Chapter 169 – The Player's Challenge
Absolutely fantastic!
Even though a single Dungeon Summoning Stone only had 3 durability points—meaning it could only be used to enter a dungeon three times before needing to be repurchased—it was still totally worth it!
If memory served right, this should be only the second dungeon discovered in the game so far! And it just so happened to perfectly match the players' current level! Isn't that exactly what makes the protagonist the protagonist? Always delivering unexpected surprises!
Even better, this dungeon was still completely unexplored—waiting for the two of them to be the first to venture in. With any luck, they might even snag the first clear!
After a brief discussion, the two each spent 200 contribution points to buy an Dungeon Summoning Stone and planned to gather a party and test the waters.
Seeing the notification that the item had been sold in the guild store, Zhou Ning smirked and couldn't help lighting a candle for them in his heart. Unlike Stratholme, Gnomeregan only had a 3-hour cooldown. Though he hadn't visited Gnomeregan yet, based on the difficulty of Purging of Stratholme, it likely wouldn't be a walk in the park either.
They probably didn't realize just how fast their contribution points would burn.
Though their conversation lacked context, many players caught onto the key word—dungeon—and the place instantly erupted in an uproar.
A few wealthy players even started buying in-game currency on the spot. The entire plaza became as lively as a farmers' market.
Zhou Ning was more than happy to see this. While standing around collecting money, all he needed to do was maintain a mysterious and inscrutable smile. He even had time to leisurely browse the forums. And sure enough, a few more players had just purchased invitation letters and joined the Starry Sky Guild.
The in-game drama series had updated with three new episodes recently, but none featured him as the protagonist. Just like in his previous life, they focused on other countries' Children of the Plane.
Episode 5 featured Puximi Shelley, the Child of the Plane from the Ruins Kingdom—a powerful alchemist and mage, albeit with a violent and twisted personality. The episode showed him battling a mutated Fel Demon, and the scene got extremely bloody.
Episode 6 was about Emlyn the Spear of Judgement from the Byron Republic, who ranked seventh in the last issue of Apocalypse Forecast. The video depicted his strategic battle of wits against heretics from the Sea God Church of the island nation Lavendel. The iconic scene where his spear tip erupted with golden light—originally leaked by a player named Grantham—was featured in this episode and was one of its highlights.
Episode 7 was like Episode 1 in that it featured multiple Children of the Plane from different nations. For instance, there was Yujin Commons, a pirate from Lavendel, whose goal was to revive Lavendel through seaborne raids. Even the Walrus Kingdom had its own representative—Dick, a walrus shaman who, aside from his appearance, was basically a carbon copy of Seediq Bale. To Zhou Ning, the whole thing had a pretty epic feel.
These recent episodes were probably the system's attempt to flesh out the game's world-building. But the glaring issue was—none of these new protagonists could match Zhou Ning's looks or appeal. Each had flaws in personality or charisma. Emlyn and Yujin were somewhat popular, but neither could truly compete with him.
As a content creator, Qingbai Wild Sake naturally wouldn't miss any chance to boost his visibility. He quickly posted a thread on the forum with footage he'd just recorded.
He even boldly announced that he would be live-streaming his dungeon raid (death run) into Gnomeregan.
Most viewers responded with "666" (awesome), while others began grumbling about their own countries lacking such cool protagonists.
"Why do only Bryston players get this kind of privilege? Discrimination much?"
"We from the Ruins Kingdom want to do dungeons too!"
"You can go find Puximi Shelley—he's your country's protagonist, isn't he?"
"He's useless! Last time a group went looking for him, he nearly roasted them with a single Fireball."
As the NPC with the friendliest attitude toward players, Zhou Ning once again found himself in the spotlight thanks to the ongoing discussion. The new dungeon brought both excitement and anticipation, and it was easy to imagine that once he returned to Darkland, even more players would join the Starry Sky Guild. It would be the perfect time to expand his backup team.
…
After spending 200 contribution points to get an Dungeon Summoning Stone, Qingbai Wild Sake waited in the plaza until he finally gathered five people to form a party.
The party was... bizarre. All five were roaming gunners.
But neither Qingbai Wild Sake nor Haicheng thought it was a problem. Let's be honest—how could the strongest class possibly go wrong?
"Let's go in and give it a shot. With some luck, maybe we'll get the first clear."
Qingbai Wild Sake started the livestream. After the five selected the small stone monument, they clicked confirm without hesitation—and in an instant, their figures vanished from the crowded plaza.
…
The five exchanged glances and found themselves in what looked like a strange city. In their field of vision, a number of red-named Stonejaw creatures roamed nearby.
A prompt appeared on their screens:
[You have received a request from Gnomish Chief Engineer Gelbin Mechatorque. Save Gnomeregan! Can you repel the trogg invasion, slay the traitor Mekgineer Thermaplugg, and rescue this great city?]
[Dungeon Objective: Survive until the end and save Gnomeregan – Reward: 6,000 EXP]
[Optional Quest 1: Kill 50 troggs – Reward: 8,000 EXP]
[Optional Quest 2: Rescue the Advanced Robot – Reward: 9,000 EXP]
[Optional Quest 3: Kill the Electrocutioner 6000 – Reward: 12,000 EXP]
[Optional Quest 4: Kill the Grand Traitor Mekgineer Thermaplugg – Reward: 18,000 EXP]
[Dungeon Failure Condition: Party wipe]
"…Whoa? That's a crazy amount of EXP!" The group stared at each other in disbelief. The current mainstream level was only 7 or 8, and regular quests giving 2,000–3,000 EXP were already considered generous. Even that level 10 dungeon in the Byron Republic only had two bosses and gave under 20,000 EXP in total. Yet this one gave nearly that much just for completing one of the optional quests?
Once the countdown ended, the dungeon began.
The first wave of enemies consisted of four wandering troggs, ranging from level 12 to 15. Qingbai Wild Sake took a deep breath, cautiously approached, and fired a shot at one of the troggs—triggering aggro across the board. All four troggs instantly charged at him.
"Quick, take aggro!" Qingbai Wild Sake shouted.
In a frenzy, the five roaming gunners opened fire. Haicheng managed to peel off one trogg, but the others charged straight in and downed Qingbai Wild Sake in a single round of basic attacks.
[Your teammate [Qingbai Wild Sake] has died.]
"…What the hell?" The remaining four weren't exactly eloquent, so "what the hell" was the best they could muster. Haicheng drew aggro next. Though he kited and managed to kill one trogg, he was soon swarmed and taken down.
"These are all elite mobs?! How the hell are we supposed to win this?" Haicheng cursed at the combat panel.
The remaining three didn't fare much better and were quickly wiped out by the relentless troggs.
[Dungeon [Gnomeregan] failed to clear.]
[This dungeon will be available again in 3 hours.]
They all stared at each other, stunned. That was it? They couldn't even get past the first group of mobs?
…
Elsewhere, Zhou Ning hadn't seen the battle firsthand, but judging from how fast they came back out… yeah, it was a wipe. These players clearly weren't the type to give up easily though—they were already gearing up for the next attempt once the cooldown expired.
Zhou Ning: …
At this rate, the Dungeon Summoning Stone might just turn out to be the real cash cow here?
By the time he closed up shop in the evening, every gun and potion he'd brought had sold out. His account balance had soared to 22,000 Vecktas, and his EXP total had reached 4.4 million. An incredibly fruitful day.
And that was without bringing much inventory to begin with.
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