Chapter Forty-Nine: Advancement Complete

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Xu Lin’s party? I suppose, for quite a while, we’ll only exist in the form of a team—the most basic, fluid stage of a group. But once we get the proof of team formation from a trial, we can upgrade everyone in the party to official team members. There are quite a few benefits to being in a team: for instance, when team members party up to hunt monsters, they gain 10% extra experience, which is pretty significant. And when the team becomes a legion, the bonus rises to 20%!

For now, all the players can do is fantasize. No one’s reputation has even reached ten thousand yet, nor does anyone have the faintest idea where to obtain the trial proof required to form a team. The game developers have given no clues at all—everything is up to the players to discover.

Now Murong Shanshan is actually asking me when the Greenleaf Family is going to form a team...

“I don’t know, it’ll probably be a while yet. We’re far from the required reputation.”

“If I form a team first, would you join me?” Murong Shanshan bit her lip as she spoke.

I suddenly remembered that Xu Lin had stopped acknowledging me because I offended Kuang Zhan, so I smiled and said, “Let’s talk about it later. Forming a team is easier said than done.”

Murong Shanshan smiled softly, “Then let’s leave it for later. Up ahead is Demon Valley; it’s filled with demon-type monsters. It’ll be quick work for a priest.”

“Oh, right—what’s your quest about? Is it to kill some boss or what?”

“I wish it were just a boss. My quest is insane. There are eighteen sealed magic circles scattered all over the valley, and only if all the seals are broken within five seconds will the demon boss I need to kill appear. I bet the boss won’t be easy, but maybe it’ll drop a few blue items for me~!” Murong Shanshan’s eyes sparkled with excitement, her charm drawing the stares of several lustful onlookers nearby.

...

At Murong Shanshan’s command in the party channel, the nearly fifty-strong team quickly fanned out across the valley. The magic circles were obvious, and the monsters inside the valley were quickly dispatched by the mass of players.

Coco quietly sidled up to me and whispered, “Did you know, Shanshan is the campus belle at our school. Not many of these guys are immune to her charms.”

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I nodded but said nothing.

“Aren’t you worried?” Coco peered at my face, as if determined not to miss a single expression.

“Worried about what?”

Coco stared at me in disbelief, and only after confirming I truly didn’t care did she say, “Forget it, just pretend I never asked. Poor Shanshan—who knows which lecher will win her over…”

...

Soon, all eighteen magic circles were manned. Murong Shanshan checked the map and, satisfied that every circle was covered, began to speak over the party voice channel: “All right, on my count of three, everyone activate your circles. Wait—who’s the idiot triggering the one at nine o’clock? Stop right now!”

After a bout of chaos, everyone finally managed to activate the circles together under her direction. Holy light flashed, and in the very center of the map, a level 25 stone golem boss suddenly spawned—the very boss Murong Shanshan had come for.

“Lin Fan, come help! Everyone, let’s go!”

The whole team swarmed the poor boss. On my second sword swing, I actually missed—it was dead already! This had to be the fastest boss kill I’d ever witnessed. In less than ten seconds, it was down, dropping a pair of blue warrior boots, which naturally went straight to Murong Shanshan.

She bade me goodbye and immediately returned to town. At the same time, I received notice that the party had been disbanded—it seemed she wanted to use this method to shake off her pursuers.

A message soon followed: “Lin Fan, I’m going to level up with Coco and the others, so I won’t keep you company.”

I smiled foolishly, suddenly remembering I had things to do myself. Everyone’s level was pretty high by now. If I didn’t hurry up and grind, I’d be overtaken by Liu Xuehan and Xinyu.

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Opening the ranking list, I was surprised to see myself in seventh place worldwide, and fourth in China—I was practically a celebrity now. Judging by the levels of players in the top ten, the gap was widening. The number one spot was still held by that thief, Electric Hotpot, at level 29. Places two to four were level 28, five to seven were level 27, and eighth place had dropped all the way to level 25. Murong Shanshan hadn’t made the global chart due to insufficient experience, but in China she was already sixth—far ahead of Liu Xuehan and Xinyu.

Instead of returning to town, I walked directly toward the logging camp where I’d trained with Murong Shanshan yesterday. Logically, there should be higher-level monsters further on. At level 27, fighting mobs of the same level would yield less and less experience, and the level gap with other players would only widen.

Night was falling, the wilderness shrouded in thick mist. The dew was heavy. My ash-gray Undead Warrior Boots squelched as I walked through the damp grass, and soon the leaves and branches drenched my armor, the pale blue plate gleaming, the red cloak clinging uncomfortably to my back.

I bypassed the logging camp—the level 27 monsters there were no longer worth my time. Beyond it stretched a vast plain. In the distance, smoke curled upward, and a yellow flag fluttered in the wind.

Another broad river separated the logging camp from the plain. A rickety suspension bridge spanned the water, and near it stood a simple camp. Several ragged kingdom soldiers huddled around a fire, deep in conversation. I couldn’t help but wonder—what was the relationship between these soldiers and the troops under the yellow flag? Were they a vanguard unit?

I crossed the bridge carefully. As soon as I set foot on the other side, the soldiers leapt up and surrounded me. A squad leader pointed at me and demanded, “Who goes there? What are you doing here?”

I hesitated, then replied, “I’m from Hurricane City.”

“What? Are you sent by the king to rescue us?”

Thinking this might be a quest, I answered, “I’m a newly promoted swordsman of the kingdom. Is there anything I can help you with?”

The squad leader’s face lit up with excitement: “I thought the kingdom had forgotten about us soldiers who have fought and bled on its behalf!”