According to normal logic.
Upon discovering that there were other ways to earn points besides killing monsters,
most people would definitely choose a safer approach.
This wasn't a game; if you died here, you were dead for real.
Killing monsters carried a risk to one's life, so hiding away was certainly better.
Just like the Freedom Nation was doing now.
"The Zombie Scepter is out of durability!"
Noticing this problem, Jett took the scepter.
In the tower's library, he had accidentally discovered some records concerning the scepter.
'The Zombie Scepter... I remember it can be restored using rotten flesh and magic potions.'
Rotten flesh was everywhere, and they had prepared many potions before coming to the Twilight Forest.
He opened the crafting table and placed the items inside.
[OBTAINED ZOMBIE SCEPTER, SCORE +15!]
It worked!
To Jett's surprise, even repairing durability granted points.
"I didn't guess wrong, killing mobs isn't the only way to get points!"
Because their thinking had been fixed by past events, they subconsciously assumed that only killing monsters worked.
But this challenge was clearly more comprehensive; any gains or achievements could be counted as performance.
Since that was the case, what they needed to do next was simple.
Summon zombies, repair the scepter's durability, and leave the fighting to the zombies.
For a moment, their efficiency was even faster than killing monsters themselves!
"In that case, Mark, wait here while I head back into the Lich Tower!"
Thinking of something, Jett left the scene to Mark and used blocks to build his way back inside the tower.
He sealed the entrance with blocks to keep the zombies out, then began searching for books and opening chests.
The Lich Tower had no shortage of books; some were inscribed with text while others were blank. He quickly flipped through and found one with writing.
[LEARNED CRAFTING RECIPE FOR NEW EQUIPMENT "STEELLEAF AXE", SCORE +1]
As expected, this also added points!
Together with Mark, notifications continued to ring out.
[OBTAINED ZOMBIE SCEPTER, SCORE +15!]
[KILLED DEATH TOME, SCORE +1]
[KILLED ZOMBIE, SCORE +1]
[KILLED SKELETON, SCORE +1]
[OBTAINED ZOMBIE SCEPTER, SCORE +15!]
[...]
[PLAYER RANKINGS]
[1ST PLACE: FREEDOM NATION, SCORE 387]
[2ND PLACE: NINE PROVINCES, SCORE 386]
[3RD PLACE: NAGA (KAPIL), SCORE 184]
Even without a mob grinder, their efficiency had dropped, but by seizing this opportunity, they even managed to surpass Galen Yu for a moment and reclaim the top spot!
"First place can only belong to our Freedom Nation!"
"Soren Park was right about this; Galen Yu relies entirely on clever tricks and doesn't have much real strength!"
"Now that the mob grinder has fallen, his score can't keep up at all!"
"Though that new pickaxe he got is nice, giving it to the wrong person makes it useless!"
"Don't be so arrogant; Mark's next boss is also the Minoshroom, just you wait!"
Inside the White House, the Blonde Elder had been throwing a fit, cursing at the Intelligence Director.
Having vented his emotions, the Blonde Elder's expression finally softened slightly.
"Sir, we have returned to first place!"
The secretary whispered a reminder, and the Blonde Elder nodded slowly.
"Hmph, this is the position our Great Freedom Nation should rightfully hold!"
At least they were showing some backbone, unlike those self-proclaimed experts.
In reality, those experts were inefficient and couldn't handle anything properly; their only purpose in living was to drive up the price of grain by eating it!
"You can obtain new crafting recipes and farm points at the same time. Jett, keep it up!"
"I have a feeling that this Blood Moon reward will be extraordinary. Win some glory for us!"
Walking out of the Labyrinth.
This time, Galen Yu chose to dig his way straight out.
Labyrinth blocks carry an erosion curse, but with this tool, the mining speed and durability were greatly improved—shifting the cost from 1 to 17.
Alloy pickaxes are expensive; seventeen durability per block is a cost even the wealthy couldn't afford.
But using the Maze Breaker was different.
