, “Don’t pretend to be newbies. We can tell if you really are.”
Beside her, the arrogant Xing Xing Bu Kong comforted her, “Little Fairy, don’t mind them. They just don’t want to carry us! If they don’t want to, they don’t have to. What’s with the newbie act? These veteran players are selfish. Without benefit, no one wants to help newbies.”
Su Luo nearly laughed at their audacity.
Not only had she not lied, but who gave them the impression that veterans were obliged to carry them?
And who gave them the idea they could provoke veteran players at will?
Little Fairy looked at Xing Xing Bu Kong affectionately and said gently, “I know you’re standing up for me, it’s okay. And I believe there’s still true kindness in this world. Maybe the two seniors really have their reasons for not wanting to carry us?”
Xing Xing Bu Kong, who had just been full of righteous indignation, softened upon hearing Little Fairy’s words.
Tenderly, he caressed her face and said, “I know you’re kind and don’t want anyone to lose face. But it’s precisely because you’re too kind that it encourages these people’s arrogance.”
He then shot a furious glare at Su Luo and Yun Feibai before continuing, “But it’s okay. I’ll protect you from this world’s harm.”
After saying that, he glared fiercely at Yun Feibai, “If you hurt my woman, I’ll destroy your paradise!”
Little Fairy’s eyes welled with tears as she looked at him, deeply moved.
“Brother Xing Xing, you’re so good!”
“Little Fairy…”
Excuse me?
Su Luo was dumbfounded by this sudden development, and even her irritation toward Xing Xing Bu Kong lessened somewhat.