After hearing the report from her subordinate, Nanami didn’t panic. She was utterly exhausted and said with a furrowed brow:
“I know we lost many, but having over a dozen successfully land and infiltrate makes it worthwhile. Just prepare the condolence payments for the deceased.”
However, the subordinate’s face looked even more miserable than if he were crying.
He cautiously said, “N-no… that’s not it… The dozen or so who survived… they’re dead too…”
Hm?
Nanami was stunned.
She instinctively replied, “Dead too? What do you mean? They sent me a message via communicator just half an hour ago, right after entering Longxia’s borders. Dead? Are you joking with me?”
The subordinate hurriedly clarified, “No, no, of course not! It’s just… their names all turned grey on the guild roster list. There’s also a chance… they all collectively chose to go invisible on their communicators?”
Impossible!
To monitor their movements, Nanami had forbidden them from going invisible, even though cross-border communication was impossible.
Besides, what difference would going invisible on their communicators make once they were inside Longxia? None at all!
Thinking of this, Nanami quickly opened her own communicator. Looking at it, she was dumbfounded.
The names of the subordinates who had messaged her just half an hour ago had indeed turned grey!
This…
Could they really all be dead?
It’s only been half an hour. They just landed in Longxia via the Forbidden Sea, and they’re already dead?
Is Longxia’s National Guard really that tightly guarded along the Forbidden Sea coastline too?
But the evidence was right before her eyes.
Most likely… they were all truly dead!
“Forget it. Prepare the condolence payments for them as well,” Nanami said irritably.
Recently, nothing seemed to be going right!
The only silver lining was that she had climbed another floor in the Endless Tower, putting three floors between herself and Yu Qingcang!
And there were still four floors between her and that Necromancer!
Meanwhile.
In the Dungeon Hall.
Liu Xinxin said, “Let’s continue running dungeons. Leveling up Luan is the priority. After we finish tonight’s runs, Luan, follow the usual routine and continue your Endless Tower climb.”
Yu Qingcang, however, wasn’t joining them anymore. He was investigating those communicators, checking for any important intel.
He also had many other matters to attend to.
Thus, the party was back to just the three guild leaders accompanying Luan.
They weren’t running the Flame Lands anymore either.
Instead, they chose the Level 25 Eternal Frost Forest.
The sudden shift from the scorching heat of the Flame Lands to this frigid environment was quite uncomfortable due to the extreme temperature difference.
Thankfully, the Eternal Frost Forest dungeon layout wasn’t complex, and the area was expansive. Although the monsters were spread out, Luan’s skills could cover them all.
Lei Tai and Ye Hongyi went straight ahead, bypassing all the regular monsters to hunt the elites.
Luan, meanwhile, infinitely stacked his Skeletal Storms to clear the regular mobs. By the time the regular monsters were mostly cleared, the elites would be dead too, allowing them to trigger the final boss through the dungeon mechanics and then instantly defeat it.
Their coordination was quite seamless.
Unlike in the Flame Lands, Luan wasn’t quite as bored during this process.
The Koi Spirit stood gracefully by Luan’s side.
Luan didn’t send her out to fight, as her damage was negligible and practically useless.
Left unattended, she might even get killed by monsters.
After casting a few Skeletal Storms and seeing the regular monsters were almost cleared,
Luan shivered and turned to look at Liu Xinxin.
He asked, “Xinxin-jie, are you cold?”
Liu Xinxin replied offhandedly, “The temperature in the Eternal Frost Forest is a bit low, you’ll get used to it. If you’re really cold, you can go outside and move around a bit. Or, we could light a campfire here.”
As soon as she finished speaking,
the Koi Spirit beside them suddenly raised her small hand.
With a wave towards Luan, she tossed out a giant bubble shield, enveloping him inside.
Only then did Luan realize that this bubble shield not only blocked significant damage but also had the effect of insulating against the cold environment!
The biting chill immediately ceased to affect him!
Liu Xinxin watched with interest and said, “Give me one too.”
But the Koi Spirit remained motionless,
as if she hadn’t heard Liu Xinxin at all.
Catching on, Luan nodded at the Koi Spirit. No words were needed; the thought was conveyed. Only then did the Koi Spirit turn and toss a bubble shield towards Liu Xinxin.
Liu Xinxin looked somewhat amused and exasperated.
She said, “Who knows if this Koi Spirit was this obedient and well-behaved with its original Japanese masters? But this attribute of your Throne of Bones, completely seizing ownership and control rights, is truly domineering!”
For the entire day, except during lunch,
They were all inside the dungeon, leveling up frantically.
By 6 PM, dinnertime, they finally emerged.
It was clear that everyone was exhausted.
Even the three guild leaders, in their past leveling days, had never grinded dungeons so intensely.
The key point was that they were one-shot clearing these dungeons. Luan could handle the regular monsters.
It was practically a mechanical process of harvesting the elites, defeating the boss,
and repeating this cycle over and over, boring to death.
“Just hang in there a bit longer. Once Luan reaches Level 30, we won’t need to run these regular dungeons anymore,” Liu Xinxin comforted, seeing everyone’s tired expressions.
“Right! I almost forgot about that. At level 30, we can run the first team raid dungeon. The experience our party gets in a team raid is ridiculously high, way more efficient than these regular dungeons, by who knows how many times!” Lei Tai said excitedly.
“Luan has been grinding all day and only reached Level 27. He still needs three more levels, at least three more days. It’s not that fast,” Ye Hongyi waved her hand and said. “Let’s focus on dinner first. Come on, my treat at Tian Yuan Lou.”
“Luan, don’t forget about your Endless Tower run. Get it done, then we’ll go eat,” Liu Xinxin reminded him,
never forgetting the important task.
Luan nodded and headed straight for the Endless Tower teleportation array.
He selected to enter, saw the boss the moment he appeared, threw a Blood Spear to instantly kill it.
Experience gained, exited the Endless Tower instance.
The whole sequence was smooth and effortless.
When he came out, Luan glanced up at the global Endless Tower rankings.
Second place!
Luan had cleared floor 59.
The original second place was Yu Qingcang, also on floor 59.
But Luan’s clear time was obviously unbeatable, so he naturally surpassed Yu Qingcang, solidly holding second place.
“Just three floors behind Nanami now. Tomorrow, maybe just one floor between us, the day after tomorrow I should be able to surpass her,” Luan murmured thoughtfully.
At the same time,
People in the Dungeon Hall naturally noticed this.
“The Necromancer Big Shot is running the Endless Tower again! He’s already in second place!”
With that shout, the entire Dungeon Hall – or rather, people all over the world – began paying attention to this development.
The Necromancer big shot, quiet for a day, was finally at it again!
And not only did he pass floor 59, he also surpassed the former rank one, Yu Qingcang, with an absolute advantage, securing second place!
Simultaneously,
This news quickly reached the Chena Shrine.
It was evening. Nanami had been in a rather good mood, enjoying some tea and relaxation.
Suddenly, she saw her maid rushing over, looking anxious, and her heart sank.
This doesn’t look good…
