“Damn, can this dungeon really be cleared right now?”
The game forum was flooded with complaints like this.
Last night and early this morning, many random parties had already appeared in Windhowl Valley.
Knowing they weren’t strong enough, these players barely met the required gear score to enter the dungeon. They didn’t expect to clear it like the top players, but thought they could at least kill some trash mobs on the first floor, maybe get a glimpse of the boss on the second floor, and just get some experience.
Unfortunately, the trash mobs on the first floor alone stopped most of them in their tracks.
These players, mostly around level 50, were completely overwhelmed by the level penalty. Facing the level 60 Death Servants, they had almost no chance to fight back.
Most of these random parties gave up quickly. They knew their limits and quietly went back to improving their gear and leveling up. But the top players saw a glimmer of hope and continued to compete fiercely for the first boss’s first kill.
It was already 8 a.m. the next day—20 hours since the dungeon opened—but no team in the world had yet defeated the first boss.
The elite guilds had whittled the boss’s health down to below 5%, but that last 5% was like an insurmountable chasm.
Watching the grayish screen, the leader of the Peak Strategy Team One was numb. After 20 hours of intense concentration, he was mentally exhausted.
After reviving again, he saw his equally drained teammates and waved them off to rest. They had tried every strategy during their attempts, and in the end settled on a war of attrition. Reality, however, delivered a harsh blow.
During this time, the other team members had rotated three times, but as the commander and captain, he had to stay on post.
Once the boss’s health dropped below 5%, it increased its movement speed again. Their best attempt had been holding out until the boss was at 3% health, only to wipe after one mistake triggered a chain reaction.
“No team has cleared the first boss yet; looks like it’s still too early to challenge this dungeon.”
He shook his head and opened the forum. Seeing the endless complaints, he sighed deeply and logged off to rest.
Now only teams three and four were still leveling, with the guild’s hopes pinned on them.
*****
At the 26th hour since Windhowl Valley’s dungeon opened, the tenth-ranked guild on the server, 【python】, secured the first kill of the Evil Soul Aggregate.
This news caused a huge stir on the forums, with players speculating how python had pulled it off.
The commander of Peak Strategy Team One was jolted awake by his phone’s urgent ringing.
“What? They ground it out?” Hearing this from his boss, the commander was shocked and immediately sat up fully awake.
“How is that possible?”
He had tried that very strategy himself and knew how painful and grueling it was.
A boss that normally only took two minutes to tank had its fight extended to nearly an hour under that method, demanding intense focus throughout.
Especially in the last 5% health phase—the boss became more frenzied, while player attack power dropped to only 50%. It was an enormous test of mental endurance and patience.
“They streamed the fight live. I’ve sent you the recording.”
The low voice on the phone made the commander shiver. He leapt out of bed and ran to his computer.
After watching the footage for a while, excitement lit up his face. “I’m organizing the team right now!” he reported on the phone.
Though they lost the first kill, as long as they ranked in the top 10 on the kill leaderboard, it was still acceptable!
The top 10 on the leaderboard all received the same massive experience rewards. From the video, the experience gained was enough to level up twice, so yesterday’s hardships wouldn’t have been wasted.
Similar reactions spread everywhere. Once it was confirmed the boss could be defeated, all players’ enthusiasm was ignited.
If other teams can do it, why can’t we?
*****
Lu Qiuchen lay propped up on a white cloth, elbows on the ground, chin resting in his hands, bored as he watched the “monitoring video” before him.
More than a day had passed since the dungeon opened, but fewer teams were now attempting the dungeon.
Most teams only cleared mobs on the first floor. There were only a handful challenging the second floor boss.
Not long ago, one team finally succeeded, which made Lu Qiuchen quite excited. She hoped they would hurry up and beat the final boss so she could make her appearance and have a good chat with these players!
But after cheering and hugging, that team exited the dungeon without even stepping into the third floor, leaving Lu Qiuchen disappointed.
She gently stroked the Young Dragon Remnant Soul beside her and sighed, wondering when it would get its moment to appear. Suddenly, she noticed a new team entering the second floor and perked up, watching closely.
It was a group of old acquaintances, which made Lu Qiuchen very pleased. The stubborn members of the Peak Strategy guild had provided her with plenty of entertainment the day before by continuously throwing themselves at death.
When they disappeared after quitting early this morning, Lu Qiuchen had felt regretful.
After thinking for a moment, watching videos all the time was boring. She wanted to observe the entire boss fight process up close.