It came with built-in Efficiency, Unbreaking, and Fortune enchantments. Not only did it have a speed bonus for mining Labyrinth blocks, but its other attributes were similar to a diamond pickaxe.
Using it to dig through blocks meant he didn't have to worry about consumption at all!
'I didn't expect three to drop this time; I'll have plenty for mining later!'
Finding this pickaxe is a matter of probability. With good luck, getting three at once wasn't impossible.
Blocks that would normally take hours to dig through were now cleared in seconds.
Arriving outside, he could see the Blood Moon hanging in the sky and the tide of zombies surging.
"Aren't Labyrinth blocks supposed to be very hard? How did he dig so fast this time?"
"It's a problem with the pickaxe. I knew that silver pickaxe wasn't ordinary!"
"Galen Yu found good stuff again!"
"So what? Your ranking is already lower than Mark and the others!"
"Coming out now to try and fix things? Too late!"
A mob grinder provided immense convenience in this kind of challenge. Fortunately...
It had already been destroyed by Soren Park!
Under the gaze of the audience, Galen Yu frowned.
The Minotaur was in the swamp, and the next boss, the Hydra, was also in the swamp.
This many zombies would indeed be an interference.
Since that was the case, he looked into the distance.
He saw a small hut.
A creaking and clattering sound came from inside, suggesting many creatures resided there.
Galen Yu thought of an interesting way to play this.
"I know those houses in the Twilight Forest; those are for Skeleton Druids!"
"Ronan Mountwell encountered them before; they are full of monsters!"
"Could it be Galen Yu wants to go inside to hide from the zombies? That's hilarious!"
"Consider him smart; fighting Druids is better than fighting this many zombies!"
Everyone assumed Galen Yu was going to hide, but as they watched, they realized that wasn't the case at all.
He knew those were Skeleton Druid rooms, and from the sound, he knew many Druids had spawned inside.
Therefore, after building a bridge of blocks through the air and breaking a hole in the wall, Galen Yu chose to turn and run immediately.
The agro mechanism caused the Skeleton Druids to attack instantly, firing off natural magic.
Because he ran in time, the spells didn't hit Galen Yu; instead, they hit the zombies below.
The attacked zombies stopped looking for Galen Yu and turned their attention toward the Skeleton Druids in the room.
The zombies hit the Druids, the Druids began to counter-attack the zombies, the spawner produced more Druids, and natural magic hit the zombies...
When the timing was right, Galen Yu slipped into the room and opened the chest next to the spawner.
[TORCHBERRIES, BONES, GOLD HOE, TRANSFORMATION POWDER...]
Transformation Powder could transform vanilla mobs into Twilight Forest mobs and vice versa.
Taking advantage of the monster brawl, Galen Yu quietly used it on several Druids.
[USED TRANSFORMATION POWDER: SKELETON DRUID -> WITCH]
[YOU KILLED A ZOMBIE WITH THE HELP OF A WITCH, SCORE +0.5]
[YOU KILLED A ZOMBIE WITH THE HELP OF A SKELETON DRUID, SCORE +0.5]
[YOU KILLED A SKELETON DRUID WITH THE HELP OF A ZOMBIE, SCORE +0.5]
[...]
The points weren't much, but they added up.
Half a point per kill could become a significant amount in large numbers.
Most importantly, he didn't have to lift a finger, especially with the Witch's area-of-effect damage.
Newly spawned Skeleton Druids quickly joined the fray, and large groups of zombies were drawn in, their agro shifting from Galen Yu to the Druids...
"666, this actually works?"
"They were sent to fight Galen Yu, and now they've started an internal feud?"
"I give Great God Galen Yu's play an 84, because the remaining 16 makes it a perfect 666!"
"Novel thinking—monsters against monsters?"
"No matter which side wins, the one benefiting is Great God Galen Yu!"
He didn't deal with the Druids, nor did he hide in the house; instead, he used the Druids to kite the zombies.
This strategic thinking forced even the Freedom Nation viewers to spam '666' in the comments.
However, looking toward the depths of the swamp, kiting zombies wasn't Galen Yu's goal.
He had something even more critical to do!
>
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