Chapter 13: The Lottery Begins
Swish! Swish!
Song Qi and Wang Zihao’s figures reappeared in the replica plaza.
“We cleared out eighty-five percent of the monsters and finished faster than ninety-five percent of the challengers, yet we only got an A rating?”
“Well, it makes sense. This is an experience dungeon. The boss here is notoriously weak; it’s just the mobs that swarm in numbers.”
“And only two hundred credits for an A rating? That’s stingy. An S rating gives a thousand credits—so they’re docking eighty percent, just like that.”
“No wonder no one farms low-level dungeons for money.”
Wang Zihao grumbled a bit, then glanced at his own panel.
“Wuhu! Leveled up again!”
After this round, he had reached level four.
This leveling speed was beyond anything he’d imagined!
But soon, he calmed himself.
“If the me from yesterday knew I could reach level four in a day, I’d probably be jumping for joy!”
“But now… it doesn’t feel like much.”
The reason was that Song Qi, who’d entered the replica with him, had triggered the level-up animation twice in a row.
In other words, his companion was now level seven!
Level seven! What did that mean?
For an ordinary professional, reaching level seven within half a month would already be considered excellent progress!
“Happiness really is relative, huh,” Wang Zihao shouted in mock misery.
Song Qi paid him no mind, pausing only briefly before reopening the dungeon selection interface.
“Get ready. Let’s keep going.”
“No problem—ready whenever you are!”
Wang Zihao immediately perked up.
He might feel discouraged, but he wasn’t about to let go of this golden opportunity.
Swish! Swish!
Before a minute had passed, the two figures vanished again, plunging back into another dungeon without a moment’s rest.
Such unusual behavior quickly drew the attention of those nearby.
Chu Shaojiang and his companions, who had just finished a dungeon and were taking a break, immediately noticed.
“Weren’t those two just now… Song Qi and Wang Zihao?”
“They just came out of a dungeon and went right back in? Aren’t they going to recover first?”
“Heh! Isn’t it obvious? They’re probably running the ‘Slime Calamity’ dungeon.”
‘Slime Calamity’ was infamous as the easiest of the low-level replicas.
The monsters had single attacks, and even those were rare and slow.
The experience rewards were meager, and the odds of loot were nearly zero.
In short, aside from being easy to clear, it had no redeeming qualities.
Even beginners rarely chose that dungeon.
It was the exclusive haunt of the truly mediocre.
“Exactly. One’s a summoner, the other a mage—what else could they farm except ‘Slime Calamity’?”
Hearing this, Chu Shaojiang’s expression eased, and he sneered dismissively.
“That’s about all they’re good for—running trash dungeons like that.”
His companions were quick to echo his words.
“Exactly!”
“They can’t compare to you, Young Master Chu.”
“Pathetic, really. At this rate, I bet they won’t even manage to level up once a day.”
“They had it coming for offending you, Young Master Chu!”
Chu Shaojiang basked in the flattery and disparagement of his underlings, then feigned indifference with a wave of his hand.
“All right, enough. We’ve rested long enough—let’s get ready for another run.”
“Let’s aim for a level today. Once we hit level ten in half a month, I’ll use my S-rank talent privilege to take you all through the ‘Corpse Tide’ experience dungeon.”
His followers’ eyes lit up with excitement.
“Corpse Tide? The one that gives thirty thousand experience in a single run?”
“If I remember right, we can only enter special dungeons once a week, right?”
“For us, yes. But Young Master Chu has an S-rank talent—he can enter three times a week and bring us along.”
“Three times? That’s a free hundred thousand experience! Young Master Chu, you’re incredible!”
“If that’s true, reaching intermediate professional in half a year is no dream!”
“Following Young Master Chu is the smartest choice we’ve made!”
Proudly, Chu Shaojiang opened the dungeon selector, casting a glance at the spot where Song Qi and Wang Zihao had disappeared before leaving.
“Heh…”
“New money will always be new money—so short-sighted.”
“Too bad for them; it’s already too late for regrets.”
With that, Chu Shaojiang and his group vanished from the plaza…
...
Half an hour later…
“It’s time to finish!”
“Second house on the right—charge in!”
“Understood!”
Lu Bu’s towering figure descended from the sky, grasping his halberd in both hands and smashing it down like a giant hammer!
Boom!!!
The house collapsed instantly, reduced to rubble.
A four-digit experience value popped up on the pair’s panels.
[Experience +8012]
The Mother of Zombies hadn’t even managed to appear before she and her lair were smashed into the dust.
[Congratulations! Dungeon cleared!]
[Calculating rewards for this dungeon…]
[Congratulations! Your overall rating for this run is… A!]
[Congratulations! Based on your rating, you have received: Credits +200!]
...
Back in the plaza, the two appeared again.
Wang Zihao sounded a bit disappointed.
“Too bad, I’m still a bit short of leveling up.”
He was currently level four; reaching level five required forty thousand experience.
Even if he thoroughly cleaned out every mob in a Corpse Tide dungeon, he’d only get about thirty-five thousand experience.
He was still a few thousand short.
“By the way, Song, are you going to run again?”
“No, I’m done. What about you—still going?”
“Yeah, I’m planning to check out the skill books at the Professional Hall, learn a few moves, then try another run. I want to hit level five today and narrow the gap with you.”
“All right. I’ll head off then.”
“See you tomorrow, Song!”
“Farewell!”
Leaving the replica plaza, Song Qi opened his panel.
Name: Song Qi
Profession: Summoner
Level: 8
Experience: 21338/80000
Strength: 7
Constitution: 17
Agility: 16
Spirit: 28
Free attribute points: 8
Equipment: None
Talent: Divine Summoning
Skills: Summoning, Summoning Array
Summoned Spirit: [Divine Lu Bu]
Items: None
Tasks: [Optional Task 1: Clear a dungeon and achieve an S-rating or higher. (Completed)]
[Optional Task 2: Reach level ten. (8/10)]
[Optional Task 3: Eliminate 50,000 monsters. (2884/50,000)]
Evaluation: An obscure figure, but one with an extraordinary gift for summoning.
“That was cutting it close—the triple experience card only had ten seconds left!”
“If I’d gone after the zombies in the tall building and missed the boss’s bonus, I’d have lost so much experience…”
Just thinking about it made Song Qi wipe the sweat from his brow.
The Mother of Zombies was worth 2,500 to 2,800 experience.
Missing out on triple experience would mean losing at least five thousand, the equivalent of hundreds of ordinary zombies.
If he’d gotten greedy for a few extra mobs and missed this bonus, he’d be losing sleep tonight.
“Eight free attribute points, but I’ll wait until I learn some new skills tomorrow before assigning them.”
“Also, optional task one is complete.”
“Let’s draw a prize!”
With that, Song Qi opened the system interface.
[Ding! You have… 3 remaining draws!]
[Would you like to draw now?]
“Yes!”