Lu Qiuchen focused her attention on that team’s screen, then vanished from her spot.
*****
“Everyone has seen the video I posted. Remember the points I just mentioned—we will succeed this time for sure!”
“If we can’t get on the leaderboard and miss the experience rewards, the gap with other guilds will only grow! Tell me loudly—can you accept that?” The commander of Peak Team One rallied his nine teammates.
“No!”
“We will succeed!”
“Let’s do this together!”
Seeing their confidence, the commander’s heart stirred.
“Good! A moment’s failure means nothing. The Peak Strategy Team will eventually stand at the summit!”
Lu Qiuchen stood aside, watching them rush through the trash mob line like they’d been injected with adrenaline. They drew out many Death Servants at once and, after a beating, obediently pulled mobs slowly.
Watching the team reach the second floor, then stand quietly in a corner whittling down the boss’s health, Lu Qiuchen yawned, feeling utterly unimpressed.
‘Why is everyone using this boring method now? It’s so dull.’
‘In just this short time, over ten teams have used this strategy. It’s neither exciting nor watchable.’
No fun to watch at all. The first team to clear the boss really set a bad precedent!
Lu Qiuchen thought the more teams that cleared the boss, the sooner she’d get her time to appear, so she stopped complaining and quietly watched the boss’s health drop little by little.
Hmm? There’s a team fighting really fiercely here!
Lu Qiuchen had glanced away from the “monitoring video” for just a moment when suddenly an aggressive team appeared. She hurriedly focused on their position.
Seeing familiar figures and a two-legged wyvern, Lu Qiuchen’s gaze dimmed.
She now felt somewhat resistant toward Zhang Cheng, because they no longer lived in the same world.
In her heart, Zhang Cheng was still that sunny, positive, energetic young man.
Since meeting in their first year of high school, Zhang Cheng had impressed her as a top student, serious and responsible, cheerful, healthy, handsome, dignified, and from a wealthy family.
Well, maybe Zhang Cheng wasn’t as perfect as she imagined—he could be stubborn and impatient.
Though he ranked near the top in academics, appearance, and family status among their classmates, Zhang Cheng was just a head above her in everything, especially in height!
Lu Qiuchen still held some ambition to compete with him in other areas, but height was something she could never challenge.
Thinking of her own height, Lu Qiuchen sighed.
As society progressed, people’s living standards improved, and average human height steadily increased.
In the early 21st century, a man who was 170 cm tall was slightly above average, but by the end of the century, that height was considered short.
They had once walked side by side through campus, and the nearly 20 cm height gap was glaringly obvious, making Lu Qiuchen feel psychologically inferior around Zhang Cheng.
Since Zhang Cheng once joked about her height, hurting her pride and causing a big scene, he had been careful not to joke about it again.
Yet the more he refrained from joking, the more frustrated Lu Qiuchen became.
She felt difficult to please—was she just masochistic? When Zhang Cheng joked about her height, she felt humiliated and disrespected. But when he didn’t joke, she felt he was deliberately coddling her, which also hurt her pride.
Lu Qiuchen had agonized over this before and thought about confiding in someone, but her introverted nature held her back.
They remained good friends, classmates, roommates, and close buddies. But Lu Qiuchen always felt a barrier between her and Zhang Cheng.
Now that she was no longer human, that barrier grew even thicker. The last time they met, she knew there was a sad, impenetrable wall between them.
She didn’t want to see Zhang Cheng again! The more radiant he was, the more he reminded her of how pitiful, shameful, and hateful her own downfall was.
It made her recall the beautiful times she once had, fueling an even greater hatred for her current fallen self.
…
Suddenly, loud cheers rang in her ears, snapping Lu Qiuchen out of her reverie.
She vaguely felt something was off about her mental state just now and tried to recall it, but the feeling faded, so she shook her head and dismissed the strange thoughts.
She turned to the players in the dungeon, who were now cheering and running together, high-fiving and hugging.
In the center of the plaza, the illusory body of the Evil Soul Aggregate slowly sank into the ground. Nearby, players celebrated their victory, with loot and gold from the boss’s corpse still unclaimed.
A sudden thought crossed Lu Qiuchen’s mind: Although she was the boss now, her character status showed as a special player.
If she was a player, could she take items from the game?
Without hesitation, Lu Qiuchen pulled up her unique [Dungeon Toolbox] and selected the option for spiritual invisibility.
In spirit form, she slipped past the gathered players and tentatively stretched her wicked claws toward a single gold coin.