From the very beginning, they were a complete mess. Surrounded by thorn-covered vines raining down from the sky, they could barely defend themselves, let alone counterattack.
Every encounter turned into a painful struggle lasting tens of minutes. And afterward, they'd be forced to sit down on the spot, panting, trying to recover.
"Boss, boss... maybe we should pull out," one of the teammates muttered weakly.
Honestly, the boss had wanted to retreat ages ago. But he had his pride—and worse, he was stuck. Only he and Da Zhuang could stand in the front line. Da Zhuang at least had higher defense, but the boss himself was getting chewed up by the thorny vines. They felt like they were getting swarmed by a nest of angry wasps.
But there was a problem: he didn't bring a "City Return Scroll."
They had only planned to take on the first-floor boss, so he figured they'd just walk back and save money.
Every bit of gold had gone toward buying a gold-ranked staff for Ava.
Now they were on the second floor of the dungeon—with no return scroll and no real way back. They were trapped.
The boss was silently cursing himself, but in front of the new recruit, he had to keep up appearances.
"With me and Da Zhuang holding the front line, we're fine," the boss declared. "This is actually a perfect time for us to work on our coordination. So, let's push ourselves harder the next few days. Let's level up."
Then, not missing a beat, he gave the new recruit a strong slap on the shoulder and added, "Set an example for the newcomer, yeah?"
With that, he took the lead and began scouting for the second vine dryad boss.
---
Three days passed.
The boss's face got darker each day. He was exhausted—physically and mentally—but he kept pretending to be full of energy, rallying the others.
Deep down, he was dying.
"Why did I act tough? I was wrong. I swear I'll never pretend again," he muttered to himself, dragging his aching feet through the dungeon halls.
He prayed that the real boss, whoever had entered this dungeon before them, would just finish the level already.
Their savings were drained, their equipment was falling apart, and they were all hanging by a thread.
And then, a sharp, piercing sound echoed across the maze.
A boss had spawned.
The air shifted. The boss's eyes lit up, and for the first time in days, he looked alive.
"Let's go!" he barked. "Da Zhuang, front with me. Everyone else, don't stop to fight. Just get to the boss!"
They turned corner after corner, sprinting toward the sound.
But then—
"Uh, boss, I think we're going the wrong way," one of the party members said.
The boss glared at him. Of course I know that, idiot.
Was this guy expecting the boss to just stand still and wait to be killed?
And besides, what were they even going to fight with? They had nothing left. Not a drop.
"Oh really?" the boss asked, feigning curiosity. "Let's take a look, then."
The younger teammate pointed again, "Yeah, I think it should be this way instead."
The boss rolled his eyes. Why is this guy so talkative?
They made a few detours, stalling for time.
By the time they finally arrived at the final floor, it was too late.
The final boss was already dead.
They saw a lone figure—Bai Ye—calmly walking into the next level.
"Boss! That's him!" the younger teammate said in shock.
Smack!
The boss slapped him hard on the back of the head.
"I'm not blind," he snapped.
The recruit blinked. "Do you know him? Should we go in? We can't let someone else take the final boss."
Anyone who had read the dungeon guides knew: there was only one final boss in this entire dungeon. And for the last three days, they had fought like devils to get to it.
The recruit truly respected the boss. He had been a good leader—pushing the team, grinding nonstop, strategizing every moment.
He had no doubt that this final boss would be theirs.
He didn't understand why the boss was just watching.
Finally, the boss gave up pretending.
"That guy… he's a freak. Let him have the last boss."
The recruit still looked puzzled.
The boss sighed and explained, "We ran into him the day before this dungeon opened."
"At that time, he had just cleared the Level 15 'Savage Desert'. The very next day, he showed up here."
"And that's not even the crazy part. I think… he's a rookie."
"What!?"
The young recruit's jaw dropped.
Because he too… was a rookie.
He was the second S-ranked talent to come out of No. 2 Middle School this year.
Before coming into this dungeon, his goal was simple—get a sense of the so-called hardest dungeon below first-tier level.
And he got lucky.
He had randomly teamed up with this reliable boss and experienced a super-efficient grind. In just three days, he had gone from Level 5 to Level 12, even scoring two silver-grade weapons.
This kind of growth would have been impossible alone.
He had been so proud of himself, thinking he might even rank top among the rookies with this pace.
But now?
He found out that Bai Ye was also a rookie.
And that Bai Ye was doing this all solo.
And not just clearing mobs—solo-killing every boss.
In that instant, the recruit's confidence completely collapsed.
He finally understood the gap between him and a real genius.
The boss tried to comfort him. "Kid, you gotta understand… sometimes the gap between two people is bigger than the gap between a man and a dog."
"I've been around the block. I know when to pick a fight and when to walk away."
"Take it from me—don't provoke him."
The young recruit could only nod bitterly. "You're right, boss…"
But just then—
A cold voice rang out behind the team.
"Did you just say the one who killed the boss is a rookie?"
Everyone froze.
They turned around slowly.
There stood Lily Winters, her icy expression making the air drop ten degrees.
---
[End of Chapter]
------------------------------------------------------
Get membership in patreon to read more chapters
Extra chapters available in patreon
patreon.com/Dragonscribe31
-----------------------------------------------------